Act 9: So Close, Yet So Far (Part 9)
The first thing Luigi noticed was a light: a light that dispersed the darkness. Where one finds light, one finds hope.
And hope was what Luigi found, in the form of two people. The first person was none other than his brother, Mario. Holding back his utter happiness, Luigi just let a smile take over his face.
The second person, Luigi did not recognize. He was dressed in a brown overcoat buttoned all the way up, brown slacks, and a brown top hat to finish off his look. He was leaning on a brown wooden cane, fast asleep. His defining characteristic was the huge bubble inflating and deflating with every breath he took.
"How'd you get here?" Luigi asked his brother.
"Same way you probably did. I woke up, walked around, found this door, and entered." Mario explained. "When I came in, I found this old guy here. He's been sleeping ever since."
"You ever tried waking him up?" Luigi asked.
"The thought crossed my mind for a second, but then I thought about how our luck's been. For all I know, this guy might just kill me for no particular reason; just because he has that kind of power." Mario said. "I decided to wait for you. If we do have to fight, we'd be better off fighting as a duo."
"I don't think there'll be any fighting. I mean, look at the bubble coming from his nose." Luigi said, pointing at it. "Anyone who sleeps with bubbles that big in their nose can't be that threatening."
"Oh yeah? I dare you to pop it." Mario dared.
"That's alright... I don't really want old-man-sleep-bubble-snot on my finger." Luigi declined.
"But you're wearing gloves! Plus, it's not even your finger. You're still Waluigi, remember?" Mario pointed out.
"That's true... I think I'm starting to get too used to this body. I miss myself..." Luigi sighed.
"I miss my old self, too." Mario agreed.
The brother's stood around, thinking about their old bodies. The way things were going, it seemed they'd never turn back to normal. They thought about the real Wario and Waluigi...
What would Wario and Waluigi say if they saw us?
They literally imagined it. All four of them were standing in front of Mario's house, back in Mushroom Kingdom. Mario and Luigi, still disguised, stood side-by-side. The real Wario and Waluigi stood across from them, scratching their heads in disbelief, their faces screwed up in confusion.
"What the hell?" Wario and Waluigi uttered simultaneously, shrugging their shoulders.
The mental scene ended.
Yeah, that seems about right...
"Alright, since you won't do it..." Mario said, breaking the silence.
He walked over to the sleeping old man. Sticking his pointer finger out, he directed his hand to the nose bubble and popped it. It emitted a surprisingly loud pop, promptly waking the old man up.
"What?!" The man in brown shouted, completely disorientated.
Mario jumped back and assumed a fighting stance. Luigi also put his arms up, but not quite in a stance ready for battle.
The old man calmed down a little and looked around. He was very surprised to find two others standing with him.
"More people who have lost their way and found themselves in the End of Time." He said to himself.
"The End of Time?" The brother's gasped in disbelief.
"Yes. This is where all time dimensions meet. All of Time ends the same way." The old man stated. He had a slight English accent.
"Who are you, and how'd you get here?" Luigi asked.
"I am Gaspar, The Guru of Time." Gaspar introduced himself. "To go through all the details of how I arrived here would be mind-boggling. All that needs to be said is that I was bought here by accident. At first, I toiled to find a way out, and eventually I succeeded. But instead of escaping, I decided to stay. I wanted to assist those unfortunate enough to somehow end up here. Not many people come around here, so I spend a lot of time sleeping. It does get boring down here, you know."
"So wait a second... You can help us return to the normal time flow? Maybe... get us to the 29th century?" Mario asked.
"Quite possibly... It all depends on your intentions." Gaspar replied.
"Trust me, we're all for righteousness." Mario said and began telling Gaspar what happened to Link and how they ended up in the End of Time.
"Well, that's quite a story..." Gaspar said, impressed by the brothers' ordeal.
"That's not even half of it..." Mario sighed.
"So you're going to help us?" Luigi asked, one-hundred percent sure of the answer.
"Unfortunately, I can't..." Gaspar regretfully muttered.
"Wait, what?" Luigi gasped. This was the complete opposite of what he expected.
"I thought you were here to help anyone that got lost!" Mario exclaimed, upset that this old man acted against his word.
"Usually, I can help anyone that comes this way. But your case is a strange one." Gaspar stated. "You've crossed so many barriers to get here; it would be too complicated to return you to the normal time. I wouldn't even no where to begin! In all my years of being the Guru of Time, I've never faced dilemma more troublesome than yours. And believe me; I thought I've seen it all. I'm terribly sorry..."
And once again, Mario and Luigi's optimism had it's legs broken and was dragged facedown into a field where it was exposed to gamma radiation, left to bask in the lethal rays and die of some horrible, mutated cancer. They simply looked at each other and forced a weak, petty laugh.
"Well, I guess we'll be on our way." Luigi said, heading toward the exit leading back into the infinite blackness he came from with Mario following.
"Once again, I'm sorry I couldn't help." Gaspar called out as Mario and Luigi went through the door.
As the door shut closed, the slightest of smiles crept onto Gaspar's face.
"This isn't what I expected..." Mario said, surprised by the new room they had ended up in.
They exited the same door the entered through. They thought they'd be standing in oblivion once again, but instead, they were in a fenced-in area with a cobblestone floor. In the center of the room, there was a spotlight, where someone stood under it.
Or more accurately: something...
This wasn't a scary something, though. It looked like something you would keep as a pet. With its off-white, fuzzy fur, neck-less oval body, pointy ears, and beady eyes, why wouldn't you? It was the epitome of cute.
"Greetings, Mario and Luigi!" The creature in the spotlight welcomed.
"How do you know our names?" Mario demanded. "In fact, where are we, why are we here instead of the middle of nowhere, and..."
"Whoa, slow down!" The creature interrupted. "It's been a while since so many questions were thrown at me. In fact, it's been a while since I've seen anyone other than Gaspar."
"Who are you?" Luigi asked.
"Since I know your names, I guess it's only fair that you know mine. Call me Spekkio." Spekkio introduced himself. "You two should know why you're here: Gaspar is helping you two by sending you to me. In fact, this room doesn't exist unless he approves."
"What? He just told us he couldn't help us!" Luigi exclaimed. "He was saying something about--"
"Before you go on..." Spekkio interrupted, holding up one cute little finger. "...quiet down and listen closely."
Silence promptly befell the room. Almost immediately, faint laughter was heard. It was coming from the room they were previously in; the room where Gaspar was.
"He's laughing..." Mario realized.
"...at us." Luigi added.
"Yep, he tricked you good." Spekkio said.
"I'm two seconds from going back in there and knocking his teeth out..." Mario threatened. "I was feeling pretty hopeless."
"Calm down, Mario. Think about how long it's been since he's been able to do that. Just let it go." Luigi said, providing a voice of reason. Mario groaned in response. "So anyway, Gaspar sent us to you for help. What exactly can you do?"
"Allow me to answer that question with a question of my own: do I look weak or strong to you?" Spekkio asked.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Mario wondered.
"Just answer truthfully. What do you think?" Spekkio said.
Mario and Luigi replied "weak" and "strong", respectively. Spekkio got a good laugh from this.
"Strong?! Explain to me how this guy looks strong to you." Mario demanded, finding Luigi's statement outrageous.
"You ever heard of the phrase 'looks can be deceiving'?" Luigi said. "Why else would someone with Spekkio's appearance ask a question like that? Underneath the veil of cuteness lies an impossibly strong monster!"
"Well, I'm not denying that he might have some strength..." Mario said. "...but he can't be stronger than me! Basic strength is proportional to body mass. I'm a lot heavier than him, so I'm stronger than him. And in comparison to me, he's weak. Therefore, Spekkio looks weak to me." He deduced.
"Very nice logic, Mario." Spekkio complimented. "Would you care to verify your theory in an arm-wrestling contest against me?"
"Are you serious?" Mario asked in disbelief.
"Very." Spekkio simply replied.
"We don't even have a table to use." Mario pointed out.
Spekkio suddenly began to spin around rapidly. He slowly began inching out of the spotlight as he spun like a top. In his place, a rectangular table appeared, fully-equipped with three chairs: two chairs were directly across from each other, and one chair was kind of at the head of the table.
"Shall we be seated?" Spekkio offered as he climbed into his seat.
Mario and Luigi followed suit, and all three were seated: Mario and Spekkio sat opposite of each other, and Luigi sat to the right. Mario began stretching out his arms and cracking his fingers. He mainly did this for show. He expected a very quick and easy win. Spekkio sat staring at Mario's "preparation" and began to chuckle.
"What's so funny?" Mario wondered.
"Nothing. I'm just admiring your preparation routine." Spekkio said with a smile.
"Okay..." Mario muttered, unsure how to respond.
Finally ending his stretching and cracking, Mario took in a deep breath and breathed out, simultaneously dropping his elbow onto the table. Mario let it drop so heavily, he actually cracked the table a little.
"Whoa, Mario..." Luigi gasped.
"Whoops... Sorry about that." Mario apologized, even though he meant to do that, trying to intimidate Spekkio.
"Don't worry about it. Just lift your arm for a second." Spekkio requested.
Mario listened, and with a magic murmur, Spekkio fixed the crack.
"This time, gently put your elbow on the table." Spekkio said.
With a smile, Mario rested his elbow down with his hand up, waiting for Spekkio to do the same.
"You know what? It's been so long since I've arm wrestled anyone. Let me warm up on your brother, first." Spekkio said.
"What? No!" Luigi refused. "I can't arm wrestle anyone in this body! Look at my arms! They're like twigs!"
"Take it easy, Luigi..." Mario said. "You won't lose to him. It'll be like arm wrestling a puppy."
"The most powerful puppy ever! I'm telling you, Mario, you're underestimating Spekkio. He's a lot stronger than you think." Luigi warned.
"C'mon, Luigi! What do you have to lose? You'd just prove your point that I'm strong." Spekkio encouraged.
"Fine..." Luigi sighed, giving in to peer pressure.
He faced Spekkio and put his elbow on the table. Spekkio was too short for his elbow to reach the table, so he stood on his chair and leaned over to rest his furry elbow on the table and grabbed Luigi's hand.
"I'm ready whenever you are." Spekkio said.
"On the count of three, we'll both go." Luigi suggested.
Spekkio nodded and they both counted together.
"One... Two... THREE!"
Both contestants directed all possible strength into their arms, trying to pin either one's hand to the table surface. They were at a deadlock, struggling to move even an inch.
Just when Luigi felt as if he was going to lose his composure, Spekkio's seat slid back, causing him to lose a lot of leverage. Luigi bought his hand nearly to the table surface. Very gradually, Luigi was able to wear Spekkio's arm down until it finally touched the table.
Both battlers left out a long sigh.
"You want to count that? We'd still be at that deadlock if your chair didn't slip." Luigi offered.
"No, no, that's alright. You win, Luigi." Spekkio announced.
"Good job, little brother. I told you he wasn't that tough." Mario said. "If you still want to face me, Spekkio, I'll let you take a breather before we go."
"Of course I still want to face you! I challenged you first! Just because I lost doesn't mean I quit." Spekkio said. "I don't need to rest. I just needed to get my adrenaline running. I'm ready."
"Alright." Mario said, putting his elbow to the table once again.
Spekkio first moved his chair closer to the table, then rested his elbow on the table and grabbed Mario's hand.
"Count of three?" Mario asked.
"Count of three." Spekkio agreed.
"One... Two... THREE!"
Once again, both contestants started out in a deadlock. Immediately, Mario was surprised because this is the way Luigi's match started out. He knew he was stronger than Luigi, so he couldn't understand why he couldn't even budge Spekkio's arm.
But even more foreboding was the fact that while he was struggling to move Spekkio's arm down, he met no opposing force. He felt like he was arm-wrestling a wall. Mario trembled as he pushed to move his opponents arm. Spekkio, on the other hand, stood perfectly still. It was like he wasn't even fighting back.
Suddenly, Spekkio exploded with strength, throwing Mario's arm to the table. Before he even knew it, Mario saw his huge, beefy arm pinned down on the table. He sat there, completely shocked.
"Hmm, it seems like I win." Spekkio announced.
"I told you, Mario..." Luigi said.
"NO!!" Mario snapped, jumping up from his seat and throwing the table to the side. Wario's egotistical mind-frame had taken over once again without Mario's realization. "Arm wrestling doesn't prove anything anyway; it's hand-to-hand combat! Now come here!"
Mario wildly charged at Spekkio. Suddenly, Spekkio stuck his tiny paw out and pointed it at Mario. An energy ball jumped from his hand, into Mario's face. Mario got knocked onto his back in a hurry, lying in a daze.
Spekkio then closed his eyes and clasped his paws together. A bright yellow aura surrounded his body. It began to pulsate, growing larger in radius. Finally, Spekkio threw his arms into the air and let out a shout. The aura rushed into him, and exited his body as a beam of light. The light flew up into the sky and plummeted back down to earth as lightning. Its landing spot was right where Mario was lying...
C-C-C-C-C-C-C-CRAAAAAACK!!
Mario shook violently as the high voltage of the lightning swam through his body, giving him a grand mal seizure. Soon after the attack, he stopped shaking, lying facedown and motionless on the floor.
Just when Luigi was about to ask if his brother would be alright after something like that...
"Yes, he will be fine. I only gave him enough electricity to put him in a coma." Spekkio said.
"A coma?!" Luigi repeated, stunned. "Doesn't it take months to come back from that?! We have people to save! I can't do this by myself!"
"Will you let me finish?" Spekkio responded. "He'll be up on his feet again once I turn him back to his original self."
"What?" Luigi gasped in disbelief.
"He'll be up on his feet again once I turn him back to his normal self." Spekkio repeated himself. "I can restore you back to normal too, unless you like your new body."
"Ha! Double ha!" Luigi "laughed".
"I'll take that as a 'no'. Okay then, just close your eyes and picture your old body." Spekkio instructed.
Meanwhile in Mario's unconsciousness...
I want to go home.
I need rest. Too much has gone on.
This guy was supposed to help us out, and instead, I'm unconscious. And to top it all off, I can't even fathom how we're getting out of this one.
Everything is turning out great... and it's all thanks to Bowser.
Bowser... Bowser... Bowser...
Next time I see him, he's going to feel the full brunt of my frustration. I think I'm going to kill him.
Suddenly, and incredible flash of light jerked Mario out of his unconsciousness. He surveyed his surroundings, expecting to be somewhere else. In the midst of all the blackness, he saw a skinny brown peg in the corner of his eye. The same peg that belonged to the chair Spekkio was standing on.
For some reason, I expected to be back at home. I'm so homesick...
Mario managed to stand up on his own two legs. Literally! He looked down and was surprised to see his own short and stubby, yet remarkably strong legs as well as his blue overall pants and signature brown shoes. He also looked at his hands: white gloves that fit perfectly over his normal hands.
"Welcome back, Mario." Luigi greeted his brother.
Mario smiled back at his familiar younger sibling. Seeing his green hat and shirt, along with his blue overalls was indeed a comforting sight.
"Your welcome." Spekkio said.
Mario turned in the direction Spekkio's voice came from. He was shocked to see a different creature in Spekkio's place. Instead of a cute, furry little take-home-and-show-it-to-your-mom pet, there was a tall, brutish, hide-it-in-your-closet-and-lock-the-door monster.
Locking the door on this monster wouldn't save you from it, though.
The first thing noticeable on this creature was its humongous chest. Its pecs were enormous. Mario and Luigi, combined, couldn't measure up to its massiveness. Its legs were incredibly miniscule in comparison to its incredible upper body, though. The beast's legs were so small; it's a mystery how it managed to stand.
"Spekkio?" Mario gasped.
"The one and only. What's wrong? Surprised by my appearance?" Spekkio questioned, studying Mario's expression.
"No, not really. I see furry little animals change into huge muscle-bound monsters all the time." Mario casually replied.
"Thanks for giving us our bodies back, Spek. But we still need help getting to the 29th century." Luigi said.
"I can help... But on one condition..." Spekkio began.
"If it involves fighting you, then I quit." Mario mentioned.
"Unforunately, it does..." Spekkio said. "I'm the Master of War. I have a thirst for combat that can never be quenched. But luckily for you, your missions take priority over my desires. You just have to promise me that after you save your princess, you'll come back and fight me."
"Alright, no problem." Mario quickly agreed.
"Don't make empty promises. You must keep this after the vow is made." Spekkio said.
"Trust me, if we find a way to get back here, we'll be back." Luigi reassured him.
"You don't have to worry about that. Just take this egg." Spekkio commanded, holding his powerful hand out. A faint sparkle flickered in his palm, then a purple, black, and blue egg materialized in his hand. "This is a Time Egg. You can use this to bring you anywhere in Time without the threat of creating a bend. But it's only usable once."
Mario carefully took the egg from Spekkio and stared at it. He felt a strange power emanating from the egg.
"This feels uncomfortably important... like the essence of life or something." Mario said with an uneasy laugh.
"Well, it sort of is." Luigi said. "Time controls all of life, and life starts with an egg."
"Clever." Mario murmured while staring at the egg. "So how do I use this?"
"It's incredibly simple. Just hold it up and state your destination in time." Spekkio instructed. "And make sure Luigi is holding on to you somehow."
"Well... That is easy." Luigi admitted.
"Alright then, let's go." Mario said, motioning Luigi to grab his shoulder.
"To 29th century Mute City!" The Mario brothers exclaimed simultaneously.
The egg hatched in the middle of Mario's hand. A wispy cloud flowed out: black and purple swirled, forming the shape of a bird. It swooped down to Mario and Luigi and wrapped its wings around them, then began decreasing in size until it disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"It's time..." Phoenix said after the barrier separating him from Link disappeared.
Damnit... They're still not here yet...
I don't even think I can stall. I have nothin' to use...
"Hey! Get out of la-la land and get moving!" Phoenix ordered as he grabbed Link's arm and threw him in front him.
They began walking to the portal that would throw Link into the Darkness of Time. The strange part, though, was that they didn't put any handcuffs or any type of restraint on Link at all. If he wanted to, Link would easily be able to hit Phoenix with a two-hit combo and run. But he knew there was a reason why there were no restraints.
"Why didn't you guys cuff me?" Link wondered, stopping the walk to the portal. "You guys are that confident that I won't try some courageous shit to try to escape? I mean, all I need to do is hit you with the left-right." Link threatened, jabbing the air with his left and right fists.
"Trust me, you can't. Even if you manage to make it out of this facility, you won't last long." Phoenix said, pushing Link forward.
"How? I'd be gone! You'd never find me." Link countered, slowing down once again.
"All prisoners have a chip as small as a blood-cell within them." Phoenix explained. "That chip is the handcuff. If you try to escape, it will release a fluid that will paralyze you."
"You people are some sneaky mofos, you know that?" Link claimed. "What'd you do? Secretly inject that into me with a needle or somethin'?"
"It's the future, my friend. Needles are too much of a hassle. You can resist the needle, but you can't resist breathing." Phoenix said. "When you were in that transport pod, that chip was released into the air you were breathing. And you know that oxygen gets diffused into your bloodstream through the lungs, right? So does that chip. That's also how a tiny chip like that is able to paralyze your entire body. The paralyzing fluid flows through your circulatory system."
"You know, I'm not stupid." Link said. "I coulda guessed the rest easily."
"Well, I don't know about you perpetrators..." Phoenix said. "You were stupid enough to recklessly run through time and change God-knows-what. I figured you weren't educated enough in how the body works."
"Well, thanks for the Biology lesson, Professor." Link sarcastically stated.
"You're welcome. Now it's off to your indefinite detention." Phoenix said, shoving Link into motion once again.
They finally left the room Link was being held in. The moment they left, a cloud of smoke gradually began filling the room. Afterward, the brume floated into itself and created a swirling vortex. From the vortex, out stepped Mario and Luigi. The vortex swirled smaller and smaller until it solidified, turning back into the Time Egg.
"The Time Egg..." Luigi said, looking at the egg.
"It's actually an egg again." Mario said.
"Didn't Spekkio say it was only useable once?" Luigi remembered.
"Yeah, but look at it. It looks exactly the way it did when he gave it to me." Mario realized. "I think we can still use it."
"I guess we'll be holding on to it." Luigi guessed.
"Of course!" Mario enthusiastically agreed, picking up the Time Egg and pocketing it. "Okay, so now we're in the 29th century. Where's Link?"
Perfectly timed as an answer, they heard a far-away scream. A familiar sounding scream. They figured the door led to a hallway. And down that hallway, they would find Link.
"That's him." Mario said. "Let's go."
Mario led the way to the door, only to stop right in front of it with a perplexed look. He reached for a doorknob, but there wasn't any to be found.
"Where's the doorknob?" Mario asked.
"It's the ultra-future. They probably scrapped that idea." Luigi guessed.
"So then how do we get out?" Mario wondered.
"Umm..." Luigi scanned the wall around the door. "Try that button right there."
Mario pressed a button to the right of the door. The door slid upward, leading to a white-tiled hallway.
"Progress!" Mario exclaimed. "Now which way did he go..."
Perfectly timed as an answer once again, Link screamed on top of his lungs.
"That way." Mario and Luigi said simultaneously, looking to their right. They began running down the hall, in hopes of catching up.
"What are they doing to him? It sounds so painful..."
Further down the hall...
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" Link bellowed on top of his lungs.
"Why are you screaming like that?" Phoenix asked, quite annoyed and covering his ears.
"I dunno, really. I just feel like screamin'." Link admitted.
"You have to have a better reason than that..." Phoenix said.
"Alright then..." Link said, thinking of a better reason. "I'm goin' to the Darkness of Time. What reasons don't I have to scream like that?"
Phoenix was silenced. He did have a point. Phoenix was pretty sure he'd scream a couple of times, too.
Link shouted once again.
"Shut up!" Phoenix ordered, his eardrums ringing.
"Why? You're gonna arrest me for defiance?" Link said.
"Just stop, please! My ears are really sensitive, and you screaming like that isn't helping me." Phoenix said.
"Just deal with it. I'm only gonna be around for another... what... ten minutes? After that, you'll get all the silence you want." Link promised.
He shouted again. Phoenix clocked him over the head with his fist.
Back up the hallway...
"I don't know how I feel about the screaming..." Luigi muttered uneasily as they ran in Link's direction. "I'm glad he's so loud; it makes it easy to follow him. But that could mean he's being tortured or something. We should move faster."
"The screams are getting louder. We're getting closer. Don't worry." Mario assured his brother.
The brothers turned a few more corners, following the screams progressively getting louder in volume. Eventually, they caught up to someone. His back was to them as he was walking ahead of them. Mario and Luigi slowed down their pace. The man was wearing a white cape as well as a white helmet.
He turned a corner and came to a stop. Mario and Luigi slid back around the corner and waited to see what was going on.
"We're here." The caped man said.
"So soon? I was enjoyin' the tour of the facility." Someone in front of the caped man said.
Mario's ears perked up at the sound of the new voice he heard.
"We caught up." Mario quietly announced, recognizing the voice.
"Then the guy in the cape must be Phoenix." Luigi deduced.
Just then, it sounded like a door opened. The brothers peeked around the corner once again to see what was going on.
Link gazed into the room. He noticed it was much different from the rest of the facility. For the most part, the rooms and hallways were very light in color. Most of the rooms were white. This room, however, was a dull and mundane gray, with singe marks on the floor and walls.
"This is it. The gateway to the Darkness of Time." Phoenix said.
Mario and Luigi's eyes widened.
A sound that could only be described as a rip in dimensions was heard. Mario and Luigi felt a strong gust of wind coming from the direction of the gateway.
"If we're going to do something, now's the time." Luigi suggested.
Mario peeked around the corner again. Phoenix and Link were sharing a few words.
"Even though you don't deserve this, do you have any last words?" Phoenix asked.
"Yeah, I got a few..." Link began. In all actuality, he had nothing to say. The only reason he attempted to make up something to say was because he hoped Mario and Luigi were somewhere nearby, getting ready to save him.
"I don't think they're moving anytime soon." Mario observed.
"That gives us enough time to plan. Can you think of anything that'll get us out of here safely?" Luigi wondered.
"No..." Mario admitted. "You?"
"I've been thinking about that ever since we got here. ...and I see no way possible." Luigi stated. "This is the 29th century. Security is probably more advanced than we can ever imagine. I even doubt we made it here unnoticed. There's probably something coming for us right now."
"Then what do we do?" Mario asked.
"I really don't know..." Luigi solemnly sighed.
"I have an idea..." Mario suggested. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Time Egg. "All we have to do is hold this up and tell it where in Time we want to go, right? Well, I don't know what century in Hyrule Link lives in, but I'm sure he does."
"So we nab Link and use the Time Egg right here?" Luigi guessed.
"No, Phoenix will try to stop us from escaping. I'm guessing we can use the Time Egg anywhere, so we'll just go to the Darkness of Time and use it there." Mario concluded.
"What if it doesn't work there?" Luigi said.
"I don't know... I guess we have to hope it does..." Mario said.
"I hate how much uncertainty there is with this plan... but it's our best bet. Let's get ready to grab Link." Luigi said.
They turned the corner and got ready to set their plan in motion. Link was just putting the finishing touches on his "last words".
"...and that's what I think would happen if cuccos and peahats were cross-bred. Massive hysteria would ensue for centuries to come. Even your technology wouldn't be able to stop them!" Link concluded.
"That made no sense, whatsoever. I don't even know what a cucco or a peahat is." Phoenix said.
"You will when they take over your city." Link said.
"Alright, into the portal." Phoenix ordered.
Link slowly turned to the gateway. A pillar of dark blue smoke swirled from the ceiling of the room to the floor. He took a step forward. The wind produced from the pillar nearly blew his hood off. He held his hat to his head as he looked back to Phoenix, then behind him, expecting the brothers to come at any minute. He saw nothing...
"What are you looking at? No one's coming to save you." Phoenix said, shaking his head at Link's wishful thinking.
Link sighed.
Well, this is it. I stalled as much as I could. I guess I'll see everyone again when--
Link's thoughts were interrupted when he felt a sharp tackle to his back, sending him flying out of control into the portal.
"What the he--" This was the last thing Link heard from Phoenix before he fell through.