Wendy had just finished telling Lemmy, Morton, Iggy, and Ludwig the summarization of what happened in the previous world. They were left completely shocked by the events she laid out.
"Holy. Shit. This is gonna sound horrible, but I'm surprised that more of you guys weren't killed back there! Good god!" Morton exclaimed.
"Uhh, I'm more horrified at the fact that YOU were raped, Wendy! But, you seem to be perfectly fine now somehow!?" Iggy questioned.
"Because the person that made Shadow the Hedgehog do it is dead now. Karma got him back. I mean…I do think about it occasionally. It still hurts remembering it and…and I don't think I'll ever forget it. But, I can't let it ruin me, Iggy. I can't let it take over my life. It's over and done with," Wendy replied to his concerns a little emotionally. Iggy nodded in comprehension and gave her a hug.
"Aren't you two mad at Koops for spilling zat secret to everyone, though!?" Ludwig asked.
"We were mad, yes, but, it was definitely wrong of us to keep it a secret in the first place. I don't even know why I tried to hide it from everyone…I don't know what the hell I was thinking. Kammy was so right to call me out on that. I was the one that instigated the secret so it's all my fault. I'm not mad at Koops that much because what I did was just as shitty," Larry explained.
"Plus, he just found out that his girlfriend, Koopie, cheated on him for Kooper, so he was a bit messed in the head at that point anyways," Bowser Jr. added.
"Damn. Sounds like we missed a humongous soap opera! My god. Maybe next time you guys shouldn't go with the others to the next world then?" Morton asked.
"Why do you say that? We love to help in saving the world, you know. I know that seems so weird coming from us, but it feels like it's the right thing to do and we've learned so much along the way too," Bowser Jr. said.
"Isn't it obvious, dude!? You guys went through hell back there and, from the sound of it, you all barely made it out alive. Do you really think you can handle going through crap like that again? I doubt it. I really think you should just let Mario and his friends handle this time around. It's one of the few things they're good for," Morton suggested.
"The FEW good things!? Morton, I don't understand you. Mario and his friends have treated us with nothing but respect and care for the most part ever since we joined. Obviously, we've had our differences and conflicts, but we always quickly overcame them. You need to let go of whatever vendetta you have on them. We're all in this together, whether you like it or not," Larry stated.
"Woah! Never thought I'd hear you of all people say it like that. I mean…I don't know, it just feels so weird helping and being friendly with those people, you know? We've been against them for years now and all of a sudden you guys' have this drastic change of attitude about them," Lemmy pointed out.
"Yeah. You three need to realize that as soon as that purple jackass is defeated, those 'heroes' will go back to hating us and will probably end up taking all the credit too. This is only a temporary thing because we've all been roped into this situation," Morton said.
"Look, I'll admit, it DOES still feel weird helping and being friendly with them, but going on this adventure and seeing all the horrible stuff Tatanga has been doing has made me think twice about these guys. They're really not bad after all and I think dad is even totally done with coming up with evil plans of his own," Wendy came for their defense light heartedly.
"Plus, I've even made friends with some of them! We don't have to constantly be loners, you know!" Bowser Jr. enthusiastically added.
"Wow. I…uhh…don't really know what to say at this point…" Iggy shrugged with mixed feelings about the three's caring for the heroes.
"Seriously!? Dad is actually giving up being evil? HA! Fat chance! Just you guys watch, once this is all over with, he'll try to kidnap Peach and bring chaos to the Mushroom Kingdom again when they least expect it! He's only saying that because he's emotional about Kammy right now!" Morton yelled in disbelief.
"Whatever, Morton! Believe what you wanna believe, I guess. We're not gonna force you to like them, we're just letting you know how we feel. As for dad, well, I don't know, Kammy was his closest friend ever and a close friend dying can really change someone. I think people have the ability to change, don't you?" Larry asked. Morton immediately shook his head and rolled his eyes.
"Never. People are always the same no matter how much they try to fake it on the outside. This little 'bonding' thing you guys got going on with the heroes isn't gonna last long, I promise. You'll get bored of playing nice and come back to wanting to beat the snot out of them. It runs in our blood. There's no escaping it," he firmly and confidently stated.
"Just because it runs in our blood doesn't mean we have to give into it! Come on guys, aren't you even the least bit tired of hating everyone and wanting to make chaos happen?" Bowser Jr. asked.
Ludwig slowly raised his hand. "Um…not sure if you can count zis, but…I honestly don't see myself carrying on ze whole villain act for ze rest of my life. It's getting kinda old and, um, like you said, junior, I want friends outside of our family, and I don't know if it will happen if I keep being evil like dad wanted us to be…"
Silence filled the room after that. No one else was sure of what to say due to the fact that it was dawning on the siblings of how the whole family dynamic was beginning to change.
Pauline busted in to the room they were in in a state of panic.
"Guys! There you are! Please tell me you all know that Bowser is flying away in his clown car!?" she frantically spoke.
The Koopalings looked at her in surprise and confusion.
"Uhh…WHAT? What the hell are you talking about!?" Iggy asked.
"Your dad. His clown car. I saw him outside flying away! I'm guessing you all don't know that he's leaving then!?" Pauline said.
"No! He didn't tell us anything about that! FUCK! Show us where you last saw him!" Larry yelled. Pauline quickly led the Koopalings out of the day room and back towards the entrance. Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Daisy noticed the group looking freaked out as they ran by.
"Hey! HEY! What's going on!? Is everything okay!?" Mario yelled and ran after them with the three.
They all made it to the entrance of the hospital on the outside. Pauline pointed to the northwest where they could all see a small figure flying away that indeed looked like Bowser in his clowncar.
"Can someone tell us what the hell's going on here!? What are we supposed to be looking at here!?" Daisy shouted.
"That's our dad flying away to who knows where! He never told us he was leaving! I-I just don't understand why he's doing this!" Bowser Jr. cried.
"How did he even get the clown car anyways!? It's all the way back in the castle, which is miles from here!" Lemmy yelled.
"Are you sure he's not going back to your guy's castle? I mean, where else would he go?" Luigi asked.
"No, the castle is northeast from here. He's heading northwest. Where the hell is he going?" Morton asked.
"Northwest…that's…that's where the ocean is. Why would he…oh god…no! He wouldn't!" Mario gasped.
"What? WHAT? He wouldn't what!?" Peach shrieked.
"He's going to take down Tatanga. That's the only place I can think of where he's heading. Tatanga is located on an island in the Mushroom Sea in that same direction he's heading towards!" Mario concluded.
"WHAT!? THAT DOESN'T MAKE ANY FUCKING SENSE! Does he NOT remember that that whole island is protected by a fucking FORCE FIELD!? He's going to get himself killed!" Morton raged.
"He's not thinking rationally because of Kammy dying! He must've forgotten! There's no way he can take Tatanga down all by himself! Plus, there's like hundreds of guards on that island that he has to go through!" Peach exclaimed.
"No…no no no no noooo! GODDAMNIT! WE JUST LOST KAMMY, WE CAN'T LOSE DAD TOO!" Wendy started to cry.
"Fuck! What are we gonna do then!? We have to stop him somehow!" Larry said.
"Wait! The arwings! Is Kylie still here!? KYLIE!" Mario suddenly got an idea and ran back inside towards the cafeteria with Luigi following him.
"MARIO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Luigi yelled.
Mario ran inside the cafeteria and saw Kylie in the corner dumping her trash out from her tray. He ran to her.
"Kylie! We have an emergency! Can you take me back to Mushroom Corps. so I can use one of the arwings!?" Mario quickly asked.
"Uhhhhh what's going on exactly!? What kind of emergency is it!?" Kylie was taken by surprise.
"I'll explain on the way but we have to go NOW!" Mario demanded.
"WAIT! Mario, I'm coming with you! You're not doing this alone and I'm not taking no for an answer!" Luigi also demanded.
The three ran back out towards the entrance.
"MARIO! What are you planning to do!?" Peach asked.
"Luigi and I are going with Kylie back to Mushroom Corps. and we're taking an arwing to follow Bowser to the island! If we leave now, we might be able to catch up to him!" Mario informed.
"But…you guys…ugh, it's the only way to save Bowser though, isn't it? Alright, PLEASE be careful!" Daisy pleaded and kissed Luigi goodbye.
"Yes, please be careful and do NOT try to take Tatanga down as well! Only bring Bowser back!" Peach added and kissed Mario goodbye too.
"We will! We'll be back as soon as we can!" Mario said as he ran off with Luigi and Kylie to the van that brought them there.
"Good luck! Please get our dad back alive! We need him!" Bowser Jr. shouted.
Pauline walked away from the entrance and stumbled up against the wall as if she was drunk.
"Pauline? Are you okay?" Peach called out.
"I…my head…" she uttered then suddenly fell to the floor.
"Woah! What the hell!? PAULINE!" Daisy yelled and rushed to her need with Peach.
"Oh god, I don't think she's breathing! SOMEONE, GET US A DOCTOR! OUR FRIEND NEEDS HELP THIS INSTANT!" Peach yelled in full concern.
Diddy froze in fear at Banjo pointing the gun at him and making that out-of-nowhere accusation.
"Wha…B-B-Banjo!? What the hell are you doing!? Why would you think that I killed Kazooie!?" he shrieked.
"I found this gun in the drawer of your hotel room. This is the same gun that was used to kill Kazooie, wasn't it!? Why was this in your room!?" Banjo interrogated.
"I-I-I don't know why that was in there! I swear on my life, I had NO idea that gun was in the drawer! I thought we left the gun back at the church!" Diddy yelled and held his hands up. He started to sweat all over and was praying in his mind that he wouldn't pull the trigger.
"One of you from the group killed Kazooie. Bombette told me that Goombario came to that conclusion. All the infected people were busy dealing with you guys and someone from our group must've slipped out, grabbed the gun, and used it to kill Kazooie! Now, this gun being in YOUR room makes you a suspect! You must've forgot that you put it there!" Banjo explained his rationale but it just made Diddy even more confused.
"WAIT, WHAT!? That doesn't make any fucking sense at all! Why would one of us kill Kazooie!? Most of all, why would I kill Kazooie!? I'm not a murderer and I barely even knew her! Banjo, listen to what you're saying and what you're doing! You're not making ANY sense here!" Diddy tried to make him see how illogical he was being.
"You barely even knew her, but I barely even know you. You could be secretly psychotic for all I know. Maybe that battle in the church fucked with your head and made you excited and wanted to add to the chaos so you killed my friend, thinking that everyone would believe that the infected guys did it, but no. You got caught and I figured you out!" Banjo yelled and then put his finger on the trigger.
"BANJO, PLEASE! Listen to what you're saying! I would NEVER kill someone that was on our side! I'm not psychotic in any way! Ask everyone in our group and they'll tell you that I could never do something so horrible! Banjo…you're not in the right mindset right now. I know you're still hurting over Kazooie and I know it's beyond terrible what you're going through but falsely accusing me of murder and trying to kill me won't solve a thing! It will make things much worse, I can guarantee you that!" Diddy still tried to convince him to calm down. His heart pounded faster than before as he knew he was potentially mere seconds from being shot.
Banjo slowly lowered the gun and thought about what he said. Diddy calmed himself down and felt a little relieved.
"Okay? Okay…now Banjo…please put the gun down…if the killer really IS someone from our group, we can figure it out together, okay? But, I promise you that it's not me," Diddy reiterated.
"You're right…wh-what the hell am I doing exactly? It's not going to work if I do it like this…" Banjo said as a couple of tears fell from his eyes.
"Exactly. Now, please, put the gun down on the floor. Banjo? Are you listening to me?" Diddy said as he slowly approached him.
"I got it. I figured out the perfect way to find out the killer. I go out there and bring you with me. I hold this gun to your head in front of everyone and demand that the killer of Kazooie come forward otherwise I'll shoot you myself," Banjo coldly stated and aimed the gun back at him. Diddy dropped his jaw in horror at his plan.
"What the hell!? Banjo, just stop this already! LET ME BEEEEEEE!" Diddy screamed.
"STOP IT! YOU YELL ONE MORE TIME AND I WILL SHOOT YOU IN THE LEG, UNDERSTAND ME!? DON'T. MAKE. ANOTHER. NOISE," Banjo angrily threatened. Diddy silenced himself. He was now completely petrified and figured that there was no way of turning Banjo back at this point.
Flurrie roamed the cafeteria, looking for someone specific as she held a bottle of Chuckola Cola in her hands. She accidentally bumped into DK.
"Oh! Dearie, I am so sorry! I've been distracted trying to look for Banjo! I got him this delicious Chuckola Cola and figured it would help cheer him up even the teensiest bit because its sweetness makes one feel completely satisfied…well, that's what I think anyways!" Flurrie said and then heartily laughed.
"Ah, no worries. I'm actually looking for someone too. You seen Diddy around? I gotta tell him something rather interesting. Yoshi's cousin, Boshi, just arrived and poor Yoshi does NOT look happy about it! Though, I can't blame him cause Boshi has caused a lot of drama in the past…" DK said.
"Boshi? Never heard of this fellow, but sounds rather daunting. Do tell more!" Flurrie oozed at this gossip.
"Let me find Diddy first, then I'll tell you the whole story. Hey, Wario! Have you seen Diddy around here?" DK asked.
"Diddy? Um…yeah, actually. I saw him walk with Banjo out of the cafeteria and to the left a few minutes ago. No idea where they went exactly," Wario answered.
"Oh! You saw him with Banjo? Well, that's a perfect coincidence! Thank you very much!" Flurrie happily thanked.
"Diddy with Banjo? That's kind of random…but thanks!" DK said. The two then went off to find them.
"Okay…we're heading to the left. And…oh, it splits into three separate hallways. That's certainly helpful," Flurrie sighed.
"Hey! Please tell me I'm not the only one who heard that yelling just now!" Fly Guy exclaimed as he walked to the pair from the east hallway.
"Huh? What yelling?" DK asked.
"Oh…guess not. I heard what sounded like two guys yelling in that room all the way at the end there," Fly Guy pointed to the door. "I wanted to check out what was going on in there, but decided to just leave it alone. They're probably arguing about something dumb like one of their girlfriends is cheating on them for the other guy or about how there's not enough showers in this damn place. See ya!" He then walked away.
"Um…okay then? I'm not exactly sure what we're supposed to take from that. Do Fly Guys even shower in the first place?" Flurrie questioned.
"Hmm. I kinda wanna check this out…" DK said and went to where Fly Guy directed them with Flurrie following behind. DK got to the door he thinks Fly Guy was talking about and knocked on it. No response. He knocked on it again and called out this time.
"Hey! Is everything okay in there? A friend of mine heard some yelling!" he said.
The door slowly opened just enough for Banjo to pop his head out. "Oh! Hey DK and Flurrie. What's up?"
"Um…is everything alright? Fly Guy heard some yelling in here and we just wanted to check and see if everything was okay," DK said.
"Yelling? There was no yelling in here. I didn't yell. Fly Guy must be imagining things. I get a crazy vibe from him honestly, just like with Fire Bro!" Banjo laughed somewhat awkwardly.
"I concur, but I also have to ask, is Diddy Kong with you? Wario said he saw you two head out of the cafeteria together!" Flurrie said.
"Um, no, he's not with me. W-We did head out together, but, uhh, he wanted to hang out in the courtyard and I came in here because there's a shower and I wanted to…um…shower. Yeah," Banjo responded even more awkwardly.
"I see. But, why are you not opening the door all the way? If something's wrong, you can tell me!" DK questioned.
"B-Because I'm…uh…getting dressed! Yeah. I-I'll be out in a few minutes!" Banjo said.
"Dearie…your fur doesn't even look wet…" Flurrie pointed out. DK gave him a dirty look after that realization while Banjo widened his eyes in shock. He tried to slam the door shut but DK kicked it open, breaking the door off its handle and knocking Banjo to the floor. He saw Diddy inside and also saw a gun slide on the floor as well.
"OH SHIT! DIDDY, GET THE GUN!" DK commanded and lunged to Banjo, holding him down on the floor. Diddy swiped the gun and aimed it at Banjo in case he would do something hostile.
"Oh my! Banjo, were you holding Diddy hostage at gunpoint!? How could you!?" Flurrie cried.
"AAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH! ONE OF YOU KILLED KAZOOIE! I HAVE TO FIND OUT WHO IT IS!" Banjo screamed and struggled immensely to get out of DK's grasp, but he was too strong for him.
"STOP IT! STOP MOVING! THIS ISN'T THE WAY, BANJO! YOU WERE ABOUT TO MAKE ONE HUGE MISTAKE IF I HADN'T COME HERE IN TIME!" DK yelled into his face.
"SOMEONE FROM OUR GROUP KILLED HER! I JUST WANNA KNOW WHO IT IS! I NEED TO KNOW WHO IT IS! PLEASE! PLEEEAAAAASE!" Banjo cried his heart out and gave up trying to escape DK's grasp. Despite the horrible act Banjo almost committed, the three in that room still felt awful for him.
Birdo and Yoshi were in a separate patient room talking to Boshi.
"Was this really necessary to talk privately away from your other friends? Damn man, I see some things haven't changed!" Boshi laughed.
"I did this because I wanna know why you're here. This was totally unexpected! Last time I remember, you were on Delfino Island trying to set up some marijuana-selling business," Yoshi said with a tone that was unusually intense for him.
"Yeahhhh…that didn't go through the way I wanted it to. What the fuck ever, though. Starting up your own business is hard enough so I wasn't too surprised that it didn't go through," Boshi shrugged and rubbed his nose with his hand.
"Alright, Boshi, how did you get here then? How did you know where to find us? Do you even know of what's been going on?" Birdo questioned.
"Goddamn! If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you two would've preferred me dead than alive! Didn't realize both of you held grudges!" Boshi barked.
"We're not saying that! We're just saying…umm…like I said, you showing up is completely unexpected. It's been months since I've seen you, Boshi. You don't even live in Mushroom City, so that's why we're pretty shocked right now," Yoshi tried to explain his and Birdo's questioning.
"Really? Is that the ONLY reason you're shocked!? Pahaha! Come off it, cousin. The minute you looked at me from the hospital entrance, I knew you didn't want me here. You made it so fucking obvious!" Boshi got in his face.
"HEY! Just answer the fucking questions already! And you can't blame him us for being suspicious of you considering all the shit you've done in the past!" Birdo got in between them and got in Boshi's face now. He leered at her.
"…Fine. Hey, Yoshi, remember that text message I sent you a few weeks ago? The one about me staying over at a friend's place in Mushroom City for a while because he hooked me up with a construction job? Remember that text message? I also said that I wanted us to hang and catch up on shit. It's okay if you don't remember, considering you never fucking responded to it!" Boshi explained.
Birdo looked confused then turned to Yoshi. "He texted you? You never told me that!"
"That's because I didn't want to talk about it. Boshi, I was hesitant on responding to you and gave it some thought, but then I actually ended up forgetting about it because a bunch of other stuff came up! So…I AM sorry for that," Yoshi said.
Boshi shook his head. "Apology NOT accepted. I know I have a shady past, but come on man! The least you could've done was said 'No' instead of leaving me hanging!"
"Shady? Understatement of the year right there," Birdo scoffed.
"Oh, screw you, Birdo! At least I don't get constantly confused by other people for being the opposite gender!" Boshi spat. Fire raged in Birdo's eyes and she smacked him hard on the cheek, leaving a clear, red mark.
"Things haven't changed with you either, I see! UGH! Why does this have to happen now of all times!? Boshi, if you just came here to start drama with us, then LEAVE. I have plenty of people here that will back me up on this and toss you out!" Yoshi threatened.
"Ah…yes…that's right. The superheroes on a scavenger's hunt I've heard about. That's your 'plenty of people' right? Pfft. You do realize the chances of you guys beating Tatanga is pretty slim, right?" Boshi asked.
"Wait, how have you heard about us on an adventure exactly?" Birdo asked.
"It's spreading like wildfire on the internet. There's a couple people here at this hospital who are reporting to online news outlets about everything that's been going on since the attack on Mushroom City. It's actually how I found out about this place. My friend that I was staying with left me behind as soon as the attacks happened. Fucking bastard. So, I had to go through the city and find somewhere stable and safe because the attacks happened right next to our place. I went through my phone on the internet to see if people were reporting on any safe spots to go to in the city, and people were reporting about a hospital and that Mario and his followers were going on an adventure to get these mystical items to defeat Tatanga so I followed the directions and BAM! Here I am, bitches!" Boshi explained and rubbed his nose again with his hand.
"Uhh…okay…but the attack happened days ago. Why are you just now finding us here?" Birdo asked.
"I got distracted by some stuff along the way. Also, apparently, you guys changed hospitals from that one in the forest to the one over here so I had to re-route myself which took me extra longer. But, I made it. I'm safe now from whatever baddies are still possibly lurking the streets. Halle-freaking-lujah!" Boshi cheered.
"Gotcha. Alright, well…um…I guess…enjoy your stay here then? I don't really know what else to say right now," Yoshi shrugged.
"You don't need to say anything. Now, if you'll excuse me I'm gonna grab a whole bunch of food and get high on life! See ya!" Boshi snickered and quickly left the room.
"Wow. What. A. Fucking. Douchebag," Birdo stated.
"And he wonders why no one likes him. Glad he isn't my brother at the very least!" Yoshi said.
Toad and Toadette entered the room.
"So, was it really necessary to keep us out while he was in here?" Toad asked.
"Yeah, sorry about that. We didn't want you guys to get involved just in case things with Boshi got messy. He's bad news and I don't want you guys hanging around him!" Birdo ordered like she was their mother.
"Yes, please listen to us when we say that he's nothing but trouble! This is the first time I've seen him in months, and based off just a few minutes talking to him again, he hasn't changed a bit. He's poison, I tell you!" Yoshi dramatically exclaimed.
"Wow, Yoshi! I've never seen you like this before. What the heck has he done that's so bad?" Toadette asked.
"You really don't remember anything that Boshi did, Toadette? I'll give you one story to jog your memory. Remember Peach's Christmas party we went to a few years ago? Remember when someone ended up getting really drunk off the wine and punched me in the face and yelled at me for not helping him get into rehab because of a bunch of bullshit reasons? Yeah, that was him and all his glory!" Yoshi said. Toad and Toadette dropped their jaws.
"Wait…that was him!? WOW! Okay, now I remember! My gosh. So…he's an alcoholic AND a druggie then!? Great. Like we didn't need another totally messed up person hanging around us," Toadette groaned.
"Yeah, and that's just one of MANY stories of him being an asshole. He's even flirted with me a few times even though he clearly knows that I'm with Yoshi. He refuses to take the hint," Birdo added.
"Wow. Well, I don't wanna sound cruel, but, is there any chance we could kick him out of the hospital in case he does something bad?" Toad asked.
"Depends on how 'bad' it is, Toad," Birdo said.
"Like…if he ends up getting wasted and violent like that one time, or if he gets caught with illegal drugs, or something like that?" Toad asked.
"I'm sure we'll be able to do something in case he does do that. We can't have someone that unstable be around here in an environment where we're all barely keeping it together! He's not right in the head. I just hope he keeps to himself at the least…" Yoshi sighed with a hint of fear in his voice.
Bleck and Tippi were sitting on the rooftop, watching the sun set in the horizon.
"This is so nice. Remember when we always used to watch the sun set at our home out in the country long ago, Blumiere? We would always be amazed by the different mix of colors in the sky and how we always talked about crazy stories that happened in our past while watching it," Tippi reminisced happily.
Bleck didn't make any response. It was clear he was deep in thought.
"Blumiere? Everything okay?" Tippi asked and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Oh! Timpani…I have to tell you something. It's something that I was about to tell you right before Mario and the rest came back from their mission. The cafeteria in this hospital, it's definitely the one that I saw in my vision," Bleck confidently stated.
"Blumiere…a-are you completely positive!?" Tippi asked in fear.
"Yes. I remember now! Both cafeterias in both hospitals looked exactly the same EXCEPT for one detail. The clock in this cafeteria. I saw it in my vision. The clock in this one is gray and has the numbers clearly labeled on it, from 1 to 12. Whereas, the clock in the previous hospital is black and only has the numbers 12, 3, 6, and 9 on it with the small dashes in between. That's why I screamed. This is where the fire takes place. This is where many people are going to die," Bleck confirmed with just as much fear in his voice as Tippi's.
"Oh god! B-Blumiere, what are we supposed to do then!? How will we even know when to escape!?" Tippi frantically asked.
"The people will never believe me if I simply tell them that I had a vision that the cafeteria here will go down in flames. Hell…the whole hospital may go down in flames as well! But, they wouldn't believe it and would just see me as an old fool. Not only that, but we don't have anywhere else we could go all go for shelter if we were to somehow get everyone to believe it. This is the perfect place for us survivors. We have food, drinks, stable shelter, and immediate medical help when we need it. There's nowhere else for us to go…" Bleck said in discouragement.
Tippi was silent for a minute. She slowly turned away from him and let out a sad sigh.
"You're…you're right. We have no way of knowing when this attack will happen, and we have nowhere to go. What are we to do then? Are we just supposed to accept this fate then?" she asked.
"No. Timpani, I will rest in the cafeteria every night from now on and try to be there as much as possible throughout each day. That way, once something happens, I'll be able to attack back quickly and defend the people here. It's the only solution I can think of right now," Bleck proposed.
"Really, Blumiere? Would they even let you sleep there? Plus, it's the busiest part of the hospital. You might not get any sleep!" Tippi warned.
"What else can I do, Timpani? This vision was given to me for a reason. I have to try. I want to help. I can't just let this pass me by. The old me would do that, but I don't ever wanna go back to that version of me ever again," Bleck stated.
Tippi was silent for a moment again. She then let out another sad sigh.
"Blumiere…have you ever wondered why you received this vision? Something like this has never happened to you before. But, when you first told me about this, you were so quick to believe it as a vision. I'm not saying that what you saw WASN'T a vision, but…why you?" she questioned.
"I think about that everyday, Timpani. Why me? Why me, out of everyone here? I'm not anyone special. Sure, I have magical powers, but so does Rosalina. Sure, I have determination to help people, but so does Mario. It doesn't make any sense, but, this is one of the very few things in my life that I've never been more sure of. I feel it in my gut, my heart, and my mind," Bleck stated.
"I see…okay. May I ask you, what's another thing that you've never been more sure of in your life?" Tippi asked.
"Knowing that you are the only one for me, Timpani."
Peach and Daisy were in one of the patient rooms with Pauline on the stretcher and Dr. Nokano writing who-knows-what on his clipboard.
"Pauline, on a scale of 1 to 10, how badly is your head hurting as of this moment?" Dr. Nokano asked.
"I'd say about an 8…" Pauline answered. Peach and Daisy looked at her in fear.
"That bad!? Doctor, what the hell could've caused so much pain to her head!?" Daisy asked.
"I see. Pauline, have you had an injury to your head recently? Say, something fell on top of your head, or you bumped your head into something hard, or anything of the matter?" Dr. Nokano asked.
"I…y-yes, there was something that fell on my head. A few days ago, a ceiling panel fell on me back at the previous hospital. It hurt like a bitch for a whole day after that, but then it went away, but then it came back again!" Pauline explained.
"That's right, the big fight back at the hospital! You told me about that. So…what does that mean then!? Is she going to be okay, doctor!?" Peach cried.
"Hard to say of right now. We're gonna have to do an X-Ray on your skull, Pauline, to see if there's any fractures, clots, swelling, or anything of the kind. We can do the X-Ray session in an hour, okay? I'll have the nurse wheel you over to the examination room once it's time," Dr. Nokano said.
"Yes, that's fine. But, doctor? Are you able to determine how bad it is as of this moment without x-rays? Because…the panel fell on my head a few days ago, but I didn't get treatment for it right after. I mean, I thought it wasn't too big of a deal because my head wasn't bleeding from it. But, my head hurt like hell from then on, but you know, I just thought that that was some kind of after-effect from being hit on the head. Do you think me not seeing someone right after I was hit worsened my condition?" Pauline asked.
"Hmm. I don't want to make any predictions without doing an X-Ray, Pauline, because I don't want to scare you in case I'm wrong. However, I will say that the longer that you waited to see someone for your head injury most likely had an impact in worsening your head condition, because no treatment was done to fix the potential fracture, clots, swelling, etc. in your skull until now. In cases like this, the longer one waits to get help, the worse the condition gets because, depending on what kind of internal injury you have, it can spread through the rest of the skull and cause further damage, even to the brain," he explained.
"I see. Well…better than never, I guess…" Pauline sighed guiltily.
"I have to leave now. The nurse will be back in a few minutes to check on your vitals. Let her know if you guys need anything," Dr. Nokano said then left the room.
"Pauline, why didn't you say anything about your head hurting like hell? This sounds like it could be really bad!" Daisy exclaimed.
"I don't know why I didn't say anything. I thought it was just a bad headache that would eventually go away. This fucking sucks!" Pauline yelled.
"You're gonna be okay, Pauline, I promise! We'll be here for you if you need us, okay? You're not alone in this!" Peach said in comfort.
"I should be alone in this. It's one dumb mistake after another with me! God…I'm just poisonous to everyone AND myself, aren't I!?" Pauline cried.
"Hey, don't say that! You know that's bullshit. You saved Peach, my closest friend ever. You risked your life for her, Pauline. Not only that, but you've helped us a lot in obtaining these gems. You're a true hero, Pauline. And…and a true friend," Daisy spoke right from the heart. She felt slightly weird about saying it to Pauline of all people, but she knew it was accurate about Pauline's change of heart. Pauline smiled at her and shed a couple tears.
Vivian was organizing sheets in one of the patient rooms, while Koops quickly came walking in.
"There you are, Viv! I've been looking for you everywhere," Koops spoke, which made the Shadow Siren jump a bit.
"Oh, Koops! You scared me! Hehe. What's up? How are you doing?" she asked as she got a little nervous.
"I'm fine, I guess. Did you hear about what happened to Bowser?" he asked.
"No, what happened? Is he okay!?" Vivian worried for the worst.
"He took his clown car to go face Tatanga all by himself! Can you believe that? He'll get himself killed!" Koops exclaimed.
"Oh my! How horrible! What is Bowser thinking!? Especially leaving all his kids here…and ESPECIALLY right after Kammy was killed!" Vivian shrieked.
"Yeah…very sad. Um, by the way, what are you doing in here?" Koops changed the subject.
"Oh, I'm helping set up the beds. I wanna make myself useful for the hospital staff while I'm here. It's the least I can do since they're letting us stay here as long as we want, and I'm kind of rallying for some others to help out as well," Vivian said.
"Oh okay. That's great you're helping out. You're so kind and caring…" Koops said and touched her shoulder gently. Vivian got goosebumps all over her body, not expecting him to make a move like that at all.
"Oh! Um, th-thanks Koops. You're just as kind and caring too, you know," Vivian blushed with a compliment in return.
"Thanks. Um…Vivian…to be honest, the reason why I wanted to find you isn't cause I wanted to talk about Bowser or about you helping out…" Koops said as he took his hand off her shoulder.
"Why? Is something wrong? Do you want to talk about Koopie? Is everything okay with that?" Vivian asked.
"No, no about Koopie. Everything's fine with that. I'm completely shutting her out of my life now. She doesn't mean anything to me anymore," Koops harshly stated.
"Wow! Okay then…so…what is it then?"
Koops opened his mouth to say something but then suddenly leaned in to kiss Vivian. The Shadow Siren jumped again in total surprise, but ended up kissing him back because she liked it a lot and was secretly craving for it for a long time.
"…so then Diddy tells me that he doesn't want to be with me and needs to focus on being alone. After this is all over with, though, there's a possibility that we may discuss about trying again…but I don't know how small that possibility is…" Dixie told the whole story of her and Diddy's breakup to Tiny. They were outside in the courtyard.
"My god, Dixie! I'm sorry you guys aren't together anymore. Both of you must feel so horrible. But, it was totally wrong of you to cheat on him like that! You can't give in to those kinds of temptations, especially when you promised to be monogamous!" Tiny scolded.
"You think I don't know that, Tiny!? Gosh! One second of doing something stupid and it ended ruining the best thing I ever had! And on top of that, we still have the rest of the gems to collect, and I-I just don't know how I'm going to be able to focus properly!" Dixie cried into her hands.
"Well, what do you want me to say, sis!? That it's all gonna be okay and you did nothing wrong!? You screwed up. You made a mistake. You have to pay the consequences for it. That's how life works, sis! I don't think you're a bad person for doing it, but I can't NOT be blunt with you about it, you know," Tiny said.
"I know. I know…I just don't know what to do with myself right now! God, Tiny, it hurts so much!" Dixie cried further and Tiny gave her a hug.
"I'm sorry, Dixie. The one thing you can do is do exactly what Diddy is doing: Focus on the mission. Everything else that's important will be handled once it's done," Tiny said as she stroked her sister's hair.
"I-I haven't even told you the worst of it, sis…it doesn't end there…" Dixie said through her tears.
"Oh no, what else happened!?" Tiny asked in fear.
"Toadette and I got into a fight about Diddy. I confided in her not to tell him, but she did anyways. I confronted her about it and we both said awful things to each other, and then…th-then I ended up smacking her. The second I did it, I knew how much I fucked up. I knew that I lost my best friend along with my boyfriend. Tiny…I'm not a nice person…" Dixie explained and lowered her head so as to not see what reaction Tiny would have on her face. Tiny sighed in disappointment.
"Sis…you had no right to smack her, no matter what she said to you, and you had no right to tell her to keep that a secret. I just don't even know what else to say right now!" she exclaimed.
"Say you won't leave me either? Say you'll always be my sister no matter what?" Dixie pleaded.
"Of course, Dixie. No matter what happens, I'll always be your sister and be by your side. But, you've got a lot to work through once this mission is done. There's a chance that Toadette might not even accept your apology. I know you love her deeply, but it'll be up to her to want to try to be friends again as well. But, you can't blame her for not wanting to, if she does," Tiny said sympathetically.
DK ran up to the sisters. "Hey, you guys! Finally found you."
"DK! What's up?" Tiny asked.
"Uhh…well…I don't even know if I should be doing this, but something bad nearly happened with Diddy just minutes ago, and I'd feel weird if I didn't tell you guys about it," DK said.
"What? H-How bad!? He's not hurt, is he!?" Dixie panicked, still caring deeply for him.
"No, not hurt at all. But…well, uhh, god I hope I'm doing the right thing here…just follow me and I'll show you what happened," DK gestured and led the two back inside.
EOC.
Next chapter will show Bowser attempting to infiltrate Tatanga's island. There will be other stuff happening back at the hospital, but the Bowser plot will definitely be the bulk of next chapter. Also, I have to announce that a relative of mine passed away recently which put a delay in my writing because of that and because of so many other family issues that went with it, so the next chapter will be posted two weeks from now instead of one week. Sorry guys, I hope you understand.
