Reunited
Chapter 20- At Death's Door
"I attacked some fool who had the jewel," the Apprentice tells Cackletta as she holds the yellow jewel before her before laying it with the others. "Poor girl never stood a chance."
"Excellent job. Now then, right now I think you should go after the Death Jewel."
"Good. Then to Brookebell shall I go," the Apprentice replies imitating her minion Bowyer before exploding into a cloud of smoke, reforming as a bat that flies off into the distance toward Exor.
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Goombella's eyes open, and she sits up to realize that she is not in the theater but rather in an underground cave next to a warp pipe. She looks to see that her friends are also just awakening. Before them stands... a green dinosaur.
"Yoshi?" Goombella asks while standing up.
"Uh huh. I came for that play, but I got the time wrong and came a few hours early. I recognized you and saw that map of yours, so I brought you to a warp pipe that will lead to one of them."
"Thank you, Yoshi. Do you want to come along to help out?" Koops asks as he and the others also pull themselves to their feet.
"Sorry, no can do. I have to get back to where I've been staying at. Important business that needs to be taken care of, plus I have to hurry up and stop Syrup."
"Syrup?" Ms. Mowz wonders aloud. "What does she have to do with Cackletta?"
"Nothing really. I just have to stop her plan or Cackletta will make Syrup's matters her business."
After a bit more discussion, the heroes part ways with Yoshi and go into the warp pipe.
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Doopliss walks quickly up the steps inside of the old forsaken bell tower, hearing the steps rattling as he walks. Cobwebs cover the halls of the enormous building, and little light escapes through the boarded-up windows. As he reaches the top, he sees what could, and probably should, be of interest: a glowing red circle (looking a bit like a rock of some sort) drawn on a wall in chalk with seven different animals surrounding it also drawn in chalk, though the drawings are so crudely drawn that Doopliss is unable to tell any besides a drawing of a snake. He lays his hand on the glowing red spot and suddenly feels lighter, then feels the air being sucked out of his lungs as he flies through a bizarre wave of some sort, seemingly reduced to nothing but light. Doopliss finally lands and returns to a normal feeling as he sees that no longer is he in the bell tower but rather in a vortex of what appears to be nothingness, with nothing in sight besides some floating platforms and a ton of machinery. He turns around and sees a certain demon looking back at him with a bizarre alarm clock shaped like a door hanging around his neck.
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The heroes manage to see Doopliss being sucked in as they round the corner, having run all the way to the bell tower and up its stairs (unlike Doopliss, they hadn't stopped to do an actual inspection). They touch the circle for themselves and find themselves in the same location, seeing no sign of Doopliss or Deathnify. They begin to walk through the odd space of Smithy's domain, all but Ms. Mowz recognizing it as the same locale from their dream. Behind the five is a bat, watching the distance and knowing of what is to ensue. The five eventually after walking through what feels like an eternity of deserted machinery reaches a laboratory, outside of which lies Doopliss who looks to be unconscious.
"Ms. Mowz, go try to find a way out and get him some help," Goombella tells the mouse.
"Got it," she answers before half-carrying the king of Sarasaland back the way they came. As she drags him away, Goombella, Vivian, Koops, and Eggo all head into the factory with a certain bat following.
Inside, they all see Bowyer doing repairs on himself at a small machine, one of the few that is in working condition. He spots them, but chooses to offer a taunt rather than attack. "Nyah! Repairing am I in need of, but vengeance carried out will I see to."
They for the most part ignore him and continue, eventually reaching the back room of the lab, which has a large hole in the middle of the floor and no other leads. They jump down in not having any other leads, and there immediately see Deathnify standing, looking at the clock in mesmerization. He then thrusts his head back and laughs evilly before beginning to glare at them, swaying his neck left and right to cause the clock to move like a pendulum.
"Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock," the demon taunts as the four all stop dead in their tracks. The Apprentice, wise to this trick, has her eyes closed tightly. Suddenly the swaying stops, and, as the heroes continue to be stupefied, he points at each one at a time, saying only one word.
"Mall," he says to Goombella first, causing the Goomba to fall over in a coma-like sleep.
"Dragon." Same happens to Koops.
"Rawk." Same for Eggo.
"Sisters." And Vivian joins the others. Immediately after Deathnify is done and the four all lie in a deep trance, the Apprentice resumes her standard, non-bat form. Deathnify, not surprised, moves in for a quick strike which the Apprentice handily dodges.