Chapter 10: Flopside Fuss

"Ey Count, you aren't looking too good. Is sumthing bothering yur?" asked O'Chunks. Mario, Blumiere, O'Chunks and, Slim were scouting out the second floor of Flopside before heading to the outskirts.

"I'm not sure," responded Blumiere, "My gut is telling me that something bad has happened."

"Yur gonna ave to be more specific," scratched O'Chunks as he looked into the inn, "Darn, another one missing."

"I'm not sure, but I feel like Timpani is in danger somehow," sighed Blumiere as he peered inside of Norlem's house. Mario patted the Count's back as he and Slim made their way over to Notso's shop.

"I'm sure she's fine," grinned O'Chunks as he passed Blumiere, "That hall er mirrors is the last place that cyborg would go."

"How can you be so sure?" pondered Blumiere as he joined the rest of the group outside of Notso's store.

"It's not like that bucket o' bolts can flip between dimensions like we can!" proclaimed O'Chunks. Mario's nodding was interrupted by the sound of the nearby elevator.

"Uh oh," stammered Slim.

"Quick! Into the shop!" panicked Blumiere. Mario swung open the door to the Flopside shop and dove inside. The plumber was quickly followed by the others. Slim seemed especially startled, but Blumiere shushed everyone as they stood inside the shop. Mario looked through the murky glass of the door and saw a purplish black figure step out of the elevator. The mechanical menace, as O'Chunks had said, did have a gun for an arm. Mario realized what was going on as the cyborg walked further away. It was the corrupted form of Samus carrying two limp bodies. Mario cracked the door and heard two familiar voices.

"I still have no clue what is going on," stated the limp Parakarry.

"Samus must have been corrupted, that's why she shot us," sighed Meta Knight.

"Why did we have to go look for Slim when we can even flip into the third dimension!" complained Parakarry.

"I would like to know why these blasts paralyzed us, instead of knocking us out," groaned Meta Knight.

"Tears of pure fear can weaken the power from my blaster," snapped Corrupted Samus. Inside the shop Blumiere and Slim too realized what was going on.

"Isn't that cyborg your friend, Mario?" asked Blumiere.

"Yeah! That's Samus," whispered Slim.

"I wus wondering why that robit was so familiar," realized O'Chunks. Samus suddenly flipped between dimensions and disappeared from the team's view.

"She must be heading to the outskirts," informed Blumiere.

"Ow can we follow er?" pondered O'Chunks as he stroked his chin. Mario called for Slim, who was hiding behind one of the shelves.

"Mario!" said Slim as he popped out into view, "Look who I found!" The shop keeper, Notso appeared behind Slim.

"Not so bad to see you Mario," sighed Nosto.

"Ey, Notso!" exclaimed O'Chunks, "How'd you escape from that cyborg!"

"People tend to forget about me," frowned the shopkeeper.

"Ok," announced the Count, "I'd love to sit and chat with this lovely person, but we've got someone to follow."

"Ow though?" O'Chunks asked once again. Mario told the brute about Slim's power. O'Chunks waved bye to Nosto as the quartet stepped out of the shop.

Not so bad luck, I guess," told Notso as he stepped back into his hiding place.

"Let's flip into 3-D and follow Samus!" declared Blumiere. The team did as the count said. Mario could see Samus walking down the path that led to Flopside's Outskirts.

"I'm still not sure ow we're supposed to follow er without being spotted," declared O'Chunks as Mario led the way past the old gate. The plumber nodded to Slim, who's body began spinning. The three people's bodies suddenly flipped and became loose.

"This is certainly interesting," thought the count as they continued walking in this new state.

"We're as thin as paper!" smiled O'Chunks.

"If you want to hide, just stop moving," informed Slim. Mario watched Samus carefully as the group got closer to the first floor of Flopside's Outskirts. The man in red would cough anytime Samus would show signs of head movement. Blumiere and O'Chunks would stand still until Mario coughed again. Eventually Samus jumped down the warp pipe that led to a lower level of the outskirts. The group reached the land mass and flipped out of 3D.

"I wus getting tired of sneaking across the walkway," breathed O'Chunks, "I hadn't been so tense since the time I got caught over enemy lines."

"Enemy lines?" asked Slim in shock.

"I wus a great soldier back in the day," chuckled O'Chunks, "I'd rather not talk about it." While Slim was talking to the brute, Mario walked over to the green pipe and pondered if it was safe to go down there.

"What should we do, Mario?" wondered Blumiere, "Samus could be waiting for us at the end of that warp pipe."

"I could go down there and check it out," suggested Slim.

"What if she is down there?" questioned Blumiere.

"If she is down there waiting," planned Slim, "I have no idea what I'll do, but I'm sure it'll be fine."

"If yur insisting," laughed O'Chunks. The Pixl floated over to the pipe, nodded, and disappeared. Mario, O'Chunks, and Blumiere gathered around the pipe, listening for any sounds of Slim or Samus.

"Yeeeouuuch!" echoed Slim from the other side of the pipe.

"Slam!" cried O'Chunks, "I'm coming fer ya!" The Scottish man dived head first into the pipe. Mario and Blumiere soon followed, maybe Slim had provided enough of a distraction to allow the heroes to get the jump on Corrupted Samus. The three guys popped out of the other end of the pipe resulting in a dog pile forming. There Slim was, laughing hysterically.

"What is wrong with you!" grumbled Blumiere as he climbed off of Mario.

"I wanted tell you that the coast was clear," explained Slim, "But as soon as I started talking, I got a paint splinter from the pipe."

"Darnit Slam!" exclaimed O'Chunks after he got to his feet, "We thought that bucket o' bolts had maimed you or sumtin." Mario just sighed.

"I'm just glad you all care about me so much," grinned Slim.

"Did ya happen to see where that Samus went?" glared O'Chunks.

"She went past those piles of blocks, I lost sight of her after that," told Slim.

"Let's continue, I suppose," breathed Blumiere. Mario noted the pipe that led down to the area with the Purple Pure Heart Pillar. Mario, Blumiere, and O'Chunks gave Slim the silent treatment as they made their way over to the previously mentioned warp pipe.

"Come on guys!" complained Slim, "Nothing bad happened!"

"Slam," sneered O'Chunks, "You best think about what yer consider a painful experience before screaming like that again."

"Okay," apologized Slim, "I promise that I won't scream unless there is an actual issue." The team arrived at the pipe that led to the second basement level of the Flopside Outskirts.

"Good," smiled Blumiere, "Now go down this pipe and make sure that the coast is clear."

"Yes sir!" responded Slim with enthusiasm. The Pixl once again jumped down the green warp pipe.

"As he always been this energetic?" asked O'Chunks. Mario nodded as he thought back to his first encounter with the Triangular Pixl. He was a nice fellow who had problems counting properly.

"I suppose that being locked in a chest for 1,500 years can build up a lot of energy," chuckled Blumiere.

"The coast is clear!" echoed Slim from the other end of the pipe. Mario led the way down the pipe, followed by the count and O'Chunks. "See! I promised!" smirked Slim.

"Where did Corrupted Samus go?" asked Blumiere.

"I don't know," shrugged Slim, "But I believe she went down that other warp pipe over there."

"That's the secret entrance to the Flopside pit of a 100 trials!" boomed O'Chunks, "There be enough space in there to keep everyone, I bet that's where Samus is keeping those Merles and Norlim fellers!"

"Don't you mean Merlee and Norlem?" corrected Slim.

"It doesn't matter wut I mean, Nastasia could be down there!" contradicted O'Chunks. Blumiere walked over to the warp pipe and bent closer to listen.

"I do hear some faint voices down there," told Blumiere, "Slim, Pixls first."

"Alright, if you say so," beamed Slim as he joined Blumiere at the side of the pipe. "Wish me luck!" smiled Slim before slipping down the pipe.

"What do we do now, Count?" asked O'Chunks.

"Yeeeouuuch!" screamed Slim, "IT'S REAL THIS TIME!"

"We slip in while Corrupted Samus deals with Slim," coughed Blumiere. Mario once again led the way down the warp pipe. The trio popped out of the other end of the pipe and was stunned by everything that was going on. A majority of Flipside and Flopside's citizens were in a hoard. They were all colored black and white. The small gaps in the floor were filled by some strange dark matter. Where the block pathway once was, there was a large grid-cage system suspended from the ceiling. The trio could see Samus throwing Slim into the cage as well. "Where do we hide?" asked a panicked Blumiere. O'Chunks acted quickly, scooping Mario and Blumiere into his arm, and jumping onto a platform that was fused into the warp pipe.

"This'll do," assured O'Chunks. Now that the crowd of corrupted citizens wasn't blocking their view, the small team could now see who was in the cage. Merlee, Norlem, Meta Knight and Parakarry were expected, but two others were not. Timpani was leaning against a side of the cage with her arms folded. Kirby looked really sad as he watched Samus walk to the front of the crowd.

"My love!" cried Blumiere quietly, "What happened?!" Unfortunately for Blumiere, Timpani did not hear him over the sound of the rowdy crowd of corrupted citizens. Corrupted

Samus raised her hands above her head and cheered, "Hail Dimentio!"

The citizens refrained back, "Hail Master Dimentio!"

"We only need to capture two more before the execution can take place!" announced Samus. Mario gulped as she said this.

"Samus," cried Kirby, "Why do you want to murder us? I thought we were friends!"

"Shut up puffball," sneered Samus, "Secretary, give this prisoner a good punishment."

"With pleasure," smiled a familiar figure. O'Chunks nearly fell off the platform as he saw a black and white Nastasia step forward and walk towards the cage.

"Please! Don't hurt him!" pleaded Timpani.

"I'll add you to the punishment as well, okay?" grinned Corrupted Nastasia as she raised her hand to her face.

"No," gasped Blumiere as the Nastasia laughed maniacally, "Mario, what do we do?" Mario looked to where O'Chunks was standing. The man was gone. Mario quickly turned his head to see a black and red blur flying towards the corrupted forms of Nastasia and O'Chunks.

"Mama Mia," screeched Mario as O'Chunks tackled Nastasia.

"What!" exclaimed Corrupted Samus.

"Get off me!" demanded Corrupted Nastasia. The passion in O'Chunks' eyes was enough to make Blumiere shed a few tears.

"My sweet lass!" shouted O'Chunks, "You've got to snap out of this!"

"Who are you?" gagged Nastasia as she struggled against O'Chunks grasp, "My leader, please help me!" Corrupted Samus fired a devastating blast into O'Chunks's chest, sending him tumbling into the sea of corrupted civilians of Flipside and Flopside.

"No!" shouted Blumiere as he and Mario jumped down from the platform, "O'Chunks!"

"Mario?" peeped Kirby.

"Blumiere?" added Timpani.

"Now I'm even more confused," shrugged Parakarry. Blumiere rushed to O'Chunks' side.

"Are you okay?" asked a panicked Blumiere. O'Chunks looked at Mario and the count and smiled.

"It'll take a lot more than a wee blast to knock me down robit!" shouted O'Chunks.

"What!" shrieked Corrupted Samus, "That blast was at ninety percent power. That should have been lethal!"

"Minions seize them!" commanded Corrupted Nastasia from the front of the room. The large number of black and white civilians quickly overwhelmed Mario, Blumiere, and O'Chunks. With their hands pinned behind their backs with some sort of dark matter, the trio were hauled to the front of the room. The three of them face planted as the minions threw them forward. They attempted to get onto their feet, but only managed to get onto their knees.

"The man in red and that dapper fellow were our last two targets. We even got a bonus one," sneered Samus as she readied her arm canon.

"This will be a treat, the first execution!" cheered Nastasia.

"Please don't!" cried Timpani, "He's my everything!"

"Too bad!" grumbled Corrupted Samus as her cannon began glowing ominously.

"I don't want to watch as my friends are blasted to bits!" added Meta Knight.

"Say goodbye Mario, Blumiere, and whatever your name is," laughed Nastasia evilly.

"That's enough!" boomed O'Chunks, "Ma lass! I'm O'Chunks, yer boyfriend. This is the count! He's alive and yet the chaos blinds the woman I love. Open yer eyes Nassy! Please, I know ya can pull through!"

"How sentimental," said Samus. A yellow aura began radiating from Mario's pocket. "Huh?" stammered Samus as she aimed towards the plumber.

"The yellow Pure Heart?" peeped Timpani. The previously mentioned Pure Heart flew from Mario's pocket and floated over to O'Chunks.

"Fire now!" shouted Corrupted Nastasia. Corrupted Samus nodded and released a power sphere of dark energy. A wave of bright, sun-like energy pulsed from the Pure Heart. The blast from Corrupted Samus's cannon stopped in its tracks.

"Attack them!" commanded Corrupted Samus at the sphere of energy. The Yellow Pure Heart shone even brighter, slowly turning the orb from the deepest of blacks to the warmest of yellows. Another wave of energy from the heart raised the now yellow orb to the top of the room.

"What's going on?" demanded Corrupted Nastasia. O'Chunks smiled. Mario knew the power of the pure hearts far too well not to laugh. The orb burst, sending a massive pulse of energy sweeping across the room. The light blinded Mario, Blumiere, and O'Chunks. The trio felt the force binding their hands disappear as the room slowly came back into vision. Mario looked around to see all of the citizens of Flipside and Flopside were alright.

"Waah!" shrieked Kirby as he fell from the cage that was now disappearing. Blumiere reacted quickly, running over to catch his wife.

"Thanks dear," smiled Timpani and she was held in Blumiere's arms. She kissed her husband sweetly as the count put her back on the ground. O'Chunks ran over to catch Norlem and Merlee. Parakarry, Slim, and Meta Knight simply floated down as the cage completely disappeared.

"Thanks for catching me I guess," coughed Kirby as he pushed himself off of the floor.

"What happened exactly?" asked Meta Knight.

"I know the Pure Hearts together are very powerful, but I've never seen a single Pure Heart do so much," stated Timpani.

"Ugh," groaned a voice near the front of the room.

"Nassy!" called O'Chunks as he ran towards the groan.

"O'Chunks?" moaned Nastasia, "What's going on?" The brute helped his sweet lass to her feet and hugged her tightly. While this was going on, Merlee and Norlem were explaining the situation to the townspeople.

"I wus so worried about ya lass!" cried O'Chunks as he held Nastasia tightly.

"Thanks dear, I still don't know what happened," smiled Nastasia as she responded to O'Chunks' hug.

"Wait... Samus!" realized Kirby as he and Mario ran to the front of the room. There the blonde bounty hunter was lying on the floor.

"Kirby? Mario?" muttered Samus, "I'm confused."

"Sam," questioned Kirby as the plumber helped her to her feet, "What happened to your Power Suit?"

"What do you mean," coughed Samus as she rubbed her head, "I left it at the castle. The last thing I remember is being blasted by Dimentio."

"The chaos energy must have replicated your Power Suit," thought Meta Knight.

"You were corrupted and sent here to corrupt others," explained Timpani. Samus tilted her head in slight confusion as she looked around the room.

"Now I'm really confused," stated Samus, "Meta Knight, Parakarry, Count Bleck, some lady that seems really familiar, and O'Chunks hugging Nastasia for some reason. What did I miss?"

"Not Bleck," corrected Blumiere, "Blumiere. This is Timpani, she used to travel with you."

"May I suggest a better place to explain," announced Norlem as he stepped to the front, "Merlee and I are going to need help escorting these citizens back to town. We can explain everything at my house."

"Yes it's true! The day is saved thanks to you!" rhymed Merlee, "This is no place to explain. All this cramping would be a pain. A charm to give so that I. In this place I cannot supply."

"I guess that makes sense, for the first time today," snickered Parakarry. The group laughed as the sixty people in the room began making their way back to Flipside and Flopside.

"Wait a second," realized Samus, "Are you Tippi!?"

"Never mind," sighed Parakarry as Meta Knight him on the back.