Seeing how I have work to do this May, I gotta focus on my work, so I apologize in advance.
Blumiere
Years of pretending to speak in a story-teller way have given Blumiere a talent of masking his emotions. Right now, he was feeling fear and shock from seeing his dad being so close to a human, much less Timpani's mother!
Timpani, although her facial expressions were unrecognizable, saw her mom, and seemed tense. "You have Pixls? I never remember seeing them travel with you." Eldolf, his grandfather says. Eldolf was always a fan of human culture, and out of everybody, disliked humans the least. "Oh! I actually left them in this flower bed, near the river uphill from the village. You know, the one near the ruins?" 'Alb' lied.
"He's a good actor, Dimentio would like him." Blumiere thought before he thought about Nastasia, Mimi, O'Chunks. He wondered where they were, and was worried about them. Even with Merlon's help, they were never really safe in Flipside.
But, they left them at the castle, so hopefully, Mario will protect them. Although he was concerned about Dimentio and if he was still evil, but Blumiere had to protect Timpani right now, as well as, this human.
"So, what do they do?" A Pi'illo asked, possible the Prince of Pi'illo Kingdom. "Oh! Tippi is a tattler, and Blumy is well, uh, sorry. Blumy, what do you do again?" Alb asked, nervously.
"Tell the truth, it's too risky to tell too many lies." He heard Tippi say, in his mind. "Oh! I can cast Void spells." Blumy said, in truth. His father definitely grew interested, and Alb immediately tried to change the subject: "Urm, your Highnesses. What exactly am I doing in this competition?" Alb asked.
Count Marcus immediately lost interest in what he was about to say and answered Alb's question: "You are the Piano representative of both; The Tribe of Ancients and The Tribe of Darkness, as well as, Pi'illo's Kingdom Representative. What you will be doing, are challenges relating to the Piano, whether it be playing a composition or sight-reading."
Queen Melinda then added on, saying: "There are additional challenges, like quickly composing a melody, or arrangement, with a given set of instruments. These are optional, however." Alb nodded, in understanding. Blumiere remembered reading about this competition. It was akin to 1 big showcase. "The winner receives a wish of their choice, and the kingdom that they represent receive a big cash incentive. Of course, top 3 get the award, but prizes get smaller at each rank." Prince Dreambert finished off.
The human nodded and looked over at the Pixls, who looked at him with reassurance. "Of course, we are almost sure that you will reach top 100. The Waltz you played for us was perfect. Produce more performances like that, and you could possibly win." Count Marcus remarked.
Alb nodded. Blumy was confused, normally the two Tribes had their own individual representative, and the Pi'illo Kingdom does too. "Ok! But, now what do I do?" When is this competition?" Alb asked. Both Count Marcus and Queen Melinda smiled mischievously, with Eldolf and the Pi'illo sweat-dropping. "I don't like that look, they are going to do something," Blumy told Timpani, in her mind.
Timpani flapped her wings, "Yes they are. May Grambi protect us."
"Um, Your Highness? What is with that look?" Alb asked, nervously. They didn't say anything but came closer. Count Marcus cast a spell, which was a box around everybody, and Queen Melinda snapped her fingers turning it shiny. "I suggest you have this, just in case." The Pi'illo said, giving a plastic bag to the human.
Alb took it with silence, whilst the Pixls rested on his arms with silence. "Our destination: Dreamian Remembra Hotel." Count Marcus roared, raising his staff when it started spinning on its own.
A light flashed in the entire castle, as the group was teleported to the Hotel.
Mario
It has been 2 days since Blumiere and Timpani went missing, as well as, Mary and Count Bleck. After searching the entire castle, they head back to Flipside, to see Merlon. "Heroes! You have returned, were you successful?" Merlon said. When everybody entered in Merlon's small cottage, everybody could hear creaking. "Uh, should we um, you know, take this outside?" Nasirine said.
Everybody silently nodded and went out. Merlon freaked after seeing Dimentio, but quickly calmed down when he saw he meant no harm. "Alright, then. Now after seeing your huge group, what happened?" Merlon asked. Nobody really was sure on what to say, so Nastasia decided to answer. "Well, this is what happened-" Nastasia said, explaining to Merlon about what happened.
About 10 minutes later
"Well, this is quite the predicament," Merlon said, nervously. Everybody else just smiled nervously, and now everybody was thinking the same thing, "Now what?"
All of a sudden, the house began shaking, and everybody around them looked at the quaking house. "Eh? What's with the house, Merlon?" Luigi asked. Merlon ignored him and rushed in. Everybody glanced at each other and followed suit. Entering inside the blue house, the group found the Light Prognosticus shaking violently in Merlon's grasp. "The book shakes, like a violent toddler not getting his food," Dimentio says.
"You still have your similes, as usual, Dimentio," Mimi said, whilst rolling her eyes. Dimentio smirked, and was about to say something else, when Merlon let go of the book, and flew straight through the door and up the tower.
"The book wants to play tag, after it!" Rose said, running in heels so high that, even Princess Peach went wide-eyed. "She's like Mimi, so don't be surprised," Dimentio said, before quickly teleporting to the tower.
Mimi just stood there, before she finally realized what he said. "Dimmy! YOU ARE DEAD!" Mimi shrieked, running up the tower. Everybody else looking at Nastasia, who just nervously chuckled said: "They've always been like that, m'kay." Nobody questioned it and ran to the elevator, which was a bad idea since everybody was huddled close in the small pocket of machinery.
Alb
I wasn't sure why I needed a plastic bag, but now I see why. Or at least, why Prince Dreambert needs it, he looks so sick, as we land on the soft, mellow grass. "Man up, Prince Dreambert! You have to go through this again, after all." Count Marcus said. Alb swore his Pi'illo head was green, but he looked away.
"My insides feel like they have jagged ends," Tippi said. Alb stood up and shook his head. Blumy looked silent, Tippi taking note. She giggled, "Aw, can't handle dimensional travel, that well?" Tippi teased. Blumy whispered, "I can, but that was further than normal dimensional travel. We went a vast distance." He replied. Tippi froze and looked around. "You're right, which dimension is this?" Tippi inquired.
Queen Melinda rose her eyebrows, "You have smart Pixls, tell me, where did you get them?" She asked. Alb was struggling to come up with a good lie, and Tippi quickly chimed in, "Oh, our master found us injured near the river. He nursed up back to health, and now we are his helpers when need be." Queen Melinda nodded sadly, whispering "That reminds me of her."
Alb could sense the coming questions and immediately changed the subject, "So, this is the Dremian Remembra Hot-" Alb was saying when he felt his jaw drop.
The whole area was... Beautiful. Flowers; Red, green, indigo, colors so wide that it felt like the ground was a rainbow. The rivers that flew by around a circular platform nearby, with two quaint little bridges. Golden Lights shine, butterflies fly amok, and a white and black gate, as pristine as a newly built house.
Queen Melinda's mood quickly turned to excitement, as she grabbed both Alb's and Count Marcus's hand, "Let us look around!" She said, running. Alb smiled although almost tripping, and Count Marcus ran with one hand on his hat.
Tippi and Blumy quickly flew off, before Alb swore he saw a curious glint in Eldolf's eyes. "I think he knows something is up, you need to come up with a really good lie if he asks," Mel said. Alb could only smile, as he hoped that things would turn out ok for the 2 Pixls.
Blumiere
Blumiere really was surprised, by the complete change in his father's stance at humans. He was going to approach Tippi before Eldolf coughed. Blumy froze, and turn to look at Eldolf, who looking at his closely. "You know, you act a lot like my grandson, he turns around exactly like that, and even the way you speak. You sound familiar, too." Eldolf said. Blumiere chuckled nervously; Out of everybody in the family, he was closest to Eldolf.
Blumiere knew he couldn't lie to Eldolf, he could always tell. Timpani, being the better conflict-avoider, said: "It seems we have been caught." Tippi said. Eldolf smiled goofily, "You two are so alike, I am so happy to finally meet the elusive Lady Timpani." He said, bowing to the butterfly. It looked weird, but Eldolf wasn't much for looking prim and proper. "You aren't... Mad?" Blumiere said.
"Of course not, we don't hate humans anymore, after all. I have no reason to go against your union." Eldolf said. Timpani and Blumiere sighed, in relief. "Thank Grambi and Jaydes," Timpani muttered.
"But, why? What happened when we were away?" Blumiere had asked. His father had loathed humans, so why the complete shift in mood. "He changed this way, right after our world was restored. Perhaps, he felt guilty for what he did to your wife." Eldolf said.
Timpani cringed, memories of what his father had done were not pleasant for her to remember. Blumiere remembered the despair he felt when he learned what had happened, his decreasing hope as he searched every dimension, and finally, the anger when he destroyed his home dimension. He regrets everything he had ever done and was able to compensate by offering his life to save all dimensions.
Of course, his life was never taken nor was Timpani's, but that was a question he pondered on, whenever he thought of it. "Why wasn't I and Timpani sent away, when we destroyed the Chaos Heart?" Blumiere questioned. He should be happy, but he felt uneasy when they were never sent away. The Chaos Heart just sent a pulse that knocked the couple out of the podium, and the Pure Hearts did the rest from there.
"Hm? Count Eldolf, are you coming?" Prince Dreambert had asked when he finally felt well enough to stand up. His Pi'illo head now the usual red-orange that it is."Yes, I am. Please wait for a moment."
Count Eldolf, said. Prince Dreambert nodded, walking towards the gate. "So, when are you telling them?" Count Eldolf asked. Both Blumy and Tippi cringed, Timpani responding with a meek "I don't know."
Timpani
Timpani felt like two sides were arguing in her head; "But, they don't hate humans anymore. Mom looks like she misses me, too!" Tippi #1 said.
"They still opposed our marriage, they still might. Let's not forget what Count Marcus did, too." Tippi #2 argued back.
"But, they have changed!" "They changed their opinions on each other, they still might oppose the marriage."
Timpani didn't know which one to listen too and kept on rationalizing the situation. "Honey, it's alright. He won't hurt you. I will protect you if he even lays a finger on you." Blumiere said. Tippi brightened lightly as if to acknowledge gratitude.
"I won't say anything, but you'll have to reveal yourself soon. You're putting Alb in the middle of this drama, and he going to experience the full force of both sides." Eldolf reminded them. Tippi and Blumy both spun in a circle. It was true, Alb didn't know anything, and it's better to keep it that way.
"Let's go in, they might suspect something," Tippi said. Blumy and Eldolf both nodded, and went inside the grand hotel.
Which looked amazing. 5 castles, each with their own unique design all in view with a beautiful plaza. "By the stars, how breath-taking," Eldolf said. Tippi and Blumy said the castles were huge, possibly able to fit 10 cities, in its eloquent rooms.
"What is this competition?" Tippi asked Blumy. Blumy responded: "A dimension-wide showcase, that every royal or godly body can participate in. It's, like a major-scale talent show." Tippi, wasn't expecting that: "So, it's just for entertainment?" She said.
Blumy, responded, although a bit confused said: "The true purpose was lost, over time. So, I assume that it's just for entertainment." Timpani disagreed, it was so much more than that, wasn't it?
It always is.