Hi this is Frederic Marile! Nice to see you all again! Just remember I don't own Mario or anything…and let's get going!

Kat stepped forward with an evil grin on her face. "So, Mario," she whispered. "We have a deal to make with you. If you give us all of your Cloud Fragments, and you let us take the one that bozo up there has-"

"Hey!" Freewire shouted.

"then we won't hurt you or your friends or any of these stars here."

"You're blackmailing us!" Mario shouted at her. She folded her arms.

Kat frowned. "I'd like to remind you that we are King Troy's daughters," she told him.

"And so?"

"And so, why does the fact that we're blackmailing you-"

"You're blackmailing him," Voilon interrupted her, earning a glare from her sister. Turning back to Mario, Kat continued.

"So why does the fact that I'm blackmailing you come as a surprise?"

By now, Mario's partners, plus Wishes and Freewire, who was still holding the Fragment, had gathered behind him. "She's got a point, Mario," Goomessa conceded.

Kat agreed. "I mean, knowing Daddy, I think you'd know better-and don't change the subject!" she cut herself off, suddenly facing Mario again. "So what'll it be? The Cloud Fragments? Or everyone in this town?" She grinned wide, knowing she had the plumber cornered.

Mario was about to consider either protesting or giving in, when something came to his mind.

"Lady, you seem to forget that you are outnumbered about sixty to two. Or if we were talking about your brains, sixty to one-and-a-half. I think we could talk this over like regular people…you know, unless you like lots and lots and lots of pain." He figured if blackmail was how Kat worked, blackmail would make her give in.

Kat's grin grew longer, so that she was practically smiling hair to hair. "You're right…" she agreed. "I guess we'll just have to surrender, and-oh diversion!" she shouted suddenly, pushing Mario and the rest of the gang to the ground and grabbing Goomessa by the (ahem) neck. Pulling a gun seemingly from nowhere, she held it to the Goombette's head. Goomessa stared into it, horrified.

"Give us the Fragments or I'll blow her (Careful Kat, no swearing!) freaking head off!" Kat seethed. "Now!"

"Don't, Mario!" Goomessa screamed. "Get the Fragment and run!"

"No, I won't do that!" Mario cried.

"Don't be stupid, Mario!" Goomessa shouted.

Mario bit his lip and helped Freewire up. He told Freewire to give the Cloud Fragment to him. Once the star had done so, he walked up to Kat and presented the Fragment to her. Goomessa stared, mortified, at him. Kat took the bowl in the hand of the arm holding Goomessa and held it up. "So what about the others?" she asked, losing the crazed tone this time.

"What others?" Mario asked, trying to sound bewildered while he raised his arms and put his hands together.

"What are you talking about?" Kat demanded. "You know what I-"

"Oh diversion!" Mario shouted, twisting Kat's arms behind her head and knocking Goomessa, the gun, and the Cloud Fragment out of them. She squealed and writhed in pain, struggling to get out of Mario's death grip. Meanwhile Goomessa got up and ran toward Mario, forgetting about both the gun and the Fragment completely. But both Mario and his partner were interrupted in their goals when Violon suddenly shrieked. Mario took a few steps back, allowing Kat to get away to her sister's aid. When Mario raised his eyes, he had to lower them again immediately. (Look away if you don't like blood!) Violon was bleeding furiously from the chest and sprawled down on the ground.

When Mario had the courage to look back up, he saw Kat helping her sister up and asking her why she'd done…something. "Violon, why did you do that? I told you to get me, not you!"

Mario ran up to the girls in case they did anything else. Kat continued to speak to Violon. "You were supposed to shoot me!" she cried.

Mario's mouth hung open. "What are you talking about?" he demanded.

"Kat, go!" Violon cried. "Get it!"

"Not before I do!" Goomessa shouted, dashing back toward the Fragment.

Violon suddenly leaped up and, despite there being a bullet in her stomach, pushed past Mario and grabbed the Cloud Fragment before anyone could act. She then threw it weakly at Kat, who caught it with a confused gaze on her face.

Not even sure what was going on anymore, Mario reached for the Cloud Fragment in Kat's hands. Kat pulled out her gun again and conked him over the head with it. "Violon!" she cried as she dashed toward her ship, followed closely by her sister. With a visible effort, Mario got up, nursing the bump on his head, and attempted to apprehend the girls, but it was too late. They had had risen into the sky already, and before he could ask for help getting them down, the two had left, flying toward the mountain directly behind Sadiel. To make sure they weren't followed, Kat launched a final beam of light at the stage and set it on fire. A few stars shrieked and ran.

A layer of quiet fell over the now-crushed town of Sadiel. A few Stars grumbled and began to disperse. Other stayed right where they were, mesmerized by the collection of events that had taken place so quickly. No one really spoke, afraid that whatever they said might insult someone.

Mario stared at the spot where the girls had just been for a few long, horrible moments, and then let out a dry, wavy sigh and sank to the ground in despair. How could this happen? He thought.

His plans were supposed to work. They had never not worked before. They had had the upper hand against the girls, and then suddenly they didn't…

He sat there for a long time. He wasn't really sure just how long. Eventually Freewire seemed to catch up with everything that had just happened, and ordered everybody to return to their homes. The Sun Festival was over.

Mario continued to sit, and for a few moments it was without interest that he heard his partners agree to go back to Wishes' house. But then he had a better idea.

"We go straight up the mountain," he told them, finally standing up. "Right now."

"Now?" Snow complained.

"Now," Mario answered angrily.

Floating up behind him, Wishes began to speak. "But Mister Mario, you-"

"What is it now?" Mario raged. Horrified at his explosion, he cried, "I am so sorry!"

"Don't worry about it," Wishes assured him. "I'm used to being shouted at."

Mario was confused. What did he mean by that? Nobody ever shouted at Wishes. Not that Mario knew, anyway.

He was still trying to ponder the statement when Goomessa bade him say what he had been about to say before Mario had interrupted him.

Wishes nodded and announced, "I know where you're going. I know what you have to do. You're going to get those girls like they got us."

Mario half-smiled. The Star Child had that right. If there was anyone who was going to get Kat and Violon it was going to be Mario and his partners. "Good job, you're right," he congratulated Wishes.

"Well, I hate to be bossy and demanding, but I just feel horrible about this. I mean, this is such a travesty, and there's something about it that's just making me feel a little bit guilty. See, I feel that since I'm someone who has a position of authority, I could have helped prevent everything that happened here. But since I didn't, I think it's partly my fault. So I feel that the only way I could stop feeling so guilty would be if I was one of the people who stopped-"

"Wishes. Talking. Point. Get to it."

"I want to come with you," Wishes squeaked.

Mario stared at him, making no effort to hide the surprise written on his face. Wishes? On this adventure with them? The idea was…odd. Not laughable, not so much idiotic, but odd. Wishes was delicate, opinionated, and a bit loopy all rolled up into one, and Mario wasn't sure…

Goomessa stepped forward and answered, "I think it would be lovely-"

"Goomessa?" Snow cut her off. "This is Mario's question. He doesn't need you answering for him."

Mario looked back at Wishes and smiled. "I think we'd be glad to have you on our team. Welcome to the party, Wishes."

Wishes jumped for joy and breathlessly thanked Mario. "I'll have to ask Freewire if it's okay, but I'm sure he'll be fine. Should we get started up the mountain right after I ask him then?"

Mario frowned. "You know…we could, but I think it could do us well to get a bit more rest. I mean with what just happened, we might all need some time to get it off our shoulders before we start after the girls."

"That was a sudden change of heart," Fluzz remarked as the newly extended party walked off toward Wishes' house again.

The next time Mario woke up, it was four in the afternoon. He heaved a sigh to get rid of whatever tension he still might have had and put his hands behind his head. When he had told the others that they were to sleep to get the recent events off their shoulders, he had been telling them only part of the whole thing. He also had another idea in mind.

If they waited long enough to pursue Kat and Violon, then when they actually came, it would be as a surprise. The girls would expect them to come right as soon as they could. But when they didn't show up quickly, the girls would assume they'd given up, so that when the party did arrive, they would be caught off guard.

It was a perfect plan. Violon would be too busy catering to Kat's every whim as well as fixing up her chest to figure it out, and Kat herself seemed pretty dim. The girls would never see through the plan.

His appraisal of his plan was interrupted when Goomessa walked up beside him. "Hey, Mario, I've been waking the others up. They're just getting ready, because I think we should get going," she told him.

Mario continued to stare at the ceiling, as though he hadn't heard what she'd said. Presently, he replied, "That could be a good idea."

"Well, there's a first time for everything," Fluzz grumbled as he hopped lazily over to the two talking.

"Hey! What was that for?" Goomessa cried.

"I'm tired," Fluzz answered blandly.

"And?"

"What other reason should I need?" Fluzz asked gruffly.

"Stop it, guys," Mario ordered. "We should be going by now."

"I have something that might help," Snow broke in. "I just remembered that Daddy used to own a water mill in the mountain Kat and Violon went off to."

"What doesn't your father own?" Goomessa asked.

Snow stood there with her mouth hung open, unable to answer the question. After a moment she went on. "Anyway, I have a feeling Kat and Violon set up some sort of secret hideout in Sadiel's Mill that they think we won't be able to find. Cause you know, not a lot of people know about the mill. It's a silver mine, so Daddy made sure nobody found out about it."

"Is that why he's so rich?" Wishes asked, causing Snow to jump three feet in the air. She could swear he had appeared out of nowhere. "One reason," she answered once she had calmed down slightly.

"Thanks for your suggestion, Snow," Mario said to her. "That may give a lead. We should get going before Violon gets better and the girls decide to go to Troy with their Cloud Fragment."

"Well, if they do, can't we just go to Troy's castle and get it back?" Wishes asked, confused.

Mario sighed. He didn't want to tell Wishes all about Maddie and Troy's plan and everything that had happened so far. The fact that Wishes knew anything at all about the Cloud Fragments had made him hopeful that he wouldn't have to explain anything else.

Eventually, goodness won over laziness and Mario recounted the story of Plathora, Troy, everything. Wishes grinned throughout the tale.

"That's pretty cool," he remarked once Mario was finished. "Although Troy sounds really mean. I don't understand why you would try to talk rationally with those girls if they're his daughters."

Mario felt there was something different about Kat and Violon compared to other bosses the party had fought so far. The girls were actually human-physically, anyway-so Mario had felt it was possible to reason with them-no matter how rude he had been. But it was obvious now that Kat and Violon were no more human than a hand in a pot.

It was confusing to think about, so Mario decided not to anymore, and instead told everyone that they were to leave in the next five minutes. Everyone quickly packed the supplies they had bought in Paratonis and headed out.

It was only as they were leaving the very outskirts of Sadiel that Mario actually began to consider the practicality of his plan. If it didn't work, and Kat and Violon were still expecting them, who knew how prepared they could be?

No, you're being silly, Mario argued with himself. Of course it'll work.

He decided to end the argument right there, but as they finally left Sadiel, something kept nagging at him that it might fail.

And I think that's it for today. What did you think? Did you like it? Yes? No?

Tell me!

…please?

I'd especially like you to tell me what you thought of "the girls". How you reacted to what they did.

And other things too.

See ya!