(A/N): Hello, this is direct sequal to the first Super Paper Mario. This isn't my story, It's my best friend's. I'm adding this with her permission because she doesn't even go on fanfiction to do it herself. It's an amazing story. Read and review please.
Prologue
"Why do you think you deserve this?" asked Jaydes.
"Because I've changed my ways," replied the jester-like creature before her. "I regret what I did before my game ended. I've come clean."
Jaydes thought for a second. "What did you say your name was again?"
"Dimentio."
"Well, Dimentio, I'm afraid I can't allow you to enter The Overthere. The sins you committed during your game are too heavy. You tried to destroy all worlds! You should be ashamed of yourself."
"Reeeeeeally..." said Dimentio, exaggerating his tone.
"Yes, feel free to explore The Underwhere, but that's it."
"Reeeeeeally..." repeated Dimentio. "I think you'd be saying something very different if you knew about what just happened to me."
Jaydes was unafraid; she dealt with liars and smooth-talkers trying to enter The Overthere all the time. "Oh?" she asked, doing a bad impression of being interested.
"When my game ended, I suddenly remembered something. Something about myself that had been cleared from my memory."
"And... what does this have to do with you entering The Overthere?"
"More than you think!" Dimentio used his exaggerated tone again. Suddenly he snapped his fingers, and red bolts of energy condensed around Jaydes. She tried frantically to shake them off.
"Jaydes," announced Dimentio, "Grant me life once more!"
The energy bolts had a strange effect on Jaydes mind. "Yes...Master...Dimentio," she uttered, not sure why she was saying it. She then began a strange chant about Game Overs and continuing. Soon, a glowing star appeared above Dimentio, and he was drawn into it. He found himself standing in front of the purple door on Flipside Tower.
"Excellent," the jester snickered to himself. "Now to find Count Bleck, or if he prefers... Blumiere!"
X - X - X - X - X
Suddenly, the world seemed to invert. Lord Blumiere and his wife, Timpani, were pulled into some kind of vortex, and before they knew it, they were standing on the third floor of Flipside. "Huh? What just happened?" asked Blumiere.
"Why, I'll tell you what just happened," said a familiar voice beside him. "I spent foreversearching for you, Blumiere, so I could bring you here. I didn't intend for Timpani to come here as well, but I suppose it doesn't matter."
Blumiere turned his head to the side. "D...Dimentio?" he uttered. "What are you doing here? And...alive?"
"I have changed my ways, Lord Blumiere," explained the jester. "I was granted a second chance, and I wanted to apologize for what I've done."
Timpani, silent during this time, noticed something. "If you wanted to applogize," she began, "why didn't you just come to where we were instead of taking us to this place?"
"Ah ha ha ha...you're clever, Timpani. But not clever enough!" With that, he snapped his fingers, and the red lightning bolts surrounded Blumiere. Timpani jumped back in fright while Blumiere struggled.
"EY!" cried another familiar voice. A burly man jumped into the confusion and shouted at Dimentio. "Whattya think yer doin' to me boss?"
"O'Chunks!" exclaimed Dimentio. "I must admit I'm suprised to see you here. Why, I'm just doing him a favor."
"It looks more like yer harmin' 'im in some way to me! And an enemy 'o Bleck be an enemy of mine, Dimentio!"
O'Chunks charged at Dimentio. Quickly moving out of the way, Dimentio snapped his fingers once more, and a lightning bolt came down right on his attacker. "Ah ha ha! You're at as intelligent as asparagus is tasty, pathetic minion. Attacks like that won't work against me."
"Must...defend...Count..." mumbled O'Chunks, in too much pain to move. He looked at the Heart Pillar beside him. Somehow he got the feeling that the Pure Heart was in danger. He took it out of the pillar.
Just then, the energy constricting Blumiere vanished, but he seemed different then before his struggle. "Blumiere! Are you well?" asked Timpani.
Blumiere then did something Timpani never would have expected. He drew his staff, and it produced a blast of energy which sailed toward Timpani at a supernatural speed. Timpani shrieked and then collapsed to the ground.
"Excellent, Count Bleck!" applauded Dimentio. "And we haven't even started lessons yet. You're doing a fantastic job."
"Thank you...Master Dimentio," said the Count.
"What in blazin' bog rats is goin' on 'ere!" said O'Chunks. "Count! Snap out of it!"
"Count Bleck," started Dimentio. "Your first task...end O'Chunks game!"
"Whaaaaa?" shouted O'Chunks. "Bleck, what did I ever do to yeh?"
Before he even finished speaking, Count Bleck again used his magic energy attack, sending O'Chunks flying off the edge of the third floor. "You did well," said Bleck's new master, "but you need to focus on ending his game, not sending him flying."
X - X - X - X - X
"I'm Chunked!" O'Chunks sobbed, down on the second floor. He then noticed a blue pipe next to him. "Mmm...oh, that's right! This pipe's the one goin' to Flopside, innit? Nastasia'll know whatta do!" He jumped down the pipe.
Bleck and Dimentio had just decended to this level. "Where is he?" wondered count Bleck.
O'Chunks travel to the third floor. "Ey! Nastasia! Dimentio's over 'n Flipside an' Bleck be tryin' to end me game!"
"What? Slow down, O'Chunks."
"Slow down! They probably be lookin' for me right now!"
"Dimentio's in Flipside and the Count is trying to kill you?"
"That's what I seen!"
"Um...I think you were just dreaming, since Count Bleck is somewhere we don't know, and Dimentio's game is over."
"I swear I saw 'em over on the third floor o' Flipside! You gotta believe me! Please!"
She sighed. "Alright, O'Chunks, I'll see what I can do about it." What has this guy been eating?
"Thanks, Nastasia! I knew I could count on yeh."
Nastasia and O'Chunks returned to Flipside. After walking in the direction of Flipside Tower for a few moments, nothing happened.
"See, O'Chunks? They're not here. You were just dreaming."
"But...but...but..."
"I'm leaving, 'K?"
"You're not going anywhere, Nastasia," came a familiar voice from behind her. Nastasia turned around. Standing before her and O'Chunks were Count Bleck and Dimentio.
"See!" Cried O'Chunks."I told yeh! It's them! In the flesh!"
"Nastasia, I would like for you to try something for me," said the Count, sounding very benevolent. Nastasia, never one to disobey Count Bleck, stepped forward. "No! Don't yeh see? It's a trap!" Just when Count Bleck was about to zap her into oblivion, O'Chunks came running from behind and tackled her legs, sending them both tappling under the bolt.
"Count!" exclaimed Nastasia, shocked. "What are you doing?"
"He is my servant now!" announced Dimentio.
Nastasia was puzzled, but simply asked "If you're trying to kill us, why'd you have to make the Count do it?"
"This is a secret I will keep to myself at the moment."
X - X - X - X - X
Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser came out of the green door atop Flipside Tower. "That was a gun space-swim," remarked Luigi.
"What are we going to do now?" asked Peach.
"Forget you guys!" Bowser stomped off. "I'm going to the arcade, baby!"
The other heros sighed and followed Bowser down the elevator. For a moment, when they emerged, they thought they were dreaming. O'Chunks and Nastasia were standing before them, being attacked by Count Bleck!
"What the heck?" uttered Bowser. "What's going on here?"
"I, Count Bleck, am putting the beginning stages of Dimentio's master plan into motion!"
"What!" Bowser noticed Dimentio behind Count Bleck! "You!"
Count Bleck bowed. "Yes, me...Count Bleck!" he began to speak in a formal tone. "The one who had been brought to this dimention...is Count Bleck! The current assistant to Master Dimentio...is also Count Bleck! And the ender of the games of his former minions...is again Count Bleck!"
The heros were too shocked to tell the Count that they were between dimensions, not in one. They stood there, mouths hanging open, unable to comprehend how Dimentio or Count Bleck could have returned.
"I'll tell you who doesn't even make a little bit of sense...Count Bleck!" repeated Bowser.
"Master Dimentio!" exclaimed Bleck. "Leave this...to Count Bleck! He will destroy his former minions...and the heros, too!"
"Very well. If you fail, you'll need more training."
"What is going ON?" sputtered Luigi.
"I'll tell you what's going on," said Dimentio. "When my game ended, a part of my memory that had been erased came back to me. I used this knowledge to escape from the after game and bring Count Bleck to this dimension. Count Bleck and I will reactivate the Chaos Heart...and use it to destroy all dimensions!"
Mario, who had been silent until now, spoke up. "First of all, how did you turn Count Bleck...like this? Second, why do you want to kill Bleck's minions? Third, didn't you already fail to destroy all dimensions before? And speaking of which, fourth, how do you think you're going to reactivate the Chaos Heart. Even if you do, we'll just take the Pure Hearts and defeat you again!"
"Oh, but you can't just run up and take the Pure Hearts. That would make it a bit too easy now, wouldn't it? I have already scattered the Pure Hearts across the dimensions! You have no hope of reaching them all before the Chaos Heart consumes all worlds."
"What! You mean we have to search for the Pure Hearts again?"
"If you wish to stop us, that is, which I wouldn't even bother trying. Your time is up, heros and Count Bleck's former minions! Bleck, take them down!"
"Yes, Master Dimentio!" Dimentio vanished.
Boss: Count Bleck
"Count Bleck thinks he will destroy you first," said the Count, pointing with his staff at Mario. "You're the most dangerous of them all!" Without warning, he preformed the energy blast again. Mario, having done things like this before, jumped out of the way and landed on Count Bleck with his mad jumping skills. "All right, maybe you've still got it in you," admitted Count Bleck. "But can you stand up to this?" He produced a strange whole, similar to the Void, and Mario was sucked in, and odd, perpendicular lines started forming across the area where Mario was.
"Mama Mia! Is this some sort of new attack?" Not knowing what the lines were, Mario moved to the middle of one of the squares the lines formed. As it turned out, he correctly guess what to do, because at that moment, blue-hot lightning bolts flashed across the lines Count Bleck had produced. Once they ceased, Mario again took his chance and leaped upon Count Bleck repeatedly until the Count could stand it no more.
He wrestled free of Mario's stomps and flew to the left of the elevator leading up to the top of Flipside Tower. He fire another magic blast, this one being more compact than the rest. When it hit the ground, it suddenly exploded in eight different directions! Most of the blasts flew through the air, but one managed to hit Mario and another put a local Flipside resident out of commission.
"Count Bleck will end your game now! And once he does, he will move on to the rest of you! Have fun in the Underwhere!" Count Bleck fired another magic beam at the tired Mario. But since Mario is always full of energy, he managed to jump the attack and nail Count Bleck a final time. The weakened Count staggered a bit, then addressed Mario and the others. "You may have managed to beat Count Bleck this time, but he will annihilate you the next time you meet! Dimentio will not allow you to get the Pure Hearts...and once the Chaos Heart is unleashed once more, you will regret you ever tried to stop Dimentio...and Count Bleck!" A box enclosed Bleck, and he flipped out. Out of the area, that is.
Merlon's head was buried in the Light Prognosticus. He was investing something at the bottom of the last page he had previously assumed to be unimportant. "...and upon the return of a powerful enemy..." he read aloud to himself. "...revelations will occur, treachery will spring forth, and the four-"
"MASTER MERLON!" A Flipside resident burst through the door. "You see, um...uh...um...er...uh...that guy! Those guys! Them! People! Population! Popcorn! Popsicles!"
"Slow down! Calm yourself, lad. Now, who?"
"You see...um...that guy, the guy who killed Mario and those others?"
"Is that...Dimentio? First of all, he didn't kill them. Second of all, didn't he die? ...Actually, that was probably the first thing..."
"I swear I saw him! Over by the Heart Pillar! The one on the third floor! And there was this...shadowy guy with him and some lady! And then they went down to the second floor, and then Mario started fighting with him in front of the elevator!"
"Really? Well it seems like something I should check out." Merlon and the boy left the house. The action had already calmed down, although Nora desperately needed hospitalization. "Oh ho! It seems our four hero's and two former minions are here as well. Pray tell, was Dimentio here, along with a 'shadowy guy' and 'some lady'?"
Peach responded. "Yes! We saw Dimentio and Count Bleck, and they were going to end Bleck's minions' games, and Bleck was working for Dimentio. I don't know why, but Dimentio said that when his game ended, he'd regained memories he'd lost, and then somehow forced Count Bleck to serve him. He wanted to kill Count Bleck's minions, and he said he'd reactivate the Chaos Heart, and that he's scattered the Pure Hearts across the dimension so we can't stop him."
"Interesting..." mused Merlon. "I just so happen to be reading the Light Pr-say, what about the lady?"
"A lady? We didn't see any-"
"Oh! That's right!" interrupted O'Chunks. "Timpani! When Dimentio brought Bleck 'ere...she was with 'im! And Bleck knocked 'er out 'er somethin'!"
"Goodness, we have to get to her aid immediately!" announced Merlon. The group began walking toward the elevator to the third floor.
"How are you feeling, Timpani?" asked Merlon, after a few minutes had passed.
Timpani's vision cleared until she saw Merlon, Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, O'Chunks, and Nastasia standing before her. "I...I'm fine." In her true form, Timpani resembled Peach somewhat; slender, she looked like a princess, and more like a girl ready to get into action.
Luigi started. "Gee, I can see why Blumiere fell in love w-" but Mario clamped his hand of Luigi's mouth before he could finish his sentence.
"Blumiere!" Timpani uttered suddenly. "He...Dimentio came and he did something to him! And he..."
"Yes, Dimentio somehow forced Bleck to serve him," answered Merlon. "To quote Peach, we saw Dimentio and Count Bleck and they were going to end Count Bleck's minions' games, and Bleck was working for Dimentio. I don't know why, but Dimentio said that when his game ended, he'd regained memories he'd lost, and then he somehow forced Count Bleck to serve him. He wanted to kill Count Bleck's minions, and he said he'd reactivate the Chaos Heart, and that he's scattered the Pure Hearts across the dimensions so we can't stop him.
"That's exactly what I said!" remarked Peach.
"When you spend your days reading passages from ancient books, you acquire a good memory," Merlon explained. "Now, I just so happen to be reading the Light Prognosticus. There was something at the bottom of the last page I found. It told that since the union of a fair princess and a monster caused the Chaos Heart to be unleashed, the Chaos Heart can be deactivated if this union is dissolved."
Except for Bowser, the heros were startled, and then they remembered; Peach was still married to Bowser! "Whoa, whoa, WHOA there! Peach and I are staying married, and THAT'S THAT! shouted Bowser. Can't we just use the Pure Hearts like we did last time? Without me having to forsake my lovely wife?"
"Yes, but you are missing the bigger point here. If Dimentio hadn't forced Bleck to serve him, then Bleck could have just cancelled the marriage if Dimentio had managed to activate the Chaos Heart. But now that's he's with Dimentio, that's not an option."
"Well I'm glad about it!" huffed Bowser.
"So that's why Dimentio did it," realized Timpani. "So what should we do to stop Dimentio?"
Mario had been waiting for this moment. "First things first, we should look for the Pure Hearts that Dimentio stole. Once we have them all, we'll be able to stop Dimentio."
"But how do we do that?" asked Peach. "We have no idea where Dimentio put them, and the doors won't help us anymore."
Merlon spoke up. "This brings me to another this I was going to say about the Light Prognosticus. I read that when a Pure Heart is placed in a pillar, it automatically creates a door leading to the Pure Heart of the next successful color-Red, Orange, Yellow, and so on. The doors will in fact, lead you to the correct dimensions. Also I read something else of significance. "Upon the return of a powerful enemy," he recited. "revelations will occur, treachery will spring forth, and the four hang on, wait one minute." Merlon looked at the page again, and after a few moments, he finished. "...and the four will become nine." He closed the Light Prognosticus.
"So there's going to be nine hero's?" asked Luigi.
"That's what it seems like..." Merlon's voice trailed off into the distance. "Now, we need the Pure Hearts, but we need to find the red one before the doors will even appear. And we don't know where the red one is!"
O'Chunks suddenly remembered he was carrying the Pure Heart with him. "Ey, It's not lost! It's right 'ere!" He displayed it proudly.
"O'Chunks! Why do you have it?" asked Merlon.
"I dunno! I got the feelin' it was in danger, so I took it!"
"Excellent! Now, hero's, place the Pure Heart in the Heart Pillar on the third floor to create the red door. Your search for the Pure Hearts start here!"
"Well, wait a second," started Luigi. "How do we know Dimentio isn't just making an enemy threat? He could really have no way to reactivate the Chaos Heart and just send us on a wild goose chase."
"I was thinking that, too, but...if he was able to hypnotize Bleck like that, and with these passages in the Light Prognosticus, it seems that Dimentio is a true threat."
"Wait," said Timpani as the heros were about to leave. "I must do anything I can to bring my husband back."
"Do you intend to travel with them?" asked Merlon.
"Yes. I'm going to do whatever I can to defeat Dimentio. Please, grant me some kind of power...Turn me back into a Pixl...Anything, anything, to rescue Blumiere."
"Hmm...I am a bit rusty in my old magic skills, but I'll see what I can do." Merlon gathered his strength, and as it turned out, he was still proficent with his magic skills. Timpani disappeared, only to be replaced by a multicolored butterfly of sorts. "I have granted you the power to become a Pixl or a human at will that you can benefit the hero's on their journey."
"Thank you, Merlon..." replied Tippi.
"Now, hero's, take the Pure Heart and begin your quest!"
PURE HEART GET!
Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, and Tippi walked out of Merlon's house to the right and took the elevator up to the third floor. Mario placed the Pure Heart in the Heart Pillar, causing strange pulses of energy to occur. Odd red patterns appeared, and meanwhile, the red door was drawn into existence atop Flipside Tower. Taking the elevator down to the second floor and then up the top of Flipside Tower, and Mario and the others entered the red door.