Mario and the rest of the crew had already gotten out of the wooded area, and were waiting for Luigi and Zelda to rejoin them. However, after some time, neither had showed up.
"Something can't be right," Mario said. That was when his eye caught something flying in the air like a frisbee. It was flying toward Ken.
"Ken," Mario said. Ken quickly turned around and snagged the object.
"What is it?" Sonic asked.
"Looks like a piece of tree bark. It looks like there's something etched on the back," Shadow spoke up. Ken took a look at the back of the bark. His face suddenly looked concerned.
"Satsui No Hado... where did this come from?" Ken asked the group.
"I'm guessing it came from the woods," Mario replied.
"I've got to figure who sent this and how they know about it!" Ken spoke boldly, taking off into the woods.
"Ken! Hold up!" Falcon shouted. Ken didn't pay attention and kept running. Mario sighed. They knew they were going to have to go back for him. They dashed to where they last saw Ken. They eventually found him, stopped in the middle of the path.
"Ken, what's going... Mama mia...," Mario gasped. He saw Luigi's unconscious body lay in the path.
"What happened to him?" Falcon asked.
"So, you got my message," a voice said. Mario and the crew whirled their heads to see Zelda(who was currently Sheik) in the trees.
"Zelda! What are you doing in the ninja getup?" Shadow demanded.
"What are you talking about?" Mario asked, clearly confused.
"Hm... so one of you knows... so there is no point in hiding it any longer," Sheik said. With a flash of magic, she turned back into Zelda. Everyone(with the exception of Shadow) gasped in surprise. Ken eventually broke the moment of shock.
"You sent this? What do you know of the Satsui No Hado?" Ken questioned, holding the piece of bark.
"I can't say I know anything of it... just someone who's able to use it," Zelda replied calmly.
"Ryu... Wait, you saw Ryu?" Ken asked. Zelda nodded.
"Him and Mega Man. Luigi defeated him, but he recovered and hit him with that shoryuken of yours. He also said before that he mastered this Satsui No Hado," Zelda explained. Ken went pale.
"No... this is bad..."
"What do you mean?" Sonic asked.
"The Satsui No Hado, or in English the 'Surge of Murderous Intent' is a dark energy which exactly what it sounds like. Ryu has been struggling to battle with it for years. If he's learned to master it... that puts everyone in danger, including himself...," Ken explained sadly.
"Well, what do we do about Luigi? We can't leave him sitting here," Fox pointed out.
"Mario, send Luigi and I back to Altea. I'll watch over him," Zelda spoke up.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Luigi spent all his time before this watching over me. The least I can do is return the favor," Zelda said. Mario nodded.
"Alright, I'll leave you too it," Mario shrugged. He set the device to Altea. Zelda picked up the unconscious Luigi. She looked at the group.
"May you all return soon," she said.
"Hold on. Give us the dragon device. In case we find anymore revenants," Shadow replied. Zelda nodded, and fished around in Luigi's pockets until she found. She handed it to Shadow before disappearing into the portal.
"We've got to find Ryu, and revive him as soon as possible," Ken blurted out.
"We will, but it'll have to be the next time we see him," Shadow replied.
"Let's get going. We've already wasted enough time," Mario ordered. They ran out of the forest. As soon as they came out of the woods, however, Kirby came flying and landed in front of them. A stranger with Kirby came and landed beside him.
"These guys are tough Kirby! We might not be able to take them!" The stranger said. Kirby turned and saw Mario and the crew behind them. The stranger turned and saw them.
"Well, just in the knick of time! Can you take those guys up there for us? We're outnumbered!" The stranger asked. Mario nodded.
"Got you covered, pal!" The stranger nodded in return, before he and Kirby ran back into the woods for cover. It was the young man in black, Blood Falcon, Wolf, and revenants Roy and Chrom.
"Father!" Lucina gasped. Marth got ready to draw his version of Falchion.
"I'll take the kid in black," Shadow stepped up.
"Wolf's mine," Fox said next.
"I will deal with Roy," Marth spoke up.
"I've got a score to settle with Blood Falcon," Mario said next. Meanwhile, Lucina was at war with herself. She didn't want to attack her father. But she remembered when Ike was a revenant, and what Luigi had told her. This was clearly not her brave, heroic father. She stood up, unsheathing her Falchion.
"I will handle Father," Lucina said. Mario turned to the others.
"Go find Kirby and the other guy and bring them back!" Mario ordered. Sonic nodded, before having the rest of the crew follow him back into the wooded area. Shadow quickly started the battle.
"Chaos... Spear!" Shadow launched the chaos energy at the ground, causing smoke to rise. This allowed the the heroes to divide and conquer. Shadow dodged blasts from the young man in black.
"You've got no Mind Stone to help you this time... Dark Pit...," Shadow growled. The young man smiled.
"So you finally figured it out."
"No, it's because you're literally a Dark Pit. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out," Shadow responded.
"You know what? I don't need the Mind Stone to beat you," Dark Pit said harshly.
"Yeah. Maybe in base form. How about we kick it up a notch early?" Shadow suggested smiling. He let the Chaos Emeralds float around and turned into Super Shadow. Dark Pit stared at Shadow. Shadow could sense the concern. He smirked.
"What are you waiting for? Let's get this over with," Shadow said. Dark Pit split his bow into two short swords, then charged at Shadow, swinging wildly, trying to hit the Ultimate Life Form. Shadow effortlessly dodged the quick slices. Finally, Dark Pit attempted to attack Shadow with an orbitar attack. However, as Dark Pit got closer, he had fallen into Shadow's trap.
"Chaos... CONTROL!" Shadow yelled. Instantly, Dark Pit, stopped in place. He struggled to move.
"Wha-?" Dark Pit gasped. Shadow smiled. He knew it was over. He quickly teleported behind Dark Pit and launched him into the air with a kick. As Dark Pit flew into the air, Shadow teleported above him, slamming him back to the ground with a hard axe handle. Before Dark Pit could hit the ground, Shadow teleported underneath him and prepared for the final blow. He charged up all his negative emotion.
"Chaos... BLAST!" Shadow yelled. Once the blast cleared, Shadow noticed the young man's body on the ground. He was still alive, though badly injured. Shadow turned back to normal.
"Maybe I should have held back a bit...," Shadow said to himself.
Meanwhile, Fox and Wolf we're battling other, both being able to get an advantage.
"You've gotten much better than the last time I fought you, Fox McCloud," Wolf sneered.
"You've improved, yourself. But it won't help you, Wolf," Fox said. The two pulled out their blasters and began firing at one another. Fox avoided Wolf's shots, then charged at Wolf with a Fox Illusion. Wolf dodged this, and attempted a strike, which Fox avoided, rolling backwards. The two continued to battle. They stopped for a second, fatigued.
"Give up, Fox. You know you can't beat me," Wolf laughed.
"That's what you think. I know I can beat you. And I'm going to do it," Fox replied.
"Keep telling yourself that. You can join your friend Falco," Wolf sneered again. He pulled out his blaster. Fox pulled his out as well. Wolf smirked, firing a couple of shots. Fox quickly put his blaster back in it's holster, then activated his reflector. Wolf easily dodged the shots.
"Ha! Did you really think you could hit me with...," Wolf started, only for Fox to jump up and kick Wolf in the face. Fox readied himself for the finishing blow. He charged up his G-diffuser.
"FIRE!" Fox yelled, launching himself at Wolf. The impact of Fox coming at Wolf sent Wolf flying into a tree. Wild hit the ground, defeated. Fox fell to his knee. He'd won, though it didn't really feel like it.
"FALCON KICK!" Blood Falcon yelled, doing the flying kick toward Mario, who jumped out of the way of the attack. Blood Falcon stopped and smiled evilly.
"Hmph. It appears that you've gotten slightly more competent than last time!" Blood Falcon said smugly.
"More than competent. I'm better than you. I don't need the real Falcon to beat you now," Mario replied, pulling out a fire flower. Turning into Fire Mario., he threw some fireballs, which Blood Falcon dodged. Blood Falcon went for a sliding uppercut, which Mario dodged, causing Falcon to fall. The two continued to dodge each other's strikes, with each only getting in a few punches. Falcon thought he had an opportunity, and he tried to seize it.
"Falcon...," he began charging up a Falcon Punch. Mario knew he had to react quickly. He pulled out his spare cape. He whacked Falcon with it, causing him to turn around and punch the wrong way!
"Huh???" Blood Falcon stuttered, completely baffled. With the little time he had, Mario charged up a large fire attack. He finally got it strong enough.
"HIYA!!!!" Mario yelled, unleashing the attack on Falcon. The attack left him knocked out. From the looks of it, he didn't have any burns.
Meanwhile, Lucina began to realize trying to battle her father had been a mistake. Her father had taught her everything about wielding a blade, and now he was as dangerous as ever. He made quick work of Lucina.
"You were always a foolish girl, Lucina. Now, you join me... in death!" Chrom shouted, charging towards his daughter to finish her off. Lucina looked in horror, weakly putting up Falchion to defend herself. However, just before Chrom could get to Lucina, there was a collision, causing dust from the ground to pick up. When the dust, both Chrom and Lucina were surprised to see Ike, who'd blocked the strike. Ike has come back, and had blocked Chrom's blow.
"What?" Chrom asked in shock. Ike turned to Lucina.
"Go find Sonic and the others! I'll take your father!" Ike ordered.
"Right!" Lucina nodded, sheathing Falchion and heading the other way. Ike jumped back.
"It's always been an honor to fight by your daughter's side. Today, I get the honor of fighting her father, the one who taught her everything about wielding a sword."
"She was always a prodigy. Apparently, not in finding a companion, given that she's fallen in love with a commoner like you."
"Lucina is allowed to make her own choices. One day, I hope to have your daughter's hand in marriage," Ike said.
"A commoner like you will not have my blessing!" Chrom seethed, charging at Ike. The two clashed, leaped back, and then continued to duel. In the end, Ike reigned victorious. He spoke to the unconscious Chrom:
"No one is asking for  your permission."
Clang! Clang! Marth, meanwhile, was battling his protege, Roy. Roy was usually a quick learner, and his revenant form had made him deadlier in combat.
"I must say, Roy, you've gotten stronger since the last time we battled," Marth said.
"While you made yourself weaker, joining Luigi again, the one responsible for our deaths!" Roy spat harshly.
"You are wrong, Roy. Be one of Waluigi's puppets made me weak. I proved that I don't need his power to prove my meddle in combat. Unlike you," Marth returned.
"You never believed in me, Marth. Always thought I'd be your understudy. That changes today!" Roy shouted, then charging at Marth. Marth swiftly dodged his attacks before finishing Roy with an attack he dubbed Critical Hit.
"You were always a hot head, in more ways than one," Marth sighed. By this time, Wolf and Blood Falcon had grabbed the fallen Dark Pit and disappeared in a appearing portal, leaving Roy and Chrom alone. The group who had followed Kirby returned. Lucina went up to Ike. She looked at her father. Someone she looked up to. So brave and strong, now only corrupted by Waluigi's power. She felt her eyes start filling with tears. She had felt just as bad with Ike, though she wasn't sure which was worse. Lucina turned and gave Ike a hug.
"Thank you for helping him," Lucina whispered.
"Okay, let's bring 'em back," Shadow announced. He pulled the dragon device out and pulled the trigger. After a few seconds, Roy and Chrom were back to normal. Mario turned to meet Kirby, his friend, and another familiar foe.
"Meta Knight...," Mario muttered aloud.
"Do not worry. I am not here to fight you. I have learned from my previous mistakes," Meta Knight replied, bowing.
"I see. And you are?"
"The name's Dedede. King Dedede. Pleased to meet ya! Kirby's told me a lot about you! So what are you here for?" Dedede said happily.
"We're kind of in the middle of some dimensional war, so to speak," Mario replied, rubbing the back of his head. Kirby looked in confusion.
"Whaddya mean?" Dedede asked, confused.
"Here goes...," Mario thought. He took a deep breath and told the three everything that had transpired in the past four months. How Waluigi had found the Power Glove and all the Power Stones. How his snap had nearly killed everyone in their group of friends. And their times as revenants. When he was done. Kirby, Dedede, and Meta Knight all looked in confusion and surprise.
"That's crazy... Kirby, you believin' any of this?" Dedede asked. Kirby thought for a minute, then nodded. Dedede looked at Meta Knight.
"And you?"
"It sounds strange..., but it is possible."
"Well, if you two believe it, then I believe it. But that doesn't really explain why you're here."
"We're here looking for other people to join us. Stop Waluigi. If he's not stopped, this happy little place known as Dreamland will be brought to ruin. And I know none of you want that," Shadow explained. The three looked at one another. They began to discuss quietly. After about a minute, Dedede stepped forward.
"We'd be happy to join you on your quest, pal!" Dedede answered happily, as he and Shadow shook hands.
"Excellent. Then we need to head back to Altea. Roy and Chrom need to rest," Marth said.
"Right. Let's head back. We'll take the path Zelda and Luigi were on, that way we avoid that fallen tree," Mario said. The group headed back to the Falcon Flyer, Falcon kicked it into gear, and the group headed back to Altea. On the way there, Mario wondered about the Satsui No Hado. What really was it? Would Luigi be affected by it? These were questions that would be answered all too soon.