Gamer4 in, and beginning to notice something of a trend- every time I start getting closer to these stories' climaxes, I start getting really excited and updating much more rapidly than I do at any other point in development. Case in point? I'm starting this chapter only a few hours after posting the last one- I'm just so excited to finally be at this point! Well, that and the usual note that it's likely to be a longy, as is the next chapter. Anyways, some unorthodox opening notes in that we're doing the Q&A up here, instead of way down there- today we are addressing SpiderShadow, who would like to know exactly how old Luigi was in last chapter's flashback- which, considering the implications for the timeline... I don't blame you. He was pretty young, probably only about three or four, five at best- in this world, the attack on his parents happened a few years after Tabuu fell, during which the Government was rounding up all the starmen it could, but unfortunately failing to catch that specific bunch until it was too late. Hope that clears things up. Also, if it wasn't obvious, this chapter is dedicated to the memory of David Bowie- Wave Existence rest his soul. On that sombering note, let's get going.
Disclaimer: Those bitter days are calling for you and me to love! Don't you want to open that forbidden box that holds our dreams?
Chapter XXXI
Labyrinth
"You mean... the Master Hand thinks the Great Darkness is getting stronger, too?" Link whispered, terror in his eyes.
"That's what he said," Mario nodded. "Or that's his theory, at least."
As you may have guessed, the Golden Trio were currently in the hub, discussing everything that had happened earlier that day. Mario had met back up with his comrades at dinner and told them everything that had happened- with the exception, of course, of what had happened to Luigi's parents. In addition, of course, Roy had to be informed immediately- no sooner had dawn broken than an albatross had been selected from the aviary and sent out with that message. They were now in the middle of their customary 'going-over-our-new-facts-to-try-and-divine-meaning-from-them' meeting, which really needs a catchier name. Whatever, let's let the story continue, we'll get back to that one later.
"I can't believe it," Link muttered, shaking his head as his mind turned to another interesting tidbit Mario had uncovered. "I just can't believe it- Wolf was a starman, and the Master Hand still trusts him?"
"Yup," Mario nodded, leaning back in his chair. "Figured you'd get a kick out of that one. Any objections, Zelda?" Silence. "Zelda?"
Mario and Link both turned to where Zelda was wearing her 'deep-thinking face,' which neither of them dared emulate lest she fine them for copyright infringement. Now that they thought about it, she'd been surprisingly silent for the past several minutes- it had mostly been Mario talking with occasional input from Link.
Finally breaking out of her reverie, she muttered, "Glados."
"Really?" Link was on the verge of face faulting. "Really? We just found out that the Great Darkness is getting stronger, and all you can worry about is that useless hunk of junk?"
"It's not that," Zelda shook her head. "It's that... remember what she was saying back in Kurain? Something about Ballyhoo's sordid past, or some bull like that... well, this is what she was talking about, wasn't it? Maybe von Karma cowed her into not reporting on it, but she was there anyways, she knew about the trial, she knew what he was accused of... and like any good news reporter, went ahead and assumed he was guilty..."
"Didn't Birdo say something about that, too?" Link recalled.
"Yeah, I'm remembering something like that, too," Mario nodded. "When she found out he'd gotten an equal rank to von Karma, way back in the day, she flipped out. Talking about what an evil person he is... well, von Karma probably didn't have many favorable things to say about him around the house..."
"And the President's thinking Amaterasu attacked von Karma?" Link asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It was a passive guess, but yeah, that's what it sounds like- we were near the Elsa, after all..."
"Hmm... never thought of her as a potential suspect," Link noted thoughtfully. "We know one of her parents was an ancient, and she was pretty quick to deny it when Crazy brought it up..."
"And do you really blame her?" Zelda interjected. "Look at what happened to Crazy when word got out about him! Look at what she's facing now that President Ryan knows- I'm not going to say I definitely would, but I'd probably lie about my parentage, too, if I knew what I'd get for coming out with it!"
"Are you hinting at something?" Link asked, smirking at her, donning that trolling look of his. "Come on, tell us, which ancient was it? Nyarlathotep? Yog-Sothoth? Izanami?"
"Shove it, Link," Zelda muttered. Looking at her watch, she shook her head. "Nah, it's too late to do anymore training now- so much for teaching Mario how to use a shield... guess we'll have to work hard on that tomorrow- thank the Wave Existence these games are almost over, huh?"
"Preaching to the choir on that one," Mario nodded. "Alright, let's get some rest."
As Mario and Link got dressed for bed, Mario couldn't help but look over at Luigi, who had already passed out on his bed, large nose bouncing as he snored. He knew he could never truly empathize with what the boy in green must have gone through, but he gave it a shot anyways as he leaned back in his bed. He tried imagining that his parents, Jake and Sarah, were still alive, but rendered to the point of insanity so thoroughly that they no longer recognized him. Could he really define his situation as being worse than Luigi's? The answer was easy- no, he couldn't. Not even close. It sucked that his parents were dead, yes, but he couldn't even begin to imagine what it must be like to watch one you loved descending into a madness so thorough they no longer recognized you... he abhorred witch hunts, of course, but he could still feel a flicker of the fire in his stomach that must have burned within the stomachs of everyone who were so desperate to punish those who had done that to the Luigis... but then his thoughts strayed to Franziska von Karma... that sobbing, scared face... had she been guilty? Had she truly deserved the fate she received? Hard telling, because that very witch hunt mentality meant that no one would ever know for certain whether she was truly innocent, or shedding crocodile tears... either way, however, she was dead now, with nothing to be done about it.
Hatred began to course through Mario like a poison- hatred, not towards the government, or Manfred von Karma, or even towards the witch-hunting masses... but towards Tabuu. He'd never appreciated that monstrosity of a human being before, of course, but it was only just now, that night, that he realized how much he truly loathed the most evil smasher of the modern age. The one who tore families apart, who caused death, destruction and despair, all because he found it amusing...
XXXX
Mario knew the situation with the third trial was serious when Zelda elected to help him prepare for it over studying for her final exams. Link, he'd expected- the green swordsman was always looking for an excuse to not study at the best of times- but Zelda... now things were getting serious.
"You know, I can practice on my own for a bit- I'm sure it wouldn't hurt my chances that much," he suggested one day. "Seriously, I mean, training in the games is always just beating up on a sandbag or something like that- just leave me a baseball bat, a sandbag, and a field to knock it over, I'm sure I'll get along just fine."
"Or how about we get some sentient polygons and have you go through a gauntlet of them, followed by a metal version of yourself, and then fight the Master Hand personally?" Zelda suggested sarcastically. "Relax, Mario, it's really no big deal. We'll certainly tear smeg up in the Protection from the Evils tests."
"And it's good training for when we join the hunters' division," Link smiled from the other side of the room, where he was manually practicing swordplay. "Hey, Zelda, throw a spell at me, will ya?"
"Are you sure?" Zelda asked, turning to him.
"Yeah- hit me with your best shot!"
"I don't know..."
"Do it or I pull out the boombox and say that line again!"
"Oh, alright- Din's Fire!"
A large ball of fire shot from Zelda's fingers towards the swordsman, who grinned and thrust his shield forward, knocking the spell back at Zelda, who only narrowly dodged it. "SUCK IT, CARTER!" he burst out. Looking around with a look of confusion, he added, "Don't know why I said that..."
In the weeks coming up to the third trial, an air of excitement began to grip the mansion once more- this was the final hurdle, winner-take-all. Mario was feeling some butterflies, of course, but not as many as he had for the previous trials, which, in his mind, was down to two key things- first off, he actually knew what he'd be going up against well in advance this time, and second, because this time, he felt truly confident in saying that he'd done everything he could to prepare- nothing had been left until the last minute- all he had to do was power through one crummy old hedge maze, and he'd be in the clear.
Mario was mastering doing things with fire that he'd never have deemed possible- with Zelda and Link's instruction, he was soon able to manipulate his fire into being extensions of his arms as much as anything else, allowing him to grapple with larger opponents. He was able to magnetize his fire- yeah, say that one out of context, see what people say- so that tossing it in the air would always drag it to the north- kind of like that one scene in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but much cooler, because it's fire. Fire is cool. Pay no attention to the many matches and burned houses behind me. Even something as basic as his standard fireball throw had greatly increased in power- while it had always been painful, he was really starting to pack a punch, recently knocking Gato, the school's resident crash test dummy (think Buster from Mythbusters,) across the room with a well-placed blast. The only thing he was really having trouble with was that shield- try as he might, his fire simply didn't trump the spells and projectiles Link and Zelda threw at it to test its integrity.
"Don't worry about it too much," Zelda shook her head when he presented her with this concern. "It's still pretty good-" Ocelot gesture- "-for where you are now, and you've got plenty of other techniques under your belt that should come in handy."
"Yeah, just count yourself lucky that you're not as backed up as Bowser down there," Link agreed. "Seriously, get over here and see what the moron's doing now."
Mario and Zelda crossed the room and peered out the window, where the Dark Trio were standing near the Lost Woods, whispering into what appeared to be his own hands.
"Maybe he's communicating with Nyarko via the Shining Trapezohedron?" Mario suggested.
"Nah, she'd never deal with him- she'd just take it back and give it to Mahiro," Link shook his head.
"But we all know he's going for Kuuko," Zelda smiled.
"Are you kidding me?" Link stared at her. "He's totally into Hasuta!"
"Guys, this isn't really important right now," Mario shook his head. "First off, we all know he's secretly in love with Nyarko- he just can't admit it. Second, we're kind of straying from the topic at hand- what in the name of the Wave Existence are they doing?"
"Look, whether Mahiro loves Nyarko or Kuuko is neither here nor there- though it's totally Kuuko," Zelda shook her head. "We're not figuring out what Bowser's up to tonight, might as well get back to that shield- Wave Existence as my witness, Mario, you will master this art before the trial!"
XXXX
And so it came to be that one of Mario's letters the next day was from... Parrakarry, informing him that Mahiro was totally in love with Shanta-kun. But moving on from sporadic Nyarko-san references (freaking love that show) was the daily letter from Roy- yeah, he was sending updates daily, now. He worded it in different ways, but they all came down to the same basic message-
If Tabuu's getting stronger again, we must prioritize your safety above all else. Of course, he doesn't really stand a chance of getting through the defenses the Master Hand has set up, but that doesn't mean he's not going to try, and there's definitely no reason to go out of your way to make it easier for him. Get through that labyrinth, then we'll see about digging into these other mysteries.
Mario's nerves were building up, but time didn't seem to be quite as interested in being a colossal winnicot as it usually was- time was passing normally, neither too quickly, nor too slowly. There was even some part of him looking forward to going into that maze, because one way or another, that night would be the one that saw him celebrating the end of these freaking games once and for all- he didn't even particularly care about winning at this point, though if he could, hey, all the better.
XXXX
Fortunately, everyone was very mature, calm, and collected at the Smash Mansion, so everything was nice and quiet on the morning of the third trial... and if you believe that, I've got a bridge in the Gaur Plains I'd like to sell you. It was the nosiest breakfast Mario had ever had at the Smash Mansion, and one of the most chaotic. The only mail he received that day was a good luck card from Roy- by which we mean a piece of paper with a pawprint on it, but considering that this was still more love and affection in one letter than he'd received from the Smiths in fourteen years, he appreciated it very much- it was great to know his godfather had his back, come what may.
Zelda, meanwhile, was unrolling her morning issue of the Tribune, but had only just begun when she suddenly had a spit take all over it. Mario and Link turned to stare. "Something up?" they asked.
"Oh, nothing, just some spoiled milk!" Zelda shook her head, to the stares of her male companions.
"You're drinking apple juice," Mario pointed out.
"Spoiled apple juice!" Zelda tried to correct herself, but Link had already snagged the paper while she was distracted.
Link looked at the paper, then promptly grabbed a nearby glass of milk, downed it, and performed a spit take with what was left.
"Let me guess," Mario threw out. "Glados?"
"Ah, nah, brah, I don't know what you're talking about!" Link wore a false smile as he made to push the paper into hammerspace- but Mario wasn't having any of it. Using a technique they'd taught him, he manipulated a stream of fire from his fingers into grabbing the paper from Link and dragged it over to himself... and sighed from the moment he saw the headline.
Silence of the Pyromancer-
The Legend of Mario Bates
Well, this is certainly an interesting turn of events, (writes Glados Johnson, faithful Fourside Tribune reporter.) While Mario Mario has been hailed for years as the boy who defeated the Great Darkness at the height of his power, before he had any real height at all, new evidence has come to light that the boy who lived may not be what he seems- in fact, this reporter is not entirely convinced Mario Mario should even be allowed to mingle with more normal people at the Smash Bros. School of Smashing.
Exhibit A: Mario Mario, according to this reporter's research, collapses in school on a nigh-daily basis, often complaining of the scar on his forehead hurting- a scar given birth fourteen years ago when the Great Darkness failed to kill him. With her own eyes, this reporter witnessed Mr. Mario leaving a Psychic Powers class on claims that his scar pained him too much to continue with his schoolwork.
Could it be that young Mr. Mario was more deeply affected by that fateful All Hallow's Eve night than anyone had previously suspected? According to specialists from the Umbrella Hospital, not only is it possible, it is even likely. In their own words, "My guess would be, either sustaining such trauma to the brain at that age permanently affected his mental processes, or he's simply faking it- after all, popularity is fleeting, he may just be struggling to keep his throne."
This, on its own, would be enough indictment against the young man, but it doesn't even stop there- this reporter went to multiple other sources, and discovered more and more secrets about the pyromancer along the way.
"He's a Mi-Go," is what young Bowser Dragmire, repeated reliable source for the Tribune, has to say on the topic. "For those that don't remember a couple years back, he can talk to koopas! There were people getting turned to stone left, right, and center, and everyone thought he was the one doing it- heck, there was that one fight club session, he attacked one of our muggle-born students with a koopa- and that's without him getting friendly with ancients, and werecreatures, and Wave Existence alone knows what else! We all act like he's still a hero, but we're all just wondering when he'll get that push to the dark side."
Indeed, history shows very few examples of Mi-Go who used their abilities for good- in point of fact, the most recent famous Mi-Go was none other than the Great Darkness. Speaking to Matthew Patrick, a muggle with much to say on the smashing world, "That definitely raises some red flags right there- koopas are known as some of the most evil creatures on the planet, and the ability to talk to them has rarely been a good sign. Put that together with his desire to stand alongside werecreatures and ancients, and the fact that I've seen him repeatedly hitting yoshis over the back of the head, and you've got a pretty good case against him."
Let us hope that the Master Hand hears this, and acts in time to prevent Mario from using these bits of dark smashing to force his way through the remainder of the Console Games, the final trial of which takes place this very evening.
"Something tells me she's become a tad disenchanted with this straight man," Mario noted, crumpling up the paper and burning it.
"Have you been beating yoshis in the back of the head?" Zelda asked severely.
"Of course not," Mario shook his head. "I know what he's talking about- that animation in Mario World- but if you look closely, that's me pointing ahead of him, not punching him in the back of the head- freaking Game Theory. Kind of a hi-ho, Silver, kind of thing."
Link, meanwhile, was concerned about something else- "But how did she know about you passing out in Lucario's class? There's no way she could have been there, we'd have seen her!"
"The window was open," Mario shrugged. "Part of why I fell asleep to begin with."
"Mario, you're supposed to be the straight man, not me," Zelda spoke as she lowered her lids halfway.
"What'dya mean?"
"You were in the attic of a thirty-three story mansion. There's no way your voice would have carried that far."
"Well, then, how do you think she did it?" Mario asked, starting to get annoyed. "I know she got some info from Bud, Dud, and Spud over there-" here, he pointed agitatedly over at the Sierra table- specifically, the Dark Trio, who were busy chortling delightedly over the new issue- "but not all of it!"
"I'm trying to find out- don't you think I am?!" Zelda retorted. "But everywhere I look, it's a... dead... end..."
Mario raised his eyebrows as Zelda's voice trailed off- she looked like a train had just hit her. "Zelda, you alright?"
"Yeah... yeah, I think I am..." she nodded, a smile beginning to cross her face- Mario was beginning to wonder if she'd somehow ingested some narcotics. "Just... a sudden thought occurred... a crazy thought... but if it's true... it would make a certain amount of sense... but then... EUREKA!" she suddenly burst out, startling Mario and Link into falling backwards. "Two minutes in the library, just give me two minutes, and we solve a mystery fifteen years in the making!" With that, she jumped up and rushed off.
Link stared after her. "She does realize that our exams are starting up in ten minutes, doesn't she?"
"I guess she really does hate Glados," Mario shrugged.
"So, back to manual practice once the exams start up?" Link guessed, referencing the great deal of one-on-one time Mario was getting with Gato- exempt from end-of-year tests, they had decided that Mario's best use of time would be to continue practicing with the crash test robot.
"Well, I suppose I-"
"No, don't worry about it," came another voice. "Somehow, I think Gato is getting a break today." They turned to see Samus standing there, arms crossed. "You're due in the back room after breakfast, Mario."
"What? But the trial isn't until tonight!" Mario objected- though he honestly wouldn't put it past this story to bump up the time without telling him first.
"Correct," Samus nodded, giving him some relief, "but the Smash Bros. has extended invitations to the families of the contestants, inviting them to come and witness this final trial for themselves. Since you're not participating in the exams anyways, we thought we'd give you this chance to meet them."
Mario couldn't help but stare after her as she turned and walked away. "And... what, she expects the Smiths to turn up?"
"Not based on what I've seen," Link shook his head. "Love to stay and delve into this mystery with ya, but I've got to go. See ya later!"
Mario spent the rest of breakfast puzzling and puzzling until his puzzler was sore, without ever thinking of something he hadn't before. All he could think was that Samus was simply going through that procedure with all the contestants, whether their family turned up or not- no reason to go back there, in that case. That in mind, he continued with his banana-nut muffin, watching as everyone else finished their breakfasts and headed out for their exams- or, in the case of DK, Snake, and Sonic, heading to the back room, presumably to meet their family members. Mario finished up, and was on the point of heading out to give Gato some more sparring time, when Snake opened up the door and stuck his head out. "Not too gracious there, are ya, sport? Your family comes all the way out here to watch you do this trial, and you're just gonna ignore them?" That 'sport' came across as much more friendly than the nicknames he'd given Mario at the beginning of the year, but left Mario bewildered nonetheless- holy crud, the Smiths weren't actually here, were they?
Determined to solve this mystery, he headed to the back room, where Snake held the door open for him. On the inside, he could see Donkey Kong chatting away with Cranky, who was smiling, and, for once, was refraining from beating his grandson over the head with his cane. Snake, after seeing Mario in, went to speak to an old man with an eyepatch and a mane of white hair, alongside an old woman wearing biker-style clothing, with long blond hair and combat boots, who were both nonetheless giving him kind smiles as he came over to greet them. Sonic, meanwhile, was talking to an obscenely old hedgehog with remarkably light blue quills and a moustache, who was smiling and patting him on the back. Eat it, Ritsuko. But then, Mario's quest for whoever had come for him took him over to...
"SURPRISE!" cried the two people standing on the other end of the room- one shorter, with blond hair, and the other much taller, with fiery red hair.
"Mrs. Faron! Midna!" Mario greeted them, very much surprised. "You're the ones who-"
"Dang right," Midna smiled that mischievous smile of hers, her fangs on full display. "Linebeck would have come, but they just found another tomb underneath Egypt- followed directions from one of Houdini's lost notebooks."
Mario smiled, and cast his eyes around, eventually landing on Snake, who, he noticed, was eyeing Midna carefully- apparently, he, at least, didn't consider those vampiric fangs a turn-off...
"Well, now everything makes sense," Mario smiled. "Must be out of my mind- for a moment, I actually thought it was possible that the Smiths..."
"Hmmm..." Mrs. Faron looked like she was swallowing something sour- she refrained from insulting them in front of him, but it was no secret to anyone that she didn't particularly care for Mario's relatives- she didn't seem to get the message that Mario didn't care for them anymore than she did.
"Ah, nostalgia," Midna smiled, looking around. "So many memories... hey, is Rose still the Nintendo guardian?"
Mario jumped as he thought he heard a voice echoing down from upstairs, calling out, "WHEEEERE'S THE GUARDIAN!?" but ignored it, and nodded. "Tall woman, teal dress, blond hair that covers one eye?"
"Yeah, that's her."
"Yup, she's still here."
"Even I knew here," Uli smiled reminiscently. "She'd get frustrated whenever I came back late- complained about me waking her up and making her open up at all hours..."
"Hows about playing some tourguide, Mario?" Midna smiled at him. "Let's see just how much this place has really changed... great to finally be getting back to the Smash Bros.!"
As they were heading out, Mario found himself being accosted by an elderly ape brandishing a cane. "Well, great to see you're still here, you red little slacker!" Cranky grouched at him. "But how does it feel to be tied with a real Kong, huh? Pride cometh before a fall, my boy, pride cometh before a fall, and mark my words, you're about to fall hard!"
"Huh?" Mario asked blankly.
"Oh, don't mind him," Donkey Kong shook his head. "He's been a little sore ever since that article from Glados- the one that completely ignored me, remember?"
"Vividly," Mario muttered.
"Well, if he's so humble as you make out, why didn't he ever bother writing a letter to her, huh? Make her print a retraction or something!"
"I doubt Glados Johnson has printed a retraction in twenty years," Uli scoffed. "Her only goal is to cause trouble, and she doesn't care what she has to put in the news to do it. You should know that by now, Cranky."
"On which subject," Mario couldn't help piping up, "Mrs. Faron... you didn't believe that trash Glados put in Cosmopolitan, did you? It's just... Zelda and I have never been romantically involved."
"Huh?" Suddenly, Mrs. Faron turned a bright shade of red. "Oh... well... that was... silly of me..."
"I'd say," Midna scoffed. "Happy flipping Easter, huh?"
"Ah, Link made it up to her," Mario shrugged.
"Did he, now?" Midna's eyes suddenly lit up, and Mario had to wonder what sort of hell-on-earth he'd just unleashed. "Interesting..."
Mario nervously beckoned and led them out across the foyer and into the sun.
It was a pretty enjoyable morning, even down to introducing Mrs. Faron to the Flaaghra (which hadn't been planted until the year after she graduated) and pointing out the Elsa and the halo. At one point, Mario couldn't help asking, "So... what's up with Rob?"
The smile slid off Midna's face. "Well, I'd say he's up crap creek without a paddle, but that's being a tad generous..."
"I don't blame him for being upset," Uli shook her head. "He had to face an inquiry at work over what's happened- they think he should have come forward about not seeing von Karma in person much earlier. They think those letters might not have been by von Karma... he won't even be able to fill in as the fifth judge. Olimar will be doing that instead."
"So weird to not be calling him 'President Tate' anymore," Midna mused.
"Hey, Mom! Midna!" came a call from the other side of the lawn, and they looked over to see Link sprinting across the grass towards them. "Where'd you come from?"
"We're here to see the last trial!" Uli smiled down at him. "So, how go the exams?"
"Just wrapped up my last one!" Link noted cheerfully. "Couldn't remember quite everything about the goomba leaders, so I had to BS a bit..." He was speaking to Mario, but abruptly remembered that his mother was there, too, when he felt the blizzard she was giving off at that statement.
"You did what, now?" she glared.
"I meant... I meant... I DS'd it!" Link invented wildly. "You know, searched for the answers on my 3DS? Not the best thing to do, I know, but hey, gotta pass those tests for my future!"
Uli still didn't look impressed, but was soon distracted by the arrival of Peach and the twin puffballs, who were just as surprised to see them as Link had been. Mario smiled- it was almost like being back at Ordon Cottage. The only thing missing was Zelda, who didn't turn up until lunchtime.
"Oh, Zelda, I think I have to apologize, my dear," Uli smiled at her. "It would seem I was acting under... false information."
"It's alright, Mrs. Faron," Zelda smiled, but Mario could detect a faint glimmer of fire in her eyes as she continued. "Besides, Link and I are putting those condoms to good use, now!"
Link and Uli both did spit takes, while Peach, the twin puffballs, and Midna all broke down laughing. Mario tried to hold back, but showed a smirk on his face nonetheless as Link turned red, and Uli gradually realized she was being trolled.
And so it came to be that they all continued their constitutionals around the school grounds, meeting Crazy, (who greeted them all jovially, as one might have expected,) and passing by several of the people Mario had met over the year- Lucina and her crew, Kratos, Chell Johnson, all of whom assured him that they'd be rooting for him at the final trial.
Then back they went to the Dining Hall, where Ballyhoo and Olimar were sitting in close conversation. Mario couldn't help but glance at Okami Amaterasu, who was picking slowly at her food- she seemed almost... sad, in a way. And was it his imagination, or did Crazy seem to be glancing at her a little more than usual?
It was, far and beyond, the greatest feast Mario had ever attended at the Smash Mansion, but with his nerves mounting, he only managed a small bowl of spaghetti and a shot glass of milk. The sky outside was darkening...
Finally, the Master Hand rose up and addressed the hall. "In five minutes, we will begin escorting everyone down to the Smash-Up stadium, where the third and final trial will take place. Mr. Ballyhoo, will you please escort the contestants down to the stadium at this time?"
Ballyhoo grinned and flashed a thumbs-up as the hand as he rose from his chair and began whirring down the hall. Mario stood, and could see his fellow contestants doing the same. The Farons all wished him luck, and watched as he turned and left.
"You alright there, Mario? Doing okay for yourself?" Ballyhoo asked as they began their descent down the hill.
"Yeah, I'm down for it," Mario nodded. He kept going over all his practice in his mind... yeah, there was no question, he could do this...
The Smash-Up stadium had somehow been unfolded so that the seats formed one long line at the edge of the hedge maze. Ballyhoo guided them into a locker room, normally for Smash-Up players, then flew off to make the final preparations.
The contestants were mostly quiet as they heard the stadium filling up around them. Snake grinned. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but no matter how this turns out, I'm glad to have met you all. Let's go out there and show that maze who's boss, right? May the best man win."
"I intend to," Sonic smiled- a taunt, yes, but the tone of his voice signified a good-natured taunt.
Finally, Ballyhoo returned and beckoned them out. They now stood before the maze, one passage beckoning them into its dark embraces. All around the stadium were people cheering on their favorite contestant, all color coded- red, blue, black, and brown. Mario could hear songs blaring out from all of them:
"What a thrill, in the darkness and silence of the night, what a thrill..."
"Take off at the speed of sound! Bright lights and colors all around!"
"He's the leader of the bunch, you know him well, he's finally back, to kick some tail!"
"Super Mario RPG- it is the only game just for me! When I play the game, I get lost in a haze, then I find out, I'm stuck in Geno's maze!"
"I'd give my life, not for honor, but for you! In my time, there'll be no one else..."
"I'm gonna reach for the stars, although they look pretty far! I'm gonna find my own way, and take a chance on today!"
"Put your hands together if you want to clap, as we take you through this monkey rap!"
"Mario and all the crew, on adventures, find anew, follow him as he continues on a quest to save me and you!"
The contestants all smiled as they heard their respective songs being sung. They then turned to the people standing in front of the maze- Ballyhoo, Samus, Crazy, and Simon.
"We'll be patrolling the outside," Samus explained. "Been working on my cardio all month for this- you'd better appreciate it. If crud hits the fan, and you've got no way out, call out, 'MY GAME IS OVER!' and we'll come right in and bail you out."
"Alright!" Ballyhoo grinned, looking around. "When you hear the gong, Mario and Donkey Kong, as the ones in first place, will enter first! The second gong marks your entrance, Mr. Hedgehog, and the third is for you, Mr. Snake!"
"Got it," was the general agreement among the contestants.
"Alright, then let's do this!" Ballyhoo cheered, and the gong sounded. Mario and DK stood side-by-side as they charged bravely into the no-man's-land of the labyrinth.
XXXX
The exact moment that they crossed the boundary, all sound ceased instantly. They were alone in dead silence. Mario snapped his fingers to summon some light to see by, while DK relied more on his dilating eyes. Down, down, down the tunnel they went. No turns yet... until they'd already gone several yards, at which point it forked off. Mario and DK glanced at each other. "Well, see you on the other side!" DK smiled before taking off down the right. Mario sighed and turned left instead.
The only sound that broke the following monotony was the gong signaling Sonic's entrance into the labyrinth. Mario wondered if the blue blur had already passed him- ridiculous... right?
The path Mario had chosen seemed completely deserted- and he hadn't come across a single turn yet. It wasn't just a lack of forks- he literally hadn't even turned once yet. It was just a straight path down the line. Further and further and further... at one point, he began to wonder if he was just taking it for granted that this was a straight path- he felt the hedges, looking for any secret passages he might have missed. Nothing, and the longer he spent looking, the less likely it was that he'd get to that cup in the middle of the maze.
He was reminded strongly of the final barrier between him and the Hylian Stone three years earlier- an empty room with a simple carpet, designed to make the person going through it become so unnerved that they turned back- it was the same feeling he got from this maze. For crying out loud, if he went in deep enough, he had to encounter something, right? Right? What, had Ballyhoo been BS-ing when he said there would be more challenges to overcome than just finding their way through the maze?
Apparently not, because one of the next things to happen was DK tearing onto his route from a nearby alternate path, his fur rather bloodied. "Those Ultimate Chimaeras!" he shouted warningly as he passed by. "They're so big... so brutal! Stay away- just stay the smeg away!"
And with that, he turned and dashed off again. Mario sighed- the first alternate pathway he'd encountered in this Wave-Existence-forsaken maze so far, and it led to an Ultimate Chimaera. Just his luck. Alright, time to see what lay further down the path...
A right turn, apparently- a right turn right into a floow. Mario's mind went into full retreat- surely, surely they hadn't actually hired one of these abominations to guard the trophy, had they? Challenge was one thing, sure, but these things went far above and beyond that...
But it seemed to be a fact- it was floating towards him menacingly, sucking out his hope and happiness, steadily peeling back the strips of darkness that covered his face... it was out for his soul...
But Mario didn't intend to give it. He immediately summoned the happiest thought he could think of- finally being done with this tournament, celebrating in the hub with Link, Zelda, Lu... everyone...
"Kame... Hame... HAAAAAAA!" he cried, going through the classic motions and projecting a gigantic column of fire down the tunnel at the floow. When the fire cleared, the floow was on its back, breathing heavily... breathing? Floows didn't breath...
"Oh, you clever sons of smeggers... a Tane-Tane! Well, at least I've got something up my sleeve here- I've dated hotter chicks than you!"
The floow abruptly turned into a chicken- on fire. Mario smirked as he went over and lifted it over his head. Abruptly, the chicken spoke- huh, he'd never heard a Tane-Tane speak. Ah, well, the more you know...
"That's all you've got? A cheap trick and a bad one-liner?"
"Honey, that could be the name of my autobiography," Mario's smirk grew wider. Ah, references. "All I'm saying is... I sure know how to pick up chicks!"
The Tane-Tane gave a cry of pain, and abruptly exploded. Mario blinked- funny, usually, he had to laugh at the Tane-Tane to destroy it. Apparently, that pun had just been that bad. Ah, well, time to move along... that goal was becoming more and more tempting as time passed.
Occasionally, he'd wing a magnetized fireball into the air and let it point the way north. No real point in diverging from his path as of yet. On and on and on it went... until he found his way blocked by... a mushroom. Yeah, seriously, there was just a small, red-with-white spots mushroom on the ground, pacing back and forth on the legs that grew from its stalk.
Mario eyed it tentatively. Harmless as it may seem, he really didn't trust it- there had to be a trick somewhere. He started off throwing a fireball at it, but it deftly leapt in the air and performed a flying-bird-kick to dodge out of the way... before going back to pacing back and forth.
Time to weigh his options- was it worth trying to get past this thing? It had the potential to do some nasty things to him if he wasn't careful... or so he suspected. He winged another magnetized fireball into the air- it pointed him right past the mushroom. So that was the fastest way... but was it worth the risk?
Abruptly, a yell sounded off in front of him- the yell of Solid Snake. He sounded very much in distress, causing Mario's chronic hero syndrome to kick in. Throwing caution to the winds, he charged right past the mushroom, which took the opportunity to fire spores at him.
And suddenly, Mario lost his mind. The world around him seemed to be in a haze as he began moving forward- or what he thought was forward, until he walked headlong into a wall. The ground no longer seemed to be definitively 'down'- he was leaning on it like it was the wall. He racked his brains, trying to think of something that would clear his head again, any sort of smashing... and he couldn't help laughing, for some reason. Heh. Smashing. Hmm... maybe hitting himself with a ball of fire would do the trick? He summoned one and winged it at himself, bringing a deep burn onto his chest- which caused him to laugh as well. Well, that didn't wo- wait, what was that? Oh, yeah... that was his hand, extended out to throw the fireball. He'd never realized how amazing his hand looked- it was really quite something, it was just... just there, at the end of his arm, and yet it moved whenever he twitched his muscles in just the right way... where was he again? A maze, or something? Forget the maze, he needed to inspect his hand further... to put together this miracle of biology...
Looking up, he saw a blue hedgehog approaching. His speech seemed slow and slurred as he spoke up. "Oh, hey, man, how's it going? Have you seen my hand? Isn't that amazing? And these! Look at these!" He rolled up the legs of his pants and demonstrated his kneecaps, wiggling around as he rubbed the skin thereon. "It's so weird..."
Sonic cocked his head as he looked down at him, then reached down, grabbing something just over his head, and wrenching it. Mario experienced a brief moment of pain, and then a sudden clarity- he turned violently red as he leapt to his feet, the realization of what he'd just been doing embarrassing him to no end. Looking, he saw Sonic holding a mushroom- apparently just pulled off of his head. "What the-"
"Mashroomized," Sonic noted, tossing the mushroom over his shoulder. "Those mushrooms have a defense mechanism where they make a mushroom grow on their attackers head- basically throws them into one big drug trip. You'd have been stumbling around here for hours..."
"So, why did you help me?" Mario asked, raising his eyebrows. "Aren't we supposed to be competing?"
"Hey, why would I do that?" Sonic shrugged. "Just 'cause we're competing doesn't mean I'll abandon a fellow smasher in need..."
Mario tilted his head, wondering if that was the whole truth. Something seemed... blank about Sonic's expression. "Anyways, got to go, bye!" the blue blur called out, and shot off before Mario could figure out what was going on.
Mario shook his head, turning away from the mushroom behind him and taking off further into the labyrinth.
Further and further- at least he was finding more alternate paths, now, but aside from those, he met no obstacles for the next ten minutes or so- whereupon he slammed into a bright red hellhound with various other animal parts attached- the Ultimate Chimaera. Donkey Kong hadn't just been whistling dixie- this thing had to be twice the Kong's size, and considering that DK was larger than most others to begin with, that was saying something. Those teeth had to be as long as Mario's arm- or at least, Mario's fear filter was making them seem that way. Mario threw a fireball- which bounced off and only succeeded in making the creature turn around, agitated. Well, that had been stupid- now it had a reason to want to kill him. It turned on him, pawed at the ground like a rhinoceros, then charged. Mario tensed, trying to recall anything Crazy might have said about how to stop these things- and suddenly, it came to him. He leapt up in the air, onto the Chimaera's head, and before it could turn around, he slammed his fist into the button on its neck with all the force he could muster.
The Chimaera let out a gasp, shuddered, and collapsed, unconscious. Mario sighed, getting onto the ground, panting and removing his hat to wipe the sweat off. Leave it to Crazy, he thought, to breed an animal with an off switch. Well, no need to stay around here much longer, he didn't know if that was permanent.
And indeed, as he took off in the opposite direction, the yellow bird always perched on the Chimaera's back hopped onto its shoulders, examining that same button, as if considering pressing it once more...
XXXX
Mario continued on and on, gladly putting as much room as possible between himself and that... thing. It was only a few minutes later, however, that he stopped dead, listening intently to the voices on the other side of the hedge on his right. "Oh, Sonic... didn't expect to see you in here. What's going- what are you... what the-"
And, sure enough, next came Sonic's voice, calling out words that made Mario's heart turn cold- "Terror! Darkness! Anguish! Pain! Suffering! Pain! Pain! Pain!"
Alongside this came Donkey Kong's voice, rising up again and crying out in pain. Mario desperately looked up and down the hedge, wondering if there was an easier way to get through- didn't look like it, he'd have to cheat the system if he wanted to help DK...
He summoned the strongest fireball he could and hurled that mother at the hedge as hard as he could... it didn't do much, not that he'd expected anything different. He hurled more and more fire, spreading it to his own body as he began to physically fight his way through, until he finally plopped out on the other side. He leapt to his feet and turned to see Sonic, eyes cold and emotionless, breakdancing on top of a screaming Donkey Kong, still crying out word after word... "Despair! Hoplessness! Pain! Pain! Pain!"
Mario threw a fireball and knocked him over, dashing over to him right away. "What the smeg, man, what the smeg possessed you to use dark-"
"Out of the way!" came a shout behind him, and he turned to see DK looking absolutely furious as he wound up a mighty punch. Mario wisely ducked out of the way just as DK slammed his fist into Sonic, knocking the hedgehog to the ground, unconscious.
"Why... why would he..." Mario choked out, staring at the scene.
"I don't know... I could hardly believe it myself," DK shook his head. "I heard him coming, thought he just wanted to talk, then he starts using dark aperture on me..."
They stared at the huddled form on the ground. "And after all that... I thought he was a good guy," Mario noted forlornly.
"I was starting to like him myself," DK nodded solemnly.
"You heard Snake earlier, right?"
"Yeah... yeah, I heard him."
"Did... did he get him, too?"
"Hard telling," Mario shook his head hopelessly. "Let's get someone over here..." Raising his voice as much as he could, he called out, "MY GAME IS OVER!"
"I guess someone will come now," DK nodded. "Though, if I'm being honest, I wouldn't feel too bad if that Chimaera came for him..."
"I couldn't do that," Mario shook his head. "Never... I could never do something like that."
"Fair enough," DK nodded. "Well... let's get going, I guess."
"Huh?" Mario raised his eyebrows. "Oh, right, yeah... we've still got a trial to finish..."
"Yup," DK nodded. "See ya!" With that, he turned and headed off in the opposite direction.
Mario's head was swimming as he took off back into the maze. Why? Why would Sonic do such a thing? He was supposed to be a hero in his own right, wasn't he? To be using something as serious as dark aperture... just to win a tournament? There was something not right here, he could feel it...
"You've got to love the world! Be a friend! And when you're down, you've gotta get up again!"
Mario froze, slowing his pace as he continued stepping down the tunnel, and finally turning. Sure enough, there, at the very end of this hedgey tunnel, stood an abnormally tall man with overly-long arms, dressed in a suit and without a face- which didn't make much sense, considering he was currently singing out, "And when you're blue, here's what you do- just sing me a happy tune!"
"You know you don't actually have to sing that anymore, right?" Mario called out as he approached.
"True," the Slender Man nodded as he turned to greet his guest, "but I guess it just kind of got stuck in my head after I repeated it five million times." Mario strained his ears trying to catch some hostility in Slendy's voice... not much, only a little. "Good to see you, Mario- time for you to finally witness my time in the sun!"
"So, this is what the Master Hand hired you for?" Mario asked. "An obstacle in the labyrinth?"
"Dang skippy! Time for me to shine! Nobody gets past me, not without my permission!"
"Yeah, glad to hear it, we'll have lunch sometime," Mario muttered dismissively. "Well, see you on the other- UGH!"
He'd made to just walk past him, but Slendy had stretched a tentacle out from behind his back and slammed it into him, knocking him backwards. "Like I said, nobody gets past me without my permission!"
"The heck was that?" Mario asked, rubbing his jaw as he stood back up.
"Don't think having been friends with me before means you can get past me now!" the Slender Man shook his head. "You don't get any special treatment!"
"Okay, okay, okay... first question, is it even worth trying to get past you?"
"Well, yeah- quickest way to the trophy is right past me!"
"And you say I can only get through if I have your permission?"
"Yup!"
"So... can I have your permission, please?"
Slendy looked truly taken aback. "You... you actually just asked?"
"Well, yeah," Mario shrugged. "I mean, I'd like to get past, and if the only way to do that is with your permission..."
"Hmm... what to do, what to do..." Slendy paced around a bit, clearly in deep though. Finally, he snapped one of his tentacle-fingers. "I've got it! I'll let you past, under one condition!"
"Oh, boy," Mario muttered.
"Oh, don't worry, I don't want to be a main character anymore- I've got plenty of work on the internet," Slendy shook his head. "No, I just want my time on this story to go out in a blaze of glory! Mario M. Mario, I challenge you... to a dance-off!"
"A dance-off?" Mario blinked, struggling to force back his straight-man.
"A dance-off!" Slendy nodded eagerly. "You keep up with me as we sing this song together, and you can go by!"
Mario was quiet for a quite a while, before finally nodding. "Alright, I'll do it. What's the song?"
Slendy cheered. "And we are there! Bam!" He summoned a boombox that began churning out a song... a song Mario knew all too well. He sighed- well, at least it would get him to that trophy...
Slendy started off. "You remind me of the babe?"
Mario could guess what he was after- "What babe?"
"The babe with the power!"
"What power?"
"The power of voodoo!"
"Who-do?"
"You do!"
"Do what?"
"Remind me of the babe!"
And suddenly, they both burst into song, dancing around the clearing as they did so- "I saw my baby, crying hard as babe could cry! What could I do? My baby's love had gone, and left my baby blue! Nobody knew, what kind of magic spell to use?"
"Slime and snails," Mario suggested.
"Or puppy dog tails?" Slendy shrugged.
"Thunder and lightning..."
"But then baby said..."
And they both jumped back in- "Dance, magic dance, magic dance! Dance, magic dance, magic dance! Put that baby spell on me! Jump, magic jump, magic jump! Jump, magic jump, magic jump! Put that magic spell on me, slap that baby, make him free!"
For a while longer, it was just the music, until Mario realized what Slendy was after. He turned to Slendy, pointing at him. "You remind me of the babe."
"What babe?" Slendy asked, feigning confusion.
"The babe with the power."
"What power?"
"The power of voodoo."
"Who-do?"
"You do."
"Do what?"
"Remind me of the babe!"
And this time, Mario took the lead as they went through the main verse- "I saw my baby, trying hard as babe could try, what could I do? My baby's fun had gone, and left my baby blue! Nobody knew- what kind of magic spell to use?"
"Slime and snails?" Slendy suggested.
"Or puppy dog tails," Mario nodded.
"Thunder or lightning?" Slendy guessed.
"Or something frightening," Mario smirked as he pointed at Slendy. "But then baby said..."
"Dance, magic dance, magic dance! Dance, magic dance, magic dance! Put that baby spell on me! Jump, magic jump, magic jump! Jump, magic jump, magic jump! Put that magic spell on me, slap that baby, make him free!"
Mario was on the verge of asking if he was now cleared to go, but Slendy was still dancing around, singing to himself. "Dance, magic dance, magic dance! Woo-hoo-hoo! Dance, magic dance, magic dance! Woo-hoo-hoo!" Leading Mario to slowly make his way towards the tunnel he'd been guarding. When Slendy made no move to stop him, he continued on, and on, until the Slender Man's singing faded from his ears, hopefully to never return.
His pace was really increasing now- he had a chance, he might actually win this thing! He'd been treating it more as something of a subconscious joke all year, but the thought was dawning on him- he might actually do it, he might actually swing it!
Down a right hand path, moving as quickly as his legs could carry him, and there, at the end of a long passage... he saw it. Perched on top of a pedestal at the very end was a magnificent cup, made of glass and platinum, standing tall in the maze, shining like a beacon. He tore after it, working his femur and the muscles surrounding it as hard as he could, until his heart temporarily failed- coming at the cup from the path opposite him was a large brown shape wearing a tie...
Mario increased his pace, but it was no good, DK was moving faster, he'd get there first- and then his heart temporarily failed again when he spied the dark shape making a beeline from yet another alternate path, making its way right towards the great ape... a shape with an incredibly large mouth and suitably large teeth... but DK, with his eyes on the prize, had yet to see it...
"DK! LOOK OUT!" Mario called out in warning. To his immense thankfulness, DK didn't question him, turning to see the Ultimate Chimaera coming right at him- he made to get out of the way, but his foot landed on a wet patch of grass, sending him slipping and falling into a hedge, with that monstrosity coming right at him...
"Oh, no you don't!" Mario called, summoning the hottest fire he could conjure and winging it at the Chimaera. Naturally, it didn't do any real good, only agitating it- but at least he'd diverted his attention away from the Kong...
He attempted to dodge out of the way as the Ultimate Chimaera bore down on him, finally ducking down to the ground, where he proceeded to get trampled by it as it charged over him. He was remarkably winded as he checked for any major damage- like his leg, for instance, which was crying out in protest as he stared in horror at the remarkable amount of blood seeping out into his pants. Looking up, he saw DK jumping up and standing between him and the Chimaera, winding up the best punch he had in him, finally letting loose with a smack that could dent metal... but seemed to have no effect on the Chimaera, besides agitating it even more.
The Chimaera was going berserk, spinning around and getting ready to charge again. Mario suddenly had an idea. "DK, wind up another punch!"
"It's no good!" DK shook his head hopelessly.
"Trust me!" Mario shouted back, getting ready- he'd have to really heat himself up for this one...
DK still didn't look certain, but did as he was told, turning to face the Chimaera and beginning to wind up, spinning his arm as fast as he could... Mario closed his eyes, mustering as much internal heat as possible, beginning to glow as fire spread across him down to his fingertips...
The Chimaera charged, and DK punched just as Mario sent his fire forwards, empowering DK's punch with it, driving his fist into the Chimaera's stomach. Miraculously, it seemed to do the trick- the Chimaera gave a loud, desperate, choking cry as it staggered back, teetering for a bit, then collapsed to the ground and lay still. The small bird on top of it immediately went to the button and began pressing its beak into it, but no matter how much it tried, the Chimaera did not rise up again- it was well and truly finished.
DK turned to Mario. "You alright?"
"My leg hurts like a smegger and a half, but I think I'll be okay, yeah," Mario grunted. He looked up to see the ape standing right next to the trophy- between him and it. "Well, okay, then- go ahead. Take it. It's yours."
DK turned to glance at the cup- Mario could see his longing for it in every nook and cranny of his face. He really wanted that trophy...
But then he crossed his arms and stood to the side. "No- you take it," he shook his head.
"Huh?" Mario asked, confused, still struggling to force himself to his feet.
"Take it- it's yours," DK repeated. "You saved me twice in this maze, you deserve it."
"That's not how it works," Mario shook his head agitatedly- the dang monkey had beaten him unequivocally in just about everything- on the Smash-Up field, in the Console Games, even in asking Pauline to the FOT. No matter how hard Mario tried, DK outstripped him at every turn, and now he was turning down his reward? "The point of the game is that the one who gets to the cup first wins- or did I hear Ballyhoo wrong? You beat me, fair and square, now take the dang cup!"
DK stepped back, just enough for Mario to be technically closer. "I won't."
"For crying out loud, no need to be the hero over this!" Mario objected. "The sooner these games end, the sooner we can all kick back and relax- I honestly don't even care at this point!" Which was a bullcrud lie, and he could tell DK knew it.
"You found out about the bosses," DK pointed out. "I would've been done for in the first trial without you."
"Yeah, sure, whatever," Mario shook his head. "First off, I didn't find out by myself- someone else told me. Second, you paid me back already- you told me what was up with the orbs. It evens itself out, and you're still the winner."
"I didn't solve that puzzle on my own," DK shook his head. "Someone else pointed me in the right direction."
"Doesn't change anything," Mario shook his head. "So we both had help- either way, we're still even." He was attempting to stand, but his leg was shrieking at him- What the smeg are you doing to me?!
"You should have gotten full points in the second trial," DK came up with another objection. "If you had, you'd have gotten to the trophy first. You stayed behind to make sure everyone got out safely- something I should have done."
"I only did that because I was the only one dumb enough to take that song seriously!" Mario growled. "For crying out loud, the cup's right there, just take the dang thing!"
Without a trace of anger in his eyes, DK crossed his arms. "No."
Mario was bewildered- DK wasn't just joshing him, he was dead serious- he belonged to the group that always got the least glory- Hal, the losers, Hal, those content to just do their work and never get any fame out of it... Mario didn't think of them that way, but he knew that plenty of people did. And yet, here he was, standing there with the chance to prove everybody wrong, and he was turning his back on it, because he honestly felt he didn't deserve it as much as Mario did.
Mario looked to the trophy- he could practically hear a voice in the back of his head: If you are the son of Jake, take the trophy- then command that these stones become bread, and all that good stuff. He could see himself, emerging from the labyrinth in total victory, all his supporters cheering, Pauline Dama grinning wildly as she ran up to hug him... but then he turned and saw DK's face again.
"Begone, Satan," he muttered.
"Huh?" DK asked, confused.
"Here, tell you what- we'll both take it," Mario spoke, still struggling to rise to his feet. "We both take it- we took down that Chimaera together, neither one of us could have done it without the other, so really, when you think about it that way, we've both earned this victory."
DK blinked. "Y...you're sure?"
"Flipping positive," Mario nodded, smacking his leg in agitation. Support my weight, dang you, support it! "We got this far togehter, may as well finish it the same way. And hey, it's still a victory for the good ol' Mansion of Smash, ain't it?"
DK suddenly broke into a wide smile. "Well, when you put it that way... how can I refuse?"
"Now you're talking," Mario nodded. "Er... help a Smash Brother out, here?"
DK couldn't help but give a faint chuckle, coming over and allowing Mario to lean on him as they approached the trophy, where each one held out a hand for their ultimate prize.
"Let's do this thing," Mario smiled. "Finally time to wrap this gong show up- on the count of three- one... two... three!"
They both seized it, and Mario felt a lurch in his stomach as the ground disappeared- along with the labyrinth around them. They were hurtling through a long, blue tunnel with waves of light around them. As he watched in bewilderment, they became a swirl of other colors, of reds and greens and yellows... for a moment, he and DK halted in a plane that seemed to be surrounded by stars, before being taken back into the swirling colors that made him wonder if he'd somehow ingested LSD somewhere along the line, and then...
XXXX
Please R&R, constructive criticism embraced, flames not so much, Gamer4 out.