"DON'T. FUCKING. TOUCH ME!" Tatanga roared as he stormed through the fortress soaking wet with numerous Koopatrols by his side.
"S-Sir Tatanga! Are you sure you're alright!? You suffered a nasty fall from that battle with Bowser and he clearly did a number on you with his magic attacks!" worriedly yelled a koopatrol.
"Yeah, plus that's a nasty wound you have on your shoulder and neck! It might have to get stitched!" pointed out another Koopatrol.
"I'M FINE! DON'T FUCKING WORRY ABOUT IT! THAT SORRY SON OF A BITCH IS LUCKY THAT I FELL OUT OF THAT HOLE OTHERWISE HIS ASS WOULD'VE BEEN VAPORIZED!" Tatanga screamed in pure rage.
"First things first, Tatanga! We gotta patch up that hole in the force field before the rest of those damn heroes try to come over here while it's still open!" Doopliss said.
"NO SHIT! There's also the fact that Bowser's gonna tell the rest of his stupid gang that he used magic to blast a hole in the force field, which means they're probably gonna use that space witch to do a spell to create a hole like Bowser did! FUUUUCK! We're losing time here! ALL YOU KOOPATROLS, GET BACK TO FINISHING THE WEAPON AND SPEED UP THE PROCESS!" Tatanga demanded. All the Koopatrols nodded and went back into the weapon room.
Tatanga and Doopliss then went over to Beldam and Marilyn's room. The alien banged on the door a few times. "BELDAM OPEN UP RIGHT NOW! I NEED YOU AND MARILYN!"
The door opened and there were the two shadow sisters standing there looking worried.
"Tatanga! Oh my god, are you okay!? What the hell just happened exactly!?" Beldam asked in shock.
"What the fuck do you mean by that!? Did you not just hear what happened outside your room a little while ago!?" Tatanga exclaimed.
"Marilyn and I were napping, then we woke up to these loud booming noises and shouting. I went outside, saw a whole bunch of Koopatrols running past my room and followed them to see what the hell was happening! I then saw Dimentio lying on the ground unconscious so Marilyn and I dragged him back into his room and put him on his bed. He'll be okay, he just needs to wake up on his own!" Beldam explained, only telling a part of the truth.
"Well, you surely missed a shitshow! Bowser was here and he managed to create a hole in the force field with his dead witch pal's wand. He almost killed Tatanga but Mario came in on one of those stupid arwings and got him out of here!" Doopliss summed up the event.
"WHAT!? BOWSER!? I can't believe he just did that all by himself! He is completely out of his damn mind!" Beldam exclaimed, pretending to be horrified.
"That's an understatement! Now then…he did a little damage to the fortress but it wasn't enough to impede any progress on the weapon. However! Because of what Bowser did, we need to close off that hole ASAP because him and the others will either try to get over here as quick as they can or they'll get that other blonde witch to use her magic to make another hole. Any chance that you, Marilyn, and I can cover up that hole with our magic without Dimentio?" Tatanga asked.
"If it's just a small hole, then yes, it's possible. But, if you're wondering if we can make the force field impenetrable from magic…I'm afraid that it's a no. We're aren't that skilled nor powerful enough to make the defense of the force field immune from magic," Beldam answered.
"Fuck! Okay. It's the best that we can do for now. Let's go back out there right now and get this spell overwith. After that, I need a first aid kit for this damn wound! I can't have another close call like that again!" Tatanga cried then the group went back to the deed.
Roy quietly stepped out from his room, making sure that they were gone. He walked over to Dimentio's door and knocked on it. No answer.
"Dimentio? It's me…I'm coming in…" Roy ominously spoke and slowly opened the door and crept in. He saw the jester lying on his bed, still seeming unconscious.
"You knew that I stopped you from hurting my dad. You have that information and now…you'll tell Tatanga and he will no doubt punish me in some horrible way. So…looks like I have two options here. The first one is killing you. Make your death look like it had something to do with Bowser so Tatanga and the rest won't know the truth. Or…the second one is running away again. I can escape by the teleporter in the basement if I don't get caught. I can run away and…I don't know…live as some hermit in the woods. Two awful choices, but I have to make one. I should've never come here in the first place…I should've never killed Dry Bones! I wanna take it all back!" Roy spoke softly to himself while still looking at the unconscious jester.
Roy slowly walked over to Dimentio and stood over him. He started to get a little upset and teary-eyed.
But then, out of the blue, Dimentio woke up and shot Roy with a magic blast, sending him flying across the room and cracking the wall as he smashed into it.
"AAAAGGGGGHHHH! FUCK! MY BAAAAACK!" Roy roared in tremendous pain.
Dimentio jumped out of his bed and landed on his feet hard. He was breathing in and out VERY deeply and ferociously. Roy had never seen him so pissed off before.
"YOU FUCKING FOOL! You really think you could just do that and get away without any consequences!? You stubborn piece of shit. There's a reason why Tatanga chose ME! AND I'M GONNA SHOW YOU EXACTLY WHY HE DID!" Dimentio roared and picked up Roy by the neck and dragged out in the hallway. Roy screamed for help but his voice was muffled due to him being basically choked and couldn't fight back much because his body was still hurting badly.
FLASHBACK
Dimentio was in some woods living in an abandoned and messy cabin. He sat in the living room amongst a ripped up couch, a smashed table, a few dirty clothes on the floor, and various glass pieces scattered about. He poured himself a glass of whiskey.
"Shit…that's all gone now…and I have no more alcohol left…anything to make this fucking life even more miserable for me…" Dimentio tiredly spoke and downed the whiskey. He then threw the glass cup at the wall.
"AGH! That fucking Count Bleck and his stupid whirly girlie, this is all his fault! Same with that damn plumber boy! Ever since I lost that battle with him, I've been reduced to simply nothing. The world knows of what I did, like a celebrity who creates a scandal in the media! I can't go anywhere without people screaming at me and trying to attack me. They know I'm a monster. They know what to expect from me. So…I'm at a loss. I may as well just kill myself already! Everyday is the same old shit! I've been stuck here in these atrocious woods for the past who knows how many days, weeks, months, maybe YEARS, and nothing of significance has happened! Why do I torture myself with this catastrophic isolation!? I have nothing to gain from it! I, Dimentio, master of dimensions, and pleaser of crowds, am a useless specimen in this godawful world! There's no point in ONLY existing as if I'm waiting for some miracle to arrive, so I may as well just end it right here, RIGHT NOW!" Dimentio angrily ranted to himself and swiped a glass piece off the floor and aimed it at his neck. The glass cut through his hand a little, making it bleed, as he hesitated on performing the deed.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
Dimentio jumped in surprise and dropped the glass piece.
"What the!? That…that sound was real, right!? I didn't just imagine that, right!? No. Yes! I must've imagined it! I'm far deep into these woods, no one would EVER think to come here!" he exclaimed erratically.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
"DAMNIT! It wasn't my imagination! Okay. I have to answer it. If they don't leave after I scream at them to run away like a wild cheetah, then I will blast them to mere nothingness!" Dimentio said to himself again while getting pretty nervous.
He went to the door, grabbed the knob, and took in a deep breath, prepping himself for an encounter he didn't want to deal with. He then slammed the door open.
"GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE I-"
"YES! THERE YOU ARE! We've been looking all over for you!" yelled a purple alien in excitement and behind him was some figure in a white sheet and party hat.
Dimentio froze in total confusion. "Wha…y-you were looking for me!? You're here to kill me, aren't you!? TAKE THIIIIIIIS!"
"NO NO NO! WE'RE NOT HERE TO KILL YOU! It's actually the opposite! We need you!" yelled the alien.
Dimentio froze in confusion again. "Huh? What in the world? You NEED me? How did you even find me in the first place!? Who the hell are you two!?"
"My name is Tatanga and this here is my friend Doopliss. Can we come in? It's kinda chilly out here!" Tatanga politely spoke.
Dimentio was still incredibly confused but he let them in anyways, still keeping his guard up.
"Nice place, slick! Could use a little cleaning up, but I dig it!" Doopliss complimented and plopped on the couch as if it was his own place.
"Okay, listen to me right now. I have questions, and you better have answers for me or else I'll destroy the both of you in mere seconds! First one, how and why were you looking for me!?" Dimentio demanded to know.
"Calm down! Geez. I just told you that we're not here to hurt you! I understand you want answers and that this is all very bizarre to you. I get it! I'll tell you anything you want to know. Now, for why and how we found you…well, thank the internet for that! Took hours of research but found some posts on a forum dedicated to real life villains and a few people on there said they seen a magician-looking fellow that fit your description wandering around Star Crystal Woods so we had to come here and check and…VOILA! Here you are! Didn't think we would actually find you but I'm damn glad we took the chance!" Tatanga explained.
"Yeah, we tried a few other places before this and asked around where you could be but we ended up at dead zones everytime. Thank the stars for the internet! Where would this world be without it?" Doopliss laughed.
"…SHIT! That's what I get for trying to hunt down those wolves that always come around and howl near here! Most annoying creatures ever! But…I digress. Okay, you've told me the 'how' part of finding me, now tell me the 'why,'" Dimentio said.
"Alright. What I'm gonna tell you…you're probably not gonna believe it at first. It's gonna sound crazy, but just hear me out all the way through, okay?" Tatanga asked.
"I'm fine with crazy at this point. Do your worst!" Dimentio exclaimed. Tatanga and Doopliss looked at each in surprise, definitely not expecting that response.
"Uhh…okay then! Cool. So, why we found you. I know about what you did those years ago, Dimentio. How you used that thing called the Chaos Heart to remake the universe into your own vision, how you used Count Bleck for your own agenda, how you nearly killed Mario and his friends with those amazing magical powers you possess, how you're able to flip between dimensions at your own whim…you are the PERFECT asset for my team, Dimentio. My team for world domination. I wanna do exactly what you were trying to do years ago; take over the world and make it fit something better. Let's face it, this world is fucked up beyond means. What if we could do something about that, though? What if I told you that I could have the opportunity to do just that with my plans? Because I do. I've got men working on this weapon of mine. It's in the early stages, but I'm loving what's coming of it so far. Got scientists on hand to configure the specifics of the weapon so it can accomplish what I want for the weapon. Thought it was just a pipe dream of mine, but the dream became real! This plan is very real and it's going to happen, and it's going to be successful. This is where I want you to join in, Dimentio. Join me and Doopliss and we could become an unstoppable team ruling over the world the way we see fit! What do you say?" Tatanga explain his plan to him and ended it with a grin. Him and Doopliss waited a minute for Dimentio to respond, who just stared blankly at the both of them.
"Uhh…you're joking, right? This is some kind of prank to distract me, isn't it!?" Dimentio got a little heated.
"Settle down, circus boy! This is for real. I've seen the weapon myself. Like he said, it's in the beginning stages, but this is all legit! Tatanga has even come close to taking over a whole kingdom before! He even fought Mario, just like you and I!" Doopliss pointed.
"Wh-what!? You two also fought Mario!? Tell me how that happened!" Dimentio shrieked.
"I tried taking over Sarasaland and kidnapped Princess Daisy. Was nearly successful, but that fucker ruined it at all! I wanna try it again, but the whole world this time. It's going to be MUCH easier if I have you on board, Dimentio!" Tatanga said.
"And I fought Mario twice actually. First time, he tried to take this mystical item called the Crystal Star away from me and ruin my fun of turning the townsfolk into pigs! The second time was to impede his progress of getting to this demon called the Shadow Queen which me and my friends Beldam and Marilyn helped nearly take over the world with! Remember when the whole world went into darkness for about an hour? Yeah, that was our doing!" Doopliss bragged.
Dimentio looked a little astounded by their accomplishments and it convinced him a little more. Although he still found it all a little bit of wishful thinking on both of their parts, this was something that had to be good considering this is the first interaction Dimentio has had with anyone in a very long time and that this was in no way a coincidence. These guys found him for a reason.
"I see. Okay! Wow. Bit of a small world, isn't it? The three of us fighting the same guy. Hmm...you know what? Let me see this weapon. Let me see your base of operations. Upon seeing that, I will make my final decision of joining you guys," Dimentio offered.
"Sounds fair enough! Hell, it's very smart of you actually, not jumping in right away. I like this guy!" Doopliss said.
"It's indeed fair enough. Alright, Dimentio, come with us! My base is quite a ways away, but it can also be your new home if you want it to be. You'll see what I mean!" Tatanga excitedly gestured. The idea of a new home with people who had similar interests as him did excite him a little, but he had to be cautious still just to be on the safe side.
Some time much later, the trio made it to an abandoned castle on a hill in the middle of some plains.
"Quite a trek here! But, wow! What a magnificently attractive castle! So, this is your base of operations, huh?" Dimentio asked.
"It's the backup base of operations. Follow me inside, I'll show you the ACTUAL base of operations!" Tatanga said and led them in. They went down into the basement and saw a teleporter in the center of the room.
"Woah! What on earth is that? Did you build that yourself?" Dimentio gasped in awe.
"It's a teleporter! I didn't build it, it was already built when I was scouting for locations for my base of operations! I was so lucky coming across this, Dimentio. It was as if the gods had answered all my prayers and built this place specifically for ME! Haha. I have no idea what this castle was used for originally and why there's a teleporter here, but hey! Who cares? It's all for me! Come on!" Tatanga cheered and dragged the two into the teleporter. Everything went white for a few seconds but then the whiteness was gone. Dimentio saw that they were in a completely different basement setting.
"Woah! Pretty neat stuff! I didn't even feel a thing, it's as if only the room changed locations and not us!" Dimentio laughed.
"Exactly! I wonder if that's what being on drugs is like?" Doopliss wondered.
Tatanga then led the two up the stairs, out of the basement, and into an enormous room where they saw a large amount of Koopatrols working on the weapon that the alien had talked about earlier. Computers, wires, and machines were everywhere.
"Welcome, Dimentio! That teleporter brought us to an abandoned fortress on an island in the Mushroom Sea. What these Koopatrols are working on here is the weapon that will be the key to my world domination!" Tatanga exclaimed.
"Wow! Very impressive! And having a fortress on an island, far away from civilization, is perfect. Not many people can come to you easily and try to fuck up your plans. Hmm! So, this weapon you have, what is it going to exactly do?" Dimentio asked.
"In a gist, it's going to obliterate half of the world and the other half will be mind-controlled to be my slaves. The mind-control part looks to be much tougher than the other part though, so hopefully that can be worked out. If not, then I'll just threaten the remainder of the world to do my bidding or else I'll kill them with this weapon. Works out perfectly either way!" Tatanga cheerily explained.
"Haha! Interesting! And the estimated time of completion is…?" Dimentio asked.
"According to some of these koopatrol scientists…a year at most. But don't worry, because I have plans to do other stuff in the mean time! We're definitely not just gonna sit around and wait till this thing is done, that'd be suuuuuch a waste of time!" Tatanga said then led them into a hallway.
"Oh? What kind of things will you be doing?" Dimentio asked.
Tatanga didn't respond and kept leading them down the hall and to a door. Tatanga slowly and quietly opened it and peeked inside.
"YES! He's in there, just as I expected! Alright, Dimentio, I'll tell you what our plans will be IF you demonstrate that you still got your powers and you know how to use them," Tatanga instructed.
"Wait, what? Hold on, what are you having me do?" Dimentio asked, not expecting this at all.
"In this storage room is a koopatrol guy named Klint. He's the known slacker and jerk of all the koopatrols who likes to stray away from work whenever he wants to so he can get high on his smelly marijuana! Last time he was caught, we told him that he'd be 'punished' if he'd do it again, and what do ya know? He's in there smoking it up! So, slick, go in there and teach him a lesson. Show us what you're really made of!" Doopliss explained with glee.
Dimentio was admittedly a little nervous about this. It's been so long since he's used his powers that he may be stale or may not completely prove himself to the other two. But, now is as good of a time as ever to revitalize those powers and do what he was built for.
Dimentio kicked the door open, surprising the stoner Koopatrol.
"WOAH! Who the hell are you!?" Klint yelled, dropping his joint.
"I'm your punishment! This is what you get for not listening to your leader!" Dimentio yelled and blasted an energy sphere at Klint. This sent him flying across the room and smashed into the wall. The jester then flew to the somewhat unconscious Koopatrol, extended his arms out towards him, and released a magic sphere from his hands that engulfed the Koopatrol. The jester then snapped his fingers and several explosions were seen happening within the magic sphere, which sent Klint flying towards the ceiling this time. He hit it then came falling back down, and a few ceiling panels and debris fell onto him as well. Dimentio charged up an even bigger energy sphere this time and hurled it at Klint, blasting him through the wall and out towards the sea.
"WOAH! That was freakin' superb! He couldn't even stand a chance! Terrific job, slick!" Doopliss cheered.
"Excellent work, my friend. You made it look so easy! So then, Dimentio…what do you say? Are you in?" Tatanga asked.
Dimentio stared out into the ocean, thinking about that fight he just did. He didn't want to show it, but he felt really tired. Using his powers after being inactive so long made him feel kind of drained and he hated that feeling. However, everything else seemed very promising and so he would just have to work through it.
The jester turned around and showed off that typical, wicked smile of his.
"I'm in."
END FLASHBACK
Dimentio dragged Roy to the black, ominous door that he showed him before and threw him to the ground.
"Don't be so scared, Roy. I'm not going to kill you. Rather…what's in THERE just might!" Dimentio exclaimed and threw open the door. He picked up Roy by his shoulders and shoved him into the dimly-lit room.
"This is your punishment, Roy. YOU did this to yourself. Welcome to the real, harsh, cold world!" Dimentio stated then slammed the door shut.
"NO! NOOOOOOOOOO! DIMENTIO PLEASE DON'T! I'M SORRY, I'LL DO ANYTHING YOU WANT, JUST PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME IN HERE! PLEEEEEEAAAAASE! OH MY GOD, WHAT THE FUCK IS IN HERE!? DIMENTIOOOOOOOOOO! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Roy screamed for his dear life as he heard movement in the room that sounded like someone walking with chains being dragged on the floor. Roy looked back and screamed in horror at the monster that he saw. It was the koopatrol from Dimentio's story, only his eyes were bright red, his skin was pruny and bruised all over, his lips were ripped off, and he made these groan noises that sounded like a combination of a wild tiger and a zombie.
The sun arose over the horizon, indicating morning time. People at the hospital were awaking from their slumbers.
"Hey, Wario! Time to get up. Mario's holding a meeting in the courtyard in a half hour," Waluigi said while shaking his brother. Wario groaned and rolled over on his back. Even though he had to sleep on the floor due to limited bedding for the amount of people there, he got a nice, long sleep after the chaos that happened last night with him.
"Ugh…I was having such sweet dreams too…what time is it?" Wario groggily asked.
"It's 8:30. Rosalina is getting us some coffee. You feel hungover?" Waluigi asked.
"A little bit, but I can handle it. I'm glad I didn't drink any more though…especially cause that's the first time I've had alcohol in so damn long!" Wario said while struggling to get himself up. Waluigi helped him stand on his feet.
"I'm glad you didn't drink anymore either! But, it looked like you needed to get all that frustration out last night so I guess that's a plus. I'm just glad that you ended up telling me instead of holding it in any longer," Waluigi said in comfort.
"Yeah, I really did need to get all that out. I feel a little better now. Do you think Goombella will understand? Or anyone else for that matter?" Wario asked.
"Hard to say, but I'm leaning towards yes. Wario, you were put in a horrible situation. You were in something that people have nightmares about! You had two choices laid out in front of you; either you get shot or Goombella gets hurt. Neither option was better than the other. You did what you thought you had to do! It's not like you got a kick out of her pain! It's not like you wanted to do it! It was their fault, they did all of that to Goombella, NOT YOU. Understand? You can't keep beating yourself up over this!" Waluigi talked him down to make him come to his senses.
"I know, I know. You're right, I can't keep doing this crap to myself. It's not healthy. I guess I just have to forgive myself and let it go then, huh?" Wario sighed.
"Exactly. And, if you wanna tell Goombella what happened, I'll be there for you when you're doing it if you want me to, just in case she snaps or something like that. Because, I know she's in a very rough place too. Ever since we got her out of that church, she's had a look of vengeance marked on her face, and honestly, it's a little scary! I've never seen her look like that before," Waluigi said with a bit of a shiver, remembering that face.
"Thanks, Waluigi. That means a whole lot. I swear, if you weren't here, I would go completely insane!" Wario laughed and so did Waluigi, all in light-heartedness.
Mario was out in the courtyard with Luigi, Peach, and Daisy, waiting for the others to arrive. Flurrie came out and rushed over to the plumber.
"Mario! Can I speak to you privately for just a minute?" Flurrie asked. Mario nodded and walked over to her.
"What's up, Flurrie?" he asked.
"About last night, you know how Boshi was found with that cocaine on him, yes?" Flurrie asked.
"Yeah, I do. Why, did you find him with more of it!?" Mario asked panickily.
"No no. But, I must tell you, the main reason why I was acting all emotional last night was because of the cocaine I saw. It wasn't just because Banjo left. You see, Mario, there are still many things about my past that I haven't told you. One of them is th-that…that…I used to do cocaine as well, back in my acting days," Flurrie revealed and then looked down in embarrassment and sadness.
"What? Why would you do that to yourself, Flurrie!?" Mario gasped.
"I got involved with the wrong crowd in the entertainment industry, Mario. I was just getting my career established and I wanted to fit in and be connected to all the higher ups so I gave in to the temptations. I pretended to enjoy it…I…I pretended like I was glad to be a part of this circle…but I was living a lie! A very dangerous lie! It went on for a year, then my mother found out about it and demanded that I go to rehab or else I'd be disowned from the family forever. So, I went into rehab in secret and got better. Then I got out and was tempted too many times to fall back into that filth so I announced my retirement much earlier than I planned and went away from the industry.
It wasn't until we defeated that atrocious shadow beast that I got inspired to make one last comeback with that Thousand Year Door play we did some years ago. After that was finished, I decided that that would be my final time in the spotlight. So…seeing that drug, and seeing Boshi high off of it…it brought back so many awful memories, Mario! I NEVER want to relive that horrible time period ever again!" Flurrie began crying towards the end and hugged Mario whom hugged her back.
"God, Flurrie! I had no idea about all of that. How come you never said anything when we were adventuring together?" Mario asked.
"Because I didn't want you to think that I was some washed up druggie and th-that I was going to be unreliable on the journey! You understand why I never told you till now, right? Mario, there are some things in our pasts that we prefer to keep locked away no matter what. I'm telling you this now because I want you to help make sure that nothing like that ever comes into this hospital ever again! Not just for me, but for anyone else who may get tempted to do such a heinous act and cause even more problems than we already!" Flurrie demanded.
"I get it, Flurrie. I'll make sure those kinds of things never be within sight of anyone at this hospital. But, Flurrie…you're not a washed up druggie, nor are you unreliable. You went through a dark period in your life and you overcame that! Not many people can say they've done that. I don't look at you any differently than I did before," Mario said so sweetly and understandingly that Flurrie made a wide smile while tears still flowed out and gave him a big smooch on the cheek.
"Thank you, Mario. You were truly born to be a hero!" she exclaimed. Mario smiled brightly at her as everyone else came outside. The remaining people that came were Fire Bro, Yoshi, Birdo, Toad, Toadette, DK, Diddy, Dixie, Wario, Waluigi, Rosalina, Pauline, Mona, Jojora, Goombario, Kooper, Bombette, Parakarry, Lakilulu, Goombella, Koops, Koopie, Vivian, Bowser, Bowser Jr., Wendy, and Larry.
"Alright, Mario, we're all here! So, what's going on?" Goombario asked.
"Well…I was gonna wait for Arfur, Spike, and Bow to come so they could announce their news, but I guess we can start without them. I already kinda talked to them last night anyways," Mario pointed out.
"News? What's going on with them?" Bombette asked.
"They found Tadano in Sarasaland and brought him back here. He's been here since last night. Spike and Bow's mission was a complete success!" Mario broke the news. Everyone else had a variety of expressions ranging from surprised to worried to fearful.
"Th-they actually did it!? How!? And he's been here since last night!?" Daisy asked, clearly freaked out.
"I'll let them explain everything when they come out here, but yes, they got in late last night and slept here. You're all gonna meet him at any minute now," Mario instructed.
"Did you meet him yourself? Is he anything like Tatanga?" Kooper questioned.
"I saw him, but I didn't speak to him. He apparently went right to sleep as soon as he got into his room. Now…why are some of you making those worried faces? I thought you all were on board with Spike and Bow finding Tadano and bringing him here?" Mario questioned right back.
"Well…can't really speak for everyone else here, but personally, we should be cautious around this guy. We know nothing about him aside from him being Tatanga's twin! We have no idea what he's like, what he's done, how he'll fit in here…the only thing we know is that his twin, Tatanga, is a raging psycho and there's a chance Tadano could be like that as well," Dixie explained.
"I think that pretty much explains our own thoughts as well. Also, the rest of the people in the hospital aren't going to react well to seeing Tadano, because they're gonna think that Tatanga is wandering around in there. How the hell are we going to assure everyone that Tadano is not a threat to anyone and to not panic?" Diddy asked.
"What is even the plan with Tadano anyways? Spike and Bow got him from Sarasaland and brought him here…so now what? Is he, like, going to come on the mission with us? Are we sending him out to the island like Bowser did himself in hopes of getting Tatanga to come around? We never really discussed the long-term plan with him!" Goombella pointed out.
"Well, you guys, I- oh! There they are!" Mario started to explain till he saw Arfur, Spike, Bow, and Tadano walk down the steps onto the courtyard. Everyone looked back and stared at the twin alien with the same mixed expressions as they did seconds ago. It was extremely hard for all of them to not call out the name 'Tatanga' in rage upon seeing him. It was extremely weird and surreal to see someone that looked exactly like Tatanga be in their own safe haven. It didn't feel right at all.
"Hello everyone! My name is Tadano. I hope I can be of help in stopping my brother from trying to destroy the world!" Tadano said confidently.
"Hi. Nice to…meet you," Daisy awkwardly spoke for the group. Seeing the identical twin of Tatanga brought back memories of the real Tatanga taking over Sarasaland and torturing her.
"Tadano will be here from now till whenever we get this crap with Tatanga settled. And guys, I see the looks on your faces, I know it's very weird having someone here that looks like Tatanga, but please calm down. Tadano is his own person. Just because he's a twin of a villain, doesn't mean he's a villain himself!" Arfur pointed out.
"Yeah! I'm nothing like Tatanga, you guys. In fact, I hate him! He never did anything to help me when I was going through my childhood abuse. Plus, now he's doing this world domination baloney for no reason. I think seeing me alone will definitely put a wrench in his plans!" Tadano spoke with determination.
"Oh! Sorry to hear that you had a rough childhood too. But, don't you worry, we'll make you comfortable here to the best of our ability," Rosalina sympathized.
"Oh god…this is all so very awkward…" Koopie whispered to herself, remembering the time when she was in high school and got pranked by Tatanga into seeing Tadano at the mental institution.
"So, Arfur, I was just asking Mario what the long-term plan is with Tadano cause we never really discussed that. Well?" Goombella reiterated.
"Uhh…yeah, we didn't actually discuss that! I mean, like Tadano said, it'll make defeating Tatanga a little bit easier most likely so there's that. As for what else we can do with Tadano…any suggestions?" Arfur cluelessly asked.
Silence among the group…until Goombario got an idea.
"Wait a second! For those of you who were captured at that castle, do you guys remember the guards talking about a teleportation device?" Goombario asked.
"A teleportation device? Uhh…hmm…sounds familiar somehow…" Parakarry said.
"Uhh, hold on here! Are you saying that that place has a teleportation device?" Birdo asked.
"Possibly. I swear, I'm remembering it just now! I overheard the koopatrol guards mention something about a teleportation device in…uhh…maybe the basement?" Goombario tried to recall.
"Teleportation device? You seriously think that Tatanga has one of those conveniently located in that place for him? I mean…Tatanga doesn't seem like the techy kind of guy to build stuff like that!" Pauline said.
"Well, HE may not be, but he may have hired some genius scientists to create one somehow! Plus, think about it you guys. Where did Tatanga and the rest of his crew go after we all got saved from the castle? We all know they went to that island, but HOW? Did they just sail there? Or fly there?" Goombario questioned, which made everyone think hard about how they actually did get there.
"When I flew to Tatanga's island, I didn't see any kind of ships or aircraft there. Teleportation must be the only way they all could've gotten there so easily," Bowser noted.
"Well, shit! That existed all this time, right under our noses? So, why don't we just use that to get onto the island, bombard the crap out of everything that's on there, and call it a day?" Spike asked.
"Because none of us are ready yet. I barely got out of there alive when I went there myself! They have a tremendous army of koopatrols packed to the brim with guns on hand. I know it's tempting to go in there right now and get it all overwith, but trust me, it's better to wait till we get this Crystal Star Rod to help our chances of winning," Bowser urged.
"Bowser is right. The Crystal Star Rod will practically guarantee your guys' success after all the gems are collected. The wait will be worth it, I promise!" Arfur exclaimed.
"But, don't you think I should at least try to use that teleportation thing to get to Tatanga and see if I could do something to get his guard down?" Tadano asked.
"It's too risky, Tadano. Like Bowser said, that island is packed with armed guards. You'll be killed with seconds! The only reason Bowser wasn't was because he had a magic wand with him to defend himself with," Luigi said. Tadano looked at him in disappointment.
"Listen, man, we appreciate you wanting to help out and all, but it's far too dangerous for you to take on yourself! We'll think of something for you to do, right guys?" Larry asked. Most of the group still didn't look too confident.
"Yes, we absolutely will," Mario stated, trying to instill motivation to everyone else cause he saw their uneasy expressions. "But now that that's settled, on to the main part of the meeting. Today, we will take a break from doing the mission. After everything that happened with Kammy and Kazooie and a whole bunch of other drama, I'd say another day break is very much needed. We all agree upon that?"
Everyone nodded, naturally.
"I wanna chime in real quick here. The next world that the ruby gem is located in is the Shiverburn Galaxy. A few of you should recognize that name! We managed to get a track on the exact location of the gem in that area thanks to R.O.B's extensive research, so this next mission should be fairly fast!" Arfur said. This news made everyone feel a little relieved.
"AWESOME! At least we get to have somewhat of a break this time around!" Yoshi cheered.
"And, not only that, but due to how quick this mission will be and how it most likely won't be too dangerous, I think it's recommended that not all of you do this next world like you all have been for the past few ones. I think it'll make things much simpler if only, say, half of you went," Arfur suggested.
"Really? Are you sure? I mean…there's strength in numbers, isn't there?" Bowser Jr. questioned.
"I do agree on that, however, I really think this world is an exception to that. As optimistic as this may sound, I truly do think that all you guys really need to do in this world is just literally fly to the galaxy in the arwings, land on the planet I direct you to, snatch the gem, and come back! I mean…the only thing I can think of that would be dangerous are the enemies on that planet and the elemental conditions, but that's only if you aren't being careful of your surroundings," Arfur said.
"I see. That makes sense! The Shiverburn Galaxy is a little easy to trek through as long as you're careful and it isn't that big," Rosalina added.
"So, how do we decide who gets to go then?" Jojora asked.
"I think the original 13 should go," DK spoke. "Me, Dixie, Goombella, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Rosalina, Waluigi, Fire Bro, Yoshi, Birdo, Toad, and Toadette. We all know how to fly the arwings very well given our training at the beginning of all this. I think it should just be us that goes. If that's okay with everyone?"
"I don't see a problem with that, if it's as short and simple as you're making it, Arfur! We all agree on this?" Bombette asked. Everyone else nodded.
"YAAAAYYYYY! THROWBACK THURSDAY AM I RIGHT, GUYS!? This is gonna be soooo much fun, just like old times!" Fire Bro cheered and danced with a freaked out Toadette.
"I wanna come too. I know the layout of the galaxy as good as Rosalina does, just in case something bad happens there. We can't be too careful!" Mario stated.
"Fine by me! No argument on this one because he's SUPER Mario!" Peach cheered and kissed him on the cheek. A few others chuckled.
"I like that decision actually. It doesn't complicate the mission too much with a massive amount of people, plus it gives the rest of us even more of a break, cause I think some of us are still not even close to being ready to get back out there yet…" Wendy ominously spoke, and a few others nodded in agreement, especially Bowser.
"Exactly. It would be way too soon for some of us! This is a very good idea! Plus, this gem is going to be in our own world this time, so we won't have to go to a whole other dimension to do it!" Lakilulu complimented.
"You're exactly right there. The main reason why it took longer in the past few worlds was because the gems were located in entirely different universes. This one looks like it will be a piece of cake!" Waluigi excitedly said.
"Alrighty then, so looks like the decision is settled! So, us 14 leave for Shiverburn Galaxy at 9am tomorrow. That's about all I really wanted to discuss for this meeting. Any other thoughts or questions before we officially end this meeting?" Mario opened the table for discussion.
"Um, I do! I just wanna say something about how I acted right before we all went off to fight that crazy raccoon guy in that church at Sonic's world. I'm sorry for how I behaved. It was completely inappropriate and I never should have taken my anger out on you guys…especially you, Jojora. I'm SO sorry for how I revealed your secret to everyone. It wasn't my call to do that, and I know it destroyed you inside. I know you didn't truly mean for Watt to die, and I know the rest of us here see that too," Peach explained and apologized sincerely.
Jojora made a little smile at her and looked at the others who nodded in agreement with Peach and didn't make her feel guilty for what happened.
"Um…th-thank you, Peach. That means a lot," Jojora spoke a little emotionally. Parakarry touched her shoulder and grinned with excitement.
"Yes, thank you Peach for that! Oh! And before I forget, I have to say this too…Banjo is officially gone from here. We talked last night and he decided that it was for the best that he leaves to go back to his own world and tell his family and friends about what happened to Kazooie," Mario revealed. Some gasps were heard and shocked faces were seen.
"Really? That sucks, but I understand…but, he didn't even say goodbye!? We're all gonna miss him!" Koops cried.
"He wanted to leave discreetly. I didn't agree with that, but I wanted to respect his wishes, so I let him go out like that," Mario explained.
"Makes sense. This isn't his world and he must feel so alone having his best friend die. Plus, he doesn't know most of us too well, so I totally get why he did it. I just hope he recovers well!" Kooper said.
"Yep. So, that's that then. Anything else?" Mario asked.
"Bowser!" Goombario shouted. "When you went to Tatanga's island, did you get a good look at the layout of the inside of it?"
"Err…kind of. The fortress is enormous, it's like a maze in there! I'd say it's about a few stories tall. There's this one hallway that has all the rooms of, I'm assuming, all the villains there. I couldn't get to see the basement or much else of the fortress besides that. I'm pretty sure I only saw a tiny portion of that place," Bowser explained.
"Oh, okay. I was just curious because we may be able to use your information to figure out where we can go on the island once we get past the force field. That hallway with the rooms may be a good place to go to and try to defeat all of them at once! Is there any important info there that you found out as well?" Goombario theorized.
"Uhh…well…Tatanga told me that he killed Merlon. And, um, that…my son, Roy, is never coming back…" Bowser said and lowered his head as soon as he mentioned Roy. Awkward silence ensued.
"Oh wow…I am so sorry, Bowser…" Vivian said.
"Damn. Well, at least we know what happened to Merlon now. All the more reason to end Tatanga," Daisy said while shaking her head upsettingly.
"Alright guys, that's enough for today. We all know what's gonna happen tomorrow, so, if you wanna see us off, you can, and if not, that's fine too. No pressure at all. Here endeth the meeting!" Mario stated. Everyone started to split off and head back into the hospital.
"Hey…Fire Bro!" Kooper called out. Fire Bro didn't respond. He kept looking at Tadano with a freaked out look as the alien walked away.
"FIRE BRO! YOU THERE!? LOOK AT ME, MAN!" Kooper raised his voice. Fire Bro broke out of his gaze and looked to Kooper. His expression immediately changed.
"Oh, Kooper! What do you need, my friend?" Fire Bro happily asked.
"What the hell happened to you yesterday, man? You said you were Konnor then you freaked out on me and ran away! I couldn't find you at all, then you just show up here today like nothing ever happened!" Kooper said.
"Oh yeah! I remember that! Hahaha, that was a great game of hide and seek, wasn't it!?" Fire Bro laughed.
"WHAT!? Look, man, give it up! I know you're Konnor, s-so just…tell me everything! PLEASE! I need to know how you got out of that mental institution and how you became a Fire Bro! I'm your brother, your own blood line! Don't you wanna try to reconnect!?" Kooper pleaded.
Fire Bro's smile slowly faded and his face turned serious. "Reconnect…that's what you really wanna do? After what I did to you, what I put you through?"
Kooper backed away a little. "K-Konnor…look, man, there was some messed up things going on in your head back then. I don't know or remember what kind of mental illness you were diagnosed with, but that was a long time ago! Things change, right? They have to! Please, just tell me your story! It's killing me not knowing!"
"Hmm. Fine then. Meet me on the sixth floor by the stairwell and I'll tell you everything. 12 o'clock right on the dot," Fire Bro finally came through and then walked away. Kooper got a bad feeling in his gut about this.
EOC.
Next chapter, Grodus will be shown, Tadano attempts to fit in with the people at the hospital, pieces from Fire Bro's past begin to connect to the present, and much more! Also, the Shiverburn Galaxy arc, which will begin on Chapter 88, will be MUCH shorter than the Sonic arc. See you next Friday!
