Spike and Bow were sitting at a café near the motel they were staying at. Awkward silence was among the pair as it approached evening.

Bow shook her head in annoyance. "This is ridiculous, Spike. We keep stalling to go to the institution to get Tadano. What the hell is wrong with us?"

"Well…it certainly didn't help that we woke up at noon for some reason…" Spike said somewhat crankily.

"Yeah, I think I know the reason for that. It was the best and most comforting both of us have gotten in days. No sleeping on the floor with tons of people around us…no fearing for our lives…I honestly didn't want the sleep to end!" Bow said warmly with a smile. Spike chuckled at her.

"Very true. God, we must've gotten like, what, 12 hours of sleep!? It felt great, but at the same time…it feels like we kinda wasted a good part of the day and made me feel kinda drowsy for some reason," Spike said while stirring his coffee endlessly with his straw.

"Also true. It didn't help that, after we got up, we went for brunch then got distracted by that damn Museum of Natural History, then that clothing store that looked it was targeted towards goths and emos, then that hunky magician Toad performing on the street, then…" Bow trailed off and eventually stopped herself, realizing how off track they got today.

"Wow. Just…fucking…wow. I can't believe we wasted that much time today. What the hell is wrong with us!? We didn't come here to sightsee, we came here for Tadano!" Spike yelled in frustration.

"Exactly. But, again, how the hell are we supposed to take him with us!? If we help him escape, we'll be arrested, but if we don't, then that means this was all for nothing," Bow said.

"We'll just have to talk with him again. The dude has been in there for years now, I'm sure he knows some secret way out of there. All institutions have them!" Spike exclaimed.

Bow playfully rolled her eyes. "And you have superior knowledge because of…oh, movies, right!?"

Spike leered at her. "Nevermind. Just forget what I said. Let's go."

The two exited the café and got a taxi to the mental institution. Their nerves were rising yet again. They exited the taxi, paid the driver, and walked to the entrance.

"Alright, here's the plan. You're gonna turn invisible, return those papers back into that room and only I will see Tadano this time. I can't risk you coming in there with me cause that Boo guard saw you last night," Spike instructed.

"Yes, your majesty," Bow stuck out her tongue and turned invisible. Spike rolled his eyes and went on in.

The process to get in was the same as last time, though Spike seemed cautious cause he wasn't sure if anyone was going to question him due to Bow coming in with him since she was caught stealing the records.

Spike was about to enter Tadano's room, until a patient walking by to his room suddenly screamed at him.

"NOOOOOOOO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? YOU CAN'T GO IN THERE! IT'S THE ROOM OF THE DEVIL! IT'S THE ROOM OF THE FUCKING DEVIIIIIIIIIIIIIL!" hysterically yelled the toad patient and tried running towards Spike, but Toadwin, the guard who escorted Spike, pushed him up against the wall and tried to settle him down.

"Awww FUCK! That's definitely not a good sign!" Spike groaned. "I don't care how crazy that guy seems, if I knew anything from movies and TV about insane asylums, is that there's a reason why crazy people say the things they say!"

Toadwin settled the patient down and put him in his room. "Sorry about that, he and Tadano don't get along at all."

"CLEARLY…" Spike rolled his eyes, but knowing there had to be more to it than that.

Toadwin knocked on Tadano's door. "Tadano, you have a guest here. Same Yoshi kid from yesterday."

Spike entered the room and saw Tadano sitting upright on his bed, smiling, and staring straight at the wall across from him.

"Tadano…? Hey, uh, it's me, Spike! I came yesterday with my friend, Bow?" Spike uncomfortably asked.

Tadano rapidly turned his head to him. "Oh? Hello again! Where is your boo girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend, dude. And she…uhh…didn't feel like coming in this time, so it's just me," Spike lied, not wanting him to know about Bow taking his records and putting it back.

Tadano slowly got off his bed. "Haha! LIAR!"

Spike looked away in embarrassment. "Look, man, we came here all this way to get something out of this. If you're able to help us in anyway possible with Tatanga, it would be appreciated!"

"Don't worry, I want to help. I WILL help! Now, listen here, I know a way out of this place. Konnor, that guy who killed the nurse and blamed it on me, was able to find a secret passage out of this place, and showed me it, but I didn't want to escape, because like I said before, I would have nowhere to go outside of this place. Once I escape, I'll join you guys, and we can find Tatanga!" Tadano excitedly planned.

"Wait a second…you just let a murderer walk out into the world, just like that!? WHY!?" Spike asked in disgust.

"It's not like I purposely let him do it! I was going to get security on him, but it was too late, because he had already escaped. Sheesh! You really think I'm that cruel?" Tadano shook his head.

"I barely know you, so I can't say for sure," Spike said.

"Fair enough. Whatever. Anyways, it's almost dinner time here. That will be my chance to escape. There's a big field behind this institution. Towards the northwest lies a hill with a humongous oak tree on top. Can you and your friend meet me there? I'll try not to take too long!" Tadano said.

"Hold up a second! Where is this escape route, exactly!? You're making this sound WAY too easy!" Spike exclaimed.

"That's because it IS! The caretakers of this institution are so…well, um, uncaring, because the secret passageway is still there. I've seen it myself recently! It's still open for anyone to just walk right through it!" Tadano assured, but Spike wasn't sure if he could buy it still.

"Well…if you say so, I guess. Alright, I'll head on out then, and me and Bow will start walking over there," Spike said.

"WAIT! I have to ask you this…could I also bring my friend with me? Please? I would hate for her to be stuck in here without me!" Tadano pleaded.

Spike wanted to groan in annoyance. It would already be too much having Tadano tag along, but now a fourth person?

"I'm sorry, Spike, but I don't think it's a good idea to bring anyone else along. It's far too dangerous!" Spike said.

"Come on! Please? Toadie would really appreciate it! She'll love you forever!" Tadano happily exclaimed.

Spike almost gasped. His heart skipped a beat and he immediately became nervous. Toadie…the same person him and Bow read about last night. The same Toadie that wasn't an ACTUAL friend, but rather a figment of his imagination…or a part of his personality. He knew right then and there that this was going to be extremely risky just having this guy tag along. Tadano seemed too unpredictable to easily accept into the team, and this just worsened it. However, he had no choice in the matter. It would've been all for nothing had Spike rejected Tadano.

"F-fine. You can bring here. Just be quick," he spoke.

Tadano squinted at him. "You looked scared there for a second. Why is that?"

"I didn't. I don't know what you're talking about," Spike quickly replied and started heading for the door.

"You totally did! Is there something you're not telling me!?" Tadano yelled and followed him.

"I'll meet you at the hill, okay!? GOODBYE!" Spike yelled and slammed the door. He exited the institution in a major panic.


Mario and Bowser exited the train at the church grounds. There was awkward silence between the two the entire ride there.

"Well…here we are," Bowser spoke with his eyes latched onto the gorgeous church.

"Let's do this quick. We get in, check the place out as much as we can, then leave," Mario ordered then led the way.

"Hmph. Simple and to the point. I wish all our missions were like that!" Bowser smirked and followed him. As they started the trek uphill to the church, Mario felt the need to discuss the issue that's been happening with Bowser and his family.

"So, Bowser, how are you doing? You handling things okay with everything that's been happening?" Mario asked.

Bowser almost stopped in his tracks and looked at him. It felt so bizarre having Mario of all people check up on him.

"I'm…we're hanging in there. It's a lot to take in. All I know is, the second I see Shadow, it's going to be VERY hard for me not to kill him!" Bowser explained.

"I see…but, why did you give me that look just now?" Mario asked.

"What look? I didn't give you ANY look!" Bowser defensively replied.

"Yes, you did! It was right after I asked you the question!" Mario rolled his eyes.

Bowser grumbled under his breath. "It's just so…how the hell do you explain it? It's, uhh, unnatural for you to just…I don't know, stand there and ask me how I'm doing and act like you care about me."

Mario gave him a confused expression. "Uh huh…well, I'm not some heartless person, Bowser. I know we've been through intense crap together for a long time, but I try not to hold any grudges. Plus, you've been through a lot with Roy joining Tatanga and with Wendy being raped, so…I can't help but have a little concern, okay?"

Bowser was rolling his eyes now. "Never said you were heartless! But, come on, you gotta admit it, it DOES feel weird talking about our feelings between the two of us, you know, the hero and the villain? ESPECIALLY since we punched each other earlier?"

"You know why I did that, right? I was preventing you from making a huge mistake!" Mario said.

Bowser scoffed at him and shook his head. "What huge mistake is that, exactly? Finding those assholes and killing them!? Sounds like a huge benefit to all of us if you ask me!"

"That's not what I mean. I'm talking about you raging through the city, potentially destroying everything in your path, and putting a huge target on your back!" Mario sneered.

"Oh, come on! Mario, you would've reacted the same way had Peach gotten raped! Quit the holier than thou act! Actually, you know what? Let's not limit it to just a female, how about Luigi? How would you react if HE had gotten raped!?" Bowser growled.

"Bowser, just shut up, okay!? This topic is over! I'm not discussing this with you anymore!" Mario demanded, getting red in the face.

"You don't wanna talk about it because you know I'm right! But, you know what? Fine. We'll move on to a different topic then; killing those guys!" Bowser said.

"What?" Mario asked and stopped in his tracks.

"I wanna know what you think about us killing those infected bastards! If Kammy's not able to figure anything out, then we HAVE to do it, and that means killing DK and Rosalina too!" Bowser said. Mario paused, looking at him, then at the ground.

"…You haven't even thought about that possibility, have you?" Bowser looked dumbfounded.

"Can we please just go to the church without having this conversation!? This isn't the time to discuss this!" Mario asked demandingly.

"GODDAMNIT, MARIO! The wedding is TOMORROW, when the hell are we gonna discuss this then!? THERE'S NO FUCKING TIME TO DELAY YOUR THINKING ABOUT THIS MATTER! If it's what we have to do to stop them from hurting other people in this world, then we HAVE to do it, right!?" Bowser angrily yelled and stomped the ground. Mario's face turned red.

"JUST SHUT UP, ALREADY! I'M NOT DISCUSSING THIS RIGHT NOW, OKAY!? LET IT GO!" Mario screamed at him.

"I'm not gonna fucking let it go! FACE THE FUCKING REALITY, MARIO! IF WE DON'T FIND THE FUCKING CURE FOR THIS DAMN INFECTION, WE HAVE TO KILL THEM! IT'S THE ONLY FUCKING WAY TO ENSURE THE PEOPLE'S SAFETY! I KNOW THEY'RE ALL YOUR FRIENDS, MARIO, BUT YOU HAVE TO FACE THE FACTS OF WHAT WE MIGHT HAVE TO DO!" Bowser screamed in his face. Mario had enough.

"YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT!? I DON'T WANNA THINK ABOUT IT BECAUSE I DON'T WANNA HAVE TO KILL MY OWN FRIENDS AND LIVE WITH THAT FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE! I DON'T WANNA FUCKING DEAL WITH IIIIIIIIIIIT!" the plumber exploded.

"HELP MEEEEEEEEE!" yelled a female voice.

This call for help turned the bickering pair's heads towards the church. On the side of the church was a young rabbit girl named Cream, being chased by Charmy in the grass field. The two made a run for it to save her from the infected bee.

They saw Charmy eventually catch up to her and knocked her to the ground. He rolled her over on her back and began to strangle her.

"HEY! GET OFF OF HER!" Mario yelled and kicked Charmy in his side.

"OW! Oh shit, it's you two! Definitely did not expect this!" Charmy yelled in surprise.

"Die, you ugly wasp!" Bowser yelled and swiped his claws at him. Charmy dodged the attack and kicked Bowser in the face. Mario grabbed Charmy's foot while he was in midair and threw him to the ground. Charmy then zoomed back up into the air and was now zooming all around the two in a continuous circle.

"FUCK, HE'S TOO FAST! What should we do!?" Bowser said.

"Wait for the right moment to catch him," Mario stated, timing his next move just perfect to attack the bee. "AND…NOW!"

Mario and Bowser lunged forward to knock him down at the same time, but it was unsuccessful.

"What the fuck!? This guy is too quick for us! Do we even stand a chance!?" Bowser questioned this so far unsuccessful battle.

Mario suddenly felt a hand touch his shoulder and he suddenly swerved around and kicked the person in the chest. They fell on a large rock behind them, bashing their head on it.

But, this person wasn't Charmy.

It was Cream the Rabbit.

The second Mario realized who it was, he let out a shriek of fright. He trembled to his knees in immense shock and horror about what he had done.

"Oh my god…M…Mario…" Bowser whispered, just as in shock as the plumber was. Bowser walked over to the rabbit and felt for a pulse. "Sh-she's…dead…"

Mario put his hand on his mouth and almost vomited. He was beyond disgusted with himself how he could be so careless in accidentally killing an innocent kid.

"O-O-Oh God…I…I killed her…this…no…I-I have to turn myself in!" Mario yelled.

"What the fuck!? NO! We are NOT doing that! Mario, this was an accident, okay!? That fucking wasp played us with his incredibly fast flying and made you think that it was him behind you, and not her! DO NOT FUCKING BLAME SOLELY YOURSELF FOR THIS!" Bowser said.

"HOW THE HELL CAN I NOT BLAME MYSELF, YOU IDIOT!? I KILLED HER! YOU SAW IT! IT WAS MY FUCKING FAULT FOR ASSUMING IT WAS CHARMY! I SHOULD'VE TAKEN A BETTER LOOK! OH GOD…wake me up from this fucking nightmare!" Mario started to cry.

"Mario, we are already in deep enough shit as it is! Going to the police about this is going to make everything worse! Here, I'll take care of the body, okay!? I think I see a river behind this church, so I'll take her body there and dump it in, alright!?" Bowser tried to rationalize the situation to Mario, but he still wasn't having it.

"HAVE YOU GONE FUCKING INSANE!? YOU'RE GOING TO DUMP A KID'S BODY IN THE RIVER AND LEAVE IT UP TO THE WHOLE DAMN CITY TO FIGURE WHO KILLED HER!? SHE HAS A FAMILY WHO WOULD BE DEVASTATED TO FIND OUT SHE'S DEAD AND WOULD BE EVEN MORE DEVASTATED IF THEY NEVER FOUND HER KILLER!" Mario screamed at him while shaking his shoulders.

"FINE! Let's just tell the police that Charmy did it then! He WAS here after all, trying to kill her!" Bowser said.

"NO! I could never live with myself if I didn't own up to what I did! I have to do what is right! I'm going to the police!" Mario cried further and started heading back but Bowser tugged on his arm, stopping him.

"NO THE FUCK YOU'RE NOT! LISTEN TO ME, YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE THINGS A THOUSAND TIMES WORSE IF YOU GO IN THERE AND TELL THEM WHAT HAPPENED! I know you're used to being all heroic and shit, but sometimes the 'right' thing to do isn't always for the best!" Bowser tried to calm him down with his logic but nothing was still working. In fact, it made Mario even more frustrated, so he punched Bowser in the face.

"What the fuck do you know about being heroic!? You're a failed villain who is obsessed with my girlfriend and refuses to give it up because you have nothing better to do with your life! YOU'RE NOTHING!" Mario yelled so angrily, it was the angriest he's ever been in his life. Bowser became just as angry as him and punched him back, which knocked him to the ground.

"I AM NOT NOTHING! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO IS NOTHING, YOU DISGUSTING PRICK!" Bowser yelled and punched him again. "YOU ACT SO MUCH BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE BECAUSE YOU THINK GOT ALL THE POWER IN THE WORLD TO DO WHATEVER THE FUCK YOU WANT!" he punched him yet again. "YOU DISGUST ME! I FUCKING HATE YOU AND WISH YOU WOULD JUST DIE ALREADY!" he punched him once more. "YOU FAILED ROY, YOU FAILED WENDY, YOU FAILED AT BEING A HUSBAND AND FATHER, AND YOU'RE JUST A FUCKING FAILURE AT EVERYTHING!" Bowser punched Mario one last time. The koopa king had enough, plopped down on the ground, and started crying. Mario's face was bloodied all over with both his eyes having black marks around them and his left eye being only half open. Mario was barely able to sit himself back up. He spat out some blood that accumulated in his mouth and looked to Bowser.

"Ugh…B…Bowser…that…wasn't me you were yelling about…was it?" Mario spoke, out of breath due to the massive pain he felt all over his face. Bowser looked at him with tears in his eyes.

"I'm sorry…I fucked up once again…just…please fucking end me already…" Bowser softly spoke and let the rest of his body fall to the ground and cried even more. Mario wasn't sure what to say or do now, given all the insanity that just happened in the past few minutes.


Yoshi, Birdo, and Diddy approached Amy's apartment. Birdo got the keys out and unlocked the door.

"So, how are we doing this? Are we gonna take the careful route and sneakily search the place, making sure everything is the way it should be by the time we're done, or should we say 'fuck it' and trash the whole place while searching?" Diddy asked.

"Well…trashing the place seems like the fun way to go about things and Amy definitely deserves it, but doing the careful route seems like the smarter way to do it. Uhh…should we flip a coin on this one?" Yoshi guessed.

"Does it look like we have a coin on us!?" Birdo asked, dumbfounded at their suggestion to trash the place.

"Well…I dunno, do we?" Yoshi obliviously responded. Birdo facepalmed herself and sighed.

"Look guys, we're NOT trashing the place. I know it's tempting and that bitch deserves it, but we gotta do this very carefully otherwise it'll probably bite us in the ass later on if she found out we were here!" Birdo instructed.

"How, though? It's getting late and we all know they're gonna do something tomorrow at the wedding. What else could they possibly do to us between now and then!?" Diddy irritably asked.

"I'd really rather not find out, Dids. C'mon, please, let's just go in and make this quick and CAREFUL!" Birdo said. Diddy rolled his eyes and walked on in with Yoshi.

"Alright. Now, if I was an object that was used for evil and chaotic purposes, where would I be put at?" Yoshi asked.

"In the bedroom, obviously. Where else would evil items be at?" Diddy questioned.

"True, but we should still search the rest of the apartment just to be safe," Birdo suggested. They started with Amy's room. It was a generic, average-sized bedroom except it was pink all around.

"GROSS! The pink in this room burns my eyes!" Yoshi cried.

"Geez, even as a villain, Amy has horrible taste!" Diddy said in disgust.

"Can you guys just focus on the task at hand!? Find whatever you can about, well, whatever they're hell doing or just anything suspicious in general!" Birdo demanded, then the three went about searching in the room. Yoshi checked throughout the closet. Birdo checked through the dresser. Diddy checked under the bed.

Nothing.

"Hmm. Alright…no luck in here. Let's try in the living room then," Birdo said.

"You guys start out there, I'll check this hallway closet," Diddy said.

Birdo brought Yoshi close to her. "Hey...I know Diddy's going through a rough time right now, but he's been acting like an ass kind of lately. Should I tell him to calm the hell down?"

"Really, sweetie? That's gonna make things worse, don't you think? He's a little fragile right now so we have to be understanding of his situation!" Yoshi reassured.

"I know he's fragile, but still, he's putting me in a cranky mood with his attitude. Ugh...whatever, I just hope he doesn't act like this during the wedding and cause shit to happen," Birdo complied.

"Well, think about it! If I were to cheat on you for someone else, wouldn't you be very irritable too?" Yoshi asked.

"Well...that's the thing, I'd rather NOT think about that situation!" Birdo said sweetly. Yoshi smiled at her and kissed her. He then saw something on the floor from the corner of his eye.

"Wait! Here, under the table, there's a paper," Yoshi pointed out. He snatched the paper and read it.

"Well? You gonna tell us or keep us in suspense?" Diddy asked.

"I…uh, don't understand this, actually. I think it's a map of Station Square. But look here, see those big, red dots? What are those supposed to be?" Yoshi said. Birdo took the paper and examined it very closely. She flipped it over, which had more info on it.

"Oh my god…they're bombs! I think I get what this map is showing us. During the wedding tomorrow, these bombs will be set off, destroying Station Square!" Birdo said.

"Are you sure that's supposed to be Station Square? This map is drawn very oddly. They wrote the street names on here, but…I don't know, it just looks off for some reason!" Diddy exclaimed.

The door suddenly slammed open. The trio jumped in fright and looked to see who it was.

It was Vector the Crocodile, holding two handguns pointed right at the trio.

"FUCK! I knew I dropped a paper while I was getting everything out of here!" he cried.

"VECTOR!? You're one of them too!?" Birdo shrieked.

"Hehe, yes indeed! Been one of them for about a week now. I had you guys fooled, didn't I!? The bride-to-be notified me that you three nuances were going to infiltrate her apartment, so I was sent to get all the papers out and destroy you if I were to run into you!" Vector said.

"I DON'T FUCKING BELIEVE THIS! Is everyone in this whole fucking city infected!? How did you even know of the plan, anyways!?" Diddy angrily asked.

"We have eyes and ears EVERYWHERE! Haha! Now then…give me that map, and I won't shoot you," Vector said as he slowly walked to the trio.

"How do we know you won't shoot us if we give you it anyways!?" Yoshi asked.

"Hmm…you know what? That's a very good point! Fuck it, I'll just kill all three of you right now!" Vector said and cocked both guns.

"VECTOR!"

He turned around to see Tails, Luigi, and Larry standing in the doorway.

Larry reached his hand forward and the handguns suddenly flung from his hands to the walls.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" the crocodile yelled in shock.

Larry then made a push motion and Vector was then thrown backwards and landed on the dining table, smashing it down.

"COME ON, GUYS! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" Tails yelled. The trio ran out of there with the other three. Tails and Larry ran with them, but Luigi stayed behind. He slowly entered the apartment and walked towards Vector's barely conscious body. Luigi grabbed Amy's flower vase and stood over Vector.

"Uggghhh…was that a fucking wizard that attacked me!?" Vector groaned.

Luigi slowly lifted the flower vase above his head. He held it there for some seconds, very hesitant on hurting Vector even more with the possibility of even killing him, but at the same time, wanted to ensure they'd have a better chance of escape.

Vector saw him doing this and laughed. "You can't fucking do it, can you? Coward. That's all you'll ever be known for!"

This made Luigi pissed off. He roared and slammed the vase down on Vector's head. He was knocked unconscious immediately and bled from his head. Luigi made a slight gasp, very slowly taking in the treacherous deed he just committed. He wasn't sure if it was enough to kill Vector, but it didn't make him feel any less guilty for it. He slowly backed out of the apartment, still staring at Vector in shock.


DK was in the same room that Wario was in before when he was being tortured. The screen in front of him showed Wario and Goombella in their cells, looking severely depressed and hurt. DK intensely stared at the screen, until someone he didn't expect suddenly entered the room.

"Good evening, DK," spoke Rosalina. He whipped his head to the now infected cosmic princess.

"Rosalina…" DK whispered.

"Surprised to see me? You shouldn't be. This had to happen for me. I feel like a goddess, DK! No more emotional and whiny Rosalina, all she was ever good for was making some anorexic man feel good about himself. God, I wasted so much time in my life being so boring and following every rule in the fucking book! Now, I can do whatever the hell I want and not overthink shit or feel bad for it!" Rosalina cheered and wrapped her arms around DK's neck. The ape didn't say anything back, he just stared into her eyes. She chuckled.

"Same thing with you, DK. We're free to do whatever we please, especially since this isn't our world. We could cause as much chaos as possible and see how far our powers can really go! What do you say?" Rosalina leaned in closer to DK. The ape still said nothing, but he did look a little nervous for some reason.

"Aww, what's wrong, DK? Isn't this what you wanted, deep down? I'm no longer bound to that purple freak, so you can have me in any way you want!" Rosalina chuckled again and stroked her hand against his cheek. Still no response from DK. Rosalina looked a little irritated now due to his silence, but then looked confused. She took her arms off him and backed away a little.

"Wait a second…DK…?" she whispered.

"ROSALINA!" yelled V from the other room.

"Yes? I'm in here!" she responded.

"I need to talk to you about tomorrow. It's about the role you shall play during the wedding and how we'll go about doing certain 'things'…" said V.

"Alright, I'm coming!" yelled Rosalina. She walked back to the door to exit, but then looked back at DK with the same confused expression as before. DK tried not to look at her.


Mario and Bowser took the train back to the hotel. It was as silent as it was going to the church earlier before. Mario felt like he should feel pure rage towards Bowser right now, but he just couldn't for some reason.

The two got off the train and walked to the hotel, where they saw Tails, Luigi, Larry, Yoshi, Birdo, and Diddy walking in front of them too.

Almost everyone regrouped in the lobby once again with murmuring amongst everyone now. Toadette, Dixie, and Koops were missing out due to earlier circumstances.

"OH MY GOD, MARIO!" Peach screamed in horror when she saw how battered his face was. She ran to him and started to cry. "What the hell happened to you!?"

"I…uhh…" Mario stammered, not being too sure if he should tell the truth or not.

"It was one of them that did it to you, wasn't it!? Damnit! Vector almost did the same thing to Birdo, Yoshi, and Diddy at Amy's apartment! Us three arrived there at the perfect time and knocked his ass out!" Larry said.

"WAIT, WHAT!? Vector is also infected!? SHIT! All this time…and he's been working here too, who knows what he could have been doing!?" Sally exclaimed.

"He said he's been infected for a week now! Maybe that's how he knew we were gonna be at Amy's apartment, because he's been around this whole time and managed to overhear us? Remember when we were discussing the plan a couple hours before the parties began? He must've overheard us then!" Birdo guessed.

"Makes sense to me. It also explains why Vector wasn't on his scheduled shift last night. I thought he came in, but I checked the time logs, and he didn't show up at all!" Sally added.

"Wow! You know…I just realized something else. Remember when Vector told us about Goombella exiting the hotel yesterday from what he saw on the security cams? What if he was lying about that too? What if he just said that to throw us off and make us not think about the possibility that something really bad happened to her here at the hotel itself!? I mean, think about it guys! I refuse to believe that Goombella would just walk out into an unfamiliar city all by her lonesome!" Goombario theorized.

"Shit. You're right! Now that we've figured out that Vector's infected too…we can't trust ANYTHING that he's been telling us!" Kammy said.

"But seriously, brother, what the hell happened to you when you and Bowser went to the church!? You look beaten to near death, but Bowser looks mostly unharmed!?" Luigi questioned.

"It…um…i-it was Charmy! I think he also knew we were gonna be there. He ambushed me out of nowhere and punched me repeatedly until Bowser came in and kicked his ass, and scared him off!" Mario lied. He absolutely did not want everyone to know that he accidentally killed a little girl and that it was Bowser who actually punched him repeatedly. It would've been more unnecessary drama added to the group.

"Oh my! I can't believe that…UGH! Thank you so much Bowser for saving Mario!" Peach cried in gratitude. Bowser just stared at Mario the whole time, in total surprise that he covered for him.

"You're…w-welcome," Bowser awkwardly replied. He felt immense guilt for hurting Mario and having him lie for him. It felt wrong.

"So, did you guys manage to find anything at the apartment?" Pauline asked.

"Unfortunately, Vector took whatever kind of papers Amy had in her apartment before we arrived, but he dropped a paper, so we got that at least," Diddy said, showing the paper to everyone. "It looks like a map of Station Square, but it's drawn kinda weird. The big red dots are bombs, which means that they're planning to bomb the city tomorrow during the wedding!"

Gasps and shrieks were heard amongst the group.

"This is horrible! We have to find out where those bombs are and deactivate them!" Parakarry yelled.

Sally grabbed the paper from Diddy and examined it. "Wait, do you see this writing down here? It's so tiny, but from what I can read of it, it says 'Bombs to be dropped from the airborn vehicle as soon as S & A are wed. The signal will be sent to…' uhh…can't read the name there, but the rest of it's basically saying that…these red dots on the map…those are the locations of where the bombs will be dropped, NOT where they're currently located at!"

"FUCK! So, how the hell are we supposed to stop an airborn vehicle then!? What should we even do!?" Waluigi cried.

"I…I don't know…the only thing I can think of is to still go to the wedding and see if we can do anything there?" Sally shrugged.

"It's probably the best option at this point. We, uhh, didn't find anything at the church tonight, so a few of us will have to investigate there during the wedding to see if anything is there by then," Bowser also lied to them. After that chaos with Bowser and Mario fighting, they decided to give up searching the church and just went back.

"Damnit! So…I guess we all gotta do is wait for tomorrow then?" Kazooie said in disappointment.

"Looks like it. I'm sorry Kazooie, and everyone else. But, it looks like tomorrow will be our time to strike, so we gotta give everything our all!" Daisy said. More murmurs happened among the group and everyone eventually split off to go to their rooms.

"God, Mario…this is the worst I've seen you hurt, I think. What should I do!? I don't know if a first aid kit will make it any better!" Peach cried.

"Yeah! You sure we shouldn't take you to the hospital, actually!? Is your nose broken?" Luigi asked.

"It's just gonna have to heal on its own…don't worry…like I said before, I heal fast…" Mario said, not even looking at Peach or Luigi. Inside, he was still very upset about what happened with Cream and Bowser. He wanted to tell Peach so bad, but the constant weighing of the pros and cons of telling them made him back away from doing so.

"Excuse me! Mister Mario!" yelled a high-pitched female voice.

Mario turned around and almost fainted at who he saw.

It was Cream the Rabbit. She looked completely unharmed.

EOC.

Next chapter will continue the Spike/Bow/Tadano plot, the conflicts, lies, and secrets, among the group will finally come to a front but will cause enormous tensions between everyone, and everyone heads to the church for the wedding…but something in there happens that throws a certain character completely off. See you next Tuesday!