breath20k
That's what Flurrie was made for. You know why? Because she is wind herself.
CVGWJames
Well, the cliffhanger will be resolved now.
LiamTheYoshi
I know. Vivian's sweet and innocent. She doesn't deserve this kind of abuse.
mariobroultimate
I hate Beldam too. If I put myself in Vivian's shoes, it'd be one of the worst nightmares of my life.
Nataly Guardado
Because Beldam wants to show her cruelty and believes Vivian is a good target.
…
Chapter 15: Giving the Necklace Back
"Beldam! I s-swear I toldyou a th-thousand times…!" Vivian cried. "Blaming me f-for losing the s-sketch…and you had it…!"
"SHUT! UP! I'm sick and tired of telling you the same thing overand over!" Beldam retorted. "Now's not the time to get hung up on dumb details! We must study this sketch!"
True to Vivian's word, Beldam pulled out the sketch from under her hat.
"Guh! Guhhhhh?" Marilyn grunted, seeing Beldam hold the sketch. She and Vivian studied the sketch, which had a picture of Mario and Luigi.
"Wow! These Mario and Luigi guys look so manly!" Beldam remarked. "Check out those bushy mustaches… How handsome! You know something, though, my lovelies? I swear I've seen these gentlemen before..."
Beldam stopped to think for a second.
"AAAAAAAAAAAACK! They're Mr. Red Mustache and Mr. Green Mustache!"
"Guh! GUHHH!" Marilyn responded as Beldam put the sketch away.
"Ack! I don't believe this! Vivian! This is, without a doubt, all your fault!" Beldam told Vivian, making her cry more. "Yes! ALL! YOUR! FAULT! I promise you, my dearie, you're going to have to face some strict and painful punishment!"
"What?! Th-that's not fair…!" Vivian sobbed. "Y-you're the one w-who had the-"
Beldam slapped Vivian's cheek. "Can you not say one word for five seconds?! Nobody talks to me with that rude attitude of yours!"
Vivian couldn't say a word because she was scared of being punished.
"And about that necklace… I was thinking about returning this to you…" Beldam held out the necklace. "But no more!"
"Don't… Please…"
Beldam grabbed the necklace with her other hand, intending to snap it in half. "And…since you caused all this nonsense, you have to figure out how to find those Mario and Luigi-"
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" an angry voice screamed out of nowhere.
The Shadow Sirens turned to see Mario, Luigi, and Koops standing in front. Punio hid behind a bush to watch the upcoming battle.
Mario stared at Beldam and Marilyn with an intense glare on his face; Luigi was also angry, but not as much as Mario.
"Well! If it isn't Mario and Luigi!" Beldam said with delight. "Shiny mustaches or no, you can't be too bright if you came here looking for us! Mmmmmweeheeheehee! And you know why? Because we were waiting for you!"
"Yeah! You were waiting for me to kick your ass!" Mario responded. "What else do you expect?!"
"Mmmmmmweeheeheehee! I have no quarrel with you...but I simply can't allow you to hunt for the Crystal Stars." Beldam stowed the necklace away. "And so, I'll be taking that little map of yours just as soon as I deal with you."
"Don't you dare…"
Mario started to walk toward Beldam, only for Luigi to hold his arm out in front of Mario.
"Stop. Don't charge her," Luigi calmly ordered Mario. He looked at Beldam and asked, "How do you know about the Magical Map and the Crystal Stars? Like, did you get Princess Peach to talk?"
"Who are you, anyway?" Koops questioned.
"Mmmmmmweeheeheehee! Those who seek names are often disappointed, but if you insist, we'll tell you," Beldam answered. "We are..."
"The Three…" Marilyn announced.
Vivian hesitated to finish the catchphrase. "Uh… Sh-Shadow…Beauties…?"
"Vivian! You idiotic imbecile! It's Shadow Sirens!" Beldam yelled. "I don't see three beauties! I see two, but then there's you, and you're plug-ugly!"
"ENOUGH!" Mario shouted; he was on the verge of crying. "LOOK WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO HER! VIVIAN'S BROKEN AND MISERABLE BECAUSE OF YOU!"
"I'm sorry, but this doesn't concern you," Beldam said to Mario. She turned back to the upset Vivian. "As for you, I'm a woman of my word! Your punishment will be fierce!"
All Vivian could do was shake her head no.
"That's for later, though… First, we have to deal with this Mario and his friends. Let's do it, my lovelies...or rather, my lovely and ugly! Marilyn! Vivian! The might of The Three Shadow Sirens will be more than enough to win the day!"
"N-no… I don't w-want to fight you…" Mario stammered. He felt so sorry for Vivian that he didn't want to battle her personally.
"Don't worry, Mario. We'll make sure not to hit Vivian," Luigi reassured Mario.
"It's most unlucky that our sights are set on you. Well, unlucky for you, of course," Beldam stated. She flexed her arms, turning them bluish-white. At the same time, thick ice covered her gloves.
Next, Marilyn wasted no time and clenched her fists, making herself glow dark yellow. But Vivian just stood still, not knowing what to do.
"What are you doing, Vivian? I'll never forgive you if you lose!" Beldam yelled.
"S-sorry…sis…" Vivian stuttered. She reluctantly threw her arms outward, setting her hands on fire.
"All right! Let's show them precisely what we can do!" Beldam exclaimed.
To kick off the battle, Beldam threw an air punch with her right arm, releasing her icy glove like a bullet. Luigi punched and shattered the glove while Beldam's icy glove regenerated.
Beldam tried her icy glove move again, but with both hands. At the same time, Marilyn shot two electric bolts at the gloves, creating a barrier around them. Mario used his hammer to destroy the gloves; however, the fast speed of the gloves caused the electric current to pass through the hammer and shock Mario briefly.
Luigi quickly determined that electricity can disable any water-based attacks, so he spread his fingers out to charge up his electric-infused gloves. At the same time, Mario thought about melting Beldam's ice gloves with his fire attack; he didn't need a Fire Flower for this battle.
Again, Beldam shot her icy gloves at Mario, prompting him to throw two fireballs to melt the gloves. The resultant water splashed outward. At the same time, Luigi shot a strong electric bolt at the water, shocking Beldam. She collapsed to the ground, having been defeated.
"Guh! Guh!" Marilyn grunted, having seen Beldam lose the battle. Her next attack involved her lunging forward and attempting to crush her opponents.
Mario threw Koops at Marilyn, causing her to fall on her back. Marilyn quickly got up.
"Move, Vivian!" Mario mouthed to Vivian.
Unfortunately, Vivian was unable to read Mario's lips and threw two small fireballs at him; Mario dodged the fireballs.
"Should we try that spell?" Luigi whispered to Mario, who nodded his head. Both were about to execute the Diamond Star's spell for the first time.
In unison, Mario and Luigi rose their arms up and exclaimed, "Tremorus TERRA!" They immediately slammed the ground with their fists, releasing a giant shockwave that quickly spread outward.
Marilyn suddenly forced Vivian headfirst at the shockwave moments before she got hit by it. Vivian let out an agonizing cry as she got hit too; both were officially defeated.
"NO!" Mario yelled, having seen Vivian get hurt badly. Luigi gasped and covered his mouth with his hands.
Mario's jaw dropped a small bit, and he couldn't close his mouth or say anything.
Seconds later, Marilyn and Beldam got back up, realizing the battle was over. On the other hand, Vivian remained on her stomach, sobbing with intense pain.
"Oooog... Maybe we were just a touch overconfident..." Beldam murmured out loud. She turned to Marilyn and Vivian. "Marilyn! Vivian! We would've won if you two pulled your weight!"
"I'm s-sorry...!" Vivian cried.
"Don't apologize, Vivian! Now get up!"
Vivian slowly got up to see the stunned Mario Bros and Koops; Beldam and Marilyn stared at her.
"We didn't mean to hurt you!" Luigi mouthed to Vivian.
"Marilyn, you will be punished for your actions too, but rest assured it'll be less world-class than Vivian," Beldam said.
"Guh," Marilyn replied.
Hearing Beldam's statement to Marilyn, Vivian felt her heart pounding very fast and her arms and legs weakening.
"Now let's go!" Beldam ordered Vivian and Marilyn.
As Beldam and Marilyn sunk into the ground, Vivian took one last look at Mario and friends.
"Umm…" Vivian started to say before something grabbed her hand.
"I SAID, 'LET'S GO!'" Beldam's voice shouted from below. Her arm pulled Vivian into the ground.
Mario laid his hand on his heart, his mouth still agape. Punio came out of the bush, knowing the battle was over.
"Oh m-my God…!" Mario finally groaned. He hunched over a small bit. "My heart…!"
"I know, Mario," Luigi responded. "I didn't expect that either."
"Are you okay?" Koops asked Mario, who only shook his head no.
Suddenly, Punio saw Flurrie's necklace sitting on the ground in front. "There's the necklace! We can take this to Flurrie!" He grabbed the necklace and decided to give it to Mario.
"You d-don't know…how much it hurts…!" Mario uttered as he took the necklace. "Literally…!"
"Do you want to relax for a while?" Luigi offered.
Mario thought it over for a brief second. "No…"
"Why? You said your chest hurts badly."
"I can pull myself together…" Mario said as he stood up straight. "I'm going to pretend this never happened…"
"But that's gonna hurt yourself more," Luigi told Mario. "You really need to chill."
"Luigi, no. We need to give the necklace back," Mario calmly protested. "Please."
"All right-y. If you say so," Luigi gave in. He led the way back to Flurrie's house with Mario in the very back. Within a minute and a half, the Mario Bros' Star Power was fully restored.
Despite wanting to forget about the battle, Mario's chest continued to hurt and he felt the stress in his brain. He kept pushing himself to stay calm and not complain.
Eventually, the group arrived back at Flurrie's house and went inside. Because he had the necklace, Mario didn't hesitate and approached Flurrie's bedroom door.
"Mario. I can give Flurrie the necklace if you want," Luigi offered.
Mario didn't respond and knocked on the door.
"Yes? Hello?" Flurrie's voice called out.
"We found your necklace," Mario said. He crouched down and slid the necklace under the door into Flurrie's room.
"Oh! You delightful fellow! You've found my necklace! I'm beside myself, truly!" Flurrie exclaimed. A few seconds later, she spoke up again, "Oh, splendid, splendid! My oh-so-ravishing necklace! I'm awash in joy!"
Um… Now what…? Mario asked himself.
Suddenly, the foyer lights dimmed a small bit and a colorful disco lowered from the ceiling. Disco music filled the foyer too.
Then, the bedroom door opened, and Flurrie showed herself. She appeared to be a floating light violet woman with large breasts and fat arms. Her face resembled Wendy O. Koopa with dark red lips and her long purple hair resembled Ludwig von Koopa's hair. She also wore gold arm rings and her necklace around her neck.
The second Mario saw Flurrie for the first time, he backed up a few steps. He had an anxious look on his face, having been creeped out by Flurrie's appearance.
"Um... Hi, Flurrie..." Mario nervously greeted Flurrie.
"Oh...my...word! Mario, isn't it? Are youmy heroic little necklace hunter?" Flurrie asked. Mario nodded his head yes. "Well! My, my, my... Aren't you a fine specimen of a man! Yes, indeed!"
"Okay… Thanks…"
"I simply must thank you for your graciousness! But how to do it? Hmmm..."
"You don't need to thank me…" Mario responded. "I'd rather we-"
"Perhaps if I grabbed you and gave you a little sugar?" Flurrie asked.
Mario flinched and flung his back against the railing. His face started to sweat.
"No! I'm not kissing anyone!"
"Here I come, handsome!" Flurrie announced. "Time to give you a proper thank-you! Pucker up!"
"NO! NO!" Mario leaped over the railing and ran as fast as he could toward the front door. "GET AWAY FROM ME!"
Not taking no for an answer, Flurrie hurried after Mario.
"Oh, Mario! Come here, my squishy hero!" Flurrie said in a singsong voice, her arms held out.
Mario blindly ran through the front door, shattering the glass everywhere. Because he wasn't looking where he was going, he fell forward and hit his head on the stairs before tumbling to the ground.
…
Meanwhile, Luigi and Koops got in Flurrie's way and held her back. The disco rose into the ceiling, the music stopped, and the lights brightened back to normal.
"Flurrie! Stop!" Luigi ordered Flurrie. "Don't go after him!"
"But he brought my necklace back!" Flurrie said happily. "I should return the favor!"
"Madame Flurrie! Leave it!" Punio demanded. "You scared Mario away! Look what he did to your door!"
Flurrie calmed down immediately and saw the broken glass all over the floor and on the front porch.
"Oops. My bad."
"Your bad?" Luigi and Koops looked at Flurrie with angry looks on their faces.
…
Mario laid on his stomach, crying his eyes out; most of his right arm and shoulder were bleeding from the broken glass.
Combining the stress built up from the Shadow Sirens battle and Flurrie trying to kiss him, in addition to hitting his head on the front steps, Mario felt like his body was shutting down. He started to crawl toward a nearby bush in front, letting out anguished moans every few seconds.
Upon hiding behind the bush, Mario tried to push himself off the ground, but his arms were so weak and shaky that they splayed out.
"Fuck…!" Mario sobbed.
…
Luigi walked out of the house only to see more glass shards and small splotches of blood leading to the bush Mario was behind. Thinking Mario might jump him, Luigi tiptoed toward the bush.
"Mario?"
Luigi peered over the bush and saw Mario breaking down on the ground. He went up to Mario's right side and gasped upon seeing his right shirt sleeve ripped up and drenched with blood. Luigi pushed Mario's sleeve up, revealing multiple cuts with a few glass shards stuck in his arm.
"Oh my God…" Luigi murmured while shaking his head. "I'm so sorry, Mario…"
But Mario didn't respond, continuing to process what went on.
What do I do? Luigi asked himself. He didn't know how to help Mario given that the latter didn't take his advice to chill out following the Shadow Sirens battle.
Luigi thought of taking Mario back into Flurrie's house to treat Mario's injury, but worried that Flurrie would try to kiss him again.
Suddenly, Luigi heard Mario quietly mumble to himself.
"What is it?" Luigi asked.
A few seconds passed before Mario barely spoke up, "I c-can't function…"
"I told you earlier, bro," Luigi reminded Mario. "If you took my advice, this never would've happened."
"Please h-help…"
"I don't know what to do," Luigi said. "But we need to clean your arm up."
"Don't…"
Luigi stood back up and tried to pull Mario on his feet, but Mario let himself slump to the ground again.
Luigi let out a sigh and picked Mario up, bridal style. He proceeded to carry Mario back into Flurrie's house.
…
"What is wrong with you, Flurrie? Seriously!" Koops chided. "You didn't have to act that way!"
"I just wanted to return the favor," Flurrie answered.
"That's no excuse! And that is no way to thank someone who doesn't want much! Have you heard of taking no for an answer?"
"I'm sorry. I got too overexcited."
"Don't apologize to me and Punio. When Luigi brings Mario back inside, you owe Mario the apology," Koops said.
"Where's the first aid kit?" Luigi asked from the front of the foyer. "Mario cut himself and hit his head on the stairs."
"I'll get it. It's in her closet," Punio replied. He hurried off to the storage closet at the top right of the foyer and found a medium-sized first aid kit. He set it on a coffee table on the left end. Luigi carried Mario to a pink couch next to the table and sat him down.
By now, Mario's face was red and his arms and legs were shaking. He was breathing faintly too.
Punio examined Mario's arm and shoulder for a brief moment. "It's not too bad. We just need antiseptic after pulling the glass out."
"May I?" Flurrie offered as she approached the group.
"Stop," Punio ordered Flurrie, who stopped in her tracks.
Koops proceeded to open the first aid kit and take out a pair of tweezers and some alcohol wipes.
"Are you sure you know how to do this?" Luigi asked Koops.
Koops nodded his head and started to extract the glass carefully.
Again, Mario mumbled something no one could make out.
"What's wrong, Mario?" Koops asked.
"If that f-floating… If…" Mario trembled. "I swear t-to… I will…"
"Calm down. Flurrie won't go near you again."
It didn't take long for Koops to get all the glass out of Mario's arm and shoulder; he immediately applied the wipes to sop up the blood. Mario didn't react to the stinging caused by the wipes.
After letting Mario's arm dry up, Koops took Mario's cap off; the area above Mario's forehead was bruised badly with a few drops of blood in the middle. He gently pressed his hand against Mario's head to make sure he didn't break his skull. Mario whimpered while Koops felt his head.
"Good news is you didn't break anything," Koops stated. "I'll get you an ice pack."
"No…" Mario mumbled. "It'll h-heal…"
"Not if it's left alone."
"Koops, Mario's right," Luigi said while pushing Mario's sleeve over his arm. "I know it looks bad, but me and Mario are superhumans, so the bruise should go away in a few minutes."
"Hmm. No wonder you're both called the Super Mario Bros. I guess we'll leave Mario's head alone."
Punio beckoned Flurrie and Koops to the kitchen on the right end of the foyer to let Mario calm down; Luigi stayed with Mario and put his cap back on.
After four minutes, Mario appeared to feel better; his face returned to normal and his limbs stopped shaking. The bruise on his head also went away.
"How are you doing?" Luigi asked.
"I'm a bit better…" Mario quietly replied.
"I can tell you're still upset. But everything's okay, all right-y?"
Mario sighed and nodded his head yes.
"Guys! You can come back now," Luigi called out to Punio, Koops, and Flurrie; who rejoined Mario and Luigi.
"Is he good?" Punio asked.
"Kind of," Luigi answered. "But I'm sure he'll go to the Great Tree with us."
"Uh, side note… Are you truly looking for the Crystal Stars? The very same Crystal Stars spoken of by all the lowlifes in Rogueport?" Flurrie questioned.
"Yeah," Luigi replied.
"Mmmm... A danger-filled search for beautiful jewels... How absolutely marvelous! And here I was thinking how frightfully bored I was! It's time for a change!"
"What…?" Mario asked.
"A man as manly as you must attract all sorts of trouble, and I want to keep you safe!" Flurrie told Mario.
"By what…? Kissing me…?"
"Flurrie won't do that anymore," Koops said. "I told her to keep away from you."
"So, I daresay I'll be joining you on this little adventure. I assume that's fine, huh?" Flurrie asked.
"As long as you respect Mario's personal space," Luigi replied.
Mario reluctantly sent Koops into his Partner Collection Band.
"Oh, thank you! This is wonderful!" Flurrie exclaimed. "We shall go to the Great Tree and solve the troubles over there!"
Luigi helped Mario stand up and allowed Punio and Flurrie to lead the way out of Flurrie's house.
What will Mario and friends discover after revealing the secret entrance Punio mentioned? And how will they rescue Punio's friends and his sister?