Adventuring Group: 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, Kody
Hospital group: Toadette, Bleck/Blumiere, Tippi/Timpani, Toadsworth, Fly Guy, Toadessa, Toado, Dr. Nokano, Morton, Lemmy, Ludwig, Bowser Jr., Tadano, E. Gadd, Clawdia, Katia, Kenneth, Toodles
Mushroom Corps.: Arfur, Arfur's boss
Island group: Tatanga, Beldam, Roy, Doopliss, Dimentio, Mimi, Diddy, Fire Bro/Konnor
Moon: TEC
Blackstone Tower: Grodus
Fort Koopington: Rosalina, Monty Mole
ST. TOADOFSKY'S HOSPITAL
Bleck slowly opened the door to the junk room, hoping that him and Tippi could hear the conversation happening before they could make a move.
"...You see, Toado, that's the secret to making it in this world that we live in now. You have to adapt to the craziness going on all around you...otherwise you'll go under and be too deep within your emotions to handle it all. You'll be beyond stressed...always crying and depressed...angry over shit that you can't control…why go through all those emotions when you can just adapt and give in to how everything works now? You hate being sad, right? You hate always crying and being in fear...right!?" Tadano spoke in a manipulative manner.
"Is that why the bad guys win? Is that why they always kill so many of us? Because they, uhh, what's that word...adapt?" Toado questioned naively.
"Exactly, although it's ONE way of adapting, because you don't have to kill in order to do that, there are certainly a multiple number of other ways to do it," Tadano answered.
"What are the other ways then without killing?" Toado asked.
"One way is to just not care about anything anymore. It's called being apathetic. If you have apathy, you can't let things get to you...you'll never cry, never feel hurt, never feel sad about anything that goes wrong ever again. Doesn't that sound nice? To not care at all when someone close to you dies? To just focus purely on your own needs over everyone else's?" Tadano tried to excite the kid with this ideology, and it looked like it was working.
"Yeah...that does sound so cool...is that why you had me let you out of the cell? To help me become like you? What's that word you said...apathetic?" Toado said.
"Yes. You did me a favor by letting me out, so now I'm doing you a favor before I must go," Tadano answered with a sad sigh.
"You're gonna go!? Go where!?" Toado asked in a panic.
"I don't know. But, I can't be here anymore, my friend. There's no coming back from how my reputation has been permanently stained here. All because I'm the twin of some evil guy who wants to end the world...but, I'd also be lying if I said I didn't have any of his treacherous traits...I'm not the 'good twin' here," Tadano sounded like he was going to sob as he stared into space.
"No, please don't leave! You're fun to talk to. Um, if you're gonna leave, though, then take me with you!" Toado pleaded.
"I can't! It's too dangerous for you out there. You're better off being in here where all the grownups can keep you safe. Toado...you're a child, you're gonna be kept safe no matter what, over everyone. You've got it made here, kid. Plus, the bad guys are less likely to kill a child. You must stay here, Toado," Tadano demanded.
"Aww...but...they're making you go away...does that make them the bad guys too?" the kid asked.
"Not necessarily...but it makes them fools. They think they know everything that's best for them without even getting all the proper information. They wanna be the 'good guys' so badly that they'll throw away everything and anything that doesn't even remotely fit their perfect vision of what a 'good guy' looks like. That's why Mario should've taken that deal of letting those koopatrols take over the hospital. That way, no one would've been killed, and no one would have to deal with any more emotional fallouts," Tadano answered with disgust in his tone.
"Y-Yeah...yeah! You're right, if Mario hadn't chosen that, my parents would be still alive!" Toado gasped with this realization occurring to him.
"Exactly. Do you see what I mean now, Toado? The good guys' big egos are letting the bad guys win still. It's proven to be more detrimental to the people here overtime than they all have realized. It's horrible and sickening that Mario and his gang are making all these decisions for the people. That riot that happened a couple days ago was just the start of the pushback against them, Toado. People are now realizing that maybe Mario's way isn't the only way...nor the right way," Tadano added on.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Bleck screamed, startling the toad boy and the alien. Tadano was pushed back and hit his back against the wall from Bleck's magic.
"HEY! W-What are you doing!?" Toado shrieked.
"Toado, come towards us! That man is dangerous and he's trying to fill your head with all these horrible ideas!" Tippi demanded.
"Aaagh...FUCK! You found us! Let me guess, that little girl told you where we were!?" Tadano growled, still held up against the wall.
"Does it matter!? What the hell is your game here, Tadano!? And...why are there only two of you? Where's this Toadie kid at?" Bleck questioned as he observed the room.
Tadano laughed a little. "Toadie's hiding because your magic scares her. She thinks you're gonna turn into an evil warlock just like Rosalina did. She doesn't trust any of you so-called 'good guys.' I made her think like that...but I didn't do much convincing because you guys did much of the damage yourselves!"
"God, you are sick! How could you even think that we're not trying our best to look out for everyone's safety here!? Do you really think we have bad intentions!?" Tippi angrily questioned.
"You can't blame me for thinking that. You imprisoned me based off of a false assumption...your friend, Mimi, made a foolish decision to save some poor, fucked in the head koopa and you refuse to believe that your little friend was a fool for just a moment, so you take out your emotions on me. Disgusting!" Tadano spat. Bleck and Tippi couldn't make a direct response as they were silent for a minute, but this made the alien laugh again, knowing that he made a valid point they couldn't argue against.
"Just...tell us where this Toadie is! Is she in this room!?" Bleck changed the subject.
"Yessssss...she's hiding under the black table there, on the right side of the room…" Tadano hissed, nodding to the right.
"Tippi, go check. Please!" Bleck said.
"Okay…" Tippi nervously replied and hovered over to the right, flying over the heaps of discarded chairs, garbage bins, old signs, and other tables. Tippi made her way over to the black table that she finally spotted and looked under it, and saw a large box that was moving around ever so slightly.
"What the!? Is she in that box!?" Tippi shrieked.
"Yes...you made her THAT afraid…" Tadano replied.
"What in the…" Bleck commented, not getting a good feeling from this at all.
Tippi slowly moved over to the box, also feeling that something was really off here. She opened the flaps and the box fell over, sending a bunch of rats nearly running into her.
"AAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!" Tippi screamed at this skin-crawling. Surprise.
"TIPPI!" Bleck roared, losing his focus for just a second. But, this was enough for Tatanga to grab a broken glass bottle and throw it at Bleck, shattering upon hitting his left shoulder and knocking him to the floor.
"TOADO! TURN OFF THE LIGHT!" Tadano screamed as he began making his way out.
"NO! DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!" Tippi commanded, but it was too late as the kid flipped the switch and made it pitch black in the room.
"Aggghh...Tippi! Where are you!?" Bleck groaned in pain, feeling his shoulder bleeding now.
"I'm right here! You have to get up, get away from the rats!" Tippi cried.
"TADANO! DON'T MAKE THIS HARDER THAN IT ALREADY IS! STAY HERE!" Bleck screeched as he stood himself up. But, the alien didn't listen as the door opened then shut.
"Oh god...hey kid! Turn the light back on! PLEASE!" Bleck yelled, reaching for the wall to lean against it. No response was heard...just the door opening and closing again.
"Bleck...come towards the door...I think I got it…" Tippi said, turning the knob and opening the door, shining the light in. Bleck ran to the door and looked out the hallway. Both the alien and the kid were near the end of the incredibly long hallway.
"NO! GET BACK HEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE!" Bleck roared at full force and ran as fast as possible. "ACCELERATE!" he yelled, which magically sped up his running. People in the hallway shrieked at this and moved to the side, freaked out by Bleck's determined-to-kill expression.
He exited the mental ward hallway and entered the main area of the fourth floor.
"WHICH WAY DID HE GO!? THE ALIEN!" Bleck roared with fire in his eyes, scaring the nearby employees and regulars.
A toad nurse pointed to the stairwell with a great look of fear. He sped to the door, pulled it open and looked down from the railing. He saw the alien running for his life a couple sets of stairs down.
"TADANO! GET THE FUCK BACK HERE!" Bleck screamed and shot a magic blast towards the alien, but it only hit the railing near him which cut it in half. Tadano made a shriek and kept running. Bleck pounded his fist against the railing and chased after him.
Tadano made it to the first floor and pushed through the door and ended running into a few people, knocking them all down.
"AH! SORRY, SORRY! THERE'S SOMEONE TRYING TO KILL ME!" Tadano screeched to the confused and freaked out folks. He scrambled himself to get back up and then headed towards the entrance.
"MORTON! That's Tadano! I think he's trying to escape!" Lemmy yelled, pointing to the alien who was now by the cafeteria.
"Shit! WE CAN'T LET HIM GET AWAY! STOP THAT MAN!" Morton screamed, getting his taser, and chased after him while Bleck ran out from the stairwell and chased after him too.
Some people near the entrance heard this and attempted to block Tadano from running out but the alien was able to swiftly dodge the people and pushed other people into the ones that were trying to block him.
"AAAGGHHHH! FREEZE!" Bleck screamed and shot out a blue magic blast that just missed Tadano and hit the entrance wall.
"TADANO, GODDAMNIT, STOP! YOU'RE JUST MAKING THIS WORSE FOR YOURSELF!" Morton screamed and pressed the taser, which shot out an electric bolt...which unfortunately hit an unlucky bystander koopa man who was standing in the entryway, who then was zapped and fell to the floor unconscious.
"FUCK! NOOOOOOO!" Morton cried at his awful mistake.
Tadano reached the set of stairs at the outside entrance and jumped down, landing on the ground, and hurting his feet and legs a little from the harsh impact, but he ignored it and kept running out into the streets now.
Bleck reached the outside entrance but stopped himself too late as he fell down the stairs and rolled onto the ground. He yelled out in pain and looked to the side to see Tadano further away into the streets now. It was too late.
Toadsworth and Toodles were circling around the third floor for any possible sign of the alien.
"Honestly, I feel like we've checked everywhere! Not to mention, this is so depressing and disgusting! Seeing all the patients in their rooms, sick beyond belief or damaged beyond repair. I hope I never end up like that...I'd rather beg the doctor to pull the plug!" Toodles complained with a shiver.
"I dare say...you are in a hospital. You're in a hospital, not too long after a treacherous event befell us. What do you expect to see? Parties and unicorns?" Toadsworth spat in disbelief at her arrogance. Toodles glared daggers at him, feeling insulted by his choice of words.
"Don't talk down to me like I'm a little girl! I know damn well what is to be expected in a hospital!" Toodles retorted somewhat childishly. "I just don't like seeing it all in person. I have a right to feel that way, so do get off of your high horse! Plus, I can only imagine how high their hospital bills must be."
"Yeah. It's gross. It's disturbing. It's horrifying. It's sad! But, that is the world we live in now. If you can't handle the adaptation, then it's best you don't help us out any longer...because you're only gonna see far much worse from here on out if you're with us," Toadsworth spoke sternly as he stared into a patient's room on his left that had a koopa man laying on a stretcher with a bullet wound in his torso along with a long slash wound in his left shoulder. His girlfriend was crying over him. The man was still alive, but he cried with his lover, thankful to be alive, but also from the pain and closeness to dying.
"Well, I do appreciate you being so upfront and brash about it. Ugh...god, this reminds me of the time when my grandfather told me the story of how he fought in the Great Mushroom War of 1940. He told me of a time where he was in a hospital at some military base and so many toad soldiers were seen laying around, crying their eyes out because they had lost a body part, their friends, their families, their homes...and look at where we are now...pretty much the same kind of situation, isn't it?" Toodles spoke with a frustrated sigh as she looked into a room on her right, where a Noki woman was just declared dead after a brutal injury to her skull occurred during the raiding event. Her family screamed in devastation, and it made Toodles immediately look away and gasp for air.
"Ah, yes, that war...my grandfather also fought in that. Sergeant Toadsgrant was his name. Yours?" Toadsworth asked, doing his best to keep his attention away from the patient rooms where despair was still prevalent.
"Sergeant Toadingston. Very peculiar...I wonder if our grandfathers knew of each other?" Toodles asked with a tiny smile.
Ludwig, Bowser Jr., and Toadette approached the pair in urgence.
"Toodles! Toadsworth! Have you guys seen E. Gadd and Dr. Nokano anywhere?" Toadette frantically asked.
"Erm, no. Why? What's happened!?" Toadsworth asked, knowing that something was up.
"Well, uhh, long story short...Tadano managed to escape the hospital. Bleck tried chasing him down and stopping him with magic, but that guy was too quick for him! Roy also tried to zap Tadano with that taser thing E. Gadd gave him, but he accidentally ended up zapping some other poor guy who happened to be in the way! Bleck also got himself hurt by falling down the stairs outside so he's about to get treatment right now," Ludwig explained. Toadsworth and Toodles looked at them in horror.
"Goodness! This is just unbelievable! Well, what on earth is the plan now then?" Toadsworth shouted.
"We're gonna reconvene with Tippi, Bleck, Morton, and Ludwig in a little bit, but I guess first we gotta find Nokano and E. Gadd!" Toadette answered.
"You know, this is exactly what I'm talking about! How the HELL did that extraterrestrial psycho boy manage to escape all on his own!? Good god, no wonder why people rioted against the heroes, this place can't go six minutes without something disastrous happening!" Toodles angrily ranted.
"HEY, LADY! Can't you see we're trying our best here!? Things may not be perfect right here, but it sure as hell is better than any other location in the region! So if you don't like it, feel free to leave, because you're just wasting space standing here and being all unappreciative!" Bowser Jr. yelled in her face, surprising the others since it's not often that he'll do something like that. Toodles was taken back the most, not expecting that reaction from a kid.
"I...fine. I'll stop with the complaining," Toodles grunted while crossing her arms in frustration.
"Good. Now, let's go find Nokano and Gadd and then get back to the others!" Toadette declared.
Toado ran over to Toadessa and jumped in front of her.
"WOAH! Uhh, what's up!?" she shrieked.
"You told the butterfly lady and that magic guy where I was hiding Tadano at, didn't you? Didn't you!?" Toado yelled who also looked peeved.
"I-I'm so sorry! They asked and it was super important to them, and I just couldn't lie to them!" Toadessa cried.
"HOW COULD YOU!? I TOLD YOU TO KEEP IT A SECRET! AND NOW, BECAUSE OF YOU, TADANO'S GONE FOREVER! I LOST A FRIEND ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!" Toado screamed in her face, making her cry a little.
"Please stop yelling at me! I said I was sorry! But, you have Toadie as another friend, don't you!?" Toadessa pointed out.
"Toadie doesn't exist! It was a lie Tadano said to protect me, because I was the one who let him out of the cell!" Toado revealed. Toadessa covered her mouth in shock.
"WHAT!? You were the one who...why would you do that!? You weren't supposed to do that!" she yelled.
"Because he understands me and he made me realize that the reason why everyone's always dying and getting hurt is because all we do is be the good guys, when we should be like the bad guys!" Toado explained. Toadessa looked even more freaked out by that worrying response.
"What!? What do you mean by that!?" she asked.
Toado opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out, and his demeanor immediately calmed down.
"Nothing. Nevermind. Just forget it. I'm gonna go get something to eat. See ya," he spoke in a plain tone and walked off as if nothing ever happened. Toadessa was just beyond confused now.
SHIVER CITY - 12:35 PM
The gang reached the edge of the forest where the frozen lake was and saw a small zone where the ice broke through and where Kody was struggling to remain on the surface.
"HELP! I-I-I CAN'T S-S-S-SWIM!" Kody screamed as he struggled greatly to keep himself afloat along with the fact that his body immediately felt stone cold.
"SHIT! C'MON, YOU GUYS!" DK yelped and immediately dove in with Mona, Daisy, Boshi, and Mario quickly following suit.
"Hey, where's Dixie!? She didn't drown already, did she!?" Yoshi cried.
Mona and Mario grabbed Kody and swam with him along to the shore with a few of the others pulling them back up onto the forest edge. Kody coughed quite a bit and was shivering a lot.
Daisy rose up to the water surface. "Hey! Dixie's towards the bottom, DK and Boshi are trying to get to her, but I can't tell if she's just unconscious or isn't able to swim!"
"I-I think she hit her head w-when she f-fell down onto the ice!" Kody replied, scaring everyone else.
"Oh no! Please don't die, please don't die!" Peach started to cry.
Daisy went back underwater as Larry hugged Kody to warm him up a little. Peach did the same for Mario, and Wario for Mona.
"Come here...that was very brave of you for doing that," Wario kindly said.
"Thanks. Good thing I was a swimmer throughout high school and university!" Mona laughed a little, holding him tight.
Everyone waited in suspense for the others to come back up. Each second that passed made everyone more frightened for what could happen to not just Dixie, but for the other three, since that was freezing water they were all in.
Jr. Troopa tapped on Mario's shoulder. "Hey...I hear those Duplighost people coming this way...don't want to rush this, but we'll be in huge danger if we stay here for much longer!"
"I know, but we're not leaving our friends behind. If they come to us, we'll deal with them when that happens," Mario stated.
The others finally rose to the surface, giving everyone great relief, but still wanted to know about Dixie's status. The four of them were seen coughing up water a bit and Dixie seemed alive, but she also seemed hurt.
"F-FUCK! THIS SHIT IS FUCKING FREEZING AND I'VE GOT A FUCKING BRAINFREEZE AND I FEEL LIKE MY FUCKING FEET HAVE BEEN CHOPPED OFF!" Boshi screamed in pain.
"SHHHHHH! Give her here!" Bowser hushed him and opened his arms so he could get Dixie and hold her because she looked defeated.
"Ugh...d-did...you see...in the w-water...oh…" Dixie muttered, completely out of breath and coughed some more.
"See what in the water!? Did you guys see something in there?" Luvbi questioned.
"I think so, but we'll talk about that later! We gotta go!" DK urged.
"Yes, we gotta hurry! C'mon guys, we're off to Starborn Valley! You can dry off over there!" Jr. Troopa yelled and led the way again.
"Kody, do you need help? I can carry you if so!" DK offered.
"Thanks, but I think I'm good!" Kody replied, hanging on to Larry as the group quickly went back into the forest and remained there to be hidden from the 'Duplighosts' and going in the direction that would lead them the backway to Starborn.
"Okay, no more scares like that! That was just too much to handle!" Lakilester shrieked.
"Well, welcome to the adventure gang, where literally anything and everything could happen at any moment!" Goombella remarked, having gone through so much that nothing out of the ordinary took her for much surprise anymore.
"Yeah, just basically expect chaos to happen at any possible moment. That sums up this adventure pretty well," Koops added.
The group hurried along, still closely following Jr. Troopa and making sure they weren't being followed as well. Minutes went by and the group was silent as they were very focused on making sure they were safe and getting the people who were in the icy waters quickly to a place where they could warm up. The forest began to clear up as they reached an open area that looked familiar to a few of them.
"This is the section right before we hit Starborn Valley, isn't it?" Kooper asked.
"Yep! We pretty much just went around most of the Shiver Snowfield pathway. Not much longer to go now!" Jr. Troopa excitedly replied.
"We're not gonna face that weird ghost thing made up of all those baby star spirits again, are we? What was that thing called again? Monstarsity?" Bombette asked, cringing at the memory of the village's kids fighting off Mario and the partners with weak Shooting Star attacks.
"It was Monstar. And, uhh, no, probably not, because they know we're coming through," Jr. Troopa said, piquing some interested looks among the others.
"What? How could they know about us coming? Unless...Merle…" Mario said with slight confusion.
"Yep. Merle. Like I said, EVERYTHING will be explained when we get there!" Troopa confirmed Mario's suspicions.
"Are you also gonna explain to us why you look exactly the same as you did the last time we saw you? Which was MANY years ago!?" Lakilester asked interrogatively.
"Uhh...sure!" Jr. Troopa nervously replied while shifting his eyes.
Peach nodded but then looked to Daisy, who she was also letting hang on at her right side. She heard her crying. "Dais, hey, it's okay, we're almost there! I know it must hurt from being in the water, but just hang on a little more!"
Daisy shook her head. "It's not that. Umm...keep this to yourself for right now, but, um, Luigi broke up with me when we were still at the house."
"Woah! What!? Why, what happened?" Peach shrieked quietly.
"I don't even know why he did it...at least I think…" Daisy responded through her sobbing. "He's changed ever since the raid...I mean, I can't totally blame him because it was traumatic, but...I try to help out and he keeps pushing me away, so I'm just feeling so helpless and lost right now…"
"Oh wow, Dais! I'm so sorry. I can talk to him if you want, see if I can set him straight, or get Mario to talk to him!" Peach said, feeling the utmost sympathy for her best friend.
"You can if you want, but I don't know if it'll even do anything...he didn't even look concerned for me when I got out of the waters. He's acted cold like this before after we were done fighting King Boo, but this is on a whole other level," Daisy spoke, coming off as totally hopeless.
"Did you hear Dixie earlier? She said she saw something, I wonder if it was the same thing I saw when we were at the lake," Spike whispered to Koops.
"Oh, yeah. And...uhh...what was it that you saw again?" Koops asked. Spike got a little annoyed at him not remembering.
"I said it looked like some giant mirror! Like, it LOOKED like you could swim down and pop up on the other side of the water. Plus, it looked like there was a body in there. In fact...it looked like a toad!" Spike recalled.
"Woah, that's so mysterious! What do you think THAT'S all about?" Starlow interjected, noticeably irritating the paper dino and koopa.
"Uhh...not a clue," Spike responded in a dismissive manner, then the two walked quicker, being ahead of the star sprite now.
"Huh. That was strange. Why do you think he talked to me that way?" Starlow asked Pauline, feeling a little hurt by his sudden cold behavior.
"Hell if I know," Pauline responded in the same way Spike did with a shrug and walked further up ahead as well.
"What the! Okay, am I doing or saying something wrong here?" Starlow yelped.
"I don't think anyone really wants to talk to us since they saw that video of E. Gadd, and I don't think they believe us either about us not knowing about it," Luvbi clarified.
"Really!? Why would they not believe us? We have nothing to gain by being spies or whatever! And E. Gadd's a good guy too, I know he's been friends with those guys for a long time now!" Starlow said, who was more bothered by this than Luvbi.
"I have no idea, but I'm gonna try to set the record straight when we reach this Starborn Valley. I suppose they have a right to be paranoid, but to just automatically not believe us when the evidence is so odd and relatively refutable is just pure disrespect," Luvbi stated in frustration.
The large group finally reached the village of Starborn Valley. Everyone saw the Star Kids quickly gossip amongst each other along with a few Ninjis and Toads and approached the group, but most notably was a person who looked almost exactly like Merlon.
"Welcome all! You did excellent in retrieving them, Jr. Troopa. I trust that you haven't been followed?" Merle asked.
"I don't think so...but I have a feeling they might catch on quickly that these guys escaped over here. This is the first place they're gonna look for them before the Crystal Palace," Troopa responded.
"Of course, makes sense, but I'm glad you all made it here in one piece! Err...or perhaps not!?" Merle changed his tone when he saw a few of the people wet and freezing.
"Two of our people almost drowned in some lake, so a few of us saved them. Any chance we could talk AND warm up by a nice fire at the same time!?" Luigi asked with a hint of impatience.
"Of course! Follow me! I also trust that you all have some dire questions that you must know about. I'll explain it all in my house. Come!" Merle gestured and led the way through the village to his house that was in the dead center of the area. The Star Kids, Ninjis, and Toads continued to gossip among each other with worried expressions.
Merle opened the door and let the group in while noticing the worried energy everyone in the village was giving off. "Everyone, fear not! These people are our allies and will help us solve what's going on in our beloved Shiver Region!"
The villagers nodded at him. Some of them looked a little relieved, but others remained concerned due to the frightening situation at hand.
Everyone made it into the house, where a large fire was burning in the fireplace in the living room. All the people who went into the lake sat by it and warmed themselves up.
"Ooooh...s-s-so nice...g-god, my head is still killing me…" Dixie said in major relief as she still shivered greatly. Goombella went over and checked the back of her head.
"I don't see any bleeding or wounds on your head, so you're fine, sweetie!" Goombella assured. Dixie nodded in acknowledgment.
"Please, everyone, make yourselves comfy while I go get some tea for you all! Jr. Troopa, help me please!" Merle said.
"Of course. Be right back guys!" the tiny koopa said, then left to go to the kitchen with Merle.
"I'm still so confused at what's going on here. So, what we know so far is that Duplighosts are taking over Shiver City, and the people that they've run out are in some other place that we have no clue where it could be, and...that's it. Just as mysterious as the last time we were here to save the Star Spirits!" Parakarry recalled.
"I'm taking a wild guess that the 'place' is somewhere in the Crystal Palace. It's the only thing that makes sense at this point," Kooper pointed out.
"Eh, I wouldn't be so sure about that considering at least half of the stuff we've encountered on this damn adventure doesn't make any sense," Wario countered with a good point.
"The poor Mayor though...we need to make sure he gets a proper burial, before we leave the region!" Vivian declared.
"It's gotta do something with the Crystal Palace though...it has to. The Duplighosts pretty much run that place and that one that pretended to be Penelopuin hinted that there is someone in charge of it all...but it's not the Crystal King? Who the hell could it be then?" Mario pondered the question to the group, but no one knew the answer of course.
"Why would it be the Crystal King anyways? You guys killed him when you were here to save that Star Spirit, right?" Jojora asked.
"Yeah, but these guys always have a way of coming back for some reason. I guess it's some new bad guy we just gotta take care of like we always do," Mario said tiredly while shaking his head in frustration.
"Can I say something kind of off topic?" Spike spoke, bringing all eyes to him. "What did you guys see in the lake? Dixie, you asked if they saw something in there. What was it that you saw?"
The room was awkwardly quiet as everyone looked towards the ones drying off from the fire.
"Well...uhh...there was definitely SOMETHING in that lake...but I don't even know how to describe it. When I was swimming down to get Dixie, I saw to my right what looked like...err...it looked like a large section of the ground was see-through. Clear. Like...you could tell the ground bottom of the lake WAS there, but like I said, it was like you could see through it...I don't even know if that makes any sense with how I'm describing it!" DK explained the best he could.
"Yeah, I saw it too. I thought my mind was just fucking with me because of how freezing the water was, but looks like I wasn't going crazy at all. It was a trip to see that! It looked like a portal!" Boshi added.
"A portal? So, uhh, that part of the lake is...goodness, I don't even know where to go with this one!" Flurrie was lost for words.
"Yes! You saw exactly what I did when we chased Jr. Troopa earlier in the forest. I came upon the lake and I looked through the ice and I swear, it's almost like a giant mirror! And I thought I saw a body in there too! It's so weird to describe, but it looked like you could just swim down into the part of the lake and then pop up on the other side. I know that sounds crazy but that's the only way I can describe it!" Spike exclaimed, freaking some of the others out even more now.
"What the hell, so...what, we've got a portal in a lake that looks like a mirror? That's probably the weirdest thing we've encountered so far. I wonder if that has to do with what's going on?" Koopie questioned.
"Probably...but I don't think we should go back to that lake until we know what's up. We've got a 'police force' on our asses now and who knows who else is joining them on the hunt for us," Bombette pouted.
"Speaking of the lake, I just wanna say I'm sorry I got us all sidetracked...and I'm sorry, Kody, that I started that fight with you," Dixie said while choking up a little and staring into the fire. "I just didn't want a repeat of the Fire Bro situation...I didn't want us to be deceived again...but, I took it too far on someone who's most likely innocent, so I'm sorry."
Everyone gave her sympathetic smiles and expressions, while Yoshi gave her a side hug to make her feel better.
"It's cool, I can forgive it," Kody responded then sighed sadly. "But, do you guys not believe me or something? Like, I don't know how else I can prove to you that I'm being real about my past! I mean, I get it, you're suspicious and all, but don't treat me like crap if you're gonna have me tag along on this adventure!"
"We're just on high guard right now, Kody. We've been tricked and screwed with SO much that we have a right to be kind of paranoid about others outside our group and always on the lookout for warning signs. But, we believe you, Kody. We do. You went through something traumatic and all of us should know by now that trauma can really mess with your head," Larry tried to assure him but Kody still looked a little skeptical of everyone.
"Really? ALL of you believe me?" Kody questioned, who seemed to believe that Larry but wasn't so sure about everyone else. The room was awkwardly silent again, only with Bowser's frustrated sigh being heard and giving a dirty look towards his son.
"Speaking of believing people, I just wanna make it clear that Starlow and I are also innocent," Luvbi spoke boldly. "That video you saw of E. Gadd, we swear on our lives that we had no knowledge of it nor his involvement with Mushroom Corporations. I understand you guys are weary of outsiders at this point, and you have a right to be, but you must think about this logically. E. Gadd has been on your guys' side for years. He's helped out with a few of your adventures from the past. It makes no sense for him to be on the side of screwing you all over. I've known the man for...well, not a real long time, but quite a bit to know that, while he's somewhat of a typical mad scientist, he seems pretty rational when it comes to stuff outside of science."
"Yeah! And a few of you know me, you know I would NEVER do anything to put you guys in harm's way! If I knew E. Gadd was up to no good, you bet that I'd quit working with him in a split second!" Starlow added on to their defense.
More silence. This was starting to get frustrating for the accused because it was making it seem like they still didn't buy a word they were saying.
"You do have valid points, all three of you," Luigi spoke with his arms crossed, hanging against the wall near the front door, but still looked suspicious of them. "I do agree that E. Gadd is not completely on Mushroom Corporations' side...but who's to say that he isn't playing both sides? Trying to cater to us AND them?"
Luvbi got red in the face now. "Seriously!? It's like talking to a brick wall, I swear! Maybe you guys wouldn't have so much drama if your heads weren't so far up your own asses!" Some of the others scoffed at her and rolled their eyes.
"Tch! Call it what you want, I suppose. We're in a race for survival now more than ever, so be mad at us all you want for thinking the way we do, but you can't blame us," Bowser spouted.
"Okay, Luvbi, too far!" Starlow tried to settle her and diffuse the tensely growing situation. "Look, we're trying to put ourselves in your guys' shoes. We know you've been through hell. We can't possibly know how much chaos you guys had to battle through. But, please...please believe that, even IF E. Gadd is somehow involved in Mushroom Corporations, we have no idea of it! And we're 100% on your guys' side. That's it. That's everything we need to say."
"We appreciate that, Starlow, and you have a point. I think the person we really should be suspicious of is E. Gadd, not Luvbi and Starlow. We can't put our suspicions on them, and I trust them because they have helped us before. Why would it be any different now?" Peach argued for their case, making the two girls feel a little better.
But, before anything else was said, Merle and Jr. Troopa came back with tea for the gang.
"Tea has arrived! Please help yourselves, and we'll talk about everything going on at the same time," Merle announced as a few of the group got their tea, but the others looked a little weary of drinking it. Some of them thought it could be poisoned, but they tried to let those thoughts go because Merle and Jr. Troops seemed legitimate.
"So...before I dive into this mess, what do you all know so far? What have you discovered since being here?" Merle asked.
"Duplighosts are taking over Shiver City, they tried to setup a murder scene with the Mayor to delay us from getting into the Crystal Palace but that didn't exactly work, and we're dealing with some weird mirror portal thing in the lake by that forest we walked in to get here," Yoshi summarized.
Merle didn't look surprised by any of this. "Okay. So, I'll explain everything that's been happening here and clear up some mysteries, because what's going on is far weirder than when you, Mario, and your partners came here to save the Star Spirit, Kalmar, all those years ago."
"I figured as much. Wait, before you begin, you DO know why we're here, right? You know what's been going on in Mushroom City?" Mario asked.
"Yes, I know everything about it. You guys are on the hunt for the legendary Crystal Star Rod and you are now about to retrieve the 8th gem. I also know about my poor father, Merlon, dying from the hands of Tatanga. I received it in a 'vision' the day it happened...cried my eyes out the whole day and I called my siblings and we cried together. Once the madness with Tatanga ends, we're gonna have a memorial and family reunion for our dear father...but I digress!
I foresaw your guys' arrival in another vision I received. Two days ago, to be exact, which was when the Duplighosts began their takeover of Shiver City. For those of you that don't know, in visions, you usually don't receive that much detail...the only thing I saw in my vision was Duplighosts ransacking the homes of the Shiver City citizens, an image of the Crystal Palace, another image of a pink duplighost wearing a crown, and you guys arriving in Starborn. So, with my vision, combined with the knowledge of what was going on with Tatanga and your guys' quest to retrieve the 9 gems, I quickly put two and two together as I realized what was going on.
So, bear with me, when I explain this, because it's going to sound complicated and odd, but I assure you...this is the real deal. First, we're gonna start with the history of the Crystal Palace. Some of you guys may know the Crystal Palace that was originally used as a shrine for the Star Spirits, but its origins actually predate that. In the 17th century, the palace was built as a place for a king and queen to rule over the region. In those days, Shiver City and Starborn Valley were much closer to the palace's current location. Not much is known about why there was a need to build a palace for a king and queen to rule, since it was located in a kingdom that already had a king and queen to rule it, and especially since the region to be ruled wasn't that big in the first place...but a theory about its reasoning for the palace being built is almost undeniably true, of that I'm sure."
"There existed a koopa man and woman whose bond was formed by a common lust for power that seemingly ovepowered their love for another. Their actual names are Kooprik and Kooplinia Kalazar...but they are known as the Crystal King and Crystal Queen, who had been married already. They were called the 'Crystal King and Queen' because their eyes were the color of a sparkly blue and glistened in the light, drawing much attraction from everyone who saw them, and oddly enough, they were called those names BEFORE the palace was completely built and their titles were official. They both came from very rich families and they wanted to become rulers of the Shiver Region, probably because they thought they were so above everyone else due to their status, and as I somewhat said previously, they had a thirst for power, probably right from birth. So, they hired workers to build a palace for them and the commoners were very mixed about their region having their own king and queen, but no one dared to defy them, because they were very powerful, even without the status of being a king and queen."
"Look at this magnificence, my dear. This place is meant to be for us forever. We'll build a family that'll rival the Mushroom Kingdom's despicable royal family. We'll show everyone that the cold climate can still be livable and prosperous," Kooprik said in praise as they watched their workers build the palace's walls. It looked to be about halfway done.
"Ooh, of course! I can't wait to decorate and set up our kids' rooms! Everything's been working out so splendid for us! Feels like we're unstoppable," Kooplinia gushed at her fantasy.
"Yes, and- hey! You, over there! Little Bumpty! What do you think you're doing!?" Kooprik yelled out of nowhere, pointing to a Toad worker who was sitting down on a stool.
"OH! S-Sorry your majesty! I was just thirsty for some water b-because I hadn't had any since this morning and-"
"I DON'T CARE! Get your rear back to work, you lazy peasant! You will rest and drink all the water you want when the sun goes down! You know, you all are VERY lucky that I don't make you work during the night when the temperature becomes BELOW zero degrees! Unless I should start doing that to teach you a lesson!?" Kooprik angrily shouted, terrifying the poor Toad man.
"N-no, please don't! I'm sorry, your majesty, it won't happen again! I-I'll just remember to drink more water before I get to work next time!" the Toad shrieked and went back to helping build the walls.
"Ugh, how pitiful. Who do these workers think they are, trying to slack off at any opportunity they get?" Kooplinia added to her husband's disgust.
"Perhaps I should get those chain whips out and show them I mean business...I mean, it would certainly put fear in their heads and make them work extra harder, don't you agree?" Kooprik said, thinking of adding physical punishments to the workers if they 'misbehave.'
"I recommended that a while back honey, but again, you didn't listen to me!" Kooplinia scowled and playfully rolled her eyes.
"Hmm? I didn't listen to you? That's quite odd, considering you didn't listen to me about wanting to build a small cottage behind the palace for my sick mother to live in!" Kooprik snapped back with double the attitude. Kooplinia scoffed at him.
"You already know how I feel about your mother! It's not that I hate her, it's just that she's so controlling and constantly oversteps boundaries! And you don't listen to THAT either!" she countered.
"I do listen, you just overreact and try to find any fault you can with my mom because she just wants the best for me. Sorry you can't relate at all, dear," Kooprik brushed her concerns off like it was nothing. Kooplinia looked extremely offended at this.
"What on earth is that supposed to mean!? How could you say that knowing that both my parents died when I was just three years old!?" she shouted angrily.
"Dear, what I'm saying is...keep your mouth shut on things you have no experience in. That's all. Moving on now!" Kooprik shut her down, which made her all the more angry on the inside.
"They would constantly fight, but always remain together in the end...well, probably because divorce in those days was seen as something so rare, forbidden, and embarrassing. Especially to a couple who were a king and queen! So, they stayed and pushed down their obtrusive thoughts and feelings towards one another. The palace was eventually built and the Crystal King and Queen made their official mark on the Shiver Region, declaring themselves rulers of the region."
A large gathering occurred in the entry room of the palace, with all the villagers facing the Crystal King and Queen.
"Good evening to you all! As you can clearly see, the palace is officially done and we are proud to announce ourselves as the Shiver Region's Crystal King and Crystal Queen. We hope to make this region prosperous for you all and for any outsiders who wish to immigrate here! Let's show the Mushroom Kingdom that the Shiver Region is very much a place to find your worth and build a life for yourself and for your family!" Kooprik happily announced. Most of the crowd clapped in joy, but there were a few noticeable others who were clearly not on board with what was happening.
"The joy didn't last for long, though. Even though all seemed perfect from the outside, the couple still struggled to settle their differences. They tried to start a family...but as that situation looked bleak as well, things went even further downhill for their relationship."
"I can't believe this, Linia. This is your third miscarriage! What on earth is wrong with your body!?" Kooprik yelled at her, who was resting in bed from having dealt with an awfully painful miscarriage from the night prior.
"I don't know, dear...I'm as upset as you are. This makes no sense to me. Why would the stars do this to us!? We deserve the best! We are rich and have the means to provide the best life possible for our kids! I refuse to let this go to waste!" Kooplinia cried.
"Wanna know what I really think? I think perhaps you're trying to sabotage this relationship," Kooprik revealed, which shocked his wife.
"What!? What is that supposed to mean!?" Kooplinia asked.
"Our servant, Kooplom, why are you constantly around him? Don't think I haven't noticed you and him talk in the halls and giggle like mischievous school friends!" Kooprik angrily accused, which shocked her further.
"EXCUSE ME!? How could you just stand there and say something so preposterous!? Dear, you're not making any sense either!" Kooplinia yelled.
"Never in my life have I heard of a woman get three miscarriages in a row. Wanna know what I think's going on? You're sabotaging the pregnancies so you won't carry our kid in hopes of carrying HIS kid instead!" Kooprik accused further, which just made Kooplinia livid at this point.
"YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY INSANE! Go get yourself checked into an asylum because you are WRONG! How dare you accuse me of such horrid adultery!?" she screamed.
Kooprik noticeably calmed his demeanor. "Hmm. Okay then. So, if I'm wrong, then...you won't mind if I just fire Kooplom then?"
Kooplinia's eyes widened. "Why...why would you do that for!? He'll be homeless if you do that! He has no family in the region! Are you that cruel to do that over an assumption!?"
Kooprik gave her a nasty smirk. "Wow. Since when did you care for anyone lower than yourself? Also...I notice that you haven't even denied what I said about you two. Looks like I got you cornered, dear. I'm off to go see Kooplom now."
Kooplinia looked like she was gonna have a panic attack and threw her handheld mirror at him, just missing by a few inches, and smashed into the wall. "YOU BASTARD! YOU ARE JUST VILE AND SICK IN THE HEAD!"
"No, my dear, that's you. Letting this relationship go to waste all because you want some middle-class man to make you feel like you mean something to someone outside of our life that we've built together. That's all you...and that is truly pathetic," Kooprik stated, unphased by her violent act, and then left the room to do his deed.
"Both brought out the worst in each other. The absolute worst...so 'worst' that it brought up dark desires and thoughts. This eventually led to, one day, the King discovering something just behind the palace that he hadn't even paid attention to previously…"
"And where are you off to?" Kooprik asked, seeing that his wife was dressed in her more casual, pink 'out-on-the-town' attire.
"Gonna go shop around and get some fresh air from being cooped up in this tacky, blue-markered, dreadful excuse of a so-called 'palace,'" Kooplinia spat most viciously. Kooprik rolled his eyes at her.
"Fine. Maybe you'll pick up a peasant or two on the way that'll pay less than the value of a dried shroom to get you in their bed!" Kooprik retorted. Kooplinia faced him, quickly getting red in the face.
"You...you know what!? Maybe I will! And maybe they'll please me in their bed for longer than 60 seconds!" she countered, then stomped out of the palace like an angry child. But, this made Kooprik furious as well, taking that insult to heart. It took all his might to not scream every swear word in the book.
He decided he needed fresh air as well, but not out in the town. He went to the back of the palace, which was a small area that had a short bridge that led to a small, empty flatland which had a rockwall at its end. He loved the view from there, he could see everything and anything, as far as the eye can see.
He had a brief thought about jumping off that snow bridge though. He looked down and saw nothing but white down below. The thought terrified him and he tried to ignore the feeling of wanting to escape the madness. He wanted to think about literally anything else, so he just walked forward, kicking the snow, and stopped when he reached the rockwall. He was going to turn around, but then he saw something that made him curious.
In the rockwall, he clearly noticed a space between a couple of the rocks. It looked like the rocks were just blocking a cave! So, to get his mind off his wife, he occupied himself with moving the somewhat large rocks out of the way to see if it led anywhere interesting. After some minutes of moving the rocks and avoiding a tiny rock slide, he went back into the palace to grab a lantern, and then he went into the cave.
"It never occurred to the King and Queen to check out this area that lay behind their palace. They were so involved with themselves and making sure the palace itself constantly met their standards that they didn't even give it a thought...until now. Kooprik went deep into the cave, following a fairly straight-forward path...until the path suddenly dropped downward in a slightly narrow hole. This scared Kooprik, naturally, but he had a gut feeling that there was something in there. Something interesting. Something odd. Something...life changing."
Kooprik carefully made his way down the hole, struggling to hold himself upright while holding the lantern at the same time. After a couple of minutes of climbing down, he reached the bottom and he saw a metallic door with what looked like the image of a small mirror in the center of it.
"What in the world is this!? A door...in a cave!?" Kooprik was perplexed by how this worked. He saw a handle on the door, so, of course, he had to open it to see what the hell was behind it. He pulled it open with all his might and as soon as he opened it all the way, the earth shook. It felt like an earthquake!
Kooprik screamed in horror, praying to the stars that the cave wouldn't collapse. The 'earthquake' lasted for only a minute and it stopped suddenly. Kooprik calmed himself down.
"What was that all about? Good god…" Kooprik huffed, then used his lantern to peer inside the door. He went through the doorway, and he immediately got a weird chill that came over his entire body.
"Ooh! What the hell was that!?" he shrieked. He scanned the new room he was in and...it looked exactly the same as the bottom of the hole he was just in. The hole led upwards, so he climbed up the hole that was just as ever so slightly narrow as the previous hole he was in.
He reached the top of the hole and got up onto the cave floor. He saw a small opening ahead of him, so he continued forward, becoming very nervous about what other oddities he was about to discover.
He reached the opening and went through, finding that a bunch of rocks were covering the rest of the opening. When he realized where he was though...he was more perplexed than ever.
He was at the backside of the palace, exactly where he was before when he discovered the cave.
"WHAT!? How could I be back at the palace!? That doesn't make any sense! This is…" Kooprik shouted in total disbelief at what he was experiencing. There was no way he could be back at this place. He went in a relatively straight-forward direction the whole time. How was this possible?
Kooprik angrily sighed at this...but he also couldn't help but feel that something was way off. The atmosphere seemed completely different. It felt heavier...even though the weather was the exact same as it was when he went into the cave. Lightly snowing with some wind, and mostly cloudy skies with sunshine breaking through in a couple of spots. What was different then? Why did it FEEL different just being here?
Kooprik went into the palace and it was confirmed that this was different. Completely different. There were torches lit in the room previous to entering the back area. Torches weren't lit here. The wall seemed dilapidated and dirty as well.
"What the hell...uhh...hello!? Linia!? Servants!?" Kooprik called out and went into the next room. It was a large foyer that had two sets of stairs on the left and right side, leading to the second floor. Completely empty, dark, dank, dirty, and dilapidated.
"God...what is...HELLO!? IS THERE ANYONE HERE!? LINIA!" Kooprik shouted as loud as he could. He went into all the remaining rooms on the first floor. All empty. Not a soul in sight.
Kooprik reached the main room, which was the first room upon entering. He didn't know what to do or think now. How has his palace suddenly gone empty, like it was never even inhabited in the first place?
There were stairs in this room as well, he went up it and was about to go right, but then he saw that it went up left. This confused him because the staircase always went up right, not left. He walked the rest of the way up, not thinking too much of that small detail...until he saw something else that confirmed that this wasn't his palace.
On the second floor of his palace were three doors that were all on the right-hand side of the floor. A big door in the middle with two small doors on each side. This palace...all the doors were on the left-hand side.
"WHAT IN THE WORLD!? This...this isn't real! This has to be some joke, or...where on earth am I!?" Kooprik screamed. He had no idea what was going on. How could this look exactly like his palace, yet things were flipped around?
He stomped to the big door, as it led to him and his wife's bedroom in his palace. He wanted to know what was in there, if that was even their bedroom still. He threw open the doors and what he saw in there made his heart drop.
It wasn't his bedroom. It was a big, empty room with dust everywhere, and in the corner of the room, were two koopas who were huddled with blankets all around them, a few traveler's bags, a tall mirror, and a lantern lighting up their corner.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY PALACE!? WHAT IS ALL OF THIS!?" Kooprik screamed at the top of his lungs towards the koopas while stomping towards them. The two koopas shrieked and got up from their huddling. He saw it was a man and a woman.
"Oh! We're so sorry! W-We thought this place was empty! Sir, w-we're homeless and we just need a place to stay for a while!" cried the male koopa, whose voice sounded really familiar somehow.
"REALLY!? Why would you think this place is empty!? Do you take me for a damn fool!? HOW DID YOU RUN ALL OF MY SERVANTS, MAIDS, AND GUARDS OUT OF HERE!?" Kooprik screamed as he got closer to the pair. The light showed more of their faces now...and it scared the hell out of Kooprik.
"What he saw was impossible. It made zero sense of any kind. The two koopas he saw in that room...they were Kooprik and Kooplinia. It was undeniable. Same faces, same voices, same physiques...but different personalities...different living situations...different everything else, almost…"
Kooprik stood frozen in fear at the two people he saw. This had to be a nightmare.
"Who...what...wh-who are you people!? WHAT IS THIS!?" Kooprik stammered in horror.
"Kooprik, I didn't know you had a twin brother! I thought you were an only child?" said the female koopa.
"I am...I don't have any other siblings, Kooplinia...this is just…" the Other Kooprik was at a loss for words as well.
"Y-Y-Your name is Kooprik!? What...I…" Kooprik still stammered in horror, unable to even digest the oddity of what he was seeing and hearing. The Crystal King then decided to run out of there as fast as he could. He panicked and panted the entire time, beyond confused, beyond terrified...he had to have been either having a nightmare...or he was in a different world altogether.
The King went through the same path in the cave that he had done previously. He climbed down then up so fast that he didn't even give himself a second to catch his breath. He ran out of the cave and back into his palace. The atmosphere felt normal again. The place was vibrant and lit with torches all around. This was still his place. He felt a little relieved that he was back home, but the question of what the hell he just experienced lingered greatly in his mind.
He went up to his room, soaking in all the decorations that made this place what it really is. It was the total opposite of the palace he had encountered...gloomy. Desolate. Dilapidated. The feeling of hopelessness.
He finally caught his breath as he set his lantern down on the nightstand. He tried to rationalize what he just saw, but it still didn't make any sense. How could there be an identical palace? How could a twin of Kooprik and Kooplinia exist? How did that cave lead to where it did?
As he analyzed it all greatly in his head, he stared at the mirror in the corner of the room. The mirror looked exactly the same as the mirror he saw when he encountered the Other Kooprik and Kooplinia. He stared at his reflection and then widened his eyes as a great feeling of discomfort traveled down his body. He couldn't explain this oddity either, but it felt like it wasn't really his reflection staring back at him, but rather the Other Kooprik. It felt the reflection staring back at him was an actual person...as if there was no 'reflection' at all. Kooprik became terrified again, and screamed as he pulled the mirror down and let it fall and smash to the ground.
Not even a minute later, Kooplinia enters the room, also a little frightened, along with carrying a wooden mug.
"Dear, what is going on here!? Why is the mirror on the ground!?" she yelled.
"I...I just…" Kooprik didn't even know where to start and doubted that his wife would believe what he experienced.
"Good grief! Just because you're mad at the world doesn't mean you can start destroying the palace! Here, take this tea! I got it in town. It'll soothe you," Kooplinia said and handed him the wooden mug.
"Tea…? Wh-what kind of tea is it?" Kooprik asked, smelling the liquid, but it gave off no scent.
"Some kind of herbal tea. I don't remember the name, but someone was selling this and all kinds of other tea in the village. The kind lady gave me a sample and it was delicious! She told me this type of tea will make you relaxed...which is exactly what you need right now! So drink up!" she demanded. Kooprik gave her a suspicious look.
"Uhh...did you buy tea for yourself too?" he asked. Kooplinia raised a brow at him.
"...Yes. I already drank mine, and I'm starting to feel the wonderful effects. Now drink! Please, dear!" her tone turned a little kinder. Kooprik sighed and drank a big gulp of the tea. It was warm and tasted sweet, but with a hint of bitterness to it. It made Kooprik cough a few times.
"Ooh! What is in this drink exactly? I like it, but...there is something off about it," Kooprik asked while rubbing his throat.
"I don't remember the name of the ingredient, dear, I just know that it's a type of herb, and the tea seemed popular among the peasants in the village! I'm not one to usually care what the lower status citizens are into, but I suppose there is an exception to everything!" Kooplinia chuckled.
Kooprik gave her a weird look as he set the mug down, which made her uncomfortable now.
"What? Why do you keep looking at me like that for!? What is the matter with you!?" she yelled.
Kooprik clenched his fists very briefly and exhaled through his nose. "N-nothing. It has been a very tiring day for me. I am going to get some bread from the kitchen and then I shall rest."
"A tiring day? What could you possibly be tired from? Walking around and huffing 'n puffing all day long?" she mocked. Kooprik's blood boiled once again. He made no response and stomped out of the room.
"The Crystal King had a plan. He devised it so quickly, especially since he realized what his wife was trying to do to him. The King entered the basement of the palace and rummaged through a box of his belongings. One of his items was a stick of dynamite he had bought in case of a dire emergency where the palace would be potentially ambushed. But, to the King, this was also an emergency...but a radically different one."
He looked at the stick of dynamite and he couldn't help but grin at how his plan would fall together so easily. He stuck it in his pocket and covered the area with his blue robe.
He went back into the bedroom and saw Kooplinia try to lift the mirror.
"Ugh, goodness! There are pieces all over the floor now! I should have YOU clean this up instead of the maid!" she yelled.
"Dear...come with me. There's something crucial I must show you. It's something I discovered while you were gone," Kooprik calmly spoke, completely opposite of how he was talking earlier.
Kooplinia looked confused and was caught off guard by his sudden change in behavior. "Uhh...what is it? What's so crucial?"
"Just...come with me. You must see it for yourself. It's hard to explain," he stated.
"...Okay? Well, lead me to whatever I must see then!" she demanded.
"The king led the Queen into the cave where he curiously wandered into earlier that day. He knew exactly how to execute his plan. He was bursting with excitement on the inside along with a rush of adrenaline as the Queen had the same reactions to the cave as he did upon first discovering it."
"This is completely absurd! All along there was this spooky old cave existing behind our palace. What is in this cave, dear? Corpses!?" Kooplinia shrieked in fear.
"No. Nothing like that. Just keep following me," Kooprik said while beginning the descent into the hole. Kooplinia gulped nervously at the thought of going down a dirty, rocky, and dangerous hole but her husband made it seem so easy to climb down that she sucked it up and went in.
Kooprik reached the bottom and saw that the 'mirror door' was still open. Kooplinia dropped down and grumbled in disgust.
"Great! My pink robe is now all filthy! Whatever this is you're showing me, it better be worth it!" she yelled.
"I think it will be. Come on...we have to climb up now," Kooprik cryptically spoke and began the ascent.
"CLIMB UP!? Goodness, this is just...wait, is this a door!? How...how does a door exist in a cave? What odd texture and design as well!" Kooplinia said in both fascination and confusion at the 'mirror door.'
"Come! We mustn't waste time!" Kooprik shouted, wanting to execute his plan as quickly as possible.
The Queen huffed in annoyance and began her ascent. As the King still led the way, he began to cough every 10 seconds or so and his stomach started to hurt and gurgle. The pair reached the top and went towards the exit of the cave. The Queen gasped greatly upon her seeing the back of the palace.
"What!? How are we back at the palace!? Something doesn't seem right here! There is no way we could've gone in a circle!" she shouted and looked to her husband for some clarity.
"Exactly, my dear. We're in an entirely different place...even though it looks just like my...our palace," Kooprik nearly had a slip of the tongue that he didn't think his wife noticed.
"What? How so!? What do you mean!?" she questioned.
"Just keep following me. What I want to show you is inside…" he said, coughed again, then led her inside the palace. Kooplinia was stricken with shock, horror, and disgust when she saw that the palace that was so identical to their own, was so dank and filthy on the inside.
"Kooprik...what on earth is going on here!? Why does this place look so much like ours but it's so unkept!?" Kooplinia demanded to know as she looked everywhere she could as they went through empty room after empty room to the foyer.
"I am honestly not sure...but I have a theory, my dear...just keep following me…" Kooprik replied as his excitement grew more, but he kept coughing and the pain in his stomach grew little by little.
They reached the foyer and went up the stairs to the second floor.
"Wait, why are these stairs going left instead of right? Did someone make a mock of our palace!? Is that what this is!? A thieving, miserable copycat!?" Kooplinia yelled. Kooprik ignored her complaint and made it to the second floor with his wife right behind him. She was in shock again when she saw the three doors on the left wall instead of the right wall.
"WHAT!? Kooprik...I'm just so confused at this point! Can you PLEASE explain to me what all this is!?" she begged, becoming more and more upset now.
"Come into this room, and I think it'll all make more sense!" Kooprik gestured as he opened their bedroom door. Kooplinia hesitantly went inside with Kooprik following her.
"OH! You're back!?" the Other Kooprik yelled in fright. Kooprik smirked, as he was about to execute his plan, but noted that the mirror in the room was on the floor.
"WHO ARE YOU!? I demand you to tell me what's going on here! Did you build this atrocious copy of our palace!?" Kooplinia angrily shouted, stomping towards the couple.
"Oh my god...Kooplinia!" the Other Kooprik shrieked in horror just as he did when he saw Kooprik.
Kooplinia stopped when he called her name. "Wha...how do you know my name!?"
"Wha...oh my...what is going on here? WHY IS THERE ANOTHER ME!?" the Other Kooplinia cried as she got up from the ground and covered her mouth in immense shock.
Kooplinia realized she was staring at an identical person of herself and dropped her jaw, almost falling over at this unexplainable and discomforting discovery.
"I...what...n-no! NO! This isn't real! I don't have a twin, I'm an only child! THIS HAS TO BE A DREAM!" Kooplinia screamed.
"I'm an only child too! This doesn't make any sense...how can there be two of me, and two of you, Kooprik!?" the Other Kooplinia said, unable to look away from her identical self.
"Wait a second here. You said 'our palace.' What did you mean by that?" the Other Kooprik asked.
"We...we live in a palace that's much more beautiful than this! It's decorated and vibrant! But, it's the exact same building! But, the positions of the rooms up here are different, and so are the stairs! Did you do this!?" Kooplinia explained.
"What...the same palace!? How is it possible that there are two identical palaces?" the Other Kooplinia questioned.
"Why did you come all the way up here anyways? It's treacherous getting up the mountain! Are you from the villages down below?" the Other Kooprik asked.
"No...no...w-we came through a cave to get here. There's a cave that I didn't know existed behind our palace, so we went through it...and then somehow we ended up behind YOUR palace!" Kooplinia answered. The pair looked even more perplexed now.
"What!? So...wait...how could that be? You live in a palace identical to this...you went into a cave behind your palace...then you end up at this palace. I'm completely lost in what's happening! This is simply incomprehensible!" the Other Kooplinia cried.
"I don't know what to say either...god...this is all...Kooprik! What do you-" Kooplinia turned around only to find he was gone. "What? KOOPRIK? KOOPRIK! WHERE DID YOU GO!?"
"The King's plan was to abandon her in this odd place they found. And it worked. While the Queen was conversing with her counterpart, the King booked it like no tomorrow. He ran the fastest he'd ever ran to ensure that this plan would work and that he would have the power and royalty all to himself. He went back into the cave, lantern still in hand, and he reached the mirror door, he shut it. He made it back to the original cave entrance, got out his dynamite stick, lit the end with the fire from the lantern, and threw it in the cave. He ran quickly again and as soon as he made it into the palace, he heard the explosion. It shook the whole palace a little, and it caused an avalanche and rock slide at the cave area.
Minutes went by, and Kooprik's coughing became more frequent, but he brushed that aside to see the result of his deed. He went back out and saw that the cave area was unrecognizable. Part of the mountain the cave was in collapsed unto itself and snow covered the remains along with large rocks that undoubtedly would be almost, if not, completely impossible to move by hand, blocking the part where the cave entrance would be. Kooprik's plan of trapping his wife in this strange otherworld had worked. But, karma had another thing coming from the Crystal King…
Later that same day, he demanded that his servants fetch the local village doctor, who was also a shaman, come visit him as he had felt much worse. If you hadn't guessed it by now...Kooprik was poisoned by his wife with Arsenic in the tea she gave him. Arsenic makes you severely sick, and depending on how much one intakes, it can kill you in a matter of hours if you don't get the proper treatment for it. The village doctor was my great great great great great grandfather, Merleon. If you're wondering, at this point, how I know of all of this, it's because Kooprik told him every little detail as he was on his deathbed. Kooprik did this because he thought he was doing a good thing by confessing his 'sins' and he thought that Merleon would help him solve the mystery of what he experienced and help his sickness if he were to be completely honest and genuine about his misdeeds. Of course, since he destroyed the path that led to the 'otherworld,' not much could be done about it.
Merleon, based on his diary entries that he had written and stories that have been passed down through generations in my family, had the exact same powers that my father and I do. But, he hated Kooprik, deep down. He hated the fact that Kooprik and Kooplinia looked down on everyone else and flaunted their wealth whenever they could. I say this because I'm about to tell you what exactly happened between Kooprik and Merleon on the day he visited the palace…"
Merleon sat in a chair a few feet away from Kooprik, who was in bed, sweating like a pig and looked discolored. He had just finished telling him the story of everything he had recently experienced.
"...And that is the end of that...tell me, Sir Merleon...what do you make of it all? What is this insanity?" Kooprik asked tiredly, then coughed some more. He groaned as the coughing hurt his throat and stomach.
"Hmm. Quite the chaotic tale you've told me there. Goodness...well...I do believe you have stumbled upon the entryway to what I call the Mirror World," Merleon revealed.
"What? The-The Mirror World? You're...agh...telling me I stumbled into another world!?" Kooprik yelled, dumbfounded at what he was saying.
"Yes. I call it The Mirror World. Alternative names for it are The Otherworld, Parallel World, Parallel Universe...but for the sake of ease, we'll call it The Mirror World," Merleon said, but Kooprik just shook his head and scoffed.
"I can't believe this...another damn world...unbelievable! How does another world even exist, just like this one!?" the King demanded to know.
"There are many different worlds, dimensions, and universes. They all exist within our own world, but separately...yet not so separately at the same time. The Mirror World you discovered...I have researched and did rituals exploring the matter via a practice called astral projection. That combined with my magic, I'm able to explore certain different worlds and dimensions...The Mirror World being one of them. In that world, everything is almost the same as it is here...same people as here, we call those counterparts, but with altered personalities and potentially even names, backgrounds, living situations, and so on. Similar events happening at a similar time. Everything is also reversed in that world, which is why you encountered your three doors being on the left side in that world rather than the right.
The Mirror World, from my perspective, isn't an 'evil world.' The same amount of bad and good happen there as here. Although...what's considered 'bad' and 'good' is purely based on perspective of course. But...I will say that there is a heavy mystery lingering in this Mirror World. Perhaps because it's so different since I'm so acclimated to the world we're in now. But, you have indeed discovered something so amazing and mysterious...what a shame that you let your rage take over your rationale. You could've been more famous and possibly even richer than you are now with this discovery that would certainly make news around the world. You missed out on a big opportunity," Merleon explained, taunting him a little towards the end. Kooprik huffed in frustration, now having second thoughts about doing what he did because he did crave more fame and fortune still.
"Hmph. Well, if that WAS a different world or dimension I entered, why is there a door located in a cave on top of a mountain of all places?" Kooprik questioned.
"Not too sure about that. My best guess is that the ancients discovered the portal to The Mirror World and sealed the entryway to prevent the collision of the two worlds," Merleon said.
"Collision? What do you mean by that?" Kooprik asked.
"Well...there's always the possibility that the worlds will bleed into each other and cause utter destruction of both worlds. So, you were indeed smart to close the door when you did," Merleon answered. Kooprik looked at him with a frightened expression.
"Good god...this is completely beyond anything I thought I'd ever have to deal with in my whole life. All I wanted was a palace for myself and a place to rule. Was that really so much to ask? How the hell did I get myself entangled in this magical, fairtytale 'Mirror World' nonsense!?" Kooprik ranted, with Merleon trying his hardest not to roll his eyes at him.
"...Right. So...very good talk we had. Thank you for telling me this peculiar information. I shall add it to my research! Good day, Kooprik!" Merleon stated and got up to leave, but the King tugged on his sleeve.
"Wait a moment! Where are you going!? Aren't you going to cure me!? My whore of a wife poisoned me! Do something about it! I've confessed my sin of leaving her for dead, I regret doing what I did! Please help me!" Kooprik begged for his mercy.
Merleon gave him a stern and cold look. "No, I will not."
The Crystal King widened his eyes and dropped his jaw. "WHAT!? WHAT IN STARS' NAME DO YOU MEAN YOU WILL NOT CURE ME!?"
"Kooprik, I shall make myself clear on this only once. You are a murky, filthy stain on, not just our beloved Shiver Region, but the Mushroom Kingdom as a whole. You show off your wealth along with having a 'holier than thou' attitude at the same time. You build a palace at the top of a mountain to pretend like you own something and make yourself feel like you matter to everyone else, when in reality, the only person you matter to is yourself. This is all for show. You and your pathetic wife did all this, and for what? To tell the whole world that you came from a highly wealthy family and make yourselves famous for just simply being LUCKIER than most of the rest of the world?
Not only that...but what have you two actually done as King and Queen? Really, what have you done? Because from what I've observed, nothing in the region has changed...except for the addition of some dainty palace on top of a freezing mountain for tourists to come look at the outside for two minutes. Just face it, you and your wife only wanted the titles of being a King and Queen, and that's it. Nothing more. You were jealous of the Mushroom Kingdom's royalty and wanted to replicate that, all for the sake of fame. What a waste of riches that should've gone to kinder and more grateful people," Merleon spat, hitting Kooprik right in his core. This infuriated the King, making him the angriest he's ever felt.
"YOU...YOU BASTAAAAAAARD! CURE ME THIS FUCKING INSTANT OR I WILL HAVE MY GUARDS MURDER YOU IN COLD BLOOD!" Kooprik screamed at the top of his lungs and tried to get out of bed, but ended up falling out.
"I'm not worried about that. They won't touch me. However...since you love this forsaken place so damn much...I'll kindly let you wander around in it FOREVER!" Merleon yelled and threw a red magic blast at the King. He screamed and rolled over his back.
"AAAAGGGGHHHH...WHAT...WHAT DID YOU JUST DO TO ME!?" he yelled as whole body felt tingly now.
"It's called a curse. Kooprik...when you die...your ghost will forever remain in this palace. After all...that's what you wanted, right? Hehehe...farewell!" Merleon laughed in enjoyment out of the King's pain and left the room. The King roared out once again, but he knew it was hopeless now.
"So...hours later...the king ended up passing away, and as Merleon foretold, his ghost did indeed remain there for centuries to come. Now, as you're hearing this, you may think that what my grandfather from generations ago did was also cruel. Well, based on what I've read and heard from my family, Merleon had a very questionable morale with a bit of a sadistic side to him. But, alas, what's done was done."
"HOWEVER! We're not done yet. After the King died, the palace was quickly abandoned. No one wanted to stay there as the palace had a very heavy and sinister energy going around, making the guards and servants and even looters and homeless feel very discomforted from just being in there. A few years after his death, the war of 1665 happened...this is the war where everything took place that has to do with what you guys are doing now.
Long story short, a dragon that was named Darktail wrecked havoc upon the world. It was something nobody had ever seen before. It felt like it came straight from a religious book detailing the end of days. Nine heroes with magical powers came from seemingly nowhere and ended Darktail with the Crystal Star Rod. These nine heroes control all the elements of our world. Water...weather conditions...electricity...earth...time...nature...ice...fire...and darkness. They combined their powers to create the Crystal Star Rod, the ultimate weapon of Light...the most powerful weapon ever made in the history of the world. The Crystal Star Rod was sealed in an underground chamber, and 9 gems were created that were the keys to unlock the Crystal Star Rod. Each gem was hidden either throughout this world or in different dimensions.
Sonow, the hero of ice, hid the crystal gem in the Crystal Palace. Merleon and Mayor Penguin's great great great great great great grandfather were involved with the hiding of the gem, telling the Hero of Ice that the Crystal Palace would be the perfect place for it, as no one ever goes up there anymore. Not even the Crystal King's ghost would disrupt the gem, as the gem is indestructible, and besides...it's not like the King would do anything with it anyways, as he was stuck there for eternity. The Hero of Ice hid the gem in the room where the King and Queen's bedroom used to be, and then sealed off THAT room with a thick layer of ice.
As the years went by, the layout of the palace changed greatly. The staircases were destroyed. Rooms were changed completely. Duplighosts, Swoopulas, and a few other various enemies made their way in and made it their home. The King didn't mind this as, in his mind, this was his opportunity to take revenge on the world...but then...you, Mario, and your partners came along and permanently destroyed him when you were on that quest to save the Star Spirits. But, that place still has a little bit of area still left unexplored...and that area is where the crystal gem is.
Now, if you're wondering...how does this all connect to the Mirror World that I mentioned in my story? Well, I believe the door to the Mirror World has been opened again, somehow. Enemies are all over Shiver Mountain again and the palace too. The atmosphere in this area has become quite heavy and discomforting. Also...have you guys seen yourselves in the mirrors lately? If so...have you noticed something 'off' about your reflection? Or get a weird feeling in your stomach when looking into a mirror? Or feel like you could just walk through the mirror and end up on the other side? Yeah...that's a sign that the entryway between our world and the Mirror World is opened. And I believe that it's the Crystal Queen doing it. She's doing the same thing the Crystal King did last time...except I have a feeling it's going to be much worse. Her troops have already begun invading Shiver City.
Now, I know it's been centuries since the Crystal Queen was stuck in the Mirror World, so you might be wondering how could it be her doing all this. Well, it's hard to say because we don't know what went down in the time she was there after she was locked away...but I think it's safe to say she became a 'ghost' like the Crystal King did.
Whew...I know, very long story...but I had to tell everything in order for all this to make some semblance of sense to you guys, as I'm 99% sure that this is what's happening to our region right now. Do you guys understand my story? Please, take a minute and let it sink because I know it was quite wild and weird," Merle finished and the whole room was quiet for what seemed like more than a minute.
"Holy crap...and the adventure just keeps on getting crazier and more complicated!" Lakilester broke the silence and nervously laughed at the ridiculousness of it all.
"Wow. I didn't realize there was so much history to the palace! That's just insane. And now, this time, we're dealing with a Queen instead of the King? Should be fun...got interesting experiences fighting a queen," Goombella snarled, referencing the time her, Mario, and the partners fought the Shadow Queen.
"Wow...goddamn...makes sense that there'd be a world like that, though. We've been in different dimensions, so it makes sense that there'd be a world like this, but still...totally crazy!" Daisy exclaimed.
"So, the objective is to go up to the palace, find the gem and find the Crystal Queen, and then kill the bitch? Sounds too easy!" Boshi scoffed.
"Because it DOES sound too easy. You gotta do all that, and travel to the Mirror World to defeat her and close the entryway. As I said in my story...the door being open to another world will cause it to bleed into our world and cause chaos and mass destruction. I mean, it's already happening right now, but the result will be far worse if it's remained open. There are things in that world that should never be exposed to our world. You think our world is crazy as it is right now? Heh...if that door stays open...the unthinkable could easily get in and cause even more chaos that we'll have to deal with," Merle explained, providing a chill down everyone's spines.
"So, the Mirror World, from your story, the King and Queen saw two people that look exactly like them. So, that goes for the rest of us, right? There's another one of 'us' in the Mirror World?" Peach asked with some fear in her voice.
"Exactly. As I also said in the story, your personalities, upbringings, and situations you have gone through or are currently going through will most likely be similar to there in the Mirror World. That's why another name for this is the Parallel World, things happening in a very similar manner at a similar time. For example, if someone in this world dies, there's a great chance that someone in the Mirror World also dies at a similar time, but probably not in the same manner," Merle elaborated.
"Wow! My head's really hurting right now, trying to figure all this out. Geez…but it's kind of cool at the same time!" Kody said.
"God, that was all the Crystal King went through...I had no idea," Bowser spoke, reminiscing on the time he captured the Star Spirits and had the Crystal King take Kalmar as captive. "When I did all that with the Star Spirits, I heard about how a ghost haunts the Crystal Palace. I explored it myself and met the Crystal King, who was very erratic, but exactly what I was looking for at the time. He helped me fulfill my plan without much question...but I had no idea that that was his past. I actually asked him how he ended up this way, but he changed the subject and wanted to know all about my plan in full detail. He was so entertained by it, that it even unnerved ME a little bit back then…"
"Wow. Well, that was the past, so, don't let this get you now," Yoshi advised.
"So, wait, what about the lake then in Shiver City? Some of us saw something in that lake, where a part of the lake floor looked like a giant mirror leading to the other side!" Spike brought up.
"The lake...hmm...hard to say about that one! I will investigate that when I get the chance...but I've always gotten an eerie feeling about that lake...the same eerie feeling that I have right now with all this going on," Merle responded with a curious expression.
"Okay. A lot of stuff to comprehend...but okay. We'll be on it straight away, but I wanna ask something first. The heroes you talked about, we all just found out in a video about Mushroom Corporations that the 12 who started this quest; Peach, Daisy, Rosalina, Luigi, Waluigi, DK, Dixie, Goombella, Toad, Toadette, Yoshi, and Birdo; are connected, or rather, 'descendants' of the 9 heroes that sealed the Crystal Star Rod, and were probably captured by Mushroom Corporations at the beginning of this for that reason. The video said that Merlon did a black magic ritual and that's how he found out. A lot of us aren't sure to believe that, though. I mean...well...what do you think of it? Are you able to do a spell that can confirm this?" Mario questioned. Merle looked intrigued at this.
"Hmm! Merlon did black magic for that...honestly, that wouldn't surprise me if that were the case, that the 12 are descendants of those heroes! It fits almost perfectly, actually...well, in my opinion. Very interesting. Hmm. Well, I'm positive I'll be able to pull off a spell that'll figure that out for you guys! And I'm sure I won't have to use black magic either. I think the only reason why my father did is because using black magic can quicken the process of certain spells, but of course, it's also dangerous...but my father had a habit of being impatient, hehe. So, yes, I should be able to figure out if the 12 are connected to the heroes!" Merle declared, providing some relief for the group.
Suddenly, there were a few bangs on the door and it opened quickly.
"Merle, Merle! The police from Shiver City are here! They said they're looking for Mario and his group!" a Ninji frantically yelled. Everyone got into panic mode.
"Damnit! I didn't think they'd be here this soon! Very well then. Jr. Troopa, take them the backway to the entrance of Shiver Mountain! I'll handle the 'police,' who I'm also sure are just Duplighosts right now! After you guys get the gem and defeat the Crystal Queen, which I'm sure you will, I will perform the spell to examine any connections to the 9 heroes!" Merle instructed and everyone nodded.
"Okay guys, follow me! Be quick and be quiet too!" Jr. Troopa demanded and went out the back door, which led to a tight 'snow alleyway' that wrapped around the back of the village, back towards Shiver Snowfield, completely hidden from the village itself. The gang exited the house and followed Jr. Troopa.
Bowser was at the back of the group with Larry, who was also making sure that Kody was nowhere near them.
"Larry, can we speak for a second?" Bowser whispered.
"Uhh, yeah, what about?" he responded.
"Wanna tell me why you lied to Kody about us believing him!?" He raised his voice a little. Larry sighed frustratingly, not wanting to get into this right now.
"Dad, come on. I want to believe Kody. He doesn't give off 'crazy vibes' like Fire Bro did, and I'm sure he's still traumatized from his family being killed!" Larry explained.
"You're joking, right? You were just telling us back at the Mayor's house that you thought he was lying! Why are you switching it up now? Also, wanting to believe someone and ACTUALLY believing them are two different things!" Bowser pointed out, putting his son's wishy-washy behavior into check.
"Dad...just stop. We're not talking about this right now. We just need to give Kody a little bit of leeway, that's all!" Larry demanded, dancing around the subject now.
"Wait. Hold on here. You're not doing because you see Kody as a brother, do you? Don't tell me you're trying to subconsciously replace Iggy or Roy!" Bowser gasped. Larry looked at him in horror, not believing he just said something so risque.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS? No...that's-that's not what's going on here! I see Kody as KODY, nothing else! He doesn't even remind me of Iggy or Roy! He's nothing like them!" he cried, becoming more emotional now. His father didn't look too convinced though.
"Hmm. Well, either way, I know for damn sure that you know, deep down, that that kid is NOT telling us the full story, whether he's lying about some stuff or withholding certain info. And once we're done with getting the crystal gem, I'm confronting Kody and demanding that he tells us EVERYTHING that happened that night with his family. I've gone through too much to not try to protect my friends and family from people who are clearly not being completely genuine," Bowser stated, coming off as harsh, but it all came from a place of love and care from his perspective. Larry made no response, but his dad could tell he was really thinking about it all.
FORT KOOPINGTON
Rosalina laid in bed, staring drowsily at her diary. It was past noon now. She felt pathetic for being practically constrained to her bed for more than 24 hours now, but she just didn't have the energy to do anything. What was there even to do anyways?
I don't even know what day it is today. I'm at a complete loss at what there is to do...but I just feel like I need to do SOMETHING. But, what? What? Well...last night, thankfully, I had no nightmares, so I hope that's a sign that I'm healing. Still scared to use magic or even meditate though, but I'm aware that I must use it eventually. I just need a little push, I guess? I don't know. Everything is just so depressing and bleak now. I want to think positive but I can't. Perhaps I need a little push there too? I don't know. I don't know! I DON'T KNOW!
...Wait. Monty. He seems like someone who wants to bring goodness everywhere he can. I get a good aura from him, and
Rosalina stopped writing when she realized she wrote the word 'aura.' She thought she couldn't feel auras anymore...but upon thinking about Monty, she felt a nice wave of bright and high energy running through her. It felt good. Rosalina dropped her pen upon realization that her feelings weren't completely wiped out.
"Oh god...this is…" Rosalina gasped, and thought about what to do with this. Then, it clicked for her. Perhaps opening up to Monty would change things? It'd be better than wallowing in misery with nothing getting done.
Rosalina ran out the house and onto the street, running two houses down to Monty's. She knocked on the door. She waited a minute, but no response, not even hearing noise inside the house at all. She rang the doorbell this time. Still nothing after a minute.
"Ugh...nevermind...maybe I'm just getting really ahead of myself," Rosalina said in disappointment then began to walk away.
"VIVIAN!"
Rosalina jumped around to see Monty at his door, all bright and cheery. "Oh! Monty, hi! Sorry, I, uhh, didn't think you were home!"
"Oh! It's okay, I was just washing my dishes! What's going on? I don't have any more bread on me, but I can give you some celery and carrots if you'd like, along with a couple bottles of water and a cup of freshly squeezed lemonade!" Monty happily offered.
"No, that's alright. I was actually wondering if it'd be okay if I come in and...um, tell you about my past," Rosalina said upfront. Monty looked a little surprised at this.
"Oh...sure! Okay. Come on in. We can talk in the dining room!" Monty obliged and Rosalina walked on in. Monty led her to the dining room as Rosalina noted how nice his house was. It was small, with only two bedrooms and a bathroom, a kitchen, a small living room, and a small dining room, but it worked for just one person.
Rosalina sat down at the brown dining table. She observed the pictures on the wall. A few from Monty when he was younger, a few family pictures, and one of him and a female Monty Mole. She stared at that picture the longest, and Monty noticed this.
"Yes, that's my late fiancee right there. I know it's weird to keep it hanging up, but it's hard to let go, you know? I feel like I'm doing her honor a disservice if I throw our picture away...her name was Montara, by the way," Monty explained.
"Oh, it's not weird at all. I know how hard it is to let go of a loved one...although mine is quite fresh still…" Rosalina related.
"Hmm? Oh! I'm so sorry. I take it that it has to do with your past and why you came all the way here? Is that right?" Monty asked.
She nodded as her eyes welled up. "Yes...among many other things. First, let me tell you that my name isn't Vivian...it's Rosalina. I lied about that because I wasn't ready to reveal my true self to you just yet. I didn't like being me after all the stuff that's happened and what I've done."
Monty smirked and nodded. "I had a hunch! You don't look like a Vivian, but Rosalina...that's even more of a beautiful name. Well, alrighty then. Tell me your story, Rosalina. I am all ears!"
"Alright. Well, you know what's going on in Mushroom City, right? I'll have to start from the beginning of that...but first, Monty, I need you to promise me something," Rosalina said with a little intensity.
"Yeah, what is it? What do you need me to promise you?"
"Promise that you won't send me away after I tell you everything. I'll be completely honest, Monty, what I'm going to say is probably going to frighten you and look at me differently, and that's okay if that ends up happening...but please don't send me away," she pleaded, hoping to the stars that this can be someone that'll help pull her out of her funk and connect with.
Monty looked noticeably overwhelmed by how intense Rosalina was being, but remained calm and understanding of her plight.
"I-I promise. Thanks for the heads up by the way, I think that'll help."
"You're welcome. Now then, here it goes...it all started when Tatanga destroyed part of Mushroom City, and me and some of my friends went on this crazy and hectic journey to save the world from his domination…"
EOC.
Next chapter marks the halfway point of the arc! After that, the arc will have 5 chapters remaining...or possibly 6, as I'm still outlining the end of the arc. So, due to that, the next chapter will only be focused on the adventure gang, because I really want at least one chapter in this arc to only focus on the main storyline. Next chapter, the gang makes their way to the Crystal Palace and deals with the enemies that inhabit the place, some surprises that throw a total curveball to the group's ventures, and the trek inside Mirror World also begins...with some odd surprises as well. Next chapter will be uploaded on or before Monday, November 30. Thanks for reading!
