Grodus gripped his staff tightly, trying to steady his anger. In front of him were the three Shadow Sirens who seemed to be in lower spirits after losing to Soren for the second time.

"Beldam…tell me, what good are you? You STILL haven't taken care of that Soren boy and captured the princess!?"

"Well, yes, sorry, but…only because he's tougher than we thought at first…"

"You do understand that we X-Nauts must open the door first, do you not?" Beldam gave out a hearty cackle.

"Well, rest assured that I will definitely nail him next time. We have prepared a weapon that will bring him to a quick and certain end." Grodus looked down at them, skeptical of their claim given their previous attempts.

"I trust your words…though I rapidly lose my patience. Just remember that NO harm is to come to the princess. Are we clear?"

"Just leave it to us, sire. You shall be rid of that annoyance, and the princess will be in your hands. I assure you." Beldam turned back to her sisters, "Let's away, my lovelies! Marilyn! Vivian!" With her command, Beldam fell into her shadow, Marilyn quick to follow.

"Ugghh…guh." Vivian wavered for a moment, reflecting back on their last encounter with Soren.

"…" Eventually, Grodus was left in the room alone.

"…It seems you continue to be a thorn in my side…but your luck shall run out eventually. Then I will take what is rightfully mine and you will suffer until the ends of time."

Alice

Despite being captured for the better part of a week, those goons had only come to interrogate me twice so far. The first time when they grabbed me, and again when Soren ended up finding the first crystal star. After that, they just left me in this room to wait for whatever they had planned next…which was agony.

"This is actual torture." I grumbled, tussling my hair in frustration. "If they gave me a choice, I'd take electric shocks over being bored to death." …Probably not but the point still stands. I was effectively a tool for them and they were apparently done with me for now, leaving me to just sit and wait for food without anything to do or anyone to talk to…well, except for TEC every now and again. "…They haven't been back to ask about Soren…if he's still causing trouble then they must be pulling their hair out…I hope he's alright." He had to have met back up with Gareth and Lily by this point, if not then that just makes me more worried about them all, "Gah! I hate not being able to do anything!" As an answer to my outcry, the door to my room opened. TEC must want to talk again.

I stepped back into the computer room, greeted by the same voice I always was when entering this room.

"Hello Alice."

"Hi TEC. What do you want?" I may have been bored but I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of thinking I had nothing better to do.

"I apologize. I would like you to go to where Sir Grodus is and ask him something."

"Why do you want to ask him something?"

"I recently obtained specific information that brought an…issue to my attention."

"So there's something you don't know?"

"Correct." He never just comes out and says it. He talks like one of Lily's written explanations, "I am unable to know things that are not entered in my CPU or otherwise recorded. That is why I want to know what Sir Grodus is thinking about this issue."

"Well, asking me to be your messenger won't get you anywhere. Stomping my way up to him isn't an option with the elevator not working. I doubt he would even hear my question out."

"That is true. But you will find a soldier's room one floor up. I will activate the elevator for you. Once there, obtain a solider's uniform and change into it, avoiding detection. Go to Sir Grodus looking like a soldier."

"So, disguised…" While I may not like the guy for capturing me and trying to mess with my friends…I suppose I can stomach a brief conversation with the guy…long enough to ask TEC's question at least, "…I'm guessing I don't have a choice if I want to keep contacting my friend."

"That is correct."

"…What's your question?"

I gave a small sigh as the elevator traveled up slowly. It was weird that I was humoring a computer, just to be able to contact the outside world for a moment. It might have beat sitting in that room all day again but it was still really weird.

The elevator came to a stop suddenly, but the doors didn't open.

"Please wait a moment. There are soldiers in the vicinity." I stood there, and listened as a pair of footsteps got closer and closer before growing quieter and quieter. Only when the footsteps were gone entirely did the doors open, "The soldiers locker room is to your left on the same wall as the elevator." I quickly and quietly left the elevator, finding the room I needed and slipping inside before anyone could see. The room was completely empty, with a pair of changing curtains on one side and a row of lockers on the other. A quick search of the lockers had me find a spare soldier's uniform on a hanger.

"This is a bit small for me." I commented as I stepped into the changing room. "…And it reeks. Don't these guys shower?" These things were almost a foot shorter than I was, so this was not going to be easy or comfortable. With a bit of work and a sucked in breath, I was able to fit into the unform just barely. If this thing didn't conceal my whole body, then everyone would be able to see a look of strained tension across my face the entire time. "…I'd better be quick before it rips."

"The main room is next to this room, at the end of the hall." That makes things easier…sort of, I'll need to put on my best grunt voice.

Stepping into the main room, I saw bobblehead pacing back and forth and grumbling to himself with a certain venom in his tone. Odds are, things weren't going his way and he was fuming about it…while I was glad that Soren was causing trouble, it might have made my job a lot harder. As I took a step forward, he turned to me.

"What do you want grunt?"

"Well…it's about the prisoner girl. What are your plans with her going forward?" Grodus leaned in to me.

"Hmmmmmmm? Something is wrong with…your voice, X-Naut." He began to pat at his robe as he spoke, "Perhaps I have a throat lozenge…no. Well, never mind. You were asking about the girl? She's incidental. I bargaining chip to be used should things become unavoidable. Once we have Princess Peach, we will no longer need that bothersome girl. Just keep her locked in her room for now. But don't ever, EVER treat her roughly. You understand? Tell the others as well." That's not an answer.

"But…she's rude and violent…why are we keeping her?"

"That's none of your business! Don't forget your place you impudent worm! Concentrate on getting the legendary treasure! That is all I require of you. We X-Nauts need that treasure to conquer the world! Don't forget that!" Nothing I couldn't already parse out on my own…but they might use me as a bargaining chip…that could be bad.

"Yes sir! Please excuse me." As I turned around to leave, I heard something tear.

"Hmmmmm? Is something wrong grunt?"

"N-No sir! I'll be on my way!"

After discarding the uniform, I made my way back to the bottom floor and into TECs room. Finding out that he was a computer being used to take over the world wasn't all that surprising. But it just brought up the question of why he bothered with me on any level. Apparently, they still wanted the princess and I was just extra baggage, so why even communicate with me?

"So, world domination is your goal." I stated stepping up to his monitor.

"Of course. After all, I was built for that purpose."

"Considering the people I'm trapped by it's not that surprising."

"Alice. Allow me to ask you a question."

"Shoot."

"Do you like the world you live in?" That…was a bit of a loaded question. Not everything about it is great; considering the specific situation I'm in, I wouldn't call it amazing, "There are many problems in the world, many sorrows. Do you like such a world?"

"Yeah…parts of it drag. Parts of it are so stupid it makes me want to tear my hair out…" As I spoke, I couldn't help but think back on my friends…even Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser, "But the people in it make it worth it. Life ends up sucking sometimes but you deal with them and move on to see better things. Although if I didn't have people to experience those highs and lows with then it would be worse on both ends."

"Is that so…"

"Yeah. I'm glad to know the people I do. If I didn't, life would be dull and grey." …, "Will the crystal stars help you conquer the world?"

"I am afraid I cannot answer. Answering questions like that is prohibited by Sir Grodus."

"Can you at least tell me what this treasure is you're all hunting for?"

"…I am sorry. No." Figures.

"Whatever. I held up my end, now let me contact Soren." TEC went quiet for a minute.

"…I suppose I can allow that. Please use the communicator." I kept my message short this time. Making sure I sent him the information I had gotten and keeping it brief. I didn't want to push my luck with TEC. For some reason he's been acting strange and I wasn't quite sure why. Also, with the knowledge that he was a world domination mainframe, I didn't know if he was watching to see what I told Soren…and I didn't want to give him anything personal to use against me.

"…Alright, send it."

"…The message has been sent."

"Then I'm heading back to my room. Being in that suit was like bending my body into a pretzel." With a quick turn, I quickly left the room, only catching TEC say his usual line when we separated for the evening.

"Good night, Alice." …

Gareth

"Th-That thing's…humongous! Everybody! HIDE! NOW! Save yourselves!" I watched as two weird looking creatures with angler-fish looking danglers run away from us in a panic, prompting everything else that looked similar to do that same.

"Any clue what these things are?" I asked Lily who was frantically sketching them as they ran with an excited look in her eye.

"No clue, but I WILL find out." Welp, lost her for about an hour. The grumbling of Bowser had me look back to see him pensively tapping his foot.

"Annoying brat…keeping the princess to himself…even getting her to make me leave…" He'd been like that for a few hours since we left Glitzville.

"Did you say something your rudeness?" Kammy asked getting closer to hear him better before being pushed away by his massive claw.

"No!" Bowser yelled, stomping past us, "What were those strange creatures?"

"No clue. But give Lily enough time and she'll give you a full report." I answered pointing to the girl trying to approach the hesitant and scared critters.

"They're called Punies." Kammy answered. "One of them should know about the crystal star…"

"Doubt you'll be able to approach 'em though." I commented, motioning to Bowsers monstruous size and appearance.

"Then I'll approach them!" Bowser yelled, stomping forward. He pushed past Lily and up to the small group that had cowered in the corner. But as he approached a nearby bush, a smaller, wrinklier looking Puni came out.

"BEGON!" All of us jumped back slightly, with Lily doing a full jump back, at the commanding voice of the old Puni. From different hiding spots, three other Punies came forward to stand next to the old one. A small green baller, a slightly smaller pink baller, and a fat looking orange baller.

"You're one of them, aren't you? One of the evildoers! You want our crystal star!"

"If you want to give it up." I spoke.

"Gareth." Lily replied in disappointment.

"Ha!" Kammy spoke, moving forward. "See!? I KNEW it! This ugly thing knows where the crystal star is! Tell us!"

"HOW RUDE!" Damn! Old Puni had some pipes on her, "Ugly thing? How DARE you, you wretched crone? I am the great Puni elder!"

"My heart! Don't startle me like that! I'm too old for this stuff!" I gave Kammy a small pat on her back as she hacked. Looking up at Bowser, expecting him to interject at some point, I caught sight of a smirk on his face. He's making jokes in his head, I've done that before.

"Got something good?" I asked and he looked away sheepishly.

"N-Nope! Nothing!" He turned back to the Elder, "Let's move on, shall we? You! Elder hag-thing! Where's the crystal star? And don't try pulling rank again: your answer, not your age, will determine your fate!" The elder just huffed in response.

"You're too late! The crystal star is gone!"

"WHAT!?"

"That's right you rude thing! We gave it to a boy named Sorbet!"

"It was taken by a boy named after ice-cream?" I asked.

"Technically, sorbet is an ice treat with flavored water…more like a snow cone." Lily explained. "B-But I think she might have heard that name wrong initially."

"I AM NEVER WRONG!" The Elder yelled, making Lily duck behind me. "He said he was collecting the legendary treasure to rescue some friend. What was her name? Allina? Yep! He was off to save that lucky lass with his girlfriend Pinch!

"I-I-I think you mean, Soren, Alice, and Peach." Lily spoke back up from behind me.

"That makes way more sense." I commented…ha, she thought Peach was Soren's girlfriend…oh that's gonna be too much fun later, "Well, that lines up with what we know at least." Bowser started stomping angrily.

"That jackal! I knew he and the princess were too close! And he's upstaging me by taking all the stars! They're mine! MINE YOU HEAR ME!" His stomping became more and more volatile, "When I see him again, I'll cook him alive! I SWEAR IT!" I had doubts he could even pull it off but this was fun to watch so I think I'll keep my mouth shut for now.

"Should we warn Soren?" Lily asked.

"Nah. You think Bowser can take Soren down?"

"…I guess not." With a renewed flame of anger, Bowser stormed out of the tree and towards the flying vehicle. This was getting more fun by the second.

Soren

With Grubba carted off to serve enough life sentences to match the lives he siphoned, Peach and I made sure King K, Bandy Andy, and any of the other fighters Grubba had stripped of their life were back up and kicking. Leaving only our termination as fighters and a goodbye to everyone left to close out our time at the Glitz Pit. Unfortunately for Eggi, that meant we had to return the championship belt to the arena.

"I'll win it back one day, I swear." Odds are he was dead serious about that.

"It's a shame to see you leave." Jolene said. "But I understand. If you must, you must. We won't delay you." Before I could respond, she suddenly embraced me in a hug, "Thank you for bringing my brother back." She let go, and quickly went back to her detached expression…but with a small smile, "I hope you succeed in finding the rest of the crystal stars. Good luck."

"Brusier." Rawk Hawk approached me with a look in his eye, but not the power hungry look I usually saw him with; one with more resolve than anything, "I want to tell you…Rawk Hawk ain't gonna fight dirty anymore. I'm gonna hit the weights, take some vitamins, and win the title fair and square! And I'm never, EVER gonna lose again! Remember: when life rocks you, RAWK BACK!" I couldn't help but smirk back, I knew somebody with this exact energy.

"Hope you don't mind a few bruises the next time we meet then." He gave a confident smirk.

"Listen B-dog." King K started, "Thanks for everything man. You and your dame are the nicest peeps I ever met, and if you ever need it, I got your back. Me, I think I'm gonna chill here and improve my skills. King K's back, baby! And it's all thanks to you, dog! You're my boy Soren!"

"Give 'em hell!" I shot back.

"Wait, so who's going to take over the Glitz Pit with Grubba gone?" Peach asked.

"I will." Jolene answered. "My brother may not be in the best condition to fight right now, but when he is, I want this ring to still be here for him. So, I will keep it running. Should you ever decided to come back, we would be more than happy to keep your spot open for you."

"Thanks. That means a lot." I replied, wholeheartedly knowing that I wasn't likely to return to the gladiator dome anytime soon.

"Of course. All your fans would love to see a comeback from you two." Well…maybe we can come back every now and again. "Safe travels."

Stepping onto the blimp back to Rogueport, I reclined into my seat and sighed. We didn't go on a long trek like the last two but getting this one still felt as, if not more, exhausting to obtain.

"That makes three stars." Peach said, bringing me back to the task at hand.

"Yep. We're almost halfway there." I looked over to see Eggi looking out the window with an excited look on his face.

"What's Rogueport like?"

"It's…diverse." I answered.

"What does that mean?"

"It has stand-up citizens, dregs, and thieves." Peach answered, decoding my carefully chosen term to avoid this explanation.

"Cool…I'll show those thieves who they're messing with!" Peach squealed slightly at his excitement and grabbed him before rubbing his head affectionately. He would never be tough in her eyes.

"You'll show all of them how strong you are."

"…Thanks mama." Not that he seemed to mind too much.

Before I could enjoy a nice nap back, my scroll began to ring. Must be another e-mail from Alice. Opening it up, I was glad to see that I was right, before reading the message out loud.

"Soren,

Found out the X-Nauts are planning world domination. Crystal Stars are somehow connected to that, along with Peach. Keep hunting them down; stay safe.

- Alice-" Short and sweet this time. Figured they were going for world conquest, and they have been pretty adamant about nabbing Peach…I wonder how she plays into all this though.

"Taking over the world." Peach said with a huff. "Have they no class?"

"Most bad-guys don't." I answered. "The ones that do are REALLY dangerous."

"Well let's find them and sock 'em then!" Eggi said getting riled up.

"We're trying buddy…it's just taking a bit longer than we thought." Don't worry Alice. I'm not stopping now, not until we're all back together again.