Island Group: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, DK, Dixie, Toadette, Goombella, Kooper, Parakarry, Spike/Paper-Yoshi, Vivian, Bowser, Larry, Wario, Mona, Starlow, Grodus, Lord Crump, Bleck/Blumiere, Fly Guy, Kody, Rosalina, Monty Mole, Mimi, Tadano, Tatanga, Beldam, Roy, Doopliss, Dimentio, Diddy, Fire Bro/Konnor
Hospital group: Toadsworth, Bowser Jr., Morton, Lemmy, Ludwig, Clawdia, Toodles
ST. TOADOFSKY'S HOSPITAL
Toadsworth stood still, stunned at the words he just heard between Toodles and the young toad man.
"Errr, you two are…mother and son!?" Toadsworth confusedly asked.
"Yes. Um…Toadsworth, let me formally introduce you. This is indeed my son, Toadivan…who I haven't seen in years!" Toodles confirmed, just as confused as Toadsworth was due to this random appearance.
Toadivan scoffed a little and eyed Toadsworth up and down. "Nice to meet ya…Toadswath, right? That what you said, mom?"
"Son, it's ToadsWORTH. Goodness…" Toodles grunted in embarrassment.
"Right. I see we've got A LOT to catch up on, considering…well, pretty obvious you two are romantically involved, yeah?" Toadivan pointed out. Toodles and Toadsworth glanced at each other and couldn't but blush, but also felt awkward from this situation.
"Yes, we are," Toodles confirmed, making Toadsworth smile. She continued, "I connected with Toadsworth here after I showed up to the hospital, seeking shelter after my house here in the city got raided by those miscreant koopatrols. He and his group of friends have been nothing but kind and helpful the entire time!"
Toadivan raised his brow while smirking a little, then glanced back at Toadsworth. "Wow! A lot sure has happened in a short amount of time. And it's funny, mom, that you call the Mushroom City house your house, when you used dad's money to buy that house in the first place. Along with the Neon Heights apartment!"
Toodles seethed at him, quickly getting frustrated with how he spoke to her. "Okay. Stop. Don't start that nonsense here. And what do you mean by 'a lot has happened in a short amount of time'!? Last time I talked to you was four years ago, and the last time I talked to your father was EIGHT years ago when our divorce was finalized! Sure doesn't seem short to me!"
Toadivan rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "I was referring to the attack on Mushroom City and you coming here and falling for…Toadsworth. Since when did you start crushing over mere commoners, by the way? I thought you were only into chasing celebrities and mega wealthy, broken-inside men with parental issues?" he connivingly asked.
Toadsworth was appalled by his language towards his own mother. "Is that really an appropriate way to speak to your own mother!? Goodness!"
Toodles sighed, feeling her blood begin to boil. "Toadsworth…give my son and I some privacy please. Apparently, there's stuff that needs to be expressed between us."
"Sounds like a brilliant idea, mom. We can chat outside in the lot where it's less noisy and…less destroyed," Toadivan said in slight disgust while noticing the cracked walls of the lobby and missing parts of the ceiling.
"Alright then. I'll be in the courtyard when you're done," Toadsworth stated annoyedly and kissed Toodles on the cheek, then immediately walked away.
"Hehehe, man! So surreal seeing another man kiss you like that. Haven't seen that happen since…dad," Toadivan chuckled in surprise as he and Toodles walked outside to the parking lot. Toodles rolled her eyes at how cheeky her son was being.
"I am allowed to date other men, you know. And I could do without your snarky comments! Especially since you're the one who cut off all contact with me. And…I'm sorry, what the hell are you even doing HERE!? Last I heard, you were living in the eastern part of the kingdom!" Toodles replied with confusion and frustration, wanting to figure out this mystery.
"Yes, I was. But I happened to be in the region when the attack happened and then I heard about a hospital that's taking in survivors of the attack and is the main shelter of this now fucked up city, where Mario, Peach, and their ragtag team are also figuring things out. I figured I would stop by and see if you were here too, since I remembered you were still using the house in the city and wondered if you had to take shelter here…and bang! I was right on the money!" Toadivan explained then chuckled.
"Oooookay…but why now? Why, son, after four years of zero contact, you decide to find me now? Because if I remember our last conversation accurately, you made it very clear that you wanted nothing to do with me. So, I respected your wishes by not contacting you at all!" Toodles recalled.
"Because, to tell you the truth, I had an epiphany when Tatanga struck. That you might die in his destruction. And…it just didn't make sense for me to want to keep being no contact when I realized that you might die and I'll really never see you again…or I might die and you'll really never see me again. So, here I am. Wanting to connect again, mom. I'm sorry for my comments earlier, I just, you know…you and I have had a messy past intertwined with all of dad's bullshit," Toadivan clarified.
Toodles was a little taken aback and smiled a little at his earnesty. "Wow, honey. That means a lot to hear you say that. Gosh…um…yes, the thought has crossed my mind too, about one of us dying and never seeing the other again. But I just figured reaching out would be pointless since it's been four years of radio silence on both ends."
"Yeah. Four looooong years. I'm 27 now! Got a good, high-paying job and I'm currently seeing a fine lady named Toadriella," Toadivan added. Toodles chuckled and shook her head playfully.
"27. And a new woman in your life. Gosh…where has the time gone!? Yeah, I don't want to miss any more years of you, honey. I can't…it would just break my heart even more than the first time we cut contact. And speaking of your father, how is he doing? Are you close with him at all?" Toodles asked.
"Barely. We speak like once a month now. Everytime we talk, he's chasing down some new, young chick. So pathetic!" Toadivan revealed. Toodles scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"Oh, good grief. What else is new with that foolish one? Ugh, yeah, you're right that a lot of the bullshit drama that happened between us was because of him. He really tried to take both of us down to rock bottom with him, didn't he?" she said with disgust.
"Yeah, but I eventually saw the light and slowly faded him away. I'm better off. We both are!" Toadivan affirmed with a smile.
"Seriously, we are! I'm much more content with my life now, even with all the tragedy that's been happening. Besides Toadsworth, I've made some new friends too. Mario and his group of friends…they're all so loyal and compassionate and helpful towards one another…and to me. That's something that I didn't notice at first when I first got here, but as the days went by, I saw more and more of how they help each other and saw their fight and stride to keep the world alive. It was so inspiring to me! And then Toadsworth…he's got such a warm character to him, he's very easy to talk to, and…I've opened up to him so much about my life, and he's told me about his too. He's got a very gentle yet fiery soul to him. I'm…ooh…certainly developing feelings for that man!" Toodles explained and got smiley towards the end.
Toadivan chuckled at her. "I see. I've never seen you talk that way about anyone else, mom. Very interesting!"
Toodles grinned and chuckled again. "He's quite the special one to me. But, um, more about you now, son, because I simply must know all the details about your life since we last spoke! We'll start with your job, where exactly do you work?"
Toadivan's smile turned into an odd smirk. "Well, mom…I work at Mushroom Corporations."
Toodles' smile faded quickly as she felt her heart sink. "What…did you just…Mushroom Corporations!? Th-that's what you just said just now!?"
"That is exactly what I just said," Toadivan confirmed, getting a satisfied look from how panicked Toodles became. "Mom…why the face? We're just having a conversation and catching up with our lives!"
"You going back to sleep?" Morton asked to Clawdia as she went back into the patient room she was sleeping in previously before Bowser had came back.
"Yes. I figured that by the time I wake up, well, the world will have been saved or…um…it will have gone to hell. Or I might not wake up at all and I'll have passed in my sleep. Doesn't sound like such a bad way to go out, honestly. But either way…I really need sleep. You're free to join me, if you wish, boys," Clawdia answered exhaustedly while getting herself cozy in the corner.
"Mom, you know we're going to win this. Well, uhh, Mario and dad and everyone else will win this for us! They have to. This really isn't that much different compared to all the other times the world has been in danger! And the good guys have triumphed every single time!" Junior tried to optimistically point out to her.
"Fair point. This is, like, the ten thousandth time our world has been at threat of being destroyed. That helps with the odds…even though we still lost too many people…" Lemmy added, thinking about his siblings at the end there.
"Suppose so. But still…I'm gonna get a deep sleep in, boys. I recommend you do the same because, no matter what, you'll be waiting to see what happens. Might as well try to get some rest during the waiting period," Clawdia advised.
The brothers looked at each other, trying to figure out what to do. It did seem like a good idea, but they were antsy and on edge to see how this journey would end, to the point where they didn't know if they could even sleep because of that.
"Um…you know what? I need to talk to my brothers real quick. Then I guess we'll figure out what we wanna do," Junior spoke, making the others dart their eyes to him in curiosity.
"Alright. I'll be here. If I fall asleep before you get back…then…goodnight…sons…" Clawdia softly said as she closed her eyes and tried to drift away to sleep.
Junior led Lemmy, Morton, and Ludwig some feet away from the patient room so they could chat without Clawdia hearing them.
"Hey, what's going on? What do you need to talk to us about?" Morton asked.
"Okay, um, I reeeeaaally need you guys to be honest with me, please. By the small chance we DO die, we, um, shouldn't let things be left unspoken. Y-You know? So, uhh, if you guys are upset with me for trying to reconnect with mom, a-and bringing her back into our lives, please just let it out and tell me how you really feel. Please!" Junior urged while getting teary-eyed. The other three koopalings were a little taken aback by his plea.
"Junior…I don't think this is necessary. Really. It is what it is now. Don't worry about it, especially now that we're at the end," Lemmy assured.
"Well, no! If it's what Junior really wants at this moment, then I'll say what's on my mind about the entire situation," Ludwig stated, wanting to get his words out of his head.
The others prepared for Ludwig's speech, and he said, "It's added extra drama to our family, which our family was already dramatic in the first place. It uncovered old wounds by having her and her own messed up family here. I can't lie to you, bro, I was VERY pissed at first that you brought her to us and wanted to keep connecting with her. But then I thought about it more and remembered that you're the youngest in our family, that you never knew mom when she was with us all those years ago, you only knew about what she did by the time you were old enough to understand the story.
Soooo, I get it now why you want to know her. Why you brought her to us. Because, hell, she arrived here on her own anyway! Was only going to be a matter of time until she ran into us and we'd have to deal with that shit anyways. And now she's lost her own family and…not gonna lie, I'd feel shitty if we just sent her away and not speak to her ever again like before, once things are back to normal. But it also doesn't feel right letting her back into our lives. So…that's what I feel right now."
Junior nodded understandingly and took it all in. "Okay. Thanks for, um, you know, seeing my side of things. And again, guys, I know mom did a lot of damage to the family. I swear, I wasn't trying to provoke anyone or cause chaos by bringing her to us. I just…ugh…I don't know…I guess I figured there was a reason why mom is back in our lives after all this time. I'm still trying to figure out what that reason is, I guess…"
Morton nodded at him, seemingly in agreement, and said, "Well…IF there is some kind of reasoning behind all of this, because, man, after all this shit that we've seen and heard about, I don't think I believe in coincidences anymore…but if there really is a reason for why mom is back in our lives…I think the reason is to uncover those old wounds and face them while she's here and to bring us closer together as a family.
Because you guys gotta admit, before Clawdia came back…and, actually, even before Tatanga struck, we were pretty fragmented as a family. Then after Tatanga struck, it got worse, then right after mom came back, it got even more worse. Then we lost Iggy and Wendy…and Roy. Devastating losses. I'm, uhh, still not used to them being gone f-forever…but, um, ironically enough, we worked through that pain together. All of us as a family. It made us closer than we have been in years. So, I like to think that there's a silver lining in all of that chaos."
The other koopalings nodded and teared up a little at the aforementioned three siblings.
"Y-yeah, I agree! Going through this makes me realize that I never, ever wanna lose you guys! I want our bond as a family to be practically indestructible. I vote we try to become closer as a family after the world is saved! Let's make an effort to make that happen!" Lemmy declared. The others chuckled at him and then nodded.
"I'm totally cool with that. Morton? Junior?" Ludwig said with a smile.
"100%! No matter what happens, we have each other's back all the way!" Junior cheered.
"Yep. Loyal to the end! I love you guys," Morton added and the four brothers went in for a hug, crying a little but also savoring the sweet moment of happiness that the brothers put into motion.
TATANGA'S ISLAND
Tatanga eyed Dimentio down, his blood boiling at the sight of the jester making a 'comeback' to partake in the final fight.
"Grrrrr! YOU LITTLE FUCKER! DIIIIIIEEEEE!" Tatanga roared and used the Star Rod and the scepter to blast a black wave of magic at him. But before the wave of magic could hit Dimentio, the jester snapped his fingers and vanished into thin air. Tatanga yelped at this, startled from the surprise disappearing act. Dimentio shot a blast of dark blue magic at Tatanga's ship, sending it crashing into the fortress from the side.
"AAAAGGGHHHH! DIMENTIO, YOU BASTARD, HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU BACK LIKE THIS!?" Tatanga roared, still able to operate his spaceship but holding onto dear life from the whiplash of the crash. Daisy and Tadano fell to the floor of the spaceship from the crash.
"Tatanga, sweetheart, don't act so surprised by my comeback! I did a spell to drain that two-faced freak-in-a-sheet's energies into my body…and VOILA! Here I am, like I was never thrown away into the dungeon in the first place!" Dimentio revealed.
While this was happening, Mario charged up a laser and shot it at Dimentio. The jester saw this from his periphery and swung his arm at the laser shot, deflecting it with ease back at the arwing. Mario floored the arwing and managed to barely get out of the way from the laser shot coming back at him.
"DAMNIT! I can't bomb Tatanga's spaceship because I don't wanna risk killing Daisy and Tadano! I don't know what to do!" Mario yelled.
"Should we use E. Gadd's weapon Dimentio, you think!?" Peach asked.
"I…fuck, I don't know! We only got one shot at using it, and Tatanga is the bigger threat of the two, so I think we just gotta wait until the time is perfect for it!" Mario replied in pure stress.
"Fuck this! HYPERSPEED US OUT OF HERE!" Tatanga shouted and pounded the star rod on the floor of his spaceship, then the ship zoomed off towards the opposite side of the island.
"Woah! That admittedly caught me a little off guard. Anyways…heh heh…better late to the party than never, Mario! I don't think you're as ready for this final act as you like to think you are! HA!" Dimentio teased and yelled, then snapped his fingers and disappeared in a bright flash.
"That's what they all say…" Peach commented and rolled her eyes. Mario moved the arwing down to the big hole to talk to the others. He opened up the window part of the arwing as the others got close to the edge to speak to him and Peach.
"Guys! Is…is this all that's left of us!?" Mario asked, worried that a chunk of the group had already perished since he only saw Luigi, Yoshi, Toadette, Dixie, DK, and Starlow there.
"No no! We split into two groups here! Well, three technically. Mona, Wario, Goombella, Spike, and Parakarry are in the air shooting down the koopatrols from their arwings, and everyone else is searching through another part of the fortress. We figured it'd be quicker scouring through the place that way!" Toadette explained to assure him.
"Yeah, the only person we lost was, um, Boshi…that we know of so far at least…" Starlow added. Mario widened his eyes a little and glanced at Yoshi, who was just looking at the ground the entire time.
"Damn! Okay. So…wait, where's the Crystal Star Rod then!? Does the other group have it!?" Mario pointed out the biggest elephant in the room.
"We lost it when Tatanga bombed this wall! We don't know where it's at! God, I hope it didn't fall to the beach below…" DK frantically responded.
"SHIT! Okay, you guys look for the rod and find the others, because if you can't find it, then you're gonna need Rosalina, Bleck, and Grodus' magic to get us through this! Peach, I'm also gonna let you off here!" Mario ordered, surprising the princess with that last thing.
"Huh!? What do you mean by that!?" Peach yelped.
"I'm hunting down Tatanga alone in the arwing, so I can save Daisy and Tadano, and hopefully kill Tatanga if I have the chance! That is an order, Peach!" Mario stated. Peach hesitantly nodded and kissed him goodbye, then Mario moved the arwing closer to the edge of the bombed hallway so she could safely get onto there.
"Yes, brother! Please…if something happens to Daisy…especially so close to the end…god, that'll break me!" Luigi cried.
"Don't worry, brother, I'll find her! You guys just try to find the rod and the others! See you all soon!" Mario stated then flew off to hunt down Tatanga.
"Okay! What direction shall we go!?" Peach asked, ready to take on the final mission.
"Down that way, it's the way we were going originally until we ran into a bunch of koopatrols. We fought them off, but then Tatanga bombed the wall and I dropped the rod and…god, WHERE THE HELL COULD IT BE!?" Luigi shrieked and gripped his hair in pure stress.
"Luigi, we'll find it, okay!? And we'll find Daisy! We have to keep it together as best as we can until this is over!" Dixie yelled in encouragement as the group continued going down the hallway.
"I know, I know, I just…damn, guys. One thing that goes wrong and we could all die easily! We all realize that, right!?" Luigi frantically pointed out.
"Yes, we do. But we can't let that get to our heads, Luigi. That'll put us at a disadvantage over them and will serve as a distraction," DK answered.
"You guys see that hallway to the left down there? Let's see where that goes!" Yoshi pointed ahead as the group quickly walked forward, seeing a hall on the left that seemed to slope a little downward.
"HELLOOOOO!? YOSHI, WAS THAT YOU!?" yelled a familiar voice that seemed to come from the left hall. Everyone stopped in their tracks, all of them immediately recognizing the voice of the person who called out.
"OH MY GOD! That's…THAT'S DIDDY! DIDDYYYYYYYY! WE'RE HERE!" Dixie screamed and bolted ahead of the group to the left hallway with DK going as fast as he could right behind her with the others tailing behind.
The gang went down the left hall and entered an area with a couple of cells…one of them holding the person they've been wanting back for what seemed like forever: Diddy. But they also quickly noticed another person who they hoped to never see again: Fire Bro AKA Konnor.
"DIDDY! IT'S US! OH MY GOD, I'M SO FUCKING GLAD YOU'RE ALIVE!" Dixie cried and ran up to the bars, melting down in tears. Diddy ran up to the bars as well and couldn't help but cry a little too, feeling great relief and joy from seeing all his friends…especially his uncle and girlfriend.
"Oh my god, I'm so glad you're alive too, Dixie! And DK! And everyone else! Uhh, w-wait…is this all of you guys that's here!?" Diddy asked, noting how small the group was.
"No, there's more of us here, we're just split into groups! I'm Starlow, by the way, don't think we've formally met before, heh," Starlow answered with a friendly gesture.
"Ah. Right. Nice to meet you too! So, you guys can catch me up on everything after you get me out of this damn cell! DK, I think you can break the lock with your strength!" Diddy demanded.
"I, uhh, notice you also have a certain someone in your cell too. Were you locked with him the whole time!?" Peach pointed out the unnerving elephant in the room. All eyes turned to Fire Bro, who just sat there in the corner, smirking and glaring daggers at the gang. Yoshi and Dixie's blood boiled from the mere sight of him.
"Well well, we all encounter each other again! Perfect way to end your little quest, huh? By killing me and saving the world and living happily ever after?" Fire Bro mockingly said, glaring at Dixie the whole time.
"Yeah, I'd say that IS the perfect way to end this! DK, get this cell open and bash that fucker's head in!" Dixie angrily commanded, wanting to see his blood be shed. DK quickly heeded and started mega punching the cell door in.
"So, this is the Fire Bro you guys were talking about a while back. He pretended to be an ally for so long…then he switched to Tatanga's side. Now look at where that got you! What a waste of potential," Starlow criticized.
"Holy crap, I just realized you're shackled up in there! HA! Didn't take Tatanga too long to figure you out, huh? What a waste indeed," Luigi laughed and mocked the koopa, making the fire brother feel all the angrier.
"Dixie, I wanna get in on the bashing too. This lowlife killed Birdo…I want me to be the last thing he ever sees before he goes out," Yoshi stated, cracking his knuckles, glaring Fire Bro down with pure vengeance and rage in his eyes.
"Heh. You really think I'm not gonna go out without a fight!? I know what I did. I know the odds are against me. But I'm still gonna fight until I'm dead!" Fire Bro responded, trying to come off as fearless, but clearly had a hint of fear in his voice.
DK busted the cell door open and was about to head right for Fire Bro…but something stopped them all.
"HALT!" shouted a voice from behind the group. Everyone quickly turned around and gasped when they saw a koopatrol wielding the Crystal Star Rod with a few other koopatrols behind him.
"Oh, damnit, this is really not good! What do we do!?" Toadette quietly cried.
"Don't panic. I have an idea," Yoshi whispered in response.
"Hehehehehe! You losers really should see the look on your faces! Bye bye now! Alright, mystical star rod…I wish that you all were d-" the koopatrol wielding the rod spoke, but then Yoshi suddenly dashed as fast as he possibly could and headbutted into the koopa, knocking him and the koopatrol behind him down. The other two koopatrols reacted quickly and grabbed Yoshi and punched him relentlessly as the koopatrol wielding the rod struggled to stand back up. DK joined in the fight, grabbed one of the koopatrols that punched Yoshi, removed his headgear and smashed his face repeatedly into the wall, leaving a bloody splatter. Dixie ran to the scene, then leaped and kicked the other koopatrol who had hit Yoshi, knocking him to the floor, then the chimp gal pushed her thumbs into the koopa's eye sockets as deep and fast as she could, prompting a bloodcurdling scream from the koopa as blood started gushing out of his sockets the deeper she went in. Luigi swiped the rod from the ground, but the koopatrol that was pushed down grabbed it as well and the two fought over it.
"YOU LITTLE FUCKER! I'LL NUKE YOU AND ALL YOUR PATHETIC FRIENDS!" roared the koopatrol as the two kept tugging over the rod. The rod suddenly glowed brightly and out shot a dark blue sphere that aimed straight for the cell.
"NO, LOOK OUT!" Peach screamed and lunged to the floor, bringing Starlow and Toadette with her, missing the sphere. The sphere reached the cell and made a small explosion upon impact.
"SHIIIIT! DIDDYYYYYYYYYY!" Dixie screamed, bolting back over to the cell to see if the chimp was alright.
"GRAAAAAAGGGHHH!" DK roared in pure rage, grabbing the koopatrol who was tussling with Luigi and threw him at the wall. Luigi then aimed the rod at the koopatrol, and shot a beam of light at him, disintegrating the koopa upon impact.
"Ahhh, I can't see a thing! Clear the smoke!" Starlow cried then coughed from the smoke of the explosion.
"AH! Wha- who just ran past me!?" Toadette yelped.
"CLEAR THE SMOKE!" Luigi yelled and the Crystal Star Rod glowed brightly, dissipating the smoke quickly.
Peach looked towards the cell and saw Dixie shaking what looked to be an unconscious Diddy on the ground. DK ran over in a panic, thinking that the explosion injured him…or worse.
But their fears were immediately relieved when they saw Diddy groan and move his body a little.
"Di…xie? Ah…my ears…can't hear…it's fucking ringing…" Diddy spoke, slowly coming back to full consciousness.
"DIDDY, YOU'RE OKAY! OH MY GOD, THAT WAS TOO CLOSE!" Dixie shouted in immense relief and hugged him tight.
"Whew…thank goodness. I don't know what I'd do if I came all this way just to lose you right after we found you…" DK said to himself, nearly tearing up. Yoshi patted the ape on the shoulder, also happy that the chimp was still alive.
"Uhh, you guys!? Where is Fire Bro!?" Starlow pointed out in fear. Everyone else quickly saw that the chain Fire Bro was connected to was now blown off the wall….but no sign of the psychotic fire brother in there at all.
"What the!? Did he get vaporized by the explosion or something?" Luigi asked, hoping the koopa was actually dead from it.
"I don't think so. I felt someone run past me right after the explosion…it sounded like they were headed towards the hallway. That was definitely Fire Bro!" Toadette confirmed everyone's worries.
"Wait, how the hell did he even escape if the blast was closest to him then!?" DK questioned.
"He probably hid in his shell when it happened. I'll give him that, he's very quick on his feet!" Peach answered.
"Wonderful. The psycho bastard escapes again. We cannot let him escape this island alive," Yoshi angrily stated.
"We won't, Yosh, but we gotta find the others first and foremost! Let's go!" Luigi commanded.
"Tatanga, where the hell are you taking us!? You gonna murder us in some secret location!?" Tadano yelled as his twin zoomed his spaceship above the fortress and then began to descend into the open-ceilinged weapon room, where Tadano and Daisy gazed in horror at the giant, rocket-like weapon being launched into the air.
"Noooooot exactly. Haha. Man…look at that glorious piece of metal made for destruction and chaos!" Tatanga cackled as he kept descending next to the rising weapon. The alien explained, "See here…this baby is gonna shoot into the air just like a rocket. Only difference is this: instead of flying into outer space, it's gonna stop at some point in the stratosphere, and then…KABOOM! The world to the left of the weapon's explosion will be raining with fire, and everything to the right of the explosion will be 'influenced' by the magic contained in there to be my slave. Ohhhhh man, you two are about witness HISTORY IN THE MAKING! And guess what!? You're about to have a front row seat to it all! HAHA!"
"You…you're not gonna succeed, Tatanga! All my friends are infiltrating the fortress as I speak, and we have the Crystal Star Rod, the thing that'll break this whole operation apart! Keep on living in denial, though. Might make your last seconds on this planet less suffering!" Daisy spat, her and Tadano still bound to the floor via magic.
"Oh pleeeeeease! I think YOU'RE the one living in denial here, missy! If the Crystal Star Rod was as almighty powerful as you claim it is, then why hasn't this place been blown apart yet!? Why are my koopatrols still trying to gun your annoying friends down as I speak!? Why is my weapon mere minutes away from changing the whole world!? Just admit that your plan to come here and ruin everything with ease was just pure wishful thinking! The 'good guys' ain't winning this time around, princess sunshine!" Tatanga yelled and cackled further as he landed the spaceship on top of a railing that was at least a few hundred feet above the weapon room floor.
"It's called being strategic, little boy. Unlike you, who thinks that heading right on into destruction will work out completely fine in the end and will have no repercussions," Daisy replied, giving him the death glare. Tatanga cackled yet again as he got some rope out from a cabinet underneath the control panel, and then grabbed her aggressively by the arms and dragged her out of the spaceship.
"Hey! HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH HER!? TATANGAAAAAAAAA!" Tadano screamed, feeling helpless from the magic making him practically immobile.
"Shut up, brother! I'll deal with you in a few minutes!" Tatanga called out as he dragged the princess who kicked and screamed onto the railing, and then over to a part of the railing where it jutted out towards the middle.
"Tatanga! AAAAGGGGGHHHHH! So, this is what you're gonna do, huh!? Throw me over the railing so everyone can see me die!?" Daisy screamed, becoming panicked from seeing how high up she was.
"Ohhhhh man, as tempting as that is…not quite. I'm gonna add a little extra chaos to the plan here!" Tatanga corrected in excitement as he began to tie Daisy's wrists together and then her ankles.
"Wh-what!? What do you mean!? What exactly are you gonna do!?" Daisy yelled, being further panicked from the suspense.
"Just one second, princess…" Tatanga whispered as he got out a pocketknife then smirked and stared into Daisy's frightened eyes. He continued, "You know about black magic, right? How, in general, it's more powerful and wicked and chaotic and destructive than your average magic? I mean…we both would know. Your little space princess friend became possessed by the black magics itself and nearly fucked up my island! Goddamn…her of all people, Daisy…her being SO fragile to let the black magics conquer her spirit…that should tell you that you all aren't as emotionally strong and hardened as you'd like to think you are. No.
A strong-willed person wouldn't be crying and moping over the world being doomed and people dying. No no! A strong-willed person accepts the circumstances and works with it. Took ME a long time to understand that, but I finally did. That's how and why I'm able to do all this, Daisy! I accepted that the world was fucked up and I WANTED change…so here we are. Just like old times, huh, princess!? Man…can't believe it was soooo many years ago that I kidnapped ya and your overweight pal, Mario, came in and saved your little gritty kingdom, all because he wanted to show off how powerful he was and how he can't mind his own damn business. I've been waiting for this moment for sooooo long, princess…and now here we are! HERE WE FUCKING ARE!" he then stabbed Daisy in the chest with the pocketknife, making the poor princess let out a guttural scream.
As she screamed, Tatanga began to chant while gripping tight to the star rod and scepter, and also while he kicked Daisy over onto her stomach, the blood from her wound dripping far below to the floor, "Goddess of the shadow and dark, accept this blood offering from my mark. Reveal your vortex to swallow the earth, show us the power from which you give birth!"
The scepter and star rod glowed brightly and the two shot beams of black to the weapon room floor, causing a very brief and tiny earthquake.
"Aaaggh…Tatanga…what the hell have you done!?" Daisy yelped, seeing the action below through the grates of the railing as her blood kept dripping.
"Heh. You'll find out in a matter of seconds, princess. Just know that this ritual…it's ALL about you!" Tatanga said with a wicked grin, making Daisy all the more unnerved and scared for her life now.
"DIIIEEEE!" Parakarry roared as he shot laser after laser onto the beach area, killing more and more of the koopatrols, along with Wario who was doing the same.
"Their numbers are dwindling! I say, soon, we should join everyone else in infiltrating the fortress!" Wario suggested.
"As tempting as that is, Wario, we really should stay airborne in case Tatanga brings out anything else that would require us to attack! Us being airborne means that, like, they're surrounded both on ground AND in the air, so they have little protection against our attacks!" Goombella explained.
"She's right. I don't wanna miss the final battle either, Wario, but it's better for us to stay where we are! At the very least until we get a signal from one of the others for us to come down," Mona added.
"Hey! Wario, below your arwing…who's in that arwing!? That looks like…MARIO!" Spike called out in surprise. Wario quickly turned his arwing around and he and Mona gasped at the surprise but welcomed appearance of Mario.
"MARIO! You made it! Did Peach not go with you!?" Wario asked.
"She did, but I dropped her off with the others! Tatanga captured Daisy and Tadano and he sped off and then I lost him in the chase, then I saw you guys and wanted to check in real quick before I continue to look for him!" Mario explained.
"Ah! Gotcha. We're just shooting pretty much everything that moves in sight, but we're keeping our shots away from the fortress since we know everyone else is in there right now," Spike said.
"By the way, Mario, what was it that you found at E. Gadd's laboratory? It was a weapon of some kind, wasn't it?" Goombella asked, intrigued.
"Yes, it was! E. Gadd created this insanely powerful-"
"MARIO, BEHIND YOU!" Wario screamed at the top of his lungs into the radio, making Mario jump and floor the pedal, zooming him forward past the others. He made a u-turn and saw who it was that was behind him.
Dimentio again.
"Ooh! Did I steal your moment in the spotlight, Mario!? Haha!" the jester snickered.
"FUCK OFF!" Spike yelled and mashed the red button on the control panel which sent out a bomb shooting straight at Dimentio. The jester snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flash, the bomb going past where he originally was and exploded in the air. Dimentio suddenly appeared closer to the arwings, startling the others.
"Oh, come on now! It wasn't going to be that easy to best me! At this point in the journey, you all should know that by now!" Dimentio scoffed.
"Dimentio, what the hell are you even doing here!? Shouldn't you be chasing down Tatanga like I saw you before!?" Mario yelled.
"That WAS the plan, but…something's happening in that puny fortress that I'm not sure I wanna deal with just yet. Anyhoo…GAH!" Dimentio shouted and shot electrical beams out of his hands towards Wario's and Parakarry's arwings, hitting the shields protecting them, making the beams bounce off in the opposite direction.
"WOAH! Okay, admittedly that took me off guard, like a wannabe pop singer with tragic vocals at a talent show who does an encore! But I can fix this!" Dimentio shouted, then snapped his fingers.
Suddenly, everything turned green in the blink of an eye, startling the heroes.
"Woah, what the hell!? Where are we!? Did we just teleport somewhere!?" Mona shrieked.
"Yes, you did, my fair lady! Welcome to Dimension D, a place created by yours truly!" Dimentio cheered.
"Dimension D…? What, are you trapping us in this dimension forever? That'd be a dumb idea if so! We've got the Crystal Star Rod to find us, or Rosalina or Bleck could use their magic to find us as well!" Spike scoffed, not too taken aback from the surprise move.
"I mean, ideally I COULD trap you in here forever, but it'd be more fun killing all of you! Plus, too risky leaving you in here for all eternity anyways, knowing you've got magical friends to locate ya!" Dimentio said.
"Dimentio…heh…you complete IDIOT! You really don't remember what happened last time we you sent me to Dimension D when I was looking for the Pure Hearts!? You thought YOUR own power increased by 256 times, but so did mine! Which just canceled the power-ups out. The same thing is happening here!" Mario scoffed and called him out, to which Dimentio just chuckled and shook his head.
"Oh, dearest Mario, you think I really don't remember that incident? Come on…you continue to underestimate me. Yes, Dimension D is the same as it was before. 256 times power up for everyone who's in here. But…hehe…what you missed was that this place only applies to POWER…also known as offense…NOT defense! Your shields are defense! Get where this is going!?" he explained as he began to charge up a ball of light in his hands.
"What!? I don't get…oh. Oh no! SHIT! HE'S GONNA BREAK OUR SHIELDS!" Goombella screeched in horror at that realization.
"HAHAHA! TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH!" Dimentio laughed and roared, and sent out the magic blast he was charging up. The blast split into two and shot both Wario's and Parakarry's arwings, shattering their shields.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Mario screamed and shot his lasers as rapidly as he could at Dimentio.
"AH! Errrr…" Dimentio yelped, getting struck by a few of the lasers, then flipped into 2D mode, escaping the rest of the lasers. He warped to another spot, flipped back into 3D mode and quickly shot a magic blast at Wario's arwing, sending it backwards and cracking the windows. Wario and Mona screamed and nearly fell over from their seats, but quickly recoiled and mashed another bomb at the jester. Dimentio deflected the bomb with a magic blast, sending the bomb towards Parakarry's arwing. The mailman floored the pedal to get out of the bomb's radius, but the blast of the bomb still managed to damage the side of the little and make it fly further out.
"AHHH! DAMNIT! Mario, whatever weapon you got from E. Gadd, use it NOW! He's got the upper hand here due to his magics!" Goombella ordered.
"Fuck! You're right…HEY DIMENTIOOOOOO!" Mario roared as loud as he could.
"What, Mario!? Oh! Do you wanna do a 1 vs. 1 battle? Classic, I say!" Dimentio yelled.
"Not quite…good luck running from this one, DIMENTIO!" Mario shouted, as he opened up the arwing's window while holding what looked to be a rocket launcher, and pulled the trigger. Out of it came a shiny, silver torpedo that headed straight for the jester.
"What in the world!? Really, Mario? A TORPEDO!? HA! I see you're desperate to show off whatever useless tricks you've got up your sleeve! Begone!" Dimentio laughed and shot another magic blast at the torpedo.
Nothing happened. The torpedo didn't even stray away from its target path as it still kept heading straight for Dimentio.
"Woah! Is that thing indestructible!?" Spike asked, impressed with the weapon.
"Must be. This IS Professor E. Gadd we're talking about, after all!" Goombella replied, smirking.
"What the…" Dimentio muttered, confused as to why his magic didn't affect the torpedo at all. He charged up another magical blast and shot at the torpedo…but still nothing.
"HA! Your magic tricks ain't gonna work this time!" Mona laughed at the situation.
"This is…this is just a distraction! GAAAAAAAHHHH!" Dimentio suddenly roared and quickly threw a fiery blast of magic at Wario and Mona's arwing. Wario had no time to floor it as the blast hit and smashed apart the arwing's left wing, making the arwing spiral downwards.
"AHHHHH! FUCK! NO NO NO, YOU CAN STILL FLY, YOU CAN STILL FLY!" Wario screamed in pure panic as Mona held on to him for dear mercy while he floored it and tried to steer the arwing back in control. The others saw this and were filled with rage and immediately shot their lasers at Dimentio rapid fire.
Some of the lasers hit Dimentio as the jester was still thrown off and processing not being able to annihilate the weapon for some reason. Dimentio shouted as he felt himself get pelted by the lasers, making a quick decision to 'snap' back out of Dimension D and back to the island. Dimentio snapped again and made himself disappear as the torpedo automatically changed directions to where he warped to next.
Mario looked down from his arwing and saw that Wario's arwing was still spiraling down, this time towards the beach where there were still a lot of koopatrols. If those two survived the crash…they likely wouldn't survive the hoard of koopatrols.
"SHIT! WHAT DO WE DO!? WE NEED THE CRYSTAL STAR ROD!" Mario yelled.
Rosalina, Grodus, Crump, Monty, Mimi, Kooper, Vivian, Bleck, Kody, and Fly Guy stood by the doorway leading to the room where Doopliss and Roy were chained up, feeling the tension coming from Bowser and Larry.
"Dad…Larry…" Roy whispered, feeling stunned from seeing them once again in what felt like ages.
"My…my god, Roy! Tatanga did that to you!?" Larry asked, gesturing to the wound on his torso.
"No, it was Dimentio. Tatanga only locked me up in here after I nearly escaped with…you, Mimi…" Roy answered, feeling the extra tension from also seeing Mimi again. Mimi looked at him in deep worry, but also seemed speechless.
"I'm…I'm glad you're still alive, son. Even after everything," Bowser hesitantly spoke, his expression seeming very nerve-wracked wrapped with unsurety.
"Ooooookay, I know this is basically a family reunion we're having here, we need to decide what we're doing with these two PRONTO so we can continue on combing through this forsaken fortress!" Fly Guy shouted.
"I think we should break them both out, and keep them close…especially you, Doopliss! You contributed to what Tatanga's doing now…but you also helped Mimi and Roy. You could be useful in the fight. Any objections?" Rosalina asked the group. Most of them shook their heads, but a few were hesitant or uncertain to make any kind of response.
"Errr, useful how? Does Doopliss also have special powers like you, Rosalina?" Monty asked.
"Yes, slick…I can duplicate myself…to look like other people…but…magic's drained…I'm useless…so don't take me…" Doopliss answered defeatedly.
"Oh! Sounds like a nifty ability to pull off some trickery! Rosalina, any chance you could restore his magic?" Monty asked, intrigued by the description.
"Of course I can. Doopliss, you're coming with us. Don't try to fight it," Rosalina stated then grabbed Grodus' hand and blasted a red wave of magic at the doppleganger.
"OHHHHH!" Doopliss yelled, feeling immediately invigorated. A wave of euphoria and energy hit his body, making him sit up and gasp, overwhelmed by the energy and power flowing back in him all at once. Rosalina then shot another blast at the chain to free him, and then another one at Roy's chain.
"OOH! Ah…thank you…Rosalina…" Roy said, nearly falling from being free of the chains.
"Rosalina, any chance you could also heal my brother as well?" Larry asked, feeling a little stand-offish but also relieved to see Roy free.
"I can. Bleck, come with me and Grodus," Rosalina ordered and the three went over to the koopa to perform a spell to heal his torso wound.
Doopliss walked over to the group, laughing a little and looking relieved. He spoke, "Well! Wasn't expecting this turn of events in the final showdown! I'm grateful though, honestly. But, uhh, where's your mystical Crystal Star Rod at? You guys DID get all those gems, right?"
"Our friends have it, they're on the other side of the fortress as we speak. But, yeah, be grateful that you decided to turn against your little alien leader, otherwise…probably wouldn't be standing up right now," Kooper said somewhat coldly. Doopliss sneered at him a little.
"Hmm. Fine. Suppose I deserve that," he shrugged, but then spotted the shadow siren that made him perk up a bit. "Ah, Vivian! So…Beldam also rebelled against Tatanga towards the end. You gonna let her live too?"
Vivian crossed her arms and looked away a little, not really wanting to answer that. "Don't know. It's complicated. Probably not, but, we'll see when I face her. I guess."
Doopliss nodded a little, seeing where she was coming from. He then stepped towards Crump and said, "And you…wow. Long time no see, slick! Heh, you of all people I'd least expect to join the gang!"
Crump rolled his eyes a little and said, "Yep, you and me both. I'm mainly here because of Grodus…and also because I don't wanna die nor be enslaved to some rageaholic alien. You know?"
"Yeah. I gotcha. But, damn, slick…it's like a reunion we got going on here now. You, me, Grodus, Vivian, Beldam…just missing Marilyn…and I guess TEC too," Doopliss recalled, pointing out the elephant in the room there.
"Yeah, well, TEC's dead. If you heard an explosion earlier, that was the X-Naut Fortress being detached from the moon and flying straight for this island. Tatanga caught it in time and nuked it with his star rod and Grodus' scepter, I'm presuming," Crump informed.
Doopliss looked extremely surprised at that. "What the!? That was…the fucking X-NAUT FORTRESS!? I didn't even know that the whole building could detach from the moon! What the hell…that's, uhh, quite random!"
"It served as a distraction, so I guess the plan worked in some way. TEC was ready to go either way, so this was the best plan we could come up with. By the way…you said that Marilyn is missing. What happened to her? Is she dead?" Crump curiously asked.
Doopliss slowly nodded and gestured towards Rosalina, who was finishing up the healing spell for Roy, "Yep. I take it you didn't get the gossip from the others about Rosalina yet, huh? Well…long story short, she got briefly addicted to the black magics and went awol on this place. Nearly killed us, but managed to kill Marilyn in the process. Also got Diddy Kong trapped on the island, because he was flying here on his arwing with some of his buddies to try and stop her, but she shot him down into the ocean. Was fucking nuts, slick. I see you've got A LOT to catch up on with these people."
Crump looked a little horrified from the shocking info he was taking in. "What the fuck? Rosalina…she went 'dark' and did all that shit? What…and everyone's acting all normal about it. I mean, I guess they're pushing that aside so they can focus on killing Tatanga…but man. What in the FUCK. Just when I thought this whole situation couldn't get any crazier!"
"Heh. Ohhhhh boy, Crump! I have a feeling there's A LOT of layers to the crazy that you haven't even heard of yet from these guys. But maybe it's best you don't know, since you're not part of their inner circle anyways," Doopliss snickered at his surprise.
"Yeah, you're right. I don't wanna know. I just wanna get this shit done so I can figure out what the hell I'm gonna do with my life afterwards," Crump stated.
Roy let out a shriek as he saw his flesh wound slowly disappear and the pain slowly fading away.
"Woah! That was awesome! Thanks, guys. Really thought I was just gonna be left to bleed out," Roy exclaimed.
"Don't mention it. Now that you're healed, we need to get going. Every second matters in this! Come on everyone!" Bleck adamantly stated and stomped back down the hallway, making everyone scramble a little and try to follow him closely. Mimi ran up to him in concern.
"Hey, Bleck. I know Tatanga killed Tippi, and I know you're in severe pain right now, but don't let that pain make you go overboard in the fight. Tippi would want this to be settled strategically," Mimi advised.
"I know that. But I also know that he and his followers deserve to suffer severely like we did during this entire process. So, anything that gets in my way, I'll kill them however I can. They all contributed to this, Mimi. They get zero mercy. The second Timpani was wiped from the planet…that was when I lost all hope for a beautiful future. It was supposed to be just us two living in harmony like before…when we were our human selves. The Crystal Star Rod would've brought us back to our human selves. But the second we got the rod, she was taken. So I won't hesitate in destroying this place for that reason alone," Bleck replied harshly as he kept marching forward.
"Bleck, you can still have a beautiful future! Tippi would want you to live on and create a wonderful life that you still can have! I know it's difficult to see right now, but as your friend of many years…don't go down the self-destruction path. Please. I'll help you out however I can. Just please don't go down that path," Mimi assured, feeling his deep sorrow. Bleck made no response, not even a glance at her, and just kept marching down the hallway.
"Hey, Grodus. When did you join these guys? Decided to switch teams after you were ousted by Tatanga?" Doopliss asked somewhat passive aggressively.
"Not right after. Did some soul searching. Talked with TEC. Tried to find Crump and reunite with him. Ran into these guys in some old, dark tower filled with horrors from the darkest corner of one's mind. Decided to work together for the common cause of killing Tatanga then go our separate ways thereafter. Sums up the whole story," Grodus explained straightforwardly.
"Ah. Kind of a tragic irony that we're all reunited here to fight against the true bad guy, huh?" Doopliss asked with a snicker.
"I suppose. But it's not your first time going around at this either, Doopliss. You did work with the Shadow Sirens behind my back to take control of the Shadow Queen situation," Grodus recalled with a hint of frustration.
"Oooookay, we don't need to bring up the specifics of what happened however many years ago now. Shit back then was complicated and messy. I mean…it's like that now, but in a different way. You know?" Doopliss replied in slight embarrassment.
Grodus just scoffed a little and shook his head. "I mean…I guess. Look, let's just save this talk for after we kill the little alien bastard."
"Dad…hey. I, um, don't really know what to say right now. But, um, I really am happy to see you and Larry again," Roy nervously spoke as he walked with Bowser, Larry, and Kody at the back of the group. The awkward tension between the three family koopas was incredibly thick.
"You too, Roy. It's…uhh…been one hell of a rollercoaster ride. Sorry, that's an understatement. But you know what I mean," Larry also nervously replied.
"Yeah. I definitely do. Um…wait, this isn't all that's left of our family…is it?" Roy asked, scared for the answer.
"Oh shit. That's right…you don't know about…" Larry gasped a little, realizing in that moment that Roy didn't know about the deaths that occurred…and about Clawdia coming back into the scene.
"About…what!? What!?" Roy yelped, feeling his heart nearly stop from how his brother responded.
Bowser deeply sighed, closing his eyes, and slowing down in his tracks to tell him the horrifying news. "There was a shooting at the new hospital we're at now. Some koopatrols who were originally a part of Tatanga's clan broke off to do their own thing in Mushroom City. They raided the hospital and killed a bunch of people…two of those people being Iggy and Wendy."
Roy froze in his tracks, now feeling his heart stop. His jaw dropped in absolute shock and horror from hearing his brother and sister being killed.
"WHAT!? Iggy and…W-Wendy!? Oh my god! That…that…no…nooooo! FUCK!" Roy cried and leaned against the wall.
"Yeah. They're…they're fucking gone forever, man. And…guess who walked back into our lives shortly before that? Clawdia. With her own family. But…Tatanga killed her family just before we got here. So, it's just her now," Larry informed while tearing up.
Roy was beyond taken aback at this point from this insane and heartbreaking information. "MOM'S BACK!? She…what!? Oh my god! Fuck! I…holy shit, I-I don't even know what to fucking say about all of this! God, you guys…the toll it's taken on you all especially…I'm so sorry…"
Bowser clenched his fists as tears rolled down his cheeks and said, "It's been too much in such a short amount of time, Roy. Far too much. We're hanging on the best that we can for our family's sake. And…Roy…seeing you here…after everything…I've missed you so much…but also, I…I'm so angry with you…and angry at myself. Damnit! It's so fucking complicated and heavy and…I just…we just need to keep going! Look, the others are way ahead of us, so let's go! NOW!"
"Dad…I-I know you're angry with me about what I did, but please…will you guys let me try again? Will I, um, be able to come back at all after Tatanga's finished?" Roy pleaded through his sobbing.
"Roy. Just, uhh, let's just…focus on ending Tatanga then we can focus on that. Like Bleck said, every second counts right now," Larry stated while wiping his eyes. Roy nodded a little then looked down, feeling the same heavy mix of emotions his dad and brother were.
"Here we are! These are the bedrooms!" Grodus announced, coming across a few doors on each side of the hallway.
"Well? Shall we rummage through each room and set them ablaze like we did with Mushroom Corporations?" Fly Guy asked with a little excitement.
"Wait! You guys hear that!? I actually hear rummaging going on!" Monty said, freezing up, making the others go completely quiet.
"Yes, I hear it too. It's coming from in there…Tatanga's room…" Grodus pointed out a little nervously.
"Everyone, get behind me…and get ready to possibly fight," Rosalina commanded as she approached the door. She then kicked open the door as hard as she could, startling two koopatrols who were in there, holding some papers.
"WOAH, WHAT THE FUCK!?" screamed one of the koopatrols.
"HOLY SHIT, IT'S THEM! PLEASE DON'T KILL US, WE'LL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT!" screeched and panicked the other koopatrol.
Rosalina raised both of her hands and suddenly, the koopatrols were thrown against the wall and held there.
Bleck stomped towards the both of them and yelled, "Where is Tatanga at right now!? Is he in the big weapon room!?"
"W-We don't know if he is in there right now! We swear! Last we saw, he saw you guys come in and wanted to take his spaceship to try and look for you all!" frantically shouted the first koopatrol.
"Yeah, we don't know if he came back to the weapon room or if he went somewhere else after that! WE FUCKING SWEAR!" shrilled the second koopatrol.
"Right. Okay. So, what the hell are you two doing in here then, huh!? Stealing some of Tatanga's prized possessions!? I mean, I wouldn't blame you exactly…but still!" Fly Guy asked.
"No no! We were just going over the plans, a-and we couldn't find the blueprint for the weapon so we came in here because we knew Tatanga had a copy!" explained the first koopatrol.
"Wait, has the weapon already been activated? Like, it's being launched as we speak!?" Mimi asked in horrifying realization.
"Yeah! You didn't hear that rumble, like, a minute ago!? It's being launched into the air literally right now! In another ten minutes or so, that thing's gonna explode! Half the world's gonna go down in flames, and the other half will be magically enslaved to Tatanga!" answered the second koopatrol.
"FUCK! Ten minutes is all we really have!? WE NEED TO GET DOWN TO THAT ROOM NOW!" Bowser roared.
"Agreed. Thanks for your help! Goodbye!" Bleck said and then made a swiping motion in the air with both of his hands. Both of the koopatrols' necks were cut wide open, making them croak and gurgle on their own blood as the two slid down to the floor, slowly fading away.
"Gosh! Well, can't say they didn't deserve that…must be amazing to have magical powers!" Monty commented, a little taken back from the sudden move.
While this was happening, Vivian couldn't help but gravitate towards another door in the hall. She carefully opened it and saw belongings in there that she immediately recognized. The scent in the room also gave it away.
"Ooh…this was Beldam and Marilyn's room…" Vivian whispered to herself, feeling her heart race in anxiousness.
"Vivian? Hey, what are you doing?" Kooper asked, walking over to her.
"This was my sisters' room. I…can feel Beldam's presence close by. I'm gonna have to face her very soon!" Vivian replied, already feeling overwhelmed.
"Oh shit. Viv…what are you gonna do? If you really wanna end her…you know we'll all help with that," Kooper said, touching her shoulder in care.
"I…think I should end her. I have to. Right? I mean, this is her second betrayal of me. She can't be trusted ever again! The world can't have her in it…she's too powerful and dangerous and…cunning…" Vivian cried a little, trying to keep herself calm.
"Exactly. A person like that can't exist in the world. It's too much of a threat for the people. We got you, Viv. Completely!" Kooper assured and hugged her.
The two then heard Bowser storming down the hallway. They broke off the hug and Kooper shouted, "Oh crap! Looks like we're continuing onward! Come on, Viv!"
The two then ran out of the room with everyone else running towards the weapon room now.
Roy and Kody were next to each other and Roy couldn't help but ask him, "Hey! What's your name? I couldn't help but get the impression that you're close with Larry?"
"The name's Kody. I've been bonding pretty well with your brothers at the hospital. They kind of took me in after they heard my story of losing my brother and parents when Tatanga struck Mushroom City. I've never been a part of such a loyal group of people before! It's really been a help. Your family is great, Roy," the koopa teen explained.
"Wow. Um…good. I'm glad it's been good for you. I take it…they've, uhh, told you about me?" Roy asked awkwardly.
"Yeah, they have. I don't judge though, bro. Besides, it's technically not my business. I hope your family wants to make amends, man. I've seen your family get broken apart from your siblings dying and your mother coming back…shit's rough as hell. Your family is incredibly strong for trying to put themselves back together. Mad props!" Kody added.
"Yeah. Glad they're trying to put themselves back together….I know I contributed a lot to them being broken…" Roy replied, saddened by the state of his family unit and felt a deep depression and guilt from that.
The group reached the big weapon room, where they heard the booming and echoing noise of the weapon being slowly launched into the air like a rocket. They looked up in awe and horror…but also saw the many koopatrols in there who spotted them in surprise. Both sides locked eyes with each other, and then roars of war were heard as the koopatrols ran towards them and clashed with the heroes, beginning another battle for justice.
Bowser swiped his claws at various koopatrols and stomped on any who were on the ground, killing them right on the spot or at least breaking their bones. Larry viciously punched, kicked, and threw them all across the room without stopping to even take a breath. Rosalina, Grodus, and Bleck used their magics to slice, stab, and also throw them across the room, splattering blood in every which direction. Crump twisted the necks of some koopatrols and body slammed some others, also managing to rip off the spiky shells of some of them and stab them with it. Mimi transformed into her giant spider form and kicked around the koopatrols in her path and shot rubees at them, piercing many of them in the eyes and neck. Fly Guy continuously picked one koopatrol up and threw him at another koopatrol and also occasionally swooped down to bash them in the face. Roy and Kody tag-teamed a few koopatrols, grabbing bricks from the floor and smashing the hell out of them in their faces. Doopliss transformed into a koopatrol and sneakily slit the throats of a few of them. Kooper did his Power Shell move, knocking down a few koopatrols in a row onto their backs and stomped on their faces while they were down too.
During the midst of the battle, Vivian spotted a familiar face in the far corner of the room, holding dearly onto a black object. Vivian got a little closer and her anxiety rose higher when she confirmed that it was her sister, Beldam.
Beldam eventually locked eyes with Vivian and also felt her heart sink at the sight of her younger sister. Vivian got closer to her as her breathing quickened and her fists clenched.
"Beldam…here we are, after all this time," Vivian spoke, feeling an equal mix of rage, disappointment, and upset.
"Vivian. Congratulations on making it all this way with your friends. You survived the toughest trials anyone could ever face. You're definitely a true shadow siren," Beldam said dryly, clutching the Ztar tightly.
"Yeah, I did. But I don't think I'd feel honored calling myself a true shadow siren. I'm just being true me. I think I always have been. But you refused to see the true me…right?" Vivian asked, glancing at the Ztar.
"You're right. I refused to see you as any different from Marilyn and I. I wanted you to be like us. I mistook your kindness and softness as weakness. No wonder why you fit in with Mario and his gang so well…" Beldam admitted, surprising Vivian a little.
"Yeah. They're people I can rely on for anything. I'm sorry you never had the chance to have friends like that in your life," Vivian stated.
"Don't be sorry. I did it to myself. Having no friends added to my misery. Added me to wanting to seek and cause chaos in the world. Because it's all I ever knew," Beldam replied shamelessly.
"I know, sis. I know. Um…that thing you're holding…that's a Ztar, right? Where'd you get that from?" Vivian asked.
Beldam glanced down at the Ztar and looked a little more nervous now. "Tatanga gave it to me. He originally got it from Hexana. You remember her, yeah?"
Vivian shivered at the name. "How could I not? Hexana…of course, all of this wouldn't be an evil, mastermind plan without the help of her black magics. Damnit. You really did a number on me this time, Beldam. You destroyed my trust in you permanently! So many of my friends died because of your help with Tatanga. I…I wanna hate you SO bad, sis…"
"But you can't hate me, can you? It's not in your heart to do so. This is…this is who I am, Viv. Always. The temptation of darkness, violence, and chaos…I'll forever be subdued by that gratifying taste of it all…even if I know it'll ruin my bond with someone I care for and love," Beldam said while choking up a little, slowly edging to her sister, gripping the Ztar even tighter now.
"Wow. You know, sis…at least you admit you're a junkie to the chaos. I've been waiting for you to say that for many years now. And…are you gonna use that Ztar on me?" Vivian asked, noticing how close her sister was holding on to the Ztar.
"Well…you know I'm not gonna go down without a fight, sis. Even after everything," Beldam said, prepared to battle it out no matter what.
"Right. Same here. I'm sorry it even has to come to this!" Vivian said with a sigh, then lunged forward at Beldam with a Shade Fist move. Vivian managed to hit Beldam's arm, making her cry out, but Beldam quickly retaliated and swung the Ztar at Vivian's jaw and knocked her to the floor, making Vivian cry out even louder than her sister. Beldam stood over and was about to slam the Ztar onto her face, but Vivian used her Veil move to disappear into the shadows as Beldam hit the ground with the Ztar, just barely missing her. Vivian reappeared behind her and did another Shade Fist to the back of Beldam's head, making her fall to the ground and drop the Ztar. Vivian kicked Beldam over onto her back, grabbed the Ztar and stabbed one of the pointy ends of the Ztar into her chest.
"OHHHHHHH! Ahhhhhhh…sis…" Beldam screeched, gripping the Ztar as she felt the sharp pain shoot throughout her whole body.
Vivian looked Beldam intensely in the eyes as she pushed the Ztar deeper into her sister's body. Beldam screeched out further as she began to cough up blood.
"Vi…vian…you…I always knew…d-deep down…that you'd be the…l-last one of us three…to make it…that…you'd be…the most successful…" Beldam weakly spoke, gripping Vivian's hand tightly. Vivian couldn't help but tear up as she held her hand back.
"Y-You could've been there with me, sis. All you had to do was do better and be better. That's all," Vivian said while sobbing now.
Beldam chuckled a little as she also sobbed. "I-I couldn't be better even if I truly wanted to, sis…there's a tiny part that wants to…but…I also know…I love the chaos and dark…too much…to let it go…"
Vivian shook her head as she sobbed further and slowly took out the Ztar from Beldam's body. Beldam yelled out again from more sharp pain as she faded away.
"Aaaaaaggghhhh…Viv…even after…everything…I…still…love you…" Beldam spoke sincerely.
"I…s-still love you too…sis…" Vivian replied softly with a small smile.
"F…inish…Tatanga…it's what you…need to do…sis…goodbye…" Beldam said more softer and weaker as she slowly closed her eyes and her breathing stopped. Vivian dropped to her knees, taking in her last family member perishing in front of her very eyes.
As the number of koopatrols dwindled greatly in the battle, a minor earthquake was felt, startling and distracting everyone in the weapon room.
"WOAH! Oh shit, it's an earthquake, we gotta take cover guys!" Kody yelped.
"No! It's not that. It's…something else…" Rosalina said with a nervous expression.
She noticed blood dripping onto the floor as the earth kept shaking a little. Rosalina looked up to see where exactly it was coming from. She gasped, using her magics to get an image of what was happening up there.
"Rosalina? What's happening right now!? Should we, uhh, start running our asses outta here!?" Monty said, beginning to panic.
The dead center of the room began to crumble, then quickly caved inward, revealing a hole…but from the hole came what looked to be a dark purple vortex that seemed to be getting bigger by the second.
Kooper backed away from the center of the room, freaked out by what he was seeing. He then saw something to the left from the corner of his eye that he couldn't help but dart his eyes towards. He nearly jumped at who he saw.
Konnor, who was standing in one of the hallways leading into the room staring in horror at what was unfolding. Konnor then took his eyes off the center of the room and glanced at Kooper, who also jumped in fright.
"Konnor! KONNOOOOOOOOOOOR!" Kooper roared, feeling the fire ignite tenfold within him. Konnor bolted down the hallway and Kooper chased him down, using up as much adrenaline as he could to catch up to him.
"WHAT THE FUCK!? Okay, what the hell is going on here!? Rosalina, tell us!" Bowser demanded, unable to take his eyes off the weird vortex.
"I…I know what this is. A black magic spell was used with blood to make this vortex appear. It's going to swallow up the whole island in a matter of minutes!" Rosalina revealed much to everyone's horror.
"WHAT!? Well, uhh, are you able to do a spell to get rid of it then!? Or can the Crystal Star Rod do that!?" Larry shrieked.
"Yes, the Crystal Star Rod can get rid of it. But, if for some reason we can't get the Crystal Star Rod in time…then the person whose blood was spilled needs to die in order for the vortex to disappear," Rosalina added further.
"Errr, okay!? Wait, whose blood was spilled then!? Do you know, Rosalina?" Crump asked.
"Yes, I do. It was Daisy's. So…we have to find the others with the Crystal Star Rod and stop this. If we can't…then…Daisy has to die so the vortex can be stopped."
EoC.
There are three chapters left in this arc! Toodles' son, Toadivan, offers her a cruel deal that leaves her in shambles, some of the group tries to hunt down Konnor AKA Fire Bro, a mission to save Daisy is attempted, Dimentio gets in Tatanga's way and the two duke it out once more, and as always, much more! Next chapter will be uploaded on or before Sunday, March 3. Thanks for reading!