TanookiRoxx: Funny that you mention that...Rick's character development actually served as an inspiration for Mario's character progression. I mean, shoot, if you really think about it, both are similar characters: Both are heroes in their own right, both are leaders of their respective groups, both have to adapt to a deteriorating world from the villains (Walkers vs. Tatanga's destruction/enemies along the way), and both go down a path that leads them to do sinister things that they wouldn't think of doing previously. Nice observation!

Candela Monsoon: You know, after re-reading that comment I made about the 40 chapters being left and almost to the end...you're right, I don't know why the hell I considered that to be 'close to the end' LOL, XD.

Main group: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, Toadette, DK, Dixie, Goombella

Hospital group: Kooper, Bombette, Parakarry, Lakilester, Koops, Koopie, Flurrie, Spike/Paper-Yoshi, Vivian, Bleck/Blumiere, Tippi/Timpani, Toadsworth, Boshi, Fly Guy, Toadessa, Toado, Dr. Nokano, Bowser, Morton, Lemmy, Ludwig, Larry, Bowser Jr., Wario, Pauline, Mona, Jojora, Tadano, E. Gadd, Starlow, Luvbi, Clawdia, Katia, Kenneth, Toodles, Kody

Mushroom Corps.: Arfur

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

Moon: Grodus, TEC

Fort Koopington: Rosalina

Elsewhere: Fire Bro/Konnor

It was late afternoon. The hospital was getting cleaned up from the mess that the koopatrols made. Emotions were still incredibly high, especially as the bodies of the fallen were buried in the cemetery behind the hospital.

Lakilulu. Tiny Kong. Bow. Kallan. Toady McToaderson Jr. Toadinya. Toadoro. Kylie Koopa. Birdo. Iggy Koopa. Wendy Koopa. Goombario. Professor Frankly. Toadiko. Toad. Them, among many other innocents who were killed amongst the chaos, plus the bodies of the murdered koopatrols, and Toadim, were being buried into their graves, as people who had knowledge of religious funerals blessed the innocents with their preaching from their holy books.

As the burial proceedings were ongoing, and the scriptures from some people were being read out loud, woes and angry shouts were heard.

Bowser's cries were the loudest of them all. He collapsed to his knees and pounded the ground with his fists in fury as the dirt filled Iggy's and Wendy's graves. Never in his life had he felt so much pain and heartbreak, not even when Clawdia left him. This didn't compare at all to the Clawdia incident, mainly because two of his kids were taken away from by some monsters who wanted to kill just for the cruel fun of it, whereas with Clawdia, it was her personal decision to leave. Clawdia chose to leave, but Iggy and Wendy didn't, they were taken by force. Bowser Jr. held onto his dad, crying uncontrollably with him. Lemmy and Ludwig buried their faces in their hands. Larry sat on the ground, watching the dirt fill, looking as if he couldn't even cry anymore because he cried so much. Morton paced around, sobbing and cursing at the world for taking his siblings away as he pulled at his skin.

Dixie, Yoshi, and Toadette held each other as they cried out for their beloved ones. DK put his hand on Yoshi's shoulder, feeling so much hurt and sorrow for them, but was unable to let out the amount of tears they were. His heart already hurt so much, he couldn't imagine how worse those three have felt...or, hell, even anyone else who lost a loved one today.

"IT'S ALL MY FAULT, IT'S ALL MY FUCKING FAULT! I HIT HER BY ACCIDENT WITH MY GUN A-AN-AND I, AND I...IT SHOULD'VE BEEN ME THAT DIED!" Spike screamed as he cried into the grass in front of Bow's grave.

"Don't say that! D-Don't you dare say that! You can't put this on yourself for what happened! Bow wouldn't want you to self-destruct!" Flurrie cried with him, rubbing his neck. Spike raised his head from the grass and looked at her, still visibly angry and devastated, but gave her a tight hug.

"I'll never understand this. A man who helped save our lives ends up dying so easily. This...this is the kind of world we live in," Goombella said with numbness in her voice while watching Frankly's grave be filled.

"It's times like this that make me remember why I used to hide away from the world when I was younger. It's so scary dealing with people who want all the power they can get by tearing other people down," Koops added on, equally feeling and sounding as numb.

"*sniff* He didn't deserve to die...none of them did…I'll always think of how unfair this all is," Vivian sobbed, hanging her head onto Koops' shoulder.

"This is...hell," Bleck spoke while walking up to Toadiko's grave. "I thought I experienced hell when I thought I lost my Timpani and did all those atrocious things years ago, but this...this doesn't compare to the monstrosity that constantly befalls us."

"It's always gonna be like this. Innocent people dying and us grieving for them, wishing so bad that they could come back...all there is is constant death. You're right; this is hell. I can't even imagine something worse than this," Daisy said with cracks in her voice, but was exhausted from crying. She didn't take her eyes off of the graves, and especially paid a little more attention to Toadoro's. She kept thinking that she could've saved him, all she had to do was keep her finger off the trigger and he'd still be alive with the rest of them.

"FUCK FUCK FUCK! G-Goombario...oh-oh god, his family was just here, too! What are we gonna tell them!? They're gonna think he's still alive and still helping save the world a-a-and my fucking brother is out there somewhere and just...GODDAMNIT, THIS FUCKING SUCKS!" Kooper raged and fell to the ground crying and tugging at the grass.

"This wouldn't have happened if we just killed that kid," Bombette coldly said with tears running down her face, unable to look away from Goombario's and Bow's graves.

"Bombette, don't start. I was doing what I thought was right. Please...don't go there now…" Parakarry spoke completely choked up, feeling even more horrible now that Bombette is pissed at him for Goombario's death.

"Well, you 'doing the right thing' was what got him killed! We had NO time to waste during that mess! I don't know what you were thinking!" Bombette angrily spat.

"HEY! You're gonna back off of him, okay!? There wasn't a right or wrong choice to be made during then, he couldn't have known that that would happen so just STOP!" Jojora yelled, getting into her face. Bombette turned even more red.

"Oh...ok. So, that makes it all okay then, huh? Knowing that someone you could've looked after and even paid closer attention to would be alive now? No. It's not right, because he would be alive right now with all of us instead of having committed sui- I mean...being murdered. Like I said before...we look after our own, no matter what," Bombette said, doing her damned best from blowing up at Jojora.

Jojora looked a little less angry after she said that and more confused, especially at her slip up of words. "Bombette...are you talking about Goombario or someone else? The way you worded all of that was...well, hard to find the right word in this time…"

Bombette made a big gulp. She knew that Jojora caught her Freudian slip. That, of all things, was the last thing she wanted to talk about. "Just...leave me the hell alone. All of you!" she then stormed off back to the hospital.

"H-Hey, um, where is that kid you all found anyways?" Lakilester said after having finished crying over Lakilulu's grave.

"We put him in the cell in the basement, the one where Fire Bro was in. Even though he's just a kid, we can't immediately trust that he's still not aligned to those guys," Jojora answered.

"God, this is beyond tragic. Kylie...I've worked with her since the day I started at Mushroom Corps nine years ago...and then some bastard shoots her and in a split second, she's gone forever. I don't know what the company's gonna do now that she's gone…" Arfur sobbed, rubbing his hands across his cheeks to wipe away the many tears.

"Yeah...very tragic," Mario spoke, putting his hands in his pockets and looking to Arfur in a serious manner. "Speaking of Mushroom Corps., you would think they would be able to help us out a little more, you know? With them being all government-like, having advanced systems, and a lot of weaponry...you would think that they'd have a lot of security for us to prevent shit like this from happening, especially after what happened at the other hospital."

Arfur looked very discomforted by his comment and slowly looked at him. Mario's serious and pissed off expression scared Arfur.

"Y-Yeah...um, you would think they would do all that, but...um...I don't know, Mario, I just do what I'm told to do. That's it. I don't question anything that the higher ups decide to do or demand of us because I don't have that kind of seniority yet," Arfur nervously responded.

Mario didn't change his expression at all. He could tell he was making Arfur extremely nervous and more fragile than he had already been. Mario knew that Arfur was going through heavy emotions dealing with yet another shootout and the death of his long-time work partner, but he was also at that point where he refused to take any more bullshit from anyone.

"Right," was all that Mario replied in his harsh manner and then he walked off towards Peach. Arfur let out a gasp of relief, holding his chest, and keeping his legs from trembling as he knew Mario was suspecting him and his company of something.


Count Bleck, Tippi, Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Parakarry, Jojora, and Lakilester entered the basement where the cells were.

"You!" Bleck shouted, startling the young koopa in the cell where Fire Bro was. He stood up and was immediately nervous. Bleck continued, "Your name is Kody, right?"

"Oh! Y-Yes, it is. Kody Kooplingsworth!" he gave them his full name.

"We heard about your story of how you got involved with the koopatrols. Tell us it again, right here. Everything that's happened to you till now," Bleck commanded.

Kody slowly walked to the cell bars, still as nervous as ever. "Oh...umm...o-okay. Uhh, so, when this all began, koopatrols raided my house a-and, um, they killed my parents. They offered me and my brother to join their team or else they'd kill us too. So...well, uhh, my brother refused, and so they killed him right in front of me…" Kody stopped for a second, getting more emotional now.

"Oh...I'm so sorry to hear that about your family," Peach sympathized.

"Thank you. So...where was I? Oh, yeah...m-my brother...they killed him and I saw it...it was like...I don't know how to describe it, it was just so horrible! All my family gone so quick...and those assholes didn't even care...s-so, um, after that, they pointed a gun at me and asked me one more time to join them or they'd kill me too...so I joined them...and the same guys that killed my family are the same ones that forced me to join them into rebelling from Tatanga and doing all this crap now. I didn't wanna die, b-but...I should've said no too! I have no family left...and now I got myself into a bigger mess...I'm so sorry! But, I swear to you, I didn't hurt anybody when we came here! I laid low the whole time!" Kody started to cry.

"Goddamn. This is the most disgusting shit that we've ever experienced, isn't it? I mean, FUCK! Talk about having no moral compass!" Lakilester exclaimed.

"That's IF he is even telling the truth," Luigi commented very skeptically.

"I-I AM! I swear I am! I can even tell you the address of my house that they destroyed! It's 141 Stardale Road, near the big Bank of the Mushroom Kingdom!" Kody pleaded and cried further.

"Ok...how old are you, Kody? You seem quite young," Mario asked.

"I'm 15. My brother was 18...he taught me so many things, he was like another parent to me. I just, um, kind of also wish he DID say yes to joining the koopatrols because, at least then, I wouldn't be so alone...um, I-I mean I know that sounds bad, but I have nobody now, you know!? All my other family lives on the other side of the kingdom and...god, I'm sorry, I sound so pathetic and whiny!" Kody hung his head, still crying, feeling completely worthless and defeated.

"No, you don't. You lost your family, this is completely understandable! And you're so young too...we can relate because, well, we've lost people close to us too, as you saw today…" Tippi also sympathized with him, not wanting to make him feel any worse than he already is.

"Again, guys, this is ONLY if he's even telling the truth at all! Or, not even that, maybe he's secretly psychotic like Fire Bro and is just putting on an act till our defenses are down!?" Luigi protested.

"What!? I-I'm not psychotic, I swear! I just...I just didn't wanna die so that's why I had to join these guys. I was so scared of dying...I don't know if I believe in a god or higher power or something, but dying and not knowing what happens after is pretty freakin' terrifying!" Kody cried.

"Luigi, we can't just automatically assume that every person that's outside our circle is bad, even if it LOOKS bad! This kid here has a story, and he wanted to survive, so he did what he thought would be best for him given the circumstances. You gotta look at it from other points of views!" Parakarry tried to sway him from his hard stance on executing the kid.

"Parakarry has a point, he's been through a hell of a lot up to where he is now. I'm just not sure if I believe him when he says that his group never made him kill anyone before," Jojora interjected.

"But, they didn't! They didn't! After I joined them, I was helping gather supplies for the big weapon he's making, and that's it! When Tatanga moved over to that island, that's when my group broke off and did our own thing. We didn't run into any people in the city, so we didn't kill anyone!" Kody explained.

"...Until you guys killed those cops that were taking Mona to the Toad Town police station?" Daisy questioned.

"Seriously? One of the guys crashed into their car with that monster truck! Yeah, I was in the truck, but I didn't want that to happen, and I didn't drive into them either! I don't even know how to drive at all!" Kody clarified.

"You get why we're so skeptical, and protective of one another, right? Do you understand why we're doing what we're doing, Kody? Why we're questioning you so much, why we're on edge about the endless possibilities that we could imagine happening if we were to release you right now? We don't know you. We just know what you told us, and we know you were with a group of murderous and heartless bastards. We're not at all saying you're like them, but our guard is up, especially after what happened earlier today. We've lost too many people to not consider every angle of this," Mario said, softening the approach towards the kid.

Kody deeply sighed and nodded, sliding down the wall a little. "Yeah...I get it. I guess I would do the same if I was in your position. But, just, um, please...please don't kill me. I know I said I have no family left, but I wanna keep living for them. At least I wanna try!"

"That's actually very mature of you to say that, Kody. I think we can all respect that, too. It's gotta be incredibly difficult too, to be the remaining one left of the family, especially one so young. My deep condolences for your family," Bleck was able to somewhat empathize with him, since he was the only left from his family as well.

"Well, what do you guys say then? I mean, come on, we shouldn't let a teenager with no family be kept prisoner in here! I think, at the least, we should let him out but keep a close watch on him!" Lakilester suggested.

"I agree, plus, we REALLY shouldn't go through with killing him, if that's even an option that anyone's thinking of right now. I know we're all jaded and worn out from those guys coming in here and shooting the place up, but we shouldn't let that affect our rationale!" Parakarry added in agreement.

"Jaded? Worn out? Big understatement there, Parakarry. Big fucking understatement! I can't believe we're letting someone who was aligned with Tatanga's army go free! This is gonna be the Fire Bro situation all over again!" Luigi shouted while shaking a little.

"Luigi, were you listening to anything that was being said? We can't just kill him just because he was with the koopatrols under different circumstances! Remember, things aren't always that black and white!" Peach exclaimed.

"And sometimes they are! Plus, those guys had to have some kind of influence on him, he was with them for a while! I can't believe you guys are doing this crap! What the hell happened to protecting our own!?" Luigi began to yell more erratically, prompting uncomfortable looks from some of the others.

"Sweetie...please calm yourself. I get where you're coming from, but you also have to understand that if you just kill him without even taking a chance to think this through, we become no better than them!" Daisy tried to get him to see things rationally, but it wasn't working cause Luigi was turning red and shaking his head.

"NO! THAT'S BULLSHIT AND YOU KNOW IT! WHATEVER!" Luigi screamed in her face and ran off out of the basement.

"Shit...I've never seen Luigi that angry before!" Jojora said in shock.

"Emotions are high during this time, naturally. Believe me, I want to scream at everything and destroy whatever's in my path right now because of this mess...but I won't, because it doesn't make things better, and that's who I used to be anyways. We gotta give him time to sort his feelings out," Bleck said.

"Yeah...I…I'll go check on him…" Daisy was nearly frozen in fear from that burst of anger from her lover. She knows why he's being like that, but it didn't make her feel better. She walked out of the basement to go after him.

Mario sighed in frustration. "We're all dealing with too much of this shit, yet again. I don't think any of us know how to properly process it. But...look, Kody, we'll make our decision for you in the morning. It's a lot to think about and I wanna consult my other friends about this too."

"Okay. Do what you gotta do, I guess," Kody said disappointingly.

"Hey! What about me!? When are you guys going to let ME out!? I promise you guys that I had no bad intentions with Mimi! I didn't want her to come with me but she demanded anyways!" Tadano pleaded, gripping onto the cell bars for dear life.

"You still haven't told us why you went over there, Tadano! That's the main thing we're trying to figure out about you!" Tippi replied.

Tadano's expression slowly turned blank, which creeped a few of them out. He didn't say anything for a whole minute.

"Uhh...so, are you gonna tell us why you went there or…?" Jojora awkwardly asked.

"...I don't think you would understand," Tadano spoke with a slight crack in his voice as his eyes became watery.

Mario sighed in annoyance. "When we come back here tomorrow morning, you better tell us why you went there, otherwise you're staying in here permanently!"

And with that, the group began to exit the basement, leaving Kody and Tadano to sulk in their isolation.

"Hey. How long have you been down here for? And what'd you do to make them lock you up?" Kody asked.

"Does it matter? Does it...really...matter? No one believes me...again...feels like I'm stuck back in the institution...fine...they wanna play that game? Then we'll play. But, what they don't know is...I play HARD. Hehehe…" Tadano said, switching the tone of his voice to a husker, aggressive one midway through.

Kody became creeped out from this. "Wh-what do you mean by that?"

"You'll find out soon enough."


"Luigi! What the hell was that back there?" Daisy called out as she entered upon the main floor. Luigi annoyedly sighed and turned around, giving her an equally annoyed look.

"You know damn well what that was about! How could you just sit there and be ok with them just letting one of Tatanga's cronies live among us!? Do you not understand what the hell we just went through!?" Luigi frustratingly yelled.

"Lower your voice," Daisy stated, getting just as frustrated with him now. "And how could you even ask that? I saw nothing but bullets flying, people dying, and blood everywhere! I-I even accidentally killed an innocent man! God...he wanted me to kill him, but I couldn't...but then the grenade explosion happened, a-and I got startled and I pulled the trigger…" she started to cry and covered her mouth in horror, still not fully processing what she had done.

"That's called an accident! Don't start blaming yourself now. What I'm saying is, I'm tired of people dying! OUR people! And allowing that kid in here, to not even consider killing him, I-I just don't understand where the logic is in that! He may be just a teenager, but he still can be dangerous!" Luigi continued to yell against Daisy's wishes.

The princess looked at him in disgust. "Seriously!? You don't even feel anything for the fact that I killed an innocent man!? That's not something you just brush over! PLUS, were you even listening back there? Kody told us his story of how he got involved with the koopatrols, he may be lying about some parts or even the whole thing, but what if he's telling the truth!? What if he really is just some poor kid that got caught up in a horrible situation and is dealing with his entire family being dead!? It isn't always that black-and-white with this stuff!"

"WELL, I WANNA MAKE IT BLACK-AND-WHITE! IF IT PUTS ALL OF US AT SAFETY, THEN SO BE IT!" Luigi became furious and screamed in her face.

"STOP YELLING AT ME! I TOLD YOU TO LOWER YOUR VOICE!" Daisy screamed back, drawing the attention of people nearby. Daisy saw this and looked down in embarrassment.

"Luigi...please...just let this go. And...god, did you even go to the nurse after we found the bodies outside!? That guy stabbed you in both arms, and a little bit in your torso!" Daisy calmed herself, noticing the dried blood on his clothes from the wound spots.

Luigi took a minute to respond. He stared coldly at her and then exhaled deeply from his nose. "No. I found some stuff to bandage my wounds. I don't need a nurse." And with that, Luigi stormed off.

"God…" Daisy huffed and started to cry. She wanted to be anywhere but there in that moment, so she stormed off herself into some random direction, but was stopped by Pauline.

"Hey! Are you okay? What was that all about?" she asked.

"Just...I don't know what to do. He's being completely irrational...but I think I am too. I don't know! I fucking hate all of this!" Daisy cried further and quickly walked off. Pauline wanted to say more, but she didn't wanna make Daisy any more upset. She decided to walk off to find Luigi to talk some sense into him. She turned the corner and found him getting some soda out of the machine.

"Hey! Luigi, what the hell was that back there? Was that really necessary for you to go off on your girlfriend?" Pauline laid into him.

"Oh geez, mind your own business, Pauline! It doesn't concern you!" Luigi yelled while rolling his eyes.

"Maybe not, but guess what? I care about you guys, and I know we've just been through hell, but taking out all your emotions on the people you love just causes more problems! Find a better outlet rather than screaming and raging at people!" Pauline stated angrily. Luigi got his soda, gave her a dirty look, and then walked off without saying anything more. Pauline sighed frustratingly then walked outside to the courtyard to get some fresh air.


Nearby her, in the courtyard, Yoshi and Dixie were crying a little bit together on the grass on their respective beloved's deaths.

"This is definitely the worst day of my life. That bastard took my love away from me...how can someone just do that? I- Nevermind, that's actually a dumb question. I should know by now that I can't expect to make sense of any of it," Yoshi said, still choking up a little, but was winding down from crying all day.

"Yeah. Can't really make sense of someone killing the people closest to you, because we're not like that. Not even remotely," Dixie responded, messing with her ponytail as she stared blankly out into the trees where the six were hung. "I have my sister's blood all over me...I tried washing myself off, but it still feels like her bloodstains are there on my fur. F...fuck. Those assholes got exactly what they wanted. In my opinion, they knew deep down they couldn't have won. They knew we were powerful and had the numbers to kill them all.

But...they still did it. They accomplished their goal: to make us feel weak and in pain and cry endlessly over the people we lost. To make us hurt so much that we don't wanna live with the pain ourselves. To keep us distracted from our main goal. In a way, they were still working for Tatanga, because they were doing exactly what he did to us, and is still doing. I blame everything that's happened to us on Tatanga...and Fire Bro."

"That makes sense. It's just...I finally got Birdo back, a-and then I lost her again! JUST WHY!? WHAT KIND OF SHIT IS THAT!?" Yoshi screamed to the world and began crying again. Dixie pulled him into her shoulder.

"I know, Yosh, it's so damn unfair! It's times like this that make me question if there really is a higher power out there...and no, I'm not talking about the Star Spirits, I'm talking about something that's more divine like a god or something. If this world really isn't Hell, then that kind of higher power wouldn't let something so fucking tragic as this happen," Dixie cried with him again.

"I don't even wanna think about a stupid higher power right now...I just want my Birdo back...it felt so great seeing her get her memory back, like I fell in love with her all over again...I want that feeling back so bad…" Yoshi said as he tried to control his crying because it was making him even more exhausted than he already was.

"I know, Yosh. I know. I want my sister back...I want her to come on the quest with us and kick some ass with me…" Dixie chuckled slightly when she said that, remembering the stories Tiny told her about how she helped defeat King K. Rool years ago. "I, um, also tried to find Toadette to see if she wanted to come sit with us, but no luck. DK said he'll try looking for her. I imagine she just wants to sulk alone right now, though."

Boshi walked on over to the pair. "Hey, you two. It's been a fucking day, hasn't it?"

"That's an understatement," Yoshi replied without looking at him.

"More like it's been a fucking week or two...or three. However the hell long we've been involved in this," Dixie added, looking a little annoyed at his appearance.

"Ha! Yeah, sounds more accurate. But, hey, Dixie, I was wondering if I could talk to Yoshi alone for a bit?" Boshi asked. Yoshi looked irritated at this since Boshi was the last person he wanted to speak with right now.

Dixie looked more annoyed, but ended up obliging because she didn't feel like starting anything. "Fine. I'll go help DK find Toadette." She then got up and walked back into the hospital.

"What do you want?" Yoshi harshly asked.

"I just wanna say that I'm so sorry about Birdo, man. I know she was your whole world, and that piece of shit took it all away from you with just one bullet. I mean, fuck! When we find that guy, we'll both give him a slow and painful death, what do you say?" Boshi suggested.

Yoshi looked at him intensely and then stood up. "You know...it's actually a good thing that you came here to talk to me, because I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Oh? Ok, what's up?" Boshi asked.

Yoshi kept the intense look as he walked closer to him. "This morning, Birdo was about to tell me something. It seemed really important because I saw how bothered she looked about it. She mentioned your name first, but then the shooting happened, and so she was never able to tell me. Do you have any idea what it could be about?"

Boshi noticeably looked a little scared when he said that. He had a feeling she was going to tell him about her and him kissing in the closet.

"Oh...um...n-no, not a clue. At least, I can't really think of anything that she'd say about me!" Boshi shuddered a little, but he didn't think Yoshi was buying it because he was still giving him that cold, dead stare and continued to walk toward him.

"Boshi...don't lie to me. Especially now. Please don't do this to me. I want the truth!" Yoshi demanded, now clenching his fists. Boshi became increasingly nervous and he knew Yoshi saw this.

"Y-Yoshi, please, back away! I-I think I know what she was gonna tell you, but just calm down and stay where you are!" Boshi yelled, truly not wanting to get into a tussle with Yoshi. Yoshi stopped in his tracks and crossed his arms, waiting for his answer.

"Ok. So...uhh...well, shit, I'm telling you now, you're not gonna like this, but...when Birdo lost her memory...I, uhh, told her some things to make her...uhh, what's the word, I guess 'hesitant' on hanging with you and your friends?" Boshi revealed.

Yoshi looked confused now. "Huh? You told her stuff to...what, get her away from me, so she can get to you!?"

"NO NO NO! JUST LISTEN, YOSHI!" Boshi panicked. "Okay, it's no secret to everyone and their goddamn mother that I've always had a thing for Birdo, but just-just hear me out! When I saw that Birdo lost her memories and you were trying to get her to know you all over again, I just got so jealous and it reminded me of the time when you guys weren't a thing and I was trying to date her. You remember that, right?"

Yoshi rolled his eyes. "Yes, of course I remember! Get to the point!"

"Okay, well...uhh, so, my druggie days. When I was doing cocaine here and there and acting like a jackass at every social event I went to, I was also trying to get with Birdo before you two started dating. At that time, I was on the waitlist to get into rehab, and I had NO support system! I was living in a bad area and I had no escape from it! Remember when I asked you for help back then with some money and you turned me down everytime? Not even once you tried to help me! I mean, I know, I was being an asshole and starting shit, so I get it, but I just really needed help financially because I had to get out of the area I was in and would've loved ANY kind of support! My parents didn't give a shit about me, they cut me off entirely and moved across the kingdom so I had no way to get to them!

So, you know, I was going through hell back then. But no one helped me! Everyone thought I was a lost cause! But then...I met Birdo. She blew me away the first time we talked. I literally couldn't get her out of my head after our first encounter! Hate to sound cheesy, but it was practically love at first sight! Then I saw her at every event that you guys set up afterwards, and I talked with her more and more, and I feel like we just connected so well. So, you know, one night I asked her out, and she gave me the whole vague shit like 'Oh, I'll think about it' but what-the-fuck-ever, cause I could tell she was at least a little interested. Then...when I was driving on my way home when I left the party...police were following me. I get pulled over, saying that they've received a call about me smuggling drugs. Like, what!? So, they search my car and lo and behold! There's cocaine on the floor underneath my passenger's seat! I know for a fact I didn't put that shit there, and even if I DID have cocaine on me, I wouldn't have put it somewhere one could easily find it, especially in my car! I was arrested for it, the cops didn't believe a word about how it wasn't mine and that I didn't put it there, and I was sent to six months in jail plus probation afterwards," Boshi explained. Yoshi's expression was a mix of confusion and irritation.

"Okay, um, WHAT!? Boshi, what does this have to do with ANYTHING!?" he yelled.

"I'm getting to that! So, the point of me saying all this crap is this: It was one of you that planted the cocaine in my car and called the cops on me, wasn't it? Also, the last party that I went to of you guys', I remember Toad telling me that apparently everyone thought I had spiked this woman named Sushie's drink at the previous party and was planning on 'doing it' with her when I dragged her to one of the rooms so she could lay down after throwing up on me. Who the fuck started THAT rumor? I mean, shit, also explains why you guys were so desperate to kick me out back then!" Boshi said.

Yoshi became ever more annoyed with Boshi and was seconds away from strangling him. "I still don't know what the hell this has to do with what crap you told Birdo! Now, you better tell me what this all is supposed to mean this second before I knock your ass out!"

"I'M TELLING YOU WHAT THIS ALL MEANS! WHO WAS THE ONE THAT PLANTED THE COCAINE IN MY CAR THAT NIGHT AND CALLED THE COPS ON ME!? It had to have been one of you because I'm not stupid enough to bring around drugs in my car! And as for how this connects to what I said to Birdo...it's because you and your little clique like to pretend you're so far above everyone else who hasn't done some fucks up in their lives. Word spreads around fast in this hospital, you know!

I heard about how you guys didn't give Rosalina shit for not using her magic to help get the gem quicker in that Pokemon world you went to. I heard about how you guys got into a huge fight the day that you saved Sonic the Hedgehog's world because everyone was giving each other shit for keeping secrets and causing drama. I heard that you guys were practically slut-shaming Pauline for how she and Kammy Koopa cast a spell on Mario to make him fall in love with Pauline but no one was dogging on Mario before the secret was found out, and you guys even kept him in the group still! I heard about how Mona and Parakarry set fire to Bowser's basement a long time back and...no one says anything to them about how wrong it was? No one talks shit about them, not even Bowser and his kids? Like, seriously, this is some fucked up shit that you guys are all just sweeping under the rug here!" Boshi ranted, and that was the point that Yoshi had enough.

"OKAY, STOP! You know what, Boshi!? You're just a piece of shit! Get out of my face! All you're doing is turning this back around on me and my friends and changing the subject! And how DARE you try to manipulate Birdo when she had no memory of what happened! GOD!" Yoshi screamed to the point where his eyes became watery.

"I'm a piece of shit...been called worse," Boshi just shrugged off that insult and then began to walk off. "With all that being said, Yoshi...I am sorry for saying what I said to Birdo. I shouldn't have done that. But, the reason why I said all this to you is because you and I both know it's true that you and your friends have a twisted side to you all that you downplay, which was what I was warning Birdo about. And I know for a fact that it was one of you who planted the cocaine in my car. Yoshi...if you tell me who it is, I'm not gonna go berserk or anything like that, even if it's you that did it. All you have to do is tell me, because I know you know who it was."

"JUST GO! You picked the wrong night to do this, Boshi! Go before I punch your face in!" Yoshi threatened.

Boshi just walked off after that. Although he wasn't bothered too much by Yoshi's anger, he did feel a little gross distorting the truth of what he said and did with Birdo to Yoshi. He lied and exaggerated about almost everything he had said to Birdo the day that everyone came in to see her, and then downplayed his words from that day to Yoshi. But, from his view, there was no way he could tell him the actual truth. He didn't want to imagine how horrible Yoshi's reaction would be. As tough as Boshi likes to think he is, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to handle it.

Boshi stomped back into the hospital, accidentally bumping into Ludwig.

"Ow! Hey, watch it!" Ludwig yelled, looking back at the blue dino who didn't even pay any mind to what he did.


"So, we're really doing this right now?" Lemmy asked his dad. The family was all outside the room where Clawdia was in.

"Yes. We have to, son. I know what Clawdia has done to us, but she has a right to know that...th-that two of our babies are gone…" Bowser struggled to finish that sentence. He was still processing the fact that Iggy and Wendy were gone forever. They all were. It was too weird and upsetting. They all still kept expecting to see Iggy and Wendy around.

"I still can't look at her without wanting to even puke. I know this might stir shit up even more, but I really wanna know her reasonings for leaving us, dad. Her finding this place with her new family just can't be a coincidence...although I'm not sure if I don't believe in coincidences," Morton said.

"Interesting that you say that, son. I was thinking of having a talk with her about that. Not today, of course. No, not with…" Bowser paused this time. He couldn't bear to utter any kind of variation of Iggy and Wendy being dead just yet. "Um...we just won't have that conversation today. Maybe tomorrow. I gotta know too."

"Ooh...that's gonna be intense. Dad, are you sure it'll be the right time for it, though? You know...with losing them…" Ludwig asked, not bearing to mention their names either.

"Well, when is it going to be the right time? We all need to know while she's here. It's been something I've been wondering about for years and years, and now that this is the first time I've seen her since that night...we just need to know. At the very least it'll give some type of closure, don't you all agree?" Bowser asked his sons. They all looked at each other uncomfortably.

"I mean...I guess? I think I'm mainly just worried that her reasons for leaving us might make us even more upset, especially now, dad," Larry nervously pointed out, anticipating that the reaction to Clawdia's reasonings to her leaving will not be pretty.

"And, uhh, her husband...Kenneth, right? And Katia, they're gonna be there for that talk, are they? Are they!?" Bowser Jr. asked. He hoped they wouldn't be, because it'd be so much more awkward and tense otherwise.

"I, uhh...I don't know. I guess we're gonna just have to cross that bridge when we get to it," Bowser tiredly responded, looking into her room the whole time. "Well...let's go."

The family entered the room where Clawdia was recovering in. They saw Katia and Kenneth at her bedside, tending to poor Clawdia who had bruises all over her body.

"Bowser…" Clawdia weakly said. Kenneth and Katia quickly turned their heads and seemed surprised at their showing up.

"Oh! Hey guys...umm, I'm so sorry to hear about everyone that died. I know you guys were close with a lot of them...and, uhh, we also told Clawdia about Iggy and Wendy as soon as we heard that they were 'gone' too," Katia nervously spoke, hoping nothing she said would set anyone off.

"Oh, that's okay. I guess she needed to know sooner or later. She's still their mother, after all," Bowser shrugged.

"Yes, this is absolutely awful. I can't imagine the pain you guys are going through! Especially you, Bowser. Losing that one...Roy, right? Losing him to join Tatanga, and then those two being murdered. I'm sure words can't describe how horrible that feels," Kenneth added in a tone that seemed off-putting to Bowser. The koopa king tried his hardest not to show disgust and irritation, especially since he had to unnecessarily throw Roy into that mix.

"Y..Yeah. I'm just doing whatever I can to keep it together. I'm sure we won't be able to sleep tonight," Bowser said, looking everywhere else but at him.

"Well, um, we're glad you made it out of that elevator crash alive! Any really bad injuries?" Lemmy nicely asked as he noticed the tension building up a little.

"Twisted my right arm...got cuts all over my body...and…" Clawdia paused as her eyes welled up. "And I, umm...l-lost the baby. I had a miscarriage in the elevator."

A minute of silence passed as the sons and Bowser were horrified to hear of such tragedy occurring at a relatively equally tragic event.

"Woah! God, I am so sorry to hear that! Damn...everyone lost so much during this…" Larry spoke with sympathy towards her. He felt the sadness and despair hit him again when he realized that this was an event so unbelievably chaotic that this would affect them for the rest of their lives.

"Yeah...but let's just be thankful that we're alive right now. We made it out of that mess, you guys. We get to live and keep going and I think we'll be victorious against those guys if we just try to be strong, especially for Iggy and Wendy! " Katia said while trying to uplift everyone a little...but it worked the exact opposite for Morton.

"Don't talk to us as if you know us. You don't," he coldly spoke. Kenneth and Katia shot him a dirty look glare whereas everyone else either grunted or sighed at Morton starting something once again. "What a disrespectful thing to say right after WE, OUR FAMILY, lost our brother and sister! Just because we share DNA doesn't mean you can pretend that you're a part of us!"

"Excuse me!?" Katia yelled, immediately getting pissed off. "We're biologically family! It's not my fault that we just all now know of each other! I didn't ask to be born into this huge family!"

The Koopalings gave her discomforting looks when she made that bizarre comment at the end.

"That's enough, both of you! Katia, c'mon, let's go get some food. It's dinner time anyways. We'll be back later, dear," Kenneth yelled, and grabbed his daughter hard by the wrist and began to exit the room, until Morton chimed in yet again.

"I don't give a damn if you're biologically family! We don't know shit about ANY of you, and honestly, I don't think we even want to, considering the history between our parents!" he yelled to Katia.

"Morton, stop! Just drop it!" Bowser yelled.

"WELL, I DON'T WANT TO KNOW ANY OF YOU EITHER, SO SCREW OFF!" Katia screamed in his face.

"I SAID THAT'S ENOUGH! Goddamnit, why don't you ever listen to me!?" Kenneth angrily yelled, and pulled on Katia harder to get her out of that room.

"Morton, not necessary at all! What the hell were you thinking!?" Ludwig yelled, lightly punching his shoulder.

"I was thinking that I can't stand seeing them at all! I'm sorry if I feel fucking awkward just looking at them, knowing that that was the man you left dad for!" Morton cried towards Clawdia. All Clawdia could do was sob a little more.

"I get your anger, honey. I do. You have every right to feel the way you do, especially right after this tragedy...I, um, want to explain why I did what I did all those years ago...if it's okay?" Clawdia asked to all of them. Lemmy and Junior nodded, but the other three had unsure expressions.

"That's actually why we came here. To talk about what happened with you back then. To get more closure for everyone...but not today. We need a break from the drama. Is tomorrow at noon okay?" Bowser revealed.

"Of course. Do you want Katia and Kenneth to be there too?" Clawdia asked.

"I...don't know. I guess I'll leave it up to them," Bowser shrugged, secretly hoping that they wouldn't come but didn't wanna come off as hardass in that moment.

"Okay. I'll ask them when they come back. You all should get some rest. It's been...it's been a day," Clawdia cried a little more as she hated how much it hurt that she lost two of her kids, even if it's been years since she saw them.

"Alright. See you tomorrow," Bowser said kindly and they all left the room. Bowser Jr. went far ahead of them and went down towards the elevators.

"Damn, did you see the way he pulled on her like that? That was kind of scary to watch," Ludwig asked.

"I don't get good vibes from either of them. My guess? The dad's an abusive and manipulative asshole, and the daughter is all kinds of screwed up from his abuse. If both of them know what's good for their own family...they better stay the fuck away from us," Morton replied harshly.

"Junior, where are you going?" Larry asked.

"I'm going to find Toadette. I really wanna talk to her," he responded.


Junior went to the far end of the second floor hallway, spotting Mona and Wario from afar.

"Hey, you guys! Have you seen Toadette at all recently? Like, after we left the cemetery?" he asked with a bit of a panicked tone.

Both of them shook their heads. "No, we haven't, sorry." Mona spoke.

Junior looked distraught at this, then headed into the stairwell.

"Hmm. So, I hear those two are a thing now," Wario commented as he took a drink from a flask of his.

"Huh? You mean they're together? How do you know that?" Mona asked confusedly.

"People like to talk around here. It's pretty ridiculous, it's like high school all over again. I hated high school!" Wario ranted a little, taking another drink from his flask.

"Huh. You know, I've kinda noticed that too. But, in fairness, there's not much else to do around here besides eat, drink, sleep, be hospitalized...and watch people fucking die," Mona said with her voice cracking a little as her eyes became watery again.

"I would do anything to bring my brother back. Anything. Hell...I'd do anything to get everyone else back too. Those sick bastards! They even killed a few kids too. How the hell does someone just do THAT!?" Wario raised his voice, taking another big swig from the flask.

"Hey! Enough with the alcohol, it's not gonna do you any good by getting wasted!" Mona yelled in concern and snatched the flask from him. She then impulsively decided to drink from the flask as well.

"You know, if you wanted a drink, all you had to do was ask. Don't know why you had to give me crap for it," Wario snarled.

Mona laughed a little. "I don't know why I did that. I guess I'm just in one of those moods where I'm contemplating saying 'fuck it all' and let loose completely."

Wario snickered back at her. "You taking a drink from a flask is considered being completely loose? Heh. What's next, you gonna steal someone's candy bar?"

"...Shut up," Mona spat all the while holding in her laughter. "I was raised pretty strictly. All that mattered was winning and keeping up perfect appearances. Once I got into college, I started to slowly shed that stuff away, but it's hard getting rid of the habits and beliefs that my parents instilled in me. That's why I moved to the kingdom for college. It was an excuse to get away from them. Plus, I kept myself beyond busy with the schoolwork. I did a double major in Psychology and Nutrition."

"Wow...I can relate," Wario empathized, subtly taking the flask back. "All my parents cared about was money. They kept all the money for themselves and just gave us the bare basics. They didn't give a shit about me and Waluigi, but for some reason, they came down on me harder. I hated that, so I did everything I could to please them, because I secretly wanted to be loved. When nothing worked, I just acted out even more and caused a shitload of trouble till my brother and I were old enough to get our own place." He then took another drink.

"Man. That's really...I'm so sorry, Wario. God. Parents...we're supposed to love them unconditionally because they made us and raised us, but that's such bullshit. Just because we share genes doesn't mean we're obligated to obey their every whim and….wait, how did we get on this topic again?" Mona asked as she realized the topic veered off into a strange direction.

"Hell if I know," Wario shrugged and finished off the flask.

"Wario...please don't tell me you're drinking because of Waluigi. I haven't seen you drink at all before he passed," Mona observed.

"I am," he bluntly admitted. "I fucking hate feeling like this, Mona. I just wanna feel good. Feel like he's here again. Feel like his death never happened. Even if it's only temporary...I just wanna feel something other than angry, sad, or even numb."

Mona shook her head in disagreement and put her hand on his shoulder. "No, Wario. Drinking is only gonna make things worse. It's not an escape from reality and it hurts your health too! Waluigi wouldn't want you doing that to yourself!"

Wario didn't say anything for a minute. He stared blankly down the hallway and fiddled with the flask.

"This isn't the first time you tried getting yourself drunk recently, is it, Wario?" Mona asked in concern.

Wario rubbed his forehead as he breathed deeply in then out. "I think I get why people do this shit to themselves now. Drinking and drugs. When they've got no other choice left in life, that's what they turn to, so they can feel something other than rage or sadness. The escape feeling is so damn good that they do it more and more and more, until-"

"Stop. You really should hear yourself right now. Don't do this to yourself, Wario. We can't lose you too," Mona demanded a little angrily.

Wario didn't say anything for another minute. Mona kind of hoped she didn't end up pissing him off.

"When is the meeting with Mario gonna happen again?" he asked, deterring completely from the subject.

"I think in 20 minutes," Mona answered. She looked to him to see if he seemed mad, but he just kept his blank expression the entire time.

"Alright. Let's slowly walk our way to the room then," Wario said while standing up. Mona got herself up while Wario walked over to a trash can and aggressively threw the flask into there. He then kicked the trash can over, startling people nearby.

"Wario! What are you doing!?" Mona yelped.

"LET'S GO!" he shouted, quickly walking ahead of her now.


Everyone slowly filtered into the meeting room. There was Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, Toadette, DK, Dixie, Goombella, Kooper, Bombette, Parakarry, Lakilester, Koops, Koopie, Flurrie, Spike, Vivian, Bleck, Tippi, Toadsworth, Boshi, Bowser, Morton, Lemmy, Ludwig, Larry, Bowser Jr., Wario, Pauline, Mona, Jojora, E. Gadd, Starlow, Luvbi, and Arfur. Everyone was mostly silent and feeling on edge. They also acknowledged the fact that there were far less people in that room compared to previous times, making everyone feel even more upset.

"Toadette! Where have you been? We've been looking everywhere for you," DK said as he approached her with Dixie and Junior.

"Oh...hey. I've just been wandering around all day," Toadette responded with clear sadness in her voice and expression.

"Hey. You're not alone, okay? Don't feel like you have to deal with this alone, because you're not. I love you!" Dixie said while choking up and hugged her. Toadette let out some tears as Junior held her hand and cried a little with her.

"Everyone's here, right?" Mario called out. Some nods were seen. "Alright. So…"

Mario paused. Everyone else looked at each other in confusion at his sudden stillness.

"Mario? Are you okay?" Peach whispered.

Mario made a gulp and looked as if he was going to cry. "...I don't think I really need to say how horrible today was. We lost too many friends again. This time...it wasn't even Tatanga doing it, it was his minions...or former minions...or however the hell you wanna call it. I guess that just shows us how screwed up everything has become. You know it's gotten really damn bad when people who say they're not even aligned with Tatanga still carry out the same shit that Tatanga has been doing anyways.

I'm tired of losing our friends. I'm tired of going through the same emotions constantly. I'm just...tired. But, this is our reality now. This is what we have to acclimate to. It's fucking horrible and depressing that this is becoming the norm for us, but...if we want to survive, we gotta stay as strong as we can. We can't let the emotions consume us, because…"

Mario paused again. It was clear to everyone that he was doing his best to hold back his tears.

"...Um, because...you know what, I-I don't even know what I'm trying to say anymore. Umm...we're taking tomorrow off from everything, if that's ok with everyone. We gotta recoup a little. Then...the next world we're going to is...the Shiver Region, right Arfur?" Mario spoke a bit jumbled, and not even looking at anyone while he was speaking. Peach felt for his despair and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Uhh, yes! The next gem is located in the Crystal Palace, specifically. I know some of you have been there before, so this should be a little easy to trek through. I was actually gonna have you guys go there BEFORE Freezeflame Galaxy, but there was a really bad blizzard going on there, so I thought it'd be best to do Freezeflame first just to be on the safe side," Arfur informed. Everyone else gave him either suspicious or awkward looks.

Arfur noticed this and felt pretty awkward himself then. "Um...though...I guess that doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things…"

"Hmm. I was wondering why we were doing Freezeflame first, though I suppose the order that we get the gems in doesn't actually matter in the long run," Goombella commented.

"So, should we expect an attack like this again? I've heard that this has happened before at a different hospital you guys were at?" Luvbi questioned.

"Yes, it has happened before. As for another attack like this...well, we don't even know, honestly. I mean, this time around it wasn't even Tatanga's doing directly! I guess we just gotta be on guard completely from now on," Spike said.

"I see...so...how come the military isn't helping us out then? You would think they'd aid us in killing Tatanga or at the very least defending us from his goons!" Luvbi pointed out.

"Tatanga apparently, somehow, already destroyed the Mushroom Kingdom's military. We're pretty much on our own now," Daisy revealed.

"Oh wow. That's awful! But, um, Arfur, right? You're with a government organization, surely they have some type of defenses for us too, right?" Luvbi questioned further. Arfur immediately looked nervous.

"Umm...y-yeah, you would think we would, but...we don't. I mean, kind of! We have guns and stuff, but as for actual defenses like, you know, uhh...soldiers and people like that...we don't have much of that. And I just follow whatever orders that my boss tells me to, so...yeah," he responded as he twiddled his fingers and stumbled upon his words a little.

"But, your boss doesn't want to use whatever your work has to help us? I know you and Kylie helped a little, but, you would think they'd wanna bring in more reinforcements!" DK added.

"And are you sure you don't have many trained soldiers there? You guys gave us A LOT of guns the last time this happened, and it looks like you got a lot more this time again. That's kind of weird to have so many more guns to just give away if you're low on soldiers or trained personnel!" Lakilester exclaimed, providing much more suspicion towards Arfur and his company.

The doogan looked increasingly nervous and began sweating. Mario crossed his arms and gave him a dirty look, secretly satisfied that the others were catching on to how shady Mushroom Corps. actually is.

"Umm...l-l-look guys, like I said, I just do what I'm ordered to do. That's all. I-I do agree that it's weird how my work handles certain things, but...I'm not technically supposed to really question it myself, so that's why I don't know that much about the mentality behind my work's actions," Arfur spoke while staring at Mario the whole time. Arfur knew that Mario was growing evermore suspicious of him and was onto the company's dirty secrets.

Mario slowly uncrossed his arms and calmed his menacing expression towards Arfur. "Okay. Fair enough. So...whoever's coming to the Shiver Region, we're gonna be leaving the day after tomorrow at 9am. We're taking tomorrow off to recoup. Is that okay with everyone? As much as I'd like to keep going without a stop, we all need a break from what happened today. I think it'll be worse on our mental and emotional health if we kept going without a break." Everyone nodded without argument. "Perfect. So...is there anything else that anyone wants to add?"

Kooper slowly raised his hand. "I do." All eyes turned to him. Kooper struggled to let out the words.

"Um...well, there's two things I wanna say. One, for those of you who don't know, Fire Bro is my brother, whose real name is Konnor. I found out recently that he's my brother who was in a mental institution back in Sarasaland, and he escaped and went under a new identity. That's a whole crazy story in and of itself that I don't wanna get into right now, but...he killed Yoshi's fiancee, Birdo. He nearly killed Kallan, who was one of the security guards here. He killed Kazooe, Banjo's best friend who was with us a while back. I don't know if he's killed anyone else, but...I just want you all to know, and especially you, Yoshi, that when I find my brother, I WILL kill him myself. I won't hold back. Just because he's my brother and I treated him badly when we were younger, doesn't give him any excuse for what he's done, and that he should get away with it. I won't let him get away with it. That's a promise I'm gonna make to all of you," he stated. Yoshi nodded in acknowledgement and welled up at this. Kooper could tell from Yoshi's face that he understood and believed him. Kooper was secretly worried that, with his brother being a murderous psychopath and all, people would blame him and be wary of him for potentially sharing that trait, but that fear subsided when he saw that everyone else seemed sympathetic towards him.

Kooper smiled a little as he started to cry, thankful that everyone seemed to understand him. "A-And, um, the second thing is that, uhh...I had a little kid die right in my arms yesterday." This made some of the people in the room gasp in horror. "He was already wounded when I got there, in the basement. He couldn't have been older than 11 or 12...and...he was so selfless too...he was more worried about me and his parents than him getting out of there alive. I just...I just can't believe that these are the people that exist in our world. The people that slaughter others for no reason...especially an innocent little kid...I'm never going to forget that. No one that young should be killed."

"Oh, Kooper! I am so sorry," Vivian cried and gave him a side hug. A few others joined in as well, feeling for his pain.

"Goodness me...they really killed someone that young? Blimey! I just don't understand how some people can do that. But, you know what? I think I'm done trying to understand. We'll never understand because we're not anything like those bastards," Toadsworth commented.

"Yeah. No point in trying to understand people who get off on hurting and killing others. That's scary territory that I don't think any of us should even wonder about!" Starlow added.

"I'm truly sorry you had to experience that, Kooper. That's, um, something I wouldn't wish on anyone to deal with," Mario said as a couple tears fell down his cheeks. He wiped them away with his arm and took in a deep breath. "So, um, before we end this meeting, I almost forgot one thing...the koopatrol that we got yesterday, his name is Kody, and he's 15. Some of us talked to him earlier and he told us his story about how he got involved. To put it short, the koopatrols killed his whole family and they forced him to join them otherwise he'd get killed too. Later on, that group he was in split off and formed their own group which was the group we dealt with yesterday. He claims that he never killed anyone when he was with them and also hated them. So, I think I believe him. I think. I'm definitely cautious because, you know, he was with those guys for a while, but...my gut is telling me he's legitimate.

So, I was thinking...if we let him out, we keep an eye on him for a while. Make sure he doesn't do anything out of the ordinary. I was even thinking of letting him come to the next area with us, that way we can keep a closer eye on him, because this place is pretty big and he can get out of our sight pretty easily. What do you all say? We all in agreement to let him out and keep an eye on him?" Mario suggested. Most of them nodded, though there were a few who understandably looked unsure.

"Makes sense to me. We gotta give the kid a chance in case he is telling the truth. It'd be awful of us to just automatically kill him without giving him a chance," Paulne said.

"Plus, he also DID knock out one of his koopatrol buddies and helped us a little yesterday, so...he probably IS legit," Jojora added.

"Really? So...just because he's a kid, we're going easy on him!? Isn't that the definition of ageism or something!?" Boshi yelled in annoyance.

"No, that's...ugh, you just missed the whole point! We're letting him out and keeping watch on him, and that's final! Majority of us seem to agree on this so knock your crap off!" Daisy yelled.

"Oh, okay, so because I'm the minority in this that means I get NO say, right!? Fuck out of here with that bullshit! You and your posse are a bunch of elitists!" Boshi yelled again, angrier this time and started to leave.

"OH MY GOD, WHATEVER BOSHI! IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, THEN QUIT HANGING AROUND US!" Daisy screamed.

"YEAH, WHAT THE FUCK EVER!" Boshi screamed back and stomped off.

Mario rolled his eyes and removed his cap, deeply scratching his head. "Alright, meeting's over. Goodnight everyone!"

"God, that guy needs, like, MAJOR therapy. I mean, we all do, but geez...I've never seen someone so off their rocker before!" Goombella commented in disgust.

"I almost wanna be empathetic to his behavior because of his past, but...you certainly always have to take full responsibility in what you say and do, no matter how screwed up your life was before," Flurrie said. She couldn't believe that she and Boshi had a common thing with drug use. Him acting like a fool reminded her of how she acted when she was doing coke.

"Hey, Toadette...so, uhh, that was really something, wasn't it?" Bowser Jr. chuckled, trying to make light of things.

Toadette didn't smile at all. She had no expression on her face.

"Toadette? Hey...it's, um, gonna be okay. I know that's hard to believe because you lost your brother, but, um...we gotta try to be positive, right?" Junior tried his best to cheer her up, but it wasn't working for her nor him. Too much damage has been done to try to be positive right now.

"Bowser Junior…" Toadette softly spoke and grabbed his hand. "I just wanted to thank you for being so kind to me. It was great getting to know you. You're a great friend." She then kissed him on the cheek and quickly walked out of the room.

Junior felt very discomforted by the way she said that. It almost felt like a goodbye of some sort.

"Junior! You gonna come to dinner with us?" Morton asked.

"Um...yeah, in a bit. You guys go on ahead!" Junior said, now getting quickly worried about what Toadette could be up to.

"Hey, Bowser Jr.! Where did Toadette go? I saw you guys talking, is she okay?" Dixie asked.

"I...I don't think so. I don't know how, but I really think we should go after her. I just- I just feel like she's gonna do something bad!" Junior began to panic.

Dixie widened her eyes at this. "Y-You mean...try to kill herself!?"

Junior nodded and started crying again. "W-We need to go find her! Come on!"

The pair went out into the hallway, looking both right and left. No sign of her. She had gone away pretty damn quickly, which made them suspect even more of what she was gonna try to do. The pair warned the others about Toadette, and so, a search began for her throughout the hospital.

Minutes went by, and nothing. Still no sign of her. The gang checked all throughout the floors and no one had seen any trace of her.

Bowser Jr. was at the sixth floor and caught his breath, being tired out from looking everywhere.

"Bowser Jr.!" DK called out from afar and ran over to him. "I take it no luck at all?"

"No...I just don't understand where she could've gone so quickly, and why! I mean, I-I think I know the answer, but I just wanna find her so I can prove myself wrong!" he cried again.

"I see...hey. Did you check the roof?" DK asked. Junior wiped his eyes and then looked at him with fear.

"N-no, I didn't...wait, DK, you don't think…?" he imagined the worst immediately, and so did DK.

The ape sped off into the stairwell with Junior following behind. He climbed the stairs as fast as possible. He didn't wanna believe the worst to be true. He didn't want another tragedy to happen.

DK kicked the door open to the roof and immediately saw something that confirmed the worst to be true.

Toadette was lying on the ground of the roof completely still, with a pill bottle laying next to her. She was foaming at the mouth a little.

"NOOOOOOO! SHIT! TOADETTE!" DK roared and dashed towards her.

Bowser Jr. got up there and saw the awful sight.

"OH MY GOD! NO NO NO PLEASE NOOOO! TOADETTE!" Bowser Jr. broke down in tears.

DK picked up Toadette and ran back towards the stairwell. "I'm bringing her to the ER! There still might be a chance for her, come on!"

EoC.

Next chapter, the status of Toadette will be revealed, Clawdia reveals why she left Bowser, a certain Goomba family returns to the hospital and unleashes all their emotions when they find that their beloved is dead, Arfur is confronted about Mushroom Corporations' shadiness and questionable decisions, and as always, much more! Hope you guys are handling the quarantine/stay-at-home orders okay, I know these times are tough and inconvenient for many of us. Next chapter will be uploaded on or before June 10. Thanks for reading!