"He's not home yet," Mario commented, squirming uncomfortably on the floor of Merlon's hut. "Why isn't he home yet?"

Merlon frowned, turning to face the section of floor that Luigi disappeared into. He stroked his beard twice. "That's not right. He should be back by now."

Silence.

"Maybe we can call Jaydes again."

"Nope," Merluvlee sighed from across the room. "You can't just perform a summoning spell all willy-nilly. We need time before we can do it again."

"Why's that?"

"Look at us," Merlee groaned. "We're pooped—we're beat. We have to rest our minds... and feet."

Mario blinked, only now realizing that all the Shamans were truly exhausted. Their robes were cloaked with sweat, and only Merlon had the strength to stand. The rest of the Shamans were slumped on the ground.

Was magic really that difficult to perform?

Mario had never had trouble with the few spells he was capable of as a human. His Firebrand came to him as naturally as breathing, and his dimensional flipping was rather easy too, if not harmful if he used it for too long. He couldn't imagine looking all sweaty and drained after using his abilities.

"Rest, then," Peach said quietly, grasping Mario's hand. "I'll fetch some water for you all." She stood, still holding the plumber's hand in her own. "Would you join me, Mario?"

"Of course," he replied, standing up with her. They slipped out the door, with Mario gently closing it behind them.

Two Toads guards were standing by the entrance as the pair came outside, and quickly bowed as Peach walked by them. "We're just fetching some water," she explained. "We won't be long."

"Why don't we come with you?" the first Toad piped, standing at attention. "It's dangerous to go alone at night."

Peach chuckled. "Nonsense. It's perfectly safe. I have Mario with me." She nodded at the plumber, smiling. "We'll be fine."

The Toads exchanged hesitant glances, but made no effort to stop them as they began walking away. Mario jogged forward to arrive at Peach's side as they made their way through the lantern-lit town.

He didn't say it, but Mario was relieved to get out of that hut for a bit. It was hot and musty there, and the Shamans occasionally broke into arguments over just about anything they brought up. A lot of them didn't seem to like each other.

The fresh air and ambience of midnight hit them in waves. It was well past sundown; the stars were partially blocked by the scattered clouds drifting by, and Mario could've sworn he felt a raindrop plop onto his nose. It was a welcome change from a few minutes prior. Maybe Peach knew that, though. She had a knack for reading people. It wouldn't have surprised Mario if she asked him to help her just so they could get away from the others.

"I thought you could use the fresh air," Peach said after a minute of walking. Well, that settled it. She read Mario like a book. Her expression morphed into something solemn and intense, and she stared deeply into Mario's eyes. "Talk to me. Please."

Mario sighed. "What's there to say? I'm tired and grouchy. And Merluvlee is getting on my nerves. She keeps arguing with Merlee." They came to a stop at the centre of town, where the central well was located. He and Peach worked together to lower the bucket into the water. "But that's all fine. I'm just worried about Luigi..."

Peach nodded, tightening her grip on his hand. At the same time, she lowered a bucket into the water and drew it back out, holding the bucket with her free hand. "I am too. But he'll be fine, I know it. We just need to... We need to..." Unable to finish her thought, Peach paused, turning her head slightly to the left. Mario cocked his head before pausing himself, listening intently. "...Do you hear that?"

Mario slowly nodded. Oh, he heard it alright.

It hard to pick up on at first. There was a faint clicking noise coming from somewhere nearby, like the tempo of a song. Click, click, click. It was faint, but getting louder and louder with every passing second. Picking up on its direction, Mario turned, squinting his eyes. Darkness veiled his vision, but he could just barely make out a stout figure approaching them. Mario whipped out his hammer by instinct, and Peach unsheathed her parasol, dropping the bucket without a second thought. The pair readied themselves for a fight. However, it soon appeared that they wouldn't be having one.

"Sorry for being so late," the figure began, still approaching steadily. Heels clacked rhythmically along the cobble, piercing the nighttime air. The noise came to a stop as the person halted, fiddling with their glasses. "Didn't mean to take so long. I had a situation to deal with back home." The voice was deep, authoritative, and commanding, all while being unmistakably feminine in tone.

It was, in fact, a voice that Mario hadn't heard in five years.

"Nastasia," Peach breathed, lowering her parasol. She looked like she was simultaneously annoyed, relieved and surprised. "You startled us."

Nastasia hummed. "Sorry about that. I didn't want to wait until morning, yeah? You made it sound like something urgent was going on." She nodded at Mario, briefly acknowledging his presence, and the plumber slowly nodded back.

Mario had... mixed feelings about Nastasia. She was polite, and she wasn't trying to destroy the world anymore. Both of those things would normally earn Mario's trust. But he couldn't find it in himself to fully forgive her for causing so much grief for the kingdom. And he especially couldn't forgive the grief she caused his brother. However, Nastasia seemed remorseful enough after Bleck vanished, so Mario kept his thoughts to himself out of respect for her loss.

Nastasia seemed to notice Mario's mind drifting. Or maybe she noticed the mixed expression on his face. Either way, she continued speaking, avoiding looking at him. "I heard something about the Dark Prognosticus. What's going on?"

"It's been found," Peach replied. "We're trying to figure out how to destroy it for good. Luigi's gone to the Underwhere to see if he can find out who wrote it."

"The Underwhere?" Nastasia raised her eyebrows. "I thought that was a bunch of mythology. It's... a real place?"

"Oh, it's real, alright," Mario huffed with crossed arms. "Remember when your goon Dimentio sent us there?"

Peach shot him a glare. "Mario—"

"It's fine, Princess," Nastasia sighed, putting her hand up to stop Peach short. "I'll do whatever I can to help you out, 'k? Just tell me what you need from me."

"We need information. Anything you might've known about the book or who wrote it." Peach paused. "You... did read it, didn't you?"

The woman shook her head. "No. He was very protective of it. I never read a word."

Mario drooped. "Well, did anyone read it aside from the Count?"

Nastasia paused, thinking for a moment. "Only two people," she began, holding up two fingers, "as far as I know, anyways. One of them was Dimentio, who apparently used to read the Prognosticus when the Count was asleep. And the second..." She hummed, gazing off into the distance for a split second. "Well, the second person was Mr. L. Count Bleck knew he was capable of learning the book's secrets without driving himself insane, being the ideal host of chaos and all. But we didn't expect his reading it to have such a profound effect on him."

Mario's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Mr. L used to be entirely under my control. He was a puppet, like all the others I'd brainwashed." She gestured to her eyes, shrugging. "But once he began to read the book, he started... acting strangely."

Nastasia immediately received two quizzical expressions from Peach and Mario.

"You see... he developed a personality. He picked up hobbies. He made enemies and friends. Flirted, even. Defied orders, made decisions. None of that should've been possible under my hypnosis." She shook her head. "Mr. L's autonomy was absolutely the Dark Prognosticus' doing. But I'm not sure how or why."

"Why are you telling us this?" Mario asked. He was beginning to look a bit annoyed with Nastasia. "That's got nothing to do with getting information about the Dark Prognosticus."

"But it does," Nastasia replied with a tiny smile. "If you want information on the book, who better to ask than Mr. L?"

Peach frowned. "But Mr. L was just a brainwashed Luigi, right? He doesn't really exist."

"That would be false. Like I said, Mr. L somehow obtained autonomy while exposed to the book. Given time, I'm certain I could draw him out of Luigi again. Then you could just ask him what you need to know."

A beat of silence went by before Nastasia noticed Mario's face. The man was seething with rage. "So what you're saying, then," Mario growled, looking even angrier, "is that you wanna brainwash my fratellino again. Is that right?"

"I—"

"Thanks for the offer," the plumber quickly snapped, quickly grabbing the bucket from the ground and dunking it in the well, "but we'll pass. Luigi will find the author and we'll destroy the book ourselves. We don't need your help."

"...Very well then," Nastasia finally said, completely unfazed. She turned, facing away from the two. "I'll be at the inn if you change your mind. Now, if you'll excuse me…" Nodding, Nastasia began to make her way downtown, where the inn was located. Her heel clicks echoed until she vanished from sight.

Mario hadn't watched her leave, as he was already lugging the bucket back to Merlon's place. Peach stepped in front of him, blocking his path. "Mario, we could use her help, you know..."

"You think I don't know that?" Grunting, Mario readjusted his grip on the bucket. He was still seething, but wasn't about to take his anger out on the princess. "I don't want her anywhere near my little bro. I don't think that's unreasonable to ask."

"It's not," Peach sighed, rubbing the side of her head. Mario was difficult to reason with when he was upset. "But this is really important. The book has to be destroyed as soon as possible. Suppose Luigi can't find the author? Then what?"

"Then we'll…" He trailed off. "I don't know… We'll ask the Star Spirits. Or… something. We'd figure it out." But even Mario himself seemed to realize that they were lacking many options. He folded in on himself, pondering, before nodding hesitantly.

"Fine," he hissed. "But if you try anything, you'll regret it."

Peach raised her voice to a shout. "Mario! She's with us now! Stop treating her like an enemy!"

She WAS our enemy, Mario almost retorted, but managed to keep his mouth shut. He instead grunted, turning back to Merlon's hut with the water bucket in hand. "Let's go, then."

"Mario—"

"Leave him," Nastasia whispered as he walked away, looking utterly defeated. "He's got every right to be angry with me."

Peach frowned. "But you—"

"Don't pretend I wasn't horrible," Nastiasia monotoned, her voice devoid of emotion. "I may have changed since then, but he isn't obligated to forgive me. Not after what I did." She glanced at Mario, who was much further down the path. "...How is Luigi? I haven't seen him."

Thrown off by the subject change, Peach stammered, "Oh, he's… alright. He's recovering."

"Good." Nastasia smiled gently. They began to walk, following Mario from a distance. The plumber was walking much faster, and soon vanished behind a corner. "Mimi misses him a lot. She won't admit it, though. O'Chunks sometimes talks about coming to visit the Mushroom Kingdom, too."

Peach nodded, glancing upwards. The sky was clearer now, with only a few stray clouds blotting out the stars. "And… Blumiere?"

Nastasia nearly tripped, but quickly regained composure. "Still no sign of him. Or Timpani." A cough. "Um, I hope they're still happy, wherever they are."

Peach was about to reply, but was quickly cut off as Merlon's hut came into view. Mario came running out, rushing towards the two frantically. Peach was prepared to scold him, but stopped when she noticed the distressed look on his face.

"It's Luigi," Mario breathed, eyes wide and body trembling. "Jaydes says he's gone missing."