Mario, Riba and Starlow had left the house now having collected two Green Stars in total. Just as they rounded a corner they noticed set of double doors up ahead, which permeated a malevolent aura.
Starlow spoke up first, nervousness plastered across the star sprite's face. "Um.. so we should just avoid this door right? Cause' I'm getting real bad vibes from this one."
However Mario remained undeterred as he continued down the hall.
"This place will do anything to keep us from escaping, I'm not stopping." With those words the plumber went to reach for the door knob, twisting it and pushing the door outward.
The three stumbled into the dark room where a massive fountain stood. In the dark and decaying room, The fountain's waters shimmered with an otherworldly glow, and at its center stood a familiar figure cloaked in shadows.
"Luigi…? Mario whispered, his voice trembling.
The figure turned, revealing Luigi's face, but his eyes were hollow and his expression cold. "Mario…" he said, his voice echoing unnaturally. "You're too late."
Riba stepped forward, his instincts screaming at him that something was wrong. "Mario, don't—"
But Mario ignored him, rushing toward his brother. "Luigi, I'm here! I'm going to save you!"
As Mario reached out, the water in the fountain surged, forming tendrils that lashed out at him. Riba grabbed Mario and pulled him back just in time.
"Let me go!" Mario shouted, struggling against Riba's grip. "That's my brother!"
"That's not your brother anymore!" Riba snapped. "Look at him, Mario! He's been consumed by the Plexus!"
Starlow floated between them, her glow dimming as she looked at Luigi. "He's right Mario. If we don't leave now, we'll be trapped here too."
Mario's eyes filled with tears, but before he could protest, Starlow turned to the fountain, her light flaring brightly as she unleashed a burst of energy that temporarily held the tendrils at bay.
Riba dragged Mario away, the plumber's cries echoing through the hall as they escaped.
—
Back with the rest of the group, Ashley stood in the center of the room, her red eyes glowing with determination. "Listen up! We need to find the Green Stars if we're going to have any chance of escaping this place. I'm dividing us into two teams."
She pointed to Prince Bob-omb, Lucky, Goombela, Koops, and Broque Monsieur. "You five are Team One. Stick together and search to the right."
Broque Monsieur huffed. "And why should we listen to you, little girl?"
Ashley's eyes narrowed, a faint aura of dark energy surrounded her. "Because if you don't, I'll turn you into a frog. Got it?"
Broque Monsieur gulped and nodded.
Ashley then turned to Midbus, Rawk Hawk, Popple, and Stuffwell. "You four are with me. We'll take the left path. Let's move."
The groups set off, each heading in different directions to search for the Green Stars.
—Team One—
Prince Bob-omb led his team through the right-bound hallway, his metallic body clanking with every step. "Stay close, everyone. We don't know what's lurking in these halls."
Lucky clung to Koops, his voice trembling. "I-I don't like this place. It's too quiet."
Goombella rolled her eyes. "Relax, Lucky. We got this. Right, Koops?"
Koops nodded, though he looked just as nervous. "Yeah… totally."
As they turned a corner, they found themselves in a room filled with mirrors. Each mirror reflecting a distorted and warped version of them.
Up ahead a Green Star could be seen on a pedestal in the middle of them room, its green glow permeating the dim room with a sickly light.
"That's it!" Prince Bob-omb exclaimed, before he continued. "That's the star that powers my kingdom, with it I can finally restore peace."
At the passionate tirade of the large Bob-omb, Goombella just gave him a weirded out look as she spoke. "That's nice and all, but don't we need to collect these things to escape, we don't really have the time to put these things all back."
To that Prince Bob-omb turned around to face the goomba, his voice edged with a tone that left no room for argument.
"Oh, no-no-no-no. It's an absolute must that I return this star to it's rightful place among my people."
Before anyone could begin to argue against him, the mirrors around them began to crack, shadowy figures that resembled the group appearing from the voids behind the looking glasses, eyes glowing with malice.
"Uhh… that's not good." Goombella said as the figures began their assault.
Each member of the group faced off against their double, Prince Bob-omb struggling to hold his body double back, while Koops and Lucky ran away from theirs.
"What is zis! How dare you imitate moi looks."
Broque monsieur spoke up at the impostor, slapping it across the face only to be returned with enormous force, sending him across the room into one of the mirrors collapsing into a heap.
Goombella struggled against her own double which proved just as troublesome. "These guys are seriously tough, I could really do with some help over here!"
Yelling out to Koops and Lucky she managed to garner at least her shelled friend's attention, with that she formulated a plan as she began to run right towards him.
"Wha— Goombella what are you—?!"
"Jump right now you bozo!"
Interrupting the koopa, she belted out an instruction which Koops followed with no argument, allowing their shadowy doubles to run under them, crashing into each other, collapsing into a pile of shards.
At the same time Prince Bob-omb finished off his own double punching it apart into a pile of rubble.
"That's him done in, now's my chance." with out a second to waste he rushed after the Green Star to collect for himself.
"I'm terribly sorry for this, but I must restore my kingdom so this is where we part ways."
Letting out his admission that he was abandoning the mission to the group, he was about to grab onto the star. However his attenuation was diverted momentarily to the other side of the room, where Dimentio could be seen charging up an attack from the shadows aiming at Lucky still cowering in a corner.
"No!" Prince Bob-omb shouted, jumping in front of Lucky just as Dimentio fired the beam.
The energy struck Prince Bob-omb, and his body went limp, his once proud form now a lifeless dud.
"Wha—." Lucky looked at the dull sphere before him surprised at the sudden attack, but was quickly grabbed by Koops, who dragged him away as they went to escape, Dimentio laughing behind them.
"Oh what a noble sacrifice, but don't be so sad! After all, he was just a fabrication of the Plexus programmed to feel sympathy to you, and now he's playing his part perfectly—as a dud."
Lucky could only stare at the jester's maniacal grin as he was dragged away, while Goombella sprinted for the pedestal where the Green Star stood.
"We've got to go!" She yelled, clutching the star as the room began to dissolve.
—
Daisy and Walugi had continued running through the plexal landscape until the believed they had shaken off the spiders that were after them. With a sigh, the two of them collapsed against a wall, completely exhausted from the run.
"Woo.. You think.. we managed to.. get away." Daisy spoke between huff as she looked towards Waluigi, who was crumpled against the floor.
"I hope.. so.. I can't.. do anymore.. running."
They took the time to collect themselves, Daisy getting up first as she looked ahead.
"We'll probably need to take those stars again. Seriously I thought Mario smashed that thing to smithereens."
"Well I guess we don't have any choice, do we." Waluigi relented as the two of them continued down the corridor wary of the many threats that could be lingering around any corner.
Eventually they found themselves entering into a dimly lit chamber, the walls and floors were all covered with an overgrown mass of vines which stretched across it's entirety, glowing an eerie green glow, casting harsh shadows in the room.
Slowly the two traversed the uneven terrain, when Daisy spotted something up ahead. At the center of the room stood a floating Green Star, its light pulsating like a heart beat. Daisy's eyes lit up.
"There it is!" she exclaimed, rushing toward the star.
Waluigi, however, hesitated. "Wait, Daisy! Something doesn't feel right—!"
Before he could finish, a massive Mr. I emerged from the shadows, it's single eye glowing with malice. Daisy froze, her hand inches from the Green Star.
"Daisy, move." Waluigi shouted, shoving her out of the way just as the Mr. I unleashed a beam of petrifying energy.
The beam struck Waluigi, and his body began to harden, turning to stone. Daisy stared in horror as Waluigi's expression froze in a look of determination.
"Waluigi!" she screamed, reaching out to him.
But it was to late. Waluigi was now a statue, his sacrifice saving Daisy from the same fate. The Mr. I turned it's gaze toward her, and Daisy grabbed onto the Green Star, her eyes blazing with fury.
"You're gonna regret that," she muttered, clutching the star as the room began to dissolve around her.
—
Mario and Riba having escaped the fountain room, found themselves running through a nightmarish forrest, the trees dripping with blood and the ground squelching beneath their feet. Behind them, a demented spirit of Peach floated, her once-beautiful face twisted into a grotesque mask of rage.
"Mario… why did you leave me?" the spirit wailed, her voice echoing through the forrest.
Mario's heart ached, but Riba grabbed his arm, pulling him forward. "Don't look back, Mario! She's not real!"
The two sprinted through the forrest, the spirit's wails growing louder as she gained on them. Just as they thought they couldn't run any further, they burst into a small clearing. The spirit of Peach stopped at the edge of the forrest, her form dissolving into the shadows.
Mario collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath. "What… was that?"
Riba shook his head, his expression grim. "This place… it's messing with your mind. We need to stay focused."
—Team Two—
Ashley's team moved through the left-bound hall, their footsteps echoing in the silence. Midbus and Rawk Hawk walked side by side, their rivalry momentarily set aside.
"So… what's the plan, boss?" Popple asked, glancing at Ashley.
Ashley smirked. "We find the Green Star, and we don't let anything stop us got it?"
Midbus grunted in agreement, while Rawk Hawk cracked his knuckles. "Sounds good to me. Let's smash some stuff."
As they ventured deeper into the hall, they came across a massive door covered in intricate markings that resembled arrows. Ashley examined it closely, her eyes narrowing. "This is it. The Green Star is behind this door."
But as she reached for the handle, the carvings began to glow, and the door creaked open on it's own. Inside the Green Star could be seen floating above a statue of three dolphins, on top a metal pillar.
Ashley called for Popple to go climb the statue to get the star, but before he could a low rumbling could be heard, as suddenly from two doors atop the grand staircase ahead a torrent of shadow toads came running down to attack the group.
Rawk Hawk and Midbus batted the shadowy creatures away with Ashley supporting with her magic, while Stuffwell launched his inventory at any stray toads that attempted to climb up after Popple.
As soon as Popple managed to grab the star the room stilled and the shadow toads vanished in puffs of smoke, everything was silent for a moment.
"Hey, doesn't this usually take us back to the hallways when we grab them." Popple blurted out, when suddenly the ground began to shake.
Ashley's eyes widened as the ceiling began to crumble. "We've got to get out of here—now!"
Quickly the group tried to escape through the door they came through, but the door wouldn't budge as the grand hall began to collapse. Instead Midbus decided to slam into one of the wooden side doors forcing it open, allowing everyone to run down the spiral staircase inside.
They had just reached the bottom when the metal structure collapsed. Ashley, Rawk Hawk, Midbus, Popple and Stuffwell all raced through the collapsing tunnel ahead, the walls closing in around them.
Light from the exit up ahead could be seen slowly dwindling, as the walls slowly moved together to seal them in, making them dash as fast as they could. Popple threw all his trinkets to wedge to walls open, Stuffwell doing them same with his inventory.
However before they could jump through the gap, thwomps suddenly began falling down from above threatening to crush them at any moment.
"We're not gonna make it!" Popple shouted, dodging a fallen thwomp.
Midbus and Rawk Hawk exchanged a glance before bracing themselves on the ground, using their strength to hold up a massive thwomp that crashed down on top of them.
"Go!" Midbus growled, his muscles straining under the weight, the trinkets and items holding the exit open were begging to crack under the pressure.
Ashley hesitated, her hands glowing with dark energy. "I can help! I can hold it!"
Midbus shook his head. "No! That jester's bracelets… they're still controlling me. If he shows up, I'll just be a liability. Get out of here!"
Rawk Hawk seeing his rival's desperation ducked under the thwomp quickly, and scooped up Ashley as he dashed for the exit. "Come on witch girl! We've got to move!"
The yellow bird wrestler also grabbed onto Popple and Stuffwell as he dove into the narrow gap, making it just in time, the items propping the exit open just long enough for the four of them to squeeze through.
As the tunnel closed behind them, Midbus' voice echoed faintly. "Tell 'em… I went out swinging."
—
Ashley, Popple, Rawk Hawk and Stuffwell continued to walk through the forrest they now found themselves in, sullen from the loss of their companion. Though their spirits were slightly lifted when they spotted Mario and Riba up ahead.
"Master Mario!" Stuffwell called out, causing Mario and Riba to turn their heads to the group.
"You guys! you're here, you're really here!" The plumber was elated to reunited with his friends, walking over to them, with Riba following behind.
"Where's everyone else?"
"We separated to form two teams of five to search for the Green Stars, and well we lost a member." The witch spoke bluntly.
"Oh."
Mario didn't no what to say, another soul was trapped within this place— what he did know was that he wouldn't stand for it a moment longer.
"We'll avenge them, everyone who's been taken by the Plexus. We just need to find the core."
At that the group nodded in agreement as they searched ahead. Eventually the path they were on led them to a strange, fog-shrouded town. The buildings were old and crumbling, and the air was thick with an oppressive silence.
"Where… are we?" Mario asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Riba frowned, his eyes scanning the area. "This place… it feels familiar. Like I've been here before."
As they ventured further into town, they came across an execution platform. Standing atop it was Marchionne, his eyes listless and his expression hollow.
The group froze as Marchionne turned to face them, his voice cold and emotionless. "Welcome… to Evangeline."