Okay, so. After a long long long long long LONG while (and again, I'm SO sorry for it), here is chapter 5. Time to see how our heroes are going to acquaint themself with each other. Hope this chapter will make up for the long wait and that it will help me write more frequently. ENJOY THE STORY! (Ps: If you are wondering why at the start I don't use Reimu and Marisa names it's because that part of chapter is from Mario's pont of view, and he hasn't met them yet. Remember, if we can read someone's thoughts, we are reading through their point of view. Hope this makes things clearer.)

Review answers:

-Volcanic Flare: Well, hey, I had to make sure they weren't too overpowered for this new world. Otherwise, the story would have ended already. Originally, they were only able to use their spellcards, but then I decided they were still too much strong. When you think about it, it's the only logical thing to do;

Chapter 5

The Stardust Fields

The silence seemed to never end.

The two groups of just kept staring at each other for a while. None of them daring to say anything.

And it's understandable. It's not everyday someone makes an entrance like that. And it's not everyday you meet someone with those… "interesting" dresses.

Thankfully, someone decided to break the silence.

And that someone was the girl dressed as a witch. "… Ok, listen. As much as I ADORE awkward silence, maybe it's best if we just, you know, introduce ourselfs before the silence kills us."

Mario laughed awkwardly at this. "Hehe… Yeah, it's probably for the best." Mario extended his arm to the two girls. "Anyway, I'm Mario! And this is my brother Luigi!"

The girl in red shacked his hand as the "witch" shaked Luigi's. "It's a pleasure to meet you!" Luigi added.

"A pleasure to meet you too." The girl in red started. "I'm Reimu. Reimu Hakurei. And this," She pointed at the witch. "it's my friend Marisa Kirisame." The witch smirked and gave them a peace sign. "Sup!"

'Wow. Those are some… interesting names.' Mario poundered as he looked at the two girls. "So… I take you two are not locals?"

The girl named Reimu seemed a bit surprised by that. "I… No. We are not locals."

The girl named Marisa was particularly annoyed by that. "Geez! Is it really that obvious? What gave it away?"

Luigi answered her with a deadpan tone. "… Well, the names are already a huge hint, but it's the way you two are dressed that really sold it."

Marisa was actually genuinely offended by that. "As if YOU are one talk! You look ridiculous dressed like that!"

Now it was Luigi's turn to be offended. "HEY! For your information, overalls are becoming popular again this year!"

"No! They are not! AND they were NEVER popular in the first place Greenie!"

"Right! Because YOU don't look ridiculous AT ALL dressed like a witch of some fable!"

"AT LEAST witches are capable of all sorts of cool magic spells! Last I heard, plumbers are just that! BORING!"

"OH, BELIEVE ME! If you saw even A QUARTER of the kind of staff I get myself into, you would change your mind in a heart beat!"

"No, I wouldn't!"

"Yes, You would!

"NO! I. WOULDN'T!

"YES! YOU. WOULD!"

Mario and Reimu officially had enough, as they decided to stop the quarrel. "MARISA! THAT'S ENOUGH!" "LUIGI! THAT'S ENOUGH!"

That order ended up been enough as the two screamers stopped their quarrel.

Both Reimu and Mario took an heavy sigh after this. "I… apologize for my brother. He can be a little hot headed when someone question his clothes." Mario was the first to apologize. Followed by Reimu. "Yeah, so is Marisa… and not just for her clothes. She is hot headed about everything."

"HEY!"

Reimu looked at Marisa with a firm gaze. "Marisa. This is not how we should talk to someone we just met."

Mario immediately followed her on that discussion. "That goes for you too bro."

"HE STARTED IT!"

"SHE STARTED IT!"

That made the two of them officially lose what little bit of patience they had left, and both of them sighed heavily and face palmed. Simultaneously. Hard.

'… I feel like I'm babysitting two children.' Mario thought as he removed his hand from his face.

A bit of time passed as, once again, there was nothing but silence. After a while, Luigi sighed and looked at Marisa. "… Ok, Look. I will be the first to say it. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things. And you don't look ridiculous."

Marisa looked at him for a few second before sighing as well. "… I'm sorry too. You don't look ridiculous either."

Luigi then extended his arm to her. "Look, how about we start things from scratch?"

Marisa wasted no time and shook Luigi's hand. "Sounds good to me."

Witnessing this, Mario and Reimu both looked at their comrades in utter confusion. That was one way to resolve the situation.

After that, Mario cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention. "Okay. Now, with… that out of the way, I'm curious about something."

"About what?" Reimu asked.

"We have clarified that you two are not locals. So, I'm curious, what brings you here?" Mario asked has he crossed his arms.

Reimu and Marisa looked at each other after that question. After a few seconds, Marisa answered him. "Well, to put it shortly, we are after a thief!"

"A… thief?" Luigi asked.

Reimu decided to continue what Marisa was saying. "Yes. You see, some… scoundrel…" Mario noticed that she said that word with particular hostility."…stole something that has a huge value to me. We followed them all the way here. We lost them, but I'm positive they are around here somewhere. We have been looking for them since we set foot here."

The brothers looked at the two girls as Mario revealed something interesting to them. "Well, then I guess we have something in common." Mario pointed at himself. "Me and my brother, we are after a thief as well."

Reimu eyes widened after listening to that. She was quite surprised by the coincidence. "Really now?"

Marisa was curious about it, so she inquired further. "Did this thief steal something valuable to you two as well?"

Mario and Luigi could only look at each other with uncomfortable looks after hearing that question. They had no idea how to properly explain the situation without sounding crazy. And it wasn't easy.

So, Luigi tried to make it as ambiguous as possible. "Well… in a certain way… yeah." He said awkwardly while scratching his head.

Reimu eyed them curiously after hearing that. "Uh Huh."

Luigi stared at them for a few seconds before replying. "Ok, listen, we would love to know you two better but, as we just said, we are in the middle of a situation here."

Mario nodded at Luigi. "My brother is right. We have to catch this thief before they manage to completely disappear from our radar. And before they do God knows what with the… "item" they stole."

Once again, Reimu looked at him curiosly after hearing that.

'… God. I must sound really weird saying it like that. But… what other option do I have?'

He then looked at the two outsiders.

'I mean, they are not even from around here. They would never believe something so… ludicrous. … Heck, even by the standards of our world this is really ludicrous. I still can hardly believe this myself!'

He cleared his troa before continuing. "So, it was nice meeting you two, but we really have to go know. Maybe we will see each other again in the future." He then looked at his brother. "Come on Luigi."

Luigi nodded and along with his brother, he made his way torward the direction of the pathway.

… That is, until…

"WAIT!"

The Brother turned around surprised.

It was Reimu the one that shouted, surprising even Marisa.

Reimu looked at the two brothers, and after a few second of embarassing silence, she spoke. "… Actually… Before you leave… I… have a proposition." She then cleared her throat and continued. "I have been thinking. Since we are both looking for someone, why don't we… look for them together?"

Now the Mario Brothers were even more surprised than before. "Really?"

"Really?" Asked flattly a equally surprised Marisa.

Reimu wasted no time giving them an answer. "Okay, yeah, I know it sound weird concidering we just met and we barely know each other, but this situation is clearly very difficult for both of us. We could definitely use each other's help to catch our respective thieves. And, we could use this opportunity to know more about this world. You two clearly have a lot of knowledge on this place, and we could really use some help understanding it."

She paused for a few seconds before finishing. "… So, what do you say?"

Mario silently looked at Reimu while he started to pounder about her proposition.

It made sense. It was definitely the most practical option for both of them. Hunting Cackletta was going to be really difficult considering that, 1) She already put a LOT of distance between them. 2) They had no idea what dangers they could run into, and a little help in dealing with them would be welcome.

However… Mario couldn't shake the feeling that something was… off. There was something weird in how that girl, Reimu, acted before. The way she immediately told him to stop, and the "uncertain" tone in which she said her proposition, made him conclude that there was something more in all of this. There was another reason why Reimu wanted to travel with them, and he had no idea what. And this made him feel really uneasy. I mean, no one likes people that keep secrets, right?

… But on the other hand, he wasn't exactly in any position to judge, seeing that he was keeping a secret himself.

So, in conclusion, it's better to take a chance when they give you one.

After a long silence, Mario finally gave Reimu an answer. "… Okay. Deal."

Reimu made a sigh of relief after hearing that. Along with a bit of… uncertaintly. Mario made a mental note of that.

Luigi was quite surprised at this turn of events. "Well, looks like this will be an adventure in four."

Marisa put her hands behind her back while making a pouting expression. "Oh darn. And here I was, ready to enjoy an adventure in complete solitude. Allll alone."

Reimu took notice of that. "All alone? I'm sorry, what about me?"

"What about you what?"

"… Nevermind." Reimu chose to just give up with her friend sense of humor.

After the deal was sealed, Mario directed his eyes torward the pathway. It was time to continue the journey. "Okay, now that we have decided and clarified everything that we had to, I think it's time to continue onward, to find our two thieves!"

Marisa nodded at that. "Sounds like a plan to me!"

"And while we are traveling, we could tell you two more about this place and our home." Luigi stated as walked torward his brother along with Reimu and Marisa. "How much would you like to know exactly?"

"Everything." Reimu immediately answered without missing a beat.

"… Oh. I… see." Luigi mattered a bit embarassed.

And so, the two groups, now having become one, made their way torward the Stardust Fields, in the hopes of finding the two dastardly thieves and recover their stolen items.

And during the travel, Mario had quite the story to tell them.

Or, history lesson. Perhaps that is a better way to call it.

"So, let me tell you everything me and my brother now about our home. The Mushroom Kingdom."

Reimu always considered herself a pretty down to earth individual.

Which was really ironic when you consider the type of insanity she faces everyday in her life. But despite all the craziness of it all, there were still some rational explanations behind all the insanity. As insane as those explanation where too. It also made her immune to the other insane things she witness and hears. I mean, when you saw the things she saw, everything else is basically nothing.

Which is way she just couldn't believe or make sense of the utter madness she was hearing.

It was like one of those Tv shows were something insane happens, and you think nothing can top that. And then, immediately after, something even MORE insane happens, and so on and on until everything becomes utterly ridiculous and your head starts to REALLY hurt.

I mean the type of things that makes you want to go were the show creator is living, ringing they doorbell and then asking them exactly what they were thinking when they wrote that staff.

THAT was still nothing compared to what Reimu was hearing.

And could you blame her? Walking and talking anthropomorphic mushrooms and turtles, giant bullets with arms and eyes, green pipes that can literally teleport you anywhere, "angry suns" that for some reasons want to kill you, items that can make you magically change form like nothing, and the list goes on and on and ON.

The more Mario talked, the more Reimu felt like he was trying to make fun of her. But as much as she wanted to believe that, she knew that it wasn't the case.

And she wasn't the only one. Marisa had a look on her face of someone that was really REALLY hoping that someone would appear out of nowhere and told them this was all a camera prank. Of course, considering everything they had seen at this point, that possibility was out the window.

And the worst thing was that, despite everything he had already said, he still wasn't over with all of it.

"-you see, the Mushroom kingdom is a Monarchy ruled by a princess. Her name is Peach Toadstool, and she is the latest in the Toadstool dynasty. There are other Kingdoms out there ruled by different monarchs, like Sarasaland, ruled by Princess Daisy. Although, to be fair, it is more of an Empire since it consists of four different Kingdoms, or countries to be more specific. Then there are places that are not kingdoms but are still important part of our land like-"

"OKAY! THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Mario stopped talking and everyone looked at Reimu surprised. Reimu herself realized how she sounded, giving an embarassed look. She cleared her throat and spoke in a calmer way. "… What I meant to say is, you already said a lot. If you could please give us a bit to digest all of this, we would be grateful." She said with a forced smile while trying to keep herself composed.

It was not easy.

Mario smiled awkwardly and put an hand behind his head. "Oh! Of course! He he he. Sorry about that. I tend to talk a lot when explaining things."

"Tell me about it." Luigi muttered under his breath.

"I heard that."

"Good."

"… I'm going to ignore that because I'm a gentleman but… Eh?" Mario muttered as something interesting catched his eyes.

Luigi noticed that. "What's wrong?... Oh." He then witnessed it too.

Standing on top of a hill, was a big black bullet bill cannon. It was right next to what appeared to be a yellow star shaped door in the ground. And if you looked very closely, you could see that there was something coming from inside the cannon. Something… yellow.

Mario immediately noticed it, and took action as he turned torward Reimu and Marisa. "You two stay here for a minute." He pointed at the cannon. "Me and my brother are going to give that cannon a little inspection, to see exactly what's the deal with it."

Marisa smacked herself back from her shock to give Mario a reply. "Yeah. Thanks my dear gentleman, but trust me, we can perfectly take care of ourself." Reimu however had not the same feeling as her. "Just… let them do this Marisa." She said with a tone that was barely hiding a lot of shock and worry.

Marisa noticed it very easily, so she made no farther objections. "… Okay. Fine."

The two brothers went torward the cannon to inspect it, and while they were doing that, Reimu and Marisa were left alone.

The two friend looked at each other for a while. The silence was never ending and nerve wrecking. The two had no idea what to say or how to talk about what they just had to listen. They knew a talk was necessary, but the didn't know where to start. How could anyone talk about that staff in a rational way? How could anyone process all of it?

Eventually though, the silence was broken.

"Marisa?"

Marisa looked at her friend who had an expression full of worry on her face. Sweat was going down her face. It's like she wanted to say something but she couldn't bring herself to say it. Why?

Because she knew alright. She knew what the answer to all of this was. But she didn't want to say. She knew that saying it would have opened an entire canister that would never be closed again.

And she didn't want to admit it, but this scared her.

…

But despite all this, she still mustered her courage, and said what Marisa knew damn well was coming.

"… We are in a completely different world."

…

Itwas so… difficult to accept. It's pretty impossible that someone else would have managed better if they were in the same situation. Heck, those two where already having a lot of difficulty themself. It's true that somettimes you have to leave your mind open at every possibility, but this was all really nuts. Another level of nuts.

"I just… I don't get it… how is this… how?" Marisa said while holding her head in confusion. "How is all this possible!? I am so confused right now!"

"Oh! YOU are confused!?"

Reimu responded, with an higher tone that she intended, but honestly? She didn't care at this point. "HOW do you think I FEEL!?" She then pointed at everything sourrounding them. "THIS is pure INSANITY! HOW is ANYONE supposed to react to ALL OF THIS?! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO ABOUT ALL OF THIS!? I-"

Before she could finish, Marisa immediately put her hands on her mouth, shutting her up. "Sh Sh sh sh sh!"

The two remaind in silence for a few seconds before Marisa continued. "… Okay. Now I will remove my hands from your face. And when I do, will you calm down?" Reimu looked at her silently. After a few seconds, she nodded.

Marisa removed her hands from her, freeing he face. Reimu then put her hands together and took a deep breath.

"Okay… See? I'm calm." She then looked at her friend with a calm, but still agitated, look. "Now… if you could kindly explain me exactly why you are not fricking out like me, I would really appreciate it."

Marisa looked at her friend with a conflicted look. "You think I'm not fricking out like you? Reimu, it may not look like it, but there is a blazing inferno in my head! Every part of my body is telling me to run around screaming!" Marisa then looked at the two "Mario Brothers", who were currently examining the cannon. "But I don't think it's a good idea to do something like that in front of our new… well, okay, let's say friends." She then looked back at Reimu with a smug look. "I mean, it's already a miracle that they didn't hear you while you were having what people would call an existential crisis."

Reimu simply gave her a flat look. "… Right."

She then pinched the bridge of her nose as she sighed. "I just… I don't understand. I really need to have an explanation to all of this. It's the only way for me not to go insane." She looked firmly at her friend. "So, please, if you have one, give it to me. I don't be shy, okay? Anything, no matter how crazy it may sound, will be okay for me. As long that it is an explanation, it will make me feel a lot better, okay?"

Marisa looked at her friend in surprise. Now she was really asking a lot from her. "Whoa Whoa Whoa! Hold your horses Reimu! Why do you think I might have some answers for this?" She then pointed her finger at Reimu then at herself. "In case you forgot how our friendship works, I am the one who is always ready for action and to kick some butts when it's needed. You are the one who always knows things, who always has a answer for everything and who always stays calm and ration when the situation becomes really crazy!"

So?" Reimu asked.

"So, what exactly is going on right now!? Was there like, a role switch I wasn't aware of?! I mean, when you think about it, it's the only way to explain way you are acting like me right now an vice versa!" She then took a brief pause and continued. "Look, I'm sorry Reimu, but if you really think I can come up with an explanation to all of this, we are even more screwed then I tought! Like I know what… it's… going… on…"

It was like a click. A spark to be more precise. You are there, saying what's in your gut, and then, suddendly, everything fits. And that it's exactly what Marisa was feeling as her expression turned in a shocked one, with her mouth slightly open.

"… I know what's going on." She said quietly before raising her voice. "… holy cow. I ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON!" She said with her voice full of bewilderment.

"You do!?" Reimu said, as shocked as her.

"I DO! HOLY MOLY!" She then took a deep breath. "I can't believe something like that became relevant!"

"What became relevant?" Reimu asked.

Marisa took another deep breath and started her explanation. "Ok. ok. ok. Listen very carefully Reimu. This happened a few days ago. I was reading a book I borrowed-"

"Stolen."

"BORROWED! From the Scarlet Devil Mansion. It was a book about various Scientific Theories, so you know, me been me, I wasn't really invested in it." She then raised her finger. "THEN. I came across a very interesting theory. It was called… eeh… it was called… Oh! Right! It was called the Theory of the Conjunction of Spheres."

"… And what exactly is it supposed to be?" Reimu asked.

Marisa started explaining. "Well, I don't remember all the details, but in short, it says that there are different worlds and universes coesisting with ours. And, crazy enough, it's actually possible to visit them with the right equipment and resources."

Reimu looked at her silently before talking. "… So, what are you saying? That this is what it's going on right now? That we are in a different world right now?"

"… I'm afraid so. Yeah."

The two friends stayed in silence again. After a bit, Reimu said what was disturbing her in the head since the moment she arrived here. "… You know… From the moment we first set foot here… Well, I'm not going to lie, the thought had actually crossed my mind, but I didn't think it was possible… Guess I was right from the start."

Marisa then had another thought that crossed her mind. "Of course, even if that it's the truth, which seems really likely right now, it still doesn't explain something."

"What is it?" Reimu was now getting curious.

"Exactly, how did Seija manage to find a way to travel here? I mean, even for her, "different universe travel" seems very unlikely. I doubt that she simply, out of nowhere, obtained the ability to do so!" Marisa stated, getting very worried at Seija current "achievements".

"I guess… this is another thing we'll have to figure out." She then looked around herself. "For now, we should focus on our current situation." Reimu decided what she thought was the best course of action.

"Well, what ever you say boss!" Marisa started holding her broom with a very thight grip. "But, just so we are clear, the moment I get my hands on Seija, she will learn that I don't need magic to beat up someone! Trust me! She will learn it very well!" Marisa declared fiercely.

"I… don't doubt it." Reimu muttered.

"GIRLS! COME HERE!"

Reimu and Marisa turned torward the voice, and saw Mario and Luigi, still next to the cannon. They went to them to see waht was happening.

"What's going on?" Reimu asked the two brothers.

"There is definitely something inside this cannon. Something big." Mario stated as he kept looking at the cannon.

"Well, why don't you check exactly what it's inside?" Marisa questioned the two.

Luigi seemingly got a bit embarassed as he stated the reason. "Well… to be honest… I'm… a little… you know… scared of what might be in it."

"… Seriously?" Reimu gave him a flate look as she said it.

"Oh, come on! I'm serious! Whatever it is, it's REALLY big! And for all we know, it could be ANYTHING!" Luigi said as he tried to defend himself.

Marisa was officialy getting frustrated. "Oh, for the love of!" She then went in front of the cannon. She then made a bit of stretching with her hands. "Okay! Step aside everyone! It's time for this witch to handle things! So look and lear-"

"Uuugghhhh…"

…

…

Everyone immediately went silence as that sound came up. Mario in particular was a bit concerned. "… You… all heard that… right?"

Luigi was really scared now. "D-d-did that come from… the cannon?"

Reimu had a horrible feeling, like something bad was about to happen. "What the-"

And in a certain way, she was right.

"RRRAAAAAAAAAUUUUUGGGGG!"

Reimu really could have never predicted what was about to happen. I doubt anyone, not even Mario and Luigi, could have predicted something like this. But, in the end, it still happened.

Everyone immediately jumped in shock, with both Marisa and Luigi screaming, as something came out of the cannon.

That something being a very very VERY overgrown turtle, with spikes on his shell, what seemed to be red hair and eyebrows and a spiked collar on his neck and his arms. And one heck of a mean look to boot.

Surprisingly enough, after everything Mario told her, she wasn't THAT shocked to see this.

In fact, she had only one thing in her mind after witnessing it.

'… … aaaand, here we have the talking anthropomorphic turtles.'

The two brothers however? They were very shocked to see this. Although, theirs was a different kind of shock.

Marisa, on the other hand… her type of shock was pretty obvious. "WHAT? Wha… what… this… WHAT!?"

"BOWSER!?" Both Mario and Luigi screamed in shock.

The creature named Bowser soon started regaining consciousness. "Uuuggghhh…" After finally getting his bearings, he started looking around himself. Eventually, his eyes meet with our four heroes.

"Uuugh… Eh? Wha- MARIO!" He screamed at mario

"… Hey Bowser." Mario said awkwardly.

"Mario! I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm glad to see you! Your timing is perfect!" He then gestured with his head to the cannon. "As you can see, I'm… kind of… well… stuck."

"… Yeah. We can tell." Luigi stated in a matter of facts tone.

Bowser then started to struggle to try and free himself, to no avail. "Uugh! Darn it!" He stopped struggling.

He then realized that there were actually for people instead of four, and looked at the two new arrivals. "Wait! W-Who are this two? I don't remember EVER seeing them!" Bowser gestured with his head to the two. Reimu right now was probably more confused that she ever was. And Marisa was clearly in the same boat.

"Oh. Right." Mario then gestured his hand to Reimu and Marisa. "Bowser. This are Reimu and Marisa. Two outsiders visiting the Mushroom Kingdom." Then he gestured to Bowser. "Reimu. Marisa. This is Bowser. The Koopa King. The Leader of the Koopa Kingdom, and the Mushroom Kingdom main arch enemy." He then pointed at himself. "And, well, MY arch enemy to be more clear."

"… Hi." Marisa stated, unsure of exactly what to say.

"Yes yes! Great meeting you! But NOW it's really NOT the time for introduction!" He then looked at Mario. "In case it wasn't clear enough, I REALLY need a hand right now!"

"A hand?" Reimu realized that Marisa was the one that said it. Surprisingly enough, she seemed to have recovered. Well, not COMPLETELY, but enough to go back at doing what she does best.

Cracking jokes and making fun of someone.

"No offence, tubby, but what you need right now are two things: diet and exercise!" She finished with her usual snarky smile.

Luigi tried the best he could, but he ended up giggling anyway at the joke. Mario was more controlled, but he was still showing a clear smile. Even Reimu was showing hint of a smile, which she immediately tried to hide.

Bowser, however, was NOT amused. "RRAAAAAAUUG! HOW DARE YOU!" He then started struggling again. After a while, he stopped and calmed himself.

For as much as he could be calm, that is. Which was clearly not a lot. "Okay! Listen! Keep your diet jokes to yourself miss snarky! THEY ARE NOT FUNNY! GOT IT!?" He then went back to struggling. "JUST GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

Marisa smiled proudly at what she accomplished. "Another job well done! Nice work Marisa!" Reimu could only give her friend a flat look. She really had trouble understanding her sometimes.

Mario wiped the smiled of before from his face as he went torward Bowser. "Okay Okay! Relax Bowser! Just give us a few seconds and we will-"

"NYECK NYECK NYECK!"

Everyone stood still as a sickening laugh resonated around them. Then, suddendly, something, or rather, someone, fell from the sky in front of them.

Reimu had no idea exactly what or who she was looking at. The creature was green and very fat, giving him a balloon like physique. He had pink hair, big yellow lips and the emblem of a star on his belly.

And a laugh which could be easily described as "the most irritating sound that ever existed".

"NYECK NYECK NYECK!"

The creature walked torward the cannon, making the other back away. He was now next to it, with one of his arms resting on it. "Why, could it be that Bowser, the "Great Koopa King", has fallen into my cannon?! Nyeck! How amusing!"

This really it made Bowser hit a nerve. "RRAAAAAUUUGGGHH! WHO DARES SPEAK TO ME SO?"

The creature laughed again as he gave the cannon a pat. "Nyeck nyeck nyeeck! I am Tolstar, the great and famed king of the Stardust Fields!" He gave the cannon another pat. "I've heard tales of you, but you aren't very impressive in person! Nyeeeck nyeck nyeck!"

And that managed to make Bowser even angrier, who was now shacking violently. "RRRRAAAAAUUUGGGHHHH!"

Tolstar shifted his gaze torward Reimu and the other. He gave them a look of curiosity. "Well well. And who. Do we. Have. Here. Two plumbers and a couple of girls in the middle of cosplay?"

Marisa did NOT like that. "COSPLAY!?"

"Wait. You… don't know who we are?" Luigi asked.

Tolstar laughed again. "Nyeck nyeck nyeck! No, and honestly, I don't care! You are all a bunch of nobodies compared to me! The King of the Stardust Fields! Nyeck nyeck nyeck!"

"Nobodies!? Why you…!" Marisa was to second from attacking him, when Reimu stopped. "Marisa, no. Remember, in this place, we are severely weakened." Marisa tried to object, but she couldn't come up with anything, so she just sighed in annoyance.

Mario was the one to speak up eventually. "Look. We don't want any trouble, okay? Just let him go and we will all go our ways."

Tolstar seemed to be amused at all this. "Oh is that so?" he then laughed again. "Nyeck nyeck nyeck! I'm afraid things won't be so easy for you! If you REALLY want me to get him out of there, little people, then you will have to give me a little incentive!"

"In…centive?" Reimu did not like at all were this was going.

Then, Tolstar extended his hand torward them while sporting a very smug grin. "Fork them over. Right now. Your coins!"

"WHAT?!" Everyone esclaimed in shock.

Tolstar once again laughed, much to everyone irritation. "Nyeck nyeck nyeck! That's right! I will set him free… for ALL of your coins!"

He then looked at Bowser. "And tell you what! I will even keep this most embarassing incident a secret! Nyeck nyeck nyeck!"

Now Bowser was getting desperate. "W-WHAT?! THAT'S NOT FAIR!"

Mario grimanced at this. He really didn't want to hand this criminal anything. But he had a horrible idea of what might happen if he didn't compley, and the cannon was part of it. "I… really don't want to do this… but if that is what it will take…" He opened the suitcase and took the bag full of coins. "I have more than a hundred coin in this bag. Will that be enough?"

That caught Tolstar attention. "Pardon me? I'm not sure I heard you correctly just now! You'll give me all one hundred and more of your coins?" He then laughed again. "Nyeck nyeck nyeck! Sound good to me!"

Luigi however was not ok with this. "What!? Mario! This is ridiculous! You don't have to give this guy anything!"

"I actually agree with him!" Marisa added.

Reimu chose to stay silent.

Mario made his opinion clear. "I know it sucks. I don't like this either." He then looked at Bowser inside the cannon. "But, i would rather not risk things."

He then the bag of coin which landed right next to Tolstar. Talk about a good arm.

Tolstar started giggling as he grabbed the bag. "Coins! Sweet delicious coins! Nyeck nyeck nyeck!" He the opened the bag… and his face immediately dropped.

"… What the? This are not coins of the Beanbean Kingdom! This are Mushroom Kingdom coins!" He said as he showed a coin to the others as proof.

"Eh?" Mario exclaimed in surprise. "I… don't understand… is this a problem?"

Tolstar face became bright once again as he laughed. "Nyeck nyeck nyeck! Oh, it most certainly is! This is the BEANBEAN Kingdom after all!" He then started to search his pockets. Reimu, of course, wondered how he even had pockets in the first place. "… I suppose I'll have to calculate their value in the local currency!"

"… I really REALLY don't like were this is going." Luigi stated with worry.

Tolstar then started to to use a calculator to properly calculate the value. "Let's see… At today's exchange rate… one hundred Mushroom coins are worth…" He then looked at them with a fave full of smugness. "Ten Beanbean coins!"

"WHAT!?" Everyone screamed in shock again.

Tolstar, of course, took a certain joy in their misery. "Well, sorry, but for only ten coins, I can't guarantee this secret won't slip out! Nyeck nyeck!"

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" Mario exclaimed with anger and sadness. Reimu herself was really exasperated at all of this. Why in the heck would they have the exchange rate to be so low? Now granted, she didn't know the first thing in how to build a Kingdom, but she was almost certain this was not a smart idea.

Tolstar however had no intention of letting this go. "Sorry fellas! But if you really want this deal to work, you will have to bring me more Beanbean coins! A hundred to be specific!"

Marisa was now getting really irritated and was clearly second from attacking him. Consequence or not. "All right! Now listen here, buddy! You are out of your mind if you think we are going to do your dirty work! And you are nuts if you think we are going to bring you more coins!"

Tolstar didn't seem bothered by this. In fact, he reacted like it was a very funny joke, laughing obnoxiously, much to Marisa frustration. "Nyeck nyeck nyeck! Oh, I think it's better for all of you to do just that! Otherwise…" He then grabbed the fuse of the cannon much to everyone, expecially Bowser's, horror.

"You can all say KABOOM to your friend over here! NYECK NYECK NYECK!"

Everyone remained speechless at this. Tolstar was in complete control. This was the truth of the situation. Everyone was VERY angered by the situation, and at Tolstar especially. But noone dared to voice their complain.

… Except Luigi that is. "This… THIS IS BLACKMAIL!"

Tolstar then put a hand mockingly on his chin, clearly enjoying the all situation. "Oh, I wouldn't call it blackmail, It's such a ugly word! Let's say…" He then snapped his fingers. "Extortion! The x makes it sound cool!"

Reimu really didn't how to properly express how she was feeling. It was a mix of anger, irritation, confusion and frustration all put together. But expressing this emotion was not a good idea right now. As much as she wanted no pound Tolstar face to the next tomorrow, it was definitely no wise to do so in this situation.

So, she sighed in annoyance, and asked Tolstar a question. "Ok, listen. Even if we are willing to do this, how exactly do you expect us to find one hundred coins out here?"

Tolstar simply looked at her with a smug look. He clearly had already thought abou that. "Oh, don't worry reddie! I have a solution ready for all of you!" He then pointed at the path right next the one they came from. "It's so happens that the Stardust Fields are just like every other place in the world: full of blocks! There should be enough to make one hundred coin! And who knows; maybe even more!"

Reimu was confused by this. '… Blocks?' She then looked at Mario. 'Guess it's another thing he will have to explain to me.'

Tolstar then crossed his arms. "So, to summarize: go to the Stardust Fields, find at least one hundred coins and bring them back to me!" He then patted the cannon again. "Then, I will give your Koopa King back to you!"

He then started laughing again as he put his back against a rock while crossing his arms. "Well, what are you waiting for? Time is money! For me, that is! NYECK NYECK NYECK!"

Everyone else could only groan in annoyance at all of this. Being robbed was already one thing, but to be also blackmailed to obtain more coins so you can be robbed again? Luck was really not on their side.

Luigi at this point could only look at his brother with a dejected look. "… Mario… What do we do now?"

Mario stayed silent with his eyes closed. Eventually, he took a deep breath, opened his eyes and looked at his brother. "… … You heard him bro. I'm afraid we don't have any other choice." He then looked at the path Tolstar pointed at before. "We better get to work now. This is going to be a long day. I can tell."

And with that said, Mario walked on that path, which was on a wooden bridge, to start this very unfair bargain, which will most certainly require a while, just to save his main arch enemy. It was almost ridiculous without context.

Luigi could do nothing but hang his head low and give up, as he followed his brother. "… And to think, I didn't even want to come here."

Marisa was the one having the most trouble understanding all that jsut happened, and "might" have been going through a bit of denial. "… … This is a dream, right? I'm just dreaming right now, right!? Tell me I will soon wake up and find out this was all just a dream!" She then, like Luigi, hanged her head low and sighed in desperation.

"… Some please pinch me."

*Pinch*

"OW!"

Someone did pinch her alright. And that someone was Reimu, who was giving her a flat look. "Did that make you feel better?"

"… … No." Marisa stated with a flat tone.

The two then followed the brothers to the next destination. Which judging by the layout, was going to be the main heart of the Stardust Fields.

When they were gone, Tolstar stayed silent as he looked at the path those four took to live. And after a few moment of silence, started laughing again. However, it was different from his previous laughter.

It was much more calmer… and sinister.

"Nyeck nyeck nyeck… … Fools."

Omake

"3, 2, 1, aaaaannnndddd… WE ARE ON!"

Chen exclaimed proudly as she pointed the camera to the person standing in front of her.

That someone was Tewi Inaba who was weaing a papillon, and had the same smile you usually see on the people that you see on a documentary or on a reality show.

"Greetings once again, my proud people of, as Mr Existence called it, "YouTube". I am Tewi Inaba, your beautiful and genius host." She starts to walk torward a door. "As I'm sure you all remember, I have brought you great classics like "Drunk Suika!" and "A witch being chased by a knife wielding maid!" … yes, the titles tend to be a little self explainatory some times, but that's not important!"

She was now right in front ofdoor as she look very closely in the camera. "Today, I bring you easily my finest work! Today! I bring you…"

She then moved to the left, showing that there was something written on the door.

"The Eternal Struggle."

She then opened the door.

On the ground, there was Yuugi, who was trying to put on a pair pants.

Key word, trying.

"AAAAAARRRRRGHGHHHH! Come. ON! Existence said this things were going to fit me! AND I'M NOT GOING TO STOP UNTIL I DO IT! RRRAAAAAAAAAAUUUGGG!"

She kept struggling like this fr a while, until she realized to have made a little mistake in calculation.

"Rrrraaauugh… eh? Oh, I forgot to remove the belt! He he he! What an idiot!" She then removed it and went back to struggling. "WRRRAAAAAAAUUUGGHHH!"

It sems removing the belt didn't do anything, as she continue to struggle like before. She kept going like this for quite a while.

Eventually, the video was posted, and Chen and Tewi sit on a table to admire the "Fruit of their labor".

"Five thousand visualizations and likes! And they keep growing!" Chen said full of happiness.

"My friend. We are revolutionizing "YouTube" as he called it!" Tewi said proudly.

Of course, their success was short liveed as they heard a VERY loud banging coming from the closest door.

"TEWI! CHEN! COME OUT HERE RIGHT NOW! I REALLY WANT TO HAVE A LITTLE "CHAT" WITH THE TWO OF YOU!"

Tewi and Chen looked at each other in silence as they immediately realized what to do.

"… Run?"

"You know it!"

They both bolted out of there with another exit, before Yuugi could personaly "rearrange" their spines.

AND WE ARE FINALLY DONE! WHOA! Again, I apologize for having taken so long to release this chapter. As I said before, there is the driving license, and the Covid is really having a toll on my mental health, which completely destroys my will to write. But I promise, I will try to make the updates more frequents form now on. Next time, the hunt for coins begins, and our heroes have an interesting meeting! (More than one ). I will see you all then. SEE YOU NEXT TIME!