Paper Andrew & The Thousand-Year Door

by Parent12D

AU. What if someone else went to Rogueport instead of Mario? What if someone explored the region in his place? What if someone else collected the Crystal Stars just to find Princess Peach? This story has the answers as an original character goes on the exact same journey that Mario went on in the Rogueport region in the tale of the Thousand-Year Door.

80. The Shadow Queen's Dark Awakening

OK, fellow readers. This is the 80th chapter of this story.

Now, I'm just gonna say that we've officially reached the climax of this entire story, and we're getting close to the final boss and the grand finale.

As of right now, there are only five chapters left, with this chapter being one of them. So after this chapter, there will be only four left. Just want to give all of you a heads-up on that.

Anyway, this is the chapter that officially starts the nightmare. Grodus ends up revealing the intention of the demon spirit; the Shadow Queen, and that she'll possess Peach's body, and Andrew and his friends will be in for a horrifying sight.

In addition, all of the places Andrew has been to will notice it getting dark with a shadow looming over them, including Rogueport. All of the places will have extra dialogue from certain characters that I think should play a relevant role here, especially when Andrew is in trouble.

And Grodus will not only get what he deserves when he thinks he can tell the Shadow Queen what to do, but it'll also reveal that someone else was pulling the strings with the X-Nauts all along in the shadows, 'literally'.

Other stuff that'll be revealed includes how Beldam played a role in all of this, how Vivian never knew anything about Beldam's intentions, and how the group refuses to become the Queen's servants, which results in them fighting her.

'And' when she enters her true form, nothing but hopelessness and despair will cloud the heroes. And some other stuff will occur.

How will Andrew, his friends, and the entire world react towards the biggest nightmare in the millennium that is reawoken once again? Find out now, readers!

---

IN THE DEEPEST PART OF THE PALACE OF SHADOW:

Andrew and his seven friends went through the door and ended up in the Cataclysm's crypt, which was at the very bottom of the palace. Before they went in there, Andrew decided to put on the badges that he felt he'd need the most.

Some of the badges he put on included the Attack FX B badge, the Close Call and Close Call P badges, the Defend Plus and Defend Plus P badges, the Feeling Fine badge, the Last Stand and Last Stand P badges.

Others that he put on consisted of the Lucky Start badge, the Mega Rush and Mega Rush P badges, the Power Rush and Power Rush P badges, the Pretty Lucky badge, and even put on the Charge and Charge P badges.

Andrew 'really' wanted to play it safe, and when he told his partners about this, they agreed with him. There was no telling what kind of danger was beyond that door. So they went along with it.

Once they went through that door, the first thing that Andrew noticed was all of the lit candles placed everywhere in the room, properly lined up on both sides, and scattered towards the back of the room.

Before Andrew could contemplate the setup of the room any further, he heard a loud screech come from the other end of the room.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" That belonged to Princess Peach, which got Andrew and his seven friends to shoot their heads up ahead of them.

The Mushroom Kingdom Princess was sprawled out on the floor in front of a crypt coffin, on her stomach in a state where she was unable to move.

And right in front of her was Sir Grodus, who was in a state of fever madness and fueled by the desire for world conquest.

For someone who was in the worst condition right now, and was badly beaten up, Grodus was still able to stand, even after the brutal beatdown that Andrew and his seven friends gave to him. It was clear that he had something planned.

"Too bad for you, Andrew!" Sir Grodus bellowed, pointing his scepter at him. "You're too late!"

"What?" Andrew gave him a bewildered look before shaking his head and narrowing his eyes at him.

"What's going on?!" Goombella screamed, not liking the atmosphere of this room.

"What's happening here?!" Koops yelled, keeping his composure in check as he kept a brave face on.

"What is all this?!" Flurrie boomed frantically, feeling dread from the room that they had just entered.

"What's going on here?!" Yoshiam howled, not having any idea what was going on, as he felt his head spinning.

"What's happening?!" Vivian yelped, the churning feeling in her stomach increasing tenfold as she frowned.

"What's this madness?!" Bobbery shouted as he demanded answers from the X-Naut boss himself.

"What's going on here?!" Ms. Mowz squeaked, feeling her tail twitch at the incoming danger that was before them.

"What is it that you're trying to do, Sir Grodus?!" Andrew sneered, pointing angrily towards him for answers.

Sir Grodus, of course, brushed that off with a wave from his hand as he then directed their attention to the crypt coffin behind Princess Peach. Certainly, some gloating about his true plan towards Andrew and the others wouldn't hurt, would it?

"Gaack ack ack!" Grodus cackled before revealing to them. "Look well! In the coffin behind me sleeps the legendary treasure! This tomb holds the soul of that ancient demon, the wielder of destruction, known as the Shadow Queen..."

"The Shadow Queen?" Andrew winced as he raised an eyebrow. "Is that what you said?"

Grodus only huffed as he then finished what he intended for Princess Peach in this scheme of his. "It will possess Peach's body...and bring life to the most powerful witch in millennia!"

Now Andrew was horrified by what he heard. He did not just hear that. He did NOT just hear how Grodus was gonna allow the Shadow Queen to possess Peach's body, did he? Surely, Grodus was just jiving with them right now, right?

His friends were just as horrified, as they couldn't believe what they had heard. Just hearing what Grodus said was enough to allow the horror to sink in.

"Possess Peach?!" Andrew, Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, Yoshiam, Vivian, Bobbery, and Ms. Mowz all yelled simultaneously in shock and absolute horror, with Koops stuttering a bit before he finished with the others.

"That's what Princess Peach was trying to tell me in her last e-mail," Andrew was quick to piece it together. "They need her body to serve as a vessel for the Shadow Queen to take possession of her body..."

Princess Peach was just barely able to see the expression on Andrew's face, and how it looked like he was horrified and in a state of disarray. She felt sorry for him.

Here she got kidnapped to be used as a vessel for a thousand-year-old demon, and Andrew got tangled up in her affairs. She would have felt the same with Mario if he had gone on this adventure, but Andrew was someone she barely knew at all.

She had to express her sorrow for getting him into this mess, as she found her voice and gave him a full-on apology.

"A-Andrew..." Princess Peach uttered weakly, getting his attention. "I'm so s-sorry... Finding that map that you got possession of..."

She then paused for a minute to catch her breath before she finished. "...caused all this trouble, didn't it..."

"You have NOTHING to apologize for, Princess!" Andrew told her sincerely and with determination. "I will get you out of this mess and get you back to the Mushroom Kingdom safely, where you belong! I promise!"

"Yeah," all seven of his friends said in unison; a sign that they were gonna have Andrew's back, no matter what.

Sir Grodus, by contrast, had been dismissive of Andrew's determination to save the princess. He was way too eager to unleash the Shadow Queen onto the world just so he could be able to fulfill his plans for world domination.

But what Sir Grodus didn't know what that there was some truth about the Shadow Queen that he didn't know about, and that it would come back and bite him in the butt. But he would find out for himself when it was too late. That was a given.

"Gaaaack ack ack ack ack!" Grodus cackled before declaring. "With the power of the demon, I will rule this pathetic world!"

Andrew then got a good look at Grodus's face. He truly was bent on completing his scheme for world conquest. And he was willing to screw over billions upon billions of people, just to prove it.

Grodus, for his part, was overconfident in the fact that his plan would work. He had Peach scrawled out onto the floor in front of the tomb that the Shadow Queen was going to come out of.

Moments prior, Grodus had injected some immobile serum into Peach's body with his scepter. The serum would last only ten minutes at the longest, but that was plenty of time for the Shadow Queen to reawaken and take possession of Peach's body before she could do anything about it.

Feeling that he was done flaunting his scheme, he decided to get his plan underway.

"The time has come at last! The world will be mine!" Grodus sounded insane when he shouted that as he turned to face the crypt coffin behind Peach. "Now! Arise! ARISE! My Shadow Queen!"

In a swift movement, Grodus waved his scepter to break the seal that the Shadow Queen was sealed in. Andrew and his friends had no idea how to react to this, as several white lights were shown flashing into their faces.

As soon as that was done, all of the flames on the candles went out with steam in their place. Immediately afterwards, the candles were relit with a rather dark-looking purplish-black flame on each of them.

The room then suddenly got that much colder and more ominous, and the eight heroes were quick to pick up on this.

"Jeepers. Did it suddenly get colder in here or what?" Goombella winced and shivered as she huddled near Andrew.

"Ummmm... Andrew?" Koops tugged on his shirt. "Is it just me? Or does it feel more...ominous and scary in here?"

"No. It does feel cold and ominous in here," Andrew gulped and said in absolute horror. "Something tells me that something bad is going to happen. And that our worst nightmare is just about to begin."

As soon as he finished that, a green neon light flashed from inside the coffin, and the lid of it started to shake vigorously. The lid slowly slid off onto the floor behind the coffin, as a nightmarish green light emitted from inside the coffin.

It was then a dark swirling shadowy vortex emerged from the coffin, spreading an ominous bleak cold air throughout the whole room.

"Oh, my! Mercy me!" Flurrie yelled in horror. "Andrew? I do believe something sinister is unfolding before us. And this must be the work of this Shadow Queen, who shall be coming out from that coffin as we speak."

"Presto? This is starting to creep me out," Yoshiam had to admit while shivering. "What's going on here, man?"

"I think the Shadow Queen is waking up from her thousand-year slumber," Andrew stated as he then saw two massive shadow hands grip the edge of the coffin. "And we're about to see her right now..."

As soon as he finished, a giant rusted crown came out from the coffin, which had ruby diamonds on all parts of the crown, similar to how Peach's crown is set up. Emerging fully from the coffin, surrounded by that shadowy vortex was the Shadow Queen herself.

The Shadow Queen was, well, depicted as a colossal shadow demon who was colored purple. Aside from being purple, her body was also starry and had an elongated form.

Her hair wasn't any better, as it was incredibly long and curly, was grayed purple, and also had that starry effect coming from it. The only other noteworthy thing that Andrew noticed was the fact that she only had small pale lips on her face, while her eyes were invisible.

It was similar to that of the Shadow Sirens. Could the Shadow Queen have some sort of a connection with the Shadow Sirens at all? And was this the 'she' that Beldam was referring to earlier?

The Shadow Queen had stretched out her massive shadowy arms as she had been awoken for the first time in over a millennium. She then lowered her arms and was now towering over an immobile Princess Peach and an eager world-conquest-lusting Sir Grodus.

"Hey, Andrew?" Vivian tugged on his shirt and remained next to him. "Is... Is that...the Shadow Queen herself?"

"I think she is, Vivian," Andrew nodded, as having Vivian near him gave him this warm feeling under him.

"Omigosh," Goombella gagged at the sight of her. "That is like, so 'totally' gnarly and creepy, y'know?"

"Can't argue with you there," Andrew agreed as he kept her close.

"Gosh..." Koops gulped. "Ummm... She seems...horrifying."

"Horrifying is a good way to describe her," Andrew agreed with him.

"But...she seems rather...familiar to me," Vivian had to admit with a vague memory. "Why is that?"

"Perhaps she might hold the key to your origin?" Andrew guessed while shrugging.

"Maybe," Vivian trailed off, sounding a little doubtful about that.

"By Blabbery's blotches!" Bobbery took notice of how eager Grodus was about all of this. "Old boy? That Grodus cad doesn't seem to be the wee bit distraught at the fact that this shadowy witch could [wreck] havoc upon the world. Truly a travesty of the worst kind, if I do say so myself."

"Well, I think this was Grodus's plan all along, Bobbery," Andrew nodded as he then noticed something was off. "But something tells me that things aren't going to go according to Grodus's plan. And that this is only the start of it."

"My, my! I do believe you're right, Andrew," Flurrie gasped. "I daresay, this shan't be looking good for the rest of the planet, let alone the Rogueport region. I am quite certain of that."

"Yes. I have to agree with you there, Flurrie," Ms. Mowz agreed. "Something tells me that the world is about to witness the dark effects of the Shadow Queen's rebirth."

"Yo, Presto," Yoshiam got his attention as he was confused by that. "What's that supposed to mean, exactly?"

"I think what she's saying is that the world is going to suffer from the effects of the Shadow Queen's reawakening," Andrew explained to him. "In other words, I am certain that the skies will darken, and every location will be engulfed by a dark shadow hovering over the world."

All seven of his friends could only nod as the eight of them could only watch on, wondering how her presence here would impact the world, especially all of the locations in the Rogueport region that they've been to since this adventure started...

---

IN ROGUEPORT:

All of the citizens in Rogueport were going about their usual business, especially in the Rogueport Plaza. Toadsworth was also outside, standing in front of the gallows as he was getting some fresh air.

He was planning to head to the harbor to meet up with Mario, whom Andrew said would be showing up to Rogueport at any second. But he decided to take a breather before doing so.

Also standing outside was Antoine the Little Mouser who was temporarily in charge of the Lovely Howz of Badges while Ms. Mowz was away, as well as Flavio.

The former decided that he needed to get some fresh air in the center of the plaza, while the latter needed to step out of Podley's place to get some fresh air as well.

The three of them, along with everyone else who was standing outside were just standing there, enjoying their day without a care in the world. All of that changed in a millisecond when suddenly, a dark shadow clouded over the entire town of Rogueport, getting everyone on alert as people were panicking. The sky then suddenly turned dark moments later. Needless to say, Toadsworth, Antoine, and Flavio were confused by what just happened.

"I say," Toadsworth was rather perplexed as he adjusted his glasses. "When in blazes did the sky suddenly turn dark? And where did that vast shadow come from? Oh, my. This doesn't seem to bode well in the slightest."

"No kidding!" Antoine agreed. "Dark skies on a day like this, with a shadow covering us? This isn't good for business!"

"Ah, these dark skies have me confuzzled as well," Flavio commented. "Who dares shower Flavio's head with such a dark and bleak sky? I demand to know who's responsible for plaguing these skies with a, what do you say? A travesty, if you will. Flavio demands answers at once!"

Toadsworth and Antoine gave him a strange look before disregarding his answer, as the former then decided to comment on something else.

"Ahem. Yes, well, in any case," Toadsworth adjusted his glasses. "I surely do hope that Master Mario shows up soon. These dank skies aren't doing any good for the rest of us, most of all Her Highness herself."

"I understand!" Antoine agreed loudly. "I sure hope that Ms. Mowz is staying safe right now! She put me in charge of the badge shop while she was away! And I hope that she and her friend Andrew can get this situation all squared away!"

"Yes. Of course," Toadsworth nodded. "I certainly hope that Master Andrew can find Princess Peach and bring her back to the harbor. Not to mention, do something about this treacherous sky that looms before us."

"Ah, fret now, you silly old goose," Flavio assured him. "I know Captain Andrew from our expedition to Keelhaul Key, and if there's one thing I know, it's that he knows to never give up! You can trust me you fine chaps. Flavio has full confidence in Captain Andrew that he can save the world. And the rest of you must do so as well."

"Ahem. I see. Fair point," Toadsworth said awkwardly. "That's pretty much all we can do at this very moment. Until Master Andrew takes care of this mess."

"I agree," Antoine nodded. "That's the least we can do for Andrew, Ms. Mowz, and the rest of their friends!"

"That's the spirit, you fine folks," Flavio declared. "Let us wait this out, have faith in Captain Andrew and his crew, and hope for the best."

Toadsworth and Antoine said nothing else as they remained quiet. All they could do was hope that Andrew could settle this predicament. And for Mario to show up for Toadsworth to greet him, while everyone else decided to take shelter before the worst could happen...

---

IN PETALBURG:

Meanwhile, in Petalburg, the residents were going about with their usual business, as they felt comfort that Hooktail was no longer terrorizing them. Mayor Kroop was outside, getting some fresh air and smelling the scent of his Turtley Leaf bush. Koopley and Koopie Koo were outside as well, wanting to get some nice fresh air since it seemed nice out, as it always did.

Sadly, all of this changed immediately when the sky started to turn dark above them. This led to the residents obtaining confused looks on their faces, wondering if it was going to rain right now.

That wasn't the case, as a vast shadow ended up covering their fair village, getting all of their attention, as they were frantically wondering what was going on right now.

Where did this shadow come from? And why did the sky turn dark? Mayor Kroop was also worried right now, as he walked away from his bush and looked all around him at this unexpected phenomenon.

"Uh... Er... Whuh... Hmmm... Umm..." Mayor Kroop was struggling to say something before it came out in a slight stutter. "Wh-What's going on?"

"Mayor Kroop?!" That came from Koopley, who walked over to the mayor along with Koopie Koo. "What's happening? I was just taking a nice walk around town, smelling the flowers, and checking out the waterbed when suddenly, the sky got dark and this shadow covered us!"

"Errr...I dunno, Koopley," Kroop rubbed his hand across his beard. "I wish I knew myself. I was just sniffing the fine Turtley Leaf bush in my garden when suddenly, this dang blasted shadow came straight out of nowhere!"

"Well, it's got everyone concerned, and acting frantic about an attack that's going to happen," Koopley remarked. "This isn't as bad as being eaten by a dragon and being in Hooktail's belly for ten years. But it still has me creeped out..."

"Koopley? What's going on?" Koopie Koo had to ask him while shivering. "Why did the sky turn dark? And why is there a shadow covering us? This doesn't look good."

"I know. I feel the same way," Koopley told her. "But this is something that I'm not sure of."

"I see," Kroop nodded slowly at this. "Well now, until some miracle happens, I believe dark times are upon us, folks."

"Right," Koopie Koo frowned. "This is kinda scary. I don't like this. I dunno what to do..."

"Neither do I," Koopley agreed.

"Guess we oughta just stay put until these skies clear up," Kroop suggested with a shrug.

Koopley and Koopie Koo said nothing else as they stayed put along with the Mayor himself. The rest of the residents decided to head indoors and remain in safety and comfort until some miracle happens...

---

IN FRONT OF THE GREAT TREE:

In front of the Great Tree, all of the Punies were outside, getting some nice brisk air from the graceful tranquility of the Boggly Woods, while taking a break from being inside of their tree for the moment.

Punio was outside and accompanied by Petuni, Puniper, the Puni Elder, and the remaining 98 regular Punies that were behind them. Also accompanying Punio was Jabble, as he needed some fresh air as well, as he felt to spend some time with his childhood friend.

Before any of them could comment on the beautiful air that's typical for the Boggly Woods, the sky above them turned dark, getting them confused and wondering if an unexpected rain shower was about to occur.

That wasn't the case at all, as a dark vast shadow covered right over their heads, getting all of them shocked and worried about what was going on. Petuni had to huddle close to her big brother, scared about what was taking place in their peaceful home.

"...B-Brother?" Petuni asked, with a frightened stutter.

"The...sky... It's..." Punio started saying before he paused, as he was unable to say it himself.

"Dark..." The Puni Elder finished for him. "Yes. I do believe that is the right word, is it not?"

"Elder! Come on!" Punio had to tell her. "This is not the time for that! Something happened and now a shadow is hovering over our head!"

Jabble couldn't say anything, but it was clear by his expression and the fact that he was jumping frantically that he was just as scared as the rest of them.

"I know Jabble," Punio understood what he was saying. "I'm scared too. But...I don't know why this is happening..."

"Well, Punio? What do we do now?" Puniper had to ask him, as he was also shivering like the rest of them. "You helped lead us during tough times when those X-Naut fiends invaded our tree. Do you know what we should do now? Hmm?"

"I... I wish I knew, Puniper," Punio sighed sadly and regretfully. "But this is one situation that is beyond my control..."

"Big brother? What's going on?" Petuni asked softly with a frightened tone. "Why is this happening to us?"

Punio had to look at his frightened sister straight in the eye, as he 'clearly' didn't have an answer to this. The most he could settle with was one simple answer. And it wasn't an uplifting one either. After clearing his throat, he finally decided to answer.

"Petuni, my sister," Punio then said in a grim tone of voice. "I think the world is doomed..."

With that, they didn't say anything else, as the 98 other Punies were urging to run, panic, and hide for cover. However, they stayed put for Punio's sake and the fact that the Puni Elder would've instructed all of them to remain together.

So that's what they did, along with Punio, Petuni, Puniper, the Puni Elder, and Jabble. They could only hope and wonder that some miracle would occur that would brighten their fair sky again...

---

IN GLITZVILLE:

Up in the city of Glitzville, the place was as busy as it ever was, as everyone there was going about their usual business. Jolene, in particular, was outside getting some fresh air for a few moments. She did have to hold an incoming match for the Rawk Hawk, but having some nice air wouldn't hurt, would it?

Before she could do anything else, the sky all around the city that they were floating in suddenly became dark. This didn't mean that they'd be expecting some rain right now, is it?

No. It was much worse, for in a matter of seconds, a vast shadow covered the floating city of Glitzville, getting everyone who was outside to jump and get all frantic about what was going on.

Jolene, while trying to maintain some calmness during this unexpected calamity, was just as worried as everyone else. Still, she was calm enough to say one thing regarding what was going on around them.

"What's all this?!" Jolene yelled abruptly before clearing her throat and saying more calmly. "The sky... It's turning dark..."

At that moment, the door leading into the building opened up, and stepping out was the Rawk Hawk. He was wondering what was keeping Jolene.

"Hey! What's all the ruckus, Jolene!?" Rawk Hawk asked her in annoyance. "My match is gonna start any moment now! And it can't unless you get into the Glitz Pit and hold my title match!"

Jolene had to turn to look at him and frowned. She hadn't forgotten. But because of what was happening, she'd have to hold it off, for they had a much more drastic problem on their hand.

"I must apologize, Mr. Rawk Hawk. But I'm afraid your title match will have to be postponed until further notice," Jolene said regretfully before giving the reason to him. "The sky turned dark, and this shadow is hovering over us. Everyone is panicking. And we can't hold a match when something this drastic has occurred. I hope you'll understand."

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Rawk Hawk was rather furious by this. "All right! That does it! Who is the wussy runt responsible for this dark sky and delaying my title match?! I hope that this coward gets dished with some unexpected beating and that he gets RAWKED! BIG TIME!"

At that moment, King K and Bandy Andy stepped outside to see what the commotion was about. The Armored Harriers walked outside too, as they needed some fresh air when they realized how dark it had gotten outside, and that a giant shadow was over their head.

"Yo, Ms. Jolene," King K got her attention. "What's happening?"

"Well, King K. I'm afraid I have some bad news," Jolene expressed herself. "The sky has darkened, and this shadow is hovering over our head. And everyone is frantic about this. I'm gonna have to hold off all matches until further notice."

"Whoa! The sky got dark and a shadow is clouding us?" King K had to adjust his shades, not liking the sound of a shadow hovering over their head. "This I don't dig one bit. I don't think I'm gonna be down with having a dark sky spoiling our fun. You dig what I'm saying, Jolene?"

"Yeah," Bandy Andy agreed. "This doesn't sound cool. Forget our matches. What's gonna happen to us?"

Jolene was unsure about how to answer that question. She saw the Armored Harriers remaining silent, but they looked just as freaked out by this dark vast shadow as the rest of them were. The Toad father and his son who were fans of Presto, Yoshiam, and Prince Mush, were also scared about what was happening, as they were outside looking around them.

"I...I don't know for sure, Bandy Andy," Jolene adjusted her glasses. "Until some miracle happens, it is what it is. And I apologize for the inconvenience."

"It's all cool, Jolene," King K said. "I just hope that something can get rid of this wicked gnarly shadow over our heads. There's no way I'm gonna hang in something such as this."

"Well, I just hope that this coward is happy," Rawk Hawk had to sneer. "But he better hope that he never runs into me. Because if he does, I'll give him a piece of a good old-fashioned RAWKING, and he'll fear the RAWK HAWK!"

"Yes. I see," Jolene remained calm and nonchalant about that. "Well, we might as well stay put for now."

"Right," Bandy Andy and King K nodded in agreement.

With that, they stayed put along with a begrudging Rawk Hawk. They could only wonder how long these dark shadowy skies would last for them, as the shop, juice bar, and Mr. Hoggle's Hot Dog Stand were closed up until further notice. Only time can tell if these predicaments will be resolved...

---

BACK IN THE PALACE OF SHADOW:

It was apparent that the Shadow Queen had fully come to her senses as she had been asleep for a thousand years. She had been responsible for plaguing all of the skies in darkness, as the true nightmare was starting for everyone.

Towering over everyone else that was in the room, the Shadow Queen cleared her throat and asked a simple question.

"Who...has called me back?" The Shadow Queen asked in what was by far, the most ominous and terrifying voice heard by anyone, and her voice was enough to send a chill down Andrew's spine. And the same went for his friends.

Grodus, by contrast, was over-ecstatic with anticipation, as he knew what this meant. Once the Shadow Queen took possession of Peach's body, the world would be his with the Shadow Queen under his order, or so he thought.

"It is I, my Shadow Queen!" Grodus boasted in such eagerness as he had been waiting for this moment.

The Shadow Queen slowly leered over to where Grodus was standing, even though her eyes weren't visible. She was a bit perplexed by him, but she didn't bother asking, seeing that she was awake at long last.

"You..." The Shadow Queen whispered grimly before she then asked. "Very well... Where is the vessel?"

"It is here!" Grodus wasted no time in pointing towards Peach with his scepter. "The girl who lies before you!"

The Shadow Queen then looked down towards where Peach was lying, as she was in front of her coffin. She was on her stomach and was still under the effects of the immobile serum that Grodus injected into her.

The effects were almost about to wear off, but they would last just long enough for the Shadow Queen to do her work. With a dark and sadistic grin on her face, the Shadow Queen expressed her enjoyment upon seeing her.

"Yessss... A fine vessel..." The Shadow Queen hissed darkly with glee. "Now..."

Without saying anything else, the Shadow Queen leaned over with her arms spread out as she lowered herself towards the Princess. Andrew was officially creeped out, as his gut was now churning tenfold at what he was seeing.

"Guys? I know things have gotten bad," Andrew frowned. "But something tells me that they're gonna get much worse!"

Before his friends could say anything, the Shadow Queen now had her complete grasp on Princess Peach, looking like she was making out with the beloved Mushroom Kingdom Princess.

With only her voice still working, Princess Peach let out a horrified, blood-curling scream in pain, agony, and terror. The Shadow Queen was possessing her body, as Grodus stood back and watched in slight sadistic glee at the shadowy vortex that was spinning around the Shadow Queen and Princess Peach.

It was then another white light flashed in front of everyone's faces, showing the shadows of the Shadow Queen and Peach, as Andrew and his seven friends could only react in horror upon what they were seeing.

"What the..." Andrew muttered as he squinted his eyes towards what was in front of them.

"Omigosh..." Goombella yelped, flinching at the light as she was scared by what she was witnessing.

"Ummm..." Koops was lost for words as he shivered upon what was happening.

"Oh, my..." Flurrie gasped in horror, placing her hand over her mouth at what she was seeing.

"Whoa..." Yoshiam moaned, wiping his eyes that were being blinded by the light as he saw what was happening.

"Uh oh..." Vivian whimpered meekly, frowning deeply in fear at what was taking place.

"What in blazes..." Bobbery murmured as he was staring in shock at what was occurring, as his mustache was twitching.

"Oh dear..." Ms. Mowz squeaked softly, feeling her heart-shaped tail twitching as she couldn't believe what she was seeing either.

"Guys, this can't be happening," Andrew uttered. "The worst is about to begin."

They didn't say anything, as the only thing the eight heroes could do was watch in horror at what the Shadow Queen was doing to Princess Peach, as the rest of the places they visited were being affected by this as well...

---

IN TWILIGHT TOWN:

The already bleak and dreary-looking Twilight Town had just gotten even darker with its darker sky, and the shadow that was looming over the heads of the Twilighters.

Then all of a sudden, things got worse for the villagers when a massive earthquake started shaking after a flashing light struck the town. All of the crows that were in the trees took this as their cue to fly away from the town, as the villagers were all panicking at what was occurring.

"Ungh... YEEEEEEEEK!" One of the Twilighters had a delayed reaction before yelling frantically.

"People!? People, please!?" Mayor Dour had witnessed their reaction as he tried to get them to settle down. "Things might look bad now with the calamity that's taking place. But let's not start panicking at the terror that is striking our fair eerie town!"

"Why shouldn't we, Mr. Mayor Dour?!" Eve was the one to have asked that as she was with her three children who were bawling and screaming in fear at what was happening. "My children are completely terrified of what's happening! Everyone is panicking over the chaos that is taking place! And this came out of nowhere! We should have a good reason to panic!"

"Well... I guess you have a point, but..." Mayor Dour then paused as he realized that nothing he could say could change their minds.

With a sigh, Mayor Dour then decided to announce. "Oh, who am I kidding? Everyone is allowed to panic as much as they need to! AUUUUGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"

With the Mayor's scream, all of the Twilighters resumed panicking and scattering at the incoming disaster that was striking their town, and many other places in the Rogueport region too...

---

ON KEELHAUL KEY:

On Keelhaul Key, it was evident that the earthquake was taking place there too, as Pa-Patch, two Grotto Toads, Thriff T, and a Bob-omb sailor were shown running back and forth in panic at what was taking place, while the sky was also dark, and a shadow loomed over their head.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! 'EEEEEEELLLLPPP MEEEEEEE!" Pa-Patch wailed in pure terror.

"PA-PATCH!" One of the Grotto Toads yelled. "What is happening!? Why is there an earthquake occurring?! Along with the dark sky and shadow looming over us!"

"I don't know, ya bloomin' bloke!" Pa-Patch exclaimed. "But I'm assumin' that...the end is 'ere!"

"The end!? Oh no!" Thriff T howled. "That won't be good for my business! This is terrible!"

"No kidding!" Another Grotto Toad agreed. "The time that this island was cursed by Cortez himself was nothing compared to this!"

"Pa-Patch!" The Bob-omb sailor felt like asking. "What should we do now!?"

"We run a'ound an' panic 'till things start lookin' up for us 'gain!" Pa-Patch declared. "Well, this is as bad as the time I fell o'erboard on a voyage at sea! With the good ol' legendary Admiral Bobbery! 'Cept it is an earthquake 'stead' of tidal waves! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

The others took Pa-Patch's advice to heart as they continued panicking on the island along with Pa-Patch. One could wonder how long the massive earthquake will last on not just Keelhaul Key, but the rest of the locations in the region too...

---

IN POSHLEY HEIGHTS:

Pennington was standing in front of his home known as the Poshley Sanctum around the time the earthquake started taking place, as he looked in all directions. Plenty of the residents were shown running around panicking, including Toodles, and the Bob-omb family.

Also worth noting was the fact that some of the employees of the Excess Express that were there to stock up on fuel were panicking too, namely the waitress and the conductor. Pennington was taking all of this in as he commented.

"What's all this, then?!" Pennington asked while shaking, coming to a rather horrifying conclusion. "Am I to deduce that this is...the end of the world?"

"Oh, dear! This will not do!" Toodles cried out. "This earthquake and gloomy-looking sky shan't be doing my beauty any good 'in the slightest'!"

"Mom! Dad! What's happening?" Bub had to ask his parents.

"I don't know for sure, Bub!" Goldbob told him. "But something tells me that worse is happening to us!"

"I will make sure that you will have a future, Bub," Sylvia told him. "Even if I have to do something about it!"

"This isn't good!" The Conductor of the Excess Express remarked before explaining. "We just stopped back into Poshley Heights to restock on fuel for the Excess Express when the sky got dark, this shadow loomed over us, and now this earthquake occurred out of nowhere!"

"Omigosh!" The waitress cried. "These dark skies and this earthquake are like, soooooooo 'totally' not doing my makeup any good!"

"Ah. Yes. Ahem. Of course," Pennington then proclaimed. "In any case, I had concluded that what is going on, happens to be what I can refer to as the biggest conundrum that has ever been deduced by any other deductions that I may have made!"

"Yes. I do hope it'll stop soon," Toodles proclaimed. "For my sheer fabulous beauty!"

"And for Goldbobbington's Corporation!" Goldbob added.

"And for our son's future!" Sylvia proclaimed.

"And for my hopes and dreams!" Bub hollered.

"And for the Excess Express!" The conductor yelled.

"And for my chance to meet a rather fab guy who's like, soooo much like that 'totally' hot and sweet muscular man that rode on our train!" The waitress cried with that valley-girl accent.

Pennington couldn't think of anything else to say that could ease up the tension. So he just went with it as they continued panicking and running around while the earthquake continued to take place...

---

IN FAHR OUTPOST:

In Fahr Outpost, all of the Bob-omb residents were running around, panicking except for the mayor and General White, at the earthquake that struck their blustery village in the north, with the sky having gotten darker thanks to the snow, and that shadow loomed over their frigid village too.

Eventually, the earthquake 'finally' stopped, getting all of the residents to stop running and screaming. They were all still frantic at what that was about, with the Mayor looking back and forth to piece together what the purpose of the earthquake may have been, as well as how the sky got darker.

After a few moments of silence, the Fahr Outpost Mayor finally found his voice, as he was able to say what was on everyone's minds.

"What...was that?" The Mayor asked before coming to a rather chilling conclusion. "Something terrible has happened..."

"Mr. Mayor?!" General White called out as he walked over to the Mayor. "Hut! What had just happened? What could that earthquake have meant? And what of this dark sky that's looming over us? Could it be an omen? Hut hut!"

"I... I believe so," the Mayor said reluctantly as he had a fear-stricken look on his face. "Folks? I believe [worst] of it has already started."

All of the Bob-omb residents had dreadful expressions on their faces, as did General White. And the Fahr Outpost Mayor had 'absolutely' no idea what else could be said, or what else could be done about this.

They decided to stay outside in the freezing 'cold', while they could only hope that some miracle would make things right for everyone not just in Fahr Outpost, but for the rest of the world...

---

IN ANOTHER LOCATION WITHIN THE PALACE OF SHADOW:

It turns out that the real Professor Frankly had regained consciousness quite some time ago. He had managed to get out of that closet that he was stuffed in by the Shadow Sirens, raced his way for the Thousand-Year Door, and made his way into the Palace of Shadow.

This happened the moment the skies had darkened, the shadow loomed overhead, and when that earthquake occurred. He just hoped that he wasn't too late.

Unfortunately, he was, as he felt some sand fall from the ceiling, which meant one thing. The cataclysm has been reawoken. 'And' the Shadow Queen was brought back to life and now possesses a new body to serve as her vessel.

"No..." Professor Frankly uttered as he asked himself. "Could that dark power have truly awakened?"

He was convinced that it was, as he also realized that Andrew and his friends were going to face the demon and deal with it themselves. The Shadow Queen, from what he read, was an incredibly dangerous and evil daemon that once tried to rule the world a thousand years ago, destroying the former town that stood where Rogueport stands currently.

Just thinking about it happening again gave him the heebie-jeebies as it is. But to think that Andrew and all seven of his friends, including his former archaeologist student Goombella, were going to likely be killed at the hands of the Shadow Queen herself, was something so horrifying that he couldn't possibly fathom it.

"No!" Professor Frankly howled in complete terror. "This is unthinkable!"

With that, Professor Frankly picked up the pace and tried to go through the Palace of Shadow as fast as he could with his elderly Goomba body. He just hoped that he wasn't too late and that he'd make it to Andrew and his friends before they were killed by the Shadow Queen herself...

---

IN THE SHADOW QUEEN'S LAIR - IN THE PALACE OF SHADOW:

Eventually, the white light died down as Andrew was able to see 'clearly' again along with his seven friends. The muscular man was able to look at the results of what the Shadow Queen had done. What he saw left him speechless and a little horrified.

The immobile serum had worn off. But by the time it did, the Shadow Queen was now in possession of Peach's body, and she had given her body a complete makeover. The warm, friendly, and loving expression on Peach's face that everybody loved was entirely replaced with a more cold, cunning, callous, and sinister expression.

It was also worth mentioning that the Shadow Queen in Peach's body went entirely gothic with her clothing. Her skin had turned paler with dark makeup, and her dress became dull purple with white detailing.

She wore a similarly-colored cloak with a high collar; the collar caused her hair to appear significantly shorter as well, almost to the point of representing a pixie cut.

The crown that Peach usually wears was replaced by the one that the Shadow Queen wears, and her face had a much more cruel and sadistic expression to it. Not to mention the jewelry on her dress turned bloody red, like the rubies on the Shadow Queen's crown.

All seven of his friends were also horrified by what they were seeing, as they were also unable to say anything. This had to be like the nightmare that they had to live through, as the eight heroes could only stare off in horror.

The Shadow Queen, for her part, was satisfied with the transformation, as she placed her hand on her chin. She gave off a rather cruel noble woman's smirk before admitting in bleak admiration.

"Muh huh huh huh huh..." The Shadow Queen cackled quite evilly as she admired her new body. "Witness my rebirth... My soul has not yet fully accustomed to this vessel... But I will learn to control this body soon enough..."

It was then the eight heroes were finally able to find their voices, as they could only utter one word.

"P-Peach..." Andrew, Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, Yoshiam, Vivian, Bobbery, and Ms. Mowz uttered simultaneously.

Andrew had to shake his head at this, wondering if things were gonna take a turn for the worse for everyone. Grodus, meanwhile, was eager to get things started now that the Shadow Queen had Peach's body. And what would be a better way to start than to exterminate the eight heroes that opposed him all this time?

"Yes, my glorious witch queen..." Grodus pointed his scepter towards the heroes before he commanded. "Destroy these impudent fools!"

It was then the Shadow Queen dropped her possessed hand to the side. Her smirk morphed into a frown, as she then glared coldly at Grodus.

Did he just do that? Did Grodus, an inferior being through her eyes, just give her a command and tell her what to do? Did he know what he was dealing with? Did he not know the truth about the Shadow Queen's real agenda?

It was 'clear' that he didn't, and he needed to be put into his place. And she was going to make it clear to the X-Naut leader too.

"Who are you that would command me?" She asked him with a callous icy tone. "What sort of being are you?"

This got Grodus to be taken aback by what he heard. Was the Shadow Queen defying him right now? Surely, she must be jossing with him, right? After all, he was told that she would obey the one who awakened her from a certain shady group, which was the Shadow Sirens.

Or to be more specific, Beldam. So, was there something that he was missing? Getting a hold of himself, he voiced his thoughts on this.

"Huh? What do you mean?!" Grodus's voice had risen when he said that. "I thought you were bound to obey the one who woke you!"

It was then the Shadow Queen's glare intensified as her bloody red eyes were baring into Grodus's soul if he even HAD one. Grodus then shook his head and returned the gesture with a glare of his 'own', while pointing his scepter threateningly at her.

"Enough of this prattle! Do as I say!" Grodus bellowed as the Shadow Queen was not fazed by how he pointed his scepter at her. "NOW! Or I will send you back to the depths..."

The Shadow Queen didn't even let him finish that sentence. She had grown tired of his voice and his demands. So it would seem that she 'really' would have to put him in his place for all of his troubles.

In a matter of seconds, the Shadow Queen's eyes flashed red, as she was about to summon a Lightning Blast; which took the form of a dark-looking lightning bolt. Naturally, the Lightning Blast had obliterated almost all of Grodus's body. The only thing that was still standing where he was previously was his domehead and goggles.

The left lens of his goggles still had that crack Andrew made with his fist, and the crack on his domehead that Andrew caused was also there, as nothing but smoke poofed up from where the domehead was lying.

Andrew couldn't help but feel a dark chuckle escape his lips from watching Grodus's demise. With all the awful things Grodus had done, such as permanently shutting down TEC, throwing Lord Crump under the bus, and threatening to kill Peach, not to mention how he nearly killed him and his friends, it was satisfying to see his 'own' plan bite him in the butt.

He couldn't help but continue chuckling softly but darkly when the Shadow Queen then spoke again from in front of her coffin.

"You would do well to learn your proper place, slave," The Shadow Queen told him harshly but calmly. "And it seems that you must've been misinformed, fool. No one commands me."

With that, the Shadow Queen shot another Lightning Blast into Grodus's remains, causing him to disappear on the spot. Now it looked as if he was never even there in the first place. Andrew's dark chuckle started to die down when the Shadow Queen regained her previous expression before admitting.

"My powers are not yet fully restored..." The Shadow Queen said coolly but confidently. "But...they will come in time..."

It was then Andrew's dark chuckle came to a complete stop when he realized something. The Shadow Queen refused to obey Grodus's command to aid him in world conquest.

So, what did that mean? Did the Shadow Queen have her 'own' agenda? And now that he thought of it, how did Grodus get convinced that awakening the Shadow Queen would promise him world conquest, even though that was far from the truth?

His partners were also confused and startled by this unexpected turn of events, as they had to voice themselves.

"Wh-What's going on, Andrew? I... I don't..." Goombella stuttered as she couldn't even finish her sentence.

"Ummmm... This is crazy! Andrew..." Koops voiced his thoughts as he felt his mind was on a roller coaster ride right now.

"I... I don't understand... Andrew..." Flurrie was also confused about what had just transpired. "What is this?"

"Wh-What's going on, Presto?" Yoshiam asked, looking like he was wigging out. "This is nuts..."

"A-Andrew..." Vivian stuttered, trying to form a proper sentence. "I don't understand..."

"Wh-What is all this?" Bobbery confessed. "I don't understand, Andrew..."

"Wh-What's going on, Andrew?" Ms. Mowz wasn't able to maintain a sly tone with her voice.

"I know how you guys feel about this. I am confused too," Andrew voiced himself. "There's something I don't get. If the Shadow Queen wasn't bound to obey the one who awakens her like Grodus was told, then who was the one responsible for this? Who could've misled Grodus in a way that drove his ambitions for world conquest? Could it be someone that we faced before was the one orchestrating everything all along?"

"You could be right, Andrew?" Goombella proclaimed. "But who could it be? It could 'totally' be anyone we've faced before. We just dunno who did it..."

Andrew took Goombella's advice to heart as he did some deep thinking. It was then he remembered something from earlier.

When Beldam had cornered them in the palace garden, she mentioned something about how 'her' plan was going quite smoothly, and that she didn't refer to it as Grodus's plan. The cryptic comment started becoming clear, as it rang throughout his mind.

Wait, no! Could it be? Andrew thought. Is it possible that the one responsible was...?

Before he could finish that thought, a familiar cold creaky crone's voice was heard in the shadows, which got their attention.

"My queen!" That voice belonged to Beldam, and Andrew knew it.

Not them again! Andrew thought angrily.

Then right on cue, Beldam and Marilyn emerged from the shadows into the Shadow Queen's domain, right in front of their mistress. Doopliss had entered by jumping through the window that was several feet high above the door behind Andrew and his friends.

"You have returned to us!" Beldam declared, with Marilyn and Doopliss by her side.

"Oh great!" Andrew scowled. "Those guys never know when to give up, do they?"

"You and I both agree on that one, Andrew," Goombella agreed with him.

The Shadow Queen ignored Andrew's comment as her focus was entirely on Beldam, whom she recognized from the last time she saw her before she was sealed behind the Thousand-Year Door.

"Ahh, Beldam... What ages have passed?" The Shadow Queen said calmly before figuring out who was the one responsible for her awakening. "So... You are the one truly responsible for calling me back, yessss?"

"Yes, my queen..." Beldam nodded with no shame as she then went off into her thousand-year plan. "I searched for a pure maiden that you might inhabit... And as I did, I spread the rumor of a great treasure... Then I led the fools who had gathered the Crystal Stars here to open the seal..."

"What? Wait a minute, if what Beldam just revealed is true, then that means..." Andrew stopped himself for a second as he couldn't help but gasp. "Of course! It means that Beldam was the one responsible for all of this!"

Andrew then paused as he recalled what the Shadow Queen looked like in her true form, and then compared that to Beldam. He then decided to add to it. "Given the resemblance between the Shadow Sirens and the Shadow Queen, this 'really' should've been obvious."

"Omigosh! You ain't kidding, Andrew!" Goombella gasped. "So Beldam was the one who 'totally' planned everything, and had manipulated the X-Nauts into getting her gnarly plan into action."

"Ummm...Gosh," Koops frowned and gulped. "So...that means that Grodus was shellwinked all along. Wasn't he?"

"Exactly, Koops," Andrew nodded. "Beldam had been pulling Grodus's strings all along. And she used his ambitions for world domination to her advantage. So she tricked him into believing the Shadow Queen would obey him when it was far from the truth."

"Mercy me! That's simply terrifying!" Flurrie gasped. "Why, I'd never! I knew Beldam was quite the crone, but I wasn't expecting this. How utterly scandalizing!"

"Yeah! No kidding, Presto," Yoshiam agreed. "This whole thing reeked of funny business right from the start. It's a bummer that we fell into the trap ourselves!"

"I must say, this whole situation was nothing short of a perversion if I ever did see one myself, old boy," Bobbery commented.

"Yes. I should've known that something suspicious was lurking in this dank air that I was smelling," Ms. Mowz said. "And it appears that this was it."

"Did Beldam ever tell you anything about this, Vivian?" Goombella asked her. "Did she ever mention the Shadow Queen since you were born?"

"No... No, she didn't," Vivian shook her head and frowned. "She never mentioned her plans or anything about the Shadow Queen. She always told me that I was to get the Magical Map and to go after you, Andrew... I was never informed. I swear! I... I... I..."

"Say no more, Vivian. I think I understand why she didn't tell you," Andrew assured her. "She never told you because she didn't trust you, and she never valued you as a person to know about this. Therefore, she kept you out of the loop this entire time regarding her plan of reawakening the Shadow Queen from her thousand-year slumber."

"Yes," Vivian said. "I...I think I was only born around the time the Shadow Queen was sealed behind the door by the four heroes. I couldn't remember so much about it because Beldam... She would force me to repress these memories, and has even gaslit me into believing what she says is true, even when..."

"It's not," Andrew finished for her. "That's OK, Vivian. We won't hold it against you. We understand that you couldn't remember too much about this place. Isn't that right, guys?"

"Of course," Andrew's other friends all said in unison.

"Thanks, guys," Vivian smiled before dreamily looking at Andrew. "Especially you, Andrew."

"Anytime, Vivian," Andrew returned the gesture, feeling that fuzzy feeling inside of him again as he comforted her. "It was my pleasure. I'm always happy to be here for you."

Vivian felt her smile brighten up even more upon hearing him say that. Before she could say anything else, they came crashing back down when the Shadow Queen placed her hand under her chin in amusement.

She had to commend Beldam for her honorable efforts in reawakening her from her slumber and allowing her to rule the world once again.

"Yesss..." The Shadow Queen praised quite darkly with a smug smirk crossing her lips. "You have fulfilled your duties admirably."

"I am not worthy, my queen..." Beldam said calmly, feeling that she did what she did to awaken her mistress once again.

"Hmph," Andrew huffed. "Could she be anymore demeaning about us?"

"No kidding," Yoshiam stuck his tongue at the eldest Shadow Siren. "The way she talks like that makes me sick."

"Yeah," Andrew nodded in agreement at that.

It was then the Shadow Queen finally took notice of the eight heroes who were in the room the entire time. She couldn't help but leer in their direction as she tried studying them, especially the muscular human.

"And who are these...beings that stand before me?" The Shadow Queen asked maliciously.

"That's a nice way of acknowledging our existence," Andrew retorted with quite a sharp sarcastic tongue. "Even though we've been here this entire time since she has been reawakened."

His friends agreed as they felt like stepping back a bit. Andrew made sure he stayed in front of them to protect them from whatever it was that the Shadow Queen planned to do to them.

The Shadow Queen, for her part, didn't acknowledge Andrew's sharp tongue, as she didn't recognize any of them, even though Vivian seemed rather familiar to her. 'Clearly', she was amused by their presence, as they looked like nothing more than mere peasants. Or in short, weaklings.

"Yesss... They do not appear to possess power..." The Shadow Queen proclaimed quite callously with a condescending voice.

"Hey! I take offense to that!" Andrew didn't appreciate how she was talking down about him like that.

"...But they may be of use," the Shadow Queen ignored his comment as she then gave him and his crew a proposition that they couldn't refuse. "If you will become my faithful servants, I will not harm you."

For a second there, Andrew almost seemed tempted to take on her offer, but he shook his head immediately after the thought crossed his mind. It might be Princess Peach's body he was staring at, but the Shadow Queen was still in control of it.

And he felt that she would do some awful things to him and his friends if he decided to side with her. The implication that the Shadow Queen would have him possibly doing some rather crude and obscene things for her as her slave did not sit well with him at all.

All seven of his friends agreed and felt that they couldn't become the Shadow Queen's servants whatsoever. As such, they each had to make comments about the proposition that the Shadow Queen gave to them.

"Wh-What do we do, Andrew?" Goombella asked him with a stutter before she added. "I mean, no WAY can we agree to serve her!"

"Ummm... What do we do?" Koops asked shyly before adding worriedly. "We can't serve her!"

"Wh-What do we do, darling?" Flurrie sounded scared for Andrew's well-being as she stayed close to him and pleaded for him to do the right thing. "We cannot bow to her!"

"Presto serves NOBODY, lady!" Yoshiam shook his fist at the Shadow Queen before he looked at Andrew with confidence. "Right, Presto?"

"Andrew... I promised to follow you!" Vivian said, showing that she would support him and that he wouldn't become the queen's servant. "I believe in you!"

"Andrew, we mustn't serve evil!" Bobbery shouted as he worked to convince Andrew not to give in. "You must resist, old boy!"

"Who does this witch think she is?" Ms. Mowz scoffed at the proposition that the Shadow Queen had just given them. "Andrew is no pawn of evil! Ridiculous!"

It was then Ms. Mowz looked at Andrew with a pleading look that he wouldn't take her up on her offer. "Right, Andrew?"

Andrew didn't need to waste a second to know what his decision was. He would fight to the bitter end to save Peach. And even though the Shadow Queen had Peach's body, he shouldn't think of her as Peach.

He would show the Shadow Queen who SHE'S messing with, and that he shouldn't be underestimated. Busting out his Ultra Bat, he gripped it tightly in his hands as he gave the Shadow Queen a sharp but determined glare.

"I don't think so," he told her sternly. "There is no way that we're ever gonna become your servants. Too bad, Shadow Queen!"

His friends were flooded with relief upon hearing him say that. The Shadow Queen, for her part, was perplexed and slightly amused by Andrew's decision.

"I see..." The Shadow Queen said calmly but coldly. "So you defy me..."

"Yeah," Andrew said with a calm but hot tone. "That's right."

"How...amusing..." The Shadow Queen rubbed her chin upon hearing this.

"Oh yeah," Andrew then had a sarcastic tone enter his voice. "It must be so amusing to see that we're standing our ground and not becoming your servants after a thousand years have gone by."

As soon as that was said, the Shadow Queen dropped her amused smirk and lowered her hand. She then frowned and gave Andrew and his friend a cold look. It would appear that she'd have to put these inferior fools in their place for their defiance, unaware that they are tougher than they look.

"Then, you wretched fools..." The Shadow Queen started before declaring ominously. "You will learn the error of your ways!"

"Right back at you," Andrew sneered in retaliation as he was ready to fight her as he stepped up towards her to take her down. "All right, guys! Let's take down this ancient witch!"

"All right!" All seven of them said in unison as they jumped to Andrew's side.

---

The Shadow Queen then approached them without moving a limb. The creepy part was that the possessed Peach wasn't even moving her legs. She was just floating across before she lowered herself in front of the eight heroes, ready to discipline them in a brutally painful manner.

"You are foolish to oppose me," the Shadow Queen told him grimly. "Yesss...and that foolishness...will have to be punished..."

"And you are foolish to underestimate me," Andrew countered curtly. "But I'll be sure to square that away with you right here and now!"

It was then all seven friends had to make their 'own' comments to show how they'd stay by his side to take down the Shadow Queen no matter what may happen to them.

"Andrew! If we don't defeat her now, the world is lost..." Goombella informed him while keeping close to him. "So don't even think of it as Peach! We've gotta fight with everything we have! Let's go!"

"Listen, Andrew! Traveling with you has taught me bravery..." Koops put on a brave face as he reminded Andrew of everything he had been through on this journey. "I will fight to the end! We have to save the world! Let's do it!"

"Andrew, darling! We've come this far..." Flurrie declared, remaining close to his side as she rubbed his shoulder. "I shan't forget all you've done for me! So our journey ends here... We must end it well, dear! We MUST!"

"Presto! We're not REAL champs unless we beat this evil lady!" Yoshiam proclaimed as he pointed towards the Shadow Queen in determination. "So don't go soft on me! That's not Peach, you know! Show no mercy!"

"Andrew, I will follow you to the end, I swear it!" Vivian promised, showcasing how loyal she was to him. "I feel bad for the princess, but that queen must fall before us! And when she does, you and I can..."

Vivian then stopped herself as she was getting 'personal' and was about to reveal her feelings for Andrew to him, as a blush emerged on her face. She then corrected herself by saying. "Well, anyway, let's take this fight to her!"

"I know Scarlette is watching over me from the other side! I KNOW it, old boy!" Bobbery declared while looking upward, as he would be sure to win this fight for her. "If I don't send this queen packing, my girl will be most displeased, hm? Andrew! Let's send this shady demon back to the darkness!"

"Andrew, you've been through a lot to get here..." Ms. Mowz told him. "You've worked miracles in that time... So keep your magic going here... Andrew, my sweet! Muster your courage and defeat the Shadow Queen!"

"I know guys," Andrew then had to tell them. "And I also know that you guys claim that we wouldn't have come this far if it weren't for me. But the truth is, I couldn't have gotten this far if it weren't for you guys. I couldn't have done it without you guys. So let's pull in some teamwork and dispose of the Shadow Queen for good! Are you ready!?"

"Yeah!" All seven of them yelled simultaneously as they got ready to fight.

"But first things first," Andrew turned to face Goombella. "Goombella, if you wouldn't mind doing the honor for us?"

"I'm 'totally' on it, Andrew," Goombella got out her Tattle Log and opened it up to find the page that the Shadow Queen was located on. "Well, I found it. You ready to hear this?"

"Might as well," Andrew shrugged.

Goombella cleared her throat and didn't waste time to start commenting on the situation, along with reading up on the information about the Shadow Queen.

"Omigosh, what happened?" Goombella had to ask before admitting. "I can't believe Peach got possessed! That's AWFUL!"

"Me neither," Andrew frowned. "And to think that it happened right in front of our faces."

"No kidding," Goombella winced before she continued. "Now she's... the Shadow Queen. The demon that destroyed this town 1,000 years ago."

"I know," Andrew sighed. "But if the Four Heroes can defeat this demon and put it to eternal rest, then so can we."

"Just in case, I'm gonna give ya some pointers about this wicked witch queen," Goombella decided to share from what she read in her Tattle Log. "She'll unleash big lightning attacks."

"You mean like the one she used to attack Sir Grodus?" Andrew queried.

"Exactly. She'll also use magic to raise Attack and Defense, or to absorb energy..." Goombella winced as she continued reading. "She might even try to drag us into the darkness..."

"Yeesh. That doesn't sound good," Andrew proclaimed. "Looks like we'll have to be prepared for anything."

"Look, I don't feel good about attacking Peach, but we have to do SOMETHING!" Goombella said with slight determination.

"I don't either. And it looks like we don't have much of a choice," Andrew agreed as he saw the Shadow Queen's eye flashing red, attempting to strike them with a Lightning Blast. "We better get out of the way, now!"

And that's what they did. The Lightning Blast hit the spot that the eight heroes were standing on previously. They got out of the way in time, but that didn't mean that they didn't feel the impact of the attack.

"Is everyone all right?" Andrew asked his friends, to which they each gave him a collective nod. "Good. Still, that was some powerful attack. And to think that we could've been struck by it."

"Totally," Goombella then advised him and the others as she put away her Tattle Log. "Don't think of it as Peach! We just have to fight to the end! C'MON!"

"In that case, we better get started," Andrew cracked his knuckles. "Let's give the Shadow Queen a fight that she'll never forget about."

With that, Andrew got the fight started as he took hold of his Ultra Bat and charged for the Shadow Queen. In a matter of seconds, he jumped up and landed a Power Jump on her head.

The Shadow Queen in the possessed body 'actually' felt that attack, but she stayed put. Andrew then followed that up with a Power Swing by slamming his Ultra Bat right into the head, sending her careening a few feet.

She regained her posture and floated back over to where Andrew was standing. Instead of attacking him in retaliation, she remained calm as she brushed that attack off like it was nothing.

"Hmph... Is that what you call your method of attack?" The Shadow Queen asked with a hiss before she shook her head. "It's a pity, 'really'... You would have made such a fine servant of mine, you foolish human."

"Not gonna happen," Andrew stood his ground and glowered at her. "I happen to have the fate of the world resting on my shoulders, along with the fate of my friends and Princess Peach. I'm not gonna let them down by becoming your servant. And neither are my friends. We WILL defeat you and prevent you from destroying the world once again!"

"Hmmm... Very well. Have it your way," the Shadow Queen remained nonchalant as she hissed at him. "It'll be your funeral that I'll be relishing in after this is over."

"And it'll be your funeral that'll come up once I'm done with this," Andrew countered as he backed away and allowed his friends to get a good look at her. "All right, guys! It's your turn! Have at it with her!"

"I thought you'd never ask, Andrew," Goombella smirked as she walked up to the Shadow Queen once Andrew backed away.

From there, Goombella jumped into the air and landed a painful Headbonk on the Shadow Queen's head, causing the possessed Peach to wince in slight pain at how the Goomba girl was fighting.

It was then Koops's turn, as he stepped up and went into his shell. After spinning in place for a few moments, he then launched himself and struck the Shadow Queen with his Shell Toss. Once he did another breakdance routine, he got away just in time for the Shadow Queen to regain her posture and leer at the heroes.

"Well, I see you fools use teamwork to aid you. A foolish mistake," the Shadow Queen sneered calmly but coldly. "Let's see if you can handle this."

With that, the Shadow Queen performed a Power Lift on herself, increasing her dark magical strength, as well as giving herself some armor. The others had to stare at what she did as they quickly realized what just happened.

"Hey ummm... Andrew?" Koops decided to ask. "Correct if I'm wrong, but did she just...give herself more strength, armor, and whatnot?"

"Yes, Koops," Andrew nodded. "That's exactly what she did."

"Well! I am certainly appalled that this wicked witch resorts to such actions," Flurrie huffed at this. "In any case, allow me to step in and handle this witch queen for myself."

"Go right ahead, Flurrie," Andrew encouraged her.

From there, Flurrie then soared through the air and landed a Body Slam right on top of her. She fell onto the floor and was crushed by Flurrie's massive body, not to mention her buxom. A few moments later, Flurrie floated off of her and allowed the Shadow Queen to get back up by floating.

"Aw yeah! Now we're talking," Yoshiam did a fist pump with his hands as he charged up toward her. "Now it's my turn to give it a whirl with this evil lady!"

With that, Yoshiam went up to her and caught her off guard with his Gulp attack. He launched out his tongue and grabbed her with it, putting her into his mouth. Andrew knew what this meant as he held up his Ultra Bat correctly, ready to strike home with it.

"Attaboy, Yoshiam," Andrew encouraged. "Now send her my way and let 'ER RIP!"

And that's what Yoshiam did. The Shadow Queen was 'really' caught off guard by this attack, that she didn't have time to stop halfway through when she got struck hard by Andrew swinging his Ultra Bat into her.

The Shadow Queen went flying up and it looked like she was gonna fall onto the ground. Before she did, though, she caught herself and floated gently back down while giving the heroes another glowering stare.

"Hmmm... I was right. You fools do rely on teamwork to fight your adversaries," the Shadow Queen then announced. "Too bad it's not gonna save you when I unleash my discipline on you!"

"What?" Andrew gave her a dirty look.

"Let's see if you can save yourselves from this!" The Shadow Queen then raised her hands and summoned some Dead Hands towards the heroes.

Most of them were able to dodge them efficiently, except for two people; Goombella and Koops. They were then dragged into the shadows, where the Shadow Queen allowed the Dead Hands to strangle them with their Shade Hands attack.

"No!" Andrew howled as he then glared at the possessed Peach. "You're not gonna hurt my friends. Not if I have something to say about it!"

In a matter of seconds, Andrew ran over, his right fist readied as he approached the Shadow Queen. Then right on cue, he slammed his fist into the face of the Shadow Queen's possessed body, essentially punching her.

The attack was enough to send her backward where she fell, and the Dead Hands had to cease their horrifying attacks on Goombella and Koops. The Goomba and Koopa had resurfaced. Despite being a little shaken up, they were just fine and were still raring to fight.

"Goombella? Koops?" Andrew ran over to check up on them. "Are you guys all right?"

"Define all right," Goombella murmured before shaking his head. "Well, despite feeling like I was being strangled alive by some 'totally' gnarly shadow hands, yeah. I'm feeling fine."

"How about you, Koops?" Andrew asked his Koopa friend.

"Ummm... I'm a little shaken up by that," Koops shivered. "But yeah. I should be all hunky dory."

"Good to know," Andrew nodded as he saw the Shadow Queen get back up with the possessed body lifting as she gave the muscular man another cold look.

"It would seem that you were serious about what you said," the Shadow Queen said coolly.

"Of 'course' I was," Andrew told her sharply. "I mean it when I say that I'll be keeping my friends safe from your wrath. And I will act upon it."

"Muh huh huh huh huh..." The Shadow Queen chuckled darkly. "If you insist. This'll end up becoming your demise soon afterwards."

"Not if I can help it," Andrew retorted before looking towards Vivian. "OK, Vivian. It's your turn. Make your move on this evil queen."

"Of course," Vivian nodded. "I'll be glad to."

With that, Vivian sank into the shadows, getting the Shadow Queen to look with some shock at how familiar her abilities were. Like those of her kin from years long passed.

The Shadow Queen was caught off guard again when Vivian popped up in front of her and decked her across the face, unleashing a Shade Fist on her.

The Shadow Queen felt a nasty burn from that, as the dress she was wearing in her possessed state got singed somewhat. Nonetheless, she shook her head and kept her cool as Vivian went back over to Andrew's side.

"Hmmm... It would appear that one of my 'own' kin has taken a liking to such a foolish inferior human such as yourself," the Shadow Queen told him in scorn.

"You bet she has," Andrew returned the gesture while scowling at her.

"No matter," the Shadow Queen got ready to attack once again with her eyes starting to glow red. "All eight of you fools will perish from my power soon enough."

With that, she launched another Lightning Blast. This time it was aimed at Andrew. He was barely able to dodge it, but he felt the impact of it, and the fact that it was far stronger than it was before. The Power Lift she gave herself must've had something to do with it.

Speaking of which, the effects of Power Lift on the Shadow Queen had worn off, as her strength returned to normal, and her armor disappeared instantaneously.

"OK. Looks like the Power Lift had worn off," Andrew proclaimed. "Which means we should be in the clearing by now."

"In that case, allow me to take over, old boy," Bobbery stepped up and gave a look of determination. "I will be honored to give this evil witch queen a blast that she won't soon forget."

"Knock yourself out, Bobbery," Andrew allowed him to do the honor.

With that, Bobbery marched over to her and lit his fuse. The Shadow Queen didn't see what was coming as she was confused by this.

In a matter of seconds, she felt the impact of Bobbery's Bomb attack, which blasted right into her face. Her possessed face was covered in soot, but she shook it off seconds later.

By then, Bobbery had regenerated and had landed right next to Andrew. The Shadow Queen felt like retaliating, as she lifted her possessed arms up, and summoned one of her Shadow Hands.

"What are you planning?" Andrew asked as the Shadow Hand was in front of him.

"Muh huh huh huh huh huh... You'll see soon enough," the Shadow Queen said in a deathly tone.

In an instant, the Shadow Hand wrapped its grip around Andrew for a few seconds as the hand was using Energy Drain on him. Afterwards, Andrew felt some of his energy drained from him, of which the Shadow Queen added to her own, as the Shadow Hand let him go and disappeared.

"Whoa. OK. She must've absorbed some of my energy for herself," Andrew wiped his mouth as he stood on the ground again. "We better be on guard when dealing with that."

"Yes. We might as well," Ms. Mowz proclaimed. "Now, I suppose it's my turn to strike this witch queen, yes?"

Andrew only nodded before he gave her a thumbs up. Ms. Mowz then casually walked up to the Shadow Queen. Before the Shadow Queen could react by striking her with a Lightning Blast, Ms. Mowz unleashed her Love Slap on her, striking her three times before smacking her across the face with her tail.

"Good work, Ms. Mowz," Andrew praised her as she walked back to his side. "We'll be done with this fight in no time if we keep this up."

The Shadow Queen then growled as she wiped her face with her possessed hand. "If that's what you think, I'm afraid you are dead wrong."

"We'll see about that," Andrew stretched his hands as he charged over.

From there, he unleashed his Power Bounce attack on her. He managed to strike her 14 times in a row, dealing some significant damage to the possessed Peach before he did an acrobatic flip through the air to get out of her range.

Goombella then went ahead and performed a Multibonk attack, striking her on the head at least 8 times in a row before she did a backflip through the air and landed right next to Andrew.

"Awesome! We'll whip this witch's butt before long!" Yoshiam beamed.

The Shadow Queen only reacted by glowering at the little Yoshi kid. She then summoned her Dead Hands to use Shade Hand on Yoshiam in the darkness. But what she didn't count on was for Yoshiam to jump up out of the way and perform a flutter-jump through the air, throwing her a little off track.

Once he was over her head, Yoshiam then unleashed his Ground Pound attack on her, striking her on the head six times in a row, before jumping off of her.

It was then some of Andrew's other friends had gotten their turn to attack the Shadow Queen, and they each made full use of their abilities in dealing with her.

For instance, Koops went into his shell and plowed through her with his Power Shell attack, and did a breakdance routine to get out of the way of another Lightning Blast on him.

Likewise, when it was Flurrie's turn, she floated up to the possessed Peach and grabbed her before using her Lip Lock on her. She started smooching away as she drained some of the Shadow Queen's energy, and she added it to her own.

Once it was Yoshiam's turn again, he laid four Mini-Eggs to unleash his Mini-Egg attack on her. Once all four of them were behind him, Yoshiam threw all four of the Mini-Eggs at the Shadow Queen, each one striking her in the face, and causing her to endure some more significant damage.

"Hmph," the Shadow Queen wiped her face again as she sneered. "Such a foolish and pathetic attack shall not be enough to persuade me to step down."

"In that case," Vivian floated up and gulped. "We'll just have to deal with you the hard way."

With that, Vivian raised her right hand and waved her index finger around. In a matter of seconds, she unleashed her Fiery Jinx on her, scorching her with a massive fire. She suffered from another nasty burn as she shook off the soot, and the dress was even more singed than it was before.

"Harumph!" Bobbery huffed. "I believe it is my turn yet again. I will be happy to the honor once more."

With that, he marched up and lit his fuse until he was in front of the Shadow Queen. The Shadow Queen was too busy putting out the flames to notice Bobbery standing in front of her, flashing red.

By the time she was done, Bobbery exploded, unleashing his Bomb attack on her, as she suffered more damage from the blast. She then shook her head as Bobbery regenerated and was back by Andrew's side.

"Hmph," the Shadow Queen huffed yet again. "You will deeply regret doing that, you fools."

"Well then, I hope you don't mind if I do this," Ms. Mowz announced as she jumped into the air.

In a matter of seconds, Ms. Mowz landed on the possessed Peach, as she proceeded to use her Love Slap on her once again. She struck her three times before the Shadow Queen was met with another slap from her tail.

"Insolent fools," the Shadow Queen hissed. "These attacks of yours mean nothing to me. This battle is just beginning."

"We know," Andrew cracked his knuckles. "And we're gonna keep fighting until it's over. Isn't that right, guys?"

All seven of them nodded as they assisted Andrew in doing more damage to the Shadow Queen, all while the Shadow Queen kept doing retaliation attacks on them. The battle was raging on for both sides...

---

Quite some time had passed, as the battle against the Shadow Queen continued, with Andrew and his friends not holding back. The eight diverse heroes were holding their own as they displayed their true strength against the Shadow Queen. They were quite confident that they'd finish her off in no time, or at least that's what they thought.

The Shadow Queen, for her part, was rather bewildered by how strong they were. Yet at the same time, she was somewhat impressed by this. It has been a millennium since anyone dared to oppose her and put up a fight against her.

These eight heroes were fortunate that she hadn't sentenced them to the Pit of 100 Trials, which was her dungeon that she sent those who dared to oppose her and commit insubordination against her. It's where most of her fearsome monsters and one of her three pet dragons; Bonetail, were residing at. Andrew and his friends were proving to be formidable adversaries of hers.

Of course, she wasn't going to let this stand for much longer. She had only realized that the body she was possessing was too weak to fight on her own. So she had something horrible planned for the eight of them. And it would involve her true form and just how much of a terror she 'really' is.

After being given a roundhouse kick across the head by Andrew, she regained herself as Andrew was now standing back with his seven friends, determined to stop her from destroying the world again. She only cast her bloody red-eyed gaze towards the muscular man; which made the body she was possessing looked like a lifeless doll.

"Well? What do you say now, Shadow Queen?" Andrew asked her with his friends by his side. "Had enough yet?"

The Shadow Queen caught her breath and finally decided to put forth her plan of unveiling her true form to them.

"Hmmm... So, you are not weak," the Shadow Queen admitted callously. "Maybe you are less useless than you appear."

"Did you expect anything less?" Andrew asked rhetorically. "I told you that we shouldn't be underestimated, and we've been putting up a fight against you. This is what happens to everyone who underestimates us!"

The Shadow Queen just shrugged that off as she placed her right possessed hand on her chin and she started smirking rather sinisterly.

"So you say," the Shadow Queen then admitted. "This body is unfamiliar to me..."

"Well what did you expect," Andrew retorted. "You possessed the body of a princess who's been constantly kidnapped by an oversized Koopa for many years and has to be constantly rescued by an Italian plumber. It sure sounds embarrassing when you think about it!"

"Yesss, too unfamiliar..." The Shadow Queen strangely agreed with him as she then cast a rather evil and sinister smirk towards him, before she then uttered darkly. "Let me assume my true form and show you real power..."

"Say what?" Andrew and his friends all said in confusion at what she meant by that.

Their answer was quickly revealed, when the possessed Peach floated up into the sky, surrounded by that shadow vortex and shadow smog below her as her true form surfaced.

The Shadow Queen's true form was shown floating behind the possessed Peach's body, wrapping part of her starry purple body around her, as she had two shadow hands on both sides.

Once the possessed Peach's body stopped floating up, she let out a sinister snicker at what she had done, as the heroes were shocked by what they were witnessing.

"In this form, your attacks are like those of a child to me..." The Shadow Queen said deathly as she gave Andrew and his friends a sadistic smirk before revealing it to them. "You are lucky... You will perish with the honor of having seen true terror and power! Muh huh huh huh huh huh!"

"Uh oh," Andrew frowned as he turned to face his friends. "Uh, guys? This doesn't look good for us."

"Don'tcha worry about that, Andrew," Goombella encouraged. "Just go on ahead and show her what you're made of."

Andrew reluctantly did so as he ran over to the Shadow Queen and tried to perform a Jump attack on her true form. Unfortunately, his attack did absolutely nothing to her, nor did the Hammer attack that he did afterwards. This was enough to get Andrew shocked to no end.

"Huh? What's going on?" Andrew winced. "Our attacks aren't working anymore?"

"Muh huh huh huh huh huh!" The Shadow Queen cackled maliciously. "Is that your idea of an attack? Foolish..."

In a matter of seconds, the Shadow Queen's right hand then went and did a Slap attack on Andrew, sending him back to his friends in pain. Despite the blow that it did to him, he was still in decent condition.

"Guys? Our attacks aren't working on her anymore," Andrew proclaimed after shaking his head. "She's completely invincible."

"Aw, c'mon! Lemme give it a shot," Goombella volunteered to go up. "I'll 'totally' put that Shadow Queen in her place!"

And with that, Goombella charged over and performed her Headbonk on the Shadow Queen. Sadly, it did nothing at all. Not only that, but the Shadow Queen decided to retaliate by having one of her Shadow Hands go ahead and grab the Goomba girl, holding her hostage.

"What the... EEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!" Goombella screamed, trying to squirm from the Shadow Queen's grip, with no luck.

"Goombella!" Andrew yelled in panic.

"Ummm... Andrew? What now?" Koops asked. "The Shadow Queen is holding Goombella hostage!"

"Mercy me! This is simply terrifying!" Flurrie gasped in fear. "What an unexpected turn of events this turned out to be for us!"

"No worries! I'll handle it," Yoshiam was about ready to charge for the Shadow Queen himself to save Goombella. "I'll teach 'em what happens to those who mess with us!"

"No! Yoshiam, wait!" Andrew called out to stop him, but he was too late.

Yoshiam was already on the prowl, as he then went and did a Ground Pound on the Shadow Queen to hurt her and release Goombella. Sadly, it didn't do anything either. 'In fact', it got worse when her other Shadow Hand went in and ceased Yoshiam, holding him in her grip along with Goombella, as they were both unable to get away.

"Oh no," Andrew uttered softly at this as he heard Yoshiam's scream.

Deciding to make this far more terrifying for Andrew, the Shadow Queen was able to summon two more Shadow Hands. In a swift movement, both Shadow Hands went ahead and captured Koops and Flurrie while pushing Andrew, Vivian, Bobbery, and Ms. Mowz away.

The two Shadow Hands went to join the Shadow Queen and her other Shadow Hands. Now she had Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, and Yoshiam in her grip, as they were unable to escape.

"Now she has Koops and Flurrie in her captivity!" Andrew yelled, fearing something might happen to them.

The Shadow Queen then cackled before she fired a Lightning Blast towards the muscular man. It made direct contact this time, as Andrew was sent flying into the wall. He had suffered some significant damage from that, as Vivian, Bobbery, and Ms. Mowz helped him back up onto his feet.

"Andrew? You OK?" Vivian asked him with worry. "You aren't too hurt, are you?"

"Oh... Owwww... Oh geez, that hurts," Andrew grimaced. "She's gotten stronger, and she has possession of four of our friends."

"I must say, old boy, things have taken quite a drastic turn for the worse," Bobbery admitted. "Not to mention that you seem to be in quite a state of discomfort from that witch's latest attack, if I may add."

"Yeah," Andrew shook his head. "We can't stop now. Our friends might get hurt."

"Well dearie, we might as well try hurting this wretched Shadow Queen from a distance," Ms. Mowz suggested. "That way, the rest of us won't get captured."

"Good idea," Andrew sighed. "Let's do it."

And with that, they decided to try attacking from a distance rather than going straight up to attack. Of course, nothing was working in their favor. Andrew tried using his Bat Throw on the Shadow Queen to hit her square in the face, but it didn't do anything to her.

Additionally, Vivian attempted to use her Fiery Jinx on the Shadow Queen to free their friends. Sadly, it didn't even leave a remotely minor burn on the Shadow Queen, nor did it make her release their friends.

Bobbery decided to use his Bomb Squad, where he tossed three Bomb Squad time bombs toward her, and he managed to detonate them sooner than expected. Sadly, it didn't work either, as the Shadow Queen didn't even flinch from the blasts of the Bomb Squad time bombs.

And then there was Ms. Mowz, who decided to use an altered version of her Tease attack. She created three copies of herself, and she then made the demand for them to follow.

"Get her," Ms. Mowz pointed towards the Shadow Queen.

The three copies obeyed and tried to strike her with their Love Slaps up close, which didn't do anything either.

While the Shadow Queen was distracted by Ms. Mowz's three copies, he tried using his Multibounce to hit the Shadow Queen and rescue his four captured friends, to no avail.

"Muh huh huh huh huh..." The Shadow Queen chuckled darkly at their futile attempts to attack her. "Now, taste my power!"

In a matter of seconds, she summoned three more Shadow Hands. One of them used Slap to smack Andrew away like a bug, dealing more impeccable pain to him. And another one swatted at Ms. Mowz's three copies, causing them to vanish in the blink of an eye.

As soon as Andrew sluggishly got onto his feet, feeling the pain he was enduring, the Shadow Queen's three Shadow Hands she summoned went ahead and captured Vivian, Bobbery, and Ms. Mowz.

They regrouped with the other four Shadow Hands, as all seven of Andrew's friends were captured by the Shadow Queen. His friends were captured, and he was the only one left. And he was hoping to rush over and save them.

Unfortunately, before he could do anything, the Shadow Queen summoned an eighth Shadow Hand to go after Andrew. Instead of holding him hostage, the Shadow Hand went ahead and used Slap on Andrew once again, sending him careening into the wall behind him, leaving a massive crack on the wall as he slid down in agony.

By this point, Andrew had taken a brutal beating from the Shadow Queen. He looked battered, and bruised, he had a bloody nose, and he had some marks on his face. He was also having trouble getting back up onto his feet. The Shadow Queen then went ahead and used her Dangerous Breath on him.

It was strong and it got Andrew on the verge of coughing violently, to the point where he was coughing small puddles of blood from his mouth. All the while the Shadow Queen smirked in sadistic glee upon seeing Andrew suffering and being put through the wringer thanks to her.

Still, Andrew couldn't give up. He can't give up. And he will not give up. He wasn't going to let the Shadow Queen kill his friends and destroy the world when he had something to say about it.

After giving himself some encouragement, Andrew slowly stood up, gritting his teeth in pain as he seethed with each attempt he made to stand back up.

The Shadow Queen just shook her head at this as Andrew was on his feet, feeling them stagger as he struggled to stay balanced. His valiant efforts to stop her and save his friends were on full display. Of course, she didn't seem fazed, as they wouldn't help him out.

"Muh huh huh huh huh! I must admit, you are quite determined with your valiant efforts to rescue your little friends, foolish human," the Shadow Queen admitted snidely. "Too bad they're not gonna help you out in the long run..."

Andrew then stood up and glared at her. With every amount of energy he had left, he decided to act and try one last attack on the Shadow Queen.

"ARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGHHHHHH!" Andrew yelled as he charged straight for her, with his fists readied.

Once he was in front of the Shadow Queen, he put all of his efforts into landing a painful punch on the witch queen. Sadly, like everything else, it proved to be fruitless, as he didn't even leave a scratch on her.

The Shadow Queen, with a nonchalant expression, summoned her eighth Shadow Hand to use Slap on Andrew once again, getting him away from her and his captured friends.

Andrew was then seen rolling across the floor until he careened his head into the wall behind him, leaving some more damage on him.

As he was regaining himself with what he had left, the Shadow Queen decided that it was time to stop messing with him, and decided to do something she's been planning to do to his friends since she first captured them.

"Hmmm... What a troublesome little pest you are," the Shadow Queen sneered before she chuckled darkly. "Muh huh huh huh huh..."

As Andrew was able to look up at the Shadow Queen again, he saw that her eighth Shadow Hand had vanished into the shadows. He then witnessed her bringing her seven Shadow Hands close to her, each of them gripping Andrew's seven friends, as a sadistic smirk crossed her lips.

In one swift movement, the Shadow Queen's true form then inhaled the energy from all seven of Andrew's friends, as she inhaled light blue cloudy fog from them, and they screamed in agony.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" All seven of them yelled in complete terror as they had their energy drained out of them.

In turn, the Shadow Queen used their energy to completely restore her energy from the damage that Andrew and his friends did to her earlier. Andrew could only watch in horror as the Shadow Queen disposed of them right in front of Andrew, as she no longer had any use for them.

Andrew saw that his friends were unable to move, as he could only give the Shadow Queen a shocked, horrified, angry, and sad gaze at what she did, while Beldam, Marilyn, and Doopliss witnessed what happened as they were on the sideline this whole time. Beldam, in particular, was smirking sadistically at how the Shadow Queen was gonna kill Andrew and his friends, including her traitorous sister Vivian.

Seeing the distraught look on Andrew's face that reeked of hopelessness and despair, the Shadow Queen decided to make her comment on the matter.

"Rest assured, you fool... They're not dead..." The Shadow Queen told him before adding grimly. "...yet."

"And I'm gonna make sure that they don't die," Andrew wiped the tears that were forming in his eyes as he then grabbed a Life Shroom from his backpack. "If I can't defeat you in your state...then the least I can do is save their lives!"

As soon as he said that, he broke the Life Shroom that he had taken out into seven pieces. While the Shadow Queen watched him futilely try to revive them, Andrew went ahead and placed each part of the Life Shroom he broke off into their mouths. He made sure that they each swallowed their share after chewing it, and made sure that they were regaining consciousness.

To his relief, his plan worked, as all seven of his friends regained consciousness as they stood back up and shook their heads.

"Ohhhh... What happened?" Goombella moaned. "That was 'totally' gnarly..."

"Are we dead yet?" Koops asked while rubbing his temple.

"No," Andrew shook his head before adding. "But we might as well be."

As soon as he said that, Andrew nearly collapsed as he was running out of energy too. It was thanks to his friends that he didn't fall over onto the floor.

"Andrew, dearie? Are you quite all right?" Flurrie asked him in concern while helping him up. "You look hurt, and it's 'absolutely' devastating."

"Yeah, dude," Yoshiam agreed with a frown. "That Shadow Queen did a massive number on you, didn't she Presto?"

"You can say that," Andrew panted. "I don't think we can do anything to the Shadow Queen, guys?"

"Andrew? I'm worried about you," Vivian expressed herself. "You look terrible. I'm afraid that you'll collapse and might go into a coma on us. I don't want that to happen!"

"I must say, you are certainly looking worse for wear, Andrew," Bobbery told him. "It would be a travesty for you to perish like this, old boy. Especially after what had happened to my Scarlette."

"I know, guys. And I appreciate it," Andrew said weakly as he coughed a couple of times. "I'm just feeling a little low on energy thanks to the damage that the Shadow Queen had done to me."

"In that case, my sweet, allow me to help with your recovery," Ms. Mowz volunteered as she stepped up to the muscular man.

In a matter of seconds, she used her Smooch move on Andrew, kissing him on the cheek and lips. This had the effect of giving Andrew some necessary energy that he needed to stand his ground and protect his friends.

"Thank you very much, Ms. Mowz," Andrew thanked her graciously. "You had no idea how much I needed that."

"Believe me, Andrew, the pleasure was all mine," Ms. Mowz told him sweetly. "And I think I know more than you are aware of."

"Right," Andrew sighed.

"Sooooooooo, we can't defeat the Shadow Queen in her current state?" Goombella asked him. "That's whatcha trying to tell us, right Andrew?"

"That's right," Andrew nodded. "She's completely invincible now."

"Yesss..." The Shadow Queen hissed, getting their attention again. "I have recovered from any slight damage you may have caused earlier..."

The Shadow Queen then maintained her posture as she glowered evilly at the eight heroes, planning to punish them for their futile efforts and their defiance.

"And now...I will punish you for your resistance..." The Shadow Queen told them in a grave tone of voice.

Andrew couldn't help but frown at that. Could this be the end for all eight of them? Were they going to be killed by this 1000-year-old demon? His friends were also worried about their predicament, as they each had to comment on their situation.

"Andrew? This doesn't look good," Goombella stated. "We could be 'totally' done for..."

"This could be it for us..." Koops said softly, wondering if the Shadow Queen would finish them off.

"This could be the end..." Flurrie uttered sadly as she frowned at the problem they were faced with.

"This looks bad..." Yoshiam gulped as he frowned deeply at this.

"We could be done for..." Vivian said meekly, remaining by Andrew's side to protect him no matter what happened.

"This looks rather dire..." Bobbery admitted, feeling that this could be the end and that he 'really' could be reunited with Scarlette.

"We could be finished..." Ms. Mowz remarked, just as distraught as the rest of them about their fate.

"What should we do now?" All seven of them had to ask Andrew.

Andrew opened his mouth, but nothing came out. There was no doubt about it. He was unable to come up with a plan to get them out of their predicament.

"I... I..." Andrew stuttered sadly, as his frown only deepened. "I don't know what we CAN do to stop the Shadow Queen..."

With that, Andrew hung his head down in disappointment while his friends looked at him with worry.

None of them could deny it now. For the first time since Andrew first came to Rogueport in the first place to pick up and escort Princess Peach back to the Mushroom Kingdom, Andrew was unable to come up with anything to help them.

Any signs of hope that the eight heroes should've had were officially dead. And this time, Andrew couldn't do ANYTHING to get them out of this mess.

It was evident that this situation was one clouded with nothing but hopelessness and despair...

---

END OF CHAPTER 80...

That's right. I'm ending this chapter on a rather bleak cliffhanger. The chapter itself is pretty long for the reintroduction of the Shadow Queen. But hey. There was plenty of stuff that I wanted to add here that wasn't in the game.

For starters, all of the scenes focused on the other locations that Andrew visited had extra quotes added by some of the other relevant characters that I wanted to add to the category. This is especially true for Rogueport, which didn't have any quotes at all in the game.

Here, I gave the quotes to Toadsworth, Antoine the Little Mouser temporarily in charge of the Lovely Howz of Badges store, and Flavio. Toadsworth is obvious since he's waiting for Mario to finally show up at Rogueport.

I gave Antoine the badge clerk for that aforementioned store a role here because I want a few people to show their support for Ms. Mowz, which wasn't done in the game due to her being an optional partner. That's also why the conductor of the Excess Express is in Poshley Heights along with the waitress.

As for Flavio, well I feel he is underused. After Chapter 5 in the game, Flavio is pretty much forgotten and seen as one-note. This could be offset by the fact that a glitch allows him to stay on your team permanently, but it still doesn't change the fact that Flavio doesn't get any important key role in wishing Mario luck, even though he spent a good chunk of Chapter 5 with him on Keelhaul Key.

Still, despite all of these, I hope you've enjoyed the chapter, even with its long length.

Yeah, the Shadow Queen didn't waste any time showing her personality and killing Grodus for ordering her around, which is something Andrew chuckles darkly at thanks to how much of an awful person Grodus was, and the heinous things that the X-Naut leader has done.

This chapter also showcases how Beldam was the true ringleader throughout the story, as well as the game, as she orchestrated everything that happened, and fooled the X-Nauts into aiding her with reawakening the Shadow Queen. Not to mention the fact that Vivian mentions that Beldam never told her about the Shadow Queen, since she didn't trust her.

Lastly, I'd like to point out how hopeless things got when the Shadow Queen displayed her true form to the heroes, and just how much Andrew was thrown through the wringer with the pain and agony he suffered at the hands of the Shadow Queen while struggling and failing to rescue his friends from her clutches. Seriously, you'll feel sorry for what Andrew is put through here, especially considering the backstory he revealed to his friends a few chapters back.

Don't worry. Things will get better for Andrew and his team. And Andrew and his friends will have some hope restored in them soon enough.

Anyway, the next chapter will showcase the well-known part of the game where the Crystal Stars react to the danger Andrew is in, as they head back to their respective locations to let everyone know that Andrew is struggling to save the world. Petalburg, the Great Tree, Glitzville, Twilight Town, Keelhaul Key, Poshley Heights, and Fahr Outpost, with some implications that Rogueport got word about this too.

Some new hope is restored, the Shadow Queen is no longer invulnerable to their attacks, the princess breaks from her prison to gift Andrew with the last of her powers, and the power of the Crystal Stars will aid Andrew in being able to stand a chance against the Shadow Queen in her true form, along with his friends. And a few other things will occur.

Will there be a silver lining for Andrew, his seven diverse friends, Princess Peach, and the entire world by disposing of the Shadow Queen once and for all? Find out next time, readers.

In the meantime, only if you want to, you can leave a review and let me know what you thought about this chapter overall.

Otherwise, I have nothing else to say. So until next time, I hope you all look forward to the climax wrapping the story up. And on that note, thanks again for reading, everyone!