Foreword: I really like this whole updating-on-time thing. :) Especially with 34 on track.

I told you I liked this chapter, and I still do. I altered one of the scenes quite a bit, but I think I altered it for the better! So that's exciting.

Disclaimer: Madame, Meredith, and Melanie are the only things I own at all. Nintendo gets all the good stuff.

What a lovely, short foreword. :)

Peach and Bowser had left the hair salon in just the time they needed to hail a cab for lunch. "You know, I don't usually take taxis," Bowser mentioned, waving to stop the nearest cab. "Actually, I can't remember ever taking a taxi."

"I don't usually, either. It's not proper enough." Peach smirked, imagining the expression Toadsworth would have, seeing her climb into a dirty, old, koopa-driven cab. "But I've seen them on movies enough I should know what to do."

Bowser rolled his eyes, grinning at Peach as he squeezed into the cab. Luckily, the Darklands cabs were bigger than most on the inside…but Bowser was still hunched over and had difficulty getting to a place Peach could join him. After their struggle and a bit of a giggle-fit, Bowser mumbled "North Tower" to the driver. The koopa in the front grunted and drove off.

"Bowser, I really do like your hair like this," Peach told him honestly, reaching up to fix the strands that were stuck against the taxi ceiling.

"Well, it does look pretty good. I mean, it's hard to improve a masterpiece, but I do look pretty hot now, huh?"

Peach giggled, continuing to fix Bowser's mane. All the styling had done was give his hair a bit more sheen and lift, but Peach hadn't really noticed how fun it was to run fingers through.

"Enjoying yourself?" Bowser asked, amused, from under Peach's picking fingers.

She laughed, replying, "Why yes, sir, I am. Freshly-styled hair is always the best to play with…as long as it isn't slathered in hair-spray."

"Good to know!" Bowser announced, chuckling.

The cabbie looked in his rear-view mirror at the two and chuckled. "How long you two been togetha?"

"What?" Bowser and Peach asked at the same time, Peach's fingers still in Bowser's hair as she gaped over at him. Bowser's expression of initial shock melted into a smirk.

"Why would you say we're together?" Peach asked, quickly pulling her hands into her lap.

"What, you ain't? Shoo, tha's weird. Ain't no 'just friends' go to North Tower fo' lunch. And ain't no 'just friends' flirt and giggle and play wif eachutha's hair in the backseat like that, eitha. You just met? Roh-mee-oh and joo-lee-et style at them lookalike contests?"

Bowser choked on his own laughter, determined to see where Peach would take the cabbie. "Uh…no…we're…" however, Peach didn't seem capable of taking him anywhere. She looked over to Bowser with wide eyes, squeaking "help!" between her teeth.

He smirked, as if to say 'you asked for it' and took a deep breath. "We're secret lovers," Bowser explained, putting an arm around Peach. He looked at her, grinning, seeing her eyes go wide as mushroom caps. "We each told our respective spouse we were going to the contest alone, but all along we've been planning to meet each other here and run away together for months now."

"Is that so?" the cabbie asked, glancing at him through his mirror with amused eyes. "Naow, that's somethin' you don' hear ev-er-y-day." He let out a low whistle. "I'm sho glad my wife don't leave to go on these little contests naow!"

"Yeah, well, doesn't the word secret mean you don't say that kind of thing to complete strangers?" Peach hissed, directing her question at Bowser.

"Well, honey, that's exactly why this is perfectly safe! A complete stranger isn't going to tell anyone about us. Besides, we look just like Bowser and Peach. Who would believe Bowser and Peach are 'secret lovers'? The tabloids are tired of that story anyway."

"I still don't see why you had to make it so awkward and say something crazy!"

"Frankly, my dear," Bowser drawled, his eyes twinkling with mischief, "it would have been a lot more awkward in this car if I hadn't. I mean, the tension between us is so strong, it would make either of us snap. We need to give in to our emotions."

Peach's angry face was becoming more and more forced as Bowser spoke more and more ridiculously.

"Tha's prob'ly healthy. Tha's why affairs are so bad fo' yo' health…all them cooped up emotions, then BAM. Somebody snaps."

Bowser put his other hand dramatically on Peach's shoulder, widening his eyes. "It's true, honey-bunch. I'm just looking out for my little snookum's safety."

Finally, just as Bowser and the cabbie predicted, Peach snapped. She burst into fits of laughter, her head falling on Bowser's chest as she laughed so hard, tears threatened at the corners of her eyes.

Both of them were laughing all rest of the way to North Tower until they finally calmed down enough to get out. "That'll be eight Bowsa coins, sir," the cabbie reminded them as they got out.

Too busy laughing to grumble about how he was the king and shouldn't have to pay a lint-ball, Bowser pulled out a handful of gold coins, stuffing it through the cab window. He grabbed Peach's hand and led her, still calming from her laughter, to the door of the North Tower.

"Peach, Peach…calm down so you can see where we are." Bowser pointed directly up, and Peach followed his finger as high as she could see. The clock tower they were directly in front of must have been at least fifteen-hundred feet high, almost exactly at 11:30. "This is where we're having lunch."

"Hey, now," Peach said, forcing her smile down. "You have to explain what the heck just happened in that taxi."

"Well, we got in. The driver pushed on the gas-pedal, which makes it move. And then, after a little bit, we arrived here, and now-"

"Shush!" Peach shouted, unable to stop herself from laughing again. Quickly, she pulled a serious face. "You know what I mean."

Bowser sighed, looking up towards the top of his clock-tower. "Well…just like I said in the car. I figured it'd be awkward, carting you around without being able to explain ourselves. Me, the guy who's crazy about you and wants you in his life every second of it, and you, the girl who…doesn't realize yet how much she absolutely wants me."

Peach rolled her eyes at Bowser's description, but seemed incapable of describing her own feelings at all. "Still," she added instead of correcting him, "I don't think we should just go around saying crazy things like that."

"Again…no one will recognize us. I mean, sure they'll recognize us. But they'd never believe it was ACTUALLY us. We could say we were brother and sister and they'd just have to take our word. That's the lovely thing about having no PR." Bowser grinned, his eyes suddenly growing faraway and nostalgic. "Ahh, obscurity. It has its benefits."

Peach nodded, smirking. "So, you think we should just make up stories about our identities? Everyone will just think we're really talented look-alikes with whatever background we choose?"

"Exactly!" Bowser roared with pleasure. "Won't let a soul know we're really us. Pleases your desire to blend into the woodwork, pleases my desire to pretend I'm dating you." He put his arm around Peach. "Now, let's go have some lunch."

They strolled through the huge double-doors at the very base of the clock tower, entering into the strangest building Peach had been in for awhile. As high as she could see in the ceiling-less room, there was naught but clockworks. Tables lined the entire inner perimeter of the clock tower, and balcony-sort of floors about fifteen feet up from each other followed the pattern. In the very center of the tower, a huge glass elevator rose right through the clockwork's midst, pathways leading to each balcony snaking through the least-obstructive path.

It was obvious from the outside that North Tower was, in fact, the biggest clock tower Peach knew to exist. But it didn't really hit her until entering what it would be like. The sounds of the clockworks and conversations of the lunch-rush meshed almost musically, muffled by either magic or clever sound-proofing. Surely, such a huge, almost-hollow clock should be impossibly loud. Peach couldn't even imagine what would happen at the hour.

While she was staring around, Bowser had approached the host. "I'd like to redeem my ever-standing reservation," he grunted, plopping his elbow right on the hostess's table.

A dog-like creature, the hostess glanced up at Bowser briefly before snorting. "Please do excuse me, sir, but I'm not so dull to tell you apart from the real Bowser. The Royal Table is, as you apparently know, reserved." She looked down, running her paw-finger down the vast list of lunch reservations, muttering, "not that he ever uses it."

"Melanie," Bowser growled, snapping her to attention instantly. "I'm here to use it now." Bowser's tone had attracted Peach's attention who wandered to his side. "I want Peach to see the city from the best view and I know exactly where that's going to be in thirty minutes. If you make me miss my chance, expect me to call your mother."

The hostess blinked, wringing her paws. She still spoke stubbornly, but it was clear she was shaken. "I'm…I'm not sure how you got my name, sir, and your Bowser impersonation is excellent. But here at North Tower we have a promise with him and I'm not risking His Excellency's trust on a particularly talented lookalike."

Bowser sighed, drawling on, "Your name is Melanie, and you're the daughter of the owner of the restaurant portion of the North Tower. I was there the day you were born, and you have a birthmark underneath your tail in the shape of a pear. You never passed third grade and you still can't write in cursive. Your dad calls you Melvin, and your mother calls you-"

"Okay! Okay!" Melanie squealed, leaning over her desk in case she had to smother the King's mouth. "Sheesh, you can stop pouring out my life secrets, Bowser!" She fell back into her position and grinned, showing off her canines. "Long-time, no-see."

Peach nudged Bowser, raised an eyebrow and said, "So much for 'not letting a soul know'."

Bowser laughed, nodding to Melanie as she gathered menus to lead Bowser and Peach to the elevator. "You can trust Mel here. Dogs are loyal, after all."

Melanie rolled her eyes at Bowser's uncouth joke, clearly used to them. The three of them entered the elevator. As it climbed up and up, Peach asked, "where is the Royal Table?"

"You'll see," Melanie answered with a smile. "It's very exclusive…we have several high-paying clients who have…similar ever-standing reservations, but they don't usually come for lunch. And they can be bought out for a meal by an exceptionally high-paying diner."

From the glass walls of the elevator, Peach had an amazing view. Although the elevator rose with drastic speed, she still had clear sight of the intricate clockwork and the diners. Every few floors seemed to hold offices instead of dining tables, and Peach even noticed that five or so of the floors seemed to hold very, very shallow stores like a minimall.

Far quicker than a normal elevator would allow, the three climbed all the way to center of the clock's face…which was absolutely huge. Peach couldn't help but gasp.

The elevator dinged and Melanie led them out on the platform, sitting amid the nothingness and clockwork like a rather long dock. Reverting to hostess mode, Melanie explained, "The clock's face is 45 meters across, approximately 170 feet. The original stone front was replaced with the frosted glass you see before you when the restaurant and community center was incorporated into the tower over half a century years ago.

They reached the end of the platform, two thick wire pulleys extending from a thing that resembled a ski-lift. And in fact, when Melanie pressed a button, a ski-lift promptly rose to their position, the wire attached to the gigantic minute hand, set almost directly below them.

Melanie smiled, saying, "I've arranged the lift to take you directly to your table. Your menus are laid there, and your Parawaiter will assist you once you're ready to order. Don't worry about having your food disturbed…the tables are set to remain level through all rotations."

"What to you mean, 'rotations?' Peach asked nervously. She glanced over at the end of the ski-lift, apparently leading to nothing but the minute-hand.

"Well, you will be moving at a continuous speed of five-hundred sixty feet per hour." Catching Peach's completely paled expression, Melanie cordially smiled and clarified, "that's just one-tenth mile per hour…I'd love to explain more, but it seems your seat's ready to get onto lunch if you are."

Bowser grinned at Peach, offering a hand. "Don't worry, Peach. You'll love this." Cautiously, she took his hand and sat on the ski-lift. As it moved them down, the path suddenly shifted as a minute passed. Peach shrieked, gripping Bowser. Looking down below the platform her heels sat on, there wasn't solid ground for over a thousand feet. Just churning clockworks.

They arrived after what seemed like far too long at their table…nothing but two benches and a table cleverly attached to each other and the minute-hand's very tip as to be level with the ground. Bowser took Peach's hand and lifted her from the lift onto the platform. "The first time's the worst. But trust me, the view…and the food, I guess…is definitely worth the nerves."

Peach quickly got comfortable in her seat and looked to the side, just around the minute-hand. Even near the bottom of the clock face, the view was astounding. She could see the breath-taking VolcanoPalace filling most of the view, carved all over to represent thousands of years of history. Radiating from its impressive mass, streets and lava rivers twisted through soaring and squatting buildings. The streets were filled with people, lights, and movement. The ocean was just barely visible through the smog, and the literally invisible boundaries seemed not just beautiful, but symbolic.

"Plus," Bowser added, so used to his domain he didn't seem to catch Peach's mesmerized expression, "the company is unbeatable."

xxxx0o0o0o0o0o0o0xxxx

"What's that music for, Luders?" Iggy asked from the floor. A tray full of fast-food and desserts was in front of him, ready to be devoured, while Ludwig sat in a proper table seat.

"I have a rehearsal with Frederich Longkoopa in just a few short hours. You should be honored I'm allowing time to postpone my studies of the piece for this lunch rendez-vous. This is his original, and he's entrusted it to me for revisions. Quite the liability, but he appreciates my prowess better than most."

"It's not like we wanted you here, blubber-gum. You just came here 'cause you're too stupid to be smart and do anything else, stupid blubber face!" Morton mocked, stuffing fries in his face.

"Didn't you invite him, moron?" Iggy snarled.

Interrupting Morton's comeback, Junior howled, "Save a seat for me!" He walked over to join them, his tray so full of food, he couldn't see a thing in front of him. Including Morton, as he stuck out his leg and tripped him. The youngest koopaling howled in surprise as he fell, his tray of food thrown into the air.

He landed flat on his face, hamburgers and imitation tacos falling like rain around him. "Morrrrrrtonnnnn…" he growled threateningly. But Morton was just laughing and laughing, his voice booming above any other sound in the room. Junior managed to get up and launched himself at his older brother. He was unable to tackle Morton, but that didn't stop Junior. His legs were twisted around Morton's torso as his little fists banged on his brother's head. "You idiot jerk-face monster nugget!"

Morton roared, struggling to get a hold of his youngest brother and throw him off.

"I don't know why I ever agreed to have lunch with you too nimrods," Iggy sighed.

"My sentiments exactly," Ludwig added from his chair a few feet away. He cut his raviolis quietly, watching the two wrestling brothers with slight amusement. "I shouldn't have agreed to this fraternal bonding session before my rehearsal with more civilized company. Especially with food flying around in such a perilous way…I need to keep this original in its pristine condition."

"Then again," Iggy remarked as Morton successfully thrust Junior off his face and threw him into a pile of already destroyed chocolate pies, splattering the chocolate across the food court. "Lunch and a show is pretty good."

Ludwig chewed…for awhile…and then swallowed and replied. "Not to be abstruse, but my idea of a show isn't exactly these kind of lumpen activities. Entertainment should stimulate emotions and a greater respect for yourself and those around you. These puerile food-fights are far from such expectations."

Iggy had stopped listening to Ludwig for awhile now, and was standing on the table, out of Morton's range. Morton marched over towards the fallen Junior, chucking globs of food at him with each step. Once he finally managed to get up out of the chocolate mess, Junior began retaliating, smacking each treat back with a swift kick, punch, or tail-slap. "Iggy! Help me out here!" he screeched, chucking a burrito at Iggy for good measure.

"That's not how you gain allies, Junior!" Iggy roared, wiping the sauce off his face. "If you guys are going to make yourselves look like idiots, at least be smart about it." He dramatically tore off his glasses, tucking them into his shell. Iggy roared as he leapt off the table to tackle Morton. Unfortunately for all of them, he had apparently overestimated his natural vision and only managed on slipping on food, kicking the platters around the room even more.

"Oh, not you too, Iggy," Ludwig sighed to himself. He ducked and avoided the onslaught of flying food, grumbling as he returned to his raviolis.

"Iggy, you mother-mouthed idiot monster! You're as blind as a bat, blindy!" Morton laughed cruelly, grabbing a nearby ketchup and mustard. Channeling the heroes of the old west, he began to squirt them every which way. Patrons and restaurant workers squealed, now avoiding the rain of condiments along with the ricocheting food.

Blindly, Iggy made his way over to the ice-cream topping bar, squinting to make a better view of the scene. He was still determined to teach his brothers how to look like a smart idiot, even if he had to do it blind. Morton was stomping around like the jerk he was while Junior ran around, hopping on all the tables and picking up the messiest foods he could get his hands on to throw. Ludwig remained the only calm koopa in the room, busying himself with his raviolis. If it wasn't for the protective grip he had on his music, it would seem he had no idea of the commotion at all. Even the other customers had retreated to the edge of the room, hiding behind their trays and each other.

Iggy turned back to the ice-cream toppings, just barely making out the five-inch letters to read "Chocolate Sauce". Satisfied, he grabbed the plastic tube and yanked the pump right off the front. He had intended on using the tube to squirt chocolate sauce onto Morton; wipe that grin right off his face. He hadn't realized the force behind the chocolate pump, and it squirted faster and stronger than Iggy could control, overshooting and pummeling right onto Junior…as well as everyone around him.

He dropped the pipe, chocolate gushing onto the ground, and Junior scrambled back onto the table. Literally coated in dripping chocolate, Junior roared his threats at Iggy and prepared to jump.

Ludwig had had enough of this. "You reprobates are going to ruin my music if you persist in these impish dealings. If you'll excuse me, I will take my lunch elsewhe-"

It wasn't like Junior had planned to knock over his older brother. It was just Ludwig's awful timing to stand up while he was jumping. Probably. But whosever fault it was, Junior knew the minute he landed on Ludwig, he was in trouble. He was quick to get off of the eldest koopaling, and run to Morton defensively.

Ludwig stood himself up and inspected himself…now absolutely covered in Junior-shaped chocolate stains. "Why…you…little…miscreant! Look at me! I'm covered in your…" he looked at his hand, gripping the Frederich Longkoopa original, absolutely covered in chocolate and completely illegible. Blood was pounding in Ludwig's head. With surprising speed, he launched himself at Junior, pounding on him as he yelled, "Laufen Sie nicht weg von mir! Ich werde Sie töten!"

Morton was thrilled to see his older brother finally engaged in a cause that he approved of, and quickly began flailing on top of Ludwig as well. Anything to keep the fight longer. Ludwig whirled around, socking Morton in the face as he growled, "Gehen Sie von mir, großer Dummkopf weg!"

Iggy excitedly blinked, confused by the blue blur that was now tussling with the brown mass of Junior and multi-colored Roy. He pulled his glasses out of his shell and put them on, shocked to see that it was Ludwig. His respectable, honored older brother was wailing on his siblings and yelling in German. He'd completely lost it!

Ludwig had turned his attention back to Junior and was yelling in German again. He'd never looked so angry. Junior was holding his own as he covered his face and scratched at Ludwig. Morton just seemed to be romping on Ludwig for the fun of it.

Just behind Iggy, a poof of purple filled the foodcourt. "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" Kammy shrieked, shooting sparks from her wand.

The three brawling brothers stopped instantaneously, gaping up at Kammy with expressions of complete fear. Iggy smirked at them, looking much more innocent than the three soaked in stains in the fight's epicenter.

Immediately, Morton launched into a long-winded explanation. "Idiot-face started it because he's such a butt-lumped grody man with a carrot-brain-"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE, KAMMY!" Junior yelled, stomping his feet. His whining quickly became unintelligible mix with Morton's comments, and it didn't help with Ludwig tried to appease Kammy with apologies.

"All of you!" Kammy shouted, bursting more sparks. "SHUT UP." She shook with anger, answering at the silence that followed. "I don't care who started this. All I care is that every single vendor here sounded the security alarm. This room is a mess. You're all messes. And if you want to continue eating, fighting, or even living, take it outside! I don't care if you make a mess there. You're going too, Iggy."

"Is that…it?" Iggy asked, his voice dripping with disappointment. "They're not in trouble? But, but, look at the-"

"Oh, they're in trouble," she seethed. "I'm bringing this up with Kamek." Without another word, she pointed to the exit.

Like prison-mates, the four brothers walked out of the foodcourt, heads down. Kammy scurried behind them, pointing them towards the balcony. Once they were out, she snarled before she slammed the door shut.

"Do you realize she didn't even let us take our lunch?" Iggy asked. In truth he didn't mind much. He'd eaten more than any of his brothers, who all had the majority of their lunch splattered across the foodcourt and the rest up and down their bodies.

"Kammy's rather archaic in her punishments. Starving us is probably her idea of being placid," Ludwig commented with a sigh. "When do you think she'll allow for our exoneration and reentry to the Palace? I left Longkoopa's piece in the room, and I need to recuperate it for-"

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT," Morton bellowed out of absolutely nowhere. Completely caught off guard, Junior fell over with a squeak. "Um…yours. And yours. And yours, Iggiot." Morton stopped himself as a grin spread across his face. "That was pretty funny, huh? Iggiot. Iggiot! Ahahahaha!" He climbed up on the balcony balustrade and howled down to the city, "MY BROTHER IS AN IGGIOT."

Just at that moment, the North Tower chimed noon. Even from so far away, it almost shook Morton off his frail standing point. Iggy and Ludwig quickly grabbed his back-legs, securing him in place as he wobbled. "You idiot!" Iggy seethed over the minor chimes. "You could have fallen!"

"I think that would have been awfully funny, actually," Junior huffed, crossing his arms.

"Defenestration is in no way funny, Junior. Your morbid sense of humor is absolutely indecorous," Ludwig scolded. He and Iggy helped Morton down who seemed to shaken for words.

In response, Junior just stuck out his tongue. He ran to the balcony as the North Tower almost finished its chiming. "Mama Peach and Papa are there right now," he said proudly.

"Where? North Tower?" Iggy asked. "How do you know?"

Smugly, he replied, "I heard Papa talking about it. Plus, Wendy and I saw them today!"

"We all saw them today, captain obvious-pants. They were at breakfast with us," Morton drawled, rubbing the food off of his face.

"Not like Wendy and I saw them. Through binokalars! In town." Junior grinned at his brothers, expecting shocked and jealous reactions that never came.

"…so?"

Frustrated, Junior said, "Well…that's better than you losers!"

"You're the loser, mega-loser butt-face whiny idiot!"

"I have to ask, Junior," Ludwig interjected, "what exactly you and our sister expect to gain through watching Father and Princess Peach as they gallivant through the metropolis. You still cannot influence them in any minute way."

Junior sputtered for an answer, but finally just ended up pouting. "You're just jealous."

xxxx0o0o0o0o0o0o0xxxx

In front of Madame Clearmont's inn, the three friends were still in a shate of shock. The spectre of darkness hovered above them all, dangling Daisy dangerously high above the pleading Luigi.

"Handsome, is that an offer of a trade? You're going to give me the gem for the girl?" It giggled in absolute glee. "I think that could be arranged…"

"Luigi, what are you doing?" Daisy gasped. "Don't…gah-"

The spectre took more of a coherent shape, holding Daisy around the neck with one hand and the gems with another. "Ahh…I can work with you, big boy! Perhaps you and I will be more suited for the future…you can have your princess, I'll take my gem…we'll both be happy. Enough. For now." It grinned…or what could be understood as a grin. "Alright. Hand me your gem."

Luigi took out the gem, but held it tight. "No! I want-a the princess-a first."

"And you expect me to trust you, point-blank?" The darkness giggled again. "How sweet. No, no, good sir. I want that gem first."

Luigi looked angry…and not a bit scared. "No. You will-a probably kill us even after you get-a the gem."

"True," the darkness muttered, amused.

Continuing, Luigi snarled, "so I-a want my Daisy back with-a me. As long as I can."

"Aw, a true romantic. I'll miss you, handsome. But you make a good argument…a good enough one for me. Alright, you can have your princess." Daisy fell from the sky, but the darkness was still hovering dangerously above her. "Now…give me my gem."

"Luigi, don't!" Mario screamed from above. Meredith joined him, trying to turn on the flashlight, but the darkness had it under his control.

"Luigi," Daisy muttered, weak from lack of air, "Don't…."

Ignoring his friends, Luigi tightened his grip around the gem. Fiercely, he chucked it up at the dark figure.

It lithely caught it, laughing in pride. "Now, we begin my reign! You should all consider yourselves lucky…few will be able to say they saw the day the Ruler of Darkness began his glory. In fact, few will be able to live to say they ever saw the light of day." It chuckled, rolling the gems separate from each other in its hands. "Isn't that cute. You will never see the light of another day…I've always loved that saying."

Everyone held their breath as the spectre lifted the gems. Giddily, it touched them together. They first emitted a noise…and then the noise became louder, and louder; higher, and higher. The gems melded into each other, lighting up with blinding hues of white. Hues even the pure darkness couldn't suppress.

"It's burning me!" the darkness screeched, looking down at the humans. The void, white spaces where its eyes should go seemed…scared. "I can…feel…it! Darkness can't feel, darkness can't feel anything!"

"And light doesn't hurt…" Daisy muttered, understanding the paradoxical truth. "You said it yourself…. Darkness can't coexist with light! You can't exist with those gems touching!" she shouted up at the spectre.

It opened and closed its mouth, letting loose nothing but another scream of pain. "It's killing me!"

"Let it-a go!" Mario shouted, standing up. "If you let it-a go, it will-a stop burning!"

"I can't let go!" The darkness screamed. "If I let go, I lose everything!" It seemed doomed to lose everything either way, because soon, the light was expanding. The area around the creature was completely white, with brightness greater than any light they had seen. And from the gems to its hands and up its arms, the lightness was spreading.

The creature began to disappear, literally becoming as light as the area it floated in. The darkness' juxtaposition with the light was ending, and the spectre was dying. Its screams were even more bloodcurdling than the screaming noise from the gems. And though they felt their retinas burning from the intensity, the four couldn't seem to get their eyes off of the event.

Then, with a horrible boom, the darkness disappeared. Completely. The light faded slowly, hanging in the air. The gems had fallen seperate onto the grass…and the sky was as blue as ever.

"What happened?" Meredith asked, blinking furiously.

"Well-a, our universe still appears-a to be in-a tact. I think-a he's-a just…gone." Mario answered, quietly.

"Is he…really gone?" Meredith climbed down the wall with Mario, cautiously walking towards Daisy. Luigi was already at her side, helping her up.

"I'm fine, Luigi," she muttered, gripping her head. "Just have a headache."

"Is he gone-a?" Mario repeated, looking around the calm area.

"Yes, Mario, he is." They looked towards the inn and saw Madame Clearmont in the doorway, smiling. "You guys did it. I didn't think you could, but you did. You just defeated an element of darkness…For good."

Author's Note: I hope I'm not the only one who liked this chapter...because really, I did like it. And I think it hits what you guys like, too!

Next chapter not quite as much...I spend a lot of time focusing on silly history stuff that makes me so thrilled to write/read, but can get a bit dry. BUT I do have a request in there from ShadowKoopa! Usually requests can't get worked into the story as fast as that one was, but good timing was on our time.

Speaking of that, I noticed I promised mariosonic's scene would be canonized by now. Uhh...it's the very first scene of 35, actually. My new method of planning worked it out that way...sorry, dear, but I promise it'll be better than I even expected! Also, I never put up my picture of the Shadow Spectre (who is dead and I don't plan on reviving) on the website, but I think your imaginations should be good enough. :) (aka the picture's really bad).

I really appreciate all the birthday wishes and comments and such from you guys. :) I really, truly think this silly story has some of the best readers on the whole site. The more I find out about you guys, the more I respect you all and am flabbergasted that you still stick around...some for THREE YEARS! sheesh!

Oh! And by the way...all those size details for the North Tower? I didn't just pull those out of a hat. I did some intense research on clock towers, sky scrapers, linear velocity, clockworks, and even begged my friend to help with the math. So it is a plausible building...and it's awfully big. :)

Just like this A/N. uh...at least the Foreword was tiny!

~Razzi