The first thing to hit me when I regained consciousness was the overwhelming musty scent of dust and…despair? That alone made me shoot up and look around at where I was.
I was in a tomb, that much was clear. A mausoleum at the far end, with burnt out candles on stands curving around towards the only exit door. Aside from the smell I had first caught, the room seem to pulsate with an eerie aura that just put me more on edge the longer I stood in it. But the oddest thing of all, was that I was completely alone.
Not even that decrepit witch who pulled me through the shadows was around to cackle or sneer at me. It was just me and a tomb to keep me company.
"Might as well take the chance." I rushed for the door, finding it frustratingly unmoving as I pulled at the handle with all my might, "Seriously!?" I gave it a solid kick, the sound echoing off the walls in the strangest way…as though somebody was waiting for something specific to echo back.
"PIPE DOWN!" My instinct shot like a bullet as I turned around and swung my arm with excess force, creating a wave of fire that melted the ice that had been thrown at me in an instant. When the steam cleared, the old hag and that weird plump witch were looking at me; the old hag looking significantly more pissed off then the last time we met…which meant he was disrupting her plans quite well.
"You seem to have lost what marbles you had left."
"SHUT UP! You children have interfered with my plans for too long! We're it not for the fact that what you offer alive is worth more than your death, I would freeze your blood to ice and shatter you into a million pieces!" Her gaze suddenly shifted to the door, "Speaking of which-" I dove forward, grabbing her hand before she could snap and wrestling her feeble form to the ground.
"No! You aren't sending me anywhere! This hostage game ends NOW!" She growled, and I felt my hands suddenly grow colder. I held on defiantly, letting my emotions take the wheel for a moment and let my abilities surge free. My hands became warmer as I thought about everything these people have done since we got here; kidnapping me, endangering my friends, and…TEC…the fire began to roar, mixing with her ice. I could hear the crackling of lighting in the air, and the uplifting winds that swept around us in gusts.
"Enough!" She pushed me off, creating an ice wall between us. Taking the opportunity, I grabbed one of the candle stands and snapped off the top and base until it was essentially a staff…but for me it was as close to my katana as I could get right now.
With a swing, I sent a fire slash out that reduced the ice wall to nothing. With another swing, I sent a wave at the plump witch, knocking her out.
"Now, I think I'm done holding back you miserable crone!" She let out a yell of pure hatred, her ice magic surging around us. That didn't matter to me though. When it came to magic utility, she had no chance of beating me!
Gareth
With a quick turnaround, we rushed down the other pathway and eventually came across a weird plaza area. But that didn't really matter as much as the icicles and blasted apart ice walls near the back end of the place.
"Man, what happened here?" I asked, looking over the damage.
"From the looks of it, a pretty intense fight." Mario surmised. I couldn't help but sigh at the same realization.
"He always gets the fun fights."
"Didn't we just fight two dragons back-to-back?" Lily brought up.
"Yeah…but it's no fun if I can't rub it in his face, and considering how this place looks I'm guessing it must have been EPIC! I basically lost all my bragging rights."
"Can we focus?" Mario asked. "This all still looks pretty solid which means we're close to them."
"Looking for me?" We all turned as Soren came stumbling out of the shadows…alone…, "Hey pals. What's happening?"
"Where's the princess you idiot!?" Mario shouted.
"Ah, cool is mustache. She decided to head back out with…all the others. We should probably split too. Nothing goods happening in here anymore."
"What about Kate?" I asked.
"She's with them too! We should meet up with them for the big celebration party!" I chuckled and stepped forward to put my hand on his shoulder…and my fist in his gut.
"Might want to rethink that disguise." In a puff of purple smoke, Soren disappeared, replaced by some weird dude in a sheet.
"A disguise?" Lily asked curiously.
"Fine, yes, I'm not string bean, but we need to leave now!"
"Not happening sheets." I replied.
"Our friends are still in here." Lily said backing me up.
"But this place is dangerous and crazy! I just wanted to keep pulling pranks but these witches and this weird place are TOO MUCH! I just want to leave!" I grabbed him by his sheet and pulled him up.
"So you know where our friends are?"
"They went that way not too long ago." He pointed at the far door. "But I'm telling you man, it's not worth it!" Dropping him, I motioned for the others to follow as I headed for the far door. I looked back to see Lily had stopped to talk to the sheet guy.
"If we get the chance, I'd love to ask you about your disguise technique. You're fascinating."
"Really?"
"Yeah, like some weird method actor." I added. "Might need to research your subjects a little more though.
"…An actor eh?" As he mused over the idea in his head, Lily caught up with us and we made our way out of the plaza area. We were almost there; I could feel it. Hopefully Soren hasn't hogged all the glory already.
Soren
We rushed through the hallway as fast as our legs could carry us. After leaving the plaza, it was nothing but room after room of shadowy guards and monsters we had to cleave through just to keep going. Eventually, we came to a long hallway, and I could sense something beyond it; something terrifying and despair inducing not more than a hundred feet away.
Past the double doors at the end of the hall was another large room that looked to be a throne room…and at the top of the stairs stood who I could only assume was the cause of all our problems so far.
"So we meet at last Soren. You have been a thorn in my side for too long!"
"And you…have…done something!" I replied, trying to find a retort I had no way of coming up with. Most of my encounters with big bads have had more personal interactions with them then this, so meeting him face to face was more a sense he was the big boss then any personal grudge.
"…Even in our big confrontation you manage to annoy me…no matter. Hand over the princess and I'll make this quick." All of us immediately primmed ourselves for a fight, "As expected. You would fight pointlessly against my power as though you have a chance. I suppose I prefer this anyway. I have wanted to crush you beneath my might since you ruined my plans at Boggly Woods."
"So this is the leader of the X-Nauts?" Bobbery asked.
"Indeed. I am Grodus, leader of the X-Nauts and soon to be supreme ruler of the world!" He stepped forward, and I could hear the unmistakable sounds of moving gears and metal, "But first, I must express my thanks for opening the door. Once you had six of them, it seemed simpler to just let you unseal the Shadow Palace for us. I hope Crump put up a fun last stand for you."
"He's still alive." I replied coldly.
"Hm, soft hearted fools to the end I see."
"You're horrible!" Peach shouted. "Can you even call yourself a leader if you don't care about your subjects!?"
"It matters not to me. All I care about is seeing your demise, taking what should have been mine from the start, and ruling this world as I see fit!"
"Like any of us want that!" Goombella retorted.
"Y-Yeah, no way I'm letting you subjugate my friends and family!" Koops added.
"Your style just doesn't fit with ruler of the world." Flurrie teased.
"You wanna be the best? You gotta beat me first!" Eggi yelled.
"I'd rather give up the sea then bow to you." Bobbery said.
"You'll be quickly robbed of your crown, I promise." Mowz threatened. I stepped forward and drew my blade.
"Trust me, you won't win." He gripped his staff, slamming the end on the ground and creating a bolt of lighting that struck the ground between us.
"Trust me Soren, you will not live to see my reign!"
Eggi, Koops, and I rushed forward, going for the first strike, only to be deflected by a barrier that sent us skidding backwards.
"Careful!" Goombella yelled. "He's got spotlight drones creating a barrier!" She pointed up, and we all saw four green drones projecting an energy from their center that circled around Grodus. He laughed before swinging his staff and throwing lighting strikes we could barely avoid.
As I backflipped out of the way of another strike, I focused on my star power and pointed the tip of my sword at the drones.
"Art Attack!" With a quick draw, I circled around the four drones, making them burst apart before focusing on Grodus with my remaining energy and making three quick circles to blast him with.
"You miserable children!" He launched another lighting strike directly at me, only to have it deflected by Peach's parasol. Vivian moved in, waving her finger, and catching the ends of Grodus's cape on fire. He scrambled to put the flames out as Eggi slammed into him with his foot, and Koops bashed him in the head with his shell at top speed. He let out a low growl, beginning to well up with power. Sensing an oncoming blast, I focused on my star power again.
"Clock Out!" He suddenly came to a stop, completely frozen in place. Mowz took advantage of the opportunity, sliding up and grabbing him by the arm and using her tail to swipe under his foot, giving her the leverage to twist his arm and slam him into the floor. With a quick twist of his wrist, she loosened his grip and swiped the staff from his hands throwing it aside once she got far enough away.
"Your tricks will not stop me! I am all powerful!" He raised his hands, creating streams of electricity that moved wildly in every direction. Seems the rod was just a channeler; he still had all his power at his fingertips, literally.
"Vivian, think we can travel?" I asked and she nodded. "Bobbery, smoke screen!" He nodded, throwing a row of low level explosives that blew into puffs of smoke that Flurry then whipped up into a thick smoke screen.
"You cannot hide from me!" Vivian slid into her shadow, and I was right behind her, disappearing into the darkness. I waited for my signal, blade primed. When light poured in, I was launched up and I slashed upwards, cutting through his robotic wrists before falling back into the shadows and quickly doing it again to his other wrist. Vivian plopped me back onto the side with the rest of our friends as she started panting from exhaustion. Electricity now began to sporadically fly from every point on his body, but that body could not take the outpour of power from all over. His robe had burst apart to reveal nothing but machinery that whirred and clicked with movement…but also sparked and fizzled with electric output, "I AM SUPREME! I AM THE RECKONING! I AM YOUR NEW GOD!"
"No, you're not!" I yelled defiantly. Before our eyes he suddenly multiplied into five copies of himself…but we were smarter than to fall for that. Flurrie let out a massive burst of air that sent the real Grodus flying and crashing into the far wall as I burst forward with my momentum boots and stuck my sword through his circuitry. In that moment, all the sparking and electricity stopped…and only the quiet of the room was left.
I dislodged my blade and hopped back as he crashed to the ground. As his body seem to be working at minimum power, he jerkily and slowly rose to his feet.
"Y-You fools c-c-cann-n-n-not stop me!"
"It's over Grodus. Give me back Alice." I demanded, pointing my blade at him.
"N-N-N-Nothing is o-o-over! I-I-I will revive th-th-the Shadow Queen and r-r-rule this world!" Suddenly, the area started rumbling around us.
"No, were we too late!?" Peach asked in panic.
"N-No, we sh-should not be r-r-ready for the revival yet." The sound of the door opening had all of us turn to see Gareth, Lily, and…Mario(!?) come through the door. The sound of rock crack had all of us then turn to watch as the ceiling broke apart…and then Bowser came crashing through to land in the middle of the room…did…did he not use the door and still got here?
The trio who had just entered rushed up to us, Mario rushing for Peach as Lily and Gareth rushed over to me.
"What did you just fight?" Gareth asked.
"Um…an electric robot megalomaniac?" I answered.
"See, dragon just doesn't top that." Gareth said to Lily.
"What about two dragons?" She asked.
"That second one didn't even get a chance to breath on us."
"Princess!" Mario grabbed Peach by the hand, "I am so sorry I left you unprotected for so long! I should have been by your side when we reunited on that deserted island!" She pat his head.
"It's okay Mario. Soren was by my side the whole time."
"…That doesn't make me feel better."
"MARIO!" Bowser yelled. "I still owe you a smack down for that incident with the Star Rod!"
"Boys." Peach used her commanding voice, making both of them straighten up, "Now is not the time."
"Right." I replied. "We're not done yet." I turned back to Grodus, only to find him gone…and a set of stairs leading down behind the now knocked over throne. You aren't getting away that easily!
We all rushed down the stairs as fast as we could. In the distance, I could hear the unmistakable sounds of thunder strikes and fierce winds that accompanied Alice's usual fighting style. My pace instinctively quickened until we came to the end of the stairs where a set of double doors stood before us. Busting them down, I saw Beldam whipping her ice attacks around wildly…and being met with harsh flames coming from Alice's…candle poll?
"Alice!" Reaching behind me, I grabbed her Katana I had brought and tossed it to her. She looked over as I tossed the weapon and grabbed it by the hilt, swinging off the sheath and producing a wave of fire the washed over the ice and onto Beldam.
"Ah, much better." She commented with a content sigh. I couldn't help but chuckle as I rushed over to FINALLY regroup with her. Before I could, the flames turned to steam as an ice blast fell over the whole room.
I skid back to protect Peach as the icy mist was blinding. A gust of wind whipped up from three different point, dispersing the cover as Flurrie took a breath, Peach set her air cannon down, and Alice swung her blade to swipe away the accumulated ice.
"All of you…ALL OF YOU HAVE BEEN NOTHING BUT THORNS IN MY SIDE FOR TOO LONG!" At the back of the room near a tomb, Bledam stood at the center in order to address all of us. What remained of Grodus's body stood to her side.
"It's over." I said confidently, bringing my blade up to point at her. "You've lost every advantage you had. Without Alice as your sacrifice, you have no way of reviving your Shadow Queen." A moment of quiet filled the air…before her ear-piercing cackle came up.
"You think I needed the GIRL to bring back my mistress? She was just a convenient pawn to keep you fools moving. All I needed was my Queen's remaining power in order to bring her back…and you brought it all the way here." I couldn't quite get at what she was saying. But I was quickly brought to find out, as something pulsed in my body, running a chill up my spine and bringing me to my knees.
"Soren!" Alice and Peach moved to help but were quickly met with an ice wall on either side of me. Another pulse, but this one felt as though something was trying to rip its way out of my chest.
"You fools found out where the crystal stars came from and you were still stupid enough to bring them all the way here! With the stars brought back to their true owner, she can reclaim enough of her power to be reborn!" The third pulse almost felt like it was ripping my body apart, the only thing to fight against the pain being my screams of agony. I could feel the seven crystal stars explode out of me all at once and it took every ounce of my strength to not collapse right then and there.
As I slowly got back on my feet, I watched the stars swirl around the sarcophagus slowly, their sinning brilliance turning darker more clouded. Beldam turned around; her arms outstretched as the room began to shake with an oppressive weight that had me downright terrified. The sarcophagus's lid slid open, and a force began to pull in all the wind around it.
"BE REBORN MY GLORIOUS QUEEN! I RELINQUISH MY POWER BACK TO ITS RIGHTFUL OWNER!" Beldam turned around to give me one more withering sneer, this one laced with cold malice and assuredness, as she turned to pure shadow and was absorbed into the pull of the tomb. The darkened crystal stars shook as they were drained of their energy, before one by one, they clattered to the floor, completely emptied of all of their energy.
The pull stopped, and we all stood there in silence as we waited for something to happen. The first thing that did, was the ice walls that separated me from my friends shattering into tiny pieces. The second, was a choking feeling that settled in my lungs as the air I breathed became heavier and harder to swallow. All around me, I could see the others experiencing this phenomenon, Koops, Bobbery even being brought to their knees by this strange feeling of being lightly choked.
All that evaporated in an instant as a black force burst from the open coffin and into the ceiling, bleeding over the entire room and leaving us in a black void with only each other as anchoring points for our vision.
A low hum filled the air as a figure rose out of the tomb. Its shape was hard to make out, and its body seemed…ethereal yet solid. It slowly brought itself up, almost hitting the ceiling, and then, despite it not having any visible eyes, I could feel its gaze on us. There was no doubt. This was the Shadow Queen.
"I…have been reborn…by who's hand?"
"Th-That would b-be me!" Grodus said as he sputtered and sparked. Her gaze turned to him, settling for a moment before waving her hand. In an instant, a blinding flash of lighting struck Grodus and reduced him to a pile of broken parts. With another wave, those parts were reduced to ash which swept away with an ominous wind. Her gaze turned back towards us, and from the almost heart stopping chill, I could tell she was looking directly at me.
"You…you brought the stars here…where is my vessel?" Alice and I moved to cover Peach, with everyone else moving to do the same, "I see…foolish sentiment." A dark power pulsed off her form, making the crystal stars begin to shake before launching towards us. We blocked what we could, and only in the side of my eye did I catch the glimps of one of them connecting with Flurrie and watching as she vanished completely with the star. That moment of shock was all that was needed for the stars to connect with the others. All at once, I watched as Goombella, Koops, Eggi, Vivian, Bobbery, and Ms. Mowz vanished in an instant, "Much better…now, my vessel." She raised her shadowy hands, making dozens more erupt behind her and shoot out towards us.
I pulled out my second blade to deflect as many as I could, as her hands slammed Bowser, Mario, and Gareth into the wall and her other hands restrained Alice and Lily against the floor. As my guard was broken, another hand shot in and gripped itself around my throat tightly. It didn't last long though, as a burst from Peach's air cannon blasted it away and gave me an opening to slash away the oncoming hands.
"Your efforts are wasted boy!" The ground rumbled at her words, and I felt a grip tighten around my ankle before hearing a shriek behind me.
"No!" I tired to turn, only to glimpse Peach descending into the floor as a flurry of hands pulled her further down. I turned back towards the queen to see Peach reappear in front of her tomb.
"Yes…a fine vessel indeed." All the hands that had grabbed us rushed back to their queen as she leaned down to encapsulate Peach.
"Let her go!" I yelled, rushing forward with my blade drawn to cut her arms open. But before I could even get close, another pulse shot off the queen as soon as she touched Peach, and I was thrown back as a black mist filled my vision.
Meanwhile
All around the land, the sky became dark. No clouds or night sky accompanied the shroud, only a deep feeling of despair that permeated in everyone it crossed. Children cowered and babies cried, as the adults around them could only fruitlessly attempt to hold onto their sanity at the overwhelming feelings that bore at their cores.
In the town of Rogueport, people began to flail and panic, running full speed towards anywhere that wasn't here. Not even the sudden appearance of a young Goomba girl caught their attention.
"What the-!?" Goombella looked around at the fleeing people before looking down at her hands where the crystal star sat.
At Petalburg, people were cowering in fear; crammed into small corners and hastily dug holes, as though that would fight back the oncoming torrent of darkness…all except Koops who rushed as quick as he could towards his house where his family was waiting, and probably terrified.
Flurrie gathered up all the Punies she could in her gentle wind embrace, hoping to shield them from a world that was changing into something even she couldn't wave away with her personality.
Rawk Hawk was shivering in line with everyone else who was looking to get on the blimp out of Glitzville. The only one still staunchly refusing to back down being the weird little Yoshi kid he'd seen hanging around Black and Pink a while back.
Vivian did her best to assure every citizen of Twilight Town that they would not be turned into pigs this time…although she didn't have the heart to tell them that this was so much worse. While she wasn't around when her first reign had happened, the feeling was all to familiar to her; the end of the world was upon them.
Bobbery stopped as many men as he could from boarding the ship off Keelhaul Key, asking the simple question of 'where they thought they could go' and getting back nothing. In truth, he had recognized the torrent the seas were becoming so quickly, and didn't want to watch men flee directly to their doom.
Mowz looked up at the dark tone the once bright sky had taken on and looked around. The few people at Poshley's Heights understood well enough that going anywhere was pointless. All they could do was look up to the sky and wait for whatever was coming to show itself. Not even the star in her hands could stop that.
Soren
When it finally dissipated, we found ourselves back in the throne room. At the back, sitting on a much more elegant throne that before, sat Peach…but it wasn't quite her.
Her adventuring outfit she'd been wearing through this whole ordeal had been replaced with a floor length dark purple dress with a high collar and matching purple gloves. Her parasol had been replaced with a regal staff with a twisting shadow ornament on the tip. Her hair looked to be cut back to just above her neck line, but still full of its usual life; the only oddity being its now upcurved pointed end and a gold crown with red jewels that sat on top of her head.
All of this was odd, but what made my skin crawl was her face. Her skin tone was no longer the bright rosy peach I had gotten used to seeing. Now, it was a darker tone, verging on a light purple that matched her dark purple lips…and her deep red eyes.
She reclined on her throne, swirling around a glass of wine with a content smile on her face. She took a sip and then turned to us with that same smile, completely confident in her new rule.
"While I still need time to adjust, I believe this body will do me well." She looked over her hand idly before thrusting it towards me. I was quick to swing, catching a stray bolt of electricity and redirecting it up into…the no longer there hole in the ceiling!? "My powers are still weakened I see…no matter." She waved her hand, producing a wall of fire that pushed towards us. Alice quickly retaliated with a wind slice that dissipated the flames. The Shadow Queen gripped her fist, creating two battering rams of ice that flew at us. Gareth smashed on apart with his axe as Lily made a clean slice with her scythe that cut the other in half. "It appears you are not ones to be taken lightly…as expected of the one who freed me." Her eyes lingered on me.
"That wasn't my intent!" I shot back defensively.
"Whether it was, or wasn't, matters not to me. I am a generous queen to those who serve me…so I will allow you this one chance." She held her hand out, "Kneel. Pledge your loyalty to me as my servants, and I will spare your life." A ball of fire and ice soared past us, colliding with the queen in a great explosion. I turned to see Bowser huffing as Mario held an ice flower in his hands.
"Hmph! I'm the only ruler around these parts' lady! The koopa king bows to no one!"
"I would never follow anyone other than Peach!" As they made their claims, I turned back to see the smoke clear. The queen sat in the same position on her throne, undisturbed by their attacks…but her eyes gave away an annoyance she wasn't willing to put up with.
"I did not ask YOU!" Ethereal hands shot out, rushing towards the pair, and slamming into them with enough force to send them flying and crashing into the other wall before falling to the ground in crumpled messes. "I was asking…him." Her gaze returned to me, "A fitting reward I should say, becoming my personal knight." She turned her eyes to the others, "I would even extend my offer to the three of you. I could always use another shadow witch…another dragon…and another curse bringer." Her intimidating aura only seemed to amplify as she let the words of what we would become sink in, "I urge you not to be foolish." Heh…too late.
"No." I replied.
"No chance in hell I'm becoming that crone." Alice added.
"As cool as it sounds to turn into a dragon-" Gareth pondered as he picked at his ear wax before flicking it away. "-gonna have to pass. Not if your dragons are so weak we can take all three out."
"I-I refuse to curse anyone!" Lily defiantly yelled through her fear. I took a step forward and pointed my blade at her.
"Your reign isn't going to happen. We're stopping you here, and bringing this long nightmare to a close, with everyone together at the end. So, give Peach back now!" The Shadow Queen put her extended hand back on the throne, her face now showing the annoyance she had given Mario and Bowser.
"Foolish creatures as always. I do hate getting my hands dirty…but I will make an exception this time."
I smacked away her oncoming hand missiles, rushing towards her as fast as I could. Alice did the same, erecting ice walls to trap her ethereal hands before blasting others back with her wind. Gareth barreled through every fist and grab, pushing them aside as bursting forwards before slicing them apart. Lily vaulted and cleaved with a deadly precision that made any oncoming hand almost a wasted effort.
When we all got close enough, we went for a four-pronged strike in an arc formation. She erected her own wall made of hands that attempted to grab us, only to be met with a long arc slice from all of us before we thrust towards her with our weapons. She slammed her staff onto the ground, creating a dark wind that pushed everyone but Gareth back who grounded himself. I watched as he went for a cleaving strike, only for her to thrust her staff forward and produce a dome shield that sent Gareth flying back.
"She's using Peach's parasol abilities." I realized aloud.
"Then what can she do?" Lily asked.
"If she doesn't move, not too much." The Shadow Queen swung her staff, creating a low level twister that picked up the four of us and spun us around before plopping us back on the ground, severely more disoriented, "Except…maybe that." I was seriously having a hard time keeping my lunch down…and Gareth definitely didn't.
"Another wave of her staff and she created a giant ball that bounced towards us, leaving a sizable dent in the ground where it bounced. Shaking my head, I readied my blade and sliced through the ball with one clean strike that completely vaporized it. I followed up by reeling my arm back and throwing my blade towards the shadow queen. She immediately activated her shield, bouncing it back, which I expected, and allowing me to counter strike my own sword back towards the queen.
As she was busy blocking my returning boomerang blade back at her, it gave my friends an opening to swoop in from all other sides and coordinate a tri-strike. As she returned my blade, Alice moved in and slashed through her with an electric edge that made her scowl in pain as Gareth went for the heavy strike which knocked the wind out of her and gave Lily a chance to vault and kick her directly in the face. As they did all that, I caught the returning blade and sent for the double slash across her chest, only to be met with another blow back from her staff after Lily's attack, followed by a pure shadow pulse that made all of us go skidding back.
"Enough!" She shouted in clear anger as she rose from her seat. "This unfamiliar form is not suitable for combat yet. I must use my true form." Another pulse of darkness came off her, "Rejoice fools, for you will witness my true power before you die!" The dark pulses became faster, her body slowly rising into the air as the ethereal form from earlier wrapped around her in a protective shell. What now stood before us was the true shadowy form of the queen that towered over all of us. "Relish in the knowledge you will die knowing what true power and terror are!" Gareth was the first to go for a strike, immediately hitting some sort of shadow barrier and getting thrown back by the force.
"Gareth!" Lily's shout left her open to being grabbed by a much bigger ethereal hand and squeezed tightly. I rushed to cut her free, only to be struck by a bolt of lighting that ran through my body and sent me to my knees. As I reeled, I watched as Alice rushed in and hit the hand with an ice strike that was melted by a burst of flames at the same time. The flame burst again, making Alice go skidding back before falling forward exhausted and beaten…just like all of us. Lily eventually went limp in her grip, and the Shadow Queen dropped her with a thud before picking me up.
"THIS is the power of a queen you fool. You cannot stand against me after using my power for yourselves."
"Wh-What are you t-talking about?" I asked as I struggled against her crushing grip.
"Every power you got from the stars was mine. Extensions of my abilities you had at your fingertips. My earthquakes, my enhancers, my time powers, my healing abilities. After using them, how could you ever think you stood a chance!" She squeezed as I hacked and coughed in agony. With a sadistic grin, she tossed me towards my friends. "In fact, let me show you something the stars never taught you. Consuming Shadow." She snapped her fingers, and a pinprick sized ball of shadow appeared before expanding rapidly and completely consuming us in its vast emptiness. Before I faded, I heard her final words to us, "How could you ever expect to beat me with my power? Even those fools from a thousand years ago could not. Your precious world is now mine."
…
…
…
…
…
…
"-ren"
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…
…
"So…n"
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…
"SOREN!" My eyes shot open and I sat up in an instant. Alice, Gareth, and Lily were standing over me…but that was it. I could see them clearly, but the world beyond them was an empty nothing of darkness.
"Where are we?" I asked.
"My guess? Whatever she used on us." Alice answered.
"We're inside a consuming shadow?" Lily asked.
"How do we get out?" Gareth asked. All three of them turned to me. Now that I was looking at them, they were all pretty beat up.
"First things first." I focused inward, "Sweet Feast!" …But nothing happened…I guess she was right; those powers are hers…and she took them back. I looked around us, finding nothing nearby and even less in the black distance I couldn't even judge. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out one of the errant rocks I had picked up for distraction purposes and dropped it. The second it hit where my foot connected to the 'ground' it sunk through like what we were standing on was water.
"…How…" Lily mused catching our attention. As everyone turned to her, she became flustered, "Oh s-sorry! I was just wondering about what we heard. The heroes said the stars had bee purified after a thousand years…but she was still able to absorb them."
"Oh yeah. They even said the pure heart was supposed to be able to fight back and kill her."
"But that implies Peach right?" Alice asked. "She got taken over almost instantly." Pure heart…wait.
"What about this?" I reached onto my belt and pulled off the Pure Heart Badge Mowz had given me, "It negated her trap in the observatory…maybe it's the key to this whole thing?"
"Hell of a time to remember this." Alice brought up, motioning to the…well, this place.
"Maybe it can get us out of here." I held up the badge to the sky. It gave off a low glow, only lightly shining. It wasn't enough to even light us up.
"Ah!" Lily's shout brought our attention over to see her starting to sink into the floor. We all tried to help her, only to be rooted in our spots, also sinking into the water like floor. I twisted and squirmed, reaching to the sky with my badge that only dimly glowed, hoping for some kind of miracle…or maybe even just a beacon of hope for my friends that everything would be okay...before sinking into the pool of shadows.
Meanwhile
Goombelle stood at the center of Rogueport square as everyone panicked around her. She looked down at the crystal star and for a moment, she could swear it let off a faint glow. She knew he needed her help…and she was going to give it!
"…SHUT UP!" Her voice carried across the whole town, making everyone stop in their tracks to look at her, "Are all of you really this pathetic!? Geez! No wonder we had to pick up all the slack on this! And right now Soren is doing a lot of the heavy lifting while all of you are only concerned with yourselves!"
"Soren?" Low murmurs went across the town.
"Yes! The guy who's currently fighting for everyone under Rogueport as we speak…and right now…he needs our help!" She held up the crystal star, "So if you want to see another day, then start believing in him!"
"…"
"I believe in him!" Mic spoke up, "If my sister believed in him then he must be a good person!"
"We got his back too!" Don Pianta spoke up, "The entire Pianta clan owes 'im one."
"I believe too."
"Me too!"
"Well, he can't be any worse than some of these people."
"I believe too!" Goombella shouted, "So don't give up!"
Koops held the star tightly in his hands.
"If I can become braver, than you can become strong enough to win!" Koops' father put his hand on his shoulder.
"You and my son took down Hooktail! Squash this darkness kid!"
"That girl is a tough customer!" The mayor yelled.
"He can do it!" Koopie Koo cheered.
Flurrie watched as the star's glow became brighter.
"You can do it Soren!" Punio cheered.
"We believe in you!" Petuni added.
"Give 'em hell Sorbet!" The elder shouted.
"Shine bright and put an end to this dreadful dark darling!" Flurrie cheered.
"Ain't nobody taking down Black and Pink!" Eggi yelled at the top of his lungs.
"That's right!" Rawk Hawk added, "The only person allowed to do that is me! So no losing to anybody else!" Jolene put her hands together in a little prayer as Prince Mush put his hand to his heart with a confident smile.
Vivian had gathered all of the villagers together and was gushing endlessly about Soren to anyone who would listen.
"S-So please! He needs our help! He saved me from being some tool, I don't want to see him die because I couldn't do anything! I want to help him!"
"Guh!" Out of the shadows popped Marylin.
"Sis…thank you. Please! Anyone!"
"Isn't that the name of the guy who saved us from being pigs?"
"If this nice girl is vouching for him, then what's the harm in believing?" The crystal stars low glow became more intense.
"Any true sailor knows how important a captain is." Pa-Patch said with a smirk. "If 'e were 'ere, 'ed be given his all for us."
"I'll believe in the captain!" A toad shouted.
"No way I wouldn't believe in him." Bobbery said solemnly as he looked at the star, "I'm even willing to bet Scarlet would do the same…so take both our belief and get back up.
"So, my protégé is fighting a demon-"
"-Shadow queen-"
"-and needs my monetary donation-"
"-belief-"
"-in order to get us the best tickets for a cruise line?"
"-in order to save us all." Mowz let out a sigh. She hadn't expected the penguin detective to be so thick headed…but she wouldn't stop trying.
"Well then, I deduce it's time to give him what he needs. You can do it Gareth!"
"Yeah, go Soren!" The bob-omb child cheered.
"You can't go out yet Soren!" Mowz yelled at the top of her lungs. "I haven't had all my fun with you yet~!"
"W-Wait…his name's not Gareth?"
Goombella was almost blinded by the glow the star gave off now. It shined like a star in the night…which in this case was very literal.
"Soren. You can do this! Kick that no good Shadow Queen's butt and come back!" The star shot off into the sky, more lights from the distances joining it before rocketing towards the ground in the distance.
A low rumble ran through the throne room, shocking the queen as she watched debris and rubble begin to fall.
"W-What is happening!?" Before her eyes, the crystal stars smashed through the ceiling before slamming into the ground and exploding in a burst of light. Sensing something beyond the light, she went wide-eyed, "No! Impossible!"
Soren
Everyone…thank you so much.
I stood up as the light cleared. We were back in the throne room, right across from the shadow queen who seemed absolutely dumbfounded by our apparent resurrection.
"That's what it meant Lily." I spoke. "They'd been purified, so they could be filled with a new power…and our friends filled it with their power…with THEIR pure hearts!" I held up the Pure Heart pin and the shadow queen visibly recoiled in pain.
"Impossible! It's my power!" She slammed her hand on the ground, making it shake wildly…but my hand immediately went to do the same.
"Earth Tremor!" Her tremor came to an immediate end. The absolute shocked look in her eyes almost made me laugh. I raised my hand to the sky, "Sweet Feast!" A warm glow fell over all of us, and I felt my energy course back through my body.
"Time for round two!" Gareth cheered.
"We won't lose this time!" Lily yelled confidently.
"You can't win." Alice said. I held up my now glowing blade. In fact, all our weapons were now glowing with the Pure Hearts' light.
"And we'll be taking Peach back."
The shadow queen shrieked as an explosion of ethereal hands rushed at from all over her form. Gareth and Lily carved through them like butter as Alice and I dashed and ducked through them towards Peach's body. If I could just get the Pure Heart pin on her, then it should drive out the Shadow Queen. I just need to get close!
"Get away!" Her hands began to glow with an uneasy energy, leaving lines as they moved. Realizing what she was doing, I threw a hand out towards Alice.
"Art Attack!" The tip of her blade began to glow and she looked at it confused before noticing it produced a line, the connection clicking instantly. With sure swings, she met the shadow queens drawn lines, erasing both of them before they could finish their attack.
With another yell, she erected a giant wall of thousands of hands, and I noticed an unsettling blue aura over them.
"Gareth!" I shouted and he rushed forward for a long slice as I focused on him, "Power Lift!" A blazing red aura fell over Gareth who leaned into the boost and sliced through the wall of hands, reducing them to nothing in the process.
The Shadow Queen slammed her hands against the ground in fury, and as she did, I could see her start to get faster and faster with every moment before her hands were blindingly fast.
"Clock Out!" Her hand came to a dead stop before she could pierce through Lily with her speed. Lily was quick to spin and retaliate with a slice along the wrist that severed it completely. When time returned to normal, the Shadow Queen reeled in pain.
As I was almost there, I watched as her hands circled around her center, creating a ball of pure power that began to pulsate. Sheathing my blade, I focused in on my own power as hers built to a crescendo and blasted towards me.
"Showstopper!" I let loose my own power that not only matched hers, but overpowered it and slammed her back into her own throne. As she slumped into it, her true form dissipated, leaving her host slumped in the throne.
Taking the opportunity, I ran up and placed the Pure Heart pin directly onto the center of her chest, the glow becoming even more powerful and overwhelming. The shadowy form of the Queen seemed to be trying to get away from the light, only to be held by the tether of its host. A tether I quickly sliced through with my sword before grabbing the princess and blasting backwards with my momentum boots as a hand tried to slam down where I had been.
I set the princess gently on the ground and turned back to the lose form of the Shadow Queen. Unconnected from a host it wailed and whipped around like a wild animal in the throes of death…but I knew it wouldn't die unless we did something about it.
I ran forward, letting every last ounce of star energy build up in my body as I rushed towards the shadow queen. She slammed and broke apart the floor, sending me flying upwards with the debris…but I stayed connected, pushing my boots to their full limits and clinging to the surfaces that spiraled. When I could see the queen directly, I use the last of the momentum in my boosts and burst off and towards the queen…only to find myself short of where I needed to be. As I slowly fell to the floor, her dozens of hands moved to assault me. But in an instant, a gust of compressed wind sent me flying past them and directly where I needed to be to finish this! I held my hand out, letting every ounce of star power in my body channel itself into my last attack!
"PURE HEART SUPERNOVA!" An all powerful light burst from my hand, consuming the shadow queen entirely. She shrieked and hollered in pain as the power of light overwhelmed her, until her voice faded, the light subsided, and the world around us had quieted completely.
It…was over.
I let out an exhausted breath and almost collapsed backward if it weren't for Peach and Alice being quick to grab me. Peach gave me her usual bright smile as Alice just sighed in relief.
"Have you been pulling stupid stunts like this the whole time you've been trying to save me?"
"Eh…more or less." I replied. She gave a low giggle.
"You idiot."
"See, dragons can't top that." Gareth commented as he and Lily grouped up with us, Mario and Bowser right behind them, looking a bit roughed up.
"You're crazy." Mario commented as he rolled his neck.
"Says the guys who pretty much made the same claim." I shot back.
"I regret nothing." Bowser said defiantly. I tried to chuckle but felt Peach's hug threatening to squeeze the life out of me.
"I'm SOOOOOOOOO sorry for almost killing you all!"
"It's fine…please stop crushing my lungs before you finish the job." She let go with an embarrassed blush, "Besides, you saved me at the end there, didn't you?" I pointed to her now emptied air cannon parasol and her blush got deeper.
"So…it's over?" Lily asked. I looked around. The air wasn't as choking as it had been…in fact, it felt lively for the first time since we got in here.
"Yeah…I think it is." I replied.
"So what now?" Alice asked. I looked around at everyone…before pushing myself off Alice and flopping to the floor.
"I think I need a little break."
"In here?"
"I think if I try moving then I'll collapse anyway…I saved you, let me pump the breaks for a little bit." Alice gave me an annoyed smile. Peach moved over and got onto her knees, pulling my head up to rest on her lap.
"W-What are you doing!?"
"Giving our hero a proper resting spot." …It was very soft.
"That is highly inappropriate for a princess to be doing!" Mario yelled. She seemed to ignore him as she stroked my head and began to hum a comforting tune.
"E-Even if it wasn't…I mean…w-well-" What was Alice stammering about…eh, I'll let it pass for now…I need some sleep.
"Oh? Are y-…aying…want to?"
"W-Well…I-I su-…b-but do-…idea okay!?"
"We'll sw-…in a...okay?"
"Lucky…stard." What was Bowser saying….
ZZZ.