Super Mario and Characters ©︎ Nintendo. Only the Original Characters are my own.

Chapter 7

"Are you sure Merlee's Mansion is this way?"

Debrie states tiredly to the plumber ahead of her as they walked through the forest. The trio of the plumber, Mario, the girl with the Light Prognosticus embedded into her, Debrie and the woman with powers of the Dark Prognosticus, Lydia, had left Flipside and were making their way towards Merlee's Mansion as, previously, Merlon suggested to check up with Merlee to see if she knows anything about the situation.

"Hey, are you implying I'm-a bad at directions-a?"

Mario replies to his allies remark. Lydia waves her hand in front of her face like she's trying to swat a fly.

"Eugh. Maybe you could've actually chosen a different path. These damn Mosquitos are all over the place...!"

"Well-a, tough luck, Lydia. Welcome to Gloom Valley."

The plumber responds to the woman's complaint.

The trio, after what seemed like forever to the two females, leave the forest and enter the area known as Gloom Valley.

This area is pretty well known due to the fact that it's always sunset there which is why the sky's always orange. The sky's even like this at the early hours of the morning. Gloom Valley has only the beautiful orange sunset at Day and Night. Once the the Moon sets, the Sun stays low as it would be during sunset. Nobody can really explain this phenomenon, not even the geniuses at REXA (Rainbow EXploration Association).

"AAAAH!~ The sky's soooooo beautiful!"

Debrie says as she looks at her surroundings, her hands clasped together. Lydia places her hand on one of the shorter girl's shoulders.

"We're here for Merlee, not for sight-seeing, Debrie."

"Aww... I wish I had brought a Camera..."

It's been awhile since Mario came here. Even with the large time gap, he still knows his way around the valley and its many puzzles. He knew what he was doing, Lydia and Debrie just continued following him, sometimes sort of confused as to what he was actually doing.

The mansion stood tall and mighty as the three enter its vicinity. Tall bushes surrounded the building.

"Man-a... I really hope Merlee's Pets aren't still vicious-a..."

Mario says as he gulps and slowly adjusts his hand on the doorknob in order to twist it and open one of the large entrance doors. The creaking of the door echoed throughout the main foyer, with Mario letting the ladies go first before he closed the door after he got in himself.

The sunset's light shimmered into the main hall through the large windows as the group walked forward. Lydia and Debrie stood at the large two doors at the end of the hallway, Mario had stopped further back.

He was kind of scared. There used to be two Gnips, dog-like creatures, that guarded the area. Did Merlee throw them out or…? Mario shook his head and caught up to his female allies. The plumber in red opens the doors which led further into the Mansion, the trio stepping forward.

"Hey, Merlee? You-"

Before Mario could finish his sentence, someone used their leg to trip him which caused him to fall forward. The figure then used their elbow and hit his back which led to him falling to the ground faster. Afterwards, the figure put his hands together before taking out a knife and holding it close to the side of the plumber's neck.

"Mario!"

Debrie shouted his name. This attack caused Lydia to form a sword made out of her purple and black aura energy, however, just before she was able to strike, footsteps in the distance were heard. They all looked at the other figure who was walking down the stairs that led to the second floor. She had some sort of yellow hat, yellow and red dress along with purple earrings. She was as tall as Lydia.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't do that to an old friend of mine, Uchime."

The figure who was holding the plumber hostage quickly stood up and put her weapon away. They also helped Mario back up.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were an ally to Ms. Merlee!"

Mario stretched, relieved that he was free from the attacker's hands. Lydia dismantled her weapon.

"N-No no, it's-a fine! Ow..."

The unidentified attacker was now fully visible. She had light-pink-ish hair alongside a purple and white maid dress. She bows and introduces herself.

"I'm Uchime. I'm the current Maid of Merlee's Mansion. It's a pleasure to meet you, once again, please forgive what I did earlier."

Mario stood surprised.

"H-Huh... Wow-a Merlee, I didn't think you'd get another-a maid..."

The woman in almost all yellow turns out to be Merlee. She came down to the lowest level.

"I had too, Darling. I can't do everything by myself."

"Well, at least-a Uchime here isn't that deadly like your... *Ahem*... previous maid-a..."

He remembers how brutal her previous helper was, Mimi. He accidentally dropped a vase and had to pay millions... in rupees. Then, he also had to experience her transformation into a spider which had carved itself into his memory and probably won't ever leave his brain.

"Even though she tried to kill you literally a few minutes ago.", Lydia responded.

"W-Well yeah, but-a still!"

Merlee opens her mouth in order to speak.

"So, what brings you here again, Mario?"

The four sat at the edge of a large table in the dining hall after Mario introduced Debrie and Lydia to her. The Maid, now known as Uchime, places drinks for them all as they continued talking.

"So... That's what this is all about huh?", Merlee responds before taking a sip of her drink.

"Yeah. We think-a he might be looking for the pages of the Dark Prognosticus that have been scattered-a after his defeat. Lydia told us-a earlier."

"What does he plan to do with the book again?", Merlee asks as she sets down her cup of tea on the table. The plumber crosses his arms.

"We don't-a know yet. Though, he probably intends to put it back together and use it to create a new Chaos Heart-a. However, that would put-a the Princess in danger again."

"Hm? Why if I may ask?", Lydia asks, Mario turns to face her.

"The Chaos Heart can only be summoned-a by having "a monstrous king marry a pure princess." which is what's written in the Dark Prognosticus-a. I don't-a think he plans to kidnap the Princess, or even Bowser for that-a matter, by himself. He must have someone that's going to do it-a for him."

"Well why are we here and we could've gone and warn the Princess?!"

Debrie states as she slams her hands down on the table.

"We have time, Debrie. Again-a, he can't summon the Chaos Heart without the whole book of the Dark Prognosticus and the supposed marriage."

Lydia then widens her eyes.

"W-Wait... If that's true... Wouldn't that mean... I'd be in danger?"

She was shaking. Just with the thought of Dimentio using her again and bring her more pain was more than enough to have her worried. Debrie tried to comfort her, but she was still shaking. The girl gave a worried face. Mario's expression changed to a worried one as well.

"We just-a have to find and take the pages all for ourselves-a! If we do that-a then you don't have to worry about a thing-a!"

This calmed Lydia down a bit. She smiled. The woman in yellow sitting in front of the trio then spoke.

"Truth is... I found a few pages behind my Mansion. They were stuck on the bushes no less. Though, just to be safe, I put them in a container and then put it in the basement."

"Can you take us there?"

The girl in robe asked. She really wanted to get them so they could take care of them instead. The pages wouldn't have any magical power due to them being separated from the other pages and not being in the form of a book. Merlee was reluctant at first, however, she sighed and stood up and gestured them to follow her. As they left, Uchime picked up their cups and placed them on the plate in order to take them back to the kitchen.

Debrie and Lydia look around as they follow Mario and Merlee. Makes sense since this is their first time here. Merlee also had all the traps that were placed by a certain green female removed. They made their way down to the building's basement area. Said area has also changed, it's been changed into a library as Merlon had sent all his books over to her so she can take care of them. At the very end of the room, there was a locked cabinet. There, Merlee used the necessary key to unlock it and take out the pages the trio were looking for. The woman then hands them over to the plumber. Mario takes the pages and hides them in his pocket.

"Are you sure this is all you found-a?"

"Yes. It's all I've got. I wish I could help you all more."

"Either way-a, thanks-a! We'll be taking our leave now-a so!"

The trio would wave at the woman in all yellow. Things up top however... were far different.

Uchime saw the four go to the next room and probably to the basement. She then headed over to the kitchen in order to clean and then store the cups.

After cleaning them, a noise within her hearing vicinity echoed slightly. She quickly took out her knife and turned around, however all she was greeted by was a kick to her side. As she was launched, a shocked expression on her face formed, this was the first time she got hit in all her life.

She ends up hitting the wall and falls to the ground. The pink haired maid slowly stood up, though, the figure who had attacked her came up to her and grabbed her by the neck in order to lift her up. She placed her hands on the hand grabbing her throat and desperately tried to break free. It was to no avail, until she used her free legs to kick the chin of her opponent, this caused the perpetrator to release her. Uchime landed on her legs and started breathing heavily in order to get some air, though she wasn't given enough time as the attacker aimed punches and kicks at her as she attempted to dodge them all. The figure stopped his attacks before speaking.

"Oh come on, Honey, you didn't think I'd give you enough time to get back your breath now did you? Sorry to burst your bubble, but we're not in a comic. This is real life we're talking about."

He tells the maid with a confident smile.

"Just... Who... Are you?!"

Uchime questions him as she grabs her knife and runs a fast as she can towards her green haired opponent in order to attempt a stab. A purple and black aura similar to Lydia's forms and grabs on to Uchime's arm that is holding the weapon with excruciating strength. So much strength that it was almost breaking her whole arm.

"AAAGH-", The opponent then covered her mouth.

"Now now, we don't want your friends to hear your screams of pain. Besides, you must be stupid enough to go against me. I have Dark Prognosticus text within my own body, so compared to you I HAVE MORE STRENGTH!"

His powers form a fist as it charged and hit Uchime's stomach with so much force that it caused her to spit out blood after the fist collided with her stomach. Her grip on the knife lessened as it dropped to the floor. It also sent her flying back to the wall she hit before. After falling to the floor, she tried standing up, but in the end, her vision blurred and slowly faded to black as the maid fell to the ground unconsciously marking it as a defeat for her and a victory for the enemy.

"Tch... She stood no chance anyways... Hm?"

He turns his head towards the sound of footsteps. He grins as he picks the maid up and carries her to where the sounds of footsteps are originating from.

As the trio exited the basement and back to the main hall, the enemy throws the unconscious girl towards Mario. Caught by surprised, the plumber still manages to catch the injured friend.

"U-Uchime?!"

The trio set their eyes on the figure standing before them. Merlee also caught up to the trio and saw her injured maid and the perpetrator.

"Who in the hell are you?", Lydia asked. The figure grinning.

"Oh... Right, I didn't even tell your maid friend here. I don't know if you heard of me, but... The name's Yosuru, one of Dimentio's allies."

The facial expressions of Mario, Debrie, Lydia and Merlee change to fear.

"I don't think-a we appreciate you hurting someone so innocent-a."

"Psh... Whatever. You won't appreciate me either way. I'm just here for the pages. Look, I don't want things to get more problematic, so I suggest you just hand them over."

Yosuru states to the group in front of him, a smile and a raised eyebrow. Mario slowly places the injured maid next to a wall before standing up and giving his answer.

"The answer is obviously no."

"That so... Well then... How unfortunate, I guess I'll just have to give you the same treatment I gave to your little friend over there!"

Yosuru sways his hand to the right which causes his aura to create spears and launches them at the plumber. Fortunately, Lydia uses her own Dark Prognosticus abilities to create a shield around her allies. The shattering of the spears that collided with the shield created a distinct sound that echoed across the room. The smoke they create after their impacts cleared as Lydia's shining arm lost its purple-black glow. This caught Yosuru off-guard a bit he didn't react with fear.

"So... You're like me huh?"

"... Aside from having the same ability, I'm nothing like you. I don't appreciate you hurting my own friends either."

"That so? A battle between two with the same abilities sounds quite fun and interesting."

Mario readies his Hammer, Lydia forms a sword and Debrie steps back a bit in order to avoid getting injured. Debrie and Merlee headed over to help the injured Uchime. Mario charged in with a hammer strike, but is quickly blocked by a hand that was formed by Yosuru's Dark Prognosticus aura. Lydia charges in afterwards and swings the sword to his side which he also blocks with a small shield. The chestnut colored haired woman jumps back, their opponent releasing Mario's hammer with him also jumping back.

"I hope you realize that Dimentio added much more Dark Prognosticus text into me. Meaning I have more power than big chest over here."

Lydia raised an eyebrow and looked down at her chest. Mario looked over to her.

"You had to check-a?... seriously?"

"Guys! Take this seriously!", Debrie exclaimed when she turned to them.

Lydia shook her head as she and Mario charged towards Yosuru. Mario creating and throwing a fireball and Lydia forming a spear to throw at their opponent. Yosuru foresaw this and quickly stopped both attacks.

"I forgot to mention about my ability… Capacity Revolver…!"

Capacity Revolver (収容能力短銃 [キャパシティーリボルバー]) - This Inducer ability allows the user's brain to process things much faster than that of a normal human.

Mario and Lydia jumped back again.

"Damn...! If only he didn't have that stupid Inducer ability!"

At that moment, he formed a fist with his abilities and hit Lydia on her side just like Uchime.

"GH-!"

After holding her ground, she places her hand on the injured area and breathes heavily.

"Lydia!"

"I'm alright, Mario…"

Yosuru forms a hammer and hits Mario on the chin which launches him into the air and then back down on his back.

"Mar-?!"

Before shouting his name as a way to check his safety, she once again gets hit by Yosuru's attack on the same side he hit before. This sends her flying towards the plumber

"Lydia!"

The girl in robes shouts her name. Her two allies were definitely no match for someone like him. He's an Inducer with a deadly ability, not only that, but also has Dark Prognosticus magic to go along with it. In the distance however, she sees Mario slowly take out two bean like objects from his pocket and eats one himself while giving the other to Lydia. Their color was Blue. Yosuru forms a large hammer with his magic and strikes it down on the two.

"Ishkeshstraphen ka monosarius."

Debrie widened her eyes.

"Is that… That's Shaykunian…"

"Shaykunian?", Merlee raised an eyebrow.

"It's Shaykun Kingdom's language. That's all I know… I don't know what he said…"

Smoke appeared after it striked the ground. Mario and Lydia weren't there anymore, instead they were now behind Yosuru.

"Huh? What the hell-!"

A loud sound was heard. It was the combined attacks of Mario and Lydia's punches at their enemy which caused it, Yosuru fell to the ground before standing up again.

"Ever heard of these special beans-a, Yosuru? This blue one increases Speed-a which is how we were able to dodge your "final" attack-a."

"Impressive if I do say so myself. Heh. Oh well, I guess I just had to speed up my attacks then-"

At that moment, he felt a sharp pain in his back as he jumped into the air and then near the entrance way behind Mario and Lydia. The one who almost stabbed him was none other than Uchime, who had her maid dress ripped due to her previous fight with him. She gets her knife ready before speaking.

"I'm not letting you hurt these people. A good maid always protects her master and friendly guests."

Debrie clasped her hands together as a blue ring surrounded the area in which she was standing. Markings appeared in the areas inside the circle as Lydia then spoke with a grin.

"Just because you have more power doesn't mean you won't lose. I hope you know that sometimes, even the weak can beat the asses of the strong ones."

"I have a spell that can slow your ability down. I hope you know that, Mr. Yosuru.", Debrie says as she threatens Matsuda by warning him of her spell.

"What's it-a going to be?"

Mario says grinning at their opponent. Yosuru just sighs before a telepathic message begins between him and a certain jester. The Inducer sighs.

"Duty calls. I have more important things to do now. You can keep your pages... For now… Damn… I wish I could stay around and beat your asses a bit more…"

He tells the crew before speeding off with the help of his magic. Lydia would've stopped him, but he'd already be gone by the time she had the chance to. Their attention turns to the maid in purple who slumped a bit forward.

"I'll be fine for sure. Just need to give it time."

The maid in purple says with a smile. They all nod as the others help her out in cleaning the mess they created. As soon as they finish, The trio head outside after waving good bye to Merlee and Uchime and walk down the path back to Flipside.

Mario rubbing his chin and Lydia her side. Debrie chuckling nervously.

"You know... Maybe I should've used that spell ahaha..."

"You should've... We wouldn't've gotten our injuries if you did that!"

Lydia responds to Debrie's remark. Mario chuckles as the females behind him continue following him through the forest back to Flipside.

"You know... I wonder how many pages in total there are..."

"Eh, probably hundreds-a... Keep in mind though, the more we get, the easier it'll be for Dimentio's plan to be one step closer to completion-a."

"How so?"

"It's hard-a to explain actually.", The plumber responds to Debrie.

"Can't believe that guy called me "Big Chest", I mean, my breasts aren't that big are they?"

Mario rolls his eyes as Debrie blushes and makes an X with her arms.

"H-Hey! Don't say stuff like that!"

"What do you mean?"

"Can we just move away from that topic-a, please."

With that out of the way, the trio make it through the forest connecting Gloom Valley and Flipside.