Adventuring Group: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, DK, Dixie, Goombella, Koops, Kooper, Bombette, Parakarry, Lakilester, Spike/Paper-Yoshi, Vivian, 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, Tadano
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
TATANGA'S ISLAND
It was now nighttime, close to midnight. Doopliss and Beldam were walking around the main room where the weapon was being built again, acting like they were patrolling, but in reality, they were quietly discussing their escape plan.
"Okay, so, I've figured out some things: Tatanga has the koopatrols working on the weapon 24/7. However, from what I've noticed since we've gotten here is that, around this time each day, there are less of the koopatrols working here, probably because of so many of them going to sleep. And every two hours, all the koopatrols take a 15 minute break, so a lot of them either go back to their rooms to snack on something, or head out to the beach for some fresh air. That gives us a short window of time to sneak through this area, into the storage room, and perform whatever spell you need to do to fix the teleportation machine and get us out of here," Doopliss laid it all out, casually glancing around at the other koopatrols so him and Beldam wouldn't look too suspicious.
"I see! 15 minutes should be enough time to do my spell. But, Doopliss, we're gonna have to be VERY sneaky. We have to make sure that no one sees us when we go in there, especially Tatanga, but he'll probably be asleep by the time we get the ball rolling," Beldam responded with a hint of nervousness.
"Oh, dear shadow witch, are you forgetting that I can make myself become a copy of someone else? I'll just copy a random koopatrol and walk around casually. You will hide yourself in the shadows and just make your way into the storage room and let me in. We'll have to be quiet and quick about it, because if anyone hears us and sees what's happening, they'll run off and tell Tatanga, and it'll be game over for us. So, we've gotta be diligent!
Oh, and as for Tatanga being asleep around this time, I honestly doubt that, considering he's been taking those dumb Genso pills still, which keeps him up. So, we also have to consider the possibility that he might be patrolling around this time," Doopliss spoke a little teasingly, trying to make things not so doom and gloom.
"I'm aware of that, freak-in-a-sheet," Beldam replied back also teasingly. "What's weighing on my mind more is...what do we do afterwards? I know I said before that we can just go back to our old lives and pretend like none of this ever happened...but that's just not realistic, now is it? Marilyn is gone. I betrayed Vivian and she probably won't ever want to talk to me again. I was a part of the biggest world domination event that ever occurred. Things aren't gonna be the same, Doopliss, even if we go back."
"You're right, they're not gonna be the same at all. We can't pretend that it never happened, because we contributed to it. But, that's just gonna be the price we'll have to pay for what we've done. Beldam...we've gotten out of crap like this before when the Shadow Queen stuff went down. It was hard, but we made it through. So, we'll do it again. Because we're badasses! We got this!" Doopliss tried to incorporate some humor in his motivational speech, which made Beldam snicker a little.
"Yeah, I suppose you're right. I really shouldn't doubt ourselves for moving on from this mess. I mean...good god, look at where we're at right now, Doopliss. Entangled in two guys' lust for power, both deceiving the other, eventually ending up in a bigger disaster than anyone could've ever predicted. What the hell were we thinking joining this, Doopliss? Are we just as fucked in the head as Dimentio and Tatanga are?" Beldam began to question everything now, feeling greatly disillusioned about the position she put herself in from the moment she joined Tatanga.
"No, we are in no way as fucked up as those two psychos are...but, we have the same lust for power as them. When Tatanga came and recruited us, he knew exactly what he was doing. He researched us. He knew the right words to say to trigger our excitement about going back to our old ways...and he succeeded in doing that, because the taste of power, control and chaos is beyond addicting! It's why
But look at where we're at now. We went back to that dark side and...it's not the same anymore. Wanna know why? Because we outgrew it. That was just a part of our lives that we wanted to live and pursue because it's all we ever knew, but once we got our asses handed to us by the heroes, we stopped...but that lust never went away. At least, not completely.
So, what I'm saying is, we could easily stick around and be neutral towards Tatanga and Dimentio, or continue to be totally loyal towards Tatanga and take down Dimentio when the time is right. I won't lie, the idea of Tatanga and Dimentio battling it out and fucking over one another sounds exciting to me. But, the odds of us being caught up in that and being killed are pretty high. And I can just see us getting exhausted by the back and forth crap between them. So, we gotta stray from that, Beldam. This kind of life isn't for us anymore. Grodus knew it way before we did, which is why he left early on," Doopliss explained.
"Yeah...you're completely right. This isn't our battle to intervene in. And as for Grodus...I feel bad for how I treated him ever since we got together again. I pretty much ignored him the whole time. I mean...I honestly wasn't doing it to be intentionally mean, I did it because I felt weird being around him after pretty much using him to resurrect the Shadow Queen and I didn't know how to talk about it with him.
So...okay. We're doing this. Around this time tomorrow night we put this into motion?" Beldam said, getting a little emotional over her relationship with Grodus.
"Yes. We COULD do it tonight, but...I have to pack up a few things and mentally prepare for our escape back into the world. That, and there's something from Tatanga's room I wanna take with me. Like we said...it's not gonna be the same when we go back, but it sure as hell beats sticking around here, getting caught between those two psychopaths," Doopliss answered.
"Oh? What is the thing you wanna take from Tatanga's room?" Beldam asked curiously.
Doopliss snickered at her. "It's a surprise. I'll show you tomorrow."
Diddy opened his eyes. The cell room was dead silent, minus the faint noises of the waves crashing on the shore and the wind. He was tired and in a state of misery after what happened earlier with Roy being caught and sent away, but he just couldn't sleep. He wasn't sure if he COULD even sleep, knowing that his and Mimi's fates were practically sealed.
"Mimi? Hey, are you awake?" Diddy softly asked.
The chimp waited a minute for a response, but nothing was heard beyond the silence.
"Mimi...if you're awake, please say something. I can't sleep. I've tried to sleep, but I don't think I can," Diddy said while choking up a little.
"I'm awake," Mimi responded a little quietly after almost another minute. She sounded sad, understandably.
"How are you feeling right now? Because I feel like crap. Our last hope is our friends coming here and ending all this...but that's only IF Tatanga and his clan of idiots keep us alive by that time...and I'm terrified that we won't live to see them," Diddy spoke as tears formed from his eyes and slowly began to fall down his cheeks.
"Worse than crap. Whatever word you can come up with that's worse...that's how I'm feeling. We could easily be killed at any second, Diddy, whenever they feel like doing so. And I know they'll make it as heinous as possible, so we're gonna leave this world with so much pain and fear…" Mimi said with pure dread in her voice as she also began to sob, then continued, "I keep going back to how I should've never came here. If that one thing would be different, then everything would be different. Roy probably would've never been found out. Bleck would've never had to come here. The teleporter wouldn't have been destroyed.
I just keep on thinking about that and keep replaying it over and over again...I don't know why! I guess I'm just hoping that that could be the true reality happening instead of this one, but I know that it isn't possible. I don't know...I guess I'm also just trying whatever I can to make myself feel the tiniest bit better before my time is up…"
The hopelessness in Mimi's voice made Diddy upset even further as she really drove home how completely bleak everything was now. Diddy sniffled as he wiped his tears and spoke, "I...I'm kinda doing the same thing for...only, I'm just replaying events from my past in my head for how I wish they would've gone instead. How it would've made my life happier...maybe...how it could make ME just the tiniest bit happier as well...before my time is also up..."
Mimi smiled a little, liking his method of coping better than her own. "Yeah? If you don't mind me asking, what events specifically are you wanting to have gone a better way from your past?"
"I don't mind you asking at all. We're likely gonna die, so...I don't mind being completely vulnerable and raw about everything. There are three past things that I keep thinking about mainly. The first one is, well, the one where I discovered Dixie was cheating on me for a lunatic. I'm still trying to process all of that. How did she obtain feelings for someone so deranged? And why!? It makes me think what did I do wrong to deserve that treatment!?
I wish to the stars that that mess never happened. That I didn't get so angry and hurt. That everything between us was still perfectly fine even with all the chaos around us. At least then I'd be a little more ok knowing that I still have my girl at the end of the day. But...things are just so confusing and fucked up now with us. I don't know where to go from here. I don't know what to do if we both survive this. How do I take someone back when that person betrayed me? Just...HOW? I mean...I...I want to take her back...but I don't know if it's just because I'm scared of being alone after being with her for so many years…" Diddy began, getting a little angry and sad throughout his talking.
"Do you believe in second chances, Diddy? I know what Dixie did was awful and painful, but...could you try to work through it with her, given that we're all in the most extreme circumstances?" Mimi suggested.
Diddy took a minute for a response as he tapped the ground with his fingers. "I don't know. I know we're all in the worst kind of circumstances right now, but...I just don't know. Um...moving on to the second thing now…" Diddy wanted to drop that subject since it was really heating him and then continued, "The second thing I wish had gone differently was when I got kind of drunk one night at a Christmas party at Peach's castle. I got into a fight with Boshi, who no one likes because he's always saying dumb crap and trying to start fights. I don't remember exactly how the fight started, but I remember him punching me in the face and throwing a drink in my face too. I was sooooo pissed off that I…
...Fuck, this is gonna sound so horrible, but I was so livid that I told Dixie to plant drugs in his car and call the police to tip him off to them. I said it completely out of anger, but I didn't mean it. I was just angry that he tried to start trouble with me and had the audacity to hurt me. But, that's not the worst part, Mimi. Dixie went through a brief drug phase, and I know she had cocaine on her. I was trying to be as supportive as possible throughout the whole time, but it actually almost ruined us. So...I planted that idea in her head and...she actually did it. Got Boshi arrested yet again, and it didn't take much convincing to the police because he already has a record with them.
Us and a few of our friends knew of this and promised to keep this a secret to our graves. But...as awful as Boshi is, I still feel fucking dirty that I did that to him, and that I pretty much told Dixie to do it. Dixie tried to make it seem like it was all her, that she came up with the whole scheme...but...to make things a MILLION times worse...I didn't have the guts to come out and say that I was the one who planted that idea in her head. If I had just kept my mouth shut, Dixie wouldn't have done that, Boshi wouldn't have gotten arrested, and we wouldn't have to keep such an awful, dark secret for the rest of our lives."
Mimi felt a little horrified hearing that. She didn't think that he nor the rest of his friends would do something so abhorrent, since she was so used to hearing nothing but positive and heroic things from them.
"Oh my god. Diddy…that's just…I'm sorry, but that's very cruel. I mean, I'm not gonna judge too harshly because I've done things worse than that, but…damn. That IS definitely an awful and dark secret," she spoke with bewilderment.
"Yeah. You're right. It was cruel. Very, very cruel. Just goes to show you that even the most noble people can do heinous things. And speaking of that, I wanna talk about the third thing, where I wish I had done something different and had been more empathetic. It has to do with my uncle DK.
A few years ago, he told me that he felt very pressured to have sex with a woman named Candy Kong. That girl's been lusting after him for so many years, and one night, they finally got the chance to try it out and…well, DK regretted it. He told me that she was practically begging him to be with her and that she'd do anything for him. He didn't wanna be mean and he said he felt sorry for her because of how desperate she sounded. So, he gave in to her and they did it.
He told me about this a few days after it happened. I could tell he felt truly regretful about the situation and he just seemed so sad. So, what did dumb ol' me say to him? I said 'You should be grateful that Candy wants you and that you lost your innocence to her. It's the first time ever that you got a girl who really enjoys you, so just be happy instead of sulking.'
Yeah, I said that crap. I saw his face after what I said, and he looked even more miserable. At that time, I honestly thought he was kinda pathetic for feeling so down about Candy. I mean…why should he be? Candy's an attractive woman who runs her own business…what's there not to like? I then thought he might've been gay, which, you know, would be fine with me if that ended up being the case, but I don't think he actually is.
So, uhh, what I'm saying is…I wish I could've been more empathetic towards him. DK's a lot more sensitive than he lets on and…man…his first time with someone who he didn't even have true feelings for…just because he's a guy, doesn't mean that his own feelings don't matter when it comes to that stuff. He's one of the best people I've ever had in my life and I just hope he's ok. I mean, I hope EVERYONE is okay, of course…but DK, especially."
Mimi took that speech in and felt for Diddy so much, bringing herself to tears again with how much it struck her that he realized his error of approaching that situation with his uncle.
"Wow. Um, hey…you know, at least you realize what you did wrong and want to fix that, even if it's just in your mind. That's more than what so many people do when they hurt others, even if it is unintentional. I think people underestimate how much self-awareness is necessary in our lives," she said.
"Yes, it is. Yes it is."
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
Dimentio jumped at the sounds of knocking on his door. He was just about ready to go to sleep too. His nerves lately have been on edge more than he'd like to admit, because deep down, he knew he was being slowly found out, and it was now only a matter of time until everything crumbles apart.
The jester opened the door and tried not to look nervous when he saw Tatanga standing there.
"Hey, you. Surprised you're still awake! What's up?" Dimentio talked as casually as he could.
"Oh, Dimentio! You should know by now that I can't sleep even if my life depended on it…which, let's face it, it kinda does at this point! Hahaha!" Tatanga laughed heartily. Dimentio did a fake laughter with him.
"Oh, right, of course. Yeah. You still taking those Genso pills? Or no?" he asked.
"Yes, I am. I honestly don't need that much sleep! No…not with everything being so close to finishing! We are very very VERY close, Dimentio! Then the destruction of the world will begin, and everything we've been waiting and working so hard for will finally be OURS! OURS!" Tatanga erratically cheered. Dimentio forced a joyous smile.
"Of course, I'm so excited for it, like a little boy at his own birthday bash! Mario and his foolish friends will have done all that hard work for nothing!" he exclaimed.
"Yes. All of that for nothing…for nothing…heh…for nothing…" Tatanga spoke as if he started to become lost in thought, but then brought himself back. "Err, anyways, what I came here for is to say to you…there's a koopatrol that's been desperate to help us out lately. I think he wants to be in our tight-knit group. His name is Konnor. Does that name sound familiar to you?"
Dimentio looked freaked out by this, not expecting any of the koopatrols to be so bold to join the group, since all of the koopatrols knew their place. "Oh! No, not one bit. Hmm. Do you know if he's talked to Beldam or Doopliss as well?"
"Not that I know of. Anyways…this Konnor…I kinda like his courage to just be blunt about his intentions and want to help us. I mean, he's already helping us out by helping build the weapon, of course, but…I suppose he could do more…but…you know, Dimentio…there's something he said that makes me lean more towards not having him in our group…" Tatanga said as he leaned against the wall, tapping his finger against it, and looked away from Dimentio's eyes.
"Oh, yeah? What did he say?" Dimentio spoke with a hint of nervousness.
"He seemed…I dunno, I guess the proper word would be 'overly-chatty.' Gossip monger of sorts, because I guess word is getting around to the other koopatrols about what's been happening lately, somehow. He told me that I should just drop you, Beldam, and Doopliss, and do this all on my own from here on out because he doesn't think you should be trusted with the Star Rod and he also thought that you were gonna have Beldam and Doopliss join you and try to takeover my plan. Heh. Heh! Isn't that such a wild thing to say? I told him to quit blabbing because he was sounding like a conspiracy theorist," Tatanga explained with a tired smile, then looked back at Dimentio's eyes.
The jester tried his damndest not to show any kind of emotion of shock, horror, nervosity, or anything of the kind, but he also tried hard not to appear to disbelieve Tatanga, because Dimentio had an inkling of what the alien was trying to do here. There was a chance that Tatanga was trying to get into his head and cause him to be even more on edge, throwing him off of his game.
"Wow. What an asinine thing to say, especially to you! I'm surprised you didn't punch him square in the jaw for talking like an unfiltered moron!" Dimentio yelled.
"Ohhhh I wanted to, but no, I just sent him back to work on the weapon, because I just didn't have the energy to fight right then and there. But…despite the idiocy of that Konnor…there's something about him that strikes me differently than the rest. For one, he doesn't look like a typical koopa, he looks more like one of those Fire Bros or Boomerang Bros…and, well, all the koopatrols here look alike except for him. Secondly…this is gonna sound crazy, Dimentio, but when I talked to him, he felt familiar to me somehow. Like he was somebody that I was acquaintances with years ago. Like…the way he came off and the way his vibe was, it was just so…I dunno…easy to talk to, I guess. Not like a friend, just, ya know, like an acquaintance," Tatanga continued, still smiling and looking deep in thought yet again.
"Huh. I see. He sounds…uhh…special, I suppose," Dimentio replied with clear annoyance in his tone now and decided to change the topic since he was tired of Tatanga trying to get one on him. "While we're on the topic of gossiping, I also really wanna tell you something, Tatanga. I was gonna tell you first thing in the morning after I woke up, but since we're here together now, I may as well say it now. Just an hour ago or so, I overheard Beldam telling Doopliss about how this plan is never gonna work now that the heroes are so close to getting all those gems and that Tatanga should just give up now because he's just gonna get killed and everything he worked so hard for will have been for nothing. She was being VERY defeatist about it! And she sounded like she was crying a little too…but I suppose that's understandable considering her sister was recently killed…but still, very concerning to have her thoughts be voiced like that!"
Tatanga looked surprised hearing all this, but then narrowed her eyes. "R…really? Beldam said all of that? To Doopliss? And…she was being very defeatist about it, you say…hmm…did Doopliss say anything?"
"I heard him make a response, but he was talking kinda quietly so it was hard to tell what his words were. But, look Tatanga, I don't think Beldam's head is in the game anymore. With her sister being killed…I'm sorry to say this, but she's just going to be miserable to have around. Not only that, but if her woes of defeatism influence Doopliss to agree with her…and possibly the other koopatrols!? Her and Doopliss have history together, if she falters and gives up, Doopliss will likely follow suit, and I bet you that some of the koopatrols will see that and also head down that path. Something must be done before the weapon is finished and the plan begins!" Dimentio theatrically responded, secretly jumping for joy when he saw that the alien now seemed just as annoyed as he was just a short minute ago.
"Huh. That's…that's a good point you have there. That pair is pretty much their own team and…yeah…Beldam is definitely not in a good mental state right now either…that could…ruin everything potentially…" Tatanga spoke slowly as he glanced everywhere but Dimentio, now seeming lost in thought again and slightly panicked.
"I agree. So…what do you wanna do then, Tatanga? There's not much time left to decide at this point, what with us being so close to the finish line," Dimentio stated intensely, trying to put the pressure onto him.
Tatanga took in a deep breath, closed his eyes, exhaled greatly, then slowly opened his eyes and stared directly at Dimentio. He stayed silent for a moment, making the jester nervous again since he had no idea what the alien was gonna do or say now.
"I…" Tatanga softly spoke as he slowly clenched his fists, now seeming mad. Dimentio prepared for a potential battle since this was getting to be too much now.
"You know…I…I'm going to…I will sleep on it, actually," the alien spoke as he unclenched his fists and he looked away. Dimentio looked confused at this odd response.
"Sleep on it? I thought you didn't wanna go to sleep?" the jester questioned.
"I don't, but…if I give my brain a rest…some ideas might pop up, so…I shall go to bed then. Thank you, Dimentio, for telling me that information. Looks like you're the only one I can count on the most at this point," Tatanga said with a small smile and then brushed Dimentio's cheek. The jester was now freaked out by that sudden move but didn't back away because he didn't wanna seem scared.
"Y-Yeah, of course! You know I got your back. Now go on, get some sleep. Your body needs it," Dimentio responded with a fake smile.
"Definitely. You should get some sleep too. Sweet dreams!" Tatanga said somewhat cheerily and then walked off.
Dimentio carefully closed the door, let out a huge sigh of relief and pulled on his face as he was truly intimidated and nerve-wracked from that interaction. He knew what Tatanga was doing and he also knew that Tatanga knew what Dimentio was trying to do to him. He can only keep up the charade for so long before the entire thing just cracks apart.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
Dimentio jumped in fright, not expecting Tatanga to come back so soon. He calmed himself down and then opened the door…
…only not to see Tatanga, but a koopa.
"Oh! Hello. Can I help you?" Dimentio asked.
"Hi there. The name's Konnor. I'm Tatanga's new helper. It's a pleasure to finally meet the master of dimensions in person!" he spoke with excitement. Dimentio looked extremely confused by this.
"Uhhhh…hi? You're, uhh, his new helper? How did that even happen?" he asked.
"Ohhh…I don't think that matters HOW I became his helper, but rather, what REALLY matters here is how YOU, my handsome magician-wannabe, are doomed," Konnor said with a sadistic smile. Dimentio nearly gasped, still keeping that look of confusion.
"What? What the hell are you talking about!?" he asked.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Whatever scheme you got going on, end it right now, otherwise you're going to meet a VERY painful end, an end SO painful that you'll wish you had killed yourself back at that cabin in the woods!" Konnor raised his voice while still sadistically smiling. Dimentio now actually gasped and looked scared.
"What the…how in the fuck do you know about that!? Who the hell do you think you are, coming in here and threatening me with this baseless crap!?" Dimentio yelled.
"It also doesn't matter how I know that. Just don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong and DON'T try anything that you think will make you the winner in the end. This is your only warning. Sweet dreams!" Konnor stated and waved him goodbye as he playfully ran down the hallway.
Dimentio was now beyond angry but also frightened. He didn't know what to do. He thought that maybe this was the opportunity to pull off his plan, but doing it based purely off of impulse and fear without knowing what the next step would be after that would also not be wise. He had to wait. He had to be patient, at least until the weapon was completed.
FORT KOOPINGTON
It was now night time as the moon hovered over the ocean, its beauty glistening in the waters. Rosalina admired this deeply as she stared out at it from Monty's living room window.
"You're so lucky to live in such a gorgeous place. Ocean view, cozy home, scenic area, far away from the metropolises…if there's a heavenly dimension out there, I hope it's something like this," Rosalina spoke entrancingly.
"Yeah. Despite all the awful crap that's happened to me, with what feels like the worst disaster of my entire life…I still am grateful to be living here. What would make it perfect is if she was still here…but…I know I gotta let her go…but…um, I just can't help but feel like I'd be doing our love a disservice if I let her go, ya know!?" Monty said as he set down two bowls of pasta salad on the dining room table.
Rosalina turned to him and nodded understandingly. "I know what you mean. I'm still having trouble letting go of Waluigi. But we have to remember, Monty, just because we let go of someone and move on, it doesn't mean that we love them any less. They wouldn't want us being stuck in one spot forever," she said as she walked to the table.
"I know. But it's easier said than done. There are some mornings when I'll wake up and I'll expect her to be there on the other side of the bed, and in that moment…everything just feels right again. So blissful. So exciting! But then, reality strikes and I'm back to being my lonesome self. It's soooo tempting to not want to just deny my reality and live in my own dream world where we're together, but I know that that's not a healthy way to live. It can't be," Monty said while choking up a little and played with his pasta salad.
"It's not healthy. The only way to go forward is to power through the motions…" Rosalina added while beginning to eat her food. "So, Monty, I wanna talk about something else real quick. I'm thinking of going back to Mushroom City to help my friends. I can only imagine what other troubles they're going through right now and I deeply worry for them."
Monty looked up at her completely bewildered. "What!? So soon!? THIS soon!? Rosalina, you just got here! You told me that your friends sent you away because they were all angry and scared from what you did to them! It's only been a couple days now. You really think they're ready to see you this soon? You think YOU'RE ready? Do you!?"
The space princess sighed as she also began to play with her food. "I haven't decided on anything yet, Monty. It's just something that's been on my mind the past few hours. I'm gonna sleep on it. And yes, I know I've scared and angered them, and I don't blame them one bit for sending me away. But…I still love and care for them all, and not to toot my own horn, but I'm the most powerful person there. They need my help. I mean…I'm sure they could finish it all without me, but it'd be harder. I just…I just wanna see them. I wanna reconnect. But, like I said, I need to sleep on it and not to be too hasty."
Monty looked at her concerningly, then stabbed his food with his fork and started to sob. "You say you wanna reconnect…but I don't wanna lose OUR connection, Rosalina! You came here for a reason and-and you made me face my demons and…you know what!? IT FEELS FUCKING GOOD! Well, I mean, sad too of course, but I honestly feel the weight being slowly lifted off my shoulders. I've never had that with anyone else. So, um, I know I'm gonna sound selfish here, but I don't want you to go! Not this soon. It's too soon!"
Rosalina nearly chuckled at his enthusiasm for feeling practically anew. She did see his point too. Monty came to her at a very low point in her life and made her begin to feel like herself again. She spoke, "I know, Monty. I don't wanna let this go either, but that's why I need to sleep on it. As much as I long to stay here for a long time, I know that that isn't a realistic path for me. I have to go back eventually. I have to see this whole journey to the end. I need to be there when the final gem is retrieved and they go get the Crystal Star Rod."
Monty continued to sob and nodded a little. "I know you have to go back eventually. Those people are your home…not here. But…um…you know, Rosalina…what if I, uhh…were to come with!? Join you guys!?"
Rosalina nearly fell out of her chair when he asked that absurd question. "What? Monty…I don't think you realize how dangerous it is. So many of my friends have either been killed, gravely hurt, or are traumatized from all the violence they've witnessed. It's something that not many people can handle. They've adapted to it because they've pretty much been thrown into this 'war' since it began. But you, Monty…no. No no no! Please, you're better off being here. This is where you need to live out your life. If you come with me to Mushroom City, there is a greater chance of you dying there, and I won't let that happen to you. You're my friend, and I'm not losing another one."
Monty wiped his tears away and smiled brightly at her. "I appreciate that sooo much. Really! Truly! But, here's the thing, Rosalina: there's really nothing left for me here now. I mean, yeah, sure, okay, I have my house and my job, but…that's it! I'm just a walking, aimless zombie at this point in my life! I came here with Montara to live out our lives in peace. If I never had her in the first place, I don't think I'd be here. But…she's gone now, and I'm stuck in a rut of total monotony.
As beautiful and tranquil as this place is, I wanna move on to the next chapter of my life. I wanna do something more. And what if helping save the world could be that something!? What if? That could be the next step toward finding my next path in life, Rosalina. Now, of course, I wouldn't wanna do it JUST for myself, because I care about the world being saved too. But just think about it, Rosalina…you coming here is definitely not a coincidence. You came here for us to not only reconnect with our true selves, but also use our newfound selves to go off and help your friends. I REALLY wanna help however I can. Please sleep on THAT!"
Rosalina was blown away by Monty's determination and wisdom. She couldn't help but love his lively spirit and pure kindness…which is why she wasn't 100% sure it'd be the best for him to go with her. She thought that people like Monty are too pure for the likes of what goes on in the world. People like him deserve to live their days out to the fullest and spread that liveliness and kindness to others, not go into a war where you're at risk of dying constantly in the most brutal manner. She wanted him to live on and find an alternative path for him to find his purpose in life.
But, on the other hand…she knew she couldn't make that choice for him. She knew that Monty was going to come no matter what if she chose to go back. Monty's an adult and is capable of making his own decisions and she knew it'd be wrong to infringe upon that.
"Okay. I'll sleep on it."
STARBORN VALLEY (ORIGINAL WORLD)
The heroes, their mirror counterparts, and all of the Shiver City residents gathered at Starborn Valley to commemorate the end of the Crystal Queen's reign.
"Thank you all for coming here after such a long, awful, and exhausting day," Merle spoke to the crowd with his mirror counterpart standing proudly next to him. "All has been settled and all has been restored to normalcy, for the most part. What happened today was such an uncanny and preposterous event that it shook our whole region and brought to light about the terrifying mysteries that lay within our universe. For those who are still in the dark about what had happened here, there is a door within the Shiver Mountain very near the Crystal Palace that is an entryway to another world called the Mirror World, a world very similar to this one.
For those of you who remember when the Crystal King had struck all those years ago, well, he had a wife appropriately named the Crystal Queen. I'll spare you all the long details, but the Queen had entered the Mirror World centuries ago when she was still a living being and silently ruled there, but decided to try to create a full circle by coming back here where it all started and take her reign to these lands. All these people standing before you here…they were the heroes that saved our precious Shiver Region from being taken over and ruined.
Now, of course, the task wasn't without some perils along the way. We lost some people, unfortunately…one of them being our beloved Mayor Penguin. He did a fantastic job running Shiver City and being an amazing husband to Penelopuin. As of right now, we're not sure who will take place as the new mayor, but to you, Penelopuin, I promise that we will all pitch in and help however we can on helping to raise your triplets! You will not be alone in motherhood!" Merle spoke proudly but also very emotionally as he was still distraught that such a treacherous and traumatic predicament fell onto the region.
Penelopuin nodded as she cried and held her belly. "Thank you. That means a lot. I-It's a godawful tragedy that my dear triplets will never be able to grow up to see their father, who was such an amazing man. Tomorrow, I want to set up a memorial for him at my house. I hope you all can be there." The citizens nodded and hugged her in comfort and some even cried with her.
"Yes, I will help set up the memorial, Penelopuin! And anyone who wants to help, please don't be shy to do so. Now then…it is getting late and it has been quite possibly the longest day of our lives. Please, go home and sleep soundly, as the danger is now over," Merle commanded and the citizens followed suit as the crowd began to disperse.
"Hey…I wanna thank you guys again for everything. If you hadn't come here when you did, well…uhh…well, I guess it'd be best to not think about that. My mind's still processing all that crap anyways! A whole other dimension just behind our backyards pretty much…man oh man, that really messes with my head!" Perrie exclaimed with a nervous chuckle.
"It was our pleasure to help! And, trust us, our heads get messed with constantly on this journey. I'm honestly worried about what else is awaiting for us that could be even more mind-boggling than the mess we went through today…and we've seen A LOT of messy stuff!" Daisy replied.
"Right, I can only imagine what other monstrosities you have had to deal with. Are you all coming to the memorial tomorrow, or are you going to head back home tonight?" Herringway asked.
"We should head back home tonight after we say our goodbyes. We're not that far away from where we're staying, so it should be easy and quick getting back," DK responded with a notably exhausted expression.
"We understand! Thank you guys again for everything you've done. Please come visit when you can! You're always welcome," Penelopuin gratefully spoke.
"Oh, of course! We would love to see the triplets too and help out however we can!" Peach excitedly replied.
Bombette approached the Albino Dino, who was about to walk off with the dispersing crowd. "Hey you! You did AWESOME back there. Really, you should be proud of yourself for getting us out of those cells!"
"Oh, thanks! Yeah, it felt totally invigorating doing all that and helping to save the day! Glad that it's all over now and that peace has been restored to the Shiver Region," the Dino cheered.
"Definitely. So, what are you gonna do now? Do you have a place to stay?" Bombette asked.
"I do! I talked with Penelopuin on the way down here, and she said I could stay in the guest bedroom of her house. I'll help around the house and even the city however I can as well! I'm so excited to be out of that palace, honestly. I've been there for so long that I was really wanting to do something new…and here I am now! I mean, it's awful that it went down the way it did, of course, but everything's back to normal now and the only thing for us to do now is just move forward," he said in a hopeful manner.
"Oh that's great! I'm glad you have a place to stay. Keep in touch, okay? My friends and I will visit every so often!" Bombette replied, feeling happy for the newly encouraged Dino and gave him a farewell hug.
Koops was some feet away from the group, sitting against a tree, his head lowered looking into his lap. He sobbed and saw his tears fall and dissipate into the snow.
His counterpart slowly walked over to him and spoke, "Hey…Koops. B-Before we leave back into our own world, I just wanna let you know…um…everything you're feeling…I feel too. It, uhh, hurts a lot knowing Flurrie and Koopie are gone forever now…it's…it's the worst feeling in the whole world…"
Koops sniffled and looked up at his counterpart with a mix of despair and anger. "I know. You don't have to tell me they're gone forever. I know. Flurrie…I…fought with her years ago…and I fought with her again…and Koopie…she…betrayed me…but…fuck…I still love her deep down! But I'm still so angry with her…but how can I be angry if she's gone!? Shouldn't I be totally sad a-and…man…I don't know what to fucking feel! I JUST DON'T KNOW!"
"It's okay to not know! Okay!? I-I know exactly what you mean. In my world, Koopie had broken up with me a few years ago and gotten with Kooper recently. It's weird seeing them together…umm, because I knew Kooper was trying to get with her one time a long time ago…so, I get it. But, Koops? Please promise me one thing…don't let this ruin you. You can't let this ruin you. And…p-please don't take the anger out on Kooper. It's not worth it in the end. Promise me?" Mirror-Koops asked through his crying.
Koops wiped his eyes and looked away from him. "I…I promise that I'll try to do that."
Mirror-Koops looked down in slight disappointment, but also knew that emotions were high right now so it was understandable. "Okay. Take care of yourself, Koops…and don't be afraid to rely on your friends for help."
"Okay. Take care," Koops replied, still looking away as his counterpart walked off. Kooper saw this scene happen and his heart felt for Koops so much to see him broken like that.
"Fuck, man. This is just…hell! I don't even know how to describe it besides that. Hell. Damn. Sh-Should I say something!? I really wanna talk to him, but, man, it might be too much right now," Kooper said as he cried a little and continuously wiped his eyes.
"It WOULD be too much right now. Don't do it, Kooper. Give him time to process. I'll be blunt about it to you, you're probably the last person he wants to talk to at this moment. Don't do it," Spike advised as he put his hand on Kooper's shoulder for comfort while the paper dino was also crying just a little bit.
"You're right. I did an awful thing and…shit, I'm so sorry. I'm making this all about me. It should be about Flurrie and Koopie. Fuck. There I go again, being a selfish asshat!" Kooper raised his voice in anger at himself and kicked some snow.
"Stop getting mad at yourself, it's not gonna help. And you're not being selfish, Kooper. Come on. Don't get down on yourself like that!" Spike demanded with a hint of anger since he didn't want Kooper nor anyone else for that matter to beat themselves up at a time like this.
Starlow walked on over to her counterpart, who was talking to some of the others, and tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped, quickly turned around and looked surprised.
"Oh! Hey you. It's been a pleasure fighting with you. Still so weird seeing and hearing ourselves with our own eyes and ears, huh?" Mirror-Starlow asked with a nervous chuckle.
Starlow gave an exaggerated smile and nodded. "Absolutely. But, um, you told me that you were gonna tell me what happened to you in your world after we save the Shiver Region. You know…the thing that happened that made you so much more serious than me."
Mirror-Starlow closed her eyes and gave a deep sigh, clearly not wanting to talk about it, but she wanted to keep her promise. "That's right. I did say that. Alright, follow me. I want this to be a private conversation."
Starlow nodded understandingly and the two walked to the opposite edge of the village where there were far less people around.
"So…I will keep this short and sweet. Just a few days ago, when a bunch of koopatrols raided and attacked our hospital, I was trapped in a room by three of them. I really thought I was gonna be killed by them. I thought it was the end for me! But…no…they actually dropped their weapons…" Mirror-Starlow began as her eyes started to well up. Starlow looked extremely confused by this.
"Huh? So…they didn't kill you, of course…but they didn't hurt you either!? So, what did they do to you then?" she asked.
Mirror-Starlow began to cry as she mustered up the courage to say it out loud. "S-Starlow…they…I, um…I was gangraped. They took turns sexually assaulting me. Th-they…they laughed at me. They made fun of how much pain I was in. I begged them to stop! I begged them to just kill me and get it over with b-b-because I just wanted the pain to be over! God…they…I've never felt so disgusted a-and horrible in my whole life…I just want to die, Starlow…I-I've been running on pure adrenaline since then without any sleep and I've been trying to push it down so I can focus on helping out…but…I don't like swearing, but…FUCK! THOSE FUCKERS DESERVE TO ROT IN HELL!" she roared at the end and let it all out of her system while crying more.
Starlow was beyond bewildered hearing this awful tragedy that had happened to her. She cried for her. It was the kind of inexplicable horror that she was, unfortunately, having to adapt to now that she's helping out as well.
"S…Starlow…oh my god, I-I'm so sorry! That's just so vile and monstrous! I mean…words can't even describe how AWFUL that is! Again, I'm so sorry you went through that…I…um…that…didn't happen to me..um, at the hospital when those koopatrols attacked us…so…um…does that mean it'll happen to me too!?" Starlow shrilled, not wanting to imagine how traumatic it must've been for three psychotic guys to violate a woman's body like that.
Mirror-Starlow wiped her eyes and tried not to look at her as she was visibly shaking. "I-I can't guarantee that it will or won't. All I can say to you, Starlow…is be very careful and hyperaware. I know you've seen some tragic stuff happen already, but I can tell you right now…this is just the start of it. Be bold. Don't be afraid to show your strength. I wish I would've fought back when that happened. I barely did. I let my fear get the best of me…so…I'm telling you now…don't let your fear get the best of you. Never let it do that."
Starlow made a fearful gulp, trying her hardest not to let her mind go to a hypothetical situation where she would encounter that same situation. "Um…o-okay. Okay. Can I…um…give you a hug? Is that okay?"
Mirror-Starlow nodded and the two hugged as they cried into each other's shoulders. It was the most vulnerable either of them had ever felt.
Goombella walked on over towards Koops to comfort him but stopped in her tracks to think if it was a good idea in that moment to even talk.
"I wouldn't do that right now, for sure. I love Koops, but he shuts down big time when something like this happens to him," Mirror-Goombella spoke, which startled Goombella since she was pretty close to her.
"Oh! Hi…um…y-yeah, it's probably, like, best to just wait till we get back to the hospital," Goombella said while choking up here and there.
"You and I haven't gotten the chance to talk yet. Um, so, anything you wanna discuss before we part ways forever? I know this is, like, awful timing, but I suppose it's now or never," Mirror-Goombella asked softly while holding back her tears.
"Discuss? You mean…like, how you and Koops are together in your world, but we're not together in our world?" Goombella responded perplexedly. "How in the world did that happen? I've always seen Koops as a purely platonic friend. I mean, I know that not everything is going to be EXACTLY the same in the Mirror World, but it's just so puzzling seeing another me and another him to be romantically together."
Mirror-Goombella smiled a little as she sniffled. "It's gonna sound cliche, but it just 'happened.' We had a bonding moment together not too long ago and ever since then, we just, like, want to be together. Trust me, I thought the same thing too for so many years…it's amazing how everything can change within an instant when it comes to romance."
Goombella still looked perplexed about this. "He's, um, sorry if this sounds inappropriate, but he wasn't still in love with Koopie? Because, like, in our world, him and Koopie had a falling out like a week ago and that's too soon to be with someone…"
"Oh. Yeah, in our world, him and Koopie had a falling out like three years ago. They broke up and she got together with Kooper shortly after and Koops held some resentment since then. But what's happening now…I can tell this is real. I can tell Koops is being genuine about being with me, and not as a show to prove that he's moved on or whatever. Ugh…I'm so sorry…I feel like we're trash-talking Koopie even though she just passed…she was a good person…" Mirror-Goombella explained with a hint of guilt over discussing her recently deceased friend.
"I see. Yeah, I'm sorry, let's just move on from this topic. It feels disrespectful to her in a way," Goombella added, but still clearly felt bothered by the budding romance of her and Koops in another world. It felt extremely bizarre, but also one other emotion that she refused to admit in that moment: the tiniest bit of enchantment. Goombella got lost in her own head about this one emotion that immediately brewed in her mind upon hearing this revelation. Why in the hell was she feeling like that all of a sudden? It made no logical sense, and it felt wrong to even be feeling like that.
"Hey…are you okay? You look totally zoned out," Mirror-Goombella asked, observing her counterpart clearly being lost.
Goombella snapped back into reality and spoke, "Oh! I-I'm sorry. I just…um…before you go, I wanna ask about something even more important: my mom. How is she in your world? My mom has been in a perpetual state of misery since my father died. Is she like that in your world too?"
Her counterpart looked frightened from that question. Goombella immediately imagined the worst upon seeing her expression and uttered, "O-Oh my god…is-is my mom in your world…"
"My mom is dead. She died in a car crash. My father is still alive, but, um, he's also been in a state of misery ever since," Mirror-Goombella spoke, still looking frightened as more tears fell down her cheeks. Goombella gasped and backed away a little.
"Wh-what? He's…oh my god…like…he's alive in your world…s-s-so, um…" she struggled to properly speak and tried to keep her cool as the thought of her father being alive in another dimension honestly excited her. But that excitement was quickly crushed when her counterpart let out a truth that she needed to hear.
"I know exactly what you're thinking. That your mom and my dad could reunite in this world or my world and be together forever…happily. Everything would go back to normal. But…that won't work. It wouldn't be the same as it was. The mother and father in your world are different from the mother and father in my world. Remember, Goombella…not everything in our worlds plays out in exactly the same way. Similar, yeah, but never 100% the same. It wouldn't work. Plus…I can't leave my world, and you can't leave yours if a reunion were to ever happen and somehow last," she spoke softly as to not be too blunt about this revelation.
Goombella broke down in tears and nearly fell into the snow. The illusion she had immediately set up for her parents to be together was shattered just as quickly, and rightfully so. Goombella understood why it wouldn't work. She wasn't angry at being told the truth.
"I…y-y-you're right…I'm s-sorry…I-I just…like…I don't know how to f-f-fix my mom! I want things to go back! What do I do then!? What do I do!?" she cried deeply and her counterpart went over to hug her and cried with her.
"It's not your job to fix her. I know she's your mom and you love her so much…but the only way she can be fixed is if she does it herself. That's the only way. The only thing you can do, Goombella, is to just keep going on with yourself. That's the key," Mirror-Goombella said heartfeltingly, knowing and feeling the massive amount of pain that couldn't be taken away so easily knowing your own parent is suffering and there's nothing either of them could do about it.
"Merle! Or, uhh, MerleS, any chance you know why I was 'poisoned' with ice when I got bit in this world? I thought it was because that Ice Piranha was from the Mirror World, but maybe not?" Wario asked.
"Oh! I have an answer for you. It's simply mutation. The piranha plants in this area have grown to be more of a danger than in previous decades because, well, as you unfortunately have had to experience, they can 'poison' you with ice, slowly freezing your body from the inside out. Nothing to do with the Mirror World or anything like that, just an unfortunate case of having an unlucky bite!" Merle answered promptly.
"Wow! Really!? Geez…that's the deadliest kind of 'poison' I've even seen from a piranha plant!" Lakilester commented in shock.
"Yeah…wow…damn. Well, at the end of the day, I'm glad I'm alive. Really. I think I accepted dying when I was poisoned, but I'm really really REALLY glad I didn't go. It's just not my time yet!" Wario said in true joy, making the others around happy for him.
"We're all glad as well! For Mona and Bowser too!" Luigi added. Mona nodded and winked at Wario. Wario blushed in response.
"'Sup, you? Heard you played a big hand in finishing off the Crystal Queen! Congrats, man!" Troopa exclaimed and patted his counterpart on the shoulder.
"Thank you. I'm glad I did it and I'm glad that crap is over. The only thing I'm sad about is that my magical skills are gone permanently, so I have to start over from scratch…but…you know what? It was so worth it! I don't regret any of it," Mirror-Troopa replied with a wide smile.
"And you shouldn't! You did amazing. Without you, we'd be screwed BIG TIME, which would then result in our whole world being screwed as well! It'd just be one big screw fest!" Parakarry exclaimed joyfully.
"Uhh…yeah…I don't know if calling it a 'screw fest' would be the most appropriate term for it," Larry commented, trying not to burst into laughter along with a few others.
"Say, I'm curious, how did you deal with those Duplighosts pretending to be police here in the village right after we escaped to the Crystal Palace?" Jojora asked.
"I cast a spell on the group to make them sluggish in moving about, when they began to head up to the Crystal Palace. Didn't want to start a fight since I didn't want to risk the Starborn Valley being invaded, so I had to use the most subtle spell I could think of," Merle answered.
"Makes sense. We get why you did that. We just can't thank you all enough for the help! Sucks that we have to part, but it's better that we stay in our own worlds so we can save our own people," Pauline said.
"Oh! Merle, remember when I asked you about you performing a spell to see how some of us are connected to the 'gods' who hid the 9 gems? Could you still do that for us?" Mario recalled.
"That's right! Hmm…let's not do it tonight. You all are exhausted and you dealt with a couple of losses. Go home. Get some well deserved rest. I will come to YOU tomorrow evening after the memorial is finished with the supplies that I need for the spell. You are in St. Toadofsky's Hospital, right? Right. So, it will be done tomorrow night, and you will find the answers you seek. Sound good?" Merle proposed.
"Yes, I think that sounds perfect! We'll be spending tomorrow at the hospital for a break from the mission, then after that, one more to go!" Peach cheered along with some of the others, and held excitedly on to Mario.
"OH! Crap! Speaking of that…" Mirror-Troopa shrieked and then got out the Crystal gem. He gave it to Daisy to hold. "How could I forget to give you this? You guys rightfully earned it. Just one gem left and…BAM! The end is nigh for the little alien boy!"
"Yeah…man, look at how far we've come. We're nearly there, guys. Then this nightmare can finally be over with and we can finally sleep peacefully at night," Dixie said with clear exhaustion in her voice and upon her face.
"Wait! Something I wanna ask before we go: what about that hole in the lake? Some of us saw that hole in the lake in that forest in this world. Does it lead to the underworld, like the hole in the Mirror World did?" Lakilester recalled.
"Oh! So, I checked that out while you guys were gone. I saw the hole and it did look suspicious, but I wasn't sure if it led to the Underworld, so I did a spell to cover the entire lake in an unbreakable sheet of ice just in case anything were to pop up from there. When I have time, I'll investigate it further, but I wouldn't worry about it," Merle responded.
"Alright! Well…guess this is goodbye, huh friend?" Mirror-Mario asked and put out his hand to his counterpart. "It's been a short journey working together, but I'm glad we were able to help each other out."
Mario smiled at him and shook his hand. "Likewise. As crazy as it has been, I'm glad to know there's another one of us in a different world fighting for the same cause and, you know, being on the good side. Makes me realize that just because something is from another world or dimension, doesn't mean that it's a bad thing."
"Likewise! Good luck to you and your friends…but I know you won't need it. We got this in the bag. It might still be a rough road ahead, but our worlds will be saved," Mirror-Mario happily said.
Mario's smile lessened. "Yeah…but, you know what? I'm tired of all the dying and deaths. I've gotten so used to it that I barely even cried over Flurrie and Koopie. Yeah, I know that sounds psychotic and apathetic. Um, I TRULY am sad over their deaths, but I feel like I have no more tears left to cry. Do you know what I'm saying?"
Mirror-Mario nodded understandingly without any type of judgment. "I know exactly what you're saying. Here's my tip: don't get down on yourself for not being devastated over anyone dying, unless of course it's someone much closer to you like Peach or Luigi. This is how the world works when it comes to saving it. People will die. People will get hurt. People will lose their minds. Friendships will be lost. Violence in all forms will happen. But…there IS a plus underneath all the chaos and darkness: You've made new friends and bonds. You've grown so much stronger and wiser. You protect your own more than ever.
So, yeah, I'm aware that it sounds ridiculous thinking of a 'plus' during this mess, but you CANNOT get too down in that depression and despair, otherwise you're not gonna make it through or you will lose who you truly are. I know it's way easier said than done, but please try not to go down that path of misery. Don't let this mess change you for the worst."
Mario nodded back, feeling comforted from not being judged and also being given such a wise tip that he desperately needed. Deep inside, he felt himself wanting to let out all his pent up rage and trauma from experiencing all the fucked up events he and his friends had to deal with, but he was holding on incredibly hard to his sanity. The two hugged while everyone else said farewell to their own counterparts.
Mirror-Boshi prudently walked over to Yoshi, who was leaning against the house closest to the group, clearly lost in thought.
"Hey. Yoshi? Talk for a second before we split?" he asked.
Yoshi quickly turned to him and nearly gasped in horror when the two locked eyes.
"Wha…you! Oh. Sorry. You're the…OTHER Boshi. That's right. Um, what's up?" Yoshi nervously asked.
"So, uhh, I don't know what happened back in that Underworld, and I'm surprised I'm still alive considering he's dead and all, but, uhh, whatever you had to do, and whatever he did to you…I'm sorry. I say this because I've done some fucked up stuff to the Yoshi in my world and there have been times when he should've definitely kicked my ass for it.
But, don't let that shit ruin you forever, man. Don't close yourself off. You did what you had to do. Feel the emotions. Let it out if you need to, then carry on. You don't need someone who's a lowlife like me to…I mean, a lowlife like HIM to affect you that much. I should know, because I'm just as bad as him. We didn't talk much, but I can just tell that he's been through some of the same crazy shit that I have. Not an excuse, of course. Just an observation," Mirror-Boshi explained, noting how the Boshi incident definitely messed with Yoshi's head severely.
Yoshi nearly scoffed at him and shook his head. "Lowlife is an understatement. He messed with my fiancee, Birdo, while her mind was warped and then lied to me about it when I confronted him. Then she died. I hate him. I hate him! He deserves to be in that place. No one will ever miss him. I hope you don't do anything of that caliber in your own world, otherwise…definitely watch your back. Have a nice life back in your world," he spat then walked away.
"Alright everyone, we must now part ways! It's almost midnight and the spell for the door to close forever is coming to an end. We will always be appreciative of the help we lended to each other and continue using that bravery and determination to save our respective worlds. Best of luck to you all!" Mirror-Merle spoke proudly with a farewell gesture as the mirror counterparts waved everyone goodbye and headed back up the mountain to return to their rightful place.
Immediately after that, the gang returned to their arwings and headed back to Mushroom City. Unfortunately, the night wasn't going to be over just yet as there was still something that needed to be done.
ST. TOADOFSKY'S HOSPITAL
The gang parked their arwings at Mushroom Corps., with no sign of Arfur oddly enough. They were all given a ride from the building to the hospital. It was now a few minutes before midnight. People gathered at the front of the hospital, excited for the heroes' return.
Toadette and Bowser Jr. were the first ones out to run to the group to give everyone hugs, with the other Koopalings not too far behind.
"Hey you…" Dixie nearly cried upon seeing her best friend and hugged her tight.
"Oh man! I was soooo worried about you all, I'm so glad you're all okay and you have the gem! Wait…everyone DID come back alive, right?" Toadette asked in rejoicing.
Dixie faced her and wiped her eyes while sniffling. "No, not everyone. But…I missed you so much, Toadette. There's a lot that happened that we'll talk about later on…it's been the longest day of our lives."
Toadette immediately looked scared for what really happened while they were gone. "Oh…o-okay. I understand that! Yeah, I can tell on your guys' faces that you all could use a 12 hour sleep!"
Junior ran to his dad and Larry and hugged them simultaneously, with the other brothers joining in shortly after.
"So happy you made it safe and sound! How bad was it!?" Junior asked.
"C'mon, Junior! That's probably the last thing they wanna talk about right now," Lemmy commented.
"I get why you're asking, son, but yes, we'll go into detail about it tomorrow. All I'm gonna say is that it was the most twisted one we've had to deal with yet," Bowser tiredly responded.
"Really? What could be more twisted than an intergalactic being from another dimension killing Waluigi and causing Rosalina to turn into a goth witch from Hell?" Morton snarkily asked.
"Well…I was talking specifically about the ones that I have been on, smarty!" Bowser snarled.
E. Gadd, Bleck, and Tippi walked to Mario and Peach who were at the front of the group.
"Good evening. Glad to see you got the 8th gem! And…oh…I see DK over there carrying two body bags," E. Gadd's hopeful tone changed when he saw the ape carrying what clearly was two concealed bodies.
"If it's okay to ask right now, who died?" Tippi nervously asked.
Mario sighed sadly and rubbed his eyes, wanting the deaths to be one of the last things he wanted to talk about, but he obliged since there were gonna be questions about it no matter what. "Koopie and Flurrie died in battle. And…Boshi as well…"
"My my! My condolences to you all. But, err, I only see TWO bodies being carried. What happened to the third one?" E. Gadd pointed out.
Mario blinked and sighed again. "That's a long story that we'll talk about tomorrow. I don't wanna sound rude to you guys, but we're all completely wiped out. We're gonna bury them in the cemetery, then head to bed. We'll discuss everything tomorrow."
"Oh, we understand! We couldn't imagine the horrors you had to go through once again to get that gem," Tippi said kindly.
"Bleck, what happened to you!? Did something awful happen while we were gone as well!?" Peach asked, fearing the worst, observing him walking with crutches.
"Yeah…well, I don't know if I would call it AWFUL, because, well, no one got killed…and yes, I'm aware that that's setting the bar VERY low, but that's another thing we'll talk about tomorrow as well," Bleck responded with an equally exhausted tone.
"Yes, definitely A LOT to talk about! But, we'll save all that tomorrow. You all just focus on settling down for the night after this is done," E. Gadd said.
The group entered the hospital as the other citizens and employees greeted them while passing by.
"Welcome back. Glad you succeeded and made it home safely," Clawdia politely said while Bowser and the kids walked by her family. Bowser gave her a dirty glance, then did the same to Kenneth, then returned to look straight ahead.
"Don't you dare get sad. You should expect that kind of behavior from them by now," Kenneth whispered.
"That's not really helping the situation, now is it?" Clawdia groaned and rolled his eyes at him.
"Are we still going to the lakehouse? Or is that, like, not a thing anymore?" Katia irritatedly asked.
"It never was a thing! God, you two, we ARE better off being here! Just deal with them being here as well, for crying out loud!" Clawdia yelled. Kenneth shook his head and Katia rolled her eyes.
As everyone was walking towards the back, Daisy glanced over to her right and saw the spot where she accidentally shot that Toadoro man, who was begging to be killed anyways. She slowed her walking and began to hyperventilate, that terrifying scene flashing of the poor man crying and then her shooting him in her head every other second. She looked away and held her chest.
Daisy felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked to her left and saw Toadoro, making her jump and shriek.
"Daisy, what's wrong!?" asked Pauline. Daisy shook her head and tried to control her breathing. For a split second, she swore she saw Toadoro standing exactly where Pauline was.
"N…nothing. I'm sorry. I just…I'm so tired…after…um, after we're done with this, I really need to get some sleep…" Daisy spoke as if she was about to cry and didn't even look at Pauline.
"I know. Hopefully the staff here can give us something to knock us out and keep us asleep for at least 8 hours, because I'm sure we'll have some stupid nightmares waking us up throughout the night," Pauline groaned, not feeling confident that any of them would sleep all the way through.
"Yeah…um…okay, I lied. When those koopatrols came in and raided the place, a man named Toadoro was badly hurt and he begged me to kill him, because his wife and daughter were also dead. I had a gun on me a-and…um…I-I didn't mean to actually sh-sh-shoot him…but I…I did by accident…and I can't get it out of my head…" Daisy revealed, crossing her arms, doing her absolute best to keep herself under control from reacting to seeing more flashes of Toadoro in her head.
"Oh my god! Daisy…that's just horrible! I'm so sorry you were put in that situation! Good god…but, are you feeling guilty for that? If so, then don't! It was an accident and you were in the most chaotic situation ever! You had no time to think," Pauline exclaimed.
"I think a part of me does feel guilty, but you're right, I have to let go of that…it's just…scary to be back here…" Daisy responded as she was on the verge of sobbing.
The gang went outside and walked through the forest then into the cemetery. They began the burials for Koopie and Flurrie next to all the other deceased from the hospital.
Bowser and his sons saw the graves for Wendy, Iggy, and Kammy and they immediately became overridden with heavy emotions, especially Bowser. The koopa king could barely stand as he cried his eyes out and knelt to the grass. The koopalings, plus a few others, held onto him as they all cried together. The same happened to Dixie when she saw Tiny's grave. She kissed her hand and touched the grave marking with it. Spike saw Bow's grave and flashbacks of him accidentally blinding her came into his head. He gripped his temples and felt so much anxiety run through his body.
"Hey. Hey! It's okay. Just…breathe in, breathe out. Okay? Breathe in. Breathe out. You're okay," Goombella spoke calmly to ease himself. Spike followed her instructions and felt himself becoming a little less on edge.
"Does anyone wanna say anything about Flurrie and Koopie before we're done here?" Mario asked as he, DK, Wario, and Mona dug up the graves, then started filling in the dirt.
Vivian stepped forward and faced everyone while holding back her tears. "I can speak on behalf of all of us, if that's okay. Flurrie and Koopie were such kind and loyal people. They made their mistakes, as we all have, but that doesn't make their lives any less impactful on ours. They were such a big help on this journey, and I'm sure we'll never forget how they contributed to us winning. I bonded with Flurrie when we fought the Shadow Queen all those years ago, and she's one of the best friends I've ever made.
With Koopie…we were becoming so close towards the end. We had a rocky 'relationship,' if you even wanna call it that, but we made amends shortly before the big battle…and then…she was gone. Two friends that I…um, sorry, that WE all will never get back. But, they'll always be with us in spirit, even though we can't see them here. I think this journey has shown us to really appreciate the people you fight along and bond with, because they can be taken away in a split second. It's sad and miserable, but that's the reality we have to accept." As the Shadow Siren was speaking, she was repeatedly glancing over to Koops, who looked a mixture of angry and sad. Everyone else nodded in agreement and some cried as well.
"Thank you. That was beautiful. Perfectly spoken for all of us. Anyone else wanna say anything before we head out for the night?" Mario asked.
Dixie raised her hand and stepped forward. "I do wanna say something real quick. Please. I know it might be inappropriate timing, but I really want this to be said now. What you all saw in the Underworld, with what happened to Boshi…I know it was horrifying to find that out about what we did to Boshi all those years ago. It's extremely messed up. But, please, if you wanna be mad at anyone for that…be mad at me. I was the one who planted those drugs and got the cops called on Boshi. I was a VERY messed up person in that time period…well…let's be honest, I still kind of am. And I genuinely regret doing it. As much as I can't stand Boshi…he didn't deserve that.
But, here's the thing: he DID reveal that he tried to mess around with Birdo while mind was wiped. That's just as messed up, and I get why Yoshi shot him. A sacrifice had to be made, and Boshi was the perfect candidate for it. Yoshi's grieving, and…well, Boshi being Boshi, he didn't consider Yoshi's feelings for any of it. So that was the best choice that could've been made. But, like I said, if you wanna direct ANY anger from that situation, then direct it towards me. It all started with me."
Yoshi gave Dixie a somewhat sympathetic smile as he choked up and looked away, feeling a wide range of emotions for what he did. He was still livid with Boshi, but genuinely felt awful that he pulled the trigger…but he also hated that he felt awful for shooting Boshi.
"Wait…huh!? Underworld and…shooting Boshi? And drugs!? I thought you guys went to the Shiver Region!?" Lemmy asked in total confusion.
"Okay, for real, what in the fuck happened to you guys over there!? This is a whole piece of info we're missing out on!" Ludwig exclaimed.
"Just wait until tomorrow, son. We'll explain it all," Bowser tiredly said.
"Can I comment real quick?" Luvbi asked in frustration. "Look, I admire your guys' loyalty and friendship towards each other, but, my goodness, all of this really threw me for a loop. You all covered up a crime! I mean, THE Super Mario, THE Princess Peach and Daisy, THE Luigi Mario…all heroes everyone looks up to and aspires to be…but then you all do THAT? I just don't get it! It completely shatters the kind of image you all uphold! You hated someone THAT much that you would do something so asinine to ruin their life!?"
Luvbi's criticism of the gang's choice of ethics put everyone into surprise and uneasiness since she was so brash about it.
"Look, Luvbi, I know how it sounds. We made an awful mistake, and there's no justifying our reasoning for it. But, we're not perfect people! We ALL have our dark secrets! We may save the day a lot, but we're not saints, and I don't think we ever claimed to be saints!" Luigi responded with an understanding of why Luvbi was being critical, so he wasn't too upset with her.
"I wouldn't call covering up a crime a simple 'mistake.' There was thought and rationalization put into it. This is just…I don't know…feels like this isn't the same group of people I met all those years ago. You guys were so determined yet upbeat and optimistic about being stand up citizens for your kingdom. Like I said…it really ruins the image…" Luvbi replied with an undertone of disgust.
"I…I see her point…something like that, I would NEVER imagine coming from the Mario brothers and the princesses!" Jojora added. Parakarry looked at her in total shock since he didn't expect her to jump on board. He said to her, "Uhh, really!? You being serious right now?"
Mario rubbed his eyes and sighed. "I get what you're saying, Luvbi. But, this is something that we should talk about in the morning. Please."
Luvbi shrugged at him and looked away, seeming irritated.
"Hey…wanna know something that can't wait until tomorrow morning?" Bowser spoke, drawing all attention to him. He got out his gun and pointed it at Kody. Everyone shrieked at him. "You. Kody. Tell us what the fuck your actual story is, because none of it adds up."
"UHH, WH-WHAT!? BOWSER, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!? PUT THAT GUN AWAY! PLEASE!" Kody cried.
"Dad, what the fuck are you doing!? What is this!?" Morton yelled.
"BOWSER, COME ON! This isn't the time for this right now!" Lakilester yelled.
"When we were in Shiver City, we found out that Kody's backstory about how he ended up with the koopatrols with his family dying didn't add up. We're all suspicious of him. So…I'm giving him one chance to explain himself with COMPLETE HONESTY…otherwise, you're gonna be the next one dead. I'm tired of giving chances to people who can't keep their fucking story straight. You're a threat to all of us until you be clear on what REALLY happened with your family," Bowser angrily explained.
"He's right," Yoshi spoke with anger in his voice and stepped towards Kody. "Don't act like we SHOULDN'T be suspicious of you. Because we are! Tell us everything right now, or this will get ugly!"
"Guys, lay off of him! Goddamn. I'm positive he's innocent. Just let it go and let's hit the hay already!" Ludwig exclaimed.
"What makes you so positive about him!?" Larry shouted and crossed his arms. Kody looked shocked that Larry was now against him in this situation. "You know, Ludwig, since you're oh so positive about him, wanna tell us where you, Kody, Ludwig, and Morton were at the night before we all left for Shiver City!?"
Junior looked extremely confused and looked to his brothers for clarification. "Huh!? What is he talking about? Just what is going on here, you guys!?"
Morton looked extremely annoyed at all of this. "So, we're really doing this shit right now, huh? Fine then. I'll-"
"Morton, stop!" Kody shouted, silencing him. "I'll tell everything. I-It's my fault that this is happening. So, umm…me, Morton, Ludwig, and Lemmy found another one of those koopatrols in the basement. He hid himself in one of the rooms to heal his wounds so he could eventually escape. But we caught him and…um…I'm sorry, Bowser…I used your gun to shoot him. I shot him because I found out that he was the one who killed my brother! I was so angry and I wanted to avenge my brother because that stupid koopatrol was making fun of my brother before he killed him!"
Everyone else looked at Kody in horror from that reveal, then some looked to Bowser to see his reaction. The koopa king looked the most horrified out of them all.
"What the fu…are you…so…you three…you saw Kody shoot the koopatrol!? AND YOU KEPT THIS A SECRET!?" Bowser screamed as he got red in the face.
Lemmy looked down in shame. "Yes. I'm sorry, dad. B-But we took care of it! We killed the enemy! It's all done!"
"THAT'S NOT THE FUCKING POINT! You kept this from me and made a decision without even consulting me first! That is just INSANE! Well, fuck, since we're FINALLY being honest now, is there anything else I should know about that night!?" Bowser yelled, now on the verge of crying again.
DK sighed with a little fear and raised his hand. "Bowser…Luigi and I were there too. We saw it happen. We didn't intervene, we just, uhh, let it happen…I'm so sorry, Bowser…"
More horrified expressions were made as some of the others now began to gossip amongst each other.
"Luigi…really? What the hell!?" Mario shrieked. Luigi looked away from everyone, but he didn't look ashamed, but rather just mad.
"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!? WHY!? WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME!? WHY KEEP FUCKING SILENT!?" Bowser raged towards DK as he began to cry.
"We thought it was the right thing to do at that moment. I knew there was no way of convincing them to change their minds on killing that koopatrol, so we just let them be. I AM sorry, Bowser, for not saying anything. It's the least we could've done," DK spoke with clear remorse.
Bowser fell to the grass, feeling betrayed and broken ten times fold. "Fuck…FUCK! Kody…you…you better tell us everything right now…or I swear to God…" Peach came over and put her hand on his shoulder, truly feeling his pain in that moment.
Kody nodded as his body started shaking. "O-Okay. Here it is…"
"So, uhh, I think this happened right before Tatanga went full swing on Mushroom City. I remember on the news there were reports of him and his koopatrols doing riots or whatever in the city, but I didn't take it seriously since it just seemed so dumb and I thought the police were gonna handle it anyways. I was gonna go see this girl I was dating at my school, but my parents didn't want me going just in case those riots would hit our neighborhood. I should've listened…"
"SERIOUSLY!? The one time I actually get a girl to like me and I can't even see her! You guys are being so unfair right now!" Kody screamed at his parents.
"We just told you, son! We don't want you going out at all tonight because it's dangerous right now! This really feels like another 'Bowser' scenario!" his father yelled.
"Yeah, honey, it's best to just stay inside for tonight. You could go see her tomorrow if things are cooled down!" his mom assured him.
"Ohhh my god, I already told you guys that she's leaving tomorrow for some family camping trip for a whole week! I'm only gonna be gone for like 2 hours tops! PLEASE!" Kody groaned and pleaded.
"Our answer is NO. Deal with it! You can handle waiting another week then. You need to learn to be patient!" his father firmly said.
"Fine, whatever! Be that way! GOD!" the teen koopa shouted, stomped back to his room and slammed his door shut. He calmed himself first then swiped his phone from his computer desk. He texted his girl saying, "Be there in 20 mins." He then put on his shoes, went over to his window, opened it, and carefully got outside. He then quietly shut his window and sneakily tip-toed towards the front of the house, then went leftwards onto the street.
"I'm such an idiot for leaving the house! If I hadn't left…umm…welll…"
"Really? The whole 'sneaking out of the house' thing? You honestly think mom and dad won't figure out you're gone in like 10 minutes?" his brother loudly spoke while chuckling, startling Kody.
"WOAH! Uhh, where the hell did you come from!?" Kody shrieked.
"Was on the front porch talking to my girlfriend. Heard the whole argument in there. I won't tell mom and dad about you sneaking out if you go back right now," his brother said.
"Man, come on…I REALLY wanna see this girl I've been crushing for forever now! And we're finally dating! You should know what that's like!" Kody pleaded.
"Yeah, I do, but I also know that you should never be desperate to be with someone, especially someone in high school! Come on, bro, you can't take these things TOO seriously," his brother chuckled again, finding Kody's longingness to be a little entertaining.
"Seriously, bro? How can you say that when you just graduated high school!? Gimme a break!" Kody whined.
"Then, we heard the scream. It was like a few houses away from us, it sounded like someone was being murdered. That was when it started…"
Kody and his brother jumped around in fright to look at the street behind them after being startled from a blood curdling scream. Then followed the sounds of glass and various objects being thrown around and broken.
"What the hell!? Is that Mrs. Koopstein's house!?" Kody yelped.
"Kody, let's get back inside NOW! Come on!" his brother demanded.
Then, in a split second, everything changed. Numerous koopatrols began flooding their neighborhood, coming in from cars or even just on foot. The brothers stood there frozen with fear as they saw the wild koopas destroy various cars, mailboxes, and fences, and even break into other people's homes.
"HOLY SHIT! KODY, RUN! STAY CLOSE TO ME!" his brother screamed. But, before they could even book it, a car came speeding towards them and honked, making them startled again as the noise blared throughout the vicinity.
"STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE! DON'T FUCKING MOVE OR ELSE YOU'LL GET SHOT!" yelled a koopatrol as he and a few others got out of the clearly stolen car.
Kody was petrified as he saw the gigantic truck loom before him and his brother, while chaos and violence all around them continued as more screams of horror were heard.
"Wh…wh…what are you…wh-what are you gonna do to us!? P-Please don't kill us!" Kody cried as he put his hands up in surrender.
"Shut up and get in the house!" yelled the same koopa from before as he dragged Kody and another one dragged his brother over to the same house where the brothers heard the first scream. The koopatrols pushed them inside, and Kody immediately screamed when he saw the body of Mrs. Koopstein in the living room, beaten and stabbed. Blood was everywhere and the house was torn apart.
"Holy shit! WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!? WHAT IS GOING ON!?" his brother screamed.
"How do y'all not know what's going on?" aggressively asked an urban-sounding koopatrol as he and a few others got into the house. One of them shut the front door and locked it. "Tatanga's taking over the world, and it's all starting right here. How old are you two? You look pretty young!"
"A-Are you going to kill us!? Or…wait, taking over the world? Tatanga? What in the fuck!?" his brother yelled in total confusion, unable to process anything that was happening properly.
"We WILL kill you if you don't answer the fucking question! Our job out here is to recruit, capture, or kill. So, let's make this fast and simple! How old are ya!?" yelled a rough-sounding koopatrol.
"I-I'm 15 and, um, m-my brother there is 18…" Kody nervously replied.
"Ooh la la! Perfect ages to be in prime form for Tatanga's army! Looks like we struck gold here, fellas!" cheered a crazed-sounding koopatrol.
"WHAT? Fuck no, we're not joining any fucking army! Just capture us then!" his brother roared.
"Naw, see…in this very special situation, we'll actually only give you just the two choices. Join or be killed. You two would be perfect to mold into a top rank koopatrol for Tatanga…but if you reject that…boom. You're done," said the urban koopatrol
"No no no no…oh this can't be fucking happening! FUUUCK!" Kody cried.
"Stop crying like a little bitch and make your choice! If you were smart, then you'd choose to join us. Come on, little boy…look at ya. Scrawny and so fucking emotional. We can make you better than that. We can make ya tough! Fearless! Unstoppable!" yelled the rough koopatrol.
"SHUT UP! Quit talking to him like he'll grow up to be some psychopath like the rest of you! Kill me and set him free!" his brother demanded, making Kody gasp and be even more horrified.
"NO! I don't want you to die!" Kody cried further.
The urban koopatrol punched Kody's brother in the face and then kicked him to the floor. He stepped on his chest to prevent him from getting up.
"You little ugly-ass prick! Don't tell us what to fucking do. This is how the world works now! If you don't get used to it now, you'll just end up being a little, weak crybaby who's completely useless! Or just dead. Make the choice to join us and get ahead of the game. This is your last chance," the urban koopatrol said as he was now pointing a gun at him.
"Hey…w-we should just join! I-I really don't wanna die! We have no other options, Kooplen!" Kody pleaded with pure desperation to not end up in the ground.
"Aha! There it is. You should listen to your younger brother. He seems wise for his age! C'mon…set an example, big bro!" the crazed koopatrol teased.
Kooplen was silent as tears began to fall from his eyes. He didn't want to speak.
"Seriously? The fucking silent treatment!? Here...maybe this'll change your mind..." the crazed koopatrol groaned, and then suddenly got out a pocket knife and stabbed Kooplen in the right arm.
Kooplen screamed at the top of his lungs, while Kody scream in terror at the sight.
"NO NO NOOOO! PLEASE STOP IT! PLEASE DON'T HURT HIM!" Kody shrilled.
"I need an answer! Any answer, otherwise this will continue!" yelled the crazed koopatrol as he pulled the knife out of his arm and then stabbed him in his right side, towards his back. The brothers screamed again while the other koopatrols laughed at their vicious torture.
"AAAAAGGGGHHHH...FUCK...oh...okay...I'll...I'll give you an answer!" Kooplen said through his crying.
The koopatrol pulled the knife out and poked it into his left arm, then said, "Cool. 5 seconds to answer. Go."
Kooplen caught his breath and closed his eyes as a couple more tears fell down his cheeks. Kody was hoping to the stars that he would say yes, so they could at least be together and live.
But his hopes were shattered when Kooplen opened his eyes and mouth.
"N...No. I'd rather die than be someone who kills people for fun."
Kody screamed while crying even more, knowing that was the end of his brother.
The urban koopatrol scoffed at him. "Wow. You're REALLY fucking pathetic. And a total weakling. The world's better off without idiots like you."
Bang.
Kody screamed again as the noise echoed in his mind. Kooplen let out several gasps for air as his body was paralyzed from the severe pain. He slowly turned his head to Kody to let out his final words.
"I'm…s…sor…ry…"
He then stopped moving as his eyes closed. Kody pulled on his own face as he cried and cried, not wanting to believe that these murderers really just killed his older brother right in front of him without even any hesitation.
"Quit your crying! You made a smart decision joining us. Your brother was weak, he wouldn't have made it through anyways! You, on the other hand, you're stronger than you look! Be proud of that! Welcome to the team!" yelled the rough koopatrol and patted him on the back while Kody still couldn't take his eyes off of his poor brother.
"Alright, we'll celebrate later! We gotta head out now to scope out this Northern Knight's Castle place!" yelled the urban koopatrol.
"Ummmmmm…can I…uhh…p-please…get a few things f-f-from my house…I-I live…only a few houses down f-f-from here…" Kody spoke as he trembled trying to stand himself up.
"Fine! But make it quick, we're on a tight schedule!" said the urban koopatrol.
"I'll go with you, just in case you try anything on us…hehe…but, I mean, you're smart, so I can't imagine you being THAT desperate…" snickered the crazed koopatrol.
"They shot him right in front of me. It all happened so fast, that I couldn't really believe that it happened. There was no way these asshole koopas just shot my brother so easily. I-I never thought I would ever see someone die in person before…but, if I did, one of the last people I would've had to see die would be my brother.
I know this sounds messed up, but a part of me is mad at him for not choosing to join! At least I wouldn't have been alone…he'd be there for me…b-but, um…he's also my hero because he did something I didn't have the courage to do, which was choose not to join these bastards. I was sooo desperate to not want to die, that I just gave up on myself and joined the wrong side. I'm the real weak one here. Not him…"
Kody and the crazed koopatrol walked over to his parents' house as the poor teen koopa did whatever he could to hold himself together, otherwise he knew these damn koopatrols would continue to berate him for it.
He entered the house and shrieked when he saw that the house was in total ruins. Furniture broken, glass shattered, objects scattered about…and worst of all, blood splattered in various spots.
"Mom!? DAD!? A-Are you guys still in here!?" Kody cried out.
"In case you didn't know, your parents can't help you. You made your choice and you can't back out now, so don't even think about it! Now grab your shit and let's go already!" the crazed koopatrol said.
"I…I know, I just…umm, w-wanted to see if they were alive still…" Kody responded as his voice continually quivered and felt his heart breaking as his entire world came crashing down in a matter of minutes.
"Hmm. Well…based on the amount of blood there is…and the fact that neither of them have come out of hiding after you yelled for them…safe to say that they're gone. What a shame!" the crazed koopatrol said with a shrug. Kody looked at him in total disgust and anger, then walked through the house to go to his room. He quickly checked the other bedrooms for his parents, but no sign of them was seen at all. He saw more bloodstains throughout his investigating, and, while there were no bodies to confirm, he knew in his heart that they couldn't have survived this takeover.
Kody entered his room and broke down to the floor in more tears. Everything about his life was turned upside down and was taken away from him now. It was over for him. He had to accept his choice and adapt to a new life of working for a bloodthirsty maniac.
"...So, that's the end of that. Yeah. After my house, we went around the city and destroyed a bunch more things and killed more people, but I never participated in any of that. I kept making excuses to not do that. After Tatanga announced he was going to be staying at the island from that point on, my group decided to part ways and try to take whatever was left of Mushroom City for our own. And, um, that's how I ended up where I'm at now. That's my story.
I'm sorry for lying about some parts, or-or not even telling some parts, but, I just…fuck, you guys! I feel so fucking guilty for leaving my house and not being there for my parents! If I hadn't done that…we may have escaped together…I wouldn't have joined those assholes…I should've just followed my brother and chose to be fucking killed instead…" Kody concluded as he sobbed throughout.
Silence after that as everyone took that tragic story in. They knew he was being genuine about this, this time around. Poor Kody was put in the worst position possible and they all understood where he was coming from now.
"Man…Kody, I…hey, I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve any of that," Larry said in shock and tried to hug him but Kody backed away, looking mad at him.
Bowser exhaled as his crying came to a near stop and wiped his eyes. "Okay. Thank you for telling us your story. I'm gonna go to bed now. By the way, Kody…this gun doesn't have any bullets in it. I just wanted to know the whole truth. That's all," the koopa king spoke in the most defeated and hollow voice anyone's ever heard from him and walked off towards the hospital without even looking at anyone else.
EoC.
Next chapter will take place entirely at the hospital. The adventure gang catches up the hospital group with what happened in the Shiver Region, whereas the hospital group catches the adventure gang up with what occurred while they were gone. Conflicts arise between acquaintances, friends, and lovers, Mario finally meets with Arfur's boss, Toadari, Merle visits the perform the ritual to see how exactly some of the gang are connected with the 9 gods of the past, and as always, much more! Next chapter will be uploaded on or before Sunday, November 28. Thanks for reading!
