WARNING: There is a section towards the end of this chapter that contains heavy/triggering content. There will be another 'WARNING' in bold text just like this one before the section begins.
Blackstone Tower: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, DK, Dixie, Toadette, Goombella, Koops, Kooper, Bombette, Parakarry, Spike/Paper-Yoshi, Vivian, Bowser, Larry, Bowser Jr., Wario, Pauline, Mona, Starlow, Luvbi, Grodus
Hospital group: Bleck/Blumiere, Tippi/Timpani, Toadsworth, Fly Guy, Toado, Morton, Lemmy, Ludwig, Kody, E. Gadd, Clawdia, Katia, Kenneth, Toodles, Petey Piranha
Mushroom Corps.: Toadari (Arfur's boss), Tadano
Island group: Tatanga, Beldam, Roy, Doopliss, Dimentio, Mimi, Diddy, Fire Bro/Konnor
Moon: TEC
Fort Koopington: Rosalina, Monty Mole
TATANGA'S ISLAND
Two koopatrols dragged a drained Dimentio over to the same dark and dank room that Roy was imprisoned in. Konnor was with them, wanting to see the jester become a prisoner.
"Eh? What's going on!?" Roy uttered, blinded by the light shining on.
"You have some company, Roy! Now you two can enjoy your last moments on this planet together!" Tatanga cheerily answered with a cackle. Roy looked shocked when he saw the two koopatrols drag him into the room as his hands and feet were tied together with rope.
"Wha? What in the hell happened!? You seriously didn't actually kill him!?" Roy shouted moreso in annoyance than anything.
"Oh, relax, chump. Dimentio thought he had the upper hand for a second there, but I blindsided him big time! Hahaha, you should've seen the look on his face! God, it feels SO good to push him off his stupid pedestal. I managed to drain him of all his magics, so he's practically in a vegetable state now. Hehehe…look at him. Never seen someone look so defenseless before!" Tatanga taunted and laughed in joy at Dimentio's damaged state.
"Fuck…you…ooooh…you're…gonna get…the worst…end of…the…stick…I…promise…" Dimenio exhaustedly spoke, barely keeping his eyes open at the alien.
"Oh, look. Another empty threat. Never heard that one before!" Tatanga spat while rolling his eyes.
"And THIS is for brainwashing me! How dare you try to use me against Tatanga! YOU'RE A FUCKING SORE LOSER AND YOU'RE GONNA DIE LIKE ONE!" Konnor angrily screamed and kicked Dimentio in the sides, provoking a loud cry from him.
"Calm down, kiddo! He'll get plenty of more torture very soon. Don't waste your energy on him just yet," Tatanga advised. Roy looked at Konnor very peculiarly.
"Hey…do I know you from somewhere? Your voice sounds so familiar…and you look familiar too," Roy asked to Konnor who had looked caught off guard for a split second.
"Uhh…no. I'm just like all the other koopatrols here!" Konnor responded awkwardly and quickly left the room.
"Huh. Why was he brainwashed out of all the koopatrols?" Roy questioned.
"Doesn't matter! What only matters now is my plan. By midnight tonight, the weapon will be ready to launch and the world as you know it will come to an end, Roy. There's no way in hell your dumb family and friends will get to me in time. It's over, Roy. Wanna know the most depressing part of it all, though? You won't get a chance to say a proper goodbye to your so called loved ones. Ha! All their efforts and pain and tears and threats…all for nothing," Tatanga mocked right to Roy's face, hoping to see any kind of disgruntled reaction from him. Roy just looked away from him.
"Midnight…you're…very confident about this. I don't know exactly what time it is right now, but anything can happen between now and midnight, Tatanga. I feel like you of all people should know by now that curveballs can mess up your routine at any given second," Roy angrily spat, still not wanting to look at him.
"Of course I'm confident about this, you idiot. I made ALL of this happen! And really? You wanna talk about curveballs being thrown at me? Let's see here…the curveballs that were thrown ever since I got here…Grodus mind controlling one of the koopatrols and messing up some of the weapon, Bowser coming in and attempting to kill me, that Rosalina chick turning into some gothic witch and killing Marilyn, Bleck's pitiful infiltration attempt, you betraying me, and now Dimentio's laughable attempt at outsmarting me and thwarting my plans…AND GUESS WHAT!? I'm still standing and thriving! Everything is still going underway! So, sorry to ruin your hopes of everything crumbling down…but it ain't gonna happen. You two have fun now!" Tatanga stated as arrogantly as ever and left the room, leaving the koopa and jester in the darkness.
"Goddamn. This is really it, isn't it? I hate to admit this, but…he's right. He's surpassed everything that was thrown at him. Fuck! I wish I could just die now so I wouldn't have to see this crap…" Roy said as he started to choke up.
"Yeah…you and…me…both…can't believe…urgh…last moments…are here…in this damn…black room…with you…" Dimentio spoke, aching with pain and having a hint of wanting to cry.
"Believe me, I'd rather have it any other way. But this is where we're at now. And you know what? It's…it's fitting. For me. My life has always been hell, and it's gonna end in hell. All this time, there was no right path for me to take. It all would've ended up with me being miserable and then dead," Roy replied as he felt his tears finally fall out and he fully accepted his fate. This was it for him.
"Diddy! Are you awake?" Mimi shouted, alerting the chimp who had been sleeping for hours on end.
"Ungghh…" he muttered, moving his body a little.
"DIDDY! Wake up, Doopliss and Beldam are coming!" Mimi shouted louder as her nerves rose upon seeing the pair enter the chamber.
"Ah! What? What's going on, Mimi? Are we…" Diddy groggily spoke as he sat up, rubbed his eyes as he was coming to, then froze when he also saw Doopliss and Beldam come in. He groaned and said, "Oh. This is just fucking great. What do you want?"
"We've come to inform you that the weapon is very nearly done. It's expected to be completely finished by midnight, and I'm assuming Tatanga is gonna execute it the second it's finished," Doopliss said as he and Beldma stopped in their tracks close to the cells. A look of despair fell upon Mimi's face, whereas Diddy just shook his head and sighed.
"Wow. So…this is it then, huh? So…are we going to be killed at that time, or…what?" Mimi asked with a defeated tone.
"Probably not right then and there. Tatanga wants to execute the launching of the weapon and wants to make it a show for everyone to see. Once that is done…then, your deaths will come," Beldam said in a tired voice.
"Fantastic. Our last night alive and we get to see the world go down in flames before Mimi and I do. Just fucking kill us now. I don't wanna see that shit," Diddy spat, then turned away from the two, accepting his fate.
"Unless Mario's group comes here before that happens…but…that's not looking too likely, now is it?" Mimi said while starting to choke up.
"No. Not too likely. Even if they were to get all those gems and the Crystal Star Rod and then come here right when Tatanga executes everything…so much of the world will already be destroyed. The planet won't ever be the same," Doopliss answered in an almost sympathetic manner.
"Right. Then…yeah, then just kill us right now then! I'm tired of being stuck in this cell, waiting for the inevitable to happen! Just do it already!" Mimi demanded while starting to cry.
Doopliss walked to Mimi's cell and leaned against it. He had a troubled expression that Mimi caught, which now confused her.
The duplighost turned to her and said, "You might not have to die. Either of you. There's been some changes happening."
His words made Mimi perk up in immediate curiosity, while Diddy turned back to face the pair with pure skepticism.
"And what is THAT supposed to mean exactly!?" Diddy yelled.
"It means…ugh, it's a very long story, but let's just say that Dimentio tried to outsmart Tatanga in taking over his plan, but that backfired majorly on him. That whole conflict plus me losing my sister has made the both of us just check out of this whole thing. It's a mess. We should've never gone with Tatanga because now look where we are: Stuck in a madman's show," Beldam explained, also sounding defeated now.
Diddy made a look of disbelief from hearing that. "Are you fucking serious right now!? You expect us to believe you two are just gonna quit this after everything!? How dumb do you think we are!?"
"Yeah, this is such a weak attempt at getting us into deeper trouble. If you're not here to kill us, then just leave us the hell alone!" Mimi spat.
"This is real! Hey, if you two don't want a chance to escape so you can at least be back in the Mushroom Kingdom, then be our guests. We're just making you this one time offer because it'll make our own plan of escaping a little bit easier. Up to you if you wanna leave this miserable place," Doopliss stated, understanding their plights so he wasn't too annoyed with their aggression.
"What!? I don't understand you two. Tatanga recruits you guys to join his world domination crap…and when he gets around to actually doing that, you just wanna bail? WHY? You had to have known what this was gonna potentially lead to! You had to have known that the entire process wasn't going to be so smooth!" Diddy pointed out dumbfoundedly.
"I don't think YOU understand!" Beldam yelled at the chimp, glaring daggers. "It's like an addiction. A drug. When Tatanga offered us the opportunity to help him ruin the world, it sparked that excitement that we felt when Doopliss and I helped the destruction of the world all those years ago with Grodus and the Shadow Queen. It was thrilling, seeing the world covered in darkness, seeing everyone squirm for their lives…we got off on that practically! But now, look at where that 'thrill-seeking' drug led us to. This whole fucked up mess…with the biggest mess being my sister dying due to your friend! All this stuff does is just lead to everyone involved getting power hungry and screwing each other and…I'm just done with it all. I can't do it anymore."
Diddy leered at her right back then stood up and spoke, "Hold on here. Don't try to pass your sister dying as if it's somehow our fault! Or that it's even Rosalina's fault herself! Look, I AM actually sorry that Marilyn died, but that wasn't the true Rosalina that killed her. You don't know the full context. She witnessed Waluigi, her lover, get killed in front of her by some mystical being who was beyond our comprehension. That rage and grief turned her to the black magics, which was the only way to kill that being. Then those magics took over her completely and that caused me to crash my arwing into the ocean…and now I'm here.
And you know what? After all that…I think I can forgive Rosalina. Yeah, I'm still pissed that I ended up here. But, guess what? It was a majorly fucked up situation all around! If you wanna get mad and blame someone, then target that rage at Tatanga. If it weren't for him doing his world domination bullshit, literally NONE of this would've ever happened! We'd all be living out our boring lives in peace."
Beldam looked away a little, crossing her arms, and on the verge of crying. She knew he made a valid point.
"I think I understand it," Mimi spoke in an understanding tone, prompting the duplighost and shadow siren to turn to her. "About it being an addiction. Both of you already know that I tried to help Bleck destroy all the dimensions years ago. Mario and his friends stopped that from happening, Bleck and Tippi got their happy ending, and the rest of us realized that none of it was worth it in the end.
But damn…if I'm perfectly honest, there are times I think about wanting to go back to something like that. The power and rush I got from being in control and hurting others…the thoughts and temptations are definitely there still. I'm strong enough to not act on it, of course, but there's that tiny part of me that misses the enjoyment of watching and causing chaos to unfold. Sometimes it keeps me up at night.
So, yeah, I get you two. I get why you went back to try it again because having that power is, like, the most fulfilling thing ever. But, the addiction has to stop sometime. So…IF you two are being actually serious about escaping…then I'm in. But! I wanna hear your plan first. All the details. Everything. Diddy, what do you say?"
Doopliss smiled a little, liking that he felt he and Beldam were being understood. They now turned to the chimp, who still looked mad and skeptical.
"I mean…I'm still not completely buying that you two had this sudden change of heart and are going against Tatanga now. But, I'll hear your plan. What you got?" he asked, willing to listen.
"Okay, slicks. The plan is this in a nutshell: we're gonna perform a spell to get the teleporter machine working again. Beldam will be the one performing the magics, of course, but it'll take a little bit of time as we won't have the Star Rod this time around to aid in this. Right before we execute that part of the plan, however, we're gonna sneak you two out of these cells and hide you somewhere while I go tell Tatanga that Konnor was the one who let you both out. This'll send him on a manhunt for Konnor and it'll likely delay the activation of the weapon and be a big but very temporary distraction for Tatanga.
Once we get the teleporter working, all of us will use it to get back to the kingdom. After that, we can go our separate ways. You two can go back to your friends and us two will just…I guess, attempt to go back to our own lives. Now, we're doing this plan with or without you two. If you don't wanna come, we're just gonna simply escape and leave you here to die at his hands. If you DO come, there'll be a larger window of opportunity for your friends to get here and stop this from happening, which is why we're having Konnor take the fall for releasing you two. Dimentio told us about Konnor's past…it was psychotic, to say the least. So much deception and insanity he's done, apparently. Which is why this makes him the perfect candidate to be the fall guy for this plan. What do you say?" Doopliss laid it out for them. The mentioning of Konnor taking the blame brought a little excitement to Diddy.
"Konnor…that's…Fire Bro. The guy who was with us for a while at the hospital, who pretended to be on our side. The asshole who stabbed me in the shoulder here! And the asshole who tried to steal Dixie from me," he explained to the pair with an angry undertone. "You know what? I'm in. If it makes that bastard suffer under the hands of Tatanga, then that's all the more reason to do this. Mimi, you in as well?"
This intricate plan brought more hope than excitement to Mimi. She spoke, "Yeah. I'm in! Like Diddy said, especially if this makes Konnor get what he deserves. But, there's one thing that'd be missing, I think. Roy! We're just gonna leave him here?"
"Why would we bring him with us? Mimi, it's too risky to also go out of our way to bring Roy. He's locked up in a separate chamber almost on the other side of the fortress! We'd no doubt get caught trying to get him out of there. We have to be stealthy and quick about this. I'm sorry, but this is the only way the four of us get out of here alive!" Beldam stated, crushing Mimi's hopes of getting Roy out.
"I know it'd be more risky to save Roy. But…it just feels wrong leaving him here while we escape. You know?" she said, already feeling guilty for it.
"Look, Mimi, if you wanna try and save Roy after we let you out, then be our guest. But we're not going out of our way to save him. Far too risky!" Doopliss affirmed. Mimi nodded, looking a little down now.
"So, when are we doing this then? Sooner rather than later would be better!" Diddy hurriedly said.
"Give us about a half-hour to coordinate everything. We gotta make sure certain pieces are into place when this all goes down. After we let you two out, stay close to us at all costs…unless you really wanna go and save Roy. Just remember, this is a suicide mission we're doing. We only get one chance at doing this right!" Doopliss responded with urgency. Diddy and Mimi nodded, ready for action.
BLACKSTONE TOWER
Luigi caught his breath while feeling his heart nearly stop when he opened his door and saw that it led to the basement of his mansion…and that a familiar foe was sitting on the opposite side of the room.
"Welcome back to your home, Luigi. Feels like it's been soooo long since our last go around, don't ya think?" King Boo teasingly asked.
Luigi slowly stepped forward, clenching his fists, and pushing his fears down as best as he could.
"I knew I'd be facing you again. I reeeaaaallllly should've actually gotten rid of you when I had the chance to when we came to the mansion," Luigi said as he braced for a fight.
"Haha! Wouldn't have made a lick of difference, dummy! I'd still be here, making you face the wildest fight of your life. And boooooy…you're quite the layered person, you know? So much depth and darkness within you…it's always the ones who come off as meek and quieter that surprise you the most.
Perhaps that's why you were fated to win the mansion, Luigi. The darkness of this place called you because you fit perfectly with the chaos that befell everyone who had lived here prior. You were the perfect candidate for us to end your human life and make you become one of us. You would've ran this mansion, Luigi! As a ghost, you can do whatever you want, whenever you want! No more being Mario's sidekick and going on these absurdly dangerous adventures. I'm sure you're tired of that life. That's why you constantly close yourself off to the world," King Boo said in an excited manner.
"Give me a break. You really think I want to join you guys? You really think I'd rather have that than be alive with my friends and brother…and my girlfriend!? C'mon…King Boo, you're not stupid. No point in trying to fill my head with useless crap like that," Luigi scoffed.
"Hmm. Fair point! No. You're not as meek as people think you are. That was…the wrong choice of word there…rather…the better choice of word would be…unstable…perhaps unhinged?" King Boo changed his tone to a more sinister one, grinning creepily as he saw Luigi look a little caught off guard by those words.
"What!? Unstable!? UNHINGED!? This has to be a joke! You know what, if we're gonna fight, then let's just do it already because this is just a stupid waste of my time!" Luigi angrily yelled. King Boo simply laughed at him in response.
"Ohhhhh boy, you'll see exactly what I mean! But you'll have to catch me first…AND your sweetheart!" he cackled and moved to his right, revealing a portrait behind him that had Daisy stuck in it.
"LUIGIIIIII! PLEASE HELP ME, I CAN'T GET OUT!" Daisy screamed and cried from the portrait. Luigi's jaw dropped, immediately getting flashbacks from when Mario was trapped in that portrait.
"DAISY! King Boo, you son of a bitch! DO NOT FUCKING TOUCH HER! IT'S ME YOU WANT, NOT HER!" Luigi roared, now seeing red.
"Oh, and I can't have both!? Haha, if you really wanna attempt to take me down, then the chase is on! SEE YOU ON THE INSIDE!" King Boo cackled at his fury and flew into the portrait with Daisy disappearing the second he got in.
Luigi tried to keep himself from falling apart so easily and darted after him into the portrait. The world changed in a second.
He fell onto a field behind a school. He quickly got up and froze in horror when he saw his younger self being picked on by other students.
"What the!? Oh god…NO! KING BOO, WHERE ARE YOOOOUUUUUUU!?" Luigi screamed and tensed up in terror as he immediately knew what this memory was.
"I thought I told you to finish my homework for me! WHERE IS IT!? I'm not gonna fail English because of you!" yelled a boy who towered over little Luigi.
"I-I'm sorry I just, uhh, had so much stuff to do over the weekend and I completely forgot! I'm really sorry!" little Luigi cried for mercy.
"Excuses, excuses! For someone who's such a nerd, you sure are lazy as hell!" yelled another boy, who then grabbed little Luigi's hat and threw it in a nearby garbage can.
"HEY! WHY DO YOU GOTTA DO THAT FOR!? THAT'S NOT FAIR!" little Luigi cried.
"Not fair!? What isn't fair is me failing a subject all because you just don't wanna do it! You're so useless, you know that?" yelled the first boy who then pushed little Luigi in the shoulder.
"Ow! I-I'm not useless! Please just leave me alone!" Luigi cried and started to run away, but the second boy grabbed him by the arms and dragged him to the garbage can.
"Oh wait, you can't forget about your hat! Here, let me help you go get it!" mocked the second boy as he and the first boy lifted little Luigi up and threw him in the garbage can.
Luigi broke down at what he saw of his younger self being bullied, feeling all the same painful emotions he felt when that happened to him.
"NOOOOO! LUIGIIIII!" Luigi couldn't help but want to save his younger self and bolted to the garbage can. He then felt a push in his back which resulted in him falling forward into the garbage can, which then made it fall over and roll down a ways.
"AAAAHHHHHH! KING BOO, I KNOW IT'S YOU DOING THIS! JUST STOOOOOOP!" Luigi screamed for dear life as he realized the garbage can was empty and was still rolling and rolling until it hit something that made it finally stop. Luigi squirmed himself out of the can and saw that he was in his mansion's graveyard now.
He was more confused and frightened than ever now…but those feelings quickly went away when he saw his parents and a younger-looking Mario near a grave.
"What the? Hey! You guys!" Luigi called out and ran over to them. But that frightened and confused feeling came right back when he saw that his parents and Mario were uncontrollably crying as they faced a particular gravestone. Luigi slowed his running and saw the gravestone they were grieving at.
It was his own.
Luigi stepped back and covered his mouth in horror.
"Wh-wh-wh-what!? WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!? KING BOO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MEEEE!?" Luigi yelled to the heavens.
"I just don't understand this!" yelled his father, which took away Luigi's distress for a second. "How did we not know our poor Luigi was in so much pain!? A kid so young shouldn't be taking his own life like that…"
Those words put more terror into Luigi. "What? I-I took my own life!? I just don't understand any of this! I…"
Luigi stopped himself when he realized what they were referring to.
"Honey…sometimes we can't always know…Luigi was always good at keeping everything to himself…b-but, we should've done more! As parents, we should've gone the extra mile a-and gotten him into therapy and talked to the school!" his mom said as she continually wiped her eyes with tissues.
"I don't have a brother anymore…wh-who am I gonna play with and talk to now!? Why did he have to go!? I WANT LUIGI BACK! SOMEONE BRING HIM BACK!" younger Mario screamed and fell to the grass.
Tears fell from Luigi's eyes as he heard the pain from their voices. Luigi wiped his eyes with his arm, but then saw a familiar figure appear in front of him as soon as he moved his arm.
It was a koopatrol. He spoke, "Look at you…pathetic. Weak. Forgettable. Useless. At least your stupid brother has got some manpower and confidence going on in him, but you? Your existence is pointless! You did us all a favor by killing yourself!"
"What!? What do you mean by…" Luigi shrieked, but then felt a sudden sharp pain in his stomach. He looked down and saw an ice axe stabbed into his stomach. Lugi screamed in horror and stumbled backwards. Luigi cried and screamed again as he ripped the ice ax out. The koopatrol hovered over his view, facing directly at him.
"You did that to yourself, greenie. C'mon…do it again. Or do you want me to help you? Want it fast or slow?" taunted the koopatrol. Luigi clenched the ax, turned his fear into rage for a second, and swung the ice ax into the koopatrol's neck. The koopa cried out and fell to the side as Luigi gripped his stomach wound and struggled to get up.
Luigi blinked and he was in a different location now. He was in his childhood home's bathroom. He looked to his left and saw his younger self unconscious in the bathtub. Luigi shrieked at this and tried to shake his younger self awake.
"Hey! HEY! WAKE UP! YOU'RE STILL ALIVE! WAKE UP, LUIGI!" he screamed but to no avail.
The bathroom door flew open and in came King Boo, startling Luigi.
"OH! YOU…WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!? IF YOU WANNA FIGHT, THEN LET'S JUST FUCKING FIGHT ALREADY!" Luigi roared.
"How sad…little boy Luigi OD'd on pills. All he had to do was vent to his parents all the bullying he went through and they could've given him the proper help. That's what happens when you internalize everything. All those raging emotions destroy you from the inside out. Then people will forever wonder what happened to the person who was too cowardly to seek help," King Boo spoke in a mocking manner, ignoring the real Luigi and floated over to the younger one.
"THIS ISN'T WHAT FUCKING HAPPENED! I…I OD'd but my parents found me and were able to save me!" Luigi screamed and felt his wound hurt from the vibrations. He grabbed a towel hanging from the shower curtain bar and held it against his wound as he cried some more. He continued, "What the hell is this you're trying to do here!? Are you trying to convince me to kill myself!?"
King Boo slowly turned to Luigi and snickered at his struggling comprehension. "I mean…if it ends up being that way. OR…if it's not you that destroys yourself…then it's other people who you destroy!"
King Boo spun around and the setting was changed again within a flash. He was now in the bathroom of Mayor Penguin's mansion…the same room where Luigi made the impulse decision to end things with Daisy. Luigi saw Daisy crying against the bathtub with Mario comforting her.
"Daisy!? Mario!? KING BOO, TELL ME WHAT YOU'RE FUCKING DOING TO ME!" Luigi shouted, realizing that the boo had vanished again.
"So, he just ended things with you? Just like that?" Mario asked in a state of confusion and shock.
"Y-Yeah…he was so angry a-and it really scared me! Mario…it's over between us. I'm never getting the same Luigi back that I fell in love with. He refuses to open up to me! I'm so tired of trying with him…because it just hurts so much! I can't handle the pain anymore!" Daisy cried into Mario's shoulder as Luigi heard the raw pain in her voice.
"Daisy…no…p-please…stop showing me this! I-It's not real…it's not real…it's not real…" Luigi repeated, hating to see Daisy so hurt and upset.
"I'm sorry, Daisy…I can't get him to open up either. I'm also tired of trying. When someone shuts you out no matter what you do, what's the point in reaching out to help anymore? He dug his own grave," Mario said in sympathy.
"He also dug my grave. The pain is too much, Mario…I want it to end," Daisy said as she sat up and got a gun from behind her and aimed it at her head.
"WHA- NOOOOOO! DAISYYYYYYY!" Luigi screamed as he felt his heart stop when he saw that horrifying moment. He lunged forward to stop her, but he blinked and heard the gunshot at the same time.
He fell to the floor and rolled over onto his back and opened his eyes. He was back in the basement chamber of his mansion again. Luigi sat up and looked all around, only to find Mario in front of the now empty portrait, shaking his head.
Luigi huffed and glared at him. "You're not my brother! Please, please stop this. I'm begging you!"
'Mario' walked over to him with a blank stare and spoke, "But…I am your brother, Luigi. You know…the same brother who never takes you out onto my adventures. The same brother who thinks you're too weak and cowardly to handle the things I deal with. The same brother who wishes you had actually died from that overdose so it'd be one less thing I'd have to look after. The same brother who's tired of begging you to open up everytime something troubles you."
"SHUT UP! I know damn well that's something Mario would never say!" Luigi yelled, pressing against his wound as it hurt some more.
'Mario' knelt down to Luigi and spoke, "Dear brother, I might not ever say it, but I sure do think it. We ALL think it. We just don't say it outloud because you're the most fragile piece of work we've ever dealt with."
Luigi's body shook as the words hurt to his core and the image of Daisy aiming the gun to her head was hard to get out of his mind.
"Brother! I can end the pain for you. It's what you've always wanted. Your inner world no longer will be full of rage and chaos. C'mon…you're already wounded. Why not let me finish the job?" 'Mario' said as he took out a dagger from his pocket.
Luigi slowly stopped crying as he looked into 'Mario's' eyes, which were noticeably lifeless. He calmed himself as much as he could and slowly and softly grabbed 'Mario's' hand which also held the dagger. Luigi leaned towards 'Mario' and whispered something to him.
"I'd rather go out fighting for my life than let myself be killed by the likes of you."
Luigi then swiftly took the dagger and stabbed 'Mario' in the neck and did another stab in his chest. 'Mario' gurgled on his blood and stumbled backwards, shaking for a few seconds before he fully stopped moving as a puddle of blood formed around him.
"Well well! That was quite the show you put on there," King Boo cheered from behind Luigi. The green brother slowly turned around, now feeling livid at the entire situation.
"Woah there! Don't give me that look. You're the one that killed your own brother without hesitation. Geez…so, come to find out, you're a suicidal psychopath! My my, that is the definition of unhinged!" King Boo mocked as Luigi clenched the dagger.
"Hmm. Does that make you…wanna laugh at me?" Luigi asked.
King Boo slowly grinned at him. "Why…yes! Yes it does! Hahahahaha! Such a fool, you are! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!"
While King Boo erupted into laughter, Luigi darted towards him, grabbed King Boo's left canine tooth, pulled it out with all his might making the boo let out a bloodcurdling scream, and then stabbed King Boo in the eyes, the left eye with his canine tooth, and the other one with the dagger. King Boo flailed about and dropped to the floor, disappearing into the air.
Luigi wanted to collapse from the physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion he just endured, but he heard an unlocking type of mechanism coming from the door closest to him. He dragged himself over to the door, opened it, and went on in. He was in a long, wooden hallway and felt a wave of relief come over him as he felt safe in that moment, especially since he saw a couple of his friends not too far away which helped this nightmare fade away.
Kooper entered a room that, from the first second, he knew exactly where he was. It was a medical records room where he saw the little toad boy die from blood loss when the shootout was happening. He saw the little toad boy in the corner, staring right at him. Panic quickly fell over Kooper.
"No! NO! FUCK THIS, I'M NOT GOING THROUGH THIS SHIT AGAIN!" Kooper yelled and opened the door to exit…but it just led to the same room. Stunned in shock and perplexion, Kooper felt trembly and leaned against the wall as the memories of the poor kid dying in his arms came flooding to his mind.
"God…I…I have to do this, don't I? But why!? Please…I-I don't wanna see him die again!" Kooper yelled as his eyes welled up.
"Come on, mister Kooper! Sit next to me. I wanna tell you a story," Toady McToaderson Jr. eagerly called out to him. Kooper cringed and took in a deep breath, forcing himself to drag his way over to the kid and slowly sat down. Kooper tried not to look at the kid in the face, fearing that it'll make the emotions worse in that moment.
"Just…please, get this shit overwith. If I have to see you die again…just do it already…" Kooper said with a defeated tone.
Toady giggled at him and said, "No, silly! This isn't about that! Well…not YET, at least!"
Kooper moved his eyes to him when he said that last part, feeling a chill going down his spine. Toady kept smiling at him, but it was one so eerie and sinister that Kooper felt scared for what was to come.
"So! Let's begin, shall we? Okay! Once upon a time, in a place called Star City, there was a koopa family that pretended to live happily ever after. This was because of the two kids, both brothers. The older brother constantly boasted how he was sooooo much better than the younger brother. Always bragged about his achievements and would never let the younger brother play with him…" Toady said cheerily as Kooper blinked and the setting suddenly changed to another familiar one. It was his childhood home and he was sitting on his couch while Toady was sitting on the floor across from him.
"W-Wait a second here, what the hell are you doing!? What is happening right now!?" Kooper screeched as extreme panic mode now kicked in.
He then heard loud footsteps coming from behind him, to his right. Kooper turned around and his heart stopped when he saw a young Konnor aka Fire Bro walk towards him with a menacing look on his face while holding a butcher knife.
"Wha…K…Konnor…" Kooper was too stunned to speak properly. That psychotic, vengeful look Konnor had was re-imprinted into Kooper's mind, having forgotten until now.
"I'm tired of you thinking you're better than me. Always fucking gloating and bullying me…I wish you were never born! YOU TURNED ME INTO THIS MONSTER, KOOPER! THIS ALL STARTED WITH YOU!" Konnor screamed ragefully.
"K-KONNOR, I'M SORRY! DOOOOOON'T!" Kooper screamed and scooted off the couch as Konnor lunged at him, stabbing him in the left arm. Kooper cried out in pain and managed to quickly throw an ashtray from the table at Konnor, hitting him in the head with it. Konnor roared and swiped the knife at Kooper, barely missing him as Kooper backed away as fast as he could, needing to think of something to stop this madness.
He grabbed a chair from the dining table near him and kicked it at Konnor, making him fall backwards. Kooper lunged at Konnor and got on top of him but Konnor punched Kooper in the face, knocking him over on his back and was just about to stab him in the chest until Kooper managed to stop him via gripping Konnor's arm and then Kooper headbutted him which gave Kooper the opportunity to get back on top of him again. He swiped the knife and stabbed Konnor in the chest.
"OH! K-Kooper…look what you did…turned me into a monster…th-then killed me…all of this was your fault…that's…that's why…mom and dad couldn't look at you the same anymore either…they…they were afraid you'd become a monster t-too…" Konnor cried as he coughed up a little bit of blood.
"SHUT UP!" Kooper yelled and stabbed Konnor again. "THAT'S NOT FUCKING TRUE! Mom and dad just gave up parenting altogether after that. They were traumatized because they couldn't believe they had raised a sick fuck like you."
"Keep…ergh…telling…yourself that…" Konnor muttered as he gurgled on more of his blood and slowly closed his eyes and stopped moving.
Kooper backed away from the body and let out another yell, one of pure stress and anger as his body shook from the terror he had to go through.
"O-Okay. Can I go back now!? This is seriously fucked up! I don't wanna do this! YOU HEAR ME!? LET ME GO BACK!" Kooper screamed at the little toad kid, who just gave him a blank stare.
"The ending to the first chapter here is where Konnor survived being attacked in self-defense from Kooper and the parents came home and were told the tragedy that struck the household. Konnor was immediately sent away to an insane asylum and the parents were too stricken by the tragedy to continue properly raising Kooper…so…Kooper left right after high school to Koopa Village and went low contact with your mom and dad, having a small resentment for them because they continually visited Konnor, and you wouldn't. You no longer considered him a brother. He was dead to you.
But you turned into a heartless monster similar to him…not murderous, of course…but the second chapter begins with Koops and your betrayal to him as a friend…" Toady spoke ominously. Kooper cried a little and shook his head, wanting none of this bullshit he was forced to endure. He blinked and he was in a familiar-looking hotel room that was trashed.
"WOAH! Uhhh…wait, this is the Clearwater Hotel in Sonic's World. Why the fuck am I in this place!?" Kooper shrieked, noticing he was now sitting on the bed with Toady in the far right corner.
A glass-shattering sound was heard coming from the bathroom, startling Kooper. The bathroom was heard opening and out walked a visibly angry Koops who gave Kooper the death glare as his left hand was bleeding and had a couple small glass shards stuck in it.
Kooper gulped and scooted away from him. "K-Koops…no…c'mon, kid! PLEASE STOP THIS! THIS IS MORE THAN ENOUGH!"
"Look at the result that came from when Koops found out you and Koopie betrayed him. He couldn't help but breakdown. Nothing compares to the pain of betrayal. You did it twice, Kooper. You made it all about yourself," Toady commented.
"No. NO! THIS NEEDS TO STOP! KOOPS AND I…W-WE ALREADY TALKED THIS THROUGH! THIS SHOULDN'T BE FUCKING HAPPENING! PLEASE STOOOOOP!" Kooper screamed uncontrollably as Koops slowly walked to him.
"You did this, Kooper. Look what you made me do! You broke me all because you broke my trust and image of you as my friend. Do you really think you can just move on from that so easily?" 'Koops' asked angrily and seething. Kooper calmed his anxiety and stared directly at him.
"I already did this fucking conversation with Koops! I'm not some kind of monster like you guys are trying to make me out to be! I AM NOTHING LIKE KONNOR! I know that's what you're trying to do here!" Kooper yelled and stood up to face 'Koops' closer.
"Doesn't matter. Doesn't erase all the awful shit you've done!" 'Koops' responded and then punched Kooper in the face with his left hand that had the glass shards stuck in it, also giving Kooper a few tiny cuts to his face. Kooper yelled in pain but quickly got up and threw a flower vase at Koops' head, knocking him down. Kooper ran over to him and kicked him in his side, prompting a screech from Koops as Kooper then got a shard from the vase and stabbed him in the chest twice.
"GRAH! Fuck…okay, please just fucking let me go! No matter how hard you try to convince me I'm anything like Konnor, I'm not! I'M NOT! Please…please let this be over…" Kooper begged for mercy while slumping to the floor and cried again.
Toady stood up and walked over to Kooper while softly speaking, "The second chapter ends with Koops feeling defeated and destroyed by his supposed friend. The guilt lays heavily on Kooper's psyche. So heavy that…that…it can't be outweighed by a final tragic event…"
Kooper slowly faced up to look at the kid through watery eyes. He spoke shakily, "Wh-what final tragic event? I don't…oh…wait…you're talking about…the hospital shooting…"
Kooper blinked and there he was, back in that room where he witnessed Toady die. However, the 'Toady' in this 'reality' sat across from him on the floor.
Kooper gulped again and closed his eyes then spoke, "You don't have to explain this part. Please don't. I already know what happened."
Toady scooted closer to him, setting Kooper more one edge as the kid kept looking directly into Kooper's eyes.
"The final chapter is when I came down here to escape the bad guys…but I ended up getting stabbed by one of them. I hid in here because I didn't wanna get more hurt…but I was losing so much blood. Then you came in and you killed that bad guy that was gonna do me in. But you were too late. I had lost too much blood," Toady said in a somber manner as Kooper cried more and buried his face in his hands.
"I KNOW, I KNOW! God…you were too young to die! But…please…don't pin that blame on me. I didn't know. I couldn't have known! Please just stop this…please…I wanna leave…" Kooper pleaded some more.
"The only way to go…is to end me, Kooper," Toady said as he got out a knife and handed it to him.
"Wha? You mean kill you!? No! FUCK NO! PLEASE! I DON'T WANNA DO THIS!" Kooper objected.
"This place is unforgiving and cold, Kooper. You won't get out of it easily. You must kill or be killed. Just like your brother and Koops…you have to kill me to continue," Toady commanded.
Kooper's heart was continuously shattering from these painful challenges. He was emotionally and mentally drained now from revisiting the moments from his past that wrecked him the most.
"I…I can't…please…I-I can't kill a kid…" Kooper whispered, looking away from him.
"You have to. Or else I'll kill you. You don't get a third choice, Kooper. This place already knows what your choice will be, though. It already knows that you're more like Konnor than you would ever admit to the world. You're just putting on a temporary mask. Like Konnor did. It's only a matter of time before that mask falls off…" Toady spoke in a more aggressive tone now. Kooper slowly looked to him.
"W-What? No. Stop. I know you're trying to fuck with my head. I won't let you do that. I'm a lot stronger than you think!" Kooper proclaimed.
"Don't convince yourself. Don't fight it. It'll make everything tougher to handle," Toady said, nudging Kooper with the knife.
"Just let me fucking go! Seriously! I will not play anymore of these fucked up games!" Kooper yelled.
"Take the knife, Kooper! TAKE IT! TAKE IT! TAKE IT! TAKE IT TAKE TAKE IT TAKE IT TAKE IIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!" Toady screamed at the top of his lungs, continuously nudging him with the knife. Kooper cringed and shook then quickly swiped the knife and stabbed Toady in the chest.
"Oh! Agh…see…you…made it look easy…" Toady yelped, holding his wound and letting the rest of his body fall to the floor. Kooper backed away a bit and then looked away, not wanting to see the kid die a second time now.
"Oh god…I…I'm nothing like Konnor…I…I'm sorry, kid…can I please get out…" Kooper whispered as his body shook from all the stress and emotional pain. An unlocking mechanism was heard from the door in front of him, startling him. Kooper stood up, walked to the door, opened it and went out into a long, wooden hallway. He had no time to properly examine his surroundings as he felt the urge to vomit and collapse to the floor.
Vivian entered a hospital room, already feeling familiar with it. It wasn't a hospital room from St. Toadofsky's, but rather a different one she came in too many years ago to help out an old friend.
"Oh…oh no. I-I remember this. Oh god. Wh-what is this place trying to tell me!?" Vivian shrieked as she slowly walked forward and saw Birdo laying in a hospital bed, looking exhausted beyond belief.
"Hey, Viv…" Birdo weakly spoke. "Come…sit down…please…I need you near me…"
Vivian's nerves were running high, as it was beyond surreal to see Birdo alive again, even though she knew it technically wasn't the real Birdo.
"Um…r-right. Okay. I'll sit down," Vivian shakily replied and walked over to the chair close to her bed and sat in it. She remembered this conversation.
"God, Vivian…I thought the blood was never gonna stop coming out…I…I can't believe it…first chance at starting a family with Yoshi and it's just…gone. I never thought I'd ever miscarry. I-I didn't think something so unlikely to happen would ever happen to me," Birdo said while sobbing and Vivian held her hand and cried a little with her.
"I can't imagine the pain you must be feeling, Birdo. Not just with your body, but all the emotions coming with it…it'll be okay, okay? You'll get another chance of starting again," the shadow siren spoke as comfortingly as she could.
"But, what if it happens again!? What if I lose it a second time in a row and…w-what if this is a sign I'm not mean to be a mother!? Oh god…this is all my fault! I don't know why I didn't tell Yoshi! Maybe the stress of keeping it a secret till after the first trimester stressed me out more than I thought it would a-and that's what caused it to happen and…" Birdo rambled and cried further.
"Don't say that! Birdo, I know this is SO rough right now, but you mustn't think like that. You're going to be a great mom, and Yoshi will be a great dad! Don't give in to those thoughts, it'll just make you more upset," Vivian advised.
"I know…I know. I'm so sorry I dragged you into this, it's just…I-I knew you were in town, and then Yoshi was OUT of town and the others I called wouldn't pick up, so…I just didn't wanna be alone…you know?" Birdo said with a guilty tone.
"I understand! No one would want to be alone during this awful time. Don't apologize! There's nothing to be ashamed of!" Vivian adamantly stated.
"Right…thank you…umm…Viv? I know this is gonna be a burden to put on you, but…can you please keep this a secret? I don't want anyone to know about this. I will tell Yoshi eventually…but I want this to be kept hidden. Can you do that for me?" Birdo asked in a more serious tone now.
Yoshi, witnessing the tragic scene, cried and felt his heart break all over again. He realized what he was seeing. It was the miscarriage secret that Birdo had kept from him for so long. It was the secret that Grunty revealed to everyone during that awful quiz she forced them to do. It was something so personal and dark that should've never been exposed to so many people. He understood the need for it to be kept secret…but he couldn't understand Birdo never telling him. That was something he'll be wondering for the rest of his life.
"Of course! You can trust me to keep it a secret till the day we die. Especially because…heh…well, you'll be dying sooner than me," Vivian spoke in a more sinister tone. Yoshi caught this and was horrified at what she said.
"What the!? How could you say something like that!?" he yelled.
Vivian turned her head and faced Yoshi now. She stood up and slowly walked over Yoshi while speaking, "Your relationship was a joke, Yoshi. All a farce. Been together so many years, yet never officially married…couldn't carry a baby to full term…Birdo keeping such a huge secret from you…letting Boshi get to her…your foundation was never strong to begin with if you're holding back such ordeals from each other."
"S-STOP IT! NONE OF THIS IS REAL! PLEASE STOOOOOP!" Yoshi screamed and ran out of the room.
"Wait…wait! Yoshi! WAIT! I…I don't know why I said that…something made me say that! YOSHIIIIII!" Vivian screamed in absolute horror from the vicious words she just spoke out of her control.
"Heh heh heh…what did you expect? You're in a whoooole other world now, sis…" said a haunting voice that Vivian recognized all too well. Chills were sent down her spine as she slowly turned around and saw Beldam in the hospital with a creepy smirk.
"B-Beldam…what is this place doing to me!?" Vivian cried as she backed up against the wall.
"Quit acting like you're so innocent in this. You've got the same bad blood ties as Marilyn and I do," Beldam said demeaningly as she got out of the bed and walked over to her.
"Stay away from me! There's no way you're actually Beldam!" Vivian yelped while backing away towards the door.
"Does it matter if I'm actually Beldam or not? Come on Viv…don't pretend like you don't love the chaos and violence like we do. We're shadow siren sisters. We're bonded by the darkness that naturally flows through us," Beldam said, continuing to walk towards her.
"JUST STOP! I know we're shadow siren sisters, but there's a reason why I rebelled against you and Marilyn! There's a reason why you two just couldn't help but go back to helping destroy the world for a second damn time!" Vivian shouted and then pulled open the door…only to find Marilyn standing in the way.
"Guuuuuhhhh…GUH!" Marilyn screamed in her face, startling Vivian and making her fall to the floor.
"You may think you're such a sweet, innocent, reformed girl…but you're not. I don't have to remind you…of the assault incident of that girl…do I!?" Beldam asked wickedly with another smirk. Vivian's heart dropped at the mention of that.
"Wha…NO! NO NO NO NOOOO! PLEASE DON'T! YOU ALREADY KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT THAT! I REGRET IT ALWAYS!" Vivian screamed.
"Do you really?" Beldam snarkily responded and snapped her fingers. Within a second, the setting changed to a section of Mushroom City at nightime near an alleyway. Vivian frantically looked everywhere in a panic, realizing where this was leading to.
"STOP IT! BELDAM, PLEEEAAAASE!" Vivian pleaded and cried.
"It was shortly after the Shadow Queen was destroyed and we were getting along. We moved to Mushroom City for a change of scenery, to try to start anew. You went out with your friends to try drinking alcohol for the first time. You needed to step out of the bar because it was getting too rowdy and noisy, plus you felt yourself become a little too intoxicated.
You stepped outside and walked aimlessly towards an alleyway. And there…there it was. The scene of an innocent toad women getting assaulted by some gang member…" Beldam explained, motioning to the alleyway in question. Vivian felt herself forced to 'rewatch' the scene as she saw the tragedy that went down.
"STOP IT! LET GO OF ME! PLEASE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS!" the toad woman screamed for dear life as a toad guy tugged on her purse.
"LADY, I TOLD YOU TO HAND ME SOME MONEY OR ELSE THERE'D BE TROUBLE! YOU DIDN'T WANNA LISTEN SO YOU MADE THIS HAPPEN!" he yelled and then punched her in the face, knocking her to the ground. Vivian screamed in horror and then covered her eyes. The man punched the lady again in the face and then kicked her in the sides, then ran off with her purse. The woman cried and groaned in pain…and Vivian just stood there, frozen and hiding away in pure shock.
"Sis…you stood there and let it happen. You could've did something! Why didn't you do anything!? WHY, VIVIAN!? WHYYYYYYYY!?" Beldam screamed in her ear, making Vivian cry even more.
"I WAS INTOXICATED, OKAY!? I WAS SO FREAKED OUT BY WHAT WAS GOING AND-AND DRUNK AND…OH…PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE JUST STOP THIS! PLEASE, I KNOW I SHOULDN'T HAVE JUST LET IT HAPPEN! YOU THINK I DON'T REGRET THAT EVERYDAY!? WHY DO YOU THINK I DON'T DRINK ALCOHOL ANYMORE!?" Vivian screamed while crying with immense guilt.
"No, I don't think you do actually regret! Nor do you understand the devastation that you let slip by! TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID!" Beldam roared as Marilyn grabbed Vivian by the hair and dragged her over to the beaten down woman. Vivian screamed and tried to use her Veil ability to remove herself, but it wouldn't work.
"LOOK AT HER, VIVIAN! SOME HERO YOU ARE!" Beldam yelled, and pulled her face to face with the toad woman who had a bloody nose, a bruised left eye, and a bruised lip. The woman cried and cried, having a part of her taken away by some lowlife.
"I KNOW WHAT I DID WAS WRONG! PLEASE JUST LET ME GO! I MADE A MISTAKE!" Vivian pleaded further, unable to bear looking at the poor woman.
"A mistake!? Vivian…dear sister…later on that night…you broke down in tears to us about what you witnessed and what you DIDN'T do. You claimed you felt so horrible and that you couldn't sleep that night. And yet…here you are, calling this a simple mistake. Wow. A mistake. Come off it, sis. You just practically admitted that what happened wasn't as tragic as you made it out to be. That's what makes you a true shadow siren. It's in your nature.
But, you know what? Since you keep denying your true nature…AND for letting this poor woman be beaten and looted…you will be punished justly! And don't you dare try to scream and flail about! You're used to our punishments!" Beldam scolded and smacked Vivian. Then Marilyn smacked Vivian. The two sisters took turns smacking and punching and kicking Vivian as the poor shadow siren screamed for mercy and felt defenseless.
"OHHH! AGH! PLEASE STOP IT! UGH…" she cried and got in the fetal position as her sisters were now just kicking her.
"YOU DID THIS TO YOURSELF, SIS! Imagine if you hadn't joined your moronic brigade, you'd still be safe and sound! And wanna know something else!? You and Koops were never meant to be together! A regular koopa can NEVER be with a woman of shadow! He knew that deep down and that's why he ended things with you! YOU'RE DESTINED TO BE ALONE FOREVER!" Beldam screamed in her ear yet again.
That was when Vivian had had enough. She had to do something before they end her. Vivian rolled to her right as fast as she could, knocking Beldam over. Vivian then grabbed a broken glass bottle and threw it at Marilyn, shattering it in her face and making the large shadow siren roar in pain.
"OH! YOU LITTLE RUNT! I'M GONNA FUCKING MURDER YOOOOUUUU!" Beldam screamed at the top of her lungs and kicked Vivian in the mouth. Vivian screeched but managed to quickly recoil and grabbed a wooden plank and bashed Beldam in the face with it. Beldam fell over again and Vivian took this opportunity to repeatedly bash Beldam in the face with the wooden plank as more and more blood splattered with each hit. Vivian was stopped by Marilyn, charging at her and tackling her to the ground. Marilyn then punched her in the face repeatedly but Vivian just barely took the chance to grab the small glass shard stuck in Marilyn's cheek and slice it further down her face. Marilyn let out another roar of pain while Vivian grabbed the wooden plank again and bashed her in the head with it. She took the sharp end of the plank and stabbed it into Marilyn's neck, making her gargle on her own blood. Vivian took the plank out and fell back to the ground, exhausted and hurt beyond belief.
"Ooh…agh…Viv…damn…you sure fight like a shadow siren…" Beldam weakly spoke while coughing up blood.
"Aaaahhhh….you did this to me! I didn't want this to go so far…b-but you forced my hand!" Vivian yelled while covering her bleeding nose with her hands as she felt her head throb.
"I know I did. Ugh…when…when the time comes, Viv…to face me truly…out there…you're not gonna be as lucky…" Beldam warned.
"That's what you think. You are dead to me! I'm glad I was always different from you and Marilyn. I may be a Shadow Siren…but I'm not a sinister witch like you two," Vivian proclaimed as Beldam slowly stopped moving.
A door in the alleyway opened creakily, startling Vivian. She struggled to stand herself up and walked over to the door then entered it. The door closed behind her, seeing she was in a wooden hallway now. She had no time to properly examine her new surroundings though, as she fell back to the floor once again and broke down crying and then screamed, letting out her rage.
Starlow entered a typical little girl's bedroom, looking everywhere in awe as she quickly realized it was her own bedroom as a child. She saw herself as a little girl crying and talking with her mom.
"Sweetie, have you tried talking with your teacher about the girl that won't give you back your stuffed bunny?" her mom sweetly asked to an upset kid Starlow.
"N-No…I don't wanna get her in trouble and have her get mad at me…I don't wanna be mean about it…" kid Starlow replied while lightly sobbing.
"Oh! You don't have to be mean about it, just ask either the girl or the teacher politely about the bunny. If she refuses to give it back, then let me know, and I'll get involved. Because that wouldn't be right to just borrow things and never give it back," her mom kindly advised. Kid Starlow nodded a little.
"O-Okay…I just…um…she's just so…mean to me and…I hate that…" Kid Starlow said while looking away from her mom.
"Oh? Mean to you how? What does she do to you, Star?" her mom asked concerningly. Kid Starlow glanced at her then looked away again.
"I…um…she just…uhh…makes fun of how I look…and how I'm…uhh…too nice…" she nervously answered.
"What!? Oh, honey, why didn't you say anything earlier!? Okay, you NEED to tell the teacher tomorrow when you go in! You can't keep letting her walk over you!" her mom advised.
"But what if she gets mad and bullies me more? What do I do then!?" Kid Starlow cried.
"Then I'll get involved and this will be settled. Star…you are indeed such a nice, sweet girl. But there are gonna be times where you are gonna have to stand up for yourself. I know it's hard and scary, but the world can sometimes be a rough and scary place. However, don't let that stop you from being YOU! Okay?" her mom said with a heartwarming smile. Starlow smiled a little back and nodded.
"Okay, mom. I love you!" Kid Starlow cheered and hugged her. Starlow saw this sweet interaction and cried with tears of joy, missing her mom dearly.
"God…I want my mom more than ever now…" Starlow whispered to herself. She blinked and the setting changed to a woods with sunset, gray skies. Dead trees were all around her as she was in an open area of the woods. Her heart immediately raced as she also quickly recognized this place.
"WHA! Oh my god, no! NOOOOOO!" Starlow screamed, the memory of what happened in these woods rushing back to her all at once.
She saw her younger self walk ahead of a few toad girls into the open area. Kid Starlow stopped and turned around to face the girls.
"So, uhh, how come we're all the way out in these woods now? What kind of game are we playing again?" Kid Starlow asked with a hint of fright.
"We're not here to play a game, you dumb cow," said the yellow-spotted toad girl who approached her close. Kid Starlow's nerves quickly rose.
"Wh-wh-what do you mean!? What's going on!?" she shrieked.
"You told the teacher I was being a bully to you and that I stole your stupid stuffed rabbit! I didn't steal it, I BORROWED it, I just kept forgetting to bring it to school with me! YOU LIED! And not only that, but you stole my rainbow bracelet that my grandma made for me! I found it in your backpack!" the toad girl shouted as kid Starlow cowered and whimpered in fear.
"I-I-I'm so-sorry…I was just mad you took my bunny a-and…" kid Starlow stuttered.
"So you took my bracelet that my grandma made for me!? My grandma is DEAD you heartless witch! You're not as nice and innocent as everyone thinks you are! And for that you're gonna PAY!" yelled the toad girl and then got out pepper spray and sprayed kid Starlow in the eyes. Adult Starlow felt the burn and string in her eyes suddenly as well, screaming and falling to the ground.
"AAAAAAGGGGGHHHH! MY EYES! OH MY GOD, I'M BLIND! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS!?" Starlow screamed and cried while covering her eyes with her hands.
"Oh shut up you crybaby! You're not permanently blind, it'll go away in a while! But let this be a lesson to you, don't lie about me ever again! Have fun finding your way out!" spat the toad girl and then ran off with her friends.
"O-oh my god…I-I can't see a thing…owwwww…p-please don't leave me here! You can't just leave me here! PLEEEEEEEAAAASE! HELP MEEEEEEE!" Starlow screamed as loud as possible while fearing for her life. She stood herself up while stumbling and trembling a little, attempting to open her eyes. The sting was unbearable but she had to see in order to get out. Her vision was blurred, but she could see a few feet ahead of her.
"Oh god…I-I need to get out of here…before…before…" Starlow whispered in sheer panic, holding herself against a tree now. She slowly and carefully walked forward but then stopped when she heard footsteps. She gasped, fearing what it was.
"Oh…no…no no no…please don't be…" she whispered in terror…then her fears were confirmed when she heard the footsteps become louder and closer, then a man was heard calling out to her.
"Hey, missy! Are you okay? Do you need some help!?" a middle-aged toad man yelled, approaching her. Starlow caught her breath, trying to unfreeze herself from the terror that struck her.
"D…Don't come any closer! I'm fine! I just need to leave!" Starlow shrieked.
"You look hurt and lost! Let me help you out. I know my way in and out of these woods!" said the toad man and grabbed her by the wrist. Starlow screamed and pulled away.
"STOOOOP! LEAVE ME ALOOONE!" Starlow screamed and booked it with the man now chasing after her.
"HEY, GET BACK HERE! A LITTLE GIRL LIKE YOU SHOULDN'T BE THIS DEEP INTO THESE WOODS!" yelled the man.
Starlow ran as fast as humanly possible, knowing exactly what would happen, but hoping she could change it…but it was also hard to see far and it was tempting to close her eyes to lessen the pain from the spray.
She ran a little more until she tripped over a fallen tree branch and faceplanted into the leaves on the ground. She cried out in pain and turned over on her back, only to see the unkempt, ragged, middle aged toad man run up to her and get on top of her.
"There there! I'll take care of you. No need to be afraid now…just let me help…" said the toad man in a voice that tried to be comforting but came off as creepy and sadistic. Starlow struggled to move from him, she had to do something fast.
She flailed her hands about on the ground and felt a medium-sized, sharp rock. She grabbed it and bashed it into the temple of the man's head.
"AAAGGGGGHHH! YOU LITTLE BITCH! THIS IS HOW YOU TREAT SOMEONE WHO'S TRYING TO HELP YOU!?" he screamed and then smacked her. Starlow wailed, but then recuperated the energy to strike him again, this time knocking him over to the ground.
Starlow got back up and booked it once again. Her vision was getting slightly better. She looked back and didn't see the guy chasing after her anymore. She slowed down and turned her head back, but then screamed when the setting changed again.
There was snow everywhere and she stopped her tracks right before the edge of the mountain. She was back on Shiver Mountain.
She heard footsteps behind her again and she turned around and let out yet another scream when she saw who it was.
It was another Starlow. The copycat was snickering at her fright.
"Woooooow…we're so high up, aren't we? Just one step off that cliff and…gone forever," the other Starlow said in a mocking tone.
"Wh-what is going on here!? I'm so confused! I need to go back to my friends!" Starlow cried.
"Come on. You know it's not that simple. By the way…those aren't your friends. Look at how they treated you when you joined them. They were soooo skeptical and dismissive about you and Luvbi. That hurt you to your core, didn't it?" the other Starlow asked as she walked closer to her.
"I-I mean…it did…but…"
"But nothing. You're too sensitive and kind for a group like that. You won't survive in a world like this. Which is why it's better if you die," the other Starlow stated, putting more terror into Starlow.
"WHAT!? BUT WHY!? I don't understand, just why is this place doing this to me!? W…why is it showing me th-that memory of when that man tried to…he tried to…" Starlow whimpered.
"Because this place shows you the scariest or most upsetting moments of your entire life. Shows you why you are the way you are. Shows you the darkness that lurks within your subconscious. It tests you to see if you can beat that darkness. It's the thing that may break you completely, if you survive. But…trust me, Star…it's better that you die. You won't be able to handle what comes after this. Your mind is too fragile," the other Starlow spoke as persuasively as she could.
Starlow couldn't believe the drivel she was hearing. "What do you mean my mind is too fragile!? I experienced a mass shooting and have seen multiple people die in front of me! Of course, it's awful I had to even see that, but that's just a bunch of bullcrap you're talking!"
"Let me end it for you, Star. I promise it won't hurt. You're just not ready for what's to come. Please…listen to me…save yourself before you go through actual, true hell!" the other Starlow pleaded as she kept walking closer to her.
"No. Just stop this! I WANT OUT! GET ME OUT!" Starlow screamed.
"Don't fight me. Just let me do this for you. You won't have to deal with a war on this planet anymore. You won't have to keep proving your innocence to these screwed up people. You won't have to keep burying that memory of the guy in the woods nearly taking your innocence away deep down inside. You'll finally have peace," the other Starlow said, now only a few inches away from her.
Starlow cried a little more and looked behind her. Long way down. She looked back and wiped her tears, then spoke.
"Well…you first then!"
Starlow then punched her counterpart in the stomach and then shoved her off of the cliff, her screams echoing throughout the vast area. Starlow took a few steps backwards away from the cliff and slumped into the snow, crying even more. She then heard an unlocking mechanism very close to her. She looked up and saw a door right on the edge of the mountain. The star sprite was freaked out by this odd appearance, but she felt compelled to open it.
She walked over to the door, turned the knob, opened it and entered a wooden hallway.
"Is it…finally over? Oh god…I-I can't get it out of my head now!" she shouted, slumping back down to the floor, holding her head in pain.
Larry entered a room that he knew all too well. It was Roy's room. A younger Larry and a younger Roy were playing video games.
"AHA! I beat you again! You suck so much at video games! I don't know how you're always losing!" younger Larry cackled as Roy threw his controller to the ground.
"You don't have to be so mean about it! I'm just…I dunno, awkward at these controls! Big fucking deal!" younger Roy pouted.
"Ooooooooh, I'm telling dad you said a bad word! You're gonna get in SO much trouble! LOSER!" younger Larry teased and ran off out of the room. Larry saw this and sighed in sadness.
"God…I was such a brat to Roy when I was younger…no wonder why he broke down the way he did…we were ALL horrible to him," Larry whispered to himself as he was on the verge of tears.
"Yeah. Everything that happened to me was your guys' fault! It all started with YOU!" younger Roy yelled in response. Larry gasped and darted his head to him, stunned that he heard him.
"Wha…Roy…how is this…what's going on right now!?" Larry shrieked and backed up.
"For years, you and the others were nothing but bullies to me. I may not have been perfect, but I didn't deserve to be ganged up on constantly! YOU DESERVE ALL THE PAIN THAT I GOT!" younger Roy screamed as he walked closer to the frightened koopaling.
"NO NO! ROY! Stop where you are! You don't know how godawful we feel for what we did to you! Okay!? We are so, completely sorry for everything! I know we could've done so much better. I know that now! But please, just know that we would do anything to erase it all, and to get you to come back to us! Working with Tatanga is not the solution to save yourself, Roy. I know we drove you to that, and that'll be the biggest regret of our lives. We love you, Roy! Really!" Larry said in a pleading manner as the tears now fell out. Younger Roy stood completely still for a moment after he finished.
"R…Roy? Say something…please?" Larry whispered, noting the awkward silence ensuing now.
"Larry…this memory you're in…you remember what happened after you ran out my room right? I chased after you…and…pummeled you…" Roy spoke in a more quiet voice as he walked to him again and a creepy smile slowly formed upon his face.
Larry widened his eyes in horror and backed away again. "Roy, no! Please! I'M SORRY! YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS!"
"If you know what's good for you…RUN!" Roy screamed and darted after him. Larry screamed as well and booked it out of the room.
Larry entered the hallway of the castle where all the kids bedrooms were and ran down it with the adrenaline kicking in to the max. But the hallway seemed to stretch on and on and on and on with no end in sight.
"HAHAHAAAAA! You can't outrun all the trauma you put onto me, you idiot! BECAUSE IT'LL COME BACK TO YOU ONE WAY OR ANOTHER!" Roy roared and laughed at Larry's sheer panic.
"STOP IT! ROY, PLEASE! THIS IS TOO MUCH!" Larry screamed as his heart raced further and further once he realized that he should've reached an end by now. He had to think of something fast to escape this manic situation. He swerved to one of the bedroom doors and swung it open. He saw Bowser sitting on the ground in front of his bed, crying.
"DAD! DAD! You gotta help me! It-It's Roy, and…and…dad?" Larry's frantic yelling went away once he realized his dad looked upset about something.
"I know about Roy, son. I know what you did to him. What you ALL did. And it's all my fault. I failed as a father. I didn't do enough to stop the cruelty amongst all of us. This all comes back to me…I fucked everything up…like I always do…" Bowser said defeatedly, not even looking at his son.
"What!? No, dad, don't say that! You can't get down on yourself like that. Please, I need you! You're still our father no matter what's happened! We love you!" Larry pleaded.
"It's over, son. The torment is too much for me to handle anymore. I can't do it. You're all better off without me…all I do is just bring the chaos to your lives and don't do anything to stop it…no kid should ever have to grow up like that…goodbye, son…" Bowser responded, sounding completely out of hope. He then got out a handgun from under the bed and shot himself in the head, splattering blood all over Larry. The koopaling froze in horror at the shocking and devastating sight. It all happened so fast that Larry couldn't believe it was real. It felt real. He felt the blood splatter onto his skin. But no way was it REALLY real…right?
"D…dad…no…n-n-n-no…that…that wasn't actually dad…no. Couldn't have been! No way! N-No fucking way!" Larry stammered, hoping to convince himself that what just happened didn't actually happen to his real father.
"LARRY! WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST DO!?" Roy screamed from the doorway, startling Larry.
"R-ROY! Wait, hold on a second here! D-Dad…that wasn't…I mean…he just sh-shot himself and…" Larry tried to speak coherently but he was still processing that terrifying image of Bowser committing suicide.
"Enough with your bullshit excuses! You try to act like you're the most level-headed and mature one out of all of us, but you're just as fucked in the head as the rest of us koopalings are! YOU SHOULD'VE BEEN THE ONE KILLED INSTEAD OF WENDY AND IGGY!" Roy shouted and lunged at Larry, knocking him to the floor. Roy punched Larry repeatedly in the face, but Larry managed to knee Roy in the groin and pushed him over onto the floor. Larry quickly got up and then kicked Roy in the side, provoking a raging scream from him, and then Larry bolted out of the room. He ran down the hallway again, but this time, there was finally an end.
He entered the door at the end of the hallway which led to a spiral staircase leading down to the foyer. He ran down, careful not to miss a step and fall while feeling that his nose was bleeding, and reached the bottom then darted for the front door.
He exited the castle…only to stop in horror again when he saw a tree in front of him that had the hanging bodies of his siblings Iggy and Wendy from the branches.
"OH MY GOD! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO MEEEEEE!?" Larry screamed and fell to his knees, feeling like he was gonna go insane from all the madness he just experienced.
"You did this all to yourself, Lar. You can never escape your past. It aaaalllll catches up to you one way or another," Roy shouted as he walked out of the castle towards him.
"Please…I-I don't deserve to die! Look, I know I did horrible shit to you when I was a kid, and I know I was sometimes just a mean person in general…but please, I-I don't wanna die! Th-Think about dad, Roy! Imagine how much more devastated he'd be if I were gone! And all our brothers too…we all need each other, Roy! PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!" Larry cried while backing away towards the tree.
"It's gonna happen, Larry. That's what happens to betrayers like you," a familiar voice spoke from Larry's right. He whipped his head and saw Kody walking to him. Kody continued, "You said you believe my story, then threw all that away and lied to my face. Such a shame because you reminded me so much of my own brother…so protective and selfless. But that image is shattered now, because you decided to be a deceitful prick!"
Larry's lips quivered as he heard those vicious words. "N-No…Kody…I-I…I'm not like that. I was just…I WANTED to believe you, I-I just…was so confused and worried about us being tricked again th-that…I was looking out for my family and friends as well! It wasn't anything personal, I swear!"
"Right. Sure. Wasn't personal. All you had to do was be truthful right from the start. But you didn't. You just fucked with my mind and pretended to be my ally," Kody spat.
"And that wasn't the only time he fucked with someone's mind!" yelled another familiar, feminine voice, which struck more shock into him. He turned around back to the tree and his heart nearly stopped when he saw Wendy and Iggy walk to him as well.
"W-WAIT! WENDY…IGGY…oh my god, whoever's doing this, PLEASE STOP THIS! THIS IS TOO FUCKING MUCH NOW!" Larry bawled as he pulled on his hair from the severe mental and emotional stress he was living through.
"Larry, I know you remember when you told me to keep the secret of my rape from everyone until it was convenient for you to reveal it. You're such a selfish, bad brother. What happened to me…it happened to ME! NOT YOU! You should've never demanded that I keep my mouth shut about such a traumatic thing! How would you like it if your body was violated and you were told to keep quiet about it!?" Wendy angrily scolded, striking Larry further to his core.
"You're just as fucked up as we are, Lar. At least we're more upfront about it. You…you hide behind a shell. You're fake. You're better off dying like we did!" Iggy exclaimed as the four closed in on him.
"C'mon, Larry…let us do you in. I promise we won't make it hurt. Don't resist, it'll only make the torture worse," Roy suggested, standing mere inches from him now along with the others. Larry calmed down his crying and panic, wiped his eyes with his hands, and slowly stood up, facing all of them.
"I-I know I've done fucked up things…I know I can't take them back…but…but-"
Larry suddenly swung and hit Kody in the face while kicking Iggy to the ground. Roy and Wendy growled and lunged at him, dogpiling him to the grass. Larry clawed Wendy as hard as he could, cutting deep into her chest, and bit Roy deep into his arm. Roy screamed and pushed Larry off. As Kody got back up, Larry grabbed him and threw him into Roy who was also trying to get back up. Roy got knocked back down again while Iggy charged at Larry, but Larry caught this in time and grabbed Iggy by the neck and snapped it. Larry then quickly went over to the beaten down Kody and clawed his throat, spewing out blood all over Larry and he threw the body down to the grass. Larry then walked over to Roy, who looked at him in pure horror at the quick and cruel act he just committed.
"What in the…Larry…look what you fucking did!" Roy screeched as Larry knelt down to him.
"I know. How stupid do you think I am? I know it's either kill or be killed in this place. Just because you look exactly like my brother, doesn't mean I'm going to hesitate to kill you. Better luck next time!" Larry explained and then slashed Roy's throat with his claws. Roy gargled on his own blood and reached out for Larry, but Larry just stood back up and walked back towards the castle.
The front door made a loud unlocking sound and Larry walked a little faster to get to the door. He opened the door and entered a wooden hallway. He closed the door and leaned against it, shaking a little and stunned from all the violence he experienced. Even though he put on a brave face towards the end, he didn't like having to do it all the same. He looked to his left and saw the friends that gave him a little relief.
"Mario…Yoshi…Goombella…and Starlow…can we pleeeeeeaaaaaase find the others as fast as possible and get the fuck out of this madhouse?"
DK opened his door and came into his bedroom located in his cabana on DK Island. He was with Candy Kong, sitting on his bed. DK's heart dropped as nervous sweat began to form, knowing right then and there what he was about to witness.
"DK…please. How long have we known each other for? Do you really not wanna do it with me? I mean…come on. I have feelings for you AND I'm very much attracted towards you, and I know you feel the same way towards me!" Candy pleaded while nervously playing with her hair.
"I-It's not that I don't want to, Candy, I just…gah…okay, please don't laugh, but I've never done it before! I don't want it to be an awkward experience for you! You know?" DK shyly responded, turning a little red in the face.
Candy looked surprised at this. "Oh! Really!? Never!? DK…I mean…that's fine. I'm sure you know how 'making love' works. All you have to do is take it easy, don't think too much and kiss me all over…your body will naturally want to do the rest." She then laid on his bed seductively.
DK still looked on edge though. "Uhhhh…Candy…n…no. I'm sorry. I don't think it's the right time. We can still hangout here if you want and play a board game."
Candy now looked frustrated and sat up. "DK, come on. Take me! PLEASE! I've been wanting you for soooo long now. It would mean the world to me if you just connect with me on a deeper level. Please? Please!? If you don't wanna do this…it's gonna make me feel so lonely. I hate being lonely. It's the worst feeling in the world! Don't you agree? It's so depressing!"
DK still seemed very hesitant and uncomfortable. He truly wanted to cater to her needs so she would be satisfied, but he also didn't want to let go of himself in this moment. He knew he wasn't ready for this.
But he gave in anyways.
"O-Okay, Candy. Okay. You're right. I'm sorry, I don't want you to feel like that. Yeah, being lonely definitely sucks. Um…okay. Let's do this," DK said with a forced understanding tone. Candy squealed in excitement.
"Excellent! Thank you, DK. You're such a kind and caring man. Now…just come over here…and give all of yourself to me…" Candy flirtatiously spoke. DK got on the bed and kissed her.
The real DK watching the scene cringed and looked away, feeling extremely uncomfortable from seeing this memory in person. The woman he lost his innocence to was someone he hadn't developed feelings for. And to DK, it struck him deep. It's an experience you can never take back. An experience that, to him, was sacred and should be shared with someone you have a deep, personal connection with.
The real DK closed his eyes as he gripped his head, angry that he gave himself up like that so easily.
"Poor little DK! How is a man like you so upset that he gave himself up to such an attractive and desirable woman!?" mocked a familiar voice that startled the hell out of him. He opened his eyes and saw that he was now in a cage and not too far from him was King K. Rool, the menacing crocodile that terrorized DK's homeland for years.
"WHAT THE! K. Rool…wh-why am I here!? WHY AM I CAPTURED!?" DK roared as he shook the metallic cage, unable to break apart the bars.
"DK, DK, DK…so strong and good-looking, yet such a dunce. Do you not remember where you are? It's too late to save your precious little island with your disgusting banana hoard. I killed everyone you've ever loved. And now there's just you…the dumb little loner. The last ape on the planet!" King K. Rool said while slowly circling the cage.
"LIAR! THEY'RE NOT ALL DEAD! You piece of shit, when I get out of here, I'll strangle you to death!" DK shouted.
"Ooooh, so scary! So intimidating! So…BORING! You think I haven't heard all that crap of how I'm going to be brutally killed and my lair would be set ablaze and blah blah blah…find something new to threaten me with! But since we have all the time in the world, I really wanna know why you're so upset and fragile over that hot ape chick! What, do you swing the other way or something? Because if so…OH MAN! That'd be the plot twist of the century right there! HAHA!" K. Rool shouted in actual interest which heated DK up even more.
"I DON'T HAVE TO EXPLAIN ANYTHING TO YOU! I don't know how the hell you managed to capture me but you're not gonna win! I think you already know that, you're just putting up a front so you can appear intimidating!" DK yelled.
"Me? Put up a front? Hilarious, DK. Again, do you not remember where you are? Hasn't it fully settled in yet that you're all alone!? You sure I'm the one who's putting up a front here?" K. Rool rhetorically questioned.
"He's not all alone, because I'm still alive, asshole!" yelled another familiar voice from afar. DK whipped his head and he felt a ray of hope flow through him.
"DIDDY! Haha! Guess that ruined your plans, didn't it!?" DK cheered.
"Well, look at that. The little chimp boy survived my attacks. I'll admit, I'm impressed. But I have something that'll impede your progress!" K. Rool said with a gleeful smirk.
"Oh yeah? And what is that? A bunch of your little crocodile minions whose asses I can easily kick!?" Diddy scoffed.
"Oh no. Nothing like that. It's…THIS FINE SPECIMEN!" K. Rool gestured to the left of him. Out of thin air came Rosalina, startling DK and Diddy. DK more so as he felt his heart sink.
"WHAT THE! Ro…Rosalina…why…why are you here!? This isn't…WHAT!? WHAT'S GOING ON!?" DK shrieked in utter confusion.
"I'm here under the control of King K. Rool. If you wanna defeat the king, you'll have to pass through me. I'd turn back now if I were you, otherwise it won't be a pretty end," Rosalina threatened, which scared DK further.
"What!? I-I don't understand! HOW DID YOU GET HER UNDER YOUR CONTROL!?" DK shouted.
"HAHAHA! I see someone's upset! That's for me to know…and for you to NEVER know!" K. Rool cackled.
"Oh, I'm not scared one bit! Bring it on, blondie!" Diddy stated fearlessly.
"Well, I warned you!" Rosalina yelled and then chanted, "SERPENTES! APPARE CORAM ME ET INTERFECTOREM LOCUM INSTRUENS!"
"Serpentes? As in…snakes!?" DK gasped.
A large snake appeared from the floor right beneath Diddy. The poor chimp had no time to react as the serpent wrapped itself around Diddy, squeezing him and blocking his airway. The serpent then bit into his head.
"NO NO NOOOOOOOOO! DIDDYYYYYYY! STOP IT, ROSALINA! MAKE IT STOOOOOOP!" DK screamed and cried as Diddy's face went pale and his eyes went bloodshot. The snake unwrapped itself from Diddy as he dropped dead to the floor.
"You can't make it stop, you dumb ape! Hehe, I bet you didn't think this is how this was gonna end up going? Because I know you know that this isn't what happened when I kidnapped you all those years ago. But you can stop it from getting worse, DK! You wanna kill your whirly girly? Here…I'll let you out and you two tragic lovebirds can duke it out!" K. Rool cheered at DK's misery and snapped his fingers, which made the door to his cage open. DK rushed out and faced Rosalina who also faced him, staring into his soul.
"I…I-I know Diddy's alive in the real world! K. Rool, I know what you're trying to do here, a-and…it's not working…" DK nervously spoke, fighting back any more tears.
"OH PLEASE! What a poor facade you put on. DK, you overly-emotional fool, whether or not Diddy is really dead, SHE is the one who put your precious nephew on that hell island in the first place. She may as well have killed him! Find that rage, DK…fight her to the death. It's in you. As an ape, it's in your nature to be a wild, ravaging animal and attack anyone that hurts your circle," K. Rool spoke in a commanding way, fueling the fire within DK.
K. Rool wanted to continue on to further fuel that fire. "That's why you were also the perfect candidate for that virus when you were in Sonic the Hedgehog's universe. You were injected with it because the virus would easily unleash your inner wild animal. I know it didn't work...but man, you put on quite the performance anyways! You had EVERYONE fooled. Wanna know why? Because you let your inner wild animal loose. It's been in you since the day you were born. You were never meant to be as emotional as those dumb humans are, you were purely meant to scavage and fend off any kind of foe that gets in your way! That's why you're a miserable, lovesick puppy! You let those emotions take over you and what do you get!? Hypersensitivity to things that shouldn't even bother you in the first place! IT'S PATHETIC!"
DK cringed and became angrier at those harsh words which struck his feelings deeply. He gripped and hit his head from the emotional pain being inflicted unto him.
"Fight me, DK. Come on. I deserve to be hurt for all the hurt I caused you. You know you wanna do it. Unleash that primal rage! Don't hold back! Listne to K. Rool! YOU WERE MEAN TO BE A WILD, RELENTLESS ANIMAL!" Rosalina urged.
DK felt himself shake greatly and became even more heated up.
"DO IT, DK! IF YOU WANNA LIVE, DO IT! DON'T BE A FUCKING WEAKLING! DO IT! DO IT! DOOOOOO IIIIIIIIT!" K. Rool screamed at the top of his lungs.
"GRRAAAAAAHHHH!" DK exploded and charged at the speed of light. He gave her a mega punch to her stomach and sent her flying across the room and smashed into the wall then dropped to the floor.
"WOAH! ONE HIT KO! Haha! Impressive, ape man! You did her in nicely!" K. Rool cheered him on as DK calmed himself down and rushed over to Rosalina, who wasn't moving at all. DK turned her body over onto her back and her eyes were shut. She was completely unconscious. DK felt crushed from the tragic sight.
"Ohhhh come on now, DK! Don't cry! Be a man! After all, she was the one who killed your nephew! Why would you cry over his killer? How can you even look at her the same!? Seriously, I'll never understand why you're so damn emotional!" K. Rool obnoxiously ranted now, which angered DK again.
"Shut your fucking mouth," DK responded harshly.
"Excuse me!? Did I hear you right!? Me…shut MY fucking mouth!? Ooh. Got me good there. Alright, this is getting boring now. Time to meet your end, ape man!" K. Rool replied in an unbothered manner and then charged for DK. DK saw him from the corner of his eye and as soon as K. Rool got close enough, DK did a backflip onto the back of K. Rool's neck, which threw him off. DK kicked the back of K. Rool's neck, knocking him to the floor. DK then stomped on the back of his neck, causing K. Rool to roar in pain, then DK kicks him over on his back and pushes his thumbs into K. Rool's eyes, which then caused K. Rool to let out a louder screech of pain while blood gushed out of his eye sockets. K. Rool retaliated with all his might by clawing DK on his sides. The ape roared as well and threw himself off of K. Rool before he could do any more damage. The ape cringed and held his wounds as blood began to leak.
"Aaaaaaaaggghhhhhh…fuck…you…DK…you're not gonna…fucking win this…the war…you're gonna…fucking…get caught up in your emotions…and get…yourself killed…" K. Rool weakly spoke as his body shook a little before he finally stopped breathing.
"That's what you think. I am who I am either way. I think you were always jealous of that, K. Rool. That I was never afraid to be who I am. That's why you harped on it so damn much," DK spat then looked to Rosalina. He knew that wasn't actually her, but he didn't like having to do what he did. But K. Rool was indeed right about one thing: it was indeed hard to look at Rosalina the same way after what she did to Diddy.
He heard an unlocking mechanism sound behind him. He turned around and saw a wooden door that was definitely not there previously. He walked over to the door, opened it, entered, and shut it.
He saw the hallway he was in and sighed in relief. He slid down the walls while still holding his wounds.
"Damnit. We gotta get out of here soon before I lose too much blood…"
Bombette entered the foyer of her house. A brief wave of excitement came over her, as it's been so long since she's been in her Koopa Village home. She felt safe for a second…but that went away when she had to snap herself back to true reality, knowing that this was just a mere mirage.
She walked to her couch and sat down, loving the comfort of it and it made her wish all the more that this was her true home. It made her a little emotional.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
Bombette jumped at the sudden loud knocking on the front door, the door she just came in from. She felt scared and then became even more scared when she realized the door wasn't locked.
She jumped off the couch and peeked out from her curtains to see who it was. She saw nothing but pitch black outside which frightened her further.
"Oh god…uhh…what the fuck do I do!?" Bombette whispered in a panic.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
Bombette jumped again. She knew she had to answer it, but she was terrified of what could be on the other side of the door. She had to think quickly.
She had a door chain she could attach to her door so she'd be able to see who (or what) it was without opening it all the way. She attached it, took in a deep breath, and opened the door up just a few inches. She froze in terror at the sight of her past stalker, staring deep into her eyes.
"Hello, Bombette," said Bruce with a wide smile. "Can I come in? It's been so long since we saw each other!"
Bombette was speechless for a moment. This obsessive guy committed suicide a long time ago all because she refused to return his affections. She knew where this was going.
"N…No. Sorry, Bruce. You should go!" Bombette nervously yelped and was about to slam the door, but Bruce held his body against the door, preventing it from closing.
"Oh, come on. Don't play me like that. All I'm asking for is to come in and just talk. Really. It's harmless! I even bought you flowers and a box of chocolates!" Bruce insisted, still with that wide smile. Bombette felt panicked at this point.
"W-Why can't you just take no for an answer!? Bruce, please, just go away. Please! I'm asking politely…please just go. You need to respect my boundaries," Bombette also insisted. Bruce's smile slowly faded.
"Respect…your boundaries…alright. I'm sorry. I'll go, Bombette. Take care of yourself," Bruce said defeatedly and walked away.
Bombette was shocked that that worked. She breathed a sigh of relief as she thought that she was in the clear now.
She was about to shut the door, but Bruce suddenly walked back to the door and held it open, startling her once again. He now looked livid.
"WOAH! BRUCE! I-I told you to go!" Bombette shrieked.
"So…that's not how that conversation went. I know you remember this. You weren't at all polite about wanting me to leave you alone. You yelled at me, calling me every name in the book. Psychopath. Creeper. Asshole. Stalker. Ugly. Monster. Deranged. You then said that no one would ever love me because I don't know how to properly love a woman. Then…you also said my own parents couldn't even stand me and that's why they left me here as they moved across the country.
Does that sound about right? I mean…it has to. Because no way in hell were you actually 'polite' about shooing me away," Bruce recalled with an angry undertone. Bombette began to cry and shake.
"I-I just…Bruce, you were OBSESSED with me and would never leave me alone! I was so scared and angry that I just wanted you away from my life! You have to understand, when someone tells you NO, they mean NO! And you have to respect that!" Bombette shrilled.
"Bombette…how could I NOT be obsessed with you? You're so beautiful and you don't take shit from anyone. I fell in love with you the moment I first laid my eyes on you. Please…let me in. We can still fix this!" Bruce pleaded, softening his tone.
"NO! Y-You're dead, anyways! It can't be fixed! You knew deep down that what you were doing to me was beyond wrong!" Bombette angrily yelled.
Bruce turned a little red now. "I'm dead? Well…that's only because you drove me to suicide, pinky. You were so vicious and relentless with your words that it really hurt me so much…so much that I drowned myself. You knew my situation, Bombette. You knew I was in a dark place and was so fragile. I just wanted someone to love, someone to connect and brighten up my life with. You took that away from me! YOU KILLED ME!"
Bombette cried further, feeling so horrible and stressed about this entire debacle. "B-B-Bruce…I…I'm so sorry…please…I was just…so mad a-and wanted you to hear me out…"
"Let me in then. So I can REALLY hear you out. It's only fair!" Bruce demanded.
"No. Please…I'm begging you, just go! PLEASE!" Bombette pleaded for mercy.
"I SAID LET ME THE FUCK IIIIIIN!" Bruce exploded and rammed into her door, breaking the door chain off, which also knocked both the door and Bombette down. Bombette screamed as Bruce charged for her, grabbed her, and threw her onto her coffee table. Bombette scrambled to get up as Bruce ran over to her. The bomb gal managed to grab a vase that fell on the carpet and smashed it on his head which knocked him to the floor. Bombette then flipped the coffee table onto his body, hurting him further and making him briefly pinned for her escape. She bolted out of her house through where the front door was, and as soon as she blinked, she was inside the chamber where she was captured in the Mirror-Crystal Palace.
"WHAT THE! WH-WHY AM I BACK HERE!?" Bombette shrieked. She turned around and saw a door that she must've come through. She opened it and screamed when she saw Bruce standing there.
"Thought you could get away that easily, huh? Hehe…" Bruce snickered as Bombette backed away. She felt a hand touch her shoulder which made her jump around and she screamed again when she saw the Crystal Queen standing there.
"Oh dear! Look at how frightened and shaky you are! Here…let me help you get away from this maniac. That cage will protect you from him! No way will he be able to break that open!" the Crystal Queen 'advised,' pointing to the cage with the spikes in it that she was trapped in previously.
"WHAT THE FUCK!? NO, I'M NOT GETTING IN THERE YOU FUCKING WENCH! I'LL FIND MY OWN FUCKING WAY OUT!" Bombette screamed in a mix of anger, fright, and terror and was about to book it to another door on the other side of the cage, but the Crystal Queen gripped Bombette's fuse and dragged her towards the cage.
"You little ungrateful bitch! I'm just trying to help! But if that's how you wanna act, then I'll just force you in there myself!" the Crystal Queen spat as Bombette screamed and tried her hardest to get out of her grip, but the Queen was incredibly strong. The Queen then used all her might to shove Bombette into the spiked cage, impaling her on one of the spikes.
"AAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHHH! FUUUUUUUCK! OH MY GOD!" Bombette made a bloodcurdling scream as the pain shot through her whole body. She used all her strength to move herself from the spike, making the pain even worse and she collapsed onto the floor of the cage as a puddle of blood began to form.
"Well, look at this! You're captured and trapped! Hehe, wouldn't be the first time that's happened!" Bruce snickered at her misery as the Crystal Queen shut the door to the cage.
"Oh? Pray tell, she's been in this situation before!?" the Crystal Queen excitedly asked.
"Oh yes! She was captured by these four koopas named the Koopa Brothers in a jail cell of their fortress. Guess you can say she attracts these types of situations to her naturally. She loves this stuff. She may not act like it, but she finds a thrill with getting captured and wanting to be saved," Bruce recalled while snickering gleefully.
"Oh my! Talk about a loose cannon! She covers that part up pretty well, though, I have to say…" the Crystal Queen commented.
Bombette held her wound and stood herself up while speaking, "None of that is fucking true. So…you know what? I'm gonna do something I should've done the first time I was in this damn cage."
"Oh yeah? And what is that? I'm dying to know!" the Crystal Queen replied mockily.
Bombette closed her eyes and put full focus onto her body.
Bruce gasped a little once he realized what she was doing. "What…shit! SHE'S GONNA DO A MEGA BOMB! RUUUUN!"
"Mega bomb!?" the Crystal Queen exclaimed in confusion. "What on earth is tha-"
BOOOOOM!
The cage blew into pieces and also blew away Bruce and the Crystal Queen. One of the spikes from the cage impaled the Crystal Queen against the wall, whereas another spike impaled Bruce into his side and made him fall to the floor. The explosion made Bombette fly into the air and fall back onto the ground…but also landed her back on a spike. Bombette screamed out again, unable to move as her body was in shock from the extra mass pain.
"OHHHHHHHHHH…FUCK…fuck…it…oh god…I…ohhh no…no no no…this is…it…" Bombette cried as she felt herself fading away now.
Bruce dragged himself over to Bombette and weakly held her hand and spoke, "Ooooh…yeah…we're both done for, aren't we? Ahhh…well…at least we can die together…and we'll be together in the afterlife…sounds…so sweet…"
Bombette slowly turned her head to him and pulled her hand away. "We…we're not going to the same afterlife…I can promise you that…"
Bruce's expression turned cold for a second before slowly closing his eyes and stopping his breathing.
Bombette turned her head back to the ceiling as everything slowly became dark while shedding one last tear. The memories of her helping defeating the bosses to retrieve the gems, saving Mona from the koopatrol, bonding with her friends over revealing the Bruce secret, connecting with Parakarry and Lakilester over their love lives, and her friends saving her from the Mirror-Crystal Palace flooded in her mind as her eyes shut.
WARNING: THIS SECTION OF THE CHAPTER MAY MAKE READERS DISTURBED AND EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE. VERY EMOTIONALLY DISTRESSING CONTENT BELOW. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Pauline walked into a room which made her gasp and freeze in her tracks. This was her old bedroom in her parents' house. She gasped again when she saw her teenaged self sitting in front of a vanity mirror putting on makeup. Her heart began to race as she quickly felt uncomfortable and awful memories began to flood back into her own mind.
The discomfort worsened when she saw her mother come into her bedroom. It was beyond surreal and unnerving seeing her as it's been years since their last contact.
"Oh honey! Don't you think that's a little too much makeup you're putting on? And why do you put on such dark eyeshadow? You don't wanna look like one of those street corner women who hang out by the truck gas station now do you?" her mom exclaimed in slight disgust. Teenaged Pauline rolled her eyes as she put on red lipstick.
"Oh please, mom. I wanna look my absolute best since I AM going to Tressa's 18th birthday party and there's gonna be SO many people there, plus, I wanna look great for Peter. We're definitely the power couple at school! Everyone always raves about how we fit perfectly together," Pauline bragged while putting the red lipstick away and now putting on some perfume.
"Well, glad to see you're ending high school on such a high note. And as for Peter, yeah, he seems like a well-rounded guy with a lot going for him! I really hope you two last…especially since, you know, you haven't had the best track record with boys the past few years," her mom alluded while checking her phone. Teenaged Pauline felt hurt by that comment, since it was true that she doesn't have the best of luck with guys…but it still stung hearing that outloud.
"Well…this WILL last. There's no way it wouldn't last! And the only reason why those boys didn't last is because they were too immature for me. Peter's not like that. He's way better in every way!" Pauline insisted irritatedly as she got up to get her shoes on.
"Hmm. I think he's better too, and I certainly hope it DOES last! I want grandkids eventually," her mom chuckled while texting on her phone. "But still…be careful tonight, honey. Don't have TOO much fun!"
"I know, I know. It'll all be fine. By the way, what were you and dad fighting about last night? I heard you two yelling at each other for a little bit!" Pauline asked, which noticeably startled her mom.
"Fight? No…no, we weren't fighting. It was just a disagreement over who to invite for your graduation party. That's all," she replied matter-of-factly then went back to viewing her phone.
"Really? It sounded pretty serious! Is there something going on between you two?" Pauline asked curiously.
"Honey, don't worry about it. It doesn't even concern you. Now go to your party! Tell Peter I said hi!" her mom raised her voice, which irritated Pauline since she knew she was hiding something. Teenaged Pauline left the room while adult Pauline leaned against the wall, remembering exactly how this night went.
"Oh god…no no no! I can't be here! PLEASE LET ME LEAVE!" Pauline cried and ran out the same door her teenaged self went.
She came into another all too familiar bedroom which wasn't in her house. It was at her friend Tressa's house. She froze again and felt herself cry, because this was the room where it happened. Music was playing in the background along with the sounds of people cheering, laughing, and having a good time.
Teenaged Pauline stumbled into the bedroom with her boyfriend, Peter, both clearly a little drunk.
"Fiiiiinally some damn alone time with you! Been waiting all night!" Peter cheered in overjoyment and kissed her.
"I know, right!? God, can you believe Tressa invited Pammy and Henry here!? She always talks about how weird and nerdy they are! Must've been a pity invite! BUNCHA LOSEEEERS!" Pauline laughed then hiccupped and plopped onto the bed.
"Yeeeaaahhh…let's not talk about that…let's actually get down to business, shall we?" Peter said with an eager smirk, while sitting down next to her.
"Wait. Wait a second here, Peter….by 'business' you mean sex, right? Right!?" Pauline asked with a freaked out expression.
"I mean…I was gonna be more subtle about it than just outright saying it, but sure! It's the perfect opportunity," Peter said in excitement as he kissed her neck and began caressing her.
"Oh…ah…hold on…um…maybe not the right time? I think I drank too much and I feel kind of woozy…" Pauline said while pulling herself away and holding her head. Peter sighed annoyedly.
"Seriously? The one time we get to be alone together and you don't wanna do it? Come on…you know you want to!" Peter insisted and kissed her again, pushing the rest of her body onto the bed.
"Ooh! Peter…don't be so aggressive…hehe…but seriously…I think I'm too drunk to actually do this…" Pauline advised, not returning his 'affections.'
"It's fine! You're fine! Just go along with it. This is something we've been wanting to do for so long now! I can't wait anymore," Peter said demandingly as he took off his shirt.
"No…Peter, please…oh god, I think I'm gonna be sick…" Pauline spoke in a daze, feeling extremely discomforted now.
"You'll be fine! Just relax and go with it!" he shouted as he also took her shirt off.
Adult Pauline couldn't bear to witness this scene. She ran for the door and tried to open it, but it was locked shut. Pauline screamed in a panic and tried to kick and barge the door open, but nothing worked.
"NO! NOOOOOOOOO! PLEASE STOP THIIIIIS! I CAN'T FUCKING SEE THIS!" Pauline screamed and broke down into tears, sliding down the wall, and covering her eyes.
"God, that red lipstick looks so fucking sexy on you…you should wear it more often," Peter said with excitement as he kissed her body while pinning her down.
"STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT PLEEEEAAAASE! I'M BEGGING YOU!" Pauline screamed to the heavens, still covering her eyes. As she sat in fear, she felt herself move about, like someone grabbed her. She opened her eyes to see what was going on and saw her ex on top of her, thrusting and enjoying the act.
"Ohhhh yes! See? This is amazing! All you had to do was just not put up a fight!" Peter cheered.
Pauline was frozen in immense shock and horror as she felt her body being violated all over again. The trauma hit like before. The pain hit like before.
All she could do in that position of vulnerability and fear was just close her eyes again and wish for it to finally end.
Seconds later, there was silence. She didn't feel anything on top of her anymore. She slowly opened her eyes and saw that she was back in her bedroom with her mom and dad looking upset at her.
"Honey, are you positive that it was rape!? You mentioned that you both were drinking, if you did end up having sex, then don't you think it's unfair to label it as rape when you both were clearly too drunk to even remember if you both consented to it?" her mom questioned.
"MOM, I REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED, OKAY!?" Pauline yelled and cried in her hands. "I felt him on me…he was so aggressive a-and I…I clearly remember telling him 'no' but he wouldn't listen…he pinned me down and…god, I was so scared!"
"Pauline, the only problem I'm having right now is that you said it yourself: you both had A LOT to drink. Don't you think it's unfair to accuse Peter of being a rapist? You both were intoxicated, you're both obviously not gonna be in the right state of mind to do anything entirely appropriate," her father pointed out nonchalantly. Pauline couldn't believe that her own parents weren't taking this seriously.
"What!? I-I mean…yes, okay, fine, like, w-we did have a lot to drink…but that doesn't change the fact that I KNOW what I remembered, you guys! I remember him on me a-and his breath smelled of alcohol…it was so disgusting! And it shouldn't excuse him either! PLEASE DO SOMETHING!" Pauline pleaded as her eyes turned red a little from all the crying and distress.
"Honey, the most we can do is talk to his family. There were no eyewitnesses, so it'd be impossible to prove that what he did was even CONSIDERED to be rape! Okay?" her mom stated, as if she was trying to calm Pauline down, but it didn't work.
"I do have to say, though…perhaps it'd be best if you just ended it with Peter. High school relationships rarely work out, anyways, especially with someone who clearly has a giant ego like him. So, Pauline, our recommendation would definitely be to break up with him. I doubt you two would be able to move past something like this," her father suggested nonchalantly yet again. This made her mother look at him in surprise.
"EXCUSE ME!? You're just gonna tell our daughter to break up with him over a misunderstanding!? How is that teaching our daughter how to handle issues in relationships!? If she wants to have a successful relationship, the right thing is to talk it through and come to an understanding between each other. Telling her to just give up so easily is just gonna continue her bad streak of short-lived relationships with guys!" her mother yelled.
"Oh, give me a break! You really think our daughter accusing her boyfriend of rape is something they're just gonna easily move past!? No. That relationship is dead! There's no coming back from that!" her father yelled back.
As her parents bickered back and forth, Pauline stomped the floor and ran to her bathroom and locked it. She looked in the mirror. She looked and felt disgusting. Her makeup and hair were a mess. She wasn't sure what felt worse to her in that moment: her body being violated, or the fact that no one was believing her. Everything was crashing down around her. Nothing felt real nor made sense. She then fell to her toilet and vomited a little, feeling sick from everything that was happening. She coughed and gagged and cried some more. It was the most painful thing to accept that this was her current reality.
She grabbed onto her sink counter to stand herself up, feeling weak in her legs. She looked back up into her mirror and blinked, then the setting changed again. She was in her high school bathroom, staring into the mirror blankly. She snapped back into focus and shrieked a little when she realized where was now. A couple of girls came into the bathroom, glanced at her, and proceeded to whisper to each other while giving her dirty looks. Pauline tried to brush it off, then rushed out of the bathroom and into the school hallway. As she was walking down to her lock, a lot of the other students looked at her and gossiped amongst each other, with many of them also giving her dirty looks. Pauline felt unbelievably awkward, hopeless, and helpless.
As she was about to reach her locker, Peter quickly walked up to her from behind her, scaring her greatly.
"What the fuck, Pauline!? Telling everyone I did…THAT to you!?" he yelled, causing students to stare at them.
"Wha…I mean, you did! I told you no! And I didn't even tell EVERYONE, I just told a few of my friends! They clearly told others and that just caused a whole chain effect!" she shrieked.
"Are you fucking serious right now!? Pauline…we were both DRUNK. Plus, we were in a bedroom, all alone together, and started getting intimate. You're really gonna call that RAPE!? You sound so fucking delusional right now!" Peter yelled, becoming angrier by the second.
"I-I'm sorry, I just…Peter, I clearly remember telling you 'no' and not liking the experience! Plus, I had more to drink than you did! I was definitely more drunk than you!" Pauline replied, trying her hardest not to break into tears again.
"We had the same amount of drinks, Pauline. Wow. I hope you're happy because you just ruined my life with this false accusation. No wonder why you can't keep a boyfriend. Go rot in hell. We're over," Peter spat with such a harsh and vicious tone that it made Pauline break again. He walked away as more students observed the shocking scene and continued gossiping. Pauline bolted to the exit doors and cried again, wanting to die from the pure, raw heartbreak and emotional torment that flooded her body.
She ran down to the parking lot and kept running to the woods. She kept running and running, not wanting to ever stop. She had nowhere to go where she felt safe. This was hell for her.
Pauline tripped over a branch while running and fell to the ground. Pauline pounded the ground and screamed as loud as she could, letting out all the rage and distress that she could.
She turned over on her back and saw black clouds forming over her. She wished that lightning could strike her so she'd be free from all the pain and insanity.
She then heard footsteps walk towards her. The last thing she wanted was to be bothered right now.
She lifted her head up a little and saw Mario and Peach holding hands walking to her, then stopping only a few feet away as the scenery darkened.
"Mario…Peach…you're…here…I-I'm dreaming, aren't I? This has to be a nightmare, right? It has to be…but I'm literally reliving everything all over again…" Pauline softly said while choking up, barely able to bear all the pain she felt years ago.
"Nightmares aren't real. THIS is real. Sorry to burst your bubble there," Mario said tauntingly.
"You look like crap, Pauline. Wow. Guess that's what happens when you bully others just to get some kind of twisted kick out of it, huh? You had that coming for a long time," Peach spat.
"F-Fuck you. I didn't deserve that. I was used and no one believed me. Not even my parents. That fucked me up for life!" Pauline yelled.
"Uh huh. Yeah…you were used. Just like you used my mind to get me to fall in love with you!? Wow. Look at that. You just became the very thing you detested. You're no different from your supposed 'rapist!'" Mario angrily pointed out to her, crushing her soul even further.
"STOP IT! I…Mario…I'm so sorry I did that to you…I just…when I first met you, Mario…you were so genuine and kind a-and…I was SO jealous that Peach got to have you! I wanted that happiness and love so badly! I just wanted something good in my life for once. I know I went about it horribly…and I really am sorry…to the both of you!" Pauline stammered and cried sincerely.
Peach shook her head and kissed Mario. "Oh? Is this what you wanted? To kiss my man? To fall in love with him and be with him forever? To…replace me? Face it, Pauline! You've always been a manipulative witch. That's why you're all alone and no man will ever love you. Your parents regretted having such an awful child, which is why they never believed you either!"
"STOP SAYING THAT!" Pauline screamed and ripped out some of her hair in pure frustration. "Please stop this! Please…I WANT OUT! GET ME OUT OF THIS PLAAAACE!"
She then saw Peter from the corner of her eye come out from behind a tree and walked over to Mario and Peach while speaking, "Not only is she a manipulator but also a destroyer. You wrecked my car because you were angry no one believed your fake story. Blew up my phone and social media with all those fucking lies and made some people hate me. Had to move to a different city after high school because you tarnished my reputation.
So, don't fucking whine to us about how miserable you are here. Wanna really end this torture for yourself? Here. Take this gun."
He tossed her a handgun while she looked at him confusedly.
"What the!? What am I supposed to do with that exactly!?" Pauline shouted.
"Shoot yourself. Bullet to the head. Gone in an instant. Then you'll be free from all the past torment. Free from this hell. Free from the pain that lingers in you every single day. Do it, Pauline. It's the only escape," Peter answered.
Pauline stared at him in disgust, then looked back at the handgun. The words ringed in her head. She definitely did hate dealing with the pain and torment constantly…especially now with all of it being so fresh again, as it practically happened for the second time. She slowly grabbed the handgun and looked at it closer.
"Do it, Pauline! I promise it won't hurt! It'll be just a half of a second once the trigger is pulled, then you'll be free! Save yourself from the pain! It's the only way out!" Peach urged.
Pauline shakily aimed the gun at her temple and gulped. Maybe they had a point. Maybe this was the only way to escape this hell, because she truly didn't want it to always be like this…which, to her, it was.
She put her finger on the trigger.
But then, something clicked in her head that made her stop from doing anything further.
It was a memory.
A bright and light-hearted one.
It was when Peach offered to be her friend after they had defeated Gruntilda. She was so kind and giving about it that it truly warmed Pauline's heart.
Pauline moved her finger off the trigger as another warm memory showed up.
It was when she talked to Luigi before he and the others left for Shiverburn Galaxy. She opened up to him about Mario and Peach and apologized and he forgave her which helped ease her pain further.
Pauline lowered the gun…and another warm memory appeared.
It was when she was upset and disturbed by the fake Penelopuin in Shiver City telling her she'd get guys to come after her and rape her. Vivian held her in comfort while she was in a state of panic, making her feel safe and sound.
Pauline looked to the three in front of her as they eagerly waited for her to pull the trigger on herself. Then another memory showed itself.
It was when Daisy and Peach visited her in her hospital bed when she was receiving treatment for her head injuries when they got back from Sonic's world. It was so nice of them to check up on her and to make her feel cared for and appreciated.
That trickle of light from those memories shone within her core. It gave her the boost to not pull the trigger on herself…but rather…pull the trigger on the three in front of her.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
She shot the three in an instant, killing them immediately. She set the gun down and stood up as the dark clouds slowly disappeared, letting in some light.
She let out a great exhale of relief. She still felt the mental and emotional torment from the past that made its way to the present…but she was proud of herself that she didn't succumb to that torment.
She then heard a loud unlocking mechanism noise from behind her. She turned around and saw a wooden door in the middle of the woods. She knew this had to be the way out. She went to it, opened it, and stepped out into a dimly-lit hallway.
She closed the door and slid down to the floor, still processing the insanity she had to re-endure. She heard a voice in the distance.
"Pauline, is that you!? Are you hurt at all? Pauline? PAULINE!?"
EoC.
Next chapter, Rosalina tries out a spell to check on the status of her friends…but when she realizes that something is way off, she makes a hasty decision. The past traumas of Toadette, Daisy, Bowser, Parakarry, Luvbi, Koops, Spike, and Wario are also shown. The chapter after this next one will show the gang doing the exploration of this mysterious tower and uncovering some dark histories, so the next chapter will be the last of the individual characters' trauma backstories. Next chapter will be uploaded on or before Sunday, August 28. Thanks for reading!
