breath20k

Maybe.

LiamTheYoshi

And it's all thanks to the unnamed Duplighost. Not cool at all.

mariobroultimate

Thank you. If I remember correctly, you gave me the idea of having Mario not being able to pronounce the letter "P" correctly. But I also decided to up the ante since Mario's name was stolen too.

Nataly Guardado

You have the right to be scared. Trust me, I'd be just as frightened as Mario if I was him.

Vortex Lord

Luckily, the Duplighost decided to leave Luigi alone. He was solely focused on Mario.

...

Chapter 31: Redemption

Meanwhile, the three Shadow Sirens, Beldam, Marilyn, and Vivian, stood at the outskirts of Twilight Town, plotting their next plan.

"Mweeheeheeheehee!" Beldam cackled. "Yes... This time we'll take that Mario and get his map! With this Superbombomb here, there's no way we can fail. No, not likely... "

"Guhhhhhhh..." Marilyn agreed.

"Now, Vivian! Hand me that glorious Superbombomb!" Beldam held her hand out, expecting Vivian to give her what she wanted.

Vivian took off both gloves, hoping the Superbombomb was in her possession. But both were empty. "Well... Uh..." she hesitated.

"Vivian... Don't you dare..." Beldam glared at Vivian. "Does that 'Well, uh...' mean what I think it does?"

Vivian started to tear up, anticipating the worst. "I... I never had it! You were holding it just two seconds ago! You said it was too important to trust me with!"

"Oh, you horrible lying crybaby! Stop making up fabricated excuses to cover herself!" Beldam scolded Vivian. "If I don't have it, then you obviously must have it! And obviously, you lost it! Or..." Beldam stopped to think. "Are you trying to imply that I lost it, bitch?"

Vivian knew the truth, but ultimately decided to play along; she was scared to stand up to Beldam. "N-no... Of course...n-not...Beldam..."

"Well, we can't do much without it, now can we?! Oh, aren't you such an uneducated dummy!"

Vivian started to cry and lowered her head.

"Hey! Look at me when I'm talking to you!" Beldam forcefully lifted Vivian's head up. "I'm sure you must have dropped it here somewhere!"

Again, Vivian tried to speak up, but only let out minor blubbers.

"Stop that crying right now!" Beldam grabbed Vivian's cheeks. "You're going to look for the Superbombomb by yourself while Marilyn and I take a well-earned siesta! And you know what happens if you don't find it, right?"

"I...get...p-punished..." Vivian whispered.

"You what?!" Beldam demanded.

"I g-get punished...!" Vivian cried in a normal tone of voice.

"There we go! Now that's what I want to hear, jackass! So get cracking!" Beldam turned to Marilyn. "Come, Marilyn. Let's leave this useless little fool to her chore."

"Guh-huh..." Marilyn replied. She and Beldam sank into the ground, leaving Vivian by herself.

Vivian finally broke, crying harder than when Beldam scolded her. "S-someone...help m-me...! Please...!"

...

"I swear I'm gonna kill that scumbag next time I see him!" Mario ranted. He stormed out of Creepy Steeple and back toward Twilight Town.

By the time he passed by the wood shack, it was 8:25 PM.

"Hey, Slick!"

Mario stopped in his tracks, having heard his regular voice from out of nowhere. Next, the Mario impostor hopped in front.

"What's up? Been waiting for you!" the impostor said with glee. Mario frowned at the impostor. "So, you're Mario, right? What a great name! And I really dig this body too! In fact, you're so popular 'round here, I just love being you! Yeah, it's so cool, I don't think I wanna ever stop!"

"You will soon!" Mario retorted. "Look what you did to me!"

"I see! Your body and name belong to me now! See, I've got the power to change my shape into anyone I want... It comes in handy. But to really be someone, I need to take their name and body too! Not to mention you being a completely different person so no one can know who you are!"

During the impostor's monologue, Mario teared up and frowned even more.

"Oh, what's the matter? Do you not like my new self? Why-"

"Shut uph!" Mario yelled. "I want my body and name back now! You're making my life more miserable than the villagers'! And you took my friends away from me!"

"So, you're saying I ruined you, right?" the impostor asked. "Well...I guess I can do more, such as issuing a challenge... I'll give you one shot."

"I don't wanna challenge you...! Leave me alone...!"

"Come on, Slick! At least have a little fun. If you guess my real name, then I'll give you back your name and body! What do you say?"

Mario shook his head no. "I...don't trust you...! You're gonna...keeph me the way...I am...!"

"No, I'm not," the impostor lied. "Go ahead. What's my name?"

Mario took a deep breath but thought to himself, This isn't Rumpelstiltskin!

"Fine... Your name is..." Mario paused to come up with the impostor's name. "Uh... 'Clario'?"

"Wrongamundo, little nobody! Who'd name their kid that?" the impostor questioned. "Prepare for doom, Slick! And no running away from me!"

Mario reluctantly took a battle pose before the impostor jumped above him; he tried to Ground Pound Mario, but the move didn't do any damage.

Next, Mario attempted the Earth Tremor spell, but nothing happened when his fists hit the ground. In fact, he hurt his fists so much that he clutched them tight.

"Hey! Why are you hitting the ground and not me?"

What happened to my Star Spells? Mario looked at his right arm; it didn't bear the colored dots representing the Star Spells.

"Well, this is no fun... Let's call it for now," the impostor said. "I will be back, you know."

The impostor walked back into Twilight Town, leaving Mario by himself.

I can't believe he took my powers with him too... I guess I'm nothing but a weakling...

Mario sulked and lowered his head to the ground, but didn't cry. Just then, he eyeballed a greenish-black object barely hidden in a bush to his left.

Is that another powerup?

Mario revealed the object, which looked like a large grenade with a skull symbol on it. He decided to hold onto it, for now, thinking it belonged to someone else.

Upon entering Twilight Town, Mario noticed the shop's clerk kissing a middle-aged Twilighter. He assumed she reunited with her husband, who returned to normal again.

Suddenly, Mario heard someone crying up ahead and immediately rushed toward whoever was upset. As he got closer, he noticed Vivian on her knees with her head in her hands. Tears dripped through her fingers.

"What'll I-I do...?!" Vivian wept. "I don't w-wanna find that s-stupid bomb thing...!"

Mario remembered when Vivian was abused by Beldam in Boggly Woods and was tempted to bring it up if he talked to her. But given he looked and sounded nothing like his real self, he decided to act like he didn't know her.

Mario approached Vivian and kneeled next to her. "Hey. What's wrong, my friend?"

Vivian looked up at Mario, who had a sympathetic look on his face. Her face was covered in tears. "Um... C-can you help m-me...?"

"Sure. What would you like for me to do?"

"I'm..." Vivian took a deep breath and calmed down a bit. "I'm looking for something very important... If I don't...my sister's gonna... She..."

"Don't worry about your sister," Mario coaxed Vivian. "Let's focus on what you're trying to find."

"It's this bomb that my sister demanded from me... But it's not here..."

Mario took the Superbombomb out of his jeans pocket. "You mean this bomb?"

"That's it!" Vivian gasped. "Thank you so much!" She grabbed the Superbombomb but stopped herself instantly.

Vivian wanted to hug Mario so badly, but she didn't know who she was talking to, assuming he was a total stranger. "Wait... Who are you?"

Before Mario could answer, he noticed the Superbombomb's pin was missing and the lever was unhinged. "Oh no..."

"No! Nononono! It's broken! She really did drop it!" Vivian lost it again and dropped the Superbombomb on the ground. "I guess I was just meant to be punished for life!"

"Shh... No, you're not..." Mario laid his hand on Vivian's shoulder. "You're an innocent and beautiful girl... Don't be ashamed of yourself..."

"Thank y-you..." Vivian thanked Mario in a shaky voice. "Y-you're very sweet..."

"You're welcome."

Feeling better again, Vivian asked Mario, "So, what's your name?"

Mario became shocked at Vivian's question. He knew if he said his name, he would be electrocuted. At the same time, he remembered one of his promises not to lie. Therefore, he was faced with a dilemma.

"Are you okay?" Vivian asked. But Mario didn't answer. He laid his left hand on his head.

Eventually, Mario spoke, but it was too soft for Vivian to understand.

"What? What did you say?"

"Fabio..." Mario muttered under his breath.

"I can't hear you."

"FABIO!" Mario screamed, startling Vivian. "JUST CALL ME FABIO, OKAY?!"

"Geez! Calm down," Vivian said as Mario got angry again.

"Look...Fabio's not my real name!" Mario cried. "I'm just using it for now because some son of a bitch stole my body and my voice! Look at me! This is not what I look like! I don't speak with this damn accent! And if I try to say my real name, I'm literally going to kill myself!"

Vivian chose not to intervene as she thought it would make Mario angrier, so she let him take a moment to compose himself.

"I'm so sorry," Mario apologized. "It's just that this horrific curse is making me so stressed out. Not to mention that I have trouble controlling my anger."

"I know, Fabio. People go through times like this, and it's something they'll never forget," Vivian said.

Even though he knew Vivian's name, Mario asked what her name was.

"I'm Vivian. I'm one of the three Shadow Sirens hired by Sir Grodus to find and steal this treasure map from Mario and Luigi. You know, the Super Mario Bros."

"I've heard of them before," Mario said. "Very famous across the world."

"Well, about them..." Vivian thought it over. "They don't look like enemies to me. Me and my sisters tried to fight Mario and Luigi yesterday, but they didn't want to attack me. They felt sorry for how I was treated."

"I can tell," Mario agreed. "This may sound awkward, but...how long have you had to deal with your sisters treating you badly?"

"More than treating me badly. They abuse me constantly! But..." Vivian felt a lump form in her throat. "Beldam said...not to tell anyone about... Uh..."

"About what?" Mario asked.

Vivian took a deep breath. "I... I really don't want to bring this up...but I need to get the truth off my chest."

"Don't be afraid, Vivian. I know the truth hurts, but it's better than telling lies."

"Okay. Here it goes."

*WAY LONG AGO*

First off, I was born in this town called Shadow Village. How far was it from Twilight Town or wherever Mario and Luigi came from? I have no clue. Anyway, the first person I saw was obviously my mom. I expected to see my dad afterward, but I didn't see anybody come into the room.

I kept asking myself, "Where's Dad? Could he have been at work? Is he out of town?" Nonetheless, I knew my mom would take care of me until then.

It was only a week and a half after my birth that I heard my mom scream from outside my crib at night. I cried for her but she never heard me, so I cried myself to sleep and woke up somewhere else that didn't look like my home.

"Aw, look at the cute little girl!" an old lady's voice cooed from above. It was who I later knew as Beldam.

Standing behind Beldam was Marilyn, who didn't say anything but "Guh!"

I couldn't see their eyes because their hats and hair covered them. At times, I tried to reach out to reveal Beldam and Marilyn's eyes only for them to slap my hand away. That scared and confused me. They didn't look like nice people despite their claims to take good care of me. Not to mention them making me wear this red and white hat and pulling my pink hair over my eyes.

"My name's Beldam and with me is my sister Marilyn. You're our little sister," Beldam said one night. I refused to believe it. They didn't treat me like a big sister would really do.

Beldam and Marilyn force-fed me foods I hated like broccoli and green beans. Didn't matter if I threw up. They still stuffed me with it saying that vegetables are good for me. Do they even know that one's body rejects a certain food no matter how hard he/she tries to consume it?

That wasn't all. Beldam made me do all the chores, vacuuming the floors, dusting every corner, doing the dishes, what have you. If I neglected or chose not to, she would spank me until my body was redder than my typical purple color. She even threatened to have Marilyn crush me if I continued this "bad behavior". Luckily, that never happened since I had no choice but to give in.

Because I had a feeling Beldam and Marilyn weren't my sisters, I wanted to find out what was really happening. One night, I quietly got out of bed and found a diary in Beldam's office desk.

I only got to the third page, which read, "Today was exactly what I planned! We found the perfect girl to be our slave! Well, it took a while since all but one of those women gave their lives to save their children. From now on, the Shadow Sirens will rule the world over!"

It was the first time I heard of the name "Shadow Sirens". But what did that name mean? What was their purpose? Why did they choose me to serve under them?

At least I got away with reading Beldam's diary, but it wasn't enough to make me relieved. All the emotional and physical abuse I had to put up with for all this time, it made me feel like the whole world was against me!

*PRESENT DAY*

By now, Vivian was crying, having visualized her troubled past.

"I d-don't know...wh-what to do...a-anymore, Fabio...! I c-can't decide whether t-to keep giving in...or...s-stand up to them...!"

"Vivian, giving in would be the last thing I'd do," Mario said. "If you know for a fact that Beldam and Marilyn are not your family, get away from them. Think of what your gut is telling you."

"But i-if I d-do...I'll get punished...!" Vivian cried.

"That's if you let it get to you. Don't let them phunish you. You're your own girl. Not theirs."

"Y-you mean i-it...?"

"I do," Mario replied as Vivian took a deep breath. "All of us are our own phersons."

"Wait a second," Vivian pointed out, having noticed Mario's inability to say the letter "P". "You said 'persons' wrong."

"I forgot to tell you. I can't say that letter because of the curse I was phut under."

"Gee whiz. That's just as bad as your name, voice, and body being stolen," Vivian said.

"I want all them back now!" Mario declared. "I told you I can't live like this forever!"

"Well, then it's time I did something heroic!" Vivian and Mario stood up. "I'm no longer a Shadow Siren! Whether Beldam and Marilyn like it or not, I'm gonna help turn you back to normal!"

Mario smiled, knowing Vivian is willing to stand up to Beldam and Marilyn.

"Thank you, Viv," Mario said in a fatherly tone of voice.

Vivian blushed at Mario giving her that nickname. "Oh, that was even kinder than before! I'm so touched!"

"Just as much as you're helphing me, I'll helph you no matter what. Beldam and Marilyn will not stand a chance."

Again, Vivian wanted to hug Mario, but she decided not to.

"So, what do we do first?" Vivian asked.

"I want to find out who that guy is called. I can't figure out his name," Mario answered. "But where do we go to find clues?"

Vivian eyeballed Twilight Trail just ahead. "Let's start down the forest trail."

Together, Mario and Vivian exited Twilight Town for the long walk back to Creepy Steeple.