Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story.
BGM: Toad Town (Paper Mario)
"Hmm… he should be around here somewhere." Reflet said as she walked around the square as her son Marc (AKA Male Morgan) was with her.
"Where do you think dad ran off to?"
"I'm not sure. Probably getting sweets, as usual." She said and then they heard a Warp Pipe being used as they turned to the source, and then Gaius was the first to jump out.
"Heh, that was worth it." Gaius said.
"LOOK OOOOOUUUUT!" Sumia screamed and fell right on top of Gaius.
"AGH!" He yelled, as Reflet and Marc winced at this.
"Found him." Marc said as the others hopped out of the warp pipe.
"Sorry about that Gaius, I didn't think I'd be launched out of the Pipe." Sumia said, getting off of him.
"Well, you did stumble inside the pipe, mother." Cynthia said.
"I didn't even see that twig there…"
"There was no twig." Blake said.
"Oh…"
"So, you tripped over nothing. Typical Stumbles." Gaius muttered as he dusted himself off and then spotted Reflet and Marc. "Well, if it isn't Bubbles and Marc."
Reflet sighed in annoyance. "Gaius, what did I tell you about calling me that?"
"Come on, you secretly enjoy it."
"Do not."
"Do too." Gaius smirked as he pulled out a Bubble Berry in his pocket.
"Do not." Reflet glared hard at him.
"Oh, you do too and you know it."
"And I'm telling you that I do-" Gaius shoved the Bubble Berry in her mouth. "Mmph! …What was that?" She asked after swallowing.
"A bubble berry."
"Oh, Gaius, that was so deli-"
"It's fitting for someone with a name like Bubbles, no?" Gaius smirked.
"…Oh, for the love of! Ugh… can't believe I walked into that one…" She groaned as Gaius wrapped his arm around her.
"Like I said, you secretly enjoy it."
Reflet rolled her eyes while shaking her head and chuckling. "Whatever…" She then pecked him on the cheek, to which he responded to kissing her on the lips.
"Ugh, gross… public affection…" Marc complained, covering his eyes.
"Aww!" Cynthia gushed and then uncovered Marc's eyes. "Enjoy it! It's romantic!"
"It's not! Unhand me!"
"…If you'll excuse me, I'll be talking to Lissa about something." Sumia said and walked off… and then tripped when she stepped onto the curb. "Whoa!"
"How many times has she fallen?" A Toad asked.
"Beats me." Another said as they heard another Toad drawing something on a whiteboard.
"Well, she hasn't set any world record or anything." The third one said, revealing the writing to be "Days since Sumia has last fallen – 0"
"Harsh… but I like it."
"Come on, let's go." Mario said as they walked off to find the last Star Spirit… but, something appeared in front of them, as it was a Ninji.
"Whoa!" Luigi exclaimed as they brought out their weapons.
"Wait. I come in peace." The Ninji said. "I have come from Merlee's house to tell you where the last Star Spirit is."
"Where is it?" Yang asked. "How do we know you're not a bad guy?"
"I am a peaceful Ninji, I hail from Starborn Valley." He said.
"Starborn Valley? That sounds like a fun place!" Ruby said.
"Indeed. It is where Star Children are born. However, in order to get there, you have to go through the Shiver Region." He said. "In order to get there, you have to go underground. Farewell. Oh, and before I forget, Merlon wants you to meet his son, Merle." He said and disappeared.
"The Shiver Region? Sweet, I guess we'll be going there." Yang said.
"Hold on just a second!" Weiss piped up. "He said Shiver Region. You know what that means?"
"That the Star Spirit is hanging around there?" Ruby asked.
"Well, yes… but I was mostly thinking of how cold it is over there. I mean "Shiver" region sounds like it'll be a cold area."
"Yeah, so?" Yang asked. "We've been through cold areas before."
"Yes, but we weren't prepared!" Weiss pointed out. "I suggest we warm ourselves up."
"It's not like a little snow will hurt us, Weiss." Ruby said.
"I'm… with Weiss on this, actually." Blake said and turned to Mario. "Is there a clothing department somewhere?"
"Yes. There's plenty of them in downtown, but the more popular place is none other than Coconut Mall." Mario pointed out.
Weiss's eyes beamed. "A mall?!" She exclaimed and suddenly pushed her team toward Coconut Mall… literally. "Come on, we are going there RIGHT NOW!"
"Weiss, you're gonna wear our soles out!" Yang complained.
"You need better shoes anyway!" Weiss said.
"Bro, I don't think it'd hurt us to get winter clothing too." Luigi said as the girls were long gone. "I mean, we always brave the cold in our current clothes, but it wouldn't hurt."
"Hmm… you're right." Mario said with a nod as they took off.
"I don't really need anything. I'm used to the cold." Kamui said. "…Guys? …Oh, wait for me!"
At Coconut Mall…
"Excuse me!" Weiss said as they walked into the clothing department. "You wouldn't happen to have winter clothing here, would you?"
"As a matter of fact, yes." The cashier said. "Going to a snowy region?"
"Yes." She nodded and pushed her team to the winter clothing aisle as the Mario Bros and Kamui walked in and decided to check it out… while Kamui hung around the cashier.
"You're not getting anything?" She asked as she looked down at her feet. "You're not worried about frostbite?"
"I've been in cold weather barefooted before, I can handle it." She said.
A few minutes later…
"Huh, not bad!" Yang said, looking in a mirror; she was wearing a light brown winter jacket with a hood lined with fur, orange pants with pockets that has her emblem on them, and light brown snow boots topped with fur, and wearing purple mittens with fingers (By the way, her jacket is thick enough to keep her warm but not enough to hamper with Ember Celica going into active mode). She has a large yellow scarf with her emblem on the ends of it (Think long enough that it could flow heroically in the wind with both ends out) also wearing black ear muffs with her emblem on them to keep her ears warm (There is no way she would wear a hat since it would mess up her hair).
"Whoa, Yang… you look awesome!" Ruby exclaimed as Yang turned to see Ruby's outfit.
She was wearing a black winter coat with her emblem in silver on the right breast pocket, with red pants with a pair of knee high black snow boots while still wearing her cloak as well as a red hat with a black cotton ball on top (You know, like your average winter hat) and silver fingered mittens with her emblem on the back.
"Cute! …But why'd you keep your cloak?"
"Hey, you know how I feel about my cloak!"
Yang laughed. "Just messing with you!"
"Oh ha ha…" Weiss faked a laugh as she walked over to them.
Her outfit is a white winter jacket with the Schnee emblem on the back in in an icy blue, with silver pants and white fur lined snow boots, wearing red gloves with the Schnee emblem on the back, and a pair of red ear muffs with, you guessed it, the Schnee emblem on them (The red is cause the inside of the jacket she normally wears is red).
"Huh… you girls look nice." Blake walked over to them, showing off her new outfit; it was a purple winter coat with her emblem on the left breast pocket, with white pants, black snow boots, white gloves with her emblem on the back, and a winter hat with holes where her cat ears are, with a black scarf with her emblem on the ends (Same deal as Yang, actually).
"Oh, are the ears part of the hat?" Ruby asked.
"No, not really." Blake said with a smile.
"Ooooh, nice! Showing off your ears when everyone will think it's part of the hat! Clever!" Yang said, high fiving Blake.
"You girls look nice." Mario said, wearing the Snow Hood and Snow Suit from Odyssey, while Luigi was wearing the same thing, only it was green… while Affectio came flying in with a cute little Santa hat on him.
"Shup!" Shuppet smiled as they walked toward the cashier, then Weiss noticed Kamui.
"You're not wearing anything? What about your feet?!" Weiss asked.
"Like I said, I can handle it."
Weirdo. Weiss thought.
"Alright, so… judging by your outfits…" The cashier added it all up on the register. "That'll be 1050 coins each."
"WHAT?!" RWBY yelled.
"Ouch… I didn't think a parka would be so expensive." Luigi said.
"Although, this kingdom accepts other forms of payment from Rupees to Poke Coins, you name it! We accept it all!" The cashier smiled.
"Oh… in that case." Weiss pulled out her card. "Allow me to pay for this." She said and handed the cashier the card. Eat your heart out, dad. She smirked.
Pause BGM
In Atlas…
Jacques was humming to himself and typing something on his computer when his scroll rang. "Jacques Schnee speaking. …SHE DID WHAT?!" He yelled, his scream could be heard throughout the Schnee mansion. "Grrr… is she trying to make the company fall into debt?!"
"Uh, sir… I don't think she's tryi-"
"SILENCE!"
"Father, are you okay in there?"
"Not now, Whitley! I'm in the middle of a crisis here!"
"I doubt this is a crisis… this was probably just an accident."
"Accident or not, I'll give her a stern talking too!" Jacques said, hanging up and then calling his daughter.
Back in the Mushroom Kingdom…
Weiss felt her pocket rumble and saw who it was. I really need to put him in the blocked number list. Weiss thought… and proceeded to do so after hanging up.
Atlas…
"CONFOUND IT!" Jacques pounded his fist on the desk. "That better not have been what I think it was!"
"Sir, General Ironwood is here to visit with you."
"NOT NOW!"
"…Riiiiight… I'll just tell him you're ill."
Back at the Mushroom Kingdom…
Resume BGM
"Alright, shall we get going?" Weiss asked as they nodded as they walked out of Coconut Mall, where they bumped into two people.
"Oh, Robin!" Yang said.
"Hey, I see you guys are all ready to go somewhere." Robin said.
"Yeah, we're heading off to the Shiver Region to get the last Star Spirit." Mario said.
"Oh, neat." Robin said. "As for me, I'm catching up with a good friend of mine. I know you three know her, but let me introduce to you girls… Lyndis."
"Hello!" The green haired warrior said. "My name's Lyndis, but everyone calls me Lyn." She smiled. "What are your names?" She asked as they told them who they were. "…Wait a minute, I've heard about you four! You're the team RWBY who entered the roster in Smash?"
"Oh wow, you know us?" Ruby asked.
Lyn smiled. "I'm an Assist Trophy in Smash… but sometimes, Master Hand puts in a fight with me and someone else. Marth, Ike, Roy, Link… sometimes Ghirahim…" She quietly said under her breath.
"Who's Ghirahim?" Blake asked.
"He's… an interesting character, let's go with that." Lyn said and then noticed the cat ears. "Oh, you're wearing cat ears with your hat?"
Blake smiled. "I'm rather fond of cats."
"That looks nice." Lyn smiled.
Heh, and I was worried for nothing. Blake thought.
"…Say, if you don't mind me asking…" Robin said. "Would you mind if we accompanied you in Shiver City?"
"Sure, we don't mind." Mario said.
Luigi had a sly grin. "Is there more to this than just hanging out with Lyn and suddenly wanting to join us?"
"Uh… nooooo…. Why do you ask?" He asked with a sweatdrop.
"You want to get away from Tharja for a bit, don't you?"
"Hey now, Tharja's not bad once you get to know her." Robin said. "…But yeah, mostly that."
"That bad?" Ruby asked.
"Oh no, not really. I just need some space, is all." That and getting hexed while preparing a lesson in Beacon takes a lot out of you. He thought.
"So, how's teaching Beacon so far?" Luigi asked.
"Best decision I ever made." Robin said. "Lucario's enjoying it too." He said. "…Well, what are we standing around here for? Let's go." He said as they nodded and took off, finding the Warp Pipe and heading on in.
End BGM
BGM: Underground Pipes (Paper Mario)
"Wait a minute, you two don't have proper clothing!" Weiss said, realizing that the two were wearing their normal clothing.
"Ah, I got a cloak. I'm fine." Robin said.
"I've been to a few snowy regions in this outfit and I didn't even complain." Lyn said.
"…Okay then."
"Though, I do question going there with bare feet." Lyn said, referring to Kamui.
"It doesn't bother me." Kamui said.
"If you say so." She said as they walked around and found a pathway, only as they did, they came across a dead end with a huge treasure chest in it as they walked over to it… and revealed some Ultra Boots for the bros.
"You think we need these for up ahead?" Luigi asked.
"Nah. But we might as well keep them for later." Mario replied as they walked over to a huge body of water where Sushie hopped out.
"Hop aboard!" She said.
"No thanks, I'll fly." Lakilester said.
"Same." Bow said as they all hopped on Sushie and went ahead, unaware of a creature down below and watching them… and then they made it to the other side where Sushie went back in the pocket.
"Let's-a g-"
"BLOOOOOOOOOOOP!" A voice cried as they turned to see a humongous Blooper emerging from the water, glaring hard at them.
End BGM
"Do we seriously have to fight another one?" Weiss asked.
"Apparently so." Yang said as they got ready to fight.
BGM: Mollusque-Lanceur Battle (Super Mario Odyssey)
"I have never seen a Blooper that humongous before." Robin quietly said as he pulled out his Levin Sword and his tomes.
The Blooper, known as Super Blooper hopped up into the air and aimed at the gang and proceeded to shoot them with ink, but Weiss quickly formed a shield of ice to block the ink and then Ruby shot at the Super Blooper a few times while Yang fired some bullets from her gauntlets.
Luigi brought out his Ultra Hammer. "Mario, give me a boost!" He requested as Mario nodded as he grabbed his legs and spun him around and he let go, as Luigi launched over to Super Blooper and smacked him on the head to knock him into the water. "Affectio, Shadow Sneak!" He ordered as he landed, as Affectio used Shadow Sneak and dealt some damage to the Blooper.
Since when has Luigi liked ghosts all of a sudden? Lyn wondered as Affectio returned while the Super Blooper came back up and slapped them with his tentacles, but they quickly dodged and then Lakilester threw a few Spiny Shells to smack the Blooper with it and then Mario jumped over and hammered him in the head to stun it and then jumped back.
"I'll finish this." Robin said, walking over and then… "THORON!" He yelled, sending a huge beam of lightning at it to electrify it, and since it was in the water, it keeled over and disappeared from them.
End BGM
"And that settles it." Robin said, putting her tome away… and then felt the Levin Sword yanked from his hand. "What the…?!"
"Oh my goodness, this is the coolest weapon I've seen!" Ruby exclaimed, going into fangirl mode. "It's jagged-like appearance, it's shape, it's form, it's electrical personality! AAAAAAAAAAH! IT'S SO PRETTY!"
"Down girl…" Weiss said, pulling her away.
Robin chuckled as he picked his sword back up. "I've heard stories of a weapon fanatic going through weapons." He said. "Didn't imagine it was you. So, have you seen any of the other swords out there in the Smash Mansion? I think you'd take a liking to Link's Master Sword or Ike's Ragnell."
"Don't encourage her!" Weiss yelled.
"Oooh, those sound amazing!"
"…Too late." Kamui said as they walked off.
"Wait a minute, we met Link when we came back to the Mushroom Kingdom that one time when we were traveling with Pit." Blake said. "And met him again after his fight with Jaune and Pyrrha. Why didn't you go crazy over that?"
"Oh I did, you just probably weren't looking." Ruby answered. "That and I was wondering who I'd be fighting."
"That makes sense." Yang said as they soon came across a door and opened it to reveal a Warp Pipe, and then went down… only to come to a more frozen part of the underground.
"Well, we're probably in the right place." Robin said as they walked over to another Warp Pipe and went in, heading to Shiver City.
BGM: Cold Reception in Shiver City (Paper Mario)
"Oh, this is a cute little town." Yang said as they hopped out of the area.
"…With penguins as its residents. Sure." Weiss sighed.
"Bumpties." Mario corrected.
"Thank you." She rolled her eyes. "I swear, this kingdom never fails to amaze me."
"Yeah, and you keep doing that running gag." Ruby said.
"Oh be quiet!" Weiss said. "Let's just get through this place and get that Star Spirit." She said as they walked ahead to the town gate… but a Bumpty prevented them from going forward.
"Excuse us, we'd like to get out of here." Blake said.
"No can do! No one leaves this town unless they have permission from the mayor." The Bumpty said.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Weiss complained. "Ugh, please tell me this won't be a common thing in the sequel…"
"Careful, that might just happen." Yang said.
"Where's the mayor's house?" Lyn asked.
"Other side of the city."
"Thank you." Lyn nodded as they turned around and walked to the west.
"You know, for a city… it's kinda small." Ruby said.
"I think it's because Shiver Town didn't sound very exciting." Yang said. "That's my guess."
"Hmm, I wonder if it was a huge city…" Mario wondered while scratching his chin as they walked further until they found a house that had a snowman near the front porch, then they walked over to a Bumpty. "Excuse us, do you know where the mayor is at?"
"Of course, he lives in that house with the snowman near the front porch." The Bumpty said.
"I had a feeling it was the right house." Robin said as they walked over to the Mayor's house and Ruby knocked on the door.
"Coming!" A female voice said as she opened the door, revealing a female Bumpty.
"Hi, we're looking for the mayor." Ruby said.
"Oh, he's inside. Come in, you must be freezing!" She said as they walked in. "He's in the other room. Go say hi to him." She said. "I'll fix you up some soup!"
"Thank you." Weiss smiled as they walked into the other room… where they saw a Bumpty lying down on the ground.
"Uh, is he okay?" Luigi asked as they gathered around the Bumpty, as he was not moving and there was a present near him, but they were focused on him, as they saw X's on his eyes.
"Hmm…" Robin rubbed his chin in thought.
"Is he dead?" Ruby asked, seeming a bit nervous.
"Judging by his eyes… yes." Weiss said, and nearly screamed but Yang quickly put her hand over her mouth.
"We don't want to alert his wife!" Yang whispered as Weiss nodded.
"Maybe he was assassinated?" Lyn suggested.
"We'd be seeing blood if that was the case… unless if he was poisoned." Luigi said.
Robin hummed a little, then seeing something in his hand as he knelt down. "Herringway…" He mused and then looked at the poor Bumpty and then reached his hand to his neck, feeling for a pulse… and then he felt something. He still has a pulse. He thought as he got up. "I've got good news."
"What is it?" Mario asked.
"He's sti-"
"Oh honey~! I have some soup for you~!" His wife called out as she walked in. "Get it while it's hot!" She said and then put it on the coffee table. "…Honey?" She went over to investigate him. "Honey?"
"It's alright, he's-"
"AIIIEEEEEEEEEEE!" She screamed as she took off running. "HELP! POLICE! MY HUSBAND WAS MURDERED! HEEEEEEEEELP!"
"Well, so much for not alerting her." Blake said.
Robin sweatdropped. "All I was gonna say was that he's actually sti-"
The door opened up to reveal one of the detectives and the wife. "Where's the fire? Who was murdered?" He asked and then came up to him. "…Uh-huh, I see… veeeery interesting." He mused. "It seems that we have a penguin murder mystery on our hands!"
"A penguin murder mystery?!" The wife gasped.
Murder mystery? Kamui mouthed.
"Yes! And I believe… that ALL of these people are the suspects! Y'all assaulted and strangled the poor man! I know your types!" The detective said.
"Yes, it's true! They barged on in with their evil eyes and nearly killed me! I'm glad to be alive! But my husband… they barged right on into this room and KILLED him! I thought we lived in an E rated environment, but no, we live in an M rated environment, apparently!"
"That is SO not true! You let us in!" Yang argued.
"LIAR!" She yelled back.
"Look, this is all just a big misunderstanding." Robin said. "I checked his pulse on his neck and he-"
"YOU STRANGLED HIM EVEN THOUGH HE WAS ALREADY DEAD?! YOU MONSTER!" The wife yelled, causing Robin to facepalm. "HAVE YOU NO HEART?!"
"No! I'm saying that he still has a pulse!"
"I don't want to hear it! You are all murderers and unless you have proof that someone else did it, you are all guilty!" The Detective said.
"You're not listening to me, I'm saying that-"
"WHERE'S YOUR PROOF, YOUNG MAN?!"
Robin growled, his patience running out from this one Bumpty. "Look, if you just feel his pulse on his neck, this will all blow over."
"Hmph! Like I would touch a dead body!" The detective protested. "Unless you go and clear your names over this, you will be guilty!"
Robin had enough. "…Alright… if you want to play your game… then so be it…" He said, trying to keep his temper in check.
"Come on, let's just go find whoever "killed" him and this whole thing will be blown over." Weiss said in annoyance. I hate this place already. She thought as they wandered out with everyone gossiping in the town about how the mayor was murdered.
End BGM
BGM: Detective Mario (Paper Mario)
"Wow… everyone's already talking about this?" Kamui asked.
"This is getting weirder and weirder…" Mario quietly said.
"Tell me about it." Lyn said as they walked around.
"I wonder if this Herringway might know something." Robin said as Affectio spotted something on top of a rooftop, an open chimney.
"Shup…?" He wondered and flew on over to investigate, as Bow noticed this.
"Hmm?" Bow followed the Shuppet out of curiosity.
"Well, if there's one thing to know about this place… it blows. Hard." Lakilester said.
"Agreed." Everyone said in unison.
"Well… here's hoping this doesn't happen again." Lyn said. "I mean… it's not like it'll happen in some tropical island or anything."
"It better be more exciting than this." Weiss grumbled as they heard a door opening to see some old Bumpty walking out with Affectio and Bow.
"Never fear! Herringway is here!" He said.
"Turns out he's a huge writer on Murder Mysteries." Bow said as Affectio happily returned to Luigi.
"So, the mayor was murdered? Take me to him." He requested as they took off back to the mayor's house while they explained what happened and what Robin had done before they were all framed. "Ah… good to know." He said and then they walked in.
"Ah… so Herringway was the murderer!" The detective said, causing them to facepalm at this.
"No… I was not. I am a good friend of the mayor, why would I kill him in cold blood? In fact… he's not even dead!"
"What? What makes you say that?" He asked.
"It's simple, my dear detective! I was informed that he still has a pulse!" He said and walked over to him, feeling for a pulse and turned back to them. "And he does indeed!"
"My word! You are such an expert on this, Herringway! I never would've thought that he still had a pulse!" The detective said, as an anime tic mark appeared on Robin's forehead.
"Oh… You…!" Robin fumed.
"Ooooh…" The mayor groaned as he got back up. "What's going on here?"
"Honey! You're actually alive!" The wife exclaimed.
"Hahahaha… of course I'm alive!" The mayor laughed. "I just fell over and knocked my head while getting something off the shelf for Herringway!"
"You were giving me something?" Herringway asked as the mayor gave him the present.
"Yep, I was!"
"Thank you."
"Well, I guess you can say that this Murder Mystery has been solved!" The detective said and then turned to Robin. "I actually knew that you were telling the truth, this thing actually happens every month. I was just wanting to make it as suspenseful as possible!" He said, as they anime fell from this.
"I knew you were innocent!" The wife smiled.
"…I have a new sequel in mind for my new novel!" Herringway said and took off running.
End BGM
"…If I lived in a novel… I would want my money back." Weiss said.
"Normally, I'm all for Mystery Novels, but… I'd give this one a one out of ten and give it a scathing review… and demand a refund." Blake said.
"Soooo… are all Murder Mystery novels this… what's the right word for this… stupid?" Kamui asked.
"Normally, Murder Mysteries are full of suspense and thrill, not to mention well written. This one… however… I'd buy one in a store and then burn it with my fire tome."
"I'd buy two and slice them to pieces." Lyn said.
"Feed three to Zwei." Ruby added.
"Throw Spiny Eggs at four." Lakilester said.
"Punch all the pages out with five." Yang added.
"Get a Fire Flower and burn six of them." Mario said.
"Have Daisy rip seven in half and Affectio will probably Shadow Ball eight of them."
"…I'll just haunt the author and demand that he recalls all of them, including the ones that were purchased, have them be shipped to his house and demand that he burns them all." Bow said. "Depending on my mood, I'd probably convince the author to stop writing books while I'm at it."
Kamui sweatdropped. "Okay, good to know…" I think it's safe to say that I won't be touching Murder Mysteries for a while.
Meanwhile…
BGM: Jr Troopa (Paper Mario)
"Brrrr!" Jr Troopa shivered as he was waiting patiently for the gang. "Th-this time… I'll be catching them by surprise… and then I'll win! And NOTHING will get in my way!" He declared as something was rustling in the rustling bushes. "Huh?" He turned to the source of the noise.
"Aboma!" An Abomasnow came out and looked at Jr. Troopa. "Snow!"
"Ab-ab-ab-ab… ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN! AAAAAAAAAAAH!" Jr. Troopa screamed, running away screaming and going past the gang.
"…Bomba?" Abomasnow blinked, looking at the screen with a confused look and shrugged before walking off to a small campfire with a few Eevee huddled around it. Turned out, he was just asking for Jr. Troopa to warm himself up. Oh well.
End BGM
BGM: Snow Road (Paper Mario)
"Who was that?" Lyn asked.
"Eh, I don't even know at this point." Yang said as they walked ahead the snowy road and saw several snowmen in front of a wall, seeing one without a scarf and one without a bucket for a hat, but they paid no mind to that and they walked off, coming across some Ice Piranhas and Gulpits as they disposed of them and went on their merry way… and then they came across some kind of dark cloud monster.
"Turn baaaaack! Turn BAAAAAACK!"
"What… the heck is that supposed to be?" Luigi asked, surprisingly not scared.
"I am Monstar! Fear meeeee!"
"…Luigi, I'm surprised you're not scared by this." Weiss said.
"Something about this monster doesn't feel very scary…" Luigi admitted.
"Yeah, I'm not getting any "scary" vibes to this." Mario said.
"You will be scared… right as I use… THIIIIIIIS!" Monstar yelled, unleashing a Star storm on them.
"AAAAH! TAKE COVER!" Ruby yelled as they ducked… as the Starstorm hit them… but it had the same power as a light breeze with a slight… pinch to it.
"Uh… ow?" Weiss said with a raised eyebrow.
"Mwahahaha! Do you fear me now?! Turn baaaaack!"
"…Okay, now I'm curious." Lyn said, bringing out her sword, and in a blink of an eye, she slashed through Monstar… and it evaporated, turning into a bunch of Star Spirits.
"AAAAAAH! RETREAT!" A Star Spirit yelled as they ran off.
"Huh, they were just some harmless kids." Robin said as Lyn put her katana away in her sheath.
"Well it's over now-" Lyn nearly jumped when Ruby was right there, drooling over Lyn's sword. "Uh…"
"You have NO concept of personal space!" Weiss said, pulling Ruby back.
"Uh… right… let's go." Lyn said as they walked into Starborn Valley, where a wizard awaited them.
"Ah, Mario and company, I've been expecting you."
"Wait… Merlon?" Ruby asked.
"No… I think this is Merle that the Ninji mentioned." Blake said.
"That is correct, I am his son, Merle." He said. "Please, come in to my home." He requested as he guided them to his home while they saw a few Toads and Ninjis taking care of the Star Spirits. "Don't mind the Star Spirits that attacked you, they were merely wanting to self-defend this place. They had good intentions."
"Oh… well I feel kinda bad now." Lyn said with solemn in her voice.
"Do not fret. You did not know." Merle informed her. "Now… you are probably wondering why that Ninji came to the Mushroom Kingdom. I sent him there to coax you into coming into this place, for I have seen a vision of where the last Star Spirit was."
"Where is it?" Mario asked.
"The Crystal Palace, home to the Crystal King."
"The Crystal…" Yang gasped. "We met him when we were in the middle of saving you guys!" She said.
"We even met those Ice Climber fellows!" Ruby said. "In… Sherbet Land, I believe."
"Nana and Popo? I was actually wondering if they were okay…" Mario said. "Are they?"
"They seemed to be in high spirits when we met them. I'm sure they're still climbing mountains." Blake said.
"Oh good. I was worried that the technical issues of the upcoming fourth tournament brought them down." Luigi said. "For some strange reason, it would only let one of them in and not the other, and they work as a team, so they decided to leave. Master Hand blames Crazy Hand for pressing random buttons."
"Knowing Crazy Hand, I can see that." Weiss muttered quietly.
"So… you've actually met the Crystal King?" Merle asked.
"Yes, we have… and I believe we also melted him." Ruby said.
"We did." Weiss nodded.
"Hmm… I do believe that the cold had revived him." Merle said. "The Crystal King is a nasty fellow, as you know. It is most likely that he was revived from the cold… or it was merely a clone of his. Either way, the Star Spirit is in trouble and you need to go to the Crystal Palace to stop him."
"So, how do we get there this time?" Yang asked. "We walked right into the front door last time."
"He learns from his mistakes." Merle said. "Infiltrating it a second time won't be easy, and it'll have more traps." He warned. "However, as you have come far into this journey, I am sure you will find a way to infiltrate and stop him. There is a secret passageway where you are able to sneak in undetected. I assume you have seen some snowmen recently? One of them without a scarf and another without a hat?"
"Yes." Mario nodded.
"Here, take these." Merle said, giving them a scarf and a bucket. "This scarf has been in our family for generations and this bucket… was recently returned from the mayor."
"Thank you." Mario said as he took them.
"Be warned. The Crystal Palace is full of deception." Merle warned. "Remember this: Truth lies not only in the eyes; sometimes even the walls may lie." He said.
"That's… good to know." Blake said.
"Safe travels, my friends." Merle said as they waved goodbye and then they walked back to where the snowmen were at, putting the scarf around the neck of one snowman and putting a bucket on another Snowman's head.
"Thank you! Now we will never be frozen!" Both of them said.
"…I think this cold is getting to us. I swore I heard them talk." Weiss said.
"They did." Ruby said. "Which is so cool!"
The Snowmen moved out of the way to reveal a secret door in front of them.
"Ooooh!" Yang grinned.
"Alright, let's-a go!" Mario said as they nodded and ran into the door, heading toward the Crystal Palace.
Weren't expecting Lyn here, did ya?