Daisy had summed up her path so far to Mario. Compassionate, he'd seen her discouraged features. She'd added that, when she'd woken up after the fight, she'd found herself in Mr.L's Dream Deep or subconscious, thanks to Zeekeeper and Dreambert. She believed that everything had been destroyed in Snow Land, and as the host of the Chaos Heart, he would be the only survivor. In fact, he'd been able to erase those souls only with its power of annihilation; forever. Daisy hadn't paid much attention to Mr.L's subconscious and wondered if he could, while still awake. She did notice Luiginoids and not Mr.L-noids, but couldn't go far in this sort of Inception. Mario had tried to focus on the facts. Mr.L wasn't the same Mr.L as in the Paper World; in fact, this being resembled nobody except Tatanga. He may travel between timelines, and that would be logical if this wicked Mr.L version came from a parallel world; maybe he went insane because of those repeated timelines? He doesn't know why or when, however, he seems to remember and like Daisy, his weak point in a sense. He was ridiculously powerful: a semi-God or semi-Universe destroyer. What sent chills down Mario's spine was the idea that Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, Dreambert, Cappy, Mr.L, Tatanga and he were the only survivors on Earth. Two things made his head click.
"Daisy…?" Mario whispered in a weak voice. "Don't you think it's strange that Mr.L became Tatanga's ally, if both of them want to marry you?"
Her head raised a little, but then she shrugged.
"You shouldn't be surprise this happens…"
"Another thing… how can Mr.L and the Chaos Heart exist here?"
She sighed with contempt.
"Also, I wonder what's this collar for. Are you sure it was a collar?"
"Yes, I am sure it was a collar implanted in Luigi's neck."
"It looks suspicious, you know."
The airship stabilized in the upper atmosphere of the Earth. The "Heroes" couldn't see what was happening outside of this locked room and wondered what would be done to them. Maybe keeping them out of Earth so they wouldn't die? Or would they see Tatanga face to face? The lock clicked and the dark man entered, bringing more light in the room. He didn't notice Mario had used fire to enlighten the group, that Peach had used magic to relieve Yoshi's pain, that Mario's cap was Cappy removing the eyes, but did fix eyes on the turquoise crystals surrounding Daisy. His expression was…abnormal. His face was frozen and his body shivering. Emotionless, but his body talked for him; if only Mario could interpret it well. Luigi didn't feel the same. He ignored the crystals then, unchained them from the walls, pulled them through the dark corridors. Mario wanted to sleep; he felt bad for Yoshi's complaint, pulled outside of his anaesthetic dream.
As they were walking nearer and nearer the room, a voice started to talk in his head, and in the other' too. He widened his eyes, looking at his feet as the voice told to so Mr.L wouldn't suspect anything. The voice was…Rosalina.
Among several quick words to reassure them, three sentences:
"Escape before it's too late."
"They're waiting for help."
"Mr.L is your ally."
Easy to say, but Mario was helpless. If he tried anything something would be done to him; he was restrained silently in his moves, as we say: he was free to walk where they told him. He was encaged into those four walls called corridors.
"Flee now! Move!"
He'd do an unforgivable mistake but his legs ran before he'd realized it. The several clangs following him were his friends. Only two were missing – Rosalina's been right: Mr.L was petrified physically and mentally. He was aware of danger. He had two options. One idea was heavier than the other. Not that! But this change, this click, done without thinking negatively – his usual judgment called it stupid damnation. But it was the only way to escape, if he'd take the risk to hope one more time. Mario found himself jumping in space. So many deadly spacecrafts! His head was streaming. Where was his princess? A cry spun his neck enough to make it snap, there she was, at his right. Behind him was the mothership, and there was a sphere formation of spaceships surrounding them to prevent any escape. Somehow platforms levitated there, Mario used them along with isolated ships to propel towards the pink dress floating, floating in front of the dizzying blue planet.
Yoshi wished to draw his tongue to capture her in safe hands in this deadly environment. He could barely breathe. And then he forgot to breathe. Mario got to catch Peach's hands in his big, safe palms: "I've-a got y-…" The faint smile dropped as weightless trails of blood landed on his nose and cheeks. Peach's mouth was opened in a silent nitwit screech. "NOOOO!" Mario roared; and when the snake-metal arm that had hooked through the princess's belly retracted, he refused to let go, not caring if he was dragged towards a ship. He pulled on her wrists, wanting to vomit as her guts and more blood flew around: "NO! NO! YOU WON'T HAVE HER! NOOO!" he cried. Before the door sealed on him, someone cut the latch he had on her. Peach's last cry of help disappeared in horror and agony. The wall was closed and Mr.L rebounded on it clamping Mario. "NOO!" he growled, "LET ME! LET MEE!"
"Do you want to live?!"
"I WANT TO SAVE HER! I HAVE TO - I HAVE TO SAVE HER!"
Crouching on a platform, Mr.L caught a glimpse of something and blurted out: "Leap down or suffer."
Mr.L could only eject Mario before a beam blew the platform to bits. The red man frowned in rage and distress, unable to spot his brother. Peach!... If he could do nothing…then the only hope was indeed to land on Earth. Never had he loathed light blue and zero gravitation so much, nor the reflecting silver on the spaceships. He wasn't crying but hiccupping in shock. Cappy stirred on his hair, he too was speechless. Daisy came to hold him by the arm, Yoshi under the other.
"Come on. We have to go."
Dodging whatever attacks coming from the airships, as hard as it was, they slowly started to feel attraction from the Earth. Eventually they took a sprint and jumped right towards the ground, or more like clouds. So now, they just could hope nothing would intercept them, and that the landing wouldn't kill them, because they would have to start this all over – what was impossible. However the army of ships was somehow being destroyed by Mr.L himself. Every attack was countered. They thought Mr.L, when they could see him indirectly with flashing bolts of lightning. Yoshi could understand that, unlike the way Mr.L could do this. Luigi had only been able to concentrate energy to electrify moderately; transforming into a full lighting bolt was incredibly exhausting and dangerous, considering you manage to do it. Like if the molecules of Mario's body could disintegrate into fire supplied by nothing. Then Mr;L had built on a limitless vessel for that amount of magic. Limitless. He may be exaggerating, but not compared to the Heroes. What Yoshi was watching, was a Super Luigi. In terms of God-Luigi. Suddenly he noticed they were getting far away faster and faster. The air was heating up. He couldn't breathe there too, because wind was filling his lungs too much! He panicked. They were about to die! They were going to get fried or crushed like a pancake! He looked over Daisy who was panicking too. The heat! His heart pounded too much! All was too much! All inches of his body were burning, all his nerves screaming from the fall! Daisy, holding them two, gave Mario a strong nudge for him to do something. He turned his head and quivered. The heat and fall was familiar to him…so he used magic to make this fire, his, much kinder.
He still didn't know how to ease the landing. But - he was used to this now - he knew the soundless explosion meant Mr.L would soon come to achieve what he had decided: save the Heroes against his ally's will. Somehow, Rosalina had known that. Somehow, Mr.L was acting strange again. Where was he, where was he now that the airships didn't pursue them? He should have eliminated them all 4 minutes ago, where is he? They had gone through the wet clouds; the volcanoes of Bowser's kingdom were at 1 minute from there! He could only wish for Rosalina to be completely right. Mr.L had to come now. 30 seconds. Please; the waiting is horrible. 15 seconds; why does it have to be like that? Peach had died, and would die again and again; what was going to happen to her?! Please, 5 seconds! A tiny ball of energy went past them, and when it touched the soil, it exploded the Heroes' eardrums. All at once, smoke and ashes flew furiously against their bodies. Their fall was cancelled thanks to Mr.L. Yoshi fainted in Daisy's arms. Mario wished he'd carried Peach in his own. They crashed on the dirt of the 30 meters-long hole.
Mario coughed as Mr.L pulled him up.
"This isn't over yet. We have to escape. Do you hear me?"
Mario nodded.
Right when Mr.L opened his mouth, a faint blast was heard.
"The volcanoes of this land are being set off. The smoke will cover the entire planet. Do you get how powerful it'll be? We can't stay in the surface or we will die from intoxication and asphyxia. Ships will be sent to erase everything down here. Do you know somewhere to hide deep inside the Earth?!"
Mario was confused.
"Think fast!"
"There are undergrounds for pipes-"
"Not deep enough!"
Mr.L was trying to calm himself. Mario saw an emotion for the first time, other than sick happiness: fear. He widened his eyes in softness. The soar face of his brother, that he knew so well, tensed up. His eyes were even glassy. In a flash, he wondered if Daisy had actually modified Mr.L from the core. He took this idea seriously; maybe it had worked? Gulping the trembling in his voice:
"We're gonna die if…! We're not even going to die, we're gonna…"
Daisy raised her voice in a strange look: "There is a secret safe under the Mushroom Kingdom, that's connected to mine. An underground used in case of extreme emergency, like a war, pandemic or natural disaster. Survivors from the Mushroom Kingdom may have hid there, if Toadsworth lives. But how are we going there? You took all our power-ups away."
Mr.L looked up to her, grateful in a sense. "That is not a problem… Where is it located?
The woman hesitated to give away that information. What if Mr.L simulated? What if that whole scene had been performed because they knew there were survivors and they wanted to convince them to tell where? And the voice, had it really been Rosalina's?
Mr.L guessed what was under that distrustful silence.
Then again, what difference would that make? Defeated they were in all scenarios. What could be worse? Survivors would die either way. She had chosen to give up.
"Under Star Hill."
Mr.L thanked her with the head.
"Take my hand."
They did, Mr.L taking firm grasps on their wrists. Energy coursed between them. I'm transforming into energy!?, Mario thought. Yes, and they were halfway to become immaterial when something, a tiny small thing hit Mr.L's mind. The next second they were gone in a flash; air stormed around after the sound barrier was crossed. Mario and Daisy gasped at the frightening dash, their eyes felt way too fragile before those blurs of objects and lands. Hopefully, that lasted 5 seconds, and they were standing under the towering Star Hill covered with white rain.
"Where is the entrance?!"
Daisy scampered to a wall – Again, things banged around.
Mr.L had just saved her and Yoshi from an attack. This attack had been made by the hand of a robot, surely Mr.L's. It was a humanoid robot that resembled him and another Mario'd seen in a story. The creator and the machine were staring at each other menacingly. How? Why? But Mario learned it wasn't the matter. He ran up to Daisy who had typed a code with the slippery blue bricks. The region was inundating. Mario carried Yoshi and turned to see – maybe one last time? – his brother facing the robot, using his body as a warning shield.
Yes, the rainy exterior and the wind howling them to hide deep in the darkness was a wonderful experience, something you should never forget when you like it. Life had taken a turn for the worse. Unexplained things had been happening without them knowing. Luigi and Tatanga. Mr.L and that Brobot. The Kingdoms, all land. He thought he heard voices from the survivors calling for them from beneath. The wall collided with the top of the entrance as Mario wished for the battle between Luigi and his own creation to have a good ending. All he could do, wish. Maybe this was the last time he…maybe…..
"HEY! MARIO! WE HAVE TO RUN!" He heard Daisy's crying voice. Her too. Why? He could unblock his members one by one and they took hands to flee. The moment their foot crossed the entrance, a shock was sending them flying. They cried but stood up anyway. They ran crying, far away from the battle to death that was happening right behind them, heading deep into the dusty tunnel until they slipped on a polish-stoned toboggan. They screamed their lungs out, deafening themselves with the echo it produced. A last blast echoed on the ceiling, and when huge chunks of it fell to block the entrance of the underground, all they could see was nothing, they could only feel. Emotions, they had felt too much since then…
Cappy, Yoshi, Daisy and Mario had finally escaped…