"Galeem! Your time has come to an end. This is for all of our friends! Face fire and Ragnell!
[This is for my brother: Die monster! You don't belong in this world!"]
"Phew. That was a tough battle, but we won and in no small part thanks to you. Galeem is no more. Now let's rescue everyone and return this land to peace once and for all."
[Nods]
"Ah!"
["Where did those pillars of fire come from?"]
"I don't know but keep on the lookout."
"Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. You think I would really just hide in the background while the Belmonts were away?"
"Who is that?"
["T-this must be that monster Richter was talking about."]
"Father. Leave these two alone."
"Alucard, I thought you were Cloud's spirit."
"I was. Slice!"
"Elwind!"
"Great Aether!"
Luigi rose from a hectic session of sleep. M. Wii Fit Trainer and Nino heard his rapid breathing and coached some deep breaths for him.
"What happened, Luigi?" Nino inquired.
"I dreamt I was nearly all alone and there was a' this evil, fanged, undead madman who could throw fire, and out of the window I saw this giant floating half-a skeleton with a scythe, and…" Luigi began to gasp in short breaths again.
"Take it easy; it was only a nightmare," Male Wii Fit Trainer noted, "Given recent events combined with your timid nature, and particularly vivid dreaming, it's perfectly normal. We can't have you become faint due to an anxiety attack. Unfortunately, I can't set up a therapy routine since we're heading out. Ike told me to keep a special eye on you, though, so I'll do what I can in case you get nervous again."
"Wow. Ike is such a good leader; I'm honestly still surprised a' some Crimean marchioness hasn't a' managed to win him over yet. Thanks for helping me calm down, by the way."
"No need. After all, mental health is also important to a healthy body. Hahahahahahahaha!"
"Hahahahaha!"
Then, Nino had thought to herself while she was sorting her books; "Wow. The only thing that could make this better is if my big brothers were here, but that's why I've gotta be tough: So, I can help Luigi find his!"
After planning their route, Ike and his group of fighters set off to explore even more of the World of Light.
"Oh wow!" This place is beautiful!" Pichu squeaked. "Gemstones, trees, ribbons, rainbows, and Poképuffs as far as the eye can see!"
"And we're not even at the lake yet," Leaf commented.
"Oh yeah! It seems like all your concerns just blow away here at this magical place!"
Ike couldn't help but catch their infectious cheer; it was the first time since before Galeem arrived that he'd seen some of them happy.
Refusing to let the whimsy take hold, Dark Samus and the remaining Koopalings went off without the rest of the group without telling them.
Pichu was the first to notice and pled them to wait for the rest of them. To the amusement of everyone else, it preferred to roll in the grass after them.
The pursuit led them to some more clones, which they took down. They even befriended an Oshawott, Bear Hugger, and a puppy.
"Phew, that was quite the workout." M. Wii Fit Trainer exclaimed while casually eating an apple. "And I'm so glad to be reunited with my pet!"
"I'm not so sure this is the time to be celebrating just yet." M. Corrin said.
"Oh, cheer up. Why the long face anyway?"
Nino used a wind spell to free even more apples from a tree and gave one to Corrin.
"Thank you. I don't know; just something feels ominous about the cliff over there."
"I-I feel it too," Lucas told him.
Toon Link thought about it and responded to Corrin and Lucas. "We're going uphill, and Galeem is in the sky, right? I'm sure the closer we're getting to it, the creepier it gets."
"Then I suppose our next course of action is to climb," Ike decreed, "If our whole point is to beat it; I imagine there must be some sort of dungeon the others are trapped in, and that's where we'll find them. We'll just have to try and not get caught."
"And how are we supposed to do that?" Iggy scowled.
"Well, part of a plan is better than no plan! Now let's go!" Leaf shouted in her usual chipper manner.
The group made their way across a bridge, ascended a clifftop, and began their journey toward a menacing castle in the distance.
"Ugh, since when did it get so hot?" Pichu bewailed.
"Well, where I come from, when this happens, it usually means that this is Death Mountain, which…" he gasped, "this is where Link and Zelda could be!" His newfound motivation gave him enough energy to run ahead of everyone else.
"Be careful! Also, since when is there a castle on Death Mountain?" the Mii Gunner wondered.
"Unless this is Bowser's Castle!" Larry cried out. The other Koopalings' ears perked.
"Whaaaaaaaaat? Bowser's Castle?! Is this for real?" Lemmy squealed.
"You bet it is! Koopalings, lead the way!" Roy shouted.
A giant Squirtle was guarding the castle. When it saw the sheer number of Fighters heading towards it, it retreated inside.
Leaf stomped her feet and yelled, "Hey! That knockoff looked an awful lot like my Squirtle! Come back here, you substituting coward!"
The Fighters were almost at the entrance when they heard an unmistakably ferocious roar: Giga Bowser.
Ike refused to surrender and ordered them to charge. As soon as Ike gave the order, two clones burst through. Their identities struck terror into everyone: Male Robin and Lucina. The Lucina clone gave her name as Aisya.
"Oh gosh. Is that…Robin and…Lucina?" the female Corrin beseeched.
"And if Galeem has reclaimed Aisya's spirit, then…that means Peach must be gone too!" Nino sniveled out.
"Did someone call my name?" A possessed Peach walked out from between the fake Robin and Lucina.
The remaining Fighters stood there speechless.
Giga Bowser riled up its own summon of unraveling Master Hands from the inside that loomed over the castle's towers. More beams were coming.
"Is this a trap? Everyone, retreeeeeeeeeeeaat!" Toon Link screamed before being knocked vulnerable by one beam then vaporized by a second.
The Mii Gunner's Echo Reflector managed to keep the beam away from touching her, but eventually, it broke through—annihilating her.
Leaf, knowing she wouldn't make it, sprinted for a bit then threw all of her Pokéballs into the water—an action that didn't go unnoticed by Pichu, who was quite a way's behind her. It cried out to her, then propelled itself using a fully charged Skull Bash onto Leaf's back; pushing her out of the way enough distance where she could dive, at the cost of its own life.
Ike was the second to successfully reach the waterfall. Over him, he noticed six other figures. Before he could process their identities, however; four of them were caught in the beams. From the screams, he could tell that three of them were Larry, Lemmy, and Iggy Koopa. He grabbed the edge of a small rock and pulled himself up. Soaked, he made is way toward a strange-looking Squirtle rubbing Leaf's back.
Ike looked behind him: lying there were Luigi, Ludwig, and oddly enough, Lemmy. It wasn't long before another person approached them from the other side: Cloud.
Luigi gasped in disbelief. "Cloud? How'd you get here so fast?"
"I stole the bus. And it seems as if the clones lured you into a trap as well."
Ike professed. "Tell me about it. Everyone you don't see before you is gone—Lucas, Dark Samus, Male Wii Fit Trainer, the other Roy, both Corrins, all of them."
"I wouldn't be here if Pichu hadn't made the ultimate sacrifice," Leaf added with a mournful tone in her voice.
Cloud sighed. "We did, however, learn that Galeem could be reached through space if we defeated the right monsters, including Giga Bowser up there, but shortly after, the clones, Galleom, and even a possessed fighter attacked us; I was the only survivor."
Then, out of the blue Lemmy rose up with a Fire Flower in hand and opened his red eyes. Leaf's Ivysaur immediately tackled him into the water. The two jumped in and out continuously while clashing with aerial smashes. Squirtle joined the fray hitting Iggy with Water Gun. Ivysaur then used a Vine Whip to grab Iggy, throwing him up in the air. Finally, Leaf unleashed her Charizard and instructed it to attack him with Fly. Charizard launched Iggy up in the air out of sight—finishing the fight. As Leaf congratulated her Pokémon, Heavy Lobster's spirit emerged from the water. Without saying a word, Ludwig took the spirit for himself.
Suddenly, everyone noticed a second twinkle in the sky.
"What's that?" Cloud asked.
"Looks like something managed to slip through," replied Luigi.
"But what is it?" begged Leaf.
A few moments later, the mysterious object struck the ground: a card with a strange symbol on it. Ike picked it up; "'Take Your Heart.' Must be foreign; wonder what that means."
"I have no idea," said Ludwig.
Luigi snickered to himself.
"And just what do YOU think is so funny about that?"
"Like you would know anything about anyone's heart," he said.
"Grr…"
"Will those two ever truly get along?" Leaf asked rolling her eyes.
Cloud gave a snarky reply himself: "Some things just never change, Leaf." He then asked to see the card himself.
Ike handed the card over to him. Cloud quickly smirked upon seeing the emblem.
"Well, who is it: one of your friends?"
"Kind of; a vigilante if you will."
All of this amused Leaf.
"Hee. Hee. I'm so glad even in these dark times there are still moments of happiness."
Cloud put the card in one of his pockets. "Now let's get a move on."
"But, which way?" Leaf begged. Ike stood blankly as if he were in a trance.
"Ludwig? Ike? Luigi?"
No one said a word to each other until Cloud made a reflection: "I don't know. It seems we have no choice but to go into hiding, for now."