Now Nastasia was getting frustrated. Not only did they not find Tipral anywhere in the palace, but back in the inner sanctum, Fawful, and Mr. L were still fighting. And they didn't help her with the search either!
"Listen here, Beanie. I don't know what's your beef with my mustache, but I don't like you mocking me for it!" Mr. L scoffed. "What're you, jealous? Jealous that I have a mustache and you don't?"
"Fawful laughs at your face! Why would I take the hairiness that has the hanging on your lip?" Fawful cackled. "Fawful hates mustaches! Hates them!"
"Well I don't like those glasses on your face, nerd!"
"We'll see who's the nerd when Fawful gives you the beating of a wrestling pig!" Fawful declared as he rushed straight at Mr. L, who readied his thunder attack…
Except the fight ended up being a slap fight…
"Ummmm… Guys?" Nastasia tried to get their attention, but they continued to slap each other. It didn't seem like anyone was winning, though. "Guys! Stop fighting right now, 'K?"
Unfortunately, they still wouldn't listen.
"GUYS!"
Fawful and Mr. L stopped fighting and turned to the angry Nastasia.
"There's no point in fighting now! Just because Tipral isn't here doesn't mean you can go out of control. And since I'm here, that means I have to take care of the disciplinary around here. So be good minions and stop fighting! 'K?"
"Ehhhhh… I don't think so." Mr. L retorted. "He's the one that started it."
"I have chortles!" Fawful chortled. "Fawful laughs at your face again, mustache! You had the starting of the fight anyway!"
"I don't care who started it," Nastasia snapped. "Both of you stop now or else I have no choice but to separate you two and put you back in your rooms!"
"Separate us? Sounds like a good idea!" Mr. L agreed. "Put this terrible bean back where he belongs!"
"Maybe a shaving is what the mustache deserves!" Fawful cackled.
"Why I oughta...!"
"That's it," Nastasia snapped her finger, and O'Chunks and Midbus rushed into the room and grabbed Fawful and Mr. L to pull them away from each other.
"Midbus! I need the releasing!"
"Midbus, don't," Nastasia ordered.
"Sorry, Lord Fawful," Midbus apologized. "Blue lady has authority. You relax."
"Lemme go, chunky," Mr. L grunted. "You're not helping me with your smelly odor, you know!"
"What?! What do yeh mean?! I washed meself an hour ago!" O'Chunks grimaced. "Of course, yer always one teh break me chain most o' the time!"
"'Cause you're such a big dope!"
"At least I listen teh what Tipral 'as teh say! Yeh, however, tend teh ignored 'im!"
"O'Chunks, Mr. L, I don't want you two arguing either," Nastasia informed, adjusting her glasses. "Things just aren't working out here... When will Tipral finally come back here to help us?"
As she pondered, Mimi came in the room with her eyes flashing white.
"Guys! I found something very important!" Mimi cried, forcing everyone to become silent as they turned to her.
"Is it important, Mimi?" Nastasia asked.
"Yes! It's incredibly important! I…or rather, we got this letter from Tipral!" Mimi took out a letter with dark handwriting on it.
"What?! Tipral?!" O'Chunks let go of Mr. L, who had a hard landing, while the bearded warrior ran over to Mimi to grab a hold of the letter. She simply brought the paper away from O'Chunks.
"No! You can't take it! I'm the one who wrote Tippy a letter, so I get to be the one to hold it!"
"Who cares about holding it?" Mr. L grumbled. "Just read it to us!"
"Hmmmm… Hold on…" Nastasia paused. "I think it's better to get Dark in here. If this is something Tipral sent us, we should all be here to listen."
"I'll go tell him," Mr. L declared. "I'd rather get away from you juniors. Especially the bean guy. That guy thinks he can mock the 'stache! Well, we'll see what happens when he loses his…"
"Just go!" Mimi shouted.
"OK! Fine! At least I'll get away from your annoying voice…"
Mimi blew a raspberry at him as he left the room and went into the hallway. He stopped at Dark's door and knocked on it.
"Hey! Darky! Nastasia wants you at the sanctum!"
Inside Dark's room, the lights were off, and Dark was going through a couple of journals of the Dark Creature's history. Apparently, he was trying to find any information on Shade and how he could get his army back.
"Hey! Did you not listen to me?!" Mr. L shouted, who continued to bang on the door.
"Nastasia… She promised me my army back if I helped her search around the palace…" Dark trailed as he stood up and turned to the door. "I guess she wasn't capable of keeping that promise."
"Dark! It's not about that secretary lady right now! The bratty girl found some letter from Tipral or something!"
"Tipral? So, he finally got a hold of us for once…" Dark walked over to the door and opened it. He used his cape to shield his room to prevent Mr. L from seeing before closing it.
"What were you doing in your room anyway?" Mr. L asked. "Were you brooding over something?"
His response was a smack to the face. "Ow! What was that for?!"
Dark simply moved on ahead, making Mr. L grumble as he followed him back to the sanctum. There, they saw Fawful was now released from Midbus's grasps and were all by Mimi, who was waiting impatiently for Mr. L and Dark.
"What took you two so long?" Mimi grumbled.
"You lack so much patience," Dark scoffed. "Just read the letter."
"OK! Fine!" the green girl gave him a snooty look before she began to read the letter, which everyone got closer to listen and see the letter.
Dear minions,
If you couldn't tell by now, I've received the letter Mimi wrote for me. Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine. I was apparently sent to the Comet of Darkness, where Shade happened to reside. Since Dark will probably see this letter, I'll just tell him now that he's not his brother. Also, he's gone, so no worrying about him now. Though, I don't think the Dark Creatures will be returning anytime soon... Unfortunately, I've lost the Chaos Heart, Dark Star Scepter and the Dark Prognosticus. From what I know, that Chaos Heart could possibly be in The Void, which must mean the door leading to The Void should be revealed. But with me no longer holding it... Its power will now be out of control as the True Chaos Heart. There are two doors that lead inside. One is most likely where I'm at right now, while the other should be in my palace, in the sanctum. Go through there, and you'll most likely find me..."
-Tipral-
"Whoa! So Tipral's still alive!" O'Chunks gaped. "Well that's great teh 'ear."
"Yeah! I know!" Mimi smiled, pink hearts fluttering over her head. "I almost thought he was gone..."
"Not too surprised," Midbus said.
"But now he has the requesting!" Fawful gaped.
"Ooh! So we finally get to go into The Void!" Mr. L grinned. "So, looks like we can finally get our chance to stopping those heroes once and for all! We obviously don't want them getting to the Chaos Heart, right?"
"But now it's out of control," Dark mentioned. "It might be a bit difficult trying to get a hold of it now."
"Well, Tipral gave us orders," Nastasia noted, adjusting her glasses. "Now's the time for us to get going, 'K?"
"Hold on a moment..." Mimi paused. "There's something else written down at the bottom."
Everyone stopped and took a look at the letter again. There was indeed another thing written.
And beware of a certain shadowy jester that is roaming around...
"Wait... Did 'e say beware of...Dimentio?" O'Chunks asked, his eyes widening. "But... Isn't Dimentio dead?"
"Of course he's dead," Mimi replied. "That stupid clown's no longer around here anymore. Though, I don't understand by 'shadowy'... Anyway, if Tippy wants us to go into The Void to stop the heroes, then count me in! Those meanies are going to pay for trouncing me!"
"Mimi, they trounced all of you," Nastasia noted, making Mimi give her an irritated look.
"I know, Nassy! I was talking about myself then!"
"Look, if you guys are going to babble, then I'm going," Dark declared, making his way over to the door to his left. "Now, where do you believe that door leading into The Void is?"
Before anyone could respond, they felt the ground shake as they saw a large, black door in the center of the sanctum.
"Oh... I guess that answers my question."
"If we are going into the darkness of fury, then we must have preparing!" Fawful declared, rushing back to his room. When he came back, he held a small, dark blue orb with a black star embedded on it.
"Lord Fawful... Is that...?" Midbus gawked.
"I have excitement! When we have the approaching of the heroes, Fawful will give them all I've got! And then, they will al drown in the river of saliva going down to the great pool of jello!"
"What the heck is that idiot saying?" Mr. L gawked. "Well, if we ARE going to go in, we might as well get everything we want prepared. Thankfully, I've saved up a special thunder ability I've kept with me for a while! That'll finish them off!"
"Yeah... I suppose we should all get our acts together." O'Chunks agreed. "That cat made a mess o' me back there! I'm gettin' back at 'im and the others!"
"I already know what I've got planned for them..." Mimi grinned sadistically.
"Very well," Nastasia nodded, adjusting her glasses. "In the meantime, Mr. L... Why don't you get that robot you made out here? I'd like to test that out, 'K?"
"Wait... What?!" Mr. L spoke in a shocked tone. "I made that thing just for me to control! There's no way you're taking it!"
"Do you really want me to resort to this?" she slowly put her hand over to her glasses, ready to use her brainwashing on him. Mr. L slowly backed away and nodded, and soon he was grumbling as he went back to get the robot.
When all the minions were out of the sanctum, Nastasia walked over to the door while pondering.
"You know... There's something that's been bugging me all this time... I actually remember hearing Tipral's name before... Before I joined him, that is. Though, remembering that name reminds me of a bad moment then..."
Sagein Galaxy-
Shade slowly opened his eyes and noticed he was actually still alive. Then again, he didn't seem to care whether or not he died, because he was starting to snicker in a disturbing manner.
"Those heroes... They think...they bested me..." Shade trailed. "Such a shame I never got to tear them apart and let it rain blood all over the place... But now they're probably still looking around for that Pure Heart! Hee hee... I don't need those things anymore. Besides, who needs those when you've got unstoppable dark magic by your side?"
The Comet of Darkness itself wasn't destroyed, but simply left there and no longer surrounded in dark mist, possibly because he was no longer residing there. He simply spun around joyfully flying past Rainbow Trail and the observatory Merlo was at.
But then he came across a large asteroid he ended up landing on. He happened to land outside of the Shrine of the Sages, where Chopper fought Arctail. Shade even noticed some of the remains of Acrtail as well.
"Someone...was here..." Shade trailed. "But such a disappointment to see them go! I would've enjoyed destroying them!"
"Ah...ha ha... So... I've finally...found you!"
Shade looked around for the voice, but he ended up seeing Shadow Dimentio teleport in front of him instead. Unlike the others, what he saw was a full shadow of Dimentio floating before him.
"Ooh! Another playmate for me to rip apart!" Shade grinned. "How wonderful!"
"You cannot...rip me apart," Shadow Dimentio smirked as Shade tried grabbing a hold of him. "Oh, how...hyper you are...like a puppy jumping...in joy from...getting candy!"
"I can't rip you apart!"
"That's because...I'm dead. Well... Not...necessarily!"
"This isn't something I'm enjoying!"
"But do you know...what I'd...enjoy?" Shadow Dimentio gave a smirk as Shade stopped and looked up at him. "Ah! So I finally...got your...attention!"
"Oh, tell me what you enjoy!" Shade cheered. "Tell me tell me tell me!"
"All I need you...to do is...use your magic...to bring me back! Life is so...enjoyable."
"Life... Life is magical! And so is death!" Shade gave a sadistic grin as he thought of an idea. "So I'll bring you back to life, and then I'll be able to rip you to pieces! That sounds so fun!"
"Ah...ha ha ha... Very fun..." Shadow Dimentio grinned sinisterly as Shade reached for his wand and pointed it at Shadow Dimentio. Even if he was nearly tarnished by the heroes, he didn't care. With his dark magic, he was able to fire dark power at Shadow Dimentio, which surrounded him in dark smoke.
"You come back to life and I'll end your game afterward! It's so simple!" he cackled as he waved his wand and managed to get rid of all the dark smoke. Dimentio, fully alive, was revealed under the smoke, and he looked better than ever.
"AH HA HA HA!" Dimentio cackled. "At long last, I've returned, like a bear who just finish hibernating during the summer! And with all the powers I absorbed from those pathetic minions, I'm unstoppable!"
"Hee hee... And with you alive, your death shall soon come!" Shade snickered, charging at Dimentio until he bumped into an invisible wall.
It turns out, Dimentio summoned an invisible box around him.
"Oh, no no no. We can't have any of that right now, Shade." Dimentio grinned. "With me finally back to life, I can finally complete my plans and destroy those heroes and Tipral and his minions!"
"Well if they beat me, then they can certainly beat you," Shade scoffed. "I wanted to play with them, so I was forced to transform...into THIS!"
He placed his hand on his glowing sun on his crescent blade and tried to transform into the abomination he was once before. The only problem? The box was too small, which made it too tight for him.
"Your transformations aren't going to help you here... And besides, I've managed to steal a few things from Tipral while I was that phantom! I'll also take the True Chaos Heart as well! That'll suit me nicely..."
Shade reverted back to his normal form and tried to punch at the box.
"Let me out of here! Let me out! Let me out! LET ME OUT!"
"Oh, yes... What to do with you." Dimentio pondered, whirling over to him. "Well! Maybe you can be of some use to me! Maybe... Just maybe..."
He was interrupted by Shade's howls and his forked tongue that he stuck out at him, but none of it seemed to scare him in any way.
"So, would you want to play with those pesky heroes again?"
"Yes! Yes yes yes!"
"Then I have a special treat for you... Ciao!" Dimentio snapped his finger, which triggered an explosion from inside the box. Shade let out a scream of horror as it flashed inside.
When the flash was gone, Shade was no longer inside.
"Ah, yes... He'll definitely have some fun there! As for me... I might as well start my trip into The Void! I can't wait to see the looks on their faces! They'll be shocked like people spewing out orange soda during a crazy party!"
With a sinister grin, he teleported out of the vicinity.
Why? Why did that awful man have to force her out of this world?
Ever since that day, I tried to search for her. I spent years traveling to each dimension to make sure that she was safe... But I had no luck. And as my search continued, I could only think of that wretched man... I never saw his face, nor did I know of his name. But just thinking about him filled me with anger...
I knew that squeezing the life out of that man would at least help ease my pain at this point.
But when I returned, everything was in ruins. No person was in sight.
All except one.
"Wh-Who are you?!"
"There was a man who sent my friend out of this dimension. Where did he go?"
"Him? I'm afraid you're too late. His son Blumiere had done away with him years ago, as well as the rest of the Tribe of Darkness. It's just me now."
"So he's really gone? Then I came here for nothing..."
"That man did the right thing getting rid of that human. Such a putrid being should never mix with our kind."
"Timpani was not awful! She was one of the greatest people in my life! ...And my only friend."
"Then our kind did you a favor. You can find someone better."
"Shut up!"
"Make me."
It wasn't long until the place had been set ablaze, and the man that stood before me was now nothing but dust.
That was the first time I ever unleashed my rage. And any sign of happiness was nonexistent.
I had taken out my anger on everything that was in my way. A bat once tried to bother me, so I ended up trapping it so it could at least face consequences for its own actions.
Everything felt so...empty. All the things I cared about were gone forever... And seeing others enjoying life only made me feel worse about myself.
There was only one solution to ease my pain... Destroy everything.
?-
"Unnngghh…"
Chopper slowly opened his eyes and noticed he could see the blue sky above him, as well as a couple of clouds. He slowly got himself up and noticed his surroundings. He was in a beautiful flower field with many different kinds of flowers. A lot of the flowers he saw reminded him of the flowers he saw back on his planet.
"What's with all of the flowers… And where am I?" Chopper looked at his arms and noticed no burn marks on him. Over to his right, there happened to be a lake, so he checked over there and looked at his reflection.
There were no wounds left on him.
"Weird... I'm fully healed up... But where are all my friends?" he began to ponder for a moment until he realized what happened. "...Oh, right. I ended up giving up the final Pure Heart that was inside of me. Come to think all this time it was actually something needed to stop the Chaos Heart..."
He turned around and walked back over by the large field. He didn't want to run. No, he didn't want to ruin the flowers. That wouldn't be a good idea anyway.
Chopper wasn't sure of what to say, so all he could do was looked down at the flowers and at the sky. The place felt relaxing, that's for sure, but he was definitely confused about where he was. And wasn't The Void supposed to be up in the sky?
But the sky had a rainbow, and even the singing from the birds made everything so nice about this place. It was almost the perfect place for him. Almost.
He stopped by one flower. It was a blue flower that he remembered seeing many times. It was the kind of flower he placed right by his mother's grave he made next to his house, and it was also a flower Crysta dropped. How she was able to get a hold of something like that, Chopper had no idea.
He picked up the flower and closed his eyes as he began to smell it. When he opened them, he looked up at the sky and almost saw a vision... A vision of the same kind of flower left on the table.
Not only that, but he heard a voice echoing his name in his head.
"Oh, geez... I don't think this is such a good idea." Chopper frowned, dropping the flower on the ground. "I should actually find a way out of here..."
"Chopper, it's OK..."
When Chopper looked up, he saw his mother looking at him with a smile. Unlike the last time, she was very much real and not a spirit.
"M-Mom?!" Chopper gasped, looking up at his mother. "Is that really you?!"
"Yes, it's me, Chopper," Tonya answered. "You're safe now."
"But where am I?" he stopped when he saw Tonya walking away from him. "Mom? Where are you going?"
He began to follow her, but this time, he started to run. But even then, he was never able to catch up to her.
"Please! Answer me!"
Tonya stopped and slowly turned around to her son. "We're...where you belong..."
"Belong? What do you..." Chopper paused as he suddenly realized what she meant. "You mean... This is a whole different place? In which you mean...where you go when your...life...ends...?"
She slowly turned away from him and started to walk away. With what Chopper realized, he was starting to feel a bit saddened and even started to shed some tears. Even if releasing the Pure Heart may have done this, he was only ten. Ten year olds didn't deserve to have their life end so soon.
Especially when The Void was going to swallow all life as he knew it.
"Hold on, Mom!" Chopper continued to follow her until he noticed the field of flowers slowly going away. Now he was walking on a grassy field, and up ahead... He saw her floating over by a cliff.
"Please... Tell me what's going on... Am I really...well, you know."
"Chopper... Come to me." Tonya smiled, holding out her hand.
He didn't know what was going on, and if he was...well, you know, then he wasn't happy in the slightest. And even then, he didn't want to be alone anymore.
And going to his mother was the only way to keep himself from being alone.
"I am, Mommy! I'm coming!" Chopper cried as he jumped off the cliff and tried to grab a hold of her hand. Unfortunately, he ended up missing and began to plunge down the cliff. He noticed his mother slowly waving.
"No, Chopper... You're not ready to come to the other side..." Tonya trailed, her eyes slowly closing.
All Chopper could do was simply fall...
Merlon's house-
Chopper slowly opened his eyes and noticed he was back in Merlon's house in a small bed. He noticed everyone else in the house speaking to Merlon about the important details. They didn't seem happy at the moment, that's for sure.
But what he also noticed was Tipral's appearance in the room. He wasn't there...
Merlon slowly turned around and gasped when he saw Chopper sit up. "Chopper! You're finally awake!"
"Poyo?! (He's up?!)" Kirby gasped as he ran over to the bed. Chopper happened to notice his friends still had their wounds on them from the fight against Shade. When he looked at his own arms, he too had some wounds left on him.
"Guys... You're all here..." Chopper smiled as he gave Kirby a hug while shedding a tear. "I missed you guys..."
"Ya managed to hold up," Cudge smiled. "Good job…"
"Yeah, we didn't want you to go so soon," Starbow mentioned.
"You did a very brave thing, Chopper," Merlon commented. "And we were worried that you wouldn't make it."
"But how am I still alive?"
"Merlon was able to use some of his healing magic to try to get you back up," Sonic explained. "I think he was able to save you just in time..."
"But seriously, all this time you were holding the final Pure Heart?" Blade gawked. "That's insane!"
"Yeah... I didn't necessarily expect that rainbow heart I've held in me for six years to be an actual Pure Heart..."
Mario: But how could he have had a Pure Heart in him when there were eight Pure Hearts before?
"I did read something in some of the old texts of something like that," Merlon recalled. "Apparently a ninth Pure Heart was also revealed to be a part of the original Purity Heart, but its power was much different than an original Pure Heart and could only be given to the one it chooses... Many people referred to it as the Sacred Heart."
"Which my mom carried with her before I was born..." Chopper trailed. "By the way, where is the Pure Heart?"
"It's right here," Luigi answered, holding out the rainbow Pure Heart. He decided to place it on the bed so Chopper could get a good look on it.
"I haven't really gotten a good look of it..." he smiled before he paused. "Hold on... If that thing gave me all those abilities, does that mean it's...gone?"
He put the Pure Heart aside and decided to open his mouth. Everyone got out of the way as he tried to use his inhaling. To his surprise, he actually still had it.
"Wait... How do I still have my abilities if I released that thing?!"
"Those old texts also mentioned that if the bearer kept the Sacred Heart in him or her long enough, they'll end up absorbing some of its power and turn the Sacred Heart into a normal Pure Heart."
"I guess I can still help..."
"Poyo! (You're not going right now!)" Kirby noted.
"What?! But we need to bring this Pure Heart to the Heart Pillar!"
"After what you had to do? You need to rest!" Sonic informed. "If you get up now, you're probably going to be a bit weak. After all, I think you've taken the most hits from Shade. Plus, with the whole Pure Heart thing, that must've took A LOT of energy."
"We'll be fair and actually wait for you to recover your strength before we go to the Heart Pillar," Blade declared. "After all, I think that's fair."
"And where's Tipral?" Chopper asked.
Mario: He had to do something...
"All right, I'm back," Tipral interrupted as he entered the house.
"Oh... Well, looks like he's back." Luigi shrugged.
"What were you doing anyway?" Blade wondered.
"I had to write a little something important," Tipral explained before he noticed Chopper up. "What's this? So you're finally awake, aren't you? I actually thought you were dead."
"Thanks..." Chopper groaned.
"So are we going to go place the Pure Heart in its pillar now?"
"No, 'cause he needs to rest," Sonic answered.
"He looks fine. We're going."
"Poyo! (Hey! You don't decide what we do!)" Kirby retorted.
"Look, if you guys wanna go, then just go," Chopper decided. "If you think I need rest, then fine. I'll rest."
"Hmmmmm... If I may have a suggestion." Merlon cut in. "Saffron does make some soup that can help regain your strength. If I could recall, you once went to her and gave some soup to Kirby and Meta Knight, right, Chopper?"
"Yeah... I did. I think you need a Fire Flower."
"If that's the case, we should all get some," Blade suggested. "After all, we need all the strength we need for what's coming up..."
"Fine, if we're going to get some soup for Chopper, then we have no choice," Tipral sighed. "After all, we need all the heroes to get into The Void."
"Wait... Merlon, are you in any way surprised to see Tipral with us?" Chopper gawked, noticing Merlon wasn't shocked.
"Don't worry, they explained everything to me," Merlon assured. "Tipral's no longer in control of the Chaos Heart. And now with it in The Void, the True Chaos Heart might be unleashed. He told me the only way to stop it is to destroy it with the Purity Heart."
"Oh... OK."
Mario: Let's go get some soup!
"I'll stay here with Chopper just to make sure he's OK," Merlon informed. "I'll be waiting for you here, young ones."
The six left the room, leaving only Chopper and Merlon in his house. The antennae boy couldn't help but gaze at the beautiful Pure Heart. It was almost like the first time he first saw one.
Outside Merlon's house-
"G-Geez... Look at the size of The Void!" Luigi gaped, seeing The Void was much bigger than they saw it last time. "I'm getting worried now..."
"Poyo, (This world might be ending very soon,)" Kirby frowned. What made it even worse was that the people who walked around Flipside were no longer around. Sonic even peeked through one of the windows and noticed some of the people hiding under their tables and beds while shuddering.
"Geez... Everyone's so frightened!" Sonic gaped. "They certainly don't want to die so soon..."
"Look, let's just gather some Fire Flowers and go," Tipral demanded. "We're not going to sit here forever, you know."
"Dude, don't you realize that everyone's hiding in their houses because of The Void?!" Blade exclaimed.
"Yes, I can see that."
"And you know this was pretty much caused by you, right?"
"Yes, I know that. I honestly don't care. The only reason I'm with you guys is because it's impossible to reach the True Chaos Heart yourself."
The five heroes suddenly realized he was telling the truth. And even then, he had been a good help back in the Comet of Darkness. Anyway, they decided to head to the shop to get some Fire Flowers, but there was one small problem.
The shopkeeper, Howzit, wasn't there.
"Poyo? (Where's the shopkeeper?)" Kirby asked as he looked around the room. Some items were left on the shelf, including some Fire Flowers.
"If that shopkeeper's not going to show himself, we might as well take them," Tipral decided.
"W-Wait! Don't go!"
The six saw Howzit get out of the closet and run over to the heroes while trying to catch his breath. "You guys… You wanted to get something from here, right?"
"We need seven Fire Flowers," Blade noted. "We'll just buy them from you right now."
"N-No… Just take them." Howzit demanded. "The world is going to end soon, so money's not worth it at this point. My life is much more important than money!"
Mario: Are you sure?
"Yes! Just take it!"
Sonic wanted to object, but he decided to take seven Fire Flowers. Howzit said goodbye as he quickly tipped his hat to them before escaping back into the closet. With that, the six went to the first floor of Flipside.
"So… Who has any idea where this Saffron is?" Sonic wondered.
"Not me," Blade shrugged.
"I'm sure two people here might have an idea…" Thoreau trailed, looking at both Mario and Luigi.
"Oh! I think we've been there once when they brought her some food for them to cook!" Carrie recalled.
"Yeah, we just need to take the Fire Flowers to her and heal you guys and the pale green one!"
"Then we should go," Luigi suggested as they headed over to Saffron's place. Saffron herself wasn't hiding, but she was pondering.
Mario: Hi, Saffron!
"Hmmmm... Don't I recognize you, sugar?" Saffron wondered as she took a look a Mario. "Oh, yes! I think I do remember now!"
"Look, we don't want to waste our time here," Tipral noted. "We need seven soups of that stuff that can heal you."
"You mean my Spicy Soup? One thing I know is that it'll sure turn that frown upside down, sugar!"
"Poyo… (I don't know if that'll work…)" Kirby trailed.
Mario: We have a friend that needs some. He's in some trouble!
"Oh, mercy! Your friend is in trouble, sugar? Well don't worry! I'll get some Spicy Soup coming! Since you brought seven Fire Flowers, I'll get to work right now!"
They gave the Fire Flowers to Saffron and then she began to get to work on the Spicy Soup. As she finally finished, Kirby could smell the goodness of the soup. It reminded him of when he first had a taste of it.
The six quickly took their soup and had a taste of it. Surprisingly, their wounds began to heal up, and they even had a lot of energy in them. Much more than they had when they fought Shade.
"Hey! This soup's pretty good!" Blade smiled. "Maybe I might just take a taste of this…"
Kirby slapped his hand before he could grab the last soup. "Poyo! (No! That's for Chopper!)"
"Whoa! Sorry…"
"I'll admit, the soup's not too bad…" Tipral trailed. "At least I feel much better."
Kirby took the soup and gestured for everyone to follow him. He seemed to be holding the soup carefully so he wouldn't have to spill it anywhere.
"And don't wait too long, sugar!" Saffron mentioned. "It's much better when it's hot!"
"Don't worry, we'll get it to him in time," Sonic assured as everyone hurried out of her place. Once they were back outside, Blade couldn't help but smell the soup, but Mario simply shook his head.
"What? It smells good!" Blade noted.
"It does, but it's not for you."
"You know, we can always simply get another Fire Flower and…"
"To make us waste money? Bad idea…" Luigi trailed.
"Even if I don't like Chopper, we need a full party to go to The Void," Tipral informed.
"I'm just joking, sheesh!" Blade sighed. "Let's just go."
Merlon's house-
"Hmmmmm… So, you're saying you saw what was possibly the afterlife?" Merlon deduced, who was listening to Chopper's story.
"Yeah, and I saw my mom too…" Chopper trailed. "She said something about that place being where I belong… But I don't get it. Wouldn't she and my dad be in The Overthere or something?"
"Mmmmmmmm… You know, Chopper, that could've possibly been your mother's own afterlife."
"Wait… So she was in her own kind of Overthere?"
"Precisely. You see… Some people have their own kind of world when their game ends. There's more to just The Overthere, you know… The same goes for The Underwhere."
"Oh… I never would've known that…" Chopper picked up the Pure Heart and stared at it. "I really like this Pure Heart for some reason. Maybe because it reminds me so much of the rainbow."
"The rainbow is pretty, yes?"
"Uh huh. It looks pretty nice on my planet. I also like the fact that I hold some kind of rainbow power…whatever it is…"
Before Merlon could respond, Kirby rushed into the room while holding the bowl of soup up. He quickly placed it right by the bed Chopper was sitting on. Afterward, he began to flail his arms around.
"What's with him?" Chopper wondered.
"Poyo! (Hot hot hot!)" Kirby cried.
"Just drink the stupid soup so you can heal up," Tipral suggested. "We need to get going soon."
"Oh, so this is the soup?" Chopper grabbed it and began to sip it down quickly. His eyes flashed white as he almost felt like there was some kind of party in his mouth. Even his wounds started to go away.
"HOOOO-WEEEEEEEE!"
He jumped out of the bed cheerfully and landed on the ground beside the others with a bright smile.
"Well, looks like he's better now," Luigi noticed.
"Are you suuuuuuuure?" Sonic asked.
"Well, I'm up, so I'm definitely fine," Chopper even proved it by charging up a Speed Dash. Thankfully, Mario was able to stop him before he could take off.
Mario: I guess he is better.
"Excellent," Merlon nodded in approval. "Now then... You must take the final Pure Heart to the final Heart Pillar. With that, you will be able to go to the final door – wherever that may be."
"Then we better get going," Chopper declared, grabbing a hold of the Pure Heart.
"...Are you sure you're fully recovered?" Tipral wondered. "Even then, I'm not so sure why you even have those abilities even if you let out the Pure Heart."
"Didn't Merlon explain that before?" Blade wondered. "He said something about Chopper having the heart in him long enough to absorb its unique power and make its power just like a normal Pure Heart."
"Hmph... All right then. Why don't you heroes show me where this next Heart Pillar is?"
"Poyo, (We can definitely do that,)" Kirby assured.
Merlon watched as the group began to exit his house. With that, he decided to go back to the Light Prognosticus and get back to where he was before.
"Hmmmmmm? It appears this is the last page of the Light Prognosticus!" Merlon realized. "Hmmmmm... Well I guess I'm too late to tell the heroes about this... Maybe if I can reach them, though..."
Rainbowside, second floor-
"What is this kind of place?" Tipral wondered as they reached the second floor of Rainbowside.
"It's a new kind of area," Chopper explained. "We call it Rainbowside."
"If I'm correct, then the Heart Pillar should be at the outskirts of this floor," Sonic deduced. "Remember the location where we put the eighth Pure Heart? I'm sure it's that location."
"Then let's go," Chopper threw his arms in the air and flipped him and his friends into 3-D. They rushed to the outskirts and went into 2-D. To their surprise, there was nothing standing in the way of the final Heart Pillar to their right."
"At long last... The final Heart Pillar..." Blade trailed. "Now we can finally do what we were meant to do as heroes..."
"Guys... Is it OK if I place the Pure Heart in the Heart Pillar alone?" Chopper asked. "This one... It feels a lot different than the others."
Mario: Go right ahead. And take your time, too.
"Ummmmm... Don't take too long..." Luigi trailed. "Especially with The Void growing bigger."
Chopper nodded and jumped over the gap between them and the Heart Pillar. He took out the rainbow Pure Heart and looked down at it with a gaze.
"Well... Looks like this means goodbye, Pure Heart... I've been holding you for a long time, but now it looks like we must part. I'll still remember you."
He closed his eyes as he released the Pure Heart, which slowly began to get pulled into the Heart Pillar. Once both joined together, the heroes saw the last clock they'll probably ever see emit. It was a rainbow kind, just like the Pure Heart.
As for where the next door was, it happened to be located at Rainbowside Tower. It was a large, black door that had a strange, dark feeling to it.
"Well, it looks like you did it," Barry said. "Now where do we go?"
"The final door is located at the rainbow tower of Rainbowside," Olnerm answered, who happened to walk over to the group as Chopper gave one last wave to the Heart Pillar before jumping over to them.
"Poyo? (It's in Rainbowside now?)" Kirby gaped.
"Well at least we don't have to go all the way back there," Sonic sighed. "It'll be nice to actually go somewhere closer."
"I'll meet you guys at the tower," Olnerm noted. "Once you're prepared for the battles that await you, come to the tower."
When the rainbow Shaman left, the seven decided to get themselves prepared and purchased some important items at the shop. They even got some badges from the Badge Shop just in case they needed to use anything in the final world. After all, they needed all they got.
"So, are you heroes ready?" Piccolo sang.
"'Cause we're ready when you are, pard!" Slim added.
"Yeah, we're definitely ready," Chopper nodded, putting away a Max Shroom Shake, along with a couple of other important items. "Come on, guys! Let's go to Rainbowside Tower!"
Rainbowside Tower-
When they reached the tower of Rainbowside, they happened to see Olnerm waiting for them. He seemed to be guarding the large, black door as if he wanted to say one last thing.
"It looks like you all finally did it," Olnerm began. "You've now opened the final door. With twenty Pure Hearts versus the True Chaos Heart. Through here awaits the dangers of The Void."
"Hold on, weren't we in The Void when we went in Castle Tipral?" Sonic wondered.
"That wasn't so deep in The Void," Tipral explained. "Where we'll be is in a much deeper place and is definitely the most dangerous of them all. I'm sure the True Chaos Heart is now in the center of The Void."
"Th-The center of The Void?!" Luigi gaped.
"Yes, and we're going to be going in there."
"Excuse me, but there was something I think I should share with you all about something I found in the last page of the Light Prognosticus," Merlon explained as he walked over to the heroes. "'Only those who have not abandoned hope can turn back the prophecy of doom. They walk forward into the future, no matter how dark and uncertain it may be.'"
"You all have worked hard to make it this far. You believed in yourselves, and you managed to get all twenty Pure Hearts…" Nolrem made his entrance and stood beside Merlon and Olnerm. "I wish we could go through this door with you, but I send you with all hope through my heart."
"Wait a second..." Sonic paused. "I thought both Merlon and Nolrem had no knowledge of..."
"I was able to get in contact with them," Olnerm explained. "I thought they would have liked to see you make your departure through this door."
"Ah, I see..."
"Well, with us and the Pixls by our side, The Void's not going to stop us!" Chopper declared, getting back on topic.
"Chopper... I'm afraid the Pixls can't go into The Void..." Merlon trailed.
"Wait... They can't?!" Blade gaped. "But they went in before with us!"
"That's because you were not in the depths of The Void," Nolrem explained. "It's too dangerous for a Pixl to cross into such dark depths. The power emitting from the True Chaos Heart could possibly corrupt them... Or worse - perish."
"So we don't need to have those useless Pixls by our side? I'm fine with that." Tipral assured, which made all the Pixls glare at him.
"You heroes worked hard just to reach this point. All of your skills will be put to the ultimate test." Olnerm explained. "No Pixls, and no going back... You all must focus on your own abilities and tactics to reach the center of The Void."
"Poyo... (I really don't want to leave the Pixls behind...)" Kirby trailed. "Poyo? (After all they've done for us?)"
"You guys don't need to worry about us," Thoreau assured. "We knew we wouldn't be able to help you through this. Besides, it wasn't just our job to simply help you guys."
"Really?" Chopper gawked.
"We also had to watch and see if you could take care of yourselves, KA-BOOM!" Hommissile noted.
"And honestly, pards... I think ya'll are ready fer this." Slim declared.
"We saw how you all fought!" Carrie mentioned. "Remember when you took down that geek Francis? It was very interesting!"
"And you were quite helpful!" Flippay remarked. "When I was stuck in that bathroom, you came to my rescue! I am glad I was able to help you!"
"And that word... Tipralisafaker!" Cudge recalled, which left Tipral confused until he gave Chopper a glare. "There's no other word I'll remember more than that!"
"Oh, yes!" Piccolo chirped. "And the songs I heard! They made me feel so happy too!"
"Ya even managed to get me out of a lake!" Kickbrin mentioned. "All on your own, man!"
"And how you've been nice on Santa Claus's list..." Crystaline recalled. "It makes me happy to know I was with some good people."
"...You guys... You guys made me feel more comfortable around people..." Reflecto smiled.
"Reflecto...spoke?!" Sonic gaped.
"Mmmmmm-hmmmm! Speaking for the first time feels so...refreshing!"
"You guys even managed to settle zee dispute between two lands," Bonjourang recalled. "And, even if you all failed to do some stuff, you pulled yourselves together and didn't let it stop you."
"And to think we would even see this moment!" Starbow gaped. "Honestly, you heroes are something special. Sure, you may have ignored us at times, but when you did, we got to see what you were capable of without our help. That was helping you prepare for this moment."
"Thank you, Pixls..." Chopper smiled.
"Poyo, (We're sorry you guys can't come with us,)" Kirby frowned.
"Even if we can't go, we can always wish you the very best of luck," Thoreau noted. "And remember... We won't forget you either, whether you come out of there alive or not."
"Now, heroes... Before you go, I have something I need to give to you." Merlon took out three small sacks and handed one to Blade, Mario and Luigi. "Though I do wish I had something to give to you, Chopper, Kirby, and Sonic, but I couldn't find anything that I knew could help you."
Mario: What's in here?
"It's something very important. Don't take it out until you need to. It should be useful in that situation."
"Thanks, I suppose..." Blade trailed as he put the small sack away. "What will we find in The Void?"
"Chances are you might see some worlds that have already been destroyed..." Nolrem trailed. "None of us truly know, though."
"Through this door, you may face some of the toughest opponents you've fought ever before," Olnerm explained. "With all the dark power in The Void, some of the enemies left will be even more powerful than some enemies you've fought where the final Pure Heart was. If you all feel you're ready for this challenge, then step into this door."
"I wish Tippi were here to see this..." Chopper trailed. "She would be proud to see us finally reach the last door."
"Don't worry, Chop," Sonic assured, putting his hand on his shoulder. "Maybe we'll find her some day. Maybe in person."
"Yeah, maybe..."
The ground began to shake again as they saw The Void grow bigger. One thing for sure was that this dimension was close to its demise.
"Let's not waste our time now," Tipral suggested. "We need to go into that void and stop that True Chaos Heart before anything bad happens..."
"OK..." Chopper turned to his friends. "So, are you all ready?"
"Poyo! (Definitely!)" Kirby nodded.
"Ready as I'll ever be," Sonic answered.
"It's time to kick some ass in that dark place!" Blade declared.
Mario: Let's-a go!
"Ummmmm... Yeah, I'm prepared" Luigi slowly nodded. "Though, I don't know how long I'll hold out."
"All right, then let's go," Chopper turned to the large door and opened it. Before them was a dark world no one had ever seen before. With a deep breath, the seven entered the door before the door closed on them.
"Chopper… Kirby… Sonic… Blade… Mario… Luigi…and you too, Tipral… Be strong."
Twenty Pure Hearts. Six heroes. The Dark Prognosticus against the Light Prognosticus. And the True Chaos Heart. Everyone knew this would be their hardest mission yet, and with the Pixls unable to help, things were about to get harder. The Void continued to grow bigger as many worlds were meeting their ends. Could Chopper and friends reach the center of The Void and put an end to the True Chaos Heart and the dark prophecy once and for all? What else awaited them through The Void? These thoughts plagued the minds of our heroes as they reached the final act.
Yeah, the previous interlude was probably the shortest one, while this one was probably the longest. And with no Pixls being able to join the heroes in The Void, it makes the final world a lot more challenging. If this were an actual game, I'm sure that would make the game much harder. But, this isn't a game, it's a story. :P
But, yes... We're getting close to the end now. Chapter 20 is, if you couldn't tell, the final chapter. It's definitely a lot longer than Chapter 19, so you might want to be prepared for that.
Even though I think there were some flaws to this story, I actually enjoy this, and I'm actually not sure whether I like this one or Paper Chopper: The Crystal Stars more. As for favorite chapters... Well, it's a hard one for me to pick.