Main/Adventure group: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Rosalina, Yoshi, Birdo, Toad, Toadette, DK, Dixie, Goombella, Fire Bro

Monster truck group: Koopatrols/Rebels

Hospital group: Goombario, Kooper (comatose), Bombette, Parakarry, Bow, Lakilester, Lakilulu, Koops, Koopie, Flurrie, Spike (aka Paper-Yoshi), Vivian, Bleck/Blumiere, Tippi/Timpani, Toadiko, Toadsworth, Professor Frankly, Boshi, Fly Guy, Tiny, Toadessa, Toado, Toady, Dr. Nokano, Kallan, Bowser, Iggy, Morton, Lemmy, Ludwig, Larry, Wendy, Bowser Jr., Toadiana's mom and dad, Wario, Pauline, Mona, Jojora, Tadano, Professor E. Gadd, Starlow, Luvbi, Clawdia, Katia, Kenneth, Toodles

Mushroom Corps.: Arfur, Kylie

Island group: Tatanga, Beldam, Roy, Doopliss, Dimentio, Mimi, Diddy

Moon: Grodus, TEC

Fire Bro walked into one of the patient rooms where Koopie was being held at. He spotted her. She was still unconscious. Everybody else was asleep or tuned out from their surroundings. He walked over to her, and had a slightly vengeful expression upon his face. He approached her bed and put his right hand on her nose, squeezing it, and his left hand on her mouth. Koopie started to fidget as her airway was blocked, creating an emergency reaction from her body. She fidgeted more and then eventually opened her eyes to see the face of a monster right above her.

"No one will know the truth about me...no one. If you still tell them...you will regret it for the rest of your life…" Fire Bro softly spoke to her but in a wildly menacing tone and manner that it made her petrified. Koopie wanted to scream and cry out so badly, but Fire Bro overpowered her so easily. She slowly stopped moving as the world around her became blurry and the noises became muffled.

Koopie opened her eyes again and made a loud gasp of air. Fire Bro was gone. Or was it just a nightmare she had? She was still in one of the patient rooms in her bed.

"Uggghhh...he...hello? Hello!? Is there a nurse or doctor here!?" she shouted.

A toad nurse came running to her within seconds. "Oh, good, you're awake! How are you feeling?"

"Did you see him come in? The Fire Brother?" she asked.

"Huh? No...no fire brother came in here," she answered.

"Well, were you here the whole time!? Were you on watch!? DID ANYONE SEE A FIRE BROTHER WALK IN TO THIS ROOM!?" she frantically screamed to the other patients, but everyone gave her a look of confusion.

"Ma'am, I must ask you to relax yourself. I think you-"

"I-I need to see my friends. Please...unhook all this crap off of me," Koopie spoke with an urgency to get the hell out of there.

"Ma'am, you should really stay in bed, you were really hurt badly out there and-"

"I don't care! Just take these off me now! I have somewhere to be!" she angrily demanded.


Yoshi, Mario, Toad, Toadette, DK, Dixie, Daisy, Luigi, Boshi, Professor E. Gadd, and Pauline were visiting Birdo, trying to see if she could remember anything at all.

"So...let me get this straight...I'm friends with all of you...and we're also on a quest to defeat this alien named Tatanga who destroyed a lot of Mushroom City, and will also destroy the world very soon. In order to stop this alien guy, we need to collect 9 gems that will unlock this item called a...uhh...what was it...Crystal Star Rod? Yeah? Yeah, that. We use that to stop him and his team of jerks and then we all live happily ever after. Oh, and one of our friends, who is some type of witch, went completely berserk after some intergalactic being murdered her boyfriend, who was also our friend, and nearly killed all of us...and we're also debating on kicking her out. Does that cover it all?" Birdo summarized, clearly thinking the whole thing was ridiculous from the start.

"Yeah, that pretty much covers the main portion. We've also lost some friends along the way and got into a ton of crazy situations and fights but...we'll fill in the rest of that as time goes by," Daisy said.

"Yeah. The only part you got wrong is that you aren't friends with all of us, you hate THIS guy's guts right here!" Pauline spat while pointing to Boshi.

"Put that finger away before I bite it off!" Boshi growled.

Birdo laughed and rolled her eyes. "Seriously now? This HAS to be a joke, right? Like...this just has to be some kind of government set up. For real, what the hell did you guys do to me!?"

"Honey, please calm down! Trust me, I know how this all sounds. It's bizarre, stupid, crazy, sad, and frustrating all at the same time! But, this is real. That man that killed Rosalina's boyfriend, Waluigi, used some kind of magic spell to make your memories go out of whack. That's why you can't remember a whole lot," Yoshi assured and tried to grab her hand, but she pulled away.

"Please don't call me 'honey.' Sorry, it's just, it feels...wrong," Birdo said uncomfortably. Yoshi visibly looked hurt at her reaction.

"Birdo, I must ask you, what DO you remember? You don't remember anything related to your friends or the mission, but do you remember anything else?" Professor E. Gadd asked inquisitively.

"Um...I...remember my family...and going to school...but...that was years ago, wasn't it? Yeah. It has to be! I'm an adult, so it had to have been. Wait, where IS my family!? Are they all right!?" Birdo suddenly shifted to worrying about her family.

Everyone else looked at each other awkwardly and upsettingly. Birdo immediately knew something bad happened.

"You guys? What happened to them!?" she demanded to know.

"Birdo…" Mario spoke with a depressing sigh. "You told us a story a long time ago about how your parents were killed in a car crash. You said the incident happened right after you graduated high school."

Birdo froze in horror, looking at Mario in shock.

"N...no. Tha-that can't be right. Seriously...this joke has gone too far now! If this really is some government crap then just reveal it already! No more games!" Birdo angrily yelled.

"IT'S NOT!" Daisy shouted. Everyone looked to her, startled. "Sorry...it's just that, Birdo, this is 100% real. You have to trust us. We're your friends. Plus, to be honest, you don't really have anyone else. Sorry if that sounds cold, but it's the truth."

"She's right. Birdo, see that ring on your finger? That's your engagement ring to Yoshi! You guys have been engaged for four years now, I believe. In the past, we used to bug you two about when you'll tie the knot or if you'll have kids even before the wedding ceremony," DK reminisced and chuckled a little.

Birdo examined the ring for quite a while. "I'm...engaged...but...how do I be with you if I technically don't know you?"

"Well, I'll just you have you get to know me all over again! Haha," Yoshi cheered and grabbed her hand again. "Not just me though, but all of us! You belong with us, Birdo. Even if we're never able to get your memory back, just know that you are exactly where you're supposed to be!"

Birdo smiled a little and looked at everyone, who either smiled back or nodded at her.

"Remember when sometimes you would pick me and Toadette up from elementary school? You'd always take us to that ice cream shack on Odyssey Avenue afterwards. I'd get a vanilla fudge-dipped ice cream, Toadette would get strawberry flavored ice cream with sprinkles on top, and you would always a caramel milkshake! You told us you didn't like getting the ice cream cones because you'd somehow always end up being clumsy and dropping it on the floor!" Toad reminisced as well and laughed at the end.

"Ha, yeah, that's right! One time when you dropped your ice cream, you shouted a whole bunch of swear words in front of a bunch of parents with their little kids! They gave you the dirtiest looks ever!" Toadette joined in on the laughing and nostalgia. A few others laughed as well.

"Wow. I really did that? That...that does seem actually familiar to me...heh...it really does sound like something I would do…" Birdo said with a giggle.

"See? It's starting to come back! There's nothing to be paranoid about! And this is coming from a guy who's naturally a little paranoid!" Luigi cheered.

"By the way, Birdo, I feel like we should ask you this: Do you wanna come with us to Waluigi and Diddy's funeral? It's happening in a few minutes. I'd understand if you don't want to because you don't remember anything about them right now, but...the offer is there for you," Dixie said, clearly holding back her tears.

"Waluigi...that's the boyfriend of the witch that went berserk, right?" Birdo asked. They all nodded. "And Diddy...I'm sorry, who is that, again?"

"My boy...ex-boyfriend," Dixie caught herself in a slip. "There's no body to bury because he died in the ocean, but we're having a symbolic burial for him to honor his memory. He's also DK's nephew."

"Oh wow. I am so sorry...and...that Waluigi's girlfriend...you said you guys are considering kicking her out of this place?" Birdo asked.

"Yes, we are. I know it sounds like we should've already done it, but she's been a friend of ours for so long and it kinda technically wasn't her fault and...yeah. It's very very complicated!" Toad had a hard time explaining it.

"I'm just happy that you're not being like Koops right now, Birdo. Toad and I saw him earlier and he was a wreck. It sounds like he's given up on everything, but you...you don't seem to be like that," Toadette said with a hopeful smile.

"Right. I...um, I'll go to the funeral with you guys, I just need a few minutes to myself to collect my thoughts, okay?" Birdo said. Everyone nodded understandingly.

"We'll be out in the courtyard, then we'll walk to the gravestones together," Yoshi happily said and squeezed her hand. Everyone said their goodbyes and left...well, that is, until Boshi came back in.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Birdo quickly noticed something was up with him.

"Everything that they just told you is a lie...well, about you being with Yoshi," Boshi stated as he sat down on her bed.

"What!? What the hell do you mean!?" Birdo shrieked in surprise.

"You see, Birdo…" Boshi said while he put his hand on her right leg. "...you and I are actually together. The reason why Yoshi and everyone else claim that you're with me is because none of them can stand me. They think I'm a loser. They view me as beneath them for no damn good reason!"

"What the...uhh...I...I don't really know what to say…" Birdo was taken back completely by this revelation. "Why do they think all of that about you then?"

"Because I'm poor. I never went to college. I did some stupid stuff in the past that I truly regret to this day but they all like to hold it over my head constantly. Birdo...you have to understand something. You and I were a thing many years ago. We were madly in love and did everything together, including planning our future together, such as marriage and kids, and places to move to!

Yoshi was friends with you at the time we were dating, but he was clearly jealous of our relationship. He would talk all of this awful crap about me to his own friends, the ones that were just here with us, and painted a horrible image of me in their eyes. He made me look like I was the devil! I know this because Diddy Kong, the guy who was just killed, told me it all one day and he also thought Yoshi was being an immature, bitter asshole, so he tried to have my back.

These people that you hung out with before your memory loss...they're beyond privileged. They're set for life with their riches and they're famous for helping save the kingdom from whatever kind of crazy shit is happening for the week. They view anyone that's of a lower class than them as nothing. They act kind and giving to portray and keep up with their 'heroic' and 'role model' images, but in the end, they're heartless!

Yoshi and his friends stole you from me. When Yoshi was complaining about me to his friends, they helped him out big time. They planted evidence of cocaine in our apartment. The cops were called from someone anonymous and they barged in and pretty much raided the place. They found it under our bed, and I was arrested for it. I know for a 100% fact I didn't put that shit there! The only thing I do is marijuana, but that's considered legal in this country! Anyways...I was arrested, and you freaked out about it, and broke up with me when I was still in jail because you didn't wanna be with a druggie. Totally understandable, but it hurt when you didn't believe me.

While you were grieving with what had happened to me, Yoshi was there to comfort you. He saw you everyday. He gave you flowers and bought you food. Eventually you fell for him and he won. He got his way. I've tried and tried to tell you before that this was all a facade, that Yoshi and his friends fucked me over because they hate me for no good reason, but you didn't believe me. I had to accept that. But now...now that this has all happened...and maybe it happened for a pretty good reason...I have to tell you the ACTUAL truth. That you belong with me. Not Yoshi. Him and his friends are a clique and will back him up no matter what, which is why they'll all tell you that I'm bad news," Boshi told his side of the story. Birdo was wide eyed in awe the entire time.

"Oh my god! That...what the fuck!? So...how do I know you're not lying about all of this? How do I know that it's not actually YOU that's jealous and bitter about me and Yoshi?" Birdo asked with a little skepticism.

Boshi shrugged. "I guess I can't exactly prove that, but, Birdo...I'm telling you right now that we belong together. I'm still in love with you. That has NEVER faded away. I was put in a shitty position by a bunch of shitty people who get away with crap like this because they're rich and famous and oh so fucking heroic. I'm telling you, Birdo, these people are corrupt as hell. Why do you think they haven't kicked out Rosalina yet? See, they care more about their own friends than about the citizens here! They're not thinking of the bigger picture!"

Birdo took a minute to take everything in. It was quite overwhelming and it boggled her mind. All of this made her a little more frustrated. Who the hell could she trust now? What was real pre-memory loss and what wasn't?

"Goddamn. I...I'm not really sure what to think now, Boshi. Can you please just give me time to absorb all this in and think everything through?" Birdo asked.

Boshi smirked. "Of course. Take all the time you need. But, just know...you and I have so many fun memories I can tell you all day about. See you at the funeral!" He then gave her a kiss on the forehead and left the room.


The giant group, minus Koops, gathered outside in the courtyard and began to head to the cemetery.

"Hey Birdo! Walk with me?" Yoshi cheerily asked and put her arm around her shoulder.

"Umm, sure, just...too much too soon, Yoshi," Birdo uncomfortably spoke and brushed his arm off of her.

"Oh…" Yoshi muttered disappointedly. "Sorry, I just...uhh...kinda hard to break old habits, I guess, hehe…"

"It's fine. I just need a lot of time to ease into this," Birdo said, not even bothering to look at Yoshi.

"O-Okay. I totally understand! Really! I swear to you, I'm not clingy at all!" Yoshi exclaimed with clear panic in his voice. Boshi was watching all of this from a few feet behind the two and was trying his hardest to hold his laughter in.

"Wario? Hey man, we are here for you for this. It hurts so much right now, I know, but you'll pull through this. You're an incredibly tough guy," Luigi said, hoping to cheer him up at least a little bit.

"Pull through? What if I don't wanna pull through!? I don't wanna stop missing my brother! And no, I'm not a tough guy! I'm a selfish bastard. Big difference from being tough!" Wario yelled, leading the group to the cemetery.

"Wario, sweetie, I think you misunderstood him. He means pull through the pain that's happening right now. You're his brother and you're NEVER going to stop missing him. That's a fact," Mona tried to calm him down.

"I just...I still can't believe he's dead. It doesn't even feel real. I still keep expecting to see him next to me. He was way too fucking good to die...way too good," Wario sobbed a little, trying to keep his balance while walking.

"I agree with you, dear. Waluigi had such a big heart and I'm so glad that he showed it to us during all of this ruckus. It just meant that he trusted us and wanted to be connected. I'm sure it runs in the family," Flurrie said in an uplifting manner.

"No, it doesn't. Rosalina was right about me...I should've died instead of him. I'm a fat slob who only cares about myself. No wonder why I never had a real relationship before," Wario spat at himself and walked faster ahead of the group.

"He really shouldn't talk about himself like that. Plus, Rosalina was only trying to mess with his mind and make him feel like dirt! None of the stuff she said about any of us was true!" Toad said.

"Yeah, but you have to remember, he's grieving right now. The process is different for everyone. We just have to let it run its course," Mona added with a sigh. She wanted to just hug Wario and magically make all the pain, anger, and fear disappear forever.

"Hey Bombette...can we talk about yesterday when Rosalina attacked our group?" Parakarry asked in a quiet tone.

"Uhh, depends on what you wanna talk about yesterday when Rosalina attacked our group," Bombette responded awkwardly.

"Well, she said that you, uhh, made a guy commit suicide a long time ago. Is that...true? And, um, if it is, I'm not gonna judge at all! I just wanna know if you wanna, you know, talk about it?" Parakarry asked softly so that she could feel comfortable in confiding in him if need be.

Bombette nearly stopped walking and her expression turned VERY serious. "Parakarry...there's nothing to talk about. Nothing. Don't bring it up ever again."

"But, Bombette...it's okay to talk about it with me. Something like that must be so awful and scary to keep hidden deep down and-"

"PARAKARRY," Bombette spoke very loudly with clear anger in her voice, startling the mailman.. "I just said to not bring it up ever again. Do I make myself clear?"

Parakarry was a little frightened by her abrupt change in attitude, but knew not to piss her off any more than he's done now. "Y-Yes. I'm sorry...I didn't mean to...yeah, I'll just stop talking now."

"Don't be sorry. Just don't talk about it again," Bombette stated and walked further ahead of him.

"Wow. She's definitely hiding something very bad for her to suddenly act like that!" Jojora commented.

"Yeah, but, she's my friend, and so, I don't wanna push any further than I would want to," Parakarry said then sighed, really wanting to help her.

"Aww, that just shows how valuable and loyal of a friend you are!" Jojora complimented and rubbed her hand on his shoulder. Parakarry blushed a little.

"Thanks. But, the same goes for Goombario too. That 'secret' that Rosalina revealed...it's clear that there's still major stuff about our friends that we still don't know about."

"HEY GUYS!" Koopie shouted as she ran towards the group approaching the gravestones. Everyone welcomed her back and some gave her a hug.

"Hey, you! That was a quick recovery! Feeling alright?" Toadiko asked.

"Yeah, kind of. My body's still aching though, but I'll live. By the way, has anyone seen Fire Bro at all today?" Koopie asked. Everyone else shook their head. "Ugh, figures. That little bastard…"

"We're gonna have a meeting later on, discussing what we should do with Rosalina and some other things. I think Fire Bro is one of the 'other things' we'll talk about," Goombario informed.

"Excellent. Yeah, this definitely needs to be said about Fire Bro. We can't wait any longer," Koopie replied with impatience.

The group reached where Diddy and Waluigi's gravestones were. Dr. Nokano and a few other staff members were there, just finishing burying Waluigi's body.

"The one on the left is Diddy Kong's, and the one on the right is Waluigi's. We'll find something later on to mark these stones because we had to use blanks for this time, but I know you all just didn't want them buried in some random spot without some kind of location marker for them," Dr. Nokano said.

"No, this is perfect. Thank you so much for doing this!" Peach said.

"Of course. Now, do we wanna say something about these two or do we just wanna do a moment of silence...or both? There's no priest here that can do this thing officially so, unfortunately, this will have to be an informal 'funeral,'" Dr. Nokano said a little cluelessly.

"I'll say something about Diddy," Dixie spoke and stepped forward. She took in a deep breath, then exhaled as tears formed behind her eyes. "Diddy...I am so sorry for betraying you the way I did. I know I apologized to you before about it, but it really is the one thing that I'll regret till I die. Because I ruined our future. We were supposed to get married once we got rid of Tatanga, but...I just messed it all up.

Diddy, I will still love you for the rest of my life. I will NEVER forget all the good times and even the bad times of our relationship, because it really made us stronger in the end. Thank you for everything that you've shown me about love. I'm just sorry that I took it all for granted. If there is some kind of afterlife, I hope that one day you can forgive me."

After her speech was when Dixie began to break down crying. Toadette and Vivian came and hugged her to comfort her.

"I-I'll go next," DK said then stepped forward. "Diddy, my nephew. You were one of the bravest and strongest people I've ever known. I was really hoping that, once this was all done, we could go back to the island and race around the area on those vines like we used to. Heh...everytime I beat you, you would always pout and throw your hat to the ground. It was too funny for me.

But now...I can't ever have that again with you, can I? It's just...ahh, it's horrible knowing that the only place you'll live in now is in my memories. The fact that we can't even have your body to bury here just makes it even worse. It feels like...like you're still alive out there, somewhere. It doesn't feel like we've gotten that kind of closure. It doesn't feel real. But, I know that's just me wanting your death to not be real instead. So...goodbye, my nephew. I love you. Goodbye."

Mario and Luigi put their hands on his shoulders as tears fell from his eyes, but DK kept his posture.

"Very, very beautiful, you two. Anyone else wanna say anything?" Daisy asked as she wiped tears from her own eyes.

"I'm next," Wario brashly stated. "Waluigi...my brother…"

There was a long pause after that. Wario just stood there staring at his brother's gravestone for what seemed like minutes on end. Some of the others looked at each other in confusion and concern due to the random pause.

Wario then continued. "...You shouldn't have died. It wasn't your time. I never told you this, but, I've always thought about the possibility of me dying, all the way back to when we were little kids. I thought that, if I were to die, it would be me first no matter what. You would carry on because you're much more sensitive, kind, and driven than I was or even ever will be. Underneath all those layers of being a greedy jackass, you had a heart of gold that even my parents saw because they always favored you over me. That's why they sent me to boarding school because I never showed them how good I could be...I was always bullied for being fat and dumb, at home and at school. I never got away from all that shit, even now as an adult. I...I took out all my anger and issues on everyone and my parents would keep piling everything on me no matter how much I vented or cried.

But, I was never jealous or mad at you for being the favored child. Never. I always knew you were going to be more successful than me in every area of our lives. You were my inspiration. I wanted to be more like you, but at the same time, I didn't want to because I thought that if I were to be just a little kinder and less selfish, I'd be viewed as weak, and I got tired of being viewed as weak. But...the way you fell for Rosalina...the way she brought out your heart of gold...well...no...I don't think it was all her that did it, because you definitely weren't afraid of showing your real self to her and even some of our friends...it really affected me and made me care less about how people view me...you made me think that...as long as I am happy...it shouldn't matter what people think of me…

...But then you died. And I...I just can't be happy right now knowing that the only person so close to me is gone forever. Fuck. Forever...that's...way too fucking long...I, um...I wanna change...to be more like you, Waluigi. But, I can't. Rosalina was right about me. I'm nothing. I choose myself over everyone else. That's why Goombella got hurt instead of me when we were kidnapped in that bunker."

The last sentence caught everyone's attention, especially Goombella's.

"What? What do you mean by that, Wario!?" she asked.

"When Sonic and his friends were infected...they gave me the choice to either hurt you or hurt myself...they held a gun to me...if I didn't hurt you, they would've shot me...so...so...I...uhh...I chose to hurt you with those traps they set up. And...fuck. FUCK! Hearing you scream and cry was the most horrible thing I've ever heard in my entire fucking life! I am...I'm so sorry, Goombella! And I'm sorry to you, Waluigi! Once again, I'm that same old selfish bastard that you grew up with. It really should've been me that died instead of you! I'M NOTHING! I'M FUCKING WORTHLESS! H-H-HOW THE HELL CAN I LIVE WITHOUT SOMEONE WHO MADE ME FEEL LIKE I WAS JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN NOTHING!? HOW!? Just...I'm sorry I let you down, Waluigi. I'm so sorry. Especially because...guess what? The gun that they pointed at me was empty! FUCKING EMPTY! They tricked me! Goombella could've been saved but she wasn't because I was being selfish again. I'm so glad you never became like me, Waluigi...you were always going to be worth something in this world," Wario explained through his sobbing. Everyone else was either shocked or horrified by what he said about Goombella.

"W...Wario...holy…" Goombella stuttered, letting out a tear from her eye, not having a single clue what to say to him.

"My god, Wario. Hey...it's gonna be okay. We're all here for you no matter what. You're not nothing. You're someone who is exactly like your brother; strong, has a heart of gold underneath it all, cunning, and selfless. Don't say those awful things about yourself! You know deep down it's not true!" Peach spoke with heartfelt encouragement and felt Wario's pain so much that she wanted to break down and cry with him.

"If it's not true...then...th-then who do I feel like dirt?" Wario asked as his hands grasped at the dirt of his brother's gravestone. It felt rough, uncomfortable, and it just wasn't very pleasant to look at for some reason.

"That's just the grief, Wario. That's all it is. Waluigi wouldn't want you to bring yourself down like this. He knows you're a powerful man and I know that you know that as well," Mona said, rubbing her hand on his shoulder.

Another minute of silence goes by as Wario stares blankly at his brother's gravestone.

"I need to be alone. Please just leave me alone!" Wario yelled and stormed off from the group back towards the hospital. Goombella refused to listen to his request and followed him.

"WARIO! WARIO, STOP!" Goombella yelled as she tried to catch up with him, but he ignored her and kept walking till they reached the courtyard.

"Goddamnit, Wario, listen to me! PLEASE STOP!" Goombella yelled even louder and tugged on Wario's shirt.

"WHAT!? What do you want from me!? If all you wanna do is unleash whatever kind of pent up rage you have right now then go right the hell ahead!" Wario yelled, his face red with tears still falling.

"Just stop! Listen to me, Wario. Please. What happened in that bunker still wasn't your fault, okay? Okay!? You were put in a position of 'kill or be killed' practically and no one can blame you for choosing yourself because nobody wants to fucking get hurt and die! NO ONE! You thought they were going to kill you, right? What else were you supposed to do, Wario!? You weren't the one that set up those traps and put me in there! So...please...stop blaming yourself. Stop being angry at yourself. Stop hurting yourself...p-please. You are so much stronger than you realize, Wario! We all need you!

And, Wario...I forgive you. But, you don't need to keep saying you're sorry because you didn't do anything wrong. And I'm not saying this just because Waluigi is gone, I'm saying this because it's the TRUTH. So...you're okay. I promise you that you're okay!" Goombella spoke from the heart and cried more and more towards the end of her monologue. Wario gave her a hug and they both cried even more together. A little bit of weight lifted itself from Wario's shoulders when he realized that Goombella understood him completely and was never going to be mad at him.

Mona ran up and saw the scene from afar. She smiled with watery eyes, taking in this moment of relief in a time filled with so much dread and despair.


As the group trickled back in to the hospital to go to the meeting, Kallan walked over to Mario with a look of urgency on his face.

"Mario, there you are! Can I speak to you privately, please?" he asked.

"Oh! Uhh, sure," Mario answered, having a feeling on what Kallan wanted to tell him. Mario looked back and saw Luigi, Peach, and Daisy look over at him in concern. "You guys go! I'll catch up."

Kallan and Mario went over to a quieter area and the clearly concerned security koopa then spoke, "So, do you remember when I told you that someone wearing a black hoodie with a fire axe attacked the security room and destroyed the camera screens in there? Well, I've got some interesting news to share with you.

A woman saw the scene from afar and she said it made her petrified to where she couldn't move for a bit. She saw the person in the black hoodie run out of the room into a nearby patient room, but, she saw the hood fall down a bit from the person's head. From what she could see, it was a koopa, and she's leaning towards the koopa being a male as well."

This piece of info made Mario smirk a little, as it nearly confirmed his suspicions about Fire Bro being up to no good, but it also scared him more than he'd like to admit, because it also confirmed there's a psychopath causing trouble around here.

"Wow. Kallan, I think I know who it is! There's a guy who's with our group, he goes by the generic name of Fire Bro, and I think he's the only Fire Brother in this hospital," Mario said.

"Fire Bro? Yeah, I think I've seen him around a few times, but why do you think it's him?" Kallan asked.

"Just a gut feeling. I know that's not much to go off of, but...I just get a really bad feeling about him. He likes to act 'crazy' and 'bizarre' a lot, but I think it's a coverup for his true personality. A lot of people in my group have a suspicion about him as well. He was the one who found our friend, Kooper, unconscious after he fell down the stairs, but who is to say that HE was the one who pushed him down the stairs and then found him to make himself look innocent? And then someone destroys the camera screens in the security room so you're not able to prove who really did push him!" Mario explained his thoughts about his suspicion, prompting a surprised look from Kallan.

"Woah! Damn. I don't think I've ever seen Mario, our main hero, be so headstrong and 'accusatory' towards someone before, haha! Not that there's anything wrong with that, though," he laughed a little at Mario's seriousness.

"Well...I just...I really care about all my friends' safety. This is something bigger than I've ever dealt with before. So many crazy things have happened to my friends and I in such a short timespan that I just feel like I have no choice but to be 100% serious and on guard at all times," Mario admitted.

"Hey, completely understandable. You have to deal with so much that people don't see! That's why I don't understand why so many people were rioting earlier. They don't see things from your point of view. Just like how so many people think being security is just sitting around in an office full of screens all day long and that's it. There are so many more layers to it!" Kallan empathized.

"Yeah, thanks. At least someone outside our group understands," Mario smiled.

"No problem. Anyways, I'll keep a close lookout on Fire Bro in the meantime. I know you and your friends think he's suspicious, but unfortunately, there's not much more we can do right now, especially because there's tons of koopas in this hospital, so I can't interrogate all of them."

"I understand. Thanks again though!"


Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Pauline, Yoshi, Birdo, Wario, Mona, Toad, Toadette, DK, Tiny, Boshi, Goombario, Bombette, Parakarry, Bow, Lakilester, Lakilulu, Goombella, Koopie, Flurrie, Spike, Vivian, Jojora, Bowser, Iggy, Morton, Lemmy, Ludwig, Wendy, Bowser Jr., Larry, Bleck, Tippi, Toadiko, Toadsworth, Professor Frankly, Professor E. Gadd, Starlow, Luvbi, Arfur, and Kylie entered the third floor meeting room. Most of them were on edge about the topics they had to discuss; what Bleck and Tippi discovered at Star Haven, the koopatrols that attacked Mona, the deal with Fire Bro, and what to do with Rosalina.

"Hey, Mario, are you gonna bring up what you found on the computer? You know, about what Mushroom Corps. did to you and Pauline? Those weird experiments?" Daisy quietly asked.

"No. I've got an idea about what to do with that, though. I'll let you know more about it soon, but it's for the best that I keep it to myself, because we've already got so much on our plate as it is," Mario replied.

"Okay, I understand that. It's just, that whole thing really creeps me out. The fact that there's this big organization that was somehow kept secret from the public for years and they did stuff to us without our consent...it just seems really shady. I'd even go so far as to say that we should possibly consider them as a threat," Daisy worriedly responded while glancing over at Arfur and Kylie who were mingling with the others.

"Hey guys! Glad you could make it," DK welcomed the pair.

"Thanks. So much has happened with you guys and we really commend the effort and risks you all take to save us all," Arfur said graciously.

"Yeah! We'll try to be more involved with you all from here on out, what with every mission becoming more dangerous as time goes on. Let's just hope this was the worst of it!" Kylie said.

"God...th-these are all people I know as well?" Birdo asked in awe of the amount of people she saw in the room.

"Yep! Some of them are just acquaintances, and others are close friends. Don't freak out, you don't have to know all their names and what they're like, just stay with me at all times and you'll be way more comfortable being here!" Yoshi exclaimed a little desperately. Birdo paid no attention to him at all and just looked at the ground in discomfort.

"Frankly, good sir! You doing okay? You didn't have to come, you know!" Toadsworth said in surprise as the professor rolled into the room in a wheelchair.

"Oh, I may be getting old as all hell, but I still strive to be a part of this cause, damnit! The only time you won't see me determined to do something is when I'm dead!" Frankly proudly exclaimed, making a few others laugh.

"Ha! Good ol' professor. I'm so glad I had you as my teacher, your inspiration is infectious!" Goombella cheered.

"Infectious? Kind of a weird adjective to describe his inspiration, but...whatever floats your boat!" Spike teased.

"Woah! When the hell did you get here?" Bowser asked in shock to Professor E. Gadd.

"Last night! I come bearing gifts that are dangerous to all who dare oppose us! I can't show it yet, but I'll be providing some great assets to you all!" E. Gadd excitedly informed.

"Oh? Is THAT a fact? So, where were you during the whole Rosalina fiasco!? We could've used 'dangerous gifts' during that time!" Morton interrogated.

"Trying to find this place with a group of people was what I was doing! I, unfortunately, haven't created a speed booster that can make me walk triple my current speed, but that too is in the works!" E. Gadd stated with even more excitement.

"Uhh, okay? Didn't really need to know that," Morton said, a little weirded out.

"Yeah, me and my friend, Luvbi, here came with E. Gadd and a few others because we really wanna help you guys win, which you totally will! Just gotta keep positive and marching forward!" Starlow cheerily added.

"Positive? Hard to stay positive when so much crazy shit happens at almost every minute!" Iggy bluntly responded, making Starlow's cheeriness fade.

"Alright, everyone! Are we all here? Are we ready to start this meeting off?" Mario loudly announced.

"Wait a second!" Tiny chimed in quickly. "I don't see my sister! Where's Dixie at? Anyone seen her?"

Everyone else either shrugged or shook their heads.

"Last time I saw her was at the funeral. I guess we assumed that she'd be with you?" Goombario said.

"Well, she wanted to use the bathroom when we were getting back here and she told me to go ahead without her and that she'll catch up...which was like 15 minutes ago…" Tiny said worriedly.

"Okay, so? She's probably taking a massive du...I mean...dive into the sink water to wash her face off!" Boshi stupidly responded, prompting a bunch of scoffs and eye rolls from everyone else.

"I'm sure she'll be here any second, Tiny. Maybe she just didn't remember where the room was?" Bow guessed with a shrug.

"I just have a bad feeling about...um...look, I'll just go try to find her. You guys just start without us!" Tiny said, clearly getting a little panicked and ran out of the room.

"Okay, well, she gave us permission to do so, so...let's begin. We're gonna start this meeting off with what Bleck and Tippi found out from the Star Spirits. Speaking of Star Spirits...I can't believe I didn't ever think of going to them for help, but...anyways, let's begin with you two," Mario set it into motion and all eyes turned to the lovers.

"Alright. I'll start it off with why we went there in the first place. There's some of you in here that know about a vision I had a while back. Yes, a vision, you heard me right. What I saw in that vision was the cafeteria burning up and everyone screaming and running around trying to escape. I knew right from the start that it wasn't simply a dream or a nightmare because it was the most real thing I've ever experienced without physically being there. I originally thought that the fire would happen at the first hospital we were at, but now...I'm certain that my vision will take place at this hospital. No idea when, but it will definitely happen eventually, and at the hands of Tatanga no doubt!

So, for some reason, thinking of my vision made me think of the Star Spirits. So, Tippi and I went to Star Haven for help and clarity, but we found out something awful. The Star Spirits laid on the floor of their sanctuary, completely drained of their powers and energies. They were able to tell me why I, specifically, received this vision. They saw the attack of Tatanga coming and chose me to send some of their powers to, thus explaining the vision. They said I play a key role in the vision, so I'm assuming that means I'm able to prevent it.

But, in the midst of conjuring up their powers and sending it to me, someone came in and took them all down. They stole the Star Rod as well! The person that did this wasn't Tatanga, it was actually DIMENTIO! They told us that Dimentio is planning on using the Star Rod to do an ultimate betrayal to Tatanga when the time is right, just like how he did to me years ago. Dimentio is planning on taking down Tatanga and taking over for himself, probably to achieve the power that he so wanted when he was with me!" Bleck explained it all. The reveal of Dimentio being the one to steal the Star Rod and betray Tatanga left most of the others with a look of horror upon their faces.

"My god! That damn Dimentio is up to his same old tricks! PLUS he has the Star Rod!? This is gonna make things even harder!" Frankly cried.

"I can't say I'm too surprised, honestly. Dimentio is very cunning, sneaky, deceptive...he doesn't like answering to authority. I'm kind of scared of the fact that he stole the Star Rod, though. He can do literally anything with it!" Luigi added.

"Fuck! So, how the hell are we gonna fight them NOW? Tatanga has his scepter, Beldam has her magic, Doopliss has his duplicate ability, and Dimentio has both his own magic AND the star rod!" Pauline cried.

"The Star Spirits told us that, as long as we get the Crystal Star Rod, it should be fairly easy to defeat them. The Crystal Star Rod is more powerful than the regular star rod, which is why you guys have to go through such great lengths to get it!" Tippi explained.

"But, by the time we get to the Crystal Star Rod, pretty much anything could happen by then. Who is to say Dimentio won't try anything huge?" Wendy questioned.

"And I also just realized something: So, Dimentio has the Star Rod...why the hell didn't he use it to attack us when he was at the Spirit Temple? Or, pretty much any opportunity he had before that? That item is pretty powerful soooo it doesn't really make any sense why he hasn't used it yet...well, as far as we know!" Jojora pointed out to everyone.

"Because Dimentio is planning something big. Like Luigi said, Dimentio is incredibly cunning and explores every avenue possible before putting something into action along with having multiple backup plans. He knows exactly what he's doing, and this time around, it's gonna be even harder to outsmart him," Bleck clarified her observations.

"Good god...you know, it's almost genius if you think about it. Have Tatanga gain Dimentio's trust and act loyal to Tatanga for months on end, and then when Tatanga is about to accomplish his plan...Dimentio blindsides him greatly and destroys him so that HE will become the ruler of the world. Only someone so psychotic and driven by a huge lust for power would go through all of that!" Goombario noted in fright.

"Yeah...I'm pretty sure we've got someone like that here too…" Mario whispered, then cleared his throat. "Okay, so, we'll deal with the Dimentio situation when the time comes for it. Hopefully, this Crystal Star Rod will be powerful enough to where we don't even need to worry about him at all, but all we can do now is just keep doing what we're doing. If there's no more to add or any comments, then let's move on to the next topic. Thank you, Bleck and Tippi. Now...the next topic of discussion is Mona being attacked by these koopatrols out in the streets of Mushroom City."

Just as Mona was about to speak, the door opened and everyone turned to the surprise person that came in. It was Koops. He looked exhausted and unkempt, making everyone else feel worried for him.

"Koops!" Koopie shrieked.

"Oh! Koops...you doing okay? We didn't think you were gonna make it," Mario asked concernedly.

"I want to be a part of whatever's being discussed. I'm fine now. Don't worry about me. Continue on," Koops bluntly replied and crossed his arms. This made the atmosphere in the room a little uncomfortable, especially for Vivian.

"...Okay then. Mona?" Mario gestured.

"Um, right. So, I'm sure you've all heard that I was arrested by the Toad Town police because I brought drugs here from the world where Sonic and his friends live. Sally Acorn gave me these drugs and recommended that I take them. Now, these 'drugs' were actually performance enhancing kind of drugs, like, it boosts your energy, makes you heal quicker, that kind of stuff. But, the police here in our world view it as an equivalent to cocaine, and, so, uhh...Toadiana, the little girl that died, found them and took them. She went crazy on the drugs and ended up getting herself killed. I confessed to the police about the drugs and they arrested me.

While we were driving to the Toad Town station, this monster truck slammed into us! This killed the two policemen I was with and I was able to get out of the car and get the handcuffs off of me. But...the guys in the monster truck...I overheard them. They were a part of Tatanga's group at first, but decided to split off and form their own group because they wanted to take over this city and thought Tatanga was being dumb with his world domination plan.

One of the koopatrols chased after me the entire time I was running back here. This guy knocked me down and was just about to kill me till Bombette came in and killed him. But, here's the thing: there's a chance that the rest of those guys found out about this place and will try to ambush and kill everyone, just like when Tatanga and his group came to the other hospital that one night!" Mona told her story, which instilled fear in everyone.

"What the hell!? A group of koopatrols in a monster truck that wanna take over the city...so now, we have to keep watch of THESE jerks now too!?" Larry irritatedly yelled.

"Oh wow! Well, I'm glad you came out alright, but, this also means that they'll probably come here and try to kill us all! We really need to do something to prevent that from happening because, if they do, then none of the people here will have anywhere else safe to go!" Peach cried.

"Shit...and they got weapons on them too, don't they? And we all barely survived the last attack!" Toadiko exclaimed.

"I heard one of them mention they have a gun, but that's about as far as I know. I think we should all assume that they're loaded with weapons, just like last time, though," Mona said.

"Well, at least this time, we'll be prepared. Unlike last time, we know further in advance of those assholes potentially attacking us, so we can have the advantage on our side," Daisy said.

"Yeah, we'll do everything we can to keep a watch on the perimeter of the hospital. Arfur, you supplied some guns last time this happened, think you can give us some more?" Mario asked.

"Of course! I'll see what I can find!" Arfur nodded.

"Wait...do any of you here even know HOW to use guns?" Luvbi asked. An awkward silence ensued for a moment after that.

"Uhh...I actually don't think any of us do, but, they seem pretty simple to use!" Toad nervously admitted.

"Plus, it's one of those 'desperate times call for desperate measures' kind of thing, so...gonna have to go to extremes to protect ourselves," Wendy added.

"Hmm, ok. It just seems a little too risky giving guns to a whole bunch of people who have no experience using guns," Luvbi said with total skepticism about the subject.

More awkward silence ensued. No one had really any idea how to respond to that.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but what else is there to protect all of us? Only a couple here know magic skills, along with a few others who are strong and can fight, but if those guys have guns on them then having just good fighting skills would be completely useless!" Kylie countered.

"Yeah! Plus, I'm sorry, but who are you again? Why are you a part of this discussion?" Boshi obnoxiously asked.

"Boshi, stop! Her name is Luvbi, and she came here with a group of people last night to seek shelter and help us out, which is where the man in the white coat, Professor E. Gadd, comes in along with Starlow there," Luigi introduced.

"Hello all!" E. Gadd brightly yelled.

"Well, fine! But, don't come in here and act like you know everything and everyone and get on your high horse!" Boshi spat, prompting more eye rolls from the others.

"Dude, shut up. You're BARELY considered a part of the group yourself so get off YOUR high horse!" Spike shut him down.

"Back on topic here, you guys! Let's settle down. Now, we'll do whatever it takes to counter those koopatrols, even if it means using weapons we're not familiar with. If there are no more comments about this topic, then we'll move on to the next, which is...I suppose about Fire Bro. Thank you, Mona. Who wants to start this discussion about Fire Bro?" Mario asked. Koopie immediately raised her hand.

"I do! Okay, you guys, I'm just gonna dive right into it. For those of you that don't know Fire Bro, he's someone that adventured with the group since all of this crap with Tatanga started. He's a guy that likes to act crazy and weird and has no social filter whatsoever. However, he has a VERY dark past that relates to the present, and I know this from hearing stories from a few of you in here that connect to both Fire Bro AND Tadano. This is gonna be kind of a long one, so please bear with me…

Some of you in here don't know the stories that relate to Fire Bro and Tadano, so I'm gonna lay it all out in the open right now. Fire Bro's real name is Konnor Korpus. For those of you who know Kooper really well, he has the same last name as Kooper, meaning that he's Kooper's brother! This was confirmed to me when Pauline told some of us about how, the same night of the shooting at the other hospital, Fire Bro told Kooper a story of two brothers. One brother went berserk and killed the other brother, and the brother was sent to a mental institution.

Kooper told Pauline who then told us that everything Fire Bro said in the story matches to when a very similar thing happened to Kooper a long time ago. The location, the event happening...Kooper figured out that it was his younger brother, Konnor, who did indeed hurt Kooper and when his parents found out about it, they sent him to Northern Chai Mental Institution in Sarasaland and remained there for years!

Now, this story gets even crazier. When Spike and Bow went to Northern Chai Mental Institution, they found out something from a therapists' notes. They found in the notes the name 'Konnor Korpus,' which, as you all know now, is Kooper's brother. However, also found in these notes was Koops' mom, Kayla. The notes revealed that Konnor killed Kayla and blamed it on Tadano, making him severely depressed about it. This confirms that we have an actual murderer around here!

That's not all, though, and this story keeps getting crazier. When I was younger, I lived in Chai City and was acquaintances with Tatanga. I tried to be friendly with him because I could tell he was going through so much at home, but one day, he really pushed me over the edge. He tricked me to go see Tadano, to see how he was really doing because he was too scared to do it himself. When I went there to the institution, Tadano suddenly went berserk and attacked me for no reason! I had it out with Tatanga after that, then I cut him out of my life afterwards. Never spoke to him again. When Tatanga said to us that he had a past connection with a lot of us, that night of the shooting, he wasn't joking around. I knew him when I was younger, but not enough to be considered a friend.

That's not all, though. Do you guys remember when Grunty told us that Mona set fire to Bowser's basement three years ago? Well, after she escaped from the basement, she swears she saw Fire Bro talking to Tatanga that same night! When Mona asked Fire Bro about this to make sure if it really WAS him, Fire Bro turned into a completely different person and threatened Mona to leave him alone or else. Notice how he didn't deny it at all!?

And finally...the last piece of this. Kooper was going to meet with Konnor on the 6th floor stairwell to see what Konnor has been up to all these years and why he's here now. Kooper goes to the 6th floor stairwell to meet Konnor, and then he ends up falling down the stairs! And then, conveniently, Fire Bro is the one to find him so he can make himself look innocent, because he definitely pushed him down the stairs! There's no way it was just an accident!

So...all the proof is there, everyone! Fire Bro AKA Konnor can NOT be trusted and we have to keep him somewhere secure so he can't get out and cause chaos. Not only that, but Tadano can't be trusted as well! I feel bad saying that because he's been through hell with his past, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Whew...I think that's all of it," Koopie told her story and then exhaled in exhaustion from telling every single detail.

More silence ensued, as the looks on people's faces who hadn't heard this story before were clearly in horror and pure shock. Some of them had never been so surprised before by such a story full of tragedy and coincidences. Koops looked down and teared up a little from the mentioning of his mom.

"Holy fucking shit! Are you serious right now!? This is some fucking daytime soap opera kind of insanity!" Boshi yelled in complete disbelief.

"My god! So, all this time, we've been hanging around with Kooper's psychotic BROTHER!? What the hell!" Yoshi cried in fear.

"And he's been with us since the beginning! I-I don't think he's done anything to hurt any of us or mess up our mission, but, that's just so scary to know that about him now!" Peach exclaimed.

"Goodness gracious, perhaps that is why he's been missing in action recently! Maybe he knows about us catching onto him so he's hiding out to formulate a plan!?" Toadsworth theorized.

"And him talking to Tatanga, like, does that mean he's a double agent for him!? Shit! If that's the case, then who knows what he's been telling Tatanga or someone from his group about us!" Goombella shrieked in panic at this realization.

Mario, being one of the people to not hear the full story before, wasn't moved one bit by this information. His gut feeling about Fire Bro being up to no good was confirmed and it made him want to find Fire Bro ASAP and beat some information out of him.

"Wow...um, you know, speaking of Tadano, I wanna say something real quick. I have not been able to find Mimi at all here lately and I asked a few people this morning if they'd seen her. One guy told me that he remembers seeing Tadano leave the hospital and head west on the streets and that a girl who looked exactly like how I described Mimi ran after him, and both haven't been seen since. I was gonna propose that we all try to look for them, but...I wouldn't even know where to start! I don't even know WHY Mimi would run after Tadano either!" Toadiko revealed, providing more shocks and horror to the group.

"Oh no! What was she thinking, putting herself into danger like that!? I hope she's okay!" Tippi cried.

"What the hell!? This is absolutely crazy! So, what exactly are we supposed to do about all of this then!?" Lemmy shrieked.

"I've got an idea. We track Fire Bro down, put him into a room and keep constant watch on him, and demand that he tell us what he knows. Based on what we know now, he can't be trusted at all and is now considered a danger to everyone here," Mario declared.

"Yeah! That's kind of what Koopie's plan was to find him and interrogate him, although I think hers also involved tying him up and hurting him for information," Jojora admitted. Some of them looked to Koopie in surprise at the hostile plan.

"Yyyyeeaahhh...may have went a little overboard there, but all of this makes him just as bad as Tatanga now!" Koopie justified her reasonings for the hostile plan.

"Hey, you know, I just realized something. Kylie and Arfur, Fire Bro was with you guys before we woke up at Mushroom Corps. That place is government affiliated, right? So...with Fire Bro's past being all shady and such, why would someone like that be in Mushroom Corps.?" DK questioned, providing an excellent point that made all eyes turn to the pair. Arfur and Kylie looked as if they had just been accused of murder.

"Um...well...you know, with Fire Bro, we were just given orders to keep him around because he was incredibly skilled in combat and did a few bounty hunting tests for us previously that ended up being successful with him. We were told to have Fire Bro aid you guys on the mission to defeat Tatanga," Kylie nervously explained.

"If you don't mind me asking, who exactly told you guys to keep him around?" Daisy questioned further, hoping to extract info based off of what she's been learning from the company recently.

"The higher ups. We're not really allowed to question their decision making, we just do what we're told," Arfur answered.

While he wasn't sure how everyone else felt, Mario didn't believe them for a second. There's absolutely no way that a government affiliated agency would keep someone as mentally unstable as Fire Bro in with them...or would they? Mario never knew that much about government in the first place, but he also knows that, based on what he's heard and seen through the years from media outlets, they deal with shady business deals, decisions, and tactics. He had to know more about Mushroom Corps., because what Arfur and Kylie said only convinced him even more that there's an air of unsettling mystery surrounding that company.

"Well...wow. Alright then! It's settled. As soon as this meeting is over, we track down Fire Bro...or, I guess, Konnor would be more appropriate to say now?" Yoshi said.

"Yep. Thank you, Koopie, for telling us all of this, as now we know that we can't have someone like that freely roaming around here, even if by the chance that he actually HASN'T done anything mischievous, we still can't take the risk. That being said, let's make this next and final topic quick so we can get to finding Fire Bro," Mario ordered and everyone prepped their nerves as they knew what was coming. "The final topic is Rosalina, and what we should do with her. I propose that we do a vote on letting her stay, or demand that she will leave. Does everyone else agree with this proposal or are there other recommendations?"

Flurrie raised her hand slowly and Mario pointed to her. "Yes, Flurrie?"

"Um, so, I'm certainly not opposed to wanting Rosalina to be punished for her actions in some kind of way, but...where on earth would she go if we just simply cast her out of this hospital? Wouldn't it make more sense to keep her locked in a room here, far away from everyone else?" she asked.

"That's a good point you bring up, Flurrie. The thing is, though...if we were to just lock Rosalina up in an isolated room, she could easily use her magic to unlock herself. Now, I'm saying that she WILL do that for sure, but we can't take any chances because, as much as a lot of us love and care about Rosalina, that image of her going out of control with her magic will forever stick with all of us. If it wasn't for Professor Frankly and his orb doing the trick...we all may actually be dead right now.

Plus, based on those riots we had earlier, Rosalina herself isn't safe with so many of these people wanting her either gone or dead. All it takes is one person to try to sort the situation out themselves, and chaos will break loose again" Mario explained, ending it on a chilly note that unnerved some of the others.

"And we won't leave her with nothing if she ends up leaving. We'll pack her some stuff for the road, and I'm sure there's plenty of places near here that she can stay at," Luigi added.

"I just can't help but think, though...is this really the right thing to do? It technically wasn't her fault that she did all of those things. The magics took control of her and caused all of us to get hurt, but the real Rosalina would never do anything like that to us. She's nice, soft, and caring. I just think that maybe this is the wrong way to go about it!" Toad interjected with sympathy for Rosalina.

"This is how I see it, Toad," Professor Frankly spoke, adjusting himself in his wheelchair. "Magic is similar to traditional drugs. Use too much of it, and you become a monstrous version of yourself. I've read accounts over the years of witchcraft lore being used in locations where my archaeological expeditions bring me to, and I've read what the overuse of magic can do to someone. It turns them into a demonic, hell-raising, shell of the person's self that's very hard to undo. Like drugs, it's the magic itself that makes the person so out of control. However, it's also justified for the people that care about the 'addict' to want them to give everyone else space and get help for themselves. What I'm saying is...we ALL need time to heal and move on from this, but it'll be hard to do that with Rosalina around."

"Very well said, Frankly, and I'm in agreement with you. Any other comments?" Mario asked. No one said anything or raised their hands. "Alright, well, it's time for the vote then. So,-"

Mario was interrupted by another person entering the room. Everyone's nerves were immediately shaken as they saw Rosalina walk in towards the center.

"Rosalina…" Mario let out in surprise.

"I wanna know the results of this vote you guys are doing...if that's okay," Rosalina stated.

"Oh! Um, how much of this meeting did you hear?" Peach asked.

"All of it. I know, eavesdropping isn't exactly a graceful thing to do, especially with me now, but...I really wanted to know what was happening and, um, I wanted to know what ends up being decided on what to do with me," Rosalina confessed.

"Are you sure you're okay with this, Rosalina? You might not like what you're about to see," Daisy warned.

"I can handle it. I need to know how you all really feel about what I did. There won't be any judgement from me," Rosalina replied and breathed in deeply, preparing herself for the results.

"Okay. Show up hands if you want Rosalina to stay," Mario spoke. The ones that raised their hands were Peach, Toad, Toadette, Tippi, Bleck, Arfur, Kylie, Flurrie, Parakarry, and Lakilulu.

Rosalina saw this and sighed while closing her eyes, wanting to cry. She knew right then and there what the result would be.

"That's 10 people. So...raise of hands of those who want Rosalina gone?" Mario asked, and he, along with everyone else who didn't raise their hands the first time, raised them now.

"You three didn't raise your hands at all," Ludwig noted to Luvbi, Starlow, and Professor E. Gadd.

"Well, we barely know Rosalina and weren't here when all that stuff happened, so I don't think it'd be fair if we voted," Luvbi said.

"Alright, it's decided. Rosalina...you have to go. We'll pack you some things for the way," Mario said, not at all proud of the decision but it had to be done.

"O...okay. I understand. I just...if you wanna let me know how you really feel about me and what I did...if you wanna let it all out...now would be a good time. I can take it. Please do so, you guys," Rosalina practically pleaded, facing everyone as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Rosalina, it's okay, you don't have to go through with this," Daisy said, really not wanting Rosalina to get herself into a deeper hole, but it was too late to put a stop to it as Koops immediately stepped in to say something.

"You...you said things that I'm NEVER going to stop replaying in my head over and over and over again! You caused me to be like this...so afraid of everything...hurting constantly...I'm so sick of it! I was even beginning to be fine again until YOU decided to bring up everything that hurt me before and pile it all on me at once! I...I just can't even look at you now without seeing your other self…" the koopa screeched through his crying. He looked away and hugged it out with Parakarry to make him feel better.

"I...I'm so sorry you feel that way, Koops...umm...anyone else?" Rosalina asked, shaken from Koops' pain.

"I, um, need to say something as well," Vivian shyly spoke. "You killed my sister, Marilyn. Well...you said you did. Is that true? Do you remember doing that?"

All eyes fell back upon Rosalina when they all heard that disturbing revelation.

"My god! But, uhh, she's with Tatanga, sooo...perhaps that's not such a bad thing!?" Lakilester said with a shrug. Lakilulu elbowed him for coming off inappropriate.

"...Yes, it's true. I...I did kill her," Rosalina admitted upfront. Vivian began to choke up.

"God...you...I-I know my sister, Marilyn, betrayed me again along with Beldam and was everything we were fighting against, but...she was still my sister. I wanted to see her at least one last time before I would decide to even...you know...get rid of her...but, you took that away from me! And, um, like I said, I know she was one of the bad guys, but...I'm just...I-I'm so sorry, but I just can't look at you without feeling disgusted and upset...I'm so sorry!" Vivian broke down crying further and a few others close by hugged her and comforted her.

"Don't ever be sorry, Vivian...you have a right to how you feel…" Rosalina spoke, nodding in complete understanding of her feelings.

"Rosalina," DK spoke. Rosalina immediately turned to him, even more anxious to hear what he has to say because the two are very close and she knows about his feelings for her. "I just wanna let you know that we still care about you and love you for all that you are...but, that doesn't change the fact that you killed Diddy, my nephew. That...that I can never forget and it'll take me a long time to forgive. I really do think it's for the best that you go."

Hearing that struck Rosalina hard because DK has never said something so cold to her before, but she understood where he was coming from. She didn't make a response to him because she had no clue what to say other than a generic "I'm sorry."

"Where will you go, though?" Peach asked, stepping forward to her. "Do you know of a place you can stay?"

"Yes...um, there's a place called Fort Koopington. It's a coastal town, about an hour north of here. I visited there once before when I was still new to the planet because I really wanted to explore the kingdom and I remember falling in love with it. It's so scenic and isolated...the perfect romantic getaway…" Rosalina ended up getting a little lost in thought at the end there, but got herself back to reality quickly. "Umm, anyways, I think that's where I'll be at. But, before I go, is it okay if I visit Waluigi's grave?"

"Of course," Wario obliged.

"Thank you. And, like I said, everyone...there is no hate nor judgment at all for your choices. You're all completely justified in what you feel and think about me. Just promise me one thing...you guys will come and get me when it's time to face off Tatanga? I still wanna help. I still wanna fight. I know I can be of great help," she pleaded kindly. Everyone else nodded in agreement. "Oh...and Yoshi? Birdo's memory loss should only be temporary. The man was the same one who attacked Fox's crew with the same spell. They gained their memory back in due time and so will she."

Yoshi smiled a little when he heard this uplifting news. "Oh! Um, thank you. That helps a lot!"

"Wow...geez, I'm living in a world where magic really does exist. Hey, you. Since you know magic, does that mean you know of a spell to get my memory back then?" Birdo asked.

Rosalina shook her head sadly. "I'm afraid I don't know of a spell to do that yet. Funny thing is...I know how to erase certain memories...but don't know how to bring them back…" She reflected on the time she erased a memory from Waluigi's mind which filled her with disgust. "Um...so...I should go now, everyone...it's time for me to go…like Mario said...it's not safe for me to be here since so many others are livid at me..."

Everyone said their farewells and some even hugged her, getting incredibly emotional at their dear friend going away.


MEANWHILE…

"Tiny, I'll catch up with you! I gotta use the bathroom really badly!" Dixie called out to her sister as she entered back into the hospital. She took a left turn, went quite a ways down to the bathroom, entered, did her business, then exited...only to find Fire Bro right outside the bathroom crying his eyes out.

"Oh! Fire Bro, what's the matter?" Dixie asked in concern.

"Dixie...I...I found out something so bad...I...I don't know what I'm gonna do…" he said through his crying.

"Um, what is it? You know you can tell me! We'll figure it out together!" Dixie tried to calm him down.

Fire Bro slowly stopped his crying. "O...okay. Can I...can I show you it? Please?"

"Y-Yeah, of course. Lead the way!" Dixie replied a little nervously, a little hesitant on finding out what made Fire Bro so emotional.

"Okay...this way…" Fire Bro said and walked down the hallway towards the exit door that led to the side of the hospital and out into the back of the parking lot.

"So, where is this 'thing' at exactly?" she asked.

"It's a little past the courtyard…" Fire Bro responded without even looking at her.

"Oh! Um, don't you think it would've been easier going the opposite direction from the bathroom? That way goes directly to the courtyard!" Dixie advised. Fire Bro didn't make a response. Dixie got a little more nervous.

The two eventually reached the courtyard and started going into the woods.

"Dixie...have I ever told you about my past before?" Fire Bro asked, still not looking at her.

"Um, I think you told me a little bit of it back at Luigi's Mansion, but other than that...I don't think so," Dixie replied.

"Up there!" Fire Bro shouted, pointing at a tree branch directly above them.

"Uhh, what's up there!?" Dixie asked, not seeing what he was talking about.

"You're good at climbing trees...because you're a chimp...can you...can you grab that green apple from the branch above the one I just pointed to?" Fire Bro asked, his tone starting to sound off.

"Green apple? I don't see a green apple anywhere! And why do you need it for?" Dixie asked a little frantically.

"A little kid came by here and wanted it really badly...I promised him I would get him it...I'll point it out to you…" Fire Bro started to speak as if he was in some type of trance and then climbed the tree and got on the branch he pointed to previously.

"Over there. It's almost diagonal from my head. See it now? Come up here and see it for yourself!" Fire Bro shouted. Dixie sighed in frustration and decided to climb up to the branch he was on. She looked and indeed saw the green apple he had pointed to.

"Oh, there it is! But, Fire Bro, was this the thing that upset you earlier? Or did that little kid say something mean to you?" Dixie confusedly asked, getting a big feeling in her gut that something was majorly off here.

Fire Bro stayed silent for a moment. The silence creeped Dixie out and she demanded to know what the hell is going on here.

"Fire Bro! Seriously, what is happening with you!? Speak to me!" she yelled.

Fire Bro slowly looked to her with dead eyes. "I wasn't always like this, you know. I wasn't always...a fire brother…"

Dixie became even more confused now. "What? Uhh, ok? What do you mean?"

"The 'me' before becoming a fire brother was named Konnor. Konnor Korpus. The brother of Kooper Korpus," Fire Bro revealed. Dixie looked beyond shocked at this bizarre revelation.

"Wh-what the hell!? Are you...messing with me right now!?" she shrieked.

"No. Not this time. I always had a longing...a deep desire...to be fueled with darkness...with chaos...with...power…" Fire Bro's tone began to change to a more sinister one, creeping Dixie out even more.

"Okay, seriously, stop! This isn't funny, Fire Bro!" she yelled.

"I'm not joking. Everything I'm going to tell you is 100% serious, Dixie. I hated my brother, Kooper. He had everything I wanted...friends, being the favorite child, romance, good looks...I wanted it all. One day, he was showing off about how amazing his life was and I had it. I stabbed him with a knife from the kitchen. He knocked me out and called the police and our parents. My parents demanded that I be sent away to a mental institution and that they would never see me again, because I was a blemish on their family image.

I was sent to Northern Chai Mental Institution. That stabbing of my brother, though...it felt soooo damn good. It felt like I had control of something for once in my life. It gave me a nice rush...so, I did it again. This time, though, I wanted to get away with it. So, what did I do? I became friends with Tatanga's twin, Tadano, and at the moment he least expects it...BAM. I killed a nurse by stabbing her in the eye and tried to make it look like he did it. Haha, it was so fun! The way she screamed in pain and terror gave me such a euphoric feeling! But, the staff quickly caught onto me, so I ended up escaping and ran for my life. I hid in Chai City and was homeless for a while, hiding from the authorities…" Fire Bro explained, watching as Dixie became more horrified each second.

"Fire Bro...my...what...wh-why-why are you telling me all of this!?" Dixie cried, her nerves on edge now.

"Because I love you. And people are onto me, so it'll only be a matter of time before I get discovered and executed. That's just the facts. Now, back to my story…

I was on the streets for a while, but I wanted to get back into the world because being homeless wasn't the life for me. So, what did I do? I attacked a rich businessman and murdered him. I stole his coins...his credit cards...his car...I was successful. And it was only gonna go up from there! I had to change my identity if I really wanted to integrate back into the world. I had the ultimate plan. I used the man's money to pay for cosmetic surgery, to make me look more like a generic Fire Brother, since their type of species looks a little different than an average koopa. Then...I found a magic merchant who can grant elemental abilities to anyone for a hefty price. I used the man's money to bestow upon me the ability of fire! It was so cool and fun...then I got my shell painted red and bought a red helmet and red shoes to complete the transformation.

And so, it was done! I had a new identity! Yes. I felt so refreshed and new...so I began my new life of causing chaos. When I saw that Tatanga had begun wreaking havoc on Sarasaland, I joined his team. When I heard about his story of being abused growing up and losing everything but yet wanting everything at the same time...I connected so much to him. I wanted to BECOME like Tatanga! Haha! He was such an inspiration. So powerful, smart, and didn't take shit from anyone. But...when Mario defeated Tatanga...we lost contact. I didn't hear from him again...I was so miserable and upset…

...But then I ran into him again three years ago on the night that Mona set fire to Bowser's basement. Such a coincidence! I was on another bounty hunting mission in that forest when I ran into him. He was hiding out in that forest near Bowser's castle, waiting for the right moment to steal some of Bowser's supplies to help with his ultimate plan. I so badly wanted to join him again, and he wanted me to, and he said he would find me when his plan started, but he never did...he may have lied about wanting me...but I don't wanna think that!

Anyways, so after that happened...oh, haha, let me rewind real quick because I mentioned 'bounty hunting.' Before that encounter, I traveled everywhere I could, causing chaos everywhere and anywhere. Trying to find another Tatanga I can bond with. But, then...OH THEN! I saw a job ad posted on a bulletin board in downtown Mushroom City, looking for a bounty hunter, from a company called MSHRM INCORPORATED. I thought it was a joke at first, but decided to try it out and called the number.

That company...that is Mushroom Corporations. The one you guys woke up in. When I went in to test for them, to be a bounty hunter, they gave a very difficult test: track down a koopa named Kris who was involved in an experiment gone wrong at that corporation. They gave me 72 hours. But, I found him in 24! Yes, I spent alllll day and night tracking him down...that Kris man...he was like a beast pent up on pure rage, like a wild and hungry animal! Not only that, but he had magic powers! I barely survived fighting him, but...I caught him. I found him in Crescent Lake, and reported it to their police department, who then reported it to Mushroom Corporations, and they took care of him.

I passed their test. Ever since then...I've been working for Mushroom Corporations. But, even with all of their fancy technology...they still haven't figured out who I used to be...or...or maybe they have and they just don't care? Heh heh heh heh heh...government agencies can be veeeeerrrryyyy shady…" Fire Bro continued. Dixie was now sweating all over her body, still being horrified and disgusted at every detail in his story.

"F...Fire Bro...did...did you do something…to our group?" she asked with a petrified tone.

Fire Bro grinned at her. "I sure did. I didn't do anything at first because I wanted you all to trust me and think of me as a weirdo only...I wanted to keep up appearances of there being nothing wrong at all...but then I began when we got to Sonic's world.

I killed Kazooie. I figured a useless woman who didn't belong to our world would be fairly easy to get away with murdering. It brought back that euphoric feeling that I so badly wanted! I was also the one who bashed Tails in the head when he was bringing the gem in to the hotel, and threw the gem into the ocean...only for that stupid thing to come back onto the shore! I was also the one who stole Kammy's wand and weakened her with it. I had no idea how to work the wand at all, so I just ended up destroying it. And I thought it was hilarious how Diddy went crazy after he found out we kissed! Haha, yup, I definitely wanted all of that happen!

I also hid the gun that I stole from Vesper in the room where Banjo was sleeping. I knew his mind was all kinds of fucked up from his girlfriend dying, so I made a nice little plan to get Banjo to shoot Diddy with it...AND HE ALMOST DID! Sooooooo close! But, I made up for it by pushing Kooper down the stairs...haha, yup. See, he found out I was his brother. In a way, I kind of wanted him to. On the other hand...I liked having this air of mystery around me. So, I made him unconscious for who knows how long. And it feels goooooooooood! I was also close to putting Koopie out of her misery, but, it would've been too risky with all the patients in that room she was in. I even threatened Mona to keep her trap shut, because she found out I was talking with Tatanga that night of the fire!

Now...I'm just getting started, Dixie. I want more chaos. More blood on my hands. Will you join me? Or at least keep this a secret? Please? I wanna become Tatanga so bad, but I'm gonna need a partner, you know!"

Dixie was literally frozen with fear by how casually and excitedly he was describing all the atrocious acts he committed. She thought that there was no way she would get out of here alive.

"I...Fire Bro...I need t-t-t-to leave...please...I have to go…" Dixie whispered, gathering up the strength to move herself.

"No, don't go! You think I'm going to hurt you!? Is that it!? Dixie, I want you with me! It's all gonna be okay!" Fire Bro tried to reassure her in his own demented way.

"Just...stop! Please! I need to go! I CAN'T BE HERE RIGHT NOW!" Dixie started crying.

Fire Bro grabbed a hold of her wrist. "Am I scaring you!? Dixie, come on! This isn't a game, this is for real! It's all gonna be okay!"

"LET GO OF ME! PLEASE LET ME GOOOOOO! STOP IT! YOU'RE A FUCKING IMPOSTER!" Dixie screamed and pulled away from him as hard as she could, resulting in her falling off of the branch and landing on her back on the grass.

"Oh no! Dixie, are you hurt? Stay there, I'll carry you to the hospital!" Fire Bro cried in legitimate concern.

"NO! STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME! YOU'RE A SICK BASTAAAARD! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" Dixie screamed, running back to the hospital like her life depended on it.


"Son, what is it? We're supposed to be looking for Fire Bro right now, you know!" Bowser grumpily said as Bowser Jr. led his family downstairs.

"I know, but I really, REALLY want to show you guys something first! I don't think it should wait any longer!" Bowser Jr. said in major anticipation.

"Is it a bad or good thing? Or both? Is it even a thing?" Lemmy questioned.

"Guys...as soon as you see what it is, then you'll understand why I definitely needed to show you all as soon as possible," Bowser Jr. assured.

"Oh god, I'm even MORE nervous to find out what it is now. I can't possibly imagine what it is after all the shit that we've seen here," Morton grumbled.

Bowser Jr. led them to an empty office room on the first floor. He opened the door and in there everyone saw a tall, beautiful, blue-eyed blonde haired koopa woman standing in the center.

"What the…!?" Larry uttered at the sight of the woman.

"So, uhh, take a wild guess at who this is!" Bowser Jr. said in an upbeat manner, hoping to make the atmosphere a little less awkward.

"Wait...you...you can't be!?" Wendy shrieked.

"You look really...no! There's no way!" Morton yelped.

"I-is your name Clawdia?" Ludwig nervously asked.

The woman smiled with watery eyes and nodded. "Yes. It's me, you guys. Your mother. My...how you've all grown."

No one had any idea what to say. They were all shocked beyond belief because they never thought they would ever see their mom again.

"Uhh...you guys gonna say something cause this is getting even more awkward now," Bowser Jr. chuckled a little.

"Just...um...you're our mom...so...you're here. Obviously. Um, I mean, have you been here this whole time?" Larry stammered.

"No. I got in last night with a group of people...and in that group was my husband, Kenneth, and our daughter, Katia," Clawdia said. Everyone else looked even more bewildered at this information.

"She came in with Professor E. Gadd's group! That was them that got here last night," Bowser Jr. added.

"Y-You have your own family!? Jesus…so...you abandoned us for them then..." Iggy said, shaking his head.

"I...look, there's A LOT to say and go over and even express what we've been wanting to vent about since the last time I was in your guys' lives. When I came here last night, I knew that you guys would be here too, so that's why Bowser Jr. and I are doing this. There's no point in delaying an inevitable meeting between all of us," Clawdia explained, clearly seeming a little hurt from Iggy's comment.

"What meeting? We already know the kind of person you are. You cheated on dad for who knows how long, and left him all alone. There's nothing more to talk about," Morton coldly stated.

"Yeah, you completely ruined his life! Do you know how hard it was to not have our own mother around!?" Ludwig cried.

"I know I did something very horrible back then, and I will ALWAYS regret it until the day I die. But, all of you...I just wanted to let you all know how sorry I am for everything. Truly, from the bottom of my heart, I am!" Clawdia sobbed with sincereness.

"It's gonna take more than an apology to make up even the tiniest bit of the mess you left behind. Even though most of us were just little kids when it happened, we remember how devastated dad was when you left him! I actually thought he was going to die because of how broken he was!" Wendy yelled.

"Plus, this honestly may not even be the best time for this. We've dealt with so much recently that we're all really on edge right now," Larry said.

"I know. Junior told me everything that's happened. I am so horribly sorry about Kammy! She was such a great friend to all of us!" Clawdia sobbed more.

"What!? Why the hell did you tell her about that!? She doesn't need to know ANYTHING that's been going on with us!" Morton yelled angrily.

"I-I'm sorry, Morton! I just thought she should know because she WAS close with Kammy!" Bowser Jr. cried.

"Bowser...you haven't said anything at all yet. Are you okay? Is-is this too much?" Clawdia asked with concern, because all Bowser did was just stare at her, as if he was petrified.

"Um...you said you had a daughter named Katia...that's...that's what we were gonna name our child if we ever got another girl…" Bowser finally spoke with a hint of detest in his voice.

Clawdia looked away in embarrassment. "It's such a beautiful name...I really wanted it to be for my 9th child...no idea what I'm gonna name my 10th child…"

"10th child!? Are you pregnant again?" Lemmy asked.

"Yes. I'm almost 3 months pregnant," she confirmed.

"Goddamn! Ever heard of closing your legs!? Also, how are we so sure that we have dad's DNA in us and not your dumbass husband!?" Morton yelled.

"Morton...come on, just calm down please?" Bowser Jr. sighed.

"You guys have every right in the world to still be mad at me and get everything off of your chest to me. I deserve it. And I know for a 100% fact that you all are Bowser's biological children. Trust me on this," she stated affirmatively.

"Trust you? Really? You really wanna go there with telling us to trust you!? Pah! That's funny. Real funny," Iggy scoffed.

"Guys, come on. This is still our mom right here. There's nothing wrong with her wanting to connect with us even after all this time!" Bowser Jr. tried to vouch for her so she can stop being attacked so much.

"Seriously Junior? Look, the only reason why you're sympathizing with her is because you were a baby when all this shit went down. You don't remember the breakdown that dad had because of her. Just because she's blood, doesn't mean we want this to happen," Morton said.

Meanwhile, Bowser still kept on staring at Clawdia. It was clear he was fuming inside just based on his stern, cold, and very serious expression. All the memories and feelings of Clawdia and him ended things came rushing back to him all at once. He could feel his blood boiling and his face started to turn red.

"Dad? Hey, are you okay?" Wendy asked.

No response. His silence and cold expression made everyone uncomfortable.

"Bowser...it's okay. I'm not here to hurt you. I just wanted to see you all again and hopefully talk some stuff through since we're all stuck here under the same roof," Clawdia said softly, hoping to get him to calm down.

Bowser clenched his fists and still didn't say anything.

"Oh god...I can already tell where this will go…" Larry whispered, noting his dad's body language.

Bowser slowly opened his mouth to finally say something.

"I'm gonna...I need to get some water. I'll be right back," he said plainly and walked out of the room.

"Oh boy...you've done it now, Junior!" Ludwig yelped in fear of their dad blowing up.

Bowser Jr. ran out the room. "Hey, dad! Look, I know this is a lot for you, but, you know, I just thought-"

"GRAAAGGHHH!" Bowser suddenly roared and threw a chair at the wall, smashing it completely.

"WHAT THE!? DAD!" Bowser Jr. screamed, caught off guard by his rage.
Bowser then threw a garbage can at the wall, hitting a bunch of pictures, shattering their glass and knocking them all down to the floor. The people nearby screamed and backed away from the scene.

"YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTER WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU!" Bowser screamed in total rage to his son, who he already started to make him cry. Bowser then ran down the hallway, yelling at everyone to get out of his way. Once he reached the front doors, he kicked them open with full force, literally breaking them down, and ran out onto the parking lot then onto the streets.

"NOOOOOOOOO! DADDY, WAIT! I'M SORRY, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE! DADDYYYYYYYYY!" Bowser Jr. screamed and sobbed, chasing after him. He fell down to the floor once he reached the front entrance and broke down crying even further when he realized that his dad ran away to who knows where.

EOC.

Soooo...yeah, as you can tell, this chapter ended up being A LOT longer to make than I thought at first, lol. Almost 17k words! Good grief LOL. But really, the next two chapters REALLY shouldn't be as long as this one. I think the reason for this is because that meeting scene ended up having more dialogue and descriptions than I thought it would.

Next chapter, the search for Fire Bro and Bowser goes underway, conflict erupts among the Koopalings, Birdo is stuck between believing Yoshi and Boshi, Tadano returns to the hospital but is met with an unfriendly welcome back, and as always, much more! Rosalina will also make a brief appearance next chapter, but after that, she'll be gone from the story for quite a bit. Next chapter will be uploaded in mid-January. Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!