It's been a while since we've seen any wandering spirits. The last several expeditions have come up empty, and still no fighters. We've decided to leave today after training. Of course, there is a lot of disagreement over where we should go next.

—(Male) Robin

"*Sigh* All of this arguing is making my heart hurt," Peach moaned.

Ridley offerred her a potted seedling.

"Ridley?! A plant? What is it?"

"RAWR!"

"Hm, I wouldn't do this normally, but Sheik did tell us that we're all allies here. Are you sure this isn't some kind of parasite?"

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"I see you will not take no for an answer. I'll just set it on this cabinet."

Amidst the ruckus, Richter pushed away a wall panel near the lights to pilfer from his secret stash of food for lunch, only to find Pichu sleeping inside.

"*Yawn*. Oh, were those your ramen noodles? Sorry, I must have been sleepwalking again."

"It's fine; I'll just have to find a new place for it. Hey Corrin, wanna go fishing?"

"I don't think either of them heard you."

"Hey Luge, you wanna go fishing?"

"Sure!"

"You know, I've heard you've come a long way since being the donut guy. Anyway, let's take leave before somebody smashes a chair."

Morton then proceeded to do just that over Incineroar's head, who then gave him a proper beating.

"Point taken Richter," Luigi replied.

While they left, the Ice Climbers announced to everyone that they had an idea: Why not see if Galeem or the spirits affect the magnetic poles with a compass and go on from there? Everyone seemed to agree. They all walked outside headquarters and the Ice Climbers held up their compass. After a couple of minutes, it did indeed start acting up.

At that moment, Sheik noticed another ray of light headed towards them and warned everyone. The second blast caused another explosion.

"Is everyone alright?" Male Wii Fit Trainer queried.

Chrom counted everyone. "Thankfully no one was hit this time, but the compass blew up" He then turned toward Ken, who was grunting in pain. A bolt of the energy had stabbed him, and now, he was on his knees.

"I've been battered, beaten, and burned; but to go out like this? A dirty coward that Galeem." Ken fell to the ground and both him and the bolt vanished. Everyone gasped. Chrom's face showed that of nausea, as he had experienced a very similar injury in the past, and so had female Robin. Lucas pointed out that Dr. Mario had met a similar fate. They watched him wave goodbye to Peach and Daisy, then disappearing.

"It-It's happening again! Where are Luigi and Richter? Someone, find them now!" Sheik cried out.

Lucina told them that she knew where they were. She and Yoshi looked at each other and she jumped on his back before riding off toward the nearby lake.

"Is something particularly wrong Sheik? It is rare that you show such signs of fear," Meta Knight questioned.

Sheik then without warning, fell to her knees too.

Sheik struggled to stand up but was ultimately successful—barely. Exhausted, Sheik turned to Ike and stammered: "Ike, you must lead the charge now. I'm…sorry," before she collapsed then faded away a few moments later.

"Oh no."

Luigi cast Richter's whip into the water.

"I'm not sure how much Simon would approve of using the Vampire Killer as a fishing rod, but I will give you points for creativity," Richter professed. He, Luigi, and Nino laughed. "You know, I was reading about the legend of Julius Belmont, and I guess this is what it must be like to relax—even if it's for just a moment. Heck, just imagine someone fighting Dracula and because of us, he smells like fish!" The trio laughed again.

"Hey! Luigi, Richter; you've got a bite!" shouted Nino.

Luigi pulled the whip in and much to his surprise, they had actually caught a few fish!

"Ha. Ha. Will you look at that?"

"Hooray!"

"Yeah, the guys back at the city will love this," Richter stated as he removed the fish from the spikes and placed them into an empty sack that they had brought with them.

Luigi then remembered their conservation from earlier; was Richter implying that they would have to fight Dracula?

"If darkness is looming, Dracula can't be too far behind. But I wouldn't worry about it too much, for I am Richter Belmont—Vampire Hunter! Who knows? We might even rescue Simon before then. Then it'll really be a piece of cake!"

Luigi tried to mimic one of Richter's taunts while giving a monologue himself. "And I am Luigi, um, Brother of Mario, Veteran, Member of the Belmont Bromance, and…I'm the hero!"

Richter and Nino smirked. "Yeah, we might have to work a bit on that one. Anyway, let's nab ourselves a few more."

"Okay!"

Luigi and Richter took turns reeling in more fish; enough to feed almost everyone.

"Alright, let's get back to base."

They walked around a third of the way when Lucina—and only Lucina reached them. "Guys, you have to come back immediately! Ken and Dr. Mario were vaporized by another one of Galeem's explosions…and so was Yoshi."

The news hit Luigi particularly hard—Not more of his closest friends. By the time it took the trio to process the event, Lucina was already running back. Richter playfully nudged Luigi with his elbow. "Race ya." Richter then took off.

"Hey!" Luigi smirked as he started running.

They followed Lucina until Richter gave out. Luigi skidded on his heels.

"Richter! Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me; I just need some water. Luckily, I still have some left from the spring."

"Oh. Just try not to tire yourself out. See you." Luigi dashed away, with Nino right behind him.

When Luigi reached a distance where he couldn't see him, Richter looked around him for a sign of light. Then, he said a prayer and poured a small amount of holy water on himself. It stung a little, like applying rubbing alcohol to an open wound, but it kept whatever was bothering Richter at bay, for a while. After a while, he caught up with Luigi, Lucina, and Nino.

The four of them made it back. Toon Link informed them that while they were gone, in addition to Ken, Dr. Mario, and Sheik; Wendy Koopa and Mii Sword Fighter had also perished. He stepped a few inches to the side revealing several of the fighters surrounding Ness, who was lying on the ground. He and Lucas were trying to use their PSI to hold off the inevitable, but once they ran out of psychic points, Ness was gone.

As everyone stood devastated, Ike turned the group's attention to Luigi—The only member of the Original Twelve remaining among them. It was at that moment; Richter's secret was revealed. He fell on his side, letting go of his empty bottle of holy water. Ike held Richter up to a sitting position, allowing him to lean on his knees.

"It's happening. I'm sorry I lied to you. Here, take The Vampire Killer lest it too fall into the hands of darkness." Luigi accepted the legendary weapon. Him, Nino, and Lucina, in particular, begged Richter to stay.

Richter mustered up the power and courage to smile. "But I promise you'll get through this. As for me, I guess, for now, 'farewell,'" he professed issuing the group a V-sign which he held up until the moment he began to fade away. A short time later, he was completely gone. Then, the Vampire Killer vanished in Luigi's arms.

"Richter." Luigi didn't say anything else at first as tears started streaming down his face. Once Daisy allowed him to cry into her shoulders and get all of his emotions out, he became a blubbering mess.

Ike looked at Luigi once again; his expression was a mournful one. Under it—between what happened to Ness and the Belmonts' wishes—he gave a single order: "Protect him at all costs." Everyone stood up, including Luigi—deeply heartened that everyone agreed. Luigi then noticed Cloud, far away, looking off into the sunset. He sprinted up to Cloud. "What's the matter?"

"I just needed a moment to compose myself."

Nino chimed in. "Wait, I don't understand; how did Galeem seal away Richter? We weren't even anywhere near the explosion."

Cloud hesitated. He eventually said to them, "I wish I could tell you, but one way or another, we'll get through this—all of us."

"Indeed," said Alucard.

Eight more fighters fell to Galeem's attack today, including Sheik. I fear more and more that by the time we get to Galeem, there won't be enough of us left to win. There are only about what? Somewhere between twenty and thirty of us left depending on who you ask. The vast world that lies before us; is it one of Light, or of Darkness?