"LOOK OUT FOR THAT HEXAGONAL-SHAPED ASTEROID!" Fire Bro screeched, pointing at said asteroid that almost crashed into Daisy.
"Wooaaahhh! Just barely avoided that! Are we entering a damn asteroid belt now!?" Daisy asked.
"Hey! Can you guys still hear me okay?" Kylie said through the radio.
"Loud and clear! Can you hear us okay? Wait, how does this still work actually? We're in freakin' outer space, thousands of miles away from the planet! Are our radios made for intergalactic communication or something?" Yoshi questioned.
"How is it that your questioning the logic of our radios working in outer space, but never questioned all the other illogical crap that we've had to deal with since we started this adventure?" Waluigi questioned his questioning.
"Um, I totally have, Waluigi! It's called INTERNAL questioning, duh!" Yoshi spat.
"Ah, I do that a lot too. If you do internal questioning multiple times everyday, then it's safe to consider yourself to be highly intelligent!" Goombella said.
"I do internal questioning 1,099 times a day! That makes me an uber genius, right guys!?" Fire Bro excitedly asked.
"Uhh…so anyways, Kylie! What are the directions to Shiverburn Galaxy now?" DK awkwardly changed the subject.
"Okay, according to the radar I'm seeing, you guys are on the correct path right now. However, because technology's advancements must have a limit, you guys will be off of my radar in about 5 minutes, which may mean that the radio connection between us could go off too, so I'll have to make my directions quick! To the left of you guys is a small asteroid belt filled with star-shaped asteroids in about 2 miles. That's where you go, then, you're gonna pass by the Space Storm Galaxy, which looks like a rocketship and a tower floating next to each other, then you'll pass by a large, pyramidal object which is the Slipsand Galaxy, and then, you will reach Shiverburn. You'll know you've reached it by noticing a volcano next a large land of ice," Kylie instructed.
"Ooh, sounds soooo exotic! Can we visit those galaxies too and take selfies for Facebook!?" Fire Bro cheered.
"NO!" Everyone else yelled.
"Kylie, do you know where we'll find the gem exactly in the galaxy?" Mario asked.
"Well, when we sent R.O.B out there to examine the location, we found what looked like the ruby gem located on a small planet that looked like it was fused with magma and ice. Could've gotten R.O.B to retrieve it myself, however, R.O.B detected a bizarre anomaly nearby and automatically sent himself back to base," Kylie explained.
"A bizarre anomaly? What does that mean? Any chance you got a description of this thing?" Dixie asked.
"Well…an anomaly is a presence that is usually labeled for ghosts and such, but can sometimes be for other 'things' that aren't completely of the physical world. When R.O.B detected this anomaly, the danger sensors went off in his radar, which sent the notification to me at base, and whenever this happens, R.O.B goes into 'danger mode' and hightails it back to Mushroom Corps. to provide a report of what happened. Nothing much was said in the report, other than the fact that something there made R.O.B detect that this 'presence' was wholly negative and dangerous to be around," Kylie explained further. Everyone became a little nervous at this.
"Well…SHIT! I knew it wasn't gonna be so easy getting this gem! How the hell are we supposed to fight an 'anomaly' though? What if the weapons in our arwings aren't effective against it?" Birdo panickily asked.
"Just…um…let me handle it if it comes to that, Birdo. I'll be able to figure out something," Rosalina hesitantly spoke.
"You sure, Rosalina? I mean, I don't want us to make you feel like we're relying on you first thing every single time we get into a battle…" Waluigi worriedly spoke. He still had that fear in the back of his head that she would go overboard with her magic again.
"No, it's fine. It's for the good of the world so don't worry about how I feel," Rosalina spoke a little coldly. She felt kind of tensed up inside because she would, by all means, risk her life to save her friends and the world, but she also worried that it may come at a cost if she goes deep into her magics again.
"We'll figure out how to defeat this thing, just like we always do. Don't overthink it or worry about it too much, you guys. Also, I know exactly where the planet that has magma and ice fused is at, so everyone, when we arrive at the galaxy, follow Peach's arwing to the planet, then we'll land somewhere safe and look for it there," Mario spoke in a strict manner.
"Here comes the asteroid belt! Should we blast them into pieces or evade them like the plague!?" Toad asked.
"Do NOT blast them! Blasting them will separate the asteroid into pieces and send them flying into multiple directions, meaning that's more rocks you have to avoid and the chances of one hitting someone's arwing unexpectedly will increase. Just avoid them at all costs!" Kylie instructed.
"Ahhhh! Now I'm even more nervous. There's so many of them! Can't someone just take these asteroids and push them somewhere else!?" Toadette whined.
"Sure, let's just go hop out of our vehicles, gather up all the asteroids here, and simply push them all to planet Jupiter! That'll work splendidly!" Goombella sarcastically responded.
"GIRLS GO TO JUPITER TO GET MORE STUPIDER! HAHA! Elementary school throwback!" Fire Bro crazily laughed.
"It's BOYS go to Jupiter to get more stupider, dummy! You need to go to college to get more knowledge!" Waluigi joked.
"Going to college to get more knowledge sounds fun and all, till you have to pay back at least 30k coins in debt! Gotta love the Mushroom Kingdom's education system!" Dixie pointed out.
"HEY! I don't control the prices of colleges, you know! Don't be so mean!" Peach pouted.
"I know you don't control the prices, Peach. The princess' rulings are separate from the education system, in which the government controls it," Dixie said.
"I don't understand why we don't let the government just control our lives! They clearly know what's best for us!" Fire Bro exclaimed.
"What!? Are you…uhh, joking or being serious right now? I can never tell with you," Daisy said.
"What he needs is to shut up and stop distracting us from avoiding these asteroids!" Mario yelled as everyone entered the belt.
"To the left! To the right! To the down! To the left again! To the up! To the down again! TO THE BARREL ROLL!" Toad yelled, swiftly avoiding the rocks.
"Toad, you yelling like that isn't helping us focus on evading the asteroids!" DK said.
"It's his way of keeping himself from being totally panicked from doing this. I mean, would you rather him go like 'OH MY GOD, THERE'S SO MANY ROCKS FLYING AROUND ME I DON'T KNOW HOW I'M GOING TO SURVIVE THIS CATASTROPHE! AHHHHHHH!'" Toadette screeched. This made Dixie laugh heartily.
"Hey! Is that supposed to be a joke about me getting scared easily!?" Luigi said offensively.
"Um…no. That literally wasn't directed at anyone," Toadette said bluntly.
"Oh! Good. Because, um, I definitely wasn't implying that I get scared easily! Yeah. I'm way more courageous now. Fear is all in the mind, guys. That's one of the biggest lessons I've learned from doing this adventure!" Luigi took it back and played it off like he was kidding around, which made a few others giggle.
"Ha! If you say so, Lu- OH SHIT!" Waluigi cried as his right wing scraped against an asteroid, which jerked his arwing around a bit.
"WALUIGI! Are you okay!?" Rosalina yelled.
"Ugh…I-I think so! I hit an asteroid on the right side, but I think my vehicle is okay! None of the sensors are going off so I think I'm clear of danger," Waluigi tried to calm himself down as he looked at his gauges.
"WOAH! There's another way coming your way! I GOT IT!" Fire Bro shouted and blasted a huge asteroid into smaller pieces that flew out in all directions.
"AH!" Yoshi screamed and jerked his vehicle downward, barely avoiding the asteroid piece. "What the hell, Fire Bro!?"
"What? I saved Waluigi's life! You all can reward me with sherbet ice cream later on!" Fire Bro laughed.
"STOP IT!" Daisy angrily shouted while maneuvering around the broken asteroid piece. "Kylie literally just said not to blow any of the asteroids up! You're lucky that none of those pieces hit us!"
"Hey now, how are you getting angry with me when I stopped that asteroid from clashing into Waluigi and eradicating him to smithereens!? Do you want Waluigi to die or something?" Fire Bro obnoxiously asked.
"NO! That's not what she's saying, moron! I saw that asteroid for myself, I easily had enough time to fly under it! You just wanna not listen and do whatever you want cause you think it's hilarious or something!" Waluigi spat.
"Fire Bro, just go back to Mushroom Corps. and wait for us at the hospital. You're too unpredictable and scatter-brained to keep around on this mission," Mario harshly said.
"Well, I would, but there's no point now cause I see the galaxy over there!" Fire Bro said, grabbing everyone's attention to look closer at the Shiverburn Galaxy that was indeed within sight now.
"Woah! So pretty! Definitely beats seeing it from a flat screen TV!" Yoshi exclaimed.
"Kylie? You there? Hello?" Birdo said into the radio. No response, just static. "Well, guess we're on our own from now on."
"Don't worry, I remember her instructions. The area where we have to land on isn't that massive, so it shouldn't take too long to find the gem," Mario assured.
"I'm still curious about that anomaly though…if it's an actual threat, it'll definitely get in our way of finding the gem," Goombella noted.
"Like I said before, let me handle it if it comes to that. Let's not get ourselves overwhelmed already," Rosalina said.
The remainder of the flight to Shiverburn was quiet, as everyone tensed up to varying levels while they got closer and closer to Shiverburn. Deep down, they all knew that something bad was going to happen on that planet. They've been through the ringer these past few worlds, so it's gotten to a point where they expected that this one most likely will be the same.
"There! That's the hot and cold planet Kylie was talking about. We'll land on the starting spot, everyone, and take it from there," Mario ordered. Peach flew her arwing to lead everyone to the planet and landed on the beginning, large ice spot and everyone else followed through. They all got out and took in the amazing scenery of the galaxy before them.
"Wow! So cool! I can see my breath! I can see stars in the shape of a heart! Or…that actually might be a butt. Wait, is that Rainbow Road over there? Daaang! How did we even get to that course in the first place if it's all the way up in outer space?" Yoshi asked.
"I'm pretty sure they drug us and transport us through magical means to the course. It's more cost effective than having to travel to it by a rocketship," DK said.
"Wait, what's the point of drugging you guys THEN transporting you there? Wouldn't that just create an unnecessary extra step for whoever is doing it?" Goombella questioned.
"I'm pretty sure they don't want us to see or know who is doing the magical rituals and how they're doing it. Rumor has it that the people that do it are involved in a demonic cult," DK shrugged, not seeming bothered by the fact that people like that are doing that kind of stuff to him and his friends.
"Well…uhh…clearly it can't be a demonic cult because you guys are still alive and well," Goombella raised a brow at this.
"Alright guys, no fooling around now. The path is pretty much straightforward from here on, but the gem could be literally anywhere, even buried underneath the ice we're on right now, so keep your eyes open at all times," Mario instructed.
"I have a question!" Fire Bro loudly announced.
"Yes?" Mario irritatedly asked.
"We're in outer space, right? So, how are we not dead right now since we don't have fish bowls on?" Fire Bro asked.
"Huh!? Fish bowls!? Fire Bro…just…" Mario rolled his eyes, getting more annoyed with his presence by the second and walked off.
"Okay, dude, you need to start taking this seriously. Don't question why we're all still breathing right now because I'm pretty sure none of wanna think about that logic!" Birdo pointed out.
"Yeah! And what's up with the fish bowls? What does that have to do with anything?" Yoshi asked.
"Well, don't you wear those whenever you go out into outer space so you can breathe?" Fire Bro reproached.
"Uhh, no. That's called a helmet and it comes with a space suit! Just don't let it get to your head, okay? Now come on!" Birdo impatiently spoke, and then her and Yoshi dragged Fire Bro along with them.
Waluigi gave a slight elbow bump to Rosalina. "Hey. You think we'll see any of your lumas here?"
"Oh, I'm not so sure. It's been such a long time since I've seen them and being here makes me realize just how long I've accustomed myself to living on your guys' planet. I certainly hope they won't think ill of me when I see them again after this is all done…" Rosalina worriedly spoke.
"Why would you say that for? I'm sure your lumas will understand you being gone for so long! You were adapting to life on our planet and you helped save that same planet from some purple buffoon. There's no way that they wouldn't understand that," Waluigi said in encouragement which made Rosalina smile.
"Yeah, you're right. I don't know why I'm thinking that…but you forgot one thing to say, Waluigi," Rosalina said.
"Huh. What is it?" he asked.
"It's that…I was also gone for so long because I fell in love with someone on that same planet," she said and ended it with a bigger smile. Waluigi blushed hard and held her hand.
Peach caught up to Mario, who was far ahead of everyone else.
"Mario, slow down! Are you okay? You seem really frustrated," Peach said, trying to keep her balance on the ice.
"That's because I am. It's Fire Bro…he can't be trusted at all. That story Daisy told us about Mona having that hallucination about Fire Bro…pretty sure it wasn't a hallucination. And now, an incident happened at the hospital, and my gut is telling me that Fire Bro was a part of that as well," Mario said, keeping his voice low so the others won't hear him.
"Wh-what incident!? Please don't tell me another person died!" Peach gasped.
"No, but someone got hurt. The security room was thrashed last night and one of the security guys was injured along. The screens to view the security cams were completely destroyed," Mario explained. Peach gasped again.
"Wow! Why on earth would anyone want to do that though!?" she said.
"To get away with whatever act they wanna commit. No security viewing of the cameras equals freedom for anyone to do whatever they want," Mario sternly said.
"My goodness…and you think it's Fire Bro? Is there any proof so the police can question him?" she asked.
"Not really, but he's hiding something dark underneath all that so called craziness he likes to spout. Don't tell the others about this, because I don't want them freaking out and start interrogating Fire Bro. We have to keep this as low-profile as possible until there's actual proof to incriminate him," Mario ordered. Peach nodded her head but looked very nervous at the same time.
The group kept walking forward, becoming unnerved by the eerie silence that was all around them.
"So…um…hey! Weren't there enemies last time we came through this part? And lava pits? I mean, I'm obviously glad they're not here to get in our way, but…something definitely feels different about this place compared to last time," Luigi pointed out.
"Yeah…something feels very off here, but I have no idea what it could be. I have no idea how to explain this weird feeling I am, well, feeling…" Mario said in discomfort.
"Do you think it's that anomaly that Kylie was talking about earlier? Could it be close by!?" Goombella nervously asked.
"I don't think so. I'm not sensing any negative vibes or auras…however, I do feel the glowing aura of the gem! It's definitely nearby!" Rosalina exclaimed.
"WAIT! Is that it over there!? See that rock platform in the middle of that lava pool!? I think that's the ruby gem on top!" Yoshi pointed excitedly.
"Oh, that's definitely it! Come on, you guys!" DK shouted in excitement as well. Everyone was deeply relieved to see the gem within their sights along with it being so easy and quick to obtain.
"Alright guys, don't run TOO fast! The ice can get very slippery!" Mario warned, but a split second after he said that, Dixie was heard screaming for her life.
The monkey gal ran too fast and slipped onto her stomach, which made her slide forward over the edge of ice platform path they were on.
"OH NO! DIXIIIEEEEEEEEEEE!" Toadette screamed in horror.
"WOO!" Fire Bro yelped, jumping in in the nick of time and grabbed Dixie's hand before she could plummet into the starry abyss.
"Oh! Fire Bro! My god, thank you so much! That was waaaayyyyy too close!" Dixie cried as Fire Bro pulled her up onto the path.
"Yeah, no kidding! Almost gave us a heart attack! I couldn't handle having another person die," Daisy said.
"M-Me neither!" Toadette cried and ran up to hug her.
"I'm sorry, I was being kind of reckless there," Dixie sighed, hating to see the hurt in Daisy and Toadette's face at her almost dying.
"Well well, long time, no speak, my lady!" Fire Bro flirtatiously spoke and then winked.
"Um, yeah, thanks again, Fire Bro…" Dixie uncomfortably spoke then quickly walked away while dragging Toadette with her.
The group reached the end of the ice path and stared at the ruby gem on the lone pillar in the middle of the lava pool.
"Alright, who wants to bet that something is gonna pop out of this lava any second to try and stop us?" Birdo cynically asked.
"See, I WOULD bet on that, but I'm broke as a joke!" Fire Bro said.
"I can just make the ruby gem come to me, you guys. This will just take a second…" Rosalina assured then extended her right arm with her hand open. The ruby gem was seen shaking for a few seconds then suddenly flew at the speed of light into Rosalina's hand.
"Done! This mission is now complete!" Rosalina happily said. The others cheered, but the cheeriness didn't last for long as a large group of flying Elite Octoombas suddenly surrounded the group, aiming at them with what looked like laser guns.
"AWWWW FUCK! I KNEW IT WASN'T GONNA BE THAT EASY!" Waluigi screamed.
"SHIT! Um, uhh, timesl-" Daisy tried to use her time altering move she received from Gekikara, but suddenly, the entire group dropped to the ground and were unable to get up as if some force held them down.
"AH! What the hell is going on!? This ice is fucking freezing and it's sticking to my face!" Dixie complained. The flying Elite Octoombas then took everyone and flew them away.
"Agh…shit…I feel so weak right now…wh-where the hell are these guys taking us!?" DK asked.
"I'm guessing over there?" Toad pointed to a planet that had a large, gray building with no windows and nothing else on the planet.
"What the hell? I don't remember seeing that last time I was here! What the hell is going on…" Mario was now more confused than scared at this moment.
"Ugh…god…why do I feel like I'm so powerless right now…" Rosalina spoke tiredly, not having any strength to use her magic to get everyone safe.
The flying Elite Octoombas took them to the gray building and entered through what looked like a doorway, but there was no actual door there to go through. The inside of the building was plainly designed; all gray walls, ceilings, and floors. An Elite Octoomba opened a metal door and the Elite Octoombas that were carrying the heroes all flew into the large, hollow room and threw the 14 on the floor, along with one of them snatching the ruby gem that Rosalina held.
"No…nooooo! Please stop this, we just want the gem and we'll be out of here, I swear it!" Peach cried.
But of course, they didn't listen to her as they just slammed the door shut and a locking noise was heard.
The gang stood up and examined their surroundings. The room resembled a jail cell, except there was a small window that had bars that peered into the next room over.
"Oh god…oh god oh god OH GOD! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE AS SOON AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE, PLEEEEEAAAASE!" Goombella screamed and started hyperventilating. The setting reminded her of when the infected Sonic gang kidnapped her, put her in a cell, and tortured her.
"Goombella, it's gonna be okay! Okay!? Just, um, breathe in and out veeeeery slowly, alright? You can breathe with me!" Toad did his best to help and then inhaled and exhaled slowly and deeply. Goombella did her best to sync her breathing with his.
"We are definitely getting out of here. DK, you and I are gonna ram into that door and hopefully we'll be able to smash it open," Mario instructed.
"Bro, I don't know about that. That door looks like it's hard as steel. I really don't want you to hurt yourself!" Luigi said in worry.
"Yeah, please don't do it! At least, um, let Rosalina do some magic to get us out of here!" Peach suggested.
"I…ugh…can't…there's something that zapped me, made me feel completely drained…what on earth was that…" Rosalina spoke, still drained. Waluigi held her in his arms, worried beyond belief for her state.
"There is no getting out of here…" said a voice that was not any of the 14.
"Huh? Wait, that voice sounds familiar…" Daisy said. The voice had to have come from the next room over. Everyone peered into the room and stared in shock at who it was.
It was Gekikara. She had been mysteriously absent for quite some time after she gave Parakarry the negate ability.
"Oh my! Gekikara! Wh-what are you doing here!? Did you know that we would be here!?" Peach asked.
"No…this is all just a coincidence…" Gekikara spoke with such a drained voice. "That man found me and captured me, put me in here…he can travel through dimensions like I can…he knew that I was helping you guys and wanted to stop me…so he zapped me of my powers…he's extremely powerful…never seen anything like him before…"
"Oh my god…but, who is 'him'? Does 'he' have a name? What does he look like?" Mario questioned.
"He looks like a humanoid, pale asshole that needs to be ripped a new one!" said another unfamiliar, male voice from the same jail cell Gekikara was in.
"Huh? Who else is in there?" Waluigi called out.
A blonde-haired, scruffy-faced, mean-looking Toad came into view quickly as he ran forward to the bars and grabbed them.
"You gotta get me out of here, you guys! PLEASE! My name is Toadim, and I was separated from my crew on the Sarasaland space mission to the Fleet Glide Galaxy to collect potential rocketship parts to build an even more advanced rocket back at our base, but something clashed into our rocketship, so I went out to investigate it, then before I knew it, I got attacked and captured by these ugly, green things that look like a mixture of a goomba and octopus and got sent here! I DON'T KNOW EVEN WHY THE FUCK I WAS CAPTURED! NONE OF THIS SHIT MAKES ANY FUCKING SENSE WHATSOFUCKINGEVER!" the toad angrily rambled.
"Okay, you need to calm down! We're gonna figure out how to get out of here, we just need to-" Mario tried to assure the toad but suddenly stopped when he heard the door in the group's cell be unlocked.
"Shit! Everyone, get ready for a potential fight!" DK warned, getting into a combat stance.
The door opened and in came a tall, human, pale man with one eye being the color red and one eye being the color blue, and jet black hair, who was wearing a black overcoat that covered his entire body from the neck down.
"Hello, Rosalina. I'm sure you remember me, right?" he asked. His voice was so soft and calm, completely different from what everyone was expecting.
Everyone looked to Rosalina in confusion.
"Huh!? Who in the world are…" then, it hit her. This person was a figure from her past that led her to a very dark place. "No! NO! I-I thought I destroyed you!"
"Yes…'thought' being the key word there. You merely injured me, gravely, but now I'm back. I've been conjuring up my strength all these years and I've been seeing what you and your friends have been doing on your planet. I knew you were going to come here, so I decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to capture you and your friends, and make you watch your world suffer into the very darkness and destruction that it needs," the man stated, which stroke fear into everyone.
"What…Rosalina, wh-who the hell is this guy? How do you know him?" Waluigi asked.
Rosalina's eyes got a little watery. "Do you guys remember when I told you that story, of how I became evil myself because I was trying to destroy this thing that killed a few of my lumas? It was right before we landed at Luigi's mansion to retrieve the second gem."
"Yeah, I remember! You said some evil was approaching and you tried to get rid of it yourself, but then it killed your lumas, and you ended up going out of control," Toadette recalled.
"Wait, I wasn't there for that! Rosalina, is that basically all that happened to you, what you and Toadette just said?" Mario asked.
"That's pretty much the short version of it. This 'thing' that killed my lumas, and whom I tried to kill…it was him. The man standing before us right now. Like Gekikara, he can travel through dimensions and has no actual form, he just takes on whatever form he wants to…" Rosalina explained.
The pale man smiled a little. "Indeed so. I remember that event like it was just yesterday, my dear Rosalina. I've never seen such a rage and darkness come from an elegant lady like yourself…looks like you're more like me than you thought."
"HEY! She is nothing like you, you son of a bitch! Rosalina actually has a heart of gold, you're just some nobody who makes empty, desperate threats!" Waluigi angrily yelled.
"Empty…threats? Really? Well, guess I'll have to prove you wrong then, won't I? Take him!" the man ordered and about a dozen Elite Octoombas quickly came into the cell and knocked down Waluigi. Everyone else shouted in protest as they tried to kill the Elite Octoombas, but everyone was suddenly blown back against the wall telepathically by the pale man. Waluigi was dragged out of the room as he screamed for mercy.
"NO NO NOOOO! WALUIGIIIIII!" Rosalina cried.
"FUCK! You're not gonna get away with this, you bastard! We'll find a way to stop you and get rid of you, we always do!" Daisy declared.
"That's only because you've faced against such impudent, small-minded villains in the past. I'm nothing like them. Your underestimation of me will only get you killed quicker," the man stated. He was about to walk out, but then turned back around. "That one! The green dinosaur, take him too!"
"WHAT!? NOOOOOOOOO! DON'T FUCKING DO THIS! PLEEEEAAAASE!" Birdo screeched as another dozen Elite Octoombas came in and attacked Yoshi. Birdo and the rest tried to do another attack against them again but was immediately pushed back again by the man's powers.
"Agh! PLEASE…STOP! WHY ARE YOU EVEN DOING THIS!? JUST LET US GOOOOO!" Yoshi cried as he was dragged out of the room.
"I don't need a reason for anything. That's one of the perks of being an interdimensional creature like myself, you just do what you want with the power that you have," the man answered bluntly, still keeping that tiny smile on his face. "Now then…Rosalina, come with me now."
"What? NO! NEVER!" Rosalina yelled.
"Come with me right now, or else I will set all your friends on fire with my mind in a split second," the man threatened. Everyone looked at each other in fear and shock.
Rosalina was beyond terrified at this point. Her powers were practically gone, and she had no idea how they were going to get out of this one this time around. She nervously stood herself up and walked out of the cell with the man. The man closed the door and locked it again. Everyone else just sat in the cell, stunned and horrified at everything that just happened.
Koopie Koo and Jojora rounded up Diddy, Koops, Flurrie, Spike, Vivian, Goombario, Bombette, Parakarry, Bow, Lakilulu, Bowser, Iggy, Morton, Ludwig, Larry, Lemmy, Wendy, Bowser Jr., Pauline, and Wario, and brought them to the courtyard at a distance away from the hospital.
"Please, for the love of god, don't tell us that someone died. I swear, this hospital is gonna end up having its own graveyard at some point!" Goombario exclaimed.
"No one died, however, what I'm about to tell you all is extremely crucial because it concerns Fire Bro and his past, and a little bit of Tadano too," Koopie said.
"What does it concern, Fire Bro being from an insane asylum? How would that be newsworthy?" Bow scowled.
Koopie's face turned into worry. "Actually…it kind of has to do with that. Alright, I'm just gonna get straight to the point here. Before Kooper fell down those stairs, he and I had an interesting conversation, and I found out some things that may put all of us in danger."
Everyone looked a little nervous now.
"Huh? How so? Do we have to change locations again!?" Iggy asked.
"No, well, I hope not at least! Kooper told me something about Fire Bro that he ended up piecing together for himself. Fire Bro's real name is Konnor Korpus, which makes him the brother of Kooper. When Konnor and Kooper were just kids, Konnor suddenly went insane and tried to kill Kooper. Kooper's parents sent Konnor away to a place in Sarasaland called Northern Chai Mental Institution, and Konnor wanted nothing to do with his family after that, so he spent who knows how many years there.
Now, I'm gonna reveal something else that I haven't told anyone other than you, Koops, and Kooper. I knew Tatanga when I was younger. We were acquaintances at best, but I did hang out with him a few times, and he told me some of his life story. I found out that he had a twin brother named Tadano, who was committed to Northern Chai Mental Institution, the exact same place Konnor was committed to for trying to kill Kooper. I stopped seeing him permanently when he tricked me to go visit Tadano at the institution and Tadano attempted to attack me in a fit of rage.
Now, the reason why I'm telling you guys all this is because neither Fire Bro nor Tadano are to be trusted. Both are unpredictably violent. I've seen it for myself with Tadano, and I'm willing to bet that it was Fire Bro AKA Konnor that pushed Kooper down the stairs. It explains why Fire Bro never told ME about it when it happened last night, because I think he somehow knew that I know about him. Kooper was going to the stairwell on the 6th floor to meet with Konnor, so Kooper could know more about what Konnor has been up to all these years and why he's here now. Then, all of a sudden, Kooper falls down the stairwell, and Konnor just so happens to be there to find him and take him to the ER in the nick of time? The proof is undeniable!" Koopie explained her story, which left everyone in a state of shock and fear. All was silent for about a minute as they all took in what was one of the craziest things they've ever heard of.
"What the fuck…so…uhh…you're absolutely positive that Fire Bro IS Konnor!? How do we know he isn't just faking it so he can fuck with Kooper's mind?" Bowser asked.
"Well, never really thought about that part before actually, but Kooper seemed pretty damn convinced that Fire Bro was actually Konnor!" Koopie said.
"And even if he WAS faking it, that just means he's too unstable to have around anyways. We can't have someone like that helping us save the world," Lakilulu added.
"This story definitely checks out," Pauline spoke, prompting all eyes to turn to her in surprise. "Kooper talked me about Fire Bro when we were in the previous world, telling me about how Fire Bro knew something about Kooper's past that was so detailed and on point, that Fire Bro had to have been Kooper's brother because he described the event so perfectly. Fire Bro was telling Kooper a story about how two twin brothers were at home one day, in Star City, Sarasaland, and one of the brothers suddenly goes insane and kills the other brother. That's exactly what happened to Kooper when he was younger, except for the dying part of course. I have no idea Fire Bro told Kooper this story, maybe he has something devised, but…I definitely agree with you, Koopie, that he can't be trusted."
"What the hell…hey! I remember Kooper telling us that story a loooong time ago, too! About how his brother went berserk and tried to kill when lived back in Star City!" Bombette affirmed.
"Woah…okay, how is all of this connecting together exactly? Because your guys' stories definitely check out. When Bow and I were rummaging through the files from the Northern Chai Mental Institution to see what was up with Tadano, we had found out that Kooper's brother, Konnor, was sent to the same institution and that he had previously killed Koops' mother, Kayla, blamed the death on Tadano, and managed to eventually escape the institution. That means we have a fucking murderer in our group!" Spike revealed, provoking some shrieks and gasps throughout the group.
Koops' jaw dropped in realization. "Wha..th-that means…Konnor…Fire Bro was the one who killed my mom! That…he…OH GOD!" he started to cry hysterically. Vivian hugged him and cried with him too.
"Holy. Fucking. Shit. This is…real, right? I mean, this is waaayyyyy too damn coincidental for me to believe but…somehow, I can't help but actually believe it!" Wario said.
"Oh, this is very real, alright. I thought the same thing, Wario. Too much of a coincidence to be all true, but sadly, it is. Fire Bro and Tadano are too dangerous to keep around now. Something has to be done about this!" Koopie declared.
"Well, what do you suppose we do then? We can't just interrogate them because they'll deny and act innocent on everything! And we can't just kick them out either because that'll definitely back fire one way or another!" Morton pointed out.
"Well, I think I have an idea, but not all of you are gonna like it…" Koopie said.
Mona was in the back of a police car, riding with two toad cops to Toad Town police station. They were just about to exit Mushroom City, getting past all the remaining rubble with ease. It was weird driving through the now empty and mostly destroyed city because it wasn't too long ago that the city was still vibrant, bustling, and full of life.
Mona was feeling horrible about the drugs that she brought with her. She didn't think ahead and wonder about the possibility of some innocent being finding those and using them.
"I can't believe this is happening to me…I'm supposed to be helping save the world…but now I'm going to jail and there's nothing I can do about it…" Mona whispered to herself as she sobbed a little.
"Woah! You see that over there?" said the police toad in the passenger's seat, pointing ahead.
"Yeah…was that a goddamn monster truck a couple blocks down there? It looked like it was driving recklessly!" said the police toad driver.
"Well, wanna investigate it real quick before we head to the jail?" asked the passenger police toad.
"Eh, why not. We're nearby so we can make it quick. If it ends up being something serious, then we'll call for backup. Wouldn't take too long for them to arrive cause Toad Town Jail is less than 10 minutes from here," said the driver toad, and decided to skip exiting to the freeway and go straight ahead to where they saw the monster truck.
Mona started to get a bad feeling in her gut. She couldn't see the so called 'monster truck' that the two were talking about, but it made her weary for some reason.
The police reached the intersection where they thought the saw the 'monster truck.'
"I think they went to the left! Still wanna keep going?" asked the passenger toad.
"Yeah. We'll check it out down there, and if there's nothing, we'll just forget about it and head to the jail," said the driver toad.
He turned left at the intersection and went down another long street that went past many office buildings. Mona looked all around as well, curious to see this 'monster truck' and what on earth is someone driving a vehicle like that in a rubble-filled city.
"HOLY SHIT! LOOK OUT!" screamed the passenger toad, pointing to the driver's left.
Mona jumped at his sudden scream and looked to the left. All she saw was a few seconds of a glance of a large vehicle that came zooming down a wide alleyway and smashed into the police car, flipping it over a few times and finally coming to a stop when it was upside down.
EOC.
So, this plotline I have for the this arc is something that's been in the full 'planning process' since this story was first published and I'm excited to finally do it because it's gonna be quick-paced yet absolutely chaotic, and it's also why I wanted to do this world first rather than the world that has the crystal gem in it because I couldn't wait any longer to do it lol. I've planned out the previous arcs as well in the beginning of the creation of this story, but this current arc is the one that was the MOST planned out at the very beginning out of all the arcs, if that makes sense. But, there will be an in-universe explanation for why they're doing Shiverburn Galaxy place first and not the place where the crystal gem is, so that will be settled as well.
Next chapter you'll find out what's gonna happen to Yoshi and Waluigi, the relationship between the pale man and Rosalina is explored further, the gang tries to find a way out of the building, and as always, much more! The next update will be on Tuesday, December 18 because I'm approaching finals at my university so I'm gonna need all the time I can get to get them done and overwith. See you next time!
