Purple flashes of lightning briefly brightened the black sky. Swirls of purple and red swam through the air. The land on the surface of the planet was twisted into incomprehension with no meaning. Amethyst crystal spikes jutted from the ground, rocky cliff sides hung off of buildings, volcanoes spat molten lava onto fields of dead grass. Leafless trees were either straight, crooked, twisted, or outright uprooted and on their sides.
This was a world that was the exact opposite of Galeem's conjuring. A world of insanity and chaos. A world of disruption and instability. A world of darkness.
Lightning flashed again with an ear-splitting screeching noise, shedding light on the discarded Hylian Shield. Dropped swords and blasters scattered on the ground… and close to them laid the fallen forms of the warriors who wielded them.
The Super Smash Brothers were unmoving. On the brink of lifelessness itself. Small burn marks littered their bodies from electric strikes thrust upon them in the dark rift. They remained in collapsed states, some face-down and some on their sides with closed eyes and still limbs.
"Awaken…"
There came no response from the bodies. No response but an eerie silence and motionlessness.
"Awaken…"
A gloved finger twitched in a blink. An arm slowly began to slide along the ground. A paw placed itself down.
"Rise. You must rise…"
One by one, consciousness returned to the Smash Brothers. They took in breaths and groaned. Eyes slowly cracked open. Arms and legs pushed bodies up and onto their feet. Hands clutched shaking heads, grumbles rang out, and faces turned from exhaustion to uncertainty and confusion. Minds reeled from recent memories.
"Wh… where are we?" moaned Samus. "Are we… dreaming?"
"This isn't a dream," answered Dedede, joining the Smashers in surveying the chaotic landscape around them. "This is a nightmare! What just happened?"
"We ended the world. He's right… this is our fault."
Link turned to Marth, noticing the prince's stance of a head hanging low. "Galeem kept that… that thing locked away. And when we defeated him, we broke his hold. This was the reason he wanted to keep us captured, wasn't it? To stop us from rebelling against him? To stop his defeat?"
"Not even I could predict something like that," replied Shulk. "But… you're right. The blame is on our shoulders alone."
"We've failed," mumbled Mega Man. "Our friends… our homes… everything we know… gone. Maybe Galeem was the true light the whole time…"
"You're saying we were better off as his slaves?" snapped Falco. "Void of any and all free will?" Duck Hunt just sadly whined. The Blue Bomber gave him a hesitant nod.
Snake stood up in a second. "We shouldn't have fought in the first place. Rather than fight Galeem at all when he first showed up, we should've run. Then none of this would have happened. We wouldn't be standing in the middle of… of…" the mercenary gestured at the land around them. "... of whatever this is!"
The following words failed to reach Kirby's ears. Out of all of them, he couldn't believe he had failed just like this. He'd fought all kinds of entities and beings in his universe, but… Galeem was something else. As was this "Dharkon" being. From what he had heard, the two were complete opposites. The true incarnations of light and darkness itself. Sworn enemies.
But they weren't the only opposites here. After Galeem's first attack, Kirby was flooded with hopelessness- just as he was now- and survivor's guilt. He was alone then, but with friends now. But they, too, didn't know what to do now. They were caught off-guard again. Unprepared again. Lost within an unfamiliar world.
"All is not yet lost."
Everyone stopped talking when they heard it. A voice. An angelic voice straight from the heavens… if there were any heavens at all here. Perhaps the opposite, instead.
Yet, it was the light in the dark. A single spirit floated from behind a giant crystal and stopped in front of the assembled group. "I apologize for what you have witnessed. But as before, you stand against a foe you know nothing about. You stand alone and without friends, much like Kirby at the very beginning. And most of all, you have been flung into the middle of a fight."
"What fight?" asked Shulk.
"THE fight," replied the spirit. "The only fight that has dragged on across time and space alike. A war where no side has held the advantage. A battle between two combatants."
Her attention turned to two of the Smashers who stared at her in wonder. One was Kirby, who had encountered her right at the start. And the other was her vessel.
"Your voice…" spoke the orange Inkling. "I know your voice…"
The spirit grew silent, hovering close to the Inkling's shocked face. After a brief moment of studying, the spirit hovered back…
"Colors weave into a spire of flame
Distant sparks call to a past still unnamed
Bear this torch against the cold of the night
Search your soul and reawaken the undying liiiiight…"
The Inkling's breath caught in her throat. "You…" she gasped. "It was you who sent me the dream."
"That is correct. My message was a call. A beacon to see who would answer in the time to come. I called you because you are the only chance we have."
"What do you want from us?" asked Fox. "And who-"
"WAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Everyone shot their eyes to the dark sky. Among the blackness, Crazy Hands zoomed through the sky with mad cackles that echoed in their ears. The spirit flew up to the Smashers. "It's not safe out here! You must seek shelter! Quickly, follow me!"
She darted off in the other direction, and with no time to waste, the Smashers hurried after her into the unpredictable world. The Crazy Hands loomed in the sky, searching for any sign of their enemies.
…
"This is the place."
The Smashers stopped on a massive chunk of ground that split in three separate directions via bridges. "Really?" asked Pit. "I don't see anything."
"Then perhaps you need to look closer," the spirit replied, giving off a bright, rainbow glow. Something large shimmered with similar colors: something the size of a big structure.
The colors faded, revealing a stony pyramid-like shape with a waiting entrance. The sight of it sent the Smashers into a wave of shock and surprise. "Is that… the old temple?" asked Fox. "Back before we got our real base?"
"A hiding place. An outpost. Call it what you will. Now, inside. Before a Hand or one of Dharkon's creatures detects us." The spirit darted through the passageway, lowering a multicolored barrier as she did so. The Smashers followed her inside until they were clear of view, allowing the barrier to brighten up again.
The main chamber was just how everyone remembered it to be… minus the pedestal where the Announcer's sphere would be. And on the temple walls, ancient images carved into stone stood out like cave paintings. "Spirits! Your friends have returned."
More multicolored orbs floated into view with angelic flight sounds. From them, ghostly voices spoke in hushed whispers as they approached the Smashers.
"So good to see you alive…"
"Thought we were all goners…"
"Hail Lord Bowser…"
"Is that you, Olimar?"
"Quite the Pokémon collection, Red…"
Bowser looked flummoxed as seven spirits circled around his head at once. Other spirits approached Marth, Olimar, Red, the Inklings, and the Wii Fit Trainer. Mario squinted at the spirit near Olimar, a red Pikmin attempting to grab it. Inside, he saw the face of a blue astronaut. "That's… Alph?" came Cappy's voice.
"Indeed. These are the fighters who managed to evade capture at Galeem's hands. I found them and kept them safe here, even after Dharkon's takeover."
Marth turned to the spirit, the souls of the female Robin and Corrin floating off. The two Inklings also approached, the spirits of their kind floating closeby. "You said something about us being in the middle of a war," he said. "What do you know of that?"
"And for the sake of my sanity, can you PLEASE just tell us who you are?!" added Falco. A nudge from Fox was enough to get him to cease. "What? She's been following us everywhere, talked with Kirby, and planted a dream in an Inkling's head!"
"That is true," said the spirit. "The reason I have assisted you for so long is that you are the rightful ones that can resolve this crisis. But first, you must know your enemies… and myself."
The spirit floated to the center of the room where the pedestal would normally be. The glowing orb brightened with another rainbow glow… and expanded in size. The lights faded… revealing a human figure.
"Whoa…" gasped Pit.
"That's the same trick she used on Lapras!" Red realized. "And the other two guys!"
The transformed spirit before them was like a ghost, slightly transparent with rays of all colors shining off her form. She wore a casual-like outfit, the color indistinguishable in the constantly-changing hues of her form. Her hair was a bright white and her eyes were like two tiny whirlpools that gazed at the Smashers calmly. Her face was donned with a warm expression, followed by her giving a small bow.
"My name is Chiaki," she began, her voice echoing across the chamber. "And through the many centuries I have spent in this form, I have watched you from across time and space alike. Your struggles and duels against both each other and common foes, among them; those who proved to be threats to all the dimensions and universes you call your homes. Tabuu. Master Core. Each of these battles I have witnessed from afar. But today, a larger battle awaits you: one that has persisted for billions and billions of years, going back to the point where time itself had entered its first moments."
She floated up to one of the largest images embedded in the walls, positioned high for all to see. To the right, a majestic deity fired a beam of pure light from a sun-like core within floating, color-shifting wings. And to the left, a monstrous being blasted a ray of darkness from a sinister eye. Its dark, looming tentacles clashed with the other deity's wings. Their beams connected in a struggle and both beings were pushing hard to turn it in their favor.
"Light and darkness. The two foundations of all there is. From the hopes and joys that light brought came the heroes who fight to protect and bring peace. And from the maliciousness and depths of the darkness spawns the vile villains who wish only to destroy and bring the ends of paths. As you have clashed with your mortal enemies, so too have they.
Galeem. Giver of life and creator to all that you see and know. It was he who created the Smash Stone and birthed your universes. It was his sole duty to protect it.
Dharkon was born as Galeem's opposite, to ensure reality would balance itself out. He saw his true purpose to be plunging all of existence into chaos and malice, remaking Galeem's work in his own image. They were enemies right from the start, and they warred for millennia.
The turning point was Dharkon's destruction of the Smash Stone. Each of their fragments sensed the will and spirit of those who discovered them, transporting you into a new perspective and forming the greatest unity the multiverse has ever known."
"So, in other words, it's his fault he made us who we are now?" asked Mega Man.
"You decide your own fates, Rock," said Chiaki, moving past a picture portraying the Smash Stone exploding. The fragments fell through space and sky alike, shadows of champions standing before them. "As punishment for destroying his greatest creation, Galeem banished Dharkon to the very place he was born: the darkest corners and depths of the multiverse. Galeem ensured his light would act as a cage for his enemy: as long as it remained bright and pure, so would the bars keeping Dharkon trapped. But even as he lurked in the very aspect of what made him the enemy of light incarnate, Dharkon schemed.
He created beings to do his bidding for him. Free to perform tasks outside Dharkon's prison. The first was Tabuu, the creator and leader of the Subspace Army." Gasps rang out from the Smashers who remembered facing him.
"When you defeated him, Dharkon destroyed Tabuu and replaced him with another: Master Core." More gasps of realization, these ones coming from Mario, Mega Man, and Pac-Man (who had his mouth open in shock) than all the others who had fought Master Core's corrupted minions.
"And when he failed, Dharkon had no plan but to wait. Wait until Galeem's light grew dim enough to weaken the hold on his prison. Only then would he be free to unleash his chaos."
"And that's exactly what happened," said Simon. "But how do you fit into all of this? Were you the one who sculpted these images before us?"
Chiaki sighed, turning to face the group again and glancing at a ghostly arm. "As some of you must already know… I was not always like this. To begin… I, too, have been deceived."
"We unknowingly released Dharkon and plunged this world into darkness by defeating Galeem," said Fox. "How can what happened to you be any worse?"
Chiaki moved aside and raised a palm, emitting a colorful light that illuminated another image obscured by shadow. Below the two warring deities… were other human figures bowing before them.
"Centuries before the Stone's destruction, on this very planet, my people were wise and harmonious. No squabbles, no arguments, no differences that would lead to conflict. But among us all, nothing fascinated us- as well as myself- more than one thing: retaining one's soul and consciousness after the expiration of a physical form."
"Life after death?" repeated Ryu.
"Indeed. I wished to know as much as I could about the subject. Back then, deceased souls in our plane of existence were rare, yet not entirely uncommon. I grew attached to spirits and learned from them. They became my friends. And like a few others of my people, I myself learned how I could ascend when my time arrived."
"You wished to achieve… immortality?" asked Simon. "Eternal life?"
"Not just for a sole individual, Simon Belmont, but for an entire tribe. But alas, when Galeem and Dharkon's war reached our world, everything changed. Both entities needed strength and willpower… and mortals were perfect vessels."
"This is where things get bad," guessed Pit quietly.
"My people were seduced. Divided in half. We became a cult: worshippers to Galeem and Dharkon. Each of their aspects, the very things light and darkness stood for, became our own. Our time with spirits had passed. Soon, all we knew was war. Like them, I became blind. In my case, blind from Galeem's light."
Chiaki gestured to another part of the image where humans fought each other with all kinds of weapons. "Dharkon corrupted those under his influence and transformed them into soldiers. Galeem did the same, warning us of the coming darkness and that we would be powerless unless we brought the peace. I was one of those who followed him. In the following days, weeks, and months on the battlefields, I did what I was never born to do. I killed. I killed for what I believed to be a dutiful cause. Not only that… but my own people fell from my blade."
"What was the purpose?" Mega Man asked. "For all of it?"
"Each side wished to drive the other away. Once the world was theirs, they'd sculpt it into a vision they saw fit. Galeem wished to create a world pure and free from darkness, while Dharkon dreamt only of a dreary, necrotic world where no light would ever shine. And the battles my people fought and died in fueled their own abilities to wield against each other. And it was in the war's final days that my eyes were opened to the horrible truth."
She paused for a moment, closing her eyes and bringing a fist to her heart. The Smashers never uttered a sound, all of their eyes trained on her.
"I remember the sunlight glinting off my armor that day. I remember the grace and agility I wielded as I struck down my own people with precise swings of my blade. In the skies above, yellow and purple beams flashed as the gods traded blows, fighting for complete control of the world. Their five-fingered minions clashed, willing to be destroyed in the name of their masters. After I took down another enemy, one more with a double-edged spear ran in from the side. I remember trading blows and dueling him, wondering how he was just as good as I. I managed to disarm him and run him through… but his gasp sounded familiar.
When he looked at me, the hate and malice in his eyes faded… replaced by a sense of sadness and betrayal. As a change manifested in him, so did one manifest in me. My heart pushed away all thoughts of righteousness and justice… to horror when I recognized him. He collapsed in my arms, and there was nothing in my power I could do to save him.
The last words I heard my brother speak… were 'we were all fools'."
The Smashers fell into a dead, mourning silence.
Chiaki stifled herself, drawing in a breath. "All fools, indeed," she whispered sadly. "Soon, all of my people had ceased their slaying, realizing what they had done. And though Galeem and Dharkon urged them both to continue… they threw their weapons down in shame. Dharkon furiously berated the people siding with him while Galeem uttered three words to me and the other affiliates. 'So be it'.
And then came the light. The light that washed over us all and decimated our bodies into nonexistence. I felt myself floating. So calm. So light. So at peace with myself. When I came to, I discovered my new form. My body was destroyed and gone forever… but my soul, my spirit, lived on.
As time passed, I learned and taught myself how to manifest into what you see before you: an apparition of my physical form. But while I have not yet perfected this technique, I am learning to teach this to other spirits: as you all witnessed with Lapras, Alfonso, and Engineer Link."
It wasn't long before Chiaki's sadness returned. "But my new immortality came with a curse. Through centuries past and centuries beyond now, I will forever carry the scars and painful memories of that day: the day my people fell into extinction moments after realizing we were only pawns. Galeem and Dharkon continued their duel to this very day, where both of their respective visions for a world to call their own have become reality."
"I'm… sorry to hear that," whispered Fox.
"Galeem and Dharkon will never stop until one abolishes the other and bathes all of existence in their likeness. Whatever the outcome, it would spell a fate for the multiverse that can never be rewritten or undone. The balance would be broken, the scale shifting too far on one side without the other present to counter it. It will be something reality itself will not be able to withstand. This… is where you come in."
"What do we have to do with it?" queried Samus.
"There are only a handful of my people who have transcended into spirits, including myself," answered Chiaki. "They, too, share my pain. After roaming this planet for years and years, we settled on one conclusion. The conflict between light and darkness must be kept in check. One side must not lean to the far to the other. The balance must be brought. Thus, we created a prophecy."
"A prophecy?" whispered the orange Inkling.
"One spoken only in song, little child," came Chiaki's answer. "It is none other than a fragment of what you heard on the day you discovered the Stone shard in your dimension. We believed that one day, a third faction would arrive into the fray and face both light and darkness. They would bring an end to the war, diminishing the opposites and placing them in a dormant state. Neither side can be utterly wiped out for good, nor will they ever stop fighting. All that can be hoped for is a constant state of balance and harmony. Only then can the multiverse be cleansed from their eternal struggle and start anew."
"You… you think we are the right people to do that?" asked a stunned Shulk.
"Who else would it be?" Chiaki replied with a gentle smile. "I know all of your adventures and skills. You are champions like no other. You are what the Lifelight prophecy refers and addresses to. I believe you have the strength, power, courage, and skill capable of putting an end to this millennia-long, constant, never-changing war. But you are not ready yet, Super Smash Brothers. First, you must gather the rest of your allies and face Dharkon's guardians to draw him out."
"More of those guys?" asked Mega Man in disbelief.
"Indeed. Be wary, for they are more dangerous and stronger than Galeem's protectors… as are the puppet fighters under his control. They will be merciless and ruthless, not seeking only to capture you… but to destroy you. You must be ready for anything this harsh, unforgiving world can throw at you. Overall, you must succeed. Do not allow Dharkon's influence to overtake you. You must be strong and ready for the challenges that await you. Just as you have bested the Lord of Light, I have no doubt you will do the same to the Embodiment of Chaos and Darkness."
"You really believe in us that strong, huh?" Mac asked. "We must be truly something, then."
"On that, I think we can all agree," replied Ryu. He moved to place a hand on Mac's shoulder… but withdrew it when the spirit of the female Corrin zipped past.
"Chiaki!" she cried in a tone that reminded Link of his old fairy accomplice. "We have intruders nearing the temple!"
The ghost-like spirit's face turned stern. "How many?"
"Several. Robin counted seven. They'll arrive in moments."
"Then the time is now. You must head out and rescue your friends," Chiaki addressed the Smashers. "I wish I could be of more assistance, but ever since I ascended I forbade myself from ever going into combat again… not that my new form prevented me from doing so anyway."
"Don't worry, we'll get our friends back in no time!" Fox shouted. "Right, Kirby?"
"Poyo!"
"Then it falls down to you to defeat Dharkon and fully restore your strength. Onwards! I shall alert you of any coming threats!" Chiaki closed her eyes, placed her palms together in a praying manner, and shrunk back down to her standard spirit shape. The Smashers turned, rushing for the temple's entrance to greet their awaiting foes. Whatever this world of darkness had in store for them, they would face it head-on.
