Hello, everyone! This week, we will examine what's going on with the other side of the water after Éclair's kidnapping. A small warning: this chapter will get darker as it goes on. Also, thanks to CriticaLee for leaving a favorite and follow!

Disclaimer: Paper Mario belongs to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Chapter 12: The Ascension of Chaos

Hatesong Tower

"Help! Sir, please! Tell me who and where you are! I need help! Please!" One week has passed since Princess Éclair has been kidnapped. Every day, she would hope for a change in Almondo, but he was stuck in the same old cycle day in and day out. Every escape attempt has gotten her thrown back into her room like a jail cell. She sighed. The only thing keeping her hope alive was the one image she saw the first day Almondo brought her to the tower: the image of the green man. Ever since she ceased her escape attempts, when Almondo wasn't looking, she would try to contact him every chance she got, but the only thing she would hear was a faded voice. She didn't understand most of the words he said, but the connection was there, and that was all she cared about. All she needed to do was to try to establish a stronger connection. She shrugged. Even if she had a strong connection, she didn't know a thing about where she was and how Almondo became monstrous. It was clear that whoever cursed him wanted him to protect their identity as the Chestnut King always denied anything she asked and kept saying that he'll protect her. She snorted. What a lie that was. On a table was a stack of dusty books. She also tried to look up ways to undo his curse, but the books were so vague on anything that she either couldn't find anything or didn't understand the wording. All she could do was hope the man she saw would have something when things were more clearer.

"Éclair? You OK?" Almondo walked through the door. "Almondo has breakfast!"

She sighed. "OK, dear."

Almondo cocked his head. "Why does Éclair sound so sad? Almondo takes care of you. He loves you, so you don't feel sad today. Be happy." He sat down the tray he was carrying and walked away. She shook her head. So many questions burned in her mind. When could she leave? When could she see her mother? Those were questions she knew she could never get the answers to. She stared at the window outside as rain pelted from another storm, further embodying the hopelessness she felt.

Waffle Palace

Madeleine shook her head. Many days have turned into sleepless nights. She didn't understand why any progress had been made in terms of finding Éclair. With that and with the possible return of the Luffs, she had never felt more stressed in her life, even more than when Macaron left. Her only family was gone, and the ache of her bones wanted her to rest so bad, but she couldn't. The first weekly Royal Committee meeting that Minister Crêpe organized was coming up. All she could do was to pray that Éclair will be found soon. "My queen?" Lady Soufflé made a surprise appearance as she entered her room. "You OK?"

"Lady Soufflé," Madeleine said. "I didn't see you coming."

She bowed. "Forgive me, my queen, but I came to see how you're doing. You OK?"

She shook her head. "No. My daughter is missing and we've yet to make any sort of progress on that issue. It's been one week. One week! I expected some sort of progress in finding my daughter to be done, but no! I have guards searching in every bit of the kingdom, and they can't even find one person, a person which matters to me and the kingdom, a person of whom is my daughter!" She cried a little. "Forgive me, but this has been the hardest thing I've ever faced. Oh, why couldn't my husband be here right now?" Soufflé rubbed her shoulders. All the tension was built in one huge knot that she struggled to undo with a simple massage. She thought of a different idea to calm the queen's nerves. She began to sing a tune, a lullaby.

Hush, my darling. Don't you cry.

Listen to the sound of my lullaby.

Let go of your worries and you will be set free.

And as you sleep, remember me.

Madeleine glanced at her in surprise. "Feel a little better?" Soufflé said.

"What was that? It sounded so beautiful."

"It was a part of a melody my mother sang to me. When I was little, I was always scared of anything and everything. To help calm my nerves, my mother came up with a melody to help me sleep. That was before the disease overtook her." Madeleine nodded. Soufflé's mother, Tira Misu, was a former member of the cabinet. That was where she met Crêpe. The two loved each other and eventually gave birth to Soufflé. Some time later, Tira succumbed to a mysterious foreign disease that was unknown to many of the Wafflers. She was only 40 at the time. Madeleine smiled. The two had often worked together alongside Crêpe a couple years after Macaron disappeared. Now she knew where the bond between Soufflé and Éclair came from.

"Your mother was always a sweet soul. You reflect her in every way. Thank you."

"Of course." She bowed. "Look, I wanna help. Let me figure out who the traitor is." She touched Madeleine's shoulder. "Let me bring her home."

"OK. Just so you know, I've already questioned both the cabinet and the royal family."

"And you believe them?" Soufflé said with a scratch of her head. "No offense, but you flat-out believe them? They could've lied to your faces. How do you know what they said was true? Did they have witnesses to back up their so-called 'alibis'? The point is you're accepting their statements at face value. They didn't even have proof! They-"

"You've made your point," Madeleine said.

"Look, you've been stressed, and being stressed can lead to bad judgments, not saying that you have in the past," she added when the queen gave her a stern look. "I mean, look at yourself. You're stressed. I know you have that meeting, but for the love of Wafflington, you need rest. Let me come with you."

Madeleine sighed. Nothing was being done about finding Éclair. Perhaps this was a faster way to find her. "OK. You can come. Let's get this dumb meeting done and over with." They walked out of the room.

Minister Crêpe grabbed his things as he was preparing for the meeting. He organized the meeting to avoid having any suspicions placed on him. The Parliament building was filled with many Wafflers chatting to themselves. They all rose as Madeleine sat on a desk in the front with everyone in chairs towards the back. Minister Crêpe was the last to enter as he sat on a desk facing the other cabinet and royal family members. "Welcome," he said. "Now that we're all here, let us begin. Now, we're here to discuss the progress being made in terms of finding Éclair. Minister Palmier, you were put in charge of organizing the troops to find Éclair. What has been done so far.

He stood up. "So far, we have received nothing new." Madeleine shook her head. It started to sound like a broken record to her. "So far, we have guards stationed at Circuit Break Island and Jazzafrazz Town with others currently heading to Rumblebump Volcano, Plumpbelly Village, and the Rapturous Ruins." He glanced at Madeleine. "We are making progress, my queen, but with guards stationed here in search of any signs of the Luffs, which we don't have anything to go off of, and some searching in the islands, things are moving slower than predicted."

"But when will we actually find her?!" she hissed, standing up. "I've been very patient with all of you, but I'm done! It seems more like excuses than anything at this point!" She glared at Crêpe. "And what of Luigi? Where is he? How many pieces does he have? When will he rescue my daughter?!"

"Your Highness, we're doing the best we can, but-"

"No more buts, Crêpe! I've had it!" She walked to him. "I'm starting to think that you've become too inefficient with this job. You have two days to get me results, or I will replace you with someone who's more fervid for getting my daughter back!"

Crêpe could no longer contain his anger. "I'm sorry, but I'm not God! You expect me to be perfect? Is that what you expect of me?! You want me to be perfect?! Well, here's a news flash: I'm not, so deal with it!"

Madeleine kicked him in the guts. He wheezed. "Don't you use that tone on me ever again," she hissed in his ear. "That goes the same with the rest of you! You want your rank stripped? If not, then get me results now! No more waiting!" She stormed out of the room.

Many of the cabinet members ran to him. "Minister Crêpe! Are you OK?"

"I'm fine!" He stood up. "We'll finish this meeting, with or without Her Highness. Come on. Let's get this done." They nodded and went back into their seats. As the meeting went on, Soufflé glanced at each of the cabinet members for any unusual body language and things like that. She found it weird how Minister Crêpe responded to her. He was always being supportive of her, but the yelling seemed really out-of-character for him. The queen wasn't making things any easier on everyone, either. As the meeting finished and everyone parted, she went to check on Madeleine once more. She opened the door to see her lying on her side. She sighed with relief. Finally, she was getting some actual rest.

"What do you want, Soufflé?" She sighed. Or not.

"I was checking on you. You sounded really angry there."

"You already know why." She sat up. "I want results and they're not giving it to me. So yes, I'm angry."

"Well, yelling at them isn't making things any easier."

"Soufflé-"

"Let me finish," she said with a stern look. "I understand you want her back. We all do, but our resources are spread very thin. We have guards split for many different roles: to find Éclair, to find the Luffs, and to prevent an all-out war that we don't have the time for. Things are gonna move slower, but you think yelling at them is gonna make things go faster? It's not. Actually, it harms progress. You need to rest. Have faith. No matter how long things get, she will be found."

"Even if it takes weeks to never? I'm sorry, Lady Soufflé, but I want my daughter back. Fine. I'll accept that things might go a little slow, but I at least want a definitive answer of when. How long will I have to be in misery? There has been no update of any kind, even with the plan that Crêpe himself created, and I'm anxious, but it's not my fault. It's the traitor's. They started this mess. They should be the one responsible for cleaning it up, and yet no one has stepped up to the plate. There's no wonder why I'm anxious for my daughter's safety."

"Then I'll conduct an investigation of my own," Soufflé said. "I'm gonna talk with Minister Crêpe. After all, he was the only one to visit Almondo that night. He must know something."

"Or he's hiding something."

"We don't know that for sure. Let me see if I can get anything out of him. You rest, please. I'll take care of this."

Madeleine sighed. "Fine. If he is hiding something, I'm going to want proof. You may check on him. You may leave me be." She nodded and closed the door behind her. Soufflé walked to Crêpe's quarters where the door was mysteriously shut. She was about to knock when he started speaking, but not to himself, but to someone else, it seemed. Was someone else in there? She didn't know. She placed her ear on the door to eavesdrop.

Inside the room, Crêpe was walking back-and-forth in his room. "Stupid queen!"

"Sounds like someone's having a rough day."

Crêpe gasped. "You! Don't spook me like that! I hate it!"

"Forgive me," the voice said. "I have a tendency to do so. So, how are things going with that advice I gave you the last time we met? Have you made your move?"

"Obviously not. There's been too many things going on. I haven't had the time."

"You need to strike now before things become too late for you."

"Too late? What do you mean?"

"You never know who could find you suspicious. You have been covering your tracks, yes? No loopholes?"

"No. As far as the queen goes, she already thinks I'm innocent, thanks to you. I'm good."

"You're confident. That can be a fatal flaw if you aren't aware of your surroundings. Don't hesitate to make your move. The sooner, the better."

"Of course." The cabinet minister smiled. "She will not last much longer. Soon, the throne will be mine!" He cackled.

"Idiot! Did you not hear what I said?! Beware of your surroundings!"

"Oh, hush hush," Crêpe said with a scoff. "I'm perfectly fine. You can leave me now." The voice disappeared with a scoff. Behind the door, Soufflé was shaking with terror. She had only heard Crêpe's words, but what he said terrified her. She ran away from the door. She shook her head. It couldn't have been true. Crêpe wouldn't betray Madeleine, right? The whole conversation confused her. Who was he talking with? It was all so confusing, but she had no time to stall. She had to warn Madeleine. She ran to her room. She swung the door open.

"Madeleine!"

"For heaven's sake!" Madeleine jumped out of her bed. "I was actually sleeping! What do you want now?!" Soufflé didn't respond; she locked the door in a hurry. "Soufflé, don't keep me in the dark. Have you found something? Tell me at-"

"Crêpe wants to kill you!" Madeleine gasped. "I went to check on him when I overheard a conversation between him and someone else! I don't know, but he wants to kill you!" She shook her head. Crêpe would never do such a thing. He would never betray his country. He's been loyal to the throne for years, unless he had his own agenda. Did he fake his love this whole time? Well, one thing was clear, he wanted the throne. She wasn't gonna allow that to happen. After all, she trusted Soufflé, and based on her reaction, he's serious. Her life was in real danger.

"What else happened? Did he say when?"

"Nothing else arose. I don't even know who he talked to!"

"OK, calm down!" She sighed. "So, the person I trusted for years wants to turn his back on me for his own selfish deeds. If he wants the throne, then he for certain did something with my daughter. I must say you stumbling across that conversation was a godsend miracle. It truly is! I have a job for you. Crêpe said that he was the only one to see Almondo the night he kidnapped Éclair. I want you to gather evidence so he can't come up with a rebuttal. We must corner him and make him confess what he did to my daughter and what else he has planned."

"Don't you think he already cleaned out the place? He's very smart. How do we even know he's already covered his tracks?"

"That's a risk worth taking. Try to find any evidence. There must be something. Go grab a guard."

She nodded. "I'll get on it, my queen." She ran out the room.

Madeleine clenched her fist. "We will stop you, Crêpe. We will."

Soufflé walked down the hall and grabbed the attention of a guard standing at the door to the outside of the castle. "You. With me. Now."

"Lady Soufflé. You need me for something?"

"I don't have time! Come with me now!" He nodded. They walked through the town and arrived at the suburb Almondo stayed at. Soufflé opened the door. She glanced at the guard. "Keep an eye out for Crêpe. Don't ask why. I don't have time to explain." He nodded. She glanced at the room. The room was mostly tidy with the sheets a bit mangled, but for the most part, it seemed clean. She scoured the room for any evidence. A couple minutes into searching, she stumbled across a broken fragment of furniture. She glanced at the bed and lined the piece with the fragment and they lined up. She found more pieces and stumbled across ripped clothing hiding underneath the bed. Something did happen here. The guard knocked.

"Soufflé, he's coming." Soufflé grabbed the evidence and hurried out the room. As they walked, she hid it from his vision, the two briefly exchanging glances as her daughter narrowed her eyes at him, causing him a little worry. They entered the castle and Soufflé found a bag in her quarters. After tying it, she walked to Madeleine's room and showed her the bag. She smiled.

"Very good. Get the guards. We have a suspect to wrangle."

Minister Crêpe's mind was filled with worry. He went outside to get some fresh air when Soufflé gazed at him with narrowed eyes, a look that made him wonder something. Did they know? Was the voice right? A couple guards approached him. "Minister Crêpe," one of them said, grabbing him by the arm, "You're under arrest for suspicious activity."

"What?! On who's grounds?!"

"The queen's. Her orders."

"But why?! Let me go!" They walked into the lower levels of Waffle Palace where the jails were and threw him in one. "Let me out of here!" he snarled. "I don't understand!"

"Oh, but you will." Madeleine walked to him.

"Your Highness! What's going on? Why am I trapped in a cell per your orders?!"

"Why are you keeping secrets from me?"

"Keeping secrets? I don't understand."

"Come on, Dad. We both know that's a lie." Soufflé joined them.

"Soufflé?! You're in this, too?! Someone explain to me why I was arrested for 'suspicions'! What suspicions? I did nothing wrong!"

"You sure you wanna retract that statement?" Soufflé hissed. "The conversation I overheard said otherwise!"

"What conversation?"

"The one where you said that the throne will be yours!" Crêpe's eyebrows jolted. She listened to his conversation? "I take it by your silence that it is true," Soufflé said. "Why do you want the throne? What are your plans?" He stayed quiet. "Answer me, dad!"

"That's enough," Madeleine said. "Remember what I had you do. Guard, bring the bag in."

"Bag?"

"Yes, Crêpe. You said that you were the one that visited Almondo before he kidnapped my daughter. Putting two and two together, I've concluded that you did something to him that made him monstrous." She sat the evidence down before his cell and dumped the furniture fragments and ripped clothing in front of the cabinet member. "This was found by Soufflé in the exact suburb Almondo was supposed to be staying. You wanna explain why there was broken furniture and ripped clothing there, or do you think my explanation says a thousand more words than what you could ever say?" Crêpe was silent. He was such an idiot. How could he forget such important details? Now, they were being used against him! He sighed. He walked into his own trap. He didn't know what to say. He was done. He smiled. Perhaps not.

"Fine. You caught me." He raised his hands up. "I surrender. It seems you beat me at my own game."

"Good. Now then-"

"I'm not finished. I will tell you everything you need to know, but not until you let me out of my cell."

"What?! You-"

"I'm not gonna talk," he said with crossed arms. "You keep me in here, I'm gonna keep the information to myself. I'm not gonna talk until you let me out. You can even cuff me. I won't resist."

"Don't do it, Madeleine," Soufflé said, glaring at Crêpe. "I have a sneaky feeling he has something else up his sleeve. He's just manipulating you. Remember his goal."

"This matter doesn't concern you, daughter," Crêpe growled. "It's the queen's decision. I'm not gonna talk."

"It's bullcrap! You're creating terms to suit your own needs!"

"That's enough," Madeleine said. She didn't know what to do. She wanted Crêpe dead, but doing that doesn't help bring Éclair back considering he's the only one who knows where she is. On the other hand, if she were to let him go, he could easily kill her.

"You do want your daughter, Your Grace? I have the information. Let me go and it's yours." Crêpe was really tugging her heart strings. She sighed.

"Fine. Guards, unlock his cell." They looked at her in surprise. "Handcuff him. If he moves an inch, do not be afraid to hurt him." They nodded and unlocked his cell. They chained his arms as he walked out. "Good. Now, tell me where my daughter is. Now."

"Of course. The location of your daughter is." He paused. "None of your business!" He ran and wrapped his chain around Madeleine as she choked. "Ah ah ah," he said, waving his finger. "Not another step closer. I will choke her to death!"

"No! Dad, please! Let her go!"

He snorted. "I think not. I knew her love for her daughter was gonna be enough for my escape. Love was her weakness, and it shall be her end." He began choking her with his handcuff. The guards ran to stop him, but he kicked them away. Soufflé ran in and grabbed his arms. He whacked her away. She crashed into the wall. "Don't feel bad," he said to Madeleine. "Your death will be a pivotal moment in my legacy as king. Though I do have one thing to say before you die." He got close to her ear and whispered in a bone-chilling way, "Have fun joining your father in the heavens!" Her eyes went up in shaken fear, but she could feel the oxygen leave her body as she choked. Soon, she went limp in his arms as he smiled.

Soufflé ran at him, screaming. Crêpe grabbed her and threw her in a cell before locking the door. He unlocked his cuff and tossed the keys to one of the guards. "You may leave your post." He just stood there. "Leave!" He ran. The cabinet minister glanced at his crying daughter. "It's OK, Soufflé. You'll-"

"You murdered Madeleine! I hate you! Go to hell!"

He whacked her. "You watch your tongue, young lady! That's not how you speak to your future king!"

"I don't care! I hate you! Mother would hate you!"

He grabbed her. "Tira has nothing to do with this! This is all my desire only!" He snorted. "Who cares what she thinks, anyway. The throne is finally mine. You will be my special prisoner. And don't give me the pouty look, either. I'll make sure you're fed. It's just I'm in charge now. I have great plans, and you're not gonna get in my way."

He walked away with Soufflé banging on the bars. "Dad! DAD!"

As the guards grabbed the queen's body, Minister Crêpe cracked a smile. Though he thought he was done for, he managed to turn things around and now he was gonna become king. He made his way to the balcony with one of the guards holding Madeleine's crown. He gazed amongst the crowd and shouted in a loud voice, "Citizens of the Waffle Kingdom!" They turned to him. "I have come bearing the saddest of all news. Her Grace, Queen Madeleine, is dead." There were many gasps in the crowd. "Yes! I know it's sad, but it gets worse. Madeleine was killed by a Chestnuter!" The gasps turned into shouts. "I was there as a witness! I saw them choke her to death! I've had enough with the Chestnut Kingdom! First, they have the Chestnut King kidnap Éclair, and now they murder Madeleine! They want to kill all of us! No more, I say! I will voluntarily step up and get our revenge! They thought we were gonna be weak with the princess gone and the queen killed, but they're dead wrong! If you accept me as your new king, I will exact our revenge!" The Wafflers shouted his name in support. He glanced at the guard. "Crown me." He nodded and crowned him as they shouted in praise.

"Crêpe," the voice said, "I take it you took my advice."

"Of course," Crêpe said, waving his hand. "At first, I thought I was done for, but then I found a way to turn things around in a second. Now I can actually say 'long live the queen'."

"Oh, really? It seems I underestimated you. Well done."

"Thank you for the praise I finally deserve. Now my plans can come to fruition.

"Good. I shall keep an eye on the boy. When my people return, you will have our help. Goodbye for now, King Crêpe." Crêpe smiled, his goal finally achieved.

Thanks for reading! What a twist that was! Crêpe's plans are really moving forward. Now, next week, we will start on the next place, and it's gonna be my favorite arc to write so far! We will have a sneak peak of the next companion. See you next week!