The rush of victory was still in Fawful's mind as he returned to the garage. After what he had been through before the race, placing first was quite the high note of the evening. Sure, he still had three races to go and he could easily screw himself over if he did poorly in one or more of them, but for now he was sitting pretty. He noticed Mimi waving him over, so he went over to meet her at a bench placed near a reflecting pool. Once taking a seat beside her, she immediately asked, "So, how's it feel to be a winner?"

"It has the feeling of amazement," Fawful gloated. "Though, in all of the fairness, the winner could have been you with much ease."

"Hehe, yeah," Mimi giggled. "But all that aside, you mind explaining what that whole thing with the magic bean person? Like, what was that weird pink stuff? Were they the reason you almost missed the race?"

Fawful nodded. "Yes, they had the taking of Fawful the night of last," he said. "I am thinking...if I am to be drinking that thing of delicious cream from the bar, it should be without the brain-slowing alcohol."

"I think you can look up a non-alcoholic alternative online," Mimi mused. "But about that other thing, the pink stuff? What was that stuff?"

"I had telling you it would be a story of much length, right?" Fawful asked rhetorically.

"We've got all night." Mimi glanced up at the starry sky, kicking her feet back and forth absentmindedly.

"If I am telling you the story from the very beginning, will you give explanation for your supposed form of truth being...what it is being?" Fawful wasn't really used to keeping a sense of tact to his words, but something Mimi had said earlier that night had made him want to stay in her good graces moreso than the threat of turning into a giant spider at any moment would.

"I...I could try," Mimi said. "Truth is, I don't really remember all the details, but I could try my best."

"All right, I will have spilling of all the beans," Fawful said, well aware of the pun. "It had beginning when Fawful was being very small. Small Fawful had so much brains but there was being no way to make use of them. Soon he was being under the care of a witch of greatness and power, Cackletta. With the guidance of Cackletta, Small Fawful was making use of his smartness for the building of gadgets and developing the means of which to awaken a Beanbean artifact—the Bean Star!"

"Bean Star?" Mimi repeated, a bit incredulous. "So your witch mom wanted to steal a star made of beans? That sounds silly."

"The Bean Star did not have silliness!" Fawful said. "It had the ability for wish-granting! But it also had the sleeping, so we were of the need for waking it after we were taking it. Can you be guessing how it was to be done?"

Mimi thought for a bit, then suggested, "Put a bunch of magic energy into it?"

"That has incorrectness, but it is being a guess of smarts," Fawful said. "It was to be sleeping until it had the hearing of a voice of purity. That voice was to be from a princess of silly peaches."

"Princess Peach?" Mimi gasped. "So you guys kidnapped her, is that it?"

"That was not being the first attempt," Fawful said, his trademark grin widened. "We were only needing the voice, not the rest of the princess. So that was all we were to be taking. And that is being the answer of length for your question originality. The 'pink stuff' was being a voice."

"But that doesn't make any sense," Mimi said, confused. "Unless there's a way to turn sound into stuff..."

"The process was one of much complication," Fawful continued, "but thanks to Fawful's brilliance, we did indeed have development of a formula to be temporarily removing the voice and giving a form of physicality. The testing on myself and the accidental inhalation was never having the fun, though..." He made a face of disgust, remembering the foul taste of his own voice that he had to endure both back then and mere hours ago.

Mimi looked a bit worried. "You didn't seriously test that stuff on yourself..."

"When you are not having any pigs of guinea, you do the testing on what you are having."

"Well, that would explain why you talk so weird," Mimi murmured. "All that testing on your own voice probably screwed up your words."

Fawful shrugged. "That is having half of the truth," he said with a laugh. "After so many of the self-trials, I had the discovery that talking a lot when the voice had removal gave it the comeback faster. I just started giving the sentences I used words in extra. I was then doing the process of recovering when not needed because it was being fun! And... it became a habit of badness."

"So you can talk normal!"

"I only talk normal when I want to, or need to," Fawful said, briefly dropping his typical speech mannerisms to prove his point. "Most times I am not wanting or needing."

"I think the weird word order makes you sound kinda cute in a strange sort of way," Mimi giggled.

Fawful could feel his face flush. "I-I do not have cuteness!" he blurted out in embarrassment as he turned away slightly. "I have the manliness like hell."

"Only cute people deny their cuteness," Mimi said with a sly smile. "You still didn't explain about those people, though. What'd they want with you?"

"I am not knowing," Fawful said. "The one called Edame—they said they were needing me for...someone who they never gave the name of. They were not wanting to, or able to, have the giving of details." He turned back to Mimi. "So I think I had the answering of all of your questions that I have knowledge of. Now it is the turn of you. Why do you have the form of a spider that has amazement?"

"Oh, that," Mimi said, seeming a bit more distant. "Like I said, I don't remember much. I think I was a normal girl at one point, or maybe I was always a spider and somehow became a girl. Either way, I'm sure I was experimented on, and eventually I became what I am now—a shapeshifter with a secret that I can't let anyone close to me find out about or they'll hate me forever. ...Well, almost anyone."

"You are meaning me?" Fawful asked, slightly joking.

"You and a few others," Mimi said. "There's only two others now, and even years ago there were only two more." She sighed. "I still miss him a lot..."

"Who is it that you have missing?" Fawful asked. "Or...would that question be too much in the direction of prying?"

"No, it's okay," Mimi said. "You would've been affected by his actions anyway, even if you never met him. His name was Count Bleck." The way she said the name gave off an air of admiration. "He took me in when I was at my lowest, took us all in like that to an extent. We were like a weird family of outcasts, and together, we were going to fulfill a prophecy that was really important to the count. We were going to destroy the universe."

Fawful nearly fell off the bench in shock. Sure, he was definitely no saint himself, but destroying the universe seemed...a tad overkill. "That is being...quite the goal of loftiness," he finally said.

"Yeah, and obviously it didn't work," Mimi replied. "Mostly because Mario and the other heroes showed up, but also the count's girlfriend came back from the dead or something like that and then his heart wasn't completely in it anymore. Until that point, we were behind him all the way, and once he decided he wasn't gonna go through it anymore three of us stuck around and tried to help undo everything. Then things happened, the count got married and disappeared and the universe was saved. Nassy says they're still around somewhere, but I don't know if that's true or if it's just what she wants to believe..."

"Nassy?" Fawful asked.

"Oh, right. Nastasia, she was like Count Bleck's assistant and basically kept everything running smoothly. Pretty sure she had a crush on the count, maybe still does, but what sensible girl interested in men wouldn't?" Mimi laughed and blushed a bit. "Oops, I can't believe I let that slip out! Oh well, it's not like anyone but Tippi would ever have a chance with him. He was totally one of those guys who felt his first love was his soulmate and no one else could do it for him, and this is one of the rare cases where it was mutual." She sighed, then continued. "There was also O'Chunks. He's big, strong, and not the brightest crayon in the box, with a gross beard that he barely washes, but he's got a heart nearly as big as he is. Then there were two more, one of 'em wasn't really around for long and probably wouldn't to be remembered like that, and the last one..." She grimaced, as though remembering whoever she was talking about made her sick to her stomach.

"If you are needing a stop, it will have okayness," Fawful said. "I don't want you to have discomfort."

"Nah, it's okay," Mimi insisted. "The last guy was Dimentio. He was around since near the beginning, and we thought he was one of us. He was a jerk who always teased us and would sneak into my room and read my diary, but on some level I actually thought he was my friend, but like the weird friend that probably shouldn't be your friend. Then when Mario and the others had the count nearly beat, he swooped in and revealed he'd been basically screwing us over the whole time so he could take it all for himself! Okay, maybe not the WHOLE time, maybe he was going along with it until he found something out that he didn't like, but it's more likely he was just a massive self-centered jerkface all along! I hate him and his dumb magic tricks! I'm glad he's gone forever!" She then glanced down. "At least, I thought he was. But earlier, when that bean person hit you with magic, it reminded me of..." She shook her head fervently, her blocky pigtails flopping back and forth. "No, I can't think like that. He's dead and gone and he can't get to any of us ever again. But yeah, that's why I turned into...well, into my true form when you got hit by that. I thought he had come back and I snapped."

"I am in understanding of that," Fawful said sheepishly. "Countless times Fawful has had more fury than anyone is knowing what to do with, like a large crate of mustard bottles and only one corn dog."

Mimi's eyes shifted. "He used to do a lot of weird similes as well," she said. "N-not that there's anything wrong with it coming from you! I swear!"

"I have apology if that is making you bothered," Fawful said. He reached over to put a reassuring hand on Mimi's shoulder, but she let out a small yelp and jerked away. "What is being wrong?" he asked.

"You didn't feel that?" Mimi asked, rubbing where he had almost touched her. "You shocked me like crazy just then! Didn't that Cackletta lady ever teach you about dryer sheets?"

"I was not being aware I had the statics..." Fawful said, but then he noticed Mimi's gaze staring right at his hand. He looked at it himself and saw large arcs of electricity dancing across his fingers and palm. Strangely, it didn't hurt him in the slightest, merely a gentle tingle once he actually noticed it. "That...has interest."

"So you haven't always been able to do that?" Mimi asked.

Fawful shook his head, both intrigued and confused. "This is being new to me as well," he said. "I have knowledge of what it is, but not where I am getting the ability to have use of it..."

"Well, maybe you'll figure it out after some sleepy-time thinking," Mimi said, standing up. "It's getting kinda late, so I'm gonna head to bed. See ya tomorrow, all right?"

"That has a sounding of good," Fawful replied. He gave her a smile, not his typical crazy one, but a friendly one.

Mimi skipped off to the hotel, and after just a bit of trying to figure out how to turn off his newly acquired power, Fawful stood up to head back as well. As he made his way back, he caught sight of something reflecting the moonlight from within a bush. Curious, Fawful approached it and found a dark colored stone with a broken strap tied around it. Upon further examination, he realized it was the pendant that Edame had been wearing. For whatever reason, something in his mind told him to keep it. He knew he probably shouldn't, as he had witnessed the thing nearly kill its wearer, but at the same time he figured that it would be safe as long as he never put it on. Making sure no one else was watching, Fawful pocketed the broken pendant and casually made his way back to the hotel. After what he'd been through, sleep couldn't come soon enough.


As it so happened, sleep barely came at all for the bean. Since everyone who had been invited to participate in the tournament preliminaries were allowed to stay as spectators, and the spectators were allowed to remain checked into their hotel rooms, he had been forced to endure yet another night of Iggy Koopa's god-awful snoring intermingled with sleep-talking. Not to mention his mind had been racing from its inability to resist imagining the people that Mimi had told him about. He couldn't help trying to guess what they might look like, and while he thought he had what he believed was a genuinely good idea, whatever place Mimi was from probably had people that looked nothing like anyone he had ever seen before. And he couldn't help but wonder who the mystery sixth person she had briefly mentioned was, and for whatever reason he had the strangest inkling that it was someone he already knew...but that was impossible, right?

Regardless, Fawful went through the day as best he could on such little sleep. He felt a bit dazed, as was to be expected, but he wasn't aware of just how out of it he really was until he was halfway through eating a chicken sandwich when he had ordered a hamburger instead. Thankfully he was able to remedy this with a quick nap, and by the time he woke up it was just about time for the next race. Fully rested and with a clear mind, he made his way down to the garage.

Unlike the previous race, Fawful was among the first ones there. He made his way over to his vehicle, which was already parked in the first place spot directly diagonal to Mimi's bike. Speaking of Mimi, she arrived shortly after he did, waving and smiling as she approached. "Hey, good luck in the race!" Mimi said cheerfully.

"Be having the luck of goodness yourself," Fawful said with a grin. Soon enough, everyone else had arrived, and right on time as well. The Lakitu in charge of signaling the start of the race flew overhead and turned on his lights. The beeps of the signal as the lights pulsed seemed to match Fawful's increasing adrenaline. As soon as the final signal went off, everyone set off down the long, winding road ahead of them. As they drove through the trees several Pestnuts dropped onto the road, and while most were able to avoid them quite handily, others were not so lucky as the barb-covered creatures collided with their vehicles and sent them spinning out.

Fawful sped around the group of thin trees and the Pestnuts dropping from them, heading toward the first set of anti-gravity generators. He passed the Chuckleroot and activated the anti-gravity generator, grabbing an item along the way for good measure. As he drove along the wall cliff behind the old tree, the item he had picked up revealed itself to be a set of three banana peels. He rolled his eyes, carelessly tossing all of the peels behind him.

The rest of that lap was relatively uneventful, at least for him if not for anyone else, as was the second until he returned to the bridge over the hedge maze. A barrage of red shells was fired toward the back of Fawful's car, knocking him off the bridge and into the hedges below. He saw Link and Mario pass by overhead just before the Lakitu attendant pulled him back onto the track. As soon as his tires touched road once again he gunned it, determined to catch up to them through the waterfall cave.

Unfortunately, the two racers in front of him were stubbornly keeping their lead, even as they sailed upside-down over the chateau and started the final lap. As the three leading racers sped through the track, with Link and Mario regularly trading places, Fawful grabbed an item box and was preparing to use whatever came out to hopefully take first. A red shell—perfect. He threw it at the dueling pair and the shell collided with Mario, sending him for a loop. Overtaking the plumber with no mercy, Fawful sped toward Link, the two trading places frequently until approaching the chateau.

Unlike the race from the previous night, there would be no photo finish. By the time Fawful's front wheel crossed the finish line, Link's bike had overtake him once more and was already half-way over. Second place, he knew it, even before the results were officially recorded. Well, it's not like his only shot at winning relied on an unbroken first-place streak. Fawful was undeterred—as long as he didn't royally screw up in the last two races, he would be just fine.


AN: Short on action this time, but I think character moments are just as good. So, post-chapter convo time. 2016 was a hell of a year, that's for sure, emphasis on "hell". This may not be coming out in any timeframe where complaining about 2016 is relevant anymore, but either way I had to get that bit off my chest. 2017's already starting to shape up to be just as bad if not worse than 2016 and it hasn't even been two months... But hey, I'm determined to at least make this good for myself, gonna try to lose weight (though it may be just building muscle at the moment, since Wii Fit's balance board literally can't tell the difference and muscle is denser than fat) and get back to my original novels, hopefully get a job. And I have all of the wishes that it's gonna be a good year for you, even with...y'know. Everything.

Also I've been thinking, I've been heavily invested in my Pokejinkas lately so maybe, maaayyyybe, I'll write a story based around my gijinkaverse. If I do, I'll save it for after I'm done with this story. Speaking of other stories, I need to work on Nintendo High and Theia Historica (my original series) as well...why do I put so much work on my shoulders... And since IPreferLakilester Kurzuppa asked, the Wario reversal incident of '03 isn't in reference to anything specific, as far as I remember. It was just a random thing I threw in. I find off-hand mentions of (occurrence) of (year number) strangely amusing even if there's no explanation to give. Probably moreso without the explanation.

Before I sign off, does anyone remember back in chapter 2 when I had Luigi joke about the next races featuring squid kids? Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Boom. Woomy. I'm clairvoyant or whatever. Or I just have a really good grasp of what Nintendo wants to push, whichever you prefer to believe. ...And because I'm rereading what I wrote and realizing people might read too far into things, I am NOT shipping Fawful and Mimi romantically! They are friends, and that's as far as they go! At least in my stories, that is. Your stories can have 'em romancin' to the moon and back, go ahead, not like I can stop ya anyway.

—Jess aka PuppyLuver256