This WAS going to be the penultimate chapter, but lately I've been worrying that I cram too much into my chapters and I should give my readers some breathing room and also to help pace better. next chapter might be longer, final chapter most likely WILL be hella long, so I guess this is a breather chapter with enough happening? Also I've scrapped the epilogue; there will be a separate follow-up fic to this instead after it's finished.
Content warnings: Final Fantasy VII spoiler (THAT one) is referenced not-so-subtly, as well as a Kid Icarus Uprising spoiler you've probably already been exposed to from Palutena's Smash 4 trailer. also, there's some suggestive dialogue. Hints of IsaWolf perhaps?
also oh frickkkkk I FORGOT to mention the Koopalings with Bowser Jr. despite me going out of my way to mention Alph with Olimar. Previous chapters have been updated to reflect that.
title namesake - Uncontrollable from the Xenoblade X OST
Hiding in my Skin, Broken from Within
Chapter 21 - Uncontrollable
It had been several minutes since the gloom was purged from the northern lands of the Sacred Realm. Bowser, Shulk, the Links, Sheik, Lucina, and Zelda had freed several Spirits from Dharkon's clutches along the way, including Shulk's girlfriend, Fiora, and someone both she and Lucina met on that off world quest they first met at: a martial artist named Akira Yuki, who was an Assisting Fighter in Smash City. In between, the group would converse among themselves and the Spirits they brought with them. Rex would tell tales of his journey across Alrest to Shulk and the adventurous Bandana Waddle Dee; Toon Link, Young Link and the Octolings would tell each other jokes, even though the two small Links didn't really understand their cephalopod friends' wisecracks; and Zelda would voice her suspicions of Sheik getting a bit too close to Link despite Sheik being a different incarnation of Zelda in disguise, which led to Lucina giggling at their exchanges.
"...Alright, guys," Bowser told his traveling companions. "My kids are up ahead. After I save them, I'm headin' back."
"Understandable," Shulk reassured the King of the Koopas. "Links, Zelda, Sheik... according to my visions, if you head to the right, you'll reach someplace that looks like an abandoned town. Ganondorf will be there... but...something's a bit strange. Once you get him on your side, Dharkon's guardian for this realm will appear... and it's... the Demon King Ganon? So... Ganondorf from another timeline?" He subtly muttered under his breath, "Looks like Snake was right about those two tampering with the space-time continuum..."
"Looks like this will be a job for all of us," Link commented. "Thanks, Shulk."
As the group of Hylians headed east, Lucina called out to Zelda, "Oh, and Zelda?"
"Yes, Lucina?"
"I'll tell you, and everyone else, everything once you're done and Team A gets here! Promise!"
Nodding, Zelda concurred with a smile, "It's a promise," before catching up with the others.
"So? What now?" Shulk asked Lucina.
Noticing the Spirit of Fiora standing next to Shulk, Lucina suggested, "The others will take things from here. Why don't we head back? I'd like to do some catching up with Fiora while I'm at it..."
"Of course."
...
"Say, Mr. Yuki?" Fiora asked Akira as they, Shulk, Lucina, and the spirits of Bandana Waddle Dee, the Octolings and Dunban walked back to the clock puzzle area. "Why do you look...blockier than how I saw you last?"
"The Hands gave me this form," Akira answered her matter-of-factly.
"Ah... right..." Fiora chuckled nervously, a bit unnerved that Akira wasn't even bothered by his current form. "Oh! Lucina!" She caught up with her friend a short distance away.
"Fiora... it's been a while." Lucina smiled softly at her best friend. "I've been meaning to ask... what's it like being a Spirit?"
"That it has," Fiora said. "As for what it's like being a Spirit... it's like... we can see and hear everything you guys do and say, but when it comes to close physical contact, it feels... incomplete." Holding her right hand to her chest, she continued, "When Shulk saved me... he hugged me, but I could barely feel him there..." Her facial expression turned solemn.
"Think of it this way," Lucina said, trying to lift her friend's spirits. "Once this is all over, you'll have your body back. You'll be able to enjoy hugging Shulk again." Looking to the side, she smiled and blushed as she continued, "When Captain Falcon freed me from Dharkon's control... the moment we shared in each other's arms... it was magical. His warmth, his tenderness... things I've missed before he saved me... it was like in that moment, the only things that existed were myself and him... So wonderful."
"Ah, so you told him how you felt?"
Turning to Fiora, Lucina replied, "...Yes. It just so happened he was in love with me too... and then..." A dreamy smile graced her face as she sighed, "It was truly... the happiest day of my life."
"Aww!" Fiora gushed. Her face bore a curious but cheeky expression as she inquired, "So... how far did you guys go? Give me all the juicy deets!"
"F-F-F-FIORA!" Lucina's face turned beet red. "We're friends and all, but I will not give you the 'deets'! It's too embarrassing!"
"Oh really? Then why were you all blushy-crushy when you were giving him first aid that day...?"
"T-that's-" Stammering and flustered, Lucina decided to change the subject with, "What's it like when a Spirit is being controlled?'
"Aren't you a spoilsport," Fiora muttered grumpily before bursting into laughter, and Lucina followed suit. "Anyway, it's like... we're in a dream. We're seeing and fighting things that aren't really there... sometimes the right voice can free us, like Shulk's did for me. Other times, you'd just beat the stuffing out of the puppet fighter we've been crammed into, and that's that."
"Was it like that for you too, Bandee?" Lucina asked Bandee's Spirit, who nodded in affirmation. "I see..."
"All in all, I'm just happy to be with you guys," Fiora said. "I've missed my big brother Dunban, and Riki too. Shulk tells me Reyn, Melia and Sharla are waiting for me too..."
"I'm sure they'd be glad to see you again." Smiling, Lucina told Fiora, "I'm glad I have my parents and little brother with me as well... I really am thankful for everyone I've met in my life, in my homeworld or in Smash City..."
But... Above all, I'm glad I have him by my side. That's why... I don't want to lose him...ever again...
"Lucina?" Fiora asked her friend, who seemed to be in a trance.
"Oh..." Lucina softly murmured as she came to her senses. "I'm fine. I... just hope you can join us someday, Fiora."
Hopefully before the next tournament begins... if what the Captain and Snake say is true, this might be the last time we're all back together...
"Hopefully. I mean, if your dad can pull it off, I'm sure I can too," Fiora said, referring to Chrom being a fighter and still summoned in Robin's Final Smashes. "Say, I didn't mention it back then, but the day we were in Mute City, I was being interviewed by Master Hand..."
"Tell me more," Lucina told her friend. "I didn't know, so... I'm sorry I couldn't put in some wishes of good luck or something..."
"No worries," Fiora replied, trying to put her friend at ease. "I didn't tell you cause I wanted it to be a surprise if I made it after all. Anyway..."
...
Eventually, the two friends arrived at the grasslands area with the lantern "clock", where the rest of Team B was waiting.
"...I see," Lucina told Fiora after the latter finished her explanation. "I'm sorry to have made you worry if I did, though. You know how it was that day... I had to think fast to make sure everyone would be safe. Including you..."
"It's okay," Fiora reassured her friend, her face bearing a compassionate expression. "In the end, everything worked out... and we'll all find a way out of this here mess too."
"True..." Lucina nodded. Looking ahead, she saw Riki's Spirit, as well as two women and one young man she didn't recognize. "Looks like your friends are waiting for you and your older brother."
"Heeeeey!" Fiora called out to her friends with a wave. "Riki! Reyn! Melia! Sharla!" Turning to the Spirit of her brother, she told him, "Let's go, Dunban!"
As the Spirits of Fiora and Dunban walked off, Lucina spotted her lover talking with Cloud, who was rescued not long ago. Walking up to them, she managed to hear some of their conversation.
"In any case, it's nice to be able to properly meet you, Captain," Cloud told Captain Falcon, resting his right elbow on the crossguard of his Buster Sword as it was stuck into the ground blade-first. "It was kinda an emergency in NLA, so..."
"No worries," The Captain reassured the ex-SOLDIER. "It's nice to meet you, too. I've heard about you, how you resisted the mega-corporation Shinra and stopped a meteor from destroying your planet..."
"I've heard about you too... your career as a bounty hunter is quite impressive," Cloud complimented him. "Racing's not for me, though, especially given how fast F-Zero machines can go. I'd get motion sickness fast..."
"Heh, it's not for everyone, that's for sure," Falcon remarked. Noticing Lucina standing there, he smiled and said, "Welcome back, sweetheart."
"Good to be back, babe," Lucina replied, drawing closer and hugging the man she loved.
"So... you two are together?" Cloud asked them. "I had no idea..."
"It's a long story, but yeah," The Captain replied, tenderly releasing Lucina from his embrace. "When Team A gets here, we... have some things we'd like to share once you finish your explanation. It's based on our experiences before this all happened, as well as some discoveries here too..."
"Really?" Cloud asked.
"Yo!" Sonic called out to Cloud from afar, standing at the top of the nearby stairway with Team A and the Smashers and Spirits they saved in tow. "We late to the party?"
Picking up his sword and putting it in the holding attachment on his back, Cloud beckoned to Team A and Sonic, "You're just in time. Come on over."
...
While Cloud brought all the Smashers up to speed on the investigation that happened before Galeem's initial attack, some of the Spirits managed to reunite with their fellow Spirit friends. The Spirit of Amy Rose met up with her friends Cream, Blaze and Silver, who were found in the Light Realm; and Rex was reunited with his partner Pyra, who was also found in the Light Realm, among other such reunions.
In spite of all these reunions, however, everyone there, Smasher and Spirit alike, knew that they couldn't stay here forever, that they had to fight for their freedom; so that they could go home, and that the universe would be restored to its former state.
"...and that's just what happened before Galeem's attack," Cloud concluded his explanation. "I was unconscious from when Galeem first attacked to when I was freed from Dharkon's control... well... mostly. According to Captain Falcon, Dharkon has been manipulating the emotions of most, if not all, of the Smashers rescued in this particular dimension... including myself."
"You, too?" Lucina asked Cloud.
"Yeah," Cloud confirmed. His facial expression became increasingly glum as he continued, "It's like... when Robin was saving me... I even felt it, I could feel Dharkon bringing my most painful memories to the forefront of my mind... mainly... the memory of when I saw her murdered right before me, and I couldn't do anything to stop it..." By "her", Cloud was referring to the flower girl he met along his journey, who was killed by the man in black he was trying to stop from summoning Meteor.
"I know..." Robin placed his hand on Cloud's shoulder, as if to tell him to take a rest and that Robin would take it from there. "I remember you even mentioned that you felt powerless to prevent the catastrophe Galeem caused... which I suppose is why Dharkon decided to take advantage of those emotions, reinforce them with painful memories, and manipulate you and the others like that."
Just then, the group of Hylians returned, with Ganondorf in tow. "We're back," Zelda announced, before a rumbling sounded in the distance.
"That... must be Dharkon deciding to show their ugly mug here," Cloud commented. "But we'll check it out later."
"Indeed," Robin concurred. "Zelda, did Dharkon manipulate Ganondorf's emotions as well?"
"Surprisingly, no," Zelda answered him. "He was like... a machine. Just blindly fighting, wanting to dispose of us. I don't know if he was willingly cooperating with Dharkon, or just fully controlled by them, but we simply had to defeat him to free him from their control."
Noticing Ganondorf glaring at the other Hylians spitefully, Toon Link commented, "I don't think he's gonna spill it anytime soon, either..."
"Apparently Wolf was like that too," Fox commented. "Dharkon didn't even spill anything about their plans when they were controlling him, either. He just attacked me and Falco blindly."
"To think I had sense beaten into me by that friggin' puppy secretary..." Wolf grumbled in a somewhat embarrassed manner, burying his face into his hands.
"I have a name, you know!" Isabelle objected. "It's Isabelle! And I'm not leaving any of our friends behind! Once all the Smashers are free, we can beat these guys and go home!"
"Beating gods with the power of friendship? You make it sound so easy," Wolf commented, protectively drawing closer to Isabelle. "Wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you if you fail to free any of the remaining Smashers or defeat those things..."
"What's this?" Falco teased Wolf. "The feared leader of Star Wolf has a soft spot for someone, after all!"
"S-shut up, Lombardi!" Wolf protested, getting into a stance as if he were about to lunge at Falco.
"Excuse me, guys?" Lucina spoke up, raising her hand. "I... noticed something too. But it's only on my end, it seems."
"Yes?"
"Shortly after I was freed from Dharkon's power and came here, I could hear... the screams of most of the Smashers trapped here." Shuddering briefly at the harrowing memories, she regained her composure and continued, "Maybe it's a side effect of what Dharkon did to me, but I don't know why I was the only one affected. But... I heard the real Zelda calling out to me when Dharkon was manipulating her thoughts, and... I was able to find my father easier... when I heard his screams become louder... it was a sign that... he was..." Squeezing her eyes shut, Lucina panted as her face was coated in sweat, "...c-close...by..." The memories proved to be too stressful for her, and she collapsed to the ground. Thankfully, her lover caught her in the blink of an eye.
"Lucina..." Captain Falcon softly embraced her. "It's okay, love... he's safe now. Zelda is, too..."
"Babe..." Lucina whispered softly, hugging him back.
"So that's how she was able to sense her father was close by..." Shulk murmured with a worried look on his face.
"Mama mia," Mario commented with a faint gasp. "You two... you're a couple?"
"...Yeah," Falcon admitted. "While we were training outside of Smash City, which apparently took a couple years on your end, we got... close." Helping his lover stand, he continued, "And we have reason to believe that... we might be connected to all this somehow."
"If I-a may," Mario interjected, "We did-a experience something like what you guys were-a describing on Team A's end, but only with a few of the Smashers, like-a Luigi, who was grappling with his insecurities of being in my shadow, which I had to assure-a him weren't true. And-a then there was Mewtwo, ROB, Kamui and Corrin struggling with their own painful memories; which for the latter two, we had to bring Azura's Spirit in to help soothe them. We've made discoveries of our own too, but we'll-a wait till you two explain your theories."
"Okay," Lucina replied. "So... I believe the fact only I can hear these screams... makes me think Dharkon and I are somehow linked. I have a feeling it was that way even before Galeem attacked..." She proceed to explain her dreams at Ylisstol and in the Dark Realm shortly after her lover saved her, and the hallucination she had in Sylvalum, as well as the fact that Dharkon's presence, be it their voice or their power alone, was a constant in all three of them. She then mentioned the anomalies both she and the Captain experienced when using the teleporters, with the yellow and purple lights.
Once she was done, Captain Falcon spoke up with, "I... have reason to believe I might have some kind of connection to Galeem as well, though it's not as strong as the hypothetical connection Dharkon and Lucina might have. When I was in Mute City during my time away from Smash City, I had a dream... Galeem wasn't there per se, but it was... just like what happened when they attacked... beams of light and everything." Thinking for a moment, he then asked Shulk, "The fact that they also diverted our destinations on the teleporter those times... and what you said about them manipulating space and time... you think...?"
"I don't think them finding us was explicitly tied to the teleporters, no," Shulk answered him. "But apparently, Dharkon's guardian for this realm was the Demon King Ganon, who is Ganondorf from another timeline... the Hands can manipulate space and time too, but they stay within the bounds of reasonable manipulation, unlike Galeem and Dharkon. Which... I wonder why Tabuu's Spirit was in the realm Team A was searching..."
"About that," Mario began, "Captain, Lucina, you two done? I'd-a like to explain what we discovered..."
"Go ahead," The Captain replied.
"Okay, so," Mario began, "The realm we explored, which we've dubbed the 'Mysterious Realm' for lack of-a better term, was-a nothing short of chaotic. It-a looked like a bunch of dimensions were converging and-a becoming unstable."
"Like how Ganondorf and Demon King Ganon were allowed to exist in this same realm at the same time," Snake commented. "No doubt, if Galeem and Dharkon keep going like this, reality as we know it might fall apart."
"Yeah... I'd-a hate to imagine that," Mario replied. "By the time Sonic met up with us, he helped us take-a down Tabuu's Spirit, and we've learned some... really big-a bombshells."
"Fitting that I helped take him down again, huh?" Sonic boasted. He continued from Mario's discussion with, "Anyway, Tabuu was... not like the other Spirits we faced. He was fully conscious as he fought us in that puppet Bayonetta body, and it would seem the Spirit Tabuu was from a period of time before the Subspace incident began. We've learned that he, in fact, created Galeem and Dharkon to assist him in conquering the universe. However, their power eventually grew unchecked, and they had their own ideals and visions for the universe which differed from Tabuu's and put each other at odds, so Tabuu had no choice but to seal them away."
"Ideals...?" Cloud asked Sonic.
"Apparently, Dharkon wanted to spread their corruption like a disease across the universe, while Galeem wanted to create a 'perfect' universe and preserve it according to their vision free of any perceived imperfections."
"'Perfect' universe?" Captain Falcon spoke up. "That lines up with what Galeem told me when I defeated them the first time... apparently they must view us as imperfect."
"And they would have erased us all entirely were it not-a for Kirby making it to safety," Mario emphasized. "We also learned from another Spirit, precisely the Spirit of the mysterious being that-a impersonated the Hands, that-a when Tabuu died, not only was the seal on-a Galeem and Dharkon lifted, but Tabuu himself stealthily deployed that being, which he called the 'Master Core', while-a Galeem and Dharkon would abduct Master and-a Crazy Hand respectively and, according to Tabuu's hopes, carry on his original goal, as he needed them back then, too. That's also why-a the fake Hands brought everyone from past tournaments back, so that-a Galeem could proceed with their-a original plan."
"Only, Tabuu's original goal isn't what's going to happen at all," Meta Knight said. "Galeem and Dharkon are still very much at odds with each other even after this many years, and are clashing with each other even now, according to Marx, who was the Mysterious Realm's guardian. If either deity gets their way, they'll proceed with their original plan... killing us all in the process."
"A war between light and darkness..." Lucina murmured timidly. "No matter which side wins, we all lose..."
"How horrible..." The Captain murmured, his voice starting to crack, his face bearing a pained expression.
"Babe...?"
"I..." Pulling Lucina close to him and embracing her tightly, Falcon began to weep softly, "It seems the future... is hell bent on taking away our happiness... on separating us... I hate it..."
"Darling..." Lucina hugged her lover back, softly patting him on the back to comfort him.
I don't want us to be separated again either... or worse. In this moment, this is the real you emerging, the you who doesn't hide his true feelings... the you I've fallen in love with. And I promise, I will be strong for you... for all of us.
"Don't worry, love. I'll make sure we can go home again... and face the future together with hope in our hearts."
"Thank you, dear..." After Lucina wiped his tears away for him, Captain Falcon softly released her.
"What about the Spirits, like us?" Fiora spoke up all of a sudden.
"Dunno," Sonic replied. "Since you guys weren't fully fledged Smashers, your bodies were obliterated, but since Galeem's original plan failed, they used you guys merely as resistance for us. When Galeem was defeated the first time, Dharkon simply snatched those of us, and you guys, that Galeem didn't get to utilize, so to speak."
"I imagine once Galeem and Dharkon are done for, you'll all get to return to your bodies and back to your home worlds," Shulk hypothesized.
"I see..." Fiora murmured.
"One last question, Mario," The Captain said. "Gathering everyone in Smash City once again... do you know if that was, in fact, the real Hands' original plan as well?"
"I cannot-a say for certain," Mario stated. "When we save the Hands, we'll ask-a them ourselves."
"Well... we shouldn't stick around much longer," Lucina interjected, a determined look in her eyes. "We should act... Dharkon is here. The sooner we defeat them, and hopefully free the other four Smashers and remaining Spirits, the better. Maybe... I'll even learn why they've given me that... ability, so to speak."
"Are you sure about this?" Shulk asked her.
"I am," she confirmed. "I want to know how and why exactly I'm connected to them... This is something I must handle. I don't want any of you getting hurt."
"You're not going alone, my love," Captain Falcon told her, softly placing his hand on her shoulder. "I swore to protect you, so I'm coming with you..."
"Babe..." She affectionately drew closer to him.
"We're coming too," Chrom announced, with Robyn close by. "We're not losing you either, my dear daughter."
"Father... mother..."
"Lucina..." Zelda murmured, the uncertainty apparent in her voice.
"Zelda..." Walking to her friend, Lucina sorrowfully told her, "Please stay here. I've told you, and everyone here, what's been plaguing me all this time... and I don't want to have to lose you with all this in mind. Consider this my way of repaying you... by protecting you. I'm sorry..." She briefly hugged Zelda, who hugged her back. Once they were done, Lucina turned to her parents and lover. "All right... let's go."
...
As the four exited the dimension they were in, they spotted a warp pad to their left, like the one Snake and Fox found as a quick shortcut for their supply run after finishing up with Dracula's Castle. As expected, it took them to the central platform with the entrance into the Light Realm close by.
But something was different...very different.
Dharkon's eye was levitating above the ground, as if they were waiting for the Smashers. The four just stood there, looking on as a feeling of dread overwhelmed them.
"Y...you ready for this?" The Captain asked Lucina.
Taking a deep breath, she declared, "It's now or never. We've got nothing to lose." Lucina, Robyn, Chrom and Captain Falcon approached Dharkon's eyeball when their tentacles flew up from the other side of the platform and surrounded the eyeball, which then emerged as the tentacles pointed their thorn-like sharp tips at the fighters who were present.
So you've returned...
"Ugh..." The Ylissean family covered their ears and slowly got to their knees, Dharkon's voice emanating a power that they couldn't comprehend. However, while the Captain could hear what Dharkon was saying, he wasn't affected by their power, only running to his lover's side.
"Lucina...!"
Did you like my little parting gift, my pet...?
"So the fact that I could hear the screams of my friends and family was your doing after all, Dharkon," Lucina spat.
"What the hell did you just call her?!" Captain Falcon raged at the being of darkness.
I see you are indeed close to Galeem's little back-up pawn too... pathetic. It's so funny, that your emotions over leaving him that day were what drew me to you...
"I'm Galeem's WHAT?!" Falcon began to lunge at Dharkon, only for Lucina to hold her arm in front of him, as if to tell him to stand down.
"Please, darling..." she strained, a pleading look in her eyes. Turning to Dharkon, slowly building a tolerance to their otherworldly power, she then said, "It's no surprise that negative emotions are like a magnet to you... you knew of my heartbreak, and I've only just now figured out that you tampering with the teleporter was largely your doing, as well as those nightmares and that hallucination... to strengthen my despair. I was just food to you, wasn't I?"
You are certainly perceptive. That witch may be my primary emissary, having the power of darkness at her very fingertips, but you are my treasure... the maiden with a dark heart, who denies it... you think putting things into perspective and making amends will help you?
"That 'witch'... Bayonetta?" The Captain wondered. "So you have her somewhere, too?"
"Enough, Dharkon," Lucina stated. "I do not have a dark heart... I will prove you wrong. I will defeat you and secure the path to our freedom!" She stood, drawing her Falchion. Chrom and Robyn stood as well, drawing their weapons.
Very well... by the time I'm done with you, you'll be so broken that you'll be begging to return to my side...
"We'll be the judge of that!" Chrom shouted, attacking Dharkon in their eyeball in a leaping slash.
"Father..."
Walking up to her daughter, Robyn declared, "Your father and I are building a resistance to Dharkon's power too... and it seems the Captain is completely unaffected." Looking ahead, she then said, "Let's take them down... together!"
Warping a short distance away from the platform, Dharkon gathered their tentacles close by so that the thorns were facing the fighters. They then shot a volley of laser beams in bursts, which the fighters deftly dodged.
When Dharkon warped back within the range of the fighters, Captain Falcon wasted no time in trying to get a hit in. "Falcon... PUUUUNCH!" He struck them in their exposed eyeball with a fiery punch.
"Did you get them?" Chrom asked the Captain as the smoke cleared.
Seeing a dark portal open above them all and Dharkon levitating into it, Falcon warned his allies, "Apparently not... be on your guard, guys!"
Within seconds, Dharkon vanished into the portal. "Where did they go?!" Robyn asked, frantically looking around and preparing a Thunder spell. As she was charging lightning energy into the spell tome, a portal similar to the one Dharkon vanished into, but smaller, began forming at her feet.
"Robyn!" Chrom cried, dashing to his wife and shoving her out of harm's way as a swarm of tendrils emerged from the portal on the ground and into another portal a short distance above, attacking Chrom in the process.
"Dearest!" Robyn shouted for her husband, reaching out her hand as Chrom was sent flying in the air briefly before falling to the ground unceremoniously with a thud.
"Ugh... Ro...byn..." he grunted.
Shocked and worried for her beloved, Robyn then noticed another portal opening above her, but diagonally to the left. "You won't hurt my family anymore!" She declared, ready to blast Dharkon when they emerged. The split second they did, Robyn immediately yelled, "Thoron!" and sent a large blast of electricity at the cosmic being, but to no avail as the swarm of tendrils struck her at high velocity, knocking her to the ground.
"Augh!"
"Mother!" Lucina cried.
"Just stay close," The Captain told his lover, drawing close to her and standing against her back, the two raising their guard. Within seconds, Dharkon emerged again, swiping one of their tentacles in a manner that seemingly cut through dimensions, surrounding the couple in a bright red void.
"What...is...this...?" Lucina grunted, realizing that whatever this attack was slowed them down immensely.
"I...can... barely...move..." The Captain strained. Noticing Dharkon gathering an immense amount of energy, he cried, "Look...out...!" and turned to Lucina in slow motion, trying to shield her, but the blast of fire engulfed them both.
"Ugh..." After a while, Lucina opened her eyes, finding herself lying on the ground, the time-distorting void having disappeared. Pain reverberated through her entire body as she slowly sat up. She was quite injured, though not as badly as her lover, who merely lay face down, unconscious.
"Babe..." She murmured, tears gathering in her eyes. Just then, she noticed Dharkon spinning their tentacles around in perfect circles, one enclosing the other from smallest to largest.
"What...?"
Within seconds... Zelda emerged. Or rather, a clone of her created by Dharkon. Her body was composed of a red and black crystalline substance that resembled some manner of cursed ruby, with the familiar crimson aura and purple eyes.
"Zel...da...?" Her eyes widened in shock and confusion. "But... I left you back there..."
The fake Zelda only extended her hand, as if to help Lucina up, but Lucina heard Dharkon's voice in her mind at the same time.
So now you see... you're nothing without me. You're broken, you've reached the end of your rope... Come join me once more...
"Lucina! Don't listen to them!" Zelda, the real one, called out from afar.
Turning her head in the direction of the voice, Lucina saw that Zelda had indeed arrived. "You... came all this way...?"
Launching a Din's Fire at the fake Zelda, the real Zelda ran to Lucina and helped her up once the fake fell off the platform into the abyss below. "After you opened up to me... after hearing what you've went through all this time... I couldn't possibly let you face this alone."
"Zelda..." Lucina could feel a sense of gratitude welling up in her heart, although the feeling was somewhat bittersweet as she didn't want another one of her friends putting themselves in danger.
After sticking Healing Sprouts onto Chrom, Robyn and Captain Falcon, Zelda briefly stuck one onto Lucina as well as she continued, "I had a feeling deep down that even with your parents and the man you loved backing you up, you'd run into trouble. I don't want you dying on me either now, Lucy!"
"I..." At that moment, Lucina remembered her lover's words to her when they got lost in the Termina mountains.
"What would your friends or your family think if you didn't come back? I admire your selflessness, but you can't overdo it."
"You're right..." Once the Healing Sprout healed her completely, she brushed the shriveled sprout off her as her parents and lover, also fully healed, came to her side. "It's time to put the training I've received to the test, and with the people I love by my side, I will not lose...!"
"We will defy you, Dharkon!" Zelda declared. "You and Galeem are the only obstacles to our freedom!"
Another one of my slaves defies me?!... So be it. Your victory will mean nothing in the grand scheme of things...
"You forget, Dharkon," Chrom began. "Anything can change!" The five rushed in and attacked Dharkon, defeating them. As the cosmic being sunk into the dark void below, all five present fighters heard Dharkon's voice in their heads.
Galeem and I are two sides of the same coin... wherever I go, they will follow... Can you really stop us both...?
"We will," Lucina declared. "We'll... find a way." Once Dharkon disappeared, Lucina immediately collapsed to her knees, buried her face in her hands, and began to weep.
"Lucina..." Captain Falcon approached his lover, crouching and embracing her.
"So...it's true," Lucina sobbed. "Dharkon found me through my emotions, my darkest despair... I was the one who brought them here, and Galeem probably followed, which is probably why you had that teleporter issue with Galeem's power interfering..."
"It's okay, sweetheart..." The Captain comforted the woman he loved. "They were just trying to make you feel guilty... You heard Mario's explanation, they were coming anyway, since the seal on them and Galeem had been lifted when Tabuu died..."
"I know...but... the fact Dharkon gained so much power from my emotions alone... I really must have a dark heart..." She hugged him back tightly.
"Dark heart or not, you're still the one I've fallen in love with." Falcon held Lucina closer to him as he continued, "And I know for a fact that there is a light within you... just as there is darkness within me..."
"That's it..." Lucina murmured as she came to a realization.
"What is?"
Wiping away her tears, Lucina explained, "You said it... there's light in me just as much as there is darkness within you. It's all about balance... the universe needs both light and darkness to exist. Just as we cannot have joy without sadness... Or peace without hardship... Or strength without weakness..."
"That is true," Chrom said. "Don't worry, Lucina. We will stop both of these beings... with everyone by our side."
"Father...thank you." Both Lucina and the Captain stood before Chrom welcomed them, Robyn, and Zelda into a group hug.
"I don't know what the future holds," Lucina told them. "Not even Shulk's visions can predict the long-term future... but once Galeem and Dharkon are out of the way... we'll have more time to make more memories together... with my family, my friends, and the one I love."
"We all look forward to it," Zelda told her friend.
Within a few seconds, a luminous staircase materialized out of nowhere, leading up to a swirling portal above them.
"That must be where both Galeem and Dharkon are waiting for us," Captain Falcon commented. "I still wonder what Dharkon meant when they said I was Galeem's 'back-up pawn'... and if Dharkon has Bayonetta as their 'primary emissary', I can only imagine Galeem has the goddess Palutena as theirs..."
"Did you say Lady Palutena?!" Pit interrupted him. Turning around, the five Smashers saw the other Smashers had caught up to them.
"Pit..." Zelda murmured.
"Please, Zelda. Palutena sacrificed herself during Galeem's attack so that Pittoo and I could try to make it to safety," Pit elaborated. "If Galeem is doing what the Chaos Kin did to her... I won't forgive them...!"
"You really care that much about your goddess?" Dark Pit asked his original counterpart. "You make it sound like you can't live without her..."
"Well...of course I do," Pit said. "I can do anything when I'm with her, and I devote my life to protecting her. Don't you feel the same way about Viridi?"
"Meh," Dark Pit shrugged. "I can take it or leave it. Viridi's not the most agreeable of people anyway..."
"I HEARD that, Dark Pit!" The Spirit of Viridi, who was rescued in the Light Realm, grumbled. "Do you have ANY idea how worried I was about you when we couldn't find you in the Light Realm?!"
"Okay, okay, geeze!" Dark Pit griped. "I care about you too, Viridi! I mean it!"
Giggling at the exchange, Zelda then told everyone, "Alright, everyone. This is it... the final battle. Is everyone ready?"
Everyone silently nodded.
"Then let's go..."