Mushroom Corporations Group: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, DK, Dixie, Toadette, Goombella, Kooper, Parakarry, Spike/Paper-Yoshi, Vivian, Bowser, Larry, Wario, Pauline, Mona, Starlow, Grodus, Lord Crump, Boshi, Bleck/Blumiere, Fly Guy, Kody, E. Gadd, Rosalina, Monty Mole, Mimi, Toadari, Tadano, Paraklyde
Hospital group: Toadsworth, Bowser Jr., Morton, Lemmy, Ludwig, Clawdia, Toodles
Island group: Tatanga, Beldam, Roy, Doopliss, Dimentio, Diddy, Fire Bro/Konnor
Moon: TEC
ST. TOADOFSKY'S HOSPITAL
After the heroes went away to finish everything once and for all, people went back into the hospital and helped clean up the cafeteria and take away the bodies.
"Clawdia…um…what do you…w-wanna do with…Kenneth and Katia?" Lemmy nervously asked to the grief stricken koopa, who couldn't even bear to look towards the cafeteria as she sat in a corner of the lobby with Morton, Ludwig, and Bowser Jr. nearby.
"Wh…wh-wh-what do you mean!? I don't understand what you're saying!" Clawdia yelped as she continuously wiped her eyes, looking beyond exhausted and very shaken.
"I…uhh…I-I mean that…they're cleaning up the cafeteria and…y-you know…getting rid of the bodies…so…do…you want…them to be cremated?" Lemmy reiterated even more nervously, knowing that this might trigger her further understandably.
Clawdia looked at him in both horror and confusion, then to the other koopalings who all looked nervous yet very sympathetic.
"C-CREMATED!? But why would…" she shouted, but then covered her mouth as other people glanced at her.
"Clawdia…we know how hard this is. We know the pain you're feeling, and I'm so fucking sorry we're even asking you this, b-but they're cleaning up the cafeteria, and…I don't think there's gonna be room to stow away any more bodies because so many other people have died. So…god…what do you wanna do with them?" Ludwig said delicately, tearing up and feeling deeply for her pain as it also reminded him of losing Iggy and Wendy.
"I…well…c-can I see them? Please? I-Is there any way to see them!?" Clawdia asked as she frantically stood up. The koopalings rushed over to her in case she stumbled.
"I mean, uhh, I think we can go to the cafeteria and take a look…if that's what you want! But are you sure that's what you want?" Morton awkwardly asked, clueless on what to do in this situation.
"Yes. Because if there's no more room for any bodies…obviously they'll have to be…I-I'm not just gonna bury them in the ground…or…NO! Would that be better then!? I don't wanna disrespect them by cre…OHHHHH, I CAN'T EVEN SAY IT!" Clawdia responded and bursted into tears again, sliding back down to the floor, shaking further.
"Mom, it's okay! It's okay! I mean, no, not okay, you don't need to see them if you're not ready! And you don't need to choose just yet! We're here for you…we're all here for you…" Junior assured her and cried with her, feeling the closest to her and deepest for her and then hugged her tight.
"This really just fucking sucks. It's SO messed up that she and other people here who've lost their loved ones in the cafeteria have to choose so quickly whether or not their bodies get cremated or buried into the earth. They gotta choose that crap so soon after they got murdered, literally like, what, not even two hours ago!? All of this is such bullshit!" Ludwig angrily ranted to his brothers.
"Yeah, seriously. They expect people to make those decisions when their losses just happened!? I mean, I know it's obviously not the helpers' fault that that's the way it is, but man, that's just so…backwards. Like we got sent back to Medieval times where death and wars were way more prominent compared to now," Morton added in disgust.
"I mean, damn, if things go even further south than they are right now, if much of the world is destroyed, we'll practically be living in Medieval times…" Lemmy also added.
Clawdia suddenly got up again and wiped her eyes with her arms then said, "I need to see them. I can't wait any longer! I must see them!"
"CLAWDIA, WAIT! Um…let us go with you at least. You shouldn't do this on your own!" Ludwig advised, preparing for the worst when it comes to her seeing her daughter and husband's bodies.
"Yeah, come on, we'll go in together," Junior said, grabbing her hand, nervous as hell for what's about to happen.
"O…okay. Thank you. Um…okay…" Clawdia softly replied, appreciating the support she was getting from her sons. It warmed her heart right there in the midst of her grief. They slowly walked over to the cafeteria, seeing many people clean up the debris and moving bodies out.
"Um…over there!? In the center? Is that where Kenneth is at!?" Morton called out.
Clawdia looked to the center and immediately recognized Kenneth, despite his body being somewhat fried. She walked quicker to his body, feeling sick to her stomach from the sight of him, and dragging Junior with.
"Mom…slow down…" Junior said, beginning to feel panicky upon getting closer and closer to him.
Clawdia stopped a few feet away from him and she felt time stop upon looking at him. Kenneth laid there, gone forever. Clawdia began to tremble as she tugged at her hair, not wanting to accept that this was happening right here and now.
"No…i-it…god…he doesn't look right…he…he's completely still…oh my god! No….NO NO NO NO NO NO NOOOOOO! WHERE'S KATIA!?" Clawdia suddenly screamed and nearly fell down again.
Junior teared up for her again and slowly responded, "O…ver there…at the wall, mom…" he pointed directly to her left.
Clawdia darted her head to the wall, then ran to go see her. She stopped right in front of her daughter, seeing her laying against the wall with numerous glass pieces stuck inside her body.
"Ohhhhhhh…Kat…honey…you're…really…gone. Gone. A-and look what that monster did to you. My god! This is…IT'S BARBARIC! AAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!" Clawdia screamed and cried again, with Junior crying now too. Clawdia continued, "C…CREMATE THEM! DO IT! I-I CAN'T LOOK AT THEM LIKE THIS! DO IIIIIIIIT!" She then began to rush out of the cafeteria.
"Wait, WHAT!? MOM! No no no, stop, you don't need to decide right this second! It's too soon!" Junior objected, but Clawdia ignored him.
"JUST DO IT! I CAN'T BE HERE ANYMORE!" Clawdia shouted as she stormed out of the ruined room with Junior.
"Holy shit. Poor Clawdia…having to decide this way too soon. This is gonna break her forever," Ludwig commented, seeing her in pain striking his own heart.
"Yeah. Not to make it sound like a competition, but that's the third kid she's lost. Four if you count Roy. And then her husband…and now she has no one. Yeah…that WILL break her forever," Lemmy pointed out.
"We should help her however we can. I mean…fuck. I don't know! Is it bad to not wanna do too much to help her because I still can't forget what she did in the past? Her losing her family doesn't erase that. Crap, that makes me sound psychotic. I don't even know what the right thing to say about all of this would be!" Morton yelled cluelessly.
"I don't know either. We can comfort her, but I don't know how far we should push that boundary. Wow. Hearing me say it like that right now of all times makes me feel sick too. FUCK! Why does all of this have to be so fucking hard!?" Ludwig angrily yelled and kicked a broken pipe at the wall.
"I think we should just stay close to her for the time being, at least until dad and Larry get back. Then we'll figure out what to do from then on," Lemmy suggested with a shrug.
"Yeah. Probably the only thing we really can do right now anyways. Alright…let's go find them," Morton obliged somewhat reluctantly then the three exited the cafeteria.
Meanwhile, Toodles and Toadsworth witnessed the whole exchange from the lobby and chatted about it among other things.
"That poor woman, her whole family is gone now…and her ties with Bowser's family are still pretty severed from what I could tell. Ohhhhh…is it…selfish of me to say that I can relate a little to that?" Toodles asked in observance, feeling herself tense up.
"Oh! Are you referring to your ex-husband who committed infidelity? And…your son taking his side?" Toadsworth recalled. Toodles nodded as a couple of tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Exactly that. That loneliness and loss Clawdia's feeling is very similar to what I felt when I 'lost' my husband and son. I cried for days in my house…but I acted like I was completely fine in the outside world. Just ask Mario and some of his friends. I ran into them a few times when they were hunting for those gorgeous Crystal Star gems. Been alone for years now and I really thought having all that money would give me so much power and fix that lonely feeling…but it hasn't.
Just look at these people, Toadsworth. A lot of them lost their homes and loved ones from this disaster. I…I wanna donate some of my money to these people or whichever charity is set up for the victims of Tatanga's destruction. They need it. I can't hoard it all to myself. Plus, the people that DO still have their loved ones…look at them, Toadsworth. So close-knit and bonded and you can practically see the love radiating from these families. That's what matters most in this crazy, mixed up life. Love and connection. Even through this disaster…these people still find that," Toodles spoke, gesturing to various families and couples throughout the lobby. Some were sobbing together, some held each other close, some were in deep conversations, and some had hints of smiles as they connected with their loved ones. Toadsworth observed what she was talking about and it greatly warmed his heart and brought a tear to his eye. He then looked back at her in warmth.
"Toodles…that was a very thoughtful thing for you to say, and so true. You really do have such a soft heart, you know, and I think that's jolly good. As for you being alone…you're not alone, Toodles. You have me. A friend. Well…perhaps…someone who could be more than a friend once everything is back to normal?" Toadsworth asked with a hint of nervousness but also excitement as he grew a bright smile. Toodles slowly looked to him and couldn't help but smile brightly as well as she felt her heart race from looking into his eyes.
"Toadsworth…I-I would love that more than anything, honestly," she responded with a hint of joy, lost in the connection between her and him for a moment from all the despair around them.
"EXCUSE ME!" said a male goomba doctor who quickly walked up to the pair, interrupting their moment of closeness, startling them.
"OH! Uhh, yes? How may I help you, sir?" Toadsworth asked, slightly annoyed that this distraction was happening.
"Hi there…um, I've seen you hang around Professor Elvin Gadd quite a bit. I just…I'm so sorry, I know this may be inappropriate timing, but I desperately need to know something. It's about the disappearance of Dr. Nokano!" said the goomba a little frantically. Toadsworth did his best to keep a stoic face as to not give anything away right then and there while Toodles looked surprised.
"I see. Okay. And…you think we know something about his disappearance, I presume?" Toadsworth countered, knowing where this is going.
"Well, the staff still needs answers about that. There was a note slipped in one of our offices that said 'TALK TO PROFESSOR ELVIN GADD ABOUT NOKANO'S DISAPPEARANCE.' When we confronted E. Gadd about it, he denied everything, but I could tell there was something he was holding back! Please…if you two know anything, even if it's just hearsay, please tell me. It would help solve this mystery once and for all," he urged with sincerity. Toadsworth sighed a little, not wanting to keep up the act anymore.
"Alright. Follow us to the basement please. I'll tell you everything you need to know," Toadsworth affirmed and then led the way. The goomba doctor looked a little confused but he followed with Toodles also going along.
MUSHROOM CORPORATIONS - LOBBY
"Oh god oh god oh god, what do we do WHAT DO WE DO!? THIS IS THE FARTHEST THING FROM GOOD!" Monty cried in sheer panic, unable to take his eyes off of Petey's bloody and deceased body.
"Rosalina, can you heal E. Gadd's gunshot wound!? Maybe it's possible with Grodus or Bleck's help!?" Dixie frantically asked.
"I…yes, I can. Grodus and Bleck, come with me to E. Gadd. Give us a moment. Everyone else…try your best not to panic. I have an idea for what to do once I heal E. Gadd," Rosalina responded, doing her best to keep her spirits calm and collected while rushing over to the poor professor.
"Kind of hard not to panic when they could be doing literally anything to Luigi, Pauline, and Starlow right now!" Daisy yelled, on the verge of breaking down into tears.
"We also gotta figure out where Mario and Peach went to! They apparently weren't captured, maybe they ran off when the lights went out and got lost somewhere in the building!?" DK pointed out.
"I think I saw them go to the elevator there. Mario was fighting with that paratroopa and he was blown backwards into the elevator and Peach ran after him and the elevator closed. And…looking at the numbers…the elevator is at floor 6! Wonderful. These fuckers clearly had everything planned right from the start!" Bowser angrily said.
"Of course they did. It's genius. They knew we were coming with the Crystal Star Rod…and even with that powerful weapon…they still got it somehow. We've gotta be very careful, guys…like, this might be our toughest challenge yet," Goombella warned in fear and disgust.
"Ooooooh…Rosalina…I…can't feel my whole left side…if you…can't heal me…it's okay…don't waste time on me…" E. Gadd softly spoke, staring at the ceiling the entire time as a tear rolled down his cheek.
"Don't say that, E. Gadd. Just hold on while we do this real quick. Grodus, grab my left hand. Bleck, grab Grodus' left hand," Rosalina ordered as the three circled over the professor whose blood was slowly forming a puddle around him. The three joined hands while Rosalina put her right hand onto the professor's bullet wound.
"Okay. You two, repeat after me: Stars…heal the wound of pain inflicted upon by the wretched men. Give your recovery to the being with all your power from your heaven! Sidera, vulnus doloris a miseris inflictum sanant. Da salutem tuam cum omni potestate e caelo tuo!" Rosalina chanted and Grodus and Bleck quickly repeated after her. Everyone else gathered around to watch the spell unfold while also trying to keep an eye out on the vicinity for any more 'surprises.' E. Gadd made a loud gasp as the bullet wound in his shoulder slowly disappeared and the blood vanished.
"OHHHHHH!" E. Gadd shouted, gasping repeatedly as he gripped his shoulder then it slowed to a relieving sigh. "Ooh…yes…there it is. It's gone. Thank you! That was…oh my…the most painful thing I've ever experienced…can't believe I was that close to dying…"
"Don't think about that part. Just be glad that worked since we don't have the Crystal Star Rod to heal our wounds quickly," Grodus stated while helping him stand back up.
"Soooooo…what the hell now!? Our friends are kidnapped, the Crystal Star Rod has been taken…what is the plan here, Rosalina!?" Wario frustratedly asked.
"Give me a moment to concentrate. I'm gonna try a spell to communicate telepathically with Luigi to figure out where he and Pauline and Starlow are located," Rosalina answered, then she inhaled deeply and closed her eyes.
"Oh! That's a great idea actually. Okay, once we find out where they are…what, do we just storm in there and fight their asses with everything we've got or do we have time to come up with a proper plan?" Boshi asked with a little impatience.
"Let's not skip ahead of anything right now. Let's find out where they are first and then go from there. Do your thing, Rosalina," Mona ordered.
Rosalina inhaled deeply again and slowly put her hands to her temples.
"Mmmmmmm…ah…AH! LUIGI!" Rosalina shrieked, making everyone else in the room jump.
LABORATORY
Luigi was thrown in a corner of what looked like some generic laboratory, his hands tied behind his back and his legs tied together as well along with his mouth having duct tape over it. He cried and tried to move his body about but it was barely of any use. He felt constricted as his heart raced, not knowing what's gonna happen now. He saw Pauline in the corner opposite of him near a solid black door and saw Starlow on the other side of the room next to a solid white door, both of whom were also tied up and had their mouths covered. The ladies also cried and moved about, but it was useless.
They all saw Toadari, Paraklyde, and some of the toad soldiers gathering around a table in the center, looking at what seemed like a giant piece of paper. Luigi's eyes widened in horror upon seeing that Toadari had the Crystal Star Rod.
"So, we went over this numerous times already so I know you guys know what to do at this point. Remember…only kill the ones who can do magic. So, that would be Rosalina and Count Bleck…and I'm guessing Sir Grodus too. Oh, and that Mimi girl, do away with her too because she has that weird transforming ability where she turns into some ugly, gigantic spider thing! Everyone else is fair game to kidnap so we can run our experiments on them and keep them locked away for however long we need them!" Toadari strictly commanded, while tauntingly looking at Luigi.
"Wait…so, we're actually not killing Mario then!? Or even the princess for that matter!?" asked one of the toads in confusion.
"No. I have a special plan for the both of them. That's why I had them separated and why I'm keeping this Crystal Star Rod on me. Ohhhhhhh boooooy, these people are gonna be in for the ride of their lives! They screwed up big time coming here first. A lot of the world will be destroyed from Tatanga all because these pathetic freaks of nature decided they wanted to spill some blood due to their paranoia of being 'watched.' Ooh! So scary, aren't we!?" Toadari said harshly and mockingly, still looking at Luigi the whole time while a few others laughed. Luigi looked away in anger and disgust.
"Looking forward to seeing what you got coming for them. But that'll be later! Now, everyone, man your stations. No killing of the non-magical folks…unless drastic times call for drastic measures in the moment, then that shall be allowed," Paraklyde added with a small smirk.
"Oh, and before I forget as well…do not hesitate to kill E. Gadd, if he isn't dead already. That little slimeball will know his way around this place very easily and he has been marked for death for being a betrayer to this company. You all know what happens when betrayal is done. Arfur was our most recent example," Toadari said in a more serious tone, who also looked visibly angry during that moment.
"LUIGI!" yelled a feminine and familiar voice.
Luigi made a yelping noise and was startled greatly, drawing some attention to him.
"What's your deal, green boy? I know you're upset we captured you and your friends, but come on, this shouldn't have been a surprise!" yelled one of the soldiers.
Luigi looked away again, feeling his blood boil.
"Luigi, this is Rosalina speaking to you telepathically. Can you hear me? Can you respond to me in your mind?"
Luigi was startled again, hearing her voice clear as day over the group chatting and snickering.
"Umm…R…Rosalina?" Luigi responded in his mind. "This is really you? In my head!?"
"Yes! I used a spell to communicate with you telepathically. I would use a locator spell but I think that would be too obvious and give us away to Toadari and his clan. Are you able to describe to me your location? That way we can come find you and kill anyone in our way," Rosalina requested.
"Um…oh…uh…I know I'm in a laboratory. Toadari's here right now with his soldiers. They have plans to kill you, Bleck, Grodus, and Mimi because you guys have magical abilities. And also E. Gadd. The rest of us will be captured and experimented on, so…yeah, we gotta get this done fast. Pauiine and Starlow are also in the room with me and we're all tied up and our mouths are taped," Luigi explained.
"Oh…well, that definitely doesn't surprise me one bit. Okay, so, can you be more specific with the description? Do you know if you're still on the first floor, for example? Or if there's a sign anywhere that may have a room number?" Rosalina asked.
"I…god…I, uhh, think I was taken up a flight of stairs to the second floor. Wait…yes! I remember being carried up the stairs by these assholes. But it may have been two flights of stairs because I was knocked out and wasn't that much conscious. So maybe third floor. Um…oh! There's a small sign next to the door…it says…Laboratory C-3! Yeah, there's a black door here with a sign that says Laboratory C-3 right next to it!" Luigi responded, peering at the small sign.
"Excellent! Laboratory C-3. Okay. Here's the plan, Luigi: we're gonna come find you and destroy this place along the way. Mario and Peach are on the 6th floor right now because they got thrown into the elevator by the soldiers and were sent up there. I'm gonna telepathically communicate with him after I'm done talking to you to let him know what's going on," Rosalina instructed, which had stunned Luigi when she told him about Mario and Peach.
"WHAT!? Oh my god...okay. Just please hurry! I'm really afraid they're gonna screw with us here in the meantime," Luigi said in fright, as he noticed Toadari walking over to him slowly with a stern expression.
"Luigi…that look on your face…are you trying to say something to me? Or…oh! I'm sorry! You're talking to Rosalina, aren't you!?" Toadari shouted with a wicked smile. Luigi widened his eyes in horror, beyond shocked that he figured it out. Luigi yelled through his taped mouth and he moved his body as much as he could as he saw Toadari point the Crystal Star Rod at him.
"Yes, Luigi…this weapon you brought to us is truly a powerful thing…it makes you feel like a god holding it…you were all wrong to bring it here. The idiocy in your group of crime fighters shines brighter than the glow from this rod," Toadari spoke threateningly as he moved the rod closer to Luigi's face, making him become more and more frightened for his life.
"MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!" Starlow screamed underneath her taped mouth and stomped on the ground with all her might, the only way she could really move her body and hoping to distract Toadari.
"Hey! What the hell's your deal!? Quiet down, little girl!" yelled one of the soldiers.
"Woah…woah! Uhh, guys!? Look at her! What's going on with her!?" shrieked another one of the soldiers, pointing to Pauline. Everyone else turned to her and saw that Pauline was greatly and loudly hyperventilating and looked like she was going to vomit.
"MMMMMMMMMMM! MRRRRRRRGGHHHHHHH!" Starlow screamed and stomped louder, grabbing everyone's attention again. One of the soldiers sighed in annoyance and ripped off the tape from her mouth.
"WHAT!? What the fuck is your deal!?" yelled the soldier.
"TAKE THE TAPE OFF HER MOUTH! PLEEEEAAAASE! SHE'S HYPERVENTILATING!" Starlow pleaded for dear life.
"Oh, for fuck's sake…" Paraklyde groaned, rolling his eyes but obliged. He ripped off Pauline's tape from her mouth and she loudly inhaled and exhaled rapidly while coughing and crying a little.
"Hmph. Pauline, my dear. How does it feel to be back in this place? I'm sure you already know that you've been here before…where we experimented on your body," Toadari cruelly spoke while walking towards her with a bigger and more devious smirk on his face. Pauline gripped her stomach, feeling queasy and mortified from that sickening statement.
"You…you are unimaginable…doing all this so you can have control of the world…that is beyond psychotic. How much of a miserable loser do you have to be to do all that!?" Pauline angrily spat, giving him a dirty glare. Toadari simply chuckled at her.
"What's 'miserable' to you is quite 'glorious' to us. Pauline…such beauty and passion within you…we'll make sure to keep you for the long haul, so you can keep on being used for your body until you're nothing but a dry, lifeless, hollow shell," he replied grotesquely, then casually walked out of the room via the black door. His vile and triggering words made her stomach turn further and made her feel nauseous and livid. Her blood boiled and she saw red.
"Wow. Such fire in those eyes! See, fellas, she's having such a strong reaction to all that because she falsely accused her high school ex-boyfriend of raping her. Then, biiiiig shocker, she loses all her friends and her own parents didn't take her seriously, and she became the very thing that she used to bully people about: a lonely, mopey loser. That's why she brainwashed Mario to fall in love with her at the start of Tatanga's destruction. Her own life is a disaster, so she gets off by dragging other people down with her," Paraklyde explained to the soldiers in a mocking manner with a hint of a smug smirk on his face. Pauline's body shook with so much rage and hurt at how vicious his words were.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP! I DID NOT FALSELY ACCUSE HIM OF RAPING ME, HE ACTUALLY DID DO IT! YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH, WE'RE GONNA MAKE DAMN SURE WE KILL YOU! ALL OF YOU! YOU'RE THE MONSTERS HERE, YOU'RE JUST AS AWFUL AS TATANGA!" Pauline screamed in fury at the top of her lungs while tearing up.
"Wait. Waaaaaaait a second! This is THE Pauline!? The same one who's known to 'get around' on the streets and has been making moves on THE Mario for years!? HA! Pot calling kettle black much?" laughed one of the toads.
"That's not at all comparable to what you guys are doing and you know it! How do you even know about that stuff anyways!?" Starlow yelled. Paraklyde turned to her and walked over to her with a slight chuckle.
"My dear…you must know by now that we know everything…right? Come on. You guys figured it out kind of quickly actually. We see everything. We hear everything. Our company…the work that we do, the lives that we invade to progress our technology and have a firm grip on the world and its future…this has been in the works for years. I started out in a company similar to this right after college. Focused more on robotics, but I took that knowledge and helped out here, being a jack of all trades and helping to put this company at the top where it belongs so it can be untouchable. And you guys, coming in here with your giant, mystical rod…thinking that would end us…heh. Well, that solidified us being untouchable, now didn't it?" the paratroopa explained confidently, staring her down the entire time, making the star sprite feel even more creeped out than she already was.
"Oh…that's just…so sick…I mean…how did you even get the rod anyways!? We were invincible! We had a barrier around us!" Starlow pointed out. The guys laughed at her in smugness.
"See, there's a little trick to getting around stuff even as powerful as the Crystal Star Rod. You guys had a barrier around you. We knew you'd have some type of protection spell coming in here. So…remember that purple smoke in the lobby? That smoke has a purpose besides just causing temporary blindness: It weakens magical spells. The smoke did just enough for me to enter and hurt Mario and snag the rod. I knew I had to be quick because the smoke could only do so much against such a powerful item, plus you have those magical freaks in your group…but it worked. The barrier weakened just enough for me to enter. We played you at your own game, and now, you're at a loss without that big, bad mystical item you thought would save the day," Paraklyde explained as if he just struck a victory.
"Oh my god…you've…really thought of everything…" Starlow admitted in horror, realizing that this could be the toughest challenge they would all have to face yet, possibly barring Blackstone Tower.
"We really have! Heh, thanks for that stamp of approval, feels nice hearing it from the enemy!" chuckled a toad soldier.
"Mmmm…you know, Paraklyde…standing around here waiting for those morons to come is sooooo boring! Could we, perhaps, have a little fun with these ladies? Especially the small, yellow one!? She'd put up less of a fight!" asked another toad soldier with a creepy grin. Luigi, Pauline, and Starlow had an expression of terror upon hearing that along with their heart sinking.
"Hmm. I don't see why not. Go easy on her, though. Not too rough," Paraklyde responded with a simple shrug. Starlow dropped her jaw and then squirmed on the floor at any kind of attempt of getting away.
"WHAT!? NO! NOOOOOOOOOOO! PLEASE LEAVE ME ALOOOOONE! HELP MEEEEEEEEE!" Starlow screamed and cried as loud as she could while a few of the toads grabbed her and dragged her towards the white door.
"Ooh, keep screaming! That really gets me going! Besides, it's not like you'll be saved any faster by all that screeching…but by all means, keep on doing it!" cackled one of the toads and dragged her into the other room and slammed the door shut.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO! LEAVE HER ALOOOOOOONE! FUCK YOU AAAAAALLLLL!" Pauline screamed and cried, desperately trying not to imagine the kind of horrific acts they were going to die. Luigi also screamed through his tape covering and tried to move about as well, but it was of little use due to the rope being extremely tight.
"Oh my god, shut up already! They might be ok with that little whiny chick squealing about, but I sure as fuck am not. Don't act like you don't want it anyways, you have a certain 'past' we all know about here!" yelled one of the toads who got up to her face smugly. Pauline sneered at him.
"Don't you dare fucking touch me. I swear to god…when I get out of this rope, I will claw your eyes out," she threatened in rage.
The toad scoffed at her then smacked her hard, whipping her head back. Luigi jumped at this, wanting to murder the toad for laying a hand on her.
"Ohhhh…look at that! I touched you! What are you gonna do about it, you raggedy little bitch!?" mocked the toad. Pauline had enough. She slowly turned her head back to him, seething with anger and spat in his face. A couple of the others laughed at this while the toad grunted, wiping the saliva off and smacked her again.
"GAGH! YOU WHORE! GRRRRAAAAAAAGH!" the toad raged and kicked her in the side a couple times. Pauline screamed and cried out in pain while Luigi roared further, wanting to make it stop for her.
"Okay, that's enough, man. Stop! Seriously! You don't wanna risk going overboard!" Paraklyde yelled.
"No one spits in my face. Bitch had it coming. No wonder why nobody likes her," scolded the toad and walked out the black door into the hallway. Pauline laid there on the ground, crying from the deep pain. Paraklyde turned to Luigi and walked over to him.
"You there. You seem like you have a lot you wanna say…but I'm not taking that tape off. You're gonna suffer in your silence while you watch your friends suffer. Enjoy the show, my green friend!" Paraklyde spoke snidely then ended it with a devious smirk. Luigi's blood boiled, wanting to avenge Starlow and Pauline.
6TH FLOOR
"DAMNIT!" Mario yelled, continually pressing the lobby floor button. "The elevator must be stuck or those assholes did something to it, it's not going down at all!"
"We'll just have to use the stairs then! Come on, I bet it's at the end of the hall!" Peach ordered, then began to run down the hall to the left with Mario in tow.
"MARIO! It's me, Rosalina!"
Mario immediately stopped in his tracks and turned around. No one was there in the long hallway.
"What the!? Peach, did you hear that!?" Mario yelped in confusion.
Peach stopped in her tracks and turned to him, responding, "Huh? I didn't hear anything! What did you hear?"
"I…thought I heard Rosalina's voice. That was weird. Is that Toadari's doing!?" Mario said, now freaked out.
"Mario!? HELLOOOO? Respond to me in your mind! It's Rosalina! I'm communicating with you telepathically!" Rosalina repeated urgently.
Mario gasped a little, weirded out by this message. "Peach…that was Rosalina…she's…communicating with me telepathically."
Peach raised a brow and was also confused. "Huh? Um…okay? Wait, is she trying to know where we're at?"
"Rosalina…hey. I hear you. I'm with Peach right now on the 6th floor. Are you guys still in the lobby?" Mario hesitantly responded.
"We are. Unfortunately, Petey was killed in the shootout and they stole the damn Crystal Star Rod. E. Gadd was shot in the shoulder too, but I managed to heal him with Grodus' and Bleck's help. But healing everyone with the three of our magics takes up too much energy and time. We NEED that rod back as soon as we can. I'm still shocked they were able to get away with it and somehow get into our barrier!" Rosalina exclaimed.
"Damnit! Yeah…I don't know how the hell they did all that either. They've definitely got more of an upper hand than we thought they would. But no matter, we'll find a way to overcome this, we always do. You guys stay where you are now, we're coming down the stairs to the lobby then we'll figure out a plan for what to do next!" Mario said in determination, refusing to be beaten down.
"Um…Mario? You DID hear that announcement over the intercom, right?" Rosalina asked with a hint of confusion.
"What? What announcement over the intercom? We didn't hear anything! What did they say!?" Mario shrieked in surprise.
"Luigi, Starlow, and Pauline were kidnapped! Taken away when all that chaos went down in here. They announced that over the intercom and that we had to find them and go through their 'traps' and such," she revealed. Mario dropped his jaw and backed up against the wall.
"O-Oh my god…no…no no no no NO!" Mario yelled in horror, scaring Peach now.
"Mario, what's going on? What is he saying!?" she yelped.
"Rosalina…no…we didn't fucking hear that! We were in the elevator the whole time. They must've disabled the intercom in the elevator or something. FUCK! Well we gotta find them ASAP!" Mario demanded, fueling his need for vengeance, especially after hearing his own brother was kidnapped.
"Wait! Hold on, Mario. I was able to telepathically communicate with Luigi too and get the info from him. He's in a room called Laboratory C-3 and he thinks it's either on the 2nd or 3rd floor. We're gonna have everyone in my group here search for them. Him, Pauline, and Starlow are still fine at the moment but they're tied up and he says Toadari was with them too with some of the other soldiers," Rosalina informed.
Mario heavily sighed in anger and leered at Peach, saying to her, "Luigi, Starlow, and Pauline were kidnapped from the lobby. They're in a room called Laboratory C-3. Rosalina and the others are gonna find the room and so are we."
Peach covered her mouth in horror then also became furious at this. "No! Those…UGH! Alright, yes, let's get going!"
"Rosalina…get going on the search. We'll meet you down there shortly," Mario stated.
"WAIT, MARIO! You're on the 6th floor, right!? And that's where Toadari's office is, right? If possible and if it seems safe, go in there and search for anything important he has in there, like a weapon or incriminating evidence of his crimes or just something that could potentially shut down this place. We'll go and find the three as soon as we're done here. Since you're already up there, it's the perfect opportunity to find out what he has stored," Rosalina proposed.
Mario slowly turned to his right and saw that Toadari's office was indeed right there where they could quickly search it then go and find his brother and friends.
"Yeah…you're right. We could do that. But we'll be quick. In and out. Rosalina…find my brother…and of course, Pauline and Starlow. That is the topmost priority right now before anything else, even getting before the Crystal Star Rod back," Mario instructed.
"Of course, we're on it! See you soon and good luck!"
"Mario…are we going to save them, or…?" Peach confusedly asked.
"Rosalina and the rest are on their way now. Look, right there, that's Toadari's office. Rosalina said Toadari was with Luigi, Starlow, and Pauline so he's not in there currently. We need to ransack that place while we're here then head down and find them," Mario commanded then charged for the door.
"Wha…uhh, okay!? But, Mario, STOP! It could be set up with traps! Or since he has the star rod, he could teleport himself here any second now!" Peach frantically warned.
"Well, guess it's a good thing we'll be quick about it then, huh!?" Mario responded matter-of-factly and kicked the door open, bracing for potential traps. None in sight. Mario slowly walked in, being extremely observant of the vicinity in the room with Peach slowly and very cautiously following behind him.
"Peach…I got an idea. Stay outside the room and keep a lookout in case Toadari or any of his lackeys come down here. I'll search the desk first and then the filing cabinets," Mario instructed then ran to the desk.
"Okay…please be careful and quick, though. Please!" Peach urgently replied and watched the hallway, nervous as hell.
Mario rummaged as fast as he could through all the paperwork and drawers at the desk, trying to spot anything that could possibly stand out to him as important enough to snatch.
"Come on, come on, there has to be something here…" Mario whispered, getting antsier by the second. He then tugged on one of the drawers, but it wouldn't come out. He tugged harder and it still wasn't budging. He noticed a keyhole and quickly figured it was locked.
He grunted then checked the last drawer that he hadn't gotten to yet. He dug through the files and papers, still nothing seeming interesting…until he saw something on the bottom of the drawer that was well hidden until he pushed all the files aside. Mario peered closer, making sure he knew exactly what he was seeing.
It was a handgun. It blended perfectly in with the bottom of the drawer. Mario carefully grabbed it, then immediately got an idea. He aimed it at the locked drawer and pulled the trigger.
The booming noise made Peach jump and spin around. "MARIO! What's going on!?"
"Hold on…" Mario responded, focused on discovering what's in the locked drawer. He opened it and saw a folder simply labeled 'MACHINE'. He grabbed the entire folder to skim through the papers in there, but before he could, out fell a large, silver key. Mario grabbed the key and stared at it in confusion. He knew it was for something important so he stuffed it in his pocket. He then grabbed the papers within the folder, folded them as many times as he could and put them in his other pocket. He then got up and ran towards Peach while gripping the handgun
"Screw it, I think this is good enough. Let's go downstairs now!" Mario demanded.
"Wait, but what did you find!? Why were you shooting!?" Peach confusedly asked.
"I'll explained later, just- WOAH!" Mario suddenly shouted when they exited the room to turn right but saw Toadari standing right there with a smug smirk.
"Found anything interesting in there?" he asked.
LOBBY
"Rosalina? Are you all done?" Dixie asked, noticing Rosalina exhaling and gasping a little for air and holding her temples.
"Y-Yeah…okay…I managed to get to Luigi and Mario…so…ahhhhh…here's the plan: Luigi is either on the second or third floor in a room called Laboratory C-3, captured with Pauline and Starlow. Mario is on the sixth floor with Peach and I let him know about what was happening, so he and Peach will head down to the lower floors and search with us. I was thinking of something that would make the search go faster and comb through this place: we split up into two groups. One group searches the second floor, and the other group searches the third floor. Each group needs to have at least one of us who has magical abilities in them. So…Grodus! I want you with me in our group. Do we all agree to this?" Rosalina proposed, gaining her composure from that heavy spell. Everyone nodded quickly without hesitation.
"There are 24 of us here. 12 and 12. Easy split. I'm choosing to do the second floor and Larry, you're coming with me. Any rooms that are vacant I'm flaming them down! And if there are people who try to attack us…I'm flaming them down too, and the rest of you all should not hesitate to kill them," Bowser added commandingly. More nods were seen.
"Sweet. Get to wreck this techno shithole room by room, floor by floor. I'm going on floor 2 as well!" Boshi said with an excited smirk.
"I'll lead floor 2. There's no time to waste everyone! Choose quick!" Bleck demanded.
"So, I'll lead floor 3 with Grodus then. Crump, are you coming along with us then?" Rosalina asked with Crump immediately nodding. "Okay, that makes 3 for floor 3. Guys?"
"I'll do floor 3 with you. My gut is telling me that's the floor he's on," Daisy said confidently.
"I wanna do floor 2. There's a…room on that floor I wanna see before it's destroyed," E. Gadd alluded, drawing eyes to him.
"Oh! And what room would that be?" Grodus asked.
"A laboratory. I worked in there and they did some experiments pertaining to that cloning crap I told you all about a while ago. I'm curious to see if they have anything leftover from those experiments in there," E. Gadd answered.
"Hmm. Well, that definitely piqued my interest! I'll do floor 2 as well!" Mona added with a smirk.
"Same here, floor 2," Wario quickly said, wanting to be close to Mona.
"Floor 2 because I'm also curious about this laboratory now. I know we don't have the time to study and digest everything…but I still wanna see everything they've got…even if it's ugly," Goombella admitted.
"Wait a second…E. Gadd, you've been here before. Literally. Does Laboratory C-3 ring a bell at all to you in regards to its exact location?" Daisy pointed out to everyone.
"Hmm. It does, but…Lab C-3…if I were to make an educated guess, it'd be on the 3rd floor…but I'm not 100% confident in that. It's been years since I've been here, and there's a chance they could've switched rooms around between back then and now," E. Gadd clarified.
"Alright. So…either way, looks like something important is on each floor then," Daisy commented.
"I'm choosing floor 3. I'm ready to kill these motherfuckers and shed some blood. They killed Petey…I mean, they've already crossed the line like a billion times now…but this shit is gonna send me over the edge! LET'S DO THIS!" Fly Guy angrily declared.
"I'll do floor 3. Toadette, do you wanna come with me?" Dixie asked, noting her toad friend's nerve-wracked expression.
"Y-Yeah. I'll come with!" she answered with a quick nod.
"Floor 2 for me!" Kody yelled, standing by Larry proudly.
"Also floor 2 for me. We're gonna finish this and avenge our friends," Mimi stated, looking Bleck in the eye, subtly and specifically referring moreso to Tippi.
"I'll do floor 3. Ooooh man, this is gonna be the scariest thing I've ever done…" Monty commented nervously.
"Floor 3 for me!" Vivian announced. Goombella glanced at her then looked away, still feeling that awkward tension between them.
"Floor 3," DK bluntly spoke, also glancing at Rosalina, having all these mixed feelings in his body about the way they left things off but also still caring for her deeply.
"Floor 3," Yoshi said, actively avoiding being near Boshi because he knew it'd be a distraction.
"Also floor 3. That's all 12 for floor 3, right? So anyone who hasn't chosen automatically gets to do floor 2!" Spike pointed out.
"Yeah, Parakarry and I didn't choose, so we'll be doing floor 2, which is fine. Don't really care either way," Kooper said while the mailman remained stoic and silent with his arms crossed, looking beyond peeved.
"Alright, we've got that situated, now it's time to execute this. Do your best to stay safe everyone, but like Bowser said…do NOT hesitate to kill. These are our friends and our own lives at stake here. Let's go to the stairwell!" Rosalina commanded and the group darted to the stairwell door and the mission began.
2ND FLOOR - BOWSER, LARRY, KODY, GOOMBELLA, E. GADD, BLECK, MIMI, PARAKARRY, KOOPER, MONA, WARIO, BOSHI
Bowser kicked a door open and stomped on in, ready for anything to come his way. The room appeared to be a large conference room with papers scattered about and a flag attached to a whiteboard. The flag was orange and had a yellow-spotted mushroom drawn on it with the words 'MUSHROOM CORP." in bold black letters below it. They were also plaques of various certificates and achievements hung up on the wall.
"Well well, look at that! The company got their own flag. How fitting! Reflects how self-absorbed they are," Bowser spat while walking towards it.
"Especially with Toadari. That's basically him on that flag because he has yellow spots on his head. True narcissist right there! But we shouldn't be, like, surprised at that at this point," Goombella scowled.
"And look at all these here on the wall…certificate of achievement for international relations? What the hell is that even supposed to mean!?" Larry frustratedly asked while examining the plaques.
"It means they've made successful connections with companies across the globe…which means there are either branches of Mushroom Corporations around the world, OR there are other companies similar to this one. Either way…it's absolute shit. Tear this fucking room down!" Boshi stated.
"Don't have to ask me twice!" Kody shouted and grabbed a plaque and shattered it on the table. Larry lifted up one of the tables and threw it at the wall, knocking down and destroying some of the other plaques that were on the wall as well. Bowser unleashed his flame breath and set fire to the flag and a nearby office plant. Bleck came in and unleashed a purple disc-like magic blast from his hands which crashed into the ceiling and down came a ton of debris with the ceiling panels and wires and pipes, covering most of the room.
"On to the next one," Bleck stated, then quickly walked off as more of the room began to set ablaze. Bowser was the last one out and he shut the door so less smoke would come out.
"E. Gadd…what are you looking at? Something the matter!?" Wario asked, noting the anxious expression on the mad scientist.
"That's it. That's the room right there I was referring to earlier. It's Laboratory B-3. That's the lab where they try to do all those cloning experiments…at least when I worked here. They may have switched locations, but…I need to go in there and see what they're doing. I've also been thinking that maybe…that homeless lady I mentioned in the hospital basement a while ago may still be trapped in there too. The lady that was used for the cloning experiment. God, if they really have kept her in here after all these years…" E. Gadd responded fearfully.
"The homeless lady…yeah, that's right, you mentioned that when you were telling us about when you worked here. Alright, well, one way to find out then!" Mona said determinedly then walked towards the lab door.
"WAIT! Next to the door, there's like a monitor thing there. It's flashing red. I think it's one of those things where you need a badge to enter!" Mimi pointed out.
"Not anymore you don't!" Bleck said then threw another purple disc-like magic blast at the monitor, destroying it immediately and a loud clicking noise was heard. Bleck then kicked the door open, startling some employees in there.
"AH! P-PLEASE DON'T HURT US! WE'RE JUST WORKERS!" yelled a frightened koopa.
"That's not gonna be an issue as long as you leave at once and never come back! This place is going to be destroyed very soon, so if you wanna keep your lives…go. Now!" Larry commanded, cracking his knuckles, ready to pounce in case they decided to get physical.
"HOLY SHIT! THAT'S TADANO OVER THERE!" Kooper yelled, pointing to the opposite side of the room where there was a 'glass section' of the room which Tadano was clearly trapped in. The others looked to him and saw the alien pounding on the glass for dear life.
"HELP MEEEEEEEEE! PLEASE GET ME OUT! THEY'RE PLANNING TO DO HORRIBLE FUCKING THINGS TO MEEEEE!" Tadano screamed in mercy.
"WHY IS HE IN THERE!? WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING TO DO TO HIM!?" Mona shouted, stomping towards the center of the room, making some of the workers back away a little.
"We were just told to monitor him and get samples of his blood and DNA! That's it! Toadari was the one who gave us the order! He captured Tadano from the hospital and brought him here because he wanted to try to create some 'supervillain' clone with his blood and DNA!" frantically explained a toad scientist.
"Ah. Okay. So, like, very similar to me when I was captured here with my friends when this mess started. Got it. Nice to know you're consistent with your practices!" Goombella spat.
"Wait a second here. Where's the second glass chamber!? Last time I was here there were two glass chambers. Where did it go? Is that homeless toad woman still here!?" E. Gadd demanded to know.
"E. Gadd, that doesn't matter right now! You workers, GO! Before we change our minds!" Bowser ordered impatiently.
"Okay…we'll go…sorry…" said a noki scientist who slowly started to walk to the door along with the five other workers. Mona eyed him, then slowly gasped as she saw him reach into the backpocket of his lab coat and get out what looked like a handgun.
"FUCK, HE HAS A GUN! KILL THEM ALL!" Mona shouted as quickly as she could and chaos ensued.
The noki whipped out his gun and fired it towards Bowser. The koopa king swerved his head to the left, missing the bullet by inches then lunged at the noki, slashing and clawing his body as quickly as he could, splattering blood everywhere.
Another one of the workers pulled out another gun, but before they could pull the trigger, Bleck unleashed a white ball of magic and threw it at the center of the room, causing a blinding flash to the workers temporarily. Boshi caught the one who was about to shoot and darted over to him. The dino headbutted the toad, making him drop the gun. Boshi was about to swipe the gun, but the toad kicked him in the chest, sending him falling backwards. Parakarry did his shell shot move on the toad right after this happened, knocking him to the floor as well. Boshi roared, swiped the gun, and fired at the toad three times, shooting him all in the torso.
A koopa worker threw a beaker at Mona since she was the closest in the room, hitting her in her right arm, and singing her. Mona collapsed to the floor, screaming in pain, feeling as if her arm was on fire along with the glass pieces stuck to her arm. Wario saw this and was immediately enraged, and charged for the koopa. Larry helped out by darting for a nearby chair and he threw it at the koopa, hitting him perfectly and knocking him to the floor. Wario grabbed a large glass piece from the shattered beaker, ran to the koopa and stabbed him all over his body in pure rage: his neck, heart, temples, stomach, and groin. Then he grabbed the chair that Larry threw and smashed the chair into the koopa's face, delivering one final, fatal blow.
Another koopa worker cowardly hid in the supply closet and locked it. Bleck, Mimi, Goombella, and Kooper ran over to the door, then Bleck snapped his fingers, making the door unlock by itself. Kooper threw the door open, making the koopa scream in terror.
"D-DON'T KILL ME! PLEASE! Just..uhh…you're really gonna live with yourselves by killing us!? We're just people who were told what to do by our boss! WE'RE INNOCENT!" shrieked the koopa, huddling in the corner.
"Considering you're just contributing to a new world order where people are surveillanced 24/7 and many others will be killed and cloned…no. I'd say you're far from innocent," Kooper objected, swiping a hammer from the shelf along with Mimi, who grabbed another hammer, and Goombella, who grabbed a beaker and shattered the bottom half of it on the shelf and gripped the now sharp object tightly, while Bleck was in the back awaiting to watch the show unfold.
"Fuck you. It's called scientific advancement…we're progressing the world in ways you couldn't possibly know! THAT'S WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT!" yelled the koopa.
"Yeah. Okay. Sure. If that's what you wanna call it. But, sweetie, you also just lost your last chance at getting out of here alive. Farewell!" Mimi taunted and the three went awol on the koopa. Mimi and Kooper bashed the koopa all over his body with their hammers while Goombella screeched manically and stabbed the koopa everywhere as well. Very quickly, the koopa stopped moving and breathing as blood splattered all over the corner of the closet.
"Ooooh…I can't lie right now…that felt pretty damn good," Goombella stated with a slowly forming wicked smirk upon her face as she wiped the blood off herself.
"Mona, are you alright!? That chemical wasn't acid, was it!?" Wario asked as he ran over to her aid.
"Aaaagghh…no, I don't think so because my arm is still intact, but ohhhh my god that fucking burns…" Mona groaned as Wario examined her right arm. It was red and was blistering a little bit.
"Holy shit. Uhhh…oh! There's a sink back there, let's run it under cool water and see if that'll help! I'll take out the glass pieces as well," Wario said then helped get her up and walked her to the sink in the back of the room.
Meanwhile, Kody walked over and swiped one of the dead worker's badges and held it to the monitor by the door that led into the glass chamber where Tadano was being held. A loud beep was heard and the door opened. Tadano ran out and hugged Kody tightly.
"OH MY GOD OH MY GOD! THANK YOU THANK YOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUU! THAT WAS WORSE THAN THE FUCKING PADDED ROOM AT THE HOSPITAL!" Tadano screamed and cried.
"Uhhhhhh…yeah, man, you're welcome," Kody awkwardly responded, feeling squeezed and uncomfortable from his gesture.
"Tadano!" E. Gadd shouted as he walked over to the two. "So…they took your blood and DNA? Have they already done that or were they just lying to us?"
"No…they already did that. What they did is so disgusting! Using my body for their stupid experiments, and…OH! OH MY GOD! THE PAPER! TOADARI HAD A PAPER ABOUT ME!" Tadano suddenly changed the subject in a panic and ran to a table in the back with some documents scattered about.
"What paper!?" Bowser asked as he wiped the noki's blood off of himself with a rag he found. "Tadano, we don't have much time, we came here to get you and destroy this place then kill Tatanga!"
"I know, I figured as much, but I just need to see something! Toadari had a paper that said…OH! HERE IT IS!" Tadano shrieked and snatched the paper that detailed the findings of his blood and DNA.
"Tadano, was there another person captured with you when you first got here? Or did you hear anything about a homeless toad woman being here!?" E. Gadd asked, but it seemed the alien was too focused on the document.
"Excellent. We got extra firepower to kill these fuckers. I'm keeping this!" Boshi excitedly announced as he cocked the handgun.
"I'll, agh, take the other gun. Unless you really want to, Wario?" Mona asked as she put her arm under the cool sink water, cringing a little from the simmering pain.
"Yeah, I'll take it. Even with guns these idiots still couldn't take us down!" Wario mocked.
"Oh! Tadano, you're out! Okay, we're done here, right!? The workers are gone, we have Tadano, so unless something else is important in this room, let's wreck it and move on!" Goombella ordered.
Tadano's face fell as he dropped the document. He looked a mixture of terror and sadness. He spoke, "I….I…holy shit…no…I-I have…Toadington's Disease…fuck! FUCK! NOOOOOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he screamed then fell to his knees and pounded the floor, making the others extremely confused now.
"Ummmmm…okay. What the hell is Toadington's Disease? I take it, it's a death sentence?" Boshi awkwardly asked.
E. Gadd grabbed the document the alien twin was holding and examined it. He sighed and folded it up, then said, "Toadington's Disease is biologically inherited, there is no cure for it. It's a nasty disease that causes neurons in the brain to break down over time, negatively affecting one's cognitive abilities and psyche, such as being unable to move or eat properly, or causing mania in their personality. It's indeed unfortunately fatal. Very few people with the disease live past 20 years once symptoms begin showing."
The news struck everyone's heart and made them all feel for Tadano. The poor alien twin had a time limit on this world now, adding to the tragedy of his life from dealing with an emotionally abusive family.
"Oh my gosh! Tadano…hey, it's me! Mimi. Remember me?" Mimi caringly asked as she knelt down to comfort him. The alien sobbed and slowly looked to her and nodded with a hint of a smile. She continued, "Listen to me right now. We're getting you out of here and once we save the world, we'll find you a hospital that can help treat you. You won't be in this alone. I promise!"
Tadano nodded and wiped his eyes then spoke, "Th-thank you. Um…let's…let's just…what were you guys doing again? Destroying the place…then destroying my brother?"
"Exactly. Wanna help us destroy your brother? You don't have to…but if you think it'll give you any peace of mind, feel free to join us!" Larry offered kindly.
Tadano stopped his sobbing and clenched his fists then looked Larry dead in the eyes. "Yes. I wanna be there to see him crumble. It'll be oh so poetic for me to be there in his final moments."
Meanwhile, Kooper was still in the supply closet wiping blood off of him with a few rags. Parakarry entered the closet and closed the door.
"Oh! Hey Parakarry. Seems like we're all done here, so let's get going to whichever room we're going to next," Kooper said in surprise, but then noticed Parakarry lock the door as he wielded a glass shard from one of the broken beakers.
"You know…right from the start, there's been nothing but people we love being killed…over and over again…" Parakarry said in a serious tone, then turned to face Kooper.
"Uhh, what? Parakarry…what are you doing? What is this?" Kooper asked confusedly, noting the menacing expression on the mailman's face.
"I know we're close to the end…but you know what? I think I've reached the point where I don't give a fuck anymore. Everyone dies. Even the people we love…we have to live with that crap even after the world is saved," Parakarry stated while slowly walking towards Kooper.
"Parakarry…dude. Please stop. You're scaring me now. Let's just go back into the lab with the others and we can talk this out! You're not alone in this!" Kooper urged, feeling himself get more nervous for what may happen.
"But you wanna know what the worst thing is? I broke it off with the one person who I've ever had feelings for in my whole life. Then she died. That's the worst way to end a relationship…don't you think!?" Parakarry ignored his words and kept walking towards him, the shard cutting into his hand and making it start to bleed.
"I said stop already! Parakarry, this is insane! I'm sorry about Jojora, truly! But this isn't the way to go about things! JUST STOP IT!" Kooper pleaded, feeling his heart and adrenaline race now.
"How can I stop if everyone just keeps fucking dying!? HUH!? ANSWER ME THAT! WHAT'S THE POINT IF WE JUST KEEP DYING!?" Parakarry roared, raising the shard, looking as if he was ready to strike.
"I SAID STOP IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!" Kooper screamed then tackled Parakarry to the ground.
3RD FLOOR - ROSALINA, GRODUS, CRUMP, DAISY, TOADETTE, DIXIE, VIVIAN, SPIKE, DK, YOSHI, MONTY, FLY GUY
"Hey, Dais," Dixie said in a quiet voice as the group entered the 3rd floor, observing the long, narrow hallway of multiple doors on each side of the hall. "So…are we just gonna ignore the elephant in the room until Tatangs is finished?"
"Huh? What are you referring to?" Daisy responded confusedly.
"Daisy…come on. Rosalina. She came back suddenly and helped us with the dragon, which was fantastic and all, but are we going to address the issue of there still being tension between her and all of us? Like…are we just gonna accept her back in our friend group even after she almost killed all of us AND got Diddy trapped on Tatanga's island!?" Dixie asked wearily.
Daisy sighed and rolled her eyes, feeling like this is the last thing that should be discussed right now. "We'll deal with that when the time comes. Right now, we need her to secure our luck in defeating these assholes. She came back at the perfect time, honestly."
"I understand that completely. But I already know what my mentality is on the whole situation: keep her at an arm's length after we're done with everything. It's still hard to look at her the same after what she did. But, Daisy, I'm telling you right now…when we get to Tatanga's island and if we discover that Diddy's dead…then Rosalina is permanently dead to me. You'll never be able to change my mind about that," Dixie stated somewhat brashly. Daisy didn't respond, but did see where she was coming from and even felt a little of the same way.
"Alright, keep a lookout for Laboratory C-3. Looks like all these rooms have labels on them so it should be easy to find!" DK ordered.
"Oh! Right there! Laboratory C-3. That was easy!" Toadette cheered, running to the first door on the right in the hall, pointing to the label.
"Uhh, what? This one here also says Laboratory C-3!" Crump pointed out to the first door on the left in confusion.
"Wow, for being evil tech geniuses, you'd think they wouldn't have mislabeled their rooms so their staff wouldn't get confused!" Fly Guy commented.
"No no no. Hold on a second here!" Monty shouted then ran a little down the hall, checking the other doors, then made a surprised expression. "What in the golly good gravy!? These doors also say Laboratory C-3! What's going on here!?"
Rosalina closed her eyes and tried to feel for any kind of sensation in the air. "We're being tricked. Definitely the Crystal Star Rod has to do with this. Luigi, Pauline, and Starlow must be on this floor…otherwise they wouldn't be scared to try to mess with our heads."
"So what do we do then!? Go and comb through each room as quickly as we can until we find the actual Laboratory C-3? I mean, isn't that what we were going to do anyways?" Spike questioned.
Grodus opened up the door Toadette had pointed out and looked inside. It looked like a break room…which had Luigi in it, resting his head on the table.
"Luigi!? That's…no. There's no way that's actually him," Grodus yelped, getting the feeling that this is all off somehow. Daisy immediately ran in upon hearing his name and stopped when she saw him.
"Y…Yeah. Not him. This is a trap. They're wasting our time. We gotta check the other rooms!" Daisy yelled, her heart racing, hoping to the stars her lover was alright and felt jarred by seeing some illusion of him.
'Luigi' then stood up quickly from the table and started crying hysterically, then charged for the door.
"Fuck! Close it! CLOSE IT!" Grodus yelled and slammed the door shut, dragging Daisy out of there too. 'Luigi' banged on the door rampantly and cried louder.
Yoshi opened the other door on the left and he heard something pop or snap. The room looked like a tiny classroom set up with tables and labs and chemicals and unrecognizable formulas written on the whiteboards. However, the observation of the setting was intruded by a large amount of black liquid falling from above the doorway in the room.
"WOAH! GET BAAAAAACK!" Yoshi screamed, running backwards and backed up against the wall. The black liquid flooded into the hallway and the others shrieked as the liquid reached their feet.
DK yelped and backed himself back into the stairwell, the only one avoiding the liquid besides Fly Guy who simply flew above the mess. The door closed on him as he leaned against the railing of the stairwell. He went back to open it to see if the liquid was doing any damage to his friends, but the door was somehow locked shut now. He tugged and tugged on the door, but it wasn't budging one bit. He barged into the door with all his might, but nothing was happening still.
"SHIT! GUYS, THE DOOR'S STUCK! OPEN IT ON YOUR SIDE IF YOU CAN!" DK yelled as he banged on the door to grab their attention.
"HOLY SHIT! IS IT ACID!?" Fly Guy screeched, flying to the ceiling, seeing the black liquid touch everyone's feet quickly.
"Eww! Definitely not acid, but it sure looks really goopy!" Toadette cried, feeling around the goopyness with her shoes. She quickly noticed that she found it hard to move now.
"DK? DK! I think the door's stuck!" Vivian yelled and tried to open it on her side, but when he tried to run over to the door, he could barely move herself in the black goo and she ended up falling over and got the rest of her body covered in the goo. "AHHHHHHHHH! NOOOOOO! I CAN'T MOVE! I FEEL STUCK! WHAT IS THIS STUFF!?"
Everyone then quickly noticed that they also couldn't move, their feet also felt stuck in the goo.
"Holy crap, this is gonna kill our time! Rosalina, do something! Think of a magic spell to get us unstuck!" Crump demanded.
"I know, I know! Just give me a second to think…" Rosalina said, doing her best to concentrate from the stressful and aggravating situation at hand.
Suddenly, the door leading to the room where the fake Luigi was had slammed open. Everyone turned their heads to it and gasped at what they saw. It was still 'Luigi' but he had no eyes in his head. 'Luigi' kept crying and then he stumbled forward, falling face first into the goop. His body 'melted' into the goop, adding a green and blue color to the goop from his clothing. The goop then began to 'vibrate' on its own, as everyone began to notice the goop spreading up their bodies now.
"Oh no! NO NO NOOOOOO! AAAAGGGGGGHHHH! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF THIS FUCKING GOOPY SHIT! ROSALINA AND GRODUS, DO SOMETHIIIIIIIING! OR FLY GUY, FIND SOMETHING THAT CAN HELP US!" Spike screamed in sheer panic.
"I…I wouldn't know what to…uhh…okay! OKAY! I'LL FIND SOMETHING! AAAAHHHHH!" Fly Guy yelled also in panic and zoomed into the room where the goo spilled from.
"I…come on…oh my god…why can't I…I can't think…I feel so…tired…" Rosalina said as if she was out of breath as the goop spread up her body.
Meanwhile, DK gave up on bashing the door open and he thought of another idea that could help: go down to the second floor, get some of the others on that floor to come with him to help out this bleak situation, and use the elevator to go to the third floor. He began his descent down the stairs, but a glimpse of something at the very bottom of the stairwell made him stop in his tracks. He peered down closer and saw what looked like a toad from the dim lighting down there.
"What the…Toadari? Is that you!? TOADARI!?" DK yelled, feeling himself tense up quickly, wanting to beat him to a pulp if that really was him. The toad person then scurried then off, exiting through a door that shone a bright red light down there upon opening the door.
"TOADARIIIII!" DK roared then swung himself down the stairwell via the railings as quick as he could, not wanting to let this chance slip away. Some seconds later, he got himself to the very bottom of the stairwell and swung open the door, leading into a large hallway with a bright red light. He saw at the end of the hall two doors, one on the left and one on the right. The door on the left was left a smidge open, so he chose that one. He kicked open the door and entered, then froze in his tracks again from what he immediately saw in that room.
It was a giant machine with a glass chamber in the dead center of it. DK was astounded by the intricate design.
"What the…god. What the hell is THIS machine used for!?" DK shouted, totally taken aback from this sight.
"It's used for warping between dimensions…wanna try it!?" yelled a voice behind DK, scaring him.
EoC.
Next chapter, Toadsworth and Toodles explain the situation with the hidden room in the basement, the koopalings think Clawdia is becoming suicidal, Starlow tries to escape her treacherous situation while Pauline and Luigi have an eye-opening chit-chat with Paraklyde, Mario and Peach attempt a creative escape from Toadari, the 2nd floor group continue their room raiding while Kooper and Parakarry brawl it out which leads to a heart-breaking revelation, more trouble beyond the goopyness comes to the 3rd floor group but a shining light may come just in the nick of time, and DK learns more about the machine from a completely unexpected person. Next chapter will be uploaded on or before Sunday, September 3. Thanks for reading!