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Author Topic: Super Paper Mario 2: The Tribe of Darkness (Complete + Art Project)  (Read 81771 times)

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« Reply #15 on: August 30, 2007, 03:30:36 PM »
EDIT: Finally a second page. :P



On their way to find the fourth Pure Heart, the heroes entered the yellow door. Dimentio's continued assualts made them rather anxious. Would Bleck's minions be able to keep holding him off while our heroes searched for the Pure Hearts? Their quest would gradually become more difficult, as Dimentio and Count Bleck conspired to stop them...



CHAPTER 3-1
Soaked Hair and Wet Socks

A line was drawn.

More lines appeared, coming in pairs that formed long, twisty tree trunks. Large leaves were drawn on the trees and given a green hue as the trunks became a dull grayish-brown. Water splashed onto the ground, creating large gray puddles. A few large rocks were drawn and colored dark gray. The sky was gray as well. It was completely covered by flat stratus clouds, letting only a small amount of sunlight through the thick blanket. The ground was soaked and covered with tall grass, being a dull green. Finally, drops of rain began falling, soaking the area even more. The yellow door was drawn into existence, and our heroes stepped into this dreary swamp.

"It's pretty wet here," noticed Mario.
Tippi looked around. "This place is sure dreary," she reflected. "I feel depressed already."
"So we'd better find the Pure Heart, and fast," announced Bowser.
"Right," agreed Tippi. "Let's see..." She examined the area. "I feel the Pure Heart in this dimension...but it's very far away..."
"So we have to travel through this place?" complained Luigi.
"Yes."
"In the pouring rain?"
"Yes."
"In this soggy ground?"
"Yes."
"With this dreary overcast cloud cover?"
"Would you prefer the destruction of all worlds?"
"We've gotta find the Pure Heart and FAST!" Luigi ran as fast as he could in the soggy grass.
Tippi sighed. "Well, let's follow."
Our heroes walked through the pouring rain, the water from the soggy ground seeping into their shoes and making their socks wet. Bowser was a bit more comfortable, since he didn't wear shoes, but the water still made his feet feel cold. The only consolation was that the thick trees blocked most of the rain, preventing the heroes from getting any wetter than they already were. Even so, the water from above was occasionially too heavy for the trees above, and it cascaded down, causing our heroes to be drenched even more.
"I sure hope this rain stops soon," complained Peach. Her hair had been soaked, making her look quite different from usual.
"Well, it doesn't look like it," observed Mario. "The sky is covered in clouds from horizon to horizon."
"I'm not going to walk like this until we find the Pure Heart!" declared Luigi. "We'd better pray that we don't have to go through any waterfalls or rockslides or whatever, 'cause this is quite enough."
"Well, look on the bright side," said Bowser. "At least, if it's nothing like this until the Pure Heart, we won't have to go through any obstacles or fight some sea monster or robot horse or anything."
"Knowing Dimentio, though, he's probably already came here and protected it from us. Sigh..."
They continued walking like this for a while, and the rain showed no signs of stopping. Eventually, the sky grew darker, indicating that night was coming. Our heroes heard a loud thunder crash.
"We've got to stop somewhere for the night," advised Tippi.
"Where can we rest?" asked Luigi. "We'll never fall asleep with rain and thunder."
"Let's look for some kind of shelter." They kept walking, passing some large rocks. Finally, they found the perfect shelter; in a small space, just big enough for all of them, underneath one of the larger rocks.
"Let's stop here for the night," suggested Bowser. The others agreed. They crept into the small dry space, where they slept.

In the morning, the rain was still there, but it was only a drizzle, much to the delight of our heroes. They walked out into the open again and continued walking in the same direction. After a while, they stopped for some reason.
"Why'd we stop?" asked Tippi. Then they realized that they had been stopped by a huge hill, which they hadn't even noticed due to the thick trees. The hill was drenched and muddy from the previous day's downpour.
"My feet are stuck!" complained Bowser, whose feet were stuck in the mud. He managed to pull himself out after a few seconds.
"Watch out," warned Tippi. "The mud's flowing!"
And so it was. Slowly but surely, the mud crept toward our heroes. It was slow at first, but then it picked up speed.
"We've got to get out of here before there's a mudslide!" yelled Luigi. He ran to the side. The others followed, only to discover that the mud flow continued over in this direction since the hill was so large. It continued picking up speed until it was a full mudslide.
"Waah!" exclaimed Mario, desperately trying to avoid the rushing mud.
"First a rockslide and now a mudslide?" complained Luigi.
"AIIEE! HELP!" shouted Peach, who had been knocked over and was struggling in the mud.
"I'll get her!" announced Mario.
"No, I'll get her!" countered Bowser. He began rushing toward her faster than Mario could keep up.
"Fine," admitted Mario. He followed Luigi, trying to find where the hill ended.
"I think the mudslide ends over here," pointed Luigi. Mario followed him around the hill, only to be pushed in a different direction by the mud. "We can't just leave Peach and Bowser behind," said Mario.
"It's fine, we're coming," announced Bowser, who was a few yards behind them, with Peach.
"If we can get to the other side of the hill, we'll be safe," described Tippi. "At least, I think so..."
The mudslide was picking up in speed, and soon it was difficult just to stand up. "How are we going to make it?" asked Peach. "I can barely stand up!"
"Let's climb these trees," suggested Mario, doing just that. "We'll be safe, at least for a while."
The others tried doing that. However, Bowser's tree fell over. "Hey, Einstein, can you think of something I can do?"
"Well, you're big and strong, right? You can probably just push your way through."
"Whatever."
Mario and the others grabbed another tree and worked their way over to the other side of the hill. When they dropped down, Bowser joined them. They were still being pushed by the mudslide, but they were being pushed in the direction they wanted to go. Eventually, the mudslide stopped altogether.
"Now that was a close call," reflected Mario.
Our heroes continued through the environment. "The Pure Heart is closer," annoucned Tippi. "But it's still a long way from here..."
"Oh, just great," grumbled Luigi. He faced the others. "We're just going to be walking through this depressing place until we find the Pure Heart! I just know-OW!" He had walked right into a large rock with a huge drop after it where the landscape lost its trees and rocks.
Suddenly, our heroes heard gunshots and cannons in the distance.



-END OF CHAPTER-
« Last Edit: August 30, 2007, 03:32:27 PM by Reading »
We went to see them for the first time in 5 years because they were going away for 3 years.

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« Reply #16 on: September 06, 2007, 06:06:14 PM »
It's been a while, but here's a new chapter. And, like before...comments please!



Gunshots and cannons! Next to our heroes, there lie a ridge of rock. As they looked over it to the other side, they could see that there existed a huge drop after the ridge, and no trees or rocks existed in the below area. To get across, they had to be careful, for one wrong move would send them tumbling down the steep slope. Looking across the plain, they observed two huge armies in the midst of an intense battle. What was happening here?



CHAPTER 3-2
War!

"Whoa!" exclaimed Peach as they made their way down the slope. "It looks like a war's going on!"
"You're right!" agreed Bowser, observing the armies.
"Is this the work of Dimentio again?" wondered Mario, suspicious.
Eventually, they reached a safe vantage point where the ground leveled out from which they could watch the fight. One of the armies seemed to be winning, the other being forced to gradually retreat.  Some time into the fight, several glowing bombs were suddenly launched from a cannon on the winning side, being thrown out in random directions. One of them was expelled straight in the direction of our heroes!
"Run!" shouted Tippi. They quickly ran out of the way before the bomb hit them. It soon touched down where our heroes were formerly standing, producing a huge explosion.
"This place isn't safe!" worried Luigi. "We've got to hide somewhere!"
Further validating Luigi, another cannon on the winning side fired hundreds of Bob-ombs into the air. They rained down, decimating the other army. A few flew right at our heroes, putting them in danger again.
"But where can we hide?" asked Mario as he dodged the raining Bob-ombs. They caused several explosions, rendering the area lifeless.
Our heroes explored along the slope. "There must be a cave or something where we can hide!" said Bowser. They continued running in the direction of the winning army, but found nothing.
"Isn't there any c-" started Mario, as his left foot suddenly dropped through the grass. "Hey guys, I found something!"
It was indeed the entrance to a cave, hidden by the grass. "I'm not going in another hidden cave entrance!" stated Peach.
"It's the only way to keep safe!" replied Luigi, ducking into the hole. The others soon followed.
The cave was larger than our heroes had initially thought. It was quite narrow at the entrance, but it soon formed a short tunnel. At the far end, there rested a strange creature. It was essentially spherical, a medium shade of green, and had squarish black feet. It wore a blue, dome-like hat, from under which were light green, wide needle-like things, and our heroes couldn't tell if it was hair or leaves. It held a gun in its right hand.
"Let's hightail it out of here!" whispered Peach.
"Wait," said the creature. "Can you help us?"
Our heroes turned back to face it. "Who are you?" asked Tippi.
"I'm one of those soldiers who're fighting out there. I came in here to hide."
"You're hiding?" asked Mario.
"Yes. I don't want to be any part of this war. I doubt that heart thing was powerful in the first place."
Our heroes instantly paid full attention. "A heart thing?" asked Tippi.
"Yes. This strange guy seemed to come out of nowhere and told the X Faction to guard it. He said it was powerful."
"What? The X Faction?"
"Yes. We're called the Bluecaps because of our hats, and we've been longtime rivals with the X Faction. Just recently, the Bluecaps went into war with the X Faction to claim that heart thing, and we're losing horribly. I wanted nothing to do with the battle, so I hid here. War just isn't my thing."
"If that heart is what I think it is, then Dimentio is at work again."
"Dimentio?"
"There's eight of those Pure Hearts, and we need to find them all to stop Dimentio. The reason he gave it to the X Faction was probably for them to guard it so that we couldn't get to it."
"You need to get it?"
"Yes. Believe it or not, the people behind me are heroes of prophecy...and they need the Pure Heart to save the world."
"Really? In that case, my name is Tedac, and I'd be glad to help you however I can. Which...um...I'm afraid...isn't very much."
"Well, the people behind me are Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser," she explained, pointing them out. "There must be some way you can help. Do you know of any way we could infiltrate the X Faction's territory and find the Pure Heart?"
"Wha...what? You think you can just march up to them and take it? They'll annihilate you!"
"There must be some way to get it without getting killed. Sneaking into their territory at night, perhaps?"
"You don't get it! Anyone who steps in the territory the X Faction calls their own is wiped out! Gone forever! Game Over!"
"I know it seems impossible...and this X Faction seems very powerful...but these are the heroes of legend. I don't have time to explain it all, but a prophetic book called the Light Prognosticus seems to imply that they will survive to find all of the Pure Hearts. You must help us in any way you can..."
"You're serious? Well...if it was foretold in a prophecy, I guess there's a chance you guys can survive it. I'll see what I can do. Let's get back outside and see if we've been completely annihilated yet."
Our heroes plus Tedac peeked out of the cave, and indeed, the battle had ended. The Bluecap army was retreating, likely going back to their base. The X Faction returned to their territory, victorious. "We've lost, all right," lamented Tedac. "You should come to our base. If you're going at night like you said, you can rest for the rest of the day and plan the attack."
Tippi considered telling him they needed to go now, like she had with Chip Ahoy, but a powerful army like the X Faction seemed more dangerous than a turbulent sea.
"Yes, that sounds like a good idea," she agreed.
"OK. Our base is over in this direction," he pointed. The heroes followed Tedac across the vast stretch of grass, toward the Bluecaps' base. Eventually, they reached a place in the landscape that contained a decent amount of trees, forming a loose forest. Several tents were pitched here that apparently housed soldiers. "So this is your base?" asked Peach.
"Yes. We've retreated here after the battle." Tedac led our heroes toward a large orange tent. "Here's the tent I share with a couple of buddies. There's plenty of room in here, so you can rest here and come up with some sort of plan."
"Hey, who're these guys?" asked a soldier who looked similar to Tedac, but was a bit wider.
Tedac pointed to each hero. "They're Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, and Tippi," he explained, pointing to them in sequence. "They may not look like it, but they're heroes of prophecy."
Bowser had to hold himself back from roasting Tedac on the spot.
Tedac explained the situation to his buddies, including how Dimentio had told the X Faction to guard the Pure Heart. "So they're going to rest here for a while as they plan their attack."
"Really?" asked the same soldier who had asked who our heroes were. "Wow. In that case, I'd like to help." Tedac and the others assisted our heroes, and with the help of information from the soldiers, they devised their plan while the sun sank.

When the sun was well below the horizon, the plan was finished. Tippi reviewed the facts. "OK. At midnight, we'll use the sparse trees as rest stops while we cross into the X Faction's territory. On the side area, where no guards are posted, we'll dig under the barbed wire and emerge next to their fortress. We'll use the tanks as places to hide behind to avoid any watchmen. We'll then infiltrate their fortress, and the soldiers will distract the X Faction's soldiers while we search for the Pure Heart."
"Sounds like a solid plan to me," assured a soldier. He pretended to ready his weapon. "I'm not afraid!"
"As solid as it is," started Luigi, "I'm not sure it's such a good plan if the soldier's games are put in danger..."
"Don't worry," explained Tedac. "They have a vast advantage in war, but from what we've heard, the X Faction has rather poorly trained guards. We should be able to distract them while you guys search for the Pure Heart. Besides, even if some of our games end, it'll be for the good of all worlds, right?"
"Right!" the other soldiers repeated.
These guys are true soldiers, realized Mario. They're willing to sacrifice themselves in order for us to safely get the Pure Heart.
"Well, in that case, we're ready to go," stated Tippi. "It'll be midnight in about half an hour, so that's when we make our move. Are you ready, heroes?"
"We're ready!"



-END OF CHAPTER-
We went to see them for the first time in 5 years because they were going away for 3 years.

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« Reply #17 on: September 08, 2007, 08:39:11 PM »
Just for reference, I also have this story on my website.



Our heroes and the soldiers crept across the plain, using the trees as rest stops like they planned. They slowly came ever closer to the territory of the X Faction. "I'm nervous..." admitted Peach.
"We'll make it through," stated Tedac. "You guys need the Pure Heart. We're just here to make sure it happens."
Tedac sounded confident, but in the darkness, it was easy to think about what would happen if they were caught. Would they truly make sure it happened?






Soon, the group could make out the barbed wire that surrounded the area. "Here's where we come in," stated Tedac. "Digging under here is the only way to cross the border."
Tedac and the soldiers worked in the darkness. In the distance, our heroes could make out the faint outline of several tanks. "This place looks more dangerous than I thought," reflected Mario. "When we get in there, we'd better not get caught."
"I'll say," agreed Bowser.
Soon, the soldiers had formed a small tunnel leading under the barrier. They emerged on the other side. "We're finished!" they announced triumphantly.
"All right," congratulated Luigi. Our heroes dove through the tunnel and emerged in the X Faction's grounds.
"We have to be as silent as we can," warned Tedac. "Their headquarters is over there. We'll have to be extra-careful if we don't want to be caught."
The group continued toward the fortress in absolute silence. Occasionally, they observed a watchman on guard duty, but they were able to avoid them by hiding behind the ready-for-battle tanks.
"O'Chunks would probably be right at home here," whispered Bowser when no watchmen were in sight.
"Yeah," agreed Luigi, also whispering. "We should have offered for him to join us. He would've been a good ally."
"Let's do that when we return to Flipside," suggested Tippi.
"Sounds like a good idea."
The route along the tanks continued for a while. "How long until we reach the fortress?" asked Mario, getting bored.
"It's getting closer," assured Tedac.
After emerging from behind a tank, the group was suddenly blinded by a brilliant ray of light. They covered their eyes as they heard a "Intruders in the middle north area!"
Suddenly, airplanes began appearing the sky. Dozens of X Faction soldiers evacuated the plains and rushed for our heroes, weapons ready.
"They found us!" shrieked Peach.
"Hurry!" exclaimed Tedac. "Let's try and get to the fortress!"
The group ran along the placed tanks, evading the soldiers. The fortress drew closer, but our heroes couldn't hide from the soldiers forever. One of them suddenly ran in front of the group. "HALT!" he shouted, pointing a pistol at them. They promptly halted. The X Faction soldier looked similar to the Bluecap soldiers, but was a bit more on the brownish side, and wore a black hat. "Stay right where you are!"
One of the Bluecap soldiers pulled out his pistol. "Go ahead and fire, big lug! It'll come right back to you!"
The X Faction soldier fired, but the Bluecap soldier swerved out of the way and fired at the enemy. While the X Faction soldier was distracted, our heroes and the rest of the soldiers crept around the nearby tank and continued their pursuit of the fortress. The Bluecap soldier caught up with them eventually. "We ran out of ammo, so he couldn't do nothin'!" he bragged.
This continued for a while. Unfortunately, another X Faction soldier leaped in front of the heroes, and he had reinforcements. "Seize them!" he commanded. His reinforcements pointed guns at the heroes once again.
More Bluecap soldiers readied their weapons. "Stay away!" they warned.
"Shut up, nerds!" shouted an X Faction soldier. "It's those guys we want!"
"Us?" squeaked Peach.
"Yes, you!"
One of the Bluecap soldiers fired, and a gunfight instantly broke out. Luckily, this provided another distraction for our heroes to take advantage of. When the Bluecaps returned, one was gone. "We lost him," lamented Tedac.
Suddenly, a pistol appeared right in front of Mario's face. He froze.
"Nobody move, or I pull the trigger!" the soldier shouted. No one moved. After a few seconds, a helicopter descended next to them. At gunpoint, the soldier led our heroes and the Bluecaps into the helicopter and confiscated their weapons.
"We're going to the headquarters," explained the X Faction soldier. "You'll all have the pleasure of being the first non-X Faction members to be the victim of our leader's new device."
"What's that supposed to mean?" demanded Bowser.
"You'll see. After a cozy stay in the prison, that is."
The helicopter flew toward the headquarters and landed at the entrance. Using his gun again, the soldier, with assistance from others, led our heroes into the building. Being forced to march, none of the group could observe the interior of the fortress for very long, but it was mainly greenish-gray, with brick walls. They passed through several doors, and finally down a winding staircase to emerge in a dank dungeon, where they were forced into a prison cell and chained to the wall by their hands.
"You'll all stay here until we're ready. Until then, enjoy your stay." He snickered and exited the dungeon.
After he left, Luigi spoke up. "Just great. How do we get out of this one?" He eyed Tippi jealously. The soldiers hadn't even noticed her, and having no limbs, she couldn't be chained up.
Mario tried to slip his hands out of the chains, but they stuck. "I can't get out!"
"Are any of you carrying something?" asked Tedac.
"Nope, but let me try something," stated Bowser. He unleashed a small amount of fire on the chain that held his left hand, but all it did was make the chain very, very hot, and his hand was slightly burned. "OW!"
"What can we do?" worried Peach.
Mario had a sudden thought. "Wait a second..." He flipped into 3D, and the chains couldn't come with him into the new dimension. He walked away from his original position, flipped back into 2D, and moved his arms about.
"Great," congratulated Bowser. "Now just figure out how to get us out."
Mario couldn't come up with any way to free the others from their chains. The chains were almost too small for our heroes' arms, and there was no way they could succeed by pulling their hands out.
"Come on!" encouraged Tippi. "There must be some way!"
Just then, Mario experienced another sudden idea. "Oh! I've got it!"
"Then do it!" urged Bowser.
"When I was traveling on Mt. Lineland, I rescued a person named Red from the third dimension by flipping into 2D while he was next to me. I can probably do the same thing here!" He walked to Luigi. "Hold my hand, and I'll flip you into 3D."
"Got it, bro!" Mario and Luigi grabbed each other's hand, and Mario flipped into 3D, taking Luigi with him. The Super Mario Bros. flipped back into 2D, free of the chains.
"Now get me out of here!" ordered Bowser. Mario did just that, and then walked to Peach and freed her as well. He repeated the process with Tedac and the other soldiers.
"Now let's get out of here!" encouraged Mario. He walked away from where our heroes had been chained, and smacked face-first into the steel bars.
"Oh, that's right." He flipped sideways and exited the cell, then flipped back and pressed the button outside the cell, releasing the prisoners.
"Thank you, Mario!" thanked Tippi, although she hadn't even been imprisoned.
"So where's the Pure Heart?" asked Bowser.
"It's somewhere close to here..." she observed. She tried to sense exactly where it was. "It seems like it's far above us," she explained. "It's probably on one of the upper floors of the headquarters."
"How are we going to even get there?" asked Luigi. "Once they notice we escaped from the cell, things won't be very pleasant."
"That's a problem..." stated Mario. "Well, I didn't see many soldiers in the halls. They must either have rooms they're in most of the time or they don't work here often. It might be safe to escape here."
"What if we're caught?" asked a soldier.
Tedac looked at the critic. "If we don't follow his plan, we'll just have to stay here forever. It's the only way out!"
"Right!"
"So let's get out of here," said Luigi. They walked up the stairs, out of the dungeon, and through a rather dark hallway. They tried to retrace their path from the main room so that they could find an entrance to the above floors. Eventually, they found themselves back in the more well-lit main room.
"We've got to be careful," warned Tippi. "The Pure Heart should be somewhere up those stairs."



-END OF CHAPTER-
We went to see them for the first time in 5 years because they were going away for 3 years.

Reading

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« Reply #18 on: September 15, 2007, 04:13:07 PM »
Is it too much to ask for some more comments? >_> Also, this chapter was too long for one post, so I seperated the boss fight from the main chapter.



Having escaped into the main lobby, our heroes could ascend the stairs and begin their search for the Pure Heart above. The area they were in was considerably brighter and more well-lit than the dungeon from which they had emerged. "We've got to search the upper floors for the Pure Heart," annoucned Tippi. "Let's use the elevator up there." They climbed the stairs and entered the elevator. The headqarters had eight floors, as demonstrated by the buttons.
"Which floor should we try?" asked Peach.
"Well, it's probably near the top," explained Mario, "but it might be on a lower floor. Let's go with Floor 5 to be safe." They took the elevator up to the fifth floor. What awaited our heroes and the soldiers in this giant fortress?




When the mechanical doors opened, the group emerged in a hallway similar to the one below. "I sense the Pure Heart here..." stated Tippi. "But it's probably still above us, and it's in a different area of the headquarters..."
"Let's go back and go with the seventh floor this time," suggested a soldier. They followed the soldier's advice, and on the seventh floor, Tippi spoke again. "I sense it more stongly here...it's probably on the top floor."
"Well, no harm in searching, right?" proclaimed Tedac.
"Well, I guess."
The group carefully crept down the hallways. The area was almost silent, and their footsteps echoed throughout the hallways. "I don't feel safe here," reported Luigi.
"Where is everyone, anyway?" asked Mario. He noticed several doors along the hallway.
"Those must be the offices of X Faction workers," mused Tippi. "They're probably all out for the night."
"Oh, yeah. Why didn't I think of that? Good thing we came at night."
Our heroes tried opening some of the doors, but they were all locked. "What if the Pure Heart is in one of these doors?" asked Tedac. "We'd have to break down the door or something, and I'm sure that would set off some sort of alarm."
Bowser gave Tedac a glare.
"I don't think it's over here..." said Tippi. "It's probably on the top floor. Do you think we should go there?"
"Yeah, it's probably on the eighth level," agreed Bowser. "You know these evil fortresses. The thing you want is always on the top floor."
"Like in your evil fortresses?" teased Mario.
Now it was Mario's turn to recieve a glare from Bowser. "Whatever! Now let's get to the elevator." Gee, I almost forgot that they're my enemies! I've got to stop hanging around with Mario after this adventure!
When they reached the elevator, Mario hit the button for the eighth floor, and up they went. When they emerged, Tippi sensed an almost overwhelming amount of the Pure Heart's energy. "The Pure Heart is on this floor!" she exclaimed. "I just know it! I feel it more strongly than ever!"
"Then let's get looking!" commanded Bowser.
The group walked out onto the top level and looked around. There wasn't much difference between this floor and any of the others. "Let's just follow Tippi," suggested Tedac.
Tippi wandered the hallways, following the Pure Heart's energy. "It's stronger...stronger...stronger..." Suddenly, the energy from the Pure Heart weakened. "What? I feel it less strongly. I must have passed it..."
"It's probably in one of these rooms, then," reasoned Peach.
"But they're locked," protested Mario.
"We might as well try to open them. If it'll get us the Pure Heart, we'll just have to try."
Mario walked to each of the nearby doors, Tippi following him along the way, but not one of them budged. "It's strange..." Tippi reflected. "I feel it most strongly...right here!" She was hovering in a location between doors.
Luigi had a sudden thought. "Tippi, try going near the ceiling!"
Tippi obeyed. "Ther Pure Heart's energy is even stronger here! But...isn't this the top floor...?"
"The Pure Heart is probably on a secret upper floor, or perhaps even the roof. You know these evil fortresses!"
"That's probably so...but in order to get there, we'll have to find some passageway to that area, since it wasn't on the elevator..."
"Let's look for one," agreed Tedac.
They wandered the eighth floor in search of anything that might take them above. Eventually, they discovered a silver, steel-plated door, looking quite unlike the others. "You think this is it?" asked a soldier.
"Suspicious-looking doors are always the way you should take," proclaimed Mario. "Let's go!" He tried opening the door, but as usual, it didn't move.
"This is where I come in!" announced Bowser. He gathered strength and charged at the door. A loud crash occured, but not much else.
"Uh oh..." uttered Peach. "We shouldn't make too much noise. If we do, we might set off something."
"Then I'll make it fast." Bowser repeated the maneuver, and the weakened door collapsed with another loud crash. The group advanced into the new room. It was much darker than the standard hallways, made of gray bricks rather than the green-tinted walls of the main area, and only a few lights were placed.
"Is this the route to the space above us?" asked a soldier. "It seems like a secret passageway, like, for 'authorized personnel only'."
"Since the above floor wasn't on the elevator," began Tedac, "this 'secret passageway' probably leads to it. Use your head!"
"Do you guys even have heads?" asked Bowser.
A few yards in front of them, a bubbling pit of lava existed, with small, moving platforms placed across it. "This is my area of expertise," bragged Mario.
"And mine," countered Luigi.
The group set off across the lava, jumping across the conveniently placed platforms. When they reached the other side, a large chamber appeared before them. Attached to the floor and ceiling were spiked pillars. "The X Faction really doesn't want us to get the Pure Heart," reflected Mario.
"How do we get past it?" wondered Tedac.
"Maybe," began Peach, "if we jump through it, the spikes will start falling after us, and we'll be safe."
"I'll try this," announced a soldier.
"Wait! Maybe that's not really the way to get past."
"I scoff at danger. I would've done this even you haven't said that. My mission is just to make sure things are safe!" He jumped through the spiked chamber and landed on the other side. "See? No harm-" He slipped off a ledge and tumbled headfirst into another pool of lava.
"Ugh," muttered Tedac. "Well, we've only lost two soldiers so far, and soldiers don't have time to mourn. We still have me and four others."
"Maybe there's something around here that can deactivate the trap." Mario flipped into 3D, and indeed, there was a switch that, when Mario jumped on it, caused the spikes to disappear. The group walked past the chamber, and onto a narrow ledge before more lava. There weren't any platforms over this one.
"What do we do now?" asked Luigi.
"Hmm. Well, if you're in trouble, flip!" Mario flipped again, but saw nothing that would benefit them. He reverted back to 2D.
"There's nothing?" asked a soldier.
Tippi felt a strange sensation. "There's something in this area..." she observed. Suddenly, a platform spanning the width of the lava appeared.
"What happened?" wondered Tedac, dumbfounded.
Mario realized that the soldiers didn't know anything about Tippi. "That's one of her powers," he explained.
"Oh." Tedac didn't pursue the issue further. He was used to just taking things as they came.
Our heroes walked over the dangerous lava, and as they could see, they were nearing the end of the hallway. At the very end rested another elevator. "This probably takes us to the top floor," noted Peach.
They stepped inside, and the only floors availible were the one they were currently on and one that read "TOP". Mario hit the "TOP" button, and the elevator creaked to life, carrying them to whatever lie above. When the doors opened, the group found themselves in a large green-and-blue hallway that was brightly lit. However, the most distinguishing feature of the room was the giant dark green object at the other end.
"So you've arrived!" echoed one of the creepiest voices our heroes had ever heard. Our heroes' attention focused on the strange object, and what appeared to the X Faction's leader was standing atop it, surrounded by about a dozen soldiers. The leader wore a greenish-yellow hat with points around the edges, and he was somewhat larger and darker than the soldiers. He had a very superior look on his face, coupled with a grin that revealed sharp yellow teeth. "To be honest, I never thought you'd make it here, especially not those nerdy soldiers! Dimentio was correct when he said you guys could get through anything."
"Well, we're here, all right!" declared Tippi. "And we want the Pure Heart, you ugly thing!"
"What an arrogant geek," expelled the leader. "I am Radnamok X, leader and commander of all within the X Faction, and current guardian of the Pure Heart!" He exaggerated "current guardian of the Pure Heart", adjusting his tone to sound like he was talking to a three-year-old.
"We need that Pure Heart!" announced Tippi, ignoring the insult.
"Oh really? Your friend Dimentio told me all about his plans. I didn't need to be fooled into thinking you guys wanted it for evil. Once The Void encompasses all, he will give me a position of power over a perfect new world!"
"He's lying! He's not really going to give you power. He's making that up so that you'll keep it from us!"
"Oh really? Well, all of my loyal soldiers plus the Headquarter Sandwich will guarantee that we'll keep it from you!"
"...Headquarter Sandwich?"
"You mean you haven't noticed this baby? You need some glasses to go along with your geeky attitude!"
"..."
"The Headquarter Sandwich was a gift from Dimentio. It runs on Pure Heart energy, which the machine converts into energy. But the Pure Heart's power wasn't enough for me. That's where the Headquarter Sandwich comes in."
"I can see why! The power of love won't run your evil contraption!"
"Shut up, nerd! Anyway, I took one of Dimentio's ideas and made it my own. The Headquarter Sandwich squeezes my loyal X Faction soldiers that I chose and sucks all of their juices out, which it uses to power itself as the ultimate battle creation!"
"Wha...what!? You use their internal fluids to power your vehicle!? I've never heard of anything so disgusting and wrong! How can they possibly agree to serve you!? And what do you mean, this idea came from Dimentio?"
"You're that much of an idiot, aren't you? Their loyalty is another gift from Dimentio! They're mindless slaves, always ready to serve me and my whims." He ignored the part about Dimentio's idea.
Tippi gagged.
Mario decided it was time to speak. "So based on what a soldier told us, you plan to use us as well?"
"Exactly! You must be a nerd too, 'cause you figured that one out real fast. In fact, I plan to use all of the Bluecaps this way! Perhaps I'll have mercy on the X Faction then."
Tippi decided to speak again. "Why do you hate the Bluecaps so much, anyway?"
Radnamok X looked as if he'd been told the most hilarious joke he'd ever heard. "HA! HA! DUH! Why wouldn't I use the Bluecaps? They're a bunch of wimps and nerds! Everyone knows they're inferior!"
"Who on earth raised you? It's totally wrong to treat people like this! How do you even know?"
"BECAUSE! They totally don't fit in! They're all so concerned about each other! And they're always by themselves, doing pointless things and using pointless talents nobody cares about. They're all a bunch of self-indulgent geeks that deserve to be enslaved. If you have a talent, use it for yourself before it's too late, instead of trying to help the world with it. And I'm already helping their world by wiping them out!"
Tedac and the Bluecap soldiers shifted uncomfortably.
"You evil, sick, twisted creature!" accused Tippi. "It's wrong to judge people by how they act or what they do. And thinking you can get away with using them as power sources is another thing entirely! Now give us the Pure Heart, or I'll...I'll..."
"HA! You have nothing you could use to make me give you the Pure Heart. Just typical of the Bluecaps, and since you're allied with them, I suppose you've become one as well! All right, if you won't agree to have your wimpy selves pulverized by the Headquarter Sandwich, I'll just do it myself!" He pressed a button on the giant device, and it began a robotic transformation. Large black wheels extended from its base, making it mobile. All sorts of hatches and levers opened along the sides, revealing many kinds of painful weapons.
Tippi noticed something in the machine's center. "Look!" she exclaimed. The heroes and soldiers looked, and the green Pure Heart was dimly visible among the dense machinery.
As the Headquarter Sandwich completed its transformation, Radnamok X snickered. "Prepare to be sandwiched, geeks!"
We went to see them for the first time in 5 years because they were going away for 3 years.

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« Reply #19 on: September 15, 2007, 04:13:40 PM »
BOSS
Radnamok X and the Headquarter Sandwich

The machine moved forward, and a large gun targeted Mario. He jumped over the group of bullets.
"So you can dodge, huh?" Radnamok X taunted. He extended two giant spiked balls on chains from the vehicle, which rotated around it, aiming to smash Mario. They didn't. The spike balls withdrew, and two parts on the machine began glowing. They simultaneously fired lasers that homed in on Mario. However, Mario was a dodging pro. He went for the Sandwich, performed a mighty jump, and nailed Radnamok X in the head.
"HA! Do you think your geeky attacks will work against me?" He hadn't been damaged at all due to the hat he wore.
"We should go for the Sandwich," suggested Luigi.
"Then leave this to me!" Bowser walked up to the tank and unleashed his fire. The machine, apparently having taken damage, began sparking.
"You pest! Take this!" Radnamok X pushed a button, and a wall of steel suddenly appeared and slammed Bowser into the other heroes. "HA! Nerds!"
"We'll take this overgrown salami sandwich!" declared Tedac. He and the rest of the Bluecap soldiers jumped into action and fired their pistols, damaging the machine further.
"You wimps think you can take the Headquarter Sandwich?" The vehicle began rapid-firing spiky projectiles. One of them managed to hit a soldier, knocking him back.
"GAAHH!!!" He collapsed in pain.
Seeing the opportunity, Radnamok X fired two lasers at the soldiers, forcing them to retreat. One of the lasers hit the soldier who had been hit by the projectile, sending him across the room, through a window, and down to the ground below.
"HA! HA! You guys are even weaker than I thought!"
Luigi could stand the insults no more. He charged for the Sandwich, and Radnamok X prepared to fire a volley of bullets. At the last second, Luigi leaped into the air, did a heroic backflip, and drove his foot through the portion that had taken damage earlier, wrecking a considerable amount of the machinery. Just then, the machine fired a laser at Luigi, sending him flying back into the wall. "Ow..."
Radnamok X tried a new tactic. He pulled out a whistle, blew it, and three X Faction soldiers dropped from the ceiling. Turning themselves upside-down, they used their hats as spinning devices, rocketing around the floor and hitting the soldiers and heroes with their sharp hair-leaf things. After a while, they quickly jumped back upright and flipped out.
"HA! HA!" the leader laughed. "You're all down now!"
Tippi, noticing what had happened, reassured the group. "Come on! You may be injured, but you have to fight! We can't let a creep like him keep the Pure Heart!"
Bowser got up. "Well, she's right. Come on!"
"I'll do it," agreed Mario. The two rivals walked up to the Sandwich.
"Still not giving up, eh?" taunted Radnamok X. He again extended the two spiked balls, rotating them much more rapidly this time.
Bowser whispered to Mario. "Aim for the machinery!" He picked Mario up and threw him toward the vehicle. The hero hit his target sqarely, further damaging the machine.
"Now's our chance, soldiers!" announced Tedac to the three remaining soldiers. With the spike balls broken due to Mario's attack, the Bluecap soldiers charged for the Sandwich, pistols ready. Radnamok X blew his whistle again, and a single X Faction soldier dropped from the ceiling. Before anyone could react, he swerved around and shoved one of the Bluecap soldiers into the Headquarter Sandwich, then promptly flipped out.
"GYAAAH!!!" the unlucky soldier cried as the Sandwich sucked out his juices.
"Your damage is negatated, geeks!" shouted Radnamok X. "Now, prepare for the ultimate juicing!" He began firing the spiky projectiles.
"Do what we can, everyone!" ordered Tedac. He fired his pistol at one of the weapons, causing it to richochet back at the Sandwich.
While the leader was distracted with the Bluecaps, Peach decided it was her turn. She swiftly moved to the tank and gave it a good whack with her parasol. In response, the leader again released the now-repaired spike balls, which spun faster than ever. The soldiers and Peach carefully dodged them while they escaped. When they retreated, Tedac looked at the soldiers. "There's only me and two of you left. That's fine. We can still make sure they can get the Pure Heart!" He walked to Bowser and whispered a plan to him.
"Got it!"
Tedac and the soldiers started firing at Radnamok X himself. The leader easily dodged their attacks. "Is that the best you dweebs can do?" Suddenly, the machine began to fizzle and spark.
"That's the best they can do, but I can do better!" announced Bowser, who had crept behind the tank and had doused it with fire. It began to deteriorate, and sections of it collapsed.
"NOOO!!!" shouted Radnamok X. He tried pushing buttons and pulling levers, but nothing on the broken vehicle worked. Small explosions rocked it, and the machine began to shake. Soon, the whole room was shaking. "NOOOOOOOO!!! I CAN'T LOOOOSE!!! GAAAAAAHHH!!! NEEEEEEEERDS!!!" A bright light extended from the Sandwich, and it produced a massive, brilliant explosion. The green Pure Heart was released from the explosion and landed in front of Mario.

There was a moment of silence before Tippi spoke. "Well, that's that."
The elevator behind them opened, and three X Faction soldiers entered the area. "What happened?" one of them asked.
"We've defeated your leader," announced Tippi.
"What!? Really!? You survived the Headquarter Sandwich!?"
"Yes...live with it. And we'll be taking the Pure Heart now."
The soldiers looked at each other. Slowly but surely, grins spread across their faces. "HOORAY!!!" they all shouted.
"Wh...what!?" exclaimed Tippi.
"THANK YOU! You can't possibly imagine how horrible it felt to be hypnotized and forced to do Radnamok X's bidding, and being subject to sandwiching at any time at that."
"..."
"You see, when Dimentio came, Radnamok X was a very unpopular leader. We realized a long time ago that it's not right to mindlessly judge people. But we were under his control, and the situation worsened when we were hypnotized."
"So...you never really supported Radnamok X?"
"Support him?!" The soldiers were apalled. "Who their right mind would support that biased jerk? We had no choice! Obey him or be killed! And, in fact, several of us took our own games before this."
Tippi thought this over. "Incredible..."
"Yep! Now that Radnamok X's game is over, we don't have to serve him anymore. Heck, we're going to downright support you. Please, take the Pure Heart!"
Tippi looked at Mario. "Well, you know what to do!"
Mario nodded.



PURE HEART GET!
-END OF CHAPTER-

Winning the green Pure Heart had been our heroes' most difficult challenge so far. But with the help of Tedac and the Bluecap soldiers, they defeated the evil Radnamok X and the horrible Headquarter Sandwich. The world of the Bluecaps and X Faction was safe once more after the chaos of the past. With the newly united soldiers bidding them farewell, our heroes returned to Flipside. They had already acquired half of the eight Pure Hearts! But their quest was far from over. The search for the remaining Pure Hearts would inevitably become even tougher. Who knows what that sneaky Dimentio has planned for the location of the next Pure Heart? And has he managed to find any minions yet?
We went to see them for the first time in 5 years because they were going away for 3 years.

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« Reply #20 on: September 15, 2007, 04:14:43 PM »
"Was the Headquarter Sandwich successful, Master Dimentio?"
"I am sorry to say, but the heroes somehow managed to acquire the fourth Pure Heart."
"You must be joking with Count Bleck! How could they have gotten past the X Faction's security?"
"Well, they did have help from the Bluecaps."
"This is madness, complained Count Bleck. They already have half of the Pure Hearts, before we even activate the Chaos Heart!"
"In a way, I am actually glad that Radnamok X was defeated. That lunatic demanded far too much from me. But the heroes have the Pure Heart, and we can't do anything about that now."
"Sigh...well, all right. What is the nature of the dimension in which the next Pure Heart resides?"
"You don't need to worry about that. I have once again made sure the Pure Heart is safe from them. And this time, they won't have anyone to help them. Unless the inhabitants escape the palace, that is, which is not likely."
"Excellent, agreed Count Bleck," agreed Count Bleck.
"And...you'll like this...I have an important announcement to make."
"What is it, Master Dimentio?"
"After I made sure things were OK in the next Pure Heart's dimension, I found someone willing to work for us!"
"Really? So you have found a minion?"
"Better than that. I have found TWO minions! And here they are now!"
On the lower platform not occupied by Bleck, a thin line emerged, indicating that the new minions were about to flip in. However, they did it with a bit more pizazz than Bleck. When the line was finished, the minions spun so fast while flipping that they were almost invsible, and blue-green energy beams crackled around the area they were entering. After a few seconds, the flipping stopped, and an energy-sound-wave echoed from the area they had appeared in. When all of this cleared, the two new minions were standing on the platform. The first one was shaped like a human, but the resemblances ended there. He was very robot-looking, with a squarish, tan head and two horns protuding from the top of it. In place of eyes, he had a very large pair of pointy black shades that were attached to his face. His head and his other body parts were connected by electric lasers to his body, and the left one of those hands sported a glowing red orb in the middle of its palm, as well as several things that looked like compartments for holding something down the arm. His right arm was equally un-humanlike; it had more compartments on its arm, and the end of the end formed a gun. His left leg looked like a beam of steel with a hinge, presumably containing a weapon. And finally, his right leg wasn't really a leg at all. It consisted of an upper section, looking like another compartment and colored bright red and orange, and a lower section, looking rather like an actual foot but having only two sharp metal toes. It was connected to the other section by a laser.
The second minion was equally as robotic. It was a small, white, trapezoid-cubish floating object, with a thin black streak across the middle that seemed to function as its eyes. Various machinery and colored buttons were placed around it, with a small jet engine at the bottom. Two sharp arms extended from its sides, seeming to have not much purpose.
"I am B-A Omega," the more humanlike one announced.
"And I'm Napoleon Johnson Wilson III divided by six to the eighth power," the small floating one claimed.
B-A Omega turned to face Napoleon Johnson Wilson III divided by six to the eighth power. "H-X Alpha, tell him your real name. Well, I guess I just did."
"So these are the new minions?" asked the count.
"Yes. They've demonstrated their powers for me, and it's obvious that they can crush the heroes with their advanced technological weapons. How about a demonstration, B-A Omega?"
"Yes, Master Dimentio!" The robot lifted his beam-of-steel leg, and the lower section folded itself backward, allowing him to fire a wide, multicolored laser from it.
"Count Bleck is impressed! The heroes stand no chance with you two working for us."
"Yep. Not a chance, not a chance, NOT A STINKIN' CHANCE, what are you STUPID?" rambled H-X Alpha.
"You dare address the great Count Bleck in that manner?"
"Easy, Bleck," calmed Dimentio.
"Where in the worlds did you find these two?"
"I was searching the dimensions for potential minions, and I found these two. It almost seemed like they came to me, and they were very willing to become my minions. From what they told me, they haven't always been robots. To be honest, I have no idea where they came from, as that's pretty much all they told me...but they seem like very willing minions, so I let them join."
"I must thank you again, Master Dimentio," thanked H-X Alpha. "You have truly been a very positive influence on us, and I will enjoy working with you in the future."
"What is with H-X Alpha?" asked Bleck. "First he's insulting me, then he's speaking like a formal letter."
"Well, something apparently happened in the past that scrambled his brain circuits. He can still function properly, but he experiences...sudden and unpredictable personality changes."
"HEY DAWG, ARE YOU INSULTIN' ME? 'CAUSE BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO PEOPLE WHO DO THAT!"
"Since I have only recently enlisted them, I have not sent them on a mission yet. I wish to further test their abilities and decide on the right time to use them. But you don't need to worry. My plan to keep the fifth Pure Heart from the heroes is already set in motion, and if they somehow manage to get it, these two will take care of them properly."
"Absolutely," agreed B-A Omega. "We'll destroy those heroes for you, lickety-split."
"You have excellent motivation, B-A Omega," congratulated Dimentio. "That is all for now. Please return to your training areas. After I am finished with some business, I will help you."
"Yes, Master Dimentio!" all three minions agreed. Count Bleck flipped out while H-X Alpha and B-A Omega performed their more exciting variation. Dimentio vanished to take care of his business.



"Timpani...dear Timpani...will I ever see you again?"
"I must do whatever I can to find her..."
"Hm? What's this?"
"It's a bat stuck in a trap...here, I'll get you out of there."
"Thank you deeply...may I ask your name?"
"I am called Blumiere."
"Thank you, Blumiere..."
"You are welcome...I will be on my way now."
"Blumiere...wait...Blumiere..."

"Please, you must do this for me!"
"I am willing to, but I want you to know that he will not accept you. He is already searching for his love."
"I know...but if not that, I truly desire to at least visit him. Please...you must do it."
"Sigh...all right. I will do it."

"Blumiere..."
"Huh? Hm? Wha-"
"Blumiere...it's me."
"...You?"
"You're...the bat I set free?"
"Yes...Merlumina altered my shape so that I may...I may...um..."
"I already have a woman in my life...I am afraid-"
"No...not that. Blumiere, since you saved my life, I will pledge loyalty to you."
"I will do whatever you ask from this moment forward...because you were the one who saved me."



"Is somethin' wrong, Nastasia?"
"What? Um...well, you see, I've been thinking about my own past lately."
"Yeh 'ave?"
"Yes. I was remembering the day I met Count Bleck...I mean, Blumiere..."
"Really, then. Would yeh mind tellin' me what 'appened?"
"Well...back then, I was-"
"Was what?" asked Dimentio. "Go ahead, don't be scared. Tell us all about what happened back then!"
"Oh, it's YOU again!" complained Mimi. "Nastasia doesn't have to say it if she doesn't want to. I don't mind!"
"Oh, really? You all seem to be rather contemplative lately, and I know all about your antics back in the time of the Ancients, so why don't the other two of you share your memories? O'Chunks already did. Who else wants to blurt out the crime that made them a perfect minion?"
Mimi and Nastasia looked at each other nervously, not knowing what the other was thinking.
"Apparently I have no takers. That is just fine, for your game's end draws near."
"You always say that, but it never happens," accused Nastasia.
"I have greatly improved my strength since the last time we met. I will wipe the lot of you out, and then a huge portion of my plan will be complete. Complete, that is, as an idiot who thinks they can defend themself against me!"
"You can't do that. We'll just beat you like we did last time and the time before!"
Dimentio eyed Nastasia. "You're certainly feisty today, lowly secretary. Given that I know what you did after you swore loyalty to Bleck, I wouldn't be talking!"
"That...doesn't matter. We can take you anytime."
"Really. Well, since you're so energetic, can YOU take me anytime?"
"Wha...me!?"
"Yes, YOU. I hereby challenge you to a one-on-one fight! You, with your lowly secretariness, and me, with this!" He snapped his fingers, and a round, green, transluscent shield enclosed him.
"Nastasia, it's too dangerous!" pleaded Mimi. "I'll help!"
"Silence!" ordered Dimentio. "I asked for a duel, and a duel I'll get!"

BOSS
Dimentio

Taking his bubble shield with him, Dimentio hovered to the left of Nastasia and fired two energy balls that careened toward her. She dodged the attack, but this gave time for Dimentio to fly to the other side of the area faster than Nastasia thought possible and fire two more, one of which hit her.
He's picked up his speed, that's for sure. She ran for Dimentio, and the jester stayed put, as if inviting Nastasia to attack him. When she tried to, she bounced off the green shield and flew across the area, skidding to a stop a few yards past Merlon's house.
"Your attacks are useless against my shield. You might as well give up, because there's no way you'll be able to harm me!" He snapped his fingers again and tried to enclose Nastasia in a glowing box, but she dodged the attack. She climbed on top of the box and attempted to hit Dimentio again, but she once again bounced off his shield.
"Didn't I already tell you that you can't harm me? Besides feisty, you're also rather stubborn."
Nastasia thought about how Dimentio's shield could possibly be penetrated. Before she could think very long, Dimentio released two pink energy balls, then vanished. She walked out of the way, but the later one bounced off the ceiling to hit her unexpectedly. When two Dimentios appeared, both enclosed in shields, Nastasia lost all hope. There was no way she could possibly defeat Dimentio like this. But as she attempted to dodge the pink energy balls, a sudden thought hit her. She raised her glasses, and attempted to hypnotize Dimentio. The real Dimentio was surrounded by the red energy bolts. Nastasia knew Dimentio, especially with his own powers of hypnosis, wouldn't be easy to hypnotize, but she hoped the mental assault would at least cause him to deactivate the shield. After concentrating on Dimentio for a few seconds, the bolts disappeared and Dimentio's shield shattered. While Dimentio was dazed, Nastasia quickly dashed toward him and delivered a spinning kick.
"Since when are you trained in martial arts?" asked Dimentio.
"It doesn't matter, since I've figured out how to hurt you!"
"Oh, you think it will be that simple? Think again!" The jester reactivated his shield and vanished.
Nastasia looked around. I'm ready for anything.
After a few seconds, three Dimentios appeared, all surrounded by the green shield. They formed a triangle, surrounding Nastasia, and blasted her with a total of six pink energy balls.
"I...can't...fight!" groaned Nastasia.
"Here, take this!" advised Mimi, tossing her a Shroom Shake. "I bought this in case we needed it."
"Stay out of this!" shouted Dimentio. "You can't interfere with our-" Suddenly, Dimentio was surrounded by bolts again. He hadn't noticed that Nastasia had already used the Shroom Shake, and by talking, he had given away the fact that the bottom-right Dimentio was real. When his green shield deactivated, Nastasia attacked him again, causing him to vanish. The two fake Dimentios, however, didn't disappear, and continued to attack Nastasia with pink energy balls. She couldn't do anything without the real Dimentio availible for attack. "Come out, you coward!"
Dimentio did come out, again protected by the shield, and his two clones vanished. He snapped his fingers, and once again attempted to enclose Nastasia in the glowing box. Having done this several times by now, Nastasia escaped the box's perimeter and attempted to use it as a stepping stone to reach Dimentio, but the jester had his back turned to Nastasia, and continued creating glowing boxes to prevent her from reaching him. Now Nastasia couldn't do anything, since she needed to look in Dimentio's eyes to hypnotize him. However, Dimentio's attacks couldn't penetrate the boxes, so they exploded and Dimentio fired two pink energy balls while still facing away from Nastasia. She crept under Dimentio until she could face him, and before he could turn away, gripped Dimentio again and nailed her enemy.
"I must admit, you're getting quite good at this," admitted the jester. He had almost completely run out of health, and Nastasia was quite weakened as well. "But can you survive my powers of hypnosis?" He unleashed his full mental power on Nastasia. Startled, Nastasia used her power of hypnosis as well, and the two were locked in a fight to see whose mind would dominate the other's.
"Come on, Nastasia!" cheered O'Chunks. "Yeh can 'ave that jester beggin' fer mercy in seconds!"
The two enemies continued focusing on breaking the other's mental defenses, and the struggle continued for a few seconds. Finally, Nastasia gave one final blow, and Dimentio toppled to the ground, health and shield gone.
"Darn it! How could I lose three times? And to this lowly secretary at that!"
"Looks like you didn't have much more strength after all," said Nastasia.
The jester picked himself up. "Oh, I did, that's for sure. I just didn't get to use it, because you were so arrogant. Fear not, though-I will be back, and I will have the strength I had, plus even more. You will all be dead-so if you have anything you want taken care of, do it now!" He disappeared.

The heroes emerged from the yellow door and took the elevator down as usual. The situation seemed the same as always, and Merlon was outside again, so he asked them how they had done. "So you have found the next Pure Heart?"
"Yes," answered Tippi. "You should've seen what happened." Tippi described their adventures in the dimension of the yellow door, and how they had defeated Radnamok X and claimed the green Pure Heart.
"Oh ho, that's quite a tale. Yes, it would seem to me that, since you already have half of the Pure Hearts, Dimentio would be getting angry. He has probably already gone to the dimension of the next Pure Heart and did something to make sure you won't get it. But I'm certain that you will find the remaining half of the Pure Hearts, and I have just read something in the Light Prognosticus that has only increased my confidence."
"What does it say?"
"The book says this: 'When the eight sections of the Purity Heart have been collected for the second time, the one who plans to reactivate the Chaos Heart will reveal his deepest secret.' I am sure the book is referring to some sort of secret that Dimentio is hiding."
"You mean, how he plans to reactivate the Chaos Heart? Or what he remembered when his game ended? Or...something else?"
"That Dimentio is a mystery himself, all right. I say the best plan of action is just to continue searching for the Pure Hearts, and the prophecy will take care of itself."
"OK, Merlon." She turned to Bleck's minions. "Did Dimentio come again?"
"Yes," answered Nastasia. "In fact, he had a fight with me alone, but I managed to defeat him."
"Does he seem to be getting any stronger?"
"He said he had gained strength since the last time, but he only had a shield. He said he'd demonstrate his new strength next time."
"He might have been lying to make you think that," suggested Tippi. "But, who knows. We just don't know very much about him."
O'Chunks had been thinking during this time. "Yeh know what?" he started. "Maybe we should join 'em. We'll be safe from Dimentio that way."
"But if we do that, then Dimentio will go after the heroes," reasoned Mimi.
"Mario an' the others can take 'im, right?"
"Well...I'm not sure."
"I know that me vote goes to joinin' 'em! Anyone else?"
"I'm not sure about this," said Nastasia. "We can't risk the heroes' safety by joining them. Dimentio will keep trying to end our games, and he'll probably try to end their games in the process."
It's hard to imagine that just a while ago, they were all trying to kill us, reflected Mario.
"Well, if he comes again, we can fight him off, right?" asked Mimi. "If O'Chunks really wants to go, he can, but if Nastasia and I are strong enough, we can probably stay here without putting the heroes in danger."
"But what if Dimentio has truly gained strength?" asked Merlon. "Without O'Chunks, he might be able to defeat you."
Nastasia thought this over. "Well, I think if I could defeat him by myself, than both Mimi and I could certainly defeat him."
"That's your opinion, hm? I guess if O'Chunks wants to join the heroes, he can."
"All right, I'm joinin' yeh," announced O'Chunks. "And I'm gonna help yeh all get those Pure Hearts!"

-O'Chunks has joined the party!-

"Very well," congratulated Merlon. "Continue your journey, and I'll be here as always." He walked back into his house.
"Let's get goin'!" encouraged O'Chunks.

Our heroes, which now included O'Chunks, walked to the Flipside Outskirts again and took a left. Mario ground-pounded the pillars in the correct sequence, and the Heart Pillar appeared. Placing the green Pure Heart in the pillar, the patterns appeared again, and the green door was drawn into existence at the top of Flipside Tower. The heroes returned to the base, used the elevator, and walked past the red, orange, and yellow doors, entering the green one to start their Pure Heart search once again.
« Last Edit: September 15, 2007, 04:16:44 PM by Reading »
We went to see them for the first time in 5 years because they were going away for 3 years.

« Reply #21 on: September 15, 2007, 06:29:11 PM »
The sammich part was weird, but the rest was sweetness~! *applause*
"If they make greeting cards to thank people for helping with evil plans, I owe you one!" ~Dimentio, Super Paper Mario

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« Reply #22 on: September 15, 2007, 06:57:11 PM »
Thanks for the comment, again.

The sammich part was weird...

Heh, I knew someone would say that. I'll explain the reason why I created the Headquarter Sandwich.

Paper Mario, End of Chapter 3: Tubba Blubba's heart is...outside his body. And alive. With creepy eyes.

The Thousand-Year Door, Middle of Chapter 2: Flurrie needs to put on a shirt. Seriously.

Super Paper Mario, End of Chapter 2: To quote myself, "Mimi tilted her head until her neck cracked. She rotated her head until it was completely upside-down. A chiming sound played for no apparent reason, and then Mimi's head grew and became moldy and wrinkly. Long, spidery legs extended from Mimi's upside-down head, and as she raised her new head, her right shoulder dislocated, leaving her normal body hanging uselessly from her giant head, and before I could get any more descriptive, her transformation into a giant spider was finished."

Am I noticing a pattern here?

So...yeah. I figured I'd continue the pattern of creepy-weird things in Chapter 2/3 by creating the Headquarter Sandwich. I'm not quite sure that's how Intelligent Systems would have done it, but I think I came close enough. Of course, now I'll probably be asked why I wanted to continue the pattern in the first place...and that's because I'm trying to make this story seem as official as possible. Or at least close to it.
We went to see them for the first time in 5 years because they were going away for 3 years.

Reading

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« Reply #23 on: September 22, 2007, 02:30:30 PM »
Chapter 4 is probably going to be the weirdest chapter yet. Really, I have no clue what gave me the idea for it. Here's the first part.

Also, I updated the chapter images to make it more like the original Super Paper Mario.



O'Chunks was now a member of the group, and he seemed enthusiastic about joining the heroes. But could Mimi and Nastasia fight off Dimentio if he reappeared? Our heroes had collected half of the eight Pure Hearts. If the Light Prognosticus was accurate, they would manage to obtain all eight-but Dimentio's continual schemes posed a serious threat to our heroes' objective. What awaited them in the world beyond the green door?






A line was drawn.

Joining this line were a few others, coming in long, thin, vertical pairs, forming the trunks of palm trees. The leaves were then drawn, completing the trees. The ground was tinted yellowish-tan, indicating sand. Areas of tan colored the trunks of the palm trees, and green filled their leaves. In the background, waves were drawn in the ocean, and a few fluffy clouds appeared. Blue water cascaded down into the ocean, and the sky was softly given a light blue. Seashells and other objects appeared in the sand, and some greenish-tan blades of grass sprang up, just for decoration. The green door was drawn into existence, and our heroes stepped out of it and onto the beach.

"This is certainly a great alternative to that dreary swamp," reflected Peach.
"Yep, it makes me want ta git out 'ere and find us a Pure Heart!" agreed O'Chunks.
Our heroes walked along the beach, doing the usual Hyper Goomba-stomping, ? Block hitting and getting Poison Mushrooms, and pitfalling. (You can tell it's getting harder.)
The sandy ground was pleasant to walk on as our heroes moved in the direction of the Pure Heart. "The Pure Heart is still far away..." sensed Tippi. "But it seems closer than the others when we started. Maybe this Pure Heart will be easier to find."
"But knowing Dimentio, he probably already came here and did...something," pointed out Bowser.
"Well, is there even anything on this beach?" asked Luigi. He looked into the distance. "There's some hills out there, but I don't see much else."
When they reached those hills, they turned out to be quite steep. When Mario started climbing one, Luigi started coughing. "Stop kicking sand in my face!"
"Sorry, bro." Mario moved to the side, and the heroes climbed up the hill this way. When they reached the point where the ground leveled out, they noticed a steep uprise about a hundred yards from them. When they reached it, Mario knew what to do. He flipped into 3D and walked around it. Wait a second... He walked back around the uprise, noticing the other heroes couldn't come with him.
"What should we do?" asked Peach.
"Maybe there's somethin' yeh can hit or somethin'?" asked O'Chunks.
"I'll look." He looked around, and when he found nothing, flipped back into 3D and noticed a hole in the ground. He dropped into it, flipped back into 2D, and explored the cavern he was now in. There was a Hyper Spiked Goomba in this small room, so Mario carefully dodged it and dropped down another hole in the room's bottom to fall into a bigger room. This one had several Squogs, with rocks ready. Mario easily disposed of them and fell to the next level of the cave. He found himself sinking into quicksand. Waah! He tried dashing for the other side, but the strong quicksand had pulled him down. Frantically, he tried pulling his legs out of the sand. He got his right leg out, but the left one remained stuck. Fortunately, there was a patch of stable ground where he could put his right foot while he pulled his left leg out. When he did so, he hit a switch on the stable ground, which caused two red squares on either side of the uprise connected by three long black rectangles to appear, that could be used to bypass the uprise. Mario used the conveniently placed pipe to return to the surface. Now the other heroes could get across. They stepped into the red square and were imprinted onto the vertical black rectangle, which carried them up and onto a horizontal black rectangle, carrying them over the uprise. They were taken to yet another rectangle, carrying them downward and dropping them off at another red square. The heroes walked on and entered the next area. This area seemed quiet, but it wasn't for long. After some more walking on the beach, our heroes heard a sudden shout. "HEEEEEELP!!!"
"Where'd that cry come from?" asked Mario, ready to spring into action.
"Up there!" pointed Peach, pointing to a place a few hundred meters in front of them where the cry seemed to have come from. They dashed to the area, and a boy who looked quite similar to the people of Flipside was there, apparently the one who shouted for help. The reason he cried for help was clear. Teddy bears, stuffed cats and dogs, and a few assorted dolls were beating up on him!
"Do you know where she is!" demanded one of the bears.
"I said I don't know! Why would I? That happened way before I was born!"
"Take him!" the bear ordered. The other apparent toys lifted him and carried him off to the distance.
"Hey! You guys!" shouted Bowser. "What are you doing?"
"We're taking him!" replied the bear. "Duh! What's it look like, Einstein?"
Bowser roared. "That is NOT how you address the great King of the Koopas!"
"Whatever you want, we're not letting you take him!" proclaimed Luigi.
"Oh really? Cats and dogs, attack!" While the others continued carrying the Flipside boy, all of the stuffed cats and dogs attacked our heroes!

MINIBOSS
The Stuffed Cats and Dogs

The animals ran for Luigi, the closest one.
"Take this!" shouted Bowser. He blasted one of them with fire, burning it to a crisp, but the others were too fast.
"I'll stop them." Mario used his mad jumping skillz and took out two more, but five still remained. A stuffed cat leaped over Luigi. Snickering, Luigi readied his Super Jump and dealt a blow from below. With two cats and two dogs remaining, they formed a square around Peach and jumped for her. While she tried to shake them off, Mario came to her aid and grabbed the two remaining cats. Before he could do anything, Bowser fried them. Only two dogs remained. They performed an amazingly high leap over Bowser and went for Mario. Before they reached him, Peach performed a dive and knocked them to the ground. Bowser roasted these ones as well.

"You are so vicious," complained Peach to Bowser.
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"I must say, that was our easiest fight ever," said Mario.
"Totally. But I'm not satisfied. It's not like anyone got hurt. I just roasted a few stuffed animals."
"Speaking of which," started Tippi, "what was that whole thing about? Who did they want him to tell them about?"
"I have no clue," a voice came. Our heroes looked around, but they didn't see anyone. Just then, another Flipside boy emerged from behind a hill. "Now they've taken Fred! Oh, will this madness ever stop!?"
"Um...who are you?" asked Tippi.
"I'm Frank, a friend of Fred's. When the animals came, I got scared and hid. Fred wasn't so lucky."
"I see..." Tippi paused. "Can you tell us what's going on?"
"Are you sure? It's a long story..."
"Well, the knowledge might put us on the right path to find the Pure Heart. Please explain it to us..."
"A Pure Heart? You guys must be the heroes of legend! Anyway, I'll tell you what's going on. The Ancients considered placing a Pure Heart here when the Purity Heart was originally divided, but it was eventually kept in The Bitlands. Even so, some of the Ancients and some people from Flipside and Flopside settled here."
That explains why they look like they came from Flipside, thought Tippi. "So what was the stuffed animal attack about?"
"I was getting to that. You see, the Ancients' stuffed animals and dolls weren't any ordinary children's toys. They were living, created with a method similar to the one they used to create the Pixls. After the Pixl Uprising, the Ancients became concerned about their living toys as well, so they sent them all to live in this dimension. Even though they were alive, they were often abandoned when their owner had grown, like any toy, so they then found somone else willing to have them. Everything was OK for a while, until recently. One of the animals was suddenly driven insane. Apparently, his owner abandoned him, and no one had picked him up for several years. He went mad because of this rejection and how the other living toys suffered the same fate. So he organized all of the animals, dolls, and whatever else he could find, and they formed a group that call themselves the Animauls. Their leader is now called King Animaul. They've taken over Beachfront Town over there," he pointed, "and enslaved us all, except for some of us who managed to escape, like me."
Tippi thought this over. "King Animaul went mad over something that happens to them all the time?"
"Well, not quite. Apparently, he somehow found out that his owner, who abandoned him long ago, decided to leave him without a home and didn't care about any of the animals. He had previously thought his owner had just left him because she wasn't a child anymore, so it was a shock for him."
"So his owner was a girl? Is that who the bear was talking about? He wanted to know where King Animaul's former owner was?"
"That would make sense."
"But...why would the Animauls listen to him? Surely they don't feel as strongly about the issue as he does."
"He convinced them that all of us...'us' meaning regular people, were barbarians who wanted to get rid of the animals. Yes, all of them joined him, either drawn into the organization by King Animaul's speeches, or...something else..."
Tippi suddenly knew exactly what was happening. "Dimentio is at work again," she reasoned.
"Dimentio?"
"He's an awful villain who's trying to destroy the world. We need the eight Pure Hearts to stop him. We already have four. Tell me, does King Animaul have anything resembling a heart?"
"I've never seen him, so I can't tell you. But I think I know where you're going with this. Dimentio gave the Pure Heart to King Animaul to guard."
"Yes. And he hypnotized all of the Animauls that didn't initially join King Animaul. It all makes sense now."
"So let's go fer the Pure Heart!" announced O'Chunks.
"What!? If the Animauls see you, they'll kidnap you and force you into slavery! If you guys want the Pure Heart, you'll have to come up with some kind of super-plan to avoid being captured."
"Well, we have to try," announced Tippi. "We can come up with a plan. Just like we tried and got into the X Faction's territory. And plus, considering how easily they defeated those stuffed animals, we shouldn't have too much trouble."
"Well, if you want to try, come this way," advised Frank. "Their headquarters is a giant palace on the other side of Beachfront Town, and that's probably where the Pure Heart is."
"All right, let's go."



-END OF CHAPTER-
We went to see them for the first time in 5 years because they were going away for 3 years.

« Reply #24 on: September 22, 2007, 07:51:01 PM »
Oh. My. God. Stuffed animals coming alive and attacking people... MY WORST NIGHTMARE HAS COME TRUE!!! DX
"If they make greeting cards to thank people for helping with evil plans, I owe you one!" ~Dimentio, Super Paper Mario

Area 64

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« Reply #25 on: September 26, 2007, 08:19:55 AM »
Hey, Reading, I was just wondering... how do you make those chapter images? Do you use MS Paint?

Reading

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« Reply #26 on: September 26, 2007, 06:36:07 PM »
Sorry about bringing your worst nightmare to life. I've been reminded of a bad dream before too. :P

Hey, Reading, I was just wondering... how do you make those chapter images? Do you use MS Paint?

I make the pictures behind the chapter name with MS Paint, and write the chapter names themselves in Word, which I copy-and-paste into MS Paint over the image. For the "Chapter X-X" display, I use Flash MX to make a rectangle with a rainbow gradient, copy-and-paste that and the numbers from Word into Paint, make the part inside the outline the "background color" (transparent) and put them onto the rectangle so that they correspond to the colors I want them to be. I made it so that each number is the color of its door, and the "Chapter" is a full rainbow gradient (though, it seems to go back to green after the blue; I forgot exactly why since I made it a while ago).



Dimentio was at work yet again. The Pure Heart was under the guard of the evil King Animaul. As our heroes continued walking on the beach, the town came into view. "The Pure Heart is nearer," announced Tippi.
"We'll have to be careful," advised Frank. "The town has been taken over by the Animauls, and, if you ask me, going into it is one step away from suicide."






"Then why are we even going in this place?" asked Peach.
"We have to go through it if we want to get to that palace. It's our only option."
"Sigh...well, all right."
Beachfront Town grew closer. "We'll have to stay silent," cautioned Frank. "We have to sneak through town if we don't want to be noticed by the Animauls. Especially if..."
"If what?" asked Tippi, experiencing a growing sense of dread.
"...Never mind. It'll just discourage you. It probably won't happen anyway. Come on."
When they reached the edge of the town, Frank instructed them further, whispering quietly. "We'll have to hide behind these buildings and be seen by no one. We can't let anyone know we're here, OK?"
"Right," whispered Tippi back.
The town was quite ordinary. Most of its houses had a yellowish tint, but many of the other buildings had a contemporary gray style. The space between buildings was a gray pavement road, giving the area a downtown vibe.
"Oh, darn it! There's a rabbit right there! Get behind this house, fast!" Frank and the heroes crept behind the house, not making a sound. After several seconds, Frank peeked around the corner. "We're safe. Here, follow me." He guided them through a section of town, hiding when neccesary, and came to a dimly lit alley. "Very few people...or Animauls...come back here, so we should be safe." They tiptoed along the alley, stopping briefly when they came across gaps between the buildings.
"What do we do if we get caught?" worried Peach, still whispering.
Frank thought. "Well, we'll try to escape," he answered, whispering as well.
"And if that doesn't work?"
"We'll struggle until we break free."
"And if that doesn't work?"
"We'll beg for mercy."
"And if that doesn't work?"
"There's no pleasing you!"
"We'll, let's just try not to think about that," advised Mario.
When they came to another gap between buildings, they began to hear footsteps coming from somewhere outside the alley. Frank peeked aorund the corner, and then, faster than the heroes would have thought possible, flattened himself against the wall next to them. "Get down! Get down!"
"What? Is someone there?" asked Tippi.
"Remember when I said that something probably wouldn't happen? Well, it did! Now get down!"
They obeyed. After a few seconds, the footsteps faded away.
"What wassat?" asked O'Chunks.
"...Kara. She's King Animaul's right-hand man. I mean, girl. She comes through town every so often and looks for people who've escaped so she can round them up and bring them to the palace."
"Really?" asked Tippi. "Oh, great. What are we going to do with HER around?"
"You guys are so weak," insulted Bowser. "What are you worried about? If Kara sees us, I'll just fry her on the spot, and all of our troubles will be OVER!"
"Well...I'm not so sure," replied Frank. "You see, she's a rag doll-"
"And rag dolls are extremely flammable!"
"Let me finish. So, she's bigger than most of the other Animauls, and it was natural to make her a leader. She has troops of armed Animauls with her wherever she goes."
"What are they armed with? Candy cannons?"
"I've seen them with swords before. These aren't like the Animauls you defeated easily on the beach. With them around, you can't get anywhere near Kara. Our best option is to just try to get through the city without being noticed."
When they neared the end of the alley and were about to turn onto another street, they experienced a sudden tingling sensation. "Hey! There's someone down the alley!"
Our heroes whirled around. A doll had spotted them, and it was obvious that Kara and her army would soon be upon them. Our heroes observed several figures moving toward the beginning of the alley, but they were too far away to make out any details.
"Oh, RATS! Quick, around the corner!" Frank and the heroes dashed to the right and onto another street, but a teddy bear was right in front of their faces.
"OVER HERE!" He pointed at them.
"Left, guys!" The heroes hurried down the next left turn, an area similar to the alley. "We can't keep running...oh! Here! Quick!" Frank ran up to a door. "This restaurant was abandoned a while ago, and it's deserted now. We can hide in the basement or something." The heroes ran into the building.
"What if they come here, though?" asked Mario. "They probably will."
"Let's put these tables against the door," suggested Luigi, in rush. He struggled to move a table.
"I'll 'elp yeh with 'at!" O'Chunks easily grabbed the table and propped it against the door.
"We should have one more," advised Bowser. He picked up a table himself and added it to the blockade. "There. Now let's hide. Actually, I'd prefer to stay here and dish out some pain, but since you insist those Animauls have dangerous weapons, I'll hide."
Frank led the heroes past an EMPLOYEES ONLY sign and to to a staircase. Just as they began to descend the stairs, a voice came from the direction of the door. "You can't hide forever!"
"It's Kara!" yelped Frank. "They're here! Now RUN!"
"Wow," uttered Luigi. "For an evil, living doll that wants to force us all into slavery to King Animaul, she has a pretty voice."
"Shut up and get down here!" ordered Bowser.
The basement was dark and cobweb-infested. "Where can we hide!?" frantically asked Peach.
Frank looked around. "Behind this extra table!" He dove behind it.
There was a loud crash as Kara kicked the door open. "You're in here somewhere!"
"What do we do now?" asked Mario, realizing that they would be easily discovered.
Speaking quickly, Frank provided a solution. "I don't think there's much of anything seperating the basements of the different buildings besides...wall stuff. I think Bowser or O'Chunks could probably use this table to rip a hole in the wall so we can escape."
"Heck, I don't need a table, I'll do it myself!" Bowser charged up and rammed into the wall on the right with full speed, breaking a hole large enough for the heroes to fit through.
"Now let's make a mad dash for it!" Frank did exactly that, diving through the hole. Tippi and the five heroes followed, only to be confined to a few feet of space due to the stuff packed in this building's basement. Before they knew it, they heard Kara and her army descend the stairs in the basement they had just exited. The heroes froze, and Kara apparently looked around for a bit before noticing the hole in the wall. "There you are! Get them!" Her army began marching toward our heroes.
"Time for me to get us out of another jam!" Bowser clawed, pushed, and struggled, and managed to get some of this storage area cleared. Our heroes leaped over a cabinet, bounced off a washing machine, and dashed up the stairs. This building was apparently an office of some sort. Our heroes went for the door, but it soon became apparent that the door was guarded by several bears, all armed with disproportionally large swords, who had apparently stayed outside in case the heroes escaped.
"We've got you cornered." Our heroes looked in the direction of the stairs they had emerged from, and Kara, with her army, was standing there. Kara was quite large for a doll, with a pink dress, long blonde hair, blue eyes, and light blue shoes. If not for the stitches around her arms and legs, she could probably pass as a regular human. "Now, calmly allow us to take you in. You'll love serving King Animaul."
Luigi, his mind racing furiously, thought of something. "You think you've got us, but you can't ensnare the heroes of prophecy!" He picked up a heavy book from the nearby table and threw it toward a window, sending glass shards everywhere. The manuever halted Kara and the Animauls for enough time to allow the heroes and Frank to dash out the window and onto the street.
"Let's run for the other side of town for all we're worth," suggested Frank.
They did just that. Or, at least, they tried to, for once they had walked a few blocks, several animals leaped on them and tried to push them back. Soon enough, they heard the army marching toward them. Was there any escape?
"Here!" pointed Frank. "Quick, let's go into this grocery store!"
"Won't someone be in there?" asked Peach.
"Dolls and stuffed animals don't have to eat, you know. Come on." They dashed away from the animals and followed him. "Let's look for an emergency exit in the back. We can escape on the other side if we're fast."
Before they had gotten a third of the way through, their pursuers banged open the door. "RUN FOR IT!" shouted Frank. They turned down the vegetable aisle, assuming the animals couldn't keep up with them. However, they soon heard what sounded like cannon fire coming from behind them, and it soon became apparent that more sword-wielding bears were spinning through the air. As the heroes came to the end of the aisle, they turned right, hoping to find a back door, leaving the bears to smash all of those wholesome vegetables.
"OK, the exit should be right...here," said Frank. When he pushed it open, an alarm sounded. They began to walk out the door, but yet more armed bears were standing there. Closing the door, Frank asked, "NOW what!?"
"Is there any other way out of this place?" asked Mario.
"Well, we could try luring the army away from the door and making a break for it, but it probably won't work."
"Well, it's worth a shot," advised Luigi. "And we'd better hurry. They're coming." Frank and the heroes turned down the snack aisle leading back toward the door. More bears came, destroying all of that tooth-decaying goodness. Our heroes almost reached the door, but those bears were hot on their heels.
"You guys want a fight?" asked Bowser. "I'll give you a fight!" He tried to knock the closest bear's sword away, but the bear brought the sword away from Bowser's hand and delivered a slash to Bowser's hand. "OW!" He wiggled his hand in pain.
"Can't beat those bears, huh?" Kara and her army were now standing right next to them. "Well, I don't blame you guys. Those bears are our most highly skilled swordsmen. And they've trapped you here. So are you going to surrender, or do you need even more of a lesson pounded into you?"
O'Chunks, noticing that still more bears were guarding the entrance, looked around. "'Ey, Luigi, that was a mighty fine idea yeh had. Mind'f I borrow it?" He grabbed a cash register and threw it at the glass doors, shattering the glass and putting several bears out of commission.
Kara looked up, pulled a glass shard from her forehead, and threw it to the ground. "It doesn't matter if you can escape. We'll just keep-"
"This way!" directed Frank, pointing toward the side of town they were aiming for. The heroes began running away from the store.
As the heroes walked toward the other edge of town, they thought they were safe for a while. But, as they crossed an intersection, more bears leaped in front of them.
"How many of you guys ARE there?" asked Tippi.
"We're those ones you saw in front of the emergency exit. And we're not about to let you get past!"
"Oh yeah?" Bowser readied his fire and expelled a wide streak. One of the bears was fried and another was singed, but the rest were too fast.
"Cornered!" Our heroes turned around, and discovered they were trapped by the bears on one side and Kara's army on the other.
"You'll never take us!" proclaimed Tippi.
"Oh, we won't? You might as well admit defeat. Both of your escape routes are blocked. If you don't want extreme pain, just surrender and allow us to take you in."
"OK," said Bowser. "I want extreme pain. Extreme pain to YOU guys, that is!"

MINIBOSS
Kara's Army

Bowser ducked into his shell and began spinning in a wide arc, knocking out the bears blocking their escape. He then went straight for Kara, but she quickly spun around and jumped out of the way. Bowser came out of his shell. "Want to see more? Or are you too afraid? Whatever, I'll show you more anyway!" He leaped through the air and smashed several Animauls with a ground pound.
"I'll give yeh some 'elp! Come 'ere, Bowser!" Knowing O'Chunks's plan would likely cause serious damage, Bowser obeyed. O'Chunks grabbed Bowser's tail.
"Oh no you don't!"
"Calm down. I'm doin' this fer our good!" He spun Bowser around just like Mario had done long ago, and when he had picked up enough speed, released Bowser. The Koopa King smashed through row after row of Animauls, taking care of all the bear swordsmen.
"I'll help!" announced Mario. He utilized his mad jumping skillz again to smash several of the remaining Animauls. Peach and Luigi soon joined him.
"There's no way you wimps can stand up to Bowser!" He grabbed a doll and sent it hurling through several other Animauls like a bowling ball.
While Mario, Luigi, and Peach continued stomping the remaining Animauls, O'Chunks decided to get into the action. He lifted into the air with a...rear-end gas expulsion, and in a few seconds he crashed down to the earth, destroying even more of Kara's forces. Only a few Animauls remained.
"I'll take care of this." Bowser flamed all of the remaining forces.

Kara looked around. "What!? That's it!? You defeated my army!?"
"You can't get in their way," Tippi explained. "They're heroes of prophecy."
Kara paused for a while. "Hmph. I'll be back. And with even more reinforcements. So watch out." She began to turn to walk toward the palace, but before she could move, Bowser walked up to her.
"Hey, Kara, did you know that rag dolls are extremely flammable?" He doused Kara with a stream of fire.
"YAAAAAHHHH!!!" Kara looked down at her flaming body. "AAIIIYAHHH!!! You...evil...twisted...MONSTER!!!" She ran toward the ocean, sobbing in pain.
Bowser put on a smug grin. "That's what happens when you mess with the King of the Koopas!" He turned to the other heroes. When no one spoke, Bowser talked again. "Why the long faces? I showed her who's boss!"
"I think that was uneccesary," stated Peach.
"Why? She's not on our side, so I torch her and problem solved!"
"She's just going to come back with more reinforcements, torching or not," pointed out Luigi.
"Well, so what? Who cares if one wimpy doll is hurt?"
"What I'm saying is, just because someone's not on your side doesn't mean you have to hurt them if it's not neccesary."
"You guys destroyed all of those Animauls!"
"They were going to either kill us or force us into slavery if we didn't fight back. Kara couldn't do anything now that we defeated her army. We're heroes, and heroes don't hurt people for the fun of it."
"Do you think I joined you guys willingly? No! I only became a hero so that the world wouldn't be destroyed...and to please my wife. How'd you like it if I left? You'd be devastated then!"
"We can't make it through without yeh," agreed O'Chunks.
"Right, so as long as I'm sticking with you guys, you'd better accept me on my own terms and conditions, or I'm outta here!"
"Fine, Bowser," admitted Mario. "You can do what you want. But that doesn't mean we'll agree with it."
"Who cares if you agree with what I do? You're not supposed to. The Koopa King makes his own decisions."
"Fair enough. Now, I guess we should be heading to the palace as well, if we want to find the Pure Heart."
"That's definitely where it is," agreed Tippi. "I feel it more strongly here, and it's certainly in that direction."
"All right, let's go for it," announced Peach.
The heroes walked out of town and onto the beach, where they walked across the sand once more. I am so getting out of here the first chance I get, thought Bowser.



-END OF CHAPTER-
We went to see them for the first time in 5 years because they were going away for 3 years.

Reading

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« Reply #27 on: October 05, 2007, 07:19:26 PM »
Hey all. I haven't been working on SPM2 that much, because I wanted to start my game project, but I've decided to switch to an easier program for that. I could've spent the time working on SPM2! >_< Anyway, I started working on it again yesterday, so here's Chapter 4-3. It's kind of short, but it's basically just a setup for Chapter 4-4; this would be a more gameplay-oriented rather than plot-oriented chapter in a game. And speaking of the game, when my skills are good enough, I don't know...MAYBE I'll turn this story into a game. It certainly would work well...

Also, I came across the font used in the text bubbles (and chapter names) in SPM as well as TTYD, so I've changed the chapter name images as well. I've redone those, what...twice now?



After narrowly avoiding being forced into slavery to the Animauls, our heroes were presented with a large beach once again. The calm waves and soft sand helped their minds to wander from whatever they would encounter at the palace, but soon enough, it came into view on the horizon. "There is is," announced Tippi. "We don't have much farther to go."
"Who cares?" shouted Bowser. "Shut up!"
"Cool it, Bowser!" ordered Mario. "She's just pointing something out."
Bowser muttered something under his breath, and then was silent.






Our heroes walked further, the air growing increasingly warm and humid. Soon, they felt as if they were walking in a tropical paradise. They jumped on Hyper Goombas, hit ? Blocks, pitfalled, and all of that stuff. A red square they walked into carried them via two black rectangles up a small cliff and deposited them at another red square, where they continued their walk.
After some vines, Hyper Clefts, and outrageous trampolines, our heroes came to what looked like a giant, complex maze-puzzle area. They jumped into the entrance, made of gray stone blocks, and looked around.
"Apparently we have to get through this thing," noted Frank.
"I've done these things before," assured Mario. "Leave it to me." He leaped through a few "rooms" and hit a switch. The switch exposed another room, and after going to this more underground room and hitting several ? Blocks, he found one that sprouted a vine. He climbed it, appearing in a high room, still underground, where he walked to the left.
Bowser was getting bored. "Is anything gonna HAPPEN?" he asked.
"When Mario solves the puzzle, yes," answered Tippi.
"That was a rhetorical question! I don't need annoying butterflies stating the obvious."
"You seem to be quite aggrivated, Bowser."
"No duh I am! I'm being forced to travel with goody-goody wimps who think they can save the world."
"Bowser, we're in this together-"
"Well, I'M not!! Who was the idiot that told me to join this group anyway?"
Peach gave Bowser a stare.
"What? Oh, yeah! Right! Sorry, my oh-so-lovely and non-idiotic wife."
Seeing nothing, Mario flipped into 3D and observed a tunnel going down and left. He descended the tunnel, found another switch, hit it, and an area outside this room experienced a tear through the middle. The other side fell away, with blocks once blocking the path now gone. Mario exited the tunnel, flipped back to 2D, and jumped through the rooms to reach the newly opened area. After defeating some enemies, another switch appeared. Mario hit it, a congratulations sound played, and more black rectangles near the area where he had started began moving.
"OK, I'm bored," said Bowser.
The others, knowing better, said nothing, but Bowser spoke again. "WELL? Isn't anyone going to SAY something!?"
Luigi began, "Well-"
"Shut up!"
Tippi looked at Luigi. "You know, I am getting annoyed at the fact that Bowser is here."
Mario emerged from above. "It's all set, guys. We can use those rectangles to get past the puzzle."
"Finally!" said Bowser.
"Yeah, I-"
"Shut up!" Bowser hurried to the rectangles while Mario sighed. The other followed him into the red square, which put them onto a black rectangle. This one carried them to another rectangle that carried them up, and from there they went right, then down to emerge below and to the left of the first red square. A Brick Block to the left yielded a vine, which they used to emerge on the roof of the puzzle. They continued walking along the now-higher-elevated beach.

Soon, the palace of King Animaul emerged. "Here we are..." announced Tippi.
"This 'ere palace be the hugest buildin' me ever saw!" reflected O'Chunks. "Well, 'cept fer Castle Bleck."
The palace was squarish, with a yellow-pink-tan hue. It had a few windows and large pointed towers at the top. It also had a large brown door in the center, but it wouldn't be easy to enter. More bears plus yet more dolls, cats and dogs, and several other Animauls were guarding the door.
"HALT!" a bear said.
"Oh, really?" countered Frank.
"Yes. Hmm...." The bear looked at them. He pointed his sword at them. "Are you the party of five that caused harm to Mistress Kara?"
"Six," corrected Tippi.
"Yes, we are!" announced Bowser loudly. "And it was all ME, mind you. THESE guys had nothing to do with it."
"In that case, we'll have to take you in."
"I WANT to go in. That is, after I'm through with all of you!"

MINIBOSS
The Animaul Door Guards

Bowser expelled his trademark ray of fire. Only a few of the door guards were harmed, and the rest were able to swiftly dodge the flames. One of the dolls pulled a disproportionally large gun on Bowser. "Oh, look at your cute little gun. Go ahead! Shoot! See if it hurts the Koopa King!" Bowser was suddenly slammed in the right eye with a cork. "OWW! You impudent wimp!" He picked the doll up by her dress.
"Let go of me!" she struggled.
"Oh, you want me to let go, don't you? OK, I will!" He spun the doll around and let go, sending her flying toward the ocean.
Another bear attempted to attack Bowser with a sword. "This is old stuff for me now," Bowser reflected. He did a twisty jump over the sword swipe and smashed the bear as flat as a pancake. He grabbed its sword. "Who wants to duel with the great King of the Koopas? Bring it on!"
Several more bears brought it on. Bowser wasn't a very experienced swordsman, but because of his much larger strength, he easily defeated all of the bears and ripped them to shreds.
"I don't think we're safe with Bowser around," whispered Peach.
"Maybe when we get back to Flipside, he'll leave," suggested Mario. "I'm getting uncomfortable, with Bowser being angry at us and everything. All because we didn't like that he scorched Kara."
"He's been angry at us before that," offered Luigi. "I think he was getting annoyed in Radnamok X's fortress, too. It's only a matter of time before he just quits."
"We need him, though," said Tippi. "He's one of the heroes of the Light Prognosticus. With O'Chunks, that makes five heroes...and there's going to be four more."
Bowser used his new sword to slice through most of the remaining door guards. However, there were still a cat and a dog remaining, and they had weapons. They weilded small paint guns that they pointed at Bowser. Soon, Bowser was covered in paint.
"GAH!" Bowser struggled to slice the animals, but couldn't see.
"Yeh think we should defeat 'em Animauls for 'im?" asked O'Chunks.
"Well, if we don't, we'll never get in that door," admitted Mario. He jumped to the Animauls and flattened them. "They're gone, Bowser."
"What? You defeated them? I WAS SUPPOSED TO DO THAT! YOU STOLE MY SPOTLIGHT!" He tried to deliver a claw to Mario, but he was still too paint-covered to see anything. "I guess I'd better wash off." He headed to the ocean.
"Now's a great chance to leave him behind!" said Luigi.
"Are you sure?" asked Tippi. "He is a hero..."
"Well, I was kind of half-joking." Luigi shifted. "But I still don't know what to do about that guy."
Bowser returned. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get in there!" he demanded.
Tippi sighed as the heroes and Frank opened the giant door and entered the Animaul Palace.



-END OF CHAPTER-
We went to see them for the first time in 5 years because they were going away for 3 years.

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« Reply #28 on: October 22, 2007, 06:48:15 PM »
So here's the conclusion of Chapter 4. To be honest, I have no idea where some of these ideas came from.



The large door slammed behind them, and our heroes and Frank found themselves inside Animaul Palace. It had a white tiled floor, pink stone walls, and blue-and-yellow designs on those walls. A sign on the left wall detailed current events, and on the right wall were rules about behavior in this palace. And, of course, there were many Animauls going to and fro throughout the palace.
Our heroes froze.






"It's THEM!"
"Oh my..."
Suddenly, five bears seemed to jump out of nowhere and held swords to our heroes' throats. "Do not move!" one of them commanded. He looked them over. "Yep, you guys are definitely the group of five-"
"Six," corrected Tippi. "Actually, seven, since Frank is with us, but he's not really an...um...hero."
"What? I'm not?"
"Whatever. Anyway, you guys are definitely the group of seven that Kara told us about. We'll have to punish you appropriately. And, of course, force you into slavery to expand the palace for us."
"How are you going to enforce that other punishment?" asked Bowser. "Give me your wost. 'Cause, you know, if this sword wasn't about to prick my throat, I'd be squishing the lot of you like stuffed animals. Oh, wait..."
"Your taunts aren't going to matter here. We're going to hand you over to Kara, and she can decide your punishment." He led the heroes through a door, down some corridors, and eventually to another door. He opened it (with his sword) and ushered the heroes inside. He closed the door, where he remained, guarding it.
Kara was standing in this room. She seemed relatively comfortable, but it was obvious that Bowser had attacked her; a large, dark burned area covered the right side of her hair and a small portion of her head, another one stretched from her left arm to her torso, and a third burn mark covered her right leg. She had a new stitch that encircled that leg. The doll mistress looked at the heroes for a while without speaking. Finally, she addressed Bowser. "Do you anything to say for yourself?" Her voice was weaker as well.
"Me? All I have to say is, you'd better not get in my way again!"
"Your way? What do these friends of yours think?"
Tippi paused before speaking. "We didn't want him to do that. He's not exactly enthusiastic about being with us in the first place."
"Is that so, um..."
"Bowser," he offered. "And yes, these wimps tried to hold me back, but-"
"Then you deserve the highest punishment of your group. What are the rest of your names?"
Tippi explained who the rest of the heroes and Frank were.
"Then, Mario, Luigi, Peach, O'Chunks, Tippi, and Frank, you are hereby sentenced to the unfinished wing of the palace, where you will work with the others to build the south wall. Bowser will be gathering the materials to make that wall, and he must gather enough material to make 30 bricks each hour."
"WHAT!? That's impossible! What am I supposed to be doing!? Gathering stones on the beach?"
"Yes. Take them to the room next to where your friends are working to make them into bricks. The workers there will give you more information."
"I'm not going to..." Bowser started marching toward Kara, probably wanting to attack her again, but the bear guarding the door walked in front of Bowser at an amazing speed and blocked Kara with his sword, which he then threatened Bowser with.
"Fine, fine, I'll do what you wimps say."
"That is all," finished Kara. "You will now be led to your assigned work area."
The bear started to lead them there. Before they were out the door, though, Kara spoke again. "Wait." She walked toward them. "I want to know something. Why did you come to this palace? It seems like you would hide after Bowser attacked me, instead of coming here where you'd be enslaved."
"I'm not sure if I want to tell you that..." thought Tippi aloud.
"As person in charge of all the kingdom, second to King Animaul, I have the authority to have any information I ask of you."
"Well...we're looking for something called a Pure Heart that we believe to be in this palace." She didn't add that her Pure Heart sense was going crazy at the moment.
Kara's eyes widened for a moment, but her expression returned to normal after that brief time. She finally uttered, after a few seconds of silence, "Oh." She paused again, probably thinking this over. "You may be led to your work areas now." As Frank and our heroes were led out of the room, they could see Kara staring at the wall and looking somewhat withdrawn.

"This is torture!" complained Luigi as he carefully set a brick into place.
"You can say THAT again!" agreed Bowser, dumping his 30 hourly bricks next to the others. "Oops, did I just agree with you? I mean...this is awesome! It's the most fun I've ever had!" He dashed to the other room.
"He's still not very happy about being with us," noted Frank. He lowered his voice to a whisper to avoid having the nearby cat slavemaster hear his words. "Which is a bad thing. If we want to have any hope of escaping this slavery, we'll need to pull together."
"Perhaps we can somehow convince Bowser that he needs to keep working with us," suggested Luigi. "It sounds crazy, but it's likely our only shot."
"If we ever make it back to Flipside," began Tippi, "I wonder if Merlon will believe that we were enslaved by stuffed animals."
"He did believe that crazy story about a power-mad ruler who used his own minions to power his battle machine," offered Mario. "He'll probably believe this crazy story about being enslaved by stuffed animals."
"'E betta believe we 'ad to do THIS!" grumbled O'Chunks, lifting a rather large brick.
The sun was starting to descend toward the horizon. "You guys think the work day will end soon?" asked Peach.
"The work day ends when the sky is dark," explained a Flipside boy next to them, who had apparently been working here for a while.
"Oh, great. That's probably in at least a couple of hours. I don't think I can stand a couple more seconds of this back-breaking servitude!"
"Yeah. They don't give us much rest here. We're up and working as soon as the sun rises."
"Ouch."
"You can say that again," agreed a Flipside girl. "I can't fall asleep for several hours after sunset and I'm always too tired in the morning to do anything."
"And THAT'S why all of you need to be in bed as soon as the work day's over," remarked the nearby slavemaster.
"We've got to keep down," whispered Frank.
"Bed?" asked Tippi. "What kinds of beds are there?"
"We sleep in a room inside the palace," explained the boy. "The beds are barely anything but uncomfortable matresses."
When the sun had drawn ever closer to the horizon, their wall and another wall being on by other slaves drew close enough for the slaves on one side to see those on the other side clearly. Frank happened to look at the other wall, and thought he saw someone he recognized. "Fred?" he asked.
Fred turned around. "Frank! You're here! How'd you get caught?"
"Well...it's a long story. I'll tell you later."

Frank did tell him later. As the slaves were walking to the room where they slept, Frank related all the events that had occured to the group.
"Wow," remarked Fred. "I never could've dodged Kara that well."
When it was time for the workers to go to bed, all of the Animauls left the bunkroom except for Kara. "I'll be watching your performance tomorrow. So you all better do a good job." She glanced at the heroes for a few seconds before exiting and closing the door.
"Oh, GREAT!" grumbled a slave. "Now Kara's going to be watching us. We'll never get enough work done to satisfy her!"
Tippi whispered to the heroes. "Why did she glance at us like that?"
"She was like that earlier," responded Mario. "I think she got suspicious when we told her we were looking for the Pure Heart."
"We shouldn't 'ave told 'er that," lamented O'Chunks.
"Not we," groaned Bowser. "It was TIPPI!"
"I HAD to!"
"Whatever."
"You think the reason she's coming in tomorrow is so she can make sure we don't pull anything?" asked Peach.
"Probably," agreed Luigi, sighing. "NOW what can we do? The door's locked. I heard Kara lock it when she left."
Tippi remembered something. "I forgot to say earlier...the Pure Heart is definitely very close to us. My Pure Heart sense is very strong here."
"Maybe we can somehow look for the Pure Heart tomorrow," offered Frank. "Tippi can sense it and give us an idea of where in the palace it is. Though...we probably...won't be able to get there."
"This is hopeless!" cried Tippi. "How are we supposed to find the Pure Heart and save the worlds if we can't go anywhere?"
"The Light Prognosticus has never been wrong," offered Peach.
"But even so...if we are going to find all of the Pure Hearts, how will we? How will we escape this place? How will we find the Pure Heart?"
"The Ancients knew what they were writing about, Tippi. They may not have known that their stuffed animals would revolt and enslave the inhabitants of a dimension, but if it's written that we'd collect the Pure Hearts again, we're sure collecting them."
"Perhaps you're right. Well, we'll have to find out tomorrow. For now, let's just rest."
"Right," agreed Mario. "We can't do anything if we're tired."

Our heroes and all of the other slaves were back to work on the early-morning beach, and Kara was watching them. "You're only making about 20 bricks an hour," she criticized a girl. "You need 30."
"30!? I can't make 30! I'm lucky if I pull 25!"
"30. No less." Kara walked toward our heroes, leaving the girl to attempt to make ten bricks in the next five minutes. The heroes felt quite uncomfortable with Kara watching their progress, but she left to observe someone else after a few minutes without speaking.
"I'm surprised," whispered Frank after Kara had passed out of hearing range. "I thought for sure she was going to say something about us trying to find that Pure Heart."
"I thought so too..." agreed Tippi. "Why didn't she mention it?"
"She probably just wants to keep us in line."
"Probably, but still..."
"Here's your darn bricks," announced Bowser.
"Thanks, Bowser," said Mario. Bowser didn't bother to say you're welcome as he trudged back to the brick room. "I try to be nice, and he doesn't even say anything."
"He's still mad about this," observed Luigi. "But he seems a bit softer than when we were traveling here. Maybe he finally realized that we're in this together."
When the sun had risen to its halfway point, the slaves were allowed a lunch break on the beach. The food was horrible, but it was all they had. "This stuff is horrid!" griped Luigi. "Shouldn't they give us better food than this, given that we're the ones building their palace?"
"Yeh can bet on that!" agreed O'Chunks, cringing as he ate a mushy apple. "Don't they know they're servin' us this trash fer lunch?"
"The Animauls don't have taste buds," pointed out Tippi. "They wouldn't know."
"They probably wouldn't even care that we're eating this garbage," added Frank.
When they had finished, it was back to work. The sun continued its course across the sky, and after they had built a few more feet of the brick wall, Kara again began observing them. Our heroes grew increasingly disturbed by her silence. Finally, after they laid several more bricks down, Tippi could stand it no longer. "Kara? Did you want to tell us something?"
"No, other than you're doing a good job." She left.
"That was odd," observed Frank. "If not the last time, I was sure she was going to mention the Pure Heart this time."
"Yeah, how come she's silent all the time now?" wondered Luigi.
The day dragged on, the walls growing ever so closer together. When Kara came around again, Tippi watched her out of the corner of her eye, which was pretty hard to do considering she didn't have eyes. Kara stared at the heroes for a while, then folded her arms and looked at the ground. She appeared to be thinking about something, but Tippi was afraid of what might happen if she spoke again. Finally, Kara broke the silence. "Did you say you were looking for something called a Pure Heart?"
"Yes," answered Tippi. "We need it to save the world."
Kara hesitated before speaking, "Please come to the group of palm trees outside this room at sundown." She briskly walked away.
"Here it comes," dreaded Peach. "The moment when they execute us with some scary stuffed animal weapon."
"She didn't sound angry," noticed Mario. "I don't think they're going to kill us. But...what does she want us for?"
"Well, certainly something about the Pure Heart," offered Luigi. "But what?"

When it was time for the workers to end their day, the heroes walked between the two in-construction walls and onto the beach. When they reached the group of palm trees, Kara was already there. "So you're looking for the Pure Heart?"
"Yes," answered Tippi. "We need eight of them, and we have four already."
"Then...you must be the heroes that Dimentio said would come. Is that right?"
"Yes. A prophectic book called the Light Prognosticus states that we'll find the Pure Hearts, and Dimentio is trying to stop us."
"And you need the Pure Hearts to save the world?"
"That's true, too."
Kara thought this over in silence for a while. "You need to go into the palace and get the Pure Heart from King Animaul."
Mario was shocked. "Wh...what? You want us to get the Pure Heart?"
"Yes. When I joined King Animaul, I was upset over how we were being treated, like he was. But then he took it to the maximum. He started enslaving all of the toys that now call themselves the Animauls with Dimentio's help. I eventually realized the truth about this, and I didn't want to serve him in this way."
"You didn't? Then why did you pursue us so intently?"
"Because King Animaul would punish me if I didn't. He has some unimaginable punishments for those who don't listen to him. I didn't punish the girl who couldn't make 30 bricks an hour, even though King Animaul would have ordered me to. I've never hated the people that once owned us as much as he does."
"You never supported King Animaul's policies?"
"No. I once belonged to a girl in another dimension. She didn't treat me as just a doll. We were friends. We played together, talked to each other, got hurt together and shared our pain. There was a wooden bridge near where we lived...we were forbidden to cross it because of some nasty creatures and a dangerous volcano on the other side of it. One time," she giggled, "we wanted to see what it was like on the other side, so we crossed it when no one was looking. As soon as we saw one of those creatures, we went screaming back home. We were scared, but now it's something I can look back on. She was a friend...I know from experience that you guys aren't all barbarians." She pointed at them. "That's why I want you to get the Pure Heart. To show King Animaul the error of his ways."
"So you support us? I mean, me?" asked Bowser. "As much as I hate to admit it...um...uh...blah..."
"Go ahead, say it," encouraged Peach.
"...I'm sorry for frying you."
"It's fine, Bowser. I'm not mad at you. You did what you did because you thought I was an enemy."
"Really? You're not mad? Of course, not like it would make any diff-"
"So how do we get into the palace?" asked Tippi. "Won't someone see us?"
"All of the Animauls will be in bed within half an hour. We can sneak into the palace then."
"OK..." Tippi paused. "What will happen if we're caught? And where exactly is the Pure Heart?"
"We'll probably be put to death if we're caught, and-"
"You've got to be kidding me!"
"Well, if they found out I let you guys look for the Pure Heart, it would be treason. That's why we have to do this at night."
"Even so...he'd kill all of us? Even you?"
"Yes. Well, to a point, that is...since I'm a doll, and I don't have any vital organs I need to stay alive, I probably can't die. I just have...stuffing." She squeezed her neck, causing her head to expand. She released her grip, returning her head to normal. "You can't kill an Animaul."
"What would he do to you then?"
"I don't know. He'd probably sentence me to life in prison. And that would mean I'd be in prison forever, until the end of the world! That's why you heroes need to get the Pure Heart-to save all of us. And all of the dimensions."
Although she hadn't doubted Kara before, with that, Tippi knew she couldn't be lying. "We'll try our best. Do you know exactly where the Pure Heart is?"
"It's in King Animaul's throne room. I know, it makes our job sound even more dangerous, but he'll be asleep by then. We can sneak into the room, get the Heart, and get back out safely if we don't make any noise."
"But the throne room's locked, isn't it?" asked Frank.
"Not for me. I have the keys to get anywhere in the palace, so we can get to the throne room quickly." She looked toward the palace. "We should start soon. Follow me to the throne room, grab the Pure Heart, and then leave this awful place."
"What about you, though?" asked Tippi. "Are you just going to keep serving the king? And what about all the slaves?"
"I don't know what I can do about that. Maybe I'll try and convince King Animaul...no, that wouldn't work. Once he notices the Pure Heart is missing, there's no telling what that tyrant will do."
"Aren't you worried, then? We can take you back to Flipside with us if you want. I'm sure you'll want to get away from King Animaul once the Pure Heart is gone."
Kara thought. "Well...I don't know. I'd like to leave this place, but...I can't just leave the slaves in a condition like this. I'm probably the only reason half of the slaves haven't been executed by now."
What are we going to do, then... "Well, let's focus on getting the Pure Heart for now, and we'll figure out what to do after that later."
"OK. We'll begin soon."
We went to see them for the first time in 5 years because they were going away for 3 years.

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« Reply #29 on: October 22, 2007, 06:52:24 PM »
The traitor, five heroes, and their guide crept through the hallway after entering the nearby door. "This staircase will eventually lead us there," Kara explained, her voice barely audible. She climbed the stairs, leading the heroes. After a few more doors hallways, and staircases, our heroes could see they were walking on a bridge far above the floor below. "This place is huge!" whispered Luigi. "How could the Animauls have built it if they started just a little while ago?"
"Well, the palace existed before then," answered Kara. "It was intended to be a castle, like the one they built in the Bitlands, in which the Pure Heart would reside. But the Animauls have added to it."
"So you know about the Pure Hearts and all that?"
"Yes. I got a firsthand experience, since I was created slightly before the Ancients divided the Purity Heart. It looks like this Pure Heart isn't the same one that was going to be placed here."
Wow. I never would've guessed she was that old!
Eventually, the group arrived at a huge door. "This is the door to the throne room. We have to be absolutely silent." She inserted the key into the lock, opened the door, and they entered the pitch-black throne room.
Suddenly, all of the lights came on.
"So. My suspicions were true. The one I thought to be my most loyal servant has betrayed me."
What seemed like a huge, red pulsating heart appeared before them. It seemed to be made of the same material as most of the other Animauls; it had a stitch down the middle, and part of its upper-right section had apparently been destroyed, leaving stuffing visible. The heart had two eyes that had a very creepy vibe. "I suspected that you didn't support me. Whenever I gave orders, you seemed uncomfortable. Whenever I saw you in other places, you seemed to be just staring off into space instead of torturing those incompetent slaves. Well, I've caught you now, Kara."
"Err..." Tippi began. "Are you King Animaul?"
"Yes, and you are in no position to address me in that manner. Anyone who disobeys my royal orders shall be put to death."
"You can't just kill everyone who doesn't listen to you!"
"On the contrary. I've experienced enough suffering in my lamentable existence. Now it's time for others to suffer for me. Including that boy with you."
"You've suffered?" asked Frank.
"Like no one else. I was once a teddy bear, happy as could be. My girl loved me, and I loved her. But one day, she disappeared. And thanks to your friend Dimentio, I've learned that she just didn't care."
"She probably did care!" argued Tippi. "She might have just outgrown stuffed animals!"
"If that was true, she would've found another place for me. But she didn't. Now that I know what she really thought, I hate her like never before. And your prescence only makes things worse. Your voice reminds me of hers."
"So you're trying to find her? A bear said that to one of the citizens we saw."
"It might be a futile search, but if I can find her, I can force her into the most brutal work in all of the kingdom. She left me to rot. I had a heart stitched on my chest, to remind her of our friendship. Over the years, I've been battered and bruised, and my current state is all that remains."
"Well..." Tippi couldn't think of what to say. How could she convince him otherwise?
"Kara." King Animaul's voice grew even more stern. "Since you've led these slaves here to steal my gift from Dimentio, the Pure Heart, you are hereby convicted of treason, and you are sentenced to almost-death."
"A...almost-death?"
"Despite not having organs that can cease to function, you can still feel pain. I'll have you ripped to shreds, and I'll place your decapitated-but-still-sentient head in the hallway as a warning to any other fools who might be planning something. I've ordered two servants to stay here, because I knew you would bring them here. Come!"
The servants, a doll and a cat, emerged from behind the nearby throne, carrying a spiky metal pole. When they drew close to the shaking Kara, the cat impaled her stomach with the weapon while the doll rushed to carry it from the other end sticking from Kara's back. As she screamed in pain, the minions carried her out the door with the pole.
"You're mad!" shouted Peach. "You'd sentence to...almost-death any Animaul who'd fail to please you. You're a tyrant!"
"Why, thank you. Once all of these barbarians are wiped out, the Animauls will reign supreme over this dimension."
"What!?" exclaimed Mario. "You're going to wipe them out? I thought you were using them as slaves!"
"For now, that is, until the palace is finished. After that, I'll have no use for them."
"Yeh can't do this!" pleaded O'Chunks. "Yeh can't just wipe out all o' them!"
"But I can. You seven will be the first victims. And if I ever find my former girl, she'll be the eighth."
"Wait," said Tippi. "You said you were once a bear?"
"I was, until she left me to rot."
"Wait a minute..."
"Well, we'll make sure you never get your revenge!" announced Peach.
Mario continued. "We aren't going to go down without a fight!" He went into his "confident" pose.
"Oh? Very well then. I'll destroy you in battle, and then I'll launch my plan for revenge. Dimentio told me no one had heard from my owner in a long time, but with his help, I'm sure I can locate that traitor. She was so pretty, too, with that long orange hair...and brilliant face...too bad she has to suffer now!" Two layers of thick transparent plastic appeared over King Animaul, shielding him. A used bandage was attached to the left side of the plastic, the right side held part of a "30% OFF!" label, and a sock was draped over the top. The king rose higher in the air, and boxes appeared below him, supporting him. The boxes advertised playhouses for kids and boxes for dolls. Long wires extended from the top of his square plastic shield, and large, very sharp green, red, yellow, and blue crayons appeared on the ends, two dangling on each side. Two more wires appeared on each side, each holding a half of one of those baby rattle things with noisemaking plastic balls inside them. The place where the central area had been broken looked intensely sharp. "I'll destroy all of you, and then I'll place your bones alongside Kara's head. They'll make a fine traitor collection."

BOSS
King Animaul

The green crayon aimed for Mario, who quickly jumped out of the way before the spiky crayon swiftly collided with the floor.
"I'll take this ugly king!" announced Luigi. He tried to perform the Super Jump and attack King Animaul's shield from below, but the round portion of the right rattle knocked him to the floor, dazed. O'Chunks quickly shoved Luigi out of the way before he was impaled by the yellow crayon.
"I'll try to help." Frank attempted to use the boxes as stepping stones to reach the king, but a crayon quickly shoved him away. He smacked into a wall at the other side of the room.
"Come on, Bowser!" begged Peach. "Help us!"
Bowser had been standing silently in a corner. "Hmph. Well, fine...if he kills all of you, he'll probably go after me next." He flamed the green crayon, charring it but not reducing it to ashes. Seeing his opportunity, Mario used the burnt crayon as a stepping stone to land a jump on the king's shield of plastic. It didn't break like he would've expected, but it seemed dented.
"We've got to attack the shield, guys!" Mario again attempted to damage King Animaul this way, but a huge boulder suddenly blocked his progress. Those rattles were filled with something other than just noisemaking balls.
While King Animaul was distracted with Mario, Peach followed the path Mario had taken, jumped above the shield, and performed a downward parasol spike. The plastic was dented further. "I think one more hit will break it for good!"
"Leave it to me!" bragged Bowser. He walked toward King Animaul from the left, but being slower than the others, he couldn't dodge the spiky crayons as well. Fortunately, when he noticed the red crayon about to smash him, he quickly moved forward so that the crayon hit his durable shell, denting the now no-longer-sharp crayon. Bowser attempted to attack the king, but the yellow and blue crayons still remained threats. Seeing that Bowser would probably be impaled if he wasn't careful, O'Chunks unleashed more gas and pounded on King Animaul's shield from above. As he expected, the plastic broke, but our heroes had forgotten that there were two layers of plastic protecting King Animaul. O'Chunks was flung off of the inner shield as the outer one exploded, sending all of the dangling weapons across the room along with the supporting boxes.
"That wasn't ordinary plastic!" reflected Luigi.
Despite the explosion, King Animaul didn't seem to be harmed. He moved into a slightly lower position, still floating, along with the inner plastic shield. Suddenly, large triangle-shaped sections of the sheild broke apart, although they were quickly replaced. The triangles collided and formed into four shuriken-like objects that floated around the room, bouncing off walls.
"I'll go for it!" announced Frank. He tried to damage the king's new shield, but a shuriken struck him from behind and knocked him to the ground, and it then richocheted off the floor and bounced up to hit Mario.
"Yaah!" Mario cried. "Those things are sharp! What can we do about them?"
"I'll help you." Bowser turned his back to two incoming shurikens, and two more weapons were deflected by Bowser's shell, slamming into King Animaul's shield. A huge nail suddenly shot from the top of his shield, sailing over Bowser's shell. While O'Chunks pointed out that Bowser was about to be nailed (pun not intended), Luigi prepared the Super Jump and cracked the bottom of the king's shield. King Animaul responded by rapid-firing darts in Luigi's direction. Luigi being an expert dodger, most of them missed, but one ended up protruding from his chest.
"Luigi!" exclaimed Mario, rushing to his brother's aid. "Speak to me!!!"
"Hey, it's no problem." Luigi held his arm out, letting the dart fall from his armpit to the ground. The Mario Brothers turned around, and saw that they were the target of the two remaining shurikens. They ducked the first, but Luigi was feeling brave when the second arrived. He thrust his arms upward, scraping his hands, but allowing him to grab onto one of the shuriken's triangle sections. In seconds, he did an amazing backflip and further dented the shield with the shuriken he was holding.
King Animaul again produced four shurikens, but these ones moved much faster than before. "Look out!" shouted Frank to O'Chunks.
While O'Chunks dove out of the way, Bowser located a shuriken and deflected it, using his shell again. Another one came, which he deflected as well. The two shurikens bounced off the ceiling and hit King Animaul's sheild. It looked close to breaking.
"We've almost got him!" joyfully announced Frank. Bowser got to work on the two remaining shurikens, as well as the single remaining slow one. They didn't damage the shield, but he managed to stop them. Frank knew that the king would produce even more, so he ran up to the evil king, jumped, and gave the shield a kick for all he was worth. It shattered. "He's open n-" Frank smacked into a wall once more. "Gee, I've got to stop this, or I could get a concussion!"
Without anything protecting him, King Animaul was finally open to attack. However, it seemed he had one last trick up his sleeve. He extended two more sharp rattle ends on wires, possibly a power granted to him by Dimentio, which he quickly spun around himself in wide circles, making it impossible to reach him. Mario and Luigi were on the left side of King Animaul, but everyone else was on his right side. The king floated to the right, aiming for the side that contained more heroes. Mario and Luigi didn't know what they could do. Soon, the rest of the heroes would be impaled! What can I do!? I...wait! I've got it! Mario flipped into 3D and sped to the other side of the king. He flipped back into 2D. "Bowser, throw me into the air!"
"What? Why would I do that?"
"Just do it!"
"You don't speak to the Koopa King that w-"
"Bowser, I know you're unhappy being with us, but if you don't want to die, throw me into the air!" Bowser didn't have much time to think, but knowing Mario, he probably knew what he was doing. He obeyed, sending Mario toward the ceiling. King Animaul, realizing Mario was more of a threat with his flipping ability, moved upwards to attack him-and the rattles clanged against the ceiling, wedged in a corner. Everyone else saw their chance. They hit King Animaul with everything they had.
The wires broke, and the extra rattles tumbled to the ground. King Animaul fell to the ground as well. "Nooooooo!!!" he wailed. "I've been...defeated! By traitors! First Timpani, than Kara, then these worthless slaves! Will I ever meet someone I can trust!?" He collapsed.

The pale blue Pure Heart appeared before our heroes. "Here's Pure Heart number five," noted Bowser.
Tippi floated toward the still King Animaul. "...Timpani?" she asked.
"...Y...yes. Timpani was my former owner. Why does it matter? You defeated me. You shouldn't care."
"Because..." Tippi remembered it all now. Using the power Merlon had granted her, she reverted to her human form. "...It's me. Timpani."
The king's eyes widened. "T...Timpani...it's you! You were with them the whole time!"
"Yes. You've been a very naughty bear. You were always so strong-minded, but I never would've guessed you would enslave all of those citizens."
"You...remember me? It's been ages since I last saw you. Where have you been?"
Timpani explained everything that had occured to her since she had left him, ending with how she had forgotten her past and remembered the king now that she had seen him. "And now I find you, ruling over a kingdom with an iron fist."
"The king once belonged to you?" asked Mario. "Oh no. We'd better run!"
"No...you do not need to run. I have been defeated...and Dimentio was wrong when he said I would be able to defeat you. And now I have met Timpani again. Timpani...I...I am sorry. For everything I've done. I have done so much evil..."
"You surely have. But, as long as you promise not to act up again next time, I'll forgive you. It's really not your own fault. That Dimentio is a tricky one."
The door behind them opened. Our heroes looked in that direction, and Kara, along with the two servants, were standing there.
"Kara?" asked King Animaul. "How did you...survive?"
Kara smiled. "I guess those heroes defeated you before the servants could almost-kill me. Since they were hypnotized by Dimentio, and it looks like you're sorry after they defeated you, they aren't serving the evil King Animaul anymore." She walked toward him, and they could see that a new white stitch had been placed on her stomach. "I guess you learned your lesson, hm?"
"Yes. I am deeply sorry. Tell everyone to free the slaves and stop what they're doing. This cruelty cannot continue."
"I can't wait to tell Fred what we did!" exclaimed Frank.
"Yeah, whatever," sighed Bowser. "Let's take this Pure Heart now, OK?"
Kara nodded. "It looks like you're getting the Pure Heart after all...and things are changing. You're truly heroes, and that's why you deserve the Pure Heart."



PURE HEART GET!
-END OF CHAPTER-

Our heroes prevailed through yet another of Dimentio's nefarious schemes and claimed their fifth Pure Heart. Bidding farewell to Frank, Kara, and the former King Animaul, our heroes returned to Flipside, another dimension saved from Dimentio's grasp. Three Pure Hearts still remain to be found, so our heroes have no time to waste. They've already thwarted three of Dimentio's plots. Who knows what that mad jester will do when he learns of this?
We went to see them for the first time in 5 years because they were going away for 3 years.

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