The gang spotted two small islands that were coming into view below them. The two islands were separated from each other, but only by what seemed to be a few miles. The left island didn't seem to have much on it, while the right island looked like it had a bunch of plain-looking buildings scattered all over.
"Kylie! Arfur! Are those the islands that Tatanga is on, right below us?" DK asked.
"Yes it is! According to the map, he should be on the right island." Arfur clarified.
"Excellent. Alright you guys, let's get ready to attack." Daisy said.
"Wait a second...something doesn't seem right here..." Kylie said with uncertainty.
"What? What's going on? Don't tell me we're about to fall right into a trap!" Waluigi said in worry.
"I don't know...on the map we have, there's this white circle that suddenly showed up that goes around the right island...what could this be?" Kylie asked.
"Um, it obviously means that the right island is the correct island we're going to...DUH!" Fire Bro spat.
"Fire Bro, shut it. That's not what I mean. The red dot we have on our map back at the headquarters indicates Tatanga's location. But this white circle, why did it suddenly show up? Why is it here? This isn't ROB's doing, because he never makes those kind of markings on our maps." Kylie explained to everyone.
"I'm not sure, but I'm getting strange auras coming from that island. I can't really explain it, but it feels negative. Should we go back?" Rosalina asked.
"No way! We didn't come all this way for nothing! It's time to take that bastard down once and for all, and then we can go indulge in Hot Cheetos and Orange Juice!" Birdo angrily shouted and zoomed towards the island.
"WAIT BIRDO! STOP THIS INSTANT!" Arfur screamed, blaring into everyone's ear pieces.
"OW! DUDE! You almost deafened me!" Dixie complained.
Birdo sighed and stopped her ship. "Fine."
"Okay...I want to be sure about this. Someone, fire a bomb at the island. I want to see something." Arfur instructed.
"Um, okay? I'll do it I guess." Toad said and pressed the green button. A bomb launched out from his arwing and zoomed toward the island. It suddenly exploded. However, as it did, they realized that the bomb actually hit some kind of invisible wall, because this wall reverberated and the bomb wasn't suppose to explode that quick.
"Oh my god...TOAD HAS FAULTY BOMBS!" Peach shrieked.
Daisy banged her head against the control panel multiple times. "NO. NO. NO! THE ISLAND HAS A FREAKING FORCE FIELD AROUND IT! WE CAN'T GET IN!"
Everyone else gasped, including Arfur and Kylie.
"I knew it. That's what that white circle around the island on the map meant. A force field. I can't believe it...I didn't know he would come up with something so strategic this soon." Kylie said in disappointment.
"To be honest, I'm not that surprised. I mean, the dude freaking blasted a ton of rocks at you guys! Still though, I wonder why he didn't use this technique at the castle. It's a mystery." Arfur pointed out.
"So, like, what are we suppose to do now? Can we, like, give up and go have a party now?" Goombella suggested.
"Ugh, no Goombella! We just have to...wait a second...hold on you guys, Merlon wants to talk to me and Arfur right now. It will only take a minute." Kylie said.
"Hey! You can't just leave us hanging like this! What if one of Tatanga's enemies comes out of nowhere and tries to blast us into a million pieces? What if our power suddenly dies and our ships drop down into the ocean? Or worse...WHAT IF NO MORE MINECRAFT GAMES WERE MADE!? THAT WOULD BE HELL, MAN!" Toadette freaked out.
"Minecraft is so overrated. 'Nuff said." Waluigi commented.
"Okay, we're back. Guys, we need you to come back to Mushroom Corp immediately. Merlon just told us some VERY important info that will aid you on your quest. It's a bit confusing and weird, but it's our only shot right now and it just confirms our theory that Tatanga's island is indeed protected by this invisible force." Arfur explained.
"Okay, we're on our way!" DK said and the arwings blasted off in the direction they came from.
Meanwhile, Tatanga saw the ships blast off through a window in a secluded room that he was in. He formed a deadly smirk upon his face.
"That's right pesky heroes...fly away...you may have rescued all those people, but my plan hasn't ended yet. Heh heh heh, because when the final day arrives, time will stop and the world will be mine, and there will be absolutely nothing you all can do about it. You guys are lucky that my other 'plans' weren't ready when I was back at the castle. I know where you all are going, thanks to my powered up scepter. It's like a crystal ball...I can see everything that you guys do. But I won't attack yet...cause when my 'experiments' are ready...hoo hoo hoo, you will all be in for the time of your life."
"So Roy...how come you always wear those silly sunglasses?" Mimi asked. They both were sitting at a table in the cafeteria, all by themselves. She was enjoying her time with him, since Roy had a pretty good sense of humor and wasn't a complete jackass like everyone else thought...well, despite him blowing up earlier.
"Well, why not? I look good in them, don't I?" Roy smirked and laughed. Mimi laughed with him.
"Yes yes, you do. But why don't you take them off once in a while? Do you have poor vision?" Mimi asked again. She was really genuinely curious about this.
Roy was stuck for words. He was a bit scared of telling her the truth. "I...well...you see...sigh...okay, I confess, the reason why I wear these sunglasses all the time is because...of my eye color..."
Mimi raised both of her eyebrows. "Your eye color? Um, what about it exactly?"
Roy sighed again. "My eye color is, how do I say it, abnormal? It isn't your usual Koopa eye color that you see everyday."
"Well, I'm sure it can't be that bad! Let me see, Roy. Please?" Mimi innocently asked.
"No way! I mean...no. I don't want to scare you." Roy strictly replied and crossed his arms.
"Oh come on! I promise I won't judge. And besides, I've seen PLENTY of scary stuff in the past so I really doubt I'll be scared by some 'abnormal colored' eyes." Mimi stated.
Roy sighed once more and slowly took his sunglasses. He raised his head up and looked toward Mimi. Mimi gasped a bit by how his eyes looked.
His eyes were HUGELY dilated, and his pupils were purple. It made him look absolutely nothing like his brothers. In fact, if you didn't even know Roy, you could probably say that he was a half-Koopa half-Alien hybrid since his eyes were completely out of this world.
Mimi didn't response for a minute, which angered Roy. "You hate it, don't you? I figured you would. I'm outta here." Roy put his sunglasses back on and stood up to leave but Mimi grabbed his arm.
"WAIT! I don't hate them. Sorry Roy, I was just so taken back by how 'otherworldly' they looked. They're actually really pretty...and I'm not just saying that!"
Roy smiled a bit. He hadn't smiled in such a long time that it felt strange for him to even do it. It was definitely an interesting yet weird experience.
"Th-thank you...I guess." Was all Roy could say.
"So, how come only you have purple eyes in the Koopa family? No other Koopa I've seen has those kind of eyes..." Mimi said.
"Because when Bowser told me about when I was born, the doctor said I had some genetic defect, which caused my eye color to change into something completely different than what the average Koopa's eye color is suppose to look like. Cases like this happen only with one out of every 1000 Koopas and, well, I just happen to be that 1 Koopa..." Roy said, becoming depressed and frustrated about the topic again.
"Ah, I see. So...did Bowser and the rest of your family accept you for who you are still?" Mimi asked.
"Nope. When I turned 10, Bowser and my siblings could no longer stand the sight of my eyes. Morton complained that I looked 'too creepy' and he had nightmares about me, glaring into his soul. Iggy said that I had the eyes of a serial killer. Bowser even agreed with him! I was so ticked off at them all, that I just wanted to kick them all right in the face, to see what it feels like to be hurt on a daily basis! But, Bowser came up with a conclusion, and bought me these sunglasses from a place called Sunglass World and put it on me. Everyone agreed that it looked good on me and so, from that day on, I've been wearing these ever since." Roy told the story and Mimi was in a bit of amazement but a bit saddened by his tale of woe.
"Oh my god! I'm really sorry that happened to you, Roy. I can't imagine what kind of hell you had to go through..."
"Now you see why I'm such an asshole to people. Well, 'mean' DOES run through our family's blood anyways, but what happened with me only made it worse." Roy added.
"I see...I see..." Was all Mimi could say. She was still trying to take all this information in and she couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy. She actually felt a bit relieved though that Roy wasn't truly mean for the sake of being mean. She thought Roy's family was more messed up than ever now!
Pauline entered the cafeteria and stomped over to Kammy Koopa.
"Hey you, old hag! I need to ask you something important!" Pauline yelled.
"Excuse me? Old hag!? The name is KAMMY KOOPA, you ditz! I oughta turn you into dust just for that! Oh, and honey, that pound of makeup you have on doesn't do your looks ANY good so quit trying so hard, eh?" Kammy angrily retorted.
"Well, you wouldn't know about makeup in the first place anyways." Pauline rolled her eyes while smirking.
Kammy growled at her. "I barely know you, and already you're on my hit list! Now buzz off or I'll have Bowser kidnap you and do certain 'things' to you!"
Pauline backed away a bit, immediately remembering all the stories she's heard about Peach being kidnapped. She sighed and said, "Fine. Whatever. I'm sorry. But I need to ask you something that's VERY important...can you make someone fall in love with...someone else!?"
Kammy raised her eyebrow. "...And why exactly are you asking me this?"
Pauline sighed again, scared to admit the truth. "Because...I...I...I want Mario to love me and not that dumb bimbo, Peach!"
Kammy dropped her jaw. She couldn't believe what she just heard. "WHAT!? AM I...HEARING THIS RIGHT!? YOU WANT MARIO TO FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU!?"
"Yes! All day, every day, I can't stop thinking about him. It's been driving me crazy how badly I want to be with him, knowing that he's with some airhead! He could do so much better with me. We'd be perfect for each other. Not to mention, Mario would never have to worry about saving that idiot from Bowser ever again! Please Kammy...help me." Pauline got on her knees and literally begged.
Kammy laughed a bit, noticing how desperate the Queen Bee was. "Alright. I'll help you out. But, in order to get this 'love spell' working, I need a few ingredients to pull it off, because having this wand by itself just isn't gonna do it since it isn't powerful enough."
"Please! I'll get what you want! Anything!" Pauline begged again.
"Okay, okay. I'm going to need a cup full of water...a red flower...a candle...and a match or lighter. This is what you'll need in order for me to conduct the spell right." Kammy instructed, but Pauline just blinked at her in confusion. Why would Kammy need these certain ingredients of all things? She thought it was completely weird to get these items, but it was the only option for her at this point.
"Okay. I'll do it."
Goombario, Kooper, Bombette, Parakarry, Bow, Watt, Lakilester, Lakilulu, Koops, Koopie, Flurrie, Yoshie, Vivian, Bobbery, Miss Mowz, and Frankly were all sitting on the rooftop, looking out at the beautiful horizon.
"My my, I sure do hope those guys are okay with their mission! It would be awful to find out that Tatanga all of a sudden came back and started chasing them down." Flurrie said in worry.
"I wouldn't worry Flurrie. They're a tough bunch, so they'll make it through one way or another. Though, I can't help but feel there is more to this Tatanga ordeal..." Frankly said.
"Um, what do you mean by that exactly?" Koops asked.
"I mean that there has to be more to Tatanga's plan than simply just kidnapping everyone and imprisoning them. It's only logical." Frankly responded while adjusting his glasses.
"Eh, probably world domination. It's in every villain's goal to do that, don't you know?" Yoshie half-teased.
"I still can't believe my sisters could do such a thing, especially since I thought they turned good! I can't believe I let myself get fooled so easily..." Vivian said and started to sob. Watt came over to her side and comforted her.
"Hey, don't blame yourself! You didn't know it would happen. There's no need to start crying now, sweetie." The light bulb very kindly said, which cheered Vivian up a bit.
"Speaking of them, who the hell was that clown-looking guy that was with them? He freaking creeped me out! I thought he had laser vision and I would melt just by staring into his eyes!" Kooper exclaimed.
"That was Dimentio." Goombario answered. "Mario told me of him a long time ago. He was the cause of every dimension almost being on the brink of destruction a few years back. He has magical powers and is VERY cunning yet a total bastard at the same time. No surprise that he teamed up with Tatanga..."
"And then there's Doopliss. God, I hate him. He thinks he's sooooooooo slick but he's really just a joke! I would like to steal that ugly white sheet he has on and reveal what he REALLY looks like underneath!" Miss Mowz yelled.
"My goodness...so that's five villains that they have to deal with! Tatanga, Beldam, Marilyn, Doopliss, and Dimentio. Jesus, talk about an overload of power! It will take a miracle to destroy all of them. That's completely insane, especially if you add in those large amounts of Koopatrols." Parakarry yelled in disbelief.
"Wait, five villains? I thought there were six? I could've sworn there was another odd guy out that was with the main group." Bow pointed out.
"I only saw five. What did the sixth guy look like?" Koopie asked.
"Ugh, I can't remember. All I know is that he had a large, blue-ish head and wore some kind of robe." Bow answered.
"Doesn't sound familiar to me. It's probably a brand new villain, which is blasphemous, considering there's more than enough villains in the world as it is." Bobbery commented.
"I know, right? This whole 'anti-hero' crap is starting to become such a stupid fad. I hate fads. Oh, did I tell you guys that I hate fads before? Because if not, then I do. And if you didn't hear me correctly the first time, I'll say it again...I. HATE. FADS!" Parakarry annoyingly yelled.
"Yes, Parakarry, WE GOT THE MESSAGE. Jesus." Sushie said while rolling her eyes.
"Still though, I wonder if we'll be able to help them out on their mission to defeat Tatanga? It obviously isn't going to be easy as we like to think it would be, but it would make the situation quite simpler with more help, hmm?" Flurrie suggested.
"That's up to those weird, government-type corporation Matrix people or whatever the hell they're suppose to be. I doubt they'll let us go even if we all ask them, because they'd probably think we would get in the way." Lakilester said.
"Don't be like that Lakilester, you'll never know until we try!" Lakilulu cheered.
"Excuse me, but who said you could speak?" Bow glared at the lakitu. Lakilulu growled at the boo and turned away from her.
"All we can do for now is totally support them for what they're doing. You know, we should really form a cheerleading squad and uplift everyone's moods, thus giving them more confidence to beat the baddies! What do you all say!?" Bombette happily suggested.
"Uhh, how about no?" Goombario scowled.
The main 13 landed their ships back in the room they set off in. They all got out and entered the hallway to find Kylie and Arfur waiting for them there.
"There you guys are. We're glad you made it back safe and sound. Now follow us, we're taking you to Merlon. What he's about to tell you all is VERY crucial to this mission." Arfur explained.
"Yeah, we already figured that when you told us earlier." Waluigi scowled.
"Waluigi, I dare you to keep your mouth shut the entire time we're meeting with Merlon." Rosalina spat, getting tired of Waluigi's nasty attitude.
"You're on, princess!" Waluigi laughed.
The two led everyone else into a room, which looked to be a small bedroom. It had a queen-sized bed, a window that looked out to the forest, a drawer, a TV, and a few cabinets. Merlon was seen sitting on the bed, looking down at his lap. He slowly rose his head to the others as they all came in.
"Merlon, I'm sure you know everyone here. Everyone, this is Merlon's room. We're keeping him for the time being here as he is a VERY important asset to defeating Tatanga so we need to make sure he is safe from harm." Kylie explained.
"Yes. Hello everyone. It's a pleasure meeting you all once again." Merlon greeted. Everyone either smiled or waved back to him.
Fire Bro ran up to him. "HI! Why do you have a hood on!? Do you have a deformed face? OOH, I WANNA SEE!"
But thankfully, before he could do anything, Arfur pulled him back. "HERE DK! Make sure this pain in the you-know-what doesn't go anywhere!"
DK grinned at him. "No problem." He arm-locked Fire Bro by his chest tightly so he couldn't move.
"Alright Merlan, what do you have to tell us?" Peach said, not noticing that she said the wizard's name wrong.
"...I had a vision come to me earlier today. It was probably the longest and most important premonition I have ever received in my entire life. It had to do with your guys' mission on defeating Tatanga. In this vision, I saw Tatanga, two shadow-looking people where one wore a yellow striped hat and the other wore a blue striped hat, a guy in a white sheet with a party hat, a clown or jester-looking fellow with bright yellow eyes, some person with a robotic dome head and an odd-colored robe, and an army full of Koopatrols." Merlon began, but a few others gasped.
"Wait a second, two shadow people? That sounds a lot like Beldam and Marilyn to me because they're the only shadow people I know of besides Vivian, but she would never work with Tatanga!" Luigi screeched.
"Huh, I remember Mario telling us about them. No surprise they would try to make a comeback on the villains side. But a guy in a white sheet with a party hat...that's Doopliss isn't it? Mario also told us about him and I've seen pictures of him on the internet before. Also not surprised that freak would team up with Beldam and Marilyn and go along with Tatanga." Birdo hissed.
"A clown with bright yellow eyes? That's..uhh...Diamondio, right?" Peach asked.
"It's DIMENTIO, Peach." Yoshi rolled his eyes. "But yes, that is him. Mario also told us about him, but I thought that guy was defeated? Well actually, let's be real here, no villains are truly EVER defeated because they somehow always come back by some magical force from beyond our world."
"Ugh...Dimentio. I've heard nasty rumors about him. I was told that he was the most evil of that group of people that tried to destroy every dimension a few years back, and was very powerful too. It's going to be hell trying to take care of him." Rosalina said as she ran her hand through her hair, clearly feeling overwhelmed.
"And the last description, a robotic dome head with a robe...that sounds like...GRODUS! But wait a second, how!? Didn't Mario say that he turned into just a head after the Shadow Queen was defeated?" Toadette shrieked. Everyone was getting more nervous and scared by each second that passed by. They didn't realize all of Mario's past nemeses were teaming up together and try to help out Tatanga.
"Yes, I'm afraid getting to Tatanga and defeating him, even if you destroy the force field that surrounds his island, isn't going to be as easy as it sounds. Those baddies backing up Tatanga will surely get in your way of victory and will definitely stop at nothing trying to destroy you all. But now, back to my vision, I saw something that I have seen before, and I knew for sure that this particular object would be a great help to your guys' journey as I have seen this object being used in action before and its effects are unbelievably powerful. I am almost positive that this is the object that can break the force field surrounding the island and make your chances of defeating Tatanga easier. This object is called...the Star Rod."
Everyone gasped but then had a questioning look on their faces.
"Wait a second, the STAR ROD!? How the hell can that have powerful effects? I've used that before in Super Smash Bros., and let me tell ya, it's almost as useless as Goldeen is!" Yoshi complained.
"You obviously haven't used it right, Yoshi. Quit hating!" Peach scowled.
"Ah, but this isn't your typical Star Rod, Yoshi. This is the legendary CRYSTAL Star Rod spoken of in fables and legends. It's power is so great that it had to be sealed away so it could not be in evil's grasp. But, since this is a dire situation, and I know of its location, I'm allowing you all to find it and use it against Tatanga."
"Awesome! Just tell us where it is and we'll be on our way!" DK excitedly said.
"Hold your horses there. It's not going to be easy. When the Crystal Star Rod was sealed away, the power used to lock it was used by 9 gems. These 9 gems were then separated to distant places so no one could ever find them. In order to break the seal, you must find these 9 gems and put them in place where the Star Rod rests so the seal will break open and you can retrieve it."
"WHAT!? YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME! This is sounding too much like a freaking Paper Mario game! You're telling me we have to go on a collecting frenzy all over the world, face annoying bosses and enemies, and risk having some of us die in the process!?" Waluigi raged.
"Waluigi! What did I say about not talking during this!?" Rosalina yelled at him.
"Well Waluigi...pretty much." Merlon admitted.
"WOW! That sounds like a fun adventure! Think about all the amazing obstacles we have to go through! We should totally make this into a movie!" Fire Bro cheered.
Toad sighed disappointingly. "Even though I'm not a fan of super long adventures, I guess it's the only choice we have. So, where are suppose to get these gems then?"
"I don't know the names of them, but I do know what the places look like. The first world you must go to is-"
Merlon's explanation was cut off by the sudden sound of loud snoring. Everyone looked to where the sound was coming from and saw that Goombella fell asleep and was snoring very loudly.
"Yo, Goombella! Wake up, girl!" Dixie yelled and whacked her on the back of her head. Goombella shrieked and almost fell over. She shook her head and saw that everyone was staring at her.
"Um, what just happened?" She asked.
"You were sleeping and snoring very annoyingly so I hit you to wake you up. If you have a problem with that, then take it to my lawyers." Dixie replied.
"Oh. Sorry. That story was, like, so boring that it made me sleepy. Where were we at now?" Goombella asked. Everyone, including Merlon rolled their eyes at her.
"I was getting to the worlds that the gems you need to collect are in. Anyways, before I was rudely interrupted, each of the 9 gems are located in 9 separate worlds or areas. The first world that came in my vision was an area filled with water that had these 4 legged bugs crawling on the water and a town located through a nearby tunnel. This is where the Sapphire Gem is located at. The second world is at a very fancy-looking mansion that appears to be haunted with ghosts roaming about, which is where the Platinum gem is. The third world is a large city with these odd-looking creatures roaming about and these people treating these creatures like their pets. That's where the Gold gem is. The fourth world was a temple-like place located in the desert that does not look like Dry Dry Desert. This is where the Diamond gem is at. The fifth world is a small area with a large industrial boat in odd-colored water, that's where the Pearl gem is. The sixth world is in an ancient-looking area with a train that travels to the place and a path that leads high up the mountain and another path leading to a jungle. The Emerald gem is located here. The seventh world is located on a snowy mountain where an icey palace lays and that's where the Crystal gem is located. The eighth world is in place where half the land is covered in lava and heat, and the other half is covered with ice and cold. That's where the Ruby gem is. The final world is in a deserted area with a tall tower and where evil and agony lurks, and that's where the Black gem lays. After you retrieve all 9 gems, take them to a place called Delfino Island. The path to the Star Rod is located under the big statue. You're gonna have to climb up the statue and press down on the left eye, which is a switch that moves the statue and reveals the way. Go in, put the gems in place, get the Star Rod, go to the island Tatanga is on and defeat him once and for all."
Everyone was astounded by his description, but a bit frustrated too because of the sole fact that they had to go through 9 freaking worlds in order to get rid of Tatanga.
"Now guys, I understand that this seems VERY hectic but believe us, it's the only way to defeat Tatanga and his minions." Arfur said with sympathy.
"But we're not gonna even have enough time to do all these worlds before Tatanga does something even MORE disastrous than last time!" Toadette cried.
"Yes you will, actually." Merlon spoke with a slight smile. "In the final part of my vision, I saw Tatanga speaking about his plan to his minions. Clear as day, he basically said that he will need a LONG time before his world domination plans start taking effect. In this plan, he described shrouding the world in darkness where no light will break through to shine on the lands, and have half the people and land on this planet be destroyed, and the other half be his slaves to do his dirty work and live in sorrow for the rest of their lives. But, he also said that he doesn't have the proper tools yet to do all of this. This is why you should have plenty of time to get all the gems and defeat him, as long as you don't dawdle around."
Everyone became even more nervous at this. The thought of half the world's population dying and the other half being slaves, plus the world being covered in darkness sounded pretty scary.
"World domination...pfff, yeah, THAT'S original..." Birdo scoffed.
"Oh boy, this is some pretty dark stuff. Is that all you saw in your vision?" DK asked.
"Yes. My head is also aching right now because of that long premonition I foresaw. But one thing is for certain...getting to Tatanga without that Star Rod is almost impossible, especially with that large and powerful backup group he has with him." Merlon finished then sat down as he felt a bit dizzy.
"Okay, so, based on the descriptions of the places you gave us...I can recognize only 3. The one where you said that an area has water with a town nearby and 4 legged creatures...that's Wet-Dry World and it's located in a painting within Peach's castle. I've seen it before when Mario took the gang on a tour to places he traveled to a while back, which actually ended in disaster because Petey Piranha came out of nowhere once we reached Big Boo's Haunt and chased all of us down, threatening to eat us and then regurgitate us back out and...okay, I'm getting off topic. But the second area sounds a lot like Luigi's Mansion, which shouldn't be hard cause the place isn't that big. And then there's Delfino Plaza, which I'm sure we all know where that is. I have no idea about the other places you described though..." Daisy thoroughly explained.
"Well exploring my mansion is gonna be a piece of cake! It's been redone and it's not haunted!" Luigi cheered.
"Dude, do you not remember what he said!? He said that he saw a mansion in his vision...WITH GHOSTS ROAMING ABOUT!" Dixie shouted.
Luigi's jaw dropped. "WHAT? B-BUT...HOW!?"
"Yeah...Wet-Dry World...I remember that place too. It appeared in that movie, Super Mario 64, right? Or was that a game? Well, no matter. That and Luigi's mansion will be the first two places you guys will go to." Arfur said.
"Oh, and don't worry about the other places you guys. While you guys are doing your mission, me and Arfur will look up the descriptions Merlon has given us on the internet so we'll be able to pinpoint the next locations you must go to." Kylie said.
"Cool! So when do we start our mission?" Yoshi eagerly asked.
"Tomorrow morning. I imagine you all are exhausted from today so you all will be able to sleep in rooms that each of you will receive on the upper floor. And yes, there's a bathroom and a shower too..." Arfur said.
"YES! NO MORE DIRTINESS! I AM SOOOOOOOOO HAPPY! LIKE, REALLY REALLY HAPPY!" Goombella loudly cheered.
"Okay, yes! WE GOT IT THE FIRST TIME!" Birdo yelled.
"Wait, before we do that, do you think that we could possibly visit some of our friends back at the hospital and say goodbye to them?" Rosalina suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Well, I don't see why not! I'll pull up my van around the front and you guys can hop on in and I'll take you there." Arfur said and everyone smiled in relief.
"But for now, we must take our exit. Thank you Merlon for all your help. We really appreciate it." Kylie said and everyone else said 'Bye' or 'See ya' and waved to him. Merlon waved back with a smile and the door closed as the final person exited.
"Yes...good luck...you guys are going to need it..."
Meanwhile, Tatanga was watching all of this from his Scepter ball.
"Oh, so is that how they're gonna play this game? Merlon...that old geezer...he needs to be taken care of ASAP. If it weren't for him and his stupid 'vision', then I would have all the precious time in the world to do my plans! BELDAM! MARILYN!" Tatanga shouted.
The two Shadow Sirens popped up in front of him immediately.
"Yes sir? You called for us?" Beldam asked.
"You can transport yourselves anywhere, right? I need you to capture this Merlon freak and bring him to me. He just told that stupid Mario Crew everything about my plans because he had a 'vision' from the Jewelry Gods or whatever. He is located at some place called Mushroom Corps, which is on the outskirts of Mushroom City, in a forest. He has a long, blue robe on with a long white mustache. Do NOT hurt him and do NOT do anything to draw attention to yourselves while you're there." Tatanga ordered.
"Oh my! This scoundrel sounds like a troublesome little fellow, doesn't he? Mwee hee hee...but, you don't want us to wreck the place while we're there?" Beldam asked.
"No. Not yet at least. Who knows what kind of defense weapons they have there. It would be too risky for you both. But, I want this guy to spill all the info out of himself as much as possible first. That's why I need him." Tatanga answered.
"Hmm...alright then. We will do it, my king. We'll be back as soon as we can!" Beldam and Marilyn then disappeared into the shadows.
Tatanga sighed and then sat down in a typical, wooden chair. "I really wish I had some Chocolate Milk right now. That stuff makes everything better!"
EOC.
So now, the plan is officially set for our heroes. But, of course, Tatanga will not take it. And also, with his newly powered-up scepter, a lot of things that Tatanga can do are more possible than ever. The chaos is just beginning folks...please review.
