They thought it would be a happy ending. They thought when they came back everyone would celebrate and both teams would be given gold medals. That would have been perfect.
Instead, Mario and Sonic found themselves in the morgue, staring at bullet-ridden bodies of all that were close to them.
The sight was too unbearable to see, yet all they did was stare. Friends, family, enemies, acquaintances they wish they knew better. But they did not cry nor shed a tear. The two just stood there, silent and emotionless.
The door opened and footsteps were heard coming in. The hedgehog and the plumber did not look to see who it was. But if they did decide to turn away from the multiple bodies they would have seen the Fuwa.
"Thank god both of you are alive!" exclaimed Jingjing the panda Fuwa. "So did you go and teach those ninjas a lesson?" He got no reply.
Beibei the fish Fuwa examined the heroes' moods and said "I think they don't feel like talking right now."
"We truly mourn for your loved ones as much as you do" said Nini the swallow Fuwa. "We will make arrangements for the funeral and we'll spend every penny we have to give them the respect they truly deserve."
Yingying the antelope Fuwa piped in "and if you wish to have anything you need, will give it you!"
"Such as the truth" spoke Huanhuan the torch Fuwa. Sonic and Mario didn't look at the fire boy, but the rest of the Fuwa sure did.
"What do you think you're doing?!" they loudly whispered.
"I'm releasing the burden of my guilt. They need to know." Huanhuan slowly walked to the two heroes. "You see, it all started a few months ago when all of us were trying to get chosen for mascots for this year's Olympics. We weren't the most popular choices to be honest. While we were thinking of a way to increase our popularity, we met somebody named Waku. He knew we were desperate, and he offered to pull some strings to give us the position as mascots AND the Olympic committee. All he asked for was for us to allow him to do whatever he wanted. Since we had nothing to lose, we agreed.
"What I'm trying to say is… that ambush in the dream course… that was what Waku wanted. In fact, the Olympics was nothing more than a set-up. And we knew it from the start. We could've done something, anything to prevent this disaster, but instead we aided it. There was one incident that could've made you aware of the danger and prepare for the worst, but we covered it up so Waku's plan would go perfectly.
"We are deeply sorry for the death and agony we caused. This event will likely change the rest of your life for the worst. I hope you two will forgive us…"
A second later Huanhuan fell to the hard floor with two black-eyes. The heroes have finally turned to face the Fuwa, and the grievance they've been bottling up before was bursting in large quantities.
"YOU-A BASTARDS!!" Mario screamed in fury. "YOU-A FUCKING BASTARDS!! AFTER ALL YOU'VE DONE YOU EXPECT-A US TO FORGIVE YOU?!"
Beibei quivered as she squeaked "but we… didn't want to do to it…"
"THAT DIDN'T STOP YOU FROM DOING IT ANYWAY!!" screamed Sonic. "NOW EVERYONE WE CARED ABOUT IT IS DEAD!! DEAD BECAUSE OF YOUR WEAK WILL!!"
The heroes' rage quickly turned into sadness, and they fell to their knees and bawled. Tears came out from the Fuwa as well.
Nini cried "do you not understand we are suffering as much as you are? We are helpless and we beg to accept our apology. We would gladly offer our lives in exchange for the ones we took from you."
Upon hearing the bird-headed girl's last sentence, the panda remembered something. "That's it! The Second Chance of Confucius!"
"The Second Chance of Confucius?!" exclaimed Jingjing. "We can't possibly do that!"
"It's the ONLY thing we can do to prove our regret."
"Yeah, I guess you are right."
Mario lessened his crying to a whimper to ask "what's the Second Chance of Confucius?"
Huanhuan got up from the floor. "The Second Chance of Confucius is a ritual to bring the dead back to life. However, those who cast the ritual will cease to exist. We obviously decided not to perform such a technique, but now…"
"You mean you would really sacrifice yourselves to resurrect our pals?" Sonic wondered as he wiped the tears from his eyes.
Huanhuan nodded. "Come on, Fuwa, let us get into position."
The Fuwa formed a circle and held each other's hands. Mario and Sonic backed away just in case.
They chanted "O Great Ancestors, hear our calls. We are the Fuwa, givers of friendship and peace to children all around the world. We symbolize good wishes to unite the world and dreams into one."
"I am Beibei, symbol of prosperity and harvest. As the master of water sports, I am gentle and pure."
"I am Jingjing, symbol of happiness and harmony between man and nature. With my strength, I am naïve and optimistic."
"I am Huanhuan, symbol of passion and invitation. Ball games are my specialty, as is my desire to improve others."
"I am Yingying, symbol of health and vastness of the land. Blessed with speed, I approve of harmony with nature."
"I am Nini, symbol of luck and the infinite sky. I am excellent in gymnastics, and I'm innocent and joyful."
"O Great Ancestors, help us fulfill our purpose. To those who died in tragedy, we put aside our own lives to save theirs. Allow us the power to grant this wish."
As a sign of approval from the great beyond, the Fuwa became elementals. Jingjing became Forest, Yingying became Earth, Beibei became Water, Nini became Wind, and Huanhuan became Fire. With these powers they begun to do their duties.
The elemental Fuwa sent their mystic energy into the corpses before them. Bullet wounds were sealed up, pale skin brighten to life, sounds of breathing could be heard. Everyone was alive again!
But the five that bought this miracle did not look so well. Their element energy was gone, and they looked like they aged by two hundred years. Their very bodies were slowly crumbling into dust.
"Mama mia, you did it!" cheered Mario. "You-a actually did it!"
Sonic said in concern "but now all of you…"
"We know" gasped Beibei, barely making a sound.
"But it is for the better" wheezed Nini. "What good are we to help out others if we are only concerned by our own selfish desires?"
"Oh my-a, I don't know what-a to say" mumbled Mario, then he got something. "We forgive-a you."
"Yeah" Sonic added in, "and thanks for sacrificing yourselves and all that."
The Fuwa smiled. If they were about to wave or say goodbye, they fell apart before they could. Their ashes quickly vanished, as if swallowed by time and space itself.
"Ugh, my-a head" groaned Luigi. More groans came from the rest of the once-dead group. They were surprised by their surroundings, more so when they saw Mario and Sonic.
"SONIKKU!" Amy cried as ran up and embraced her favorite hedgehog. Sonic would usually try to free himself from Amy's hugs, but he'll make this one an exception.
Peach noticed they were at a morgue and asked "did… did we die?"
"No doubt about it" replied Blaze. "I never expected death to be so quick."
"I DON'T WANT TO GET SHOT AGAIN!" cried Cream.
Daisy comforted the rabbit. "Shhh, don't cry. It's all over now."
Robotnik looked at Shadow and Knuckles. "Guys, I have a confession to make. I lied about the other team attempting to hurt us. I used that as an excuse for you to help me cheat."
"Normally I would beat you up for using us" said Knuckles. "But I'm just too glad we're alive!"
"Meh, I actually enjoyed cheating" Shadow says with a smile.
"Why did those ninjas kill us anyway?" Lakitu asked Shy Guy. "We barely now these guys!"
Shy Guy groaned "dude you're ruining the moment."
Just then somebody came inside. It was Gary Goomba and E-08 Reportertron!
"…How was I suppose to know that was poisoned?" the Goomba groaned. He gasped when he saw both teams in front of him, all alive and well. "Oh god, am I hallucinating?"
Reportertron beeped "if you are talking about the teams that were declared dead a few hours ago, then no, you are not hallucinating."
"Quick, get into that camera mode you said you had. I have an idea!"
The robot did as it was told. Gary straightened himself up and pulled a mike from out of nowhere.
"This Gary Goomba will an exciting late-breaking news. Standing right behind are Team Mario and Team Sonic, the same teams that were murdered at the end of the Olympic games. How is this possible, you ask? Why don't we find out." The Goomba walked over to the team captains and asked "tell us exactly what happened after the two of you disappeared."
"There isn't much to say" Sonic shrugs. "Some guy wanted revenge, we defeated him, his friends ran for the hills. Just something you've heard of a thousand times already."
"Interesting. And how are your team mates suddenly become back alive?"
"We would that-a the Fuwa for that" answered Mario. "They… took their own lives to make a resurrection spell. They-a were truly generous children and they-a will have a special place in our hearts-a."
"There you have it folks. It was the Olympic spirit saved everyone. This is freelance reporter Gary Goomba, and his new assistant E-08 Reportertron. Good night, and may the spirits of the Fuwa rest in peace."
Waluigi butted in saying "oh boo hoo! Nobody gives a crap about them! What I'm concerned about is my damn gold medal!"
E-08 stated "since the Fuwa were the Olympic Committee, only they knew the location the medals secretly located in case of theft."
"So much for plan B" Wario groaned in disappointment.
"What about our money?" whined Charmy.
The machine pulled out a couple of checks. Vector didn't need to understand Chinese to know his work buddies had been ripped off.
"TEN DOLLARS?" the lizard screamed. "IS THAT ALL THEY COULD AFFORD?!"
Gary Goomba laughed "what do you expect in China, it's like the home of cheap labor! Oh crap, did you just record that E-08? Turn it off, damnit! Turn the camera-"