Thanks to the three who reviewed! I really appreciate it! In this chapter the five heroes will go through a village on the mountain, but the villagers have a problem and the five decide to help, hoping to get some information on The Pure Heart on the way. Also, Mimi will be looking for a way to escape Dimentio's Castle with help from Nastasia. Also, a new enemy will be introduced in this chapter which I created. Enjoy!
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The five were currently walking up the rocky mountain, baking in the hot sun. Bowser panted, wiping his forehead.
"How much longer until we find the stupid Pure Heart?" He growled.
"Bowser, don't call it stupid. We need eight of them to save the world, and we already have the first one." Peach said, when she remembered something and glanced at the sky. "Woah...the void has grown a lot bigger."
Mario, Luigi, Bowser and Tippi turned to look at the sky and gasped. The huge, purple void was larger now, swirling as it sucked in rocks and trees.
"We need to hurry and find The Pure Heart..." Tippi whispered. "Dimentio has a lot more magic than Blumiere did..."
"I know." Nodded Luigi. "What if we don't do it in time?"
Everybody stopped talking for a moment and glanced nervously at each other, when Mario shook the thought out of his head.
"We will." He said.
"Well...okay..." Luigi said.
"Hey, a village is up ahead. Maybe we can get some supplies using the coins we got from enemies and also ask about The Pure Heart." Peach suggested and they all nodded.
They entered the village.
"It's a pretty strange place to put a village, isn't it?" Luigi said. "I mean, who had the idea to build a village on top of a mountain?"
"There was a village on top of a mountain six years ago when it was just me and Mario." Tippi said and Mario nodded.
"Yeah, I remember that." He smiled.
They looked around. The street was bustling. People ran about, closing shops and collecting supplies. Then the group noticed some people were actually stealing fruit and vegetables when the shopkeepers weren't looking.
"What's going on here?" Tippi asked to a person who was rushing past her.
"You better get inside! The Rocko Clan doesn't like it when we're out at this time of night. Come with me!" The person yelled and led the five into his house.
Once they were inside the person told them to sit down.
"I'm Saff." He smiled. "And you are?"
"I'm Tippi, and this is Mario, Princess Peach, Bowser and Luigi." Tippi introduced them. "Have you seen The Pure Heart?"
"The Pure Heart?" Saff tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Oh, you mean that heart-shaped rock that flew over the village a couple of hours ago, like it was shot from a cannon?"
"Yes, that's it!" Nodded Tippi. "Where did it go?"
"It disappeared over the mountain earlier." Saff said. "But aren't you going to help us?"
"Er..." Tippi looked at the others. "Um...Of course we will!"
"WHAT!?" Roared Bowser. "No way! I only came here to get that Pure Heart, nothing more!"
"Hey, there are voices coming from in here!" A voice came from outside and they all gasped.
The door opened and two creatures walked in. They were boulder-shaped, with two large eyes and a scowling mouth. In their hands they held spears, and they wore yellow boots.
"Those are the Rockoes..." Saff whispered.
"Come quietly and we won't harm you!" One of them said.
"Guys, I'll handle this. TAKE THIS!" Bowser roared, breathing fire.
However, it didn't affect them and they just laughed at him.
"Haha, that guy's funny. Now let's get him!" The first Rocko yelled.
The two cornered him and picked him up while Mario, Luigi, Peach, Tippi and Saff watched it all happen, frozen in shock.
"And if any of you try to stop us, we'll smash you!" Laughed the second one as they left the house, carrying Bowser.
"We have to save him!" Cried Peach.
"No, you can't." Saff sighed, shaking his head. "Once the Rockoes take someone, you can't get them back. Trust me, I know."
"What do you mean?" Asked Luigi.
"My family. My wife and my two daughters. They were kidnapped two years ago and I haven't seen them since..." Saff said and the others stayed silent, feeling really bad for him. "It was a sunny day. Me, my wife and my two daughters were outside, having a picnic, when the sky got darker. I said we should go inside, but my wife told me not to worry about it. Then they came..."
Everybody glanced at each other.
"The Rockoes came in hundreds. They picked up my wife and my daughters, and I tried to stop them, but they pushed me to the ground and left with my family. I've never heard of them since..." Said Saff.
"Oh my..." Peach gasped. "I'm so sorry about this."
"Thousands of villagers have been kidnapped over the years, but I've sticked to the rules, along with a few other villagers. Once it gets dark, you go inside, and you don't come back out until morning." Saff explained.
Tippi looked at the others and nodded. She fluttered over to him.
"Don't worry, Saff. We'll find the place where your wife and children are being held captive, and we'll rescue them, along with Bowser and any other villagers we can find." reassured Tippi.
"I'm not sure if you can..." Saff said.
"Come on, you're a father to two children! Don't you want to see them again?" Mario asked him.
"Of course I do, but..."
"Then it's settled. Me, Luigi, The Princess and Tippi will go to The Rockoes Base and rescue everybody who's being held captive there." Mario said. "Right, guys?"
"Of course." Smiled Peach and Tippi.
"Yeah!" Cheered Luigi.
"Thank you so much. I just wish I could repay you..." Saff sighed.
"Well, you can, actually." Tippi said and Saff looked at her. "We need to look for The Pure Heart so we can save all worlds, but we don't know where it is. While we're gone, can you gather together your friends and look for The Pure Heart?"
"Of course! Definitely!" Nodded Saff, smiling. "I'll tell everybody to go to The Town Square and tell them there."
"Good." Tippi said. "Well, I guess we should get going. Do you know where the base is?"
"At the far end of the village there's a bridge. Go across that and you'll see a hole in one of the rocks. Climb through that and you'll be in the base. Watch out, though, because King Rocko has hundreds of guards watching every corner." Saff warned. "Goodbye."
"Okay, thanks. Bye!" Smiled Peach and the four left the house.
They walked through the village, seeing nobody around. Stars were up in the sky, allowing them to see where they were going. They eventually reached the bridge and walked across, eventually making it to the hole in the wall. They climbed through, darkness filling their eyesight.
...
They climbed out of the hole again, finding themselves on a path. Torches lit their way, so they could easily walk again.
"Right, we have to find Bowser and Saff's Family and rescue them." Said Mario.
They continued walking when they were suddenly spotted by two Rockoes. They ran towards them, their spears raised.
"Attack!" Yelled the first one.
The first one jabbed their spear at Mario, but he jumped into the air and landed on it, making it break in half.
"Ha! Now your defenceless!" He laughed as he jumped into the air and kicked the Rocko, making him skid backwards, but not get injured.
The second ran leapt at Tippi, but she quickly flew out of reach, avoiding the sharp spear. The Rocko muttered to himself angrily and decided to go for Peach instead. He ran towards her and she screamed, quickly pulling out her parasol and opening it. The Rocko bounced off it, crashing into the other Rocko. Both of them lay on the ground, cartoon birds flying around their heads. Then they stood up and ran for Luigi.
"Mario! Help!" Luigi cried as the two Rockoes chased him.
Then he tripped over and the Rockoes stood over him, laughing. He closed his eyes tight and raised up his hands to defend himself.
"Quick, Princess, we have to do something!" Mario yelled and Peach nodded.
"Any last words?" The first Rocko asked Luigi.
"Look behind you." A voice said from behind him.
The first Rocko turned around and gasped. Mario kicked him and he zoomed backwards, slamming into the wall.
"Ugh..." He groaned, his body collapsing to the ground like a building.
When the smoke cleared there was nothing but a pile of rocks on the floor. The second one gasped.
"Oh No! Ricky!" Cried the second one. "Um...Heh Heh...I just remembered I booked a...holiday. So...I've got to go...yeah."
He turned to run away but Peach was too quick. She lifted him up using her parasol and hit him over to Mario, who finished him off. Just like Ricky, he also fell.
"Wow...these things are stronger than I thought...From now on we have to try and avoid them." Said Mario.
They continued walking along the path, looking out for any more Rockoes. They didn't see any and they opened a door, walking through.
...
They found themselves on some kind of balcony. They walked to the edge and looked down, seeing hundreds of Rockoes sitting in hundreds of chairs. The four gulped.
"If they see us we'll have a real problem..." whispered Luigi.
Then a door opened and a huge Rocko, around triple the size of a normal Rocko, entered the room. It wore a golden crown with five different coloured jewels embedded in it: red, blue, green, yellow and purple, and a yellow cape. He wore purple boots and held a golden staff with a huge red jewel embedded in the top of it. Like the other Rockoes, he had huge eyes and a large mouth. The Rockoes cheered when they saw him.
"Go King Rocko!"
"You're the best!"
"We'll crush the Sandoos!"
"Sandoos?" Peach said in confusion.
"That's the name of Saff's kind. The Sandoos." Tippi explained.
"Oh...right." Peach said, thinking it was such a strange name.
"Hahaha, calm down, now." Smiled King Rocko, but they didn't stop. "I SAID SHUT UP!"
The room went completely silent. King Rocko cleared his throat and continued.
"Thank you, my loyal followers, for attending this daily meeting. Today, we kidnapped even more Sandoos, along with a unique one." King Rocko said. "Apparently, it's a big, mutant dragon turtle who eats a lot. Bring him in!"
Five Rockoes carried Bowser in, who was kicking and screaming. The four gasped.
"It's Bowser!" Luigi said.
The four continued to watch from up on the balcony.
"I'M NOT FAT!" Roared Bowser.
"It's said that this...thing is worth a lot, so in a couple of hours we will be selling it to another village." Said King Rocko.
All five of them, including Bowser, gasped in shock and terror. The Rockoes cheered in happiness and began yelling out compliments to King Rocko again.
"Yes, we will finally have enough money to build the machines we need to take over the Sandoos!" Yelled King Rocko, jabbing Bowser with his staff.
"Hey, buddy! Don't do that!" Roared Bowser, picking up King Rocko and throwing him into the other Rockoes.
"Ack! SEIZE HIM!" Ordered King Rocko as the other Rockoes helped him get to his feet.
The five Rockoes who carried him into the room picked him up again and took him out of the room, with three Rockoes following behind with their spears, making sure he didn't escape. King Rocko walked back onto the stage dizzily, looking at his subjects.
"This meeting is over." He said. "You may return to your positions."
Everybody left the large hall, including King Rocko. The four stood up and left the balcony, entering the corridor once again.
"We have to save Bowser and we only have a couple of hours to do it!" Cried Peach. "We need to hurry and find King Rocko's throne room!"
"Where should we look?" Asked Luigi.
Then they heard voices and the echoing of feet coming from the left.
"I think that's your answer right there." Said Tippi and the four sped off to the right.
...
Mimi sat in Dimentio's office, waiting for Nastasia to wake up. She had decided what she was going to do. She was going to wait for Nastasia to wake up, then she was going to look for a way to get out of Dimentio's office. When she had done that she was going to sneak down to the dungeons with Nastasia and rescue Count Bleck. Then all three of them would find a way out of the castle and tell Mario and his friends some helpful information about Dimentio, The Pure Hearts, his castle or anything else that could be useful. Then Mimi saw Nastasia slowly opening her eyes.
"Nastasia?" Mimi said.
"Mimi? Is that you?" She asked quietly, rubbing her eyes.
"Yes, it's me." Mimi smiled.
"What happened?" asked Nastasia.
"Basically, Dimentio stole The Pure Hearts and The Chaos Heart and kidnapped me, you, O'Chunks and The Count. Then me and The Count tried to escape, but you were still unconscious, so The Count carried you. Then two guards spotted us. I escaped with you, but Count Bleck was caught and was sent back to the dungeons. Then Dimentio spotted me and you, and I dropped you when I tried to escape. You were fine, but I almost fell down the stairs. But Dimentio...he saved me..." Mimi explained. "Then he locked us in his office and here we are."
"The Count was sent back to the dungeons? We have to save him!" cried Nastasia and ran to the door, tugging at the handle.
It didn't open. She tried harder, but it still didn't open.
"It's pointless, Nassy." sighed Mimi. "Dimentio locked the door when he went to see The Count."
"Well, there has to be a spare key somewhere, right?" Nastasia said, checking the drawers.
"You're right. Let's look." Mimi stood up. "It's too bad there are no windows. We could have smashed them and escaped."
Nastasia was checking the drawers. She saw nothing but sheets and sheets of similes and magic spells. There was also a key at the bottom, but all it did was open another drawer which was filled with the same things.
"Nothing here." She sighed.
Mimi was checking behind tables and underneath chairs, but she also found nothing useful.
"We need to get out of here so we can save The Count!" Mimi cried.
"Maybe we can try breaking down the door?" suggested Nastasia.
"It's a good idea, Nassy, but I don't think we're strong enough. We need somebody like O'Chunks. He's the only one who can break down doors." Mimi said.
"Well, we can try." Nastasia said.
"...Alright then. We'll work together." Mimi said and they both walked towards the door.
"One..." Nastasia said.
"Two..." Mimi said.
"Three!" They both yelled at once, running towards the door.
They smashed into it, not even making a dent to it. They fell backwards dizzily.
"Oh, I forgot. It's a pull door." Mimi chuckled nervously when Nastasia glared at her.
Nastasia tried to open the door but it didn't even budge.
"Nope." She sighed.
Then the door opened and Dimentio stepped through.
"Ahahaha! I could hear noises coming from my office, so I came up here to see what it was. It's pointless trying to escape, you know. You never will." He said.
"Dimentio..." Whispered Mimi.
"What have you done to The Count!?" Nastasia yelled.
"Oh, don't worry, Nastasia. He's fine, but he won't be for long." Dimentio laughed.
"Wait...what does that mean?" Nastasia asked.
"Nothing, nothing." Dimentio said. "Well, I have to go and deal with O'Chunks. He lost against the heroes and I need to punish him."
"No, wait!" Mimi was about to say something when she realised what she was doing. "Um...it's nothing."
Dimentio left the room, locking the door. Nastasia turned to Mimi.
"What was that?" She scowled.
"I don't know." Mimi sighed. "I really don't know..."
...
I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! In the next chapter, Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Tippi will attempt to save Bowser. Please leave a review and the next chapter is coming soon!
