Spike ran out of the institution and stopped at a bench. He panted and caught his breath.

"Man…I can already tell that this is gonna be way too fucking weird for me to handle…" he whispered to himself.

"SPIKE! OVER HERE!" Bow called out from further away. He saw her across the street, hiding behind a tree. He then ran across the street over to her.

"Bow! What the hell are you doing all the way over here!?" Spike asked.

"I returned the papers, but I almost got caught by the Boo guard again. I booked it and went over here just to be safe! This place just HAD to think of Boos intruding in too, didn't they!?" Bow complained.

"Oh. Uhh…right. Good. So, uhh, I had the talk with Tadano and he, uhh, is gonna meet us at a tree on a hill to the east of the building. We should start heading there now," Spike awkwardly informed.

"Oh! Excellent! That went much more easier and quicker than I expected. We should feel VERY accomplished right now! Gwaa hee ha ha ha!" Bow cheered.

"Uh, yeah, about that…we need to be seriously careful about this, Bow. When I was talking to Tadano, he asked if he could bring Toadie with him. You know…THE Toadie we read on those records that was a figment of his imagination because he may have DID? He asked if Toadie could come along too!" Spike warned as they began walking.

"Okay, and? We're just gonna have to deal with a little bit of weirdness from him. It's to be expected considering we're bringing someone from a MENTAL INSTITUTION with us, smart one!" Bow snarled.

Spike glared at Bow. "You think I don't know that? All I'm saying is, we need to be prepared in case he randomly goes berserk and tries to kill us. These people are fucking unpredictable, Bow! The fact that you're so comfortable with all of this is just weird!"

"What!? I'm NOT 100% comfortable with it. It's just that, there's no point in freaking out over what MAY happen with this guy. Hell, being all paranoid constantly may even make the guy not want to trust us! So, just keep your fears to yourself and go along with this, okay?" Bow said while rolling her eyes.

"Whatever. Then again, it's easy for you to say considering you can just turn invisible when in danger…" Spike angrily grumbled.

"What was that? Wanna try saying that a little louder!?" Bow yelled.

"Forget it! Let's just keep walking to the hill, I see it over there!" Spike pointed ahead. The trek to the tree on the hill took another 10 minutes and they finally arrived.

"Okay, we're here. So…now we wait?" Bow asked.

"Now we wait. The sky is almost completely dark now. He better get here soon…" Spike said and sat down on the grass and stared out into the endless field.

After some minutes of waiting around and silence, except for the sound of the wind blowing lightly, they heard footsteps coming from behind them.

"Tadano!?" Bow yelped and turned around. It was indeed the alien approaching them with a huge smile on his face.

"Hello! Told you I'd be here! Haha. You didn't think I would keep my promise, did you!?" Tadano giggled.

"What!? No! I…uhh…look, you're here, you made it. This is good. Now, we just gotta get you back to our motel room before they start sending the forces out to look for you!" Spike said.

"The 'forces'? What are you, 12?" Bow said in disgust. "Ugh, anyways! We need to go now, and we'll discuss what our next move once we get to the motel room, okay?"

"But, wait! Toadie has to come too! Remember, Spike? You said she could come with!" Tadano whined.

"I thought you were, uhh, gonna bring her with you when you escaped!?" Spike decided to play along.

"I did! She's right here, but she's being too shy right now…Toadie! Come on! It's now or never!" Tadano yelled at something behind the tree.

"Wow. This IS awkward," Bow whispered.

"Don't make me regret bringing you out of that place! I'll leave you here if you don't come with us!" Tadano raised his voice and disappeared behind the tree.

"Tadano? Hello!?" Bow yelled.

"Hello. The name is Toadie. Pleased to meet the both of you," Tadano spoke as he walked out from the other side of the tree. His voice was huskier and his smile from before turned into a wicked smirk.

"Uhh, what?" Bow uttered in confusion.

"T…Toadie…nice to you, uhh, meet you…" Spike said.

"Thanks for inviting me along. This is gonna be quite the fun adventure, don't you think?" Toadie/Tadano spoke and put his/her arm over Spike's shoulder and stared at Bow, who was still weirded out by everything that's going on.

"Um…r-right. We should…um…get a move on now…" she said.

"Why do you look so nervous? Do you think…that I'm going to hurt you?" Toadie/Tadano asked, still keeping his/her smirk on.

Bow had no idea how to respond. She thought she could handle this bizarre situation well, but she was dead wrong.


Cream the Rabbit ran to Mario, Luigi, and Peach.

"Oh my gosh! Mister Mario, what happened to you? Was it my, um, infected friends!?" she shrieked in major concern.

"It was! But, Bowser saved Mario thankfully. But, what are you doing here, Cream?" Luigi asked.

"I just stopped by a while ago to see how the party was going, but I'm about to leave now. Don't worry, I know all about what's happening from what Tails told me! I'm not one of them, I promise!" Cream assured.

"Don't worry, we believe you! It was so nice of you to help Tails out like that too, with leading our friends to Amy's apartment!" Peach cheered.

"Of course! I love to help! Anyways, I hope you feel better, Mario! I'll see you guys at the wedding tomorrow. I…I'm a little scared because we all know SOMETHING is happening there, but we've no idea what, yet! I just hope luck will be on our side!" Cream said then walked off.

"Aww, she's sweet! I'm glad she didn't get infected. They pretty much got most of the Sonic Crew!" Luigi exclaimed.

"Mario? What's wrong? Why do you look so…umm…horrified? Would that be the correct word?" Peach asked. He was still staring wide-eyed into space which unnerved his brother and girlfriend.


Bombette caught up to Diddy as he walked to his hotel room.

"Hey! Can I talk to you about your girlfriend real quick!?" Bombette asked with an attitude.

"You mean EX-girlfriend!?" Diddy replied in annoyance.

"Whatever! She ended up getting drunk at the party and almost got us in a shitload of trouble! I tried to stop her but she shoved me into Amy! We were THIS close to getting our asses beat by them all because your ex-girlfriend wanted to self-destruct at the worst possible time!" Bombette yelled.

Diddy groaned and shook his head. "Great. Now she's causing drama for other people. Should I even be surprised by now?"

"So, are you, like, gonna do something about her or what!? We can't have her acting all reckless like that at the wedding tomorrow!" Bombette said.

"What the hell do you want me to do about it!? It's her fault for acting so stupid! I'm not her guardian, Bombette. She just needs to wise up from what she's done," Diddy said.

"I KNOW THAT! But, she's just gonna keep on doing this crap if you don't at least talk things out with her! I'm not saying for you to get back with her, I'm just saying that she's gonna keep this up if you keep ignoring her!" Bombette advised. Diddy rolled his eyes and rubbed his forehead, being more irritated than ever.

"Fine! I'll see what I can do, okay!? Just get off my back! I had a long night!" he yelled.

"Fine. Might be best to do it in the morning, though. She's probably still passed out," Bombette said.


"TOAD, WAIT!" Lakilulu yelled as Toad was just about to enter his room. The lakitu quickly floated over to him.

"Oh! What's up, Lakilulu?" he asked.

"It's about Toadette. Um…there's something you should know about the way she acted at the party tonight. She left really early and told me she was heading to bed, despite it being only six o'clock at the time! She seemed kinda irritable too and just…uhh…how should I put it? Depressing?" Lakilulu explained.

Toad looked like he was about to cry. "I see…wow. Thank you for telling me that."

"You're welcome! I knew I had to tell you because I'm worried for her too! I'm so used to seeing Toadette being cheerful and spunky, but now…I don't know! She's become so dark and…um…empty, I guess? Yeah. She's not like herself anymore…" Lakilulu said in genuine worry for his sister.

"Ever since her and Bowser Jr. almost got shot that night at the hospital, she hasn't been the same. I can't blame her for feeling the way she does. But, I don't want her to go down this dark path! I have to help her somehow. I've never been depressed myself, but I know what it looks like because…b-because…um…well, I just know. Thank you again, Lakilulu. You're a good friend," Toad said. Lakilulu smiled with watery eyes and gave him a hug.

"Let me know if she feels any better, okay? Alright, I'm gonna head to my room now. Goodnight," Lakilulu sniffled and went off. Toad entered the room and saw Toadette sleeping soundly on her bed. Toad sat down next to her and looked at her. He brushed her pigtails off her face and cried a little. He cared about her so much that he would do anything to try to wean herself off of this depression before it gets any worse.


Morning quickly came much to some of the group's dismay. It was the day where 'something' was going to happen at the wedding that related to the city being bombed and everyone was dreading it. They all knew some kind of battle was going to happen and knew it was going to be much more difficult and deadly than the previous ones. They would rather just find their kidnapped friends, somehow cure the infected ones, find the gem, and just go home. That would be absolutely ideal, but alas…that is not the reality of the situation.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Mario ran to the door and opened it. It was Bowser, standing there with a concerned expression.

"Mario! Uhh, good morning. Can I come in? I have to talk to you about something important," Bowser said.

"Sure. Actually, this is perfect timing because I have something important that I need to talk to you with too," Mario gestured. Bowser walked in with his nerves slightly on edge in that moment.

"Where are Luigi and Peach?" Bowser asked.

"Luigi's in the shower right now, and Peach is with Daisy downstairs grabbing some croissants," Mario said.

"I see. Gotcha. Well…I guess we should make this quick then…" Bowser said. Awkward silence happened after that for a minute, which confused Mario.

"Uhh…Bowser? Are you okay?" he asked.

"You know what…you go first. You said you had something important to tell me too, right? You go first," Bowser insisted. Mario was still confused by Bowser's odd behavior.

"Uhhh…okay then? Well, I wanted to tell you something about Cream, that rabbit girl that I…you know…last night? Well, turns out, she's alive! She was in the lobby right after we got back, looking as if she hadn't got a scratch on her at all! She told me she came here to check how the party was going and that's when me, Peach, and Luigi ran into her," Mario explained. Bowser dropped his jaw in pure shock.

"WHAT THE FUCK!? That doesn't make ANY damn sense! How the hell can she be alive when we both saw her lying practically dead after she smashes her head on that rock!? Was that a fucking robot you killed then!? Or did Charmy make us hallucinate that somehow!?" Bowser shrilled.

"I don't know, okay!? I don't fucking know! All I know is, Charmy screwed with our head somehow and I'm starting to think that it wasn't a coincidence that Charmy was there when we arrived. Think about it, why would Charmy and Cream be fighting near the church of all places at that specific time!? I'm starting to think it was a trap!" Mario theorized.

"Good point. Yeah, it's the only thing that makes sense, I guess. But still…how the HELL did all of that happen, then!? Well, I guess the positive part to this is that you didn't actually kill anyone," Bowser's mind was completely boggled by this.

"Also a good point. I feel a little relieved knowing Cream is okay, but still…I hope we find out how that happened exactly. Anyways, enough about me, what did you want to tell me?" Mario turned it over to Bowser.

"Well, there's two things I wanted to tell you. The first one is this; I am deeply sorry for hurting you like that last night. I went way out of control and took my anger too far on you. And you were right when you said that I wasn't actually yelling at you. I'm all of those said things that I yelled to you, not you, Mario. You're way better than I'll ever be…" Bowser said heartwarmingly. The sincerity from Bowser surprised Mario a lot. It was a side of Bowser that he had never seen before.

"Wow…Bowser! Don't say that I'm better than you. Please don't. You have so much more power and creativity in you than I do. And about you hurting me, well, that's a weird one right there. As much as I want to yell at you and get my revenge for what you did, I just can't for some reason! No matter how hard I try, I just can't find the will to hurt you right back. I think it's because maybe I'm just tired of the fighting and arguing between us all the time. It's gotten us nowhere, nor has it ever solved anything. It's just a cycle of endless torment with the both of us and I'm just over it at this point," Mario replied with much more understanding than Bowser thought.

"I-I think I'm over it too. It's so exhausting, fighting all the time and wasting all my energy planning to kidnap your girlfriend or take over the world. There's no point to it. Especially looking at what this Tatanga idiot is doing right now. Destroying homes and businesses, tearing families and friends away from each other…it's so fucking stupid. I never really thought about how terrible and stressful taking over the world really is until I got to experience it on the other side for myself. It's honestly a little scary, and pretty annoying," Bowser responded with just as much sincerity as before which continued to surprise Mario.

"Glad to hear that, Bowser. Stuff like what Tatanga's doing…hell, this situation included in Sonic's world, all it does is ruin lives. It does nothing to benefit the world and it's all part of someone's plan to boost their own ego and cause destruction to millions of people all because they had a hard life and want everyone else to feel the same. And you hurting me…I'll never forget it. Ever. But thankfully, I heal pretty fast and I'm done fighting with you so…I think I can try to let it go just this once," Mario said, feeling actually connected to Bowser for once in his life. The situation seemed so unreal because it was a conversation between the hero and the villain that didn't involve them yelling at each other for once, and it was a situation that the two never imagined themselves being in. At the same time though, it felt kind of good to talk normally to each other.

"Thank you. I feel like I still deserve to get my ass handed to me one way or another, but thank you," Bowser chuckled, and so did Mario.

"Alright then, what's the second thing you wanna tell me?" Mario asked.

Right after that was when Luigi stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in his typical attire with wet hair.

"Oh, Bowser! What's going on? You two look like you were in deep conversation!" Luigi pointed out.

Then, right after that, was when Daisy and Peach entered the room.

"We brought a couple of croissants for you guys! Oh! Bowser! Surprised to see you in here!" Daisy exclaimed.

"Ugh, damnit. This is the worst timing ever…" Bowser grumbled at the annoying coincidence of everyone showing up at the same time.

"Is everything okay, guys? Bowser, you look worried!" Peach noted.

Bowser sighed in frustration. Mario noticed this and looked worried now too.

"Uhh, Bowser? We can continue this later if you want to," he said.

"No! I can't do this anymore! You guys, Mario lied to you last night about the bruises on his face! That was me! I hurt him! We got into an argument and I lost my temper and I just…AGGGHHHH! I'M SO SORRY! I'M SUCH A FUCKING IDIOT!" Bowser exploded. Luigi, Peach, and Daisy gasped in horror.

"WAIT, WHAT!? BOWSER, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND!?" Daisy screamed.

"You…you did THAT to him!?" Luigi angrily spoke with his fists now clenched and shaking.

"Yes! No! I DON'T FUCKING KNOW, OKAY!? Mario was covering for me, and I couldn't let him do that! You guys deserve to know the truth!" Bowser cried, now completely frazzled.

"I don't believe this! What is wrong with you two!? Mario, how the hell could you lie to us like that!? And Bowser…you could've KILLED Mario! Your fists are enormous! WHAT ON EARTH WERE YOU THINKING!?" Peach started to cry.

Mario closed his eyes and sighed. "I don't know what I was thinking. I just…I thought I was doing what was right, but…clearly, I didn't think all of this through…"

"Hmph. Yeah, you DEFINITELY didn't! Lying must run in your guys' family!" Daisy yelled.

"Wait, what? What do you mean by that?" Peach asked.

Daisy looked to Peach and Luigi, and realized what she said. "I-I'm sorry. That was…that was horrible of me to say."

"But wait, why did you say that, though!? What do you mean by lying runs in their family!?" Peach demanded.

Total silence occurred after Peach's question. Everyone else stared at each other in a mix of confusion and nervousness.

"WILL SOMEONE ANSWER ME!?" Peach screamed.

"Daisy…" Luigi whispered, knowing what she wanted to say.

Daisy looked to Luigi then to Peach. She completely regretted opening her mouth, but didn't want to lie to her closest friend.

"Peach…I said that because…well…Luigi…lied about Jojora. Amy didn't attack her in the shower, Jojora slit her own wrists because she felt awful and guilty from neglecting to save Watt from the water at Rusty Bucket Bay," Daisy revealed. Mario, Bowser, and Peach dropped their jaws at this revelation.

"WHAT? Why the hell would you lie to all of us about THAT now!? What the fuck was the point of that, Luigi!?" Bowser yelled. Luigi lowered his head to stare blankly at the ground. His emotions were all over the place at that point.

"YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME! MORE LIES AND SECRETS!" Peach cried even more.

"B-But don't be solely mad at him! I knew he was lying so I called him out on it and he told me the truth but I promised to keep it a secret as well! I'm part of the blame too…" Daisy added guiltily. She looked like she was also going to cry based on how devastated Peach looked.

"I just...I-I can't believe you guys! YOU ALL HAVEN'T LEARNED ANYTHING FROM LAST TIME WHEN YOU DIDN'T TELL ME THAT MARIO WAS IN LOVE WITH PAULINE!" Peach screamed in anger and stormed out of the room.

"PEACH, PLEASE WAIT! I'M SO SORRY!" Daisy cried and followed her out.

"Wow. Just wow. What the hell are we gonna do now, now that all of this shit has happened?" Bowser asked.

"Get out, Bowser," Luigi spoke.

"What? Why? Don't you think-"

"I SAID GET OUT!" Luigi exploded at him.

Bowser angrily glared at him but managed to hold back from saying anything vicious. He walked out of the room, leaving the brothers by themselves to dwell in their mistakes.

"I can't believe you lied about Jojora, Luigi. What the hell were you trying to prove with that, exactly?" Mario asked.

"I was trying to protect her from any wild accusations you guys would have about her. You know, kind of like how you wanted to protect Bowser so no one would get on his case and cause more drama?" Luigi retorted.

"Right. That's one of the things that we share in our blood, brother. Protecting people. Didn't think it would come at such a huge cost, though," Mario sighed and dropped down on the bed.

"Tell me, what is the deal between you and Bowser now? You lied to protect him, you're somehow okay with him pounding your face in, and now he's in this room, just casually talking to you? Is there anything else you've been hiding!?" Luigi asked in frustration.

"No! Bowser's just…he's changed. I'm not sure how to explain it, okay? I'm just completely done with all the fighting and drama at this point. It's been a major distraction from what's been going on with Sonic and his friends…" Mario vaguely explained and rubbed his forehead, feeling a pounding headache coming on.


Toadette woke up from her sleep and saw Toad sitting on the side of his bed, staring at the floor.

"Toad? What time is it?" she groggily asked.

"It's a little after nine. I think we're leaving for the wedding in two hours or so," Toad blandly responded, not even staring at his sister.

"Wow…I can't believe I slept for that long…" Toadette whispered.

"Me neither," Toad responded, now looking at her. Toadette looked caught off guard, not expecting him to hear that.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"Lakilulu told me what happened with you last night, Toadette. It's breaking my heart to see you like this," Toad started to choke up.

"Huh? What exactly did Lakilulu tell you?" Toadette asked.

"She told me you were basically being all moody and left the party early to go to bed at six. She seemed really worried about you," Toad revealed.

"Okay, and? Why should she be worried? I was 'moody' because I didn't want to deal with the other girls there! You can't blame me for that!" Toadette yelled defensively.

"I'm not blaming you for that, but with this happening now, I can't but think there's an underlying problem happening here. Toadette…you slept for 15 hours. That's not normal. You've been acting so…umm…I guess the right word would be 'numb' or 'unemotional' lately. You haven't been your regular self. I think you're depressed," Toad said. Toadette looked at him like he just committed a crime.

"WHAT? DEPRESSED? I am not depressed! Excuse me for acting more serious than usual because we're constantly in a life-or-death situation! Quit being so paranoid!" Toadette pouted.

"It's not just that! Remember our friend, Toadbert, from middle school? He was going through depression and then he…you know…" Toad didn't want to finish that sentence.

"Seriously!? Toad, you're acting ridiculous! This is nothing like Toadbert! You know what, I'm not staying here listening to this crap, I'm going to the lobby!" Toadette yelled, becoming madder by the second. She hopped off the bed and started to stomp out of there until Toad grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

"PLEASE! Can you just listen to me!? I'm trying to help here! I don't want you to go further down on this path! Your moodiness and excessive sleeping are signs that point to depression!" Toad pleaded.

"Let go of me! I'm not depressed! You're just causing problems for no reason!" Toadette shrieked and managed to pull herself out of his grip.

"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!? I'M NOT SAYING ALL OF THIS TO CAUSE DRAMA FOR NO REASON, I'M SAYING THIS BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!" Toad cried.

"JUST LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!" Toadette yelled back. She walked out and slammed the door shut. Toad dropped to his bed and cried. She hurt his feelings, but he still desperately wanted Toadette to be okay and communicate with him.


Jojora was now free to go from the hospital. She hopped on the train back to the hotel with many thoughts running through her mind. Everything that Luigi said to her kept replaying in her head, about how she needed to forgive herself for what she did and that it was up to her to reveal the actual truth to everyone. It was killing her inside that no one knew what actually happened with Watt due to Luigi lying to everyone and now it was up to her to fix that mistake or not. Would there be any point to telling the truth now, since today was the wedding? Should she tell everyone at a more appropriate time? Or, should the secret be buried deep down forever within herself? Jojora hated all options, but she had to choose one and forever deal with the consequences that would come from that.

The train stopped at the station nearest to the hotel and she got off. The second she exited the station and saw the hotel looming before her, her nerves ran high. She took in a deep breath, then exhaled, then continued forward.

"It's okay, Jojora…you can handle this…it's all gonna be fine…" she whispered to herself to try to calm her nerves, but it wasn't working.

She entered the lobby and saw Vivian speaking with Sally. She turned her head and jumped in surprise when she saw her.

"Jojora! You're back! How are you feeling?" Vivian asked as she embraced her.

"Um, I'm feeling fine, I guess. Pretty nervous for the wedding though," Jojora said, barely embracing Vivian back.

"Same here. No one really knows what's gonna happen at the wedding itself! I think we're all kind of on edge today but few of us wanna talk about it. Hmm…oh well. Also, you arrived at the perfect time. Peach is holding an emergency meeting in the dining room right now before we leave!" Vivian gestured towards the room. Jojora followed her in and she was greeted more of the group.

"Hey you! Welcome back!" Bowser Jr. happily spoke.

"Glad to see you back with us!" Bombette cheered.

"You look marvelous, dear! Thank goodness you came back in the nick of time!" Flurrie dramatically praised.

"Thank you, everyone. You're all so kind and…yeah," Jojora awkwardly replied with a nervous laugh.

"Alright Larry, you know the plan for the virus, right? We must perform the spell at the perfect time and I'll let you know when that is!" Kammy said.

"Don't worry, I got it. Do you think it will actually work with just us two, though? Will it be powerful enough?" Larry asked.

"Well, we can only hope! It's the only potential way we got to cure them all!" Kammy exclaimed.

Koops slowly walked into the room, feeling weary of everyone due to his atrocious behavior recently.

"Koops!" Kooper shouted, grabbing the attention of some of the group.

"Well well well, look who finally came out of his room," Goombario said.

"Good to see you finally come to your senses. We need you for today, Koops. You're much stronger than you think," Birdo somewhat harshly spoke in encouragement.

"Hey…how are you? We're all glad you're here!" Koopie said sweetly.

"I'm…fine. I would feel horrible if I stayed in my room and miss the wedding, so…uhh…I'm here," Koops awkwardly shrugged. Vivian smiled at him sympathetically.

Everyone in the group eventually all gathered into the dining room with the exception of Mario and Luigi.

"ATTENTION! HELLO! Thank you guys for coming here on short notice! Now…I wanted to address something real quick. Something that I think has been causing so much drama in our group. Something that SERIOUSLY drives myself crazy even just thinking about it! It's all the lies and secrets that's been going on ever since we got here!" Peach yelled. Some gasps and murmurs were heard amongst the group.

"Peach, I know you're angry right now, but this is NOT a good idea!" Daisy tried to calm her down but Peach ignored her.

"Just think about it, you guys! All the fights that have been breaking out within our group have been because of people lying and keeping secrets! And for what reason!? Who the hell knows! All it does is just drive us apart from each other and lose our trusts in our friends! I'M SICK OF IT! If we're gonna be a group adventuring and fighting the bad guys, we need to STOP hiding things from each other like we're complete strangers! Like we don't even trust each other!" Peach continued in obvious frustration.

"Why are you saying all of this now, though? Why now right before the wedding?" Kazooie questioned.

"Because lying and keeping secrets does nothing to help the group! I'm sure you all remember the majority of you not telling me about Mario and Pauline, right? Well, you guys are doing the exact same thing again! It's ridiculous! Mario lied about who beat his face in last night! It was Bowser who did it! He was covering for him, for who knows what reason!" Peach revealed. Louder gasps were heard and everyone shot a shocked look or glare at Bowser.

"Bowser, what the hell!? You're really gonna beat Mario to near death at a time like THIS!?" Waluigi yelled.

"Seriously, dad!? Why would you do such a thing to Mario!? You could've easily killed him!" Wendy cried.

Bowser just sighed and looked to the floor. "I had no good reason to. I lost my temper. I'm sorry everyone…"

"Sorry isn't gonna cut it, Bowser! What the fuck were you thinking, throwing all your rage at Mario, the ONE person that you shouldn't be hurting!?" Pauline yelled.

"That's not all though, you guys! Luigi lied to you all about Jojora too! Amy didn't come into the hotel and slit Jojora's wrists to make it look like a suicide! SHE DID THAT HERSELF BECAUSE SHE FELT BAD FOR NOT HELPING WATT GET OUT OF THE WATER BACK AT RUSTY BUCKET BAY!" Peach revealed even further. Screams of horror were now heard this time.

"WAIT, WHAT!? YOU JUST LET HER DIE!?" Kooper shrilled.

"WOW! You little psychopath! Were you trying to kill yourself so no one would ever know the truth!?" Mona yelled.

"No…no! Th-that's not what happened! It…I just…" Jojora stuttered in horror, not having any clue on how to defend herself.

"I CAN'T FUCKING BELIEVE THIS! WHY DIDN'T YOU HELP WATT OUT OF THE WATER THERE!? AND WHY DID LUIGI LIE FOR YOU!? WHAT WAS THE FUCKING POINT OF ALL THAT!?" Bombette exploded (not literally).

"Uhh, guys!? I'm pretty sure Jojora didn't purposely let Watt drown! Please calm down!" Parakarry said.

Jojora started to cry. "YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO LET THAT SECRET OUT TO EVERYONE! I WANTED TO TELL THEM MYSELF BUT YOU FUCKING RUINED IT, YOU BITCH!" she then ran off in tears.

"JOJORA, WAIT!" Parakarry chased after her.

"Holy shit…I don't even know what to think at this point…" Goombario said, completely frozen in shock as his eyes got watery.

"You may think I'm being cruel about this, but it has to be done! I don't care what you say about me! Koops was right with what he said before. Secrets destroy relationships! He was right to reveal that secret about Wendy and Larry, because it just showed how pointless keeping secrets are, and how much it makes people wanna distrust you! If we're gonna work as a group, then we HAVE to stop holding information back from each other!" Peach kept going on, still clearly hurt from what happened earlier.

"Seriously, Peach!? You really wanna go back to that again!?" Larry growled.

"OKAY, THIS IS ABOUT ENOUGH! Peach, you've said what you wanted to say now just drop it! Can't you see that this is actually making things worse!?" Yoshi begged for her to stop.

"I wanna say something!" Koops called out, drawing attention to him. "Peach, you're wrong about what you said about me. I was NOT in the right to call out Larry and Wendy like that. All it did was create chaos like what you all saw yesterday. And I'm sorry for that! I really am. I was hurting so bad and I took it out on you guys. And Peach…I, um, think you're doing the same thing too!"

This surprising response from Koops made everyone else think better of him now after the way he's been acting recently. It also made everyone realize that he has a point too about how Peach is using this meeting as an excuse to lash out from her pain.

"No…no no no! You're wrong, Koops. I'm not doing this because I'm hurting right now, I'm doing this because it's what needs to be done and has to be brought out in the open for everyone to realize what the consequences of lying and keeping secrets are before any more of us try to do it too!" Peach rejected his accusation.

"You ARE doing this because you're hurting! Seriously, Peach, I was there in the room when you found out that me, Luigi, and Mario lied to you! I know you're feeling betrayed right now, but exposing people's secrets and bringing up controversial stuff from before isn't gonna help a single thing!" Daisy yelled.

"And I just wanna say about the whole Jojora thing…those waters are quite nasty. Once you go under, you lose your oxygen WAY quicker than you would in regular water. Trust me, I couldn't tell you how many times Banjo and I almost drowned in that place. So…I don't know the whole story with Jojora and Watt, but if Watt went under and Jojora tried to actually save her, it would've been a small chance that Watt would've survived anyways considering how fast the oxygen goes away in there," Kazooie clarified, providing a tiny bit of relief to some people.

"So…what the hell was the point of this meeting then? To make certain people look bad for their mistakes? To make yourself feel better because your pain is more important than others?" Kammy questioned.

"Th-that's not what this is about! I've already explained myself! Aren't you guys getting it!?" Peach cried.

"I completely get it! If my partner cheated on me, I'd wanna know about it ASAP!" Fire Bro randomly shouted.

"Do you even hear yourself!? How fucking stupid are you, Fire Bro!?" Diddy shouted into his face.

"I have a better one. How about not smacking my sister because you can't control your temper and own up to your mistakes!?" Toad yelled to Dixie.

"I KNOW WHAT I DID WAS WRONG! PLEASE JUST BACK OFF OF ME!" Dixie cried.

"You know what I think!? Those dumb koopas over there started all this with their damn love triangle! Had that not happened, we wouldn't be in here discussing this stupid shit!" Wendy yelled.

"At least we didn't conspire to keep being RAPED a secret from everyone!" Koopie yelled back.

"At least she doesn't have a boyfriend who has a psychotic meltdown and stirs shit up for no reason!" Waluigi intervened.

Before Peach knew it, everyone ended up yelling and arguing with each other. This was NOT what Peach intended and it made her feel completely awful.

"Guys, stop! PLEASE STOP! THIS IS JUST MAKING EVERYTHING WORSE!" Peach started to cry. She really regretted doing this meeting now.

"You started this, blondie! Everything that's happening right now is your fault! Besides, what did you think would happen by bringing up all this crap!? That we would all nod our heads and kindly agree with whatever you say!? You may be the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, but you're surely NOT fit to rule our group!" Lakilulu spat. Some nods were seen and the group exited the room, giving harsh murmurs to each other and lasting cold glares to Peach. Peach just stood there with her jaw dropped, definitely not expecting this meeting to end the way it did. The only people that remained in the room were Mona and Pauline.

Peach backed herself up into the wall behind her and slowly slid to the floor as tears fell down her cheeks.

"*sniff* I…I thought I was doing the right thing…I'm such an idiot…" she sobbed. Mona and Pauline walked up to her.

"This entire thing was a mistake, Peach. You really shouldn't have brought up everyone's secrets like that…" Pauline said in a way that she tried to criticize her yet comfort her.

"I agree with Pauline. ESPECIALLY when we're about to potentially get into a big battle with those guys. Now, everyone's gonna be all distracted and mad at each other to where they probably won't have a lot of focus at the wedding," Mona said, putting her hand on Peach's shoulder. She didn't want to lie to her and tell her "it's okay" because it really wasn't. Mona and Pauline had to be honest with Peach in order for her to realize her mistakes.

*sniff* If we get into a battle and we lose…it's gonna be all my fault…oh god! I'M SO SORRY!" Peach then cried into Pauline's shoulder.

"We're not gonna lose, okay? Don't you dare say that. We're still gonna kick their asses to the moon and back, win, and get the hell out of here!" Pauline exclaimed, holding Peach and feeling her pain.

"P-Pauline…I'm surprised you stayed behind…why? I thought you would leave too, like the rest of them…" Peach said in between her sobs.

"You were there for me for support when no one else would. Now, I'm doing the same for you," Pauline replied with a heartwarming smile.


Jojora ran out to the beach and stood in the shallow waters. She stared out into the ocean as she felt the waves crash at her feet.

"I'm never going to come back from what happened…this is it for me. I don't deserve to live…" Jojora said to herself as a tear fell from her cheek. She walked in deeper.

"JOJORA, STOP!" Parakarry yelled, flying as fast as he could to her.

"Parakarry…?" she said.

"Whatever you're about to do, DO NOT DO IT! OKAY?! Peach was COMPLETELY in the wrong there with what she said!" Parakarry said.

"Does it matter? Everyone hates me now for what I did to Watt. I can't ever face them again…" Jojora said, still looking out into the ocean.

"It does matter! Look, Jojora, I'm still upset about Watt. But, I don't think you did anything wrong with what happened to her. Obviously, you feel terrible about it, which is why you're not some heartless killer! I know you didn't mean to purposely do it, I can see it in your eyes! As for everyone else, they'll come around. I'll make sure of it. But, please, Jojora…don't do this to yourself. It's only gonna make things worse in the long run. Suicide is never the answer," Parakarry said to her in encouragement. Jojora slowly looked to him. She then gave him a hug and he hugged her back. She cried into his shoulder and the two fell into the shallow water on their knees. Parakarry still kept holding her, knowing she needed to get it all out.


It was now time to get going for the wedding. Everyone left the hotel and got on board the train. Awkward silence combined with heavy tensions were in the air with everyone. No one spoke to each other. No one looked at each other. Other regular passengers noticed this and felt just as awkward because it was so obvious that everyone was mad at each other yet no one did anything to try to settle things.

The train stopped at their destination and everyone got off and walked to the church. They encountered a few of the Sonic characters as they entered in.

"So nice of you guys to make it! Come, take a seat wherever you'd like! It's about to start in a few minutes! It's going to be AMAZING!" Blaze cheered.

"I was starting to think you guys weren't going to come, but now I'm glad you are. This is a once in a lifetime event that you absolutely don't want to miss," Shadow cryptically said.

"Hey Mario! Enjoyed that little mindscrew I gave ya last night!?" Charmy taunted.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Mario asked.

"I saw you kill Cream…well, the FAKE Cream I should say! Our amazingly useful witch casted a spell to create a clone of Cream because we knew you'd be coming here last night! We devised a plan for you to come here and 'accidentally' kill her so that it would fuck with your mind and screw up your whole plan of trying to defeat all of us, but…I guess it only KIND OF worked, hahaha!" Charmy laughed.

"Witch? You mean…Rosalina…" Mario said in shock. He saw in the far corner was Rosalina who entered some room.

"Yep! Her magic is WAYYYYYYYYY more powerful now that she's evil! We did her a favor, don't ya think?" Charmy rubbed it in his face. Mario tried to hold back from strangling him so as to not cause a scene just yet.

Everyone began to sit down in their seats, noting that there were many other people in there also seated that they did not recognize as well. Flurrie noticed something odd with Sally, though.

"Oh! Sally, dear, who is that fellow next to you? And, err, why does he look all shaky and like he's about to hurt someone?" she asked. The guy was a green raccoon who had messy fur and looked like he hadn't slept in days. Flurrie also noted that Sally was holding onto him quite tightly.

"You'll find out who he is soon enough. Just enjoy the wedding for now, dear," Sally winked.

After everyone was in their seats, the organ music began to play and everyone stood up and turned their head back to see Cream throwing flowers down the aisle with Amy walking right behind her in her white gown, smiling deviously. Sonic smiled back at her, equally devious, at the altar. Amy reached the altar and the two faced each other. The music stopped playing and a hooded Minister stepped forward.

"Thank you. Please be seated," he spoke. Everyone followed his command.

"Why is he dressed like that? I can't even see his face!" Bowser Jr. said.

"Not sure, but something tells me that this guy may be a part of their plan too…" Goombario replied.

The Minister cleared his throat and began his speech. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the sight of God to join this man, and this woman in holy ma…"

He suddenly stopped talking. A few murmurs were heard along the crowd along with many confused expressions.

"What the hell are you doing? Continue the damn speech!" Amy whispered.

"I…I deeply apologize everyone. Allow me to start again," the minister said and cleared his throat again. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the sight of God to…"

He stopped again. More murmurs occurred as he faced a certain direction to the crowd.

"What is wrong with you!? Why do you keep stopping!?" Sonic angrily whispered.

"Is he looking at someone? Who the hell is he staring at?" Pauline asked.

The Minister removed his hood to reveal himself to be a green raccoon. More murmurs were heard.

"My son! MY SON! YOU'RE ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!" he screamed and ran over to where Sally was seated. People shrieked and shouted amongst themselves.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!? I'M SO CONFUSED!" Kooper yelled.

Sally stood up and fiercely faced the 'minister', still tightly holding onto the smaller and youthful-looking green raccoon. The younger raccoon growled ferociously at him, prompting some more shrieks and gasps from the crowd.

"What the…? My son! Vanko! What on earth happened to you!? WHAT THE HELL DID YOU TO MY SON!?" he shrilled.

"I didn't do anything to him! The person you want answers from isn't gonna come from me!" Sally yelled with a smirk.

Suddenly, the main doors were kicked open. Everyone looked to see who it was, but then screamed in tremendous shock the second they saw this person.

"But rather…the answers will come from me, instead," Doctor Eggman spoke, who was the main tormentor of Sonic's world in the past, and has been alive all along.

EOC.

Next chapter is the big fight! Some people are going to die, and this is including the main cast! See you next Tuesday for the final chapter of the Sonic arc!