~Chapter Three: Comfort~

Mario was so relieved when the spirits had been freed and revealed they had been protecting Pac-Man. Mario took him on - Pac-Man was one of his closest friends after all - and caught him up to speed with what had happened. With no Mega Man to translate Pac-Man's speech Mario wasn't sure what his friend was saying, but he saw the determination in his eyes to set everyone free. After all, Pac-Man was like a surrogate dad to Mega Man and no doubt he was concerned about the robot.

Night was starting to fall and the Villagers were getting tired, so Captain Falcon suggested they stop for the night so they could all get some well needed rest. Mario couldn't sleep though, he was too worried about everyone else who hadn't been saved yet.

He wasn't the only one either. Isabelle hovered over Rose like a concerned mother, she'd pretty much refused to leave the little girls side since they were reunited. Eventually she sighed and turned to Mario, eyes watery.

"This isn't fair," she whispered as to not wake anyone up. "The world has already been so cruel to her. And now this happens."

Mario frowned. He didn't know much about Rose's past, other than she was from the Animal Forest and the other children were her friends. She was always cheerful and was quite fond of Sonic in particular until Isabelle showed up. She noticed the confusion on Mario's face and gave the little girl one last pat on the head before moving closer to Mario.

"She's an orphan," Isabelle revealed, voice breaking. "She was a baby when her parents passed away. So we took her in and raised her, to the best of our abilities," Isabelle turned away. "I'm like a big sister to her, and whenever the other children's parents send them letters I write one to her to make sure she never feels left out. And for the most part I don't think she does, but I can't take the place of her parents. None of us in the forest can, Stitches is barely older than her! And I'm still so young and my job as the mayor's assistant makes it difficult to raise her."

Isabelle started to tear up and Mario patted her on the arm. "You seem to have done a great job considering how sweet and empathetic she is. You should all be incredibly proud of what you've been able to accomplish. I'm sure... her parents would be proud too."

Isabelle managed to smile a bit at that. "I'm so worried about everyone," she admitted. "Sure, we still have our bodies but everyone else... Digby..."

Morbid as it was, Mario was relieved to know that someone else was just as concerned about the spirits as he was. He wished he had the answer but honestly didn't know if they'd be reunited with their bodies as well. He simply remained quiet and let Isabelle get everything out of her system. After a few moments her sobs turned into quiet sniffles and she wiped her eyes. "She really trusts Sonic," she continued. "He reminds her of the Able Sisters, they're all hedgehogs. And the youngest one, Mable, is blue just like him. I-I've wondered if maybe he's distantly related to us, we're both anthropomorphic animals after all, but his species seems a little more human than us. I'm glad... there's someone here that was so kind to her while I was absent."

Mario wouldn't deny that in the slightest - Sonic had always made time for the little girl when she skipped up and wanted to play. He himself had joined in playing house on a few occasions, but it was very clear on who her favorite was of the two. And Mario understood - Sonic's natural talent of being good with kids was even better than his and since she was accustomed to animals it made sense why she gravitated towards him.

It was one of the things he loved about him...

Mario shook that thought away. He had no time to think about that right now, he needed to focus on what was at hand. "Most of the Smashers think she's a sweetheart. Even Master Hand gave her a seat for her teddy bear at the dinner table."

"Mr. Stuffy is the only thing she has from her parents," Isabelle explained. "That's why it means so much to her. I hope... he's still there for her if we ever get back to the mansion." Isabelle took a deep breath and smiled at Mario. "Thank you for listening. I... I'm so stressed and scared right now. It's so hard staying strong when the future is uncertain."

"I know." Mario glanced towards the group, a small fraction of their friends and family. His heart sunk not knowing where his brother could be as their telepathic communication had been shut off no matter how hard he tried to connect with him. "But as long as we have each other... I think we'll be okay. And we will find the others. I hope Samus' group has had more luck than ours."

Isabelle absentmindedly nodded and gave Mario a side-hug before returning to Rose's side, laying down next to her and closing her eyes. Mario remained awake, looking up at the night sky before he eventually became so exhausted that he fell into a fitful slumber.

He dreamed about his missing friends and family that night, Sonic particular prominent in his mind.

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SilverXephon: I'm glad the tone I was going for has translated well into text. Thank you for the review!