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, Fire Bro/Konnor

Moon: Grodus, TEC

Fort Koopington: Rosalina

"KODY!" Morton shouted, seeing the kid sitting outside Toadette's room. "There you are, I've been looking all over the place for you!"

"Huh? Oh! Hey, Morton. Bowser Jr. wanted to go see his girlfriend, Toadette, or whatever she is to him. I don't know her at all, so I figured I'd give them some privacy," Kody said.

"Ah, okay. Well...I need you to come with me real quick. There's something I have to show you," Morton said with a serious tone. Kody immediately looked worried as he stood himself up.

"What is it? Is it...something bad?" he asked.

"I don't think it's bad. Just come with me. It's VERY important that I show you this!" Morton urged.

"O-Okay...this feels totally weird though, bro!" Kody yelped.

"MORTON!" Bowser Jr. yelled from the patient room. "What's going on!? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine! I'm just taking Kody here for a little walk with me. Nothing to worry about," Morton reassured with an obviously fake smile.

"Uh huh...so, what's ACTUALLY going on?" Junior asked with an annoyed expression since it was clear he knew he was lying.

"Nothing! Calm down, it's all good here! Oh, and hey Toadette! Hope you're feeling better!" Morton changed the subject, waving to Toadette.

"Thanks. I'm not sure if I'll be up to go with the others to get the next gem, but we'll see how I feel in the morning, I guess…" Toadette explained with a disappointing sigh.

"Aw, that sucks if you can't go, but I'm sure it'll be for the best either way! Anyways, we gotta go now, we'll catch you two later!" Morton said hurriedly and dragged Kody with him outta there.

Bowser Jr. grumbled a little. "I know when Morton is up to no good. Why does he always have to do this, no matter what kind of situation we're in?"

"Do you wanna go ahead and see what he's up to?" Toadette asked.

"I kind of don't, because I know if I do, it'll get me even more upset, so...I'd rather just not know. At least not right now," Bowser Jr. sighed annoyedly.

"Okay. Besides...I'd rather you be here with me. Will you stay here until I fall asleep?" Toadette asked, caressing his hand. Junior got goosebumps all over his body and felt his heart beat faster.

"Oh...y-yes! I'd rather be doing that anyways. Being with you gets me out of feeling all empty and mopey," he said with a bright smile. Toadette giggled at him.

"Same here. It's a nice distraction from things," she replied.

Meanwhile, Kody was quickly getting nervous and began to panic inside as the two made it closer towards the basement door.

"Hey man, what's REALLY going on here!? This seems super shady!" Kody yelped.

"Calm down. It's all gonna be fine. Just keep following me, and I'll explain everything when we get to the location," Morton stated without even looking to the panicky teenaged koopa. The two reached the basement door and went inside. However, Luigi was witnessing this from afar with major curiosity.

"Hmm. What the hell are those two up to…?" he asked himself and began to walk over to the door but was stopped by DK.

"Luigi. Hey, you doing okay there? I heard about your fight with Daisy," the ape asked while walking up to him.

Luigi huffed and rolled his eyes. "I wish people would quit talking to me about that. I was angry about the Kody thing and took it out on Daisy. That was it. I was being a stupid jerk. Now please leave me alone."

"Okay. Sorry. Didn't mean to piss you off again. What were you looking at, though? You were staring at someone or something over there," DK asked, clearly annoyed by the green plumber being so cold. The ape pointed towards the basement door.

"I was looking at Morton and Kody. They were walking together and went into the basement, and Kody looked freaked out. I wanna know what's going on with them, because I bet that it's not anything good!" Luigi quickly stated, then walked to the door.

"Huh. Well, I'm coming with you then to check this out, whether you like it or not!" DK asserted. Luigi rolled his eyes again but didn't oppose it. The two went into the basement.

Morton and Kody rushed over to a room on the left down the hallway. Morton opened the door and gestured for Kody to go in. Kody got even more nervous, walked on in, then shrieked when he saw a koopa on the floor, brought down to his knees, with his wrists and legs taped together with duct tape, and a piece of duct tape over his mouth. Ludwig and Lemmy were next to the koopa, clearly waiting for their arrival.

"WOAH! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!? Someone tell me what's going on!" Kody cried out.

Morton shut the door and got out a handgun. "Take this. You're gonna need it for what I want you to do."

"WHAT!? Bro, where the fuck did you get that gun from!? And why do I have to take it!?" Kody screeched as he started to sweat.

"My dad managed to find a gun after the shootout and kept it with him in case shit goes down again. It only has 5 bullets left, but we're only using one for this guy. Now take it!" Morton demanded and shoved the handgun into his chest. Kody slowly grabbed it, but then looked at all the koopas petrified.

"A b-bullet for this guy!? You tryin' to say you want me to shoot him!?" he yelled.

"Think of this as a test, Kody. If you kill this guy here, the same guy you were with for however long since this crap started, it'll prove to us that we can fully trust you. There are some of us here who still aren't 100% sure about you," Ludwig explained. Kody couldn't believe the stuff he was wearing.

"Bro, you gotta be kidding me right now! THIS IS INSANE! Look, I know you guys are still cautious of me, and that's fine, I totally get it, but don't you think this is going too far!?" he shrilled, his whole body shaking a lot again.

"How is this insane? He's one of the guys that helped kill our friend and family! He needs to be punished for that! He was trying to hide himself down here after he got wounded so he can heal up enough to get away from here," Morton explained further.

"Just so ya know...I'm not COMPLETELY on board with this plan, but at the same time...Morton's right. This guy can't be left alive. We're done giving people like this second chances," Lemmy added, then ripped off the tape piece from his mouth. "Any last words before we do this?"

"Agh...hey, Kody! Look, don't do this! You were right before, you're not a killer, and we should have NEVER made you join us! You're not like one of us, you're so much better than that! We should've just let you free after what happened with your family! There's a reason why you never killed anyone, because you're not that kind of person, so don't start now! Please, just...just tell them to let me go and I swear on my goddamn life you will NEVER see me again!" the urban-sounding koopa pleaded and cried a little.

Kody's expression slowly changed from scared to confused. "Wait a second...your voice...you're the one that killed my brother, weren't you? Yeah, I recognize your voice! You were yelling at my brother and calling him all sorts of names before you shot him!"

The three koopalings' dropped their jaws a little at this revelation.

"Hoohoo...and the plot thickens!" Ludwig said in excitement.

"Well then. All the more reason to kill him now, right Kody?" Morton smirked while crossing his arms.

"N...no! NO NO NO! LOOK, JUST LISTEN TO ME KODY, PLEASE! I'm sorry I killed your brother, but we were ALL put in a position to fulfill our jobs as Tatanga's koopatrols or else we would've been killed! If I hadn't done that, either one of the other koopatrols would've killed me, or word would've gotten back to Tatanga and he would've had me killed! I promise you, I didn't wanna do it, but I had to make myself look convincing to the other koopatrols because I was terrified of getting killed!" the koopatrol pleaded more and started sobbing.

"SHUT UP! QUIT LYING! You yelled at my brother and called him sorts of horrible things like 'weak' and 'ugly' and crap like 'this is how the world works now'! NONE OF THAT'S AN EXCUSE FOR WHAT YOU DID!" Kody yelled, now sobbing as well, and aimed the gun at him.

"It's not an excuse. I mean, holy crap! Do you really expect Kody to forgive you for what you did!? You killed his brother on purpose! You did it malevolently! What were you expecting to happen!?" Lemmy angrily questioned, with him and his two brothers relating since the koopatrol and his gang killed their brother and sister.

The koopa cried even further, hanging his head now. "I...I'm sorry...p-please just let me go...I'll run far away and you won't see me again…"

"No! People like you don't deserve to live! Not only did you kill my brother, but my parents too! Do you have any idea what it's like t-to be...uhh, what is it...AN ORPHAN!? Yeah, I'm a fucking orphan now BECAUSE OF YOU!" Kody began shouting at the top of his lungs as his body began to heavily shake.

"Huh!? Y-Your parents!? I didn't kill your parents! Your parents weren't even around when I killed your brother!" the koopa said in confusion.

"STOP LYING! YOU AND YOUR GANG MADE ME FEEL LIKE SHIT, SO NOW I GET TO KILL YOU!" Kody screamed, now cocking the gun.

The door suddenly slammed open, startling everyone in the room, making Kody aim the gun at the one who opened it. It was Luigi and DK.

"WOAH! Kody, put the gun down!" DK quickly yelped.

"What the hell is going on in here!?" Luigi asked, surprised to see the clearly intense setting before him.

"Shit...uhh, we found this koopa here, he was a part of the other koopatrols that came and raided this place! He hid himself down here to bandage up and heal so he could be fully able to leave, but we caught him and now...uhh...now we also just found out that this guy was the one that killed Kody's brother! So, we're having him kill this koopa to prove his innocence!" Morton nervously explained.

"...What? Are you being serious right now? I take it your dad doesn't know about this?" DK asked, looking dumbfounded at this questionable scenario.

"Nope! And we want you two to keep it a secret! We've got this handled!" Ludwig demanded.

"Wow. Damn, you guys…" Luigi sighed, being in slight horror from what they were doing.

"HEY! Uhh, Donkey Kong and Luigi, right!? I know you two are more level-headed, you gotta talk them out of this! Please, just let me go and I'll NEVER come back, I promise! I'm done doing this shit! I swear!" the koopa continued pleading. Luigi leered at him.

"How do you know we're more level-headed? You don't even know us. Why do you even say that? Is it because...we're more soft-hearted than some of the others in our group? We're not street smart? Come on, tell me," Luigi crossed his arms, looking peeved.

"You know...I don't even know about just letting him go, either...if he's willing to kill Kody's brother and who knows how many others he killed when he was raiding the hospital with his group...he'd be just as dangerous out in the world because he could inflict onto some other poor souls…" DK said.

"No no no no! I won't do anything like that ever again, I SWEAR! You have to believe me!" the koopa still pleaded and still cried for his life.

"Luigi and DK...he called my brother awful things like 'weak' and tortured him before he was killed. He stabbed him in the arms and the back, a-and he enjoyed it the whole time! He was laughing and talking about how ugly he looked while crying. These guys are right, he doesn't deserve to live!" Kody exclaimed.

That description of Kody's brother immediately brought flashbacks to Luigi, when he almost got killed by the koopatrol in the reception area. The situation of his brother dying was nearly identical to how he almost died. This made Luigi clench his fists and feel a burst of anger within his body.

"Luigi, are you okay? You look like you're gonna kill him yourself!" Lemmy asked, noticing how his expression became very intense.

"Kody...are you gonna be the one to shoot him?" Luigi asked, keeping the intense look.

Kody nodded a little but also seemed a little freaked out by Luigi's change of demeanor. "Yeah. He killed my brother and parents, so...I should be the one to do it."

Luigi then looked to all the koopalings, then to DK. "Alright then. We're not gonna say a word about this to anyone."

"I...I agree. Do whatever you need to do," DK hesitantly responded. The two then began to walk away from the room.

"N-NO! NOOOOOOOOOO! DK! LUIGI! PLEASE DON'T DO THIS! MAKE THEM STOP! PLEEEEAAAAASE! I-I-I CAN CHANGE! I'M SORRY FOR EVERYTHING!" the koopa screamed for his life as Kody aimed the gun at him again. He pulled the trigger and shot him right in the heart. The koopa dropped to the floor and coughed up blood for a few seconds, then stopped moving.

"Congratulations, Kody. You proved not just your innocence, but also your worth. Welcome to our group," Morton said with a big smirk while patting him on the shoulder.


TATANGA'S ISLAND

"Hey Diddy...can I ask you kind of a personal question?" Mimi asked.

"Sure...nothing better to talk about right now, anyways…" Diddy responded depressingly.

"I heard about Dixie cheating on you for that Fire Brother. When this is all over...and, um, assuming you're both alive from all this...w-which I'm sure you will be, are you gonna get back together with her?" Mimi asked a little nervously, since it had to be a touchy subject for him.

Diddy took a long pause. He sighed heavily. "I don't know. I'm still processing the fact that she betrayed me over someone who's clearly mentally unstable, and I'm still trying to understand what I did wrong that made her do that. I still love her so much...but I don't know if this is ever going to be something that we'll be able to work through."

"I see. I really am sorry, Diddy. No one deserves to be betrayed like that," Mimi said with sympathy.

"Thanks. I guess...my main thoughts right now are just getting the hell out of here and making sure Tatanga is destroyed. The Dixie thing I'm just gonna have to deal with afterwards and see where it goes, and see how I feel when I see her again," Diddy responded with some anger. He hated showing it, but he was truly miserable in that cell.

Roy walked to the cell area, making sure he wasn't being followed. He approached Mimi's and Diddy's cells. The two prisoners eagerly went up to the bars, in hopes of some good news from Bleck's infiltration.

"Oh! Hey, ROY! So, what the hell is going on!? Bleck was here...did he get killed!? Does he know that I'm alive!? If so, then he could let everyone else know that I'm not dead!" Diddy frantically spoke as he ran up to the cell bars.

"Yeah, I can't believe he would come here all by himself...it must've been to just save me! And, well, Diddy once he found out he was alive. Because there was no way he could take on Tatanga, Beldam, Dimentio, Doopliss, AND all the koopatrols here by himself if he also wanted to destroy them!" Mimi exclaimed.

"Bleck is okay. He managed to escape before they got to him. I don't know if he knows that you're alive though, Diddy," Roy informed. Diddy sank to his knees in disappointment.

"Oh...great...I at least want my friends to know that I'm still alive and that...fuck!" the chimp got teary-eyed.

"Well, it's good that Bleck made it out alive...any other news?" Mimi asked.

Roy looked even more nervous now. "Yeah...um, it's actually bad news...you know that teleporter machine you used to get here, Mimi? Well...uhh...Tatanga destroyed it...so now there's no way out…"

Diddy and Mimi looked as if they had just been shot when he said that.

"WHAT!? ROY...you can't be serious right now! That was our ONLY shot of getting out of here!" Diddy cried and punched the wall in his cell out of anger, bruising his knuckles.

"NO! There has to be another way out! Roy, you must find another way to get us off this island!" Mimi demanded.

"There is no other way! The only way to get out of here now is by boat, but we'll easily be spotted if we try to do that! And even then...I don't think there ARE any boats here! I'm sorry, guys, I tried...but it looks like we're screwed…" Roy sobbed a little and hung his head.

"No. You're not giving up right now. You're gonna find the keys, get us out of these damn cells, and we'll find another way out ourselves. I refuse to die in here!" Diddy also demanded.

"I don't even know where the damn keys are! Tatanga could've hidden them ANYWHERE!" Roy cried.

"WELL, JUST LOOK!" Mimi screamed, which surprised the other two. "Diddy's right, we are NOT dying in these cells. Find the keys, get us out, and we'll come up with some plan to escape."

"What plan!? Swim across the fucking ocean!? Guys...WE'RE SCREWED! I know you don't wanna accept that, but you're gonna have to! The only thing we can hope for now is for Mario and his friends to come here and save the day!" Roy yelled, getting more irritated with the two by the second.

"Really? THAT'S the plan now!? Roy, give me a fucking break! We might already be killed by the time they get here! And don't you remember me telling you that, when they get here, they won't hesitate in killing YOU? I'm pretty sure you don't want that to happen!" Diddy recalled.

"Roy, like I just said, we're not dying in these cells. Find the keys. Look everywhere you can. Don't you dare give up on us now. I never gave up on you, did I? So, don't do this to us now! Make it happen!" Mimi angrily stated. Roy glared her down and got real pissed off himself.

"Well, maybe you should've given up on me!" he yelled, steering the conversation a hard left. Mimi looked taken back from what he said. "Mimi, no one asked you to come and save me! NO ONE! You did this all to yourself! Saving a messed up guy from a messed up family that you don't even know that well! If you wanna go get mad at someone, then get mad at yourself! If you hadn't bothered to come all the way here to try and be my fucking savior, then you wouldn't be in this predicament, now would you!?"

Diddy was also pretty shocked from Roy turning the tables around on Mimi, which just frustrated the chimp even more. "Roy...don't start this shit. Not now. Find the damn keys, get us out, and we'll take it from there. Simple as that."

"NO! She wants to play that game of putting all this shit on me!? Well, fuck that! Mimi, you were stupid enough to risk your fucking life for someone who's not good for you! Now look where you are! You have no one to blame but yourself for being in that cell!" Roy yelled even louder, then stormed off. Mimi was beyond shocked from all the hurtful things he was saying to her. Her eyes welled up since what he said struck her hard.

"Mimi...hey. Don't listen to what he's saying. He's just lashing out because he's stressed and pissed off. He'll come around," Diddy tried to assure her, but it didn't work because she began to sob and dragged herself to a corner of her cell to let out her tears.


FORT KOOPINGTON

The sun was beginning to set as Rosalina walked across the grassy cliffs that hung just over the beach. The fresh and cool seabreeze felt so nice on her skin, almost rejuvenating in that it soothed her body. It was only hours after she had left the hospital and transported herself to this serene and isolated town.

She stared across the ocean as the sun began to fall into the waters. So beautiful and calming. The only sounds she could hear are the rushing of the wind, the crashing of the waves, and the seagulls. It made her forget all the atrocities she had committed, and how she let herself go down a horribly dark path. The scenery reminded her that there is always going to be beauty and serenity in this world, no matter how scary and catastrophic things get.

She walked for a mile across the cliffs, taking in the serene landscape the entire way. She walked the mile until she reached an abandoned, old, dirty, and somewhat dilapidated condo that was on a neighborhood street with other condos that were cleaner. Rosalina set herself up since no one was living in it, and it was unattractive enough for no one to even bother going in it, but not so dastardly to the point where it was completely unlivable.

She went inside and headed straight for the bedroom. The bed thankfully still had old bedsheets and blankets to sleep under, albeit they were dusty when she first arrived. She did her best to clean the dust off and laid on top of the bed. One of the things she found in the bedroom was a woman's dusty diary and a couple pens that still had ink in them. Rosalina couldn't help but read the woman's entries, whose name was Toadaska. Based on what she read from the entries, she was a troubled woman who was in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend, but had nowhere to go and no clue what to do with her life since she gave up everything to be with him.

The last entry, dated in October 2011, was Toadaska declaring that she was going to run away and live life the way she wanted to. She knew of a woman's shelter in the next town over and she was determined to get there any way she could. The entry ends there, and with everything that was going on so wrong with Rosalina...the princess truly hoped that this Toadaska actually found her way to be free and safe.

Rosalina began a new entry for herself.

Hello...I doubt anyone will ever find this and read this, but I'm doing this more for myself because I want to channel my thoughts instead of having them linger in my mind constantly.

It's been hours since I was rightfully kicked out of St. Toadofsky's hospital by my friends. They had every right to be furious with me for what I've done. I still can't believe I killed Diddy Kong...that look of pure anger on DK's and Dixie's faces are forever burned into my memory. Along with Koops for that matter...but they had every right to feel that way. I'm...a murderer. Yes, I was possessed by the dark magics...but I also let myself become possessed by them. It was my choice to delve deeper into that darkness.

My body is still tense and aching from coming down from that overload of dark magic. I've never done drugs before, but I imagine that this is what it feels like to go through withdrawals from a drug. It's miserable and torturous...but so is the price I shall have to pay for the chaos I've caused.

I have no idea how long I'll be here for. Not even the beauty and calmness of this town could keep my mind completely at ease for a long period. I'm afraid to meditate because the images of me hurting my friends and Waluigi dying keep haunting me and continually tear up my heart. It's so painful to bear...it feels like my body will implode at any second. There's no way I can focus on meditation to calm my body and soul down. Writing this is the only thing that's helping me so far.

It's getting dark now...I'm afraid to go to sleep, because I know if I do, I'm just gonna see Waluigi once again and...my heart can't bear to see him right now...because it'll make me miss him even more...and I'll feel even worse for how I reacted after his death…

I can't live like this. I don't want to. I'm truly ashamed for everything that I've done. I can't bear to live knowing what I could be capable of. I don't wanna hurt anyone else. I don't wanna see anyone else die.

I never knew that just living and making it through to the next moment could be so damn hard and taxing.

Rosalina threw her journal and pen to the ground in frustration, and rubbed her forehead while exhaling loudly. She was so tired of everything and was hurting physically, emotionally, mentally, and even psychologically. She couldn't stand this. She wanted to end herself...but was afraid of going into that dark place.

She laid down fully on the bed and attempted to fall asleep, hoping that perhaps, sleep could calm her woes even just a little, but she was also afraid of potentially getting nightmares of the atrocities she committed along with Waluigi...but she had to try.

The sun was now fully set.

"Rosalina?"

The space princess gasped at that all too familiar voice. It woke her up and she slowly opened her eyes to find her suspicions confirmed. She almost screamed at who she saw.

"Hey you. How are ya hanging in there?" Waluigi softly asked while stroking her cheek, who was lying next to her on the bed.

"W-Waluigi!? What are you doing here? W-Why are you here!? You're not supposed to be alive! But...you are...you're...real…" Rosalina quivered at her lover being right there and indeed real since she touched him and was warm.

"Of course I am. I never left you, silly," Waluigi chuckled and then gave her a passionate kiss on the lips. Rosalina's heart fluttered just like it had before when she was with him.

"Oh, Waluigi...I-I missed you so much! You have no idea how hard it's been without you!" Rosalina started to cry.

"I can't imagine how much pain you're going through, Rosalina. Does it feel like your body's being stabbed or shot into repeatedly?" Waluigi oddly questioned.

"Yeah...that's exactly what it feels like. That's why I want to end myself...I don't think I can handle this much pain! I feel so horrible and guilty for losing you and for losing control of myself...I just don't know what to do!" Rosalina cried even further, tugging at her dress.

"You have to forgive yourself, sweetheart. It's a long process...but that's what you have to do to overcome this. You have such a soft heart but your heart is also full of love and light...so much light that it burns brighter than any fire. That's what drew me to you. That's what makes people so comfortable in believing you and wanting to be your friend," Waluigi said in praise as he held her away, so that she was tugging his hands instead of her dress. She still cried but managed to crack a smile at his thoughtful words.

"Oh, Waluigi...I want to believe that's true, but...look at what I did. I hurt people...I even killed two people...one of them being my friend! That's the opposite of what love and light is!" she exclaimed.

"You killed two people...you sure about that?" Waluigi asked with a confused expression.

"What? What do you mean by that!?" Rosalina retorted also confusedly.

Waluigi shrieked and quickly sat up to look out the window. "No...your friends! They're all in danger again! LOOK!"

"What!?" Rosalina yelped and also got up to see what he was looking at. The view from the window showed the front of St. Toadofsky's hospital. She saw numerous koopatrols running into the place and saw multiple small explosions throughout the whole building, along with hearing the screams of everyone inside and guns being shot.

"NOOOOOOOOOO! I HAVE TO SAVE THEM!" Rosalina screamed and immediately tried to jump out the window...only for her to fall onto some grass that she was sure wasn't there a second ago.

"Oooh…" Rosalina groaned in pain and turned over on her back to see that she was now facing the backside of the hospital in the courtyard. More screams, explosions, and bullets were heard.

"NO! I-I'LL SAVE YOU GUYS! I...oh god! Why can't I remember any spell!? What the hell is going on here!?" Rosalina started to panic and, for some reason, couldn't even stand herself up.

Fire Bro jumped from the side into her view. "Hey hey! You're too late to the game, blondie! Your friends are dead and you, the sick and twisted murderous witch, get to live!"

"WHAT!? NO! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, ISN'T IT!?" Rosalina roared and her eyes began to turn black as she began to feel the rage flow within her body like before.

"Partly so! But, the blame is on you, sunshine...because if you hadn't gone all batshit insane with the dark magics, you wouldn't have been exiled, which means you could've saved them all! THEIR BLOOD IS ON YOUR HANDS!" Fire Bro yelled in her face and laughed maniacally. Rosalina got angrier and she stood herself up.

"No...THIS ISN'T MY FAULT! I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THAT! AAAAGGGGHHHHH!" she screeched and let out a vaporizing wave of black energy from her hands, disintegrating Fire Bro. The wave of black energy continued on and struck the hospital, disintegrating the entire building.

"WHAT DID YOU DO!? THEY COULD'VE ESCAPED!" Wario screamed from behind her. Rosalina whipped her head around in shock to see him looking devastated. Rosalina then looked back and saw St. Toadofsky's hospital crumbled into ashes.

"O-Oh no! NO NO NO! I-I DIDN'T MEAN TO! WARIO, PLEASE LISTEN TO ME! THIS WAS AN ACCIDENT!" the space princess broke down crying and fell to the grass again, crawling over to Wario.

Wario gave her the look of death, not accepting her woes. He got out a handgun and aimed it right at her. "Waluigi died because of you...now the rest of my friends are dead also because of you...you're the problem here. Not Tatanga. It's always been you."

"NOOOOOO! WARIOOOOOOOO!" Rosalina screamed for mercy and closed her eyes.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Total silence for a whole minute.

Total blackness as well.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Rosalina heard herself exhale greatly.

She opened her eyes to find herself back in her bed. She looked all around her and everything was how it was before she went to sleep. The only difference was that it was morning due to how the sky and sunlight looked outside her window.

"Oh...my god...it was all just a dream...just...a nightmare…" Rosalina said in relief and let out another great exhale.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Hello!? Is everything alright!? Do I need to call the police or something!? Please answer me because I'm getting incredibly worried right now!" yelled a panicky male's voice from the front of the house. Rosalina rushed out of her bedroom and towards the front door, then quickly opened it to find a Monty Mole standing there carrying a plastic bag.

"WOAH! Uhh...hi there! I heard screaming coming from here, you alright? I had no idea that someone even moved into this house! It has so much awful history to it!" he quickly spoke.

"You heard screaming!?" Rosalina repeated in shock, realizing that it was her he was hearing. "Oh my...I'm so sorry...I had a horrible nightmare and...I guess that was me reacting to it in this world…"

"Oh wow! That must've been one scary nightmare because it sounded like you were being attacked! So weird...your screams actually remind me of the time when this girl named Toadaska lived here with her boyfriend. She was abused by him constantly and I sometimes heard her screams of pain in the night. I offered my hand to help her, but she constantly rejected it because she wanted to deal with it on her own. So sad...but I'm pretty sure she managed to get away because one day she just up and left! Heh, her boyfriend was so confused and angry about it and went around asking the whooooole neighborhood if they'd seen her. About two weeks later, he just gave up and left the town as well, never came back. House kinda fell apart as time went by...tell me, how much did you pay to move in here? And why here specifically, if you don't mind me asking?" Monty Mole spoke quickly again and was kind of all over the place with his words.

"Umm...right...I, uhh...actually needed a place to stay for a bit. I'm not gonna be here permanently. It's a very long story," Rosalina was not sure of the mole's intentions, so she tried to be as vague as possible.

"Oh, I see! Hmm. Yeah...I suppose being in this rundown house is better than being on the streets! Kinda surprised no other homeless person has taken advantage of this house! Hmm. Oh well! Welcome anyways!" Monty Mole said with a bright smile, but she was a little turned off by him.

"I'm not homeless. I just needed to be away for a bit. Like I said...long story. VERY long story," she bluntly replied, now secretly hoping he'd leave her alone.

"I understand! It always is a long story, isn't it? And you don't have to worry, I won't tell anyone you're here! It'll be a secret. Sometimes ya gotta go make an escape somewhere to clear your mind, even if it takes a long time! I can completely relate, so you've got someone you can talk to if ya ever want to!" Monty Mole cheerily spoke. Rosalina crossed her arms, looking a little offended.

"You relate to me? How exactly?" she asked in a serious manner. Rosalina wanted to say that there's no way he could relate since she was fueled up by rage and killed two people and then exiled from her friends.

Monty's bright demeanor noticeably went away as he made a slight frown and looked down. "Um...well...I sincerely apologize if this is too much detail too soon, but...I had a fiancee who ended up committing suicide three years ago. She just waltzed right into the ocean and, umm, let the waves take her away…"

Rosalina fell silent, now feeling like a monster for making him reveal that story. She realized she was being a little too aggressive towards him.

"Oh...god, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have made you tell me that. I'm...not as nice of a person as I like to think I am…" she sighed and teared up a little at her mistake.

"I-It's okay. Really! Don't get down on yourself. We all have our mean moments, right? Especially since it seems we both went through something pretty traumatic...I mean, I know that doesn't excuse it, but it's at least a good explanation for why we behave the way we behave and whatnot!" Monty forced a chuckle, but Rosalina could tell he was holding in his tears.

"Yeah...so...what's in the bag?" Rosalina changed the subject to avoid any further heavy emotions.

"Oh! Yeah, the bag! The reason why I came here in the first place! Hehe. In here is bread! Mushroom-flavored sourdough bread to be exact. Take it as a, uhh, welcoming gift! I know you're not staying here permanently, but you need food in your system to keep your energy going!" Monty vibrantly spoke while handing her the bag which had two loaves of bread in it.

"Bread...thank you. That's very, umm, kind of you," Rosalina said while looking at the bread. Looked like it was just freshly made.

"You're welcome! And thanks! I'm just two houses down if you need anything else! And I'm being serious...umm...oh! Wowsers! I just realized that we didn't properly introduce ourselves! Haha, I can't believe we talked for so long without giving each other's names! Anyways, the name is Monty. I know, so unoriginal for a Monty Mole, but I quite genuinely like the name," Monty heartily chuckled at that observation.

"Nice to meet you, Monty. I'm R...Vivian. My name is Vivian," Rosalina lied. She didn't know why exactly she lied about her identity. Perhaps because she just didn't want to be her true self in this new setting just yet.

Monty tilted his head a little and narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. Rosalina got nervous inside. Did he not believe her? How could even he know that she was lying?

"Vivian...hmm. Beautiful name! That's a name you don't hear very often. Well then, Vivian...I'll leave you to it now. Enjoy the bread! I know it's not the most exciting food to give, but I unfortunately don't have much else at the moment. Kinda running low on money till my next payday. By the way! You hear about what's going on in Mushroom City!? Isn't that completely insane!?" Monty steered the subject, cuing Rosalina that it was time to end this conversation since that was the one thing she didn't wanna talk about.

"Y-Yeah, insane. I gotta get inside and...um...eat. I'm starving. Thanks again for the bread!" Rosalina quickly said then jumped back in the house and shut the door.

She threw the bag of bread onto the dirty and dusty kitchen table and plopped down in a chair. She rubbed her forehead, glad to be away from the mole but also still mad at herself for lying and being cold to him. She sincerely didn't want to go even further down the road of being a recluse, but she also just wanted to be alone.

She grabbed a loaf and tore a small chunk off then ate it. This bread just by itself tasted wondrous. She grabbed another piece and ate it, then began to cry. She hated feeling so isolated, hurt, and detested. It literally hurt her in her chest, to where she thought her heart would actually break apart. She couldn't stand it any longer. She wanted to fix this, but had no clue how to. It all felt hopeless. She felt useless.

That was when she decided to kill herself.

Rosalina sped out the door, onto the street, then onto the grasslands that led to the beach and the cliffs. She ran and ran, now going uphill a little, till she saw a cliff that was of relatively good height above the ocean. She approached the cliff and looked over the edge. Rocks immediately below the cliff, then the water after that. This was the fastest way she could think of that would end everything. She was never a good swimmer, so the water could easily suck her in. Or, should she land on the rocks, that would be an instant and sharp death as well.

She stood there for a whole minute, staring down. A million thoughts were running through her at the speed of light. The second she steps off that cliff...there is no going back.

So, she did. She stepped off and fell face forward. She braced for impact but didn't close her eyes just yet as the ocean got closer and closer to her falling body. Nerves were high. Wind was gusting. This was the end.

When she was inches away from the water, she closed her eyes.

Silence...apart from the wind gusting.

She opened her eyes.

She was still standing on the cliff. She had simply envisioned her death and all the feelings it would bring in those seconds before her passing.

Rosalina stepped back, fell backwards onto the grass, and started crying again.

"Damnit...I-I can't do it...I just can't! I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL I'M SUPPOSED TO DO!" she roared and cried even more, letting the rest of her body fall into the grass. Even the pain inside was hurting so bad, she could only imagine how worse the pain would be if she let herself fall off the cliff.

After a few more minutes of crying, Rosalina gathered herself and slowly walked her way back to the condo. She got inside, dragged herself to the bedroom and let her body fall onto the bed. She laid there for the rest of the day and into the night. She tossed and turned for hours upon hours, never falling asleep. She cried some more, off and on. This was the epitome of misery.

Before she knew it, morning arose. She grunted constantly in her depression and couldn't believe how quickly time flew by. She sat up slowly, gathered her energy to get the journal and started writing.

I stayed in bed for however long, but I couldn't fall asleep...my entire body is so tired from being awake for so many hours and from suffering from so much emotional pain...yet I still can't fall asleep.

I wanted to end myself yesterday. I almost did. I'm so exhausted from feeling like this. No spell can erase this kind of pain. What is the answer then to fix this? What is the goddamn answer!?

My spiritual energy is non-existent now too...I can't feel any type of auras anymore. So, I'm also weak now. Great. As if this couldn't possibly be any worse than it already is.

The only positive there is to my situation is a Monty Mole named, well, Monty. He likes to talk a lot and is a little strange, but I can tell he's a kind person. I lied about my identity to him, though. I just don't wanna be me right now. I'm still disgusted with what I've done. Nothing could change the horrible effects I've caused to my friends. So, that's why I told him my name was Vivian, and not Rosalina. I can't tell him who I really am and the reason why I came here, because I know if I do, he'd be afraid of me, run off and probably tell his neighbors and friends, which means that this place wouldn't be safe for me anymore.

I feel so damn lost. I'm afraid to go to sleep because I don't want to deal with any nightmares...but I also just want to sleep so I could at least 'escape' this hellish world and be away from my issues for just a little while.

I'm afraid to even use magic again, because it's a slippery slope back to the darkness I consumed myself into. I know I'll eventually have to use it again, but…

I'm not ready.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

"Oh god...that's him again," Rosalina sighed, not in the mood to talk to him.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Rosalina didn't leave her room. She hoped he would go away if she didn't respond at all.

"HEY! Vivian!? Hey...uhh...I left you some more bread on the porch here, if you want more! It's the last of mine, but that's okay because I got other food to munch on and stuff. Uhh...you know, if you ever wanna talk more in depth about your problems, then I'd be more than happy to be someone you can vent to or ask advice from! I used to be a counselor right after I graduated college, so I know a thing or two about that kind of stuff! Heh...I'm probably just talking to the air right now...I don't know if you ARE actually home and you just don't wanna talk to me, or...you know, you're really not home...but if you are home, then it's okay. You're not hurting my feelings. Talk to me whenever you're ready! Remember, I'm just two houses down!" Monty spoke with clear sincerity. Rosalina now felt bad for ignoring him because he was still being kind to her.

She got up from her bed and walked to the front door. She opened it, seeing the bag with bread inside but no Monty in sight. She took the bag and went back in. She threw the bag on the table, went back in the bedroom, and fell back onto the bed.

She wasn't ready to talk. She was so scared about potentially scaring Monty off, someone who could easily be a trustworthy friend. She didn't want to push him away, but she also still wanted to be alone.

She tossed and turned on her bed again all throughout the day, then into the night, thinking about a million things. The exhaustion finally became enough to where she naturally closed her eyes and fell asleep quickly. It was a deep and, this time, a peaceful sleep that she very much needed.


9 AM.

Everyone was getting ready to head on out to the next mission. They all gathered out in the parking lot to be taken to Mushroom Corporations.

"Hey Toadette, are you gonna come with us? Some of us have been hearing that you may not wanna go this time," DK asked.

"Yeah...I think...um...I think I'm gonna sit this one out this time. I'm sorry, I just don't think I'm ready to do this so soon after Toad and overdosing myself," Toadette said sadly. Peach walked up to her and gave her a hug.

"Hey! It's okay, don't be sorry! We support your decision. I know it isn't easy getting back to things with what's been going on. Don't feel bad about it," the princess assured.

"Yeah, it's all okay, Toadette. I am gonna miss you badly, but I completely understand!" Dixie added with a smile and also hugged her.

"Aww, thanks you guys. I promise I'll be fine while you're all gone," Toadette said while getting teary-eyed.

Bowser noticed Junior sticking close to her. "Hey, son, are you gonna stay behind too?"

"Umm…" Junior nervously muttered and looked to his brothers then at Toadette, then back at his dad. "I kind of want to. Would that be okay?"

"Junior, you're not doing this just because of me, are you?" Toadette asked.

"No, I mean, you're a part of it, but...just like you, I'm not ready just yet. Iggy and Wendy being gone kinda did that to me...it's too soon for me," Junior admitted.

"That's okay, son. That's your choice. I don't want you to feel weak or bad for choosing that. You've gotten so much stronger, Junior...I'm proud of you," Bowser sniffled and gave Junior a hug. Junior sobbed a little too at his father's love. Bowser then hugged the other three, and Larry followed suit.

"Just stick with our brothers the whole time we're gone, okay? After what happened with the koopatrols, we can't risk anyone being split up and defenseless. Right guys!?" Larry called out over to Lemmy, Morton, and Ludwig, who had begun already walking away and talking amongst themselves.

"Wha!? Oh! Yeah, sure! Uh huh!" Ludwig yelled back with a nod and thumbs up. Larry didn't look convinced and walked over to the three.

"Soooo...you mind telling me where you guys were last night?" Larry asked. The three looked caught off guard.

"Wh-what do you mean!? We were asleep in the same room as you!" Lemmy yelped.

"Not all night. I woke up around 11 to go use the bathroom and get some water, and you guys weren't there still. I figured you guys just weren't tired, but then I saw that dad's gun was missing. So, I spent a half-hour searching for you all, only to come back to the room to find you guys there, asleep and with dad's gun back where it was at," Larry revealed.

"Okay? Like you said, we just weren't tired by that time. And you probably just looked at the wrong spot for the gun, you were probably half-asleep still when you looked!" Morton arrogantly replied.

"Morton...I know when you're lying to me. Don't do this right now. Tell me where you guys were last night and why you had dad's gun last night," Larry demanded.

"We were in the cafeteria munching on sweets with Kody! Ask him and he'll tell you! Now, lay off of us, and good freakin' luck getting the next gem! We'll be rooting for you all!" Morton obnoxiously exclaimed. Larry huffed, rolled his eyes, and walked back over to his dad.

"You're coming with us, Lakilester?" Bombette asked.

"Yeah! I can't miss out on any more adventures. I wanna help for sure this time around. Plus...it gets me out of being all mopey over Lakilulu. I mean, I still miss her and love her of course, but I can't let it get me down completely! I'm making a comeback to the old me!" Lakilester proudly declared.

"Sweet! Good to have all of us back in adventure mode. Well...I mean...the ones that are alive, of course," Kooper said awkwardly.

"Yeah, but it's not gonna be totally the same without Goombario and Bow…" Parakarry sighed sadly. Jojora held his hand.

"They're here with us in spirit, sweetie. I'm still not sure about there being an afterlife, but if there is...they're definitely with us in spirit," Jojora assured and laid her head on his shoulder. He smiled at her and kissed her forehead.

"Ugh! I just can't get over how cute you two are together!" Goombella gushed.

"Spike, dearie, does this mean you're coming with us too?" Flurrie asked.

"Hell yes! I was an idiot for not even joining in the first place, but I suppose better late than never!" the paper dino cheered, holding tight to his purple gun.

"Wait a second...YOUR NAME IS SPIKE!? But that's MY nickname!" Lakilester gasped.

"Uhh, how are you just now realizing that?" Koops asked.

"Ooh...that's right, that IS your nickname...that's probably why it came to my head when I wanted to be called something other than the bland 'Paper Yoshi' name," Spike snickered.

"Well, I mean, it's fine, it's not like I own the name 'Spike'...but still, it's weird!" Lakilester exclaimed. The others laughed a little as well.

"Professor Elvin Gadd! Are you joining the crew to get the next gem?" Toadsworth asked.

"No, not me, I should stay here and help guard this place, lest anything disastrous happens again! But, Starlow and Luvbi will go. Unless you changed your minds?" E. Gadd asked the pair.

"Not at all! We want to help. It's gonna be scary, but if it's worth saving the world, then we can deal with it!" Starlow cheered.

"Yeah. Mario and his friends have shown me previously that they can handle anything that comes at them, so this time, we'd like to be a part of it. These people are very encouraging and inspiring," Luvbi complimented.

"Well then! They are very lucky to have you two. Now, if you'll excuse me, I shall go and say my farewells to the princess," Toadsworth said then walked to the main group.

"WOO! I am ready to kick some motherfuckers' asses and put some holes into some bitches!" Boshi obnoxiously cheered, twirling his handgun a little then shoving it in his pocket.

"CAREFUL! You can't just play with it like it's a damn toy! Where did you even find that? And...are you seriously coming with us!?" Mona asked in disbelief.

"You betcha! Don't worry girlie, I got permission to join, so take it up with the leaders if you wanna complain!" Boshi laughed. "And I found this gun in a pile of rubble from when those koopas were here. Only has like 6 bullets in it, but hey, I'll take what I can get."

"Eh...not a fan of this either, but Boshi's pretty strong, so he'll be useful when we have to fight any enemies," Wario commented, seeing the other side to this situation.

"True. And hey...please don't get mad at me. I'm only looking out for you, you know. I don't want you to become an alcoholic over this," Mona responded, putting her hand on his shoulder. Wario made no response, all he did was just sigh and adjusted the yellow gun in his pocket.

Count Bleck and Tippi approached Mario and Peach and urged them to split off from the group real quick to talk privately.

"Oh! Bleck and Tippi! So...I take it you weren't able to get Mimi?" Peach asked.

"No, unfortunately. I went there and found Mimi. She's still alive but she's in a cell. I was then taken down by Tatanga, Dimentio, and Doopliss, but I managed to just barely escape," Bleck informed.

"Well, I'm glad you made it out of there alive. Any new info you found out while you were there?" Mario asked.

"Well...kind of. First, there is bad news. Tatanga destroyed the teleporter so now, the only way to get there is by flying the arwings there or taking a boat and then destroying the force shield with the Crystal Star Rod," Bleck said. Mario and Peach grunted and looked down in disappointment.

"Damnit. Well...there goes that shot of getting Mimi out. Now we just have to hope she's still alive when we get there. What else?" Mario said.

"Secondly...I saw that Fire Bro was there, right before I teleported back here. He was hiding in the storage room," Bleck revealed. The pair gasped at this.

"Fire Bro's at the island!? What could he possibly be doing there!?" Peach shrieked.

"He probably is planning to team up with Tatanga! That bastard…" Tippi said coldly.

"Great. Now he's got another person on his team...and who knows what he'll tell Tatanga about us. Lovely. Anything else?" Mario huffed.

"Thirdly...um...this one is a bit weird. When I was in the room where Mimi was in, there were a few cells. One had Mimi in it, and the other one had another person in it. The person was laying on their side with their back facing me, so I didn't get a look at their face...but...I'm pretty sure the person was Diddy Kong!" Bleck revealed further. The plumber and princess gasped again, but looked confused this time.

"WHAT!? How could that have been Diddy!? Mario, didn't you say that he died from Rosalina crashing his arwing into the ocean?" Peach asked.

"I did! But...I mean...his arwing didn't explode or anything...it just fell into the ocean...I suppose there was always a possibility that Diddy could've survived that, got out of his arwing and swam to the island...but I just didn't think about that…" Mario said, processing and replaying the scene of Diddy crashing into the ocean in his mind.

"Well then, he has to be alive! It makes no sense for Diddy's dead body to be in that cell, if he actually did die and his body washed up on the shore!" Peach concluded.

"I think so too. Should we tell Dixie and DK about this?" Tippi asked.

"Not right now...but when the time is right during this next mission, we will. Anything more? Did you see Roy there?" Mario asked further.

"No, didn't get a chance to. However, there's a bit of a plus to this, I told Tatanga about Dimentio stealing the Star Rod and how he plans to betray him. It completely threw Tatanga AND Dimentio off, which is how I was able to escape. They managed to perform a spell that weakens anyone who has magic abilities that comes in there from the outside. So, I wasn't able to use my full magic to blow them apart, but I still managed to save myself and escape, so that's all that matters," Bleck explained.

"Good! Hopefully that'll cause a rift on their team! Dimentio needs to be exposed to the scum that he is," Mario proclaimed.

"Mmhmm. So, are you guys gonna come with us this time or no?" Peach asked.

"As much as we'd like to...we should stay here in case anything like what happened two days ago happens again. For now, this is a shelter for so many people with so many resources that we can't risk it being blown apart again," Bleck stated.

"Gotcha. Yeah, it's best to have you with your magic stay here and hold down the fort," Mario said with a nod.

"Yeah. Well, good luck to you all! I know you'll get that next gem!" Tippi cheered.

Clawdia walked on over to Bowser and Larry. Bowser saw her from the corner of his eye and almost jumped when he saw her. She was limping pretty bad, but looked like she was recovering decently.

"Hey, Bowser...I just wanted to wish you good luck with what you're doing. Which of the kids are going with you?" she kindly asked.

"Oh, uhh, just Larry," Bowser responded, not in the mood to speak with her.

"Oh! Amazing. Very brave of you, Larry. You've grown to be such a brave man," Clawdia said.

"Um, thanks. I try my best to be brave," Larry replied awkwardly, also not really wanting to talk with her.

"Well, you're doing a good job. But, Bowser...are you sure you should be doing this? I mean, so soon after losing Iggy and Wendy…" Clawdia said with worry.

"I have to do this. This group needs me because I'm one of the strongest people here. Also, Junior's pretty brave too. He came a couple times before with us, but he's staying back this time, which I understand. He's falling for Toadette...I can see it in his eyes," Bowser insisted with a slowly growing smile, looking at the two who were talking closely and clearly enjoying each other's company.

Clawdia looked back to see the two whom he was staring at, but also managed to catch Peach and Mario.

"OH! Hi there! You're Princess Peach and Mario...it's an honor to be in both of your presences," Clawdia spoke adoringly.

"Uhh, thank you! What's your name, ma'am?" Mario asked.

"My name is Clawdia. You've probably heard about me...I'm Bowser's ex-wife," she admitted. Mario and Peach widened their eyes, with Mario looking slyly at Bowser who was behind her. Bowser rolled his eyes a little, clearly having a 'I don't wanna talk about it' type of look. However, Peach was the one who looked more shocked out of the two.

"Oh...r...right...you're Clawdia...umm, well, we hear stuff, but, um, we don't pay much attention to gossip because a lot of it can be fabricated and...yeah," Peach awkwardly spoke, scanning her from top to bottom.

"That's smart! Wish everyone here could do that. Anyways...good luck! I know you guys will be just fine!" Clawdia kindly regarded and limped back towards the entrance of the hospital.

"That was...VERY awkward. I still can't believe his ex-wife along with her new husband and daughter ended up HERE of all places and of all times!" Mario whispered to Peach.

"Well, yeah, but not only that, did you SEE Clawdia!? Like, REALLY see her!?" Peach yelped.

"What do you mean?" Mario asked confusedly.

"Mario...Clawdia looks EXACTLY like me! Well, I mean, if I were a koopa and a foot taller of course, but still! She's got the blonde hair, bright blue eyes, soft voice, and slim figure going on! That totally explains even more why Bowser was so obsessed with me before!" Peach pointed out. Mario was struck by this eye-opening observation.

"Oh! Damn, you're right. That's...actually so weird now that I think about it. I mean, not just because he was obsessed with you since you look like her, but...now I can't unsee it. She looks so humanoid since she resembles you so much. It's kind of creepy," Mario shivered as the two walked over to the rest of their friends.

"So, are you two alright now? Everything is A-OK?" Yoshi asked to Luigi and Daisy.

"Yep. Nothing to worry about here," Luigi quickly replied while crossing his arms and looking at everywhere else but Daisy.

"Really!? Quit bullshitting me, Luigi! I've had enough of you acting so cold and distant towards me! Just talk to me already!" Daisy pleaded.

"There's nothing to talk about! Look, the cars are coming to pick us up!" Luigi yelled back and immediately changed the subject.

"Good god...I hope we won't be dealing with this the whole mission," Pauline commented.

"Yeah. I'm over the relationship drama in this group. It's gotten old fast!" Koopie added.

"Princess Peach and Master Mario! I, once again, bid you farewell and good luck on your endeavors! Just gotta keep moving forward no matter how hard it gets!" Toadsworth praised.

"Thank you, Toadsworth! We will be back before you know it!" Peach said and gave him a hug. Mario nodded understandingly.

"HEY! Send me back a souvenir, preferably a hot male penguin who knows how to french kiss like a pro!" Fly Guy shouted.

"Um, WHAT!? Why would we...nevermind, I shouldn't even ask," Vivian grunted.

"Excellent. They're out saving the world and doing all the hard work, so we get to sit back and just wait for this mess to be overwith. We've got it made," Toodles boasted.

"My goodness, woman! Did you not SEE the shit that went down here two days ago!? We're just as much in danger as they are if you think about it!" Dr. Nokano yelled in disbelief at her arrogance.

"I like to think of that as a one time event. Just let me be in my ignorance, okay!?" Toodles obnoxiously stated.

"HEY HEY! Wait for me, guys! Sorry I'm late, was chowing down on some mushroom toast in case we weren't gonna eat anything for a while!" Kody shouted as he ran from the entrance of the hospital to the cars.

"So, Kody is for sure coming with us? Seriously!? I honestly am still not sure about him…" Dixie said in suspicion.

"I'm pretty sure he's on our side. Trust me on this...I'm pretty damn confident he's innocent," DK affirmed, thinking about last night's event in the basement.

"Good luck, Kody!" Lemmy shouted and waved to him.

"Guys...I still think there's something up with Kody…" Morton said. Lemmy and Ludwig looked to him in surprise.

"What do you mean!? He proved to us his innocence last night!" Ludwig exclaimed.

"I know that...and I'm not at all saying that he's secretly working for Tatanga or that he's even a bad guy. Far from it, actually. I just have this feeling in my gut that there's something about his story that he isn't telling us," Morton explained.

"Okay...why do you think that then?" Lemmy asked.

"Last night...do you remember the koopatrol saying that he DIDN'T kill Kody's parents? That his parents weren't around when he killed his brother...even though Kody was swearing up and down that that guy DID kill his parents?" Morton recalled.

"Yes...and? Kody probably doesn't remember the event all too well, ya know, considering it was a very traumatic event!" Ludwig put that into perspective.

"Yeah, I think you're reading too much into that, Morton!" Lemmy added.

"Maybe I am...but I dunno. I still think that Kody hasn't told us everything about what happened to him," Morton continued his suspicions.

Arfur came out from one of the cars and approached Mario. "Hey, Mario! My boss said that he's willing to meet with you as soon as you're finished with the mission."

"Excellent. Thanks for doing that. I do hope this will go smoothly, between him and I," Mario replied with a smile.

"Oh, uhh, what do you mean by that?" Arfur asked.

"I mean that, I hope he won't pull any tricks on me or lie to me about anything...that would be REALLY bad if he did!" Mario laughed. Arfur couldn't tell if he was being serious, joking, or just being conniving.

"R-Right...but, um, no worries...he won't do that…" Arfur responded in the most unsure voice.

As the large group went off in the cars and everyone waved goodbye to them, Bleck and Tippi went off to the basement to talk to Tadano. They reached the cell area.

"Alright, Tadano, here we are again. You're gonna tell us EVERYTHING. No meltdowns. No yelling. No dancing around the subject," Bleck stated.

"BLECK!" Tippi screamed suddenly, startling Bleck. "The door's open!"

Bleck looked at his cell door and it was indeed open by a few inches. Bleck barged in...but no sign of Tadano.

"WHAT THE HELL!? WHO COULD'VE LET HIM OUT!?" he yelled in terror.


Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, DK, Dixie, Goombella, Kooper, Bombette, Parakarry, Lakilester, Koops, Koopie, Flurrie, Spike/Paper-Yoshi, Vivian, Boshi, Bowser, Larry, Wario, Pauline, Mona, Jojora, Starlow, Luvbi, and Kody went to Mushroom Corporations and quickly got into their arwings to fly off to the new area where the next gem lies; the Shiver Region. It was awkwardly quiet the entire way to the building and from the beginning of the setting off of the arwings, apart from Kody geeking out over the arwings, which kept Arfur on edge the entire time, because he had a feeling that everyone in that group was greatly suspicious of him now. He pretty much had a target on his back due to the threat that Mario made yesterday.

"Alright guys...this trip will be short and easy. Just fly directly northeast and you'll reach Shiver City in approximately 10 minutes," Arfur said through the radio.

"Wait...Shiver City? Isn't the gem located in the Crystal Palace? Wouldn't it make more sense to fly over there instead?" Goombella questioned.

"Yes, you'd be right...however! I did research on the Crystal Palace, and no records indicate ANYTHING of any type of gem being there whatsoever. This is weird because Merlon said that the gem is located in that palace...but the research says otherwise. So, what I want you guys to do is park your arwings in the field right outside Shiver City and talk to the locals there, see if you're able to find anything. If not, check out Starborn Valley and see if the people there know anything. If still nothing...then just check out every nook and cranny of the Crystal Palace, and see if you can find any clues that'll lead you to the gem.

Also, I know some of you have been to the Crystal Palace previously to save the star spirit, Kalmar, so...this SHOULD be somewhat easy to do, but...well, we said that last time about Freezeflame Galaxy and we all know how that turned out. Plus, the path leading up to Shiver Mountain has little room for everyone to park their arwings there, and we also can't risk an avalanche happening, thus destroying the arwings and thus, having you guys walk MILES to get back here," Arfur explained.

"Right. Sounds good," Mario strictly said.

"The Crystal Palace...god, that was such a stupid place. I can't believe those Duplighosts thought it was smart to try to fool Mario by disguising themselves as OTHER people. Their brain must be the size of a walnut," Kooper criticized.

"Yeah! Couldn't stand that place. Let's hope we don't have to deal with that nonsense again…" Bombette added, cringing at the memory of the Duplighosts impersonating her.

Everyone eventually came to the field outside Shiver City and parked their arwings. The locals of the city gathered 'round the entrance, gazing in awe at the odd machinery flying in their space. When they saw that it was Mario and his group coming out of the arwings, everyone gasped and started to gossip amongst themselves.

"Uhh...is this a welcoming party?" Boshi asked, noting the odd looks they were all receiving from the residents.

"WELL WELL! This is an interesting surprise!" Mayor Penguin shouted in excitement as he pushed to the front of the crowd with his wife. "Mario, good to see you again, old pal! And...WOAH! You have the Princess, your brother, a whole bunch of unfamiliar faces, and...BOWSER!? What the…? Mister Mario, what is going on here exactly!?"

"Hi, Mayor Penguin. Sorry we're coming in like this, but it's pretty urgent. It has to do with the situation in Mushroom City, and Tatanga. Please tell me you know about all that?" Mario asked.

"Yes yes, of course! How can I not? It's horrible what he's doing...I wish we could be of help with that, but for the safety of this town, as of right now, we have to stay isolated," Mayor Penguin affirmed.

"That's understandable, but we need your help on something else. Do you know anything about a gem located in the Crystal Palace?" Luigi asked.

"A gem...in the Crystal Palace...hmmm...yes. But...come along! We'll talk in my house! It's cold out here for you non-Bumpty folks! Plus, you get to see how I've expanded my house! Follow me!" Mayor Penguin insisted, and then the crowd broke apart to let everyone through.

"What on earth is a Bumpty?" Luvbi asked.

"It's an alternative name for 'Penguin.' Don't ask me why they have that kind of name," Mona answered with a shrug.

"It's a pleasure to see you all again! For those that don't know me, I'm Mayor Penguin's wife!" she happily greeted.

"Nice to meet ya, I'm Kody! What's your name?" he greeted back.

"My name is Mayor Penguin's Wife," she responded.

"Uhh, huh? That's, like, a joke, right?" Kody was blindsided by her reply.

"Yeah, what the fuck!? Is this place like a hardcore patriarchal environment or something!?" Boshi annoyingly asked.

"BOSHI! You don't need to swear and act all condescending!" Yoshi yelled.

"Having seconds thought Boshi, yet?" Parakarry whispered to Yoshi.

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry! I'm not the best at jokes, I'm such a try hard when it comes to humor...my name is Penelopuin," she corrected, feeling a little embarrassed.

APPROXIMATELY THREE HOURS LATER…

"AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"

The high-pitched scream of horror in the foyer scared the holy hell out of everyone from the upstairs, where they just finished having a meeting. It sounded like the mayor's wife! Everyone quickly and frantically ran downstairs, with all of them knowing immediately that it can't be good. They ran to the living room and shrieked at what they saw.

It was the dead body of the mayor. He was bleeding from his head and a broken bottle of Vodka was struck into his torso. Bits of glass from the Vodka bottle were all around his body.

"WHO THE HELL DID THIS!? IT MUST'VE BEEN ONE OF YOU!" Penelopuin shrilled in pure rage, pointing at everyone.

"What the hell!? This happened almost exactly like the last time I was here…" Mario whispered to himself.

EOC.

Rosalina's arc in terms of time is now caught up with everyone else. Next chapter is going to fill in the gaps of what happened during the three hour interval, Bleck and Tippi begin the frantic search for Tadano along with who could've let him out, Tatanga confronts Dimentio and demands to know why Bleck said that Dimentio stole the Star Rod and was planning on betraying him, and as always, much more!

I also wanna say a few things: This arc will be SLIGHTLY longer than the Freezeflame arc, but definitely not as long as the Sonic one. Also, this time around, the adventuring group is actually a little smaller compared to the group in the Sonic arc; 27 characters vs. 36 characters...eh, still quite a lot but definitely won't be as overwhelming, LOL. And, lastly, as expected, at least one character from the adventuring group will die during this arc...but this time around, I'm not gonna announce when the character(s) will die, like I've done before. HAHAHA. Yeah, I know, so evil. Bleh. Anyways, thanks for reading, and the next chapter will be uploaded on or before Monday, August 31. (What's this? Two updates within the same month!? Color me shocked! ;P)