The next door required even more Sparkle Gems. Stella sighed before accepting them. "I'm so sorry, Peach, for having to use so many Sparkle Gems from you. It's just that Grape is right, and I'm so weak compared to her and-"
"Hey, Stella, I don't think you're weak. Just because Grape may seem powerful, doesn't mean she is. Knowing a few enemies I've gone against before, they are strong, but still mortal. We can stop her, and it doesn't matter if you need more power to do it or not. Good always prevails."
Stella huffed bravely. "Yeah, you're right! I'm not going to let a sour fruit bring me down!" She tossed the doors open. "Now, let's take this guy down, then we only have one more floor to go!"
Grape was there again, tapping her scepter impatiently. She looked upset, and it took no thinking to figure out why.
"Grape!" Stella gasped. "We're so close! We're going to stop you!"
"Alright, you two. I admit, I did underestimate your skill. However, that does not discourage me from my goal. I will achieve my dream, and no matter how hard you try, you will fail."
"I've heard that speech before," Peach said, "a million times, in fact. You villains always think you've won, but heroes always find a way to win!"
She tisked her. "Not in my story. You see, this theater controls fate itself. If I just finish gathering the pathetic hope from these...'Sparklas,' I can fulfill my idea for the-Oh, but wait. I cannot spoil the ending for you just yet, that comes in the final act. But if you do manage to survive my Spotlion, then perhaps you are worthy of hearing my wishes before you die. I admit, you two deserve to be called my rivals. Farewell, 'Princess' Peach, and may fate be in your favor if you hope to win against me." She vanished again, and a large light shone on Peach and Stella.
The Spotlion was surprisingly undeadly at first, only shooting balls of light at Peach from a distance, that bounced off walls and floors for a short amount of time before vanishing. Just like with Disco Feather, she simply had to deflect the projectile back to the Spotlion three times to break its armor, and then destroy the core. Things got a bit more complicated when he decided to clone himself, in which made it harder to hit him because he moved almost constantly after that. But Peach still managed to handle the Spotlion, and Stella cheered when the animal finally fell.
Toadsworth congratulated them when they came back into the fourth floor. "You're making good progress, Princess! I'm thinking about heading down to the basement and saving the Detective Sparkla, and waiting for you there. Sound alright with you, Princess?"
"Of course!"
The Swordfighter Sparkla rose from a Sparkle Gem-shaped spot on the ground. "Princess!" He ran over to her. "Good news, the lift is now working! You can freely travel between floors, including the basement! It'll make it much easier for you to head back down there once you have freed the top floor from Grape's malice."
"Thank you, Swordfighter." She bowed.
"Take it as a thank you for going through so much trouble to save the theater!"
"Alright, Toadsworth, you can head down to the basement and help the Detective Sparkla. Me and Stella will head upstairs and save the final floor. Okay?"
"Of course, Princess. Stay safe up there, we don't know what Grape is going to throw at us next."
Grape scoffed. "How can she be so determined to stop me? She even turned one of our own against us. Why do you think she will not see reason?"
"Maybe...maybe it's because she believes in happy endings, Madame Grape. After all, all of her stories has ended well."
"Damian...does make a good point, Madame Grape," the Figure Skater agreed. "After all, she's spent her entire life inside a practical fairy tale. Do you think she's even ready to face the music of the real world?"
"Just because she is similar to me, does not mean she doesn't have bad days." Grape tapped the scepter, watching Peach performing a Mighty mission through the top. "After all, what about rain on a parade? How about all of those times she's been captured, or used? That has happened before, right?"
Damian nodded. "Yeah, we've been watching her for a while, and she's been prone to getting kidnapped and possessed or tricked."
"But she contains a fighter's spirit," the Kung Fu Master praised, stroking his mustache. "And it is quite difficult to dampen the spirit that brings a fighter to battle for both justice, and vile desires. She deems your ideas for fighting as wrong, and so she will fight back."
Grape stopped tapping the scepter, and covered it with her hand. "I am severely disappointed in all of you."
"Wait," the Figure Skater said, pointing to himself, "me too?"
"Especially you, I'm afraid." She faced them. "You have failed to take any valuables from this place, let Travis defect from us, and are causing Peach to grow stronger with every new play. Why have you let things fail this horribly? I will have to step in to stop her now, because you have all failed me far too many times."
"I'm sorry, Madame Grape."
"But, if you fail to stop her in this play, I will give you one more chance. I can gladly gift you some of my Darkle abilities so you can prevent her from saving the Sparklas. My plan is almost complete, I just need the smallest bit more Sparkle before I can bring to pass the perfect tragedy to all of the world. Fail to stop her then, and you will meet the same fate as the guardian Theet who thought he could stop me..."
"Yes, Madame Grape." The Kung Fu Master bowed. "Please, allow me to demonstrate your power first. She is heading to my play right now after all. I promise that I will not let you down."
She tapped him twice with her scepter, and he leaped away. She faced Damian, the Figure Skater, and the rest of the Sour Bunch.
"Now, can I trust you will protect the Sparklas with your life? Or will you fail me once again?"
Damian stepped forwards. "But, Madame Grape, I tried to stop Travis from defecting. I had no idea that the Toadsworth would be brave enough to stand up to us!"
She glared threateningly at him. "Are you...fighting against me, Damian?"
"I...I guess I am! Why did the Elder Bunch put you in charge anyways? We were doing just fine before you came along! We went from the most feared and respected, to the most laughed at group of thieves! Why waste your time trying to bring a tragedy, when there are plenty of good places to-"
She shot him with her scepter, and he turned to a plie of ash. His mask hit the ground, echoing in the silence. The Figure Skater picked it up, looking at his own scared reflection within it.
"Does anyone else want to question the Elder Bunch? Does anyone else want to question me? Imagine for a moment, what will happen when I bring the world to a tragic end. Thieves like us will forever be happy, as we will be drowning in the spoils of unending riches! Now, imagine if Damian had gotten his wish, for a new rule and a new band of robbers. He would be nothing compared to what we will have, and he will sob at his own stupidity! Now, does anyone else want to join Travis and Damian, or do you agree with my plan, and wish to continue forwards? I really do hate to destroy the Sour Bunch, I really do, but I will do what has to be done in order to preserve our precious desires."
The Sour Bunch cheered, and so did the puppets. All except for the Figure Skater, whose own fear of Grape now clouded his judgement. She brought him and the other puppets to life, but she was just as willing to strip it away. Did she mean well for them, or did she just see them as nothing more but stepping stones to use to get her dream? He skated away, to talk to his friend before Peach were to come and stop him once more.