Chapter 6*Secret Romance*
"You have disappointed me…" ,Count Bleck said in a quiet, and calm tone from his chair up at the top of the stairs. "Yes, I know my count, but if you could find it in your heart to forgive me, I…" ,Loretta was stopped by the counts hand gesture. "I know…that you have feelings for me Loretta, but it cannot be…" ,he said with a smirk on his face. "But…but I…." ,she was stopped once again. "But, you cannot ever hope to win my heart, and since your passion for me is blinding you from your true purpose, then I have no choice…" ,he said to a broken down Loretta. "What do you mean by that?" ,she asked in tears. Crysallis and Ruby were once again watching from behind the door. "I mean, that I no longer have use for you…" ,Count Bleck said as he snapped his fingers. A thin wall appeared up behind Loretta as she was chained to it. "Let me go, I am the one for you, my…my…blu…" ,she was silenced forever as she was drug deep down under the floor. Count Bleck then got up and walked to the room behind his chair. "Wow, that was cold!" ,said Crysallis as her and Ruby walked back over to their stations. "Yeah, I mean, I knew the girl was nuts but she was practically putting her heart out on a silver platter for him, and he completely mutilated it!" ,said Ruby as Derek entered the room. "Enough chatter, we have a job to do!" ,shouted Derek in frustration. "What is it?" ,Ruby asked. "You know very well! Since that fool Loretta let a pure heart out of her hands, the count is furious, we have to get it back, plus find the next six." ,said Derek. "Leave it to us Derek!" ,said the two sister's as they departed for work. "Wow, these girls are so easy to manipulate, they're like putty in my hands haha!" ,Derek laughed as he walked off.
Rosalina took the sword up to the pedestal and after a deep breadth, she stabbed it into the slot on the stone pedestal. Suddenly a beam of light shot up as a large storm of wind blew into the room, everyone was trying to hold on for their life as Rosalina stood there not budging, her dress flying in the wind as she held on to the sword. A large portal then opened up, revealing a passageway into the Dark Sanctuary, the place that Rosalina had to go to. Rosalina and the group then walked into the passageway, leaving the sword behind to keep the portal open. Rosalina then woke up, broke out in another sweat as she lay there wondering why this was happening to her, and what was about to happen.
The next day at the park were Titan and Fax, sitting on a blanket eating a snack as they watched the ducks swim across the pond. "Isn't this great?" ,asked Fax as she looked over at Titan. "Yes, yes it is!" ,Titan replied as he looked over at Fax. The two of them gently glided their hands over to the other and grasped on to each other. Suddenly Qase and Rick walked up to them. "Hey bro, I'm ready to go home!" ,Qase said to Titan who was not interested in the least about his brother's complaining. "Sorry, but I'm not, and since I'm the driver who's seventeen, and you're the kid who's twelve, that makes my decision final." ,Titan replied sarcastically. Qase began to swell up in anger as Rick tried to calm him down. "Well, if you don't want me telling Fax what happens at night, then I guess you will get off your fat butt and take me home!" ,said Qase. Suddenly Fax took her hand away and looked at Titan funny. "What…happens?" ,she asked in fear that she made a bad decision to ask. "He…well let's just say…he sleeps very heavy…" ,said Qase as everything got very silent. "Way to go, you managed to make it very awkward!" ,whispered Rick. "I don't care, it's what he gets!" ,said an overconfident Qase. Titan's face began to grow red and steamy as Fax began to giggle. "I am so get you!" ,he shouted as he began to chase after Qase. Rick and Fax both began to laugh as they watched Qase run in fear from Titan, who showed no sign of stopping. Suddenly, Fax stood up and motioned for both of them to come to her. Following orders like good pups, they came right over. "You know what, I think I'm ready to go home too." ,Fax said to Titan. "Um, if you want to then ok…" ,Titan said as he packed up the stuff and walked over to the car. Fax winked at the boys and they followed him back.
Back at the house, Rosalina and Crystal were out in the yard practicing some of their battle techniques. "Supreme Electric Jazz" ,shouted Crystal as she shot a down one of the targets that Luigi had built for them to use. "Luigi, throw me another one!" ,Crystal shouted as she was trying to catch her breadth. "Comin' right up!" ,Luigi said as he threw another one in the air. "This one's mine Crystal!" ,shouted Rosalina as she aimed her scepter at the target. "Star Scepter Blast!" Instantly the Target was destroyed, then Luigi tossed another one up, and before either of the girls could even attempt to strike it someone came into the yard. "Lovely arrow!" ,shouted the person from behind Crystal and Rosalina, as a golden arrow shot down the target. The girls along with Luigi, turned to see who it was.
The person that struck down the target was Pauline one of the original Super Mushroom Girls. "Well, how ya doin?" ,she said as she ran over to where Crystal and Rosalina were standing. "Pauline! We're doing awesome!" ,said Crystal as the girls gathered in close for a group hug. "Now three of the girls are reunited." ,said Luigi. "Not just three!" ,shouted yet another voice in the distance. "Oh yeah, brought along two other friends!" ,Pauline said as everyone turned and looked. Rosalina began to tear up in excitement as Daisy and Peach walked up. "Daisy!" ,Rosalina shouted as she ran over and hugged her. "Hey, what about me?" ,Peach asked. "You live here girl!" ,said Rosalina as she began to laugh. "I know, I was just jokin!" ,Peach replied. "Let's all go in and we can catch up!" ,said Luigi as everyone followed him inside to chat.
"Truth be told, we're not exactly here just for a friendly visit." ,said Pauline as everyone sat on the couches in the living room. "What's going on?" ,Fax asked. Rosalina had an expression on her face as if she knew what they were about to say. "The time for the ultimate fight between good and evil is coming close…" ,said Paulina. "Rosalina, these dreams and visions, that is what's going to happen." ,said Daisy. Rosalina shuttered to think about it for she saw things in her dreams that no one else knew about, not even Bowser. "The pure hearts are the key to unlocking your destiny." ,Pauline added. "Yes, and the one man that is trying to retrieve them is dangerous!" ,said Timpani as she walked in along with Birdy, Toadette, and Haylee. "Sorry for our intrusion, but I knew it was time for the truth." ,Timpani continued. "Who is he?" ,asked Fax as everyone turned to Timpani for news. "He…is someone that I know, and hold very close to my heart. His name is…Count Bleck…" ,Timpani began to choke on her words, not daring to say his true name in sadness. "Count Bleck?" ,Fax said in a confused tone. "Yes, we were once in love, but because of certain…circumstances, we were separated and now for some reason, he has lost his senses." ,said Timpani as they all continued to talk.
Count Bleck stood out on the balcony behind his room. The air was cold, the atmosphere was dark, nothing could be heard but the sounds of the moaning souls of those who had fallen victim to the darkness. He stroked his hand against the banisters that kept anyone from falling off the balcony, staring on into blank space. "What have I to live for?" ,he asked himself quietly as he looked into the vast void in front of his castle. "My prince, you have power, that is what you live for…" ,said someone standing behind the count. Count Bleck turned himself around to see a cloaked man floating behind him, carrying a wooden staff with an orb attached to the end of it. "Elder, what is it that you want?" ,said Count Bleck as he turned back around. "I merely am pondering whether it was smart to trust Derek and his…childish allies, to find the pure hearts." ,said the Elder as he took his staff and stroked the orb on its top. "It was my direct order, do you question me?" ,asked Count Bleck in a harshed tone. "No, your majesty, of course not I merely feel like Derek can not handle this task. We need the pure hearts to be able to awaken the Chaos Heart." ,said the Elder. "Then it shall be done, but we will do it my way, and for now I trust my brother to do it!" ,Count Bleck said as he motioned the Elder to leave him. "Soon this world will face the rot and decay that it deserves, the decay that it left in my heart, after it took her from me…" ,he said as he walked off.
Rosalina fell to her knees as she picked him up and lay him on her lap, her tears fell onto his face as she stroked his hair with her hand. Everyone watched in silence as she collapsed on his body, Fax ran over and picked her up as she held her close in her arms. "No…no…no…" ,Rosalina could only say one thing repeatedly as she continued to brush his hair back and forth. Fax began to cry hard as she hugged Rosalina as hard as she could. She knew this day would come, she just didn't want to believe it until the end. Everyone stood back behind them in tears, even the boys were sobbing over their fallen friend. Rosalina then appeared at the sight of the graveyard after her mother's death. The six year old girl stood in front of her mother's casket, dormant, cold, no emotion on her face. Then walked up her father, taking her hand and turning her head, making sure she didn't look back, they walked to her brother and they all went home. Then Rosalina appeared at the house, packing a new outfit, her transformation brooch, and her wand; as she walked out of the house, everyone was asleep for this was how she planned it. She then turned to the house, knowing she would never return as she turned back around and continued to walk away, not turning back. Rosalina then woke up on the couch as Fax walked in the room. "Did I fall asleep?" ,she asked as Fax walked over to her. "Yes, you were sleeping so good that we thought, we would let you stay that way, you needed your rest…" ,Fax said as she walked back into the other room in awkward silence.
Derek flew back towards the mansion in high speed, to carry a message to the count. He burst through the doors as quickly as possibly, rushing up the several flights of stairs, walking through several hallways, until finally making it to the balcony door. "Brother!" ,shouted Derek as he marched over to the count. "What is it?" ,he asked, not showing any sign of even turning around to greet his brother. "First off, the girls are reforming, every one of them, and secondly, how could you destroy one of my…best worker!" ,asked Derek as he began to grow even angrier. Count Bleck was silent for a moment, showing no interest in talking to his brother. "As I recall, you did not like her anyway, stating that you could care less for her life…" ,he said in a quiet tone. "It doesn't matter, she worked for me, it was my decision to make!" ,shouted Derek. "Silence! May I remind you, you work for me, so I call the shots, now away with you!" ,Count Bleck shouted as Derek stormed off in anger.
"Well, sister, should we begin?" ,said Crysallis as she looked at Ruby. "Yes, I think the quicker we get this done, the happier the count will be!" ,said Ruby as she turned the closed sign to open in front of the door. The two evil sisters had opened a restaurant as their plan to search for pure hearts. They had waited for hours and hours, customer after customer, until Ruby felt a powerful presence. A man had walked into the restaurant to grab a bite before heading off to a photo shoot. He didn't look like the type of man to possess a pure heart, but never the less, he was the next target. "Sister, here he is!" ,said Crystallis as she leaned up to go get him. "Not yet! Let him get some food first, for I have devised a potion that was placed in all of our ingredients, which will make everyone who eats it pass out, allowing us to do this without being noticed. "Excellent work, I'll just go take his order then." ,said Crysallis as she walked over to the man's table. "May I take your order?" ,she said as he looked up at her. "Um, yes I'll have the Caesar salad please!" ,he said as he folded the menu and gave it to her. "Right away!" ,she said as she turned and walked to the back of the room. "Hook, line, and sinker!" ,she chuckled as she walked past her sister to a plate that had suspiciously, what the man ordered. She then walked back out and handed him the plate and walked back to the front counter. Her and Ruby watched as everyone ate their meals, waiting for the potion to kick in as they giggled to themselves. Suddenly, people began to become ill as they dropped to the floor.
Rosalina, Titan, Fax, and Peach were walking down town when Fax spotted the restaurant. "Oh, come on guys, we've never eaten there before, besides I'm hungry!" ,she said as everyone followed in agreement. "Crysallis get the door and the windows, I'll get the lights!" ,demanded Ruby as she flipped the light switch. Fax and the others walked up to the door just as Crysallis opened it to flip the sign. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry dear, we're now closed." ,Crysallis said. Rosalina looked in the window and noticed all of the people passed out, and also noticed Ruby, who was holding the yellow pure heart. "Guys, this isn't a restaurant!" ,she said as she pointed towards the window. "What are you talking about, yes it is, now beat it kid!" ,Crysallis said as she slammed the door shut and used her magic to lock it and close the windows up. "Great it looks like we have some work to do guys!" ,said Fax as she held out her wrist watch arm. "Super Star Acceleration!" "Star Majestic Power!" ,screamed the team as Rosalina then kicked down the door and everyone ran in. Rosalina made no pause as she instantly ran and grabbed the pure heart from Ruby. "What, enough of this, poison army charge!" ,she shouted as every one of the customers rose to their feet to fight off the squad and Rosalina. "Sweet and Gentle Lullaby!" ,shouted Peach as her and Bowser entered the room, all of the customers once again collapsed into a deep sleep. "If you think, for one second we have given up, then think again, let's get 'em sister!" ,shouted Ruby as her and Crysallis drew out their wands.
They fired blast after blast as the squad defended themselves and retaliated. It was a long battle, and the sister's showed no sign of losing energy. "Man, these girls are tuff!" ,Rosalina shouted as she continued to fight. "I think I figured it out, they are using each other, if we were to separate them then we could take them down!" ,shouted Bowser as he ran after Ruby, pushing her all the way into the back room. "Ooh! You're strong!" ,she said seductively, trying to sway Bowser's focus. "Don't even think about it!" ,Bowser shouted as the two of them engaged in combat. The fight outside with Crysallis was getting even harder as everyone began to wear down. "We can't possibly win, we need to just take the heart and bail!" ,Peach hollered as she tried to catch her breadth from behind a table. "You fools, Ruby and I may have been stronger together, but there is no chance you can beat me, have you not figured it out?" ,Crysallis said as she began to laugh. "What are you talking about!" ,Rosalina asked. "I am Ruby and Crysallis…combined! That person back there that Bowser is fighting is just a fake that I created, a fake that can't be destroyed, so he will fight until he is completely drained!" ,Crysallis laughed.
Everyone stopped moving in fear that they had lost the battle, while Bowser was in the back fighting for his life against a clone. "Is that all you got boy?" ,the clone said as she punched him right in the mouth. He fell back onto the ground, dripping in sweat and blood, trying to catch his breadth as he dodged her constant kicks and stomps across the small room. "This can't be over!" ,shouted Peach. "Hurricane Wind!" A blast from of wind a light shot through the building knocking Crysallins down. "It isn't!" ,hollered Birdy as her and Toadette walked in the room. "It's time to end your game!" ,Birdy shouted as Toadette prepared to attack. "Deep Ocean Awakening!" ,she yelled as a wave of sea water flew in and blasted Crysallis back some more. "Now Rosalina!" ,Birdy said as she turned and looked at the group. Rosalina and Fax both stood up and prepared to use the new power up that was given to them by Claire. "Star Ultimate Power!" ,shouted the both of them as they were transformed into their Elite suits. They raised their new Star Blazer scepters to point directly at their foe. "Star Blazer Attack!" ,they both shouted as a blast of energy shot out and hit Crysallis, completely engulfing her, leaving nothing behind. The clone that Bowser was fighting then disappeared and Bowser walked back into the other room. Rosalina ran over to help him stand up, as she walked him back over to the group. "Well that was fun…" ,Fax said sarcastically. "Take care of yourselves!" ,Toadette said as she followed Birdy, who had shown no sign of stopping to chat. Rosalina passed Bowser on to Titan as she held up the third pure heart. "Well, at least we have two of the three now!" ,she said trying to look on the bright side as everyone walked off to go home. "Let's just order some pizza!" ,said Fax as she walked onward. "I'm with ya on that!" ,Peach chimed in.
"Grrrrrrrr…this is not possible!" ,shouted Derek as he blasted one of the mirrors with a powerful force of dark magic. "HAHAHA! Well, so much for composure, eh Derek?" ,giggled Jewels as she appeared behind Derek. He turned around quickly as he unclenched his fists. "Jewels, what are you doing here?" ,he asked in a somewhat honored fashion. "Believe me, I wouldn't be if I didn't have to deliver a message to you. You see, the Count is very disappointed in you, and you have one more chance to prove yourself or I take the job. And you'll be interested in knowing that he no longer wants you in the club!" ,Jewels said as Derek grew angry again. "The count wouldn't abandon his own brother!" ,he shouted as he began to sweat in fear. "What, you don't believe me? Well I suppose you can ask him yourself, now I wonder what could have made him want to betray you…Could it be because you have only secured one pure heart, or it might be because you lost those girls, hey, you don't suppose it's because you've been a complete failure from start to finish!" ,Jewels giggled as she turned around and took a step. "Well, I…" ,Jewels stopped Derek in his tracks. "You have a full…twenty-four hours to take back the pure heart you lost, and destroy those meddlesome fools before I take the job. Now I have to leave, good luck, hate to see what the count has planned for you!" ,she chuckle as she disappeared into the darkness. "NOOO! I have twenty-four hours to prove myself to my brother, and this time I won't fail!" ,Derek shouted as he walked off.
"My Count, I have disturbing news…" ,Jewels said as she walked up to the count. "What is it?" ,he asked. "Your brother…has…lost his life." ,Jewels said as she pretended to cry. Count Bleck looked down for a moment then quickly looked back up at Jewels. "Fine, then it's your turn, do your best to succeed though, I don't want anymore failure!" ,Count Bleck said as he walked away. Jewels chuckled silently as she looked behind her at a button she was holding in her right hand, as she pressed down on it she laughed even more. Derek was walking down the hallway of the ship he was living in, in space. Suddenly without even a chance to think, the space ship exploded into nothing. Jewels, knowing that she had lost her competition, laughed maniacally as she walked down the steps and looked at the giant computer screen in the room. Looking at a picture of Rosalina, she smiled. "You're going to lose." ,she chuckled as she felt a cold chill. "Well, I didn't know you had it in you, Jewels!" ,said a man with a jester outfit and a black and white mask on. She quickly turned around as she smirked. "Dimentio, what's it to you!" ,she asked sarcastically as she created a glass of whine in her hand. "Tsk, tsk…how could you destroy the counts brother and then lie to his face?" ,he countered sarcastically. "Don't play your stupid games with me Dimentio, you'll lose every time…" ,she said as she walked off in laughter. "Well, in the end of the game I guess we'll truly see the loser." ,Dimentio said as he too walked off.
"Oh, ouch!" ,said Timpani as she fell to the ground in pain. She had no idea where she was, only that it was a lonely beach, she struggled in the dark to find a comfortable spot to lay. Suddenly a young man wearing a suit with a cape attached, appeared in front of her. She looked up at him in fear that he would hurt her. "Wha…what…do you…want?" ,she stuttered. "Are you ok?" ,he asked in a soft gentle tone as he leaned down to try and help her up. "Unhand me!" ,she shouted as she struggled. He let go and stepped back for a moment. "But, your hurt, I can't just leave you here." ,he said as she looked at him. She continued to think in her head about how her father had told her to never talk to anyone from the tribe of darkness, and he appeared to be from that tribe. "You…your…from the tribe of darkness aren't you?" ,she asked as she sat up in the sand. "Yes, yes I am." ,he replied as he sat beside her. "I am of the tribe of light, my name is Lady Timpani." ,she said as she began to form a smile in relief, and also a frown of confusion, for she did not understand why a person from the tribe that was against hers was so nice. "My name is Blumiere." ,he replied as he turned and smiled back at her. "Well…Blumiere…thank you for attempting to help me…" ,Timpani mumbled as she turned her head. "Oh, your welcome! By the way how did you get injured so much?" ,he asked as he looked out across the ocean waves rushing in on the banks of the sand. "It's sort of a long story…" ,Timpani said trying to end the conversation before it began. "I've got time…" ,Blumiere said in persistence.
Count Bleck stared out into the vast void from the balcony remembered certain things that happened, shaking his head in anger, confusion, and sadness. "My count, umm, it is time to look in the Dark Prognosticus!" ,said Nastasia, Count Bleck's attendant. "Very well, bring It to me, now!" ,he demanded as Nastasia walked closer, holding the spell book in hand. She gave it to him as he held it up in the air. "Speak to me Dark Prognosticus, reveal your dark secrets!" ,he shouted as a burst of dark magic shot out of the book and it flipped to a new page that he had not read yet.
"I knew him, but the memory is still hard to grasp at times…" ,Timpani said to Rosalina as they sat on the couch sipping their coffee. "Do you have any idea why he wants the pure hearts?" ,Rosalina asked. "No, not at all. I don't even truly remember what happened to us, I just remember that I love him, and one day I woke up dying out on a beach, when Merlon found me and told me I was destined to help save the world." ,Timpani said, trying to conceal her tears. Rosalina then decided that it was time to stop asking questions as she gave Timpani a hug. "Don't worry, we will do what we can, maybe we can help him change, but first we need the pure hearts." ,Rosalina said trying to comfort her.
"Well, this is a dump!" ,said Jewels as she walked through a room in an abandoned apartment complex. She searched and searched for the pure heart that she sensed inside, but she could not find it. Finally she came to one of the back rooms and saw a bright green glow , coming from under a broken down bed. She crept into the room, careful to watch her footing, for the room was pretty old and falling apart. Finally she found it. "Aha!" ,she whispered in excitement, for she found the green pure heart, the fourth of the eight. She was happy that now the bad guys had two, now the bad guys and the good guys were tied. She picked it up and warped out of the old building. She reappeared at the mansion, holding the heart in hand, and walking past Dimentio as he watched in somewhat dissatisfaction, while Jewels was happy as can be. "My count!" ,she said in a soft slow voice. The count did not turn around even for a second as he gazed on at a picture of Rosalina. "What is it?" ,he said without any emotion. "Here, take my heart!" ,Jewels giggled as she tossed the pure heart over to him, catching it in hand he examined it to make sure it was real and then hid it under his large white cape. "You called my count?" ,Dimentio piped up as he walked closer into the room. "Yes, this next task, is yours!" ,Count Bleck said as he gazed on at Rosalina's picture. "What! I thought I was supposed to find the pure hearts!" ,Jewels said in anger. Count Bleck smirked in pleasure of her revealing her true nature. "Got to let everyone have a chance…" ,he said. "Yes Jewels, we have to play nicely!" ,Dimentio said sarcastically. Jewels looked at him in anger, and the mask that he wore, showing a black and white smiling face, provoked her anger even more. "Hey I wanna join in!" ,said O'Chunks as he bounced into the room. "Late as usual, fat head!" ,Jewels said. O'Chunks could not say anything. "Why on earth do you think Count Bleck would send you? You have more muscle than brains!" ,Jewels ranted on. "That's enough!" ,said Count Bleck as he motioned for everyone to leave him alone. All three of them left the room as Count Bleck hung his head in disappointment. Jewels paced around the hallway of the main corridor of the mansion, trying to compose herself as Dimentio walked in.
"What's wrong Jewels?" ,Dimentio asked though he did not truly care. "What's wrong you ask, what's wrong? I'm pissed, that's what's wrong!" ,she shouted as she walked off. Dimentio did not bother to follow, for he had better things to do than listen to her.
Timpani and Blumiere sat together under the moonlight on the beach once more, sharing stories and dreams. "Look Timpani, a shooting star, make a wish!" ,Blumiere said in excitement as he closed his eyes to wish. He then opened them and looked at her in confusion. "Aren't you going to wish for something?" ,he asked. She turned and looked at him as she scooted closer. "I don't need to wish for anything, I have it all right here!" ,she said as they both continued to gaze at the stars. On his balcony, Count Bleck began to smile, but that smile began to quickly turn into a frown as he grew sad about losing his love. "My count, I have information to give you!" ,said the Elder as he warped out onto the balcony. Count Bleck grew an angry face, as the Elder interrupted his thinking time. "What is it, you old coot!" ,he asked in a harsh tone. The Elder stroked the orb on his rod as his dark, unseen eyes gazed upon it. "I have foreseen, that the girl you once loved has returned!" ,he said. Count Bleck lifted his head, his eyes widened as far as they could, and suddenly tears formed rolling down his face. "She…she's dead Elder, how dare you bring her up!" ,he said as the Elder continued to stroke the orb. "But this is false, and there is more, she will be an important part in the fate of our cause, she could completely blow our mission, she has to be eliminated before it's too late!" ,he said. "Quiet old fool!" ,Count Bleck shouted, as he turned to the Elder. "I see, your love for her still exists, beware of these emotions my prince, they could be your down fall!" ,he said as he warped away. Count Bleck turned back around and looked back out on the dark landscape of nothingness, tears continuing to roll down his face. "It can't be possible, she is gone…forever…" ,he whispered as he disappeared into the darkness…