It starts with pain. The pain of death, creeping closer.
The world is being torn asunder, by a black behemoth of unknown shape and presence. Lightning tears through the surface of the world. An amber sword fades in the distance.
A person sits and feels cold, as his sight slips away into everlasting darkness, and the haunting cold that lies beyond.
Its all just a dream, or rather, a nightmare.
This is the dream of Mew, the clone of Alex Whiter left behind on Earth. He wakes up in his home in a cold sweat and decides to start his day earlier than usual.
After his morning routine of checking on the news and having breakfast, Mew has some nostalgic recollections of the day he met Mario, and traveled to the Mushroom Kingdom to become the Elemental Overlord.
The sky is then greeted by a strange breeze, as a portal opens up to him, inviting him with its familiarity. Mew smiles at the possibility of a new adventure or seeing old friends, and walks into the portal to arrive at E. Gadd's lab, currently unoccupied.
But the commotion outside tells him everyone's happy for the time being. So with a skip in his step he climbs the stairs to see how everyone's doing.
Toad Town is bustling with life, which brings a smile to Mew's face.
He wanders around, thinking about going to meet up with Mario at his house and catch up for old time's sake. But as he heads towards the center of town he runs across a golden statue depicting a young Elemental Overlord.
Upon trying to read the name off though, Mew's head gets fuzzy and his memories reboot to a few moments earlier, correcting an "error" in his observation.
The Toads look at him funny, causing him to get confused.
He is then approached by the Master, who doesn't recognize him. When Mew tries to introduce himself the Master pauses, and then goes along with his story for now.
He then offers to train his elemental powers if need be, and returns to his Dojo.
Mew then shrugs and continues on his journey to Mario's house. But before he can leave the town center, he's interrupted by a strange alien with a thumb-shaped head, cloak, and glass helmet.
The alien calls himself "Mr. Reality" and claims he's here looking for the Elemental Overlord.
Mew proudly points to himself, only for Mr. Reality to flat out call him a fraud. Mew shows his powers and his sword off a little but Mr. Reality doesn't buy it.
So Mew decides to just straight up fight him to prove it...right in the middle of town. Whoops.
The scuffle fortunately doesn't get too bad. Mew and his foe keep things contained to each other, though the Toads do get a little nervous as they watch on.
Mew fumbles around trying to land a hit on the alien, only to keep falling for his illusions...Or so he thinks. By the time the alien starts binding him in rather familiar looking chains, Mew suspects there's more to the story.
Speaking the alien's name aloud a few times causes Mew to recognize that the alien is a reality bender, and a damn good one at that.
But Mr. Reality zips his lips and tells him how now that he's learned that Mew's not so much of a liar as he thought, he's not ready to prepare the ultimate game.
Before Mew can even blink he's put to sleep and awakens in a more dismal version of Toad Town, where all color has been flushed out, and the Toads have been turned into mindless zombies.
Mew tries to defend himself but finds he can no longer draw his sword or call upon his elements to bail him out. Suddenly though, a flash of light emerges and rescues him, carrying him back into the alley he awakened in before.
The figure wears a hood and cloak and calls himself...The Chronicler.
The Chronicler reveals himself as but an observer, a ghost with eyes, so to speak. But he's willing to guide Mew along his journey.
What is that journey, exactly? Well, Mr. Reality has transformed the whole planet into this monochrome wasteland, leaving Mew as the sole living being able to do anything about it at the moment.
Mew is pissed off that everything is the way it is and immediately thinks about going after Mr. Reality to set things right.
The Chronicler is humored, asking him how he exactly plans on doing that without his powers.
Mew gulps and doubles back, realizing that he has nothing. No sword, no elements, hell, not even his power of flight.
The Chronicler suggests heading towards the temples he got his powers from in the first place and seeing if he can find a way to get his powers back there.
Mew agrees and is about to head out when the Chronicler stops him and asks him what he believes it means to be a hero.
Mew states how the definition of a hero changes depending on what side your own, and assures the Chronicler that he's a hero of justice, not evil.
The Chronicler seems pleased and leaves to allow Mew to press on unopposed.
Mew then heads to the edge of town and out to the Osagi Woods, where he's greeted by Mr. Reality on a monitor.
Mew immediately tells the son of a bitch to give him his sword back so he can actually fight, and the alien relents, surprisingly.
Mr. Reality then details a bit of the game. He wants to recreate the adventure of the Elemental Overlord and see if Mew can beat it a second time in tougher conditions. Mew's a little hyped up at the game and proceeds into the woods, ready to show him what for.
...Only to quickly get bored when his jaunt through the woods lacks any distractions. No puzzle, no friends, its a rather boring time.
Mew laughs at himself for getting bored during a world crisis but its probably the only thing keeping him from going crazy from the loneliness.
He then tackles the labyrinth woods with a sharper focus until finally making it to the Nature Castle once...again?
He's not sure about his memories lining up correctly, but he keeps his guard up going towards the entrance. He's soon taunted by a haunting laugh, coming from the one and only King Boo.
King Boo has been put under Mr. Reality's spell and infused with the nature element to make him more in line with the previous Outer Guardian.
But he lacks the photosynthesis aspect the last guy did, so Mew is able to hurt him, even with just his sword. Eventually Mew knocks him out and is able to head on inside, getting this strange feeling that someone familiar awaits him.
Mew starts getting crazy talking to himself and has to work a little harder to keep himself sane and focused. His trip through the temple brings up nostalgic memories, but he has to shove them back in deep, seeing how Mr. Reality has undoubtedly switched things up to take advantage of his over-reliance on the past.
And though there are a few deadlier changes to the temple's structure, the relatively short trip helps a lot.
At the top and without an Elemental Stone to speak of, Mew hears a voice in his head telling him to plant his sword in the throne.
Before he can try he's ambushed and the throne is covered in vines. His assailant? Driad, or rather, a twisted projection of his true self.
This Driad speaks bitterly towards Mew, calling him a glory hound and selfish. Mew can't believe his friend would act like this, and doesn't even think its Mr. Reality forcing him to say all this...In a sense.
Mew suspects that this is Driad's "Shadow" which has some dreadful implications for the state of the world right now.
But they aren't worth pursuing now. Mew draws his blade, meets this Driad's determination head-on, and fights.
Mew matches Driad's swordsmanship and can tell he's gotten stronger over time. So it hurts a lot to have to defeat him and prove that he still can't match him in strength.
Once Driad is knocked out Mew puts his sword in the throne and nature elemental energy gushes out, returning color to this part of the world and giving him his Nature Conduit Form back.
He then picks up Driad and carries him out of the castle, congratulating him for his hard work.
Upon returning to Toad Town Mew finds that its mostly been restored to color and the Toads are back to normal. But they're clearly perturbed and are actively blocking off key locations like Peach's Castle and the pipe to Mario's house.
So Mew decides to drop Driad off at the Inn to rest while he moves on to the next temple submerged near the docks.
Along the way he has another run in with the Master, who clearly knows something strange is going on. He talks about how he no longer has contact with the Star Spirits.
Mew and the Master exchange information and decide to keep a close eye on what's going on for the time being.
The Master then praises Mew for having a clear understanding of Nature given his careful treatment of Driad's body, but says that training is still an option if he wants.
Mew then heads to the docks and has another run in with the Chronicler, who pulls him aside to chat.
The Chronicler congratulates Mew's efforts by telling him part of a story. Though wordy, Mew recognizes it as a tale regarding the beginning of his life.
The Chronicler leaves, and Mew calls him weird. Then Mr. Reality pops in again, causing Mew to shout at him for what he did to Driad.
Mr. Reality shrugs it off, saying Mew has no right to yell at the game master. He then forces Mew to draw his sword and makes him transform into his Nature Conduit Form.
From here on out Mew will be forced into whatever form he just regained, making it tougher to solve later puzzles with his limited options.
Mew rolls with the punches because he's confident he can work it all out.
For example, getting into the Aqua Palace has him using plants to make a makeshift snorkel while he scours the seafloor for the button that'll part the water and let him enter.
Once the way is free Mew runs across his next Outer Guardian. The Underchomp has been transformed into a three-headed eel-y threat, but with some clever use of his whip Mew manages to make it heel.
He then enters the palace, realizing that he'll probably run into another of his old friends at the bottom.
He uses plants to work his way through all of the new traps and make his way to the bottom. There, he's ambushed by Shadow Luigi, who takes the appearance of both Luigi AND Mr. L, stitched together down the center.
Shadow Luigi expresses annoyance at how he already has trouble getting out of Mario's shadow, but now he has to worry about the Elemental Overlord's shadow again.
Fueled by jealousy, Shadow Luigi strikes.
Mew has a tougher time beating him than he did Driad, as Luigi's Thunderhand conducts the water in the room.
Ultimately Mew weakens the Shadow enough that the real Luigi starts to shine through, upset at "Mr. L" for trying to usurp his personality.
Luigi is about to deny the Shadow when Mew smacks him around a bit more to knock him out. Then he undoes the effect Mr. Reality had on this part of the world, freeing Luigi and the second half of Toad Town.
Luigi wakes up quickly and Mew says hello. Luigi doesn't recognize him though. When Mew tries to remind him who he is, Luigi says he doesn't recognize the name "Mew".
This bothers Mew their whole trip back to Toad Town. He assumes there must be two Overlords since his memory is clean.
After picking up Driad and bringing him to Mario's restored house, him and Luigi sit down and have a chat about the discrepancy in Mew's memories.
Luigi suspects a cut off point somewhere since Mew can't remember Tabuu and the Apocalypse Royale stuff. Thus, he theorizes Mew has amnesia.
Mew wonders if that's the case given he vividly recalls the last year of his life. Luigi then decides not to clarify further so Mew can focus. He has experience with amnesia, after all.
Thus Mew and Luigi gets some rest to tackle the day tomorrow.
The next day Mew wakes Driad up and the Crayzee Dayzee jumps in his arms, clearly very happy to see him again.
Then with Luigi's help, they enjoy a nice breakfast, though there is a somber feeling in the air because of the lack of Mario.
To cheer things up a bit, Driad unveils the power to grow fruits off his vines. Though its not the best of times, Mew's happy to see his friends making the best of things.
He then heads off to do the next temple, taking a stroll through town first to see how things have changed. He finds the Master at the dock and decides to talk with him.
The Master relates to Mew about his former recklessness, and how a life of immortality has taught him much, especially humility.
Nevertheless, he has one major regret, a recent one at that. He wanted to train someone to help them iron out their arrogance and recklessness, but he went too hard, and believes that his words caused the situation that got them killed.
Mew sympathizes with his loss and says he'll try and be a better student than him.
The Master says he's already on a good path, as he has a natural understanding of Nature and Water. Now, he needs to reclaim the sky.
The Master was able to call in a favor to get a Nimbusian Taxi to Nimbus Land. Thus, Mew is set off on another adventure.
The taxi driver worries for his life given a lapse in memory a while back. Mew's nonchalant attitude isn't helping matters.
When they move closer to the "Midnight Channel" the taxi driver starts to undergo a startling transformation. His body becomes a cloud of toxic smog that threatens to choke Mew out entirely.
He's saved at the last minute by the Chronicler once again, arriving at Nimbus Land, where all the Nimbusians have formed a gigantic toxic cloud.
The threat is dire, as the cloud continues to evolve over time to become powerful enough to kill everyone still under the effect of this realm.
Perfect time for another of the Chronicler's tales! Mew hears more of his own backstory for a few minutes and then questions the Chronicler as to how he'll enter the Sky Temple.
Fortunately with the way the world is right now Mew will be able to enter the temple without worrying about the sundial stuff.
He just has to hurry, before the toxic cloud leaves Nimbus Land.
He rushes to the temple and has an encounter with Lakithunder, who has become the Outer Guardian here. Unluckily for him, Mew's using the Water element and can get around his element.
Thus, he moves on into the temple itself, wondering how he'll be able to advance with this element.
The first puzzle in the temple proves difficult for Mew to overcome, so he tries to use a shortcut through the outer part of the temple. The walkway is treacherous but not impossible, so he makes it to the next room in record time.
This does earn him the ire of Mr. Reality, who accuses him of cheating by skipping past the puzzle. But Mew genuinely didn't know about the shortcut.
Mr. Reality accepts it, for now, but decides to double-check the later temples so this won't happen again.
Mew's given a free pass to go to the temple room and, lo-and-behold, Shadow Mallow waits for him, dressed in a kingly attire.
Shadow Mallow expresses how he loathes being forced into the throne, believing that its because of his father's laziness. But while he was reluctant before, he now feels confident in not only taking the throne on Nimbus Land, but become king of the rest of the world.
There's some clear insecurities being expressed here, sort of like Luigi. Mallow lashes out against Mew, calling him weak cause of past events.
Mew almost falls for the bait by insulting him back, but then reaffirms his determination and fights with all his strength to save his friend. He succeeds eventually, allowing the cloud prince a chance to rest, and freeing Nimbus Land of its toxicity.
Mew immediately zips into the palace to deliver Mallow back to his parents, the King and Queen of Nimbus Land. After giving them the details on what happened, for the most part, he hopes that Mallow will rest well and decides to head back.
But not before deciding to question the King and Queen about Mallow's doubts and fears. As his father, the King was just worried lately about Mallow's heroics putting him in grave danger, and wanted to make him the King in hopes that it would curb his adventurous spirit.
He didn't mean to stress him out. He just hoped that Mallow would develop into a fine young man on his own.
Mew thinks Mallow will be just fine, and maybe to lay off the succession for now, which the King agrees with.
Mew then returns to Mario's house, his flight given back now that he can command the Sky.
Once there he finds Driad, who's been informed by Luigi about everything he's been missing out on. They then wait for said brother in green to get back with groceries.
He had gone off to talk with Peach, who had suddenly returned back to her castle after blacking out inside Bowser's Castle. But Mario is nowhere to be found, confirming earlier suspicions that he's the Inner Guardian of the Ignitor Cave.
They then decide to focus on the subject of Mr. Reality, rather, how they're going to beat him. Mew has no ideas yet, but Driad has one.
Remembering how specific the prophecy of the Elemental Overlord was, he thinks that maybe he planned ahead for a reality bending alien and hid something in the Origin Temple that could stop him.
But with E. Gadd missing in action at the moment there's no way to use the Stargadd to get there. Mew would like to go searching for him, but he needs to prioritize the temples for now, lest Mr. Reality get impatient.
The next morning after a merry meal of pancakes Mew and Driad decide to go out and enjoy the sun for a bit. Driad reminisces about old times until the Master arrives and politely interrupts.
He gives Mew a brief lesson on the Sky and tells him to keep an ear open. Doing so causes Mew to notice a helicopter coming straight for them.
Mew intercepts the vehicle and helps it land safely, where Captain Florence, one of Alpha's Yoshi allies, plops out looking rather messed up.
After getting him some rest on the couch Florence explains how he got here. Him, Gemini and Alpha were observing the changes to the planet when all of a sudden Mr. Reality arrived and taunted them, saying they're the last pawns needed in the game.
Alpha and Gemini stay back to fight but are quickly dispatched and put under Mr. Reality's control. Florence, however, just barely manages to fend them off long enough to get a ride out of there. Albeit, he blacked out not long after, and when he awoke he tried to go straight for Mario's house.
Florence pleas with Mew to help save his comrades, but not like Mew was NOT going to do that anyways. He helps assure Florence that his home will be saved and then flies out to go save Gemini at the Lightning Palace.
Upon arriving there he finds the Chronicler, looking weakened after scuffling with an unknown assailant. Mew worries for his own safety but the Chronicler assures him he won't let him be targeted.
But for now he'll be stopping with the aid and advice. Instead, he tells him the next part of Mew's tale.
...Or maybe not.
What comes next is nothing Mew's familiar with. His parents being killed by a comet? His young, innocent self violated by experiments performed by a man called Prometheus? His body injected with Saiyan DNA? None of this was real. It had to be fake.
But then he thought about the amnesia, this crisis of identity he's been having since coming to this world. He starts believing that story the Chronicler told him and loses his cool as he begins to climb the stairs to the Lightning Palace.
He annihilates the Outer Guardian, Kent C. Koopa, without breaking a sweat. But before he goes for the killing blow he's pulled out of his anger upon recognizing that this isn't the kind of person he is. Plus, the echoes of his friend's relying on him reminds him that he has a duty to uphold as the Elemental Overlord...Regardless of whether or not he's the man in the Chronicler's story.
Mew travels into the Lightning Palace with a fresh mind and takes a deep breath, ready for the traps that lie ahead.
An assortment of electrical conundrums requires him to think smarter than usual, but eventually he climbs to the top and finds...Gemini?
Not the Shadow, but the real deal. Turns out Mr. Reality has changed the game up somewhat, splitting the real body away from the Shadow, as he felt the real body was holding the Shadows back due to their recognition of Mew.
Now Gemini attempted to deny his Shadow, and in doing so caused it to go berserk. Mr. Reality kept it frozen for now until Mew arrived, right as the real Gemini collapsed from the strain of denying his true self.
The Shadow goes berserk and transforms into a three-tiered tower representing the conflict between Gemini's Koopa, Demon, and Angel forms, and doubts of where he wants to be...With the M.S.I., or Koopa Village.
Mew draws his sword and denies the Shadow as well, telling him to piss off so he can save his friend.
A literal RPG Battle happens I shit you not, but Mew wins and manages to save Gemini while gaining 1008 EXP.
He then restored his Lightning powers and flies off, carrying Gemini with him back to Mario's house.
The rest of the day is spent between Mew, Florence and Driad just relaxing and enjoying a good time. They also get Florence's backstory as to how he joined the M.S.I.
The next morning Gemini wakes up, and Luigi returns with Mallow in tow...And Professor E. Gadd!
Some information is exchanged to get everyone up to date. Then, E. Gadd explains where he had disappeared to. He pulls out the prophecy tablet from a hyperspace cube and says he was so close to find the missing piece that might possibly give them the means to stop Mr. Reality.
Florence then remembers how the last time he saw Alpha, he was fiddling with a stone piece and hid it away in his arm for safe-keeping.
Though everyone wonders why he'd go and hide it, they realize they're two temples away from actually saving and questioning him on it.
So instead the subject turns towards Mew and his strange memory problems. As it turns out nobody here knew about the experiments Mew had been subjected to, and are horrified to learn of them.
Gemini, however, starts getting suspicious of Mew's memories and presses him about the Origin Temple in particular. When Mew's answer doesn't line up with the Koopa's memories Gemini declares that Mew had his memories tampered with.
Mew can't believe it for a second since his feelings of friendship to these guys is real.
Gemini then questions how Mew could even know all of this stuff to begin with despite not remembering it. So Mew is forced to break the silence on the Chronicler.
This leads to an escalation in Mew's confusion as he feels something major is being hidden from him. Driad, in a panic, spills that Mew's "real name" is supposed to be "Alex Whiter".
Mew is devastated to learn this, his mind now a twister of confusion. But before he can press things further, an earthquake starts up. This is abnormal in the Mushroom Kingdom, so E. Gadd rightfully confirms that this must be coming from the Terra Cave as a sort of "getting moving" call to Mew from Mr. Reality.
Mew leaves, but he's understandably angered by his "friends" keeping secrets from him for no good reason. He flies off, ready to continue Reality's Game.
Mew lands in the deserts outside Moleville, now forced into his Lightning Conduit Form, so he can't fly. He then has another run in with the Chronicler.
Frustrated with the lies of his friends, Mew vents to the Chronicler, then starts breaking down in desperation, wondering if he really is anyone of worth.
The Chronicler comes out with the truth, that the story he'd been telling all this time was Alex Whiter's. As far as Mew goes...he is a clone of Alex Whiter, created to have the freedom and lack of burdens that he never had.
Mew continues to lament his existence, thinking he's just a shadow of the real deal. The Chronicler promptly shuts him up, saying that he's worth more than he knows.
More importantly, Mew is Mew. He's not a shadow, or anyone else. There's only one of him, and he should be proud to be who he is.
This cheers up Mew ever-slightly and he decides to press on, coming face-to-face with Trunkle, acting as the Outer Guardian of the Terra Cave now.
Mew takes him down rather easily and then renews his vows to take Mr. Reality down before entering the cave.
Mew simply has to solve a puzzle regarding elemental weaknesses and survive the chasm to reach the bottom. Then he runs into a confrontation between Geno and his "Shadow".
But as Geno points out, he has no true self to hide. He's always been honest to others about who he is. So the "Shadow" is merely there for decoration to keep this game going.
The "Shadow" laughs and goes berserk, becoming a giant, hollowed out version of Geno's puppet buddy for Mew to face in yet another RPG Battle no I am not kidding.
After Mew wins the "Shadow" dies and the Terra Cave starts to collapse upon itself. When it seems like Mew won't be able to get Geno out of there, the two of them are suddenly carried away to safety by the Star Spirits.
Up in Star Haven Mew and Geno are healed up and Mew gets some words in with the Star Spirits.
They knew he was a clone the whole time too, but are still actively prevented from interfering or saying anything thanks to the events with the reborn Dark King.
Thus they also can't give Mew the Star Rod to possibly combat Mr. Reality's powers. Mew is peeved but understanding of their situation.
He then has Geno relay a message to the others telling they he'll be coming back eventually. Right now, feeling spry as can be, Mew decides to continue on while the day's young.
But before he can venture out of Star Haven he has a run in with the Master. The Master no longer wants to give advice to Mew. He can tell that Mew is a lot more perceptive than he had originally suspected.
And it allows him to rest easy, knowing that he succeeded where he failed before with Alex Whiter.
The Master expresses guilt over Alex potentially dying because of his own prodding, and wants Mew to continue to be the best he can be not just to honor Alex's memory, but also to keep the planet safe in his absence.
Mew watches the Master fade away, departing for the stars above, his life and purpose now over.
Mew vows to honor his memory too, and continues on to the Frozen Palace.
There he has another run in with the Chronicler, who just finished evading a most vile creature hunting him down.
After expressing confusion over the Chronicler not knowing of the Master's death, Mew decides to ask about Alex Whiter's death.
The Chronicler is reluctant to explain the details but does so anyways. And once Mew has learned the truth, all he has to say about Alex is that he brought his death upon himself.
The Chronicler didn't expect to hear that response. Mew tells him that Alex shouldn't have been so arrogant, or listened to what his dark clone had to say.
The Chronicler agrees, somewhat.
Mew then notices that he's feeling an odd familiarity with the Chronicler lately. The Chronicler hastily comes up with a reason why but Mew can't shake the feeling he's not getting the full truth out of the cloaked man.
Nevertheless Mew has higher priorities and climbs the tower, effortlessly knocking the Outer Guardian Chief Chilly down with some Earth work.
Inside the Frozen Palace while Mew has a couple scares, he notes how the puzzles are getting less and less troubling to deal with.
Clearly Mr. Reality was now focusing on the battles to give him trouble, and none were going to be tougher than Alpha. Mew actually worried about what was coming up since he only had one element available to him against the Commander of the M.S.I.
When he arrives in the final room though he notices something odd. The Alpha before him has none of the traits of a Shadow, but he's also dead silent, communicating only with violence.
Mew fends him off for a while before eventually noticing a presence behind Alpha and calling out to it to reveal...Cackletta, controlling Alpha with magic.
Cackletta represents Alpha's "Shadow", in a sense. She is also the real deal, retaining all of her past memories, along with being told about everything that happened over the past year...Including that Mew is a clone of Alex.
Cackletta controls Alpha through a new spell she learned about "Impirio", and with words now exchanged between them the witch sets Alpha against Mew.
Mew struggles to fend Alpha off and only manages to knock him out by exploiting Alpha's hatred of the witch long enough to get him to regain control.
Mew then tries to confront Cackletta, who boasts that she'll be able to win with the weakened state he's in. But Mew pulls off one last trick and activates the energy reserves when she isn't looking.
With this in play, Cackletta's no longer allowed to stay alive. Mr. Reality, abhorred by her villainy, freezes her in place and allows Alpha to wipe her out again as an apology for controlling him.
Alpha gladly accepts and destroys her once again. Then, Mr. Reality puts Mew to sleep so he can rest up and prepare for the final temple.
Mew wakes up inside the M.S.I., watched over by Alpha. Alpha greets him happily and tells him that he's all rested up now.
Mew and Alpha take a brief walk and brief each other on the circumstances surrounding recent events. Their conversation uncovers a few inconvenient truths.
One, that Mew suspects that the Chronicler might actually be Alex Whiter, or another clone of him, following his last will.
Two, Alpha also suspected that Alex has been alive the whole time since he "died". In fact, the Master, Geno and the Star Spirits know the truth.
Three, Alpha was given the last fragment of the Overlord's tablet by the Master, and despite being told not to, Alpha tried to translate it to no avail. Alpha gives the fragment up to Mew, suspecting that the truth written on there is meant for him alone.
Alpha then tells Mew that he called the others to his base so they can reorganized and maybe plan a counterattack against Mr. Reality.
Mew's hesitant to see them again after storming off before, but Alpha bluntly tells him to just suck it up and hash it out with them. They're all understanding. Besides, this might be his last chance to talk with them.
The next day Mew's immediately greeted by Driad and has a long talk with him about his insecurities regarding Alex. Driad's felt lost and betrayed ever since Alex went and died. To the Crayzee Dayzee, Alex spit on the graves of the Genesis Samurais.
Mew makes a promise to Driad that he won't get arrogant and die for nothing. When this all blows over, he'll stick around with him so they can be one happy family.
Mew then moves on to find the others and runs into Mallow next. Mallow's actually feeling a lot better about himself since he talked with his parents. So there's not really much he needs help with.
They then go and have some breakfast in the cafeteria, after which Mew decides to seek out Gemini and Luigi.
On the way to Gemini Mew runs into a surprising guest...Axem Red. After a brief scuffle Gemini comes in and breaks them up, then explains that "Warrant Officer Red" is on their side.
This throws Mew for quite the loop.
Mew and Gemini then have a brief talk about Gemini's Shadow, and the conflict of him deciding between his two homes.
Mew says he has to decide that for himself, but that Alpha would totally be fair if Gemini decided to just go visit Koopa Village on occasion.
Gemini appreciates the advice and then heads out to take care of some other things, leaving Mew to find and have a chat with Luigi close by.
Luigi's struggling with the lack of information regarding where his brother is, especially as its left him acting like the strong one. He's exhausted and praises his brother for putting up with all this stress for so long.
Mew apologizes for freaking out on Luigi and the plumber in green accepts it without hesitation. He then tries to tell him more about Alex, only for the alarms to go off and Alpha to recall Alex back to the Command Sphere for a planetary emergency.
Mew rushes to the Command Sphere and finds out from Alpha that the Nova Cesspool is beginning to corrode, either because of the "Midnight Channel's" effect on the world or because Mr. Reality's sending a message for him to get back on track.
Either way, if Mew doesn't hurry up and continue the game, the Nova Cesspool will break down completely and cause irreversible damage to the planet's core.
Before Mew heads out though, him and Alpha converse about what to do with Mr. Reality. Alpha personally believes that Mew has to kill him to prevent something like this from happening again. However, having seen Mr. Reality offer an apology to Alpha and the lack of any real animosity on his part, Mew wonders if there's more to the alien than what he's seen.
Alpha ultimately leaves it up to Mew on what to do but warns him that if given the chance, he will kill Mr. Reality without hesitation.
Mew runs off, running into E. Gadd along the way, and handing off the tablet fragment so he can put it all together before he gets back.
Then he exits the base and rockets off to the Nova Cesspool for the final stretch of the game.
Upon arriving there he finds the Reaper fighting...the Chronicler?!
Yes, wielding a familiar amber blade, the Chronicler fends off the death rider of the fog until his body starts to collapse.
Then Mew intervenes, putting him between the two with his lance drawn. The Reaper calls him a fool for defending one who'd threaten the balance of life and death so callously.
Mew doesn't care and says that if the Reaper wants the Chronicler, he'll have to kill him too, and Mr. Reality wouldn't like that.
The Reaper lowers his guns and retreats out of agreement of what was said, but warns that he will come back later for the Chronicler.
Afterwards the Chronicler winds down and tries to slink off, only for Mew to call him by his real name, "Alex Whiter".
The Chronicler lowers his hood and reveals that Mew's assumption was correct, much to Mew's disbelief.
Mew and Alex then discuss what happened, with Alex confirming that he is the real deal. He also reveals how he's magically performed some of his feats, through the use of a time controlling stone called the "Gaia Temporis".
He has been a nomad for some time, using a cloak he acquired from the REAL Chronicler to help conceal himself in the shadows.
Mew then boils this all down to one question: "Why?"
He doesn't understand how Alex could abandon his friends for so long, even after Alex expresses agreement at what Chaos Alex said to him a year ago.
Mew KNOWS that if Alex had gone to his friends and talked it over they would've helped him out. But Alex disagrees, citing that he needs to deal with his problems himself.
Mew calls him an idiot but Alex simply throws that back in his face by calling him a meddler. Mew's presence here is ruining everything, and Alex never, ever wanted to see him again in the first place because as two parts of the same whole, Mew would know exactly what to say to pull Alex back. And he doesn't want to go back.
Mew chides him some more but the corrosion of the area gives Alex an opportunity to leave, warning Mew not to follow.
But in his quick absence Alex had left behind the Gaia Temporis, which Mew promptly picks up and decides to use for himself, calling Alex unstable.
Next up Mew winds up facing the Koopalings and Bowser Jr. outside the entrance to the Ignitor Cave, followed by going through pastiche versions of some of Bowser's castles.
At the end of the road Mew is greeted by his last two opponents...Mario, simply Mario, no Shadows to his name, and Giga Bowser.
This was to the decisive battle, and Mew chose to put his all into showing the greatest in the Mushroom Kingdom how far along he's come.
Mario whips out all his suits from the past in combination with the Star Spirits' power while Giga Bowser's raw power provides support to his efforts.
Mew finds himself pinned to the wall rather quickly and worries that Ice alone won't be enough to beat both enemies.
A voice quickly comes to his aid, urging him to use the other triggers to fight back. Puzzled by how that could be possible now, Mew pulls the triggers on his sword and changes into a different Conduit Form.
With this limit now removed Mew has a much easier time cycling through his powers to attack both Mario and Bowser. First he knocks out the Koopa King, then he puts everything he's got into knocking Mario out.
It winds up being a VERY close battle, and Mew's barely got the strength left in him to open up the final energy reserve. Once he does though, he falls into his knees and falls asleep.
Meanwhile, Mr. Reality congratulates Mew on beating the temples...By cheating at the very end. He's not happy, and plans to make him pay using the last remnant of the Elemental Overlord's legacy...
Mew wakes up a little later inside of Bowser's Castle, right in front of the Koopa King.
Bowser thanks Mew for the help and explains how he picked up Mario and his kids too.
Mew then notes Bowser's strange wording regarding the Koopalings and Bowser has to explain how he came to raise them, including mentioning Jr.'s deceased mother.
In the end Bowser makes Mew vow silence over this information and tells him that once this whole cruddy alien thing blows over, he doesn't want Mew getting in the way of his plans to kidnap Peach.
Mew laughs and says he doesn't plan on it. Then, Bowser has Mew cash in a favor the Elemental Overlords owe him to beat the tar out of Mr. Reality.
Mew happily accepts, then leaves the castle with Mario and returns to Toad Town.
There he runs into E. Gadd, flustered at the shape of his lab and the disappearance of a portable Stargadd gun he was working on.
But more importantly he's put the tablet back together. And now that its like that, Mew is able to read the text for some odd reason.
It talks of a "torment" being freed from a temple of light, possibly causing the end of existence...
Mew is prepared to warn the others when suddenly, said temple of light mentioned in the tablet appears over Toad Town. Without hesitation, Mr. Reality makes his threat clear by consuming the light in the temple to destroy Peach's Castle.
Mew rushes to the ruins of the castle and only finds Mario and Peach alive among the flames. The rest of the Toads, including Toadsworth, are dead.
Mew has had enough and goes into his Fire Conduit Form, firing everything off to strike the Light Temple. But the barrier surrounding it wards off all manner of aggression, so he has accomplished nothing.
Mr. Reality then calls him out for willingly cheating and saying that all the blood spilled is now on his hands. This whole time, he was just trying to play fair, after all.
Mew doesn't know what the hell he's talking about until he thinks back to the chain of events so far. He then realizes that the Gaia Temporis has allowed him to become immune to Mr. Reality's powers.
He keeps that trump card at his side and prepares to strike at the temple again. Mr. Reality then prepares to attack again.
Suddenly the M.S.I. and Bowser's Doomships gather together, led by Alpha. Alpha activates the dimensional cannon on his main battleship, splitting open the barrier by forcing open a portal to the Realm of Darkness. This also has the side-effect of unleashing the Heartless into the world for a time.
Mario helps fight off the Heartless while Mew uses the opening providing to enter the Light Temple to confront Mr. Reality.
Mr. Reality throws in portals to other locations that forces Mew to waste time fighting more enemies while he wears down the gathered forces outside.
Mew's first obstacle is True Smithy and Dimentio revived.
Then he runs into Joe Dark, who is acting like a mindless puppet. Mew has trouble fighting him off and has to be bailed out by a surprised guest...Alex Whiter.
Alex tells Mew to get a move on while he handles Joe Dark and the Reaper, who is watching from the shadows. Alex plans to reclaim the Gaia Temporis when this is over but knows Mew needs it for now.
The final obstacle is a rather unexpected one. Mew's forced to confront Master Hand and Crazy Hand, learning of their sordid past and the truth behind their involvement in Tabuu's tribe long ago.
But being made to fight him here and now, Mew has no choice but to kill them to move on.
At long last, he climbs the final ladder in the temple to reach Mr. Reality himself. Mr. Reality introduces himself again by casually wiping out the main M.S.I. Battleship with a giant laser.
Mew calls him cruel and is prepared to fight him for good, however, Mr. Reality suddenly says something weird...
That Mew is acting out exactly as he did the 斗ast time despite very well knowing that he's cheating.
Mew doesn't know what he's talking about. Mr. Reality questions him further, asking if he's felt any deja vu since coming here.
Mew doesn't remember anything. Mr. Reality does though. He believes they've repeated this five-day game once before, if not more times after.
Yet despite that, time has only repeated itself here. For everywhere else, its continued to move.
Mr. Reality believes that this is his doing, in some fashion, having used his powers to force the loop to reset as punishment for Mew cheating.
He attempts to try it again, only for Mew to suddenly activate the Gaia Temporis in the spur of the moment, freezing time.
He then attempts to attack Mr. Reality, only for his aggression to seemingly stop the time freeze. Mr. Reality is then aghast at how he was nearly beaten in one punch.
Mew finally figures out the one weakness to Mr. Reality's powers...That he has to speak what he wants to change, like making wishes. So as long as Mew can see his lips moving, he can use the Gaia Temporis to freeze time and land hits on him.
Mr. Reality curses him and prepares to make him pay for this.
Now holding an advantage for the first time, Mew manages to defeat Mr. Reality. But as he plans to use the Gaia Temporis to undo his effects on the temple, Mr. Reality starts going mad, begging Mew not to go through with it lest he doom them all.
But Mew is far beyond believing his deception and does it anyways...
Mr. Reality says 妬t'll happen again and then suddenly loses control of his body, spasming around before eventually twisting apart and disappearing from sight.
In the brief peace allowed, Mew hears from Alpha, stunned to find that everyone is still alive...just barely.
But its not to last, as a mighty roar directs Mew's attention to the roof of the temple...Where a black beast now greets him, its unleashed energy rupturing the fabric of reality around them.
Mew figures out that this creature must be Mr. Reality, but does not know how he got this way.
Alpha can't put it any lighter than he does in saying that whatever's going on here, the storm its unleashed threatens to erase everything on this planet from existence...including Mew himself.
Mew draws his sword and goes into his own Phoenix Form to confront the beast, but its strange manner of being along with its fatal attacks make it difficult for Mew to do anything to him.
And even the Gaia Temporis isn't as effective, as the bolts it rains down still have a physical effect on him.
Eventually despair overcomes Mew's determination and leaves him vulnerable to a powerful attack that sends him crashing down on the roof, unable to move.
Its in this desperate moments that Mew finally recalls the truth...That the source of the loops in this game is him, having used the Gaia Temporis to try and keep this loop going to avoid having to confront his own failure to save everyone.
He's about to do it again when, somehow, his body urges him against it. He feels the weight of the lives lost and the hopes of those still standing, and forces himself to stand and fight even if he can't win.
A familiar voice recognizes his strength of soul and covers him in white light, granting him the power of the Light elemental.
He then gains the power of the Light Conduit Form, which allows him to attack and kill the beast with relative ease.
Despite his success though, the planet is still under the threat of erasure. That was simply the avatar of a greater, more ill will, and if Mew is to save the planet...nay, all of existence, he is to fly out to space and confront it.
A truly abominable leviathan awaits him in the depths of space, boasting that it has already consumed hundreds upon hundreds of galaxies to satiate the wills of its host body, referring to Mr. Reality in the center of its head.
Mew doesn't know how much hope he has to best a creature this gigantic, but draws his sword and goes for it anyways.
To his surprise his attacks do harm the creature, but his body's slowly gaining more and more light to the point that it starts overriding his flesh.
Mew keeps on fighting, with the leviathan regaining the advantage periodically, its strength seemingly endless.
When it seems as though the leviathan will best Mew and bring about the end of everything, he's saved by none other than...The Chronicler, the real deal.
The Chronicler holds the leviathan off and gives Mew a chance to breathe, all the while explaining how these events have come to pass.
The Light Temple didn't just seal away the light element, they also contained a force of invisible parasites called the Parakali that the Elemental Overlord once confronted.
Mr. Reality's powers were holding the parasites back but once his protection was broken the parasites infiltrated his subconscious and consumed his desires, corrupting them to the point of creating this deadly leviathan.
Right now though the situation is desperate. There's only 9 people alive in the entire universe, including the three of them. And with how badly the universe has degraded Mew and the leviathan are the only pure sources of light and darkness left.
The universe itself is overriding their bodies and turning them into pure essences of light and darkness, and if it gets any worse they'll be forcibly merged together to restore the balance of things in a massive universal explosion.
The Chronicler knows how they can prevent all this from happening though. He guides Mew to pull Mr. Reality free from the leviathan and convince him to restore things back to normal.
Mew isn't exactly pleased with the idea of keeping Mr. Reality alive but decides its better than losing all of existence.
The Chronicler attacks the leviathan and gives Mew the opening he needs to free Mr. Reality, upon which he immediately stops time so they can talk this over.
Even with the end of existence upon them, Mr. Reality INSISTS on holding Mew accountable for cheating.
Upon which Mew immediately snaps and calls him out on being a pig-headed idiot, directing his attention to the leviathan frozen in time.
Mr. Reality is in disbelief that things have gotten this out of hand, and sounds a little regretful for what he's done.
Mew senses there's something he hadn't been told until now and since they got plenty of time to talk in the frozen time, he urges Mr. Reality to get whatever he needs to off his chest.
Mr. Reality used to just be a simple miner on his home world until one day, his co-workers knocked him down a shaft out of jealousy for his hard work.
At the bottom of the shaft he came across an orb similar to what housed the Elemental Overlord's spirit. Touching it left him unconscious, and when he woke up he had been restrained inside the hospital by the doctors.
His co-workers had taken the opportunity to falsify a story of ill-will to the king that'd get Mr. Reality in trouble.
In a rage Mr. Reality broke free of his bindings using his new power and had to run from the police force. He tried to return home, only to find that his wife and kids had ran away.
Mr. Reality was surrounded by the police but in a moment of stress, he unleashed his powers for the first time and denied the reality in front of him.
When he awoke again his whole world had changed forever. He was now the ruler of the planet and his family was back by his side.
He gleefully took advantage of his new life to torment the workers that ruined him, and enjoy the splendor this power gave him.
But he quickly got bored and tried to find some way to spice up his life. That's when he called upon the newspaper Mew saw him with at the beginning, and decided to play a game with the Elemental Overlord...
In summation, this whole part happened because Mr. Reality was bullied and went mad with power, which nearly led to the end of all existence.
...WHAT THE FUCK?!
...Needless to say Mew calls him out on this and Mr. Reality is not exactly in a position where he felt as though he could disagree.
Mew convinces him to restore reality, but Mr. Reality is concerned that the parasites will just cause this to happen. They're so ingrained to his subconscious that he can't just...remove them, even with his powers.
Mew vows to find a way to remove the parasites, as long as Mr. Reality promises to be lenient with his powers, and confronts his mistakes.
Mr. Reality agrees, and with time restored he's able to use his powers to bring everything back to normal, reviving everyone that died in the process.
He then leaves the planet behind as soon as possible so Alpha doesn't destroy him, thanking Mew for giving him a second chance at life.
Mew's a little reluctant to let him go but understands that its probably better this way than to piss him off and let existence get wiped again.
He starts making his way back to Mario's house while answering Alpha's questions about what happened.
When Mew finally makes it to the house...he's immediately greeted by Alex Whiter.
Having bested Joe Dark and the Reaper, Alex was briefly wiped from existence, and when he awoke he found himself close to Mario's house.
Now, he wants the Gaia Temporis back. Surprisingly, Mew hands it over without hesitation, but with a caveat.
He wants Alex to come back to live with him, Mario, Luigi, and Driad as one big family. Alex declines, feeling he can't be with anyone while he's like this.
He then runs up to Mew and with a single touch to the head, renders him unconscious. Alex, regretful all the while, then erases Mew's memories of this adventure so he can't decide to come back and sway him anymore.
Alex then uses the portable Stargadd gun he stole from E. Gadd to send Mew on a one-way trip back to Earth, apologizing, yet thanking him for saving the world.
The Elemental Overlord's spirit returns to his body not long after. Alex is upset that he hid the Light element from him, along with the parasites.
The Elemental Overlord explains that he was going to reveal these secrets in time, but didn't expect them to be exposed like this. For now though, he has to rest, as it took all he had just to maintain his spirit form while pulled outside of Alex's body.
Alex leaves Mario's house behind, and sighs...
Meanwhile Mew awakens outside his house on Earth, thinking he's just got up from a long nap. He finds himself crying, and he doesn't know why...
Not long after the events of this adventure, there's movement inside the Origin Temple. Thanks to the activities of Cackletta and Mr. Reality, the Dark King's spirit has been able to harvest enough darkness to bargain for the soul of Joe Dark, and in turn, bring him back to life.
Joe Dark is confused more than grateful. He almost gives up on the idea of pursuing Alex, believing that he's become even stronger since he died.
But then the Dark King offers an idea...A way to grow in strength far beyond what they had before, and come closer to regain his TRUE power.
Joe Dark listens with interest, as the Dark King tells them the power they seek is not on this world.
To draw upon a truly massive wellspring of negative energy, they'll have to find...The Chaos Emeralds.
So they leave the planet behind and head out to space, Joe Dark's soul churning with vengeance once again...
Part 3 End.
Extra Chapter:
Far beyond the reach of mortal eyes, a great darkness stirs. His bonds now weakened, he forces himself free from the chains that bound him.
But his form, now a specter, can only squirm throughout space and hunt down a body worth hosting its great darkness.
It flies straight for the Mushroom Kingdom, lured in by a truly loathsome hatred for all.
It eyes Alex Whiter, as he stands over the body of his clone and erases its memories.
Without the cursed Elemental Overlord's spirit, the specter sees this as the perfect chance to dominate the new Elemental Overlord.
But his rashness in possession causes him to miss and become trapped in Mew's subconscious instead. He isn't too pissed...until he sees that Mew carries the power of light.
Thus he can only remain as a shadow, for now. When the time is right, he'll control this body and wreck havoc upon the universe at his full power.
For he is 泥. the primordial one, his darkness everlasting, his wrath ever-consuming...