The semiarid desert was dotted with cacti of all sorts of species, bathing under the heated light of the sun. Through the blazing, dry warmth, Kirby and his companions kept walking on the dusty path. Even though they stocked up on those Miitopian drinks, they were starting to run out.

"Who knew that our mission to purge the Lord of Light could be this intense?" Fox asked, watching the remaining droplets spill out from his Common Tornado Lemonade beverage.

"I know we have plenty of drinks to last a few days, but we need a faster means of transportation around here," Gilbert addressed, wiping his brow. "If only there was some sort of train to transport us across this wasteland…"

"Speaking of which," Bowser added, quickly noticing an old train station that seemed to be mocked up from the mid-1800's. There was a locomotive engine that was hooked up to three cabooses, running on a cart packed with charcoal. The fighters quickly approached the train station, checking to see what they could find about the place. Sitting on an empty stool was a Normal Novice Spirit. This Spirit was a Wester from Planet Popstar, his hat covering the top half of his face.

"You fellers shouldn't be here," the Spirit said. The Smashers noticed the generic cowboy enemy talking to them.

"Listen," Peach reminded. "We're just looking for a ride. We weren't here to intrude on your territory…"

"Intruding?" the Wester Spirit asked. "The only intruders in my turf are Galeem's varmints. Surely you ain't jestin'."

"And that's why we're here," Shulk replied. "We are on a mission to defeat the Seraph of Order and save your universes. The least you can do is lend us a ride on that train…"

"Sorry. No can do," the Wester answered. "Tracks have closed down five years ago and I haven't bothered to check 'em since."

"We can pay you," the Wii Fit Trainer objected, pulling out a bag of Spirit Points.

"The only treasure I ever love is the sweet, warm air of the desert I live in," the Spirit said. "Now y'all better vamoose or I'll give you mavericks a swingin'." The Wester Spirit pointed to the side of the train station, revealing a dried-up tree laced with empty nooses, some of them rotting away. In a few of the nooses are dusty, cracking skeletons covered in bits of green flesh filled with maggots and flies, though they were just for decoration to scare off the common fool. However, with the Popstar citizen, this was a rather serious deal. The fighters knew there was no other way to travel through the desert except on foot, so they turned around and walked away from the station.

Just then, before she took another step, Samus heard a faint clattering noise coming from inside the station. The armored bounty hunter started getting rather curious from the peculiar noise. Once she walked back to the train station, the other fighters saw her walking towards the Wester Spirit from before.

"Can I at least search through the station for supplies?" Samus asked. The Spirit lifted up his ten-gallon hat, confused as what the bounty hunter just said to him.

"This is rather strange," the Wester muttered. "No one's ever asked to go through my home. Eh… I don't see why not since I usually sleep outside. Just a fair warning there's nothing of value here."

"Thanks." The Smashers on the team watched as Samus slowly opened the door, poking her arm cannon through. She saw that the windows were boarded up, with only rays of light shining through, and multiple safes were already broken open. Dollars and coins were spilling out onto the floor, showing that the Wester really didn't care for riches. Kirby and his Supporter, Villager, Piranha Plant, Captain Falcon, Sheik, Mii Swordfighter, Link, Fox, Dr. Mario, Inkling, Wii Fit Trainer, Little Mac, Jigglypuff, Yoshi, Pikachu, Lucario, Bowser, Peach, Mr. Game & Watch, Pokémon Trainer, Diddy Kong, and Shulk all squeezed themselves through the door, taking a look around at the supposedly-abandoned train station.

"Everyone stay quiet," Samus alerted the group. "Whoever or whatever made that noise is still here…" When each of the Smashers was looking around in the darkness, Kirby and his friends heard the pitter-patter of footsteps running across the room. Each one of them kept their guard up as they continued their search.

"Stay where you're at," Samus said, pressing a small button on her helmet and illuminating her visor to the point it was a literal flashlight. "We know how to fight, so there is no point in resisting." They all suddenly heard the stranger trip while clattering against antiques. Samus quickly turned in the direction of the sound, her eyes widening slightly as she saw the figure that was hiding from them. The other fighters instantly saw who she was looking at, and it was the third fighter to survive Galeem's attack.

The person was clothed in purple, laden with brown leather and a pouch. He was equipped with a sword, and had a smooth mop of brown hair. He cried in shock as he saw all these peculiar warriors in front of him. Kirby and the gang were also alarmed by this complete stranger and backed away while screaming. However, the Piranha Plant pushed himself towards the figure they had found, sensing a familiar scent.

"Piranha Plant?" the stranger asked, recognizing the generic plant in that team. The Piranha Plant ran towards the stranger, hugging him ever so tightly. The figure laughed at that gesture, confusing the other fighters. He noticed the group of fighters the carnivorous flower brought along and pushed the plant aside to talk with the team.

"You know the Piranha Plant?" Samus asked, lowering her arm cannon.

"We've been together for five years before our separation," the stranger answered. "Didn't think I would find him here…" The stranger noticed the fighters still in the room, not even aware that he was a friend to the Piranha Plant.

"Do you… mind telling us your name?" Peach asked.

"My name is Ireburn, or Eleven the Luminary," the stranger responded. "However, you can just simply call me the Hero as they address me through stories in my homeworld, who's basically a descendant of the Line of Erdrick. I pretty much have a LOT of names, so you can just call me Ireburn or Eleven, whichever one suits you." The stranger, now introducing himself as Ireburn, Eleven the Luminary, or the Hero, noticed the lovable pink puffball in the group.

"You're the one who would save us all from the reign of Galeem, aren't you?" The Hero spoke to Kirby. The pink puffball pointed to himself, nodding at that remark.

"Quite an honor to be part of your team," the Luminary said.

"Now wait just a minute," Fox objected. "We don't even know you outside of your name and you don't seem trustworthy…"

"How would you feel if your world was destroyed by literal light and you were the only survivor?" Ireburn asked. The fighters were starting to wonder about that remark, thinking about what this could mean. From what Eleven had addressed, it seemed as though he had managed to survive Galeem's lasers.

"You wouldn't happen to be one of the members of the Forgotten Resistance, wouldn't you?" Captain Falcon asked.

"Of course I am," the Hero answered. "Why else can I instantly recognize this Piranha Plant? My survival had me involving using my wits… and a whole pack of spells."

"So… Ireburn… looks like we could use you on our team," Samus told him. "You said something about spells, so we can use it to our advantage. What 'ya say?" The Hero walked towards them, ready to take on this challenge to fight against the light itself.

"I accept," the Hero answered. Just then, the Wester Spirit walked in after hearing the commotion. He suddenly saw the Luminary Hero standing in the group of fighters.

"This the guy that was snoopin' around?" the Spirit asked. "Well, considering how I don't allow anyone to access the train due to unrepaired railroads, I suppose I can screw it and start the locomotive. You people clearly convinced me." The team of fighters then went outside back the way they came, watching as smoke was rolling through the locomotive's chimney.

"What're you fellers waitin' for?" the Wester Spirit asked, conducting the train. "Get on!" Each of the fighters got into one of the front cabooses behind the tank engine, with Kirby helping his red Supporter sit down. Once everyone was in their seats, the train started moving. The clanking and rubbing of the metallic wheels against the rough railroad forced the tank engine to ride at a steady pace.

Ireburn noticed the Supporter living peacefully among the other fighters, even though it sported the red eyes that the rest of its kind had. He noticed how caring Kirby was towards a clone of himself, especially when it was forced to restrict freedom among all of the multiverse's civilians.

"Hi there, little… Slime?" Ireburn asked, unaware of what Kirby actually was.

"It's…i-it's… Kirby," the pink demon answered with spattering.

"Any ideas on why a Supporter is on your side?" The Hero saw that the red Kirby Supporter was covered in bandages.

"...W-wounded," Kirby answered without trying to make a fool of himself.

"What he's-a trying to say is that-a these Supporters have Spirits trapped in them, meaning that they still carry their conscious, just without the will of freedom," Dr. Mario answered.

"I already know that," the Luminary said. "It's rather strange that these Spirits want to return to their individual universes, but Galeem is just keeping them in there."

"If you want your answer, then Kirby had swallowed it and is now inside of him," Link noted. "He got the stone from a friend, and he's been getting visions of the past that could tie into why Galeem did what he had to do and how he did not arrive sooner." Suddenly, the train somehow stopped, and its screeching tracks halted the tank engine right in place.

"Stay where you're at!" a voice called from outside. The fighters quickly got out of the caboose, noticing the semiarid desert thousands of feet from where they first met the Hero. They had stopped at the foot of an active volcano, its rivers of lava heating the surrounding area up to temperatures worse than the blazing sands. Luckily, right in front of the mid-1800's locomotive was a giant beanstalk that led up to an ocean of clouds. On those clouds were the Floating Islands. However, the group that stopped the train in general was the Zero Suit Samus Primary and her small group of three green Snake Supporters.

"Don't think you're going anywhere," the Zero Suit Samus Primary addressed, "especially when you're under the watchful eye of the Boss!" The image of the Master Legendary Spirit flashed on the captured fighter, revealing it to be the Boss from Snake's universe. The Wester Spirit, not bothering taking any part of this, flew away from the locomotive.

"Not again…" Link sighed, pulling out his Master Sword. The rest of the fighters, including the Kirby Supporter, prepared their weapons and got ready to fight.

"A Primary! I've been waiting a long time for this!" Ireburn spoke out loud, pulling out the sword that was passed down through his lineage after Erdrick with his right hand while markings of spells swirled around his left one.

"Be careful, Eleven!" Captain Falcon called out, blocking one Snake Supporter's jabs with his elbows. The whole group of fighters began spreading apart to avoid the chaotic rain of explosive grenades, missiles, and C4s that the Supporter team instantly sent out. Link managed to provide enough cover with his Hylian Shield, and both Fox and Yoshi got behind the Champion of Hyrule and spammed their individual projectiles.

Ireburn the Hero quickly avoided the blasts by creating a magical shield out of one of his spells: the Bounce ability. He was managing to reflect all these projectiles for a short while until he quickly grabbed the Zero Suit Samus Primary. Ireburn was ready to bash her head with his shield that was also passed through his family, but the captured fighter quickly spawned a vortex between the two, transporting then to the Omega version of Frigate Orpheon, where the Parasite Queen crawled about in her spinning capsule that was half-open.

"So you must be one of the Forgotten Resistance soldiers," the Zero Suit Samus Primary added, swinging her Plasma Whip. "Prepare to meet your fate!" The captured fighter used her Jet Boots to flip in the air and attempt to bury the Hero, but he quickly used another spell – Kaclang – to transform himself into metal. This move also granted him super armor for a short time, so he quickly followed up with the Kazap spell, electrocuting the Zero Suit Samus Primary.

The captured fighter quickly jumped and landed right in front of the Luminary, right when Ireburn, who turned back to normal, ran up towards her and ignited his sword with ice with the Kacrackle Slash spell. The Primary was quickly frozen in ice, allowing Ireburn to quickly follow up with a Sizzle spell. The captured fighter then instantly broke out of her icy prison, and she began swinging her Plasma Whip around her body.

"You're rather strong," the Zero Suit Samus Primary added, "for a newbie." The Hero then started blocking the captured fighter's whip with his shield. Ireburn then managed to jump above her and slash downward with his sword. The clanging of the metal against the futuristic space weapon that the Primary held ringed throughout the stage, but Eleven the Luminary managed to push the captured fighter off the edge. He then jumped up and cast the spell Zoom in which he launched himself high into the air and gimped the Zero Suit Samus Primary with the tornado that boosted him upward. Try as she may with her Jet Boot recovery, the captured warrior could not get back onto the stage.

The Shadow Bugs dissolved through the stage as the Primary was combusted at the blast zone. The Boss escaped from Zero Suit Samus and was now protecting them both with the barrier. The Hero was frozen in place as the Spirit Sniper spawned in his hands.

Well, this is new, Ireburn thought to himself, taking careful aim for the unconscious fighter. He noticed the only ammo for this weapon was Zero Suit Samus' Fighter Spirit, praying to get back. With that said, Eleven took careful aim at the bounty hunter and fired.


Electrocuting the last Snake Supporter until it dropped dead, Pikachu watched as the separated Spirit of Otacon floated out of the disintegrating Supporters and merged back together into one before disappearing into the air. The other fighters rested near the rough, cool rocks of the volcano. Kirby had noticed the puppet fighter of his was trembling, unfit for fighting against its own kind. The pink alien boy lowered down the battered mallet it brought along, helping persuade the Supporter.

"Look!" the Mii Swordfighter called out to his friends. "The Hero's back!" The other fighters saw the vortex both Ireburn and the Primary entered through appear right in front of them. As soon as Eleven the Luminary appeared carrying the sleeping body of Zero Suit Samus, the Boss Spirit and the white mist quickly entered inside Kirby. The pink puffball's eyes flashed white again, and he dropped limp to the ground.

"What's with him?" the Luminary asked.

"He does this every time we rescue another one of our friends," Link told him. "The Master Spirits bind themselves to the fighters through the Galeem Lock, and a special stone that Kirby swallowed is absorbing them just so he can see through the past. All we need to do is wait until we finish our mission and see through the Lord of Light's past. Right now, we have to move up to the Floating Islands, hit the beach, and sail to the island where the Rathalos resides." The Hylian started to climb up the thick Vine of the beanstalk, cautiously planting his feet on the humongous leaves. The Inkling and Lucario followed after Link, and soon everyone else was climbing the stalk. The Kirby Supporter took it upon itself to carry the original round icon that was paralyzed at the time on its back. Due to its recovery and deep intellectual understanding, the Kirby Supporter knew these fighters were trying to rescue the Spirits trapped within.


Kirby, hearing the voices of people cheering around him, woke up to see himself back in the city of Civiltatula. He saw literally all of the dragons in the world: Eastern and Western, single-headed and multi-headed, winged and wingless, alligator-like and serpent-like, feathered and scaled, and much more. They were all gathered in front of the large stump where the Dragosmo Solstice was held, which was located at the center of town. Kirby then saw a good portion of the crowd step aside to let Sozo, Hakai, and Ultima through.

The spectrum-winged dragoness was coated in the royal armor Ceresor had on him before, but it was downcast and dull in color, and she didn't even have the helmet on. By her side were the two sons the Lord of Arcus had, with Sozo holding a baton in his mouth and Hakai carrying the dirtied helmet. The soldiers of Arcus and even all the Dragosmo students marched behind them. Ultima's parents were also watching her coronation from the sidelines, and she noticed them filled with pride and hope for her as she made her way to the giant stump. Only Galeem and Phoenix were absent from the crowd.

Hakai and Sozo stood in front of Ultima once she got up to the stump. Her heart was beating fast, feeling insecure as she feared she would become a terrible leader. However, she wanted to fulfill Ceresor's legacy and not let his line die down.

Hakai sat up on his hind legs, grabbing onto the helmet with his front ones and gently placing it on Ultima's bowing head. The dragons in the crowd applauded over the crowning of the young dragoness. Then, Sozo slowly placed on the wooden rings of the stump the baton he carried along. The baton itself was coated with markings and ancient languages, swirling like the fires of the winged beasts.

"Play your song," Sozo told her. "Every new ruler must play a special song at least once in his or her life."

"But… I don't even have one," Ultima objected. Sozo then nudged the baton closer to her.

"This special relic can see through hearts," Sozo answered. "If your heart is pure, then you are fit to be the next ruler. Now pick up the baton and let it guide you on your way to the ultimate fight." Ultima, her question answered, picked up the baton with her mouth. She then flapped her wings and soared into the air, looking down upon the world's population of dragons. She used her right front paws to take the baton from her mouth and hold it, and adrenaline coursed through her spine as she saw her future.

The future of leadership. The future of nations. The future of Arcus can be led by her command as long as she is wise and just. With her heart stopping and her breath being held in, Ultima raised the baton and started to move it downward as fast as possible.

What startled her out of nowhere was an orchestra blaring throughout Civiltatula, and the baton she was holding glowed a vivid color. The music played through G major and B minor, and the melody according to Kirby was constructed in a similar fashion to Faker's song. Even though she wanted to stop, the baton's magic made her move through the music that played out of nowhere without any musical instruments in sight. Through one third of the song, Ultima noticed the rainbow swirls dance out from the baton she was conducting with. These swirls created a simulation around her, with each individual color acting out the Rainbolement they represented.

As the music went on, Ultima noticed the simulation was constantly changing, with the mists shifting into things similar to musical instruments and synchronizing in harmony with the melody the baton generated. Ultima smiled as the music stopped for a brief moment to hear the crowd chanting her name alongside her lifelong reign.

"Ultima! Long live the queen! Ultima! Long live the queen!" The armor she was wearing suddenly started to shift into a gorgeous platinum laced with the design similar to Tabuu's wings carved into them. Many different places also had gems the size of an average human's eyeball located on the armor, most noticeably on her chestplate. Once the song ended with a big finish, the rainbow mist splashed out in all directions, her armor flashing against the light of the sun. All of Arcus' dragons cheered that day as she descended back onto the large stump.

Ultima looked around, seeing her new people cheering for her as she gave the baton back to Sozo. Her parents flew towards her onstage and hugged her lovingly, much to her surprise.

"We're so proud of you," Toropikaru wept. "We had no idea you would become a literal queen of the world one day." Ultima laughed at that remark, breaking apart the hug with tears in her eyes.

"You can come stay at the Sky Temple if you want," Ultima told them.

"It's alright," Metallio assured. "We already love the simple life as it is. But we can still visit regardless! If only your brothers were here to see this…" Ultima blocked out the sound of the crowd cheering for her from her head, thinking about her own brothers. How they were left out in all of this.

Hours had passed, and a large celebration was held at the Sky Temple. While the guards were keeping a good watch over the place, Ultima was walking through one of Arcus' forests with Sozo and Hakai. As Kirby watched, he knew where this would go.

"I'm nervous, Sozo," Ultima explained. "How are my brothers gonna react when they see me as their new queen?"

"They will find out sooner or later," Sozo answered. "Besides, we need them as really important placeholders since we can no longer fly."

"But… can't you use Air or Magic Rainbolements to travel…?" Ultima asked.

"Wish we could, but our wings truly take us to new heights," Hakai noted. "Even though these two elements can boost our jump, without at least another wing these abilities are useless. The wings truly power the abilities that involve flight, and that basically makes us crippled to oblivion."

"Plus, we need Galeem and Phoenix to take our places as Lords of Light and Darkness," Sozo said. "Even though we had seen the struggles of their past catch up to them in recent years, they are still the best students in our own eyes. Traditions allow teachers to transfer the powers of the Seraphim of Balance through their best students when they are no longer fit. For that said, we have chosen your brothers." The three dragons then stopped in front of a big tree with a large hole at the top. The only way in was covered with a curtain, and the branches were decorated with small, white crystals.

"That's strange," Ultima remarked in wonder. "Usually crystals like these don't show up unless a new fertile egg has been laid…"

"I'm sure you may find your brother's surprise… unexpected," Sozo said. "This is also taking into consideration that even we don't know what is going on here." Ultima then took off into the air and landed in front of the large hole in the tree. She knocked on the wooden surface with her front paws, waiting for someone to answer. Much to her surprise, Galeem himself pushed aside the curtain to see his sister standing before him.

"Wow…" Galeem said, admiring the royal armor she was wearing. "What happened to you?"

"Lord Ceresor is dead," Ultima answered. "For traditional reasons, I took his place. May I please come in?"

"Of course," Galeem responded, walking inside. "If I had figured out my own sister was the Queen of Arcus, I would've thought about it sooner." When Ultima looked around, she saw the new home that her white-armored brother had found.

"I hope you don't mind the… unexpected company," Galeem said as he was approaching Medley, who was resting in a nest. Ultima was rather curious to see the golden-snowflake dragoness slowly and carefully lift herself up to reveal an egg. The egg was a pure white like Galeem, but spotted with the golden snowflakes of Medley. That right there was entirely real.

"I'm… I'm…" Ultima stammered with the good kind of shock.

"That's right," Galeem said cheerfully. "You're gonna be an aunt." Ultima admired the beautiful egg that was protected by Medley.

"I am… so amazed by you, Galeem," Ultima said with tears of joy. "You have finally become a father. Now, if you may, would you mind having to listen to what I say?" Galeem nodded, ready to accept the new queen's word.

"I need you to become… the new Lord of Light," Ultima continued, walking outside. "Sozo would not ask of this right now, but something terrible happened to one of his wings and can no longer fly." When Galeem looked down on the branch, he saw the scars where Sozo's left wing and Hakai's right wing were torn off. Seeing as how this was a great situation, Galeem was taking up thoughts into his own head.

"You're saying you need me to be the Lord of Light," Galeem said. "How come?"

"According to tradition, all Lords of Light and Darkness are teachers, and their best students take their places when they are no longer incapable of holding this much responsibility," Ultima responded. "Looks like you have no choice when others won't risk it. Don't worry about your family. They can be brought along too." Galeem looked back on his now-found wife Medley, who had just started getting ready by slipping a pouch on her neck and carefully rolling the egg into it.

"I accept," Galeem sighed. Ultima then glided to the ground and met up with Sozo and Hakai. Galeem and Medley slowly lowered to the soft grass.

"Now that we got the Lord of Light part outta the way, howsabout we find something for the Lord of Darkness?" Hakai asked.

"Don't worry," Ultima responded, heading off into the sunset. "I know just the person…" As the group of dragons journeyed to their next destination, the Smash Ball flashed on Kirby's head. His vision was now over, and he woke up with the Hero splashing cold water on his face.

"The rest of your friends said that your little vision was over, so I just thought I'd wake you up…" Ireburn responded.

"By the way, I'm also up," Zero Suit Samus, now free from her slavery, spoke out. Kirby saw both he an his friends already made it up to the Floating Islands and are now resting near a campfire. The sun was still high near the sky, so the sun was taking slower to set than normally.

"Now all we have to do is continue our mission," Lucario told everyone.

"But we just sat down and relaxed," Bowser objected.

"At this point, Galeem's forces are pulling out faster and stronger," Lucario answered. "Any moment now, they're going to overwhelm us if we're not careful. Let's get a move on then…" The Aura Pokémon then jumped from island to island, racing across the peculiar terrain. The Pokémon Trainer quickly called out Squirtle just so he could put out the fire with Water Gun. As soon as that was out of the way, the other fighters, including Kirby and his Supporter, followed after Lucario through the Floating Islands.


While that was going on, Galeem himself watched through the magical mirror on his crystal throne, admiring how Eleven the Luminary was fighting with the reawakened fighters.

"Looks like these brave warriors are getting stronger," Galeem said. "I suppose I could… advance my game a bit…"