TanookiRoxx: Hey, glad to have cheered you up with my content! Yeah, this has been a messy month for me overall, but I'm glad that it's at the end now.
Princess Toady: Aw shucks at the compliments for the Chapter 107 backstory! Yeah, I REALLY enjoyed doing that, and I actually think it was the first time I've ever done anything like that in this story. Hope you've been good!
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., E. Gadd, Clawdia, Katia, Kenneth, Toodles
Mushroom Corps.: Arfur, Toadari (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
Elsewhere: Tadano
ST. TOADOFSKY'S HOSPITAL
Toadette, Tippi, Toadsworth, Morton, Lemmy, Ludwig, Bowser Jr., and Toodles were in Bleck's patient room. About an hour had passed since Tadano escaped the hospital and is now somewhere in the city. Everyone was sitting in silence, with all of them being frustrated at the situation, and with the lack of whereabouts of Dr. Nokano and E. Gadd.
"Well...this fucking sucks. We're at a standstill. No sign of E. Gadd and Nokano anywhere, Tadano is out on the streets, and Bleck ended up getting hospitalized all because some little kid is now brainwashed because of that asshole. What the hell are we supposed to do now?" Morton summarized with an exhausted sigh.
"Nothing, I'm afraid. On the plus side, Tadano is only one person...there's nothing much he can do to try to hurt us, if he wants to go down that path, unless he finds another group of maniacs out on the streets much like those koopatrols, but I doubt it," Toadsworth put it directly.
"And he can't try to get to Tatanga either, because the teleportation device in that castle is now broken, so...I'm not sure what his plan is, but let him stay out there in those streets. Let him suffer. We gave him a chance to come clean and cooperate and he blew it. If he tries to come back, we won't let him in!" Tippi angrily declared, shocking a few of the others since she usually doesn't sound that cold.
"Ergh...that's true," Bleck groaned, still in pain. "The downside is, though, we may never know if Tadano forced Mimi to come to the island and get captured by Tatanga, or if she really went there on her own accord. I just...I'm sorry, I just can't see her going to save a boy that she only knew for a few days. No offense to you, Koopalings."
"None taken at all. Roy is fucked in the head and I feel like Mimi should've known that trying to save him would've put her in a world of danger. Someone like that is unsaveable. I hate Roy...I don't consider him as my brother anymore," Ludwig harshly declared.
"Wow. Really, Ludwig? I mean, I know he's done horrible things, but it's still hard for me to not picture him as a part of our family still. I dunno. Maybe it still has to sink in more," Junior said with some shock.
"It's hard for me too, Junior, but we gotta do what we gotta do. When those guys get all the gems and we go to that island, if Roy is there...well, one of us is gonna have to kill him. He already killed two people, although one was by accident, but he may as well have killed more by joining Tatanga. Not saying it'll be easy, but it's what has to be done," Lemmy added to support Ludwig's stance.
"Yeah. We're past the point of giving people second chances, even when it comes to family. The second you join a team that wants to kill millions of people, that's it. You're done. Marked on the list to be killed. No 'ifs' 'ands' or 'buts' about it," Morton stated.
"Does Bowser feel the same way about that, though? Has he talked about possibly having to kill his own son when we finally battle Tatanga?" Toadette asked.
"He didn't outright say it, but he alluded to it when he came back from Tatanga's island. I think he knows that it's gotta be done, but I also think that, if it were to come down to it, Bowser would want to do it himself, not anyone else," Morton responded.
"Why do you think that? Why him, and not any of you guys?" Tippi questioned.
"I'm actually not too sure...I guess it's just a gut feeling I have. But, I think, of course, my father would understand it if any of us would've had to kill Roy in self-defense," Morton answered as he got a little teary-eyed at that thought.
"Hmm. Does this Mimi have feelings for your brother? Is that why she went over to that place to try to 'save' him?" Toodles questioned curiously.
"Probably. I saw them hang out quite a few times when we were at the other hospital before this one. I don't understand how Mimi could fall for him so quickly, especially when she seemed like she didn't want anything to do with him after he accidentally killed Nastasia, who was her friend," Morton answered.
Toodles gasped a little. "He accidentally killed someone!? And now he's with Tatanga!? Goodness, I don't understand HOW that woman has feelings for him anyway now! Talk about completely absurd!"
"It's actually worse than that. He also PURPOSELY killed another person named Dry Bones and gave our location away to Tatanga, which led to a horrible shooting at the previous hospital. Yeah, I don't understand it either!" Lemmy further specified to get her in the loop. Toodles looked even more horrified.
"God! What have I gotten myself into!? This is a horror story! I knew I should've stayed at my luxurious Neon Heights apartment! At least I could be getting tipsy on wine right now and take a bunch of sleeping pills, so I can snooze away this goddamn apocalypse!" Toodles pouted obnoxiously, prompting eye rolls from everyone once again.
"Can I ask you something? Do you ever think before you speak!?" Lemmy growled in annoyance.
"Of course I do, I just don't care what people think of me," Toodles shrugged his aggressive question off.
"Suuuuuure. Whatever helps you sleep at night…" Ludwig scoffed. Toodles looked offended at this.
A knock was heard on the ajar door. Everyone looked to it and saw Arfur coming in. No one looked happy to see him.
"Hey, guys. I was just coming around the hospital to make sure everything was going okay, but then I heard about you, Bleck! And also about Tadano. Damn. I'm glad you're okay, but with Tadano being gone...what do you guys have planned now?" Arfur asked. Everyone either looked away from him or looked irritated by his presence.
"I don't think there's anything to plan concerning Tadano. He's on his own, out there in the city. Let himself get killed or lost," Bleck bluntly spoke.
"Right. Makes sense. He's too unpredictable anyways, so probably for the best. Anything else going on here?" Arfur continued asking much to the annoyance of everyone else, and he could see it in their faces. They clearly didn't want to talk to him.
"Nope. Thanks for dropping by, Arfur. See you around!" Morton raised his voice, pushing him to leave. Arfur looked a little pissed at this.
"Okay, what the hell!? What is up with you guys? Do you all not trust me or something? I don't understand why I keep being given the cold shoulder by you all!" the doogan cried.
"Don't act like you don't know. You work for a shady company and you answer to them only. We don't know if we can trust you, Arfur...but we sure as hell don't trust your company," Morton angrily revealed.
"Is Mushroom Corporations even looking out for us anymore!? Or are they just all in this for themselves? Because it really feels like they could be easily giving us more protection than they have been, you know, considering how supposedly powerful they are!" Junior added to the suspicion. Arfur looked panicky now.
"L-Look everyone! I know, I answer to them, but I swear, apart from what they tell me to do for you guys, I don't know anything! I'm not even close to being one of their top guys! I do agree that my work SHOULD be giving you more protection, but I have no power over that! You have to believe me!" the doogan pleaded.
"That...that doesn't really make us feel any better about the situation," Toadette said with a loss of hope in her voice.
"It's getting very hard to trust people outside our group now from what we've all experienced. You must understand that by now, don't you?" Toadsworth questioned.
Arfur looked so helpless and lost. He started to panic a little more and held his chest. "I-I know. You've all been through hell. You're tired, you're pissed off, you're hurting...I know. But, please...I'm your guys's side. I'm not the enemy here. You don't have anything to worry about when it comes to my work either! Plus, if my work was really THAT shady, they wouldn't have you guys set up in our hospital, then have you moved to this hospital after the shooting!"
"Maybe that was just to get our trust into your guys' hands? To make us not think twice of the things your job has done that makes no sense. The biggest of all being Fire Bro...you employed a psychotic manipulator and knowingly let him be around the people we care about. You had to have known that, at the very least, Arfur. You had to have known about his past when he was venturing with the others to find the gems. You had to have known that he was too unpredictable to be among, not just us, but all these innocent people too," Tippi laid it down on him. Arfur sighed sadly and choked up a little.
"I don't know what else there is to say, you guys...all I'm doing is just following orders. I care for you all!" he said, holding his tears back.
"If all you do is follow your company's orders and nothing else, then that means you're just a pawn. You get to have no moral code when it comes to them and they get to decide everything and let you take the brunt of any consequences. They're playing you like a pawn, and you're letting them," Morton stated harshly. Those words shook Arfur's core and echoed through his head. He sighed again as he wiped his eyes and slowly exited the room.
"Uhh, am I the only one that's completely out of the loop here!?" Toodles asked, not having a clue what was just happening.
"Oh yeah! You weren't there when all of the Arfur crap was going down. Let's catch you up real quick on what's been happening…" Lemmy said and was about to tell the story, until another surprise guest came in and quickly shut the door.
"E. GADD! Where have you been!? We looked all over for you!" Toadette hollered in surprise.
"Yeah, and do you know where Dr. Nokano is? He was with you last time we saw you," Ludwig asked.
"Shhhh! We have to be quiet and discreet right now. I saw Arfur leave the hospital, so this is the perfect time to let you guys in on what Nokano and I have been talking about," E. Gadd hurriedly spoke. Everyone else looked at each other in confusion.
"Wait, what? Does it have to do with Arfur? What were you guys talking about that was so secret anyways?" Morton questioned.
E. Gadd looked all around the room with a suspicious expression upon his face. Everyone looked even more confused.
"Uhh, are you okay over there?" Lemmy asked.
"This has nothing to do with Arfur, but I need you all to follow me. It's crucial. Please!" E. Gadd commanded sternly. Everyone else was a little caught off guard by his sudden instructions but complied.
"Okay...now you're starting to scare me. We're not being invaded by a bunch of costume-wearing lowlife koopas again, are we?" Toodles grunted.
"No, nothing like that. Bleck, I'll catch you up on this later, as you have to stay here in bed!" E. Gadd said.
"Oh! Blumiere, should I stay here with you, or…?" Tippi yelped.
"No, go on ahead. If it's really important, then you should be there to hear it," Bleck said.
E. Gadd led the group from Bleck's room over to the basement door and went down. They walked down the hallway, past the cells, and into a room on the right. The room contained old medical records and documentations in numerous filing cabinets along with some office desks with scattered notes and papers. E. Gadd walked over to a large bookshelf with a bunch of reference books that no one seemed to have any idea what it was about, and the professor pulled on one of the reference books, and a loud click noise was unheard. E. Gadd then pulled the bookshelf outward from the left side, revealing a door without a knob. Everyone looked astounded by this! The professor then knocked on the door, it opened, revealing Dr. Nokano.
"Ah, good, you've brought them all! Come on in, quickly now!" the doctor cheered.
"HOLD UP! What's going on here? What is this!? This is a secret room, were you in here this whole time we were trying to find you!? WHY?" Morton questioned with a mix of frustration and perplexion.
"Yes, we were, and we'll explain everything, but you first must all get in and remain quiet, please…" E. Gadd urged, then shut the bookshelf back in its original place, then shut the door, and locked it. Everyone looked around the room, noticing that it looked just like a typical conference room, but there were more filing cabinets about and the fact that this almost came off as some kind of underground bunker came off as eerie to the gang.
"Uhh, what is this room used for exactly? And are we the only people that know about it?" Toadsworth asked.
"Err, that I can't reveal right now...but yes, you all are the only people that know about this, along with a few other staff members," Dr. Nokano answered, not helping the eeriness of the place.
"Ooookaaaayyy...so what's so important that you had to bring us all the way down here for?" Toadette nervously asked.
"The reason why I brought you all down to this specific room is because for one, Nokano and I know for 100% fact that this room isn't bugged nor can any cameras see us," E. Gadd revealed. The professor saying that had put everyone else even more on edge.
"Uhh, what is that supposed to mean? You saying we're being spied on!?" Ludwig shrieked.
"That's exactly what he's saying. What E. Gadd had to talk to me in private about actually had to do with Arfur and his company, Mushroom Corporations. They can't be trusted," Dr. Nokano affirmed.
"Well...we actually got that kind of figured out by now. The evidence against them is pretty highly stacked, although Arfur just denies it...actually, no, not even that, he just brushes them off and acts like we're being overdramatic, when we're really just looking out for each other!" Bowser Jr. said with some disgust.
"Oh, I know. Believe me, I was there when you guys talked about Arfur and his job, and the whole Fire Bro thing, and I've even caught up Nokano on it all! Now…look at what I've found in that meeting room on the third floor we always have our 'conferences' in," E. Gadd spoke then showed everyone a small, black and busted speaker-looking device to everyone.
"What is that supposed to be?" Toodles asked.
"It's a device one can use to spy on people, hear everything they're saying! I found it underneath the big table in the meeting room...and guess who's been in there more than once outside of Mario's group? ARFUR! He bugged that room so his job can listen to whatever we talk about!" E. Gadd answered, providing major shock to the others.
"Holy shit! Okay, this just confirms that we're being fucked with, AGAIN!" Morton exclaimed.
"My god! So, um, what is their agenda then in that case? To take over the world just like Tatanga, but in a more subtle manner? I don't understand their endgame here. Everything Arfur and his job have been doing have been so suspicious, but it also makes no sense! What are their objectives!?" Tippi cried while questioning everything about this mess.
"Their objective is to have total control of the Mushroom Kingdom...and possibly the world. I guess that's another way of saying 'taking over the world,' but yes, it's in a much more subtle manner. I know this because I worked with Mushroom Corporations on a collaborative project a few years ago. I discovered a few things about that company that made me very suspicious of them during that time and managed to secretly snag some documents and video evidence of that place, what they do, and what their agenda is.
That place is VERY high-tech and crafty. They have cameras everywhere in the city, and potentially the whole kingdom, although that hasn't been confirmed as of yet. But, thankfully...they are not as techy and crafty as me! Heehee! This, my friends, is why I took Nokano with me to discuss this stuff in secret. He runs this hospital, and we're all staying here, so I felt it only was fair that I tell him this information about Arfur and Mushroom Corporations, and have him decide what to do with that information pertaining to this place. We both came to the consensus to tell you all, and we're planning on telling Mario and the rest when they get back," E. Gadd responded in excitement, as he got out a large phone from his pocket. This info stunned the group further.
"What the f...so, we're not just dealing with one asshole who's hellbent on world domination...BUT TWO!? Come on, does this shit EVER end!?" Ludwig angrily groaned.
"Good god! I didn't realize this kingdom was filled with so many power-hungry lunatics! I thought it was just the princess and Bowser and his family! Share with us what you found!" Toodles demanded.
"Hey, we're standing right here you know! And why the hell do you think Peach, of all people, is power-hungry and a lunatic!?" Lemmy questioned.
"I...have my reasons…" Toodles said while shifting her eyes around the room.
"Okay. I'm about to show you guys what I found while I was working there. I'm gonna show you some pictures, then I'll show you a few videos," E. Gadd said as he was getting the photos up on his phone. He flipped it horizontally and showed the group, with everyone peering in closely.
The first photo was of a large white board with a bunch of complex-looking equations, and drawings of a human body, along with drawings of what looked like DNA and molecular compounds.
"Uhh, what the hell are we supposed to be looking at exactly? A lot of us here don't do math!" Morton said.
"Right. To put it simply, this is all about blood and DNA. To put it in simplest terms, the key experiments Mushroom Corporations have been doing for the past however many years they've been doing this, is to create beings with superhuman qualities. This all started when Mario came into this world…" E. Gadd explained and swiped to the next pic on his phone, which showed a picture of Mario laying on a table in some laboratory, clearly unconscious. Some gasps were heard.
"What!? What does Mario have to do with this!?" Toadette shrieked.
"I wasn't there when the experimentation on Mario had occurred, but I heard so much about it from the time I was there, that I requested to know more info about the situation and was granted access to the files as the project I was working on with them was similar. I took pictures of various documents and photos of the case. Long story short, Mushroom Corporations captured Mario not too long after he successfully defeated Bowser when he kidnapped the princess for the first time, in order to study him, because he possessed superhuman qualities that intrigued the company," E. Gadd said and swiped to the next pic, which showed a written document in black ink.
"This document was written by Professor Fungi, who was in charge of this operation of experimenting on Mario. It's quite long and complex, but the summarized version of it is that tests were performed on Mario, using extraction and analysis of his blood and DNA. Him and his colleagues compared his blood and DNA to that of Pauline's, whom they also captured secretly and was tested upon too. They did this because they wanted to see if anything was different about his DNA compared to another human being's.
To skip all the fancy molecular and biology talk, they found that Mario's DNA had a 'defect' in it compared to Pauline's. There were extra molecular pairs that were found that don't match the pairs found in a typical human's blood when it comes to DNA, which is Adenine, Thymine, Guanine, and Cytosine. No one knows what these additional 'defect' pairs are, but it struck major curiosity from everyone at the company…" E. Gadd continued showing a picture of Pauline on a table, also unconscious, and a picture of an electronic lab result detailing Mario's blood and DNA result analysis.
"Jesus...they just do this to unsuspecting people!? Capture them and bring them in for testing just because they can!? That's beyond sickening!" Tippi cried in disgust.
"Man, this is really scary. The fact that people just do this right underneath our noses! This is really the world we live in...not even counting Tatanga's crap," Lemmy spoke with a shiver.
"But, why go through all this testing on Mario, and drag Pauline into this!? What exactly do they have in mind for his blood and DNA? Is it just purely for research purposes, or something more?" Toadsworth asked in frustration, but was scared to know the answer.
"Oh ho...a lot more, Toadsworth. Believe me when I say it gets worse. So, Mushroom Corporations labels Mario's blood and DNA as 'superhuman.' They experimented by injecting Mario's blood and DNA into a koopa named Kris, who was a homeless man that Mushroom Corporations also found and dragged into this case. Professor Fungi lied on a video documentation on this case, saying Kris was a 'volunteer' but that isn't true. The company literally sent out people to find someone who no one would miss in case things go wrong in this experiment...and they found this young homeless koopa, drugged him, and brought him back for experimentation.
The experimentation did not work out as planned. The injection of Mario's blood and DNA caused a vicious reaction from Kris, causing him to go bonkers, kill a few workers, and escape the workplace. Police were sent out to track him down, but since THAT also wasn't leading anywhere, Mushroom Corporations hired a bounty hunter by the name of Fire Bro to help track down Kris. If you ask me, the decision to hire a bounty hunter to hunt down a vicious, unthinkable man that the police couldn't even catch was a move that made zero sense...but at the same time, I think the company wanted an excuse to have a bounty hunter on their hands, because before Fire Bro, they had none.
So, that 'Fire Bro' is Konnor Korpus, who we all know by now is completely psychotic and a mental asylum escapee, and Mushroom Corporations let him join the group that was sent out to find the gems. Now, why would they send out an untrustworthy psychopath in a group that's set on saving the world? Well...we'll get to more of that in a minute.
So, the experimentation case of Kris was a failure and put Professor Fungi's job into jeopardy. Well...actually, to be more specific, it got him killed. However...this also sparked the inspiration to try something else...and that, my friends, was cloning," E. Gadd made another reveal and swiped to the next pic, showing a huge white board with all kinds of equations and drawings of a human body, toad body, and a koopa body.
"CLONING!? You're being absolutely serious right now? Cloning as in identical copies of a person!?" Toodles shrieked.
"Exactly, but with a twist. Cloning of specific types of people, people who are deemed as 'desirable' in society...those people are human beings, toads, and koopas. All other species are not counted in the cloning process. What the deal here is, they've already started cloning inanimate objects...tables, drinks, foods, computers, televisions, etcetera…" E. Gadd confirmed, showing pics on his phone of the cloned objects in a huge machine that presumably did the cloning process.
"WOW. I just...this is unbelievable and pretty horrifying. Cloning...goddamn...so...did they ever do cloning of actual people yet!?" Ludwig said in terror.
"As far as I know...not yet. But, here's where the twist comes in. The 12 people that Mushroom Corporations captured at the beginning of Tatanga's takeover, who are Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Toad, Toadette, DK, Dixie, Goombella, Yoshi, Birdo, Rosalina, and Waluigi, they all have special blood and DNA similar to Mario's. Their blood and DNA have been deemed as also 'superhuman-like.' The plan is to extract their blood and DNA, utilize the components that make their blood DNA 'superheroic,' clone that blood DNA, inject that into participants that are deemed 'desirable'...and then clone those same people over and over again, to create the 'perfect race' of superbeings.
So...do you see where this is heading to yet? Mushroom Corporations wants to create a race of 'superbeings' that'll help dominate and take control of the world. Think of it as an authoritarian type of global society. Everything is monitored and kept in check by the 'people in power.' Anything that goes against their regime will be eliminated. Every person on the planet will have less control and power over their own lives than they would originally want. Individualism will suffer. That's where they're going with this," he continued, further putting the terror in the others at this atrocious revelation.
"I...my god...I don't even know what to say at this point...so, they wanna take over the world...ju-just like Tatanga? Wait! Is that why they're having Mario's group go out and get these gems!? So Mushroom Corporations can make sure that they get the Crystal Star Rod to defeat Tatanga, so that Mushroom Corporations can go through with their own domination plan, or even use the Crystal Star Rod for their own purposes!?" Tippi theorized in a panic.
"HOLY SHIT, this makes so much sense now! They don't give a fuck if some of us die, they just wanna be sure that all the gems are collected so the Crystal Star Rod can be gained! That's it! That explains EVERYTHING! That's why they're acting so fucking shady, they're playing both sides for their own gain!" Morton concluded all the while becoming very pissed off.
"My goodness, E. Gadd! This is on a whole other level of apocalyptic! I must ask, how do you even know all of this!? I know you said you worked there for a project, so is that how? Please explain because this is just madness! And what was the project you worked on anyways?" Toadsworth demanded to know.
"I'll answer your questions about the project and how I know all of this at the end. I wanna get through the rest of the stuff first!" E. Gadd insisted. "Now...adding more proof that they are in for world domination, just like Tatanga...look at this!"
E. Gadd swiped to the next photo, which showed an enormous screen with, what looked like, hundreds or possibly thousands of security cameras within the screen.
"Uhhh...what are we looking at here exactly? Wait...are those all security camera footages!? So, they're also legit spying on, not just us, but the whole world too!?" Bowser Jr. shrieked at this beyond disturbing realization.
"Exactly, although, this is just the Mushroom Kingdom that they have surveillance on...but that's all they need for now. When the takeover of the Kingdom happens, it'll be very easy to do that to the rest of the world. They have specific groups of people looking at each section of camera footage pertaining to the area. For example...we're in the Crowns District. There is a group of guys that observe security camera footage all over this district...including in this hospital. That's why I had us go in here. There are no cameras in this room, but there are a few scattered about in the hospital, with sound.
The reason for all this is because they're scoping out the most important places to take control over. With a hospital to takeover, they can more easily hide cures from various diseases like types of cancers from the public, decide who shall be vaccinated from other diseases and who won't get the vaccinations, and so forth. Now, imagine that scenario times all the other important places in the kingdom, or even the world! They'll make everything into their own personal Hell for the common folk," E. Gadd expanded on this notion. The awful and disturbing evidence of what's been happening at that company right underneath everyone's noses was overwhelming and mind-boggling.
"This is horrible. How can...how can people just do that? And why? All that money and resources used for evil purposes. Why not put it towards charities or help out places with dying economies!? What a waste!" Toadsworth became livid at this nonsense.
"Great. So now we have a SECOND villain to take down to save the world from being totally corrupted. Are we ever going to get a damn break!?" Lemmy angrily groaned.
"Um...i-is there more, E. Gadd? I don't know how much more I take of this if there really is more…" Toadette started to sob, feeling the most overwhelmed in that room.
"Unfortunately, there is. Although Arfur bugged us, I managed to place an almost microscopic bug onto him when he didn't even notice! I did this the last time we had a big meeting. The bug is connected to my phone and I managed to save an audio file of this conversation between him and his boss, whose name is Toadari. Listen now. This conversation happened this morning," E. Gadd exposed furthermore and swiped to the next screen, which played an audio of the conversation. Everyone listened closely.
"Boss, I'm really trying not to panic, but Mario and his friends are really getting on to, not just me, but also the whole company. They're not gonna let this go! What should we do!?" Arfur cried.
"For pete's sake, Arfur, get it together! All you need to do is play it cool, keep your mouth shut, and let me handle the rest," Toadari stated.
"Look, I'm trying my best here, but those guys are smart. They've practically figured out by now that we're not up to any good. I don't want this to go any further than it is now! I don't want us to be raided and shut down by them!" Arfur yelled.
"HA! Arfur, listen to yourself, do you REALLY think those people will be enough to stop US!? We are beyond anything they've ever faced before. Some of them may be stronger than the rest of the world's commoners, but it won't be enough to shut us down, not even close. Quit getting into your own head about this," Toadari tried to shut down his worries, but it wasn't working as Arfur was still heard being kind of panicky.
"I just...fine! But, boss...you know damn well that, after they defeat Tatanga, they're coming after us next. They're not gonna just let this go after he's gone, especially since they'll have the Crystal Star Rod, you know, the world's most powerful weapon! With that weapon, we'll be reduced to nothing! Do you see what I'm saying now!?"
"ARFUR! Enough! I've already thought about that! Man...it's like you keep underestimating or second guessing me! When they get that Crystal Star Rod...we will follow their every move, and as soon as they least expect it, we'll snag that item out of their hands. We'll come up with a fake story about why we need it and tell them we'll protect it at all costs. This way, we'll be completely unstoppable. We'll be the most influential and powerful force in the world."
Arfur was heard sighing. "Okay. I'm sorry, boss, I do trust you, it's just…"
"Just what? What!? Don't tell me you've become completely bonded with those people! They are not your friends, Arfur. Just tools to help us ensure Tatanga is stopped and that the Crystal Star Rod is in our hands. That's it. I even told you from the start, DO NOT become overly involved with their matters. Hell, that group of so-called 'friends' is a lot more fucked in the head than they appear. We've got dirt on all of them that you haven't even seen yet, Arfur. You know...I could show you that 'dirt'...may help change your perspective on this matter?"
"No no!" the doogan quickly responded. "No need. You're right, I'm way into my head about this. I'm sorry, Toadari. I just need to keep up appearances and separate my feelings from those people. I knew what I was in here for and I'll strive to keep it that way."
"Excellent. Now, Arfur, I must ask you to leave, as I have a very important matter to attend to right now."
"Alright. See you later."
The audio file ended there. Again, the whole group was speechless and disturbed.
"THAT FUCKING TRAITOR! So, this whole plan of saving the world from Tatanga was just a ruse to get the Crystal Star Rod for their own stupid purposes!? I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THIS WORLD HAS SO MANY FUCKED UP PEOPLE IN IT!" Morton raged.
"Holy hell...okay, the second that group gets back, we need to tell them about this. Imagine how much more damage a top secret, high-tech governmental organization could do over Tatanga! Sure, they might not PHYSICALLY destroy the world, but people will lose their freedoms and worldwide chaos will ensue!" Toadsworth declared.
"Well, even then, the fact is that they have the MEANS to destroy the world with the Crystal Star Rod, if they really wanted to...which makes them just as dangerous as Tatanga, perhaps moreso!" Nokano added.
"I'm getting a really bad headache from this. Why can't some people just be kind to each other without any hidden motives?" Toadette sobbed a little more, which made Junior give her a sidehug, feeling for her.
"We gotta come up with a plan then to take down Mushroom Corporations as soon as we get our hands on the Crystal Star Rod! Or...maybe we could do that BEFORE we even get the Crystal Star Rod? Or is that a really dumb idea?" Lemmy suggested.
"No...no...not a dumb idea at all actually...because I think that actually gives ME a great idea!" E. Gadd said, rubbing his hands together as an excited smile grew upon his face.
"Hmm...not to steer the conversation completely, but E. Gadd...I AM really curious to know how you're able to snag those photos so easily of this Mushroom Corporations, and what that project was that you worked on with them, and how you know about those 12 people's blood DNA being important," Toodles asked with a suspicioning expression.
"Oh, of course! So...the project that I worked on at Mushroom Corporations was a-"
E. Gadd suddenly fell silent as faint screams were heard from above.
"Oh shit! That doesn't sound good!" Ludwig yelped.
"Goddamnit! What the hell could be going on now!?" Nokano huffed, then led the way out to investigate.
CRYSTAL PALACE - MIRROR WORLD
"AAAHHH!" Mario roared, rising to the surface of the icy water that everyone fell in from being blown into the 'abyss' by the Crystal Queen. He coughed and saw everyone else either freaking out, coughing from the water, or struggling to stay afloat. They were in, what looked like, a large basement.
"Agh! Guys, over here!" Mario roared again, and swam to a large landing with a black door only being on the landing along with a few large lit torches that illuminated the area.
"FU-FU-FUCK, NOT THESE ICY WATERS AGAIN!" Boshi screamed, immediately remembering the freezing waters in the lake that he and the others jumped in to save Dixie and Kody.
"SOMEONE HELP, I CAN'T SWIM WELL!" Starlow screamed for her life. DK went over to her and had her hold on to him as he swam to the landing.
"AAAHHHH! WHAT THE FUCK IS UNDER THE WATER!? Do you all see this!?" Jojora screamed looking through the somewhat clear water that there were a few skeletons. More screams and cries of disgust were heard from the others.
"Like, th-that's fucking disgusting! We better not catch anything from these filthy waters!" Goombella shrieked as she struggled to get herself onto land.
"Ohhhh my arm...someone help, I can't get myself up!" Wario moaned in pain, his left arm feeling immobilized. Mona and Daisy pulled him to the landing and helped pull him up.
"What's wrong with your arm? You can't move it at all!?" Mona asked in a panic, holding his left arm. She saw the wound site where the Frost Piranha had bit him, and the wound pulsated as it looked very veiny and purple-ish around the site.
"N-No...and it hurts so much! It feels like it's totally frozen!" Wario cried. Mario felt his left arm and it indeed felt ice cold, although it was just in icy waters so Mario felt the other arm to compare the temperatures, and the left arm indeed felt colder than the other one.
"God, what kind of venom did that Frost Piranha have!? I don't know how we'll even fix this," Mario said in worry.
"W-We'll just have to have the doctors figure it out w-when we get back to Mushroom City, there's nothing w-we can do about it now!" Pauline said, her teeth chattering as she wrung out her hair.
"Or...unless Merle can do something about it!? He could probably conjure up some magic spell to get rid of the venom or whatever's causing your arm to feel frozen!" Spike suggested.
"D-Doesn't matter, just help me stand up, and let's get the hell out of this weird place!" Wario demanded. Mona helped him and had him lean on her to stand for support.
"Are we all accounted for!? We're all okay, right? Well, as okay as we can possibly be at the moment?" DK called out with him and the others scanning around to make sure everyone was on land and not going under in the icy water.
"I-I think we're all here, but man, I'm tired of this water! I really hope we don't get hypothermia!" Kody cried while shivering greatly.
"I think we'll be fine as long as we're not in the water for too long. But, um, sooo...that was the Crystal Queen, wasn't it?" Koopie changed the subject to what got them in the water basement in the first place.
"Yeah, that had to be her. Damn! Well, if she's anything like the Crystal King, then she shouldn't be too difficult to beat!" Parakarry said.
"Well, wait, we need to figure out where the hell Koops and Bombette are! Those Duplighosts impersonated them, but how the hell did Koops and Bombette just plain DISAPPEAR!? That doesn't make any sense!" Kooper pointed out.
"The Crystal Queen must've used some magic crap for that! Fuck. I hope they're okay, wherever they are…" Daisy grunted.
"Hold on a sec. If Koops and Bombette got 'copied' by Duplighosts and ended up being fakes...that could mean Flurrie is fake too! That Duplighost copied her as well!" Yoshi pointed out, making everyone gasp with fear and look to the wind spirit.
"EXCUSE ME!? I am completely legitimate! I promise to you all that I am the real thing, Madame Flurrie, the one who helped kill the Shadow Queen long ago!" Flurrie yelped and reminded everyone of her past to solidify that she was real.
"I believe you, Flurrie, and I think the rest of us should too. With Koops and Bombette, they disappeared for like 10 seconds, long enough for them to 'switch' with a Duplighost. Flurrie didn't disappear, so I'm pretty sure it's her," Lakilester recalled.
"Yeah, that makes sense. Okay. So...where the hell do we go from here then?" Luvbi asked.
"There is only one way to go. That door," Mario pointed. "No clue where it's gonna go, but it's the only path that could lead us to the way out and, hopefully, to find Koops and Bombette."
"Let's also be aware of the fact that we're most likely gonna have to defeat the Crystal Queen, so everyone, be prepared for that too," Bowser instructed, drying his gun off from the torches' heat.
Mario opened the door and led the group through a narrow passageway. Everyone walked forward quickly but very carefully. The wall design was in a darker shade than the design in the original Crystal Palace.
They saw another door at the end, getting closer as they approached it. They prepared themselves to deal with anything that poses a threat beyond that door.
Mario quickly opened the door and ran out into a large room that looked very reminiscent of a typical torture dungeon. Chains were everywhere, a couple of cages were hanging from the ceiling (with one containing a skeleton), and a few bloodied and dented swords and maces were in the corner.
"Holy shit...what did we just walk into!?" Kody cried.
"And, oh god! It smells horrible in here! The fucking smell of rotting corpses!" Koopie shrieked.
"Oh man, I hope Koops and Bombette weren't in here getting tortured! This is scary!" Starlow screeched, holding on tight to Luvbi.
"Damn...uhh...okay! Try to ignore it! There are, uhh, two doors in here, so...let's try that one straight ahead!" Mario commanded, ignoring the godawful stench and the deathly energy that room was giving as best as he could. Before anyone could take a step, though…
"I DON'T THINK SO!"
The loud, feminine voice rang in everyone's ears and echoed throughout the room, startling them all. A spirit wearing a pink robe and a pink crown appeared before them and laughed maniacally.
"It's the Crystal Queen! Everyone, get ready!" Larry warned, getting into a fighting stance.
"Ohhhhhh don't bother doing that, my dear. I'm not here to fight...well...YET. Besides, you would definitely lose, so there's no point in pretending to be all tough right now!" the Crystal Queen spoke arrogantly.
"Gee, considering we've defeated a King Boo, who was also a ghost by the way, the Koopa Brothers with their rabid Pokemon, a ripoff Shadow Queen, an old witch, a psychotic raccoon scientist, and an interdimensional hellbeing, I'd say we're pretty confident in kicking your ass!" Dixie recalled all the tough bosses who boasted the similar speeches about how 'unbeatable' they were.
"Yeah, you're pretty much sounding like a broken record there. Do you villains really truly believe that you'll survive whatever 'evilness' you're planning to carry out?" Parakarry asked.
The Crystal Queen made a loud huff. "I see then. Fine. Hmm...yes, I do get quite a heavy energetic feel from you all, though. It's quite dark and worn out and...drained. Very odd! I wouldn't expect such mysterious auras from people who clearly want to save the world. Usually, the 'heroes' are more vibrant and 'alive' but you all...damn. Who'da thought?"
"We've been through a lot of shit. We've seen a lot of shit. We're impatient, exhausted, and over the small talk. Where the hell are Koops and Bombette!?" Luigi angrily asked, as Bowser and Boshi pointed their handguns at the queen, along with Peach and Spike holding up their maces, and Wario and Kooper holding up their electric and blindness guns.
"Now now, look at yourselves. Ready to thrash a mere spirit! C'mon now...you may be impatient, but you're not dumb. Your two friends are still alive, if that's what you really wanna know," the Crystal Queen scoffed at them.
"Okay, but WHERE are they!? And you have our gem too, so give that back because it doesn't belong in this world!" Peach yelled.
The Crystal Queen paused for a minute. "Your friends are in another room in this palace with some others...they're not alone. And as for the gem...you...haha...you really think that gem belongs in YOUR world? What a selfish way to think!"
"I swear to god, Koops and Bombette better actually be okay, otherwise we WILL find a way to kill you! We did it before to your bastard husband in the other Crystal Palace!" Lakilester threatened.
The Crystal Queen giggled at him. "Yes, I'm aware that my bastard husband was killed by a bunch of mere peasants. Good riddance. That's what he gets for trapping me in this forsaken world for all these years. I knew he was dead in the otherworld when I had enough of the Mirror-Kooprik's spirit here in this world...so I killed him. Just like that! When you're dead in this world, you're dead in the otherworld!"
"Uhhh, and how did you end up doing that exactly? Fighting him to the death?" Goombella asked.
The Queen giggled again. "Mmm...something to that effect. That's all I'll say about that. The world's better off without him anyways."
"Speaking of worlds...this is the Mirror World we're in. I'm sure you've already guessed that we came from our own world, so what exactly is your plan here? To infiltrate our world with whatever kind of fucked up stuff you've got in this world? Is that why you took our gem!?" Dixie shouted.
"Oooh ooh...you don't know much about this world, do you? Do you know what's been happening in this world at all, even!?" the Crystal Queen yelled back with a hint of desperacy.
"We know a tiny bit, but you might as well educate us since it seems like we're gonna be talking for a while…" Yoshi groaned impatiently.
"Fine. I'll tell you guys what's going on in this world, and why I took your guys' gem. The real reason isn't what you think," the Queen spoke and made a sad sigh. "Right now, we are in a World War. There is an alien by the name of Tatanga who is causing mass destruction in many places on this planet. He's got an entire Koopatrol army carrying out his dirty deeds for him. They're forcing people to either join Tatanga's army, or be slaughtered! So many have died already. It's been happening for days now, and it doesn't look like it'll stop anytime soon."
"Wow. We've kind of got the same going on in our world, except Tatanga hasn't fully executed his plan yet," DK informed.
"That doesn't surprise me. What happens in this world parallels your guys' world, and vice versa...although, the events that are 'paralleled' don't always happen at the same time in both worlds or even in the exact same effect. Bizarre, isn't it?" the Queen said.
"I think we're pretty numb to 'bizarreness' at this point...but wait! You say you're in a World War, that means someone is fighting against Tatanga, right?" Daisy asked.
"Yes. The person fighting against the alien is some magical jester man by the name of Dimentio, who supposedly has the power to switch between dimensions. Rumor has it, Dimentio and Tatanga were originally teamed up to conquer the world together, but I guess their differences tore them apart, so Dimentio gathered up his own army and it's now a competition to see who can takeover more of the world whilst trying to destroy each other's armies in the process. Is that happening in your world too?" the Queen continued her explanation, and it unnerved some of the others to know that Dimentio rose to total power in this world to where he's also taking over.
"Damn! Well, it's kind of happening as we speak. Dimentio stole the Star Rod from Star Haven and is planning to screw over Tatanga any minute now with it. I guess Dimentio is still the same rotten scumbag even in another world…" Larry said while shaking his head.
"The Star Rod...from Star Haven? What on earth are you talking about!?" she asked confusedly, which in turn, confused everyone else.
"What do you mean? We have Star Spirits who are- wait. Hold on. Do you not have Star Spirits in this world? The 7 stars that watch over the Mushroom Kingdom and grant wishes?" Peach asked.
"Erm, no. Nothing like that here. HOWEVER...there is a group exactly like you looking for mystical star items scattered throughout the Mushroom Kingdom that will, when all found, will combine into one giant star and will destroy the dominant forces of evil that are ruining this world. Yes...exactly like you. The mirror versions of all of you. In fact...you just missed them. They were just here looking for one of the star pieces!" the Crystal Queen revealed, making everyone unnerved at this notion.
"What the hell, really!? Okay, this is still REALLY freaky for me and doesn't make much sense. Since we're chatting it up right now, could you PLEASE tell us how this Mirror World works and why we didn't see our reflections back there?" Spike asked in frustration.
"Hmm. I suppose...we've got all the time in the world after all! Haha!" the queen laughed and mocked.
"Uhh, not really! We're on a time crunch, so let's make it snappy!" Wario demanded.
"Ugh, fine. Be that way. So...welcome to the Mirror World, where everything in this world is inverted from your world. Places, people, events...as I said previously, these are all 'parallel' to each other between both worlds, but with slight differences such as timing of events and how exactly they took place, minor differences in people's personalities...you get the picture now, right?
When my bastard ex-husband trapped me here, I had to figure everything out myself what exactly this world was. I tried to go back through that odd-looking door in the cave, but it wouldn't open at all, thus I was stuck here until my death. I was stuck here with the Crystal King's counterpart and my own counterpart. Forced to dwell in an ugly and unsettling replication of my palace…"
"I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! THAT LITTLE DEVIL TRAPPED ME HERE IN THIS MONSTROUS WORLD OR DIMENSION OR WHATEVER KIND OF HELL HE DRAGGED ME INTO!" Kooplinia raged while storming back into the master bedroom of the palace, startling the Other Kooprik and Other Kooplinia.
"Oh! Uhh, h-he just left you? You couldn't go back the way you came in!?" the Other Kooplinia asked.
"If I could've, then I wouldn't be right here now, would I!? UGGGGHHHH! I can't believe this! I'm a damn Queen, this isn't supposed to happen to me! I was supposed to rule and start a royal family and...and…" Kooplinia angrily vented, then dropped to her knees and started crying her eyes out.
"God...this is all so completely berserk! What should we do, Kooprik!? Is there even anything we CAN do!?" the Other Kooplinia cried, feeling for the broken Kooplinia.
"Ummm...dear...I...I think I have an idea. You know that odd shaman guy named...I think his name is Merleon? Yes, him. He might be able to help because I've heard he dabbles in all kinds of odd magic things," the Other Kooprik suggested with some hesitancy. Upon hearing this, Kooplinia lifted her head and slowed her crying.
"Merleon? He's here too!? That crazy magic man!? Oh, yes, of course! I was never a big believer in magic, but I'm willing to try anything at this point to get me out of here!" the Crystal Queen said in desperation and got herself up.
"Oh! You know of Merleon? How so?" the Other Kooplinia asked in confusion.
"I...oh...that's right. Different world. Nevermind...but there IS a shaman magic man by the name of Merelon in my world. I feel a weird kind of energy from just even looking at him, but I suppose beggars can't be choosers in this matter! Show me where Merleon is this instant!" Kooplinia demanded.
"Well, err, I'm not sure if it's that simple. He's kind of brash and, um, a little 'choosy' about who he works with…" the Other Kooprik warned, but Kooplinia didn't care one bit about the specifics.
"Just bring me to him NOW! I want out of this place! I do not belong here!" she yelled. Not wanting to anger her any more, the pair hastily agreed to lead her to Merleon.
"Merleon had to know something about the other world. Before this, I never spoke to him in person, but would hear all sorts of rumors of him using magic to explore different dimensions and use black magic to place curses on people or to destroy things or to make things happen...I was very skeptical and even hesitant on approaching him, especially since I truly believed he was just purely a lunatic, but I was desperate. I had no choice. I had to do it if I wanted any chance of getting out of here."
Other Kooprik and Other Kooplinia brought Kooplinia down to the village below. Kooplinia became nervous as all the villagers were giving her dirty looks and murmuring to one another. She felt very on edge and, although this village looked exactly how it was in her world, the feeling of unsettlement and gloominess was still heavily prevalent. Something was VERY off in this world.
The pair brought Kooplinia to the far end of the village, where a small cabin lay.
"This is his place...let's pray this goes well!" the Other Kooprik said with a hint of fear and knocked on the door.
Almost a minute had passed before the door opened by a few inches. Out peeked a man wearing a purple robe, presumably Merleon.
"Yes!? What do you need!? If you need a potion, well you're gonna have to wait because I-"
He stopped talking when he looked at the Crystal Queen. He stared at her as if he just got spooked and wasn't able to look away. This made her uncomfortable.
"Uhh, Merleon, right? We need your help with something. It might be too far out of your hands, but we have no one else to turn to!" the Other Kooplinia pleaded.
"I...I see! Very well then...come in. You must be freezing," Merleon spoke and opened the door wide for them to enter. The three walked in and saw many books scattered all over the place, along with various charms, empty potion bottles, and a table with a crystal ball in the dead center of the room.
"It felt odd being in that house. The energy was a lot more intense than it was when I was in the palace. I knew this guy had to have dabbled in the dark magics. I clearly remember seeing a few pentagrams in that house too, which are marks of black magic! Anyways…" the Crystal Queen suddenly paused.
"'Anyways'...what? Why'd you stop all of a sudden?" Pauline asked.
"I'm sorry, it's just...the next part that happens is just beyond odd, and still wracks my nerves to this day, honestly…" the queen slowly spoke, stumbling on her words a little.
"What, did Merleon do some creepy black magic ritual? Sacrifice some animals? Made you drink blood? What!?" Bowser impatiently asked.
"No! Nothing like that," the queen yelped. Everyone looked at each other with raised brows and confusion. "It's just...well...I'll skip all the small details and get to the main point and explanation of all of this. Very long story short, I committed suicide because Merleon didn't provide any answers to escape this Mirror World and told me I was trapped here forever because the door dividing both worlds was unable to be opened.
So...I became a ghost. The one that you see right now. I made this place my own. Creatures of dark wanted to inhabit this palace, and I let them, because it's the only kind of company that makes me feel less alone. But...each day...I tried to open that door...yes, even after death, I tried. I still wanted to see if it was possible to go back to the world I belonged to. So, day by day I tried...then those days turned into weeks….then months...then years...then decades...and before I ever even knew it...centuries had passed. Time works and feels so differently as a spirit. It's hard to explain...but I kept trying...until I finally succeeded a couple of days ago. The door finally opened for me, after all this time! I don't know how nor why, but I was finally able to accomplish that.
And so, I explored the area that I previously inhabited, that I was going to rule over with my bastard husband. The palace was completely different than how I remember it. The layout changed quite a bit, it was very desolate and...just not the palace I had grown to know. Truly sad. So...since the war between Tatanga and Dimentio had begun and it was surely getting worse, I felt I had no choice but to slowly get my people from this world to your guys' world. If the war ends up destroying the palace...we would have nowhere to go. No place for the creatures to inhabit!"
Some of the group scoffed and rolled their eyes at her.
"Are you being fucking serious right now? 'Your people' killed the Mayor of Shiver City, and nearly killed some of us as well! You can bet your damn afterlife that we're shutting that door AFTER we get our gem back!" Dixie threatened.
"Yeah! And why did you take our gem anyways! Just to get in the way of our goal?" Vivian asked.
"My...my people killed the mayor!? In your world!? What on earth...I NEVER told them to do anything of the sort! I specifically told them to go hide in the other Crystal Palace and stay away from the villages below! I told all the beings in this palace I will give them three days to make the permanent decision to move into the Otherworld or remain here where surely the war will take its toll, and after three days I'm shutting the door!" the Crystal Queen stated in, what seemed like, legitimate shock, but no one was buying it.
"Riiiiiight, and I'm sure you also told them to become pacifists and pass out candy to the children, huh!? God, I'm so tired of talking, let's just end this bitch already!" Boshi declared.
"And your people also kidnapped some of the citizens from Shiver City and brought them to who-knows-where! Probably somewhere locked up in this palace, along with our friends, Koops and Bombette!" Peach yelled.
"WAIT! JUST...hold on. Please! I'm not finished with my explanation yet. I'm not the enemy that you all think I am! So okay, here's why you can't see your reflections, and then I'll get to your people being kidnapped: because the door to the Mirror World has been opened, thus causing an interdimensional 'bleed' between this world and your world, this causes the mirrors and, well, anything that really contains a reflection in both worlds to become 'alive.' I'm sure you've noticed your reflections in the mirrors looking awry before you came here, correct? Well, those 'reflections' are another 'you' in this world. That is, another version of each of you exists in this world.
When you saw your reflections in your guys' world, the 'you' in THIS world was also seeing you from your world at the exact same time in the exact same spot. That's why I mentioned there was another group just like you that just came here, because you were in the Crystal Palace in your world at the exact same time they were. When you all were standing in that first big room of the palace, the group from this world was also standing there at the exact same time. Now, because all of you from your world have entered this world, the 'you' from that world currently does not exist anymore, which is why you can't see your reflections, because you've quite literally entered a mirror world, a world that technically shouldn't exist and defies all laws of logic. Do you get it now? Is it making some sense?" the queen explained further, but some of them were still looking pretty perplexed at the bizarre concept.
"Uhh, I think so? So to summarize it in more simpler terms...a mirror or a reflective surface shows us our reflections...the door to this mirror world has been opened which screws everything up in both worlds because of the door being opened...and because we've gone into the mirror world, the same world that see in mirrors, a world no one should be going into, our reflections in this world aren't being shown in mirrors because there is no other 'us in the regular world. Does that, like, sound about right?" Goombella guessed as well as she could.
"Yes! That pretty much sums it up right there," the queen affirmed.
"Uhh...okay? Hold up, though! Something still doesn't make sense. Our reflections copy our every move in mirrors, no matter where we are. So...shouldn't that mean that that other group of 'us' should be in OUR world? Because in the mirror world, they would, ya know, copy our every move and head in the same direction we were. Well, not the EXACT SAME direction, but you know what I mean! At least I hope," Spike pointed out.
"Yes, in theory, that would be the case. However, as I said, because of the door being opened which causes the 'interdimensional bleed,' things aren't working as they should. The other group that was here...the 'mirror versions' of you guys left the palace back down to the villages at about the same time you all came here," the queen clarified.
"Okay...uhh...I THINK this is all making sense now. Kind of," Vivian said with an unsure tone.
"HOLD ON! I have another question about this," Starlow yelled demandingly. "What about the reflections on the floor!? When I saw the floor reflection of Koops and Bombette, they showed a Duplighost, not Koops and Bombette themselves! Can you explain that!?"
"What the hell? Why didn't you say anything about this back there, Starlow?" Daisy asked.
"Because I really thought I was going crazy, but now I know I'm not! I know exactly what I saw!" Starlow reaffirmed confidently.
The queen made a gasp at this, one that sounded like she was afraid. "Oh dear...I think I know exactly what that was and why you saw that. You see...there is ANOTHER mirror world just like this one. Except this one you must access from entering a portal that goes DOWN into the earth, rather than just entering through a door like this one. This world is also known as the Underworld. And...good god...based on what you just said...I'm afraid that the access to that world has been opened as well, otherwise it makes no sense how you could've seen the true forms of your friends in that reflection."
"WAIT, there's another fucking mirror world!? Goddamn! Don't tell me we have to traverse through that shit too! And how many other worlds are there anyways? Are we talking at least a million here!?" Boshi yelled in utter shock.
"You're kidding, right? There's another Mirror World...known as the Underworld...okay, this has gone on long enough! Tell us where Koops and Bombette are, along with the Shiver City residents, and where our gem is!" Mario commanded.
"I know, it sounds like a joke, but I promise you that it isn't! I know this for a fact because I accessed the Underworld one time in all my years of being here, as a desperate attempt to escape from this world...but that was a mistake. That other mirror world...or Underworld...was so much scarier than this world. Darkness, chaos, and violence were all around...but it was covered up so easily. Everything was just like this world and the world you guys were just in...but much more sinister. Much more scary. Much more horrifying and disturbing creatures. I almost didn't escape, but I'm glad I did. It exists!" the queen explained.
Luigi rolled his eyes a little, getting even more impatient now. "Okay, fine, the Underworld exists. What does that have to do with us, if anything? And how'd you even access it!?"
"That...umm...that's another topic for another time. You guys wanna know about your friends, the villagers, and the gem now, so I'll get to that right now. I took the gem from you guys because, I'll admit, it looked pretty and I thought it would make me invincible. But...it doesn't look like that's the case, unfortunately. I had my underlings capture your two friends because I wanted to be sure I got you all where I needed you in order to hear my plea," the queen suspiciously shifted topics.
"Your plea!? Wait, are you asking us to do something for you!?" Dixie screeched.
"Yes. In the Shiver Region, there exists an item called the Star Stone. The Star Stone has been blessed with magic of purity and protection from the ancient shamans of long ago. It puts a protection barrier over an environment, blocking any black magic or any kind of harm at all really. I must have that stone! If you can find it and bring it to me...I'll give you back your gem and give you your friends back, along with closing the door to your world. I promise! I just want my palace and my creatures to be protected in case the war between Tatanga and Dimentio ends up destroying this region.
Now, I know you have every reason in the world to not trust me. I understand that. But...just know that all I truly want is for my palace to remain secure along with the creatures that inhabit it. Without this place, they would have nowhere to go, and I couldn't bear having to wander the snowy wastelands for all eternity. And as I said previously, I have no idea why my creatures are capturing the Shiver City residents, all I ordered for them to do was move themselves and whatever belongings they have into your world, and that was it. The only thing I can think of is that they're secretly rebelling against me, but I somehow doubt that!" the queen gave her plea, coming off as somewhat genuine, but everyone was still having a hard time buying it.
"Okay...but this Star Stone? It doesn't 'protect' anything. In our world, all the Star Stone does is grant us access to the Crystal Palace," Mario pointed out.
"Yes, but that is in YOUR world, remember? Things work a little differently in this world, but I know what you're talking about. There is a slot for the Star Stone to fit into on this mountain, just like in your world, but this Star Stone protects the palace instead. For a quick backstory, this palace was, for a time, used as a shrine and a haven to praise and worship the star gods that watch over our world. The shamans created the Star Stone that was supposed to protect the palace from being destroyed in case of an event of a cataclysm or an apocalypse or what have you. When they realized what this palace really was and how it was really mine and that creatures were constantly inhabiting it, the worshippers and shamans fled this place and found another place to do the worshipping somewhere near Toad Town.
However...they left the Star Stone behind in case they would ever need to come back to this place for any reason at all...but they never did. The Star Stone protected this place for years and years and I truly thrived in being in my own palace with all these wonderful creatures that kept me company for so long! But...recently, it was stolen, and I think I know who did it. The person is a young koopa man by the name of...I think Rinot Pajouro is his name, who is rumored to be an evil warlock who has been dealing with the dark arts from a young age. I know this because he used to come into my palace and wreck things and start fights with my creatures, but he'd always escape so effortlessly! Very recently, a day after he came, I was curious to see if he took that Star Stone, because something just felt incredibly off about the whole palace...and sure enough, he did. That bastard took it because he knew it would ruin this place!
So...there is my plea. Please get that Star Stone for me, and your gem and your friends will be given back to you, and I'll see what's going on with your Shiver City residents. I truly do not wish harm on anyone, but I will also stop at nothing to get myself and my creatures back into the other palace if worse comes to worst," the queen continued.
"A young koopa warlock by the name of Rinot Pajouro...that's a very odd name, especially odd for a koopa! Never heard anything like it before," Larry said.
"Hmm. Not to sound brash or anything of the sort, but why can't you and your creatures hunt down this Rinot guy and attack him for your Star Stone? And where would we even find him anyways?" Luvbi questioned.
"Because the chances of him attacking you all, who are all regular beings, are far lower than him attacking us. I think he only comes after us really because we aren't regular beings. I've never heard of him attacking common folks for no legitimate reason. Plus, we've tried bombarding once before...and he ended up killing a couple of Swoopulas and Clubbas. I can't risk anymore of my...my family being killed! It's the only family that I've ever known...right, Swoops?" the queen said while choking up a little towards the end. A Swoopula came flying down from the ceiling, startling some of the group, and the bat landed on her shoulder and made a friendly purring-like noise. "He's the sweetest and most loyal creature one could ever ask for...oh, and as for where you can find Rinot Pajouro, he lives in a cabin next to that lake in the forest just outside Shiver City. You can't miss it."
"So...you want us to go to this evil warlock koopa instead to find your damn Star Stone!? Even though there's no possible way for us to know that he won't kill us because he's entirely unpredictable!? Is that what you're seriously asking us to do!?" Parakarry yelled in total disbelief at this entire situation.
"That's exactly what I'm asking you to do. I've already made my plea and my promise. Plus...only I can shut that door. Whoever opens the door dividing the two worlds must be the one to shut it. Now go! I'll be waiting in the entry room of the palace for your return. Good luck!" the queen commanded and prompted them to exit to the door on the right.
The gang made their way out of the Crystal Palace, acknowledging all the Duplighosts, Swoopulas, and Clubbas on the way, who all just stared at the heroes, making them uncomfortable. None of the 'enemies' seemed to want to provoke the heroes into starting a fight, so that eased them a little...but everyone was still on edge at this whole situation being so beyond bizarre and complex. It didn't help that they didn't see their reflections in the mirror wall on their way out, which made the whole thing even weirder.
The gang finally exited the palace and began the downward trek. Mario broke the awkward silence of the group.
"So...it's safe to say that we can't trust anything that the Crystal Queen says. I mean, I know that that was A LOT of info in such a short amount of time, but still...none of it adds up nor does it even remotely make sense," the plumber said.
"Yeah, practically everything she said was so weird and confusing! Like, when she abruptly stopped that story of her going to Merleon's place. Not only that, but what happened to the, uhh, 'mirror versions' of the Crystal King and Queen? And how the hell did the Crystal Queen die and how'd she get to be like this? I know she said she committed suicide, but how did she get to be like the Crystal King did after he died?" Daisy added.
"I caught that too, and that whole crap about the Underworld...like, what? Where the hell did THAT come from? I was gonna ask her those questions as well, but I figured we were already wasting enough time as it is," Koopie exclaimed.
"Yeah, don't sweat it, we'll just get to the bottom of all this as we go on our way," DK assured.
"Well, I also forgot to ask her what was up with our 'reflections' making us do things we didn't wanna do. That's the part I'm honestly freaking out about the most...oh, besides the residents and Koops and Bombette being kidnapped, of course!" Starlow recalled.
"Hey! Uhh, speaking of that...what do we do if we run into the 'mirror versions' of ourselves? Do we think they're our evil counterparts or something? Maybe that was why the reflections did that stuff?" Kody asked. Everyone looked at each other as the awkward silence ensued again. No one really thought about that possibility happening and how to even handle it.
"I...I guess it's one of those 'cross that bridge when we get to it' kind of things…" Mario answered with clear uncertainty.
"Ughh...where...AGH!" Koops suddenly shrieked and stood up when he realized he was somewhere completely unfamiliar. He was also freezing. His vision adjusted and saw that he was in a big room with a few cells containing Shiver City residents. The current cell he was in had Mayor Penguin's wife, an old-looking Bumpty, a green Bumpty, and Bombette. The pink bob-omb was still lying on the floor.
"Oh my...BOMBETTE, WAKE UP! Hey, you guys! Are we in the Crystal Palace!?" Koops frantically asked as he shook Bombette to wake her up.
"Y-yes, we are! Who are you two!? You're not from the Shiver Region, are you!?" Mayor Penguin's wife stammered as Bombette slowly came to.
"No, we're not. We came to the Shiver Region with Mario, Princess Peach, and a bunch of our other friends to explore the Crystal Palace to look for this gem that we need to get to, uhh, get this thing called Crystal Star Rod so we can defeat Tatanga with!" Koops answered. The other three Bumpties gasped in clarity.
"WOAH! That's right, you're a part of that group that's trying to save the world! Yeah, Mario's group has been all over the news in the past week...and you know what? Maybe it's not a coincidence that you guys came here when all this crap has been happening!" The green bumpty explained.
"Ohhh...Koops? What is- AH! YOU'RE ALIVE!?" Bombette suddenly screamed when she saw Mayor Penguin's Wife.
"What!? Of course I am, why wouldn't I be!?" she responded confusedly.
"Bombette, it's okay! The other one was just a Duplighost, remember?" Koops recalled. Bombette calmed herself as she examined her surroundings.
"R...right...I forgot...sorry. Koops, how did we get here? The last thing I remember is blowing up that well and...uhh...everything just went black!" Bombette asked worriedly.
"That's the last thing I remember too! I really don't know how we ended up here. I hope the others are okay…" Koops sighed and crossed his arms as he continued to shiver.
"You two DO know where you are precisely, correct? I mean...we ARE in the Crystal Palace...but not THE Crystal Palace that you're thinking of," the older Bumpty spoke.
"Oh, I figured as much. We already know the whole spiel about the Mirror World, the Crystal Queen, her followers taking over Shiver City and whatnot. That's another reason why we came here, not just for the gem, but to stop the Crystal Queen from all the shit she's doing!" Bombette confirmed.
"Oh! That's so good to hear...but, um, do you know if my husband, the mayor, is alright!? I don't think he's here in any of these cells!" Mayor Penguin's wife asked in desperation. Koops gulped at this question, not wanting to give her the horrible news, while Bombette sighed and looked away.
"I'm sorry to tell you this...but those Duplighosts killed him. We saw it for ourselves," Bombette answered, not bearing to see her reaction. Mayor Penguin's wife made a heavy gasp then immediately broke down crying.
"N-NO! NOOOOOOO! I...OH GOD, THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! WHY!? I'M...I'M PREGNANT WITH OUR TRIPLETS! I...HE...OHHHHHHH!" she screamed and fell backwards crying further. The older Bumpty went to her side and consoled her.
"Holy shit! This is getting worse than I thought. With the Mayor dead, Shiver City will definitely break out into chaos. Damnit!" the green Bumpty yelled.
"Y-yeah...um...our friends are doing they're best to get this mess settled, but it's hard to know what exactly their progress is now since, y'know, we're in here and all…" Koops said as his eyes welled up from the tragic situation.
"Right. Say, what are your guys' names? You there, pink bob-omb, you look REALLY familiar. Did you come through the Shiver Region to save that Star Spirit when Bowser kidnapped Peach and took that Star Rod?" the green Bumpty asked.
"Yes, that was me! My name is Bombette and his name is Koops. I don't remember your guys' names though...I remember Penelopuin, but not you two," Bombette confirmed.
"His name is Herringway, and my name is Perrie. Say...how exactly do you guys know about the Mirror World and what's all been going on here anyways!?" Perrie asked perplexedly.
"Merle told us the whole story. I think I'm still digesting all of that...but yeah," Koops answered. The three Bumpties looked to them, horrified at this.
"What? What's wrong!? Why are you giving us those looks!?" Bombette quickly started to panic.
"Erm, this might sound like a dumb question...but when Merle told you everything...are you sure it was the Merle from our world and not the Mirror World!?" Herringway asked in a nervous manner.
Koops widened his eyes at how he said that. "I...y...yes...well...I mean...wait, why!? What's going on here!?"
The sound of a door flying open was heard, which caught everyone's attention.
"Well well! Looks like we have new guests. Are you enjoying the blistering cold!? Hahahaaaaa!" the person asked deviously with a maniacal cackle as they headed over to Koops and Bombette's cell.
The bob-omb and koopa dropped their jaws when they realized who the person was.
Merle.
TATANGA'S ISLAND
Knock knock knock!
Roy ran to his door and opened it, revealing Tatanga, who looked beyond exhausted.
"Oh, hey Tatanga! What's up?" Roy asked, wanting to ask if the alien has gotten any sleep, but was afraid that asking that would agitate him.
"Something...has gone wrong. Some of the koopatrols have started rioting and rebelling completely out of nowhere. Me, Dimentio, Doopliss, and Beldam are gonna try to handle the situation. So...could I ask you to watch my room in case things go completely south? If it ends up being more chaotic than I imagine, those Koopatrols are gonna wanna raid my room and fuck me over however they can," Tatanga asked with a very ticked off tone of voice.
"OH! Wow, I'm so sorry that's happening! But, uhh, yeah, I can definitely watch your room for you," Roy said in surprise.
"Excellent. Thank you so much…" Tatanga said with a small smile and suddenly hugged him. Roy was taken back by this sudden move and thought it was weird, but hugged him back anyways.
"Um, you're welcome...it's really no problem at all," Roy replied with a nervous chuckle.
"Right. Well, I appreciate how loyal you are to me...wish Grodus was the same…" the alien sighed and rubbed his eyes.
"Um...Tatanga? Have you gotten...you know...a lot of sleep lately?" Roy had to ask the question. He was truly concerned about his state of being.
Tatanga scoffed a little and smiled at him. "I don't think I'll ever properly sleep again. I really gotta go now...I'll try not to be too long." He then walked off, leaving Roy to feel a little uncomfortable about that encounter. He watched the alien get further down the hallway and eventually out of sight, then headed to his room. He locked the door and sat on Tatanga's bed.
Roy was still mad at how Diddy and Mimi talked to him previously. He told them multiple times that the teleportation machine was destroyed, so there was no other alternative to escape, but they weren't having it.
But...here he was in Tatanga's room. It was probably the only opportunity he was going to get to really search through the room and find something of use. He sighed in frustration, still caring for and wanting to help Diddy and Mimi. So he searched the room, but very delicately as to not make it look obvious that he actually searched the room.
Roy searched through the bedsheets, then under the bed, then in the small dresser he had. Nothing of use. He looked back to the safe in the corner, really wondering what was in there, but had no way of opening it without even knowing the combination. He grunted in frustration. There already wasn't that much in this small room to begin with, so he felt like he was already at a loss. He stood up and tried to maintain his composure. There had to be something…
...And there was. He glanced at the top of the dresser and saw a big Genso pill bottle on top of some crumbled papers with a bunch of designs and writing on it. He remembers Tatanga taking those pills to stay awake. But, it wasn't the pill bottle nor the papers that specifically caught his eye, but rather what was behind it.
A set of keys. Bingo! This had to contain one of the keys to the cells. Roy took the keys excitedly and put them in his pocket. This was good, but he had to act quick. He unlocked the door, opened it, peeked outside to make sure the coast was clear, and headed on out.
He went down the hallway and was about to turn right, which was the way to the cells, until someone unexpected bumped into him from the left hallway.
"OH! Dimentio!? What are you…" Roy shrieked, scared for what was gonna happen now.
"What are you doing out!? I thought Tatanga told you to guard his room!" the jester yelled.
"I...he did, but, um, I really wanna help with this too! I feel useless just staying back!" Roy made up an excuse on the spot.
"You...you do realize that you're the only person on the team that has zero magic powers, correct?" Dimentio asked, flabbergasted.
"Yes, I'm aware of that. I just, you know, wanna feel like I'm really contributing something to the plan!" Roy said.
Dimentio huffed and rolled his eyes. "You ARE. Quit overthinking it!" he helpfully stated, much to Roy's surprise. "Anyways...the situation is actually worse than it looks now because some of the koopatrols have, apparently, snagged one of the submarines and are using it to escape as we speak. I didn't think those bastards would actually find them because they were hidden pretty well!"
This made Roy perk up a little. "Wait, submarines!? We've had that here the whole time!?"
"Yes. Two of them actually. Tatanga said he found them here when he was setting up the island and got them to work, so they're still functional. So...uhh...DAMNIT! Now I don't even remember why I came back here for! Just stay in Tatanga's room until we're done!" Dimentio demanded then went back the way he came in.
Roy stood there for a moment and processed all of that. "Submarines...that's gotta be our ticket out of here!"
Meanwhile, Diddy and Mimi were lying up against the wall in their cells, soaking in the eerie silence. The chimp sighed as he picked at his fur, unable to keep his mind even remotely calm since the last interaction he and Mimi had with Roy was pretty hostile.
"Hey. Mimi? You awake over there?" he asked.
"Yeah…" Mimi softly responded.
"Are you okay? I know what Roy said must've hurt your feelings. I was a little surprised by how he exploded there," Diddy remarked, but secretly understood why Roy acted that way.
Mimi took about a minute to say something back. "I'm not okay. His words hurt a little...but he was also right. What the hell was I even coming here for, Diddy? I don't know why I thought I could save Roy when I didn't even know him that well. I'll admit...I have feelings for him...but I don't think that's enough to justify my stupidity in all this."
"You were just trying to save him, Mimi. You're a good person for that. I don't think anyone will try to fault you for helping a friend out," Diddy said, empathizing her pain.
Mimi was silent for another minute.
"I...I actually lied, Diddy. I know why I tried to save him, and it wasn't mainly because of my feelings for him," Mimi admitted as she choked up.
Diddy looked surprised at this revelation. "Oh! What was the real reason then?"
"Because I was almost exactly where he was prior to joining Count Bleck's team. He reminds me so much of me all those years ago…" Mimi spoke as she started to cry. "I just wanted to save him from going down the same path I did...b-because no one ever did the same for me back then...I had nobody around to even give me some guidance…"
Diddy felt a little struck by her explanation. Now it all made sense as to why Mimi came all the way here.
The pair heard someone walking down to their cells. They quickly became alert and prepared for whoever was coming.
It was Roy.
"Roy...hey. What is it?" Diddy asked, hoping that nothing escalates from their previous conversation.
"Hey, you guys. Um, look...I wanna apologize for what I said before. I think we were all pretty emotional about the situation and it was in the heat of the moment that I said those awful things, so I'm sorry," Roy said as he approached their cells.
"You shouldn't be sorry, because you were right about everything," Mimi spoke, not looking at Roy. "If I die here, it'll be my fault only...so I don't want you to blame yourself if that were to happen."
"Mimi, no! Don't say that! Well, you shouldn't even be thinking that because I got the keys to get you guys out of those cells!" Roy said in excitement as he brought out the keys for them to see. Diddy and Mimi immediately perked up in excitement at this.
"What!? How'd you get those keys!?" Diddy shrieked.
"Found them in Tatanga's room! There's a riot or rebellion or whatever going on with the koopatrols, so everyone is trying to take care of it, but they only wanted ME to stay behind and watch Tatanga's room just in case the koopatrols came and tried to raid it, so I took advantage of the opportunity and searched his room and wala! I found the keys!" Roy cheered.
"Oh, that's great! Well, as soon as we're out, we'll have to find somewhere to hide until our friends get here!" Mimi exclaimed, feeling better now as Roy tried to unlock her cell.
"Maybe we don't have to! Dimentio told me that this island has two submarines. Some of the koopatrols are trying to hijack one of them to escape, so we could find the other one and escape as well! We're going back home, you guys!" Roy explained, going through each key quickly.
"What? I had no idea this place had submarines! Geez, is there anything that this place DOESN'T have?" Diddy scoffed.
"Me neither, but hey, it's our only ticket of getting out of here! We'll have to be quick and sneaky about looking for it!" Roy said as he continued to fumble through the keys.
"WELL, LOOK WHAT WE GOT HERE!" a familiar voice shouted in the air, scaring the hell out of Roy and making him drop the keys. He spun around and saw Tatanga, Dimentio, Doopliss, and Beldam all standing there, staring at him.
Roy's heart was pounding now as he backed up against the cage. This was it. It was all over for him.
"Ta...Tatanga...I...I…" the poor koopa was at a loss for words as he was petrified for what consequences would surely befall him.
"Don't bother trying to explain yourself. I've had a feeling you've been going behind my back and trying to rebel against me with those two lowlifes, I just wanted to catch you in the act to confirm my suspicions, so I made up that story about the koopatrols," Tatanga angrily spoke as he walked to him.
"Oh god...T-Tatanga, I'm s-s-so sorry, I just-"
"YOU JUST WHAT!? We took you in after you so desperately wanted to join and prove your loyalty...AND THIS IS THE SHIT I GET!?" Tatanga screamed and then punched Roy in the jaw, knocking him over to the ground. "You're fucking despicable. We gave you everything...and here you are throwing it all away like it's nothing. You're the worst type of scum I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. Dimentio, you know what to do with him!"
Dimentio walked over to the bleeding koopa as Roy was shaking in pure fear as the jester got closer to him. Dimentio laughed at his suffering and spoke, "You did this all to yourself. This was all a setup for you to get your ass rightfully handed to you, and you fell for it like the worthless moron you are." He then grabbed him and dragged him away with Beldam helping out.
"Wait, where are we taking him to?" Beldam asked.
"I know a place. Just come along with me…" Dimentio said and snickered in delight for what he's got planned.
"NOOOOOOOO! PLEASE DON'T KILL HIM! ROOOOOYYY!" Mimi screamed and cried again.
"SHUT UP! God, you are so whiny! You're gonna be the first to go and I'll make sure you die a much more painful death than the chimp boy there!" Tatanga angrily spat, then swiped his keys and headed on out. The situation couldn't be more bleak now for Diddy and Mimi. It was back to square one, with the only hope of escaping being, once again, their friends coming and taking down Tatanga and his team.
That is...if they make it in time.
Doopliss followed Tatanga into his room.
"Tatanga! So, Roy was the one who actually had the Star Rod and had his father and Kammy Koopa fuck up Star Haven, all to fuck US over when the time was right?" Doopliss asked as Tatanga swiped his Genso pills.
"Yup! Dimentio told me the actual truth. Bleck was trying to cause a huge rift on our team by saying it was Dimentio and not Roy who did all that. He tried his hardest to break us apart, but we got the upper hand because Dimentio right through Bleck's bullshit! I can't believe that wannabe magician is actually protecting Roy and his stupid family!" Tatanga yelled as he took a couple pills then slammed the bottle down on the dresser.
"Wait...Dimentio told you the truth about what Bleck said? That...it wasn't actually Dimentio that raided Star Haven, but rather Bowser and his witch pal? And that he gave Roy the Star Rod in hopes of destroying us when the time was right?" Doopliss reiterated with a very confused expression.
"Yes, that's exactly what he said. Why?" Tatanga asked.
"So...uhh...you just believe everything that Dimentio told you then?" Doopliss questioned. Tatanga tilted his head and narrowed his eyes.
"Doopliss, what are you trying to get at here?" he asked, then formed a suspicious smirk.
"I mean...I don't know, that whole thing of Roy being the actual traitor with the Star Rod just seems kind of far-fetched. Dimentio betrayed Count Bleck before, who is to say he won't do it again? Who's to say that he's the ACTUAL traitor in this!?" Doopliss questioned further. Tatanga looked like he was about to laugh at him.
"Doopliss...come on...what do you think I'm trying to do here?" the alien asked in an odd manner. Doopliss was still confused by his sudden weird mannerisms, but it took him a minute for it to register what he thinks is really going on.
"Wait a second here. Tatanga...are you planning-"
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
Tatanga rushed over to the door and opened it, revealing a koopatrol.
"Yes? Do you need something?" Tatanga asked.
"Hello, Tatanga. My name is Konnor and I just wanted to let you know that I'm also a Fire Brother, so, heh, if you need me for anything outside of working on the weapon, you can count on me for help!" he said enthusiastically.
Tatanga looked at him with a mix of interest and discomfort. "You're also a Fire Brother? Interesting. Okay, I'll keep that in mind...Konnor."
"Thank you. I'm completely dedicated to your cause, so if you need me for literally ANYTHING, I'll be there to do it, no questions asked!" Konnor said with a big smile, which creeped out Tatanga a little bit.
"Right, well, that's much appreciated, Konnor! Like I said, I'll keep you in mind. I gotta get back to my stuff now, so I'll see you around," Tatanga said.
"Okay, I'll definitely be seeing you around! Take care!" Konnor happily replied and merrily walked off as the door shut.
"What was that about?" Doopliss asked, hearing that weird conversation.
"No clue. That was just strange. I never had a koopatrol talk to me like that. He also said he was a Fire Brother. Hmmm…"
EoC.
Sorry if this chapter was so dialogue-heavy, the next chapters will be much more action-oriented. Next chapter, the gang at the hospital investigate why the people are being all riled up again along with one character who's losing more and more of their mind, the gang in the Shiver Region track down this Rinot Pajouro...only to find that this Mirror World is much more obscure and dangerous than they first realized, and Rosalina finds herself unsure to completely trust Monty Mole after she discovers an inconsistency about him. Next chapter will be uploaded on or before Saturday, January 30. Thanks for reading, and I hope you guys have a happy new year! Let's hope 2021 won't be as chaotic.
