This is it, guys – the shipping chapter. The big one.

Yes, I hear you groaning; but please be nice. I get that not everyone likes wuv stories, but it's why I'm here. It's how this all happened.

See, when I started TKBM, the very first idea I had was, "Let's tell an epic MxV story, since there aren't any yet." Everything else grew from that seed. I'm a total sap, but that's never exactly been a secret. :P

For all the shippers like me out there, this is for you! I hope you enjoy~ :3

Chapter 13 – Here Beside Me

Light and then darkness, followed by a swirl of nausea. Next, a bit of soft rain and the screaming of gravity.

For a few terrible seconds, Goombella was nowhere, tangled up and falling through subspace with Yoshi and the others. The next thing she knew, the exit pipe was spitting her out into a field of damp grass, and she was tripping head over heels as the little group of heroes flew apart. They each came to land in their own small patch of weeds, and for a moment the night was silent at last.

Behind them, a few wisps of starlight frothed up over the edge of the tube, as if the storm they'd just escaped was trying to follow them through the warp. But the link must have collapsed from within as the pipes eroded, because soon the tendrils were pulling back, returning to darkness while they sputtered and hissed like dying flames.

This was all so completely backwards; nothing felt real. So much had happened in the last few minutes – lives had been lost, and the best parts of Goombella's world had been sacrificed to save the rest. She never wanted to get up; lying here in the grass, she could at least pretend to feel peaceful. If she stayed here long enough, then maybe the starlight would catch up to her, and…

"No, what the heck am I even saying?!" she berated, pulling herself together with a mental slap. She had this second chance because Rowf had stayed behind, and he would totally never forgive her if she wasted that. "We made it out because of him; so that means we need to keep going, no matter what!"

It took some effort, but the Goomba eventually got back on her feet. She still felt a bit dizzy, and the groans from nearby told her that her friends felt the same. Yoshi was standing up shakily, massaging his sore tongue through the side of his cheek. Behind him, Toad was fretting over a nervous Toadette, who looked a little unsure of her own stability. It made sense - she had just come within literal inches of being scattered into dust.

At first, the pink shroom girl didn't look entirely solid – she had a silvery shimmer about her, but that was slowly fading as the transmutation's effects wore off. Mainly, she just seemed worried about her newly-snipped pigtails. "Aww, my pretty hair is gone!" she whined, feeling the spots where she had begun to unravel. "Now I look just like that prude, Toadiko…"

Goombella took a few steps off to the side, hoping to get a better idea of where they'd ended up. Looking around, it was easy to see that this place was outside the city; but it wasn't quite wilderness, either. There was a gravel path nearby, winding through the grass toward some kind of fenced compound in the distance. "I'll bet that's the airfield, yeah? The sign in the station said it was just across the bay from the city."

Back in Pipeline Central, she'd tried to pick a warp that would lead to safety, but would still keep the group within sight of the capital. Sure enough, the meadow stretched on for a few hundred feet behind her, before gently sloping down to the riverside. Past that, out beyond the water, was… Well, it was supposed to be a beautiful urban skyline; but right now, the view was something else entirely.

Yoshi walked over to join her, and the two of them watched the fading lights together. There on the horizon was the nightmare itself - a white aurora, half-visible behind its stardust blizzard, pulsing with greed as it swept away the last of the city. As the final few buildings fell, the light seemed to pause and flicker in indecision – with nothing left to consume, it seemed that the storm could go no further.

A serene mechanical sigh echoed out across the bay, like the hissing of a tired steam engine, and slowly the curtain began to fade. The once-blinding wall of light grew softer, spreading thinner until it was no more than a mist upon the river. Lingering wisps of stardust floated inward as the wind died behind them, and the empty air gave a last faint twinkle as the barrier spell let itself fall. The night had been filled with chaos and magic, but now only silence remained.

Goombella and Yoshi shared a glance, both clearly wondering the same thing – when the mist parted, what exactly would they see? The answer came as no big surprise; they saw the palace, standing as stark and bright as it always had, surrounded by a bare and desolate expanse of grey. The light had carved its way into the ground beneath the city as well, leaving behind a smooth bowl of sand and fallen dust.

Seawater was flowing into the crater from where its edges met the bay. In time, the Empress' citadel would become an island, and the tides would rise higher until waves crashed against the marble walls. "The sea will take everything the light left behind. It'll be like Mushroom City was never here at all…"

She glared at those distant spires, letting her determination come flooding back in with the surf. Finally, she turned to Yoshi with a shake of her head, indicating that it was time to leave. "They still need us over there, right? For the plan, I mean. We shouldn't be standing around like this when the fight isn't over."

The dinosaur nodded, but turned to watch Toad and Toadette with a look of concern. "Do you think we should give them a moment? They look pretty freaked out, especially Toad." He was still poking and prodding at his partner, afraid that she would literally fall apart.

"There's no time, we have to get going," Goombella urged, thinking of friends who were still in harm's way. "I get that the little guy is worried for his girlfriend, but I'm thinking about Mario and the others, too."

Yoshi blinked and gave her a baffled glance. "Wait, 'girlfriend?' Huh, I always thought that she was his sister." Come to think of it, had the two mushrooms' relationship ever really been explained?

Goombella shrugged, only half-listening by this point. "That too, then. Look, I'm not gonna judge. The point is, we need to get them up and moving before it's too late." Even now, the other group might be fighting for their lives against some terrifying final boss…

By the time they were all back on their feet, the sense of urgency had become very real. Yoshi led the way down the hill, reminding everyone of the mission they still had to complete. "We were supposed to meet up with Mario's party by the gates, and I bet they'll still be waiting for us there." He pointed off into the thicket of pale spires, toward the lone beacon shining in the center. "Now that we've seen what the S.T.A.R. can do, it's even more important that we…"

He trailed off, and Goombella was about to take over the speech until she followed his gaze into the sky. She tilted her head at first, not quite sure what she was seeing; but Yoshi was staring with a coldly familiar dread, and that was enough to tell the Goomba that it was something very bad indeed.

Hovering at the edge of space, like the ominous eyes of some great cosmic spider, were nearly a hundred violet stars. They drifted into view one by one, their auras flickering to life as they descended silently out of the night. Eventually, the eerie lights settled into an orbit high above the palace, spinning slowly in loose rings as they waited for whatever came next.

"It's all happening again," Toadette breathed as she stared helplessly into the swarm. "That's like the comet that fell on Peach's castle back then…" Goombella remembered hearing about that; but seeing it for herself was giving her the strangest feeling, like she should know something more about these false stars.

It came to her in a flash, as she recalled helping Luigi binge history books in the Professor's library. She might've given up on her archeological dreams, but she still had a mind meant for trapping info. "Those are Shroob spaceships, but how are they flying?" People had been cleaning up the invasion's melted leftovers for twenty years, and she'd always wondered where the wreckage ended up. "If they're here, then has the Empress been, like, salvaging them this whole time…?"

Yoshi looked like he was working his way through similar thoughts. "Back in the station, that guard mentioned a fleet that needed fuel." He gestured up toward the violet constellation, still spinning lazily in the sky above the reactor. "Do you think that's what's happening now? Is this why the city was harvested?"

It seemed likely; but before anyone could say so, the shriek of engines made them all look back the way they had come. A fresh violet glow erupted from over the fence of the airfield, and a small cluster of saucers lifted unsteadily into view. They hung there for just a moment, getting their bearings, and then sped off to take their places in the rings. Down below, bright flashing lights hinted that they hadn't been the only ships in the area.

"Seriously?! How big is this fleet supposed to be?" Goombella cried, taking a few quick steps back up the hill. "If they're still taking off, then what's up there could just be the beginning!" Either way, the Empress was making her intentions quite clear – these were vessels built only for war. If she had so many, then this was something she'd been planning for a very long time. "Let's go, guys; we need to investigate this!"

Toadette was confused, looking back and forth between their two possible objectives. "But wait, I thought we were going to help Mario? Are we just leaving him behind? We can't do that; not if he still needs us!" She looked even more distraught now than she had earlier, back when she had nearly died.

She was answered by even more rising saucers; and by Yoshi, who began heading back toward the path. "All I know is, these ships are a real threat. If this is the Empress' endgame, then it's why so many people have died." Twenty years ago, this fleet had nearly destroyed the world. Nobody wanted to think about what could happen if it mobilized again. "Who else is there to shut it down, besides us?"

Toad chipped in with a few last encouraging words of his own, patting Toadette eagerly on the shoulder. "Yeah, and besides, we all know Mario will find a way to win! He's the kind of hero who never, ever gives up!"

Goombella certainly hoped so – she had a feeling that a lot of scary things were about to happen inside that palace. Shaking her head to dismiss the thought, she turned and led the others back towards their new destiny.

For the first time in a great many years, Mario truly felt like giving up.

The grey soldiers hadn't been kind enough to throw him straight in the dungeons. No, they had taken him up onto the outer battlements, right to the edge of the safety zone, and they had made him watch.

They had made sure he saw the whole event, from the instant the switch was pulled, until the white light finally faded out over the river. He'd seen the starry shroud advance across the city, and he'd listened to the faraway sounds of ruin and pain. The guards had told him what it meant when the stardust filled the sky, and they'd laughed at the grey emptiness as the light left it behind.

In the beginning, Mario had tried so hard to get free and end the madness. His hands were bound; but he had kicked and screamed, thrashed and headbutted the guards until they had stopped laughing and pinned him to the ground. If he could have reached that switch, or even smashed up the machinery a little, then maybe he could have made some kind of difference. "I let everyone down. It doesn't matter what I could have done; only that it didn't happen."

...But the thing that hurt most? He had seen Luigi down there, standing by the gates just before the light had come. Mario had called out to him, but his brother had been too far away and panicked to hear it. Just as everything fell apart, he had seen Luigi… vanish into thin air, tripping backwards and into the blast. Mario didn't need anyone to explain what that had meant; not after hearing about the dust.

This wasn't the first time that he had felt so utterly alone. He remembered an adventure from the past – a monochrome castle suspended between worlds, and a race against time to reach the madman at its heart. One by one, the heroes had been picked off by minions and structural collapse, until only Mario was left to stumble through those final halls.

Back then, he'd at least had something real to keep him moving; a villain to pummel and lives to save. The fight had kept his mind off the loss; and besides, everything had turned out okay in the end. It had been a storybook finale, filled with love and new beginnings; but this time didn't feel like that. The bad guys were out of reach, it was too late to save this world, and his friends probably weren't coming back.

…They were gone. Even his precious little bro; the one person who had been with him since the very start. Luigi had always been the gentler one, the careful one; and yet he'd been taken away. He wanted to feel angrier at the injustice of it all, but instead he just felt numb inside. "I should have been the one down there in the thick of it, not him." Mario wished he could reach up to wipe his eyes, but the guards wouldn't even allow him that.

Just now, he was being led into the pits beneath the palace, likely to be shoved in some cell and left to rot. The blindfold was back on, but he could still hear the dripping of sewage and the damp chill of the tunnels. He tripped his way down several stairways, and once he was shoved over a ledge and caught by a laughing guard on the level below. "Next time, just let me hit the ground. It'll be the end of their game and mine."

Deeper and deeper they went; hallway after hallway for what seemed like hours. They rode cage lifts down narrow shafts, and crossed thin bridges over chasms that echoed with the sounds of rushing water far below. By the end of it all, Mario wondered if they were genuinely traveling miles beneath the surface, into the depths of some lost world.

When they let him see again, he was standing before an iron door in what seemed to be a damp and dingy cellblock at the end of the maze. There was no telling how far they'd come to reach this forgotten hole; but the walls were made of blackish stone, and coated in some kind of slimy film that smelled like mildew and heartache.

A guard pulled the door open, and soon Mario was being shoved inside. The little room beyond was just as he'd imagined – a perfect home for his last few pitiful days. It was dark and deathly cold, the ceiling was dripping into puddles on the floor, and the only source of comfort was a tattered blanket piled in the corner. "The bridal suite," one of the soldiers joked as they slammed the door and marched away. "You'll have plenty of time to enjoy yourselves in here. We won't be coming back."

The first thing Mario noticed was a mild spark of pain whenever his feet hit the floor, like a sharp and sudden static shock. He tried leaning into the wall, but jerked back when he felt it there too. "Is this oily goop electrified?" he briefly wondered, but it didn't hurt when he stepped into a nearby slimy puddle. "No, it's just gross cave gunk. That means there's something else going on here…"

He shut his eyes in disgust when he realized what was probably happening - he remembered the wizard's barrier spells all too well. Testing the theory, he kicked the wall with all his might, squinting through the pain to see the shield's hexagonal facets blink and shimmer around the impact. There was something… oddly familiar about that honeycomb pattern, but the reason why escaped him.

Tired and sore, Mario limped over to the wall and slumped down, not even caring about the energy nipping at his back. "They sure don't pull any punches," he thought sadly as he shivered against the chill. "As if I wasn't trapped enough already, they had to bring magic into the picture."

Escape hadn't been likely in the first place – what options did he even have? The door was several inches thick and solid iron, so he'd never get out through there. He could try bashing his head against the ceiling until something cracked, but it would probably be his skull. Inhaling the mold spores might give him a power-up, but they'd probably just make him sick. "Maybe I could… Or perhaps… What if…"

…It was no use. None of his usual tricks were going to get him out of this mess; and even if they could, what was the point? The Empress had gotten everything she wanted; and who knows where Princess Peach had ended up? Luigi was gone, and so were Yoshi, the Toads, Goombella, Lady Bow, and even Bowser. His heart ached for them all.

So, yes; in summary, Mario was giving up. The game had simply gotten too hard to keep playing.

It wasn't likely, but maybe he'd feel better after a nap. Maybe he'd get lucky and simply never wake up. It was probably the best ending he could hope for at this point. Wearily, he scooted into the corner and let himself collapse onto the blanket that was bundled there…

…And pulled back in surprise when it suddenly mewled and squirmed beneath his weight. It was a curious sight - the old sheet looked like it was trying to burrow deeper into the corner; to curl itself into an even tighter little ball. He made to give it a tug, but paused when something familiar spilled out from the side – a long tress of pale pink hair. "…Vivian? Is that you?" he breathed, scarcely hoping to believe.

The blanket reacted immediately, thrashing and untangling until a pair of lavender eyes were peeking back at him. The siren was in there, alright; she was wrapped up in a little cocoon, but it was her. "…Mario, did they get you after all? I'm so sorry; I'd hoped you had gotten away…" Her voice was very hoarse, and muffled by the sheets. It was the sweetest sound he'd ever heard.

Looking back at her, Mario wondered again how he had ever been tricked by that imposter. Vivian's eyes were filled with kindness and curiosity, and something else that he couldn't quite place. "They got us all, Viv," he answered with a sad shake of his head. "I thought we had a pretty good plan, but the Empress had a better one."

He moved to sit down beside her, but she twitched away from him with a whimper. He must have looked hurt, because she hurried to explain. "I'm… I'm sorry! It's just that, um…" She seemed nervous, and her voice dropped to barely a whisper. "…The guards took all my things. I'm not exactly… decent… under here."

She shook her head at his confusion, the whole blanket shaking with it. "I mean, I know that I don't normally wear very much; but I usually have my hat or scarf, and…" she trailed off again, as if questioning her fashion choices for the first time. "That's usually enough to make me feel safe, I guess."

That made sense enough for Mario, who was used to his friends only wearing one or two small things each. He tried to offer her his hat to wear, but his hands were still tied in place behind his back. Seeing him struggle with the ropes, Vivian wriggled around until her own arms were free. "Here, let me help you with that, please."

He'd expected her to try untying the knots, but instead her left hand came alive with softly glowing embers. He knelt down beside her, and she pinched at the restraints until they simply singed apart. When it was finished, he passed his cap to her - she looked at it for a moment in grateful wonder, before setting it on her head and letting the blanket fall away.

Normally, Mario wouldn't dream of looking inappropriately at a lady; but after the talk they'd just had, it was hard not to glance downward. Vivian had very… well; let's just say that her figure was by no means unattractive. Even after a few nights in prison, she wasn't nearly as gaunt as her doppelganger had been.

Hastily pushing the thought away, Mario settled in next to her; and this time she gladly let him. For the first time, he noticed the heavy bags and tear stains beneath her eyes, and the faded scratches all across her shadowy skin. Despite all that, she leaned against him with a patient smile and an easy sigh.

He couldn't say how long they sat together in silence, sharing the blanket's small warmth and listening to each other breathe. It could have been a few minutes, or perhaps half the night; but either way, the time for talking crept up far too soon. In the end, it was Vivian who realized that one of them should probably get started. "I guess I've missed a whole bunch of stuff, huh? I thought that you would have been home by now…"

That last sentence startled Mario back to reality, if only because it implied so much. Did she really believe that he would have left her behind in a place like this? Is that how little she thought of herself, even after all this time? "We would have all gone back together, and that includes you," he told her firmly, needing her to understand. "But I don't think any of us will make it home now. A lot of awful things happened out there tonight."

She frowned at him curiously, and he realized that he was going to have to tell her everything. This wasn't going to be easy – the idea of reliving the festival made Mario queasy, but keeping secrets wouldn't help at all. Vivian deserved to know the whole truth, including what had become of their friends. "I'll start at the beginning, with what happened when we got back from Twilight Town…"

He told as much of the tale as he could remember; from the Empress' invitation, to their party-crashing plans. She listened as he explained the mission, and how it had all fallen apart – Bowser's big invasion, being separated from Luigi, and then being helpless to watch as a wave of starlight tore the world –and his life - into shreds.

He hesitated, but eventually he even told her about the fake Vivian, and how she had acted so strangely. "She's the one who put you in here, right? She insisted that she was the 'real' you, but she has to be a Duplighost or something."

Vivian shook her head, finding a place to give her own input. "I think she's real, she's just not like me. I talked to this world's version of Beldam, remember? She said that my other self was a 'feral beast.'" The siren paused to trace a few of her half-healed gashes with a finger. "She certainly seemed feral when she attacked me. I wonder what happened to her…?"

Mario felt incredibly silly – why hadn't he guessed that it was Vivian's alternate self? It was totally the obvious answer, but somehow it had slipped by him. "I guess I just didn't see how it could be you," he told her, thinking back on all the little things that had tipped him off. "She had an acid tongue, and she always kept out of the light. Oh, and she flirted with me at every chance, but then she said it was all an act."

Vivian had a small spasm of panic at the word "flirted," her eyes going wide as she pulled away. "S-she did what with you?! She was pretending to be me, a-and she did it by flirting with you?! But how did she… Wait, no! I mean, uh… Um…" She ran out of words, so she jumped the track and found another subject to pursue. "W-we should talk about an escape plan! Let's stop thinking about her, please…!"

If Mario's words had made Vivian uncomfortable, then her suggestion returned the feeling with full force. "…I don't have a plan," he muttered, staring at the floor because he couldn't bear to meet her eyes. "I wish I did, but there's nothing you or I can do to get us out of here."

She leaned over to seek out his gaze, looking equal parts confused and hopeful. "So does that mean the others are coming here to save us, then? But I thought you said that everyone was… That they were gone." She glanced uncertainly at the cell door, as if it might burst open at any time. "I guess this is part of the mission, and you were being sneaky."

…She wasn't making this easy, was she? Even now, she believed that "Super Mario" could save her; that he could still win the day with some genius trick. But the truth was, Mario had never felt less "super" in his life – he didn't deserve that name after the way he'd lost. That was the name of a hero, not someone who had watched the innocent die by the thousands.

"They are gone, Viv," he finally answered, hating how close he was to tears again. "How could any of them still be safe? I saw my little brother disappear with my own eyes…" The siren had been leaning against him, but suddenly she felt like the support. "He needed me, and I wasn't there. Mama Mia, I was useless! Even in here, I'm still useless…"

Vivian didn't say anything, but he could feel her suddenly grow tense. When he glanced over, she was staring straight ahead, her lips drawn into a thin line. Mario slumped a little further, wishing for the right words and finding none. "…I can't get us out of this. Even if I did, how would that help? No matter what I do from here, I lose. I can't put things back to the way they were, and I can't save our friends. I can't do thi-"

She cut him off with a sharp slap, and he could tell that she had put some fire into it. "…Don't you dare," she whispered as the first real tears began to fall – not from his eyes, but from hers. "It wasn't supposed to be like this, but that changes nothing. All this time, I never stopped having faith in you out there. You can't give up now, because I won't let you."

He searched her eyes, and saw that they were filled with memories. "Do you remember our first day on the Excess Express?" she began, giving a wistful smile as she lost herself in the past. "That evening, I got into a big fight with Flurrie. I had finally gathered the courage to ask if I could wear her pretty necklace, and she yelled at me. I thought she was going to punish me, um, like my sisters used to; so I ran away and hid at the back of the train for hours..."

"I remember that," Mario nodded, not too sure where this story was going. "I was up late for a midnight snack, but I ended up searching for you instead. We sat together and talked for a while, just like this." Stars, things had been so much simpler back then.

"You said that I was lucky, because now Flurrie and I could become better friends." The siren's smile softened as the memory played out. "I didn't see how, but then you told me about your number one rule. 'Every mistake is a lesson,' you said, 'and that's how we learn to be better.' You explained that broken hearts were just tests to see how much we'd learned…"

Somewhere down in the darkness, Mario felt Vivian's slender fingers entwine with his own. "You believed that I could be better, when nobody ever had. That's when I knew that I… that I wanted to live by that rule too."

Mario tried to smile for her, but it didn't feel very real. It was a sweet story, but how did its lesson help them in the here and now? "I never learned anything that could prepare me for this," he admitted with a shuddering sigh. "And besides, there's nothing out there for us to fix. I can't save an empty world – I need something to fight for, or someone; but there's nobody left…"

She looked so hurt that he immediately knew he'd said something wrong. "That isn't true, Mario. Is that really how you feel?" She squeezed his hand, but then looked away as her eyes misted over. "What about Princess Peach, wherever she is? What about all the people back home, who are counting on you to return?" Vivian's voice broke, and her next words were all but silent. "…What about me…?"

The words were still sinking in when the siren found the strength to speak again, tapping into that hidden well of bravery that had always impressed him so much. "You have me, and I have you; so let's fight for each other out there…!" She seemed to make a decision then, giving him her most determined smile. "A-and after it's over, I'll stay with you for as long as you need! We could go far away, and you'll never have to worry about being alone…"

In spite of everything, Mario had to chuckle at what she was suggesting. It was such a kind gesture, but he couldn't just make Vivian follow him around forever. "You have your own life, and your own home with Beldam and Marilyn. I can't ask you to spend your whole life with me; it wouldn't be right." If they ever got out of here, she deserved to find some kind of happiness.

"It's so simple, but you still don't get it." She was hugging herself and taking shallow breaths, fighting the anxiety word by word. "There's nowhere else that I belong. Even if I could leave, I never would; because I want to be by your side, always…"

She looked up, met his eyes, and said the words that changed everything. "…Because I love you."

"I need to make her understand that… Wait, what?" Simple as the phrase was, it took a while for Mario to truly hear it. Even when he did, he didn't quite dare to trust his own ears. "No, that's crazy. She can't mean it like that," Mario assured himself - there were so many different kinds of love, right? But one look at the siren's face was enough to tell that he was only kidding himself. They both knew exactly how she meant it.

"I could never find the right way to tell you," Vivian whispered softly, losing her nerve just a moment too late. The secret was out for good, and now she was stranded in the aftermath. "I've, um, felt this way for a long time, you know." She bowed her head, letting a few more tears fall between them. "In my mind, I always told you in a flower garden at sunrise; but I guess this works too…"

A long silence fell between them, so strained that it felt like the slightest breath might cause a collapse. In that moment, they might've been the only two people in all the world. Mario was still struggling with those three small words, suddenly questioning everything he believed about the shy siren. Vivian sat by and waited until the tension became too much to bear, and she pitched forward with a strangled sob. "W-well, aren't you g-going to say anything?!"

If only Mario knew what to say – his heart was pulling him in a million different ways at once. It would be terrible to reject her, but even more terrible to lie. But then again, which would be the lie – to say that he loved her, or that he didn't? He couldn't deny that his feelings for Vivian had grown in the past few weeks, but could he call it love? If it was, it felt nothing like the fluttery infatuation he'd once had for Princess Peach. Vivian was the calm after a very long storm; gentle touches, whispered secrets, and the promise of forever. Her love meant peace, trust, and a kind of tender innocence.

And yet, he was starting to see her in a way that might not have been so innocent after all. She really was quite pretty, especially when she smiled. Stars, how he wished he could get her to smile again. His eyes drifted to her lips, buttercup-yellow and suddenly so inviting. Part of him felt so tempted to lean in, pull her close, and listen to her softly gasp as they…

…But no, it was far too soon for all of that. They were both still hurting, and feelings weren't so easily figured out. Instead, he gathered her into a protective hug, guiding her head up to rest on his shoulder. Vivian gasped anyway, and Mario heard himself repeating words that came back to him like an echo over the sea. "I'm fighting by your side from now on. I've made my choice… and I'm not turning back."

Vivian let out a cry of relief, understanding the hidden meanings that she herself had once put into those words. She threw herself into the hug with desperate fierceness, squeezing her arms beneath his as she tangled herself deeper into the embrace. Mario shut his eyes and let the moment stretch on, learning the curve of her back and the softness of her hair, while she shook with the very last of her sobs.

…And then something very strange happened. It started with a high whine in the air – a pained sort of buzz that sounded like the electrocution of a swarm of bees. The sound grew into vibrations and heat, and then the sizzling sensation of a rapid static discharge. In an instant, the entire cell flashed like a breaking lightbulb; and in the aftermath, the last seams of the barrier were seen dissolving pitifully away.

The two heroes looked to each other in bewilderment, and Vivian reluctantly drew back so she could dip a hand into the shadows. Sure enough, it submerged easily – her shadow powers were working again, meaning that the magic shield was... somehow… truly gone. The siren sniffed and pulled her fingers up, still very shaken. "Um, did we do that?"

Mario tried to think – there was a nagging familiarity to this, and he felt like he should know exactly why the spell had broken. But he wasn't exactly thinking logically right now, and the answer just wouldn't come. "I guess it's a riddle for another day," he decided as he climbed to his feet. "The important thing is, we have our escape route. Come on, let's go show the Empress what we're made of."

He helped Vivian up, and saw her slowly break into such a proud grin. She had brought him back from despair, and all it had taken was the baring of her soul. There were so many things still left unsaid, but they couldn't stay that way forever. Mario glanced away, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "We'll… talk about all this later, okay?"

She nodded faithfully, her eyes bright but still a bit misty. "I know," she said simply, before gliding into position by her partner's side. They held each other close, shared a last deep breath, and gave themselves to the abyss.

Together, or at least no longer alone, Mario and Vivian plunged into the unknown.

Meanwhile, back outside the palace gates, Luigi was at least halfway sure that he was still alive.

He couldn't say how long he had lain there shivering in the dust; but when he finally sat up, it felt like his muscles had somehow frozen over. Luigi let out a groan and tried to wiggle his toes, keeping his stare glued to the ground at all times. Living or dead, it didn't matter - he knew that whatever he saw next was probably going to be scarier than anything he'd ever seen before.

Even with his eyes shut and his ears plugged, he had still been able to see the brightness and hear the screams. That chaos had seemed to last forever; but finally it had passed, leaving only blackness and a very unnatural chill. Slowly, he raised his head to see what shape the city was in, but it was a grey ashen wasteland that greeted him instead. "Great; that was another magic warp, and now I'm on the moon. But how am I still breathing?"

But as lunar as the landscape looked, the theory didn't hold up for very long. He soon began to feel the wind, and hear the far-distant roar of rushing water. It was too dark to see anything past the palace's halo of light; but if he could, Luigi would have seen the grassy hills beyond the city, and the remaining half of Mushroom Bridge, slowly beginning its collapse into the river.

"Well, that was certainly a spectacle," a voice said from somewhere nearby, and then laughed as Luigi jumped out of his skin. Lady Bow was behind him, lifting her hand from his shoulder as she uncertainly scanned the horizon. The greenish Boo was trying to maintain her usual bored façade, but right now she seemed to be failing. "I suppose it's lucky I decided to follow your group in the end, hm? Otherwise, you'd be a little pile of scaredy-dust by now."

Luigi gave her a brief smile, grateful for her help but remembering what a fickle thing it was. "Thank you for being here," he said sincerely, even though he still wasn't sure what "here" meant just now. He remembered standing in the plaza with all those Koopas, seeing the lights up on the wall, and then… "They turned on the reactor," he realized as it all came flooding back. "I saw it blast away the whole crowd… There was nothing I could do!"

"It was Professor Gadd's reactor," Bow clarified bitterly, spitting the name out like a curse. "I knew he wasn't trustworthy! I nearly forgave the old fool, but only a true madman could invent a thing like this…" Luigi watched her float out into the desolation, wondering what exactly was going through her mind. As a ghost, she was used to death; but this was ruin on a scale she'd never known before.

So then, where was Mario in all that emptiness? Was he safe, and would they see each other again? "Please let my bro be okay," Luigi wished to the empty sky, wanting nothing more than to see the hero come leaping into view with a triumphant grin. "He was with Vivian, so I'm sure she kept him safe," he hoped, because the alternative was too awful to imagine. "He's the brave one, not me. I'm not fit to be the last Mario Brother."

His fears were interrupted by a thud and some grumbling, and he turned back to find a pitiful sight at the base of the wall. King Bowser was emerging from his shell, groggy and still shimmering from Kammy's protective spells. The witch herself was slumped beside him, frazzled and utterly spent after keeping them both safe for so long. Neither looked particularly excited to be alive.

The larger Koopa heaved himself up, staggered sideways, and almost tumbled over onto his back. He regained his balance and composure with a snarl, and then spent a moment taking in the wasteland for himself. "Ugh, what happened? It feels like I just got punched into the sun again. Kammy, is this your fault?"

He spotted Luigi as he turned around, looking more disappointed than anything else. "You're still here, Green 'Stache? The party's over; go home." He seemed more intrigued when Bow floated back into view, suddenly treating her with an air of mock respect. "Oh, if it isn't Princess Boo. I had no idea you'd be joining us this evening, Your Spookiness."

She flared up at the name, turning to Bowser with her fangs fully bared. "It's Lady Bow, you monster. My father might call himself a king, but that doesn't make it true." She wavered in the air like a thinning fog, frustrated and a little bit uneasy. "I've been keeping away from his twisted schemes my entire unlife, so I'd thank you not to call me by that name ever again."

Well, if Bow wanted attention, this was certainly one way to get it. Luigi squinted at the revelation, whispering sideways to her when she drifted up next to him. "Wait a second, is King Boo your dad? That guy has tried to kill me! Twice!"

She offered a curt nod, looking none too pleased that the secret was out. "Yes, well, now I've saved your life twice. Hopefully it means we've struck a balance, and we'll never have to talk about this again."

Bowser stomped closer, trying to get back into the conversation. "What are you two whispering about, huh?" he questioned with a low growl, not liking that he was being left out. He stopped and thought for a moment, before gesturing out at the expanse of dust and darkness. "And when is someone gonna explain what the heck happened out there?"

Luigi sighed, knowing that 'someone' would likely have to be him. "It all started with a machine that the hooded figure stole," he began, but then corrected himself when he remembered the wizard's identity. "That Kamek stole, I mean. It was a reactor built to turn physical matter into Star power." He went on to explain how it had needed Power Stars to function, and how the Empress had tricked the world with her festival trap.

He was surprised by how attentively Bowser listened to the tale, staring silently at the palace and not bothering to interrupt once. By the time Luigi was finished, the Koopa King's rage seemed fully renewed. "This is sick," he finally spat, growling until smoke curled from the edges of his mouth. "I always knew Kamek was a worm, and that Anti-Peach was the genocidey type; but this is some seriously messed up levels of evil."

By this point, Kammy had risen from her stupor and hobbled over to rejoin the group. She'd caught bits and pieces of the story, shaking her head whenever Kamek's antics were brought up. "Why am I not surprised? Even back in our world, he always was a bit of a disappointment."

Bowser, as ever, was impatient to start making progress. He soon began trudging back towards the marble gates, threatening to leave the others behind. "Too bad for him, the same trick won't work a second time. Green 'Stache and Lady-Princess, you're with me now – we still have to get Peach back, invincible army or not."

Luigi and Bow glanced at each other, one confused and the other slightly affronted. "Er, I don't recall agreeing to help you," the Boo called out to Bowser's retreating shell. "Perhaps if you come over here and beg nicely, we can all talk about this together?"

"I'm not asking for your help," the King turned back with a roll of his eyes. "I'm enlisting you. Everyone else exploded; so until further notice, the two of you are the Koopa Troop. Is that clear?" He didn't wait around for an answer, expecting his newly-conscripted minions to scramble after him.

…A short while later, the four of them arrived before the walls together. "Hey, it's better than letting him run around unsupervised," Luigi told himself, "and the extra muscle will surely come in handy, right?" This wasn't their first reluctant team-up, and he knew just how useful the brute could be in a pinch.

The grand gates still stood slightly open, left as they were from before all the madness started. In the darkness of the gap, a pair of flickering visors kept watch as the little group approached. It wasn't until Bowser tried to shove his way inside that the grey soldiers emerged, spears at their sides and with a stride of smug superiority. "Look around and see how much you've lost, King Koopa. Witness the fruits of your pathetic invasion!"

Luigi recognized these two goons – they had come out to taunt the crowd, and to egg Bowser on as the Koopa made a fool of himself. They must have retreated to safety behind the wall just before the blast, and now they were back to heckle some more. Unfortunately for them, that phase of the battle was long over. "You guys, uh, really don't value your lives that much, do you?

The guards chuckled in perfect unison, the light of their helmets dancing out across the wasteland. "Ah, but what do we have to fear, little man? Our Empress' victory is all but assured. So go on, slink away. Follow this reptile back to whatever depths he crawled out from." If they weren't acting so stoic, Luigi imagined they'd probably be high-fiving right now.

He looked over at Bow, who looked at Kammy, who looked at Bowser. It was a nice little moment shared between the four of them. In the end, it was the largest who spoke first. "I want the one on the left. I remember he looked at me funny."

…A short while later, they were all wondering what to do with their two new sets of slightly-damaged armor. Bowser just wanted to scrap them and get a move on already, and Bow had already phased through the wall to do a little scouting. But Luigi hung back, staring at the singed helmet in his hands and feeling the beginnings of inspiration. There was something about the way it felt; something about the way it gleamed…

"Hey, what's the big idea, minion?" Bowser shouted back, being sure to emphasize the last word. He was currently trying to shove the gates a little further open with some magical assistance from Kammy; but it was slow going, even with his strength. "Get over here and start pushing; it might be funny to watch."

"…Actually, I do have an idea," Luigi exclaimed as he put the pieces together at last. "In fact, I think I might have a plan."

The trip up from the dungeons felt like a blur, or maybe like a dream; but either way, it certainly didn't feel like a harrowing escape.

Vivian poked her head out of the shadows, looked both ways, and then hurried back to the alcove where she'd left Mario. She needed to tell him the news – they had to turn left up ahead, because that was the way to the nearest set of stairs. "He's counting on me, now more than ever! I can't let myself screw this up!"

Truth be told, she'd felt totally dizzy since, um, that thing had happened back in the cell. Oh, forget it; there's no reason to be shy – she had confessed. After all these years, Vivian had finally put her heart on the line, told the truth; and Mario had said… Well, he actually hadn't said much of anything yet; but he definitely hadn't said 'no.'

Nothing had gone the way she'd always imagined it going; but somehow that felt… a little bit wonderful? It meant she'd had the strength to confess outside of her perfect little fantasy, in what might've been the darkest place she'd ever been. Besides, Mario had found new strength in her words, which made her heart flutter more than any near-miss kiss ever could.

The siren gave her report to the hero, and the two of them set off once again. They were taking the stealthy path out of the prison, moving from one area to the next when they were sure it was safe. Mario remembered a few landmarks from his trip down – a bridge, which they'd already passed, and then an elevator and a sewer. After that, with luck, they'd find themselves outside in the open air.

Traveling to the surface through the shadows would've been quicker, but they'd soon decided that it was too big of a risk. In this world, the shadows were the other Vivian's domain, and they could never be sure when or where she might be watching. For now, Vivian only peeked into the abyss when they were lost and needed a hint – down there, she could see the whole network of tunnels twisting through the void.

As they climbed higher, the stonework began to get lighter, and the air began to turn warmer. On the other hand, guards started appearing as they approached the heart of the complex. It began with simple patrols of one or two, but Mario and Vivian both knew they'd be seeing a lot more of them soon. "If they catch us, just take us into the shadows and flee," Mario instructed as they watched a patrol pass by. "I'd rather deal with one crazy siren than an army of these guys."

They found a new opportunity along with the elevator, which was waiting at the end of a dark and twisting shaft. The iron cage was on its way down when they arrived, and they ducked out of sight as a couple of soldiers disembarked. Rather than sneak past, Mario signaled for an ambush; and Vivian followed him into battle with newly-restored flame.

When it was over, they both had brilliant disguises. They spent most of the lift ride struggling into the armor; but when they got off, either hero could have passed for a guard. There was just one problem – Vivian's shadowy tail only ran down a single leg, meaning she had to hold the empty one behind her to keep it from clanging around. "See, this is why it's so hard to find clothes. Hats and scarves are so much easier."

There were more enemies in the upper tunnels, but not nearly as many as Vivian would have expected. "Where is everyone?" she whispered as they passed through a mess hall, empty except for one guard who was sleeping at a table. Wasn't this place supposed to be a hive of bad guys? "It's like everybody here just decided to go home."

Mario lightly shrugged, but his voice was nervous behind the soldier mask. "Either that, or the Empress has sent them all someplace else." They passed a couple of stationed sentries who looked oddly at Vivian's leg, but said nothing and let the escapees pass. "Wherever they are, we'll beat them when the time comes."

Too soon it seemed, they were pushing open a dark steel door to find themselves back out in the street, exiting the base of an ivory spire. "So this must be the palace," the siren thought, gazing up at the endless stabbing towers, and the blackness of the night beyond. It was the first time Vivian had seen the sky in days, and she found herself wishing that it could have been a little less bleak; a little more beautiful.

Mario's eyes were scanning the sky too, but his expression was one of clear worry. Vivian followed his gaze up the tallest tower, and nearly lost herself within the hypnotic swirls of the swarm above. The heavens were host to an intricate orbital dance – hundreds of purple stars, large and small alike, spinning and threading through each other in impossibly-interconnected rings. "…Oh wow, what are they?" Vivian heard herself asking, but it didn't seem like Mario knew.

As they made their way through the backstreets toward the main spire, they took advantage of the solitude to remove their helmets. Mario reached up to adjust his cap, only to realize with a chuckle that he wasn't wearing it. It still belonged to Vivian, who had been given permission to keep it for as long as she needed to feel safe. Just the thought of that simple kindness was enough to send her heart soaring all over again.

"Should… should I risk it?" she asked herself, thinking of something she'd wanted to try since back in the cell. She'd done this exactly once before, long ago on another adventure; but that had been a spontaneous thing in a moment of elation. This time it would be planned, and that made it so much scarier. "Maybe it'll be easier next time, and the next, and the one after that…"

She glided just a step closer, leaned in as subtly as she could, and pressed her lips to Mario's cheek. The kiss only lasted a split second, but she felt him smile. Their hands soon found each other, maybe by instinct, and they continued the journey side-by-side.

The Empress, the wizard, the other siren – it didn't matter. Whatever evil came next, it would be theirs to face together.

There, that wasn't so bad, was it?

This was a breather chapter, I guess. It was necessary, after what happened last time. I needed to let everyone think and regroup, and I wanted to give Mario and Vivian a quiet moment to have their talk.

Thanks for letting me indulge in shippiness for a bit. I'll be back next time with the usual intensity and action!

(As an aside, Bow and Bowser have been my favorite characters to write since the start. I'm so glad they're in scenes together now)!

Review Corner –

KZJester – Ah, there you are! It's good to finally see your face, er, mask. As always, thanks for the support! :3

Lewot – Oh, please don't be brief on my account; I practically live for your analyses. :P

The sheer number of cameos was meant to show just how much the kingdom had come together for the festival. The Mario world is a big place, and I wanted you to see that all of it was involved; that this wasn't an isolated event.

I'm glad that I managed to get the big scene mostly right. I fretted for months about describing the light, so I'm glad its creepy beauty came through in the end. The bit in Pipeline Central ended up being the true agony, though. Ugh, I must have rewritten that scene from scratch at least five times. :/

Jakeroo123 – I'm scared to ask, but what did you think? If romance isn't your thing, this must have been a trial to read. Still friends, please? :

50ShadesofKatjaa – Thank you! Like I said, that scene just kinda spilled out by itself, so I can't really take all the credit. Oh, and nice job on guessing Bow!

TheHolyBlade – Pineapples out for Chuckster; he will be missed. o7

Guest- Thank you, nameless pal! I'm trying my best!

DisneyFanatic9100 – To be fair, she's committed genocide for a lot less in the past. She's crazy, and I guess she REALLY hates the world. :/

Chlstarr – Ooh, I love/hate when that happens! Finding a new story that's long enough to binge; but isn't finished, so you can't binge all of it. It's a beautiful suffering.

Welcome aboard! I'll try to do you proud!

Kissy kissy~

~Sight