Mario found himself in that dream again. He peeked around the corner to see-who Mario assumed was-Zokket talking with a trio. One was pinkish, another purple, and the last one was green. Since he wasn't seen, he decided to take a closer look at the four of them.
The pink one was small, lacked any sort of body, and was always smiling. He gave a vibe similar to Popple. He wore a small yellow cape as well, and was currently talking to Zokket.
The purple one was tall and lanky, and gave a feeling similar to Tape. Mario recognized him as a headphone jack. His mask reminded Mario of Antasma, however. It was possible he was the leader of the group; under Zokket, of course.
The green one had a strong build, and stood silently behind the others. Mario didn't get a specific vibe from him, but he looked to be the muscle of the group.
Mario looked to Zokket next. Sure enough, his mask looked like the one that flashed last time he saw him in his dream. Zokket had a dark feeling around him, like Antasma, but also a confused one, like Grape. While thinking of the latter, he noted Zokket had a tall hat with two cords sticking from it. His mind went straight to the Concordians, who all had cords that acted much like hair. From what he could see, Mario did notice he looked quite similar to the Concordians...
Was Zokket a Concordian?
Mario didn't hear what they were discussing this time, since he wanted to see the threat so he could report back to Connie; but payed attention again when he saw them leave. Zokket turned and left, so Mario decided to creep up behind and see where Zokket headed to next.
Zokket floated up a flight of stairs, ending in a large room with a single item in the back of the room. It was a pillar, and a weird-looking egg wrapped in cords lie on top of it. Mario lie on the stairs, peeking over the top step. It was the only way to avoid being caught.
Zokket stared silently at the egg for a moment, then finally spoke. "What's the matter?"
Mario felt a shiver crawl down his spine as the room became silent again. This time, the silence was so heavy it was almost suffocating. A yellow mark on the front of the egg (which looked like an eye) glitched slightly, Zokket nodding slightly afterwards.
"I see. So plans are to proceed as directed." Zokket said. Mario realized that Zokket was, in fact, the first voice he heard in the dream-vision. Zokket was now clear to hear.
They both sat in that dark quiet again, then Zokket looked shamefully to the ground. Mario looked up at the egg. The eye seemed...happier?
"I see. I need to push the plans forward. Someone is interfering, I'm afraid. I'll need to see them myself, but Team has already reported their sightings on Rumbla Island twice. He also included mentioning a new Uni-Tree-"
Zokket suddenly stopped talking, and Mario was sure he flinched. The silence was heavier now, and even seemed a bit angry. Mario kept finding himself staring at the egg whenever the silence returned.
"I know. I'll make sure that the...they stop this new threat to our pla-Yes yes, your plans. Apologies."
Zokket didn't seem very happy, and Mario-although he didn't know who Zokket was talking to-had a feeling that he didn't want to do this "plan" deep-down inside. But Mario assumed that was wishful thinking. He did know, however, that Zokket was afraid of the person he was talking to.
"I need to hurry...You're getting too weak. I understand. 24 days remain until the revival."
Revival? Was he talking about the egg? What was so important about that egg that he wanted to hatch it? One way or another, Mario knew he and Luigi would stop Zokket from hatching his plan.
Hehe...hatch.
"Lord Zokket! The dumb pig got out again!" It must have been one of the trio that Zokket was talking to earlier.
"Then find i-" Zokket turned and stopped.
They made direct eye contact. Mario had no idea how he'd gotten closer to Zokket without noticing, but Zokket stared right at him.
"There you are. You're quite the troublesome one, aren't you?"
He reached for Mario, and Mario saw that his arms were also made of cords. The blue didn't match with the red and green ones on his head. He also wore white gloves, a lovely fashion choice by Mario's standards.
Everything went black for a second, and then he woke up on one of the little beds on Shipshape. Luigi was asleep next to him, and outside, Mario could see the stars. He walked from the little tent and saw Connie sitting alone, staring thoughtfully at the Uni-Tree.
"Everything ok?"
Connie looked over her shoulder. She seemed a bit stressed. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine."
Mario sat next to her. "Don't lie to me. I can tell you're worried about something."
"It's just...I'm worried about everything. What if activating the Lighthouse doesn't work? What if something happens to the new Uni-Tree? And I'm also worried about Cozette. I haven't seen her in a long time, and since Concordia ripped apart, I'm worried she got captured or killed. I don't feel like I'm really ready to be a Wattanist, and then I had the huge task of putting Concordia back together and it all feels like too much."
"I get how you feel. That's always how I feel when going into big things. I mean, I may look and act like a big-time hero, but I'm always terrified that something would go wrong. Imagine how Weegee feels, being so scared of things but doing it anyway...You just need to be like Luigi. Be brave. So even though you're scared, you can face anything. You just gotta believe in yourself, is all."
"Thanks...I just wish Cozette was here. She always knew how to help."
"I had another of those dreams. I saw Zokket this time."
"What did he look like?"
"He...looked kind of like a Concordian. Can they have wire arms?"
Connie shook her head. "I haven't seen that before. Do you think he's a monster?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe he could be some sort of Concordian variant? I know sometimes people are born with deformities...Maybe he's the same way? Oh, and I also saw a group of people. It looked like they worked under Zokket. One was small and pink, there was a tall purple one, and the last one was strong-looking. And green. They all looked like cords, but the purple one was the only one I recognized."
"Hm..."
"And Zokket was talking to someone...There was this weird-looking egg wrapped in wires. It was super creepy."
"That does sound pretty creepy..."
"Zokket wanted to keep an eye on Luigi and I. But I'll make sure you stay safe while we're at that Lighthouse!"
"Mario, you're super nice. And you helped me feel a bit better. Thank you."
"Of course! You actually remind me of someone I've teamed with recently. Her name was Olivia. She had to fight her brother, believe it or not. She was super worried and things too. But I made sure to help her, and she was brave and pushed through. You can be brave too, for Concordia."
Connie nodded again. "Right. For Concordia."
"Plus, I'm sure Cozette will be proud of what you've done so far."
"We should both probably head to bed. I'm tired and you have a long day ahead of you."
"Sounds like a good idea. See you tomorrow?"
"Yeah. Have a good rest."
Mario popped right back in where he'd left off. Zokket was currently heading down a hallway, holding Mario firmly. Mario realized that the dream's eyes weren't his own, since he was too small to be himself. Zokket stopped in front of a jail cell, reached for the handle, but froze.
"No...You've escaped too many times. I have a better idea for you. I have a special prison for you, one you can't escape from."
"Wait," said a voice. It must have been the person Mario was seeing the vision from. "Don't put me in that creepy room, please! I promise I won't escape anymore!"
"Unfortunately, you've run out of chances."
Mario saw a quick glance of his reflection in a window. He looked like Snoutlet, only smaller.
"Additionally, I need more energy for the fortress to stay afloat. And you're lucky, since it runs on electrical energy and not Glohm..."
"Are you gonna stick a plug up my tail?!"
"Relax, it won't hurt. Despite the fact I need your energy for obvious reasons, I wouldn't hurt any of you. It's not part of the plan and therefore, not necessary."
Plan? Zokket obviously loved his plans, but injuring people for the sake of the plan made him seem a bit unhinged. Obviously, people like Dimentio and Princess Shroob hurt people for their own pleasure, but Zokket was really...
Weird?
Mario couldn't find a better word for it. He knew the exact time and date the "revival" would happen, like he was some sort of super computer. He only hurt people if the plan called for it and yet plugged Snoutlets into some sort of machine and drained their energy for the sake of keeping his evil fortress running? Didn't that hurt people? Not to mention, he was practically emotionless and very hard to read, and those wire cutters on the front of his cape was like some sort of twisted fear-inducer. What made Mario super uncomfortable around them was the fact the cutting edge of it was pointing directly at Zokket's neck. One bump and he could lose his head. Mario shuddered at the thought.
Zokket placed Mario against the wall. "Stay put or I'll have to resort to violence. And I don't think you want to see that side of me."
"O-okay! I'll stay here!"
Zokket left view, and the Snoutlet sighed.
"Why did I think this was a good idea? He caught me on the first day. I'm a terrible scout."
Zokket returned, holding some sort of plug. "Remain idle. This will only take a second."
Zokket was oddly polite, and probably the most formal villain Mario's ever encountered before. Zokket plugged the cord into the Snoutlet's tail and nodded slightly.
"That should do. I needn't much energy now. The work at the Great Lighthouses should be running much more smoothly now. I hope they got my order to quicken the production of Glohm..."
Glohm.
Zokket either hesitated or had his voice trail off whenever he mentioned Glohm. Knowing now that Zokket was behind the creation of whatever Glohm was, Mario knew it wasn't going to be good. So why did it seem like Zokket didn't like it either? Zokket was clearly a villain, so why hate his own creation? Something wasn't adding up.
"Speaking of which...I needed to test something. And to refrain any personal information from slipping, I'll use you as my first test subject."
The Snoutlet started to panic. "Test subject?! For what?!"
"Glohm, of course. I need to check if I've recreated it successfully if I am to put it to use. Plus, I could test out my newest device." He held up a device that looked like Kemek's wand. "Say hello to the Glohm Ray. One hit from this and...Well, I suppose I should let you know for yourself."
Ah.
That's what it was.
Zokket was a nerd.
He had a hint of happiness in his usually monochrome tone when bragging about his gun thing. He acted a bit more like a person when showing it off to the Snoutlet. He seemed a lot happier too, when Mario saw his face again. His red eyes had squinted into a smile.
"So, are you fully prepared to see the full affects of Glohm on a living being? This will be marked as the first official test."
"Wait! Since I'm not gonna share the info, based off what you said, can you at least tell me what Glohm is?"
"That's classified information. You have five seconds, as the weapon is still preparing to fire."
"Who're you going to test it on next? If you keep trying us, you won't know if it works on everything!"
Zokket stopped for a moment, thinking. "You are correct. More tests will have to be run in order to ensure the Glohm is useful. Perhaps I will try a Concordian next. Or..."
Or what? If he lie a single hand on Connie or Luigi, Mario swore he would tear Zokket's cords to shreds.
"If they prove to be such a big stop to our plans, I will test it on one of those newcomers. There was a red and green one, I believe. Tent didn't tell me their names, so he must have not known them. What a coward, coming to me before learning of the enemy. I may have him forfeit his breakfast for that."
Zokket was a sicko! Tent or Team or whatever-his-name-was made one mistake and Zokket's going to punish him into starvation for it?! What the heck was this guy's problem?!
Zokket aimed the Glohm Ray to the Snoutlet's face. "Do you desire to beg for mercy?"
"Just do it already, I'm tired of your talkin'; nerd."
"Please refrain from calling me names."
Mario woke before he got to see what happened. The poor Snoutlet...He didn't deserve that. Whatever Glohm was...Mario knew he had to stop Zokket no matter what.