Okay, everybody! Time to begin the Climax Saga! Starting with a pairing… which I could strongly care less for right now. BUT, it will be followed by some epic stages and boss fights, so let's get it over with.


Chapter 56: Impending Doom

Mt. Gnaa, Chamber of the Well

"So, wait a second… YOU'RE the Dark Master?" Eggman asked, dumbfounded.

"You're just a whiny little kid!" Bowser exclaimed.

"Hmm… I see how my appearance would deceive you." Gnaa replied in his calmer, regular voice, eyes closed as he faced away from them. "I appear quite young for my age. But I assure you, I have lived over a century, mastering the Dark Elements. My powers are not to be questioned."

"No kidding. That was quite a display back there." Decoe replied.

"With powers such as those, I'm surprised you don't try and take over the world by yourself." Bocoe said.

"Zip it, you idiot!" Eggman hushed him.

"Do not fear. I have no intentions of destroying any of you." Gnaa assured them. "My goal is to swallow the universe in Darkness, and open all the hearts to the Darkness. As followers of Darkness, you are all welcome by my side. Now leave me be. I have plans of my own."

"What shall we do?" Eggman asked.

"Whatever you desire. Take the Firstborn you've acquired and do whatever it is you intended. We will begin search for the rest of them soon."

"Whatever you say." Eggman shrugged. "Come on, you two, let's head back to the Death Egg. With most of the Chaos Emeralds stolen from Sonic, our plans are already proceeding."

"Have fun with that, Eggy." Bowser told him as the scientist left. "I got my own plans! I'm gonna be dreamin' big tonight! Catch ya later, Gnaa!" With that, Bowser stomped off.

"Hm hm hm. I'm really gonna miss those guys. Now…" Gnaa turned and faced the exit to his chamber. "I'm waiting for you, Morgie."

Nightmare Land

"Let me go, you jerks!" Virginia demanded, still trying to shake away from Dedede and Escargoon as they dropped her before the statue in Town Square. "Take me back home!"

"No way, Vaginny! This is our response to Darkrai for lockin' us away!" Dedede asked.

"He took us away from our kingdom and stripped us of our throne! What better way to get revenge than killing his daughter right in front of him?" Escargoon said.

"Wait a second, 'Vaginny'? Am-Am I hearing that right? Did you just call me 'Vaginny'? 'Cause that sounded wrong in SO many ways."

"PIYAH!" A Warp Star shot down between them and exploded, sending the villains flying.

"Virginia!" Bartie exclaimed, hurrying over to untie his friend. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah… I'm fine…" Virginia stood, holding her head. "How did you get here?"

"Kirby found out you were kidnapped and he came to get me. We thought they would be taking you back here, but he had to stop for a watermelon first."

"Poyo…" Kirby blushed and scratched his head.

"Hmmmm!" King Dedede grumbled as the two villains stood back up, facing the three kids. "Y'all are gonna pay fer that, Kirbeh!"

"Oh yeah?" Ginny asked, hands alighting with pink energy. "We'll see once you get a taste of this."

"Eh heh heh heh. Y'all think yo li'l fists scares us? We'll see if yo' spanks are any match against mah… ULTRA! DEDEDE! HAMMER! !" (Play Masked Dedede's Theme from Kirby Superstar Ultra!) And with that, the Dreamland King whipped out his hammer, fueling it with Fear Energy as it grew into a much larger, golden hammer, slamming it on the ground as metal masks appeared on Dedede and Escargoon's faces. Escargoon's shell was now decorated with metal spikes as well. "NOW we'll beat some sense into ya! I'll squash you flat!"

Boss fight: Masked Dedede and Escargoon

The masked king released an electric ray through his hammer and surrounded the field inside an electric barrier. He then started spinning in a tornado, the kids evading as he spun over to bat them away, while Escargoon curled in his shell and spun to try and run them over at high speeds. Virginia jumped the shell, and when it came back, she pelted it with her Spanking Hand and made him stop, then proceeded to smack him while he was dizzy. Dedede became dizzy after the tornado spin as well, so Ginny launched Spanking Hands at his butt, making him yelp and leap up. He came back down and angrily faced her, raising his Ultra Hammer as he charged over. He leapt high in the air and slammed the hammer down, sending a quick shockwave that knocked the goth over.

Bartie took out a S.C.A.M.P.P. and shot the king, but Dedede batted most of the attacks away, afterwards opening a compartment on his hammer that launched missiles that exploded on the ground and blew the boy away. Kirby then sucked in one of the missiles and became Bomb Kirby, Escargoon curling in his shell and trying to run him over. Kirby tried to bomb the snail, but his spiked shell was impenetrable, successfully ramming the puffball. Virginia looked and saw Dedede charging at her again, but she quickly jumped up and dodged before his hammer smashed her. He charged at her and swung his hammer again, but Virginia blocked with her hands and started to push back his hammer. She was able to knock the hammer out of his hands and lay several blows against the king before he jumped away and grabbed his hammer.

King Dedede pulled up his mask and started to largely inhale, Virginia gripping the ground to avoid being sucked in. She lost her grip and was sucked into the king, who turned and spat her at Bartie. Escargoon then sped over to his king, letting Dedede catch him in his hammer, and spin around before sending Escargoon bouncing all over the place, knocking the two children around. Kirby was able to recover, and quickly jumped when Dedede ran and tried to crush him under his belly.

Dedede jumped up again and spun in a tornado in the air, the kids running as the king glided over to try and land on them. Dedede stopped and became dizzy when he landed, allowing Bartie to shoot him. Escargoon rolled over to his king again, and Dedede caught him in his hammer and sent him flying all around, at the same time Dedede jumped and tried to crush Kirby. After pushing over Bartie and Ginny, Escargoon stopped rolling and slithered over to spin-whack them with his spike-shell. The snail sucked in some breath and put pressure on his shell, sending his spikes flying all over the place.

Kirby took this time to inhale one of the spikes and turn into Needle Kirby as Escargoon faced him again. The snail curled in his shell and spun over to Kirby at the same time Kirby curled in a needle shell and spun over to him. The two rolling forces came in contact and started pushing against the other, until Escargoon was overpowered and pushed straight at the electric barrier, enduring a painful shock as his mask broke in half. The shocking stopped as a dark-red aura left his body and he fell to the ground.

The Masked Dedede growled in anger, raising his hammer high once again as he stomped over, jumping and coming down with a shockwave. After knocking the three over, the cannon opened as the hammer fired missiles, but the kids swiftly jumped and avoided them. Kirby sucked another missile in and sent it back, blowing Dedede away and nearly touching him to the electric barrier. Virginia then ran over and started pelting her hands, but Dedede was able to quickly counter with his hammer. The Nightmare-born thrusted her hands faster and faster, but Dedede still countered and the two forces started pushing against the other.

Dedede glared at the Nightmare Princess through his mask as Virginia glared back, struggling to push against his weapon. Eventually, she was able to gather enough strength to push him away, making the king wobble backward, allowing Virginia to deal several spanks upon him before swatting his hammer away, and afterwards pushing the fat king straight into the electrical wall beside Escargoon. King Dedede endured a powerful shock, with enough force to break his mask in half, and even make the electricity vanish. The worn-out king wobbled dizzily as the dark-red aura left his form, falling to the ground beside his henchman.

With both of them now unconscious, Virginia clapped her hands together, charging a surge of energy. She drew power in from her own shadow as well, raising her hands as they brimmed pink and grew larger than their bodies. Dedede and Escargoon awoke with wide eyes, as Virginia didn't hold back. "Nightmare Style: Endless World of SPANKS! !" She thrusted her giant hands against the two with more force than before.

"WAAAAAAAHH!" The villains were sent flying and screaming straight into the starry space sky, so far that they left a twinkle in the distance. Virginia breathed a sigh of relief and smirked in victory, her hands shrinking to normal as she clapped. (End song.)

"Phew. Glad that's over with." She sighed.

"Indeed." A deep voice replied, one that belonged to Darkrai II, the Nightmare King floating beside Customer Service and Jar Jar Blinks. "That was quite a ride."

"Oi, you-sa bo boom-boom them bad." Blinks said. "Then they twinkly little star. What-sa gonna happen to dem now?"

"I can't say for sure. But we have just witnessed an important lesson, Virginia."

"Uh… don't follow evil, or you'll get your butt spanked?" she asked.

"Hm hm hm. That's the simple way of putting it, yes. It is true that darkness exists within every person's heart. Eventually, that darkness will grow and overtake the heart. But the light will come and put it back to sleep. Such isn't the case for every person. Some people will continue to follow Darkness. They will continue to do evil things. But… eventually… the darkness will destroy them."

"Poyo…" Kirby could only say.

"The Negatar has returned, and I'm sure his allies will be more desperate than ever. What we have just witnessed with King Dedede is only a small example of what's to happen to Gnaa's allies. Bowser, Eggman, Ganondorf, Darth Genious… all followers of the Path of Evil. And just like what happened with King Dedede… they will be destroyed by whatever fuels their lust."

"Er, technically, Dedede was destroyed by me." Ginny pointed out.

"Er hur hur hur. Indeed so. In fact, each of them have someone they are trying to ruin, or trying to lead into the darkness. Such as Darth Genious with Nolan, or Ganondorf with Rachel." He made dark balls appear in his hands, showing visions of the aforementioned kids. "And in the end… it will be those people that will be the villains' downfall…"

Mt. Gnaa

After jumping through the portal, Morgan found herself at the base of a dark, eerie mountain, no light coming through the black clouds as snow drifted down, making the girl shiver from the cold. She looked up and noticed the column of darkness coming from the top of the mountain, feeling the same evil presence she felt around the Dark Master. "Negatar Gnaa… just what kind of person are you?" she quietly spoke, slowly walking up the mountain.

The other three Quads landed behind a nearby rock, watching as their sister made her way to the mountaintop. "Where does she think she's going?" Buddy whispered.

"I don't know… let's follow her. But stay quiet." Sophie whispered.

As Morgan walked up, packs of Demon Apes watched from behind rocks, the Demon Princess spotting them as they jumped out and ran up the path. Figuring they must be leading her, she moved a bit faster, climbing the steep slope that eventually led to the mountain's peak. There, she could plainly see the source of the dark column, coming from the Well of Darkness in the center. She stepped closer to the column, hearing dark, frightening whispers as she reached an arm over the pit. Closing her eyes, she could see other visions of Negatar Gnaa traveling the cosmos and mastering his elements, one-by-one from the same masters that she remembered from her book: Hexxus, who taught him poisonbending, Voldemort, who taught him shadowbending, Palpatine, who taught him psychicbending, and Darkrai II, who taught him fearbending. Then finally mastering the Powers of Darkness after destroying Morgan's bullies when she was five.

She gasped and shot her eyes open, then saw the floor open, revealing a stairway. She took a breath and stepped down the newly opened stairs, finding herself within the lower chamber, where the darkness of the well was coming from. The higher floor around the side of the circular room had Demon Apes, all gathered and watching her as they snarled. She saw the King of the Apes, Gaul, standing beside the Negatar himself, who sat in his throne.

"So, I see you didn't miss the chance to finally meet with me in person." Gnaa spoke, back to his distorted tone as he leapt from his seat and floated to the floor beside Morgan. "Excuse me if my Negatar State voice scares you. Perhaps this should make things better." With that, he waved his arm, and the purple light that shone upon his eyes and arrow went away, exposing his gray eyes. "Better?"

"I do know you from somewhere… you were the boy from five years ago. The one who killed my bullies. …That was you who sent me the book, and I was that girl!"

"Book?" Gnaa questioned, starting to pace around the psychic. "I can't say I know what you're talking about there… but everything else is right. When I first came to that world and saw how they treated you, I saw myself, a century ago. I knew before long that they would torture you in the same manner that I was tortured." He stopped and faced her directly. "But here we finally are. The Demon Princess who so desperately wanted fame and respect and the Evil Master who's responsible for all the chaos. So, what are you going to do, Princess? Are you here to destroy me?"

"…No… I had to speak with you. When I had those visions… you reminded me of me, too. …You were hated, and you were tortured. I don't think I could imagine what pain you went through."

"Exactly… and now that I have lured you here, the time has come. For the two of us to rule the universe, side by side."

"W-What?"

"Morgan… ever since that day, I could not stop thinking about you. I wondered why such a lovely girl could attract so much hatred. And I realize that the darkness and hatred inside you is similar to my own. We are alike, Morgan. And I want to be with you. Until now, our only friends have been those created by our very darkness."

"What do you mean?"

"Simple. I have my loyal shadow." Morgan turned as Gnaa's shadow phantom appeared behind her and smirked. "And you…" she turned back and faced him, "have your siblings."

She gasped quietly.

"That's right. I know the truth." Unbeknownst to them, her three siblings had just arrived, spying on them from above the stairway. "The truth behind those so-called siblings of yours. How you so desperately craved attention, friendship, and a loving family. So, you created one of your own. Using your incredible powers of imagination, you spawned three identical siblings out of the blue. And one year hence, you've even created a younger sibling. Then you even mind-tricked your mother and everyone else into believing they were real. Such is the extent of your limitless power of Psychokinesis. The Force is strong with you, Morgie. You didn't even need that waste of a cloned spirit, Mewtwo to help you see that. And you most definitely deserve a far higher position than some Sith Lord's… apprentice. With powers like yours, you deserve to rule it all… as my queen."

"That isn't why I came here. Ever since I read that story… I never thought you were truly evil. Everyone has a speck of light in them. And that includes you."

"HA HA ha ha! Your humor is livening. I have no light in me. Look." He raised his hand and conjured his Keyblade, gripping it tight as Heartless suddenly appeared around the room. "The Heartless once roamed all over these worlds, until the light shunned them away. But… they were never truly gone. As long as Darkness exists in a heart, they will continue to thrive. They were merely forced into slumber, and only the Darkness of the Negatar could bring them back. And wield this: the Keyblade of Hearts. The Heartless obey me, Morgan. Because they know, my heart is full of nothing but Darkness. The kind of Darkness that will keep them alive. I continue to feed, pleasure them with the things I do. And in return, they serve me. You may have a strong mind, but your mind is dim if you think I have even an ounce of Light in me."

"That's not true! Everyone has good in them somewhere. If you had the friends to help you see it when you were young, this wouldn't be happening."

"Stupid girl. I have the greatest friend of all: DARKNESS." His phantom drifted past Morgan and went beside his Master. "Phantom Gnaa is no ordinary shadow: he is the very incarnation of my Darkness. And he helped me see things clearly. Do you know why GUN did what they did, or why the two of us drew in incredible hatred? Humans like them know of our incredible power, and they fear it. They know that humans like them don't deserve to rule, and WE have all the power! Humans are all weak, inferior creatures, but all of the gods except Malladus and Darkrai the First are too stupid to see that. Those two were my inspirations. Only truly powerful beings such as us deserve to rule over the weaker humans."

"And what about Dr. Eggman? He's not all that powerful, yet you let him work for you!"

"True power is not merely bending or even being strong, Morgan. True power is hatred. You created your siblings out of hatred, and I began my quest out of hatred. It's the most powerful emotion that drives our ambition and feeds our darkness. And I let Eggman join me because his heart was filled with anger and hatred toward that hedgehog. It's a wonderful feeling that I want all the universe to share."

"You want to make everyone feel hatred?!"

"Of course! For so long… our worlds were nothing but darkness. Wars, conflicts, struggles for power. It's something that's been happening for millenniums. We are just the newest generations. But we are the generation… that will end it all. That's my dream, Morgan… to give the people what they always craved: ENDLESS darkness! I will swallow this whole realm in the very darkness that makes up everyone's hearts! And what better source to draw that darkness, than the Eight Firstborn! The Eight Firstborn were once responsible for sealing the greatest darkness of this universe. If that darkness is reborn, it will pull all the dark hearts together, and give birth to a universe where everyone is strong, everyone has ambition, because once everybody is full of hatred… no one will need to feel outcasted again."

"That's completely insane! If everybody has nothing but hatred, we're going to end up destroying each other! We'll end up destroying the universe! I may have created The Quads out of selfish reasons, but they still love me, and I love them! If I didn't have that love, I would've gone crazy ages ago."

"Those four were created from you. It is no different from merely loving yourself. Just what love do you think that so-called family will bring you? They are merely illusions created from your psychic. They have no real hearts, because they don't even exist. They're only Imaginary figures whom have spawned from your mind to please you. Eventually, they're going to fade into darkness, just like all nothings do."

Morgan was on the verge of tears, falling to her knees as her cheeks dripped wet. "That's not true… They may be imaginary, but they act of their own free will. And even if we do grow apart eventually, they'll continue to exist. Because I've come to love them like a real family. I know you had a terrible experience, but can you honestly say that you have no one you consider family?"

Gnaa looked away. For a moment, he actually began to think of his own accomplices. Bowser, Eggman, Jones…

This earned a frown from Phantom Gnaa, and the shadow had to intervene. "She speaks nonsense, Master…" Morgan faced up as the shadow waved an arm through his head. "She is already a fool taken by the light. Why do you need her? You have me… you have Darkness…"

"Yes… Phantom… I have you… I have Darkness!" Morgan's eyes widened when she realized what was really happening. "Why do I need someone like her? You're NOTHING to me, Morgan!" She quickly got to her feet and switched out her lightsaber.

"Morgan!" Buddy exclaimed as the others ran down, having their sabers drawn.

"Get rid of them, Gaul." He ordered his ape. "Send them to Oblivion." The Ape King jumped down to the lower floor as Gnaa drifted to a higher door using psychic.

"So… believe your siblings have hearts, do you?" Gaul asked, raising his dual swords. "We'll see what you think after I destroy them, and watch them fade before your eyes. Meh heh heh, eh heh HEH heh heh heh!" (Play Gaul's Theme 1 from Spyro: The Eternal Night!)

Boss fight: Gaul

The siblings scattered as the Ape King stepped over, swinging his huge swords at Morgan as she defended with her saber, but was quickly kicked on her back. Gaul rose his swords, about to strike, but Athena and Sophie jumped in his way and kept the blades back while Buddy helped Morgan up. Gaul pulled his swords back as the brother and sister tried to run behind him, but he simply jumped away. He spun in a tornado, going all around the room as the siblings stuck their swords in the floor, holding on so as not to be sucked in by the strong current.

Gaul only spun over to them, the tornado blowing them to the ceiling as Gaul stopped and jumped up to kick Morgan. Morgan dodged and grabbed his leg, then pulled herself over to kick Gaul in the mouth, making the ape fall down on his back while The Quads landed on their feet, running over to strike him. The Ape King recovered and jumped to the other side of the room. He crossed his swords in an 'X' and swung, unleashing a green fireball which the four quickly dodged.

Gaul then crouched, charging a jump, and leapt back over, stabbing his blades in the ground and sending a shockwave that knocked them off their feet. He was about to perform the same attack and jumped over to Morgan, but she rolled away and hopped back up, dodging the shockwave. They watched as Gaul tried to pull his swords out of the ground and hurried over to deal several blows before he was able to pull them back up. The Ape King vanished into thin air, but they saw him reappear right above, quickly dodging before he could crush them.

The Ape King stepped closer to Buddy and launched another green ball, which he grabbed using psychic and hurled back, Gaul only batting it away. Gaul jumped and tried to stab down at Buddy, but the male Quad avoided and ran under him as Gaul landed, turning around to face him. Gaul's eyes were suddenly blocked by a pair of hands, belonging to Sophie as she landed on him. As he tried to shake her off, a few more Demon Apes jumped down to grab her, but the other Quads ran and sliced the apes before they could do so. Gaul finally grabbed Sophie in his right hand and was about to cut her, but Buddy jumped and sliced the ape's face, making him drop Sophie.

He recovered and opened his eyes, already to find the four surrounding and striking him from all directions. He did a spin attack, but the four jumped away, and Morgan grabbed a few of the mini cauldrons around the room using psychic and hurled them at his face. She burned his eyes, making him step back, walking over the edge of the room and nearly falling in a dark pit. He grabbed the ledge, but having to drop his two swords. As the siblings approached, the Ape King flipped right over them and back onto the floor, bending over a little as he panted tiredly.

He suddenly noticed Lord Gnaa step out of a dark portal beside him, eyes and arrow glowing once again as he was in his Negatar State. "M-Master…" Gaul panted. "Help me…"

Gnaa stood there for a few seconds, then finally took his Keyblade, and pierced it right into Gaul's chest.

"GRAAAAH!"

"Now… open your heart… surrender it to the Darkness… become Darkness itself!" And with that, Gnaa pulled the Keyblade out, and left through another portal.

The Ape King stood up and smiled, his body alighting with green flames as he felt his power returning. "Yes… thank you, Master! I…I can feel it! This power! Ahaha! Darkness… the true DARKNESS! !"

"Come on! Let's get out of here!" Athena shouted as the baboon burst into green flames. They hurried up the stairs and down the mountain. The Demon Apes cheered and danced as their King was beginning to transform. (Play "Gaul's Theme 2" from The Eternal Night!)

The siblings hurried down the mountain where they immediately met up with Dr. Facilier and Grim. "How did you guys get here?" Morgan asked.

"I warped us." Grim replied. "Where's-" Before he could finish, the entire earth shook as the top of the mountain exploded.

"RAAAAHHHH!" The mighty Ape King burst from the mountaintop, covered in green ooze as he stood in the gaping crater, incredibly humongous and hideously mutated as venom drooled from his mouth. He raised his scepter sky-high as lightning struck it from the heavens.

"What is that?" Grim asked.

"It's Gaul!" Morgan exclaimed. "And he's uglier than ever."

"Quick, use this." Grim said hurriedly, making his scythe hover a few inches over the ground. "Fly up there and fight him. Just… pretend it's a broomstick or something."

"Well, that I can handle." Morgan replied, sitting on the scythe as if it were a broomstick on Harry Potter. She spiraled around as the scythe took to the sky, towards the massive Ape King.

Phase 2: Giga Gaul

The Ape King unleashed another roar as Morgan flew close by his face, getting covered in saliva as a result. She dodged to the right as Gaul unleashed lightning from his staff, then dodged left when he did so again. She fired magical blasts from the scythe's blade at the ape's eyes, damaging his right eye enough that he stopped to rub it. She rapidly dodged as Gaul swung his arms all around to try and swat her. Afterwards he stuck his hands into the crater where he stood and held huge green goo balls in both hands, tossing them at Morgan, but missing by a few inches.

Gaul then spun into a tornado again, Morgan flying away to avoid being sucked in, but also had to dodge incoming green balls that were launched out as a result. When the rushing winds finally stopped, she turned and noticed Gaul gripping his chest, trying to catch his breath. She took this time to fly over and spin, swinging the bladed side of the scythe at his face to damage him. Gaul shook his head, recovering from the spin, and Morgan flew away, barely dodging when Gaul fired green lasers from his eyes, which skimmed across the ground below and burned two perfect parallel lines along it.

Morgan slipped off the scythe, but held on with her right hand, and when Gaul was about to zap her with another laser, the ape was hit in the head by a Psycho Sphere, glaring at Buddy in the distance. Morgan got back on the scythe and flew around the ape's head, getting by his right ear and throwing her own sphere inside, making him yelp in intense pain. Morgan dodged as Gaul spewed more green balls from his mouth, afterwards shooting more lightning from his staff and was able to shock and stun her.

Gaul swatted the Uno girl a far distance, but she recovered and charged back, zapping more rays from the scythe at his eyes. He closed and rubbed his eyes before spitting another green ball, which Morgan grabbed using psychic and hurled back at his face, making him wince and wobble around. While he was distracted, Morgan flew by his left ear and charged another Psycho Sphere, tossing it inside and exploding, making the Ape King scream again. He grabbed more handfuls of green ooze and made them rain around, Morgan dodging and avoiding as Gaul also tried to zap her with laser vision.

Morgan stopped dodging to fire more rays from the scythe at the ape's eyes, making him stop to rub them again. Afterwards, Gaul spun into another tornado that tried to suck Morgan in, the princess flying away and avoiding the incoming green meteors. Gaul stopped and tired out again, allowing Morgan to fly around and begin slashing his face with the scythe's blade. She charged one final strike and pierced right in the middle above his nose, making Gaul scream louder and swat the girl away, landing her beside her siblings and the two wizards on the ground.

As blood dripped down his face, the massive Ape King stepped out of the mountain and began stomping toward them, raising his staff high as he was about to strike them with lightning. Grim took his scythe back and fired an even bigger laser at the baboon, greatly shocking Gaul before he stopped. The Ape King wobbled around, and the gang ran in separate directions before he tumbled down with a great thud, sticking his tongue out. The green flames flowed out of his body as he slowly began to shrink, until he was finally at his regular size.

Gaul weakly stood back up and panted, seeing his staff fall several feet away and shatter on he ground. He looked to see the Grim Reaper approaching him with merciless eyes. "Master…" Gaul gasped. "...Forgive us!" And with his final words spoken, Grim aimed the scythe, charged a beam, and fired directly at the Ape King. Gaul's eyes and mouth widened greatly from the pain, letting out weak screams as he stepped back, his body slowly turning gray as Grim's magic was transforming him into solid stone.

Gaul blocked the ray from his face with his hand, keeping his shock-struck expression as he was finally frozen into a statue. Grim stopped and pulled his scythe back. He raised his right hand and touched his thumb and index together, snapping the two fingers, and shattering Gaul's form into a million tiny pebbles. (End song.)

"There. That's the end of Gaul." Facilier said simply.

"…Hey, Morgan." Sophie turned and noticed her sister with her head down. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah… I'm fine."

"Morgan, it's okay. It's a good thing to believe there's good inside everybody." Buddy said. "But Lord Gnaa… just doesn't have it."

"You're wrong." Morgan told him, standing back up. "There's still good in him. I can see it."

"Morgan, it's no use." Buddy refuted. "You tried to reach him, but you couldn't. You'll just have to accept the fact that… Gnaa has completely been taken to the Dark Side. And now that he's revived the Heartless, we'll have to do everything we can to find the Eight Firstborn and stop him."

"I still can't believe that… we're imaginary." Athena spoke.

"Guys… I'm sorry. I should've told you before."

"Don't worry about it." Sophie told her. "Real or not, we're still here. And we're gonna help each other get through this."

"That's good to hear." They turned and faced Clockwork, who just appeared. "The Heartless are ruthless creatures. They feed on the darkness of hearts. They'll attack anyone who's nearby, desperate to take their hearts, and make them one of them. And with the darkness completely taken over Gnaa's heart, he'll have full power over them."

"But wait! It isn't Gnaa's fault!" Morgan shouted. "It's the phantom, the shadow! Phantom Gnaa is controlling him, making him do all this stuff! While he uses Gnaa as a puppet… he's behind the scenes plotting every move."

"Morgan, yo' crazy. Shadows don't control the master." Facilier told her. "The masters befriend the shadows and then they control them… sort of. Right, Shadow?" Shadow Facilier smiled and nodded. "Exactly! Man, I gotta come up with a better name for him." He mumbled.

"But… I'm sure of it."

"Worry about it later." Grim replied, opening a light-green portal. "Let's get out of here. We'll regroup with the others and explain everything later."

"What about the ones who were captured?" Buddy asked.

"They are being held prisoner in Bowser's Keep. Someone will be heading there momentarily to save them." Clockwork assured. "Let's return and wait for them to arrive." With that said, Grim and the others stepped into the portal and vanished. Morgan slowly trekked behind them, still holding her head low as she passed by Clockwork. "While the past is already set in stone, the future has yet to be written. And while people may set their goals… no one truly knows their future."

Morgan's heart alit with a spark of hope, smiling and looking at Clockwork, who gave a smirk and winked. Now in a lighter mood, Morgan stepped into the portal as the Ghost of Time followed.

Miles away from the mountain, Gnaa stood alongside his Heartless minions, having just watched the fall of Gnaa's most loyal servant. "Are you well, Master?…" the phantom spoke.

"Yes, Phantom. I'm fine."

"You need not concern yourself with her." Phantom smirked, touching his shoulders from behind. "Love is a dreadful thing. You're best to be alone than with someone who will reject you. And besides, you have me. I will never betray you… Master."

"Yes, Phantom. You're all I need…" Lord Gnaa tilted his head down and closed his eyes, seeing many visions.

At his castle, King Bowser was happily scaring his shrunken prisoners, inserting his dominance over them. At his space station, Dr. Eggman was placing Chaos Emeralds into his invention, transforming Cream the Rabbit into a robot and laughing maniacally. King K. Rool was already placing Mew into a machine at his base, shocking the captured Firstborn and using him to power the device up for whatever purpose. At Lucinda's cave, she, Gruntilda, and Rumpel were cackling away, devising their grand plan involving Yuki Crystal. At the Brotherhood's base, Darth Genious sat with Nolan York and drank tea with him, filling Nolan's head with more of his ludicrous thoughts. And Ganondorf stood in a deep, underground chamber, having captured Grandfather, Cole Fulbright, and Yevrah, and chaining their wrists to a wall.

"Poor minions… loyal souls…" Gnaa spoke sadly, opening his eyes. "It will be a shame… when they're all gone."

Hillside outside of Chicago

"Come on, boys! Raise the anchors and let's set sail! We're takin' these pintsize pests back to the castle! Wah ha ha ha!" Bowser Jr. danced aboard his flagship as the shrunken Junior Prospectors stood in their cage, set on a table beside him. The fleet of flying pirate ships began to rise from the ground and lift to the sky as Mario, Luigi, and Shaunie quickly dashed over.

"We're not gonna make it!" Shaunie panted as the ships were starting to lift too high.

Luigi looked back and yelled, "Yoshi!" seeing the green dinosaur chase after them, tossing Shaunie onto his back using his nose, the two plumbers jumping on after him.

"Hold on, guys." Yoshi told them. "I'm getting us up there." Yoshi dashed up a hill toward the closest airship and leapt, getting them closer with his Flutter Jump. He shot his tongue at the dangling anchor, successfully sticking on and pulling the four of them up. The team climbed the anchor's chain and made it onto the airship, seeing the flagship far ahead and preparing to make their way across. (Play the Airship Theme from Mario Galaxy!)

Stage 50: Airship Armada

Mission: Save the Junior Prospectors from Bowser Jr.!

The strong winds blew against the four heroes as they ran along the deck of the first ship, already having Rocky Wrenches sticking out from the floors and toss wrenches their way. Mario and Luigi stomped the Wrenches back down before they passed through an interior area, jumping and ducking cannons that unleashed flames. They reached the other side and spotted the next ship across a chasm, firing two lines of Bullet Bills their way. Mario and Luigi bounced across the parallel rows of Bills and made it across, then looked back as they awaited Yoshi and Shaunie. The Fulbright child looked worriedly at the Bills, afraid of missing and falling, but decided to take a breath and make Yoshi jump them across, bouncing off one Bill and using the momentum from the bounce to Flutter Jump the rest of the way.

They passed through the interior of the next ship, quickly running past ceiling and floor cannons that launched mini cannonballs, which came at them fast. They made it outside where each, a Hammer Bro, Boomerang Bro, Ice Bro, Fire Bro, and Bullet Bro jumped out of boxes on the deck, starting to jump about the deck and hurl their respective weapons or powers. Yoshi caught the Bullet Bro's Bill with his tongue and spat it at the Hammer Bro, afterwards jumping a flame from a Fire Bro. Yoshi caught one of the fireballs and spat fire at the Ice Bro, knocking him out just after he spat an ice ball, Yoshi then catching the ice ball in his mouth and freezing the Fire Bro with it. The Boomerang Bro tossed a boomerang at Shaunie, who was able to catch it and toss it at the Bullet Bro, making said Koopa dizzy and toss a Bill at the Boomerang Bro, afterwards Luigi knocking the Bullet Bro out.

A platform then came out of the left side of the ship and started moving across to the next one, the four jumping on right away. A glass barrier was blocking their way unfortunately, but several Monty Moles in floating pods were shooting Missile Bills, so Yoshi caught one of them and spat them at the barrier, shattering it and allowing them to proceed. The next ship had several Octoroks dancing about, all facing angrily at the four and spitting rocks from their mouths. Shaunie yelped as one of the rocks bumped his head, but the Mario Bros. were already on the case, Mario starting at one row, while Luigi stood at the second, and the two bounced their way across the parallel rows and squished them flat.

Two of the squids appeared to have had tails, and when they were crushed, Tanuki Leafs were released from them, which the Mario Bros. picked up to obtain raccoon tails. The next closest ship was lower, and a bit too far to jump, but Mario and Luigi were able to use their tails to hover across while Shaunie rode Yoshi as he Flutter Jumped. The four landed safely onto the ship as a squad of Fly Guys, Shy Guys on balloons, floated around and flung seeds at them using slingshots. One of the seeds poked Shaunie's eye, so the boy picked it up and tossed it at the flinger's balloons, popping and making him plummet. Yoshi then ate the Shy Guy and turned him into an egg, tossing said egg at another's balloons and popping it, then kept repeating this process.

Once they were all defeated, Mario broke open a box and found three Propeller Hats, one for each of them. He, Luigi, and Yoshi each put one on, seeing the next ship far away from the front of their current ship. They got a running start before leaping over the edge, quickly shaking their heads as the propellers made them hover higher, with Shaunie holding tightly to Yoshi as they drifted toward the next ship and took land. The next ship had several Koopa shells lying around. The ship across from it had two bigger Octoroks in helmets, spitting fireballs at them. Mario and Luigi simply both grabbed a shell and tossed them at the monsters, knocking them out and causing a bridge to appear and take them to their ship.

They made their way across to find that ship unguarded by anything else. But they saw no other way to go, except a rope on top of the crow's nest that connected to a much higher ship, which then connected to an even higher one. The Mario Bros. climbed to the crow's nest and proceeded to balance across. Shaunie got off Yoshi so that the green dinosaur would have lighter weight as he went across, and the Fulbright child gulped when he saw how high they were. But putting all fears aside, and crossing his fingers, he got onto the rope and carefully balanced his way across.

The four kept their arms out to their side and slowly went up the rope, for one slip may be their downfall. Shaunie was far behind the other three, biting his lower lip and sweating as he tried to be the most careful, although it wasn't easy crossing a prickly rope barefooted. After they all finally reached the first ship, they took a break at the crow's nest for a minute before starting their walk up the rope to the next ship. To their misfortune, a squad of Koopatrols spotted them from aboard the ship they were headed to, so the Koopas decided to get on the rope and balance their way toward the heroes.

Having an idea, Mario simply shook a little bit and made the rope shake, causing the soldiers to slip off and fall the thousands of feet to the surface, but this only increased Shaunie's fear of falling himself as he tried to stay on. The ship then started to fire Missile Bills toward them, and Yoshi kept his balance as he shot his tongue at the missiles and spat them back at the cannons. However, one of the Bills flew behind Shaunie, still in the back, and pierced the rope, causing it to cut and drop them, but they still held onto the rope as it dangled from the ship.

Shaunie caught the rope between his feet, but was unable to hang on for long, letting go and screaming as he was about to fall, but was thankfully saved when Yoshi caught his right leg around his tongue, pulling the child up onto his back again. With that done, the three climbed up the rope as Shaunie held onto Yoshi, looking back down to see how far he would've fallen.

At long last, the team safely made it onto the deck of the ship, catching their breaths after the dangerous climb. "Look! There's Junior's flagship." Luigi pointed to the biggest airship, which seemed far too high ahead for them to jump.

"How are we gonna reach it?" Shaunie asked.

"…Oh!" Mario's eyes perked when he saw a cannon, already jumping inside.

"A cannon? Good thinking, Bro!" Luigi responded, getting in after him.

"A cannon? …Okay." Shaunie replied worriedly. He and Yoshi jumped into the cannon as it came out and took aim. The four controlled the cannon from inside and carefully aimed upward at the airship. Tilting it a bit higher than the deck so they would land there, they fired and launched themselves out of the cannon, shooting to the airship fast. However, their momentum decreased before they could land on the deck, and the four screamed as they fell downward, but to their relief, they crashed through the wall on the side of the ship and broke inside. (End song.)

"Mama Mia…" Mario mumbled as the four stood back up after their crash-in.

"What the-? ! How did you fools get up here?!" (Play Bowser Jr.'s Theme from Mario Galaxy!)

The four looked up and spotted the Koopa Prince above them, dropping down to face them. "Bowser Jr.!" Luigi exclaimed.

"Shaunie!" squeaky voices cried. Shaunie turned to the back of the room to see his shrunken friends in a cage on a shelf.

"Guys!"

"Hah!" Junior laughed, leaping over to the captured team and pulling out a staff, twice as high as him (and he was about Harvey's height) that had some glowing red substance at the top of it. Mario gasped, recognizing the weapon, as Junior flicked it and turned the red substance to brown. He got on the side of the shelf and rapidly drew a brick wall with the staff, then drew a brick wall on the other side, drew one in front, then stood atop the brick wall as he drew one on top, perfectly sealing them inside before jumping off to face the heroes.

"What is that thing?" Shaunie asked.

Junior punched the handle side to the deck and replied, "This is my magic brush. When I draw with this, all my wishes come true. Not as good as the Star Rod, but," he twirled the weapon around in his hands, "it gets the job done."

Shaunie stood a tad amazed with the weapon, but shook it off as he remembered the mission. "Bowser Jr.! Let my friends go now!"

"NEVER gonna happen!" Junior said happily. "Do you know how pissed my dad's gonna be if I let these kids get away again? He's already pretty mad at you guys defeating all of his Koopalings. Besides… he needs these kids for his biggest plan ever!"

"His plan?" Luigi asked.

"Where did you take my sister and the others?!" Shaunie shouted.

"My dad's got 'em locked up nice 'n' tight. But don't think I'll be letting you go over to rescue them." Junior and Shaunie shot glares at each other as he continued. "You know, I never liked you Fulbright guys, ever since your mean older sister beat up my dad. But she's finally gettin' what she deserves, and so will you. I'll kick all your butts and make you into little Minish, too. BEHOLD!" With that, Junior swiftly drew along the ground using his staff, creating pitch-black images of Mario which were red on the side.

The Mario clones rose into 3-D forms, facing the heroes with glowing yellow eyes. "Wa-hey! Cosmic Mario!" they cheered.

"Too afraid to take us all at once, huh?" Luigi smirked.

"Then he'll only take one of us." Shaunie replied, his battle-ready expression on. "You guys fight these clones and I'll take him on myself."

At this, Junior erased part of the brick wall with the handle side of the staff (even though there was no eraser) and made a window for the Prospectors to see. "Ha ha ha ha! Now they can watch you fall! This'll be easy! Time to restore the Koopa Family's honor and kick some Fulbright butt. ATTACK!" With that, Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi ran away as Junior sent his Cosmic Clones after them, going past the Fulbright child to battle them. With them out of the way, Shaunie faced the Koopa Prince as they both took poses, ready for battle. (Replay theme!)

Boss fight: Bowser Jr.

Shaunie charged forward to try and tackle the prince, but Junior held his staff up as Shaunie grabbed and pushed against it, Junior taking his staff back and jumping away. Junior ran and started swinging at the boy, but Shaunie dodged and jumped his strikes before running behind Junior and getting on his back, holding his hands over his eyes. Junior ran around uncontrollably and hit one of the Cosmic Clones, taking some damage. Junior grabbed Shaunie and threw him against the wall on the other side of the room, and Shaunie recovered just in time to dodge one of his jumping strikes.

Shaunie began running around the room as Junior gave chase, stopping and falling on his bottom when the prince jumped in front of him. Shaunie rolled away when Junior stabbed the brush down, making a drop of goop on the floor. A goop blob emerged from the drop, and Junior sent it at Shaunie, the blob slithering toward him and jumping on, exploding into goop all over the boy. Shaunie shook the goop off and dodged another one of Junior's strikes, then started defending with his fists as Junior swung at him. Shaunie grabbed the staff and flipped over it, attempting to punch Junior, but the prince pushed him away on his back, jumped, and smashed Shaunie with a Ground Pound.

Junior jumped away, allowing Shaunie to get up, but the Fulbright's face was immediately smacked around by Junior swinging his staff. He jabbed the handle side at his chest, but Shaunie was able to grab it as Junior lifted and swung him across the room. He landed on his feet as Junior jumped over to aerial strike, but Shaunie ran under him and bit his tail when he landed, making Junior yelp and fly up. He landed on his stomach as Shaunie dealt a few punches to his face, but flipped back as Shaunie ran over to grip his staff, only to be swung and flung away again.

Junior twirled his staff and brushed it along the ground, creating light-blue goo with yellow lines. Shaunie approached him and stepped on the goo, but ended up taking a painful shock. Junior laughed and jumped behind him while he was stunned, kicking Shaunie to the wall across from it. When the Irish attempted another aerial attack, Shaunie quickly kicked up at his stomach, able to keep him back a little, afterwards pushing Junior over onto the goo, making him suffer a shock.

Junior just erased the goo as Shaunie ran over, only to be knocked against the wall when Junior stood his staff up and spun around it, kicking him hard. Junior's brush turned a fiery orange, brushing along the ground and creating a lava circle around Shaunie. He then jumped over and started pushing Shaunie, the 5-year-old careful to keep his balance when he was inches from touching the flames, then jumping over the lava when Junior tried to punch down. Junior's expression turned to horror when he noticed the lava around him starting to melt off the floor, the surrounded circle area coming off and falling to the earth below. Junior gripped the ledge with his left hand and kicked his feet around, trying to pull back up.

"Gah! No!" he yelled, accidentally dropping his staff. As a result, the Cosmic Clones the others were fighting vanished into thin air, as well as the brick wall protecting the Junior Prospectors.

"I'll help you!" Shaunie exclaimed, gripping the prince's hand and pulling him back up to safety.

"Gah!" Junior only pushed the child away afterwards. "You made me drop my brush! It took forever to find when I lost it the first time. Now what am I gonna do?"

"I have a suggestion." Kammy Koopa replied, just flying into the room. "Don't despair yet, Junior. It's time to unleash your real power." And with that, the witch waved her wand and sprinkled magic onto the Koopa Prince.

"Huh?… WAWAWAWAWAWA!" Junior screamed and shook about, falling back down the hole and plummeting the thousands of feet.

The heroes suddenly felt the area begin to shake as Kammy Koopa cackled. "Mweh heh heh heh! Now the real battle begins! If you want to see the show, come up on deck. I'll see you there. Mweh heh heh heh heh!" And she flew away.

"Come on!" Shaunie yelled, grabbing his friends' hamster cage as the four of them headed onto the deck. (Play the "Final Boss Theme" from Yoshi's Island!)

The sun was setting in the distance as the earth continued to quake, the four looking around for what could be happening. "Look! !" Shaunie screamed, pointing miles in the distance. A gargantuan figure grew bigger and bigger, releasing a massive roar to the heavens. This figure was none other than the enhanced form of Bowser Jr., now hundreds of feet tall.

"Braaahhh! Yeah, that's it! Now you're gonna get it!" The four ran and dodged as the giant-sized prince spat meteors from his mouth that came flying at the ship's deck.

"Mario!" They heard a call in the distance, seeing Toad slowly drift over to them on a hot-air balloon, while he tied massive eggs to balloons and sent them over. "Use these!"

Yoshi lifted Shaunie onto his back and said, "Let's go."

The green dinosaur jumped and grabbed the first giant egg, taking careful aim at Bowser Jr. in the distance and hurling it straight over, but the titanic prince simply bashed it away and stepped a bit closer, coughing fireballs at the deck. "I don't wanna know what happens when he reaches the ship." Luigi commented.

"Perhaps it may work if you launch the eggs when his mouth is open." FLUDD suggested. Yoshi grabbed the next egg and tried this, waiting for the prince to open his mouth and cough out meteors. When he did so, Yoshi launched the egg and hit him directly in the mouth, pushing him back a little. Yoshi grabbed another egg as Junior spat out more fireballs, sending the egg straight at his mouth and pushing him on his bottom.

"Yes, it's working!" Luigi exclaimed. Junior angrily stood up and stomped around in a temper tantrum. He grabbed a couple airships that passed by and tossed them toward their ship, making it shake greatly upon impact and even break a few holes in the floor.

"Status update: the ship cannot withstand so many attacks. When an airship comes, quickly knock it away with an egg." FLUDD explained.

Yoshi grabbed another egg and tossed it toward the prince's mouth when he tried to spit more meteors, pushing him away. He grabbed another egg when Junior grabbed two more ships, tossing them at the flagship. Yoshi hurled his egg at the one on his right, bouncing back toward the colossal prince, only for Junior to swat it away while the other airship hit their ship. Junior took this time to step a bit closer to where they stood, stopping a moment to cough more meteors, in which Yoshi grabbed an egg to toss and push him back. Junior once again grabbed two airships and sent them flying toward 'em.

This time, Yoshi was able to grab two eggs, sending one at the first ship to bounce back at Junior, then shooting the next one at the other ship. Junior swatted the first ship away, but was unprepared when the second one crashed and exploded on him. Steam came out of his head in anger as he decided to quit firing and just charge at the flagship, full speed. Yoshi quickly grabbed another egg and sent it at his head, pushing him back a little, but Junior recovered instantly and kept charging, but Yoshi grabbed another egg and bashed his mouth with it just before he could smash the ship in his hands. And for one final strike, Junior leapt high in the air and was prepared to slam down on the heroes. But just before he could, Yoshi grabbed the last egg and shot it at his head, pushing the gargantuan Koopa Prince away and onto his back. (End song.)

Magic erupted from the Koopa Prince's form after that last hit, Bowser Jr. wobbling around as the power left him. In seconds, the Koopa child shrunk back down to his regular height, finding himself hundreds of miles away from the ship, and above ground. He kicked his legs and tried to flutter to his ship, but ended up taking the long drop down below. "Daaddyyyyyyyyy!"

"Good riddance, you meanie!" Shaunie yelled.

"Hoo. Glad to get rid of him. Way to throw those eggs, Yosh." Luigi complemented.

"It's a living." Yoshi said.

"Well, now that my friends are saved, we should try to save everyone else… huh?" It was then Shaunie noticed the hamster cage holding his friends was gone.

"Mweh heh heh!" Kammy Koopa laughed, holding the cage as she flew on her broomstick. "Hate to be a burden, but these brats are coming with me. If you wanna help them so badly, Shaunie, I dare you to come to Bowser's Castle. If you're not afraid, eh hee hee hee!" With that, the witch flew off and vanished into a portal.

"Oh no! We gotta go save them!"

"But how do we know where they're keeping everyone?" Luigi asked.

That's when Toad's hot-air balloon landed on the deck, and the mushroom head stepped off, looking beat from having to send all those eggs their way. "I ambushed a Paragoomba earlier. I beat him and made him tell me where they are. They're holding the princess and everyone else in Bowser's Castle, on a volcano just outside the Mushroom Kingdom. He said these airships were designed for hyperspace since the Galaxia incident. Let's use this one and get there."

"Okay, then. But first, you can stay behind if you want to, Shaunie." Luigi said to him. "Bowser's Castle is a dangerous place. Me and Mario can handle it, right?"

"Oh yea." Mario nodded.

"No. I have to go, too. They're my friends, so it's my responsibility. I'm going to Bowser's Castle."

"Well… if you say so. Fire up the hyperspace and let's-a go!"

"Uh-huh!" Mario nodded once more. Toad went below deck and pressed a button, making a dark portal appear before them as the ship sailed and vanished inside.

Bowser's Castle

After the villains' successful siege on the city, they all arrived back at the prison chamber in Bowser's Castle. Danika pulled the jar containing Sectors V and W out of her pocket, proceeding to dump them into a hamster cage while Yllaw dumped Rachel, Fanny, and Patton in the same cage. Bokkun dropped Sonic and Blaze into the Sonic crew's cage as Yuki put Jagar, Misty, and Olive in the same cage. Cree dropped Emily, Chad, and Zuri in with Cosmo, Nova, and Annie, and Kammy Koopa set the Junior Prospectors' cage on a shelf beside them as King Bowser happily stepped in.

"GWAH HA HA HA! Is this the best day ever, or what?!" he yelled in his cheeriest mood yet. "The Dark Master is finally free, AND we captured most of our enemies inside CAGES! MAN, we're on a roll here! !"

"Shyeah, except that your son just got his butt kicked." Nolan remarked.

"Ah, put a sock in it, Limplegs. And why don't the rest of you get lost and go back with your own masters? I'm gonna be busy with my greatest plan yet!"

"Whatever you say… fatass." Nolan mumbled as Danika rolled him out.

"A shame I won't be able to toy with you some more." Lehcar said to Rachel. "But I'll be back soon enough." She smirked, walking out with Yllaw. April and Yuki spared glances to Chad and Jagar before walking out with the rest of them, leaving only the poisonbenders.

"Don't celebrate just yet, Bowser." Peach told him from her (regular-sized) cell. "Mario and Luigi are still out there. They'll come here and stop you, just like always."

"Shaunie ist still out thither too, so thou best be watching thy bum." Luvbi retorted.

"OOOH!" Bowser exclaimed in a fake scared tone. "Is wittle Shaunie gonna come and beat up big old Bowser? ? MY ASS! ! That spineless little wimp doesn't stand a CHANCE against me! It's those Super STOOPID Brothers that are the real problem. Thankfully, I have just the plan for that! BEHOLD!" The Koopa King stomped on a switch, making the wall that was opposite to the room's exit open. A massive mechanical contraption had the Forest Firstborn trapped inside a central capsule, draining her of her energy as it flowed through cords into the machine.

"Celebi!" Nova cried.

"Gwah hah ha hah! Lord Gnaa wasn't the only one being powered by your fear! This whole time, your screams and cries for help have been slowly transferring the energy from your fear into my machine." At this, the tiny prisoners finally noticed the metal cords attached to their cages that went into the machine. "And now with one final touch… HIYAH!" Bowser pulled down a lever, causing each of the cages to give incredible shocks to the prisoners, forcing screams of pain out of their tiny lungs which caused their Fear Energy to be transported through the cords and power the machine further.

"BII!" Celebi screamed as the machine shocked and drained her as well.

"As a Forest Spirit, Celebi is also a spirit of growth." Bowser explained. "In fact, the Minish Dust was actually small, scattered fragments of her power to change the size of creatures, which is why it made you so tiny, and it's why Celebi was able to restore your sizes before. And now, by combining this power of growth with the power of fear, I can finally use this machine to create the ultimate castle! Hnnn…!" He stepped over to a control pad and raised his finger. "HYAH!" He slammed his finger onto the button, the machine sparking brightly as the entire castle began to shake.

Outside, a massive laser erupted from the castle straight into the heavens, the dark storm clouds spiraling in the sky around the castle as they transformed to a dark-red. Nightmarish auras began to emit from all corners of the castle, and parts of the fortress turned pitch-black as it rose higher and higher. The deafening sounds of lightning erupted across the sky as the now-nightmarified castle stood high and tall atop the boiling volcano.

"BWAAH HA HA HAH!" Bowser laughed after the shocking finally ceased, everyone burnt to a crisp and looking tired. "FINALLY! I've transformed my lair into the ULTIMATE Nightmare castle! When those fools get here and are already afraid of the outside part, just wait! While things still look the same in this chamber, the rest of the inside has been transformed into an entirely different dimension! Once again, your inventions prove helpful, Kammy!"

"I always aim to please, Lord Bowser. Mweh heh heh." The witch laughed.

"Well, you seem to have things wrapped up here." Matt Dimalanta figured. "We'll just go see what Brain's up to-" His sentence was cut short when some Koopas dropped from the ceiling and dealt mini punches on the poisonbenders. "Er! Hey, you blocked our chi! What's the deal?"

"Oh, cut it, I know about your little crushes with some of these girls. How DUMB do you think I AM?! The moment I leave you alone, you'll set 'em ALL free! Well, guess again, Bub! Kammy, grab 'em!" At his order, the witch threw Minish Dust over the Toxic Four and shrunk them down as well, grabbing and dropping them in with Sector R, Bruce, and the Twins.

"Well… this coulda gone better." Matt said sheepishly, with Yin and Luna simply shaking their heads in disbelief.

"GWAH HA HA HAH! Once those Italian idiots and that Irish imp get destroyed by the impenetrableness of this castle, I can finally begin my quest to TAKE OVER THE WORLD! No one will DARE stand in my way after this! So, COME ON, Mario and Luigi! And you too, Shaunie Fulbright! I'LL SQUASH YOU! ! GWAHH HA HA HAH! !"

"Shaunie…" Fanny was worried for her little brother.


AND so begins the Climax Saga of the story. And next time, we will kick things off by completing Shaunie's story arc, in which he will finally face-off against King Bowser! And man, it's gonna be epic, I can already tell you! Well, technically they're all gonna be epic (mostly Nolan's 'cause his is the best), but this one is pretty good. Lol, if you recall the beginning of Shaunie's story in Chapter 18, he was playing Super Mario Bros. and he couldn't beat Bowser. Hehe, I figured that would make perfect sense in this case! So, next time, the Bowser's Castle stage, and then the fight against Lord Bowser! Laters! ;D