More Star Hill shenanigans have arrived! And this chapter isn't quite as long as the last, so that's the good news! Or…the bad news, I guess? Um…the real news is the content that was added in the chapter, yaaay!

Oh, real quick, if you haven't voted yet, the poll for the secondary couple is set to end soon, because this was the last chapter to be posted before it ends. I'll wait until about next weekend, but after that, the pairing that has the most votes wins! So…if you haven't voted, are able, and interested, I suggest you go to my profile and hit the poll options! Remember, you can vote for two couples, but only one will win.

Anyway, enough on that. Let's go see what nonsense Mario, Bowser, and the rest face in this chapter!

...

Through the dim halls of Bowser's Castle, a short figure, cloaked in red, fluttered quietly by. It made its way up the stairs, emerging at the rooftop.

Flying over, it paused to find Junior, who sat by the table his father had left outside. He quietly doodled on a small piece of paper, but turned as the creature flew closer.

"Mini-Kamek!" Junior placed down the pencil and smiled.

"Sir, that's degrading to call a Toady," complained Mini-Kamek.

"With the five Toads in the dungeons below, and given who you look more like—"

"Young sire, my kind looks like any Magikoopa."

"Whatever, Toady, I'm sticking with Mini-Kamek," snapped Junior. "And I'm ordering you to accept it!"

Sighing, the Toady nodded. "As you wish, my Prince."

"Good. Now…" Junior pulled Bowser's wand out from the other side of the table, and pointed it at the small Magikoopa. The propeller on his head spun as he flew away from the prince. "Oh, relax! I need to get you on board the ship that Papa and the others took."

"Why, sire?" The Toady shook his head. "Master Kamek ordered me to keep a sharp surveillance on you."

"He ordered that for all of the Toadies," deadpanned Junior. "As if I don't have enough subjects watching me around here."

"It's for your own good, young sire."

"Yeah, sure." Junior shrugged. "Anyway, you need to tell Papa to come back home with Mario and Kamek as soon as he can."

"Home? Here?" The half-sized Magikoopa shook his head. "Why, sire?"

"Because I don't like what the Koopalings are planning," explained Junior. "And if something big happens with them, if they do something to the Toads, we could have a big issue break out here."

"So, you'll have me bring them back?"

"As soon as they help Mario, yes." Junior lit up the wand. "They're at Star Hill. I don't know where, so you'll need to figure that out once you leave the ship. Can you use any magic?"

"Not much, sir."

"Then you'll need to be careful, and consider anyone there who isn't with Papa to be an enemy," cautioned Junior. "Ready?"

"Ah…I suppose."

"Great, see ya!"

Casting a portal open above them, Mini-Kamek floated up and through it, teleporting away. Junior quickly closed the portal and glanced over the edge of the roof, seeing no one else. Nodding to himself, he went back to his drawing.

[Mario]

Silently and swiftly, Merlon guided us forward along the lavender, leaf-coated trail. Bowser's troops surrounded us still, with four each on either side, and two trailing Kamek behind us. Bowser kept a relentless glare locked onto the elder Shaman, concentrating on finding a flaw in his movements, anything to suggest duplicity.

Though, I studied this Merlon as well, curious about his abilities and what set him apart from the other Shamans. Unable to spot anything from his visible appearance, I hastened my pace and fell in line alongside him. Quickened stomping alerted me that Bowser would be nearby, not that there was much distance between any of us.

"So, uh, Merlon," I started up, "Would you be able to tell us more about—?"

"Please hold on for a moment." Merlon quickly patted my shoulder, charcoal black gloves over his hands. While ethereal like the Shamans before him, there's a bit of power behind the tone as well, firm, and less expected of an older individual. "I'm certain you have much to discuss with me, but we still need to get to a secured location." His hooded head glanced upward. "Hmm…no, not here. Must be further…"

"What's that?"

"Oh, just me trying to anticipate the savages." He shrugged, as if it were no major threat, as if we hadn't struggled against them earlier. "Mm…this way."

Guiding us to massive dark blue stones, Merlon strolled over and waited as we made our way over, ushering everyone to stand under the overhang.

Watching Merlon as he gathered everyone, I looked him over. He wore red pointed shoes, which almost seemed like slippers. Though his sapphire cloak over most of his body, there was a slight gap to show light yellow robes beneath its baby blue hems. Pinned to his outer robes, under his ivory mustache, was a green orb with a bright, golden star coated over it. With his hood pulled over his head, the only additional facial features were his eyes, a shimmering yellow.

"Are you looking for something, Mario?" I blinked and shook my head. Merlon stared back at me, and then chuckled. "Staring so closely might make your lover jealous of this old fool." He gazed past me and winked at the Koopa King.

"W-What?!" Bowser blushed and stomped over to us. "What did you—?!"

"Fortune telling is more than just a parlor trick for my kind." There was a glint to his eyes that made them appear just slightly brighter. "Besides that, haven't you grown more comfortable airing your relationship yet? After all, your whole castle knows."

"Um…not quite everyone is aware," I corrected.

"Ah, the Greater Mushroom Kingdom," realized Merlon. "Forgive me, I imagined that it was public knowledge already." Nervously, I turned to Bowser, whose eyes had widened, mirroring mine. "There's no cause for alarm on that matter, unless…oh, well, perhaps there is." Turning back, we watched Merlon tug on his mustache. "Still, you seem to have stalwart supporters here, as well as the young Koopas back at Bowser's Castle."

"W-Wait, h-how does he kn-know all of that?" Goomphen bounced forward, shaking.

Koopella lifted the spear, though pointed it up instead. "Have our defenses been compromised?"

"He reads fortunes and tells the future," interrupted Bombkin. "You should pay more attention to these things."

"Future, huh?" Nix licked his lips. "Sounds tempting to learn more about. What do you think, Cutie Pie?"

"That is still not my name," deadpanned the Paratroopa.

"Enough, all of you, over here," ordered Kamek, as they slipped away from us, further down the boulder's overhang.

Again, Merlon chuckled, as Bowser lowly growled. "Keep that infamous temper in check, King Bowser," cautioned Merlon. "Now, if you don't mind Mario, please spread your arms and legs apart."

"Chief Vi already checked his curse," snarled Bowser.

"Yes, but I would like to have a look at the spell myself." He turned to me. "If you please, Mario. The sooner, the better."

Nodding, I lifted my arms and slid my legs apart. Merlon lifted his hands, glowing in an aqua aura. I catch Bowser's narrowed gaze, clearly bothered to watch the aura slip across my body once again.

Faster than Vi's spell, the aura's color quickly shifted to red. Merlon nodded and began to wave his hands back and forth, as if he were passing a ball between them. Slowly, the red aura flashed and faded as Merlon reached close to my chest.

"Hey!" Bowser trudged closer, with a claw ready to strike.

"Hmm. Powerful."

The Shaman ignored Bowser, instead pressing his left hand against my chest. He lifted his right hand, pushed my hat up, and pressed that to my head.

A pain seared through my body and I winced as he scooped his hands, tugging them away from my body. Both Bowser's and my eyes widened as a dark purple aura is pulled from me. Merlon hastily rotated his hands, combining the aura into a sphere.

"Powerful indeed," murmured Merlon. A faint, but agonized screaming sounded from the swirling orb.

"Wha…What is that?!" Bowser shook his head, claw still frozen in its position to strike. "Is that the curse?"

"This is the physical form that I've morphed it in, yes," clarified Merlon. "If disturbed by any means, unshackled, then it will flow freely. How curious, this spell…it was a good thing that you ventured to me."

"So, that's it?" I clutched my sore head and chest, as if I still had some kind of tether from the orb. "Is it out of me now?"

"Mm…momentarily." The elder Shaman studied at the curse sphere, twisting his wrist to look around it. "If this isn't treated properly, the one that cursed you can easily summon it back in its place, or replace it."

"Then get rid of it!" Bowser roared.

"It's a little more…involved that," explained Merlon. "And a bit more time consuming than a simple harvest."

"If there's more to it, then get on with it, and explain the rest," snapped Bowser.

"Not here," insisted Merlon. "We're in the open, and more savages are around. Considering how well your troops held up, they might survive the battle, but not without paying a toll." He turned his head and leered at Bowser. "After coming all of this way to save Mario, would you really want to chance making things worse? If a Savage Shaman hits either of us while I'm preoccupied with this curse, well…the results will be unpleasant and disastrous, to put it lightly. Deadly, if that gets my point across about severe consequences."

"…Fine, got it," grumbled Bowser, as he folded his arms. "So, what now?"

"We continue to my home. It's safer and a secure environment for the curse's full removal."

"Done." Bowser nodded. "Let's go."

Slowly, the Shaman shook his head. "That's not quite so simple either."

"Why not?" Bowser scowled as Merlon turned back to me. "What is it?"

"My apologies, Mario, but I'll need to place this back inside of you." Merlon lifted the dark orb, and I frowned. "It's only to safeguard it while we travel back to my home. Once there, I will have it taken right back out of you."

"What?! No! You're not putting him through that again," thundered Bowser. "He's not taking that damn curse back!"

"It must be kept safe, or else it could dissipate while we complete the trip," reasoned Merlon.

"Then…give it to me," insisted Bowser. "Mario's been through enough hell."

"Wait, no, Bowser, you can't—"

"Why not?" He forced a smile at me. "You've had it for long enough. And I'm not immune to those nightmares, so I might as well take this for the time being too."

"Definitely not," I reaffirmed. "You've got more than enough to deal with."

"Actually, it is best if Mario takes it back," noted Merlon. "This already has a sharp bond to his thought patterns, so it's better to return it, rather than pass it off to someone else."

"Do it," I blurted before Bowser could argue again.

"Very well." Twisting his hands over the sphere, Merlon gathered it around his hands and pressed them back against me, with curse crawling from him and back into me. "Done. Now, let us continue our ascent and get that back out of you once more."

Briskly and undeterred, Merlon shuffled back out to the open.

"What the…?" Kamek hurried over, and then past us. He whirled around and pointed past us. "Ruby, Olive! Keep up with him!"

"As you command, milord!"

"Ohoo…of course, sire."

Flying off, the Boo and the Blooper rushed after the Shaman. Kamek observed me, gently tapping where Merlon had pushed and pulled the curse from.

"Fascinating," he murmured. "N-Not that…I mean, if there were a better way…oh, forget it, and I apologize, Mario."

He strolled back to the other troops, rounding them up, and we marched forward, following the trio ahead of us. Bowser stormed forward, still angered by the earlier interaction. I reached up and touched his arm, which he relaxed and wrapped around my shoulders.

"Sorry."

"What for? We're almost done with this."

"Not soon enough," contended Bowser. "And I don't like sticking around this guy for so long. We need him, but he's keeping secrets from us."

"Maybe, but I don't think he's doing it for some nefarious plot," I decided. "If he had ulterior motives to use against us, he wouldn't bother helping us to begin with, now would he?" Bowser shrugged. "Either way, I think he really does want to get out of the open. Besides, we should be fine for the rest of the journey."

"Because he seems so powerful, or because the curse is contained?"

"Well, both of those helped," I agreed. "But what helps more is the amount of security that a king and his top sorcerer set in place for us."

With a smirk, Bowser chuckled and pulled me closer to him. "Ha, well that does help, doesn't it?" His smile faded a bit, and he shrugged again. "Though, I suppose that you could handle this kind of stuff on your own, right? It's not your first perilous journey against insurmountable odds or anything."

"True, but it's always easier when I have company."

Toothily grinning, Bowser's movements had a little more bounce to his steps, his spirits lifted. He cupped his left hand over mine and squeezed it a bit. I reached behind him to hold his back, but since he had me so close to him, I couldn't lift my arm and ended up grabbing his tail instead.

"Ah…ha, sorry," I muttered as my face flared up.

"For what?" He blushed a bit as well, but his beam broadened. "I know how much you like it."

"Y-Yes, but—"

"Don't be shy about it." Bowser snickered. He slid his hand from mine and over to my waist. "And maybe I could too, if you—"

"If you two don't mind," interjected Kamek, loud enough to hear from behind us. "I'm walking right here, just so you know."

Scrambling, I pulled my right hand away from his tail as he slipped his back over my left. After a moment, Bowser let out a stifled laugh, while I buried myself into him.

Further up the mountain trail, another savage Shaman jumped out. Merlon merely spun his wrist around, causing a vortex to rush around the opposing Shaman. Barely waving his hand, Merlon's spell flicked the Shaman flying off from our path and further down the hill. He then continued walking, unfazed from the sudden attack.

Curious to check on him again, I lifted Bowser's arm off of me and jogged ahead to Merlon's side, until I fell in time with his steps.

"You have many questions," he murmured.

"Can you blame me?"

"Not at all." He chuckled and barely glanced at me through his hood. "You seem to think there is a familiarity about me, as though we have met before."

"Have we?"

"Us specifically, no. You have met other Shamans, perhaps a local fortune teller that shares my name, but not the individual here before you." Merlon lowered his arms and allowed for the cloak to drape over him again. "You still can't seem to shake a connection between us."

"Not really," I admitted. "I don't understand it, nor how you recognize it."

"Ordinarily, I'd give a hand wave response of 'precognition allows one such as I to have keen insight into the feelings of others before they even recognize themselves,' or something terribly mystifying." He chuckled again, amused by what I realized was his form of humor. "Truthfully, however, I do think that we're somehow connected. You and I were most certainly fated to meet one day. There's just some kind of attachment that binds a hero to an oracle, beyond our control. It's strange, and yet, I find comfort in it."

"A lot of people do," I muttered.

"Forgive me, I did not mean to remind you of your underlying stresses." Merlon turned his head again, this time looking past his hood…or, at least, that I could see his bright yellow eyes this time. "That part is exhausting, without a doubt."

"But…?"

"Nothing in particular, just the bond we're meant to share," clarified Merlon. "Somehow, I feel more at ease finally knowing you. You seem very capable, and yet, still open to be tutored to more beyond your comprehension."

"Um…I'm afraid that I don't follow."

"Never fear. You will learn, as you have, time and again." Once more, he turned away from me and strode past me. "Excuse me for a moment."

Shards of ice came flying out from behind indigo stones, darting through the air at each of us. In a scooping motion with his hands, Merlon raised pillars of fire to melt the flurry of ice.

Another savage Shaman zipped forward, tears on its robe. Scooping his hands together, Merlon summoned a whirlpool beneath the second savage. Whipping his arms across his body, the water rushed over the side of the path, taking the savage down with it.

Following up on this, an orb of lightning flew out at Merlon. The elderly Shaman merely sidestepped the attack and let it soar away into the sky past him.

Channeling a ball of light into his hand, Merlon held his hand up to release it, and it sped off from the direction the lightning originated from.

A flash and an explosion went off, with a savage Shaman flying from behind a blue stone on a cliff, sailing over the side and flailing its arms and feet around.

Shaking my head, I whirled around as one more savage tackled Jasmine to the ground.

"Can we really not do this right now?!" The Snifit squirmed and wrestled against her opponent, keeping it away from her nozzle.

Merlon simply walked over and grabbed the air with his fist. Gasping, the savage clutched at its throat, as it choked over nothing we could see.

With his free hand, Merlon opened it up and forced it ahead of himself, knocking the savage away with an abrupt burst of wind.

Yawning, Merlon strolled back over to me as Ruby helped Jasmine up from the dusty path. "My apologies, but those nuisances would have been time consuming if I let it happen another way. What were we discussing again?"

"Um…the…uh, ability to learn…more?"

"…Ah, yes, quite. Yes, always more room for that, and you'll certainly do well, when the time comes." He patted my shoulder and shuffled forward again, leaving me behind as I watched him in awe, mouth agape.

"This is only making me more mistrustful of him," grumbled Bowser as he approached me. I rolled my eyes, took his hand, and pulled him onward.

Further along the trail and around a bend, we approached a blue star-shaped stone that held a faint glow. As I stepped past it, I could have sworn there was a flicker to it, going a bit brighter then fading. Straight ahead before us was a…cave entrance.

I froze. Bowser slowed just a couple of steps ahead of me, with Kamek and some soldiers stopping around us.

"Mario?"

My boyfriend glanced down at me, first with a raised brow and then bit his lip. Nix came between us and waved his hand in front of me.

"Anyone in there?"

"Nix, please." Bowser took the black Rex's hand and moved it down. Nix grabbed the same hand and he began to bounce around while squealing as Tech Guy dragged him from my sight. "Mario, are you—?"

"Is there another way around?" My voice broke out, no anxiety buried. "This way doesn't seem very…safe."

"Regrettably, this is the only route home," returned Merlon. "There's an annoying dripping within, but we'll be able to get through it easily."

Shifting my sight above the cave, I searched for a climbing alternative. But the craggy wall only seemed to go further up, with no easy jumping points for myself, let alone anyone else that struggled with the climb more.

Kamek crept next to Bowser and whispered, "Am I missing something here?"

"It's about the nightmares," explained Bowser. "This is where I could die."

Adjusting his spectacles, Kamek pivoted to the cave and let out a laugh. He then walked over to me. "Mario, you have nothing to fear. With my spells, should anything even so much as attempt to threaten our king, it will be taken out within seconds."

Patting me with a smile, he strolled past us. Bowser walked over and rested his hands on my shoulders, lightly massaging me.

"The old fart has a good point. Was he in the dream?"

"No. Besides the two of us, no one here was."

"Good, then we're all set." He grinned and held it for a moment, but I remained stiff. Sighing, Bowser took my chin tilted my head to focus on him. "Come on; we won't let a few rocks stop us, right? You're almost there, almost better."

"Just…don't stop, don't wait for anything," I managed. "Don't bother protecting anyone, and just focus on getting out of there."

"Come on, Mario," he argued. "I can't do that, not with you around—"

"Especially with me around," I fired back, harsher than intended. "I can look after myself." Catching a hurt look crawl into his eyes, I quickly added, "At least with this, I know I can." He still held back a pain in his eyes, so I placed my hands on top of his. "We're not at your castle right now, and I can't…I can't watch you…I won't let you lose your life because of me."

A tear slipped from my eye, and I blinked, finally aware of my watery vision. Quickly, yet gently, Bowser brushed it away, and caressed my face with his hands. Squeezing my eyes shut, his scaly knuckles lightly glided over my eyelids, wiping away what he could. Opening my eyes again, I saw his smile, his face leveled with mine. Kneeling. His hands still cupped my face as I reached for his.

"You won't."

Simple, a tiny and fragile vow, yet he knew that I wanted to hear it. Wanted, needed. Either way, he kissed the top of my head and guided me forward.

Stepping inside of the cavern, I glanced around at the stalagmites, and then up to the stalactites. Everyone's footsteps seemed to echo around the place, as did the dripping that Merlon loathed, but nothing appeared to be too dangerous.

Gripping his hand tightly, Bowser and I walked along the cave, behind Kamek, Koopella, and Goomphen. Nix, Glaucus, and Tech Guy were behind us still, and my cheeks burned up at the realization of how public my breakdown was.

"Why?" I hissed it quietly to myself, and quickly clamped my free hand over my mouth.

"Something wrong?"

Bowser's question rang around the cave as my heart very well could have stopped. He observed the panic grow in my eyes, and gazed upward at the stalactites. Nothing moved.

"See? All good."

Again, the words vibrated around the cave's walls, yet still, nothing else rumbled, no rocks came collapsing over us. Exhaling and letting my shoulders drop, I nodded and proceeded to the end with Bowser.

Outside, Merlon threw a punch at the air with his fist, launching a stone into…what must have been another savage, but I wouldn't know for certain, as the body flew out of sight. He whirled back to us as his hand faded into his cloak.

"Everything all right?"

"Fine, I'm just…panicked."

"Precautious," corrected Tech Guy. A lie, most definitely from the intellectual Fly Guy, and yet he floated ahead, as if he stated facts as always.

"He beat me by a second," grumbled Bowser.

Smiling, we walked forward and continued after Merlon. Around another bend, some scattered pink and blue flowers came into view as the path ascended. The further up we hiked, the more indigo trees and violet grass appeared. Though the air grew colder, and the ground harder, no snow or ice was in sight.

"Are we…getting closer?"

"Oh, yes, it shouldn't be much longer," confirmed Merlon.

We ventured past more plants, as they appeared to gather in abundance further along the way. Bowser's troops straightened up, more alert to their surroundings, but no one rushed out at us.

"There must be a savage lurking behind one of these trees, no?" Glaucus walked behind the rest of us, waiting for something to jump out. "This would be an ideal location for an attack, comparatively, wouldn't it?"

"Perhaps," agreed Merlon, "but after one too many incidents with my granddaughters, who adore plant life, well…perhaps they finally learned to stop using these locations as hideouts."

"Incidents?"

"Well…let's just say the girls have a way with…the language of flowers. And trees. Vines. Roots. Branches, bushes…you get the idea."

This only made Bowser's forces more wary of the location as we continued. Bending down, Bowser scooped up a violet that had been uprooted and held it out to me.

"Here, it still seems pretty nice," he observed. "And you can take it as a promise that I'll be by your side, too."

Taking it by the stem, I rolled it around in my hand. Small, feeble, yet he was right: it was still beautiful.

"If that's so," I murmured and studied the ground, "I should find one to give to you."

"One we can share is plenty."

"It's more for the meaning behind it."

Striding ahead, I bend over and picked up a few uprooted violets tangled together, some blue mixed with the usual ones. Glancing over my shoulder, I held them up for Bowser and watched as he turned his head, grinning toothily.

"Lovely," he purred, "but…I think you should keep searching."

Processing what he was gazing at, I turned around and stood up. He deflated as I shoved the violets into his chest, and grabbed them as spun away to keep walking.

"Aw, come on!"

"We were having a moment," I mocked, hiding my red cheeks as he stomped over to my side.

"Yes, quite the show," teased Glaucus.

"One that I was enjoying," added Nix, with…I think he licked his lips louder than he meant to.

"And now you made me sound as much of a deviant as yourself," complained Glaucus.

"Don't feel ashamed," countered Nix. "Deep down, nearly everyone is."

"That's really unlikely," contended Tech Guy.

"You sure about that?"

"In regards to being as perverted as you, I can't fathom it."

"So, if I go get Jasmine—"

"Don't."

"Only proving my point," taunted Nix.

"Should we get Koopella's opinion?"

"…Please don't."

"Oh, but I thought—"

"Ok, you win," relented the Rex. "I'm just trying to maintain my good mood now."

"…Over the hand?" Tech Guy sighed. "Seriously?"

"Hush! He's right there!"

Bowser and I exchanged puzzled expressions and then glanced back at the three. Nix raised his shoulders and awkwardly waved to us…though, he seemed more concentrated on Bowser. We waved back before chasing after the rest of the group ahead of us.

"Ah, it's up ahead now," called Merlon as we caught up. "This way."

Trekking past the trees and into a clearing, we came upon a large and round white stony house, with a purple roof and some wide windows. Wooden beams supported an overhang above the blue door, with a purple roof of its own. Further beyond the house, the hill seemed to continue, leading up to the summit itself.

As we neared it, faint cream stars seemed to be painted on the building, which actually had a lavender hint in its coat as well. A bit of chipped paint on the roof indicated a teal paint job before the purple.

There was also a picnic table past a small garden assortment of plants. A glowing lantern was hung along the side of the door, illuminating the stone steps that led up to it.

"Welcome to this humble abode of mine," addressed Merlon, a little cheerier than before. "It's no castle, but it's a wonderful little place in its own right. Come, come, we'll see if we can stuff this lot inside."

He guided us over to it, and knocked on the door. Another Shaman opened the door, this one with a large blonde mustache sticking out from his hood, along with bright yellow eyes, similar to Merlon's. His cloak was indigo, which blended in well with the environment, and white robes beneath them. His shoes were orange, and his orb on his cloak was a red instead of green.

"Meet my son, Merle," introduced Merlon.

"Hello there," cordially greeted Merle. His voice, though as ethereal as the other Shamans, had warmth to it, though it matched Merlon's firmness as well. "My father did keep mentioning that we would be having guests soon, but he didn't quite specify just how many."

"Details," muttered the elderly Shaman.

"Do come in," invited Merle, as he opened the door a little wider.

I followed Olive, Ruby, Bombkin, and Jasmine inside before turning back to Bowser. He blinked at the doorway before him, quite smaller in size.

"Gracious, that simply won't do. Hold a moment!"

Merle lifted his soot brown-gloved hands together, with his fingers outstretched, but specifically making an "L" shape with the inner ends of each hand. His eyes glowed as he concentrated, slowly pulling his hands apart. With that motion, the doorway widened as the front of the house seemed to peel open. Merlon ushered Bowser in, as he and Kamek entered, followed by the remaining troops. Bringing his hands back together, Merle eased the doorway back to its original state.

"There we are, nice and easy!" Merle let his hands fade back into his robes and nodded to our group. "Hmm. Quite a good number of you, indeed! I suppose we'll need to make more cups of tea."

"Hmm? 'We?' Dear boy, I have many important matters to help them with." Merlon shook his head. "I'm afraid you'll need to ask the girls to help."

"Oh, no, they don't need to do that!" Merle scanned our group again, counting out the thirteen of us. "…Then again…perhaps so." He walked over to another doorway and glanced up. "Merlee! Merluvlee! Girls, could you come down and help your father? With…your grandfather's prophesized guests?"

Thundering down the steps, two more Shamans appeared. One wore an iris cloak with lilac robes beneath it, while the other wore an orchid cloak and periwinkle robes under hers. Both girls had long strands of blonde hair sticking out of their hoods, though the former had curly hair that swirled out and a swirled tuft on top, while the latter had hers straightened and a flipped tuft sticking out from the top. Both wore brown shoes and shared their father and grandfather's yellow eyes.

"Hi there, nice to meet you," the iris cloaked Shaman greeted, with a gracefulness to her tone. "I'm Murluvlee." The orb pinned on her cloak was fuchsia, along with a blue star not only on it, but also on a veil across her face as well.

"And I'm Merlee," the orchid cloaked Shaman chimed in, more cheery than the others had been. She too had an orb pinned on, mauve instead, with a blue star on it as well. Her veil, however, had a crescent moon shape embroidered on it instead. "We're twin sisters, if you couldn't guess!"

"What do you need help with, father?"

"Making tea!"

The sisters narrowed their eyes and exchanged annoyed expressions with one another. Merle sighed and shook his head.

"Three…two…one—"

"Father, couldn't you use magic?"

"Yes, wouldn't that be much faster?"

"Can't we help grandfather bring them around?"

"Oh, grandfather, could we?"

"Girls, please," groaned Merle. "If you don't want to make tea, at least get the table ready. And the food platters."

"…Merlee, don't we have fortunes to read?"

"Oh, oh yes! And, ah, spells and scrolls to study!"

"Now girls, just help your father out for a little while," urged Merlon. "Do that, and I might let you two help with training later."

"Ooh, really grandfather?!"

"That would be fantastic!"

Quickly, the sisters darted into, what I presumed, was the kitchen, squeezing past one another and tumbling in. A clatter and several crashes were heard, as Merle tugged on his hood and mustache.

"Do you girls know what the opposite of helping is?"

"Um…this?"

"Probably this."

"Most certainly that," called Merle as he approached the kitchen. He groaned at the sight and smacked a palm against the side of his head before trudging in after them.

"Well, it's a bit crammed, but there's not too much more to the house that can fit everyone here," admitted Merlon. "If the rest of you could wait here while I take Mario—" Bowser cleared his throat. "…Mario and Bowser, that is, downstairs."

"There should be room for one more," piped up Kamek. "I'm curious to learn more myself." He turned and gazed at the crowded room, with the remaining ten troops staring at us. "Uh…Bombkin, you're orderly. You watch over the group until we come back up."

"Yes sir, Kamek sir!"

"Olive?" Bowser turned to the Blooper, who floated up.

"Yes, Great King Bowser?"

"Catch up on some reading."

"Absolutely, sire."

Merlon nodded and led us to the stairs. I lowered my eyes and raised a brow at Bowser. "Really?"

"Subtle, boy," mocked Kamek. "Subtle."

"Oh, both of you can shut it."

We walked into the next room, and looked around to find Merlon walking upstairs instead. Shrugging to one another, I started after him as he opened the door at the top.

"Merlow? We have guests, child." The elder Shaman chuckled. "Did you not hear the racket your sisters caused?"

"Am I fated to encounter them, grandfather?" The other voice I could barely make out, quieter than the others.

"Hmm. I would imagine so, but it's still polite to come greet them."

"As you wish."

Coming down the steps, a shorter Shaman, dressed in a midnight blue cloak and black robes, emerged. His cloak, unlike the others, dangled a bit too low, covering him down to the floor. A blonde tuft of hair was visible from the hood, along with the yellow eyes the rest of his family had, though his seemed…a bit dimmer. The orb pinned on his cloak was a pale blue, with a white star on it. He gazed quietly at us, and seemed to pull his cloak in closer to himself.

"Hello. I'm Merlow," he softly introduced, not quite as pleasant as the rest of his family. "As…you heard from my grandfather. He knows everything."

"Not everything, boy," corrected Merlon. "You know this."

"This is the exact day you predicted they would come."

"True."

"And my sisters just caused the great racket that distracted father."

"Also true."

"And I'm still upstairs, studying at the scrolls you've had me on."

"Very good." Merlon patted his grandson's shoulder, as the young Shaman flinched at the touch. "But, please, do help your siblings. And be cordial to our guests. There are several of them."

"More?"

"Yes."

Inhaling deeply, Merlow nodded and exhaled. He gazed at us once more before shaking his head and squirming past us, tripping slightly over his cloak.

"You'll have to excuse him," apologized Merlon. "I've given him more…advanced level work, recently. He's meant to have great potential…some day."

He walked down a few steps, tapped a few different stones on the wall, and the stairwell rumbled as it shifted, with the staircase now leading us down in another direction.

"Come along."

Merlon guided us down, and Kamek followed close behind him. Bowser and I watched the doorway that we past, watching Merlow peeking in before quickly shutting the door.

"Shy Guy level shyness," quietly joked Bowser. I nudged him as he chuckled.

"Very different compared to the others," I couldn't help but add, just as quietly.

Opening another door, Merlon stepped inside and waved his hands around. Lights appeared and we stared as the room brightened. Perhaps the widest room, bookshelves lined the walls of the basement, with books, vials, and scrolls decorating the shelves. A desk was around the opposite end from the stairs, covered with a large purple tablecloth, as well as numerous papers, scrolls, and books. It mirrored Kamek's Study at Bowser's Castle quite well.

Merlon walked over to the desk and gazed at the crystal ball on it. He nodded before turning to a bookshelf a few feet away, taking a round and empty glass orb from it and placing it on the desk as well.

"Same as before, Mario," he called out to me. "Just relax."

Nodding, I pushed my cap up a bit as Kamek backed away. Looking up at Bowser, the Koopa King frowned and waited a bit, but reluctantly stepped back as Merlon approached.

"Ready?"

"Uh…yes."

Lifting his hands, Merlon coated my body in the aura again, and then waved his hands around as it turned from aqua to red. He placed one against my chest and the other against my forehead. Pulling, he extracted the curse again, rolling it up into a ball shape. Carefully, he brought it to the empty container and sealed it inside. Woozy again, I staggered back, clutching my head and chest. Bowser moved to grab me, but Kamek was closer and helped steady me instead.

"So, that's it now?" Bowser folded his arms. "He's taken care of?"

"Not entirely," elucidated Merlon. "As I explained before, this does not eliminate the curse. I'll need to research it further and perform additional tests to determine where it came from and how to eradicate it from Mario's system entirely."

"Then what's the point of all this?!" Bowser growled and slammed his fist into his open palm.

"Well, for starters, Mario will no longer be experiencing dreadful nightmares," disclosed Merlon. "Or…no more lethal nightmares that happen when he suddenly passes out."

"How did—?"

"These symptoms are familiar to me," divulged Merlon. "It is from a powerful and ancient curse. Naturally, of course, as those spells are the more difficult ones to deal with when it gets down to it."

"And more a Shaman's specialty in handling than a Magikoopa's," muttered Kamek.

"Explain then," snapped Bowser.

"Of course." Merlon tugged on his mustache and nodded. "The name translates to 'Mare's Grip,' and it's an old curse, hailing from the king of the land of nightmares."

"That title sounds oddly familiar," I groaned. A sore pressure consumed me, weakened me, but there was a weightlessness to it.

"Perhaps you've encountered him before," noted Merlon. "Perhaps long ago, or once upon a dream. Either way, no one has heard of such a beast in years, so I would imagine that he's long gone now. The troublesome part is that his magic, hexes, and curses, still persist and last. Unfortunately, this has been passed on to other magic users that can use it today."

"So…this one was—?"

"One of a vicious variety," enlightened Merlon. "And a dreadful one, at that. You would be given nightmares of potential futures, each with violent encounters and bleak results."

"Are they accurate?" Kamek patted his wand and rested his free hand on my shoulder. "Earlier, I had assumed so, but Mario encountered a familiar obstacle today from his nightmares."

"What occurred in the nightmare is not exact," explained Merlon, "but fully possible of happening through altered events. For example, the people might be different that you traveled with in the dream, versus who you actually are with in real life. In the nightmare, everyone might have died, whereas during the real world scenario, anyone could die, but it's not guaranteed."

"So…what happened in my dreams," I managed. "That…will definitely happen?"

"Again, it's not guaranteed, so no." Merlon pulled on his mustache. "However, it could be, should the one who cursed you be the same person, or Shaman, I suppose, that manipulates events that you get involved with in the real world. It's a psychic link, almost, in which the culprit can essentially influence the victim into situations and acting under or out the curse's plots."

"Then how do we stop it?" Bowser glared at the curse in its container on the desk.

"It takes time," reiterated Merlon. "I will need to follow locator spells and strip this curse apart in order to deduce its exact origin on Star Hill and the one responsible for it. Treating it as is would simply lead back to the original origin point of the deceased king." Merlon sighed. "I promise, I will do all that I can to figure this out as quickly as possible, but no matter how skilled I am, no matter the urgency of the situation, the spells take time to craft and use. Even this curse needs at least a day to become calm, tame enough to bend to my will."

"Fine," grumbled Bowser. "But what about Mario's symptoms? The nightmares stop, but what about everything else?"

"No nightmares means that Mario is safe from being physically harmed by them," enlightened Merlon. "If he had any hallucinations before, those should come to an end as well. Latent magic might have been possible, though that should be gone now. There shouldn't be any moments where he'll feel dizzy or suddenly pass out, either, but again, spells are not the only things that cause those issues."

"So…what stays?" I shook my head, but doing so only amplified the pain.

"Your emotional state might be different from usual," noted Merlon. "Perhaps an increased irritability."

"And…what about the symbols?"

"…Symbols?"

"Recurring elements…in dreams or hallucinations that I might have seen," I clarified. "There was…a lot of moments on Star Hill—"

"Naturally, as it originated from here."

"But…that's not all." I exhaled heavily, feeling lighter again. "There was a shrine in a few of my dreams. And…a bird as well."

"Shrine? That could be the Star Shrine," murmured Merlon. "A bird? What kind?"

"Well…maybe not exactly a bird," I amended. "It was fire that was in the shape of a bird."

"A bird of fire?" Merlon jolted up and gazed at me, studied me intently. "Where?"

"Here, on Star Hill. Well, in my dreams, anyway."

"And what type of interaction did you have with it?"

"Um…it…the first time, I chased it, but, the other times, it seemed to fly around with me," I recalled. "Does that go away?"

Faintly, he uttered, "Phoenix."

"I'm sorry?"

"Perhaps that latent magic isn't quite out of your system," theorized Merlon as he hurried across the room, scanning the bookshelves. He pulled out a book and quickly flipped through the pages. "Perhaps…you have an underlying magic within you."

"Me?" I jerked my head back a bit. "Magic?"

"Capable of magic," illuminated Merlon. "Just as Bowser and Peach are, as many members of royalty are by wielding a magical scepter. You, on the other hand, have encountered transformative abilities based upon the powers of this land?"

"Ah…I guess?" Not certain of what he was getting at, I shrugged and thought for a moment. "If that's about using Fire Flowers and the other power-ups, then yeah, I've done that."

"Similar, yes," murmured Merlon. "You're Kingdom-born, then."

"We think? My brother and I might be, but we're not completely sure about—"

"That wasn't a question; it's a fact." Merlon nodded. "Regardless of your history, you carry Mushroom Kingdom blood within you. Those born within the kingdom have a potential to discover magical capabilities within themselves." He twirled his mustache around, flipping through the book, and then going over to the papers on his desk. "Your exact abilities are unknown, and could remain latent for life, but with the right methods, we can potentially unlock them."

"Wait, we…can?"

"Indeed." Merlon whirled back around to me. "With that, we can help you build a magical resistance to your body, enabling you to better counter this curse. Along with that, we can work at discovering just what type of magical prowess awaits to be unchained within you."

"Maybe we shouldn't," I countered.

"What?!" Turning, I was surprised at Kamek's sudden interruption. "Why would you not want to learn magic?"

"It corrupts," came my first response. "Look, you guys all have a deep history studying and growing with magic, so you know how to keep it contained. But I've seen it eat away at Peach, who doesn't use it all that often. Bowser, you typically don't either." I shook my head. "It's probably not the best idea for me to try it."

"Actually," challenged Bowser, "that's probably all the more reason you should."

"…Come again?"

"Mario, think about it. Peach and I are less disciplined in magic because while it runs within our families' blood, we can't channel it without an aid. From the way Merlon is putting it, it seems like…" Bowser turned to Merlon. "He can use it without a magic item, right?"

"He can be trained to, yes." Merlon nodded. "In fact, it may even be possible for you too, as well, but I'm not as certain of this."

"Doesn't matter for me, I can use my rod." Bowser turned back to me. "If you can learn what magic abilities you have, Mario, you can power yourself up more, as well as be able to guard yourself from this curse. Who knows what you could unlock? In fact, you learning magic could help us with resolving the current war going on."

"How?"

"No idea, but we don't even know what you might learn."

"True. But still…I don't know." I tugged on my cap. "I don't want to lose it like Peach can, or you, from over-stimulation of the spells."

"Self-control is all it takes to gauge what you can and can't do," persisted Bowser. "Trust me, I know we can make this work for you."

"In all honesty," interrupted Merlon, "it might not even be a major magical ability. It could be something simple, like minor healing spells or element generation. Nothing outstanding, but perhaps worthwhile to know."

"Ok, I guess that might be fine, then," I murmured. "But—"

"The benefits outweigh the hindrances, Mario." Bowser turned to Merlon and nodded. "How fast can you tutor him?"

"This too takes time," repeated Merlon. "However, I can teach him a few things if you choose to prolong your stay here."

"We need to wait on the curse anyway, so we might as well," agreed Bowser. "Mario, just think of how incredible this could be!"

Silently, I nodded, wrinkling my face at my decision being made for me. Still, I did want a stronger protection from the curse, should it be able to return. And honestly, I did want to understand just what significance that firebird had. Though I'm not sure it's the best idea, we do need something to pass the time.

Why not learn something new?

...

Famous last words? Definitely famous last words. …Not in my sense, in Mario's sense. I still have chapters to update!

But yes, Mario is partially free from the curse and will be learning a new magic skill, or maybe more. Or…maybe something completely mundane and not worthy of his time. How will that play out? It will be determined…later!

Anyway, if you would like to nominate Merlon as the most overpowered character thus far, good on you, and I'm right there with you. Dude just waves his hands and savages go flying. Like, what?! And just what exactly is going on with that cryptic "fortune telling, I know everything before you even arrived" vibe and act going on? Madness! But yeah, it was fun writing the "sagely mentor" type of character, since I don't get to use those often. Usually, I just have a big cast of characters running around and screaming about all of their problems! …Wait, that came out wrong. They have depth. WAIT.

Also, meet Merlon's family! If the names sound familiar, then good on you again! Merlee and Merluvlee are the other recurring Shamans within the Paper Mario games, though they're not always Merlon's relations. Merle and Merlow appeared only in the first Paper Mario game, when all the Shamans were still related. Here, I took that idea again, except that the girls are twins and probably a bit younger than most instances. It seemed like a fun idea to include Merlon's crew, and making them related was more fun than just a bunch of spell casters hanging out together, so this happened. Yay for Shaman families!

What's that? What happened with Junior at the beginning? Well, he's still concerned about the Koopalings, so he's sending a messenger to go fetch Bowser! For those that don't know, a Toady (Mini-Kamek) is a little henchman used in both the Yoshi series and the Mario series. They're basically mini Magikoopas with propellers on their heads and carry characters in groups of four or more…to their DOOM. (Behind those big "Game Over" signs, or something.) I realized that was one of the grunts that I hadn't included, so I added one in! But because I've got at least seven Toads running around, I will make the effort to refer to the Toady as "Mini-Kamek" throughout. And yes, this will probably be the only one used.

Gosh, it seems like I'm forgetting something. Those fan character dorks I keep including? Are they leaving any kind of lasting…no, huh? Ok. Admittedly, they had a role decrease here, since…well, Shamans. XD

Ok, ok, let's talk Bowsario. Want to know how to make Bowser an absolute raging mess? Gamble with Mario's life. Want to know how to make Mario breakdown into a crying mess? Threaten Bowser's life and leave the hero powerless. This is how we break a couple that's struggling to not only get together, but stay together in a world that likes forcing them apart. All the feels. Yaaay! …Oh, not yay? Not yay. Ok then.

But yes, I really enjoyed the comforting moments, like where Mario puts Bowser's worries at easy, or when Bowser calms Mario after his terrible déjà vu situations. And yet, Bowser insisting on Mario learning magic…getting a little too overprotective, perhaps? Or is he get a genius tactical set-up in the works? …Or maybe they're just really bored and will do anything to pass time. Who knows?! …It's me again, isn't it? Damn.

What will come of this new route explored on Star Hill? Who knows, but we won't be finding out much from the next chapter. Instead, we'll be going back to the Mushroom Kingdom! Remember all that nonsense that happened with Peach and Luigi, where they…oh, Luigi spilled the beans, right? Oh. OH. Oh geez. Wonder how that's going to work out. And the new couple might just have their first actual moment, instead of me teasing ships! Hooray! …Wait, I don't do that, honest. This is all just a big misunderstanding, I can explain, WAIT A SECOND!

P.S.: Did anyone see Merlon flirting with Mario? Omg, new OTP, right there. Totally. …Ok, I'm just kidding, that was me being silly. And to have a moment for Bowser to completely overreact while Merlon plays mind games. Because the old guy's still got tricks.

Well, usual stuff goes here: feedback is excellent and always appreciated, so please leave a message or review for me! I do answer those when possible, unless you're a guest in which I can't, or because the website crashes on me and I just cry in front of my computer. WOW, I'm getting personal today, huh? Let's not. Anyway, comments, criticisms, and questions welcome!

Oh, and I would like to take a moment to mention that, hello yes, this is now the 15th Most Followed fanfic on the Mario archive! Super awesome, thank you very much, Followers! And it's actually in the Top 50 Most Reviewed, so thank you, reviewers! And I believe this is just outside Top 50 Most Favorited, literally by one at the moment, so thank you Favorite Folks for getting this fanfic even that far! I'm not sure these stats are really all that important, but they make me feel important, and it helps the fanfic show up sooner on results pages instead of being buried forever, so that's always good news.

And that's it, I've blabbered on forever, and it only gets worse next chapter! And I shouldn't make false promises when I don't even have the word count ready for that one. At any rate, thank you readers, for once again reading this fanfic! Hopefully, you're all still enjoying it so far.