Beyond the Shell Stone Door was a shrine devoted to the Earth Vellumental, which was carved inside its cave. Mario knew that the Koopas were a dedicated bunch despite their failings, but constructing a place of worship for their reptilian idol had a charming effect on the plumber.
"Whoa, this place is giving me some serious Yen vibes." Blaze commented. "Wish Ch'en could've joined us."
"Chen? Who's that?" Olivia asked.
"Ah, she's a policewoman that leads the special unit of the L.P.D. Ch'en is a big workaholic, she's probably too busy to check out this temple. It would blow her socks off to see a bit of home here in the Mushroom Kingdom."
There was plenty of "donation boxes" that acted as tour guides, explaining the lore of Earth Vellumental for the completely reasonable price of 10 coins (100 LMD in Terran cash). At the end of the temple was a rather crude interpretation of the Vellumental on a weak looking wall. The donation box nearby also revealed that the Vellumental's tail was extremely vulnerable.
Mario put two and two together, and knocked down the wall with his hammer. A path further into the temple was revealed. The path was much more hostile compared to the shrine, since it included rising and failing platforms over a spikey pit. It explained why the rest of temple was walled off, but it was nothing Mario couldn't handle. Amiya and Blaze quickly learned how to traverse the platforms as well.
"Heh, no wonder those Toads cut the tour short, they wouldn't even be able to get pass with their surprising lack of legs!" Blaze joked
The next room had a large, ominous opening that was modeled after the Earth Vellumental.
"Now that's way more impressive than everything we've seen so far." Olivia spoke in an elated tone. "I want to climb inside that thing's mouth and see where it leads! Is that weird?"
Mario, Amiya, and Blaze curtly nodded, causing Olivia to weep. "I was just joking guys! Anyways, I don't want to jinx us, but I feel like we haven't run into any Folded Soldiers in awhile."
Right one cue, Folded Koopa Troopas ambush the party. And among them were... masked people in white hoods?
"Reunion?" Amiya exclaimed.
"Oh, are these hooded people your relatives Amiya." Olivia asked. "It feels pretty weird to have a reunion in the middle of this temple..."
"They aren't family, their organization name is literally 'Reunion'". Blaze responded, readying her weapon. "Remember how I told you that poeple from our land don't take kindly to Infected? These goons are the result of that hatred and have caused all sorts of destruction for their causes. They even destroyed an entire city!"
"I don't understand Miss Blaze, if you guys are infected with the same stuff as those hooded guys, why can't you just get along?"
"It's complicated. Besides, those Reunion grunts have been turned into those mindless Folded Soldiers, so I doubt we can reason with them."
After the gang dealt with the Folded Soldiers, they moved deeper into the temple. The traps were now large, spinning platforms shaped like the Earth Vellumental that spew fire out of their holes. The flamethrowers moved slow enough for Mario and Co. to evade them, but they got larger and larger the further the party went.
"Jeeze, this is quite alot of fire for this supposed Earth Vellumental..." Blaze mused as she passed under the largest fire trap in the cave. It was mounted on the wall instead of the floors, and once the party passed under the flamethrower, it fell off the wall and began rolling down the slope towards the party.
With some quick thinking, Mario positioned himself so that the giant slab would pass over harmlessly, since the remaining exhaust ports were large enough to hide in. Amiya and Blaze followed, and the giant rock safely rolled past without turning the party into even flatter pancakes.
Mario and the Operators were back where they started, except now they had access to the Earth Vellumental door that was too high off the ground. Inside the deity's chambers was no elaborate shrine, just a very, very deep hole.
"Oh come on!" Blaze sighed, her ears slumped in disappointment. "You'd think if they went through all that trouble designing those traps they would create an amazing shrine for the Earth Vellumental... But it's just some grand valley or something."
Olivia flew closer to the hole, trying to get the report's attention. "Hello? Where are you Earth Vellumental? Hold on... I see something interesting at the bottom of the hole. Why don't you guys take a look?"
Mario, Blaze, and Amiya approached the ledge and, as if on cue for a slapstick sketch, collapsed, plunging the heroes into the abyss. It didn't help that they landed on a suspiciously tough part of the pit. Thankfully, at least one of our heroes is used to falling from high places.
"So I'm not the best judge of footing, as we learned." Olivia apologized.
"Sometimes, I believe you're doing this on purpose," Blaze responded, stomping on the patch of ground. "Hey, this patch has a different texture compared to the rest of this pit. I know this is a stretch, but I have a hunch.."
The ground started to rumble, shifting under the party's feet. Bursting out of the ground was a giant origami turtle and a quadruped one at that!
"Whoa! I didn't expect that the Earth Vellumental was literally a turtle." Blaze exclaimed.
"I know it looks cool Blaze, but it doesn't look too friendly, just like those Folded Soldiers. My brother must've folded up this poor creature." Olivia responded. "I'm afraid we got no choice to fight it."
This time, the ring battle worked against the party's favor. Instead of starting from the center, Mario and his companions were on the outermost ridges, while the Earth Velluemental took up the center.
"Ooh, a boss battle! I've been itching to try one of these!" Olivia cheered, confusing her fourth-wall unaware guests. "Anyways, the Vellumental's shell looks SUPER sturdy, but it makes its stubby legs look vulnerable, doesn't it?"
"Exactly! See, you can be perceptive when you want to." Blaze huffed. "But we're at the edge of the arena this time, and between us and the turtle are these weird arrows and panels. You got any ideas, Mario?"
The plumber quickly figured out the solution. He shifted the rings in such a fashion that a path was formed to one of the Earth Vellumental's legs. Mario and his partners follow the path to successfully reach one of the monster's limbs. He then proceeded to smash the vellumental's leg with all its might, causing the best to screech in pain.
"Nice thinking, Mario!" Blaze complimented. "Let me at this overgrown reptile!" She attempted to cut through the shell, but her chainsaw failed to penetrate.
"Whoa! I know that the Earth Vellumental's shell is tough, but it stopped your saw thingie in its tracks." Olivia sighed. "If only we had someone with armor-piercing attacks..."
Amiya shot one of her Arts projectiles at the monster, causing it to recoil in pain.
"Thanks Amiya! It seems that your weird magic deals damage no matter how sturdy our enemies are. That should come in handy in the future." Olivia responded, but Amiya merely nodded back.
During the next turn, Mario aims for the Earth Vellumental's tail. Hammering it causes the beast to release a deathly screech, falling over on its back. The beast was in its most vulnerable state, and a 1000-Fold Arms panel conveniently spawned on the battlefield. The rest was simple, Mario activated the 1000-Fold Arms technique and pounded the Earth Vellumental into confetti. Literally.
The turtle transformed into a book with Magic Circle, this time of the Earth Vellumental. Olivia skimmed through the pages, and quickly realized that the book held the instructions of folding into the Earth Vellumental!
"Aww... this must be its way of helping us!" Olivia gushed.
"So those Koopas have been worshipping a weird book?" Blaze shook her head in disappointment.
Olivia absorbed the book, the spirit of the Vellumental flowing through her equivalent of veins. Moving to a nearby Magic Circle, Olivia begins the process. After a few valley and mountain folds, Olivia transformed into a near exact replica of the Earth Vellumental. Mario clapped after the performance.
"Whoa. Just... whoa." Blaze was at a loss of words. "I've seen Arts users manipulate the elements, but to manipulate yourself into that giant reptile..."
"It's the power of the Art of Origami!" Olivia exclaimed, her voice unaffected by her monstrous form. "So, how do I look? Magnificent? Powerful? It's like I'm the Earth Vellumental!"
"You literally are the Earth Vellumental..." Blaze muttered. "Just don't let that power go to your head, Olivia. Think you can get us out of this pit?"
"Sure! I definitely feel powerful enough for the job. But I'm no crude brute like the actual Vellumental, so you know what I will do? I'M GONNA DANCE IT OUT!"
Pulling out pom-poms from who-knows-where, Olivia dances on her hind legs, raising the ground to the base level of the temple. Mario and Blaze join along, improvising with their hands.
"It was fun wielding that turtle power, but I'm all tuckered out." Olivia levitated at a lower height than usual.
"You seriously don't want to use those Arts too much, Olivia." Blaze suggested. "They may not be Orginium based, but I can tell that you're worn out."
"Ah, I understand! I prefer my usual form anyways." Olivia responded. "Anyways, I should be able to use any other Magic Circles that belong to the Earth Vellumental. This may be a coincidence, but I have a feeling we'll run into a roadblock soon."
While the group was leaving the temple, Blaze had a much needed talk with Amiya.
"Amiya, is everything ok? You've been awfully quiet lately." Blaze spoke in a less peppy tone.
"I'm fine. I've just been thinking about Mario lately, and he reminds me of the Doctor in a way."
"Damn, you're right. He seems like a good tactician as well. Mario will be our substitute until we can find the Doc, deal? I know how badly you miss him, Amiya, but we will simply have to make do. It's what Rhodes Island does best!"
"Deal." Amiya responded after a long pause.
"You look better already, girl. If you need me for anything, just ask."
While Amiya did feel better, something still bothered her. Why should they be still keeping secrets from Blaze, no, all the elite operators? They deserved to know about the conspiracy that threatens both Terra and the Mushroom Kingdom, but to do so now would needlessly complicate their situation.
Just put on a smile, she told herself, and keep those lips shut tight.
A/N: Sorry for the extremely late update. It's been hard to focus on this story with all that's been going on IRL, including some covid related issues. On a brighter note, the Red Streamer Arc will be complete by the next chapter, and I have big plans on how to take the story from there. Until then, Happy New Year!