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, Boshi, 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
Bowser and his sons, plus Kody, finished burying the graves for Pauline, E. Gadd, and Petey, and then laid their bodies to rest in them.
"So…that's the end of that then. God, I'm so tired of losing people. I know it's pretty much expected that we'll lose more people in the fight against Tatanga, but I'm really hoping that some miracle occurs with no one else dying," Morton said in exhaustion.
"You know that quote that says 'Hope breeds eternal misery' or something like that? Yeah. That sums up everything that's happened so far," Ludwig pointed out.
"So, dad, I take it you're heading to Tatanga right now then?" Lemmy asked, not wanting to see dad go but knew it had to happen.
"Yes, son. I gotta help out in the final fight. Larry and Kody, you two coming still?" Bowser asked.
"Yes, dad. Gonna help out until the very end, no matter which 'end' happens!" Larry confidently answered.
"I'm coming too. Doing all of this for my brother…and my parents. And…honestly, you guys too. Is it, uhh, like, inappropriate for me to say that I feel like you guys are my second family?" Kody asked a little nervously, unsure of how that question would come off because he didn't want to come off like he was replacing any of their siblings.
"I don't think so. You've helped us out so much since you got here. You're a badass kid! Your family would be SO proud of you!" Lemmy cheered with the others nodding in agreement. Kody grinned and felt his eyes tear up.
"Thank you. That really means a whole lot," the koopa kid responded, his heart warmed by their appreciation.
"Bowser!?" yelled a familiar voice from behind the koopas. They all turned around to see Clawdia running over to them, with Toodles and Toadsworth not too far behind her.
"Clawdia! Hey…we're about to head out again to face Tatanga," Bowser said, not wanting to exactly talk to her at that moment, but didn't want to come off as blatantly rude.
"Oh! Good! But, um, how come you're back here? Didn't you leave for that corporation place?" Clawdia asked in confusion.
"We did, but we lost a few people, so us three came back to bury them and see our family one last time before we head out again," Larry summed it up.
"Oh no! I'm so completely sorry for that! Um…I woke up and our…your sons weren't there, but Toodles and Toadsworth here told me what was going on, so I had to see you before you left again," Clawdia explained.
"I see. Well…like I said, we gotta go back and face Tatanga now. This is finally it. Either we somehow fail and the whole world goes to shit, or we succeed and the chaos ends. You'll find out by dawn, I guess!" Bowser said with a humorous shrug and he began walking to the arwing with everyone else following suit.
"Hope you guys aren't upset with her coming out here. She DID ask us where you went, and well, we certainly didn't want to just lie to her," Toodles whispered to Morton.
"It's fine. I don't think any of us are upset. I think it's just a situation that my dad would rather face and fully deal with when this is totally done," Morton responded.
"Makes sense. Can't make any final calls right now before the showdown. I truly believe in my heart that we'll win this. Battles close to this caliber have been won before. Winning this battle…one that's arguably on a much larger scale, is definitely feasible. We just gotta be patient. The waiting is the hardest part about all of this," Toadsworth added.
"Yeah, you're right. The waiting IS the hardest part about this. Waiting for things to return to normal while people get hurt and killed in the process of it all. Fuck…" Ludwig grunted, shaking his head, and tearing up a little, thinking about his siblings when he said that.
"Bowser…I'm sure you've already thought about this, but…what's gonna happen to 'us' once things are back to normal? I mean 'us' as in…um…our situation? I still wanna visit and see how the boys are doing and see them continue to grow up. Please…you don't have to make a decision on that right now, of course, but…I just…don't want to lose another family…even if the family has rightfully disowned me…" Clawdia pleaded, tearing up a little, feeling all alone and worried sick about what life would be like for her after the world is saved.
Bowser kept walking and faced forward, silent for a minute, his expression seeming very focused and in thought. He slowly opened his mouth and responded to her plight without looking at her, "I've also discussed this very thing with the boys, and…we'll cross that bridge when this is done, Clawdia. This is what I need to focus on now. Helping save everyone and making sure my sons get to live. We will have this conversation when I get back and decide what to do. But for right now…keep your hopes solely focused on us winning this. That's all that I recommend you do right now."
Clawdia nodded a little, understanding where he was coming from. "Okay. Yeah, this is the most important thing right now. You're right. Good luck to you guys. You can do it."
Bowser nodded back at her as they all reached the arwing. The koopas all gave each other a tearful hug goodbye once again, not wanting them to go but knew they had to go.
"I love you, boys. No matter WHAT happens…always try to be strong and never lose to your fears," Bowser advised, trying his hardest not to let the tears fall. The boys nodded, also trying not to break down into tears.
Bowser, Larry, and Kody then waved goodbye to Clawdia, Toadsworth, and Toodles who waved goodbye back, as the three got into their arwing and prepared to lift off. The arwing slowly began to hover above the ground, then it flew forward and up into the air, then zoomed southward to the ocean.
"There they go. And now we wait. That's all we can do now. Everyone, let's go back inside and rest, and continue to hope that this will be all over in, hopefully, just a matter of hours," Toadsworth stated as he and the group watched the arwing fly off into the distance.
"Come on guys, let's go back inside. All we can do now is wait and hope they win the war," Morton stated, and the group went back inside, the anticipation hitting them heavily.
"God, I can't lie to you, the stress of waiting for the world to either be saved or destroyed makes me wanna drink. I think you mentioned before that you're not a drinker. Please tell me if I'm being insensitive by asking this, but…wanna drink anyways? Just once in case things go to hell?" Toodles asked in sheer worry.
Toadsworth chuckled at her and said, "Not insensitive at all. One drink wouldn't hurt. There's a liquor store across the street from the front of the hospital. Come with me and we'll choose a drink together!"
"Sounds delightful," Toodles said with a smile and grabbed his hand, walking to the lobby, separating from the koopas. Toodles' walking came to a slow stop when she suddenly saw a familiar figure some feet away.
"Toodles? Is something the matter?" Toadsworth asked, noting her being stopped and her expression of surprise.
"That…that toad over there…he's…" Toodles struggled to get out the words to properly respond and pointed ahead. Toadsworth looked to where she was pointing and it was a dirty-blond haired male Toad with light brown spots. He walked on over with a giant smirk.
"Hi, mom. Been a long time, hasn't it?" he asked.
"Toadivan…what on earth are you doing here!?" Toodles shrieked.
EN ROUTE TO TATANGA'S ISLAND
The arwings flew ever closer to the island, everyone's adrenaline racing faster as each passed by.
"How are you doing there, Wario?" Mona asked him, noting the very focused and serious expression upon his face.
"Ok. You know, given the circumstances. You?" Wario asked back.
"Okay as well. Determined to beat the crap out of anything that comes our way. You know…I didn't know Waluigi that much, but I do know that he'd be SO proud of you for what you're doing. He'd be cheering you on for the fact that you made it to where you'll help end all of this," Mona said encouragingly. The mention of his brother brought tears to Wario's eyes as he smiled a little.
"Yeah. He deserves to be here, at the end…b-but, you know what? He'd also be proud that I found someone who I really care for and that I…that I'm falling in love with," Wario said, his smile growing a little more. Mona caught that and did a double take, chuckling in near disbelief.
"Wait. You said 'falling in love' right? I didn't just mishear that!?" Mona had to check, unable to help but smile and feel her heart race.
"Yes, you definitely did not mishear that. Now, be honest…do you feel the same way?" Wario asked, hoping she'd say the answer he hoped for.
"I do, Wario! Definitely! And if we get out of this alive together, well, we're just gonna have to go on a proper first date, won't we?" Mona said in excitement while Wario's smile now turned into a grin, feeling warmth and hope in the midst of the misery and anxiety.
"Yeah, that's obviously a must! Heh. Man…if Waluigi was here, we'd be able to even do a double date with him and Rosalina…god, I miss him so fucking much, Mona. We've been through everything together. My parents weren't the best, well, 'parents' to be honest, but he and I stuck through all the crazy shit together from childhood till now. It's gonna feel so fucking weird living a 'regular' life without him once Tatanga's gone," Wario responded, choking up a little, realizing that he'd no longer have his partner in crime in the day to day life anymore.
Mona touched Wario's shoulder and felt deep sympathy for him. "I know, Wario. It's not gonna be the same. But, you'll have me with you. And your other friends. We got you!"
Wario nodded a little, glancing at her, and smiling again.
"Hey, um, Tadano? Just curious…what kind of relationship did you and Tatanga have growing up?" Starlow asked the alien twin as Mimi nervously flew the arwing, slowly getting accustomed to the controls.
Tadano stared out at the vast sea as he sighed sadly, then told his story, "We had a very strained relationship as far back as I can remember. He'd be all over the place! One day, he'd be laying in bed all day, as miserable as can be, not wanting to talk to anyone, another day he'd be a rage-a-holic and blame me for everything that's wrong with his life, and on another day he'd act like a normal kid. Parents didn't do a thing about it, but I think they didn't know what exactly to do, to be fair! That house didn't feel like a home. It was a fucking prison!"
"Wow. That's so horrible! I'm sorry you grew up like that, Tadano. Guess it's not too surprising that he turned out to be a vengeful villain. But, um, so, why did you end up in that mental institution over Tatanga then?" Starlow asked.
Tadano sighed again, thinking back to that very rough period in his life, making him a little emotional. "It was a combination of things: my parents fighting all the time, my dad's drinking and abusiveness, Tatanga's erratic behavior, and me coming out as gay. Apparently, coming out of the closet set my dad off which then set ME off, which then led to me getting sent to the mental institution…all because I was driven completely mad by my own family. But you know what? It ended up being a better thing for me in the end. I didn't have to deal with my family's chaos any longer. I refused to. So, I 'exaggerated' my 'insanity' at the mental institution so I'd stay as long as I possibly could. It was a better life than being at that damn house."
Starlow was horrified and disgusted at that story. "Gosh! I'm so sorry you grew up in that horrid environment…you were completely robbed of your childhood, Tadano. You didn't deserve that!"
Tadano widened his eyes and turned to Starlow a little with a surprised expression. "My…childhood was robbed? That…what…oh my god. It WAS robbed, wasn't it? I…I don't know why I'm so surprised at that because I've always known it was true, but…I just…never heard someone put it into words before. I never even said those words out loud to anyone before. What a trip!"
Mimi nodded, also feeling sorry for him, and said, "It's different hearing stuff like that out loud than just hearing it in your own mind. You deserve a do-over, Tadano, along with the right people who can help you out. That mental institution you were in didn't do you any favors. You were just another number to them."
Tadano slouched back in his seat, taking it all in. "Yeah. I really was. That…ooh…that fires me up even more to kill my brother. He's a part of the reason my childhood was robbed. So…I'm doing this for the child version of me!"
Starlow smiled at his determination. "Good! Very good reason to do this! You know…talking about this makes me miss my own family too. I moved out right after I graduated high school. Super scary choice, but I'm glad I did it. I still talk to them, but I don't visit them as often as I should. But, it taught me independence…and this adventure taught me to be brave."
"Brave is an understatement, Starlow. You were a total badass in turning the tables on those guys back at Mushroom Corporations! Your parents would be EXTREMELY proud for having such a courageous, strong daughter!" Mimi praised. Starlow's smile became bigger and she chuckled.
"Thanks, Mimi. I just…I don't know what came over me in the moment to turn the tables. I guess I just found a way to throw them off guard and let 'loose' so I could have even a small chance of saving myself. I've had SO many near death experiences being on this adventure that I just really wanna do everything in my power to not let that happen again," Starlow explained, realizing how impressed with herself she was.
"Good! That's enlightening to hear. What about you, Mimi? Are you close with your family, if it's okay to ask that?" Tadano asked.
"I don't mind you asking…but I'm not close to my parents. I was a horrible daughter to them growing up, so it's really all my fault. They disowned me as soon as I became of legal age. I can't blame them. I was a menace in my childhood years. I've turned things around a lot now, but I'm not betting on them ever taking me back into their lives. And I'm honestly okay with that. I can't change the past. Just gotta focus on what I can change in the present so I can have a great future!" Mimi explained.
"I see. Wow, you sounded like a philosopher right there!" Tadano chuckled, making the other two chuckle as well.
"Ohhhh maaaaaaan, you guys don't know how tempting it is to make this bad boy do a somersault!" Fly Guy squealed in excitement.
"Don't you dare try it, Fly Guy. I'm not about to get motion sickness right before we go into battle!" Kooper stated, nervous that the propellor man would do something unpredictable.
"I'm not, don't flip out! I'll do the somersault AFTER we win! HAHA!" Fly Guy snickered.
"Well…alright. I guess that'd be a way to celebrate winning. Anyways…Boshi, how you doing right now?" Kooper asked, nudging the dino a little.
"Peachy. Just fucking peachy," Boshi snarled sarcastically, his eyes locked on the island in the far distance.
"Right. Wanna vent about it before the big fight?" Kooper asked.
"No. Not like it'll make any damn difference, anyways. Everyone hates me for what I did, especially Yoshi. Even in this doomsday scenario, I'm still the same old selfish bastard that I was in the past," Boshi answered in anger towards himself.
"Hey, man, take it from someone who's also fucked over one of the people who was closest to me in my whole life," Kooper spoke, relating to what Boshi was feeling. The dino turned his head to him a little, confused and curious about what he was referring to. Kooper continued, "I'm talking about Koops. I cheated with his girlfriend, Koopie, behind his back. Twice. Hid it from him for many years until it just…came out while we were in one of the other worlds. He rightfully hated me for doing that to him. People didn't look at me the same. But I did my fucking hardest to change things around, Boshi. And right before Koops passed, he was starting to warm back up to me again…but then I lost him. Forever this time. Now I'll never get to experience what our relationship would've been like after the world goes back to normal…but at least I made an effort to change and own up to my actions. It's never too late for you, Boshi."
Boshi was a little shocked at his story, remembering hearing bits and pieces of this 'scandal' when he first got to the hospital, but didn't know the full extent of it until now.
"Wow. Damn, Kooper. Hmm. I see what you're trying to do here, man, and I admire the effort to connect with me…but I'm a far worse person. I'm also a druggie. Caused shit to happen with Yoshi AND his friends also in the past. They know I'm just a lost cause. You don't have an awful past with pissing off people who tried to get close to you, continuously. They won't change their minds on me. I've accepted that. I'm not angry at any of them for it. I'm just angry at myself that I let myself go that far down the hole, and it feels like I'm never going to climb back up out of it," Boshi responded frustratedly, with a hint of sadness in his tone.
"Well, I'm sorry you feel like that. You don't see it now that change can still happen, because we're still in a terrible situation with the world being on the brink of destruction…but I really hope you do see it eventually," Kooper stated, then ended his words there, saying all he needed to say to try to get Boshi on the right path.
"Words of wisdom right there, Bosh! Never ever ever ever too late to flutter jump yourself out of that hell hole no matter how deep you're in it! I'm living proof of that, because how else would you explain me being such a nutcase!?" Fly Guy comically added. The other two chuckled at him, with Boshi trying to soak in all the advice given to him.
"Hey, Bleck. That IS your name, right?" Crump asked to him, who was piloting the arwing, remaining dead focused on the drive. Bleck simply nodded in response. Crump continued, "So, uhh, what's your story and connection to Mario and company? I feel like you're one of the few people in the group we don't even recognize!"
Bleck made an annoyed expression, coming off as if he didn't want to explain everything, but he begrudgingly answered, "Well, like you two, I also fought against Mario and his friends many moons ago. Wanted to end all the worlds and dimensions. But then…I was betrayed by Dimentio and beaten by Mario and his friends, and turned over a new leaf when I got my sweet Timpani back.
Then this happened. Timpani and I were split apart once again by some foul creature. Tatanga wrecking the world and Dimentio joining forces with him…and unsurprisingly betraying Tatanga too. Now, my Timpani is killed because of that fucking Tatanga…and Dimentio isn't any less guilty either. The one person who my life felt complete with. Gone forever."
"Oh! My condolences to you, Bleck! That's, erm, who died in the cafeteria, right? The pixl butterfly?" Grodus asked in surprise.
"Yes. But that wasn't her true form, nor is this my true form. We were turned into these forms by that foul, magical creature that split us apart right before Tatanga struck. Her true form is a most wondrous beauty…tall, skin as white as snow, hair so red and shiny and long, ocean blue sparkling eyes…that was my soulmate. Timpani was taken from me once before…but now it's happened again, but permanently this time," Bleck explained, his eyes watering up and feeling heavy in his chest, trying his best not to break down in tears because he wanted to be as strong as possible for the big battle.
"Man, Bleck, I am SO fucking sorry for that. Hey, we're definitely going to avenge her! This big battle we're about to step into is going to be messy as hell, but it'll be worth it to avenge Timpani, and also everyone else who's died," Crump stated.
"Exactly, we will. Now, Bleck, I must ask you a curious question: What does your true form look like?" Grodus asked.
"My true form…well…first of all, my true name is Blumiere. As for my real form…I'm a tall man with blonde hair and green eyes. Slightly fair skin. In other words, I'm a human just like Mario, Peach, and the other humans in our group. Even though Timpani and I stood out in this world, we didn't care, because we had each other," Bleck explained.
"Ah. Well…hmm…can't the Crystal Star Rod turn you back into your human form? That's something I just now thought of!" Crump theorized.
"Probably. But I'll focus on that after this is over," Bleck answered.
"We're getting closer now, guys. So, be ready to- wait! Do you guys see the fortress approaching from above!? It's heading straight for the island!" Grodus pointed out to the sky, seeing his X-Naut Fortress many miles away directly above the island.
"Yeah, I see it! Oh man, this is it, Grodus…our old headquarters is about to be annihilated in a matter of seconds!" Crump exclaimed, bracing to witness the inevitable destruction.
"Yeah…and TEC…I regret not telling him this when we visited him last, but…he's the best thing that I've ever created," Grodus added, feeling himself get emotional at seeing the fortress get closer and closer.
"Wait! What is that? Is that…a beam of light? You guys see that!?" Bleck yelped, peering and pointing to the island where they indeed saw a beam of light shoot up from the island and strike the X-Naut Fortress.
"SHIT! HE FUCKING NUKED THE FORTRESS!" Crump screamed in surprise.
"NOOOOOOOOO! GODDAMNIT!" Grodus roared, feeling a sudden heavy mix of rage and sadness upon seeing the fortress he built, along with TEC, now gone forever.
In Daisy, Luigi, and DK's arwing, who were also the closest to the island out of everyone, the three briefly looked away as the X-Naut Fortress exploded, creating a quick and very bright flash, then debris flying in every direction.
"AH! Crap, I saw that! There was a beam of light that shot up from the island and it hit the fortress!" Luigi exclaimed.
"Hold on, this can still be salvaged! Daisy, use the Crystal Star Rod to disable the island's force field NOW!" DK demanded.
Daisy nodded, in shock from the sudden destruction, but pushed through and aimed the Crystal Star Rod at the force field as the arwing window hatch opened, so she can get a clear shot without breaking the arwing. She focused then shot a blast of gray light that struck the force field, making it disappear almost instantly.
On the island, Tatanga just finished shooting the powerful beam of light with both the Star Rod and the scepter to the X-Naut Fortress in order to amplify the power. He and a few of the koopatrols that were with him stared in awe at the fortress exploding and the debris flying everywhere.
"Niiiiiiice, Tatanga! What an amazing display of fireworks, haha!" cheered one of the koopatrols.
"Oh, it was nothing! Those dumbasses really thought sending a damn BUILDING to my island was going to ruin everything when I have a magical shield already set up! I'll admit, I'm a little impressed at the creativity of the attack…but still very dumb of them!" Tatanga cackled.
"Uhh, Tatanga!? We have another issue at hand here!" yelled another koopatrol who was looking out at sea with his binoculars. "Mario and his little group are coming now with those aircrafts! And I saw that they have the goddamn CRYSTAL STAR ROD and they just disabled the shield!"
Tatanga's face sunk a little as he felt anger arise now. "Hmm! So, they actually got that mystical item!? Well…we expected that this could happen! Tell the troops to fire away at EVERYTHING in sight! The fucking weapon needs to be activated NOW! LET'S GO!" he commanded and the koopatrols followed him back into the inside of the fortress and headed straight for the room that contained the weapon.
Back to the arwings, DK grabbed the walkie-talkie off the arwing's dashboard, which communicated to all the other arwings, and spoke, "The shield is down, everyone! Rosalina, can you send the falling debris to the island!? You too, Daisy!"
"Will do! Alright everyone, this is it! LET'S END THIS!" Rosalina shouted and she and Daisy focused on the falling debris of the fortress and managed to telepathically shoot them over to the island fortress, destroying parts of the fortress.
"TROOPS, AIM FOR YOUR TARGET, AND FIIIIIRE!" yelled the lead koopatrol to the other troopas on the fortress. Yells and roars were heard as the koopatrols fired off bullets towards the arwings while the debris was being fired off towards the fortress.
Bullets hit the arwings, startling everyone inside them, adrenaline pumping quickly through everyone's bodies now. The bullets cracked the windows, signaling it was only a matter of time before they were fully exposed to be shot.
The debris that flung from Rosalina's magic and Daisy using the rod had crashed into various parts of the fortress, creating holes and tumbling down a few structures, along with crushing some koopatrols, causing some others to scatter away. Everyone in the arwings also shot their lasers at the fortress and koopatrols, causing further damage.
"AH! FUCK! MY ARWING FEELS LIKE IT'S GETTING RAINED ON BY ALL THESE FUCKING BULLETS!" Fly Guy screamed, maneuvering in the air like crazy to try to avoid getting hit further.
"Shoot, sorry, hold on! PROTECT US!" Daisy yelled, gripping the Crystal Star Rod tightly and focusing greatly on the arwings being shielded. The arwings then became shielded by a blue force field in which the bullets started bouncing off of them.
"Excellent! Guys, bomb the beach if you can! There's lots of koopatrols down there!" Parakarry pointed out, unleashing the red bomb from the arwing, along with a few others. The bombs exploded upon landing, or close to it, and annihilating some of the koopatrols immediately, blowing some of them away, or making more scatter about in fear.
"Okay, like, some of us are gonna have to find somewhere on the fortress to land and infiltrate the inside of the fortress! Tatanga is somewhere inside there, and so is Diddy!" Goombella yelled into the walkie.
"Yes, which means that we CANNOT bomb the entire island until we know for sure Diddy is still alive or not, and that we've gotten him out of there if he is!" Dixie ordered.
"Also, be careful of Tatanga's 'weapon' that he has stored in that fortress. One wrong move or hit against it could potentially blow up the island in an instant," Grodus advised.
Daisy scanned the scene below as DK flew closer to the fortress, getting an idea. Daisy spoke, "I GOT IT! Guys, see that landing below, on the east end of the fortress? We can easily land our arwings there, then infiltrate inside the fortress. However, we need a couple of the arwings to stay in the air and keep shooting down below for aerial support."
"I'll stay in the air and keep on shooting the place up! Anyone that wants to stay up here with me can do so, but I think I'd be fine by myself!" Parakarry ordered.
"Parakarry, I'm not letting you stay up here just with your arwing. I'll be up here too. Everyone else can go!" Mona added.
"Alright guys, let's land!" DK instructed as he flew down to the landing with the other arwings that chose to go too. Adrenaline rushed through their bodies even more, knowing that the real battle was about to commence.
"Good luck everyone. Remember to never go down without a fight!" Spike said in encouragement.
Doopliss gasped a little when he began hearing noises of shooting, explosions, and yelling in the distance.
"Roy…hey…are you still with me? You…you hear all that?" Doopliss weakly asked, feeling totally helpless laying against the wall after Dimentio drained his energy.
Roy heard the sounds of his blood dripping to the floor, the pain from the large cut on his torso still very much prevalent, as he started feeling faint.
"Y-Yeah…I hear that. Holy shit, Doopliss…they're here. I-It's all about to end. But…I might die before they get here…f-fuck…so many emotions going on in me right now…" Roy responded, choking up, knowing the end was nigh.
"Hey. Roy. Re…remember what I said…earlier…that your family…and friends…might still save you. Hold on to that hope…until the very end, s-slick. Even if it seems like…such a small chance…hold on to it. You may just be the only one…out of all us criminals…to escape. Worry about what comes after that…after this shit is settled. Okay?" Doopliss suggested, using all his strength to convey his words of wisdom to the koopa.
Roy, through the pain, smiled a tiny bit, thinking about the hope of escaping with his family and friends. It was a better alternative than dying in this dank, dark room. Doopliss was right, that slim chance could be his ticket out of here, and even towards a second chance at life potentially.
"Thank you, Doopliss. That…that helps, honestly. You're right. I've been so focused on, um, how I'd adjust to life after my potential escape…but I should've just been focused on simply hoping to get out of here and then deal with the consequences of my actions later on. That's my goal right now then. To hope that I get out of here, even if it seems almost impossible," Roy admitted in realization, feeling a little bit better in the moment.
"Good. That's what you should do. You're still young, Roy…you've got so much time to turn things around…and figure yourself out," Doopliss added.
"Yeah. Guess it's never too late to try to make things, no matter what happens. But…Doopliss…um…what about you?" Roy asked.
"What about me, Roy?" Doopliss responded.
"I…uh…it…kind of feels wrong leaving you in here to die, Doopliss. I mean…the way you've been treating me since you got in here…I think it shows you can also turn things around too, if you really wanted to," Roy pointed out.
Doopliss snickered a little. "Ohhhh, Roy. Thanks for the optimism…but I'm as good as dead now. I've accepted it. I've done….sooooo much worse than you have, Roy…I don't deserve to live. But…it's kind of you to think about me like that…heh. If you escape, Roy…just leave me in here. I'm not afraid of dying. Really."
"Okay. If that's what you truly want, Doopliss. I'll respect your decision."
In the cell, Diddy was nodding off to sleep, when the sounds of guns firing off, explosions, and shouting startled him fully awake.
"Oh! What the hell's going on out there!?" Diddy yelped, looking out the cell bars, seeing a few koopatrols run down the hallway urgently.
"Huh!? What the hell are you saying!?" Konnor grunted, also nodding off.
"You hear that, right!? All those noises!? I…I think they're here! My friends! HOLY SHIT!" Diddy shrieked, getting a little excited.
"Is that right? Yeah…yeah, those are the noises of a battle happening. Lucky you, chimpy. You get to be saved real soon and reunite with your girlfriend…well…heh, that is, if you even wanna take her back after getting her to fall for me!" Konnor spoke snidely. Diddy looked at him in immediate fury and clenched his fists.
"Fuck you. Keep trying to hide that you're not scared of dying horribly, Fire Bro. Because when they get here, you're gonna get fucking maimed. And I'll be there watching the entire thing, smiling the entire time," Diddy threatened, glaring him directly in the eyes.
Konnor's wicked smirk slowly faded, then he looked back out into the cell bars, listening closely to the noises of battle. He then spoke, "Well…are you taking your girlfriend back? That is…assuming she's still alive?"
"That's none of your fucking business. Besides, why do you care? You'll be dead when we reunite!" Diddy spat.
"Oh, I don't care. Honestly. But something tells me that you haven't thought about the possibility of your relationship never being the same again after her betrayal. There's no way you can just forget that, chimpy. Yeah, I know I was the tempter, but you know the saying…it takes two to tango!" Konnor clarified, growing his smirk again.
Diddy held himself back from beating the life out of the deranged koopa, glaring him down. However…a part of Diddy deep down knew that the koopa had a point. At the end of the day, Dixie still betrayed his trust. The relationship wasn't going to be the same as it was before the madness occurred. If he and Dixie both are still alive after the chaos ends, it'd be a tough call to figure out how to continue the relationship.
Tatanga shoved open the door to his bedroom, seeing Beldam on his bed right where he left her.
"Uh? Tatanga?" Beldam muttered, coming to from dozing off.
"Your time to help make this plan shine is now, Beldam! Oh, shadow siren from the world below…you are mobile once again, but you obey only my command as your magic will perish! HA!" Tatanga shouted and shot a ray of gray light from the star rod at her.
"AH!" Beldam yelped, feeling the zap of magic strike her body. She felt herself no longer drained of energy as she could now move like normal, but she also felt an 'essence' leave her body. Beldam knew that the 'essence' was her magics. This was it. This was the start of her being an eternal slave to Tatanga.
"Alright, missy, here's the deal: your sister and her lunatic brigade are here, shooting the place up. We're getting the weapon activated this instant! NOW COME ALONG!" Tatanga ordered then ran down the hall with a few koopatrols.
Beldam nearly gasped as she hopped off the bed. "What…Vivian…is here!?" She realized she'll likely face off with her own sister very soon. She followed Tatanga and the koopatrols down the various hallways and into the main control room.
"THIS WEAPON NEEDS TO BE LAUNCHED NOW! I DON'T CARE IF IT NEEDS ANY TOUCH UPS OR IF CHECKING EVERYTHING OVER ISN'T COMPLETELY DONE, THIS NEEDS TO BE SET OFF THIS INSTANT!" Tatanga angrily screamed, making some of the koopatrols scatter.
"YES SIR!" they all yelled, getting into positions and preparing the launch.
"Alright. While that is going…Beldam! Wanna see something else I have stored away in here?" Tatanga excitedly asked.
"Huh? What else could you possibly have stored in this place!?" Beldam asked.
"Come over here!" Tatanga ordered and she followed him to an area where there were large piles of boxes and broken mechanical equipment from the weapon. Tatanga used the scepter and shot a green ray, disintegrating it all, and revealing massive double doors.
"What the!? This was here the whole time!?" Beldam asked in surprise.
"Of course it was. What, you really thought I'd throw this pretty thing away?" Tatanga responded matter-of-factly, showcasing to her his purple spaceship. Beldam was in slight awe, realizing that she hadn't seen the spaceship since everyone migrated over to the island after Daisy's original crew attacked the Northern Knight's Castle.
"I mean…no, of course not. But what are you going to use this for right now!?" Beldam asked.
"You'll see veeeeery soon, my shadow servant! Now, help get rid of the morons infiltrating the island! They're shooting us as we speak, and no doubt will some of them come on to the fortress and destroy everything in their path! Take the Ztar! I've got all the magic I need with the scepter and star rod!" Tatanga instructed and tossed Beldam the Ztar, then he opened the door to his spaceship. The alien then looked back at her before getting in and spoke with a smirk, "And if there's any part of you that wants to rebel against me and use that Ztar on me…don't even think about it. I made myself immune to the Ztar's effects via the star rod."
Beldam nodded a little, gripping the Ztar tightly. Tatanga got in his spaceship and turned on the ignition.
"WEAPON ACTIVATION IN 3…
2…
1…
0!" yelled a robotic voice echoing throughout the entire fortress.
Daisy, Luigi, DK, Yoshi, Toadette, Dixie, Bleck, Crump, Grodus, Rosalina, Vivian, Monty, Starlow, Tadano, Mimi, Boshi, Fly Guy, and Kooper all landed on top of a big, open spot on the fortress' east end tower and then they quickly got out of their respective arwings. They all charged into an open hallway leading into the inside of the fortress, prepared for literally anything that would come their way.
The group eventually came to a fork in the hallway: one way leading left and one way leading right.
"Ohhhh, how super convenient! So, how we doing this then?" Fly Guy annoyedly asked.
"There's 18 of us here. 9 of us will take the left and the other 9 will go right. I'll lead the left path, and Rosalina, you lead the right path! That way, each group has extra magical coverage! PROTECT US ALL!" Daisy commanded and yelled to the Crystal Star Rod. A blue ray shot from the rod to everyone, enveloping them in a blue, circular shield.
"Excellent! And great idea, I'll go with Daisy!" Toadette cheered.
"Hold on here! Grodus, you've been in this fortress before! Do you recognize this hallway at all? Where does each hall here lead to?" Kooper asked.
"It…uh…ooh…I think…the left hall leads to the sleeping quarters and a few cells. The right hall leads to some storage rooms. Both halls wrap around and lead to the big room where Tatanga's weapon lies," Grodus answered, feeling a little odd from being here once again.
"Cells!? That's where Diddy must be! When I came here last, I saw Diddy in a cell, so hopefully he's still alive in there!" Bleck recalled, sparking more hope into everyone else, especially Dixie and DK.
"Well, that settles it! I'm going with Daisy then!" Dixie stated with DK nodding in agreement. Yoshi, Luigi, Starlow, Tadano, and Boshi also agreed to join Daisy, with everyone else going down the right hall.
"Alright. It's decided. Meet you in the big weapon room then? My group will comb out the storage rooms on the way there!" Rosalina asked.
"Yep, meet you there! If Diddy's still alive, we'll nab him, then head to the weapon room and begin to blow this place apart! NOW LET'S MOVE IT!" Daisy commanded and the group split down their respective hallways.
Daisy's group bolted down the hallway, all of them on edge to find out if Diddy was alive or not.
"Wait! STOP! You guys hear that!?" Tadano shouted, halting the group in their tracks.
"Y…Yeah! My god, it sounds like an angry mob coming our way!" Starlow yelped.
"It really does. Okay, guys, someone will need to take the Crystal Star Rod, because I'm gonna use Timeslow to slow the mob and so we can comb through them easily!" Daisy instructed. Luigi took the rod, ready for action.
"Alright, Dais…ready when you are," Luigi said, preparing for bloodshed.
"Okay. As soon as I see them, I will yell the word. Don't hold back, guys. The fate of the world depends on it," Daisy stated, clenching her fists, waiting for the right moment.
The 'mob' shouting got louder and louder, then they came into view upon turning a corner in the hallway. Showtime.
"TIMESLOOOOOOW!" Daisy roared and the koopatrol mob before her immediately came to a slow. The princess loudly grunted and fell to the floor, weakly yelling, "G…GO!"
The others roared and charged into the now drastically slow koopatrol mob. Luigi used the rod to disintegrate a few of the koopatrols into ashes. Dixie and Yoshi removed a couple of the koopatrols' 'armor helmets' and repeatedly smashed their faces into the wall. Boshi also removed the armor helmet off of another koopatrol, but he smashed the koopa's face into the spike shell of one of the other koopatrols. Tadano, Toadette, and Starlow kicked down a couple other koopatrols and then repeatedly stomped their faces in.
As the number of koopatrols dwindled, the unexpected happened.
BOOM!
The wall on their left exploded, completely blindsiding everyone, making everyone fall to the ground in fright.
"AHHH! WHAT THE FUUUCK!?" Boshi screamed, briefly blinded by the explosion, getting some debris on him. He stood up, then accidentally bumped into Yoshi, making both of the dinos fall out of the now open part of the fortress. Luckily, they both caught on to the edge of the hall, dangling by their heads, but they struggled to pull themselves up.
"Wha…what was that…I don't…oh my god...Ta…tanga…" Daisy gasped in horror upon seeing the purple alien in his spaceship, snickering at them.
"Hahahaha! Bet you weren't expecting that, were ya!?" Tatanga cackled.
"We figured you'd strike eventually, brother! Bet you didn't expect to see me again though, huh!?" Tadano yelled, not phased by his twin's sudden appearance.
Tatanga leered his eyes at his twin. "Tadano. You little rat. The fucking audacity of you coming here to my fortress...my fucking castle, MY FUCKING ISLAND, and helping these sad sacks. I'm surprised they let your psycho ass tag along!"
"Fortress? Castle!? ISLAND!? SERIOUSLY!? Won't be much of a castle once we're done here considering it's getting torn apart as we speak!" Tadano yelled.
"Oh no! WHERE'S THE ROD!? WHERE IS IT!? GUYS, DO YOU SEE THE ROD ANYWHERE!?" Luigi shrieked in sheer panic, scanning the area frantically for the now missing Crystal Star Rod.
"Luigi, calm down please! We're protected, remember!?" Toadette reassured him.
"Don't be so sure about that! WATCH THIS! UN-SHIEEEEEEELD!" Tatanga roared and aimed both the star rod and scepter at the group and a black light shot from both, combining into one large black ray that shot at all of them.
"AAAAHHHHH! WHAT IS HE DOING!? WHAT'S HAPPENING!?" Starlow screamed.
"Your precious Crystal Star Rod isn't all that powerful when you have the next best thing counteracting its magic PLUS Grodus' handy scepter! It's a temporary disable, but long enough for me to nuke ya!" Tatanga yelled in delight at their shocked faces.
"AAAAGGGGHHH! SOMEONE PLEASE HEEEELP!" Yoshi screamed, feeling himself being hit from the ray, making his left hand slip from the edge, now barely hanging on with his right hand. He glanced down below and was struck with terror by how long of a fall it would be down onto the beach.
"YOSHI! I GOT YOU! OR, FLUTTER JUMP IF YOU CAN!" DK yelled, rushing over to the edge with Dixie rushing over to Boshi.
"I..I can't flutter jump…my legs were bruised from the wall blowing up!" Yoshi cried and gripped on tightly to DK's hand. The ape pulled him up slowly while Dixie tried to pull Boshi up.
"Aww, true friendship right there! But that friendship won't keep you alive when I got THIS!" Tatanga yelled and a whirring sound was heard from his spaceship as a yellow light began to glow from a socket on the front of the spaceship, indicating he was charging up something.
"Ahhh! CRAP! SOMEONE HELP ME GET BOSHI UP!" Dixie shrilled, making Toadette and Luigi run over to help get him up quicker.
"Daisy? DAISY!? Are you able to stand up!?" Starlow yelped, running over to her side.
"I…agh…barely…fuck…leave me! I'll slow you all down!" Daisy groaned, not having the energy to push herself to run yet.
Boshi saw the impending doom of the situation and realized something quickly needed to be done before they were all potentially vaporized.
"YOSHI! I really am sorry for everything! You were the brother I never had…don't let this low-life fucker take you and your friends down! You guys deserve to live!" Boshi shouted as he got teary-eyed. Yoshi stared at him in slight confusion, but then realized what Boshi was truly referring to when he swiped a large brick then flutter jumped over to Tatanga's spaceship. Boshi roared and swung the brick with all his might at the windows of the spaceship and gripped tightly to one of the bars by the door so he could hold on to the ship.
"AAAGGGHHHH! YOU SON OF A BITCH! TAKE THIIIIIIS!" Tatanga roared as Boshi managed to break open the windows of the spaceship. Boshi then jumped in and grabbed the scepter, but Tatanga shot a red ray from the Star Rod into his chest, leaving a bloody hole as if he was shot with a shotgun.
"Ohhhhhh…fuuuu…ck…" Boshi groaned, feeling the immense pain shoot throughout his body, but the dino was determined to pull his act through all the way. Tatanga laughed at Boshi, thinking that he foiled the dino's plan, but Boshi used the remainder of his strength to claw the side of Tatanga's neck, making the alien squeal and be momentarily distracted enough for Boshi to snag the scepter and toss it out the broken window and back at the group. DK extended his arm out and grabbed it successfully.
"Ohhhhh! GRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHH!" Tatanga raged and grabbed Boshi by the neck and threw the dino out the window with all his might. Boshi's head hit a piece of jutted out stone from the fortress on his way down and he eventually crashed into the sand.
"BOSHIIIIIII!" Yoshi screamed in horror from seeing his cousin die right in front of him. The anger and hate he felt for Boshi subsided in that moment, losing someone he had known since childhood.
"FUCK THIS! I'M JUST GONNA TAKE WHAT I WANT! COME TO MEEEEE! DAISY AND TADANO!" Tatanga roared and pointed the Star Rod at the aforementioned two, and the pair magically floated towards Tatanga's spaceship as if they were being pulled by a magnet.
"WAIT, NOOOOO! DAISYYYYYYYY! DK, USE THE SCEPTER!" Luigi screamed.
"H-How do you use this thing!? Do you just point and shoot!?" DK shouted in a panic as Daisy and Tadano were pulled all the way into the spaceship.
"HAHA! Now that I got you two idiots, let's go and- OH!" Tatanga suddenly yelped, feeling his spaceship being moved back from a laser blast, nearly falling over. Tatanga looked out to his right and saw another arwing approach him, but this one had Mario and Peach in it.
"Tatanga! Here we are for the final time. Give back Daisy and Tadano and we'll make your death quick and painless!" Mario ordered.
"PAH! Really, Mario? That the best you got!? You know it's not gonna be that easy! You'll have to participate in the chase first!" Tatanga scoffed and quickly drove away the opposite direction, but then the alien shrieked in fright when he saw someone unexpected right in his way.
"OH MY! That's…but…wasn't he…" Peach stammered, seeing exactly who made Tatanga come to a halt.
"Hello, dear old friend! You really thought that I would miss out on this fierce finale? You really thought I was completely done for in that dank, depressing room you put me in? Tsk tsk! You should know by now that I, master of dimensions, pleaser of crowds, DIMENTIO, always have another trick up my sleeve!" Dimentio excitedly announced himself.
Meanwhile, the group that went down the right hallway, Rosalina, Grodus, Crump, Bleck, Mimi, Monty, Vivian, Kooper, and Fly Guy, came across a door on the right that presumably led to a storage room. Rosalina gripped the doorknob and faced everyone else.
"Okay, I'm sensing strong and intense energies beyond this door. I know we're all shielded right now from the Crystal Star Rod, but we can't let ourselves get over-confident! Be ready!" Rosalina instructed with everyone nodding in understanding.
"LET'S DO THIIIIIS!" Fly Guy roared and then Rosalina shoved open the door and the group prepared for attack. The room was pitch black and Rosalina snapped her fingers to make it bright in there. What they suddenly saw made them stop in their tracks in huge surprise.
They saw Roy and Doopliss. Roy was chained up with a big wound on his torso, bleeding out, whereas Doopliss was also chained up but seemed unconscious on the floor.
"What the!? ROY!? DOOPLISS!? Why…you're…like this…" Mimi shrieked, confused at this scene.
"Ugh…what…h-huh!? It's you guys! I…knew I heard…something…but…where's…my dad?" Roy asked in clear pain, but seemed a little relieved to see them, especially when he looked at Mimi.
"He's not here right now. But, um, wow. Look at you, Roy…god. And…is Doopliss dead!?" Kooper asked, unsure of how to feel about this situation.
"No…" Doopliss grunted, slowly moving his head to look at the group. "I'm just…drained…Dimentio did it…he was locked in here…with us…Tatanga drained him, so…did a spell…to drain my magics and energy…so he could take over…and kill Tatanga…"
"Holy smokes! So we gotta eliminate not just one but TWO supervillains now!? And the two supervillains are trying to dominate each other!? Well, let's hope they just simply kill each other in the process!" Monty exclaimed.
"Yeah…if you can…kill both of them…and…destroy the entire island…leave no trace behind…just leave me be in here…to die…" Doopliss stated.
"Umm, Doopliss and Roy…where's Beldam at? Is she…gone?" Vivian nervously asked.
Doopliss shook his head. "Don't think so. Tatanga had a different plan for her…after her and I rebelled and…tried to get Mimi and Diddy off the island…think she's still alive…but no clue where she's at."
"Well, guys? We saving these two? I heard they caused a loooot of trouble…but also tried to redeem themselves towards the end. How are we doing this?" Crump asked softly, no one knowing how to properly answer that.
"Uhhhh…oh! Well, might wanna ask the koopa king!" Fly Guy yelped, eyes wide as he looked to the right in the hallway. Everyone turned to him in confusion, but then heard loud footsteps and quickly saw who he was looking at.
Bowser, Kody, and Larry came into view. Roy locked eyes with Larry then his father, feeling his heart nearly stop. The same feeling happened with Larry and Bowser.
"Son…" Bowser whispered, in a state of shock.
EoC.
Next chapter, Dimentio and Tatanga duke it out with each other AND with the heroes! Also, Toodles struggles to deal with her son coming back into her life given their complicated history with each other, the heroes attempt to stop the weapon from activating its destruction of half the world, Daisy is captured and a short time limit is put on her life as Tatanga uses black magic to pull out another trick, more blood is spilled and more battles are fought, and as always, much more! Next chapter will be uploaded on or before Sunday, February 4. Happy new year to you all!