In a dimension of his own making, far removed from that of any other living being, a man floated alone.
There wasn't much to the space. Despite technically being its own dimension, the entire thing consisted of only a single room. The mysterious walls nearly glowed with a heavily saturated, otherworldly green, each textured with undulating patterns and stacked blocks that reflected the room's unnatural state.
It was there that Dimentio waited. And waited, and waited, and waited.
One day soon, the prophesized moment would come to pass. He would meet with the fell count, with that dark destroyer of worlds… after which he would force himself into his company and assist him in unleashing a chaotic power upon the universe – upon all universes – that reached far beyond anything ever seen in the history of mankind. All would go just as it had been foretold in that apocalyptic book - the one that his very own ancestors had researched so very, very long ago.
That moment of destiny had yet to arrive. And so, he waited. Alone, in a space where none could reach.
The jester let out a yawn, then leaned back as his mind drifted. Lazily holding his hand out, he summoned a shape that almost resembled a geometric lotus, then spun it within his palm for a moment before it dissipated. He often whittled away his time like this, within this wondrous space of tricks, illusions, and the extraordinary.
And yet… he was just so very, very bored. Every day looked almost exactly the same to him. With little else to do, the pleaser of crowds twirled in the air, then summoned yet another lotus and started pinwheeling it about with a half-hearted motion…
...when something entirely unprecedented happened.
A small section of the air, just a slight distance away, began to tear and swirl in a mysterious, unexplained spiral. It rippled, showing just a glimpse of the space between worlds… and then, almost as quickly as it had appeared, the void spit out an odd, pill-shaped capsule and vanished from view. With an ear-splitting CLANK!, the strange pod crashed unceremoniously to the floor.
The master of dimensions stared at the foreign object with amazed wonderment, his curiosity thoroughly piqued. What just happened… shouldn't have happened. It shouldn't have even been possible.
Someone else had opened a hole into his dimension.
Well, there was no question about it – he needed to investigate. With the inquisitive interest of a cat that had just been gifted a brand new toy, the magician hovered over to the object and wasted no time in opening it up. He quickly peered over its contents as he freed its singular resident, allowing the alien creature to float about while he worked – he'd properly dissect or dispose of it later. After deeming the paper within the container's bottom basically irrelevant to his immediate interests, he directed his attention to the more fascinating subject matter: the capsule itself.
He inspected the mysterious object all over, removing pieces bit by bit, until he eventually reached a panel upon its back. After unsealing it with just a hint of magic, he pored over the insides and let out a small gasp, his smile rapidly widening.
"Aha! There you are, my casse-croûte… How very clever!" he exclaimed as he prodded at the machinery with glee in his eyes. "So THAT'S how you wandered in here, like a lost puppy on a rainy day. My, my… how very charming. Well, without further ado… let's have a good look at our dear hosts, shall we?" He glanced over at the discarded sheet of paper.
Having gleaned exactly what he needed, Dimentio dropped the intruding capsule to the ground and instead turned his attention to the space from which it had emerged. Then, with a single swish of his finger, he cut a motion through the air and pulled the void open once more.
It had been quite generous of them to invite him in.
Rrrriiiiiiinggg, rrrrriiiiiinggggggg!
The shrill chime of an alarm clock cut through the darkness, bringing what had been a peaceful, quiet night to an end. The shed's inhabitant stirred slowly from beneath her patchwork quilt and let out a soft groan as she sat up and rubbed her eyes. Though barely awake, she reached over with a languid heftiness and shut the noisemaker off.
"Mmmmphhh… ghhh…"
Though it was better than waking up to the sound of banging pots, it was also far, far earlier than Vivian was used to getting up. 5:00 AM had arrived – as expected, the sun hadn't even begun to rise, leaving the room coated in a blanket of shadow.
With the flick of a switch, Vivian turned on her fairy lights and poured some more food for the bird, then pulled her own breakfast out of a nearby box: a couple of honey granola bars and a packet of instant coffee. Igniting a small burner, she began to boil herself some water, then hovered before her mirror as she brushed her long, pink hair. Thankfully, she'd chanced the X-Naut bathrooms the night before and had managed to get a quick shower in… so, while the lack of rest wasn't ideal, she was feeling surprisingly refreshed.
After finishing her preparations, she slung her bag over her shoulder and floated towards the front door, humming cheerfully as she went.
"See you later!" she called to the parrot, giving him a small wave as she headed out. He crooned sleepily behind her before returning to lethargically pecking at his pellets.
Upon arriving at the front of the dormitory, Vivian was a bit surprised to find that the X-Nauts were already quietly waiting. Crump gave her a slight nod as she approached. The smaller ones were picking at the weeds with an air of boredom, their boots squishing against the dew-scented grass as they shuffled groggily back and forth and occasionally groaned low complaints at each other. Their slow movements and sleepy voices gave Vivian the sense that she'd somehow stumbled upon a horde of zombies. Really, just watching them shamble about was almost enough to drain her of energy...
Thankfully, Bow didn't leave them waiting for too terribly long.
"All right, my laborers!" the mint-green ghost called, having arrived just on time. After beckoning to her gaggle of languid staff members, she wheeled around and pointed back towards the town. "As promised, I've prepared a field trip for us! Now, come… follow closely! Quickly, quickly!"
Though the X-Nauts were a bit slow to start walking, they and Vivian eventually fell into line behind Bow and her trusty butler. The shadow and her fellow employees soon found themselves emerging from their warp pipe on the Poshley Heights outskirts, followed by them quickly making their way into town. Though the early morning meant that not many residents were out and about yet, Vivian could certainly see a non-zero number of people walking around – and most were none-too-happy to lay eyes upon her group.
She timidly put her head down, trying to ignore the undisguised glares that her fellow party members were getting from the prim and proper folk. The part of town closest to the entrance, located near the train station, was by far one of the most affluent parts – and the homeowners were clearly more than a little irritated to see the X-clad buffoons milling about near their houses.
Vivian was also a bit surprised to find that many of their glares weren't directed at just the X-Nauts.
"Hmmmph. Uncultured, the lot of them! They wouldn't know what good breeding looked like if it slapped them in the face," Bow huffed, turning up her nose… or, rather, what would have been her nose. "They don't like Boos around here, they say... pah! We'll show them what we can do, soon enough…!"
The prideful specter led her entourage down several side streets, eventually guiding them into the smaller, somewhat-less-posh suburbs that were situated towards the backside of the town. The homes slowly changed from large, multi-story, picturesque residences into relatively normal houses. Vivian looked about with curiosity – she'd never seen much beyond the main streets of Poshley Heights, even during her travels with Mario. Given, most visitors had no reason to ever travel outside of the busier spaces, but…
Eventually, Bow halted before a single-story residence, then opened the gate to the home's white picket fence as she motioned for the group to go on in.
"Well, then – here's our destination. Make your way inside. The door is unlocked!"
The X-Nauts shuffled past her, trotting along the flower-lined sidewalk and up towards the front door, which they entered at the ghost woman's insistence. Vivian was the last to go through, followed only by Bootler and Bow herself.
Upon floating in, the shadow immediately let out a stunned gasp.
"YUK YUK YUK YUK YUK! I knew it, I KNEW it! That's the reaction I was looking for, yuk yuk yuk yuk!"
The living room was already buzzing with an absurd amount of activity. Doopliss, who was perched upon a tan polyester sofa with a can of "Dr. Peppy" in hand, pointed and laughed with wild abandon as Vivian startled at the sheer number of houseguests. His was only the first pair of eyes that she met – many other faces, some of them very much familiar, watched from beyond as the newcomers made themselves comfortable. Madame Flurrie and various other crew members, including a Bub-ulb, a Bob-omb, three Toads, five purple-hued Boos, an unfamiliar Bumpty, and, strangely enough, Pennington, were already seated about the cozy, plant-filled space. The light scent of freshly watered greenery drifted through the air, inviting them all to settle in.
"Welcome to the set, darling!" Flurrie greeted her friend as she grinned widely at her shocked expression.
Vivian looked quickly from person to person as she tried to register all before her, still feeling more than a bit lost. "F-Flurrie!? What's going on here…?"
"EEEEEWWWW! It's them! Yuck!" a high-pitched voice squeaked from the floor, just next to Doopliss's feet. A little, slug-like face peered up, the petite creature it belonged to narrowing her eyes as she glimpsed Crump and his men.
"Yeah, I told you they'd be here? Don't act all surprised about it, dummy," Doopliss muttered, "If you're hanging out here, you've got to behave. If you don't, Flurrie'll give us both a real scolding later…"
"I know, I know, buuuut…" Petuni practically hissed as she continued to rear up on her hind legs.
Bow took a position before the crowd and immediately seized charge of the situation, shushing the many chattering voices. "Now, then, everyone… it's time for business! Congratulations to all of you for being selected by me! It appears that everyone's arrived, so… allow me to welcome you all to the launch of our very first joint project! It's time to begin our filming of 'The Shades of My Beloved', based upon the work of one of the Mushroom Kingdom's most adored and well-known authors: Herringway!"
The room applauded with varying levels of enthusiasm. Upon Bow's signal, Pennington, the extra unnamed Bumpty, and Flurrie all came forward.
"This plump bird over here is Bumby – one of Herringway's sons," Bow motioned to the additional Bumpty, who nodded perhaps a little too excitedly. Then, gesturing to Pennington, "Thanks to Bumby and our other noisy acquaintance over here, we'll be acting out a film inspired by one of his father's manuscripts. Both this house and the one next door are ours for the task!"
"When Lady Bow approached me to… ahem… inquire about opportunities," Pennington cringed slightly as he seemingly replayed the event within his mind, his eyes drifting over towards Bow's eternally commanding countenance, "the greatest idea suddenly emerged from the depths of my most brilliant mind! Though I initially wasn't too keen towards this raucous hubbub, I realized – a feature provides the perfect vehicle through which to reveal my improbably large brain to the world! People far and wide deserve to see a truly great detective at work. I applaud Bow for being able to recognize the true value of my talents! Oooooh ho ho ho ho ho!"
Bow rolled her eyes.
"…And my thanks to my dearest friend Bumby as well, for allowing me this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Herringway is a most critical inspiration to us both," Pennington mused, lowering his head in pensive thought as he undoubtedly began to recall some of the most pivotal moments in his life.
"Yah, my dad's the best! Even his rejected manuscripts are worth the world, I'd say!"
Vivian tilted her head as Pennington quickly shushed his friend, thus blocking him off from saying any more than was absolutely necessary. However, Bow continued to speak, undeterred by whatever kind of unfortunate admission as to the nature of their project may have just nearly slipped out.
"For this film, the wondrous Madame Flurrie has agreed to partner with us. Her experience will be an incredible boon to you newbies – so respect her!" Lady Bow commanded as she glared pointedly at the X-Nauts. "Understood?"
"Yeah, yeah… roger that," Crump grunted, giving his men a little look. They stared back, their uncertainty visible from beneath their goggles. Yet, one at a time, they nodded in confirmation.
"Good! I have high expectations. With all of that out of the way… let's get started! You'd better believe this movie will be a rousing success with me at the helm, gweeeaah heee haaa!"
Vivian glanced about the room after having taken a seat close to Petuni. The little slug-like creature whispered excitedly to Doopliss, who was nodding and grumbling periodically with a bored expression. Meanwhile, the shadow couldn't help but notice that the purple Boos – brought in from the sanctum, no doubt - seemed to only focus on Lady Bow, ignoring everyone else in the area. Similarly, the X-Nauts were crowded about Crump in their own corner, thus leaving Flurrie's actors isolated entirely.
She wasn't quite sure that movie crews were normally so segregated, but she hoped they'd be able to work together well enough.
"Time is of the essence, so let's get to it! …Bootler!" Lady Bow turned to her number one servant as she motioned to a pile of papers sitting upon a nearby end table. "You have obligations elsewhere. Pass the scripts out to the actors before you go!"
Despite giving Bow one last protest about said other obligations, Bootler obediently retrieved the packets and distributed them around the room before pulling a few of the X-Nauts aside. With one last word to Bow, he retrieved the letter that Vivian had prepared for Jolene the night before, then set off out the door.
Evidently, Bootler's group wasn't to return for a while. Bow apparently planned to manage the set without her trusty butler's assistance – not that she seemed least bit bothered by that. The ghostly lady snapped her fan shut and took a seat upon a cushy director's chair, sighing with a contented bliss as she glanced at the clock and waited for those in her service to review their assigned roles.
Vivian took a moment to read over the start of her script copy, marked with her own character's name: "Violet Vermillion." From her skimming, she could glean that the plot was a murder mystery, centered around a master detective's sleuthing as he worked with his loyal assistant to uncover the secrets behind a closed room homicide.
The shadow gulped as she realized. While she wasn't the protagonist, it appeared that Bow had assigned her one of the most important parts in the entire script: the murder victim's wife.
Bow smirked, peering over at Vivian. "Oho? Worried? Well, don't be – I'm going to craft you into a shining star, whether you like it or not! That role was originally written for a Boo, but it suits you to a tee. No true Boo would be that docile… Rather, they'd live their life freely!"
As the shadow continued to read, she could hear the other actors commenting on their own roles.
"Well, uh. I guess at least this looks pretty easy," Crump mumbled as he flipped through his own part. "So, I mostly just gotta lay around on the floor and pretend to be dead? …Seriously?"
"Hey, that's perfect for you! You know what that feels like, right?" One of the X-Nauts – Johnson, if Vivian remembered – nudged Crump in the side, jesting.
"Wow," the X-Naut commander grumbled. "Too soon."
Nearby, Pennington folded his arms, contemplating as he absorbed the words before him: "Ah, yes, my rightful place as the protagonist has been unveiled… finally! I had deduced such a day would come. The time for me to step into the illuminating spotlight has arrived…!"
"'Bout time, eh? This'll be amazing!" His excited Bumpty assistant clapped his flippers together.
Chewing upon her lip, Vivian considered her own role in the script. It looked like most of the filming would take place within Poshley Heights, with just a small part of it taking advantage of the imposing looks of the X-Naut dormitory. The plot was fairly simple: Violet Vermillion's husband, Victor Vermillion, was murdered while he was writing his newest novel. The man was an eccentric, known for deadbolting his bedroom door from the inside, where he would huddle for days while focusing on naught but his literature. Violet was out visiting her friend, Flinn the Bub-ulb, when something absolutely ghastly occurred.
Upon flipping through, a certain aspect of the story made Vivian furrow her brow in concern. …Violet Vermillion had a sister. A twin sister. Vivian looked up from her script and peered over at the actor that was to play her sibling…
Only to find her own face staring back at her.
"Hmm hmm hmm…!" The doppelganger giggled from his seat on the couch, smirking as Vivian let out a light gasp. "Surprised? Look, we match, hmm hmm hmm!"
"A-ah!? That's not funny…!" Vivian glowered at her clone. "Don't do that for no reason, please!"
After traveling with Mario and fighting alongside him, Vivian had finally reached the point where she was able to feel proud of who she truly was. …Of her identity. Reaching that milestone had meant a lot to her, so having this once-thief take on her face so casually was a bit…
"Oh, don't get your panties in a wad. I'm just getting into costume, y'know? Yuk yuk yuk yuk!" Doopliss cackled as he switched back to his normal appearance with a poof. "It'll be fine, don't be such a killjoy! You don't want to get wrinkles on your face – it'll make you look too much like that other nasty hag. YUK YUK YUK YUK!"
Vivian growled as a burst of warmth rose to her cheeks. She clenched her fists. "Doopliss, you're going too far! Quit it!"
"Fine, fiiiiine, you stick in the mud…"
Doopliss let out a grumble and pouted as he shoved himself further back into the couch for dramatic effect. Petuni stared up at him with an accusing look on her face.
"You're so mean."
Despite the sour taste in her mouth, Vivian wasn't given more than a few moments to stew in her irritation. Bow quickly called for the performers to begin reading their lines aloud, instructing them to not outright act upon them but instead to analyze them and understand the flow of the story. As she voiced her lines, Vivian quietly considered the relationship between her own character… and Doopliss's. Violet Vermillion was a woman who'd decided to leave her sister and her old life of isolation behind after falling in love with and marrying an outsider. And yet, her bitter, angry sister kept trying to drag her back in…
Was Bow trying to say something?
However, she didn't have time to pull the Boo woman aside and ask. The day passed by at a lightning pace and, before it felt like Vivian even had a moment to catch her breath, Bow announced the end of their rehearsal.
"That's enough for today. You did a decent job – your work has kept up with my lofty expectations thus far," she commented as she snapped her fan shut with a sense of finality. "Meet back up here at 7:00 AM tomorrow, all of you. Dismissed!"
As the other actors began to trickle out, the ghostly noble pointed to Vivian and Crump, giving them their own version of the command.
"You lot! I'll see you in a couple of hours – we're working overtime! Each and every one of you needs all the training you can get!" she demanded, jabbing her fan at them like a sword. "But, first… Crump. I'm sending you and your goons in to buy us some more equipment. You're to get us everything we need to set up an overhead rig in the bedroom, pronto."
"Where the murder scene is? …Yeah, I mean, sure, but there's no way I have time to sort that out tonight and still get the practice in," Crump grumbled, though he still took the bag of coins that the apparitional woman passed over to him. "I've got a few errands I've gotta run too, so…"
"What? Come, now. That's what you have those men for, isn't it?" Bow scoffed, "Just go buy it and have them set it up while you go do whatever it is you need to do. I expect everything to be prepared by tomorrow morning!"
With that final order, Bow left her employees behind, not sparing them even a single further glance out of her busy schedule. Accepting that her role was over for the moment, Vivian slung her bag over her shoulder and began to move towards the exit…
…when Crump held out a hand to stop her.
"Uh… hey, could you hold up just a second?" A hint of hesitation tinged his voice.
Vivian paused and took a good look at the bulky man. He was fidgeting again as he scratched at the back of his head, an air of bashfulness about him. The X-Nauts behind him stared at the shadow wearily, though they said nothing.
"Hmm?" she questioned, quickly becoming nervous. "What's the matter? Is something wrong…?"
"I mean, not really, but…"
He looked down at the coin pouch Bow had given him, then extended it out towards Vivian.
"I'm not gonna ask you to do all the shopping yourself, but… well, we could really use some help, if you wouldn't mind sparing a few minutes. There's a little specialty shop over near the front of town, closer to the station, but… uh…"
She cocked her head. "I mean, I can, but… why?"
"Well… I think you'll understand when we get there."
Rather than trek through the main part of town again, Crump instead elected to lead Vivian along some of the most obscure paths imaginable to man. From the way that he and the other X-Nauts weaved between buildings, finding gaps amongst the hedges where they could slip in and out without catching the notice of the townsfolk, Vivian got the impression that they'd become more than just a little used to skulking about the shadows of Poshley Heights.
Eventually, after prowling about the area like spies, they emerged just a few streets down from the railway station. The X-Naut commander pointed Vivian towards a specific building: "Quali T.'s Pro Photo Supply". Countless professional-grade cameras and advertisements for mounts, lenses, and high-quality lighting apparatuses lined the store's front window.
"Wait here for just a bit, boys," Crump told the other X-Nauts as he prompted them to stand a short distance back. The little men were already lining up just beyond a nearby dumpster before the words were even fully out of his mouth, quickly obscuring themselves beyond its large form.
With his soldiers out of the way, the X-Naut commander directed Vivian through the front door, though he firmly insisted on walking behind her rather than leading.
"Alrighty, pretty sure I know what we're looking for," the horned man started to speak after peering about the store's entryway, though he swiftly pulled Vivian into one of the aisles and out of the view of the main desk. The shop wasn't terribly large – it couldn't have had more than ten lanes, and the few customers around at the hour seemed to be busy with their own searches, but…
"You're acting kind of sketchy," Vivian whispered, leaning in close. "Is everything okay?"
"Uh, yeah. Just… well-"
"Do you need something?"
Before Crump could string together a coherent sentence, a stern-looking Toad with a thick, bushy mustache peered out from beyond the aisle's end. Vivian had seen him just a moment ago, where he'd been idling at the cash register… The store's owner, maybe? At the very least, his aura implied that he had some level of authority.
He was glaring directly at Crump.
"Uh… hey!" Crump scratched at his head, motioning to Vivian. "I'm here with her today. B-buh… uh, yeah! She's looking for some equipment, and she needed some help, so… y'know…"
The store owner looked over to Vivian, perplexed. "Hmm? Is that right…? This man isn't bothering you, is he?"
"Ah, no!" Vivian shook her head. "It's just... my boss requested that I pick up an overhead camera rig for our film. We need something that can fit within a bedroom, if that's possible. Could you help us with that?"
"Well, young lady, those are over here. What you need'll depend on the dimensions of the bedroom, so if you have those…"
The man led them over to a section filled with boxes, then explained the differences between each brand and his recommendations. However, as Vivian relayed the relevant measurements by reciting the hastily scribbled notes that Crump passed over… she noticed.
The shopkeeper simply refused to speak to the X-Naut general. Even when Crump did ask questions, the man would simply redirect his answers to Vivian instead, acting almost as if he didn't exist.
Something wasn't right.
Eventually, after they'd explored their options and made their final selection, Vivian counted out the owed number of coins and handed them over. Crump grabbed their purchase with both hands and wasted no time in making his way out the front door.
As Vivian turned to leave, the shopkeeper stopped her with a low whisper.
"You sure you don't need any help? If you're in trouble, I've got some people I can call…" he murmured, his eyes lingering upon the exit.
"N-no, no, I'm fine! He's an acquaintance of mine and I, um…" The shadow stammered as she awkwardly continued to edge towards the door. "Thank you, but don't worry! Everything is fine!"
"Hold on, just a moment!" The man called out after her, his gaze drifting over and settling upon a nearby desk phone. Quickly, he began to move towards it, his hand extended...
Vivian made her exit before she found out what came next.
"Oooooh, gee whiz, that made me really nervous…"
Vivian took a deep breath as she sat upon a bench, her hand hovering over a piece of stationery. Before she headed home, she'd promised herself that she'd take a moment to send a letter, though she was unfortunately having more than a little trouble concentrating on her writing.
After getting their hands on their new equipment, most of the X-Nauts had disappeared back the way they came; presumably, they'd headed off to install it. Meanwhile, as far as she was aware, Crump was still taking care of his own business nearby. He'd hobbled off after mentioning something about visiting a bank, thus leaving Vivian to take care of her own task.
It looked like the X-Nauts' relationship with the townsfolk was way worse than she'd realized.
Though, she'd have to worry about that later – before anything else, she needed to finish up. The shadow peered down at her letter and carefully wrote out a few sentences, mouthing the words as her hand moved. She cherry-picked just a few details from her life to share – that she'd settled into her new home, that she was working on a movie, and that the day had gone well – before lifting her pen and wondering if she should conclude it there.
Then, after chewing on the tip of her pen for a moment, she included two more sentences.
"I'll write again soon. I love you!"
Fighting back the temptation to crinkle up the letter and throw it away right there, she slid it into an envelope, addressed it, stamped it, and then thrust it into the public postbox.
She didn't know if Beldam cared at all. She wasn't even sure if Beldam would read any of her letters, no matter how often she sent them. Maybe she'd toss them all in the trash.
But, Vivian wanted to hold onto hope. That maybe, someday, if she were persistent enough in expressing her feelings…
She clenched her hands tight, still floating silently before the receptacle as she contemplated her situation.
"You all done too, buh huh?" A deep, gruff voice interrupted her thoughts as it questioned her from beyond, its owner having just emerged from a nearby building. "Wanna head back together?"
Vivian looked up as Crump wandered over, his cape gently swaying as he walked. He eyed her curiously.
"Oh… sure!" She nodded as she put her sister out of her mind. …Actually, she'd been kind of hoping she'd run into him before he walked back.
With their errands finished, the two of them made their way towards the town's edge, then eventually exited the boundary of Poshley Heights. It would take them just a few more minutes of travel to reach the warp pipe to Riverside Valley. But, first, before they got back into X-Naut territory…
"Um. Excuse me, Crump? Would you mind if I asked you something?"
Vivian stopped and peered at Crump as she waited for his response. The trees rustled gently in the wind; nothing but the sounds of the natural world intruded upon them.
"Buh?" He halted, looking back at her with a hint of surprise in his voice. "Uh, yeah… I guess that's fine? I mean, as long as it's nothing too weird…"
The shadow paused for a moment as she thought of how to word her next inquiry.
"Mmmm… I wanted to know more about what happened back there. At the camera store."
The shopkeeper's reactions had really bothered her.
"Oh. …Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Yeah…" Crump scratched at the back of his head and let out a soft hum before he continued. "I think I said something about it before? Back when the festival was going on, I mean. …The townspeople… yeah, uh, they really don't like us. Like… not even a little bit."
"Is there any reason why? You didn't do something again, did you…?"
"Not really, but… actually, you wanna take a seat? Maybe we should have a little chat about things."
He trundled over to a small clearing amidst the trees and plopped down in the soft grass, where he patted at a spot next to him. With a nod, Vivian followed and lowered herself to the ground.
"So… here's the deal. We didn't really do anything, not after the whole Thousand-Year Door shindig fell through," he started to explain as he picked at the greenery beneath his feet. "At first, we were actually doing pretty okay – not great, but okay. I don't think the people around here ever really liked us, sure, but they tolerated us about the same as they do those Bumpties." He paused. "That… kinda changed real quick after a certain play took off, though."
"…You mean…"
Vivian's face fell. She had an idea of what he was going to say next.
"Yeah. Flurrie and Doopliss's masterpiece. Good ol' 'Paper Mario'."
…That… made a lot of sense. She'd seen the play herself. It was a wonderful, riveting performance, but its depiction of their journey had been very clear about the nature of the X-Nauts and the crimes they'd committed…
To say the least, it wasn't a positive portrayal.
Crump sighed as he leaned back. "I know it's supposed to be some kinda fun, papercraft-themed version of the stuff that happened, right? Lots of meta humor or something? But, like… it was still marketed as 'based on true events.'"
"I… see." Vivian gave him a sympathetic look. "That would make things hard, wouldn't it? I was played by a Boo, so not many people recognized me afterwards, but… mmm, well, a few people have put it together after reading the novel or playing the video game. It's always a little weird when someone points it out…"
It didn't come up much, but she was always the slightest bit wary whenever someone asked her about the resemblance.
"Once all that took off and word spread, we were toast. All kinds of people've had it out for us ever since. We can't even take two steps without someone having a problem with it. I mean, I can't say we didn't earn it, but… man. Never really thought I'd be so low in life that I'd have to go dumpster diving for dinner, but…" he murmured, fumbling his fingers. "To be real, I… it's been hard. Between all that, Grodus, and just trying to keep the others from losing it, things have been real tough. I… was kinda starting to think we weren't gonna make it."
Vivian fell silent. She tugged at the edge of her glove whilst biting at her lip. The natural thing to say would've been something along the lines of "I'm so sorry" or "you don't deserve it," but…
Was that really true?
"So, uh… yeah. I guess that's it." He looked over at her as he folded his hands in front of him. "…This is kinda awkward. But, uh… actually, before we go, I think there's one other thing I wanna say."
He paused for just a second as he grasped at the weeds. Then, in a low voice, he spoke:
"…Thanks again. For… helping us out."
The shadow looked up and briefly met his gaze. He shuffled away from her in response.
Wasting no time in standing up, he kicked at the ground, then bashfully looked to the side as he continued talking. "I'm still seriously worried about Grodus, and things still aren't great, but… I can say I have a little bit of hope now. …So, thanks. Like… it means a lot. Really."
She hadn't expected this.
Vivian thought of her own life. Of her time spent with Beldam – of how they used to waste the days away roaming the underground as they just tried to stay alive. Of how they'd once used their powers to sneak into stores, stealing bits of food where they could. Of how far from ordinary her experiences had been.
And then she thought of Mario, who'd shown her a different way of living. …Even though they'd once been enemies. Even though she'd been unknowingly helping Beldam to revive the Shadow Queen. Even though she likely would've assisted Beldam all the way until the end, had Mario not extended his hand…
…Could she possibly be that person for someone else?
She didn't know if she was strong enough for that. But, she was willing to try.
With a resolute nod, she rose from the ground and took one of Crump's hands in hers, then gave it a firm shake.
"Don't worry. It'll be okay," she confirmed as she absolutely beamed at him. "We'll make it through. If we work really hard, if we show that we mean it... we can do it!"
"B-buh…? Wha?" Crump stared blankly at her, his bewilderment written all over his body language.
But, with that final declaration, the shadow turned and began heading towards the Riverside Valley pipe. They had work to do.
She didn't know if Beldam would ever accept her. She didn't know if Mario would ever return. She didn't know if Crump would be able to find the answers to his problems, if either of them could ever fully rise above their pasts, or if they would ever truly find their place in the world, but…
She had to give it her all. And, right then, that meant becoming the best actress she could be.
Chapter image: www tumblr com/thegroduschronicles/759557781606055936