Olly knocked on the door to the basement. "If he's anywhere, it's down here."
"Who just...hangs out in their basement?" Izuku asked.
"My father. He folds origami down there, all day every day."
"That can't be healthy."
Olly looked a bit embarrassed. "I do the same thing, Izuku."
The door opened to a green Toad wearing a brown apron. "Olly? What are you doing here? I know you said you weren't ready to talk yet, but I didn't mean to rush you or anything with my res-"
"Oh, thank Grambi that you're alright!" Olly cried, sobbing into his small hands.
He walked to Olly, his voice dropping to a kinder tone. "Oh, Olly. What happened? Why are you all worked up? Who's your friend?"
"He is-I-the town was empty-Dimentio-"
He shushed him consolingly. "Here, why don't we come inside and have some tea? It'll calm you down. And your friend too."
Olly had calmed down enough to speak, but was still trying to not cry. He seemed pretty shaken, and Izuku understood the worry he had for his parent. After all, he had the same worry for his mom right now.
"Okay," the Origami Craftsman said. "So, explain to me about your friend."
Olly sniffled. "Izuku...Olivia told me she found him floating around in the water when she was coming back from visiting you. She and I helped nurse him back to help. I'm glad he awoke so soon..."
"Why did you come to see me? I know I hurt you, and we both know we've made up; but you did tell me you weren't ready."
"I went to Toad Town and everyone was g-gone...! I was so worried something happened to you...!"
"Oh, Olly. I understand how you feel. I was worried for you when you turned against me."
"What happened to Toad Town?"
"I'm not quite sure. The sky changed color, and I thought it was sunset. So I went out for my evening walk and saw a strange vortex in the sky! I wonder if the Toads were taken away in it."
"That explains why a Koopa Troopa told me Mario was on an adventure in another world...And that's terrible timing, because we need to find Mario and bring him back to Izuku's world."
"Hm? Why?"
"We were told Izuku had one chance to find the best hero in this world. We have to bring Mario back to Izuku's world so we can stop Dimentio."
CRASH.
"Origami Craftsman, are you alright? Why do you look so terrified? You dropped your tea kettle..."
"D-Dimentio?" He asked with a shaky voice.
"Yes...? Have you heard of him?"
"Heard of him? We've all witnessed him! He opened a huge rip in reality! He almost killed everyone! I was so scared...I was working on the concept for my origami kingdom then...I'm so glad Mario and Luigi were able to stop him. I'm glad I can see your face for another day, Olly. You mustn't go after him. He could kill you in a second! I don't care how strong you are, I won't allow it!"
"Origami Craftsman," Izuku said, "I have to! He captured my students and threatened the world! He almost killed me, but I have to do something to stop him! That's what being a hero is all about! You have to do whatever it takes to stop villains and protect those who can't protect themselves!"
He sighed, sweeping the broken tea kettle into a dustpan. "You're right. Olly's a brave boy, and Olivia is too. It's just that Olivia threw herself into danger's way to stop her brother and ended up dead. I don't want Olly doing the same thing. I was even against Olivia doing as such, but I couldn't face you directly. I was too scared of what I made you become." He dumped the broken glass into the trash bin. "But...You're putting someone ahead of yourself, and that's what a king does. He puts his family and kingdom before himself. And you're so brave as well, just like your sister. Heh...I know I'm your father, but you're a king. If you think fighting Dimentio is the best choice you have to protect your new friend, then so be it. You do what you think is best, Olly."
"I only went to Toad Town for information on Dimentio, but it seems like that's impossible. I didn't want to do this, but seems like we have to seek her out after all."
Izuku looked to Olly. He was calm and composed again, just how he was inside the castle. "Find who?"
"The Great Genie, Scara. I've used my wish up already, but maybe her All-Knowing Eye can tell us how to beat Dimentio. And luckily, I already know how to get there. We just need to head back to Toad Town. Thankfully, I'm feeling more myself again, so my directions should be more clear. I didn't mean for us to circle that boulder four times..." He chuckled.
Izuku saw it now. Olly used humor and a serious attitude to cover his feelings. Izuku just chuckled along, then mentioned they had to get going if they wanted to get their hero before Dimentio pulled Izuku back to his world.
Olly led him into a museum, which thankfully still had its curator, and motioned towards a gray pipe. Going through, and ignoring how strange it felt, led them to a large room with colored pipes all over it. Izuku spotted a black pipe right in the center, which is the same pipe he spotted as they left the castle. He didn't point it out because it didn't seem important at the time.
"That pipe..."
Olly looked to it. "Oh, yes. The museum set up these pipes so people could easily travel around the Mushroom Kingdom. I have the pipe set up, but the system hasn't been connected yet. That's why we had to take a journey instead of using this." He flew over to a yellow pipe. "We'll be taking this one. It'll take us right outside where we need to be!"
"That's great, but I want to talk to you about something."
"Not now," Olly said, sounding a bit irate. "We need to hurry! It took us almost an entire day to get here, and I don't want to waste what precious time we have left!"
He went through the pipe. There was obviously something bothering him, but he didn't want to say what. He must have thought Izuku noticed and wanted to confront him about that. Izuku just wanted to mention his unhealthy coping mechanism, is all.
Izuku followed after him, and the tiny king was gone. Izuku did hear talking nearby, so he headed to his left and saw Olly talking to himself again.
"It can't be...He can't have found out so soon. I'm not ready for this yet. I'm not ready to be king. I-I just want to go back to the Origami Craftsman and be normal. Last time I was put in charge, I nearly committed genocide. Who says it won't happen again?" He sniffled. "My Fold of Life is too weak. I can't help Izuku even if I wanted to. I'm just sending him back, then I'm going to go back to my normal life. I'm not getting wrapped up in something that I don't need to. Oh, but what am I thinking? Izuku and the Origami Craftsman will be so disappointed in me if I just ditch him like that!"
He wanted to leave Izuku to fight Dimentio alone. Izuku expected this. Olly seemed like he was still a child, and he had his own world to worry about. He was stressing himself over too much, and Izuku felt a little bad. Izuku was planning on going back without Olly from the start. He thought telling Olly this would comfort him.
"Olly, it's okay. I wasn't going to bring you. I can tell you're stressed and I'm not going to-"
"Stressed? Nonsense! And what are you going on about? Of course I'm coming with you! Why would I not?"
"I heard what you said about staying behind. I get it. You don't have to come."
"But I do, Izuku. You don't understand. I don't want to, but I know I have to. This is for the best of everyone. If I die, then so be it! It'll be better if I died anyway!" Olly used a commanding voice on Izuku, meaning he was completely serious.
Izuku frowned. "Olly, you're just going to hurt yourself if you do this."
"So what?! I probably deserve it! You have no idea what I've done! I didn't even deserve to survive when they folded me back to undo my mistake! I wish I just died then and there! You wouldn't be in trouble, Toad Town wouldn't be destroyed, and Olivia wouldn't have died! I killed her, Izuku! I killed my sister!"
"I know you said you revived her but-"
"I killed her!" He screamed. He had completely lost his composure now. Izuku could tell this was Olly's true emotions. "And it was all because I lost my f*cking temper! I felt so bad when I crushed her with that boulder...But I pretended I didn't care because I knew I shouldn't! I forced her best friend to commit suicide just so he could save her! And then she kills herself to undo my mistake. My! Mistake! I should have fixed it myself! I shouldn't have asked Olivia to do that sort of thing! I don't care I was about to die, I should have saved her! I could have done everything better, including getting my kingdom back! But I got it back from PITY! Peach felt bad for me! She let me have it with no real work, no real pride put into getting it! I am a piece of sh*t, Izuku! I didn't do anything to deserve life! I tried to kill the one who gave me life! I made him waste all the magical energy he had so Olivia could fix my problem!" He screamed into his hands.
Izuku pat him consolingly. "Olly, I know it's bad, but that was the past. You won't feel better until you let it go."
Olly sniffled. "I'm so sorry, Izuku. It's just that...I don't think I'm ready to be king. Everyone says I am, but I know it's not true. I'm so sorry I exploded at you like that. I guess I just needed to get that off my chest."
"At least you can calm down fast, that's good."
"Not good enough," Olly sighed. "I need to be the best king I can, but I just can't. Even Bowser's a better ruler than me."
"You just don't have much practice yet."
Olly chuckled a bit. "Being a rule isn't really something you can 'practice' at, but I get the gesture." He sighed. "I'm sorry, Izuku. I have to do this, and that's something we can't change. If we can't stop Dimentio, then he'll probably come to this world next. I can't risk loosing everything I've worked so hard for."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I'm certain."
"Okay. So how do we get to this genie?"
"We need to go to that pedestal there. There's stairs leading to a freezer. An Ancient One was apparently banished down there centuries ago. Olivia and Mario set him free. I didn't see him at the port. He must have been taken from that vortex. Or he fled into one of the houses nearby. I wouldn't blame him if he did, I probably would have done the same thing."
Izuku followed Olly down the stairs, noticing the sudden dip in temperature. Olly was right about it being a freezer; there were pieces of meat lying around. Izuku noticed a pattern on the ground that seemed abnormal.
"What's this?"
Olly came over. "That's Origami Magic. It's called a Magic Circle. This one is for the Fire Vellumental. If you're lucky, you might be able to see it!" Olly went to the furthest wall from the symbol. "Over here."
Izuku came over. "Yes?"
"There's a hidden passage here. You need magic to open it. So allow me to do that for you."
Olly faced the wall and tapped his hands to it. He muttered something and slid his hands apart and off the wall. The wall cracked, and slid the same directions his hands had gone.
"Alright...Let's go." Olly sounded exhausted. He wasn't as tired as he'd been before, but he was still physically drained.
"Are you sure you can do this?"
"I've got this, with your help. I think you're right. I am putting too much on myself right now. So...I'm going to ask for you help. Could you please h-help me? Please?"
Izuku smiled. "Yes, I'll help you. Let's go. If you start to feel tired, I can give you an oatmeal bar or something. Do you want one?"
"Yes please..."
Izuku dug through his pockets and pouches until he found one. "This one has chocolate chips in it."
"Thank you." He grabbed it from Izuku. "Shall we continue? I can eat and fly."
Izuku nodded and followed Olly down the hall.
Torches illuminated the walls, stretching their shadows until they blended with the darkness ahead. Olly flew a bit faster than Izuku's normal walking speed, so he had to speed-walk to keep up with him.
"Wait, Izuku. I hear voices. Nobody should be down here. Only Bobby and I know where this place is."
They both dashed down the hall, ducking behind a pillar and listening to the voices in the large room up ahead.
"That's the lamp." The voice belonged to a woman, although very deep and stern.
"It seems kind of big," responded a higher, male voice. "We can't drag this thing out of here!"
"We won't need to," replied the woman's voice. "Because this place is so valuable, hardly anyone knows how to access this location! So we can go down here as many times as we wish, and nobody will know a thing!" She chuckled.
Izuku peeked around the pillar into the room. There was a group of short purple men and...He found where the woman's voice came from. She was tall, imposing, and was draped in purple. The only difference from her dress and her hat was that her top hat held deep blue stripes on it. She dressed like she was rich. She went to the giant, faintly-glowing, lamp and wiped it with her thumb.
Why she would touch dirt and dust with those fancy, white gloves confused him.
"Oh, Great Genie Scara! I call upon you to make a wish!"
Olly came from behind the pillar, sword drawn. "What do you think you're doing?!"
She looked to Olly, a golden mask covering her entire face. It reminded Izuku of Dimentio, and he didn't like that feeling. Izuku jumped out as well, preparing for a battle.
She scoffed. "Who are you rats, and why do you think scaring me will do any good?" She held a scepter in her left hand. "Oh, wait. I know you." She tapped a finger to the bottom of her mask. "You're that foolish child-king who brought his entire kingdom to destruction in a day. Olly, was it?"
Olly growled. "You have no right to say that about me! I'm fixing things! Who are you, and what are you doing here? This is sacred ground, so unless you're planning on leaving-"
"Leave? Ha. I'm here to get a wish; same as you." She rested her hand to the back of her hand. Izuku finally noticed she lacked a body.
Just like Dimentio's arms.
"But I heard that you were planning on stealing the lamp!" Olly cried.
"No, even I'm not that idiotic. It was a considered option until we saw it wouldn't fit through the door. But even so, who are you to try and stop me? As I said, I'm here for my wish and my wish alone. My Sour Bunch is here simply because I need them for moral support."
Olly blinked. "Sour Bunch?"
She stopped, put her hands against the skirt of her dress in a sassy manner and chuckled. "Are you toying with me? How do you not know who I am? Does the name Grape not strike any bells?" She tapped the top of the scepter against her mask.
Olly shook his head. "I've never heard of you before. I'm surprised you know things about me since-"
"Silence!" She scoffed. "Well, I suppose now's my time to build my reputation...My name is Grape, and this is my Sour Bunch." She pointed a finger at the two. "You and your quiet friend will not stand in my way! I will get this wish, no matter if I have to battle some children to do so."
Izuku raised his had slightly. "Actually, I'm an adult."
"It doesn't matter to me. After all, I only wish to-"
"Why do you look like Dimentio?"
A deep silence fell over the room. Sour Bunch whispered to one another. Grape stared at him with confusion. Olly seemed a bit uncomfortable.
"Who's that?" Grape asked. "Dimen-tea-o? I've never heard a more childish name. At least my name is logical."
"He also didn't have any arms, and he wore a mask, and he talked kind of like you too. He even wore purple, yellow, and a hat."
"Hmph. I have no idea who this man is, but if he thinks he can take my stage, he's wrong. My tragedy is a one-woman act! I do not need some...impostor stealing my spotlight!" She faced her Sour Bunch, her thick purple curls tossing to the side. "Sour Bunch, we're leaving! We have more important business to do first. Plus, we can still get the wish anyway. It'll be held back for now. I mean, it's not like this lamp is going to move anytime soon." She snickered.
She snapped and a large, swirling, purple portal opened. She let the Sour Bunch through first, stopping before she left after them. She looked back at Izuku.
"Don't think this is over. If I find you roaming into my turf again, you will suffer great agony, and will surely end with a tragedy."
