Chapter 6: Tears of Gold

Mario, Princess Peach, and Giga Bowser were staring at the now sentient Geno doll with expressions of dumbstruck awe. They were all utterly gobsmacked, totally flabbergasted and without words.

"U-Uhh..." Was all that Mario had managed to speak, while scratching his head in confusion.

"I-I... U-Umm, well..." Peach stuttered, unable to decide on the right words.

Giga Bowser simply shook his head, convinced that he was imagining things. He then leaned forward with keen eyes, as if he trying to figure out some sort of trick that was being played.

"What?" Geno gawked, with a shrug. "What's the big deal?"

"You are..." Peach started, with a tilted head.

"A living... doll?" Mario concluded, with an uneasy expression.

"So? Why are you so surprised?" Geno challenged, with a hand. "I already told you that I was searching for a vessel to inhabit. What did you expect?"

Come to think of it, Mario was not sure. He hadn't exactly given it much thought. Geno could tell this just by the look on his face.

"Anyway, forget about that!" Geno hushed, hopping while waving his fists eagerly in the air. He landed and pointed at Giga Bowser with a wooden finger, his blue cape swaying weakly before relaxing again. "Cause' right now, we have bigger fish to fry!"

Mario and Peach turned back towards Giga Bowser with determined expressions.

"Right. Let's-a-go!" Mario encouraged with flaming fists, his blue eyes brave and true.

"We shall end this now." Peach assured, delicately twirling her pink parasol.

Giga Bowser stomped forward a single step with dramatic hands, a big grin on his beaming face.

"Bwahahaha!" Giga Bowser laughed, rather eagerly. "Oh, now that's rich. A wooden doll suddenly joins the ranks of a powerless plumber and a worn-out damsel in distress, and NOW you think you're gonna end this?!"

Geno, Mario, and Princess Peach said nothing, remaining as serious as ever while Giga Bowser continued to laugh.

"Princess Peach, is it?" Geno quietly inquired, in a low voice. Princess Peach turned towards him. Before she could say a word, he continued to speak. "You know what to do. Let Mario and I handle the rest."

"Mm." She nodded, her blue eyes brimming with courage.

"Bwahahaha!" Giga Bowser persisted. He then leaned forward with an expression that was almost maniac. His right eye was bulged outward, with red veins stretched out across the white of his eye. "I'M THE STRONGEST THAT THERE IS! I HAVE NO WEAKNESSES! NO FLAWS! YOU BUGS DON'T STAND A CHANCE AGAINST ME!"

Then suddenly, that defenseless sensation had hit him again. His head had cocked backward so that he was facing the skies.

"HEART SHARD!" Princess Peach cried, her palms flat against his stomach once again as she unleashed the magical heart attack that nulled ones defenses.

"U-Urk!" Giga Bowser cried, looking skyward with his teeth clenched together. His eyes were whited out.

But that attack had used up the tiny remainder of the energy Princess Peach had left. She collapsed onto her side slightly to the right of Bowser. While downed with her dress spread around her, yellow diamond light danced over her as she proceeded to transform back to her original self.

"It's my turn!" Geno cried, his right fist clenched at his hip. With a quick arm movement, his left hand was extended before him with his palm facing forward. Multiple magical disks of light flew from his hand. "GENO WHIRL!"

The magical disks of light struck Giga Bowser in the head while he was facing skyward, which actually had managed to break off the tip of his right horn.

"GWAAAAAH!" Giga Bowser cried, as he felt a huge surge of pain from the extremely powerful attack. His entire body was pulsating with spiky white light.

"Mario, jump before me!" Geno ordered, clasping his left wrist with his right hand. The tips of the fingers on his left hand opened up, and the sounds of a gun being cocked could be heard.

Mario did not hesitate, as he did not wish to waste this opportunity. With Giga Bowser's defenses still down, he was still stuck in place from the light based attack that Geno had used. Mario jumped into the air at the appropriate distance from Geno, unsure of what to expect. Then, Geno had launched tiny cannonballs from his fingers, which struck the back of Mario and exploded into a big flame. The impact had actually hurt Mario quite a bit, but it filled Mario with all sorts of external fire, such that his torso was now inflated like a balloon. He knew what he was supposed to do.

"Now Giant..." Mario started, concentrating the flame into his right arm in order to inflate it. He landed on the cobblestone in a squat.

Geno stepped forward with an extended hand, palm facing forward. "GENO BOOST!"

Suddenly, a red up-arrow had appeared over Mario, which was accompanied with a bulking-up sound effect. A red veil of energy now surrounded Mario's entire giant right arm and fist as he ran forward energetically. The spiky light around Giga Bowser from the Geno Whirl attack had faded, and the massive Koopa King faced forward only to find that a giant fist smothered with a red aura was heading straight for him.

"CRUSHER!" Mario cried, as his augmented giant fist smashed into Giga Bowser.

"GWAAAAAAAH!" Giga Bowser cried, as he was lifted off of the ground by Mario's giant fist and carried into the nearby building.

As Mario's giant fist had crushed Giga Bowser against the building, the entire structure had proceeded to collapse. It was arcing towards the inflated fist before it came crumbling down onto Giga Bowser. As the pieces of the structure rained down into the smoky abyss at the base, it became useless rubble that piled on top of the Koopa King.

Mario winced, one eye closed and teeth clenched as he expected his arm to recoil explosively at any second now. He knew that at any moment, the external flame which he had absorbed would abruptly come bursting out through his fist, causing him immense pain and essentially rendering his arm useless for a time. However, this was not happening. The red aura from Geno's Boost was still surrounding his arm.

"Mario! Concentrate the fire back into your body!" Geno ordered, swiping his arm.

"H-Huh?!" Mario barked. "O-Oh, right!"

Mario closed his eyes and concentrated hard as he proceeded to redistribute the flame back into his core. However, he wasn't very elegant during this process. He accidentally inflated his left leg for a moment, and a ton of fire was lost out of his right shoulder. The rest of it dissipated as heat energy through his pores as it moved throughout him. Eventually, he was back to his normal self. He nearly fell flat on his face, but instead stumbled forward a bit and caught himself. He was feeling perfectly fine.

"Hey!" Mario cheered, smiling from ear to ear. "My fist didn't break that time! I landed a solid giant crusher!"

"Thanks to my boost, yes." Geno informed, arriving at his side. "And perhaps when you've become a bit more skilled, you'll be able to keep the fire after the attack. Notice that it's gone now."

"Huh?" Mario barked, examining himself. Indeed, he wasn't flaming like he would be if he was in his charged state. The fire that Geno had given him with his cannonballs had been lost. "Hey, yeah! It's all gone! What gives?!"

"You lost it when you were trying to return to your normal state." Geno explained, his arms folded. "It would be useful if you learned how to retain it."

"Retain it, huh?" Mario thought out loud, rubbing his chin in thought. "Hmm..."

The smoke around the building had eventually subsided. Much to their great relief, Giga Bowser was nowhere to be found. There were just layers and layers of concrete slabs piled on top of each other with rebar sticking out from them at awkward angles

"And that's that." Geno smirked, folding his arms in pride. "Great work, team!"

"Peach!" Mario cried, running forward with great haste.

"Huh?" Geno barked, opening his maroon eyes. He saw that Princess Peach was lying on her side, dressed in a pink dress that was much more plain and simple then the one that she had been wearing before.

Geno started to march towards Mario, who was kneeling at Peach's side. "Peach! Peach, wake up!"

"She's fine." Geno assured, arriving a few paces behind him. "She's just used her Goddess Star ability for the first time. You recall what it was like, don't you?"

Mario gasped as he remembered. Shortly after his new powers had awakened, he had collapsed on the street and then shortly after had found himself within the Jail of Souls.

"Right..." He softly whispered to himself, looking solemnly at Peach's unconscious face. "But this means..."

The camera zoomed in closer to her unconscious face before fading to black. A vortex of blue chains in a purple and black background transitioned us from reality to dream.

/

Princess Peach awoke and had found that she was locked inside of a cell. She was sitting on a thin mattress that was positioned over a thin board. The makeshift bed was about 2 feet above the ground, and was supported by chains which were attached to the wall at a 45 degree angle. Peach wore no crown, her blonde hair messy. She was wearing a typical white and black stripped jailers uniform, barefoot with a ball and chain attached to her right ankle. Her hands were cuffed with what appeared to be magical handcuffs. They were made of otherworldly stone, glowing an eerie blue.

"O-Oh?" Peach barked with rather calm confusion, standing tall.

"*chuckle*... A most interesting visitor has joined us today."

Peach felt her insides turn to liquid. The sound of the voice made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She turned towards the voice with a cold expression, her eyes widened.

Peach noticed there was a wooden table in the center of what appeared to be a cylindrical room. The mature, deep male voice had come from a man in a black suit who was sitting at the table in a blue chair with a tall back, his white gloved hands neatly together on its surface. He had a white formal undershirt, a black tie, and black pointed shoes as well. What was most odd about this man was the strange, eerie purple mask that was upon his face, which was unable to conceal all of his long grey hair that was flowing behind.

The mask had bright red-yellow eyes with green pupils, and yellow and green spikes all around it's heart shape. The sight of it alone had sent chills down her spine.

There was also a young girl with a small build and medium length dark green hair wearing a light green tunic, standing at the right of the desk. The sleeves of the tunic were a darker green than the torso, which also featured a dark green collar of the same shade. She had a green tunic belt with a gold buckle as well as green boots. Finally, she also wore a green headband. Her eyes were blue, and based on her expression alone it was difficult to tell if she was serene or somber. She gave a quick bow. Her voice was soft and full of youth, but surprisingly mature.

"It is my pleasure to introduce Master Majora, inmate W-99."

Peach had managed to relax just enough to take a look around. She noticed that the cells in the cylindrical room were organized by a rows that were each assigned a letter. The cells within that row were assigned a number. There were a ton of other cells, but no one was in any of them. It was also odd that the floor was set to row W, with no stairs or floors above to provide access to the other cells above and below.

"This room is merely a cognition that has been modified for the purpose of our discussion and holds no bearing in reality." Majora informed, noticing Peach had been examining the prison quite intently. "Please refrain from dwelling on such trifling matters."

"Pay attention, inmate W-99." She warned, her voice soft.

Peach turned towards them without a word, but they gave her a bad feeling. Her eyes narrowed in caution. Majora gave a soft chuckle, which had caused Peach to ease up a little.

"*chuckle* This one is worthy of being called by her own name, Miss Saria." Majora decided.

"My apologies, Master." Saria apologized, with a bow. She looked at the prisoner with a calm expression. "Peach, is it?"

"That is correct." Peach replied, with a nod. "And just who might you two be?"

"You may call me Majora." Majora introduced, his tone mature and voice deep. "And this, is Saria. She serves as the warden for this... jail of souls."

"Jail of souls?" Peach questioned, stepping back in surprise. She looked down at her gloveless hands, examining once again the glowing magical cuffs that locked them in place.

"Those are in place to prevent you from using your Goddess power." Saria explained, with a hand.

"I see..." Peach softly acknowledged. She was silent for a moment. "Am I... dead?"

"*chuckle* No, no." Majora eased, with a gentle wave of declination. "You are very much still alive, I can assure you."

"The jail of souls serves as a prison for all who are bounded by contract." Saria explained, with a hand.

"Contract? I do not remember signing any contract." Peach assured.

"We are all bounded by the chains of reality. Helplessly destined to suffer during our short and tragic existence, both tempted and harmed by acts of malevolence and greed... What Miss Saria is referring to specifically concerns the Goddess Stars."

"Since you have acquired the power of a Goddess Star, your soul is bound to this place through contract." Saria explained.

"Wait, what exactly do you mean by my soul being bound to this place?" Peach questioned, rather demanding.

"In the events that your life is cut short, you will end up imprisoned here." Majora explained.

"W-What? Oh no, I did not realize that this was part of anything!" Peach fret, appearing quite nervous. "I-I just wanted the Goddess Star to help my friend..."

"Relax, Peach." Saria soothed, raising a calming hand partially. A magical scroll had appeared before their very eyes. Peach watched anxiously as it glimmered with magical light. "You have not yet signed the soul contract."

"I could never sign something that would bound me to a prison for eternity!" Peach resisted, shaking her head no.

"Sign the soul contract, or forfeit the power of the Goddess Star." Majora explained, nodding with his hands together upon the tables surface. "These are your choices."

"In order to keep my powers I need to sign the soul contract?" Peach clarified.

"Yes." Saria nodded.

"And if I sign it, in the events that I die suddenly... I will be imprisoned here?" Peach continued, looking downward with a somber expression.

"That is correct." Saria confirmed, with a nod.

"This... is a very difficult decision." Peach admitted, her face cast in despair.

"*chuckle*... Such are the ramifications of acquiring true power." Majora warned.

"In the event that you refuse your newfound power, the Goddess Star from which you obtained it will reappear somewhere in your world." Saria explained, with an informative finger. "You will then be returned back to your world with no other consequences."

Peach was looking downward in thought, weighing her options while biting her lip anxiously. She closed her eyes, and she thought about how Mario was still alive, all thanks to the fact that she had a Goddess Star.

"Who is to say that they won't need my help again?" She softly spoke out loud. Saria and Majora remained quiet.

Princess Peach faced forward with an expression of determination. "I accept. I'll do it for my friends."

"My, my... How valiant. Such a noble and pure heart." Majora praised, hands on the table and legs crossed beneath. "Saria."

Saria then marched towards the imprisoned Peach with a floating quill pen and contract at her side. They hovered into Peach's cell, the magical quill pen nesting in her cuffed hand.

"Please sign the contract to receive your new power." Saria ordered, with a hand.

Peach was hesitant. She started to feel anxious and dizzy as she looked at the contract. The words were swirling together, the page grew blurry and it was getting hard to breathe. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. Saria and Majora were patient. After a few moments, she had opened them again. She signed the contract with conviction.

"The soul contract has been signed." Saria informed, making the document and utensil disappear into shimmering light. "And so, the power of the Heart Star is rightfully yours. Congratulations."

(Everyone... I'll protect you.) Peach assured, her eyes trembling in determined thought.

"*chuckle*... Do take care not to die a foolish death." Majora warned. "The consequences are severe."

Princess Peach said nothing, doing her very best to show that she had not lost any resolve. In truth, she was quite scared. Had she made the right decision? No. It was too late to question that now, she thought. With a great power like this, she had a duty to protect her friends. It was her moral obligation. She would protect everybody, with all her heart.

"Heh heh heh..." Majora laughed, as Princess Peach felt this world starting to fade away. "Ha, ha, ha, ha..."

Once again, a vortex of blue chains in a purple and black background transitioned us from dream to reality.

/

Princess Peach's head lie sideways against the red upholstery of a plump and comfortable sofa. Her blue eyes started to weakly open as she groaned softly. Her vision was blurry. She saw two distant bluish figures conversing. There was a big window, and the floor had a burgundy coloured carpet. Her vision started to clear up. She could now make out Mario, that talking doll, and the large office desk that was behind them.

"Hey, you're awake!" Mario noted, lightly jogging towards her.

He offered her a gloved hand, as Geno marched towards her.

"Welcome back, Princess Peach." Geno greeted. Mario was nodding.

"T-Thank you." Peach softly acknowledged, taking Mario by the hand and sitting upright. She placed her hands neatly together on her lap.

"We're in the Mayors Office." Mario informed.

"You collapsed in the street." Geno elaborated. "Mario here carried you all the way."

"Oh... I am terribly sorry to have burdened you, Mario." Peach apologized, looking into Mario's eyes with sincerity. "You have my gratitude."

"Oh-ho, don't mention it." Mario laughed, flushing crimson as he looked away while rubbing the back of his head.

Peach then directed her attention to Geno. "And you are..."

"You can call me Geno." Geno informed, thumbing to himself proudly. "I'm the one who's partly responsible for dragging Mario here into all of this Spirit Realm business."

"Right. Link told us all about that this morning." Peach informed, with a nod.

"Oh, I see. That's good." Geno acknowledged, nodding. There was a silence. Geno turned and surveyed the room, as if it was suddenly of absorbing interest to him. "Looks like that woman you guys are looking for isn't here."

"Pauline?" Peach gasped, as if she had suddenly remembered. "She's not here?!"

"No. And the door was left unlocked, too." Geno informed, with a grim expression. "She may have been captured by those X-Nauts."

"N-No way..." Peach frowned, with an expression of despair. "We were too late..."

"I'm sure she's alright!" Mario encouraged, stepping forward with a clenched fist. "Wherever she is, Pauline is just fine. We just have to believe in her!"

Peach looked up at Mario. She couldn't help but smile softly. "You are right, Mario. For now, let us believe in her."

Geno was bent at the waist at practically 90 degrees. He ran a wooden finger across the carpet, and then examined it closely. His maroon eyes narrowed with interest. There was a trace amount of what appeared to be gold dust on his finger.

"Hmmm..." He pondered deeply.

There was a short silence, which was suddenly interrupted by the sounds of very loud cannon fire. Mario, Geno, and Peach gasped loudly. They each had startled expressions as they faced the window. There was a large explosion, and fiery light illuminated their faces.

"O-Over there! The window!" Geno exclaimed, pointing to the large window with a wooden finger.

With that, the three of them looked out the window in awe at what was happening over Mushroom City.

/

"WAAAAAAH!" Wario and Waluigi cried, as two blazing smoke trails followed them through their journey through the skies.

The X-Naut blimp had been completely and utterly destroyed by the three Mushroom Kingdom blimps that were being operated by the X-Nauts. The destroyed X-Naut blimp descended as a fiery mass into the city below, doing some serious collateral damage on the way down. An office complex for taxi dispatchers had a lot to say about that. The sounds of sirens could be heard all throughout the evacuated city, which emergency responders were now attending too.

Wario and Waluigi continued to fly through the sky with fiery behinds, screaming loudly all the while. They were plummeting towards a beach, which lie on the outskirts of a forest that featured a panoply of colourful flora.

"Ooof!" Wario wheezed, as he landed on the sand belly first.

"Wah!" Waluigi cried, as he dove straight into the sand like a pencil. His lanky legs were kicking about, crying for freedom.

Despite Waluigi's predicament, Wario was taking his time rising to a stand. He delicately dusted off all of the sand on his purple overalls, particularly what was stuck around the big white buttons. Waluigi's flailing grew more desperate.

"Alright, alright." Wario groaned, rolling his eyes and walking over to his legs. "Kick me in the face, and I'm leaving you there."

Wario appeared distant and out of focus as he grabbed Waluigi by the ankles. Two black silhouettes were watching from the edge of the forest. One figure had a dome shaped head and wore a cloak, whereas the other was a slender, attractive woman in a scarlet dress and wearing a red sunhat.

"Come on, come on..." Wario wheezed, his teeth clenched and face red as he tried to free Waluigi. "COME. ON!"

With a great pull, Waluigi went flying from the sand with a whoosh, crashing chin first near the edge of the forest. He sighed happily as he realized he was in a pleasant batch of shade. Then, he saw a familiar cloak waving gently in the breeze before him, as well as an unfamiliar pair of black heels. He directed his attention skyward, and saw the unimpressed expressions of Grodus and Pauline staring down at him.

"WAH!" Waluigi barked, standing tall as fast as he could. He proceeded to dust himself off very rapidly. He brought his hands together complacently, forcing a smile on his bony face. "L-Lord Grodus! How good it is to see you again! What a pleasant surprise, I-I thought you were back in Sarasaland!"

"Silence." Grodus hushed, with a serious tone. "Wario. I summon you."

"Yes, Lord Grodus." Wario complied, marching over to Waluigi's side.

"And who is this woman, my lord?" Waluigi asked, only glancing at Pauline for a flash before returning his attention to the X-Naut leader.

"This, is Pauline." Grodus plainly introduced.

"Pauline?!" Waluigi gawked, stepping back in surprise. Wario was quite surprised as well. Waluigi then grew rather angry. "Sooo, you managed to capture her, eh? That little devil sent some blimps after us! She even forced OUR men to do her bidding! Would you believe that?! If it hadn't been for those lazy, incompetent grunts, we would have had the entire city blown to pieces by now!"

Suddenly, a horde of X-Naut grunts emerged from within the forest. They were the very same X-Nauts who had been operating the blimp. They stood behind Grodus and Pauline silently and obediently.

"Oh, Waluigi. You pitiful fool. How you so dearly misunderstand the situation." Grodus sighed, shaking his head.

"W-What's..." Waluigi started, a nervous sweat sliding down his face. Wario also had his teeth together anxiously. "Going on here?"

"I am the one who ordered them to take you down." Grodus informed.

"What?!" Waluigi gasped, stepping back in astonishment. He and Wario were utterly aghast. "But why?!"

"Gack ack ack..." Grodus laughed, deviously. Pauline simply stood there with folded arms, remaining as serious as ever. "I sent you on a mission to destroy Mushroom City. From the beginning, it was my intentions that you were to fail."

Waluigi and Wario listened to Grodus continue his explanation with trembling eyes of disbelief.

"It's very simple. The X-Nauts invade the Mushroom Kingdom, and Mayor Pauline here saves the day!" Grodus explained, spreading his arms dramatically. "In turn, she gains the trust of its citizens. With this tactic, we will be able to have one of our own operating from the inside. You see?"

"You... used us?" Waluigi growled, his eyes concealed in the shadow of his cap. His teeth and fists were clenched. He was trembling.

"Watch how you address Lord Grodus." Pauline snapped, with a mean stare.

"It is alright, Pauline." Grodus hushed. He had a devious grin on his face. "Yes. I used the both of you to further our aims. But what does it matter? You are safe now, and we are one step closer to achieving dominion over the Mushroom Kingdom. You should be honoured to have served in such a role!"

Wario was nodding, hand on chin in thought. That seems reasonable, he thought. But Waluigi, however, was too prideful to see things from this perspective. Why did he get the butt end of the role? Why was he the stepping stone, being played like a fool? He deserved more than this. He was supposed to get a promotion. But to think, all along Grodus had sent him on a dangerous mission, with full intentions for him to fail, straight from the beginning.

The pain of betrayal ached through Waluigi's heart. A single tear had strolled down his face.

"Are you..." Pauline started, her eyes widened. She couldn't help but laugh. "Crying?!"

"Fool!" Grodus scolded. "Shed no tears!"

"T... TO HELL WITH THIS!" Waluigi cursed, stomping a foot. His eyes were concealed in shadow. "All along, I've been nothing but a tool for this group! I've been here the longest, I've been the most loyal, and what do I get in return?! I get to be a doormat for every single newcomer we've ever had!"

Waluigi then looked Grodus straight in the face, tears streaming down his face. "WHERE'S MY THANK YOU?! WHERE'S MY RECOGNITION?!"

There was a silence. Wario was shaking his head no, as if it to let them know that he wasn't agreeing with him.

"Recognition?" Grodus acknowledged, his voice laced with evil and malevolence. "If that's what you want, I'll give you exactly the sort of recognition you deserve. Pauline."

"As you wish." Pauline obeyed, stepping forward. She looked at Waluigi's teary face with no sign of remorse. "It is unacceptable to speak to Lord Grodus that way. Prepare yourselves."

Wario and Waluigi had expressions of fear as they took a step back. Then, there was a blinding golden light, which obscured what was happening. Eventually, the light had faded. A lone seagull had cawed from above the breezy ocean.

Wario and Waluigi had been turned into statues of gold. Wario had a surprised, toothy grin on his face. Waluigi, however, looked much more solemn. There were streaks of gold running from his eyes and down his face, rising from the surface of his sparkling skin, as if he was crying gold. Pauline turned from them, her arms folded.

"How ruthless, Pauline!" Grodus praised, grinning deviously at the petrified pair. "What excellent statues they make! Well done! GACK ACK ACK ACK!"

Pauline said nothing, looking at the palms of her trembling hands. Her heart was racing. She felt a huge surge of power, which caused her brain to tingle with pleasure and excitement.

(Why does it feel so good?) She thought. She shook her head no. (I ought to be ashamed!)

She was battling with herself. It felt so wrong to abuse her powers, but on the same token, something inside of her was compelling her to do so.

"Come." Grodus summoned, returning to his usual serious demeanour.

"H-Huh?" Pauline barked, her eyes widening as she snapped out of her thoughts.

"You've got work to do, winning the publics favour." Grodus ordered, marching into the jungle. He spread his arms magnificently. "Time to win them all over, the fools! GACK ACK ACK ACK!"

"We won't... be hurting anybody, right?" Pauline inquired, following behind him.

"Oh, no no no. I assure you." Grodus pleaded, sincerely. "I just need you to keep them happy and complacent, that's all. That's all."

"And I get my city of gold, right?" Pauline sternly reminded, her head tilted slightly as she examined him.

"Yes, yes, of course." Grodus happily assured, as they passed the thick white stem of a giant blue mushroom. "And it would appear that you've already got two nice statues for it!"

Pauline turned to see that the X-Naut grunts were carrying the two gold statues of Wario and Waluigi behind them. She faced forward again.

"Well alright then." Pauline accepted. She pointed a finger strictly. "But nobody gets hurt, or else I'm done with this."

"Of course, of course." Grodus assured, easing her with a merry tone. "There's no need for this now, I understand your desires."

Pauline said nothing. Having said her piece, she, Grodus, and the group of X-Nauts marched silently through the colourful forest. The golden Waluigi statue was rocking back and forth as it was carried by the X-Naut horde. The sun peeked through some of the leaves overhead, which caused the petrified golden tear of Waluigi to glimmer as he helplessly stared skyward.