Driving through the race track, the Blue Falcon raced all the way around to an opening in a new path, and Captain Falcon, Kirby, and Villager were in the vehicle. After stopping on the soft grass outside the track, the three fighters hopped out of the Blue Falcon.
"Looks like this is one of two areas we can visit," Captain Falcon said, adjusting his gloves. "Let's just see which Spirits we can rescue for now." However, before Kirby took another step past the race track, the white wisp that emerged from Olimar's rescue absorbed into the pink puffball before he could catch up to Villager and Captain Falcon who just disappeared over a nearby hill. Kirby's eyes flashed the Smash symbol before being engulfed in a bright white, and it all happened right out of nowhere. The environment around the pink demon blinded him, and he fell unconscious like before.
Kirby found himself in the planet of Arcus once more, standing in the soft, fresh grass. This time, the pink puffball was standing on another island in the sky, stretching over a mile across. There was a humongous arena that was shaped much like the Midair Stadium, though it was decorated to look more like a training dojo. At the gateway, Kirby saw Ultima, Galeem, and Phoenix fly in with their parents, landing with the stuff they packed in each of their little sacks carried by rope.
"Well, we're here at the place," Metallio spoke, admiring how humongous the place is.
"All we have to do is sign you three in and you're officially part of the Sky Temple Training Arena," Toropikaru replied, looking down at the three young dragons.
"Let's go inside," Toropikaru sighed. Pushing open the door with her left wing, the dragon and her husband walked in with Phoenix, Galeem, and Ultima into the stadium, with the children carrying their sacks by the ropes in their mouths, dragging them in since they were pretty heavy for their size. Once the door closed and the family was inside, Metallio and Toropikaru walked to the sign-in booth between two large doors, where and elderly female dragon was waiting behind a glass window. She had baby-blue scales and her wings were frail and paper-thin.
"Hello there," Toropikaru spoke. "We would like to attend for three newcomer students." The elderly dragon heard what was said to her. She slowly ducked down in her desk, carrying a small pile of papers in her mouth. Once she plopped them in front of her, the elderly dragon shifted them to Metallio and Toropikaru.
"Read these forms carefully and sign them afterwards," the elderly dragon answered in a raspy voice, pushing a tiny bottle of writing ink and a black feather behind the pile of papers. While the mother and father were busy signing the papers, their children were busy waiting, talking about what they plan to do once they were allowed in. Kirby, meanwhile, just watched as usual.
"Isn't this exciting?" Ultima cheered, anxious to know what happens next once she and her brothers go past the doors.
"Totally," Galeem answered. Phoenix looked away, understanding the joy of being here.
"We have got to keep in mind that some of the missions here could be dangerous," Phoenix objected. "Few of them matter in life or death…"
"I think we both understand, Phoenix," Galeem replied. "Which is why I have decided to create an unbreakable oath between the three of us."
"Oh?" Phoenix asked.
"What is it?" Ultima remarked, ready to hear what Galeem had to say.
"That I promise that I would help us stay together to the very end as both friends and family," Galeem answered, sticking out one of his fore legs.
"So do I," Phoenix replied, placing his fore leg on top of Galeem's.
"As is me," Ultima said, laying her fore leg in front of her two brothers. The three young dragons created their group shake, knowing their friendship would last.
"Together forever, no matter what," Galeem said. That was the only thing that Kirby remembered, and the pink puffball himself was beginning to understand what was going on: this was supposedly the origin story of Galeem.
"Galeem, Ultima, Phoenix, come here," Metallio called out. The three young dragons then remembered what was going on and immediately grabbed their own bags, running towards their parents.
"Funds are 15 gold pieces a week per student for budgets," the elderly dragon in the sign-up booth told Toropikaru and Metallio, dragging the signed papers back into her desk. "Thank you and have a nice day, newcomers." The three young dragons were so excited for their first appearance in the Sky Temple Training Arena, dashing towards one of the two doors. However, they managed to stop and look back at their parents. Tears in their eyes, Ultima, Galeem, and Phoenix ran towards their mother and father, leaving their sacks at the door. The three siblings then hugged their parents dearly, knowing they'll all miss Toropikaru and Metallio terribly.
"See you in ten years, I guess," Ultima sobbed, feeling the comfort of the parent dragons.
"Please remember to stay together to the end, no matter what," Metallio said to the three young children. "Just know that teamwork and friendship are the key elements to survival." Galeem, Phoenix, and Ultima then broke the hug with Metallio and Toropikaru, looking back on them in the sadness of departure as they ran past the door, grabbing the ropes of their bags with their mouths. Kirby kept watching the mother and father looking down in sadness, knowing their nest will be empty for about a decade. The environment around the pink puffball flashed in a bright light, transporting Kirby's subconscious back to the planet of Gallia.
Kirby quickly woke up, finding out the Smash Ball on his forehead was gone, as were also the rainbow aura and golden irises. He then managed to spy Captain Falcon and Villager run back to him, concerned about his health.
"What happened back there?" Captain Falcon asked the pink demon, rubbing his cuddly pillow-like body. "You were missing for five minutes, and not like you can tell us since you can't talk that much." Kirby knew that the stone from Faker could be behind all this. Just then, the pink puffball suddenly saw some people walk towards them from the pathway the trio were originally on. As the strangers walked closer, Villager, Captain Falcon, and Kirby could make up some familiar faces. Walking towards them was none other than Sheik, Piranha Plant, and Mii Swordfighter.
"Kirby!" Sheik cried, noticing the pink puffball with the other two fighters that were just at that race track. The Sheikah and her side of the group then ran towards Kirby, Villager, and Captain Falcon with Mii Swordfighter and Piranha Plant. The six warriors were reunited with each other again.
"I thought that barrier split us up," Sheik said, hugging Kirby.
"Barrier?" Captain Falcon and Mii Swordfighter asked.
"There were three paths that the rest of our friends were forced to take," Sheik answered, standing up. "Apparently, Kirby's team split up and now were disconnected from the gang, as well as some sort of ship that they originally came from…"
"Geez, that's terrible," Captain Falcon said, rubbing the back of his helmet.
"There was also some sort of light bridge on our route," the Mii Swordfighter brought up. "However, Balder happened to show up and now we can't cross it since it's hot to the touch. We were about to cross it before it happened, but the old man supposedly reawakened Petey Piranha in… well…" The ex-Swordfighter Ultimate Reborn pointed at the Piranha Plant, knowing the situation from before. Both Kirby and Captain Falcon were surprised that one of their new travelers was apparently the reincarnation of a monster that worked for Subspace ten years ago.
"That doesn't mean he's not our friend anymore," Sheik interrupted, aware of the situation. "It's just he didn't know what happened and couldn't control himself…"
"And what about the light bridge?" Mii Swordfighter asked, with Piranha Plant walking towards Villager. "It's still out thanks to those flames engulfing the only path across and becoming impossible to get through without something to get us past."
"I just remembered something!" Captain Falcon exclaimed, suddenly remembering another pathway at the race track. The other five fighters turned their attention towards the bounty hunter, wondering what he wanted to say.
"There's another route we can find, back at the road we just wen through," Captain Falcon continued. "Once we hop into my Blue Falcon, we can drive over there and see what we can find to help us…"
"That sounds like a good idea," Sheik answered.
Later, the only one that hopped into the cockpit of the Blue Falcon was Captain Falcon himself. The other five warriors held on tight to the flaps of the hovercar since they all could not fit inside that one vehicle since it was originally designed to have one seat.
"Let's roll," Mii Swordfighter said, clinging on tight to the cockpit's window shield. The Blue Falcon then started speeding off, heading down south through the race track. Since there were no cars for distractions, they went through okay, the Blue Falcon moving at a steady pace so that the forces of the wind and the gravity don't toss the other fighters off. Afterwards, Captain Falcon's hovercar ended up at another area in just a few seconds, connecting to a path deep in a forest. The six warriors left the Blue Falcon at the race track, anxious to see what was waiting for them at the other pathway.
"I… don't really feel like this is the best idea, now that I think about it…" Captain Falcon objected, approaching closer to the forest with the rest of his team.
"Don't you remember what we said?" the Mii Swordfighter asked. "No matter how challenging and frightful, we need to stay together and…"
"…reawaken the undying light. We know," Sheik finished. "Let's just… get this over with…" The six warriors walked into the forest, keeping their eyes open for any intruders. Minutes passed, and Kirby, Villager, Captain Falcon, Sheik, Piranha Plant, and Mii Swordfighter were still traveling through the woods, confused as to why there were no surprises.
"That hill over there seems promising," the Mii Swordfighter remarked, pointing at a barren mound of grass near an ocean.
"Sure sounds peaceful," Sheik said, noticing a tiny point of black on top of the hill. "Suppose it wouldn't hurt if we saw what was on top. Maybe a special prize or maybe a trap."
"Whatever it is, we better be careful," Captain Falcon replied, walking towards the mounds of grass next to Kirby and Piranha Plant. The six warriors were now scaling up the mountain, walking up to the top. Once the team was at the very peak of the hill, there was someone waiting for them. It was none other than Link himself, wearing that blue Champion's Tunic of his and looking away from who he considered his friends.
"So… you were expecting to find something up here?" a mysterious voice spoke from the Link Primary. "Well, you found me – the servant of Demise known as Ghirahim." Ghirahim's image flashed on Link's back, showing off a thin, pale man painted in black diamonds and cloaked in red while a serpent-like tongue flickered outside his devious lips. Once the image vanished, the Link Primary turned around, glaring at the six fighters with glowing-red eyes.
"Suppose you want another fight as usual, huh?" Ghirahim inside Link's body asked, pointing the Master Sword at the warriors.
"Very well, then," the Link Primary finished, not even letting a single fighter answer. Without a second thought, Ghirahim snapped his fingers, creating the golden cages around all the adventurers with only the Mii Swordfighter left free. With his weapon in his hands, the ex-Swordfighter Ultimate Reborn looked back on his trapped friends before turning towards the Link Primary.
"Just you and me, kid!" Ghirahim inside Link's body yelled, floating up into the air. A vortex spawned behind the Link Primary, and the captured fighter grabbed ahold of the Mii Fighter, transporting the both of them to another dimension while the other five fighters were struggling in their golden cages.
The Mii Swordfighter slowly stirred up, looking around and noticing he was in Hyrule as it had appeared 100 years after Calamity Ganon's imprisonment. He was standing on the Final Destination version of the Great Plateau Tower, his sword in his hands as he faced the Assist Trophy trapped inside the Champion of Hyrule. A red cape appeared wrapped around the Link Primary's neck, and a long tongue flickered outside the captured Hylian's lips.
"If it's a duel you want, it's a duel you'll get!" the Mii Swordfighter snarled, dashing towards the Link Primary. The two challengers began clashing swords, tiny sparks flying off with each collision as they danced around each other, avoiding make any contact with the blades. The Link Primary then pulled out small but fast daggers, each one gleaming in red diamonds. They flew in a storm that were in a pattern that the Mii Swordfighter could interpret. However, just as the ex-Ultimate Reborn managed to avoid the daggers, the captured fighter teleported right behind Mii Swordfighter, using one powerful slash behind the Mii's back. The Mii Swordfighter quickly hopped onto his feet, the force of his sword's collision with the Link Primary's Hylian Shield pushing him back and causing him to stagger.
Ghirahim inside Link's body then started flickering his long tongue, dashing super-fast at the ex-Swordfighter Ultimate Reborn. The Mii Fighter successfully managed to set his sword on fire, rapidly jabbing at the Link Primary. Once the captured fighter was tossed right in front of him, the Mii Swordfighter unleashed a powerful fiery tornado, catching the Link Primary and engulfing Galeem's servant. Once the captured fighter was back on the ground, his face sooty and his blue tunic partially burned, the Mii Swordfighter conjured up electricity on his blade, using a powerful slash and sending the Link Primary to the blast zone, and with him was Ghirahim's Spirit.
The formula for the victory was the same as usual: the Final Destination version of a particular stage collapses into darkness while Shadow Bugs engulf everything, while the fighter free from Galeem's capture is frozen in midair, pointing the Spirit Sniper at a spinning barrier with a tiny hole to perfectly hit the Master Legendary Spirit guarding the awakened fighter. The Mii Swordfighter fired again, and hit perfectly, freeing Lord Ghirahim's Spirit as well as Link himself. The Shadow Bugs retreated as the area blinded in white, and both the Mii Swordfighter and Link were transported back to the hill they all were before.
Ghirahim's Spirit was the first to appear at the hill, glowing red with a rainbow aura around him. The golden cages that trapped the fighters vanished, and the servant of Demise instantly flew into Kirby's body, reactivating the stone inside the pink puffball. Kirby's eyes gleamed white, and he was about to experience another vision.
The pink demon saw himself back at the Sky Temple Training Arena, sporting the Smash Ball on his forehead again. Kirby had also noticed he was in some sort of hallway in the stadium, where there were beautifully-painted walls and doors lined up one by one next to each other. Traveling through was another firefly-like dragon, leading Galeem, Ultima, and Phoenix to their assigned room.
"Here's your room," the small, insect-detailed dragon spoke, handing Ultima the key to the door's lock. "Thank you for becoming part of the Dragosmo Training Camp. Training begins tomorrow. Meet at the central stage in the middle of the stadium as soon as you wake up."
"Thank you," Ultima answered with a kind heart. The firefly dragon zipped off while buzzing, leaving the three young dragons to enter their room. Ultima then inserted the key into the door's lock and twisted it with her mouth, gently pushing it open to admire how simple and quaint the room was. The walls and ceiling were painted white, followed by a clean, gray rug covering the floor. Three common beds laid next to each other, with an unlit candle on a small table on the rightmost bed's side.
"Quite… interesting…" Phoenix remarked, walking next to the beds while putting down his traveling sack. "So we would be staying in this room for ten years, right?"
"Maybe, unless we're good enough to be warranted a better position in the arena," Galeem answered, flying into the air and diving down onto the bed.
"Look on the bright side," Ultima replied, "at least we'll be able to make some friends while we're here. This is pretty much the first time we're allowed to take care of ourselves without mommy or daddy."
"You're right, Ultima," Galeem said, messing with his bed's blanket a little. "This place will change us in ways we won't expect. But like we three promised, we'll stay together no matter what."
"That's correct," Ultima remarked, slipping down onto her bed, watching the moon in the room's window begin to rise as the sun was quickly setting. "Tomorrow's another day, and there will always be unexpected things. Let's just get some rest. We start our training first thing in the morning, and we would become the best Dragosmos in the land. Besides, when we were all just a year old, I clearly remember our father trying to tell us about his friends learning about big responsibilities and accepting into reality to deal with their troubles."
"Suppose that message will help us in the future," Phoenix commented, snuggling into his bed.
"I hope so…" Ultima answered.
The three young dragons started sleeping in their chosen beds, falling fast asleep once the sky darkened and the aligned stars began shining in waves of white. Kirby simply watched, unaware of the bright light flashing around him and transporting his conscious back to Gallia once more.
Once Kirby woke up, he noticed he was back to normal again, not sweating as hard as before. Maybe it was all because he was starting to getting used to having these kinds of visions whenever he or his friends have reawakened the fighters from their Primary state. Nonetheless, the pink puffball found himself back with Marth, Sheik, Piranha Plant, Villager, Captain Falcon, and Mii Swordfighter. Once the six warriors heard groaning, they quickly turned around and gathered around Link, who was slowly waking up. The Champion of Hyrule sat up, adjusting his vision to see few of his friends gathered around him, as well as the new addition that was the Piranha Plant in a flower pot.
"You… saved me…" Link said, pointing at the ex-Swordfighter Ultimate Reborn. "Thanks for the help, Mii Fighter."
"It was nothing," the Mii Swordfighter answered, a little embarrassed as he rubbed his blond hair. "You can thank Sheik and the others, who were all saved by Kirby, the only hope off this planet." Kirby then grabbed ahold of Link's arm, helping the Hyrulian stand up right. Link then placed the Master Sword still in his right hand and the Hylian Shield in its left both on his back, his eyes gleaming a deep ocean blue and no longer holding the red envy that was Galeem.
"There was some sort of light bridge across that light chasm stretching out across the land," Sheik interrupted. "However, the path is too hot to even walk on. Do you think you can help us find what we're looking for to pass?" The Hylian placed a finger on his chin, looking down in thought.
"Not really, no," Link answered. "Thankfully for you guys, my Fighter Spirit seemed to have noticed a pipe somewhere around here. Follow me." The Champion of Hyrule then ran down the hill, with his six other friends following after him. Walking across a bridge to a tiny stub of an island surrounded by a stream of water, Kirby and his team noticed Link showing them a green pipe, one of which seemed to have come from Mario's land.
"What… is that thing?" Captain Falcon asked.
"Don't know," Link answered. "But apparently, Sonic the Hedgehog told us it's part of the Mushroom Kingdom as a means of transportation."
"I'm not going in there, what with that pipe lined with sewage junk and all," the Mii Swordfighter objected as Kirby and Villager looked down there. Piranha Plant squeezed inbetween the two fighters, looking down at the blackness of the green pipe.
"I think I've heard the blue blur saying it's always clean, no matter how long it's been around," Link answered, looking back on the ex-Ultimate Reborn. The Piranha Plant slipped his head down the pipe, and the carnivorous flower suddenly tripped and fell in. Both Villager and Kirby were shocked when the other four fighters quickly turned around and saw only the bottom of the Piranha Plant's flower pot and his two stubby roots sticking through suddenly vanish.
"The plant fell in," Link sighed. "Looks like we'll have to follow him regardless…" With confidence, the Champion of Hyrule quickly jumped into the green pipe, disappearing as well. The rest of the team then jumped in, one at a time. As expected, the pipe transported them somewhere completely different in a matter of seconds, and all seven warriors in the gang jumped out.
"Where… are we…?" Sheik asked, looking around at the strange new environment they arrived at. From what you can tell, Kirby, Link, Sheik, Villager, Captain Falcon, Mii Swordfighter, and Piranha Plant all appeared in a misty bog, filled with gaseous swamps and rotting vegetation. The opaque fog itself was colored a violet color like the amaranthine gas of the Subspace Army, and the leaves and roots covered and hid the cobblestone path.
This was going to be a bother for Kirby's group if they were ever going to get out of the bog.
