"HELP! HELP! MY FRIEND IS HURT AND UNCONSCIOUS!" Fire Bro cried out for help on the fifth floor. A couple of nurses took notice of the situation and brought over a stretcher to him.
"Here, put him on here!" yelled one of the nurses and him along with a couple of other helpful bystanders got him on the stretcher. "What happened to him!?"
"I think he fell down the stairs! I went into the stairwell and up to the sixth floor cause we were gonna meet to talk about something important, but then I saw him lying on the floor in the stairwell, not moving at all! I-Is he going to be okay!?" Fire Bro cried.
"We're gonna have to get him into the ER on the first floor and take everything from there! MOVE ASIDE PEOPLE!" yelled the nurse frantically as they ran to the elevator.
Later on, Fire Bro rounded up part of the main group and told them what happened to Kooper as they all went to the ER to go see him. It was him, Goombario, Bombette, Parakarry, Bow, Lakilester, Lakilulu, Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, Spike, Vivian, Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Jojora, Yoshi, Birdo, and Boshi who was coming along.
"Oh god, it was so horrible! I felt my heart just sink when I saw him lying there, motionless! I can't handle another death, you guys! IT'S TOO MUCH, TOO SOON, TOO UNFAIR!" Fire Bro cried into Parakarry's shoulders as the mailman dragged him along.
"I'm sorry you saw that, Kooper. I-I think he'll be okay, though! Right, guys? Guys!?" Parakarry nervously looked to the others for confirmation but no one else was saying anything to help the situation, probably because no one wanted to make any promises that Kooper would be okay. The situation was very grim and hopelessness in the gang was higher than usual due to the recent chaotic events.
"Yeah, this IS getting to be too much. After everything we've been through and someone potentially dies from a simple accidental staircase fall? The irony is cruel in this one!" Goombario exclaimed.
"What did the nurse say when she was bringing in Kooper? Does she think he'll make it through?" Bombette asked.
"She didn't say much! I couldn't go into the room when they brought him into the ER and I saw a few other hospital staff run in there, so I think it's a VERY serious injury!" Fire Bro answered.
They made it to the entrance to the ER and Mario went to the receptionist lady.
"Hi, we're here to see Kooper Korpus. Is he okay? Are we able to go in and see him?" he asked.
"Kooper Korpus…give me just a minute. I'll put in a call to the ER to see if it's okay," she said and got on the phone. Mario nodded in acknowledgement and went back to the group.
"I am currently praying to every possible god out there that Kooper comes out of this okay. We can't go through another loss!" Birdo exclaimed.
"Gosh, this is so scary too. I literally just saw him right before he…you know…" Koops said and held Vivian's hand. The shadow siren saw this and sighed in frustration.
"Wait, you SAW him right before he fell down the stairs? Boy, this sounds familiar!" Boshi said.
"What the hell are you going on about now, Boshi? Where did you even come from!?" Yoshi yelled.
"I saw you all running down the hall and decided to join in and see what was happening! Aaaaanyways, I'm going on about how this whole story sounds pretty damn familiar because this sounds like the time that YOU, Koops, pushed me down the stairs back in middle school because you were all pissy at me for bullying you. So, I know you've been pissy at Kooper cause you told me about him getting with your girlfriend behind your back so you probably couldn't keep your rage in and pushed him down the stairs like you did with me!" Boshi explained. Some shocked expressions were seen among the group.
"Woah, WHAT!? Okay, I have so many questions here! First off, you two went to middle school together!? Secondly, even if that story was true, that doesn't mean that Koops actually did it! Yes, there's tension between the two right now but that doesn't mean that he would push Kooper down the stairs and risk him dying!" Daisy yelled in utter surprise.
"Yes, we went to Greens Middle School together and the story IS true. Just ask Yoshi! I even told you about it one time! And don't you dare lie because I KNOW for a 100% fact that I did!" Boshi accused. Everyone looked to Yoshi for confirmation and he got a little nervous.
"I, uhh, y-yes, I do remember you telling me that, Boshi. You even showed me your sprained ankle too…" he reluctantly admitted.
"YES! HAHA! What do you gotta say about THAT, Koops!?" Boshi rubbed his 'victory' in his face.
"I DIDN'T HURT KOOPER! Yeah, I'm still angry at him, but not enough to push him down the stairs and potentially kill him! Leave us alone, Boshi!" Koops angrily yelled.
"Oh god, Boshi, just because Koops actually did push you down the stairs years ago, and for probably good reason at that, does NOT mean he did it to Kooper now. Ever heard of a thing called a coincidence? Kooper probably just slipped on a step or tripped over his shoelace!" Birdo spat.
"Koops, you said you saw Kooper right before he fell, right? Did you speak with him too?" Luigi asked.
Koops looked at him and hesitated to respond for a few seconds. Everyone noticed this and looked at each other in confusion.
"Y…Yes, I did. But, why does that matter though?" he asked.
"Is there a reason why you were so nervous to respond to that?" Jojora asked. Koops looked even more nervous after that out-of-nowhere question.
"B-B-Because, um, I feel like I'm being targeted right now when I shouldn't be! Guys, I didn't hurt Kooper! So, drop this!" Koops demanded.
"You got into an argument with him right before it happened, didn't you!? Don't leave that shit out, man!" Boshi accused.
"Boshi, shut the fuck up! You are the most annoying person in the world!" Birdo swore.
Koops looked to Spike, hoping he wouldn't mention the conversation they had right before he went off to tell Kooper what he found out.
"Hello? Mister Mario? It'll be about 10 minutes till you can see Mr. Korpus," said the receptionist lady.
"Awesome, thank you! Well, hope that's a sign that he'll be okay," Mario said in hope.
"Guys, you all know Koops. Despite what's happened between him, Kooper, and Koopie, he wouldn't do anything this horrible to someone. He's not that kind of person, so yes, we NEED to drop this!" Vivian said in defense. Koops smiled at her but Vivian was trying not to look at him.
"Well…you say that but he literally demolished a whole hotel room right after he found out that he was cheated on! That took ME by surprise and I'm pretty sure it did for the rest of you all too!" Lakilulu countered. Boshi dropped his jaw at this reveal.
"HOLY SHIT! So, you DID have a mental breakdown then! Haha, I was so right! Another point for the king!" Boshi laughed in 'victory' yet again.
"Boshi, I am literally THIS close to calling security on your ass if you don't STOP IT!" Birdo threatened.
"You should call security anyways! This guy is a total nutcase and is probably in need of a fix so he can chill the fuck out!" Lakilester agreed.
"YO! Back the fuck off me before I deck you in the nose!" Boshi threatened. Lakilester flipped him off with both fingers.
"Look, I-I channeled my anger in all the wrong ways after that happened! I'm so sorry that you guys had to see that, but I promise that I didn't hurt Kooper! I would NEVER hurt anyone unless they were trying to physically hurt me first!" Koops pleaded and looked at Spike again the same as before.
"Don't worry, Koops, we all believe you! Well, except for druggie boy over there, but yeah! This is all just dumb talk at this point!" Peach added.
"I certainly can't recall how we even got into this conversation in the first place! The fact we're discussing the impossibility of Koops hurting Kooper is completely absurd!" Flurrie came to his defense as well.
"I'm not buying it either. Blue dino dude, I heard all about your drug issues. You're clearly going through withdrawal symptoms and acting out on it by starting bullshit with Koops here. I can't even believe we're all taking him seriously right now!" Bow pointed out.
"We're NOT taking him seriously. We're just letting him talk nonsense because there's literally nothing else to do now till we're able to go in and see Kooper," Mario spat.
"Wait, you're a druggie!? Oh god, nutcase confirmed over here!" Lakilester busted up laughing.
"SHUT IT! Now Koops, why do you keep looking at Mini-Yoshi over there for? You're looking at him so, uhh, specifically! Does that make any sense?" Boshi asked.
"Okay, stop with the questioning! You're not some kind of detective so just let it go already! This isn't helping the situation at all," Goombella said.
"Don't call me Mini-Yoshi, jackass. The name is Spike. And Koops…he didn't do this. I know him. He was angry, yes, but that's literally all there is to it. Quit trying to start shit," Spike said and glared Boshi down.
"Kind of a random observation, but shouldn't Koopie be here as well? I mean, I know what happened between her and the other two, but I feel like she should be in the know about this as well," Goombario pointed out.
"Hello? You all here for Mr. Korpus?" asked the koopa nurse from the ER doors. Everyone immediately turned to her and nodded. "Okay, please follow me."
"Nurse, is Kooper going to be okay!? Or, at the very least, alive!?" Bombette cried.
"Well…to put it simply to you all, Mr. Korpus' ankle is sprained from the fall and, not only that, but he hit his head pretty hard on the back. We had to run an emergency CAT scan on Mr. Korpus based on the details that your Fire Bro friend here told us and we saw that there was a tiny fracture on the back of his skull that led to internal bleeding and formed a blood clot. He will need surgery to remove the blood clot, which will be done as soon as Dr. Nokano is finished with his other patient," the nurse explained as she led them to the room Kooper was being kept.
"Oh god! That sounds so much like Pauline's accident! B-But, at least he'll make it through successfully, r-right!?" Peach worriedly asked.
"Chances are indeed very high that he'll make it through, especially because this case was reported immediately after Mr. Korpus' fall. However, as of right now, he is in a comatose state due to the fall," the nurse responded, which put some relief back into the others. The nurse opened the door and brought them in to see a poor Kooper lying on a patient bed in a comatose state.
"God…Kooper…I am so sorry this happened to you…" Parakarry sobbed a little and grabbed his hand.
"At least he's going to be okay. It's hard to see it right now, but he WILL be okay. This was too close of a call, though," Luigi said as Daisy rested her head on his shoulders.
"Dr. Nokano will be in this room in just a few minutes, so you all can stay and visit until then, but we need you all to leave once he arrives," the nurse said then left the room.
Koops looked at Kooper then started to cry a little and found it hard to breathe properly so he quickly left the room and exited the ER. Spike saw this and went after him.
"Yo! Koops, where are you going? Are you okay?" Spike asked.
"I-I-I don't know…this is all so overwhelming. That jerk, Boshi, made everyone in there think that I had something to do with Kooper falling BUT I DIDN'T! I had ONE moment of a mental breakdown back at the hotel and now everyone thinks I'm a psychopath who has it out for Kooper!" Koops cried.
"Hey, listen to me, man! NO ONE thinks that, besides the asshole druggie in there! Who the hell is that guy anyways? How does the group know him?" Spike asked.
"His name is Boshi, he's Yoshi's cousin. He's attended a few of Peach's parties in the past and always caused trouble everytime he went. You don't remember him at all?" Koops asked.
"Ah. Well, guess I never really cared much to talk with him, definitely not regretting that now! But come on, you can't let that shit get to you. It was no one's fault," Spike assured.
"You really think that, Spike? I mean…should I blame people for thinking that? They saw a side of me that they've never seen before. And you…the last conversation we had was us talking about how Kooper's brother killed my mother and I was getting really mad and I stormed off to go talk to him. That looks REALLY bad and suspicious, doesn't it!?" Koops worriedly recalled. Spike wasn't sure how to respond without making him more upset.
"Wha…Koops…I mean…what are you trying to say exactly? That our last conversation makes you look like a suspect? Okay, I'll admit, that could be seen as suspicious by some of the others had I gone into detail about it, but I didn't. I kept that hidden because there was no need to tell everyone everything that we talked about because YOU didn't hurt Kooper," he stated.
"…Okay. Thank you, Spike. I'm gonna…um…get some fresh air…" Koops awkwardly replied and left his with his head down.
Dixie walked down the hallway leading to the courtyard, drinking an Iced Tea, and spotted Toadette walking the opposite direction with her head down. The monkey gal immediately got a little nervous but built up the courage to finally have the talk that needed to be done with her previous close friend.
"Toadette! Hey!" she yelled and walked up to her. Toadette looked up and seemed a little surprise.
"Oh, Dixie! Hi…wh-what are you doing?" she asked.
"I was just heading out to the courtyard to walk around a little bit. There's not really much else to do so I'm trying to kill time before bed. What about you?" she asked back.
"Um…kind of the same, I guess…" Toadette shrugged and looked away. Dixie sighed at her awkwardness.
"Toadette, can we please talk and clear the air between us? I miss talking with my best friend and I know I screwed things up badly, but is there any chance we could at least…uhh, talk, I guess?" Dixie nervously spoke.
"What's there to talk about? You hurt me and I can't ever forget that," Toadette coldly said.
"I know, and I'll never be able to forget that either, and I'll never forgive myself for it. I just figured I would at least try, but I completely understand if you never want to be friends again. I just…I just want to hear it from you so at least I can stop wondering and setting my expectations too high," Dixie said in disappointment.
"It's not that easy to just choose, Dixie! We have a history together, but then THAT happened, and…I don't know, I just can't look at you the same way after that," Toadette exclaimed frustratingly.
"I understand that. What do you propose we do then? Because I would love to try and rebuild our friendship again, but of course, it won't work if you don't want to," Dixie offered.
Toadette shook her head and walked in a small circle. "I just don't know, Dixie…hey, just curious though, are you and Diddy speaking to each other at all?"
Dixie crossed her arms and lowered her eyes at that question. "He basically said he wants nothing to do with me till the mission is done and then he'll see about us getting back together. But, to be honest…I think he's gonna say no still after we're done. We made a promise to be monogamous and I broke that promise. I betrayed him and it's just as bad as what I did to you, if not, worse! So…I have two important people in my life that won't wanna speak with me now. I screwed up big time, Toadette! And I know no amount of me apologizing will ever make up for it, but I AM truly sorry from the bottom of my heart!" she started crying towards the end.
Toadette knew she was being genuine. Despite what happened, she knew Dixie wasn't some sociopath because she always looked out for her and vice versa, and they'd always talk out their problems with each other. Would one big mistake really override all of that?
"I see, I'm sorry that Diddy won't speak to you. But, what about Fire Bro? Spoken to him at all, or him to you?" she asked.
"Oh no. I'm actually TRYING to avoid him because everytime I look at him, I'm just reminded of what I did and I get disgusted by it. I feel sick in my stomach. I'll admit though, I'm a little surprised he hasn't tried to talk to me since we got back here," Dixie answered.
"Gotcha. Well, Dixie, um…I…suppose it wouldn't hurt to try things again," Toadette hesitantly gave her an answer which made Dixie's eyes light up. The monkey gal formed a wide smile on her face as, for the first time in what seemed like forever, she felt happy and excited. She gave Toadette a big hug and Toadette slowly hugged back, feeling a little happy as well.
"Thank you so much, Toadette. This means the entire world to me! I promise, nothing like what happened at the hotel will EVER happen again. Cross my heart, hope to die!" Dixie swore. Toadette nodded in acknowledgment.
"Understood. You know, this definitely feels like the right decision. I feel like I'm in a better mood for the first time in a while!" Toadette gleefully spoke.
"Awesome! I think it's the right decision too," Dixie couldn't stop smiling at the fact that she finally has reunited with her friend.
"Yeah. But…can I talk to you about something? There's something with me that doesn't feel right. I've been noticing it ever since the shooting at the other hospital. I've just been feeling so empty and moody since then. I've spoken to Bowser Jr. and Toad about it and I think they understand, but…it's like I just don't know how to make myself feel emotions sometimes, you know?" Toadette confided in her.
"Yeah, I think I see where you're coming from. I heard about what happened to you and Bowser Jr. during the shooting, you guys were almost killed in a closet you were hiding in! And then you saw Sushie and Lady Sasa get shot right in front of you guys. That would traumatize anyone!" Dixie said.
"Exactly, but how do I get out of feeling so down? I mean, with Kammy and Kazooie dying, I feel like it's gotten a little worse. It all feels just hopeless sometimes, like we're all gonna just end up dying and that Tatanga will win…" Toadette lowered her eyes again with her previous 'gleefullness' quickly fading away.
"Hey, don't say that! I know it feels like that with our friends dying and the chaos we're constantly stuck in, but we WILL win over him, okay? That's how you get out of it. You keep fighting on and not let anything try to drag you down, even your friends dying. I know it's hard and horrible, but this is the reality we're stuck with, especially if we wanna beat him. You have to try to stay strong, okay?" Dixie tried to speak with encouragement to her.
"Y-Yeah, I guess you're right. Staying strong is what I have to do if I wanna get through this. Plus, it's not like I have any other choice! I don't wanna just sit back and let everyone else do all the work, I wanna be a part of the cause for saving the world," Toadette said, her tone of voice slipping away from the saddened tone it was at.
"That's the spirit! Now, just take that with you into the next world and you'll be good to go!" Dixie laughed and then so did Toadette. The two girls walked off towards the courtyard with uplifted moods. It was something that was a rare sight to see in these times now.
Tadano was in the computer lab, looking up 'castle on a hill in mushroom city' on Google.
"This has to lead me somewhere! There can't be that many castles on hills in this area!" Tadano exclaimed as he searched through the results. He found three results that bared any kind of help whatsoever; Princess Peach's castle, and two ominous and medieval-looking castle called Northern Knight's Castle and the other one called Darktail's Castle. Tadano figured it had to be the second or third one as it looks more like a place to do 'villain-y' things, and he would've figured that someone would've mentioned the capturing being at the infamous Princess Peach's castle beforehand. He clicked on the Northern Knight's Castle link in the map view section and it gave him the address of the castle along with directions and reviews about the place. Tadano's eyes lit up when he saw the reviews for it.
"This is the place where all those poor people were captured a while ago! It should be torn down so that awful alien won't have a place to do anything like that ever again!" said one review.
"This place used to be kind of like a museum and a place where you can tour the history of the castle, but then it got taken over by rioters and looters and was destroyed, so it shut down. Then, that asshole Tatanga took over to rule and kidnapped so many people, but luckily some others in aircrafts destroyed parts of the castle and chased him and his henchmen away! Might as well be taken down now to make room for farm land," said another review.
"Yes yes YES! This has to be it! Okay, let me see the directions to this castle…" Tadano squealed in excitement. He pulled up the directions and his excitement died down when he saw them.
"Really? It's gonna take three hours for me to walk from here to there? Ugh, well, don't have much other choice, do I?" he groaned a little and ended up printing out the map and directions. He walked over to the print to obtain the papers but almost froze when he saw Mario about to head in to the computer lab. However, he was stopped by Spike just before he entered.
"Yo, Mario! Can I talk to you for a sec? It's important!" the dino called out.
"Oh, yeah! What's going on?" Mario said.
"Okay, so, this is gonna sound kinda messed up, but, is there any chance you could have security check to see the footage of the stairwell that Kooper was at?" Spike asked. Mario looked confused.
"Uhhh, may I ask why exactly?" he retorted.
"It's just…I feel like a douchebag for even doing this! I just want 100% confirmation that Kooper's fall was actually an accident and someone didn't push him down the stairs," Spike spoke, feeling embarrassed.
"Uh huh…and by 'someone' you mean Koops?" Mario crossed his arms.
"Just…someone, okay!? FINE, yes, Koops! Like I said, I feel fucking HORRIBLE that I'm doubting my friend, but it's gonna bother the hell out of me if I don't find out, you know? Does this make me a shitty person?" Spike asked with a huge guilt complex going around him.
"No, it doesn't. I mean, I get it, I think. It does look suspicious to anyone who doesn't know Koops that well that he may have had a part in it. But, I'm positive that he didn't do it, Spike. If you REALLY want me to check it out, I will, but I'm telling you, Koops didn't do it!" Mario affirmed.
"Well…I don't know, man. I don't want Koops to think we're doubting him by having to go check security footage just to make sure he didn't go all psycho on Kooper. But, at the same time, it does look a tiny suspicious, considering what we were talking about just before he went to go talk to Kooper," Spike sighed, being at a total loss of what to do.
"Wait, what were you guys talking about then? I also remember Koops mentioning that he saw Kooper just before he had his accident. Do you know what that was about?" Mario asked.
"Yeah. Bow and I found out when we went to Sarasaland to get Tadano, we found him in Northern Chai Mental Institution, which was the same place Koops' mom was murdered at. However, we ALSO found out that Konnor Korpus, Kooper's brother, was also there for a time because he almost killed Kooper, so his parents sent him away to there. Konnor ended up killing Koops' mom for whatever reason, who was working as a nurse there after she divorced and moved away from Koops and his dad, and blamed it on Tadano, but Konnor still ended up getting in trouble for it. That is what got Koops really heated and so he stormed off to go confront Kooper about it.
The reason why I didn't mention this when we were all seeing Kooper is because, as you said, it would look suspicious on Koops and I didn't want anyone else to start doubting him. Plus, it's obviously a sensitive topic to Koops so I didn't want him to get all emotional again," Spike explained his story.
Mario arched his brow and looked upset.
"Soooo I take it you heard this story before?" Spike asked, noting his underwhelming expression.
"Just the part about Konnor almost killing Kooper and being sent away. Everything else, though…just wow. How the hell is all of this connecting together? It's too coincidental for me to take it as a, you know, coincidence!" Mario exclaimed.
"What do you mean by that exactly?" Spike wanted clarification.
"I mean…well, okay, I'm not exactly what I mean, but it just seems like everything that's been happening with Tatanga and us all has a past connection that has led to the present. I mean, it's probably nothing too significant, but still, it's just so weird. But, yeah, Spike. I can see why you left that out," Mario said.
"Hmm. That's is definitely very weird! Well, in the end, it doesn't really matter as long as we take that jackass down. Look, man, I completely understand if you don't want to check the security footage. That's fine. At the end of it all, I guess I'm mostly worried about Koops' mental state. He's definitely seen way better days!" Spike shrugged with a sympathetic smile.
"I have to agree with that. But, uhh, here, I gotta go do something in the computer lab right now. I'll go ask to see if I can check the footage for Kooper. If I'm able to, then I'll let you know what I find. If they won't let me for whatever reason, then we'll just leave it. Okay?" Mario compromised.
"Sounds good to me. But, I'm sorry to put this pressure on you. It's just that, security will listen to Super Mario, not some suburban, edgy, short Yoshi dude," Spike said somewhat jokingly and the two chuckled.
"Naw, it's okay. I've handled much worse pressure, believe me. I'll see you around!" Mario waved him goodbye and the two parted ways. Mario entered the lab but Tadano accidentally bumped into him.
"Oh, I'm sorry! Wait…you're Mario, the main hero of the kingdom! How's it going?" Tadano cheerily asked.
"It's…going as good as it can be," Mario replied, a little freaked out by his upbeat behavior.
"Right, of course. Sorry, that was a dumb question, wasn't it? Ugh, I'm so awkward with people sometimes. I guess being cooped up in a mental institution for years and years will do that to ya! Haha!" Tadano snickered. Mario faked laughed along with him, finding the joke very odd and uncomfortable, but didn't want to make the situation even odder by not laughing at all.
"Y-Yeah, I suppose so. So, uhh, if you'll excuse me, I have to get on the computer and go check something real quick," the plumber tried to get out of the conversation as quick as possible.
"Oh, no worries! I have to ask something though, Mister Mario! Once we kill Tatanga and make everything go back to normal…do you know what will happen to me?" Tadano asked. Mario became a little on edge now because of that even odder question.
"What do you mean by that exactly?" he asked.
"I mean, I have nowhere to go. I don't have family nor friends anywhere I can stay with once this is all done now that I'm out of that mental institution. I mean, if I have to, I'll go back to the mental institution since at least I have a roof over my head there, but…" Tadano changed his speaking tone to a shyer one and lowered his eyes.
"W-We'll, um, figure all that out once we're done with Tatanga, okay? I promise, you won't have to go back to that place! We just need to focus on saving the world and then everything else will come into place," Mario stated as confidently as he could come across.
Tadano smiled brightly. "Okay! Sounds terrific. See you around!" he then merrily made his way out.
Mario was pretty weirded out by that whole conservation, but he was afraid to really admit that to himself because the poor guy was in a mental institution, so of course he would come off as odd. He tried to shake off those thoughts and went to a computer in the far back corner of the room where he was completely isolated practically. He turned on the computer, waited a couple minutes, then inserted the flash drive into the USB slot. The window for the flash drive popped up and in it was one file. It was a video file titled 'EXPERIMENT'. Mario became nervous, knowing he was about to find out something major in this video. He doubled clicked on the file and it opened up Windows Media Player. The video began playing.
The words MUSHROOM CORPS. – MARIO – BLOOD EXPERIMENT immediately popped up on screen. Mario's heart began to pound at the speed of light and he froze in terror at those words. What on earth would Mushroom Corporations have to do with Mario? And what's up with this blood experiment thing?
The video then changed to a home footage style in some generic scientist's office setting. A middle aged-looking male toad came into view and sat down in a computer chair and looked towards the camera.
"Hello, this is Professor Fungi. I will be recording this for future purposes of this company, especially in the case where I may perish. I'm making this specifically to document this one of a kind being that we call 'human' in this world. His name is Mario. What we know about this human being named Mario is that he has saved our beloved Princess Toadstool Peach a few times from the treacherous koopa king, Bowser. We also know from watching him and studying his moves that he is much more flexible than meets the eye. He can do a skip jump in quite a long distance, he can do what is known as a 'wall kick' to essentially climb himself up a wall to get to the top, he can do a triple backflip with ease, and oh so much more. But, I believe the biggest thing of all is that he can throw the enormous King Bowser Koopa across a long distance just with his tail.
This human being is incredibly intriguing. No time in our history of this world have we stumbled across anything like this. How does he have so much power? From what has been seen and written in the field notes, Mario's body is quite average. No protruding muscles, no indication of being well fit…how is this possible? How can someone with a body so average do all these things? Not only that, but there's something else.
The things he uses to help him journey through saving Princess Toadstool Peach. Our field observers noted that, upon eating a mushroom, he grows slightly taller and gains a little more strength. This does not happen to any other citizen in this world. Another one is the fire flower, an herb commonly used for spices and to be mixed in with other ingredients for various foods. He eats this and suddenly unleashes balls of fire from his hands. How is this possible? Our staff has tried this experiment of eating fire flowers solely and all it has led to is burning mouths and lots of milk being wasted.
So…we had to do the unthinkable. We had to know more so we tracked him down, drugged him, and brought him into the lab for testing of his blood and DNA. We had to know what's in his blood that makes him…well…be like a superhero, basically. The ones you only see in comic books and TV. This was a case we couldn't just ignore."
Mario dropped his jaw in total shock and horror. Some strangers had just violated his privacy and body by using it for their own research!
"O-o-o-o-oh my god…no! No no no no! I-I would've remembered this! They couldn't…I mean…" Mario had no idea what to even say at that point. He wanted to believe this was some kind of prank set up by some psychos from The Dark Web, but he knew that it had to be real.
What he saw next solidified his belief.
The video cut to an unconscious Mario lying on a silver table with a white sheet covering his whole body except for his head. There was another person lying on another table next to him positioned the exact same way and also unconscious.
It was Pauline.
"Wh-what the…oh my god…what the fuck is all this!?" Mario cried.
"This is Professor Fungi again. We successfully brought Mario in for the bloodwork and DNA testing, but what would make this process even more interesting is if we compared his blood and DNA to that of a human being just like Mario. We couldn't use Princess Toadstool Peach, as though she's a human being in appearance, she has a mixed race blood of the Mushroom race and human race within her, so it wouldn't be a fair comparison. The woman we have here next to Mario, we found out her name is Pauline Passler via our database. It's as if our wishes were granted from the stars above as we have very few human beings that live in the Mushroom Kingdom, but we managed to track her down with ease! From what we know about this Pauline, she lives close to Mario and has stalked him on numerous occasions. For what purpose exactly? It's not quite clear. Perhaps she's a big fan of the hero and thinks she has a shot. Who knows, but I digress, I'm moving away from the important topic here.
What we found in our research is quite staggering and bizarre. Pauline's blood type is O-positive, which, by our research, found is one of the more common blood types among human beings. However, Mario's blood type is AB-negative. From our research, less than 1% of human beings have this blood type! Actually…perhaps I should mention this for ALL beings in our world. For reference, the average Toad species' blood type is commonly B-positive, and the average Koopa species' blood type is commonly A-negative. Additionally, Princess Toadstool Peach's blood type is AB-positive. In our world, AB-negative accounts for only approximately .05% of the population.
And now we get into the DNA…so, the average human being's DNA is a double helix formed by base pairs attached to a sugar-phosphate backbone. This is evidenced by our sampling of Pauline's DNA, which showed quite literally a generic example of what the average human's DNA should look like. But, for Mario…now this is even more bizarre."
Professor Fungi put up a drawing of DNA-like model to the camera.
"This is what Mario's DNA looks like. Notice anything odd about it? Inside the double helix, there's supposed to be pairs of Adenine and Thymine, and Guanine and Cytosine. But…look what we found out. There's an extra 'pair' right next to where the 'pair' should be at in the DNA. Mario's DNA, drawn to scale, is much wider and more stretched out than Pauline's is. There's also some discoloration compared to Pauline's as well. Mario's is more gray in color. We were unable to find out what exactly these extra 'pairs' are in the DNA, because they are not Adenine, Thymine, Guanine, nor Cytosine. These extra 'pairs' do not contain any elements of the prior four in the DNA. What on earth are these pairs? Does this mean that Mario may not actually be the typical human being? My discussion with the team is leading us to a potential conclusion of Mario having some kind of genetic mutation or defect that makes him practically superhuman. This is the only thing that makes logical sense as of right now."
Mario was still in both shock and horror. He had no idea about his 'DNA' being different. This made him think about how he was raised and how his family never said anything to him about his genes being different than of the average human. Were they keeping it a secret for some reason?
The video cut again and it showed the same room this time, except it was a very tall koopa who was lying unconscious on the table. A few scientists surrounded his table.
"Hello, this is Professor Fungi once again. We are going to try an experiment that may be very risky. We are going to inject an extraction of Mario's blood into Kris, our volunteered subject right here. The theory we have going on here is that, if Mario's blood truly does make him practically superhuman, could his blood then be the key to making everyone else have the same strength and health he has? If all goes right, this could be a game changer for the world in every aspect of people's lives. Let's begin."
Professor Fungi got out a large needle that had presumably Mario's blood in it and walked over to the unconscious koopa. Because of the blurry video quality, it was hard to see what he was doing towards the back, as he was doing something to the koopa's arm at first, but then he knew when he saw the professor inject the blood into the koopa. There was about a minute wait until something happened. The koopa began to shake violently as if he was having a seizure. Mario saw the scientists hold Kris down so he wouldn't fall off the table. He then stopped shaking after a minute and everything went quiet. Then, a screeching yell was heard, which made Mario jump and cringe at the noise. It was coming from Kris. He pushed all the scientists out of the way, sending them flying across the room. He then proceeded to trash the entire room. He threw medical equipment everywhere, threw chairs at the wall, and threw the table at the ceiling. One of the scientists ran over to him to try to sedate him, but Kris was seen grabbing him by the neck and bashing his head against the wall multiple times. Mario looked away as he knew that guy was as good as dead at that point.
All went silent after that. Mario looked back at the computer screen and the video cut to Professor Fungi and Merlon, sitting in the office from the first portion of the video. Mario was pretty surprised to see Merlon of all people there. Professor Fungi had cuts on his neck and swollen right eye.
"H-Hello…this is Professor Fungi again. I'm recording this video a few days after the horrible attack from our subject, Kris, who had killed four of our men and escaped the building. His whereabouts are currently unknown and we will be issuing an arrest warrant for Kris and have police searching for him high and low throughout the country," he spoke, completely shaken up from the incident.
"I warned you this would happen, did I not?" spoke Merlon.
"Yes, you did, and I went along anyways. I'm sorry…I just wanted to know if Mario's blood really was some kind of miracle thing where we can make people be just like him; strong, quick, healthy, acquire abilities from specific items…it was all for the sake of research," Fungi said and was seen sobbing a little.
"You are damn lucky Mario wasn't anywhere near that monster when it happened. You know how much we need him for what's to come with Tatanga three years from now. Mario is the key to saving the world from its biggest threat yet!" Merlon exclaimed.
"WHAT? Merlon knew about this three years before this all happened!?" Mario screeched.
"I know he is. It was a stupid mistake on my part, but…he's okay, and that's all that matters. Merlon, my career here at Mushroom Corps. is in jeopardy right now because of what happened. That's why I'm recording this for future purposes, so that one day, people will know the truth about everything," Fungi said.
"Yes, they will know the truth. Eventually they will. Professor Fungi…when Tatanga begins his plan, there are 12 people that must be kept safe before it all actually begins. Princess Daisy Sarasa, Luigi Mario, Waluigi Wario, Rosalina Star, Yoshi Pucha, Birdo Pucha, Donkey Kong, Dixie Kong, Toadette Toadlinsky, Toad Toadlinsky, Goombella Goomino, and Princess Toadstool Peach. They are also key to being a part of destroying Tatanga," Merlon said.
'Why specifically those 12 people?" Fungi asked.
"I'm not sure. The stars directed to showing me those 12 people in starting the mission off with saving the world. Maybe it's just a random coincidence that those 12 were chosen. Maybe there's a deeper reason for it. It's hard to say right now," Merlon answered.
"I see…okay. So, what are we supposed to do until then?" Fungi asked.
"All we have to do is wait. That's all we really can do, my friend. Once this begins, I'm gonna have to somewhat stretch the truth of what I saw in the future in regards to defeating Tatanga. If I tell them now, it won't do any good. It has to happen exactly the way it's supposed to," Merlon said.
"What do you mean? Why does it have to happen exactly that way? Why can't you just tell the head of Mushroom Corporations what you saw about Tatanga, so that they know to track Tatanga down far in advance and kill him before he does anything?"
"Because, firstly, Tatanga could be anywhere in this world right now. It would be next to impossible to try to track him down. Secondly, it just has to happen this way, Professor. What I see in the future comes true no matter how much I try to alter it. However, there is a reason why I received this foresight so far in advance."
"And what reason is that, Merlon?"
"Because I'm gonna die right after Tatanga begins his plan. My time on this planet will be done in three years and I will have fully served my life's purpose by then. It's not going to be easy though, facing my death. I'm going to reject it and wish to live longer and will beg for Tatanga's mercy, but as I said, it can't be altered."
"My god…Merlon…"
"Do not cry for me. I've done everything in this life that I possibly could to help everyone I'm able to. We all have a time limit here in this world. This is going to be the biggest event to happen in our world in history and I will supply all the knowledge that I can to help the heroes destroy the alien."
"Oh…okay then…but, Merlon…is there any chance you saw the world getting saved from Tatanga? Do the heroes succeed!?"
Merlon stayed silent and stared coldly into the camera. The video ended right there.
Mario had no idea what to think or do or say at that point. So much crazy information was presented to him that he just didn't know what to do with himself. He felt anger, however. Mushroom Corporations used him and Pauline's bodies for experimentation without permission. They've been spying on him since he practically entered the mushroom world! What else could they possibly have on him, and maybe even his friends?
Birdo and Yoshi were laying and cuddling with each other on the ground in one of the patient rooms.
"Mmm…haven't done this in a while!" Birdo giggled.
"Yeah, this feels nice! Being close with my lady and just focusing on something good for once, you know?" Yoshi also giggled.
"Exactly. I'm tired of feeling down in the dumps all the time. We need at least SOME moments where we can just feel alive and relieved, you know?" Birdo said.
"Definitely. This helps a lot with dealing with things. And you know what? I'm actually craving chocolate milk right now!" Yoshi hopped up from the ground. Birdo busted up laughing.
"What!? Chocolate milk!? Wow, if THAT isn't the most random thing of the day…" she shook her head.
"I know, right? I hadn't had that drink in months! Remember when I used to have it for breakfast every morning but then switched to just water because I was convinced that it was gaining me weight?" Yoshi recalled. Birdo laughed again.
"Of course I do! But, obviously, it was just you not working out as much as you used to. Chocolate milk doesn't have that much power over your body!" she said.
"Tell that to lactose intolerant people! You want some?" Yoshi asked.
"Ehh, sure. Not the worst thing you can drink in an apocalypse situation," Birdo sarcastically spoke. Yoshi playfully rolled his eyes at her and walked down the hallway.
"OH MY GOD, STOOOOOOOP!"
"What the? That sounded like Boshi!" Yoshi noted and walked forward faster. He went to where the men's bathroom was.
"Boshi, is that you? Ugh, I swear, everyday you get into some new trouble!" Yoshi groaned and opened the door to see the dead body of Toadiana on the floor with blood all around her and Boshi sitting in the fetal position, looking scared out of this mind.
"HOLY SHIT! BOSHI, WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED IN HERE!?" Yoshi screamed in terror.
Boshi suddenly jumped up from the ground and ran to him. "YOSHI! TH-TH-TH-THIS ISN'T WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!"
EOC.
So, the video that Mario sees connects back to Chapter 63 where Arfur tells the story of Mario's blood in the car to Spike and Bow. In that dialogue, though, the koopa is referred to as Konnor, so I went back and changed the name to Kris, because that Konnor in Chapter 63 is NOT the same as the 'Konnor' right now lol, if that makes any sense.
Next chapter will be the final chapter of the hospital arc. The gang tries to figure out what happened to Toadiana exactly, Parakarry and Jojora sneak out of the hospital to go somewhere important, Vivian tries to have 'the talk' with Koops, and as always, much more. See you next Friday!
