Once the entire group walked through the portal, they were met by Eli standing in front of the Magic Tower. Standing behind him were a man and woman, who looked a bit familiar to the Bros., Toad, and the Princess.
"You guys did it!" Eli shouted.
"How did you get out of the library, Eli?" Mario asked. "And who are these two?"
"These are my parents," Eli explained. "My mother, Ella . . . ."
"Ella Mentelle?" Toad asked, trying not to laugh.
"Yeah, I know," Eli said, and then he cleared his throat. "And this is my father, Eli Mentelle, Senior, the Master of the Elements, and keeper of the Great Key."
"Nice to meet you," Mario said, shaking Eli Sr.'s hand, and handing him the Great Key. "I think this belongs to you. But how did you turn back from being statues?"
"We're not quite sure," Eli Sr. said, taking the Great Key.
"I think I can answer that," the Great Dragon said. "Once you defeated Adara and took away her powers, every spell she cast that was active was broken."
"That's how I got out of the library," Eli said.
"Yes, darn it," Adara grumbled. "I was so close to winning. So close! Then you buttinskies had to meddle in!"
"We had to," Toad said. "The elemental balance of Elementia was at stake! And that balance may have affected the Mushroom Kingdom!"
"And the rest of the world, as well," the Princess said. "But what's going to happen to Adara now?"
"I'm sure a few years in Elementia's jail will change my sister's attitude," Eli Sr. said.
"Even so," Adara said, "you've got another problem! Without me, the elements will become unbalanced! All six of the elements need to be represented by a master!"
"That does present a problem," Ella said. "After all, Eli, your sister is the only fire master in Elementia."
"I think I may have a solution, Mr. Mentelle, sir," Mario said. "Why not let Eli be Master of Fire?"
"Me?!" Eli shouted. "The Master of Fire? I don't know about that."
"Why not?" Toad asked. "You know magic. You know all the spells."
"And you were the one who helped us defeat Adara," Luigi said.
"I didn't do much," Eli said, shrugging. "And I didn't really do anything to defeat my aunt. I was stuck in the library for quite a bit of time. It was Mario who defeated her."
"Yeah, I know that, paisano," Mario said. "But if you hadn't gotten us started, and if you hadn't used the shards in the Aura Scanner to find the other shards, and if you hadn't set the Lidar for us, and given me your magic wand and your training pendant, I never would have defeated Adara in the first place!"
"He's right, Eli," the Princess said. "We wouldn't have known what to do without your help."
"I still don't know," Eli said.
"Whattaya say, everybody?" Mario asked, turning to the other elemental masters. "You think Eli's got what it takes to be the Master of Fire?"
"Indeed we do," the Water Lord said.
"Oh yes," the Lady of the Lake said. "Definitely."
"Of course," the Mistress said.
"Works for me," the Great Dragon said. The forest baby jumped up and down, squeaking happily.
"You can't be much worse than your aunt, elemental dude!" Toad said. "After all, you're not evil, like she is!"
"You've been training for this," Ella said. "I think you're more than ready."
"Even though I didn't defeat Aunt Adara myself?" Eli asked.
"Keep in mind, Eli, if it hadn't been for you, we wouldn't have defeated her," Mario said.
Eli Sr. removed the Fire Shard from the Great Key, and held it out to his son. Eli looked at it, and then glanced at the others. They were all giving him encouraging gestures to take it. Finally, he reached out, and took the shard.
"I'll do it," he said.
Everyone began clapping and cheering. Eli Sr. took a magic wand out of his robe, and waved it, transporting everyone to the Temple of Flames. Then he took the Great Key, and stood in the center of Adara's fire pit. Eli Sr. took the other shards out of the Great Key, and handed them to the forest baby, the Lady of the Lake, the Water Lord, the Mistress, the Great Dragon, and Eli. The six of them gathered in a circle around the fire pit. Eli Sr. waved his wand, and the shards began to light up.
"Fellow elemental masters, and friends," he said. "Today, we induct a new master. Eli Mentelle, Junior, do you solemnly swear to keep the elemental balance, and use the power of fire for good?"
"I do," Eli said.
All six shards of the Great Key glowed, and flew into the air. They swirled around together for a moment, and flew over the heads of the elemental masters. The glow from the shards flew down from the crystals over the masters. Then the glows subsided, and the shards flew back into the Great Key.
"Eli Mentelle, Junior," Eli Sr. said, "you are now the Master of Fire."
Mario, Luigi, Toad, and the Princess applauded, and then Mario pulled a take-out food box out of his overalls.
"Now that you're the Master of Fire," he said, "how's about using some of that fire power to heat up this leftover ravioli?"
"That's my brother for you," Luigi said. "Whenever there's food involved, my brother is always in his element!"
The End