How had life truly changed for Mario? Ever since he entered the Kingdom of the Koopahari and wandered through the capital city of Dinohattan, he truly began to learn things about himself. He'd learned of his father, General Koopa – the fearsome Kerog who fell in love with a portal keeper. He'd learned of King K. Rool, the malevolent devil who ruled over the seas of the dimensions. He'd learned… so much.

Growing up, Mario lived a hard life. He wasn't a nice kid, he was a bit of a bully. He hung out with Eddie Scapelli all the time, he almost became a gangster. He was so protective of Luigi, so protective of Peach. Yet he'd lost Peach a long time ago… and now it'd been a long time since he'd lost Luigi.

Mario had seen a lot of things since he last saw Peach, though. He'd entered a sub-dimension, been teleported between dimensions and been given a glimpse into alternate timelines. All of this had changed the way he'd seen the world. Worlds.

"Why do you think Bowser is so adamant on separating the koopas and piantas from kremlings and Toads?" asked Luvbi.

"Just the way he is," suggested Mario.

"Seems unnecessary."

"I guess he needed an excuse to scapegoat his failures since the Koopa Troopa dissolved, he needed a way to hold his power again without them," suggested Mario. "Or maybe the memory of being in debt to King K. Rool still embarrasses him."

The path to the ticketing offices from where the arcade was short, the arcade itself though just happened to be a bit big. Thankfully there was no line at the ticketing office, unfortunately the man behind the ticketing booth was just lazily talking on the phone to someone. "Hey," Mario tried to interrupt him, no answer. "Hey! Excuse me." He rung the service bell and got the clerk's attention, resting his hand impatiently on the countertop. "Two tickets for passage to the airship."

"Yeah, just a minute friend," the clerk told him. "How do you want to proceed."

"In a bit of a rush, pal."

"Send in the bird," the clerk said and put the phone down. He looked and regarded Luvbi for a second, then pulled out a knife and lunged for Mario's hand, cutting it. Almost instinctively, Mario launched a fireball into the clerk's chest. Grabbing the knife, he viciously stabbed the man in the chest and looked around... there would be cops in here for Luvbi soon.

He looked at Luvbi and she was horrified, as if she had seen something in him that genuinely scared her. Something she had never seen before. He stepped over to her lightly, but she stepped back. "Get away from me! Let me out! I want out of here now!" she yelled at him and backed off to an area sealed off with bars. Mario began to hear voices coming from the corridors. The cops were coming.

"Luvbi!" begged Mario. "Let's go!

"Stay away from me!" she told him, slipped through the bars and fled. Hearing the soldiers march, Mario turned into an opposite corridor and began to try and sneak out, deciding he could incapacitate any stray soldier he ran into.

Where could she be? The Gondola platform? It was as good a guess as any? Making his way his way for it, he spotted her there. She was getting in the gondola, trying to get away… always from him. Approaching cautiously, he put his hands up as she hit the controls to go forth. Just as the gondola began going onwards to the next station, she wheeled around and saw him. "You butchered that man. I can't believe you did that...he's all dead! You're a monster!" That was it, he could try and console her or they could get out of there.

"What did you think was gonna happen?" asked Mario, more aggressively than he meant to. "Do you understand the expense Bowser went through to keep you locked up in that tower? He came back to life to do it! You think people like that are just gonna let you walk away? You are an investment...and you will not be safe until you are far away from here."

"What do they want with me?" asked Luvbi, fear in her breath.

"I don't know," said Mario. It wasn't a lie. He knew what Bowser wanted with Daisy, but not what he wanted with this Daisy, whoever she was. "But that is the last time anyone gets the drop on me." That seemed to calm her down a little bit. She took a few deep breaths and turned to Mario, almost with sympathy in her voice.

"Let me see your hand," she said, and he extended it out. The blood had dried from around where it had been cut but it still hurt. Mario hissed as she tied bandages around it but felt a bit of relief as well. "What happened back there… that's not the last of it, is it?"

"I don't know," whispered Mario. He didn't know if this life in this twisted universe would ever end for him. They didn't say anything else until the gondola stopped. Getting out and onto the next station, perpendicular to them was a giant sign for Hotel Delfino West. It was blue, neon and emblazoned, sticking out through all the clouds in its midst.

That wasn't important, though. They still needed to get to the airship and from there, get to New York City. It was getting near dusk now and Delfino Isle was much quieter. It was like Quebec City almost, it felt like that. Old, but nice. Well, aside from all the racist Koopas and Piantas, that was. Upon heading up the stairs behind them, they were welcomed by a sign informing them they were now in the area of the city known as Flower Fields. Below the sign was a map, showing them that they had gone past the lower gondola station near the arcade. If they continued towards the airship's station, they would pass right by the Astral Hall which was opposite a Ferris Wheel.

Continuing into the Flower Fields Welcome Center, the two found the place full of music and bereft of much of anything else. There was were two Catch Card SPs just lying on a table, as if whoever had been in this building had abandoned it in a hurry. They probably had, actually, figured Mario. Grabbing it, he hit play on the first and heard Bowser's booming voice once more.

"As a boy, I had a pet named Yoshi. Like all pets, Yoshi was a loyal friend. If we had not fed him, Yoshi would be loyal. If had struck him, Yoshi would be loyal. Only when the Kremling or Toad can make that claim will he take his place in society."

Well, that was still a disgusting ideology. Mario, who had acted quite indiscriminately his whole life. Bowser really was a twisted son of a bitch. Luvbi looked at Mario, almost asking him not to hit the second one. Yet he felt compelled to. He had to. He had to hear more about Bowser, more about the brother he had forgotten. Even if none of it was good.

"As the months and years turned to memories, so did the Piantas of Noki Bay turn to Don Pianta. And through the technology of Koopas, the dollars of the Kerog, Kamek worked his will on Delfino Isle and lifted her high above the Koopahari below."

"The gate's shut up tight!" gritted Luvbi, interrupting Mario's thoughts before they could form. He turned his head and looked at what she was looking at. Metal bars covered the only exit to their destination. The way to the airship was barred to them, for now at least. "Now how are we going to get to the airship?"

Hopefully he was strong enough… Mario grabbed the bottom rungs of the bars. Even with his enhanced strength, it still took a lot of effort. Ultimately, he was able to push upwards and get himself and Luvbi through. Emerging back in the outside world, they were greeted by another electric sign for Flower Fields above them. Above that was the airship, it looked like it was headed for the dock.

This place wasn't abandoned. There were people here. To the left, there were a bunch of them just hanging around an ice cream shop. Flower Fields was a quaint boardwalk, maybe even the last quiet place left on Delfino Isle since he'd arrived. He somehow suspected that if it that was true, it wouldn't be for much longer.

"Do you know why you were hired to get me?" asked Luvbi.

"I assume they were interested in meeting you."

"Why you?"

"I never even heard of this place before I got here," remarked Mario. A familiar smell came up his nose and he turned. There was a hot dog vendor. The hot dogs smelled just like the ones back home in Brooklyn.

"Huh, I thought Delfino Isle was common knowledge below."

"Guess I got a bit behind in this universe's current events."

They passed by a toy vendor, entertaining little kids with stuffed dragons and an abandoned, or just closed for the night, souvenir stand. There was a book store to their left down some stairs and a closed off passage to the Astral Hall straight ahead. Going left, they headed down the stairs and music rung faintly in the distance. "What are you, Mario?"

"I'm a… uh…. Plumber," he said. "Used to work for the mafia in high school, not something you'd want gracing a resume."

"Mafia?" she thought aloud. "Weren't they the ones they'd call in when the workers took to striking?"

"Settle," chuckled Mario, remembering how Big had tried to get him to handle Daisy's excavation site. "That's a word for it." Continuing onwards, they saw a sign for the airship to their left, again down some stairs. Straight ahead was nothing but a carousel. Yet the gondola that would take them to the airship was gone and the controls to summon it appeared to be busted.

"Looks like this looks exclusively on Amps," said Luvbi. What the hell were Amps?

"Where the hell are we going to find that?"

"Look!" said Luvbi, pointing to a billboard sign. "Come see the future of power at the Astral Hall."

"Ah," muttered Mario. "Well, that's convenient." They wouldn't need to stay too far away, now would they? There was a whir in the air and the gunship PA buzzed to life above them as it flew overhead.

"Koopas and Piantas, the murderer... the Plumber... is loose in the streets of our fair Delfino Isle! Will you suffer the shame of allowing your wives and your daughters to fall prey to his machinations as he tries to lead the Kumo astray? Or will you act? Act for the Kumo! Act for Bowser! Act!" They pressed on silently, avoiding the people out that were enjoying their night. They needed to get to the Astral Hall and they needed to get there fast. Hopefully all of these people would be gone soon. They did need to stay away.