Night was seeping in, coating the sky in a twinkling river of stars. The cool breeze seeped into the dark caves that Mario, Marth, Joker, Olimar, PAC-MAN, and Donkey Kong with Faker and the Youngest Fab Fairy were traveling through. It took a while to get to the other side of the cave, but they noticed that it was pitch-black on the other side of the cave, with only the moon shining in the starry background.
"Looks like we're going to have to camp here for the night," Joker noted, admiring the stars without stepping foot outside.
"I'll get food and some firewood," Faker told the group, creating a fireball in her hand so she can light her way through the woods nearby.
"Be careful out-a there," Mario said, watching both the brown-skinned warrior and the Master Advanced Spirit they rescued head out.
"I'm going with her!" the Youngest Fab Fairy said, pulling out her bow and putting on her angry face. "She's going to need defense thanks to her amnesia!" Once the two were gone, the fighters all sat down on the ground inside the cave's exit, with the moonlight shining bright enough to show their faces.
"I… really wasn't expecting any of this," Joker sighed.
"Expecting what?" Marth asked.
"Well, expecting to have my life go so smoothly by being an average high-school student by day and a Phantom Thief at night, ridding the world of the sins that have plagued people's dreams…" Joker answered, "only to have it all crushed by the light and be one of the only few survivors out there that had their homeworlds destroyed and their closest friends transformed into these Spirits… I'm not really comfortable with traveling around the world, and yet I miss mine already..."
"You think you, that Piranha Plant, and the other four fighters you've mentioned before have problems?" Mario explained. "Before Galeem arrived, we were all stranded here, with no memories of our past, for ten long years. Never aging, never getting the chance to head back home. After Tabuu's first defeat, we had decided to settle on Arcadia as our new home… call us prisoners with no guard, if you will. The only one that seemed to have all knowledge with just about everything we have ever done was Sonic the Hedgehog. He claimed that he traveled to different worlds to look for his own friends, only to escape into Arcadia after solving the Master Hand's test and before being transformed into a trophy which renders… our amnesia. However, thanks to the events that had unfolded lately, we've been remembering a bit more about ourselves, even what powers we can use in these… Smash Balls…"
"Right…" Joker said, watching Olimar, PAC-MAN, and Donkey Kong cuddle close to each other and fall asleep. "Have any idea what that test even is? If there really was only one of these… Master Hands? I've heard legends of a giant, floating, disembodied right-hand made of silk that hides in the light realm of my world, and a chaotic, left-handed doppelganger lurking in the darkness, both of them in areas where we cannot reach. They say the doppelganger loves the darkness so much it resides in the shadow of its fraternal, and both have been described being one of many that roam every planet out there, which are by the billions, searching and wandering aimlessly. Few have survived and lived to tell the tale, and I thought that it was just another old-timer ranting about random crap… until I've been stranded here with you guys and actually came across one…" Joker ended his sentence with a slight chuckle, looking out into the pale stars twinkling the sky.
"Well, we really don't know what that test even is, let alone just a random capture and almost like… our souls ripped out from our bodies…" Marth answered, starting to trail off. Then, a brief image flashed in his head, terrifying the Hero-King a bit. The image itself was only a split-second long, but it was enough for him to remember it. It featured the Master Hand himself, placing his middle finger on Marth's face, his index and ring fingers on his hands, and his pinky finger and thumb on his feet, doing something to Marth that somehow showed his Fighter Spirit being separated from his body. As soon as Marth snapped out, Mario and Joker looked at him in a little bit of confusion.
"I'm sorry," Marth noted, followed by a yawn. "I'm just really tired and… lost my train of thought… Goodnight anyway." Without another word, the Hero-King fell fast asleep, wrapped in his own cape. Nonetheless, Joker continued to quietly chat with Mario.
"There's still a lot I have to get my head wrapped in about this world," Joker continued. "Like, for example, that girl that's been hitting on me as of late… Faker, was it? Yeah, she doesn't look like she's from around here, as I've never seen her among the warriors that have survived Galeem's attack. She doesn't seem like a pure-bred fighter either."
"I don't know, Joker," Mario replied. "She's neither of the World of Trophies or one of the few survivors of Galeem's attack. Maybe there's something more important to her than we think, and whatever is disconnected from her head may tell us anything about Galeem's intentions. If only we weren't separated from Kirby and the rest of the gang…" As soon as Mario was finished talking, Faker and the Youngest Fab Fairy returned, with Faker carrying a small bundle of sticks in one hand and two rabbit carcasses in the other.
"We didn't find much firewood, but hey! At least we have a couple of capons to eat for supper," Faker said. Mario and Joker looked at her, noticing she didn't hear a word of what they said since their conversation was private among them.
"About-a time," Mario sighed. "It's getting a little-a chilly here…"
"…I'll start dinner," Faker calmly pointed out, placing the sticks into a bundle at the center of the group, instantly making a campfire with a little effort in her powers. She then was about to begin skinning the rabbit bodies with her dragon blade.
"You clearly don't know how to cook," Mario objected. "Do you mind if we help you out?"
"Why, that would be lovely," Faker replied with a smile on her face. Both Joker and Mario slowly inched towards her, attempting to show her how to roast rabbits properly.
"I'll be guarding the cave," the Youngest Fab Fairy told the three adventurers, pulling out some sort of special arrow dotted with magical musical notes on the tip and resting it on her wooden bow. Everything else from that point forward was rather peaceful, making it through another night without a random ambush.
Morning dawned in, with the whole cast of fighters slowly waking up. The campfire died out, and there were rabbit bones with rather small bits of perfectly-cooked meat on them bundled up in a small pile next to the ashes. The group was slowly waking up, and they heard Faker's voice calling out to them.
"You have to come up here and see this!" Faker called out.
"There's a tiny village up here! We're sure to find something!" the Youngest Fab Fairy finished. Alarmed by this, Mario, Donkey Kong, Marth, Olimar, PAC-MAN, and Joker quickly ran out of the cave to meet up with Faker and the Master Advanced Mii Spirit. As soon as the six fighters met up with their two companions, they saw what appeared to be a medieval village. However, there was something different about this place, like it was mostly overgrown with vines, and everything was deserted.
"Mamma mia…" Mario moaned, uncomfortable in this situation. "This is the exact same problem when I was with Link, Cloud, and everyone else I can't think about right now when we visited the village the ex-soldier took shelter in…"
"Sure seems like it," Joker pointed out, pulling out his dagger. The Phantom Thief of Hearts then noticed to their right was the purple-foggy swamp, becoming denser than before, but he felt like it was not important right now. As the group of warriors were walking through the empty village, they felt like something was off.
"Guys…?" Marth asked, his hand on the hilt of his sheathed sword. "Do you ever get the feeling that we're being watched?"
"Sure do," Mario answered.
"Same here," Faker replied, setting her hands on fire and constantly looking around, keeping her guard up. Hiding in each house was a corrupted Mii Brawler and/or Gunner, with a mysterious figure with glowing-red eyes watching the advancing group, somehow undetected. However, once the mysterious figure moved, there was a rustle faint enough for the Youngest Fab Fairy to hear.
"Do you guys hear that?" the Master Advanced Spirit asked, pulling out her bow and arrow at the location she heard the noise coming from. The fighters quickly turned around to see what she meant by this, but when they turned around, they saw Faker already in her battle position, the dragon-tooth sword already pulled out.
For reasons unknown, she began feeling vibrations in the earth, sensing intruders that scampered around in the abandoned village. With her heart beating rapidly, Faker created a fiery ball and threw it with as much strength as she can muster. The exploding impact of the fireball and its targeted village hut caused corrupted Mii Brawlers and Mii Gunners to jump out, as well as the person who was stalking them: Lucas under the Galeem Lock. The possessed Mii Fighters surrounded the group, with the Gunners firing plasma blasts without warning. The Youngest Fab Fairy began to float in the air and fire her Dancing Arrows, hitting only a few Mii Fighters. The enemies were then forced to dance thanks to the arrows' spells, and they were easily distracted from Donkey Kong's powerful, one-hit punch that knocked them out of the village. PAC-MAN and Olimar then jumped on the gorilla's back, with PAC-MAN pulling out a trampoline and grabbing Olimar, and the Hocotate captain grabbed his Pikmin, lashing harshly with the little alien companions against the corrupted troops. Marth, Mario, and Joker all tried to run in towards Faker, who was trying to hit one of the Mii Fighters with her dragon-tooth sword. However, the captured Miis kept jumping out of the way of her swings and quickly approached the fighters that came to defend her. As a small swarm of Mii Brawlers and Gunners jumped on top of Joker, Mario, and Marth, brutally attacking, Faker tried throwing her fiery blasts at the Lucas Primary, who began absorbing the blasts with his PSI barrier. She knew that flames wouldn't be enough to stop the captured fighter.
After the Lucas Primary took another step, he generated vibrations that only Faker could sense, and there was something in her sense hearing that helped her predict her opponent's next move. The Lucas Primary then jumped into the air and began using his PK Thunder move, launching himself towards the brown-skinned warrior. Out of sheer luck, Faker twitched her fingers as she stood still, creating a large rock stub right in front of her and blocking the Lucas Primary's signature attack. Faker then spawned dirt and mud out of nowhere, wrapping it all around the captured fighter's body and trapping him with his head exposed. Faker then lowered the pillar that blocked the PK Thunder move from before, amazed by the new ability she had discovered. She then noticed Marth, Joker, and Mario finally pushing away the Mii Gunners and Brawlers, attempting to join with PAC-MAN, Olimar, and Donkey Kong.
"I got you a new friend!" Faker called out, pointing at the Lucas Primary.
"Wait… how did you-?" Joker asked before being interrupted by Marth.
"Now's not the time for questions, Joker!" Marth disrupted. "I'm gonna rescue Lucas. The rest of you take care of these Miis!" The Hero-King then ran towards the struggling Lucas Primary, avoiding the incoming Mii Brawlers and Mii Gunners. With a single touch, both Marth and the captured fighter were transported somewhere else, leaving Faker, the Youngest Fab Fairy, and the rest of the warriors to try and hold back the advancing troops.
Marth was slowly looking around, noticing the stage he ended up in was an Omega version of New Pork City, and the Master Legendary Spirit that was possessing the Lucas Primary was the Masked Man. In Lucas' world, his name was Claus and he was the older twin brother of the captured fighter Marth was facing right now, but the events that had unfolded in the past changed him drastically, making him into a cyborg void of emotion and personality, and that was just the look the Lucas Primary was going for. Robotic parts began forming on the captured fighter's body, covering half of his face in a helmet with only a glowing-red eye piercing through the right side, and a yellow-beam sword was pulled out from his left arm.
As soon as the Lucas Primary dashed towards Marth, the Hero-King quickly pulled out his Exalted Falchion, clashing with the beam blade attached to the captured fighter's arm. Jumping to and fro, Marth was striking the Lucas Primary with his sword, striking his opponent's main weapon. The Lucas Primary then generated his PK Fire move, forcing Marth to dodge to the other side. The Hero-King was rather safe, but he noticed the end of his cape caught fire. Quickly putting it out by fanning the cape, Marth quickly got up and continued the swordfight between himself and the Master Legendary Spirit that had possessed Lucas.
Slashing rapidly, Marth danced gracefully, moving as fast as the wind on the tip of the Exalted Falchion, watching out for any sudden movements of the captured PSI blonde. With a powerful dash attack, the Lucas Primary was about to hit the Hero-King, but Marth successfully managed to counter the hit, sending the captured fighter flying off with enough damage. The Lucas Primary then tried using PK Thunder to recover, generating an electrical forcefield around him, and Marth quickly hopped up and slashed downward before the possessed warrior could get the chance. Afterwards, the Lucas Primary was knocked-out, and the background of New Pork City collapsed into Shadow Bugs.
Marth was suspended in midair, pointing the Spirit Sniper at the Master Legendary Spirit that had Lucas' body. The Masked Man was in control of the spinning barrier, waiting for the Hero-King to miss. However, the Hero-King did not miss his mark as he sniped perfectly, freeing both Lucas and the Masked Man Spirit from the Galeem Lock. White mist flew out from the unconscious body that had been captured as before.
After an intense fight with the Mii Brawlers and Gunners, Mario, Joker, Olimar, PAC-MAN, Donkey Kong, as well as Faker and the Youngest Fab Fairy, managed to drive off the possessed warriors away from the abandoned village, emerging victorious. Marth appeared out of a vortex in midair, carrying Lucas' body in his arms as he landed safely in front of his friends.
"Did you take care of the Mii Fighters?" Marth asked.
"Got them real good," Joker answered, placing his mask back on his face. "They won't be bothering us for quite a while."
"I managed to rescue Lucas," Marth said, attempting to wake the blond-haired boy in his arms. Lucas quickly regained conscious, rubbing his head and showing the normal, cartoony-black eyes he had before rather than the red lights that replaced his sockets. He looked around, curious about where he was at.
"What… what happened?" Lucas asked, hopping out of Marth's arms.
"He saved you," Joker answered, his arms folded across his chest.
"Who are you?" Lucas noted, seeing the Phantom Thief for the first time.
"That's-a Joker," Mario responded, "apparently one of the few survivors of Galeem's attack. In our group, we also have Faker, and the Youngest Fab Fairy."
"Man, are you lucky, Joker," Lucas sighed. "I guess I'm just the little coward around here, huh?" The Youngest Fab Fairy then saw a large gate on the left side of the far end of the village.
"Looks like this is my stop!" the Youngest Fab Fairy cheered, departing from the group. The Master Advanced Spirit flew towards the gate, feeling the fighters a little questioned.
"You guys go on ahead without me!" the Youngest Fab Fairy continued. "This is the gateway to the Sky Temple, and I need the magic of my other two sisters to get through here."
"Um… okay?" Marth replied in question.
"We have to save the rest of our friends!" Lucas whimpered. "Who knows what kinds of terrible stuff Galeem is doing to them right now?"
"Probably nothing good, I think," Joker answered, not even knowing what the rest of the fighters went through.
"The next fighter we rescue might be able to help us in our mission to defeat the Seraph of Order," Mario said.
"Why don't we take a ride in that bus…?" Faker added, pointing to a bus that lead into some sort of cave, and the Kapp'n Spirit was waiting inside at the driver's seat.
"Next stop: the Red-Roof Village!" Kapp'n whooped while honking the horn.
"I think whatever end of the road is waiting for us once we get in that bus is sure to earn us something good," Marth replied.
"…Really?" Joker objected. "Because I just saw a pathway that leads into some sort of… swamp…? I don't really know… How about I go check it out inside the bus while the rest of you can head toward the marshes?"
"I don't think the rest of us see an opinion on why you can't go," Marth answered, shrugging. With a smirk on his face, the Phantom Thief of Hearts walked towards the yellow bus, stepping inside as soon as the door opened.
"You won't go far, right?" Joker added. The group shook their heads, knowing he would be safe no matter what was at the next stop. Kapp'n then drove off into the cave, leaving Faker and the rest of the fighters behind.
Minutes had passed, and Kapp'n's bus was moving fast enough to reach the next stop. Standing at the bus's exit, Joker stepped out, looking around the village he set foot in.
"I'll be waitin' here if ya need me," Kapp'n reminded. Joker then began looking around, amazed by how quiet the next village was, and it was just as dormant as the medieval town they had been in a while ago. Rain began falling from the sky, soaking Joker's raven-black hair and coat. Roaming the forest side of the village, Joker looked to his left, seeing the fissure of light erupting high into the sky, making it such likely that no one can get past no matter how high. Shortly after, the Spirits that had stayed inside of the village – Raiden, Ralsei, Stealth Elf, and Heihachi – appeared right behind the Phantom Thief.
"You should leave," Raiden said. Joker turned around to notice the four Spirits behind him.
"I'm just chilling here, minding my own business," Joker chuckled.
"What we mean is serious," Stealth Elf growled, pulling out her daggers. "Now you have to get out of here or the Shackrabs will arrive, as we told the last two travelers that ended up here…"
"Listen, buddies: I fight monsters all the time," Joker objected, smiling. "Simply adding stupid words to monsters won't make them any more terrifying."
"That name will be if you don't leave this instant," Prince Ralsei answered.
"Just let me take care of my job, and I'll assure you everything will be fine," Joker sighed.
"Good luck!" Heihachi said. "Don't blame us once the Shackrabs tear off your limbs and suck the marrow from your bones!" Joker simply stopped and shook his head.
"Why don't you people leave in Kapp'n's bus if you're so terrified?" Joker asked.
"We couldn't before… but we'll let you pass," Raiden answered. "Thank you for offering us a one-way ticket out of here."
"Don't mention it," the Phantom Thief noted. "Just call whoever's still around to evacuate. I'll try finding an objective that I can do." Joker then walked off, wiping the heavy raindrops from his mask. Once the rain itself cleared up a bit, Joker glared at his right, noticing glowing-red eyes and a white mist shaping what appeared to be Isabelle. The anthropomorphic puppy walked towards him, standing at about half his height.
"Aw," Joker teased. "Aren't you the cutest thing?"
"Who are you calling cute?" a semi-robotic voice spoke from the Isabelle Primary. "My name is Susanna Patrya Haltmann, former assistant of the Haltmann Works Company and daughter of President Haltmann!" Susie was shown to be the Master Legendary Spirit possessing the mayor's secretary, and she looked like she was clearly from Kirby's universe.
"Good choice of body possession, by the way," Joker chortled. "You look really adorable in that vessel. Too bad you're under Galeem's control and I have to kill you anyway."
"Say no more!" the Isabelle Primary snarled, hopping onto Joker's chest and transporting the both of them through a vortex that she herself had created.
Joker slowly kneeled up, adjusting his vision and looking around to see the Town and City from Villager's and Isabelle's world, watching the adorable little puppy deemed as his rival walking up to him, changing her form. First, a special visor formed on the sides of her face; then, her legs vanished as her skirt took a thin, bell-like form. Finally, her arms became detached from her body, pulling out a special blaster as her eyes began gleaming red and the white aura flashed brighter in envy.
"Us Spirits long for our freedom… but after what Galeem did to us, we have no choice…" Susie growled, running towards the Phantom Thief.
"I can spare you both, but you'll have to trust me," Joker sighed, trying to reconcile. "You can simply jump off the stage so there would be no harm done to either one of us. That way, you would be both free from the Galeem Lock."
"Whatever Galeem commands us to do, we have no choice but to listen," Susie answered, approaching closer. "Now, prepare to die." The Isabelle Primary then began firing her little blaster, not even flinching the Phantom Thief as the damage built up. When Joker received enough damage from simply standing there, the captured fighter then pulled out a squeaky hammer, jabbing as hard as she could as she shut her eyes and began swinging away. There was a little pain on Joker's knees, but that was just about it.
Hehe… she's cute, Joker thought, smiling at the damage Susie was trying to do. Well, it was worth a shot. Joker quickly took off his mask, releasing Arsene. The Persona quickly clapped his wing-like appendages, launching the Isabelle Primary far off thanks to her light weight. Susie inside Isabelle's body then quickly called in a special, top-shaped piloting robot with her special visor. However, the deadly bullets and flamethrowers did not prove to be enough as the rage was built up inside Joker and he slashed harshly with his dagger, knocking the Isabelle Primary into the blast zone.
"That was pretty anti-climactic," Joker teased, watching the incoming Shadow Bugs from the background of the stage. "Perhaps next time you should either choose someone stronger or put in a cuter Spirit…"
Time had passed on, and the sky was much clearer with mostly clouds back at the abandoned village. Kapp'n drove his bus out of the cave, and floating out were all the Spirits that were kept inside the Red-Roof Village, and Joker stepped out with a soaking-wet Isabelle in his arms.
"You're gonna be okay, alright?" Joker consoled, rubbing the unconscious anthro-dog's body.
"Hey, if you ever need me, I'll be at the lake next to the base down south," Kapp'n noted, floating out of his own bus. "I can assure y'all it'll be one heck of a trip." The turtle Spirit then flew off into the distance, never seen for a long while.
"Now all the both of us have gotta do is look for our friends… considering they went off without us…" Joker sighed, trying to keep Isabelle's body warm.
"Oh, they already left for the marshes," the Youngest Fab Fairy pointed out. "They can't have gone that far…"
"Great," Joker sighed with relief. "Thanks."
