Looks like it's time for the desert area (though desert proper still hasn't been reached). There will be a few significant changes to this chapter though.
I do not own Super Paper Mario or any of its characters, nor am I making any money from them. They are property of Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.
And so Mario proved his worth by taking down enemies and reaching the desert. It was still far from over however, and they still had a Pure Heart to find.
"Follow me," Tippi said as she flew toward the mountain that loomed ahead. The Pure Heart was hidden somewhere on the other side.
"I feel that the Pure Heart is beyond this mountain," Tippi said as Mario looked up toward the huge slab of rock with hints of sand. "but it's still far, far away."
"It wouldn't be a true adventure if it wasn't," Mario told Tippi back as he briskly walked towards it. Two koopa troopas, one with a green shell, one with red, yelled at the plumber. They ran over to fight him from opposite directions, but Mario simply leaped over them and they conked each other on the head, knocking each other out. "They probably should have thought a-head," Mario quipped. Two squigs attempted to launch rocks from about 1/5th the way up the mountain but Mario jumped over them, doing a front flip before perfectly landing on the ground. "It's off to a rocky start for these squigs." Mario dodged more rocks with precise jumps, before unleashing another mighty leap that made it to their platform. At the end of the jump, the plumber bounced off of one of the squigs, before landing on the other, crushing them both under his mighty boot. Upon landing on the platform however, the force of his jump caused the rocks to crumble and break off the mountainside. Mario lost his footing for a second, but managed to grab on to the remainders of the platform. After pulling himself up, he quipped "I almost slipped up there."
"Nice puns," Tippi stated to Mario.
After climbing to the top of the mountain, he came across a massive chasm that prevented him from going to the next mountain. Even for Mario's legendary jumps, it was too far to cover. It went all the way down the mountain and was too steep for Mario to go down without hurting himself. Fortunately, there were some floating '?' blocks that were about twenty feet above the hero, and some normal floating blocks about twenty feet above that which made a bridge. This would also be too high to leap to for an ordinary person, but Mario was no ordinary person.
Mario braced and leaped up… straight into the '?' blocks. He still wanted to get coins. Tippi was silent during this, but Mario could tell she was judging him.
"I didn't bring any coins with me when I left. I'm going to need them for shops and stuff," Mario explained.
When all the coins were released from the blocks, Mario jumped on top of them, only to realize that the other set of blocks was directly above them. Mario couldn't move from side-to-side, and he doubted he could get to the second set of floating blocks from the ground. This wouldn't stop such a great hero though. Mario leaped up, and just before hitting the blocks, he wrapped his arms around them, enclosing the block between his arms and his capped head. He was now hanging on to the blocks, with his fingers knit together. The red-garbed plumber eventually separated his gloved hands and let his left arm go, causing him to swing to the right a bit. Mario took advantage of the momentum and propelled himself up with his right arm, which was still hanging on to the blocks. Mario landed onto the block face-down.
"Oh mama-mia," Mario sighed as he stood back up. He proceeded across the block bridge, which had no enemies. When Mario got across the chasm, he jumped down to the next mountain, cracking the ground with the force of the landing. Next up for Mario was a gentle climb, or was it? At the top was a mysterious floating green ball about the height of Mario. The ball had two purely white eyes and white arms that extended from the 'equator' of the ball. Mario had Tippi scan it.
"That's a barreller. These enemies show up at the top of mountains and throw barrels. SS is 220. DS is 200. SPS is low-mid. ES is 0. MS is 30. IS is medium. Threat level: 4. These enemies can endlessly create barrels to throw at unsuspecting passerby. They're fairly strong as well, so don't think you've won if you've closed in on them. I always get reminded of monkeys when I see these enemies, don't know why."
Time unfroze and the barreller created a bucket out of thin air, catching it in its white hands. The creature then threw the bucket down the hill at high speeds. Mario jumped over it, racing toward the strong creature. The barreller spawned another barrel and threw it, only to be met with the same result. It's eyes began to narrow and it pounded the ground with its fists, enraged at Mario dodging both of its attacks. The floating creature spawned and threw yet another barrel. Rushing up the mountain, and having covered about half the distance, Mario took out his Ultra Hammer and unleashed a downward smash, destroying the barrel and angering the barreller further. It threw a fourth barrel, but Mario jumped up, having come close enough to attack the creature upon landing. He swung his weapon down and it landed with a mighty THUD! on the barreller, which put up its arms in defense. Even blocking, the enemy was hurt by Mario's mighty attack. It tumbled back and stopped hovering for a few seconds. By the time it began to hover again, Mario was already upon it, striking it with a side swing and knocking it to the right. He stared at it to see if it would get back up, but it faded away and a gray, rough mushroom came from it. Mario moved over to the mushroom and began to inspect it, before his eyes widened in surprise.
"A Rock Mushroom! I never thought I'd see one of these again. Looks like I'm on a roll."
The plumber then turned his eyes to the Purity Door just beyond where the barreller was. "Looks like we got another one." Mario walked up and entered the door.
On the other end of the door was yet another chasm, although this one had a sign next to it. It read "Bridge closed! -Red the Bridgemaster". There was a Purity Door directly beyond it.
"This could be trouble," Tippi said.
"Not really, I mean his house is right over there." Mario pointed to a house several yards from them.
"How can you tell?" Tippi asked.
"Because it says 'red' on the mailbox."
It did say 'red' on the mailbox, and was almost entirely red. If Red had a house at all, this would be it. Mario knocked on the door. No one answered.
"Maybe he's not home," informed Tippi.
"Maybe." Mario turned the door handle to see if it was unlocked. To his surprise, it slid open easily.
"Well either he left the door unlocked, or something happened to him," Mario said with a hint of worry.
Mario entered the house to find red walls, pictures of apples and other red things scattered about, a red dining room table to the left, and stairs covered with red carpeting in the right. "Hello?" Mario asked. There was no response yet again. Mario went up the red stairs, until he reached the top and saw another door. The silence felt ominous and Mario readied himself for another battle. Mario opened the door.
In Red's room was an odd creature. It was a floating blob-shaped thing of pure black. It was composed of three spheres, each stacked on top of each other, getting smaller as they went down. They looked almost like holes due to the thing's black coloration. Its hands, which were disconnected from its body, were ice-blue and a white diamond-shaped "antenna" was dangling from its head, contrasting with its blackness everywhere else. In Red's bed, a few feet away from the thing, was someone who looked like a guard. He had yellow skin and a red helmet with a spike on top of it and a spear as long as he was tall. He had a mustache that went gradually down as it extended from the middle of his face and a red outfit. He looked like he was in pain, and he had fear in his eyes. Mario looked into the eyes and saw them warning him away from the room, away from the town.
Suddenly, his eyes went blank and he yelled out a simple phrase with a deep, powerful voice.
"Hail Bleck!"
Mario was shocked, and as he was trying to overcome his shock, the thing then turned—apparently it was facing toward the soldier—and Mario saw ice-blue eyes, purely blue with no white, matching the color of its hands. It sunk into the floor, and the soldier, who Mario assumed was Red, got up from his bed and grabbed his spear with both hands, pointing the spear at the plumber. Mario, realizing what was about to happen, got into a battle-ready stance and scanned him.
"That's Red, the guardian of his bridge. He's had to defend it from many invaders and wild beasts. SS is 250. DS is 355. SPS is mid-high. ES and MS are 0. IS is medium. Threat level: 5. He is an expert fighter with and without his spear, and can take a good beating, so be careful. He looks a bit like you, but don't let that stop you from beating him. I think something went wrong with his mind though."
Red jumped off the bed and ran toward Mario, spear outstretched, but Mario caught the pointy weapon with one hand before the blade could make contact. Then with his other hand, he slammed down on the spear and broke it in two, both parts falling to the ground. Not deterred by this, Red immediately headbutted Mario, the spike on his helmet making contact with Mario's big nose. Mario stumbled back in pain, clutching his nose with his left hand. Wasting no time, Red grabbed the bladed half of the spear and thrust it into the hero's abdomen. The spear barely pierced the plumber's skin, but it was still enough to hurt. Mario winced in pain before punching Red right in the face with his right hand, his left still on his face. Red flew in the air and was knocked into the wall (which cracked) by the force of the punch, blood went upon his face, but he was hardy and came at Mario again. This time, the plumber sidestepped to the left, putting his right foot out and causing the guard to trip over it. Red was sent careening into the opposite wall, which also cracked. After taking his left hand off his nose and finding that the wound didn't draw blood, Mario stared at Red, who seemed to be unconscious.
Mario looked behind him at Red's bed and suddenly spotted something that appeared on the floor next to it. With a quick motion, the thing rose from the floor and stared upon Mario and the unconscious Red. The plumber scanned it immediately.
"That's a blue magiblot. These mysterious ethereal mages serve in Count Bleck's army. SS is 130. DS is 300. SPS is teleporter. ES is 210. MS is 240. IS is medium. Threat level: 4. They hurl an attack spell before fading into the ground and reappearing in another area. They can also use hypnosis, but it can be resisted by strong willpower. If its hypnosis gets through, it will stay on until the magiblot is defeated. Blue magiblots are the weakest versions. "
The magiblot's eyes began to glow even brighter, and Mario released it was using hypnosis. Mario could soon feel his mind being assaulted by visions of Bleck.
"Hail Bleck!" Mario heard countless voices say. He blinked and afterwards, saw a completely black room, with the count extending a gloved hand, waiting for Mario to shake it with his own. For a moment, it looked tempting. Bleck's smile, though unchanged, seemed warm and inviting now. Mario wanted to give up for a brief moment; to just let go and take the easy route for once. Mario extended his hand…
And smacked Bleck's glove away. He would never join such a villain. Bleck stole Peach and had her marry BOWSER of all people! He was an omnicidal maniac who wanted to destroy all dimensions, all life!
"I will never join you!" Mario yelled, causing Bleck, and the entire illusion, to fade away entirely, replaced with Red's home and the blue magiblot. Surprised, the magiblot cast a sphere of blue energy, which Mario dodged by stepping to the right. The spell barely missed the unconscious bridge guard, which Mario took notice of. The plumber continued to run toward his foe, but when he got close, the magiblot sunk back into the ground. Mario then started looking around the house, hoping to see a sign of the creature. The creature appeared to Mario's right, in front of a red wardrobe. It flung a second spell, but the hero ducked under the spell, sliding on the floor feet first and popping up for a punch. Yet again, the magiblot disappeared, and all Mario's fist was met with was the wardrobe, which split open. "This guy really lives up to his name," Mario said, seeing all the red clothes spilled everywhere.
As he looked at the floor, which was now filled with clothes, Mario wondered how could he defeat this thing? Its spells were easy enough to dodge and its hypnosis was ineffective, but the plumber couldn't tag it. Every time he got close the thing would just disappear again. He would have to strike it right as it popped out, but he didn't know where it was coming up next. He'd have to use a projectile, but there was only one option he had for that.
"I hope this guy has good homeowners insurance." Mario created a fireball in the palm of his hand, ready to destroy the magiblot the instant it popped up. For the fourth time, it materialized from the floor. Mario chucked the flames at a fast speed, hitting the thing before it could react and causing an explosion that turned a portion of the red interior black with soot. "That had to have got it." The dust cleared and the magiblot was no more.
Then, Mario heard the mustached solider churning.
"He is waking up. Do you think he will help us?" asked Tippi.
"I don't see why not. We have the same fashion sense." Indeed, Red, fitting to his name, had on a bright red helmet, red shirt with yellow buttons, blue pants, and mustache. It was almost as if Red was this dimension's Mario, though not nearly as powerful.
"Uugh. What… happened?" the soldier sputtered out as he rose from the ground. "Where is my spear?"
"I broke it when we fought and you were under mind-control."
"Wait, what?" Red asked, finally catching sight of his broken weapon. "Ah man." Red said dejectedly. "Wait a minute, you actually defeated me?" Mario nodded. "and that… thing is gone too?"
"It's called a magiblot." Tippi spoke. "but yes, it's defeated."
"Whoa." Red said, momentarily lost in thought, before piping up again. "Well then, you really saved my bacon there. I'm impressed." Red sprung a noticeably more chipper expression on his face. "Say, uh… any way I can repay you?"
"Actually there is one thing." Tippi answered. There's a huge chasm outside that we need to cross."
"Well then, you found yourself the right guy!" Red yelled out, seemingly proud of this. "But hey, I've got to warn you. You know this place is called Impasse Pass, right?"
"How could I have possibly known that?" answered the plumber, clearly annoying the bridge guard.
"You're not from around here, are you?" Red reasoned.
"Let's just say I'm from somewhere different." answered Mario.
"Well then, you need to know that I'm only allowed to let a choice few cross the bridge. It leads to the Yold Desert wilderness, which itself is quite close to the Yold Ruins, a very dangerous place. It's in my job description not to let just anyone cross. I mean, that's why they pay me to stand here." Mario raised an eyebrow upon hearing that. "You sure you want to pass?"
"Absolutely."
"Well, you did save me from being trapped in some weird blob's hypnosis and all…" Mario began to roll his eyes, expecting the guard to ask him a favor like he wasn't grateful Mario just fought off that Magiblot. "I'm going to ask you a question." Red continued a few seconds later. "Get the right answer, and I'll let you pass."
"Oh boy." said Mario to himself.
"What's the most manly color in the entire universe? Red or green?" Mario was a bit shocked that the guard would be so petty in letting people pass the chasm, but he felt like Red didn't see others very often, so this was just his way of entertaining himself when the rare passerby came. Besides, it was an easy question that was obviously supposed to have red as the answer based on the soldier's obsession with the color.
"Red." Mario answered.
"Yes, you are so right. I knew it! You and me, we see eye to eye on fashion." Mario rolled his eyes. "I'll throw the bridge down, hang on a sec." Red then pushed his bed a few feet to the left, revealing a red lever behind it on the wall. Red swiftly pressed it down. "All right, you should be good to go. You take it easy!" Mario laughed at the irony as he headed out the door and down the red stairs. The plumber knew things would get a lot harder from here, and here Red was telling him to take it easy, like he knew the half of it.
"Oh and by the way… I don't know exactly what awaits out there, but I know there is a really awesome Pixl that can guide you." Red called out.
"Alright thanks." Mario called back just before exiting Red's abode.
"Well that was an ordeal." Tippi said to the plumber as they began crossing the bridge that formed.
"Oh this is nothing compared to the things I've seen." answered Mario, assuring Tippi's confidence that this was the one who would save all worlds.
"Oh, what have you seen?"
Mario thought back to his many, many encounters with Bowser. He was a strong, mighty foe, but Mario always handily beat him and rescued fair Princess Peach from his clutches. He especially recalled the time the koopa king attempted to take over multiple galaxies in a recent kidnapping, the 51st. The resulting conflict would have destroyed the whole dimension for good if not for Rosalina using the Grand Stars to remake it. Seemed like a lot of stakes at the time, but it was small potatoes compared to what Mario was trying to stop now.
Or maybe the time Mario went over to Rogueport and gathered the Crystal Stars. He met a lot of friends along the way, traveling through many regions to assemble the Crystal Stars to stop the Shadow Queen and Grodus. Of course, he played right into their hands, and his actions ultimately led to the Queen being released on the world. He shuddered to think what would have happened if the Crystal Stars hadn't weakened the demon during their battle.
"I've seen—a lot." Mario answered uncomfortably to Tippi as he stepped off the bridge and approached the Purity Door.
"You wouldn't be the legendary hero if you hadn't."
"True, true." Mario answered as he stepped inside the Purity Door.
On the other side of the door, Mario froze as he saw a small village about thirty yards away. It had a few grey houses with tall brown doors. One of these doors had a mushroom symbol hanging over it, signifying it was an Item Shop. Pots, vases, and barrels decorated the town, and another large chasm separated the town from the other areas of the desert. However, none of this was shocking to the plumber, what was shocking was the presence of more magiblots, four that Mario could count. The townspeople, who had yellow-green skin colors and mounds on top of their heads, stood completely still, obviously having been mind-controlled already and awaiting their next command.
Mario quickly leapt into action. He let out a mighty yell as the magiblots began to fire their spells toward him. The plumber easily dodged the slow-moving attacks and began to close the distance, readying his fire for attack. Just as Mario got only a few meters away from the first one, it sunk into the ground, reappearing right next to another one. Thinking fast, Mario launched an orb of fire into both magiblots, destroying them both. A few of the townspeople snapped out of their trance and started running towards their buildings, clearly very frightened by the black creatures. The remaining two magiblots gave chase, warping over to them and unleashing their hypnosis. A few townspeople stopped running and stood in a trance-like state, facing the creatures' shining blue eyes, though some escaped to the nearest building, like that would do them any good.
While the opponents were distracted, Mario ran up and smacked one with his hammer, causing it to poof into mist. The last one turned and shined its light blue eyes at the hero, attempting to control him with its power. A familiar visage of Count Bleck appeared, but the plumber smashed through it without pause and continued toward the magiblot, slamming into it before it could react.
With the last of the magiblots defeated, the townspeople were released from their control, and began wondering what had just happened. Mario quickly explained to them all the events that just took place, and how he heard of a new Pixl that could help him on his path to the Pure Heart.
"I think I know what you're talking about." one of the people stated. The Pixl's past here and in the Yold Desert."
"Great, so how do we get to it?"
"Well, it's just past that chasm, but the guard Green doesn't let just anybody through. You have to…"
Suddenly a green bridge, grander than the last one and sporting lamps and pillars, formed from nothing over the chasm. Someone exited a green house nearby, which Mario deduced was obviously Green's, and walked up to the bridge.
"Well, never mind there's my lucky break. Bye!" Mario yelled out as he ran away from the village toward the bridge that was about to be crossed, hurrying to make sure it didn't disappear again.
"Wait, that's for someone else. You don't have permission to cross!" the same townsperson yelled out, but Mario was already gone.
Mario jumped over the other person crossing the bridge, who seemed to be the same species as the rest of the townspeople. Normally the plumber wouldn't be so rude and would wait for permission to cross the giant bridge, but time was of the essence. The Void was swallowing up all worlds, and Mario couldn't afford to waste time on chit-chat. He ran past the bridge and through more cliffs, until he was sure the people couldn't catch him.
"Whew, good thing that bridge opened up." Mario wiped the sweat from his brow as he gazed into the distance. "That saved us a good helping of time."
"Let's hope the townspeople don't have any hard feelings about this." Tippi said.
"I'm more nervous about those magiblot things though." Mario responded. "They mind-controlled the people into following Count Bleck. You said those are the weakest variants?"
"That is right."
"That makes me more nervous. Count Bleck must have millions of those things if he's able to send this many out to this random dimension among thousands, and some are more powerful than the ones I fought."
"No, he doesn't have nearly that many." Tippi corrected. "At least, not to my knowledge. Most dimensions don't have any magiblots in them, and this is one of the few that do."
That only made Mario more nervous. If Bleck didn't have enough Magiblots to send them out to every dimension, that must mean he knew Mario was here and he sent them out specifically here to stop him. It explained why there were Koopa Troop soldiers here of all dimensions; they were mind-controlled by these magiblot minions and sent out to battle Mario.
Mario made sure to keep his discomfort a secret from Tippi as he walked toward the vast desert beyond, where the Pure Heart lay.
END OF CHAPTER!