Chapter 26:
As soon as they had confirmed that Sephiroth was dead, Aerith stepped forward, preparing to fulfill the purpose for which she had entered the Lifestream: to use her new variant of Great Gospel to cure the Lifestream once and for all. Folding her hands and kneeling down in prayer, she closed her eyes for a few seconds. After the few seconds were up, she opened her eyes and cried out, "Great Gospel Version Two!"
The moment she called upon the new variant of the Great Gospel, it began to rain once again. As the rain hit, he could feel the same refreshing sensation that he felt with the first Great Gospel, but there was something else to this variant. Even though he was not connected in any way to the Lifestream, he could feel the healing rains not only healing him and Aerith, but also the Lifestream, itself. Looking out over the Lifestream, he could see that the turquoise effervescent mixture of liquid and energy seemed just a bit brighter than it had while Sephiroth had been in control of it. The brightness was not infinite, though, but he could see it beginning to spread out from the crater and flow all throughout the Lifestream. It may take a while, but he felt that eventually, everything would be okay for Gaia.
Had he been outside, he would have seen the healing rains falling down upon the entire world. The healing rain pelted the defeated Bowser and the Koopalings and jostled them awake. As they each awakened, they looked around and wondered where they were. After a few moments, their recent memories started coming back to them but they could not shake the feeling that everything felt like a dream. Bowser began to remember Kamek's disrespect and the fact that not only had Kamek spoken to him in such terms, but that he had not turned Kamek into a Magikoopa pancake for such disrespect.
Glancing around at his surroundings once more, he saw that the rest of his children seemed to have the same reactions as he did. That is, all but Kevin, who was nowhere to be found, which was strange since his oldest son had been present during the attack on Peach's castle and had gone back to the same castle he had once they had retreated. Thinking back, he had faint memories of stealing the Starship Mario without him. Instead, he had done so with some guy called Sephiroth. Thinking back on Sephiroth, he remembered that the guy was a human with long silver hair and wearing a trench coat. He also had the suspicion that Sephiroth was currently either dead or dying.
Eventually, the Koopa King got to his feet and made his way over to his kids. When he arrived, he saw his youngest son, Bowser Jr., rise and come towards him, asking, "Hey Dad, what's going on? Where are we?" That question was on all of his kids' minds, as well as his own since he did not remember why they stolen the Starship Mario or where they were taking it.
"I'm kind of wondering that myself," Bowser answered. As he answered that question, he could not help but think that he had forgotten somebody. Looking out at his kids, he saw that all of them were there, save for Kevin who was back at his current castle. Who was left? His eyes flashed as he realized that Kamek had come with him, despite the fact that he had remembered Kamek's disrespect before, but was not present here.
"Where's Kamek?" he asked.
The others looked around but could not see the Magikoopa. Eventually, Iggy spotted a Magikoopa off in the distance and saw that he was surrounded by Luigi and many of Mario's allies, as well as a red leonine beast.
"Over there!" the Koopaling called, pointing to Kamek.
The others looked over and saw that Kamek was not only surrounded by Mario's allies, but there was a big, shining ball of what looked to be turquoise liquid suspended in the air.
"Should we go and help him?" Wendy asked.
"Why?" Bowser answered, fully remembering Kamek's disrespect from earlier. "After how he talked to me earlier, let him get himself out of that mess." The Koopa King then sat down to plan for what to do next. More than that, though, he could feel whatever enhancements he had undergone being washed away by the rain, reverting him to his normal self. And he had no problem with that, whatsoever.
Wendy and the others could not remember what Kamek had done or that he had talked disrespectfully to their father, but they could not help but still feel lethargic, almost as if they had just been beaten in a battle. Looking at their wands, they could see the wands' heads were cracked, those that still had heads, and the shafts had also suffered damage. There was no way they would be of any use at the moment. In addition, she could feel her own enhancements that she had undergone being washed away by the rain. But like her father, she had no problem with that and was actually glad to revert back to her former self. Looking over at her siblings, she could tell that they were feeling the same way. Seeing that there was little they could do at the moment, they decided to stay with their father.
Back inside, Mario watched as Aerith continued to pray and focus on bringing the healing rains of Great Gospel Version Two to the entire world. After a few moments, Aerith cast a glance at Mario, surprised that he was still in the Lifestream, especially since his Star Shield was beginning to run out of power.
"Go back to your friends," she told him. "I've got this."
"But what about when you're done?" Mario asked.
"I'll deal with that once the world is cured," Aerith answered.
"Okay," Mario eventually answered as he then transformed back into Cape Mario so he could fly back out of North Crater. He then jumped into the air and flew out of the crater to rejoin his brother and friends.
Meanwhile, over near the downed Starship Mario, Luigi and the others continued to watch Kamek in order to make sure that he did not do anything sudden, especially with that massive Mako ball. While they did not know whether or not Kamek could actually create a new Jenova infected Lifestream with that ball, they did not want to take that chance.
They had stood near Kamek for several minutes when it suddenly began to rain. As the rain began to fall all of the heroes looked around, Luigi and the partners wondering what was going on, but Nanaki had a good idea of what was happening.
"What's going on?" Goombella asked.
"I don't know," Luigi answered, but he could not help but not feel any discomfort from the rain falling on him. In fact, he even took his hat off to allow his hair to get wet. As it hit him, he began to feel completely rejuvenated, as if he had just awakened a good night's sleep. "But it feels good," he added.
"It's Aerith's new Great Gospel!" Nanaki exclaimed. "They did it! They beat Sephiroth!"
"Are you certain?" Goombella asked, hoping that Nanaki was right but fearing that Sephiroth might not be dead since it had been eight minutes since Mario and Aerith had entered the Lifestream.
"Aerith knows that using it before the destruction of Sephiroth's body at the very least would allow him to survive and for his infection of the Lifestream to continue," Nanaki answered. "There's no way she would use it unless she and Mario had beaten him."
Nanaki's answer reassured Goombella and she gave a smile. In addition, she could feel the rain wash away any fatigue or aches she had endured during the battle against the Koopalings, as well as during this entire trip. And even better, if this was, indeed, Aerith's new Great Gospel, then there was a good chance that the Koopas and even Kamek would be cured of Sephiroth's Jenova and Mako enhancements as well.
As for Kamek, though, the moment he had seen rain start to fall, he knew that something was wrong. Still being under Sephiroth's thrall, he was still loyal to the former SOLDIER and knew that he had to do something quickly before the healing rains hit him and he was cured of his enhancements. The plan to take the ball back to Hylia was dead. He could also feel his master fading from existence inside the Lifestream. Sephiroth only had seconds of life left as it rained across the whole world of Gaia. He started by raising a shield over himself but he knew that that would only be a temporary fix, especially since one of the drops had already hit his left hand and he could feel the healing energies from the rain beginning to spread.
Knowing that he only had seconds to spare, he immediately his wand and attempted to carry the Mako ball over to the crater. His attempt, however, had an issue since Mario rocketed from the crater and immediately stopped when he saw
"Kamek no!" he called as he drew out his Fire Flower.
When the Magikoopa did not stop, he let fly with a barrage of fireballs. The balls struck Kamek and inflicted noticeable damage to the Magikoopa but it was not enough to stop him from executing his plan. He had come up with a radical idea to try to save Sephiroth by having the ball of Mako rejoin with a cured part of the Lifestream, allowing Sephiroth's essence to re-infect it. Since Aerith had already used the second version of Great Gospel to cure the Lifestream, this new infection would be completely incurable.
Mario, seeing that Kamek would survive a fireball barrage long enough to send the ball, or even a piece of it into the Lifestream, decided to attack the containment field around the Mako ball, itself. Mario unleashed a blistering barrage of fireballs on the Mako ball and after a couple of seconds, managed to break the containment field. However, the damage had been done since a drop of Mako managed to fall down the crater. In addition, the rest of the Mako, which was being dispersed and purified by the Great Gospel rains, provided a barrier for the single drop to enter the Lifestream. Eventually, it hit the Lifestream.
"You're too late, Mario," Kamek mocked. "Master Sephiroth will live once more, one way…" but before he could finish, the cure had spread to enough of his body and mind that he was no longer under Sephiroth's thrall. He simply slumped forward and fell to one knee.
As he fell, he dropped his wand, which Mario promptly destroyed with a barrage of fireballs, shattering the head and incinerating the shaft. After a few seconds, though, the Magikoopa looked up and muttered, "What's going on? Where am I?"
Mario's only answer was a fist to the head that rendered him unconscious. He then looked down desperately at the Lifestream and called out Eldstar, hoping against hope that nothing of the ball of Mako reached the Lifestream.
Eldstar appeared and shook his head. "The drop managed to make contact with the Lifestream and was protected from the rain in the process."
"Did any other part of that Mako ball survive?" Mario asked.
"No," Eldstar answered. "The Great Gospel rains dispersed it."
"Is there anything that can be done?"
"Yes," Eldstar answered in a somber tone. "But the cost will be great."
"What must be done?"
"Someone with Star Power must go to Aerith and have her use Great Gospel Version 2 once more," Eldstar answered. "Then the person with Star Power must infuse the Power of the Stars with the Great Gospel rains. Since you're going to have to be certain to get all of the Lifestream, you will have to use all of the Power of the Stars. Since a person, even a Star Child, can only handle so many Power Stars at any given time, it will be a one-way trip. He or she will be trapped inside the Lifestream with all of the memories and emotions flooding into them. I can't see anyone making that trip surviving the process."
As Eldstar was explaining the situation to Mario, Luigi and Nanaki, noticing Mario's rise from the crater, rushed over to greet him.
"Hey, you did it big bro!" Luigi exclaimed.
"It's finally over," Nanaki echoed.
"Not yet," Mario answered in a dour tone, raining on their parade. The newcomers soon noticed that Eldstar was with him as well and they knew that something was wrong.
"What's wrong?" Luigi asked. "Is Sephiroth beaten?"
"What happened in the Lifestream?" Nanaki asked, inching closer to Mario.
"We beat Sephiroth," Mario answered nodding. "But we have a new problem. While Kamek was under Sephiroth's thrall, he tried to send the Mako ball, which was still infected with Jenova, or rather, Sephiroth, cells into the Lifestream," the older Mario Brother explained. "While only a drop of infected Mako managed to make it into the Lifestream, a drop is all that was needed."
"Will Aerith's new version of Great Gospel work on it?" Luigi asked.
"Doubtful," Nanaki answered for Mario. "Since Jenova was able to adapt the first version of Great Gospel after the Geostigma Crisis and render it useless, then chances are that it has already adapted to this one as well."
"But if it was only a drop, then maybe by using the new Great Gospel again we might be able to overwhelm it and take it out before it develops complete immunity."
"It already has developed complete immunity," Eldstar stated. "That's what makes Jenova cells so dangerous. You either get it all the first time or you don't and it will come back."
"We still have a chance, though," Mario declared. Then turning to Luigi, he continued, "But as to a point you made earlier, that actually is part of the solution I'd like to get this done before the re-infection gets too far."
"What do we have to do?" Luigi asked.
"Give me your Power Stars," Mario answered. "I'm going to down to rejoin Aerith and ask her to cast Great Gospel Version Two one more time. When she does that, I'll use all of the Power of the Stars to infuse Star Power into the healing rains. When that happens, it will likely create another version of Great Gospel that will completely cleanse the Lifestream and get rid of that remnant that Kamek sent in there."
"But what will happen to you?" Luigi asked. "What will protect you from the effects of the Lifestream?"
Mario gave a pause before answering, "Nothing. I would already be in the Lifestream if I didn't need additional stars to make certain this plan works."
"But why do you have to go?" Luigi asked. "Why not me?"
"Because you're my brother," Mario answered. "I've always known that there was a chance that I may never come back from my adventures. Every time I go to rescue Peach or someone else that has been kidnapped, or go to save a world, the world, or the universe, I know that it could be my last adventure. And some of them have actually come pretty close to killing me."
"But why you?" Luigi demanded. "You're my brother! Of the two of us, you're the stronger one and the one who has more experience."
"And that is why I must go," Mario answered, placing his hands on Luigi's shoulders. "I chose to be a hero from the very beginning. I can't ask you to go on a suicide mission."
"You don't have to," Luigi answered.
Mario could only sigh. A part of him was proud of his little brother. Many knew Luigi as the timid, cowardly little brother of Mario, but Mario knew better. He knew that when the chips were down and when the back was to the wall, that Luigi would step up big and not disappoint.
"Maybe not," Mario eventually admitted. "But if not me, then it would be you. And I can't ask my little brother to do that."
"And as I said before, you don't have to."
"Luigi…" but he was cut off as his body went rigid as electricity arced across it due to a low powered version of Luigi's Thunderhand. After a second, Mario was gently guided to the ground, where he lay unconscious.
"Luigi!" Nanaki cried, preparing for a potential fight against the younger Mario Brother.
"Keep watch over Mario while he's asleep," Luigi told Nanaki as he began to draw upon Star Power once more.
"You're going to do it?" Nanaki asked.
Luigi nodded.
"Is there any way to convince you otherwise?"
Luigi shook his head. "I'm the only one who can right now," he answered grimly. "It must be me."
"What should I tell the others?"
"Tell them I did what I needed to save my brother, and Gaia," Luigi answered. Then, taking out his Cape Feather and transforming into Cape Luigi. After taking out all of his weapons, super-powers, badges, and items save for his healing items and leaving them on the ground next to Mario, he jumped down into North Crater.
The younger Mario Brother descended into the crater, not worrying too much about any rocky outcroppings. As he did so, he used his Power Stars to form a shield over his body to protect himself from the effects of the Lifestream. It would do him no good to suffer Mako poisoning before he had managed to help Aerith cure the Lifestream of this new infection. As he neared the Lifestream, he almost reflexively took in a deep breath almost as if he were going to jump into water. After a couple more seconds of descent, he entered the Lifestream.
Inside the Lifestream, he let out the breath he had almost reflexively held and found that, just as expected, he was able to breathe normally. Looking around, he could already tell that the Lifestream was beginning to feel the effects of the new Jenova/Sephiroth infection, as it just did not have the luster that he would have expected something like the Lifestream to have.
After another second, he found a floating rock and landed on it to get his bearings. Looking out into the Lifestream, he scanned for any signs of Aerith. Seeing nothing in his immediate vicinity, he jumped to another rock to continue the search, figuring that a battle with Sephiroth probably would have carried them away from the center of North Crater pretty quickly. Jumping from rock to rock, he continued to scan for Aerith until he eventually found her standing on a rock that looked large enough to hold a small party on it.
Flying over to the rock, he landed next to Aerith and quickly approached her. When he arrived, Aerith turned to see him approach and her eyes went wide with shock.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded in a desperate tone, knowing the dangers of being inside the Lifestream, especially for someone who was not from Gaia. "The Lifestream's been re-infected with Jenova, slash, Sephiroth cells and it is spreading. I'm doing my best to stop it but I don't think that Great Gospel Version Two will be enough."
"It won't be," Luigi answered. "But I can help."
"What do you mean?" Aerith asked. While she did not know Luigi as well as Mario, she had always figured him to be the quieter, gentler, and less assertive of the Mario Brothers. Still, she got the feeling that Luigi greatly respected and loved his older brother and she was now concerned about what his plan would be for his sake.
"Cast Great Gospel Version Two once more time," Luigi directed. "Once you do, I'll infuse the Power of the Stars into the healing rains. According to Eldstar, that should allow Great Gospel to cure the Lifestream and destroy the last traces of Sephiroth."
"How much Star Power are you going to infuse into the Lifestream?" Aerith asked, knowing that if he too much, he would not have enough power to get back out.
"All of it," Luigi answered with grim determination. "I'm not leaving anything to chance here. Too many lives are at stake. Including yours."
"But if you do that, there will be nothing protecting you from the full force of the Lifestream!" Aerith blurted. "It would render you at the very least catatonic and likely kill you."
"Ah well," Luigi said with a sigh. He had heard the same from Mario. Even Nanaki had tried to convince him to not take this course of action. "We all have to go sometimes. And there are worse ways to die than saving one's family, friends, and a planet."
Seeing that convincing Luigi to turn back would be impossible, as well as the fact that objectively speaking, his way was the only real chance the Lifestream had at the moment, she gave a sigh of resignation.
"Do you need me to do anything other than cast Great Gospel?" she asked.
"Head back up to the crater once you cast Great Gospel," Luigi answered. "You have a new lease on life. Don't waste it."
"But what about you? What if a miracle happens and there's a chance…"
"I'm headed towards the center of the Lifestream so I can make certain that this power is infused into all of the healing rains and the rest of the Lifestream, itself," Luigi interjected. "There won't be any coming back from that."
He then took off his cape, causing it to revert into a Cape Feather, and handed it to Aerith, who took hold of it. Once she gripped the Cape Feather, a cape immediately formed on her back, prompting Mario to give a satisfied smile.
"So either that Cape Feather is a special variant that can be used by anyone or your ancestors are from Earth and went to Gaia more recently than originally thought," Luigi said casually.
Aerith could not help but smile. "Okay," she said with grim determination matching Luigi's. "Let's do this!"
With that, she looked heavenward once more and cried, "Great Gospel, Version Two!"
Almost immediately, rain began falling from the sky and from the ceiling, hitting Luigi and Aerith. Even though they had not been in a battle since the last casting of Great Gospel Version Two, they both felt the refreshment of the rain as it hit them, Luigi noticing that the healing rains were hitting him even through his Star Powered shield.
As soon as he felt the steady flow of rain hitting him, he closed his eyes and focused on controlling his Star Power. As he did so, he was thankful for the experience in using Star Power that he had gotten when fighting in the Gold Saucer's Battle Square and when fighting the Remnants of Sephiroth. After focusing it a bit, he jumped off the ledge and fell further into the Lifestream, the effervescent liquid seemingly getting thicker and thicker the farther down he went. Still, his Star Power shield protected him from any of the deleterious effects of the Lifestream.
After Luigi jumped, Aerith took one last look at him and wished him, "Good luck, Luigi. I will always remember you." With that, she jumped into the air and flew out of North Crater.
Meanwhile, Luigi continued to fall further and further into the Lifestream. After a while, he felt that his momentum was slowing and that he was approaching the center of the Lifestream. After several more moments, too many in his mind, he finally seemed to stop falling, indicating that he had reached the center of the Lifestream. Once there, the real battle began: working up the courage to go through with his plan and sacrifice himself to save Gaia and everyone on it.
Closing his eyes, he took in a few deep breaths, working up the courage to lower shield and prepare his mind, and possibly body and soul for the assault it would undergo. After a few breaths, he opened his eyes and lowered his Star Power shield.
Almost instantly, his mind was assaulted by the entirety of the Lifestream. All the knowledge, thoughts, dreams, fears, desires, from everyone in the history of the planet Gaia flooded into his mind. It was too much for any individual to take, much less an individual who was not of this world. Doing his best to focus on the task at hand, he did his best to tune out everything else except for the Power of the Stars and his mission to spread it out among the Lifestream.
Spreading out his arms, he then unleashed all of the Star Power he had inside of him and let it spread out into the Lifestream. Blinding golden energy erupted from Luigi's body as he sent the power spreading out from himself into the Lifestream. Even as he did so, though, the thoughts, emotions, and knowledge accrued by the Lifestream did not vanish and it was beginning to overwhelm him. His mind screamed for him to take some of the Star Power and erect another shield over him, almost insisting that it would be enough to stop Sephiroth since it had only been a drop of Mako. He could not help but think that that thought had come from Sephiroth's essence, though, and he tuned it out, continuing to focus on his task at hand and cast out the Star Power to merge with the Great Gospel Version Two rains, making certain that he had none of it left in his body.
After a while, he could see that his plan was having an effect. The Lifestream seemed to be gaining more luster than it had and it appeared to be healthier. He saw the effect spread out from the center of the Lifestream, the exact point where he was suspended. Knowing that the plan was working, he continued letting out his Star Energy and merging it with the healing rains and Lifestream until his Star Power ran dry, which it did after ten seconds.
As soon as he had finished, he took one look out into the Lifestream and could see, and feel, that his plan worked and that the Lifestream was healing and it would not be long before it was fully healed. He also felt the dark thought of not carrying out the plan vanish, indicating that Sephiroth had finally been destroyed once and for all, all of him.
Knowing that Gaia was safe and that Mario, Aerith, Nanaki, and the others could return home safely, he then relaxed and let in all the thoughts, feelings, dreams, and knowledge flood into his mind as he said his final prayers before the end came. Just as he suspected, his mind was completely overwhelmed by the enormity of thought and knowledge that was inside the Lifestream. It was so much, far too much for a single mind to handle. During all this time, his Life Shroom activated and revived him but it only staved off the inevitable. Still, it did not matter to him. His friends and family were safe, as was the Planet, and that was all that mattered in the long run. As such, he gave one last smile before closing his eyes for the final time, the hero not noticing or feeling a large, strong hand reaching down and grabbing his own.
Meanwhile, over near the edge of North Crater, as Luigi added his Star Power to the healing rains of Aerith's Great Gospel Version Two, Nanaki was watching over the unconscious Mario. Taking a Phoenix Down, he administered it to Mario and the plumber instantly shot up as the Phoenix Down revived him.
"What?" the plumber gasped. "What happened?" The moment he asked that fateful question, the memory of Luigi deciding to head down into the Lifestream came back to mind. "Luigi!" he cried as he put on his cape and headed towards the crater only to be stopped by Nanaki.
"Wait, you'll never make it back!" the leonine creature called.
"He'll die if he goes into the Lifestream!" Mario cried in retort.
"He's already too far down to save," Mario and Nanaki heard the voice of Aerith state distantly from near the crater. Turning towards the sound of her voice, they saw her standing near the edge, wearing the cape Luigi had used to get down into the Lifestream. She looked downcast, as if she had lost a close friend. "He was one of the bravest men I have ever known," she declared, looking up at Mario. "You should be proud to have him as your brother. I know he was proud of you," she added.
"Thanks," Mario replied wistfully.
The group then looked up as the rain continued to fall. They could already feel the healing effects of the rain. Since she had a strong connection to the Lifestream due to being half-Cetra, she could already feel the Lifestream healing, as well as the complete destruction of Sephiroth. A part of her gave a wistful smile as she said, "It's finally over." Still, everyone present knew that the price had been high, possibly too high.
The rest of the party soon came over to check on things near the crater, noticing that Luigi and Nanaki had gone over to the crater. When they arrived, though, they saw Mario standing with Nanaki and Aerith.
"Mario you made it!" Goombella exclaimed.
"You did it!" Goombario and Kooper echoed in unison.
Koops and Vivian noticed, however, that Mario did not seem to be in a celebratory mood. It was then that they noticed that Luigi was not with them. "Where's Luigi?" Vivian asked.
Mario gave no answer at first, not letting tears come to his eyes but it was still clear that he could not bring himself to answer the question without breaking down.
"Inside the Lifestream," Aerith answered for Mario. "He sacrificed himself to save all of us so Mario would not have to."
The party's eyes went wide with shock before they looked downcast at the ground, feeling Mario's sadness at the loss of his brother.
"Is there anything we can do?" Lady Bow asked gently, slowly floating over to Mario.
"Not really," the plumber answered. "He took all of the Power Stars with him so he could have their energy merge with the Lifestream and Aerith's Great Gospel Version Two so it could cure the Lifestream of a new Jenova, slash, Sephiroth infection Kamek had dropped into it."
"Then let's get Kamek!" Yoshi Kid declared.
"Hold on," Mario stated, holding up his hand to calm the young Yoshi down. "Kamek was under Sephiroth's thrall when he did so and is cured now. Besides, killing him won't bring back Luigi."
"So what now?" Flurrie asked.
Mario could only sigh. "Now, I guess we fix the Starship Mario since it looks salvageable and then contact Dribble and Spitz so we can head home to report to Princess Peach what has happened."
Most of the others had no further questions, but Bombette then spoke up and asked, "What about Bowser, his children and Kamek?"
"Shouldn't they be cured by now?" Nanaki asked.
"Yeah, but we're still bad even without that 'treatment'," the party heard Bowser bellow from behind them. Turning around, they saw Bowser standing in front of his children, with Kamek just waking up to see what was happening.
"Don't think you're out of this yet," they heard Ludwig declare cockily.
Mario could only look sternly at the ground before facing them. "This is not a good time, Bowser," he told the Koopa King in a dark tone as he got out his Hammer Suit and transformed into Hammer Mario.
"Why not?" Bowser retorted. "And where's Luigi?"
That was the wrong question to ask as Vivian then twirled her fingers to perform a Fiery Jinx as Mario tossed a volley of hammers at the Koopa King and his children. The Koopas ignited once more and cried out in surprise and pain. Even worse, though, was Mario tossing his hammers at them. Even though he no longer had functional Power Stars on him, his regular power was still more than enough to deal with the Koopalings and Bowser, who had not yet recovered from the previous beating they took before Mario entered the Lifestream. The battle, if it could be called that, ended within moments with the Koopalings, Bowser, and even Kamek, who had taken a couple "stray" hammers to the chest, unconscious.
Once the Koopas had been dealt with, Mario told the others, "Get some strong chains to bind their hands and feet. Once we get the ship operational, put them in cages. We'll drop them off in the Koopa Kingdom when we get back home." He did not care how humiliating the method of travel was for the Koopa King. A dark part of him wanted it to be really humiliating since Luigi would not have died if Bowser had not brought Sephiroth back to Gaia but he would settle for anything that kept Bowser's threat minimized while not leaving him on an unsuspecting Gaia. The last thing he wanted was to leave an angry Koopa King on a planet that was unprepared to face him. He did not want to render Luigi's sacrifice a vain one.
Admiral Bobbery soon came out with some strong chains and the party used them to bind the hands and feet of the Koopas. Once that was finished, all that was left was to call up Dribble and Spitz and fix the Starship Mario so it could take the party home.
The repairs to the Starship Mario went even more smoothly than expected. Apparently Kamek had done a good job of getting the ship at least partially operational before the fight. Dribble and Spitz came out to help in the repairs to the ship as they helped store some items in their trunk until the Starship Mario was able to fly. Mario also took the single Grand Star that Bowser had on him so he could use it to power the ship until his own Grand Stars and Power Stars' power was replenished. Even Aerith and Nanaki assisted in helping the others repair the ship. Nanaki had gleaned some knowledge of at least airship operations during his more than five hundred years of life and Aerith had also gained some knowledge about ships from the Lifestream.
It took less than an hour for the group to repair the Starship Mario. Once it was ready to go, the group took the chained Koopas and placed them in a makeshift brig and locked it tightly so that their chances of escape were near zero. Vivian, Yoshi Kid, Watt, and Lakilester were security for the Koopas to ensure that they would not escape.
As for the others, Dribble and Spitz offered to ferry anyone back to Hylia that wanted to ride with them. The others wanted to ride with Mario, which the two cabbies understood, especially given the situation. They had been shocked and devastated when they heard that had died. They then went over to Aerith and Nanaki and offered them some interstellar cell phones that Doctor Crygor had invented and put in their contact information in case they needed a taxi ride to Hylia or if they wanted to explore space a bit. The two accepted the phones and contact information and told them that if they ever got the urge to either explore space or needed a trip to Hylia, Dribble Taxi would be the first group they called.
It was not long before the Starship Mario was fully repaired and ready to go. Mario began warming up the engines so the ship could depart and head back to Hylia. Before embarking on the ship for the trip back home, though, he went over to Aerith and Nanaki to thank them for everything they had done for him and the others.
"I wanted to thank you personally for everything you've done," Mario told them. "Your help has meant more than you realize."
"And thank you, too, Mario," Aerith replied with a smile and giving a gracious bow.
"You've done more for us than you realize," Nanaki added. "You would fit in well with Avalanche. I think Cloud would like you."
"He just might," Aerith added with a chuckle.
Mario gave a smile as Aerith mentioned Cloud. It then hit him that she was a person out of time. All of her friends had died centuries before, likely due to natural causes. Her only surviving friend on Gaia was Nanaki.
"Again, thank you for everything," Mario reiterated.
He then turned to head onto the Starship Mario. As he did so, Aerith rushed after him, calling, "Wait!"
Mario turned around at the sound of her call and answered, "What is it?"
She then neared the plumber and answered, "While you all were fixing the Starship Mario, I took the opportunity to scan the Lifestream once more on the off chance that Luigi had somehow survived his immersion."
"And?"
"That's just it. I sensed nothing," Aerith answered. "Luigi was not connected to the Lifestream in any way so he would not dissolve into it upon dying while being immersed in it. However, if a foreign entity enters the Lifestream, it oftentimes causes a shift in its currents. I sensed none. Its flow is completely unchanged."
"Meaning?"
"I don't know," Aerith answered. "I almost didn't want to tell you for fear that you'd stay here longer than needed when you have friends and loved ones back on your world. But I thought you deserved to know the truth." She then paused before adding, "Miracles do happen Mario. I'm living proof of it. If I find anything, I'll let you know. I have an interstellar cell phone Dribble and Spitz's contact information so I'll call them. Or I could call you," she added. She then handed him a slip of paper. "Just in case you get an interstellar cell phone of your own."
"Thank you," Mario answered as he accepted the slip of paper.
Once he accepted the paper, he boarded the Starship Mario and headed over to the ship's bridge. Once he reached the wheel, stepped on the control pedal beneath the wheel and the familiar clank of the ship's engines activating echoed out across North Crater. Inside the engine room, Admiral Bobbery and Koops made sure that the Grand Star was properly integrated into the ship's systems and that the engines were running smoothly, which they were. The ship then began its ascent, followed closely by the Dribble Taxi. Aerith and Nanaki looked up as the ship and taxicab ascended until they were out of sight.
Once the ship was out of sight, Nanaki looked over at Aerith and asked, "So, what did you tell Mario?"
"I told him that I sensed no change in the Lifestream despite Luigi' immersion into it," Aerith answered.
"Do you think it's possible he may have survived?" came Nanaki's next question.
"He shouldn't have," Aerith answered cautiously. "But who knows?" she added. "Miracles do happen."
Meanwhile, up in orbit, the Starship Mario and the Dribble Taxi made their way to where the portal that had led to Hylia had been before its closure. Once they reached the proper coordinates, Mario punched a series of commands on the ship's control console. Almost immediately, a portal formed in front of the ship. Once the portal had formed, the ship accelerated towards it along with the Dribble Taxi. After a few seconds, both the cab and the Mario-faced ship disappeared into the portal and vanished from Gaia's orbit. After a few more seconds, the portal itself vanished, leaving no evidence that the Marios, their friends, or the Koopas had ever been on Gaia save for the knowledge of a select few individuals.