Blackstone Tower: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, DK, Dixie, Toadette, Goombella, Koops, Kooper, Parakarry, Spike/Paper-Yoshi, Vivian, Bowser, Larry, Bowser Jr., Wario, Pauline, Mona, Starlow, Grodus, Lord Crump, Boshi
Hospital group: Bleck/Blumiere, Tippi/Timpani, Toadsworth, Fly Guy, Toado, Morton, Lemmy, Ludwig, Kody, E. Gadd, Clawdia, Katia, Kenneth, Toodles, Petey Piranha, Rosalina, Monty Mole
Mushroom Corps.: Toadari (Arfur's boss), Tadano
Island group: Tatanga, Beldam, Roy, Doopliss, Dimentio, Mimi, Diddy, Fire Bro/Konnor
Moon: TEC
ST. TOADOFSKY'S HOSPITAL
3:13 PM
Mimi saw the hospital in sight, filling her with great relief as her body was exhausted from the very long walk from the castle. She pushed onward, happy as can be that her destination was nigh.
"Finally! Finally…I can only imagine how much I've missed since I've been gone…" Mimi said to herself in both excitement at returning, but also in worry because she knew she had missed some important stuff due to her capture.
Mimi approached the steps and entered through the double doors. Immediately, she knew something was different. She saw bullet holes in the walls and even parts of the walls were missing. There was an air of distress and misery that wasn't as prevalent compared to when she was there before.
"So, you used to collect lighters? What on earth for!? That's so…random!" Toodles said in confusion as she walked with Toadsworth out of the cafeteria.
"Well, I used to smoke cigars when I was younger and I'd always lose my lighters for them, so I eventually found a safe place to stash my lighter where I'd remember it. I then bought another one in case I somehow lost the first one. Then another one. Then another…then another one…before I knew it, I had collected at least 50 different kinds of lighters! Yes, completely random, especially since that's the only thing I have a collection of, hoohoo!" Toadsworth explained while chuckling. Toodles chuckled back.
"Interesting. You'll have to show me someti- oh! Who's that girl? I've never seen her before. I definitely would've remembered seeing someone like that!" Toodles did a double take when she took notice of Mimi observing the vicinity with a horrified expression. Toadsworth saw where she was looking at and gasped in total surprise at the sight of Mimi.
"BLIMEY! That's Mimi! MIMI! Over here! YOU'RE BACK!?" Toadsworth shouted and waved her down. Mimi locked eyes with him and ran over to him in bigger relief. She gave him a hug and let out a cheery sigh.
"Oh, Toadsworth! So great to see you! Y-Yeah, I didn't think I was gonna be able to make it back, honestly…but I'm so glad I did. I was so scared being away from you guys! I thought I was for sure a goner," Mimi said while sobbing a little.
"We thought you were too, but glad that that wasn't the case! Toodles, this is Mimi. She was one of the original people who survived the initial Mushroom City attack. According to Tatanga's twin brother, Tadano, he and Mimi went to Tatanga's island to try and convince Tatanga to stop what he's doing. Only Tadano came back, and we were all told Mimi was kidnapped by Tatanga and his goons. Mimi, this is Toodles. She showed up here with a group of people seeking refuge shortly after you and Tadano left for the island," Toadsworth explained the situation. Toodles looked shocked yet impressed.
"My goodness! How on earth did you escape an island!? Pleasure to meet you, by the way," Toodles yelped.
"It's kind of a long story. I kinda wanna explain it to everyone else. Are they here? Did…did some of them die!?" Mimi frantically asked, fearing the worst. Toadsworth and Toodles' expressions turned sorrowful. Mimi noticed this and it confirmed her fears.
"Guys…no…no no no! What the hell has happened since I've been gone!? I need to know EVERYTHING!" Mimi demanded.
"Well, here, let's gather up the others and we'll tell you everything. Mario's group is gone right now to look for the final gem, so it's just a small handful of us here," Toadsworth proposed. Mimi nodded, preparing herself to process a whole lot of shocking info.
Mimi, Toadsworth, Toodles, E. Gadd, Morton, Ludwig, Lemmy, Kody, Petey, Bleck, and Tippi met in the secret basement room behind the filing room. Everyone was relieved to see Mimi alive after all this time.
"MIMI!" Tippi cried and flew to her, giving her a little 'butterfly' hug, making Mimi giggle. "You don't know how glad we are to see you're still alive! Honestly, after everything we've been through since you've been gone, we were just losing hope altogether…"
Bleck went up to Mimi and hugged her too. "Seriously. It's a total miracle you're alive and back with us. One of the few good things that's happened lately."
"Yeah, definitely a miracle! You guys won't believe this, but Doopliss and Beldam actually helped me and Diddy escape. They switched sides, they're no longer working with Tatanga," Mimi revealed, surprising the others greatly. She continued, "Unfortunately, I think Tatanga got to them before they could escape via the teleporter. That's how I got back. When I realized no one was following me through the teleporter, I tried to activate it again and…nothing was working. So I knew Tatanga caught them. Diddy was so close to making it out too…Dixie and DK are gonna be devastated…"
"Wow! So that was actually Diddy I saw when I went there. Well, I'm glad he's been alive all this time…but unfortunately not for much longer, it seems like…" Bleck replied upsettingly.
"Damn. That poor guy. But, Mimi, I gotta ask…did you really go to the island to try and get Roy back? How was he holding up? Is he…still alive?" Morton asked nervously. Ludwig and Lemmy looked nervous for her response too.
Mimi nodded and looked like she was gonna cry. "I did go back to get him. I know, it was definitely a strange decision on my part, but I related soooo much to Roy that I just felt sorry for him and wanted to get him back to the world that he belongs to! Tadano wanted to go over to the island to do the same for his brother, so I figured it'd be a perfect opportunity to go with someone and try to get Roy back.
Um…you guys, Roy WAS regretting his decision. He wanted to come back with me soooo badly, but I was caught by Tatanga and sentenced to a cell with Diddy. Roy did his best to help me out, but unfortunately…he was caught trying to save me and Diddy. They sent him to some isolated room as punishment. I don't know if they tortured him too, but…I couldn't save him when I was escaping. I had no time to. I wouldn't even know where he was being kept! I'm so sorry, guys. It might actually be over for him."
Everyone else looked sad and horrified from that reveal, and a few looked to the koopalings. Morton was shaking his head and looked distressed. Lemmy was on the verge of tears. Ludwig looked a little frustrated and crossed his arms.
"Well…a-alright then. We'll have to let dad, Larry, and Junior know when they get back. They're gonna be so devastated though…" Lemmy said through his sobbing.
"He did it to himself, though. He joined them and that's his fucking consequence," Ludwig coldly said and shook his head.
"LUDWIG! Hey, that's still our brother, you know! Our brother that we didn't treat right growing up. That's another one of our family gone…forever…" Lemmy yelled and sobbed further. Morton gave him a sidehug while Ludwig looked over at him in regret of being so cruel about the matter.
"Thanks for letting us know that, Mimi. Yeah…dad and our brothers are in for A LOT of crazy news when they get back…not just with Roy…" Morton said while tearing up a little as well.
"Oh yeah. Mimi, our long lost mother, Clawdia, came in with her nutjob of a husband, Kenneth, and their daughter, Katia, along with Toodles, E. Gadd, Luvbi, and Starlow. Clawdia and Kenneth caused a shitload of drama and stress for us, but mostly with our dad. We finally kicked their asses out right before you showed up. That's that part in a very small nutshell!" Ludwig summarized matter-of-factly.
Mimi looked totally bewildered from that reveal. "What the!? So…uhh…Bowser's ex-wife came here…with her OWN family!? GEEZ! I'm so sorry! I'm afraid to know what else happened while I was gone!"
"Well, you're in one for one doozy of a ride! E. Gadd, you wanna tell the story?" Petey asked with a chuckle.
"Hold on here. I wanna know about Dimentio. You mentioned Doopliss and Beldam…but not him. What's going on with him!? Do you know anything!?" Bleck asked intensely.
Mimi was a little taken aback by his interrogating tone, but she also understood where it was coming from considering their strained pasts with Dimentio. She said, "Not exactly sure of what happened to Dimentio. From what Beldam told me, he tried to outsmart Tatanga by taking over with his own plan, but it backfired majorly on him. So…he's either locked up like Roy is, or…picked off."
Tippi couldn't help but scoff a little. "Hmm. I see some things never change…"
Bleck also scoffed at that info and shook his head. "Some people never learn either. Tatanga probably figured Dimentio would do something like what he did to me, so he made a plan in case that were to happen. And it did. Now look at where all that cockiness got him. History repeats itself!"
"Yeah, for real. But at least it's one less person we have to deal with when the time comes to destroy Tatanga. Now then…I wanna know what all happened when I was gone. Please!" Mimi said, turning to E. Gadd for the story.
"Sure. Like Ludwig said, I arrived here with Clawdia, Katia, Kenneth, Toodles, and my assistants Luvbi and Starlow. My assistants and I ran into the family on the way to the hospital then ran into Toodles. I wanted to help out with things instead of just sitting back. Now…here's where the rollercoaster of doom and misery begins…" E. Gadd began.
He told her about the mass shooting that resulted in the loss of so many of their friends, Kody joining the group, Rosalina being exiled because of her turning 'dark' when a shapeshifting monster from Freezeflame Galaxy killed Waluigi in front of her and made her nearly kill everyone, the people at the hospital rebelling and some splitting off to the Rose City hospital, the gang going to the Shiver Region and finding the 8th gem, Petey joining the group while everything in the world went bonkers temporarily as Merle came to the hospital and discovered that some of the group has connections to the original heroes of yore who created the 9 gems, Tadano being kidnapped by Toadari who is the director of Mushroom Corporations, Arfur attempting to kill Spike but he ended up being killed instead, Mushroom Corporations not being trustworthy and the plan to go after them once the final gem is completed and the Crystal Star Rod is obtained, the gang going to a place called Blackstone Tower the retrieve the final gem, Rosalina coming back with a new friend named Monty and attempting to help the gang out at the tower, and the director of the hospital, Dr. Nokano, murdered by a man named Paraklyde and him being the right-hand man to Toadari, which further adds to the distrust of the company.
After E. Gadd was done explaining everything, Mimi took a moment for all that insanity to sink in. She looked completely taken aback and a little horrified from so much mayhem happening all in a matter of days since she's been gone.
"Holy crap. Seriously. HOLY. CRAP. All that!? That…just…okay…give me another minute because that was just an essay's worth of info that I need to process! Talk about mind-blowing, and not in a good way!" Mimi shrieked in total disbelief.
"Tell me about it. Even I struggled to believe all that crap really happened, and I was there to experience most of it!" Toodles scoffed in empathy.
"But all of this insanity is gonna end soon. I can feel it. They just need to get that final gem and then it'll be an easy path from there on out. The Crystal Star Rod will help so much in taking down both Mushroom Corporations and Tatanga. The only thing that we need to be concerned about is if we're able to get the Crystal Star Rod before Tatanga makes his strike. It could be any minute now, unfortunately," Bleck said, putting out the hard truth that no one wanted to think about.
"That's right. From what I saw and heard, preparations for Tatanga's big weapon are nearly complete. That's what it all comes down to. Time. So it's a race against the clock. Only thing for us to do now is to hope that the others get the gem and rod before Tatanga sets it all into motion," Mimi replied and shook her head with a sigh, then continued, "I also can't believe that Mushroom Corporations has been actually been working against us this whole time! And what you said about Arfur, E. Gadd…how he tried to kill Spike then Spike had to kill him…my gosh! Everything they've been doing from the start has been for their own benefit!" Mimi added in further shock, feeling overwhelmed by all this heavy news.
"While on the topic of Mushroom Corporations, I wanna say something that perturbed me a little while ago…" E. Gadd said cryptically with a stressed sigh. Everyone else perked their ears up for what he was going to say. The professor continued, "There was an anonymous note slipped under one of the doctor's offices. The note said 'ASK PROFESSOR ELVIN GADD ABOUT DR. NOKANO'S DISAPPEARANCE.' So…I was interrogated by some of the staff for what the note is supposed to mean. I played dumb. I denied everything. But they knew I was lying…they saw it clear as day on my face."
Everyone else looked at him and then at each other in terror. Chills were sent down everyone's spines at that reveal.
"What the hell!? Who would write that!? AND WHY!? That's just stirring the pot and people are gonna freak out again!" Kody exclaimed.
"Well…you guys remember that toad nurse that discovered Nokano's body? She told me it wasn't her who wrote that note, and I believe her. My gut is telling me that it was the work of Paraklyde and Toadari. Like I said before, guys, they have surveillance all over this place. Plus the fact that it was most likely their doing of why Nokano died…it HAS to be them. They're stirring the pot and trying to create mass chaos among the people here once again. And now…now the toad nurse is telling me that the staff may make an announcement to let the folks know about Nokano disappearing and ask if they know of his whereabouts. That's gonna get them incredibly riled up," E. Gadd said as he became more emotional and distressed.
The professor gripped his shirt and started to choke up while continuing, "And…I…I-I don't know what to do about it! This is gonna end up in a complete disaster no matter which way it unfolds! Even if we were to tell them about Nokano being killed and us covering it all up…they're gonna question us for why the hell we did all that in the first place! And if we tell them about Mushroom Corporations being behind his death, that'll STILL send everyone into a mass panic and it may provoke Toadari to pull off something dastardly! WE'RE AT A GODDAMN LOSS HERE! AGH!" E. Gadd shouted then broke down in tears and dropped to his knees. Everyone felt his stress and sympathized deeply with him. Toadsworth knelt down and sidehugged him.
"Hey…we got this, okay? No matter what happens…we'll make it through. We are SO close to ending this, E. Gadd. So close! Keep your mind focused on that, okay!? I know, my yapping makes it seem far easier said than done, but we can't let these bastards do us in, because that's how they'll win," Toadsworth said in comfort while patting him on the back, close to tearing up himself.
"He's right, E. Gadd. Actually, if anything, this little move of Toadari's just proves that he's getting scared. He knows he's being figured out and he might also know that we're coming for him once we get the Crystal Star Rod. He's pulling out any tricks he can come up with to get us shaken up further. Well, it's not happening. He's in for a VERY rude awakening soon," Tippi angrily stated.
"So…what do we do then in the meantime? Just say and do nothing?" Kody asked.
"Yes. Nothing. We'll tell everyone the truth once Mushroom Corporations is gone. But until then, we need to stay silent. I know it's messed up to leave everyone else in the dark about Nokano, but this is a necessity for the time being. Desperate times call for desperate measures. They'll understand eventually," Bleck answered confidently. Everyone nodded in agreement to the plan.
"Alright. That's what we'll do then. Nothing. So just keep on hanging around like we all have been. Like nothing has changed," Petey affirmed.
After the meeting concluded, everyone exited the room and proceeded to head out of the basement, except for Lemmy, Morton, Ludwig, and Kody who stayed behind, wanting to discuss with Lemmy about Clawdia.
"Alright, Morton. What did Clawdia tell you before she left!? Come on, you can't NOT tell us! Especially since it got you all shook up!" Ludwig demanded to know. Morton rolled his eyes at him and paced around a little frantically.
"Seriously, bro. You know you can talk to us! Keeping it in will just make things worse down the line! Unless you'd prefer to just tell it to your bros? I mean…your actual brothers?" Kody asked with a little concern.
"No no. Kody, you can stay. I mean…fuck! I…I'll tell you guys…but, uhh, you're not gonna like it…" Morton said while stopping his pacing and looked incredibly nervous.
"Oh god, what is it, Morton!? Come on, spill it! Don't let our minds wander with what she said to you!" Lemmy yelped in anticipation.
"She's not sending us anything, is she? Like, coins or clothing? Because if so, we'll tell her to keep that shit, I ain't touching anything from that whacko family!" Ludwig spat.
"No. Nothing like that. She…um…ohhhhh…man oh man…I don't even know how to come out with this…" Morton spoke very clearly nervously and looked down. The others noticed his expression looked greatly stressed.
"Morton? Hey…come on now. Whatever it is, it's totally fine, and we can work it out together. It's all gonna be okay!" Lemmy tried to uplift his spirits. Morton smiled a little at his efforts.
"S-So, uhh, what mom…Clawdia told me…she gave me her phone number. She told me to call her in case…in case things get bad over something I can't control…" Morton began, his voice shaking a little.
"Huh!? Oh geez. As if you'd wanna call her! How oblivious could she possibly be!? You know, it's pretty scary that that is who gave birth to us!" Ludwig exclaimed.
"Wait a second. What does that mean by 'something you can't control'? Is she talking about…uhh…anger issues? Like, she'll refer you to a therapist?" Kody guessed.
"No. That's not it, isn't it, Morton? Because if so, why would she single YOU out then? Since our whole damn family has anger issues!" Lemmy questioned.
Morton paused for a moment, looking at the three, becoming so nervous that he felt like he was gonna heave again. But he had to come out with it. There was no turning back now.
"Yeah…that's not it. She was…ooh…sh-she was referring to me…being…gay. I'm gay. And she knew that ever since I was a little kid," Morton revealed, feeling a mix of emotions right then and there. It felt good to get that out, but also overwhelming still since it felt weird hearing himself say that out loud, but also scared because he didn't know how his brothers and Kody would react.
The other three were silent for a moment. The silence put more fear into Morton, making him want to run away from it all.
But thankfully, the silence was broken by Kody.
"Oh! That's what she said? Geez…you had us really scared, bro! That's one good thing your mom has done, I guess!" he spoke cheerily, providing relief for Morton.
"I KNEW IT!" Ludwig shouted, startling Morton. "Larry and I had a bet a long time ago that you were gay. We bet 50 coins. I was soooo positive you were, but he was soooo positive you weren't. Can't wait to rub it in his face when he gets back! But we weren't gonna pressure you to come out or anything, because we knew it had to be on your own time."
"Yeah! Morton, that's totally fine with us. Why would you think that we wouldn't be okay with that? It's only a small part of who you are anyways!" Lemmy said sweetly. All this made Morton smile and nearly tear up at his fears fading away.
"I-I mean…the topic of that never came up in our family, Lemmy. Never! So, you know, I just assumed that you guys wouldn't be so accepting…but I'm glad you are. Thanks, guys," Morton responded, feeling that weight fly off his shoulders instantaneously. The other three smiled at him and gave him a hug.
"Aww. I mean, I get why you'd be scared to come out. A lot of people still refuse to come around to even being tolerant of that stuff," Lemmy sympathized while patting Morton on the back.
"Do you think your dad will be accepting of it? I have a feeling he will be!" Kody asked optimistically.
"Honestly, it's hard to say. Clawdia told me that dad saw me play with Wendy's toys when I was very little and, supposedly, he didn't have such a nice reaction to that. But that's about all I can think of. But, maybe it's best to not tell him until after we're done with everything. I think telling him this with everything else going and it being so close to the end might be weird timing," Morton said with a shrug, caring about his dad's opinion the most.
"Hey, Mort, it's all up to you for what you wanna do. If dad isn't okay with it, I'm sure he'll eventually come around, especially with all your brothers supporting you! So, you'll be fine either way. No need to call Clawdia. She just wants to make herself seem important," Ludwig said in encouragement. Morton nodded and teared up a little.
"Thanks, guys. This really really helps."
BLACKSTONE TOWER
"Grodus? What are you gonna do?" Crump asked, perking up at him when he realized his friend was gonna pull off something.
"Hmm! Yes, entertain us, robot boy, what do you have in mind to kill me and my pets off? Releasing electric bolts from that giant dome head of yours?" Underworld-Kalmar mocked.
Grodus stared intensely at Kalmar and his 'pets.' He inhaled greatly, clenched his fists, then loudly spoke, "IMPERIUM."
All fell silent for a second there. Everyone looked at each other, waiting for something to happen…but nothing seemed to.
"Uhh, what the hell was that that you just did? Grodus?" Larry asked confusedly.
"HA! A magic spell you tried to perform!? On ME!? This is just laughable and embarrassing. I'm tired of this now. My pets, go and-" Underworld-Kalmar mocked further and was about to order an attack but Grodus cut him off.
"Serpents and Clubbas, you will do everything that I say," he loudly stated, putting his full concentration towards the 'pets.' Everyone looked surprised from hearing those words and they turned to the enemies.
"What the!? What do you think you're doing!? This is…this is certainly a joke! How much of an idiot are you to think that they'll just listen to you!? My pets, ATTACK! NOW!" Underworld-Kalmar continued to laugh at Grodus and commanded the attack to happen…but it didn't. The serpents and clubbas had stayed perfectly still. Everyone else was stunned further to find that whatever Grodus did had worked.
"Grodus, how did you do that? I take it you've been dabbling in the black magics?" Mario asked, somewhat impressed.
"You could say that. NOW…serpents and clubbas…attack the demonic star spirit behind you. Chase him down until you successfully kill him. Do not stop until he is dead. He is your one and only target," Grodus further stated. The serpents and clubbas slowly turned their bodies and now faced the star who was starting to become horrified at what was going on.
"Wh-what the hell!? HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!? STOP THIS, MY PETS! YOU FOLLOW ME, NOT SOME USELESS SCRAP OF METAL! I COMMAND YOU TO ATTACK THESE FOOLS!" Underworld-Kalmar screamed. But his words weren't working. The serpents and clubbas began to growl and leered at him.
"Well well well! Isn't this a plot twist? Your own pets going against you. Sounds like you should run before you get mauled!" Pauline spat with a smirk.
"REGELO!" Grodus shouted and snapped his fingers. The serpents and clubbas then lunged towards the star spirit, making him yelp and back away in fright.
"NO NO NO! YOU BASTARD! STOP…STOP IT! MY PETS…I WILL NOT HESITATE TO MAIM YOU! RAAAAAGH!" Underworld-Kalmar screamed then ended up tussling with the serpents as the clubbas got in on the action and swung away.
"LET'S GO! NOOOOOW!" Underworld-Mario yelled and the group ran for it. They ran down the dry and rocky mountain and eventually made it back onto the flat earth and kept running until they reached the cave. Everyone slowed to a walk inside the cave to catch their breath.
"Holy…shit…Grodus, where the hell did you come up with that spell!? I mean, thanks for giving us an escape and all, but damn! I wasn't expecting that!" Yoshi exclaimed while catching his breath.
"I'll be honest, I wasn't confident it would work. I thought about trying it on Kalmar, but since he's a star spirit, it most likely wouldn't have worked on him, so I used it on his 'pets' instead. And it worked! Thank goodness. I used that same spell on one of the koopatrol workers when I was on Tatanga's island to get him to mess with the progress of the big weapon. Not sure of how much damage he did because I left the island right after that to go visit TEC," Grodus explained. Everyone else looked surprised and impressed by this revelation.
"Woah. Well, we're definitely glad you used it! Don't know what we would've done if it hadn't worked. But I guess we shouldn't think about that…" Toadette said with gratitude.
"Thanks. I've also been practicing magic lately on my own since that fucker took my scepter. I've been getting good at it so that's how I was able to pull that off. I also came to Blackstone Tower with a spellbook that's helped me…but I lost it when I went into a room with a drawing of me on the door. Was so weird…did you guys see that too? I mean, did you guys have drawings of you on those doors too and had to…I guess…'face' stuff from your pasts?" Grodus asked, sounding a little trembling at the end there.
"Oh yeah. We all did. Was some pretty scary shit. We don't even know if our friends and my dad and brother survived any of that stuff, which is actually scarier. That's also why we need to keep running back to the tower! We got what we needed, that star spirit freak is distracted, so let's keep running, guys!" Larry insisted and the group walked faster out of the cave, but Underworld-Mario ran in front of everyone and halted them.
"Hold on a second here. Is purple dino-man going with you all?" he asked, bringing in the tension as everyone else glanced at Boshi, who felt extremely awkward now.
"Goddamnit, man. Okay, if this is my chance to escape this hellholle, then yes, I would like to come with! Please, guys…I won't get a chance like this again!" Boshi pleaded, but the others looked mixed about him.
"Well…" Yoshi spoke, bringing all eyes to him, with some of them worried how far the tension was gonna go. He continued, "Boshi, you're very lucky you got a chance to escape with us…because you sure as HELL don't deserve it." Yoshi said it in such a cold and crude manner that it shook a few others from how 'un-Yoshi' he sounded, but everyone understood where he was coming from. He then walked ahead of the rest out into the snowy woods with Starlow still on his back, leaving Boshi to sigh upsettingly.
"Yeah. I definitely deserved that. Anyone else wanna take a swing while we're at it!?" Boshi scoffed.
"Damn right you deserved that, and if we weren't in such a timecrunch, I'd say A LOT worse to you than what Yoshi did. Now move it!" Pauline spat directly in his face and brushed past him. Boshi sighed again and clenched his fists, now feeling angry. Everyone else quickly continued moving forward as Mario walked up besides Boshi.
"Boshi…hey. As bad as things have gotten, I personally don't think you deserve to die. You've suffered enough being down here. But as for coming with us back to the hospital…that's Yoshi's call. I can't put it into words how badly you hurt him. He's been so distant and serious ever since you revealed all that crap about what you did to Birdo. I'm actually shocked at how well he's handling things!" Mario stated with some anger, still feeling disgusted that Boshi did that atrocity to his friend.
"Mario, you're not telling me anything I don't already know. I KNOW I fucked things up badly, and I know there's no way to fix it. And if Yoshi wants me gone, then so be it. But at least let me struggle through the rest of my life in the normal world instead of this backwards-ass, creepy dimension," Boshi said annoyedly.
"Right. Well, lucky for you, we're almost done completing this mess of a quest. So, you don't have to worry about Tatanga fucking up the world for too much longer," Mario added.
"Great. The world survives and I go on living my miserable, lonely life. Not much of a change to how it was before all this shit started…" Boshi responded, now sounding a little more sad than angry. Mario could hear the hurt in his voice, but refused to feel sorry for him since Boshi put himself in that position.
"Yoshi? Hey…how are you doing there?" Starlow softly asked, holding onto him tight.
"Don't wanna talk about it. Just wanna keep going and get back to our world and get the hell out of that damn tower so we can kill Tatanga, and Fire Bro too for that matter. And also so I can get away from that lowlife, narcissistic asshole. He's lucky he didn't actually die from that gunshot…I wouldn't have hesitated to still do that in our own world," Yoshi angrily stated. Starlow felt the rage boiling inside the dino and it scared her a little as much as she sympathized with him.
"Um, yeah. Of course. Yoshi, I can't say how sorry I am for what you're going through. We're here for you for anything you need! And…and, um, I'm sorry you have to see Boshi again. That makes it all worse…" Starlow nervously replied, unsure of what to say to comfort him in this trying time.
"I need Birdo back. But that obviously can't happen…so…I don't know what the hell I need. Oh, I know! I need Boshi to disappear forever and for me to cut Fire Bro's head off. There we go. Those are my dire necessities and if we're able to get those done…I'll be at least 1% happier," Yoshi responded in somewhat of a joking manner but still had that anger in his tone.
"Heh. Um…r-right. We'll make that happen, Yoshi! I'm usually pretty pacifistic…but man…some people really do deserve the cruelest punishments for all the havoc they create…" Starlow replied in a more vengeful tone.
"What's up with you?" Underworld-Mario nosily asked to Goombella. "Why do you still have such a sour look on your face? You're free from that menace and on your way back to your own world. You should be looking more hopeful. You know?"
"Probably because you're still here. You're just as much of a menace," Goombella spat without even looking at him.
"Ooh! Big words coming from someone that I just helped save back there. There's this thing called gratitude…or have you lost more of your humanity than you think? I could've easily fed you guys to him and his ugly pets, but I didn't!" Underworld-Mario retorted in such a smug manner that it began to make Goombella's blood boil.
"Just shut up already! Wow, cool, you, like, did the decent moral thing by NOT giving us to him. What, you want a gold medal for doing the bare standard?" she angrily yelled.
"Considering the world you're in right now…a gold medal sounds nice! But, man, I can only imagine the shit you guys had to see up there. That kind of stuff happens down here on a daily basis, so we're used to it, but you guys…damn! I hope you're building a mass graveyard!" Underworld-Mario continued his obnoxious rhetoric.
"Yeah, we did see a lot of shit up there!" Goombella yelled, facing and stopping in front of him, her face turning red now. "We saw people die, places get destroyed, betrayed by people we trusted, gotten hurt physically AND psychologically, and lest we forget the continuous race against time to take down Tatanga before the bodycount rises even further!"
Underworld-Mario just snickered at her, but looked a little impressed for some reason. "Damn. That fire within you. You're so much like the Goombella down here, I swear! The Goombella in this world is a cunning, serial manipulator who isn't afraid to get vicious. I'm almost afraid to know what exactly you had to personally deal with to get you to become this way. Almost."
Goombella had flashes to her time in the cell, making her shake a little, but she pushed it down the best she could because she refused to break in front of this bastard. "I am NOTHING like the Goombella in this world. I'm not a damn manipulator, and I'm only vicious when I'm threatened. I only had to become that way because I had to adapt to the horrific predicament we are in, otherwise I wouldn't be able to survive."
"Hmm. I see. Understandable. Still sounds an awful lot like the Goombella here…oh! Wanna know what else the Goombella here has got going on currently? She's pregnant! And guess who's the daddy? KOOPS!" Underworld-Mario unveiled with a wicked, conniving smirk.
Goombella's face fell in total shock and horror at that statement. Her mind immediately flashed to when she and Koops did it in the woods yesterday. It took her what felt like minutes for her to gather herself to speak.
"What. That…heh…you're lying. Stop. Seriously. This is just sad!" she yelped and quickly walked forward, realizing they were behind the others. Underworld-Mario snickered again and caught up to her.
"I'm not, though. It's even more depressing when you realize that the Koops in this world is dead as well. Which means that your vicious counterpart is going to be a single mother! OH LOOKIE THERE, THE PARALLELS! Because…your mother is also single too in this world! Well, widowed. Her husband died via car crash because he pissed off the wrong person on the road. Road rage gets the better of some people, I guess!" he continued his smug talking. Goombella started to cry and turned around to face him again.
"STOP TALKING! One more word and I swear to god…" she screeched and started to shake, seething from pure anger. Underworld-Mario gasped a little, not at her reaction, but upon realization of something.
"Wait a second. Holy…holy shit! You slept with your Koops too, didn't you!? Oh my god…just when things couldn't be more bleak for you. You're too young to be a widowed mother, blondie. You know there are options to get rid of that, though…" he shouted in delight at her suffering. Goombella had it. She grabbed a nearby rock and swung it at his face.
But, he caught it just in time, and he cackled at her attempt. "Woah-oh-oh! Hey, don't take your anger out on me just because you couldn't control your urges! You said it yourself that you had to adapt to everything going on up there. So, adapt to this. Do something with it if you're so against carrying a dead man's baby instead of seething with all the rage."
Goombella growled a little then jumped up and kicked him in the groin, knocking him to the ground. He groaned, taken completely off guard by her swiftness.
"Let's get this straight, you asshole: For one, our Koops isn't dead. Two, grief and trauma make people do irrational things, so don't fucking get there on your high horse and talk down to me like I made a careless mistake. No wonder you have no friends, you like causing drama when it's not needed. You're sure as hell not anything like OUR Mario. You don't deserve to have his face and body!" she angrily spat then walked off.
Underworld-Mario laid in the snow for a bit before slowly getting up while saying, "Things work differently here in the Underworld, blondie. Friendships and relationships here…they're soooo much more fragile compared to your world…"
Crump nudged Grodus while walking beside him and said, "So, the alien boy took your scepter too, eh? But you taught yourself magic in the process…good shit! I see some things haven't changed even after many years!"
Grodus laughed a little and smiled. "Yeah, I was planning my vengeance against Tatanga for quite a while. Just wish I still had that spellbook…it's somewhere there in the tower…but it'd be too much of a nuisance to search for it."
"Yeah, fuck that tower. God, I went so fucking crazy in there and it made me have a total existential crisis! The stuff from my past, seeing it in the present…that was beyond crazy. I'm surprised I survived, honestly," Crump stated in stress, sounding deeply scared and scarred from that experience.
"Yeah…I'm surprised I didn't go insane…seeing everything again like that…was just…no. Let's not get into that right now," Grodus said, feeling his body tense up greatly from his horrid experience, but tried to focus on the present. "Crump, I want to help these guys overcome the tower and help them take down Tatanga, if they'll let me. Are you in? I'll still bring you to TEC either way."
Crump looked a little taken aback by that sudden statement. "Woah there. We're really aligning with THE Mario and his friends!? You don't find that awkward at all?"
"A little bit, but it's only temporary because we have the common goal, and that is, obviously, to kill Tatanga. After that, we all go our separate ways and I retire to wherever the hell I feel like spending the rest of my days in. You're free to come with me, if you want!" Grodus explained in a carefree manner. Crump chuckled at him and nodded.
"You know what? That sounds like a better plan than the crap that I've been doing lately! I'm in!" Crump cheered.
"Excellent. By the way, Crump, I feel the need to really ask this before I forget…is there really a golden snake relic in the tower? I just find it odd that there'd be a treasure of a golden snake in a tower with an old dragon inhabiting it. I've never even seen any kind of depiction of snakes in the tower itself!" Grodus pointed out. Crump chuckled again and looked down in embarrassment.
"Yeeeaaahhh…looking back on it now, the lead I got was kinda weak. I'll be honest, Grodus, I was desperate for money so anything that looked good to me I just ran with it. But in MY defense, I didn't think I'd run into a damn tower that transported me back to my traumatic past! And then running into Mario and his gang…yeah, think that's a GIANT sign that it's time for me to give up the game," Crump explained, making Grodus chuckle in turn.
"Glad to hear that. Yeah, that life is just not us anymore. We outgrew it. Time for bigger and better things, my friend!" Grodus cheerily responded.
The gang finally reached the tower. Toadette was the first one to get to the door. She turned around to the others and spoke, "MADE IT! Okay, so I guess the plan now is…WOAH! WHAT'S THAT!?" she suddenly screamed and pointed to the sky behind the others. Everyone quickly turned around and saw what looked like a falling star heading straight for them.
"Is that…SHIT, IT'S KALMAR! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Underworld-Mario screamed and everyone shrieked and ran in different directions. Kalmar crashed into the snow a few feet away from the tower's backdoor, causing a mini-earthquake and blowing the snow in all directions upon impact.
"AH! WHAT THE FUCK!? DID THIS BITCH REALLY JUST METEOR CRASH HIMSELF INTO THE FUCKING GROUND!?" Boshi yelled as he got up and shook the snow off his body.
"HRRRRRRRMMMMM…" Underworld-Kalmar loudly growled as he floated back up into the air and leered at everyone else. "That was a nice try back there, mind-controlling my pets to go against me. You forced my hand and made me make them go up…up…and away! Hahaha. But it's not a problem. I'll get more pets. But now…time for me to show you what I'm REALLY made of!"
"Oh, hell! All of you, get into the tower! I'll take care of Kalmar! THAT'S AN ORDER!" Mario shouted to the others. Everyone else quickly nodded and scrambled for the door as Mario got out the black gem. "PAULINE! Take it!"
Pauline caught the gem he tossed and she booked it to the door while yelling, "Mario, PLEASE be careful and get back to us in one piece! We're too close for you to not make it!"
"Mario, you sure you don't want me to help!? Remember, I've still got DK's strength copied in me!" Larry pointed out.
"NO! You need to get back to your dad and brother safely! NOW GO!" Mario shouted impatiently. Larry hesitantly nodded, truly wanting to help, but knew he had a point that it was a dire necessity for him to reunite with his family.
"Aww. How sweet and selfless of you! But that's fine by me, I get to take on the superhero that everyone annoyingly adores!" Underworld-Kalmar spat.
"Mario…why the FUCK aren't you going!? This isn't your world! Let me handle this bastard!" Underworld-Mario yelled to him.
"What? No! I'm not risking letting him get into the tower, because that'd be another problem we'd have to deal with!" Mario angrily responded.
"ENOUGH OF THE DAMN TALKING! RAAAAAAGGH!" Underworld-Kalmar shouted and unleashed metallic stars that magically appeared from his hands. Both Marios swiftly dodged the onslaught of stars as they all crashed into the snow, creating tiny explosions upon impact.
"Agh…no shit, I know why you won't just let him be, but like I said before…this is NOT your world, okay!? I'll take him on! Save yourself and your friends! You get too much of a fucking rush from wanting to kill every bad guy you come across!" Underworld-Mario answered as he got himself up from lunging away from the stars attack.
"A…a rush!? No I don't! What the hell kind of insane accusation is that!?" Mario confusedly yelled as Underworld-Kalmar blew out an icy wind from his mouth, hurdling straight for the two Marios. The regular Mario long jumped out of the way while Underworld-Mario sidestepped, did a front flip, then kicked the star spirit in the face.
"AH! OH…MY EYE…" Underworld-Kalmar shrieked, going temporarily blind in his left eye.
Underworld-Mario landed back down to the snow and yelled at his counterpart, "Come on, man! When you entered your room in that tower, I KNOW one of the things you faced with was your superhero complex! You love the thrill of being applauded for your heroic actions, of kicking bad guys' asses, of saving your friends over and over…that's why you never stop! You've been successful everytime but that success will run out eventually!"
Mario froze for a minute in a little surprise, because that's nearly identical to what 'Shadow Mario' had told him when he was in his room.
"What…I…I mean…" Mario wanted to retort that criticism, but he wasn't sure how to counter an opinion that he knew deep down to be true on some level.
"MARIO! JUST FUCKING GOOOOOO! YOUR WORLD NEEDS YOU! But, after Tatanga's gone…STOP! Let someone else take the lead for once! This shit is a drug that'll lead you to burnout if you don't STOP. It's what happened to me down here. You don't want to become me. I was already a conniving, selfish man who loved the thrill of kicking monsters' asses whenever I could in this Underworld…but then I crashed when Koops got killed because of me and I became worse. Don't become me, Mario. Now get in that tower," Underworld-Mario said with a heavy emotion lingering behind his words. Mario was still speechless at all of that. The vulnerability in his voice and words made him seem more 'human' to Mario. Perhaps the Underworld counterparts weren't all that dark and demented as everyone was led to believe at first.
So, Mario bolted for the door as Underworld-Kalmar lunged at Underworld-Mario. Screaming and thrashing were heard as Mario refused to look back while running. He made it to the door, opened it, and slammed it shut. He ran up the stairs, pushing through his body becoming tired.
After what seemed like minutes on end, Mario finally made it to the top and everyone else was there, seeming surprised to see him so soon. Mario collapsed to his knees and heaved a little while choking up. Pauline ran over to him in concern.
"Mario! Uhh, what the hell happened!? Did you beat Kalmar?" she asked, a little freaked out by how panicky he seemed.
Mario shook his head and struggled to stand up. "No. The other Mario…he's taking care of Kalmar. We…we need to go. Now. Gotta find the others. Before it's too late…"
"Hey, Mario, did something happen back there? You look really shaken up!" Larry exclaimed in concern. Mario glanced at him, then looked away as he held himself against the wall.
"Pauline, look! The gem is glowing!" Starlow yelped. Pauline looked to her right hand and saw that black gem was glowing a bright blue now.
"Woah! Why is it doing that? Uhh…OH! AH! It's moving!" Pauline shrieked as the gem floated from out of her hand and began to go down the hallway.
"What the hell!? Is this the dragon's doing!? Someone better take it before we lose it!" Crump yelled.
"No. It's not the dragon. It…it feels warm. I'm feeling…a pleasant type of energy from the gem…" Goombella pointed out, a little entranced by the floating, glowing gem.
"Me too! I think we're supposed to follow it! That's the feeling I'm getting right now. Let's go, guys!" Toadette urged.
Mona's heart raced a million miles a minute and her eyes widened as far as they could go when she finally got a better look at the figure in the corner of the room.
It was what looked like a Noki dressed in a doctor's uniform crouched in the corner. However, the Noki's shell was singed and cracked, and his skin looked like it was peeling and blistering, as if the Noki had just walked through an inferno.
Mona wasn't sure what to do. This Noki was obviously alive because she could hear the shortened breath coming from him, and he was shaking a little. But she had to do something, because now this is something that just can't be ignored.
"Um…h…hello? Are you o-okay?" Mona softly asked, terrified for what may happen after that.
The Noki was then heard sobbing and he slowly stood up. Mona got into a fighting stance, ready for anything to happen from him. The Noki turned around and Mona nearly screamed when she saw his face. Flesh and bone were exposed with worms and maggots crawling all over his face. His throat was also slit wide open, as blood was drizzling down his scorched body.
"WHA…WHAT THE…WHO…WHO ARE YOU!?" Mona shrieked and backed up. Everyone else behind her saw what was going on and shrieked in terror.
"Help…me…I…was be-betrayed…" spoke the Noki man in a hoarse, straining voice and crept towards Mona. "I was…was killed…and burnt…and hidden away…from…people I t-trusted…"
"WHAT THE!? STAY BACK! FUCKING STAY BACK!" Mona screamed, backing up further.
"End me…or I…I…WILL END EVERYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!" the Noki suddenly screamed extremely loud and high-pitched, deafening everyone briefly. He then charged for Mona.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Mona screamed, quick to get on the offense and stabbed the Noki in the neck with the spear and shoved him back up against the wall. Mona ran to him and then stabbed him repeatedly in the heart with the spear, screaming manically as she got blood splattered all over her.
"MONA! MONA, THAT'S ENOUGH, STOP! HE'S DEAD! MONAAAAAAA!" Peach screamed, pulling her away from the now deceased Noki.
Mona fell backwards, gripping the spear tight as the Noki slowly slid down the wall to the floor, and slowed her hyperventilation.
"What…the fuck…was that all about!?" Mona yelled in between her hyperventilating as Peach helped her back up.
"I don't know, but now we've got a demon doctor alongside demon nurses! What the hell else is next!?" Koops cried.
"He seemed different from the 'demon nurses' though. Like…he talked. And he seems very familiar somehow. I don't know why!" Vivian pointed out, looking in disgust at the dead body.
"Yeah, he actually does. But, you know what? Let's not dwell on it! He would've probably been in our way had Mona not killed him! Now let's explore the rest of the basement! Remember, we're looking for a gold shard!" Luigi ordered. The group nodded, trying to forget the horror they just witnessed.
"Okay…uhh, in there! That room leads to our secret meeting room in the regular hospital! Let's see if something important is in this hospital!" Mona commanded as she wiped the blood off her hands onto her shorts. Luigi took the lead and carefully went into the filing room, hoping nothing else would 'surprise' the gang in there. The room was a mess of medical papers all over the floor. Luigi walked over to the back wall to see if the secret room was in there, and indeed it was as there was the door without a knob on the wall, and it was slightly ajar.
"Secret room is indeed here! Let's see what's inside…" Luigi announced in relief and everyone followed into the secret room. To their even greater relief, they found the golden shard on the floor along with a large, bronze key right next to it.
"YES! THERE IT IS! Oh, and a key! Luigi, you take the key and I'll take the shard!" Peach said, carefully picking up the shard and handing him the key.
"Sweet! That's our ticket out of here! But I wonder what door the key goes to?" Kooper asked.
"We'll worry about that after we get past that purple blob thingy upstairs, now come on! Let's get out before any crazier shit happens!" Mona yelled in excitement and led the group back out into the hallway, but she suddenly shrieked and came to a halt, making everyone else nearly bump into her.
"Woah, Mona! Why'd you stop!?" Junior yelled.
"Uhh, guys!? WHERE THE HELL IS HIS BODY!?" Mona screeched in horror, pointing into the room where she killed the 'Noki doctor' with the spear. Everyone else saw what she was immediately terrified about now.
"Oh no. No no no! Okay, that's our cue to book it, like, NOW!" Kooper yelled and the group ran for it down the hallway to the stairs, adrenaline kicking in once again.
Mona was the first one to make it to the door at the top of the stairs leading out to the first floor. She threw it open, and immediately there was the two koopa nurses right there heading for them. One of the koopa nurses swung the syringe at Mona, but she backed away, missing it by a few inches.
"SHIT! GO BACK, GO BACK!" Mona screamed and ran back down, but she tumbled forward down the stairs, knocking down Peach, Luigi, and Bowser Jr. down as well to the floor. Koops, Vivian, and Kooper hadn't made it to the stairs when this happened.
"OH NO! Are you guys, okay!? Here, Kooper, hold on to Koops!" Vivian shrieked and ran over to help the others stand up.
"FUCK! YOU'LL HAVE TO BE QUICK BECAUSE THEY'RE COMING DOWN!" Kooper screamed, and pointed to the top of the stairs, where the koopa nurses began to stomp their way down, providing further panic to the group.
"Oh noooooo! Uhh, can we fight them off!? WHERE'S THE SPEAR!?" Junior screeched, helping being stood up by Vivian.
"Owww, my leg…aaahhh…" Peach groaned, slowly standing herself up while gripping her right leg.
"I got the spear!" Mona yelled, crawling quickly towards it since it rolled away from falling, and ignoring the pain from falling down the steps as best as she could. As she was about to grab it, the Noki man from earlier busted out of a nearby room and swiped the spear right before she grabbed it.
"WOAH, WHAT THE FUCK!? AAAAAAGGGGHHHH!" Mona screamed and immediately crawled backwards away.
"I told you…I'd kill…EVERYOOOOOOOOONE!" he roared, which made the whole basement shake and pierced their hearing.
"AH! GO GO GO! DOWN THE HALL!" Luigi screamed, grabbed Peach and put her arm around his shoulder and the group booked it down the hall, passing the cell room.
Bowser Jr. was ahead of the group, panicking and nearly crying as he combed through the dark hall. The hall seemed to go on and on and on, as all the doors began to look the same as they were in the beginning, striking further fear into everyone.
Finally, after what seemed like minutes on end, they reached the end of the hall. In the center of the wall, was a bronze door. Junior turned the knob, but it wouldn't budge at all. He panicked even further and banged and shoved himself into the door, but still no luck.
"NOOOOO! WE'RE TRAPPED! WHAT DO WE DO!?" he screamed and began to break down and cry.
"Uhh, wait wait wait! LOOK! The door is bronze-colored so, uhh, that bronze key we have must unlock it! Who has it!?" Mona pointed out.
"Oh, I do! Here…" Luigi yelled and took out the key from his pockets.
"Luigi, you better hurry! They're getting closer!" Koops cried as the sounds of the nurses groaning and the loud footsteps of the Noki man became frighteningly closer.
"AH! DAMNIT!" Luigi yelped, dropping the key to the ground, and scrambled to pick it up.
"FUCK! We might have to fight them! Koops, stay back! Vivian, get ready to use your Fiery Jinx!" Kooper yelled, getting into a fighting stance.
"COME ON, COME ON! UNLOOOOOCK!" Luigi yelled, grasping the key tight as he inserted it in the keyhole and turned it. He felt it unlock and then he turned the knob and kicked the door open, leading to a decaying-looking stairwell.
"IT'S OPEN! MOOOOVE!" Luigi yelled from the stairwell, making the others bolt it into there. Kooper was the last one in, but was unfortunately stabbed in the shoulder with the spear.
"AH! FUUUUCK! CLOSE THE FUCKING DOOR!" Kooper screamed, falling to the ground and gripping his wound. Mona slammed the door shut as everyone else came to his aid.
"KOOPER! Are you okay!? Uhh…do you wanna use my sweatshirt to stop the bleeding!?" Koops frantically asked.
"No no, it's fine! We just gotta go! We can't stop!" Kooper urged as he stood himself back up.
"Kooper, no! You need something to press against the bleeding! Koops, give him your sweatshirt!" Peach ordered. Koops took off his sweatshirt, revealing a plain white T-shirt underneath and threw it to Kooper, who pressed it against his wound.
"Thanks…but I was being serious about us moving! They could bash through that door at any second!" Kooper recalled, cringing from the pain.
"He's right. The only way to go is up, so let's move it! We might almost be out of here because we just gotta get to the purple mass now!" Mona affirmed and led the way up the staircase until they reached the first door they encountered. Mona slowly opened it and found herself back in the first floor hallway.
"YES! We're back! Okay, let's get this finally done!" Mona rejoiced quietly to the others. Everyone carefully and quietly walked into the hallway and turned the corner, seeing the purple mass not too far down on the left-hand side. Escape was near! They quickly walked down the hall, until Vivian was heard gasping loudly.
"What, what!? Vivian!?" Junior shrieked.
"That room…where we saw the koopa with the time written on his leg…" Vivian shuddered, pointing to the patient room almost ahead of them. Everyone else looked to the room and saw the koopa patient underneath the sheet now standing up, still with the sheet on, and facing the group now.
But before anyone else could properly react, the koopa under the sheet made an ear-piercing scream, then he suddenly went ablaze and charged for the others.
"WHAT THE FUCK!? RUUUUUUN!" Mona screamed and the group, once again, bolted it. Also once again, their adrenaline spiked as the flaming koopa headed straight for them without stopping.
"PEACH, THE SHARD! STAB THE FUCKING PURPLE THING!" Kooper yelled. Peach gripped the shard tight, cutting it into her hand a little, and stabbed the purple mass repeatedly and screamed manically.
"Cut a way through! HE'S GETTING CLOSER!" Junior screeched, shaking to his core.
"I'M…UGH…OH! THERE! IT'S GOING AWAY!" Peach yelped as the purple mass dropped to the floor like a puddle and slowly disappeared into the floor.
"YES! NOW RUN, GODDAMNIT! RUUUUUUUUUUUN!" Mona roared as the flaming koopa was only a few feet away now as the group bolted for the door leading to, presumably, the courtyard.
The second they opened the doors, everything became bright and they all stopped in further shock and confusion.
They were indeed outside in the courtyard…but it was sunny and beautiful out. Completely silent too, other than the sounds of a slight breeze and birds chirping. Everyone looked behind them and saw the doors they just came out of closed and saw through the door's windows that the koopa wasn't chasing after them anymore.
"What the!? Uhhh…this is…we're still in the tower, right? RIGHT!?" Koops shrieked, not knowing what the hell was exactly going on at that point.
"We have to be. This is clearly another setup. But…why? Wait, did we make it out of this section of the tower? Is this the 'end' of the section?" Mona theorized.
"Maybe so! Look down here! Another paper for the story?" Vivian exclaimed, pointing to the bottom of the stairs was another white paper that indeed looked like the other two story papers. The gang quickly walked down the stairs and Peach swiped the paper. There was a drawing of the three family members on there, along with a gray throne chair and a black, scribbly figure hovering above the throne.
"Oh! It is. Okay…I'll read it: …he stabbed and cut through the dark-purple blob and thus made an exit for him and his wife. They had finally reached the top of the tower! They entered through a giant door and found a throne room made of stone. Nerves were high, as they expected to face another monster in this giant, ominous room, but their nerves were settled when they saw their son in the center of the room, lying down.
The parents were beyond relieved to finally see their boy! But they had to make sure he was alive and well because he seemed very still. They ran over to him and lightly shook him. Their hearts burst with joy when they saw their son open his eyes and saw that he didn't have a scratch on him.
"Mommy…daddy…" the boy spoke tiredly. "Can we go home and leave this haunted house already?"
Naturally, the parents nodded and hugged their boy, tears full of bliss and relief. But there was one other thing in that room they felt was off in the midst of the tearful reunion. It was a heavy, sinister presence.
They heard shuffling from above them. The family's nerves kicked in yet again, knowing that it can't be good. They slowly looked up and terror befell upon them as they saw a giant, black dragon stuck to the ceiling.
The dragon let out a menacing roar. The family had no choice but to escape now. There was no way they could stop this dragon.
…Or could they? The golden shard…
…And that's it. Stops there. Ugh, so annoying how we have to keep looking for these papers!" Peach spoke, then put the paper in her pocket while looking at her right hand in surprise at the cuts she got from the shard.
"Yeah, no way that's the end. But, just as I thought, we have a dragon to beat before we can leave this tower. Let's hope everyone else is there with us to beat it. Gosh, I really hope no one has died…" Bowser Jr. said, thinking about his dad and brother mainly and getting a little emotional about their unknown status.
"I hope not either. But with this tower, I'm sorry to say this, it might be expected that at least a few of us wouldn't make it all the way through," Kooper spoke the fear that everyone was thinking and feeling in the background.
"Well, let's just- oh! Over there! What's that? By that tree?" Vivian yelped, distracted by something in the distance, pointing to a tree on the outskirts of the woods ahead.
"That looks like a door on that tree! Maybe the way out of here!?" Junior said in hope.
"Only one way to find out. Come on!" Luigi said and the group ran to the tree, truly wishing that this was the end of this forsaken place.
They reached the door and Luigi carefully and slowly opened it, peering inside when he could get visibility of what lay behind that door.
"Luigi? What do you see!?" Koops whispered nervously.
"I…oh my god, it's the others!"
The blue-ish light that DK, Dixie, Bowser, Spike, Parakarry, Daisy, and Wario gazed in both awe and slight fright got bigger and bigger, nearly blinding them, then suddenly disappeared in a blip, revealing two familiar characters, instilling another surprise to them.
"What the f- FLY GUY!? ROSALINA!?" Wario shouted, dropping his jaw at this completely unexpected turn of events.
Rosalina exhaled greatly and stumbled backwards a bit, holding her chest, seeming drained at that moment. She regained her composure and looked at the others, who were all speechless at the sight of her. She nervously spoke, "Hey, guys. I know this is sudden and probably not what you wanted, but I'm here to help. Fly Guy also really wanted to tag along."
"And tag along I did! WOW! This place looks so well crafted on the inside! But it gets negative points for housing dead bodies, demons, and personal deep-rooted traumas!" Fly Guy exclaimed.
Daisy nervously walked over to the pair and said, "Rosalina…wha…you're back. H-How did you know where to find us? I thought you were in that town on the coast?"
"I was. I found a friend named Monty who helped me recover and all that led me to wanting to check up on you guys, see what everyone's status was. I needed to know how everyone was doing. So, I did a spell and…I saw nothing but horror. I saw this tower. I felt nothing but pure dread when I was in the tower in my mind! I knew you guys were in big trouble and were facing your past traumas that would undoubtedly be extremely difficult to overcome. So, I took Monty with me to St. Toadofsky's to figure out specifically where you guys were, and Bleck's group told me everything, so Monty drove me and Fly Guy to here.
When I entered this place, I felt the exact same feeling I felt when I did that spell. God, this place…I never knew such a horrible place existed. Of course, it'd be the final place to go to get the final gem. But still, I can't imagine what you guys have had to go through. So I'm here to help with beating the creature that lurks this tower. I did a spell in the lobby to get me to the closest location of where the creature is…and here I am. I'm surprised it worked considering the wickedness that's all around," Rosalina explained. Everyone else looked hesitant to respond.
"Well…uhh…thanks for coming to help. Things have actually been even more of a clusterfuck since you left. We went through a damn Mirror World in the Shiver Region! AND an underworld! We saw our own mirror counterparts!" Parakarry caught her up with what she missed right after she left.
"A…Mirror World and Underworld? In the Shiver Region!? What in the world…" Rosalina replied confusedly.
"What the!? Man, I can't believe I missed out on that! I would've wanted to duel my mirror self and win so I can say I overcame my own worst enemy…ME!" Fly Guy grumbled in annoyance.
"Yeah, that's another long story in itself. But…I mean, I guess it'll help a lot to have you here. I think you came at the perfect time because we're ready to kick the dragon's ass!" Spike said.
"BUT! Our friends. And my sons. They're still in the tower somewhere. Are you able to see if they're still alive somehow, Rosalina!? If you're able to…please do a spell. I need to know now. If you can't do a spell, then I'm going through these other doors to search for them," Bowser said with urgency, walking a little towards her. Rosalina saw the desperation on his face and knew she needed to do it to answer his fears about his sons mainly.
"Of course, Bowser. Give me a second. I need to focus…" Rosalina said, then closed her eyes and put her right hand out.
"DK, this is weird, right? I mean, she just showed up totally out of nowhere. I can feel myself getting kind of angry again because, you know, it was technically her that got Diddy stuck on that island. I know she'll be of a big help, but…it's awkward," Dixie whispered to the ape.
"Yeah, very much so. But to be fair, we gotta differentiate between that Rosalina and this Rosalina, Dixie. That's still our friend who's helped us through so much…as much as her sudden appearance makes me feel heated as well," DK responded, also thinking about Diddy in that moment, but was also grateful for her showing up to help in the inevitable battle.
Rosalina suddenly made a loud gasp, startling the others.
"Rosalina!? What do you see!? SAY SOMETHING!" Bowser yelled nervously.
"I…I feel the gem! Mario has it! I see him! He's…oh! Bowser, he's with your son, Larry! I'm gonna try to get them over here…" Rosalina cheerily spoke, providing relief to the others, especially to Bowser.
Bowser gasped, holding his hand to his mouth and nearly cried. "Larry!? Oh thank god he's alive! But is Junior not with him!? Who else is with Mario and Larry!?"
"I…there's…Pauline…Toadette…Yoshi…Goombella…Starlow…what the!? I see Boshi there, too! And…who on earth are these other two? WAIT! One is Grodus…and another man wearing a purple cap with horns dawning a black shirt with a white X over it and black boots," Rosalina said in a confused voice. Everyone else was extremely confused by this reveal.
"What the fuck!? BOSHI!? AND GRODUS!? Rosalina, are you sure you're seeing shit correctly over there!? You sure the tower isn't screwing with your magic!?" Wario shouted.
"Are you…are you fucking kidding me right now!? GRODUS IS HERE!? And that other man you described, Rosalina, that's his dumbass servant, Lord Crump! Why in the fuck are those two here!? ALONG WITH BOSHI!?" Spike angrily yelled in protest.
"Wow! So that's another evil thing this tower does; bring in people that nobody wants to interact with!" Fly Guy commented.
"Wait, so, uhh, Boshi is with Yoshi's group then? Oh boy…that's a recipe for disaster," Parakarry added.
"Wait a second here. Remember what Merle said, guys? That this tower connects to the Underworld. We left Boshi in the Underworld, and he couldn't die. Maybe Mario's group went down there to find the gem and saved Boshi along the way? I don't see why they would do that, but, I'm sure there's a good explanation for all of this!" Daisy tried to rationalize this bizarre situation unfolding before them.
"I…I don't know why they're here…and…oh! THE OTHERS! THERE!" Rosalina raised her voice and pointed to the far left door. Everyone turned their heads to the door and immediately in came Luigi, Peach, Mona, Junior, Vivian, Koops, and Kooper.
"OH MY GOD!" Daisy shrieked and cried in joy at seeing Luigi. She hugged him and he hugged her back instantly.
"JUNIOR! SO GLAD YOU'RE SAFE!" Bowser cried in equal joy like Daisy, as Junior immediately ran to his father and nearly broke down in tears upon seeing him.
"Woah! Rosalina!?" Kooper yelped at the sight of her, bringing attention from the incoming survivors to her.
"Oh! You're…you're here! To help!?" Peach stammered, shocked and a little happy to see her again.
Before Rosalina could reply to their stunned reactions, the final door in the room opened, revealing Mario, Pauline, Goombella, Toadette, Yoshi, Starlow, Larry, Grodus, Crump, and Boshi with the glowing blue gem. Mario grabbed the gem that led them there and he gasped in immense relief at seeing all his friends there.
"HOLY! GUYS…" Mario shrieked, this being a wonderful surprise and ran over to Peach and Luigi and hugged them tightly. Everyone else rejoiced and quickly celebrated being reunited.
"LARRY! YES! MY TWO BOYS…" Bowser rejoiced and cried, hugging Larry and Junior tightly, also bringing them to full on tears too.
"Oh my gosh, we're SO glad to see all of you alive! You wouldn't believe the mess we had to go through! We were back in the Underworld!" Starlow exclaimed.
"Really!? Back to that hellhole!? Man, you wouldn't even believe what WE just went through! We fought a goddamn GRIM REAPER of all things!" Wario responded in disbelief.
"Wait a second here. Did you just say…Grim Reaper!? Really!? I mean…guess it's not that much different from us going through an alternate version of St. Toadofsky's hospital and being chased by demon nurses and solving weird riddles to escape and whatnot," Mona recalled with a nervous chuckle.
"Koops! Wow, are you okay!? Your legs…you sprained them!?" Toadette yelped, rushing over to him with Goombella.
"Kind of. I thought I was in St. Toadofsky's hospital and I saw my dad, and…and for a second, I thought it was him and he…um…fell out one of the windows and I chased after him and accidentally fell out too…resulting in this. I can't believe I was fooled that easily. This place is smart. It knows how to prey on our emotions," Koops explained, getting a little emotional at the mention and remembrance of his dad.
"Oh yeah, seriously. I saw my mom and…yeah. Probably best to vent about it when we're out of the same place that brought us that crap in the first place," Goombella shakily commented.
"What in the FUCK are you three doing here!? DID YOU FOLLOW US HERE!?" Spike angrily screamed, stomping right towards Grodus, Crump, and Boshi, bringing all attention to them.
"Hey, hey, please, we can explain! Don't go at us, Crump and I are NOT on Tatanga's side! We swear!" Grodus pleaded.
"Damn. Long time no see, some of you!" Crump commented, unphased by Spike's aggression and also observing Peach, Koops, and Vivian with that statement.
"Grodus and Lord Crump! And Boshi!? What in the world!? Mario, why were they with your group!? What exactly is going on here!?" Peach confusedly asked.
"Yeah, this isn't another trick by the tower, is it? Because I've got like a million questions right now!" Dixie added.
"No, nothing like that. Uhh…you know what? Grodus, you explain. Go on!" Mario ordered, gesturing to him. Grodus nodded a little and sighed, expecting this would happen.
"Okay, guys. I escaped from Tatanga's fortress because I got tired of Tatanga and I didn't want to be part of a plan to destroy the world anymore. I traveled back to the Moon to see TEC. He told me that Crump made a video for me to watch. On that video, Lord Crump said he was gonna come into this tower, searching for a golden snake relic. I wanted to find him to reunite with him because I don't have anyone else in my life right now. So, I came here to find him and…and got lost. That's when I ran into Mario's group and then we found Lord Crump too, and he had the gem. The dragon in this place had been chasing him and he was so spooked that he ran away from us into a downward passage that led to the Underworld," Grodus explained, noting the darting looks he was being given.
"Yeah, lost my mind there a bit. Actually, I think my mind is still gone because this place makes no damn SENSE! I still don't understand how we ended up in an Underworld! We saw a twisted version of Mario down there! I got serial killer vibes from him!" Crump exclaimed.
"Woah. So…the exact same Underworld we were in last time, when we were in the Shiver Region?" DK asked.
"Yep. That one. We chased down Crump and got him to calm down, but then…ugh, that damn Kalmar captured us and tried to trap us in that palace! Luckily, we escaped, but just barely!" Pauline recalled in annoyance.
"And to give credit where credit is due, Grodus and Crump DID help us escape! Oh, and Larry as well!" Starlow added. Larry smiled at her.
"And I take it that's where you guys saved Boshi as well?" Kooper asked, pointing out the elephant in the room. Boshi tried not to look at anyone, whereas everyone else looked at him and Yoshi.
"It just…like, kind of happened that way…I guess…" Goombella responded with a shrug and eye roll.
"Look, I know I'm not exactly wanted here, but there was an opportunity to escape, so I took it. Any of you guys would've done the same! Plus, STARLOW, I also helped with the escape from that crack palace! Let's not shadow the truth here!" Boshi stated, feeling the heavy tension and it made him uneasy. Starlow looked down, embarrassed at her mistake.
"Right. Sorry. Boshi did help too. Sorry…I just…didn't want to bring attention to…um…nevermind. Sorry. I'll stop talking," the star sprite awkwardly replied and also looked away from everyone.
"Yeah. He was an asset to us escaping. And he's also right that any of us would've done the same," Mario admitted, not wanting to look in the purple dino's direction, feeling a sense of unease as well from even saying Boshi was right.
"Yoshi? Are, um, you okay?" Peach softly asked, touching his shoulder. Yoshi looked at her with a stern expression then at the some of the others, clearly not having a clue of what to say in this extremely awkward and complex situation.
"Um…so, Rosalina, how did you know where we were? I take it you went to the hospital first?" Yoshi changed the subject, now making everyone face her.
"Yes! While I was in Fort Koopington, I needed to know how you guys were faring with your journey, so I did a spell to 'check up' on you all, and I saw this tower. Then I saw all kinds of chaos and darkness and demons and…I-I just KNEW in my heart that you all needed help. I couldn't stand back and not do anything! There's a man named Monty whom I really want you all to meet. He helped me recover and has been such a great friend since I went to Fort Koopington.
I teleported back to the hospital and talked to the others and they told me exactly where you were and what this tower was all about. Fly Guy wanted to tag along too, so…here we are. All reunited. Wait. This IS all of us, right!? Is there anyone missing!?" Rosalina said, pointing out the one thing no one really thought of at that moment. Everyone looked around and indeed begin to notice a few people missing that were with them at the start.
"Oh! Lakilester and Bombette! AND JOJORA! Oh man, they might still be lost in the tower!" Parakarry yelled, getting into panic mode once again.
"Luvbi isn't here either! Oh god, what do we do!? Because we don't know if they're alive or not!" Starlow shrieked.
"AROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The loud, menacing roar startled everyone and made them turn to the big, black door.
"Ooh. I recognize that roar. The same damn roar Hooktail, Gloomtail, and Bonetail had when I was journeying for the Crystal Stars. This is their descendant we're about to face," Mario said, preparing for the ultimate battle that'd undoubtedly be vastly different compared to the other dragons he fought, let alone all the other 'bosses' he and his friends fought on this quest.
"Hooktail…yeah, the same dragon that ate my father and could've killed him. That beast was the offspring from this beast. He may have eaten Jojora, Bombette, Lakilester, and Luvbi! Let's go kill him already!" Koops yelled in determination.
Rosalina breathed in deeply, clenched her fists, sighed heavily, and charged through the door with everyone following suit.
Inside, everyone immediately gasped when they saw the room, and what lay inside the room.
The room was flipped upside down. The pitch black dragon with its piercing red eyes was standing in the center of the 'ceiling'. The room looked like a standard throne room made for a king and queen, except everything was made of stone.
But what scared them the most were the bodies that were strung up on the tapestry covering the windows. 4 bodies were seen on the 4 tapestries. Lakilester. Jojora. Bombette. Luvbi.
"NOOOOOOOOOO! LUVBIIIII! OH MY GOD!" Starlow screamed and fell to her knees.
"Holy shit. You…Y-YOU FUCKER! YOU DID THIS!" Kooper screamed angrily at the dragon.
"Damnit! DAMNIT! Everyone, get ready! No turning back now!" Rosalina yelled as her hands glowed, getting ready to throw down a spell.
"AROOOOOOOOOOOO!"
EoC.
Next chapter is the big boss fight! There'll be a short scene at Mushroom Corporations, but besides that, next chapter will only focus on the adventuring gang fighting Darktail. Who will survive this battle? Next chapter will also end the Blackstone Tower arc…and a new arc begins. It won't be the final arc, but rather, the second to last arc. You'll see what I mean! Thanks for reading, and see you next Thursday, April 6!