Now that Randy's flat out wrecked Mario and Bowser, he's gonna do whatever his plan was. It's probably something pretty interesting. I don't own any Nintendo stuff.

Chapter 20: Together Forever?

After scolding Mario and Bowser, Randy went back to the castle to put his plan into action, despite knowing the risk he was taking. He took out his wand, held it close to his heart, closed his eyes and concentrated. Suddenly, a white aura surrounded his body. Eight beams of light shot from his body into his brothers'. They were engulfed by the light. After a moment, the glow faded and the beams disappeared. When Randy opened his eyes, he saw that his brothers' injuries had all been healed, but nothing else seemed to be happening. Just as he was thinking that his plan failed, the Koopalings started to move and pick themselves up. Of course, they were more than a little confused.

Roy: We're...alive?

Larry: But how?

Their answer came in the form of Randy running up to them and hugging as many of them as he could. His unbelievable happy expression coupled with him holding his wand told them he had something to do with this.

Lemmy: Randy, did...did you revive us?

Randy: Yup.

Ludwig: That cannot be possible! How did you mange to do that?

Randy: Do you remember when you said I posses traits each of you have?

Ludwig: Yes.

Randy: Well, I used my wand to split my spirit into eight parts and made each part contain certain aspects. Then I sent each part to one of you depending on the traits. And even though you weren't getting a whole lot each, it was enough to save you all.

Iggy: Wow. You really care about us.

Randy: Give me one reason why I wouldn't. You're my brothers. Good or evil, there isn't anything I wouldn't do for you.

BJ walked up to Randy and gave him another hug.

BJ: You're the best brother ever.

Randy: Tell me something I don't know. We should leave before another part of the castle comes down. Can you all walk okay?

The Koopalings all nodded in unison and joined their brother in walking back to the others. Due to losing his ball in the debris, Lemmy leaned on Iggy for support. Mario and Bowser strangely appeared to be talking and neither of them even raised their voices. However, they, along with Peach, Daisy, Luigi, Toad and Yoshi, all gasped when they caught eye of the nine children alive and well. Bowser immediately pulled them all into an embrace.

Bowser: Boys! You're alive!

Luigi: How can that be?

Junior: Randy used his magic to revive us.

Bowser: Is that true, Randy? How did you do it?

Randy: I-

Before he could finish, there was suddenly a bright flash. Randy instantly became silent and he simply stared into space, not moving a single muscle or even blinking. Some of the others became a little uneasy.

Yoshi: Uh, you alright there, buddy?

Randy still didn't say anything. Instead, his wand slipped free from his hand and his eyes lidded shut halfway. Then, to everyone's horror, he pitched forward and fell face first onto the ground. The faded image of a Koopa reappeared on him, only this time, it covered his entire body. Some of the others thought they saw a green spiked shell and a red mane, but the image dissipated before anyone could be sure. There were screams and frantic running to his side, and that was the last thing the boy saw before everything went dark.

Bowser's Voice: Were the medics able to figure out what's the matter with him?

Peach's Voice: No. They examined him from head to toe and couldn't find any physical damage or anything.

Larry's Voice: Well he couldn't have just fainted for no reason! Maybe he... Wait. I think he's waking up!

Randy eyes slowly opened to reveal mess of blended and fuzzy colors. As he focused his vision, he noticed he was no longer outside. He was lying on a cot and the room he was in looked like it belonged in a hospital, as it was filled with medical equipment. His friends and family quickly gathered around him.

Randy: Wha... What happened? Where am I?

Mario: Mushroom Castle's medical wing. You passed out about an hour ago.

Lemmy: You had us going for awhile there, bro.

Roy: Yeah. You just collapsed outta nowhere! How do ya feel?

Randy: T-Tired... And kinda weird.

Toad: Weird? Weird how?

Randy: I don't know how to explain it. I just feel really drained of energy. But not the kind like after running for a long time or something. It just feels...strange.

Iggy: Hold on a second. Would you say that you feel sort of like part of you is fading away? Like you had something and now it's slowly going away?

Randy: Actually, yeah. I do. Good guess, Iggy. You should be a doctor.

Iggy: And how did you say you revived us again?

Randy: By sending my spirit to you.

Iggy: And now you feel weird?

Randy: Yes.

By now, all eyes were on Iggy. It was becoming obvious that he knew something about the situation.

Junior: Where are you going with this? Do you know what's wrong with him?

Iggy: I'm not one-hundred percent sure, but I can find out.

Luigi: How?

Iggy reached into his shell and pulled out a book entitled "The Magic Of The Spiritual World."

Iggy: Recently, I decided to try to learn about magic besides just casting spells and whatnot. I found this book about spirits and the afterlife. It says a lot about how to perform magic that involves someone's spirit and other stuff like that. I'm pretty sure I've read something that's exactly the same as what Randy said. So if there's a cure or whatever, it'll be in here.

He began flipping through the pages, quickly glancing at each of them to see if any of the titles of the pages seemed to correlate with how Randy was feeling. Eventually, he found one near the very back of the book.

Iggy: Aha! I think I found something! He performed a spell called Sending A Spirit. Let's see here. "-sends their sprit to someone else-, -begins to start feeling an odd draining of energy-, -and then-"

He stopped short and the look on his face immediately turned into a mix of shock and terror, increasing everyone's concern.

Ludwig: Iggy, what is the matter? Is Randy's health in jeopardy?

Iggy: N-No. He...

Roy: What? Just spit it out already!

Iggy: His...life force is draining away.

Daisy: His life force? What's that supposed to mean? He needs food or something?

Iggy: No, you don't understand. Life force is this kinda spiritual energy that makes a body able to stay in the realm of the living. Randy gave up his spirit, which kept his life force flowing through his body. Since he doesn't have a spirit anymore, his life force is fading. And if it drains completely, he'll...

Morton: He'll what?

Iggy: ...He'll die.

Bowser: WHAT?!

Bowser's outburst nearly shattered the windows. Everyone else either gasped or cried out in shock, some of them putting their hands to their mouths. However, their horrified sounds were interrupted by a small chuckle emanating from Randy. Looking at him, they saw him sitting up with a smirk on his face.

Randy: Just as I thought.

BJ: Just as you... Wait. Randy, you knew this would happen?

Randy: Well, I knew it was a possibility.

Lemmy: Then why did you-

Randy: I couldn't let you pay for my mistake. That wouldn't have even happened if it wasn't for me. None of you did anything to deserve that kind of fate. And like I said before, you're my brothers and...and I...

He didn't mean to stop talking, but he suddenly felt a searing pain in his chest. Clutching it, his face clenched into an expression of pain and he fell back into a laying down position, grunting in agony.

Bowser: Randy?! Son, what's the matter?! Talk to me!

Randy calmed down after a few more seconds, but something was different about him now. He seemed a little weaker and his breathing sounded slightly raspy and forced.

Randy: Ow... That hurt... What was that?

Iggy: That was a large amount of your life force going away at once. It means we need to hurry and cure him before he-

Yoshi: Don't say it! Just look for something in the book to help him!

Iggy: I already did. There's a recipe for a Spirit Regeneration potion on the same page.

Iggy turned the book around to show the others. The recipe consisted of a bunch of plants, food and other items.

Iggy: If we mix all this stuff together and Randy drinks it, his spirit will remake itself and he'll be good as new.

Junior: But where are we supposed to get the plants and stuff? Most of them don't even grow on this side of the planet!

Larry: Hey! I'm a florist, remember?

Ludwig: Larry, do you have all of these plants in your greenhouse?

Larry: I'm pretty sure I do. I've been trying to have at least one of every plant in the world so I probably have the ones we need for the potion.

Peach: The rest of the ingredients should be available in the shops around Toad Town.

Bowser: Then let's quit wasting time! Boys, you go to Larry's greenhouse and get any greens you need. Mario, you and your pals get the other stuff from Toad Town.

Toad: What're you gonna do?

Bowser: Stay here with my son. Someone needs to keep an eye on him.

Randy: King Dad, you should really go with them. I'll be fine.

Bowser: Not a chance. You're in absolutely no condition to be by yourself. I'm staying and that's that.

Iggy: Enough talk. If we wanna save Randy, we need to go NOW.

Without another word being said, the Mario Gang and Koopalings rushed out of the room and out of Mushroom Castle. They knew that this was one task they could not fail. With Randy's life on the line, they were more determined to complete this mission than anything else they had ever done in their lives. The question was if they would actually be able to pull it off.

Wow. Bet you guys didn't expect THAT to happen, did ya? But don't worry. I'm not gonna kill off a character I made! ...Or am I? Actually, I don't know. Still haven't decided yet. Just wait and see, I guess.