A/N: Wow. A prologue and fifty chapters uploaded in a span of fifteen months. Can't believe this is still going on, and we're almost finished. Speaking of which, I re-edited the prologue (AGAIN) because I keep making last-second changes to prepare writing one of the scenes at the end. Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm stupid.
However, I have to address something serious at the bottom. (Some of you already know, but others probably don't, so I'm putting it here like I did for my other stories.) I hope you'll understand.
Disclaimer: I still don't own Mario or Sonic. I only take credit for the story plot and my original characters.
Chapter 50: On the Edge of Destruction
Location: Toad Town
Princess Peach woke up early, doing her usual hygienic routine and putting on her pink dress, crown, gloves, and accessories. After having a cup of tea for breakfast, she walked out the castle doors. She stood on the bridge and stared at the sunny sky, the humongous Oblivion still swirling ominously.
She sighed. Amy explained about the Shadow Spirit's intentions of sending his minions to attack any areas where the dark holes linger. With the help of Daisy and Toadsworth, Peach made sure every realm, far and nearby, were aware of the situation. Yoshi went back home to lead the other dinosaurs for shelter and battle. DK and Diddy plan to recruit the other Kongs to defend Kongo Jungle. Even Wario and Waluigi were notified of this despite them rarely contributing to the community and causing mischief most of the time. All the other locations and their residents were in check, too.
However, the only one she had not talked to at all was Bowser. And there were many reasons why. Yet, she couldn't help but feel guilty. The Koopa King wasn't the main threat right now. He probably deserved to know about this information. But since he's known to be stubborn and unwilling to listen or participate, which generally forced him to team up with Mario and herself, she was reluctant to divulge.
Thankfully for her people, there was no chaos in the Mushroom Kingdom. But Peach remained worried. She hasn't heard anything from Mario, Luigi, or the others in Evershade Valley. Were they alright? Was the Dark Moon restored? Did something terrible happen? Was Edge there to cause more mayhem?
These questions bothered the princess. Her morale was low since things have gotten out of hand since Luigi's birthday.
Suddenly, Peach heard the castle doors slam open. She turned around to see Toadsworth, Toad, and Toadette running towards her.
"Princess! We have horrid news!"
Well then. That sure enlightened her day even more, didn't it?
"Toadsworth, what's wrong?"
"I just received a call from Professor E. Gadd! There was trouble in Evershade Valley!"
"What kind of trouble?" she cautiously inquired.
"When they reached Evershade, Sonic and Tails were seized by some ghosts and were replaced with Edge's robot minions!" Toad squealed.
"When Mario and Luigi entered the mansion, Mario went with the fake Sonic and Tails while Luigi and Colombo went another way," Toadette added.
"Sonic's friends were saved at least, as well as the real Sonic and Tails. But they found out that Myster Edge was planning to revive someone named Dimentio," Toadsworth placed a hand on his cheek.
Peach's eyes were filled with disbelief. "What?!"
"It's all true! We were hearing him on speaker!" Toad bellowed.
Peach thought back to the nightmares Luigi explained. What seemed to be bad dreams turned out to be true. Edge was planning to revive his fallen partner who was none other than the master of dimensions and the pleaser of crowds.
"Are Mario and Luigi okay?"
"That's the worst news!" Toadette shook her head with grief. "Mario was apparently taken, and Luigi's in danger!" Peach's mouth was agape from this revelation.
"What about Luigi being in danger?"
Everyone turned to see Daisy walking out to join the group.
"Princess Daisy," Toadsworth addressed, "you see..." He didn't know how to say it so he wouldn't upset the flower princess.
"Luigi was duped when he fought a fake Possessor and was beaten by Edge again!" Toad panicked.
Daisy's eyes enlarged. "What did you say?!"
"I said Luigi was duped by facing a fake Tough Possessor! That means the last Dark Moon piece is still out there. And not only that, but the shadow guy kidnapped Mario again and stole the Chaos Heart!"
"You're serious?!"
"We're not kidding at all!"
"Hold on. The Chaos Heart that was used to create the Void years ago... I thought that was already gone."
"The professor explained it to us. Dimentio planted a replica in Luigi's heart before he was deceased. Then, Edge stole it so he could use it to revive him!" Toadette clarified.
"That's terrible!"
"Wait a second. How did E. Gadd know about all this?" Peach was bewildered.
"Apparently Master Luigi and the Sonic team were told by a tall man with a hat and cape and a white-haired woman with a butterfly decoration. According to E. Gadd, their names were Blumiere and Timpani," said Toadsworth.
The pink princess was speechless once again. "You mean, they're alive?!"
"It seems so."
Peach slightly exhaled, taking in this information slowly. "Is there anything else we should know?"
"Right now, the professor is searching for the final Dark Moon fragment. Sonic and his friends should be heading here as well."
"We're running out of time. The Oblivion looks like it could cover the whole sky in a few hours," Toad felt anxious.
"But we heard from Amy that we have until tomorrow morning or something around that time," Toadette thought.
"Regardless, this is seriously bad," Daisy murmured. Her thoughts were focused primarily on Luigi.
Peach clasped her hands, trying to stay hopeful. "I'm not sure if this could get any worse."
Oh, boy... You spoke too soon, Your Highness.
Just then, the Toad denizens were screaming all over the town. Usually, this happened whenever an evil source entered the kingdom. And the typical source-
"HRRRRGH!"
-was the one who made that loud roar.
Peach, Daisy, and the Toads turned towards the large creature who made his way to the castle.
"BWAHAHAHA! Princess Peach! You're here to witness my next act of revenge!" Bowser smirked.
"HAHAHAHA!" the others heard a different sound, this one being an annoying laugh. Bowser Jr., flying in his Koopa Clown Car, swooped down to join his father's side. "Lookie here, if it isn't Mama Peach, the skinny tangerine, and a bunch of mushroom heads! How's about we take over this place and get rid of those stupid Mario Bros.?"
Daisy huffed at the brat's insult and stepped forward. "Now's not the time to start another invasion. We're already expecting one from Edge!"
"The Shadow Spirit is planning to send his robots from the Oblivion, which are those black holes that are floating in the sky," Peach pointed out the one above her castle. The Koopas saw it, but they were anything but interested. "Soon enough, they will consume every single world!"
"Where have I heard that before?" Bowser asked.
"The Void, remember?"
"I knew that! That was a rhetorical question!"
Daisy rolled her eyes. "Sure you did."
"Grr... Shut up! I can overcome that pathetic shadow and take over the universe like I did twice!"
"Except Mario and Luigi would defeat you."
"No, they won't! Speaking of which, I see that neither one of them are here! Are they too cowardly to go against me this time?"
"For your information, they are not here, and they aren't afraid of you!"
"Hmph, I know Mario really isn't, but his brother is always scared of everything, including Papa!" Jr. boasted. "And that mustached man wouldn't have the guts to take us on alone!"
"Regardless, with them out of the picture, this will be easy to kidnap you!"
"Not on my watch!" They all heard a cocky voice. Next thing they knew, Jr. got knocked in the head, followed by a spin dash on Bowser. "Glad to drop on in!" the blue hedgehog landed on the bridge in front of the princesses and Toads.
"Sonic!" Peach caterwauled.
He gave a thumbs-up and his signature smile. "How's it going, Peach? Hope I wasn't late to join the fight party!"
"GWAH! Must you ruin this moment?!"
He turned around and waved a finger at the Koopa King. "Heh! Sorry, tubby! Didn't mean to rain on your parade!"
"Sonic, where are your other friends?" Daisy asked.
"They're catching up. I went ahead of them to see what's going on. Then I saw these two here and decided to give them a little sneak attack! I must say, they were too slow to see it coming!"
"No wonder Eggman hates you! You make terrible puns, and you're so irritating and hard to get rid of!"
"Hey, I didn't say one, but there's probably someone out there who likes my play on words."
"Guess what? I'm not one of them. And now..." Bowser snapped his fingers.
Sonic heard shrieks from Peach and Daisy. They, alongside the Toads, were tied together by rope. He then heard Tails yell for him.
"Sonic!"
Behind Bowser, his friends were captured by the Koopalings. They were also tied down with rope. Ludwig shot a magical ball at the hedgehog. Without any reaction time, Sonic fell onto the bridge as his arms and legs were detained.
"Heh, got him!"
"Great job, Faker. You sure handled these idiots well," Shadow snarled. "Thought it was smart to go by yourself?"
"Oh, lay off, Shadow."
"BWAHAHAHA! Well done! We distracted you idiots as it was my plan all along! Now, Koopas, let's head back to my castle! I'm sure you'll all have fun rotting in a dungeon for the rest of your lives!"
"What's the point? Everything will only last for another day!" Silver protested.
"And why would I only last that long?"
"Did they not tell you the story?" Espio questioned.
"The Oblivion is gonna get rid of everything because that shadow guy started it!" Vector explained.
"I don't want to die! And I don't want to be a prisoner again!" Charmy cried.
"Oh, shut it, you stingy wasp," Wendy scowled.
"We'll bring these chumps to the airship, Dad!" Morton called.
"Good! Now for you guys," Bowser stared at the six tied up on the bridge, "I'll let Jr. escort you."
Suddenly, Lemmy found something tingly, yet powerful. "Hey! What's going on?! OW!" he yelled.
"Lemmy! What's the matter? YOW!" Iggy screamed as if he got zapped.
"Grr... What is going on back there?!" The King turned around to see said Koopalings knocked to the ground. Later, a couple of flashes appeared near the other five.
"Where da heck did that come from?!" Roy grunted.
"I don't know! But I think- OUCH!" Larry felt something electrifying that he got sent back ten feet. The same thing occurred to Ludwig, Wendy, Morton, and Roy so that all seven Koopalings were disabled from whatever stopped them. The Sonic gang was later freed by the ropes being cut in a quick motion.
"Who's doing this?!" Bowser was confused and angry simultaneously.
Jr. gasped. "Dad! It's coming from- WHOA!" the small Koopa fell out of his vehicle and fell onto his stomach.
"Alright! No more funny business! Who's behind all this?"
A crack of thunder boomed so that everyone heard it. Later, a bolt nearly hit Bowser had he not jumped backwards. Bowser gazed up and found the person responsible for interfering.
"You!"
Everyone shifted to where Bowser was looking and saw someone standing on the castle balcony in front of the famous stained-glass window with Peach's image embedded into it.
"Luigi!" Daisy and Peach happily cheered.
The green man jumped down and got rid of the ropes to free the princesses, the Toads, and Sonic.
"Yo, thanks for the help, Luigi. We weren't expecting you to arrive this early, especially me!"
"You're welcome, Sonic," he responded valiantly.
"GAH! Green 'Stache! Must you get in my way again?! And where's Mario?!"
"He's not here. And before you jump to conclusions, just listen to me."
"I'm not gonna listen to anyone, especially to nuisances like you!"
"Bowser, please. I'm begging you to-"
"Can it, you little weed! You're one of the reasons I got beaten down in Sparkling Waters! I'm going to pulverize you until you turn into ash! And I'll do the same to Mario once I find him!"
As Bowser started running towards him, Luigi closed his eyes, clenching his fists.
"Luigi, move!" Peach shouted.
"I didn't want to do this, but..." He waited for an audio cue for Bowser when was very close to him. He raised his right claw, ready to slash the green plumber. But to the Koopa's disbelief, something else happened. Even Sonic and his friends were surprised.
"THUNDER!"
Luigi extended his arms out to release two strong thunderbolts from his palms, directing them to the large turtle. They shocked Bowser and pushed him far back that he went flying in the air. He flew further than Larry did! The Mobians ran away to the side to avoid the incoming Koopa. Bowser landed on his shell, struggling to get up.
"Whoa," Tails breathed.
"Incredible," Silver whispered.
"No way," Daisy thought.
"Wow, Luigi. How'd you do that?" Toad blinked.
"My Thunderhand."
"You mean, the thunder powers you learned in the Beanbean Kingdom?"
"Yeah," Luigi nodded at Toadette.
"I can definitely see how you've improved. You don't look like you're on a possessive rampage like the first two times! Blumiere must have taught you well," said Sonic.
"He sure did. He's not here with me though. The Count said he would return to his hiding spot in the Treacherous Mansion with Timpani, Duplimore, and Duplicit. But thanks to them, I'm ready to take on Edge."
"That's great!"
"Hey!" Luigi and the others stared towards Jr. who was getting up on his feet. Even the Koopalings recovered from the plumber's previous attacks. "This isn't over yet!"
"Need some help, Luigi?" Sonic offered.
"I would like that."
"We'll help, too!" Vector raised a fist in the air.
"And so will we!" Daisy took out her parasol with Peach following her. The Toads stayed behind on the bridge.
Everyone split up on the castle grounds to take on the young Koopas. Luigi and Sonic focused on Bowser Jr. Peach and Daisy took on Wendy. The Chaotix countered Lemmy, Larry, and Iggy. Tails, Shadow, and Silver teamed up against Ludwig, Roy, and Morton.
The princesses dodged left and right from Wendy's bouncing rings. Daisy took an opportunity to swing her umbrella into one of them. It barely missed Wendy.
"Hey! Don't retaliate with my magic!"
Peach used her heart power to stun the female Koopa. When she was successful, she hit a moving ring at Wendy. Daisy ran forward to whack her away.
"Great job, Daisy!"
"You too, Peach! That's girl power right there!"
Vector whirled his tail as Larry, Iggy, and Lemmy jumped to avoid tripping. They took out their wands and spewed many colored fireballs at the Chaotix. Charmy flew away easily while Espio camouflaged himself.
"Charmy, go for the little one!" Espio ordered while camouflaged.
"Huh? Who said that? And why'd he call me little?"
"Because you're the smallest out of every Koopa here, idiot," Larry scoffed.
Vector ran forward to face Iggy, jumping away from the green fire he shot from his wand.
"Ugh! How do I keep missing my aim?"
"I was gonna say that I'm probably a good defender, but that works, too!" The crocodile relied on his powerful hands and jaws to crush the green-shelled Koopaling. After dealing a couple of smashes, he whipped his tail a second time to wail him over to where Wendy was laying.
Charmy buzzed down like an airplane descending onto a runway. Except his target was Lemmy who tried to stop him with a colorful bomb. Charmy saw the projectile in time to dodge it. Afterwards, he dashed into the Koopa, and his stinger added extra damage to leave a red spot on his skin.
"Ouch! Aw, man! I hate bee stings!"
"Yes! I got him down!" Charmy circled around with glee.
Espio was stealthy and quiet to sneak an attack on Larry. With an acrobatic flip and kick, there was no contest between him and the fallen Koopa.
"Darn it! How was that fair?!" he complained before losing his energy.
The chameleon reappeared. "And that's how it's done."
Tails pulled out a wrench and engaged in a weapons clash with Ludwig, defending and attacking like two knights with swords. The fox was about able to use his wits to outsmart the Koopa and parried his tool into his stomach. Ludwig was only able to release a single fireball in desperation before Tails swiped his namesakes to throw him into the Koopaling pile.
"Ludwig's done!" Tails yelled.
"Ugh, makes me wish my tail was useful," he slurred.
Silver fought Morton using his telekinesis, preventing his magic from reaching him and his allies. His quick reaction time allowed him to jump whenever his foe performed a shock wave. Silver teleported to him, catching the Koopa off guard. With a successful spin dash, Morton was beaten.
"Another one down!" called Silver.
"Aargh! Didn't see that coming," Morton moaned.
Shadow used his speed to quickly take down Roy like he did on the night of Luigi's birthday. To the Koopa's misfortune, he barely got a chance to fight.
"Drat! I hate dat hedgehog!"
Shadow merely huffed to himself.
Luigi and Sonic took turns fighting Bowser Jr. who went to desperate measures by returning to his Koopa Clown Car and pulling out his magic paintbrush. He shot graffiti slushes which only made the ground slippery. Sonic almost fell, but Luigi helped him up. The plumber released a bolt, but Jr. evaded it. He tried to fight back by spewing spike balls from the car's mouth. The hedgehog effortlessly ran past them and performed a homing attack to make Jr. fall out a second time.
At that moment, Bowser finally got up, and boy, was he furious. With Sonic and Jr. occupied, he ran over to Luigi when he wasn't expecting him. Or, that's what he thought.
The lean Mario brother swiftly zapped Bowser with another thunderbolt. Instead of flying back, he was stunned for a brief second. When he tried to move an inch, he trembled as his arms and legs felt like spaghetti. Bowser instantly fell to the ground, opening his eyes to glower at Luigi. He mirrored his face with his signature death stare.
"I wouldn't have done this if you let me explain," he bluntly spoke to him. A little bit of smoke emitted from Bowser's nostrils. "To make it short, Mario isn't here."
"And what makes me think you're telling the truth?"
Luigi resisted the urge to facepalm. "Did I ever try to lie or manipulate you?"
The Koopa switched topics, refusing to answer his question. "Where he is?"
"Ow!" Jr. was tossed aside to fall next to his dad.
Sonic walked over to support Luigi's side. "He already told you, King Blockhead. He's not here! He got kidnapped!"
"King Boo took him again?"
That time, Luigi slapped his hand on his forehead.
Sonic rolled his eyes. "No, it was the same person who captured you, your annoying son, the princess, and almost everyone else on Luigi's birthday, as well as us after we crushed you in Sparkling Waters."
"You mean, that stupid shadow guy?!"
"Ding ding ding! Our lucky contestant has FINALLY figured out the problem!"
"Urgh, I repeat, no wonder Eggman finds you annoying," Bowser grumbled. He slowly stood up, causing Luigi and Sonic to get into their stances. "I'm not attacking you this time. I'm not willing to get shocked for the third time."
Their friends congregated to join them. Jr. took a while to compose himself as he stood next to Bowser.
"Argh, what's the big deal with those lightning powers anyway?" the kid criticized.
"It's thunder," Luigi corrected.
"Whatever! Those bolts hurt me!"
"Oh, boo-hoo. Grow up and deal with it," Sonic chastised.
Jr. was still mad that he wanted to make another remark, but his father stopped him.
"Where exactly is he?"
The two-tailed kit stepped forward to answer. "We don't know. We were in Evershade last night with Luigi, and we met with Blumiere."
Bowser blinked before realization hit him. "You mean that top hat dude with the cape and the floating book?"
"Yes. He's alive with Timpani, too," Peach explained.
"And as far we know, Mario and I were tricked to split up, only for him to get caught in Edge's possession again," Luigi finished.
"You seriously don't know where your brother is?" Bowser asked once more for confirmation.
The man shook his head. "No one does."
"Except me and my master."
Everyone looked around when they heard a mechanical voice.
"Hey! Up there!" Toad pointed.
They spotted the Omega clone landing in between the Koopas and the heroes.
"What's he doing here?" Silver wondered.
"Hell if I know," Shadow replied.
"What do you want?" Luigi raised an eyebrow.
"I have a pre-recorded message for the man in green," Alpha lectured. "This also applies to everyone else though."
"Let's just hope this doesn't self-destruct like all of Eggman's videos in the past," Sonic crossed his arms. (1)
Alpha's body rearranged to display a screen. It turned on to reveal the Shadow Spirit's leering face.
"Good morning, peasants. You probably already know this, but as of right now, you have less than twenty-four hours to try to suspend me if you want to save your precious little worlds. I also assume you're probably fighting the robots in the locations my underlings have trespassed. But, in order to truly retain your pathetic dimensions, you'll have to fight me and get rid of the Oblivion before time runs out. Even if you do the first, which you won't, at least my partner will return to resume the mayhem he tried to pull off before he was dead. And speaking of my partner, he'll be so happy to see your face again, Luigi."
Many sets of eyes were narrowed, most notably from said man. The others were either in shock or bewilderment.
"I prefer if you come to me alone. But, you have the option to bring some allies with you. Just know that they will also be threatened by my powers. They'll suffer the same torture I dealt to you. Possibly worse by tenfold. So, if you want to ensure their safety until the worlds crumble, follow my suggestion. If not," Edge paused to chuckle, "I'll gladly dig up their graves."
Luigi didn't blink once. His hands were clenched so hard that electricity was flowing around his knuckles. He tried to settle down in the case he accidentally touched someone with his Thunderhand. Regardless, he couldn't stop glaring at the video.
"In the end, I will have avenged Dimentio by reviving him, and he'll gladly use your body as a vessel, the same way he used you to create the super version of himself. Hope you enjoy your last several hours before rotting in hell, Green Plumber."
The screen transitioned to black, and Alpha's body returned to normal.
"I highly advocate following Myster Edge's orders. Otherwise, you will pay the consequences." The robot blasted off to leave the party.
"That's absolutely dreadful!" Toadsworth was appalled.
"We're going to be screwed at this rate," Vector grunted.
"Despite time constraints, we haven't lost yet. Still, things just got more serious than before," Espio declared.
"Now do you believe us?" Sonic turned to Bowser.
"Hmph. Maybe. I'll just say that you're all lucky I decided to not pounce on you."
"Whatever you say," Luigi sighed.
"You okay, Luigi?" Tails questioned.
He took a deep breath before exhaling through his nose. "Just conflicted." The entire group understood the position he was in. "If I allow any of you to join me to fight Edge, he'll likely take advantage of it. The odds are in his favor rather than ours. And besides, I don't think you deserve to suffer as much as I did."
"Luigi..." Daisy placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm serious," he interrupted. "I'm not saying you're too weak or not useful. You've all been helpful in your own ways."
"Except for these two and the other lousy turtles," Shadow pointed. Bowser and Jr. stared at the ebony hedgehog.
"Either way, I'm not risking anyone to lose their lives, even if I need help."
"But from the way things look, we'll all die if you don't have any extra support! Edge could possibly destroy you for good, and Dimentio might take over your soul! I don't want that to happen to you, Luigi!" Tails looked desperate to change his mind.
"I'm sorry, guys. I don't want you all to die. I would gladly sacrifice my life to save everyone. Especially for Mario."
"Luigi, there must be another way to solve this," Peach contemplated.
"I agree," Sonic nodded. "Plus, you don't know where you need to go to encounter that shadow creep."
Suddenly, there was a loud honk that caught everyone's ears. It was followed by some barking. Everyone turned around to see Professor E. Gadd riding in his Super Poltergust 3001 with Colombo in the back seat. He unbuckled his seat belt and removed his helmet. The Polterpup ran up to his owner and was caught in his hands. He gently set him down and faced the short, old man.
"Luigi! I have excellent news!" He then paused when he saw the Koopa tyrant. "Oh, well, this is awkward. Might I ask why he's here?"
"Hey, what am I, chopped Turtley Leaves?!" Jr. complained.
"Long story," Luigi waved it off. "What is it, Professor?"
"Zephyr and I were working together to relocate the final Dark Moon fragment and the real Tough Possessor. It seems that he's lurking at the top of Star Hill!"
"Star Hill?" everyone but the Koopas repeated.
"And my instinct also tells me that Mario was taken there, too!"
Luigi thought for a second. "He must have taken him into the Oblivion."
Sonic widened his eyes. "You think so?"
"If I could be taken into the Oblivion in my dreams, it can happen in real life. And besides, the Oblivion is probably the same as entering the Void. It's probably as hazardous, but I don't know for sure."
"But how are you going to get there? You can't really fly up into the sky by yourself," Charmy pointed out.
"Oh ho ho! That's where you're wrong!" E. Gadd chuckled. "I actually made something special for an occasion like this. I just never thought I would be able to use it!"
"What is it, Professor?" asked Tails.
"That, my fox friend, is my E. Gadd Eclipse Cannon! It works like Warp Cannons to go from world to world, except my cannon allows anyone to be launched to anywhere! I'll probably have it patented in a couple years if successful!"
"Not to get your hopes down, Professor, but I think the Bob-ombs beat you to that invention long before you did."
"What do you mean?"
"Mario shot to the moon with the Bob-ombs' large cannon, the Grande Boom, in Fahr Outpost. (2) It works the same way."
"Oh," E. Gadd was disappointed, but he waved it off. "I guess I'll have to work on something else innovative. Regardless, I can send you into the Oblivion above Star Hill so you can counter that evil shadow and save your brother!"
"That's fine. I'll head out now."
"Hold up, Green 'Stache," Bowser hindered him before he could leave. "What am I supposed to do about this?"
"Since Edge is sending robots to wherever a dark hole floats over, you might as well go back to your castle and defend it."
"Why are you suggesting me to this?"
"Well, Eggman's base was taken over by Edge's robots. The same could happen to your kingdom if you don't put a stop to them. If the worlds end up being saved, at least your castle wouldn't be wrecked, and you won't have to rebuild it again."
"Especially after you and your Koopas had to construct hundreds of others after Mario kept beating you," Daisy teased, earning a grunt from Bowser.
"How do you know about this?" Jr. narrowed his eyes.
"Knuckles told us."
"The guy who always gets fooled by Eggman?"
"That's our Knucklehead," said Sonic.
"But why are you telling me this? We're enemies, although Mario's my main and more annoying archrival."
"True, but that doesn't mean you and your troops deserve to have your place trashed intentionally. We invade your castle to rescue Peach or anyone else in trouble. If anything was destroyed, we didn't mean to ruin your home."
"Say that to Mario when you two deliberately ruined my castles in Dinosaur Land."
"Well, you did invade to kidnap me while we were on vacation, and you trapped Yoshi and his dinosaur friends in eggs that one summer," Peach huffed.
"And for the record, I was against obliterating your fortresses," Luigi added. "Either way, all I can say is to go back home and protect your land. It's better than sitting around and waiting for the impending calamity to finish us all."
Bowser crossed his arms and pondered. "Well, better tell Kamek and Kammy to go heal all of us up before we can even hold the fort down."
"You sure about this, Dad?"
"I have a bone to pick with Mario, but I'll wait when he's actually here. I'll follow your suggestion, Green 'Stache. But just know that I'll come back for a real brawl."
"Fair enough."
"Koopalings!" Bowser reverberated. "We're heading back home! No questions asked!"
The seven slowly got up after their defeat. Based on the tone of his voice, they decided not to talk back to him. An airship flew over to the castle and landed on the grass. Kamek was at the helm.
"Lord Bowser! You have the captives ready?"
Bowser lifted his head to speak with him. "Change of plans. We're going back to Dark Land."
"Excuse me? You want to return?"
"Yes. I'll explain on the way."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure," he was losing his patience.
"Whatever you prefer, Master."
"You better save these damn worlds or else," the king pointed a claw at Luigi.
He responded with a small gulp. "I'll try."
Bowser gave him one last look before he led the Koopas onto the ship. After flying away from the Mushroom Kingdom, Luigi took off his cap and wiped his forehead with a sleeve.
"You okay, lad?" E. Gadd asked him.
"Let's just get this over with," he prepared to head off.
"Oh, no," Sonic stopped Luigi with his hand. "Not without me, you're not."
"Sonic-"
"Listen, dude. I'm helping you save Mario and fight Edge. I won't take 'no' for an answer. Plus, I was on bad terms with Mario the last time we actually talked. I want to rescue him so we can bury the hatchet."
Sonic was known to be assertive to do things his way. Luigi didn't want to waste time and argue.
"Fine. You can come with me."
The hedgehog smirked. "Thanks, man."
"I want to join you guys, too," Tails demanded. "I've been with you for a lot as well."
Even though the young fox would be in a risky scenario, he had a strong feeling to trust him. "Okay, Tails. You can help as well."
"Don't worry. We'll get Mario back and defeat Edge."
"What about the rest of us?" Silver questioned.
"I think you can return to Mobius to help your friends defend your planet. The rest can stay here to preserve the kingdom. It's smarter to bring fewer people so not everyone will be threatened by Edge's cruelty."
"It's probably the most ethical decision to make," Peach assented.
"We'll gather any Toads to rally up," considered Toadsworth.
"We might as well return to Station Square now," Shadow urged.
"Don't we need a Power Star to unlock the pipe?" Vector scratched his head.
"I still have mine from earlier," Luigi pulled the shining object out of his pocket. "I can let you borrow it to get back home."
"Nice! Come on, fellas! Let's go stall those robots!"
"Good luck out there, guys," Espio prayed.
"Thanks. We're gonna need it," Sonic winked.
After Luigi unlocked the blue pipe, the Chaotix, Silver, and Shadow entered inside and closed the hatch.
"Luigi." He turned around towards the voice. "Just promise you'll be okay," Daisy told with seriousness and worry.
His face blushed in red, but he didn't seem to care. He took her hands in his and stared into her eyes. "I promise, Daisy."
She desperately pecked his cheek and hugged him tightly. "Please be safe," she whispered into her ear.
Luigi returned the hug and murmured back. "Lo farò, il mio bel fiore." (3)
"Bark! Bark!" Colombo got in between and tried to cheer them up. The two chuckled, as well as their friends.
"Alright, gentlemen," E. Gadd clapped his hands. "Let's return to my bunker for our final preparations, and then I'll shoot you to Star Hill! The final battle is almost here!"
The green plumber closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Simultaneously, he clenched his fists as a sensation of thunder roamed through his blood and veins. He was more determined to get past this madness.
"Mario, please hang on. I'll get you back as soon as possible. Myster Edge, you and Dimentio will NOT win. You will be defeated, this I swear."
END OF CHAPTER
Luigi is really in a pickle. He'll be entering the Oblivion to confront Myster Edge and whatever will try to hinder him from saving the worlds and finding his older brother. The others must stay behind to defend their homes from the robot invasions, save for Sonic, Tails, and Colombo. How long will this journey take? Can everything return to normal before it all goes to waste? As always, thanks for reading. Feel free to review, follow/favorite, etc. Now for some bad news...
I'm going to be busy for next couple of months as I need to focus on finishing my spring semester. And immediately following that, I will be starting my rotations, which will last for a month. Because this story is almost finished, I'll do my best to complete it before I begin my rotations. However, I may not be consistent with the upload schedule. As for my other stories, New Brotherhood and Revengeful Resistance, I have put them on hiatus as of 3/24. (I have already explained this in both of them.) I'll have to figure out when I can resume writing these fanfics, but it won't happen for a while. Once I get back, they'll be my top priorities over the summer once I finish HB. If I don't complete it in time, I will also put this story on hold until further notice. I apologize in advance, but I hope you all understand my dilemma. Thank you for your support. This is TGN, signing off.
Post-Chapter Notes:
(1): In Sonic X, Eggman would send an old minion named Bokkun to deliver Television Bombs that displayed video messages to Sonic and his friends. They're generally used to transmit information about his latest plans, threaten him, and/or blow up in their faces as a comical taunt to cause mayhem. This is where I got the idea of how to convey Edge's remark. (No explosions were involved.)
(2): In Paper Mario: TTYD, this massive cannon shot Mario to the moon so he could reach the X-Naut Fortress and find the last Crystal Star. I didn't know it had an official name until I searched it up.
(3): This translates to 'I will, my beautiful flower.'