World of Darkness

Reunion & Redemption

Mario, Luigi, Kirby, Ike, Simon, Rosalina, and Luma stood on an iceberg floating in an arctic sea on the eastern edge of the Mysterious Dimension.

"We probably should be heading back now. The others are almost certainly worrying about us," Simon told the others, "Are you all better, Luigi?" The vampire hunter turned his back to find the green-clad hero sleeping soundly in Rosalina's lap. She was watching over him—using her magic to make sure he was completely purified didn't have any more bad dreams. Meanwhile, Kirby and Luma were playing tag, and Mario had been discussing the ins and outs of the Light and Dark Worlds with Ike. These quiet moments of joy brought a rare honest smile to Simon's face.

Mario and Ike heard Simon and they turned to face Luigi as well.

"When you get down to it, your brother is a really capable and powerful warrior, "Mario," Ike told him, "That said, how come he's so timid all the time?"

Mario sighed. "True. I'd never seen him fight like that before. It's as if when Dharkon got a hold of him, he lost himself and all his sadness turned into hate. He very well could have killed me—along with all of you, and I'm sure he would've if I hadn't stopped him. I just know it. He truly believed that we were all gone."

Simon weighed in on their conversation. "Perhaps that is what he is truly afraid of."

A short time later, Luigi finally woke. "That was some of the best sleep I've had in a long time." Everyone smiled as the little brother stood up and shook Mario's hand in sibling camaraderie.

"It's great to have you back," Mario proclaimed.

"And I'm going to try not to run away anymore, but I also can't pretend to be someone I'm not. Regardless, I will do my best to help you, as you helped me."

"Let's-a go!" the brothers proudly shouted together facing their future.

They stepped onto the main surface of the Mysterious Dimension. It remained mostly the same as before, except that the spiral of darkness behind them was gone. Rosalina pointed out how it almost certainly meant that Marx had been defeated. The group then noticed a giant tree root and some other ruins they could use as a shortcut.

"Hold on," Luigi said, "There's something I have to show you."

Confused, the others followed him back the way they came, all the way to a now upturned coliseum where three clones were waiting to strike any trespassers: a Palutena, an Isabelle, and a Zelda.

Mario asked his brother why he planned to target those three in particular.

"I saw Dharkon convert them to his cause. You'll see," Luigi replied giving Ike a wink. He then launched a Green Missile attack on the Zelda puppet.

"Ah...urr...That hurt. Save me from him, Ike!"

"Mist, is that you? Don't worry, I will save you!"

The Palutena puppet blocked the others' approach, with the Isabelle puppet right behind her. "Enemies of Dharkon will be destroyed," the former said in a dull, monotone tone voice.

The Isabelle clone thrust out her fishing rod towards them, but Simon blocked the attack with his Vampire Killer and cast it away. He teamed up with Ike to finish her off, while Mario and Rosalina took care of the Palutena clone.

The Zelda clone questioned Luigi. "Why do you fight against our savior?"

Luigi stumbled after dodging a fire spell from her. He looked to his friends for a bit and shook his head to the Zelda puppet. "I did fight against him once, but as a man who wears his heart on his sleeve, I should've known better than to try and kill my own brother." He hit her with a Super Jump Punch to combo with Kirby's Stone ability to knock her out.

The three Spirits came together, now liberated from Dharkon's control.

"IKE!" Mist excitedly shouted.

"Mist?" Mist's Spirit floated toward her older brother, who began to cry tears of joy. "I...I can't believe it...I never thought I'd see you again."

Luigi smirked. "From one younger sibling to another, it's about time I repaid you for believing in me when no other Fighter would."

"Aw, come here, you lanky green oaf!" Ike said as he excitedly dragged Luigi into a group hug between the three of them. Mario stood by laughing with joy.

A princess with long flowing green hair clad in an orange dress asked him if she could join in as well. "My Lord Ike, aren't you going to make some room for me?"

"Elincia?!"

"Me too!" another adorable little girl hollered. She had long blond hair with purple streaks tied into two pigtails that reminded a foodie like Ike of a pair of cinnamon rolls. Her dress, shoes, and fashion accessories were mainly colored black with pink accents. She also carried a staff with her. She joined in the hug before the others could get the chance to ask her why. "Thanks for rescuing me from that jerkface, Ike and friends. I'm Elise, the youngest princess of Nohr. Have you seen my siblings by any chance? Where are they? This place is scary!"

Mario mentioned to her that the Fighters in the Light Realm did save another woman who fit the description.

"That must be Camilla! Yay! Let's go meet her!"

Simon briefly raised his whip on instinct before the others reminded him that "Camilla" and "Carmilla" were two separate entities.

Mario and the others reunited with the rest of the Fighters at the core in the center of the Dark Realm, who had just defeated Marx and Ganon.

Mewtwo telepathically condemned Mario for his actions. "Mario, what were you thinking—running off on your own like that?"

"Kirby, you bumbling idiot!" Meta Knight yelled.

Mario argued that both of them would do the same for someone they loved.

"None of that matters." Snake chimed putting his hand on Luigi's shoulder, "We got Luigi back—plus some Spirits we might have overlooked otherwise. I say it's a fair trade."

This only seemed to make Mewtwo even more perplexed. ("Now why do you...Ugh, never mind.")

The Fighters looked around the center of the Dark Realm. There was only one route left to go: the same way those who were trapped in the Dark Realm originally explored after being chased by Dharkon the first time.