Super Smash Brothers: Mysteries of the Pure-Hearted Soul Chapter 28: Marth's Theatre: Finale, a super smash brothers fanfic

Marth's Theatre (finale): Nox Sanguinis

This is where the last theatre ends. With the odds stacked against him, will Marth prevail? Or will he and the other Smashers be overwhelmed? The test to obtain the final staff piece will not be an easy one.

Before we begin, "Nox Sanguinis" is Latin for "Night of Blood". And it certainly is going to be a night of blood for Marth and his allies…

みんな、見ていてくれ! (Minna, miteite kure!)

A legacy represents what a person is best known for…

It details his or her contributions to a certain society and even to an entire world…

A legitimate legacy is formed by people who were affected by said person's contributions, including those who were or are close to the contributor…

Depending on the person's actions, a legacy may either be positive or negative…

However, some legacies are merely misrepresentations of the truth or even complete fabrications…

Depending on the motives of the fabricator, a person may be represented either as an exaggerated or false hero or as a supposed villain whose crimes were either nonexistent or greatly inflated…

Sometimes, the person in question may not exist or have existed at all…

Such misrepresentations can be debilitating to society, for they blind observers to the truth…

Opportunists may use the misinformation to further their own ambitious goals…

He had been attempting to escape for hours now, but to no avail. To make matters worse, since he was obscured from the environmental changes of the day-night cycle, time seemed to drag on forever, which only made each attempt feel more prolonged. Additionally, the environment was cold and cramped, which did not bode well for his body. He had tried to contact Lillian through telepathy and was only met with silence; like the collapsed Snake's Pit, the chambers were shielded from most forms of telepathic communication, though Marth was not aware of this and even began to assume that Lillian was deliberately refusing to respond. Falchion, his only chance of breaking through the glass, was stolen from him, and he was now just a mere sheep being prepared for the unpleasant fate that awaited him.

WHAM!

His right fist slammed into the glass, but nothing beneficial came out of the event. On the contrary, the failed attempt caused his fingers to ache and slightly throb. He ignored the pain, however, and continued to fruitlessly pummel the door keeping him sealed inside. The continuous string of attempts began to infect his attacking hand with a lengthy pain that would not fade with time, and he eventually decided to stop for the sake of his hand's physical integrity. Frustration hovered over him like an ever-present cloud, one that simply refused to leave him alone. He had done whatever he could to save Elice and the other Smashers from their respective situations, restore harmony to the kingdom, and defeat the Orm's Lords, no matter what dangers were ahead. And this was now happening. Additionally, the mere action of imagining the worry felt by the commoners, Malledus, and Caeda caused his skin to become even colder, nearly to the point where his outer body felt like ice. He was not sure if the Lords were already laying waste to the kingdom, but that mattered little as far as his mental state was concerned. Here, he could already feel the one thing he had feared the most.

Failure.

Not since he was forced to leave behind Altea during the Gra crisis did he feel crushing failure from the bottom of his heart. It was heartbreakingly terrible enough to watch a kingdom fall to the wrath of an enemy force and, worse yet, hear about his sister's capture. Despite clearly not being up to peak strength at the time, he felt like a total coward upon fleeing to relative safety. It was true that he would have not had the opportunity to save Altea if he had stayed behind during the invasion, but even now, thinking about that fateful day still caused him discomfort. Likewise, he had also feared for the stability of his kingdom and, by extension, his sister's safety during Hardin's unexpected betrayal and subsequent invasion.

With this new scenario, the heartbreaking misery felt even worse. Once again, the kingdom was severely threatened by an enemy force, but this new force was one that surpassed both Gra and Hardin in terms of raw power and sheer brutality. Civilians were murdered for the sake of advancing malevolent goals, several more were stated to have been converted into vampires, and the central town was nearly wiped out by Lina and her squadron. Several Archanean fighters were easily eradicated with the help of a powerful weapon, but even so, the Lords alone had also wiped out many more with just their magic. To make the misery even greater, Elice's transformation was almost complete, and the Smashers were still being held captive without any chance of escape. The final nail in the coffin was the barrier outside the hideout; if it was still present, then it would completely disallow anyone opposed to the cultists an opportunity at freedom, even if the building's hostile occupants were defeated. With all things considered, Marth felt sorrow, the kind of painful sorrow that overwhelmed his mind.

Elice would soon become a bloodthirsty being of the night…

All other Alteans, including Caeda and Malledus, would either die, suffer eternal slavery, or be converted…

The other Smashers would soon be murdered without mercy…

The entire kingdom would fall after the Lords made their final move…

He himself would eventually join the other fighters in death…

And the mission to reassemble the Staff of Björn would be a colossal failure…

Unable to fight off his emotions any longer, he silently released tears from his eyes. If this was how his adventure was going to end, then there was no reason for him not to quietly soak his face with salty water.

Thud…

As he continued to shed tears, he noticed three cultists emerging from the room's only door and then approaching his assigned chamber to open its hatch. This was it; they were going to do something unpleasant to him.

Hissssss…

As one of the Lords opened the chamber with a special key, the other two quickly restrained the Hero-King by his arms and proceeded to escort him to the destination. The feeling of dread increased by small increments as he passed through each room. Inside the hallways, he felt slightly nervous, but when he was introduced to the rotten environment of the Snake's Pit, he could already his heart beginning to race, if only by a small amount. Something had died inside the room, and he was not in the mood to find out the source of the putrid scent. Despite his visibility being limited by the darkness, the lights provided by the escorting foes was just enough to reveal what was in the center of the room. Corpses were suspended above an enormous hole that seemed to be endless. The feeling of dread worsened as Marth felt like there was something hiding inside what used to be a field for bloody fights to the death. Perhaps there was a hidden creature or weapon somewhere inside, and if it was still present…

The young king nearly shook as he was escorted out of the pit and into the tower, where the lighting was better. By this point, his heart was beating much faster compared to several minutes ago, for he was about to come face-to-face with a terrifying evil that would leave any lesser person paralyzed with fear. In fact, the tension increased with altitude such that Marth was close to shaking by the time he was brought to the tower's highest point. Impending doom awaited him. He was going to be its next victim.

Whoosh…

Now back inside the same room where he encountered the sacrificed woman, he was introduced to an image of Caeda, Malledus, Ike, and Pit, all of them gagged, ensnared by ropes, and surrounded by at least fifteen cultists. The barrier's color was much more visible in the night's shade of darkness, and this change introduced the king to an ominous aura that complimented the sheer darkness of the room. For some reason, the two Links, Zelda, and Ganondorf were all absent; Marth tried to figure out what could have happened to them, but with no success. Among the room's many bystanders were the Lindqvists and, more frighteningly, Princess Elice. The Hero-King almost allowed his jaw to drop as he realized what had become of his precious sister.

No… I cannot believe it…

She, now a full-fledged vampire, harbored a hungry look on her face. It was clear to him that she was ready to feast on, at minimum, one of tonight's victims. He could notice the way she licked her lips, which screamed her intent to kill. As he was brought to where the other captives were at, his eyes met hers.

"Hello, dear brother," the corrupted princess greeted. "I am so happy that you could join us for tonight's feast. It will be a wonderful experience, no?"

"I can't bear to see what you've become," he replied with hesitation. It came to his attention that, compared to the usual sweetness of her voice, she was speaking with a tone of teasing malice. If anything, the difference was so extreme that it caused him to wonder if he was even speaking to the same person that he called his sister.

"She's already becoming such a lovely addition to our organization," Lina giggled. Her whip was in full view, tainted with what appeared to be blood and partly resting on the floor. Clothing-wise, she retained her heels, but she was now wearing darker leggings with a knee-length skirt, a white blouse with a long-sleeved coat over it, and a golden ring on her left wrist. The skirt and coat were both colored a heavily darkened green. Right now, her fangs were not in clear view. "Without her help, we would have never gotten the queen and her advisor into our grasp. And I have not forgotten that your wife was the one who assisted you on the night of our first encounter."

"If you do anything to hurt my friends…" Marth started. Hatred was starting to boil inside his mind as he stared at his main adversary's subtle smile. If he was not stuck in his current dilemma, then he would have taken the opportunity to brutalize her until she could no longer remain conscious…

"Oh, what are you going to do about it? There is nothing you can do to get yourself out of this. Face the facts, dearie; your kingdom is doomed, and your army is crippled. Archanea will soon fall to the wrath of the Orm's Lords."

"And what did you do to the remainder of my allies?"

The whip-wielding vampire licked her lips as she was asked the question. "Ah, yes… the others. Ganondorf and his partners have already been taken care of. Kristoff and I were originally going to use them as blood sacrifices, but certain… circumstances forced us to slightly alter our plan. Regardless, there's nothing you can do to help them now."

Marth kept his head up as he prepared to ask another question. He desired to make his anger visible to the captain. "Tell me something, Lina, why did you attack my sister? What was your motive for recruiting her?"

Lina turned around to face the thirsty Elice while still speaking to the king. "Oh? Your sister's transformation was not my doing. The honor of bringing a monarch into our organization belongs to my twin brother, Kristoff."

The brother stepped forward as his name was mentioned. "Yes, it was I who attacked your sister on that fateful night, Marth. I came up with a plan to rip apart the monarchy from the inside, and so, I wished to convert one of your precious relatives. The task was initially delayed because of the rising security in response to earlier attacks, and a shortage of vampires, strongly due to many being reassigned to the frontlines in Rosträdgård, prevented the execution of my plan; most of the others, including Lina, were ordered by our master to keep the hideout guarded. Additionally, up until a week ago, I was in Rosträdgårdian territory to help Magnus Hedin bring Björnstad down. That mission was a serious failure, but, in a stroke of irony, such failure gave me the chance to concentrate on my plan. Thus, upon returning to Altea, I convinced one of your guards to let me inside the castle and sneak past defenses that would have otherwise posed a threat to the mission. You can thank the use of a special ability, one exclusively used by elite vampires, for a sizeable portion of my success."

"Please, dear sir and madam, I must speak with your princess immediately."

One of the guards, still out by midnight, nodded his head with a heavy heart. "We're sorry, but until the situation is resolved, we cannot let anyone into the castle at night."

"Hmph. Then you leave me with no choice."

ZAP!

"What the-" The bearded guard, an older man with a brown, receding hairline, leaped out of surprise as he watched his co-guard, a younger woman with red hair and blue eyes, get electrocuted into unconsciousness. Meanwhile, Kristoff grabbed him by the throat before peering right into his mind.

"Listen to me and listen well. You will let me into the castle without any second thoughts. Do I make myself clear?" As the vampire spoke, his eyes were glowing orange. The hypnotic color was enough to make the guard docile and unwilling to fight any longer.

"Yes… I will let you into the castle…"

"Good." The vampire watched as the guard gently opened the doors to the castle's main hall. With nothing else to say, Kristoff strolled into the castle and up to the throne room, quietly incapacitating other guards as he did so. Eventually, as soon as he reached his destination, he was met with an image of the one person he had been looking for.

"Hello, madam. It seems that you're still awake at this hour." In front of him was Princess Elice, still awake and in the process of getting ready to sleep. Her eyes widened as she stared at her unexpected visitor.

"Wha… What are you doing here?" she gasped. "How did you get past the guards-"

"That matters not. What matters is your conversion into my clan of brothers and sisters. Do not resist; you will play a role in dismantling this worthless kingdom."

Click…

"And if you attempt to flee or warn your relative…" Within seconds, he held the princess at gunpoint with his pistol. Kristoff noticed the worried look on her face as he slowly approached her, much to her discomfort. She was clearly hesitating, and that could prove to be her undoing.

Kristoff stared at the moon as he continued with his story. "She made the attempt to scream as soon as I was next to her, but a simple dose of hypnosis kept her mouth shut. With her mind under my gaze, I proceeded to give her my gift, a gift which has finally blossomed on this night."

"What an unholy bastard you are…" Marth growled, his face red with rage. "You attacked my guards and threatened to kill my sister if she refused to obey you… On top of that, you have now turned her against me… How could you?"

"It is all for the glory of the Svärtad Orm. I am sorry to see you and your allies resist us… You would have been excellent allies to our organization."

"It is a shame that you have already lost some of your loyal subjects prior to your supposed arrival," Lina, her accent still noticeable, added. "Had you arrived any earlier, you would have earned yourself the opportunity to save them. Of course, when my subjects and I first arrived at Altea, we were busy constructing the hideout and obtaining supplies from our base in Rosträdgård, so I am glad that you arrived much later."

Marth remained silent as he heard the seductress's words, yet his mind was seething with raw, unfettered anger. Hearing all the information, combined with Elice's full transformation and the loss of several Smashers, was driving him to the point of untamed violence. Furthermore, had he and the other fighters known about the presence of the Lords in Altea prior to any of the major events, this situation would not be happening. If only Lillian had arrived at the Smash Mansion at an earlier time…

Embittered, he only responded to Lina's last statement with a harsh stare. The whip-holding vampire was hardly fazed, however, and even approached the restrained swordsman to whisper into his left ear.

"You look like you are ready to throw a childish tantrum. Why must you be so filled with rage? Be happy that you will die knowing that your kingdom and the lands beyond it will be graced by the presence of the Svärtad Orm."

Spt…

"Go die a miserable death, Lindqvist." After spitting at his opponent's face, Marth filled his words with a caustic venom that would have caused most people to back away in fear. Lina was far from frightened, however; if anything, she was angered by her enemy's resistance and hissed in front of his face. Then, without warning, she grabbed him by the throat and whispered with a harsher tone of voice.

"You still resist me? I will tell you this, right now… Your efforts to stop me have failed! You have already lost, so you are better off admitting defeat and not making your death more unpleasant than it already will be. I will not fail this organization like the other captains have!"

CRACK!

After letting go and stepping back, the captain whipped the Hero-King at his forehead. The restrained fighter could feel blood running down his scalp and ruining the clean architecture of his hair, but he refused to scream or whimper.

"Prepare to draw the blood for their bodies," Lina, still angered, ordered. On cue, Kristoff, Elice, and two common cultists began dragging the other four captives to the center of the room. The queen and the angel were frightened as they were dragged to the table where the woman had been killed, the withered advisor kept his head lowered to avoid eye contact, and the muscular swordsman attempted to tackle a nearby foe before he was quickly subdued. Afterwards, he, now beaten down, was escorted to the table, unwillingly joining the others in a process that would invariably result in their deaths. Marth felt his newest wounds throb as he was sent to the cold table, and the pain they inflicted onto him only strengthened his desire to tear Lina apart. As all five captives were placed on the table, they noticed one cultist, slightly larger than the others, pulling out a blade that appeared nearly twice the length of Ike's Ragnell and wide enough to cut someone in half with a thrusting motion. It was made of polished steel and had no visible blood or scratches on the surface, but if the captives remained where they were at, that would inevitably change. Marth, due to not being ensnared by ropes, was held in place by two Lords. Four hands were on his body: one on each wrist, and the last two at his throat. As he watched the blade rise to kill its newest victims, his mind entered overdrive. He had to do something, but what…?

Then, it occurred to him that one of the cultists was standing at a spot where a sweeping attack could knock him down. However, the Hero-King's nearest leg was not in a comfortable position to attack; if anything, it would have to stretch all the way to the side to earn a clean hit, and such an attack was not guaranteed. He would do well to act fast, for if he telegraphed his next move…

SWEEP!

After a short breath, Marth immediately knocked down the cultist on his right side, just seconds before the blade could behead him. He then shoved his other captor into the blade-wielding threat, all to the shock and dismay of the other Lords. While several attacks were thrown at him, he armed himself with the bulky sword and used the table as a shield.

"Damn!" Kristoff yelled. He pulled out his pistol to execute the other captives, only to be stopped and stunned by a swift headbutt from Ike; the blow also resulted in the temporary loss of his weapon. As Marth proceeded to slaughter the Lords that approached him, Lina snarled and pulled out her whip, its fierce thorns ready to cut through flesh. Additionally, her fangs extended from the upper gums in response to her changing emotional state. She had just about had it with the young king and his efforts to derail the resurrection, and she was now desperate to kill him, once and for all.

"YOU HAVE BEEN A THORN IN MY FUCKING SIDE FOR TOO LONG!" Her voice was ear-piercing and filled with undeniable rage, as expected of someone extremely desperate to kill her greatest enemy. Meanwhile, Marth proceeded to cut off the ropes and gag from Caeda, whom he had removed from the table.

"Thank you, dear husband," the queen sighed with relief. "I would not have lived if you hadn't-"

"Don't thank me yet," the king interrupted. "You must leave this room as quickly as possible. Take Malledus with you and try to find a hiding spot inside this building. Once I am finished with Lina, I will search for a way of disabling the barrier."

"I shall leave with all due haste." As Caeda carried the elderly advisor with her, she was immediately detected by Lina, whose rage only continued to rise.

"AFTER HER!" the vampire barked. While the ten cultists attempted to attack the queen, they were distracted by Marth, whose ownership of a weapon was more than enough to make him a considerable threat. By the time he slayed two foes, all while using the table as a way of defending himself, his wife and advisor were already outside the room, forcing the cultists to chase after them. Pit leaped from the table to escape, only to be shot in the back by the recovering Kristoff; the male vampire had also punched Ike across the entire radius of the room.

"And you believed me to be completely helpless, Lina?" Marth questioned. "You should know that I find a way to overcome even the toughest of situations, but I suppose that doesn't strike you as noteworthy."

"I should have eliminated you on the day your army wiped out most of my subordinates," Lina, now close to attacking, hissed. While speaking, she noticed Pit hopping his way out of the room and getting shot by Kristoff at least three times. "Too long have I been forced to let you live, but no more. This time, I will spill your blood onto the cold ground."

"Hrgh…" Kristoff growled. He had shot the angel at least three times, but while his target was injured, he was still alive and not ready to succumb to a quick death. After barely avoiding a fourth shot, Pit utilized his body to open the exit and hop into the hallway. Like a desperate prey seeking to escape its predator, he hopped off the balcony and onto the stairs below, with painful results.

Crack!

I wish I can use my wings right now, he stated. Still unable to run, the angel resorted to rolling across the stairs, resulting in dizziness that refused to die. To him, the stairs were attempting to wrap themselves around his body, but they could not do such a thing. Meanwhile, as Kristoff exited the tower's highest room to pursue his prey, Marth was left to do battle with Lina and, to his complete dismay, Elice. He was aggressively attacking the captain with whatever strength he still had in his possession, yet he refused to attack his corrupted sister. Ike was struggling to stand up after colliding into a wall.

"Are you too scared to fight me, dear brother?" Elice quietly taunted. She easily noticed the hesitation on her brother's face when it came to doing battle with her. "You refuse to turn your blade against me, but it matters not whether you do so; your mission will still end in failure."

"I wish to save you, Elice," Marth replied. "If I can reverse your transformation, then I shall not strike you down. I would never forgive myself if my actions resulted in your death."

CRACK!

"Too late, Marth," Lina interrupted, swinging her whip as she did so. "Your sister is fully under my brother's control." Without further hesitation, she summoned the paralyzing mist from her hands, but the Hero-King rolled away at the right moment. A single swing of the whip struck him at the chest, tearing holes into clothing and resulting in further bleeding. While recovering from the blow, he was forced to push away his attacking sister, whose fangs were seeking to tear through skin. His temporary weapon was then jammed into Lina's chest, resulting in a brief fit of snarling from the captain herself.

"Try dodging this," she hissed. Her right hand conjured a powerful sphere of darkness that, upon its launch, left Marth soaring for a few meters. Elice, adding on to the assault, dragged her younger brother into the air before tossing him like a ragdoll into the cold table.

WHAM!

Besides the table nearly cracking upon impact, Marth felt excruciating pain in his back, so much so that he was struggling to sit up for another attack by his corrupted sister. On one side of the room, Ike could only watch as his co-Smasher was grabbed by the throat before taking a nasty punch to the abdomen. It was outright painful to see the horrific event unravel, and the mercenary's inability to help only worsened the sickening feeling in his heart. If only he knew the location of Ragnell…

Desperate to do something beneficial for the periled king, the mercenary, despite the risk of encountering Kristoff and the common Lords, hopped out of the room to search for his weapon. As much as he despised leaving an ally to fend for himself or herself, he failed to realize any better option. Since Lina and Elice were busy attacking Marth, they failed to notice the only other occupant of the room leave without a trace.

POW!

"Has it not been made clear to you already?" Elice, whose fangs were in full view, asked. "No matter how hard you try, you will neither reverse my transformation nor derail the eventual resurrection of the Svärtad Orm. After all that you have done to the glorious Lords, you deserve to suffer in a slow and painful manner. There is nothing that you or anyone else can do to prevent your fate."

"Elice…" Marth gasped. His ribs, after the earlier punch, were aching to no end. Combined with the blow to the abdomen, this injury was giving him significant difficulty in breathing. "You must fight it… Don't let that bastard control you… He and his sister are seeking to ruin our kingdom and the lands beyond it…"

"Aw… You still resist the Lords? What will it take for your determination to be shattered into tiny pieces? Let's find out." While kicking the fallen blade away, the princess lifted her near-defenseless brother by the throat before tossing him right into the whip-holding Lina, who proceeded to strike him with an icicle.

Inside the throne room…

"Search the area for them," one of the cultists ordered. At this point, Caeda and the still-restrained Malledus were hiding underneath the bed originally used by the Lindqvist siblings. Their spot was the only place in the room where they could not be seen in plain sight, and the only way they could detected, sounds aside, was if the lengthy blanket were lifted. Even so, the queen felt her body grow cold upon realizing that fact, for the Lords were far from gullible and would perform everything to make sure the sweep was completed.

Stay quiet…

Although the thought was simple, it was more than enough to keep her mouth shut. Her eyes were on her advisor, who also made sure not to draw any unwanted attention. As the minute passed by, the cultists checked every possible hiding spot, excluding the bed's underside. Tension loomed in the air as the possibility of an encounter increased with each spot cleared. Freezing sweat rolled down the queen's face. Malledus, on the other hand, remained motionless and unusually calm. He was not visibly afraid of the sinister cultists, though nervousness was present on his mind. Besides the threat of discovery, he was more worried about the status of Marth and his foreign allies; they had come this far in the adventure and, by the hand of misfortune, were now experiencing terrible luck. It also did not help that Princess Elice was being controlled by the Orm's Lords, specifically by Kristoff's "gift" to her. The advisor could not bear to witness the innocent woman slaughtering civilians, and this thought was so attached to his mind that he failed to notice one of the cultists approaching the bed.

"…?" he quietly vocalized. The lighting in the room was dim, but it was still powerful enough to provide some visibility to the Lords, a factor which could prove deadly to the two Alteans. Caeda felt even colder as the robed woman slowly lifted the blanket from the ground…

Bang!

"MMMMMMMM!"

"…!" Caeda nearly shook as she overheard the loud bang from the tower's interior. Something noteworthy was happening inside, but what could it possibly be? The Lords, including the would-be discoverer, halted their activities as they realized what was occurring.

"It seems that Brother Kristoff is in pursuit of an escaping enemy," one of the cultists whispered. "If that enemy is approaching our location, then we should head inside the tower to assist our secondary commander." Abandoning their original mission, those in the hunting party retreated to the tower to assist the pistol-wielding vampire. A minute after the footsteps faded away like a dying orchestra, Caeda utilized her spare time to free Malledus from his restraints, but not before dragging him away from the bed.

"Thank you, my dear," the advisor, coughing after his gag's removal, commented. "The rope was starting to become unbearable. For now, we should be safe, but I'm strongly worried about Marth's status."

"Even I am uncertain about his victory," the queen replied. "However, we cannot assist him in his fight; that vampire and Elice are powerful enough to kill us if we try to interfere, and I do not have my Wing Spear with me. The only thing we can do now is retreat to the front entrance, where the Lords are not as likely to discover us."

"We must leave before those cultists return." Just before the two could leave, however, they were confronted with the sound of something heavy slamming against the door behind them.

"…?" The queen, unsure of what could have produced the sudden noise, approached the tower doorway with extreme caution. For all she knew, it could very well be a Lord who decided to stay behind and investigate the room one last time. Keeping air inside the confines of her chest, she gripped the handle, held it in place for approximately five seconds, and slowly turned it…

Rrr…

"Ike?" Caeda was presented with an image of the Crimean mercenary, safe from Lina's wrath but still restrained by ropes. Grunting was heard from his mouth, albeit muffled due to the gag's presence. Wasting no time at all, the queen quietly freed her ally from his restraints.

"Thank you," the mercenary muttered. He wiped the dust off his arms before cracking his knuckles together. "For a moment, I believed that I would never be freed from these harsh ropes. Now that I can use my arms again, I should search this building for Ragnell. The Lords must have stored it in another room."

"You are aware that there may be more of those cultists in your path, correct?" Malledus asked with a concerned tone of voice. "I suggest you keep low during your travel, or they will end your life in seconds."

The mercenary stared at the doorway leading to the main hall. He was unsure of how many Lords were waiting for him, but he was not going to let them frighten his body and spirit. "I am fully aware of the possible threats, but I simply can't wait here. Right now, Marth is in trouble and I need to rearm myself if I am to help him. Besides, the thought of him getting slaughtered by his own sister… It profoundly disturbs me."

"If you are so determined to save my dearest husband, then we will not stop you," Caeda commented. "Find your sword as quickly as possible. We will retreat to the main entrance."

"I shall." As Ragnell's wielder dashed into the main hall, the queen and her advisor followed suit, taking a different route only upon nearing the doors to the outside world. Ike dashed into the pathway initially taken by the Links and Zelda.

Inside the tower's peak…

CRACK!

"Damn!" Marth failed to immediately sidestep from an incoming strike by Lina. Oozing cuts formed on the back of his right hand, staining his skin and weakening his body even further. His left foot struck the captain at her abdomen, but just he was about to slam a fist into her face, he was grabbed from behind by his sister, who slapped him to the ground. At this point, it was clear to the young king that he could not hope to take on two major threats and live afterward, especially since he was refusing to battle one of them. Even the sword he dropped would not help him in the long run.

"I must leave," he gasped. With the strength left in his body, he began a hurried retreat from the room. Just seconds before he could grab one of the handles, he was slammed into the doors by Elice, whose ability to levitate was truly working to her advantage.

"Going somewhere, little brother?" the princess asked. As she spoke, she held her victim against the doors and kept his head up. "You are not leaving until the last drop of your blood falls from your body, and we vampires will make sure of that."

Squelch!

"Elice, stop this madness!" Marth felt immense pain as his sister sank her fangs into his wrist. Left with no other choice, he kicked her at the abdomen before pushing himself away. Blood poured from his newest wounds and did so with heavy viscosity, and had an artery been punctured, his bleeding would have been significantly worse. He opened the door to the tower's base and began sprinting to safety, all while avoiding attacks from Lina and Elice, their fangs still thirsty for blood.

Inside the Snake's Pit…

"Turn on the lights in this room," Kristoff ordered. He and the cultists from the bedroom were searching for Pit, whose exact location was now unknown. No doubt, the angel was utilizing the darkness to his advantage, and such trickery would not be forgiven. As one of the subordinates traveled to the podium's area to locate the power switches, the others searched the seats with magical lights in their hands. Meanwhile, Pit was hiding within the bottom row, fearing for his life. The ropes were not granting him the opportunity to travel quietly, and the fact that the lights were swiftly approaching his position only caused his heartbeat to beat even faster. If only Lady Palutena was witnessing his situation…

Please go away, go away…

His mind shivered uncontrollably, for he could still neither fly nor defend himself in fierce combat. Additionally, the ropes were very irritating to his body and felt like they were squeezing him to death. His attempts at keeping his body still were mostly successful, but even so, there was no guarantee that he would remain hidden forever. After all, the Lords loved the darkness. Their eyesight supposedly worked best in that element…

Click… Click…

The red lights suddenly tearing through the near-empty arena pushed his heart into overdrive. With the better lighting, he was now at much greater risk of being spotted and possibly killed; although he was an angel, he could still be slain if his wings sustained extreme damage. Owing to the raw potential of the Orm's Lords, especially on the part of the leaders and even when excluding the use of deadly contraptions, he would be lucky if he even survived a solo battle against a large group.

Stay calm, Pit, he remarked to himself. You can stay hidden for a little bit longer. Just give 'em a couple of minutes and they'll leave the room. Yeah, you don't wanna be caught…

Tap…

"I heard something," Kristoff whispered. "It came from the bottom row." As the vampire led his squadron to the destination, Pit realized his greatest error. One of his feet just contacted a steel pole holding up a few of the seats, and because he had not checked out the view behind him, he did not realize the cold object's presence until it was too late. Now he was going to suffer. Only a miracle could save him from this terrifying scenario.

"If that angel thinks he can hide forever…" the vampire hissed. By now, his group was zeroing in on Pit's position, close to recapturing one of the night's potential prey. Kristoff himself was licking the tips of his fangs, for he, like his sister, was thirsty for blood. Now that his mind was on the subject, he began wondering what an angel's blood tasted like…

Snap!

"Ow!" the young Smasher yelped. He was easily detected by a cultist in the group, whose eyes were strong enough to spot even the smallest of abnormalities. Her hands gripped the back of his neck so tightly that it nearly left red markings on his skin, but the pain was insignificant compared to the fear he faced upon staring into Kristoff's reddened eyes, those ocular windows of subdued malevolence.

"Did you truly believe that your efforts to escape me would ultimately be successful?" the vampire asked with acid in his voice. "You were a persistent one, but even angels cannot escape the wrath of the Orm's Lords. I should never have given you the Hjärta serum during the first two nights. Oh, and it seems that one of my bullets tore through the rope around your body, not that it matters in the long run. Now, I would kill you right on this spot, but I have a better idea in mind…"

Whoosh…

"I shall drop you into this pit and see if your wings can take you back to safety. Good luck breaking free from your restraints." After tasting some blood with the help of his fangs, the floating vampire dropped the angel into the darkened hole that was once the place for bloody battles. While descending to the bottom, Pit realized that what his foe had stated was true; indeed, there was a spot near the top of the ropes that was nearly broken by one of the bullets, but trying to completely sever the line with his hands was out of the question. The restraints around his body forced him to consider perhaps the only possible method of escape: biting the weakest point of the rope.

Gotta bite my way outta here, the longtime servant of Palutena mumbled to himself. As the area around him darkened at an exponential rate, he chomped on the rope's nearest vulnerability. His teeth suffered strain as he was forced to rip apart the tough material from which his main restraint was formed, and the gag made the task even harder. Time slowed down as he was brought closer to an unpleasant fate that could leave him damaged beyond repair, even if his status as an angel did allow for some degree of immortality. Several pulls resulted in the weakened area completely breaking, but the task was not yet over. He still needed to untangle what was left of his restraints.

C'mon… I don't wanna be crippled for life… Break free already!

After moving the broken ends to his sides, he expanded his arms outward to loosen the rope. His attempt at doing so was partly successful, although his wings were still stuck. All four limbs were pushed to their physical limits as they worked as quickly as possible, and despite a certain phantom causing some burning in his muscles, he successfully freed himself, thus allowing an attempt at saving his own life. His underdeveloped wings were like a young bird's equivalents attempting to obtain flight without prior training, merely slowing his descent and failing to offer any increases in height. The impact was hard and nearly cracked the bones in his legs, but in the end, he was still alive.

"Mmm…" he moaned, removing the gag from his mouth. "That was rough, but hey, it could've been worse. Now, I need to get out of… Oh, wait, I can't fly. Dang it, I'm stuck here. How am I supposed to help Marth now?" Without nothing else to do, he chose to remain at the bottom of the shaft, which was now devoid of deceased Jord-Marodörer.

With Marth, inside the tower…

ZAP!

"No!" Marth yelled. An electrical strike from Lina paralyzed his legs, causing him to fall over and uncontrollably roll down the stairs. His jaw suffered the full impact and nearly cracked, though his ribs also took some damage. In the middle of his descent, he noticed that Elice was hovering right above him, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. The smile on her face was truly one of the most malevolent he had ever witnessed, nearly scaring the soul inside his body. The redness of her eyes and her fanged smile were a combination that would outright frighten any lesser fighter, so much so that an unlucky commoner would not even have the luxury of immediately fleeing due to fear-related paralysis.

Whoosh…

Without any chance of defending himself, he was grabbed by Elice and then dropped into the bottom of the tower. The fall was not long enough to kill him, but it did leave him with more cracked bones and bruising. His escape from the tower's cold interior was not a gentle one; as he diverted his energy to dashing as quickly as possible, his injuries, older and newer alike, continued to coat his body with concentrated layers of pain and reduced the level of stamina he could hold. Additionally, the wounds on his scalp were physical cracks that threatened to grow as they were subjected to the blowing air. Passing through the bedroom and reentering the ominous hall, Marth felt his skin grow colder due to the slight change in atmospheric temperature.

BANG!

The doors behind him were slammed open as Elice continued her pursuit. Lina was also giving chase, although her traveling speed was slower than that of the corrupted princess. The Hero-King pushed his legs to the absolute limit of their strength; this action would be all for naught when Elice, who was far too fast to escape from, knocked him to the floor. He stood back up and sprinted towards the door utilized by Ike, only to be grabbed and kicked by his sister. She utilized the door to repeatedly batter his skull, with painful results for her victim.

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

His head was ready to burst into bloody chunks, this he swore. On top of the excruciating pain, his attempts at escaping were always cut short thanks to Lina, who had caught up with the Altean duet. Her whip soon left his lower body beaten and horribly cut up.

"Are you giving up now?" the captain taunted. Satisfaction filled her mind as she watched her opponent slowly suffer, and the fact that he was being attacked by his own sister only amplified said satisfaction. "It doesn't matter if you do so or not, for your fate is already set in stone. Once your sister decides to stop your beating, we will use your body as a source of nourishment before you die."

"Elice, stop…" The Hero-King could barely keep himself conscious anymore. Even after Elice ceased her assault, his throbbing injuries continued to drain him of energy. This adventure was turning into a living hell for him if it had not done so already. With nobody to support him and no viable way of escaping from his torture, he was already hitting a dead end.

No more pain… Elice, please control yourself…

"Do you have anything else to say, dear brother?" he heard his sister whisper. "Don't be afraid to speak up; I am more than happy to hear your final thoughts."

"I know you may want to act otherwise, but you must free yourself from Kristoff's control. You cannot allow yourself to be used as a pawn for evil intentions. I don't want to see you murdering innocent people, and even if I cannot kill that unholy man, I still believe that you can rise above pitiful parlor tricks." His vision repeatedly faded to black before returning to normal status, making it somewhat difficult for him to keep focus on his sister's reddened eyes. Off to his left, he noticed Lina's whip, dangerously close to him and ready to resume cutting his flesh.

"Such a hopelessly optimistic statement from you," the captain hissed, dragging the king away from the door. "Words cannot separate Elice from her wonderful gift, and you know this. Princess, be a dear lady and kill this pitiful man, will you?"

"I shall," the young woman replied. She shoved her weakened brother into a wall and prepared to draw blood from his neck. Regrettably for her, she did not have the time to pierce his neck upon hearing hurried footsteps from the nearest door. Confusion arose as both vampires attempted to figure out who was going to emerge from the next floor up.

WHAM!

The answer came much sooner than anticipated. The person rushing into the fray was none other than Ike, his arms carrying Falchion, Ragnell, and Pit's blades. Without hesitation, he utilized the flat side of his blade to knock Lina down before shoving Elice away from her brother. Marth, still barely clinging to consciousness, sat up as he noticed his final fate being averted by his co-Smasher.

"If I took too much time, I apologize," the Crimean grunted, dropping Pit's weapons into a nearby corner. "The container holding our weapons required extreme force to break, but we should now be able to properly take down Lina."

"Thank… you, Ike," the Hero-King coughed. With Falchion back in his hands, he was now equipped to eliminate the whip-holding captain. The emergence of Kristoff and his group failed to shake his confidence, but they, along with his sister, were still a cause for concern.

"Evening the odds, hmm?" the leading vampire quipped. "I will give credit to your persistence. While most other opponents have given up and submitted to our wrath and power, you still hope to defeat us. Such loveliness… However, we will not let you derail our mission. Mark my words, your bodies will be broken by the time of your inevitable defeat."

"I beg to differ, madam," Ike retaliated. "Whether your group is powerful or not, Marth and I still have a chance to drive your group out of the kingdom. We will suffer greatly, but if we defeat you, then our sacrifices will be worth the pain."

"Enough of this," Kristoff sighed. "It is time to intensify this battle." With a loud bout of hissing, a subtle but sinister portal emerged from the ground in front of him. Both swordsmen were on high alert as they anticipated what was going to join the battle.

Whoosh…

What suddenly crawled from the portal nearly sent Marth into total shock. Converted Alteans, complete with pale skin and vicious fangs, joined the battlefield in seconds. Their loyalty was no longer to the kingdom they once stood by, for they were now aligned with the cultists seeking to deliver ruin to all who opposed them. Like the Lords, they were eager to spill blood, and with the advantages of a vampire, they could easily pull that action off. Staring into reddened eyes, Ike finally realized where the converted citizens had been hiding the whole time. From the start, Malledus failed to note what had become of them after their transformation, and while it was safe to assume that some of them were killed at an uncertain point in time, no solid evidence was originally shown to be in clear sight. This night had just changed that. Meanwhile, Marth could barely swallow his own saliva as he feared being forced to fight several loyal subjects.

"What do you think, gentlemen?" Kristoff asked. "Do you like the additions we have earned over the months?"

"You can't be serious," Ike muttered. "And to think that I would never come across converted Alteans…"

"I bet you have more of them in storage, do you?" Marth asked with a fiery voice. "You are truly tempting me to kill my own subjects."

Kristoff stretched his body before replying to his wounded foe. "Oh, but you already have. Some of the vampires slaughtered by you and your allies were originally mere Alteans. I take it that you haven't noticed that before?"

The Hero-King's felt his heart plummet to his stomach as he absorbed the vampire's words. This could not be true, he believed. Kristoff was lying to him, attempting to weaken his morale. How could he, the savior of Altea, be responsible for the deaths of innocent people, much less his own subjects? "What…?! You're lying!"

"You expect yourself to believe otherwise, but I am not lying. They were already within the confines of our organization long before you arrived here. Additionally, some of our recruits, particularly the newer ones, were restored to their normal states due to your interference, and so, we had to kill them."

"Where is your proof?" Ike asked. He was not entirely convinced by that statement, for pieces of clear evidence were not shown to him. There had better be something to determine whether Kristoff was right or wrong…

"Here is the proof," Lina announced. She, with her magic, conjured several images that detailed what her brother was explaining. To the swordsmen, it was unknown when each one was created, but that mattered little. What captured their full attention were the disturbing, if not outright mortifying, contents; some of the images portrayed Alteans being converted into vampires, followed by views of their dismembered corpses from various points in time. A few of the victims, male and female, young and old, were shown to be executed by the Lords due to a reversal in the transformational process. Notwithstanding the gory imagery, both king and mercenary were shocked to witness the unbreakable proof of the deaths. The former fighter sank to his knees almost immediately, overwhelmed by the gravity of the truth. It made no difference whether he was directly involved or not; he had condemned innocent citizens to death, and this fact would, once fully known, almost certainly cripple his standing amongst the surviving folk of his kingdom. The other Smashers, Lillian, and Master Hand would also be dismayed by his actions.

The legacy of Anri, corrupted by a descendant…

Such a belief was driving him to additional tears. Meanwhile, Ike felt his blood freeze at the sight of the images. The fact that he, albeit unknowingly, murdered innocents nearly resulted in his strong will completely collapsing. He had always expected diabolical fiends like Ashnard to commit many a horrible crime, such as the mass murder of harmless beings, but he and Marth? The valiant warriors of legend? For the mercenary himself, to be held responsible for unjust killings was nearly unthinkable. He was now wondering how Master Hand would deal with him and the Hero-King upon learning of the unintentional crime.

"What is the matter, gentlemen?" Kristoff asked with a slight sneer. "Are you unwilling to accept responsibility for what you have done? Not that it matters if you do, but the fact still stands. You have murdered innocent souls, just like us."

"I take back what I said earlier…" the mercenary muttered, still struggling to accept the painful truth. But his reaction was nowhere near as intense as the Hero-King's.

"I hate you, Lina…" Marth sputtered, his voice filled with agony and extreme anger. "I hate you and your brother so much… Just when I thought you couldn't pull any crueler prank on me, you do this. Thanks to you, many people are going to see me as a vicious murderer! I don't know about the existence of Hell, but if there is one, then I hope you burn in it!"

"So, your mental calmness is finally breaking down," Lina spat. "That's wonderful, because it will be so much easier for me and my group to see you suffer from all the misfortunes that befall you. Now then…"

CRACK!

Her whip struck the ground with such ferocity that the latter was nearly dented. Marth and Ike, mortified yet strengthened by the gruesome images, prepared their respective blades for a final battle that would ultimately determine Archanea's fate. Kristoff, with a subtle but powerful fire in his eyes, kept his grip on the pistol while waiting for the battle to resume. Elice and the common Lords stood still as their souls thirsted for blood.

"Let's see if you can send Archanea crashing down, shall we?" Ike grunted. At this point, he was so eager to fight to the bitter end, regardless of the obstacles that stood before him and Marth.

"Prepare to die, fools!" Lina bellowed. Without any other warning, both sides were engaging each other. The two swordsmen kept their heads up as they continued their struggle of preventing the eventual resurrection. Falchion and Ragnell, with their flat sides, did their best to keep the transformed citizens and Elice away while allowing the opportunity to dismember whatever Lords, vampire or not, were left. While in the air, Kristoff attempted to obtain a potshot at Marth, only to fail when his target dived into a group of enemies for some temporary protection. Annoyed, he instead chose to shoot Ike at the shoulder.

BANG!

The mercenary nearly dropped his blade upon receiving his latest wound and only maintained his grip due to sheer willpower. His vampirical foe, prior to dodging a horizontal slice by Ragnell, aimed at the middle of his skull to deliver the deadly finisher. The bullet was, thanks to quick reflexes from the Smasher, deflected by the heavy blade's flat side. To retaliate, he executed the famed Aether attack, only to miss his mark when his would-be victim floated away. Kristoff fired two more shots, one piercing his attacker's abdomen, the other grazing his left calf. Subsequent efforts at firing away were halted because the pistol, with the last shot, ran out of ammo. The twin brother of Lina growled slightly; he had just utilized the last of his ammo and, due to supply shortages caused by the war in Rosträdgård, could not obtain another clip. In fact, pistol ammo was such a rarity that it would be difficult to venture back into the kingdom's territory and locate some much-needed bullets. This setback was only minor, however, for he did not need his weapon to kill Ike. In fact, a quick death would be too kind a fate for those who interfered with the resurrection for far too long.

"Die," he hissed. Hesitation was nowhere near his mind when he executed a divebombing attack to send the unprepared Ike across the entire length of the room. Inside the diminishing crowd, Marth continued to mow down his robed foes while avoiding the converted citizens and Elice. For every few seconds, Lina's whip came dangerously close to lacerating his flesh. Being gifted with the speed of a rabbit, he minimized the injuries sustained by evading at the right moments. A vampire was about to grab him from behind when she was smacked with the flat side of the Hero-King's mighty blade.

"You will not escape us!" the captain snarled. After numerous failed attempts at whipping her primary foe, she pinned him to the wall with a thin yet durable icicle that sent him soaring. Upon impact, the icy weapon pierced the front doorway, something that nearly surprised the hiding Caeda and Malledus.

"What in the?" the advisor gasped, nearly stumbling backwards. "What is that supposed to be?"

"Keep your voice down," the queen, now whispering, ordered. "There might be Lords nearby, and if they hear us speaking, we could very well meet our doom. Stay low and we will both survive this bloody night."

On the other side of the entrance, shielded from the harsh winter environment yet simultaneously exposed to piercing pain, Marth yanked the icicle from his body. By this point, Lina and the remaining foes not siding with Kristoff were already closing in on him, forcing him to shove his way out of the crowd. His sword tasted darkened blood as he dismembered robed foes, although it did not stop him from being grabbed by two converted Alteans and then thrown onto the floor. Elice, with opportunistic tendencies, reached down to bite her brother at his bleeding wrist, stopped only by his free hand squeezing her throat. Simultaneously, he was forced to stab a nearby vampire at the abdomen to keep him away.

"Feed me…" the red-eyed princess hissed. Even with the hand on her neck, her breathing was hurried and erratic, perfectly signifying her uncontrollable bloodlust. The fangs in her mouth inched ever closer to her would-be victim's wrist, and one more push could spell the difference between success and failure. "Give me your sweetest essence… Make me stronger…"

"No…" Marth stared right into her eyes, the very windows to her soul. It was already clear that she was horribly corrupted by an evil influence, but he could also notice a trace of the one characteristic she was best known for.

Innocence.

By staring into her eyes, he could affirm the one belief that he had been clinging to since the start of the battle; there was still some hope for the princess, for the entire throne, even. While Lina and her army were effectively past the point of reconciliation, such was not the case for Elice. If only he and Ike could permanently vanquish Kristoff…

"I won't go down like this!" With a fierce shout, he kicked the princess away from him and proceeded to injure, but not kill, the converted citizens. Not long after his retaliation, all enemies around began to brutally attack him. On the other side of the hall, Ike impaled Kristoff and proceeded to behead him.

"That should take care of him," he grunted. Keeping a focused attitude, he unrelentingly slaughtered the rest of the foes that were after him, none of them being unrobed Alteans. Due to a full-power blast caused by the feared Eruption, he managed to avoid suffering what Marth was, unfortunately, experiencing. What he failed to immediately notice, however, was the fallen vampire regenerating with the help of the same substance used by the captains.

Tick…

The sound was left unnoticed by the mercenary, and by the time he was close to assisting the Hero-King, his opponent had already completed his bodily recovery. Ragnell was used to knock an Altean unconscious by cutting off his airflow. Lina, noticing the approaching Crimean, attempted to splash the pink mist into his face. On this occasion, however, he was prepared and quickly turned away before his body could be paralyzed.

"Nice try, Lina," he muttered. "That won't work on me for a third time." With his blade, he whirled around and beheaded the captain to temporarily incapacitate her, at the cost of Kristoff suddenly gaining the upper hand on him. Upon having two fangs sink into his right wrist, the muscular Smasher lost his grip on Ragnell and grunted loudly as he struggled to rival the secondary leader's inhuman strength. While losing blood at an alarming rate, he sluggishly kicked away an Altean that came close to biting him. In desperation, he jammed one of his fingers into Kristoff's right eye.

Squelch!

A loud hiss of pain filled his ears as he broke free from the crushing grip on his arm. As he reeled from the sudden attack, the angered Kristoff noticed his world go partly dark as his affected eye suffered severe damage. It would take some time for his advanced healing factor to make complete repairs, and on top of that, he could not believe what the mercenary had just pulled off. That man was going to suffer for his foul trick, no doubt about it.

"Damn!" Kristoff could not hold back the urge to yell as he experienced legitimate pain from his eye, but said pain also motivated him into stabbing Ike with two hand-formed icicles that were as sharp as the pointiest needles. Both lungs were grazed on impact.

"Ugh…!" The swordsman could not even yell upon being doubly impaled by sharpened ice. This new agony was taking his breath away, and fast. Dropping to the floor like a stuffed sack, he noticed blood soaking his wounds and, to some extent, dripping onto the floor.

"Ike, no!" Marth yelled. While still battling off converted subjects, he rushed over to his ally's side, sliding past the regenerating Lina and countering Kristoff's ice-fueled fist with a swift Dolphin Slash. Despite being the smaller and less muscular of the two swordsmen, his physical prowess was more than enough to keep the wounded Crimean afloat for several seconds longer.

At the bottom of the shaft…

"Oh, man," Pit moaned. "I feel like I'm gonna lose my mind if I don't get out of this place soon. There's gotta be a way out, man." By now, he was still stuck in forced solitude, witnessed neither by enemy nor ally. His weapons could be useful in scaling the vertical walls, but they were not in his possession. On top of that, the magical barrier was a significant concern, as it barred all attempts to contact someone living in the outside world. There seemed to be no way out of this chilling scenario. He was officially trapped.

But…

Now that was farther away from the pit's magical barriers, it was possible that he could contact Lillian, whom he had not heard from in a long time, to drag himself from the black atmosphere that surrounded him. His success was far from guaranteed, but there was no alternative available.

"Okay, I need to contact Lillian for this one. Just stay calm, Pit, and everything will be alright." He proceeded to establish a telepathic channel with Lillian at the opposite end. Silence hanged over his head like an invisible yet near-omnipresent specter, perhaps for over a minute, before the maiden's voice was finally heard.

"Pit…? Is that… you…?" The suppressive magic surrounding the pit's area resulted in her voice sounding choppy and weaker than usual. Otherwise, she was easily heard by the lonely angel.

"Hey, I need to get outta of my current situation. I'm totally stuck at the bottom of a pit inside a Lord-occupied hideout in Altea, and I can't fly out of it because my wings aren't strong enough to carry me without added support. Think you can help me with this one?"

"I would, but I must… know what is… happening to your allies. Despite the strong interference… in your area, I know that Ike and Marth are… experiencing a decline in health, and… as for the others, I have… completely lost all contact with… them. I can neither read… their vital signs nor… hear their voices."

The angel stroked his chin as he began to consider the status of his group. He obviously knew what the swordsmen were likely experiencing, but there was no clue as what could have happened to Hylians and Ganondorf. "Um… I think Marth and Ike are battling Lina and her servants, but I dunno what happened to the others. I did hear Lina say that they, and I mean the fighters from Hyrule, have been "taken care of". They might be dead, but I can't tell for sure."

"This is concerning. Master Hand… will not be pleased when he… hears about what happened to Link… and his acquaintances. I will ask your… leader to create a portal for… you, but the magical… interference near your area will give… him difficulties. Stay calm and… wait for the portal."

"Thanks." Upon the silence returning, Pit sat against a nearby wall, complete with an irregular surface, while hoping for a quick escape from this hellish domicile. If his mistress had the opportunity to notice his current situation, she would have bestowed upon him the ability to fly. However, it was highly improbable that Marth's world was somehow under her wide gaze. Oh, the many things he could do while soaring through the cold air…

"I wonder how everything's going on Lady Palutena's end. Oh, man, she's gonna be worried sick if she sees me like this…" He soon fell asleep out of boredom.

Upstairs…

"Give me… my sword, Marth," Ike croaked. With his ally's help, he was still standing despite severe blood loss. When Ragnell was handed to him, he executed a second instance of Aether, this time targeting Lina, but while his first hit met its mark, the captain prevented the second blow by electrocuting him. Her offensive magic also nullified the one health benefit received by him and worsened his issue with staying conscious. As soon as he was launched into the closest wall, he was on the verge of blacking out.

Where is Pit? Marth pondered. The angel's prolonged absence was starting to deeply disturb him. There was no way he was simply staying behind because he feared the Lords. Something else had happened to him. He should be here by now.

"Damn…" Ike grunted weakly. "I can't keep myself up…" Even with Ragnell by his side, he found himself collapsing to the floor on every attempt to limp around. This situation was even worse than the battle with the Jord-Marodörer, for the Lindqvist siblings were easily overpowering him and Marth with their feared physical and magical might. Plus, the other Smashers were still missing, leaving the two swordsmen at a serious disadvantage.

"Ike, stay with me," Marth gasped. "You can't give up now. I need you to help me out-"

POW!

"He won't be helping you for the rest of this night," Elice whispered. After sending her battered brother into a near-unconscious state, she dragged his body into the crowd of Alteans, who were ready to feast on the man they once called their king. They did not have Återuppliva by their side, though their bodies were still more durable than the average fighter's. One interesting feature noticed by Marth was the blood of the common enemies; it was not black as with the Lords, but it was the usual red seen inside ordinary humans. Why they were not yet enhanced by Återuppliva was an utter mystery, but even so, he had not the time to focus on that small detail. He was about to become vampire food…

"This is a nightmare," he sighed. By now, it became clear to him that they were not going to stop until they quenched their thirst… or they were incapacitated in some manner. As much as he abhorred having to harm those he swore to protect, it was perhaps the only way of getting the vampires off his back to deal with the Lindqvists and Elice more effectively; such an action would also help preserve the beaten Ike's life, if not give him the chance to utilize Ragnell. Closing his eyes, the Hero-King raised Falchion into the air before swinging it in a circular motion above him.

SL-SL-SL-SL-SL-SLASH!

He paid no mind to the red blood staining his clothes as his blade sliced off multiple legs in a single attack. The Lindqvists and Elice were surprised at his latest decision, as was Ike. They all once believed that Marth would not dare to harm his subjects in a such a brutal manner, even if he endangered his life with such reluctance. As a side note, Ike also believed that killing the common vampires fully integrated into the Orm's Lords would be enough to revert the Alteans, whom he assumed were more recent recruits. But with the common members all dead, this was still not the case; to him, Lina and Kristoff were assumed to be the ones who did the conversions. Regardless, it was clear that the Hero-King was cutting loose and demonstrating just how unrelentingly brutal he could truly be.

"No more," he muttered. Lina and Elice tried to surround him from both sides, with mixed results. While the corrupted princess did scratch him across the chest, he retaliated by throwing her into the whip-holding captain, resulting in the two of them falling to the floor. Kristoff emerged to bite his opponent, only to be smacked by Falchion's hilt and then impaled by its cold blade.

"I must warn you, Kristoff; I am not an easy foe to take down," he whispered. Afterwards, he viciously slammed the secondary leader into his fallen sister and Elice, completing the pile of still-living bodies. His raw anger was unchained as he proceeded to slice apart the siblings before kicking a recovering Elice down.

"I never wanted to hurt you, Elice, and I mean this with all honesty. But you have left me with no choice. I will still refrain from killing you, but I can no longer guarantee that you'll remain conscious after this battle. Prepare yourself."

"I see, so you have decided to face me with your fullest might," the princess hissed. "This will certainly make for a more interesting fight."

"It will, my sister." As he prepared to fight, his sister soared towards him, only to defy expectations by ascending and then kicking him at the top of his skull. The Hero-King, tried as he might, failed to block the attack in time and was left utterly disoriented. He was then grabbed from behind and buried into the floor. Meanwhile, Ike stood up to observe the wounded vampires. Although they were plagued with reduced speed, they still appeared to be capable of crawling fast enough to overwhelm a victim if the opportunity was to come. Right now, their eyes were focused on him; the dark coloring within signified their desire to kill, and since Marth was being ruthlessly handled by Elice, the mercenary was their only available target for the taking. Not wanting to become a suffering source of nourishment, he traveled across one side of the hall, using Ragnell as support, and managed to avoid obtaining nasty bite marks despite his reduced speed. Like an opportunistic eagle ready to take down a snake, his next action involved attempting to take the now-regenerated siblings out of the battle, with his blade ready to taste dark blood. Kristoff was violently skewered, but Lina propelled herself into the air and proceeded to leave several bleeding wounds on her foe's face. The captain's whip reached out to steal Ragnell from its owner, but with Ike's resistance, the two fighters were forced into a grueling stalemate, with neither one paying any mind to the crawling vampires. Meanwhile, Kristoff slowly recovered from his latest injury, all while noticing the violence all around him.

"Well, it seems that Marth is busy with his dear sister," he whispered with a smooth voice. "I'll leave him to his business. Ike, on the other hand, needs to be taught a lesson, and this is the perfect time for me to be his teacher. After all, he should not be expecting himself to wreak havoc upon this place and then get away with it." Gritting his teeth together, he utilized his nails to create massive cuts across the unarmored portion of the Crimean's back.

SLASH!

"YARGH!" Ike lost his grip on Ragnell as his back was overloaded with pain. As he became immobilized, he was left susceptible to a powerful whipping attack that was just as painful. His attempt at escaping the siblings failed when Kristoff kicked him into the room's westernmost doorway.

WHAM!

To say that the mercenary was nearly unconscious was a grave understatement. The world around him was nearly covered in complete darkness, sounds were heavily muffled and almost nonexistent, and his body, aside from piercing and aching pain, was on the verge of numbness. Without his sword, he could not hope to stand up and dash away from his foe. In desperation, he gripped one of the doorway's knobs before forcing the closest door open. His body rolled down the stairs like a dropped cylindrical container. Dizziness rose from the bottom of his stomach as he spiraled out of control, just seconds before his body struck the cold, flat ground. His body was all but clumsy when he struggled to reach the doorway at the hallway's dark end, often falling and experiencing more pain. A few meters away, Kristoff smirked as he watched his foe supposedly flee out of fright.

"You have now realized that it is useless to oppose the Orm's Lords, hmm?" he commented. "It matters not if you run or fight. All who wish to delay or prevent the Holy Serpent's resurrection will be eradicated; you and your allies are next." He casually strolled towards the doorway to finish off the injured Crimean.

Inside the shaft…

"Pit…" Lillian whispered. Her voice suddenly dragged the Skyworld native from his short nap. "Master Hand is… creating a portal… for you. Give him… a few seconds… and you will… be able to escape."

"Wha…?!" gasped he. "Oh, right… The portal. Thanks for your help, Lillian."

"My… pleasure. I will ask him… to create a portal… for Marth and Ike."

"He's gotta do it quickly 'cause I don't think Marth and Ike are gonna last much longer against the Lords." Ignoring the fact that his group still needed to obtain the staff piece, he allowed the mysterious woman to sever communications with him. Several seconds barely managed to pass by before the portal to safety opened in front of him.

"Yes, time to get the heck outta here!" Utilizing the strength left in his damaged form, Pit leaped into the interdimensional corridor, paying no mind to the loud noises or violent shaking around him; compared to getting shot at, burned by acid, and generally wounded to a serious extent, this unstable area felt like Heaven. After falling into the Smash Mansion's front yard, he slowly stood upright and noticed Lillian and Master Hand; although he did not know for sure, it was safe to assume that the Smashers who had returned during the past few days were already asleep.

"Yes, I'm finally free…" the angel gasped, out of breath and filled with strong relief. "I never wanna see that place again…"

"Has your group obtained the staff piece?" Lillian asked.

"Uh, I don't know. I haven't been able to keep track of what Marth has done during my time in captivity. I think he may have the piece, but I ain't gonna claim to be a direct eyewitness." His voice was marked by uncertainty in his answer, as if he did not know what had happened in Altea, which was close enough to the truth.

"This is concerning. We need to see if Marth has the staff piece, and if he does, then we shall create a portal to this world. I will attempt to contact him first, then we will consider creating a portal." As the maiden gathered the power needed to telepathically communicate, Pit limped into the warmer atmosphere of the Smash Mansion, hoping to finally rest for the night. While initially tempted to head straight for his room, he strolled over to the building's medical wing to wait for medical treatment. The injuries he sustained during the adventure were serious to warrant attention, albeit not entirely fatal due to his angelic status; the acidic burns on one of his wings was strongly concerning, however. In either case, he was hoping for Lillian to finish her task as soon as humanly possible and focus on healing him. Outside, within the snow-filled, aurora-blessed environment, the maiden struggled to contact Marth, eventually faltering due to strong interference.

"I cannot get a hold of him," she sighed. "The interference from my earlier conversation with Pit is stronger at Marth's position. For now, there is no way to tell if he has the staff piece without having to summon him to this location. Can you create a portal, Master Hand?"

"I will do my best," the commentator spoke. Focusing his mighty power, he pushed forward in his effort to create a portal for Marth and Ike, but despite his persistence and ability, he failed to complete his task. This was utterly strange, at least in the context of how successful he usually was at conjuration. Something powerful was blocking the development of his creation, and since it was around Marth's location, this unexpected scenario smelled like trouble. Subsequent efforts at conjuration ended in failure, and each time was marked by the commentator growing slightly more frustrated, at least internally.

"I apologize, Lillian," he sighed, "But I cannot create a portal to Marth's location. The interference you mentioned earlier is stopping me from doing such a thing."

"This is unsettling. For now, there is nothing we can do to help him. He must find a way out… on his own."

Back to the battle…

"Damn!" Marth gasped. After falling into his sister's grasp, he was now attempting to keep her fangs away from his neck. During the struggle, he noticed the other vampires, including Lina and except for Kristoff, approaching him from their end of the hall.

"My, my… It seems that my brethren are thirsty for your blood," the princess chirped. "I'll make sure to satisfy their appetites once you are defeated. Don't worry; you won't have to suffer afterwards."

"Elice, listen to me. I know I've already said this before, but you must defeat your violent urges. Do you genuinely want to kill your brother, the one person who saved you on more than one occasion? Besides, I do not wish to leave you with fatal wounds on your body. Please, you must fight it!"

Elice licked her lips while shrugging off the order. All she wanted was his blood. She had already earned a small taste, but her urges were asking her to take more. "Always the persistent one, hmm? Your determination is admirable but pointless. Accept your inevitable defeat and give in to a stronger force."

"I will not." With an untamed yell, he threw himself forward to stun Elice with a fierce headbutt. While rushing past her, he soared to Lina's position via Dolphin Slash. Falchion initially failed to leave a mark, but during the subsequent descent, it was tossed right into the captain's chest.

SPLACK!

The energy shield conjured by Lina failed to halt the dangerous projectile in time. Far from successfully protecting herself, she squealed in pain as her chest sustained the full brunt of the attack. Her healing factor could not stop the pain from inflaming her nerves and forcing her to scream at the top of her lungs. Marth, sensing an important opportunity, yanked the whip from her hand and utilized it to slowly beat the crawling vampires into near-unconsciousness. During the assault, Elice came close to biting him and was only halted due to her brother sidestepping and then capturing her from behind. His forearm squeezed her throat, albeit not to the point of complete strangulation, and was positioned such that it could not be bitten. However, it did sustain several scratches.

"Why, you?!" the captain snarled, having yanked Falchion from her chest. "I will make you suffer for that! This I swear!" She, using the same type of magic that Agnetha had repeatedly used with her sword, retrieved the whip from Marth's hands.

Inside the western chamber…

"I know you are hiding in this room," Kristoff hissed. "Come on out and I will end this battle, once and for all." He was searching for Ike, who was now in hiding and hoping to avoid detection. The leader of the Greil Mercenaries was hiding behind one of the disabled machines, and he only had the bare minimum of space required to stay out of sight. His stomach felt like expelling what was left inside its boundaries as the putrid smell entered his nostrils. He had not eaten a single thing since leaving the Smash Mansion behind, but that did not stop the overwhelming urge from plaguing his body. Kristoff, on the other hand, was not bothered by the smell whatsoever.

"I wonder if this room's smell will break his silence and force him to vomit?" he muttered with a subtle yet powerful venom in his voice. "Either way, I will find him, and when I do, I will personally make sure that he does not live another night."

I need to get out of this room, the swordsman pondered. I can't afford to let him detect me while I'm unarmed. I saw some corpses in this room, right next to the machines. They have stingers attached to their bodies, so I can try and pull one off and use it as a weapon. It's my only chance of fighting back in the short run.

"You cannot hide from me forever." The vampire felt his patience decline as he searched each station. His foe was probably hiding in the messes that now rested in the abandoned room, but black ooze and several underdeveloped corpses of Helvetingar were not going to change how this conflict would play out. His eyes, able to slice through the darkness, noted every tiny detail; for all he knew, a single abnormality could be the key to discovery. The gouged eye, having been left alone, was now fully healed and back to its original status.

"Your blood… I can almost smell it. Soon, I will pierce your skin like I have pierced Elice's. Unlike her, you will not live to join the Orm's Lords. You will only be a source of nourishment, nothing more, nothing less."

I must pull off a stinger… now.

Such a thought remained on Ike's mind as the mercenary himself finally made the attempt to obtain a stinger. While staying quiet, he slowly approached a deceased Helveting and began to tear off one of its poisonous weapons. The squelching that resulted was enough to attract the vampire's attention, but the Crimean was quick enough to retreat to safety before he could be discovered.

"Planning to use something against me, Ike?" Kristoff asked. "Whatever you are planning, it will not help you. Perhaps you should know that nobody will help you squirm your way out of this situation, and if you were expecting the angel to come and assist you, then you will be disappointed to know that I have already disposed of him."

What? Pit… dead?! No, this cannot be. How did that bastard manage to kill him?

Ike felt anger burning inside his mind as soon as he heard the last portion of his foe's statement. So, that was the reason why Pit failed to join the battle early on. No wonder why he was missing for an extended amount of time! That fiendish vampire was going to pay for further damaging the integrity of the Smashers…

Now waiting for the right time to strike, Ike held on to the ooze-coated stinger. The ooze soaked his clothing, but this failed to bother him; such a concern was minimal compared to the task of slaying, or at least incapacitating, a murderous vampire. While waiting, he heard footsteps slowly approaching him.

Tap… Tap… Tap…

His heart was on the verge of racing when Kristoff was less than a meter from his position. He was going to act as soon as he was exposed, because if he did not, he would have his blood drained from his body via the vampire's fangs. Ignoring the fear inside his mind, he waited for a few more seconds, then…

SPLACK!

"Gotcha!" the mercenary grunted. For the first time in this night, he felt true satisfaction as he watched his weapon pierce his foe's chest, right where the heart was. The shrieking that filled the room was loud enough to shatter unlucky ears and strip them of all hearing, and Ike's ears almost fell victim to that unpleasant fate. Thankfully, they were properly shielded in time. Upon yanking the stinger out of the fresh wound, the mercenary watched black blood pour from Kristoff's body for several seconds; it came to his attention that, even with an advanced healing factor, the secondary leader felt immense pain from being speared at the chest, owing to his status as a vampire. However, with little time remaining before complete recovery, Ike proceeded to limp away from the room and rejoin the battle in the main hall. The stinger was utilized as support, though it did not stop him from falling on several occasions. Meanwhile, Kristoff felt his mind swell with unfettered rage as he took the time to consider what had just happened.

"He, the foolish mercenary, lured me into a trap… How could he?! Such trickery will not be forgiven… Let's see if he likes getting speared by a stinger."

Squelch!

Inside the hall, Marth retrieved Falchion and continued to fight off Lina and Elice, who were now the only remaining threats in the battle. His left elbow struck the princess in the gut, giving him the perfect opportunity to knock her back, and his feet were quick enough to dodge several of the captain's magical spells. Still, he was not making any progress in the long run. Not only were the two vampires floating around to render most of his offensive maneuvers ineffective, but Lina's healing factor prevented her from dying of fatal injuries. Additionally, the strain wrapped around his body, combined with the debilitating wounds, was causing him to become fatigued. If this battle continued for any longer, he could very well fall victim to a devastating loss.

"Are you becoming tired, my brother?" Elice questioned. "I think you should drop your sword and let us feed from your body."

"I am sorry, but I cannot and will not bring myself to become a sacrifice for a murderous organization." Marth's reflexes slowed down by the minute, with each swing and evasive maneuver becoming more delayed than the last. As he tried to smack his sister with his blade, Lina's whip wrapped itself around his right ankle before completely tripping him.

"If that is how you want to play, then we shall force you to become a sacrifice for us!" The petite captain was snarling as she dragged her victim across the floor before tossing him into the cold air. Not wanting to end her assault early, she fiercely kicked his back with both feet, nearly shattering his spine and sending him crashing into the floor. The Hero-King held on to Falchion, miraculously enough, but when he tried to slice off one of the captain's arms, he was immediately disarmed by her whip. Ragnell was too far from his current location, so it was nearly impossible for him to retrieve it and still hope to fight off his two foes. In desperation, he tried to sweep Lina's legs and was swiftly immobilized by her electrical field.

BZZZZZ…

"GAH!" While his body was coated with unbearable pain, his mind flashed back to the moment where he was electrocuted on the first night in Altea. Lina had previously utilized her spell to shake him off while being strangled by Falchion, and that instance was extremely painful for her attacker. This time, Marth felt even greater pain, probably due to the vampire utilizing more voltage or perhaps because he was already in a weakened state. Either way, he could not move or fight back. He was almost certainly doomed to die a painful death.

"I hope your skin doesn't completely burn up," Elice hissed. "I would hate to taste roasted flesh while I'm feeding."

"Oh, his skin will still be fresh after this," Lina commented. "Besides, I am not utilizing that much voltage." Seconds after her comment, she interrupted her attack and smirked as she watched her near-defeated foe breathe heavily. There was no way for him to easily fight back now…

"Hmm, I think it's time for us to feast on his blood." The young princess licked her lips again as she watched the captain hold the fallen king by his hair. "He is already battered enough as he is."

The captain kept her fangs extended as she replied to the earlier comment. "You are indeed correct, young one. Now, onto the one thing that I have been denied in the past." She held her taller opponent up as she prepared to send him into a moment of extreme agony. Meanwhile, Ike was still fleeing from Kristoff when, upon executing a right turn, he noticed that his weakened partner was about to become a vampire's source of nourishment. Kristoff, after impaling the distracted mercenary with a stinger, also froze at the noteworthy sight. Then…

Squelch…

Marth could not even bring himself to scream as blood was slowly being drained from his body by Lina's fangs. His mind lapsed in and out of consciousness, and the only images that were noticed by him were those of a wounded Ike; the mercenary was impaled in the stomach by an object that loosely resembled a spear. All four limbs started to weaken as they started to lose access to the most important fluid of the body. His neck felt immense pain, almost as if he were stabbed by a pair of small but viciously sharp knives. He could feel his heart starting to slow down, reaching ever closer to the point of final death. His breathing was erratic and moderately noisy, mostly in response to his continuous pain. On the far side of the hall, Ike could not bear to witness what was befalling his longtime ally.

"Marth, no…" he gasped. The fact that he had to watch the Hero-King suffer in one of the slowest and most agonizing ways harmed him more than the stinger that was rammed into his abdomen. If only he could stand back up and take out Lina before she could completely drain the Altean… Alas, he was far too weak to commit such an action despite his burning desires. All he could do was wait for the suffering, for him and Marth, to end.

"Enjoying your meal, my sister?" Kristoff asked. He received no verbal response, but the way the captain's eyes looked soon gave the answer away. He smirked as he watched the Hero-King slowly lose his blood; such suffering was appropriate for someone who sought to prevent the Holy Serpent's revival. Once his sister was finished, he would have a taste as well.

"It is such a shame to see him resist us," Elice chirped. "He would have made a magnificent ally to the Orm's Lords."

"The same can be said for all who oppose us. Now, if you will excuse me, I must resume my search for the queen and her advisor. They, too, will not escape our wrath." The vampire proceeded to resume his once-interrupted search, but as he did so, he began to experience a strange feeling in his gut. He was not yet sure of what might be causing it, though he quickly brushed this seemingly minor change aside and maintained his focus. His eyes focused on the front doors, it came to his attention that the still-hidden Alteans were probably hiding outside, gradually being chilled to near-hypothermic levels. Of course, he wanted them to be executed as soon as possible, for the cold would take too much time to kill its victims.

On the other side of the doorway, Caeda and Malledus were still hiding from hostile forces. By now, their bodies were chilled to the point where their skins felt borderline numb. It was unclear to them if they were going to stay outside for the rest of this dangerous night.

"I wonder if Marth is faring well against those fiends?" the advisor muttered, uncertain of victory on his king's part.

"That is a question that cannot be answered by me," Caeda replied. "For all we know, he could be losing the struggle to restore peace. If he falls, then the Archanean monarchy will be at risk of collapsing."

"And with his current situation, that dire scenario may become a reality in the nearest future. The only way we can support him is by-"

WHAM!

"There you are," the emerging Kristoff spat. "I should have known that you were hiding out here. There is no escaping me from this point onward, and just to add insult to injury, I will give you the honor of watching your beloved hero die."

"What did you do to him?" the queen gasped. She did not want to watch her husband suffer.

"Oh, I am not the one responsible for his suffering. It is my sister who is currently draining him of blood." As the vampire dragged the unlucky Alteans by their necks, he forcefully introduced them to a horrifying scene they had hoped to never witness.

"Marth!" Malledus almost felt sick to his stomach as he watched his king slowly lose blood due to Lina's fangs. The way his eyes appeared implied that he, the hero, was losing consciousness at an alarming rate. He showed no signs of resistance, which was strongly contrary to how he usually behaved around enemies, and it also did not help that Falchion was not within reach.

"Marth, no…" Caeda was nearly brought to tears as she noticed the agony on her husband's face. This was not how she wanted to witness him.

"The man you once relied on is doomed," the secondary leader hissed. The strange feeling inside him began to intensify, but he continued to ignore it. "Nothing can be done to save him now, and once he is dead, you will immediately join him in the inescapable realm of death."

"I can't wait to get a taste of his blood," the nearby Elice squeaked with delight. Another minute passed before Lina chose to withdraw her fangs from the bleeding king's neck. She watched him completely collapse to the floor, exhibiting no signs of resistance as he did so. Caeda tried to reach his location, only to be harshly restrained by Kristoff. Malledus, not in the mood to fight back, finally took note of the unconscious vampires that were around him; it was clear to him that they were Alteans who had been converted sometime before, and it might already be too late to save them. Ike, still unable to move and now experiencing the same sensation as Kristoff, grimaced as his ally fell to the ground and failed to stand back up.

"Damn…! I can't let him… die…" he grunted, coughing between pauses. Tried as he might, he could not drag himself across the room fast enough to reach the fallen king's position. The situation was officially at its bleakest moment; it was clear that both he and Marth, along with Caeda and Malledus, were slated to die unless a miracle somehow arrived to rescue them all.

"It feels so pleasant to taste the blood of the hero who saved Altea on more than one occasion," Lina sighed with a smooth voice. Thick traces of her victim's blood soaked her lips, strongly contrasting with her pale skin. "Your blood, dear Marth, tastes so sweet. I've always found the blood of men sweeter than the blood of those belonging to my own gender, but you are something special. You are sweeter than anyone I have ever encountered in my centuries of existence."

"Is that so?" Elice giggled. "If what you say is true, then I will enjoy tasting him as well."

"I have to concur," Kristoff added. "Though I have always preferred females over males, I have reason to believe that Marth is a special victim who possesses sweeter blood than most. I shall taste him before this night is over, but first, I want you to drain his body, Elice."

"Don't worry, Marth, this will not be too painful for your fragile body." As the princess reached down to taste her brother's blood, the black-haired Kristoff felt the strange feeling in his stomach intensify at a faster rate. Something was horribly wrong, and he knew this, but the cause was far from clear. Even watching his newest subordinate feed from Marth's beaten and bloody body failed to comfort him. Lina, after savoring the taste of blood, took time to notice what was happening to her brother.

"You look troubled, Kristoff," she muttered. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I am experiencing a strange feeling inside my body," replied he. "I am uncertain as to what is causing it, but I have a feeling that it is nothing of benefit to me. On the contrary, it might be something harmful to-AGH!"

He immediately sank to his knees before he could finish. Elice continued to feed for several more seconds, but seconds after the man who bit her fell, she was suddenly plagued with a splitting headache. Lina, confused by this new event, initially tried to figure out what was happening to her comrades, but her mind was quick to form a conclusion, one that both horrified and enraged her beyond relief.

"Igel… How could this be possible…" she snarled. "Are you responsible for this, Marth?! How did you manage to poison my twin brother?!"

The Hero-King, nearly unconscious and with slurred speech, muttered, "I did… nothing to… your brother. His condition… must be… Ike's doing."

"What?! Oh, when I get my hands on him, I will personally make sure that he regrets poisoning Kristoff and attempting to reverse Elice's transformation!" As she yelled, it came to her attention that the Crimean was next to a Helveting's stinger, which was known to be laced with the dreaded Igel. Perhaps he figured out the major, previously unsuspected weakness of the healing factor utilized by the captains and Kristoff, and now he was going to pay for what he did. While Lina stormed over to Ike's position, Elice was plagued by her doppelgänger's voice yet again.

What are you doing?! You must kill your brother! He is an obstacle that seeks to halt the resurrection!

"No…" the princess responded, her voice sounding both pained and courageous. While struggling to regain control of her body, she stared at the weakening Kristoff. As much as she wanted to refrain from further violence, she felt that the vampire deserved no mercy for what he did to her. "I will never allow myself to be subjected… to your influence again…"

How dare you! I ought to… No…! How are you…?!

"You will not break… my spirit." As Kristoff succumbed to the debilitating effects of Igel, the princess gradually stood back up, eventually regaining control of her body, at least for the most part. On several occasions, she felt herself strolling back to her brother's position, but her willpower grew stronger with each passing second. Meanwhile, a furious Lina grabbed the fallen Ike by his neck.

"It was you…" she furiously hissed. "You poisoned my brother, didn't you?!"

"I wasn't… expecting him to… suffer from a… powerful poison," the mercenary quietly croaked. Like Kristoff, he was beginning to experience the damaging effects of Igel. "But yes… I am responsible…"

The captain's eyes glowed orange as her anger reached a breaking point. "What an underhanded trick from you. Your death will be a painful one, this I swear. It is time for you to-"

"LINA!"

SPLACK!

"…?!" The captain twisted her head around to notice a gruesome image of Kristoff being impaled at the chest by Elice's right fist. This sudden change of events was beyond horrifying for her; the only man she ever cared for was now staring right in Death's eyes, and the fact that the princess, the one person personally selected to be his apprentice, was the one killing him only resulted in the exacerbation of the captain's disbelief. This was not happening right now, she believed. She and her brother had come so close to victory, almost killing the two swordsmen who defied them for too long, and luck was suddenly running out. And to think that the night was in the hands of the Lords, or what was left of them…

"How could you… defy me like this…?" Kristoff croaked with a weak voice. Black blood poured his mouth as his wound, still occupied by Elice's hand, failed to heal.

"Too long have you used me as a pawn for your plans," the young woman replied. "I will serve you no longer, and I am not one to use violence, but you and your sister deserve the punishments given by all who oppose your wicked organization. Now…"

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Lina yelled. She rushed forward to stop the impending attack, but then…

SMACK!

"I will take care of you later." After the princess smacked her incoming foe with superhuman strength, she stared right into Kristoff's fading eyes. He was dying, and fast; given his increasing weakness, this was the perfect opportunity to end his life for all the pain and suffering he brought down upon his unfortunate victims. Without further ado, she grabbed him by the neck before yanking her hand upward to deliver the killing blow.

RIP!

The fallen vampire's spine traveled with his head as both organs were violently separated from the rest of his body. Those witnessing the princess's latest action displayed shock and, in Lina's case, dismay. The Alteans and Ike were not expecting a delicate woman of royal heritage to viciously execute someone, even if that someone was responsible for numerous murders and forced conversions. Perhaps she was enraged to the point where she decided to show no mercy towards the vampire himself. Lina, in addition to shock, nearly broke down as she witnessed her twin brother die.

"No… KRISTOFF!" She stood up while preparing to confront the Altean princess. "You will pay for what you did!" With a piercing scream, she attempted to slice her former servant's throat open, only to be stopped and launched backwards by a powerful punch. In addition, Elice retrieved the stinger from Ike's dying form and impaled the captain in the chest with it.

"Am I correct in saying that this stinger contains a deadly poison?" she asked with a gentle voice.

"Ah… Damn you…!" The captain could barely maintain her calm as the stinger was forced deeper into her body. "You and your allies ruined everything… ruined my fucking plan to retrieve the staff piece! I wish I could kill you all right now, but you have infected my body with Igel, and that is one thing I cannot fight off on my own."

"I wish to ask you a question: will you disable the barrier surrounding this place?"

The defeated captain snarled as she was asked the question. "Do you expect me to satisfy your demand? I will not let you escape-"

Squelch!

"I guess you want me to send this weapon deeper into your body, don't you?" The princess was already in the process of further penetrating Lina's body with the stinger. She ignored the painful growling that entered her ears, instead focusing on pressuring her foe. "You certainly do not want me to end your life the same way I ended Kristoff's."

"Fine! I will disable the barrier." Lina, after pushing Elice away, conjured two green lights with her left hand, and said lights traveled into the upper floors before disappearing completely. After a delay of several seconds and through the hole on the doors, the weary heroes noticed the gradual disappearance of the barrier, the one thing that had long prevented escape.

"I disabled the generators in the front towers. Now, you may have claimed victory on this night, but mark my words, if I see all of you again, I will end your miserable lives. Do not expect any mercy from me!"

Whoosh…

Upon removing the stinger from her chest, the captain conjured a portal leading back to Rosträdgård, never to be seen again for the night; additionally, she utilized her magic to carry the fallen vampires with her. Seconds later, long after the silence reassumed its dominating presence in the room, Elice passed out and began to revert to normal with the help of a strange, green-colored mist.

"Elice…?" Caeda muttered, concerned for her sister-in-law's safety. At first, the princess did not respond to attempts at waking her up. This nearly forced the queen to think that she was dead, but, almost out of nowhere, Elice gasped loudly before taking a moment to calm down. For all intents and purposes, she was back to her normal self; her fangs were absent, presumably destroyed by the mist, and the respective colors of her skin and eyes were restored to their original beauty. Unexpectedly, the princess also vomited the blood she had taken from her brother's body, forcing her sister-in-law to stay back.

"Caeda? Are you okay?" she asked. There was a slight amount of dizziness in her body, but she was otherwise in an acceptable condition.

"Yes, I'm fine. I wish I could say the same thing for Marth and Ike, however. They are in critical condition; Marth's lost most of his blood, and Ike appears to be… immobile. We need to treat them as soon as possible."

Whoosh…

"…?" The queen twisted her head to notice another portal appearing inside the main hall. This one appeared to be leading into a world unfamiliar to her, but before she could analyze it any further, Master Hand suddenly emerged from it, nearly surprising her in the process.

"And just when I was about to give up…" the commentator sighed. "Okay, Marth, I need you to… What in the? What happened?"

"There's no doubt about it; they are dying," Malledus, after an extended moment of silence, spoke. "They need immediate treatment."

"Who are you? Are you an associate of Marth's?"

The advisor nodded his head in the affirmative. "Yes, I am Malledus, Marth's personal advisor. Caeda, his wife, and I were dragged into this hostile place to be used as sacrifices for the vile Orm's Lords, and had the two swordsmen not fought to their last ounce of strength, we certainly would be dead by now. And you must be…"

"Master Hand, leader of the Smashers. Now, if what you said is true, then I need to get Ike and Marth back to the Smash Mansion before they perish. Do you have the final piece for the Staff of Björn?"

"It is resting safely inside the family castle. We will head over there to retrieve it before the night ends, but the well-being of Marth and Ike must be addressed first."

Master Hand proceeded to gather all fallen fighters and weapons before preparing to leave. "You're right. I can't let a Smasher die, not now and certainly not in the future." He, Caeda, Elice, and Malledus entered the portal with all due haste, undeterred by its violent nature. After arriving at the Smash Mansion, they were met with an image of Lillian waiting at the front doors.

"My goodness," the maiden sighed. "What happened to Marth? He looks unbelievably bloody."

"He looks like he was attacked by a vampire," the giant hand replied. "Lillian, the final piece is inside Marth's castle. His advisor said that it will be retrieved before the night is over. I will create a portal to the castle in a few minutes. Also, make sure to give Pit his blades."

"Thank you, Master Hand. While the piece is being retrieved, I shall take care of the remaining Smashers in Marth's group. I have enough medical supplies to cure whatever they might have sustained during their long adventure. Pit, in addition, will have his blades returned to him before the dawn."

One hour later, after the retrieval…

"Here is the piece, as promised," Malledus spoke. Within his hands was the final component of the holy weapon that could end the nightmarish scenario plaguing Lillian's homeland. "Take good care of it."

"We will, sir." As Master Hand obtained the staff piece, he was about to reenter the Smash Mansion, only to be stopped by Caeda's voice.

"Please, make sure that my husband lives throughout the night." The expression on the queen's face was painted with shades of uncertainty, almost as if she had little hope for Marth's survival despite her comment.

"We will ensure the survival of Marth and Ike. Extreme blood loss and poisoning will not be the end for them."

"Thank you, dear sir." With her final words, Caeda returned to her home dimension, with Elice and Malledus following suit. Master Hand, with the final staff piece in hand, returned to the comfort of the Smash Mansion and reunited with the lonely Lillian.

"Miss Åkerfeldt, can you hold onto the staff piece?" he requested.

"I will," answered she. "Besides, Marth is in no condition to be holding onto anything. I will keep this in my possession until the morning."

"That's good to know. Now that we have all five staff pieces, we are one step closer to dismantling the Orm's Lords and their fiendish plans. All we need to do is assemble the staff and bring it into your world."

The woman stroked her light hair before speaking again, this time with a gentle smile. "Yes, we shall. Hope is on the horizon for the once-serene Rosträdgård."

"It is, indeed." The two characters departed from each other, now planning to rest for the night.

At Rosträdgård, several minutes later…

"Are you ready to depart, Prince?" the leading man asked. After a full day of hiding and tracking down Lillian, he and his team had finally completed their job. Now, he and the prince were outside the building, with the latter getting ready to step into the World of Trophies.

"I am," the younger man replied. He checked to make sure that his blade was inside its sheath. "Hope is by my side, and I will allow it to empower me during my journey to the so-called "Smash Mansion"."

"It will take a long walk to reach your intended destination, but I know that you can find the girl in time. We will support you till the bitter end."

"Thank you, sir. As soon as you open the portal, I shall continue my long trek to Lillian and, if I succeed, protect her from the evil of the Orm's Lords." The prince combed his hair with several of his fingers, removing a few tangled knots in the process.

"I wish you the best of luck on your journey, Prince." With no hesitation on his mind, the leader utilized his powerful magic to conjure a portal to the World of Trophies, which the young monarch quickly stepped into.

Whoosh…

Several seconds of floating and violent shaking later, the prince landed inside a snow-covered forest that was, at best, a few kilometers from the Smash Mansion's location. Through the trees, both deciduous and coniferous, he could notice the beauty of the aerial aurorae; their magical coloring and softness reminded him of the lunar beauty found in his own world. The act of sightseeing, however, would have to wait until, for he still had a mission to complete. Keeping his sword close at hand, he started his journey through the forest and towards the Smash Mansion.

"I hope your safety has not been compromised," he sighed. For the most part, the stroll through this new forest was nowhere near as dangerous as the previous one. There were no Lords to be found here, and the only true threat that kept a close eye on him was the freezing climate, threatening his body with hypothermia. Of course, he was not going to let it freeze his body to death. He was going to reunite with Lillian, one way or another. His walking speed was slower than before, owing to him still recovering from the horrible wounds he sustained during his latest encounter with the Lords.

About half an hour later, the prince arrived at an open field within the freezing forest, which was marked by a near-homogenous field of snow. There was nothing of strong interest, except for a distant building that seemed to resemble a large mansion. It stood five floors tall, including the attic, and was surrounded by a distant metallic fence that was taller than any human the young man could think of. The architecture, even on the outside, was elegant, almost rivaling the most beautiful buildings in Rosträdgård's territory, and considering how much he had subjected to powerful architectural beauty, that was saying a lot. Regardless of how the building appeared, he now sought to enter it. Lillian was somewhere inside, and if he could be on good terms with the mansion's inhabitants…

"Lillian, we will soon reunite…" Ignoring the harsh wind that simulated the feeling of numerous spikes entering the skin, the man continued his approach towards the supposed warmth of the mansion. It would not be long now…

Once reunited, he and Lillian would be in a better condition to defeat the Lords, largely thanks to their combined power, and if the mansion's occupants were willing to help them, then the scenario would further improve.

With the staff's power, the Lords would fall before they could even hope to revive the Svärtad Orm.

Peace would be restored in Rosträdgård and the lands surrounding it.

For the first time since the intensification of the war, he felt the one emotion that had long evaded his soul.

Hope.

Inside the Smash Mansion, same time…

"Stop it…" Lillian whimpered. Once again, her mind was plagued the same nightmarish voice that frightened her for the past few days. By now, the chilling tone of the unidentified speaker was in its most terrifying form… and its clearest.

"Too long have you chosen to defy me," it hissed. "You should have upheld your part of the bargain, but it seems that you would rather face a painful death than accept being a member of the faithful. I shall now punish you for your actions, and this time, you will interfere no longer."

"Wait... Are you…?!" True horror dawned as she began to realize who her speaker was, but before she could leap to the conclusion, a sudden flash resulted in her mind and body falling into a near-comatose state. Outside her mind, her sleeping form had rolled off the couch due to violent convulsions. Initially, she was unnoticed, nearly isolated from everyone else due to her position in the Smash Mansion and the fact that the others were resting… except for one fighter.

"I need a drink," Falco grumbled. He was feeling dehydrated as he descended to the ground floor, for he had not consumed any liquids for the past few hours. This time, he was going for some soda, preferably one that was large enough to quench his thirst for the night. His mind was initially set on heading towards the uninhabited kitchen, but as soon as he caught a glimpse of Lillian's temporary resting place…

"What the hell…?" he mumbled. The image of Lillian off the couch, face touching the floor, immediately aroused suspicion in him; it was not like she wanted to sleep on the floor or do anything reminiscent of that. He silently sprinted to her position to wake her up, only to encounter a problem whenever he shook her.

"Wait a second, why isn't she waking up?" he whispered. "Something's gotta be wrong here." The pheasant stood the maiden up to make it easier for him to execute his job. No matter how hard he tried, though, he could not get her to crawl out of her unconscious state. This was in stark contrast to last time, where he easily dragged her crying form out of a disturbed slumber. To make matters even worse, he noticed that her breathing was irregular; she was breathing faster than normal at certain points, yet slower at others. The pilot was no medical expert, unlike certain other Smashers in this building, but he already knew that, upon hearing the irregular breathing, something was horribly wrong.

"Oh, man, this ain't good. I need to inform someone in this mansion ASAP. Perhaps Master Hand will be the best guy to talk-"

Tap… Tap… Tap…

"Oh, what now?" Upon hearing the tapping from the front doors, he quietly strolled towards his new destination, carrying the unconscious maiden with him. Suspicious, he chose to call out to the unseen visitor.

"Hey, who's out there? What are ya doin' at the Smash Mansion?"

"Please open the door, sir," the guest responded. "I need to look for Lillian inside this mansion."

"Wait a minute, how do ya know who she is? Are you some sort of friend or relative to her? Because if I find out that you're lying to me, then I will-"

The man on the other side was not willing to stay outside any longer. "I am. Please let me into this building."

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you."

Rrrrr…

The doors were opened to reveal the Rosträdgårdian prince, chilled by the cold and desperate to seek refuge inside the mansion. Right away, his eyes locked onto Lillian as soon as he noticed Falco carrying her.

"Lillian!" he gasped. "Is she okay? If you have harmed her, then…"

"Relax, pal. I haven't done anything to her, but she's not responding to my attempts at waking her up. I don't wanna jump to conclusions yet, but I think she might be in a…"

The prince suddenly felt distraught as he took Lillian's status into consideration. "Oh, no… Do you have a medical area for her?"

"Sure, it's inside this very mansion. Now, we've gotta inform Master Hand about this, and fast."

The pilot, now accompanied by the monarch, proceeded to Master Hand's office, hoping to inform the commentator about the recent change of events.

…

-Toon Link

And there you have it, people. After three long years, all five theatres for this story are finally finished. Next, we will see how everything plays out for the rest of this story. Also, the second intermission is coming up, which will show us what has been going on in Rosträdgård and at the Smash Mansion during the later days. And yeah, Kristoff's dead, but this chapter will not be the last time we hear of him…

Ding!

Hey, it looks like I received a message from Johan. I haven't heard anything from that clown in quite a long time. Let me take a gander at his message.

Hi there,

I know you're wondering where I'm at. To be honest, I am on my comedy tour for the past couple of weeks and will busy for the next few months or so. You're probably feeling lonely right now, so I've visited several dimensions to find a suitable friend for you. After hours upon hours of searching, I found the right person for you. That person should arrive in less than a minute. Take care and have fun!

-Johan

So, that's what he's been doing lately. I wonder what his shows are like. Maybe I should plan a trip to… Wait a second, who did he send over to my home-

BOOM!

WHAT THE HELL-

Flandre: Why, hello there! Wanna play with me?

Wha-?! Flandre Scarlet?! You just knocked down my door! What the hell is wrong with you?!

Flandre: Oh, we're gonna have so much fun together. Now, come to Flandre!

Um…! Oh, boy…! To all the readers, R&R! Thank you so much, but I NEED TO LEAVE NOW!

Crash!

Flandre: Come back here, Mister Guy!

Whoosh!

OOOOOOOOOH, SHIT!