Welcome to the 50th chapter of Mushroom Wars! I never thought for one second that I would ever make it this far in a fic...wow. I feel really accomplished right now, hehe. Anyways, this is the start of the new world/arc that the characters will go through and a few future plot points will be revealed at the end of this chapter. Have fun reading!

The above is what I wrote when I first started on this chapter back in October…and it's now April…yeah, sorry everyone. Like I said in the new chapter of 'Color That Was Drained From My Soul' I lost interest in fanfiction stuff for a while but now that I've managed to turn my life around into a more positive direction, the interest is coming back to me. I am DETERMINED to finish this story no matter what, even if everyone has lost interest in it lol. According to my plan, I have around 60 more chapters to go so I'm REALLY hoping to get this story done before the end of 2016 and no later than that (but knowing me and my luck, I'll probably fail). Also, because I've been gone for so long and because this story is ENORMOUS, I'm going to do a little 'previously on' thing that you see on those TV shows when new episodes broadcast in case you guys need a refresher. I'll be doing these every few chapters from now on.

PREVIOUSLY ON MUSHROOM WARS…

"So, the next world you guys will be going to is a shipyard called Rusty Bucket Bay. Banjo and Kazooie, you guys should definitely recognize this place as you've been there before, along with anyone who's played Banjo-Kazooie," Kylie explained.

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"Hi guys! I know this is short notice and I know that you kinda asked this before, but I was really wondering if I could join you guys on the adventure? Point blank, I was getting to be incredibly bored, my explanation to you, Koops, for not going on the trip was stupid and made no sense, and I miss my Koopsie Whoopsie a lot so I figured it would be a great opportunity to join you all," Koopie admitted.

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"Err, sir? You have yet another guest coming in..." said the same guard again with a worried expression.

"By that look on your face, I'm gonna assume it's someone who I highly despise," Arfur gulped.

The person that came in was Lakilulu.

"I-I'm here because...I WANT TO JOIN THE QUEST FOR JUSTICE! Wow, that sounded really lame! But for real, I NEED to get out of here, that stupid variety show is putting me through so much hell that I think I prefer being trapped in Tatanga's castle! And Lakilester is still being an emotionally abusive jackass so there's no way I'm ever getting back with him, so there's really nothing left here for me so I can please go with you all? PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASE!? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!?" Lakilulu begged in desperation.

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Koopie walked behind Koops and noticed Kooper looking at her with a smirk. She made a scowl and crossed her arms.

"Stop looking at me like that! You do realize that we are never going to happen, right!?" She angrily whispered.

"That's not what you told me last month..." Kooper winked.

"Last month was a horrible mistake, okay!? I was in a bad place at a bad time and it's not going to happen ever again so go find someone else to prowl on!" Koopie raised her voice and walked away from him.

"Yeah, the mistake was so horrible, that you did it TWICE! You're not fooling anyone, Koopie. Quit trying to," Kooper retorted which made Koopie stop in her tracks and ball up her fists. She tried her hardest not to explode at him and kept on walking.

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"Hey, Peach! Are we...are we okay? What I said back there before that mess happened...I really meant it. I am sorry for everything," Pauline called out.

Peach looked at her but wasn't sure what to say. Part of her wanted to accept her apology but another part still despised her for everything that she did.

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"Hey dad! I have a question to ask you. And, um, promise not to laugh?" Bowser Jr. shyly asked.

"As long as it's not about coconut water, then ask away!" Bowser growled.

"Uhh, okay? So, um, I have a crush on this girl who is in our group and I was wondering something, do you think I should let her know that I like her? It's been on my mind ever since we left the previous world and I just wanna know what to do!" Bowser Jr. explained.

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The characters exited the portal and entered Rusty Bucket Bay. It was definitely an industrial area, with a big cargo ship floating in the middle of oily water. There was a huge door that presumably led out into that sea but it was closed off, making the area seem pretty small. There were a few warehouses scattered around the place too. The characters flew and landed their arwings near the starting area, right in front of a huge garage door.

"OKAY, WOAH! WHAT. THE. HELL. WAS. THAT!? DID WE JUST PASS THROUGH SOME INTERGALACTIC WORMHOLE OR SOMETHING!? TELL ME THAT THAT WASN'T REAL!" Lakilulu annoyingly yelled in disbelief.

"No dum dum, it's called a portal and yes it was real. I'm really starting to regret bringing this broad along with us," Wario spat.

"I have to admit, that was definitely fascinating and it's something that I've never seen before. So, let me get this straight, the gems are located in worlds outside of our own world...and once we collect all nine gems, we go put these gems in some secret lair underneath the pianta statue in Delfino Plaza and obtain this legendary treasure called the Crystal Star Rod...which will defeat the bad guys indefinitely and save the world?" Koopie asked.

"Pretty much, yeah. But I feel like this whole collect-a-thon crap thing we're doing is just an excuse to have us remember that these places existed back in the golden age of Nintendo. They couldn't just have put all these mystical items in our world, you know, the world that actually matters!?" Bombette complained.

"Oh quit your complaining! This is pure nostalgia right here! Embrace it while it lasts because we're never getting levels like these anymore!" Toad yelled and took a big whiff of the industrial air which made him want to puke.

"And that's a bad thing, because...? As far as I remember, this level was hard as all hell and I would groan everytime I replayed Banjo-Kazooie through this dirty and stanky place," Goombario cringed at all the bad memories of this place.

"I hear ya! The freaking water in this place made my feathers fall out as well! I WAS SO MAD THAT I WANTED TO PECK SOMEONE'S BRAINS OUT!" Kazooie raged.

"Alright Rosalina, tell us where the gem is and we'll be out of here in no time!" Diddy cheered.

The space queen closed her eyes and put her hand out, probably to feel for any vibes or something of the matter. She opened them and immediately raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, this is very odd...I feel the gem here...but there's also something interfering with the aura of this place. Like there's someone using heavy magic nearby or there's some grand magical presence..." she said in worry.

"That's probably Gruntilda the Witch. *sighs* I was hoping we wouldn't run into her here, but I guess that was just wishful thinking," Banjo said.

"Gruntilda? You mean Grunty, the fatass blob that was buried under a rock for two years and was then resurrected and then had her head blown off and then was turned into a robot?" Jojora asked.

"Uhh, yes, that's exactly who she's talking about. Wait a second, do you play video games!?" Larry asked in excitement.

"Pfffft! Even if that troll comes over here, she'll be no match for a TRUE witch! I could easily bury her into the same ground that she was in long ago!" Kammy declared.

"Well, look at you, all high and mighty. Guess we're gonna see a battle of Hag vs. Hag pretty soon, huh?" Bowser Jr. snickered.

"So Rosalina, the gem, where do you think or 'feel' it's located at? Is it in the ship?" Mario asked.

"I believe so. That's where I'm getting the strongest energy from. However, with this magical interference...I could be wrong..." the space queen responded in concern.

"Let's just go with that then for now. Okay everyone? We're only going to be exploring the ship for the gem! NOWHERE ELSE! GOT IT!?" Daisy yelled, making sure that no one goofs off and goes somewhere else.

"Okay gosh! You don't need to scream! We're not stupid you know!" Watt pouted and turned around to walk forward, only to end up hitting her head on a pole.

"Ouch. That's gonna leave a mark," Mona commented.

"I agree with Daisy in that we should explore only the ship for now...where there's enemies hanging around...and killer pipes...and attacking life preservers..." Luigi gulped.

"Ah, the joys of being in a cartoony, platformer video game!" Yoshi chuckled while patting on Luigi's shoulder.

"Since the ship is pretty big, let's split up into three groups. Two groups will have twelve and one will have 13. This way, we'll cover more ground and our groups won't be so small to the point where we'll be completely defenseless in case something bad happens," DK commanded.

"Uhh okay, since when did you become the new leader?" Bowser questioned.

"Why do you ask that, Bowser? Is there any problem with me being one?" DK asked while crossing his arms.

"Nope. No problem. Let's get to splitting," Bowser replied while giving the ape a glare.

"I say, how about we put all the popular characters in one group, the somewhat popular characters in another group, and the least popular characters in the last group?" Bombette proposed.

"Oh, that's a superb idea! I shall no doubt be placed in the most popular group!" Flurrie cheered.

"Flurrie, do you even realize how a large portion of the Paper Mario fandom hates your guts?" Birdo pointed out.

"Huh? People hate Flurrie? But why? She's the nicest, smartest, and least superficial person I know!" Watt gasped.

"For a bulb, you sure aren't very bright," Wendy pun'd.

"Okay everyone, just split into three groups and let's get exploring. And we're ONLY exploring the ship, got it!? NOWHERE ELSE! SO DON'T YOU DARE WANDER OFF TO ANOTHER AREA!" Daisy raised her voice yet again, freaking everyone else out.

"We heard you the first time, geez! We're not deaf!" Dixie replied in frustration.

So, everyone randomly separated into the three groups and immediately started to explore the ship in hopes of finding out where the gem may be located at. Group 1 consisted of Yoshi, Birdo, Toad, Toadette, Diddy, Dixie, DK, Fire Bro, Bowser Jr., Larry, Bombette, and Lady SaSa. Group 2 had Mario, Peach, Luigi, Daisy, Pauline, Waluigi, Rosalina, Bowser, Wendy, Kammy, Kooper, Koops, and Koopie. Finally, group 3 was Goombella, Goombario, Watt, Lakilulu, Parakarry, Wario, Mona, Jojora, Banjo, Kazooie, Vivian, and Flurrie.

This was definitely a recipe for disaster.

GROUP 1:

They all walked forward and decided to check out the first pipe that led into a room inside the ship, which looked like some kind of stockroom. They jumped into it and landed uncomfortably on their butts or backs, and it was especially uncomfortable when DK was the last one to go in and landed his massive and muscly body on everyone else, though a certain pink bomb and pop singer didn't mind it at all.

"YOW! DK GET OFF ME THIS INSTANT! SOME OF YOUR FUR GOT IN MY MOUTH!" Larry cried.

"Wow, you're like a gigantic pillow, DK! Your fur is sooooo soft! Can I rip it all off and make a blanket out of it?" Fire Bro asked in amazement.

"Do it and you'll end up with broken legs, arms, and a jaw," DK threatened and stood up and off everyone else.

"Wow! You sure can get scary when threatening someone! And yet...I find that SO attractive! How do you do it, you total hunk?" Bombette flirted and held his hand, making DK feel awkward.

"DK would not only make a perfect security guard due to his muscularness caused by steroids probably, but he'd also make a fantastic lover. Just imagine him touching your body, throwing you on the floor, wrestling you around, and playing with you some more!" Lady Sasa oozed at the erotic fantasy.

"Okay can we get off the subject of how supremely hot DK is and start checking out this room for any signs of the gem? Seriously, any more fangirliness, and you're gonna turn him into a Gary Stu," Birdo shouted.

"Steroids, huh? Hmm...I wonder if I had a lot of muscles like DK does, Toadette would be able to notice me more and then like me?" Bowser Jr. quietly spoke to himself but someone near him heard it quite well.

"Wait, you like Toadette!?" Larry shrieked and Bowser Jr. immediately covered his mouth in panic.

"DUDE! Keep quiet! And yes, I do like her! That was the girl I was talking to you guys about back in Hyrule!" he whispered.

"That's certainly a shock...I never thought for a second that you would like her of all people. Hmm. She IS kinda cute though, so I support you! Go for it, tiger!" Larry complimented.

"But wait, I'm scared to tell her that though. I mean, would she even like me back? I'm a koopa, who is part of the world's most hated family in the Mushroom Kingdom...do I even have the slightest chance?" Bowser Jr. asked in worry.

Larry just shrugged. "I unfortunately can't give you the answer to that. The only way to know for sure is to tell her. Good luck! Don't have a panic attack!"

Meanwhile, Diddy was rummaging through the boxes in hopes of finding the gem.

"There's only a bunch of junk in here! Mostly bottles, presumably used for beer. Wow, guess that stereotype about sailors being a bunch of drunks is true, eh?" the chimp shouted.

"Has this ship even been in use recently? It's so dusty and dirty in here. I wonder if this thing is ever gonna go out to sea again?" Toadette asked.

"Does it really matter though? All we need from this ship is the gem and that's it. Here, this box looks different from the others. Perhaps there's something useful in it..." Dixie said and was about to open the lighter-colored box.

"DIXIE, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!" Toad unnecessarily screamed and pulled her back, just as the 'box' came alive and started hopping to the others. They all screamed and tried to evade the box monster.

"WOAH, WHAT THE HELL!? WHY IS IT MOVING!? SOMEONE KILL IT BEFORE I EXPLODE OF SHOCK!" Bombette screeched.

"No, don't touch it! If you do, then the box will explode, and you'll get hurt really badly and never go near another box ever again!" Toad informed.

"That is too cool! A box that's alive? AMAZING! I MUST HAVE IT!" Fire Bro said in determination, but DK quickly pulled him back and put him in a head-lock.

"Oh crap, it's coming right towards me! WHAT SHOULD I DO!?" Yoshi squealed.

"Stand there, scream, and do nothing to save yourself!" Larry joked.

"Oh, okay then! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! OH MY GOD!" Yoshi took his joke seriously and screamed as the box of death hopped over to him and exploded, sending Yoshi flying away and landed on a wooden beam on the higher part of the room.

"Are you kidding me, Yoshi? He wasn't being serious! You have officially turned into the male Peach!" Diddy groaned and did a facepalm.

"HEY! I look nothing like a peach! Hello, my skin color is GREEN!" Yoshi grunted.

"So is that monster thing right behind you!" Bowser Jr. pointed out and suddenly, a green blob-fishy-looking-thingamajig came out of the grate in the wall and chomped on Yoshi's head, covering it whole.

"OH SHIT! QUICK BOMBETTE, DESTROY THE MUTANT THAT LOOKS LIKE IT CAME FROM THE SEWERS!" Diddy shrieked, grabbed the pink bomb, and threw it at the green monster...but his aim was off terribly and she exploded onto the metal wall, creating a gigantic hole.

"Okay really, is everyone in this adventure group terrible throwers!?" Dixie complained.

"I've got an idea to help Yoshi! Watch this masterpiece!" Fire Bro announced and then did a triple backflip somersault, which did absolutely nothing to help the situation.

Toad gave him a blank stare. "Yeah, that was brilliant...IF THIS WERE THE OLYMPICS!"

While that happened, DK quickly climbed up on to the beam without anyone else noticing, grabbed the green monster (called a Grille Chompa in the game), removed itself from Yoshi's head, and violently bashed the beast with his fists of fury numerous times until yucky green blood started coming out of its wounds.

"Ewwww! Lime juice! I hope no stranger comes wandering in here and licks that up cause that's gonna lead to trouble and probably some life-threatening diseases!" Lady Sasa exclaimed. Everyone looked to her in shock.

"Oh my god! Did you just say an entire sentence without using lyrics from mainstream pop songs!?" Toadette gasped.

"I...I believe I just did it! Holy hot sauce! What kind of dream is this? Is it a sweet dream, or a beautiful nightmare?" The popstar questioned, even shocking herself by this revelation.

"Oh yeah, don't mind me! Just trying to recover from that thing that nearly munched my entire head off!" Yoshi pouted, wiping off all the green monster saliva and germs off his face.

"Sorry honey...we were trying to come up with ways to defeat that ugly creature but thankfully DK came to the rescue as quick as a fox and splattered it. We're so lucky to have him in our group!" Birdo explained.

"Oh, of course! What would we do without our flawless, sexy, and super strong gorilla? NOTHING, I TELL YOU! NOTHING! HE MAKES OUR LIVES COMPLETE!" Fire Bro yelled. Everyone gave him weird expressions.

Meanwhile, DK looked irritated and a bit tired. "Whatever...let's just go through the hole that Diddy accidentally caused. Maybe it will lead to somewhere more interesting..." Everyone agreed with him and went on through.

"UHH, HELLO!? WAIT UP FOR ME! I'M STILL RECOVERING FROM THAT STUPID THROW THAT DIDDY MADE! BOY NEEDS TO STOP BEING LAZY ON THE ARM EXERCISES!" Bombette shouted, got up, and ran to the others.


GROUP 2 (Mario, Peach, Luigi, Daisy, Pauline, Waluigi, Rosalina, Bowser, Wendy, Kammy, Kooper, Koops, Koopie):

They decided to walk towards the left side of the ship, to see if they could find a room or anything of the like to check out.

"Man, look at that nasty water below! I imagine it would be terrible if someone were to fall in...you know, having it stain your clothes, possibly getting sick from it or even worse, and apparently you run out of air a lot faster in there than in regular water. Isn't that just horrifying, Waluigi?" Bowser creepily described and put his hand on Waluigi's shoulder.

"AH! STOP IT YOU GIGANTIC BUFFOON! Go find someone else to torment, like Kooper!" the stickman screeched in fear.

"Hey why you gotta go do me like that for? I don't deserve any kind of awful treatment! My behavior has been improving ever since we entered Hyrule, thank you very much!" Kooper declared.

"No it hasn't, and yes, you do deserve awful treatment because you are a douchebag! And so is Koops over there! He only acts shy and weak so people won't think he is a raging jackass that likes to take his own insecurities out on other people!" Wendy angrily accused, still remembering the time he told her off back in Goldenrod City.

"HEY! Maybe you should take your own advice and quit being such a snob! You should really listen to the song 'Fake It' by the band 'Seether' since it really describes you to a T!" Koopie interjected.

"I'm sorry, was anyone talking to you, blonde bimbo? You're damn lucky everyone else was nice enough to let you join, otherwise, if I had the final say, you and your stupid love triangle would've been kicked out in a millisecond!" Wendy responded, now getting in her face.

"Love triangle? Um, w-what do you mean by that?" Koops asked.

"N-NOTHING! She's crazy, Koops! That's what crazy bitches do, they lie and say crazy stuff, duh!" Koopie replied in panic, grabbed Koops, and rushed to the front of the group.

Daisy let out a snicker. "That song 'Fake It'...there are lyrics in that song that say 'Wooooaaaahhhh, you're such a bleeping hypocrite!' Guess Koopie wasn't wrong there."

"Oh let's not go there, please. I could go on forever about how Wendy Koopa is the epitome of everything that's wrong with the world, but I'd rather save my breath for something more important. Wait, where are we even going exactly?" Luigi asked.

"I think I might know of a good place where the gem may be located at. The engine room. You know, the place with all those annoying giant fans and rotating pipes? That'd be a good place to start, no?" Mario suggested.

"Oh yes, that's a brilliant idea, Mario! Going into a room where you could easily slip and fall into boiling oil! Are you sure that love spell didn't screw with your logical thinking too?" Bowser angrily pointed out.

"Shush your mouth, Bowser. If anything, I will use my magic to help us get through the engine room," Rosalina rolled her eyes at the pessimistic koopa king.

"Hey Rosalina, can you also use magic to make Bowser's personality less, I dunno, shitty?" Kooper asked with a wink.

"ENOUGH! NO MORE SHIT TALKING! THIS IS JUST GOING TO HINDER OUR PROGRESS! THE NEXT PERSON THAT INSULTS SOMEONE IS GOING TO GET THROWN INTO THE OIL WATER!" Pauline suddenly shouted. Everyone stopped in their tracks and dropped their jaws. They did not see that coming from Pauline at all.

"Wow…um…sorry Pauline…I guess I got too carried away there…" Kooper said and hung his head in embarrassment.

The group, surprisingly, listened to Pauline's orders and walked up a staircase onto a higher part of the ship. As soon as they got on there, there was a humongous smokestack right in front of them with a small door at the bottom of it that led to the engine room. Mario led the way inside and found that he was immediately on a circular catwalk that had a ladder on the opposite side with a huge open space in the middle of the inside of the smokestack that would certainly be dangerous if you fell.

"Oh boy…I remember this. Alright everyone, stick as close to the wall as you can get and head toward the ladder," Mario instructed. He slowly led the group towards the right, sliding against the wall to make sure he doesn't fall down. As Mario was about halfway across, Daisy saw a huge spot on the wall behind him that looked out of place. She then connected the dots and gasped.

"MARIO, STOP! BEHIND YOU!" she screamed.

The green Grille Chompa monster popped out of the 'hole' in the wall and bashed into Mario's back, knocking him down the hole.

"OH NOOOOOOOOOO! MARIO! I WILL SAVE YOU, MY DARLING!" Peach screeched and was about to jump down the hole till Koopie pulled her back.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!? Jumping down there isn't going to help him at all!" she yelled.

"If it's in the name of love, it will!" Peach cried.

"Okay, I am VERY tempted to say something incredibly obnoxious right now but I won't for the sake of character development and for the sake of not getting thrown into the colorful oil water," Kooper commented.

"STOP!" Kammy suddenly screamed and shot a beam out of her wand that hit Mario and the plumber suddenly stopped falling and froze in mid-air, just a few inches above the ground. Everyone did a double take, not expecting Kammy to have that kind of power.

"Wow! That was surprisingly nice of you, Kammy. You seem to be just as powerful as Rosalina!" Daisy said. Rosalina had a concerned expression on her face.

"I have learned plenty of spells over the years, my friend. If I wanted to, I could blast a hole into the bottom of this ship and have it sink like the Titanic!" Kammy cackled.

"Um…can someone tell me what just happened!?" Mario yelled from below, freaked out that he suddenly stopped falling. The spell then wore off and he dropped to the floor, receiving little pain.

"Don't worry, bro! We're coming! Hang tight!" Luigi called out.

Before anyone else could move a muscle, Rosalina extended her arms out, made a low growl, and then the Grille Chompa suddenly popped out of its hole, screaming as Rosalina 'magically' threw it down the hole. The monster splattered upon impact, squirting green 'juices' everywhere and getting some on Mario.

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON UP THERE!?" Mario shrieked.

"Um…s-sorry about that. If we were going to move forward then we obviously needed to destroy that awful thing," Rosalina said while crossing her arms and looking guilty.

"Yeah, we know, but geez. Warn us before you totally obliterate an enemy, k?" Bowser said.

"Are you okay? You seemed a little…aggressive right there," Waluigi asked.

"I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about, Waluigi. That spell just, um, took a lot out of me," Rosalina assured and kissed him on the cheek. Waluigi gave her a smile and walked with the others to the other side of the room and climbed down the ladder.

"Yuck! This looks like lime juice! I feel like I could catch a disease just by touching it!" Wendy shrilled.

"Not a problem," Rosalina said. She snapped her finger and the disgusting mess vanished into thin air. Everyone was astounded again.

"What the? How did you even…I can't even do that! Well, not with a snap of my finger at least!" Kammy was impressed by her feat.

"Yeah! Amazing work! Thanks for also saving me, Rosalina!" Mario cheered.

"Um, excuse me!? It was Kammy that did it, not her! She's not the only magic wielder in this group!" Bowser growled.

"Oh…sorry. Thanks Kammy. I owe ya," Mario said less cheerily. Kammy nodded but had a look of slight frustration on her face.

The group walked forward and gazed in awe at the massive and complex engine room. All of them had played the game, or at least seen it, and remembered how difficult and stressful it was to just get to the middle of the room. It was incredibly easy to fall off to your doom so it only makes sense that the gem would be placed here; so it wouldn't be stolen so easily.


GROUP 3:

Goombella, Goombario, Watt, Lakilulu, Parakarry, Wario, Mona, Jojora, Banjo, Kazooie, Vivian, and Flurrie walked to the west end of the ship with Goombario leading the way.

"Ugh, I am SO tired of walking around. I would ask some of you to carry me but I know that none of you all combined can lift a 300 pound man anyways," Wario insulted.

"As if we would wanna carry your smelly and tub of lard ass! Plus, we've only been in this world for like three minutes!" Jojora retaliated.

"Goombario, you sure you know where we're going?" Parakarry asked.

"Of course! I have played through this rage-inducing level numerous times to know the entire layout!" Goombario answered confidently.

"Wait, why aren't we letting Banjo and Kazooie lead us? They were the ones who have physically BEEN in this level!" Mona pointed out.

"What good would that do? We don't know where the hell the stupid gem is! It could be anywhere, like the engine room, one of the warehouses, on top of the smokestacks, or even inside that damn shark's body that lives around here and can somehow survive in that disgusting water!" Kazooie yelled.

"Yeah, um, I suppose it could be in one of the places where we found a jiggy at, but I wouldn't count on it. By the way Kazooie, the shark's name is SNACKER. How could you forget when you've had nightmares about him for months after our adventure?" Banjo asked.

"Okay, no talking about Snacker! That dude is somehow scarier and uglier than actual real life sharks!" Goombario exclaimed.

"I know, right!? He is so ugly too! I think even looking at him will turn ME ugly!" Watt added.

"Seriously? I already said he was ugly! There's no need to state it twice!" Goombario obnoxiously corrected.

"Huh? No you didn't! Stop lying you liar!" Watt defensively yelled.

Goombario turned red. "Watt, I LITERALLY just said-"

"Alright enough! Stop acting like an old married couple and show us where you wanted to lead us to right now, Goombario!" Goombella demanded. Goombario froze in shock and was unable to form words after that.

"Oh! Um, w-well…err…um…yes…the destination where I wanted to bring you all to…it's, um, r-right over there…" Goombario pointed towards Flurrie's direction, who was ahead of everyone else, checking out the scenery. He was actually pointing to a window right above her head to the left, but the actress thought otherwise.

"Excuse me!? I am certainly not this so called destination that you are talking about! How dare you try to devalue my worth!?" Flurrie cried overdramatically.

"HUH? He was pointing at the window behind you, dummy!" Mona angrily pointed out.

"What window? I just checked the wall behind me a minute ago and I saw no such thing!" Flurrie denied.

"Yes there is, Flurrie! Just look again!" Vivian pleaded.

"Is it to my right?" Flurrie asked.

"NO!" everyone else answered.

"Is it to my left?" she asked again.

"YES!" everyone answered again.

"Okay, now, approximately how high is this window above my head?" she annoyingly asked yet again.

"WILL YOU JUST FUCKING TURN AROUND ALREADY!?" Kazooie screamed.

The wind spirit turned around and lo and behold, there was indeed a window right there.

"Oh my! When did that appear there? It must've been black magic I tell you!" Flurrie was astounded by the discovery of the window that she somehow did not see before. Everyone else rolled their eyes and hopped in through the small window hole and ended up in the Map Room. This room had a huge desk with papers scattered all over it. There was also some highly advanced control panels.

"So, uhh, question Goombario? Why exactly did you bring us in here? As far as I remember there was really nothing of importance in here…" Banjo asked.

"I brought you in here…TO MURDER YOU ALL!" Goombario's tone suddenly changed to an evil one and everyone else freaked out.

"What the hell!? Goombario that is, like, SO not funny! We have to take this seriously!" Goombella yelled, not believing how immature he was being right now.

"AHA! I KNEW GOOMBARIO WAS THE MURDERER! CASE SOLVED!" Watt yelled for no specific reason.

Goombario vigorously shook his head and had a confused expression. "Um, what the hell just happened? I felt really bizarre there for a minute…"

"Are you okay, dude? You turned psychotic there for no reason. Must be a smarty-pants thing," Wario said.

"No, I'm fine! It's just…it felt like something took over my body for a second, as if something forced me to say that," Goombario explained.

"Well…now that you mention it, the atmosphere in this room DOES feel pretty uncomfortable. Is there some kind of demonic entity among us?" Jojora asked.

"No…it's not that…it's something else…I think I know…" Kazooie whispered, realizing what may be at work here.

"Okay bitches, spill. One of us in here stole the gem and knows where it's at," Parakarry randomly spoke in a different tone than usual.

"But who could it be, Parakarry!? It could be anyone in the entire solar system! And yes, I'm including the aliens too!" Flurrie shrieked.

"It's Lakilulu! The bitch is playing both sides and the only reason she joined us is so she can watch us go insane and laugh at our demise!" Parakarry accused.

"NO!" yelled Banjo.

"YES!" Parakarry yelled.

"NO!" yelled Banjo.

"YES!" Parakarry yelled.

"NO!" yelled Banjo.

"Shut the fuck up!" Parakarry swore.

"He's correct. I'm the one that stole the gem. I'm surprised it took you irrelevant blockheads long enough to figure it out," Lakilulu responded with an evil smirk. Some gasps were heard.

"You little twat! WHY DID YOU DO IT, HUH!?" Jojora shouted.

"Haven't you losers ever wondered why everyone in the entire world hates my guts? It's not because I'm an irritating snob, no, but because I am the cause of all the chaos that you see in this world. I am everywhere! I AM AN UNSTOPPABLE FORCE! MWAHAHAHAHA!" Lakilulu evilly laughed.

"Actually, part of the reason why everyone hates you IS because you are an irritating snob. I mean, come on, if you're gonna admit to being evil, then you might as well admit to being annoying too," Jojora commented.

"I don't believe this! How could you treat your closest friends like this!? I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME!?" Wario cried.

"Huh!?" everyone else yelped.

"So, if you're the cause of everything that's wrong in this world, then how exactly does your ex, Lakilester, fit into all this then?" Goombella asked.

"Lakilester doesn't exist!" Lakilulu revealed.

"What the hell do you mean he doesn't exist!? We've all seen him before!" Goombario said.

"Because…I AM LAKILESTER!" Lakilulu revealed the mystery of all mysteries.

"THAT'S IT, I'VE HEARD ENOUGH! I AM GOING TO BEAT THIS HOE DOWN LIKE NO TOMORROW!" Kazooie yelled and leaped towards Lakilulu, and everyone else joined in on the beatdown. It was like every other fight these kids got into; hair was being pulled, faces were being slapped, necks were being strangled…Mona and Vivian were the only ones that somehow kept their minds intact and just witnessed everything happen.

"Soooo…neither of us have literally no idea of what the hell just happened here, correct?" Mona asked.

"Yeah. It felt like one of those times where I turned on the TV and the middle of some kung-fu movie came on. I'm assuming there's nothing we can do to stop this…whatever the heck this is," Vivian replied.

"Yeah, we'll just have to let it come to its own end. Anyway, let's check out that desk there with the papers on it. There has to be something interesting on there," Mona said and the girls walked over and examined the spread out papers. Most of them were useless information about ship stuff, but Vivian spotted one that she couldn't take her eyes off of.

"Woah…check this out…'I killed her…I killed one of my best friends. I didn't mean to do it. If I hadn't been so goddamn clumsy she never would have fell in that water and…everyone is going to find out sooner or later. There's no way I can keep this to myself. I can't do it. I can't live with myself knowing that. I'm sorry everyone…goodbye… - Barry'" Vivian read the paper outloud. Mona felt chills run down her spine.

"…Wow…things just got very morbid and scary for a second. What the hell is a suicide note doing here anyways? Who would keep this? Did this…actually happen?" Mona questioned the validity of a suicide noting 'subtly' appearing in a kids' game.

"Wait! Look at this paper too, Mona! 'I have placed the object in the deepest part of the ship. For the ones that arrive here in search of the mysterious pearl-like object…look in the room that's adjacent to the engine room. There's a hidden doorway that leads downstairs to another room with the object inside. Good luck'" Vivian read again.

"Woah! Vivian…you don't think…could this be…?" Mona said, stunned.

"Yes, I do think it is. We have to tell everyone else! This will make our search go by so much more quickly!" Vivian excitedly said and put the paper into her pocket.

"Hold on, Vivian. Look at that picture in front of us. Doesn't it look different than how it did in the actual game?" Mona pointed out.

"I-I'm not sure. I never played Banjo-Kazooie before so you're gonna have to fill me in," Vivian said.

"In the game, there is a map on the wall of some land or country. But here…my god…is that what I think it is!?" Mona shrieked and backed away.

EOC.

Like I promised, here are some plot points that will happen later in the story:

1. The next world/arc after this one is going to be the darkest one yet. There is going to be HEAVY drama and insanity all around.

2. Someone from this group is going to die near the end of this current world. The only thing I will tell you is that it's not going to be any of the 'original 13' characters.

3. Before we get to the next world, six characters at the hospital are going to die.

4. Yes, there WILL be answers to what the hell happened with Charmy and Amy, which will be in the next world.

5. Fox and his team are definitely going to appear again soon. Not in this world, but probably the next one. I haven't forgotten about them.

6. There is going to be a 'musical' chapter way later on.

7. A few non-Mario related video game characters will be joining to help out the gang.

8. This is more of a reminder than anything since I've mentioned it before, but one of the 'original 13' characters, who is a male, will die at a certain point in the story which will set off a chain of catastrophic events that will affect everyone and everything.

Next chapter will be more exploration of the ship and more crazyness galore! I'll do my best to update asap.