RECAP:
Junior's group engaged the Broodals in battle and bested them with ease. The rabbits attempted to make a hasty retreat, but Peach intervened with her mysterious pink wing power. In the aftermath, three of the Broodals escaped, while Hariet was left behind and taken prisoner. Alpha and Omega had watched these events unfold from afar and decided to report this development to Tatanga.
Upon arrival at Merlon's house, Peach proposed the baking of a celebratory cake in recognition not only of their recent string of accomplishments, but also of Junior's birthday – which had passed with little to no fanfare. During the preparations, Roy made a brief reference to his time at the orphanage, much to Larry's unnoticed ire. Below, Iggy began interrogating Hariet, and although his initial attempt appeared fruitless, his small gestures of mercy towards her put the ball in motion for something more promising.
Junior's group capitalized on this evening of rest to take pride in all they had achieved thus far and all they stood to achieve in the future. The future looked bright.
Meanwhile, Leanna argued with Mario and Bowser over the risk of the latter two using their Kagi symbols to travel to Castle Olympus – a place they'd never visited and knew very little about. She warned them about the dangers that loomed should their assumptions be wrong. But both Mario and Bowser were adamant about taking the chance. In the end, this drove Leanna away; feeling betrayed. Later, Eris arrived and questioned their resolve about escaping from Contemno's heart kingdom. She soon left them to ponder her cryptic words as the two slipped into unconsciousness under the influence of her magic.
Peach awoke and gradually sat up.
Her head was pounding. She could only believe she was still half asleep as nothing in her vision made sense to her.
The princess hand been lying face-down inside a void of pure black; nothing but empty darkness stretched on for as far as the eye could see. Directly beneath her and stretching out across the void in all directions was an ocean tinted violet.
Peach seemed to be defying the laws of gravity by sitting atop the transparent surface of an otherwise normal, clear body of water with a noticeable purple tinge to it. This couldn't be anything other than an ocean. Its reach was just as far and as vast as the dark.
As she stood up, the princess's movements produced a series of ripples cascading across the water's once still surface. Yet in spite of its appearance, Peach was definitely standing on firm, solid ground instead of immediately sinking below the ocean's surface as anyone in their right mind would expect to happen.
Where was she? Was this a dream?
Peach called out, but no audible sounded was emitted from her mouth. The princess clasped her throat for a moment and coughed. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with her. She didn't feel sick, suffocated, or physically damaged in any regard. Her throat felt completely normal. But try as she might, Peach simply had no voice.
If she couldn't summon anyone or anything else in this mysterious realm towards her with sound, she would simply have to seek them out herself. The princess took one cautious step, then another. It was quite difficult for her mind to accept the illusion of the ocean beneath her feet and the ripple rings they created with each step -which glided majestically across the traverse-able, transparent surface. But she forced herself to adjust.
Whether it made sense to her or not – and it most definitely did not – Peach was in fact walking on water just as easily as she could on normal solid ground. She figured she should be counting her blessings that she didn't have to swim.
The bleak sense of isolation of this endless space sprinkled adrenaline into her step as Peach gradually started to jog, then run, then desperately sprint.
The princess ran and ran. Seconds stretched into minutes, but still she ran.
There was nothing ahead of her; nothing behind. No way to tell where she was, where she'd been, or where she was going. But still she ran.
Her mind raced even faster than her feet; propelled by confusion, fear, and utter bewilderment. But still she ran.
What was this place? Where was she going? Was she moving in the right direction? Was there even such a thing in this place?
Peach didn't have time to ponder such questions. She craved connection; someone; anyone; anything.
Her sanity began to slip away as her heart pounded furiously against her chest and she gasped for air.
Winded, Peach stumbled and came to an abrupt stop just as she found something noteworthy at last.
Before her sat a brass candle holder cradling a series of seven candles; all of them lit.
Together, the candles produced a small spherical glow. Peach stood in front of the candle holder and found herself mesmerized by its minuscule light. That is, until something else stole her attention.
The small echoing "plop" of a single liquid drop echoed and penetrated her ears.
Peach looked straight ahead and saw another lit candle holder positioned a few feet away. Did she make it materialize just now, or was this realm acting on its own?
The princess approached the second candle holder and watched as a third one materialized out of thin air another few feet away' synchronized with sound of more liquid drops. These candles were trying to lead her somewhere. Wherever Peach was, she was headed in the right direction. She made sense of that much at least. It stood to reason then, that Peach was expected to follow this trail of lights materializing in the darkness.
As Peach proceeded forward, more and more candle holders faded into existence in a rhythmic pattern. Peach surmised that they were guiding her somewhere. Where of course, she still had no idea. But she had no other choice than to play along.
Eventually, the candles guided Peach to a single, large, flat stepping stone protruding out of the water's surface. Peach turned back and counted that there were thirteen candle holders total that had led her here.
Facing forward once more, the princess cautiously stepped on top of the stone in front of her. This caused an entire stone road to materialize instantly before her.
This was different. Different was good. It seemed she wasn't trapped in some endless loop for all of eternity, at least.
Peach followed the stone road until it branched off into four separate directions. However, each path was immediately blocked by a silhouette. All four silhouettes had their backs to her. The princess stepped forward and squinted to investigate them.
To her surprise, Peach recognized every single one of these figures standing on these paths.
On the path to Peach's far left was a figure sitting and hunched over in a fetal position on the ground. It was Toadsworth.
On the path next to him was a figure standing up straight, but with his head drooped low as if he were asleep. This figure was Mario.
Similarly, the third path housed Bowser in the same sleeping-while-standing trance as Mario.
However, on the final path to Peach's far right was a shorter, more round figure standing and staring straight ahead with his fists clenched. This figure was Junior.
This had to be some sort of dream or vision. Peach had gathered that much by now. But what did it all mean? Was this her heart's doing? Her mind's? Both?
Just what in the world was going on?
It made sense to her that she was being expected to choose a path to continue on. Each path held someone whom Peach had a special connection to. But what was the criteria here?
Was this some sort of puzzle? Was she being expected to "choose" the person whom represented the correct answer based on some undisclosed preference or criteria? The finer details of it all still eluded her. But she needed to make a choice regardless.
Peach took a cautious step forward and approached the figures stretched out before her one by one.
Toadsworth, Mario, and Bowser didn't respond to her touch. She tapped each of their shoulders and tugged at their forearms. It was futile. They were utterly incapable of acknowledging her, it seemed.
Peach then set her sights on Junior. He was different than the others. His eyes were open. He seemed to be awake. Sadly, he too failed to notice Peach's presence when she stepped into his line of sight.
Her heart sank when she noticed a single tear roll down Junior's cheek.
She followed his gaze out into the distance, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Just more black sky and purple ocean. The princess was dumbfounded at what could possibly evoke such a sad reaction in the Koopa Prince. Whatever it was, why couldn't Peach see it too?
Although she lacked enough answers to understand exactly what was going on here, one thing became clear to her right away.
Her heart was guiding her. Peach knew what she wanted to do next, regardless of whether or not it was what this sentient realm was expecting her to do.
Peach reached out and gently took Junior's hand. Her thin, gloved fingers became intertwined with his still-maturing claws. She gave them a slow, thoughtful, reassuring squeeze. His own hand squeezed back in acknowledgement, even though the rest of him remained still.
"Junior….it's me. I'm right here with you."
"Explain that to me again," said Tatanga; gritting his teeth and clenching his fists in an attempt to actively suppress a knee-jerk reaction.
"It's as I said," Alpha replied through the phone's slightly muffled speaker. "The Broodals attacked Bowser Jr.'s group out of nowhere. They ran away, but one of them got left behind and was taken prisoner. We saw the whole thing. Call me crazy, but I doubt this was something Contemno would have authorized so carelessly."
"You're right. He didn't give them permission to do anything like that," Tatanga replied with a sharp sigh. "Those damn idiots…"
"So what do you wanna do about it, boss?" asked Omega.
"Well, you need to get her outta there, obviously. We can't just have her blabbing to the enemy," said Tatanga. "Get in there and break her out asap."
"We would. Except there's one problem," said Alpha.
"And what would that be?" Tatanga asked, working a muscle in his jaw.
"We can't exactly get a look at their base."
"Huh? What the hell do you mean you can't get a 'look' at it?"
"Junior's group was headed towards some kind of mountain, and we watched them literally vanish into thin air."
"…Thin air, huh?" Tatanga pondered this. "Sounds like they've got some sort of cloaking device over their HQ. Smart. And you're sure there's no other way to get a better look?"
"It doesn't even come up on our radar. There's no doubt about it. Something's creating an interference."
"I see. Well, the only prominent mountain in that region is Shooting Star Summit. It's more spiritual than technological. So if I had to venture a guess, I'd say this barrier they're using is made of magic," Tatanga deduced.
"Fine, whatever. But how the hell are we supposed to get past it then so we can bust bunny girl out?!" Omega probed impatiently.
"Don't you think I'm trying to figure that out?" Tatanga retorted. A silent pause, followed by an audible sigh. "No good. I don't know jack about magic. I'll have to talk to Eris about this. She'd probably know a way to break through whatever spell they're casting."
"And what are we supposed to do in the meantime? For all we know, that idiot might've already started spilling the beans!" Omega exclaimed.
"It can't be helped. We need to be patient. The enemy is obviously smarter than we thought, so it's going to take time for us to do this right," said Alpha.
"And that's why I put you in charge of this assignment, Alpha" said Tatanga. "Glad at least one of you has a brain. Just stay put. Keep an eye out in case one of them leaves the base. I'll get in contact with Eris and follow up with you. If you don't hear anything beforehand, you could try capturing one of their own and squeezing out whatever info you need in order to get through their barrier. Y'know, an eye for an eye and all that."
"Roger," Alpha acquiesced.
"Hmph! You better give us a raise if we pull this off!" said Omega.
"Get this done first, then we'll talk."
The morning following the celebration at Merlon's house brought forth an eerie stillness. Unspoken inklings of tension were slowly making their rounds during the early overcast hours of a foggy day.
Silence was draped over the mystical abode as each of its residents went about their own pursuits.
Despite being the first to turn-in the night before, Peach slept late into the morning hours; long past the time everyone else had woken up. Though it wasn't like her to do this, no one else in the house gave it much thought. After all, she had fought pretty hard the day before in their battle with the Broodals and had even been visibly exhausted from it immediately after. Perhaps using that mysterious wing power drained more out of her than anyone realized. Thus, everyone unanimously agreed not to wake Peach and instead let her rest for as long as she needed to.
Little did they know that her slumber was far from peaceful.
In the otherwise empty and quiet sleeping quarters, Peach tossed and turned wildly within a mess of blankets. Her eyelids bounced, but did not lift. Her messy golden locks were soaked with sweat from her cheeks and forehead, and her hands twitched open and close. To an on-looker, it would appear as though Peach were desperately trying to wake up, but was losing the battle.
Elsewhere, Merlon had quietly locked himself away in his private study. In the time Junior's group had spent with him and gotten to know their host, they knew by now that it wasn't at all uncommon for Merlon to spend long hours meditating. However, he always did so openly in areas where he could be easily approached at any time. Merlon always made himself available to others.
Today however, was different.
Merlon had instead shut himself within a hidden sector of his home and out of anyone's reach. He had given no warning of this to anyone, so the occurrence was completely out of the blue. Given the hospitality Merlon had shown them, no one was brave enough to pry into their host's affairs. Thus, he too was left undisturbed until he finished sorting through whatever exclusive business he was tending to that morning.
Similarly, Junior had also isolated himself out in the backyard's garden. He situated himself directly beneath the waterfall that was pouring into a small pond.
The Koopa Prince found himself at the mercy of an uncontrollable anxiety that he needed to quell. It was a brand new day, but he didn't have a clear idea of what to do next.
Who should they be pursuing? Where did they need to go next? What leads did they have?
Did Junior need more training, or would his current skills suffice for their next mission? What did he do well on their last one and what did he need to do better next time around?
Where was Ludwig? What was Essence? Who else was in Contemno's inner circle? What were they plotting? Who was Contemno?
All of these questions and even more were all bombarding Junior at once. They had come so far already, but they still knew so little.
He needed peace and quiet to think. Thus, he sought out meditation and solitude within the Realm of Refuge. He didn't know what he would find there, but what other choice did he have? Junior was desperate to silence all of the noise polluting his head.
Junior's eyes shot open and he jerked himself up in a flash. A harsh golden light bombarded his unsuspecting eyes. But everything came into focus almost immediately. The Koopa Prince's sight fell and scanned his body. He was back in the child form of his dreams again after a lengthy period of time away.
Not only that but, this time…Junior wasn't asleep. He triggered the change intentionally!
Junior somehow managed to reach this bizarre dream world all on his own. Yet, this time felt extremely different from any of his past visits to this bizarre simulation. His senses were sharper than last time; his thoughts clearer. The Koopa Prince felt much more in control of his body this time around. His limbs no longer felt as though they had been filled with sand. The headaches normally pounding in his shrunken skull were non-existent.
Junior threw back the covers and thrust himself out of bed; racing towards the door. The Koopa Prince proceeded to inspect each of the nearby rooms in a hurry.
Not here.
Not there.
Not there either.
Nor here.
Where were they? Where was…anyone?
The castle seemed to be completely deserted from what Junior had seen of it thus far. Something wasn't right.
Where were his parents? Why weren't they glued to their child's bedside when they knew something was wrong with him?
Did they stop caring?
No, that couldn't be the case. There had to be a logical explanation for why Junior was all alone up here this time.
Sliding around one corner, then another. Junior raced down the staircase as fast as his stubby legs could carry him. His energy was already rapidly depleting. Fatigue was quickly giving chase.
Despite the achievement he was celebrating moments ago, it was quickly apparent that Junior still didn't quite have full control over this phenomenon yet.
His energy reserves wouldn't last. His time was running out. He could feel it somehow. Though he lacked proof of it, the Koopa Prince was certain that once time expired, he would lose consciousness once more, be ripped away from this dream world, and wake up back in his older body again.
He needed to make the most of this trip. He needed to get at least somewhat closer to an answer before that happened.
Without thinking, Junior leapt off the bottom step and raced through the open double doors at the end of the corridor ahead. Ignoring the assaulting onslaught of sunlight upon his drowsy eyes, he emerged in a courtyard decorated with fields of roses.
Roses…and more roses. Roses everywhere. All around them.
Petals danced in circles around the sunbeams, cradled by the wind.
There was something…familiar about all of this. Junior remembered this, but just barely. He knew this place. There was a familiar scent.
But his suffocated memory had been fractured and eroded by time. How he longed to remember it all.
At the opposite end of the rose field stood a woman in a flowing sun dress. Junior could feel the pieces clicking in his mind all at once.
He remembered a day like this. He'd had so many of them, yet still not enough. Then he'd foolishly wished to forget them.
The figure was beckoning for him to approach. Mesmerized by her long ruby hair whipping two and fro in the wind, Junior succumbed to the mercy of his instinct. A tear escaped from his eye and slid down his cheek.
This woman…Junior knew her. She was familiar. So familiar.
She was comforting. How he longed for her. How he'd ached for her for so long.
He'd seen her before, but this time she was going to feel real. He just knew it. He was in his right mind now. This was no illusion; no hallucination.
At long last, this was all going to finally be real.
His mom was here; back from the dead.
All of those painful years Junior had had to endure without her were about to be erased all at once. He just needed one touch for it to all come true.
The Koopa Prince hurried towards Celia. He could feel his heart racing. All he needed was just one touch.
One touch.
One touch.
One. Touch.
Junior reached out his hand to take her wrist, but stopped in his tracks when reality collided with him. He froze.
She changed.
The mirage dissipated. Her hair color shifted from red to a familiar gold. Her green dress turned pink.
The woman now standing before Junior was not his mother. It was not Celia.
It was Peach.
He knew it without even seeing her face. He'd recognize her anywhere.
Suddenly, another gust of wind picked up between them. Junior followed the rose petals taking flight into the sky above as ruby storm clouds began to swirl.
From the eye of the forming storm, a single jagged bolt of crimson lighting shot down and struck Junior; engulfing him in a white light.
He had anticipated feeling unimaginable, burning pain at the point of impact. Yet there was none of it. Junior felt nothing. He heard nothing. He saw nothing. Everything had disappeared all at once.
His dream shattered.
Seconds later, Junior fell face first into the pond and the abrupt biting sensation of cold water overtook him. The Koopa Prince sat up in a rush; gasping for air. He found himself back in Merlon's garden.
It took several minutes for Junior to process everything that had just happened. On one hand, that "dream" was different from all of the others he'd had up until now even though he still didn't feel any closer to understanding what these visions of his mother and being in his childhood body meant or why he was having them. At the same time however, he did manage to trigger this experience intentionally this time by meditating.
Perhaps he was slowly getting better at mastering his mental magic?
Regardless of the explanation, Junior now seemed to have a means of asserting some degree of control over these visions. Perhaps with additional practice, he could hone this skill further and uncover all of the secrets of what he was witnessing before long.
His thoughts were cut short when a voice called out to him.
"Prince Junior." The Koopa Prince glanced up to see Merlon now standing in the garden a foot away. Junior stood up and dried himself off.
"What's up, Merlon?" he replied. Merlon didn't respond right away. He simply turned and began strolling slowly back towards the house; motioning with his hand for Junior to follow.
"Please come inside. There is something we need to discuss."
A small flock of birds took flight at the crack of an echoing gun shot.
Another crack followed, then one more.
With a short single breath, Larry blew away the thin strand of smoke pouring from the barrel of his pistol and twirled it.
A wooden target popped up behind him. The Koopaling immediately turned and fired a magic bullet directly at it; obliterating the inanimate silhouette's head into splinters. Another target popped up to Larry's left, then his right, then in front of him. The Koopaling decapitated each target in rapid succession with one shot each.
His precision couldn't have been better, but that hardly mattered.
It wasn't going to quell the anger he was bottling up deep down. Larry knew this, of course. But he had to do something to blow off some steam; as meaningless as it probably was to do it this way.
"You sure are up early," said a familiar voice, though with less playfulness in his tone than usual.
Larry didn't budge an inch from his spot. He didn't have to acknowledge Roy standing behind him. Or maybe it wasn't that he didn't have to. Maybe…it was that he couldn't bring himself to face him.
"What do you want?" Larry replied lowly with a question of his own. Roy folded his arms and began to pace slowly around the training yard.
"Well, I was gonna ask if you were up for some sparring," Roy answered. The Koopaling placed his hands to his hips and cranked his head and observed the remains of all the targets Larry had destroyed. "But maybe a better question for me to ask is: what's buggin' you?"
"What makes you think something's wrong?"
"Larry, you just hit your mark perfectly on each of those targets. You're at the top of your game. But you don't look happy about it at all. In fact, you look mad. So it's gotta be somethin' else that's weighing you down right now. What is it?"
Larry sighed and lowered his head as his weapon disappeared from his hand; still adamantly refusing to face his brother. He strolled over towards the bench and took a seat on it.
"None of your concern."
"The hell it's not. You're my bro and I can tell when you're upset about something. You've been unusually quiet since the party last night."
"So what if I am? Doesn't mean you have to do anything about it."
"You're right. I don't have to do squat. You're an adult. You can take care of yourself. But I still don't like seein' my family upset. So if there's somethin' I can do to help, I'll do it. But I can't help ya if you don't tell me what's wrong."
Larry glanced up at Roy, looking incredibly displeased by the latter's logic.
"…You do know we're not actually family, right?" This stopped Roy in his tracks. But he wasn't deterred.
"…Huh? What do you mean? Of course we are. We were all-"
"Adopted by Bowser, I know," Larry finished for him as he folded his arms. "But when you think about it, that doesn't actually change anything."
"What're you talkin' about?"
"Before that happened, we were all just complete strangers to each other at the orphanage. We all came from different families. You and I didn't have the same mom. So it seems pretty stupid for you to think of us as anything more than acquaintances in reality, don't you think?"
Roy shrugged and his blank expression didn't change.
"Sure, each of us came from different moms. So we ain't exactly bros accordin' to science. But the only person I can think of who'd actually care about that is Iggy. And as far as I know, that doesn't bother him one bit. Fact is, we look out for and love each other like any real siblings should. I'm not bothered by what we have. And you didn't seem to mind it either until now. So, what changed all of a sudden?"
It took several minutes for Larry to answer. He exhaled slowly, then his gaze met Roy's.
"Why are you so proud of it, Roy? he settled on saying. Roy's eyebrows rose. He was bothered by the hopelessness present in Larry's pupils.
"…Proud of what?"
"Being an orphan. You were just telling the girls last night how great it was at the orphanage. But that's not true at all. You lied to them. The truth is that it sucked being at that orphanage. You know it. I know it. All seven of us know it. We were all in the same boat, after all. Or at least…I thought we were. So why are you lying about it?"
"I ain't treatin' it as anything more than what it was. Wasn't exactly an ideal situation. But I made the most of it. I had a roof over my head, there was just enough food to go around, and I had people there I cared about to keep me company."
"That doesn't mean you should start glamorizing it. You can't just erase the fact that each of our parents threw us away like trash," Larry retorted with eerie conviction. "That 'roof' over our heads had more holes than Swiss cheese and leaked every time it rained. Nine times out of ten our food was dirty, soggy, or moldy. And just because you had someone you cared about there doesn't mean everyone did."
It took Roy a few minutes of his own to digest all of this.
"Well? What do you have to say about all of that, huh? Am I wrong?" Larry probed impatiently. Roy's eyebrows furrowed. He knew there was a deeper meaning to all of this.
Larry was clearly harboring some deep resentment about…something. But he still couldn't pin down exactly what his brother was getting at.
Surely he had been holding it for a long time, but had done a damn good job hiding it until now. Something Roy said the night prior must have triggered him somehow. The problem was that the younger Koopaling was throwing so many statements out at once that Roy would have to be decisive and do some digging if he was ever going to get to the root of the problem here. This whole thing was spiraling out of control so fast.
"Sounds to me like we might've had different experiences at the orphanage then," Roy replied at last. Larry grunted and stood up; unable to contain his frustration.
"Oh, ya think?!" he exclaimed as he slowly clapped sarcastically. "Brilliant deduction, Roy! Iggy better watch out since it looks like you're now gunning for his role as the 'brainy' Koopaling!"
"Larry, will you chill out and just talk to me for a sec?" Roy asked as he placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. Larry smacked it away.
"Lay off! You have no chance of understanding! You're too blind!"
"I can't help you if you won't explain what's wrong," Roy said simply.
"Who said I wanted your help?! Everything's always so black and white with you, isn't it? Always so cut and dry! You act like you care about others, but as long as you have what you want, you couldn't give a damn about anyone else!"
"I-"
"Why would you need to care about how anyone else feels when you've already got it all?! The strength, the wisdom, the respect and admiration of your perfect little family, and a pretty little girlfriend on top!"
Roy worked a muscle in his jaw. He took serious issue with that last part.
"Hey now! That's-"
"Everything's all just so simple and clean in your world, isn't it?!" Larry ranted on; refusing to let Roy get a word in. "Must be nice to not have to live in the real world!" The Koopaling turned and stormed off.
"Larry, wait!" Roy called out as he reached his hand after him.
"Just leave me alone!" Larry exclaimed as he bolted back inside the house. Roy stood alone at the center of the training grounds; utterly floored by his brother's sudden change in behavior.
Something was seriously wrong with Larry. And Roy was about to make it his mission to find out exactly what was going on.
Iggy plopped down in his chair and swiveled around to face Hariet; armed with his clipboard in hand and a look of stern determination behind his glasses.
His prisoner still glared at him with apparent disdain, but her demeanor seemed to have softened slightly; most likely as a result of the meals she had received and at least some rest - as uncomfortable as it was.
From Hariet's point of view, her situation was obviously not ideal.
Iggy was well-aware that his "guest" was not in the most amicable mood. But it was still too early to tell if this would present a serious issue to his interrogation in the long run.
The way Iggy saw it, the conversation this morning could go one of two ways. Hariet could be so utterly unsatisfied with her current living conditions that she'd soon prove to be totally uncooperative with Iggy and defiant against any and all questions or requests from him.
Or, sleeping on the floor of a cage in the dark with nothing but her regret and paranoia to console her will have worn the Broodal's rebellious spirit down enough that she wouldn't have the energy to argue and would instead give in to Iggy's demands rather easily.
The Koopaling hoped it would be the latter.
"So, how did you sleep?" Iggy asked. Hariet shrugged.
"Ohh ya know. About as good as any chump could on a cold, metal floor!" she exclaimed, making zero effort to hide her annoyance.
Iggy was slightly impressed she could even give off such a proper sarcastic rebuttal. After all, he didn't exactly have the highest opinion of her intelligence given their conversation from the night before. He didn't think she was smart enough to grasp the concept of sarcasm and use it. But even that wasn't terribly impressive.
"Yes well…," Iggy started, clearing his throat. "This all happened so suddenly that we didn't exactly have time to prepare more…proper accommodations for you. But I suppose if you're willing to cooperate, I may be able to make arrangements that should help make your stay with us more bearable."
"…Huh?" said Hariet, her expression puzzled.
Perhaps those last statements were a bit too ambitious of him.
"What I mean is, if you're willing to open up to me more and answer my questions today, I could look into getting you some kind of bed to sleep in at night." This got Hariet's attention as her ears poked out from underneath her messy blonde hair and protruded straight up in alert.
"Ya…ya mean yous is gonna let me outta here?!" she asked hopefully as her face rose with excitement.
"I never said that," said Iggy as he shook his head; correctly predicting she would jump to such a premature conclusion. "But I constructed that holding cell myself. So it stands to reason then that I could manufacture a bed that's just the right size to fit inside there."
"Oh….well, whadda bout bathroom breaks?"
"Excuse me?"
"How da hell am I sapposed ta do ma bizness from in here?!"
"Well, there's probably a bucket lying around here somewhere…"
"AW HELL NAH!" Hariet slammed the glass wall loudly with both fists. This caused Iggy to jump in his seat. Though, not enough for Hariet to notice she'd managed to startle him. "I'MMA LADY, YA DUNCE! DERE'S NO WAY I'M GONNA USE NO STINKIN' BUCKET!"
"Alright, alright!" Iggy panicked. He hated that she managed to snag control over him; even if it was just for a brief second, but he was thankful she didn't realize what she'd done. If it were someone like Eris or Contemno inside this cell, they'd surely capitalize on him clumsily dropping his guard without hesitation. "I'll have you escorted to the one upstairs when the time comes. Satisfied?"
Hariet rolled her eyes, folded her arms, and blew a tuft of hair out of her eye.
"It'd be lots easiuh if yous would just lemme go. I mean, how long do ya really tink yous can hold me in here fa?" Iggy's eyelids narrowed and he shot her an icy glare.
"Until I'm satisfied with the information you've given me. How long it takes for us to get there is entirely up to you. Now, shall we get started?"
Hariet nodded reluctantly and quietly took a seat on the ground; smoothing out her purple dress. His sternness managed to win out over her in this round, which did not sit well with her at all. But she chose not to object to it this time.
In fact, when she first found herself down here, Hariet was more annoyed than anything else that it was this smug geek with a head resembling a palm tree whom was bossing her around. But there didn't seem to be anything she could do about it.
It was probably because of the glasses. Hariet hated those glasses.
The Broodal fantasized shoving them straight into Iggy's arrogant, holier-than-thou mouth and making him choke on them. Then they'd see who the real smart talker was.
But alas, that was impossible. This was a box, not a cage. There were no bars to reach through. Even if there were, Iggy was sitting a comfortable distance away on the other side of the room; utterly out of her reach; for now anyway.
Even Hariet could see there was no immediate way of getting out of here. Not on her own. But if she bided her time, maybe that would change. Topper and the others had to have noticed by now that she was missing. There was no way they couldn't. And she was their sister! They wouldn't just leave her behind, right?
Well…maybe Topper would. It sucked that he was most likely still calling the shots. But maybe by some chance Spewart or Rango might grow a spine and stand up to their brother for once. Surely they would get through to him by explaining the importance of getting their sister back. Heck, maybe they'd even talk with Contemno about getting back-up and staging a rescue. Ignoring the obvious fact of course that he'd be furious with all four of them the second he found out they deliberately disobeyed his orders by leaving the base and going to attack Junior on their own.
…On second thought, maybe Contemno himself wouldn't the best person to ask for help from in this situation. But there were others; Eris, Tatanga, Wart, Grodus. There were still plenty of people who could help Hariet escape. Surely someone would be willing to do something to get her out; even if it was just to prevent any important secrets about them from getting out.
Her mouth curled into a devious smile.
The more she thought this through, the more relaxed Hariet became. This wasn't so bad. Maybe this could turn out okay after all. She just needed to be patient. Someone, somewhere was likely already hatching a scheme to bust her out of this dump. In the meantime, all Hariet had to do was play along with Iggy's stupid little pretend cop game.
Yeah. She could feed him some garbage answers he'd probably gobble up obediently. By playing the loyal little prisoner, she might even be able to earn his trust. All she had to do was turn up the charm a little.
He'd drop his guard over time and with enough good behavior, she might even accumulate fractions of free-will that she could cash in on to move around their base and discover a way out. And even if she didn't manage to make it out on her own, maybe Hariet could at least buy the others enough time to find and bust her out themselves.
Yeah, maybe this wasn't so bad. She could make this work.
"Something wrong?" Iggy called out.
Hariet snapped back to attention and noticed the Koopaling staring at her suspiciously.
"…Wha?"
"You were spacing out just now. Something on your mind?" Iggy clarified, not breaking eye contact for even a second.
"O-oh! Jus…"
This was it. Time to get started.
She had to start with something reasonable. She couldn't lie right off the bat or he'd know right away something was up. Hariet had to use something he'd given her already. "Jus…thinkin' 'bout what yous asked last night!"
"And? What have you decided?"
"I mean…I guess I can tell yous a little bit 'bout Contemno's operation. Just lemme know…whateva yous wanna know!"
Iggy's serious expression didn't change. Something was wrong here.
Hariet's mood shifted from annoyed to compliant far too quickly. No doubt she was plotting some means of escape just now.
Iggy knew it was too risky to call her out on it just yet. He needed to know what her initial thoughts were. How was she going to respond: Truthfully, or with deceit? It was too soon to tell, but Iggy was confident he'd be able to tell the difference, given enough time. The Koopaling just needed to play along for now until he could learn more.
"Alright then. Why don't we just get right to the point? Tell me who Contemno is."
"He's our boss, idiot. Duh!"
"Don't be a smart alack. You know what I mean. Contemno conceals his face with a mask. What is his real identity?"
"Dat's…uhh…" Hariet hesitated. Acting or not, how the heck was she supposed to answer that? "I dunno."
"You don't know, or you don't want to tell me?"
"I said 'I dunno'," Hariet replied matter-of-fact. "Nobody knows who he is. He neva takes dat mask off."
"I see. How did you and your siblings meet Contemno?"
Although she wasn't exactly comfortable with how quickly Iggy could shift topics, Hariet didn't see any immediate harm in being candid about this next part.
She proceeded to explain to Iggy that Contemno had approached them at their home on the dark side of the moon several months ago. They had been down on their luck and out of work after getting thrashed by Mario many years back. It seemed there was simply no longer any demand for their wedding planning services - in this galaxy or any other for that matter. Both Mario and Bowser alike played a part in running the Broodal reputation through the mud and now no one wanted them for anything anymore.
Contemno offered upfront to pay them triple the coins Bowser had originally for their services. Not only that, they were also promised the opportunity to exact their revenge on both Mario and Bowser alike. All the Broodals had to do was swear their loyalty to Contemno and his cause.
From their perspective, it was the easiest deal they could have ever made.
"I see," said Iggy as he enthusiastically scribbled line after line of notes on his clipboard. "And why was Contemno recruiting people in the first place?" Harriet's eyes drifted aimlessly across the room.
"None of us really know, if I'm bein' honest wit ya."
"That's absurd. How could none of you know what Contemno's master plan is? I get you and your brothers having a score to settle with Mario and Bowser. But surely there was someone else who needed a bit more persuasion before they were won over."
Hariet closed her eyes and shrugged with a sly grin. She didn't know how much power she had in the conversation at that moment, but she relished the fact that it was irritating Iggy somehow.
"Everybody had deir reasons. Contemno prolly promised each of 'em somedin difuhrent. All we knows is, Contemno brought us all tuhgedda cuz he wanted ta take ova all da kingdoms."
"So he wants world domination then. Is that all?"
"No dat ain't all, chump," Hariet scolded him. "Contemno's got much bigguh dreams den just dat." Iggy gripped his clipboard tightly in his claws.
"Then what else is he planning?"
"How da heck should I know?! Word on a da street is Contemno is plannin' on doin' some big unveilin' for Phase 2 pretty soon."
Iggy froze at this and he ceased choking his clipboard.
Although her expression didn't show it, Hariet's heart stopped for a second.
...Should she have said that just now?
She wasn't entirely sure she intended to. Curse this dweeb for getting her talking so much. How did he do that? Or was she really just that easy?
"'Phase 2'? What's that?"
Hariet shrugged again in recovery.
"I-I dunno. I g-got capshuh'd buhfore I could learn anythin' else 'bout it."
The Koopaling could feel his blood beginning to immediately return to a boil. Was Hariet bluffing? Was there more about this "Phase 2" than she was letting on? Could it be that she really was captured before attending this hypothetical meeting and as a result, she honestly didn't know what Phase 2 is?
Was this meeting going on right now and they were all completely missing out?
The timing was awfully convenient. Too convenient. Yet it made just enough sense for Iggy to slowly start thinking it was plausible. Maybe convenient wasn't even the right word. Maybe "inconvenient" was more like it.
Iggy sat silently in his chair to debate this with himself.
Hariet couldn't tell what was going on in his stupid tree-shaped head, but he looked unsettled. She liked that, so she elected not to think much of it.
The thought of them missing out on such a crucial event right now was paralyzing to Iggy. There was so much to do. So much to learn; so much to know; too much. Where did they even start?
Even if Hariet spilled her guts right now and told Iggy everything-where the meeting was being held, the date, the time-they'd never make it in time to spy on it.
So what else could Iggy do?
Just what was he supposed to ask next?
Daisy sat alone atop the roof of Merlon's house. Her chin rested heavily on her knees for support. The princess's distant, downcast eyes wandered from one sight to the next. Chomper and Bitey summoned themselves of their own accord and attempted to console their master, but she waved them off as though they were nothing more than pesky mosquitoes.
This spot actually made for a pretty decent vantage point. Daisy could see just about everything from up here. She saw Roy and Larry getting into some kind of argument down in the training yard and Junior meditating underneath a waterfall in the backyard's garden. From this angle, Daisy could even catch just enough of a view inside the window to spot Peach sleeping soundly as well.
Yet, Daisy found it impossible to enjoy her discovery of this perfect perch. She was too troubled.
Now that she had this moment to herself, regretful glimmers of the recent past flashed through her mind; forcing her to wince.
If only she could turn back time. There were definitely things she would have done differently; a different way to speak her mind.
If she could have had just one more minute with him. She would've tried to do things differently. But it was too late for that now. The princess sighed and shook her head hopelessly.
"Luigi…."
He was gone. She was gone. What they had was gone. It would be better for both of them if she just moved on.
So why couldn't she? Why couldn't she let go then?
As much as Daisy fought to smother her feelings, she just couldn't ignore the fact that she was still worried about him and wondered where he was now. Did Contemno get to him too?
As the princess carelessly allowed her eyes to wander, she spotted something far off in the distance. It was hard to make out for certain, so she squinted. Daisy believed it to be a pair of silhouettes standing at the far end of the road leading out of Shooting Star Summit.
Given their distance away, Daisy couldn't identify who these figures were or why they were just standing there. It could very well have just been a pair of Toads hanging around the outskirts of Toad Town. Probably not though. The sizes didn't match. One looked tall and thin, while the other was short and plump. The princess shrugged and turned her attention elsewhere.
It was probably nothing worth worrying about right now.
"I see…," was all Merlon could seem to say as he listened to Junior relay the details of his most recent foray into his mysterious dream world.
"I wish I knew what this all meant," said Junior as he sighed. "I wish I knew why I'm having these dreams at all."
"You must not lament, Prince Junior. You have made a significant discovery today. Now, you must capitalize it. Gather your knowledge and experiment with your abilities until you reach your next achievement." Junior rose an eyebrow at this.
"Gather my knowledge…?" Merlon nodded.
"Yes. You've been on quite the harrowing journey as of late. You are not the same person you were when I last saw you. So it is important to measure your growth. Think about all that you have learned on your travels thus far. Perhaps you are able to piece together more of what you could not before."
Junior rested his chin atop his fist and replayed the last moments his group had with Midbus.
"Well…Midbus didn't take over Sarasaland for himself," the Koopa Prince recalled. "He did it for Contemno after he was promised that my dad would come fight him. They'd have the rematch Midbus wanted for so long. That special power he had where he merged with the castle was a new one for him apparently. He must've not had it before. That means Contemno gave it to him. Midbus got it from something called Essence."
Merlon stumbled as if he had just been punched. Junior reached out to catch him, but the mage didn't quite lose his balance.
"My word! Did you just say…Essence?" Junior nodded.
"Yeah, you know what it is?"
"I do. However, I admit I had my doubts that it was actually real."
"Why's that?"
"Why, Essence sleeps at the root of all superstition. It was thought to be nothing more than a myth."
"What do you mean?" Merlon turned around in a hurry and walked off towards his towering bookshelf.
"Summon the others here at once, Prince Junior. They must hear this as well…among other things."
It took the combined shouting efforts of Toad, Goombella, and Kooper to finally wake Peach from her sleep. Once she was finally up however, the princess raced back and forth across the room as though she had overslept and missed an important arrangement.
In reality however, Peach was simply mortified that she'd allowed her wild, frazzled hair to be seen by her friends!
The princess took immense pride in her physical appearance. Making herself presentable first thing in the morning was always a top priority. The fact that this wasn't so today was completely unacceptable.
"It's really not a big deal, princess! Everyone has a bad morning every once in a while!" Goombella assured.
Peach snatched up a hairbrush and furiously combed at her wild, protruding bedhead. But it immediately sprung back up after every forceful press. Frustrated, she tossed the brush over her shoulder.
"Yeah, it's not like you missed anything important. Today's been pretty slow so far," Kooper added with a shrug. Peach eyeballed her abhorrent reflection in the mirror and furiously scrubbed away her smudged make-up and lipstick.
"What's the big deal about a little messy hair anyway?" Toad chimed in. Peach scoffed and shot an immensely appalled look at him.
"I'm a public figure, Toad! If I don't take pride in my own appearance, what kind of message does that send to my subjects?!"
"I totally get wanting to look your best!" said Goombella. "But you're among friends here. There's no need to be so hard on yourself." Peach snatched up a towel and made a beeline straight for the bathroom.
"Listen, I know you're all just trying to help. I appreciate it. But honestly, I think I'd just prefer to have a little privacy, if you don't mind," she insisted. Kooper and Toad shrugged and took their leave, but Goombella lingered for a second longer to speak on their behalf.
"Alright well, don't take too long. Merlon wants us all to meet downstairs soon for something important. That's why we came to wake you up in the first place," the Goomba explained to the closed door. It cracked opened slightly as Peach poked her head out.
"What's going on?"
"He didn't say. It's probably easier if he just explains it to all of us at once."
"I see. Very well. I'll be down shortly," said Peach as she closed the door again. Goombella nodded and left the room as well.
The princess twisted the faucet handle. It emitted an audible screech and a steady stream poured out from the shower head.
As she undressed, Peach immediately felt disoriented. The entire bathroom began to spin around her.
She clutched and leaned against the sink to steady herself and observed her rather worrying expression in the mirror. Peach's pale, pasty face seemed to be entirely drained of its color and her eyelids drooped low over her eyes.
Something was definitely not right. She didn't feel right.
Was she sick somehow? No, that wasn't it. Peach knew what it felt like to be ill with something common such as a cold or the flu. That was most certainly not what she was experiencing right now.
This was something different. Despite getting so much rest, Peach still felt utterly exhausted. It was a chore just for her to climb into the shower. The warm water was soothing on her delicate, clear skin, but it did little to quell her mysterious ailment. Peach's head was pounding, her heart raced, her breathing was shallow, and her hearing became distorted. She slipped and nearly fell several times.
Try as she might to relax as Peach typically did during a warm shower, it was simply impossible this time. She had to muster what little energy she had in reserve to finish bathing and get dressed. What she would be strong enough to do after that remained to be seen. But anything was better than falling unconscious and drowning in the shower.
By the time Peach emerged from the shower, finished drying off, and wrapped herself in her pink bathrobe, it occurred her – the perfect metaphor for describing the exact discomfort she was experiencing. It felt as though there was a parasite in the pit of her stomach that was feeding off of her stamina. As seconds stretched into minutes, the princess felt herself growing weaker while the metaphorical parasite grew stronger.
In a last ditch effort to fight back, Peach dressed herself in a hurry and was just about to slip on her shoes.
That's when it happened.
The princess's entire body froze and went numb. She could no longer move. She couldn't even scream out for help.
The room spun faster and faster. Peach's eyelids plummeted over her eyes and she collapsed onto the bed behind her. The last thing the princess heard before her consciousness dissipated altogether was a voice.
She recognized it. Peach knew whom it belonged to, at long last.
It was too familiar.
It all made sense now. All of it.
It all came back to her at once.
That's right. Give in to the darkness. Sleep my little princess. Dream an everlasting dream. Sleep forever more.
Bowser's eyelids flickered open, and the dim world around him came into view.
A small lit torch was nestled within a copper sconce attached to the wall on the other side of a windowless room. The minuscule flame illuminated just enough for Bowser to realize he was in a dungeon of some kind. Although, his surroundings were still largely blanketed in shadow.
The Koopa King rolled his neck around. He opened and closed his hands a few times. Once he felt fully oriented with consciousness again, he realized he was sprawled out on some sort of wooden examination table. Bowser panicked once he noticed the restraints positioned near his wrists and ankles, then froze when another realization struck him.
The restraints weren't locked, which meanstowser wasn't bound to them. He could move freely.
Not questioning it, Bowser immediately sat up and hopped to his feet. This proved to be a mistake however, as the Koopa King immediately fell forward onto the cold stone floor on his knees. His legs were vibrating furiously. It felt as though they had been filled with sand.
Once he regained feeling, Bowser stood up and began examining his surroundings again. The room was mostly empty except for a dusty wooden table against the wall; devoid of anything atop its surface. The Koopa King spotted a door at the edge of the torch's light. That appeared to be the only way in or out of this room, but without any additional light, there was no way to know for sure. He assumed it would be locked but…maybe it wasn't. After all, his restraints weren't.
In another corner of the room sat a large, purple trunk with golden hardware and binding. The Koopa King couldn't even guess what it might have inside.
Bowser turned around when a small sound caught his attention. He saw Mario was still lying unconscious on an examination table that had been situated parallel to his own. The plumber stirred awake slowly.
Something was different about him.
Aside from still missing his iconic red hat, Mario's outfit had changed. He was now wearing his infinitely more iconic attire: red shirt, denim overalls, white gloves, brown shoes. They were torn, scuffed, and scorched in several places, but still easily recognizable. When could he have changed clothes?
Mario sat up and his eyes met Bowser's. He didn't say anything at first.
Come to think of it…Bowser couldn't remember what happened to them. He remembered Eris had trapped them in weird black bubbles, then he dozed off. Now they were here.
"About time you came to," said Bowser. "Any idea how we ended up here?"
Mario shrugged and shook his head. The plumber hopped down from the table and stumbled slightly, just as Bowser had. The Koopa King chuckled.
"What, cat got your tongue or something?"
Mario opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He coughed and tried again.
Nothing.
His eyes widened as he clutched his throat. Bowser's own eyes filled with the same fear.
"Oh no…"