OK, fellow readers. This is the 74th chapter of this story!
Now, we're officially starting Chapter 8, which means were getting close to the climax of the story, as well as the ending to this story overall.
There will be plenty of chapters here though, especially for the fights that'll be displayed here too. Just so you all are aware. To say nothing about Andrew's backstory finally being revealed to his friends. That'll be featured in the next chapter, though.
For now, this chapter is 'basically' the eight heroes trekking through the Palace of Shadow, getting through some traps involving spikes and firebars, having to solve a puzzle to get by an infinite room, and of course, they'll have to fend off a bunch of Dry Bones, as well as deal with a single Dark Bones.
And a few other things will occur too. How will this go for them? Read and find out now, everyone!
INSIDE THE PALACE OF SHADOW:
It took no time at all for the eight heroes to have entered the Palace of Shadow, with the Thousand-Year Door closed behind them, as they took a good look at their surroundings.
The room that they were in currently was 'absolutely' spacious in size, as there was a massive chandelier dangling up high from the ceiling. 'Apparently', all of the candles were still lit after one thousand years had gone by since it was last visited.
Aside from that, the wallpaper was pretty fancy, if dull, and there were many flower patterns on many of the walls, including the windows that were shown, which depicted roses. The windows themselves were pretty much a bunch of stained glass windows.
Still, something about the place was giving the heroes a rather ominous feel to it. And the fact that it hasn't seen visitors in a thousand years doesn't help either. Andrew was looking around as he decided to make his comment on the palace that they had just entered.
"Wow," Andrew murmured as he rubbed his chin. "So this is the Palace of Shadow that rests behind the Thousand-Year Door. And also where that ancient cataclysm is resting as well..."
"Yeah... Ugh..." Goombella grimaced. "This place is freaky..."
"Um... OK, this place is scary..." Koops frowned and shivered slightly.
"My, what an unpleasant place..." Flurrie gasped silently as she placed her hand over her mouth.
"Whoa, this place is nasty..." Yoshiam felt pretty wigged out as he made that comment.
"Uh... This place is unsettling..." Vivian frowned uncomfortably.
"This place is rather ugly..." Bobbery shook his head and closed his eyes.
"What an unpleasant place..." Ms. Mowz sounded rather unsettled when she said that.
"Guys, I know how you're feeling. This place makes me feel discomforted as well," Andrew admitted. "But we 'really' don't have much of a choice but to get through this palace."
"Right! We don't have a choice, Andrew!" Goombella agreed. "We've gotta get in there and save Peach before this gets out of hand!"
"Yeah! Before things get out of hand!" Koops agreed. "Let's go, Andrew!"
"But how do we know that Peach is in here?" Andrew had to ask them. "You all remember being told the legend before. The door can't open until all seven Crystal Stars are collected! And we just recently opened the door! And we saw no sign of Grodus or Peach passing by us once we opened it."
"Dearie me that much is true," Flurrie frowned. "But what confuses me is how could this Grodus cad have gotten through the door before we did? Preferably because the dear old Professor told us himself, that it shan't open without all seven of the precious Crystal Stars that we have in our possession."
"That I don't know," Andrew rubbed his chin. "But I do know that the cataclysm could awaken on any day now. Especially since the door was weakening previously, and we just opened it. There's no doubt in my mind. The ancient demon that caused the cataclysm could still unleash havoc on the world, even if Sir Grodus doesn't get there before we do."
"Well, in that case, we gotta get to the resting place of this demon before that Grodus chump gets there!" Yoshiam declared. "Before the whole cataclysm happens! C'mon, Presto!"
"Right," Andrew frowned as he observed the place again for himself. "Still, it's rather perplexing that no one has been in here for at least a thousand years. It 'really' gives off that vibe."
"No kidding," Goombella agreed with him. "It's seen no visitors for 1,000 years... It's so big... It kind of overwhelms you, doesn't it?"
"No doubt," Andrew said as he walked across the room. "It makes you wonder how massive the rest of the palace is like."
"Yeah. And that treasure is here... Probably guarded by this ancient demon spirit..." Goombela gulped. "Treasure or no, I don't like the vibe from this place... Maybe it's just my nerves..."
"I think the rest of us know how you're feeling, Goombella," Andrew nodded. "We'll just have to get by and hopefully put a stop to this madness before it begins."
"Hey Andrew? I just thought of something!" Vivian felt like sharing with him. "If Princess Peach isn't in the Palace of Shadow, then where could she be?"
"I unsure of that," Andrew told her honestly as they walked over to the door on the other side. "But I am certain that Sir Grodus must have something to do with it. And that he has possession of her at the moment. Wherever he may be."
"Well, if that's the case, then I suggest we high-tail it through this trenched palace and beat this Grodus scoundrel to the punch," Bobbery made the proper suggestion. "I must say, it might be wise for us to work our way through here and forbid the X-Naut boss from proceeding forward with this dastardly scheme of his, which involves her Highness, eh?"
"That's right, Bobbery," Andrew then walked over and opened the door leading into the next room. "We might as well prevent him from succeeding and averting what could potentially be a massive crisis from being unleashed upon us."
"Very good idea, Andrew," Ms. Mowz mused. "Well then, we might as well make progress with getting by here, shall we?"
"Yeah," Andrew nodded." Let's get going."
With that, the muscular man went through the door, with the Goomba, Koopa, Wind Spirit, Yoshi, Shadow Siren, Bob-omb, and Little Mouser following right behind. They could only hope that things wouldn't be too chaotic while trekking through the Palace of Shadow...
Before they knew it, they ended up in another room with a long stairway that was leading them down to the bottom, and there was an underground lake several stories down from where the stairway was located.
Andrew was able to obtain a Stop Watch item, which was to the north of the door that they just got through. The eight of them then began to go down the long stairway. There were a couple of Swoopulas that came in their path, but they were quickly dispatched in a matter of moments.
This was partly thanks to Bobbery utilizing his Hold Fast move on them while the others went for cover before Andrew handled the rest with his friends who could reach them. Andrew was simply amazed that something like this 'actually' existed in an underground palace such as this one, as they went down the stairway to the bottom.
"Wow," Andrew blinked in amazement at what he was seeing. "It's quite impressive seeing something like this in this kind of palace."
"You're telling me," Goombella proclaimed. "There's a long stairway connected to this underground lake."
"I had no idea that there was a lake deep underground in his palace," Andrew mused.
"Plenty of interesting things rest here, Andrew. I should know, being an archaeologist and all," Goombella told him. "Those lights floating in the darkness are really pretty...but also pretty spooky."
"No kidding," Andrew couldn't help but grimace a bit at the lights that they passed by. "They do give this place a rather ghastly appearance and all."
"Wow..." Koops remarked. "Wonder how far down the underground lake is in here... Cannot possibly imagine just how deep this place goes. You know what I mean?"
"Yeah, Koops," Andrew nodded. "And if I'm not mistaken, the lake is probably several stories down from here. Maybe we might run into it as we go further down."
"Absolutely! That shall be rather marvelous to see," Flurrie admitted. "In any case, shall we press onward through this ghastly palace, darling?"
"Sure thing," Andrew approached the door and opened it. "Let's go into this room."
And so the eight heroes went through the door, wondering where they would end up next. The next room was a rather massive corridor that led them further down into the palace, with several stairs allowing them to descend through, and a bunch of torches were lit up to provide some light.
There was also a Shooting Star item in the high ?-block, which Andrew was able to obtain and put into his backpack. Additionally, there were a couple of Dry Bones and a single Swoopula that tried to ambush them along the way down, but the eight of them managed to dispatch them in a matter of seconds while working together.
"Wow," Andrew wiped his forehead. "This place looks very basic and fancy for a hallway."
"No kidding," Goombella agreed. "There's a long corridor leading down."
"Yeah. Something tells me that this palace will lead us far down beneath the Earth," Andrew had to proclaim.
"Uh-huh. Well, this palace sure is big and super-rich-looking, huh?" Goombella had to wonder. "I wonder what kind of people lived here before the place slept for 1,000 years?"
"Judging by its dark and ominous atmosphere," Andrew shared his theory. "I would say that this place fits perfectly for shadow people."
"You think, Presto," Yoshiam grimaced. "This place does give that gnarly feeling that shadow people lived here and did some wicked bad stuff to others! That sounds like it stinks!"
"D'you know anything about this place, Vivian?" Goombella asked her. "Does this place seem familiar?"
"Uh...kinda," Vivian frowned. "It does seem vaguely familiar, but I don't remember too much. I think I was born around the time the Thousand-Year Door was just to be sealed shut, I think. And my sisters had to drag me around, for something... I can't remember too well..."
"Don't fret, Vivian," Andrew assured her as they went down the last flight of stairs, reaching the bottom of the corridor. "We'll find out more about this place before long. Just wait and see."
"I know," Vivian nodded with a smile.
"Harumph! A thousand pardons, old boy," Bobbery got his attention. "But I believe we got some company!"
Bobbery motioned to the two Bombshell Bill Blasters at the end of the corridor, as they were blocking the door and shooting Bombshell Bill Blasters in their direction. Luckily, the eight of them were able to dodge them in the nick of time.
"In that case, I'll fend 'em off," Yoshiam cracked his knuckles. "I've been itching for a fight anyway!"
"And I shall assist," Bobbery looked like he was about ready to light his fuse. "These scoundrels shall not get in our way. Let's have at it with them!"
"Gotcha," Yoshiam nodded with a smirk as he charged forward along with Bobbery.
The next two Bombshell Bills that were fired were met with the ill-mannered fate of Yoshiam's Gulp attack, which he grabbed one of them and spat it out at the other, blowing them up instantly and giving Bobbery an opening.
Seeing that this was his cue, Bobbery marched up and lit his fuse, and then used his Bomb attack on both of them, exploding next to them. Together with Yoshiam's Gulp attack, the two Bombshell Bill Blasters were dispatched in a matter of seconds, as they exploded once they were taken care of. The door leading to the next room was now accessible, and the eight heroes could continue through the palace.
"All right! The pathway to the door is no longer being blocked!" Andrew proclaimed proudly. "Now we can continue into the next room of this palace."
"Hmm mmm mmm mmm! Yes. We certainly can," Ms. Mowz mused as she walked up to the door. "Shall we continue, my handsome muscular superstar?"
"Of course," Andrew walked up to the door and opened it. "Let's go."
And that's what they did, as they went through the door, and continued into the next room. The next room that they walked into was a corridor that was riddled with spike traps on the floor.
The moment that they entered the room were they startled by the sound of some nearby spikes shooting up from underneath to their right. This got Andrew to jump as he felt some of his hair stand up from it.
"Whoa!" Andrew yelped as he glanced at it. "Are there spike traps in this corridor?"
"Sure looks like a corridor, I think... Looks like spike traps..." Goombella agreed with a grimace as she then suggested. "Forget the enemies... Just take it one step at a time!"
"Gosh..." Koops glanced over to the spike trap that was popping out before retreating nearby. "Sure don't wanna be turned into a skewered Koopa... That surely wouldn't look good..."
"No one is going to get skewered if we take this room one step at a time," Andrew assured him. "Now just stick close to me as we navigate through this spike-trap-filled room, and we'll be OK."
"With pleasure, dearie," Flurrie agreed as she floated close to him. "Let us navigate through this rather treacherous room, shall we?"
Andrew nodded and as soon as the others were also close to Andrew, they took their time with navigating through the room. Along the way, Andrew found a red ?-block and hit it with his Ultra Bat.
A badge had emerged from it as a result. Specifically, it was an All or Nothing badge, which Andrew picked up and observed the badge. He felt that he had never seen it before.
"Huh," Andrew blinked at it. "I've never seen that badge before..."
"Hmm mmm mmm, dearie, that badge looks like it could be useful for you," Ms. Mowz suggested. "I highly suggest that you keep it with your other badges in case you might need it at some point."
"Good suggestion," Andrew took out his badge kit and put it in there. "I'm just wondering if this badge has been behind the Thousand-Year Door all this time. Like it's been in here for a thousand years or something. Does that make sense to you?"
"Probably," Goombella did a shrug. "Maybe whoever lived in this palace 'totally' must've had some kind of fascination for it. And just forgot all about it, y'know?"
"No doubt about that," Andrew put his badge kit into his backpack. "Anyway, let's continue to navigate through this room without being skewered."
All seven of them agreed as the eight of them continued to get by the corridor that was plagued with those spike-trapped floors. A couple of Swoopulas attempted to swoop down on them to attack them, but Andrew swung them away with his Ultra Bat and caused them to smack into the ceiling, where they were knocked out afterwards.
Eventually, after a few moments of walking through the corridor slowly and figuring out which direction was the safest to get by, the eight heroes finally made their way to the door on the other side. Once they were there, they went through the door and went into the next room, leaving the spike-trapped corridor behind them.
"Whew," Andrew wiped his forehead. "That was a close one. I thought we were gonna get speared for a second there."
"Can't argue with you there, Presto," Yoshiam agreed. "Don't think it would have been the coolest experience if we got speared by one of those bad larrys. Either way, it's about time we got out of that wacko room."
"Yeah," Andrew agreed as he noticed that they were now in another room with a long bridge with some firebars in the way. "Looks like we have another bridge to cross. And from the looks of it, that lake we saw before is several feet below us."
"Duh. There's a large bridge over the lake here," Goombella then mentioned. "Those fire bars in the middle are kind of a problem, huh?"
"Yeah," Andrew tugged on his handkerchief. "We'd probably get severely burned if we touch them."
"Exactly, Andrew," Goombella told him with a smirk. "And that's why we'd better avoid them."
"I couldn't have agreed with you more there," Andrew nodded at that. "We'll just have to time our jump so we can jump over them."
"Yeah. But don't put too much stress on yourself, Andrew," Goombella then gave him some helpful advice. "If you're all sketched out trying to jump them, just use Vivian's Veil ability!"
"Of course," Andrew nodded as he turned to face his Shadow Siren friend. "You can help me with that, won't you, Vivian?"
"Of course, Andrew," Vivian said with a determined smile. "I would be willing to help you with that."
"Great. Thanks," Andrew then motioned to his friends. "All right, guys. Let's get this over with."
They nodded as they worked their way across the bridge. Naturally, Yoshiam and Ms. Mowz were professional jumpers, so they were able to dodge the firebars with ease. Meanwhile, Goombella and Bobbery were getting their practice in, and while the latter hasn't done it too much lately, he could still jump over the firebars.
Koops was also able to jump over the fire bars that were on the bridge that they had to cross, while Flurrie was just able to float over them and not hit them at all.
Andrew, meanwhile, was jumping over the firebars effectively with Vivian by his side. 'And' whenever it seemed to be a tremendous pressure to him, Vivian would use her Veil move to drag him into the shadows so they couldn't get struck or burned by them.
Along the way, they encountered a Phantom Ember; a relative of the Ember and Lava Bubble, but was green instead. And it had tried to pick a fight with them. But Andrew had his Ice Power badge still on, as he was able to fend it off without getting burned.
Together with some aid from Bobbery and his Bomb attack, the Phantom Ember was dispatched in a matter of seconds.
Also, thanks to Ms. Mowz, Andrew was able to claim a Boo's Sheet in the middle of the room with two fire bars spinning around one spot. And he obtained it by jumping and hitting a hidden block. Andrew had caught it and put it into his backpack as he safely went down a couple of stairs with his friends.
Upon seeing some fireballs getting swept in their direction, they had to navigate through it by going into Tube Mode. 'Basically' they rolled underneath the fireballs that were going over their heads, and they had to jump over the fireballs that were sweeping towards them on the ground.
After doing this for a couple of moments, they made it by the fireballs and managed to reach the door on the other side. They then turned back to normal and panted afterwards from the close call that they encountered with those fireballs.
"Whew. That was way too close, guys," Andrew huffed. "We were able to dodge those firebars and fireballs. But gosh, it sure was a workout for us."
"I must say, that Phantom Ember bloke sure did put up such a treacherous fight with us, did it not?" Bobbery queried, as Andrew nodded. "In any case, we were quite successful with fending the bloke off, as well as getting by those blazing bars and balls that tried to scorch us, eh?"
"Yeah. We sure did, Bobbery," Andrew wiped his forehead. "We've come this far. We still have more ground to cover."
"Yes. I agree," Ms. Mowz mused. "And you also got another item out of it too, sweetie. I was glad to point it out for you with my treasure-sniffing nose, Andrew."
"And I was glad that you could do that for us," Andrew then went and grabbed the door knob to the door that was in front of them. "Well, let's see what is in this room."
All seven of them nodded as Andrew opened the door and allowed the eight of them to enter and see what kind of traps were waiting for them in that room.
The next room that they ended up in was massive in size. The previous rooms they went through were also spacious, but the fact that there were no traps in this room like the spike-trapped corridor, as well as the firebar-infested bridge that they just got through made it feel even more spacious.
Three chandeliers were dangling from the ceiling, each one of them had candles that were still lit with a blazing flame on each one of them. Something about this room got Andrew to squint and examine everything that was surrounding him and his seven friends since it felt weird and suspicious.
"You know, guys," Andrew commented. "There's something off about this place. Like it seems rather...suspicious for some reason."
"I can read whatcha saying, Andrew," Goombella agreed. "I mean what a humongous room... I'd say it was pretty, but even this place feels weird..."
"That's the sensation that I'm getting too," Andrew nodded. "It does feel weird in here, especially since the two previous rooms we went through were consisting of spike-trapped floors and firebars and fireballs, respectively. This place seems so empty that something seems...off."
"No kidding," Goombella frowned as she looked around the hallway. "It's like the whole palace got cursed or something."
"Duh," Andrew said in a rather unexpected sassy manner as he rolled his eyes playfully, getting Goombella to look at him.
"Did you just say 'duh' to me?" Goombella asked with a shocked expression, which eventually turned into a smirk.
"Yeah," Andrew smirked back. "I think it's cursed because that cataclysm that destroyed that town a thousand years ago is resting at the very bottom of this palace, in the deepest chamber."
"No doubt. My archaeology instincts are telling me just that," Goombella then rubbed against his left leg. "In any case, I 'totally' must be rubbing off on you, aren't I?"
"Literally and figuratively," Andrew told her playfully while rubbing her head and stroking her ponytail. "And we've certainly grown close since we started traveling together, didn't we?"
"You betcha," Goombella gleamed. "And we have all grown closer together ever since."
As Andrew and Goombella were enjoying their moment together, Koops saw something at the end of the hallway that got his face to turn white for a brief second while the rest of the group didn't know what to think about it. As soon as color returned to his face, Koops decided to get Andrew's attention.
"Hey, ummm... Andrew?" Koops got his attention.
"What is it, Koops?" Andrew asked as he had Goombella in his hands before putting her on his right shoulder.
"Take...Take a look at that..." Koops pointed out. "At the end of the hallway."
Andrew and Goombella followed where he was pointing exactly, which is where the door was, which was locked by a padlock. But lying in front of the locked door was a pile of Koopa bones.
But what got their attention was the color of the bones. The bones were dark blue, had purple boots, and their eyes were black with red pupils. Needless to say, Andrew and Goombella were sensing a massive amount of deja vu from staring at it as they approached it along with Koops and the others.
"Holy cow," Andrew grimaced as he observed them. "What are these bones doing here?"
"I dunno," Goombella wondered as she stayed resting on his right shoulder. "But those are some weird-colored bones. Very suspicious!"
"That might be why this room had such a suspicious feel to it," Andrew pointed out.
"Yeah," Goombella looked at them again and started thinking. "...But I feel like I've seen something like them before."
"I have too," Andrew then remembered, as it came back to him. "We dealt with a similar situation to this back at Hooktail Castle. Except the bones we dealt with were red and pink, and not dark blue and purple."
"I remember it too," Koops recalled. "Those were Red Bones that we dealt with last time. Wonder what kind of bones these are. And if the same thing'll happen to us again if we check 'em out."
"Well, whatever it is, I guess we're not gonna get much farther without checking them out, are we?" Goombella had to make a face as she said that.
"I suppose so," Andrew said. "But just in case it does happen again, we better be on guard while checking these piles of bones out. Understood, guys?"
"Got it," all seven of them said in unison as Andrew walked up to the pile of bones.
Once he was in front of them, he then checked them out by touching one of the bones for himself. As soon as he did that, however, the same thing had happened with the Red Bones from before.
Being that the bones started shaking and the eight heroes looked curiously at this. With most of them raising their eyebrows at what was happening. The dark pile of bones started speaking to them all of a sudden, just like the Red Bones did.
"Glurgggghh... Bluuuurgh..." The Dark Bones started moaning. "None shall pass by..."
"Well, we have a cataclysm to stop and prevent from unleashing havoc upon the world," Andrew deadpanned, sounding a little annoyed. "So we 'really' don't have much of a choice but to get by here."
"Let those who would disturb her sleep fall into the depths of endless darkness..." The Dark Bones murmured quite ominously.
"Her sleep?" Andrew was confused by what this pile of bones was referring to with the feminine pronoun, as were his seven friends.
In a matter of seconds, the Dark Bones came to life as it stood straight up. As soon as he was standing up, an entire horde of Dry Bones appeared out of nowhere and they proceeded to gang up on Andrew and his friends.
"WHAT THE...?!" Andrew yelped, realizing that this was exactly like the incident in Hooktail Castle when dealing with the Red Bones. Only there was one major difference.
"May the intruder never find the key to this door..." The Dark Bones moaned ominously as he started to escape from the heroes.
"Well Andrew, I knew it," Koops frowned as he felt several Dry Bones surrounding him. "Just like with what happened at Hooktail Castle. Can't believe it's happening again."
"Yeah. It is like last time," Andrew huffed, punching one of the Dry Bones that tried to grab him. "Except we're being ambushed by Dry Bones instead of Dull Bones."
"By the stars! Mercy me! Andrew, my darling!" Flurrie yelled, floating out of reach from the Dry Bones. "I do believe that that uncouth cad of a Dry Bones is getting away from us!"
"That lousy coward!" Yoshiam howled, performing a kick into the head of another Dry Bones. "We gotta stop that pathetic undead bonehead!"
"Omigosh! That 'totally' isn't the only problem!" Goombella screamed. "We're being attacked by Dry Bones here! And their grips are so gnarly!"
"Looks like we're gonna have to work together as a team to fend off these Dry Bones," Andrew declared. "And make sure that that other set of dark-looking Dry Bones doesn't get away!"
"Right," all seven of them nodded at that as Andrew got started.
"All right! Flurrie?" Andrew turned towards the Wind Spirit. "I'm gonna need you to use your Gale Force move to blow some of these Dry Bones away!"
"I'm more than honored to do so, hon," Flurrie beamed as she winked at him and did her trademark pose with her left hand towards him.
"Great! Bobbery?" Andrew then turned towards the Bob-omb. "I'm gonna need you to make use of your Bomb attack to blast away these Dry Bones and turn most of them into ashes!"
"Capital thinking, old boy. And I am most willing to oblige," Bobbery nodded. "I shall give it my all by blasting away these blokes with a boom that they shall never forget!"
"Awesome! And Vivian?" Andrew then turned to face the youngest former Shadow Siren. "I'll need you to make full use of your Fiery Jinx to engulf some of these Dry Bones with flames, and burn them to ashes! Does that sound good?"
"Of course, Andrew," Vivian nodded while adjusting the rim of her witch hat. "I'll be happy to do that for you. Just leave it to me!"
"Excellent!" Andrew blushed slightly before he looked towards the Yoshi kid. "Yoshiam? I'm gonna need you to make a meal out of plenty of these Dry Bones and swallow them! Then turn the ones you ate into Mini Eggs that you can throw at some of the others, before repeating the procedure! Do you think you'll be up for it?"
"I thought you'd never ask, Presto," Yoshiam smirked as he cracked his knuckles. "I'll turn some of these bone bags into mincemeat and fend 'em off myself!"
"Cool!" Andrew turned his attention to the Goomba and Little Mouser. "Goombella? Ms. Mowz? I'll need you two to aid them in fending off these Dry Bones and attack each one that gets in your way! Can you do that for me?"
"You betcha, Andrew!" Goombella beamed as she winked at him. "I'll 'totally' send these boneheads back to their graves, which is where they belong, y'know?"
"You got it, my handsome muscular superstar," Ms. Mowz said seductively before winking at him. "I will be happy to dispose of these Dry Bones for you."
Goombella couldn't help but give Ms. Mowz a stink-eye for a brief second. She then shook it off and smiled at Andrew, showing that she'd handle things on her end. With that, Andrew then turned his attention to the Koopa Troopa.
"Now Koops," Andrew started. "I'm gonna need you to go into your shell, and give me a lift through this horde of Dry Bones."
"Sure. Of course, Andrew," Koops nodded and gave him a thumbs up before he asked. "But ummm...what'll you do?"
"I'm gonna make sure that dark-looking Dry Bones doesn't get away," Andrew declared before announcing. "Now let's get a move on, guys! Let's BREAK!"
With that, they went to do their respective duties, as Koops went into his shell, Andrew jumped on top of him and started to ride on Koops's shell to stop the Dark Bones from escaping.
Flurrie wasted no time in performing her Gale Force move on the Dry Bones below. Most of them got caught up in the wind, and were blown away into the wall, where they then crumbled and once they fell onto the floor, they turned to dust, before more took their place. She was able to keep this up as she did this to several Dry Bones.
Bobbery, for his part, was having quite a blast with blowing up on the Dry Bones that came within his radius ala his Bomb attack. Each one of them that got caught in the blast was turned to ashes, as Bobbery kept regenerating and falling onto the ground, and did it repeatedly.
As for Vivian, she had performed her Fiery Jinx by waving her finger through the air and caused a magical sparkle to appear on her index fingers, with all of the Dry Bones that were within her reach got engulfed in flames, and were turned to ashes afterwards. She continued to do this for several minutes.
Yoshiam was certainly having a ball with eating the Dry Bones that tried to mess with him and turned them into Mini-Eggs, which he threw at some of the other Dry Bones that got in his path. He was sure to follow this procedure, as Andrew insisted.
Then there was Goombella and Ms. Mowz, who were handling things on their end as well. Goombella was quite eager to Headbonk each of the Dry Bones, one by one, as she got them to turn to dust. Ms. Mowz, meanwhile, was using her incredible jumping and her Love Slap attack to fend off the Dry Bones that tried to grab her. One of them was even greeted with a smack from her tail.
As for Andrew and Koops, they were pulling through with their part. Koops was in his shell, moving through as he plowed through any Dry Bones that got in his way. And then there was Andrew, who was using his Ultra Bat and smacking away any Dry Bones that came within feet of him, causing them to collapse and crumble.
Once Andrew saw that the Dark Bones was about to get through the door and when he was within his reach, Andrew put his Ultra Bat away and then got ready to jump off of Koops and land on the Dark Bones.
In a matter of seconds, Andrew jumped off of Koops and headed for the Dark Bones. Koops, no longer feeling Andrew on top of him, decided to perform his Shell Slam into several more Dry Bones that tried to grab him, as he was managing to handle things on his end.
From the looks of it, it seemed that the Dark Bones was about to make his escape. Before he could do so, Andrew landed on top of him with his right foot and got him to collapse. Andrew then set foot onto the ground, hoisted the Dark Bones up, and leaned his face into him.
"And just where do you think you're going?" Andrew asked rhetorically with a look of determination.
Without saying anything else, Andrew took his Ultra Bat and swung it into the Dark Bones' head, which sent it flying through the air, getting the Dry Bones to cease their attacks.
"Don't worry, Presto," Yoshiam flutter-jumped into the air and had his tongue ready. "I got it!"
Once the Dark Bones's head was within range, Yoshiam launched his tongue out and grabbed the head with his Gulp attack. He then placed it into his mouth as Andrew grabbed the rest of the Dark Bones.
"That's right, Yoshiam!" Andrew was about to throw the body forward. "Now let 'er rip!"
Yoshiam did so as he spat out the head at 'exactly' the same time Andrew tossed the body into the air. In a matter of seconds, the head and body collided, causing the Dark Bones to fall onto the ground.
Seconds later, he stood back up and was trapped by the heroes, as all eight of them regrouped and surrounded the Dark Bones. Andrew then decided to get some info from Goombella, seeing that the Dark Bones looked vastly different from the Dry Bones.
"OK, Goombella," Andrew started to ask. "Is there any information on this variant of Dry Bones?"
"Well Andrew, there is," Goombella had her Tattle Log out and opened it up as she decided to read the page on it. "If you must know, that's a Dark Bones. It's the 'baddest' of the Bones gang."
"That might explain why it's the leader of these other Dry Bones," Andrew remarked, motioning to the Dry Bones horde that was standing on the sideline.
"Yeah," Goombella nodded before she continued. "Anyway, like the Dry Bones, the Dark Bones will collapse into a pile, but it'll eventually rise again."
"Yikes," Andrew frowned. "We'll have to put a stop to that."
"If it helps, fire and explosions will put a permanent end to it getting back up, though," Goombella suggested.
"That's what Vivian and Bobbery are for. They can handle that," Andrew turned to face Vivian and Bobbery. "Right, you two?"
"Of course," both of them nodded and said in unison.
"Aside from that, it has a ton of stamina and energy, so it's hard to take it down," Goombella continued reading. "And like other Bones, they can call in reinforcements, like the ones that're surrounding us. Or they can rebuild friends when it feels outnumbered."
"Yeah," Andrew tugged on his handkerchief.
"It's a tough enemy," Goombella advised him. "You better take it and its buddies out all at once."
"Guess we have our work cut out for us. But we can handle it," Andrew cracked his knuckles and got out his Ultra Bat. "OK, guys! Let's get this show on the road!"
Andrew then got the battle started by jumping through the air and landing on the Dark Bones with his Power Jump. He then went and took out his Ultra Bat and slammed it on top of the Dark Bones's head.
As soon as he stepped back, he allowed his friends to join the fray. Goombella stepped up and delivered a painful Multibonk on the Dark Bones, striking him at least 11 times in a row.
Koops then got into his shells and rammed into the Dark Bones with his Shell Toss. He then got onto his back and did a breakdance routine before skidding away from the Dark Bones who tried to dish out his Bone Throw on him.
The Dark Bones then went and attempted to use his Bone Throw on Goombella, by throwing a bone at her. Andrew sensed it quickly and, thanks to his quick feet, dashed over there and scooped Goombella up just in time before the bone struck her face.
"Well Andrew, I'm not surprised," Goombella smirked at the heroic deed that he's done so many times. "Still, I am thankful. You've done that so many times that I can never get sick of it."
"And I am always glad to do that for you, Goombella," Andrew smirked back as he set his Goomba friend onto the ground.
At that moment, Flurrie decided to take her turn by soaring through the sky and landed on the Dark Bones while unleashing her Body Slam attack, crushing him underneath her.
She did one of her marvelous poses before getting off of the Dark Bones. The Dark Bones felt some impacts from the attacks that had landed so far, but he was still raring to fight.
Yoshiam then went and flutter-jumped through the air until he was right above the Dark Bones. From there, he then went and performed his Ground Pound attack on the Dark Bones, striking six times in a row and leaving behind more damage.
Feeling that they were having an advantage, the Dark Bones unleashed his Multibone attack by throwing three bones to strike all eight of them. Of course, Andrew's friends were quick to get out of the way in time, with Koops going into his shell and zipping away from the area.
As for Andrew, he was just about to jump away when Vivian went ahead, grabbed him, and dragged him into the shadows with her Veil ability, in an attempt to keep him safe. None of the bones hit Andrew or his friends. Once it was done with the attack, all eight of them regrouped while Vivian resurfaced along with Andrew.
"Thanks for that, Vivian," Andrew gave her a confident smile. "I don't know where I'd be without you."
"Don't mention it, Andrew," Vivian was getting ready to attack next. "I'll protect you from anything that tries to hurt you."
With that, she teleported into the shadows and popped up right in front of the Dark Bones. In a matter of seconds, she decked him with her Shade Fist, leaving a rather nasty burn on his head. Of course, since the Dark Bones was already dead, it didn't seem to care about it.
Bobbery then stepped up and performed his Bomb Squad attack by summoning three Bomb Squad time bombs to surround the Dark Bones and the Dry Bones horde. They would go off in five minutes.
In the meantime, he then stepped up and lit his fuse before approaching the Dark Bones, and unleashed his Bomb attack on it.
He exploded right in front of him, as the Dark Bones felt more damage from the blast that he had to endure. Bobbery regenerated and landed next to Andrew.
"Looking good, guys," Andrew proclaimed. "We're getting there!"
"Hmmm, yes we are," Ms. Mowz cracked her fingers. "I believe it's my turn, so I shall make the most of it."
With that, Ms. Mowz approached the Dark Bones before jumping up and landing on top of him before she unleashed her Love Slap on him, smacking him three times before swatting at the face with her heart-shaped tail.
The Dark Bones then tried to use his Bone Throw on Andrew. While the muscular man was able to get out of the way, he could feel the impact that the move could've had on him.
"Whoa," Andrew rubbed his right arm. "That Dark Bones packs a punch. So let's continue to put up a fight with it!"
Andrew then charged over and unleashed his Power Bounce on the Dark Bones. He struck him at least 9 times in a row before leaping off. Goombella then followed by delivering a Headbonk, and then Koops plowed through the Dark Bones with his Power Shell.
"My, my! I do believe that we shall have the upper hand soon enough," Flurrie then puckered her lips. "In any case, I shall show this brute how the glamourous Madame Flurrie does her work!"
With that, Flurrie floated over and grabbed the Dark Bones. She then used her Lip Lock attack on him, by smooching him and draining away his energy. Once she was done with that, she added it to her own, as the Dark Bones was feeling more damage done to him.
But he didn't get time to react when Yoshiam had already laid four Mini-Eggs and tossed them as the Dark Bones. Yoshiam then marched up and used his Gulp attack by grabbing him with his tongue and putting him in his mouth.
"You got it, Yoshiam," Andrew had gotten out his Ultra Bat. "Now toss that bone bag over here and let 'er rip!"
Yoshiam nodded as he then spat the Dark Bones out towards Andrew, with his Ultra Bat ready. Once he was within his range, Andrew swung his Ultra Bat and sent the Dark Bones flying upward before crashing down into a pile.
As soon as the Dark Bones had stood back up, Vivian had waved her index finger of her right hand and unleashed her Fiery Jinx on him. He was engulfed in flames and was covered in soot. Still, he did not turn to ashes since he still had some fight in him.
At that moment, the Dark Bones let out a whistle and summoned four Dry Bones from the crowd to assist him. This got Andrew and his friends a little shocked at this unexpected twist.
By now, the five-minute time limit had expired, as the Bomb Squad time bombs went off, blowing up in the face of the Dark Bones, and those of the other Dry Bones.
Ms. Mowz decided to do something about it with her Tease move. She made three copies of herself to get the Dark Bones and its Dry Bones comrades dizzy. They felt like they were in a daze when they were each met with several rounds of Love Slaps from Ms. Mowz and her three copies.
As soon as she was done, the three copies vanished and Ms. Mowz scurried back over to Andrew's side. They were still surprised that they were willing to put up a fight.
"Ummm...Andrew?" Koops decided to point out. "Maybe we're outnumbered or something..."
"Omigosh! There's so many of them!" Goombella yelled.
"Mercy me! I daresay, they are quite the boisterous bunch, are they not!?" Flurrie gasped.
"Who cares? Let's take 'em out!" Yoshiam declared. "I'll send these boneheads back to their graves if I have to!"
"But we're outnumbered," Vivian frowned at this. "And I think some of us are getting tired..."
"I must say, this has turned out to be quite exhaustion for the likes of us, eh?" Bobbery had to admit.
"Hmmm, we do seem to be having trouble with these guys," Ms. Mowz rubbed her chin. "But whatever should we do about them?"
"Well guys, I think this situation calls for a special move," Andrew took out his Magical Map. "And it's one that I haven't used in a while."
"Jeepers!" Goombella gasped as she saw Andrew summon the Diamond Star. "You mean it's 'totally' time for that!?"
"Yup," Andrew had the Diamond Star hovering over his head. "It's time to give these skeletal Koopas a little taste of Earth Tremor! Everyone get on!"
As soon as the Diamond Star landed on the ground, all eight of them jumped onto it, leaving the Dark Bones and his comrades stunned. At first, it seemed like a tight fit, as it seemed overcrowded for all eight of them to stand atop it.
But the more concentration Andrew put into his attack, the bigger the Diamond Star got. This meant that all eight of them were given more space as it got larger.
Eventually, after several moments had gone by, the Diamond Star was now six times its usual size, as it then slammed into the ground multiple times, unleashing its Earth Tremor on the Dark Bones and the horde of Dry Bones that were assisting him.
The tremors were strong enough to deal a significant amount of damage to them, and as soon as it was done, the Dark Bones collapsed, the Diamond Star disappeared, and all eight heroes jumped off of it as it vanished.
Seeing that the Dark Bones would get back up in four minutes, and the fact that the Dry Bones surrounding them would engage in a fight to avenge their fallen leader, Andrew decided it was time to clear out the trash that was surrounding them.
"All right. Let's wrap this up," Andrew then faced Bobbery. "OK, Bobbery? Be sure to give all of these Dry Bones your biggest explosion and put them and their leader out of commission for good!"
"I shall do the honor, old boy," Bobbery nodded as he got ready. "These ruffians will likely not want to wrangle with the rest of us after this, am I right in saying so?"
With that, Bobbery marched up as he was about to unleash his Bob-ombast attack. Just like before, large fumes started forming as Bobbery lit his fuse. When he was in front of the collapsed Dark Bones, he was flashing red as a bunch of fumes were hovering right over him.
Then in an instant, Bobbery exploded and unleashed his Bob-ombast on everything in the room. The Dark Bones had turned to ash, as did the Dry Bones tha tried to mess with them, and the heroes had gotten this fight to a close.
As soon as Bobbery regenerated and landed right next to Andrew, all of the Dry Bones that were still in the room turned to dust upon seeing their leader had fallen. A Palace Key was dropped from the ashes where the Dark Bones once stood.
"Whew," Andrew wiped his forehead as he noticed that they were the only ones in the hallway again. "Sure glad that's over. Those guys certainly didn't mess around."
"No kidding, Andrew," Goombella huffed. "Those guys were gnarly. And I'm glad that we sent them back to their graves and away from us, y'know?"
"Yeah... Good job, Andrew," Koops said. "They sure were tougher than those that we fought at Hooktail Castle... Cannot deny that in the slightest."
"I daresay, we sure were fortunate that we disposed of them when we did," Flurrie sighed. "My, I am most certain that those louts shan't be messing with us anytime soon, my darling Andrew."
"No kidding, Presto," Yoshiam gave him a thumbs up. "We send 'em packing, and now they're gone. We rock!"
"Yeah! We did good, Andrew," Vivian smiled shyly. "I'm glad that we got rid of them before something terrible happened to us!"
"Aye! I don't suppose that they'll be trifling with us again if I must say, Andrew," Bobbery proclaimed. "Our fortitude certainly proved to be too much for these scoundrels, eh?"
"Yes. We sure got rid of them, Andrew," Ms. Mowz said as she grabbed the Palace Key. "And look. This key is probably what'll unlock the door in front of us. You might as well use it, dearie."
"Great idea. Thanks, Ms. Mowz," Andrew accepted the key from her as he approached the locked door.
From there, he inserted the key into the padlock, turned it, caused the padlock to fall off, and it disappeared shortly afterwards. With that, he was able to push open the door and allow the eight of them to continue onward.
"Well guys, looks like we can move on," Andrew motioned his friends to follow. "Let's continue."
All eight of them went through the door to see what other obstacles they'd have to deal with in the next room.
The next room that they ended up in was yet another corridor that looked identical to the third room that they had gone through since entering the Palace of Shadow.
Andrew was able to claim an Ultra Shroom from a ?-block that was located near the entrance of the room that they came through. Andrew took a look down and realized that the room was identical to the one that they already went through.
"Well, looks like we have to go down to the bottom again," Andrew pointed out. "This looks just like the last one that we went through."
"Can't argue with that. There's a long hall leading down from here," Goombella then felt herself grimace at this. "It kinda feels like the earth is slowly swallowing us as we progress down. Yuck."
"Yeah..." Andrew shared her sentiments. "I have to wonder how far down this palace will lead us to the area where this cataclysm is resting..."
"Ummm... Andrew? There's something else that we have to deal with," Koops took notice of something in front of them. "Look!"
Andrew then saw that there were two Bombshell Bill Blasters at the end of the path before they'd reach the stairs leading down. Andrew didn't look worried, as he had a confident smile and was willing to dispose of them.
"No worries. We can handle this," Andrew got out his Ultra Bat. "Do you mind helping me with this, Koops?"
"Sure!" Koops nodded as both of them charged for the Bombshell Bill Blasters.
Every Bombshell Bill that was fired at them was met by a slam of Andrew's Ultra Bat as Koops dashed forward in his shell. Each Bombshell Bill that tried to charge at them had been smacked out of the way with the Ultra Bat.
Once they were in front of the Bombshell Bill Blasters, Andrew used his Piercing Slam on one of the Bombshell Bill Blasters, before Koops used his Shell Slam to plow through both of them.
As soon as Andrew used his Piercing Slam on the other Bombshell Bill Blaster that he hadn't attacked, both of them were dispatched and exploded on the spot.
Seeing that they were finished, the eight heroes went down the stairs and continued to head to the bottom. Two Phantom Embers tried to ambush them to keep them from going any further, but Andrew punched their lights out thanks to his Ice Power badge, as Bobbery properly dispatched them with his Bomb attack.
Eventually, they reached the bottom, with the door at the end of the path being blocked off by two more Bombshell Bill Blaster. Just like the ones in the previous work, Yoshiam and Bobbery made quick work out of them and were able to dispatch them in a flash.
Once they exploded, the eight heroes were able to approach the door and went right through it to see what was in the room following this one.
The next room that they ended up in was just an ordinary room, with nothing noteworthy about it in comparison to the other rooms. There were three ?-blocks, one of which was a red ?-block. Andrew was able to claim a P-Up, D-Down P badge from the red ?-block in the center north, which he put into his badge kit.
The ?-block on the right contained a Jammin' Jelly that Andrew claimed and put into his backpack. And finally, the ?-block on the left contained a single coin, which Andrew claimed and put with the rest of his money.
"Wow," Andrew was impressed with the treasures that he claimed. "I'm impressed that we found this stuff in here, given that this room isn't noteworthy in the slightest."
"No duh. There doesn't seem to be anything special here," Goombella shared before frowning. "Still, it has that same gross feeling... even though it's so nice and spacious..."
"I have to wonder if the whole palace has that feel," Andrew then saw two Dry Bones and a Phantom Ember trying to attack them. "Well, looks like we got more company. No matter. Let's see how they like being treated to a little Clock Out."
With that, Andrew took out his Magical Map and summoned the Emerald Star to perform Clock out. The Emerald Star went into the air and transformed into a time bomb, as Andrew put all of his focus into it.
Once the time bomb was big enough to explode, Andrew pointed towards the two Dry Bones and the Phantom Ember, causing the time bomb to get flung towards them, and explode once it hit them. They were frozen in time and were unable to do anything to them as the Emerald Star turned back to normal and disappeared afterwards.
With them being unable to defend, Andrew and Bobbery were able to make quick work out of them, as they were dispatched in a matter of seconds.
Seeing how that two Dry Bones had turned to ashes, and the Phantom Ember fizzled out upon being dispatched, there was nothing in the room that could stop them from proceeding. Andrew then walked over and opened the door for them.
"Well guys, shall we continue forward?" Andrew suggested.
"Of course," all seven of them said in unison.
The eight of them went through the door and ended up in another strange room.
The room that they had entered had some stairs making an X shape in the center, and the room had two floors. There was something about the room that seemed off and suspicious to the muscular man.
"Guys? Something about this room seems off," Andrew rubbed his chin. "I mean, there's something suspicious about this room. I can feel it."
"I can feel it too. I mean, it seems normal... but I bet there's a secret here..." Goombella looked all around her. "We should check EVERYTHING to make sure there's nothing amiss, don'tcha think?"
"I can't argue with that, Goombella," Andrew proclaimed. "And you know what that means, right?"
"Right..." Goombella shared. "Look for anything out of the ordinary..."
"Yeah," Andrew then had to ask. "But what seems out of place in this room? Hmmmm..."
"Hey, Andrew," Koops saw something that caught his attention. "Get a look at the torch over there! The one lit near the door just across from us!"
"Hmmm?" Andrew then looked and saw it for himself as the torch was lit near the door across from them.
He then looked at the other three torches that weren't lit, including the ones from upstairs. Andrew then felt this sensation in his gut that they'd have to go through this room multiple times until they could get through the puzzle here. And the puzzle, in question, must involve the torches that were lit and going through the door that's near the lit torch.
"Guys? I have a feeling that we'll have to go through this room several times just to solve this puzzle," Andrew shared with them. "And it might involve the torches, and us taking the door that has a lit torch near it."
"By the stars, Andrew!" Flurrie gasped. "I do believe you're right! Very well. That is what we shall do, yes?"
"That's right, Flurrie," Andrew nodded as he then directed his next question to all seven of them. "You guys ready to get this done and over with?"
"Totally!" Goombella beamed. "The sooner we get done solving this puzzle and mystery, the sooner we'll be able to press forward!"
"Good call!" Koops gave him a thumbs up. "Man... Might as well see what kind of secret is in this room. Let's do this right!"
"Absolutely!" Flurrie boomed joyously. "We shall make our way through this puzzling room and continue forward through this treacherous palace! Come along now, darling!"
"Rock on, dude!" Yoshiam jumped up and cheered. "The sooner we can get through some dumb trap of a puzzle, the sooner we can fight whatever else comes our way! Let's break out, Presto!"
"I agree, Andrew!" Vivian nodded. "We better get moving and get by here if we hope to get to the cataclysm before Grodus does! Let's go!"
"I must say, that is some rather capital thinking, old boy!" Bobbery agreed. "It might be beneficial to us if we can solve whatever kind of treacherous traps that this cursed place has in store for us if we hope to continue forward, hm?"
"Yes. We might as well get to the bottom of the secret in this room!" Ms. Mowz said rather slyly. "Let's investigate a little into the mystery of this strange room, sweetie!"
"OK," Andrew headed to the door that had the lit torch. "Let's get started!"
"Yeah!" All seven of them cheered simultaneously as they went through the door that Andrew opened up for them.
As it turns out, they had to go through the same room over and over again as they chose the correct door that had a lit torch near it. By the end of it, the doors that they had to go through came in this particular order:
Bottom, bottom, top, top, bottom, top, and bottom.
By the time all was said and done, the eight heroes were finally able to get out of the rather endless and crazy room, just so they could move onward.
Of course, the madness that they had endured so far since they entered the Palace of Shadow was nothing compared to what was waiting ahead for them. But the eight heroes were going to find out about them for themselves. There was no doubt about it at all...
END OF CHAPTER 74...
Well, that's it for this chapter. Whew. It took me a while to finish this chapter. I apologize for the wait, but I had some delays to deal with on my end. Not only that, but I decided to create a new cover picture for this story.
The other one seemed bland as it only had Andrew. The new one I did has Andrew and all seven of his friends that he has in this story. Still, I hope you all enjoyed the story, even after the unexpected wait.
Anyway, I'm not gonna hesitate when I say that the next chapter will feature Andrew finally revealing his past and backstory to his seven friends, seeing that he seems upset about how they'll part ways soon.
Also, the concept of the Death Shroom will be brought up again, as I had planned in the beginning, as Andrew manages to let go of any inner demons, trauma, and sadness that he may have felt throughout most of his adult life.
Not only will Andrew finally let out every to his friends about the death of his mom, the fact that his brother constantly bullied him, and the fact that the stolen identity crisis left him feeling scarred and doubtful that he kept the Death Shroom all this time.
It will also show just how close the seven of them are to Andrew, that they would NEVER think anything less about him, and that they're always gonna stick with him no matter what, which is what convinces Andrew to finally feel a weight lifted off of him, and will no longer doubt himself when he's around the seven of them.
And of course, the eight heroes end up encountering the dragon named Gloomtail; the brother of Hooktail, and they also end up learning about the truth of Hooktail and its gender, followed by a fight with Gloomtail.
And some other things will occur. How will this go for them? Read and find out next time, readers!
For now, only if you like, you can leave a review and let me know what you thought about this chapter.
Otherwise, I have nothing else to say. So until next time, I do hope you will look forward to the following chapter. And on that note, thanks again for reading, everyone!