Adventuring Group: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, DK, Dixie, Goombella, Kooper, Parakarry, Lakilester, Koopie, Flurrie, Spike/Paper-Yoshi, Vivian, Boshi, Bowser, Larry, Wario, Pauline, Mona, Jojora, Starlow, Luvbi, Kody

Imprisoned in Mirror-Crystal Palace: Koops, Bombette

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

It was beginning to approach sunset now. The hysteria and franticness of the hospital people was dying down while everyone either simply hoped or actually prayed that Mario's group would come back ok with the 8th gem.

Morton traveled to the 4th floor to pay a visit to a certain someone. There were words that he needed to let out and he hoped it would permanently stick in this person's head.

He was sent to the Day Room to wait for this person. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled greatly, keeping his composure and nerves under control so as to not cause a scene.

The person in question was Toado, who came in and appeared nervous walking over to the table. Morton looked up and glared daggers at him, crossing his arms, feeling a slight rage upon seeing the kid.

"Y-You're Bowser's son, uhh, Morton, right? You wanted to talk to me?" he asked with clear fear.

"Yes, sit down. I need to tell you something important, and I want you to process it and never forget it," Morton stated harshly. Toado slowly sat himself on the chair as he began to shake with fear now.

"Wh-what's this about? Is it about that girl I almost...that I hurt?" he asked.

"Yes, mostly. Now...I want you to know something, Toado: you are EXTREMELY lucky that you're alive right now. I mean, it's a miracle that you got away for nearly killing a girl who is around your age. If this apocalypse shit wasn't happening right now, you'd be arrested and either sent to juvenile hall or to an asylum. But, since we are in this mess, the rules are a little bit looser...but for the life of me, I can't understand why E. Gadd left you alive. I just can't. You lost your fucking mind and attempted to murder someone. In my book, that makes you just as bad as everyone else who's come here and fucked with us. I don't give a damn if you're just 10 or 11 or however old you are...we're not playing it safe anymore when it comes to our people. So, yeah, consider yourself the luckiest person in the world right now that solitary confinement is all the punishment that you're gonna get," Morton angrily explained his perspective on the whole situation. His words struck Toado's core and made him cry.

"I-I'm sorry...I just...I didn't know what I was doing...I wanted to be strong like the bad guys...I didn't want to die…" he sobbed.

"Sooo your logic is to try to kill someone so you can be strong and live? What the fuck!? Do you not realize how idiotic that sounds!? Man, what the fuck did Tadano put in your head!? Look, kid, I AM seriously sorry you lost your parents. I know that's awful and traumatizing and I can kind of relate because I lost two...well, actually, three of my siblings, so I know it's not easy going through the pain. But you can't let the pain turn you into the very thing that killed your parents. And Tadano putting all this crazy shit in your head about being a bad guy so you can be strong and live...that's even MORE screwed up because he's taking advantage of your fragile mind. He's using you to become as crazy as him. Don't fall into that spiral!" Morton's tone became a little softer and concerned for the kid.

"Yeah...I just...miss my mama and dad so-so badly...I wish there was a way to bring them back...I don't know what to do without them!" Toado cried more and he seemed legitimately heartbroken. Morton truly felt sorry for him but he knew he had to stick to his guns if he wanted to get the message fully ingrained into his head.

"I know, man, I know. The pain is unbearable, but I'm afraid you gotta be strong no matter what. This is the time where you gotta be strong and not let yourself fall into these stupid decisions. You're still young, you're in a traumatic situation, you've got time to get yourself together. Okay? So, no more hurting people, understood?" Morton said as his voice nearly cracked a couple times since he was on the verge of tears from seeing the kid cry and being reminded of his siblings being gone as well. He was holding it in as much as he could.

Toado nodded as he wiped his eyes. "Y-Yeah. I understand. I'm sorry. But what will I do now that mama and dad are gone? Where will I go?"

"We'll help you figure that out when all of this is over with. Don't worry about that for right now. We've got you covered," Morton assured.

"Oh...okay...but, um, if that old guy didn't find me with that rainbow butterfly and you found me instead...w-would you have killed me instead? And not let me live like the old man did?" Toado questioned. Morton was a little surprised at him asking that since he didn't think the conversation would steer that way...but he had to be honest.

"Yes, I would have. But since you've been taken into solitary confinement now...I'm not going to. But, Toado, this is your last chance. If, in the future, you do anything like that to someone, anyone, even if they don't end up dying...you'll be the one to die. So, don't take that risk. Don't go back to that dark side."


As Toado was being escorted back to his confinement room, he thought pretty deeply about what Morton said to him. He desperately didn't want to die, but started thinking that he had gone too far in his ways thanks to Tadano's influence. He also felt horrible that he almost killed Toadessa, someone who tried to be his friend in a time of need.

He entered his room and sighed as he began to sob again while sliding down the wall to sit. This was hell for him. Losing his parents, then snapping and almost killing his friend, then being locked in a room with no one to talk to and all alone...the pain was hitting him hard.

Some minutes went by and he saw a paper slipped under the doorway into his room. Toado scooted himself over to see what was on the paper, thankful for a distraction. He picked it up and, just as he was about to read it, he heard a scream and the words that followed got his heart racing.

"AAAHHHH! IT'S THE ALIEN!" screamed a female voice.

"WH-WHAT!? TADANO!? DID YOU SLIP THIS PAPER UNDER THE DOOR!?" Toado cried out.

No direct response was heard, but he did hear more screams and threats of getting Tadano out and hurting him and lots of running footsteps as well. Toado couldn't begin to believe that Tadano had the guts to come all the way back to the hospital just to send him a message, when he knew damn well that he wasn't welcomed back. He looked at the paper and saw that he had written a paragraph out. Toado gripped the paper hard and cried again at the horrifying words he was reading.


"WHERE IS HE!?" Tippi shrieked as she, E. Gadd, Morton, Lemmy, Ludwig, Fly Guy, Toadsworth, and Toodles ran outside of Bleck's patient room to talk to a frantic nurse who had informed them that Tadano was in the hospital while Dr. Nokano ran up to the group hurriedly.

"W-We saw him head to that kid, Toado's room, and when one of my co-workers spotted him, he booked it back out onto the main area and down the stairwell! I asked a couple people in the lobby if anyone had seen him run out, but they said no!" she quickly explained.

"Shit, and I was just up there too! So he could be somewhere in the hospital still! Alright, we're gonna have to split up then! Me, Lemmy, and Ludwig will go find Junior and Toadette to see if they're okay and see if there's any sign of him on the way there. A couple of you should go out to the courtyard because that's where he'd likely try to escape, and the rest should go to the lobby just in case he escapes through there!" Morton ordered.

"But surely there are other exits besides the courtyard and lobby in this hospital!? He could've escaped through those ones by now!" Toodles pointed out.

"There are, but I've actually had them guarded by some of the staff before this occurred. I'll check those exits to make sure he hasn't attacked them and escaped, but yes, the rest of you go split up! If you find him...do NOT be afraid to kill him! I'm done giving him chances! If he hadn't influenced that Toado kid to go off the wire, my opinion may be different, but it's too late now. Do whatever you can to stop him!" Dr. Nokano commanded and ran off to check the alternative exits.

"Well, you heard the man! Let's get on it! Tippi and I will go to the courtyard again and investigate, you three head over to the lobby!" E. Gadd also commanded, then he and Tippi quickly went towards the courtyard while the koopalings went into the stairwell.

"What!? You're leaving me here with the old people!? Do I look like some caretaker to you!?" Fly Guy pouted much to Toodles and Toadsworth's offense.

"I beg your pardon!? I can hold my own very much, thank you! Why, I even scored some homeruns when all of us did those baseball games a few years ago, so I still got the energy to defend myself and attack!" Toadsworth yelled defensively.

"Homeruns!? Wow, incredibly impressive and so burly! You'll have to tell me more about your other accomplishments," Toodles said in a sudden intrigued manner.

"Oh god, don't make me barf! And what does homeruns have to do with defending yourself against an alien maniac from Planet Psycho!? You're so strange!" Fly Guy taunted as the trio walked to the lobby.

"Wow. Pot calling kettle black much?" Toodles pointed out.

"Yes, I am aware that I'm crazier than a barrel of rabid rabbits, but at least I own it!" Fly Guy proudly yelled in response. Some of the people in the lobby approached the trio, many looking scared and others looking pissed off.

"Hey guys! What is this about Tatanga's twin coming back into the hospital!? Is it true!? Did you guys find him and capture him!?" asked a frantic-sounding toad guy.

"Unfortunately, no, not yet. We think he's still in the hospital, but we have our friends and some of the hospital staff on the lookout for him! No need to panic, we will get this situation taken care of!" Toadsworth tried to assure the crowd, but all that was heard in response was a bunch of yelling and sobbing.

"SERIOUSLY!? You're gonna sit there and tell us to not panic after everything that has happened to us!? I thought this was supposed to be a safe haven, but apparently not because bad shit keeps happening here every damn day now! I am sick of it!" angrily yelled a female koopa. A bunch of shouts were heard in agreement.

"Hey hey, listen to me! This 'bad shit' is completely out of our control, okay!? At the end of the day, we always get it handled no matter what, so be fucking thankful that you have a place to sleep, eat, drink, receive immediate first aid, talk shit about the princess, and 'get it on' in secret locations!" Fly Guy spouted in frustration.

"Yeah, you guys keep saying that, but in the end, is it really worth it if we're constantly stressed and paranoid about what's coming next!? So many of us here can't even get any sleep! I haven't slept in at least 24 hours myself!" argued a noki man, with some nods and more shouts of agreement being heard.

"Does this hospital not have sleeping pills or some kind of morphine they can just give out so you guys CAN just fall asleep? I mean...come on, we're in a hospital for crying out loud. They have practically everything you could ever need at our feet!" Toodles arrogantly questioned, making some people cringe at her odd logic.

"Well, you not getting any sleep isn't OUR problem, now is it!? I MEAN, GEEZ! HOW DO YOU THINK MARIO AND HIS GANG FEEL SAVING THE GODDAMN WORLD FOR THE TEN THOUSANDTH TIME!? YOU THINK THEY'RE NOT STRESSED AND PARANOID EVERY SECOND OF THEIR QUEST!? STOP BEING INSENSITIVE LITTLE BITCHES!" Fly Guy suddenly screamed with anger causing much of the crowd to shriek in surprise.

"Mr. Propellor Head, it's best not to call these people that we're dealing with 'little bitches.' That's only fueling the fire…" Toadsworth groaned in embarrassment.

"REALLY!? YOU WANNA CALL US BITCHES ALL BECAUSE WE HAVE A FUCKING RIGHT TO BE PISSED OFF!? I DON'T GIVE A FUCK IF MARIO AND HIS FRIENDS ARE MORE STRESSED THAN WE ARE, WE'RE SICK AND TIRED OF ALL THIS CRAZY SHIT HAPPENING HERE EVERY DAY, YOU IDIOT!" roared a toad guy who then shoved Fly Guy in the shoulder.

"Oh hell no! No one touches me like that and gets away with it!" Fly Guy was instantly boiling with anger and shoved himself into the toad, making him knock into a few other people and all of them falling over. That was when the tussle officially started. A couple more people attacked Fly Guy, and he fought back, eventually leading into much of the crowd fighting each other. Screams of woe and agony were heard as people were being shoved around, punched, kicked, slapped, screamed at...it was pure chaos. The turmoil of the whole predicament got the better of so many people that this was just the straw that broke the camel's back.

"OH MY GOODNESS, STOP! YOU'RE ALL BEHAVING LIKE WILD ANIMALS!" Toodles cried as multiple people were suddenly pushed away, ramming into Toadsworth. The old toad fell down, hit the back of his head on the corner of a receptionist's desk and fell to the ground. Toodles made a bloodcurdling scream when she witnessed this.

"OH MY GOD! SOMEONE, GET A NURSE OR A DOCTOR RIGHT NOW! YOU ALL ARE SICK!" she screamed and ran to his side. The crowd started to calm down when they realized what occurred.

"Now look at what you've all done! SEE THIS MESS!? THAT 70 YEAR OLD MAN IS IN CRITICAL CONDITION BECAUSE OF YOU JERKS!" Fly Guy screamed angrily.

"I'm...60...not 70...agh god…" Toadsworth groaned in pain, holding his head as a few nurses rushed over with a stretcher.

"Get him on there for crying out loud! And I'm coming with!" Toodles demanded as the nurses hurriedly got him on the stretcher and went off.

"You are just as guilty! You know what!? I've had enough! I'm leaving this damned place and heading to Rose City! Who wants to come with me!?" yelled the same koopa female from earlier. Shouts of agreement were heard with nods, much to Fly Guy's shock.

"WHAT THE FLIPPITY FUCK!? Rose City...uhh...actually, I have no clue where that is!" he screeched.

"Aren't you from here? It's 30 minutes north of here, sandwiched right between Mushroom City and Moonview City. They're taking in survivors from Tatanga's destruction! LOOK!" said the koopa gal and showed him a web article that she printed out from the computer room. Fly Guy read it and saw the title 'ROSE CITY'S VERY OWN 'OPPORTUNITY SHELTER' TAKING IN REFUGEES FROM MUSHROOM CITY!'. He then read the rest out loud:

"One of the biggest homeless shelters in the kingdom, Opportunity Shelter, is partnering with the nearby 'Lilyrose Hospital' to accommodate any Mushroom City resident who has lost their home and/or is in need of food and water due to the grocery stores being abandoned or wiped out. Along with that, if you need first aid of any kind, the hospital staff will be working overtime to make sure everyone's needs are met. If our shelter gets too full, Lilyrose Hospital has various spots available for people to sleep in."

"Wow. Uhh...good for them!?" Fly Guy awkwardly responded.

"That's all you have to say!? Man, you really do suck! I'm with her, I'm going to Rose City and out of this hellhole! Let's form a group of people who want to come with!" spat another toad guy.

"Oh, come on! How the hell are you even gonna get there!? All transportations are down or kaput, so...you're just gonna walk then!? That'll take like half a day!" Fly Guy tried to reason with them, but it seemed like it was too late.

"That's exactly what we'll do. Even if it takes a half a day, it's better than constantly being in danger here!" said the koopa gal.

"Yeah, seriously! Literally everything here is dangerous, I'm surprised the food hasn't been poisoned yet!" pointed out a goomba man.

"Well...WHAT IF IT WAS POISONED!? AND IT'S MAKING YOU ALL FUCKING DELUSIONAL AND OVERLY-AGGRESSIVE!? THAT'S IT! THE FOOD IS POISONED! EVERYONE, STOP EATING, THE FOOD IS FUCKING POISONED!" Fly Guy screamed and went absolutely berserk, running into the cafeteria.

"Uhh, sir!? I wasn't being completely serious! If the food WAS actually poisoned, I think we all would've felt it by now!" the goomba man pointed out, freaked out by Fly Guy's sudden meltdown.

"EVERYONE, QUIT EATING THIS SECOND! THE FOOD IS POISONED AND IT'S MAKING EVERYONE SUPER DUPER PARANOID AND INCREDIBLY ANNOYING!" Fly Guy screamed in horror as he smacked the food out of everyone's hands. People began to protest and got ticked off at him.

"How do you know it's poisoned!? How can even all the food be poisoned anyways!?" asked a toad mom.

"WELL, WITH ALL THE OTHER BILLION CRAZY THINGS THAT'S HAPPENED HERE THAT'S COMPLETELY OUT OF THE REALM OF LOGIC, WHO'S TO SAY SOMEONE FOUND A MYSTICAL WAY TO INJECT POISON INTO EVERY GODDAMN THING!? WHO KNOWS!? WHO. THE. FUCK. KNOOOOOOOWS!" Fly Guy maniacally roared and flipped over a table in pure madness. Everyone else just stood there, jaw dropped at the most bizarre and randomest scene they've ever witnessed.

A little toad girl innocently ran up to him and asked, "Hey mister! What about the peanut butter and jelly shroom sandwiches!?"

"THAT SHIT IS POISONED TOO! EAT IT AND YOU'LL BE SPEWING BLOOD AND GUTS OUT OF BOTH ENDS OF YOUR BODY!" Fly Guy erratically screamed into her face.

"AAAAAHHHH! MOMMYYYY!" the little girl shrieked and ran away. Someone from the crowd in the lobby then ran up to Fly Guy and punched him in the face, knocking him out to stop freaking everyone out.


Bowser Jr. and Toadette found Clawdia, Kenneth, and Katia sitting in a conference room on the second floor.

"Hey! I heard about what happened...you all okay?" Junior kindly asked as the other three looked at him and Toadette with completely different expressions. Clawdia looked joyed to see him. Katia looked surprised and confused. Kenneth looked annoyed.

"Oh, hey. Uhh, I'm a little better now since that girl turned out to be alive. That was still so messed up to see, though. I didn't think I was gonna see anyone be hurt like that again after that shootout with those koopatrols...guess I was wrong…" Katia said, still upset.

"How come that old professor man didn't kill that kid? He poses a threat now since he's a little serial killer in the making!" Kenneth asked aggressively.

"His logic was that, since Toadessa didn't actually die, and Toado's just a kid suffering from trauma from his parents dying along with Tadano feeding him bad things, he gave him a second chance but had him put in solitary confinement. I think E. Gadd did the right thing, there's always a chance for someone like that to turn things around, especially someone so young!" Bowser Jr. explained.

"Ah, I see. Well, some people deserve a second chance and I trust E. Gadd's thinking. The man seems very intelligent!" Clawdia said optimistically.

"Really? So, a kid gets to nearly kill someone...and he gets a slap on the wrist for it? What the hell kind of justice system do you guys got going on here!?" Kenneth asked, still not happy with that choice even after Junior's explanation.

"Um, I don't think I would call being locked in solitary confinement a 'slap on the wrist.' Being alone in a small room for days sounds miserable to me!" Toadette spoke of the decision in defense.

"As long as he's locked up and can't do anything, I guess it's okay. Gonna be hard to get out of my head...god, why did I have to see that!? If it wasn't for you pissing me off, dad, that wouldn't have happened!" Katia angrily spat.

"Oh great, here we go again with the stupid blame game. Don't put the fault on me because you wanna blow up whenever you don't get your way," Kenneth argued.

"Enough, both of you! Can't we go the rest of the day without this crap!? It's been crazy as it is!" Clawdia shut the both of them down with great frustration. Katia crossed her arms, huffed, and rolled her eyes like a typical angsty teenager whereas Kenneth just looked away.

"Uhhh...so, to make things lighter, why don't we all just sit down at the cafeteria and get a bite to eat? Just, uhh, chat about something else to get our minds off of all this?" Junior nervously proposed.

"What? Why? I thought you all didn't even want to be around us?" Katia questioned.

"That's the rest of my family that thinks that way. Me...I dunno, I'd be interested in getting to at least know you guys more and try to get along. I mean, as long as you guys want to as well," Junior answered, still nervous since he wasn't completely confident that this was going to be the correct way to go about things.

"I think that's a good idea. It'll help calm the tension between everyone, and I also wanna know what you've been doing with your life since I left, Junior. What do you two say?" Clawdia suggested enthusiastically.

"Uhh, yeah, the problem with that is the rest of your family hates mine and my dad's guts. I feel like they'll hate us forever, no matter how much we try to get along!" Katia objected.

"I know that, but maybe just you three and me and Toadette could just be the ones to try to get along, and my brothers will just have to deal?" Junior suggested with a shrug.

"Wow. You really don't care what your brothers have to say then, huh?" Katia said, a little impressed by his tenacity.

"I mean, I do but I just wanna be fair to you guys too. I don't like having my mom back in my life and I don't even get the chance to at least know her along with her family. What do you two say?" Junior asked with a smile, hoping to make some kind of peace.

"I don't see the harm in it, as long as your brothers just stay the hell away from me if they're gonna keep yelling at me. By the way, you said 'Toadette,' so is that your girlfriend there?" Katia asked, steering the topic a little. Toadette jumped a little nervously.

"Oh! Uhh...y...yes, I am his girlfriend!" she hastily replied, surprising Junior with her response. "It's very new. Our relationship. Uhh, yeah. Started right before the shooting happened actually! Yeah!"

"Oh! That's so sweet to hear. I'm happy for you both! Congrats!" Clawdia happily applauded.

"Err, yeah, thanks. As weird as it sounds, we really connected through all this stuff. We, uhh, help make each other feel better," Junior nervously spoke, blushing quite a bit, not knowing that this conversation was going to happen this soon.

"Cool. Keeps your mind off of the horrible crap too. Does your family support you two too?" Katia asked.

"I think they do. We haven't talked about it that much, but it seems like they're cool with it!" Junior answered with a smile.

"Hmm. You only mentioned your brothers when you said you wanted to connect with us. But, what about your dad? What do you think he would have to say about this?" Kenneth asked in an interrogating manner, shifting the convo back to the original topic.

Junior was about to speak, until the door opened and in came Morton, Lemmy, and Ludwig.

"There you are, Junior and Toadette! Oh...I see you're with...these people…" Morton spoke in a disgusted manner.

"Gee, the bitterness sure is strong in here…" Katia scoffed.

"What's going on in here!? Another argument!?" Ludwig asked demandingly.

"No no! Just...ugh...do you guys need to speak to me or something?" Junior asked in frustration, not wanting things to escalate again.

"Yes, but I suppose we'll let everyone else know since we're all in here. Tadano's back in the hospital somewhere. He was seen trying to see that Toado kid and when he was spotted, he ran away but we don't think he's escaped yet. Guards are at the exit doors to handle him," Lemmy informed. The others looked scared and shocked at this, except for Kenneth who looked pissed off.

"I don't fucking believe this. ANOTHER thing gone wrong in this hospital!? That's it, we're leaving this place. We're going to the lakehouse!" he angrily stated.

"Good, don't let the door hit your ass on the way out!" Morton spat.

"STOP, YOU TWO! Just...calm yourselves, please! I'm sure Tadano will be properly dealt with like all the other times we've had something go wrong here," Clawdia tried to keep the peace.

"But will it be solved before a bunch of people die!?" Katia snarkily asked.

"You know, this shit with you guys blaming us for things spiraling out of control in here is SERIOUSLY getting old. If you can't stand it that much, then leave! No one's stopping you! NO ONE!" Ludwig yelled.

"You know what!? Maybe we will! I wanna go to the lakehouse! NOW! I don't care if it'll take forever to walk there, I'm tired of being yelled at by you jerks!" Katia pouted.

"Excuse me!" called out a toad nurse from the hallway.

"Yes!?" Morton loudly responded, turning to her, still clearly mad.

"Um...I wanna let you know that there was another riot in the lobby just now. People are forming a group to walk to Rose City, where their hospital and homeless shelter are now letting people from Mushroom City stay with them. Two people also got hurt from that riot, one of them was...I think his name was Toadsworth, and the other one was the Shy Guy with the propeller on his head," she informed. Everyone else gasped in horror.

"OH NO! How bad are their injuries!?" Toadette shrieked.

"Nothing life threatening, but we may have to stitch the back of Toadsworth's head because he fell and hit his head on a desk since everyone was pushing each other. He's somewhat conscious...but as I said, nothing life threatening," the nurse explained, providing a little relief to the others.

"Holy shit! Okay, let's go down to the lobby and see what the hell this is about, then we'll pay Fly Guy and Toadsworth a visit!" Morton commanded and led everyone back out to the lobby.

"This'll be interesting to watch," Kenneth said with a smirk, following the others.


UNDERWORLD

Pauline opened her eyes and immediately gasped in horror. She saw trees looming over her along with bright sunlight. She quickly realized she was laying on dry ground. She sat herself up and looked around, gasping again when she saw that she was in a forest that eerily reminded her of the one just outside Shiver City, and that all her friends were laying on the ground around her, seeming unconscious. She felt her hair and dress, noticing that it was damp, and that's when she remembered what had occurred prior to her waking up.

"Holy crap...uhh, YOU GUYS! WAKE UP! I-I think we're in the underworld!" Pauline yelled and shook Larry who was closest to her.

"Ahhh...oh! Hey...where are we!? It's so warm here! This is the underworld?" Larry asked in a daze as he observed the vicinity while everyone else was waking up.

"It's gotta be. I remember going down that hole in the lake, and...that's it. I don't remember anything that happened after going in the water," Pauline replied as he helped him stand up.

"I certainly don't remember anything either! I take it no one else does as well?" Flurrie asked to the group and saw everyone shake their heads as they all gathered together.

"Are we all accounted for? We're all here? No one is missing!?" Mario questioned, making count of the group. It seemed like everyone was there thankfully.

"So, uhh, this is the underworld? Wow. Definitely not what I imagined it to be!" Jojora said in an underwhelming as she looked at the surroundings.

"This is nothing like The Underwhere. This has to be a different 'underworld' dimension. I knew there were other different 'underworld' dimensions similar to The Underwhere, but I never thought I'd have the displeasure of visiting one!" Luvbi exclaimed.

"Uhh...did you just say 'underwear'? What the hell!?" Lakilester asked, making sure he heard her right.

"Yes, it's called THE Underwhere, and it's spelled 'U-N-D-E-R-W-H-E-R-E'...not that other word that sounds exactly like it. The Underwhere is exactly how you'd imagine an 'underworld' to be: dark, creepy, monsters roaming everywhere, illusions...this seems to be the opposite of that, yet it's referred to as an underworld!" Luvbi explained.

"I remember The Underwhere. That was by far creepier than anything I experienced in my own mansion," Luigi commented.

"I also remember The Underwhere...even though I try not to!" Peach shuddered with a chill going down her spine.

"Are we still in the Shiver Region, though? I know there's obviously no snow here, but this forest looks exactly like the one we were just in!" Goombella pointed out.

"It does! But, where do we begin looking for Bombette? She could be anywhere out here. Koops said...uhh, I mean, the OTHER Koops said that he and Bombette were fighting off a yellow star creature with a mustache, but that was it," Daisy recalled.

"A yellow star with a mustache...why does my mind automatically go to the Star Spirit, Kalmar, that exists in our world?" Parakarry questioned.

"My mind went there too. I'm guessing this underworld has its own Kalmar counterpart, along with maybe the other Star Spirits," Mario added.

"If that's the case...then I wonder if this place has our own counterparts!? That would be insane to deal with!" Yoshi shrieked in fear.

"Let's not get too into our heads about that now. Our only objective is to find Bombette and get out of here. If this really is the underworld counterpart to the Shiver Region forest, then maybe we should go to the Crystal Palace in this world, well, if it's even called the Crystal Palace here. I say that because it seems like everything leads back to that place," DK suggested.

"I'd say that's the best shot we got right now since we have no other leads to help us out. Alright, uhh, let's go...this way, I guess to the palace?" Mario said, unsure of the way towards where the palace should be but headed leftward. "Also, guys, be observant of your surroundings. We already got a taste of what's in this world, so we can't let any more of that happen again to us."

As the group began to walk onward, Koopie was in the back sobbing somewhat hysterically.

"Hey, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Lakilester kindly asked.

"I just...Kooper and I are together in the Mirror World...and...it just felt so wrong to see us like that! Oh god, it just brought back memories of Koops melting down and me fighting with Vivian and-and...all of this so fucked up! I don't know why, but it just makes me seriously hate myself!" Koopie screeched through her sobbing. Vivian walked to her and patted her on the shoulder.

"Hey, Koopie, it's okay! I'm over what happened. No hard feelings at all! You don't need to feel like that!" the shadow siren spoke encouragingly to help her feel better about the situation.

"B-But I should...I didn't even apologize to you for being such a bitch, Viv...I...I'm so sorry for shifting the blame to you during that! I didn't want to take fault for cheating on Koops so I took it out on you. I'm sorry! I'M SO SORRY!" Koopie bursted into full on tears and cried into Viv's shoulder. "A-and now...Koops is locked away with Bombette...and...and I don't know if I'll ever get the chance to tell him how truly sorry that I fucked everything up for him…and how much he means to me…"

"Koopie, you WILL see him again, okay? We all will! Don't let this destroy you now, we need you for this to save Bombette...uhh, THEIR Bombette, and then we'll save OUR Koops and Bombette! Just hold on a little longer and you can tell Koops everything! I promise you that!" Vivian stated as she was close to crying herself. Some of the others witnessed this scene and was surprised to see the sudden emotions that hit Koopie and how Vivian held nothing against her for the drama that befell them back in Sonic's world.

"Uhh...you think I should say something?" Kooper asked to Goombella, feeling a little awkward from that since his mirror counterpart was with Koopie's counterpart.

"I don't think there's anything to really, like, say. It's weird and discomforting. I mean...I suppose the only one who you should really say something to is Koops as well. I don't think you two ever, like, buried the hatchet between you guys," Goombella responded, feeling a little sympathy for Koopie.

"Yeah. I wanted to talk things out, but then that mess with my brother happened and I was put in a coma...then right after I woke up, the shooting happened so we were dealing with that, then fast forward to this...there was no time to talk it out. I really want to when we get him and Bombette out. He can hate me for the rest of his life, and that's fine, but I just want him to know how sorry I am for that and I really want to start over," Kooper explained, getting a little choked up as well.

"That's totally fair. I still think what you and Koopie did was dead wrong and, like, I will stick by Koops if he wants nothing to do with you two ever again after we're done with this adventure. It's his personal choice to make in the end," Goombella stated firmly, which hurt Kooper a little but he knew why she had to say it like that.

"Yeah. That's also fair. Those are the consequences for my horrible actions," he sighed as his eyes welled up. "Um...I also saw you, err, I mean, your counterpart kissing Koops' counterpart back there. How'd you feel seeing that?"

Goombella was hoping he wouldn't ask that. It was the shock of a lifetime seeing her own self and an identical clone of Koops kissing passionately like that.

"It was even more weird and discomforting. I've never, like, thought of Koops like that, ever! I...ugh...I really don't want to talk about that…" she groaned in slight disgust.

Luvbi heard these conversations and pondered to herself in intrigue. She whispered to Starlow, "You know, I'm beginning to wonder something. The Mirror World...I wonder if such a world reflects true inner desires? As in, the Mirror World brings deep desires within us from our original world out into the open in this world!?"

"Huh? Uhh, why do you say that for?" Starlow asked in confusion.

"Just a thought because, you know, Koopie and Kooper are together in the Mirror World….Koops and Goombella are together...your mirror counterpart seems much more hardened than you...Peach's counterpart seems to be as dominant and as much of a leader as Mario, perhaps moreso...I mean, it says it all right there: MIRROR WORLD. A mirror reflects, but perhaps not just only the external, but also the internal!" Luvbi expanded on her theory with more intrigue.

"That's, uhh, wow. Yeah, that seems really plausible when you put it that way, I think. Hmm! Still was kinda scary seeing myself like that. I wonder if my counterpart went through something more traumatic in her world? It's the only explanation for why she was so intense! I've never been that intense before…" Starlow said, now very deep in thought about this theory.

"Hey bro, is that ice in your body getting worse?" Kody politely asked. Wario gave him a weird look since he didn't think he would talk to him of all people.

"Uhh...well...I think it's the same as it was...err, maybe not. My other arm feels frozen now too and my chest...it's getting a little harder to breathe. I'm trying not to think about it too much, though. I'm just letting my mind be focused on this mission till its end. I don't think I'm that afraid of being completely iced over," Wario said boldly but his voice had the tiniest hint of despair. Kody saw that his eyes looked watery.

"I'm so sorry, man. If I could take that ice from your body and put it into mine, I definitely would. It's really hitting me now! All my family is gone, I'm all alone, and no one believes my story...but I don't blame any of you for not believing me. I'd be doing the same if I was in your guys' shoes!" Kody started to sob himself, sounding totally hopeless.

Wario was unsure of how to respond to that, since he wasn't even sure if he actually believed Kody's story and was wondering if he was just using this opportunity as a ploy for sympathy.

"You, uhh, you shouldn't say that. Your family would want you to go on and to live for them. Y-You know, uhh, kind of like for my brother, Waluigi...sometimes I feel like I wanna die because I don't think I can manage being without him, but I know that wouldn't be the right thing to do," Wario tried to cheer him up.

"Yeah...but, hey, you got parents to help you out at least with that. Right?" Kody asked. Wario sighed, clearly a little annoyed because that's a topic he didn't want to talk about.

"Not really. I'm strained from my parents. Very long story. Don't wanna get into it," he coldly spoke. Kody took the hint and stopped talking.

"Bowser...I think our wounds are growing," Mona whispered as she rubbed her neck right on the spot where she was bit.

"Don't even say that. That's...that's gonna be the last thing on my mind," Bowser responded as he gripped his 'spider bite' wound on his chest.

"I know. I'm sorry, but...this is really starting to hit me now. I may actually die from this. This whole time I was successful in evading being killed, but...this could actually be the end for me. Whatever poison was inside that bat is now in my body and it's going to fucking take over my whole system and...and…" Mona spoke in a panicked and frightened state, beginning to hyperventilate and cry.

"Mona, STOP. You're not doing yourself any favors by jumping to that conclusion. It'll be fine. WE will be fine. Don't let yourself get all hysterical, especially now!" Bowser demanded.

"I'm trying my hardest, b-but...I mean, aren't YOU the least bit terrified, Bowser!? I don't understand how you can NOT even think about it!" Mona reproached.

"I am thinking about it. I'm scared as hell. I'm worried that my kids will be without their father and will have to navigate the rest of their lives without me. But, I'm refusing to let that get to me right now. I'm pushing it as far down as I possibly can. It's the only method I can think of that'll keep me as sane as possible during this. Trust me...I am extremely aware that I could die from this bite. But, I gotta use all my might to keep it together. Same as you. You're a tough chick...don't let yourself get the better of you," Bowser admitted and helpfully advised for the fragile woman. His words calmed her a little and she felt for his case deeply.

Daisy tapped on Luigi's shoulder and walked next to him. He looked over at her and groaned.

"What is it!?" he asked in a clearly annoyed manner.

"Luigi, please just listen to me real quick. After we're done with all this, can we PLEASE talk? PLEASE! I hate being split apart. I still love you so much, and we can't let this trauma come between us! Just please promise that we can at least talk about this after! Plus, you saw us back there...I mean, the mirror versions of us, we were clearly still together! That HAS to mean something!" Daisy pleaded with desperation.

Luigi's expression softened a little as he looked away from her, clearly thinking about the whole thing. His eyes welled up, but he no tears fell nor did he even begin to sob. He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes.

"Okay. We can talk after we get back to our world," he finally responded, slowly opening his eyes back up and seeing the koopatrol who nearly killed him back at the hospital invasion stand before him, ready to kill. Luigi heavily gasped and stopped in his tracks.

"YOUR EXISTENCE IS POINTLESS!" the koopatrol screeched.

"What's wrong!? You saw something!?" Daisy asked, startled by his sudden behavior. Luigi hyperventilated a little and closed his eyes again with tears now falling down his cheeks. He opened them back up and the koopatrol was gone.

"It's...I...nevermind. This world is messing with my head. We need to find Bombette fast," Luigi replied, still clearly shaken.

At the front of the group, Mario was looking everywhere at every second since he knew literally anything could happen in this world at any given time.

"This is pretty scary, huh? Ooh! Look at that tree over there! It's got, uhh, like a weird face on it! You see that!?" Peach nervously said, pointing to a tree in the distance that noticeably had a face-like indentation on it.

"I'm not too scared. I just don't wanna get blindsided by some random creature. As for that tree...I mean, it's kinda creepy-looking, but I don't think we should pay too much thought to it," Mario said, looking at that tree, but for some reason, was now unable to take his eyes off of it. It was as if the tree had its very own human-like face. It had indentations for eyes, a circular indentation where a nose would be, and an indentation below the 'nose' that formed a smile.

"Uhh, how about let's take our minds off that with this thought instead: I'm still stuck on something about the Crystal Queen's story. We know she came into the Mirror World and was stuck there, and found her and the Crystal King's counterparts. So...where the hell are their counterparts then? I know the Crystal Queen said she killed the Crystal King's counterpart, but now that we know for a fact she's a pathetic liar, where are the counterparts? But, if she really WAS telling the truth about killing the mirror Crystal King, then that still leaves the mystery of where her own counterpart is at," Jojora questioned.

"This is gonna be bordering on conspiracy theory right here, but how much ya wanna bet that the King's and Queen's counterparts are the true ones running the show!? I find it VERY suspicious that there's been no mention of them since we got into the Mirror World! And no, I definitely don't believe that the Crystal Queen killed the King's counterpart either!" Parakarry confidently proposed.

"Hmm. That's definitely another thing we gotta figure out. But yeah, that's been on the back of my mind since we left the palace too. There are just too many pieces to this puzzle that are either missing or don't fit right. This is by far the biggest mystery we've ever had to face," Mario said in agreement, truly mystified by the bizzarities of the entire situation.

As the group continued forward, highly aware of the vicinity, they began to pass by the tree with the indented face. Some of them tried to look away and ignore it, but others couldn't help but stare at the creepiness and realness of the tree. A feeling of dread and disgust came over the ones who looked at the tree. It truly looked like it was going to come alive at any second.

"Holy shit, that tree is incredibly creepy. And I think it's the only one here that has a 'face' on it! No doubt in my mind it's gonna pop itself out of the ground, and chase after us any moment!" Boshi squealed.

"Dude, don't scare us any more than we already are. It's...wait a second...is it me or is the 'face' on the tree following us?" Larry pointed out as the group began walking past it.

"What do you mean by that!?" Dixie fearfully asked.

"I mean, look at it. That 'face' on the tree was facing our direction to our left when we first saw it. Now we're walking past it and it's facing toward the right, towards us still. It's like it's moving! I'm positive of it!" Larry explained, getting more nervous.

"Guys, ju-just ignore it. That thing WANTS us to be paranoid and panicky. Don't feed into it!" Lakilester spoke, trying to play it cool but his voice was clearly shaky.

"Man, we're in the freakin' UNDERWORLD! That damn tree is plotting a surprise attack on us if we don't move our asses!" Spike yelled.

"I must say, there's gotta be a reason for why that's the only tree around here with a face on it. I agree with Spike, we best move quickly away from it! We must expect the unexpected in a world called the underworld, you know!" Flurrie added.

"Ugh...hey! Is it me or is it getting harder to walk?" Yoshi noticed, slowing his walking along with everyone else.

"Yeah! What the hell is this!? It feels like we're walking uphill now!" Pauline added.

"Err it feels like we're going DOWN now! Did we step in quicksand or something!?" Starlow yelped.

DK looked behind and nearly screamed when he saw that ground had indeed shifted upward with the 'face tree' at the bottom of the newly formed hill. The ground was sinking towards the tree and he saw various sticks and branches slope down to the tree and get swallowed up into the earth.

"OH MY GOD! RUUUUUN! GET AWAY FROM THE TREE!" DK hollered and everyone shrieked and booked it up as fast as possible.

"AHHHHHH! FUUUCK!" Bowser roared as he struggled the most to run uphill and got closer to the smiling tree.

"DAD, NOOOOO! YOU GOTTA KEEP MOVING! COME ON!" Larry screamed with tears and nearly froze with fear at the thought of his dad sinking into the earth.

"Ahhhh...shit! Just...GO ON! IT'S NO USE! GOOOOO!" Bowser demanded as he was on the brink of giving up.

"NO! WE'RE NOT ACCEPTING THAT! GRAB OUR HANDS!" Jojora screamed as she, Parakarry, Lakilester, Flurrie and Luvbi flew over and did their best to pull him up. Larry, DK, Yoshi, and Boshi went back and helped as well. Everyone else made it back on flat ground while the others successfully dragged him upward against the sinking ground.

"KEEP GOING! YOU'RE ALMOST THERE!" Starlow cheered them on.

"Come on, guys! Just a little more and...HOLY SHIT, THE FUCKING TREE IS FALLING!" Spike suddenly screamed in horror, pointing upwards. The smiling tree began to fall right towards the group that was helping Bowser up.

"SHIT! BOWSER, ROLL OVER RIGHT NOW!" Boshi commanded. The koopa king put in all his strength to roll over to his left on his shell, then back on to his stomach. Everyone else got out of the way as the tree collided into the ground. The earth stopped sinking as well.

"Woah...hey! Everyone okay!? No one's hurt!?" Mario called out. Everyone seemed to be in one piece.

Larry ran over to his dad. "Hey, dad, you're okay now, but you were about to give up! How could you do that!?"

"I-I'm sorry, son, I just didn't think I was gonna make it out of there. It looked hopeless for a second there, but thank you everyone who helped me. Means a lot," Bowser said while choking up and stood himself up.

Immediately after he said that, a large Swoopula-looking bat came in and grabbed Yoshi by its talons. Everyone was taken completely off guard by this since the bat came in so silently.

"AAAAHHHHHHHH, HELP ME! I CAN'T GET ITS FEET OFF ME!" Yoshi screamed, the claw part of the talons digging into his skin.

"FUCK! HOLD ON!" Lakilester screeched and zoomed upwards, grabbing a spiny shell and tossed it at the bat. It successfully hit the back of its head, and the bat let out an ear-piercing screech of pain. It dropped Yoshi during its scream and the bat suddenly let out a breath of fire directed at Lakilester. The lakitu didn't see this coming and the flames hit his right arm, setting it on fire.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH! FUUUUUCK! GET THE FLAMES OUT!" Lakilester wailed and also fell towards the earth in a state of sheer panic.

Parakarry and Jojora flew up and caught Yoshi successfully and flew him down to the ground, then the couple flew back up and stopped Lakilester from falling fast and brought him more carefully down to the earth.

"STAY RIGHT THERE!" Flurrie yelled and did her Gale Force move to blow the fire out from his arm.

"Agggghhhhhh! Thank you, Flurrie, but it still fucking hurts like hell! This is EXCRUCIATING!" Lakilester angrily cried as Parakarry helped him back up.

"OH LOOK!" Dixie screeched, pointing behind everyone. They all whipped their heads around and saw a large group of those spiders they encountered in the mirror world dashing after them.

"Oh my god! RUN! RUUUUUUUN!" Mario commanded and everyone booked it like no tomorrow. Everything was falling apart at the same time in this world. They had no idea where any of them were going, they just hoped the direction they were running in led them the right way.

As the chase continued, branches from the trees began to fall near the group, startling them and slowing them down a little. Everyone did their best to ignore it, but it came to a head when a branch fell and hit Koopie in her right shoulder, making her fall down.

"Ahhhhh! Oh my god...ohhhhh…" Koopie cried as she held on to her shoulder in such massive pain.

"KOOPIE, GET UP! THEY'RE GETTING CLOSER!" Vivian yelled and helped her stand up.

"Viv...just leave me! Please! It'll slow them down!" Koopie sobbed in defeat.

"DON'T SAY THAT! YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE LEFT BEHIND! YOU'RE NOT GIVING UP NOW!" Vivian demanded to set her straight and helped her run.

Yoshi was the furthest ahead of the group and reached an area that look very familiar to the entrance to Shiver Mountain...except, of course, the area was still dry, and the way up the mountain was rocky and rugged.

"GUYS, OVER HERE! I THINK THIS IS THE WAY!" the dino screamed and led the way in with everyone else following suit.

No one took the time to closely examine their surroundings. They just wanted to get the hell away from the creatures. The path leading up the mountain looked exactly the same as it did in their own world and in the mirror world, minus the snow of course, so everyone knew that this was the correct path.

They kept running until they reached a walkway that looked like the one where they had to place an item on the three pedestals in order for the ice walls to remove themselves so they can press onward.

But, this was radically different. This walkway had the stone walls blocking the way forward and there was a pedestal on the left that had an inscription above it. Peach walked over to it and read it outloud:

"HALF CUP OF BLOOD TO FILL THE CUP IN THE PEDESTAL TO MOVE ON," she spoke. She examined the pedestal and saw that there was a small, wooden cup stuck to the pedestal and a tiny dagger next to it.

"A cup of blood!? Wait, is that thing saying we have to, uhh, fill that cup with OUR blood so the wall can go away!?" Spike asked in horror.

"No fucking way we are doing that! Bowser, destroy the wall! You did it last time in our world!" Daisy commanded. Bowser ran up to the stone wall and gave it a mega punch. No effect and Bowser cried out in pain as he bruised his knuckles.

"AGH! Damnit! That thing is completely solid! We're fucked!" he groaned.

"Hold on! Does it, like, have to be OUR blood specifically!? It can't be the creatures' blood!?" Goombella questioned.

"Doubt it, because that spider was leaking black ooze from its body, there was no way that's actual blood. Plus, I think the spiders are done chasing us, I don't see them anymore!" Mona pointed out. Everyone looked behind to see that they were indeed out of sight.

"Screw it. We can't waste any more time! We gotta do this!" Mario stated and went up to the pedestal and grabbed the small dagger.

"Mario, wait! There has to be another- OH!" Peach tried to stop him but Mario went ahead and made a slit in the palm of his left hand. Mario cried out in pain and put the wounded hand over the cup, letting the blood drip into it. Peach looked away and cried a little.

"Holy crap! Is that gonna be enough just from you, Mario!?" Kody asked in disgust.

"Agh...n-no. I need to do my other hand…it'll take too long to fill up from just my left hand…" Mario said while wincing in pain and was about to slit his other hand until Luigi came up and took the dagger.

"NO! I'll do my hand next. I'm not letting you take all the damage!" he said as he wiped the dagger on his trousers.

"Luigi...it's okay...you don't have to…" Mario said in a thankful tone.

"I'm your brother, Mario, and I don't HAVE to do this, but I want to. That's how we've always done things!" Luigi spoke in heartfelt encouragement. Mario smiled a little and nodded. Luigi made the slit in his right palm and screamed in pain. He put his wound over the cup and out the blood dripped.

"Oh god...so horrible…" Daisy cringed, hating to see Mario and Luigi, but especially Luigi, having to hurt themselves.

"Damn! Is that gonna be enough now? That cup isn't very big and it only wants it halfway!" Larry said.

"It's getting there...come on now…" Mario whispered in slight agony as he watched his and his brother's blood slowly fill the cup. As soon as it looked like it reached the halfway point, the stone wall opened up.

"YES! Let's keep going!" Dixie cheered and the group onward to the next pedestal.

"Ohhhh man, we're gonna need stitches for this when we get back, Mario…" Luigi said as he was still wincing from the pain.

"Yeah, but it's not the worst injury we've ever gotten. Thanks for doing that, though. Meant a lot!" Mario said with a sympathetic smile. Luigi smiled back as tears formed in his eyes.

"More writing! This one says...GRAB THE STAR ROCK FROM THE ROCK HOLE OF SNAKES," Luvbi read and then widened her eyes at that message.

"-SSNAKES!? WHERE!? WHY!?" Spike shrilled in instant panic. "Oh man...I got a pretty bad phobia of snakes! Had an awful experience with one when I was touring Dry Dry Desert a few years ago, I was hospitalized from the bite!"

"Oh wow, you were really unlucky then, because snakes there aren't even that common!" Kooper commented.

"Ssssssss…"

"I heard that! It's coming from...uhh...the pedestal!?" Pauline pointed in confusion. DK walked over and moved the pedestal, revealing a hole underneath it with a few snakes at the bottom and a star-shaped rock.

"Oh, lovely. So, who's gonna fetch it? Any volunteers?" Flurrie asked with a frustrated sigh.

"I'll do it. I'll make it quick!" Bowser quickly spoke and headed for the hole. Larry was immediately against this.

"DAD, STOP! Come on, you're really gonna keep hurting yourself!?" he cried.

"IF NOT ME, THEN WHO, SON!? WHO!?" Bowser roared, clearly not truly wanting to do it, but he felt like it was necessary to help out the group he had grown so accustomed to. He stood over the small hole and examined the generic-looking snakes slithering around the star rock.

"Shit...I would shoot them but I have a feeling that'd be a waste of bullets…" he said, which surprised the others.

"Wait, what do you mean by shoot them!? None of us have a gun!" Daisy said.

"I do. I hid it in my shell when the other Mario told us to drop our guns. No way in hell was I gonna listen to that!" Bowser confirmed, surprising the others again.

"BOWSER! You are incredibly lucky that none of them saw you do that, otherwise who knows what they would've done to us!?" Flurrie scolded.

"Let's not think about that!" Bowser brushed her concern off and reached into the pit. Larry stressfully tugged his hair at this sight.

"C'mon...where is the...oh...YES! I GOT THE- AHHH!" Bowser was about to rejoice until he suddenly screamed. He pulled his arm out from the hole and everyone shrieked when they saw a snake with its teeth sunken into his wrist along with him grabbing the star rock. Boshi ripped off the snake from his skin and stomped on its head, splattering a green ooze.

"ERRRAAAAAAGGGGHHHH! THAT HURT LIKE A FUCKING MOTHER FUCKING SON OF A FUCKING BITCH! GAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Bowser roared in pure pain.

"Let me see your wrist! Hold still!" Mona said and took a close look at the bite wound. It wasn't big, but it was already looking purple-ish and began to pulsate.

"Oh...oh god...damnit! It looks like your spider bite wound! And mine and Wario's bite wounds for that matter!" Mona gasped, putting more fear and worry for Bowser into everyone else.

"NO NO! Dad...why…" Larry began to sob.

"Don't-don't start panicking for me! None of you! We have to keep going! I've suffered far worse than this!" Bowser yelled and put the star rock into the slot of the stone wall. It opened up and everyone continued forward.

"This should be the last one. The inscription says STARE INTO THE SMILING FACE. Uhh...wait…'smiling face' as in like the one that was on that tree!?" DK said in fright.

"Aww goddamnit! Why this shit again!? Where's the stupid smiling face at anyways!?" Lakilester angrily groaned.

"On the stone wall. Right in the center. It looks exactly like the face on that tree. Here we go…" Goombella sighed, gesturing to the wall. Everyone had a creepy, crawly feeling upon looking at the smiling face indented into the wall.

"Alright, guys, let's just do this so we can continue. Everyone, stare into the smiling face. It might not work if only one of us does it," Mario ordered, and so they followed suit and stared at the smiling face. Everyone became extremely uncomfortable very quickly. It reminded them of the feeling of dread they experienced when they first noticed the mirrors from their world being off...but this 'dread' feeling was ten times worse. Everyone started feeling sick and nauseous. Their bodies shook a little. Sweat began to form upon their foreheads.

What the hell was it about this smiling face that was causing such discomfort? Perhaps it was the influence of the unnerving and unfamiliar Underworld they were in.

"Sssssmmmmbbthtthththt…"

"What the hell was that!? Did you guys hear that!?" Yoshi shrieked, looking all around him. Some nodded whereas others kept staring.

"Ssssss...much as you want to escape you can't escape you will never escape it's impossible to escape you won't escape you won't you won't you won't you won't so smile smile smile smile smile smile and accept accept accept accept accept"

"Where's that voice coming from!? Are you guys hearing this!? Who's speaking!?" Vivian yelped.

"It...it sounds like it's coming from my own head...ahhh...AH!" Kody suddenly screamed as he held his head in clear agony. Others began to feel and do the same.

"MUCH AS YOU WANT TO ESCAPE YOU CAN'T ESCAPE YOU WILL NEVER ESCAPE IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO ESCAPE YOU WON'T ESCAPE YOU WON'T YOU WON'T YOU WON'T YOU WON'T SO SMILE SMILE SMILE SMILE SMILE SMILE AND ACCEPT ACCEPT ACCEPT ACCEPT ACCEPT"

"AHHHHHH, WHAT THE FUCK!? THIS VOICE IS BLARING IN MY HEAD!" Kooper cried, tugging at his head and fell down while the others screamed in torture at the voice invading their minds.

"SSSSSSSSSO MUCH AS YOU WANT TO ESCAPE YOU CAN'T ESCAPE YOU WILL NEVER ESCAPE IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO ESCAPE YOU WON'T ESCAPE YOU WON'T YOU WON'T YOU WON'T YOU WON'T SO SMILE SMILE SMILE SMILE SMILE SMILE AND ACCEPT ACCEPT ACCEPT ACCEPT ACCEPT

SMILE

SMILE

SMILE

SMILE

ACCEPT

ACCEPT

ACCEPT

ACCEPT

SMILE

SMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILE

Smiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiillllllllllllllllllllle

Sssssssssss

Mmmmmmmmmm

Iiiiiiiiiiiiii

Llllllllllllllleeeee...

As Mario roared and cried from the extreme mental torture, he tried to knock down the wall, hoping that they completed the 'task' but the wall wasn't budging. He turned around to see his friends all crying in pain and gripping their heads. He cried for them, wanting to solve this problem desperately, but how could he get rid of a simple voice that was somehow invading everyone's head?

He began to feel a panic attack coming on and stepped backwards, falling over unexpectedly. The wall had suddenly gone away. He looked up at the rock ceiling and saw the same damn indented smiling face on there staring directly into his eyes. Mario screamed again and gripped the ground as he was sweating everywhere now.

Then...a Clubba came into his view and stood over him. At first glance, it looked like a regular Clubba from their world...but when Mario got a closer look, the Clubba's cheeks were slit open, making him appear as if he had an incredibly wide smile.

"Y...YOU...a-are you doing this to us!?" Mario asked, feeling the most scared he's ever felt.

The Clubba leaned in closer to him and grinned, exposing his fleshy cheeks, freaking out Mario even more.

The Clubba got inches away from Mario's face and whispered one word to him.

"smile."

A loud roar was heard and Mario blinked, bracing for his death.

Everything was black.

But then he opened his eyes. He was still alive! But he was in a different location...but this location was very familiar to him. He guessed that it was the Crystal Palace. He stood up and examined the room; it looked to be the main entrance hall, but there was no mirror wall dividing the room into two spaces, and the room looked partially destroyed as there were openings in the wall, exposing the outside. The entire floor was sleek, shiny, and reflective as if he was standing on a massive mirror.

Mario looked behind him and saw only some of his friends were there; Mona, Spike, Starlow, Larry, Yoshi, Kody, Flurrie, Parakarry, and Dixie.

"H-Holy crap, where's everyone else at!? How did we even get in here!?" Kody freaked out, looking everywhere in the room.

"Not a clue, dear! We were doing that godawful thing with that smiling face, then the atrocious voices came and...ewwwgghhh! I thought my head was going to explode!" Flurrie recalled, still in fright.

"Yeah. Felt like an extreme psychosis episode! I guess that's the kind of stuff we gotta expect in this Underworld," Mona pointed out.

"What's a psychosis episode? I've heard that word before a couple times," Starlow asked.

"In a nutshell, it's very hallucinatory; seeing and hearing things that aren't there. Delusions. Researched quite a bit on it when I was at university," Mona informed.

"Oh. Good to know that the Underworld can make it seem like we're going insane!" Yoshi sarcastically spoke.

"Okay, seriously, where are the others!? We have to look for them! I'm guessing they're in this palace somewhere!" Larry hurriedly steered the topic back on track.

"They gotta be. I just hope they're okay. And...wow...just look at the floor. Just like the mirrors in the other palace...or, palaceS," Dixie said, staring wide-eyed at the reflective floor.

The sound of a door closing was heard from the left staircase area.

"UP THERE! GUYS, IS THAT YOU!?" Spike yelled and ran with the group up the stairs and into the hallway with the three bedroom doors, just like before, with the biggest door being in the middle.

"Sooooo, who wants to bet that the noise came from the middle door?" Parakarry guessed with fear in his voice.

"Everytime something happens in here, it's always with that damn middle room, which is the master bedroom. Come on!" Mario grunted and ran to the door then slammed it open.

Light shone into the master bedroom from more cracks in the building. The only thing that was in the master bedroom was a large blue blanket on the opposite end, with a big lump under it.

"What the…? Is someone under that blanket!?" Dixie gasped.

"Definitely looks like a person. Oh god, definitely prepare for a jump scare!" Parakarry groaned.

Mario was a little nervous about what to expect under the blanket, but there was no time to hesitate. He quickly walked over to where the 'lump' was and tossed the blanket off, uncovering a female koopa who looked scared for her life.

Everyone else gasped, not expecting a real-life koopa to be under there given everything they've experienced so far. The koopa slowly opened her eyes and let out a piercing scream.

"AAHHHHHHHH! YOU-YOU BASTARDS JUST LEAVE ME ALONE AND...huh? I...I've never seen anything like you before…" the koopa suddenly changed her manner, staring intensely at Mario. Everyone looked at the koopa with a little bit of intrigue and confusion, noting her piercing blue eyes.

"Dearie, it's okay! We're not here to hurt you. We are real. We're here to find our friend, Bombette. She's a pink bomb lady. Have you seen anyone like that here?" Flurrie politely asked.

"A...a pink bomb lady...y-yes, I think I've seen a person like that. How did you all get here, though!? You're all very brave...very very brave...assuming you're all truly real, of course...assuming this just isn't in my goddamn head…" she said while standing up.

"We are 100% real! We came from the Shiver Region, well, the Mirror World of the Shiver Region! It's a long story, but our mirror counterparts told us that Bombette fell into a portal in the frozen lake that led to this place called the Underworld. I know that sounds completely insane, but it surely can't be any more insane than THIS world!" Yoshi explained. The koopa gal widened her eyes in horror and backed up against the wall.

"Oh...oh my god. No! You were in...OH MY GOD! Tell me, is the Crystal Queen still up there doing her dirty work!? Is she still acting like a malevolent dictator!?" she frantically asked.

"Huh!? How do you know about the Crystal Queen? Were you in that world recently!?" Starlow asked in surprise at her knowing.

"Recently...no clue...I've lost track of time. I've been in this world for what seems like a millennium. I haven't aged for god knows what reason. I truly feel like I'm in the kind of Hell that you read about in old religion books. I'm constantly tortured, chased around, and scared. Everytime I feel like I die, I wake up and the chaos starts all over again!" she cried, putting even more fear into the others.

"Oh my goodness, you poor thing! This is simply awful! Well, we'll get you out of here as well, so you shan't be afraid any longer!" Flurrie declared.

"Wait a second here. Your name is Kooplinia, isn't it? The mirror counterpart of the Crystal Queen!" Mona said as it all clicked for her.

"Yes, I am Kooplinia. I was thrown into this world by my mirror half...AMD by that foul warlock, Merleon!" she revealed.


MIRROR-CRYSTAL PALACE

Penelopuin sat in the corner of the cell, holding her stomach as she kept sobbing off and on.

"I am trying so hard to be hopeful and positive that we're going to get out of this soon. But, this is the most scared I've ever felt. My husband is dead and now I'm a widow who'll raise three kids and they'll never get to know their father…" she spoke with so much hurt in her voice.

"We WILL get out of this! We just gotta keep holding on a little longer. Our group is facing something way crazier and scarier than ever before, like, we never faced anything like this previously. It'll take time but I know they'll be back to rescue us," Bombette said, trying to instill hope.

"Don't you think you should be more of a realist here, though?" Perrie spoke, looking totally defeated. "As horrible as Merle is, he may have a point when he said that your guys' luck may run out sooner or later. I REALLY don't wanna think that, but I'm afraid our situation is looking extremely bleak."

"I'm not denying that the situation is extremely bleak. It definitely is, and it's scary as hell. But, believe me when I say that we've been through some of the craziest shit no one could ever possibly imagine. This may top those things, but we've always found ways to get through it," Bombette urged to make him be less pessimistic.

"All we can do is hope and pray. That's it. That's all we're able to do being stuck in this cell. Thinking about it too much will just drive you crazy, and that's the last thing we need to happen," Herringway stated.

"Bombette, is there any way you could blow up these walls with your Mega Bomb move? It might work, and we'd be able to get out of here, and get these other people out too!" Koops suggested. Bombette didn't look sure of that. She walked over to the cell bars and felt them. Hard as steel. Then she looked at the walls. They looked more rigid and tough than the walls on the main floor, which she exploded through pretty easily.

"Hmmm. You see, the problem with that is that we're in such an enclosed space, I don't want you guys to get hurt by my mega explosion. Especially you, Penelopuin, you're pregnant, and I don't wanna risk you getting damaged and losing your babies!" Bombette pointed out.

"Oh! Well, I appreciate you thinking about me like that. I'm sorry it has to be that way. If I wasn't pregnant, I'd be more inclined to think you should try for it," Penelopuin responded with a sympathetic smile as she rubbed her belly.

"Don't be sorry. You're gonna have beautiful kids and, umm, I'm sure you'll have an amazing support system when this is all done. Uhh, we'll make sure of it! The princess will make sure of it!" Koops tried to confidently state to help her feel better.

Bombette saw someone through the cell bars that caught her eye in another cell to the right. "What the!? HEY, YOU! You're an Albino Dino, right!? From our world's Crystal Palace?" she called out. She caught the creature's attention who was previously laying on the floor, looking miserable with a few other Bumpties. The white rhino dino stood up and walked over to the cell bars.

"Yeah, I am. Why?" he asked.

"Do you remember me at all? I came with Mario and my other friends to the palace many years ago to save the Star Spirit, Kalmar. We had to solve your guys' puzzle in the last room before facing the Crystal King," Bombette recalled to jog his memory.

"Hmm...yes...yeah! Oh yeah, I remember you guys. Didn't think we'd ever see each other again!" the Albino Dino answered.

"Yeah, same here. Where are the other two Albino Dinos? Do you know?" Bombette asked.

"Oh...um...the Crystal Queen killed them because they refused to listen to her orders when she took over the palace. I didn't want to take orders from her either, but I also didn't wanna die, so I chose to be locked up down here until she figures out what she wants to do with me. It's so horrible...not just because she killed my two friends, but she wanted us out of the palace because she thought we looked like an ugly addition to the palace. So disgusting how vile she is!" he explained.

"Wow! I'm so sorry. I promise you that we'll make her pay for everything!" Koops exclaimed.

"I want her to pay. She killed my friends and so many others and now this plan to take over the Shiver Region from her own world...it's so sickening. This feels just as bad as Tatanga taking over the world," the Albino Dino cried.

"It really does. It's virtually on the same scale as what Tatanga is doing, if you really think about it! And speaking of Tatanga, does she not know that THIS world is being taken over by him? I don't see the point of coming from one world into another world where the world is at risk of being dominated!" Perrie pointed out.

"I'm sure she knows, but remember that Merle said that the Star Stone supposedly is going to protect the palace. If it's true, then she won't need to worry about whether or not Tatanga succeeds in his plan," Koops said.

"I have to ask you something that may be kind of dumb. Your head is as hard as a rock, right? Do you think you could charge into these cell bars and bust them apart? Would that be a possibility?" Bombette asked to the dino. He had an intrigued expression.

"Hmmm. I've thought about that. I COULD probably do it and not feel much from the impact, but here's what bothers me the most: if we were to escape these cells...what next? What's there to do after that? Plus, I'm EXTREMELY afraid of dying! I saw one of my friends be killed by the Crystal Queen and, umm, I-I really don't wanna die! It's my biggest fear ever!" he explained as his voice shook a little.

"That's completely understandable. We've witnessed so many people die and, umm, I can't imagine dying like them. I don't know if the afterlife really exists but it's scary to think about there being nothing once you're gone," Koops understood his position.

"Yeah, we understand you! It's perfectly okay to feel like that. BUT...if we want to make a difference in how this plays out and ensure our survival, then we need to do this. At the very least, we can get you all back to a safe place in Starborn Valley until everything is settled down here! Please. You don't wanna die in this cell. I can't guarantee that you WON'T die out there...but at least you'll know that you tried to escape and helped others to escape. That's what a hero does!" Bombette kindly spoke to encourage the timid dino.

"Indeed!" Herringway spoke while approaching the bars. "Mario and his friends, when they come to the Shiver Region all those years ago to get rid of the Crystal King and save that Star Spirit, they made a difference in all our lives. We were safer than before. We put more of our trust into, not only in him and his friends that save the kingdom more times than I can count on one hand, but also each other, because being saved truly made us more grateful for life and, thus, we supported one another so we wouldn't ever feel like being in those gloomy times ever again. Heroes make a difference in people's lives, whether they succeed or not...but more often than not, they absolutely do succeed."

The Albino Dino, and others who were listening to the conversation, looked astounded by the inspirational words coming from him. It really touched the Dino's soul in a way that he never experienced before. He took a minute to let those words really sink in, then he formed a small and bold smirk.

"Okay. Okay! Let's put this plan into action then."


TATANGA'S ISLAND

Doopliss and Beldam walked around the main room of the island fortress, the room where the weapon was being created. They pretended to be inspecting everything so as to not look suspicious to Tatanga as they were discussing something important.

"So...it's safe to say that Tatanga is plotting something against Dimentio, and Dimentio is plotting something against Tatanga. Tatanga didn't outright say it when I talked to him about that story of Bleck supposedly lying about Dimentio stealing the Star Rod, but he certainly implied it. He's not dumb, there's no way he would fall for Dimentio's obviously fake story of Bleck lying about him and that Roy is the real culprit of being the backstabber here!" Doopliss said softly with some worry.

"WOW. Doopliss...what the hell are we gonna do!? We're caught between two friends of ours, and, well, I already know how this crap is gonna play out: they're gonna want us to pick a side, and the side that we don't pick, we'll be on their hit list!" Beldam responded with more worry.

"I don't know, Beldam. The only thing I can think of is to play it neutral and act like nothing is going on until the shit REALLY hits the fan!" Doopliss spoke with a loss of hope, feeling truly saddened that it's coming down to this.

"OR...we could escape. Leave them to fuck each other over. We could just leave this place and go back to our old lives and pretend like none of this EVER happened! Doopliss, we have to face the facts, we're most likely going to get killed in the war between them if we don't get out of this," Beldam urged with desperation.

Doopliss looked a little disappointed but nodded in agreement. "You're absolutely right. There's no way this will end well. But, how do we escape!? Well, YOU could escape by simply vanishing into the shadows, but what about me!? The only way out was the teleportation machine but that's destroyed now! Man, I really wish we actually had those submarines!"

"Hmm. Well...you know, Doopliss, I COULD repair the machine with my magic. It'll be difficult, but I can definitely try, although it'll be hard with the koopatrols patrolling everywhere constantly. They'll definitely say something to Tatanga if they see me," Beldam conjured a plan that sparked Doopliss' interest.

"Hmm! I like that plan, and it's probably our only shot of safely escaping. We'll have to come up with a proper strategy to pull this off, though, and our best chance of doing it will be very late at night. In the meantime, we're gonna have to act like nothing's going on. Play dumb if we need to. Looking at this weapon right now too...it's almost complete. Shit, it's VERY close! And I bet you one thing, Beldam: the second this thing is complete, that is when Tatanga will strike back at Dimentio. He'd be a fool to do it right now and risk all his hard work away. So...we have to make this exit strategy a quick one. Tonight we'll come up with the plan, then tomorrow night, we put it into motion," Doopliss proposed as he stared at the weapon with both fear and awe in his eyes.


Dimentio approached the black door at the end of the hall, which was the room he put Roy in previously, and also now. The jester was a little antsy as he knew in his heart he was being slowly found out.

He opened the door and the light shone in, showing a shackled up Roy at the opposite end of the room. His arms were chained to the wall and the smell of the room had a godawful stench left over from when Roy killed that koopa. He closed the door, then snapped his fingers. The room suddenly lit up.

"Huh! What the hell do you want!? You know what, if you're gonna kill me, then just fucking do it already! I'm tired of waiting!" Roy yelled.

"Shut up. You're gonna die when I fucking say so, and I assure you it'll be in the slowest and most painful manner!" Dimentio hissed as he entered the room.

"Fuck you. My family and friends will come invade this stupid place soon, and they'll make sure that you'll die in the slowest and most painful manner as well. You can only do this shit for so long before it catches up with you!" Roy threatened.

"Oh! But, it won't catch up with me. Wanna know why? Because I have THIS!" Dimentio cheerily spoke and revealed to him the legendary Star Rod. Roy was both amazed and immensely shocked at this revelation.

"WHAT THE HELL!? How do you have that!? Did you have that this whole time!?" Roy yelled.

"Yes, I did have it this whole time. Wanna know the backstory of all this, though? When that nuisance, Bleck, came here, he somehow discovered that I was the one who rummaged through Star Haven and stole the Star Rod, and told that to Tatanga and Doopliss. I must admit, I was thrown off by this, like a master manipulator who was played at his own game! That's how he was able to escape.

So, I had to take drastic measures and fix this. I told Tatanga that Bleck lied about that story, and told him that Bowser, Kammy, and his family raided Star Haven and took the Star Rod. Then, Bowser came up with the plan to have you come over here with the Star Rod, pretend to want to join us, then wait for the perfect moment to strike with the Star Rod, so that you and the rest of your clan can take over the world from where we left off. I told Tatanga that it was the most genius plan you guys ever came up with. I told him that Bowser coming here and trying to rescue you was all an act to solidify the plan, to make it seem that you being here was truly legitimate. And, guess what? Tatanga bought it.

That's when I also told him about you wanting to get Mimi and Diddy out. I told Tatanga that you were falling for Mimi and I caught you in the act. That's what made him livid and that's when he formed the plan to catch you in the act of trying to get them out. And the plan succeeded...and here you are. You were played," Dimentio enthusiastically explained all this as Roy was becoming more shocked and horrified throughout.

"Holy shit. Y-You...you're a fucking PSYCHOPATH! YOU FUCKING LIED ABOUT ME AND MY FAMILY RAIDING STAR HAVEN AND...ohhh...you're DEFINITELY going to die now. You may have that Star Rod...but I can fucking BET you right now, that you WILL die. It might not be from my hands, or even my family's hands...but you will die, Dimentio. You just confirmed to me that you are a million times worse than Tatanga could ever be. At least he's upfront about who he is and what he wants!" Roy angrily spoke, clenching his fists, digging his nails into his own palms and turned very red in the face. His blood was boiling now

"Your words mean nothing to me, little boy. And really, you calling Tatanga upfront, moreso than me? HA! Ooh...you are gonna eat those words. Mind you, I have the Star Rod, one of the most powerful weapons to ever exist. You can do some nasty things with this one, oh yes. I'm only keeping you alive a little longer so you can watch the show unfold, like a moviegoer awaiting the climax of the film! Then...ooooh! THEN, I'll make your death as gruesome and torturous as can be. Your life is on a time limit now, Roy. You can say all those threatening words that you want, but at the end of the day, it's gonna be me who'll prevail in the end. And you'll be there to see it, and I'll make sure you know how wrong you were," Dimentio said, still sounding cheery and smarmy as ever.

Roy scoffed a little and rolled his eyes. "You're the biggest fake I've ever met. Not just because you lied, but because you're really trying to convince yourself that you'll pull this off effortlessly. I'm not buying it, and I doubt the others buy your story too. Tatanga's probably lying about how he believes you anyways! You ever think about that!? Because if not...then you're much dumber than I thought you were. I see right through you, Dimentio. You can act all confident and tough all you want, but I know, deep down, you are TERRIFIED at the possibility that this might not work in your favor. That all your work could come crashing down and that everyone would be there to see your downfall. And if that happens, which I'm sure it will, I'll make sure I'm there to see it."

Dimentio looked annoyed at how he practically turned his words around on him. Roy caught this and tried not to scoff again.

"I have certainly thought about him lying about believing me, you fool! In fact...ooh ooh! You have no idea how many layers I have to my plan. And really? You wanna talk about me convincing myself!? What about you, you troubled delinquent!? Wanting to be a villain then flip-flopping in wanting to return to your stupid, atrocious, abusive, and MASSIVELY fucked up family!? I mean, you wanna talk about being fake, maybe you should look in the mirror for once!" the jester turned it all back around onto him in an angrier tone.

"You know, it's funny that you say that. About looking in the mirror. Feels like I am right now. We both lied about our true intentions of being here, about why we even came here in the first place. Looks like that's a big thing we've got in common. Didn't think we'd ever have anything in common at all!" Roy pointed out.

"Oh please! You and I are different on many, MANY levels! Have fun back in the dank dark, little one!" Dimentio scowled, snapped his fingers again, which made the light fade away, then exited the room.


Some time later, Tatanga hurried to the main room, looking for a specific person.

"HELLO! Is there a koopa here named Konnor!? The koopa that came to my room a while ago!?" the alien called out. A lot of them stood in clear nervousness, whereas others looked around and just shrugged. But suddenly, an enthusiastic voice called out.

"ME! THAT'S ME!" the koopa cheered and ran over to Tatanga. "Hi, it's me, Konnor, again! What can I do for you, master!?"

"I need you to help me with something. There's been a minor change in plans around here. Follow me," Tatanga ordered and led him back into the hallway to go back to his room.

"Ooh! What kind of minor change in plans, if you don't mind me asking?" Konnor excitedly asked.

"There's been a 'shift' on my team, so to speak. I have to accommodate for that and I need someone on the outside to help," Tatanga answered.

"A shift? What do you mean by that?" Konnor asked.

"You'll know more later. The only thing I'll say for now is that it looks like I, myself, might be the only person that I can fully trust right now. This is gonna end up being more of a mess than I anticipated," Tatanga said, which intrigued Konnor all the more, dying to know the gossip.

The pair reached his room and went inside then walked over to Tatanga's safe.

"What I have in here...I have in case an emergency like this were to ever happen. It sucks that it has to come this, but a recent discovery has left me choice but to go down this path," Tatanga said in clear disappointment as he began to open the safe.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that! Sounds like someone fucked you over!" Konnor said in sympathy.

"That's a big understatement there," the alien replied as he got his safe to open. He then made a big smirk at what was in the safe. "But it will be the biggest mistake that has ever been done to me."

EoC.

Next chapter, the contents of the letter to Toado is revealed, and the hospital gang come to face with true threats of a group of people going to Rose City; Everyone in the Underworld's Crystal Palace faces off with the creature that lurks there; Koops and Bombette enact the escape plan but with bumps along the way; Rosalina refuses to back down from knowing what's going on with Monty which leads to a horrifying discovery. Next chapter will be uploaded on or before Saturday, May 8. Thanks for reading!

ALSO! This story has officially been in the making for 8 years now, and I wanna give a humongous THANK YOU to everyone that's been keeping up with it for that long, along with others who've been reading it for a lesser amount of time of course. You guys make my day with your views and comments!