Time: ?
"My Queen, we have captured them," Beldam told Jabrael, the dark queen expressing an evil smile.
"Good, good Beldam. You Sirens made the Sages lose their power and you caused the group trying to destroy that portal to be sucked in! And the X-Nauts have the remaining group distracted! At this rate, we can take over easily!"
"I'm glad to hear that we can be your rooks in the chess game, My Queen," Beldam submitted, "And those three groups of useless twerps can be your pawns; sacrificing themselves to bring back the queen. We will do everything in our power to get the X-Nauts to create havoc for the first group, My Queen."
Jabrael nods her head in approval as she sits back and relaxes on her ebony throne, "Good, Beldam. Don't disappoint me now, just like you did to my niece last year. Speaking of, what happened to her after that freaking plumber thing and his cohorts defeated her?"
"Her spirit is no longer in the Palace of Shadow; now the Palace of Shadow is inhabited by dark-loving freaks. Her spirit is bottled up in some library in Rogueport. Some freak named Goombella bottled up her spirit and stored it in that library to research it. Vivian told me all about that once we turned back to the dark side and started working for you," Beldam informed, "We need to free her eventually."
"Not now, Beldam. My first priority is to take over that world, then I can release her. If I don't take over the world somehow, and ooh man trust me, I will, then no worries; I have my Plan B."
"Your Plan B? Umm, isn't that personal...?"
"NOT THE MEDICATION YOU DOLT! My plan!" Jabrael clarified, "Now help the X-Nauts!"
~7~7~7~7~7
Time: ?
"Where the hell are we?" Wendy asked with a nervous expression on her face. Dark things aren't really her specialty; unlike her brothers, she prefers brightness, warmth and the beach. At this thought, Wendy relaxes a little and closes her eyes; ahh yes, the beaches of Water Land, with the humid, salty sea-smelling air. The place where one's mind can simply relax into a sort of trance, where possibly even the most pessimistic person may be oblivious to their own negative thoughts.
Her thoughts are interrupted by a tenor voice, "I believe zat ve are in ze proximity of Jabrael."
"I hope we can use the power of magic to get us out! I feel some sort of strange power!" Wendy continued. Morton, Violent and Larry nodded; the three of them, along with Wendy, can feel the power of magic coursing through their veins. The negative part of this is that the four of them have no idea on how to use their newfound mystical powers to benefit them. Feeling nothing, Ludwig, Alex and Reeka simply shrug their shoulders and pretend to know how the other four feel.
"So that portal basically sucked us into Jabrael's lair. In short, we're doomed!" Violent cried.
"There's no way that we can… get killed…" Alex stuttered.
"None of us were in that vision the Star Spirits gave us… right?" Morton asked.
Then it dawned on the rest of the Koopalings and Violent. Alex and Reeka, of course were not there for the vision, but the two girls pretend to understand, "This is bad. This is very bad…" Larry wailed.
"Indeed it is," Vivian laughed as both she and Marilyn pop up from the ground, "Prepare for your death all of you!"
"Guh!"
"Marilyn, you can talk y'know…" Vivian reminded.
"I know Vivian… It's just my catchphrase!" Marilyn responded.
The two Shadow Sirens once again turn towards the trapped characters, "Muhahahaha! Your execution date had to be pushed back to when Jabrael takes over the world! You all are lucky!" Vivian informed. After she delivered her message, the two Sirens disappear into the ground.
"… Oh great," Reeka sadly stated as the others bowed their heads in shame, the seven of them being defeated.
But there must be hope. There must be.
… Right?
~7~7~7~7~7
After a few guided tours by some other X-Nauts, Mario, Peach and Toad have successfully thrown Bowser and Roy into the west prison of the castle as commanded by Grodus. The west prison boasts several comfortable beds, a television with limited channels and a computer, also with limitations. As Serenity Isle is a totalitarian state, everything, even the media, is biased towards the organization. Absolutely nothing negative about the elites are allowed.
However, the group did not lock the cage; the only 'key' being a password that none of them know.
"What now? We have them... 'locked' up, check. I guess we should go back to Grodus?" Toad asked.
"Yeah… Let's make our way to him-" Peach uttered, but catches sight of a figure, "Oh my!"
There, by the group, stands Lord Crump, "Well well well, look what we have here. Three X-Nauts who kiss up to Grodus, hmm?"
"Y-y-yes sir," Toad muttered in fright.
"Quit lying! I'm so sick of your lying!" Crump complained as he pulls at Peach's head. The head of the suit comes off, revealing Peach! "Peach! You missed us so much that you returned!"
Peach was speechless, "Umm…"
"And who else do we have here...?" Crump asked rhetorically as he pulls off the heads of the two other X-Nauts, revealing Mario and Toad, "Well well, the Mustachioed person! I haven't been this close to you since Keelhaul Key nearly two years ago!"
"How did you know we weren't X-Nauts?" Toad questioned in curiosity.
Lord Crump simply stares at them with a smile on his face, "I'm the second highest ranking X-Naut here. I know the gimmicks imposters have tried throughout the years. Anyway we're talking too much, and not much action. Time for me to take care of some garbage! Prepare to see your lovely room!"
Crump proceeds in picking up Toad and Peach in his right arm, while dragging Mario with his left. After what seems like an eternity for the three captured heroes, they finally arrive at a dank prison with separate metal cells. In each cell is a pile of straw for a makeshift bed, with a bucket for the bathroom. Not only is the sight of the cells gross, but the sight of the whole room. Green and black mold sprout from the corners and the ceiling of the cell, with several skeletons scattered throughout the room. The smell of a dank, humid place is present in the room, as if the room haven't seen sunlight in years. This 'lovely room' is the East Prison.
Crump locks each of the heroes up in their separate cells, "Heh heh! This is where you three belong! And your two other friends will be here in a few minutes! Bye bye!" Crump shouted as he locks the door.
~7~7~7~7~7
Time: 1:08am, Tuesday, October 16, 2001 – Bowser's Castle
Luigi is lying in his queen-sized bed, simply staring into the pitch blackness contained in the room. He himself didn't feel tired at the moment; a tonique that he got from Iggy is still in affect.
"Man… This'll be the longest night ever…" the green-clad plumber complained to himself as he turns on his side, "I shouldn't have taken that potion…"
All of the sudden, a knocking sound is heard on his door. Slowly getting up from his bed, Luigi turns on his lamp, ventures towards the door and cracks it open. On the other side he sees Daisy, with red, swollen eyes and baggy eyelids, "Hey Luigi…"
"Daisy? What're you doing here? It's ten after one!" Luigi asked in a hoarse whisper, his bedroom door still cracked.
"Well… Umm…" Daisy stuttered, "I had… a few nightmares… about Peach and Mario… You and me… Heck, even the Koopas! It might be about… this whole thing…"
Luigi opens the door fully and waves Daisy in, "Come in…"
Daisy nervously walks into Luigi's room and proceeds to sit on his bed.
"So… What exactly happened?" Luigi inquired as he sits on the left side of Daisy.
"Uh… It was like… All of us… got sucked into this, like, dark world. We couldn't escape… because the portal we gone though… well it like collapsed on itself. What would happen to us if that happened?!" Daisy explained, adding the last part of her sentence in a little shriek.
"Daisy," Luigi sighed as he runs his fingers through Daisy's hair, "That won't happen. Why do I know it won't? Because the vision the Star Spirits gave us says that."
"But the vision… It's open-ended!" Daisy cried, "We won't know what will happen!"
"It won't happen," Luigi reassured, "The Star Spirits are on our side, and the Sages granted powers to at least you and Lemmy. If you two got powers then I'm sure at least a few more have…"
"But… That shadow woman thing… The Star Spirits say she's tough!"
"Look Daisy," Luigi sighed once again, "We found weaknesses against her. It'll be tough, but we will win. We have the power of the Sages with us. If that fails, we still have the Star Spirits. We won't lose; not without a great fight."
After Luigi's explanation, Daisy nods her head in an understanding manner, "Thanks a lot Luigi! Sorry for waking you up so early…"
"It's fine. I can't sleep either, not until the stupid tonique stuff wears off," Luigi clarified. Daisy nods her head.
"Okay, but I'm super tired. I think I can go back to sleep. My eyes probably look like a raccoon's! Thanks so much Luigi!"
Both Daisy and Luigi get up from the bed, with Luigi walking towards the door to open it for Daisy. On her way out, Daisy gives Luigi a hug, then a kiss. Daisy leaves the room, still with her swollen eyes and baggy eyelids, but also with a reassured smile on her face; something she picked up from Luigi's room and Luigi himself.
~7~7~7~7~7
"CRUMP!"
Responding to Grodus's yell, Crump walks over to the throne room of the castle, "Yes Grodus?"
"Where are the two prisoners?" Grodus questioned.
"Um… They're in the West Prison, like you asked sir," Crump lied.
"Good. Keep them there. Do NOT transfer them to that FILTHY East Prison! They do NOT deserve to be in there!"
"Yes sir. Heh heh," Crump laughed, "What other things do you want me to do sir?"
"I have a meeting with… Three important people about the… future of Plit in a few. You do know that Plit's trying to be taken over right? Serenity Isle's the first island the conquerors, which are shadow beings, are going to conquer. I need to talk to three people concerning the conquering."
"… What does that have to do with me?" Crump questioned innocently.
"I want you to stay away from the conference room. Do not get even CLOSE to the door," Grodus requested, "It's private stuff!"
"Okay okay sir," Crump replied in a semi-sassy tone, "I'll stay away from your damn conference room."
"Good. Stay away from there, Crump. Round up the X-Nauts and train them; we'll need them in case this shadow apocalypse happens," Grodus commanded. Crump nods his head and dismisses himself before Grodus has the opportunity to.
"Training the X-Nauts? I don't think so, sir," Crump thought to himself as he rubs his hands in a sinister manner.
~7~7~7~7~7
Time: ?
"Hey! Did you guys just see what the Sages did a few hours ago?" Klevar asked the other star spirits in a special meeting in Star Haven. Above the group, several shooting stars are seen in the distance, raining down towards the nebulae below them.
"No. I am quite unaware," Eldstar replied in his wise, thoughtful sentences, "What have the seven done? Any catastrophe?"
"They apparently gave their powers to some of the others. Apparently anyone that favors the same element as the Sages, then that person gets the specific power. Something similar to that," Skolar continued. The two brainiacs of Star Haven then continue to explain a bit more to the Sages.
"So now, a few of them are powered up!" Klevar exclaimed, "However, the negative part about them being powered up is that it will take them quite a few hours, along with a bit of effort, for them to use some of the powers. As they are still mortals, they won't be able to execute the FULL amount of the power."
"So… We should… Kill them off then?" Misstar asked as she displays a look of confusion, "I don't get it…"
"No! No no no no! That's a terrible idea!" Skolar declined, "We are not allowed to kill people off, or bring people back to life! It's barely Tuesday in that world down there. The fight will take place in less than 48 hours!"
"Not to mention Jabrael is weak to basically all the Sages' powers. That's why she went for them before taking over Plit," Klevar added.
"Then why not kill them off Wednesday night?" Misstar suggested.
"No Misstar. We're not killing off anyone," Skolar rejected, "In the vision that we have received from the Ancient Star, they all are mortal. We need to keep it like that."
"How can killing them off, thus destroying the concept of the vision, be destructive?" Muskular questioned, "Maybe them being immortal can actually HELP them in their case!"
"Alright Muskular," Skolar started his explanation, "Long ago, before you, Misstar, and I'm pretty sure Klevar, became Star Spirits, we took a pledge with the Millennium Star, also known as the Ancient Star. Me, Eldstar, Mamar and Kalmar promised to not kill off anyone, and to leave that to Him. If we were to kill off anything, except for things threatening the peace on the multiple planets, we will be supernovaed by His wrath. All the ancestors of the current creatures on Plit, along with several other planets, have also taken this pledge during the Eighth Age, despite the current residents of the Twelfth Age not knowing about this. The only time people should be killed is if the person is evil to the point of them going on a killing spree or causing a type of tyranny. Even during these extreme situations, us Star Spirits don't do much to KILL them, but rather weaken them. If we don't kill off evil people, we will NEVER kill off more than a dozen heroes, even if them being immortal is needed for the good of the planet."
"… Oh," Muskular stood speechless.
"If we can't kill them off… Then we should assist them. You know, like the Sages have done. We can give them our power!" Misstar pointed out. This time, both Skolar and Klevar agree with her.
"Yes! I was going to point that out!" Klevar exclaimed in a booming voice, "We need to give the remaining heroes our power! Whoever doesn't have the power of the Sages should have our powers so they can do unique things!"
"Yeah!" all the Star Spirits exclaimed as they all get up and shoot themselves over towards Plit...