But the Fates Aren't Done With Me Yet
Chapter 4
Downtown of Crag, 2007
(Uploaded on July 27, 2021)
(Updated on February 9, 2022)
Summary: The fourth of eleven scenes, covering the calm during the apocalyptic storm.
Notes: This chapter is the first of two, encompassing the events of Super Paper Mario. Currently, Mario and co. are in Chapter 5-1 ('Downtown of Crag'), and have turned in for the night.
For reference, the layout of Toad Town (and by proxy, the gardens of Peach's Castle) takes inspiration from their incarnations in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.
This chapter was updated on February 9, 2022 to add a post-chapter bonus scene.
"You're a good listener, Mario. Everyone tells you their problems, but not many people stop to ask: how's Mario doing?"
– Red Rescue Toad #42, Paper Mario: Color Splash
Mario opened his eyes.
A big, black void greeted him.
"Wha…?" he said. "Wh-Where am I…?"
He looked around, heartbeat racing in his chest.
…
…something was wrong.
Something was definitely wrong.
He could feel it, right down to his bones.
The specifics of his misgivings eluded him, but…
Whatever this was, he couldn't let his guard down.
"Hello?" he called out, hands cupped over his mouth. "Is anyone there!?"
…
…no response.
He took a few cautious steps forward.
An eerie emptiness flitted past his ears.
Stay calm, Mario, stay calm… he thought. You can get through this… Just stay calm…
And then, he saw it.
A patch of green, barely visible over the horizon.
His breath hitched.
Could it be…?
"Luigi…?"
…
His walk morphed into a full-on run.
"Luigi!" he yelled.
A glimmer of hope entered his eyes.
"It's you, right!? It has to be you!"
He ended up stopping right beside his brother, bending over and panting heavily.
"I… I'm so glad you're okay…!" he heaved. "For a while, I was worried your game had ended, but—you're here now! You're here! Th-That's…"
…
…hold up.
"…Luigi?"
Mario looked up.
Luigi's back remained to his face.
No.
No.
No, no, no—Stars, no…!
He wasn't moving or reacting; he was just standing there like a statue.
Don't tell me… he's…
The plumber cautiously stretched his arm out.
"Hey, bro… Say something, please! You're—You're scaring me here…!"
PAP!
Mario recoiled with widened eyes.
His hand had just been slapped back.
"Wha…?"
"'Bro'…? Don't-a make me laugh."
Plumes of darkness began to sprout all over Luigi's body, darkening his clothes. His shirt and overalls were replaced with a black jumpsuit, though still adorned with his overalls' large buttons. His gloves and shoes were now differing shades of gray—and he came accessorized with a green bandana and brown belt.
He turned around, flashing Mario a sinister snarl and glowing white irises.
"I'm nobody's bro, least of all yours, Mr. Jumping-All-the-Time!" he spat. "Get it through your thick skull: I'm the Green Thunder, Mr. L!"
"Stop… Stop calling yourself that!" Mario screamed.
Everything was hitting him all at once. That really had been Luigi in the Whoa Zone…
…and he really had forgotten everything about himself, his brother included.
The plumber's hands clenched into fists. "Whatever the hell Count Bleck did to you, it's not true at all! You're my brother, Luigi, not some—minion of a guy trying to spite all of us for no good reason!"
"Bleh! This again!?" Mr. L huffed. "I don't know you! And I certainly don't appreciate you trying to 'appeal to my good side' or whatever!"
He leaned his head back, smirking.
"You'll never make it to Count Bleck if you can't even bear to face me. So just give up already; let the Count win! Things'll be better once he has his way, y'know!"
"In no universe does erasing all of existence count for making life better!" Mario retorted.
He didn't know much about Count Bleck, but… he did know one thing.
("Yep, I've been suckin' power from fighters with this baby! An' you wanna know why? 'Cause it keeps my bod forever young, son!")
("So instead of wallowing in gloom, I figured they might as well wallow in mud! HA! Now they're pigs, get it? Isn't that just soooo perfect?")
("YOUR PLANET HAS IT ALL! EVERYTHING THAT WE NEED! EVERYTHING FOR POWERING OUR MACHINES! IT ALL RESTS IN YOUR HANDS—AND YOU'RE SIMPLY LETTING IT GO TO WASTE!")
He believed he had the right to trample over everyone's lives without consequence.
No different than all the other villains Mario's seen.
"I know you're better than this, Luigi…! Come back to me—to us! We can still stop the end of the world, same as before! We can!"
A sweatdrop went down the plumber's face.
Mr. L noticed it easily.
"…do you really think so?" he smugly asked. "'Cause from what I'm hearing…
"…all you're doing is trying to lie to yourself."
"URAAAAAAAAAAAAGH—!"
A red-hot fireball slammed into the brainwashed Luigi's form.
Mario's eyes widened.
He'd moved without even thinking.
"No no no, no, no—" he stammered.
Dust clouds kicked up, and settled not long after.
But much to Mario's horror… Mr. L was nowhere to be seen.
"L-Luigi…? This—This isn't funny…!"
…no reply came.
The hero raised his shaking hands, looking down on them as if they had been stained red.
"I—I—I-I-I-I-I—!"
He had to run.
He couldn't stay here.
He had to run.
He had to run.
He twirled on his heel and took off at full speed – as far as he could go, for as long as his feet would take him. He took off, and didn't look back.
"This isn't real… This can't be real…!"
As he ran, violet hands started to rise from the floor; all around him, stretching long into the distance. Hands, hands, hands, so many of them, a veritable wave of them. All reaching toward him, all trying to grab him—
His hammer came out, swinging with reckless abandon.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
"No…! Stay away! Stay away!"
He batted back appendage after appendage, but it was no use—their sheer numbers were overwhelming him fast.
And more and more of them were latching onto him every second.
"I won't—I can't—! AAAAAAAAHABYMBMBMYM—!"
There was no way to fight back. It was hopeless to resist.
"BLBLBLBLBLBLBL! BLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBL!"
All he could do was now… was sink.
Sink into the sea.
Sink into the darkness.
Just sink and drown and drown and drown
and drown and drown and drown and drown—
—and then he fell on his back, landing hard enough to leave a bruise behind.
"Yowch!"
A hand swiftly went to caress his skin.
He winced at the pain.
"Ack… That was… unpleasant… What's…?"
He took in his new surroundings, which were far less black than before. He appeared to be in Toad Town, but—
…everything was on fire.
Oh, Stars, everything was on fire.
Five seconds later, he came to his senses and rushed into the besieged capital.
"HEEEEEEEEEY!" he shouted, hands cupped over his mouth. "IS ANYONE THERE!? PLEASE, ANSWER ME!"
KA-BLAM!
Explosions rocked the area, giving him his reply.
The skies above were carrying a horrifying sight. Of course, there was the ever-present Void, taunting Mario from across time and space…
…and more alarmingly, there was a planetary fleet of Shroob UFOs, firing plasma bolts at just about everything and abducting any and all Toads within their line of sight. There were Yoobs stomping over what was left, too—big Yoobs, as large as a Banzai Bill; maybe even larger.
There was no way Mario could take them on.
He really should be hiding, lest he be caught and his game ended—
(…but he already did so once, back in Hollijolli Village.
Could he really do that again?
Hear their screams, watch the devastation—
Condemn everyone to die, just to save himself…?)
…
He grit his teeth, and rushed into a nearby house.
Half the place had collapsed, and was just as 'on fire' as the rest of the town. The ground was rumbling,
Still though, he couldn't give up yet—there had to be somebody here, somebody to save!
"HELP!"
A shrill shriek directed him upstairs and into the bedroom.
The room was in dire shape. Huge holes had been blown in all the walls, exposing the house to the chaotic world outside. What was left wasn't faring much better; much of the plaster had been stripped away, and the floor appeared to be just as damaged and on the verge of collapsing.
Most alarming, however, was the Toad lying beneath under a sizable amount of rubble—right by one of the broken walls, and clearly visible to the Shroobs outside.
"MARIO!" the poor Toad cried.
"I'm-a here, I'm-a here!" Mario declared. "Hold on, I'll get you out!"
The plumber ran up to the trapped Toad. He did his best to pull him out, taking hold of his hands and tugging as hard as he could.
Unfortunately though, he was too wedged in. Simple strength alone wouldn't cut it – so Mario shifted gears, getting out his hammer and moving to whack the wreckage off himself.
This had a much more positive effect.
"Thank the Stars you're here, Mario…!" he said, relieved. "I—I was getting so scared… I don't know what's happening, but—it's definitely bad!"
"I know," Mario replied. His mind was barely registering the "I'll figure it out later! Right now, we have to go!"
He swung as hard as he could, dislodging another piece of rubble from the pile. His mallet (and his arm) were moving like a buzzsaw, so focused was the hero on completing his task.
I refuse to let him be captured…!
Not here, not now!
He was so focused, in fact… that he didn't see the plasma bolts firing straight at his position.
One blast sent him flying away from the Toad's reach.
Another sent him sailing right out of the house entirely.
Mario crashed through the nearby wall, letting out a shrill yell as he inelegantly tumbled onto the ground. Quickly, he got up and tried to get back inside—only to stop at the sight of a Shroob UFO over the house, tractor beam airlifting the Toad into its grasp.
"No…! Don't you dare!"
But it was too late.
He was gone, too.
(Just like Luigi and Peach and everyone else.)
Mario closed his eyes and took in a long, anguished hiss.
Afterward… it was back to work.
He dashed from house to house, searching for survivors and anyone else he could find. Every trip, though, ended in failure. Not because he couldn't find anybody, mind you…
…but because the Shroobs always—always—managed to get to them first.
"No! No! No! A-Anything but this!"
"MARIO! Save me, save me!"
"Leave me alone, you freeeeeeeeaks!"
…
Mario was beginning to run himself ragged.
"Damn it…!" he swore. "Why is this happening…!?"
Stressed beyond belief and desperate for any kind of success, the red-capped champion shot toward Peach's Castle.
Peach always seemed to be at ground zero for these crises. Perhaps, if he wasn't too late…
"Come on, lucky 'stache," he prayed—"please, don't let me down now…!"
Eventually, after a ton of scurrying back-and-forth, the castle was in sight. All he needed to do was cross the bridge leading up to it, and he'd be… well, not home free, but close enough.
He didn't stop to think. He just ran. And ran, and ran, and ran, and ran—
SCHWING!
THUD!
Suddenly, a mighty sword descended from the sky—colossal in size, and bearing a goofy but menacing face. He fell straight through the middle of the castle, breaking apart the central tower—
—while also shattering half the connecting bridge, leaving Mario skidding to a stop right before he hit the water.
Helplessly, he looked up at the long blade.
He knew that face—and his name, even more so.
Exor.
"No…" he breathed. "You, too…!?"
"Eeeyah ha ha ha ha! Surprised, you irresolute fool!?"
Mario's head whirled about, heart caught in his throat.
An imposing figure had dropped in from a Koopa Clown Car, landing in front of the distraught sibling. She bore a vindictive, large-toothed smile, the menace of which being frightfully accentuated by her twisted parody of Bowser's form.
Her bulbous purple horns twitched excitedly.
"Don't think we haven't been busy while you were off playing hero!" Bowletta said, looking just as uncanny as she'd been four years ago. "I've been waiting for this for a long time… and we've got plenty here who feel the same!"
"It's just like I told you," a familiar voice rang out—"just because you're in red doesn't mean you're strong!"
A smaller, but still sizable mech came down beside the brutish witch, shaped a lot like Luigi's head (albeit gray). Two large antennas stuck out of its 'ears', and a single rocket booster at the bottom of its neck kept it afloat.
Inside Brobot's cap-themed cockpit, Mr. L grinned in amusement.
"You've gotten lucky all this time… but no more! No one's left to help you here. We've got all the cards!"
"That—That doesn't matter!"
Mario got out his Ultra Hammer, raising it high in a familiar manner.
"I've taken the both of you on before—I can do it again, if I have to! You're not infallible!"
"But by that same token, neither are you."
The Shadow Queen strode in from the direction of the castle, smiling sadistically with Peach's stolen face.
A red glint seemed to shine in her eyes.
"Tell me, why do you bother to resist the blanket of darkness? The Dark Prognosticus cannot be stopped—it has etched your world's fate in stone. It has been etched, in fact, from the very beginning."
Sweat went down Mario's cheeks. "What are you talking about!?"
"There is a saying about coincidences and patterns," she continued. "I believe it applies here. This is not your first time facing the end… and as such, it will not be your last. We may fall, but others will rise—again and again, the darkness will return.
"Can you not see it? You are merely delaying the inevitable. Stopping it twice made no difference; going for thrice will have even less effect. In the end, all your struggling will have done… is simply make your fall that much greater."
…inevitable…?
"I didn't really understand all of that, but—what she said," Mr. L chimed in. "There's no use in trying, y'know? Just give up already!"
This is all… inevitable…?
Mario took a step back.
Luigi… Peach… Bowser…
Am I… going to see them like this… every time…?
…
"No…" he denied. "You're lying… There's no such thing as fate… there isn't!"
The thousand-year demon brought a hand to her mouth.
"Muh huh huh… how naïve. You come so far, and still you refuse to understand? It appears we must teach you a lesson."
"You talk a big talk, but that's not gonna help you now that you're alone and afraid!" Bowletta cackled, cracking her knuckles. "You owe us one for foiling our schemes, so we'll just take everything you hold dear: starting with you and your friends' lives!"
Another backstep followed suit.
"Oh? Having second thoughts?" she taunted. "Too bad, you fool! It's too late for regrets!"
Mr. L revved up a lever. "Get ready for a real show, Mr. About-to-Be-Red-and-Dead! Have at you!"
A maelstrom of malice exploded all around Mario.
It came hard and fast, too fast for him to properly react to.
Mr. L fired tons of homing missiles and the occasional laser from Brobot.
The Shadow Queen sent out a horde of Dead Hands and rained down lightning.
Bowletta just charged in herself, using Bowser's innate strength to great effect.
And between the three of them, they were very good at pinballing Mario around in an increasingly more painful manner.
He tried to claw his way out, but it was no use—every move he made was countered by somebody else in the group.
Scrapes and scratches started to dot his skin, and his whole body ached beyond imagination. There wasn't any room to heal, so things just kept getting worse, and—
Why won't this end, why won't this end, why won't this end, WHY—!
"AGH!"
…
His body skid to a stop near Toad Town.
He tried to get up, but his limbs physically wouldn't let him.
…this can't be it…
This can't be how my game ends…
His vision was spinning in nausea, and he could barely hear what the three villains were saying. He was on the verge of dropping unconscious—
—and then he was abruptly lifted off the floor, jolting him back to full awareness.
"WAH!? What is—!?"
He gawked.
Below him, carrying him by the strap of his overalls, was him. Yoob. The Yoob; the one from Yoshi's Island, towering over the capital and every other Yoob on the scene. His beady red-and-black eyes stared inquisitively at Mario's panicked ones—unblinking, unfeeling…
…Mario finally cracked.
"No… no! Not you, not now! P-P-Put me down!"
Alas, Yoob had different intentions for his poor victim. He held him high and released his fingers—and now, Mario was falling straight into his open mouth.
He screamed.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—!"
He screamed 'til his throat was hoarse; screamed into the break of day—
He screamed, screamed, screamed, screamed as the v̭̥̼͟o͎͚̭͈ͅi̪͖͠d͈̬̗͡ drew closer, as Yoob's tongue came into view—
And oh, Stars, those teeth looked way too strong and—
I DON'T WANNA DIE!
I DON'T WANNA DIE!
I DON'T WANNA DIE!
I STILL HAVE SO MUCH TO—!
CHOMP!
April 20, 2007 – Late Night
Land of the Cragnons
Downtown of Crag
Mario's eyes shot open, irises dilated in terror.
"Ha… ha… ha… ha…"
He laid frozen in his sleeping bag for several minutes, trying to control his labored breathing.
…he was not very successful at it.
Try as he might, he couldn't get that nightmare out of his head.
His earlier words, coated in the Shadow Queen's voice, echoed back in his brain.
'You're not infallible. You're not infallible.'
…
Mario muttered, "I know. But I wish I was."
He gently pushed away his blanket and sat up.
Looking around, he could still see all the Pixls sleeping soundly—Tippi by his bedside, and the rest from Thoreau to Barry cooped up in the back. But Peach and Bowser's sleeping bags were completely empty, and that worried him.
Where are they…? Are they okay?
…
"Mario?"
Mario turned his head and looked down.
Tippi's wings were fluttering again, and she was no longer perching on the floor.
…
"Oh, Tippi," he whispered. "Did I wake you?"
"…a little," she admitted. "Is something… troubling you? You're not usually up at this hour…"
"…mm. You could say that."
The resident adventurer stood up and put his shoes on.
"I… need to head out for a bit," he said. "To clear my head. You can join me if you want, but I won't force you."
"No, it's fine," she replied. "I don't mind spending time with you. Besides… I think you could use the company tonight."
"…maybe."
All the better for when we find Peach and Bowser, I suppose.
He tried to relax himself.
"Okey-dokey, then. Let's go."
And with that, he pushed open the tent flap… and stepped out into the moonlight.
It didn't take long to find the other two Heroes of Light.
The two of them were laying down on the dull grass, only a dozen yards away from the campsite.
Peach had none of her usual enthusiasm.
Bowser carried none of his usual bravado.
All they were doing was just… staring up at the sky in complete silence.
…
Mario walked over to them.
The princess turned her head.
"Couldn't sleep either?" she asked.
"Nope," he confirmed.
The two shifted around to make room for the plumber. He laid down in the space between them—and together, they did a light bit of stargazing.
…or they would, if it wasn't for the Void swirling in place.
"That thing's getting way too big," Mario murmured.
Peach and Bowser made sounds of agreement.
"Tell me about it," Peach said.
"I don't like it one bit," Bowser said.
"That's the nature of the Void," Tippi said. "To it, all matter is fuel to help it grow. It'll probably be triple this size in just over a week."
The Koopa King's face scrunched up.
"…well, that doesn't terrify me at all," he replied, sarcastically.
Peach frowned. "A week to find and retrieve the last three Pure Hearts… those aren't the greatest of odds. The stakes are already so high…"
"I know," Mario said. "But we're the only ones who can do it."
("'The Void will swallow all… Naught can stop it… unless the one protected by the dark power is destroyed. The hero with the power of the eight Pure Hearts will rise to this task.' …so it is written.")
("You are surely the hero spoken of in the pages of the Light Prognosticus. You are the only one who can defeat Count Bleck and save all worlds!"
"Now, Mario! Take this Pure Heart, and save all worlds from destruction!")
…
That's how it is, huh?
It's always me who's in the thick of things.
It's always me who's outmatched by everything.
It's always me who's facing the end of the world…
…because there's scarcely anyone else who can carry this burden.
…
I think I'm beginning to hate that.
"I just wish…"
("Allow me to tell of something that mystical book has already divulged to me. One person will determine whether the Light or Dark Prognosticus predicts truly… Both books refer to him as the 'man in green', but I know not what this means…")
"I just wish we had Luigi here, too."
A beat passed between the four present figures.
"…do you miss him?" Tippi asked.
Mario hummed.
"Of course I do. He's… my brother."
"He's our friend," Peach added.
"He's kind of my nemesis, sometimes," Bowser said. "Always tagging along with Mario."
"…I see."
And yet she knew, that wasn't the whole story. There was so much more feeling behind their words. So much more that just… couldn't be quantified.
…somehow, that feels familiar.
She blurted out, "You'll save him."
Mario jolted, his gaze moving to hers.
"You can save him. Luigi. I know that. Whatever Count Bleck did, you can reverse it. If you believe in yourself… you can do it."
"We can do it," Peach affirmed. "Rescuing Luigi, stopping Count Bleck, stopping the Void—we can do it all together."
"You've got that right!" Bowser said. "I'm not about to let that pompous, sorcerous prick do what he wants. The universe is mine to have; not his!"
A smile came upon Mario's face.
Peach, Bowser, Tippi…
…if you guys weren't here, I'm not sure what I'd do.
Maybe together, we can do this.
Maybe together, we'll be enough.
…I just gotta hold on a little bit longer.
"…yeah. Thanks, guys."
"…"
Seated alone in an inn in Flipside, Mario took in a breath.
(For once, he was glad he had the foresight to bring a camcorder along on this adventure.)
"…Nastasia brainwashed Luigi into Mr. L. He was made to fight against everything he stood for, and then used as a throwaway tool to finish the job."
"The Shadow Queen took Peach as her vessel. Her light had almost been extinguished—and she would've relished in that for all it was worth."
"The Shroobs tried to harvest all Toads and turn all Yoshis into Yoobs. If I had stopped them even a little bit later… there might've been no going back."
"Cackletta turned Bowser into a gross puppet of herself. It was baffling and grotesque, and… something I'd rather not think about for too long."
He let out a bitter chuckle.
"All of my closest friends have been nearly corrupted like this. It's been happening more and more, these past few years. We've only narrowly escaped certain doom by the skin of our teeth."
…
"It's not fair that we've been targeted so much."
"It's not fair that people keep trying to use me and my friends for their own twisted schemes. But through circumstance or prophecy, it just keeps happening."
"…and it's really making me worried."
"Because at the rate this is going…"
He hung his head low.
"…I'm not sure where I'm gonna be at the end of this."
It's gonna be a long, long year. :3
I didn't want to retread where rarsneezes' two feet apart and miles between went, so for this chapter, I decided to go a different route: emphasize just how much these calamities are creeping up on Mario.
So naturally, a nightmare sequence felt like the best way to go.
Between his friends getting brainwashed and his villains continuously raising the stakes, Mario's starting to fray at the edges. And here, I wanted to show his villains—the ones in his mind, the ones he's faced thus far—taunting him about it: 'you'll always be at risk at losing your friends…
'…and we're never, ever gonna let you rest.'
Fortunately for Mario, he's still got Peach and Bowser to lean on. Unfortunately, that's not gonna last him. Because we all know what's coming next…
…and boy oh boy, is it gonna be a doozy.
(Also, shout-outs to Super Mario RPG and Superstar Saga! Couldn't resist adding a reference to them; they're part of Mario's legacy, too.)
Well, that's all for now! Next time: the second chapter for Super Paper Mario, all the way down in Chapter 8-4. See you then!
Extra Scene
Too Late, So Break
Notes: This scene is set during Chapter 6-2 ('The End of a World').
April 23, 2007 – Morning
Sammer's Kingdom
Duel of 100 Arenas – Gate 27+
The rumbling was getting worse.
"Go, heroes!"
"Fly to King Sammer!"
"Do not let our treasure fall into the darkness!"
With sweat dripping down his head and his ears ringing like they never have before, Mario dashed as fast as he could, running past arena after arena with Sammer Guy on stage.
Their voices were but a flutter in the wind—but to Mario, they only reinforced what he needed to do.
…and just how dire things had become.
"C'mon, c'mon!" he grit his teeth. "Just a little bit more…!"
Behind him, Peach and Bowser followed closely: the former tightly clutching her parasol as she pushed on, the latter sweating as he bounded across with huge strides.
The ground again wobbled beneath them.
"It's getting worse…!" Peach cried, barely able to stay upright. "We're only past the first quarter—we're never gonna make it!"
"RRRRRAGH!" Bowser growled. "Stupid Count Bleck… stupid shapeshifter…! I'm not… gonna let them… have their way…!"
How had they let the situation deteriorate like this?
How had Mario failed so badly?
If I hadn't wasted so much time before, he thought, if I had just been that much more swifter with the other Pure Hearts…
I—I could have prevented this. I really could have.
But now—
—now, I've put us all in danger.
And the Pure Heart here…
If—If we can't get to it before the Void does, it'll—
…
…no.
No, I can't think like that!
It's not over yet! We can still clutch this out!
We haven't failed yet! We can't have!
Adrenaline pumped through his veins.
Summoning his inner Sonic, Mario desperately tried to push himself to go faster and faster, to further close the distance any way he could muster.
He couldn't relent, not for a single second.
"Please… Star Spirits, give me aid!" he pleaded.
The Pixls trailing them were a chorus of chaos, too; he could barely hear Tippi's mutterings as she floated on beside him.
"This is not smashing! Not at all!"
"Oh, spaghetti; ah, spaghetti!"
"Pard, hurry up! These thrills are bad!"
"The warriors, they scream! AAAAAHHH!"
"Count Bleck…" Tippi tried, in the midst of this. "I feel like I know him from somewhere…"
She paused.
"Wait… I do! I do know him! Or at least, I did. But… how? And when…?"
Now's not the time, Tippi! Mario mentally remarked. Focus!
…
The crew kept going.
On and on and on, they went.
Past the twenty-ninth gate, they thought they might have a chance.
And then, the floor gave its most violent lurch yet.
RRRRRRRRRRR—!
Mario, Peach, and Bowser were sent off-balance and slammed onto the stage.
The hero in red looked up.
"No…" he breathed, horror in his voice.
The Void was blanketing out the entire sky now. Not a single inch wasn't covered by violet swirls and black pixels.
White flashes obscured everyone's vision, becoming more constant as the seconds continued on.
"You have got to be kidding me…!" Bowser said.
Peach realized it, the same as Mario. "We're too late…"
"HA HA HA."
One lone Sammer Guy gazed up at the Void with them.
"This is it," he laughed, bleakly and emptily. "We are doomed. It cannot be stopped. HAH HAH."
More tremors went off.
He began to hobble away in complete despair.
"HAH HAH HAH. HAH HAH HAH."
"This… This can't be…" Tippi heaved. "We… failed…?"
Desperately, Mario got back onto his feet.
"No… No, it can't end like this!" he shouted. "I won't let it!"
He ignored his increasingly aching limbs and forced himself onward—as if the Pure Heart was just up ahead; as if he could call upon the pool of Miracle Magic within his starlit soul.
("Mario!" "Mario!?" Peach and Bowser simultaneously exclaimed.)
"I refuse to sit back and let this go! I refuse, I refuse, I refuse!"
He felt himself smash through the next door.
"I can still do this! I can still save this world! Just give me some more time! Just a few more minutes!"
BAM!
"Luigi—!"
BAM!
"Peach—!"
BAM!
"Bowser—!"
BAM!
"Everyone needs me to do this!"
BAM!
"So you can't cut me off now! Not when I'm so close!"
SCHUNG, SCHUNG!
"Please! You can't do this! You can't do this!
WHIRRRRRRRRRRRR—
"YOU CAN'T DO THIIIIIIIII—!"
Cut.
…fade to black.
This was supposed to be the opening scene for Chapter 5, but ultimately, I felt it fit better at the end of Chapter 4 instead.
I elected to expand this scene beyond being a quick flashback because I really, really wanted to give the fall of the Sammer's Kingdom it's proper due. It is the whammiest moment up to that point; the visceral reactions from Mario and co. were too delicious to pass up on or have to shorten.
Don't worry, Chapter 5 will come eventually. Just be patient!