Shaken from his ordeal (moreso than Mario had been by his encounter with Ridley), Dedede was far less lackadaisical about the threat posed by Ganondorf now. Though things had settled down since K. Rool's attack, the fighters were still on high alert inside the mansion. K. Rool, now restrained like Ridley and Dark Samus, insisted that Ganondorf had nothing to do with his rampage, and though he spoke the truth, no one believed him, least of all Luigi, who, true to his word not to let anyone else suffer for him, was patrolling the mansion grounds for whoever or whatever Ganondorf was going to send to attack them with next.
Mario was pacing the interior of the mansion, unknowingly mirroring his brother's movements outside.
"You really want to be out there with him, don't you?" Peach observed.
"Is it that obvious?" Mario asked.
"Quite," she said.
"We all wanna help," Daisy said. "But maybe Luigi's on to something with the whole 'don't let yourselves be targets' thing."
"I see the logic in what he said," Mario agreed. "But… It's complicated for me. even though I gave him my word that I'd support him from the sidelines and let him handle this, part of me still feels like I should be out there with him, fighting by his side."
"You have a duty of care," Peach observed. "There's nothing wrong with that—it's one of your strongest points."
"That's it in a nutshell," Mario sighed. "I've been looking out for Luigi since before I can even remember—the only times I've ever let him face something alone were times when I was captured, like with King Boo. Now, he's facing off against the Great King of Evil, and I have to watch from the sidelines?"
"I think it means you did such a good job of being there for him, he has the confidence to go at it alone," Cappy said. "Isn't that what you said about his travels around the world—that you knew it meant that you'd looked after him so well that he finally was able to spread his own wings?"
"I did say that," Mario agreed. "And I meant it; it's great to see him so determined and ready to charge into action. But… I just never thought the day would come when Luigi wouldn't need me anymore."
"Mario… Pal… Buddy…" Daisy said, incredulously. "The man is your brother. He's always going to need you."
"And it's because he needs you that he's doing this," Peach added. She placed a hand on Mario's shoulder as he gave her a confused look. "I think you don't realize it because you don't remember what happened with Ridley. But Luigi and I can never forget it. And everything you just said about always being there for him… Luigi said that, too, as he blamed himself for letting that happen to you."
"But it wasn't his fault!" Mario insisted.
"He doesn't see it that way—especially now with Ganondorf's motives out in the open," Peach said. "Don't you understand now, Mario? Death is a horrible thing—and yet, it's even worse for those who are left behind. Put yourself in Luigi's shoes for a moment; how would you feel if it had been him?"
"Inconsolable," Mario agreed. "I can't imagine losing my little bro. It's too terrible to think about."
"Exactly," Peach said. "It's a miracle we got you back—Luigi isn't about to risk losing you again, so he sees this as his burden to bear."
"I guess I understand that, but he still shouldn't have to!" Mario exclaimed. "It's like I told him—none of this is fair—the prophecy, Ganondorf trying to manipulate him… everything!"
He glanced out the window, casting a watchful eye over his brother.
"To say nothing of Kamek kidnapping him just after he'd taken his first breath…!" Pit added. "Poor guy was born into a life of hardship!"
"Exactly," Mario sighed. "And all of the fears and anxieties he's had to deal with… His life has been one struggle after another, and it should never have had to be that way!"
"I agree," Peach said. "He's much stronger than he realizes when you consider that he's made it past all of that."
"That's what I keep telling him," Mario said. "He's come so far, and I'm so proud of him. Even if I'm worried about him going up against Ganondorf, it's great to see him so determined and confident out there."
"If you ask me," Zelda said. "You need to take some of the credit here; he's made it this far because of you looking out for him. All that confidence and determination is thanks to you; he's just returning the favor."
Mario smiled and looked out the window again.
"Well, he still deserves credit, too," he said, at last.
He had no doubts that his brother would resist the darkness; it's just that it would have been nice to fight by his side, just as they had done so many times before.
Outside, Luigi had been on high alert; he nearly jumped out of his boots when he heard someone clear her throat behind him.
"Who's there!?" he yelped, striking a karate pose. He then sighed and relaxed a moment later. "Oh, it's you, Pauline. How's it going?"
"Fine," Veran said, casually, still speaking through Pauline. Pauline's consciousness was trying to break through, but she hadn't had the experience to deal with possession, and Veran was able to keep her subdued. "And yourself?"
"…As good as can be expected, I guess," Luigi said, with a shrug. "I think Mario's a little upset at staying in there, but if he'll be safe, that's all I need."
"I think Mario is a bit ungrateful at your efforts to keep him safe, if you ask me," Veran said. "You've got plenty enough on your mind as it is with Ganondorf to worry about. He should be treating you better."
"He doesn't treat me badly at all!" Luigi insisted, sounding affronted by the thought. "I don't get why people keep thinking that… Is it my anxieties and fears? Mario isn't the cause of them—he's been the one keeping me together all these years! Same thing with the darkness—he's been keeping that in check, too." He frowned. "I'm surprised to hear you say something like that, Pauline; I thought you really liked Mario! In fact, that song you wrote for him… I'd have thought you still had a crush on him!"
Veran backpedaled hastily.
"You're right; I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't really mean that, Luigi."
"Then why would you say it!?"
"I was just trying to help," Veran said. "As odd as it sounds. I was… trying to keep you a bit distant from your brother and your friends. With Ganondorf using them as weak points, I thought that if you were… detached from them, it would lead to them no longer being considered as targets."
Luigi blinked.
"Well, I guess I can appreciate the sentiment behind it, but I don't like that you thought you had to try to turn me against my big bro to do it," Luigi said, his frown easing only somewhat.
"Yes, that was very horrible of me to do," Veran said, sounding as humble as she could. "I am sorry, Luigi. Really, I am. You know I don't want anything to happen to Mario, either. I was just trying to help."
Luigi sighed.
"It's alright," he said, at last. "I forgive you. I know this whole thing is hard on all of us. We're all on edge. …Of course, I'm always on edge, so… more than usual." He gave a wan chuckle.
"But you do agree?" Veran asked. "That if you did distance yourself from everyone, it might help them reduce their chances of being targets?"
Luigi sighed, looking up at the sky for a moment.
"You know, you're not the first person who's suggested that to Mario and me," he said. "And, yeah, I get that it makes sense. But… I don't think that it's the way for me. I'm a shy, nervous wreck, so… the few friends I have are very important to me. They're all I've got. And my big bro… It would hurt too much for both of us if I tried to shut him out—I mean, I can tell he's upset right now because I asked him to let me do this alone. And I hate having to ask him to do that, too. Besides… I don't see how not having friends and family would help keep me from the darkness. I'd be just like Ganondorf—he's all alone and surrounded by darkness. Who does he even have that he actually cares about, instead of just using as pawns?"
Veran paused, caught off-guard as she recalled Ganondorf's words from earlier—
"Your efforts to bring about my resurrection are not ones I take lightly; I appreciate your loyalty to me."
She couldn't help but wonder… exactly what were those efforts, and where would they lead her?
"And, anyway, I see examples all around me of how you're better off with others to care for," Luigi continued. "DK has Diddy. Wario has Waluigi. The Ice Climbers have each other. Cloud keeps talking about someone named Zack. Even Bowser has his kids. So, you see, I don't want to change that."
"…Ah," Veran said. "Very well; it was just a thought."
"And I appreciate that," Luigi said. "You'd better be careful, too, Pauline; Ganondorf might try to come after you, too, since you're a friend of Mario's."
"Hmm," she said.
Without another word, she slipped off back towards the woods. Luigi blinked, surprised that she would choose that over the safety of the mansion, but decided it wasn't his place to say anything after advising her to be careful.
Veran now crossed to where Ganondorf was waiting.
"Well?" he asked.
"Trying to turn Luigi against his brother or his friends won't work; he needs them too much," she said, darkly. "I'll try working on Mario next, as you suggested, but… don't hold your breath."
Ganondorf scowled.
"Very well," he said. "I shall make contingency plans while you keep trying. If persuasion doesn't work, you know what to do."
"Of course," she said, and as Luigi paced around the other side of the mansion, Veran slipped in the mansion through the front door, following the trail to where Mario and the others were pacing inside.
"Mario!" she said. "Could I have a word with you, please?" She glanced at the princesses, Link, and Pit. "…Alone?"
Peach arched an eyebrow, but withdrew along with the others.
"Is everything alright, Pauline?" Mario asked.
"Well… I'm just really worried about Luigi," Veran said, putting on an air of concern, once again suppressing the real Pauline's consciousness as she attempted to fight back against her.
"Uh-oh, I had a feeling," Mario sighed. "He seemed upset when I saw you two talking a little while ago. What's going on?"
"His determination not to let anything happen to you… I think that is going to end up driving him back to the darkness—a self-fulfilling prophecy, in addition to the written one," Veran said, and she put on a hushed tone. "Mario, I didn't want to mention this, but I think I have to… Before he started patrolling the grounds, I saw him in the forest, practicing the Negative Zone."
"What!?" Mario exclaimed. "Are you sure you weren't mistaken?"
"I'm sure," Veran said. "That's what Luigi and I were arguing about—that I'd caught him using it."
Mario looked absolutely stunned for a moment before looking back through the window at his brother.
"…It's not possible," he said, at last.
"I know you don't want to believe it, Mario," Veran said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "But you need to accept the truth."
"I do know the truth, Pauline," Mario said. "I know my little brother better than anyone, just like he knows me. I can see the determination in his eyes right now to make me proud and stay in the light."
"But I'm telling you, I saw-"
"You must have seen an illusion or a double," Mario insisted. "It's just the sort of thing Ganondorf would do—try to make me think Luigi was using the Negative Zone again to try to get me to turn against him…"
Veran facepalmed.
"I think I need to let Luigi know that he's got a double or something running around," Mario added.
He moved to open the window, but yelped as he suddenly found himself levitating. He struggled to turn around behind him, and froze as he noticed "Pauline" keeping him aloft with one hand.
"Pauline!? What are you doing…!?" He trailed off with a gulp. "You're… not Pauline, are you…?"
"I'm just borrowing her," Veran said. "Nothing you and your little Bonnetor friend haven't done before to others, hmm?" She smirked as Mario now attempted to throw Cappy at her. "Ah, I don't think so…!" She said, levitating Cappy in place with her other hand. "Amateurs! As if you could pull this trick on the Sorceress of Shadows!"
"Let Pauline go!" Mario ordered, glaring at her. "She's not a part of this!"
"Ah, but she is—Ganondorf hand-picked her on account of how close she is to you. And even if she wasn't, Madam Mayor here is a very nice insurance policy that you won't dare attack me for fear of hurting an innocent. I have no intentions of letting her go until we've gotten far enough away from here to ensure that there won't be any retaliation."
"How do we know you'll let her go!?"
"You don't," Veran said, bluntly. "Which means that I know you won't try anything—no matter what I do!"
She waved her arm and sent Mario crashing through the window; Luigi, who had been pacing around the corner, paled and ran over to him.
"Mario! Big Bro! Are you alright!?"
"I'm fine!" he insisted, getting to his feet. Thankfully, he'd only been on the ground floor; aside from a few cuts from the glass, he was no worse for wear.
"But what happened!? I was standing guard out here-!" He stopped midsentence as he saw Veran-as-Pauline swoop through the window, her shadowy aura surrounding her and augmenting Veran's powers. "Mamma Mia…! What's going on!?"
The other fighters were now rushing to the scene, having heard the commotion of the window crashing.
"Mario!" Peach called. She took a look out the window and scowled. "Pauline! How could you!?"
"That's not really Pauline! She's been possessed!" Mario exclaimed. "She says she's the Sorceress of Shadows!"
"Veran!?" Zelda gasped. "Impossible! She's from my timeline—but long before I was born! She was defeated by a past incarnation of Link, and sacrificed her life energy to Twinrova to resurrect Ganondorf!"
Veran's eyes narrowed. So that was her fate…
"Ganondorf must've brought her through Subspace," Pit said. "But how can we stop her without hurting Pauline?"
"Veran can't control a body that's asleep or unconscious," Zelda recalled. "If we can safely make Pauline sleep, that will render us able to pull her from Pauline."
"Good luck with that," Veran scoffed.
She snapped her fingers, summoning several, large spiders made out of shadowy darkness. Immediately, the shadow-spiders attacked Jigglypuff; her knee-jerk response of putting up her shield proved to be her undoing as the spiders broke her shield, sending her flying with a scream from the impact. Kirby and Pac-Man ran off in the direction she had launched to make sure she was alright.
Satisfied, Veran turned to Luigi.
"I fully understand now why you're considered a prize for Ganondorf. I am from a future of his where he was slain and had to be resurrected—at my expense; if he gets your dark powers, he won't need to be resurrected, and I won't need to die to do it! So, I offer you a trade! I will leave Pauline's body… for yours! You obviously won't awaken your own darkness, so I must do it for you!"
"Wh-what!?" Luigi stammered.
"You want to ensure Pauline's safety, do you not?" Veran asked. "Or will you be as selfishly craven as always, and risk harm befalling her?"
Mario furiously stood in front of Luigi.
"You're the one using Pauline as a human shield, and you dare to call my brother 'selfishly craven'!?"
Veran smirked, not at all concerned as the other fighters now surrounded her.
"I am being practical," she said, as the others closed in on her. "Pauline is no fighter; she would likely not survive an attack from any of you, and you know this. I can wait this out as long as you can. So, what will it be, Luigi?"
"Don't you say a word to her," Mario instructed.
"But… Pauline!" Luigi pointed out. "We can't just let Veran keep on possessing her!"
"I know," Mario said. "We'll just have to think of something!"
"You're both right," Peach said. "But, luckily, there's at least one attack that Pauline can survive." She began to glow with a Final Smash aura. "Peach Blossom!"
She performed her hypnotic dance on the spot; Veran let out a screech of frustration as Pauline dropped to the ground. Her shadowy form tried to swirl around her again, but with Pauline sound asleep, there was nothing she could do.
Mario glanced back at Luigi.
"Now, Little Bro!"
Luigi nodded, glowing with a Final Smash aura, too, now, and, once the others had cleared out of the way used the Poltergust to pull Veran from Pauline, and then reversed the suction to launch her into the side of the mansion.
As Veran got to her feet, she hissed in rage as most of the other fighters now approached her, Bowser leading the pack in retaliation for having been launched by her earlier. Veran fled to the forest, with Bowser and the others in hot pursuit. Kirby and Pac-Man, who had also returned with a mostly-unharmed Jigglypuff, also joined the pursuit. Mario, Luigi, and their friends had stayed behind, however, and were now checking on Pauline.
Pauline stirred after a moment, and then sat up with a gasp.
"You're alright now, Pauline," Mario assured her. "The others went after Veran; she can't hurt you anymore."
"I can't believe I couldn't fight back against her," Pauline said, shuddering as she recalled what happened. "It was a horrible feeling—I could see and hear everything, but I couldn't regain control of my body. All of those things she made me say and do… I'm just glad she didn't succeed in turning you and Luigi against each other."
"I think we're all grateful for that," Luigi said, with another wan chuckle.
Pauline smiled at him.
"And thank you for your help in freeing me from her," she said, and she turned to Peach. "You, too, Princess. …You truly are a magnanimous ruler if you were willing to rescue someone who could be construed as a rival, for lack of a better term."
Peach smiled back.
"Well, I did hope that I would be able to put any personal feelings aside when it came to doing what needed to be done," she said. "It seems I succeeded in that."
"You are an incredibly lucky woman," Pauline added.
"I am very much aware of that," Peach assured her. She extended a hand. "And I consider myself lucky to know you as a friend, as well."
Pauline shook her hand, nodding in agreement.
"Likewise."
"This is great, but since when were you two rivals? I don't think I've seen Pauline at any of our sports matches…" Mario mused aloud.
Luigi, Peach, and Pauline looked at him incredulously as Daisy gently pat Mario on the shoulder.
"Don't ever change, Buddy," she said. "Don't ever change."
Bowser's thirst for vengeance would remain unfulfilled; he roared in frustration as a portal to Subspace opened, and Veran fled within it. Before anyone could attempt to follow, a swarm of bats issued from the Subspace portal.
"Antasma!?" Bowser bellowed. Had Ganondorf drafted him into this!?
A moment later, he had to realize that this wasn't Antasma; Antasma was never a threat to him, and certainly not someone that Bowser ever feared. But Bowser definitely feared the sensation he was getting from this particular swarm of bats—a sensation of pure and utter evil. And what was worse, they were clearly heading for the mansion—where his children were.
Without a word, Bowser turned tail and followed the bats back towards the mansion; baffled, half of the fighters followed his lead while the rest attempted to fight off the bats still pouring out of the portal.
The fighters arrived in time to see the swarm of bats descending upon Mario and Luigi as Peach and Daisy stood in front of Pauline to defend her—but the bats seemed to be ignoring the women completely. Frustrated with the sheer number of bats, Mario unleashed the Mario Finale upon them; to his satisfaction, the bats began to retreat.
"I think we've got them on the run!" he exclaimed. "We need more firepower!"
Bowser, keen on forcing them back, joined Mario and Luigi, as did Zelda, Charizard, Robin, and Roy; the bats were, indeed, retreating towards the Subspace portal.
"Something is wrong," Zelda said, frowning as she continued to use Din's Fire. "These bats remind me of the Keese back home in Hyrule… But we have several Fire Keese; I don't see how fire alone could be such a weakness to them…"
"Don't complain—as long as we send 'em packing!" Bowser responded, punctuating his statement with a drawn-out breath of fire.
Soon, only one bat remained, which Mario leaped forward to take care of with a fireball. As this bat also retreated into the Subspace portal, Mario stopped and stared into the vast expanse of Subspace.
"There has to be a way to seal this portal so Ganondorf can't send anything else-"
Mario was cut off midsentence as a withered, bandaged hand shot out from Subspace and seized him by the throat. By reflex, he shot out a fireball at it, but missed.
"MARIO!" Luigi cried. He shot a fireball at the hand, and his aim rang true; the hand retreated back into Subspace, releasing Mario.
"It's a trap!" Zelda cried.
More bandaged hands and arms shot out from Subspace before Mario could retreat, and they now seized his arms and legs.
"Luigi-!" he managed to yelp before one of them clapped its hand over his mouth.
Luigi seized his brother's hand as the bandaged arms began to drag him into Subspace; Zelda, Robin, and Roy attempted to help brace Luigi as Bowser and Charizard tried to get the hands to let go with their fire breath. Cappy also tried to help lend his strength to Luigi.
But the hands were persistent this time; more shot out, attacking Luigi, causing him to loosen his grip just enough—
"NO!" A cry of agony tore from Luigi's lips once again as his brother's hand slipped from his grasp.
Within seconds, Mario had been pulled into the Subspace portal, which closed after him.
