Author's Note: Alright! I admit, this is the chapter that I have been waiting to write. After this chapter, I will resume my normal updating cycles since I haven't updated my other fanfics. I hope you guys enjoy the story! I think I will rewrite the last chapter since it was actually rushed. I actually took my time on this one. =D I'm trying to do some foreshadowing in the beginning…but it's really hard to catch. I add certain descriptions because of its symbolism…Yeah, AP Literature is finally showing in my writing. xDD

Chapter 8: Secrets of the Ruins
Yoshi's Island

The dark hallways stood eerily quiet. The winds ceased movement and the waves came to a standstill. Bowser Jr. stepped into the hallway and glanced at both directions. The footstep echoed across the hallway. The young Koopa remained frozen still, hoping that it was not heard. After another moment of silence, Bowser Jr. walked through the hallway and entered the kitchen.

"Yellow?" whispered the young Koopa as he began to walk around in search of the yellow yoshi.

There was no response.

"Yellow?" called out Bowser Jr. once again.

The eerie silence haunted the young Koopa, but he continued to walk. He was used to the ominous environment of the castle, which was what his father had intended, but his feet were slightly tremulous and he crossed his arms after he began to feel cold.

"S-stupid Link and s-stupid plan," said Bowser Jr., shivering more from fear than the cold.

Bowser Jr. walked up to a window only to see that it was closed. He looked out at the window and saw two figures run into the jungle. Bowser Jr. opened the window and leaned over.

"What the hell!?" shouted Bowser Jr. as soon as he saw that the two figures were Yellow and Vincent through the moonlight. "Damn you Vincent!" he shouted once again, shaking his fist in the air.

Bowser Jr. immediately ran out of the kitchen. He quickly climbed up the stairs and ran through the hallway until he crashed into Link.

"Watch where you're going!" shouted Link.

"Link! Shut the hell up! I'm trying to get some damn sleep!" shouted Falco from his bedroom.

"Link! Yellow ran away!" shouted Bowser Jr.

"Isn't that a part of your plan…oh, I see what you're doing," said Link giving off a smirk as if he knew what Bowser Jr. was up too. "Yes, Yellow did run away," he added in a terrible acting voice.

"I'm being serious! I saw her run away with Vincent!"

"Yes, I realize that. I'm trying my best to find her. I think we're gonna need some help," said Link, stressing on the word 'help.'

"Damn you Link! She ran away for real! This is not a part of the stupid plan!"

"Oh…trying to add less suspicion? Smart move," whispered Link.

"This is for real! Forget about the stupid plan! We need to get Yellow!"

"Alright, we'll help you get Yellow, but I think we need someone like SD to help us find her," said Link, still thinking that Yellow's run away was a part of the prank.

Bowser Jr. facepalmed. "You're no help. I'll have to get her myself." He turned around ran upstairs toward his room.

"You gotta give him some credit, he's a good actor," said Link.

"Uh…Link, don't you think Bowser Jr. was being serious? He seemed really concerned," said Toony.

"That's the point Toony! He's trying to be very convincing so SD doesn't know about our plan. You see, he even had you for a sec, but I knew what he was up too. I'm too smart," he said, giving off another smirk.

---

SD glanced at the window. The dark clouds covered the once star-lit sky except for the moonlight which stabbed through a tiny opening and shone over the cove where the forbidden ruins remained hidden.

"Anything yet guys?" asked SD to Yoshi and Meta Knight who were busy reading the book that was found in the forbidden ruins.

"There is something about the diamond Yoshi near the entrance to the cavern," said Yoshi, scanning the pages of the book with Meta Knight by his side.

"Diamond Yoshi…the statue in the ruins?" asked SD.

"Yeah, it said it is supposed to hold the power of the curse."

"Yellow is running away!" shouted SD all of a sudden. Meta Knight and Yoshi rushed to SD and looked out at the window. They saw that Vincent was holding Yellow's hand and they were heading straight towards the dock.

"Damn you Vincent!" shouted Yoshi.

SD grabbed a rope and jumped out of the window. Yoshi quickly followed behind. Meta Knight spread his wings and flew out of the window. The three began to chase down the runaways.

Yellow and Vincent emerged out of the jungle and into the beach. They ran up to the dock and dived into the water. SD took sight of them and followed them to the dock with Yoshi and Meta Knight following behind. They dived into the water and followed the runaways to the entrance to the forbidden ruins.

Bowser Jr. stopped at the dock and dived into the water, heading toward the dark opening.

Yellow and Vincent emerged out of the water and ran into one of the hallway at the opposite side of where the diamond yoshi stood. Vincent pulled Yellow into a secret passage. They emerged into a small room. Yellow sat down by the wall, tired from running.

"Are you okay?" asked Vincent.

"Yeah…" said Yellow, breathing heavily. "I'm just really tired."

"I think we can stay here for a bit. This is one of the secret passages that I know. I doubt they'll find us here," said Vincent.

"Are you sure? I still think you should go check in case they really followed us. You can't underestimate them. I'm sure they'll do what they can to find me," said Yellow, with a nervous voice.

"Fine, I'll go check," sighed Vincent. He smiled at Yellow and kissed her cheeks before walking out of the hidden room. Yellow sighed happily. She leaned against the wall and looked up at the ceiling, daydreaming. Her elbow pressed against the wall, causing one of the blocks to sink in.

Suddenly, Yellow fell into a hole that was activated by the block. She screamed. Vincent quickly turned around and ran back to the room, but Yellow was nowhere in sight. He stomped on the ground angrily. "No! This can't happen! Damnit!"

Vincent turned around and walked back into the main hallway. "She must have fallen into a trap…she must be around. I have to get her first."

---

SD, Yoshi, and Meta Knight jumped out of the water. Meta Knight adjusted his mask and squeezed the water out of his cape before following the two Yoshis to the hallway. They stopped where the hallway begins to diverge.

"Which way did they go?" asked Yoshi.

"Don't know…" said SD. He looked at the statue that was on one side of the hallway. "There's the statue, but we'll check it later. We need to find Yellow!"

"Let's go that way!" said Yoshi, pointing to the opposite direction of the diamond statue. "That is the way I went when I came here before. I think Vincent will most likely go there." Yoshi ran toward that direction. SD looked at Meta Knight and nodded before following Yoshi.

"You should be careful Yoshi," warned Meta Knight.

"What? Nothing happened, except that I was attacked by Vincent! I want to see that guy anyways!" exclaimed Yoshi.

"Just watch where you step Yoshi! You're the only one who can help Meta Knight and Yellow with the curse!" shouted SD, catching up with Yoshi.

"Fine…" sighed Yoshi. His pace slowed down. He continued to walk ahead until he spotted a secret passage. "Hey! I remember that spot! Let's go check it out!"

"Alright," said SD, following Yoshi.

Yoshi entered the secret passage way and emerged into a small room. "I remember when I came here. I had a feeling that there was something in here. I don't know why. It's just a weird to see an empty room."

"Really?" asked SD. He started to look around the room.

Yoshi and Meta Knight also joined in the search. They looked in all direction, but they saw nothing but the stoned wall. Yoshi quickly grew frusterated. "Okay! This is getting stupid! Let's get out and continue finding my sister! I wanna get Vincent!" Yoshi kicked the wall. A brick sunk into the wall and a click was heard.

"Yoshi? What did you do?" asked SD worried.

"I don't know," said Yoshi before he fell into a hole.

"What the...whoa!" cried out SD before falling into the hole as well.

Meta Knight spread his wings and dived into the hole. "I cannot leave you!"

Bowser Jr., who was walking nearby the secret passage heard Meta Knight's shout. He spotted the secret passage and entered the small room. He spotted the hole and looked down. "I might as well do this," he said before jumping in.

Yoshi landed hard on the ground. "Ow…"

SD landed on top of him. "Ouf! That hurt…"

Meta Knight spread his wings and gently landed on the ground. "Are you two okay?"

"I think so…agh!" said SD as Bowser Jr. landed on him and Yoshi.

Meta Knight crossed his arms glared at Bowser Jr. "What are you doing in a dangerous place like this? Were you following us?"

"Hey! I was going after Yellow until I saw you guys! I care about her just as much as you guys…probably even more!" retorted Bowser Jr.

"That's great, but could you get off us?" asked SD, winded.

"Sorry," Bowser Jr. jumped of f the two Yoshis. SD stood up and helped Yoshi up.

"Thanks," said Yoshi.

"You're welcome, but now where are we?" said SD as he looked around the room.

"Guys!?" cried out Yellow and surprise.

"Yellow!?" shouted Bowser Jr. He spotted Yellow up ahead and ran straight toward her.

"Yellow!? You're alright!" SD called out.

Yoshi ran up to Yellow and grabbed her wrist tightly. "Sister! What the hell were you doing!? You ran away with Vincent! Have you gone nuts!? Don't you DARE do that ever again!"

Yellow lowered her heard. "I'm sorry brother. It's just that I l-love Vincent and I wanted to be with him. I knew you wouldn't allow me to be with him so he offered me to run away with him," she admitted. Tears began to form onto her eyes.

"Vincent? Why does that name ring a bell?" said SD out loud.

"Please don't do that again sister! I was worried sick!" cried out Yoshi. He began to sob. "I was so scared to lose you. I made a promise to my mother that I would take care of you!"

"Are you finally remembering the name?" asked Meta Knight to SD.

"Yeah," said SD before going over to Yoshi and Yellow. "Yoshi, Yellow, I'm sure things would have been better if I had stayed longer back then and had been able to help your mother, then maybe things would have been happier for you two." SD looked up from where they fell. "Sirius…why did you have to die…?"

"Please don't cry my children…I've seen enough misery after my death," said voice.

"What was that?" asked Yellow nervously.

SD grew shocked as soon as he heard the voice.

"Don't you remember me Yoshi? You don't recognize my voice?" said the voice.

"That voice…can it be?" gasped SD, still in shock.

"M-mom...?" gasped Yoshi.

"Sirius?" gasped SD.

"Yes it's me! Sirius! I missed you so much Yoshi! You've grown so much. Is that my daughter? I never got a chance to see you, but you've grown a lot as well. I can't believe it!"

"H-how's this possible?" gasped Yoshi.

"Sirius please! Show yourself!" called out SD.

"Alright." A white, transparent figure of a Yoshi appeared in front of everyone. She gracefully took a step forward and gazed at everyone with her pupil less eyes. Her true colors were barely shown through the slight variation of the white color. She stood on the solid ground.

"Sirius, it's really you. It's been so long," said SD looking down in shame.

"Why are you feeling shameful?" asked Sirius.

"Sirius, if I haven't been so eager to start a new life with Yuki and Alex, we could of stayed longer and I could of helped you before, but because I didn't, Yoshi and Yellow don't have their mother," he said in a guilty tone of voice.

"Oh SD! It's not your fault! I've died because I was mean to! Please don't blame my death on you! I've already seen Shino outraged! I can't get over it!"

"Mom…dad's fine," muttered Yellow.

Sirius sighed. "No he's not. He still dreams about me every night. He can't get over my death. I can't see him when he dreams because of the nightmares of my death."

"That's awful and I know Cameo feels just as awful about you. If only they could see you again, Sirius," said SD.

"Well, I can only appear in these ruins. That is what I was told. I do wish I can see them, just to tell them that I'm fine and to move on with their life. I don't want them to constantly mourn my death. It makes them and I, feel miserable."

"I see…wait told?"

"Do you think it's easy trying to get back to the mortal world when I'm already dead? I was allowed by the gods. This is their temple."

"A God's temple? Then do they…Sirius, what do you know about the Pure Heart and the curse?" asked SD, looking at the others.

"Yes! We would like to know more about the curse! Your daughter and I are affected by the curse," added Meta Knight.

"Well, a Pure Heart is something that you're born with. There is nothing much else to say about it, but the curse is an entirely different story. There is a cure ,but it's very difficult because the curse is a really powerful spell. Only someone powerful can place the curse, like a Chaos Heart. Only someone just as powerful can cure the curse, like a Pure Heart. The curse is merely a weapon used against the Pure Heart," explained Sirius.

"Well, we figured out something about the cure already, right Yoshi?" SD said to Yoshi.

"Yeah! We found this!" Yoshi took out the stoned heart, which was now pure white. "Whoa…what happened to the stone?" said Yoshi, noticing the change.

"It's pure white now," said SD in shock.

"You're a Pure Heart too? I didn't know it was possible. I thought it can only be inherited once and you showed no sign of power. Yoshi, please be careful! Don't use the power in public very often. You don't want to be cursed like your sister," warned Sirius.

"I have a chance of getting cursed!?" cried out Yoshi.

"If any of the villains find out, then it maybe so. That is why I said to not use it on public. I know you like to show off."

"More reason to be careful, if Yoshi gets cursed, we won't be able to cure Yellow and Meta Knight…and just don't trust Vincent. That name is so damn bugging me," said SD.

"Why don't you trust Vincent? He's a nice guy…I'm in love with him," said Yellow.

"Did you just say, Vincent?" asked Sirius sternly.

"Yeah! My sister practically ran away with that jerk! He's trying to do something to her! Mom? You know something about him?" asked Yoshi.

"Sirius, that name. We met someone with it before, haven't we? My memory isn't that good," said SD, trying to force the memory into his head.

"I know his father. I was supposed to marry him. It was an arranged marriage, but the marriage was actually a secret plot to take over my village, but they were also after me, the Pure Heart. Now do you remember?"

"Ugh…"SD held his head. "Yes…I'm starting to remember now. There was also a threat that could of killed you and Cameo if you didn't come along, but somehow we managed to find out and stop it. I remember now! But I didn't know he had a son! And at that time we didn't know you were a Pure Heart."

"Yeah…" mumbled Sirius.

"Is there something wrong?" asked Meta Knight.

"I think it's about time I tell the truth. I have a secret that I kept even after I died, but I think you should know, especially my daughter. Not long before my arrange marriage, I was angry with my dad about the marriage and so I ran away from home. I went deep into the jungle, but I was found by Vincent. He kidnapped me to his village."

"What!?" SD said in shock.

"He took me to his house and…and…" Sirius lowered her head and sobbed. "I was raped…" She looked at Yellow. "You see my daughter, the Vincent that you're going out with is your half-brother."

Yellow collapsed. "I was making-out with my own brother!?" she shouted in utter shock.

"You were what!?" roared Yoshi.

Bowser Jr. fell to the ground and burst into laughter. "Oh that's priceless! She was making out with her own brother!"

"Yoshi calm down! She didn't know and she doesn't know what happened to you near the lake," said SD.

"I told her to stay away from Vincent! But does she listen to me!? NO! Now look what happened!" angrily shouted Yoshi.

Bowser Jr. walked up to Yellow and kneeled next to her. "Are you okay?" he asked with only a slight concern. He still held a smile on his face.

"Bowser Jr.," said Sirius. Bowser Jr. looked up. "I just want to thank you for being there for my daughter. You really care about her. You remind me of myself when I was younger, teasing others, fighting against others, and pretending to not care. Can you continue to take care of her please? Even though she has her brother, you are with her much more often. I trust you…"

"Uh…okay," said Bowser Jr.

"Can you do me some favors? Tell Shino and my brother that I love them and that I will always watch over them. Tell them that seeing them morn my death only makes me feel worse. I want them to move on. Also, cure my daughter's curse."

"Okay…" mumbled Yoshi.

"Sirius, what does Yoshi need to do in order to remove the curse for good? Asked SD.

"Simple, use a spell. It should be in the book you guys found," said Sirius.

"Hey, that doesn't sound too bad. It's better than the other one in which you have to transfer the curse. Remember Meta Knight?" said Bowser Jr. giving off a smirk.

"I do not wish to remind myself," said Meta Knight.

"One thing however, how do we get out off here?" asked SD.

"There should be a switch around, opening a staircase. You can go up there and go through the second exit," explained Sirius. "It's about time for me to leave. Remember, I will always watch over you guys. I will always be there for you."

"Thank you Sirius…"

"No problem! It was great to see you guys! We'll meet again. …I love you my children! I'm very proud of you! I will always look after you!" said Sirius before disappearing into thin air.

"Bye mommy!" shouted Yellow, waving her hand.

"Bye mom!" said Yoshi, following the same gesture.

"Hope we meet again…Sirius," said SD.

"Are we going back now?" asked Bowser Jr.

"Yeah, let's get out of here. We can check out the book back in the castle. I think the other Smashers are worried about us," said Yoshi.

"I know Link and Toony won't be worried about me," said SD before looking for the switch.

Everyone else began to search around the room. Bowser Jr. was stepping on the ground, hoping the hit a switch. Yellow was merely looking around the room for visible signs. Yoshi was banging on the wall. Meta Knight closely examined the wall.

"Anything yet, guys?" asked SD.

Yoshi hit a switch. The block sunk into the wall and a secret passage was revealed. It was a set of stair case leading back to the top floor. "I found it!" Yoshi called out to everyone.

"Guess that answers my question!" SD shouted. "Let's get out of here!"

They emerged back to the room where trap hole was at. They exited the room and walked through the main hallway until they reached the diamond statue.

"Wasn't there something about the statue in the books?" asked SD.

"That's right!" Said Yoshi, walking close to the statue "The book said that it holds some kind of source of power, which is used for the curse, and that is what we need to get the spell working and we can cure the curse!"

"Alright, we better take the statue with us, shouldn't we?" asked SD, as he got close to the statue with the others.

"I guess…"

"Yoshi, what's wrong?" asked SD with concern.

"Vincent, is still running around the cave, and I want to get some payback, especially since I discovered my powers!"

"It is best if you leave him alone. I am sure he is looking for Yellow. We should leave the cave immediately before he finds out," said Meta Knight. "Let us take the statue."

"I don't care if my brother beats him up anymore. I'm so disgusted," said Yellow.

"Hehe…looks like you weren't meant to have a boyfriend," said Bowser Jr., chuckling.

"Enough of this," hissed Meta Knight. "Are we not going to leave the ruins? Besides, Yoshi is not allowed to use his powers unless necessary."

"He's right," said SD, picking up the statue, which was heavy. "Let's get out of here."

Yoshi led the way out. They walked into another secret passage which led into the room where they found the book. From there, they went out through the second exit. They exited the ruins and walked through the jungle until they spotted the village from a distance.

"There's the village!" pointed out Yellow.

I don't know if that was a cliffhanger, but oh well. I admit, I thought this chapter was really sad, especially if you know character Sirius. T.T She did have a troubled past, but she was such a happy and carefree character overall! I have to give Sirius some credit…keeping a secret like that even to her death…and dealing with such conflict. Oh, but the same can definitely go for Meta Knight, but I shall not say much about it yet. xDD

About the foreshadow I mentioned in the first A/N, what I tried to do is make it seem as if there was a supernatural presence such as the quiet castle, the calm waves and the moon shining through a hole. You remember the theory, when something is too quiet…you're never alone? O.o There really was a super natural presence, in the ruins! Did you know moonlight symbolize romance? 0: Yeah…the moonlight shining was supposed to give a small clue of where the runaways planned to go ;) I had fun with this chapter and I did cry. T.T

So this chapter was mainly serious, but next chapter will be a complete change in mood. ;) I hope you guys enjoy the story.

Julie: omg…anyway…Will the villains find out about Yoshi being a pure heart? Will Meta Knight and Yellow finally be free from the curse? Find out next time in the chapter: The Great Prank on Curse's Final END!!!