OK, readers. This is the 70th chapter of this story!

Now, we've pretty much reached the climax of Chapter 7. There isn't much to say right now, other than the fact that this chapter will showcase the Chapter 7 boss.

In this chapter, Andrew and his friends will have to deal with Lord Crump again for the fourth and final time. They will have to face him in the upgraded version of Magnus von Grapple; known as Magnus von Grapple 2.0, and they'll have to give it their all against the much more powerful version of the Magnus mech.

Additionally, they will find out that Peach has been taken away and relocated elsewhere, which Lord Crump 'clearly' doesn't know anything about, and the eight heroes will have to find out her new location after claiming the Crystal Star from Crump.

And a few other things will occur. How will things go for Andrew and his friends? Read and find out, now!


IN THE FARTHEST ROOM OF THE X-NAUT FORTRESS:

It didn't take long for the eight of them to get through the door and end up in the room. It was rather spacious. A little too spacious, since there was barely anything aside from a platform that was at the end of the room. There were a few steel barrels filled with cannonballs, but that's about it.

Right as they were entering the room, Goombella had decided to bring something up with Andrew. And it involved the princess.

"Well, Andrew. This is it," Goombella remarked. "Once we get that Crystal Star, we'll be able to save the princess too."

"Yup," Andrew nodded absentmindedly.

"That's what you've been wanting right?" Goombella asked him.

"I guess so," Andrew shrugged casually.

"So after this, I guess this'll be it," Goombella had to admit with a sad smile. "Once you rescue the princess, you'll be returning to your home in the Mushroom Kingdom. And we would've averted a disaster. Do you still want to go home, after everything you've been through? Andrew?"

Andrew was unable to say anything about it at first. Truth be told, he had grown so used to this quest, that he did not give it much thought. Granted, he 'really' did want to go home sooner and find the princess as quickly as possible. But the more Crystal Stars that he got, the more adjusted he was getting into collecting them and traveling with his friends.

The tipping point came around the time his name and identity were stolen from him by the likes of Doopliss. He had taken so many things for granted and had promised to be a better leader to his friends. Since then, he's stuck by his word, and managed to have seven friends traveling with him, as he had six Crystal Stars currently.

So once he did rescue the princess, would he be ready to bring this journey to a close? Did he want to part ways with his friends after getting the last Crystal Star? Was he not willing to end this adventure too soon?

Regardless, he had given it much thought as he sighed. After being silent for several moments, Andrew finally found his voice.

"...I haven't given it much thought. I'll let you know more once we do save the princess," Andrew told her calmly. "And I'll also resolve the issue with the Thousand-Year Door with you guys too, like I promised. Even when we do save the princess from the clutches of Sir Grodus."

"Gotcha, Andrew," Goombella winked at him. "Now, where is the X-Naut boss? You'd think that he'd be in here, right?"

"Yeah," Andrew rubbed his chin. "But where is he hiding?"

All of a sudden, they heard a hearty laugh come from the platform at the end of the room. This got them on high alert.

"Buh! Buh! Buh huh huh!" A rather familiar laugh was heard.

Andrew now had to raise his eyebrow. That couldn't be from Grodus. It sounded way too familiar. And there was no way that HE could be the X-Naut boss, considering that he and his friends faced him at least three other times.

Oh great... Andrew thought with a frown. That isn't who I think it is, is it?

Then to answer his question, he looked up to the platform along with his friends, and they saw who it was. It was none other, than Lord Crump. And he had an impatient look on his face. It looked like he was waiting centuries for them to arrive. He decided to voice himself on this.

"I've been waiting for you!" Lord Crump bellowed out to them. "Oh, MAN, have I been waiting! And I HAAAAAAAATE waiting!"

Andrew narrowed his eyebrows at him as he reacted. "Well, Lord Crump. We meet again!"

"Andrew? This happens to be Lord Crump, is he?" Ms. Mowz asked him. "He's the same one who invaded the Great Tree with those X-Nauts."

"Yup," Andrew nodded. "And he disguised himself as Four-Eyes to stow away on the S.S. Flavion while we went to Keelhaul Key."

"You again!" Goombella spat at him.

"You've been...um...waiting?" Koops raised a suspicious eyebrow at him.

"And WHAT does that mean?" Flurrie huffed, crossing her arms.

"Yeah!" Yoshiam shook his fist at him. "What the heck is THAT supposed to mean?"

"You've been waiting for us? What does THAT mean?" Vivian frowned at this.

"Whatever do you mean by THAT, you boor?" Bobbery sneered.

"Yes. I'd like to know too," Ms. Mowz snorted. "Been waiting, have you? And what does THAT mean?"

"And why were you waiting for us!?" Andrew demanded, pointing a finger at him.

"Buh huh!" Lord Crump waved it off as he wasted no time in gloating about it. "I'll TELL you what it means! I used the Crystal Star to lure you here..."

Lord Crump then pointed to Andrew before he continued smugly. "So that I could take all of YOUR Crystal Stars! How brilliant is THAT, huh?"

"Yeah," Andrew huffed sarcastically. "Real smart, Crump."

The next thing that Crump wanted to tell them was something he'd been DYING to reveal to them. And it was something that would 'definitely' throw them off balance. After shaking his head, Lord Crump then decided to share it with them.

"And wanna know the best part?" Lord Crump then revealed in the most snide manner. "Your little Peachy girl isn't even here anymore!"

"WHAT!?" Andrew howled, as he felt he misheard him.

Did he just say that Princess Peach was no longer here? In that case, where was she being held now? Andrew demanded answers from him, along with his friends.

"So Peach WAS here!" Andrew sneered, glaring at him.

"Buh huh! That's right, Mr. Smartmouth!" Lord Crump told him haughtily.

All eight of them glared at him, feeling the worst may have happened to the Mushroom Kingdom Princess. There was no way that they would accept this fact sitting down. So they reacted accordingly.

"Where did you take her, you slimeball?!" Andrew roared while pointing angrily at Crump.

"Huge weasel?!" Goombella snarled, looking pretty fed up with looking at Lord Crump and all of his snottiness.

"Fiend?!" Koops glowered at him, feeling a strong sense of bravery overtake him as he wasn't afraid to let him know about it.

"Vile thing?!" Flurrie boomed, trying her best to remain proper and polite without looking pompous in the process.

"Scumbag?!" Yoshiam howled, looking like he was getting ready to pummel Lord Crump right on the spot.

"Crump?!" Vivian was the only one to not call him a foul name, but she was still furious with him if her hands curling into fists was any indication.

"Hurly-burler?!" Bobbery spat, not appreciating how this cad was trying to mess with them again, along with the princess that they were hoping to rescue from this fortress.

"Awful man?!" Ms. Mowz growled, seeming upset as she was cracking her fingers and planning to take action against Crump if it was 'absolutely' necessary.

Lord Crump was taken aback by their insults, but he brushed that off along with their anger. Instead, he remained cool and confident when he responded to the question he was given.

"BUH! BUH! BUH! BUH! BUH! Like I'd tell you the plan! That's novice-villain style!" Lord Crump laughed haughtily before dismissing the question. "No, I won't be doing anything like that. Sorry, 'really', guys..."

"You don't even know where she was taken, do you, Crump?" Andrew had to deadpan in complete annoyance to his rather sudden ignorance.

"So... Ready for showtime?" Lord Crump ignored Andrew's question as he directed their attention to the mech that was right behind him.

It looked an awful lot like Magnus von Grapple, but there were several differences with it. For one, the main body, hands, and feet were gray instead of pink and dark red.

Also, the fists were sharp and pointy instead of rounded, and were red instead of gray. The arms and legs were blue instead of gray.

Lastly, the X on the front of it was yellow instead of white, and there was a red-colored '2' placed in the center of the X. Andrew was a little confused by it as Lord Crump rubbed the side of it while gloating about it.

"You guys are gonna be the perfect workout for..." Lord Crump then declared proudly. "Magnus Von Grapple 2.0!"

"Magnus Von Grapple 2.0? Seriously?" Andrew gave him a look. "Tell me something. Is it anything like the previous one? Because regardless, we're gonna trash that just like we did with the first Magnus Von Grapple!"

"That's right," his friends all agreed with him.

"Keep telling yourself that, but your smart-mouth comments will bite you in the butt once you see how strong this baby is!" Lord Crump then climbed in and got into the cockpit of the mech. "Now Andrew? I'm only going to say this once. Hand those six Crystal Stars to me, like a good boy."

"Never." Andrew sneered as he got out his Ultra Bat and pointed it toward it.

"Very well," Lord Crump huffed, getting ready to pilot Magnus 2.0. "Then I hope you're up to the challenge...because this thing is raw horsepower, kiddies!"

As soon as he said that, Lord Crump piloted Magnus 2.0 and got it to jump down from the platform and landed on the ground near where Andrew and his friends were standing.


As soon as Magnus 2.0 took a couple of more feet towards them, Andrew found himself in front of the colossal mech being driven by Crump. Nonetheless, he was on guard and would take down the upgraded Magnus Von Grapple along with his friends.

Lord Crump decided to get this battle underway as he cleared his throat and got their attention.

"Buh! Buh! Buh huh huh!" Lord Crump laughed before he declared. "Yeah, the last version was buggy, so we made improvements... One...two...a DOZEN!"

He then pointed the right fist of Magnus 2.0 towards the heroes before he yelled. "Get ready for a whole new way to experience pain, you junior-varsity losers!"

All seven of Andrew's friends were looking determined to take down this mech that was in front of them, as well as Andrew. They would make sure that this fight would finally convince Lord Crump to never mess with them again.

"Oh, please!" Goombella retorted as she rolled her eyes. "As if we're not going to 'totally' whip you! For like, the tenth time!"

"YOU'RE the one who's going to be hurting!" Koops yelled, curling his hands into fists. "No matter how many times we do this!"

"Oh, you foolish, foolish man," Flurrie shook her head at this, as she had gotten ready to fight him too. "My dear, you KNOW we're just going to beat you again!"

"Aw, man, you know we're just gonna spank you again!" Yoshiam snorted in a taunting manner, cracking his knuckles to get ready for a fight. "You're out of your tree!"

"You're the one who's going to suffer, Crump!" Vivian shook her fists and glowered at him with a deep frown. "No matter how many times we do this!"

"I say, old boy, I rather think YOU'RE going to be the one doing the suffering!" Bobbery grumbled at him, as he looked like he was about to light his fuse to attack him.

"Don't kid yourself, dearie!" Ms. Mowz sneered, stretching her fingers to prepare for battle.

"Yeah! You heard them, Crump! We've already beaten you several times before!" Andrew declared as he tightly gripped his Ultra Bat. "And if we gotta trash that upgraded Magnus just to prove our point that you should never mess with us, and to claim that Crystal Star, then so be it! Let's do this!"

"Have it your way, Andrew!" Lord Crump howled. "This'll only prove to be beneficial in my favor!"

"Bring it on! But first things first," Andrew then turned to look at Goombella. "Goombella? Do you have any information on this upgraded version of Magnus Von Grapple?"

"Don'tcha worry! I'm all over it!" Goombella got out her Tattle Log and looked through the book to find it. "Ah-HA! I found it right here! Ready to hear it, Andrew?"

"As I'll ever be," Andrew gave her a confident smirk. "You can start when you're ready."

"You got it! Ahem!" Goombella cleared her throat and read from her Tattle Log. "Ah! Magnus Von Grapple 2.0. The upgraded version of Magnus Von Grapple."

"Yeah. Lord Crump pretty much revealed that to us," Andrew sighed. "And it looks like it was made just recently."

"Probably was," Goombella then continued reading from her Tattle Log. "Anyway, its basic attack is a drill move that drops from above. It also sometimes releases its fists for flying X-Punches."

"So instead of stomping on us, it drills down onto us from the air," Andrew deduced. "And it can launch its fists to attack us, just like the first Magnus Von Grapple."

"Exactly! But there's more that you should know about," Goombella continued reading from her Tattle Log. "When those fists detached from the arms, you may get attacked by the fists and body in one swift movement... Take care of those fists early on, trust me. You'll be in a world of hurt if you don't."

"Yeesh," Andrew frowned. "That doesn't sound good."

"It gets worse," Goombella continued to warn him. "Once the body's starting to get worn out, it'll also fire machine guns and who knows what else."

"Well, that explains the cannonballs that are in the steel barrels," Andrew grimaced. "That could mean big trouble for us."

"That's right," Goombella nodded. "It may not look too different from the last version, but it's much stronger, so be careful!"

"Yeah!" Andrew nodded. "Let's all be on guard when dealing with this mech!"

Goombella nodded before giving her opinion on the upgraded Magnus. "I still think the whole design is a little ridiculous, though..."

"You and me both," Andrew agreed. "Well, if this mech thinks it can put up a fight against us, then so can we! This fight is going to be different from the first version of Magnus since there are now eight of us, which means we have way more ground to cover. With that said, let's give it our all anyway!"

With that, Andrew got the fight started by charging toward Magnus 2.0, where he then jumped up and unleashed his Power Jump attack on it, leaving some bootprints on the chest of the mech.

Before Lord Crump could react, Andrew then followed up by slamming his Ultra Bat into the mech with a good Power Swing attack. A minor dent was left in its wake. But despite that, Magnus 2.0 was still functioning properly.

Lord Crump was seething from those attacks, as he decided to show them what Magnus 2.0 was capable of doing.

"All right! That does it! You asked for it! Time to show you what this baby can do!" Lord Crump yelled. "Here it comes, suckers! Magnus Drill Attack!"

Crump then activated the booster on the mech and went flying into the air. Once Magnus 2.0 was high enough, he then turned it around and started spinning like a drill to the ground where Andrew and his friends were standing, with its pointy fist facing them.

"Hey guys," Andrew blinked at this. "I think we better get out of the way!"

Andrew was able to grab Goombella and jumped out of the way, as did the others. Still, Andrew felt the impact of the attack, and it certainly wasn't like the original at all.

"Jeepers. Thanks for the save, Andrew," Goombella thanked him as if it was no surprise. "Still, you OK?"

"I'm...fine," Andrew panted. "I just didn't think it was that strong. That drill attack could put the hurting on us, so we'll have to fight back!"

"Gotcha, Andrew!" Goombella beamed as she jumped away from him. "I'll do the honor!"

Goombella then marched over and delivered a painful Headbonk to the chest of the mech, striking it twice in a row. Lord Crump felt the impact and pain his Magnus 2.0 was enduring.

But before he could retaliate, Koops was already one step ahead and rammed right into the legs of Magnus 2.0 with a Shell Toss, dealing some more damage. Koops did a breakdance move to get away before he walked back over to where the others were.

"Buh! Buh! Buh huh huh!" Lord Crump laughed this off. "Don't push your luck, you fools! This battle is just getting started!"

"We know. And we aren't holding back either," Andrew looked to his Wind Spirit friend with benefits. "All right, Flurrie! It's your turn!"

"I'll be 'absolutely' delighted to teach this cad a thing or two, sweetums," Flurrie told him as she soared through the air.

From there, she landed on the top of Magnus 2.0 with her Body Slam attack, and created another dent on the right shoulder, albeit minor.

Lord Crump then decided to perform another Magnus Drill Attack to plow through the heroes. What he didn't count on was that Yoshiam was a step ahead of him, and used the position Magnus 2.0 to his advantage.

Once it was within range, Yoshiam used his flutter-jump to land right on the back of Magnus 2.0. Once the upgraded Magnus was back on its feet, Yoshiam took it from there by flutter-jumping over to the head of the mech and prepared to dish out his Ground Pound attack.

Thanks to the two Power Plus P badges that Andrew was wearing, Yoshiam was able to plow into the armor like it was nothing but simple cardboard. He struck him at least six times in a row. He then did a backflip through the air and landed right next to Andrew.

It was Vivian's turn, as she sank into the shadows and reemerged right in front of Magnus 2.0. She was able to stretch herself up to the head of the mech, of which Crump got a good look at this.

He then flinched when Vivian decked the cockpit with her Shade Fist, leaving behind a charred stain and the mech was suffering from a flame that appeared as a result.

Before Lord Crump could react, Bobbery summoned three Bomb Squad time bombs, which landed right near Magnus 2.0 and were set to explode in five minutes. Bobbery then shook his head and marched up to the mech, as he lit his fuse.

As soon as he was in front of the mech, he started flashing red before he unleashed his Bomb attack on Magnus 2.0 with an explosion. Lord Crump could feel Magnus 2.0 recoil from the blast that Bobbery unleashed. Bobbery then regenerated and landed right next to Andrew.

"Great work as usual, Bobbery," Andrew proclaimed.

"Aye. It's all in a day's work, I should say," Bobbery told him calmly.

Lord Crump then shook his head and decided to try something else with this mech. What he had in mind was something that would throw the eight heroes off guard.

"Buh huh huh! Time to unleash some of the sweet special features on this bad boy!" Lord Crump cackled haughtily. "Oh, man, this is gonna be so good..."

With a press of a button, Lord Crump launched his X-Punches from both hands as they were set to ram into and plow right through Andrew and his team.

"Omigosh! Those are the X-Punches that I was talking about!" Goombella yelped. "And they're gonna cream us into a shish kabob!"

"Oh no," Vivian frowned. "We gotta get rid of them quickly before they plow us!"

"Don't worry, guys! I've got this," Andrew decided to jump in. "It's time that I use something that I haven't used in a while!"

With that, Andrew produced two shurikens from his backpack, which got the others rather surprised by this. Ms. Mowz, however, was rather intrigued that a man like Andrew would have those in his possession.

"Well. Hmm mmm mmm mmm... This is a pleasant surprise," Ms. Mowz proclaimed. "Andrew, dearie, I had no idea that you had those on hand."

"That's right," Andrew nodded. "And they're gonna be used to destroy the X-Punches! Watch this."

In one swift movement, Andrew tossed the two shurikens at both X-Punches. Upon impact, both of them exploded on the spot, leaving nothing in their way.

"I must say, that was a rather bold move you pulled there, old boy," Bobbery had to admit. "But of course, since it got the job done, it hardly even matters."

"Yeah! Way to go, Presto!" Yoshiam cheered. "We can defeat this bucket of bolts in no time flat!"

"No kidding," Andrew nodded. "Let's just be on guard."

At that moment, Lord Crump activated the mech's Flying Disk attack. To do this, he summoned part of the surface of the mech's body which took the shape of a square with a circle in the center. In a matter of seconds, four metal ends came out as a hatch door closed up in the circle. Seeing that it was gonna slice them up, Andrew knew what this meant.

"Uh oh, guys? We're about to get sliced up!" Andrew yelled. "Get out of the way!"

With that, his friends cleared away from the attack while Andrew ducked and barrel-rolled out of the way from the attack. Even though he dodged being sliced up, he could feel the impact and how he was almost cut to pieces by it.

"Yowch," Andrew rubbed his head. "Magnus Von Grapple 2.0 is one piece of work. That one 'actually' hurt."

"Oh, dearie. You shan't worry no longer," Flurrie floated over to him. "I shall provide for you the protection that you deserve!"

With that, Flurrie was about to perform her Dodgy Fog move. To do this, she closed her eyes and scrunched her face while quaking her arms and hands close together, as if she was doing something rather...questionable, getting Andrew to raise an eyebrow.

In a matter of seconds, Flurrie had spread her arms out over her head, as she had just summoned a misty-looking fog from her being. The misty fog then surrounded Andrew, providing some rather incredible protection against some of the strong attacks that Magnus 2.0 could dish out at Andrew.

"Wow. This is cool," Andrew had to smile as the fog that was surrounding his body. "This happens to be Dodgy Fog, isn't it?"

"That's right, darling. And it shall protect you, for the most part!" Flurrie promised him. "I do believe that it shall prove to be effective and useful to you, hon. At least, I hope."

"Well, thanks for this Flurrie," Andrew beamed. "Now I feel a little more secure!"

"Anytime, my darling, Andrew," Flurrie told him seductively as she gave him a wink.

"Hmm mmm mmm mmm mmm, now I think it's my turn," Ms. Mowz snickered in determination. "Let's see this mech try to stop the globe-trotting badge thief herself!"

With that, Ms. Mowz marched over before she jumped into the air and landed in front of the cockpit. In a matter of seconds, she then dished out her Love Slap attack on Magnus 2.0, striking it with three slaps in a row. And Crump was able to feel that impact.

Once her deed was done, she did a backflip and landed right near Andrew while spreading her arms out.

"Great job, Ms. Mowz," Andrew gave her a thumbs up. "I'm impressed. You're 'really' good at this."

"There was never any doubt in what I am capable of, my sweet," Ms. Mowz told him sweetly. "Just remember that."

"Right," Andrew nodded at that.

By now, the five-minute time limit had expired. As such, the three Bomb Squad time bombs blew up and left some more significant damage on Magnus 2.0, with Lord Crump feeling his mech quaking from the blasts that it had endured.

As Lord Crump was regaining his posture from those blasts, Andrew was able to jump ahead and perform his Power Bounce attack on the chest of Magnus 2.0, striking it at least 9 times in a row.

Goombella then followed up and performed her Multibonk attack, hitting Magnus 2.0 in the chest at least 11 times in a row.

Once Lord Crump shook his head, he summoned two more X-Punches, only to launch them straight at the heroes, which got them on alert.

"Uh oh. He's launching the X-Punches at us again," Andrew warned his friends. "We better get ready!"

"Allow me, dearie," Flurrie floated up. "I shall dispose of these fists so they mustn't try to harm us!"

After taking a deep breath, Flurrie then unleashed her Gale Force move on the X-Punches, creating a strong wind that was powerful enough to send the X-Punches backward. They then slammed into the wall behind them, in which they exploded upon impact.

Then to pull a rather weasel move, Crump summoned TWO MORE X-Punches AND launched them at the heroes. This got all eight of them to wince at what Lord Crump had just done.

"OMIGOSH! ANDREW!" Goombella yelled. "That weasel is launching two more X-Punches at us!"

"BUH HUH HUH! That's right, little girly!" Lord Crump bellowed proudly. "You've forgotten who you're messing with! I'm Lord Crump! I can do whatever dirty trick that I want! So deal with it!"

"All right, Crump," Vivian floated up. "I think you should know what happens when you try to hurt my friends. Especially Andrew!"

Vivian then went and put up her right hand and started waving her index finger. In a matter of seconds, a magical spark appeared as she unleashed her Fiery Jinx on the X-Punches. Both of them were scorched by flames, and they immediately exploded once they caught on fire.

Her Fiery Jinx also managed to scorch Magnus 2.0, which had caught on fire again, much to Lord Crump's dismay.

While Lord Crump was seeing to it that the flames would be put out, Koops went into his shell and started charging up power before plowing through Magnus 2.0.

Once he had enough power charged up, he unleashed his Shell Slam on Magnus 2.0, doing some impeccable damage to it, especially since it rammed right through the mech's armor.

"All right! Way to go, Koops! That was awesome!" Andrew cheered. "And the same goes for you, Vivian! Good job!"

"Ummm...well," Koops rubbed the back of his head. "I'm just trying my best is all."

"Yeah Andrew," Vivian agreed as she blushed slightly. "We're just here to help you out with anything that tries to hurt you."

"I know," Andrew smiled. "Regardless, we got this giant mech cornered!"

By now, Lord Crump regained himself as he saw the eight heroes still standing. He was certain that they wouldn't been trampled by now. Well, now he had another special weapon that he was planning to demonstrate and he was gonna use Andrew as a test subject.

"Buh huh huh...uh, crud," Lord Crump huffed and panted. "You guys should be little puddles of nothing by now..."

"You had enough yet, Crump?" Andrew asked him with a smirk. "You finally got the message that you shouldn't mess with us?"

"Gah! Fat chance!" Lord Crump then told him sharply. "After all, I've still got some tricks up my sleeve!"

"Say what?" Andrew raised an eyebrow.

To answer his question, Magnus 2.0's legs were spread apart slightly, as a vacuum hose appeared from underneath it, as Lord Crump activated the booster again. Magnus 2.0 went flying over to where one of the steel barrels was, as the vacuum hose sucked up all of the cannonballs that were in one of the barrels.

All eight of them were shocked by that as Magnus 2.0 landed right back in front of them, with the vacuum hose going back up with the cannonballs inside the mech.

The cover of the body opened up the hatches and revealed a hole in the upper center, which was 'evidently' a cannon. Lord Crump was gonna feel some satisfaction from doing this.

"Buh! Buh! Buh huh huh!" Lord Crump laughed before he declared. "EAT THIS!"

He then moved a lever to make sure the target was aiming at Andrew. Once he was sure that the muscular man was in the bull's eye of the target, he got ready to open fire by using the Rapid Fire Cannon attack on him.

"Guys, we better run," Andrew informed them.

His friends nodded in agreement as Vivian went into the shadows while Koops went into his shell and zipped out of the way. Everyone else just ran and dove for cover nearby. Andrew realized that Crump was targeting him as he ducked, dodged, swerved, and jumped out of the way.

And the ones that he didn't dodge missed him thanks to the Dodgy Fog that was protecting him. Still, he almost felt the impact from the ones that he 'did' dodge. As soon as the firing was done, the chest hatches closed back up and the legs moved back in place. By now, the effects of Dodgy Fog wore off as the fog surrounding Andrew disappeared.

"All right," Andrew said. "I'm assuming that that's the vacuum cannon attack that Goombella warned me about earlier."

"That's right, Andrew," Goombella called out. "So we 'totally' need to be on guard!"

"Eh, who's worried?" Yoshiam brushed it off. "Let's see if Lord Crump can guard THIS!"

With that, Yoshiam laid four Mini-Eggs in a row, as he was about to perform his Mini-Egg attack. From there, he threw all four of them at Magnus 2.0, dealing damage to him four times in a row.

From there, he flutter-jumped up and landed another Ground Pound attack on the head of Magnus 2.0. He left a couple of cracks on the cockpit while striking it six times in a row. From there, Flurrie felt like it was her turn to have at it with the upgraded Magnus that was in front of her.

After grabbing both sides of the cockpit, Flurrie then went ahead and used her Lip Lock attack on the mech. She kissed Magnus 2.0, draining it of its energy while adding it to her own. After a few moments of doing this, she was all set as she backed up and floated away from the drained mech.

Lord Crump then summoned two more X-Punches to join with Magnus 2.0's hands. Only this time, he decided to unleash his Rapid Fire Cannon attack again, by vacuuming up more cannonballs from another steel barrel before planning to aim them at Andrew.

"Hey, Koops!" Andrew yelled for his Koopa friend. "I'm gonna need a Shell Shield, right away!"

"Got it!" Koops nodded as he held his hands up and managed to summon a Shell Shield.

The Shell Shield landed right near Andrew, who picked it up and held it in front of him as a shield. By the time the cannon was aimed at him, Andrew was protected by the Shell Shield.

Each cannonball plowed into the Shell Shield, making several cracks on the surface of the Shell Shield. By the time the last cannonball struck it, there were so many cracks that the Shell Shield crumbled and turned to debris.

Even though he was protected from it, he felt worn out from the impact that the Rapid Fire Cannon attack tried to do to him. He felt the wind knocked out of him as he was panting and shaking his head.

"You all right, Andrew?" Goombella asked him in concern.

"Ow... Yes. I'm all right, Goombella. That thing is strong though," Andrew huffed and panted. "I don't know if I can do many more attacks because of its brute strength..."

"Well, don'tcha worry about that, Andrew!" Goombella attempted to perk him up. "I've got just the thing to get you back into the fighting spirit!"

With that, Goombella marched up to him and then pulled off her Rally Wink move. To do this, she started doing some preppy pep rally moves that she learned during her stay at the University of Goom. All while letting out a chant to let Andrew know what he means to her.

"Andrew, Andrew, he's our friend! He's totally strong, and he can defend!" Goombella was chanting while approaching Andrew. "As our leader, he'll fight and knock this creep's block in a flash! He can crush this bucket of bolts and turn it into ash! Gooooooooo ANDREW!"

As soon as she yelled that, she went ahead and kissed Andrew on the cheek and then on the lips, which felt encouraging and it brought back his spirits.

"Wow. That was nice Goombella," Andrew had to smile at that act. "Did you learn those moves from the University of Goom?"

"Well, where else could I have learned 'em?" Goombella asked rhetorically with a smirk.

"In any case, I feel confident and I feel great!" Andrew cheered as he flexed his muscles on his arms. "Now I think I can do more to this mech than I could before!"

With that, Andrew crouched onto his knees before he sprang through the air and landed a Spring Jump attack on Magnus 2.0, striking him twice. Andrew followed up by taking out his Ultra Bat and performing his Piercing Slam attack by slugging it into the side of Magnus 2.0. As a bonus, he pulled his fist back and landed a nice punch on the chest of the mech. It left behind a rather major-looking dent in its wake.

"All right! That felt awesome!" Andrew beamed, feeling the energy flowing through him. "We almost got him!"

"Hmm mmm, yes," Ms. Mowz cracked her knuckles. "I believe it is my turn to deal with this mecha."

Andrew nodded in encouragement as he watched Ms. Mowz perform her Tease attack on Magnus 2.0. She created three copies of herself as they jumped around the mech, getting Lord Crump a little confused.

"Buh huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh? There's FOUR of you?!" Lord Crump wiped his eyes as he was seeing quadruple. "Stand still, you rats! I'm gonna drill into all four of you!"

With that, Lord Crump launched out his Magnus Drill Attack on the four of them. But because he was dizzy, and because the real Ms. Mowz was one step ahead of him, he missed them entirely. Once he was back on his feet, all four of them were on top of the cockpit, with Ms. Mowz and her three copies on all four corners.

"What the?" Lord Crump could only utter as all four of them proceeded to use Love Slap on him.

Naturally, the three copies were able to dish out just as much of a strong impact on the mech as the real Ms. Mowz did. Once they were done, the three copies disappeared and Ms. Mowz jumped off with her backflip again as she landed right in front of Andrew.

By now, Magnus 2.0 had started to get worn out as parts of it were rusting up, and there were burn marks from the flames that Vivian left behind earlier.

There were also dents on the side, and cracks were forming on the cockpit, not helped by Bobbery's Bomb attack and his Bomb Squad blowing up near the mech. Naturally, Lord Crump could only huff as he didn't appreciate what was happening to Magnus Von Grapple 2.0.

"Hurrfff... Haaaack... No... How... What?" Lord Crump moaned as he felt his mech getting worn out. "My sweet powered-up robot is on the ropes! This is wrong!"

"Well Lord Crump, you asked for it. You underestimated us yet again, and this is what happened because of it. We're getting closer to wrapping this up," Andrew then motioned to Bobbery. "All right, Bobbery! Show this bucket of bolts what you can do!"

"Not to worry, dear boy," Bobbery nodded. "I'll be sure to give this ruffian an explosion that he shall not forget!"

Bobbery then marched up and lit his fuse. This time, he was performing his Bob-ombast. Andrew noticed that it looked stronger, and large fumes were coming from the lit fuse. Once he was in front of Magnus 2.0, Bobbery was flashing red as a bunch of fumes were hovering over him.

In a matter of seconds, he unleashed his Bob-ombast attack on Magnus 2.0. The impact of the explosion was far more powerful than his regular Bomb, as it covered three parts of the mech.

Magnus 2.0 had suffered some massive impact from that blast. Still, it was barely standing, and Crump was NOT going to go without a fight.

"I'm not finished yet!" Crump yelled. "Buh huh! I will not go down this easily!"

With that, Lord Crump then launched both of his X-Punches and were heading straight for Andrew. Andrew already knew what he needed to do, but Vivian was a step ahead of him as she grabbed him by the waist.

"Don't worry, Andrew. I got this!" Vivian used her Veil move by dragging Andrew into the shadows.

Moments later, the X-Punches missed him and they missed the others who got out of the way. Seeing that they couldn't turn around at the speed they were going, they crashed into the wall, where they exploded on impact. As soon as the sounds of the explosion died down, Vivian came back up with Andrew as he was standing on the ground again.

"Thanks for that, Vivian," Andrew smiled at her. "I don't know what I'd do without you around."

"Aww, it was nothing, Andrew," Vivian giggled slightly as she blushed.

Lord Crump then had his Magnus 2.0 unleash its Flying Disk on them once again. Thankfully, all eight of them got out of the way in time. Yoshiam was ready to unleash his next attack on the upgraded Magnus that stood before them.

"All right! This stupid bucket of bolts has gone and done it!" Yoshiam declared. "Presto!? It's time that I can show this chump what I am capable of!"

With that, Yoshiam closed his eyes and scrunched his face as he looked like he was thinking pretty hard. Andrew was a little concerned that he was pressuring himself by doing that. But after a few moments of this, Yoshiam felt the pulse that he was looking for, and he was about to take action.

Taking two of his fingers from his right hand, he put them into his mouth and let out a rather loud whistle, sounding like he was calling in reinforcements.

"Huh?" Andrew was confused by this. "What the...?"

Before he could finish, he and his other friends had heard some galloping entering the room that they were in. In a matter of seconds, an entire herd of green grown-up Yoshis came barreling into the room and managed to trample over the almost worn-out Magnus 2.0.

Lord Crump was unable to react to this as his mech was enduring some significant damage that these Yoshis were giving it. He grunted and yelped as he felt sparks hit him from the cockpit.

Eventually, the Yoshi herd was done as they decided to take their leave from the room, seeing that they had done enough to provide for Yoshiam. Andrew was jaw-dropped at what he had just witnessed take place.

"Wow," Andrew found his voice as she closed his mouth and shook his head. "Yoshiam? Was that your Stampede attack?"

"You got it, man," Yoshiam gave him a thumbs up.

"Well, it was pretty cool," Andrew admitted. "And more importantly, Magnus 2.0 is almost done 'for'! Let's finish this off!"

Koops then went into his shell and plowed through Magnus 2.0 with his Power Shell, dealing some more damage to it. Goombella dished out one more Headbonk while Flurrie soared through the air and landed on the mech with her Body Slam attack, crushing the cockpit with her cloudy body.

As a bonus, Vivian went and ignited the mech in flames again with her Fiery Jinx. Lord Crump then decided to go with a last-resort attack with his X-Punches, which he fired and then locked onto Andrew.

"Hmmm, so Crump is going to play that game with us, huh," Andrew scowled as he took out the Magical Map. "Well, I think it's about time that I make some use of the Garnet Star."

"Buh huh?" Lord Crump gaped at how Andrew summoned the Garnet Star.

"That's right," Andrew had a smirk as the X-Punches stopped right on the spot. "It's time to demonstrate a little move called Showstopper!"

Closing his eyes, Andrew put some focus on where the Garnet Star should strike. The Garnet Star had already hovered up as Crump paled at what Andrew was doing.

It took several minutes, but Andrew finally got enough focus to know where the Garnet Star should plow through. Flashing his eyelids open, Andrew then pointed to the X-Punches that were in front of them, which put Showstopper into effect.

The Garnet Star plowed into them by creating several holes in the wall, leading to an instant knock-out for the two X-Punches. As soon as the Garnet Star disappeared, the X-Punches exploded. Andrew put the Magical Map away and was satisfied with his work.

"All right," Andrew said calmly. "Now let's finish this, Crump."

"Yes. Andrew, my sweet? Feeling up to a little teamwork with yours truly?" Ms. Mowz offered. "You would be quite all right with covering for me, would you sweetie?"

"Sure, Ms. Mowz," Andrew smirked. "Let's do this."

With that, Andrew and Ms. Mowz charged towards the nearly defeated Magnus 2.0 as they jumped up and were on the shoulders of Magnus 2.0.

"Hey, dearie?" Ms. Mowz came up with an idea. "Got any of those spare shurikens that I can use?"

"Sure," Andrew blinked at this as he handed one to her. "Here you go."

"Thanks for this, Andrew," Ms. Mowz held the shuriken correctly. "Watch what I; a master ninja badge thief, am capable of."

With that, Ms. Mowz charged over and used the shuriken that Andrew gave her to slice through the right arm of Magnus 2.0, which felt off, and sparks formed from it.

Then, in one swift movement, Ms. Mowz hurled the shuriken through the left arm of Magnus 2.0, slicing it off, where it fell onto the floor, and sparks were forming on that side too.

"Wow. Excellent job, Ms. Mowz," Andrew praised her. "Now shall I deliver the final blow to this bucket of bolts?"

"Be my guest, sweetie," Ms. Mowz allowed him to do the honor.

"I knew you would allow me to do this," Andrew smirked as he got out his Ultra Bat.

Deciding to wrap up this fight once and for all, Andrew jumped up onto the cockpit as Andrew performed a Power Swing three times on the head of the cockpit and both sides of it. Then as a bonus, Andrew delivered a final roundhouse kick to the chest of Magnus 2.0, which got it to shake and rumble. It was malfunctioning just like the first version of Magnus.

There was smoke coming out of the holes that were impaired into it, and sparks were flying all over the place that was coming from Magnus 2.0.

Lord Crump gulped and winced at this. He knew what this meant. Magnus Von Grapple 2.0 had met its match and was going to explode like the first version. It seems that Andrew had done it in. And there was nothing he could do about it.

"Oh no..." Lord Crump grimaced. "Not again..."

Andrew landed on the ground on his right hand and knees. Ms. Mowz then landed right on Andrew's left shoulder, showing the same stance that Andrew made upon landing on the ground.

"Hey, dearie? I think we did it," Ms. Mowz pointed to the malfunctioning Magnus 2.0. "Look!"

Andrew then looked and saw that the mech was pretty much on the verge of self-destruction. The yelling that Lord Crump was making from inside the cockpit said it all.

"BLAAARGH!" Lord Crump howled in pain and agony.

"Guys, we better hit the deck!" Andrew told his other friends. "That mecha is going to explode! We got to take cover! LET'S GO!"

With Ms. Mowz staying on his left shoulder, Andrew dashed forward and grabbed a hold of Goombella with his right arm while Koops, Flurrie, Yoshiam, Vivian, and Bobbery all joined them as they dove behind the steel barrels in the corner while peering over to see Magnus Von Grapple 2.0 starting to explode.


As it was starting to explode, Lord Crump felt that the last chance he had to prove to Sir Grodus that he could be great turned out to be a failure. And it seemed to be permanent as there was no way that he could escape from this blast. With that said, he could only bellow one word from his mouth.

"GROOOOOOOOOODUUUUUUUUUSSS!" Lord Crump yelled as Magnus 2.0 was exploding.

In a matter of seconds, a massive explosion from Magnus 2.0 occurred, with the mech turning into smithereens as the blast sent Crump upward through the air.

The blast was powerful enough to send Lord Crump flying off of the moon and through the vacuums of space, past all of the stars until he vanished in the blink of a sparkling star. He was gone. And he had dropped the final Crystal Star right before he was blasted off into space.

As soon as the smoke from the explosion settled. Magnus 2.0 was no more, and Lord Crump was gone. As such, Andrew felt that this was the perfect time for him to come out of hiding, and he was overjoyed by their teamwork and success.

"All right! We did it guys! We took care of that mech since we worked together," Andrew cheered as Ms. Mowz was right beside him. "And Ms. Mowz, you were amazing out there. You were a great help with finishing that mech off. Thanks."

"Well, my sweet, mind rewarding me for all of my troubles?" Ms. Mowz suggested as she puckered her lips, expecting a kiss from him.

Andrew wasted no time in scooping her up and kissing her on the mouth for all of her hard work. Needless to say, it felt good and was satisfying for both of them. By the time their little kissing fest came to an end, Bobbery had decided to approach Andrew too.

"Well, Andrew old boy, outstanding job out there," Bobbery told him with the others joining him. "I say, that brawl was certainly the bee's knees, if I may add. In any case, I don't suppose Lord Crump should be messing with the likes of us ever again, eh?"

"Yeah, Andrew. I'm so happy that we beat Crump," Vivian told him sweetly with that smile. "We put him in his place, and we showed him that he shouldn't mess with us!"

"Aw yeah! Way to go, Presto!" Yoshiam jumped up and down. "We rocked out there! That chump will never mess with us again! That'll teach 'em!"

"I daresay, he shan't be messing around with us anymore, in a literal sense that he was blasted off," Flurrie said calmly. "Either way, I do believe that we made quite some work on that colossal mech, Andrew. And you were marvelous out there, dearie."

"Good work, Andrew. We sure showed him," Koops gave him a thumbs up. "Man, working together like we did sure came in handy. If that makes sense. Guess maybe it has to do with how long we've been traveling together."

"Can't argue with you there," Goombella winked at Andrew. "Either way, that creep will not mess with us again! We 'totally' wrecked him and his dumb mech!"

"Yeah, we sure did," Andrew tugged on his handkerchief as Ms. Mowz stayed perched on his left shoulder. "In any case, now I'm wondering what happened to the princess since she isn't here anymore. More importantly, why didn't we fight Sir Grodus instead of Lord Crump?"

"Not to mention the Crystal Star," Goombella brought up with a look.

"Yeah! The Crystal Star!" Andrew snapped his fingers as he remembered. "Where is it?"

Then to answer his question, the Crystal Star floated downward and was now hovering on the spot where Magnus 2.0 once stood. All eight of them noticed it and its sheer beauty. Just as was the case with the first six Crystal Stars, this one looked far more gorgeous up close than it did on the map. And now, it was going to be in their possession.

"Andrew!" Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, Vivian, Bobbery, and Ms. Mowz yelled out as the latter jumped off of his shoulder.

"Presto!" Yoshiam yelled at the same time that the other referred to him by his real name.

"Of course," Andrew nodded. He knew exactly what he had to do.

Approaching the Crystal Star, he grabbed a hold of it and held it over his head.

"Well Goombella, we've done this six times previously," Andrew then looked at her. "But you know what this means, right?"

"Yeah!" Goombella had to beam. ""You got a Crystal Star! And now you've learned a new special move thanks to the Crystal Star! It's called Supernova!"

"Supernova, huh?" Andrew blinked before smiling. "That sounds pretty cool. I can't wait to try it out!"

And with that, Andrew held the Crystal Star over his head. Goombella was beaming and yelling preppily about how Andrew finally got all of the Crystal Stars.

Koops had given him a thumbs-up and let him know that this was a job well done getting the final Crystal Star. Flurrie was gushing about how Andrew succeeded in obtaining the last Crystal Star and that he now has all seven of them beautiful star-shaped jewels.

Yoshiam was jumping up and down as he was throwing the goat with both hands, happy that Andrew now had all seven Crystal Stars. Vivian was watching Andrew in admiration, happy that he had obtained all seven Crystal Stars instead of her sisters, seeing that he deserved them more than her sisters did.

Bobbery was holding his head up high, looking like he was giving Andrew a salute if he had hands for a successful job with finally obtaining all seven Crystal Stars. 'And' Ms. Mowz smiled coyly with how Andrew claimed all seven Crystal Stars, and that he deserves all of them as she winked at him.

As for Andrew, he was too excited that he got the seventh and final Crystal Star. And that he has all seven of them in his possession. Needless to say, he had just accomplished the seventh chapter of his journey along with his friends.


"The last Crystal Star had been hidden in the X-Naut hideout on the moon... But by the time Andrew recovered it, Peach had already been taken away... Where could Peach be now? And what of the elusive Grodus? Perhaps he holds the key to the remaining puzzle... Andrew finally has all seven Crystal Stars... Where will they lead him next?"


As soon as that was said, Andrew decided to put the Crystal Star into his backpack as he turned to face his friends.

"Well guys, now that we have the last Crystal Star, let's get out of this room and out of the factory area of the base," Andrew suggested. "We better get started."

"Totally!" Goombella beamed. "We can think about what to do about where Princess Peach is located once we get out of the factory! Let's go for it, Andrew!"

"Good idea, Andrew," Koops nodded. "Ummmm... We can resolve this once we're out of the factory. Well...we better get a move on!"

"What an outstanding idea, Andrew," Flurrie gushed. "We shall think about the whereabouts of that adorable princess once we press through the factory. But for now, let's press forward, shall we?"

"Cool idea, Presto," Yoshiam cheered. "Wherever Princess Peach is being held, we can get to the bottom of it once we get out of the factory. Time to rock and roll!"

"All right, Andrew," Vivian said shyly. "We better get through the factory first before we can go any further with the issue. With the seven Crystal Stars, we should be OK. Let's go."

"Rather capital thinking there, Andrew," Bobbery nodded. "Very well. Let's press on through the factory, and then we can try deducing the whereabouts of her Highness further if I do say so myself."

"Hmm mmm mmm... Good idea, Andrew," Ms. Mowz nodded. "Let's get through the factory, and then contemplate about where Princess Peach could be held at now. We must find out where she is before we can continue forward. For now, let's carry on through the factory."

"Great," Andrew walked over to the door and opened it up. "Let's get going."

With that, he walked through the door. Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, Yoshiam, Vivian, Bobbery, and Ms. Mowz followed right behind him as they were planning on getting through the factory. They were hoping to find the princess and settle things with Sir Grodus once they finally met him.

But what they were unaware of was the fact that they were unintentionally helping Grodus push his plan further to the next level. They would only find out about it when it was too late...


IN THE COMPUTER ROOM - AT THE X-NAUT FORTRESS:

It would appear that Grodus was in the computer room as he had just heard the explosion of Magnus 2.0. This convinced him that Andrew managed to beat his least competent underling and claimed the final Crystal Star.

He also saw Crump's coordinates from his scepter and realized that he had blasted off into space. And thus, he was no longer his problem. Now that Andrew has all seven Crystal Stars, it was time to kick his plan off into high gear.

"Gaaack ack ack ack! Seems like Andrew bought the bait and fell for the trap. He defeated Lord Crump and the upgraded Magnus and claimed my Crystal Star," Grodus mused evilly. "Now it's time to push the plan to dominate the world with the aid of this ancient cataclysm!"

He then pressed a button on his talkie and issued all of the X-Nauts in the fortress. "Attention, all X-Nauts! We're evacuating from the Fortress, effective immediately! I want all of you out of this fortress by the time I head to the teleporter room!"

Grodus paused as he knew that the next part of his plan called for one of the members of the Shadow Sirens to aid him.

"Also, I'd like to see the Shadow Sirens once we reach Rogueport! I demand that Doopliss disguise himself as this 'Professor Frankly' that I had gotten from reports from the X-Nauts," Grodus stated coldly. "And to get the real Professor Frankly out of the way so that we can continue forth with my brilliant plan of world conquest! Now get to it, fools! On the double!"

"Yes Sir Grodus!" All of the X-Nauts yelled in unison as they were heard trampling through the fortress and heading to the teleporter room.

Gaaack ack ack ack! And meanwhile, my Princess Peach," Grodus turned around towards Princess Peach. "We shall make our way to the Rogueport Sewers, and proceed to head to the Palace of Shadow, which happens to be behind the Thousand-Year Door! Finally, the world will be mine for the taking, and no one can stop me! Not even this Andrew menace and his little group of friends. The end of the world is approaching as we know it."

It was shown that Princess Peach was completely unconscious from the instant sleep potions that the PhDs had whipped up to render her unable to do anything to fight back.

And it was also to make sure that she was well rested for when the time came for her to serve as the vessel for the ancient demon spirit from a thousand years ago.

"Gaaack ack ack ack!" Sir Grodus walked over and grabbed the princess. "Now, let's make our way to the Palace of Shadow, my pure-hearted maiden of a princess."

With that, Sir Grodus unlocked the door to the computer room and walked out, heading for the elevator and to the teleporter room that was on Sublevel 2. He was eager to meet up with the Shadow Sirens so that Doopliss could disguise himself as Professor Frankly just to trick Andrew and his friends into opening the Thousand-Year Door for them.

But what Sir Grodus didn't know was that by the time he left the computer room, a beeping sound was coming from the supercomputer that was known as TEC. It was then that something unexpected had occurred.

TEC's camera eye started glowing cyan, indicating that he reactivated himself through the base's backup power...


END OF CHAPTER 70...

All right, that's it for this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it, especially since it didn't take me long to write it out, and that this is the official end of Chapter 7.

Now, I added the ending with Sir Grodus putting the next step to his plan into action in the computer room, hence why it was locked before getting the last Crystal Star.

I also did stuff like having Grodus mention that Doopliss will disguise himself as Frankly and the real Frankly will be out of the way to further achieve his plan. This is all foreshadowing the events of Chapter 8, and that Grodus knew exactly what he was doing, and he planned it all out effectively.

Oh, and TEC reactivating himself at the end of the chapter is to show that he is running on backup power, and Andrew and his friends will end up meeting him, where they'll find out where Grodus took her. Just want to throw that all out ahead of time.

Anyway, I 'really' enjoyed writing out the fight between the heroes and Magnus Von Grapple 2.0. They displayed some excellent teamwork, and they've shown how far they have come, and how close they've gotten, to the point where they are effective when together. And it was a pleasure to write out, especially since Andrew has all seven Crystal Stars now, and his adventure is coming close to ending.

Lastly, in regards to the Garnet Star's special move Showstopper, I decided to put it to good use and have it be effective in taking out the X-Punches here since I don't suppose anyone uses it outside of regular battles in the game. This was just something that I decided to do for this story.

Aside from that, we'll get back to what the heroes will do next later. For the next chapter, we'll focus on Bowser and Kammy Koopa in the last Bowser Interlude chapter of the story.

They'll be shown in Poshley Heights, where they break into the Sanctum, and try stealing the supposed Crystal Star until Pennington tells them it is a fake, and then they get word that Andrew has collected all seven Crystal Stars, and is heading to the Thousand-Year Door. And a few other things will occur. How will this go for them? Find out next time, everyone!

For now, only if you like, you can leave a review and let me know what you think of this chapter overall.

Otherwise, I have nothing else to say. So until next time, I do hope you all can take care of yourselves. And on that note, thanks again for reading, everyone!