Mario's Theatre (pt. 3): Impending Danger

A kidnapping situation, the loss of one member, and the search for a method of reopening the portal to Smithy's dimension. Can the remaining Smashers in Mario's party handle all three problems before it's too late?

As a little side note, I will use the Paper Mario incarnation of Star Hill, so it will be to the north of Toad Town, compared to being to the southwest like it was in Super Mario RPG. Nimbus Land's location will remain unchanged.

Since the beginning of time, blood has been shed in the name of numerous reasons…

From justice…

To territorial conflict…

To deities…

To simple, unfettered sadistic pleasure…

But when an innocent's life is intentionally taken by an aggressor…

The killing will be ruled as unjustified by many, regardless of the killer's motives or the structure of society…

Over the course of history, many innocent lives have been lost because of heartless crimes…

These killings are the equivalent of tearing roses away from their resting spots and leaving them to wither away…

Such lost souls have never deserved a cruel fate, for they were pure of heart…

Having committed no act that would spark a rational reason to drench the soil with blood…

To this day, it is widely believed that the good-willed souls of those who were victims of homicides and other death-related injustices wander the earth, with no means of sleeping in peace…

"Wait-a," Mario gasped, absorbing the information received via Mallow's comment, "You-a mean to tell me that the Orm's-a Lords kidnapped your parents?"

An affirmative whimper was the only response produced by the young prince. Not too long after, he proceeded to wipe away the tears streaming from his eyes. This action, however, had a negligible effect on controlling his deep sorrow.

"You have got to be freaking kidding me," DK muttered in a tone of frustration. "Another situation on our hands… The Lords are really starting to make this journey more complicated than it has to be." Meanwhile, Luigi was more curious about the kidnapping. To be fair, it was simply going to stall the group's search for the staff piece, as DK was so kind to point out, but it could also reveal an opportunity to prevent further bloodshed and possibly weaken the enemy forces. After witnessing the bloodbath at Toad Town, Luigi had created a new oath for himself; he would attempt to save as many innocent lives as possible, regardless of the risk involved. Now, an important question could allow the vital opportunity to reach full circle…

"Were you-a able to figure out-a where the Lords are-a taking your-a parents?" he slowly muttered.

As Mallow tried to force out an answer from his mouth, he was momentarily halted by a sniffing fit. The sniffs were long and sharp, enough to where the conversation between him and the group was temporarily frozen. It was much like the current winter solidifying a nearby river for the next couple of weeks to come. Wario, being an impatient type of person, was immediately tempted to yell something belittling in front of the heartbroken prince, but a glare of suspicion from his red-clad counterpart dissipated his chances at doing so. The others waited, with a mixed sensation of warm hope and heart-freezing fear spreading throughout their physical forms.

"Well," Mallow finally croaked, "I was able to listen in on a conversation between a few of those… guys. They were talking about dragging my parents to some magical hill."

"A magical hill?" Mario uttered. The latest comment was far too vague for him; if he was to successfully rescue the royal couple of Nimbus Land, then he would have to coax the prince into providing more details before long. In situations like this, mere minutes or even seconds could mean the difference between success and failure. "What-a knowledge do you have on this-a hill?"

"From I heard from those creepy guys, the hill is where wishes are supposedly granted. Speaking of which, I think I've traveled to that place once, but I don't remember much of it now…"

"Wait, you mean Star Hill?" Bowser was suddenly taken aback by that comment. "Is that where those cloaked freaks are going?" Though it had been many years since his last visit to that place, the fearsome Koopa's memories of Star Hill were still firmly latched onto his mind. His initial visit could be best described as one filled with awe and curiosity, being surrounded by the wishes of the Mushroom World's residents in a literal sense. At the time of the Smithy Gang incident, the sacred location was filled with varying mysteries that seemed to quickly overwhelm his mind, though he later discovered, via studies from a trusted Magikoopa named Kammy, that there was a nearby sanctuary called Star Haven. Inside the heavenly area was an artifact known as the Star Rod, which could grant the wishes of its user. Fueled by a desire to defeat Mario and rule the land of the Toads, he and Kammy had stormed the realm one fateful day, snatched the artifact from its resting place, and converted the Star Spirits, who served as overseers of the magical realm, into playing cards to imprison them. It was the perfect structure for a kingdom-conquering plan…

…at least, before Mario ruined everything. Again.

"Yeah, that's where they're going." Mallow slowly wiped the tears off his face while fighting off the gloominess from the echelons of his mind. "Can you guys help me, please?"

Always the person to assist those in need, Mario quickly replied before any of the others could react to Mallow's comment. "Sure, we'll-a help you. Besides, the Orm's-a Lords need to learn their-a lesson."

"And what might-a that lesson be?" Wario asked out of curiosity. Suddenly, much to the chagrin of the others, he decided to create an answer for himself to simply inflate his massive pride even further. "Oh, I-a know the answer! "Don't-a miss with the great Wario!""

"Or better yet," Luigi muttered, "The answer would-a be this: don't-a mess with any of us." It was a surprising burst of confidence from the younger brother of Mario. Typically, he was deemed a coward by numerous individuals, lacking the courage to handle situations that Mario would overcome with ease. However, there were times when Luigi had to step up to the challenge of overcoming his fears; his memorable journey to a haunted mansion was one grand example, when Mario was imprisoned by an army of Boos. That building harbored two of Luigi's worst and most well-known fears: ghosts and darkness. But even so, he was left with no choice but to conquer his personal phobias and save his older brother, aided by the technology of a tech-savvy professor named Elvin Gadd. With this new adventure, he would have to be courageous like his brother, for if he allowed his fear of the Lords to paralyze him…

"Let's get moving," DK ordered. With his words, the group, now accompanied by Mallow, initiated the journey to the beloved Star Hill. With each step, the Smashers were venturing back into the familiar winter environment, far away from the volcanic valleys of Dark Land. Not much time had passed before Mario realized that he had forgotten to introduce his party members to the young prince.

"Mallow," he sighed, "I would-a like to introduce you to my group."

Blackness was the very first thing that enveloped his eyes as he managed to regain consciousness. Something was blocking other images from zipping into view. It was most likely a bag of some sort, as he also realized that it was very difficult for him to breathe. Aside from the darkness and the restricted air supply, whispering voices were entering his ears like a swarm of bees rushing into a hive, and they were speaking in a language that he had no familiarity with. This only served to worsen his fears, as opposed to quelling them, for he was left without a clue as to what form of action the people near him would execute. Were they going to slay him, or were they going to do something even worse…?

Before his mind could descend any further into the near-endless void of blood-freezing questions, the darkness was dispelled by an outside force. The new light, unfortunately, did little to lower the tension rocking his body, for it was revealed that he was surrounded by unidentified figures donning blackened robes. As he slowly regained his composure, a realization suddenly slapped him at the cheek.

As the citizens of the kingdom were preparing to rest for the night, it seemed that the rest of this day would be a normal one. It was here that he, the primary ruler, began to reflect on the recent activity within the Mushroom World; years had passed without any threat from outside forces, including the Smithy Gang, and peace continued to flourish throughout the days and nights. It was truly a time of tranquility. In a matter of minutes, a younger person entered the throne room; the man immediately recognized the person to be his son, the prince of this kingdom.

"How's my boy?" the man joyfully asked of his son.

Mallow, now a younger adolescent, raised his head towards the ceiling, which was painted to resemble the lovely skies. He replied, "Everything's fine. It's just another day without any bad guys terrorizing the Mushroom World. Hopefully, it stays that way."

"Now that we have the time, your mother and I can prepare you for the task of leading this kingdom when you come of age. We'll teach you all the basic rules of being a king."

"It's gonna be a hard trial; isn't it, Father?" Mallow's voice was shaking with nervousness. Confidence was not one of his stronger points, in all truthfulness; second-guessing himself was his usual reaction to many situations, especially when he was the one person that could mean the difference between success and failure.

"It will be, but I believe that you are more than capable of completing the trials that await a young man like you."

Mallow allowed the positive message to sink into his mind to boost his confidence. No longer was doubt overshadowing his mind; he soon started to believe that he was ready to face the trials that were ahead of him. As his father detached himself from his chair, the young prince followed suit. However, they were not more than a few meters away from their initial spots when a faint thud echoed throughout the palace's foundations. The father and the son both glanced at numerous spots across the throne room, unsure of where the sound originated from.

"What was that?" the man muttered to himself.

"I have no idea…" Mallow immediately replied, even though the question was not directed at him. "Maybe we should check-"

CRACK!

But he was cut off when the sound of glass shattering pierced his eardrums. A body was hurled through one of the windows in an instant. As it slammed into the floor with great force, the duo recognized the distinctive robes that it was decorated with. It was a guard's signature coat, tinted with a golden color and decorated with what appeared to be the insignia of kingdom. The symbol, in specific terms, was a water-colored palace glued to the top of a nimbus cloud, which was painted with the essence of silver. Such details, though, were merely stepping stones to a greater and certainly more horrifying characteristic. Deep cuts were scattered across the puffy skin of the guard, with some of them created by the shards of the window and a few more produced by a cutting weapon of some sort. The fact that he was injured by a weapon, let alone something more powerful than mere glass shards, was an undeniable sign that something dangerous had gone after him. A white substance was slowly oozing out of the cuts, distorting the colors of the carpet. As the duo approached him, the guard mustered whatever strength he had remaining in his weakened body to raise his head and face the shocked monarchs.

"Your Highness…" he slowly croaked. "You and… your family must… leave the palace immediately… There's an enemy group… within the kingdom… coming for all of you…"

"What?" Mallow gasped, chilled by the news. "Is it Valentina's army?"

"Worse… They're-"

CRACK!

No further information was revealed, as the shattering of glass and splintering of wood interrupted his sentence. Within seconds, mysterious figures wearing black robes swarmed the room by the dozens, destroying the delicate components that formed the serene architecture in the process. For a very small fragment of time, this invasion almost reminded the man of a previous incident that occurred years before; when the power-hungry woman known as Valentina had attempted to usurp the throne to the kingdom, her army of monsters utterly flooded the hallways and subsequently held him, along with his wife, hostage. For a while, the royal couple was locked away, and that was until Mario and his group expelled the malignant group out of the palace. The memories of that incident had remained etched into his mind since then, but there was no time to focus on them now, for an imminent threat was approaching…

"Father," Mallow shrieked, "What are we gonna do?!"

"We have to evacuate the palace this instant," the man replied. "If they get their hands on us… Mallow, alert your mother about this. Now!"

As Mallow darted into the bedroom area, the man was suddenly grabbed by one of the figures. When he tried to resist, a harsh blow to the back of the head was what he had the misfortune to receive. Sinking to his knees, the man was left dazed from the punishing strike and could not stabilize himself right away. This allowed one of the unknown enemies to slide a bag over his head, perhaps to blind him right away, and before he could quickly remove it, another blow rattled his skull. This time, he was incapacitated right off the bat, falling to the floor like a dropped ton of bricks. In the few seconds that he was conscious following the attack, he could hear screams from two people. One of the piercing screams originated from Mallow, while the other was released from a woman. A chill of discomfort ripped through his body as he recognized who the woman was…

Reality forced an ugly truth into his mind. He had been snatched from the sanctuary of his palace by a new group of hostiles, one that remained out of sight from the eyes of all.

Until now.

Confronted by the haunting fact, he wished to believe that the situation was nothing but a mere nightmare. But it was all too real for it to be considered an illusion.

The person in question was composed of clouds, just like Mallow. Unlike the young prince, however, he was decorated with distinctly striped clothing, complete with a golden crown resting on the top of his head. Another major difference was the presence of facial hair, shaped into a fine mustache that seemed almost identical to Mario's, although it was significantly smoother than what the plumber exhibited. To complete the list of physical characteristics, a wood-colored curl of hair rested on his moist scalp, identical to Mallow's in all but color. These features were placed into one mixture to produce an image of a king, radiating regal power. However, such power failed to grant him confidence in this situation, for his captors appeared to be hellish demons that were more than capable of striking fear into the hearts of their enemies.

"Did you enjoy your trip, Your Highness?" a voice hissed. On cue, King Nimbus, the leading monarch of Nimbus Land, raised his head to locate the speaker of such an intimidating comment. While searching, he realized that his queen was right next to him, gagged and wrapped up with a long string of rope. Like her husband, the cloud-person known as Queen Nimbus was a monarch of the cloud-based land. She was blessed not only with long robes that seemed to shine with great power but also with a golden crown that was identical to the king's in almost every way. As a side note, the very top of her forehead was home to a pinkish tuff of hair, a simple carbon copy of Mallow's. However, despite her position of authority, her facial expressions, which paired up perfectly with her voice exhibiting intermittent periods of whimpering, displayed extreme fear. Witnessing his queen like this forced King Nimbus to shiver a bit, but his fear would worsen as soon as the voice hissed again.

"Silly man, I am right in front of you." As the king directed his attention towards the area ahead of him, it was soon revealed that a female member of the group, recognizable by the red emblem on her cloak, was perched right next to him at a dangerously close distance. As she raised her hood, red hair flowed forward and a surprisingly lovely face was illuminated by the faint glow of the hill. Two other things affected by the glow were her eyes, those extremely sharp vessels of visual perception; the greenness present appeared to intensify when her head was lowered, almost as if her eyes had magical powers embedded in them.

A younger woman with natural beauty, the king pondered. What's she doing in a group like this? Alas, this manifestation of beauty was but an effective disguise to the vile personality that lingered underneath.

"What business do you have with us?" he muttered, with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Oh, nothing much," the woman, who appeared to be the leader of the group, replied, "We just need the location of the component to the Staff of Björn hidden within this realm, and you're going to reveal its exact location, one way or another."

Why was she interrogating him about a subject that he had absolutely no idea about? It was a very unfair decision, but then again, there was no indicator as to whether they, the cloaked ones, would treat the royal couple fairly to begin with. Confused, the king almost immediately raised his voice in protest. "What?! I honestly have no clue as to what you are talking about…!"

The woman was unconvinced by this comment. "We know that you are hiding the piece somewhere in this realm, worm, and do not think that lying to us will let you squirm your way out of this. Now answer me; where is the staff piece?"

"I… I…" Even with his power as monarch of Nimbus Land, the king was at an absolute loss of words. In complete honesty, he had never even heard of the Staff of Björn or even the piece of it that resided in the Mushroom World. Being as truthful as possible was the one and only route to travel, but, unbeknownst to him, the enemies around him were the type of people that would not be satisfied with any answer... except for the one they themselves desired. Fearing for his life, he muttered a slow answer:

"I do not know… I have never heard of this artifact that you're talking about, so just let me and my queen be…"

"Very well, then," the woman whispered. Shortly after, she signaled one of her subordinates to stand behind Queen Nimbus, much to the delight of the subordinate himself. Before the king could even register just what was going to occur, a loud zapping noise ripped through the atmosphere around the hill, mixed in with the still-gagged queen screaming out of pure pain. Stumbling backwards in shock, he was confronted with a scene of his beloved wife receiving copious amounts of electricity from the attacker's palms due to his failure to answer properly. Meanwhile, the leader was slowly chuckling in a blatantly sadistic manner, apparently receiving some degree of joy from the heartless act of torture. Especially with her vile personality in consideration, she hoped that, by tormenting the queen, King Nimbus would be forced to reveal the piece's location. Seconds had passed before a response to the event was thrown forth.

"STOP!" the king finally yelled. "Leave her alone!"

Surprisingly, the voltage rushing through the queen's body was interrupted on cue. In response, the leader gradually hoisted King Nimbus off the ground by the neck before standing him upright. A menacing glare was present in her eyes, possibly for intimidating the poor man; the attempt was successful, for he shivered when his face met hers.

"Are you ready to tell us now?" the leader spat forcefully.

"Why are you doing this to us?" the king shot back, now worried for the safety of the monarchy. "What kind of monster are you?"

The woman's green eyes seemed to build up a fire as a natural stimulus to the comment. "Who are you calling a monster? Foolish little bastard, I am something much greater than you and the pathetic creatures that roam this damn planet. I am a glorious servant to the Svärtad Orm, a captain of this magnificent organization, and a person that will ensure the birth of a new age."

WHAP!

In a split second, her right hand brought itself down and across the king's face. The blow itself was strong enough to force the victim to the ground at high speeds, but it also created a noticeable swelling across his right cheek. The queen screamed at this sight, but the full extent of her noise was suppressed by the gag around her mouth. As the king attempted to regain his composure, a foot suddenly slammed into his chest, effectively crushing him into the ground. Staring upwards, he noticed that the leader was preventing him from standing up. With a murderous glint in her eyes, she whispered her next sentence in a very demented tone:

"You may call me… Agnetha."

As the sun plummeted into the horizon, Mario and the remainder of his party, alongside Mallow, noticed a growing darkness overtaking the area. With each passing minute, shades of white decayed into shades of gray, and all other colors seemed to fade away, being replaced by darker incarnations of themselves. Corrupted beauty presented itself to the fighters; it was a mere offshoot of the daytime imagery, comparable to the black rose being a darkened variant of its red counterpart. Despite this, the weather was subsiding into a new state of peace, with the clouds departing from the skies to reveal a gaze-worthy sunset originating from the west. The sky was painted with a multitude of colors, including sky blue, orange, pink, and pale turquoise. To a sightseer, it was as if though it was a mural created by a talented artist. Light and dark sharply contrasted with each other in this environment, creating a scene unlike any other, but such a scene was left unnoticed by Mario's party, for its members were focused on more important matters…

"Hey, guys," Bowser grunted, breaking the silence, "You know what I've learned from that Lillian girl about those robed freaks?"

"What is it?" Yoshi squeaked, curious for the answer.

"They're actually under the effects of a magical spell known as Återuppliva; it's what gives 'em their regenerative powers as well as their enhanced strength. The only methods of killing them are burning and dismemberment."

"I-a knew there was-a something unusual about the Lords," Luigi sighed, scratching the back of his head in the process. "So, that-a means, without-a any power-ups or weapons, and not counting Mallow, only three of us here are-a capable of permanently destroying those-a guys: you, me, and-a Mario. You have your claws and-a fire breath, while we can use-a fireballs to fry them. I'm not-a sure how the rest of us here are-a going to help out…"

"I have a coconut gun," DK interjected. "Unfortunately, I do not have it with me now; it's back at the Smash Mansion. For now, I'll have to tap into my raw strength to defeat those Lords."

"I can let-a Wario use the Fire Flower that's-a stored in one of my pockets," Mario added. While he was speaking, his left hand squirmed its way into one of his pockets to yank the widely-known item out. His fingers, unusually, fidgeted inside the tight space for a few seconds before they obtained a firm grip on the desired object. Mario then tossed it towards the yellow-clad man as a way of lending a hand.

"I can use my lightning-based powers to fry them," Mallow uttered.

"What about-a Yoshi, bro?" Luigi mumbled. "By himself-a, he has no way of-a burning or dismembering the Lords, so what should we-a do with him?"

Mario remained silent for a few seconds, slowly traveling down Memory Lane to remember the possible ways Yoshi could utilize fire; to his understanding, the dinosaur had no means of literally dismembering opponents. He could transform into his Super Dragon form, but that required a Smash Ball and the group was lacking one altogether. Power Flowers could also work, but they had mysteriously disappeared in the aftermath of the second castle incident. In fact, Mario was unable to figure out the reason why despite a long search around the castle area a few years back, well before Tabuu's assault.

What about red watermelons? They were known to make those who ate them generate fire breath upon consumption, and that seemed to be the only viable source of fiery attacks for Yoshi, if only for a limited time. But the winter was currently suppressing plant growth. With cold temperatures abound, the only way for the Smashers to earn a red watermelon was to locate a supply of some sort: a garden, perhaps? One such location that Mario could recall was the greenhouse in Peach's residence, where various foods of nature were almost constantly grown.

"We'll-a head down to Peach's castle," Mario responded. "There will-a be a couple of red watermelons in the greenhouse for-a Yoshi to use."

And then it suddenly slammed into him like a ton of bricks.

Had he somehow not reminded himself about his initial arrival into Toad Town, this event would not be happening right now.

The revelation in question was about the town itself; the carnage from hours before was still present and would not be departing anytime soon. Given his below-average courage, Mario believed, Mallow would literally descend into a state of shock if his eyes stared at the bloody mess for even one second. Suddenly consumed with a moderate, internalized panic that was invading his body like a parasite, Mario decided to warn the prince about the gruesome scenery up ahead. It was better to reveal everything now than to completely surprise him in a horrific manner.

"What's wrong, Mario?" Mallow asked, quickly noticing a slight expression of worry on the plumber's face.

"Mallow… There is-a something that I must-a inform you about," Mario lowered his arms slightly while staring at the direction from where the group originated from, harboring a feeling of sharp uneasiness. "Toad Town has-a recently been the site of a massacre spearheaded by the Orm's-a Lords; there's-a going to be a lot of blood-a there, so try not to stare at-a the mess for-a too long."

"O-okay," Mallow mumbled. Despite his best efforts, Mallow failed to fight off a blood-freezing fear in his body. The mentioning of the words "blood" and "massacre" seemed to impact him greatly, more so than any other member in the group, for he had been mostly raised within a very peaceful world; outside of the Smithy Gang incident, never had he been exposed to any real degree of actual violence. He wished to believe that Mario was merely bluffing, but the hideous truth ultimately prevailed over the desirable lie, for it was very unusual for the plumber to lie in nearly all situations. The prince was soon left with no choice to but to obey Mario's order.

"Let's-a return to Toad Town," Luigi puffed. While the group slowly trudged its way back to the beaten settlement, the sun was still strolling past the sky's boundaries. By this point, it was completely submerged beneath the visible view and its dimming light brought forward the disappearance of the sky's previous coloration, with the mixture giving way to a solid dark blue. Though the Smashers were oblivious to this mystical yet natural event, the red rose was being swallowed by darkness to morph into its blackened counterpart. Additionally, the moon's surface now radiated with enough energy to cast a faint glimmer of light upon the snow-covered terrain of the Mushroom World, perhaps to the point of distancing the snow from the rest of the forest. No other light presented itself, except for one…

No more than approximately fifteen meters away, a star-like creature was concealed within the densely-populated trees. Its yellow-tinted body shape best resembled a tear drop, with short, stubby limbs to accompany it. Black, beady eyes were glued onto the front of its body, bringing about a stark contrast in colors. As an additional feature, a soft, magical glow surrounded its entire body; said glow was merely the result of the creature being of celestial origin. Notably, it was efficient at providing light inside the darkened forest, thus allowing the creature to keep tabs on the Smashers. Gently floating through the trees, the star overheard a very small fragment of the conversation. Said fragment, however, happened to contain very important information.

"A massacre…?" it squeaked, chilled to the bone. "In Toad Town…? Oh, my… I need to inform Mama about this."

In a matter of seconds, the glowing creature soared into the sky, initiating its return to a certain sanctuary among the stars…

Back at the Smash Mansion, Lillian was within the confines of the living room, now by herself due to the absence of Smashers. Master Hand was inside his office; it was possibly because he had nothing better to do other than wait for the Smashers to return. Once again, the dark atmosphere of the night was rooting itself into the mansion's architecture, with low lighting despite improvements from last time, cold winds that overwhelmed the mansion's air conditioning system, and silence that bordered on the lines of absolute dominance. Also returning was a chill, that single, freezing chill that could render spines frozen in an instant. Admittedly, it seemed to be more intense on this occasion, and having Master Hand around did very little to comfort her. Why was that? Staring at the walls and ceiling, the mansion was now starting to remind her of a certain location that she would rather avoid, a seemingly curious comparison by far. Or maybe it was because of the Smashers' absence that was causing such discomfort…?

Her mind boggled with questions, she utilized her magic to conjure a diary, which was a unique instrument meant to store personal thoughts. The curiosities had to be removed from her mind, just so she could rest for the night. Although she lacked a pen, versatile magic permitted her to write on paper without one. With Lillian recalling everything that had occurred so far, a light escaped from her right hand to spray a few pages of the now-open diary. As this event unfolded, words were painted in a soft cursive style, very fitting for a clean, almost faultless diary; for a lack of a better description, the diary's whitish outer cover was forged from refined leather, with a glistering ruby on the center of the front. As for the actual pages, they revealed absolutely no signs of dirtiness or deterioration, and there were no markings aside from words belonging to previous entries. Minutes had passed before Lillian completed her newest entry in her native language, which, when translated, was written like this:

Today is my first full day within the walls of the Smash Mansion, which is inhabited by the people who identify themselves as the Super Smash Brothers. They are a diverse group of fighters from equally diverse worlds, led by a giant hand who, quite appropriately, calls himself "Master Hand". So far, they have been treating me like a welcome guest, which I suppose is a beneficial thing, but I cannot shake off the feeling that this place is reminding of a certain location inside of my realm that I wish to forget. This is only noticeable at night, for the daylight dispels the feeling lurking inside my mind. It's most likely a coincidence that the mansion bears similarity to the place.

As per Bowser's request, I am planning to research the topic of the cultists having an unusual color to their blood; a normal person would not be having a color like that to his or her life essence, so it must be some form of magic that's affecting the Lords. I also need to find information about the spell that's allowing Agnetha Lindgren, who is most likely leading the Lords in the Mushroom Kingdom, and the other captains to revive repeatedly, as Återuppliva does not grant such a power. I can only hope that the Smash Brothers avoid getting slaughtered by them.

As a side note, a new sort of uneasiness has recently sparked in response to the warriors' departure. To be honest, I am truly afraid of being alone, especially in darker areas. I just feel that something might sneak up on me and exploit my lack of preparedness; while this has always been a phobia of mine since childhood, it has recently worsened because of the Lords searching every realm for the Staff of Björn's pieces. Only Heaven knows when they will arrive…

I only have Master Hand, his brother, and the Smashers from Falco's group to keep me company. They seem to be friendly fellows, as their presence, barring Crazy Hand's, is what allows me to feel safe, but I somehow doubt that it's going to benefit me in fighting off my fright. For now, I can only pray that everything will be alright.

Finishing up the entry, Lillian gently closed her diary and dispelled it with her magic. She slowly stood up, only to notice Master Hand floating into the room.

"May I help you with anything, Miss Åkerfeldt?" the giant hand asked. As with last night, his tone was of friendliness and acceptance, as he wished to let the maiden feel welcome inside the Smash Mansion.

"I'm alright for now," she responded.

"You know that there's food in the kitchen if you're hungry; we've got a very large supply available."

Lillian stretched her arms above her before replying, "No, thank you. I am not hungry."

"Alright then, if you need anything, just let me know."

Mario and his group were now approaching the boundaries of Toad Town; during this event, the forest was silently fading away, with urban infrastructure replacing it in the process. Another change, albeit a unpleasant one, was a scent that soured the otherwise clean air. At first, Bowser assumed that it was just Wario farting quietly, either by accident or for intentionally annoying the others. His guess would be proven incorrect, on the contrary, when the smell not only lingered for long minutes but literally pierced the noses of all present, something that flatulence would almost never do. Staring down the road ahead, the group was revisited by a grotesque image of the slaughtered residents of Toad Town, with the bodies still their resting positions and the blood, while dried, still smeared over numerous locations. There was now a new bonus to the scenery: flies gathering around the bodies.

Wait. If flies were zipping through the air…

The bodies were visibly decaying; even though the winter temperatures were of below-average heat, the environment was warm enough for decomposition to occur. No wonder the air was so rancid! Mallow barely choked back a scream as his eyes caught a glimpse of the carnage, while the smell was so intense to the point where Luigi almost vomited. There was also something else different about the view, but the fighters were not aware of the difference until they traveled a few steps forward. As Mario stared down at the ground, he suddenly noticed a series of large, black puddles soaking into the soil.

"What is this-a stuff?" he whispered to himself. Equipping himself with a small branch lying on the ground, he stirred the puddle very slowly to help answer his question. The investigation would take an unusual turn, however, when he realized that it was having a great deal of difficulty trying to plow through the liquid. Upon pulling it out, Mario's stick had some of the substance glued to it like tar.

"That look gross," Yoshi squeaked.

"Do you-a believe that those-a puddles have-a something to do with the Lords?" Luigi asked Mario, curious as to why the sickening objects were even around in the first place.

"Maybe, but I can't-a tell for certain."

Bowser, upon hearing Mario's answer, quickly realized that he had forgotten to inform Mario of something important. It had something to do with Agnetha and her counterparts, and it could surely safeguard the lives of everyone in this group…

"Hey, that reminds me," he grunted. "The lady you fought is still alive, Mario."

"Excuse me?" Mario's eyes widened as soon his ears caught the Koopa's mouth mentioning the captain.

"The captain you fought is still lurking in the Mushroom World. Lillian also warned us to stay away from her and the other captains because of their superior combat prowess."

That nearly shocked the plumber outright. How was Agnetha still alive even after Bowser had clearly incinerated her? "Is-a she under the effects of Återuppliva like-a the rest of the Lords?"

"I think it's safe to assume that she is. But here's the thing, pasta head; Lillian told me that the captains are also capable of complete revival though unknown means. I sincerely hope that answers your question."

Allowing the conversation to seeping into his mind, Mario was secretly shaken. If Agnetha was still alive, and if the comment about the captains possessing much greater strength was true, then he would have to be more careful. One misstep could potentially be fatal…

Continuing towards Star Hill, the Smashers and Mallow had to endure an uncomfortable trip through the bloodied streets, with Mallow forcing himself to avoid the sight of the bodies, the still-injured Mario attempting to keep his wounds clean despite his bandages, and all members shielding their noses. To worsen things, the moon's shine provided the bare minimum of light required to even notice the exact shape of the bodies, which Mario and his group had to rely on to avoid stepping into dead tissue. Several meters into the hellish environment, the party finally entered Peach's castle, the only sanctuary remaining in the town.

Examining the main hall, Mallow noticed that there was some minor damage in certain areas, such as scratches on a door, but, for the most part, the overall room was still intact. Posh floors and walls draped the interior with a layer of beauty, accompanied by bright red carpets flowing towards several of the doors. From the ceiling came forth a golden chandelier of sparkling beauty, consisting of numerous soft lights, various gems of value attached to numerous points throughout, and strings of gold connecting the outer rim to the center. The continuous realm of white was broken by red doors dotted on the bottom of the walls. This included two pairs of automatic double doors at the front of the second floor, complete with a Star at their respective centers.

"This place is beautiful," Mallow slowly gasped, allowing the imagery to sink into his mind. "Peach must have hired some skilled architects to build this place."

Ignoring Mallow's comment, DK asked, "Mario, where is the greenhouse?"

"It's-a further to the back of the castle, near the gardens," Mario replied. "We should-a head there ASAP." Wasting no time at all, the longtime hero and his group darted towards a door positioned to the right of the stairway, leading into a long hallway of sorts. The hallway's floor was checkered with shades of black and white, a design that some might consider fancy. Contrasting with this aspect, though, were the ceiling and walls; they were instead crafted from plain bricks typically noticed on many suburban buildings, as well as a few abandoned structures in the Mushroom City area. The lights here were much dimmer than what the chandelier had provided, although they were still providing a moderate degree of visibility. While the Smashers were traveling down the path, a mild right turn presented itself to them several meters away, with a second corridor branching off to the left. This, in turn, was enough to form a three-way junction that connected different sections of the castle together. The group pressed on, only to realize that the left pathway was blocked by a heavy load of rubble consisting of shattered bricks and miscellaneous objects belonging to the castle's internal frame. With no feasible way of clearing the rubble quickly, Mario and his group strolled down the other trail to enter the gardens.

The gardens were, so to speak, isolated from the bloodshed that had gripped the rest of Toad Town; not only was there a lack of bloodstains, but the stench that besieged the air was entirely absent. That was not to say that it was unaffected in any way, for the winter spirit had brought her breath down to degrade the land into a bare foundation without plants. No growth of fruits, vegetables, or flowers appeared to be in sight. Meanwhile, snow obscured the brown shade of the earth to diminish the amount of colors visible on the terrain, another glaring example of the winter strongly affecting the Mushroom King with her mystical might. The only thing that shattered the sheer plainness of the area was a small building about twenty-five meters away; this combination of glass and metal was shaped into a rectangle with a half-circle on top of it, complete with a single door on the front. Approaching it, Mario noticed a small amount of frost glued to the windows, which failed to conceal what was resting inside: a batch of varying food items, including the one thing that he had been searching for.

"Red watermelons," he muttered. Yanking the door open, Mario rushed inside to pluck a member of the batch from its resting spot and deliver it to Yoshi, at the same time realizing that the greenhouse certainly had bred an environment warmer than the outside world.

The sun did a good job at keeping these plants warm, he believed. I must give Peach credit for growing a healthy batch of food. Outside the greenhouse, Yoshi's lips began to soak in saliva at the sight of a red watermelon. As soon as Mario, who was slowly trudging through the garden due to the fruit's high weight value, entered close ranges, Yoshi extended his tongue out to quickly swallow the fruit whole.

"Whoa, Yoshi," Bowser commented, slightly confused at what Yoshi had done. The green dinosaur was probably hungry, he believed. "You could have at least taken the time to chew up that freakin' thing." But Yoshi ignored the Koopa's comment and let the juicy food item slide down his esophagus, with a slight fiery feeling in his mouth not too long after. Before the others could even register what was about to happen next, a grand burst of blue-white flames soared out of the dinosaur's mouth, melting a nearby patch of snow in the process. Some of the Smashers bounced away, startled by the sudden demonstration of the red watermelon's power. In fact, the unnerved DK, after a single breath, successfully summed up his reaction in one sentence:

"OK, now that was super scary."

"You should-s be able to defeat the Lords-a now, Yoshi," Mario spoke up. "The watermelon's effects won't-a last forever, but it's-a better than nothing."

"Yoshi understand you," the dinosaur replied. His mouth felt warm as the flavor of the red watermelon started to fade away.

"Now let's-a go kick some Lord ass!" Wario puffed. The group soon exited the castle's perimeter via a gate integrated into the fence, thus resuming the journey to Star Hill. Heading to a trail east of the castle, another change of scenery began to unravel, and it was, without question, quite radical. Replacing the bloodied, beaten remains of a town was a serene forest with a long trail leading to a distant structure ahead; both sides of the trail were decorated with trees that delivered a sense of tranquility to the area, while the flowers embedded into the ground functioned a lot like lovely furniture decorating an otherwise plain room. Additionally, the dirt here, while mostly obscured by snow, was somehow modified by a mysterious force, for its violet hue was completely unheard of in all other regions of the Mushroom World. At bare minimum, that was what the group believed. But the one feature that truly stood out from the others was the presence of falling stars, rapidly descending from the heavens above to harmlessly pelt the ground while also adding on to the absolute beauty of the path.

"This is unreal," DK muttered. Never had he experienced beauty within the confines of his own island; even the beaches paled in comparison to this sight. "I've never seen anything like this…"

"Have you not-a seen this-a place before, DK?" Luigi asked. "I don't-a remember you taking a trip-a to here."

The ape scratched his head before responding. "Nope, not at all. Maybe I should visit this place more often."

"I-a have to agree with the ape on this-a one," Wario added. "This-a area actually is-a very interesting. Maybe there's-a something precious around here."

"There is-a one precious thing here: the conduit of-a wishes," Mario interjected. As the group proceeded with the journey, the sky seemed to glow with an ethereal light that brightened the stars scattered throughout the vast regions of space itself. Shades of blue and purple tinted the landscape, providing a rather otherworldly feel that was, some might say, a sight to behold. Revisited by the magical scenery, Mario was reminded that this place was an oasis in a desert, with the desert being most of the outside world. To be more precise, it was an area, no, a sanctuary where peaceful wishes were granted by seven powerful beings known as the Star Spirits. It was far and isolated from the turmoil of most other regions…

The environment would change yet again, this time presenting a massive summit to the eyes of all present. It was mighty and tall, ancient and holy, draped with a shower of stars, and forged out of pure beauty. A trail wrapped itself around the walls as a means of reaching the top, with the top being flat instead of pointed or rounded. This grand sight represented the epitome of all the Mushroom World's possible forms of beautiful nature, and it also gave the party members hope.

"Alright-a," Mario announced. "Let's-a get up there and rescue Mallow's parents."

On cue, Mario led his group to the start of the summit's trails. The way up was simple, but it was also extremely long because of the summit's height. Additionally, the light in the sky was looming closer with the increasing altitude; this caused the adventurers to predictably redirect their attention to the scenery over their heads. Some of them, like DK and Yoshi, were in awe as their eyes absorbed the images that they were presented with. A few others, like Wario and Bowser, quickly disregarded such images. Regardless of reaction, all would come to agree on thing; they would seldom be witnessing an environment like this one ever again.

"Wait, did you-a hear something?" Mario's comment suddenly interrupted the scene examination; all eyes were now staring at him, as if he was on to something.

"What?" Wario spat in a dumbfounded manner, not understand his rival's sudden change in behavior. "I don't-a hear anything."

"He's right," DK added, looking around to make sure he was not missing anything. "There's nothing around here."

"Huh," was the red-clad plumber's reply. "I could-a have sworn I've-a heard something." Ignoring the source of the possible sound, the fighters and Mallow continued with their stroll up the summit. Star Hill was quiet for the most part, so there had to have been something that forced Mario to react the way he did during the past few seconds. But, with all things considered, what…

"Hold on," Mario gasped. This time, the sound he just heard was much more audible, enough to where he could discern the exact details. "I-a hear it again!"

"Mario," Wario grunted, still not convinced, "Are you-a going crazy or wha-"

"No," Bowser interrupted. "I actually heard the noise as well." And he was right, for whatever Mario had heard earlier was now louder, so the others could now hear it slightly. Stepping forward a few times, all traveling fighters soon realized that the noise, no, noises in question were a set of voices engaged in a conversation. One voice's tone was deep, but it was also certainly frightened; it was most likely a man scared out of his mind. A second one was soft and feminine, yet with a taunting, villainous vibe. While the others could not figure out to whom the voices belonged, Mario and Mallow were quick guessers. To clarify, the two could properly connect the voices to their respective owners.

"Is that… my father?!" Mallow whispered out of fright. His father was in some perilous situation, and he needed to be rescued as soon as possible.

"Oh, great-a," Mario slowly growled out of frustration. The second speaker's tone of voice confirmed the presence of what he had hoped to avoid. "Agnetha's here, too."

"Who?" Mallow's confused tone of voice was an appropriate reaction to Mario's comment, for he was completely left in the dark about the vile swordswoman herself.

"Agnetha Lindgren is a captain of-a the Orm's Lords, and she's-a also the lady that almost killed me."

"So, is that why you have all those bandages on you?" For the first time since the initial meeting, Mallow glanced at the blood-soaked pieces of cloth that were wrapped around the plumber's injuries. The unpleasant sight triggered a cringing reaction, but Mallow managed to restrain himself before he was overwhelmed.

"You're-a right. I hope-a she doesn't-a kill during this-a fight."

"Bro," Luigi mumbled, "We should-a head up there and-a take out the Lords."

"Not yet. Agnetha's around-a there, and if what-a Bowser told me is correct-a, then we should-a lay low until she leaves."

"Mario, we can all-a fight her together once we dispose of her subordinates, if-a she has any, that is. She may have been-a difficult to face by yourself-a, but if-a we combine our strength, then she won't-a be as challenging as before."

Mario halted the conversation for a moment to absorb his younger twin brother's idea. Maybe this could work; maybe they could indeed overwhelm her with numbers on their side. A one-on-one battle, as Mario had experienced, was a straight-up terrible plan of action, but a seven-on-one could just be the proper alternative. But it was not perfect in any way, for there was a chance that Agnetha could overpower them all with her deadly physical and magical might. If that happened, then it would certainly mean defeat.

"I am not-a sure if this plan is-a going to work, Luigi. It seems-a awfully risky, what with Agnetha being powerful and all, but if-a no one else here has a good idea, then we'll-a stick to your-a plan."

A silence befell upon the group, for its members, excluding Mario, were desperately trying to compose another plan as a counter to Luigi's. How long the process lasted was a factor left ignored, but the eventual result was an inability to devise a better plan.

"Okay," Mario sighed. "We'll-a go by your plan."

On the top of Star Hill, Agnetha, now frustrated with King Nimbus's failure to reveal the location of the staff piece, was ready to delve into extreme measures to extract all the information she required to complete her mission. With lightning-fast reflexes, she hoisted her blade out of its sheath and pointed it directly at her would-be victim's throat. The king's mind was quickly filling up with one word:

Scream… Scream… Scream…!

He could not force himself to do so. His body was hopelessly paralyzed by an emotion that none would ever feel comfortable experiencing.

Its name was Fear.

"I'm going to ask you this one last time," Agnetha sneered. "Where is the staff piece? If you hold back again, I will kill you and your queen right on this spot. And then, I will have my group annihilate your entire kingdom."

"Please," the king begged. "I do not have the answers for you. Just leave me and my kingdom alone…"

The plea produced the opposite effect, contrary to how he believed the redhead would react. Unable to deal with the situation any longer, Agnetha, speaking in a foreign language, ordered one subordinate to dispose of the queen, while she herself was preparing to ram her sword into the king's chest. Meanwhile, both victims were outright terrified, with hearts racing, hands shaking, and cold sweat causing their bodies to become chilled. There was nothing that they could do now, nothing except wait for their deaths. Realizing this grim fact, and with no hope left, King Nimbus slowly closed his eyes. His queen quickly followed suit.

CR-BOOM!

But their deaths never came to fruition. A loud explosion suddenly tore through the air, accompanied by the captain shouting in pain. When the king allowed his eyes to open again, he was shocked to notice several burns on the captain's hands. On top of that, her sword was now lying several meters away from her, thus interrupting her intended plan of bloody murder. Staring to the left, his chance of being saved presented itself in the form of seven warriors, with one of them being his own son.

"We'll-a have none of that around-a here," Mario, that courageous plumber in red, spat. The king and queen allowed joy to sink into their hearts, for they were now being rescued from the clutches of the enemy. Under ideal conditions, they could very well escape without further harm. Agnetha, on the other hand, allowed a murderous anger to crawl into her mind, furious that her adversaries were now here to place a dent into her plans. Shedding blood onto the soil was the only thing that now occupied her mind.

"You little wretch!" she hissed. "The execution would have been perfect if you had not ruined the moment! Thankfully, I will not have to deal with you any longer…"

"Oh, come on now," DK puffed, raising his arms into the air. "Did you really believe that we were gonna hang back after we got word of you kidnapping Mallow's parents? We don't function like that."

"You mean this little boy here?" Agnetha pointed directly at Mallow, forcing the young prince to shuffle backwards in surprise. Upon noticing his fear, her green eyes were filled with a dark, intimidating vibe that screamed twisted glee; this was paired up with a menacing smile that crawled across her face. "Maybe he can join his parents in death…"

"Oh, no you don't," Bowser retaliated, grinding his claws together. "While we're around, there's no way that you will get away with your plans! Why don't you save us the trouble and give up now, freaks? If you do, then I might show some mercy to you guys."

"I'm sorry, but that cannot happen. Acts of cowardice would be a severe disgrace to the all-mighty serpent." Her sadistic smile quickly morphed into a furious frown. "Now, you may have defeated us last time, but this will be the battle where you die at our hands."

"Enough talk," Wario grunted, "Let's-a fight already!" All six Smashers, along with Mallow, revealed their battle stances within a quarter of a second, complete with faces of determination. Performing a left-to-right sweep of the hilltop, Mario was soon shocked when it was revealed that there were more than a hundred Lords in Agnetha's group, a drastic increase in size compared to the squadron that accompanied her in Toad Town.

"…with pleasure." Agnetha's words forced all the Lords to prepare for the incoming battle, as signified by ominous glows from each member's body. Meanwhile, the captain's lost blade was retrieved via the mystical powers of telekinesis. Once that event came to pass, the captain herself adopted a sharp fighting stance with her blade pointing up.

"Let's-a go!" Luigi yelled as he crouched down to the floor, with his arms bent and close to his sides. Before any of the Lords were even granted the chance to evade, the green-clad plumber suddenly erupted like a rocket and launched himself at two of them. The result was a scene of two enemies being set on fire, with heavy burns and large flames to boot. One member tossed a knife at Bowser, which the Koopa did not notice until it was too late. Thankfully, however, the stabbing weapon only buried itself into his left arm to cause minimal damage. After it was yanked out, Bowser lunged forward to decapitate three members simultaneously with claws. The headless bodies were almost immediately transformed into geysers of black blood, showering a small portion of the battlefield like rain before toppling over a few seconds later. DK, utilizing nothing but pure strength, twirled his left arm several times to prepare the Giant Punch, but the number of rotations on this instance was much greater than normal, leading to a significant increase in power; this was soon realized by all when the resulting blow completely beheaded a cultist.

In the center of the battlefield, Mario and Agnetha were now engaged in their second battle so far. Quickly equipping the Courage Shell, which had been tossed to him by Bowser a few seconds before, Mario prepared to launch a blazing strike as the evil swordswoman charged at him. His gamble paid off, for he successfully hammered her skull with added fire damage. Recoiling from the blow, Agnetha grunted in pain but regained her composure before the valiant plumber could attack her any further. A swing of her sword was meant to slice one of his legs off, but the impact itself only produced a small cut instead.

"What is this?" she gasped, unaware that Mario was currently under the effects of his Courage Shell.

"It's-a nothing much," her opponent answered. "Just a little pick-me-up that I've-a decided to use."

Wario, now strengthened by his Fire Flower, was in the process of flinging fireballs at random directions; during this time, some of them roasted several Lords to a smoking crisp, while others merely struck the ground and subsequently vanished. He was assisted by Luigi, who was unrelentingly incinerating the dark army with his own set of fiery orbs. Intense fire and loud screams decorated the battlefield as the number of casualties in the Lords' ranks spiraled ever higher. While the duo continued to push forward, an enemy from behind zapped Wario repeatedly to inflict electrical damage. To worsen things, said enemy instantly dodged Luigi's strikes as soon he noticed the green-clad plumber attempting to assist the overweight man in yellow and white. Luigi then attempted to stomp on the aggressor's head, but two more opponents dragged him away with inhuman strength to prevent this.

"Get your-a hands off me," he growled. Allowing his battle instincts to kick in, Luigi ignited his fists to shatter his opponents' combined grip, and he followed it up with explosive jabs that burned his opponents alive.

"That's-a what you deserve for-a killing all those-a poor people at-a Toad Town." The plumber then rushed off to exterminate more foes. Nearby, Mallow and Yoshi were together as one team, standing side-by-side. Surrounded by vicious foes, they were ready to engage in a bloody skirmish.

"Mallow," Yoshi squeaked, "Either burn Lords or slice them!"

"Got it," was the prince's response. After hoisting his hands in the sky and then swinging them down just as quickly, a guided lightning bolt soared down to fry a handful of foes. Charred robes and sizzling skin formed the appropriate aftermath of such a terrifying monster of an attack. Not too far away, Yoshi's blue-white flames were raining hell upon the villains. With every spray, another set of threats was eliminated. Things seemed to be progressing smoothly, the dinosaur believed.

CHINK!

That was what he believed before an adversary launched a large block of ice into his mouth. A light-headed sensation rooted itself in his body immediately, with his airflow being restricted in perhaps the most uncomfortable of manners. In fact, his only method of breathing for the moment was by forcing the air through his nose. Struck by a bout of panic, Yoshi struggled to yank the block out of his mouth, but the very low friction of the icy surface prevented him from performing such an action.

Wait, he could utilize his fire breath to melt the ice, right? Then, with everything considered, all this panicking was simply just him acting silly for no apparent reason…

Rekindling the fire within, Yoshi quickly melted the block before it could suffocate him right off the bat. He even benefited from this by receiving a moderately small amount of water to drink to quench his growing thirst. With his recovery completed, Yoshi continued to roast more of his foes, with Mallow assisting him via the Shocker, a lethal, thunder-based attack.

Bowser continued with his fury-fueled rampage, literally eviscerating and frying numerous foes with his claws and fire breath, respectively. Throughout the chaos, the environment was being painted with a special color of death, with the Koopa King as the artist behind it all. A disjointed range in most of his attacks had prevented opponents from closing in on him. Those that did approach him were brutally sliced apart by the claws, those long, pointed claws that provoked fear in the hearts of many. He was not, so to speak, invincible, for a magical net, complete with iron spheres at the corners and conjured by a few cultists, was suddenly about to nail him into the ground. As soon as he realized this, his burly form was instantly sandwiched between the snowy, stone-forged ground and the excruciatingly heavy net of segmented steel. Such an event injected pain into his nerves and allowed an increasing rage to boil into his mind.

"Oh, you little sons of bitches," he sneered. "Once I break free, I'm gonna send you screaming back to Hell."

Mario and Agnetha were still in a frantic struggle, with each warrior seeking the other's defeat. The plumber's fireballs soared at the captain, but nearly all of them were ripped to barely smoldering shreds. Only one successfully burned her, but even that was not enough to cause any real damage thanks to her highly advanced healing prowess. Upon witnessing this event, Mario was slightly stunned.

She's clearly using a more advanced form of Återuppliva, he believed. A normal unit cannot recover from burns.

"Nice try, plumber," she mocked. "That will not work against me."

"I-a noticed," Mario responded. "But maybe I'm just-a doing it for the purpose of-a aggravating you." Dodging a sword strike, he leaped into the air with one fist extended, sweeping up Agnetha in the process. It was a showcasing of one of his signature moves, the Super Jump Punch. Replacing the typical shower of coins, however, was a stream of fire that singed the robes of the swordswoman in addition to inflicting significant burns.

Extinguishing the fire, Agnetha spat, "You're a better opponent than you seem, but that will not save you from your inevitable death."

Near the center of Star Hill, Mallow was in the process of escorting his parents out of the field to ensure their safety. Having untied the rope and gag around his mother's body, he was close to leaving the hilltop when a small group suddenly blocked his intended path, ready to kill. Of course, the enemies were not much of a problem thanks to his ability to crush them with a snowman conjured with the power of the weather. As the royal family passed by, a black substance could be seen seeping underneath the icy giant. Hiding behind one of the walls, a scene of temporary rejoicing sparked amongst the family members, isolated from the ongoing carnage.

"Mallow!" Queen Nimbus cried, with tears of joy streaming down her cheeks. "Oh, my precious Mallow, I thought we would never see each other again…"

Hugging his mother as a sign of affection, Mallow replied, "It's going to be all right, Mama. This will all be over soon."

King Nimbus, face filled with overwhelming joy, lightly patted his son on the back as a way of congratulating him. "Son, you have once again proven to us that you are capable overcoming your doubts to perform great things for the benefit of the world. I can already notice the growth of your skills as future king and, to be honest, I am very proud of you."

A bright blushing expression rolled itself across Mallow's face, almost as a somewhat embarrassing response to his father's comment. "Thanks, but Mario and his group deserve some credit, too; they've helped me get to you guys. Speaking of which, I still need to help them."

"Mallow-"

But the queen was cut off when the prince darted back into the battlefield. Worry was a dreaded poison slowly creeping into her mind, but an antidote presented itself in the form of the king's assuring comment:

"Don't worry, my dear. He'll take care of himself."

By this point, most of the Lords were exterminated. The clear majority of them were scorched, though dismembered bodies were not uncommon. Of the dismembered victims, about half of them were decapitated, though several more were left completely limbless. To add, one cultist was completely bisected at the waist by Bowser, resulting in a gory, intestine-based mess that caused most of the Smashers to turn away in disgust. Wario utilized his Wario Waft, which was now boosted by the Fire Flower's effects, to roast a small group of foes surrounding him. His victory would be short-lived, though, when Agnetha, realizing that he was easily tearing through her group with flames, fired a blast of ice to freeze him instantly. The mistress then redirected her attention to Mario, who was now supported by his brother.

"So, Mario," she hissed, "You have decided to rely on your clone to help you out. That's fine with me, because I'll enjoy toying with him as well."

That comment immediately sparked a boiling rage within Luigi; due to his lackluster popularity in comparison to Mario, he had been identified by a variety of nicknames: King of Second Bananas, Eternal Understudy, Mister Green Mario Brother Guy, and vice versa. But none had offended him more than that wretched word, as both Mario and Agentha were quick to notice. Contrary to the latter's beliefs, Luigi was far from being classed as a mere clone of his older brother, with differing powers, uniqueness in his personality, and even a series of solo adventures under his belt. Face red, fists clenched, and voice growling, it was made soon quite clear that the lean and green machine was determined to prove the captain wrong.

"Don't-a," he spat, "Ever call me a clone. Call me… Luigi."

ZAP! WHOOSH!

The Mario Brothers were soon double-teaming Agnetha, combining fire and lightning to press on. Still, the captain vigorously fought back, supported by her powerful blade and magic. Luigi was eventually cut at several areas of his body and was subsequently affected by slight blood loss, while Mario was tossed backwards by a dark energy beam. Agnetha herself was burned in several areas, but her advanced regenerative powers kicked in to revitalize her body. During this time, a question rang throughout Mario's head:

If she is under the effect of spells that grant her powerful healing and reviving abilities, then how can she be stopped?

DK was busy burying enemies left and right via his mighty head-swinging move, all in a desperate attempt to set up for a killing blow. One Lord launched a moderately long blade at him; without any time to dodge, the ape was impaled at the shoulder blade, with blood quickly seeping out of the fresh wound. The resulting injury was serious, in stark contrast with Bowser, for the blade was creeping dangerously close to one of his lungs. Nevertheless, DK pulled the object out, albeit slowly, and utilized it to slice both of his aggressor's arms off before decapitating him. Dropping the weapon, he then strolled towards his collection of half-buried opponents, searching for a way to finish them off.

"Now, what should I do with you guys…?" he mumbled, stroking his chin in the process and ignoring the ongoing bloodshed altogether. It was a matter of time before an idea clicked inside his head.

CR-CR-CR-CR-CRACK!

With hulking fists extended, DK spiraled around haphazardly, smacking his enemies in the head repeatedly to the point of creating blood fountains out of them. As an immediate result, blackness oozed across the stone floor to intensify the increasingly gruesome imagery. Oddly enough, this change was not enough to divert his attention from the fight; instead, the ape was focused on the number of enemies remaining. A quick analysis revealed that there were now only twenty Lords left, including Agnetha.

"I guess this should be over soon," he sighed before rushing out to help Yoshi.

Bowser, still pinned down, was aggressively attempting to break free from the trap. Adrenaline tore through his body, rage embedded itself into his heart, and a low growl resonated from his mouth. He was not going to stand being trapped for any longer. Growl transformed into roar, with a display of superhuman strength unraveling as he proceeded to hoist the net up. Even so, the extreme weight was a very cruel entity to the Koopa King's body. His arms were visibly shaking as he freed himself at a sluggish pace.

"Must… get… out…!" Lactic acid was delivering a burning sensation to his entire body, clashing with the determination required to escape. With no other alternative available, he would have to push himself one more time to succeed. "One more shove…"

WHOOSH!

In the blink of an eye, Bowser exploded with great force to finally conquer the net, hoisting its steel-forged form several meters away. Several yells shot throughout the hill like bullets from a gun, with his response being a simple smirk of satisfaction. As he strolled away, the now-pinned cultists were immediately incinerated by Yoshi's fire breath.

Agnetha Lindgren's heart was pumping furiously. With the remainder of her group obliterated by DK and the now-thawed Wario, she was now on her own.

Against seven persistent fighters who would never back down…

"Give it up-a, Lindgren," Mario puffed. "We've-a got you surrounded."

Agnetha's only response was a demented sort of laughter that would have frightened any lesser person to death, followed by yet another sneering comment. "You must really be out of your mind if you believe that I am simply going to surrender to you maggots. Like I have stated before, acts of cowardice would be disgraceful to the Svärtad Orm. Instead, I will ask you this: will you join us or die?"

Never succumb to the enemy.

That was the rule Mario had always followed throughout his career as the Mushroom Kingdom's leading savior, and he followed it like a religion, so much so that not even the evilest of villains could tempt him whatsoever. To him, Agnetha was no different from the other foes that had tried to corrupt him, such as the Cackletta from the Beanbean Kingdom incident, and he would wholeheartedly resist her until he was dead. Or she was.

"I'd-a rather die than join you," he finally spat.

"Very well," Agnetha hissed. "I shall grant you your death wish!" The swordswoman prepared to freeze Wario again with her ice-based spell, but her overweight adversary dodged the shot with surprising efficiency. Rushing towards Bowser, she was unfazed by his fire breath and, with the giant Koopa unable to react in time, proceeded to impale him in the chest. The cold blade penetrated the spiky, green shell and gathered the drops of blood seeping out of the deep wound, while Bowser himself roared out of severe pain. As Agnetha prepared to slaughter him, she was abruptly stopped by a Star crushing her several times over. Between each slam, she noticed Mallow raising his right hand, only to swing it down shortly after. After noticing a grin on his face, her anger boiled over to the point where she fired an icy blast to freeze him. With plans on continuing her destructive behavior, she directed a lightning bolt at Luigi to fry him. What the heroes were not prepared to face, however, was that the bolt would rapidly spread to Mario and Wario after its initial impact. All three plumbers yelled in pain as the electricity tore through their bodies.

"Yoshi got to stop Agnetha!" Yoshi yelped, proceeding to smack the captain in the legs with his tail so that he could fry her. But, without warning, a change of events unexpectedly occurred.

Sssssss….

"Huh?" Yoshi was confused by this change of events. Fire was no longer spraying from his mouth, only smoke. Several attempts later, the dinosaur finally realized one important aspect about red watermelons, as stated by Mario.

The watermelon's effects won't-a last forever, but it's-a better than nothing.

Trying to grasp this new revelation, he leaped backwards to avoid Agnetha, only to be slashed across the chest by her sword. Sharp, white-hot pain was eating away at him, and a wet feeling oozed all the way down to his stomach. It was, for a lack of better words, an experience both miserable and terrifying.

"Are you hurt, little dinosaur?" Agnetha mocked. "Here, let me fix things for you." Yoshi was about to limp away, but his opponent was far too quick for him to handle. With deadly precision, the malevolent woman stabbed the unfortunate dinosaur in the side. Luigi and Mallow, who were nearby, grimaced at the sickening sight as they watched blood pouring out of the wound. However, before Agnetha could kill the lucky Yoshi, Mario quickly grabbed her from behind to mightily throw her across the field. This event was only a setup for him to execute a deadlier attack: a giant fireball aimed at her. A loud explosion cracked the sound barrier, and a nearby patch of ground was instantly consumed with intense heat. Meanwhile, the others stared at the flaming mess nearby, hoping that the captain was defeated.

"I hope she's dead," Bowser coughed, squeezing his stab injury. "That way, I won't have to… get my claws dirty with her."

"I-a doubt it," Mario muttered. "But I do hope that she's-a incapacitated for-a now."

Whoosh...

But he was dead wrong, for at that moment, Agnetha rose from the fire to confront the Smashers once more. No longer was her robe present, as the fire had taken its toll upon it; the clothing underneath consisted of a set of blackened leather boots, a violet knee-length skirt with leggings underneath, a dark gray shirt with elongated sleeves and a sapphire brooch on the chest area, and a red scarf around her neck that flowed with the wind. Now that her robe was reduced to ashes, Mario also noticed a slight glow from her reddish hair, which seemed to amplify her true beauty. The others, however, were not even in the mood to care.

"What the hell?" Wario shouted. "She's-a still alive?!"

"That's right, my friend," Agnetha spat. "Now, it is time for all of you to witness your own deaths."

"NO!" Bowser roared. Momentarily blocking out his pain, he lunged forward to slice the woman's head off. In a surprising twist of events, he was successful, only to realize that the body did not collapse to the ground. Stares of anticipation were all that the Smashers exhibited, as they were unsure as to what would happen next.

"Wait-a," Luigi squeaked, "Shouldn't her body be-a falling down by now?"

"Luigi, look…" DK gasped in shock. His pointer finger was directed at the severed head, which was now floating in the air to reattach itself to the still-standing body. Reactions to this bizarre yet disturbing event were mixed. Some, like Luigi, were left frozen with chilling horror. Others, like Bowser, were enraged by the fact that Agnetha was still alive and conscious after sustaining injuries that would be fatal to a normal person, even though they were clearly aware of her spell.

"What the…" Mario gasped.

"Hahaha!" Agnetha chuckled, mouth wide open. "Did you really believe that your desperate move would work? Now, here's my response: Skugga Dimma!"

Whoosh...

In a split second, a black mist zipped out of Agnetha's hands to disorient the fighters. Confusion reigned, with the ability to discern one thing from another entirely lost. Some of the Smashers even stumbled while trying to wander out of the darkness, as they could not see the ground whatsoever. But this would be the least of their problems when a great deal of pain shot through every single one of them. As Mario stared down as his chest, pure horror stretched across his face as he noticed a group of long, sharp needles buried deep into the affected area, with one dangerously close to his heart. The fact that he was gravely injured also meant that the effects of the Courage Shell were no longer present. When the mist faded away, it was also revealed to him that the others, not counting the frozen Mallow, had suffered the same fate. As Mario collapsed to the floor, Agnetha was laughing maniacally out of triumph.

"Oh, dear Mario," she teased. "When will you learn that you and your posse cannot defeat me? No manner what you throw at me, I will always remain standing. You may to try fight me, but I must inform you; your efforts will be fruitless in the end. Now, dearest fool, prepare to-"

CRACK!

An energy beam was fired at Agnetha's direction, but it was not from any of the fighters. Instead, it originated from the skies above, where the stars reigned. As Mario cocked his head upwards, a glowing sphere of light floated into the hilltop to assisting the group. Wiping his eyes, Mario was presented with an image of a woman who boasted divine energy; she was draped with a turquoise-tinted dress, wore a pair of elegant high-heels, and possessed a silver-forged crown with precious gems on the sides. As a side note, a star-shaped brooch could be seen on the dress itself. For bodily properties, her height was significantly greater than most other well-known figures of the Mushroom Kingdom, with Bowser and DK being the only ones to surpass her. Her hair was painted with an essence that resulted in lighter coloring, and it was shaped into a style that obscured one of her eyes entirely. The eyes themselves shined with the color of the oceans. With all properties considered, Mario quickly recognized this person.

"Rosalina?" he croaked, weakened from his injuries. "What are you-a doing here?"

"I'll explain everything later," she whispered back, seconds before Agnetha could strike her with a hardened blade.

"Another one?" the swordswoman grunted. "This is truly becoming tiresome, wouldn't you agree?"

"And what would you like for me to do about it?" Rosalina twirled her wand before directing it at the captain, preparing to fight.

"I want you to die for me."

ZAP!

Agnetha conjured a lightning bolt to fry the celestial princess, but it was caught by a magical field conjured by the latter woman's wand. The next event that happened was not what the others were expecting; Rosalina swiftly redirected the bolt with unerring accuracy, causing a great deal of pain to her opponent. In fact, it came to the point where the captain was rendered immobile by the move, sparking curiosity and confusion in Mario's head.

That's unusual, he pondered. Agnetha's suffering more from having her own attacks redirected to her than from what we've been pumping out. I know I've heard about Link doing this to Ganondorf several times, but how's that possible? Before he could delve any further into thought, Rosalina was pelting the now-paralyzed captain with a flurry of Star Bits, mysterious objects that inhabited the vast realm of space, only to follow it up with a very rare variant of a Star, appropriately known as a Grand Star. Under the princess's command, the galactic artifact launched itself into the enemy and, much to the utter surprise of the others, exploded with such force that it cleanly tossed her off the hillside. The defeated captain's body was not noticed again after the attack. Mario, however, was not comforted by the Agnetha's defeat.

She'll be back soon, he believed. With all her spells, she will survive the blow for sure. Slowly removing the needles from his chest despite the stinging pain, Mario stood up to temporarily dispel his feelings of doubtfulness... and to thank the Luma guardian for her help.

"Thanks-a, Rosalina," he sighed. "You've-a really helped us out here."

"My pleasure," was her response. By this point, her sphere of light had vanished to reveal her form more clearly.

"So, what are you-a doing here?"

"A Luma was traveling down to the Mushroom World to visit Toad Town for recreational purposes, but as soon she overheard your conversation about a massacre in the area, she wanted me to observe what was going on. Using my observatory's telescope, I analyzed the town for a while, and it turned out that the citizens were indeed slaughtered by a hostile force. I also noticed your group venturing towards Star Hill at the time, but it was only when you arrived here did I notice your actual intentions; you were trying to rescue what appeared to be this young man's parents from the unidentified foes." Mid-sentence, she directed her pointer finger at the still-frozen Mallow and then towards his parents, who were now emerging from their hiding spot. "During the battle, the leading woman was starting to overpower you all, so I had to provide some help."

Mario, wiping the sweat off his forehead, shot a stare of relief at Rosalina, pleased at her decision to help the Smashers. "So, that's-a why you've-a made your way over here in the first-a place," he muttered. After speaking, he went on to create a fireball that released Mallow from his icy prison. Upon release, the prince exhibited confusion, for he had not caught up with the recent events.

"What happened?" he mumbled, all while shivering from his prolonged exposure to ice.

"Battle's over," the plumber responded. "Now, I would-a like to introduce you to Rosalina; she's-a the guardian of the Lumas and-a owner of the Comet Observatory."

Stepping forth, Mallow proceeded with the greetings, albeit in a slow manner. "Hi, I'm Mallow, the Prince of Nimbus Land. It's nice to meet you."

"Hello, Mallow," the princess spoke. As the words exited her mouth, she glanced at the cloud-born prince, intrigued by his appearance.

A citizen of the clouds, she pondered. I have heard of his kind before in ancient legends, but I had never believed that they truly existed until now. Not too long after the thought passed through her mind, her eyes spotted the king and queen gathering around their only son, overwhelmed with relief that he was safe and sound. Meanwhile, the others compacted themselves into one decently-sized group, having noticed both the celestial princess and the joy surrounding Mallow's family despite the bloody, carnage-infested scenery. It was safe to state that, in the minds of most of the people present, there was now some breathing room available due to the conclusion of the grueling fight. After glancing at the royal family, Rosalina redirected her attention to Mario's group, noticing the various faces in the crowd; one of them seemed out of place, unlikely to be working alongside Mario.

"Mario," she whispered, briefly staring at the hulking Koopa, "Why is Bowser in your group? Usually, the two of you are enemies, constantly battling each other over the Mushroom Kingdom."

"He's agreed to join us after I've-a reminded him that he will have-a no kingdom to conquer if the enemies win," the plumber responded, crossing his arms in the process. "I believe that should-a clear things up." Staring at the western sky, Mario's eyes were presented with an image of Bowser's castle. Even while further away, a vibe of darkness wrapped itself around the structure, and the lands surrounding it were cursed with an atmosphere of evil. Still, he and his group would have to embark on a journey to that place, just to ensure the safety of the realms…

"Bro," Luigi called, "What should-a we do now?

His continuous gaze now broken, the older plumber replied with a weary tone. "We'll-a head back to Bowser's castle to reach-a the remains of Exor."

"We'll also get to find my cousin inside," DK added. "I just hope he isn't captured, or worse yet… killed." Rotating his body towards Rosalina, he prepared to ask her a question that could produce a difference between victory and defeat. "Hey, do you want to join us on our quest to retrieve a segment of the Staff of Björn?"

"The Staff of Björn…" she muttered. "I've heard about that artifact before; legends state that a piece of it is hidden in the Mushroom World."

"Wait-a," Mario spat, flabbergasted at the comment, "You-a actually have some insight about the staff?"

"Of course; in fact, I have a book about it in my personal library. But, to answer DK's question, I will indeed be joining you on your adventure." To the red-clad plumber, Rosalina's face seemed to shine with confidence, unafraid of any threat that could cross her path.

"Alright," he muttered, "Let's-a-"

But he was suddenly halted by a strange feeling lurking inside his stomach. At first, he assumed that it was caused by something that he had eaten during breakfast time. While Kirby was not the type of puffball to insert something dangerous into his meals, the ingredients he utilized were, very rarely, the cause of volatile stomach reactions in a few Smashers. A few seconds later, however, the situation instantly took a turn for the worse. A sudden pain was now clawing at his own body, with each strike it delivered being more vicious than the last. In response, Mario clenched his chest tightly.

"Mario?" Mallow squeaked. "Are you okay?"

Oblivious to the prince's comment, the plumber collapsed to his knees: head pulsing harshly, legs unable to support his weight, and heart beating irregularly. As he raised his head, he could notice the other Smashers suffering from the same condition. This only served to further throw his heartbeat off-rhythm, for he was fearing what would happen next. His vision fading away, Mario stared down at the removed needles. He stared long and hard at them, only to notice a dark green substance mixed in with his blood. Fear flared up as he realized what the substance was.

It was a poison.

"Mario, what's wrong?" Rosalina asked worriedly. But the plumber, yet again, failed to respond, with his ability to speak removed by the lethal substance harming his organs. A sudden coughing fit shot drops of blood onto the floor. Hearing became impaired. Pain gave way to numbness, which provided zero comfort to the hero himself. No longer could he support himself; in a swift motion, he completely dropped to the floor, not aware that the back of his head was soaking in a puddle of black blood. His eyes had the minimum amount of strength required to notice a series of star-shaped figures descending from the heavens above, but before he could recognize them or any of their now-distorted voices, his vision had dimmed to the point where he could not discern anything.

Within moments, his world had faded to black.

Diddy's eyes opened wide for the first time since he was incapacitated; as his vision regained focus, he stared at the details of the room. The room that he was stuffed into was utterly barren, with a set of giant steel doors and an active light bulb being the only notable features. Moss-covered stone dominated the area, which seemed to add to the decrepit mood presenting itself to the small simian. Lifting himself off the floor, he tried to sprint for the door, but his body was stopped by something pulling on one of his wrists. A feeling of discomfort sparked when he found himself staring at a cuff attached to his left arm. The cuff itself was attached to a nearby wall via steel chain.

"This must be a prison of some sort," he muttered. "But who would want me in here in the first place?"

A low rumbling suddenly rocked the castle wall, bumping the smaller ape into the air for less than a second. Something had occurred inside the castle, but the exact details were a mystery for him. This event would not come to pass, however, when the rumbling resumed; this time, however, it was greater in magnitude but shorter in duration. Tension escalated inside Diddy's body, for something potentially dangerous was approaching his location. The only question was: what? Seconds passed, and the poundings continued before the door creaked open…

His eyes, upon seeing what was now exposed, widened with shock.

No… Not here… Please, I don't wanna die in this place… Someone help me… Help...

-Luigi

Real cliffhangers abound. How will everything play out in the next chapter? Will Mario and his allies die before they can obtain the staff piece? And as for what Diddy just saw, that will be for a later chapter.

A/N:

-"Skugga Dimma" means "Shadow Fog".