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WARNING: Do NOT read this if you haven't beaten Super Paper Mario.
So here's my first fanfic. Actually, it's not my first fanfic, considering I've co-written two 120-page books that are fan fiction, but it's my first one here, and it's called Super Paper Mario 2: The Tribe of Darkness. Now, you may already know about a fan-made SPM sequel in the Forum Games section, so I guess I'd better explain myself.
I got Super Paper Mario the day it came out, and I absolutely adored it. Except for the fact that it was a bit too easy for my tastes, it's everything I've ever wanted in a Mario game: creative and original gameplay, interesting new characters, a slightly darker plot, clever puzzles, etc, etc, etc, etc. But as soon as I completed the game, I started thinking about what a good idea it would be if they made a sequel. Who wrote the Dark Prognosticus? How did Count Bleck's minions get their abilities? Was the Chaos Heart truly destroyed, or was it just deactivated? In my opinion, these questions, while not essential to the storyline, deserve to be answered. Now, no Mario game in existence has been a direct sequel to another. So I figured, since there's a 99.99% chance we won't see a Super Paper Mario 2, at least not one that's a continuation of the original, why not make it?
Having Flash MX, I'm starting out in making my own games. But here's the thing; my moral conscience tells me not to make SPM2 as a game. Why? Because it's a direct sequel to an official game. If I made a game like this, it just wouldn't be right, since it would be like "I'm just as good as Nintendo because I continued their game!". And something inside me tells me that just isn't the right thing to do. So I feared that SPM2 would be forever trapped inside my imagination, never to see the light of day.
One day in this forum, I saw a topic called "Super Paper Mario RPG: Finding Tippi". I thought, wow, there's other people who like SPM as much as I do? Then I thought, this could be my chance to make SPM2 a reality!
If anyone has questions/comments/suggestions/etc, feel free to post them, as long as they're constructive; since I'm writing a sequel to what is, in my opinion, one of Nintendo's greatest masterpieces, I don't want to fail them.
I'm currently writing 1-1, but I'm having trouble making it...long enough. How do I describe an average SPM level in a story, making it a good length, but without making it too boring? Also, I'm not sure where Chapters 2 and 3 are going to take place yet (I know all the others), but I'm focusing on Chapter 1 for now.
So here we are. It's SPM2: The Tribe of Darkness, it's my fanfic, here you go.
(I have to make the Prolouge and the Introduction seperate posts because of the 20,000 character limit.)
EDIT: Removed some unneccesary things.
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SUPER PAPER MARIO 2
The Tribe of Darkness
PROLOGUE
The Awakened Memories
"Why do you think you deserve this?" asked Jaydes.
"Because I've changed my ways," replied the jester-like creature before her. "I regret what I did before my game ended. I've come clean."
Jaydes thought for a second. "What did you say your name was?"
"Dimentio."
"Well, Dimentio, I'm afraid I can't allow you to enter The Overthere. The sins you commited during your game are too heavy. You tried to destroy all worlds! You should be ashamed of yourself."
"Reeeeeally!" said Dimentio, exaggerating his tone.
"Yes. Feel free to explore The Underwhere, but that's it."
"Reeeeeally..." repeated Dimentio. "I think you'd be saying something very different if you knew about what just happened to me."
Jaydes was unafraid; she dealt with liars and smooth-talkers trying to enter the Overthere all the time. "Oh?" she asked, doing a bad impression of being interested.
"When my game ended, I suddenly remembered something. Something about myself that had been cleared from my memory."
"And...what does this have to do with you entering The Overthere?"
"More than you think!" Dimentio used his exaggerated tone again. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers, and red bolts of energy condensed around Jaydes. She tried frantically to shake them off.
"Jaydes," announced Dimentio, "Grant me life once more!"
The energy bolts had a strange effect on Jaydes's mind. "Yes...Master...Dimentio," she uttered, not sure why she was saying it. She then began a strange chant about Game Overs and Continuing. Soon, a glowing star appeared above Dimentio, and he was drawn into it. He found himself standing in front of the purple door on Flipside Tower.
"Excellent," the jester snickered to himself. "Now to find Count Bleck. Or, if he prefers...Blumiere!"
Suddenly, the world seemed to invert. Lord Blumiere and his wife, Timpani, were pulled into some kind of vortex, and before they knew it, they were standing on the third floor of Flipside. "Huh? What just happened?" asked Blumiere.
"Why, I'll tell you what just happened," said a familiar voice besides him. "I spent forever searching for you, Blumiere, so I could bring you here. I didn't intend for Timpani to come here as well, but I suppose it doesn't matter."
Blumiere turned his head to the side. "D...Dimentio?" he uttered. "What are you doing here? And...alive?"
"I have changed my ways, Lord Blumiere," explained the jester. "I was granted a second chance, and I wanted to apologize for what I've done."
Timpani, silent during this time, noticed something. "If you wanted to apologize," she began, "why didn't you just come to where we were instead of taking us to this place?"
"Ah ha ha ha...you've clever, Timpani. But not clever enough!" With that, he snapped his fingers, and the red lightning bolts surrounded Blumiere. Timpani jumped back in fright while Blumiere struggled.
"'EY!" cried another familiar voice. A burly man jumped into the confusion and shouted at Dimentio. "Whattya think yer doin' to me boss?"
"O'Chunks!" exclaimed Dimentio. "I must admit I'm surprised to see you here. Why, I'm just doing him a favor."
"It look more like yer harmin' 'im in some way to me! And an enemy o' Bleck be an enemy of mine, Dimentio!"
O'Chunks charged at Dimentio. Quickly moving out of the way, Dimentio snapped his fingers once more, and a lightning bolt came down right on his attacker. "Ah ha ha! You're about as intelligent as asparagus is tasty, pathetic minion. Attacks like that won't work against me."
"Must...defend...count..." mumbled O'Chunks, in too much pain to move. He looked at the Heart Pillar beside him. Somehow, he got the feeling that the Pure Heart was in danger. He took it out of the pillar.
Just then, the energy constricting Blumiere vanished, but he seemed different then before his struggle. "Blumiere! Are you well?" asked Timpani.
Blumiere then did something Timpani never would have expected. He drew his staff, and it produced a blast of energy which sailed toward Timpani at a supernatural speed. Timpani shrieked, and then collapsed to the ground.
"Excellent, Count Bleck!" applauded Dimentio. "And we haven't even started lessons yet. You're doing a fantastic job."
"Thank you...Master Dimentio," said the count.
"What in blazin' bog rats is goin' on 'ere!?" said O'Chunks. "Count! Snap out of it!"
"Count Bleck," started Dimentio. "Your first task...end O'Chunks's game!"
"Whaaaaa!?" shouted O'Chunks. "Bleck! What did I ever do to yeh?"
Before he even finished speaking, Count Bleck again used his magic energy attack, sending O'Chunks flying off the edge of the third floor. "You did well," said Bleck's new master, "but you need to focus on ending his game, not sending him flying."
"I'm...chunked!" O'Chunks sobbed, down on the second floor. He then noticed a blue pipe next to him. "Mmm...oh, that's right! This pipe's the one goin' to Flopside, innit? Nastasia'll know whatta do!" He jumped down the pipe.
Bleck and Dimentio had just descended to this level. "Where is he?...wondered Count Bleck."
O'Chunks traveled to the third floor. "'Ey! Nastasia! Dimentio's over 'n Flipside an' Bleck be tryin' to end me game!"
"What? Slow down, O'Chunks."
"Slow down!? They probably be lookin' for me right now!"
"Dimentio's in Flipside and the Count is trying to kill you?"
"That's what I seen!"
"Um...I think you were just dreaming, since Count Bleck is somewhere we don't know, and Dimentio's game is over."
"I swear! I saw 'em over on the third floor o' Flipside! You gotta believe me! Please!"
She sighed. "All right, O'Chunks, I'll see what I can do about it." What has this guy been eating?
"Thanks, Nastasia! I knew I could count on yeh."
Nastasia and O'Chunks returned to Flipside. After walking in the direction of Flipside Tower for a few moments, nothing happened.
"See, O'Chunks? They're not here. You were just dreaming."
"But...but...but..."
"I'm leaving, 'K?"
"You're not going anywhere, Nastasia," came a familiar voice from behind her. Nastasia turned around. Standing before her and O'Chunks were Count Bleck and Dimentio.
"See!" cried O'Chunks. "I told yeh! It's them! In the flesh!"
"Nastasia, I would like for you to try something for me," said the Count, sounding very benevolent. Nastasia, never one to disobey Count Bleck, stepped forward.
"No! Don't yeh see? It's a trap!" Just when Bleck was about to zap her into oblivion, O'Chunks came running from behind and tackled her legs, sending them both toppling under the bolt.
"Count!" exclaimed Nastasia, shocked. "What are you doing!?"
"He is my servant now!" announced Dimentio.
Nastasia was puzzled, but simply asked "If you're trying to kill us, why'd you have to make the Count do it?"
"THAT is a secret I will keep to myself at the moment."
Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser came out of the green door atop Flipside Tower. "That was a fun space-swim," remarked Luigi.
"What are we going to do now?" asked Peach.
"Forget you guys!" Bowser stomped off. "I'm going to the arcade, baby!"
The other heroes sighed and followed Bowser down the elevator. For a moment, when they emerged, they thought they were dreaming. O'Chunks and Nastasia were standing before them, being attacked by Count Bleck!
"What the heck!?" uttered Bowser. "What's going on here?"
"I, Count Bleck, am putting the beginning stages of Dimentio's master plan into motion!"
"What!?" Bowser noticed Dimentio behind Count Bleck. "You!?"
Count Bleck bowed. "Yes, me...Count Bleck!" He began to speak in a formal tone. "The one who has been brought to this dimension...is Count Bleck! The current assistant to Master Dimentio...is also Count Bleck! And the ender of the games of his former minions...is again Count Bleck!"
The heroes were too shocked to tell the count that they were between dimensions, not in one. They stood there, mouths hanging open, unable to comphrehend how Dimentio or Count Bleck could have returned.
"I'll tell you who doesn't make even a little bit of sense...Count Bleck!" repeated Bowser.
"Master Dimentio!" exclaimed Bleck. "Leave this...to Count Bleck! He will destroy his former minions...and the heroes, too!"
"Very well. If you fail, you'll need more training."
"What is going ON?" sputtered Luigi.
"I'll tell you what's going on," said Dimentio. "When my game ended, a part of my memory that had been erased came back to me. I used this knowledge to escape from the aftergame and bring Count Bleck to this dimension. Count Bleck and I will reactivate the Chaos Heart...and use it to destroy all dimensions!"
Mario, who had been silent until now, spoke up. "First of all, how did you turn Count Bleck...like this? Second, why do want to kill Bleck's minions? Third, didn't you already fail to destroy all dimensions before? And speaking of which, fourth, how do you think you're going to reactivate the Chaos Heart? Even if you do, we'll just take the Pure Hearts and defeat you again!"
"Oh, but you can't just run up and take the Pure Hearts. That would make it a bit too easy now, wouldn't it? I have already scattered the Pure Hearts across the dimensions! You have no hope of reaching them all before the Chaos Heart consumes all worlds."
"What!? You mean we have to search for the Pure Hearts again?"
"If you wish to stop us, that is, which I wouldn't even bother trying. Your time is up, heroes-and Count Bleck's former minions! Bleck, take them down!"
"Yes, Master Dimentio!" Dimentio vanished.
BOSS
Count Bleck
"Count Bleck thinks he will destroy you first," said the count, pointing with his staff at Mario. "You're the most dangerous of them all!" Without warning, he performed the energy blast again. Mario, having done things like this before, jumped out of the way and landed on Count Bleck with his mad jumping skillz. "All right, maybe you've still got it in you...admitted Count Bleck. But can you stand up to this?" He produced a strange hole, similar to The Void, and Mario was sucked in. After a few seconds, Mario reappeared, having taken damage. "Now is Count Bleck's chance!" He waved his staff, and odd, perpendicular lines started forming across the area where Mario was.
"Mamma Mia! Is this some sort of new attack?" Not knowing what the lines were, Mario moved to the middle of one of the squares the lines formed. As it turned out, he had correctly guessed what to do, because at that moment, blue-hot lightning bolts flashed across the lines Count Bleck had produced. Once they ceased, Mario again took his chance and leaped upon Count Bleck repeatedly until the count could stand it no more. He wrestled free of Mario's stomps and flew to the left of the elevator leading up to the top of Flipside Tower. He fired another magic blast, this one being more compact than the rest. When it hit the ground, it suddenly exploded in eight different directions! Most of the blasts flew through the air, but one managed to hit Mario and another put a local Flipside resident out of commission.
"Count Bleck will end your game now! And once he does, he will move on to the rest of you! Have fun in the Underwhere!" Count Bleck fired another magic beam at the tired Mario. But since Mario is always full of energy, he managed to jump the attack and nail Count Bleck a final time. The weakened count staggered a bit, then addressed Mario and the others. "You may have managed to best Count Bleck this time, but he will annihilate you the next time you meet! Dimentio will not allow you to get the Pure Hearts...and once the Chaos Heart is unleashed once more, you will regret you ever tried to stop Dimentio...and Count Bleck!" A box enclosed Bleck, and he flipped out. Out of the area, that is.
Merlon's head was buried in the Light Prognosticus. He was investigating something at the bottom of the last page he had previously assumed to be unimportant. "...and upon the return of an powerful enemy..." he read aloud to himself. "...revelations will occur, treachery will spring forth, and the four-"
"MASTER MERLON!" A Flipside resident burst through the door. "You see, um...uh...um...err...uh...that guy! Those guys! Them! People! Population! Popcorn! Popsicles!"
"Slow down! Calm yourslef, lad. Now, who?"
"You see...um...that guy, you know, the guy who killed Mario and those others?"
"Is that...Dimentio? First of all, he didn't kill them. Second of all, didn't he die?...Actually, that was probably the first thing."
"I swear I saw him! Over by the Heart Pillar! The one on the third floor! And there was this...shadowy guy with him and some lady! And then they went down to the second floor, and then Mario started fighting him in front of the elevator!"
"Really? Well, it seems like something I should check out." Merlon and the boy left the house. The action had already calmed down, although Nora desperately needed hospitalization. "Oh ho! It seems our four heroes and two former minions are here as well. Pray tell, was Dimentio here, along with a 'shadowy guy' and 'some lady'?"
Peach responded. "Yes! We saw Dimentio and Count Bleck, and they were going to end Bleck's minions' games, and Bleck was working for Dimentio. I don't know why, but Dimentio said that when his game ended, he'd regained memories he'd lost, and then he somehow forced Count Bleck to serve him. He wanted to kill Count Bleck's minions, and he said he'd reactivate the Chaos Heart, and that he's scattered the Pure Hearts across the dimensions so we can't stop him."
"Interesting..." mused Merlon. "I just so happened to be reading the Light Pr-say, what about the lady?"
"A lady? We didn't see any-"
"Oh! That's right!" interrupted O'Chunks. "Timpani! When Dimentio brought Bleck 'ere...she was with 'im! And Bleck knocked 'er out 'er somethin'!"
"Goodness, we have to get to her aid immediately!" announced Merlon. The group began walking toward the elevator to the third floor.
"How are you feeling, Timpani?" asked Merlon, after a few minutes had passed.
Timpani's vision cleared until she saw Merlon, Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, O'Chunks, and Nastasia standing before her. "I...I'm fine." In her true form, Timpani resembled Peach somewhat; slender, with a similar hairstyle, but with red-orangeish hair and a shorter, white dress. Generally, she looked less like a princess, and more like a girl ready to get into action.
Luigi started, "Gee, I can see why Blumiere fell in love w-" but Mario clamped his hand over Luigi's mouth before he could finish his sentence.
"Blumiere!" Timpani uttered suddenly. "He...Dimentio came and he did something to him! And he..."
"Yes, Dimentio somehow forced Bleck to serve him," answered Merlon. "To quote Peach, 'We saw Dimentio and Count Bleck, and they were going to end Bleck's minions' games, and Bleck was working for Dimentio. I don't know why, but Dimentio said that when his game ended, he'd regained memories he'd lost, and then he somehow forced Count Bleck to serve him. He wanted to kill Count Bleck's minions, and he said he'd reactivate the Chaos Heart, and that he's scattered the Pure Hearts across the dimensions so we can't stop him.'"
"That's exactly what I said!" remarked Peach.
"When you spend your days reading passages from ancient books, you acquire a good memory," Merlon explained. "Now, I just so happened to be reading the Light Prognosticus. There was something at the bottom of the last page I found. It told that since the union of a fair princess and a monster king caused the Chaos Heart to be unleashed, the Chaos Heart can be deactivated if this union is dissolved."
Except for Bowser, the heroes were startled, and then they remembered; Peach was still married to Bowser! "Whoa, whoa, WHOA there!" shouted Bowser. "Peach and I are staying married, and THAT'S THAT! Can't we just use the Pure Hearts like we did last time? Without me having to forsake my lovely wife?"
"Yes, but you are missing the bigger point here. If Dimentio hadn't forced Bleck to serve him, then Bleck could've just cancelled the marriage if Dimentio managed to activate the Chaos Heart. But now that he's with Dimentio, that's not an option."
"Well, I'm glad about it!" huffed Bowser.
"So that's why Dimentio did it," realized Timpani. "So what should we do to stop Dimentio?"
Mario had been waiting for this moment. "First things first, we should look for the Pure Hearts that Dimentio stole. Once we have them all, we'll be able to stop Dimentio."
"But how do we do that?" asked Peach. "We have no idea where Dimentio put them, and the doors won't help us anymore."
Merlon spoke up. "This brings me to another thing I was going to say about the Light Prognosticus. I read that when a Pure Heart is placed in a pillar, it automatically creates a door leading to the Pure Heart of the next successive color-Red, Orange, Yellow, and so on. The doors will, in fact, lead you to the correct dimensions. Also, I read something else of significance: "Upon the return of an powerful enemy," he recited, "revelations will occur, treachery will spring forth, and the four-hang on, wait one minute." Merlon looked at the page again, and after a few moments, he finished, "...and the four heroes will become nine." He closed the Light Prognosticus.
"So there's going to be nine heroes?" asked Luigi.
"That's what it seems like..." Merlon's voice trailed off into the distance. "Now, we need the Pure Hearts, but we need to find the red one before the doors will even appear. And we don't know where the red one is!"
O'Chunks suddenly remembered he was carrying the Pure Heart with him. "'Ey, it's not lost. It's right 'ere!" He displayed it proudly.
"O'Chunks! Why do you have it?" asked Merlon.
"I dunno! I got the feelin' it was in danger, so I took it!"
"Excellent! Now, heroes, place the Pure Heart in the Heart Pillar on the third floor to create the red door. Your search for the Pure Hearts starts here!"
"Well, wait a second," started Luigi. "How do we know Dimentio isn't just making an empty threat? He could really have no way to reactivate the Chaos Heart and just sent us on a wild goose chase."
"I was thinking that, too, but...if he was able to hyptonize Bleck like that, and with these passages in the Light Prognosticus, it seems like Dimentio is a true threat."
"Wait," said Timpani as the heroes were about to leave. "I must do anything I can to bring my husband back."
"Do you intend to travel with them?" asked Merlon.
"Yes. I'm going to do whatever I can to defeat Dimentio. Please, grant me some kind of power...Turn me back into a Pixl...Anything, anything, to rescue Blumiere."
"Hmm...I am a bit rusty in my old magic skills, but I'll see what I can do." Merlon gathered his strength, and as it turned out, he was still proficient enough with magic. Timpani disappeared, only to be replaced by a multicolored butterfly of sorts. "I have granted you the power to become a Pixl or a human at will so that you can benefit the heroes on their journey."
"Thank you, Merlon..." replied Tippi.
"Now, heroes, take the Pure Heart and began your quest!"
PURE HEART GET!
Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, and Tippi walked out of Merlon's house to the right and took the elevator up to the third floor. Mario placed the Pure Heart in the Heart Pillar, causing strange pulses of energy to occur. Odd red patterns appeared, and meanwhile, the red door was drawn into existence atop Flipside Tower. Taking the elevator down to the second floor and then up to the top of Flipside Tower, Mario and the others entered the red door.
-END OF PROLOUGE-
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29 views and no comments? Surely someone has something to say...
I'm going on vacation for slightly more than a week starting tomorrow, so I'll hopefully be able to work on this while there, and I'll try to have a batch of new chapters ready by the time I return.
Anyway, here's 1-1.
Once again, Mario and his friends set out to save all worlds, questions ringing in their heads. How did Dimentio plan to reactivate the Chaos Heart? How did Count Bleck become his ally? Why did he want to kill Bleck's minions? Mario, though, eager to begin a new adventure, wasn't bothered by these unknown answers. "C'mon!" he encouraged. "The first...err, second Pure Heart should be around here somewhere." And so our heroes started their journey to find the eight Pure Hearts once more.
CHAPTER 1-1
A Rough Start
A line was drawn.
Joining this line were several others, short vertical lines that came in pairs of two. Above these lines, several rather pointy lines appeared and joined the pairs of lines they appeared above, forming what seemed to be pine trees. Whispy clouds appeared in the sky, followed by a sun whose position indicated it was middle-late-afternoon. The ground became colored green-and-brown, areas of green colored the trees, and the sky took on a blue hue with the sun becoming yellow and the clouds being white with an ever-so-slight orangish hue. The white thingies on either side disappeared, the red door was drawn into existence, and before they knew it, our heroes were standing in the middle of a forest.
"I feel the Pure Heart in this dimension..." announced Tippi. "But, like always...it's still far away."
Bowser groaned. "Why can't we just get these Pure Heart thingies right away so we can stop that lunatic? Wouldn't it make things a lot easier?"
"Be patient, Bowser," scolded Tippi. "It's no use complaining about the inevitable."
"HEY! Little butterfly things that lecture the great Koopa King don't have very pleasant futures."
"Bowser, it's no use," said Mario. "Let's just get this going."
Bowser turned to face Mario. "SHUT UP! You don't lecture me either!"
Luigi figured he might as well say something. "Bowser, you're the one who should be quiet. Let's get on with our search without distractions like these."
"Why, you...get over here!" Bowser looked raging mad.
"Bowser, stop griping and get on with it!" ordered Peach.
"Yes, my lovely wife."
While he no longer was accompanied by any of the Pixls, Mario still had ever-powerful skills. He walked to the right, jumped on a Goomba, did a stylish move, hit some ? Blocks and Brick Blocks, got a few mushrooms, and so on and so forth. After walking through the woods for a while, our heroes came upon a door, which they entered.
They emerged in another part of the woods, and they could hear water rumbling. "Is there a waterfall here or something?" asked Peach. Her question was soon answered, for as they took a few more steps, the forest abruptly ended at a cliff overlooking a lake that was being fed by a tall waterfall. A wooden bridge spanned the lake, but it seemed to have broken in several places.
"We'll have to be careful as we cross this bridge," warned Mario.
"Did you really need to point that out?" complained Bowser.
Mario jumped across the gaps until the bridge seemed to end, although it had another section that lay above them. He couldn't jump high enough to reach it! Oh, wait. He performed his trusty A-Button-Flip-Into-3D technique, and a spiral ramp appeared that took him to the above section, where he flipped back into 2D. He continued jumping across the bridges, occasionally using the conveniently placed Koopa Paratroopas as stepping stones. Eventually, he reached another cliff where the woods began again. There were a few pipes and Piranha Plants here, but they posed little trouble to Mario and friends.
The first disaster of their quest came not long after that. Our heroes were walking calmly among dense trees, although they could see and hear the waterfall not far away. Some of the trees stuck out of the ground at odd angles, making it difficult to avoid falling into the raging waterfall without weaving carfully through the branches. Mario, leading the group, came upon an area where he could look down and see the mighty waterfall break into a series of interrupted falls far down the cliff. He stared upward, having no clue where the water was coming from in the first place.
Luigi read Mario's face. "You're sure dumb-", he started, but it sounded like he wasn't finished.
Mario turned to where Luigi's voice came from. "Why, you-" he shouted, but then he realized Luigi wasn't there. "Huh?"
"I WAS SAYING 'DUMBFOUNDEEEEEEEED!'" The other heroes looked in the direction of the voice. Apparently, Luigi had stepped on a loose branch, sending him careening over the edge of the cliff, precariously hanging onto a small branch.
"I'll get you," encouraged Mario. He weaved through the trees back to where Luigi was hanging.
"Come on, bro, I'm not sure I can hold on for much long-" Suddenly, the branch snapped, sending Luigi tumbling down the falls!
"I'll get him!" announced Mario. He jumped down.
"Oh no," worrried Bowser. "What are we going to do without them?" He turned to Peach. "Yeah! Now, my lovely wife, let's enjoy life without-"
"Bowser, if Mario jumped down there to save Luigi, chances are it'll be safe to jump if we land in the water. So I'm going too." She jumped down the falls.
"Oh, great," grumbled Bowser. "Well, if Peach is doing it, I might as well." He followed suit.
Tippi shrugged, which was pretty hard to do considering she had neither shoulders nor arms, and floated down.
Luigi was kicking and screaming (as if that helped him at all) as he cascaded down the waterfall. Just before hitting the lake below, he closed his eyes, mumbled a quick prayer, and plummeted into the drink. Soon afterward, Mario, Peach, and Bowser followed. Tippi soon came down as well, floating above the water's surface.
Luigi frantically thrashed in the water until he was free of the waterfall's crushing influence. "Help!" he cried, bobbing to the surface. However, he wasn't able to recieve it; the current in the small lake pushed him away from the waterfall and toward another, luckily smaller, waterfall. Luigi observed the others crashing down the cliff, and yelled "Help!" again, but it was too late. He was sent crashing down another waterfall, the other heroes quickly following him.
"You're OK, Luigi?" asked Peach once they had drawn closer together.
"I think so."
"So how do we escape?" asked Bowser.
"It looks like the waterfalls empty out into a lake," explained Mario. "We might just have to wait until we get there, and then we can resume our search."
"What!? MORE wa-"
"AAIIEE!!!" shrieked Peach as she fell over another waterfall onto a large rock stuck in the river.
"Peach! Are you OK?" asked Mario. He attempted to reach over to where she was, but the current pulled him and the others away from her.
Peach groaned, clearly in pain. She gently pulled herself back into the water, being as careful as possible, now floating several yards behind the others. "I've got to help her," explained Bowser. "I'll slow myself. You two go ahead."
"But-" started Mario.
"Just leave! I'm going to take good care of her."
Mario and Luigi, reluctantly, wordlessly agreed with Bowser and continued down the raging river. Bowser took Peach's hand. "Is everything fine, dear?"
"I don't need help! I'm fine!" replied Peach, obviously just to get away from Bowser.
Bowser apparently didn't get the hint. "Hmm...you look a little scraped, but aside from that you're fine. Say, when we're done with th-" Another waterfall shot Bowser away from Peach, who soon followed.
Eventually, our heroes reached a calmer lake that they floated into. "Looks like we're safe," noticed Luigi.
Tippi had caught up with them. "Actually, I think that fall down the river might have been a good thing. I sense the Pure Heart more strongly here. It might be somewhere across that beach," she continued, referring to the beach in front of them.
"All right, then let's explore this beach and continue our search," announced Mario.
The group climbed out of the lake, Peach having some difficulty. Mario gently helped her out of the water and onto the grassy ledge. In front of them, a slope led down to a sand-covered beach. It had been some time since they had started their journey; the sun was lower in the sky, which was starting to acquire faint red and orange streaks, turning the water a multitude of colors. It was truly a sight to behold.
-END OF CHAPTER-
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Well, I'm back. I've gotten up to and including Chapter 2-1, so here it is. Comments please. ^_^
Having survived their first trial, our heroes walked out onto the nearby beach. The water sparkled before them as their shoes touched the sandy ground. They were undoubtedly closer to the Pure Heart, though where it could be was still a mystery. "Let's go this way," advised Tippi. "I feel it more strongly over here." The heroes followed her across the beach.
CHAPTER 1-2
A Sunset Stroll
Our heroes strolled along the sunset beach, Tippi leading the way. As they walked, jumped on Goombas, hit ? Blocks, and so on, a few small clouds gathered on the horizon.
Our heroes continued walking ahead until they came to a slight uprise. "After all the flat terrain we've been traveling through, this is a big surprise," noted Luigi.
"Well, nothing like a little change to liven things up," reassured Mario.
"Yes!" exclaimed Bowser. "I was getting SO bored! This slight uprise just made things interesting again! THANK YOU SLIGHT UPRIIIIIIIISE!!!"
If Bowser was that excited over a "small uprise", he was sure to be having the time of his life as the group traveled on. The road ahead of them became increasingly rugged, taking them up hills and around bends. The ground became less sandy and more rocky, and large rocks littered the landscape, making walking along the ledge difficult. It was almost the same as being in the forest, except with rocks instead of trees.
"These rocks are hard to get around," complained Bowser, who apparently wasn't having the time of his life.
"Just be careful not to fall down into the water again, Luigi," jokingly warned Mario.
"You're sure dumb-"
"Why, you..."
Luigi was pretending to fall off the cliff. "Just kidding, Mario!"
"Don't scare me like that!"
"Why not?" asked Bowser. "I'm having the time of my life!"
"I thought you were frustrated by the huge boulders blocking our way."
"Well, I was, but you two brought all the humor back! In fact...why don't you really fall off-"
"Bowser, this trip would be a lot easier without you at the Mario Bros.'s throats all the time," commented Peach.
"Yes, my lovely wife."
After some time of this, the ground suddenly dropped, forming a cliff, and the flat, sandy ground continued away from it. "NOW what do we do?" asked Bowser.
"Well, you could try to climb down using jutting rocks or something," suggested Tippi. Mario took her suggestion and began slowly climbing down.
"That's easy for you to say!" griped Bowser. "You can just float down!"
"I don't see any other way," Tippi replied.
"I guess you're right," Bowser grumbled. He began climbing down, very slowly. After a few seconds, though, his grip slipped and he plummeted toward the ground below. "WHAAAA!!!"
"Mamma Mia!" exclaimed Mario, who was toward the bottom of the wall. Before Bowser could crush him, he jumped to the side, and he and Bowser both fell into the sand below, making large splashes.
Luigi was laughing, but Peach was concerned. She slowly climbed down herself, Luigi following, and watched Mario and Bowser struggle to lift themselves out of the sand. Mario pulled himslf out after a few seconds, but Bowser, being bulkier, was having quite a hard time. After he remained stuck for a few seconds, Luigi said "You think we should help him out?"
"Um...sure," agreed Mario. They each grabbed one of Bowser's feet and pulled until Bowser popped out of the sand. He looked around.
"Oh yeah! I got ouuuut of the saaaaand all by myseeee-" He noticed Peach was giving him a disapproving glare. "Sorry, my lovely wife."
"I'd appriciate if you'd stop calling me that."
"OK, my wife."
Peach sighed.
While they walked some more, the small clouds along the horizon grew, and eventually they covered half the sky with a pinkish blanket. A man became visible as they drew closer to him. He wore a sailor's hat, blue clothing, and large boots.
"Looks like rain," he said to himself. "And that means that Yo Ho Joe certainly won't be back before tomorrow. Oh, why me!"
The man didn't seem to notice the five to the side of him. Tippi hesitated for a few moments, then spoke. "Um, excu-"
"WAAH! Who are you guys? You must be pirates!"
"No, no, we're not pirates. We just want to know...have you seen anything resembling a large, glowing heart around here?"
"No. I haven't seen anything like that. Why do you want it?"
Tippi considered what to say and what to leave out for the sake of time. "We must collect seven of them, all hidden somewhere in different dimensions, in order to stop an evil madman from destroying the universe."
"Really? Well, gee, that's pretty serious. Would you mind telling me your names?"
"I'm Tippi. The one with the red hat is Mario, the green-hatted one is Luigi, the big one is Bowser, and the remaining one is Peach."
"Always glad to meet new friends. My name is Chip Ahoy. I welcome you to this beach, even if I can't help you find what you're looking for."
Tippi thought for a moment. "There must be some way you can help us...hmm. Who is this Yo Ho Joe you mentioned earlier?"
"He's my friend. He was once a pirate, but he was exiled on this beach some time ago because he didn't like plundering other ships. One day we found each other, and we've been friends ever since."
"And he's off somewhere?"
"Yes. There's been some mysterious earthquakes around here lately, and since he's spent most of his life at sea and is more experienced than me in ocean travel, he went to check out what he thinks might be the source of the earthquakes, out in the water, toward the area we call the Dusky Shallows."
"The Dusky Shallows?"
"Yes. It's an area of water riddled with small land masses that has very high and low tide levels. He went out there to check it out, as I said before, since he has more experience so I wouldn't be put in danger. What a pal, huh?"
"Hmm. Strange earthquakes?" Tippi turned to face the heroes. "It's unlikely, but the Pure Heart might be out there somewhere in the Dusky Shallows..."
"You think so?" asked Chip Ahoy. "Well, you'd better stay here for the night and wait until Yo Ho Joe gets back so we can look together and see if he discovered anything."
"We really don't have time. We should start now."
"Now? You don't even have a boat! Few have survived going into the Dusky Shallows without a ship."
While Tippi thought again, Luigi spoke. "You don't need to worry, Chip Ahoy. Mario's a well-known hero where we come from. He can get out of practically any bad situation unharmed. I'm not kidding."
"Except when he rescues Peach," protested Bowser. "He just creates trouble then. Trouble for me, that is."
"Truly? Well...I guess I won't stop you. But I've got to warn you, it's dangerous out there!"
"We know, but time is of the essence," replied Tippi. "Are we ready?"
"I'm ready for anything!" assured Mario.
"Well, OK," agreed Chip Ahoy. "To reach the Dusky Shallows, just head out into the ocean that way," he finished, pointing.
"All right," said Peach. "We'll see you later."
-END OF CHAPTER-
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As our heroes waded out into the Dusky Shallows, the pink clouds began to cover the sky from horizon to horizon, turning the sky pink around the horizon with a faint blue hue near the top of the sky. Soon, just as Chip Ahoy predicted, a light drizzle began falling. "We should see if we can find Yo Ho Joe," advised Luigi. "He might have learned something that could help us find the Pure Heart."
"Sounds like a good idea," agreed Tippi. "Let's look for a boat." But doing that would be harder than the five had expected, for as Chip Ahoy had warned, the Dusky Shallows was a dangerous place to be without a ship...
CHAPTER 1-3
Wet or Dry?
Mario and the others plunged into a portion of deep water. The water was surprisingly warm, a welcome comfort in this area.
"I don't see a ship anywhere," observed Bowser.
"Well, it's likely he's farther into the water," explained Mario. "We're sure to see him sometime."
They still hadn't seen him after more swimming. Chip Ahoy was right once more by saying that the Dusky Shallows was a treacherous area if you didn't have a ship. Dagnerous-looking fish swam around the small landmasses and sandbars, making maneuvering difficult, although they did not actively pursue the group members. As if that wasn't enough, large waves began crashing into the sea, tossing our heroes back and forth. "I'm starting to think we should have waited after all," remarked Luigi.
"You know what we should do?" asked Mario. "We should all lock hands, forming a circle, so that we don't drift away from each other. It's too shallow here for us to dive and avoid the waves."
"What?" asked Bowser, who had been swept fifteen feet away from the other heroes.
"We should lock hands so that we don't fall apart from one another," repeated Luigi, after he had drifted somewhat closer.
"Good idea," agreed Tippi.
The four heroes of prophecy locked their hands so that they couldn't be pulled apart. For a while, this stabilized them. However, as the waves grew ever choppier, the group was tossed and turned amongst the vicious waves. The interlocked circle of heroes was sent forward and backward, although their struggles to move forward resulted in a gradual forward movement. That is, until a particularly large wave appeared. "Whoa, this wave is a huge one!" remarked Bowser. And huge it was. It slammed into our heroes with full force, sending them spinning and flying backwards over the ocean. Finally, they touched down on a small section of a sandbar that rose above the surface, where they lay for a few minutes, breathing heavily. They couldn't stay there for too long, though, since the light drizzle had grown heavier. It wasn't quite a downpour, but it was enough to make our heroes want to get out there and find Yo Ho Joe as soon as possible...or just give the whole thing up. "This is crazy!" shouted Bowser. "What are we doing out here in the middle of nowhere looking for some guy that got lost? We should've stayed onshore for the night, instead of having to endure this!"
"You're probably right," said Tippi. "But there's nothing we can do about it now. We just have to press on."
"Fine."
Tippi came up with a new group strategy. "You four should lock arms this time, and form a line rather than a circle. You won't be as easily pushed around that way."
"Let's try it," agreed Peach. They followed Tippi's instructions, moved forward, and the position indeed had benefits. The heroes continued onwards, still battered by waves but more stable.
After some time, they encountered a landmass emerging from the water. If not for the rain that was now coming down hard and fast, it would be a sanctuary from the ever-treacherous waters except for the fact that its sides sloped steeply upward, forming a near-vertical wall that was impossible to climb. "This is strange," observed Peach. "Why is this pillar of land here out in the middle of nowhere?" She turned back in the direction they had come from, and she could just barely see the landmass they had swam away from. "We've come a long way from shore," she reflected.
"Hey, what's this?" observed Luigi. He pointed at a point underwater. The others looked, and saw the entrance to an underwater cave going beneath the island. "You think we should go in there?" asked Tippi.
"Well, it MIGHT be a safe haven from all these rain and wind and waves," said Bowser. "But we'd better find some air in there."
"That's not an issue," said Mario. "We can stay underwater as long as we want to because...uh..."
"Quick! Change the subject!" exclaimed Peach. "Yes! Let's go in there!" The rest of the group followed her advice and ducked into the cave.
It was dark in the underwater cave, but not pitch-black because the area was lit up by several electricity-producing, jellyfish-like Jelectros. They floated in place, zapping anyone who dared to come too close.
"These things look extremely dangerous," cautioned Tippi.
"I know," replied Mario. "I've encountered them before." He and the others nimbly swam through the schools of Jelectros in the winding passageways of the tunnel. After a few turns, the tunnel split in two, forming a passage going up and another one going down.
"Which path should we go down?" asked Mario.
"Well, you can only go down one of them," responded Luigi. "Just kidding with you. Hmm...I think we should go up. Let's see if this storm has stopped yet."
"I agree," stated Bowser. "Let's get out of this grotto." They started up the passageway, climbing up through the tunnel, and eventually, they emerged in the open. The rain had calmed down a bit, as had the waves, although they were still quite strong. The area was surrounded by small landmasses, but the most obvious aspect of what they saw was the small boat not far from them.
Tippi was relieved. "This must be where Yo Ho Joe is! Let's go and see him." The heroes treaded across the water to the boat. "Hello?" greeted Tippi.
The person on the boat turned around. He was certainly Yo Ho Joe; he wore a pirate's hat and clothing that matched. "Eh? You're all out 'ere without a ship? Not very wise choice. How did you make it all the way 'ere?"
"Well, we didn't really have a choice," explained Tippi. She briefly described their situation to him, including how they met Chip Ahoy on shore.
"What a yarn! You're being honest about all that? Well...I 'ave noticed the earthquakes seem to come from over there." He pointed further in the direction they were traveling. "It's a place called the Dusky Temple. They say it was created to imprison a fearsome sea monster."
"An underwater temple?" asked Tippi, since there was no readily visible temple in sight.
"Aye. I 'ave a hunch that monster is angry. An' perhaps hungry."
"Hmm...you think it has something to do with the Pure Heart?" asked Bowser.
"It might be so."
"You're probably right," agreed Tippi. "I feel the Pure Heart's energy more strongly here than ever before. It's sure to be nearby."
"You plan on entering the Dusky Temple?" asked Yo Ho Joe. "It's probably mighty treacherous. You'd best avoid that accursed place."
"We have no choice. If the Pure Heart is there, we have to find it at all costs."
"Sure about that? Bad things happen down there in Davy Jones's locker."
"We can get through it. They're the heroes of prophecy, after all."
"Ehhhhh...I guess. Maybe you could pull it off...well, no use sitting 'ere and talking. The entrance is down in that cave over there. Where the path splits, take the lower path. I 'ave to tell you, though, there's a door at the bottom of that shaft, and it's locked."
"A locked door? It's probably the entrance to the Temple..."
"Aye, that's probably so. I got no clue where in the seven seas the key could be, though."
"Well, it seems we should look for it."
"It might not be 'round here...in fact, it could be anywhere."
"We must find it if we're looking for the Pure Heart."
"Well, if you must."
Mario and company didn't know where to start looking, so they simply plunged below Yo Ho Joe's boat into the waters, which were calmer still, but the rain persisted. They surveyed the ocean floor, but after looking all over the nearby area, they couldn't find a thing except some fish. "So what should we do?" asked Luigi. "Look somewhere else?"
Mario thought. "It probably is somewhere else. Gee, where could it possibly-" A thought hit him. "Wait a second." He flipped into 3D, and a chasm appeared in the right side of the area. He dove down it at full speed, careful to avoid the fish, and lo and behold, the key was resting in a small depression on the sea floor. Mario grabbed it, swam to the surface, flipped back into 2D, and rejoined his friends. "I found the key!" he announced, displaying it.
"Never thought it would be near 'ere," reflected Yo Ho Joe. "Go look for your Pure Heart, and let me know if you make it out alive."
"We will," promised Tippi.
Back in the cave, our heroes descended the narrow passageway until all they could see was blackness. Just when they thought they would be plummeting forever, they abruptly hit rock bottom. Luigi was so startled, he yelped.
Mario felt around for a door, and eventually found one in the darkness. He carefully inserted the key into the lock, and the door opened, revealing another tunnel. Apparently, they were still some way from the Dusky Temple.
"There's a light at the end of the tunnel," noticed Peach. "No, I mean literally. There's a light at the end of the tunnel!" The others looked, and there was indeed a brighter area at the end of a tunnel that confronted them. They walked over to it, and came out in a larger area illuminated by hundreds of Jelectros. What's worse, there were more of those dangerous-looking fish in this area.
"Oh, great," mumbled Bowser.
They tried to weave through the fish and Jelectros. They were successful at first, but soon, a rather large fish crashed into Mario, sending him backwards, just inches away from being electrocuted!
"Eek!" uttered Peach. She switfly moved over to where Mario was and pulled him away from the Jelectro, just before he would have been zapped.
The five continued in the room until they came to a large door. "This must be the entrance to the Dusky Temple," noticed Tippi.
"I'll handle this," announced Bowser. He gathered his strength and charged for the door. His body crashed against it, but the door didn't budge. "Darn. Looks like a tough one." He tried ramming into it several more times, but was fruitless in his efforts.
"Let me show you an easier way," said Peach. She calmly walked up to the door, turned the knob, and gently opened it. The heroes and Tippi went inside, Bowser having an embarrased expression on his face.
-END OF CHAPTER-
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Bowser still embarrased, our heroes delved into the Dusky Temple. The corridor started to look less natural, and more like it was carved by human hands. The walls were lined with white bricks with intricate purple designs. "An underwater temple," remarked Peach. "This place is incredible!" "The Pure Heart is ever closer," announced Tippi. "I think we may have to confront this 'monster'..."
CHAPTER 1-4
A Light in the Dark
As soon as Tippi finished her sentence, the entire temple shook. "Whoa!" exclaimed Bowser. "This is one of those earthquakes!" Just then, the group thought they heard a roar in the distance.
"That must be the monster..." observed Tippi. "Perhaps the Pure Heart has awakened it after years of slumber?"
"It's possible..." said Mario. "Let's go and find the Pure Heart."
They swam through the dark corridors and down an even darker shaft. Eventually, they reached a door, the first of several.
The Dusky Temple was like most of the typical Castles and Fortresses our heroes had visited, except that it was completely underwater. A spiked ball, attached to a chain, orbited around a point embedded in the bricks below. Mario, who know all about this stuff, explained. "Since we're underwater, we'll move slower, and thus this spiked mace will be harder to dodge. Be careful, everyone." Looking past the obstacle, our heroes could see that the next door in their path, located at the top of a few steps leading up, past the ball, was locked, and they hadn't seen a key anywhere.
"Oh great," complained Bowser again. "Another locked door that needs a key that's lost somewhere."
"The last one was right near us," pointed out Tippi. "This one might be, too..."
A sudden thought hit Mario. "Your surroundings are often the clue to whatever obstacle confronts you. This spiked mace, since it rotates around a point contained within these bricks, seems to be going right through the bricks. However, it might not actually be going through the bricks. It only looks like that, because we're in 2D."
"If we're in 2D," started Bowser, "how did Luigi fall down the waterfall? And how did we go around twists and bends on the beach? And how did Luigi notice the entrance to the cave?"
"Um...uh..."
"Quick! Change the subject!" shouted Peach. "Yes! It only looks like that! So...continue on."
"Right. So, everyone, stay right here. I'm going to get the key." He flipped into 3D, and the spike ball was indeed rotating around a path that took it through a hidden hollowed-out section in the staircase that had a door at the far side. He quickly entered the door before he began to take damage from being in 3D too long.
The room he entered looked like a long corridor with nothing in it, but Mario wasn't decieved. He swam to the other side, expecting some kind of trap to activate. A trap indeed activated, but not quite what he expected. After he had reached about the midway point, a spear suddenly extended from the floor, narrowly missing him. Whoa! I've got to be on my guard.. His assumption was correct, for as he continued, more spears targeted him from the floor and ceiling, but he managed to stay ahead of them. Suddenly, one appeared from the ceiling right in front of him, knocking him back. Just then, another extended from the floor, forcing him to move further backward. The assault continued. Whoa. I'd better do something about this. He flipped into 3D again, making the spears much easier to dodge. However, they continued appearing at different 3D points, making them a maze to navigate through. Near the end of the tunnel, a treasure chest, presumably containing the key, rested. Figuring the spears were almost done, Mario flipped back into 2D. Just as he was about to reach the chest, another spear appeared from the ceiling and caught Mario right between the back of his overalls and his shirt. He tried to push forward until he figured out what had happened. Oh great. He dropped down toward the floor, attempting to reach the chest this time, but a small part of his overalls were still caught. Just then, one last spear appeared just in front of him, making it impossible to sink any lower. Now what do I do? In a desperate move, he seperated his legs, pulled them up until he resembled a contortionist, and then slowly lowered his upper section until he was free of the spear and upside-down. Relieved, he flipped right-side up, banging his head and his feet against the two spears. This just isn't my day. He finally opened the chest, got the key, and swam back through the now-spearless corridor, his head and feet throbbing.
Reuinited with his friends, Mario put the key in the door. Our heroes emerged in a very dark room.
"I can't see a thing in here!" uttered Luigi.
"Hmm..." Mario had been in dark rooms before, but getting through them always required different methods. He swam through the darkness for a few instants, and then his head smashed against something, triggering light from a disco ball above. This is just totally not my day.
"Hey, we can see now!" rejoiced Peach. They all swam ahead, Mario delaying a bit. As they continued, another earthquake occured, and the ground shook heavily. Another roar echoed through the temple.
I'm not sure if it's the Pure Heart or ME that's waking this thing up.
The disco ball gave light to the room, and as they proceeded through, they reached a door that was blocked by a wall. Naturally, Mario flipped into the third dimension, but he saw only a wall, and an up arrow was painted on it. He looked up, and there was indeed a passageway through the ceiling. He flipped back into 2D.
"There's an up arrow on the wall," said Mario.
"So...what are you saying?" said Bowser.
"Up? That's my specialty, bro! Let me try!" said Luigi. So he..."Oh, wait, we're underwater. We can just...swim up there, right?"
They all swam upwards, Bowser finally figuring out why, and faced another one of those strange fish. Bowser roasted it with his breath.
Attempting to dodge Bowser's flames, "OWW!" Mario hit his head on a ceiling.
Luigi suddenly looked contemplative. "Hey, how did Bowser use his fire breath underwater?"
"Quiet!" yelled Bowser on Peach's behalf. "We've got to find a way past this ceiling!"
"Hey guys, are you coming?" said Mario, who was going down a path that was plainly in front of them.
"Yeah, you oafs!" ordered Bowser. "Let's MOVE!"
"Did you just call me an oaf?" asked Peach.
"Uhh, I mean, Louie, you oaf! Was that your name?...Oh yeah, Luigi! Get over here!"
They swam down the path. Eventually, they found a large switch in a cage.
"How do we get into this cage?" asked Tippi. Mario flipped. He found a switch. When he pressed it, the vertical bars on the cage disappeared, but not the horizontal ones.
"Is there another switch we have to hit?" asked Peach.
"There doesn't seem to be anything else around here," observed Luigi.
Tippi began to search the room."Hmm...I sense a door..." Suddenly, a door spontaneously seemed to appear. They walked through the door, and after scorching Cheep-Cheeps, Bloopers, and the occasional giant kelp, they found another switch. When it was hit, the horizontal bars on the cage disappeared, but the vertical bars came back. When they gathered by the cage again, they were puzzled.
"I don't sense anything else out of the ordinary in this room..." said Tippi.
"Hmm, if the switches activate a certain set of bars, maybe we have to hit them both at the same time," said Mario.
"Sounds like a plan! said Luigi. "I'll hit the one in that other room, and you hit the one in here because you can flip."
"Good plan, but how do you know when to hit it?" asked Peach.
"We're brothers," said Mario. "We know."
"Okay, I guess you know what you're doing," said Tippi. Luigi went through the door. Mario waited, then flipped and hit the switch. Sure enough, they hit the switches at the same time, and there were no horizontal or vertical bars blocking their way. "How did you know when to hit the switch?" Bowser asked Mario.
"I know my brother. Actually, I made an educated guess based on the width of the room and-"
"Don't bore me with all that science stuff, OK? So let's hit this big switch." When they did so, the temple shook again, but there was no roar.
"What just happened?" asked Bowser.
Mario knew what it was from the start. "It's certainly that door down there that was blocked by a wall. It's open now." They swam back through the corridor and to that door near the up arrow sign, and the wall blocking it was indeed gone. They entered the door.
When they emerged, they were in a well-lit room that seemed to be crumbling apart. The first half was like the rest of the Temple, but it became progressively more cracked and dented, and in a few places, the dirt was visible. Not much was in this lonely room except for yet another door. As they were about to enter it, the Temple shook once more, much more violently than before, and a loud roar again echoed through the temple. "The Pure Heart is near..." announced Tippi. "Very, very near..." They entered the door, not knowing what to expect.
They came out in an underwater room that looked nothing like the Temple; it was underground with walls of dirt. It was also very large. There didn't appear to be a door of any sort in this room. "Where are we...?" wondered Tippi.
Suddenly, an earthquake occured, more powerful than ever before, accompanied by a roar of equal magnitude. Slowly, something orangeish-yellow emerged from the far side of the room. It had gigantic spiked tentacles that thrashed about, and from this distance, it looked like an oversized Blooper. But if this monster was a Blooper, it was some mutated freak of nature. As well as its other distinguishing features, it had huge red eyes with compound sections like an insect's, and strange extra appendages along its sides that looked like claws. It unleashed another mighty roar, shaking the room once again, and spying our heroes, extended its spiked tentacles and attempted to choke them to death.
BOSS
Monster Blooper
"Look out!" shouted Tippi. Our heroes dived out of the way just in time. "That...thing. It has the Pure Heart. I'm certain of it! We must find some way to defeat it!"
"How can we do THAT!?" exclaimed Peach. "That thing's the hugest Blooper I've ever seen, and it doesn't seem to have any obvious weak points!"
Luigi ducked out of the way of a tentacle swipe. "We can't attack it without getting its tentacles out of the way, but we can't attack the tentacles because they're covered with spines!"
Bowser had an idea. "We can attack them. Or rather, I can, because I can attack indirectly!" He unleashed his firey breath on one of the tentacles, and it shriveled and dropped, the Blooper roaring again. It extended four of its tentacles to try and crush the heroes. Bowser managed to attack three of them before they caused any damage, but one of them managed to smack Mario against a wall.
"Mario!!!" exclaimed Peach. She swam over to him. "Are you fine?"
"I...think so. It hurts, but I'm not down. I can live with it."
"Stay there, plumber," advised Bowser. "I'll show this monster and all of you how the Koopa King gets the job done." He continued burning the Blooper's tentacles. When there was only one left, Bowser tried pulling off a stylish move while using his fire breath, but his delaying caused him to be the victim of the tentacle he was trying to destroy. "Waah!" He was too smacked against a wall. The Blooper roared again, and tried to use the tentacle to put Mario out of commission. While Peach tried to protect Mario, Luigi came up with a plan while the beast was distracted. He moved underneath it and unleashed his Super Jump, aiming right for the beast's eye and dealing a large amount of damage. The monster recoiled, and then performed its usual routine of roaring. It used one of its claw-things to grab Luigi and start squeezing the life out of him. "Haaaalp!" he yelped. Bowser had since recovered, so he swiftly swam to the claw and tried to pry it open. The monster noticed this, though, and brought another claw over to Bowser, attempting to give him the same fate as Luigi. Just before it did, Bowser managed to loosen the first claw enough to let Luigi out. He crept underneath the Blooper and Super Jump-damaged it again, making it release Bowser. It was quite weakened now. Mario and Peach, having not done much during this time, swam over to where the action was. The Blooper was trying to use its remaining tentacle to attack Luigi. While Bowser destroyed it, it brought another claw over to where Luigi was. Mario, feeling the need for some heroism, swam over to the claw and kicked it out of the way before it could grasp Luigi. Distracted by the others, the monster didn't notice Bowser sneaking up along the floor. Without warning, Bowser delivered a finishing blow of fire for several seconds. The monster gave a roar of defeat (what else), slowly sank, and then crashed to the ground with a defeaning quake. Its carcass remained motionless.
In a flash of light, the orange Pure Heart appeared in front of our heroes. "Here it is," announced Tippi. "The second Pure Heart."
"Gee, I guess that monster turned out not to be so tough after all, huh?" observed Bowser.
"Chip Ahoy and Yo Ho Joe didn't think we could do it," started Mario, "and, I must admit, even I had my doubts. But we prevailed in the end."
"I wouldn't have expected anything less from the heroes of prophecy," congratulated Tippi. "So let's take the Pure Heart and get back to Flipside. We're one step closer..."
Mario swam up to the glowing Pure Heart and took it in his hands.
PURE HEART GET!
-END OF CHAPTER-
And so our heroes prevailed through their first trial to find the second Pure Heart. Through a dense forest, a sunset beach, a stormy ocean, and finally defeating a large monster, they were successful in their mission. They were one step closer to being able to defeat Dimentio and Count Bleck...but, of course, six Pure Hearts still remained. Six Pure Hearts located in unknown dimensions were still waiting to be collected. The adventure had only begun, and it wouldn't be over anytime soon. Meanwhile, Dimentio and Count Bleck are aware of the heroes' actions...
-
"Well, Count Bleck, you're doing a fine job so far."
"Count Bleck says thank you, Master Dimentio," thanked Count Bleck, meeting with his master in Dimentio's newly refurbished castle.
"You're welcome. But you alone might not be enough to stand up to the heroes. They have already managed to find two Pure Hearts."
"Then we should do what I once did," advised the count. "Make sure they don't find them."
"Exactly. I will be looking for good minions-in-the-making. Also, I will go to the dimension the next Pure Heart is in and protect it from the heroes. You continue your training here."
"Yes, Master Dimentio."
"Now, I will be off. Besides searching for potential minions, I will also continue trying to kill your minions. Once you are powerful enough, you may join me."
"Yes, Master Dimentio."
"That is all. I'll now be off." Dimentio vanished.
"Count Bleck will now train!" Count Bleck flipped out.
"General O'Chunks! The soldiers are ready to battle."
"Excellent! Send 'em out, and we'll get rid of all o' them."
"We're doing nicely so far."
"Right. So..."
"Hey, wait a second!"
"Wha!? What's goin' on 'ere!? We're losin'!"
"Didn't one of your advisors-"
"I'll be chunked! They've all fallen!"
"This is not good. Not good at all..."
"I'm ruined..."
"What's happening, O'Chunks?" asked Nastasia.
O'Chunks snapped out of it. "Well, yeh see...I was thinkin' about my old army days. I was the greatest general in all the land, an' one of my advisors sold me out. All o' my men fell to the enemy."
"Oh. Well, I'm sorry to hear it. You tried the best you could."
Out of nowhere, Dimentio appeared next to the base of Flipside Tower. "Ah ha ha! You seem to be hanging out here, am I correct? And it looks like Mimi has joined you as well. All the better, for now is your final hour!"
"Huh?" wondered O'Chunks.
"Not you!" exclaimed Mimi.
"Not me? How could I be anyone but me? Me, here to demolish all of your hopes and dreams...and all of YOU!"
"What do you want?" asked Nastasia. "Why do you want to harm us?"
"Look inside yourselves, pitiful minions. You all have special talents. Talents that will work for my benefit."
"That ain't makin' even a wee bit o' sense!" shouted O'Chunks. "Yeh want to use our talents, but yer tryin' to end our games? How do yeh think all this is gonna come togetha?"
"That is a secret I will keep to myself at the moment. Now, calmly allow me to end your games."
"No way, Mr. I'm-going-to-destroy-the-world!" exclaimed Mimi. "We won't let you do that!"
"Your resistance, it is as foolish as a person who would willingly pay 599 coins for a video game console! If you won't calmly accept your fate, I'll just have to force it upon you!"
O'Chunks walked up to Dimentio. "Yeh two, hide somewhere safe! I'll take care o' this wacko!"
"You think you can stand up to me? Very well. Prepare to enter the aftergame!"
BOSS
Dimentio
Dimentio hovered towards Merlon's house and fired a ball of energy at O'Chunks. O'Chunks dodged the assault. "Yeh think yeh can best O'Chunks with somethin' like THAT?" he taunted. He leaped into the air and nailed Dimentio with a ground pound. The jester vanished, only to reappear above O'Chunks. Dimentio fired another energy ball at his target, and this time O'Chunks wasn't as prepared. He was hit by the energy and knocked back. Dimentio charged up for another assault, but O'Chunks swiftly charged for the enemy and hit him with a large jump. He vanished again, and reappeared behind the unaware O'Chunks. He was hit again, and his stamina wasn't quite what it was before. "Feeling a bit out of it, O'Chunks?" teased Dimentio. He once more unleashed his energy attack, squarely hitting O'Chunks and putting him out of commission, at least for now. "I'm chunked!"
Mimi and Nastasia, who had been watching from a not-very-far distance, hurried to rescue O'Chunks. Thinking quickly, Nastasia dragged him off to the inn.
"So you're the only one to stand up to me now," Dimentio taunted Mimi. "I'll dispose of you just like I did your friend."
"I'm not going to fail like he did! You'll never get away with your plan! TRUE MIMI, COME FORTH!" 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.
Dimentio, undaunted, quickly flew in the direction of the inn where O'Chunks was being healed. He prepared another energy ball attack, but Mimi was too smart for him. She ducked the attack and fired a sparkling red Rubee from under Dimentio (I don't even want to know where it hit). As per usual, the jester vanished, but when he reappeared, two of him reappeared. The pair of Dimentios moved to opposite sides of the arena and fired their energy blasts. One of them flew over Mimi, but the other nailed her square in the head. To further confuse her, the two Dimentios flew to equally random parts of the battlefield and repeated the attack. Mimi was hit again. The Dimentios vanished again, and while they were gone, Mimi pulled her legs up and attached herself to the ceiling. When he reappeared, only one of him this time, Mimi was ready. She produced another Rubee and hit Dimentio's head. When he reappeared again, there were two of him again. Their combined stealth did Mimi in. She collapsed to the ground and returned to her normal form.
"Does anyone else dare to challenge me?" dared Dimentio.
Nastasia quickly ran in and dragged Mimi to the inn as well. When she returned, Dimentio seemed amused. "You think you can stand up to me? You're just a lowly secretary! In fact, I'll give you a free shot. Here, try to hit me!"
Nastasia tried to do just that. However, Dimentio quickly produced an energy ball and sent it her way, knocking her back. "HEY! You said you'd give me a free hit!"
"Did you really believe me? Ah ha ha! Foolish minion, I'll defeat you as well, and then I'll kill all of you!" He vanished and reappeared with a duplicate. They readied their energy attacks, but Nastasia ran up to one of them and kicked him right in the face.
"So you've got something. But you won't...uh...survive my next assault!" Dimentio seemed weakened.
"I can stand up to you any day, 'K? You're just about finished."
Dimentio's clone disappeared, and the real Dimentio hovered up near the ceiling and snapped his fingers. Nastasia knew what was coming, and she quickly jumped out of the way before she was enclosed in a glowing yellow box that soon produced a massive explosion. Dimentio repeated the attack, but Nastasia knew what to do. She jumped on top of the box, jumped toward Dimentio, and delivered another kick to the face.
"What!?" Dimentio exclaimed, weakened and unable to fight any longer. "I've lost to...these minions?"
"There were three of us, and only one of you," pointed out Nastasia. "We'll make sure you never manage to end our games, 'K?"
Dimentio grumbled. "Fine! You may have won this time, but I'll back! I'll be back for your lives! Until next time...Ciao!" He disappeared.
Mario and friends came out of the red door and used the elevator to descend to the second floor of Flipside. They saw O'Chunks, Mimi, and Nastasia standing there, looking quite exhausted. "What happened?" asked Tippi.
"You missed the whole thing," reported Nastasia. "Dimentio attacked us, but we fended him off."
"Dimentio attacked you? It makes me wonder why..."
"He said that he'd use our talents for his benefit. But we don't understand how he's going to do that if he ends our games."
"Hmm...well, we managed to find the next Pure Heart."
The commotion had made Merlon exit his house. "Well, well, it's the heroes. I trust you've found the next Pure Heart?"
"We did," reassured Tippi. She related all the events that had happened to Merlon. "Intriguing," he finally mused. "If Dimentio ends their games...he...they...oh, it's just so confusing! Hmm...I have a thought. Do you think Dimentio killing Bleck's minions has anything to do with him reactivating the Chaos Heart?"
Tippi thought. "It's possible...but I don't really see how it could happen."
"Well, it was just an idea. Well, now that you have the second Pure Heart, go ahead and place it in the next Heart Pillar. I'll continue checking the Light Prognosticus and seeing if there's anything I missed."
"OK."
Tippi and the heroes walked to the outskirts of Flipside, a wild place with weeds growing in several places. They had traveled this path before, so they needed no instructions. They descended a pipe to the right and emerged a floor below, where they walked to the left, flipped (at least Mario did) and moved further into the outskirts. They walked to the left again, where Princess Peach used her parasol to float across the floating stone blocks. At the end, there was another Heart Pillar. They placed the Pure Heart, and the strange patterns appeared again and the orange door appeared atop Flipside tower. Walking back to that spot, our heroes walked into the orange door to begin looking for the third Pure Heart.
-
Dimentio's attack made everyone wonder. What did he hope to accomplish by killing Bleck's minions? Hopefully, they could continue to fend him off while our heroes were away. They had collected two Pure Hearts so far, and now they were on their way to find the third. What awaited them behind the orange door? "I'm feeling kind of hot..." complained Tippi as they stepped into the new dimension.
CHAPTER 2-1
Cacti and Cowboys
A line was drawn.
Joining this line were a few others, pairs of lines that formed the bases of cacti. Needles were drawn on the cacti, giving them an intimidating appearance. Crooked lines were drawn on the ground, making it cracked. The sky was barren except for a few small clouds that were not going to rain anytime soon.
Dull tan filled the parched ground, the cacti became green, and the sky took on a light blue hue that indicated it was midday. Small weeds appeared in cracks in the ground. The orange door was drawn into existence, and the heroes stepped out into the desert.
"Looks like we're in the middle of a desert," observed Tippi.
Bowser was about to say You just figured that out? but he changed his mind at the last second.
"The Pure Heart should be somewhere around here..." mused Tippi.
"Which direction should we go?" asked Mario.
Before Tippi could respond, everyone heard the sound of hooves pounding. Dust appeared in the air, and a large brown horse stopped in front of them.
"Are y'all lost?" came a voice from above the horse. Our heroes looked, and on the horse was a full-blown cowboy, complete with hat and lasso.
Tippi spoke. "Well...we're looking for something called a Pure Heart. I can sense when it is near, so I guess we aren't really lost."
"Really, then. Well, I reckon y'all should come to town. We've got refreshments and everything you need to continue your journey." He pointed. "It's over in that direction. Well, see y'all later! Giddyap!" He sped away on the horse.
"Well, do you think we should try to reach the town?" asked Tippi. "Or should we focus on the Pure Heart?"
"I say we go for the town," suggested Bowser. "I'm burning over here!"
"Me too," agreed Luigi. "We'll be able to rest there before resuming our quest."
"The town it is, I guess. Let's go."
Our heroes began walking in the direction of the town. After a while, they began to feel very hot and dry. "I'm glad we decided to travel to the town," said Peach. "I don't know if I can survive the trek without water."
"I would've collapsed on the spot," said Luigi.
When the town came into view, our heroes were even more glad they had decided to walk there. They walked past townspeople, bought some water at a store, and sat down outside to refresh themselves.
"This hits the spot!" exclaimed Bowser.
Tippi noticed something. "Well..." she started, "I think coming here was a good thing in more ways than one. I sense that the Pure Heart is closer here. Maybe we should ask the townsfolk if they've seen it."
"Really?" asked Peach. "Sounds like a good idea."
When they were finished with their water, Tippi spoke again. "We should split up. Mario, you can search from the edge of town to the saloon. Luigi, you should take the saloon to the general store..." She continued assigning parts of the town to the heroes. "...and I'll take the rest."
"We should meet back here at a certain time," pointed out Luigi.
"Oh, yes. Let's come back here in...half an hour, is that good? Yes, that's plenty of time. Well, I'll see you all then." Tippi and the heroes split up and went to their respective parts of the town to ask.
"Excuse me," said Mario to a passing resident. "Have you seen or heard about a glowing heart-shaped object?"
"In fact, I have," he replied. "Just recently it appeared here in town, out of thin air. But then...there's this group of troublemakers who live over there." He pointed. "They call themselves the Ruff Ruffians. They rode into town, took it, and carried it to their hideout."
"So these Ruff Ruffians took it? It is something I need, so...thank you."
Though they had been given half an hour, Tippi and our heroes felt the urge to return after only a few minutes.
"It's over there!" Mario blurted out, since no one else had said anything. He pointed. "I talked to a few people, and they said it was right here in town. These guys that call themselves the Ruff Ruffians took it. Their hideout is over there."
"That's exactly what I heard!" agreed Tippi.
"Me too!" excalimed Luigi. "So we should go look for these Ruff Ruffians?"
"Well, if their name is any indication, they could be dangerous," explained Peach. "We may have to fight them for the Pure Heart."
"Dangerous?" scoffed Bowser. "There's no such thing as dangerous when I'm around!"
"Why would they want the Pure Heart, anyway?" asked Mario. "Last time I checked, 'Ruff' guys would never associate themselves with heart-themed objects."
"I was thinking about that, too..." said Tippi. "Why would those guys want it in the first place? They thought they could sell it for good money? Or something?"
"If they were going to sell it, wouldn't they have already done it?" asked Peach. "If they brought it back with them, it doesn't seem like they wanted to sell it."
"That's a good point..." Tippi thought for a while. "Well, I can't think of any reason they would want it, other than if they just liked it and wanted to keep it...which doesn't seem likely."
"Whatever the reason, it doesn't really matter," said Bowser. "We'll just find those guys, kick their butts, and get the Pure Heart."
"If we have to fight them, that is," said Peach. "If we can get it from them without getting into a fight, that would be good...but I know, it doesn't sound likely. So we go for their hideout?"
"Right," agreed Tippi. "Let's go."
By now, the sun had shifted into a mid-afternoon position. The heat was even worse than when our heroes had been walking to the town. "It's a long walk," announced Bowser. "Why don't we get some more water?"
"Sounds good," agreed Mario. They did just that.
"OK, are we ready?" asked Tippi once they had reached the edge of town.
"We're ready," assured Mario.
Our heroes, once more, walked across a stretch of desert, barren except for cacti, tumbleweeds and other small prickly plants, and the occasional lizard. They drank from their water frequently to avoid dehydration. "Come on, where's the place?" complained Bowser. "We should pick up the pace."
"If we go any faster, we're going to die from heat stroke," cautioned Peach. "It's best to take it slow and steady in the desert."
They were quite relieved when the headquarters of the Ruff Ruffians came into view. It looked quite large.
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
New chapter. I edited the first post, in case "completed" was too vague. And like I said: Come on, I need some comments! They give me motivation! ;)
As our heroes drew closer to the headquarters of the Ruff Ruffians, the hideout appeared to consist of a central building completely surrounded by a green fence. Eventually, they drew close enough to find that the green fence was actually made of the sharp branches of cacti, wrapped around each other in a way that made them impossible to climb.
CHAPTER 2-2
Finding the Ruffians
"How are we supposed to get over this wall?" asked Tippi.
"How do the Ruff Ruffians get over it?" asked Luigi.
"That's a good question." Tippi scanned the cactus wall for any possible way over it, but it appeared to have no openings or anything else that would allow one to get into the central area. "I don't see any way in..."
"Oh, come on!" griped Bowser. "You forget that I can destroy any obstacle!" He released his firey breath on the wall, which soon burned and crumbled. "You better not forget again!"
Our heroes walked into the central area of the hideout. Aside from the central building, there appeared to be nothing here besides a stable. Mario crept up to one of the glassless windows of the building and peeked inside.
"But what was that thing anyway?" asked a man who was undoubtedly one of the Ruff Ruffians.
"Who knows?" replied another. "We just had to trust that guy."
"Speaking of trust..." began yet another. The conversation was about something unrelated to the Pure Heart.
Mario turned to his fellow heroes. "Did you guys hear that?"
"Yes," replied Peach. "That was probably the Pure Heart they were talking about."
"Who was 'that guy' they were trusting, though?" asked Tippi. "You didn't see the Pure Heart, did you, Mario?"
"Nope."
"Should we ask those guys about it?" suggested Luigi.
"They are called the Ruff Ruffians," pointed out Tippi. "They probably won't let go of it without a fight."
"Well, fight or not, we've got to get the Pure Heart," announced Mario. "Come on, let's find the door." Our heroes walked around the perimeter until they found a door. They opened it, and were met with angry stares.
"HEY!" shouted one of them. "Whaddya want, evildoers?"
"Evildoers?" asked Tippi. "We're just looking for something called a Pure Heart. It's glowing-"
"THAT'S THEM!" shouted another. "LET'S GET 'EM!" He immediately jumped up and started beating Mario over the head with his fist.
"Mamma Mia! What's this all about?"
"What's going on!?" exclaimed Tippi. "Stop fighting Mario!"
"We ain't letting you get the Pure Heart, you weaklings!" shouted a another Ruffian. He started fistfighting with Luigi.
"QUIET, ALL OF YOU!" bellowed Bowser. He expelled a warning blast of fire, and the Ruffians backed away in a corner. "Mommy!" one of them uttered.
"OK, all of you troublemakers," started Bowser. "Give us the Pure Heart, and I won't roast you all."
"Never!" said one of them weakly. "It ain't here, anyway!"
"Then where is it?"
"We're not telling ya! Come out and fight us on horses, and we'll see who'll roast!" All nine of them jumped out the window.
"On horses?" asked Bowser. "This'll be fun! He walked outside where the Ruffians were saddling their horses. "All right, you guys wanna fight? I'll give you a fight!"
MINIBOSS
The Ruff Ruffians
"C'mon! C'mon! I can take you all!" dared Bowser.
"Giddyap!" the Ruffians shouted. Their horses charged at Bowser. He once again blew his trademark ray of fire, but all of the horses jumped the attack. "Whoa. You guys are smarter than I thought. All right, here's where you feel the wrath of Bowser!" He charged toward one of the horses, knocking it and its Ruffian clear out of the headquarters.
"Are you sure you can take this by yourself?" asked Tippi. This is animal cruelty!
"I'm fine!" replied Bowser. "Just leave it to-"
At that moment, one of the horses rammed straight into Bowser, causing him to fall over. "Ow! Fine, you want to play dirty?" He ducked into his shell and spun aroud, knocking out several more Ruffians. Only four remained.
"Jump on 'im, boys!" shouted one who appeared to be the leader. The others ordered their horses to jump, and Bowser was crushed under the weight of four horses.
"We've got to help him," announced Tippi.
Mario walked over to where Bowser was, but before he could do anything, the leader ordered for the assault to be repeated. Mario began slowly pushing Bowser away, and when they attacked, Bowser was narrowly missed.
"Wha?" uttered Bowser. "Why, uh, thanks. Now..." When they charged him again, he performed another shell spin in place, and put the rest of the Ruffians out of commission.
"Oh yeah!" exclaimed Bowser. "I knew I could do it! Oh yeah! Go me! Who da man? Who da man?"
Mario walked over to the leader. "Now tell us where the Pure Heart is."
"Never! We must protect it!"
"We've, well, he's defeated you fair and square. Tell us where it is."
"We don't have it!"
"Then where is it?"
"Our leader has it. He's over on Mt. Maim. If you wanna find it, tough luck! We ain't telling ya!"
"I can kick your butts again!" warned Bowser.
"Um...err...uh...it's the largest mountain over there." He pointed.
"You're not the leader?" asked Mario. "Fine, I'll find this leader of yours. We need that Pure Heart to save the world."
"Oh, shut your mouth with your dang lies! We know you want it for evil!"
"No, we don't. Come on, guys."
Once more, our heroes walked through the desert, in search of Mt. Maim.
"Why did the Ruff Ruffians think we wanted to use the Pure Heart for evil?" asked Tippi. "Come to think of it, aren't they evil?"
"They're just troublemakers, they're not evil," answered Peach. "But I do wonder. Did someone tell them we were coming?"
"It's possible...we'll just have to press on."
"And I was the one who got us through!" beamed Bowser.
"You were rather violent," complained Mario.
"So what? You're the one who interrogated that guy. You were more of a villain than I was!"
"We had to learn where the Pure Heart was! It's on Mt. Maim!"
"If its name is any indication, it's probably dangerous," remarked Luigi.
As they walked, the landscape begame more rugged and craggy. Just like at the beach, they needed to weave in and out of random rock formations. When they reached a place of flat ground again, they realized they were at the top of a huge cliff. The landscape had changed from a flat, cactus-filled, tumbleweed-ridden desert into a series of large rocky mountains. "This looks like an easy place to get hurt," observed Tippi. "It's no wonder it's called Mt. Maim. He said it was the largest mountain here..."
"It's that one!" exclaimed Luigi. He pointed at the tallest mountain.
"Then let's go there," agreed Tippi.
As they continued walking, they passed through hills and valleys. Just when they were about to reach Mt. Maim, our heroes heard a faint rumbling sound. "What's that rumbling?" asked Tippi.
Luigi looked up, and was instantly terrified. "Look up, everyone!" he shouted.
They all did, and were startled by what they saw.
"ROCKSLIDE!!!" yelled Bowser.
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
Oh no, a rock slide!!! What will become of our heroes???
... For some reason, I can't stop thinking about Dimentio just randomly singing Suffragette City for no reason. XD You hafta be me to get it.
-
Thank you SO much! Finally I get a comment. ^_^
Well, I'm afraid SPM2 is on a temporary hiatus as I deal with some of my other projects, but I hope to have a new chapter ready in the next few days.
-
Rockslide! The huge boulders tumbled down the slopes of Mt. Maim, rushing straight toward them with a loud rumbling sound! Was this the end? It was all over for our heroes! Or was it?
CHAPTER 2-3
The Chase
"Every man for himself!" shouted Bowser, running away from the mountain.
Peach, looking quite annoyed, responded "No, I think we should help each other."
"Like me?" asked Luigi, who was about to be flattened by a giant boulder. Mario quickly dive-tackled his brother out of the way, but in doing so, the brothers were unable to move for a few moments. In that time, another large rock came careening down the slope toward them! "Run!" shouted Luigi. They quickly ducked to the side.
"Let's go in front of this mountain," advised Tippi. "We can avoid the rocks there!"
The others carefully followed her until the mountain shielded them from the oncoming rocks. However, they were safe only for a few moments, for after a few moments, the rockslide completely stopped.
Peach began, "Well, it looks like we're s-"
"LOOK OUT!" shouted Mario. Peach narrowly dodged the falling boulder.
"What!?" exclaimed Bowser. "There's falling rocks here, t-OOF!" Before he could finish, a huge rock landed on top of him.
"I'll get him!" announced Mario. "You guys see if there's any more safe spots. ...And try not to get crushed!" Mario walked over to Bowser and tried to release him from the boulder's crushing weight. "This rock is heavier than you, Bowser!"
"Keep your insults to yourself and just get me out of here, got it?"
Mario hadn't even realized he had insulted Bowser, and was about to apologize, when he managed to slide the boulder off. "Uh, thanks, Mario. Now let's get going."
They followed the others, eventually reaching a narrow ledge.
"Uh oh!" uttered Luigi. "How are we going to get across this? We'll either be crushed on the ledge or speared on the rocks below! Probably both!"
"Why don't we just go back to where we started?" suggested Tippi. "The rocks aren't falling there anymore."
"Good idea," agreed Mario. Tippi and the heroes went back to the valley and walked toward Mt. Maim. But as soon as they did, rocks began falling again!
"This can't be a natural rockslide!" remarked Mario. "The boulders seem to appear wherever we are!"
"Who is doing this?" wondered Peach.
"Maybe the Ruff Ruffians on Mt. Maim are trying to stop us!" shouted Luigi, almost smashed by a particularly large stone.
"That must be it," agreed Tippi. "But how can we get there?"
"Wait for their rocks to run out!" answered Mario.
The other four looked at Mario like he had a screw loose. "What?"
"I said, wait for their rocks to run out. They can't have an infinite supply of them, can they?"
"Hey, you have a point!" supported Peach.
They continued dodging rocks, but after a while, they grew tired of it. "We've been doing this forever! Do they have an infinite supply?" inquired Luigi. Just as he finished speaking, the rockslide stopped. "Well, I guess not!" he exclaimed cheerfully. He began calmly strolling up the slope, when suddenly he was tripped and flipped over backwards by a sudden assault of millions of small rocks! He flew backward and crashed into Mario, and the two were overrun by the stones.
"Yes!" cheered Bowser. "We won't have to worry about THEM anymore!"
Mario and Luigi, with difficulty, managed to stand up in the rockslide. "Oh, darn it!"
"We can't wait this one out!" announced Peach. "There's just too many of them!"
"Then what do we do?" asked Bowser.
Tippi thought. "We've got to make a mad dash over the narrow ledge over there. Once we run, they'll realize we moved, and send boulders down over there, so we've got to be fast!"
The other four looked at Tippi like she had a screw loose. "What?"
"I said...oh, you heard me, right? It's certainly safer than waiting this one out."
"I must admit, she does have a point," agreed Mario. "Let's do it."
As fast as they could in the raging rockslide, our heroes scrambled over to the other mountain and reached the ledge. Their backs to the wall, they carefully sidestepped as fast as their fear would allow. Soon enough, the rocks began falling, but our heroes were close to where the ledge ended, so they were safe. But just as Peach was about to step off of the ledge and onto firm ground, a stone hit her and she fell, gripping onto the ledge with one hand!
"Peach!" exclaimed Bowser. "My about-to-die-if-I-don't-do-something-fast wife! I'll help you!" He ran over to Peach and gradually pulled her up, watchful of more rocks. When she was safe, the heroes quickly ran around the perimeter of the mountain, toward Mt. Maim, dodging boulders all the way. When they reached the valley in which they had originally walked, they saw that the boulders had stopped, even as they hiked further up Mt. Maim. "They must have run out," said Tippi.
"We may have, but we're still not letting you take it!" came a voice from above them. Our heroes looked up, and saw what appeared to be the leader of the Ruff Ruffians, along with several henchmen, on horses. They were camped on a ledge above them.
"You're the leader of the Ruff Ruffians, aren't you?" demanded Bowser. "I just took out all of your cronies back at your base! You should've SEEN the carnage!" He did a tough-looking pose.
"There goes our chance to recover the Pure Heart through diplomatic means," lamented Tippi.
"Why not?" asked Mario. "We need that Pure Heart to save all of the worlds!"
"You can't fool us! We were told you guys would come here to steal it and use its power to get rid of us!"
"Get rid of you? We've never even heard of you until we came here looking for it. Who was it that told you?"
"This strange guy. He had a black-and-white mask and purple and yellow clothing, and he gave it to us. Who knows who he is, but he sounded like he knew what he was talking about!"
"Dimentio!" shouted all five of the group simultaneously.
"Dimentio? Do you know that guy? He must be a rival of you guys or something. Anyway, we're not letting you take this!" He displayed the yellow Pure Heart.
"We're not using it for evil!" shouted Luigi. "We need it! Now, please hand it over!" He jumped up to the ledge, and the Ruff Ruffian's leader quickly pulled the Pure Heart out of Luigi's reach.
"Still want it? Fine, you'll just have to catch us! Let's flee, y'all!" They sped off on their horses, away from the heroes.
Mario began running after them as fast as he could, but the horses were too fast for him. He huffed back to the others. "What do we do now?"
The others thought for a few moments. "Well, since they're heading down the mountain," Tippi began, "they have to travel in a spiral path since the mountain is so rugged and because they're on horses. But since we're on foot, maybe we can wait at a certain section of the mountain and just jump down, and maybe we can catch them."
"Well, I don't know how you intend to 'catch' them," remarked Bowser, "but it sounds like a plan. Let's see what they do." Our heroes observed the Ruff Ruffians, who were indeed traveling in spirals down the mountain. When they neared the bottom, Luigi observed, "This seems like a good time. Let's slide down!"
The other four looked at Luigi like he had a screw loose. "What?"
"Well, how else do you think we're going to get down?"
"It's called Mt. Maim for a reason," noted Mario. "Still, I don't see what choice we have, so...let's go, I guess!"
They jumped down the nearest ledge and started sliding down. Before long, though, the slope abruptly ended, forming a cliff that had several sharp rocks below it!
"Whose bright idea was this?" asked Bowser.
Tippi and Luigi looked at each other.
"Jump over here!" yelled Mario, pointing to a small, flat ledge near them. They jumped with all of their force and managed to land on the ledge. Mario looked down. "There they are!" he pointed. The Ruff Ruffians were just below them. The leader noticed their presence.
"You guys just don't give up, do you?" he demanded. "Fine, then! Let's see you chase us now!" He and his men ducked into a small alcove in the rock, and it took the heroes a few moments to realize they had gone into a tunnel within Mt. Maim. Climbing down, they noticed a hole in the rock, hidden by crags and boulders, that they never would have noticed had the Ruff Ruffians not climbed into it.
"A cave?" asked Peach. "Hopefully it'll be safer in there."
"Yes," agreed Tippi, "with any luck, they'll run into a dead end in there, and we can do what we can to get the Pure Heart from them. Not a very smart move of them, I'd say." Our heroes walked into the cave, unaware of how very wrong Tippi was.
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
Yay, they made it past the rockslide! *does a hero dance* I loved the Bowser fat joke. XD
Oh, and if Dimentio needs any of his own minions, I know some Piders from Mars who'll be willing to work for cheap if that's hunky dory with him. Then again, that space oddity might prefer some scary monsters or diamond dogs to help him defeat the "heroes"... Okay, I'll stop now. ^^;
-
Descending into the depths of Mt. Maim, our heroes found it increasingly difficult to see. The path ahead of them had many bends and turns, and it was difficult to move at times. "This place is just as dangerous as the mountain above it," reflected Tippi. "Let's hurry and find them. This place makes me nervous..."
CHAPTER 2-4
Twisting and Turning
The heroes continued through the winding tunnel. They soon found themselves descending deeper below the surface, but it was not completely dark due to the small lamps hung on the walls.
"Someone's been here before," observed Mario. "Maybe this is their true hideout?"
"Gee, they have a fake everything," noted Luigi. "A fake leader, a fake hideout, a fake...a fake...uh..."
After a few more minutes, the narrow tunnel suddenly widened into a larger room that seemed to have no exits. "Now where are they?" asked Tippi.
Our heroes stood there, silent for a few moments, when they heard a faint fluttering sound, and...
"AIIIEEEEE!!!" shrieked Peach, nearly in hysterics. Dozens of bats had descended from the cave ceiling and were flying around the heroes. "Get these things away from me!!!"
"C'mon!" urged Mario. "Let's..." But Peach was too hysterical to answer.
"Stop trying to comfort my wife," ordered Bowser. "I'LL comfort her. You two look for a way out of this place."
"Fine."
Mario and Luigi walked around the room, wary of the bats, trying to find any possible exit. The room seemed to be deserted, and there was no hint of an exit besides the passageway from which they came. "You think we've hit a dead end?" asked Tippi, who had moved toward them.
"We can't have," protested Luigi. "The Ruffians came through here, so there must be some kind of exit. Hmm..." His gaze shifted to what seemed to be an upside-down U shaped crack in the rock on the right wall. "I wonder..." He examined this area closely. The longer he looked at it, the less it seemed like a crack, and the more it seemed like a rock covering a hole in the wall. He tried to pull the "rock" out, but didn't get very far. "Here's the exit!" he announced.
"OK, good," said Bowser. "Excuse me, Peach." With his mighty strength, he pulled the rock out of the hole, revealing a passageway. "They must have covered it up."
"Yes!" uttered Peach, running into the exposed passageway.
The others followed. There were only a few lamps here, making the area much darker. Our heroes walked for a while in this darkness. After a while, Bowser grew bored. "How long is this pass-WHOOAAAAA!!!" Our heroes suddenly felt themselves being pulled downwards. Apparently, the tunnel abruptly sloped down, and our heroes were sliding down, down, down!
"Let's hope there's not anything dangerous at the bottom!" wished Peach. "Or even worse, more bats! Ugh!"
Unfortunately, after they had slid for some more time, Mario, who was at the front, noticed what seemed to be the slope's end, and blocking it was several large stones. Worse, though, was the intensely sharp rock that was set into the rubble in such a position that it would tear right through the heroes when they reached the bottom.
"It's a sharp rock!" announced Mario. "Duck as low as you can!" The others obeyed, and when they reached the end of the tunnel, they fortunately weren't speared, but Mario was slammed into the rock by the others. Fortunately, his body hit the rock, and he didn't suffer a concussion. "Looks like a job for Bowser!" the Koopa king announced. He slammed into the rock, careful to avoid the sharp one, but nothing happened. "This rock pile must be thick if I can't even bust through it!"
"What can we do?" asked Tippi.
Mario thought for a while, and then got an idea. "Stay here, everyone. I'm going to try something." He flipped into 3D, and noticed small space between the wall and the rocks on the left side. He flipped sideways (so I guess you could say he was in 2D) and squeezed through the hole to the other side. There was an opening to another room, but in front of that was one of those handy blue switches. He jumped on it, and the rocks disappeared.
"Whenever you see a blue switch, it's good news," reflected Mario as the others joined him and walked into this new room. It had several passageways leading out of it, and no indication of which one was correct.
"Which way should we go?" asked Mario.
"Well, I guess we should just try every path until we find the correct one," suggested Tippi.
They walked down the path closest to them. It ended at a dead end, so they went to the next one. Almost immediately, the passageway became a slope. "We probably shouldn't go down there," advised Tippi. The others, remembering what had happened last time, agreed. The third hole also lead to a dead end. The final passageway ended with another room.
"Is this a dead end too?" asked Luigi, for there was no apparent way out of this room.
"There's got to be some way out," assured Bowser, looking at the walls.
After a while of looking around the room, there appeared to be no way out. "How do we get out of here?" wondered Peach.
Luigi had a sudden thought. "There's no way to go in this room, and the first and third passageways were duds. But we never went down the second passageway, the one with the slope."
"I'm not going down there!" stated Peach. "You know what happened last time."
"But there's no other way. If we don't go down there, we'll be trapped here forever."
The others mulled over what Luigi had said. "Hmm...well, I suppose we could try it," supported Mario.
"Yes," agreed Bowser. "I'll go first this time, 'cause I'm the toughest." So they walked back to the tunnel with the slope, Bowser leading the way, and began sliding. At the bottom of the tunnel, there were no rocks, which was a relief to our heroes. They walked out of the tunnel and into a very large room, well-lit by several lamps.
"I can't believe they made it here!" shouted the leader of the Ruff Ruffians. He and his fellow Ruffians were standing in the center of this room, holding the Pure Heart.
"They're heroes," explained Tippi. "They never fail. And we need that Pure Heart. We'll fight you if we have to."
The leader stepped toward them. "All right, 'heroes'! Who's the leader here?"
Everyone stared at Mario. "Um...I guess I am," he sputtered.
"All right, then. Come here, and face me! I'm just warning you, I'm called the Ruffer Ruffian around here. I'm the roughest of them all, and you wouldn't be very wise to pick a fight with me!"
MINIBOSS
The Ruffer Ruffian
"Taste this!" the Ruffer Ruffian challenged. He pulled out a lasso and aimed it at Mario, but Mario, being more agile, dodged the weapon. The Ruffer Ruffian tried once more, and this time he caught Mario off guard. Snagged in the lasso, Mario was whirled around in the air. "Not so much of a hero now, are you?"
"I've worked my way out of situations worse than this," explained Mario. With effort, he slipped out of the rope holding him, and "OOF!" fell five feet to the ground. He immediately got up and did a backflip, in case his enemy was preparing any attacks.
"So you've got some skill," admitted the Ruffer Ruffian. "But can you survive this?" He pulled a knife from his pocket and hurled it at Mario, who jumped and dodged the weapon.
"You aren't trying to kill me, are you!?"
"If I must do it to prevent you from getting the Pure Heart, so be it!" Apparently, he had several of those with him, as he quickly pulled out two more and aimed them at Mario. He dived to avoid the higher one and then jumped to avoid the lower one. Three more knives came from the Ruffer Ruffian's pocket, all targeted at Mario. He dodged the first two with expert precision, but the third one came straight at his face. Not knowing what else to do, Mario performed the Matrix so that the knife sailed over his head.
"Darn! That was my last knife!"
"Are you giving up now? You really should give us the Pure Heart."
"Never!" He pulled out his lasso once more, twirled it around especially fast, and whipped it in Mario's direction. It hit him squarely across the back.
"YOWCH!" yelped Mario. He stumbled.
"Are you giving up now?" demanded the Ruffer Ruffian.
"I may be in pain, but there's no way I'm giving up!" Mario dodged all of the remaining lasso swipes.
"Grr...you're tougher than I thought, I'll give you that. I guess it's time to pull out the last resort."
"The last resort?"
"The person you call Dimentio gave this to me as a last resort. I'd like you to meet him!" He pulled a remote out of his pocket and pressed a button. Suddenly, the ground began shaking. Before long, a huge, black, unmoving horse emerged from the ground!
"Do you like him? He's the Robo-Horse, the ultimate weapon for us! With this remote, I can control his every move, and make him destroy all of you! Giddyap, mechanical horsie!"
BOSS
Robo-Horse
"We've got to help Mario," suggested Tippi.
"Good idea," agreed Peach.
The Robo-Horse charged for Mario, who ran out of the way quite easily. It charged again, faster this time, and would have crushed Mario if Bowser hadn't pulled him away at the last second. "I'll take care of this mechanical menace!" Bowser announced. He unleashed his firey breath on it, which didn't harm its metal surface at all. It ran straight for him and sent him flying into the wall. "OOF! Man, that thing must be made of solid metal!"
"You just figured that out?" asked Peach.
The Robo-Horse than charged for Luigi. He recoiled in fear for a second, then got an idea. Just as it was about to hit him, he jumped up and landed right on top of it. "Hey guys, you should see the view from h-WAAGH!" The horse bucked him, and he landed facefirst on the floor. It was about to charge again, but Bowser ran up to it and clawed its leg.
"Pick on someone your own size!" His attack crippled its mechanical leg.
"You haven't seen anything yet!" announced the Ruffer Ruffian. He pressed another button, and the horse looked straight at Bowser and fired two eye lasers!
"Whoa, so it does do more than just run around," observed Bowser. He ducked into his shell, and the lasers did no harm.
The horse then aimed its eye lasers at Mario. He did some pretty cool action moves and dodged every one.
"Let's crank it up a notch," stated the Ruffer Ruffian. He pressed yet another button, and one of the horse's metal horseshoes detached and flew through the air like a boomerang. It sailed past Bowser and hit Peach before reattaching itself.
"Peach! Are you OK?" asked Bowser, running toward her. Before he could reach her, the horse summoned two of its horseshoe boomerangs and aimed them straight at Bowser. "Hey! You aren't stopping me from seeing how my lovely wife is doing!" He attacked both of the horseshoes with a mighty punch, sending them flying back at the Robo-Horse. They collided with its midsection, causing a large explosion. "That'll teach you not to mess with the Koopa King!"
"Bowser, are you talking to a robot?" asked Peach.
"What? Uh...maybe. Why?"
"It looks like it's weakened!" noticed Mario. "Let's get it!" It charged for the Mario Bros., and they repeated the maneuver that Luigi had used to climb onto it. They rushed to the part where the explosion had occured and started tearing apart the wires and all the other mechanical stuff. The horse soon bucked them off, but they had done serious damage.
"I can't climb up there," said Bowser. "Peach, we'll do a duo attack. I'll send you up there, and you deliver the final blow!"
"Me? How are you sending me up there?"
"Like this!" Bowser grabbed Peach's arm and sent her flying toward the Robo-Horse. She'll probably yell at me for this, but I hope I can convince her that I did it out of love! Then maybe she'll want to stay with me!
"Ugh! I can't believe he'd throw me like that! And he probably thinks he did it out of love, too!" Nevertheless, Peach reached her target and slammed her fist into the damaged area with full force. She dropped down from the horse, which sparked like a 4th of July fireworks show gone haywire. It blew apart with a deafening explosion.
"NOOO!" shouted the Ruffer Ruffian. "You've defeated my last resort!"
"That's because they're heroes," explained Tippi.
"How could they have? They must have superhuman strength if they could defeat that thing!"
"Well, they're heroes."
The Ruffer Ruffian eyed our heroes curiously. "Are you really heroes?"
"Yes. They are. And they need the Pure Heart to save all worlds."
He looked at the yellow Pure Heart, and then back at the heroes. "Well...if you could defeat that thing, then maybe you really are heroes."
"They are."
He paused for a moment, and then picked the Pure Heart up and walked toward them. "Well, I've decided. You guys certainly were heroes. And I'm not sure if I should've trusted Dimentio anyway. Here, take the Pure Heart."
"Really? You're giving it to us?"
"Yes. Isn't that what you want? It is rightfully yours. Take it, and do what you wish with it."
"Thank you. All right, Mario, take the Pure Heart!" He did just that.
PURE HEART GET!
-END OF CHAPTER-
Dimentio had tricked the Ruff Ruffians into believing that Mario and his friends wanted the Pure Heart for evil...but in the end, they proved they were heroes and recieved the Pure Heart. With three Pure Hearts now in our heroes' possesion, five still remain. There is no time to celebrate. Our heroes must find the other five-and quickly, for who knows what sinister plot Dimentio has planned next?
-
"I assume you have done well?"
"Yes, Master Dimentio. Count Bleck believes he is much stronger than before. May he aid you now?"
"Not yet. Continue your training, and I will decide when you are strong enough."
"Yes, Master Dimentio. Did you manage to find any minion candidates?"
"I am afraid not. But I am still searching. Rest assured, I will have a a new minion before the heroes find the next Pure Heart. If they manage to find it, that is, for I have already gone to its dimension and made sure it's safe from them."
"Good plan, Master Dimentio."
"Good, but tiresome. Once I find minions, I'll let them do the dirty work. All right, you continue your training. I will attend to some...business."
"Yes, Master Dimentio." Count Bleck flipped out and Dimentio disappeared.
"I'm in worse shape then I ever coulda imagined. I've wandered for days..."
"'Ey, what's this? No one's home...maybe I oughta see if they 'ave any food or anythin'..."
"Yes, stealin' is wrong, but I'm starvin'!"
"'Ey? What's this? This looks like it'll make me nice and full."
"Whaaa? What's 'appenin'!?"
"YOU!"
"'Ey? Me?"
"Yes, YOU! I was just about to use that magical device to create a Pixl, and now you've eaten it!"
"What's gonna 'appen to me now!?"
"Well, you're nice and burly, I'll give you that. But that device took years to make, and you've eaten it! Oh, you..."
"No! Don't end me game! Please! I beg ya!"
"Spare him!"
"What?"
"You heard Count Bleck. Spare him!"
"But...but..."
"Spare him, and Count Bleck will spare you!"
"Yikes...now that's an intimidating weapon."
"O'Chunks, I am Count Bleck. How would you like to get a second chance?"
"A second chance? Yeh can give that to me?"
"Yes. Swear complete loyalty to me, and I will make your dreams come true."
"..."
"All right. I'm doin' it!"
"You seem rather contemplative again, O'Chunks," came Nastasia's voice.
"Yep...I was thinkin' about the day Count Bleck enlisted me. This fella was goin' to use a device to create a Pixl, but I was hungry, an' I ate it...it made me all tough. The man tried to end me game, but the Count came in an' saved me game. That's why I joined 'im."
"Ah ha ha! Who's talking about his secret backstory in public now?"
Count Bleck's three minions whirled around in the direction of the voice. "Not you again," uttered Nastasia.
"Indeed, it is I, Dimentio, the ender of your games!"
"We beat you once, we can beat you again!" said Mimi.
"Oh? Fine then. See if you can stand up to me!"
"We'll take yeh on all at once!" blurted O'Chunks.
"We will?" asked Nastasia.
"Of course! If we work togetha, we can take 'im down! Right?"
The other two were silent for a while, but then Mimi agreed, "Right!"
"Very well. Come and fight me, and we'll see who's the stronger!"
BOSS
Dimentio
While Mimi assumed her spider transformation, Dimentio vanished and reappeared with a clone. They flew to opposite sides of Flipside Tower and fired their energy blasts at the minions, which were dodged. O'Chunks ran up to Dimentio and did a ground pound right on his face. He fell right through Dimentio's body and crash-landed on the floor.
"Your foolishness, it is as ample as the population of animals at a small water hole during dry season in the savannah!" cried the other Dimentio. Too absorbed in his excessive description to notice what was happening behind him, he didn't notice Mimi's Rubee coming for him until it was too late. Only slightly injured, he flew high above them, prepared his attack, and fired two energy balls at once. He repeated the attack several times, and both Mimi and O'Chunks were hit. "Not so high and mighty, are you?" the jester taunted. He snapped his fingers, and a glowing square formed around Mimi. Before it could unleash an explosion, Nastasia dive-tackled one of Mimi's legs, causing her to tumble out of the explosion range. She then jumped on top of the box and gave Dimentio a good smack.
"Your feminine ways of fighting aren't going to work against...magic!" He snapped his fingers again, and a bolt of energy leaped out of his hand and struck Nastasia.
"Are yeh OK?" asked O'Chunks, rushing to Nastasia's aid.
While O'Chunks was distracted by Nastasia, Mimi crept near Dimentio, withdrew her legs, and surrounded her head with Rubees. She spun her head through the air to hit Dimentio with the sharp stones.
"You're sneaky, I'll give you that. But I've got more tricks up my sleeve." He hovered slightly away from Mimi and fired an energy ball, pink instead of the usual white. When he fired, Mimi moved away, but the blast bounced off the floor to hit the underside of her head.
O'Chunks, after seeing that Nastasia was fine for the most part, walked up to Dimentio. He performed a strong uppercut that did plenty of damage to the jester.
"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet!" He created several large glowing boxes that surrounded O'Chunks, but did not enclose him. Knowing that he was blocking all escape routes for O'Chunks, Nastasia once again climbed the boxes and kicked Dimentio in the stomach. Startled, he deactivated the attack.
"Can't you fight better than that?" taunted Dimentio, though the others could tell he had lost a considerable amount of health. He descended to the ground and began firing energy balls in all directions. However, Mimi had attached herself to the ceiling, and she summoned a wave of Rubees that hit Dimentio squarely.
"All right. I assume you want me to pull out the big guns?" Dimentio disappeared, and reappeared with a duplicate again. The two jesters again flew to opposite sides of the tower, and fired two pink energy balls at once, so the minions now had to evade four. Mimi managed to avoid them, but Nastasia and O'Chunks tried to jump over one and were hit when the blast ricocheted off the ground. The Dimentios prepared for another assault, but Mimi, still on the ceiling, walked to the left Dimentio and fired a Rubee that sailed right through him. Quickly, O'Chunks jumped for the other one and gave him a hearty pound just as he was about to deliver his attack. He staggered, weakened.
"What? I've lost again to minions?"
"Your attacks just aren't enough for us," explained Mimi, returning to her normal form.
"I'll be back. And when I do, I'll be so powerful I'll obliterate you all in a second! Farewell, minions...but not for long!" He again vanished.
Mario and friends came out of the orange door and used the elevator to descend to the second floor of Flipside. They again saw O'Chunks, Mimi, Nastasia, and Merlon.
"Did Dimentio come here again?" asked Tippi.
"He certainly did," explained Nastasia. "But we managed to defeat him again."
"I assume you found the next Pure Heart?" Merlon asked the heroes.
"Yes," said Tippi.
The others noticed how O'Chunks looked withdrawn. "Is something on your mind, O'Chunks?" asked Merlon. "Please tell us what's wrong."
"Well...eh...yeh see..." O'Chunks related the story of how Count Bleck enlisted him. "I was thinkin' about it today, and I thought about how he betrayed me just now."
"I see. Well, never let the burdens of your past trouble you, I say. Look forward to the future."
"I will."
"Now, heroes, go and find the next Heart Pillar, and then continue your quest."
Mario and the others retraced the path they had taken last time, except instead of flipping a second time, they walked left into a pipe. To the far right of the room they entered, Mario flipped into 3D and flipped sideways again, finding the Heart Pillar. Placing the yellow Pure Heart inside it, the yellow door was created atop Flipside Tower. The heroes walked back to the elevator, rode up, and entered the yellow door to search for the fourth Pure Heart.
-
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-
-
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-
-
Just for reference, I also have this story on my website (http://www.hiddenscepter.com).
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?
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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-
-
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?
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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!"
-
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?
-
"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.
-
The sammich part was weird, but the rest was sweetness~! *applause*
-
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.
-
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?
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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-
-
Oh. My. God. Stuffed animals coming alive and attacking people... MY WORST NIGHTMARE HAS COME TRUE!!! DX
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Hey, Reading, I was just wondering... how do you make those chapter images? Do you use MS Paint?
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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."
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"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-
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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.
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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-
-
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.
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"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."
-
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?
-
Count Bleck flipped in. "I assume the heroes are either enslaved or killed by King Animaul and that the Pure Heart is safe?"
Dimentio seemed annoyed. "Well, we really thought this plan would work...but it didn't. I am afraid they've again managed to get the Pure Heart."
"What!? That is preposterous! shouted Count Bleck. That plan was foolproof!"
"Yes, it was foolproof...but it wasn't Kara-proof, I'm afraid."
"This is nuts!" shouted H-X Alpha. "And bolts! And nuts! And bolts!"
"I know you're all upset that the heroes have already managed to find five of the eight Pure Hearts, but something recently happened that will guarantee the heroes' destruction. They'll never be able to find the rest of the Pure Hearts, not with him working for us."
"Him? You have found another minion?"
"Indeed, I have. I have already discussed our plan with him, but I'll share it with you all, just to ease your mind about whether the heroes will succeed. Come in!"
Bowser flipped in on the middle platform between Bleck and the two robots. "I'm big, I'm, strong, and I'm ready to roll!"
B-A Omega looked at Bowser suspiciously. "Master Dimentio, isn't that Bowser? Isn't he a hero?"
"No. He is not Bowser. He only looks like Bowser, because he's talking about how big and strong he is."
Count Bleck knew who "Bowser" actually was. "Oh, it's him. I see what you meant, Master Dimentio. Knowing him, he'll prove to be an excellent minion."
"Indeed. After he lost his two close friends, he was lost for many years. I managed to find him, and he was more than willing to serve me. Although you know who he is, I think it would be best if the two robots do not know his identity for now. They don't need to know everything right now. Though, they should know that he isn't Bowser."
The new minion was surrounded in a purple cloud, and when it dissipated, O'Chunks was standing there. "Of course I'm not Bowser! But I'm still big and strong!" The cloud formed again, and another Dimentio appeared. "And I'm also cold and calculating!"
"Thank you," agreed Dimentio. "Now, you remember every part of the plan, right? Those mountains are uninhabited as far as I can tell, so we won't have anyone to trick this time. You'll have to do this all by yourself. Do you think you can do it?"
The minion transformed into Mario. "I'm ready like nothing else! This time, I'll be the hero!"
"Very well. You may go to the assigned place now and wait for the heroes."
"Got it!" He flipped out.
There was some silence before B-A Omega spoke. "Master Dimentio, you haven't sent us on a mission yet. May we accompany this new minion? We can certainly destroy the heroes."
Dimentio thought for a while. "Well...you certainly have demonstrated your abilities, but seeing that those heroes can topple a plan as foolproof as the one we had, I'm not sure if you're quite up to it."
"Please, Master Dimentio?" begged H-X Alpha. "Pretty please? Pretty please with sugar on top? Pretty please...OR ELSE YOU'LL FEEL THE WRATH OF, UH, CORN? AND BEANS? AND POT-PIES?"
"Hm...well, you two do seem to be powerful enough, so I will allow you to accompany him to stop the heroes. Do not fail me."
"OH YEAH! You are DARN lucky I didn't have to unleash my califl-"
"Let's go, already!" B-A Omega flipped out, taking H-X Alpha with him.
"Well, they're certainly anxious," noted the count. "That's a good thing."
"It is," agreed his master. "With both of them up against the heroes, there's no way we can fail. If they somehow collect the sixth Pure Heart, we'll have to re-evaluate our strategy."
"What will we do? wondered Count Bleck with great anticipation."
"I'm not exactly sure right now, but I think I know what can stop them. Internal conflict."
"You'll turn them against each other? Marvelous plan, Master Dimentio."
"I do believe it will be a good one. Bowser is already clashing with the others, and while I don't think he's at the point of willingly leaving them yet, another push could send him over the edge. You have noticed that O'Chunks has joined the heroes, correct?"
"I have, Master Dimentio."
"If I'm correct, then Mimi, and perhaps Nastasia, will want to join the heroes soon as well. Although we are trying to get rid of them...if I don't succeed to kill them this time, they must be kept alive for this phase of my backup plan. I'm not particularly interested in Nastasia...but if Mimi joins them, I will let the heroes know something that will cause them to fight, and they, particularly the minions, will be easy targets without the support of the rest."
"You really do want to find Timpani, don't you?"
"Yes. I will search to the end of all dimensions if I need to. I must find her."
"We haven't had much luck so far. No one knows where she is, and no one wants to help us."
"Hmm...perhaps there is something we can do. No...that wouldn't be right."
"What is it?"
"It wouldn't be right. Just ignore what I said."
"I want to know, Blumiere. You said you'd search to the end of all dimensions. You wouldn't pass up something that could help you find her."
"Well, if you must know..."
"Well, we're here. Are you sure that I have to be the one that goes in?"
"Yes. If I go along with you, the power will spread to me as well, and I don't want anything like that. I'm still not sure about this..."
"Trust me, it'll help us find your love. You said so."
"Very well. I guess you can go in."
"Wow. It's pretty dark down here..."
"Is this the stone he was talking about? It's very smooth...and polished."
"Is this how I'm supposed to do this? I guess so..."
"OK...stone, thing, give me your power!"
"HEY! What are you doing in here!?"
"Aaah! Uh...just looking at some...stuff. You've got some pretty interesting stuff. Yeah...stuff."
"Is it true? You've taken the power of that stone!? Oh, you..."
"Oh, great. I've gotta get out of here!"
"Are you thinking again, Nastasia?"
"What? Oh, uh...yes, I guess, sort of. I was thinking about when I recieved the power to hypnotize. Count Bleck...I mean, Blumiere, suggested that I should find a strange stone hidden in the dungeon of a castle that would give me power. He regretted his suggestion, but I told him it would help us find Timpani. Once I found the stone, and after its power drained into me, a strange guy found me. I guess that was his castle, and he was steaming mad that I took the stone's power. I don't know who he was...and I still don't know how Blumiere knew about it. He never told me."
"So that's how it happened? How does Dimentio know about that?"
"I have no idea. He certainly wasn't there, not as far as I could tell. He seems to know more about us than we'd like him to know." She sighed. "I'm still troubled by that decision. I'm sure I did something wrong."
"Indeed, you did," answered the jester. He held his right index finger up. "That leaves only one minion who hasn't blurted out her troubled past. Care to share your feelings with us all, Mimi?"
"I'm not afraid of you, Mr. My-plans-are-totally-failing! They've probably already found the fifth Pure Heart, and you've done NOTHING!"
"Oh, really? But I'm about to do something. That is, show you what I didn't get the chance to last time!" He waved his hands in the air, and the Flipside scenery fell away in series of rectangles, replaced by a weird, small green room. "I'm sure you both recognize the scenery. Welcome back to Dimension D!"
"Dimension D?" asked Nastasia. "I've never been here."
"Yes, you have. Don't you remember, pathetic minion? Oh, that's right. You were dead. Or, almost dead. But now is when what should've happened then will happen!"
"This guy is confusing me," stated Mimi. "I'll take this demented jester."
"Are you sure?" he taunted. "I've modified Dimension D heavily from when I last used it. It will now magnify my power exponentially, while keeping your pathetic power at normal. Let's see you face the power of exponential mathematics! Or understand them, for that matter."
BOSS
Dimentio
Mimi cracked her neck and went through the entire transformation, emerging as a giant spider. Dimentio hovered to the right side of Dimension D, firing a very fast white energy blast. The blast hit Mimi, but she barely felt anything.
"Is this what you call 'exponential powers'?" she asked in a creepy voice.
"You haven't seen the worst of it." He unleashed another ball of energy. Mimi was hit again, and the blast felt slightly stronger, but it still did barely any damage.
"Wow. You really are a demented jester."
"Demented I may be, but demented enough to come up with something like this!" Another blast hit Mimi, and she felt the pain considerably stronger. "Haven't you figured it out? My second attack did twice as much damage as my first attack, and my third attack did twice as much as the second. Pretty soon, you'll be on the floor, begging for mercy. Let's turn things up!" He disappeared, and two Dimentios reappeared. When the now pink energy balls came, Mimi ducked and produced a Rubee that, fortunately, hit the correct Dimentio. He vanished, only to reappear with two clones. While one of them fired a pink energy ball, the other two created glowing boxes that formed on either side of Mimi. Realizing that he was trying to squish her between the two blocks, Mimi withdrew her legs and surrounded her head with Rubees. Spinning her head around, she broke free of the boxes and hit all three Dimentios, nailing the true one the final time. However, she had forgotten the pink energy ball fired by a Dimentio clone. It slammed into her, doing considerable damage.
"You think you've got me? Think again! I've got plenty of these." Mimi used a Super Shroom Shake, and she was back to full health. When the jester reappeared, he snapped his fingers, and a large field of blue electricity enveloped Mimi. The jester's exponential powers were still going, and when Mimi managed to shake the attack off, she was just as weakened as she was before she had used the shake. Dimentio didn't give her a chance to use another shake, appearing with clones and firing pink energy balls all around. She managed to get one more hit on Dimentio before she was knocked out by one of the pink blasts. She collapsed, returning to her normal form.
Nastasia walked into the area. "So you think you've got what it takes?" asked Dimentio. "You did defeat me last time, but with the power I've gained from fighting Mimi, I'll finish you quickly and easily." He fired a wave of pink energy blasts at Nastasia, who swiftly dodged them. However, the blasts ricocheted off the wall and ceiling, coming back to hit her. The damage was intense. Nastasia pulled out a super shake of her own, but not all of her health had been restored. She used another one to be safe.
"Even if you're at full health, you can't withstand anything more! My next attack will be capable of knocking you out in one hit." The jester tried to enclose her in a box from afar, too far to use it as a platform to reach him. Frantically, Nastasia tried hypnotizing Dimentio again, but the red bolts disappeared after a few moments. "You think your pathetic power of hypnosis can match against mine?" The jester attempted to hypnotize Nastasia, partially succeeding.
Although in no shape to fight, Mimi was still conscious. "Nastasia! Take this!" She tossed a Block Block in her direction. Instantly, a glowing, reflective cube surrounded Nastasia, and Dimentio's bolts vanished. Now invulnerable, Nastasia gave it everything she had. She managed to hit Dimentio once, but the jester simply produced a clone and disappeared. The Dimentio clone continued firing pink energy balls, waiting for Nastasia's invincibility to wear off. When it did, the real Dimentio reappeared, attacking her with glowing boxes.
"I can't take this for much longer!" moaned Nastasia.
"I'll see if I can help," suggested Mimi. She stumbled to the nearby shop. While she was gone, Nastasia damaged Dimentio once, but she knew she couldn't keep avoiding the bouncing pink blasts for long. When Mimi returned, she looked nervous. "They didn't have any more Block Blocks, but they had this! It'll increase your power!" She tossed the power-up to Nastasia, and her power was indeed increased. Dimentio responded by firing several more blasts, including a lightning strike. Nastasia was out, but Mimi had planned ahead. She tossed a Life Shroom in Nastasia's direction, reviving her but with very little health. "Come on! You can do it!"
Nastasia tried to do it. Dodging more blasts and boxes, she hit Dimentio one more time, and the jester seemed weakened again. He managed to hit Nastasia again, but Mimi had prepared for this, too. She used a super shake on herself, putting her in fighting condition again. Realizing that if she used her spider transformation, Dimentio would easily hit her, she flipped out, reappeared above Dimentio, and dropped several Rubees onto his head.
The jester was certainly defeated. "Gaah!" he wailed. "Why can't I defeat you? Why can't I defeat these pathetic minions?"
"We won, and that's that," asserted Mimi.
"Only because you cheated! You two used cheap items to help you. I fought honestly."
"It was either do that or be killed. And we'd rather choose not dying."
"Hm...you both do have strength, I'll admit." He returned to his normal expression. "Ah ha ha ha! It doesn't matter, anyway. The next part of my plan requires me to keep you alive. So watch out!" He disappeared.
Tippi and the five heroes exited the green door. When they descended to the second floor, Merlon was indeed there, along with Mimi and Nastasia. "I trust that you've managed to find the Pure Heart?" Merlon asked.
Here it comes, thought Tippi. "Yes," she answered, proceeding to explain their ridiculous story.
"It seems you've had quite an adventure there," noted Merlon. "Well, that world has been saved, and you've got the Pure Heart, so I guess everything's OK for now."
Wow. He believed us.
"Dimentio attacked again," explained Nastasia. "It was close. He almost managed to kill us. Something he said worried me, though. He said a part of his plan involves him keeping us alive. What could he be planning?"
Merlon thought. "I don't know. I just don't know. That Dimentio is a complete enigma. Who knows what he's planning." He paused. "I have read a very strange passage in the Light Prognosticus. It says this: 'Of three lost friends, only one will survive the chaos that will ensue upon the Chaos Heart's reemergence.' I have no clue what it means. Do any of you have ideas?"
Mario thought. "So it says 'the Chaos Heart's reemergence'? Does that mean the Chaos Heart will reappear? Dimentio will pull off his plan, whatever it is, to reactivate it? It doesn't sound very good."
"I don't think it's a very happy prophecy either, but since the book also implies that you'll find all of the Pure Hearts again, I'm not sure what to think. Well, you all are heroes, anyway, so I think you'll be able to stop him."
Mimi walked toward the heroes. "So the prophecy said there's going to be nine heroes? And O'Chunks is the fifth? In that case, I'd be obliged to join you as well."
"That would be excellent," observed Merlon. "Is Nastasia willing to join, too?"
"Well...um, I think I should tell you guys something." She related the story of her past. "And I'm still troubled by what I did."
"I see. Do you need time to reflect? Perhaps you should stay here in Flipside a while longer?"
"I think so. I don't think I'd be very helpful anyway. And Dimentio said he'd keep us alive, so I think I'd be safe if I stayed. I'll try to improve my power so I'll be a better help if I join the heroes sometime."
"Very well then. Well, heroes, you know what to do. I'll keep reading the Prognosticus. I'll tell you if I find anything else." He walked back into his house.
Mimi turned toward the heroes. "So I'm with you now, huh? This is gonna be fun!"
-Mimi has joined the party!-
"So now we've got to go to Flopside to find the next Heart Pillar," explained Tippi. Our heroes, now including Mimi, descended the elevator to the first floor, walked to the right, flipped into 3D, and walked the pathway to the Mirror Hall. Once there, another flip into 3D brought them to an inverted version of the place they had been in, and it was much darker at that. The door in this area took them to Flopside, the flip-flopped town on the other side of Flipside. Our heroes took the elevator up to the second floor, and a voice startled them. "Oh ho! So you've found five Pure Hearts, have you?"
They turned around, and Nolrem, the Flopside equivalent of Merlon, was standing there. "Merlon told me about your new quest to recover the Pure Hearts. I knew you'd reach this place eventually, but you did it must faster than I expected."
"Well, they're heroes," stated Tippi. "Did Merlon tell you about what he read in the Light Prognosticus?"
"He did," Nolrem answered. "I haven't been able to figure out anything from that book's words either, but two heads are better than one, and you never know, we might discover something useful sometime."
"I see."
"Now, place the Pure Heart in the pillar above here, and continue your quest. Talking will only delay us."
Our heroes took the elevator up to the third floor. The Heart Pillar was in the same place as the first pillar in Flipside. Our heroes set the Pure Heart in the proper place, and the patterns again formed. The pale blue door was drawn on Flipside Tower, which our heroes returned to as quickly as they could. They passed the red, orange, yellow, and green doors before arriving at the pale blue one. It had once lead to the Land of the Cragnons, but there was no telling where it lead now.
-
So now I'm exactly halfway through Super Paper Mario 2: The Tribe of Darkness. Starting now, I'm going to be taking a break from the game...I mean, story (it's so tempting to say game) for a while, while I fully plan out the rest of the story and work on some of my other projects.
What do you all think of the story so far? What do you like/dislike about it? I'd like some feedback so I can improve my writing for the second half.
In the meantime, here's some artwork I've done for the g...story. I know they look dark with the charcoal texture and all, but this is SPM2: The Tribe of Darkness after all. Speaking of which, there is a reason it has that subtitle. ^_^
Mario (http://www.hiddenscepter.com/spm2_mario.gif)
Luigi (http://www.hiddenscepter.com/spm2_luigi.gif)
Peach (http://www.hiddenscepter.com/spm2_peach.gif)
Bowser (http://www.hiddenscepter.com/spm2_bowser.gif)
Dimentio (http://www.hiddenscepter.com/spm2_dimentio.gif)
Count Bleck (http://www.hiddenscepter.com/spm2_bleck.gif)
Timpani (http://www.hiddenscepter.com/spm2_timpani.gif)
O'Chunks (http://www.hiddenscepter.com/spm2_o'chunks.gif)
Mimi (http://www.hiddenscepter.com/spm2_mimi.gif)
Nastasia (http://www.hiddenscepter.com/spm2_nastasia.gif)
The Ruffer Ruffian (http://www.hiddenscepter.com/spm2_ruffer_ruffian.gif)
Tedac (http://www.hiddenscepter.com/spm2_tedac.gif)
Radnamok X (http://www.hiddenscepter.com/spm2_radnamok_x.gif)
Kara (http://www.hiddenscepter.com/spm2_kara.gif)
H-X Alpha (http://www.hiddenscepter.com/spm2_h-x_alpha.gif)
B-A Omega (http://www.hiddenscepter.com/spm2_b-a_omega.gif)
-
Hee hee, I love your O'Chunks picture. He looks like he's gonna get chunky on someone!
-
Yep, SPM2 is back. I'm back from my break, and I've got Chapter 5-1. I've done some more planning for the story, but I probably still need to work on my plans for some of the later chapters. I've got a pretty solid idea of where the story is going to go, though (as I've had for a while). Also, you may find yourself thinking "What the heck?" at the end of 5-1, but don't worry, it'll all be explained. :P
With only Nastasia remaining to join our heroes, the group now totaled six. Nastasia was certainly going to be the seventh, but who were the remaining two out of nine? And when would they join? Sometimes I wish the Light Prognosticus was more precise, thought Mario. Sometimes it seems like we're just reading riddle after riddle. Who are these three lost friends? How are we going to defeat Dimentio? He thought for a bit. Well, I guess I shouldn't worry too much about those things. We should just focus on finding the Pure Heart for now. Those other things will come when they will. And so Mario stepped bravely into the new, mountainous landscape.
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fchapter.gif&hash=965ae8c12bd8bf6dfcdaa6be0bde5389)(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2F5.gif&hash=1a4176a78be6a0fd79e6a3fe056537a8)(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2F-.gif&hash=a90e5794ab7c91cab778ff5de0ddf2da)(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2F1.gif&hash=ca506285a29d192104925c2d6c5ceb79)
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2F5-1.gif&hash=1ff55c2e437941b44fc2a9d5607d740c)
A line was drawn.
Joining this line were some others, forming rocky ground detail. Long lines appeared in the background, forming mountains near and far. The ground was splashed with gray, as were the mountains in the background. Some of the taller mountains contained a powdery white snowcap. The sky became a clear blue. Various mosses, grasses, occaisonal trees, and other plants appeared along the landscape. After the white borders disappeared, the pale blue door was drawn into existence, and our six heroes stepped into the mountain air.
"Looks like we're high up," noted Luigi, peering down into the thousand-foot drop in front of them.
"Yeah, whatever," groaned Bowser.
"Wow! The air is so clear!" observed Mimi. "I can see for miles!"
Tippi sensed for the Pure Heart. "The Pure Heart is in the direction of that tall mountain over there. It's pretty far away."
"Well, no time like the present to get started," announced Mario. "Let's get going."
Our heroes walked along the rocky cliff, being careful not to slip and fall to the ground thousands of feet below. They were utterly glad there wasn't any wind.
After the usual ? Blocks, platforming, and 3D Flipping, our heroes entered a pipe, and found a tall vertical tunnel, framed on the sides by mountain walls.
"How do we get up here?" asked Peach.
Mario flipped into 3D, but didn't find anything that would be of help.
"Nothin'?" asked O'Chunks.
"Nothing. How do we-"
"Hey, guys, did you notice I'm here?" teased Mimi.
"What?"
Mimi cracked her neck, spun her head around, and grew legs from her head that pulled herself into the air. "I'm going to see if there's anything up there. Can someone come with me, just in case?"
"I'll go," offered Mario. He gripped one of her long spider legs. Mario and Mimi climbed the vertical chamber. After a while, they came across an inconveniently placed floating spike. "Who put this here?" wondered Mario.
Mimi was able to duck and continue climbing, but another spike was right above her. "I think Dimentio's trying to stop us yet again." She dodged a third spike.
When they approached the ceiling of the chamber, several spikes suddenly dropped. Mimi didn't know what to do, but Mario was used to situations like this by now. "FLIP!!!" he shouted. They both flipped into 3D, and the spikes passed harmlessly by them. Wait a second... Mario observed a conveniently placed switch near him. "HEY! Everyone down there! Get in the pipe, fast!" He hit the switch, and a pipe appeared at the floor where the other heroes were waiting. The others entered it, with Mario and Mimi in her regular form soon following.
"How'd you know that pipe would appear?" asked Mimi, once they were on the other side of the pipe.
"Routine."
After they had hiked through the mountains for some more time, our heroes came upon a steep uprise. "How do we git 'cross this?" asked O'Chunks.
Luigi observed some spots in the cliff that could be used as places to rest his foot. "Let's try climbing like this," he suggested. He placed his foot on one of the flatter areas and slowly worked his way up.
"I'll catch you if you fall," offered Mario, standing below the small cliff. Luigi didn't fall, although he did slip a bit one time. He made it to the top.
"I'll go next." Mario began climbing as well. When he reached the top, he was followed by Peach and O'Chunks.
Only Bowser and Mimi remained. "Please, let me go up first," begged Mimi, but Bowser ignored her and started climbing up anyway.
"Hey, Bowser, let her go first." Mario knew exactly what Mimi was thinking.
"Quiet, you! Who do you think-" but before he could finish his sentence, he slipped and fell under his own weight, taking part of the cliff with him.
Mario sighed. "That's what I was afraid of."
Mimi looked at the now-half-destroyed cliff. "I can't climb up this...I could injure myself!"
The heroes standing on the higher ground tried to figure out how they would get Bowser and Mimi up the cliff, but a low rumbling sound interrupted their thought process. "What's that?" asked Tippi. Everyone besides Mimi and Bowser turned around so they were facing away from the cliff and toward the direction they wanted to go.
"ROCKSLIDE!!!" shouted Peach.
"Oh, for the love of..." uttered Luigi. "I think I had enough rockslides for one lifetime back in that desert."
"What do we do?" asked Peach. "We can't just go to the side. There's a giant cliff on one side and a huge drop on the other."
Mario's mind raced. They were on the cliff, and Bowser and Mimi were several feet below them with no apparent chance of making it up there. And in 30 seconds, they would all be crushed by the-
"I have an idea," stated Peach. A few seconds passed. "Why are you all staring at me?" She walked to the edge of the cliff. "Bowser, can you break more of that rock?"
"I can, my lovely wife, but then how am I going to get up?"
"And me!" corrected Mimi.
"I don't know, but if you don't, we may not live at all. The rock there is pretty lose, so just dig a cave into it."
Bowser, with his...somewhat inferior intellect, couldn't tell what Peach had in mind, but he knew better than to disobey his lovely wife. He dug into the loose rock, forming a small cave.
"Jump, everyone!" The boulders were seconds away from smashing everyone, so our heroes didn't question Peach. They jumped off the small cliff and dove into the cave Bowser had hollowed out. It was a bit cramped with everyone in there, but the boulders passed harmlessly over them. When the rumbling stopped, our heroes came out of the cave and looked at the cliff they had to climb.
"NOW how do we get up there?" asked Luigi. The rocks had practically destroyed what was left of the cliff. If they tried climbing up, they would be blocked by jutting pieces of rock of holes they couldn't place their feet on.
"Can't Mimi climb the side of this cliff and carry us to the high ground on at a time, like she did with Mario?" asked Tippi. Come to think of it, why didn't she just offer to do that in the first place?
Mimi frowned. "This wall is less smooth than the one I carried Mario up. I might injure myself if I'm attached to it."
"It won't be hard," offered Mario. "It's still pretty smooth."
"I'm still not sure. I don't want to get hurt."
"'Ee's right, Mimi." O'Chunks pointed at the cliff. "It won't mattah if yeh get a little scrape anyway."
Mimi finally gave in. "All right, I'll try."
She carried them up the cliff as a giant spider one at a time, but the others could notice she was making a careful effort to step in only the smoothest regions, and when she slipped a bit once, she almost screamed.
Is she just afraid of getting hurt? wondered Mario after all of the heroes were safely on the upper ledge. Or is there something else going on here?
"What was that rockslide all about?" asked Bowser.
"Probably Dimentio again," offered Luigi. "But I didn't see anyone up there where the rocks were falling. Actually, I don't have an idea where the rocks came from in the first place."
"Well, it's no wonder there wasn't anyone there," pointed out Mario. "I don't think there's anyone inhabiting these mountains, so Dimentio couldn't use his usual turn-the-dimension's-inhabitants-against-us plan."
"But then who's behind the falling rocks?" asked Mimi. "I'm pretty sure the only time Dimentio leaves...wherever he usually stays...is when he tries to kill us every time you guys get a Pure Heart."
"Well, it could be him," offered Peach. "But suppose it's not? Suppose it's someone else?"
"Someone else?" asked O'Chunks. "That'd hafta mean..."
"He has someone else working for him?" realized Mario and Luigi out loud, simultaneously. "It's possible," Mario continued. "He wouldn't do very well with only himself and Bleck."
"Well, let's just avoid thinking about it too much," suggested Peach. "We can't just come up with theories without having some idea of what we're talking about."
"Something tells me he does have another minion or two, though..." mused Mario. "I wonder, if he has any new minions, if they joined him willingly or if he had to hypnotize them."
"Who'd willingly work for a demented jester like him?" asked Mimi.
"Well...there's probably someone out there who would."
Tippi felt her Pure Heart sense growing stronger. "The Pure Heart's getting closer..." she announced, "...although it's still kind of far away."
"I wonder what Dimentio has planned to stop us this time," thought Luigi. "We usually have to travel a bit before we can see what he's done."
Our heroes soon approaced a large, smooth portion of the ground, still having a large cliff on their left side and the drop at the right. Another cliff rose from the ground, blocking their progress. However, there was something quite odd about this cliff. In the its center, right in front of our heroes, was a large brown door. Our heroes didn't know what to make of it. "How'd this get here?" wondered Mario. "We didn't see any people while we were traveling."
"Maybe we've discovered the secret dwelling of the legendary mountain people?" asked Luigi. When he recieved blank stares, he added, "Well, it might be a possibility."
"Let's just open it and see what we find," guided Tippi. "The Pure Heart is nearer here, and it just might be inside the mountain."
Mario obeyed, slowly opening the giant brown door. Since they had been exposed to the outdoor light for so long, our heroes found it difficult to see what was inside, but their vision gradually cleared as they stepped inside. They were standing in some sort of short, rather wide hallway with a smaller brown door on the far side. Bright blue carpet covered most of the otherwise green floor, and the walls were a brownish shade. There were lights placed across the walls.
In spite of all these things, though, our heroes immediately focused their attention on the person standing in this room. She had short brown hair and wore a white maid outfit and pink shoes. When she noticed the heroes, she immediately freaked out. "AIEEE!!! Get your dirty shoes off that carpet! I just cleaned it! You careless people! I'll get my big brother! He'll put you in your proper place! A nice, cozy jail cell!"
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
More What The Hecks here. :P
A nice, cozy jail cell? Who was this crazy girl? Were there others in this strange cave? Did they know where the Pure Heart was? Perhaps this was another one of Dimentio's schemes? Am I ever going to stop asking myself these questions? thought Mario.
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"You're throwing us in jail?" asked Mimi, startled. "For stepping on this carpet?"
"Yes, you dirty people. I am. I mean, my big brother. Not me. Him." She dashed into the door, going further into the cave.
Luigi crept toward the door they had come through, but Mario held him back. "Just wait, Luigi. We may have no clue what's going on, but since the Pure Heart is here, we have no real choice."
After a few moments, the maid returned. "I can't find him. But you're going to jail anyway!"
"Oh, really?" asked Bowser, seeming ready to attack her. "How are you going to make us?"
"I'll get my big brother. He'll put you in your proper place. A nice, cozy jail cell."
Tippi's head was spinning. "I thought you couldn't find him!"
"I know. But I'll get him anyway!" She went through the door again.
A few minutes passed, and she didn't return. "What's going on?" asked Tippi. "What is...just...GAAH!!!"
"I vote we try the door," suggested Mimi.
"Sounds good," agreed O'Chunks.
"You think we should?" asked Peach. "We have no clue what's beyond that door."
"I say we just break the thing down!" proclaimed Bowser.
"I'm not sure we should try that," cautioned Mario. "What if there's someone else waiting on the other side?"
"Then I'll fry 'em! Stop being my babysitter and let the Koopa King make his own decisions." He started for the door.
Bowser's starting to get angry with us again, thought Tippi. I wonder if he'll leave before we find all of the Pure Hearts...
With his giant spiked shell, Bowser easily broke the wooden door off its hinges. Our heroes observed the space behind the door. Two hallways, narrower than the one they were standing in, branched from the area just beyond the door, one going in the direction they had entered, the other going left, deeper into the mountain. Several doors lined both sides of both hallways.
"Whoa," exclaimed Peach. "This place is like a mansion inside the mountain." She stopped. "Should we try one of these doors?"
Luigi looked down both hallways. The crazy maid was nowhere to be seen. "Maybe we should. Is the Pure Heart closer here, Tippi?"
"It's closer, but not by much. It's still a good distance away."
"Well, I say we try one of these doors. Let's see..." He opened the closest door on the right. The room was rather small, containing a few chairs. "Looks like a living room." Our heroes walked into the room.
Suddenly, they felt as if they were falling through air. And, indeed, they were falling. Into a narrow vertical shaft with spikes at the bottom.
"AIEEE!!!" shrieked Peach.
"Mimi, hurry!" urged Tippi. "You might be able to save us!"
"I can't! It would take too long to transform, and I'm not sure if I can hold all of you..."
"Just try!"
Realizing it was the heroes' only chance of surviving, Mimi obeyed. Her large body managed to stop the group just before they were dashed by the spikes.
There was a few seconds of silence before Luigi spoke. "So now what?"
"I can't hold you guys much longer," groaned Mimi, sounding frantic.
Mario thought quickly. "Can you turn into a trampoline so we can get out?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't. I can only turn into people, and I have to have seen them and know their names." Mimi spoke increasingly quickly as she slowly sank toward the spikes below.
"Try climbing up," suggested Bowser flatly.
"I don't know if I can do that..." She tried pushing up, but didn't get very far. A sudden thought hit her. She attached three legs to one wall of the shaft and three to the other, balancing her weight. In this position, she was able to slowly climb the shaft, taking the others with her. They eventually climbed back into the room.
"What was that?" asked Tippi, worried.
"I think it's another one of Dimentio's schemes," stated Mario.
"You think?" asked Bowser.
"Whatever's happening," started Luigi, "it's clear someone's trying to stop us."
"And that someone is probably Dimentio," agreed Mario. "If that maid and whoever else lives here were already here before Dimentio came, it looks like Dimentio was able to find inhabitants to turn against us after all."
"If?" asked Luigi. "What if they weren't here before Dimentio came? We wondered if Dimentio has minions working for him. This could all be a trap."
"Well," began Peach, "one thing's for sure, and that's that we should get out of this room." The heroes exited the room through the door they had come through.
"What should we do?" asked Mimi.
"Well, the Pure Heart is our first priority." Tippi felt for the object again. "Yes, it's still pretty far away."
Just then, someone walked around the corner next to them. With a roughly spherical shape, a yellow upper body, a round golden hat with bronze-colored pointy hair sticking from it, blue pants, and stubby arms and legs, he looked like a discolored Tedac. "Oh, hello, I didn't notice you'd come in. Are you seven lost?"
Not sure if this person could be trusted, Tippi didn't know what to say. "No, we're not lost," was all she could think of.
"I see. Well, would you like me to show you around?"
Show us around? Doesn't he think we're not lost? "That's fine. We know where we're going."
The discolored Tedac looked at the heroes. "Is something wrong? You all look nervous."
Tippi figured she could at least tell him this. "Well...when we entered the room behind us right now, a trapdoor opened and we almost were killed by spikes."
The round creature's expression showed a "just-the-usual-routine" expression. "Who did you see when you entered?"
"We saw a maid. She said she'd get her big brother to put us in jail for stepping on the carpet."
"Oh, don't pay attention to Paletta. She's been a bit wacky ever since that big fall." He paused for a moment. "We'd better get into a different room before she comes back from looking for her 'big brother'. She doesn't really have one, but she's convinced she does. Are you hungry from your long mountain journey?"
They weren't, and they wondered why he hadn't bothered to ask why they had come. Again, Tippi didn't know what to say, but Mario interrupted her thoughts. "We don't need anything to eat right now. We're looking for something called a Pure Heart. Can you show us where it is?"
"Certainly. You can call me Larneg, and I'd be glad to show you around." He began walking down the hallway going to the left, the one our heroes had ignored. The heroes half-expected Paletta to come out of one of the doors and find them, but she was nowhere to be seen or heard.
Larneg turned down a 90-degree angle in the hallway to the right. He eventually reached one door that he opened. "The Pure Heart you're looking for is in this room. Have fun." When the heroes entered, he closed the door behind them.
"Hey!" uttered O'Chunks. "What's the big idea, closin' that door on us?"
Suddenly, another trapdoor opened beneath them, and water began pouring down from the ceiling! The water was pushing them down, and soon it would propel them into the spikes at the bottom of this shaft. Bowser, being the one closest to being impaled, had an idea. He turned his body so that his durable shell took the impact of the spikes, and all of the others landed safely on top of him. Bowser's shell had taken damage, but the villain himself seemed unharmed for the most part. Our heroes naturally swam upwards, but when they reached the point they had fallen into the trapdoor, they discovered that the ceiling was spiked as well, and it was descending toward them! Quickly, they dashed for the door, but apparently Larneg had locked it behind them. Bowser's strength came into handy once again. He ran backwards and broke open the door with his shell, sending the water and our heroes flying out the doorway just before they were killed by the spiked ceiling. The rushing water first smashed our heroes into the wall, then pushed them to the left, to the top-left corner of the square hallway when viewed from the direction they came. They were then slammed into another wall in that corner. The water had began to spread out, so our heroes were no longer being soaked.
Bowser examined his shell. "My shell's totally bent! Oh, of all the..."
Before Bowser could finish that sentence, Paletta walked around a corner toward them. "YOU DUMB-DUMBS! YOU GOT THE WHOLE PLACE WET! YOU START BLOW-DRYING ALL THIS RIGHT NOW!!!"
"Yeah?" dared Bowser. "What'll you do if we don't? Get your big brother to come and put us in jail?"
Paletta seemed confused. "What? I don't have a big brother."
"I know. I was being sarcastic."
"What's 'sarcastic'?"
"Forget it."
"What's 'it'?"
"Never mind!"
"What's 'mind'?"
"Just get out of my face before I..." Bowser tried to fry the maid with a blast of fire. Paletta shrieked and ran down the hallway. "Yeah, you'd better run!"
Tippi started, "Bowser, you can't just-"
"Quiet! I already have to put up with you guys being here. Now you're criticizing every move I make. If you don't like my performance, just leave!"
Leave? That made Tippi mad. "Who said we have to bring you along anyway? You're the only one who's misbehaving. Why don't you just leave?"
Mario knew the conflict would only escalate, so he stepped between Tippi and Bowser. "Hey! Let's cool it, OK?"
Before Tippi or Bowser could say anything, Larneg approached from the direction Paletta had fled. "Well, well. It seems we have a criminal among us."
"What!?" exclaimed Tippi.
"From what Paletta told me, the large turtle-dragon tried to attack her with fire. And that means you're all under arrest."
"Arrest? You lead us into a death trap and then WE'RE under arrest?"
"Death trap? What?"
"The room you took us to led us to a trapdoor, and we were almost crushed by the ceiling!"
"Oh, that. I apologize. I must have accidently taken you to the Tourist Trap Spike Room. Well, regardless, you're all under arrest!"
"You yourself agreed she was insane," pointed out Luigi. "Can't you forgive Bowser? He's always like that."
"She's not insane. She's a perfectly healthy individual. And quite a pretty one, if I say so myself."
Our heroes stood in silence at the awkwardness of the entire situation.
"Anyway, you're all under arrest. Follow me."
"Who says we have to?" argued Bowser. "You can't make us!"
"Fine. I will make you." Larneg ran into the nearest door.
"Don't tell me Bowser's getting us arrested again," lamented Peach.
Our heroes stood for a few moments, but after those moments passed, another round creature came out a different door. This one was dark green, like Radnamok X, but wore a moderate purple hat and had bright blue spiky hair. And he had a gun. "Get in the last door on the left side of the hallway, or I pull the trigger!" He marched them down the hallway (which was a rather short distance) and into the door he described. "Go in there, and you'll begin your lifetime of slavery for us." Our heroes looked into the door. The room inside looked like the foyer of a mansion; large with a brown wooden floor, tall white walls, and a staircase to their left, going up in the opposite direction they were walking. Our heroes turned back to face the Radnamok X-like creature, but he had apparently vanished.
"'Ey?" asked O'Chunks. "What 'appened to 'im?"
Our heroes turned back to face into this new room and walked into it. As if out of nowhere, another person was standing in the middle of the room. She looked like a storybook fairy; she was shorter than Paletta, had fluffy purplish hair, four fairy-like wings, a lavender dress, violet eyes, and purple shoes.
"Welcome to the hospital for the clinically stupid. May I take your order?"
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
I have a double update today: 5-3 and 5-4. Enjoy.
This mansion was just getting crazier. Our heroes struggled to comphrehend what was going on. Was the whole thing a trap set by Dimentio? Were the people trying to stop them from finding the Pure Heart? And what was this "Hospital for the Clinically Stupid"? The six heroes stared blankly ahead, unable to guess what could be about to happen to them.
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"Why are you all staring at me? You act like you've never seen me before."
"We HAVEN'T seen you before," stated Luigi.
"Oh, that's right, I forgot for a second. You were just arrested, right?"
"Um...yes, that's right." Another mentally unstable girl...
"I see. Well, this is the Hospital where Paletta and Larneg make people like me stay. They say I'm insane. Can you believe it?"
"Of co-uh, no way! They're the insane ones!"
"I think so too." She gave them a weak smile. "Well, good luck doing whatever they make you do." She turned around and walked up the stairs.
"That doesn't sound good," thought Bowser aloud.
"Who was that?" asked Tippi. And why isn't Paletta here?
"Nobody cares," uttered a voice beside them. The person who looked like Radnamok X was standing at a desk beside them. "You're all going to work in the incredibly lethal and dangerous and toxic coal mine. I'm Tavirp, and I'll be your boss."
"What!?" exclaimed Mimi.
"Did you not hear me? Now go up those stairs. You'll recieve further instructions there. Once you find 100 pounds of coal, I'll consider giving you guys a break. Bring them all here. Now go."
Seeing that Tavirp had a gun, our heroes obeyed. Mimi looked back at Tavirp, a confused and mildly suspicious expression on her face, then followed the rest. There was a short hallway at the end of the stairs with a door at the far side. Mario opened the door, and our heroes stepped in. The mansion floor, walls, and ceiling abruptly ended as the area turned into a standard dark gray cave instead of the decorated mansion. "So I guess we're supposed to be finding coal," noted Peach.
"You guys new here?" Our heroes turned, and a person was standing in a corridor that branched to the right. He was very squarish, with a red striped hat and shirt.
"Yes, we're new," confirmed Tippi. "And we're a bit lost. Can you tell us exactly where we are?"
The worked shrugged. "It's the work area for prisoners. Not much more to say."
Tippi thought the prisoner looked familiar. "You look similar to the workers in another mansion I've been in. Have you heard of Merlee's Mansion?"
"Um...I think I heard Tavirp mention something like that once. But I've never heard of it before then."
"I see."
"Well, since you guys are new, you'll need some guidance. See patches of rock in the wall like this?" He pointed at a section of the rock that was darker than the standard rock walls. "This is the coal you're looking for. You'll have to get it out using a shovel. Just grab one from that pile."
Our heroes, not including Tippi, picked up shovels for themselves. Luigi had a question. "Do you know what Tavrip needs this coal for?"
"Um...nope. Hey, do you have any idea?" Our heroes thought he was asking them at first, but it was soon apparent he was asking a much thinner blue-clothed worker beside him.
"Not a clue," replied the other worker. "They're just working our rear ends off without telling us why. Well, except for that fairy."
"Except for her?" asked Tippi. "Does she work with Tavirp? I thought they put her here because she was insane."
"She started working here a while ago. She does work with Tavirp, but she's been confined to this area because of her mental problems. She's said she doesn't like the way we're being treated. I think she's trying to find a way to set us free."
Tippi thought. Is she another person trying to set criminals free? This whole thing seems suspicious, though. Is this just a trap?
"Anyway, you should head down that tunnel." He pointed. "There's lots of availible coal down there. You might as well get started."
Our heroes walked down that pathway. There were several small patches of coal lining the walls. "Let's get started." Mario started his mining.
"Might as well." Bowser tossed his shovel aside, knocking out a nearby worker, and simply used his claws.
Our heroes worked until they became incredibly bored. "Let's put all of our coal together," suggested Peach. They did so, and their collected coal reserves made a small pile about half a foot tall.
"This pile is probably worth only five pounds!" complained Mimi. "We'll never get 100!"
"Don't we just have to keep doing this?" asked Mario. "It hasn't been too long, has it?"
A nearby worker checked his watch. "It's been five hours since you guys came in here."
"FIVE 'OURS!?" exclaimed O'Chunks. "It was gittin' late when we came in 'ere! It's night now!"
"That's a pound an hour!" stated Tippi, horrified. "We can't get the 100 pounds Tavirp wants at this rate. We've got to go somewhere else."
O'Chunks observed another passageway that seemed to contain more coal. "How 'bout this 'ere one?"
The heroes began mining in the new area. After an hour, though, they had only produced slightly more than a pound of coal. "This won't do either," figured Mario. He had a thought. "Maybe we could do the same thing I did in Merlee's Mansion when I thwarted Mimi's evil plot to...ahem...uh...no offense."
"We found a safe that contained all of what we needed," explained Peach. "There might be a huge coal reserve hidden somewhere."
"How can we tell where it is, though?" Mimi looked nervous.
"I guess we'll just have to look around...Um...is something wrong, Mimi?"
"What? Me? No, I'm fine."
Mario looked down the tunnel in the direction they had entered. "There's nothing down there but a dead end."
"Let's look in this path," suggested Luigi, looking at a tunnel branching from the one they had previously been in.
Our heroes walked down that tunnel. A few more workers were mining here, but a while of walking yielded yet another dead end. "Come on!" complained Bowser. "Isn't there any path that'll lead us to something other than a dead end?"
"There might be..." contemplated Tippi. "But there's so many different paths here...it would be hard to find anything."
"We might as well try," sighed Mario.
The heroes walked out of that tunnel and tried another, and then another. "Are you looking for better coal reserves?" one of the workers asked.
"Yes," answered Tippi. "There's too little coal where we were working. Do you know where we can find more?"
"Well, frankly, I don't think there's any particular place where there's more coal reserves. You'd better start working instead of just wasting time looking for a place where you can do it faster."
The seven walked down another tunnel, finding nothing. Dissapointed, they began to turn back, but there was someone standing in this passage. It was the fairy-creature our heroes had seen earlier. "You're the new workers, right?" Her face reminded the heroes of the concerned expression Kara had worn while she was describing her situation at night by the palm trees.
"Yes," explained Tippi. "We just came here today."
"Well, let me tell you a few things. My name is Novelle. I've been watching you guys, and I'm impressed with your talents. If the seven of you work together, you can overcome any obstacle."
Bowser groaned.
"That's why I want to ask you to help me with something. You see, I've worked here for a while. I've known lots of workers, and I've known Larneg, Tavirp, and Paletta for a while. But I always felt that the workers were being treated unfairly."
Tippi figured she'd ask the big question. "What exactly is this place?"
"We're using the workers to gather coal. But I never understood why Tavirp and the others need it so badly. I've tried to ask them, but they just answer 'It's for a good cause.'"
"Really? They don't tell you? Then why do you agree to work with them?"
"Because I'm planning to rescue the workers from within. They'll never suspect what I'm trying to do if I'm actually working for them. So that's why I need you to help me with something."
Something didn't seem right. Is she telling the truth? Or is this some kind of deception? And is Dimentio behind this? And where's the Pure Heart? "Well...what do you want us to do?"
"It's pretty easy. Follow me." Novelle began walking down the corridor, the heroes following her. She turned a corner.
Suddenly, our heroes felt as if they were falling through air. And, indeed, they were falling. Into a narrow vertical shaft that seemed to have no bottom.
"AIEEE!!!" shrieked Peach.
"'Ey? Was this whole dern thing a trap?" questioned O'Chunks.
"I'll see if I can help us again!" But before Mimi could begin to transform, she was slammed against a slope at the bottom of the chamber, along with the other heroes, and tossed into a tunnel that now ran diagonally downwards and to the side.
"Waaaahh!!!" Luigi shouted, frantic. "How do we get-" At that moment, our heroes slammed into a dead end. It wasn't a real dead end, though. The heroes crashed into a pile of rocks that filled the tunnel, scattering them and getting lost somewhere in the mess. They slowed down, finally coming to a stop somewhere in the rocks.
"Ugggh..." Mario struggled to move. He was covered in bruises, making every movement painful, but he'd suffocate if he couldn't get out of these rocks somehow. The others were undoubtedly in similar situations. Finally Mario managed to loosen the rocks around him. He saw Luigi's hat in front of him. It was moving slightly, so Mario knew Luigi must be struggling as well. Mario began shifting some rocks to help his brother out. While he was working, something to Mario's right caught his eye. It was a small drop of a red liquid. He blinked. Was this blood? He examined his arms and legs and felt around his face. He was covered in sores, but none of them were bleeding. What is that? He scooped it up with his finger and examined it closely. It was a lighter pinkish shade than blood, though still close in color, and it seemed to glow. This can't be blood. But...if it's not blood, what is it? He looked around, hoping to find more of it, but none was present except for the drop on his finger. Is it a body fluid at all? Was it here before we came here? That can't be...it would have been smashed against a rock or one of us, and dissolved.
"Hey, Mario, a little more help here?"
"Oh, that's right!" Wanting to show the mysterious red substance to Luigi, Mario used only his left hand to help the struggling Luigi. Soon, the two brothers rested in a small space of the rocks barely big enough for the two of them.
"We've got to help the others." Luigi began moving some rocks around with his feet.
"Wait. Luigi, I want you to look at this." The drop of strange liquid was still on his finger. "It was to my right. And it probably wasn't here before we came because it would have been smashed by the rocks."
Luigi stared at the softly glowing drop. "That isn't blood, is it? It's lighter, and it's...glowing."
"I don't know what it is either. Or how it got here."
"Well, let's worry about that later, and worry about the lives of our friends right now."
"Good point."
Luigi continued kicking rocks out of the way. Mario turned around, and since keeping the drop on his finger would slow him down, wiped it on a rock. It spread, like blood would, but didn't lose its glow. Mario had more important things to think about, though. He searched for the other heroes. "Here's Bowser," Luigi announced after a few moments. "He's unconscious."
"Thank goodness. I found O'Chunks. He isn't awake either."
They continued, Mario finding Peach. She was the only conscious one besides the brothers, so she helped Mario clear out the stones to his right. They found Mimi, also unconscious, in that pile. In addition to the scrapes that covered all of the heroes, Mario and Peach noticed what looked like a dried scar on the right side of her head. It had a red tone, like any scar would, but it seemed to be lighter than Mario and Peach would have expected. Not only that, but they thought they could make out a faint light emanating from the scar itself.
"Wait a second..." Mario looked over at the drop he had smeared on the wall. It was still there, but had lost its glow. "Peach, when I was trapped, I found a drop of a red liquid to my right that seemed to glow. It probably wasn't here before we came since it would have been disturbed by the rocks."
Peach was silent for a moment. "Are you saying that red liquid was Mimi's blood?"
"It seems like the only explanation. But why would her blood...glow?"
"I found Tippi," called Luigi. "That's all of us."
O'Chunks and Bowser had woken up by this time, so only Mimi and Tippi were still unconscious. "Oh, darn it!" cursed Bowser. "Now my shell looks like it's been eaten by a trash compactor!"
"We 'ave to find a way to git outta 'ere," noted O'Chunks. "Yeh think we can just climb up the way we fell when Mimi wakes up?"
"Well, what's down the other way?" Luigi climbed a short way down through the rocks...and screamed. "It's lava! We can't go down there!"
"Lava?" asked Mario. "Novelle was trying to kill us! We're lucky to be alive!"
"Wait. There's something else..." Luigi first looked at the lava, then all around him. "Guys, do you realize what these rocks are? They're darker than those rocks the cave was made of."
The others instantly recognized it. "Coal!" uttered Bowser. "Good! Now we just need to carry this stuff up to Tavirp and tell him we want our break."
After a few more moments, Tippi and Mimi were awake. "Mimi, can you carry us up again?" asked Peach.
"OK. Let me rest for a few minutes, though. I think I hit my head on something." She touched the place where her scar had been, and the others noticed that the scar had almost completely vanished. When Mimi was ready to help the others, they pushed their way through the rocks, climbing up through the passage while the others carried the coal rocks. They finally reached the place where the tunnel changed into a vertical shaft. Mimi, as a spider, slowly carried the others up until they emerged at the trapdoor that had almost killed them. No one was around.
"They've probably gone to bed for the night," estimated Peach. "Well, we have the coal, so let's bring it to Tavirp."
"And sue him," offered Mario.
They walked through the cave, finally emerging back in the mansion landscape. Tavirp's eyes bulged. "What!? You're-ahem, how much coal have you gathered?"
"We have enough. Now you're going to pay!" proclaimed Bowser.
"Oh, really? We'll see about-" Tavirp suddenly paused. "Wait, WHAT!? You got the 100 pounds I wanted!?" He seemed to be going crazy. "That wasn't supposed to happen!!! AAHHHH!!! YOU'VE BROKEN THE CURSE!!!" Tavirp rose into the air, and suddenly exploded. Pieces of his body flew in different directions, scattering across the room (No blood, gore, or any other M-rated stuff was present, though), and they disappeared after a few seconds.
Our heroes didn't know what to say. "What just happened?" asked Bowser.
"Something seems familiar about this..." thought Tippi. "Where have I seen..."
Mimi interrupted her. "Hey, since Tavirp's gone, we can look for the Pure Heart, right?"
"What? Oh, right. I'd almost forgotten about that. Hmm...it doesn't look like it's any closer here. It's still in the direction we entered this place. There's no doors going that way here...so let's go back to the rectangular hallway and see if we can find a door that takes us that way."
Our heroes exited through the door Tavirp had forced them to enter at gunpoint. Halfway through the top of the rectangle, there was indeed a door that seemed to go on. "Let's see..." Mario opened the door. The mansion again abruptly ended and a cave began, but this cave had a more brownish tint than the one they had worked in. They stepped into this cave.
"The Pure Heart is nearer here," announced Tippi. "Come on. Let's do this!"
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
Tavirp had vanished in a bizarre explosion, and everyone had apparently gone to bed, which hopefully guaranteed the heroes' safety. It was dark outside, but of course, inside the mountain there was no real day or night. "I wonder what time it is," wondered Luigi. "I'm not tired, so it's probably...hmm...nine, ten o'clock?"
"We've got to get the Pure Heart quickly, or we'll fall asleep," urged Tippi. "It's still in this direction. Let's just keep walking..." But Tippi was wrong in one way. They would do much more then just walking as they searched for the sixth Pure Heart.
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The damp cave reminded our heroes of the Floro Sapien Caverns they had traveled through during their previous adventure. There were Buzzy Beetles and Spike Tops in this cave as well, giving them a comforting, if fleeting, familiarity. There was a large wooden door at the end of this "hallway". Not seeing any other path, they entered it.
They emerged in a small room. The room contained four doors; the one they had just come out of, one a short walk in front of them, and two upside-down ones extending from the ceiling. "Upside-down doors?" questioned Mario. "We can't reach those unless we find some way to flip the place."
Tippi ventured beyond the second ground door. "There's a chamber over here with lava on the floor. I see a switch on the ceiling over the lava."
Mario followed Tippi until they both were standing at the beginning of the lava floor. The ceiling dipped down over the lava, but there was still reasonable space between the switch and the lava. Mario jumped back before he could observe for long. "The heat is making those scrapes burn. You'd better not get too close to the lava, guys."
"What about those doors?" asked Peach. "There might be something important in them."
Mario knew the situation. "In maze areas like this, you can always be sure that the switch will turn the room upside-down. Now, if only we had a way to..."
Everyone stared at Mimi. "Fine...I'll get the switch." The walk was more comforatable for her, since, as the others noticed, she was now scar-free. She hit the switch at the other end, and the room reversed itself. Our heroes fell from the floor to the...floor, which was really the ceiling. There were two doors facing them, but only the one below/above the one they had entered from could be used; the other was locked, and it looked like our heroes would need to find two keys in order to unlock it.
"I'll guess right now that the two keys we need are going to be found in these two doors," explained Mario. "Let's go in the door we can use." The other heroes followed Mario through that door.
Beyond the door, our heroes stood in another typical underground passageway. They ventured through it, defeating enemies and hitting ? Blocks along they way. After some time of walking, the path split. "Which way should we go?" unneccecarily asked Tippi.
Mario climbed the ladder down to the lower path. There was more lava at the bottom of a passageway. Mario took advantage of the conveniently placed moving platforms and reached a switch on the other side. The switch caused some rocks blocking the upper path to crumble.
"Well, there's our answer," mused Tippi. When Mario rejoined them, the heroes climbed the upper half of the ladder to reach the top path. At the end of this path, they found another door, but this one was locked.
"Let's see if I can find something." Mario flipped into 3D. A hole in the ground near them became visible, so Mario jumped down into it. The hole formed a tunnel that spiraled far below the ground (actually, they were far above ground level). It was infested with Spike Tops and Cursyas, so Mario played it safe and carefully dodged the enemies he couldn't defeat, using the Buzzy Beetle shells as weapons when he could. One time, however, a shell richocheted off a wall and came back to hit Mario when he wasn't paying attention. "That really doesn't help the pain. I've got to be more careful." Finally, the hero reached a staircase that ceased spiraling. The key lie on a pedestal too high for Mario to reach. How do I reach that?. Mario's Flip Meter had just about exhausted itself, so he flipped back into 2D to rest, and then he noticed the Flip Block that he couldn't see in 3D. He jumped onto it, and from there he could collect the key. He thought about using it on the door with two locks, but this key didn't look like it would fit. He waited until his Flip meter was fully charged, and then proceeded back upward. When he reached the others, he flipped back and showed them the key. "Let's go on." The heroes unlocked the door and proceeded.
In this new room, our heroes observed a long passageway heading away from them. Its floor and ceiling were covered in spikes, and there was a another switch next to them. Mario jumped on the switch, and more moving platforms appeared over the spikes. They were fading, though. By their looks, they would only last about 15 seconds. "Hang on. I'll do this!" Mario carefully jumped across the platforms. On the other side, there was another key. Mario could tell that this was the key they were looking for, so he grabbed it. Just then, the moving platforms disappeared. Fortunately, another switch was next to Mario, so he used it to return to the others across the spikes. "This is probably the key that unlocks that other door."
"Right," agreed Tippi. "Let's go back there."
Our heroes backtracked through that door and back through the passage until they emerged at the door that had taken them to that area. Mario inserted the key into the lock. "That's one down, one to go. The other key is probably in the unlocked door we didn't go in last time. Mimi will need to flip the room again."
"Why? Isn't the switch just on the ground?"
"Yes, but once the room flips, the switch will be on the ceiling and the lava will be on the ground, meaning if anyone else hits it, they'll be burnt to a crisp."
"Oh, right, I see now. You probably know these things without thinking by now." Mimi hit the switch again, reversing the room. The door to the right of the one they had initally entered the area from was now enterable. When Mimi rejoined the heroes, they entered this new door.
Another passageway awaited them. After fighting through some more enemies and going through another door, a new obstacle awaited our heroes. An ocean of lava lie in a huge chasm in front of them. Small platforms jutted through the lava up to a point where our heroes could use them as stepping stones. Several enemies rested on these platforms. "I'd better go first, just to test the path," announced Mario.
"Are you sure?" asked Peach. "You've been bruised pretty badly. I have a parasol, so I can see if it's safe."
"Well, OK." Mario allowed Peach to jump onto the first platform. With the help of her parasol, Peach reached the other side. "I think the rest of you can still make it across," she shouted from the other side of the pit.
"I guess I'll go next." Mario leaped across the platforms, defeating enemies when neccecary. He reached the other side as well, followed by O'Chunks, Bowser, and then Luigi.
"These platforms are starting to crumble" after O'Chunks and Bowser stepped on them! Luigi carefully stepped onto a new platform. He then heard a cracking noise. He looked down, and the platform's base was starting to break apart. The platform tilted wildly, causing Luigi to slip. He grabbed onto the platform's edge, teetering precariously over the magma far below. "HEEELP!!!"
"I'll get ya, Luigi," Mario began, but O'Chunks cut him off.
"I can do this. Yeh just watch."
"What are you doing!? You'll" break that platform!
"Yeh'll see." O'Chunks quickly jumped back across the platforms until he reached the spot where Luigi was about to tumble down through the air. He leaped from the nearest platform to the side opposite the one Luigi was hanging from. His weight balanced the platform, bringing it to a level state where Luigi could stand on it again.
"Thanks, O'Chunks. You really did save my life" even if it was only because of your weight.
"Yeh don't have to mention it. Now let's git ourselves back there and make it fast." Luigi and O'Chunks hopped off the platform just as it collapsed and fell into the lava. They jumped across the rest of the platforms, but they were so weakened by now that all except one crumbled. Only Mimi remained on the other side.
"How is she going to get across?" wondered Tippi.
None of the others needed to worry, because after a few moments, Mimi apparently figured it out. She transformed once again, and using her head-spinning-weapon maneuver, drew herself to the other side with one of those black lines. She joined the others and returned to her normal form. There was yet another door here, so our heroes continued through the cave. They came out in a small room with nothing in it except for another key.
"That's the last key!" joyfully announced Luigi. "Now we can get back to that door and hopefully find the Pure Heart."
Mario began walking to the key. "Tippi, is the Pure Heart closer here?"
"Yes. It's probably in this direction, but in another passage that we can get to from the locked door."
"I figured. Well, let's-"
He intended to finish his sentence once he had grabbed the key, but that never happened. Our heroes suddenly heard an ear-splitting "BANANA POWER!!!"
Suddenly, a piece of the scenery fell away, revealing a plain white rectangle. It was joined by many others until our heroes were now standing in a sort of white void with only a black line for an edge.
A thin black line emerged in front of them. When the line was finished, something spun around incredibly quickly, and blue-green energy beams crackled around the area it was happening. After a few seconds, the flipping stopped, and an energy-sound-wave echoed from the area. When all of this cleared, two mechanical-looking people were standing there-a humanoid one, and a smaller, floating one that hovered behind it.
"I offer you the greetings of the Republic of Banan," the small one said. "Would you like to renegotiate on our cease-banana-peel-slipping treaty?"
Our heroes were speechless.
"If not, the Banan Republic can at least offer you our freshest strawberries. Would you like to taste some?"
"Alpha, stop with that nonsense and get to the speech we practiced!" the other one commanded.
"What? A speech?"
"Yes! That speech we practiced over and over!"
"I didn't know we had a speech!"
"Gaah...looks like I'll have to do this myself." He turned toward the heroes. "I am B-A Omega, wielder of the universes' most advanced weapons technology." He demonstrated by firing a firey jet out of his hand toward the ceiling.
"And I am the ambassador of the Republic of Strawberria. Would you like to taste some of our freshest bananas?"
"ALPHA! GET TO IT!"
"Oh, right! And I am H-X Alpha, small but deadly!" He extended a laser gun from his side and also blasted it at the ceiling.
"You two practiced saying that over and over?" asked Tippi.
"Yep. We practice our activities day and night," answered B-A Omega. Then they both added, "And now we'll use our powers to destroy you!" although H-X Alpha made it sound more like "powars".
"Who are you guys?" asked Peach.
"Just your average everyday robots," responded Omega. "Your average every KILLING robots, that is!"
"What do you want!? Are you two behind this whole Hospital thing?"
"No, we aren't. But we know the guy who is. Because all three of us work for Dimentio."
"Dimentio!?" exclaimed Mario. "You guys are working for him!?"
"Absolutely positively additionally continuingly!" answered Alpha.
"That's right. And now we're going to obliterate the lot of you!"
"Yeah, you bunch of dirty, sweaty socks!"
"You guys are total weirdos!" shouted Mimi. "Why don't you just leave us alone?"
"Because then Dimentio would fire us. And we don't want that, do we, Alpha?"
"NO! WHADDYA THINK? WE'RE GONNA GRIND YA FOOLS INTO COOKIES! AND THEN WE'LL CHOW DOWN ON YA!"
"You guys scare me..."
"Anyway," continued B-A Omega, "now we'll destroy you, and get our promotion from Dimentio!"
"How did he find you guys anyway?" asked Luigi. "Who created you?"
"Why's that any of your stinkin' business? HUH? HUH? HUH?" Alpha rambled.
"After all," finished B-A Omega, "it's not going to matter once you're all piles of bones in this room."
"Not bones. COOKIES I TELL YA!"
MINIBOSS
H-X Alpha and B-A Omega
Omega flew up toward the ceiling while Alpha moved away from the heroes and began firing laser shots. Our heroes jumped over these, but they didn't notice Omega planning his attack above them. Without warning, he slammed into the ground headfirst, pinning Luigi to the ground with his spiked head.
"GAAAHH!!!" Luigi screamed. He didn't appear to be badly injured, but he was in obvious pain.
"I'll counter slam with slam!" Mario leaped into the air and gave Omega a gound pound. He jumped off Luigi and flew to the right, toward Alpha. They switched places, Omega being in front of them and Alpha being above. Omega bended his left leg backwards and fired a large energy beam from it. The blast slammed Peach against the left wall.
"We've got to be more careful," noted Mimi, but at that moment she noticed Alpha was hovering directly above her. She jumped out of the way just before she would have been fried by a laser. Seeing the opportunity, Luigi dashed below Alpha once he had turned off the beam and Super Jumped him from below.
"Let's take this to the next level." Omega produced three sharp-looking gray shurikens, smaller than the ones King Animaul had used, and tossed them into the midst of the heroes. None of them were hit, but the shurikens stuck to the surfaces they hit with a loud clank, two on the left wall and one on the floor, making them permanent hazards.
"Say hello to my little friend!" Alpha caused a glowing energy sphere to materialize. When it had grown large enough in size, Alpha sent it flying across the room. It bounced off the right wall, richocheted off the left, and grazed Mario. Even though it didn't directly hit him, he still felt some of the blast's power. He turned around, and before Alpha could do anything, jumped on the robot, dealing damage.
Meanwhile, Omega had been hovering in the upper-right corner of the room. He descended toward the center, and knives extended from his left arm. He launched them, similar to how he had thrown his shurikens, toward the left side. Our heroes ducked to avoid the projectiles, and decided it was a good idea to stay on the right side of the battlefield from now on.
"Can you stand up to this?" Alpha moved to the bottom-left corner. All kinds of laser guns and machinery sprouted from his main polygonal body. He began to glow as he charged up energy, and in a few seconds, he unleashed the most powerful laser our heroes had ever seen. Having done this several times before, most of them managed to dodge it, but O'Chunks was hit and thrown against the right wall.
"I've been chunked!" He struggled to move out of the way.
Omega took advantage of the situation and threw two more shurikens at O'Chunks. But O'Chunks still had it in him. He jumped over the assault and nailed the robot with a ground pound.
"You're getting hurt!" Alpha shouted to Omega. "Poor, innocent child! I'll take care of your abusers!" He climbed to the ceiling again and charged for another laser. Luigi quickly hit him with another Super Jump before he could fire. H-X Alpha resumed charging, though, and dealt another energy blast, narrowly missing Peach.
"I'll take care of this one." Bowser charged for Omega.
While he did, Alpha rushed to Omega's side. "You aren't torturing this prisoner anymore, enemy soldier!" He fired laser blasts in Bowser's direction. Bowser countered with his firey breath, aiming it toward Alpha. The robot was hit by the blast and weakened.
"Now who's the tortured prisoner?" Bowser dealt a powerful ground pound to Alpha, finishing him. He collapsed to the ground, crackling with electricity.
"My partner may be out, but I can still defeat you all!" proclaimed B-A Omega. He held out his right arm, which looked much like a laser cannon, and blasted Bowser.
"Waahhh!" Bowser crashed into the other wall, the one with all sorts of weapons sticking from it. "You idiot! You damaged my shell even more! You're going to pay for that!" Bowser charged for Omega.
Knowing Omega would blast him away again, Mario rushed to Bowser's side. He used his hammer and hit Omega in the chest, damaging the mechanical plate.
"Now he's got a weak spot!" Mimi aimed a sharp Rubee directly for Omega's damaged chest area, but Omega quickly swerved out of the way.
"Just because I'm damaged doesn't mean I can't fight! Now, take this!" He produced the knives from his left arm again. However, this time, his left hand began to glow until flames sprouted from the red jewel in his palm. He threw the knives, and the flames from his palm set the knives on fire as they flew, creating flaming weapons that soared toward the heroes.
"I'm trying again!" Mimi blocked a knife from impaling O'Chunks with a well-timed Rubee, then went for Omega again. This time, Omega was less prepared, and the Rubee hit his chest squarely. Omega sparked with electricity, like Alpha had.
"He's almost down!" joyfully noted Peach.
"I'll finish this guy." Mario attempted to jump on the minion again, but Omega had one last trick up his sleeve. He waited until Mario was close, and then quickly pulled out four shurikens that he aimed for Mario. Luigi, nearby, sprung into action. He grabbed Mario's leg, pulling him to the ground, and the shurikens passed harmlessly over them. "Gee, thanks, Luigi. Now I'll finish him!" He jumped on the nearby Omega, who crackled with sparks a final time, and then fell to the floor as Alpha had.
"Ooog..." moaned H-X Alpha. "They got us."
Omega stood up. "Yes, they certainly did. Maybe we were a bit overconfident..."
"You can't stand up to the heroes of prophecy," assured Tippi.
"Heroes? Maybe they really are heroes. Just like Dimentio said. We've got to do better next time. Until then, we'll be seeing you!"
"Yeah," taunted Alpha sarcastically. "And when we meet again, we'll obliterate you! We'll wipe you off the face of the planet! We'll annihilate you! WE'LL GRIND YOU INTO FISH STICKS! WE'LL BLEND YOU INTO SMOOTHIES! WE'LL GRIND YOU INTO PULPS!...batteries not included.♥" The two robots performed their more exciting version of flipping out. The whiteness fell away, one rectangle at a time, until our heroes were back in the cave.
Everyone was silent for a while. Finally Tippi mused, "That...was weird."
-
"Well," finished Mario, "we can finally get this key." He picked it up.
"Oh, I ache all over!" complained Peach. "I sure hope we don't have to do any more fighting."
"Let's hope so." The seven walked out of the room. They were now back in the room with the huge lava chasm.
"This is a problem," presented Tippi. "Those platforms have broken. We can't get across!"
Mario thought. "Is there a way Mimi can carry us to the other side?"
"I don't know if I can. Can you guys hang on while I go across?"
"I'll try it out." Mario waited for Mimi to transform, then held onto her head while she moved across the pit. They landed on the other side safely.
"Now I'll have to carry the rest of you." Mimi repeated the tactic for the others, groaning slightly as she lifted Bowser and O'Chunks.
"Well, get back to the first area and flip again," started Luigi as the heroes walked back through the door. The heroes backtracked again through the tunnel, and then came out in the area with four doors. Mimi flipped the room again, and the locked door was now availible.
"I'll put this key in." Mario put the final key in the lock, and the door could now be opened. They entered it, expecting to enter another typical enemy chamber.
Which they did. This room was filled with all sorts of Beetles, Red Spike Tops, and other enemies. Our heroes were careful to avoid the enemies, except for Buzzy Beetles, which they used to defeat some of the others. Finally the passage ended with four doors, one on a platform above another, and two upside-down ones. "Do these doors lead to the same room?" asked Tippi. "They're right next to each other."
"Let's try the bottom one that's rightside up." Mario opened it, the others following. They walked into what looked like a large pipe maze. This room was much less cramped than the areas before it; the cave walls on either side were much farther away, giving the room a darker, damper vibe. "I've dealt with these before. You just have to keep trying pipes until you find the correct ones." The heroes entered a pipe that took them to their right, and were then confronted with a choice to go up or further right.
"Let's go right," suggested O'Chunks. They moved into the pipe, but it turned around and deposited them back at their starting point.
"I guess that means we go up," evaluated Mimi. They went back to the pipe split and went up. There was a switch in this small area. Mario hit it, and the pipe that had taken them back to the start shifted, now taking the heroes farther right.
"We'll go back in that pipe now," announced Mario. They traveled down through the vertical pipe and entered that pipe again. It took them to the right, as expected, but our heroes now faced a dead end.
"What now?" asked Bowser.
"I'll check." Mario went 3D, but it was apparent that going into 3D would be of no help here; the entire pipe maze lie on a thin strip of ground, with pits of nothingness on either side. He flipped back. "Nothing, guys."
"So what now?" repeated Bowser.
"We go back and go in the top door. It always works that way."
"Oh, yeah, I knew that. I was just seeing if you knew."
Mario sighed.
The heroes backtracked again through the two pipes and back to the other room. They now entered the top door. It took them to another area of the pipe maze directly above where the other door had taken them. The heroes took a pipe upwards and then were given a choice of left or right.
"I say we go left," offered Peach.
"I think we should go right," argued Tippi.
"I think we should go down!" asserted Bowser. "Wait a second..."
"Let's go right," suggested Mario. Seeing as he was the one with experience, the others respected his authority. They followed him into the pipe, which took them back to this door's starting point.
"Good advice, Mario," teased Bowser.
"Whatever. Let's go left." They did so, and there was another switch in this room. They hit the switch, and the dead end at the other path fell away, revealing a path. "Looks like we're going back there." They returned to the door the way they came, went into it, and dropped back to the bottom door in the other room. Back in the bottom path, they retraced their steps to the former dead end and walked through the open passage. After a few more pipe twists and turns, the heroes came upon a switch on a ceiling between two pipes.
"How do we hit that?" asked Bowser. "It's too narrow for Mimi to climb up."
"I can still help." Mimi tossed a Rubee at the switch, and the entire maze flipped upside-down.
"Now we're upside down again," stated Luigi.
"Actually, we're rightside up," explained Mario. "We turned the room upside down to enter the locked door."
"Oh. I should have known. I go on these adventures too!"
"So what does 'at do fer us?" asked O'Chunks. "There ain't no place we can go."
Peach remembered something. "I remember," she stated. "In the area we hit the switch that removed the dead end, there was an opening in the ceiling. We should be able to drop down it now since the place is flipped."
"More backtracking," complained Mimi. They did so through the pipes, getting lost a few times, back through the former dead end, and into more pipes. They exited through the now-availible new door, emerging in the flipped tunnel. They entered through the last door they hadn't used, and they appeared below the former area. They walked to the area where the switch had been, but this time it was trickier since the directions had been reversed. There was indeed a hole in the floor/ceiling, so our heroes dropped into it. They were now faced with yet another pipe maze. They traveled through pipes, often getting lost.
"Is this even worth it?" asked Bowser. "How will we get through this?"
Mario recognized a pipe formation he saw earlier. "Well, let's go in the pipe to the right here. It's the only one we haven't tried at this crossroads." They entered the upper pipe, and were taken to a long chamber, framed by pipes and a rocky ceiling, that went to the left. There were enemies such as Spanias, Spike Tops, and Clefts in this passage, but Mario obviously couldn't flip to 3D to avoid them. They carefully stepped through the enemies, a few of them getting hit a couple of times.
"I'm not sure how much longer I can take this beating," groaned Luigi.
"We just have to press forward," stated Mario, trying to boost his brother's confidence. "Look, this passage is ending right here." The passage ended with a pipe going downwards. Our heroes were now to the left of the area where the pipe maze had started. They entered the pipe, and emerged in a moderate-sized area with a single ? Block.
"That's got to be something that'll help us." Mario hit the block, and a Mega Star came out. "A Mega Star! Now this'll be fun!" Mario collected the Star.
Pulses of whiteness expanded from Mario until the screen was completely white. Several 8-bit replicas of Mario from Super Mario Bros. appeared on the screen. They paused for a moment, but then they all began running, leaving black trails in their wake and forming a solid black line. That line was just part of a massive 8-bit Mario that began to take form, being drawn into existence and then colored. Mario knew what to do. He ran to the right, smashing through the pipe maze and destroying everything our heroes had worked so hard to get through. When the Mega Star had run out, Mario had smashed through the last of the pipes and was now standing in a small tunnel with a door at the end. "The coast is clear, guys," he yelled to the others.
They came, and they all entered the door. There was a very small room on the other side. It wasn't a cave like the one they had just been in; it had a more mansion vibe, like the place they had been in before this cave, but with off-white walls and ceilings with sparse golden decorations. There was another door at the far end of this room, which wasn't very far away. "The Pure Heart is very close!" exclaimed Tippi. "Finally! Now let's get the Pure Heart and get back to Flipside. We need some rest, that's for sure." The heroes entered this door, unaware of what was about to happen.
They came out in a room similar to the one they had just been in, but slightly larger. There was nothing in this room either, except for Paletta. "WHAT!? You got through all those incredibly dangerous and puzzling obstacles!?"
"Yes, we did," asserted Tippi in a confident voice. "Now tell us what's going on and then give us the Pure Heart."
"I'm not sure about this..." wailed Mimi.
"What's to worry? We've got her cornered."
"You guys are so overconfident," said Paletta. "I'll have to get Larneg in here to arrest you." Instead of moving, Paletta was surrounded in a purple cloud. When the cloud had vanished, Larneg was where Paletta had been. "You're under arrest. For being such heroes so that you could get through all that stuff Dimentio and I threw at you!"
Mimi shrieked. "Hurry! Get the Pure Heart from him! Now!"
"Dimentio!?" uttered Tippi. "So Dimentio was behind this! You're another person working for him, aren't you?"
"Yes. I am. And so is Paletta. And Tavirp. And Novelle. In fact, you might even say we're all the same person. Haven't you realized you never saw more than one of us at a time?"
"What!? I don't understand..."
"You still haven't realized the truth, have you? I'm Morris, a loyal minion of Dimentio. I've been tricking you heroes the entire time, from when I first saw you as Paletta to now when I'm Larneg. You see, I have the ability to change my shape at will. And I can also do other things. Things that your friend Mimi can't."
Mimi cowered at the back of the group. "I...no! That can't be you! Where have..." She paused, now barely speaking above a whisper. "Is that you!?"
"Oh, you bet it's me. And I've found a better leader than that totally weak Count Bleck. That was a very bad choice, choosing to work for him. I guess now is when you'll regret you ever agreed to serve him." Morris left his Larneg form and emerged in what seemed to be his true form. He looked almost identical to Mimi; a square head with black lines for limbs. However, he didn't have the hair that Mimi had, he wore blue clothing, and his skin was pure black, unlike Mimi's green. The outlines that formed his eyes and body were white, contrasting with his black body. Finally, certain parts of his skin seemed to glow a light blue. He didn't stay in this form for our heroes to look at for very long, though. "TRUE MORRIS, COME FORTH!" Morris tilted his head until his neck cracked. He rotated his head until it was completely upside-down. A chiming sound played for no apparent reason, and then Morris's head grew and became moldy and wrinkly. Long, spidery legs extended from Morris's upside-down head, and as he raised his new head, his right shoulder dislocated, leaving his normal body hanging uselessly from his giant head, and before I could get any more descriptive, his transformation into a giant spider was finished. "Now we'll see what you'll say when I defeat you all and get the promotion those robots failed!"
BOSS
Morris
Morris pulled himself up to the ceiling. He centered his body on our heroes, and suddenly fired three sharp blue stones, identical in color to the faint blue patches on his skin, in different directions. One of them was about to hit O'Chunks, but Mimi dove in front of him and took the hit herself. "'Ey, thanks, Mimi, but aren't yeh hurt?"
"I'll be fine!"
"I guess I'll just do this from experience." Mario grabbed one of the blue stones and threw it upwards at Morris's body. Morris's right three legs lost their grip, and struggled to reattatch himself to the ceiling. Knowing what to do, Peach took another stone in her hands and hit Morris with it. The spider dropped to the floor, now vulnerable. O'Chunks attempted to give him a ground pound, but Morris blocked him with a rock that sent him across the room to the left. Mario seized the moment and hit Morris with the final stone, immobilizing him. He then gave Morris a hearty jump. Mario bounced off the spider, and Morris lost one of his legs. "We just need to do that five more times!" He ran toward the stone that had hit O'Chunks, grabbed it, and hurled it at Morris. He was weakened again, so Peach hit him this time, and he now only had four legs left.
"You think you've got me? Wait until you see this." Morris walked to the right and climbed onto the wall. He began firing stones from that position, and they were coming down like the rain. A few of the heroes were hit, but they now had excellent ammo. O'Chunks grabbed a stone, and Mimi went for it with her own Rubee. Morris was hit twice and knocked to the ground, where Mario jumped on him again. He now had three legs.
"We're doing good," congratulated Mimi. "Even if..."
"Let's go for it!" Bowser hit Morris with fire, immobilizing him once again. A jump from Luigi, and only two of his legs were left.
Morris again attached himself to the ceiling. Instead of producing more blue stones, though, he caused a wave of them to sweep the area from left to right. Everyone except Bowser managed to jump it. "Come on!" griped Bowser. "I can't get hurt any more! I'm the Koopa King!" Morris began producing yet more stones. One of them hit Bowser's shell. "Oh, for the love of..."
"We've got him now!" Mario picked up two of the stones and threw them toward Morris. He landed on the ground again. Mimi hit him with a Rubee, and Bowser jumped on him to bring him to one total leg. Morris then began producing blue stones like crazy. Several of our heroes were hit, but in the confusion Mimi managed to hit him with another Rubee and damage him herself. Morris lost his last leg.
"Thanks, Mimi," said Tippi. "Now, for him to give us-"
"I'm not sure about that," said Mimi, worried.
Morris had fallen to the ground. Instead of admitting defeat, he extended six wavy legs from his head, and instead of pulling himself back up, duplicates of his head appeared at the end of each of the legs. They began firing stones at an astonishing rate. One was about to hit Mario, but Mimi again blocked the stone from reaching its target. Mario noticed the spot where Mimi had been hit with the previous stone showed no sign of being hit at all. "I guess this is the same thing." Mario picked another stone up and Mimi attacked with a Rubee. The two stones hit one of the heads, causing it to disappear.
"You're going to have to do better than that!" Morris again produced the wave, but with duplicates of his head in all different places in the battlefield, it was harder to dodge. "You're all just about dead now, aren't you? Just give up and let Dimentio activate the Chaos Heart!"
"Never!" Mimi attacked another head with a Rubee, and it vanished. Four were left. Luigi took out another one with a Super Jump, but one of the three remaining ones caught him with a stone. He fell to the ground, weakened.
Mimi attempted to use a Rubee again, but the head she was aiming for quickly swerved out of the way and hit her with another stone. "I know that isn't going to hurt," explained Morris, "but I can still damage my old friend."
Bowser and Peach targeted two of the heads. Bowser attacked one with fire, and Peach performed a parasol attack and hit the second. Only one was left, and it summoned the stone wave again. It begin producing more blue stones, coming down like a torrent. Mimi tried to get hit by as many of the stones as she could. "Why is Mimi trying to get hit?" asked Bowser.
"I don't know myself," answered Mario, "but it looks like her injuries don't stay for long."
While Morris was distracted with Mimi and the others, Luigi crept below the head and Super Jumped it. Morris was now again only his head and his small body. The heroes thought the fight was over for real this time, but Morris again grew six legs, straight ones again this time, and pulled himself back up. He again climbed to the ceiling, but this time he fired a large and incredibly sharp stone to the ground. Fortunately, no one was hit, but the weapon was now a hazard like Omega's shurikens and knives. "It's too big to pick up," warned Mimi. "I wouldn't try!"
"I can still attack him!" Luigi walked below Morris and faked charging his Super Jump. Morris fired a stone, expecting to hit Luigi as he jumped, but Luigi abruptly stopped charging, moved to the side, and truly performed the Super Jump. Morris was clinging to the ceiling with three legs again. Since no more blue stones were present, Luigi again readied the Super Jump and knocked Morris to the ground. Mimi hit him with a Rubee and Mario jumped on him, causing him to lose a leg again.
"You think you're clever!" Morris attached himself to the left wall and began firing more large sharp stones. These couldn't be used as weapons, but Mimi had a plan. She tossed a Rubee at one of the stones just as Morris began to fire it, and it the stone was knocked backwards into Morris. He was startled enough so that Bowser could attack him with fire. Now with four of his legs, Morris began aiming for Mimi. Although her injuries were healing quickly, Mimi was still taking damage. One final blue stone hit her, and her HP was knocked to zero.
"Get her to a safe place!" Mario commanded Luigi. While Luigi thought about what place in this room could possibly be safe, Mario tried pulling one of the large stones out of the ground. He succeeded, but the stone was heavy in his hands. Mimi was right when she said this wasn't a weapon, but I don't have any other choice! He threw the stone at Morris with all of his might. It hit just as Morris was about to climb onto the ceiling. O'Chunks, nearer, jumped on him, and Mario quickly followed before Morris could regain his footing. The spider climbed onto the ceiling with only two legs. He produced a rock wave again. Holding Mimi's hand, Luigi couldn't jump high enough to dodge the wave. He charged for the Super Jump, and the added power was fortunately enough to carry them both above the wave. Morris had began producing more stones, so Luigi briefly set Mimi down and took one of them. He threw it at the spider, and then Bowser repeated the action. Morris was on the ground again, so Mario grabbed another stone and attacked him with it. "Everyone, we've almost got him!" Mario and Bowser went for it, and Morris had lost all of his legs for the third time.
"GAAAAHHH!!!" Morris wailed. He fell to the ground. "No!!! Why have I lost? Why has the least skilled one defeated me?" He returned to his normal form, and the darker blue Pure Heart appeared. "I'll get my revenge on all of you. Especially Mimi. And next time, I won't show you any mercy!" He stomped his foot to emphasize his point, and then tripped and hit his head on one of the blue stones. "Ahh!" He stood up. An area of a softly glowing blue liquid was at the area where he had hit his head, the same color as the stones and the patches on his skin. "I'll get you all. Once I train with Dimentio some more, I'll GET YOU ALL!!!" He flipped out.
The blue Pure Heart was resting in front of our heroes, giving off light. "Well, here's Pure Heart number six," announced Tippi.
Mimi had woken up. "You beat him? You beat Morris?"
"Yes. Wait...Mimi...who exactly is he? He has the same talents you do."
"I...um...used to know him. And I guess he works for Dimentio now. But that's beside the point. Let's get the Pure Heart!"
If Mimi didn't want to give Tippi a straight answer, the others weren't going to push it, not with the injuries that covered their bodies that desperately made them want to return to Flipside that instant. Mario collected the blue Pure Heart.
PURE HEART GET!
-END OF CHAPTER-
The sixth Pure Heart now belonged to the heroes of prophecy. Dimentio had pulled out the big guns for this adventure, but our heroes had still prevailed. Morris and the two robots, two of Dimentio's minions, were defeated here. But with the bodily injuries that covered our heroes, could they be sure they would survive whatever Dimentio had planned next? And was Mimi trying to hide something from the others? Whatever came next, it was imminent that something big was going to happen...
-
"All three of you have failed!" accused Dimentio. "I don't understand this! We set them up with traps in the mansion, the coal mine, the rock tunnel, the obstacles in the cave, and both of you! And yet they still got their filthy hands on the Pure Heart!"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Dimentio!" apologized H-X Alpha. "Please don't spank me in front of the class!"
Dimentio noticed a tiny blue scar on Morris's head. "They're stronger than I thought," Morris explained. "I don't understand either. Mimi was the least powerful one of us all. How did she defeat me?"
"I'm sure the others helped," replied Dimentio. "That's because they have the element of teamwork. And that is exactly what I intend to destroy."
"This is what you were were talking about earlier?" asked Count Bleck.
"Yes. It's now time to put the backup plan I mentioned into action. Count Bleck, I have an assignment for you."
"Count Bleck is pleased, Master Dimentio. What shall I do?"
"I will explain it in detail once we get to the dimension of the seventh Pure Heart. But for now, the other minions should know that I have been planning to turn the heroes against each other."
"That's great!" agreed B-A Omega. "You weaken their friendship, and they aren't working together anymore. They'll be helpless!"
"Exactly. If physical attacks don't defeat them, perhaps an emotional strategy is the ticket. Emotions can hold more power than the strongest physical weapon."
Count Bleck could definitely agree with that. "You are correct!"
Dimentio continued. "Now, I'm sure you're aware Mimi has been trying to keep her past a secret from the others. If the heroes are still alive once Count Bleck is finished with his phase of the plan, I'll drop in and give the heroes a little talk, as I hinted at earlier. They'll never agree on what to do after that, so my strategy will hopefully be able to break up some of the group, if not all of them. Once they're seperated, it'll be a toddler's task to kill them or bring them into my command."
"Excellent plan," agreed the count. "But...what if it doesn't work? What if they still agree to travel together? What if..."
"If that's so, there's another phase of my plan that will bring them to certain destruction. You, Morris, have a part in that plan, but for now let's focus on what Bleck and I will do. Once I instruct Bleck, I will return here and bring Morris with me. Alpha and Omega, you take some time off and think about how you can improve your performance next time."
"Yes, Master Dimentio!"
"Now, Count Bleck, come with me. The heroes will be putty in our hands." Dimentio vanished and Bleck flipped out. Morris and the two robots were left.
"Hmm," thought Omega. "How can we do better next time? We couldn't beat them even with all of our weapons."
"We should use BANANAS!" shouted Alpha. "I keep telling you, but you won't listen! Without bananas, we don't stand a chance!"
"You should use a spreading weapon," suggested Morris. "Have a laser or something that will attack multiple targets at once. That'll solve the problem of having to take them on one at a time."
"Good idea. I'll see if I can work on something like that." The robots flipped out.
"Well, there's no one to talk to now. Guess I'll go and see what Dimentio and Bleck are doing. They won't mind." Morris flipped out as well.
"You're sure they're finished? Absolutely sure?"
"Absolutely. I have experimented with Pixls for many years. There are many different types that can be created. You can grant them different kinds of skills, and it is even possible to change their physical properties. You could even make a sentient doll as I have heard of some doing."
"Good, then. Don't they have personalities of their own, though? How will you make them loyal to me?"
"I still haven't figured that part out. I must make sure they'll always remain loyal to you."
"Well, here's hoping you find a way. Do they have names yet?"
"I think I'll call one Mimi. It's a nice pun on the fact that they can mimic others, don't you think?"
"Whatever."
"I'm not sure about the other two. Maybe I'll give them similar names."
"I have to go now. Whatever happens, make sure that these three are always used for the purposes of the Tribe of Darkness, and for no other reason. Is that clear?"
"Yes."
"I hope you understand. With the king's son being so rebellious lately, it's hard to tell what could happen."
Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, O'Chunks, Mimi, and Tippi walked out of the pale blue door atop Flipside Tower. They descended via the elevator and found one perfectly healthy Nastasia standing by the elevator. "Dimentio didn't come, like he said he wouldn't, did he?" asked Tippi.
"No, he didn't. I'm getting worried about why he wants to keep us alive, though. Wasn't he just trying to kill us? I think he's planning something."
Merlon was outside. "Oh, my! You've all been terribly injured. What happened?"
Tippi explained what had happened in the mountains. "We really need to take a rest at the inn."
"I see. Before you do, I'd like to tell you about a new passage I've read in the Light Prognosticus. I'm afraid it doesn't give us much of a clearer picture of what will happen, but it's certainly food for thought. Here it is...'The one who plans to wield the Chaos Heart will craft his plans in such a way as to almost destroy the heroes. But if the heroes join together and fight as one unit, they will defeat the enemy.'"
"One unit?" questioned Bowser. "Forget it! I'm not fighting as 'one unit' with these guys!"
"That's probably what the Prognosticus is talking about!" realized Luigi. "We have to agree to put aside our differences and fight as one if we want to defeat Dimentio. We can't all be pursuing our own interests. We have to put our own desires aside and fight for the good of all dimensions."
"Well, put, Luigi," congratulated Merlon. "Indeed, your chances of succeeding will increase if you all agree on what you are struggling for. I urge all of you to think about exactly what you are fighting for. Think as one mind while still having your individual feelings."
Nastasia stepped forward. "You have six heroes now, right? I'd like to join you guys now."
"A good choice, Nastasia. Are you done thinking about your past?"
"Yes. I've decided that, even though I may have done something wrong, I don't really know what Blumiere knew about the situation, and it happened in the past. I've gotten over it now."
"I see. Well, heroes, it seems you have a new arrival. That brings the total to seven, doesn't it? The Light Prognosticus said there would be nine...who are the other two, I wonder?"
"I have no clue..." wondered Tippi. "Who else could join us? Maybe Count Bleck, if he's freed from Dimentio's mind control...but another hero? Who could it be...?"
"Well, let's worry about that later. For now, you'd better get yourselves to the inn."
"Right!"
-Nastasia has joined the party!-
Our heroes walked to the inn, paid the fee, and rested for the night.
They woke up fully healed. "Oh yeah!" cheered Bowser. "My shell's so perfect and so much better than all of your shells!"
"We don't have shells," replied Mario.
"Shut up."
Mario sighed. "So now we've got to go back to Flopside for the Heart Pillar," announced Mario. They walked out of the inn and took the path to Flopside. Once there, they climbed to the second floor, flipped through the gate, and flipped again to reach a pipe. In this pipe, they flipped yet again, finding a heart pillar to the left. Mario placed the blue Pure Heart in the pillar. The patterns appeared again, the darker blue door was drawn atop Flipside Tower, and the gateway to the dimension of the second-to-last Pure Heart was completed. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, O'Chunks, Mimi, Nastasia, and Tippi returned to Flipside Tower and entered the door, not knowing what to expect in the dimension their quest took them next.
-
Six Pure Hearts were now in the hands of our seven heroes. Only two remained, and then the heroes of prophecy would be ready to stop Dimentio. Could they find these two before Dimentio pulled off his plan to activate the Chaos Heart? How did he plan to do this in the first place? And why did he want to keep Bleck's minions alive, after wanting to kill them for so long? Our heroes thought about these mysteries again. They didn't really know any more than when this quest had begun. Something, though, told them that something major was about to happen. Something told them that they would encounter things in this dimension stranger than anything they'd seen so far. And something told them Dimentio's next plan would be his most potent yet. Were they ready to face the chellenges ahead? Could they fight as one and defeat Dimentio and his minions? Only time would tell.
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A line was drawn.
Joining this line were several others, forming all kinds of shapes of rocks scattered on the ground. The ground itself was colored a moderate tan. Several trees appeared, being colored a deep pine green. In the distance, some small mountains were visible, all made of tan rocks. The sky was in afternoon, but it wouldn't be too long of a time before sunset approached. Finally, some bushes and weeds were added for decoration. The blue door was drawn into existence, and our heroes stepped into the dimension that would take them to the seventh Pure Heart.
"It's not far from sunset," mused Mario. "We might have to travel in the dark, since we really just got up, and we won't be tired."
"The sky is making me feel like it's late afternoon anyway," stated Peach.
Tippi felt for the Pure Heart. "I think it's..."
"It's what?" asked O'Chunks, after Tippi had been silent for some time.
"Well, I hate to say this, but although I can tell that the Pure Heart is in that direction," with the sun at the left, "I can barely feel it. We're going to have to do a lot of walking."
"Well, at least this time there's no crazy mansion traps or obstacles to wreck my oh-so-perfect shell, right?" pointed out Bowser.
Nastasia looked around. "This place is out in the middle of nowhere. Hopefully Dimentio won't be able to pull off another complex plan like you guys described."
"The last place we visited was pretty much in the middle of nowhere," countered Luigi. "But Dimentio managed to pull off his most complicated plan yet."
"I hope he doesn't manage," wailed Mimi.
"Well, we'll worry about Dimentio later," assured Tippi. "We might as well start walking, because the Pure Heart is very, very far away. At least I'm glad it's in the opposite direction of those larger mountains. I've had enough mountains for one adventure."
"Let's get started then," asserted Mario.
Our heroes began traveling through the rocky landscape. It was similar to the areas they'd already traveled in; jumps, ? Blocks, pitfalls, trampolines, enemies, etc. However, after entering a door or two, our heroes encountered strange platforms spaced over a huge pit. They were made of a green circle in the center and three red circles on each side, forming a line. Some of them occaisonally rotated around the green center. "I've dealt with these before," pointed out Mario. "...and Luigi. We have to careful, or else we'll be tossed into the abyss."
"Can you show us how to cross them safely?" suggested Mimi.
"Sure. Here's how it's done." Mario jumped onto the first platform, which didn't rotate, and it tilted slightly in the direction he was standing on it. He jumped briefly on the other side to balance it out, then jumped to the next platform. It was about to begin spinning, so Mario performed a high jump. The platform finished spinning by the time Mario landed on it again, so he jumped off that platform and onto the next. He continued doing this until he was on the other side of the valley.
"I'll go next." Luigi began hopping across the platforms. He was followed by Peach, Nastasia, Mimi, and O'Chunks. Only Bowser remained on the other side, Tippi having crossed the canyon earlier. Bowser jumped onto the first platform, but since he was rather unexperienced with this sort of platforming, he landed on the first spinning platform as it began rotating. He was almost thrown off, but managed to grab onto one edge of the platform.
"WHAAAA!!!" he shouted, being spun around in circles by the platform. When it finally stopped, Bowser tried to pull himself onto the top, but his dizziness prevented him from doing it too quickly, and the platform began rotating again. However, this time Bowser had an idea. He jumped out of the platform as it carried him upwards, and the momentum was enough to send him through the air all the way to the other side where the other heroes were waiting. "Oh yeah! I'm so much more physically coordinated than all of you!"
The heroes continued walking until they came to the next area. There was another huge pit, with some stationary stone platforms spanning it. There was another occasionally spinning platform below these stone ones. It provided some, but not enough, help to get high enough to reach the stone platforms. Mario tried jumping from this platform to the one above with a running start, but it still wasn't enough. "Hmm..." Mario flipped into 3D, and two Flip Blocks above the rotating platform became visible. However, the platform itself was paper-thin, meaning he couldn't jump on it to hit the blocks. Mario still knew what to do, though. He went back to 2D, jumped on the platform when it wasn't spinning, and then hit one the blocks, repeating the process for the next one. There was now a convenient platform for our heroes to use. However, once they had stepped onto the high stone platform, dozens of Cheep-Cheeps began flying around them! "Oh, no!" uttered Mario. "These flying fish are quite-"
"-dangerous!" finished Nastasia after being smacked in the face with one.
"Hurry!" urged Luigi. "We've got to get to the other side as fast as we can!" Our heroes made a mad dash for the other side. After a few seconds of running, they came across more of the unsafe platforms.
"Oh, give me a break!" groaned Peach. "This and Cheep-Cheeps?"
"Wait," started Mario. "I have an idea." He jumped onto the spinning platform. He allowed it to spin him in circles, then let go when the platform carried him up. He dove through the air, knocking out several fish, and landed on the other side. "Quick! Before more of them come!" The other followed the example Mario had set before, and they all came out safely on the other side. The fish attack continued, however. Our heroes were continually taking damage.
"'Ere! The door!" exclaimed O'Chunks. Our heroes rushed into it, safe from the flying Cheep-Cheeps.
The scenery had begun to have increasingly few trees, and it seemed more rocky. The ground became more reddish as well. The sky edged closer to sunset, faint hints of sunset orange appearing in the clouds. "It seems like it's getting drier," noted Mimi.
"It's rockier too," added Mario. "Given that we're walking away from the mountains back there, we might be walking toward a desert."
"A desert?" asked Tippi.
"Yes. It's getting rockier and drier, and mountains tend to block rain and moisture, so they sometimes have deserts on one side. And I guess the Pure Heart just happens to be in the direction we'd rather not travel."
"A desert," repeated Nastasia. "I'm too fond of those. I hope it's a small one."
"I'm not fond of walking through harsh stretches of land either," agreed Bowser. "Let's hurry up and get this over with."
"Over with?" came a familiar voice out of nowhere. "Why not pause and savor the show?"
"What was that voice?" asked Luigi.
Tippi was about to say who she knew it was, but a thin black line in the air interrupted her. Moments later, her suspicion was confirmed as Count Bleck flipped in before them, accompanied by his "Champion of Destruction" theme music. "Yes, pause and savor the show, for your game's end draws near!"
"Count Bleck!" shouted Tippi. "I mean, Blumiere! What have you become? Why are you here?"
"Count Bleck is here to bring about your deaths. And even if Count Bleck fails, his master will take care of you all, once and for good."
"Blumiere..." Tippi returned to her true form. "Blumiere...why have you turned against us? Why do you serve Dimentio? What happened to the Blumiere I once knew? I had thought you were going to remain my loving husband when you ended your plan to destroy all worlds. And now this?"
Bleck pulled his hand up to the brim of his hat. "Who is this 'Blumiere' you speak of? I am Count Bleck, servant of Dimentio, and I shall destroy you all here and now!"
"Oh...Blumiere..."
"Why are you working for him?" questioned Mario. "How did he force you to serve him?"
The count continued his contemplative pose. "Dimentio has kept many secrets you heroes do not know. Terrible secrets. Secrets that, if you learned the truth behind them, might cause you to no longer agree to work together as heroes."
"That's impossible! We all know we have to work together!"
"Do you, now? There are secrets in this world. You cannot deny that. And Count Bleck is aware of them. He knows Dimentio's true identity. That is the reason why Count Bleck has agreed to serve him. Because of who Dimentio truly is."
"Who is he, then?" asked Luigi.
"That is a secret that must be kept for now. You may learn it eventually, but you have no business learning the world's secrets right now. Count Bleck is not here to lecture you on the untold. He is here to end your games."
"You're not serving him because of any 'true identity' nonsense!" shouted Nastasia. "You're serving him because Dimentio hypnotized you! With a power that can match even mine..."
"Enough chatter! Now is when Count Bleck will take your games away like the wind at night. Your games end...NOW!" The count waved his staff. Instead of fighting them directly, Bleck caused the ground to begin shaking until the area was experiencing a major earthquake.
"Blumiere!" urged Timpani. "Please! Stop working for Dimentio! Have you forgotten even me? Please-AAAHH!!!" An explosion of magma erupted next to her. She quickly jumped out of the way and reverted to Tippi.
"Silence, foolish girl," declared Bleck. "Resistance means nothing in the monocled gaze...of Count Bleck!" He flashed his staff again. Bolts of lightning dropped onto the heroes like...well, lightning.
"We can't fight him like this," warned Mario. "We've got to escape!"
"You can't escape!" countered Bleck. "I will leave you with one last surprise. And then you shall be destroyed...because of Count Bleck!" With another wave of his staff, the ground began shaking even harder. "You won't be living for much longer. And even if you somehow survive, Dimentio will give you just a small preview of the secrets I know. Everyone wants to know the world's secrets. But once they do, they regret they ever cared. The secrets I know are too great and terrible for anyone to bear...but don't let that stop you from trying to learn them! BLEH HEH HEH HEH HEH! BLECK!" And with that, Count Bleck flipped out.
The fire columns and lightning had ceased, but the earthquake continued. "We've got to get out of here!" advised Luigi.
Suddenly, an explosion occured in the ground. More boiling hot lava burst from the ground, and after a few seconds, the ground itself began splitting apart. Lava was visible below the ground, and the gap grew ever wider as the ground began sliding into itself, splashing into the lava. Tippi urged the others. "This hole will engulf as all! Quick, let's get out of here!"
"I'll second that!" Nastasia began running in the direction of the Pure Heart as fast as she could, and the others followed suit. However, the disappearing ground was catching up with them.
"Climb this mountain!" yelled Mimi. "We can avoid the lava!" The other heroes followed her up the slope of a nearby mountain. The upward climb slowed the spreading magma crater, but didn't stop it. As the heroes climbed farther, huge pieces of the mountain broke off and tumbled into the lava. One of them carried Peach.
"AAIIEE!!!" Peach fell toward the lava.
"Peach!" uttered Mario. She was too far below to be helped. "Find safe ground!"
Peach obeyed, using her parasol to float to the side so she'd land on a safe patch of land. It wasn't safe for long, though. Peach tried to climb the mountain as she avoided the spreading magma, but the mountain was crumbling apart as well. "Get off the mountain, everyone!" Peach commanded to the others.
"We're safe up here!" argued Tippi. "Try to get up!"
"No! You have to come down! Or else..." She looked back at the spreading lava. The other heroes understood. They hurried down the mountainside as fast as they could toward Peach. They jumped off the mountain just as the entire thing collapsed into the lava, creating a gigantic splash of burning lava. A tiny drop of lava hit the side of Luigi's face.
"AAHH!!!" He touched the spot where he had been hit by the lava drop. It burned.
"Is there anything I can do?" asked Mario.
"I don't know! What do you treat lava burns with?"
"Um...I'm not sure."
As Luigi's pain gradually subsided, an eerie silence hung over the area. The lava had stopped spreading, and now a gigantic crater of lava resided in the area our heroes had escaped from. "So what now?" asked O'Chunks. "The Pure Heart's somewhere out 'ere, innit?"
"Yes," agreed Tippi. "Somewhere in that desert." It had drawn closer to sunset, and the sky was now a dull purplish-bluish. Very few clouds were visible in the sky. In the direction of the Pure Heart, a vast desert of red stones stretched to the horizon with no end in sight.
"We have to go through there?" asked Mimi.
"Yes. We must do it. To find the Pure Heart...to rescue all dimensions from destruction...and...to save my husband."
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
The vast expanse of nothing stretched before our heroes. How big was this desert? How long would it take them to cross it? Our heroes held back for a few minutes, not wanting to cross the arid terrain. But eventually they realized they were delaying the inevitable. They remembered they had to cross the desert, or they'd never find the Pure Heart. The common goal of finding the Pure Heart helped our heroes bind together and start crossing the vast, barren terrain. But would it be a common goal for long?
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There was nothing but red rocks in every direction our heroes could see, stretching to the horizon as the sun set. The sky had reduced to a dull bluish-purplish, with no clouds visible, so the sun stood out like a giant fireball in the sky. Without anything to interfere with its light, the sun was brighter than our heroes had ever seen it. They tried to face away from it for the sake of their eyes. "How close is the Pure Heart, Tippi?" asked Mario.
"It's...closer, but it's still far away." She sighed. "At least we know the Pure Heart is somewhere in this direction."
"I sure hope the desert doesn't stretch all the way there," added Luigi.
"It's not likely," assured Mario. "We're in the rain shadow of the mountains, so the landscape should become less dry as soon as we hit another air current."
"Spare us all the science stuff, OK?" asked Bowser. "As long as I know we're getting out of this desert sometime, I'm good."
The heroes continued walking. The sun slowly sank toward the horizon as the sky darkened. As the heroes continued their march, they sometimes lost awareness of what they were doing. They had been traveling for hours. Was the Pure Heart any nearer?
A sudden shine on the ground brought our heroes back to full consciousness. "Huh?" uttered Peach. "What time is it? The sun's set."
"I hadn't realized that," added Mimi. "What have we been doing since we got to this desert? I think I was half-conscious."
"What's that shine?" inquired Nastasia. It was a large area of shine, barely visible but very present in the dim red post-sunset light.
Mario walked up to it and heard a noise as water splashed under his foot. "Water! It's a lake!"
"Yeh gotta..." O'Chunks ran up to him and stepped in the water. "It's true!"
Our heroes hadn't eaten or drank anything for quite a while, so they scrambled to the body of water and satisfied their thirst. "Stop shoving, Mario!" accused Bowser.
"I'm way over here!" Mario's voice came from the other side of the group.
"Oh. Whatever. Who is this, then?"?
"Me?" asked Nastasia. "You keep shoving. Stop it."
"Why, you! Get out of the Koopa King's space, RIGHT NOW!" Nastasia fled.
Once they were satisfied, our heroes continued. They were fully conscious now, and since they weren't in any bad conditions, they started reverting to their normal emotions again. "How long do we have to DO this??" complained Bowser.
"Be patient." Tippi was going to continue, but Bowser cut her off.
"Well, I'm SICK of being patient! I'm SICK of traveling through all these wacko areas! And I'm SICK of following you guys everywhere!"
There was some silence before another familiar voice came. "Indeed, Bowser. You're sick of being with those heroes, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I sure am, voice from nowhere."
A sudden rectangular flash appeared before our heroes, and when it was gone, none other than Dimentio was floating in front of the group. "Oh, you don't have to be so rude, Bowser. It's just Dimentio, your favorite villain."
"What do you want? Spit it out or get out of my face. And just so you know, I'M the #1 villain around here."
"My, you're quite irritated, aren't you? Your fury, it burns with the intensity of a sudden and unexpected forest fire that grows in magnitude with every passing minute! And you've got quite the nerve to speak to me in that manner. Do you know who I am? I am Dimentio! Soon enough, I will be ruler of all dimensions. And I will not tolerate that manner of speech in my empire."
"Well, guess what, funny guy? You're not going to build an empire. And as long as you aren't ruling anything, I can do what I want to you. And even if you were ruling something, no matter how big, you can't tell the Koopa King what to do."
"You continue to amaze me, Bowser, with your persistence. But I did not come here to comment on your behavior. I came here for a much larger purpose."
"And what is that?" asked Tippi.
"Why, I have come here merely to let you know something. That is, if this cranky Bowser will pause long enough to let me speak."
"Go ahead," approved Bowser. "I'm totally interested in whatever nonsense you have to say."
"Thank you, Bowser. Now, heroes, I assume you have heard of the Tribe of Darkness?"
"Why do you need to know?" asked Tippi.
"I'm going to assume you have. They split from the Tribe of Ancients after the Pixl Uprising. The person who founded it took the Dark Prognosticus to make sure nothing of that magnitude happened ever again."
"Wait," interrupted Mario. "Didn't the Tribe of Darkness steal the Dark Prognosticus to increase their dark magic?"
"I was just getting to that, but no, that is not the reason they took it. That was a rumor started by someone in the Tribe of Ancients. Now, I'm sure you know that the creation of new Pixls and others like them was outlawed after the uprising?" He didn't wait for them to answer before he continued. "Well, a magician of the Ancients knew of a passage in the Light Prognosticus that stated that its author, Merlumina, would help fulfill a prophecy that was not in his favor. This magician was very selfish and considered himself above the law. He had illegally created three Pixls, and they were no ordinary Pixls. He was helped by an evil witch to create three Pixls that could do nearly anything because they could copy the shape of others. So he devised a plan to kill Merlumina with the help of these Pixls. Rumors of the plan reached Merlumina, though, and she was quite upset since she was preparing to hide a Pure Heart in the Yold Desert. She moved to another area to hide and created a spell that would put a curse on anyone who tried to kill her. Afraid that her killers would come at any moment, she had an entire village sing a lullaby for her for her to fall asleep for the 1,500 years needed to keep the Pure Heart. I'll describe what happened when the Pixls reached the area they were preparing, one quote at a time, and giving few details for that nice sweet abandoned memory style."
"You're both ready? 'Cause I sure am."
"Yeah...I guess."
"Is something wrong, Mimi?"
"No, just...well, let's go."
"I'll lead. Because I'm the smartest, the prettiest, and-"
"Whoa! What are all these people doing here?"
"They look like they're leaving..."
"Some are staying around, though."
"We'll have to be sneaky at this."
"She's asleep. Do you have the knife?"
"Yes. It's right here."
"OK. Ready and..."
"Whoa! Is this an earthquake or something?"
"Whaaa! The room's spinning!"
"Whew. It's over n-wha? Why is everything upside-down?"
"ACK!"
"What...what happened?"
"Morris! Your voice is so creepy!"
"So is yours, smart one!"
"Shut up! Stop acting-"
"YOU!"
"Oh..."
"Merlumina! She's been killed! You three creepy spider things are obviously-"
"RUN!"
"Wait. We can still change to our original shape, right?"
"I think so. Care to try it out, smart one?"
"Why don't you try it first?"
"Hey!"
"Oh, it's you. Want to apologize for what you did to us?"
"Apologize? Why would I do that? You succeeded!"
"You were just trying to get rid of us."
"What!? You can still change back to your original form. The curse is just a minor side effect."
"I don't care! You used us for your own selfish purposes. We quit!"
"Oops...looks like I'm out of time. Count Bleck's new training session ends in just a few minutes. Well, I'm off for now, but remember what I told you. And Bowser, maybe a nicer attitude would do you good. Until next time, hereos...ciao!" Dimentio disappeared to wherever Count Bleck was training.
"Yeah? You can't boss me around. If you hadn't disappeared, why, I'd..." Bowser was the only one speaking as the others all looked at Mimi. She was sitting down and crying.
Tippi floated toward her. "Mimi...if you tell me Dimentio was lying, I'll believe you."
She sobbed. "No...it's true. I...that really happened."
Nastasia walked up to her. "You all right?"
"Me? Why do you care?"
"Because we're fellow minions. Well, ex-minions, anyway. And I want you to stop crying."
"Why? None of you care. Not after you know what I did. That I..." She was crying too hard to finish her sentence.
Mario grabbed her hand. "Mimi, I don't want to see you cry either. That was the past. You can't change it. What matters it what's happening now. You can't change the past, so you might as well focus on the future."
"What?"
"You were hiding a skeleton in the closet ever since Bleck was defeated so that we wouldn't know what you did. But look at the other minions. O'Chunks committed a pretty big crime, and so did Nastasia. But they've moved on. They regret what they've done, but they don't let it bog them down."
"Are you...are you forgiving me?"
"Why not? You're a hero now, aren't you? You're helping us stop Dimentio from destroying all of existence. Your heart is in the right place. And heroes don't mind each other's wrongdoings."
"Well, I sure do."
Our heroes turned toward the voice. "What?" asked Mario.
"You heard me," asserted Bowser. "I sure mind that I now know I'm being forced to travel with a murderer among the rest of you wimps. And the Koopa King doesn't associate himself with people he doesn't like."
"What are you saying, Bowser?" asked Peach.
"I'm saying that, the whole time we've been on this stinking adventure, I haven't been having fun. And I've been traveling with people who don't appreciate me and constantly criticize my every move."
"But that's because you're doing something bad all the time!" argued Luigi. "You're a hero, but you're still a villain."
"Exactly. And villains don't travel with heroes. Especially not with heroes who're going to kill me in my sleep."
"Bowser, she's not..."
"There you go again, trying to change my mind! Who do you guys think you are? First you treated me like we were old pals in the fortress. Then you got all upset because I fried Kara, and made me wait for Mario to solve that stupid puzzle. And THEN you got all defensive about Paletta and dragged me through that whole stupid cave. And I'm still here, being held against my will. Why have I been traveling with you idiots anyway? You're just dragging me to one dumb place after another, criticizing me for everything I do, and making me travel with this murderer freak. Well, guess what? Let's see how you like it if I'm not here!"
"Bowser..." started Mario, but Bowser cut him off.
"Goodbye, heroes. It's been nice knowing you jerks. See ya." Bowser began walking in the direction of the Pure Heart.
"Bowser, it's late!" cautioned Tippi. "You can't just leave! You'll get lost!"
"So what? Anywhere is better than this stupid little group."
"Bowser, we're heroes! What are you going to do when you're by yourself?"
"Yeah, so what if you're heroes? I'm better than all of you. I'LL find the Pure Hearts. I'LL save the world. And I'LL be the world's most famous hero, and Princess Peach will like ME, and people will swarm ME for autographs." He continued walking away.
"BOWSER!" called Nastasia, but it was too late. Bowser had officially left the party.
A long silence ensued before Peach spoke. "He's gone. Even his love for me wasn't enough to make him stay."
"I knew it would happen sometime," agreed Luigi. "Bowser's been clashing with us for a long time."
"There's something I don't get, though. Bowser said one of the reasons he was leaving was because Mimi killed Merlumina. Bowser's evil. Why would he care who killed who?"
"Bowser isn't truly evil," sighed Mario. "He's just misguided. And he'd prefer not to hang out with people like us."
"So what now? Do we look for him? Or should we just look for the Pure Hearts without him?"
"Well, we're going in the same direction. We might as well continue, and if we don't find him tonight, we'll just make camp wherever we can."
The heroes, minus Bowser, had made camp at the base of a large mountain in their way. "This desert's trapped between two mountain ranges," observed Mario. "No wonder it was so large and dry."
"Well, as long as we're resting," started Luigi, "we might as well talk about what Dimentio told us like you suggested."
"Oh, right." Mario paused. "Well, everyone, do you think Dimentio was telling the truth? I mean, about the things other than how Mimi was cursed?"
"He sure made the Ancients sound corrupt," noted Peach. "I don't think one of the Ancient magicians would really try to kill Merlumina."
"That isn't true," agreed Mimi. "The very first thing I remember...someone in the room where we were created was telling another person to use us for the Tribe of Darkness."
"Someone?" asked Nastasia. "Do you have any idea who it was?"
"I'm not sure, but it was probably Amtakan. We spent most of our time with him. We didn't really know what he wanted us for, but I'm pretty sure he was either part of the Tribe of Darkness or working with them. He's the one who sent us to kill Merlumina."
"So Dimentio was lying when he said this magician was part of the Ancients," noted Mario. "He must have figured there was enough truth in his story for us to believe all of it."
"Speaking of which," continued Nastasia, "why did he tell us that in the first place? And how does he know all that stuff?"
"To break us up," answered Peach with sudden realization. "He was hoping that if we knew Mimi's backstory, we'd refuse to let her travel with us, and we'd be broken up. That's probably why he wanted to keep Bleck's minions alive for now."
"And that would leave us as easy targets," agreed Luigi. "Well, he did partially succeed."
"Yeh can bet on 'at," finished O'Chunks. "I 'ope Bowser ain't lost somewhere in 'ese mountains."
"So is what he said about the Tribe of Darkness true?" continued Mario. "About how the founder escaped with the Dark Prognosticus after the Pixl Uprising? And speaking of the Prognosticus, what was Merlumina going to do that Amtakan didn't want her to do?"
"He said the prophecy wasn't in Amtakan's favor..." mused Mimi. "Even I don't know what he wanted her dead for. What did Merlumina do that would be in disfavor of the Tribe of Darkness?"
"She did change me into a human," offered Nastasia. "And I eventually became a hero. Maybe that was written in the Light Prognosticus?"
Mario suddenly remembered a passage in the Light Prognosticus he thought he understood the meaning of now, but Luigi spoke before he could announce it. "What was the Tribe of Darkness trying to accomplish anyway? Were they really that evil?"
"Count Bleck...I mean, Blumiere must have been a rebel," noted Mario. "He loved Timpani, but his father disapproved because the Tribe of Darkness wanted to keep the royal bloodline. What kind of conspiracy did they have? Or was it a conspiracy at all? And who was this Amtakan guy?"
"Blumiere didn't tell me much of anything about the Tribe of Darkness," replied Tippi. "I wonder what he knew that he didn't tell me."
"Is it possible that Amtakan was Blumiere's father?" suggested Nastasia. "It would make sense, since we know Amtakan was involved with the Tribe of Darkness in some way or another, and he seems powerful."
"That can't be true," countered Mimi. "Remember when I said two people were talking in the room we were created in? One of them said 'with the king's son being so rebellious'. That's Bleck's father, since Count Bleck was the prince of the Tribe of Darkness."
A pause allowed Mario to say what he had been thinking about. "Remember when Merlon told us about a passage in the Light Prognosticus he read? It was after we defeated King Animaul. It said 'Of three lost friends, only one will survive the chaos that will ensue upon the Chaos Heart's reemergence.'"
Mimi gasped. "The three lost friends! I didn't know what had happened to either of the other two when I joined Bleck. He offered for all three of us to join him, but Morris backed out, and Margaret probably thought she was too good to join him."
"And then Dimentio apparently found Morris. So Margaret is still out there somewhere?"
"I think so. But until now I hadn't heard from either of them. I don't know if she's even still alive. Only one of us will live..."
"I'm wondering about that passage," began Peach. "I know we talked about this before, but it seems to say that Dimentio will reactivate the Chaos Heart. And how's he going to do it in the first place?"
"There's a lot we don't know," agreed Tippi. "Let's just hope Dimentio will give us some more answers. Remember the passage Merlon told us about after we defeated Radnamok X? It said that Dimentio will reveal his deepest secret once we collect all of the Pure Hearts again."
"Yes," agreed Mario. "We don't know everything, but we can make educated guesses and make use of the information we have."
Luigi yawned. "It's getting real late. I'm going to bed now."
"I'll join yeh." O'Chunks lied down on a rock.
"These rocks are pathetic excuses for pillows," started Nastasia, "but they'll have to do."
There was a few minutes of silence before Mario spoke again. "You know, when you're out in places you've never seen before, out in the middle of nowhere, looking up at the stars like this...it really gives you a chance to think. About your situation. About life. Maybe I should stay out at night more often. I don't contemplate things over very often."
"Like what those giant glass corkscrews are doing above us?" suggested Luigi.
"Giant glass corkscrews?" Mario looked in the direction of the mountains, away from the desert, and indeed, he could barely make out two glass corkscrews floating in the air above them, high above the nearest mountain, resembling screws without the head. The left one seemed to be upright, forming a short vertical line, but the one on the right was angled at about 45 degrees slightly to the right of our heroes. They hovered in the air, not moving whatsoever. "Weird. What are they doing there?"
"Well, you've seen stranger things on some of your adventures, right?" asked Mimi.
"Indeed, I have." He paused. "Well, unless those corkscrews somehow fall and crash into us, have a good night, everyone."
"I will." Luigi began snoring.
Mario yawned as well. "First thing tomorrow, let's look for Bowser." Mario then drifted into sleep, joined by the others moments later.
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
I think this is one of the longer fanfics this forum has seen. If you guys are still reading it, could you tell me? I'd be glad to know. ;)
Bowser was gone, fed up with how he was being treated. He was off somewhere in this new mountain range, possibly lost. Would he rejoin the group and become a hero again? If not, who were the last three heroes described in the Light Prognosticus? Hoping to find Bowser, our heroes set out for the Pure Heart when the sun rose. What would they find on the other side of the mountains? Besides the glass corkscrews, that is...
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The sky was a dull light blue and seemed to have a slight tanish tone as well. The rocks of the mountains started growing less red and became more on the tan side, similar to the rocks of when they had first entered this dimension, but a bit more gray. These mountains weren't like the ones they'd traveled through in the previous dimension; they weren't as high, and sloped more gradually. And, of course, there were the glass corkscrews, floating high above them, reflecting the morning sun's light in all sorts of twisty directions. "What are those things?" wondered Peach.
"Well, unless we can reach them," began Nastasia, "I don't think we can find out."
A large valley confronted our heroes after a few minutes. There was a large platform with a green top and orange bottom floating above the ground slightly before the pit began. Several standard and upside-down Bullet Bill cannons were arrayed across the pit. To someone who's played decent amounts of Mario games, it would be apparent that the platform would start moving across the pit when our heroes jumped on it, and they would have to dodge the masses of Bullet Bills that came their way. Mario jumped onto it first, and the others climbed on before it was out of reach. The first Bullet Bill attack came almost immediately. "Jump!" shouted Mario as the wave approached them. They all dodged the first few rounds of ammunition. However, when they came nearer, it was evident they'd have to jump between two cannons, one standard and one upside-down, at the same time while avoiding more fire. They did this successfully, but it was clear the next few trials wouldn't be so easy. Toward the middle, the heroes vaulted over a tall line of Bullets, but Peach jumped too soon and was hit by a Bullet on her descent. It exploded, sending her flying back over the chasm. "PEACH!" Mario shouted.
Fortunately, Peach wasn't going to die. She floated back to the moving platform with her parasol, narrowly missing the next Bill assault. "I'm fine, Mario." They continued until the platform had almost reached the other side. They were relieved, but there was still one more cannon standing between them and the other side, and this one had the most firepower yet.
"If only Bowser was here!" wished Luigi. "He could get rid of these bullets lickety-split!" Luigi readied his Super Jump and sailed over the bullets. The others dodged the bullets as well, with relative success. Nastasia wasn't used to platforming like this, since her only other platforming experience had been at the rotating platforms. A Bullet Bill managed to hit her at the rear end of the platform. Fortunately, Mario quickly grabbed her hand and made sure she didn't leave the platform. Soon enough, the ride stopped and our heroes could jump onto solid ground. They continued fighting through enemies and obstacles until they came to an uprise. It was gradual enough to be climbed, but avoiding enemies was more difficult on a slope. When they reached the top, the ground leveled out. They were standing on a small peak, and a large glass corkscrew was floating in the air a few feet away. They'd fall if they tried to touch it, so they just stared. Looking at it close-up didn't give our heroes any indication of what it might be. It just hovered, perfectly still.
"What is it?" Mimi stared at it thoughtfully.
Tippi floated until she was next to it. "I don't feel anything out of the ordinary. It's just a normal glass corkscrew."
"Just your garden variety floating, inexplicable glass corkscrew, huh?" added Luigi. "Sorry. Couldn't resist."
"Well, it must have some signifigance," pointed out Mario. "It can't be natural, can it?"
"Is there something inside it?" Peach looked closely, but saw nothing besides the glass and a reflection of her own face. "This is really weird."
"The Pure Heart is getting closer," felt Tippi. "We'll have to just keep our questions to ourselves if we can't figure it out."
The six heroes treaded down the nearby slope and continued their journey. In the direction of the Pure Heart and slightly to the left, our heroes observed a large mountain, much taller than the ones around it. It didn't have a true peak; it had a large plateau at the top rather than the relatively sharp peak that characterized the other mountains. "That's a strange mountain," noticed Mario.
"What isn't strange around here?" asked Luigi.
"It's got a flat top," added Nastasia. "Could it be a volcano?"
"Oh, don't tell me the Pure Heart is inside the volcano!" wailed Mimi.
"We'll see," assured Tippi. "Come on."
A few minutes later along their trail, our heroes encountered another large uprise. They couldn't climb it, but they enter a door that led into the bowels of the mountain. "Should we go in there?" worried Luigi.
"It'll be fine," assured O'Chunks. "'Ow about we go in?"
"We have lots of cave experience," weighed Mario. "We'll safe, especially since I don't see Dimentio or Morris or anyone who would try to stop us."
Our heroes ducked into the cave. After traveling down a short passage, our heroes came to a large field of spikes. It was too large for anyone to cross except Peach, and at that, two large white spikes were attached to the ceiling above. "What do we do here, Mario?" asked Mimi.
"Just a minute! I'm figuring it out." Mario thought for a few seconds, and then jumped out over the spikes, angling himself back to safe ground at the apex of his jump. He had guessed correctly; the spike was one of those loose spikes that would fall when someone came near. He jumped onto the safe end of the spike, now embedded in the spike bed on the ground, and the second spike repeated the performance. Mario jumped from that spike to safe ground on the other side. "Just do what I did." The others followed Mario's example and jumped over the spike field. Once they were all on the other side, they continued through the cave, defeating enemies, scoring points and Leveling Up until they found a door that took them out of the cave. They emerged outside in the mountains again, but the rocks were grayer still in this region, and yet another strange glass decoration was visible. There were no corkscrews anywhere, but the ground contained several glass formations with three pointy ends pointing straight up and slightly to the left and right, almost like some kind of glass plant.
"More glass?" Luigi bent down and touched one of the "plants". "Ouch! These are pretty sharp."
Tippi observed the formations. "There's nothing special about these, either. They're just glass formations. There's no kind of power in them."
"Does that mean they're natural?" mused Peach. "No, that can't be right. If they were some kind of plant, they'd be growing, so they'd come in different sizes. But they're all identical."
Luigi kicked one of the glass formations. Part of one of the tips broke off. "It looks like they're not indestructable, either."
"If they're not natural, did someone put them here?" wondered Mario.
"'Ey, look over 'ere," announced O'Chunks, pointing to one of the "plants". It was melted and warped.
"That one looks like it's been under intense heat," noted Mario. "But what heat source is there here? And why is that one burned and none of the others?"
"Oh! Oh!" Peach had figured it out. "Remember how Bowser went this way? I think he scorched one of these glass things to see what would happen."
Tippi's voice grew excited. "You think so? Well, that's good news! At least we know Bowser came this way."
"And that means he should be somewhere in the direction of the Pure Heart," finished Mario. "I wonder what he'll do if we catch up to him."
"Speaking of catching up to him," stated Mimi, "we've got to hurry and find the next Pure Heart, or he could find it before us!"
"That's right. It's a race now. A race we can't afford to lose. Come on, we've got to get there fast!"
The heroes, moving more quickly, defeated enemies and dodged the spiky glass objects on their way to the Pure Heart. The enemies in this area were a bit strange-looking, but they were very, very dangerous. They resembled huge bats, with large fanged teeth and wings, but were teal blue. Our heroes were hit several times as they traveled. The tall mountain in the background drew closer and closer. They could now clearly tell it was a volcano, and the landscape around showed it. Bubbling hot springs had appeared on the ground, occaisonally emitting steam. It was a perilous place to be.
Soon enough, our heroes encountered a bridge that spanned a large canyon. They could observe a town on the other side. The heroes couldn't help thinking something was familiar about the landscape. Where had they seen this area before? Or maybe they had just heard about it? This question didn't stay in their minds for long, though. If Bowser had entered the town, there was no telling what might have happened. And hopefully he hadn't gotten his claws on the Pure Heart before our heroes had even gotten there!
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
Awesome as ever my friend! How can you write so much in one sitting?
-
Awesome as ever my friend! How can you write so much in one sitting?
Thanks. ;)
Actually, it usually takes me more than one sitting to finish a chapter. I usually work on them at school if I've finished my work and don't feel like talking (or, in this week's case, in the spare silent time after I finish my exams). If I've been working on a chapter and don't have it done by Friday, I usually finish it on the computer over the weekend (this is what I did with 5-3) which is why I usually post a new chapter on Friday or Saturday. I finished 6-3 faster than most chapters, though, which is why I had it ready today.
I think you'll all like 6-4; it's got a good balance of plot, action, and fighting. I'll have it ready this weekend if all goes according to plan. ;)
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A town had appeared before our heroes. As they crossed the bridge, they couldn't tell exactly what kind of town it was, but they could tell it had probably been there for a long time. What would they find here? Where was the Pure Heart? What had happened when Bowser entered the town? Our heroes entered, having a deep feeling that something was about to happen...
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The town seemed normal. There were no destroyed buildings, panicking people, or flaming grass. And, there was no Bowser around to be causing any of these things. The air around the town, while still somewhat dry, was more humid than that of the desert and mountains, and several clumps of grass were growing among the grayish-tan dirt. "Where's Bowser?" wondered Peach. "Did he not come here?"
"Let's ask around town," suggested Nastasia. "We might be able to find out where he is."
As they came closer to the buildings, they could observe citizens that looked remarkably like the people of Flipside and Flopside. When they reached the space between the first two buildings, though, they were surprised in a whole new way. A person who looked almost exactly like Merlon, except for the red cloak and different designs, was standing there! "Are you the heroes that Bowser said would come here?"
Our heroes said nothing for a few seconds, but Tippi finally answered, "Yes, I suppose we are."
"Then you're the heroes of the Light Prognosticus? In that case, let's not stand out here. You may come to my house. I will explain everything there. I think I will be able to inform you of a few things." The group followed him to one of the houses. Once they were comfortable, the wizard continued. "I would like to introduce myself. My name is Merlrock. I am a descendent of the Ancients, just like the Merlon you know. You are the heroes searching for the Pure Hearts, correct?"
"That's right," agreed O'Chunks.
"And you've already collected them before?"
"Four of us," explained Luigi. "Well, not four of us standing here, but three standing here and...Bowser."
"That's what I thought. Hmm...where should I start? I guess I should tell you this is one of the dimensions the Ancients settled in. That is why the people here look the way they do."
"I guessed that," explained Mario. "We've recently been to another dimension of this sort."
"Oh, you have, now?" Merlrock looked inquisitive. "How about this, then: you explain to me everything that's happened to you on this adventure. Bowser gave me some of the details, so since I know plenty about the time of the Ancients, I may be able to answer some of the questions you might have."
Our heroes described everything that had occured from Dimentio's hypnosis of Bleck until now, from fighting the tentacled Monster Blooper to freeing the prisoners of the X Faction to the evening when Bowser decided he was quitting. And for some background information, they threw in all the details of their previous quest as well.
"You truly are the heroes, aren't you? I know much of the Light Prognosticus, so that is how I knew who you all were. Knowing Bowser, he might not always be a reliable source of information, but I guess he was telling the truth. Before we go on, something strikes me as familiar about the fourth dimension you visited. You said you met a sentient rag doll named Kara?"
"That's correct," stated Luigi. "She was kind of-"
"I assume you know that the Ancients created many Pixls and used the method to create other sorts of beings as well."
"Yes," answered Mario.
"I have heard from a girl in this town that her great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother had an Animaul, as you call them, that she was great friends with. Perhaps the Kara you met in that dimension is the same Animaul that once befriended a girl in this very town?"
Our heroes suddenly realized why the landscape had seemed familiar. "This is it!" exclaimed Luigi. "Kara told us she was friends with a girl in another dimension and that there was a bridge on the edge of their town that lead into an area inhabited by monsters and a volcano. This is the dimension she previously lived in!"
"They once crossed the bridge to find out what was on the other side," added Peach. "When we're done with this adventure, we've got to tell her we know what's there. And beyond."
"The Animaul invasion you mentioned..." continued Merlrock. "It was caused by Dimentio, correct?"
"Yes," answered Tippi.
"So Dimentio revealed to you the past of the shape-shifter Mimi?"
"Yeah, after a crackpot story about the Ancients," replied Mimi. "Do you know how he knoews all this stuff?"
Merlrock assumed a contemplative pose. "I am afraid I do not know the source of his knowledge. I have never heard of a person called Dimentio until now, so I don't think he was around in the time of the Ancients. But I brought him up because I may be able to tell you something about him. You explained that he has a plan to reactivate the Chaos Heart?"
"Yes," answered Tippi. She was growing tired of having to answer Merlrock's obvious questions.
"And he's trying to end the games of Count Bleck's former minions?"
"Yes..."
"Hmm...I think I might know what is going on here. Do you know exactly what the Chaos Heart is?"
"It's an artifact that contains a tremendous amount of destructive energy. That's what I gather, anyway."
"That is correct. I am well knowledgable in ancient artifacts such as that. The Chaos Heart was deactivated after you and Bleck wed, correct?"
"Yes. Well, I thought it had been destroyed, but I guess it somehow still exists if Dimentio's planning to reactivate it."
"That Chaos Heart was called into existence by the union of Peach and Bowser, as predicted in the Dark Prognosticus, but I don't believe there is a way to fully destroy it. Even if it is deavtivated, it can be reactivated again."
"So how does Dimentio plan to do this? We don't know why he hasn't done it already."
"Hmm...well, heroes, consider this. What did O'Chunks do in his past?"
"He ate a device someone was going to use to create a Pixl."
"That means he has plenty of power stored inside him, right?"
"I guess, if you think about it that way."
"And Nastasia found an orb that granted her the powers of hypnosis?"
"Yes!"
"That means she contains power as well. And Mimi..."
"Her blood glows," noted Mario. "I noticed it a while ago."
"You did?" asked Mimi. "When?"
"When we crashed in the rock tunnel, I saw a drop of your blood while you were unconcious. But I didn't ask you about it."
"Yes. Since Mimi is a special kind of Pixl, she has a strange kind of blood. I'm not sure exactly what its main function is, but it allows her body to heal itself unnaturally quickly."
"Morris's blood is blue," added Mimi. "It's even more potent than mine. But what does this have to with the Chaos Heart?"
"Well, think about it. All three of the minions have large amounts of power stored in their bodies. If they were killed, that energy would be released..."
In a flash, our heroes understood why Dimentio aimed to kill Bleck's minions and how he planned to reactivate the Chaos Heart. Tippi finished, "...and the combined power from the Pixl device, the orb, and Mimi's blood just might be enough to reactivate the Chaos Heart!"
"It all makes sense now," reflected Luigi. "Well, actually, it doesn't. We've just figured out Dimentio's plan. We don't know how he knows these things. We have the how, but not the why."
"Yeah," agreed Mario. "Remember the Light Prognosticus? Dimentio will reveal his deepest secret once we collect all of the-" He paused. Nastasia was shaking. "What's wrong, Nastasia?"
"Well...well, you know that passage in the Light Prognosticus we were talking about? Only one out of Mimi, Morris, and Margaret will live after the Chaos Heart reemerges? If the Chaos Heart reemerges...then Dimentio will kill us!"
Everyone froze. "Dimentio will succed with his plan?" squeaked Mimi after a few moments of silence. "To kill us? That means I'm not the one that will survive?"
"It sounds unfortunate..." sighed Merlrock, "but we must continue to hope for the best. Just do your best, heroes. Since you're the heroes of the Light Prognosticus, you'll surely be able to succeed in one way or another."
"Wait," began Mimi. "Can you tell us anything about the Amtakan person I mentioned earlier?"
"The name sounded familiar, but I don't think I've heard about anyone with that name before. Not many details about the Tribe of Darkness are known."
"Is what Dimentio said true? About the Tribe of Darkness?"
"The person who founded it did steal it after the Pixl Uprising, but I'm not sure if he truly stole it to prevent another such incident from happening again. The Tribe of Darkness was a shady group. I don't know the true motive that person had."
"One more question," continued Mario. "What are those giant glass corkscrews in the mountains? And the things that look like plants?"
"We once placed lights in them so they'd glow at night. Remember how Count Bleck destroyed his own dimension after stealing the Dark Prognosticus? Most of the dimension was obliterated, but some people managed to escape. We planned for them to use this town as a refuge, so we created the glowing glass formations to guide them to the town."
"I see. That makes sense. So the lights were removed when they were no longer needed."
"Is that all you need to know?"
"Oh, one more thing," stated Peach. "Do you know where Bowser is now? We can't let him find the rest of the Pure Hearts before we do."
"Ah, yes, I had almost forgotten about that. I'm afraid he's left the town. He asked to go through the passage between the two close mountains on the other side of town, and I assume that's where he believed the Pure Heart was. The passage between them leads to an area where some of our dangerous experiments was tested. We normally don't allow anyone to go there, but Bowser was...persuasive, if you know what I mean."
"We have to go there and find him," announced Mario.
"I'm afraid that's going to be impossible. We gave Bowser the key to unlock the gate that blocks the exit. Once he unlocked the door, he went to the nearby volcano and tossed the key into the crater. I assume he didn't want the rest of you to follow him."
"The volcano!" exclaimed O'Chunks. "'Ey, I'm not too fond o' places like that."
"Is the Pure Heart in the area beyond the town?" asked Mario. "How close is it, Tippi?"
"It's quite close. Too close, I think, to be in the volcano. It's probably in the area Bowser went to. We'll have to somehow get that key if we want the Pure Heart."
"You will descend into the volcano?" asked Merlrock. "It's not as dangerous as you might think, actually. The volcano has been dormant for several years. Burning lava still exists inside it, but there is plenty of solid ground to stand on, and you don't have to worry about the volcano erupting."
"Then let's do it," proclaimed Mario.
"Go into the volcano!?" exclaimed Luigi. "Are you sure about this?"
"Positive. It's not like it's going to erupt or anything. We just need to find the key and get back out. I've been inside a volcano before, so it won't be anything I haven't already seen."
"Well...OK, I guess. But we'd better be careful."
"Wait," halted Merlrock. "I just remembered, I have one last thing to give you. It's an old hammer I've had for a while. It isn't exactly top-quality, but I'm afraid it's the most I can do." He handed Mario the large wooden hammer.
"Thanks! I've used these things before, so I know the basics. Even if it isn't the best, I can still smash pretty much anything with it."
"You're welcome. I'll wish you luck, hereoes of prophecy," announced Merlrock. "You can accomplish this task. Just set your mind to it."
The mountains in the direction of the volcano were less steep than the ones at the other side of town, so the group could traverse them fairly easily. They faced more of the vicious bat creatures and almost impaled their feet on the glass "plants" several times. It took several minutes, but they eventually reached the peak of the volcano. Tippi looked down into the crater. "Just as Merlrock said. This doesn't look dangerous. Let's go." Our heroes jumped into the hole, landing in an enclosed area of solidified lava. The lava wasn't hot enough to hurt the heroes, but it was still rather warm.
"We've got to be careful as we go further down," cautioned Mario. "The place will only get hotter."
"Speaking of going down," noticed Peach, "shouldn't the key be right here? Bowser threw it into the crater."
Nastasia looked around. "I don't see it anywhere. Wait a minute...maybe it was carried further into the volcano by that lava stream?" She pointed, and our heroes observed a small river of magma heading down a path deeper into the volcano's belly.
"But it couldn't have landed there. It would have fallen somewhere in the center of this room. Wait...maybe Bowser jumped into the crater and tossed the key into the river of magma? Just so we wouldn't find it?"
"That seems like the most likely explanation." Mario sighed. "Well, I guess our only choice is to proceed. Come on."
Our heroes treaded down a passageway next to the lava flow. Creatures such as Red Spike Tops had settled into the volcano, as well as orange versions of the monster bats that were camoflagued against the glowing walls of the volcano, putting Mario's new hammer to good use. The passageway ended with a tunnel going down. Our heroes jumped into it, careful to avoid the magma falls, and landed in a large chamber. The falls emptied into a large pool of lava that continued to flow deeper into the volcano. Several rock platforms formed a path between our heroes and the other side of the chamber. "This'll be easy, 'ey?" asked O'Chunks.
"Wait." Mario jumped onto the first platform, testing it. It began to sink into the lava under his weight. He jumped back to safety, and the platform rose. "These platforms will sink when we step on them. We should go across one at a time." Mario began jumping across them. He was about to jump to one of the platforms when a Lava Bubble suddenly sprouted from the lava in front of him, plummeting back into the pool in a few seconds. "And watch out for those, guys!"
Once Mario had reached the other side, the others joined him one at a time, once again following the example Mario had showed them. Another passageway, riddled with Red Spike Tops hanging from the ceiling, continued from the other side. At the end of this passageway, our heroes discovered a moderate-sized room. There was another field of lava next to them with a small moving platform that could carry them to the other side. On the safe ground opposite where our heroes were standing, a single ? Block hovered. Our heroes again jumped onto the platform one at a time, being carried to the other side. Mario hit the ? Block, and a Fire Flower appeared. "Gee, it's been a while since I've seen one of these." He collected it. His hat and shirt suddenly switched to white, and his overalls turned red.
"You look cool in that outfit," admired Mimi, "but what use does a Fire Flower have in a volcano?"
"Well, let's see." At the right side of the chamber, Mario could see a cracked wall. "This rock looks weak. I could probably break it with some fireballs." He blasted the wall with a few fireballs, and it cracked open, revealing another passageway. Our heroes walked down this tunnel, dodging more enemies and traps, although Mario was hit and lost his Fire Flower ability.
The path ended at a dead end. "What now?" asked Luigi.
"I'll see if there's anything in 3D." Mario flipped, and steps on the wall became visible. Mario climbed the staircase into another room. There were lots of Firebars in this room that could still hurt him in 3D, so he flipped back into 2D to be safe and jumped among the firebars, expertly dodging them. Mario avoided lava traps and Lava Bubbles in this room as well. It was then he realized he was traveling in an exact remake of World 1-4 in the original Super Mario Bros., except without Bowser. On the bridge where Bowser should have stood, Mario found a blue switch instead of an axe. He hit it. Nothing visibly happened, but Mario was certain a new path had opened for the others. He backtracked through the volcano-style World 1-4, dodging firebars and Lava Bubbles again. When he reached the beginning of the area, he flipped into 3D again and jumped down into the corridor where the others were waiting. Flipping back to 2D, he explained that he had found a switch that had apparently opened this passage in the floor. The group of six descended further into the volcano, landing in yet another corridor, this one going to the left.
"How long's this 'ere lava river?" wondered O'Chunks. It had been visible down the path ever since our heroes entered the volcano.
"I don't know," began Mario, "but we've got to keep following it if we want to find Bowser."
The corridor made a turn back to the right, eventually leading into another large room. The lava river widened here, forming a large lake of firey magma our heroes couldn't get across. A huge magma-fall blocked access to the other side. "How do we get across?" asked Tippi.
"We need to find out some way to shut off the falls," reasoned Luigi. He looked up. "Hey, let's see what happens if I hit this block." Luigi Super Jumped a Brick Block. It shattered, dropping a red trampoline. "Time for Luigi to see some action!" Before anyone could stop him, he took the trampoline to a high ledge. After some more enemy dodging, he found the source of the lava falls. If I can block that river somehow, I can probably stop the falls... Luigi noticed some conveniently placed pushable blocks in the area. He pushed them, one by one, over the lava river. With the blocks preventing it from flowing into the falls, this magma river was forced to flow in a different direction. Luigi returned to the group. "The falls are gone, but how do we get across?"
"I know." Peach floated across the river and hit a switch on the other side, creating a bridge that allowed the others to cross as well. After exiting this room and winding through another downward corridor, our heroes found what seemed to be the bottommost chamber of the volcano's interior. The lava river emptied out into a lake, where the lava collected and remained still.
"There's the key!" joyfully uttered Nastasia. It had drifted all the way into the innermost depths of the volcano, now floating in the middle of the magma lake. It was moderate-sized, glowing bright yellow.
"How do we get it?" worried Mario. "It's in the lava."
"Hmm..." Mimi thought. "Maybe if I attach myself to the ceiling, I could reach down and grab the key without getting myself fried."
"I guess you can try. Be careful."
Mimi transformed into a giant spider and pulled herself up to the ceiling. Slowly, she extended one of her legs toward the key. Once making contact, she quickly pulled her leg up and claimed the key. Moving back to safe ground, she dropped the key. "So you probably need me to get out of this place?"
"Probably. But be careful. The lava is even harder to avoid going up."
Our heroes backtracked through all of the volcano interior, having Mimi climb up the vertical chambers when nessecary. They reversed their course through corridors, over lava lakes, and enemy-infested rooms. They finally emerged back in the room they had entered when they had jumped into the crater. "Mimi, you'll have to help us one last time," noted Luigi. Mimi helped the others exit the crater and reverted to her normal form once they were all safely out.
"So now we go back to the town and unlock that gate," mused Tippi. A thought hit her. "I hope Bowser hasn't already found the Pure Heart!"
"Whether he has or not," pointed out Peach, "him going into the area where dangerous experiments were tested can't be a good thing. I'm sure that's where the Pure Heart is, so we've got to get there fast."
Our heroes headed back to the town, continually dodging enemies and sharp glass formations. They eventually arrived back at the edge of town. "So we head to the far side of town?" reviewed Luigi.
"That's right," answered Mario. "And we put this key in the gate. Merlrock said some dangerous experiments were tested there. What kind of experiements are they, though?"
"Hopefully nothing that would benefit Bowser," hoped Nastasia.
The heroes finally reached the huge, silver gate. Mario inserted the key, and the gate's two halves split, revealing a pathway between the two mountains. "Let's go!" announced Mario. The walk between the mountains was rather uneventful, but the mountains soon ended and our heroes found themselves standing before a vast, wide-open plain. For the most part, it was barren, although clumps of grass sprouted up every now and then, much like in the town.
"There isn't much of anything here," pointed out Peach. "Where are Bowser and the Pure Heart?"
"The Pure Heart is very, very close," revealed Tippi. "It's got to be here. Let's just proceed, and hope nothing goes wrong."
Our heroes walked out into the open plain. Before they got very far, though, a voice startled them. "Thought you'd just walk up and take the Pure Heart? Bwa ha ha ha!" Our heroes looked, and none other than Bowser was standing next to them. "Honestly, I'm amazed you managed to find this place. You chased down that key I threw into the volcano just so you could get here? You fools! Once I find the Pure Heart, it will be mine, and I'll save the world and all that crud. And you'll be all but forgotten!"
"What?" asked Tippi. "You haven't found the Pure Heart? After all the hours since we entered the town?"
"Nope. Why? It's not like I can sense where it is like you can. But mark my words, I'll be finding it soon. Now go away and let the Koopa King save the universe."
"Come on, Bowser!" wailed Mimi. "You don't really think you can just do this by yourself, do you?"
"Oh, it's you again. That little green freak. Well, I'll have you know that I can do this by myself. And I don't even need a super mustache to do it. Watch, I'll get rid of you all right now!" Bowser suddenly aimed a huge yellow blast of fire at the group. They all jumped to side, slightly singed.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Mario. "That's not the fire-breathing I remember!"
"Of course it isn't. I found this cool little device in this plain. I didn't know what else to do with it, so I ate it...and now look at me! I've got powers that can eradicate you all!" Bowser raised his arm, and a lightning bolt came crashing down on Mario. He staggered, injured. "And that's not all. Wait 'till you see what else I've got. All dimensions will bow before the great Bowser, King of the Koopas! BWA HA HA HA HA!!!"
MINIBOSS
Bowser
Bowser leaped into the air far above our heroes. "He's Ground Pounding!" exclaimed Mario. Even though he had been injured, he summoned the energy to move away from Bowser's shadow. Bowser landed on the ground with a loud crash.
"You little heroes think you can beat me?" Bowser spun around and expelled more fiery breath, shielding himself with the fire.
"I'll pound a bit o' sense into 'im!" O'Chunks jumped into the air and landed directly on Bowser.
"Get off me, tubby!" Bowser and O'Chunks became entagled in a wrestling match.
"Hey, break it up!" Luigi Super Jumped horizontally into the mess, seperating the two fighters. Without warning, Bowser then jumped through the air and aimed for Luigi. Luigi quickly dove to the side while Bowser crashed down next to him.
Mario figured it was time to use his new weapon in battle. Having recovered from the intial shock (literally) of the lightning bolt, he crept up to Bowser and delivered a well-placed hammer strike. "Gah! You and your hammers!" Bowser stood up. "But I've got something even better!" He held up his hand, and a black spiked ball materialized in his palm. He hurled it into the air, and it came crashing down on Mimi.
"AAAHH!!!" Mimi fell to the ground, in obvious pain.
"Mimi! You OK?" Nastasia rushed to help her fellow minion.
"I'll be fine in a few minutes. Can you shield me? I mean..."
Meanwhile, Mario had been delivering more hammer blows while avoiding Bowser's flames. "Gah! How do you keep doing that? Well, I did expect you to get a few good hits in. But you'll never be able to stand up to this!" Bowser again rasied his hand, and a glowing circle of energy extended outwards from him. Mario jumped the wave, but it hit Peach, throwing her back.
"You're hurting Peach!" accused Mario. "You don't care about your 'lovely wife' anymore?" Please say no...
"Oh, I don't need to worry about that. Once I become the greatest hero of all the universes, Peach will like me anyway."
"Hero, my foot!" Luigi readied his Super Jump and nailed Bowser's stomach, knocking him over. Mario then responded with a Ground Pound of his own.
"Ouch!" Bowser pulled himself back up. "But all of your efforts are in vain! Take this!" Bowser used his newfound power to heal a considerable amount of his health. "What now?"
"This!" A sharp red stone richocheted on the right side of Bowser's head.
"You little..." Bowser aimed a fire blast for Mimi, but she quickly jumped the assault and aimed another Rubee for Bowser. "That does it!" He ran for Mimi, but Mario took advantage of Bowser's distraction and performed another hammer strike. Bowser's replenished health was probably negated by now.
"Not so high and mighty now, are you?" taunted Mario.
"We'll see about that!" Bowser pounded the ground again, creating a shockwave along the ground. He repeated the maneuver several times, forcing our heroes to repeatedly jump over the waves. Bowser took advantage of our heroes' preoccupation with dodging the shockwaves and nailed O'Chunks with a spinning energy punch. O'Chunks flew a few feet, harmed somewhat.
"Catch it, Luigi!" Luigi was on the opposite side of Bowser from where Mario was standing. Mario tossed his hammer at Bowser's head with pinpoint accuracy. As the hammer bounced, Luigi caught it and delivered his own hammer swing.
"Aghh..." Bowser was nearly defeated. But his energy wasn't gone just yet. He produced more spiky balls, aiming them into the air and causing them to crash all around. Some of our heroes were hit, but Luigi, holding Mario's hammer, came up with a plan. He stood at the point where of the maces was going to land and smashed it with the hammer. It bounced toward Bowser, nailing him perfectly and putting him out of commission.
-
"Grah! Why can't I beat you pathetic heroes? I thought I'd found the ultimate power source!"
"We're not pathetic," argued Mimi. "Face it. Dimentio called us the same thing, but we beat him four times. You've been losing to Mario for years. What makes you think you can win now?"
"Someday, I'll beat Mario. You just watch. I'll beat all of you and become the hero of all dimensions. Then people will like me, and I'll be king over all of existence."
"What makes you think you can just take over all of the dimensions?" asked Mario. "You always want to control something, but you never have the means to do it."
"I do too have the means to do it! It's just that you jerks are always there to ruin my plans!"
"Indeed, Bowser," a voice came. "Your plans are always being ruined, aren't they? It looks like even your plan to find the rest of the Pure Hearts might fail." Dimentio appeared and Morris flipped in next to the group. "You want the same thing, don't you? The heroes want to find the Pure Hearts, and so does Bowser..." Dimentio noticed something.
Morris noticed it too. "Hey! Mimi's still with you?"
"Yeah, I am. What now?"
"Oh, don't play superior with me. Dimentio's plan was at least a partial success. We did succeed in splitting you up, even if only one person left."
"And that one person happens to have found something that would make him an excellent fighter," continued Dimentio. "That is, if he would allow me to train him. You'd be unstoppable with my guidance, Bowser."
Bowser turned to Dimentio. "You're saying you'll help me defeat the heroes? I mean, that's great and all, but I'm looking for the Pure Hearts. I'm trying to stop you so I can be the world's greatest hero."
"But your ultimate goal is to proclaim yourself king over all dimensions, right? Tell you what: If you join me, I will place you in a high seat of power in my dimensional empire."
"Bowser, no! Don't do it!" shouted Mario. "He's just trying to trick you!"
"Stay out of this!" warned Dimentio. "Let the Koopa King make his own decisions."
"Gee, that's just what I've been trying to tell these wimps this whole stinking adventure. Finally, someone who respects me for who I am!"
"No! Don't-" began Peach, but Bowser cut her off.
"All right, sign me up! I'm joining the Dimentio crew!"
"Excellent," continued the jester. He assumed a thoughtful pose. "You do seem like a very willing minion. However...after what happened to my plans at the war zone and Beachfront Town, I'm not taking chances anymore." He snapped his fingers, and Bowser was ensnared in the red bolts of hypnosis.
"No! Let him go!" Nastasia tried to counteract Dimentio's hypnosis, but it was too late. When Nastasia was close enough to Bowser, Dimentio's bolts disappeared, and Bowser's pupils suddenly glowed a bright crimson.
"HAIL DIMENTIO!" Bowser's face was expressionless and his jaw was hanging open.
"Welcome aboard, Bowser," congradulated Morris. "We're glad to have you. But you might want to look more intelligent. It'll do wonders for your charisma."
Bowser changed his pose to look tough. "That's a good idea. I'll work on a pose I can do when all the dimensions will bow before us."
"That's very nice, Bowser," began Dimentio, "but right now we should focus on your training. Now, come with me. I'll bring you to your training area, where you will hone your skills as a hero-destroyer."
"Oh yeah! I can't wait!" Dimentio vanished and Bowser flipped out. Only Morris remained.
"Thought Dimentio would just take Bowser and leave the rest of you here to find the Pure Heart? Well, there's a funny story about you guys just finding the Pure Heart, but before that happens, I'm here to stop you."
"Yeah, right!" argued Mimi. "We beat you once, and we can beat you again!"
"Oh, I wouldn't go there. I'm not the weakling you fought back in the cave. I'll rip you all to shreds!"
MINIBOSS
Morris
Morris rose into the air, surrounding himself with blue stones that encircled his body. "Let's see you harm me now!" He rose above the heroes and produced a line of stones that hovered in the air. They all fell to the ground at once, hitting several of our heroes.
"We're not prepared for a fight right after the one we just had," pointed out Mimi. "I think I still have some of the Shakes I bought at Flipside. Here, take these!" Mimi tossed some Super Shroom Shakes to the injured heroes. Meanwhile Mario, repeating the tried-and-true maneuver, picked up a stone and threw it at Morris. With the stones surrounding him, it didn't make contact, but it knocked out several of the stones, making him a vulnerable target. Luigi damaged him with a Super Jump.
"Your old tricks aren't going to work here!" Morris generated more stones and flipped into 3D. He was untouchable in three dimensions, but the blue stones could still hit the heroes. He shifted sideways along the battlefield, aiming to get some cheap shots on our heroes.
"That old trick won't work here either!" Mario flipped as well, taking the hammer to Morris's shield. He knocked away the stones and dealt Morris more damage. Morris responded by flipping back, so Mario went back to 2D as well, only to discover that Morris was again forming a hovering line of sharp stones. He knew the others would be hit again, so he vaulted over to where most of them were standing and performed a hammer spin, sending most of them flying out of the way. One of them hit Morris.
"You think you've got it? Let's try something new." Morris surrounded himself with more blue stones and hovered up and down the battlefield, still in 2D. He was harder to dodge, so more of the heroes were hit.
"Take this!" Mimi aimed several Rubees at Morris's stones, destroying several of them, but Morris remained untouched. Finally Nastasia took one of the blue stones and hit Morris with it.
"We're getting there!" Peach grabbed a stone as well, but Morris quickly re-formed his sheild and whirled it around, sending the stone flying back at Peach. She ducked under her parasol just in time.
Morris lifted into the air again, the sharp stones still orbiting his body. He suddenly fired the stones in different directions without warning, causing several of our heroes to be hit. "There's six of you, but my stone supply is infinite!" He again formed the shield of blue stones.
Mario tried a new tactic. "Get ready again, Luigi!" He flipped into 3D, walked to side of Morris, and threw his hammer. It hit Morris squarely, richocheting to land in Luigi's hand. Luigi imitated Mario's move, and Mario again returned the volley. "We could just do this until he's out, bro!"
Morris was clearly on the verge of losing all of his health, but he remained confident. "Not on my watch!" Morris fired a stone at the hammer as Luigi tossed it, sending it back at Luigi. Luigi was hit, but Mario managed to take the hammer again. He had stayed in 3D for a bit too long, though, so he flipped back into 2D to conserve his health.
O'Chunks was a big target, but he decided he was going to do something. With his huge strength, he picked up four stones at once and hurled them at Morris. None of them made contact, but his shield had been damaged to the point where he could be hit with any attack. Luigi hit him with another Super Jump. One more hit, and Morris would be down for the count. Morris realized this, though, and once again produced the shield, sending the stones in all directions. Several were hit again, but the rocks provided ammo. Peach picked one of them up and nailed Morris one last time. He collapsed.
"No! I've lost again! To these stupid heroes...and Mimi!"
"They're the heroes of the Light Prognosticus," replied Tippi. "What did you expect?"
"Oh, like that automatically means they can get past anything. Next time, I'll be even stronger. I'll wipe the lot of you out!" Morris flipped out, leaving our heroes by themselves again.
"I guess we look for the Pure Heart," thought Tippi. "What did Morris mean when he said there was a 'funny story' about us getting the Pure Heart, though?"
"The Pure Heart's pretty close, isn't it?" asked Luigi. "We shouldn't worry. There's nothing in this plain that can hurt us anymore, anyway...right?"
"Well..." Tippi felt for the Pure Heart. "It's extremely close. I'll just follow the energy..." Tippi lead our heroes a short walk away from where they were standing. "The Pure Heart should be...right...here!" Tippi stopped.
"I don't see it," remarked Nastasia.
Suddenly, the ground began shaking. A few seconds later, giant sections of the air were enclosed in outlined boxes, forming a chain of rectangles. Just as quickly, the boxes flipped over, revealing a giant, mechanical crimson dragon!
"Wha?" exclaimed Mario. "It's just like one of the dragons I fought before! But it's...red!"
The dragon emitted an ear-shattering roar. It then scutinized our heroes carefully. "INTRUDERS DETECTED," it said in a mechanical voice. "EXAMINING INTRUDERS..." It paused. "LEGENDARY STATUS SUSPECTED. ANALYZING DATA BANKS..." The Wii Shop Channel logo appeared in the dragon's eye, complete with the catchy chime. The eye returned to normal after a few seconds. "ALERT! LEGENDARY HEROES STAND ON THESE GROUNDS!" The red dragon lowered its head somewhat. "WELCOME, HEROES. I RECOGNIZE ONLY THREE, BUT THE OTHER THREE MUST HAVE NOBLE INTENTIONS AS WELL IF THEY ARE WITH YOU. I DO NOT KNOW YOUR PURPOSE FOR BEING HERE, BUT I ASSURE YOU ALL THAT YOU ARE SAFE. I AM CALLED HACKTAIL. I AM THE MOST ADVANCED WEAPON FORGED BY THE ANCIENTS, SO IF THERE IS ANY WAY I CAN HELP YOU, I WOULD BE GLAD TO."
"Are you sure about that, Hacktail?" came yet another voice.
"WHO SPEAKS?" The dragon looked around.
Hovering high in the air, Dimentio materialized with a glowing square. "I thought it would take longer for the heroes to defeat Morris, but Bowser can train well enough on his own. Well, here we are with another robot dragon to threaten the heroes of prophecy. And another one they'll have to defeat to find a Pure Heart."
"A PURE HEART? I DO NOT HAVE SUCH A THING."
"There is much you don't know, Hacktail. I've already hidden the Pure Heart inside you while you were inactive. Just so these heroes couldn't reach it."
"YOU ARE AN ENEMY OF THE HEROES? THEN YOU ARE AN ENEMY OF ME. I WILL LET THEM HAVE THE PURE HEART."
"Not so fast. The backup plan I formulated has a few finishing details that haven't been put into action yet. The first one...is this!" Dimentio waved his arms, and Hacktail's antenna sparked with electricity. "Enjoy the new and improved Hacktail, heroes. He'll finish you before you even catch a glimpse of the Pure Heart. And with that, I must depart. Ciao!" The mad jester vanished.
"Uh oh," uttered Mario. "I know what comes next."
Hacktail was beeping and sparking. "I AM ERROR."
"He's malfunctioning!" cried Mimi.
"RUNNING BACKUP AGENTS....BACKUP AGENTS HAVE BEEN SACKED. INITIATING FATAL ERROR CORRECTION PROCESS. "CORRECT FATAL ERRORS" HAS BEEN TURNED OFF. INITIATING MANUAL OVERRIDE CYCLE...MANUAL OVERRIDE CYCLE INCOMPLETE! THIS IS BAD!" Hacktail paused, seeming to degenerate. He quickly snapped back up, though, screaming crazily. "ERROR! MORE THAN 84 SPRITES IN THE LEVEL! YOU DID NOT UPGRADE TO VERSION 1.62, SO PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SUCK YOUR THUMB AND CRY AS YOUR GAME IS SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY DESTROYED. GRAPHICS CAr& 1# ()s#L!-!8K2%/FJ^2tttttttttttttt BEEEEEEEEP!!! READ-ONLY MEMORY IS DONE FOR! PIE LIKE I!" Hacktail paused again. "MY PRECCESORS HAVE FAILED. I WILL TAKE A MORE DIRECT APPROACH." Opening his huge jaws, Hacktail leaned down toward our heroes and swallowed them up with one bite. "FATAL ERROR CORRECTED BY SOME MIRACLE. YOU MAY NOW CONTINUE EDITING."
Our heroes were trapped in Hacktail's throat. "So now what?" asked Peach.
"Dimentio said the Pure Heart was somewhere inside this thing, right?" asked Luigi. "Let's just look around until we find it."
This voice had come so many times now, our heroes weren't even startled. "Ah ha ha ha. Going to look for the Pure Heart, are you?" Dimentio once again appeared in front of our heroes. "Too bad you're trapped inside Hacktail's throat. There's no way to get to the midsection where I hid the Pure Heart."
"We'll figure out something," asserted Nastasia. "We can think just as hard as you do about all these plans you come up with, you know. And the difference is, our plans actually work!"
"Oh? Do they, now? I wouldn't be so sure. You wanted to keep the group together, but Bowser left, did he not?"
"That was his own fault. The rest of us want to stick together as a team. That's why we're so powerful."
"Six heads are still better than one," pointed out Mimi. "And I guess seven is even better, because with Merlrock's help, we've figured out your plan! You're going to kill us and release the energy to reactivate the Chaos Heart!"
"Ah ha ha ha. It is rather well-thought out, isn't it? You hopeless minions are just pawns in my grand plan. A plan that extends far beyond simply killing you and reactivating the Chaos Heart."
"Then what?" asked Mario. "You're going to form The Void and engulf all dimensions? That's already been tried, and it didn't succeed by a long shot."
"Don't be so sure. Thousands of dimensions were moments away from destruction at the moment Tippi and Count Bleck stopped the Chaos Heart. If I had delayed you heroes for just a short while longer, I would have returned from The Underwhere to see a dimensional empire ready for me."
"How did you return, anyway?" asked Tippi. "You died at Castle Bleck. We saw you die!"
"The answer's quite simple. I hypnotized Queen Jaydes."
"But...but..." That didn't answer much of anything. "But how..."
"But nothing. You've already learned too many of the world's secrets. There's still several of them out there, waiting to be discovered, but not by you. Now that the Mimi's Past phase of my backup plan has passed, none of you have any use to me now. That is why I came here. I'll deal with you quickly and easily, and then I shall kill the minions and bring back the artifact I will use to fulfill my grand plan...the Chaos Heart!" The jester waved his arms, and Hacktail's throat fell away in a series of rectangles, replaced by a strange green room. "Welcome back to Dimension D, everyone who was not here the last time. I have not perfected this dimension yet, but it still allows me to use my talents in ways you could never imagine. Now, heroes...ciao!"
MINIBOSS
Dimentio
Dimentio hovered toward the center of Dimension D and flipped into 3D. He gathered energy for a white energy ball, but when he released it, the ball split into four identical ones, aiming for our heroes in different directions. They had all fought Dimentio before, so they knew what to expect, but Dimentio again produced an energy ball that created four more. Our heroes hadn't been hurt yet, so Dimentio again produced an energy ball, but this one was pink. It too split into four energy balls, bouncing in different directions in the small room. They were hard to avoid, so our heroes were hit a few times. Dimentio flipped back into 2D, visible again. He gathered energy, seeming to produce another energy ball, but instead of doing that, he snapped his fingers. Sharp, bronze pointy spikes suddenly appeared below Mario.
"YOW!" Mario flew into the air and hit the ceiling. Landing back down, he observed "We've got to jump when he does that!"
"Ah ha ha! You just aren't crafty enough to conteract my new talents." Dimentio again flipped into 3D and produced four white energy balls. Mario flipped as well to try and damage Dimentio, but he was hovering too high to jump on. Mario tried a hammer throw, which was successful, but the hammer was knocked to the other side of the dimensions with Dimentio's second volley. Mario quickly grabbed his hammer and flipped back into 2D, but Dimentio was now preparing the four pink energy balls again. With the four already in the field, these added four provided yet more danger to the heroes. Dimentio flipped back into 2D and waved his arms. Knowing what was coming, our heroes jumped as high as they could, avoiding a rising spike bed centered around O'Chunks and Nastasia. On the other side, Mimi aimed a Rubee for Dimentio, hitting her target squarely.
Dimentio vanished, brining the eight pink balls with him. He was invisible for a few seconds, but he eventually reappeared with two clones. The three Dimentios formed a triangle, surrounding Dimension D as Dimentio had done before, but these Dimentios floated within the ceiling and floor, making them impervious. The Dimentio triplet fired white balls in all directions. They weren't as difficult to avoid as the pink ones had been, but the sheer number of them made them tricky obstacles. "Come on!" urged Luigi. "We've got to hit Dimentio somehow!"
"You'll never hit me now. Have some more!" Dimentio and the three clones swapped positions, turning the triangle upside-down. They again produced a volley of energy balls.
"We've got to hit him when he's moving!" Mario waited for the triangle to reverse itself again, then hit one of the Dimentios with a hammer spin while he was moving between the ceiling and floor. His hammer passed through the clone, so he knew that wasn't the true Dimentio. After more energy balls, Peach jumped into the air and landed on another Dimentio. This was the right one, so he disappeared, damaged. Dimentio hadn't lost much health, but he was still pulling out all the new tricks. Ten of him appeared, three on the ceiling and floor and two on each side wall. They fired pink energy balls, creating moving horizontal and vertical barriers across the arena.
"Ahhh! He's going to make more!" shouted Nastasia.
Mario figured out a way to damage Dimentio. He flipped into 3D and tossed his hammer at each of the Dimentio clones until he figured out the right one. Dimentio and all of the remaining clones vanished, then Dimentio quickly reappeared and hovered toward the center, flipping into 3D again. "You think you've got us with that old trick?" Mario flipped into 3D along with the jester and performed another hammer throw.
Mario's hammer was a formidable weapon, so Dimentio had lost a large amount of health. "You heroes think you're so talented. You have the moves and the maneuvers. But I have the skill and strength. Let's see how well you stand up to this!" The jester began producing giant glowing boxes that formed a ring around our heroes. He was planning to trap them all in a small area and then attack them with another death box. Thinking quickly, Mimi crept in the space where Dimentio was forming another box and hit the jester with a Rubee. Dimentio ended the assault, but he wasn't finished just yet. He flew to the other side of the room and began wildly creating glowing boxes in random locations. Peach plus the three minions were enclosed. They'd be killed, or at least almost killed, in just a few seconds! Luigi figured it was his time to perform the heroics. He expertly navigated the space between two tall boxes, readied the Super Jump, and nailed Dimentio perfectly, deactivating the energy boxes.
"'Ee's almost done fer!" announced O'Chunks.
Dimentio disappeared, reappearing in the upper-right corner of the room. "I may be almost done for, but here is when I pull out my last shot!" Dimentio gathered energy for another energy ball, but this one was unlike any of the others our heroes had seen. It was lavender in color, and it was easily three times the size of any energy ball our heroes had seen! Dimentio released it, and it sailed for the minions. They all got out of the way, but when the giant ball hit the ground, it split into two more, smaller but still larger than an ordinary one. These ones floated up toward the ceiling, where they hit the top and each split into two normal-sized lavender balls. There were four balls now, but they in turn bounced against the walls and split into two smaller balls, forming eight energy balls in total. Some of our heroes were hit, but the energy balls weren't done dividing.
"Can you destroy these with your hammer?" Peach asked Mario.
"I'll try!" Mario hit one of the energy balls with his hammer, and the hammer was thrown out of his hand toward the other side of the room. "I guess not!"
The eight small energy balls had hit more sides of the arena, forming 16 small energy balls that richocheted off the walls like crazy. Mario tried to get close enough to Dimentio to throw his hammer, but he was now faced with 32 tiny energy balls swirling around Dimension D. After being hit a few times, Mario was ready, but 64 energy balls stood between him and Dimentio. He waited for a clearing, then tossed the hammer with all of his strength. It hit Dimentio again, once and for all.
The 64 energy balls disappeared, Dimentio collapsed, and Dimension D disappeared. "Fine, fine! I give!"
"We've beaten you again," pointed out Tippi. "Will you ever give up?"
"Given that six of you are fighting against me, I figured you might win anyway. You may have won the battle, but the war is far from over. Even if you find both of the remaining Pure Hearts, you won't be able to stop my plan."
"We'll figure something out," countered Luigi. "Just like we always do."
"That's what you think. In fact, you're going to assist in my grand plan without even realizing it. I've orchestrated this all to allow for the Chaos Heart's reemergence."
"We'll never help you!" fired Mario back.
"Ah ha ha! You still aren't aware of the numerous intricacies of my ultimate plan. And, frankly, it would best if you remained unaware of them. Now, there's something more urgent you all need to attend to." Dimentio waved his arms, and Hacktail began shaking. "Actually, you'd probably be safer inside Hacktail's throat than outside it. Which is why I'm sending you out. Ciao, one last time!" Dimentio vanished.
Hacktail was apparently agitated. With another rumble, he spat our heroes out onto the ground. "FATAL ERROR IN SPRITE LAYOUT DATA DETECTED. INITIATE FATAL ERROR CORRECTION PROCEDURE." Hacktail descended toward the ground, finally sinking into it. But this wasn't over. He then rocketed out of the ground, shooting into the sky and aiming to destroy our heroes!
BOSS
Hacktail
The giant red dragon turned a full circle in the air high above our heroes. Aiming for the group, he plummeted toward the ground. Three of them had experience fighting dragons such as this, so they knew what to do. They ran to the side and dodged the attack, the minions following. Hacktail was apparently more experienced than Fracktail or Wracktail, though. Flying in an arc, he angled himself back toward the heroes and dove quickly. They dodged this assault as well, but Hacktail came back and dove four more times. Peach and O'Chunks were hit. With the damage they had taken from the three previous battles, it was clear that our heroes wouldn't last very long against attacks like this. "Mimi, do you have any more Shroom Shakes?" asked Nastasia.
"Um...I have one more. But we should save it for an emergency."
Hacktail floated high into the sky and came down horizontally. He waved his long body up and down as he traveled, creating arcs our heroes had to follow carefully. When Hacktail had passed to the right, our heroes heard rumbling. "Everyone, jump!" Mario warned as the dragon came near. They all jumped onto Hacktail's body successfully.
The heroes were now passengers on Hacktail's body as it flew through the air. "We need to damage the antenna," pointed out Luigi. "Now let's just wait for some Hackles to show up..."
"The antenna's protected!" Mario pointed. The antenna's round top was shielded by a durable gray coating. "How do we damage it?"
"We might as well try!" Peach picked up a Hackle that had appeared. As soon as she did, a digital timer appeared on it that displayed a red "3". It quickly dropped to 2, and then 1.
"Throw it!" warned O'Chunks.
"Ahhh!" Peach threw the Hackle to the side, where it exploded in midair.
"I'll try it." Luigi had picked up another one, so he sent it for the antenna. The Hackle bounced off the antenna, exploding in midair above Luigi. "How do we harm this thing?"
At that moment, Hacktail roared and began gliding through the air ever quickly. Our heroes were pushed toward the rear. "We have to jump back on when he loops," announced Mario. "One, two, THREE!" Mario, Luigi, and Peach made the jump, but the minions missed and plummeted to the ground. Hacktail began targeting the minions. "We have to make sure they aren't hurt!" Mario jumped off Hacktail's head, followed by the other two a few seconds later.
When they landed, the red dragon was about to hit them all with a dive. Our heroes leaped out of the way, but Luigi was hit. Hacktail then performed another dive. "Back on, everyone!" shouted Peach. The heroes jumped and landed on Hacktail's head.
"I think I know how to damage him," announced Luigi. He picked up a Hackle, then threw it for the antenna just as the timer hit 1. The Hackle exploded next to the antenna, damaging it despite the protective coating. Hacktail roared.
"That's it! We just need to keep doing this!" Mimi grabbed another Hackle and tossed it at the antenna when it was about to explode. Hacktail was hit again. After a few more hits, Hacktail tried something new. Hackles appeared and flew into the air. They'd come down in a few seconds.
"Outta the way!" O'Chunks stayed away from the shadows of the Hackles. They touched ground and exploded simultaneously.
After Hacktail was hit two more times, he began looping again. "Let's make the jump, guys!" shouted Mario. But none of them would get the chance. Hacktail glided straight up, forcing our heroes to drop to the ground below.
Once our heroes were standing on the ground, Hacktail pulled off another new talent. He opened his mouth wide and produced a huge blast of flames, shooting them at the heroes. No one was hit, but several of them came dangerously close. Hacktail than went for another dive. Knowing what to do, our heroes attempted to jump back on, but only Luigi and Mimi made the jump with Hacktail's erratic moving. "We have to go back and get them!" worried Mimi.
"It'll be fine. Let's make this quick!" Luigi began throwing Hackles.
Mimi realized this was probably the best plan of action. She joined Luigi, and after some more hits they had done serious damage to the dragon. One more hit, and he would be defeated. But Hacktail had one last trick up his sleeve. With Luigi and Mimi still on him, he plummeted and dove for the other heroes, opening his mouth.
"Quick! Luigi!" Mimi shouted. "Give me that Hackle!" Mimi was closer to the dragon's antenna.
"Here!" Luigi tossed the Hackle as fast as his impulses would allow. Mimi caught it, and in a flash, tossed it for the antenna. The counter hadn't quite reached 0, but the throw was accurate enough. The Hackle exploded, wrecking the antenna.
"ERROR! HEALTH DEPLETED! SYSTEM HAS CRASHED!" Hacktail hit the ground with a loud crash. "I AM OVER. FATAL GRAPHICS ERROR HAS OVERCOME THE READ-ONLY MEMORY. I APOLOGIZE FOR MY ACTIONS, HEROES. IT IS I WHO HAS ERRED. BUT I WILL STILL HELP YOU. THE READ-ONLY MEMORY MAY BE DESTROYED, BUT WITH THE PROPER ACTIONS, THE MODIFICATIONS MAY BE TRANSFERRED TO A NEW FILE. AND SO EVEN IN DEATH, I WILL He*@4 45T2591&%f1!@gggggggg!!!!!!!11111" Mimi and Luigi jumped off as Hacktail exploded, creating a boom even louder than when he had hit the ground. The purple Pure Heart flew out of the wreckage with the explosion and landed in front of our heroes.
"Here we are. Another Pure Heart," Tippi sighed. "We really jumped through hoops to get this one, huh?"
"When did we enter this dimension?" asked Peach. "It seems like days ago."
"A lot happened, that's for sure." Tippi looked at the heroes. "And we even lost a hero. But we got the Pure Heart. We stopped Dimentio's plan to destroy us. And we've gained knowledge of what Dimentio's plan is. That's quite an accomplishment, isn't it?"
"Yes, especially because there's only one more Pure Heart!" Mario walked toward the purple Pure Heart. "This is the second-to-last Pure Heart, everyone. After this, there's only one more dimension we have to travel through. And then we'll be ready to stop Dimentio. Are you ready, everyone?"
"I'm ready," began O'Chunks. The others soon followed.
"All right," finished Tippi. "Let's take this Pure Heart. And no matter what comes next, we'll do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of all dimensions. We're fighting as one unit!"
Mario nodded.
PURE HEART GET!
-END OF CHAPTER-
Dimentio's plan in the sixth dimension our heroes visited was his most powerful yet, but in the end, our heroes stuck together and fought as one. That is what unites them, a group of heroes fighting for the well-being of all existence. Even in perils as threatening as a dry, fatiguing desert, a deadly mountain range, a dangerous volcano, and an experiment gone wrong, our heroes prevailed and demonstrated just how much the power of teamwork can accomplish. Well, except for Bowser. Because of Dimentio's crafty planning, he's fallen to that mad jester's command. What awaits him as Dimentio's newest minion?
-
"Excellent minion choice, Master Dimentio," congratulated Count Bleck. "Bowser's magnified strength and abilities will produce an unstoppable fighting machine in your hands."
"That is correct. We have already gone over some basic training, but I've brought him here so we can all discuss the next move we will make. You probably all know by now that the six heroes have found another Pure Heart."
"That's only one left!" complained B-A Omega. "How can we stop them from finding the last one?"
"If they find it," continued Bowser, "they'll be able to find this place, and then we'll be in trouble!"
"Not so fast, minions. There is no need to worry. The heroes will not be a threat to our plans. In fact, according to the next phase of my plan, I will allow them to find the last Pure Heart."
"What!?" exclaimed Morris. "You can't let them just walk up and take it!"
"No, it won't be that simple, but they will certainly find it nonetheless. I have placed the final Pure Heart in a pivotal location that will kill two birds with one stone. They'll find it, and then they'll come here. When they're here, I'll observe them as they fight through the castle. We will still try to destroy them, but don't be discouraged if they defeat you. If they reach the room where the Chaos Heart was deactivated, it'll be a simple task to kill the minions and reactivate the Heart."
"What's the other thing, though?" asked Bowser. "You know, the other thing? The other bird that you're going to kill?"
"In the heroes' process of finding the eighth Pure Heart, they'll also release someone. A very special someone. I will not tell you his identity yet, but Morris, you already know him well."
"Oh, that guy? He was kind of a jerk, but that's a great plan. Even if we fail, he'll-"
"That is enough talking. Minions, you are hereby ordered not to interfere whatsoever with the heroes' quest to find the last Pure Heart. We'll ambush them when they enter the castle, and we'll see how it goes from there. You may return to your training areas."
"Yes, Master Dimentio!" The minions flipped out and Dimentio vanished.
"Ugghhh..."
"W...what? Where am I? Who am I?"
"The last thing I remember is a huge explosion. A destruction of space itself..."
"...and then I'm here. I must have lost my memory..."
"Should I try to remember? Or just start over?"
"Hmm...wait. I remember something..."
"Power. Great power. I am merely a vessel through which another person shall accomplish his plan..."
"And something else. I remember something else..."
"A man named Count Bleck..."
"He is the person responsible for all of my troubles."
The heroes, minus Bowser, emerged from the blue door on Flipside Tower. "We've got to tell Merlon what we figured out," announced Tippi. "It might help us." When they took the elevator and came out on the second floor, Merlon was there yet again.
"It's been a while, heroes. I was starting to worry. But you've found the next Pure Heart, haven't you?...and Bowser's gone! Has he finally left you?"
"We have. It's a long story, but if you want to know..." Tippi explained their adventure in the blue door.
"I must say I am amazed. Dimentio is just coming up with one plan after another."
"Have you read anything more in the Light Prognosticus that might help us? We've figured out Dimentio's plan, but we still don't know anything else."
"Hmm...well, I have read something interesting, but I'm not sure how much significance it truly has. The Prognosticus says this: 'The last Pure Heart waiting to be found will become part of the dark one's plan. The heroes will accomplish his bidding without knowing what they are doing.'"
"Dimentio said the same thing!" realized Mimi. "He said we'd help him accomplish part of his plan!"
"It is intriguing..." sighed Merlon. "Well, at least if Dimentio wants you to do something for him, it isn't likely he's set any traps or is going to send any minions to attack you in the next dimension. Let's hope for a relatively safe trip, and bring back the last Pure Heart!"
"We will!" assured Tippi.
After another rest at the inn, our heroes set off for the second-to-last Heart Pillar, which was in Flopside again. Our heroes retraced the path they had taken last time, but continued to the left instead of flipping for the third time after they had entered the pipe. Luigi needed to jump over a wall to access the Heart Pillar, so he did so and placed the purple Pure Heart in the pillar. The energy pulsed again, and the purple designs filled the screen. The purple door was then drawn into existence upon Flipside Tower. It was the last door in the row of seven. Our heroes returned to the tower. "Here we go," announced Mario. "One last dimension, and then we'll have all eight."
"Let's go!" urged Peach. "We're fighting as one unit. We can overcome whatever Dimentio hits us with!"
"That's right." Tippi and the six heroes slowly opened the door and stepped into the final dimension. The dimension that carried the last Pure Heart...and the dimension where our heroes would just perhaps become part of Dimentio's grand plan.
-
I've made some changes to my schedule lately. That is, I've relieved myself of a lot of self-inflicted schedule cramming. The good news for SPM2 is that I'll be able to update it more often. 7-1 and 7-2 are both very short chapters, but I expect 7-3 to be longer.
The purple door opened into the dimension that contained the final Pure Heart. Could our heroes collect it and save all of the dimensions? Or would they just fall prey to Dimentio's sneaky plan? Whatever the case, our heroes remained confident as they stepped into the new universe. Dimentio's castle was only one dimension away!
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A line was drawn.
Joining this line were a few others, vertical lines coming in pairs of two. Jagged lines appeared above these pairs, forming the outlines of pine trees. Mountains appeared in the background. The ground was white with snow, and the blue-green trees were covered in fresh snow as well. The sky cloudless and peaceful blue. Finally, a light snow began falling. The purple door was drawn into existence, and our heroes entered the snowy field of the eighth Pure Heart.
"It's very peaceful here," observed Mimi.
"Let's hope Dimentio doesn't come here to spoil the peace," hoped Peach.
"It's cold, but I like it," stated Mario. "It looks like this Pure Heart won't be too much of a challenge to find. How far away is it, Tippi?"
"Hmm...it's about average distance. It shouldn't be as much of a challenge as the past few dimensions."
"That's good news. Let's go, everyone!"
Mario and Tippi were immediately proven wrong. Although there were no traps or minions sent by Dimentio to stop them, our heroes encountered Lost Levels-style difficulty as they moved to the right. There were regular and upside-down pipes containing fire-breathing Venus Fire Traps, Frost Piranhas that froze our heroes as they jumped on a series of pipes, trampolines over huge pits, and more dangerous enemies. At one point, our heroes came across single blocks suspended over a pit. Quite ironically, firebars spun around them. "It's the Lost Levels all over again," remarked Mario. The heroes had acquired plenty of platforming experience by now, so they could navigate the floating platforms with relative ease.
Their next challenge came far too soon. Mario was jumping across some platforms to test their safety. They plunged into the abyss as his weight pushed them down, requiring him to move nimbly across them as he jumped. When he reached the sixth unstable platform, though, he found himself in the shadow of something above him. He looked up. There, directly above him, was a Thwomp, and it was falling fast! It would soon catch up with the platform's falling motion, squashing Mario. Thinking fast, the hero rushed to the very edge of the platform where the Thwomp wouldn't touch him, and jumped to safe ground just before the falling platform fell too low for him to do so. "You've got to stand on the very edge of the platform!" he shouted back to the others, not being able to help them. Mario had already caused the platforms and the Thwomp to fall, but for some reason no one really knows, platforms and enemies like those reappear if they're scrolled off the screen and then back on again. The others took Mario's advice to reach the safe ground on the other side.
With Tippi and the other six safely assembled on the ground after the valley, they continued walking in the direction of the Pure Heart. They went through more obstacles, including some green trampolines that bounced them hundreds of feet in the air, on their way until they came to a large pipe structure. It wasn't as large and complex as the pipe maze in the cavern of the sixth Pure Heart, but it would still require some thinking to make it through. Three long, floating pipes formed a rough U shape above them, and two blue switches floated in the air within this structure. There was no apparent way to get inside it, except for Mario. He flipped into 3D, jumped into the pipe structure, and flipped back. He hit the switch on the left, but nothing happened. Confused, he struck the right switch, and again nothing happened. Just to be sure, he hit the left switch again. Still nothing. "I can't figure this out."
"Maybe you need to hit both at the same time," suggested Nastasia.
"How do I do that, though?" Mario tried hitting one right after the other, but that didn't work.
"I think I can go in there," began Luigi.
"How can you get in here? It's too high."
"If I stand on this pipe, I might be able to land right in there." Luigi Super Jumped and angled himself into the U. The two Mario Brothers simultaneously hit the switches, and the tall pipe to the right shortened, allowing our heroes to jump over it and proceed.
After some more enemies, firebars, and hammer-whacking, our heroes found a lone ? Block. Mario proceeded to strike the block, and a Mega Star appeared. "Looks like it's fun time." After a pretty sweet animation, Mario transformed into an 8-bit giant. He then stomped to the right, blowing away enemies as he went. When his invincibility time was up, the others caught up with him. The Star Block was next to them.
"Well," reflected Peach, "we sure had a difficult time, but we made it."
"We still have three more chapters to go, you know," pointed out Luigi.
"Chatpers? 'Ey?" asked O'Chunks.
"Uh...nice weather today, isn't it?"
Mario sighed and hit the Star Block.
-END OF CHAPTER-
Our heroes had persevered through the dangerous snowy area, but their trials were far from over. "The Pure Heart is still a good distance away," felt Tippi, "but it is closer."
"That's good, at least," agreed Mario. "Come on, guys. We can do this!" Ahead of them, the landscape grew less snowy and increasingly icy. Could our heroes make it across the frozen lake that appeared before them?
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The sky had darkened somewhat to a moderate dull blue. If our heroes were still traveling when night fell, they'd be able to see the stars clearly due to the lack of clouds.
The heroes began treading on the ice. "Whoa!" O'Chunks slipped and flipped upside-down, landing on his head.
"Let's take it slow," advised Mario. "This ice is very slippery."
The six heroes did take it slow, but this grew increasingly difficult to do now that enemies began appearing. Our heroes eventually reached a giant hole in the ice that revealed water underneath. Luigi dipped his finger into the water, and then pulled it out faster than the others would have thought possible. "Gaah! This is the coldest water I've ever seen! We'd better not ever touch it."
As the heroes continued their trek, the difficulty level didn't get any easier. There were several enemies ready to push our heroes into the freezing water, and they had to make jumps over slippery platforms. They were damaged several times as they struggled to reach the Pure Heart. "The Pure Heart's getting closer," announced Tippi. "We just have to put up with these obstacles until we find it. It won't be very long."
"Let's hope so," wished Luigi, jumping over a large spiked fish.
The frozen lake finally ended after a long walk. Our heroes were again faced with a snowy field, although the trees had noticeably thinned, making the field seem more open. The darker sky was more apparent as well. As they proceeded, the difficulty still didn't let up. Munchers, invisible block traps, and Hammer Bros. kept our heroes on their toes. Just when they thought they'd be trapped in the Lost Levels forever, they came upon a steep downward slope. There was a large ski lift that could take them down the slope and over the canyon on the other side. "So this left will bring us across the canyon?" asked Luigi.
"No," began Nastasia, "I think it'll take us back to the frozen lake. Really, do you see that line going across the canyon? That the ski lift will follow? It's totally going over the lake."
Luigi gave Nastasia a glare. "I was just giving us a prompt."
Our heroes jumped onto the ski lift, which began its downward descent. Soon enough, another ski lift, carrying a Dr. Freezegood, came in the opposite direction. Mario promptly stomped the Freezegood as its lift arrived. Another one soon came, and Mario repeated the performance. The lift then carried our heroes over the chasm. It was very deep, and our heroes could barely make out the gorge's bottom. They just hoped the rope would hold.
When the lift reached the other side of the canyon, our heroes hopped off and continued on. There was nothing in their way, which was a welcome comfort despite the cold. In silence, they walked until they found another downward slope. There was no ski lift to help them out in this area, however. "So we just have to tread down this slope?" asked Nastasia.
"No," began Luigi, "we run around in circles, do the hokey-pokey, and jump into the canyon back there."
Nastasia gave Luigi a glare. "I was just giving us a prompt."
"Well, I gave us a prompt a few minutes ago, and you made fun of it, so I'm returning the favor."
"Well, you should have known that-"
"Hey!" shouted Tippi, suddenly speaking after a long time of silence. "What are we fighting about? Bowser's not even here anymore. Why are there still disagreements?"
Mario thought his response over carefully. "It's in human nature to disagree. We can't avoid it."
"But even so..."
"Maybe we're thinking of ourselves too much as oh-so-perfect heroes that can conquer anything. But we're not perfect. No one is. We just have to strive to be the best we can."
Tippi responded after a few moments. "You're right. We can't expect ourselves to be perfect."
"That still leaves the question of how we get down this slope," added Peach. "It's to steep to climb down."
"I say we sliiiiide!" Mimi had jumped over the edge and was careening down the slope.
"I follow!" Luigi followed suit.
The others figured this was a good idea and slid down the huge slope. It was like a playground slide, but more extreme. Snow was flying everywhere as our heroes pushed it out of the way, and Peach, being in the back, was constantly getting snow flung in her face. "Can you guys slow down? All this snow is getting in my face!"
"Maybe you need to speed up!" playfully urged Mimi, positioning herself to slide even faster. Peach was about to criticize Mimi's behavior, but she thought better of it.
When our heroes finally reached the bottom of the mountain, they ground to a stop, sending snow everywhere. They were now covered in the white snow. "Well, that was fun," reflected Mario as he pushed the snow out of the way.
"How close is the Pure Heart now?" inquired Mimi.
"It's quite close, actually." Our heroes could sense the excitement in Tippi's voice. "It probably won't be very long before we find it. And given that it's just an empty field in front of us, it'll probably be an easy walk."
Our heroes suddenly heard a rumbling sound. "What's that?" Luigi turned back in the direction they had come. He fell silent for a few seconds.
"What?" Mario turned to look in the direction Luigi was facing. "Oh...no. You don't want to know, guys."
"Why?" asked Mimi. "What is it?"
"AVALANCHE!"
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
First a rockslide, then a mudslide, then another rockslide, and now an avalanche? What kind of terrible luck were our heroes having? And what had caused the freak avalanche in the first place? Regardless, if our heroes didn't do something fast, they'd be swallowed by the rushing snow! What could they do?
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The roar of the tumbling snow was deafening. "Run!" Mario shouted, but we wasn't sure if anyone heard him. The other's instincts kicked in, though, and they began dashing away from the tumbling snow along with Mario. Since they were walking in snow, however, they couldn't run as fast. The avalanche kept gaining.
"What should we do?" shouted Luigi.
"What?" shouted the others.
"WHAT SHOULD WE DO?"
"I don't know!" yelled Mario back.
"WHAT?" This wasn't getting our heroes anywhere. Soon they'd be buried under the flowing mountain of snow. Desperate, our heroes tried jumping from place to place instead of letting the snow slow them down. They gained some speed, but it just wasn't enough. For every foot they moved, the avalanche moved twelve. They now couldn't hear anything but the rumble of the avalanche. It would now catch up with them in just a few seconds. As a last resort, Mario turned backward and attempted to jump the incoming snow. As he was hit by the avalanche, he was smacked backwards and thrown several feet. He thought he might have a chance, but as he landed back in the snow, the moving snow slammed into him again, burying him and the others under dozens of feet of snow.
Silence. "Where is everyone?" called Peach.
"I'm here." Luigi shuffled through the snow to find Peach and O'Chunks. "Where's everyone else?"
"Here!" Mimi crawled up from below them. "That just leaves Mario and Nastasia. Where are they?"
There was more silence until Nastasia entered this small carved-out area. "Where's Mario?"
"I don't hear anything," worried Peach.
"I'm here!" Mario pushed his way into the area.
"So what do we do now?" asked Mimi. "We have to get back to the surface somehow."
"Actually..." Tippi began, "...I'm not sure if this indicates something, but I'm feeling the Pure Heart much more strongly here than I did on the surface."
Luigi was dumbstruck. "Do you mean the Pure Heart is underground?"
"It might be. I think we should dig around and see if we find anything."
"Where should we look?" asked Nastasia, beginning to search around in the snow. "That is, if the Pure Heart really is under here somewhere."
"I say we just go down for now. I'll feel for the Pure Heart as we go."
The six heroes began traveling through the packed snow down toward the area that hopefully contained the final Pure Heart. "How deep is this snow?" complained Mario. "It's..." At that moment, Mario's hand slammed into something firm below him. "Hey, is this the ground?"
"The Pure Heart's a lot closer here," affirmed Tippi. "I think we should go this way." She floated over in one direction.
The snow was frigid, but our heroes still felt warmer than they had on the surface. Digging through the snow wasn't a difficult task, but since they were under so much of it, it was well-compacted, and it took some time to break all the way through. The assurance that they were getting closer to the Pure Heart, though, gave our heroes the motivation to continue doing this.
As O'Chunks was clearing out some snow, his foot suddenly slipped. "Waah!" He picked himself up. "'Ere's some kind o' drop!"
Luigi stepped into the area where O'Chunks had slipped. "It looks like a drop in the ground. Let's see if we can find anything."
It took a while, but our heroes eventually hollowed out the entire area around them. There was indeed a large rectangle-shaped depression in the ground before them. "The Pure Heart is closer than ever," stated Tippi. "We might find some clues in this area."
After digging through the snow some more, our heroes still hadn't found anything, until Peach spoke up. "Hey, I think I found something!" The others came nearer. "I think this is some kind of hidden passageway." She extended her hand into a section of the snow, and her hand continued through a space.
"Let's see if it goes somewhere." Mario climbed into the tunnel and started digging through it. It was a tight fit, but Mario squeezed in and continued through the passageway. "It really is a secret passage!"
When Mario had cleared the tunnel, the others ducked into the hole one by one and crawled in. "Is there anything in here?" asked Luigi.
"Come here, everyone!" called Mario from deeper into the tunnel. Our heroes dropped down a short shaft to reach a more spacious underground room. "Is the Pure Heart closer here?"
"It's quite close. It's probably near here."
"That door is probably some indication," pointed Luigi. It was a large blue door cut into the icy wall.
"Strange..." Mario walked up to the door. He grabbed the handle and smoothly opened the door. Another icy corridor lie beyond it. "This must be where the Pure Heart is. All the secret passageway stuff fits together."
"When was this place built, though?" questioned Nastasia.
"What do you mean?"
"Whoevever built this passage must have done it a long time ago, so it obviously wasn't built for the purpose of hiding the Pure Heart. Why was it built?"
"That's a good question..." Mario thought things over. "And if Dimentio hid it here, he must have known about this place. But...how?"
"How does he know all of the other things?" sighed Mimi. "And how did he know my past? That's...secret stuff!"
Peach answered. "Well, if we want to find out, we'd better keep looking for the Pure Heart."
"That's a good idea," agreed Luigi. "Let's go."
The narrow passageway contained several obstacles, but it was rather short, so our heroes wouldn't have to put up with the still-extreme difficulty for long. However, the difficulty was at its highest point yet. Crashing spike turrets and frequent pits kept our heroes busy as they struggled for the other side.
Exhausted, they finally reached the end of the passageway, coming to another large blue door. "The Pure Heart's very, very near," announced Tippi. "It's probably not on the other side of this door, but I don't think we're very far from claiming it."
"That's good," exhaled Peach. "I don't think I can stand any more of this extreme difficulty."
Mario slowly opened the door...into the area in which our heroes would, hopefully, find the last Pure Heart and be on their way to Dimentio's castle.
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
I made 7-4 a few days ago but forgot to post it, so here it is.
Our heroes gazed into the room in front of them. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all a moderate light blue, and intricate glass decorations were mounted on the walls, adding to the shine that the smooth walls already had. "It's...a hidden palace!" squealed Peach.
"This only intensifies the questions," thought Mario. "Who built this place? And why?"
"I'm certain this is where the Pure Heart is," assured Tippi. "It's very, very close."
"Wait," halted Luigi. "I just had a thought. Dimentio said he'd use us to accomplish his plan. Maybe he wants us to do this? Maybe we're falling into his trap as we speak?"
The others thought about this. "Well," began Tippi, "we should know if Dimentio wants us to do something, shouldn't we? We'll know not to activate an ancient power or something." Was Tippi correct? Only time would tell as our heroes ventured into the strange icy palace beneath the snows of this dimension...
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On both of the side walls, as well as the wall facing our heroes, glass doors, lighter blue than the walls around them, offered three paths into the interior of the palace. Before Tippi could begin her usual "Which way should we go?" quote, Mario gave his opinion. "I think we should go in the left door. In areas like these, there's often two areas where you solve a puzzle or something, and that allows access to a third area where you can continue on."
"You've been through a lot of these palaces, haven't you?" asked Nastasia.
"A few."
Mario and the others entered the door on the left wall. The room they entered was similar to the first room, but it was longer and resembled a hallway. There was nothing in this room as far as our heroes could tell. Peach looked around. "Is there anything in this hallway?"
"There's something here," felt Tippi. "I can feel it somehow, but I don't know what it is..."
Our heroes suddenly heard a metallic sound coming from the ceiling above them. At the same time, a pillar at the far end of this hallway rose from the ground. Our heroes could see that there was something white resting on the pillar, but at this distance, they couldn't tell exactly what it was. "What is that thing?" asked Mario.
"What's above you is more important!" screamed Luigi.
"Wha?" Mario looked up to the ceiling...and saw a field of descending spikes! "Oh, my!" Trusting his instincts, Mario rushed to the pillar as fast as his legs could carry him, almost tripping when he reached the pillar to grasp the object lying on it. He didn't have time to examine the object in his hurry to get back to the others. "Out the door! Quick!"
Mario and the others dashed through the door and emerged back in the previous room, stopping to catch their breath before Luigi noticed the object Mario was carrying. "What is that?"
The others examined the strange object. It appeared to be made of smooth white marble, with some grayish patches here and there. Its shape was perhaps the most perplexing thing about it; it was a flat circle with three evenly spaced sharp points radiating from the outer edge. There was a large heart-shaped hole in the center of the main circle. "It looks like some kind o' symbol," observed O'Chunks.
"That shape seems familiar," realized Nastasia. "I've seen it somewhere before..."
"You have?" asked Tippi. "Can you remember? It may help to know what it is."
"Hmm...well...oh! The castle! Remember when Blumiere led me to a castle where I found an orb that granted me the power of hypnosis? I saw this symbol somewhere in that castle!"
"You saw this symbol there? Hmm...what could this mean?"
"You still don't have any idea of exactly what that place was?" asked Mimi.
"No. And I don't know who it was that confronted me when I took the orb. The light in the room was dim in the first place."
"Golly, there's just too much we don't know! I'm clueless about my past too. I have no idea what Amtakan intended to use us for the Tribe of Darkness. And if he ever finished that...thing."
"That thing?" asked Peach. "What was he working on?"
"Morris and I can only copy the shape of people we've seen and know the names of. But that jerk Amtakan was working on a formula that would allow us to transform into any object, living or not. He was almost finished with it when the three of us left him."
"You and Morris? What about Margaret?"
"Well, I'm pretty sure it's the same for her, but I haven't seen her since the three of us split up, so I don't have a clue of what's happened to her since then."
Mario was thinking. "I just remembered something. You and Morris can only turn into people you've seen and know the names of. So the people Morris disguised himself as...Paletta, Larneg, Tavirp, and Novelle...those are real people?"
Mimi's eyes widened. "Gee, I never thought about that. They probably are real...but I've never heard of them. How did Morris find out about them? And who exactly are those people?"
"Tavirp and Larneg looked like they came from the dimension where we found the fourth Pure Heart," mused Luigi. "I have no idea who Paletta and Novelle are."
"Wait, no, that isn't true," continued Mimi. "I think I remember Amtakan mentioning one or two of those names before."
"This Amtakan person seems quite influential," pointed out Peach. "Who exactly was he?"
"I just don't know! He was evil, I'm sure of that, and he worked with the Tribe of Darkness, but I have no idea who he was or where he came from. It's been so long...I've almost forgotten what he looked like, too, even though I spent most of my time with him. He was very kind to us, until he sent us to kill Merlumina, but he never told us anything."
"Sometimes, answers just lead to more questions..." reflected Tippi.
"Anyway," interrupted Mario, "we need to figure out what to do with this thing. It's probably some kind of...puzzle piece."
"Let's try going in the door on the right this time," offered Luigi. "Mario's never wrong about these kinds of things."
Our heroes walked into the room on the right. This room was slightly smaller than the first room, and was empty except for another pillar at one end. Mario walked to the pillar, noticing a shape identical to the stone block in his hand carved into the top. Mario fit the stone into the pillar's top, and felt a rumbling under his feet. "What was that?" As he turned back to face the others, he again heard the noise of spikes being readied at the ceiling, and these ones were falling much faster! Mario and the others rushed for the door and made it out just before they would have been impaled.
"I guess we go through the third door now," uttered Peach. The six heroes walked through the last unopened door. The room they entered was very small, containing only another door engraved with the same mysterious symbol.
"We're probably able to enter this door now that we put that stone in the pillar," gathered Mario. He opened the door for our heroes to step futher into the palace.
The next room in the palace was much larger than any of the previous rooms, and somewhat less lit, giving it a more open and somehow uncomfortable feel. Our heroes' reflections moved with them along the polished floor as they walked. Moving further into the room, our heroes could see a single floating ! Switch at the far end. When they reached it, Mario struck the block. Large blue cubes appeared at each of the four corners, and spikes popped up from the floor, covering almost the entire floor but leaving some pathways for walking. Finally, three large square holes appeared in the floor at the center of this room. "We probably 'ave to put them square thingies in those 'oles," noted O'Chunks.
"Hey," questioned Nastasia. "There's four blocks, but only three holes. Does that mean anything, Mario?"
"I don't know everything about every palace, you know, but there's usually a reason for everything. Let's try pushing these blocks."
The blocks were too big to carry, but pushing them worked fine. Our heroes started with the one in the northwest corner, pushing it through the spikeless passage. There were several twists, turns, and false paths, so it took quite a while for our heroes to place the block in one of the holes. When they finally did, it dropped into the hole smoothly, and an area on the back wall suddenly cracked. "I think we'll be able to exit this room once we fill all of the holes," guessed Luigi. Our heroes started for the block in the northeast corner, pushing it back toward the center. The wall cracked again.
There was now only one more hole to be filled, but two blocks remained. "Does it make a difference which block we use?" wondered Mimi. She looked toward the block in the southeast corner. "That block's completely fenced in by the spikes! How do we use it?"
"Well, let's try getting the other block in the hole," advised Mario, "and we'll see how it goes from there." Our heroes walked toward the southwest block and began pushing it. There were several tough spots our heroes had to push the block through, including a place where they had to push it onto one of its corners and carefully make it tip to one side, but in the end they prevailed. The back wall was weakened even more, but it wasn't completely broken.
"What can we do with the fourth block?" asked Tippi. "We can't get it over the spikes."
"I'll check it out." Mario long-jumped over the spikes to a large square spikeless area where the southeast block resided. A dark blue square spiral pattern was painted on the floor of this area. What does that mean? Mario looked for any way to push the large block out of this area, but there were no gaps in the spikes anywhere near the spikeless square. He tried pushing the block around, but there was no square hole in this area, and nothing happened no matter where Mario pushed it. Hmm... Mario tried picking the block up, but it was simply too heavy. Wait! The spiral pattern! Maybe if I follow it..." Mario pushed the cube to the area where the spiral pattern began and then worked his way toward the center, pushing the block with him. When he reached the end of the spiral, the cracked area of the back wall shattered completely, revealing a door. Mario jumped back to where the others were waiting.
"Gee, you can figure out anything, can't you?" admired Mimi.
Mario was flattered, sighing a little. "Maybe I can, but I've gotten stuck before. Remember, we're not perfect." Our heroes walked toward the newly created door to delve even further into the palace.
The next room was a small square room with four doors; one they had just come out of and three on each of the other walls. A blue block, just like the ones they had pushed around in the previous one, rested in the upper-left corner of this room. "Is this another puzzle like the first one?" asked Tippi. "And what's that block there for?"
"It probably is," answered Luigi. "Let's take the left door."
"Are you sure?" asked Mario.
"Why? Can't I lead for once?"
"Fine. Go ahead." Luigi led the others into the door on the left. Our heroes emerged in another room identical to the one they had just been in.
"It looks like a door maze," thought Nastasia.
"There's got to be some clue that tells us how to get through," asserted Mario. "It always works that way."
"Maybe we have to do something with that block," offered Peach.
"I don't think we can move it." Mario attempted to push the block, but he couldn't move it since it was stuck in a corner. He jumped on top of it, but nothing happened.
"Maybe it's just for decoration," guessed Mimi.
"Hmm...there has to be some reason it's here, though..." Mario recollected all of the puzzles he had to solve on his earlier adventures. "Maybe it's a clue about the direction we're supposed to go in. It's in the northwest corner, so maybe we have to take the north and west doors."
"Ain't no harm in tryin'," agreed O'Chunks.
The heroes entered the north door, coming out in yet another identical room, and then the west one. The room was still unchanged. "So what now?" asked Luigi.
"I just don't get it..." Mario continued thinking. "Let's try finding a room that's different so we have a marker to use." Our heroes entered the west door again and then the south one. As they stepped into this room, they indeed came out in a different room, but not quite the one they were expecting.
"Hey!" exclaimed Luigi. "We're back in this room!" They had emerged back in the large dim room with spikes and blue blocks.
Our heroes were dumbstruck. "What happens if we..." Mario opened the door to enter the small square room again. It was still the same.
"I think," mused Peach, "that all of those rooms we just went through were actually the same room. There might be a certain path we have to take."
"And 'ow do we figure that out?" asked O'Chunks.
"There has to be some clue somewhere. We can't just be expected to know what to do." Mario led the others back into the small room and looked around. His observations didn't yield anything new; there was absolutely nothing special in this room besides the block in the northwest corner. "Hmm...could this block be a clue?" He studied it, but it was just an ordinary blue block. "Maybe it's some kind of indication."
"Oh!" Luigi had been thinking. "I think that block's in the northwest corner for a reason. It's referring to the northwest block in that other room."
Mario turned to face his brother. "You think so? Hmm...how could that be a clue, though?"
"We have to look at the other northwest block. We pushed it in several different directions. I think..." Luigi drew his breath. "...that the directions we pushed the block correspond to the directions we have to travel."
Mario was silent for a few moments while he thought this over. "That actually sounds like it could work! Let's try it."
"But how do we remember which directions we pushed the block in?" asked Mimi. "We pushed it here, there, all over!"
"Well, let's go back and try to memorize the path." The six heroes walked back into the previous room and looked in the direction the block was initially placed, trying to memorize the steps they took.
"How are we supposed to memorize all of this?" asked Peach.
"We'll split it up," suggested Nastasia. "We pushed the block in eighteen different directions. If each of us memorizes three, and we can remember those in a certain order, we'll know which doors to take."
"Sounds good," agreed Mario. "Let's see...we first pushed it right, then down, then down again." They continued down the line, each of the six heroes memorizing the next three steps until Nastasia committed the last three to memory. "All right, let's try this out."
Our heroes re-entered the small room and took the right door. They then curved to their right and entered the south door, coming out in another identical room. "I think it's working," rejoiced Luigi. "Normally the south door would've taken us back into the spike room."
The heroes continued through the sixteen remaining doors. "Here's the last one," announced Mario. He slowly opened the door. The room beyond wasn't another small room; it was a long hallway. "I think we did it!"
Our heroes walked through the hallway, their footsteps echoing in the corridor. The silence that covered the area seemed somehow more intense than when our heroes had entered the area. At the far end of this hallway, there existed a door bigger than any of the previous ones. The mysterious symbol, a three-pointed circle with a heart at its center, was engraved on this door as well. "I feel the Pure Heart very, very strongly," sensed Tippi. "I think it's safe to say that it's on the other side of this door."
"That's good news..." Peach's voice seemed to drift into nothingness.
"Is something wrong, Peach?"
"No...I mean...well, I'm sort of worried. We're almost at the Pure Heart, aren't we? But if we find the Pure Heart in the next room, how will we help Dimentio with his plan? He seemed like he knew what he was talking about..."
"Well...let's just open the door, and if we see anything unusual, we'll avoid it. That'll work, won't it?"
"I think so. Well, let's do this." Our heroes slowly opened the giant door, closing it behind them when they were all gathered in the next room. It was somewhat smaller than the room that contained the spikes and blue blocks. A large red switch was on the floor in front of them, and beyond the switch, our heroes observed a giant, uneven ice structure at the far end of this room. It had no real shape, as if it were a waterfall that had suddenly frozen.
"Hey, look!" Mimi pointed at what seemed to be a large white object embedded in the ice. It gave off a soft glow, lighting up the nearby area of the ice.
"That's...that's the Pure Heart!" Mario walked up to the ice structure. "Yes, there's no mistaking it! How do we get it out of there?"
"Maybe by using this conveniently placed switch?" noted Luigi.
"Oh, yeah. That's it." Mario stepped on the red switch until his weight had pushed it all the way down. The entire ice structure exploded, sending giant shards of ice in all directions. The white Pure Heart was tossed out of the structure and landed in front of our heroes. Mario was just about to move to pick it up when he, as well as the others, noticed that there had been something else encased in the ice. As this object floated toward our heroes, they could tell it wasn't a thing, but a person. He was clothed in a red cape, with two symmetrical light gray designs that stretched from his neck to below his armpits and then curved back up to continue down his sleeves, finally ending where his sleeve ended to expose his pure black, six-fingered hand. His red cape went around his head to form a sort of cloak surrounding his face, or at least what he had of a face. His face was nothing except for blackness and two glowing red eyes. Two gray objects, seeming almost like lightning bolts, began at opposite ends of his head and continued in a gentle downward line to a point slightly less than a foot away from his head and then zigzagged down to his shoulder and then slightly upwards away from his head, ending slightly beyond his armspan. He had no apparent legs, floating in the air much like Count Bleck, and held an ancient-looking scepter in his right hand. It had a gray handle and a dull red jewel at its top partially encased by the gray handle.
"So it has been done," the mysterious figure said in an ominous voice that seemed to strike fear in our heroes. "I have been released." He paused while our heroes continued staring, wide-eyed, at the strange person. "You six must be those 'heroes' of the Light Prognosticus I know so much about. In that case, thank you for setting me free. I knew Wretcha had done the right thing when she cast that spell. It truly worked wonders for me. I was still doubtful that I'd be released, but it looks like I have. Hmm hmm hmm..."
Mario finally worked up the nerve to say something. "Umm...uh..." he stammered. "...who are you?"
"You should not concern yourself with who I am. Your games will be over long before my plan is finally put into action, so I do believe I'll be taking this..." He grabbed the white Pure Heart.
"Hey!" Luigi dashed toward the mysterious figure. "We need that Pure Heart!"
"Oh? Do the heroes think they can stand up to me? Even though I've been frozen in this cursed palace for the last 1,100 years, all of my power is still intact. You'd be wise to let me have the Pure Heart and then calmly go about your business."
"The Pure Heart is rightfully ours, and we're going to take it!"
"A bit overconfident, aren't you? All bark and no bite. Well, we'll see how you like it when I strike you all down and render the Light Prognosticus obsolete!"
BOSS
???
The mysterious villain hovered toward the northeast corner of the room and waved his scepter, which began to glow a bright crimson. A bolt of lightning suddenly appeared over Mario, who dodged it just in time. Our heroes kept moving to avoid the series of incoming lightning bolts. "Who is this guy!?" uttered Mimi.
"You all seem to be quite good at avoiding enemy attacks," taunted the villain. "Let's see how well you do against these."
He moved downward slightly and again waved his scepter. A spiked ball of glowing ice was assembled in midair with a metallic clank and sent crashing down at O'Chunks. O'Chunks leaped over the dangerous projectile, but the giant ice ball shattered on impact with the ground, splitting into dozens of smaller pieces that damaged several of our heroes. Seeing his opportunity, the villain produced several more of the spiky projectiles and sent them flying at more of our heroes. They dodged the attacks pretty well, but Mario and Mimi were directly hit. "Are you OK, Mario?"
"That took a lot out of me, but I'm still in fighting condition." The figure was close enough to the ground for Mario to damage him with a jump while he was distracted with creating more projectiles. The villain responded by flying up to the center of the ceiling and surrounding himself with glowing energy spheres, similar to how Morris surrounded himself with rotating blue stones. He hovered around the arena, damaging the heroes. Some of them were inflicted with a status effect that slowed them down.
"Ahhh!" screamed Peach. "I can't run!"
"Pitiful fools," uttered "???". "It's time you knew what real power is." He moved to the center of the room and fired the energy balls in different directions. However, instead of landing on the floor or on a wall like Morris or Mimi's stones, they richocheted off the walls, bouncing everywhere and causing massive damage to our heroes. By this point, they had acquired large amounts of HP, but they couldn't hope to survive at this rate.
"We've got to get him somehow," said Mario. "Let's break out everything we have." Mario impulsively ran toward the villain and swung his hammer. Damaged, the villain flipped out, flipping back in on the left side of the room. He readied more lightning bolts, but wasn't aware of Luigi readying his Super Jump directly below him. Luigi scored a direct hit, dealing a large amount of damage. Frustrated, ??? sent a lightning bolt down on the unsuspecting Luigi. Luigi was knocked back into a wall. While the mysterious figure created more spiky ice weapons, Mimi appeared to the right of him and produced several Rubees that struck the villain's head. ??? responded by sending three of the projectiles in Mimi's direction. Mimi was badly damaged, but Princess Peach crept beneath the path of one of the spiky balls and deflected it with her parasol, sending it bouncing back at the villain.
"Your teamwork skills are impressive," admitted ???. "And that's why I'll have to take you all on at once." He hovered toward the ceiling and held his scepter straight out, shaking a bit. The entire room began shaking, and sharp icicles began forming from the ceiling. At random intervals, they broke loose and crashed down into where our heroes were standing.
"Keep moving!" Mario flipped into 3D to attempt to dodge the raining icicles, not able to help any of those who couldn't flip. However, the icicles were coming down at all locations in 3D as well, and seemed to be even harder to dodge. Mario flipped back into 2D to make things simpler.
When the icicle assault had ended, our heroes had been heavily damaged. "Now I'll finish you all." ??? again surrounded himself with glowing spheres of energy. He floated to the center of the room and flipped into 3D, firing one energy sphere that bounced off the right wall. The next one he fired richocheted off the ceiling to land near the floor and damage Nastasia.
"I'll get him!" Mario flipped into 3D and jumped on the villain, bouncing off his head to attack him again. ??? flipped back into 2D and released the remaining energy balls, which once again careened all over the area like Dimentio's pink balls of energy. The figure sent down yet more lightning bolts, further injuring our heroes. Nastasia and Luigi were put out of fighting condition by this attack.
"Just a few more attacks will do it!" Mario attacked ??? with his hammer, doing plenty of damage. Mimi and O'Chunks joined the attack, Mimi firing more Rubees and O'Chunks charging the villain and slamming into him. ??? flipped out, reappearing above them.
"You may be winning, but in the end you will pay the price." He gathered energy with his scepter and waved it, creating a whirlwind of darkness in the center of the room. It soon expanded, resembling The Void, pulling our heroes closer to its black center.
"Run!" Mario grabbed Luigi, preventing him from being sucked into the vortex. Peach did the same with Nastasia. There was nothing our heroes could do as they fought to escape the miniature Void. It finally disappeared after several seconds, but ???'s attacks didn't stop. He fired more spiky projectiles, and these ones were much larger than the ones he had previously created.
"Come on! Let's finish this!" Peach walked toward the villain, aiming to deflect one of the weapons. While ??? was distracted with Peach, Mario crept up to him and delivered one final stomp.
"GAAAHHH!!!" The mysterious villain flailed his arms for a few moments and then fell to the floor, the white Pure Heart falling as well and landing in front of our heroes. "Nooo! Why have I been defeated by these cursed 'heroes'?"
Tippi moved toward ???. "Now tell us! Who are you?"
The villain gathered himself. "It is none of your business to know. Even though you may have defeated me here, my plan is still as active as ever. You'll never be able to stop me. I'll be seeing you all later...if Dimentio hasn't killed you by then." He flipped out, leaving the final Pure Heart before our heroes.
"This is it," announced Tippi. "The last Pure Heart."
"That was it," stated Luigi, his voice weakened with dread. "I'm sure Dimentio wanted us to release that guy. We played right into his hands."
"But who was he?" wondered Peach. "He seemed like...well...I just don't know."
"I hope we'll be finding out soon," wished Mario. "Whatever Dimentio's secret is, it might have to do with that person. Maybe Dimentio knew him, and then when...he remembered something he'd forgotten, he...well..."
"Well, regardless of who he was," began Tippi, "he couldn't get his hands on this. The last Pure Heart!"
"That's right. We've gotten all eight Pure Hearts. Come on, everyone. We're going to take this Pure Heart and stop that Dimentio once and for all!"
PURE HEART GET!
-END OF CHAPTER-
At last, after seven dimensions of trials, perils and mysteries, all eight Pure Hearts are in the hands of our heroes. All that is left now is for them to use the Pure Hearts' power to transport them to Dimentio's castle. Can they defeat Dimentio and stop the Chaos Heart from being activated again? Or will something dramatic and completely unexpected occur? And what about all of the mysteries our heroes are confronted with? Who are Alpha and Omega? Where is Margaret? What is the mysterious symbol our heroes found in the palace? And most importantly, how did Dimentio cause all of this? Our heroes returned to Flipside, hoping to put a stop to Dimentio's plans and find out the answers to their questions...
"Well, minions, there really isn't much I have to tell you. The heroes have found the last Pure Heart, as we expected, and have released the person I was planning for them to."
"But don't they have all of those darn Pure Hearts?" asked Bowser. "Now they're going to come here!"
"Don't worry, Bowser. We'll attack them the moment they enter the castle. And, even if they do defeat all of you, there is still no way they can escape the plan I've been concocting for quite a while."
"WUT DA PLAN?!???!!!" asked H-X Alpha. "LOL IT MUST B GOOD!!11!1!!1 OMG LOL"
"You don't need to concern yourself with it. If I do put it into action, it will be after you have already been defeated."
"WUT?1111!??!??? OMG LOL WARE NOT GONG 2 B DAFEAETD!11111111 OMG W3 HAEV SUPER-AEWSOME WAAPONS!!!1!11"
"Shut up, Alpha!" shouted B-A Omega. "You're breaking my sound proccessor!"
"You have my sincerest apologies, B-A Omega."
"So we're going to make sure those heroes don't succeed?" asked Morris. "Sounds good to me! I'm ready to get my revenge on that weakling Mimi!"
"Count Bleck assures you he is ready for this task, Master Dimentio."
"Excellent, minions. Go to your posts immediately. The heroes won't stand a chance no matter how well they perform."
"Yes, Master Dimentio!" The minions flipped out and reported to their posts throughout the castle. Dimentio was left alone.
"Ah ha ha. The heroes, their anxiety is like a dog being teased with a piece of juicy bacon...only to discover that it's time for an appointment with the veterinarian. Come, heroes! Your doom awaits."
"Count Bleck is sorry, but he cannot accept you. I simply do not see how you would benefit my search."
"With all due respect, Count, I believe you are not looking closely enough. Surely there is some way I could help you."
"That is enough, Dimentio. Count Bleck has no need for you. Begone, now."
"...Dimentio?"
"Yes, count?"
"Count Bleck has changed his mind. Dimentio, you may join me."
"Excellent, Count Bleck. I will make sure to help you in any way I can. Might I ask...what made you decide to take me in?"
"Well, a certain passage in the Dark Prognosticus interested Count Bleck. It mentioned a person that seemed to match your description perfectly."
"I see. Fate has destined it to be this way. All the better for you, count."
"Ah ha ha ha..."
Our six heroes exited the purple door atop Flipside Tower, all eight Pure Hearts in hand. "Well, well! The heroes return once more. Have you managed to collect the final Pure Heart?" asked Merlon once they had descended to the second story.
"Yes, we have," answered Tippi. "So now we can go to Dimentio's castle?"
"That is true." Merlon seemed to notice something wrong with Tippi. "Is everything fine, Tippi?"
"What? Oh...well, it's just that..." Tippi explained to Merlon what our heroes had encountered in the dimension of the last Pure Heart.
"Amazing..." Merlon thought about this. "You released a strange person in accordinance with Dimentio's plan..."
"Do you have any idea who that person is?"
"I'm afraid I haven't the slightest idea of who he could be. Given how long he's been trapped in that palace, it is possible that he was alive during the time of the Ancients...but I have never heard of anyone who matches that description."
"Have you found anything new in the Light Prognosticus? Anything would help us now."
Merlon sighed. "The Light Prognosticus has revealed something to me, but I still don't know what it's describing. This passage is quite different than any of the others. It says this: 'Do not burden yourself with your own thoughts, and do not overcrowd your thoughts with worries of the unknown. You will need a clear and focused mind to survive the trials ahead. When disaster strikes, don't worry. I have it all under control.'"
"Wait," uttered Mario. "Wait one second. 'I have it all under control'? Who is 'I'?"
"That's exactly what I was wondering myself. Until this point, the Light Prognosticus has described things in the future tense-'this will happen' or 'that will happen'. I have never seen a command or statement like this anywhere else in the book."
"Well, Merlumina is the author of the Light Prognosticus, isn't she?" asked Nastasia. "Is she the 'I'?...no, that can't be right. Merlumina's game has been over for a long time."
"Careful! Even though it's just created yet another mystery, we should follow the Light Prognosticus's instructions. We shouldn't focus on what we don't know; we should make use of what we do."
"That's a good idea," agreed Tippi.
"So now all that's left is for us to put the Pure Heart in the final Heart Pillar, and then we'll be able to reach Dimentio," stated Luigi. "I still feel like we're proceeding without knowing what's going on, but I guess that's all we have to do at this point."
"That is correct," answered Merlon. "I would advise buying some items at the local shops for the trials ahead. There's no doubt Dimentio has made it difficult for you to reach him."
"We probably should."
"Well, heroes, that is all I can do for you. I can do nothing but wish you luck on the road ahead. Be sure to defeat Dimentio and return safely, so that all worlds may be saved."
"We will!"
After a rest at the inn, our heroes returned to Flopside, flipped into 3D, and walked to the rightmost area of the Outskirts. The final Heart Pillar waited for them on the other side of some large stone blocks. Mario silently placed the white Pure Heart in the pillar. For the last time, pulses of energy radiated from the Pure Heart, and white patterns rotated around the area. A giant black door was drawn into existence atop Flopside Tower. Before heading for the final encounter with Dimentio, our heroes stopped at the Flopside item shop. They had saved up hundreds of coins over their adventure, so they bought several healing Shroom Shakes and a few other assorted items that would help them in the final dimension. When they were finished, they took the elevator to the top of Flopside Tower. The large black door stood in front of them, seeming to create an ominous feeling as our heroes walked toward it. "Well," began Tippi, "are we ready for this?"
"Let's do it!" cheered Mimi. "I can't wait to teach that Dimentio a lesson or two!"
"'Ey, let's 'ear it!" pushed O'Chunks. "I'm ready to save all o' the worlds!"
"There's no telling what we'll find beyond this door," began Mario, "but no matter what we encounter, we'll push forward until the very end. Ready? Here we go!"
-
This keeps getting awesomer and awesomer with every bit. 8D
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This keeps getting awesomer and awesomer with every bit. 8D
Thanks! I'm glad people are still reading my fanfic.
Six heroes in one corner, Dimentio and his five minions in the other. As our heroes approached the dimension of Dimentio's castle, they mentally readied themselves for whatever lie ahead. They were one unit, fighting against Dimentio to save all of the dimensions. The fate of all universes once again hung in the balance. What would they encounter in the last dimension of their adventure? Our heroes plunged into the unknown. They were ready for anything.
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The black door was drawn into existence in the dim, murky bowels of The Void. Our heroes stepped out of this black door, coming face-to-face with Dimentio's castle, seperated from them by a short walkway lit by torch posts. Our heroes felt surrounded by some new kind of silence.
"Well, here we are. Dimentio's castle," Tippi stated. The castle was nothing short of gigantic. It was a massive fortress, built from a dark gray brick and adorned with towers upon towers. The massive purple door that led into the castle featured a white symbol, the same exact three-pointed, heart-centered circle our heroes had seen in the frozen palace. "There's that symbol again..." Tippi paused. "I can't put my finger on it, but something about this castle seems familiar."
"I remember these lamp posts," thought Luigi. "And The Void, and...if I didn't know better, I'd say this was Castle Bleck!"
"Oh! This castle...this castle IS Castle Bleck! I remember exactly how it looked. Dimentio must have remodeled this castle and made it his own."
"Wait a minute," began Nastasia. "This castle shouldn't still exist, should it? I mean, when The Void was destroyed, shouldn't the castle have gone with it?"
Tippi thought about this. "Hmmm...well, if the Chaos Heart still exists, I guess it still has some power. Maybe it's enough to keep this castle in existence."
"Well, we've all been in this castle before," pointed out Mario. "We'll know what to do."
"Chances are, though," started Peach, "Dimentio's added all kinds of new traps and obstacles. We'll still have to be careful."
Tippi was still thinking. "There's something else familiar about this castle...something I noticed earlier. Not just because it's Castle Bleck...it's something else. Like a distant memory. Maybe someone just spoke to me about it."
"Have you remembered everything from your past yet?" asked Mario. "There still might be things you can't remember. You didn't remember King Animaul, even though you had remembered meeting Blumiere."
"That's true..." Tippi again fell into silence. "Now that I think about it, I do remember something about this castle. And I think I heard it from someone. What could it be..." She turned toward the heroes. "Well, I'm sure it's not terribly important. Come on, let's defeat Dimentio and save all the dimensions!" Our heroes silently walked up to the castle, which now loomed over them, as tall as a skyscraper. Mario opened the door, allowing the others inside the castle that had once been Count Bleck's.
The main door lead into the entrance area our heroes were familiar with. Dimentio had gone all out with the renovations; although this room's torch lighting and large windows were still intact and in the same places, the walls now consisted of the same dark gray brick that made of the exterior of the castle, and the torches now produced standard orange flames rather than the creepy black fire present in Castle Bleck. The floor was covered in a red carpet edged with yellow decorations, underneath which was a lighter gray brick. Purple curtains hung along the walls several feet above our heroes' heads. The first room of the castle otherwise looked identical to how it had been in Castle Bleck, except for the stairs at the far end that led to a higher door. The interior doors were purple as well and also featured the strange emblem, painted in white. Right in front of the heroes was a Koopatrol. Knowing what to do, Mario smacked the foot soldier with this hammer. The Koopatrol took another hit to defeat, though, and in that time it managed to hit Mario once. "We've got to face Bowser's minions again, too," pointed out Luigi. "Now that Dimentio's in control of Bowser, he's also in control of the Koopa army."
Our heroes continued to the right, defeating more Koopatrols, some Blue Magiblots, and some Cursyas Dimentio had apparently added. At the top of the staircase, a Thwomp waited above the door. Mario faked it out, causing it to crash down over the door. When it rose again, Mario and the others ducked into the door. The heroes came out in a room they'd never seen before. It consisted of two narrow hallways, one on top of the other, with a small space between them. There were several Dry Bones in this room. "Bowser, can you..." Mimi started, but then she remembered Bowser was no longer with them. "Can we defeat those Dry Bones?"
"I don't think so," Mario answered. "There's no way to beat them without Bowser. We'll just have to do our best to avoid them." They weren't quite successful, though. As they passed the first Dry Bones, it began throwing bones and hit Luigi and Peach.
Nearing the center of the sideways-H-shaped room, our heroes could see four doors, one in each end of the "H", the top left one of which they had entered from. The bottom-left door was locked. "I guess we need to find the key," stated Tippi.
"Perhaps," answered Mario. "Let's try the top-right." Our heroes entered the top-right door, coming out in a tiny room with a ! Switch above the door they had entered from. It was seperated by a thin section of floor from an identical room below. Mario jumped and hit the ! Switch, and it flashed light blue for a few seconds before returning to normal. "We probably have to hit the other block before this one stops flashing." Mario hit the block again, then quickly led the others out of the room and into the lower-right door. They were too late. The upper block had stopped flashing.
"'Ow can we do it faster?" asked O'Chunks. "We ran with everythin' we had!"
"Let me try again." Mario jumped for this block, gathered his energy, and ran for the other room as fast as his muscles would allow. He was still too late. Gah! How do I do this? A thought hit him. Um, duh? He hit the first block, flipped into 3D, dropped off the section of floor, and hit the second block. Flipping back into 2D, Mario observed a key materializing in the center of the lower room. "I should flip more often."
The six heroes exited this room and proceeded for the lower-left door of the sideways H room, unlocking the door to enter another room. This room had consisted of two large staircases in Castle Bleck. The castle was quickly becoming unrecognizable; Dimentio had replaced the two staircases with a single, gently ascending staircase. In our heroes' path were Koopatrols, Fire Brothers, Bombshell Bills, and the occaisonal falling spike. Our heroes were damaged several times as they fought for the door on the other side.
The next room wasn't any less changed. The door to their right was locked, and the door above them could only be reached by traveling up a series of platforms crawling with enemies. "I'll take out all o' them," announced O'Chunks. He jumped to the first platform, squashed the Soopa Striker, and proceeded to the next one. The path was soon ready for the others. Climbing the platforms, they ascended to the small door and stepped into an outside area.
There was a pipe on the other side of a wide gap only Peach could cross. "I remember the key being in there. I'll just go get it real fast." Peach crossed the ravine while the others collected some items from chests to the left.
Taking the pipe, Peach found herself in a large chamber, quite unlike the narrow corridor of Castle Bleck. The floor and ceiling of the room were covered in spikes, and small platforms floated back and forth over the sea of pointy spikes. Peach jumped to the first platform, using her parasol to guide her descent. She reached the chest containing the key with little difficulty, but misangled her jump and hit the spikes on her return trip. She had lost a large amount of HP, but there was nothing she could do besides try again. When she returned to the others, Mario walked up to her. "We found some items in the chests back there. You look damaged, so here, have a Super Shroom Shake."
"Thanks, Mario." Peach used the Super Shroom Shake to recover her health, and our heroes backtracked to the previous room. Mario unlocked the next door, and our heroes entered a long corridor filled with enemies. Mario was able to deal with them with his hammer, clearing the path to the next door.
Dimentio apparently thought staircases were boring. As our heroes entered the next room, they saw that the room's two large staircases had been replaced with a wide-open area, with small pieces of ground spaced throughout the room. Enemies like Spiked Parabuzzies made life difficult in this room, and the falling spikes certainly didn't help. When they'd reached the other side, they had all been badly damaged. "We've got to use some of our items," urged Nastasia.
"Wait," halted Luigi. "If I remember correctly, there's an Ultra Shroom in the next room. We can just use that."
There was indeed an Ultra Shroom in the next room, so our heroes hit the ? Block and recovered their health. Enemies lined the large staircase in front of them, but our heroes could defeat them with little trouble. "Unless Dimentio's stuck another room in here, one of his minions will be beyond this door," Mario explained. "Make sure you're all ready for a fight."
"I'm totally ready!" cried Mimi. "I'll put a dent in anything that tries to stop us." Our heroes climbed the stairs, defeating the enemies along the way, and opened the door at the top.
All six heroes recognized the next room; besides the asthetic changes, the only difference was the minion. "So glad you could come, heroes," taunted Morris. "That is, I'm glad Dimentio put me at the front line to destroy you all."
Mario walked out in front of the others. "Stand aside, Morris. You know we can defeat you."
"Oh, is that what you think? I'll let you know the hard way that I'm not the weakling you fought before. Dimentio's helped me with all kinds of new skills, and my power is as high as ever. Why don't you all stand aside and spare yourselves the pain?"
Mimi joined Mario at the front lines. "Morris...what happened to our friendship? We used to be best friends. Why are you working for Dimentio now? Why have you given up our friendship?"
"Because Dimentio has a plan, and I'd like to be a part of it. In fact, why don't you join him as well? You're used to working for the destruction of all worlds."
"Never! I may have worked for Count Bleck before, but it was a mistake to try and destroy all dimensions. How can you even agree with Dimentio? What has he done for you?"
"I'll tell you what he's done for me. He's given me leadership. He's given me power. And he's given me the ability to destroy those who don't want to accept the fact that Dimentio's going to become the ruler of all dimensions. One last chance: join us, or it's Game Over!"
"No! I won't do it! I'm sticking with Mario...and that's final!"
"Very well then. Since we used to be friends, I'll do you a favor and make your game's end quick. We'll still need the other minions, but your blood will put us a long way toward reactivating the Chaos Heart."
"Not if we defeat you first!" Mimi and Morris simultaneously transformed into giant, mutated spiders.
"Ha!" Morris laughed. "Once I have Mimi done in, I'll go for the other minions. Who knows, I could end up defeating the whole lot of you! Promotion, here I come!"
MINIBOSS
Morris
While Mimi and Morris climbed up to the ceiling, Mario attempted to damage Morris with a hammer throw. Morris, however, expertly produced a blue stone that hit Mario's hammer and knocked it across the room, out of the way. Mimi and Morris waged a stone war on the ceiling and were both damaged several times. "We can't just let her get nailed like that," cautioned Luigi. "We've got to do something."
"I'll see if I can get some stray stones." Nastasia quickly ran to one of Morris's blue stones that had landed in the left corner of the room and hurled it at Morris. Luigi saw his chance and Super Jumped Morris from below, knocking him to the floor. He continued his fight with Mimi, but gravity was now on Mimi's side.
"Give me a boost, bro!" Mario shouted to Luigi. "I'll nail him with a ground pound." Mario jumped onto Luigi's shoulders and then jumped off, sailing above Morris and then delivering a well-timed Ground Pound. One of Morris's spidery legs was removed.
"I've got you all. You can't avoid this!" Morris produced a double wave of stones, hitting several of our heroes as well as Mimi. The distraction, however, opened another opportunity for Mario to stomp Morris again, causing him to lose another leg. Morris responded by climbing onto the right wall and firing giant, sharp stones. These ones were too large to pick up with enormous effort, but Peach knew she had to do something. She groaned as she lifted one of the hazardous rocks and threw it at Morris. It missed its target, but Morris was already under fire by Mimi's Rubees, damaging him but not doing enough to remove another leg.
"We've got to all go for him at once," urged Mimi.
"Not on my watch!" Morris withdrew his legs, balancing himself on a single vertical line, and surrounded his head with four blue stones. He began rotating his head, turning it into a spiked weapon that careened around the room. Our heroes dodged Morris as he richocheted off the walls, but Morris eventually released one of the stones, hitting Mimi squarely. He fired another one, not hitting anyone but coming close to hitting Mario.
"I think I can hit him!" Mario picked up the stone, carefully planned his move, and hurled his weapon at an exposed spot between the remaining two stones that surrounded Morris's head. Startled, Morris dropped the other two stones and came out of the attack with only three legs. Peach attacked him with an upward parasol thrust, delaying him long enough for Nastasia to attack him with the two stones on the floor. Morris was now down to two legs.
"I'll just go for you, Mimi!" Morris aimed a large sharp stone upwards at Mimi, who fortunately dodged it at the last second. Morris was continually producing more, so she couldn't dodge all of them. She was hit a few times and was knocked to the floor. "Now you're dead!" Before Morris could put his intentions into action, though, O'Chunks came up from behind and stomped Morris, doing enough damage to knock him to one leg.
"We've almost got him!" exclaimed Tippi. "Luigi, see if you can give him the Super Jump again."
Luigi ran over to where Morris was standing, but Morris and Mimi had again crawled up to the ceiling and were fighting among themselves, throwing stones everywhere. Thinking quickly, Luigi grabbed one of the stones and used it to block another stone that Morris was firing downward. Using the newly cleared path, he Super Jumped upward and hit Morris, weakening him enough for O'Chunks to charge upward as well and knock him to the floor, where Mimi finished him with a sharp Rubee.
"You guys think you've beat me? Think again!" Morris's head fell to the floor, where he again extended duplicates of his head on twisty legs. He extended twelve this time, making the rain of blue stones even thicker. Not able to jump to defeat Morris's heads, our heroes tried, unsuccessfully the first few times, to hit them with the stones. They took out some of the heads, but Morris was still going strong. With one of the heads, he extended a chain of blue stones and sent it sailing to the right, spraying the stones at the heroes. He repeated the maneuver, sending the weapons upward toward Mimi. Mimi was hit a few times, but she did send several Rubees down at her rival, destroying more of Morris's heads. Only five duplicate heads were left.
"O'Chunks, send me straight toward those heads!" commanded Mario. "I'll defeat them with the hammer!" O'Chunks obeyed, throwing Mario in Morris's direction. Mario spun his hammer around, aiming to defeat Morris's remaining heads, but Morris quickly moved them out of the way, sending several stones in Mario's direction. Mario sent the stones back at Morris with a hammer swing, destroying two more heads. Morris surrounded the three remaining heads with a circle of blue stones, just as he had done when they had fought him in the plain of the seventh Pure Heart.
"How can we hurt him now?" wondered Nastasia.
"I'll see if this hammer can come in handy." Mario spun his hammer through the air, hitting the stones surrounding one head, turning a full flip and expertly landing on his feet. He attacked the exposed head with his hammer, defeating it. Morris responded, sending the blue stones on the left head in all directions. Mario and some of the others were hit, but the head was now exposed as well. Luigi attacked it with a jump, leaving him with only one duplicate head. This one was still surrounded by rotating stones.
"You have fancy new talents, but I have skill!" Mimi tried to help the others by blocking the orbiting stones with Rubee shots. Once she had made the head vulnerable enough to attack, Morris quickly swerved it out of the way and produced another double blue stone wave. Our heroes had learned how to dodge it by now, so none of them were hit, but Morris kept the wave coming. Mario tried to get close enough to Morris to stomp the final head. He was hit and knocked back the first two times, but the third time he tried, he finally managed to nail Morris's last head. Morris stopped the wave assault and, just as our heroes were predicting, grew six new regular legs, pulling himself back to a standing position. He again withdrew his legs, spun around, and used his head as a careening weapon. There were no stones on the ground to use as weapons, so our heroes just had to avoid Morris as he attempted to dive-bomb them. When Morris crawled out of his attack, Mario hit him with the hammer, stunning him. Luigi then delivered another stomp, but it wasn't enough to remove a leg. Morris fired more blue stones into the air that came down toward the heroes, but they had become used to his method of attacking. They picked up several of the stones and nailed Morris, taking out one of his legs.
"You've held out longer than I thought. Let's turn this up." Morris again withdrew his legs, but instead of surrounding his head with four stones, he produced dozens of rocks that formed a large sphere around his head. He rolled the ball to the left, aiming for the heroes.
"Jump!" shouted Mario. Our heroes leaped over the rolling obstacle while Mario tried to disperse the blue stones with his hammer. He was partly successful, but there were just too many of them, and Morris bounced off the left wall to come back and aim for Mario. The hero tried to run away at the last second, but Morris overcame him and crushed him under tons of sharp stones. He left Mario weakened, with almost no health left.
"Here! Take this!" Luigi tossed a Super Shroom Shake in Mario's direction. Mario gratefully used it and recovered some HP.
Peach tried removing more stones with her parasol, knocking enough away to considerably reduce the size of the rolling weapon. Realizing he'd be exposed to attack soon, Morris released all of the remaining stones and stood up. The dozens of stones formed the most intense stone rain our heroes had dealt with so far, and several of them were hit.
"Quick! Pick these up!" Peach grabbed several nearby stones, attempting to damage Morris with them, and Mimi joined with her own Rubees. The others joined as well. Their strategy worked. Morris was hit and lost two more legs. Trying to hurt the heroes again, Morris climbed up the left wall and fired large stones again. Mimi used the same technique Morris had, surrounding her head with Rubees and nailing Morris. Luigi Super Jumped the damaged Morris, leaving him with only two legs.
"You idiots! I'll get you all for this!" Morris extended two twisty legs from his head, creating two head duplicates while still mobile. He also produced a line of blue stones in the air that fell to the ground after a few seconds.
"Mario!" called Peach. "I think you should take the Block Block and go for it!"
"Are you sure? We only have one!"
"We can't risk our lives to save our items. That's what they're for."
"All right. Send it over here!" Peach threw the Block Block to Mario, who used the item. He was surrounded in a square force field, rendering him invincible. Mario went for it with everything he had. Blasting through the waves of blue stones from Morris's three heads, he destroyed one head and hit Morris repeatedly with his hammer. With one leg left, Morris focused on avoiding Mario and attacking Mimi, but Mario was too fast. He hit Morris with both a stomp and a hammer strike, destroying his last leg and putting him out of fighting condition.
"Noooo!!! I had all those new moves! Those new skills! And upgraded power! HOW'D I LOSE!?" Morris reverted to his normal form.
Mimi changed into her normal form as well and walked up to Morris. "It's because we work together. You can't win if you're fighting by yourself."
"Oh, shut up! Listening to you, I'd think you were Margaret. I don't need a lecture on how to fight. I just need better skills."
"Morris...please. Working for Dimentio will only make you unhappy. You can't be a hero if you're fighting for the wrong thing. You just don't have any...love."
"Love? Who needs love? We're on opposite sides of the war now, and unless you join Dimentio, that isn't going to change. This is what I'm sticking to. Stop trying to change my mind!"
"Morris...please. For me...and for all of us..."
"NO! Stop shoving your stupid opinions in my face! I have a life of my own, and I'm not about to let you walk all over it!"
"Morris..."
"I'm outta here. See ya." Morris flipped out.
"Morris..." Mimi was close to crying.
"Come on, Mimi," encouraged Mario. "I know he was your friend, but we've got to move on. We've got to stop Dimentio."
"I know. It's just that...when Amtakan sent us to kill Merlumina, I never would've seen this coming. I thought we'd just do our job and that would be that. I thought we'd just keep living with Amtakan like we did before. But instead we split up and Morris and I ended up on opposite sides of the battle for the universe."
"It's OK. At least you don't have a friend who's always getting kidnapped by an evil king."
"Yeah, I know. But I just can't get over that feeling. When I worked for Count Bleck, I put myself in denial. I just focused completely on what Count Bleck told me to do. I didn't care about anything else. But now I'm trying to save the world, not destroy it. And...well..."
Tippi floated over to Mimi. "You can push through, Mimi. Morris is evil, but maybe if we defeat Dimentio we can knock some sense into him."
"Yeah. You're right." Mimi paused. "OK. Let's go and defeat Dimentio!"
Mario led the others through the door on the other side of this room, coming out in another small room. They had won one battle, but the war was far from over. Many dangerous corridors and puzzles still awaited them in the castle Dimentio had claimed as his own. But for now, they were one step closer to saving all worlds, and for now, that's what mattered.
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
Just for fun, what's your favorite new character I've introduced in the story? I imagine H-X Alpha might be pretty popular, but then again I'm just going with my brother on that one. :P
Our heroes had entered Castle Dimentio and had defeated Morris. They were feeling quite confident, but many traps and puzzles still awaited them in the massive castle. Since they were all familiar with Castle Bleck, they could hope to know what to do most of the time, but just what had Dimentio planned for them in the Foyer of the castle? Would their knowledge of Castle Bleck be enough to help them as they passed through the dangers of the refurbished castle? Our heroes stepped forward into the next room, not knowing what to expect.
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The first room of Castle Dimentio's foyer was a long hallway filled with enemies. However, it seemed shorter than it had in Castle Bleck. "Something tells me Dimentio's added another room," mused Tippi.
"Let's check it out," agreed Mario. He led the others to the right, defeating the enemies along the way. There were Blastboxers, Mega Muths, Skellobombers, and some enemies our heroes had never seen before. Instead of being a simple hallway, this room had some variation in its floor patterns, including some pits of lava. The bubbling lava along with the gray bricks reminded Mario of when he had traveled through Bowser's Castle when the Koopa king had captured the seven Star Spirits. The pillars in the background gave him even more of a Bowser's Castle vibe, and the Koopatrols completed the picture. The only thing that didn't belong was the purple emblemed door at the end of this room.
When our heroes entered the door, they came out in another new room. It was a rather small room, with three Koopatrols and another door at the other end. Mario easily defeated the Koopatrols and proceeded on to the next room. This room looked exactly the same; small, with three Koopatrols. "Why'd Dimentio put two of the exact same room here?" he wondered as he defeated the Koopatrols and led the others into the door. Our heroes came out in another room that looked the same.
"Are we going in circles like in that palace?" asked Peach.
"Maybe so," answered Mario as he dealt with the Koopatrols. "There might be another clue here." He flipped into 3D, but doing so didn't reveal anything. He flipped back. "Nothing in 3D. What do we do...?"
"Maybe," began Nastasia, "if these Koopatrols are here every time we enter this room, they haven't already been defeated, so we really aren't going in circles. Dimentio might be trying to trick us."
"That's possible. Let's try this door." The door led to a fourth room, still the exact same. "Hmm..." Mario thought about this while he took out the Koopatrols. "This is the fourth time we've entered this room."
"Let's see if the next door takes us to another room like this," suggested Luigi. "If it does, then I think we are going in circles."
Mario led the others through the door. Indeed, the fifth room was still the exact same. "How do we figure out what to do? There's nothing in this room we could use as an indicator."
"Oh! I got it!" Mimi exclaimed. "Let's go back through this door. If we end up back in that hallway, then this is the same room we've been going through, but if not, we know these are different rooms."
"Good idea!" Mario opened the door our heroes had entered from and looked around. The previous room was identical to the one they were in now. "Yes, it's the same. That means we're not going in circles."
"So we should just keep going through these doors," stated Tippi.
The next door took them to a room that was, finally, different. Except for the visual changes, it was the same room in which Mimi had tricked the heroes in Castle Bleck. The door at the far end was locked, as it had been in Castle Bleck, and there was still a person here. "Excuse me, heroes..." began Novelle. "See this block?" She pointed to a blue ! Switch in the middle of room. "Please hit it. It'll take you to the key."
"Morris?" uttered Tippi. "Didn't we just defeat you? Or..."
"I'm sorry I don't have time for questions. Just hit it."
"How do you know the key isn't in that door?" asked Luigi, pointing to an added door in the center of the room. Luigi knew what would happen if they hit the block; they'd fall through a trapdoor in the floor.
"Please, just hit it!"
"No! I'm on to you!"
"I wish I could make you understand. I'm sorry I have to do this." Novelle (Morris?) produced a glowing magic wand. Waving it, she created a trapdoor beneath the heroes. "Don't worry. I have it all-" A glowing lavender ring extended from Novelle, and she abruptly vanished before finishing her sentence.
Our heroes crashed to the floor in a prison far below the above room. Apparently, Dimentio hadn't bothered refurbishing it; it looked exactly the same as it had in Castle Bleck, a black void broken by white outlines. Mario stood and looked up. "That was weird. Was that Morris? Or..."
Luigi thought about this. "Well, the people Morris disguised himself as were real people, we know that, but what are the chances they'd know about us and be here? Since Morris was around in the time of the Ancients, are they even still alive?"
"What I'm wondering is who they are in the first place," asserted Mimi. "And how Morris knows about them. I've never seen or heard of any of these people! Well, except for Amtakan mentioning one or two of them...but even then, I don't know if he really mentioned those names. I just think I remember something from that time."
"Hmm..." Tippi was wondering. "Does Dimentio know who they are? Maybe we'll learn something about them when we confront him."
"Come on," encouraged Mario, "we can't worry about the unknown. Let's find the key and get out of here. If this is indeed where it is, that is."
Our heroes walked through the still-destroyed patch of wall the four original heroes had broken to reach the other side of the prison. A pipe, leading up into the ceiling, rested in the center of this room. There were doors on both sides. "We need to move the pipe to the left," explained Peach. "If Dimentio hasn't moved it, the key should be up there."
Our heroes entered the door on the left. Dangerous firebars rotated around the room. "I'll go ahead." Mario flipped into 3D to dodge the firebars and hit the red ! Switch twice. He walked back to the others and returned to 2D. "The pipe should be ready now." Our heroes returned to the prison room, and the pipe had indeed traveled two spaces to the left. Entering the pipe, our heroes found themselves above the room in which they had fallen through the trapdoor. Three chests here contained some items, as well as the Castle Key they were looking for. Dropping through a hole in the floor, they returned to the trapdoor room and used the key to unlock the door.
"What's in the middle door, though?" wondered Nastasia. "I mean, this whole situation is sort of strange. Maybe that door takes us farther."
"That door ain't locked, though," pointed out O'Chunks. "The key's only fer this door."
"Let's check it out." Mario stepped into the next room. "It seems safe, guys." The others followed him into another familiar room. It was another two-giant-staircase room, and it was the first one Dimentio hadn't changed the layout of. However, he had added numerous obstacles and enemies that would be hard to avoid while climbing stairs. Hammer Brothers, falling spikes, Bombshell Bills, Headbonk Goombas, Koopatrols, Mr. Is, and countless other foes patrolled the two sets of stairs. There was a door on a flat space between the staircases, as there had been in Castle Bleck.
"How are we supposed to get past all these minions?" exclaimed Mimi.
"Oh," began Peach, "we bought some attack items, didn't we? We could always use a Fire Burst or something."
"We have two Fire Bursts and an Ice Storm," answered Mario, "but they only target nearby enemies. The enemies on the second staircase look more dangerous, so we should just fight through the first one and use one of our items when we reach the second one."
"Sounds good to me," agreed Luigi.
Mario jumped on the first Headbonk Goomba, getting headbonked by the second. It didn't hurt Mario much, so he was able to use his hammer to defeat the first Koopatrol. Our heroes continued defeating the enemies and dodging the falling spikes in this manner, dodging the enemies as best as they could but still taking moderate amounts of damage. "Should we see what's in this door?" asked Tippi once they had cleared the first staircase.
"We might as well," offered Luigi. "There might be a key or something in there."
Our heroes opened the door and stepped into an outside balcony. There were several Cursyas in this room, so Mario went ahead and slammed them with his hammer. Nothing else appeared to be in this room, but Mario knew better. "There's a passage here in 3D. There's probably something on the other side, so I'll get it." He flipped into 3D, expecting to see a narrow passage to the left of the giant wall on the right side. The walkway was still there, but it had been fragmented and some parts had been replaced with small moving platforms. If he wanted to reach the other side, once wrong move and he'd plummet into the depths of The Void. He jumped over the first few platforms easily, but the trickier part came with the small moving platforms, and in 3D, it was harder to judge the distances between them. Mario's tension slowed him down, and he soon realized that he had spent too much time in 3D. If he flipped back, he'd be caught inside the wall and would likely fall to his death, so he had no choice but to allow his Flip Meter to expire. Fortunately, he only took a small amout of damage, so he was able to continue across the platforms, carefully thinking out each jump in advance. Relieved after reaching the other side, he flipped back into 2D and opened a chest. Just as Mario had guessed, it contained a key. Now for those platforms again! Mario had to flip back into 3D and backtrack across all of the moving platforms. It was a tedious task, but the hero eventually made it back to where the others were waiting. He displayed the key to the others. "The door at the top of the next staircase is probably locked, so this key will do the trick."
Our heroes returned to the previous room. Dozens of enemies waited for them, but Mario pulled out one of their Fire Bursts and used the weapon. All of the nearby enemies were trapped inside a glowing yellow box, and flames engulfed the enemies, dealing damage until most of them had been defeated. The enemies that remained posed little trouble to the heroes as they climbed the staircase and unlocked the door at the top.
Before Dimentio had changed it, the next room had been a long hallway with three Mushroom traps that would drop the heroes into a trapdoor. Now, though, it consisted of several rows of rising-and-falling platforms spanning a huge pit of lava. Firebars and flying enemies were placed at those annoying spots that make them difficult to dodge. "Mario, you should go ahead and find a safe way to get through all of this," suggested Mimi.
"OK." Mario had experienced a large amount of platforming in this castle already, but he was always ready for a new challenge. He jumped onto the first platform, avoiding the molten firebar, then proceeded across the dangerous platforms one step at a time. He didn't have to be in 3D this time, so the journey across the platforms was slightly easier. When he had reached the other side, the others again followed his example to cross the platforms. They were hit only a few times, but Nastasia once was hit by a firebar and was sent backwards, clinging to the edge of a platform that would soon descend into the lava. Luigi quickly jumped into action and grabbed Nastasia's hand, pulling her onto the platform. They leaped onto the next platform before the one they were on sank into the lava. All five of ther others made it to the other side safely, where our heroes then proceeded through yet another purple emblemed door.
The next room was a short corridor with nothing in it except for a few easy enemies. The next two rooms were similar, short with a few enemies, and the third short room contained an Ultra Shroom lying on the floor, waiting for the heroes to pick it up. "That's strange," mused Mario after the heroes had replenished their health. "I thought Dimentio would've remodeled these rooms, since there was nothing in them. But he just added a few enemies, and then there's an Ultra Shroom just waiting for us? It doesn't seem like Dimentio would do something like this."
"Well, enemies always make rooms more difficult, right?" pointed out Peach. "Maybe he just couldn't think of anything else."
"Maybe." Fearing a long discussion about another mystery, Mario didn't want to push the issue.
The next door took them into the room in which Peach and Mimi had battled in Castle Bleck. "So ya punks thought ya'd jus' come 'ere n' defeat Dimen'sho?" asked H-X Alpha.
"We aren't going to let that happen!" finished B-A Omega.
"It's those robots again..." sighed Tippi.
"Well, yeah, of course we're robots! Like, I think that's pretty obvious!"
"Your annoying rambling didn't faze us last time, and it's not going to this time, either."
"Of course," answered B-A Omega. "Talking doesn't do it justice. Let me show you what we can really do." The background fell away in a series of rectangles, just like it had in Dimension D and the previous time our heroes had fought the two robots. "You'll never be able to stand up to us now! After you see our amazing new skills and weapons, you'll be begging for your death to be quick and painful at best."
"We're GONNA totally ANNIHILATE you MEDDLING fools! AND then WE'LL kill THOSE minions AND reactivate THE Chaos HEART so DIMENTIO can RULE all DIMENSIONS!"
"Mario and the others will defeat you just like last time," stated Tippi. "You might have superior weapons, but your intelligence is no greater than all the other persistent bad guys Mario fights."
"O MAH GOSH DID U HEAR TAHT?1!!!!?!!??? OMG LOL AN INSULT!!!1!!11! OMG WTH W3 AERNT GONG 2 LET IT SLIED THES TIEM!111!! LOL WTH U LADY GO 2 UR ROM AND WATE FOR UR SPANKNG!!1!!!11! OMG LOL"
"Really? There's six of you, just like when we fought in the cave, and Bowser's been replaced by some secretary. You don't stand any better of a chance than you did last time, so our new weapons will guarantee your destruction. A little logic could do you some good!"
"You can't just rely on logic to tell you everything. These heroes are going to defeat you both, and that's it!"
"How about we test your little theory? Let's throw down, shall we?"
H-X Alpha began rapping. "We're gonna throw down! We're gonna throw down! Eat your cornflakes and then-"
"SHUT UP, ALPHA!"
MINIBOSS
H-X Alpha and B-A Omega
H-X Alpha hovered toward B-A Omega until the small robot was resting on Omega's head. Omega extended sharp, metallic spikes from the ends of his arms, and Alpha did the same on the sides of his body. They both began spinning, slowly at first, but soon they had gained speed and sent themselves flying at our heroes, two evil machines of spiky death. Our heroes carefully jumped over the robots' assault, but Alpha and Omega came bouncing off the left wall, aiming for our heroes again. All six heroes again dodged the attack, but as they came back to the left again, Peach misaimed her jump and was hit by Alpha. "Aaaagh!!" She was thrown toward the floor, in clear pain, but she instinctively stood back up and jumped over the robots' next spinning attack.
Once they had hit the right side of the room again, Alpha and Omega withdrew their spikes and seperated. Alpha headed toward the ceiling, dropping bombs on our heroes, while Omega stayed on the right side and began firing laser shots from his gun-like right arm. Mario jumped through the onslaught of lasers and nailed Omega with his hammer. The robot flew up toward the ceiling and prepared to smash Mario, but as B-A Omega came down, Mario dove out of the way and delivered a ground pound. "All right, fine," admitted Omega. "You still have it in ya. But the mathematical odds are in my favor!" He produced a shuriken in his left arm and tossed it at Mario, who leaped over the weapon like a pro.
Meanwhile, the others were trying to figure out how to hit Alpha without being hit by one of his explosives. Mimi finally aimed a Rubee at the small robot's side, away from the bombs that would have blown it away. Alpha increased his speed, dropping even more bombs, but Mimi quickly hooked to the left and hit H-X Alpha with another Rubee. "Try defending yourself now!"
"Oh, I will." He hovered to the left of our heroes and surrounded himself with pointy spikes. Beginning to rotate his body, he flew toward O'Chunks, hit his target squarely, richocheted toward the ceiling, and came back down for another attack. After bouncing off the floor and ceiling again, he aimed in Mario's direction, planning to attack Mario from behind while he was distracted dodging the other robot's shurikens. Thinking quickly, Nastasia grabbed one of the shurikens attached to the floor and hurled it at B-A Omega. "Duck, Mario!" Mario promptly ducked, jumping over Alpha as he bounced from the lower-right corner and landing on Omega.
"Have a taste o' O'Chunks!" When Alpha had centered himself in the room and withdrew his spikes, O'Chunks propelled himself into the air and came down on the enemy, doing serious damage.
B-A Omega decided to take action. He hovered to a low point where most of our heroes were standing and fired a flame jet from his left palm. Luigi was caught almost directly in the path of the flames and was singed by the attack, but jumped out of the way before he would have been seriously hurt. Luigi landed below Alpha, who was still recovering from O'Chunks's attack, and Super Jumped H-X Alpha from below. "He's open, guys!"
"Not as long as I'm here!" Omega lifted his right leg and detached his metal two-toed foot. It spun through the air like a boomering, damaging several of our heroes.
"'Ey, I need an item or somethin'!" cried O'Chunks. "I'm losin' here!"
"Here's a Super Shroom Shake!" Mario tossed the item in O'Chunks's direction.
When Omega's foot had reattached itself, Alpha hovered toward Omega on the right side and Omega flew to the left. Alpha began charging a giant laser blast while the other robot headed for the ceiling, sweeping hard-to-dodge laser beams around the room. "Jump!" Mario shouted when Alpha's attack was fully charged. They all leaped over the giant laser successfully, although Mario was hit by one of Omega's lasers. He quickly bounded to the right and attacked Alpha with a hammer strike while the others continued dodging Omega's lasers. Mario was again seperated from the others, although he was facing a different robot this time. He jumped, getting hit again by a small floating explosive, but managing to jump on H-X Alpha twice. "Luigi, catch!" Mario threw his hammer at B-A Omega. "Get Alpha, everyone! He's almost down!"
Luigi again caught Mario's hammer and threw it at Alpha, further damaging the small robot. As Mario caught the hammer, Alpha began sparking with electricity. He wasn't out yet, however. "Let's give these punks the double spin, Double-Homie-G-Money!" H-X Alpha again extended his spikes, and Omega did the same, as they had done at the beginning of the fight, but they now careened individually. Omega was speeding around the floor while Alpha was richocheting around the room, making the robots quite hard to avoid. Most of our heroes were hit at least once before the minions finally ended their attack. They had all been reduced to about one-third of their maximum HP, except for O'Chunks, who had a decent half.
"Quick! Get Alpha!" Peach stomped Alpha while O'Chunks attacked him from below. The small robot crashed to the ground, deactivated.
"Yes, it figures you'd defeat him, but you're all just about defeated yourselves!" Omega was hovering on the left side of the room. He produced more shurikens, heated them, and sent the flaming shurikens into the crowd of heroes. Luigi and Mimi were hit and badly damaged, dashing to the other side of the room to avoid more pain.
"We can still use these against him!" announced Mario. The shurikens lost their fire after staying in the floor for a few seconds, so our heroes could pick them up and hit Omega with them. Omega was hit with three shurikens. Two of them hit his chest, but the third one struck him directly in the shady visual input device that was his "eyes". "Agh!" Omega pulled the shuriken out of his face and threw it at Peach.
"That's it! We go for his 'eyes'!" exclaimed Mimi. She aimed a Rubee for Omega's eyes, but the robot knew what she was planning. Omega fired a laser at the Rubee, sending it back at Mimi.
"You've survived longer than I thought. I guess it's time to pull out the homing lasers!" B-A Omega bent his left leg backward, opening a laser cannon. He targeted all six of the heroes individually, then fired six lasers in rapid succession that aimed for the heroes. They could be avoided by leading the lasers into a wall and jumping, but they traveled too fast for our heroes to think about dodging them. Everyone but Mario was hit. "Now it's time for me to finish you off!" Omega produced more flaming knives and sent them at our heroes.
"Nooo!!!" Mimi aimed a Rubee at the closest knife, knocking it back into the others. The weapons fell to the floor, harmless.
"What? How could you possibly counter my flaming knives? It goes against logic!" Omega prepared to toss more, but Mario quickly jumped to where the knives had fallen into the floor, grabbed one, and aimed for Omega. The others joined him, further damaging the minion.
"We have him! Go for the faceplate!" Luigi Super Jumped Omega as he rose to the ceiling while Mimi damaged Omega's eyes with another Rubee.
"Gaah! I can't see to my left!" The robot turned his right side to the heroes. "You'll all pay for this!" He extended two long, sharp blades from his gun-arm and rushed for the heroes, using the blades like giant scissors. Our heroes jumped out of the way while Mario delivered a head stomp. Luigi and O'Chunks soon followed, and while B-A Omega was vulnerable, Mimi fully deactivated his visual input with a Rubee.
"He can't see at all now!" rejoiced Nastasia.
"Grr!" Realizing he was almost done for, Omega flew toward the ceiling and again fired the homing lasers. He did this repeatedly, hurting our already-damaged heroes. Luigi, Nastasia, and Peach fainted.
"We have to get them fast!" Knowing a few more blasts would likely kill Nastasia, Mimi tossed a Rubee in the air. "Get it, Mario!" Mario wasted no time. He heroically jumped for the Rubee at the height of its arc and threw it further up, hitting B-A Omega one last time.
"What!?" Omega crashed to the floor, blinded. "We had...all these cool weapons...and you still defeated us. How..."
"They're the heroes of prophecy," replied Tippi, "and they may not always be perfect, but they can certainly defeat a few minions."
"W3've...b33n 0WNed...by @ l0T 0f P33pl n0w," groaned H-X Alpha.
"I guess you're right, Alpha. We've been beaten twice by these heroes, and we pretty much got fried in the Pixl battle, not to mention losing to Novelle at the ice crater."
"What? Pixl-"
"Listen, heroes. Next time, we'll be more powerful than you could ever imagine. You won't even be able to comphrehend how fast our weapons will travel."
"Until next time...farewell, glockenspiels!" H-X Alpha and B-A Omega flipped out with some pizazz.
"They're an odd group, aren't they?" reflected Mimi.
"What was the 'Pixl battle' Omega was talking about?" asked Tippi. "If he's talking about what I think he is, then those robots have been around far longer than we thought."
"You mean, the Pixl Uprising?" asked Luigi.
"Yes. I don't know of anything else that could be considered a 'Pixl battle'."
"Omega mentioned Novelle, too," added Mario. "That pretty much confirms that Morris was using the disguises of real people, but...not much else."
"Other than those robots encountered her at some time in the past," answered Nastasia.
Mario sighed. "Well, I guess we just move on now." The six heroes moved into the next room, where another Ultra Shroom was waiting for them. "Wha?"
"This is weird," thought Tippi. "Why are these items appearing exactly when we need them?"
"Who cares why," began O'Chunks, "we need this 'ere stuff!" Our heroes recovered most of their health.
"Two down, three to go," reflected Mario, trying to change the subject. "Dimentio's probably put Bowser in the next section of the castle, and then we'll be up against Count Bleck and Dimentio."
"OK," answered Tippi. "Dimentio, we're coming!"
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
I may have said this in some fashion before... but you have me TOTALLY HOOKED ON THIS STORY DUE TO YOUR IMPECCABLE WRITING SKILLS. ... UM... MY CAPS LOCK KEY BROKE. 8O HELP!!!
-
Here's the next chapter, then. :D
Dimentio was closer than ever before. Our heroes still had a large amount of the refurbished castle to travel through, though. The remaining trials and puzzles would inevitably become even more challenging. As our heroes fought their way into the Interior of Castle Dimentio, the lighting seemed to grow dimmer. The castle somehow took on a more ominous personality as our heroes delved deeper...
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The first room of Castle Dimentio's interior was much like the foyer; it was a hallway filled with lava and enemies. It seemed longer than it had in the foyer, so Dimentio probably hadn't added more rooms in this area. "I can't believe we're about to fight Bowser," noted Peach. "I mean...I can believe it, but it seems so strange, fighting him in this castle. And he was our ally for quite a while."
"Yes," agreed Tippi. "He was a good ally, if a bit arrogant. But it was Bowser's own fault he fell to Dimentio's control. We can't do anything about his flaws."
"I wonder if Dimentio's taught him new skills," thought Mario. "He'll probably be even more powerful than he was the last time we fought him."
"And he was pretty powerful then to begin with," weighed Luigi. "How did he get so powerful? Something he ate..."
"He said he ate some kind of device," reminded Nastasia. "Just like O'Chunks did."
"Merlrock said that was where The Ancients tested some of their experiments," said Mimi. "That's probably why it was there. They might have had lots of those things."
Tippi thought. "They were used for creating Pixls..." She paused. "I wonder...was 'getting fried' in the Pixl battle the reason H-X Alpha is so...crazy? He may have been injured in the battle and damaged his brain."
The heroes thought about this. "It might be," began Luigi, "but...let's not think about it."
"That's probably the best idea. Let's go."
Since our heroes had now almost fully recovered their HP, the enemy-infested hallway wasn't a huge challenge. At one point, though, our heroes encountered a Mega Muth on top of a small pedestal sticking out of the lava. They couldn't jump to the platform without being hit by the Muth. "Luigi, can you jump over there?" asked Tippi.
"I think so." Luigi charged the Super Jump, aiming for the Mega Muth, but ended up slamming his head against the ceiling instead. "Nope. I don't think I can."
"Easy solution." Mimi fired a Rubee at the Mega Muth. Perturbed, it began gathering strength to charge our heroes.
"Uh oh," uttered Nastasia. "RUN!"
"Not so fast!" O'Chunks leaped into the air and pounded the hairy Muth as it fell onto the platform our heroes were resting on. It had tons of HP, so it still hadn't been defeated. Now that it was low enough to attack, though, our other heroes could pitch in with everything they had. The Mega Muth was defeated in a few seconds.
"Whew," breathed Nastasia. "I thought we were goners for sure."
The rest of this room was a short walk up to the purple emblemed door. Our heroes opened this door and entered a two-floored hallway. All kinds of enemies inhabited both floors, but the room was otherwise identical to how it had been in the previous castle. "We should get some experience from defeating these enemies," pointed out Mario. Taking out the enemies was a simple matter, and from there our heroes entered the next door.
Dimentio had scrapped the mirror hallway in favor of what seemed to be a small, low-ceiling room with nothing but another locked door in it. "Where's the key?" wondered Tippi.
"It might be in 3D. Let me check." Mario flipped, revealing a series of obstacles to the right (up in 3D). Looking forward, Mario could see a few safe spots where he could flip back to 2D and replenish his Flip Meter before tackling the next obstacles. He flipped back. "There's a hallway to the right in 3D. The key's probably at the end."
"You've done so many things on your own, Mario," lamented Peach. "Are you sure you want to find the key?"
"I'm positive. I'm carrying a lot of responsibility, so I can't afford to back off now! Here we go!" Mario again flipped into 3D and headed to the right. He first had to cross a wide pit by bouncing on a Copta. This was difficult to do in 3D, so Mario carefully thought out his jump first, as he'd done while crossing the moving platforms in the Foyer. Reaching the other side successfully, he flipped back into 2D so he could wait for his Flip Meter to recover. When it had fully replenished, Mario entered the third dimension again. The next two obstacle areas consisted of moving platforms, which were fairly simple for Mario to cross. After flipping back to 2D and checking out the fourth area, though, Mario could observe large spiked pillars that crashed down every few seconds. He'd have to carefully sneak between them to reach the other side. He walked forward, stood still in a space between the first and second pillars, and waited for them to crash down. When they did, he prepared to run once the pillars lifted. He dashed forward at his first opportunity, reaching a chest on the other side. Mario collected the key, flipped back into two dimensions, and waited for his Flip Meter to recharge again. When it was ready, he flipped once more and headed back to where the others were waiting. "Here it is."
Mario unlocked the door, and our heroes entered it, coming out in another room they weren't familiar with. It was a long vertical tunnel, and a platform was provided for them at the entrance of the room, guided by a line that ran up the shaft. Our heroes jumped onto the platform, and it began carrying them up. Soon enough, our heroes found that they were being fired at. They ducked to avoid the Bombshell Bills being blasted at them. Mimi figured she was safe until a Blastboxer fell from a platform above her and slammed her on the head. "Is platforming in castles always this crazy?" she asked Mario and Luigi.
"No. It's usually not this crazy," replied Luigi. "Most of the time, it's crazier."
Our heroes continued fending off the enemies that assaulted them until the platform stopped rising and headed down a passage to the right. The floor, ceiling, and walls of this passage were smothered in spikes, so our heroes couldn't leave the platform. Some of the spikes broke off and fell as our heroes came near, forcing them to hurry to other areas of the platform before they were skewered from above. After a few downward turns and bends, the falling spikes weren't the only thing our heroes had to worry about. The usual Bombshell Bill Blasters, as well as other enemies like Cherbils began appearing, making things much more difficult. Our heroes were hit by the enemies several times before the platform finally came to a stop at another door. Relieved to be out of the spiked passage, our heroes entered the door.
Dimentio had left this room mostly untouched; the two large staircases of Castle Bleck looked the same except for the visual effects and added enemies. "There's a passage under the staircase," explained Mario. "The key is probably still there, so I'll have to go alone again."
"You're sure you want to go alone again?" asked Nastasia. "You never know what's past the next door. Maybe someone else should go with you."
"That's true, but..." Mario thought of a way he could take another person with him. "Actually, if I flipped some of you and we walked into the passage, we could all reach that area."
"Sounds like a good plan," approved Luigi. "Flip me first, bro!"
Mari obeyed, flipping Luigi into 3D while Mimi and Nastasia, already able to flip, entered the passage beneath the stairs. Mario followed, bringing Peach and O'Chunks with him into the passage. The passage contained the usual Soopa Strikers, but there were also some Ice Cherbils that, if successful in attacking the heroes, would leave them unable to dodge the Strikers' continuous shell volleys. Our heroes went to work on the enemies, being as careful as they could of the Cherbils. Luigi turned to face the others. "Gee, Dimentio's really making sure-" At that moment, an Ice Cherbil hit him and he was frozen inside a block of ice.
"Luigi!" exclaimed Mario.
"I'll get it!" Peach jumped on the next Soopa Striker so that Luigi wouldn't be harmed.
Mario tried to break through Luigi's ice block while the younger brother struggled to break himself free. Luigi eventually made it out, shivering. "Remind me never to look backwards when we're fighting!"
Our heroes had reached the next door. Taking it, they entered a small room with three blocks floating in the air, too high for anyone but Luigi to reach. The blocks were black with a white "X" pattern on them. "One of these will open a door," recalled Luigi. He hit the first two blocks before striking the third, creating a door directly beneath the rightmost block. Our heroes entered the door just as the Magiblots began appearing.
The next room was identical besides the Koopatrols. After Mario defeated them, Luigi hit all three blocks, but none of them produced a door. "I think you have to hit them in a certain order," estimated Mario. "Let me check." He flipped into 3D. The side of the rightmost block read "1", the leftmost block read "2", and the middle block read "3". Mario flipped back into the second dimension. "Hit the right one, then left, then center."
"Got it." Luigi hit the blocks in the order Mario had described, and a door was drawn underneath the center block.
Our heroes entered another identical room, this one containing several Chain Chomps. They were hard to defeat because of their high defense, and our heroes were hit a few times before being able to check out the blocks. Again, none of the blocks produced anything. "Time to check in 3D again." Mario flipped, expecting to see numbers written on the sides of the blocks again, but no numbers were present. Instead, the left block displayed an image of a violet heart, the middle block contained an orange heart, and the right block showed a light blue heart. Mario flipped back. "There's something sort of strange on those blocks." He explained what he had seen. "What could those heart symbols mean?"
"Pure Hearts?" was O'Chunks's first guess after a few seconds of silence.
"Different colors of Pure Hearts..." mused Tippi. "Maybe we have to hit the blocks in the order of the Pure Heart colors. So Luigi would hit the middle block first, than the right one, then the left one."
"I'll try it out." Luigi followed that pattern, and the door appeared on cue underneath the left block.
Entering yet another similar area, Mario took care of the Magikoopas and flipped into 3D without anyone having to tell him. What he saw on the sides of the black blocks seemed even more vague than the Pure Heart hints. All three of them featured white images, but Mario couldn't tell what they represented. The closest, leftmost block displayed what looked like an explosion, the middle block contained the mysterious three-pointed heart circle emblem, and the rightmost block featured what seemed to be a white Pure Heart. Mario flipped back to share his observations with the others. "The right one might be referring to a Pure Heart," he concluded, "but I have no idea what the other two mean."
"An explosion, that emblem, and a Pure Heart?" wondered Peach. "Hmm..."
"Wait a second," realized Mimi. "Luigi, try just hitting the blocks in every order you can think of. It'll probably take less time than trying to figure out what those pictures mean."
"Why didn't I think of that before?" Luigi hit the blocks in various patterns. The combination of hits going from right to left opened a door beneath the left block.
"So...wait," began Mario. "Pure Heart, emblem, explosion? How do those go in order?"
Tippi thought. "Pure Heart...that emblem...an explosion..." She thought about what the order meant. "Hmmm...well, we need to know exactly what that emblem is. The Pure Heart coming before the explosion seems natural. The explosion might be The Void. But...wait. The Void formed first, and then the Pure Hearts were collected. Maybe...it's referring to when the Pure Hearts were created? The Purity Heart? A lot of things happened between that and The Void. The emblem could stand for just about anything."
"It's no use thinking about what we don't know," replied Mario for the umpteenth time. "But I sure hope Dimentio will make all of this make sense somehow." Our heroes proceeded through the door, finding a small room with nothing but the key in it. Mario picked it up. "All we have to do now is get out of these puzzle rooms. The locked door is at the top of the stairs in the other room."
Mario led our other heroes back through the doors until they reached the passage beneath the stairway. Mario guided the others back to the front of the staircase, and our heroes were ready to proceed. Once the group had unlocked the door and entered the next room, they were greeted by a long hallway of mirrors. Dimentio had kept this one intact and had made it much more difficult, with added enemies and lava pits, as well as mirrors in which the jester himself appeared and fired energy blasts at the heroes. "Whoa!" exclaimed Mario. "This'll be a hard one to get through!"
"We can't all go through here at once," cautioned Tippi. "Some of us might be injured."
"I'll go ahead with Mario, and we'll defeat the enemies. Sounds good, bro?" asked Luigi.
"OK." Mario and Luigi headed to the right, defeating the enemies and dodging Dimentio's fire.
"Let's go," announced Tippi once they had made it to the other side. Going through this room was somewhat easier without the enemies to deal with, but Dimentio's threat still existed. When the others had reached the area where the Mario brothers were waiting, our heroes had all taken heavy damage. Fortunately, an Ultra Shroom waited for them before the door.
Our heroes walked into the next room, coming face-to-face with Dimentio's newest minion. "Well, what have we here?" Bowser mocked. "Two dorks with mustaches, a princess who thinks she's tough, a fat guy, a green freak, and a secretary. Wow. These people kept whupping Dimentio's minions? No wonder those minions lost. They're total weaklings!"
"Bowser, it's us!" shouted Tippi. "The heroes!"
"You don't look like heroes to me. You look more like itsy-bitsy bugs that aren't even worth my time to squish."
"Well, we must be not so itsy-bitsy if we took out all of those other minions!" asserted Luigi.
"Whatever. Listen, 'heroes', Dimentio's got big plans, and I'm here to make sure they go into action. Do you want to give up now, or do you really think you can take me on?"
"We can defeat you any day," proclaimed Mario.
"All right, you're on. I'll make sure Dimentio enjoys some Roast Hero Surprise!"
MINIBOSS
Bowser
Bowser raised his head toward the ceiling and expelled a large blast of fire. Hundreds of small fire droplets began raining down from the ceiling, coming down into the area our heroes were standing in. "Get to the left, everyone!" ordered Mario. "I'll take him from close-up." Mario ran over to Bowser and aimed his hammer directly into Bowser's chest.
"OW! You'll pay for that, pesky plumber!" Bowser prepared for a claw swipe and stuck Mario's stomache, sending him collapsing backwards. Bowser was just about to fry Mario when a Rubee hit his face. "Rrgh! What now?" He jumped into the air, sailing over our heroes and delivering a ground pound. The five others got away in time, but Bowser created a shockwave when he touched down, sending O'Chunks flying into the already-dazed Mario. Bowser continued jumping up and down, creating a series of shockwaves that traveled along the floor.
"I'll get him!" Mimi prepared to fire a Rubee at Bowser. The Koopa king began gathering a ball of white energy in his right hand. When the Rubee's arc carried it toward Bowser, he blasted it with a stream of energy, sending it flying back at Mimi as well as creating energy sparks that flowed outward from the area. Luigi was thrown backwards into Mimi at the same time she was hit by her own Rubee, and they both were slammed against the left wall.
Hoping to distract Bowser, O'Chunks and Mario attacked him from behind. "Take this, yeh big galoot!" O'Chunks swung at Bowser with all the muscle he had. It did the trick.
"Ugh! You're so annoying!" Bowser sent flames in O'Chunks's direction, but the burly man leaped above the fire stream.
"Hiiii-YAAAH!" O'Chunks came crashing down on Bowser. Bowser wrestled free of O'Chunks's weight, and the two fighters began exchanging sucker punches.
"O'Chunks!" called Mario. "Use this!" He tossed his hammer to O'Chunks.
"'Ey, thanks!" O'Chunks was now throwing sucker hammer strikes.
"Forget this!" Bowser produced a spiked orb in his hand and sent it at O'Chunks, knocking him to the right, injured.
"We can't just let him demolish us like this!" announced Peach. "We have to do something!"
"I can tell O'Chunks took a lot out of him," reported Nastasia. "Let's add to that."
"I'll help!" Luigi jumped on Bowser while he was walking to the right toward Mario and O'Chunks. Bowser responded by turning toward Luigi and aiming fire toward the green plumber, but Mario quickly ran behind Bowser and dealt a hammer blow.
"Gah! There's just so many of you! I'll fix that." Bowser jumped into the air again, turning somersaults as he rose. He hovered in the air for a few seconds, then suddenly aimed downward and crashed onto Peach, bouncing upward again after hitting the ground.
"Peach!" Mario pulled his love to the right, away from Bowser, who had now turned himself into a bouncing weapon. After crashing down to the ground again, he sailed in an arc above our heroes, coming down again and aiming for Nastasia. Our heroes had learned Bowser's pattern by now, though, so he was relatively easy to avoid. Once Bowser had landed for the final time, he uncurled himself and produced more spiky balls. He threw them into the air, where they eventually fell down and damaged several of our heroes.
"Let's get him with these!" Nastasia picked up one of the spiked balls that had landed on the floor. Following her advice, Luigi and Mimi also grabbed a spike ball, and all three heroes tossed the weapons at Bowser.
"We're whittling him down!" Mario again pounded the distracted Bowser.
Without speaking, Bowser produced an energy orb in his hand. He sent a wave of blue energy to the right where all of our heroes were standing. Mario was blasted back into the others, crashing into the right wall. Bowser continued firing energy beams, and several of our heroes were taking serious damage. "You like that, heroes?" Bowser aimed white-hot fire at the group. Luigi leaped over the fire, flying above Bowser and coming down, planting his foot in the Koopa king's face. "Waah!" Startled, Bowser fell over backwards. This gave enough time for Mimi to hit him with another Rubee. Mario followed with a head stomp.
"We've almost got him!" Luigi joyfully announced. He aimed to jump on Bowser, but their nemesis suddenly reared up and flew toward the ceiling, spinning in circles again and coming down on Luigi himself. Bowser again repeatedly bounced and hit the ground.
"Luigi!" Mario ran to help his fallen brother, dragging him to the relatively safe right corner.
"Mario, distract him!" called Mimi. "I'll attack from this side!" Mario silently obeyed, dashing under Bowser as he rose into the air again and stopping at Bowser's left. The Koopa king stood still on the ground and aimed several spiky orbs at Mario. The hero was hit a few times, and his health was getting dangerously low, but he knew his efforts would pay off. While Mimi hit Bowser with more Rubees, Mario grabbed some of the spiked orbs and hurled them at Bowser.
"GRAAAH!!!" Bowser was almost knocked out, but he had one last trick up his sleeve. He surrounded himself with a crackling energy field, ducked into his shell, and sent himself rolling around the floor.
"Ahhh!" O'Chunks was slammed by Bowser's shell and tossed to the right, smashing into Mimi and knocking both of them out.
"How do we stop him!?" asked Nastasia frantically, jumping over Bowser's careening shell.
"I don't know!" answered Mario, constantly eyeing the weakened Luigi to make sure Bowser didn't crash into him. "I'll try the hammer!" Mario waited for Bowser to come near and smashed his hammer into Bowser's shell. His hammer was blown backwards with such force that Mario was flung backwards, his back slamming into the right wall. Mario fell from the wall, breathing strongly. "Someone...anyone...get him!"
Bowser withdrew from his spinning shell attack, apparently tired out. "Whew. How'd you like that, heroes?"
"Better than you're going to like THIS!" Peach picked up a spare spike ball and slammed it into Bowser's face.
"YOW!" Bowser fell over backwards, collapsing on the floor. "NOOOOO!!! Darn it darn it DARN IT! I can't believe I lost to these puny heroes!"
"Well, they have beaten you a hundred times before," pointed out Mimi.
"What are you talking about?"
"Bowser, you're under Dimentio's hypnosis. Why-"
"Oh, shut up. I'm going to keep training, and sometime soon, I'll obliterate the lot of you! I'LL BE BACK!" Bowser flipped out.
"It's kind of sad to see him fighting for Dimentio like this," remarked Peach. "This just isn't the Bowser I used to know."
"Dimentio's minions keep saying they'll get revenge," noted Tippi. "They say they'll defeat us next time. Is there even a next time? Once we defeat Dimentio, we won't have to worry about his minions anymore, right?"
"A lot of villains are overconfident like that," answered Luigi. "Those minions are no different."
"I suppose you're right. Let's go."
Our heroes were fully healed in the next room, courtesy of an Ultra Shroom. They didn't want to talk about it.
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
Get ready for the final chapter, everyone. Here goes!
Six heroes. Eight Pure Hearts. One villain. Three minions. Our heroes had finally reached the Inner Sanctum of Castle Dimentio. There remained only a relatively small amount of puzzles and traps to fight through, and then...Dimentio. The climax of our heroes' adventure was fast approaching, and the stakes were high as our heroes ventured into the final area. Will our heroes defeat Dimentio and save all worlds? Or will Dimentio kill Bleck's minions, reactivate the Chaos Heart, and form The Void once more? Only bravery, determination, and love can win the day...
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The castle was as dark as ever. Several of the torches seemed to struggle helplessly to stay lit, only to be swallowed by the ever-encompassing darkness. Our heroes could almost feel the bleakness enveloping them. "Let's hurry and defeat Dimentio," offered Peach. "This place gives me shivers." It was much colder without the abundance of torch lighting as well.
"Yeah," agreed Luigi. He was going to continue, but decided to finish his sentence there. Something about the enviroment demanded silence.
The inner sanctum's first hallway was an enemy-infested gauntlet, much like the previous two sections of the castle, but containing a wider variety of traps; besides enemies, there were also spike beds, spikes that fell from the ceiling, sections of the floor and ceiling moving up and down that could crush our heroes, and several more. No lava pits existed in this room, which didn't remedy the chilly dark atmosphere. "Dimentio's really trying to stop us now," observed Mimi.
Mario had a strange thought. "Is he really trying to stop us? He knows we're powerful. Powerful enough to accomplish his plan for him and release that...person. I can't shake the feeling that he wants us to reach him. And then..."
"And then?" asked Luigi after a brief pause.
Mario shook his head. "Let's just go for Dimentio. Whatever he has planned for us, we'll be able to stop him."
Mario, Luigi, Peach, O'Chunks, Mimi, and Nastasia walked hurriedly through the dark chamber, defeating enemies as they went. They eventually found a Hammer Brother atop a tall pedestal, too high to jump over.
"I'll take care of him!" Luigi readied his Super Jump.
"Do it fast!" O'Chunks was trying his best to dodge the rain of hammers.
Luigi sprang into the air, coming down on the hammer-throwing minion and stomping on it three times. Luigi observed a switch slightly beyond where the Hammer Brother had been. He jumped on it, lowering the pedestal and allowing the others to proceed. "We've got to be careful now," warned Mario. Between them and the door lie a large pit with a never-ending series of platforms rising out of it. If our heroes stayed on the platforms for too long, they'd be carried directly into the spikes on the ceiling. "Run as fast as you can!" Mario began dashing across one of the platforms while it was still below the floor level to demonstrate. He came out safely on the other side.
"I'll try." Peach repeated Mario's example, and the others soon followed.
The next room was a short hallway, containing nothing but Magiblots, two blue ! Switches, and a door. This door was plain purple, unlike most of the other ones, which displayed the white emblem, but the emblem was painted on the wall a few feet to the left of the door. "What's with this door?" asked Luigi as he defeated one of the Yellow Magiblots. "It's like someone removed the emblem and put it on the wall."
"Let's see what these blocks do." Mario hit the ! Switch on the left, and the blank door moved slightly to the left.
"I think we have to get the door to match up with the symbol," noted Tippi.
"Let's see." Mario hit the switch a few more times until the door was lined up with the white emblem. He opened the door and looked inside. "Yes, there's another room in here."
The others followed Mario into the next room. It was somewhat small, with a few enemies and a locked door on the other side. "Let me see if the key's here." Mario flipped into 3D, but there wasn't anything special besides the 3D-ness. He flipped back. "I don't see the key anywhere."
"Is it in this room?" asked Luigi. He looked around, trying to find any sort of clue they could use, but there was nothing. "So...what do we do?"
"Maybe it's in the previous room," offered Mimi. "We can move the door around, so maybe if we move it somewhere else, we'll enter a different room and we might find the key."
"Good idea!" Mario led the others back through the door. "Hmm. Let's try going to the left first." Mario hit the left switch until the door had traveled as far to the left as it could go. He opened the door and peered inside, and he saw nothing. He soon realized why; he was standing at the edge of a massive drop that plunged into the darkness below. Recoiling, he quickly shut the door before he tumbled into the pit. "Whew." Mario walked to the block on the right and hit this one, checking out the door again. He finally found a chest in the room one space to the right of the emblem. Opening the lone chest, he found the castle key. "I found it," he announced after exiting through the door. He hit the left switch, lining the door with the symbol again, and our heroes entered the room again. Mario unlocked the door, and our heroes proceeded into the next room.
Our heroes emerged in a massive hallway. The ceiling was far above them, and a huge pit, broken by rising-and-falling floor segments, covered most of the floor. It was essentially a harder version of the same room in Castle Bleck, with some altered platforms and added enemies like Cherbils. "You know how to get across these, right?" asked Mario. He jumped to the first moving pillar, defeating the Ice Cherbil.
"I 'ope so!" O'Chunks followed Mario onto the second platform. Our heroes continued across the perilous moving platforms, being as careful as possible not to be hit by the enemies. Even so, they were hit and knocked back a few times. Peach stumbled over the edge of a platform, but Mario quickly pulled her back up. Our heroes reached the end door with little damage, relieved that they hadn't been hurt more.
The next room was also similar to Castle Bleck. Another large pit spanned the room, and more platforms, similar to the rising platforms in the first room of the inner sanctum, were placed over the pit. Some platforms moved continually down while others moved up. There were Spiked Parabuzzies and other enemies waiting to sabotage our heroes' pit-crossing. "Careful!" Luigi cautioned as Mimi almost slipped off one of the platforms. When they had reached a rest area in the center of the room, Mario seemed distracted by something.
"Wait a second...if I remember correctly, I have to flip here. Hang on a second." Mario flipped into 3D, revealing a pipe to the left of the platform. He jumped to the pipe and entered it, coming out in a small room with a few enemies. The hero easily dealt with these foes, and seeing nothing in the room, flipped into 3D. A tunnel into the right wall became visible. It was inhabited by several more enemies, and these ones weren't as easy to avoid. The tunnel wasn't extremely long, but Mario had to make it in one shot before his Flip Meter expired. He quickly dashed through the tunnel, trying his best to dodge or defeat the enemies. He was hit several times, finally making it to a more open space on the other side. Flipping back, he collected another key from a chest. When his Flip Meter had recharged, he ran back through the passage, not having as much trouble because he'd defeated several of the enemies. He soon reemerged in the platform room. "This key's for the door ahead of us."
"You were in there for a while," remarked Luigi. "I was starting to wonder what you were doing. What was in that room?"
"There was a tunnel I had to go through in 3D. It was pretty brutal."
The trek across the next series of platforms was difficult, but our heroes made it across fine. Unlocking the door, the heroes entered the next room. It was another long hallway, filled to the brim with enemies. Almost literally. "This is the enemy hall to end all enemy halls," breathed Peach.
"That's good," agreed Mario. "The next part of the castle is a giant maze, unless Dimentio changed it, and after that there's no more enemy halls. Let's tackle this."
Unlike most of the other rooms in the Inner Sanctum, this hallway contained windows, revealing the sky-filling Void outside the castle. Although The Void was a dark, cloudy, ominous structure, the room felt more open and warmer with the windows than without them, probably because of the ever-increasing darkness of the castle. The relative warmth was a comfort in the chilly castle, and helped our heroes' tense muscles relax as they ventured into the enemy chamber. That was a good thing; Mega Muths, Blastboxers, Fire Brothers, Mr. Is, Bombshell Bills, Cherbils, and almost every other variety of enemy our heroes could think of inhabited this room, and getting past them uninjured was out of the question. "Uh-oh!" uttered Peach. "Mega Muth!" It was right behind a Boomerang Brother, and had begun to charge our heroes.
"Yaah!" Acting on instinct, Mario held out his hands as the Boomering Brother tossed his weapon. The boomering slammed into his hand. He quickly pulled it back and hurled it at the Mega Muth, making it flinch long enough for Peach to begin attacking it while Mario dealt with the Boomerang Brother. A row of Blastboxers waited for our heroes directly after these enemies, hurting our heroes with their sound waves. O'Chunks gathered his strength and charged the dozens of Blastboxers, knocking them out one by one.
The door that ended this hallway finally came into view after a group of Bombshell Bill Blasters. After defeating these enemies, Mario and the group headed for the door. "We're heading deeper into the castle," announced Mario. "I have to flip back and forth to navigate in the next room, so I'll have to take all of you with me one at I time like we did a while ago."
"Sounds fine," approved Luigi.
Our heroes entered the giant maze section of the castle. There were several Koopatrols in the first area, which Mario and the others defeated easily. "I'll take you first, Luigi." Mario grabbed his brother's hand and flipped them both into 3D. Walking through an arch-shaped hole in the wall into another room, Mario flipped them both back into 2D. He repeated the process with the four others, bringing them all into the new room. After defeating the Fuzzies in this area, Mario proceeded to flip them all again. They continued through the maze rooms in this manner, occasionally having to go back and take another path. They were hit several times, but found items in a few areas.
"We should heal ourselves," Mimi advised once the door was in sight.
"We probably should." Mario used a Super Shroom Shake to heal the party somewhat. It wasn't a large amount, but they regained enough health to presumably be safe in the room ahead. The purple door, identical to all of the others, stood out more against the background. The castle was dark enough by this point that it felt similar to the original Castle Bleck. Our heroes entered the door.
Dimentio hadn't kept the second maze room intact. This room contained another wide chasm, and a large climbing net was suspended across it. The path they'd take on the climbing net took them through various obstacles and enemies. "He's made it harder," breathed Luigi.
"It shouldn't give us too much trouble," countered Mario. "Come on." He jumped onto the net and began pulling himself to the right. The others followed, weaving in and out of the dangerous Thwomps that blocked their path on occasion. Our heroes carefully descended through a narrow vertical tunnel with spikes on either side, thankful for the climbing net. When they emerged on the right side of the tunnel, they could observe some Spiked Parabuzzies below a small opening in the ceiling.
"Yeh think we should see what's up 'ere?" asked O'Chunks.
"I don't see why not." Mario led the others past the Parabuzzies and onto a small ledge above the opening. There didn't appear to be anything in this small area.
"Is there anything here?" wondered Tippi.
"I'll flip." Mario again flipped into three dimensions, and saw a passage through the wall form to his left. He jumped into the passage, finding a door. Another puzzle... When Mario entered the door, he emerged at the right side of a small room. This room was surprisingly well-lit by a series of six torches that seemed to be oddly positioned: The first torch was quite higher than any of the others, the second one was much lower, the third one was also lower, the fourth one was in the middle, the fifth one was low, and the sixth one was in the middle. At the left side of this room, there were three doors stacked on top of each other. I've done this before. I just have to follow the torches. He jumped on a few platforms to reach the top door and entered it. However, he came out through the door he had first used to enter this area. What? I'm back here? Is that torch sequence incorrect? He studied it again, and just to be sure, took the top door again. He again emerged in the same area. Hmm... He tried going in the middle door, emerging in a room that didn't contain the torches. I'm in a different room now? Wait... He then realized the pattern: He had started on the right, so he had to read the torches from right to left, not left to right. Following this pattern, he then opened the bottom, middle, bottom, bottom, and top doors, finding a small room containing the key. He exited through this room's only door, coming through the door in the 3D tunnel he had first entered through. He walked back to the others and flipped back into the second dimension. "I found another key. Let's go."
Our heroes continued through the spiked net maze. They had been heavily damaged by the time they reached the door at the end. "We've got to use an Ultra Shroom Shake," advised Nastasia.
"Are you sure?" asked Peach. "We only have three of them."
"True...but if we get hit a few more times, we're out. We can't take the risk."
"All right, let's use it." Mario pulled out the Ultra Shroom Shake and used it to revive the party's health. The heroes then entered the door.
If it had contained white outlines, the next room would look almost identical to Castle Bleck. There was nothing in this room besides a giant staircase and a door at the top. Mario thought it was the final room before Dimentio's lair, but then he realized something. "This is where the third maze section should be. It's not the penultimate room. There's something about it that-" Mario's sentence was interrupted by a sudden rumbling.
"What's that shaking!?" exclaimed Peach.
Without warning, the top of the staircase began to crumble and break apart. The rest of the staircase followed, cracking in half from top to bottom. Soon the entire staircase was falling in the direction of our heroes! "Back through the door!" Mario commanded. He attempted to open the door, but it had apparently been locked behind him.
"What do we do now?" worried Mimi. The sharp fragments of the black staircase were moments away from spearing our heroes.
"Just jump!" Mario shouted as the pieces approached them. Our six heroes leaped over the incoming shards, but none of them avoided them completely. They were all hit with several pieces of the staircase, even as they jumped as high as they could. A rather large piece was the last to come.
"How do we dodge that!?" asked Tippi.
"I'll take care o' this!" O'Chunks jumped in front of the boulder-sized fragment before anyone could stop him. Holding his hands out, he braced himself for the impact as the fragment collided with him. He was pushed backward a few feet, but managed to stop the boulder after a few seconds of struggling. Breathing out, he let go of the shard.
"That probably negatated the Ultra Shake," lamented Luigi. "I hurt all over."
"There's an Ultra Shroom in the next room," reminded Mario. "We'll be fine..." The hero then realized the collapse of the staircase had created a high wall, much too high for any of them to jump. "Mimi? Can you carry us up the wall?"
"No, I don't think so," she sighed. "That wall's way too rough for me to climb. I'd slip."
"Well, then what can we..." Mario paced, turning around to think, and saw a blue object. "What? I could swear this switch wasn't here before." He stepped on it, and the stairs repaired themselves.
"That was weird..." uttered Luigi.
"Dimentio isn't far away," announced Mario. "Come on. Let's climb these stairs." Our heroes proceeded up the stairs, entering the door at the top. They came out in another room with a large staircase, but fortunately this one didn't break apart as they climbed it. At the top of this staircase, an Ultra Shroom waited for our heroes.
"Whew." Luigi grabbed the Ultra Shroom, using it to restore the HP of the group.
"So this door will take us to Dimentio," recalled Mario. "This is it. The final confrontation." He paused to let those words sink in.
"We're ready, aren't we?" asked Peach.
"I sure am," replied Luigi. "Let's teach that Dimentio a lesson he'll never forget!"
"My husband is beyond this door," reminded Tippi. "We musn't delay."
"Before we enter this door," continued Mario, "I just want to remind us that we need to fight as one unit. Don't think about what we don't know. Just focus on our task. It's the only way we can take down Dimentio and save every universe."
"That's true," agreed Luigi. "We need partnership, companionship...we need love."
"You're absolutely right. We loved existence enough to find all eight Pure Hearts, even when it was tough. And Tippi loved her husband enough to accompany us and travel with us all the way through obstacles like these. Are we ready?"
"Yep!" answered Mimi. "Let's do it!"
"I'm ready fer anythin'!" approved O'Chunks.
"Let's do it!" answered Peach.
"OK." Mario cleared his throat. "Here we go!" And he opened the door.
Dimentio hadn't changed this large room at all. It retained its black background and white outlines and platforms, all in the same positions.
"Bleh heh heh heh...So you've come this far...only to be destroyed...by Count Bleck!"
Our heroes turned toward the voice. Count Bleck was resting on one of the floating platforms, and Dimentio was floating behind him. "To be honest, Count Bleck never expected you to make it this far. You heroes have endured trials Count Bleck expected would stop you all for good. But your travels were all in vain, for now your games shall end, courtesy...of Count Bleck!"
Tippi floated forward, the others soon following. "Blumiere! How can you say such things?" Tippi reverted to her human form. "You're not a villain! You're my husband! What have..." Her voice faded.
"Count Bleck does not interest himself in the ramblings of pathetic heroes. If you wish your game's end to be painless, stop talking and let me do the work."
"Blumiere...don't you remember? Don't you remember the time when we loved each other?"
"Count Bleck never loved you. He serves only Dimentio, and he uses Count Bleck as he sees fit."
"Blumiere...oh, it's no use! Don't you see? Don't you know what we've been doing since Dimentio scattered the Pure Hearts? I helped the heroes find the eight Pure Hearts all over again because I love you. I want to release you from Dimentio's control. We've fought in a war...we've been forced into slavery...we've ventured into a volcano...all becuase I want to rescue you. How could you not see that?"
"Details bore Count Bleck. Let us cut to the chase. Count Bleck will defeat you all, and then kill his former minions so Dimentio can reactivate the Chaos Heart!"
"And make sure you do it well, Count," added Dimentio. "If you fail, I'll be forced to take them out myself."
"You!" accused Timpani. "You hypnotized my husband! What are you planning? What allowed you to do such a thing?"
"Ah ha ha ha. Foolish Timpani...you're clueless of the true story of Blumiere's tribe, aren't you? You wouldn't be speaking so romantically if you knew the truth."
"I don't care what the Tribe of Darkness was. It doesn't matter what group or family or nation Blumiere came from. I don't even mind that he tried to destroy the world. Now is what counts, and I want my husband back...NOW!"
"My, you're energetic today. Your passion for Blumiere is breathtaking, I will hand that to you. It's almost as intense as the rage I had when my most valuable treaure was stolen long, long ago, a treasure that could have changed the fate of the universe. But now is not the time for talking. Now is when Count Bleck will destroy you all, like seven innocent, naive children who chose to climb a tree during a storm. Ciao!" The evil jester vanished.
"All right, guys," began Mario. "Let's do this."
"Stand back, heroes. You will be shown what real power is...by Count Bleck! BLEH HEH HEH HEH! BLECK!"
BOSS
Count Bleck
Count Bleck waved his staff, producing a flash of energy that sailed toward where our heroes were standing. Six of the heroes, including Timpani, jumped out of the way while Mario aimed for the count. "We beat you once, we can do it again!" Mario leaped for Count Bleck, aiming for his head, but Bleck swung his staff in Mario's direction, hitting him with the blue jewel and knocking the hero backwards, where he crashed onto the floor in a sitting position.
"You pathetic heroes think you can take down Count Bleck? Let us reconsider that!" Bleck produced another energy wave, sending it at Mario. When it hit the ground, it divided into twelve smaller waves that expanded in a circle pattern, hitting Mario directly and damaging several of the others. "Bleh heh heh! This will be easier than Count Bleck thought."
While the count was distracted, Luigi attacked from below with a Super Jump. "Not so high and mighty now, are you?"
"This is just the beginning. You have yet to witness every power Dimentio has granted Count Bleck." The count flipped out, and three of him flipped back in. The three Count Blecks moved to different sections of the room, all the while attacking our heroes with magic blasts.
"Dimentio's given Bleck some of his skills," remarked Nastasia. "We've got to take out the real count."
"This isn't it!" Peach had fallen right through one of the Count Bleck duplicates.
Mimi aimed a Rubee at another Bleck. It hit a solid body, and the other two Blecks disappeared. The real Count Bleck hovered around the room, producing bombs that exploded after a short time. "Whoa!" Mimi was thrown back by the force of one bomb's explosion. She was thankful she wasn't caught directly in the explosion.
"Maybe we can use these against him?" Nastasia positioned herself below one of the falling bombs and caught it, quickly throwing it in Bleck's direction before it detonated in her hands. It hit its target, but the count negated their future counterattacks by moving higher toward the ceiling and continuing the explosive assault.
"Let me hit him again." Luigi stood on one of the higher platforms and Super Jumped in the count's direction. However, he didn't anticipate Count Bleck releasing a bomb right above him. It slammed into Luigi, exploding and throwing the green plumber against the left wall. "Ughh..."
"Timpani, yeh 'ave to do somethin'!" urged O'Chunks. Timpani had been silently watching the fight until now.
"I...well...I don't know if we really should do this...if we really should fight Blumiere. Isn't there another way we can do it?"
"I don't think so. We ain't goin' to kill 'im or anythin'. We're just gonna pound some sense into 'im."
"Well...I suppose you're right..." Timpani jumped to one of the high platforms next to the one Luigi had attempted to attack from. When Count Bleck dropped an explosive in her direction, she quickly caught it and tossed it upward as hard as she could, hitting Bleck with the explosion again. The count flipped out.
"We're doing fine so far," reported Mario. "We just have to keep this up!"
"Not me..." groaned Luigi.
"Here, have a Super Shroom Shake!" The party had acquired a total of five Super Shroom Shakes, so Mario wasn't too concerned with their supply.
Count Bleck flipped in, appearing in the lower-left corner of the room next to Luigi. This gave Luigi an opportunity to head-stomp the count, damaging him again. Luigi was feeling quite confident, but Bleck wasn't going to allow himself to be attacked like this anymore. He floated right and upwards, waved his staff, and created a miniature Void, almost identical to the one produced by the mysterious villain in the ice palace. Our heroes knew what to do, but since Luigi was weakened, running away was difficult on his legs. "Help me, bro!"
Mario made a split-second decision. "Land on your feet, Luigi!" Luigi found out what his brother meant soon enough. Mario grabbed Luigi's arm and flung him away from the small Void to the left. Following Mario's advice, Luigi landed on his feet several yards away from the Void, where running away was much easier. The swirling vortex eventually dissipated. Count Bleck attacked again almost immediately, surrounding himself in an energy barrier and charging toward the heroes. Mario, Peach, and Mimi were hit by the count's energy charge and were knocked to the left.
"BLEH HEH HEH! BLECK! You pathetic heroes stand no chance...against Count Bleck!" Count Bleck again sent a beam of energy at the heroes that divided into twelve rays when it hit the ground. All of our heroes except Luigi and Nastasia were hit by the blast.
"We've got to attack him as a group!" whispered Mario. "I'll distract him, and you all give him your best!" The lead hero jumped onto the nearby platforms. The count followed, sending another magic beam Mario's way, but the other heroes dashed to the right and jumped into action, Luigi dealing another Super Jump and Mimi aiming a Rubee. O'Chunks and Timpani attacked Bleck from the nearest platform behind the count.
"Your puny attacks will do little...to Count Bleck!" The count soared up and left toward the corner, using his staff to create a complex pattern of white lines that stretched across the pitch-black room.
Mario remembered this attack from when he had fought Count Bleck at the very beginning of their adventure. "Get away from those lines!" He stood still in a line-free area, but Peach, Mimi, and Timpani weren't fast enough. Bolts of blue lightning flashed across the guiding lines Bleck had drawn, electrifying the three heroes. Mario rushed over to where they were resting, and could tell they had lost a large amount of HP from their heavy breathing. "Here!" Mario handed them another Super shake. The group now had three left, in addition to two Ultra ones.
"Bleck! uttered Count Bleck in disgust. You heroes have lasted longer than Count Bleck anticipated." Bleck spun his staff, creating a ring of teal-black squares that surrounded him. They condensed back into his body after a few seconds, from where they created a blue-green wave of energy that stretched horizontally across the room. The wave expanded in all directions, encompassing the entire room, including where our heroes were standing on the floor. Our heroes were thrown into slow motion, but the count was unaffected.
"Jump!" Luigi shouted, noticing a magic blast Count Bleck had fired from behind. Slowed down, only himself and O'Chunks were able to avoid the blast. The villain then flipped out, three of him flipping in again. Mimi tried to hit the nearest one with a Rubee, but the red stone traveled too slowly and the count was able to easily dodge it. Our heroes were all hit by the three Blecks' magic blasts.
Soon afterward, the slow-motion spell wore off and our heroes regained their normal speed. They were all damaged, but they could last a while longer without having to heal themselves. Mimi got her chance to hit the nearest Bleck with a Rubee while Timpani and Luigi aimed for the other two. The one Luigi targeted was the real Bleck, who then flipped out again. Flipping back in toward the left side of the room, he again unleashed his energy charge, sailing into where our heroes were standing. The heroes knew how to avoid this attack by now, however, and all of them dodged the assault successfully. When Count Bleck paused after slowing down, Mario nailed him with a hammer blow. "We're getting there, guys!"
The count again created white lines that stretched across the room. "Over here, O'Chunks!" Mario motioned toward a relatively empty area where both of them could fit. O'Chunks followed Mario into this area while the others found empty spots as well. Most of them were safe, but Nastasia was caught directly in the path of an electricity bolt when Bleck unleashed the attack. Moving to prevent the count from attacking the weakened Nastasia, Luigi prepared his Super Jump yet again and attacked Count Bleck. This gave an opening for Mario to deliver another hammer strike.
"Bleh heh heh..." Count Bleck was clearly weakened. "You heroes shall all be vanquished!" He again spun his staff and unleashed the teal time-slowing ray. This time, he also produced the small Void.
"Watch out!" uttered Mario. With our heroes trapped in slow motion, trying to run away from the Void was like asking a snail to run a marathon. Even as they ran as fast as they could, they were still slowly being pulled toward the center of the swirling darkness.
"Help!" Nastasia had been heavily damaged by Count Bleck's lightning attack. She'd faint if she was sucked into the vortex.
"Take my hand!" Luigi followed the move his brother had used to save him and threw Nastasia away from the Void. All of the others flailed helplessly as they were pulled into the center of the dark Void. The Void exploded in a flash of white light, dropping our heroes to the ground.
"I don't think we can go for much longer!" worried Peach. They were all close to being knocked out.
"We just need to hit him a few more times!" shouted Mario. "Come on! We can do it!" He jumped for Count Bleck. Time had reverted to normal by now, so he was able to dodge the blast the count sent at him. Bleck then began producing more bombs. Come on, come on...give me a chance to attack! Mario grew tense as he continually dodged the bombs. How long would it be before he was hit and defeated?
"Take this, and then tell me you love me!" Mario looked below as Timpani hurled a bomb in Bleck's direction. The explosive detonated on impact, putting Count Bleck out for good.
Count Bleck vanished, flipping back in on the floor to the right of the heroes. "Noooo! It cannot be possible! You have defeated...Count Bleck!" He was lying on the floor, gasping for breath.
"Blumiere!" Timpani walked toward her husband. "You're not badly hurt, are you?"
"Count Bleck is finished, but Dimentio remains. He will finish you all..."
"Blumiere..." Timpani observed Count Bleck, horror-struck. The count was covered in injuries and was barely able to breath. "I knew we shouldn't have fought him! I knew..."
"Timpani..." Mario walked toward the couple. "I know you love him...but we had to. If we hadn't fought him, he probably would have killed us."
"I know...but...but..." Timpani fought to hold back her tears. "What...what do we do now? Blumiere's game will be over if we don't do anything, but he doesn't even remember me."
"I..." Mario truly didn't know what to do at this point. He was the leader, the one who was supposed to guide the others. Why couldn't he think of anything? Had the situation finally become too much for him?
"Struggling with your decision, are you?" taunted Dimentio's voice. The jester appeared above and behind Bleck. "I do believe I'll drop in and spare you the trouble."
"Dimentio!" accused Timpani. "You'll return Blumiere to normal...RIGHT NOW! I want to talk to my real husband before his game ends!"
"Oh, why not? Just for some romantic parting words. Count Bleck's going to die in a few moments anyway, so I guess it won't make a difference." Dimentio snapped his fingers, enclosing Bleck in a box which then shattered.
"T...Timpani?" Our heroes noticed for the first time that Blumiere's voice had drastically changed. "Where...where are we? What is happening?" Blumiere moved his hands, gasping at the pain this caused him.
"I'll give you the details, Blumiere," answered Dimentio. "You've been fighting as my servant ever since I brought you to Flipside, working to help me end the games of your former minions and reactivate the Chaos Heart."
"That...that cannot be true!" Blumiere gasped for breath again, exhausted after speaking.
"It's true...Blumiere..." Timpani moved closer to her husband. "Please, don't let your game end! Stay with me, Blumiere! Stay with all of us!"
"I'm afraid it's too late for that, Timpani," replied Dimentio. "At least Blumiere will have passed away knowing you're still alive."
"NOOOO!!! BLUMIERE!!!"
"Timpani...heroes...even if my game ends, you must...defeat Dimentio. I don't kn...know how he returned, or how he knows about the past of the...Tribe of Darkness, but he must be defeated...if you want to save...all worlds."
Timpani was too overcome with sadness to speak.
"Well, there's no use just sitting here waiting for Blumiere to die," began Dimentio. "Let's activate my plan. Minions, prepare to meet your ends!"
"You'll never take us!" shouted Nastasia.
"Oh really? We'll see about THAT, pathetic minions!" Dimentio floated to the right, aiming a pink energy ball into where the three were standing.
"Let's git 'im!" O'Chunks, Mimi, and Nastasia dodged the attack and jumped onto the platforms, aiming to attack Dimentio from above. The evil jester positioned himself to the right of the minions, where he began firing waves of energy.
"Mario...what do we do?" asked Peach. "Should we help them?"
"I...I don't know. I guess we should...but should we leave Timpani and Blumiere like this?"
"It's fine," assured Timpani. "I just want to be with my husband. Go and help the minions fight."
"Are you sure?" Blumiere had begun to cough and hack uncontrollably. "Is there anything we can do to help Blumiere? We can't let his game end like this."
"Trust me, it's fine. I know you can help the minions defeat Dimentio. It's the only way we can save all of the dimensions."
"All right, then. Let's..."
"Watch out, Mario!" Mario ducked to avoid the Rubee that Mimi had aimed at Dimentio.
The jester snickered. "You minions are getting nowhere. Come and fight like you did in Flipside!"
"Fine, maybe we will!" Mimi jumped between Timpani and the heroes, facing Dimentio. The other two minions soon followed. "You'll never end our games in a million years!"
"So sure about that, pathetic freak? You're all quite exausted from the battle, and even more of your energy is gone from playing around with me. Wouldn't it be rather easy for me to kill you all?"
"Not on my watch!" asserted Nastasia.
"Very well, then. I will show you the hard way." Dimentio gathered energy and formed three glowing yellow boxes around the minions.
"Wha..." O'Chunks looked around at the interior of the box, shaking in horror.
"No!" shouted Peach. "You can't kill them! You..." Her voice trailed off.
"Oh, but I can. And I will. It's time for you to become the tools I intended to use you for since the beginning. Say your final farewells, pathetic minions." With a final "Ciao!", Dimentio snapped his fingers.
The glowing boxes exploded.
"YAAAAHHH!!!" screamed Mimi as she was engulfed in the burning explosion.
"NOOOO!!" Nastasia and O'Chunks were surrounded by the fiery explosions as well. When the blasts finally ceased, the minions had disappeared.
"I...they...you..." Mario stammered. "NOOOOO!!!" He tilted his head downward, closing his eyes in disbelief.
"I think 'yes' is more appropriate," countered Dimentio. "'Yes', I've destroyed the minions. 'Yes', you've all been defeated. And 'yes', I'm going to reactivate the Chaos Heart." Dimentio held his hands in the air, absorbing the energy the minion's deaths had released. He released the energy in the exact spot the Chaos Heart had rested the last time our heroes had been in this room. An explosion of dark energy radiated from that area, accompanied by two bright flashes. Our heroes, plus Blumiere and Timpani, watched helplessly as the Chaos Heart formed before them, giving off the omnious energy pulses they had become accustomed to.
"Dimentio...no...you cannot..." Blumiere struggled.
"Ah ha ha ha ha! Oh, but why not? I'm not going to spare you once the Chaos Heart begins its consumption of all worlds. You're the last person I'd spare, Blumiere, because...in all honesty...you are the person that caused all of the problems I now face."
"What? What are you talking about?" The area seemed to grow even more quiet, the encompassing silence broken only by the sounds of the dark energy emanating from the Chaos Heart.
"Well, I suppose Novelle could also share that blame, since that meddling rascal did interfere with Amtakan's plans...but you, Blumiere, chose to follow through with what she set you up for."
"Novelle? Amtakan? Who..."
"Oh, Blumiere, you're as clueless as ever, just as I was after I lost my memory. It's a good thing the shock of my own death reactivated the area of my memory I had lost, or I'd never have been able to carry out my plan of revenge."
"What? Then why...why did you steal the Chaos Heart?"
"I remembered that a person named Count Bleck was responsible for my troubles, and that I needed a form of intense power to accomplish the plans of someone else. That is why I joined you, Blumiere. I succeeded in stealing the Chaos Heart, but I unfortunately didn't remember what I truly needed it for. So I want to thank you, heroes, for not only gathering those Pure Hearts and defeating Blumiere for me-but also for causing my game's end."
"What are you talking about?" wondered Luigi.
Dimentio turned toward the heroes. "I'm talking about how Blumiere and those minions have caused nothing but trouble to the Tribe of Darkness. Blumiere caused the explosion that caused me to lose my memory, and I barely survived even then. O'Chunks stole the device Amtakan was going to use for the final illegal Pixl creation. And Nastasia stole my most valuable treasure...my hypnosis orb. Although Amtakan eventually did provide me with another one, I am still angry at her for stealing it, and even angrier that Blumiere would send her to do such a thing." The mysterious jester turned toward Blumiere and Timpani again. "I needed that hypnosis orb so I could keep you two seperate. If you hadn't married, the Tribe of Darkness wouldn't have been overcome with such disaster. Only pure Tribe of Darkness blood could continue to support the Dark Prognosticus. Mixed blood from another source would contaminate the chemical mix...and if you hadn't stolen that book, Amtakan could have waited until the safe time to release the Chaos Heart. Instead, you rejected your bloodline and caused the Chaos Heart to be released ahead of time, and for that, you must be punished." Dimentio surrounded Blumiere in a glowing yellow square. Almost whispering, he finished, "Farewell...my worthless son." With a snap of his fingers, Blumiere was trapped in series of fiery explosions that eventually dissipated, leaving an empty area where Blumiere had been.
"You..." Timpani stammered. "You...did...are..."
"It doesn't matter now, you pathetic excuse for a daughter-in-law. Now I'll merge myself with the Chaos Heart," he picked up the Heart, "and kill all of you arrogant fools! AH HA HA HA HA!!!" The Chaos Heart produced two glowing flashes. Beams of gray energy extended from the artifact, expanding to surround the entire room, which soon began shaking as if there had been an earthquake. In the center of the room, two lines were drawn, forming the top of a purple-and-yellow jester skirt that soon materialized. Larger versions of Dimentio's black shoes were drawn in and attached to the body with black-and-white chains. His hands followed the same pattern. Above the gigantic body, alternating purple and yellow spikes appeared, forming two circles above the body with a black area in the middle. The three topmost spikes of the two spike rings were much larger than the others, and white diamonds formed at their tops while more chains connected these two objects to the neck of the body. In the black center of the left spike ring, a gently sloping "U" shape appeared, glowing red, while another gentle, but upside-down "U" shape, glowing yellow, appeared in the same place in the right black area. Above the U shape in the left area, an upside-down yellow U identical to the shape in the right area formed above the red regular U, and the right area produced another red U above the yellow upside-down shape. This seemed to make the left area look like a smiling head, while the right one held a more malignant personality. Finally, the entire creation fell to the floor with a loud crash. "AH HA HA HA HA!!!" laughed both of Dimentio's heads in a booming voice. "I'LL DESTROY YOU ALL, AND THEN I'LL MAKE SURE THE TRIBE OF DARKNESS FINALLY GETS ITS HANDS ON THE CHAOS HEART AT THE RIGHT TIME-JUST AS AMTAKAN INTENDED!"
FINAL BOSS
Hyper Dimentio
"What can we do?" worried Timpani, changing back into Tippi. "Dimentio's being shielded by the power of the Chaos Heart. I don't think we can hurt him."
"I'll defeat him!" Mario jumped toward Hyper Dimentio's right head, using the platforms that now moved left to right and had faces. When he jumped on the head, he bounced off, dealing no damage whatsoever. He landed back where Luigi, Peach, and Tippi were waiting. "I can't hurt him!"
"AH HA HA HA!!!" laughed Dimentio's twin heads. "YOU PUNY HEROES CAN'T HURT ME NOW!" He extended his hand toward them and fired a neon green spreading laser from his finger. The three heroes were knocked back by the blast.
"We can't do anything!" stated Luigi. "And now..." He watched in horror as Hyper Dimentio began firing square projectiles at the group. "We're almost done for. We've got to use one of our Ultra shakes."
"But what use will that do?" argued Peach as she dodged Dimentio's projectiles. "There's no way we can hurt him."
Mario's mind raced. He still had questions about the whole situation, but now wasn't the time to think about them. They had to either fight to their last breath or die trying. How could they counter the Chaos Heart's power? That's it! Counter the Chaos Heart's power! "We need the Pure Hearts!"
"What?" asked Luigi.
"The Pure Hearts. They can negate the Chaos Heart's power and remove Dimentio's barrier. We just need to repeat what we did last time!"
"We need...love?" asked Peach.
"Yes. We need love. We love every dimension. We love each other."
"I love my husband, even though..." Tippi couldn't finish her sentence. "I love him! I love Blumiere!"
"I loved existence enough to travel through eight dimensions, find the Pure Hearts, and confront Dimentio!" confided Luigi.
"I showed Kara love by disagreeing with Bowser, even as she tried to force us into slavery," continued Mario. "I showed Mimi love by forgiving her past mistakes, even after I learned she killed Merlumina. I showed Bowser love by not being angry at him, even as he rejected us!"
A brilliant flash appeared in the center of the group. Eight brightly glowing Pure Hearts, red, orange, yellow, green, light blue, blue, purple, and white, appeared in a ring that circled above where our heroes were standing. "The Pure Hearts!" joyfully announced Tippi.
The eight Pure Hearts rose into the air and formed a ring around Hyper Dimentio. "WHAT? WHAT IS..." After a brilliant flash, Dimentio seemed to weaken, and his body didn't glow with energy like it did before. "GRAAAHH!! NOT THE PURE HEARTS!!"
Our heroes suddenly felt their health being completely restored. "Hurry! Attack!" Mario led the others up the moving platforms, where Luigi jumped from the nearest one onto Hyper Dimentio's right head. His attack did damage, sending a rush of confidence through the heroes.
"I'll go for the body now!" Luigi walked below and to the right of Dimentio's body and aimed his Super Jump at his side, but he was knocked back without dealing damage.
"I think we have to take out the heads first!" Peach performed a sideways parasol thrust and hit Dimentio's right head again.
"YOU'LL NEVER DEFEAT GANTER, KING OF THE TRIBE OF DARKNESS!!" Hyper Dimentio, or Ganter as he was apparently once named, extended his right foot and crushed Luigi, who was still waiting below.
"Oww..." Luigi jumped to the platforms where the others were waiting, but Dimentio then leaped high into the air, clipping all three of our heroes and knocking them to the right.
"He's going to come down!" warned Mario. "Everyone, run to the left!" All four of them dashed leftwards as fast as they could. They heard Hyper Dimentio's large body slam into the ground behind them. The villain continued firing square projectiles while walking to the left, toward the heroes. He extended his left arm, and the hand grew about twice as large as it had previously been. Dimentio aimed his hand at Luigi in a powerful punch, but Luigi jumped out of the way and landed a direct hit on Hyper Dimentio's left, smiling head.
Dimentio created a large spark of energy in his right hand. He released the spark, and it began circling around the jester's body, posing a hazard for our heroes. At the same time, he began firing lasers from his left hand. "Watch out!" Luigi dive-bombed Mario out of the way to the right before she was zapped by a laser. Unfortunately, this put Peach in the path of the same laser. She was hit and slammed into the left wall.
"YOU'LL NEVER STAND UP TO MY FIRE DARTS! AH HA HA!!" Hyper Dimentio sent several flaming jets from his two heads into the air. They zoomed down to the ground in various places, burning all three of our heroes.
"Aahhh!" screamed Peach. "Quick! Get his head while he's charging his next attack!"
Mario climbed the nearby moving platforms, Luigi following close behind. Jumping for Hyper Dimentio's left head, Luigi scored a hit, but Mario was knocked back and electified by Dimentio's rotating spark. "Toss me the hammer, bro!" Luigi suggested. Mario quickly threw his hammer in Luigi's direction, managing to hit the head again before Luigi caught it. "Great aim!" Luigi struck the left head with Mario's hammer.
"PESKY BUGS!" Dimentio moved his left head to the right, and Luigi crashed to the floor. The jester held out both of his hands, and they began glowing. He fired short beams of energy in two different directions, and they slinked around the room, bouncing off walls and hitting our heroes.
"We're pretty beat," exhaled Luigi. "We still have two Ultra shakes, right?"
"Yes," answered Mario, "but we still have some health left." Hyper Dimentio's attacks dealed a tremendous amount of damage, but our heroes could still be hurt two or three more times before they needed a health booster.
"Let's finish this head!" Peach jumped for the left head, careful to avoid the rotating spark, then dodged Dimentio's laser blast and took out the smiling head.
"GRAAHHH!!!" The glowing yellow eye and red mouth on Dimentio's left head dimmed, and the head seemed to deactivate.
"Go for the right head!" Mario jumped to the right, bounced off Hyper Dimentio's body, and landed on his angry head, landing to the right.
"Mario, take this!" Luigi threw Mario his hammer. Mario expertly caught it and gave Dimentio's right head a hammer blow.
"Mario! Watch out!" screamed Tippi as Hyper Dimentio grew his right fist to massive proportions and sent it upward, punching Mario from below and smashing his head into the ceiling.
"We've got to help him!" Peach rushed to the right, past the villain's feet. Dimentio had moved his right head leftward to avoid attack, but this gave Luigi a chance to Super Jump the head from below and land on the right side where the others were waiting.
"I'LL CRUSH YOU ALL!!!" Hyper Dimentio again leaped into the air. Our heroes were too far to the left to avoid him when he came down.
"Get in the corner!" advised Mario. They all rushed for the lower-right corner, managing to avoid Dimentio when he landed.
Peach tried to attack the right head, but was intercepted by the rotating spark. "I think we need some healing now!"
"Here goes Ultra shake number one." Mario used the item, restoring the party's HP.
Hyper Dimentio enlarged his right fist again, aiming to crush all three of the heroes in one shot. They quickly climbed the moving platforms, but Mario was the last one to jump and was smashed by the huge fist. Struggling to rejoin Luigi and Peach, he was able to deal a double jump with Luigi while Peach attacked with her parasol. "I think this head is almost done in," reported Mario.
Attempting to defend his remaining head, Dimentio extended it to the left on its chain and fired constant lasers from his right hand. Our heroes were being hit by laser after laser. "Luigi! Stomp that head!" ordered Mario.
"It's way over there! I can't hit it!"
"Use your Super Jump! It'll take you over there!"
"Well...all right." Luigi charged his Super Jump, sailing over Dimentio's body and nailing the angry head. Its glowing eye and mouth faded, just as the left one had done.
"I think we can attack the body now! Come on!" Mario jumped at the body, avoiding the deactivated but still dangerous right head. His attack worked.
"GRRR!!! YOU'LL ALL DIE NOW!!!" Hyper Dimentio's body gathered energy and suddenly fired four large energy beams; up, to the left and right, and down. He continued firing them, making four constant obstacles. Then, he began to rotate them clockwise.
"Watch out!" Peach pulled Luigi away from one of the rotating beams, and they both dashed to the left. The four beams formed an "X" pattern that rotated around the room. Our heroes had to use the moving platforms to avoid the beams and stay in one segment formed by the perpendicular beams, making them very difficult to dodge. They were hit several times, although Mario managed to hammer-strike the body while dodging the beams.
Dimentio eventually turned the beams off. "IT'S NOT OVER YET!!!" The energy spark that rotated around the villain's body divided into three identical sparks, making it even harder to hit him.
"Luigi, throw me between those sparks!" commanded Mario. "I'll get him with the hammer, and you two can give him all you've got!"
"OK!" Luigi sent Mario flying to the left toward Dimentio's body, where Mario dealt the most forceful hammer blow he could manage. At the same time, Luigi Super Jumped the body while Peach attacked it from above.
"We're doing good," breathed Mario. "We just have to survive whatever he throws at us, and we'll be fine!"
Dimentio did throw something new at them. He extended his arms as far as they would go, and began spinning his body, rotating his hands. He threw himself to the right, slamming his fists into our heroes, then richocheted to the left, coming back to the right again. "Quick! Jump over his hands!" Luigi advised. He and the two other heroes jumped Dimentio's second fist swing and climbed the platforms, ready to stomp on his body when he came around again. He stopped in the center of the room, giving our heroes a longer jump than they anticipated, but they went for it anyway. Mario and Luigi stomped Dimentio's body, but Peach was knocked back by the right head and landed on the floor.
"Mario! Noooo!!!" Peach screamed as Hyper Dimentio's right foot came down on her.
"Peach!" Mario rushed to his princess's side. "We still have a couple of Super shakes." He gave Peach the item.
"Thanks, Mario."
"Watch out!" Tippi shouted as Dimentio aimed another laser at Mario and Peach. Peach jumped out of the way just in time, but Mario was hit.
Meanwhile Luigi, on the left side of Hyper Dimentio, was dodging the projectiles the jester was firing. "Yah! Wahoo! Think you can hit the Great Luigi?" Dimentio roared and smacked Luigi into the wall with his fist.
"Luigi, we're coming!" Mario and Peach rushed to Luigi's side, Mario giving Dimentio's body a hammer attack while he was at it.
"I think we almost have him!" reported Peach. Hyper Dimentio seemed weakened.
"YOU'RE ALL JUST PUNY HEROES! YOU'LL NEVER STAND UP TO THE FULL MIGHT OF THE TRIBE OF DARKNESS!!!" Dimentio moved to the right, again firing the four perpendicular lasers, this time rotating them in a counter-clockwise manner. Our heroes rushed to the right, past the villain's feet, to avoid the beams. Dimentio almost managed to smash Mario, but he jumped out of the way before his right foot came down to the ground. While they were climbing the platforms on Hyper Dimentio's right side, Mario attempted to damage the jester again, but was zapped by one of the three sparks. He decided it was best to wait until after Dimentio had stopped using the lasers.
After a while, Hyper Dimentio turned the lasers off, leaving our heroes on his left side. "Quick! Aim for the top!" Mario told Luigi. Luigi attacked the top of Dimentio's body while Mario jumped and spun his hammer around, damaging the lower part of Hyper Dimentio's body.
"GRAAAHH!!! I'LL GET YOU ALL!!!" Hyper Dimentio was on his last few breaths. A couple more hits, and he'd be out.
"He's just about done for!" Luigi stated. "Let's get him!" Before our heroes could do anything, though, Dimentio again produced the bouncing lasers from his hands, firing several of them this time. He then stomped directly on Mario, who watched helplessly as the bouncing beams struck Luigi and Peach multiple times.
"No!" Mario struggled under Dimentio's left foot, finally wiggling free. "Come on, guys! Let's defeat this crazy jester!"
"YAAAHHH!!!" Luigi aimed his foot toward Hyper Dimentio's body, and Peach gave it her best from the top. Mario again attacked from below with his hammer, and the three heroes all nailed Dimentio at the same time, once and for all.
"WHAT!? WHAT'S HAPPENING!?" Hyper Dimentio's body began shaking. Soon enough, huge explosions covered the jester's body. "NOOOOOO!!!" The chains that connected Dimentio's heads and limbs to his body broke, sending the parts of his body flying across the room in different directions. "HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!?!?" Hyper Dimentio's heads gave one final cry before the entire monster exploded in a series of detonations. Dimentio himself was thrown out of the body and landed facefirst in front of the heroes. "Nooo!!! How could I have lost? How could the Chaos Heart have failed me?"
Our heroes walked closer to Dimentio, the villain that had caused them so much trouble. "We've defeated you, Ganter," accused Tippi. "Now go back to The Underwhere, where scums like you deserve to rot."
Dimentio stood up. "It won't be that easy to get rid of me, Timpani. As long as I'm still alive, the Chaos Heart will still be consuming every world-and now that my rebellious son is dead, there's nothing you can do about it. I invite you to sit back and watch as your world disappears into the hands of the Tribe of Darkness!"
Tippi's voice was tear-stained. "I don't care about your stupid Tribe of Darkness. I care about Blumiere, and I know he was right to reject his bloodline, to avoid whatever evil, conniving thing you had planned."
"Indeed, if Novelle hadn't taken out that section of the ground, none of this would have happened...but it's Blumiere's and only Blumiere's fault he decided to stay with you. If not for that choice, the Tribe of Darkness may well have already been ruling over all dimensions."
"What is this Tribe of Darkness anyway?" demanded Mario. "What were you and Amtakan planning? Why did you need Blumiere's blood?"
"You heroes want to know everything, don't you? I'm afraid that's too bad. It won't matter anyway, since there's nothing you can do while The Void ravages every dimension. I wouldn't even try if I were you, since there's simply nothing you can do. Or, there's always the option of joining the winning team. Would you four like to join my crew? You'll be spared once the Tribe of Darkness rules every world."
"We'll never side with you, you backstabbing lying muderer!" Tippi shouted.
"That's perfectly fine. Four more recruits won't make much of a difference anyway. Well, heroes, I guess this is our final farewell. Goodbye-and remember, you can't do anything to save the universe! Ciao!" Dimentio vanished.
"So that was Dimentio's secret..." mused Merlon. "As Blumiere's father Ganter, he led the Tribe of Darkness, hoping to use Blumiere's blood to support the Dark Prognosticus. But Blumiere rebelled and loved Timpani, so Amtakan gave him a hypnosis orb, which Nastasia ended up stealing. He was given another one, though...which is why he was able to hypnotize Blumiere. He's had this ability all along, he just didn't remember it."
"But how could the blood of the Tribe of Darkness work to help the Dark Prognosticus?" wondered Peach. "Is that why they stole it? To use their blood to...um...'support' it?"
"If Dimentio was telling the truth," continued Mario, "the person who founded the Tribe of Darkness stole the Dark Prognosticus after the Pixl Uprising to prevent another incident like that from happening again. But perhaps that person was Amtakan, and he used the Pixl Uprising as an excuse to take it?"
"If that's true," began Luigi, "then wouldn't it be possible for Amtakan to have caused the Pixl Uprising? All as part of a plan to steal the Dark Prognosticus?"
"But how would the Dark Prognosticus help him?" asked Tippi. "If...well..."
"And who's this Novelle?" posed Merlon. "Morris apparently knows who she is, and so does Dimentio..." The wizard was lost in thought.
"It's funny how answers so often just lead to more questions..." thought Peach aloud.
"Well, regardless of all the stuff that happened in the past," began Luigi, "we're here now, and the situation now doesn't look very pretty. The Void's in the sky again, and we don't have any way to stop it now that..." Luigi trailed off. "...their games are over."
"I still can't believe Blumiere's really gone..." sobbed Tippi. "No, I take that back. He must be alive somewhere. I can just...feel it. I'm sure of it!"
"You think he's still alive?" asked Mario. "I mean, I can believe that and everything, but...where? I'm...pretty sure Dimentio ended
-
Apparently there's a word limit after all. Picking up from the sentence it cut off...
"You think he's still alive?" asked Mario. "I mean, I can believe that and everything, but...where? I'm...pretty sure Dimentio ended his game."
Merlon cleared his throat. "Well, heroes, now would be the best time to bring up the latest passage in the Light Prognosticus I've figured out."
"The Light Prognosticus goes on?" asked Luigi. Then he remembered the last passage Merlon had read to them. "Wait. Didn't it say something like, when there's a disaster, don't worry because 'I' have everything in control?"
"It says exactly that. I'm certain the disaster referred to in that passage is the ended games of Blumiere and his former minions. Here's the new passage: 'You're doing a good job, but you still have a long way to go on the path of love. Go to the top of Flipside Tower and create a portal from the red door. I've taken care of everything else. Look for a glowing orb.'"
Our heroes were even more shocked than they had been at the previous passage. "Is Merlumina still writing this?" wondered Mario after a brief silence. "This is present tense. It seems like this 'I' person has taken over."
"Indeed, the style of writing in the more recent passages is drastically different from the majority of the book. In fact," Merlon closed the book, "the passages I've been reading to you over the course of this adventure almost seem like they're just appearing when I come to them. See this page?" He opened the book again and flipped to a few pages before the end. "This page contains the passage I told you about just before you entered Castle Bleck for the first time. But that was the last page of the book."
Tippi thought this over. "Are you saying," she began, "that someone's adding passages to the Light Prognosticus as we go along?"
"That seems to be the only explanation. And if this person is able to add pages to the Light Prognosticus and has been correct every time, I think it would be best to follow the book's instructions."
"Then we'll go to Flipside Tower?" initiated Mario.
"Yes. Lock the book's advice into your mind. No matter what happens, you must never abandon your task."
"We won't," assured Mario. "Even if our friends are killed and the situation seems hopeless, we'll never give up. We'll follow the Light Prognosticus's instructions down to the last word, with devotion, determination...and love."
-STAFF CREDITS-
-Lead Writer-
Reading
-Assistant Writer-
General Stuff
-Original Character Design-
Reading
General Stuff
Xeus
-Artwork-
Reading
General Stuff
-Based on a game created by-
Nintendo
-Special Thanks-
Original Super Paper Mario staff
Xeus
GiftedGirl
Nintendoobsessed
I'd like to thank the original SPM staff for creating the awesome game that inspired this story; Xeus for helping with the character design of H-X Alpha and B-A Omega; and GiftedGirl and Nintendoobesessed for reading the story and giving their comments on it. Special thanks to General Stuff also, for smoothing out and coloring the artwork for me when I didn't want to spend more time doing it (that stuff takes a long time), and for his support and contributions to the story, even though his contributes were relatively minor and he didn't know where the story was going to turn. I'm going to draw some artwork of the characters that appeared after Chapter 4 sometime...watch out, General Stuff! :D
But of course, that's not the end of the story. Keep reading to find out what our heroes' adventure will become next...
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PROLOGUE
The Stolen Guide
"Ah ha ha ha. You may think you're going to follow that book's cursed instructions, but I'm afraid you won't be able to for much longer." None other than Dimentio appeard in Merlon's house before our heroes.
"Dimentio!?" uttered Merlon. "What are you doing here?"
"You heroes are relying on my most hated enemy next to Blumiere to know where to go next, and it's all because of the Light Prognosticus. Since with that person's guidance, you might have a slim chance after all..." Dimentio picked up the Light Prognosticus.
"No! You musn't!" commanded Tippi.
"...I'm going to take your guide right out of your hands. Yes, I know. You don't want to part with your dear Light Prognosticus, but if I don't take this now, you might have a chance of defeating Amtakan, which I cannot allow to happen. I can't stop you from trying to find the first orb, but there's no way you'll be able to find the other four-not before we find them first."
"You know about these orbs?" demanded Luigi. "What are they? Tell us about them!"
"So sorry, heroes, but time is short and my minions need a morale booster. Go ahead, try and find the first orb, but just remember it'll all be for no use. Ciao!" Dimentio disappeared, taking the Light Prognosticus with him.
"Nooo!" lamented Tippi. "How will we know what to do now?"
"Wait a second..." Mario was thinking. "Dimentio said we'd have a chance of defeating Amtakan if we had the Light Prognosticus. That means Amtakan is still alive? And he's still a threat?"
"Oh!" Peach suddenly turned white.
"Is something wrong, Peach?" observed Merlon.
"That...that person! The guy we freed from the ice palace! That had to be Amtakan! It makes sense, doesn't it? Dimentio wanted us to free him because...well..."
"That was...Amtakan?" asked Tippi. "Hmm...that does fill in some gaps...but if that's true, why didn't Mimi recognize him? She spent her entire life prior to killing Merlumina with him."
"Well," began Mario, "she hasn't seen him in what, a thousand years? And she was probably trying to forget him all that time."
"Hmm..." Tippi continued thinking.
"Well, heroes," started Merlon, "I guess the best course of action would be to go to Flipside Tower as the Light Prognosticus instructed. I don't know how we'll know what to do from there, but...it's all we can do right now to save the worlds, isn't it?"
The Void that hung in the sky outside expanded slightly, causing a rumble beneath our heroes' feet. "We'd better hurry," urged Luigi. "We're racing against the clock again, so we don't have time to waste."
"You're absolutly correct, Luigi. Come, let us proceed to Flipside Tower."
Mario, Luigi, Peach, Tippi, and Merlon stepped outside of Merlon's house and took the elevator to the top of Flipside Tower. When they reached the top, they gasped in shock. All of the doors that led to other dimensions, with the exception of the red one, had vanished. "What happened?" exclaimed Peach. "Are the Pure Hearts gone again?"
Merlon looked down. "I see the red Pure Heart in the pillar on the third floor...but I don't know what happened to the others."
"Let me go down and check," offered Mario. "I'll be right back." He took the elevator back down, flipped into 3D, and walked to the left side of the Outskirts. The green Pure Heart was still in its pillar. That's weird... Mario rode the elevator back to the top of the tower. "The other Pure Hearts are still in the pillars. I have no idea why the other doors are gone."
"Perhaps the same person who guided us here removed the other doors," guessed Merlon.
"Maybe..." Mario didn't want to think too hard about it. "So we're supposed to create a portal here?"
"Yes. I don't know where this portal is supposed to lead, but 'I' said they'd take care of it, so..." Merlon raised his hands and gathered his magic energy. Reciting some magical words, the old sage produced a white flash where the red door resided. It faded after a few seconds. "That's all I can do, heroes. We'll just have to trust this person knows what they're doing."
"Are we all ready?" Mario looked at Luigi, Peach, and Tippi. "We're only three heroes now, but we can still find that orb the Light Prognosticus told us to look for. We'll always try our best, and never give up."
"Excellent, heroes. I wish you all a safe journey. Go now and follow the Light Prognosticus's instructions."
Mario, Tippi, and the other heroes entered the red door. Whatever they would find beyond it, they would never deviate from their task.
"Minions, I assure you that everything's fine and going according to plan. Yes, those heroes have recieved instructions to look for the orbs, but Amtakan's forces have been searching for them for more than a thousand years, and have managed to narrow down their locations. It's only a matter of us finding the orbs before they do."
"Are you sure we can find them?" asked Morris. "Even with Amtakan's forces searching for them as well, how can we be sure to find them if it took them all this time?"
"The answer's quite simple, really. The heroes will undoubtedly be led to a location where the position of the orb will be obvious. We'll just follow the heroes."
"And then we'll steal that totally radical orb?" followed H-X Alpha. "Dude, that's like, tubular!"
"Yes, that's the plan. The heroes need all five orbs in order for them to have any effect, so as long as we secure at least one, they won't be able to do anything. Of course, after the first orb, there's no way for them to find the other ones, but we should focus our interests on stopping them, just to make sure they won't ever endanger our plans again."
"Can I take those weaklings out?" asked Bowser. "Please? The only reason I lost was because I was exhausted, so I've been pumping iron ever since they beat me."
"That sounds like an encouraging development, Bowser. You are hereby assigned the task of destroying those heroes."
"Yeah, baby! You watch, Master Dimentio! I'll stomp on those heroes like pesky ants!" Bowser flipped out.
Dimentio was silent. "Is everything fine, Master Dimentio?" inquired B-A Omega.
"Yes, everything is fine, Omega. I am just thinking...is it somehow possible for the heroes to find the remaining orbs? Is there any way she could guide the heroes without the Light Prognosticus? That's why I want them destroyed, even though they can only find the first orb. Is that truly the only orb they can find?"
"You don't need to worry, Master Dimentio," assured Morris. "Even with her magic, there's no way she can tell the heroes where to go next. Her seal is too strong."
"I guess you're right, Morris. That concludes our meeting. Return to your training, minions."
"Yes, Master Dimentio!" Morris flipped out, along with the robots.
"..." Dimentio stayed on his platform. "I hope her seal is too strong. What she's already managed to do isn't a good indication."
-END OF PROLOGUE-
-
Whoa. Dimentio being Bleck's dad... just... whoa. 8O And there's more! I'm excited!
-
Wow...even more. Brilliant!
-
I'm back with the second sequel. ;)
O'Chunks, Mimi, Nastasia, and Blumiere were dead, and the Chaos Heart was in Dimentio's hands. It seemed like Dimentio had succeeded after all. But there still existed a faint thread of hope-the mysterious additions to the Light Prognosticus that guided our heroes to the mysterious orbs. What was happening behind the scenes? Who was guiding our heroes to these orbs? No matter what came up, no matter what happened, Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Tippi would stick to their task. Any hope for Dimentio's defeat would help our heroes as they entered the final section of their three-part adventure...
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A line was drawn.
Joining this line were several others, forming enclosed polygonal shapes that became rocks. Wispy clouds were drawn in the pale blue sky and colored a dull off-white. As the ground was wiped with a sheet of off-tan, several green-yellow weeds sprouted from the loose soil, accompanied by a sparse field of grass that covered the ground. The red door was drawn into existence, and our heroes entered the first dimension of their last episode.
"This really reminds me of the place where we found the seventh Pure Heart last time," noted Mario.
Luigi shuffled his feet around, kicking up small drifts of loose sand. "At least it's more humid."
"So we should be looking for an orb," recalled Princess Peach. "Tippi? Can you sense where it is?"
Tippi felt for any kind of energy she could detect. Even though our heroes were out in the middle of nowhere in a lonely plain, she did faintly pick up something coming from the east. "There's something in this direction. I don't really know how far away it is."
"Can you make a guess?" pushed Luigi.
"The orb's energy isn't as strong as a Pure Heart, so I can't make a close guess, but it shouldn't be too far away."
"Just over the horizon, huh? That's what we kept saying in that desert of death."
"Luigi, lighten up," commanded Peach. "Dimentio's got the Chaos Heart after all, so we're lucky to even know we won't be consumed by The Void. So start marching. We need that orb."
"Fine, fine." Luigi slowly followed Mario, Tippi, and Peach in the direction of the unknown orb.
This dimension was a familiar experience for our now-three heroes. They'd already been on adventures, so they could pass easily through the Headbonk Goombas, ? Blocks, pits, Squoinkers, and other not-exactly-easy-first-level-material as they proceeded along the path.
"Hey, what's this?" Luigi stooped down, examining the ground.
"Did you find something?" Tippi inquired. She hovered toward Luigi.
"This!" Luigi stood up, pointing to an area on the ground next to him. It was a giant clawed footprint in the sandy dirt.
Peach recognized it instantly. "Bowser!"
"Dimentio probably sent him to take the orb," reasoned Mario. "Oh, no. We can't let them get the orbs before we do."
"Just like the race for the Pure Hearts," recalled Tippi. "Come on. We've got no time to lose."
Our heroes hurried toward their destination, following Bowser's large footprints. After a long trail of prints, what seemed like a town appeared on the horizon. "Civilization!" exclaimed Luigi, picking up his pace despite his tired legs.
"Hold on a second," halted Mario. He followed Bowser's trail with his eyes. "It looks like Bowser walked straight into that town. We'd better stay back and observe just in case he did anything."
"If Kara's hometown was any indication," began Peach, "we might actually be safe."
"Better safe than sorry," agreed Tippi. "I mean, wait, no. I meant we should stay back, like Mario said. We can't take our chances."
When our heroes came close enough to the town to make out some details, they could see that the civilization's entrance was protected by a series of guards, lined in front of the town. "What do you think?" posed Luigi. "Just normal, routine guards, or..."
"Why can't we just go around the town?" demanded Peach. "The orb's probably beyond it."
"Going in might offer us some clues, though," countered Mario. "We don't know where the orb is or how to find it-"
"Or what it is," offered Luigi.
"-or that, but we've got to check out what Bowser did to this town. Any help we can get will...well...help."
Our heroes attempted to enter the town, but the guards promptly stopped them. "HALT!" The front guard examined the three heroes. "Our town was recently attacked, so we're not letting anyone in now."
"Did the person who attacked the town have a spiked shell and fire-breathing powers?" asked Luigi.
"THAT'S THEM!" the guard suddenly bellowed, so loud that it startled our heroes. "GET THEM!"
"Wha? What!? What-" stammered Luigi.
"Keep your cool, Luigi," urged Mario. "We can get through this. We're heroes!"
MINIBOSS
The Town Guards
"Have at you!" The foremost guard withdrew a spear and aimed it at Mario. The hero leaped over this jab, planting his feet onto the soldier's head. The guard recoiled, startled. "Whoa! This guy's tough! Get him, men!"
Mario was suddenly the target of five more spears. Taking out his hammer, he spun in a circle, knocking most of them away, but one managed to clip to the lower section of his left arm. Mario's head turned toward the injury as quickly as he could. He wasn't badly hurt, but he'd have to put up with the pain until it healed.
"I'll get you out of there, bro!" Luigi charged his Super Jump and careened into the crowd of soldiers. This gave Mario an opportunity to jump back and slam a few nearby guards with the hammer.
"Say your prayers!" The five remaining armed guards all had their weapons pointed at the exposed Luigi.
"Yipes! Help me!"
"YAAAHH!" Peach ran toward Luigi and tackled the nearest soldier, bringing him down into the next guard, who fell into the others, knocking them over like dominoes.
"We're not down yet!" One of the guards picked up his spear, ready to stab Luigi.
Mario dropped in front of his brother and split the weapon in half with his hammer. "I think you are."
"So what's going on here?" demanded Tippi. "Why'd you guards attack them?"
"You know it," explained the head soldier. "You're those guys trying to find some orb who're working with that monster!"
"Monster?" asked Mario, clutching his left arm. "That's Bowser, isn't it? He most have told you we'd come."
"We're not looking to hurt you," answered Tippi. "We need to find that orb before Bowser does."
"Wait, so..." the guard started again. "...You're not bad guys?"
"Of course not," confirmed Luigi. "Bowser's the bad guy."
"So, tell us..." continued Tippi. "What happened when Bowser came into the town?"
"He demanded to know where the orb was. We didn't tell him, so he started attacking. Three citizens were hospitalized and we just couldn't defeat him, so we pretended to give in."
"Pretended to give in?" wondered Mario.
"We don't know anything about the orb except for a stone tablet that was in the town hall. It mentioned a powerful object that could be found in the desert. Bowser took that and went to find the orb."
"Oh, no," uttered Peach. "So now Bowser knows how to find the orb? And we don't?"
"No, no. I was going to say...the tablet we gave Bowser was a fake! We have the real one hidden somewhere in town."
"Where is it?" asked Tippi.
"The mayor is the only one who knows. If you want to find the orb, you'd better ask him." The guards parted, allowing our heroes entrance into the town.
"Thank you," Tippi said as our heroes walked into the town to begin their search for the tablet. Our heroes were already one step ahead of Bowser!
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
Our heroes' first search was under way. In order to find the first orb, they'd need to discover a tablet hidden somewhere in the town. "We should head for the Town Hall," mulled Peach. "Then we can ask the mayor where the tablet is. I hope it'll be easy to find." If it was, our heroes could jump-start their search right away...but if it wasn't?
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The small town had an outpost vibe; not as strong as the town our heroes had visited on their last quest for the third Pure Heart, but more like the Yold Town our heroes had visited on their first adventure. The townsfolk were of similar polygonal shapes as well. "That's probably the town hall," pointed Luigi, looking at a large white building.
Our heroes crossed more brownish dirt, arriving at the front steps of the hall. Enterting the building, they came face-to-face with an old, orange-skinned polygonal man. He wore a white suit and black pants. "Welcome to Dustburg, travelers. The guards have informed me you four intend us no harm, so you can call me Dusty. Dusty, get it? HAR HAR HAR! So, travelers...what brings you to our humble town?"
"You're the mayor, correct?" asked Tippi after a moment of silence. "We're looking for a tablet that will show us how to find an orb. The guards told us you know where we can find it."
"So you're looking for that tablet, eh? Har HAR! Yep, we knew it would happen someday. Those Ancients came here and told us to keep it safe for these 'heroes' or somethin'-or-other. And we've had it hidden for a thousand years or something big like that. Big numbers, they just tend to escape your mind, you know? Har har HAR! Why, I was talkin' to this feller the other day, and he said a hundred somethin'-or-other, and I was just out of it. What was that feller talking about again? Something sand? Or was it lamb chops? HD TV? I can't tell all those newfangled hoo-has apart, you know? It seems like they're comin' out with something new every time I get up off my couch! I could've settled for those good old motion pictures, but they had to keep on going. They never slow down for old folk like me, eh? Har HAR! But ah well. Those kids nowadays are probably havin' fun with all these gizmos and gadgets. They're playing with that new electric toy or whatever-ya-call-'em, the one where you hold that remote somethin'-or-other and swing it around and stuff like that. What was it called? Somethin' about having to go to the bathroom, I think it was called. They sure come up with the weirdest names nowadays, eh? HAR HAR! At least those kids are gettin' their proper exercise. I like to see healthy young ones, don't you? Playing with that bathroom thing and eating their veggies, that's how kids grow. Har HAR! We want kids to grow, right? Grow and become big and strong so they can get jobs and help their good old community. There's gotta be someone to run this town when I bite the dust, eh? Dust, get it? HAR HAR HAR HAR!"
Dusty's mention of dust brought our heroes' task back to mind. "Excuse me, mayor Dusty..." began Mario. "Do you know where we can find the tablet?"
Dusty squinted, looking at Mario. "A tablet, you say? Oh, right! THAT tablet! Har har HAR! Oh, I'm sorry if I've been borin' you folks to tears. I just have to talk about somethin', you know? The townsfolk here are used to it. Don't mind me. If I start goin' off again, just give me a good hollar. Why, I was going on one of my spiels the other day, and Missy, she was just..."
"Mayor..." began Luigi. "...I believe you're going off again."
"Oh, right, right, right. Har HAR! Now where was I? Oh, right! The tablet!" Dusty cleared his throat for several seconds, then looked at our heroes with a mischevious twinkle in his eye. "The tablet you're lookin' for is right below this building. Yep! There's a pipe behind the plant stand over there." He pointed to a large potted plant situated in the northwest corner of the hall. "Gotta keep it hidden, you know? 'Cause evil folks might come at any moment. Like that Bowser feller. Or somethin' like that, eh? HAR! Anyway, you just need to go in that pipe, and there's an underground chamber. Pretty neat, eh? Har HAR! The tablet's somewhere down there, so good luck lookin' for it. I gotta warn you, though, there's some pretty nasty creatures down there. Yep. We need to keep the tablet safe from those evil folk, you know? I'm glad we got Bowser away from this place. We don't need a villain here in Dustburg. Villains are for the movies and video games, eh? HAR HAR HAR!"
"Thank you, mayor." Tippi led the heroes toward the potted plant while Dusty continued his tangent. Our heroes found the pipe hidden behind the plant and entered it one at a time.
The group found themselves in a dimly lit underground cavern. The floor was damp, and drops of moisture continually dripped from the ceiling, illuminated by the torches mounted on the walls. Spike Tops, Swoopers, and other generic cave enemies resided in the chamber. "I guess we go this way," observed Peach, looking down the tunnel. The passage faded to black a few dozen yards ahead of them, but our heroes knew the tunnel didn't end there.
Stomping on the enemies and defeating the Spike Tops with Mario's hammer, our heroes proceeded into the darkness. The torches abruptly ended at the blackness our heroes had seen earlier, forcing our heroes to continue in absolute darkness. Fortunately, no enemies existed in this black area. Mario thought so for a moment, though, when he suddenly fell forward and crashed into the floor, the others landing near him. "What was that?" wondered Luigi.
"A step..." observed Tippi. "There's stairs going down. The tablet's probably near." She felt into the darkness, trying to detect anything she could. "I feel something right here..."
"Where?" asked Luigi. "I can't see a thing."
"Feel around...it's here somewhere. I think it's the tablet."
Our heroes spread their arms out and felt around the narrow chamber until Mario's hand brushed against something hard that wasn't the wall. "I think I found it!" He felt the object. It was about a foot in height, and seemed to be made of a flat, rough stone.
"Let's go back into the light," advised Tippi. "We can take a look at it there."
Our heroes returned to the lit area of the passage, climbing the stairs in darkness. "That's the tablet, all right," noted Peach. "I can't read it in this light, though. Let's get out of here."
Mario led the others back through the pipe, emerging in the town hall again. He jumped out from behind the potted plant, Dusty watching him. "So you heroes found the tablet, eh? HAR HAR HAR! Just like those Ancients said! So now you're going to save the world or somethin'-or-other, eh? Why, when I..."
"Thanks, mayor." Mario and the others rushed out the door, emerging back on the streets of Dustburg.
"So what's the tablet say?" asked Luigi.
Mario examined the artifact. "It says...'Place this tablet in the stone pillar outside of town'."
"Wow, very descriptive."
"I didn't see a stone pillar when we entered this town," noted Tippi. "It's probably on the other side. Let's check it out."
Our heroes walked down the street, eventually coming to the other side of town. They indeed saw a stone pillar several yards past the exit. "There it is," announced Peach.
The group exited the town and walked toward the pillar. Mario placed the tablet in an appropriately-shaped indent in the pillar's front side. Nothing happened for a few seconds, but after that time, the ground began shaking. Near the horizon, a gray stone temple emerged from below the sands, smaller stone structures appearing along with it closer to our heroes. "Whoa," exclaimed Luigi. "So we go to that temple?"
"I can feel that's where the orb is," announced Tippi. "Yes. We've got to go there..."
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
After a break with another project of mine, I'm returning to SPM3. I'm a bit self-disappointed in Chapters 1-1 and 1-2 (that might just be me though), but I think 1-3 turned out better. Here you are.
A large temple, accompanied by smaller gray stone structures closer to our heroes, had appeared in the arid plain. What were these strange structures? Would they lead our heroes closer to the mystery-surrounded "orb" they were looking for? Our heroes moved to examine the nearest structure, unsure of what to expect.
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"Underneath the true mirage," read Mario slowly, "lies the first shard."
There was a short pause before Luigi spoke. "Why can't they just say 'go here, here's the orb, have fun saving the universe'?"
"The true mirage..." repeated Tippi, examining the words written on the front of the large cubical stone. "Underneath the true mirage...lies the first shard..." She thought the words over carefully, giving each word a moment of thought. "The first shard...that might be some sort of puzzle piece we need to enter the temple."
"What's the 'true mirage'?" inquired Peach. "If it's a mirage, it...isn't true, right?"
"The true mirage..." mulled Luigi. "In desert areas like these, hot air can create the illusion of water off in the distance. That's a mirage. But if it's a true mirage..."
"There is water around here," finished Mario. "And this shard object is apparently underwater."
"Where are we going to find water?" asked Luigi. "It could be anywhere."
"It probably isn't very far from where we're standing," began Tippi, "given the odds. Let's see if we can find some nearby."
Mario led Luigi, Peach, and Tippi to the left of the puzzle area. "Can you sense water, Tippi?" asked Peach.
"I'm sorry, I can't...I can only sense different kinds of energy. Finding water shouldn't be too hard, though..."
"Water ho!" Luigi suddenly exclaimed. He dashed toward a small area where the ground gave way to a ripply reflection of the sky, a few feet around and irregular in shape.
"There it is!" noted Mario. He followed Luigi toward the puddle, and the two brothers began scooping out the water body's bottom with their hands. As soon as they removed the watery soil, new soil flowed in to fill the gap, but Mario and Luigi slowly reduced the total amount of soil at the puddle's bed. Eventually, Mario's hand hit something hard and triangular. "I think I found something!" He gripped the stone object, groaning slightly as he forced it free from the mucky sediment. Removing the slimy dirt took several seconds, but the object was soon revealed to be a large, triangular block made of the same material as the stone structures outside the temple.
"That's the 'first shard'," gathered Luigi. "Now...what are we supposed to do with it?"
"I don't know," began Mario, "but we should take it back to the puzzle area. Knowing these puzzles, we'll probably have to place it somewhere."
Back at the large stone cube, our heroes examined the block for anything they could use the shard for. They soon discovered a triangular indent at the very top of the back face. Mario carefully set the shard into the indent. No rumbling or loud noises occured, but the top-right corner of the triangle, from our heroes' perspective, glowed a pure white. "OK, what's going on?" asked Luigi.
"The glowing edge is probably pointing us in a certain direction." Tippi looked to the right, observing the left (from the front) of the three identical stone blocks. "It's pointing directly to that other stone. Let's check it out."
Our heroes walked to the left stone. This stone, too, had a cryptic message inscribed on its front face which Mario read. "How ironic, that the shard you're looking for is hidden where you want to reach."
"Um..." Luigi thought. "That makes even less sense than the last clue. Of course we want to reach it! How is that 'ironic'?"
"Hmm..." mulled Peach, giving this message deep thought. "Where do we want to reach? Any place that would make it ironic?"
"Well, we want to reach the temple," recalled Mario. "But...the shard can't be hidden inside the temple. We need it to get into the temple."
"Maybe it's near the temple," offered Tippi. "Maybe..."
"There's no harm in trying," agreed Mario. "Let's take a look."
The gray temple was smaller than our heroes had thought at first. Two pairs of three thick columns seemed to guard the large, sealed double-door entrance. Luigi pounded on the door. "Nope. We can't bust in."
Peach absently kicked a dust clump near the wall of the temple. "Where could-" The princess abruptly stopped as her foot slammed into something that seemed too soft to be the stony temple wall.
"It's an opening!" exclaimed Tippi. "The shard really is hidden inside the temple, in a secret entrance."
Mario sat down in front of the narrow opening and slid his feet into it, sliding feet-first into whatever lie below. The others soon followed, landing in a small, dark room littered with broken pieces of artifacts and stones. "Now which one of these is the 'shard'?" questioned Mario.
"Is it this one?" asked Luigi, holding up a triangular stone for his brother to see.
Mario examined the stone. "No, I don't think that's it. Its shape is a little rough around the edges." Mario moved his index finger along the perimeter of the triangle, noting several spots where his finger bumped into slight imperfections in the triangular shape. "There must be more than one of these triangular shapes in this room."
Peach began carefully digging through a large pile of debris. After discovering several similarly imperfect triangles, she finally found one that seemed to be perfectly shaped. "I think this is it!"
Mario turned to face Peach, observing the side of the triangle opposite Peach. He saw something that was crescent shaped, black and small. "No, I don't think..." He touched the black object, not feeling anything. "That's a shadow. There's a bump on the back of that piece. Gee, this is getting really..."
"Easy?" asked Luigi, holding another stone in front of Mario's face.
Mario examined the stone once again. "It looks like this one's a perfect triangle..." announced Tippi. "This is the shard."
"All right," finished Mario. "Two down, one to go."
Our heroes crawled back out of the hidden temple room, scraping themselves slightly on the narrow tunnel walls. Returning to the left stone cube, Mario placed the triangular stone in the identical indent. The left corner of the stone glowed, indicating the rightmost stone cube. Mario again read the inscription. "The last shard will reveal itself to you in a rather unpleasant way."
The others stood in silence for a longer time than before, until Luigi spoke up again. "Oh, great. Is there anything in that message we could use to find out where it is?"
"You don't have to, not as long as I'm around."
That hadn't been any of our heroes. They turned to face the sound, gasping once they discovered its source. Bowser had leaped from behind the stone cube, holding the final triangular shard in his clawed hand. "Bwa ha ha! Thought you'd just come up and find that orb? I could've just attacked that stupid town once I found out I had a fake tablet, but waiting for you guys to come and solve all those puzzles was brilliant! I must've had a stroke of genius or something!"
"Bowser!" accused Tippi. "You found the last shard and waited for us this whole time?"
"Yep! This baby was underground right near that pedestal thing. If I say so myself, I'm not the best at solving puzzles, but you guys seem to be pros at it, so I just let you do all the work for me. Thanks for finding the other two shards, heroes!"
"I can't believe this!" exclaimed Mario.
"Believe it. Well, now that you guys are here, I might as well open the temple. For myself, that is." Bowser inserted the final stone into the cube, and the large double stone doors opened with a loud crash. "See you, heroes. I'll be confiscating that orb you're looking for!" The Koopa king dashed away from our heroes into the temple.
"Oh, no you don't!" Peach shouted. She chased Bowser toward the building, closely followed by the others.
"Get off my tail, jerks!" Bowser grabbed the left side of the double door and slammed it into Peach, striking her face and causing her to land on her side on the ground next to the temple.
"Peach!" exclaimed Mario. "Luigi, get Bowser!"
Luigi didn't quite know what Mario meant, but he had to do something before Bowser closed the other door as well. He dive-tackled Bowser just before the villain moved to close the door, and they both tumbled down a steep staircase just inside the temple.
"Peach!" repeated Mario. "Are you OK?"
"Yes...I think so." Peach stood up, ignoring the slight pain and the dirt scrapes on her dress. "We can't waste time. We have to get the orb before Bowser does."
"And we have to make sure Luigi is fine," added Tippi. "Let's go in."
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
"Luigi, we're coming!" Mario led the others quickly but carefully down the sharply descending staircase. At the bottom lie Luigi and Bowser, punching, kicking, and biting at each other like there was no tomorrow.
"Come on, wimp!" dared Bowser. "You can't beat Dimentio's #1 minion!"
He angled his foot in a sharp kick to Luigi's stomach, sending the man in green crashing against the opposite wall. Bowser then charged, but Luigi deftly flipped over Bowser and delivered a punch to the stomach. "Who's the man now, huh?"
"Oh, shut up. You haven't forgotten about my uber-skills, have you?"
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Bowser held his hand up, blasting a ray of concentrated red energy that slammed Luigi against the wall again. Luigi struggled to move, taking forceful breaths with every twitch of his arm. "Stop, Bowser!" pleaded Tippi.
Bowser laughed. "Why should I? You guys are no use to me now. Plus, I'll probably get a promotion once I've ended all of your games, not to mention free, on-demand fried eggs. Say goobye, heroes!"
"Wait!" Tippi continued. "We are of use to you. I think..."
"What? How could you wimps possibly be of use to me? I'm just going to walk in there and take the orb. Nothing else to it!"
Mario helped Tippi out. "What if there are more puzzles and such inside the temple? There probably are. You might need our help to figure them out."
"True, but if I end your games now, there won't be anyone to look for the orbs. Dimentio made it clear that hero-elimination comes first, then orb-finding."
"But how do you know we won't just defeat you again? We beat you practically a few minutes ago."
"You're down to half of what you had then. You think you can beat me with only three?"
"Considering what we did in the past," continued Peach, "I think it would be best for us to not fight each other. Let's agree to be peaceful, at least until we find the orb."
"And then I fry the heck out of all of you," agreed Bowser. "Fine. Sounds like an OK plan. Lead the way, Mario."
Mario walked to the front of the group and led the other heroes, plus Bowser, down the dark, grayish stone hallway. The first door our heroes entered took them to a room flooded with enemies and Firebars. "More of this, huh?" reflected Luigi as he stomped a Buzzy Beetle and sent its shell careening into a line of enemies. "They should know we're pros by now." Luigi tried to hide the obvious pain these actions caused him.
"I'll get these weaklings." Bowser unleashed his hot breath on a crowd of an enemy type our heroes hadn't seen before. Tippi and the original four heroes were again traveling through a dangerous dungeon, and if not for the clear memories of Bowser's loyalty to Dimentio, Mario might have thought he was just another hero, adventuring with them like old times. Well, "old times" wasn't exactly the most accurate description. It had been barely two weeks since Count Bleck had carried out his surprise attack on the princess's Mushroom Castle, subsequently forcing Peach to marry Bowser and unleashing the Chaos Heart, although it felt like several months. Now, the Chaos Heart had been activated again. Blumiere was dead, but that was about the only difference. The interior of the temple even resembled the Yold Ruins Mario had ventured through in the first part of his quest, and for a short moment, Mario wished their quest could just have ended after the heroes had defeated Dimentio for the first time. He was walking along a path he knew nothing about, looking for orbs and following directions he knew nothing more about. He didn't have much experience with this kind of adventure; 'go here, get artifact, save princess' was pretty much his usual schedule. Only a few times before had he felt truly clueless about what was going on. Still, what choice did he have? It was either find the orbs or watch all worlds slowly disintegrate at the hands of Dimentio. Mario knew he'd look back upon this adventure with fondness. Struggles only served to strengthen. He knew he had to push forward, and sooner or later...
"Hey, Mario, you're going to open that door, right?" Luigi interrupted Mario's train of thought.
"What?" Mario looked in front of him, seeing another door. "Oh, right. I was just thinking." He opened the door, allowing our heroes to explore further into the underground temple.
The next room the group entered was unlike anything they'd seen in a temple before. The room was a tall vertical chamber, with moderately large square holes placed at various locations. Most of these were far too high for our heroes to investigate, and at the very top of the chamber lie a small outcropping that gave access to a door. "How are we supposed to get up there?" rhetorically asked Tippi.
Mario looked around. "Maybe these holes will give us some clue?" He walked to the nearest hole to investigate, and discovered that it opened into another room. "There's another room in here, guys." The others followed him into a very narrow hallway. As they traveled through it, they discovered that it was laid out in a polygonal upside-down "U" shape, surrounding the vertical chamber. The square holes in the stone opened into this narrow hallway.
"We probably have to solve some crazed puzzle again," noted Luigi.
"There's no place like here to start," pointed Peach. The others looked toward the area she was pointing at, another hole in the side of the hallway.
Our heroes entered the new room and found themselves in another enemy hallway. Our heroes had experienced quite enough enemy-dodging in Castle Dimentio, not to mention the enemy room they'd just conquered, but there was only one way to proceed. Stomping the enemies and dodging the spikes and Firebars, our heroes came to a switch on a small pedestal. Mario jumped on the switch, expecting the temple to shake. Shake it did, but he wasn't anticipating a torrent of water cascading down from the ceiling as well. It completely flooded the hallway, and the water spilled past the entrance as well. "I think we need this water for something," reflected Bowser.
"When don't we?" Mario led the others out of this hallway and to the inside of the vertical chamber again. The water had leaked into the chamber through the lowest square passage.
"I think I figured it out," began Peach. "We have to find another room in that hallway and hit another switch. If we keep doing that, the water level will keep rising and we'll be able to reach the door at the top."
"So we should be looking on the other side now." Mario ducked through another opening, emerging in the left side of the thin surrounding hallway. There was indeed another opening here, placed just above the water level. Our heroes entered it.
"I'll take this," volunteered Mario. The obstacle course of spikes, moving platforms, and flying enemies was Mario's definite area of expertise. He jumped onto the first platform, avoided the Spiky Parabuzzy, and continued on his way. The switch at the end of this room unleashed another stream of water. Mario returned to the others. "Let's see if the water's high enough now."
The water was certainly higher, but not quite high enough to reach the upper door. It seemed like our heroes only needed one more switch to reach the top level. Exploring the narrow corridor again, they discovered yet another opening on the side they hadn't used before. This room took them into what seemed like a straight path to the switch. "Am I hallucinating?" questioned Luigi. "Or did they actually not make it seemingly-impossible-yet-really-easy to hit the switch?"
"Careful, Luigi," cautioned his brother. "You never know what might happen. Spikes could suddenly appear, enemies could drop..."
"Oh, what're you worrying about?" griped Bowser. "There's nothing in this room. I'm gonna hit that switch and call it a day." Bowser walked further into the corridor. The others worried about what might happen, but none of them really wanted to stop Bowser. "See? There's-" Bowser was suddenly cut off by a jet of fire that erupted from the left wall. "AAGH! What is-" Moving forward, Bowser was assaulted by a series of activating floor spikes. Running as fast as he could to keep ahead of them, he soon almost smacked into an entire wall of spikes that rose up before him. Thinking fast, he jumped over the spike wall and landed next to the switch. "See? I told you guys there was nothing! For me, I mean." Bowser hit the switch, again dropping a torrent of water. Bowser rejoined the others, and they followed Mario back to the vertical chamber. The water level was now high enough for our heroes to jump out of it and onto the platform that contained the door they were aiming for. They entered this door, emerging in a long, narrow staircase that led further underground.
"I feel something quite near," announced Tippi. "I think the orb is close. It might be at the bottom of these stairs..."
"Good," uttered Bowser. "Now I can swipe it and take it to Dimentio."
The long staircase was lit by wall torches, but as these things usually turned out, the torches became dimmer as the group descended. By the time they reached the bottom, our heroes could barely make out the large door. Mario grabbed the handle and gently opened the door, revealing a somewhat brighter room decorated by purple curtains. The walls and floor in this room were a more bluish color than the rest of the temple interior. At the center of the room lie a tall, purple decorated pedestal, and on this pedestal rested a small, red glass sphere that seemed to radiate a strange light.
"That's the orb!" Peach almost screamed. She began to walk up to it, but was quickly blocked by Bowser.
"What do you think you're doing?" Bowser knocked Peach back again, this time with a fist. "You guys led me straight to the orb, just as we agreed. I could wipe you all out, but I won't have to waste my breath if I just take it. See ya, heroes! Have fun watching The Void devour all worlds." Bowser reached for the orb.
"NOOO!!!" Mario dove for Bowser, knocking his arm away.
"You aren't taking that orb, Bowser!" assured Tippi. "Not as long as we're here!"
"Oh, you want to play?" the Koopa king taunted. "Fine then. I'll have more fun this way anyway. You're going down, heroes!"
BOSS
Bowser
"Mario, get the orb!" shouted Peach.
Mario took the orb and placed it in his pocket just as Bowser came his way, smashing the orb's pedestal into pieces with his spinning shell. The hero leaped out of the way as Bowser smashed into the wall behind him. "How'd you like some deluxe spike balls?" Bowser generated large spiky balls that he aimed at Mario.
"How'd you like some payback for what you did to me?" Bowser turned around to see Luigi for a brief moment before being struck in the face with one of the pieces the pedestal had broken into.
"OW! You'll pay for that!" Bowser attempted to fry Luigi with a fire blast, but Peach swiftly shoved the green plumber away. The fire managed to singe part of her dress, but Peach was relatively unharmed.
"Look behind you, Bowser!" Bowser felt his stomach become the target of Mario's hammer.
"Grr! You guys haven't seen my true power yet!" Bowser gathered energy with his hand and tried to deliver a slash to Mario, but the hero was too fast for Bowser by this point. He jumped over the villain, landing on the other side of Bowser. Bowser, however, saw this as an opportunity and struck Mario just as he landed.
"Aaah!" Mario was thrown backwards, dropping the hammer he had been using.
"I'll take this, thank you!" Bowser took Mario's hammer and turned to face Luigi. "Hey, green guy, thought you could sneak up on me?" He threw Mario's hammer at Luigi. The hero easily dodged the weapon, but the hammer continued through the air and smashed into one of the purple decorative curtains. The curtain snapped loose and plummeted onto Luigi's head. Mario got up as fast as he could and headed toward Luigi.
"No! Stay away from him!" Peach tossed another pedestal shard at Bowser, but the Koopa king regarded this as little more than a minor distraction. He charged for the man in green, having him pinned against the wall.
"Luigi, don't protest!" Luigi's left arm was relatively uninjured. Mario grasped his hammer and knocked Luigi away from Bowser, leaving the villain to crash into the wall. Bowser staggered backwards somewhat.
"Hi-YAH!" Luigi pulled the curtain piece backward and swiftly snapped it toward Bowser, delivering a whiplike effect to the front part of his body.
Bowser groaned, wincing. "I'll get you, Luigi!" He began chanelling energy into his right hand. Luigi quickly thought of a way to use Bowser's power against him. He jumped over Bowser, angling himself to swerve directly above the enemy. Bowser aimed an energy beam upwards, missing Luigi and blasting a hole in the ceiling. Large pieces of stone fell onto Bowser.
"Great idea, Luigi!" congratulated Tippi.
"Take that stupid weapon elsewhere!" Bowser set Luigi's still-intact curtain weapon aflame. The fire almost reached Luigi's hand before he threw it toward the other side of the room. It connected with another curtain, creating a new series of flames that began spreading through the row of decorations.
"The walls are on fire!" remarked Peach. "We have to stay away!"
"On the contrary, why not touch them? It would make things a lot easier for me." Bowser withdrew into his shell and careened toward Peach.
"Eek!" Before the princess could respond, she was pulled aside by Mario. Bowser's shell crashed into one of the flaming curtains, breaking it and sending it downward toward Mario and Peach. Mario carefully smacked it away with his hammer, unintentionally hitting Bowser.
"AAGH!" Bowser pulled the fiery curtain away from his body and charged Mario and Peach.
Luigi, away from the action for a while, thought of a way to defeat Bowser. That hole in the ceiling probably loosened a ton of rock. If I can get Bowser to attack it again, he'll probably be buried! How to make him do it, though...? Luigi looked to his right, toward one of the flaming decorations. A small portion of the curtain had avoided the fire. Luigi tore the curtain down and threw it at Bowser just before he reached the other two heroes.
"You're trying to attack me with that again? Oh, I'll..." Bowser readied another energy strike against Luigi. Luigi jumped the attack, and Bowser's energy ray again hit the ceiling. Luigi's hopes were more than fulfilled. A large portion of the ceiling smashed open, sending several large stones directly onto Bowser's head. The villain was almost completely covered with the rocks. "Grah! Noooo!" Bowser slowly pushed the rubble away from his body, panting. "You guys...you guys beat me AGAIN! I just CAN'T believe this! How do you guys manage?"
"Well, this time we did have the room to help us," offered Luigi.
"Oh, shut it with your bragging," Bowser spoke with half-closed eyes. He stood up, groaning. "Well, you have that stupid orb, but it doesn't matter anyway. You need all five to even do anything, and with your precious Prognosticus, there's no way you can find more. It's a win-lose situation either way, heroes. And we're the winners. See you if the world hasn't ended by then." Bowser flipped out and returned to Castle Dimentio.
"This orb..." Mario withdrew the glowing red orb from his pocket. "There's something about it. Something strange."
"Something powerful," added Tippi. "The orb's power isn't quite as strong as that of a Pure Heart, but I sense something else. Some other kind of energy, or magic."
Luigi and Peach joined in looking at the mysterious orb. "So the Light Prognosticus was right again," offered Luigi. "But now we don't have it. How are we going to find the other orbs?"
Mario sighed. "Yes, without them, we can't save every world. But...there must be a way. Just a little while ago, we thought all worlds were doomed for good, and now we've taken our first step toward saving them. That's an improvement, isn't it?"
Peach nodded. "There's still some way we can save all existence. I can feel it."
"Well, looks like we'd better be getting back to Flipside." Luigi exhaled. "That's our next step, isn't it? We want to keep moving forward."
"Yes, that's correct," agreed Tippi. "Come on. Let's take this orb back to Flipside and get ready to save the worlds once again."
ORB GET!
-END OF CHAPTER-
The first orb our heroes had been strangely guided to is now in their hands. They can sense something deep within the red glass sphere, but what is it? What powers does this orb truly possess? Whatever the case, it seems it won't be of much help to our heroes unless they can find the other four. Our heroes return to Flipside having faith that there will, in fact, be a way to find the four remaining orbs. But now that they've defeated Bowser again, what will Dimentio do now? And just what does that jester know about the Light Prognosticus and our heroes' quest for the orbs? Our heroes have their confidence down, but some answers would be a nice consolation in their new, strange adventure...
"...and that's how they beat me. AGAIN."
Dimentio sighed. "Bowser, Bowser. You can't just rush headfirst into things. That's why you've been defeated. You need to think like the heroes. Their determination and love is what drives them."
"Are you saying I have to love? What kind of sick twist is that?"
"No, I am saying you must learn what can defeat those qualities. They've already demonstrated their incredible desire to stick together, so it's clear that trying to break them up isn't going to work. We must stop doing what we've already done. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."
"So what should we try?" asked B-A Omega. "Those guys are pretty dang coordinated. They can dodge our lasers, and those things are state-of-the-art!"
"Well, minions, for starters, we shouldn't get worked up about the heroes in the first place. Regardless that they have an orb, they can't find the other four. But, as I told you all earlier, there could be some way for them to find them after all. It isn't likely, but our hero-destroying operative will continue, just in case. My idea is to catch them off-guard. The heroes are used to traveling, solving puzzles...all of that stuff, always moving forward. If we can use that initiative for our own purposes..."
Morris finished for Dimentio. "One of us can hide or something while they're solving a puzzle. While they're thinking about what to do, we'll ambush them. They'll never know what hit them!"
"Excellent suggestion, Morris. Since Bowser is out for the next while, who would be willing to take on the task of destroying the heroes this time?"
"Ooh! Ooh! Memememememe!!!" begged H-X Alpha. "I'll cook those meanies up like homestyle bacon in the microwave on high heat for 5:25!"
"I like the enthusiasm there. H-X Alpha and B-A Omega, travel between the different locations we've determined for the orbs and watch for the heroes. There's no way to know which one they'll go after, or even if they will, but we must catch them somehow."
"Yes, Master Dimentio!" The two robot minions flipped out.
Morris was silent for a few moments before remembering something he had wanted to ask Dimentio earlier. "Hey, Dimentio? Mind if I ask you a question?"
"Certainly, Morris. What interests you?"
"That symbol you use in the castle...that one with the circle and the three points and the heart...that's the symbol of the Tribe of Darkness, right? You said it represented the Tribe of Darkness's true leader, and you said it had something to do with the Chaos Heart. Do these orbs have anything to do with that?"
Dimentio thought this over for a few moments before laughing gently. "Ah ha ha...yes, the symbol I once used does represent the leader we lost to the orbs long ago. But you don't need to concern yourself with the dealings of the ancient Tribe of Darkness at the moment. Focus on your missions first, then worry about the details."
"Sounds OK, Master Dimentio. That's all I wanted to know." Morris flipped out.
"I suppose I'd better be heading out as well. I must make sure the heroes can't find the remaining orbs, or we might be in trouble." Dimentio disappeared.
This left Bowser. "Ugh. I guess I'd better get back to that training..." Bowser flipped out, leaving the castle's meeting room empty.
"It's just too great! Too great and powerful for anyone to handle! The worlds are doomed!"
"Not so fast. Don't let that fear of yours shake you down.
We can make something that can defeat it."
"How? How would that be possible?
We've already sent our three most powerful magicians, and it killed them before they could even make their first move!"
"That's the problem. We use people.
If we can use something like a powerful object, we just might have a chance."
"..."
"You're liking my idea, aren't you?"
"...Yes. It just might work. We'll gather the remaining magicians and wise men.
This monster must be put to its end."
Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Tippi walked out of the Flipside Tower red door, the red orb in hand. "I guess we should see Merlon," began Tippi. "If anyone will know what to do, it'll be him."
Our heroes descended using the elevator and emerged on the second story of Flipside. As usual, Merlon was waiting for them. "Oh ho! The heroes return, and I presume with an orb?"
Mario displayed the red orb while Tippi described their latest adventure. "We still need four more orbs, but since we don't have the Light Prognosticus anymore, I don't know how we're going to find them."
Merlon closed his eyes. "I'm afraid, since the Prognosticus isn't with us, neither do I. Without the book, I cannot recieve any instructions or read any verses about what you should do next. This is a real predicament. What shall we do..."
The ground under our heroes' feet began shaking. Knowing what was happening, Merlon and the heroes turned to look at the sky. The Void had grown in size.
"And there goes The Void again." Luigi sighed. "How are we going to do this? We don't know what to do or how to do it. Or anything."
"Well...there must be some way," offered Mario. "All worlds can't just-" At that moment, Mario felt as if his consciousness had been pierced by an outside force. He staggered a bit, trying to figure out what this strange mental sensation was.
"Mario? You OK?" asked Luigi.
"I...uh...um..."
Come on, Mario. Get a hold of yourself. It's not that bad, is it?
"What was that, Luigi?"
"What?" inquired Luigi. "I didn't say anything."
"Then what was-"
I'm not trying to make you dizzy, Mario, but stand up straight. You'll have to get used to this.
Mario slowly aligned himself. "Who's saying that? Luigi? Peach?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, Mario," replied Luigi again. "None of us said anything."
Mario, take a rest at the inn. You need that. After that, go back to Flipside Tower and have Merlon modify the orange door the same way he did the red one. I'll give you further instructions afterward if you need them.
Gathering that the voice was within his own head, Mario thought his response. Who are you? How are you talking to me like this? Are you the person who's using the Light Prognosticus to guide us?
The voice returned. I can't tell you much right now. For starters, I'm not God or anything, so try to avoid thinking about any big personal secrets if you don't want me to know about them. I don't have much time, but you can call me Maia for now. That fit, Mario realized, since the strange voice did seem somehow female. I've got to break contact now. Remember what I told you. Inn, orange door. I'll talk to you later, Mario. Mario's mind seemed to uncloud, and his senses returned to normal.
"What was that, Mario?" asked Tippi.
"That was...strange." Mario told the others about his mysterious mental intruder, Maia, and the instructions she had given him.
"So...we really can save the worlds," bluntly stated Tippi. "That's good. But who's this...Maia? Is she the person who helped us with the Light Prognosticus?"
"I guess now that we don't have it," began Merlon, "she's mentally communicating with Mario instead. Well, this is good news, for one, but we still know almost nothing about the situation...who is this person? Why..."
"Well, if this person can communicate mentally," interrupted Peach, "it would probably be a good idea to follow her advice. Let's not dwell on what we don't know. Let's make use of what we do."
"Yes, I suppose we should keep doing that." Merlon paused. "Well, heroes, take your rest at the inn. I'll be waiting on Flipside Tower."
After a quick stay at the inn, our heroes took the elevator to the top of Flipside Tower. The orange door had appeared, but the other five doors on this tower were still nonexistent. Merlon raised his hands, repeating the process he had used to modify the red door. After a white flash, he wished our heroes luck. "Good luck in whatever dimension this door takes you to, heroes. I'll await your return with the second orb."
"We'll be back, Merlon," assured Tippi. "We promise."
-
There was hope, and it was abundant. Mario and the other heroes of prophecy could save every world after all, thanks to the mysterious messenger Maia. Our heroes entered the orange door with confidence that they'd find the next orb, whatever it might be. But with four orbs still remaining to be found, who knows what twist our heroes could run into next? Has Dimentio set another trap for our heroes in this new dimension? Will Maia help the heroes again? If there was a such thing as anxious confidence, our heroes were experiencing it right now...
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A line was drawn.
Joining this line were a few others, drawing vertical shapes with large, spiralling growths on their tops. These shapes resembled fiddleheads, while smaller plants were drawn around them and colored a dark yet bright green. As the fiddleheads shaded themselves in a brownish-green, moderate-sized mountains were drawn in the background and filled with the same green color that adorned the valley our heroes were entering. The sky was a particular shade of orange that faded from darker to lighter as it drew closer to the horizon, broken only by the dark circle of The Void. No clouds were visible as the orange door was drawn into existence and our heroes stepped into the new dimension, looking at their surroundings.
"Very peculiar," noted Luigi. "Have you ever seen a fiddlehead this big?" He poked its stem, not producing any moment whatsoever.
"Um," began Peach, scanning the area in front of them. "There's a sharp uprise. How do we cross it?"
Before she had finished speaking, Mario had jumped directly onto the head of one of the giant fiddleheads. His weight pushed the plant downwards, bending its stem. "What are you doing, Mario?" asked Tippi.
"Crossing that uprise." Mario suddenly released his weight from the fiddlehead. The newly freed plant sent Mario flying through the air to land safely on the top of the cliff-like uprise.
"Well, that's a new one." Luigi grabbed onto the plant as well.
"New and unconvential, but it works!" Once Luigi had joined Mario, Peach repeated the maneuver. She landed delicately in front of the Mario brothers.
"Pretty fun, isn't it?" asked Luigi. "I like this gimmick."
"So, Tippi..." Peach was still involuntarily smiling as she began her question. "Do you feel the orb here?"
"Yes, I can sense it, but..." Tippi's voice trailed off. "But...it seems less strong than normal. Like it's been muted. I'm not sure what it means..."
"Is it just very far away?" offered Luigi.
"No, it's about average distance, that I can tell...but there's something between us and the orb that's muting its energy. Something pretty powerful from what I can feel."
"Is this Dimentio again?" asked Mario. "He's never done something like this."
"Something tells me it isn't Dimentio," replied Peach. "But we'll have to be on the lookout for him and his minions. He's probably sent Morris or those robots to stop us by now."
"But if he's done that..." Mario had a sudden thought. "How would he know where to send them? Does he know where the orbs are? He must, if he sent Bowser to the last dimension we visited."
"Does Dimentio know about Maia?" Luigi's question seemed to startle the others. "I mean, Maia knows where these orbs are, and everything, and so does Dimentio."
"Can you ask her, Mario?" suggested Tippi. "I know she's not in your mind anymore, but..."
"Well, I'll try." Mario concentrated on sending his thought as best he could. Maia? No strange sensation or voice entered his mind, so he decided to try again after a few seconds. Maia? Could you tell me if you're connected to Dimentio or the orbs somehow? Still no answer. "I don't think it's working, guys. She's not answering. I think we have to actually be in contact for this to work."
"And only she can bring your minds together," finished Tippi. "Well, I guess you could try if she contacts you again..."
"I suppose. I'm still sort of uncomfortable knowing that someone could break into my mind at any moment."
"Well, I guess you have no choice. You'd rather have that than the destruction of all worlds."
"Yes. Every cloud has its silver lining, I suppose."
Our heroes' conversation met a sort of pseudo-end as Mario began leading the others in the direction of the second orb. Our heroes jumped on enemies, flipped and hit ? Blocks, and all of the usual stuff as they drew closer to the orb one step at a time, with some fiddlehead-flinging along the way. Eventually, they arrived at another steep uprise, and this time there weren't any giant fiddleheads to help them out. There was, however, a small entrance to a cave that led into the depths of the mountain. "Is there any other way through?" asked Luigi. "Entrances into the inside of mountains usually mean bad things on this adventure."
"I don't think there is," answered Mario. "We're walled in on all sides."
"OK, but if we see anything suspicious, let's get out of here."
"Luigi, there's no other way. This is the way forward."
"Well, OK, but...uh...never mind."
Shortly beyond the entrance of the tunnel, Mario noticed a large collection of roundish stones that seemed to be filling up a rectangular hole in the floor of the cave. As our heroes stepped over this area, the rocks suddenly gave way and sent our heroes tumbling downward deeper into the mountain. "Whaaa!!" screamed Mario. "What is this?"
"Not again!" uttered Luigi. "I knew we shouldn't have entered this-"
Luigi was interrupted by the sound of our heroes smacking into the cave floor. Seeing that they were still alive, our heroes tried to stand up-and were pulled back to the ground. Mario extended his right arm as far as he could, finally breaking it free of something that seemed to function like green slime. "What is this stuff?" He pulled his left arm out as well, slowly bringing himself to a standing and brushing the remaining slime bits off his body.
"It's really sticky." Luigi tore a glob of the sticky green substance from his overalls and stood up.
"Are you guys OK?" Tippi floated down from above, noting our heroes' condition.
"Yes, we're fine," answered Peach. "Unhurt, that is."
"Is there anywhere we can go from here?" Tippi looked in the direction our heroes had been traveling, seeing a continuing passage with a floor covered in the same sticky green slime. "I guess we go that way."
"What is this place?" wondered Mario. Any answers, Maia? Nothing came as a result of Mario's futile effort. He sighed, going along with the others. Walking in this passage was difficult with the sticky floor. Our heroes had to carefully pick up one foot, set it down, and then repeat the process without tripping and sending themselves falling into the slime face-first. Relief washed over the party when they discovered an end to the slime floor. Beyond that point, the ground reverted to a standard stone cave.
"Whew," exhaled Peach. "That wasn't-" Peach was cut off by the sensation of breaking through the floor and falling through the air yet again. Our heroes again landed in a green slime substance.
"This again!?" Luigi carefully removed his body parts from the sticky slime. "What kind of cave is this?"
"This can't be natural," gathered Mario. "Someone had to have built this cave and put this slime stuff here."
"So how do we get out?" asked Peach.
"I don't know, but...there might be a way to get back up to where we need to be. Let's just follow this path and see where it takes us."
This path was identical to the one above it, even featuring an end to the slime floor after the same distance. Luigi was about to step out of the sticky green slime when Mario pulled his brother's leg back. "Wait a second. There might be another falling floor here. Let's jump over this area and see if we can land somewhere safe."
"How do we jump? We're stuck in this slime."
That hadn't occured to Mario. "I'll go ahead and try to walk lightly on this ground." Mario carefully stepped out of the slime glue. Once he was situated on the ground, he jumped as far as he could, touching down on what seemed to be safe ground.
"Looks safe." Luigi and Peach repeated Mario's example. "Are you sure this ground is another one of those falling floors?" asked Luigi.
"Well, let's try it out." Mario jumped onto the patch of ground he suspected to be unstable, quickly jumping back as the ground crumbled away. "Yep. It's a falling floor all right."
"That is strange..." mused Tippi. "How many of these tunnels are there? That's three of them already."
Observing a light at the end of this tunnel, our heroes continued through the cave passage, emerging outside on the other side of the mountain they had been traveling through. "We're outside?" asked Peach rhetorically. "Then..." She looked back at the mountain. No other exits were visible. "If we fell twice, we should be much lower, but...this seems like the same altitude. And that was the only exit."
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
A seemingly impossible network of tunnels beneath the surface of a large mountain...Was this a puzzle set up by the person who hid the orbs? What were our heroes going to experience next in this dimension? "Maybe it's another puzzle," offered Tippi. "Like a never-ending maze. Whoever hid these orbs must have hid them so that only we could find them."
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"Didn't Dusty say the Ancients came to that town and brought the tablet?" recalled Luigi. "The Ancients must have had something to do with these orbs."
"Then, is Maia connected to the Ancients somehow?" guessed Mario. After a few more seconds of thought, he shook his head. "Nah. We're thinking about what we don't know again."
"But it's fine to speculate, isn't it?" questioned Luigi.
"Well, I don't know, Luigi. I'm just not going to think about it for now."
"I'm going to speculate, if that's fine with you."
"Luigi, I don't think...well..."
"You guys are making this way more complicated than it needs to be." Peach jumped into Mario and Luigi's debate. "Maia...if that's her...told us not to trouble ourselves with what we don't know. It's perfectly fine to think about them, as long as we don't let them take control."
"I suppose that's right," agreed Tippi. "We don't need to overcomplicate things."
"Well, OK." Mario paused, trying to regain his train of thought. "Dimentio said we might have a chance at defeating Amtakan if we found these orbs. We don't know what happened to him, but from what Dimentio said, it's possible he was the founder of the Tribe of Darkness or at least one of its leaders. I'll speculate that the orbs are connected to the Tribe of Darkness somehow."
"So then Maia has some connection to...Amtakan?" continued Tippi. "I guess that's about all we know. If that is true."
"All right. Very nice speculation." Mario still felt slightly confused about the subject of whether or not they should discuss what they didn't know, but he knew he should loosen up at least somewhat. He was probably just getting too uptight about the whole deal.
More enemies, blocks, and puzzles confronted our heroes in their travel, accompanied by those springy fiddleheads. The sky seemed to be weirdly stable; our heroes had been walking in this mountainous meadow for quite some time, and not once during that time had anything other than the same shade of orange graced the sky, bar The Void. The lack of a sun made the environment seem even more surreal.
"What's this?" inquired Peach, stepping over a small hill. The area in front of them seemed to be a square patch of land, boxed in by the surrounding mountains. Large plants and vines almost completely covered this area, and several fiddleheads and other plants rose above the vegetation on the ground.
"Pretty neat place," remarked Luigi as our heroes walked through the shrubbery.
Careful, Mario. You're walking into a trap.
Mario's limbs tensed as the odd sensation of Maia entering his mind left just as suddenly as it came. What trap? Can you... It was too late, though. Maia had left Mario's consciousness right after she had spoken again.
"Is everything fine, Mario?" asked Tippi.
"Maia entered my mind again. She said we're walking into a trap."
"A trap?" asked Luigi. "How could this possibly be a trap? Did you ask her anything?"
"I didn't get the chance. She left as soon as she finished speaking."
"Odd..." Tippi floated. "So what's this trap? Did-"
"Heeeeeeello, weary travelurs!" Our heroes turned toward the voice, only half-believing what they were seeing. A clump of multicolored blankets floated out from behind one of the thick vines, displaying a plate of food. "Would you like some...TACOS?" It exaggerated "tacos" to the max.
Our heroes were silent for several seconds. Mario soon guessed at what this blanket clump was, however. "How are you carrying that plate?"
"What?" The blanket clump dropped the taco plate. A few instants later, it shook all of the colored blankets off of its body and put on a large sombrero, revealing a small robotic head underneath. "HaHA! Now I am more Spaneesh than I was five seconds agow!"
"H-X Alpha!" accused Peach.
"What is 'Aych-ecks-alfa' you speak uf? I am a SPANEESH man who has excellent TACOS!"
"Oh, I TOLD you that wasn't going to work!" Alpha's counterpart B-A Omega appeared from behind the same vine and ripped Alpha's sombrero off. "We could have ambushed them, but you just HAD to do that dumb taco thing!"
"Amboosh? Who would do such a thing? I am a TACO salesmen!"
"I'll let Dimentio know about this." Omega then turned to the three heroes. "So, heroes, now that Alpha ruined our surprise entrance, I guess I'll do the honors the old-fashioned way. Dimentio sent us to destroy you, and that's what we're going to do!"
"How'd you know to come here?" demanded Tippi. "How does Dimentio know where the orbs are, anyway?"
"Why's that any of your business? It doesn't have to do with the fact that we're going to pummel you into next week."
"What does that have do with anything?" Tippi was mildly frustrated at B-A Omega's heavily-twisted logical arguing.
"A lot. You damaged some of our weapons last time, but that doesn't matter, because the nature of this battlefield allows us to utilize our skills to their full potential."
MINIBOSS
H-X Alpha and B-A Omega
The robot B-A Omega extended his arm and fired a bright laser in our heroes' direction. The group jumped the blast, angling to the side as the beam of concentrated energy blasted a hole in the ground, revealing a dark space underneath. "What's that underground?" inquired Luigi.
"No time to observe," reminded Mario. "Dodge that shuriken!" Luigi turned toward Omega, gasped, and then jumped onto the nearest fiddlehead, dodging the large shuriken the minion had aimed at him.
"Think that fiddlehead will protect you?" taunted the smaller robot. "Think again, Popcorn Dude, YEAH!" H-X Alpha blasted the fiddlehead's base apart, causing the large plant to topple over. Luigi hung on to the plant's head for as long as he could, aiming toward Alpha. He finally jumped free of the plant, stomping the robot while the large fiddlehead crashed into the ground behind him.
"You haven't seen anything yet!" warned B-A Omega as he produced a row of knives that he again set on fire. Luigi dashed toward Mario and Peach while they prepared to dodge the flaming weapons, but Omega didn't throw the knives at the heroes. Rather, he threw them at the ground in front of our heroes' feet, breaking open a large patch of the ground. Our heroes fell through the hole the robot had created, landing in what seemed to be an exact duplicate of the field above them. It had vines, plants, fiddleheads, and even the one fiddlehead H-X Alpha had destroyed...except it was all underground.
"What is this place?" wondered Tippi. She didn't have time to wonder for long, though. The two robot minions quickly descended on our heroes, firing lasers and shurikens.
"I'll go for Omega." Mario jumped to the right, hiding behind a large vine to avoid the laser Omega fired at him. It destroyed the vine, giving Mario a distraction which he used to pound B-A Omega with his hammer.
"You think you're clever? I'll show you how we're much more clever than you!" Omega again produced flaming knives and demolished the floor under our heroes. They tumbled into another exact duplicate of the above field...and this one, in addition to the destroyed fiddlehead, contained the broken vine that had helped Mario damage B-A Omega. Before any of our heroes could move or speak, they were suddenly assaulted by a barrage of lasers from the hole above.
"Agh!" Luigi jumped to the side, clearly in pain.
"You like that?" B-A Omega, closely followed by H-X Alpha, descended from the hole above our heroes. "There's only one room here. If you fall through the floor, you'll just reemerge at the ceiling. Nothing except the floor repairs itself when you do this. It's a never-ending series of rooms, and yet it's only one. Take a look above you." Our heroes looked through the hole they had dropped through, seeing not the previous underground room but the pure orange sky.
"How did you know this?" Mario looked about ready to tear B-A Omega apart if he didn't give them the answers.
"Why's that any of your business?" H-X Alpha did an almost perfect impression of his fellow robot.
"That doesn't matter!" Mario jumped through the air. "Do something, Luigi!"
Luigi ran in Omega's direction and was quickly blocked by the smaller robot. Alpha fired laser shots at Luigi while Mario stomped Omega. After Luigi damaged Alpha, the minion rose up toward the ceiling, charging for a large laser blast. Luigi attempted to Super Jump Alpha, but the robot's laser blocked his movement, and Luigi quickly fell through the hole in the ground the powerful laser had created. He realized he was falling directly onto H-X Alpha, so he swerved out of the way and delivered a smash kick to the unsuspecting robot.
"He's using the environment against us!" Meanwhile, B-A Omega had fired a series of homing lasers at every tall plant he could find, sending them crashing down on Mario and Peach. "Duck, Peach!"
Peach promptly ducked, then grabbed one of the large fiddleheads. She pulled it back, aiming to hit Omega with it, but the robot quickly produced another homing laser that struck her squarely and knocked her back several feet. Mario expertly caught the fiddlehead and successfully smacked Omega.
"Peach!" exclaimed Luigi. "I could use some backup here." Luigi and Peach watched as Alpha surrounded himself in a protective electrical capsule and sent himself bouncing around the room.
"Watch out, Mario!" exclaimed Tippi.
"What?" Mario turned to face the oncoming Alpha. Before he could react, B-A Omega suddenly unleashed a series of homing lasers that hit Mario, sending him backwards and through the ground, falling down towards H-X Alpha, who had retreated from his capsule. Mario got one good attack on the small robot.
"Why is everyone picking on me today?" whined Alpha. "You guys are bullies! I'm telling the assistant principal!"
"More like heroes." Luigi jumped and punched the robot for all he was worth while Mario went at it with his hammer. The small robot crashed to the ground, defeated yet again.
Look out, Mario! Gathering he wouldn't be fast enough to turn and see what was coming, Mario instinctively jumped over the incoming row of shurikens.
Are you saying I'll have to get used to you entering my mind when I'm fighting? Mario knew Maia couldn't hear him, but complaining to himself somehow felt better.
"What? How'd you know to jump over my shurikens? They're soundless!"
Mario turned to face B-A Omega. "Lucky guess."
"Are you sure? I'll pound the truth out of you." Omega extended his cannon arm, and it shifted into a giant hammer. Mario knew he couldn't handle much more, so he ducked and rolled out of the way before the hammer could strike and came out of his crouched position to perform a sudden kick to Omega's chest plate.
"I'll help, Mario!" Peach joined the fray, only to be smacked against the wall by another laser. Luigi used the distraction as an opportunity to perform a ground pound and hit B-A Omega again. The robot was now severely weakened.
"Gah! How can this be happening? We have awesome weapons!" Omega gave it one final shot. He set his left hand on fire using heat from the red jewel and punched the ground, ripping a large hole that he and the heroes fell through. He continued holding his fist in this position, causing the four to continue falling several more times. While our heroes were tumbling through the air, the robot minion targeted them with homing lasers. Our heroes swerved through the air to dodge them for a time, but Luigi and Peach were soon hit. Mario tumbled to end up behind B-A Omega, and right as the larger robot turned to face him, the hero attacked his enemy with the hammer, putting him out for good.
"Gah...ugh..." B-A Omega landed next to his smaller friend. "I don't get it! How do we keep losing? We have super-awesome weapons, they don't! What more is there to it!? And how'd Mario dodge my soundless shurikens, anyway?"
"The fact that we're heroes of prophecy?" offered Luigi. "I mean, if we were mentioned in a prophetic book, that makes us sort of special, I guess..."
Omega stood up while Alpha returned to hovering. "We're going to have to re-evaluate our performance. I suppose we lost because the heroes damaged some of our weapons the last time we fought. Next time, we'll have even more uber-weapons and a cool battle arena. I'll make sure of it!" H-X Alpha and B-A Omega flipped out again, displaying their crackling electricity show.
"That was an interesting fight." Mario climbed out of the arena and back to the ground level, followed by Luigi, Peach, and Tippi. Mario continued once they were all safely on ground. "Maia contacted me again. That's how I knew to jump over the shuriken assault. I'll have to get used to that mental feeling thing while I'm fighting."
"Did she leave again right after she told you to watch out?" asked Peach.
"Yes. Again."
"Well, I guess if we run into anything really dangerous again," began Luigi, "she'll be there to help you."
"Hopefully," agreed Mario. "As long as that feeling doesn't interfere with my fighting."
The sky was still very orange as our heroes continued toward the unknown orb. "I feel the orb's presence stronger here," announced Tippi. "Not just because it's closer, but...that thing that was blocking the orb's power...I think it's behind us now...but the orb's power still feels weaker..."
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
After a game revision and a vacation, I'm back with Chapter 2-3! I'd appreciate any comments you guys have.
What were these strange sources of power Tippi was feeling? The one behind them might have been the never-ending underground rooms, but were there more strange illusions still waiting for our heroes to discover them? Our heroes were still quite some distance from the orb. They had no way of guessing what they might run into next...
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The road ahead was much of the same deal as the previous two sections; enemies, jumps, the occasional RPG-style puzzle, etc. After a relatively steep uprise, our heroes came upon a straight vertical uprise, forming a wall they couldn't get past with the mountains boxing them in again. "OK, Mario," began Luigi, "figure out some way to get past, we continue, yadda yadda."
Mario gave his brother a glare. "Sorry."
"This rock looks suspicious." Tippi moved toward a large stone that seemed to be blocking the entrance to a tunnel. "Try moving it over, Mario."
Mario did just that. Sliding the rock over indeed revealed a narrow tunnel that burrowed through the mountain. As our heroes entered it, they were suddenly confronted with the literal light at the end of the tunnel. The entire passage only spanned a few yards, and where the tunnel ended, our heroes saw nothing but a dull golden-yellow haze. "What is that?" wondered Peach, moving her head to get her eyes closer to the strange sight.
"There's a lot of energy in the air," announced Tippi. "I think this is another one of those things that's muting the orb's energy. I can detect it very strongly now that we're right next to it..."
Mario slowly pushed his body forward toward the yellow cloud. Soon enough, without really knowing, he discovered he'd walked directly into it. He was standing in some sort of empty desert, resting on soft sandy ground almost the same color as the cloudy haze that hung in the sky, but slightly lighter. "What? Where am I?" He looked back at the others, who had exited the tunnel and joined him, and beyond, where he faintly perceived the green mountains and orange sky of the field through the veil of gold.
"I don't know where we are either," stated Tippi. "It's...well...just some other kind of illusion, I guess."
Luigi looked around, trying to find anything he could use as a landmark, but the terrain seemed absolutely vacant. "Is the orb closer here? What direction is it in?"
"Yes, it's closer here, and it feels stronger, too..." Tippi moved slightly in the direction the orb's energy was coming from. "It's over here."
Our heroes followed Tippi, leaving the rock wall they had emerged from in the distance. Our heroes' feet and the slight variations in the color of the sand below them were the only indications that they were even moving.
After a long walk, something finally began to materialize several yards away from our heroes. They only saw it as a dim, darker blur in the distance at first, but drawing closer to it, they could see that it was some sort of building. "What's this?" Mario quickened his pace and walked up to the structure. It was made of neatly placed stone blocks, much the same color as the ground and sky our heroes were walking in. Four pillars graced the front of the structure, and smaller decorations were placed around the area. "It looks like some sort of ancient temple."
"You think we should go inside?" asked Luigi. "I mean, that always works."
"I can feel the orb's power strongly here," assured Tippi. "It might be inside this temple."
Mario, have you ever flown a plane?
Of all the possible things Mario might have expected Maia to say in this situation, asking if he'd flown a plane was pretty much the last. "Hold on a second, guys." Yes, I have. Why do you want to know?
Just making sure you'll be ready. When you think you have the orb, watch out. There's someone here who might pose a threat to you.
Who is it? While he was thinking that last sentence, though, he felt the presence of Maia's mind withdraw from his own.
"Did Maia give you more instructions?" asked Tippi.
"Yes." Mario told the other about Maia's question and her warning about someone else in this place.
"There's someone else here?" asked Peach. "We'd better be careful, whatever that plane thing was about. It might be another one of Dimentio's minions."
"I'm gonna assume Maia left your mind before you could say anything else?" asked Luigi.
"Yes. What else is new, huh?"
"Did she say you should go into the temple?" asked Tippi.
"No, she didn't say that specifically, but it doesn't look like there's anything else here. We might as well go in." Our heroes slowly paced up the short steps that led into the large, empty entrance.
The interior of the temple was a moderately small room that contained a few rock-like enemies our heroes had never seen before, in addition to some standard Clefts. There were also two raised platforms. Blocking access to the left one was a gray stone block, and on the platform behind it was a block of the same type, but yellow. The right platform was identical, but the blocks were switched color-wise. There was a door at the far end of the room.
"I can break these blocks with the Hammer." After our heroes made quick work of the enemies, Mario destroyed the yellow block on the right platform. He couldn't break the gray one, however. "I can't do anything to these gray blocks."
"You can't?" asked Luigi. "What do we do here, then? Maybe we should check out the other room."
"Sounds good enough." Mario led the others into the other room. It was exactly the same as the room they'd come from, but the colors of the blocks were swapped; the left platform had a gray block and a yellow one below it, and the right had a yellow block on top but nothing below that. "I can break this yellow block, I guess." Mario jumped to the nearest platform and slammed his hammer into the block, revealing a switch. He hit the switch, and it glowed for a few seconds, but otherwise did nothing.
"Oh, I think I know what we have to do here!" Mario moved to the left platform, broke the yellow block, and retreated to the other room. The yellow block on the left platform was the only one standing. "If I remove a yellow block in one room, it also removes the corresponding stone block in the other room. I came across a puzzle like this before." Mario broke the yellow block, revealing a switch. There were now presumably four switches open in the two rooms.
"I guess we have to hit all four switches at the same time?" guessed Tippi.
"It must be so, but...only three of us can hit the switch. How do we do it?"
"I can hit the switch," corrected Tippi. She returned to her human form Timpani.
"Oh, that's right. OK, Luigi, stand on that platform." Mario pointed to the right platform in this room, and Luigi jumped onto it while Peach and Timpani moved to stand by the two switches in the other room. "Ready?" asked Mario, shouting so the other two could hear him. "Hit it!" Our heroes all jumped simultaneously onto the switches. The wall dividing the two rooms crumbled and disappeared. All that remained was a small, irregularly shaped piece of rock.
"What's that?" Timpani changed back into Tippi and floated toward the stone.
Luigi observed it carefully. "Oh! I think we have to take that outside. I remember seeing an indent in one of those pillars kind of shaped like that." He grabbed the stone piece. "More of this."
Our heroes exited the temple. Luigi put the stone piece in the indent of the pillar directly to the right of the entrance. As our heroes somehow expected, the entire temple began shaking. A pillar slowly rose from the sand a few feet away from the temple. Resting atop this pillar was a small yellow glass sphere.
"That's the orb!" Tippi exclaimed.
"No duh it is, Captain Obvious!"
"What?!"
Someone suddenly leaped from behind the temple and landed in front of our heroes. This creature looked very similar to the inhabitants of the third dimension they had visited in the second part of their adventure, as well as Larneg and Tavirp from the fifth. Its body was a dark shade of red, its hat was black, and it carried a remote wristgear. "Boy, was she mistaken when she thought she could just lead you dim-wits straight to the orbs. She must've known we'd come after you guys. We're going to make sure you don't get the orbs, no sir, no way, no how."
"What?!" repeated Tippi. "Who are you?"
"You can call me Reidlos X. I've been a leader in the army for practically my whole life, and I know how to get rid of bumbling idiots like yourselves. Say hello to my little friend!" Reidlos X pressed a button on his wristgear, and after a short earthquake, a giant, metallic-white airship emerged from the ground. "I'll just be taking this, thank you." The enemy grabbed the yellow orb and made off for the airship.
"Get back here!" Peach jumped into action and gave chase, the others following close behind. Reidlos X jumped through a small door, our heroes jumping in as well.
"You really are heroes, aren't you? Well, then. If you can make it to the bridge of this airship, I'll give you a taste of my latest weapon. Or should I say, our latest weapon. Betcha can't make it!" He warped away by pressing another wristgear button.
"Who is that guy?" inquired Luigi.
"We don't have time to find out," announced Mario. "We have to get to the bridge as soon as possible. Whatever this guy is planning, we have to stop it."
And be careful, Mario. Reidlos X has much more advanced technology than the X Faction.
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
EDIT: Whoa, exactly 2,222 views. O_o
Reidlos X's appearance was sudden, and his presence only added more questions to the already-existing questions our heroes thought about. But Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Tippi had an orb to reclaim, and they weren't about to let an evil maniac trap them in the deepest recesses of their own thoughts. Congratulations, Mario. You're focused on your task and you're not letting your thoughts trouble you. But you might want to cut the mental narration a bit. Overdo it and you could miss your chance.
"Let's hurry up, guys. Maia just told me to cut the mental narration a bit because it could slow us down."
"You have mental narrations?" remarked Luigi.
"No. Now let's get to the bridge."
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The airship's interior was steel-plated, just like the exterior, and seemed to boast a complete lack of any decoration whatsoever. The only interruptions to the constant steel designs were small round lights placed along the walls about halfway between the floor and the ceiling. Mario quickly walked to the nearby door, featureless except for the small handle, and thrust it open. Our heroes walked into the next room, which was a long hallway teeming with enemies. There was something else at the far end of the room, but our heroes couldn't tell what it was.
"Don't they know enough by now not to throw a bunch of generic enemies at us?" mused Peach. "We've been stomping on enemies and getting past obstacles since...Lineland Road."
When our heroes finished the enemy cycle, however, they discovered something was indeed different. A large pool of sick green, corrosive acid covered the floor before them, all the way up to the next door. There was no apparent way to cross it. "Tippi, is there something here that's invisible?" asked Mario.
Tippi felt for anything in the surrounding area, but her senses couldn't detect anything around the acid pool. "No, there's nothing there..." She moved toward the wall on the right. "But something about this wall seems weak. I might sound crazy, but maybe you could break this wall and use a piece of metal as a raft..."
Mario examined the wall, running his fingers across the plateless metal. He slowly extended a large chunk of metal from the wall, almost perfectly cube-shaped. "This is strange. Why is the wall weakened at the exact point we...might need it to cross acid?"
"Why were Ultra Shrooms conveniently placed in Castle Dimentio whenever we needed them?" asked Tippi. "It's probably the same mystery..." A sudden thought hit Tippi. "Wait. Do you think it's possible someone is doing this, like sort of...helping us?"
"But who could do that?" wondered Luigi.
"Maia?" asked Mario.
"That's exactly what I was thinking," agreed Tippi. "If Maia is helping us by telling us what to do, is it also possible she's helping us along our way in ways we don't even know?"
"It's certainly possible," continued Peach. "She added pages to the Light Prognosticus, why couldn't she section off part of the wall for us to use?"
"Well, regardless," began Mario, "we've got to start crossing this acid pool." He gently lowered the metal cube into the liquid acid and climbed on top of it. Balancing things across a dangerous liquid was something Mario didn't exactly do every day, but he had enough experience to slowly begin making his way across the field of acid. Once he reached the other side, he jumped away from the cube and pushed it across the pool. Luigi was standing at the end of the cube's path. Mario's push didn't go quite all the way, so Luigi carefully leaped over the corrosive liquid and onto the metal scrap. He steered himself across the acid in the same way Mario did and returned the cube for Peach to use. It was slightly more difficult for Peach, but she made it far enough to open her parasol and float the rest of the way. Tippi simply hovered across.
There was another door beyond the pool. Our heroes opened it and stepped onto an outside balcony. The airship was in full motion now, creating a powerful wind that stung our heroes' faces. "We're sure lucky we have hand railings to support us," stated Luigi, establishing a firm grip on the handrail.
Our heroes used the handrail to slowly push themselves forward. The wind was so strong that our heroes' eyes were beginning to water, but they had no choice but to proceed until they came upon another door. "We've got to be careful here," announced Mario. While still maintaining his grip on the rail, Mario extended his left arm and opened the door by its handle. The door was swung open by the wind and slammed against the nearby wall, even though it opened into the interior of the ship. Our heroes cautiously entered the airship's inside and slammed the door shut.
After another short hallway, our heroes entered what seemed to be a tall cylinder-shaped chamber. Thin platforms were arranged around the perimeter of the cylinder, and spikes were present as well. "It looks like we have to climb this chamber," noted Mario. Climbing the cylinder was a difficult task because of the numerous moving platforms and spikes that extended and retracted into the floor, walls, and ceiling. Our heroes needed to precisely jump onto a tiny moving block and let it carry them to the next platform. At one point, large spikes were positioned directly above their heads, requiring them to simply run onto a moving platform when it touched the region of land they were on. The top of this chamber sported a door that lead to another outside area on the top of the airship. The wind wasn't quite as strong here, due to an uprise in the airship's metal structure, but it was still enough to push our heroes back as they attempted to move in the other direction.
"Looks like cannonballs and more cannonballs," observed Luigi. The area in front of them was littered with cannons and blasters that continually fired cannonballs and Bullet Bills.
"No problem," assured Mario. "I've been through these airships before." He didn't get very far before being hit by a sudden cannonball attack. "Aaagh!" He was knocked back to where the others were standing and hit the wall behind them. He groaned, then slowly stood up. "They've got more of these than I've ever seen before, all right. We need to plan our moves carefully." He waited for an opportune time to jump between the weapon volleys, and then squeezed himself between a four-way cannon and a Bill Blaster. The others followed him, with some difficulty.
"Oh, gosh!" A Bullet Bill hit Luigi squarely, exploding and sending the man in green flying in the direction of the wind. In his panic, he thrust his foot upwards. It caught on one of the cannons, and Luigi dropped to the ground from there.
"Are you hurt, Luigi?" Mario called.
"Uh...I think, sort of." Luigi made his way back to where Mario, Peach, and Tippi were waiting. "Do we...we still have an Ultra Shroom Shake or two, don't we?"
"Yes, but I picked up a regular Shroom Shake along the way, so that'll be more appropriate." Mario gave Luigi the item to restore his brother to full health.
"They're sure throwing it at us this time," remarked Peach as the heroes continued their struggle. "You know, we've survived everything those guys have thrown at us so far. We're great at getting through enemies and obstacles." Peach paused for a moment, apparently gathering her thoughts. "I wonder...do you...do you guys think they're going to wise up to us sometime soon? I have a feeling...they're going to try something different after this."
"Something different?" asked Tippi. "I would think so, too, since obstacles tend to not work, and all of their other plans failed..."
"I just get the feeling they're going to wise up and throw something else at us. Enemies and obstacles get old after a few rounds."
They just might. Be careful once you step into the yellow door.
"Maia thinks so, too."
Our heroes could see the bridge just ahead of them. Reidlos X was waiting patiently for them to arrive, a smirk gracing his round face. To the left of the villain were several small planes in a line, and behind and to the right of him was what looked like a strange metal contraption. It was reddish-brown in color. "You took your sweet time, huh?"
"Actually," began Luigi, "that seemed kind of fast to me."
"I just like to say that when people arrive. It's fun to say and clearly establishes the fact that I've been waiting for them."
"Who in the world are you?!" demanded Tippi. "And give us that orb while you're at it!"
"Oh, you want this orb, do you now?" Reidlos X taunted. He extended his arm toward the heroes, waving the yellow glass sphere back and forth as if to hypnotize them. "Well, we'll see about that, heroes. My new, over-cliched vehicle of death will ensure the deaths of you all!" He jumped, flipping backwards and landing on the metal device. "This is the Headquarter Sandwich II. After you guys destroyed the first one, I did some research and found out how Radnamok X created it. I set out to replicate his achievement, a death machine with weapons that could blast any hero to ashes. But I didn't stop there. Oh no. I improved upon his design. I added all kinds of lasers and cool power-ups to it. And, I added something that'll guarantee you won't be able to defeat it."
"Headquarter Sandwich II!?" exclaimed Tippi. "You're acquainted with that insane maniac Radnamok X, aren't you? Were you part of the X Faction?"
"Technically, I suppose you could say I am part of the X Faction, but that depends upon what you consider the X Faction to be. If you consider it to be those melodramatic soldiers that were hypnotized by Dimentio to follow Radnamok X, than I'm not part of the X Faction. There's a lot more to that war between the Bluecaps and the X Faction than you saw when you were there, heroes."
"What...? What are you talking about?"
"Nothing of your concern. Nothing that your tiny minds can understand, anyway. And I'm sure your minds will be even smaller once I bash your skulls in with my uber-awesome weapons. Check this out!" Reidlos X pulled a lever in the machine's cockpit. It began a transformation similar to the activation sequence of the original Headquarter Sandwich, except for the two giant wings that extended from the sides. It resembled an extremely compact airplane with oversized wings. "I'll fly through the air, dropping bombs and stuff on you heroes, and you won't be able to hit me! Mweheheheh!!!"
"Umm...what about those planes?" Mario pointed to the line of slivery airplanes stored on the bridge.
Reidlos X looked both dumbstruck and horrified. "What?! How'd those planes get there? I thought they were down in the hold!"
Our heroes looked at Mario. Yes, that's right, Mario.
"Maia."
"Maia? Who the heck is Maia?" demanded Reidlos X.
Mario hadn't intended for Reidlos X to hear that. "No one. Come on, guys, we've got to get in these planes. We just might be able to attack him." Our heroes scrambled for the planes while Reidlos X contemplated. "Hmm. Is Maia that girl Amtakan keeps talking about? What does that have to do with these planes, though?"
"Amtakan? Now you're acquanted with him too?" accused Luigi. Reidlos X didn't seem like he knew that Maia was helping the heroes, but there was no telling what Amtakan knew, if that was indeed Amtakan our heroes had released in the underground palace of ice.
"Maybe I am. You guys don't know enough about Amtakan to make any connections, anyhow, so I'll just blow up your planes and call it a day." He warmed up the Headquarter Sandwich II, and the weapon began rising into the air, creating a large cloud of smoke.
"You ready, guys?" Mario turned to face the others in their cockpits. The planes' cockpits were open air with a frontal glass screen, allowing our heroes to communicate.
"We're ready!" Our heroes began warming up their planes.
"No you aren't!" interjected Reidlos X. The Sandwich and our heroes' small airplanes lifted into the air, ready for takeoff in a few seconds. "If you were ready, you'd actually have a chance of defeating me and my wonder machine, which you don't."
What a jerk. Tell him I said that, OK?
"Reidlos X, Maia says you're a jerk."
BOSS
Reidlos X and the Headquarter Sandwich II
The Headquarter Sandwich II took off, flying off the airship away from our heroes. The three heroes promptly gave chase, pursuing the flying vehicle through the dense mist that covered the area. At this distance, the Sandwich was partially hidden by the thick golden clouds, although it was still clearly visible as a dark red machine in the sky. "Take this, heroes!" Reidlos X catapulted a series of large explosive bombs at our heroes.
"You guys know how to-"
"Waaawwaaawaahhhh!!" Luigi's plane began spinning out of control after being hit by one of the explosives. "How do I steer this thing?"
"Up is down and down is up!" Mario hurriedly instructed.
"Oh, right." Luigi carefully righted his plane. "Take this, jerk!" He tested the plane's weapons, firing a small laser toward the Headquarter Sandwich II.
"Heh heh! Do you think that little laser is going to damage my awesome Sandwich?" Reidlos X extended two gigantic spiked maces on chains from the machine's main body. They were similar to the ones Radnamok X had used, but they were clearly much larger. "Say goodbye, losers!" He swung the weapons in opposite directions, forming arcs that converged directly where our heroes were positioned.
"Move down, everyone!" Mario swerved downward while the others followed. The spike balls crashed into each other with a loud bang.
"You really are dodge masters. Well, let's see how you stand up to this!" The enemy withdrew the two spike balls and repeatedly fired small missiles that homed in on the airplanes. "Heh! You're dead now!"
"Those things are going pretty fast!" remarked Mario. "Follow me. I think I've got a plan." Mario waited until one of the missiles had drawn close to him, then piloted his airplane closer to the Headquarter Sandwich. The missile followed his path, eventually being drawn toward the Sandwich and straight into the machine itself. It exploded, taking out part of the machinery.
"Agh! You destroyed my bomb triggers! Idiots! Ah well, though. Those aren't my only weapons! Get a load of this!" The various cannons and devices along the sides of the Sandwich all activated, positioning themselves in outward firing positions. Our heroes cautiously moved away from the weapon, anticipating a long-range weapon. Suddenly, compact lasers began firing in all directions away from the machine. One of them hit Peach's vehicle. "My plane's damaged!"
"Go for the corners!" advised Luigi. "I think that's a safe place. He can't fire diagonally because there's no laser cannons on the corners of the Sandwich."
Our heroes aimed their planes for the safe corners where Reidlos X's lasers couldn't hit them. While their planes were aimed at the Headquarter Sandwich II, though, they could do all the damaging they liked. Mario fired a volley of bombs at Reidlos X's machine while Peach and Luigi opted for lasers.
"Aiiaahh!" Reidlos X began fiddling with the controls of the Sandwich II. "You jerks! It's just a dogpile on the Headquarter Sandwich, isn't it? I'll show you all!"
Ugh! Now he's calling you guys jerks! I just can't stand it when people act like it's the exact opposite of the truth.
"That's true, Maia."
"What, is Maia your imaginary friend?" asked Reidlos X. "Or is there something here I'm not seeing?"
"Why should I tell you? Well, I'd say the second option, but still..."
"Incoming!" Luigi angled his plane downwards toward Mario and the Headquarter Sandwich II. Coming back up, he directed his plane in a circle around the weapon, firing all the weapons he could.
"Take this!" Without warning, Reidlos X extended a bright green force field-like object from the Sandwich. It didn't last for long, but it sent Luigi's weapons back at him and hit Mario's plane as well, knocking it back.
"Noo! My plane!" Luigi's plane was smoking.
"I think it's still got some time," reported Mario. "Just stay out of the action for a while."
"We've got to work together," Peach told Mario. "Let's attack from two different directions."
"Sounds good to me." Mario moved his plane behind the flying weapon while Peach steered in front.
"You'll never stand up to these missiles!" The Headquarter Sandwich II was heavily damaged, but most of the machine's weapons looked to still be intact. Reidlos X unleashed a volley of huge metallic missiles. These ones didn't aim for our heroes like the smaller ones did, but they were much larger and more difficult to avoid.
"Go for the middle!" Mario had to shout over Reidlos X for Peach to hear him; he planned for him and Peach to attack the center of the Sandwich's faceplates where weapons cannons were absent. Reidlos X turned to look at Peach as she and Mario dealt some damage. He fired a rear missile, hitting her plane, then turned his attention back to Mario.
"Peach! Are you OK?"
"I don't know!" Peach's airplane was even more damaged than Luigi's. It was anyone's guess as to how much longer the two planes could keep in the air. Mario's plane was damaged as well, but the Sandwich II was just short of being damaged beyond use. If Mario could get a few good shots in, the Headquarter Sandwich would be gone for good.
"That's two of you down. Now I just go for the leader!" The enemy activated two giant lasers that aimed for Mario's plane, similar to the dual lasers the original Headquarter Sandwich had featured. Mario knew what he had to do. He angled his plane sideways, slipping neatly through the two beams, and fired a missile at the vehicle. The Sandwich was sparking like mad.
Mario thought to himself, Just one more hit should do it! The hero pulled away from the machine as it fired more giant missiles. Mario didn't have time to pull away before he was hit twice.
"Your plane's going down too!" announced Reidlos X. "I'll destroy you now and keep this orb to myself!" He extended the two giant maces again.
OK...OK...I know what to do. I know what to do. Mario watched as the spike balls slowly branched off to the side of the Headquarter Sandwich II. Here it comes! Just as the maces began to close in on his plane, Mario fired the largest missile his plane had and jumped straight out of the airplane's cockpit. The maces slammed together, destroying his plane. At the same time, Mario's missile struck the Headquarter Sandwich, putting it out for good. Mario watched as the machine began to flame and spark as it broke apart. Pieces of the machine blew off as Mario braced for the explosion. It came, a defeaning blast that created a midair fireball and blasted the Headquarter Sandwich II and, presumably, Reidlos X to pieces. Mario hit the sandy ground a few seconds after that. His legs buckled with slight pain, but he was used to these landings by now. As Luigi and Peach descended toward Mario in their planes, the yellow orb fell out of the sky and landed next to Mario.
"That was...fun," breathed Luigi.
Mario gently picked up the yellow orb. It was very similar to the red one our heroes had found in the previous dimension, and the same strange light and energy seemed to radiate from it. "That's the next orb, all right," confirmed Tippi.
"So we have two of them now," recalled Peach. "That's good. We only have three left to find."
"And then what?" asked Luigi.
"Well..." Mario drifted off. "...I guess we don't know. Only Maia does."
That's right, Mario.
"Pardon me for a second." You seem more chatty than usual, Maia. What's happening?
I don't really know. I just got really mad at that guy. I guess it made me want to say something.
Can you tell me anything else, Maia?
There was a slight pause. No. Not now. I don't have enough time and it might just distract you from your task. But I want to say that I like that you call me Maia, instead of just something like 'the voice in my head'. I like how you consider me an individual, rather than something empty like a disembodied voice. You're very friendly. It's no wonder you're a great hero in pretty much every aspect.
Well, thanks, Maia. I've always considered you an individual.
You're welcome. I have to leave your mind now. Congratulations on getting the second orb.
Mario continued to feel Maia's presence for a few more seconds, and then all of his senses returned to normal. He nodded. "Orb number two, guys. Let's get back to Flipside and get ready for Maia to show us orb number three."
ORB GET!
-END OF CHAPTER-
Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Tippi ventured through the second dimension of their new adventure and claimed the second mysterious orb. Their path wasn't an easy one-H-X Alpha, B-A Omega, and Reidlos X all attempted to stop our heroes, but they prevailed in the end, with the help of each other and the rather talkative Maia. What was happening in this mysterious visitor's thoughts? Mario had no way of telling, but it was certain that Mario and Maia were drawing somehow closer together. What about the equally mysterious Reidlox X, however? It seems he came from the X Faction, but is that the whole story? No doubt, the full tale of the war-plagued dimension our heroes visited has yet to be told. What other secrets does our heroes' quest entail? And on the subject of thoughts, just what is going through Dimentio's head right now...?
"Headquarter Sandwich II, YEAH! I LOVE that baby! It's got the latest in robotics and-"
"Uh, news flash...the heroes beat it."
"WHAT!?"
"Oh gosh..."
"NOOOO!!! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING A-..." Alpha continued looking as if he was about to say something, but his voice output bluntly fell silent.
"Wha? Gee, thanks, Master Dimentio. Did you do that?"
"Yes, indeed, Omega. That robot's gotten a little too loud for his size, so I've implemented a simple system that'll shut him up whenever we need." Dimentio snapped his fingers. "Are you done shouting now, Alpha?"
"No." Alpha didn't continue shouting, however.
"Good. Now, minions, as Omega has so beautifully described, the Headquarter Sandwich II was defeated by the heroes."
"How is that even possible?" Morris was angry. "Amtakan himself helped design it! How could it have lost?"
"I believe the answer is the same as the reason the heroes were able to find that dimension in the first place. Think about it, minions."
Bowser thought this over. "Oh. Oh! I get it now. She's communicating with him mentally, just as we thought."
"That's how he was able to dodge my soundless shuriken," reminded B-A Omega.
"That is correct, minions. Our worst fear has come true."
"What are we supposed to do now?" asked Omega. "She's guiding them at every step. There's almost no way they can fail."
"Almost being the key word, Omega. There's no way we can defeat them by simply throwing obstacles and weapons at them. We've been trying that ever since that giant mechanical horse. They busted it quite easily, and it was downhill from there."
"So what do you propose we do?" asked Bowser.
"There's a number of possible strategies we could take, but there's one in particular I think we should try first. We won't try to kill the heroes with enemies and traps. We'll catch them in a situation not even she can help them escape from. And there's one very suitable place we could attempt this plan in."
Morris's eyes widened. "Are you talking about the place I think you're talking about? Yeah! Could you send me, please? The popcorn..." The minion's mouth began watering at the thought.
"Yes. Sereniburg houses one of the remaining three orbs, and forming a plan there involving you will be a child's task. So easy to conceive, and yet..." Dimentio's eyes narrowed, making the jester somehow seem to take on a darker personality. "...so difficult to escape."
"Let's go right away, Dimentio. I can have some of the popcorn while we're setting up the plan, right?"
"If you wish, Morris. Come, now. Other minions, continue your training. From this point forward, there's no such thing as overpreparation." Dimentio and Morris disappeared to Sereniburg, leaving the other three minions in the meeting room.
"I guess I'd better get going. Hey, Omega, did you finish that amplifying wristgear yet?" Bowser looked at the larger robot.
"I still need to put some finishing touches on it, Bowser. It's just about finished, though. I'm sure it'll add amazing amounts of power to your already-powerful abilities."
"Sounds awesome. Well, I guess I'd better get back to training. See ya." Bowser flipped out.
"We'd better get going too." The two robots flipped out with a sparkling electricity show, leaving the meeting room empty and silent.
"The book states that the marriage of a fair princess and a monster king will call the Chaos Heart back into existence."
"This is exactly as I feared! It was difficult enough to destroy it the first time. Now we have to deal with it all over again!"
"You are such a worrywart! It wasn't that hard to do it last time. And now that we hid the orbs, we can use them anytime we want. Amtakan isn't going to reactivate the Chaos Heart before he gets his hands on those orbs. He wants the orbs destroyed first."
"But Amtakan is searching for those orbs, you know. He might find them. Wouldn't it be a good measure to prepare? Just in case the Chaos Heart is somehow unleashed? And with the Dark Prognosticus..."
"Hmm. You know what? I just thought of something. Come here. We're going to reactivate the Chaos Heart ourselves...and then destroy it."
Our three heroes, plus Tippi, emerged from the orange door atop Flipside Tower. Taking the elevator down, they again found Merlon waiting for them. "You've found the next orb, heroes?"
Mario displayed the yellow orb. "Yes." He related what had happened in the dimension beyond the orange dimensional door.
"Interesting." Merlon thought. "I'm used to reading you a passage from the Light Prognosticus, but I guess Maia has taken that role now. I'm going to presume that we just need to repeat the task we did before, only with the yellow door?"
Yes.
"Yes. That's what Maia just told me."
"Oh ho, Mario, did Maia truly just enter your mind? It seems you've become very used to that happening. The first time it happened right here, you were almost buckling over."
"I was? I suppose..." Mario could clearly tell that Maia had left him, but the physical sensation had degraded. Earlier, he had felt as if he'd been consumed by a dizzying sickness that had suddenly cleared up, but now it just felt as if his mind was doing a little unclouding.
"Yeah, I guess I'm getting used to it. She's been doing it more lately."
"So," continued Merlon, "I suppose we might as well-" He was interrupted by a sudden earthquake.
"Here we go again," regretted Tippi. The Void had grown again.
"It's a lot bigger than it was when we were at this point in our first adventure," noted Peach. "I hope we'll have enough time to collect the orbs before...well...the end. The Void."
"We only have three more to find," reminded Tippi. "That's half as many as we had to get when we were at this point last. We'll be able to get them."
"Yes...I suppose you're right, Tippi."
After another rest at the inn, our heroes and Merlon climbed Flipside Tower. The yellow door had appeared, ready for Merlon to modify it. "Well, good luck, heroes," he wished when he was finished. "I can't tell what Dimentio will try to do in this dimension, but I think you'll all be okay."
"OK, Merlon," agreed Tippi. "Come on, heroes. Let's find another orb." Our heroes stepped through the yellow door into the dimension where the third orb resided.
-
Yesterday, July 30 2008, marks the one-year anniversary of when I started this story! It's hard to believe I've been going for over a year. I've written so much. :P
The Void was growing, and it was growing quickly. Our heroes needed to find the three remaining orbs, and do it fast, or else all worlds were doomed once more. They didn't know exactly what finding the orbs would do, but Maia seemed to know what she was doing, and the fact that she could help the heroes at all definitely meant something. As our heroes stepped into the yellow dimensional door, they remained confident about their success, the way Maia had intstructed them. None of them could have guessed what Dimentio had planned in this dimension, though. Indeed, it seemed Dimentio was going to try his hand at something new...
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A line was drawn.
Joining this line were several others, coming in pairs of two to form the bases of pine trees. The jagged green areas of the pine trees were then drawn and colored with green. The ground was filled with a gentle waving sandy tone, and the sky was splashed with the clearest ocean blue our heroes had ever seen. Some small rocks, grass, and assorted weeds were sprinkled around for direction. The yellow door was drawn into existence, and our heroes stepped out into the relaxing, natural beachside atmosphere.
"A forest right next to a beach," noted Luigi. "You know, I think they're running out of different dimension themes to send us to."
"Not so fast," cautioned Tippi. "The orb isn't near here, I can tell you that. Look in the distance."
Luigi focused his eyes on the rectangular shapes that graced the horizon. A mass of towering skyscrapers, office buildings, and apartment buildings was dimly visible along the shoreline. "Looks like a big city. You think the Pure H...orb is hidden there?"
"It seems about the right distance. I guess we'd better get going."
The Void wasn't visible in this dimension, giving our heroes the feeling of the second part of their adventure. There were a few enemies in this area, but on the whole it didn't present much of a challenge to Mario and his friends. A breather was, in fact, just what the heroes needed, after their action and obstacle-packed adventure through the orange door. The feeling of the sand beneath their feet and the forest to their left reminded them of previous dimensions they'd traveled through, as well. Our heroes took their time walking as the city drew closer, knowing that they needed to complete their task as soon as possible, yet wanting to just take a breath and relax before they tackled their next search.
As our heroes approached the city, the blaring sound of police sirens grew in intensity. As they entered the city limits, a multitude of city police cars became visible to their left, bearing a logo that read "Sereniburg Police". The vehicles were parked at a large brick building. "What's going on?" inquired Peach.
"The orb's in that direction," announced Tippi. "Maybe we should check things out."
As our heroes briskly paced toward the police cars, they noticed that relatively few people were out walking in the street, and those that were had somewhat worried expressions. "Uh oh," uttered Mario. "I think something's amiss here. And we know what it means when something's amiss."
"Dimentio," agreed Tippi.
"Hey, check this out," pointed Luigi, looking at a newspaper. The front-page headline read "MAYOR MURDERED!"
"Oh, gee," breathed Peach, her voice carrying a slightly duller tone than usual. "The Mayor of this city's been murdered? I don't like the sound of this. Whatever Dimentio had in mind, it can't be good."
"He's an evil villain," argued Luigi. "Of course it can't be good."
"I mean...it can't be any better for us than his previous schemes."
When our heroes approached the police vehicles, they found the cars to be empty. A single police guard was standing at the large oak door. "We should find out exactly what's going on," suggested Tippi. "If Dimentio truly is behind this, it might lead us to the orb..."
"Sounds good." Mario walked up to the officer, leading the others. "Excuse us, could you tell us what's happening here? We just entered the city and we're looking for...someone." Mario figured it was safer to say they were looking for "someone"; saying they were looking for "something" sounded somehow more suspicious.
"Well, earlier today Mayor Sereniburg was murdered right here. Only a few people were in the town hall in the early morning hours, so we only have a few suspects, but the building's been closed up. However, just now, someone walked into the building, so we've got everyone here."
Mario thought this over, looking for a place to put Dimentio into the scenario. "So the town's named after the mayor? Is he the founder?"
"Yes. He founded this town just a few years ago, and it's grown very fast. He wanted to build a city called Sereniburg that lived up to its name. A serene place by the ocean that people could live in and vacation in. It did until now."
"I see." Maybe that guy who walked in is one of the minions... "Did anyone see what the guy who went in the building looked like? If we see him, we can report."
"That won't be nessecary. We couldn't make out any real description."
"Oh. I see. Well, that's all I wanted to know." Mario turned to face the others. "Come on."
"Maybe the guy who went in there just now is one of Dimentio's minions," offered Luigi.
"That's what I was thinking, too. But they don't have any physical description, so..." Mario thought of something. "Maia? Do you know what's going on here?"
I'm afraid not. It's costing me enough energy to see what you're doing at all times, so I can't really look anywhere else.
I see. Well, can you tell us where the orb is?
It's underground. Tippi can help you find the location.
OK. Maia left his mind shortly after that. If communicating with him cost Maia energy, he guessed she was making rather blunt statements to comphensate for talking to him so much in the previous dimension. "Maia said that the orb's underground."
"It's in this direction..." Tippi led the heroes slightly back in the direction they had came and down a side street. After moving forward somewhat, she moved back. "I felt it most strongly...here..." She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, next to the side wall of a large casino. "I guess it's under here."
"How do we get to it if it's under here?" posed Luigi.
"Well...Maia?" questioned Mario, somewhat uncertain. Before Maia answered, though, Mario's eyes drifted to something else cornered in a small space between the casino and the next building to the left. A brown-haired human girl wearing purple clothing was sitting in the tight alleyway, her face buried in her lap. She looked about the height of a teenager, and appeared to be crying.
"Who's that girl?" asked Peach. "Do you think we should ask her what's wrong?"
"I guess it wouldn't hurt," stated Luigi. Before anyone else could say anything, Luigi walked up to the crying girl. "Excuse me? Is something wrong, miss?"
Luigi sure can be formal when he wants to, thought Mario.
The girl raised her head to look at Luigi. Our heroes all gasped once they saw her face, but Luigi was the only one who made it slightly visible. The girl's eyes narrowed somewhat. "What?"
Mario joined Luigi at the entrance to the alley. "You...your name's Paletta, isn't it?"
Now her eyes widened. "What? How do you know?" Her voice was weaker than she had sounded in the cave of the sixth Pure Heart, probably because she'd been crying, and carried a tone of curiosity.
Mario looked at Luigi. He was about to speak before Luigi said, "Well, if you can believe that you were used as a disguise for a shape-shifter that was trying to stop us from finding an ancient power source...then that's how we knew."
"A...shape-shifter?" Paletta looked down at the ground, then raised her head again. "Who are all of you?" She slowly stood up, bringing her blue eyes to level with Mario's of almost-identical color.
"It's a long story," explained Tippi. "Basically, we're heroes from another dimension. We were prophesized to collect the eight Pure Hearts to save the world from destruction. Now we're looking for some sort of magic orb that's supposed to be in this dimension. I'm Tippi, and that's Mario, Luigi, and Peach."
Paletta observed all of our heroes. Mario couldn't tell if she was suspicious or just curious.
Wow, thought Luigi, she's a lot prettier in person. That longer hair really does wonders.
"You believe us, don't you?" asked Tippi.
"Well, you knew my name and everything, so I guess that's enough reason to believe you guys. I'm Paletta Vibe. Can you tell me more of your story? We can rest in my apartment. There should be enough room now that...my brother's gone."
"Oh, you really do have a brother?" realized Peach. "That shape-shifter we mentioned made you look like a crazy maid who said she had a brother. He told us in another disguise you didn't really have one."
Paletta began walking down this street, with our heroes following. "He did?"
"Yes, but...what happened to your brother? Do you mind telling us?"
"He works in the town hall. He was there this morning when the mayor was killed...and...they took him to the police station with the other suspects..." Her voice seemed to trail off.
"Oh, is that why you were crying? I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do to help."
"That's too bad, but..." Tippi began. "...I was thinking about something else. The fact that Morris used Paletta as a disguise means that he's seen her before and knows her name. That's the only way Mimi and him can transform into someone."
"That means he's been to this city," followed Mario. "And that means that he and Dimentio have probably known where these orbs are for quite a while."
"Morris?" exclaimed Paletta. "I met a guy with that name before. His body was sort of polygonal and he was sort of negative-colored. Like a black body with white outlines and some weird blue patches."
"Yes, that's him!" confirmed Tippi. "He must have been to this city before. Dimentio must have found him while looking in this dimension because it contained an orb. I wonder how long they've known it was here."
"Probably since the days of the Tribe of Darkness," answered Mario. "It seems likely, if those orbs have been around for that long."
They have, Mario.
"Yes, they have, according to Maia."
"Maia? What..." Paletta turned to Mario, laughing a little. "You should explain your story a bit more. I don't know anything about what you're talking about."
"Well, I guess we can start at the beginning," began Mario. "We're-"
"Hey, you!" Our heroes and Paletta turned around to see three policemen running toward them. "You're under arrest! Guy in the red shirt and the ridiculous blue overalls!"
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
Here's Chapter 3-2. As I said on my website, just to give you a fair warning, General Stuff said this was his least favorite chapter yet, because it's essentially one giant block of character development. I say, so what? Chapter 6-2 in SPM2 was also a giant block of character development, and he liked that one. But yet he says 6-2 had more of a plot twist, and of course, it was longer. So whatever. If you like character development, you'll like this chapter. If not...just wait for 3-3.
Mario? Under arrest? But why? What had he done? Did they think he'd murdered the mayor? But why would they have reason to think that? "Wait just a second!" began Luigi. "Why is he being arrested? He didn't do anything!" It was too late, though. The hero had already been handcuffed, and he was on his way to the Sereniburg jail.
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What? Why? What? Mario had been sitting in this tiny, windowless room for a few hours, and yet he was still repeating the same questions to himself. Why? What? Why? He just couldn't comprehend it. He'd been thrown in jail before for something that wasn't his fault, but at least then he'd had a vague idea of why he'd been arrested. Now he had just been tossed into a small room without any notice of why it was happening. He couldn't think.
Sheesh! How long are you going to repeat the same two one-word questions to yourself? For gosh sakes, Mario, you need to stop letting your thoughts take control of you.
...What? For a second Mario didn't know where those words had come from. Then he remembered. Maia? You've been in my mind this whole time?
Only a few seconds, but that was long enough. Listen. You're a great hero, Mario. I know that. Everyone knows that. But you can't let your stress take ahold of you. I know you aren't used to being on a time limit, having to deal with the...recent deaths of some of your companions, and everything, but you can't just give up like this. You have to convince your mind to move on.
Maia, you're...you're...
Am I mad at you? No, I'm not angry, Mario. I just want you to be in good mental condition for what you'll have to face in the future. Remember the "debate" you had about being able to discuss the mysteries and things you didn't know? Mario could somehow sense Maia putting quotes around "debate".
Yes.
You're being way too uptight and specific about these things. When things don't work out exactly as you expect them to, don't go into a mental trauma over it. Relax. Focus on IT, instead of what you feel.
Mario's thoughts were silent for a while. OK, Maia. I'll try to be more...mentally relaxed.
That's good. It'll help.
Now it was Maia's turn to be silent. Mario still felt her presence in his mind, however. ...Maia? Just...well...how do you know so much? Who ARE you?
...
It's fine, Maia. You don't have to tell me more.
No, that's OK, Mario. I was just thinking about if I could tell you a few things without distracting you from your task. Well, I was born in the time of the Ancients.
You were? So you're as old as Mimi, Blumiere, Amtakan...all of them?
I was born before Blumiere, actually. A while before.
Before Blumiere? That must have been a really long time ago, Mario thought.
Yes. Um, well, I think I should stop there. Remember when you were in Merlon's house, and Peach reflected on how answers just lead to more questions?
Yeah.
...Yeah. I don't want to create too many questions. Mario could sense Maia sighing. Well, I guess you can't look for that orb if you're stuck in this room. I'll get you out of here.
You can? You can get me out of this jail?
Yes. Hang on a second.
Well...why didn't you offer to do that before?
I didn't know if I could, Mario. I have to conserve my power.
A soft click in the direction of the door echoed across the room. Maia had apparently unlocked the door. Maia talks about power a lot. Is she some kind of magician?
I don't know if "magician" is really the right term, but I can use magic, yes.
Mario had forgotten Maia could still heard him. Oh, uh, I see.
OK, Mario. I'm going to hide you from view until you reach Paletta's apartment. The others are there now.
Mario stepped out into the hallway, undetectable. To the left, Mario. The exit was easy to find from there.
The hero exited the jail and walked back out onto the streets of Sereniburg. Night had almost fallen on the city, illuminating the surroundings with streetlights and neon advertisements. This would be a great vacation place, thought Mario. I never realized I liked seashore cities so much.
Maia directed Mario to Paletta's fifth-story apartment. I spent a long time in your mind, Mario, so I need to leave you for a while. Get a good night's sleep, and tomorrow, do some searching on your own. Behind the town hall would be a good place to start. I'll keep you hidden again, since they'll notice you're gone by then. Make it quick, because I don't have a ton of power to spend.
OK, Maia. See you tomorrow.
Good night, Mario. Maia spoke as if she were simply a friend of Mario's, wishing him a good night's sleep. Something about it was comforting to our hero.
Luigi answered Paletta's door. "Oh...hey! Brother! How'd you get out of jail?"
"Mario?" Peach came running. "Is it...yes! How did you get here, Mario?"
Mario entered the room. "Maia helped me out." Paletta's apartment space was divided into three major sections; a sitting room in the center, a kitchen area to the right, and presumably a bedroom area through the left door. The walls featured a refreshing tint of almost-white blue, and a large portion of the city was visible through the decent-sized window opposite the door. Mario thought Paletta was lucky to live here where she could walk in the city and visit the ocean every day.
"Oh, Mario." Paletta's voice came from the kitchen. "Hang on a second." She poured some sauce onto a pan on the stove and then rushed into the sitting room where our heroes were standing. "I'm making pasta for you all. I was told you and Luigi liked it."
"Peach helped too," continued Luigi. "I was going to, but Paletta said two was enough."
Paletta smiled. "Plus, you need some rest after all that stuff you've been through. Luigi, Peach and Tippi told me everything. You need that orb so you can stop Dimentio, don't you?"
She's cute when she smiles, thought Luigi.
"Exactly. Thanks for making the pasta, Paletta. I really appreciate it."
"You're welcome anytime." Paletta and Peach returned to the stove. "So Maia got you out of jail? How'd she do it?"
Mario explained what he'd been through in his small jail cell, leaving out a few details about his mental stress.
"So, you still don't know why those police guys arrested you," presumed Tippi.
"Nope. Did they think I was the murderer or something?" Mario contemplated this as Paletta and Peach set the steaming bowls of fresh pasta on the table. Once the pasta was in front of him, though, there was no thinking about anything else...except for what Maia had told him. "Oh," he exclaimed after a few minutes, "there's something else Maia told me." He grabbed and swallowed a quick spoonful of the delicious tomato sauce-drenched string pasta. "She said we should investigate behind the town hall where the mayor was murdered."
"That's oddly specific." Paletta set her glass of lemonade down on the wooden table.
"She probably knows something's there," offered Tippi, floating by the table. "She said she couldn't see everything that was happening at once, but if she looked around the town..."
"She might have had a lot of time to look around while I was in jail," offered Mario. "We need to get down to business first thing tomorrow. We can't let The Void get any larger."
"That's true." Paletta got up to refill her drink.
"I'll get it for you, Paletta," Luigi offered, rising from his seat. He tilted his head downward as he began to move the chair.
"That's OK, Luigi. I'll get it." She moved into the kitchen to get the lemonade from the refrigerator.
Luigi sat back down, watching Mario give him a strange look. "What?" Luigi inquired. His brother didn't answer, casually returning to his pasta.
Our heroes spent the rest of the evening conversing. Paletta made some interesting conversation, but when it came to stopping The Void, they figured the earlier the better, so at nine PM they were ready for bed. Peach and Paletta offered to sleep in the sitting room, allowing Mario and Luigi the beds that belonged to Paletta and her brother in the left bedroom. Mario and Luigi had been lying still for a few minutes when Luigi suddenly spoke, "My brother has a voice in his head."
Mario sat up in the darkness, facing toward Luigi's bed on the other side of the room. "What? Well, yes, of course I do. And her name's Maia."
"Remember when Count Bleck married Peach and Bowser?" Of course Mario did, but although it had been about two weeks since that event, it felt like even longer of an eternity than when Mario had contemplated it in the ancient temple where our heroes had found the first orb. "You never would've seen this coming when that happened, would you?"
"Nope." Mario paused. "Never would've seen it. I was thinking it would be all over once we'd gotten the Pure Hearts. And now Dimentio comes back and scatters them, we collect them again, we learn a few things, and now Maia's guiding us to orbs we know nothing about. What a plot twist."
"I just thought about how absurd that really is. Some girl who enters your mind and gives you instructions." Luigi turned around, exhaling.
Maia wasn't connected to Mario's mind at the moment, but if she was still watching him, Mario imagined she was laughing then.
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
Say goodbye to filler! ;)
Mario, Luigi, Peach, Tippi, and Paletta spent the rest of the night in peace-as peaceful as they could get when there was a world-destroying Void on the rampage. They rose at seven AM, ready to search for the mysterious orb they were looking for. It seemed that Maia was going to hide Mario again, but what had the Sereniburg police force already done? Maia clearly couldn't give Mario a free pass whenever he was in trouble. Had they noticed Mario's absence and set out to hunt him down? Our heroes would have to be careful nonetheless when they stepped outside of Paletta's apartment building...
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A quick breakfast of eggs and toast took place before our heroes walked outside to look behind the town hall. "So we have to look behind the place where the mayor was murdered," began Luigi.
"That's what Maia told me." Mario took a bite of the rye bread. "I don't know what we can find there, but if that's what Maia said, we should listen to her."
"Always trust some girl who enters your mind and gives you instructions. ...What's with those looks, Mario?"
Our heroes soon walked outside the room and treaded down the stairs. As soon as they exited the building, Mario disappeared. "You're invisible, Mario?" Paletta whispered. "Even we can't see you?"
I can't do this for very long, Mario, so I'm not going to specify who can see you and who can't. I'm just making you invisible. Hurry and go behind the town hall, but don't rush.
"We've got to go," explained Mario, his voice seeming to come from empty air. "Maia told us to hurry, but not rush. I guess a group of people running down the street will look suspicious."
Our heroes had memorized the nearby town layout, so they quickly and stealthily moved toward the rear of the hall, squeezing between buildings when nessecary in order to make the shortest route. "Here's that place where I feel the orb," announced Tippi. "It's right below here, I guess." Our heroes had arrived at the spot between the casino and another apartment building, where our heroes had first found the true Paletta.
"There's the town hall," pointed Peach. It was directly to our heroes' right. They carefully crossed the street and walked into the somewhat small space between the back wall of the hall and the neighboring bank.
"So what should we be looking for?" posed Paletta. "We have to make this quick, right?"
"There's a ton of trash and scraps here." Mario began eyeing each piece of shredded paper, plastic, glass, empty cans, and whatever else he could see.
Glass.
"Maia said we should be looking for glass. At least, I think she did. All she said was 'glass', and that's probably because she needs to save her power."
"That narrows it down a lot." Luigi picked up a nearby scrap of glass, then tossed it aside. "There's nothing special about that one."
The group began scanning the lot for anything that reflected light, indicating a small piece of glass. None of the glass pieces indicated anything special, however. They were all just pieces of ordinary glass. "You know what?" began Paletta. "I'm beginning to think we're looking in the wrong place."
"But this is where Maia told us to look, isn't it?" countered Tippi. "She's never been wrong."
Paletta folded her arms, giving off a hint of impatience. "I mean, we should try looking in more places than just on the ground. Looking around might give us a clue. Just staring at the ground isn't going to help us. That's so boring."
Tippi recalled the ongoing conversation the group had held the previous night. Paletta always seemed to crave something that interested her. They'd talked about computers, rainbows, supernovas, video games, school, and more. Maybe this was why they weren't finding anything? Because they were just trying the same boring thing over and over? "Well, OK. Let's try looking around some more."
"Hey, I found something."
"What?"
"Hey, I found something." Luigi pointed upward at one of the second-story windows. The glass had been almost completely shattered, leaving only a few small remnants of the original window around the edges.
"That's where all this glass came from," realized Peach. "We should look directly under that window. I wonder, was that window shattered by whoever murdered the mayor?"
"Maybe...the murderer broke that window?" repeated Tippi, thinking this over. "Hmm. Why would he need to do that, though?"
"Everything else aside," started Mario, "I think we should take a closer look at these pieces." He carefully picked up a sharp glass edge and held it close to his eyes.
"I don't see anything special about this piece," remarked Luigi, throwing it to the ground. "Hey, bro. You all right?"
Mario was staring at a particularly large piece of glass, his eyes narrowed. "There's a fingerprint on this piece of glass."
"There is?" exclaimed Peach. "Well...that doesn't really help us, does it? We don't know the fingerprint of whoever the murderer was."
"Well, it's a very peculiar fingerprint..." Mario paused for a few moments. "Maia, could you make me visible for a few moments?"
I needed to make you visible in a little bit anyway. My power's reaching a critical point. I'll make you visible now to conserve it, and I might be able to help you a little after that, but I probably won't be able to be of assistance until you return to Flipside. Mario became visible, and immediately afterward Maia left his mind, probably not to return for a while.
Mario explained what Maia had told him, then removed his right glove. "What are you doing, Mario?" asked Tippi.
The hero held the glass piece up to the light and moved his thumb directly to the right of it, with his palm facing toward him. After studying the two for a while, he put his glove back on and exclaimed to the others, "The fingerprint on this piece of glass...it's mine."
As soon as Mario stopped speaking, the group was thrown into absolute silence. The noises of cars, discussions, and walking in the city around them were the only things they heard, and they became more prominent in the absence of speech. No one said anything for a few moments, but Paletta soon inquired. "That's...your fingerprint on the glass?"
"Yes."
"H...how'd it get there? Why's..." Paletta trailed off, apparently still in shock.
"Well, at least now we know why those guys came after me. They found my fingerprint on some of the glass."
Tippi was also thinking about it. "So...wait. Your fingerprint was on the glass, which is why you were arrested. They assumed you were the one who killed the mayor. So...the question is...who put that fingerprint there? And how'd they get it? Could it have been one of Dimentio's minions?"
"How did Dimentio get Mario's fingerprint?" wondered Luigi. "This was his plan from the start. One of his minions probably killed the mayor and set up that evidence to make it look like Mario was the murderer so he'd be arrested."
"I don't remember them ever being in a situation where they could get the fingerprint," recalled Tippi. "How could they have-"
"Morris!" exclaimed Paletta, loud enough to startle the others.
"What? Morris?" asked Peach. "Oh-!"
"Morris. He turned into Mario and touched that glass with his glove off. And he probably broke that glass to pose an escape."
"Then why are the fingerprints on the glass?" began Mario. "Hmm...maybe he used the glass as the murder weapon. He might have cut out a piece of the glass and stabbed the mayor with it."
"And he probably was that guy who went into the town hall yesterday, to create more suspicion," finished Paletta. "It all fits into place now. We need to find Morris before he finds that orb!"
"How can we do that, though?" posed Luigi. "Mario's a wanted man. The moment anyone sees him, the police will be on top of him."
"We need to go fast," announced Mario. "Let's put our brains together again. Where would Morris be right now?" Our heroes thought.
"How would we know?" doubted Luigi.
"Oh," began Paletta, glancing at Luigi, "I know how we'd know."
I hope she's not mad at me or anything...
"When I saw him here before, he was always at the popcorn shop down the street. He really loved that stuff."
"Oh, he did?" confirmed Tippi. "He might be there right now, since he probably still thinks Mario's imprisoned. Where is the popcorn shop, Paletta?"
"I'll lead you to it. We should make this as fast as possible." She walked to the right of our heroes, in the opposite direction from which our heroes had first seen her, and stopped at the end of the wall, peeking around the corner. "No one's here right now. Come on. Let's run for it." Paletta took off without looking back at the heroes.
"Wait up!" uttered Luigi. Our heroes and Tippi quickly followed her, trying to keep their footsteps as silent as possible. When they were about halfway to their destination, though, blaring sirens slowly faded in from the distance.
"Oh, no!" lamented Peach. "Did someone see us?"
"I don't know," answered Paletta. "I wasn't looking anywhere, but I thought I saw a police guy on the other side of the street! Come on! No use trying to be stealthy now!"
As the police cars closed in, the group finally reached the building Paletta had led them to. "FREEZE!" The popcorn shop had suddenly been surrounded by the police vehicles.
Mario and the others didn't bother looking behind them as Paletta slammed open the double doors, almost hitting Mario. Our heroes thrust themselves into the building. "Morris!" accused Paletta.
The minion was sitting back in a metal chair behind a huge tub of cheese-covered popcorn. His eyes seemed to explode. "Whoa, dude! How'd you get out of prison?" He then turned to Paletta. "Oh, you. Long time no see, Paletta Vibe. Well, I guess if those guys told you everything, it really hasn't been so long since I was you!"
Paletta shot a quick glance behind her, then angrily pointed at Morris. "You set this whole thing up, didn't you? You used your shape-shifting power to put Mario's fingerprint on that piece of glass you killed the mayor with!"
"You're a regular Sherlock Holmes, aren't you? I suppose you had a certain someone's help, though. A certain someone who could break Mario out of jail."
"Yeah, you killed someone just to trap Mario. You're disgusting, you know that? And now you'll be getting the punishment you deserve, since," she gracefully extended her arm behind her, "you just confessed your crime in front of a dozen armed policemen!"
Morris was silent. "Oh. That. Huh."
"You're the criminal," realized one of the policemen. "You're hereby-"
"Arrested? Ha ha. If you think you can arrest me, you're in for a rude awakening." Morris stepped out of his chair and faced the crowd before him. He disappeared in a purple cloud, reemerging with the shape of a thin blond-haired boy wearing a sweatshirt and blue jeans, apparently another resident of the city he knew. "You punks are never gonna know who I am, not with my radical shape-shifting abilities. See ya!" Before anyone else could do anything, Morris spun around and broke through the nearby window as if in an Olympic dive, running out onto the street.
"Get him!" The police force returned outside and began chasing Morris both on foot and with the cars.
"We've got to follow him too," urged Mario. "We can't count on the police catching him. He'll probably have hid and changed shape by then. And we can't let him find that orb!" Mario dashed to the broken window and leaped through it, followed by the others. Spotting the retreating figure of the boy down the street, our heroes followed him as he turned a corner to the left. Our heroes turned that corner and began scanning the road for Morris. A different boy was running to the left, but the franticness of his stride made it obvious it was still Morris. He turned another corner to the right after a few instants, though, and when our heroes followed the minion again, they'd completely lost sight of him.
"Where is he?" demanded Paletta. "I'm going to make sure he gets what he deserves for making me look like a crazy maid! And for trying to get Mario imprisoned."
"That lot over there's pretty dark," pointed Peach. "It looks like an easy hiding place. Let's go." Our heroes followed Peach to the left, but Morris was nowhere to be found.
"Oh, great," uttered Luigi. "We've lost him."
The police cars didn't seem to indicate his location, either. They were just cruising around the city, vainly looking for Morris. "We can't give up now," encouraged Mario. "Come on. He's got to be around here somewhere."
Our heroes dashed around the town, looking for anyone who might be Morris, but no one seemed to be frantic enough to be escaping the police. "He's probably merged in with the crowd by now," lamented Tippi.
"You bet I have," Paletta's voice came from behind the group. They whirled around to look at the second Paletta as the real Paletta fumed in anger. "Listen. Those police guys have no way of knowing who I am unless you point me out." Morris assumed the form of a blond girl with brown eyes and a blue shirt. "And if you do, I'm just going to run off again. So I've got a little deal to make. How about this." Morris paused, jokingly pushing his long hair away from his face. "You guys go ahead and use Tippi to find that orb. I'll follow you. Then both you guys and I will know where it is, and we can settle things from there."
"Why should we do that?" demanded Tippi. "We can just look for it ourselves. We don't need you!"
"But I already know where you guys are. You can't hide yourselves from me. Finding you guys while you were running around looking for me wasn't hard at all. People tend to notice groups of four people plus a butterfly thing walking around, even though no one here knows what a Pixl is. So really, you have no other choice. You can't get yourselves out of my sight, the police can't get me, and if we hurry to wherever Tippi thinks the orb is, we'll be on our way to that treasure in no time. So tell me where you think that orb is, Tippi. From now until when I go back to my original form, my name's Cathy. Got it?"
Tippi sighed. "Well, I guess we have no choice. Come on." The Pixl quickly led the others toward the spot next to the casino she had felt the orb most strongly in. "Right here. The orb's around here somewhere."
Morris, or Cathy, looked toward the casino. "If this is where you feel it most strongly, I'd say it's inside the casino somewhere. Let's go in and make it fast."
"Inside the casino?" questioned Luigi. "Why would it be there? This city can't be more than a couple dozen years old, and that orb's been here for-"
"Shut up. Let's get in the casino." Morris quickly, but not abruptly opened the door. Paletta had an angry expression as if she wanted to say something, but she apparently thought better of it as she, our heroes, and Morris entered the casino in the hopes of finding the third orb.
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
So the orb our heroes were looking for was inside the casino? It seemed improbable, since after all, the orb was placed here long before the casino was built, but Tippi's senses had to be trusted. If they did find the orb, though, who could tell what would happen? Morris had attached himself to the group, and there was no getting rid of him. Our heroes just had to trust that they'd be fine, but without Maia, they could feel their confidence slowly draining away...
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"Do you think we'll stick out in here?" asked Luigi.
The casino's floor was decorated with a red-and-gold diamond pattern. Hundreds of different types of gambling outlets were placed around the giant room; slot and game machines, card tables, and tons of variations. Various citizens were seated at the many games of chance. Most of them appeared to be middle-aged, and a few were seated at a bar to the side, presumably drinking some form of alchohol. "Why?" asked Mario. "Do we look too civilized?"
"At least be glad they didn't find the orb and put it up as a slot machine prize or something," breathed Peach. "That would not be good."
"Right, Tippi," began Morris in his teenage-girl voice. "So where's that orb?"
"It's a bit to our left, and I think it's below where we were outside. How to get it, though..."
"Does the casino have a lower level?" asked Mario, turning in Paletta's direction. "We might be able to find it there."
"Well, I've never been in here," admitted Paletta. "I don't know. I guess we could look around and see." Her anger was thinly veiled.
"Let's go." Mario looked around for a sign that might tell him where a staircase was located. Not seeing one, he headed off along the right path, looking around. A sign near the center of the giant room indicated stairs to the far left. "It's to the left, guys."
Our heroes took a shortcut through the heart of the casino to reach the stairs. Something in their brains told them to simply walk ahead without investigating the surrounding gambling, except for Morris, who eyed nearly every betting machine around them. Hmm. Maybe Dimentio can get some ideas from all these complicated games.
At the left side of the casino, there existed two sets of stairs; one going up, the other going down. Our heroes descended the downward one, emerging in another room of the casino. This large room mostly contained tables for playing cards and placing bets. "Who would think the orb would be in a place like this?" wondered Luigi.
"I hope we don't look suspicious," stated Paletta as our heroes tentatively walked in the direction Tippi sensed the orb. "I mean, I'm too young to come in here by myself, and I hope people don't stare at two guys with identical-except-red-and-green clothing."
"The only suspicious person here is you. People stare at crazy maids, don't they?" Morris smirked.
Paletta exploded. "I am not a crazy maid! And for your information, I have a brother, and his name's Raymond!"
"But I sure did a nice job of fooling Mario and those heroes for a few hours, didn't I? You're just sour because I picked you out of all the people in this city to act as a weird maid. What if I'd picked Cathy?" Morris bent his right knee slightly and extended his arms to the side with the palms facing up, while Paletta turned around, doing her best to act disinterested. "Would you still be crazy-mad at me, or would you just let Cathy deal with it? I wonder what she's doing right now. Are you even interested in your acquaintance? Or are you just absorbed in entertaining yourself like always?"
Paletta whirled around. "Shut up, Mor...Cathy! You're just exaggerating things to make me look bad. That, and you're annoying me." Paletta definitively turned back around and resumed following the group.
"Wow. You took that a lot better than I expected. Maybe you're not so selfish and angry after all?" Morris gently stuck his foot out and tripped Paletta.
"Agh!" Paletta picked herself off the floor, her face red. "You want a fight, is that it?"
Morris shrugged, artifically smiling. "I don't know. Do you? We can fight right here if you want. We'll probably get kicked out of the casino, though."
"Paletta, ignore that jerk." Paletta turned around to look at Tippi. "Some people just aren't worth your time. Why bother?"
Tippi's statement reminded Paletta of an instance that had occured in the past. "Huh. I never really thought of it that way. A couple weeks ago I got into a debate with this guy at a restaurant, and I just didn't stop. That guy seemed like a real nutcase, too. Maybe I should just ignore people like that."
"Remember, you don't always have to prove your point. If it just isn't working, forget about it."
"OK. I'll see."
After a few moments, Cathy's voice again came from behind Paletta. "This is a really run-down casino, isn't it? I never would've thought it was like this when we were talking about it outside the other day."
"Would you...what? Are you trying to make...whatever! Shut up!" That didn't even make sense. Does he think he's getting entertainment out of this or something? What a weirdo. I think I'm on the right track.
"It's around here somewhere..." Tippi hovered near the wall in a corner. "It seems like it's behind this wall."
You know, thought Luigi, Cathy's sort of cute, too.
"That probably means there's a secret entrance or something." Mario reached out and touched the area with his hand, pulling it over the area to feel for a hidden panel or something of the like, but didn't detect anything. "I don't think there's anything here. How do we get there? Maybe...no, she's out of commission for now." Mario felt it was best to avoid mentioning Maia's name while Morris was around, even though he apparently already knew about her.
"Step aside. I'll do this." Morris shoved himself through the group to a spot in front of the wall and transformed into B-A Omega. He extended a knife-sharp blade from his left hand and moved it toward the wall.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" Our heroes, Paletta, and Morris swiftly turned to look in the voice's direction. A cigar-smoking man was seated at a slot machine near them, facing away from the slots. "You wouldn't happen to be one of those outlaws who're always trying to deface our casino, would you?"
"What? What are you talking about?" Morris turned to face this person.
"Whoa there. You're some sort of robot? You and the gang who sent you aren't gonna vandalize this place on my watch." He made a "beating up" gesture with his fist.
"Uh..." Morris pointed at the slot machine behind him. "Look! A Wild Card!"
"A Wild Card!?! Where?!?" The man, in a blur, glued himself to the chair while Morris quickly tore a large rectangular hole in the wall. Our heroes dashed inside the revealed passageway while Morris deftly replaced the wall. He changed back into Cathy.
"What was with that guy?" asked Peach. "He scares me."
"He had that casino-addict air," related Tippi. "He probably thinks anyone who's ever done anything bad in this casino is some kind of evil vandalizer. This place is like another world inside. The city's called Sereniburg...I guess that's everywhere except this casino."
Our heroes were now standing in a dim, murky passage. "I guess the orb's here," remarked Luigi. "It's down this passageway, isn't it, Tippi?"
"Yes, it's closer here. This is probably where it was hidden."
Our heroes carefully walked down the featureless passage, eventually turning a corner to the right and coming to a dead end made of solid rock. "There's...nothing here," uttered Peach.
"Yes there is," argued Morris. "Isn't there, Tippi? It can't just end like this."
"I do believe there's something here..." Tippi revealed the outline of a door. "That door was hidden. The orb's very near here..."
The group proceeded through the door into a small room. There was nothing in this room except for a small pedestal, on which rested a green glass sphere. "That's it!" exclaimed Peach. "Another orb!"
"That's it!" repeated Morris. "MY orb!" He bolted to the pedestal and swiped the glass orb. "Thanks for helping me find this orb, heroes." He tossed the orb upward, catching it in his hand. "I'll be seeing you."
"Wait just a moment!" Paletta dove toward Morris, tackling him and forcing him to drop the orb.
"Rraaa! Get off me!" While Morris and Paletta struggled, Mario moved toward the orb. "Oh no, you don't!" Morris extended his free leg and kicked the orb away from Mario's grasp. It richocheted off the wall and headed back toward Morris, who caught it. "Impressed by my mad skills? I trained for hours after you guys beat me." He wrestled himself free of Paletta's grip and stood up. "Including that pathetic Mimi. Now that she's kicked the bucket, I'm the only awesome shape-shifter around here," Morris changed back to his original form, "and I'm going to take this orb. See ya, losers."
"Not so fast." Mario simply took the orb out of Morris's hand.
"Oh, you want to do this the hard way?" Morris geared up for a fight. "I'll show you the hard way. You guys have half of your original ranks, and adding a crazy maid isn't gonna help. Nope. I'll make sure that orb goes in my hands, and MY hands only!"
MINIBOSS
Morris
Morris brought his leg upward in a sudden move and released the orb from Mario's hand. "That's our orb, and we're taking it!" Paletta dove toward Morris again, but the shape-shifter routinely produced a sharp blue stone and sent it flying at Paletta, knocking her across the room. "Oww! You never told me you could do that!"
"Why would I need to? I like surprises, don't you?" Morris rose into the air, producing a ring of the stones that surrounded his body. "Nyah! Try to get your precious orb, heroes."
"Maybe I will!" Luigi readied the Super Jump and aimed toward Morris, knocking him away. He wrestled the orb out of Morris's hand. "I've got it, M-" Before he could finish, Morris attacked him with another rock, sending him bowling over. He was still clutching the orb in his right hand, however. "Mario! Catch!" Luigi tossed the orb in Mario's direction. As Mario moved to retreive it, Morris expertly aimed one of the stone weapons directly at the orb, causing it to lurch off course. The minion dove and scooped up the orb. The nearby Peach went for a surprise attack, swiping at the orb with her parasol. The orb dropped in front of Morris.
"Grab it!" Mario and Peach both went for it, slamming into each other in the process.
"Ha ha. Idiots!" Morris picked up the orb again in time for Mario to whack him with the hammer. Paletta, recovered, dove into the mix and took the orb out of the distracted minion's hands. When Morris moved to take it again, Mario nailed a jump attack.
"Who has the orb now, Morris?" Paletta taunted, displaying the green sphere.
"You guys are still up to it, huh? I thought the lack of actual fighting would've gotten to you by now. I guess I just have to keep at it!" Morris produced a line of blue stones in midair and aimed them all for Paletta. She dove forward, missed by all the stones.
"Gee, Paletta, you're good," complimented Luigi.
Paletta smiled. "You guys are better. I just tried something I saw."
"Say goodbye to that orb." Morris swiftly kicked the stone out of Paletta's hands near the ground and again took the orb after it bounced off the wall. Paletta retaliated, grabbing Morris's arm in an attempt to make the minion drop the orb, and placing her other hand on the orb to wrench it from Morris's grasp in a sort of modified arm-wrestle. It lasted only a few seconds, though, as Morris kicked Paletta's feet from under her, causing her to lose balance, fall over and release her grip on the artifact. "Now who-" Morris turned back to the heroes, only to be body-slammed by Luigi. The orb flew up in the air.
"Mario! Catch it!" urged Paletta.
Mario ran for the orb, jumped onto the pedestal, and caught the orb in mid-drop. "We've got to secure this thing."
"And just how do you think you're going to do that?" Morris attacked Mario with another stone assault and claimed the orb. However, he was quickly assaulted by Mario's hammer. Mario swiftly grabbed the orb and placed it behind his back. Morris again rose into the air, surrounding himself with a ring of rotating blue stones. He flipped into 3D and sailed around the room, performing the same trick he had used several times before. This room was much more cramped, however, making avoiding the barrage much more difficult.
"I'll take this cheater." Mario too flipped into 3D.
"Wow, I never saw you do that," remarked Paletta.
In 3D, Morris sent several of the sharp rocks at Mario. He knocked several away with the hammer, sending them back at his attacker, but Morris did manage to get one good shot in that loosened Mario's grip on the orb. The shape-shifter quickly took the orb again. "You might as well just give up. I mean, there's no possible way we could settle this. Aside from you defeating me, of course. Which isn't going to happen."
"Or maybe it will? You never know. We defeated you every time before, as you remember." As Morris flipped back into 2D, Mario flipped as well and threw his hammer at Morris. The startled minion dropped the green orb, which Paletta dove and caught.
"I've got the orb, guys." Paletta threw the orb to Mario.
"Argh!" Morris descended to the ground, folding his paper-thin arms. "I just can't keep my hands on that orb. Of course, you can't either, but that's beside the point. Hmm. I think I know what to do." Morris suddenly aimed a stream of blue stones toward Mario, knocking him over. Paletta again reached for the orb, but Morris swiftly kicked her hand away and took the orb for himself. "Catch me if you can, heroes! And butterfly thing! And crazy maid!" Morris changed back into Cathy and bolted out of the room in the direction of the casino.
"Where's he going?" panicked Paletta. "We've got to get him!" Our heroes sped after Morris, running through the hatch Morris apparently hadn't bothered to replace.
Morris was heading in the direction of the staircase. When he reached it, he turned and rushed up the stairs. "What is he doing?" wondered Peach. Morris briefly turned his head, glancing at our heroes, then disappeared up the stairs. Our heroes followed him, ignoring the suspicious glances the nearby gamblers were riveting into them. As our heroes ascended the staircase, they couldn't see Morris on this floor.
"He must have gone upstairs!" Mario bolted up the stairs to the second floor, leading the others. They emerged in a large room, dimly lit by blue lights. Several people were gathered around a thick square pillar at the room's center.
"What was that glass thing, missy?" asked one of them. Then, scrutinizing "Cathy" more closely, he asked, "Aren't you too young to gamble here?"
"Young? You have no idea what you're dealing with, buster. I'm 20 times as old as you are!" As our heroes reached him, Morris changed into his normal form, provoking gasps from the surrounding audience. "Yeah, you like that, heroes? I just fed your orb to this gambling machine. If you want it that badly, I guess you could follow me, but this pillar is too cramped for you to fit inside. Looks like the countdown starts soon."
"Countdown? What?" questioned Paletta.
"This is the casino's main event every night. I saw its advertisement when I was looking around the casino. You put your wagers in these little devices, and they shoot up to the top of this pillar way above in a tower over the ceiling. Then they're scrambled, mixed, and matched, and whatever happens to your money is what you're stuck with. Double, triple, quadruple, none, whatever. And that orb is gonna be impossible to grab, except for me, because I have awesome shape-shifting powers. So, see ya, heroes. Countdown's almost started!" As the crowd watched, Morris cracked his neck, rotated his head and extended long spider legs from his head. He sheared a hole in the glass with one of the legs and crawled into the pillar's interior as a countdown was displayed on the glass, beginning at 120. The pillar began descending.
"I'll get the orb," assured Mario. "You all wait here. I'll take care of it."
"Mario, are you sure?" worried Peach, but she was powerless to stop Mario from jumping into the pillar and initiating a chase to the top of the gambling device.
BOSS
Morris
Mario leaped atop one of the internal decorations as Morris attached himself to the side of the pillar's interior. There were various tubes and rectangular prism-shaped decorations inside the pillar, so at least Mario had footing, but it wasn't easy footing. "Why even try?" dared Morris. "You'll fall anyway. See ya." He began climbing the pillar, not moving as quickly as usual due to its downward motion. Mario jumped from the pillar's bottom on top of Morris, landing on a stable decorative foothold. "Let's see how you like this!" Morris aimed a large, spear-like stone toward the hero, who jumped it and angled for a thin tube protruding from the side wall.
"You can't get me with those, Morris. I've been dodging those ever since I fought Mimi in Merlee's Mansion." Mario hopped to an adjacent platform.
"Trying to pull ahead of me, are you?" Morris continued climbing. "Have a taste of this!" Morris duplicated his head, bringing the new head into swift contact with Mario. The hero briefly swayed, almost losing his balance, but jumped at the last second, nailed Morris's duplicate head, and landed on a platform above. Morris tried a new tactic. He extended his legs directly to the other side of the pillar, bringing his body to the other side and smacking into Mario. Mario was knocked back, grabbing onto a nearby ledge with his fingertips. He carefully pulled himself back up while Morris continued climbing. They had now reached the point where the pillar met the ceiling. The countdown had fallen to 105.
I have to keep Morris from going up too high! Mario jumped across a few of the adjacent platforms, accidentally hitting the back of a panel on the wall. The button set off a miniature slot machine that displayed three types of tubes. When it had stopped, several of those tubes extended from nearby walls. "What's going on here?"
"Those slot machines can be activated by the viewers. They mix and match that money further. These tubes and things are supposed to represent the path the money takes. Just randomizes things a bit more, doesn't it? Including your potential to beat me." Mario realized the myriad added tubes only made it more difficult to climb the pillar. He was still several feet behind Morris, and the countdown had dropped to 98.
There's more than a minute and a half left. That's enough time, Mario hoped. He grabbed a nearby tube, swung his body around it, and landed on a higher-up platform from which he could reach Morris. He jumped on the giant spider's head, using it to bounce to another platform and pull ahead of the minion.
"Hey! Who said you could get ahead of me?" Morris produced a large wave of blue stones. Unlike the previous times he had done this, the wave ran vertically, making it ever more dangerous for Mario. He was hit by one of the stones and knocked onto a nearby platform, almost at the same level as Morris. "Have a taste of this!" Morris withdrew his legs, surrounded his head with stones, and spun around the pillar like a top, making him almost impossible to avoid due to the crowded arena. When Mario had been hit a few times, Morris again attached himself to the right side of the pillar and extended his legs. "Had enough?" The minion pulled ahead of Mario.
74. Still fine... While Mario continued jumping the platforms in an effort to catch up, Morris activated another slot. A ring of tubes encircled the pillar.
"How're you going to get through that, huh?"
Mario didn't feel like answering Morris, but he knew how to climb this. He jumped at one section of the tubes, grabbed onto it, and swung his body upwards, striking Morris directly. Morris had been damaged to the point where one of his legs fell off. Maybe I should just attack Morris. Mario planted his feet onto another nearby tube and struck Morris with the hammer, only to be met in the face by a large blue rock. Mario lost his balance and fell from the tube, catching it with his left hand. Scrambling back up took more time than he wanted, but he managed to jump ahead to the tube and onto another platform. They'd now broken the ceiling of the casino, able to view the nearby area of Sereniburg from above, but the pillar would soon fall back through the ceiling. Oh! That's right! He's probably going to get there when the counter's about...30 or so? Mario looked over at one of the neon orange counters, which now displayed 61. I've got to hurry it up! Mario desperately jumped to another nearby platform while Morris continued activating more roulettes. They created more obstacles for Mario, but since he was below Morris, there wasn't much else to get in the hero's way. Soon he'd almost reached Morris's level.
"You're persistent, aren't you?" Morris produced two heads and sent another rock wave Mario's way. He jumped to a tube on the opposite side of the pillar and slammed both heads with the hammer. He then went for Morris himself, knocking out another leg. "You can't do anything to me! I'm almost there!"
38...37...36...
Morris had just about reached the top of the pillar. Various tubes, gears, and techno-thingies were sorting the money around. One of these was the green orb. "There it is!" Mario jumped to a nearby platform, only to be blocked by Morris.
"I'm taking that orb now. Have fun." He reached upward to grab it.
"No!" Mario jumped onto Morris's leg, clinging onto it. His weight pushed it down and prevented Morris from extending it to the orb.
"Get off my leg, jerk!" Mario planted his feet onto a nearby tube, yanking the leg off after a few seconds.
Now for the orb! Mario jumped to the highest platform he could reach and attempted to grab the orb. Morris blocked his move with a frantic stone attack and moved another leg toward the orb.
25...24...23...
Mario and Morris had been lowered back into the ceiling. If the countdown ended, the orb would be placed in a random spot at the pillar's bottom, and there was no telling what Morris could do then. 20 seconds to go... Mario again grabbed onto Morris's leg and jumped from there to nail his head. He bounced off the ceiling and came back to repeatedly hit Morris. He was left with only one leg.
16...15...14...
"Ah-ha!" Morris extended his final leg, coming close to getting the orb each time. It was being tossed around the top of the pillar, making reaching it difficult.
Come on. Think. How can I loosen his grip?
The hammer, Mario.
10...9...8...
What? Maia? Is that you?
Yeah. I have a little more power now, but it's not much. Use your hammer now! She immediately left Mario's mind, and Mario didn't question. As they sank below the rim of the ceiling, Mario tossed his hammer in the direction of the orb.
5...4...3...
The flying projectile slammed through the machinery, knocked out Morris's final leg, and destroyed the mechanical arm which held the orb. The glass sphere fell directly into Mario's hand.
2...1...JACKPOT!
The pillar stopped as Morris fell to the ground, defeated. Various amounts of money were placed in the slots.
Morris groaned, returning to his original form. "I can't believe this. You just got the orb at the last second 'cause you had a hammer. I'll be back, heroes. You haven't seen the last of me!" The minion flipped out.
"Whoa," exclaimed one of the waiting gamblers. "That sure spiced up this routine."
"I saw you, Mario," reported Paletta. "That was awesome! You put that jerk in his place!"
Mario stepped out of the pillar through the broken section of glass. "I had a little help from Maia. She was able to tell me to throw the hammer."
"Great work," congratulated Luigi. "We've got three of those orbs. Now we just need to go back to Flipside and-"
"What?" interrupted Paletta. "You're leaving?"
Tippi looked at Paletta. "Well, yes. I suppose we have to. You remember everything we told you, don't you?"
"Yes, but..." Paletta looked downward. "It was so great having you guys here. And seeing that minion being punished. It was...exciting! And I like exciting."
Mario rested his hand on the excited girl's shoulder. "It was nice meeting you, too. For real."
Paletta raised her head and smiled. "Yeah, I guess. It was fun while it lasted. I guess there's no other choice, is there? You have to save all worlds."
"That we do," agreed Tippi. "But we're not going to forget you. You made things...well...very interesting."
"Oh, me?" Paletta could barely contain her large smile. "Well...thanks. Thanks a lot. I'm glad I could help."
"You're welcome, Paletta," wished Luigi. "And maybe we'll see you again. The portal to this dimension will still be open as far as I know."
"Oh, yeah. That'll be good. I'll see you then."
"Goodbye, Paletta," finished Tippi. "Hopefully we can see each other again soon."
ORB GET!
-END OF CHAPTER-
Dimentio and Morris had concocted a plan to freeze Mario in his tracks once and for all, but in the dimension of the third orb, Mario and the others prevailed, with the help of their new true friend, Paletta Vibe, as well as the mysterious-as-ever Maia. With three orbs in hand, only two remain, three less than the number of Pure Hearts our heroes had needed to find at this stage. Yet the heroes were unable to uncover anything about the backstory of Tedac's dimension. With whatever vague connection to Amtakan that might be implied, it is evident our heroes have not seen the last of that dimension's impact. Perhaps one of the final two orbs will connect some of the pieces-but of course, "pieces" could mean one of several dozen things on this adventure...
"And then it must have been her or something. I mean, how else would that guy know to throw his hammer into all that stuff? We were, like, in a tussle or something. I didn't even know what was happening. She's letting him cheat, that's what."
Dimentio lowered his head and sighed. "Would this have anything to do with your popcorn addiction, Morris?"
"What? No. It's not like they got away or anything. They confronted me."
"Trying something new, huh?" questioned Bowser. "Those heroes gave us a taste of our own medicine."
"So now what do we do?" asked B-A Omega. "Those heroes already have three out of the five orbs. We didn't even think they could get two of them."
"Ah ha ha ha. Already, another plans awakens in the deepest recesses of my mind. Do you recall the plan Blumiere and I staged in the Dimension of Refuge?"
"Oh, yeah," agreed Alpha. "That one was a real whopper. A death trap, a mental weapon, a couple more death traps..." The robot emitted a sighing noise, despite lacking the vocal processes to truly sigh. "It just makes me want to PUT A BANANA IN MY EAR!"
"Yes, that plan. Now, in that plan we attacked the heroes with a mental weapon in an attempt to dissolve their group. We did manage to get Bowser," Dimentio formally twisted his hand toward Bowser, "but otherwise, the plan wasn't much of a success. However, if we modify the basic idea a bit, we could hit the heroes where they're weak and do a large amount of damage. Minions, have you noticed Mario when he's introverted? He isn't used to this demanding of a task, and it's gotten to him. If we assault him mentally, we may just put him out of commission."
"I like where you're going with this," offered B-A Omega. "Sort of what we did with the Refuge, but to the max or something! I love it."
"In fact, minions, here's a reminder that both of the remaining orbs are located in that very dimension. It's likely that the orbs were hidden in the more remote areas to the south. The area to the south of the desert and the Refuge itself contains no land, so I am not quite sure whether they're more easterly, located south of the mountains, or to the west, below the area the heroes visited a while before then. But, we just need to follow the heroes wherever they're guided. Bowser, how would you like a role in this plan?"
"I'm on it, baby! I've been itching to get into the action ever since those pesky heroes stomped me."
"Your enthusiasm is a plus, but let's not overestimate ourselves. The heroes have proven their strength again and again, and we can't underestimate them either. Come, Bowser." Dimentio and Bowser vanished.
"Hey, Morris," began Omega. "Come here. There's something I've been wanting to tell you for a while."
"What is it?"
"Well, there's a reason I didn't tell you about this before, but..." Omega tilted his mechanical head downward, contemplating how to place his words. "Nah...never mind. It doesn't matter now."
"What? What is it, Omega? You can tell me."
"No. Not yet. I'm not sure if I'm ready. See ya." Alpha and Omega flipped out.
"I gave him some of the greatest advice a human can give, and this is how he repays me?"
"Shut your trap, insolent traitor! We're going to show you what happens when you mess with Amtakan's plans."
"Traitor? You mean it wasn't his decision to go insane and everything?"
"That doesn't matter. It's him we're loyal to now, and that's the way it's going to remain."
"You're just deluding yourselves. He's a madman now!"
"Maybe he is. But if so, he's a brilliant madman. He knows how to make this world a better place."
"Do you really believe that drivel he spews out constantly? He knows how to make himself sound convincing. He's just trying to-"
"Whatever! Listen, either you're going to give in now, or we're going to destroy you. Your power is no match for the strength Amtakan gave us."
"There's no way you can stop us from going on with our plan. Even if you defeat me here, Amtakan's going to be stopped. That's an absolute."
Our heroes exited the yellow door atop Flipside Tower. "Funny," remarked Luigi. "The color of the orbs isn't matching up with the doors anymore like the Pure Hearts did."
"There's only five of them," pointed out Tippi. "The next two are probably blue and violet, if we follow the pattern..."
The group descended through the elevator down to the second story of Flipside. "I see you've returned once again," stated Merlon. "And with the next orb, may I presume?"
"Indeed." Mario displayed the green orb while Tippi related what had occured to our heroes in the dimension of the yellow door.
"Oh ho, is that so, heroes? It looks like Dimentio really pulled something new out of his sleeve this time."
"Yes, indeed. I wonder if he's going to try something even worse next time..."
"Well, there's no need to worry, heroes." As soon as Merlon finished speaking, an earthquake rattled Flipside, and The Void again ballooned.
"The Void..." uttered Tippi. "It's gigantic! It has to be at least the size it was the first time Mario and Luigi returned from The Underwhere..."
"In that case, heroes, there's no use in delaying even a moment. Let's get to the top of Flipside Tower and let Maia show us the way to the next orb."
Our heroes and Merlon again ascended Flipside Tower, and Merlon activated Maia's portal at the green door. "Does it seem like we're rushing too headstrong into things?" asked Luigi. "I mean...well...we might have to prepare for whatever we find in this dimension."
Once you enter that dimension, Mario, you won't be able to leave for a while. Make sure you're ready both physically and mentally.
Mario told the others what Maia had communicated. "It sounds like we'll be tried harder than ever before. We'd better be ready."
Merlon shifted. "Well, here's hoping you return in time to stop The Void. I honestly don't know how we're going to stop it, but...I suppose Maia has a solution. Remember everything you've learned so far, heroes. I know you'll be successful, even if you need to spend a long time in that dimension."
Those were the last words our heroes heard before they entered the dimension of the green door...possibly not to return until The Void had nearly swallowed Flipside.
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Excellent story! You're a great writer! You draw the reader into the story by adding detail, plot-twists, and making them ponder on what happens next! When I read this, I can form a clear image in my head!
Oh, and cool website too!
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Thank you for the feedback! That's pretty much exactly what I want with my writing. I want to make it clear, but not over-descriptive (like so many of the books they make us read in school), and also intriguing so the reader will want to keep at it. Thanks for taking the time to read the story.
Thanks for the comment on the website as well. I think I'll add part of your comment to the "quotes" area on the SPM2 page, if you don't mind. ;)
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I'll have to read this sometime! I was going through bits and I like what I'm seeing!
But, I still find it annoying to have Mario talk. It's just something I can't get used to. It's understandable, since this is only text, so it's harder to stay closer to Mario's silent personality if he used body language to communicate. But I guess were just two different people. It doesn't change the fact that this fan-fic is EXTREMELY well made. I swear, if I didn't know any better. You could be a writer at Intelligent Systems!
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I never liked Mario's silence in the first place. I had no experience with the RPG genre before Paper Mario (except for Pokemon, which I don't play anymore), and it puzzled me why Mario didn't actually speak. Having his party members or other characters speak "for" him still seems strange to me. Where did the whole concept of a silent protagonist come from anyway?
But it's fine if that's what you think. Thanks for the feedback as well. Heh...a writer at Intelligent Systems? I wonder what Nintendo would think if they found this story. ;)
Do you guys like the change I made to the topic title? It displays the last chapter I completed.
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I believe his silence comes from the idea of Link's connection to the player, but I'm not sure... or maybe its because of the hardware limitations at the time (Kinda like his nose, overalls, and such when Donkey Kong came out).
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With three orbs in hand, our heroes were ready to step into the green dimensional door. There was no telling where Maia would lead them this time, but from the sound of things, Mario and the others would have to stay in this dimension for a while. What awaited our heroes in the dimension of the green door? They'd done this several times by now, each dimension leading to a unique place in its own right, but now, it seemed things were about to change. However minor the change may be, something was going to change...
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A line was drawn.
Joining this line were several others. They were very twisty, crawling around each other like furious snakes, and branching out in random directions. Shapes were drawn at the tops of these lines and colored a dark tropical green while the snake shapes were filled in with a thin brown, forming swampy trees. The ground was given a shade of green that was somewhere between "barf" and "pretty" with some added weeds and rocks. The sky was a cloudy blue, masked by the thin but ever-present layer of condensed precipitation, and The Void was small but present. The green door was drawn into existence, and our group of four stepped into this somehow familiar landscape.
"I get the feeling I've seen this before for some reason," mused Luigi. "There's that familiar feeling in the air...I can't place it."
Mario looked around, noting the rather uneventful beginning of an ocean to their right. "I feel something in the air too. It's the humidity or something. Let's take a look around."
Our heroes followed Mario along the shore, if a murky bed of grass could qualify as a shore. Aside from the gently flapping seaweed to their right and the twisted trees to their left, nothing really interested our heroes as they progressed. "Do you know where the orb is, Tippi?" asked Peach.
"Well..." Tippi had been sensing for the orb for a while. "I can't really feel anything. There's a little energy I can detect coming from the direction of the ocean, but aside from that...I don't really know."
"The ocean?" wondered Mario. "If you don't feel much of anything, maybe the orb's on the other side of the ocean."
"But then why would Maia dump us off here?" questioned Luigi. "That doesn't make any sense. She can't expect us to cross the ocean. Wouldn't putting us closer to the orb be more convenient?"
I thought there was an orb here. If Tippi doesn't feel it, then it could have been moved, but look around. I know there was an orb here. I put it in the ground myself.
OK...wait, you put it in the ground? So are you the one who hid them?
Um...I didn't really intend to say that. But if it makes you feel better, yes, I did hide them, with the help of some others.
Mario explained what Maia had told him, as well as what he had learned. "At least, that explains how she knows where to send us every time."
"She knew there was an orb here..." mulled Tippi. "Well, it's possible something is blocking my ability to sense the orb, like what happened in the dimension where we fought the robots and Reidlos X."
"So we don't have Tippi to help us this time," complained Luigi. "Well, let's hope Maia knows what to do."
You guys can't just rely on me to bring you everything, you know. I can only do so much, and my power is limited. Tell Luigi that. Mario did.
"Yeah...I know Maia can't do everything. I'm just hoping she'll be able to help us if we get stuck."
A while farther down the road, the swamp trees gradually thinned out, revealing a large field overrun with grass and weeds. The whole scene still had a thin murky, overcast vibe, unlike a friendly pasture or field. A few hundred yards away from our heroes' standpoint was what seemed to be a large fortress. It was decorated with colorful banners and adverisements, although our heroes couldn't make them out at this distance. "What's that fortress?" wondered Tippi. "It seems out of place with all those festive decorations."
As our heroes drew closer, they could make out some shiny electronic lettering. TACTIX: Tournament Registration Ends In 5 Hours! "What's 'Tactix'?" asked Luigi. "Sounds like some new video game fad."
"This fortress looks familiar for some reason," noted Peach.
"The air, the fortress..." Luigi thought this over. "Yeah...something's just not right about this whole deal. I feel like I've-" Luigi stopped.
"Luigi?" probed Tippi.
Luigi remained silent, seemingly lost in thought. "I know!" he suddenly exclaimed. "We've been here before! This...is Radnamok X's fortress!"
Our heroes were silent again. Observing the building, our heroes recognized the familiar exterior structure. It had been night the last time they'd seen the fortress's outside, so they hadn't been able to detect much, but the greenish-gray stones were enough to reactivate their memories of fighting the X Faction and claiming the green Pure Heart for the second time. "Yep, this is the place," agreed Mario. "We're back in the dimension of the Bluecaps and the X Faction!"
"Why would an orb be here?" asked Peach.
"I don't know," answered Tippi. "But remember how Reidlos X mentioned Amtakan? This dimension has some connection with Amtakan, and so does Maia, and since she hid the orbs, it makes sense...if that makes sense."
"Morris must have known about this place too," realized Mario. "Those two disguises he used, Larneg and Tavirp, looked like the inhabitants of this dimension."
"Well, we should see how they've been faring since we left," offered Luigi. "Since they're not enemies anymore, maybe they've switched to video game fighting."
Our heroes walked to the front of the former Radnamok X's fortress. "So what's your strategy?" they heard. "You're sort of an attack guy, aren't you?"
"Trying to trick me into telling you my strategy?" laughed a familiar voice. "Why? What's yours?"
Our heroes drew closer to this speaker. "Well, long time no see, Tedac!" blurted Luigi.
Tedac whirled around, his eyes as wide as dinner plates. "Oh, you guys! Nice seeing you again. What brings you here?"
"It's a long story," explained Mario. He gave Tedac a quick run-down of everything that had occured since they left this dimension. "So we're looking for the orb that's supposedly in this dimension," he finished.
"Really? Is that what that dark spot in the sky is?" Tedac looked toward The Void. "That's what Radnamok X was talking about when he said Dimentio would destroy the world with The Void. Well, the answer might be behind you." Our heroes turned around. Displayed on one of the advertisements was a banner proclaiming Rare glass jewel and $50,000 are yours...if you can reach the top! "We've given up fighting now, so we decided to host this tournament as sort of an ice-breaker. You guys don't know anything about 'Tactix', do you?"
Our heroes shook their heads.
"It's a sort of strategy tournament game. They say it was invented by those Ancients you were talking about, although we've given it some new twists. You're given cards with a certain type of attack or other effect like defense. You go into 'battles' with them with six cards at a time. Everyone starts with the same cards, but winning battles can increase their power, therefore giving you the edge. You actually use the attacks against your opponent, so your own health and physical strength will have an impact as well. You can buy card packs at the entrance or trade them with other people. So bascially, it's a combination of a collectible card game, an RPG-style battle format, and a gladiator ring."
"And if we enter this tournament and win..." began Tippi, "...we can win the orb as a prize? Sounds fishy to me, but I guess if we want to win that orb, we'd better sign up. I still don't sense the orb around here, though..."
"They've got all the prizes sealed real tight," offered Tedac. "Something might be blocking your senses."
"That's what the heroes thought. I guess that's true. So, we sign up?"
"If you want that orb, I guess you'll have to. This is where the arena is located. You'll start at the bottom of the tournament and work your way up through the divisions, so if you lose even one match, you're out."
"Sounds intense," noted Princess Peach. "Well, Mario's done things like this before, so it shouldn't be too hard."
Tedac motioned toward the entrance. "If you're going to sign up and try to win that orb, I'll go with you if you need to save the world and all that. They accept groups of no more than four, so we can all join. Though...I'm wondering if we can persuade the guys running this thing to give us the orb without all the hassle. I mean, the world is doomed without that thing, and there's that prophecy..."
"Prophecy?" Tippi's interest suddenly heightened as she heard the word that had become so integral since Mario's arrival in Flipside. "There's a prophecy about the orb or something?"
"Yeah...some people were talking about it earlier. They found it in the basement of the fortress. It said something about a dark circle in the sky, and when a hero returns after saving the land, we need to give him some sort of treasure."
"Really? In that case, maybe Mario could tell them that the orb is the treasure we're looking for."
"Well, this is why I'm skeptical. The guys in charge said they're not going to give any grand prizes away before the final match, and not to anyone who's not the victor. Regardless of that prophecy thing."
"Regardless?" asked Mario. Why weren't these people following the instructions of a prophecy that was presumably given to them by the Ancients? This dimension must have had some connection to the other places the Ancients visited. "Why's that?"
"I don't know. Maybe they're just greedy. Or they like to see a good fight...or they're expecting the hero to show up anyway and win the whole thing. Well, whatever the case, it seems like our only choice is to register in the tournament, do some fighting, and claim that orb. And the prize money."
"I'm not interested in the prize money, to be honest. We just need the orb."
"Just what a hero would say. Sheesh, who wouldn't just give the orb to the hero? Oh, well...come on. We've got to register at the entrance." Our heroes and Tedac walked to the registration center just inside the building. The fortress's interior had been drastically updated since Radnamok X had owned it; instead of the dull gray-green stones, the hall boasted tiled floors and walls with a crisp and shiny black coating. Many former soldiers and other residents walked around in the entrance area, holding conversations or looking up information. The group signed up at the registration deck and recieved their first six cards.
"Let's see what we have," advised Luigi. He opened the card deck and looked at the contents. The back of the cards featured a black-and-red cloud pattern with the word "TACTIX" printed in electronic-style lettering. The front was similarly decorated, but contained a particular description along with an image. "Basic Jump," Luigi read. "Super Jump...Laser Gun...MP Recover...Defend...Switch." Luigi looked over the cards again. "Is this thing safe?"
"Yeah, it's perfectly fine," answered Tedac. "These things are really just representations of the attacks with pretty realistic animations. No one actually gets hurt. But yeah, see that number in the upper-left corner under the title?" He pointed to a number highlighted in blue on the upper-left corner of each card. "That's the amount of 'Magic Points' (MP) you need to use that particular card." In the order Luigi had read them, the cards cost 0, 2, 3, 0, 1, and 3 MP respectively. "Everyone starts with 10 MP every fight. Only one person can participate at a time, and our Health Points (HP) are shared. So, switching teammates costs you a turn but lets you use a wider variety of abilites, with different people and such. One-man teams get an HP Recover card instead of that Switch."
"They get an HP Recover?" asked Tippi. "That's a bit unfair."
"It's not unfair, actually. They have a less diverse attack plan, as you'd expect, plus, if you win a battle, you can get more cards. More HP Recovers are in different booster decks, and they have different values your HP recovers by, which corresponds to how much MP it costs. So, really, it's all about strategy and tactics...hence the name. You can only hold six cards in one fight, so you'll have to choose which cards you want to use in a particular match and try to maximize your chances against the opponent based on their physical strengths and weaknesses. Pretty in-depth, isn't it?"
"You said it," agreed Luigi. "I bet Paletta would've enjoyed watching something like this. It'd be pretty exciting for a city girl like her."
"Yeah, OK, Luigi," interjected Mario, taking the cards from his brother. "I'll keep these until we need them."
"The tournament starts in a few hours," explained Tedac. "Once it gets dark, they're going to set up the positions and determine who everyone's fighting against. We won't know anything about our first match, but our fighting styles are recorded, so the half that survives the first round will have a bit more to know about their opponents. So we can just hang out until then."
"Sounds good to me. Let's check out the arena." Mario walked toward the hallway that led to the central arena.
Don't make this whole tournament a "hang-out" party, Mario. I want you to investigate a bit. Something's not right about this tournament, and I can feel it. Be on your guard at all times. Dimentio's probably already infiltrated the system.
-END OF CHAPTER-
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Nice! These are getting better and better!
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Thanks. If you guys are wondering why I haven't updated in almost three weeks, it's because I was working on another project, and because I'm currently porting SPM2 to PDF format, like the other stories on the website, on The Chipmunk's request. He doesn't have Internet access, so I'm going to make it downloadable since he uses a flash drive whenever he can get on the net.
At the moment, only Chapter 8 remains to be ported. I've also added a special Foreword to the PDF version (some of you guys are going to get a mention in there) as well as character illustrations throughout. I'll be able to finish it and add it to the website tomorrow, so I'll post a link here as well if anyone wants to take a look at it.
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I finished SPM2PDF a few days ago. You can download it here (http://www.hiddenscepter.com/spm2.zip) if you want to check out the new features. A cover illustration, the Foreword, character illustrations, page numbers, and some other miscellaneous stuff I threw in there. On a related note, would the general public be more interested in The Hidden Scepter (our main book series) if it was availible on the website like SPM2 and not only as a downloadable PDF? I'm going to do that sometime soon. If you like SPM2/3, you'll probably be interested in tHS as well.
Here's the next chapter. Things are going to change after this. Quickly.
Had Dimentio in fact already infiltrated the system? Besides Tippi's ambiguous Pure Heart sense, everything seemed to be in working, non-evil order as our heroes and Tedac took a look around the renovated fortress. Everyone was geared up for the opening battles, and our group's spot in the roster placed them in the fourth match that was held that night. The fighters received free hotel service for the three days the tournament was to be held, with renovated fortress rooms serving as hotel rooms. Despite extensive search, our heroes failed to find anything suspicious before the first fight began, so they made their way to the arena to watch the first fight of the night. I know it, Mario. I just know it. Please, be careful.
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"Introducing our first fighters! The cold, icy warrior of fury...Ice Storm!" A blue Bluecap walked into the central arena, showered in spotlights.
"You know, I'm thinking we should've picked a better name for our team," stated Luigi.
"What's wrong with the Pure Hearts?" asked Tedac. "Besides the fact that...well...it's a little melodramatic."
I think Pure Hearts sounds nice.
Mario just nodded and smiled. Hearing Maia's voice in his mind had become such a commonplace experience that he just regarded her as another person in conversation. Now that she'd been talking to him for quite a while, he realized that there was something pleasant about having another voice within him. Another voice that only he could hear. He couldn't quite place it. Maybe just the feeling of having some other consciousness inside him? That feeling had been a bit uncomfortable at first, but it seemed now he'd not only gotten used to it, he'd begun to enjoy it. Whatever the case, Mario certainly wouldn't mind if Maia decided to speak up a bit more.
Ha ha. I never thought you'd find my presence comforting. I'm just glad it isn't bothering you.
Oh. I keep forgetting you can hear me. I guess I'm just so used to it, I don't even realize you're there.
That's good, Mario. But I can't do this all the time. I've got power to save and everything. Oh, wait, you knew that already, didn't you? Maia mentally giggled, and then left Mario's mind.
"AND! The spiky machine of death...Spike Torrent!" An X Faction soldier walked out of the opposite door. He was very dark green in color, but wore a flamboyant yellow spiky hat. "These two opposing fighters will be the first to throw down at our three-day Tactix tournament icebreaker. To everyone from both the Bluecap army and the X Faction who helped set this tournament up, a very big thank you for helping ease the tensions we've been divided by for longer than our great-grandparents can remember. But enough chatter. Let's get to the picture, shall we? It's time for...TACTIX!" The announcer, an X Faction resident, tossed a coin. "Ice Storm will attack first! Keep it clean, folks, and let's see some real fake fighting."
Ice Storm began the Tactix match by leaping into the air, traveling in a parabola, and slamming into Spike Torrent with a wave of ice, depleting 5 of Spike Torrent's 40 HP. "Ice Storm chooses to go for the traditional with an opening standard jump! How will Spike Torrent respond to that?"
Spike Torrent promptly pulled out a large gun, fired a laser, and hit Ice Storm directly, taking 9 points out of Ice Storm's 50. "Whoa! I can already tell a little about these fighters. Looks like Spike Torrent's not afraid to hold back on his first move. This guy isn't afraid to get his fists dirty and get right to it, folks!"
The two opposing soldiers continued attacking each other, using their card moves strategically to whittle each other's health away. Spike Torrent eventually used several HP Recovers to restore a large amount of his damaged health, and that was his mistake. Ice Storm took advantage of his diminished MP and defeated him with an icy Super Jump.
"And our first winner is...ICE STORM!" All of the arena's spotlights focused on the victor. He flashed a pose as the audience cheered.
"Pretty good stuff, isn't it?" posed Tedac. "Two more matches, and then we're up."
After the second battle, Luigi and Peach went to buy some popcorn and soda. Mario and Tedac weren't hungry or thirsty, but they did end up "sharing" some of Luigi and Peach's concessions anyway. "I think you've had more of my popcorn then I have," complained Luigi.
Mario shrugged. "OK. This is my last handful." After he'd eaten it, he reached for more.
"That was your last handful!" Luigi pulled the striped popcorn bag away.
"Well, this is another part of that handful."
"A handful is a handful!"
"Fine."
Tedac grabbed some of Luigi's popcorn. "Gah!"
As the third battle's climax drew nearer, our heroes reported to the back room of the "right corner" as they'd been instructed to do. They waited for their announcement once the winner of the third match had been declared. "And now! The samurai warriors of stealth...The Ninja Slices!" Two X Faction soldiers emerged from the other corner, wielding long, fancy swords.
"Who gave them the right to use that kind of weapon?" questioned Peach.
"It's in the rules," stated Tedac. "You can fight with whatever you want."
"And in the other corner, the adventurers with hearts of gold...The Pure Hearts!" Hearing their cue, our group of four walked out into the arena, greeted enthusiastically with cheers, whistles, and spinny light things.
"We're celebrities," whispered Luigi.
After flipping a coin, the announcer again announced the first attack. "The Pure Hearts will attack first! This is our biggest group yet. Four fighters on one team is something we haven't seen yet, so please choose your first fighter and get ready to rumble!"
"I'll go first," volunteered Mario.
"You want to be the first fighter?" asked Tedac as Mario stepped forward. "OK. Makes sense."
I'm not the first fighter...WE'RE the first FIGHTERS. Mario briefly angled his eyes toward his brain, smiling internally.
"Mario will be the Pure Hearts' first fighter, and Ninja Jay will lead the Ninja Slices. Ready, folks? Let's see some TACTIX!"
Super Jump, Mario.
Oh, that's a good idea. The Super Jump allowed Mario to continually jump on his opponent until he missed the progressively more difficult "Action Command". He was well-experienced with repeated head stomping. He leaped into the air with a characteristic "Yahoo!", landed on Ninja Jay's head, bounced and flipped, and landed again.
"Yeah! Mario!" The crowd was obviously rooting for the heroes that had saved their dimension. By the time Mario missed, 34 of the team's combined 90 HP was already gone. Put together, our heroes' HP totaled 190, and with Ninja Jay's attack of 7 with a jumping sword slice, it looked like he couldn't put a dent in our heroes. Mario responded with his gun attack, drawing interested breaths from the audience who weren't used to seeing him using weapons. After another laser gun from the ninja side, Mario nailed the foe with a standard Jump, and after Ninja Jay recovered some MP, Mario prepared for his next move.
It looks like you're going to wipe the floor with these guys, so why don't you let one of the others have some battle time? You can get the crowd excited.
Huh. Sounds good. Mario played his Switch card, and Luigi took the front lines.
As Mario retreated to meet with Peach and Tedac, Maia mused, You know, I wonder if this would be grounds for disqualification.
Heh. You think so? If anyone knew, that is...
Luigi gave the crowd more to look at. He performed a stylish flipping Super Jump and spread his arms out as he landed after missing the Action Command. The other team was now at 6 HP, and they couldn't do anything to avoid Luigi's next jump. He knocked the ninja out squarely, provoking even more intense cheer from the audience.
"And our winners are...THE PURE HEARTS!" Spotlights showered our heroes as Luigi spread his arms out again, basking in the audience's frenzy.
"Nice job, Luigi," assured Peach. "And Mario."
"Man, we destroyed those guys," offered Tedac. "This is gonna be easy."
Once our heroes had been escorted out of the central arena, Tippi spoke. "Do you guys want to watch some more fights?"
"I'm not sure," stated Luigi. "It's getting late. What time is it?" He looked over at the hallway clock. "Half-past eleven. We should get some sleep if we want to be in top condition for our two fights tomorrow." The tournament would continue for two rounds the next day, and the semifinals and finals would be held the following day.
"OK," agreed Mario. "Let's crash."
Our heroes' hotel room had been reworked from a military planning room. The conversion seemed somewhat rushed, but the amenities more than made up for it. "Check this out," pointed Luigi. He flicked on the TV and began watching movie previews.
Our heroes' space contained two bedrooms with two beds each and a small kitchen area and bathroom. There wasn't much to do after our heroes had freshened up, so they decided to rest for the night.
Good morning, Mario.
Mario's thoughts were silent for a moment. Good morning, Maia. Don't you have power to save, though?
Well, you said you'd like if I talked to you more. So here I am. Ready to play some more Tactix today?
Mario climbed out of bed. Yes, I am. But, are you sure you want to talk to me now? I mean, you should conserve your power and everything...
Oh, now you're the one concerned about my power. Maybe I shouldn't try to get so close to you, huh? Anyway, yeah, if you want, I'll leave. Maia left.
Wait...Maia... Mario was torn. He had a slight feeling that he'd hurt Maia, although her least message had sounded friendly. But then there was that whole thing about conserving her energy and...well, the whole situation was...something. What? Mario hoped those disabling thought patterns weren't recurring again. He had to cope with the stress of this new kind of adventure.
"Ready to fight some more, Hero of Legend?" asked Luigi when Mario walked out into the sitting area. He was already sitting at the table with Peach and Tedac, eating pancakes and eggs. "Man, this stuff is great! Good thing we called for room service."
Mario sat down. "Is something wrong, Mario?" inquired Tippi. "You seem a bit...out of it."
"No...I'm fine. Thanks." Mario downed his eggs and pancakes. "All right, are we ready to bash some heads, or what?"
"Well, first, we need to buy some more cards," stated Tedac. "There's tons of card packs out there, so our fights from here on out will be less predictable. We need to get cards we can use strategically to outwit our opponents."
Once our heroes had finished breakfast, they headed downstairs via the newly renovated elevator. Emerging on the first floor, they headed to the central marketplace where they could buy various card packs. "They're on those black metal bar display thingies," reported Tedac. "Let's see which ones we can use."
Mario tiltled one of the packs toward his eyes. "Strategy Pack..." he read. "There's some good stuff in here. More HP Recover, ability to switch without losing a turn..."
"How about this?" Peach pointed at a shiny blue case. "This one's more defensive. We can take cards from different packs and merge them all together, so we should diversify."
Our heroes discussed their plans for the next hour. Once their next fight began, they were ready.
"And now, the winners of the last round and adventurers you all love...THE PURE HEARTS!" Our heroes again walked onto the stage.
"Will be squaring off with...AGENT 83!" A pink Bluecap resident strolled onto the stage, trailed by another similar member of the species. They both appeared female.
"Looks like they're going for the 'hot secret agent' look," observed Luigi. He walked up to the center stage like our heroes had planned.
"The Pure Hearts, starting with Luigi, will face off against Agent 83 and her assistant, Agent 41 1/2. Like our other matches today, both groups have defeated one opponent before. How will they stand up to a new opponent? Let's see, folks! TACTIX has begun, with Agent 83 taking the lead move!"
The lead Agent 83 immediately fired a sniper rifle at the green plumber, taking out a large portion of our heroes' 190 HP. Whoa. They've got, what, 140 health? That's probably our big advantage. We have so much HP because we've been traveling a lot. Luigi wasted no time. He pulled out the Hammer Throw and slammed his opponent with a steel-plated mallet.
"Both sides start off with very powerful attacks! I wonder where this could lead!"
Luigi and the agent continued attacking each other until Agent 83 switched with her partner. Agent 41 1/2 promptly targeted Luigi with a wide laser. He was down to 87 HP. "I think we should switch, guys. We don't have to spend a turn."
Luigi switched places with Peach. "It's a female fight now, folks. The Pure Hearts are still up by 10 HP, but Agent 83 and her companion are gaining."
Peach recovered 20 HP. The new agent attacked her with a cool-looking shuriken. Peach responded with a stylish Fire Punch. Soon enough, Agent 83's team HP had been reduced to zero. "The Pure Hearts have won again! Congratulations to them!" The crowd screamed more enthusiastically than ever before.
"So that's our second win," reflected Tippi once our heroes were back in the hotel room, planning their next strategy. Their next battle didn't take place until night. "I think we should let Tedac in on the next fight. He hasn't gone yet."
"I'd be glad to go," agreed Tedac. "Especially with all the new cards that are available now. The game's getting pretty complicated. They have moves with random attack power, cards that counteract certain weapon types, a card that increases your defense...all kinds of stuff."
"Let's have a quick meal and then get back to the strategy, how's that?" suggested Mario.
That's good. You need nutrition. Just letting you know I didn't abandon you, Mario. I don't want you think I was hurt or anything. See ya. That was reassuring, at least, as our heroes eyed the new cards that were availible to them.
"It seems like it's becoming a lot more about random chance," contemplated Luigi as he looked at one of the many card packs. "We need to make sure those guys can't pull anything unexpected on us."
"We can use this," pointed Mario. "It allows us to counteract any gun-based weapon once for each gun we have in our hand."
"Let's use some guns this match, then," agreed Tedac. "I'll be good with that."
Our heroes entered their third match at night, prepared for whoever their opponent would be. "The PURE HEARTS are back again after their second win, and they'll be facing the POWER-UPPER! Let's hear some big cheers for both sides!" The crowd roared as Tedac and another Bluecap entered the center arena. "This is the first time the Pure Hearts are facing a solo opponent, so this will be an interesting match, and the solo Power-Upper will go first. Let's play TACTIX!"
Tedac soon discovered the Power-Upper lived up to his name. He was in possession of cards that increased his Attack and Defense capabilities, and his HP, at 170, was only 20 less than their group. He started off with a Mario-style Super Jump, nailing Tedac several times. I hope he has at least a few gun attacks! Tedac pulled out a sniper and took out a large amount of his foe's health.
Once they had exchanged a few more moves, none of which were guns, the Power-Upper used a card Tedac hadn't seen before. A large roulette appeared in the air and spun, apparently randomly determining what would happen. Tedac caught "30 damage", "Heal 40", "Temporary 2x Attack", and "Temporary 2x Defense" before the wheel stopped on Temporary 2x Defense. "The Power-Upper has increased his already high defense, folks! How will Tedac respond to this?"
This was a good moment for Tedac to pull out his Charge card. He charged his Attack strength for every turn his opponent's doubled defense was active, and then unleashed a devastating laser gun when the effect had worn off. The Power-Upper was put out of commission. "The Pure Hearts win AGAIN! They're just destroying the competition here!"
"We did it again!" cheered Mario.
"What?" asked Tedac. The roar of the crowd had grown too loud for him to hear anything else.
But that's exactly what I'm afraid of. It all seemed so normal.
Mario could almost see Maia's facial expression as he lie in bed with his eyes closed. He again entertained the fact that Maia was another person with her own feelings, thoughts, and desires. But then Dimentio would have to be purposely holding back. And since when does he do that?
He held back from attacking you guys when he wanted you to release a certain SOMEONE from an icy palace!
That was true. You're right, Maia...
Mario. Even if this whole Tactix thing is fun, I want you all to make extra checks around the place tomorrow. It's just not possible that Dimentio didn't interfere at all in this place. He might even have done something to the orb. Tippi can't feel it, can she?
Not really. But that's not anything to worry about, is it? They've got it sealed or something.
Maia remained in Mario's mind, pausing. She sighed. Well, Mario, I know you don't want to be over-distracted by your emotions, but just masking them and pretending you have no concerns isn't the way to go either. Find a middle ground. That advice is applicable in a lot of areas of life.
OK, Maia. I'll try.
That's good, Mario. I want to keep you warned. I can't shake the feeling that this is all happening just as Dimentio wants it. Be careful. I don't think anything's going to be the same after tonight.
What do you mean, Maia?
I don't really know. I just have this feeling that...something's going to change. Be really careful tomorrow.
OK. I'll be careful. I just want to sleep.
I know. I'm sorry if I've kept you awake, but I wanted to let you know what I was thinking. Be on the lookout. I mean it. Well, good night. The mysterious messenger withdrew her presence from Mario's mind, leaving him to fall asleep, trying not to think about any of the complicated mental experiences he'd been dealing with.
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
Dimentio stood on his platform in the castle, clutching greedily the two remaining orbs, blue and violet. Mario, of course, was the hero. He needed to get there and stop Dimentio. But why wasn't he? No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't jump. He didn't know why his jumping skills weren't working; all he knew was that he didn't know how he was going to get there and that Dimentio still had the two orbs Mario needed to save the universes.
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Mario!
Oh, good. If at any time Mario needed advice, now was it.
Mario!
What? What is it? Mario soon discovered the reason for Maia's call, however. The Inner Sanctum of Castle Dimentio disappeared, replaced by the wall of the former Radnamok X's fortress. It had just been a dream. Why did you wake me up, Maia? The clock read 3:29 AM.
Hurry. Go to the top floor.
The top floor? Why-
Don't delay! Go! Now! Maia withdrew from Mario's consicousness.
Mario had begun to slowly climb out of bed, but Maia was a person to trust, even if Mario didn't know what she was talking about half the time. He quickly left the room, fighting tiredness, and moved for the elevator. "The real top floor, or just the highest one on the elevator?" he asked out loud so Maia would hear.
The real top floor. Remember to hurry! Maia urged again.
Mario ascended from the fifth floor to the eighth, then made a dash for the steel-plated door. Tearing it open and running through the now-no-longer-dangerous corridor instilled a weird sense of nostalgia in the hero. He'd been in this exact spot once before, when he knew what he was looking for. It felt strange to be here again in the midst of all the confusion, as well as knowledge, he'd gained. Ducking into the elevator and pressing the button to rise, he exhaled.
Hold still. Don't make any noise. Listen. I'll keep the door closed.
The elevator rose to the secret top floor where our heroes had battled the first Headquarter Sandwich, but the door didn't open as Maia had promised. Mario tried to listen as she had instructed him.
"...semifinals now. Are you going to get involved in the fights now?"
"Yes. Now indeed would be the perfect time. We'll throw all of our resources behind their next fight, just because waiting until the finals might be risky."
"Good. And then I'll take over if they're still alive after the semifinals, right?"
"That is correct, Bowser."
Bowser!
That's right, Mario! I extended a bit and felt their presence here. They weren't here before now, so you've got to get the others and do something. Confronting them sounds like the best option.
Mario descended via the elevator again and ran as fast he could back to our heroes' room. He awoke all the others. "Hurry, guys! Bowser's here with someone else, and they're planning something!"
"What?!" exclaimed Tippi. "How do you know?"
"Maia told me and then I heard for myself! Come on! Don't delay! Go! Now!"
Picking up some hurrying tactics from me, are you? Maia seemed to smirk.
This isn't the time for jokes, Maia. Help me get the others ready to go!
Who says I can't lighten the mood a bit? And what could I do about the others, anyway? Please lighten your mood, Mario. Maia left again.
Yeah...OK...
After some more shouting, our three heroes plus Tippi and Tedac were awake and running for the top floor. "What are they planning?" asked Luigi.
"I don't know exactly, but it sounds like they're going to interfere with our fighting!" Our heroes crowded into the elevator at the end of the corridor, almost tripping over each other. The elevator rose, and the door opened.
"Ah ha ha ha. I presume that Maia dragged you heroes here to confront us?"
"Dimentio!" uttered all of our heroes. Seeing Dimentio here seemed to set up a feeling of suspense. They hadn't seen him since he'd been defeated as Hyper Dimentio, and him being here had to mean he was planning something.
"Yeah, he's Dimentio," agreed Bowser. "You guys got a problem with that?"
"So you do know about Maia," accused Mario. "And yes, she did bring us here. Whatever you guys are planning, it's not going to work."
"Ah ha! You're as confident as ever, Mario, but are you sure it's not already working? You've been experiencing some uncomfortable emotions recently, haven't you?"
"Wh...what?" Mario fell into an awkward pause. He didn't want to give it away, but it sounded like Dimentio already knew everything.
I had a feeling it was them! Tell them they're never going to get away with this!
"Maia says you're not going to get away with this, and I'm going to make sure of it!" The hero thought he had sounded a bit aloof, but in the presence of one of the most evil villains he'd ever encountered, that wasn't something to worry about.
"Oh? Is that true? Well, since I assume you can hear me through Mario's senses, you think being in Mario's mind and giving him instructions makes the heroes unstoppable. But it doesn't. Mario's already under my control, and there's no way you can stop it."
Under your control? What does that mean? There's no way you could get Mario to listen to you! Dimentio wasn't able to hear Maia, so Mario related her question.
"Ah, foolish Maia! How you long to know the intricacies of my plan, just like your abundance of knowledge of everything Mario's being tormented by. Perhaps you ought to let Mario in on a few details before you go around demanding to know my plans, like the rascally girl you are?"
What...I...I...
Come on, Maia! You're the one always giving me advice! You can't get stuck now!
"The contortions of your face, Mario, suggest that you're speaking to Maia with your thoughts. Are you finally accusing her of witholding information like she's done for so long? Or are you still under her spell?"
"Under her spell?" asked Tedac. "What the heck does that mean? If you're intending for us to have any clue of what you're talking about, you're failing."
Mario...don't listen to Dimentio! You have to fight these guys! They're trying to mess up your mind!
Mario gathered himself. "I'm not going to fall for your dirty mind tricks anymore. We're here to get the orb, and that's what we're going to do."
"Your confidence...it is as flimsy as a new installment in a popular series that deviates from development and action in favor of some sugar-coated environmental message. You do know that the human mind is not something that can be tamed, do you not? You can say you're not going to fall for my tricks anymore and call it the truth. But does that mean it is so just because you said it?"
He's just keeping it up! Shut him out! Ignore him! Make him talk about something else!
By now, small drops of sweat were trickling down Mario's face. "I said, I'm not going to fall for your mind tricks anymore! We're going to find the orb...and that's that!"
"Your words falter. They are useless. And whatever drivel Maia is putting into your mind won't help. Your mission is hopeless, Mario. In such an unstable world, truth is a good thing to know, isn't it? And here's the truth: You have failed. You heroes and that annoying Maia have all failed."
Mario...I...don't know what to do. He just keeps talking. You've got to get out of this place. Find the orb. It's nearby, isn't it? Ask Tippi!
"Tippi...is the orb nearby?"
"Er...well...I still don't feel it...I haven't felt anything different since we arrived in this dimension..."
Dimentio cut in. "Perhaps the orb you're looking for is simply not here. That would certainly be a reason to doubt Maia's direction, wouldn't it?"
I...I can't take it anymore! Tell him to just shut up!
Maia...can you find out where the orb is? Is there any way?
Well...I didn't want to mention this, but...I could shift from your mind to Dimentio's. It would take a lot out of my energy, and Dimentio could probably keep me out once he realizes I'm in his mind, but...I might be able to gather something in the few moments I have. Then I could come back to you, but it would probably disable me for a while like when you were finding the last orb.
Then...if that's what you have to do, then do it! Do it fast! Maia immediately left the hero's mind.
"Having more conversation with your mental partner? What's the use? She's just-"
"I...I..." Mario was frozen. "I...well...the...we have to get out of here!" Mario slowly stepped backward.
"Not so fast!" Bowser took a menacing step toward our heroes. "You heroes aren't leaving this place now. We have some business to take care of."
"And so do I," replied Dimentio. "That is, I have the exact same business to take care of. How would you heroes like a physical assault as well? You don't have to tell me. I know what you all want."
MINIBOSS
Dimentio and Bowser
"Let's get out of here!" shouted Mario. "Maia just...well...I can't tell you!" He bolted for the elevator.
"Get back here, you coward!" Bowser ducked into his shell, aiming his spinning body directly for Mario. Before Mario could even turn around, Bowser struck the hero, sending him against the elevator.
"Aaarghh..." Mario peeled his face from the steel door, only to see Bowser attacking him with a stream of strange yellow particles. He half-absently jumped the blast and ran toward Bowser.
"Get away from my brother!" Luigi jumped above Bowser's head and delivered his Ground Pound.
"So defensive of your failing elder brother, are you?" the jester taunted. Dimentio aimed a huge energy ball in Luigi's direction, but Luigi Super Jumped over the attack just in time and came down on Dimentio's head. "Ouch! So you still have it in you. I should have expected no less from the faces of Tactix. But skill with playing cards doesn't mean skill with fighting." He cloned himself three times and nailed Luigi with four identical energy balls.
Mario, get out of this building! Go toward the ocean.
"The ocean?" Mario said out loud.
"The ocean!" exclaimed Tippi. "Did Maia tell you something?"
"Oh, I know what Maia did," interjected Dimentio. "When Bowser started attacking Mario, she broke into my mind and discerned the location of the orb. I was able to shoo her out after that, but who knows what else she found out? Probably nothing she'd tell you, Mario."
Not much of anything else, besides the land south of here and the mountains. Quick. Go to the ocean. I have to leave now... Maia's voice faded away.
"The ocean," repeated Mario. "We have to go there." Land south of here and the mountains... He bolted again for the elevator, followed by the others. Bowser followed them, but Mario deftly swatted him away with the hammer.
When the elevator opened into the formerly dangerous hallway, our heroes ran as fast as they could. "This should at least buy us some time," stated Peach.
"So sure?" Dimentio appeared and Bowser flipped in, directly in our heroes' path. "You haven't forgotten about that, have you?" The jester waved his hand, producing a lightning bolt that almost fried Luigi. The ensuing conflict was between our heroes trying to reach the door, and Dimentio and Bowser trying to halt them. Their forward march was slow and frequently interrupted, but they eventually made it to the steel-plated door. Mario thrust it open, and our group burst into the hallway.
"I'll give you guys a taste of Bowser!" Bowser leaped though the air, did a flip, and pounded the ground in front of our heroes. He landed directly on Tedac, cracking the floor.
"Tedac!" exlclaimed Tippi.
Mario moved into action. He swung his hammer at the area of floor near Tedac, breaking it open and allowing our heroes to quickly descend to the floor below. They again dashed for the elevator, but were halted by the appearing Dimentio. "Not so fast, heroes. Do you know who you're leaving behind?"
Our heroes turned around to look at the unmoving Tedac. "It's...fine, guys," he stuttered. "I'll tell them you guys had to leave. Just go."
"Wait, Tedac..." sighed Mario. Our heroes hadn't known Tedac for a long time, but he still didn't feel like someone they could just abandon. Who knew? He might even make a valuable addition to their team.
"You can't agonize over this!" Tedac suddenly shouted. "Do what Maia's been telling you! Set your decision in stone! Go! Now!"
Mario looked back at the soldier that he probably wouldn't see again, at least for a while. "Well...OK, Tedac."
He moved for the elevator, but Dimentio blocked him with another sphere of energy. "And just where do you think you're going, Mario?"
What can I do? Dimentio and Bowser have us cornered... Bowser rushed for our heroes, fiery breath ready. "Everyone jump!" Mario acted on impulse. He leaped over Bowser and sent his hammer through the nearby window, shattering glass everywhere. He leaped through the hole in the glass he'd made, followed by Luigi, Peach, and Tippi.
Our heroes were falling from the seventh floor. They'd be severely injured, if not killed, when they hit the ground. "Mario, smash the second-story window!" shouted Peach.
That had been Mario's plan. With no time to discuss the specifics, Mario swung his hammer through the second-floor window, creating a ledge our heroes could grasp to avoid the fall. When they slammed their hands into the glass barrier, the sharp edges dug into their palms, provoking massive pain, but now wasn't the time to check for injuries. They fell from the second floor down to the ground, curved around the rear of the fortress, and hurried in the direction of the ocean.
"It's right there!" stated Tippi. "There it is!"
"Land south of here and the mountains..." said Mario.
"What? Is that what Maia told you?"
"Yes. She found it in Dimentio's mind."
"What mountains?" asked Peach quickly. "Does he mean...wait. Were there mountains to the..." Peach's eyes widened. "There were mountains in the opposite direction we were traveling the very first time we entered this dimension. Remember the mountains at the beginning of the Dimension of Refuge? This is the humid side...and that's the rain shadow!"
"Indeed, heroes. You seem to just keep returning to the Refuge, don't you?" Dimentio had appeared next to our heroes, now standing at the edge of a cliff that gave way to the ocean several feet below, dimly shining in the moonlight. The land apparently rose in the direction of the fortress. "Perhaps Maia just..."
"NOOOOOO!!!" shouted Mario, suddenly blaring more crazily than our heroes had ever heard him. "Your plan was to move the orb across the ocean and get me into a bunch of mental stress stuff with the tournament and Tippi's orb sense and Maia and everything! And then you were going to mess up our fighting too! You were taking advantage of my stress at a more demanding adventure! But I won't let you! Maia and I won't let you! Maia's our guiding force...and you don't have any bearing on that! We're going to find the orbs and stop whatever evil thing you have planned! Yes! We're going to STOP YOU!" Mario couldn't bear to resist Dimentio's mental strategies any more. He grasped one of Luigi's and Peach's arms, tilted backward, and sent all three heroes falling downward into the sea.
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
After the loud plunge, our heroes were silent as they moved through the lukewarm ocean in the direction of the orb. A strange sort of unspoken consent told them that speaking in this situation would be a bad idea, or at least not a good one. They had to find the orb. That was the only thought in Mario's head. They had to find the orb.
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The group couldn't see very far in the dim moonlight, but they could at least avoid the various enemies that came their way after a while. Tippi trailed the heroes, floating silently behind them. She was conflicted. What was happening to Mario? Was Dimentio's plan to mess with his mind succeeding? The Pixl knew she had to help Mario in some way. She'd promised that when they had first met in Bowser's Castle, which seemed like several years ago. Finally, she spoke. "Mario? Are you fine?"
Mario turned his head. "Yes, Tippi...I'm fine. Dimentio wanted me to feel conflicted about the whole thing, but I'm just focusing on finding the orb. It's still this way, isn't it?"
Tippi sensed. "Yes, still this way. It's a while away, but...I feel something else, something strange. Well, not strange, but...something else. There might be some other source of power on this island, or wherever it is Dimentio knew the orb was..."
That was reassurance enough for Mario. He set his mind back on moving in the same direction, knowing that the orb was nearer with every stroke. That singular driving desire formed his only coherent thought, and floating in the dark water only served to lessen any distractions. He was in a silent world of nothingness, doing nothing but moving forward. Moving forward. His limbs ached after a long time of swimming through the ocean, but he didn't notice. He was moving forward.
A rock formation brought Mario back to awareness after a time he had no sense of. It broke from the water like a sudden island, similar to the island our heroes had swam underneath in the Dusky Shallows, but its shape was irregular. "How do we get past this?" asked Peach. "Mario, is there a passage underneath where you can find a switch or something?"
Mario used his words sparingly. "I'll see." He flipped into 3D and revealed a passage that cut into the shallower seafloor beneath him, revealing a darker cave. He dove into the opening, reaching a narrow tunnel below. After a passage, he found a switch in the near-complete blackness. He whacked it with his hammer, presumably opening a path for our heroes. Before heading back to the surface, though, he rested in the cave for a while, taking in all he was experiencing. Here he was, in an underwater cave in the middle of nowhere, searching for some artifact he knew nothing about.
Mario...
The voice returned. Mario had almost forgotten about its existence.
Mario... it repeated.
Yes, Maia...
Maia paused. Well...Mario... She seemed to be placing her words. ...I'm sorry if it feels like I'm keeping too much from you. I don't want you to be stressed. I just want you to find the orbs. And save the world. You're doing a great job.
It's fine, Maia. I know I'll learn these things when they come. You don't need to blame yourself. It was all Dimentio.
Yeah, I know... Maia again paused. Mario, can you picture me? What do you see in your mind when you think of me?
Well, I haven't seen you, of course, so I just picture a girl. I picture you as having brown hair. I'm not sure if that's right, but something in my mind associated it.
Well, I do have brown hair. I used to, at least. What happens when you picture Dimentio?
Hmm...well, I see him, and then... Mario allowed "Dimentio" to resonate in his brain for a few seconds, aware that Maia could see his thoughts. I think of sinister and evil. Someone with no mercy who uses whatever means he has to get what he wants.
That's true, Mario. Dimentio is like that. Maia sighed. I just hope Dimentio's tricks aren't influencing your mind. Even if he isn't directly hypnotizing you, his words can be a deadly weapon. Whenever you can, ignore what he says.
I will, Maia. The messenger was silent. Is that all?
I guess so. Well, when you get to the landmass...be careful. That's all. Dimentio moved the orb across the ocean before you came here. Maia left Mario's mind once again.
OK. Realizing what he needed to be doing, Mario exited the chamber and rose through the passage, emerging next to the others. The rock formation had disappeared, allowing our heroes passage beyond.
"How much longer until the orb?" asked Luigi.
"It's closer," responded Tippi. "We might get there soon, but exactly how long I can't say..."
As they continued, our heroes' tiredness began to overcome their reflexes. Similar to what had happened in the desert to the northeast of where our heroes were now, our heroes pushed forward without really knowing what they were doing. Mario simply moved forward again, having no perception of what was around him. His thoughts were nonexistent. He didn't even know if he was asleep or awake, injured or safe, swimming or riding. He was nothing. Nothing existed around him. Nothing existed. Nothing.
-END OF CHAPTER-
En route to the second-to-last orb, our heroes crossed an ocean, hopefully to reach the orb on the landmass Maia detected in Dimentio's mind. Dimentio had conceived a crippling mind to destroy Mario's mental focus by combining the already-existing stress of a more demanding adventure with the ambiguous notions of Tippi's orb sense, drawing him into the Tactix tournament while hiding our heroes' target elsewhere. Our heroes barely managed to escape without letting Dimentio's plan succeed, but who can tell what might happen to them now? What will Dimentio try next? What awaits our heroes on the southern landmass? When our heroes awake, they may just find out...
"So they're heading for the orb," recapped Omega, "and they'll arrive at the landmass to south."
"That's correct," agreed Dimentio. "We won't need to interfere unless it seems they may actually find something. One of my acquaintances lives on that island, and she will make sure the heroes are stopped in their tracks. You know her well, Morris, and so does Amtakan."
"Sounds good," approved Morris. "So we're just going to wait and see what happens?"
"Essentially, yes. Nothing is for certain at the moment. We will simply observe the heroes and see how things turn out. Mario's mind...it boils with the agonizing indecision of a group of boys stranded on a deserted island, observing the plumes of smoke from a ship on the horizon, seperated from their dying fire by a hundred yards of thick jungle. We must make sure neither Maia nor anyone else can break Mario from the mental grip we have on him."
"What about the minions?" fumed Morris. "If what Amtakan said is true, more people might form a more supportive environment for Mario. We have to make sure that won't happen."
"Don't be concerned with that, Morris. This acquaintance is well experienced in every sort of deception, trickery, and mind-play. Of course, you know that already, but the others must be assured as well."
"We've got it, Master Dimentio," offered Bowser.
"That is excellent. I will now be off. I will contact you again when the circumstances play out." Dimentio disappeared and Bowser flipped out.
Morris was about to leave as well, but before he could begin to flip out, Omega addressed him. "Hey...Morris. Remember that thing I told you about earlier? Something I was going to tell you?"
"Yeah. Can you tell me now?"
"Well, given the circumstances, I suppose I might as well." Omega paused. "I'm going to be blunt here: Do you want to know where Margaret is?"
Morris's eyes widened. "What? You know where she is? I haven't seen her since we split up."
"Indeed, I do. In order to tell you how I know, though, I'd have to tell you a bit about myself, and I'm not sure I'm ready to do that yet. I just want you to remember that I know where you can find Margaret."
Morris paused. "Well, um...OK then. Tell me soon, though. What's this reason it's such a big secret?"
"Only those of extreme competence are wanted where I'm from." Alpha and Omega flipped out, leaving Morris to wonder what this meant.
"It's over, Maia. Admit it. You have been defeated."
"Oh, no I haven't. You can't defeat determination. I'm going to stop Amtakan. How's that sound?"
"Ha, ha ha. You're still keeping at it, aren't you? Your determination isn't going to do anything now."
"Oh, yes, it...WILL!"
"Wha-"
"Hey!"
"Reverse!"
"No!"
"Aagh!"
"Quick!"
"This-"
"Gah!"
"This-"
"No!"
"Aagh!"
"AAAAAAAAAAGH!!!"
"NOOOO!!! This...CAN'T BE HAPPENING!"
"AAGGCCKKK!!!"
"My...my..."
A bird chirped.
Mario rose his head. He looked back down. He was lying on a patch of sand. What? He pulled himself up to a sitting position. What happened? Where am I?
You're on the landmass you were aiming for, Mario. You made it.
What? What landmass...oh! That! We swam across the ocean... Mario looked around. He was resting on a narrow beach of light bronze-colored sand that bordered a field of sparse evergreens and short grass. The overall scene carried a dull, tanish tone, like something from an old photo. Even the blue sky and ocean seemed a bit more toned in the yellow-green portion of the spectrum than normal. The quiet roar of the ocean provided an ambient backdrop.
"Where are we?" Mario turned to look at his brother, just awakening.
"We're on the landmass where the orb is, Luigi. We made it across the ocean."
"We did? Good. I must have fallen asleep or something."
"I think we all did. I can't remember much of anything after we passed that rock formation."
Once Tippi and Peach were awake, our heroes set out to take a look at their surroundings. "Where do you think the orb is, Tippi?" asked Peach.
"Well, it's on this island, that I can tell, but I still sense that other thing. It's like a second orb."
"We'll have to check this place out some more," offered Luigi. "Does anyone live on this island? We should ask for help."
Mario led the heroes away from the ocean, continuing in the same direction they had been traveling. They didn't know what to look for, but Tippi's orb sense provided a rough guide for their direction. The sights and sounds of the surrounding scenery were pleasant comforts as our heroes strolled. Compared to most of the environments they'd been in recently, it seemed like a fantasy paradise. "I think this island is pretty large," noted Tippi. "The orb still feels a decent distance away."
After a relatively thick grove of evergreen trees, a large building emerged in a quite sudden clearing. It was an elegantly decorated mansion, with brown, gold, and white overtones. Large windows decorated the sides, reaching up its three floors. Our heroes' attention, however, almost instantly swerved away from the mansion and to the three people performing nearby yard work. When they saw our heroes, all six jaws dropped open.
"Mario," uttered Mimi, "you're finally here!"
-
Great chapter!
-
Woah. Although, when I'm bored I read SPM2, but I've barely read this one. Good chapter.
-
Something was very, very amiss. Here were Count Bleck's three minions, alive and in the flesh! But hadn't Dimentio killed them? While Mario's words were stuck in his throat, he began to realize something amiss about the minions themselves; they all looked weak and sickly, as if their energy had been drained away. Mimi, who stood the closest, had dark bags under her eyes and a distinctly grayer complexion than usual, as well as cheek highlights that weren't as bright pink as normal. O'Chunks, to our heroes' left, fared no better; his skin bore the same dull texture and his limbs drooped weakly against his sides, rather unlike the strong brute our heroes knew him as. Finally, Nastasia featured a similar skin tone and drooped as if her legs couldn't hold her weight. What had been done to these minions? And where was Blumiere?
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"We were starting to lose hope you guys would ever get here," continued Mimi. "The Void's grown so large." She briefly raised her eyes to stare at the dark Void that dominated half the sky. "And then we..." Mimi's throat tightened. She covered her mouth with her arm, letting out a loud cough before finishing her sentence. "...were getting scared. It's so good that you finally came here."
Our heroes again looked over the drained minions. "What happened to all of you?" inquired Tippi, floating closer to the minions. "You...don't look yourselves."
"We've been like this almost since we got here," explained Nastasia. "The mistress makes us sleep outside some of the time..."
"What? The mistress..." Tippi again spun into her own thoughts.
"Well, let's do some explaining first," suggested Nastasia, motioning for O'Chunks to come closer. "You're looking for orbs now, r...right?" Nastasia suppressed a cough when beginning "right".
"Yes, that's true," confirmed Luigi.
"And someone named Maia is telling you where to go next via Mario's mind?"
"Yeah."
"At least we know she was telling the truth." Nastasia eyed the other minions before turning back to the heroes. "We found ourselves here after Dimentio...shall we say...'killed' us. This lady who said her name was Wretcha found us and made us work here."
"With a name like that, I can't say I'm surprised." Mario looked down and thought. Where had he heard that name before? "Wretcha..."
"Does it sound familiar? She's Amtakan's assistant."
"Amtakan!" Mario perked up. "Do you know about him? We thought that was the guy we freed in the ice palace."
"Yes, that's him. Do you remember him saying she cast a spell on him? She preserved his strength when he was sealed in the palace."
"Is that what it was? So how was he sealed in the first place?"
"Well...we don't know that much. The only other thing she told us, besides what you guys already know, and that there's an orb here...was that instead of killing us, Dimentio drained most of our energy and sent us here. That's the other part of why we're so sick. She said that if Dimentio fails, Amtakan will need us to reactivate the Chaos Heart again."
"What?!" exclaimed Tippi, shocked. "If Dimentio fails?"
"That's what she said."
Peach thought this over. "It sounds like Amtakan's...like, the major bad guy here. We thought he might have worked with the Tribe of Darkness or maybe even founded it. So, you know about what Dimentio told us after he...sent you here? All that stuff about being Blumiere's father and using their blood somehow for the Dark Prognosticus?"
"Yeah. And we know Dimentio's working with Amtakan, but that's about it." Nastasia sighed. "Dimentio obviously tricked us into setting him free so he could advance his plan. Amtakan said that he had a plan of his own, so we've made sort of an educated guess on the nature of all this. Mimi suggested that, since Amtakan worked with Wretcha to create her and the other two...oh, did I forget to mention that?...he was working with Dimentio-slash-Ganter at the time Blumiere was prince. Someone, likely one of the Ancients, must have gone after Amtakan and sealed him in the palace. Blumiere then met Timpani, turned into Count Bleck, destroyed his dimension, and all that stuff. Dimentio managed to escape with his life, but he'd lost his memory except for some thoughts about power and the Dark Prognosticus and Count Bleck and all that. So when he regained his memory after we defeated him, he set up his plan to drain our energy, reactivate the Chaos Heart, and have Amtakan freed to continue his plans in case he was defeated."
"So, if we destroy the Chaos Heart..." mused Luigi. "He can still reactivate it by killing you?"
"Yes. Remember what Merlon told us? If Peach and Bowser's union is destroyed, the Chaos Heart will vanish, since that's what called it into existence in the first place."
"Yet...he can still reactivate it? And...how could their...union be destroyed? Bowser's on Dimentio's side now, and Blumiere is...well..."
"He's alive..." stated Tippi. "Remember? I can still feel it somehow..." Tippi's voice carried a sense of insisted wishfulness. She and the heroes hadn't thought about Blumiere's death very much since it happened.
"That's my next point," continued Nastasia. "If you're wondering how the Chaos Heart could possibly be deactivated, it's very possible that Maia could've saved him somehow and moved him to a dimension where Dimentio and Amtakan couldn't find him. Wretcha told us that she's been helping you all along, even before she started communicating with Mario."
"Mmm..." Mario took all this in. "Wretcha told you all of this? Why would she do that? Why is she here in the first place?"
"Wretcha...well...she's sort of strange. I told you she makes us sleep outside some of the time. But other times, she lets us sleep inside the mansion, and there's very comfy beds in there."
"Schizophrenia?" blurted Luigi.
"I don't know. But she's weird. She talked to you yesterday, right, Mimi?"
"Yeah. She invites me to talk with her in the dining room sometimes. She says it's an interesting experience to talk with her creation. And she thinks I look cute."
"She's not entirely wrong," admitted Luigi.
Mimi smiled a little, but otherwise ignored the comment. "Just her mannerisms, the way she talks, the words she uses..." She coughed. "It's strange. The things she does. A lot of times when she makes us sleep outside, she looks at us through the window, and she smiles. Not like a mean smile, though. Sort of like a...sympathetic smile. Even though she's the one who put us out there. And she puts me out there the most. Alone sometimes. I think she...um..." The minion seemed to be struggling to find appropriate words. "She, just, likes...observing me. Like, her creation. She likes the fact that she created me and can...do things to me. Like..." Mimi closed her eyes, then opened them again. "...sending her 'cute' creation out there in the cold just to feel sympathetic for me. Or I don't know. Some emotion. You know what I'm talking about, right? Something...ah...well..."
"I...think I get it," assured Tippi. "So, let me get something straight. Dimentio sent you here so Wretcha would keep you in case Amtakan needed to activate the Chaos Heart again? Was this a plan they had ahead of time?"
"I think so," answered Nastasia. "She's obviously been on this island for a while now. How she got here, I don't know, but Amtakan probably told her ahead of time, like after we released him and everything."
Mario thought. "I wonder if Maia can tell us anything about this. She's been silent since we found the island. Can you, Maia?"
Well...um...Wretcha lives here. She's been here for a long time, when she's not meeting with Amtakan. She's eccentric.
Yeah, well, we know that... Mario searched his mind for any other question, but there were so many specifics, he could only think of a general overlying statement. Can you tell us anything else? Like, about the situation?
I...don't think so. That was all she said.
Why not, Maia?
Because. I told you. It might distract you from your task, and there's so much to tell, I would lose a lot of power by the time I told you everything.
Well, OK. The messenger immediately left, and Mario's gaze returned to the others.
"Is it strange being able to talk to someone in your mind?" asked Nastasia. "When I think of that concept, it's always some mysterious voice that gives instructions, but it seems like Maia's more of a...friend."
Mario felt as if this pause-laden conversation had about reached its end, but he went along with Nastasia's question anyway. "It was strange at first, since I wasn't used to it. It made me feel dizzy. I got used to it after a while, though. It doesn't bother me now."
"I see."
O'Chunks made sort of a grunting noise. "What's with him?" asked Luigi.
"He can barely talk," explained Mimi. "He's so sick, he's lost his voice. He can just grunt and make hand motions."
"Well, something has to be done about all this," firmed Tippi, getting back to the mission at hand. "We have to find the orb and-"
"Oh! New arrivals!" Our heroes hadn't noticed the figure approaching from the decorated front door of the mansion. Although not quite the "evil witch" the Flopside bartender Carson had described, Wretcha's appearance gave our heroes a strange, creepy feeling. Her skin was very dull, not unlike the sickly minions'. The witch's hair was a strange gray-light-blue-purple combination and was plastered in dreadlock-esque bangs all around her head, overshadowing her gray eyes. All of her clothing, including her wooden, elf-like shoes, were black. Despite her unconvential appearance, her exposed hands and other body features were shaped mostly normally, not anything like a pointed-fingered witch. "You are those heroes Amtakan and Dimentio hate so much, aren't you?" She jerkingly extended her hand toward the group. "It's good you're here. Because, you know, we can't just let you take the orbs on this island. No, Amtakan's way to smart to let that happen. You're going to work for me and wait until whatever we have to do with the minions. Because, you know, Maia could do something at any time. So we have to keep a watch for her. It's too bad we haven't found Blumiere yet. SO!" She suddenly shouted, then returned her voice to normal. She walked toward Mario and assumed a weird talkative pose. "Tell me, Mario. How does it feel to be able to mentally communicate with someone?"
"He just told us that," interjected Nastasia. "He-"
"SILENCE! Let the plumber answer, you secretary."
"Well, er, it's kind of...strange, like when it first happened, but I'm sort of used to it now. It's nice being able to talk to her, actually."
"Is that so? Interesting. A strange feeling, isn't it? And yet such a pleasant one." The witch's words seemed as though they should have be spoken with force, but her voice was very low and calm. "Some girl who enters your mind and tells you what to do. That feels nice somehow. Doesn't it? Nice. So anyway, get to it. These minions can explain what they're doing right now, and you join in. I'll see you all at dinner, which is precisely two hours and 13 minutes from now. See you all then. Workers." She walked back through the door.
"That's what I meant," sighed Mimi, coughing again.
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
Here our heroes were, again forced to do work for some evil mastermind. There had to be some way to find the orbs. As our minions explained their current task to the heroes, they listened carefully and agreed, but their hearts were elsewhere. They couldn't let Dimentio, or Wretcha, walk all over them anymore. They were heroes...heroes who had to save every world.
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"So you're just sort of pulling weeds now," observed Tippi.
"That's right," agreed Nastasia. "All around the house. We've done a few already, but most of them are still there."
"You know, who says we have to do this?" asked Luigi. "What if we just refuse? How can she make us do this stuff?"
"I saw her sometimes when we were with Amtakan," answered Mimi. "She was pretty powerful back then. I don't know if she still is, but we think it'd be safe just to listen to what she says for now."
"Well, ...fine." Luigi stooped next to the nearest weed and yanked it from the ground.
"Where does she want the weeds?" asked Peach.
"I was just going to tell you," breathed Nastasia, coughing. "She said we can put them wherever we want, just as long as they're not in the ground."
"What?" questioned Mario. "What sense does that make? Shouldn't they be thrown away or something?"
"That's not what she said. We're forming a pile here, but I guess they could go anywhere." She pointed to a small pile of about five weeds.
"Well, if they don't need to go anywhere, I guess I'll just pull 'em and leave 'em." Luigi dropped his weed and moved to the next.
As Mario worked his way to the back of the mansion, in the corner of his eye, he spotted Wretcha observing him from a second-floor window. He continued working as he had before, but a bit more cautiously, putting all the weeds into another nearby pile. "Wretcha's watching us," he said in a low tone to the nearby Luigi.
"I know." He continued working.
When every weed was somewhere other than in the ground, Wretcha again emerged from her house. "Good job, pitiful slaves. Now go in the woods and get berries and nuts. Do it." She retreated to the mansion again.
"Berries and nuts?" puzzled Luigi. "What?"
"She likes eating the berries in the forest," explained Mimi. "Even though they're poisonous. She can magically dilute the poison, I think, but..." She sighed. "Yeah. I think she just likes it for the sake of the fact they're poisonous."
"The forest isn't very far of a walk," explained Nastasia. "We'll show you where it is. We need to put the items in here." She withdrew a leather sack. "She gave this to us earlier."
The three minions led the three heroes away from the mansion and through another field of spread-out evergreens. Gradually, though, the trees grew closer together until they nearly blotted out the sunlight. Different types of trees and bushes began to appear. "Those are the berries and nuts she wants," pointed Mimi. She grabbed a branch and pulled off a handful of crimson berries.
As our heroes worked their way deeper into the forest, they came to a sudden clearing. "What's this?" inquired Tippi. Sunlight filtered down from above, illuminating a tree-free area that was almost perfectly square in shape.
"We've been to this clearing before," related Mimi. "It's sort of strange how it's such a perfect square like this."
"Yeah..." agreed Mario. His eyes were focused on the clearing ahead of him, but his mind seemed elsewhere.
"Mario?" asked Tippi. "Is everything OK?"
Mario lowered his head. "Well..."
Say it, Mario. You've got the right idea.
Hearing this, the hero abruptly perked up, lowered his eyebrows, and addressed the others. "All right, guys. I think we need to discuss something. There's...two orbs on this island, isn't there?"
"Yes," answered Mimi. "That's what Wretcha said. Those are the last two you need."
"Then..." Mario again withdrew. He needed to be ready to make a speech, to convince the others of something they needed to hear. He opened his mouth, ready to begin, but at that moment realized that the minions needed to know something. "Before I start, we need to tell the minions everything that's happened since we were at Castle Dimentio."
"Sounds fine," agreed Nastasia. "We have time, don't we?"
O'Chunks gave a grunt of approval.
"Let's sit down," offered Mario. "We'll be more comfortable that way." He sat down, followed by the others. "Now." Mario wasn't used to making a speech like this, but describing the heroes' previous adventures helped him contemplate. He occasionally left the task of describing to someone else; Luigi related the events of Reidlos X's airship, and Peach described what had happened in the city of Sereniburg. Mario, however, took everything from their latest arrival in this dimension, describing in detail Dimentio and Bowser's plan to assault his mind and their deception of moving the orb from the Bluecap and X Faction territory to Wretcha's island. By pushing his stress to the back of his mind, Mario had actually made it worse. "And then we found the mansion, and you know what happened after that."
"Wow," exhaled Mimi, her voice even weaker than usual. "That's...amazing. Dimentio went after your mind, not just your body. I hope we can defeat him somehow, soon. He's just getting too danger...ous...!" The minion let out a forceful hack. She half-reopened her eyes, almost hyperventilating.
"Mimi..." began Tippi, moving close to her. "Can you tell me something? Your body heals itself so quickly...how could you still be so sick?"
Mimi turned her head toward Tippi. "Well, my blood is unnaturally healthy, but that's what Dimentio took. All three of us are resistant to diseases to some degree, because all three of us have stored power that makes us immortal, but..." She seemed to be ready to cough again, but held her throat. "...if Dimentio drained that power, we're more vulnerable. To injuries and diseases." Mimi held out her hand, revealing a small bruise on her left palm, or at least what she had of a palm. "I tripped over a bush two days ago and hit my hand. That bruise is still there. It was bleeding for a while, too."
"Oh..." Tippi was sympathetic and horrified at the same time.
"So..." Mario began again. "This is why I wanted to tell you guys something. See, all the stuff that Dimentio did with the tournament and everything...we were chasing after a false orb the whole time. We were fighting in the tournament, and we thought we were going to recieve the orb, but..." He shook his head. "Dimentio and Bowser set the whole thing up. They wanted us to participate in the tournament. It's safe to assume that he hypnotized the people who were running the thing into saying they weren't going to give the orb out, to trick us into thinking that's where it was. We were falling into their hands the whole time until Maia bailed us out."
"You're saying..." began Luigi. "We shouldn't let that happen again?"
"Exactly! See The Void?" It was no larger than it had been when our heroes arrived on the island, but it was still very large. "We just can't afford to let Wretcha bark orders for us while we attend to her every whim. That's what she and Dimentio and Amtakan want. We cannot just sit here and let them push us around. We have to go for the orbs. We have to get them and stop The Void before it consumes all of existence."
There was silence for a time. "Yeah," Nastasia finally uttered, coughing. "I agree with all of that. We have to find the orbs."
"Do you know where they are, Tippi?" asked Peach.
"Well, when we were by Wretcha's house, I felt an orb...and then when we walked here, I felt it less strongly, but now I think I feel something again."
"Maybe those are where they are," offered Mimi. "She might be hiding one in her house, and then...out here somewhere. Maybe she even hid one around here? And that's why there's this square clearing?"
Well, I'm the one who hid them. There should be one right under your feet. I'm not exactly sure where Dimentio put the other one, but if Tippi senses it around Wretcha's house, that's probably where it is.
Mario told the others what Maia had just told him. "There's an orb right under our feet?" asked Luigi. "Then let's start digging right now. We have to find it."
Well...not right under, Luigi. It's sort of far down. Dimentio and Wretcha did something to guard it, that I can feel. You might want to go after the one in Wretcha's house first. Mario again had to explain this to Luigi, since Maia had to address the others through Mario.
"Oh, is that right?" questioned Mimi. "Well, we should find some way to get into Wretcha's house..." She cleared her throat. "Maybe at nighttime when she's asleep. It's already afternoon, isn't it?" The sickly minion looked at the shadows that surrounded the clearing. "Yeah, we've been here for a while. Wretcha goes to bed pretty early, so we only have to wait a few hours. We have plenty of berries, don't we?" Mimi examined the sack O'Chunks had been carrying. "We have a lot. It should be enough."
"Let's take it back, then," initiated Tippi. "I hope Wretcha doesn't ask us why we were gone so long."
Our heroes made the trek back to Wretcha's front door. As the planet rotated, so did the sun and The Void, which had grown sometime our heroes hadn't noticed. The Void had expanded into the sun's path, creating a weird effect in the sunset. "That's really weird," observed Luigi. "The sun's in front of The Void, so it looks like it's being eaten. It's a sunset with a giant purple Void behind the sun."
"I hope Tedac and all of the soldiers will sleep okay with a giant Void swallowing the sun," wished Peach. "And Merlrock."
"They saw what you guys did up close," offered Nastasia. "I'm sure they know we'll find the orbs and save the universes."
"Well, not Merlrock," countered Mario. "If he knew about the orbs, he'd have told us. He didn't know about Dimentio and that whole backstory. Oh..." Mario suddenly stopped. "If he sees The Void, he'll probably think we failed. He was hoping we'd defeat Dimentio and stop him from using Bleck's minions to reactivate the Chaos Heart. He might even think our games are over! Dimentio didn't kill us, but we didn't defeat him, either."
"I wonder what's happening to everyone else we met," reflected Peach. "We didn't see The Void anytime before Dimentio had the Chaos Heart, so who knows how close those dimensions are to destruction? Maybe some of them are already destroyed! Chip Ahoy and the Ruff Ruffians and Kara and all of them...I hope they're all safe..."
In another instance of time-dragging, it seemed like such a long time since our heroes had seen any of the inhabitants of these dimensions. Meeting Chip Ahoy at the Dusky Shallows and fighting the Ruff Ruffians seemed like a long-ago dream. Working with Kara to rescue the prisoners of the Animaul empire, crossing the desert to find the seventh Pure Heart, even releasing Amtakan from the hidden ice palace...it was all so distant. And then there was everything that happened in the first part of their adventure. Traveling across the Bitlands, surging into Outer Space...had that even happened? Was there really a time when our heroes were on a free adventure, confident in their ability, just charging ahead without having to worry about a villain's plan to toy with their emotions? And yet, the climax of that very first adventure, the very first time he'd broken into Bowser's Castle and rescued a princess he'd never met, appeared so clearly in Mario's mind...
"Excellent work," remarked Wretcha once our heroes had returned. "You took a while. Did you stop to take in the feeling of being in a forest at sunset with the sun behind The Void? There's something about that feeling, isn't there? That Void behind the sun sure is a strange sight. I'd take a picture if I had a camera."
"Yeah, sort of, I guess," stumbled Mario, thankful that Wretcha hadn't pried further.
"Well, it's pretty late, so just stay out here and do something for the rest of the night. Because you'll all be sleeping outside tonight. I want to feel maximum sympathy for you all. So get some emotions going. And you better, because I'll be watching." The eccentric witch retreated into her mansion.
"There she goes a...cough!...gain," breathed Nastasia. "That is just so weird. She wants us to suffer so she can feel sympathetic for us."
"I guess I can see why Amtakan would want her as an assistant, though," offered Mario. "She's cruel, yet compassionate at the same time. She has this way of making you want to do what she says. It's...well, strange."
"So, uh..." began Luigi. "Let's go somewhere else. We need to discuss our plans for tonight." He kept his voice low.
"All right." Mario led the others some way toward the ocean, stopping at an empty space between a few trees. "So when she goes to bed, we'll sneak into the house. Is there a way we can unlock the door? It's probably going to be bolted shut."
Yes, there is, Mario.
"Oh, right. Maia can unlock it for us. And then we'll let Tippi guide us to the orb. That's about it, isn't it?"
"Well, you never know what you might find in her house," warned Mimi. "We've been in there several times, but there's lots of places we haven't explored. Who knows, she could have traps set up in case we try to sneak in there."
"I think I can tell if there's a trap nearby," offered Tippi. "Only certain kinds of traps, though."
"We just have to have confidence we'll be safe," firmed Peach. "And besides, we've gotten through things a lot more dangerous than this."
"That's true," agreed Nastasia.
"Yeah..." O'Chunks struggled to produce the word.
"We have to find out how to get you three back to health, too," Peach continued. "Maybe Saffron can fix something when we get back to Flipside. She helped me a while ago too."
The sky darkened as our heroes continued their conversation. "Wretcha should be asleep by now," stated Nastasia a few minutes after the stars had appeared. This scene was very different from the other times our heroes had experienced night in this dimension; the massive Void was still partially visible, and the humid ocean gave the air a much different flavor. "Come on. We have to do this fast."
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
Our heroes were once again sneaking into a building, and this time, they wouldn't have anyone to guide them. The minions had been inside the mansion before, but since they hadn't seen all of it, they could provide only limited direction. Tippi's sense confirmed that the orb was somewhere inside Wretcha's residence, but what awaited our heroes once they entered? They plunged into the eccentric witch's house...
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Although the mansion's interior was illuminated only by the faint light of the stars, our heroes could make out a staircase in front of them with a narrow hallway that passed to the right. Through an empty doorway to the left was an open living space, and to the right was a dining room. The floor and ceiling of the mansion were coated in wood that appeared a dull blue-green in the dim light. Only the glass decorations in the dining room stood out in the murky darkness. "Come on," urged Tippi. "We have to find that orb quickly and then go for the other one. It seems like it's in the direction we're facing..."
"It could be upstairs," suggested Luigi. "Wretcha might be hiding it in a closet somewhere."
"We've got to go up there, then." Mario began tiptoeing up the wooden stairs, wary of any loose boards that could give away their presence with an echoing creak.
"Wait! You're going up there?" Luigi seemed shocked.
"Yes. We have to check everywhere, don't we? Wasn't it your idea?"
"Well, yes, but, um, well...fine. But we'd better be careful!"
The other heroes followed Mario's lead and climbed the staircase as close to silently as possible. "Which room is hers?" posed Mario, asking any of the minions.
"The one down the hallway to the left, at the very end," replied Nastasia. "You have to take two left turns. This floor is set up like an 'M'. We're in the middle right now."
The space away from our heroes grew increasingly dark until the end of the hallway. Our heroes couldn't even tell that it branched into a left and right hallway without sticking their hands out to feel the corner of the oak walls. "There's rooms all around us," explained Mimi. "There can't be windows here."
"That would make the place rather dark in the daytime," reflected Peach.
Mimi shrugged, although no one else could tell. "She probably likes having to turn on the lights. You know, like natural light versus artificial light, and all that. Oh, gosh, I'm starting to think like her now. We need to get out of this place and fast."
"Let's have Tippi check around," suggested Mario. "We should try the right side of the hallway first. You never know what could be around where Wretcha is." Our heroes felt their way down the narrow hallway until Mario's hand hit the wall. He turned to the right and continued leading the others. "Feel anything, Tippi?"
"I felt it more strongly when we were at the place where the hallway divided. It might be on the left side..."
"Hoo boy," Nastasia breathed.
Mario backtracked to the intersection and walked blindly to the left. Upon hitting the wall, he spoke to Tippi, reluctant to go further. "Is it closer here?"
Tippi paused. "Well, no...it was still closer when we were at the intersection. It might be in the closest room. There's a door right there, isn't there?"
"Yeah," responded Mimi. "Let's go and check that out."
Mario used his left hand to feel along the wall until seeing the faint ray of light from the staircase hallway, grasping around in the darkness until he felt something smooth and metallic. He carefully wrapped his fingers around the doorknob, doing his best to lock his fingers in place to avoid their involuntary shaking, and slowly opened the door. There was a window at the far end of this room, so our heroes could make out a single bed pushed against that window. "Another bedroom," Mario mused. "Why does Wretcha need a mansion, anyway?"
"Asking 'why' anything about Wretcha is pointless," pointed out Luigi.
"Good point. Is the orb closer here, Tippi?"
"No...it's not closer. It's more distant than the hallway, so it's probably not even up here. It might be downstairs."
"Let's go, then." Mario walked right into our heroes' new objective without another word, closing the door behind the group. They crept back downstairs and searched the hallway that went beyond the stairs. The hallway ended in an enormous ballroom after branching into two additional rooms to the side. Our heroes couldn't see the other side, but the echo of their soft footsteps came from a good distance away.
"The orb's closer here." Tippi moved. "It's closer...closer..." She stopped. "I felt it most strongly right here, but it still doesn't seem close enough to be at this spot." Her voice guided the heroes to her spot.
"Is it at least in this room?" asked Mimi.
"I don't think so. If it was, I would've found it already..."
"So, then, where could it be?" inquired Peach.
Nastasia shivered. "It might be in the basement."
"The basement?"
"Yeah. There's a door between the kitchen and the dining room that we think might go there, but it's locked."
"Locked?" dared Mario. "That doesn't-"
I think it's a more complex lock than the one I unbolted to get you into the house, Mario. I don't think I'm able to unlock it. You'll have to find a key or something.
"That doesn't what?" asked Luigi, unable to see Mario's expression in the darkness.
"I was going to say that doesn't stop us, but Maia just told me that it's a more complex lock than the ones she's done before. We might have to find a key."
"Oh. So, where could we find this key?"
"I have no idea. This isn't one of those typical fortresses, though, so my best guess would be...somewhere in Wretcha's room where it would be safe."
"That can't be!" exclaimed Peach. "We'd wake her up for sure!"
"Are you sure that's where it is?" asked Mimi. "Knowing her, that's probably not where she put it. In fact, it might be..." Mimi trailed off, running into the darkness. Her footsteps carried from the top-left corner of the ballroom from our heroes' perspective. After a few seconds, she came back. "The key's right here. Underneath the curtain in the far corner."
"Whoa," breathed Nastasia. "How'd you figure that out? And so fast?"
"Um...wow. I must be thinking like her again. Let's get out of here, everyone. I'm starting to scare myself."
Mimi handed Mario the metal key, who headed out of the ballroom and toward the kitchen. Careful to avoid the scattered kitchen accessories across the floor and tables, our heroes reached the locked door. Mario spun the key, and the door was unlocked. He opened it, just as carefully as the door he'd opened upstairs. More blackness greeted the heroes. "Do we have anything to give us light?" asked Luigi. "I'm getting tired of this constant blackness."
"There'll probably be a light switch somewhere," eased Nastasia. "We've never been down here before, but that's sort of a necessity."
Mario made sure to close the door behind him, again enveloping our heroes in complete darkness. There was indeed a light switch on the nearby wall. It activated a single bulb hanging above a staircase that curved to the left in a 180-degree angle. Mario stepped boldly down the stairs and opened the door at the end. Our heroes didn't know what to expect in a witch's basement. The rest of the house, despite its oddities, had still seemed more "normal" than they'd expect from a witch's home. Could that change in the basement, however? When Mario's hand reached the second light switch, he revealed a dusty basement infested with cobwebs, much like a creepier version of the restaurant basement our heroes had ducked into at Beachfront Town. "Doesn't look too scary," he reported. "I mean, it looks scary, but not as scary as I pictured."
The group moved forward, Tippi taking the lead again. "It's over here..." She led them in the direction she'd felt the orb's power strongest. Mario had to turn on another light switch in order for the heroes to see in this section of the basement. "It should be...right about here." Our heroes turned around a corner to see something that shined amidst the humid darkness. It looked like a pile of shiny stones on top of a rug.
"What's this?" Luigi reached his hand out and touched the strange object. As soon as he did, the thing rose. Luigi and the others jumped back in fear as the shiny object seemed to open large, black eyes. Our heroes stood there, frozen, as it stood up on four legs and snarled. It was a guard dog with diamonds for fur.
It made a step toward our heroes. They retreated one. It picked up the pace. Our heroes did also. Finally, the diamond dog gave a weird, sinister bark, and gave full chase. "Get away from that thing!" shouted Luigi hysterically. Our heroes wasted no time. They rushed for the basement door, not looking behind at the guard dog hot on their heels.
The heroes burst through the door to the kitchen, coming face-to-face with Wretcha herself, in clothes no different from the ones they'd seen her in earlier.
"Oh, I see you've met Diex." Wretcha looked affectionately toward the haunted hound. "Do you like him? He's our finest-bred diamond dog, born to kill, destroy, and look pretty. There's only one reason you would sneak into my basement, you rude, rude people, and that's to find the orb I fed him."
"You fed the orb to this thing!?" exclaimed Mimi.
"Yes." Diex was crouching, growling menacingly at the heroes. "It tasted good, didn't it, Diex?" The diamond dog barked his approval. "Good. Now tear all these impudent heroes to shreds and feast on their blood as a midnight snack. But keep the minions alive. Just in case. Just tear them up to the point where they're almost, but not quite dead."
MINIBOSS
Wretcha and Diex
Diex immediately responded, lunging for Mario's head."Aaahhh!" Mario ducked, sending Diex crashing into a large cooking pan. The heroes used this opportunity to bolt toward the dining room, aiming for the door. Mimi, looking backward, sent a Rubee at the guard dog. It made a "toink" sound and bounced further into the kitchen.
"Oh, no! I don't think we can hurt him!"
"Of course you can't hurt him," came Wretcha's voice. She materialized right in front of the heroes, stopping them in their tracks while Diex recovered, aiming for their backsides. "I've been nice to you heroes, and pathetic minions, until now, but you've proven yourselves just too dangerous to keep around." The witch pointed at one of the glass candle-holders on the table and uttered some magic spell. The decoration slowly rose into the air, accompanied by a creepy "oOoOoOoOoOoOo", and sailed straight for Mario's head, breaking once it hit.
"Aaagh!" Mario rose his hand to check the side of his head for bleeding, but noticed Diex just behind the heroes before he could feel anything. "Jump, Luigi!" Luigi jumped Diex's ground assault, landed on the dining table, and picked up another candleholder, throwing it at the dog. Diex recoiled for a second, but nothing else happened. He leaped for the green plumber, who promptly grabbed the chandelier above him and swung out of the way.
"Wait," stated Tippi, speaking with Diex continually snapping at the evading Luigi. "I can feel the orb inside Diex right now. We need to destroy him somehow. It's the only way we can get the orb!"
"Destroy him?" asked Wretcha. "Why would you want to destroy a cute little creature like that?" She raised her arm, detaching the oOo-ing light fixtures from the walls, and sent them at the group of six heroes. Mario ducked the attack, but everyone else was slammed. O'Chunks roared.
Mario fell until he was underneath the tablecloth. Swiftly crawling under to the other side of the table, he stood up next to the window. "Luigi! Swing over here and duck!"
"You aren't pulling that one!" Wretcha swung her arms as Luigi angled the chandelier toward Mario and used its momentum to hurl himself toward his brother. Giant flames exploded all around them, but the Mario brothers were smart enough to roll out of the way as Diex leaped for them, missing and crashing through the window to land outside.
"That's how we do it!" whispered Peach to the minions. "We need to get Wretcha to aim those flames for Diex. That'll get rid of him!"
"Sounds good," approved Nastasia, pressing her hand against her forehead. It wasn't bleeding, but it was close. "We have to get outside."
"Outside!" Mario and Luigi dashed for the door, followed by the others, just as Diex jumped back through the broken window. Mario slammed the door open, and our heroes poured outside. This put ample distance between them and the diamond dog, but Diex could run just as fast as they could.
"Let's split up!" shouted Luigi. The others obeyed without question. The hound chased after Peach, gaining with every step. Peach wrapped her arms around a nearby tree and climbed, ignoring the pain caused by the needles of the evergreen. Diex gave up his chase and went after Luigi again. When he was about a foot behind, Wretcha added her flaming explosion, creating a wave of fire directly in front of Luigi. Startled, he immediately backflipped over Diex and ran in the opposite direction. That was close! I just need to try that again!
Now the diamond dog was after Nastasia. As she ran, she contemplated another way to halt the monster. If she could hypnotize him... Nastasia swung around and faced Diex, looking directly into his eyes. The red hypnosis bolts appeared for a brief moment, but were quickly ensnared by larger yellow flashes. "You think that old trick will work against Diex?" Wretcha moved toward Nastasia. "Stealing that gem from Ganter's dungeon upgraded you from roach to annoyance." She waved her hand again, dissipating both sets of energy and freeing Diex to move again.
Come on, come on! How can I get her to flame that thing?
"Nastasia!" Mimi was nearby. "Get real close to Wretcha and fake surprise! She'll think you're vulnerable!"
Mimi probably knew this from experience, so Nastasia was ready. She jumped over Diex and curved to the right toward Wretcha. About five feet from the witch, she stopped, pretending to gasp. Wretcha saw this as an easy kill, not noticing the rampaging Diex behind Nastasia. The minion didn't have time to jump out of the way, so she simply fell over to the left, looping her feet over her head, as Wretcha unintentionally created an explosion of flames that consumed her guard dog. Diex exploded, sending glittering fragments of fur flying around in the darkness. Nothing else was visible except for a glowing blue orb that fell to the ground. "That's...that's the fourth orb!" Nastasia scooped it up before Wretcha could do anything and tossed it toward Mario. "Mario! Catch this!"
ORB GET!
"What..." Wretcha stared at Diex's scattered remains, only seeing the glittering fragments of her hound's fur. "No! How could you do this? AAAARGH!!!" Wretcha gritted her teeth as her eyebrows curved way down. Creepy dark blue flames began to envelop her body. "Well, I'll at least stop you from getting the other orb! You stop here, heroes!" The witch summoned a torrent of flames that curved toward our heroes individually.
Run! Maia shouted mentally. Run for the orb!
Mario wasted no time. "Run for the orb, everyone!" He dashed away from the flames toward the forest the minions had guided them to earlier that day, the others following. "We have to get that orb. Maia said so, so we need to!"
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
That was great! The miniboss battle was intense!
-
Our heroes sped toward the forest, Wretcha in hot pursuit. They were far enough ahead to avoid her magical attacks, but one slip would put them in target range. Rather than moving around bushes, they jumped clean over to keep their momentum. Finally, the square clearing loomed into view. What could they do to get the orb in time? And what would Wretcha do once she caught up? Our heroes didn't know what to do. It'll be fine, Mario. Just wait a few seconds.
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"Ah ha ha ha ha! The heroes stand, waiting to be assaulted by their eccentric adversary, like a young deer blinded by the headlights of a delivery truck driven by a man munching on fortune cookies who forgot he was supposed to be shipping a rabbit-related card game!" The villain appeared just as Wretcha burst into the clearing. "I see you've met my acquaintance, or should I say, my faithful servant, Wretcha."
"You again..." breathed Tippi.
Wretcha seemed annoyed. "I'm not your faithful servant. We both served Amtakan on different levels."
"But you did produce Mimi, Morris, and Margaret for the purposes of the Tribe of Darkness. Amtakan may have been its true leader, but I was still its king. In any case, Wretcha, you did an absolutely horrendous job of guarding your orb from the heroes, even if Morris did wake you, but I'm willing to provide a second chance."
"You just don't give up, do you?" accused Mimi. She lowered her eyes, looking combative. "We whipped your behind just about a dozen times. Why do you even bother coming back over and over?"
"Ah ha." Dimentio flipped in the air, turning a full circle. "I know I must try, try, and try again, because I am striving for a purpose greater than myself. I am not the only person involved in this whole show, the play of our delightful plan with you heroes cast as selfish, annoying pop stars who don't have a clue what their world is coming to. This isn't just a pretty little plan for me to control The Void and become ruler of every world, you know. That is just what I told everyone so they'd be willing to help and keep those Pure Hearts apart from you heroes - but, obviously, they failed."
"Yeah, we know all about how you deceived those Ruff Ruffians, and the X Faction, and King Animaul..." Luigi's gaze lowered as well, matching the descending corners of his mouth. "And those villagers, and the Sereniburg police officers, and the Tactix organizers. You're a madman, you know that?"
"Coming from a self-proclaimed hero like you, that is a congratulatory statement. Sometimes, we need to appear like madmen to benefit our cause."
"And that is?" demanded Nastasia. "We don't even...cough...know what you're trying to do with Amtakan and these orbs and all this Void stuff!"
"Of course you don't. I presume that Maia hasn't told Mario anything about the orbs or what they do, so for now, you're in the dark. Isn't that a sinister, uncomfortable feeling?"
"I'd rather be on the right side and ignorant," proclaimed Mario, "than on the wrong side and knowledgeable."
"Hmm. What have we here, Mario? You seem rather righteous all of a sudden. Perhaps I spent too much time away from your little party and allowed you to wander too far from my mental grip."
"I'm not going to give in to that anymore. You just admitted you've been trying to mess with my thoughts. And I'm not going to let it happen anymore."
"You do sound sincere. A strong mind is a powerful asset in a hero. Ah, well. Perhaps this will be even more of an entertaining challenge than I thought."
"Dimentio...wait." Peach exhaled. "What are you throwing at us now? You've done this so many times. It has to end somewhere. You can't just keep attacking us and expect to get something out of it. We're..."
"...the heroes of the Light Prognosticus," Tippi finished.
"The Light Prognosticus?" spat Wretcha, looking at Tippi directly. "If you think that dusty old book has any influence on you today, you'd be sadly mistaken. That book is obsolete. Only the prophecies of the Dark Prognosticus will come to pass, and we can make sure of that as long as Ganter is alive."
"G...Dimentio?" repeated Nastasia. "What does he have to do with the dark prophecies and all of that? I mean, his life?"
"Silly, secretary. Ther person you call "Dimentio" belongs to the bloodline of the Tribe of Darkness. You know that their bloodline had something to do with the Dark Prognosticus, don't you?"
"Well, yes, but..." The "secretary" paused. "I don't know anything about that. You just lent us vague clues that only created more questions."
"Exactly. Answers just lead to more questions. Sort of makes you want to give up your whole noble knowledge quest, doesn't it?" The witch struck a weird pose.
"Er...no..." Nastasia and Wretcha were stalemated at an awkward silence.
"In any case," Dimentio firmed, "the reason I'm here is to ensure that all of you heroes will now meet your ends. Have you wondered why this clearing is in the shape of a perfect square? I've been working on a special something while you heroes took your sweet time participating in the Tactix tournament and obeying Wretcha's every whim. I had to momentarily leave when you heroes came here and Mario gave his goody-goody sermon, but I was still here the entire time. Yes, I was here, like the secret emperor of an underground nightclub that happens to feature a red windmill as its mascot who is exceptionally talented at switching his singing voice from an opera-style to an eastern melody pertaining to a play that hasn't been written yet, and back again, complete with random, echoing instruments from nowhere! Yes, I've been watching you, heroes. I've been watching you ever since you first learned of your destiny as the "heroes" of the Light Prognosticus. Frying Fracktail's circuits, testing you with the unstable prototype of Dimension D, sending you to The Underwhere to fix the deactivated violet Pure Heart...not to mention everything Luigi conveniently stated a moment ago. And the results of my efforts are...this!" Dimentio waved his arms. The scenery underwent a transformation similar to that of the entrance of Dimension D, but this small room was unfamiliar. It was circular, with a round pit of spikes at its center and a slightly higher rim around the edges.
"What is this place?" inquired Peach.
"What is it? Ah ha ha! Look before you, silly princess! It is Dimension D! Dimension D, revised and expanded to accomodate the individual strengths and weaknesses of you heroes. This is not all I have to show you, of course. Once we enter the heat of battle, this stage will reveal its true potential."
"Good work, Dimentio," congratulated Wretcha. "But it's going to get harder as time goes on, right?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I described. And here, Wretcha. I would like you to have this." Dimentio pulled what looked like the violet orb from thin air. "I know you'll enjoy holding it. Keep it safe from the heroes."
"There it is!" uttered Tippi. "The last orb!"
"Yes, the last orb," agreed the witch. "And it's mine now, see?"
"Indeed," agreed Dimentio. "And it's now time for me to bring the heroes of the outdated Light Prognosticus to the end of their games. Only one of the two sides will walk away from this battle. The heroes, or us."
"Wait, so..." Mimi halted her words as she realized the full scope of Dimentio's statement. Either Dimentio would die, or they would.
"Yes, pathetic freak. I'll finally grasp all of your lives in my hands, like squishy, overripe strawberries picked by an angry farmer whose crop has been ruined for a reason some say has to do with the aforementioned new installment in a series that deviates from development and action in favor of some sugar-coated environmental message. Heroes, meet your ends!...Ciao!"
BOSS
Dimentio
The evil jester laughed again before snapping his fingers and flipping into 3D. A radiant silver ball of energy materialized out of thin air, splitting into four and shooting in different directions at an alarming speed. Dimentio continued the attack, releasing dozens of these projectiles in the span of a few seconds. "We're in no shape to fight!" Peach wailed. "How do we beat him?"
"We have to figure something out." Mario rose his hand to the side of his head, feeling the still-slowly-bleeding site where Wretcha's candleholder had slammed into him. "It looks like he's forcing us to attack him in 3D. I'll get him out of there." The hero warped to 3D and aimed for Dimentio, performing the Ground Pound and nailing Dimentio squarely, forcing the jester to disappear. He flipped back into 2D just as Dimentio reappeared behind the group and produced a bolt of jet-black lightning that struck the heroes, radiating into their bodies.
"Gyaahh!!" Luigi forced his hands up to his head, gritting his teeth at the pain.
"Do you like it, heroes? Ah ha ha ha." Dimentio suddenly rose into the air, performed a triple flip, and dropped toward our heroes like a stone. They managed to move slightly away before the villain collided with the ground, producing an explosion of purple light that flung them against the rise of the outer rim of the arena.
"Agh..." Nastasia forced her legs to stand up.
Mario looked around at the weary group of heroes. He needed to do something fast before Dimentio attacked them again. Without thinking, he sprang on top of the outer ledge and began circumnavigating Dimension D.
Get him distracted, and then let the others whale on him!
"Got it..." Mario spoke roughly, lacking the mental concentration to keep his thoughts within his mind. He continued running in the outer ledge's circle.
"And just what are you up to, Mario?" Dimentio slowly moved in Mario's direction, charging up a silver energy ball.
"Get him!" Mario shouted and then fell to the lower level. The others made their move, jumping toward Dimentio and attacking him before he had the chance to release his weapon. Mario joined in with his hammer.
"Oh!" Dimentio rose above the heroes, damaged. "You've certainly done well, just as I expected. Let's up the ante." The jester moved his arms again, and the walls surrounding the arena closed in, eliminating the raised outer rim and making the battlefield nothing more than a small, round area with a spike pit. "I knew you heroes would take advantage of that raised area, so now let's see how you do without it!" The jester disappeared.
Be ready, Mario.
Dimentio warped in directly above the circular spike pit and began producing myriad yellow cubes of energy. Peach leaped on top of one, groaning as she pulled herself up in her weakened physical state, and floated down toward the unsuspecting Dimentio, hitting him again. He vanished as Peach descended to safe ground, appearing above his former position and flipping into 3D again. The jester produced a series of glittering, dull-magenta energy spheres that careened around the area like faster, more dangerous versions of King Animaul's shurikens. Mario, about to flip into the third dimension, was hit by one and knocked to the ground. "Look out, Mario!" Luigi pulled his brother's leg and dragged him away from another energy projectile just in time.
"Thanks, Luigi." Mario carefully stood up again and entered 3D. He threw his hammer at Dimentio, catching the weapon as it rebounded. Dimentio withdrew, and Mario returned to 2D.
As the jester appeared again, Wretcha called from the sidelines. "You're sure you don't need any help, Ganter? I could assist you in your quest to rid the dimensions of these pathetic heroes."
"That won't be nessecary, Wretcha. This is our fight. Let me take on these heroes myself...with magic!" Dimentio performed more hand motions. The ceiling suddenly dropped to the point of blocking our heroes' jumps. "Are you enjoying this, heroes? Every tactic you could think to use will soon be obsolete." He swung to the right, producing another silver energy ball that he fired to the left toward our heroes. The tight vertical space made the projectiles almost impossible to avoid, except by flipping over the attacks like a game of Limbo in reverse.
"We have to get him in between attacks!" Mimi tried tossing a Rubee at Dimentio while O'Chunks rammed into the enemy at full speed. Both attacks hit, but the two minions were quickly swept away by a lightning blast.
"Ah ha ha ha ha! As soon as you damage me, I deal twice as much damage to you. You can't avoid my attacks now." Dimentio disappeared, reappearing with a clone at the other end of the tight space. Our heroes were trapped by energy projectiles on both sides, and many of them slammed into our heroes at full force.
"I...can't...do this much longer!" Nastasia gasped for breath, coughing more heavily than usual.
"Indeed, probably none of you can. And with that, I reveal...this!" With one more arm motion, Dimentio created spikes that lined the ceiling and sides of the arena. "There's nowhere for you heroes to avoid my attacks now. Ciao!" He again gathered the energy balls from midair and sent them at our ailing heroes.
"No!" uttered Peach. "There has to be some way we can stop him!"
"I say there isn't," countered Wretcha. "In fact, Ganter, can I please help you? Just to further decrease the heroes' chances?"
"Oh, all right. Go ahead, assault these heroes."
"Yay. Thanks, Ganter." Wretcha immediately went on the offensive. She sent a wave of dark-blue fire toward Mario, who ducked and rolled on his side to avoid the attack. "Darn it! How do I get these guys when they're so good at avoiding stuff, Ganter? Any tips?"
"Use something that has a large vertical range. They obviously can't jump." Dimentio chimed in with his own yellow boxes, closing our heroes in. They had very little room to maneuver while keeping away from the circular spike pit in the center.
Any help, Maia?! Mario soon realized that Maia wasn't in his mind, but he went for Dimentio anyway, swerving around a glowing box and slamming his hammer into the jester's mask.
"Ouch! You heroes have taken some out of me, that's for sure. Perhaps I'll activate the final transformation of Dimension D." Dimentio snapped his fingers. The spiked wall around the arena began slowly closing in toward the center.
"Ha ha." Wretcha stood next to Dimentio, clutching the purple orb in front of Mario. "How do you like that? A slow, painful death."
"Indeed. You have nowhere to run now, heroes. Nowhere to run and jump and do all your silly little antics."
Mario barely processed Dimentio's words. This couldn't be it. This just couldn't be the end.
You have to get that orb, Mario. Listen. Don't focus on Dimentio. Just go for the orb. Get it, and then use your Return Pipe to get you all back to Flipside. It's the only way.
What happens when we get back? Do you...
Mario, we don't have time for that! You've broken free of Dimentio's mind grip, but you're still letting yourself get too stressed about things. You have to get used to the fact that this is a more demanding adventure than you're used to. Please, go for the orb!
Mario again focused on the violet sphere in front of him, sitting in Wretcha's hand. There it was - the final orb. The last artifact our heroes needed before...something?
"Your time is up, heroes. Yes, your time has ended, like a-"
"NO!" Mario suddenly screamed, drew his hammer back, and aimed for the orb in Wretcha's grasp. She pulled her arm back swiftly, aiming a beam of dark energy toward the hero, but Mario blocked the energy with his hammer, sending it back in the witch's direction.
"AAAHHHH!" Wretcha lost her grip on the orb as the wave of concentrated energy shoved her backwards. She lost her balance and fell backwards onto the central pit of spikes as the orb dropped in front of Mario.
Our heroes and even Dimentio were silent as Wretcha lay on the spike bed, eyes wide and mouth partially open, unmoving. Her right hand hung in the air. "I..." The witch was silent again. "No..." She sagged downward. Our heroes could see the beginnings of a blood stain in the surrounding area of spikes, but they averted their eyes after glancing at it.
Dimentio finally spoke. "Hmm. Your loss will be a great one, that is for sure. Perhaps there is a way to prevent your passage to The Underwhere, however. You are capable of gaining momentary control over the actions of your soul, is that so?"
Wretcha slowly nodded.
"Excellent. Then I will merely sacrifice one of my more incompetent subordinates." Dimentio snapped, provoking Morris to flip into the area.
"What?" The minion looked at Dimentio, and then Wretcha, his eyes opening wide. "Dude! What hap-"
"No time for words, Morris. You've proven to be the least competent of all my minions, and for that, I will sacrifice your body for someone a bit more experienced. He is yours, Wretcha."
Wretcha again nodded. Her body fell flat as a strange, shapeless white object emerged from her body. It floated in Morris's direction, eventually entering the minion's body. "Hey! What are..." Those were the last words Morris uttered before being possesed by Wretcha's spirit. His body was surrounded in the typical purple cloud transformation, emerging as a similar, but female form, almost identical to Mimi but with Morris's color scheme.
"Gee, it was interesting just talking with one of my creations, but actually being inside one, is more interesting still." She moved her thin black arms, looking at the new dark blue dress she wore that was otherwise exactly like Mimi's. "I guess you can just call me 'Wretchamorris' from now on, huh? Nah. Too long. How about...'Mortcha'? Yeah, I like that one. It's nice and weird."
"Very well, 'Mortcha'," continued Dimentio. "Since these heroes appear to have taken the final orb, our only concern now is Maia. See what the heroes do after being sent to Flipside...if The Void hasn't consumed that town by now. Yes, you have all five orbs, heroes, but there's still no way you can save every world. The Void is on the verge of consuming every world. Soon, the heroes will be forgotten to nothingness. I, Dimentio, will rise to my dimensional throne...and so will Amtakan. Ciao!" Dimentio disappeared, "Mortcha" following a few moments later.
The spiked wall was still closing in. Mario hurriedly bent down and scooped up the purple orb. "We have to get back!" Mario held his Return Pipe aloft. Our heroes spun around for a few seconds, and then vanished in a series of energy pulses.
ORB GET!
-END OF CHAPTER-
Our heroes have finally collected all five of the mysterious orbs Maia has led them to. The last two took a large amount of work, hardship, and trauma, but in the end, our heroes prevailed and claimed the final two objects. Now, though, things are less certain. Morris's body has been taken over by his creator, the eccentric Wretcha. What does this mean for the prophecy that states only one of the three shape-shifters will end up surviving? And what awaits our heroes as they return to Flipside? Will Maia give the group further instructions? Or will they return to a Flipside at all? Has The Void already swallowed the peaceful town? And, of course, what remains of the hidden answers our heroes have still yet to discover? Something will certianly happen. What that something is, however, only time will tell...
-
"So this is your meeting room?" Mortcha looked around. "Interesting. I really like the 'negative' feel in this place."
"You have my son to thank for that, Mortcha. Of course, not that we'd want to thank him for anything else. Ah ha ha..."
"Oh, yeah, Blumiere." The witch scowled. "Poor Blumiere. He didn't have to turn out as such a rebel, you know. If only Novelle hadn't-"
"Hey, just a heads-up, Mortcha," interjected B-A Omega. "We don't really use that name in here. Sort of like a taboo. You know what I mean?"
"Oh, yes, I can completely understand that. I wouldn't want to mention that meddling goody-goody anyway."
"In any case, minions," began Dimentio, "we have a tentative situation on our hands. The heroes have managed to get all five of the orbs, but The Void is closing in quickly. Our task is simply to watch what the heroes do. If it looks like they might stand a chance, we go on the offensive. And I have a special something in mind that might work for that."
"Ohgoodygoodygoodygumdrop!" exclaimed H-X Alpha. "Whatisitwhatisitwhatisit?"
"Ah, H-X Alpha...you're always so anxious to learn what I have in store for those heroes. Yes, your anxiety billows, like the volume of a red infaltionary sphere attached to a multicolored squishy pedestal that can be activated by jumping but, preferably, should be activated by the ground pound of a baby-carrying dinosaur, for much faster passage across the secret area's skies which may lead to the only duplicate ending in the entire adventure. This is another plan I will keep to myself for the moment. But, just to tease your curiosity...it involves the Chaos Heart."
"The Chaos Heart, eh? Sounds excitin' to meh!"
"So let me get this straight," recalled Bowser. "We're covered for now. We just need to see if those heroes do anything, and we're fine?"
"That is correct, Bowser."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's plan our celebration! Those heroes got all of the orbs, but we're going to be the masters of the worlds! Yeah!"
"Easy, Bowser. We should not celebrate just yet. The heroes of prophecy have proved time and time again that they are a force to be reckoned with, even if their chances look grim. We must keep an eye on them. Understood?"
"Yeah, got it..."
"Excellent. Is there anything else, minions?"
"Nope, I'm ready," offered Omega and Alpha at the same time.
"You can count on me, Ganter," affirmed Mortcha.
"Good. How about you, Bowser?"
Bowser looked up. "Huh? Oh, I was just thinking..."
"Thinking about what? Do not hesitate to share your feelings, Bowser."
"Well...I was thinking about what you said about the heroes. I mean, I'm glad we're going to rule the universes and everything, but you reminded me that those heroes are powerful. How do we know we're really going to pull this off?"
"That is a legitimate concern, Bowser, and a well-founded one. The truth is, the heroes are strong. Very strong. But all we must do is watch them. All we must do is make sure they don't go anywhere before they're destroyed by The Void. That isn't too much to think over, is it?"
"No, it isn't, but...there was something else on my mind. I just had the feeling that this is the last time we'll be together like this."
"The last time we'll be together? What do you mean by this?"
"I mean, all of us, being here in this meeting room. It's been pretty fun, aside from being beaten by those wimpy heroes...but I can't shake the thought that it's not going to be around much longer. I really think this is the last meeting we're going to have."
Dimentio thought about this. "Well, I suppose you might be right, Bowser. Once the heroes are gone, we won't have the need to come together in this manner. But that's the only reason we'd stop having these gatherings."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Bowser firmed his chin. "Well, I guess we should go." The former Koopa King flipped out.
"This'll be fun." Mortcha flipped out as well, followed by the two robots.
"Indeed." Dimentio stayed on his platform a few seconds. "Maia, I know you can't hear me, but if there is any way you think you could help the heroes in this situation, I challenge you to do your best. Try to help them. And watch as the emotion you fought so hard to preserve is erased from the face of all worlds...consumed by the Chaos Heart of your acquaintace." Dimentio vanished.
"...No, Amtakan. That's not why I'm here. You can say that, but that doesn't make it true.
I'm here to stop you once and for all. You've been horribly misguided. And it was all my fault.
I'm here to right my wrong."
"You did what you had to. There is no erasing it now. What you did was not sinful."
"It doesn't matter, Amtakan. I have to do what I and the whole community have wanted for centuries."
"That won't happen, Maia."
"Yes. It will."
"No. It won't."
"You can say that...but that doesn't make it true..."
"Whatever you do to me, Maia, I will have the same done to you. It is in my magic. You cannot harm me without also harming yourself."
"Then let us be sealed. Both of us.
Sealed in such a manner that no one, save for a legendary hero, could possibly set us free."
"You will not do this, Maia..."
"Yes. If it is the only way to preserve the fate of every world...then I will do it."
A red pipe with a candy cane-colored top emerged near the right edge of Flipside Tower, carrying our heroes. Once they were safely standing on the tower, it sank back into the ground. The group noticed that the pale blue door had become visible. "That blue door..." Tippi mused. "I guess that's if we want to go back to Wretcha's island. Not like I'd want to go back to that place..."
"So I guess we have all of the orbs," noted Luigi. "What do we do now? And those minions need some...medical attention." He glanced at O'Chunks, who was still too weak to talk.
"There must be something we can do about them," firmed Peach. "Maybe Saffron could cook something that would help them feel better? She helped me before."
"Good thought," agreed Mario. "Let's try it. We should consult with Merlon on the way there."
As soon as Mario finished his sentence, the ground began shaking violently. "What's-" Luigi began, but he soon discovered the cause of the earthquake. He looked at the sky, seeing nothing but an enormous Void.
"The Void!" Mimi exclaimed. "It's so huge!"
"We don't have much time!" agreed Mario. "We should go to Saffron's place and wait for Maia's instruction." He headed for the elevator, followed by the others. They rode the elevator down to the second floor of Flipside. Merlon was waiting with them, as usual. "Heroes!" he uttered, taking a step toward them. "...And minions! I'm sure there is an interesting tale to tell here, but spare me the details. You have been gone so long! Our time is short!"
The Void rumbled again. "What can we do?" worried Tippi. "Did Maia tell you anything, Mario?"
"No. She hasn't said anything, yet. Come on, Maia! What do we do?" Mario sighed. "Still no answer..."
"Well, in any case," continued Nastasia, "we need to get to Saffron for something that'll heal us. We became ill out there."
"I highly advise doing that right now. I don't know if she'll be able to get something ready, but I suppose our only option is to try. Leave, heroes! Before The Void swallows us all!" The Void gave another, more powerful rumble.
Our heroes wasted no time. They immediately dashed for the elevator to the left, descending to the first floor as the earthquakes grew ever more intense and frequent. Maia! What are we supposed to do now? We have the orbs! What did you want us to get them for?! The messenger was as silent as ever. What had happened to her? After the initial "mysterious voice" period, Mario and Maia had drawn closer. They'd almost become friends. But now Maia was refusing to say anything. Why hadn't she told him what to do? Why hadn't she told him anything else, in fact?
The Void expanded to cover the entire sky. "I don't think we're going to make it!" Tippi cried. Our heroes were about to reach Saffron's building, but The Void was gaining. Would this be the second world our heroes experienced the end of?
The Void grew again. The rumbling was deafening now. Citizens panicked in the streets. "It's over! It's over!"
"No..." Mario groaned as the heroes approached the chef's door. The scenery warped as The Void continued to rumble. Fragments of rubble floated about.
"We're...not..." Mimi uttered.
Lightning crackled as The Void began to devour the town. Our heroes were frozen. Their vision blurred. Flipside inverted. A chaotic jumble of sound effects assaulted their ears as their vision became distorted even further. Crash...shatter...scream. They could see nothing. It was over.
"MAIA!!!"
Then, silence.
Why...
What...
Where...
How...
Why won't you tell me...
Maia...
Mario opened his eyes.
He saw nothing. Rising to pull his body off the ground, he still recieved no visual input. Pure, white, emotionless nothing.
"Where are we?" Mimi's voice echoed behind Mario. He turned to see the other heroes, struggling to stand up as well. "What happened?" the shape-shifter continued. She moved her head in all different directions, still observing nothing but white.
"I don't really know what happened," began Mario, waiting for the others to focus their attention. "But, based on what I saw after Sammer's Kingdom was destroyed...it looks like we're still in Flipside. It was destroyed by the Chaos Heart, and now there's nothing left."
"Whoa..." Nastasia gathered herself, surveying the area like the others had done. "So how did we end up here? Shouldn't we have been...destroyed? By the Chaos Heart? It looks like everyone else is gone..."
Mario paused. "I don't know why we're here. But there must be some reason..."
"There might still be something left," offered Tippi. "The Pure Heart survived the destruction of Sammer's Kingdom, so maybe we can find the Pure Hearts that were still in the Heart Pillars. I don't think that will help us, but...I don't know what else we could do..."
"We might as well look for them," agreed Luigi. "Let's go."
Our heroes walked ahead, the featureless scenery providing no sense of movement whatsoever. Eventually, a small black outline caught our heroes' eye. Upon closer examination, it appeared to be part of the Flipside Tower elevator door. "That's...the elevator..." breathed Tippi, looking at it more closely.
"Oh, what's that?" the princess pointed. Peach walked a bit further, examining the dead outline of a broken pillar. "I think there's something here..." She reached behind the pillar and withdrew a solid, heart-shaped stone.
"A Pure Heart!" Tippi moved toward Peach. "Yes, it seems to be deactivated..." She felt for the stone. "No, just as I expected...there's no power coming out of this Pure Heart. It won't be of any use to us."
"We have to try something, though," offered Mimi. "Let's take this one and see if we can find more."
"You think that's going to happen? Not on our watch."
"What?!" Mimi looked around. "Who was that?"
A thin line was drawn before our heroes, spinning into a crackling show of electricity and ending with a sound wave that revealed H-X Alpha and B-A Omega. "That was US, mind you," answered the smaller robot. "YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT, FOO?"
"Oh, it's you guys. What do you want this time, huh?"
"Well, to tell you the truth, we're not exactly sure," replied Omega. "According to Dimentio, you guys should be dead. He didn't save you or anything like he did last time. You should've been destroyed along with Flipside."
"That's what we thought," responded Nastasia. "You don't have any idea, either? So then tell us what you're here for."
"Dimentio told us to keep an eye on you guys in case you pulled anything. It looks like you did, even if you don't know how it happened. So we're here to put a stop to that."
"Oh, BOY!" rejoiced Alpha. "This is the good part, RIGHT?"
"It certainly is, Alpha. Heroes, we've been working on this new transformation ever since you beat us the last time. Now, the odds truly are in our favor. Activate transformation sequence!" The smaller robot hovered to rest on Omega's mechanical head. Four beams of steel extended from Omega's body, forming a sort of "X" pattern that linked the two robots into a single unit as four identical pieces of sparking metal appeared around the pair, orbiting the minions at evenly spaced intervals and forming a protective barrier around them. "Yeah, how do you like our new transformation, heroes? We're hooked up, ready to combine our power and give you heroes the technological beat-down of your lives."
"We can take you both," assured Mario. "We've done it three times before!"
"So sure about that, hero?" mocked Omega. "Maybe your ever-so-complicated emotional stress will get to you. It's too bad you didn't let Amtakan carry on with his plan, huh? In any case, heroes, taste your defeat!"
"Yeah, taste it, or we'll shove it down your throat FOR ya!"
MINIBOSS
H-X Alpha and B-A Omega
The combined robots hovered above our heroes, aiming their robotic appendages downward in a spreading pattern. Our heroes knew enough to get out of the way as they fired a torrent of laser shots downward, but the robots changed the position of their arms to match our heroes' movement, nailing them a few times. "How do you like our new, more compact homing lasers?" dared Omega. "They're nice and compact and portable. Just increases our chances a bit more, doesn't it?"
"We can't let them spew out this logic nonsense while we get hammered," complained Mimi. "Come on! See if you can avoid this." She carefully aimed a triple Rubee attack between the rotating obstacles, hitting the robots while they were distracted.
"Ouch! That annoying freak again. See how you like this!" Omega pulled a shuriken from his left hand, rotating it while still attached, and sent it flying for Mimi. She swerved to the side, dodging more shurikens, while Nastasia collected the weapons and tossed them back at the minions, damaging them further.
"We cannot stand for this," intoned Alpha. "These interlopers must feel the full force of the law, im-mediately!" The small robot suddenly shot a jet of flame in Nastasia's direction. It sideswiped her, doing a decent amount of damage.
"I'll get them!" Luigi stood below the combined robots and readied his Super Jump, only to be assaulted by another laser. While Mario rushed to his brother's aid, Omega produced a row of knives from his left arm, aiming them for the main hero.
"Aaahh!" Mario threw his feet in the air and flipped over the weapons, landing at Luigi's side. He pulled Luigi out of the way before they would be fried by yet another laser.
"You wanna piece o' this? Huh?" Alpha jeered as thin metal bars extended from the robots that produced larger shurikens at the ends. The robots hovered through the air, eventually stopping and rotating sideways, surrounding themselves with the rotating shurikens in addition to the sparking metal. They suddenly extended the beams the shurikens were attached to, greatly extending the range of their attack.
"Jump!" Mario cautioned as he watched the others narrowly avoid the whirling shurikens. After a few seconds, H-X Alpha and B-A Omega slowed their rotation, withdrawing the shurikens. They gave our heroes no rest, however, immediately firing more homing laser shots.
"We can't keep fighting them like this," exhaled Luigi. "We're already injured. We have to find some way to damage them good."
"Waagh!" Mimi, struck by a laser, flew toward Mario and Luigi. "My Rubees have been pretty effective, I think. I'll just try to hit them." The minion leaped into the air and fired a Rubee at Alpha, but one of the rotating mines intercepted it, sending it ricocheting harmlessly away.
"Yeah, you like our new rotational defense units, don't you?" taunted the larger robot. "Almost anything you can throw at us is completely ineffective. Coming from any direction, your attacks only have a 23.7265% chance of hitting us, so why even bother?" Omega threw another row of shurikens.
"Run! We've got to figure something out!" Mario dodged the incoming shurikens as the others formed into a group. "I think we should attack them from all sides. Mimi and the other minions should go on one side and attack them with Rubees and whatever else you can do. The rest of us will attack from the other side with jumps. Sound good?"
"It's risky," admitted Nastasia, "but it...cough...just might work. Let's-"
"IMMA CHARGIN' MAH LAZER!" A teal sphere formed around H-X Alpha as he gathered large amounts of energy.
"Dodge this first!" shouted Mario as Alpha blasted a hyper-concentrated, wide-sweeping laser. All of our heroes except O'Chunks managed to get away in time.
"O'Chunks!" hurried Nastasia.
"Come on!" urged Luigi. "We have to stick to the plan!"
"A plan, eh?" Omega asked as the robots drew closer to our heroes. "Whatever it is, it's not going to succeed on our watch." He pulled more knives out and sent them straight for O'Chunks.
"NO!" Nastasia moved to pull O'Chunks out of the way, but the burly minion was surprisingly agile for his health. He leaped over the projectiles and rushed for the robot minions.
"Now! Let's move!" Mario rushed Luigi and Peach to the other side of Alpha and Omega while the minions stayed put, attacking them with Rubees and tossed-back shurikens. The robot's position in the air had lowered, so Mario, Luigi, and Peach were able to get several decent shots in while the minions also pummeled them.
"Darn it! We're being hurt," exclaimed the larger robot. "Let's shake things up." The two minions repeated the metal-bar-shuriken attack they had used earlier, except this time with four of the weapons. Our heroes cleared the area as the shurikens flew in circles around Alpha and Omega.
"Now!" Just as the robots withdrew their shurikens, Mimi hammered them again with a Rubee assault.
"That's NO good!" H-X Alpha stated.
"Right, Alpha. We have to make sure these outliers aren't expressed." H-X Alpha and B-A Omega descended to the ground and extended sharp, needly points, from their appendages, spinning around and traveling on the ground faster than before. It was very difficult to avoid being hit by their frenzied motions.
"Ow!" Peach was thrown back by the minions' spinning attack. "Mario! Can you do anything?"
"I'll flip and see what I can do!" Mario flipped into three dimensions, providing a better vantage point to dodge and attack. He hit the combined robots with his hammer a few times before they stopped rotating. Mario flipped back into 2D to avoid Flip Meter damage in time to be assaulted by another laser.
"Feeling so high and mighty now?" Omega sent a row of flaming shurikens for Mario.
The hero ducked the maneuver and rolled back onto his feet. "Get them!"
Alpha and Omega didn't have time to turn around before they were carefully nailed through the rotating barriers by Rubees and every other attack our heroes knew. "Gah! This is a major outlier!" Omega rushed for the others, hitting them with shurikens and flames.
"We're both almost down!" reported Luigi. "We have to do something to even the odds. These guys will destroy us if we don't do something fast."
"Hmm..." Mario frustratingly thought. How could they make sure to claim victory in the end? As he watched the robots aiming their attacks at the others, a thought suddenly recurred in his head. Their vision! "Mimi! Go for Omega's eyes!"
"Yeah!" Mimi diverted the robots' attention, and while they began firing lasers for her, sent a well-placed Rubee at Omega's faceplate.
"Gah!" The robot's "eyes" had been broken again, leaving wires and mechanisms hanging from the damaged hole. "Why didn't we think of something to protect our visual input after they did this last time?"
"Whatever," offered H-X Alpha. "Let's just, like, you know, get this freak, and then, whatever, I don't know, let's get a pizza, or something. Whatever." Alpha steered the pair in Mimi's direction.
"Wait!" countered B-A Omega. "Wasn't she over here?" He pointed to Mimi's left.
"No, she's-"
"She was right there!" Alpha and Omega struggled over control of their combined unit, not able to seperate themselves.
"Yeah, I'm right here!" Mimi teased from another new direction. "How do you like that?" After yet more Rubees, Mario went in for the final hit and nailed both robots with a slow-motion sweep kick.
"What...NO!!" Alpha and Omega crashed to the ground, damaged heavily. "How is this possible?" continued Omega. "We had even better weapons than last time! And emotion working on our side! And STILL the outlier came into play! HOW?!"
Luigi moved toward the two robots. "You know, maybe you'd have more incentive to improve if you didn't dismiss our chances just because they don't look good 'cause of all your random number crunching."
"Oh, don't give them ideas, Luigi." Mario grinned.
Alpha sighed. "I ju5t...h0p3...D1M3NT10 c4n b34t th3m n0W."
"Yeah, don't worry," assured B-A Omega. "He will. And she won't be able to do anything about that."
"What are you talking about now?" demanded Tippi. "Tell us, what do you know about Maia?"
Omega righted himself. "We know that she's been helping you, and that's all we need to know in order to know we have to fight her influence at any possible opportunity. Her tactics are strong...but pure logic and technology will overcome her! You haven't seen the last of us, heroes. Mark my words. We'll be back!" H-X Alpha and B-A Omega flipped out.
"Maia..." uttered Mario again.
"Well, we beat them," exhaled Tippi. "For the fourth time. They're really persistent on this whole 'probability' thing, aren't they?"
"Yes," agreed Nastasia. "Well...we need to rest up somehow. We were injured to begin with."
"What can we do, though...?" sobbed Mimi. "We're stuck in this Void-place, and there's nothing here. No inns or shops or anything. Just this...cough...broken Pure Heart..." She looked at the heart stone that still lie on the ground beside them. Our heroes could tell she was close to crying.
"Well, we can't just sit here," firmed Mario, although he too was distressed. "We have to...do something..."
"But what?" asked Peach. The tone in our heroes' voices gave away their inner feelings: They had lost all hope.
Nastasia looked at the ground. "No..." She hacked again, unable to speak for a few seconds. "This..." She wheezed, out of breath.
Silence. Mario was stuck. He just couldn't move. Where could our heroes possibly go? What could they do without Maia's guidance? Had she finally abandoned them?
A sound pulse extended from a point in mid-air. A fairy-like creature materialized, the lavender-clothed entity our heroes knew as Novelle. "I'm sorry if it just seems like I'm adding to the pain, heroes." She produced her wand and waved it through the air, drawing large, glowing yellow boxes that enclosed all of our heroes.
"W...what?" breathed Peach, lacking the voice to say much more. "What are you doing?"
"It will be fine. I promise." Novelle moved her staff again. Giant explosions appeared within the boxes, consuming our heroes in a torrent of flames. They were silent as the raging fire enveloped them. Finally, the explosions dissipated. Our heroes were gone. "It's fine. I know they'll-" Novelle disappeared without finishing her sentence.
Mario opened his eyes yet again. Instead of the featureless expanse of the Void-consumed Flipside, he awoke to a dim, murky environment. He stood up, sensing his boots settling among soggy grass and weeds. A canopy of ominous, polygonal bushes and trees shadowed him from above, dark blue and green plant forms that only added to the creepy vibe. Off in the dim purple sky, green shapes occasionally fell from above like shooting stars. Mario snapped his eyes open. He looked back, checking if the others were still with him. The other five, plus Tippi, were thankfully sitting behind him.
"Where are we now?" Nastasia examined her surroundings.
"Um..." Mario contemplated how to place his words. "Well, it's..."
"WELL, HI!" Startled, our heroes turned toward the voice. A strange creature made entirely of white outlines approached them. "So tell me, first time down here in th...wait a minute. Haven't I seen you before?"
"Yes, I suppose you have. We were down here before."
"This is The Underwhere, right?" confirmed Luigi.
"Yep, that's the place. Well, I guess if this isn't your first time here, I don't need to explain anything, although, seriously, no one ever comes here twice. Anyway, yeah, if you want to go to The Overthere, see Queen Jaydes, yadda yadda yadda."
"Mario?" Mimi whimpered. "So this is that...Underwhere place?"
The hero turned toward the others, noting the minions' worried expressions. "Yes. This is where we go when our games are over. If our sins are light enough, we could enter The Overthere. Otherwise, we'd stay here, like these Shaydes."
"Our...games are over?" stammered Nastasia. "So...we're...we're..."
"No...I wouldn't say we're dead. We just got sent here, like Dimentio did before. I think that's what happened, anyway. Novelle did the same thing."
"Novelle..." Tippi repeated the name. "Who IS she? I know that couldn't have been Morris. And I don't think Wretcha would do something like that..."
"Wretcha would've outright killed us," Luigi pointed out.
"Well, wait. How do we know we're not...actually dead? I don't think it's likely, but Novelle could have actually ended our games."
"Well, there's only one way to find that out. Let's see Queen Jaydes. I know the way there."
"Sounds fine," agreed Nastasia. After looking ahead through the sinister, foggy Underwhere, the minion trudged after the others.
After a few yards, Mario pointed out a large, glowing fountain that spilled a stream of creepy orange water into the air. "Oh! I forgot about this. This fountain can cure any injury if you step into it."
"It can cure injuries?" Mimi warily examined the sick-orange liquid. "Oh...can it cure diseases, too?"
"I reckon it can cure anything that's wrong with you," replied a nearby Shayde. "Why not give it a shot? You've got nothing to lose."
"Um, OK." Mimi, Nastasia, and O'Chunks carefully jumped into the fountain, allowing the liquid to bathe them.
"I can feel something," reported Nastasia. "Like, like, a..."
"Like a tinglin' feelin'?" asked O'Chunks.
"O'Chunks!" exclaimed Nastasia. "You can speak!"
"'Ey, sure I can! Who says a wee germ can get the best o' O'Chunks?"
"It worked!" Mimi exclaimed, facing the other heroes with her normal skin tone and pink cheek highlights. "You guys need some healing too, don't you?"
"Yeah, after that battle and everything..." Luigi dipped into the fountain, followed by Mario and Peach.
Our heroes had been completely revitalized. "Whew." Mario stepped out of the fountain. "Now to the queen."
The three original heroes led the minions into an area lousy with pits, spike traps, pipes, and hostile creatures. Dry Bones and Lava Bubbles inhabited this area, but since the heroes were well versed in avoiding obstacles by now, they managed to reach the end of this area with little trouble. A wide, sickly purple river greeted them on the other side. "That's the river Twygz," observed Mario. He paid the fare of five coins for Charold to ferry our heroes across on his wooden boat. Our heroes reached the other side, nearing Jaydes' palace.
The dull gray, gothic-esque palace was not an uplifting sight. After passing some D-Man workers and a Shayde or two, our heroes approached the Queen, dressed in dark purple with an unsettling complexion. "Ah, who have we here? The heroes who saved The Overthere?"
"Yes, it's us," answered Mario. "But, we think we might have been sent here again without our games actually ending."
"Is that so? Let me check..." Jaydes felt for the energy inside our heroes. "Yes, you're all definitely alive." Our heroes breathed an internal sigh of relief. "I'd offer to send you back to your world, but there must be a reason you were sent to The Underwhere again. Perhaps having to do with The Void that hangs above the skies of The Overthere..."
"A person called Dimentio was here a while ago, wasn't he?" asked Luigi. "He tried to destroy all worlds?"
"Yes! And he escaped! He compulsed me with some sort of mind-control power."
"Yep, that's what he told us. He's been wrecking havoc ever since then. We've been receiving instructions through Mario's mind through a person who calls herself Maia. We had to collect these five orbs to stop Dimentio. Once we had them all, this fairy called Novelle sent us here, and...yeah..."
"Intriguing. Hmm...I don't recognize you three." She motioned to the minions. "What are your names?"
"I'm Nastasia," the secretary answered, "and that's O'Chunks, and that's Mimi."
"I see. What about the Pixl? Your name was Tippi, wasn't it?"
"Yes, but it's really Timpani, if that's what you want."
"Timpani...?" Jaydes narrowed her eyes for a moment, then abruptly perked up. "Oh. There was a person who arrived here a while ago without his game ending, too. He said that he was probably being hunted after, so I've allowed him to stay inside the palace near the entrance to the Underwhere Road. I think I remember him mentioning the name 'Timpani' once or twice..."
Tippi was silent. "He...mentioned...Timpani?"
"Yes. He's resting just beyond this door, if you're at all interested."
Tippi hovered in place for a few seconds, then reverted to Timpani and rushed for the door. As she yanked it open, our heroes sped past the Queen to keep up, following Timpani through the door. They emerged inside the palace, observing a lone figure standing in the middle of the hallway. "T...Timpani? Timpani!"
"BLUMIERE!" Timpani wasted no time in rushing to her husband's side and enclosing him in a loving embrace. "Oh, Blumiere! You're alive! I knew it! I just knew it!"
Blumiere smiled. "Yes, I'm certainly alive, Timpani. And in good shape."
Timpani's smile also widened as she stepped away from the former Count Bleck. "What happened? Did you arrive here after Dimentio...'killed' you?"
"I did. The fountain at the entrance healed my body, and after I consulted with Jaydes, I learned that my game wasn't over. I thought someone must have saved my life, so I figured Dimentio might be hunting me. Jaydes let me stay hidden inside this palace. I know I can cancel Peach and Bowser's union, and thus deactivate the Chaos Heart, but there must be more at play here than I realize. Do you know anything about the situation, heroes?"
"Yeah," answered Luigi, "we've been through quite a lot since then." Luigi began by describing Hyper Dimentio's transformation immediately after Blumiere's disappearance. Blumiere listened closely as our heroes joined in describing everything they'd experienced since then.
"I see. Then this 'Maia' must have saved me. You don't know anything about her?"
"No, we still don't know any of that," replied Timpani. She grinned again. "But I'm just happy you're alive."
"And I'm happy you're with me. We were together for such a short time...and then Dimentio took me away. I was under his control until the heroes finally confronted Dimentio. And then, the shorter still time I had with you..." Blumiere trailed off. "It was heaven. Just being with you after learning I'd worked for that madman. And then this. We were separated again."
"And now we're together, again." Timpani's smile grew. "We finally get to be together for the first time since back then. Oh, but Dimentio's real name is Ganter, isn't it?"
Blumiere's eyes dropped. "I'm not going to treat that villain as my father. If Dimentio is his new name, then so be it. I will never, ever call him Ganter again."
"That's probably the best thing to do, Blumiere. I didn't like to think that he was your father, either."
"So, you heroes are here now..." Blumiere thought. "Is there anything we can do now? Bowser is with Dimentio now."
A sinister voice appeared in the room. "Ah ha ha ha ha. Yes, Bowser's on my side now. You thought you wouldn't have to deal with me anymore after you destroyed our dimension, didn't you?" Dimentio appeared in the room besides the group, the former Koopa King soon following.
"Dimentio!" shouted Blumiere.
"Ah ha ha. Now the child scolds his father. If anyone, I should be accusing you, my rebellious son. You are the reason the Tribe of Darkness wasn't able to carry out with its plan to conquer all worlds."
"Dimentio," Blumiere firmed, "spare me all the stupid Tribe of Darkness talk. We know that isn't the whole story. You were working with someone called Amtakan the whole time, weren't you?"
"Indeed, I was. Amtakan was behind the scenes, working with the Tribe of Darkness. But you have no place to know what Amtakan's true intentions were. You would have learned everything had you followed the correct path and eventually become king, but it is too late for that now. It is too late, like a mother with three screaming babies in her arms who also had to carry a forty-pound suitcase that slowed her down to the point where she was unable to reach her airplane in time and as such, wasn't able to receive a crucial clue that could've stopped a city from being destroyed by a hyper-concentrated beam of energy."
"Go away, Dimentio," demanded Timpani. "You have no right to be here with us."
"Oh? So sure, Timpani? I have every right to be here with my rebellious son. Every right to show you heroes the true end of your games. After you beat Alpha and Omega again, I saw her sending you away in an explosion of fire, and then I realized that you must have been hidden in the very last place I would look: The Underwhere. So I waited for the heroes to meet up with you, and now, I've brought Bowser here for the final extermination of you all. The Tribe of Darkness will finally carry out its plan, despite the efforts of a certain meddling magician."
"And how will you do that?" demanded Nastasia.
"Ah ha ha. You will see, heroes. Soon enough. If you can reach The Overthere, that is. Because first, I'd like you all to entertain me."
Mortcha flipped in next to Bowser. "Ready for some fun, heroes?"
"I'm sure they are, Mortcha. In any case, Bowser and I will be waiting in The Overthere while Mortcha will be attempting to stop you heroes at every turn. If you can make it to the top of the Overthere Stair, we'll have a special surprise waiting for you. Ready, heroes? On your marks, get set...go!" Dimentio and Bowser disappeared.
MINIBOSS
Mortcha
Mortcha initiated Morris's spider transformation. After Timpani changed back into Tippi, this gave our heroes a head start to begin climbing the Underwhere Road, but the possesed shape-shifter soon caught up with them. "Gee, this feels really weird. And kind of exciting. It'll be fun nailing you heroes into next week." Mortcha attached herself to the right wall of the dim vertical chamber and fired a volley of blue stones into the darkness.
"We ain't able to see in 'ere!" exclaimed O'Chunks.
"Oh!" Mimi transformed into Bowser and unleashed Bowser's hot breath on one of the candleholders, lighting the lamp and illuminating the passage. Our heroes could see where they were going as Mortcha assaulted them with everything she had.
"Take this!" Mortcha began her spinning stone attack. Her head careened toward the heroes, slamming into a few of them and ricocheting off nearby walls.
"Come on!" exclaimed Mario. "The first Dorguy is just above us." The heroes jumped to a ledge on the left wall and dashed through the hall, coming to the Dorguy at the end. "No time to chat," hurried Mario. "Just let us through!" Dorguy the First obeyed, opening to allow the heroes inside. After passing through another short chamber, they emerged in another tall vertical passage, only for Mortcha to appear again once Mimi had lit another torch. This chamber contained a long upward segment consisting of nothing but alternating left-and-right platforms, providing little room for error as our heroes dodged the spider's projectiles. Mortcha eventually created a row of stones that waved vertically along our heroes' path. Jumping would send them flying off the edge. They had no choice other than to stay as close to the center as they could and allow the stones to hit them.
"Are you having fun yet, heroes?" Our heroes soon reached Dorguy the Second. Mario again allowed the others to pass. They eventually reached an outside area far above the rest of The Underwhere. Spiky Tromps rolled down the dark staircases, creating large obstacles for our heroes.
"Get to that platform!" Mario pointed at a small platform that stuck from one of the staircases. Our heroes crowded onto it, waiting for a Spiky Tromp to pass as Mortcha approached them with her spinning, weapon-covered head. Our heroes jumped the attack, landing awkwardly down on the staircase. "Run!"
Mario and the others made a mad dash for the other side, but another Tromp landed in front of O'Chunks before he could make it onto the platform, trapping him between the rolling enemy and Mortcha. "I've got you now."
"Halt!" Blumiere rushed toward the pair and rose his staff, producing an energy blast that knocked Mortcha back. This allowed the minion to jump back onto the platform, avoiding the Spiky Tromp and coming back to reach the others. "I guess I still have it in me."
Blumiere hurried back to the others, joining their approach to Dorguy the Third. "We're almost to the Overthere Stair," announced Mario as he pushed the Dorguy aside. Our heroes emerged in a small room lit by light beams from above. After a few more platforms, they abruptly broke into a realm of sky and light. This was the Overthere Stair, marred only by the ever-present Void.
"Rats!" Mortcha complained. "This place isn't as cramped, so you guys will be harder to hit. Oh, well. I'll just keep one step ahead of you." As our heroes scrambled to the nearest cloud, Mortcha extended her leg to a nearby cloud above them and pulled herself up to it, blocking their upward progress.
"Not for long!" Luigi Super Jumped upward, ramming into Mortcha from below. This temporarily froze her, giving our heroes an opportunity to climb further. This process continued for a while, our heroes finding new ways to get around the giant spider, until the group was confronted with a pair of platforms to travel further up upon.
"What are you going to do now?" Mortcha attached herself to the nearest platform, surrounding her head with blue stones.
"Wait." Mario held his hand behind him, signaling for the others to stop. As Mortcha spun toward them, our heroes jumped, waiting for the platform to fall again. They rode it upward, catching the second platform as it began carrying them further upward.
"Darn it! How do you heroes do it?" Mortcha unleashed one of the giant crystal-like stones, sending it sailing upward for our heroes. It landed between Mario and Peach, blocking our heroes' route to the next cloud.
"Let me take care of this." Blumiere shattered the stone with his staff, sending bits and pieces falling down toward Mortcha.
"Aaagh! No!"
"We're almost there," rejoiced Peach. "We just have to make sure she doesn't pull anything now!"
"Let's bounce on Cyrus," offered Mario. The giant cloud was right before them. Our heroes leaped onto the cloud, careening into the air and landing just to the left of the Overthere entrance.
"Hold up, heroes." Mortcha appeared to our heroes' right, blocking the entrance to The Overthere. "You aren't entering The Overthere as long as I'm here to say something about it."
"Then let's fix that." Luigi jumped upon Mortcha's head while Mario swung his hammer from below, knocking one of the spider's legs out. While Mortcha aimed more blue stones for them, Mimi attacked her with Rubees.
"Ouch! All right, let's stop playing around. Morris had more powers than this, didn't he?" Mortcha extended a thin white line from her head, flipping another head in at the line's end. "Ah, that's nice. A duplicate head. Nice and scary and convenient."
"It's a good thing she doesn't know what other powers he had!" Peach assaulted the second head, using her parasol as a weapon from below, opening a chance for O'Chunks and Nastasia to attack her main unit, getting rid of two more legs. "We know how to fight giant spiders like the backs of our hands now."
"Grr! Take this!" The possesed spider extended six heads in a hexagonal shape, releasing blue stones with all of them. As the other heroes were hit, Mimi threw a Rubee at a torrent of stones, sending them back in the direction of the heads. Three of them were wiped out. The reformed minion then went for Mortcha's main head while the others destroyed her duplicate heads again. The witch was down to two legs.
"Hurry! Over here!" Blumiere called. "I'll give her my energy attack, and while she's distracted, whale on her from behind!" Blumiere rushed to the other side of Mortcha, sending out waves of energy with his staff. The other heroes approached Mortcha from behind, according to plan, and hit her with everything they had. Mortcha's last two legs were gone.
"No!" Mortcha collapsed to the ground, reverting to her standard form.
"Run for it!" Mario ran in the direction of The Overthere.
"There he is! There's Dimentio!" Luigi pointed. Dimentio and Bowser were standing atop a lone cloud in the middle of The Overthere.
"We have to see what he's up to." Peach floated to the platform on her parasol, meeting Dimentio face-to-face along with the others.
"Ah ha ha. So you heroes did manage to make it up here, even with Mortcha on your trail. I am impressed."
"It's not really that impressive," countered Luigi, "once you consider we've beaten Morris like, five times over."
"Oh, so what?" Mortcha landed on the cloud beside them. "Just because I'm in Morris's body doesn't make me any more vulnerable."
"I'm sorry, Mortcha," began Dimentio, "but I have to give the heroes credit on that one. You truly don't know how to use Morris's body. Did it even occur to you that you could extend a row of duplicate heads from your main head after your defeat, and ready yourself to extend a whole new pair of six legs?"
Mortcha stared. "What? I could? Why didn't you tell me that?"
"If you couldn't figure that out yourself, I guess you're not so competent after all."
"Well, just give me another chance! Just..." Mortcha trailed off, then scowled. "Oh. I see where you're coming from, not showing me any love."
"You even use love as an excuse for me to pardon your incompetence. No strong minion would lower themself to the point of invoking that weakest of all emotions."
"Weakest?" Blumiere looked angrily at Dimentio. "I and you both know from personal experience that love is one of the strongest forces in existence."
Dimentio regarded his son. "Ah ha ha ha. Yes, love can cause much. It can solidify the relationship of a treasuring couple, or form the motivation behind a madman's plot to destroy the universe. But love itself is not powerful. It is merely taken out of context."
"If that's what you want to think, then fine. Go ahead. But you're just deluding yourself."
"Now is not the time for debate, my worthless son. We have some urgent business to take care of." The jester turned to Bowser. "Ready, Bowser?"
"Yeah, I'm ready! This is going to be awesome!"
"What are you doing?" wondered Nastasia.
"We're going to end your games once and for all. Now hold still, Bowser." Dimentio held his hands out, calling the Chaos Heart into the area. "With the power of the Chaos Heart...and of the magical device that made you so powerful...and my own...I will annihilate these heroes!" The Chaos Heart repeated the procedure Dimentio had used to form his Super and Hyper versions, producing two bright flashes. More beams of gray energy extended from the artifact, and the area began shaking with an earthquake similar to the already-existing ones produced by The Void. The white outline of Dimentio's characteristic purple-and-yellow jester skirt materialized in the air, colored once the structure had been fully drawn. Large claws similar to Bowser's were drawn in the air and colored a pure black while being connected to the body by chains, and Bowser's feet appeared in a similar design. Finally, a black-and-white version of Bowser's head appeared on the top, only the polygonal red hair on the Koopa King's head featuring any color. The giant Bowser-clown fell to the ground with a deafening thud.
"It's...Bowser!" breathed Mario, involuntarily leaning away from the monster.
"Yes, heroes. Now I'll take control of this vessel like I did with poor Luigi, and your fates will all be sealed. Sealed, like the secrets you heroes strive so hard to learn, the secrets that were kept by Amtakan and the Tribe of Darkness, known only to a select few, and-"
A square box was interruptingly drawn around the giant Bowser. Dimentio turned around. "What? What is this?" As he finished speaking, the box shattered. Bowser was still intact, but he seemed different from before.
"W...what? Dimentio? What's going on?" Bowser looked around. "Aren't we supposed to be in some sort of barren plain? And you're going to help me take over all worlds?" Bowser moved his head and arms, glancing at their new forms. "Whoa! What happened to me?"
Dimentio eyed Bowser curiously. "You're helping me destroy the heroes, Bowser. That's what I just told you."
"You didn't tell me anything. And how'd I get like this? Oh, you fused me with the Chaos Heart, didn't you?"
"Bowser! He's been released from my hypnosis! How did this happen?"
Our heroes watched the show, standing as silent observers.
"Hypnosis?" Bowser roared. "You hypnotized me?! Is THAT what happened? You go all out and say you're going to respect the Koopa King and what he wants to do, and than you hypnotize me? To get all what YOU want? Well, not for long, Mr. Comedy. Take THIS!" Bowser roared and expelled a torrent of fire straight at Dimentio. He held his fire for several seconds, not releasing until he was certain Dimentio had been fried for good.
The jester stood, flames enveloping his body, with an expressionless face. He said nothing.
"Yeah, how do you like that, Dimentio?"
Dimentio continued to stand. The fire had begun to eat away at his extravagant jester's hat, as well as his mask. As the jester still remained, motionless and speechless, the flames slowly transformed his face, warping it into a twisted deformation of its previous self. Finally, he spoke, a weak and gravelly tone. "Maia...you will lose. Love...will cease to exist. Amtakan...will succeed. No matter what you do...no matter what you call yourself...you will fail." Dimentio continued to deteriorate, melting into a hideous jumble of smoldering body parts. Finally, these sank into ashes that fell from the Overthere cloud and down through the vast sky.
Mortcha continued to stare. She was speechless. Our heroes held various expressions, also silent.
"And don't think I've forgotten you heroes," Bowser boomed, breaking the encompassing silence. "I'm going to make you pay for how you treated me. Feel the wrath of the new and improved Bowser!"
BOSS
Hyper Bowser
Bowser began by aiming a fiery jet for our heroes as well. As they stepped backward, the Koopa King rose his gigantic foot, bringing it down directly above our heroes. "Wah!" Luigi struggled under Bowser's iron foothold.
"Bwa ha ha ha! You heroes are no match for the new me!" The monster rose his far hand. Its palm glowed, sending out a laser that aimed for Luigi. The green plumber ducked under the blast, finally breaking himself free from Bowser's foot. He rushed to the Bowser-clown's body and attempted to Super Jump it from below, but Hyper Bowser's hand caught Luigi and shoved him toward the ground.
"Oh, no!" exclaimed Tippi. "I don't think we can hurt him! He's being shielded by the Chaos Heart, but we can't use the Pure Hearts to break his shield. They've been deactivated!"
"Wait a second." Luigi approached Hyper Bowser's body and carefully jumped onto it. His attack hit. "Just as I thought! I didn't see the glowing shield."
"AAGH!!" Bowser recoiled. "How can you hit me? I thought the Chaos Heart's supposed to make me invincible!" He lessened the force on his foot, allowing the other heroes to escape.
"I think the shield was broken when Bowser's hypnosis was released," explained Mario. "So whoever broke Dimentio's mind-grip on Bowser...they must have also countered the Chaos Heart's protective powers!"
"Maia?" asked Luigi, making a questioning gesture next to his brother.
"Maia..." Mario thought. Maia hadn't spoken to him since their return from the Dimension of Refuge. But perhaps she needed to save her energy in order to perform something as powerful as this? How did she know this would happen?
"Whoever 'Maia' is," dismissed Bowser. "Come on and get some!" He fired two identical lasers from his eyes that spread in different directions.
"C...Bluimere," urged Nastasia. "See if you can get in there and give him all you have! What powers do you still have?"
"I'm not entirely sure. I know I can't make the miniature Voids anymore. I think I can still do the energy charge. Let me try." Blumiere waited for an opening between Hyper Bowser's lasers, then rammed for the clown's body with everything he had.
"GRAHH!" Bowser took a few steps backwards. "I'll crush you all!" He rose into the air, performing a maneuver similar to Super and Hyper Dimentio's air attack. This cloud platform, though, was smaller than Castle Dimentio's meeting room, allowing less space for our heroes to avoid the eventual crash-landing.
An earthquake rumbled, but Hyper Bowser hadn't come down yet. Our heroes glanced briefly in the direction of The Void. "It's getting bigger here, too!" reported Mimi. "We have to beat him fast!"
"And then I can separate him and Peach, and stop this menace!" Blumiere moved to the side to avoid Hyper Bowser's massive body as he crashed onto the cloud with a thud. "Let's split up, heroes. I'll take command of the minions!"
"Yeah!" O'Chunks cheered. "Jus' like ol' times!"
"We'll destract him." Mario rushed away from Blumiere, Luigi and Peach in tow. He jumped onto Bowser's hand, bouncing off the massive claw and nailing his head with a ground pound.
"Is that all you can do, Mario? Come on, let's see some of the stuff you use when you break into my castle all the time! I dare you!" The Koopa King streamed fire toward Mario, who flipped in mid-air to dodge the attack and landed headfirst in the cloud below.
While Mario recovered, Blumiere readied the minions. "O'Chunks, let's see a...flatulent bomber. Mimi, give him a Rubee wave. And Nastasia...just give him all you've got!"
"Got it! HAIL BLUMIERE!" Mimi gave her former master a grin before turning toward Hyper Bowser's body and producing a swarm of Rubees that hit the villain like a cloud of tiny bees.
"Gah! Get these annoying things off me!" Bowser looked downward, seeing Mario next to Mimi. He attacked them both with a laser from his mouth. Mimi avoided the shot in time, but Mario was hit squarely.
"Mario!" Peach rushed to her lover's side. "Are you OK?"
"Go back over there, Peach! Luigi can't hold the fort alone!"
"Are you sure? I-"
"Do it! I'll be there in a second!"
As Peach returned to Luigi's side, O'Chunks came down on Hyper Bowser's head. He landed down on the platform. "That's a taste o' O'Chunks for yeh!"
"You little fart! I'll get you!" The villain leaped a short distance into the air and dropped directly onto the minion's head.
"Agh! I'm chunked!"
"Get off him, you big meanie!" Mimi rose to Hyper Bowser's body level and threw an assembly line of Rubees at his head.
"GRAH!" Bowser fell off O'Chunks. "I'll get you ALL!" He moved to the left side of the arena, toward Mario, Luigi, and Peach, extended his arms, geared up for a punch, and rotated to the right, spinning his clenched claws in circles. He smacked Blumiere away and hit several others.
"Whoaaaa!" Luigi lost his balance after being slammed by Hyper Bowser's hand and was pushed away from the platform, hanging onto the cloud with both hands.
"I'm coming, Luigi!" Mario rushed to his younger brother's aid and grabbed both of his hands. Bowser, finished with the spinning punch attack, saw this opportunity and aimed his hot breath for the Mario Brothers.
"Oh no, you don't!" Blumiere came up from below, knocking the pair into the air where they landed on their feet. Blumiere sent an energy blast at Bowser's head, hitting him sqarely. At the same time, O'Chunks and Nastasia came up from behind and attacked the other side of the clown's body.
"Grrr! This is taking longer than I thought." Bowser groaned. "I'll just smash you all!" The giant Hyper Bowser flipped to the side, landing upright upon Mimi and O'Chunks. Almost as soon, he flipped in the other direction, squashing Luigi and Peach.
"We're not going to last much longer!" exclaimed Mimi. Off in the distance, The Void rumbled again. "And that too!"
"We need some way to get him down and fast," reported Mario. He swung his hammer for Hyper Bowser's body. After making contact, Bowser jumped again, landing in the center of the arena.
"How about some spikes?" Bowser withdrew his limbs, including his head, and extended the segments of Dimentio's purple and yellow jester skirt outward, forming a row of spikes. The Bowser clown's body spun around the platform, aiming toward our heroes.
"Get on top of it!" Mario commanded to Luigi before being bowled over by Hyper Bowser's attack.
"Mario!" Luigi's brother was injured, but now wasn't the time to be sentimental. Luigi mustered his powerful Super Jump, targeting Bowser as he landed. He bounced on Hyper Bowser's body, landing on it again four times before finally missing and settling on the cloud.
"That's...that's how we do it!" Mario sat up, weakened. "We use Super Dimentio's original flaw against Bowser! That body has a massive surface area. If one of us goes up there and jumps on the body repeatedly, we'll have this fight won in no time!" The hero glanced at the expanding Void.
"Whatever you're planning, it's not going to work!" Bowser re-extended his limbs and head, pulling his arms to his head level and smashing them downward, creating two expanding shockwaves. Mario and Luigi expertly dodged these, but the others were pushed over, struggling on the ground.
"We can't let him get them! Let's go, bro!" Luigi nodded. The Mario Brothers rushed up to their adversary's body, again using his hand as a bouncing platform, and landed on the huge jester body. They landed with a mission to do as much damage as possible.
"I think he's almost down," announced Luigi as he punched Hyper Bowser's giant head from below. "We just need to keep this up!" He aimed a swift kick for the side of Bowser's body,
"I'm with you!" Mario repeatedly Ground Pounded the same section of Bowser's body, doing equal harm.
"Aarggh! I'm almost finished! I can't concentrate with you plumbers banging up on me!" Bowser extended his massive head on its chain away from the brothers, opening his mouth toward them.
"BAIL!" Mario shouted. He and Luigi leaped off the villain as Bowser's fire met his body, damaging himself.
"He took a lot out of himself," observed Luigi. "Now we all just need to go in and give him one final hit!"
The others had recovered in the time Mario and Luigi had spent damaging Hyper Bowser. Peach rushed to Mario and Luigi's side while Blumiere shouted from Bowser's other side. "We'll attack from both sides, and put an end to this villain! Minions, hear my words, too!"
"Yes, Blumiere!" O'Chunks, Mimi, and Nastasia attacked with Blumiere on the one side while Mario, Luigi, and Peach went for in on the other side. Unfortunately, Bowser sweeped Mario and Luigi away with his hand, and blocked the minions' side with a stream of fire after taking a few hits.
"Noooo!" exclaimed Nastasia. Hyper Bowser was about to roast them all.
"That won't happen as long as I'm here!" Our heroes turned toward Peach's voice. She descended toward Hyper Bowser's body, landing on it and repeating her stomp as Mario and Luigi had done. This final multi-attack knocked out Hyper Bowser for good. Peach landed on the ground as Bowser's body smoked and exploded.
"NOOO!!" Hyper Bowser's body exploded, releasing Bowser in his true form. He landed on his belly before our heroes.
"Those heroes...beat me AGAIN! I don't get it...I just don't get it..."
"Bowser..." examined Peach. "You're really back! It's the evil, but loveably pathetic Bowser I knew before."
"PATHETIC?!" Bowser spat. "You...oh, Princess Peach! I didn't hurt you, did I?"
Peach sighed. "Oh, Bowser..."
Blumiere approached the villain. "Hurry, Bowser. We must unwed you and Peach to stop this Void."
"Unwed? Me and Peach?" Bowser stood up, glaring at Blumiere. "Aren't you that Count Bleck guy?"
"I was. Now, I am Blumiere again. We have much explaining to do, Bowser, but now isn't the time."
-
Holy mackerel, that intermission was too long for a single post. Commencing from the paragraph where I left off...
"Those heroes...beat me AGAIN! I don't get it...I just don't get it..."
"Bowser..." examined Peach. "You're really back! It's the evil, but loveably pathetic Bowser I knew before."
"PATHETIC?!" Bowser spat. "You...oh, Princess Peach! I didn't hurt you, did I?"
Peach sighed. "Oh, Bowser..."
Blumiere approached the villain. "Hurry, Bowser. We must unwed you and Peach to stop this Void."
"Unwed? Me and Peach?" Bowser stood up, glaring at Blumiere. "Aren't you that Count Bleck guy?"
"I was. Now, I am Blumiere again. We have much explaining to do, Bowser, but now isn't the time." The Void shook yet again, soon to consume The Overthere as well. "You must come with us. We need to stop the Chaos Heart once and for all."
"What? And unmarry me and Peach? No way that's happening!"
"Fine, Bowser. Be sucked into nothingness forever."
Bowser's eyes narrowed. "Hey! What are you insinuating?"
"We don't have time for this! Either you come with us, or everyone dies. Take your pick."
One of those choices sounds a lot more appealing, doesn't it?
"I don't need you to help me decide, Peach!"
"What do you mean, Bowser? I didn't say anything."
"Then what was that..." Bower looked at Peach, noticing her clueless expression. "Well, someone told me one of the choices sounded better."
Mario and Luigi gave each other a sly grin.
"What are you two smiling about, huh?" Bowser moved menacingly for Mario and Luigi.
Seriously, Bowser, don't harm them. Let Blumiere unwed you and Peach. It's the only way you could EVER end up conquering the world.
"What!? Well, I guess that is true, whoever you are who's saying that."
"I believe her name is Maia," offered Tippi.
"Maia? What?"
Another rumble. Time's short, Bowser.
"Yes, but...ah...well...um...I..." Bowser folded his arms. "OKAY! Whatever! Do it fast before I change my mind."
"That's better, Bowser. Now come with me." Blumiere enclosed the entire group in a box, then flipped out. Our heroes emerged in the wedding chapel where Peach and Bowser, as well as Blumiere and Timpani, were married.
"Peach and Bowser, please take your places at the altar." They obeyed as Blumiere arrived above the central pedestal. "I'm not exactly sure how to cancel a marriage, but I suppose I can do it the same way I brought you two together." The other heroes gathered around the chapel as Blumiere initiated the "unwedding" ceremony.
"I'm ready, Blumiere," Peach offered.
"Excellent. Let's make this quick. Fair, pure-hearted Princess Peach, do you agree to separate from Bowser?"
"I do."
"Bowser, evil king of the Koopas, do you agree to separate from Peach?"
"Wait! When did I say I'd do that? I just said I'd come here with you!"
Blumiere sighed, then looked at his former secretary. "Nastasia?"
"Right away, Blumiere." Nastasia rose her hand to her glasses and ensnared Bowser in red hypnosis energy. "I'm going to need you to answer Blumiere again, Bowser. Do you agree to separate from Peach?"
"Wha...I...yeah...I do..."
A brilliant flash extended from the pedestal, bathing the room in white light. The scenery gradually returned to normal as the sparkle faded.
"Did it work?" asked Tippi.
"There's only one way to find out." Mario extended his Return Pipe. "Let's hightail it back to Flipside."
Our heroes emerged from Mario's Return Pipe under the clear skies of Flipside. There was no Void, no panicking citizens, and the Pure Hearts were active and positioned in their respective Heart Pillars.
"Yeah!" Luigi pumped his fist into the air. "We did it! The Void's gone!"
"We saved the worlds!" exclaimed Peach.
"And Dimentio's gone for good," Bowser bragged. "You can thank me for that."
"So, Bowser..." Mario turned to his arch-enemy amidst the heroes' cheers. "Are you going to stick with us again?"
"Yeah, I might as well. I mean, judging by that Void and everything, there's a lot more going on than I'm aware of. What happened all that time while Dimentio had me under his control?"
"Oh boy, there's a lot we have to explain again."
"Let's talk to Merlon, first of all," suggested Tippi. "He'll be so glad we pulled it off." Our heroes set off for the elevator.
"There's still some stuff we have to take care of," reported Mario as our heroes descended. "Maia didn't make us collect those orbs for nothing."
Indeed, I didn't, Mario. Did you have fun while I was away?
Mario smiled internally. I sure did. You just needed to save your power so you could do all of the things you did, right?
Yep. I missed you, Mario. It's nice to be able to talk with you again.
Same here, Maia.
Our heroes emerged on Flipside's second story. "Oh ho ho!" Merlon greeted them at the entrance. "It appears you've saved all the worlds, heroes, again! And...is that Blumiere behind you?"
"It certainly is," agreed the former count. "We went through a lot."
"Do tell me, heroes. I haven't had the chance to hear from you since you walked into the green door on Flipside Tower."
"Well, OK," Mario began. "It started like this." Our heroes again explained everything that happened to them since they entered the green dimensional door. For Bowser, they also threw in what they'd learned before fighting Hyper Dimentio.
"Simply amazing, heroes. I couldn't ask for a group of nobler hearts. That mad Dimentio has finally met the end of his game. So now it looks like there are eight of you, correct? Yes, the four original heroes, plus Blumiere and the three minions...so now we only must wait for one more arrival before the prophecy is fulfilled, correct? Who could that one be?"
"I don't know. There's no one I would pick out..." Tippi stirred. "So, Merlon...we aren't done, are we? We think Amtakan, whoever he is, might still be dangerous. And we need to know what these orbs do. Well, I think we should ask Maia about that." Tippi turned to Mario. "Does Maia say anything?"
The time has come, Mario. Dimentio is gone for good, but now you must now rise to stop the true threat at hand. Here's what you're going to do now. You're going to release me.
Mario was taken aback. Release you?
Yes. I've been sealed for 1,100 years. I had to make sure you heroes got the orbs in time, and then I brought Dimentio and Bowser together in The Underwhere so I could release Bowser from Dimentio's control and get rid of Dimentio once and for all. I knew Dimentio would use the Chaos Heart against you, so I deactivated the Chaos Heart's shield and allowed you to beat Bowser. I can barely reach out my power over this large of a distance, especially with my seal, so I plotted the events to work with as little strain on my magic as possible.
That's amazing, Maia. How did you know this would all happen?
Maia seemed to grin. I'm good at predicting what people will do, Mario. Especially if they're connected to the Tribe of Darkness. But in any case, take a rest at the inn, and then modify the darker blue door the same way you did the rest. I'll lead you straight to myself.
OK, Maia. But one question. You were sealed for 1,100 years, right? Isn't that...the same amount of time Amtakan was sealed? Is there any connection?
Maia paused. Yeah...there's a connection, Mario. But now isn't the time for me to tell you about it. Once you find me, I'll be able to explain everything. Everything you want to know regarding Amtakan and the Tribe of Darkness.
Mario involuntarily gave a sly grin. All right, Maia. We'll be there.
See you, Mario. Have fun. Maia left Mario's conciousness.
"What did she say, Mario?" asked Mimi.
Mario explained everything Maia had told him, including her "connection" to Amtakan. "Interesting," Merlon mused. "There is some kind of connection between all of this, isn't there? Well, I suppose we shouldn't waste any time. Take your well-deserved rest at the inn, heroes. I'll be at the blue door when you need me."
Our heroes replenished themselves with the inn. Once they were awake and ready, they stocked up on Shroom Shakes and other items for the journey ahead. "We're ready, Merlon," announced Mario.
"Very well." Merlon modified the blue door, creating another flash. "The road is yours, heroes."
"Thank you, Merlon," offered Tippi.
"We'll be back," firmed Mario. "And with Maia."
"So, yeah, I'm 'Mortcha' now. It fits my weird personality, doesn't it?"
"I suppose." Amtakan's glowing eyes were unchanged, void of emotion like always. "Well, we cannot stand for this. If my predictions are correct, Maia will draw the heroes to herself now that they have all five of the Breaker Orbs. We have relied on Dimentio and his minions to keep the heroes in check until now, but, obviously, we can't do that anymore. Dimentio and his minions have failed."
"Hey! Are you including me in that statement?"
"I suppose I am, but with the proper training and fortification, we will build you into a perfect hero-destroying machine, just like the others."
"Yeah, even with Wretcha's soul, you're still a total weakling!" A polygonal, orange-skinned female looked up from her drinking glass. "Guess I'm still the best of us all, huh? Supreme judgment and insight. Ah, it's good to be on top." She lowered her eyelids, leaning backwards as the glass fell from her hand and shattered on the floor.
"Margaret, I warned you twice. None of that drink before a meeting. I will resort to punishment if nessecary."
"Whuh? Oh, yeah, right, Amtakan. Sheesh. I still know the best."
"Listen well, minions. We must stop the heroes before they reach Maia. Focus your attention on the minions first - we need them to activate the Chaos Heart again. Then go for the heroes."
"So who will you send first?" Mortcha inquired. "These guys are a lot more competent than Dimentio's minions, aren't they?"
"Indeed, we are." Mortcha looked down at the speaker. A red-and-orange zigzag patterned cloak enveloped his body, ending in a series of points at the bottom, forming a legless torso much like that of Count Bleck and Amtakan. His black-gloved left hand contained a scepter with a similar shape to Amtakan's, but with a dark green handle, brown spines around the edges, and a polygonal red-colored end, making it resemble a giant rose. Five multicolored, faceted diamond shapes surrounded his head. It wasn't a true head, however. His thick neck ended in a single giant, flat eye, facing straight upward with a red iris. "Amtakan specifically picked us because we were the most competent. Isn't it charming?"
"That is true, Netherclops. I think I will first test the waters with Mortcha and Margaret. I would like you both to meet with the heroes and stop them in their tracks."
"Ooh, that sounds...nice," appreciated Margaret. "I get to show those heroes what they've been missing."
"I will require you both, particularly Mortcha, to undergo training for a period of time, and then I will set you on the heroes. Report to me once they have been destroyed."
"Aye aye, sir! Heh heh heh..." Margaret flipped out, then back in. "Oops. I forgot to show you where the training area is, Mortcha. Follow me." They both flipped out.
"Our plans are running smoothly," reported Amtakan. "Even if the Tribe of Darkness is no more, we will continue. Once the other two minions arrive, Netherclops, I expect you to fill them in on what they have missed."
"You got it, Amtakan." The Netherclops vanished in a manner similar to Dimentio.
Amtakan remained on his platform, saying nothing. Finally, he flipped out as well. "Maia...you have lost."
-
Dimentio had been defeated, The Void had been stopped, the orbs had been collected...but our heroes' adventure was far from over. They were now presented with the task of finding Maia herself. Once they reached her, she'd be able to explain everything they'd wondered about. Would the journey be easy or difficult? What would they encounter on their way? And, as Mario wondered, what would Maia actually look like? Despite their curiosity, the anticipation of having all of their questions answered provided enough encouragement for the heroes to forge on. A new world beckoned from within the dark blue dimensional door...
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A line was drawn.
Joining this line were several others, forming a network of cracks and crevases within the ground. The top portion of the ground was a solid, uncolored white snow area, wheras the bottom, cracked half, was filled in with a dull, dark-to-moderate icy blue. Large mountains were gradually drawn in the background, some near and some far, all coated in ice and snow. A night sky was painted in, a somehow peaceful dark backdrop. Finally, a few stars of varying brightness were added around the sky, just for effect. The blue door was drawn into existence, and our heroes stepped into their next mission.
"This place seems very peaceful..." observed Tippi. She extended her energy-sensing power, trying to discern Maia's location. "I sense something not far from here, somewhere in the mountains. I don't quite know what it is. It might be some form of power that's keeping Maia sealed..."
"We should head toward it, then," initiated Mario. "Let's go."
"It's good that we have a clear goal," reflected Blumiere as our heroes began treading in the snow. "A single goal of finding a person, without having to worry about the world being destroyed."
I'm just over a few of these mountains, Mario. You're in the same dimension as me, so I don't have to strain my power as much to talk to you. If you need any instructions, I'll be able to help you.
Thank you, Maia.
You're welcome. Oh, but be careful in these mountains. I have the feeling Amtakan will try to stop you now that Dimentio's been defeated and you're looking for me. He's exceptional at predicting my next move.
We will. Don't worry... Mario ended his sentence, but Maia's words made him recall her recent statement of being able to predict what people would do, "especially if they're connected to the Tribe of Darkness". Mario knew Amtakan was connected to the Tribe of Darkness, and it seemed he was a very important person. If he was still active today...
Yeah, Mario, Amtakan was powerful in the Tribe of Darkness. He influenced a lot of things. Just come to me, and I'll tell you all the rest.
OK.
The air was frigid, but the lack of a Void in the sky put our heroes' hearts and minds at ease as they traveled across the icy, mountainous landscape. The area in this dimension was nothing like the cold area they'd found the final Pure Heart in; these mountains were ice-blue and somewhat rugged, not to mention high-up, as opposed to a simple snowy field. The starry night gave the environment another unique atmosphere. As Mario led the group, he felt truly at rest for the first time in quite a while. There were no big decisions to make, no evil villains trying to manipulate his emotions, and no impending countdown of destruction. "Is that true?!" exclaimed Blumiere behind him. "I hope you weren't hurt when that happened." Blumiere and Tippi were discussing what had happened while Blumiere had been under Dimentio's control.
"No, not too severely. I knew that wasn't really you. It wasn't even the Count Bleck I met when my memory was lost. That Count Bleck knew of his past."
"Indeed, the past doesn't matter now, Timpani. What matters is that we're together, again, finally - and we can stay this way."
"That's what you promised, Blumiere. You promised we'd be happy."
"And we are. As long as I have you, I am content."
Mario smiled. He'd helped to bring Blumiere and Timpani together after such a long time of separation. As the others held their own conversations, all the new people he'd met plus his own close friends, Mario was overcome by a sense of satisfaction. Just a while ago, this group's members had been divided along sides that were at each others' throats and constantly separated. Now, they were all together, in one place, fighting for a common cause.
Our heroes stopped at a dead-end vertical wall. There were three indents in the rock, each in the shape of the mysterious circle-heart-and-spikes symbol they'd seen in Amtakan's palace and Castle Dimentio. "That symbol..." began Mario.
"Oh, the symbol!" exclaimed Blumiere. "We were just talking about that. Have you seen it before? That's the symbol of the Tribe of Darkness."
"It is?" asked Luigi. "What does it mean?"
"Well, according to...my father, it's supposed to represent the Tribe of Darkness's true leader."
"The true leader...?"
"Yes. I'm not really sure what the story behind that is. My guess is that the heart in the center is the Chaos Heart, but I could be wrong, obviously. I'm sure Dimentio knew, but he took his secrets with him."
Mario examined the wall. "It looks like we need to find three objects to put in here."
"Let's try down there." Luigi pointed to a small passage our heroes had just jumped across.
Our heroes descended down into this passage, coming out in another area. They were underground, at the entrance to a vast maze. Three tunnels branched in different directions. "These passages probably lead to the objects," estimated Mario.
"How about we split up?" offered Nastasia. "We'll go in three groups to save some time."
"Good thought." Mario examined the others, noting that they seemed to fall into natural groups. "I'll take Luigi and Peach and search this tunnel, I guess." He walked to the nearest passage.
"I will go with Timpani." Blumiere and Tippi moved to another.
"Well, that leaves us." Nastasia, O'Chunks, and Mimi entered the final area.
"What about me?" questioned Bowser.
Mario looked behind. "Oh...well, I suppose you could go with Blumiere and Tippi to make it an even three."
"Got it."
"This place sure is cold." Luigi shivered as he and Peach followed Mario down the winding passage. He stared at the dangerous stalactites and other ice formations.
After a few branching paths and wrong turns, the heroes entered a small, open room. There was a short pedestal on the far side of the room, on which rested a stone object in the same shape as the Tribe of Darkness's symbol. "There we go," breathed Peach. "Let's get back."
As soon as Mario removed the stone from its place, a slab of ice fell over the exit, and three Ice Chomps crashed from the ceiling. Mario jumped back. "We're not done fighting yet, guys." He drew his hammer and smacked the closest Chomp while Luigi and Peach jumped on the other two, unsuccessfully.
"Jumping doesn't work!" announced Peach. "You have to use your hammer, Mario."
"Got it."
While Mario defeated the second Ice Chomp, the one on the far left attacked Luigi, sending him backward into the ice blockade. "Hurry, bro!"
"I'm almost there." Mario moved for the final enemy, taking it out with his hammer. After he did, the ice blockade crumbled.
"Whew." Luigi walked for the exit. "Let's meet with the others."
"What's this?" Mimi examined the group of pedestals. There was one in the center, with three others forming a triangle around them.
"This room's lookin' like a dead end," observed O'Chunks. "We 'ave to do somethin' with these 'ere pedestals, I'd say."
Nastasia looked at the pedestal formation, brushing her hand against the one farthest to the right. "Gee, it's too bad we don't have Mario here with us. He'd figure this out in a jiffy."
"Well, what makes him figure stuff out so quickly?" inquired Mimi. O'Chunks and Nastasia stared at her. "If we can figure out how he thinks, we can solve this puzzle, too. If I were Mario, what would I be saying right now..."
"It might have something to do with something we saw or did?" offered Nastasia. "Um...well, the placement of these pedestals might be a clue. It might be..."
"The symbol?" finished O'Chunks.
"Yes, that! The Tribe of Darkness symbol. That one in the center is where the heart would be, and the ones on the sides are the points."
"So then...what do we have to do?" Mimi continued. "There's nothing else in this room. We have to...finish it? Complete the insignia somehow? We..." Mimi shrugged. "I don't know."
"Hmm." Nastasia walked next to the middle pedestal. "I think Mario would think that this center pedestal is the one we'd find an object on. Maybe another one of those stone Tribe of Darkness symbols. So we have to do something to make it appear here."
"What could that be, though..." Mimi joined Nastasia at the center formation, O'Chunks on her trail. She set her hand on the pedestal's top. "We have to...make the symbol. Like I said. Do something to...uh...make the symbol?" Mimi shook her head, sqinting. "I can't figure this out!"
"Well, let's see," began Nastasia. "The center of the symbol was a heart, right? Hearts symbolize..." At that instant, a stone with the Tribe of Darkness symbol shape appeared on the pedestal.
"Well, I'll be chunked!" exclaimed the burly minion. "'Ow'd that 'appen?"
Mimi's eyes widened. "Hearts...you thought about what hearts symbolize, and then the thing appeared! I got it! You had to think about love, because the center of the symbol was a heart, and hearts symbolize love."
"Wow! We did it!" Nastasia celebrated. "All by ourselves!" She removed the stone from its place. "We'd better get back to the others."
Blumiere, Tippi, and Bowser emerged in a room with three Ice Chomps in a row. Above each of the Chomps' heads, a white symbol was painted; first the Tribe of Darkness emblem, then a heart, and then an explosion. "What do those symbols mean?" Tippi initiated. "We should defeat these Chomps..."
"Wait one second. Those symbols might mean something."
"Oh...I think I remember this arrangement before. These were the same symbols Dimentio used in his castle for one of the block-hitting sequences. The order was the Pure Heart, then that symbol, then the explosion..."
"Hmm. Perhaps that's the order we must defeat these enemies in." Blumiere and Bowser wiped away the enemies in the order Tippi described, and a stone symbol appeared on a pedestal at the far end of the room.
"What exactly does that order mean?" Tippi wondered. "We just guessed."
"A Pure Heart, then the Tribe of Darkness, then an explosion..." Blumiere thought as he picked up the stone object. "I think those are arranged from 'good' to 'bad'. You know, sort of like 'most love' to 'least love'. The Pure Heart is obvious, and I guess the explosion I caused had less love than the Tribe of Darkness...well, in Dimentio's sight, anyway."
"So, now we just have to take this back to the wall, right?" confirmed Bowser.
"Yes. Let's go."
Our heroes met back at the central hub. "We all have one, right?" asked Mario.
"Yep," counted Luigi. "One, two...three."
"Let's go back up and set them in the wall, then." Our heroes climbed back through the shaft, emerging in the mountain air. Mario, Nastasia, and Blumiere, respectively, placed the stones in their positions. The area rumbled as the wall slid upward, revealing a door.
"Let's do this," Mario proclaimed. "We're closer, aren't we, Tippi?"
"Yes, we are. It's hard to say exactly how much terrain is left, but I don't think we have much farther to go."
"That's good. We'll find Maia in no time."
Yes, you're pretty close to me, but be careful, Mario. I think Amtakan's going to attack you very soon. Be on the lookout.
I'll keep watch, Maia. What should I be looking for?
Anything that's suspicious. You never know what might appear, not with Amtakan's minions...
Mario didn't know exactly what this meant, but he remained confident as he trekked through the underground passage and out into the open again. He knew Maia was watching out for him - and, of course, he had all of the answers at his fingertips.
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
Apparently, Amtakan was on our heroes' trail. He also had minions of his own, but who might these be? And would they pose a threat to our heroes' expedition? They braced themselves for the unexpected. Whatever Amtakan might try to do, he'd have to do it before the heroes reached the ever-closer location of Maia...
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"Maia isn't so far..." Tippi let her sense guide the heroes. "I think her location is in this direction. Maybe half a mile or so?"
"We're getting closer," rejoiced Peach. "How are we going to free her? The same way we were tricked into freeing Amtakan?"
You'll see, Peach.
Maia's statement was spoken inside Mario's head, so Mario told Peach what he'd heard.
"I see. I guess Maia doesn't want to spoil too much."
Our heroes began to approach the beginning of another vertical, but certainly scaleable, cliff. "One step closer..." breathed Nastasia.
Mario! Run to the side!
"Run to the side, everyone!" Our heroes instantly ducked out of their path as a massive steel jaw smashed into the area where they'd been standing moments earlier. Its razor-sharp teeth plunged into the snow.
In a few seconds, the weapon stood back up. "Oh, come on! Maia told you about my little surprise attack, didn't she? That idiot!" A purple cloud surrounded the steel trap, revealing an orange-skinned, polygonal female form. Aside from color, she looked almost identical to Mimi, with the exception of an elegant, frilled red dress rather than the simple yellow dress Mimi wore, as well as green-colored cheek highlights. "Anyway, yeah, I'm Margaret, I'm working for Amtakan, I'm the best, all that stuff. Now hop to it and let Mortcha and I destroy you." Mortcha jumped from a nearby cliff.
Mimi's eyes opened wide. "M...Margaret! Is that you? Where have you been? What..."
"Oh, you want to know what I've been doing? You're never going to amount to as much as me, but I'll tell you anyway. You see, I forgave Amtakan after a while and rejoined him, but soon afterward, Maia sealed him in that stupid palace. So I kind of hung out with his other minions while we waited for the Chaos Heart to be activated. And now it looks like I'll finally get my revenge. Sweeeeeeeet revenge."
"Maia...sealed him?" Mimi retreated a step, holding her arms slightly in front of her.
"Oh, am I getting ahead of myself? Sorry, I forgot you inferior minds couldn't comprehend things like that. Heh. It's kind of nice, all three of us being in the same place again, isn't it? Except for Morris being possessed and you being, well, you."
"So you...you can transform into non-living things? Amtakan finished that formula?"
"Um, duh? What did you just SEE me do, smart one? Um, no. I CAN'T transform into non-living things. Seriously! What a retard."
Mimi's tone became angry. "Margaret...you turned into such a meanie after Amtakan started treating you the best. Just because you're more powerful doesn't mean you're...better!"
"Oh? I say it does. Of course, there's also the matter that I'm way smarter, prettier, and more competent than you could ever wish to hope to be."
"You've grown into such an evil girl, Margaret," commented Mortcha affectionately. "Good for you. You've truly recognized your purpose in the Tribe of Darkness."
"Yeah! Beat that!" The newfound shape-shifter struck a flamboyant pose, with half-closed eyes and a goofy smile. "See? I'm, like, way more smarter and prettier than-"
Mimi exploded. "Shut up! Wretcha's only treating you nicely because you're on her side now, you know, the BAD side, and if you want to challenge us, get on with it instead of standing here, making yourself look like a complete jerk."
Margaret recoiled. "Oh, gee, Mimi, I didn't you had it in ya. Sure, if you want, we'll fight you fair and square. Ready, Wretcha?"
"I'm ready, sweetie."
"'K." Margaret 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 Margaret's head grew and became moldy and wrinkly. Long, spidery legs extended from Margaret'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. "Think you're so high and mighty now, heroes? I'll show you who's the best."
"That's great, Margaret. Amtakan said that if you finish the heroes here, he'll let you have another Mushtini as soon as you get back."
"Another Mushtini? Awesome. OK, let's demolish these losers!"
Get that jerk for me, OK? I can't stand her either. These people have no love.
I totally see where you're coming from.
MINIBOSS
Mortcha and Margaret
Mario stood his ground. "Come on, guys. We've done this before. What's she got over the others?"
"Oh, plenty." Mario hadn't intended for Margaret to hear his question, but it was too late for any other thoughts as Margaret extended her spidery legs in Mimi's direction. The appendages reached Mimi and attached themselves to the reformed minion's green skin with a sticky transluscent substance.
"Agck!!" Mimi squinted, clawing at Margaret's legs, but they remained fastened.
"Say goodbye, Mimi." Margaret extended four green-tinted stones from her head and went in for the attack on Mimi. Before she could, however, Mario jumped between the two and cut through Margaret's legs with his hammer, causing her head to drop to the ground. "Quick, are we?" Margaret grew her legs to full length again and stood up. "But that's not all I have to show you dolts." Her spider form was replaced with a gigantic, rotating chainsaw that swept the area.
"She can turn into whatever weapon she wants!" worried Peach. "We have to find some way to beat her."
"Thanks, Mario." Margaret's severed legs were still attached, but they were easier to pull off now. "We can't let her get away with this." She removed the last sticky leg from her face.
"Have you forgotten that I'm here, too?" Mortcha rose into the air, surrounding her body with a barrier of blue stones. She flung a torrent of them at Mario and Mimi, growling frustratingly as they dodged every one. "Why can't I hit you?!"
"Need some help?" Luigi rushed in Mario and Mimi's direction. "They're all over there with Margaret, but someone needs to get Mortcha too. Here I come!" Luigi Super Jumped high into the air and nailed Mortcha on his landing. While the possessed minion recoiled, Mimi attacked her with more Rubees.
"You annoying pest." Mortcha landed on the ground and sent a stone wave for Mimi, knocking her back into a nearby rock. While Mortcha went in for the kill, Mimi gritted her teeth and flung another Rubee at her attacker in defense. She sprang back up and countered Mortcha's new blue stone with a Rubee, provoking a full-on gem war.
Mario turned to Luigi. "Let's get Mortcha while she's distracted," he spoke in a low tone.
"Good idea. I'll go from above. You're going to use your hammer, right?"
"Yes. I'll attack from behind her."
The Mario Brothers moved into their positions. Mario crouched behind the minion while Luigi charged his Super Jump again, springing into action just as Luigi landed. He swung his hammer at the startled Mortcha, slamming her over. "OW!" The witch rose to her legs, brushing snow from her face. "You guys are sure mean for heroes." She summoned a row of blue stones in midair, sending them down onto Mario and Luigi before they could react.
"Ohh!" Luigi looked at his right glove. He wasn't seriously injured, but the impact of the sharp rock had torn his white glove and most likely punctured his skin.
"Don't worry, Luigi!" called Mimi. "I'll get her!" She rose into action, ramming her head into Mortcha's stomach just as the witch turned around.
"OOF!" Mortcha exhaled. "Get off me, you little [censored]!"
"How about if I get on?" Mario jumped in Wretcha's direction, nailing her with three classic head stomps before the minion finally struggled free. Without giving Mario time to think, she hurled a blue stone into his stomach. Mario was thrown backwards, his face to the sky.
"Brother!" Luigi ran to help the injured Mario, leaving Mimi and Mortcha to fight again.
"What's with you?" Mortcha suddenly accused. "You used to be such a perfect, evil, deceptive girl, and look at you now! A whiny, pathetic 'freedom fighter'. And you fight like one, too."
Mimi stood her ground. "Yeah, I remember what it was like to work for Count Bleck and try to destroy all the worlds. And I don't want to go there again."
"Amtakan had such big plans for you. He didn't-"
"I don't want to hear it!" Mimi drew a Rubee. "You and Amtakan created me to send the world into chaos. Now I'm fighting to right your wrong." She ran for Mortcha, releasing her Rubee, but Mortcha ducked the attack and produced a blue stone of her own.
"That's not going to work anymore. I have a counter for every single one of your stupid attacks, since I just about am you now. Haha."
Meanwhile, the other heroes were struggling with Margaret. "Idiots." The minion changed back into her spider form instantly and attached herself to the nearby wall, extending multiple heads from her main unit and manipulating them to attack the heroes. "See how you like that!"
"We 'ave to git rid o' these 'eads if we want to do anythin'!" O'Chunks propelled himself skyward and smashed through several of the heads.
"Let me see what I can do." Blumiere moved for the nearest head, only to be smacked into the wall by it.
"Blumiere!" Tippi moved toward her husband while Bowser leaped into the brawl.
"I wonder what deep-fried spider tastes like!" Bowser blew his fire at a stream of nearby heads, taking them all out in a row. He then aimed the blast upward for Margaret's main body.
"Ouch! You hulking dolt, that's my prettiest dress!" The spider climbed higher onto the wall and sent green stones downward towards the heroes.
"I'll see if I can hurt her." Blumiere, recovered somewhat, sent a burst of energy upward at Margaret.
"You guys just don't give up, do you?" Margaret disappeared, reappearing near the ground in her normal form. "I'll give you all a taste of what being the best is like." She produced a ring of green stones that revolved around her body, like Mimi and Mortcha, but added a double layer as well, forming a near-impenetrable barrier. "Nyah!" She flipped into 3D and moved around the area, damaging several of the heroes.
"I must attack her again!" Blumiere flipped into 3D as well and rushed for Margaret with an energy slam. Startled, Margaret flipped back to 2D and rose into the air.
"You won't be able to dodge these now!" The minion suddenly dropped all of the green stones that orbited her body, allowing gravity to pull them downward toward the heroes.
"Aiigh!" Nastasia's arm was injured by the sharp point of a falling stone. "Hurry, guys! Throw these stones at her!" She picked up a stone, using only her right arm, and aimed it for Margaret. The others followed suit, gathering several of the weapons at a time. Margaret was hit by stone after stone.
"Gaaah! You idiots are so annoying. I'll just knock you all out of your senses." She quickly changed back to her spider form and extended her legs toward Peach, Bowser, O'Chunks, Nastasia, and Blumiere. Bowser managed to get away in time, but four of Margaret's legs fastened themselves to whatever part of the heroes they hit.
"Hey! Mario Brothers!" shouted the Koopa King. "We could use some backup over here!"
Luigi turned to the others, looking down at his brother. "Just wait here! I think Mimi's got Mortcha distracted." The green plumber raced into the action and went for Margaret's legs along with Bowser. Her spinning, stone-covered head had already hit Peach, but the two heroes were able to stop her before she did any more damage.
"You OK, Peach?" asked Bowser.
"I think so..." Peach stood up. "I'll live."
"All right, this has been long enough!" Mortcha looked toward the others from her fight with Mimi. "Margaret, let's do this together! We can destroy these weaklings."
"I'm all for it!" Margaret reverted to her normal form and joined Mortcha in midair. "Do a barrier, OK?"
"All right." Mortcha and Margaret simultaneously extended a circle of respectively-colored stones, Margaret producing two rows. They flew around the area, aiming to further damage our heroes.
"Come...on!" Although his stomach continued to sting, Mario had physically recovered from most of the initial pain. He maneuvered his way to Margaret and skillfully threw his hammer right into her location.
"I've got it." Luigi picked up Mario's hammer. "This'll be fun again, won't it?" He again hit Margaret with the hammer.
"I think we've almost got her!" Mario caught the hammer. "Just a few more hits!"
Bowser, meanwhile, was working on Mortcha. He interrupted the witch's midair flow with a hot stream, and then rose his hand. Nothing happened. "What?! I don't have my awesome super-powers anymore?"
"I guess that Dimentio-Bowser-clown took all of your powers with it," taunted Mortcha. "Taste this!" She catapulted a wave of five stones for Bowser, striking him squarely. While Bowser recoiled, Peach ran to Mortcha and attacked her one last time. Mortcha fell over, her stones also dropping to the ground. "No!" she pouted. "I'm out! Come on, Margaret! Beat them! And get that Mushtini!"
Margaret swerved into action, transforming into a glowing sphere of energy that rose into the air, releasing explosive lightning bolts. "Get her!" shouted Luigi, narrowly avoiding a lightning strike.
Mario rose, clutching his stomach with his hand. He firmed his jaw, measured Margaret's location, and threw his hammer directly for the minion. Margaret was damaged again, returning to her standard form and falling to the ground, defeated. "NO!" she cried. "I WANTED THAT MUSHTINI!"
"Come on, Margaret..." Mortcha exhaled. "We've lost. It was a close battle, but we lost."
Margaret gritted her teeth in anger, picking up a clump of snow and hurling it against the ground. "You idiot moron dummy POOPYFACES! Amtakan was going to give me a MUSHTINI if we beat you guys! And you-"
"Come on." Mortcha flipped out, taking Margaret with her.
"Mortcha was right," Luigi breathed. "That was a pretty brutal fight. We should be on our best guard. Amtakan will probably send more of them after us."
"Amtakan's minions seem well trained," pointed out Blumiere. "Even more well than I trained my minions. I wonder what his secret is."
Mario looked over at Mimi. "You're OK, right, Mimi?"
"Me? Of course I'm fine. I wondered where Margaret was, but now that I see what's happened to her, I don't have any sympathy for her at all. She's a selfish brat."
"Yeah," agreed Nastasia, "she is really self-centered. Amtakan probably doesn't mind, of course..."
"Did you notice how...empty Amtakan seemed when we fought him?" offered Mario. "He didn't display much emotion at all. I wonder if that allows him to just concentrate on improving his minions and such without his other thoughts getting in the way. Count Bleck had a lot of emotion, didn't he?"
"A large amount of negative emotion," corrected Blumiere. "Positive emotion can contribute much, but I wonder about no emotion at all. It's not possible to not feel at least some emotion, is it?"
Why don't you rescue me and find out? Maia chuckled.
Mario related her jest. "Ah, yes." Blumiere smiled. "Let's get to the rescuing."
Our heroes carefully ascended the cliff in front of them, careful to avoid scraping the injured parts of their bodies. With the heavy beating they'd taken in that fight, the heroes hoped they wouldn't have to do any fighting before they released Maia. Finally, our heroes rose their heads above the cliff and looked forward. "What's that wooden building?" inquired Bowser. "Is that where Maia is?"
"I feel a strong presence coming from that building..." replied Tippi. "Yes, that must be where she is!"
The group approached the door, Mario grasping the wood handle. "Here we are, guys. We're going to rescue Maia and save all the worlds."
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
Wow! Another great chapter! Keep it up!
-
Thankfully, it was warm inside. Our heroes took a moment to stretch, and then examined their surroundings. The cabin-like building's interior was coated with light, dull pinkish tile, somewhat reminiscent of the inside of Animaul Palace. A short hallway led to their right, leading into an open space with three more corridors branching from the hub. "Are you here, Maia?" asked Mario.
Yes. I'm right here. You'll have to solve some puzzles to rescue me. I don't know exactly what they are, since Amtakan blocked my sensing of the building, but you should be able to figure them out. You're heroes of legend. Just stay together.
Got it, Maia.
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Our heroes walked into the hub. A large, brown wooden door was featured on the far wall, complete with a white Tribe of Darkness symbol. The emblem's three points ended in a circle engraved into the wood. "So...we have to find three circle objects and put them in those slots?" guessed Mimi.
"That would seem to be so." Mario approached the door. There wasn't a handle or anything to grip to open the door. He pressed his ear against it. Silence.
Ha ha ha. Sorry, Mario, but I can't speak. I'm totally frozen.
Oh, OK. Heh... The hero backed away from the door. "Well, let's check out this path to the left." After a very short hallway, our heroes entered a smaller, doorknob-bearing version of the larger door without the indents. They emerged in a small room with no distinguishing features besides a green heart-shaped stone on the floor and five black designs on the far wall. The leftmost wall design was a circle, the next was a square, then a triangle, then a rectangle. The last one was also a rectangle, but contiained some irregularities, giving it a stone-like appearance.
"What's this for?" Luigi picked up the heart stone. "It looks like the green Pure Heart, almost."
"Look at these wall paintings." Bowser examined the designs. "You got any clue what this means, Mario? Because I sure don't."
Mario walked to the wall, drawing the eyes of our other heroes. "Well, let's see...nope, the number of sides doesn't have any pattern...and there's no heart shape, so it's not one of those find-the-same-shape-as-the-hole things. Hmm...does that irregular shape at the end mean anything?"
"It looks like a stone," offered Nastasia. "Or a brick of some kind."
"A brick..." Mario continued to muse. "That might mean something. Bricks are for building, building...what? This building isn't made of bricks, so we can rule that out..."
"Does that other square mean anythin'?" contributed O'Chunks.
"This one?" Mario pointed at the second-to-left shape. "It's covering the wall in the exact shape of these tiles. I wonder if that might mean something. Luigi, can I see that heart stone?" Luigi passed the object to his brother. "Thanks. Now let's see...green heart stone..."
"I think it might be the Pure Heart," responded Luigi. "The green Pure Heart. It could have some relation to these shapes."
"The green Pure Heart..."
While Mario continued to think, his younger brother suddenly perked up. "I've got it! Can I see that stone?"
"Sure." Mario put the stone back into Luigi's hands. Luigi promptly pressed the stone against the brick-shaped design, pulled it away, and pressed it against the perfect square. A flash materialized in midair, dropping a golden, disc-shaped key.
"I knew it!" Luigi beamed, picking up the key.
"How'd you figure that out?" inquired Mimi.
"Pretty simple. We know that the green Pure Heart was in two locations before. First it was the building that's now Animaul Palace - the brick design - and then it was Fort Francis in The Bitlands - the square design."
"Wow. That's amazing."
"Two more to go," reiterated Tippi. "Let's set this one in."
Our heroes returned to the hub and placed the key into the lower-left slot. Nothing happened. "That's what should happen, right, Maia?"
Yes. I don't think anything special will happen until you get all three.
"OK."
Mario led the others into the room via the northeast passage. This room was larger than the previous one, containing seven large square blocks in the seven colors of the rainbow and seven square holes in the ground. On the wall in front of them was a painting of a black square with several irregular areas "cut" into it through which the pink backdrop could be seen. "So, we push these blocks into the holes, right?" asked Tippi.
"Most likely, but let's take a look." Mario examined the wall painting a bit more closely, then turned his gaze back to the holes. Dark objects on the ceiling caught his eye. He stared upward at the holes on the ceiling, directly above and identical to the corresponding ones on the ground. "There's holes on the ceiling, too. Hmm..."
"Well, no harm in trying what we see." Luigi pushed the nearby orange block into the closest indent, expecting nothing, but was surprised to see a pedestal rise the block out of the floor by a few feet. "Whoa. Did not expect that."
"Maybe we have to get the blocks to go into the ceiling," offered Bowser. "The order probably matters."
"Let's push the rest of the blocks in wherever," Mario authorized. "We'll just see what they do, and we can figure it out from there." The others pitched in, filling every hole with a block. The pedestals rose the objects to varying heights, but none penetrated the ceiling.
"Oh," Peach uttered. "We should try putting one block on top of another. Maybe we have to get their combined heights to raise one into the ceiling." She measured the height of each pedestal in relation to the ceiling above her, and then removed the blue block from its pedestal. The pedestal retreated into the ground as she placed it atop the green block. The newly stacked blocks rose again, extending into the ceiling slot, but nothing happened.
"This is a tricky one." Mario looked again at the wall painting. "That wall painting must mean something. It's a square, which probably represents these cubes, and it has shapes cut out of it...we have to cut into these blocks?"
"I'm on it." Luigi slammed his fist into the purple block. "Ow!"
Nastasia had been staring at the red block for several minutes. "Is there something on that block, Nastasia?" The minion snapped out of her thoughts to see Blumiere standing beside her.
"Not really, just...that one spot on the corner." Nastasia put her finger on the top-left corner of the block from their perspective. "It seems discolored."
"Discolored? Let me take a look." Blumiere examined the cube. "This spot looks whiter. I wonder if this is faded paint?" He ran his finger along the corner as well, noticing a slightly bumpy texture. "Hmm..." Blumiere began scraping at the cube's corner, removing more paint. As Nastasia watched, he revealed a black "3" upon a white background hidden below the red overcoat.
"Hey, guys! We found something!" The others rushed to answer Nastasia's call. "That wall painting is probably referring to this. There's a number hidden under the paint!"
"So we do have to cut into the blocks." Luigi applied his finger to the orange block, pressing with enough force to tip the block over and lower the pedestal. He fell to the floor facefirst. "Ow!"
Our heroes cut away at the outer coats of paint until the numbers 1 through 7 had been revealed. Our heroes placed the blocks in the corresponding order starting at the hole closest to the door. Still, nothing occured except for the risen pedestals. "Why didn't anything happen?" inquired Peach. "We put them in the correct order, didn't we?" She double-checked each block, finding all of them to be in perfect order. "Let's try the other way, maybe." She moved to take the 7 block from its place, but Mimi stopped her.
"Wait a second. I don't think that's it." The shape-shifting minion removed the blue block, containing a 1, placed it underneath the yellow 7 block Peach had attempted to move, and put the yellow block on top. The blocks rose into the ceiling, producing another flash that dropped a key. "Yep, I knew it. There's mathematics here. If you stack two blocks, it'll rise by a certain amount corresponding to what will happen if you divide the higher number by the lower number. 7 divided by 1 is just 7, so it rose a lot. I figured it out because the blue block has a 6, and the green one has a 2. That's 3, which is enough to rise it into the ceiling, but not quite high enough to activate the key." She picked up the key. "See those ceiling holes? They go up pretty far."
"Good thinking," congratulated Mario. "Did Amtakan ever require you to learn about mathematics?"
Mimi frowned. "Uh, well, no. He wasn't like a teacher or anything. More like a host or something."
"Oh." Mario withdrew.
"It's fine, Mario. I'm OK with talking about my past. I don't mind, really."
"Well, OK, Mimi. That's good." Our heroes exited the room, placed the new key in the lower-right slot, and then walked back in the direction of the entrance, turning to the southeast and entering the last unopened room.
The final door led our heroes into a room that was similar to the first in size. On the floor rested seven star-shaped stones. From left to right, they were colored dark green, dark blue, violet, two lavender ones, and two with all seven colors of the rainbow. On all four walls was a large "X" symbol. "Now what?" griped Luigi.
"We're almost there, Luigi," assured the elder Mario brother. "We can live through one more brain excercise."
"Yeah. All right, let's do this." Luigi cupped his hands together confidently. "Seven multicolored stars. What the heck does this mean?"
"Well, judging by the...context," began Mimi, "I'm pretty sure we have to arrange these stars in a particular order."
"What about these 'ere X marks, 'ey?" O'Chunks pointed at the nearest X.
"It might be similar to the green Pure Heart thing," offered Nastasia.
"Well, let's see." Mario stood next to the row of stars. "They're already in order according to the color spectrum, disregarding the multicolored ones at the end. There's only four X marks, and they're all around the room, so I think we either have to use some of the stars twice...or the X marks aren't important to the puzzle."
Luigi picked up the dark green star and pressed it against an X. "Nothing."
"What do we know about that involves a star and an X?" Mario posed. "If this is the same kind of puzzle as in the first room, that could be important."
A few minutes of silence followed. "I can't think of anything," Bowser finally stated. "Unless those stars are supposed to mean, like, a Mega Star, and that X is for destruction and carnage and whatnot...but I don't think that's it."
"The X marks might be referring to the entire puzzle, then," continued the lead hero. "They're placed around the room and everything. Now, what order could these stars go in..."
"The color must be important." Peach studied the puzzle. "Maybe, like colors go together...oh, but they're already grouped like that. Maybe, because of the X marks, like colors don't go together?" She arranged the stones so that their hue changed significantly with each succession. "Nope, that's not it."
Mario scratched his chin. "Maia? Do you have any clue?"
Not exactly, but based on your description, I'm starting to think the stars are supposed to represent something, like a place, or a thing. The colors by themselves don't seem to mean anything. The X marks might...negate it? I don't know about those.
Mario told Maia's thoughts to the others. "How would they represent something else, though?" questioned Blumiere. "If the colors..."
"Maybe they match up to some sort of color configuration we saw earlier..." Mimi scrutinized the stars, arranging them mentally in various patterns. "Um..." She sighed. "I don't know where we've seen these colors before."
"Oh," uttered Mario. "The colors themselves might actually not be important. It's something about the colors that we should focus on, like what letter they start with. That's the kind of abstract puzzle we're used to. We've got green, blue, violet, two lavenders, and two multicoloreds."
"G-B-V-L-L-M-M," mulled Bowser. "Nope. Still nothing."
"You can do it, Bowser," urged Luigi. "Just think about it. You haven't solved many puzzles in the past, have you?"
"Er...not really."
"Take Mario's initiative. Think more abstractly."
"I'll think about it." Bowser wasn't as experienced as most of the others when it came to solving puzzles, but he knew he'd come through sometime.
"Those letters don't spell anything," Nastasia pointed out. "There's not even a vowel."
"I think we have to be more specific," said Mario.
"More specific? As in what?"
Mario continued to stare at the maddening puzzle. "Just blue, green, multicolored? We should be more descriptive. Dark green, navy blue..."
"N-D-V-L-L-M-M..." Luigi reiterated. "Still no vowels."
"Olive green," offered Mimi.
"N-O-V-L-L-M-M...? There's one vowel, but there's so many consonants. Can we form a word with that?"
Try changing the name of the multicolored stars, Mario.
"Oh, Maia just told me to change the name of the multicolored stars. What else is multicolored? Multicolored...it's a rainbow...colorful...vibrant? Energetic?"
"Energetic!" Bowser bellowed. "Oh oh!" Bowser arranged the stars in order, starting with navy blue, olive green, violet, multicolored, the two lavenders, and the other multicolored. Sure enough, the final key dropped from above our heroes' heads.
"N-O-V-E-L-L-E!" Luigi gasped. "Novelle?"
"I told you I could figure it out!" Bowser cheered. "Yeah! I'm the best!"
"It spells 'Novelle'," Mario repeated.
You just can't avoid her, can you? Maia taunted.
Maia! Do you know anything about this Novelle person?
Yes, but I don't think I'll have to do any explaining. Maia giggled. Congratulations, heroes! I knew you could solve those puzzles. Now, hurry! Unlock the door, and I'll be set free. The time is finally here.
"Got it." Mario motioned to the others. "Let's go! Maia's at our reach!" Our heroes hurried out of the room and approached the wooden door again.
Hey, uh, Mario...
"One second." Yes, Maia?
Well... The messenger seemed troubled. I mean, it's been pretty fun getting to know you and everything. And guiding you. But now that you're actually going to see me, I won't be speaking to your mind anymore. I'll just be there.
Well, that isn't such a bad thing, isn't it? You won't have to worry about saving your power.
Yeah, but...well, it just won't be the same. I know I'll love to see you face to face, but it was fun talking to your mind. And I'm glad that you didn't mind it. So, I just want to thank you. Thank you for your kindness and patience. You're a great hero.
Mario almost blushed. Well, thanks, Maia.
You're welcome. All right, let's do this. Please unlock the door. Goodbye, Mario's mind. Maia withdrew.
Mario put the final key into the slot. The large door slowly separated, allowing entry to a dim, blue-tiled hallway. Our heroes' footsteps echoed loudly as they stepped into the passage, their anxiety growing with every passing step. They would finally see Maia face-to-face. Mario closed his eyes. What would Maia look like? She said she had brown hair, didn't she? Or, she said she used to have brown hair...so what color was her hair now? Why would something like that change, anyway? And what color would her eyes be? What would she be wearing? Would she be slim and petite, or a bit larger? Mario shook his head. He was about to find out. The hero carefully grasped the door handle at the end of the hallway and pushed it open. The room inside was slightly larger, about the same size as the room in which our heroes had found Amtakan. A large, dimly lit ice formation lay at its center, almost identical in shapelessness to Amtakan's prison. The red floor switch was here as well. Mario drew his breath, jumped, and pressed the switch downward.
The ice shattered. A small figure took a few steps toward our heroes. As it drew closer, they began to make out a few of its features. It was clothed entirely in lavender-purple with light hair, four fairy-like wings, a lavender dress, violet eyes, and purple shoes.
"...Novelle?" Mario took half a step toward the figure. "W...what...who are you? Where is Maia?"
Novelle smiled. "Oops. I forgot to take off the spell. Here you go." She waved her wand through the air. Something in our heroes' minds changed, but they couldn't quite place it.
"What just happened?" Mario thought around, examining the different processes of his mind. Had something been changed?
"I'm really sorry for interfering with your minds, but I had to do it in order to keep you safe from the stress that you'd be under if you knew my true identity. Because, you know, my name isn't really Novelle. It's Maia."
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
I finished this chapter on Christmas Eve, but as I said in the Wacko Dreams thread, my computer Internet broke after a mysterious update failure. I can only upload stuff on my parents' computer, so here goes. Warning: extremely long chapter ahead!
"...Maia?" Mario was both amazed and hopelessly confused. Novelle and Maia were the same person?
"Yep, that's me. I've gone by Novelle for a while now, but Maia's my real name." The messenger's voice was mellow, and at the same time, somehow cheerful and poetic. Mario observed the wand she was carrying. It had a thin, brown wooden handle with a red orb at the top, like a simpler version of Amtakan's scepter.
"So..." began Tippi. "So you're Maia...and we had to free you from this prison...so you could help us defeat Amtakan?"
"Yes, that's exactly the deal. Except you don't really know anything about Amtakan, do you?"
"No, we don't. But...you said you'd tell us everything when we met you, right?"
"I did indeed. Let's go back where there's some light, and I'll tell you everything I know." Novelle smiled, returning to the well-lit hub area. Our heroes followed her. "Let me formally introduce myself first. I'm Novelle, formerly known as Maia, and I've been working against Amtakan by guiding the legendary heroes to the orbs through Mario's mind."
"I'm Mario Mario, um...hero of legend." Mario extended his hand toward Novelle. "It's a pleasure to meet you in person."
"Same here." Mario and Novelle shook hands. "Let's sit down, why not. It's a pretty long story I have to tell."
Our heroes sat and made themselves comfortable. "So you know everything about Amtakan and the Tribe of Darkness?" asked Luigi. "That's amazing."
Novelle gave Luigi a nod. "Not exactly everything, but I was a part of it from the beginning, and I was there to witness it all. So let's get started. Heroes of legend, I present to you...the Tale of the Ancients."
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Part 1
Amtakan's Awakening
4000-3000 years ago
4,000 years ago, in a far-off dimension, there existed a highly advanced civilization. This nation had built itself upon logic and reason, using the advancements of neighboring nations and improving upon them to better the lives of its citizens. It prided itself on its rational basis of thought. Scientists and doctors formed the majority of trades. To prepare the young of this civilization for their occupation and integrate them into this reason-based community, schools were set up. These institutions trained the next generation in the ideals that had made their civilization great. People were taught the ropes of logical thought very early in life, and the learning process was a very rigorous one. Crime was almost unheard of in this civilization because of the thought process that had been drilled into its citizens.
Among this civilization, however, emotion could not be denied. Leading philosophers and scientists disregarded emotion and love as desires of the weak, but these natural human processes could not be squelched. In public, emotion was rarely displayed or heard of, but love was present in some form in private.
A certain student in the final years of his schooling, named Amtakan, was very introverted and quiet. Throughout his life, he hadn't been very social or talkative, and his isolation allowed him to retreat into his own thoughts, developing them more than the others who led more social lives. Amtakan was a friendly person in general, but he allowed his emotions to have more control over him than the excessively rational majority, and this set him apart. He looked to integrate himself into the community, to open his mind to civilization, but he rarely found the means to do this.
"What are some ideas you want to share with the world?" I asked him one day.
He looked at me. "Well, I'm glad you asked, Maia. I...just think we should pay more attention to emotion in our lives. We're such a rational society, but this blinds us sometimes. We don't give any attention to appreciating things for what they are."
"Like what?"
"Well, it's like we never stop to think about anything just for what it is. Like our family and friends. We don't even appreciate that there are people around us, willing to help us and support us. We...love each other. But all this is quashed by our overly rational, emotionless, polygonal lifestyle."
"I kind of get what you're saying. I think we need more love, don't you?"
"Yes. That's what we need."
Amtakan worked on developing his ideas, planning to release them to the public. Because of his overly introverted lifestyle, however, his emotions sometimes got in the way of his actions. His situation hadn't changed after a while of writing about love and emotion. He thought he should be getting people interested, meeting more people, making new friendships, advancing. I told him that he couldn't expect to have things at the push of a button. He needed balance - it was good to have love and emotion, but he couldn't let those emotional thoughts control him.
As his schooling progressed into its most rigorous stages, Amtakan grew increasingly upset. The system was built on the ideals that Amtakan was trying to bring down. How could he continue to follow the system and become a part of the community when he didn't even agree with what he was being taught? That frustrated him. He worked on satisfying his feelings, trying to break away from the rational influence of the community, but he couldn't. The school permeated every aspect of his life. There were rules he had to follow, assignments and work he had to do, and guidelines he had to obey.
"I just don't feel it," he told me. "It's like I haven't been making any progress. I don't feel enthusiastic about what I'm doing anymore. I mean, I want to help the world and everything, but these guys give me no wiggle room. I can't do what I want to do."
This was one of several pessimistic musings he'd shared with me. "Just have faith, Amtakan," I told him calmly. "You just can't get upset over every minor setback. You're discouraged because of that huge mathematical assignment, aren't you?"
"Yes, exactly! They take human behavior and make it a math. A science, I could maybe understand, but math! I'm supposed to take human accomplishments and actions and turn them into mathematical formulas! Is that really the way to go about improving our society? I can't take this anymore! Something has to give, Maia!"
Sometimes, it seemed like our friendship was dwindling as well. Amtakan grew tired of my constant reassurance. He felt as if it wasn't doing anything to help him. I told him that he needed to listen, take my advice to heart, and not let his emotions drown out my message. Concentrate both mentally and emotionally on what I told him. Despite this, he just spiraled downward. He grew more depressed and uneasy every day.
Then, the day of fate arrived. It began like any other day. Amtakan was miserable, yes, but that was normal. Amtakan had stayed home one day to work on a new essay regarding the importance of love, and had forgotten that the mathematical human behavior assignment was required to be completed that day. Our instructor told me that he would be disciplined for not showing up, and mentioned that he didn't like Amtakan's general philosophy. He said the assignment needed to be completed when Amtakan came. During the break for the day, I went to Amtakan's house to inform him of this. I told him everything the instructor had told me.
"Huh," he finally breathed. "I haven't completed that assignment. I forgot it was due today."
"Um..." I sort of stammered. His tone was very ominous.
"So. They punish me for not going to their place to have their philosophy drilled into my skull while I sit here, suffering, while no one cares about my beliefs and don't even allow me to progress."
"That just isn't true, Amtakan! You can-"
"What does it matter what's true or not?" he suddenly shouted. I withdrew. He paced for a bit. "They don't even allow the truth. For them, there's no truth. Only what their little minds have made up for themselves. And you know what? Maybe there's no truth for me either. Nothing I do seems to work. Maybe I've been letting my emotions get the best of me."
That definitely sounded good. "Yes, that's true, Amtakan..."
"But you know what? Why does it matter? My emotions are what caused all this in the first place. Maybe it was wrong to have them. Maybe it wasn't. And my indecision is being caused by my emotion as well. There just isn't any truth! That's that!"
"Amktakan...maybe..."
"Shut up, Maia! You haven't helped me at all. You haven't been my friend when I needed you. You haven't helped me when I was struggling with my emotions. You haven't done ANYTHING!"
Tears were forming at the corners of my eyes. "Amtakan...all you need...is love...that's what you wanted...isn't it?"
"Love." Amtakan turned away from me, toward his work desk. Papyrus, writing utensils, chemical beakers, and all of the other school-required items lay on it. "Love," he repeated. I watched as he took one of the beakers in his hand containing a deep blue liquid in his right hand. "LOVE!" With a final shout, he suddenly pulled his hand upward and then sharply in the other direction, smashing the glass container and his hand against the corner of the desk. I gasped. The glass and desk had cut into his skin. Blood dripped to the floor from a puddle of dark red that covered his entire hand. The acid chemical was mixing into his blood. I knew that the chemical would kill him, but I was too shocked to say anything.
Slowly, Amtakan turned around and looked at me with wary eyes. He hobbled in my direction, swiftly grabbing both of my shoulders with his hands. He spoke venemously, "You'll never get the chance to experience this again." Gently, he leaned his head downward and kissed my right cheek. He moved away from me, exiting the house, leaving blood on my left shoulder.
I knew I should follow him. I trailed him into the nearby woods, watching as he came to a stop in a quiet clearing. I stayed hidden while he spread his arms out and shouted, "Demons of old, come to me!"
My breath flew out, loud enough that I worried he'd heard me. There were stories of ancient, dark powers and demons that controlled these powers that were known in the community. They were said to be evil monsters that had existed since the multiverse's creation, and they were particularly active in this dimension. Due to their proximity to this world, one could supposedly gain vast quantities of dark power by calling upon these monsters with true intent in their heart. It was generally accepted that these stories were true, but some of the more logcial scientists had dismissed them as fables. All of my doubts were forgotten, though, as I watched Amtakan's body enshrouded in a strange, pure black energy. I shrieked and ran as freakish demonic voices reached my ears, not caring that he'd probably heard me that time. Whatever he was planning to use the demons' power for, I needed to stop him.
As I ran back, a giant thunderclap echoed from Amtakan's direction, and the sky around the woods darkened. As everyone looked upon the sight in horror, I told them about what Amtakan had done. When I and a large number of their soldiers returned to the woods, Amtakan was gone. We initiated a search for him, hoping to catch him before he and the demons could do any damage.
We were too late. Almost a month after our search started, a giant blemish of darkness appeared in the sky, and an enormous monster appeared from thin air. A cloud of darkness surrounded it, so we couldn't make out its physical features, but it was clearly the work of Amtakan. "We have no interest in harming any of you right now!" it screamed in what seemed like three voices at once. "Just stand your ground while the Chaos Heart destroys all emotion the multiverse has ever known!"
The Chaos Heart! What was that? Amtakan had harnessed the dark power to try and rid all existence of love and emotion!
"The Chaos Heart will bring forth The Void, which will ravage every dimension it touches, leaving nothing standing! We will transform existence into an emotionless void, forever free of the shackle of love! Do not try to resist this fate. There is nothing you can do to stop us. We will rule all existence! A new, emotionless, godless existence!"
Amtakan had gone insane! How could he think things like this? He had to be stopped!
I met with some of the leaders of our community and tried to form a strategy to counteract this dark power. Our magicians formulated that Amtakan had created the Chaos Heart with his demonic power and merged himself with it. We devised a plan to separate the Chaos Heart from Amtakan and the other demons who were controlling it. Then, we could combine our power to destroy the Chaos Heart and stop The Void from destroying every world. We sent our most powerful magicians and warriors after the monster to pull the Chaos Heart out of the mix, but nothing worked.
"It's just too great!" our civilization's leader, Golos, lamented after several days of unsuccessful attacks. "Too great and powerful for anyone to handle! The worlds are doomed!"
I had been thinking of a new concept. "Not so fast. Don't let that fear of yours shake you down. We can make something that can defeat it."
"How? How would that be possible? We've already sent our three most powerful magicians, and it killed them before they could even make their first move!"
"That's the problem. We use people. If we can use something like a powerful object, we just might have a chance."
"..."
"You're liking my idea, aren't you?"
"...Yes. It just might work. We'll gather the remaining magicians and wise men. This monster must be put to its end."
Our researchers went to work. As The Void grew larger in the sky, we developed five powerful objects, called the Breaker Orbs, designed to break the bonds between Amtakan and the Chaos Heart. We took these into our one last battle. The Breaker Orbs separated Amtakan from the Chaos Heart, leaving the Heart for us to take care of. We finally managed to destroy it using the orbs' power, stopping The Void, but Amtakan was undaunted. He came to us after we'd destroyed the artifact in a new, menacing form.<BR>
"I know that you've destroyed the Chaos Heart. But this war is not over. Once I destroy all of those Breaker Orbs, I'll recreate the Chaos Heart. And you can know that I will know how to do it, because emotion no longer exists within me. It has been eradicated from my being. I can now set my mind to exactly what it is that I want, unlike all of you. Watch your world fall apart." He went for the orbs.
"Oh no you don't!" I rushed in front of the Breaker Orbs, guarding them from the villain. "You're not touching these orbs, Amtakan."
"Maia." He moved toward me. "You silly, silly girl. Do you really think you can stop my master plan? I will not hesitate to strike you down at a moment's notice." He gathered energy with his new dark scepter and attempted to wipe me out. The magical blast hit my stomach, tearing a gaping hole in my flesh, but one of the magicians saved me at the last second by blocking the beam and preventing it from doing any more damage. He initiated a duel with Amtakan while I crept away, injured, taking the Breaker Orbs with me. I hid inside one of our army's camp tents while Amtakan and the magician continued their duel. Amtakan eventually killed him, but he had been weakened by the fight, so he retreated to wherever he and his demons lived, planning to mount another attack and steal the orbs.
I consulted with Golos again, lying down on a mat. I spoke with confidence, despite the horrible tear on my stomach that, left untreated, could kill me. "We have to hide these orbs. We can't risk having Amtakan anywhere near them."
"That is true." He thought. "Maia, since you knew Amtakan before all of this started...I have a proposal to make. We'll train you as a magician. You can use your power to help us combat Amtakan."
"Really? Well, all right. I could probably benefit you."
"First, though, we have to deal with your injury. It may seem like the only affected area is your stomach, but..." He looked my bloody injury over carefully. "That blast was made of powerful magic. I can tell that it sent jolts all over your body. Your vital organs might cease to function."
"Is that so..." I tried to think of a way to save myself. "Is there anything the magicians could do? Could they form new organs for me?"
"It is possible, but..." He was silent. "Bodily healing on this large a scale has never been attempted before. They'd have to reform your entire body."
"Then let them do that. In fact, tell them right now. You know what?"
"What is it, Maia?"
"Amtakan's a villain, but you know, I'm not perfect, either. No one is perfect. I just kept on providing him with encouragement, thinking that my constant approval would benefit him - but it didn't. I just kept on doing the same thing over and over. I knew he was right in his beliefs to some degree, but I wasn't hitting the mark either. The system still had me."
"What are you saying, Maia?"
"When they reform my body, I want to be new. A new magician. Tell them to make a smaller body, and with wings. Like a fairy."
He paused, eyeing me curiously, like my debilating injury had affected my mind. It probably had. "All right, Maia. We'll get started. Don't be surprised if they fail."
"They won't. I know they won't."
The magicians got to work. A task like this had never been done before, but since they were working on a time limit, that created enough eustress for them to figure it out as fast as possible. They created a new body, following my further instructions, forming a new fairy-like form for my body. Eventually, the transformation was complete, and I emerged in my present form. I decided to choose a new name for myself, reflective of the spiritual as well as physical change I'd undergone. Novelle was my pick. I named it after novas, those reactions that stars go through, to fit my new personality. I liked that it sounded like "new", as well.
We set out to hide the orbs. In order to keep them as secure as possible, I suggested hiding them in different dimensions. Our civilization knew of these alternate dimensions, but hadn't done very much to explore them. Over the period of a few weeks, I traveled some distances in the dimensions with a few comrades and hid the orbs where I was sure no one would find them. One was in a dusty town. We hid it in an ancient temple in that land, and further guarded it by adding a puzzle with a stone tablet. The next one we hid in a dimension our magicians had used to test their environmental-simulation practice. The third one was underground in the middle of an abandoned wetland next to an ocean. And the next two were in the same dimension; both underground, and across the sea from each other.
As it turned out, once he found out the orbs were gone, Amtakan never did return. We knew he was still out there somewhere, but our fear of him gradually diminished. Eventually, it was decided that, for my own protection, my very existence would be kept a secret, known only to the higher-ups in our society. As time went on and I watched generations pass in my new immortal body, our civilization realized its shortcomings. Their philosophy, that overbearingly logical, rational, reason-driven lifestyle, had created a monster that ended up very nearly destroying all existence. They needed to accept love and emotion into their lives to prevent such a catastrophe from ever happening again. It was shaky at first, because of their familiarity with the old lifestyle, but eventually, love took control. As we recovered from the scars Amtakan had left, a new era began about 3,000 years ago, with the emergence of the romantic civilization known today as the Tribe of Ancients.
Part 2
Age of the Prognosticus
3000-2000 years ago
I wanted to know what happened to Amtakan. He hadn't been heard from for nearly a thousand years. So one day, I and few of the Ancient wizards set off to find any trace of him we could. Our search was unsuccessful at first, but we eventually detected some suspicious magical activity. Once we investigated closer, we discovered a secret underground hideout that Amtakan had built. On a work table in the center of this small room, there lie a black book with a patterned cover. Figuring it must be important, we made a move for it - and were promptly attacked by two of Amtakan's demon minions he had left to guard the place while he was away. One was a cyclops, the other an evil witch. We were able to hold them off long enough to grab the book.
We studied this book intensively. Apparently, Amtakan had managed to create a device that could control the future. We called it the "Dark Prognosticus" to reflect its dark, prophetic nature. The book's content was written in a strange black substance we dubbed "Prognos", and anything added to it written in this substance would come true, as long as no action was taken ahead of time to specifically prevent it. The book's magic prevented any of its already-existing content from being altered or removed if it had not already taken place. By examining the book's magic further, however, we were able to discover that the person controlling its prophecies, which was Amtakan, was killed, the prophecy's power would wither. Amtakan had set in motion a large portion of the future, predicting the fall of nations. We didn't know why he wanted this, but most distressing was the book's mention of the Chaos Heart. It said that the Breaker Orbs would be destroyed and the Chaos Heart would reemerge and destroy all worlds. We studied intensively the method it would return by.
"The book states that the marriage of a fair princess and a monster king will call the Chaos Heart back into existence," I reiterated.
"This is exactly as I feared!" cried Merlage, one of the sages who had accompanied me. "It was difficult enough to destroy it the first time. Now we have to deal with it all over again!"
I remained confident, like I'd tried to do when assuring Amtakan. "You are such a worrywart! It wasn't that hard to do it last time. And now that we hid the orbs, we can use them anytime we want. Amtakan isn't going to reactivate the Chaos Heart before he gets his hands on those orbs. He wants the orbs destroyed first."
"But Amtakan is searching for those orbs, you know. He might find them. Wouldn't it be a good measure to prepare? Just in case the Chaos Heart is somehow unleashed? And with the Dark Prognosticus..."
"Hmm. You know what? I just thought of something. Come here. We're going to reactivate the Chaos Heart ourselves...and then destroy it." I was referring to both the Chaos Heart and the Dark Prognosticus in that statement; once the Chaos Heart had been recreated, it would be safe to destroy the section dealing with the Chaos Heart, and we could take the other things as they came. Clearly, Amtakan planned to cause this unlikely event once he'd found and destroyed all five Breaker Orbs. Then, there would be nothing to stop The Void from destroying every world.
But how could we marry a fair princess and a monster king? As disgusting as it sounded, neither seemed to exist anywhere we knew of. While we pondered this dilemma, the Dark Prognosticus sat. It had been fairly easy to keep me a secret from the public, but with a book that foretold the future, it was much more difficult. Soon enough, the Prognosticus had been stolen by a civilian who had eavesdropped on a conversation Merlage had held with another sage.
Thus began the Age of the Prognosticus; over the next thousand years, the Dark Prognosticus would change hands countless times, traveling the world as it did. Foreign kings vied for the book, hoping to learn the secrets of the future and increase their political authority, and ordinary people lusted for it as well. No one who found the book, however, ever found the happiness they were looking for. The bitter, dark prophecies wrenched at the heart of anyone who dared to open the book. As it passed from one person to another, countries made war over it. Entire nations fell because of the Dark Prognosticus, setting the prophecy into motion.
In the midst of this chaotic age, Merlage proposed the creation of "living weapons" to combat any danger that might show up. He studied the techniques the ancient magicians had used to recreate my body and improved upon them to create a method he called "Pixlization". This process involved creating a vessel for a soul to inhabit. At the same time, Merlage's daughter, Merlia, was suffering from a terrible illness. Merlage gave her another chance at life by transferring her soul to the vessel just before her would-be death, creating a fairy-like entity known as a Pixl. He soon followed with twelve other Pixl examples, all containing unique abilities. After his death, Merlage's apprentices and other magicians followed his method, creating many more Pixls based on the thirteen originals. These Pixls became "thinking tools" for the Ancients, assisting them with each of their specific tasks, and the Ancients became quite dependent on them and their enhanced powers. Each Pixl was assigned to a certain person and could help them with anything their powers could accomplish.
With the advent of the Pixls, Amtakan as absent as ever and the Dark Prognosticus continually transferring between nations, our society grew again into the thriving civilization it had been known as before Amtakan's rise, hailed as a beacon of culture for the next thousand years. Our philosophers and magicians made many advancements. The Breaker Orbs were holding out just fine. Aside from the constant wars outside our borders, it seemed that the world may have returned to its former peaceful state - that is, until we finally got our hands back on the Dark Prognosticus.
Part 3
The Pixl Uprising
2000-1500 years ago
About 2000 years ago, we recieved news that a king currently in possession of the Dark Prognosticus had died, leaving no clear successor. The unrest that ensued in that kingdom provided a one-time opportunity to take back the Dark Prognosticus. We mounted an attack and stole the book from this kingdom, returning to study the book more. Almost as soon as we did, however, massive chaos erupted in our own nation.
A huge Pixl that called itself the Pixl Queen suddenly appeared and waged war with the nation. At her command, all of our Pixls rebelled against their masters as if under mind control. The Pixl Queen used their power to enslave the Ancients, and our nation fell into ruin.
In the midst of the conquest, the owners of the twelve original Pixls created after Merlia began an uprising of their own. They were the descendents of the original owners Merlage had bestowed the Pixls upon. They used our inventions, Catch Cards, to trap these twelve Pixls, as well as several others, and heal them, freeing them from the Pixl Queen's mind control. These inheritors and their Pixls staged a battle with the enslaved Pixl forces, beginning the Ancients' struggle for freedom.
I had been able to escape enslavement. While I sat behind a building, contemplating what I could do to help, two menacing figures came up to me. One looked human, and the other was shorter and rounder, but they both were covered in some sort of technological gear. I recognized the species of the smaller one - he was a round creature with stubby arms and legs, likely from a dimension inhabited by these creatures we were aware of.
"Haven't heard from Amtakan in a while, Maia?" the human one suddenly blurted. I whirled around, jumping to my feet and staring him right in the face. "Don't worry. Soon the Dark Prognosticus will be in his hands again, safe and sound."
"I...I don't know who you're talking about. My name is Novelle." I hoped he looked intimidating enough to provoke a similar reaction to mine from someone who wasn't Maia.
"Oh, don't play dumb with us, Novie," taunted the smaller one. "Amtakan gave us very detailed instructions on how to find you. The only way you possibly could've survived that magical blast was for your entire body to be reformed. You look similar enough to Maia and nothing like anyone else in this place, so even if you're not Maia, no one else could be, and Amtakan's not the kind to take chances. Let's make this quick." He moved in my direction.
"What has Amtakan done?" I demanded, realizing there would be no advantage for him not to know my identity. "He's behind this whole thing, isn't he?"
The small minion smiled. "Amtakan's been doing a whole lot for the past 2,000 years. Besides the Dark Prognosticus you all know so well, he's gathered a small army of people like us from different dimensions, not to mention his little demon helpers. He's developed the power to disguise himself and others, and...to hypnotize people."
"Hypnotize...!" I knew what was going on! Amtakan had used his power to hypnotize the Pixl Queen and the other Pixls into starting this uprising, precipitating a disturbance that would create an opening for him to sneak in and take back the Prognosticus!
"Oops," uttered the human-like one. "Looks like we told you." He reached his arm in my direction, beginning to activate a fiery device and grinning. "Now we'll have to kill you." He suddenly produced a fiery jet that headed in my direction.
"Nice try!" I whipped out my new orb-tipped wand and knocked the hot jet back in his direction, slamming him into a nearby wall.
He recoiled. "Oh, you want to play tough, is that it?" He rose to his feet and leaped into the air, dropping spiky projectiles in my direction.
"I don't have time for this!" I insisted. "I'm going to go secure the Dark Prognosticus, RIGHT NOW!"
"Oh, but 'Novelle'," began the small minion, "the inheritors and their Pixls have almost reached the Pixl Queen's castle. There's no time for any heroic antics now."
"What the heck are you talking about? Yeah, they'd better reach the Pixl Queen's castle, or we're in trouble!"
"You don't get it, do you?" continued that humanlike minion. "The Dark Prognosticus is safe and sound in that castle. Soon it won't be, but we don't have the time to explain the intricacies of Amtakan's plan. Let's go help the soldiers." The two of them took off.
"Help the soldiers!?" I was stunned. Why would Amtakan want to help the soldiers? Unless they were referring to the Pixl soldiers...
Nonetheless, I had no time to waste! I immediately headed for the castle of the Pixl Queen. The Pixl inheritors had defeated wave after wave of Pixl soldiers, and only one inheritor and one Pixl remained to take on the Queen herself. What surprised me, though, was seeing Amtakan's two minions here. They'd helped the Ancient soldiers! What could Amtakan be planning with this? I had to find out.
I entered the Pixl Queen's castle. The Ancient inheritor and his Pixl had confronted the Queen, a giant blue Pixl draped in purple, lightning-shaped decorations just like Amtakan's gray bolts. "Let's see what you can do without your master," the Pixl Queen declared.
As she vanished, the inheritor suddenly fell to his knees, staring at the ground, breathing forcefully. "Blood...all over her body!" he screamed.
"What's happening!?" the guardian Pixl exclaimed.
I pieced it together instantly. "She's using her powers of telepathy to cloud his mind with horrible images!" I hurriedly explained, flailing my arms. "I know what he's seeing, but no time to explain! We have to defeat that Pixl Queen!" I knew that the Queen was showing him an image that Amtakan knew; me, Maia, with a blood-stained stomach after being hit by his dark blast.
This Pixl clearly didn't know who I was, but it agreed to side with me anyway. "OK. Let me help my master first. Hold her off any way you can!" The Pixl moved to the inheritor.
I went for the Pixl Queen. Using my magic, I could discern her location. I attacked her with my most powerful magic move. "Oh, Maia," sighed the Queen. "Amtakan's told me exactly what to do if you should show your face." She unleashed a barrage of dark energy in my direction, harming me severely. As she moved to attack me again, however, the Pixl inheritor blocked her.
"This is where your reign ends!" He and his Pixl went crazy on the Queen, attacking her violently with everything they had. After a brief but intense battle, the Pixl Queen had been severely weakened.
"You think this is over?" dared the Queen. "I'll kill...all of you. The country will be...mine!"
"Wait!" I tried to release the Queen from Amtakan's mind control just as she fired a dark bolt in the Pixl's direction, destroying it.
"That is one down." The Queen moved toward us. Something was blocking my power, but I couldn't tell what it was. Nevertheless, we had to keep fighting. "Those minions didn't tell you anything about me, did they?" the Pixl Queen asked me.
"No, they didn't," I firmed. "Why?"
"What came from Amtakan returns to him. Merlage created me using notes from the Dark Prognosticus. The greedy sage only wanted to satisfy his own desires."
"Created...you?" I was horror-struck. Merlage's original twelve Pixls had been fighting in battle, and the only other one he'd created was...Merlia! "You're under Amtakan's mind control!" I accused. "You don't know what you're saying! Let us release you. Let us restore you to the noble Pixl...and Merlage's daughter...you were before all this!"
"That won't be happening."The Pixl Queen began to attack us again just as a new army of Ancients entered the castle. She was too powerful to destroy, and I couldn't release her from Amtakan's hypnotic power, so our newly expanded army managed to seal her in a magical prison.
I hid while the Pixl inheritor took the Dark Prognosticus and explained everything that had happened, minus me. "I'm going to take this book to a safe place. Nothing like this must ever happen again." He exited the castle and disappeared into the distance.
"Happy, Novie?" asked the human minion when I left the castle as well. "You defeated the Pixl Queen. Yay, way to go."
"What's up with this?" I shouted. "You were helping the soldiers, and that guy actually believed the Queen when she said Merlage created her because of the Dark Prognosticus. Tell me what's going on. Right now."
"Oh, Maia, you had no clue the entire time. Amtakan set this whole thing up from the start to the finish. Of course Merlage didn't create Merlia with notes from the Dark Prognosticus. That was just the excuse we needed to allow that guy to leave with the Prognosticus."
"Wait...what!? Is he working for Amtakan? He's the Pixl inheritor! Why would he do that?"
"Simple. Remember us telling you Amtakan developed the power to disguise himself? Yeah, he can literally change his form at will. All it took was for us to kill the Pixl inheritor and have Amtakan take his place."
"AMTAKAN!" I'd been fighting alongside AMTAKAN! That was why I couldn't release the Pixl Queen from his mind control! He'd been blocking my power! And he'd been faking the whole disturbing image thing!
"Yeah, thanks for giving us a blatant opportunity to steal the Dark Prognosticus. It's nice to have it back in Amtakan's hands. See ya, Novie." The minions took off while I sat down and cried.
After this catastrophe, the Ancient elders limited the Pixls' power and outlawed their creation. The nation began a slow decline as several of our members moved away to live where conditions were better.
I told the Ancient leaders the truth behind the Pixl Uprising. They recieved the information with anguished surprise, but there was little we could do. After having it stolen once, Amtakan would probably take extra measures to make sure the Dark Prognosticus would never leave his hands again. That, and once again, we had no idea where he was. Amtakan had left to unknown places once more. Things were quiet, sad, and very gray for the next few hundred years.
Part 4
A Purity Heart to Save the World
1500 years ago
Amtakan had the Dark Prognosticus again. Unless we took some major action, the Breaker Orbs would be destroyed, the Chaos Heart would be reactivated, and The Void would consume every world. What would we do if Amtakan or his minions finally found those orbs? We pondered this dilemma. Eventually, we came up with something. Amtakan had the Chaos Heart and the Dark Prognosticus on his side. We needed to take the same initiative.
I proposed the creation of a powerful artifact and a new book of prophecy that would counteract Amtakan's dark powers. We needed to create a Purity Heart, formed with the essence of love rather than hate, and a Light Prognosticus, a prophetic book written in the same Prognos as the dark one. These were the Ancients' last great accomplishments. Creating these objects would require a large amount of magic and energy, but we had nothing else to live for. This was our last shot.
Researchers, led by the sage Merlimbis, set to work. They created the Purity Heart, a large artifact with equal, but opposite, power to the Chaos Heart. By itself, it couldn't destroy the Chaos Heart, but if any of us injected our own power, or any of the Breaker Orbs, it would acquire enough potency to banish the dark Heart for good. The Purity Heart was protected by the same method we'd used to protect the orbs, but this time, we made it even more potent. We divided it into eight Pure Hearts that we hid in different dimensions, given to citizens of these dimensions who would hold onto it until the heroes had arrived. Yes, we'd planned for heroes to arrive - and that involved our new book of prophecy.
At the same time, two more sages, Merloo and Merlumina, plus me, began work on our Light Prognosticus. By analyzing our notes from the Dark Prognosticus, we were able to produce a small amount of Prognos - just enough to explain how to counteract the Chaos Heart without adding any predicted historical events. We, and presumably Amtakan, had a very limited ability to see the future. Since this was to be our last attempt at stopping Amtakan's prophecy, we tried to see as much of the future as we could. We wrote that four heroes would join together to travel the dimensions, collect the Pure Hearts, and defeat Amtakan, the owner of the Dark Prognosticus. Our insights allowed us to see a "man in green" that would become the determining factor in the battle between the words of the Dark and Light Prognosticuses - we included this in the book. While the Pure Hearts rested in their respective worlds, the Light Prognosticus stayed with us. It was protected with the same magic the Dark one was, but to ensure its safety from evil hands, the sage Merlight designed a town called Flipside where we placed the new Prognosticus - a peaceful, utopian environment, located in a realm between dimensions where none of our enemies would think to look.
Amtakan now had equal forces pushing against his powers. The Purity Heart countered the Chaos Heart, and the Light Prognosticus matched the Dark one. Although our situation remained uncertain, we were much more confident now that Amtakan had met his match. It soon turned out, however, that Amtakan was still planning, and when it came to the Dark Prognosticus, he had just a slight upper hand...
-
Part 5
Ganter's Blood-clad Prophecy
1500-1100 years ago
"Things just aren't what they used to be around here. Heck, I could almost join the Tribe of Darkness," a citizen mused one day.
"Tribe of Darkness?" questioned a sage. "What is that?"
A while after we'd created the Purity Heart and Light Prognosticus, rumors leaked into our nation about a secret tribe that had split from us, and that was where all of the people were leaving to. After hearing that they supposedly had the Dark Prognosticus, the elders figured it was safe to reveal that the so-called Pixl inheritor that had defeated the Pixl Queen in the uprising had stolen the Prognosticus with malicious intent in his heart, although not describing his true identity for safety purposes. This Tribe of Darkness became known as a tribe of evil, scheming villains, and no one left our own tribe after this.
I immediately suspected that Amtakan had something to do with this tribe's founding. I had been used as a spy in previous situations because of my expertise at hiding myself, so I made a few attempts to track down this dark tribe and see if I could find the Amtakan that had caused us all of our trouble for the past 2,500 years.
Finally, I found a civilization. They were living deep within the giant forest. Those woods I'd chased Amtakan into were only the fringe of this enormous field of trees, spanning the area of a small country. I did some spying. They were already too large a civilization to directly attack. They seemed to use a symbol to represent themselves - a circle with three points in a triangular pattern and a heart at its center. I had no idea what this symbol was supposed to represent - the Chaos Heart, maybe?
On another one of my spy missions, I picked up very familiar voices. I hid behind a tree while listening to the echoes through a window.
"You're sure they're finished? Absolutely sure?"
"Absolutely. I have experimented with Pixls for many years. There are many different types that can be created. You can grant them different kinds of skills, and it is even possible to change their physical properties. You could even make a sentient doll as I have heard of some doing."
"Good, then. Don't they have personalities of their own, though? How will you make them loyal to me?"
"I still haven't figured that part out. I must make sure they'll always remain loyal to you."
"Well, here's hoping you find a way. Do they have names yet?"
"I think I'll call one Mimi. It's a nice pun on the fact that they can mimic others, don't you think?"
"Whatever."
"I'm not sure about the other two. Maybe I'll give them similar names."
"I have to go now. Whatever happens, make sure that these three are always used for the purposes of the Tribe of Darkness, and for no other reason. Is that clear?"
"Yes."
"I hope you understand. With the king's son being so rebellious lately, it's hard to tell what could happen."
I knew those voices! One was Amtakan, and the other was the witch we had seen when we'd first stolen the Dark Prognosticus almost 1,500 years ago. So Amtakan had established a king of this Tribe, and his son was rebellious? That was something I had to check out.
The king was called Ganter. His son, Blumiere, was unlike the rest of the Tribe of Darkness. Obviously, Amtakan hadn't allowed much emotion to penetrate the Tribe's daily life, but Blumiere was a more emotional, loving person. I explored the Tribe's castle. The dungeon contained many devices Amtakan had conjured. I knew I couldn't interfere with this stuff, because they'd suspect something, but examining one smooth, lime green stone that looked much like the Breaker Orbs, I discovered that it contained the power of mind control Amtakan had developed. As I continued to observe Blumiere, I noticed one time he'd hurt himself. I watched a small drop of black liquid fall to the floor. That couldn't be ordinary blood, could it? Black liquid...and then it hit me. Prognos! All of the things Amtakan had written in the Dark Prognosticus made sense. He'd caused the nations to fall so he could safely access all of their resources to build this civilization of his. And the reason he'd built it was to have a steady supply of Prognos. The blood of the Tribe's rulers was infused with this substance! Amtakan must have been planning this for a very long time. This is what he had in mind when he started the Pixl Uprising!
But another thing came to me. Blumiere's situation was very similar to Amtakan's awakening; he was an isolated individual in the midst of an emotionless society. I knew that this situation had the potential to develop. And then...it hit me again. This was how we'd do it. I hated to do this to Blumiere, but I had no choice. He would stop at nothing to get what he desired, and this was a quality I would use in my favor. I had to involve him in a complicated emotional situation like the one Amtakan had been entangled with. He'd snap. He would steal the Dark Prognosticus and most likely take the hypnosis orb to try and activate the Chaos Heart. This was where we would activate it. Those heroes would collect the eight Pure Hearts, and stop the Chaos Heart before it was too late, and then I would come in and destroy the Heart. Amtakan would likely get involved after that, so I and the heroes could cooperate to defeat and kill him. Then, it would be safe to destroy the Dark Prognosticus, and all existence would finally, truly, be safe from harm. This was what I had to do. I'd decided: I was going to live among the Tribe of Darkness.
After some quick approval from the Ancient elders, I began my new mission. I started by fashioning a makeshift home for myself in a lonely section of the forest with tree branches and vines. The actual area where I stayed was underground, and I'd created a cover of grass and weeds with an underlying layer of wood, so someone could walk over the shelter without knowing I was there. This cover was ventilated enough for air to come in so I could sleep here.
Now, for the plan. A situation involving love itself would be a good way to set Blumiere on the path to destruction. I'd noticed a member of Ancients, named Timpani, who lived near the border of the Tribe of Darkness's forest. Blumiere took routine walks around the edge of this forest. The area he visited was above a cliff from where Timpani lived, so one day during his lonely musing, from a hidden spot, I destroyed the area of ground on which he was standing. This catapulted him downward, where he hit the cliff's base, knocking him out. Just as I planned, Timpani soon found him, and being the caring person she was, took him into her own home.
"Ugh... Uuugh..."
"You're awake at last?" Timpani looked down at Blumiere with caring green eyes.
"Where...am I? Is this...a human's home? Bleccch!" The prince struggled.
"Don't wiggle like that. I found you at the cliff base. You took quite a fall."
"You're a human, correct? I don't...repulse you? I am of the Tribe of Darkness..."
"Why would that matter? Anyone with a heart would not ignore an injured soul!"
Yes. This was the plan. I was setting a tragedy in motion, but someday, I would apologize to Blumiere for doing what I had to do to him. I swore it.
Blumiere and Timpani formed a fast friendship. Almost immediately, Ganter cracked down on his son for doing such a thing. Blumiere didn't know about it, but if he married Timpani and procreated, the Prognos-infused blood of the Tribe of Darkness royalty would be mixed with another source, and Amtakan would lose the source of his Dark Prognosticus writing material. Obviously, Ganter didn't know about my entire plan to use Blumiere to reactivate the Chaos Heart, but the hypnotic orb in his dungeon worried me. Ganter clearly wanted to use it to separate Blumiere and Timpani. From my analysis, it hadn't acquired its full power yet, but I was able to hide it from him if I needed to.
"You're late. Did something happen?" Timpani asked when Blumiere arrived later than they'd planned.
"Yes, my father caught me. Sneaking out of the castle wasn't easy after that."
"I was worried you wouldn't come..."
"You are a strange girl..." Blumiere frowned. "You know what I am and yet you do not seem afraid."
"I don't care what you are. I just wanted to see you. Is that...Is that so wrong?"
"No. No, of course not. I wanted to see you, too."
"Blumiere...Do you mind if I sit next to you?"
"Please do, Timpani." Timpani gently lowered herself next to her new friend. "Let's return to our conversation. I must know more of you..."
Blumiere and Timpani were getting along nicely. I emerged one night from my "home", however, to find Timpani avoiding Blumiere.
"Timpani, why? Why do you avoid me?"
"Ow...OW! Unhand me!" Timpani sat down, tears forming in her eyes.
"Huh? You're crying! Why? Timpani, you must tell me what has happened!"
"It's nothing...Don't worry about it...Just forget it..."
"Oh no...Timpani, is my father behind this?"
"I'm...I'm just an ordinary girl. No matter how much I love you, we must part."
"Timpani...I..."
"This is good-bye, Blumiere. There's no other choice. This is our fate..." Timpani slowly rose and ran away from her lover.
This wasn't the end of their relationship, however. Blumiere continued at her. Eventually, he proposed.
"What...What are you thinking?" Timpani demanded. "There's no possible way...No one would allow it!"
"If we can't be happy here, we must leave for a place that will accept our love."
"But, Blumiere, is there such a place? Think...I can't bear to see you hurt again."
"If our love has no home...let us spend our lives searching together!" Blumiere was silent for a few seconds. "So I beg of you again...Timpani, marry me! I promise I will make you happy."
"You...just won't give up, will you? Of all the crazy...stubborn...foolish men..." Timpani looked at the ground, her eyes sad.
"Timpani, answer me, please!"
Blumiere's lover was silent. She closed her eyes, sighing loudly. Finally, she made her decision. Timpani rose her head, her eyes still closed. "Blumiere, I love you. Take me away. Take me to a world where we can be happy."
I observed them later that night. "Look, Timpani. The stars are beautiful, aren't they?"
"...There's a tradition in my village," she began. "We believe that wishes on stars come true."
"Oh, is that so? In that case, we'd better get wishing, don't you think?"
"I don't need to wish anymore."
"Mmm?" Blumiere looked at Timpani.
"I already got my wish. Now...I have everything I need right here."
"Timpani...Aren't you cold?"
"Not at all. I'm very warm...Can we stay like this? Just a little longer?" I sighed. Blumiere and Timpani loved each other so much.
The plan was going smoothly. I thought about how much trouble I'd certainly cause. The knowledge that these two would be seperated drove me to tears on more than one occasion, but it was what needed to be done. If every world was to be saved from utter destruction, this is what needed to be done.
A few days later, Timpani suddenly disappeared. I knew this day would come eventually. I went to the Tribe of Darkness's castle to see what was happening with Blumiere.
"Timpani! What did you do with her? I must see her!" the prince shouted, mad with determination.
"Still your tongue, Blumiere...Can't you see you've been duped by a dirty human?" Ganter accused his son. "You have brought shame to my name...and to the entire Tribe of Darkness!"
"And so what if I did? That doesn't matter to me! She's my entire world!"
"Well, then it will interest you to know...that she no longer resides in this world."
"What...What do you mean by that?!"
"This is the price those who resist their own fate must pay, my son."
"She...No...It can't be so!" Blumiere closed his eyes.
"Someday you will see, Son. Our kind and humans must never mix." Ganter left Blumiere's room.
Angry and upset, Blumiere finally began searching for Timpani. I paid close attention to him over the next period of time, seeing if he would carry out the plan. One day while walking through the forest, he found something while contemplating to himself.
"Timpani...dear Timpani...will I ever see you again? I must do whatever I can to find her..." Blumiere then heard something rustling above his head. "Hm? What's this? It's a bat stuck in a trap...here, I'll get you out of there." Blumiere undid the trap.
"Thank you deeply...may I ask your name?" the female bat inquired.
"I am called Blumiere."
"Thank you, Blumiere..."
"You are welcome...I will be on my way now."
"Blumiere...wait...Blumiere..."
Later, the bat appeared to him again.
"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."
The bat may have been able to have used Merlumina to join Blumiere, but she wouldn't have had that opportunity for long. An Ancient messenger reported to me one evening with shocking news. "Merlumina is dead!" he exclaimed. Apparently, she had chosen to guard the red Pure Heart in the Yold Ruins and wait to give it to the legendary hero. The entire village had needed to sing a lullaby for her to fall into a magical sleep for 1,500 years. Supposedly, three people had jointly killed her - and I instantly thought of the three Pixls that Amtakan and his witch buddy had created. Returning in the direction of the Ancient nation, I found a lone figure with a polygonal black body. I wasn't intending for him to see me, but when I moved behind a tree, his eyes followed.
"Hey! Who is that?" I froze, turning myself invisible. He came around the tree, however, and poked at my right arm. "Oh, someone's here! Reveal yourself!"
He'd trapped me. I had no idea what kind of power this Pixl had, so I stood, forced to lie in wait. He was still hanging by me when my cloaking effect wore off. He stared me in my violet eyes, and his white ones widened.
"Dude! You're Novelle, right?"
I was silent.
"That girl Amtakan wants to get rid of so badly?"
I sort of breathed.
"Well, I just quit, becuase Amtakan's a jerk, so you don't need to be so afraid. I'm not gonna kill you or anything."
My muscles relaxed slightly. "Amtakan?" I finally stammered.
"Yeah. We were all with him, me and Mimi and Margaret. I'm Morris. Amtakan told us to kill Merlumina. So we did, but she put this weird curse on us. And Amtakan knew about it. What a jerk, huh?"
"Um...how were you cursed?"
"We mutated into these gross spiders. But we can change our shape, so it doesn't really matter, but Amtakan was a jerk anyway. He was just using us."
That was the power they had, it seemed. "Um...OK. Yeah, I'm Novelle. Do you...need anything?"
"Me? I'm fine, I guess. I'm gonna find someplace else to live, 'cause here isn't doing it. Where are you living?"
I debated whether or not I should tell him this. "Um...I...don't really know if I should tell you that, Morris."
"Well, that's fine."
"Just let me ask you one more thing, though. You three were created by Amtakan and someone else, right?"
"Yeah, Wretcha was actually the one who did it. She's this really weird witch lady who works for Amtakan."
Wretcha...that was the witch demon we'd stolen the Dark Prognosticus from. "Oh. OK, then. I'll see you, Morris."
"Later." He walked away while I headed in the opposite direction, back toward my makeshift home.
Blumiere, newly joined by the so-called Nastasia, continued searching for his love. "You really do want to find Timpani, don't you?" Nastasia asked one day.
"Yes. I will search to the end of all dimensions if I need to. I must find her."
"We haven't had much luck so far," the assistant sighed. "No one knows where she is, and no one wants to help us."
"Hmm...perhaps there is something we can do." Blumiere apparently changed his mind. "No...that wouldn't be right."
"What is it?"
"It wouldn't be right. Just ignore what I said."
"I want to know, Blumiere. You said you'd search to the end of all dimensions. You wouldn't pass up something that could help you find her."
"Well, if you must know..." Blumiere explained the plan to her in detail. They'd sneak into a place he knew and recover a certain artifact. I knew that he was describing the hypnosis orb in his castle's dungeon - Ganter, perhaps, wanted to lure Blumiere into his own ideology now that Timpani was gone. Obviously, I couldn't allow that to happen, so I watched Blumiere and Nastasia as they moved to steal the orb.
"Well, we're here," announced Nastasia. "Are you sure that I have to be the one that goes in?"
"Yes. If I go along with you, the power will spread to me as well, and I don't want anything like that. I'm still not sure about this..."
"Trust me, it'll help us find your love. You said so."
"Very well. I guess you can go in."
Nastasia crept into the dungeon via a secret entrance. "Wow. It's pretty dark down here..." She searched the rubble for the object Blumiere had told her about. "Is this the stone he was talking about? It's very smooth...and polished." She held the orb above her head. "Is this how I'm supposed to do this? I guess so...OK...stone, thing, give me your power!"
Ganter suddenly burst into the dungeon. "HEY! What are you doing in here!?"
"Aaah! Uh...just looking at some...stuff. You've got some pretty interesting stuff. Yeah...stuff."
"Is it true? You've taken the power of that stone!? Oh, you..."
"Oh, great. I've gotta get out of here!" Nastasia fled. Ganter followed her, but I couldn't let him get his hands back on that orb. I appeared in front of him and blocked his progress with a translucent, magical barrier.
"What!" He clawed at the impedement. "Novelle! That's you!"
"Yeah...it's me." I shot a glance behind me to make sure Blumiere and Nastasia were out of range. They'd left, so I quickly released the barrier and flew away.
That was the last I heard from Ganter until the day finally came. The day I'd been waiting for. Not being able to find Timpani anywhere he looked, Blumiere fell into despair, growing more and more depressed. Finally, he could bear it no longer. Distraught, stressed and angry over the loss of Timpani, Blumiere went insane. He returned to the Tribe of Darkness's castle to steal the Dark Prognosticus.
"Blumiere, my son, don't! Even your ancestors could not handle that dark book...If you open it...there's no telling what might happen!"
"I do not care, Father! A world without her is empty. A LIFE without her is empty." Blumiere opened the book. "Speak, Dark Prognosticus! Teach your dark history! I await your command!" As the book's power flooded into him, Blumiere's countenance underwent a dramatic transformation. He suddenly smiled, an evil, sinister look in his eyes. "BLEH HEH HEH! BLECK!"
"Blumiere...What have you done?" Ganter looked upon his son in horror.
"Silence! The first prophecy beckons. I will erase every inch...of this blasted world!"
"Blu-Blumiere! Don't do this! Blumiere!"
"Blumiere is no more! I am Count Bleck! And no one shall stand in my way!" His voice rose, and he again laughed maniacally. "BLEH HEH HEH! BLECK!"
Blumiere unleashed his newfound power, destroying the very fabric of his dimension. I knew I had to get out of there. I warped to another one of the dimensions I was familiar with, waiting for the show to unravel.
Count Bleck began his mission, searching the dimensions for minions to help him in his desire. He continued searching for Timpani for some time before planning to activate the Chaos Heart and destroy every world. Over the next period of time, Bleck gathered his minions.
All of the inhabitants of our dimensions were either destroyed in the rampage or had barely escaped with their lives - and Amtakan, obviously, escaped. Amtakan gave Pixl-creating one last shot, but an abandoned army general named O'Chunks ate his last device. The cyclops I'd seen with the Dark Prognosticus assaulted him, but Bleck saved O'Chunks's life in exchange for his service. Bleck also picked up Mimi, one of Morris's counterparts, manipulating her depressed feelings to get her to join his world-destruction effort. The last minion that joined him, however, made me suspicious.
The count initially rejected him. "Count Bleck is sorry, but he cannot accept you. I simply do not see how you would benefit my search."
"With all due respect, Count, I believe you are not looking closely enough. Surely there is some way I could help you." The minion's name was Dimentio. He was a strange jester.
"That is enough, Dimentio. Count Bleck has no need for you. Begone, now."
Later, the count reconsidered.
"...Dimentio?"
"Yes, count?"
"Count Bleck has changed his mind. Dimentio, you may join me."
"Excellent, Count Bleck. I will make sure to help you in any way I can. Might I ask...what made you decide to take me in?"
"Well, a certain passage in the Dark Prognosticus interested Count Bleck. It mentioned a person that seemed to match your description perfectly."
"I see. Fate has destined it to be this way. All the better for you, count." The jester seemed to withdraw. "Ah ha ha ha..."
Something about this guy's personality made me very, very suspicious. It seemed like he was faking the whole jester thing. Nonetheless, my expectations were up to par - until I finally met Amtakan one last time.
Part 6
The Final Confrontation
1100 years ago
I found myself in an icy mountain range. The cold air stung at my skin as I looked around at the gleaming white snowcaps, surrounded by a clear, starry night sky. What had just happened? Why was I here? I folded my arms, trying to keep as much heat in as possible.
"You've been very bad, Novie." I spun around, releasing my arms. There, standing before me, were the two minions I'd seen in the Pixl Uprising - except with slightly changed body gear. The large one continued. "Very, very bad."
"What is this?" I examined my surroundings again, anxious. "Why'd you bring me here?"
"It's very simple. Amtakan wants his revenge." He held out his right arm, and I could tell it wasn't his actual arm. It had been replaced with a thick metal bar. "Yeah, Amtakan had to make some repairs after that Pixl Uprising. We got injured pretty badly, so he improved our armor with some super-awesome defense plates." He put his arm back at his side. "We weren't formally introduced, Maia. I'm Bante, and this guy here is Hanetul. We brought you here to put a stop to your meddling plans once and for all."
After all these years, Amtakan was still at it. "I gave him some of the greatest advice a human can give, and this is how he repays me?" I angrily blurted.
"Shut your trap, insolent traitor!" Hanetul ordered. "We're going to show you what happens when you mess with Amtakan's plans."
"Traitor? You mean it wasn't his decision to go insane and everything?"
"That doesn't matter. It's him we're loyal to now, and that's the way it's going to remain."
"You're just deluding yourselves. He's a madman now!"
"Maybe he is," admitted Bante. "But if so, he's a brilliant madman. He knows how to make this world a better place."
My drive was going. "Do you really believe that drivel he spews out constantly? He knows how to make himself sound convincing. He's just trying to-"
"Whatever! Listen, either you're going to give in now, or we're going to destroy you. Your power is no match for the strength Amtakan gave us."
"There's no way you can stop us from going on with our plan. Even if you defeat me here, Amtakan's going to be stopped. That's an absolute." I firmed those words.
"Absolute. Hah!" Hanetul scoffed. "The only absolute around here is the Dark Prognosticus. Let's hope that Count Bleck delays this long enough for us to destroy those Breaker Orbs. In the meantime, Novelle, we have some unfinished business to take care of. Follow us." They began to move away from me. When they noticed I wasn't following them, they turned around. "What are you waiting for?"
I folded my arms, again. "Why should I follow you?"
"Because if you don't," replied Bante, "we're going to take you there by force, and that will be a heck of a lot less comfortable for you. It's your choice, but I'd choose to follow us, just to make sure you'll be in top condition. Like that'll matter..." He chuckled.
I didn't like the way this was going, but I realized a potential opportunity. "Amtakan's here, isn't he?" I asked cautiously.
"Yes. Now shut up and follow us." That was all I needed. I followed them across the snowy terrain, stopping at a large crater in the ground, a few hundred yards wide. It was lined with sharp, pointed ice crystals of all shapes and sizes. Falling into it would be deadly - if you couldn't fly, of course, so I guess that wasn't a problem for me.
"Now." Hanetul turned to look at me with a sinister gleam in his eye. "This is where Amtakan performed one of his experiments. It's the perfect place to kill an incompetent fairy or two." He smiled evilly, showing his row of jagged teeth, and before I could respond, Hanetul had shoved me backwards into the crater.
"Aaaagh!" I didn't have time to pull myself into the air before I slammed into an area near the edge of the crater, not far below the ground. A needle-like crystal pierced the left side of my back. I quickly rose into the air, feeling for blood. It was there, but this was no time to lick wounds. "You dirty cheapskate!" I shouted.
"Yeah, come and get some!" Hanetul, as well as Bante, lifted into the air and swooped in my direction. I ducked out of the way, flying toward the deeper center of the crater. The minions fired energy bolts at me. I lifted my wand and blocked all of their shots, sending a few of them back at the attackers.
"Amtakan isn't going to get rid of me that easily!" I magically broke a few crystals from the crater's floor and hurled them at the minions. The sharp crystals smashed into their armor and dented a few weapons. I aimed to disarm, but not hurt them.
The armed minions retaliated, sending fiery bursts in my direction. I flew up to them, charged my wand, and sent it through Bante's armor, melting a large portion of it. "Gah! You annoying pest!"
"Let's do this together," offered Hanetul. "Attack her at the same time as me. We can't give her a chance to get up." On Hanetul's signal, the minions both blasted me with a ray of darkness, again sending me flying back, this time into a steeper crater wall. I landed in a tight spot between two large crystals, breaking bits of them off. My hands and arms were cut, and the leaking blood slowly tinted pink the end of the two ice formations.
"Had enough, Novie?" taunted Bante. The minions approached me again. I jumped away from the large crystals, aiming an energy attack at them, but they countered my blast with a beam of their own that overpowered mine, sending me back down into the sharp crater. This time, my right cheek and part of my right leg were torn. "Yeah, you're beaten pretty badly, aren't you? What a shame. Too bad you had to end up on the wrong side of things. It ends here, Maia." The minions gathered energy, preparing to slam into me and dash my body on the spikes.
I frantically looked around, searching for anything that might give me one last chance. There was a large cluster of particularly sharp crystals to my right. It followed the crater's curve, so I could potentially send the minions flying to the right if I wanted to damage them with it. But would that be the right thing? Would that just heavily damage their armor, or would it go all the way through and even hit their skin? That was something I didn't want to happen. Then I remembered Amtakan. Amtakan was here. My only shot at stopping him would be to first stop these guys. If I could kill him here, the Dark Prognosticus would wither. I really, really didn't want to kill at all - and I still remembered the friendly period we'd shared ideas in - but it had been granted to me to save every dimension. First, I had to stop these guys. And stop them I would.
"It's over, Maia," Bante called. "Admit it. You have been defeated."
"Oh, no I haven't. You can't defeat determination. I'm going to stop Amtakan. How's that sound?"
"Ha, ha ha. You're still keeping at it, aren't you? Your determination isn't going to do anything now."
"Oh, yes, it...WILL!" As they approached me, I detached a giant crystal from nearby and slammed it into them. This halted their forward trajectory long enough for me to swoop to the left of them and blast them with my most powerful magical ray, sending them hurtling toward the sharp cluster.
"Wha-"
"Hey!"
"Reverse!"
"No!"
"Aagh!"
"Quick!"
"This-"
"Gah!"
"This-"
"No!"
"Aagh!"
"AAAAAAAAAAGH!!!" Bante and Hanetul's bodies made direct contact with the spiny crystals. I immediately regretted my action. They had been pierced, armor and skin.
"NOOOO!!! This...CAN'T BE HAPPENING!"
"AAGGCCKKK!!!"
"My...my..." The two minions fell under their own weight, tearing the crystals from the wall that remained lodged inside their armor and probably skin. They collided with the crater's floor, continually rolling downward as gravity pulled them toward the crater's center. With every contact they made with the crater's floor, more and more spine crystals hit them. Finally, Bante and Hanetul came to a stop at the ice crater's center, an unrecognizable mess of blood, armor pieces, and broken crystals.
I hovered, breathing in and out, frozen, unable to avert my eyes from the scene I'd created. After what seemed like an eternity, another voice reached my ears. "Oh. Too bad." The cyclops demon I'd seen with O'Chunks and the Dark Prognosticus dropped into the crater, lifting the two minions' bodies with magic. He looked in my direction, only having to turn his "head" a tiny bit to do this. "As hot as you are, Novelle, you are a behavioral disaster." He lifted the minions out of the crater, moving toward the far side. I followed him, landing next to the decapitated minions.
"Who the heck are you, and what do you want?" I swiftly demanded.
"Oh? You want to know about me? How charming." He did sort of a circle thing. "I'm the Netherclops, one of Amtakan's more promising minions. Really, though, what else needs explaining?"
"Do you say that to all the girls?"
"What? About you being hot? No, I specifically reserved that compliment for you." He retreated toward a large cabin about a hundred yards away. That pretty much guaranteed he said that to all the girls.
"Amtakan..." If the Netherclops was bringing Bante and Hanetul to that cabin, it was a sure sign that Amtakan was near. I moved toward the cabin myself.
The Netherclops emerged after apparently leaving the other two minions inside. "Oh, but we're not finished with you, Novie. Amtakan was smart enough to bring some backup in case you defeated those guys. Come, Hexagdra!" He spun his staff in a circle.
I thought "Hexagdra" sounded like a magic word at first, but it soon became apparent that it was a name. The ground around us began shaking as a giant crack split the snow-covered rock. A giant mass of green emerged from the rift, covered in darker green geometric shape. Finally, six dragon-like heads emerged from the mass on long, bent necks, each one seeming to resemble the shape of one of the body markings, and all containing very sharp teeth and somewhat small eyes. On the far left, the head resembled a yellow star; directly to the right was a brown head with protruding eyes, a huge maw, and a rectangular shape. The next head over was a red one shaped like a rectangular prism, followed by an green, irregular one with two horns; this one seemed to most resemble the head of a dragon. The final two heads were an orange one with a rough hexagon shape, and a diamond-shaped one with a pointed mouth, colored deep blue.
"Amtakan's created a monster," continued the Netherclops. "Literally. Now sit tight and wait as Hexagdra viciously and painfully devours you. Sic her!" He left toward the cabin again.
The geometric dragon roared as the hexagon head snapped for my right arm. I swiftly pulled my injured arm out of the way and smacked the head with my wand. As it recoiled, I backflipped over another snap from the diamond head and aimed for the dragonlike one that seemed to be the main head. It could breathe fire, but this I could absorb with my wand and fire back at it. Hexagdra apparently wasn't very intelligent.
After a while of attacking the heads in this manner, the dragon tried a new strategy. Rather than each head acting individually, they all aimed for me at once, giving me little room to maneuver. The prism-shaped head hit me squarely and knocked me to the ground. "Gaah..." It'd hit me in the same place Amtakan had fired his magical blast that caused my current identity. The star head caused a rain of stars that I struggled to avoid. How could I beat this thing?
Then it hit me. The ice crater! We were right next to it. If I could lure Hexagdra toward the crater, it would all be over. The dragon was apparently immobile, however - its large body segment had no limbs unless you counted the six heads. I had to somehow move this thing toward the crater and fast. I flew between the monster and the crater, provoking all six heads to reach in my direction. This pulled the body toward the crater somewhat, but not enough. After a few more snaps, I moved to the other side and aimed a magical blast for the dragon, moving it toward the crater again. The heads now aimed for my new direction. I batted the star and rectangle heads out of the way and continued to attack this side of the body. The body mass was now almost hanging over the crater. All six heads were moving in my direction again, so attacking from this side would be too dangerous. As I moved to the other side again, the dragon-like head grabbed my top-left wing in its teeth. I screamed in pain as it tore a good amount of the wing clean off, chewing with a smug grin. This was the greatest volume of injury I'd ever experienced, but this was my last shot. I hovered awkwardly in the direction of the crater. The six heads moved in my direction again, and this was enough to pull the body over the spiny crater floor. Hexagdra tumbled into the crater, rolling until it landed in the center just like Bante and Hanetul had. I turned my head as soon as it fell in, listening to know when it had stopped.
I breathed out. The side of my face, a lot of my arms and hands, my right leg, my back, my stomach, and my decapitated wing were all either bleeding or otherwise injured. I looked back at the severed wing, coming to grips with how much pain I was in. I tried magically healing a few of the injuries. I was able to fix some of my face, arms, and legs, but the other injuries were beyond what I could do by myself. Nonetheless, I had to go to that building. If Amtakan was there, that was where I had to go.
I entered the cabin. Amtakan was there. "Maia." Apart from the Pixl Uprising, this was the first time we'd met, face-to-face, in the last 2,900 years.
"Amtakan." Wretcha and the Netherclops, as well as Bante and Hanetul's decapitated bodies, were here as well.
We stood, staring at each other. I don't know how long it must've been before Amtakan said, "You are here to keep the world in darkness. Emotion and love must be eradicated in order to form a perfect society."
"...No, Amtakan. That's not why I'm here. You can say that, but that doesn't make it true. I'm here to stop you once and for all. You've been horribly misguided. And it was all my fault. I'm here to right my wrong."
"You did what you had to. There is no erasing it now. What you did was not sinful."
"It doesn't matter, Amtakan. I have to do what I and the whole community have wanted for centuries." I rose my wand.
"That won't happen, Maia."
"Yes. It will."
"No. It won't."
"You can say that...but that doesn't make it true..."
"Whatever you do to me, Maia, I will have the same done to you. It is in my magic. You cannot harm me without also harming yourself."
I hadn't known that. I would easily sacrifice myself in order to stop him once and for all, but I would probably be needed to stop the Chaos Heart once Count Bleck had activated it. What else could I do to keep him from doing anything? I said what I thought. "Then let us be sealed. Both of us. Sealed in such a manner that no one, save for a legendary hero, could possibly set us free."
"You will not do this, Maia..."
"Yes. If it is the only way to preserve the fate of every world...then I will do it." I rose my wand higher as Amtakan followed with his scepter.
"Minions," he commanded. "Finish the project without me. Call Bante B-A Omega and Hanetul H-X Alpha. Tell all of the other minions to continue searching for the Breaker Orbs. Destroy them as soon as possible."
"Oh, Amtakan!" Wretcha moved to her master. "I'll preserve your power!" Wretcha initiated the spell. That was the last thing either of us heard before our magic was activated.
Part 7
A View from the Ice
1100 years ago-Present
I was in ice. I couldn't see, feel, or hear anything. I recieved no sensory input at all.
I was still inside the building, but Amtakan was no longer here. I tried using my magic to see where Amtakan was. I came part of the way before noticing my power was draining much faster than I was used to. My power must not have been preserved like Amtakan's. I was now limited, although my body could still heal itself slowly as I remained trapped in the ice. The least I could do was to try to help the legendary heroes in any way I could.
More than a thousand years later, I sensed Timpani. She had been cursed by Ganter, doomed to wander the dimensions forever. I gently guided her toward Flipside to meet with the heroes that would soon emerge. Perhaps, if Bleck knew his lover was still alive, it would lean him toward regret once he'd recreated the Chaos Heart.
Recreate the Chaos Heart he did. Timpani, now a Pixl called Tippi, guided a hero called Mario to Flipside, where Merlon initiated his task to track down the eight Pure Hearts and stop The Void. At this point, there was no way to destroy the Chaos Heart for good, but as long as Amtakan was sealed, I supposed that wouldn't be a problem.
Mario soon met with his friends Princess Peach and Bowser, the princess and monster king that Count Bleck had used to create the Chaos Heart. When the count sent Mario's own brother, Luigi, against the heroes, he had been hypnotized under the name "Mr. L". I knew seeing his own brother like this would hurt Mario, so I clouded his judgment, making him unable to recognize that the minion he faced was his own brother.
I helped the heroes along in various other ways. Once Dimentio emerged from the dead, I influenced O'Chunks to grab the red Pure Heart from its pillar, knowing that Dimentio would steal the others. I added sections to the Light Prognosticus to give them advice as they went along. I stopped the heroes from sliding down into lava after they were tricked by Morris, posing as me. And I caused an avalanche that allowed them to fall into the snow and find the final Pure Heart. I knew Amtakan was there, but I could do nothing to stop Dimentio from tricking the heroes into freeing him. This made me very, very suspicious. Who was Dimentio, and how did he know about Amtakan?
When the heroes finally gathered the Pure Hearts again and confronted Dimentio, the jester admitted his secret. He was Blumiere's father, thus making him Ganter! When Blumeire had obliterated his dimension, Ganter had managed to escape with his life, but he had lost his memory, save for a notion about using power and a man named Count Bleck. This is why he had plotted to steal the Chaos Heart. After his death, his memory had been reactivated, allowing him to escape from The Underwhere and carry out his plan of revenge.
Amtakan was out again, and Dimentio had stolen the Light Prognosticus I had used to give the heroes more instructions. Now, I had no choice. I entered Mario's mind, using my old name Maia, along with another spell to try and protect them from the numerous questions that would arise if they knew I was Novelle. I guided them to find the five Breaker Orbs to keep them safe now that Amtakan was out and about. Finally, I brought them to myself.
"Now, with me released and the Breaker Orbs secured," Novelle finished, "we can move to destroy the Chaos Heart and defeat Amtakan once and for all."
There was a long pause before our heroes spoke. "That was a great story," offered Mario. "Now we know the truth behind this whole thing. Amtakan was behind it from the start."
"That's where B-A Omega and H-X Alpha came from," noted Nastasia. "They were Amtakan's minions Bante and Hanetul. Wretcha and the Netherclops must have rebuilt them into the cyborg-robots they are today."
"I guess Dimentio must have convinced Morris to join his side," Mimi realized. "If he didn't have any hard feelings toward Novelle..."
"And that's why Dimentio wanted Blumiere and Timpani seperate," continued Peach. "Their blood is what Dimentio said would 'support' the Dark Prognosticus."
"Oh, the Dark Prognosticus," exclaimed Tippi. "We finally know who wrote it. It was Amtakan."
Novelle stared at the silent Blumiere. "I'm incredibly sorry, Blumiere, for making you go insane and recreating the Chaos Heart. You can't imagine how apologetic I am for that. But I hope you realize that's what I had to do."
Blumiere nodded. "Yes, I understand, Novelle. I'm glad it turned out the way it did, if that was truly the only way the universes could be saved from utter destruction."
The messenger smiled. "Thanks, Blumiere. I'm glad you're not angry."
"So..." Luigi began. "We still don't know what the Tribe of Darkness's emblem is supposed to represent? Unless it's referring to their true leader...Amtakan, but how does that represent him?"
Novelle shook her head. "I still don't know how that symbol represents him. The heart is understandable, since it probably represents the Chaos Heart, but I have no idea what the rest of the symbol stands for."
"So now we have you and the Breaker Orbs..." posed Tippi. "Now we can go to stop Amtakan?"
"Yes. We must destroy him in order for the Dark Prognosticus to be defeated. As far as I know, he shouldn't have any more Prognos, but...there's always the chance that Dimentio donated some of his blood. We must be on the lookout."
"Speaking of which," posed Mario, "where is the Dark Prognosticus, anyway? The last anyone saw it was at Castle Bleck."
A voice sprang from thin air. "The last you saw it was at Castle Bleck, yes, but I have seen it much more recently." A figure flipped into the area, and our heroes instantly recognized it as Amtakan.
"Amtakan!" Novelle exclaimed, her eyes huge. "What are you doing here?!"
"Just making a quick check at your prison to make sure you haven't escaped. It looks like I was too late."
"You...you've seen the Dark Prognosticus?" Luigi stammered.
"Indeed. Ganter had it in his possession when he took over Blumiere's castle, and when he released me, it was transferred to me." The Dark Prognosticus flipped in next to the villain. "I also took the Light Prognosticus from Ganter's castle." The Light Prognosticus flipped in on Amtakan's other side. "Two prophetic books, each vying to become the truth of the universe." Amtakan held both of the books in his six-fingered hands, weighing them. "In order to destroy this Light Prognosticus, I'd have to kill you, Maia."
Novelle gulped. "We...the heroes and I won't let that happen."
"You speak with confidence, Maia...just like your hopelessly encouraging sermons. Didn't it ever occur to you that love was not the only way? It is the wrong way. To love is to be weak."
Amtakan's adversary lowered her eyes. "I know that isn't true, Amtakan. You've been hopelessly misguided. Look at what you've become..."
"I have become a stronger person with a vision for this existence. This is not a bad thing, Maia."
"It depends on what that vision is. You've become a cruel, heartless monster. What happened to the kind, confident student I once knew? Your isolation is what brought about your demise, not love. Love does not cause destruction."
"Did Blumiere not cause destruction because of love? If you hadn't set Blumiere and Timpani up, their love would not have almost caused the end of all worlds I so desired."
"That...that was false love. There are several kinds of love, Amtakan! Count Bleck's blinding love for Timpani was misfounded. True love always brings positive! It always brings good! See where your lack of emotion has led you, Amtakan. It led you into being imprisoned in ice for more than a thousand years."
"That does not matter, Maia." Amtakan flipped out the two books. "If I kill these minions, like Ganter and Wretcha arranged, I will be able to reactivate the Chaos Heart again. First, however, these Breaker Orbs must be destroyed. I have a very special someone in mind who is up to this task." Amtakan flipped out.
"What's 'ee doin'?" questioned O'Chunks after a moment of silence.
As soon as he finished speaking, an earthquake rattled the building. "Oh!" Novelle hurried for the exit. "Quickly! Follow me!" Our heroes dashed out of the cabin just as a gigantic monster smashed it in. "Hexagdra! They must have revived it, too, just like they did with Alpha and Omega!"
The dragon's six heads roared, staring menacingly at the group of heroes. "How do we beat it?" exclaimed Blumiere.
"Oh! I know!" offered Luigi. "We'll push it into the ice crater...again!"
"The ice crater?" Mimi questioned.
"Yeah! Novelle said that Amtakan imprisoned her in the same building she was in, right? And that was right next to the ice crater, so this must be it! Look!" Luigi pointed, and our heroes could clearly see a large, sharp depression in the snow-covered ground.
"You're right, Luigi." Novelle smiled. "And this time, I'll have eight heroes to help me do it."
BOSS
Hexagdra
"Let me at it with some Rubees!" Mimi cheered, sending a torrent of stones at the dragon's body. Each Rubee moved the monster's body slightly, but not enough to cause any lasting damage.
"Let's go together." Novelle moved to Mimi's side and contributed with her own magic blasts. "Go around and distract it!" she shouted to the others. "If you knock out some of the heads, it'll be safer to use large attacks and move it faster."
"Got it!" O'Chunks propelled himself into the air and smashed the the orange hexagon head. In retaliation, the two neighboring heads dove for O'Chunks, fangs bared. O'Chunks jumped out of the way just in time for Mario to smash both of the lowered heads with his hammer.
The yellow star-shaped head roared, opening its mouth to the sky. Large stars began raining from above, hitting several of our heroes. "How do we get rid of these?" asked Luigi.
"I don't know, but maybe we can use them against it!" Peach deflected one of the projectiles with her parasol, sending it flying into the red prism head.
The star head stopped its assault. "I'll go in and attack that one!" Mimi offered, since she and Novelle were closest to this side of the dragon.
"OK," approved Novelle. "Be careful!"
Mimi hovered above the star head, surrounded her body with Rubees, and dropped them all directly onto the head. The star head snapped upward, but Mimi swerved out of the way and attacked it with another Rubee barrage. This put the head out of commission. "One down!" she called to the others.
"And five to go," reported Nastasia. She picked up another fallen star and hurled it for the blue diamond head, which had already been harmed by Mario's hammer.
All five of Hexagdra's remaining heads roared again. "This is starting to remind me of the Monster Blooper," Mario commented.
"Dude! You still remember that?" Mario looked at his grinning brother.
"Yeah. It feels like so long ago." The hero jumped over an assault by the brown rectangle head and Ground Pounded directly on it.
The dragon-like head lowered itself to our heroes' plane and breathed a wave of fire. "HEY!" Bowser exclaimed. "I'm the ONLY guy around here who can do that, OK?" Bowser shot more fire at the head, but this gave the hexagon head an opportunity to strike. "Yow!" the Koopa king exclaimed.
"We have to be careful when attacking it," called Novelle. "Another head will try to attack you!"
"This blue head's pretty weakened," noted Mario. "Let's go for it, bro!"
"You got it, Mario!" The Mario brothers dashed for the diamond head. Mario distracted it while Luigi charged his Super Jump, catching it from below and then landing on it again as he fell back down. The blue head was defeated. "Hey, we did it!" Luigi celebrated, only to utter "Whoa!" and flip around as the hexagon head snapped for him.
Four heads remained: the brown rectangle, the red prism, the green dragon, and the orange hexagon. "We should take down that brown one," Novelle suggested. "It'll be safer if we attack from the outside and work our way in." The messenger aimed a magic beam for the brown head, striking it exactly.
"I'll go for that one." Blumiere readied his own energy beam and attacked the brown head. It roared, coming down on Blumiere.
"Blumiere!" Tippi rushed for her husband.
"I'm all right, Timpani. Let me finish it." While the head was upright again, the former villain slammed into it with his energy charge, knocking it out for good.
"Three heads left!" Mimi rushed for the red prism, dodging the dragon on the way, and nailed it with a wave of Rubees. It wasn't enough to defeat it, however. The dragon head assaulted Mimi with a fire blast. "Aaaahhh!" Mimi swooped to the ground, injured.
"Run, Mimi," urged Novelle. The messenger slammed her wand into the prism head, defeating it. Only the dragon and hexagon heads remained. All the while, Novelle's continued efforts had moved Hexagdra quite a distance toward the ice crater. "Go for the orange one," Novelle pointed. "I think then it'll be safe enough to focus on getting it into the crater."
The orange hexagonal head roared, traveling in a large circle to hit our heroes. "Get it as it comes!" Mario commanded. Our heroes rushed for it as it went past them, contributing with stomps and whatever else they had. As the head retreated and spewed a ray of energy toward them, Blumiere charged for it and defeated it with a slam of his staff.
"It's pretty safe now!" announced Novelle. "Come over here, everyone! We'll push it in." Our heroes rushed to Novelle's side, putting Hexagdra between them and the crater. The only head that remained was the green dragon. As our heroes attacked the body with everything they had, the dragon prepared for another fiery volley. "Run out of the way!"
Our heroes avoided the dragon's fire blast, then continued their pushing job. The dragon was inches away from the crater's edge. Finally, after another misaimed snap, our heroes shoved Hexagdra into the crater once again. The monster roared once again as its body tumbled into the crater for the second time. Novelle didn't look at the dragon as it fell, but our heroes observed the carnage, never having seen it in person.
"There we are," finished Tippi. "We defeated it."
Novelle smiled as our heroes turned in her direction. "Thank you, heroes. You sure do well when you're together."
"Novelle..." Mario approached the person he, until now, knew as nothing but a voice named Maia. "It's amazing what you've been through. You were with the Ancients even before they were the Ancients. Your story really showed how brave you are...and heroic."
"Heroic?" The messenger laughed a little. "You might be right. The Light Prognosticus said there would be nine heroes, right?" She gave Mario a wink.
"Nine heroes..." Tippi thought this over. "All eight of us are together, so does that mean you're the ninth?"
"Of course. I wrote it, didn't I? Well, of course, I had a little help." Novelle folded her arms behind her back. "Now, we go back to Flipside. I'll describe in detail the plan we should take to defeat Amtakan once we consult with Merlon."
"Sounds good," agreed Mario. "Let's go, and bring our final hero with us."
-END OF CHAPTER-
All nine heroes prophecied by the Light Prognosticus have finally come together. After learning Maia's identity and having Novelle, her new name, join the group, our heroes are ready to defeat Amtakan and stop the Chaos Heart once and for all. They have learned an incredible amount of information regarding this villain and the entire backstory of their adventure - but there are still some questions that need answers. The threats have risen as Amtakan becomes the new villain of the adventure. With both Prognosticuses in his hands, he may be the most powerful villain Mario has ever encountered...
-
"So...now, either you're gonna kill Maia, or she'll kill you. Right?" posed Mortcha.
"That is correct. As you're aware, minions, the only way to reach this castle is through the portal in Cybertetra. There is a possibility that she could help the heroes find where it is, but Cybertetra itself will likely bring about the end of the heroes before they can reach it. I will explain my backup plans to you all if we find they indeed managed to locate the portal."
"Sounds like a solid plan," congratulated B-A Omega. "A solid, logical plan."
"Could some of us go and make things even worse for them?" asked the Netherclops. "You know, rough those puppies up a bit."
"I was just getting to that. Netherclops, I haven't given you a task as of late, so I want you and the robots to go to Cybertetra and do some scouting. If you spot the heroes, destroy them. That is an order."
"Hey, that's cool, Amtakan. I guess I'll be on my way." The Netherclops disappeared.
"Let's go, swizzle stick in crime!" offered H-X Alpha as he and Omega flipped out.
"Those heroes defeated Hexagdra..." Margaret mused. "They're pretty strong, you know. How do you know they won't make it to this castle?"
Amtakan thought. "You have nothing to worry about, Margaret. Even if they find this castle, and even if they make it through and reach this very room...they still will not be able to succeed. It is all in my plan. You don't need to concern yourself with it."
"OK." Margaret hung for a while, expecting Amtakan to say something else. "Oh, well, I guess I'd better get going." She flipped out. I never get used to these unceremonious meeting ends. Amtakan really obliterated emotion from his soul.
The fully assembled nine heroes - Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, O'Chunks, Mimi, Nastasia, Blumiere, and Novelle - stepped out of the dark blue door atop Flipside Tower. Making their way to the elevator, they met Merlon waiting for them. "Oh ho, I see you've returned. And with..." He eyed Novelle more closely. "Is this Maia?"
"Yes, that's her..." answered Tippi. "Her new name is Novelle, actually."
"Novelle? So this is the...Novelle you mentioned?" Merlon closed his eyes. "I'm sure there's a story to be told here."
"There is, actually." Novelle displayed her characteristic smile. "I'm Maia. It's a very long story, but basically, I knew Amtakan a long time ago." Novelle continued, giving Merlon a hyper-condensed version of the story she'd related to our heroes. "And now all that remains is for us to stop Amtakan so the Dark Prognosticus will finally be rendered null and void."
Merlon shook his head. "Simply amazing. We have all nine heroes now. And only one task remains."
"That's right." Novelle shifted. "Here's what we have to do. The way to get into Amtakan's headquarters is very well hidden. I'll modify the purple door to take us to wherever the entrance is. Once we find it, we'll return, and I'll be able to modify the black door on Flopside Tower to lead us straight to the HQ. Once we get in, we simply have to find Amtakan and...destroy him." The sides of her mouth fell slightly.
"What's wrong?" Luigi inquired.
"Oh, nothing. Well...you know, I'm still kind of upset that we have to kill him."
"That's understandable, my dear," assured Merlon. "Just set your mind to the task. That's what you've been helping our heroes to do the entire time, isn't it?"
She smiled again. "Yeah, that's true." Novelle turned to the heroes. "So, you have stockpiles, don't you? This'll be a venture into the unknown."
"Yes," Mario responded. "We bought a lot of items and such before we entered the blue door, but we never ended up using them."
"That's good. All right, I guess we can just go now. See you, Merlon."
Merlon bade our heroes farewell again as they ascended Flipside Tower. Novelle prepared the violet door in person. "So we just have to look for a portal or something?" asked Peach.
"Yes. Tippi and I can probably sense where it is, so all we have to do is search. Ready, heroes?"
"We're ready," answered Mario.
"OK. Let's go. And stop Amtakan."
-
Reading scores again!
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Thanks. I just started 7-1 yesterday, so it should be ready soon. Sonic 2006 sort of voided any writing opportunities I might have had over Christmas break. :P
-
100TH REPLY! Party or something.
Into the violet door our nine heroes traveled, unsure of what to expect. They now had almost all of the answers they needed, but one more task still awaited them. They were now faced with the assignment of finding the entrance to Amtakan's lair and defeating the evil wizard. Where would their adventures take them next? Our heroes were uncertain, and at the same time, quite comfortable...
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A circle was drawn.
Extending from this circle were many spiraling points. Two large lines were drawn down the middle as circular, oval, irregular, and all sorts of other shapes appeared in the background. The large object in the center was colored with a glowing orange cloud as the entire background was filled with a spacey black, accenting the beautifully-colored galaxies. Lights were dotted everywhere you could look, accompanied by some dinging sound effects. The purple door was drawn into existence, and our nine heroes walked into outer space.
"Outer space..." Tippi mused. "Outer-oh! Mario!" Tippi rushed to Mario's side, but Mario was in perfect, breathing condition.
"It's fine," assured Novelle. "We can breath here. I recognize this place. It's called Cybertetra, one of Amtakan's testing areas. This would be a great place to hide a portal...which I guess isn't so great for us."
"You can sense it, right, Tippi?" asked Bowser.
Tippi felt. "Yes, I can feel it. It's pretty far away from here, I think...but there's so many other things in this place that I can feel, so it's hard to tell exactly."
"That's what happened when we went after the second orb," recalled Luigi. "So...we just get started, or what?"
"I suppose." Novelle floated ahead. "I'll tell you everything I know about this area, why not."
Our heroes followed the messenger, space-swimming past asteroids and a few enemies. "I'm all ears," assured Nastasia.
"OK." Novelle began her description. "First of all, Cybertetra is divided into four quadrants: Yxab, Genentstat, Slraburlds, and Bawisisug. We're in Yxab right now, and I suppose we'll travel through all of the others before we find the portal."
"Who came up with these names?" asked Mimi.
"Um...well, I guess it had to have been Amtakan and his minions."
"I'll bet it was Wretcha," pointed Peach.
"Good point." She paused. "Anyway, Yxab is this spacey place. Genentstat is this really complex maze. Slraburlds is sort of...technological, but it's basically outer space, too."
"What about Bawisisug?" questioned Blumiere.
"Bawisisug...well, I've never seen it. I don't really know what's there."
"I see. Well, we've done plenty of venturing into the unknown, so we'll be fine."
Novelle smiled. "Yeah. I know you will."
As our heroes pushed themselves forward into the expanse of space, a bright light suddenly flared up in the distance in front of them. "What is that?" Peach pointed at the light. It shone with a red-orange radiance.
"It's growing!" warned Mario.
"Either that, or...it's getting closer to us!" Novelle peered into the distance. "Everyone, move to the side! Fast!" Our heroes dodged the incoming object. As it passed, they could tell that it was a humongous flaming meteorite.
"We're under attack!" Tippi exclaimed as more flaming projectiles appeared in the distance.
"No!" Mario smashed through one of the rocks with his hammer. "Where are they coming from?"
"Somewhere off in the distance," reported Novelle. "I can't tell exactly, but I'll bet Amtakan ordered his minions to scout the area. We need to make it into Genentstat as soon as possible. I think we'll be able to lose them in the maze."
"Where's the entrance?" Luigi questioned.
"It shouldn't be too far." Tippi sensed. "I can sense something over to the left. It's probably the portal to Genentstat!"
"Whoa!" O'Chunks narrowly missed a gigantic meteorite. "Let's get outta 'ere, then!"
Our heroes pushed for the hard left as forcefully as they could, dodging the weapons on their way. As Tippi's sense increased, the meteorite hail abruptly halted. "Oh, what have we here?" Our heroes turned to the voice. B-A Omega and H-X Alpha were hovering a few yards away from our heroes, but a strange cyclops was also with them. That must be the Netherclops! Mario thought as he observed the figure.
"Yeah, Novie here probably told you everything, right?" Omega demanded. "Looks like you beat one villain only to be assaulted by another. Why don't you just give up already? The odds are stacked way against you."
"You're the Netherclops, aren't you?" pointed Luigi.
"Why, yes, I am." The minion did a strange dance. "Aren't you all just charmed to meet me in person?"
"Get out of our faces." Novelle gritted her teeth.
"Oh, you're as fiesty as ever, Novie. But I like that in a girl, you know?"
Novelle ditched her bared teeth in favor of a simple frown. "I think you're as filled with perverted love as ever."
"O MAH GOSH DID U HEAR TAHT?1!!!!?!!??? OMG LOL AN INSULT!!!1!!11! OMG WTH W3 AERNT GONG 2 LET IT SLIED THES TIEM!111!! LOL WTH U LADY GO 2 UR ROM AND WATE FOR UR SPANKNG!!1!!!11! OMG LOL"
"You already said that, Alpha," offered the larger robot. "Can't you come up with something more original?"
"Really? OK..." The robot "cleared his throat". "You interdimensional FISH STICK! We're going to dip you in ketchup and then take a bite out of you and then dip you in tartar sauce and then take another bite out of you and then throw you back in the lake where you'll eventually dissolve as your individual atoms are carried away by dihydrogen monoxide to be deposited into the ocean where'll they'll become food for some crustacean or something."
The messenger closed her eyes. "Whatever you want, we're not going to let you stop us. Do you want to fight? Is that it?"
"I don't want to fight," the Netherclops began. "Fighting is so pre-modern! How is killing people supposed to solve the world's problems? Violence is not the answer. In today's society, we should realize that harming others solves nothing. So we won't fight you. We'll just destroy you instead!"
"Say goodbye, heroes!" B-A Omega fired a laser for Mario while the Netherclops conjured more meteorites with his flower-staff.
"Come on!" urged Novelle, breaking a meteor with magic. "We can't fight them. We're vulnerable here. I think we can make it to Genentstat before they do any serious damage!"
Resisting the urge to fight, our heroes followed Novelle. "You aren't getting away THAT easily, blubberbots!" H-X Alpha aimed his exhaust vent in our heroes' direction, attacking them with a fiery blast.
"There it is!" Tippi exclaimed. A circular portal glowed white in front of them. "Let's do it!"
"Not so fast!" The small robot utilized his exhaust vent again, this time using it as a vaccuum, generating an air current that pulled our heroes away from the shining portal.
"What do we do?" Blumiere asked hurriedly.
"I think I have a plan." Novelle moved slightly toward Alpha. "Go for it, heroes!" She aimed a blast of magic slightly to the left of Alpha. Just as she predicted, Alpha misinterpreted the move as a direct attack and moved right into it. This shocked him long enough to disable his maneuver. Novelle and the others jumped through the portal just in time, the Netherclops and the two robots following.
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
I forgot to put up Chapter 7-2 when I finished it, so here's 7-3 as well. Enjoy.
Our heroes appeared at the entrance to Genentstat, a small room with a slight uprise and a single door at the end. The environment reminded our heroes of the Whoa Zone; technological ground matter formed the maze itself, and computerized patterns appeared in the background, ranging from complex mathematical equations and graphs to ones and zeroes. However, this maze had a negative tone; the ground was light green against a black backdrop. The doors were just outlines of cyan. Our heroes didn't have time to observe the techno-scenery for long, however, because Amtakan's three minions were still after them. As they appeared from the portal, our heroes rushed into the door, hoping to get the minions lost in the maze.
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Our heroes appeared in another, somewhat larger room. There was another door to their right, and ceiling passages extended above these doors. Mario looked into the ceiling vents. "There's upside-down doors way up there," he observed. "Looks like we'll encounter some gravity-switching."
"All the better to slow you down!" Omega extended his arm in our heroes' direction, charging a laser.
"We can't try to fight them in such an enclosed space," Novelle urged. "Let's run for it." Our heroes ducked into the nearby door, emerging in a longer hallway. There was a door on the ceiling about halfway through that featured a computerized white lock, and another locked rightside-up door at the end. Below the closer door was a hole in the floor. "We need keys to open those doors," Tippi recapped quickly. "And we probably have to go down there. Let's hurry before they get in here and see us!"
Our heroes jumped into the pit, landing at the entrance to a short tunnel that descended through the ground and split into two sections, each with a normal door and an upside-down one right above it. "Let's go to the left," Mario ordered, not having enough time to think things over. Our heroes entered the door on the left, confronted with a large maze.
"This seems like a good place to lose those guys," suggested Luigi. "They might have gone in the other door at that." He walked down the closest passage.
The group navigated the labyrinth, defeating some enemies on the way, until they reached another open area with an upside-down door and a block with an arrow pointing up and down. "Let make make one guess." Nastasia hit the block, flipping upside down and "falling" to the ceiling. The others reversed their gravity as well and entered the door, coming out from the door above the entrance to the maze. The other upside-down door in this area was just ahead, so our heroes entered it.
A new, larger room confronted our heroes. After making use of another gravity-reversing block to put them in normal position, they observed five floating blocks beyond a door. "What are those for?" inquired Peach.
"Well, we don't have time to find out," pointed Blumiere, but Mario had thought of something.
"Let me flip." Mario flipped into 3D. He could see that the first and fourth blocks were positioned slightly to the right of the others. He flipped back to two dimensions. "The first and fourth ones are a bit to the right. It might be-"
"You won't get away this time!" The Netherclops had appeared at the other end of the room, followed by H-X Alpha and B-A Omega.
"Quick! I think I know what to do!" Mario dashed into the door, quickly followed by the others. Our heroes came out in a room with two side-by-side doors. The lead hero guided the others through the right door, and when an identical room appeared, shifted to the left, following the blocks' pattern. The heroes finally escaped into another small room with a treasure chest and a pipe extending down from the ceiling.
"Let's get that chest," Luigi breathed. Mario opened the chest, uncovering a key.
"Here's a key," the hero exclaimed. "Let's take this pipe." Our heroes jumped into the vertical pipe, emerging from another downward pipe and falling to the floor of the room they'd entered the door maze from. Mario returned to the room's left, utilized the gravity switcher, and entered the door with the others. They emerged back in the tunnel area. "I guess we have to unlock the upside-down door."
Our heroes returned to the hallway they'd entered this area from and unlocked the door. They emerged on a short platform, upside-down. "Falling" to the ground, they observed two more doors. "I think I might know where these doors lead." Mario led the others through the first door they reached. When they emerged, his suspicions were confirmed. "Yeah, we're above the room with those two passages in the ceiling. We're on the right side." A short space next to them contained a rightside-up door and a flipper block, so our heroes quickly switched their gravity and entered the door. The group came out in another small room with nothing but another chest. Mario unlatched it and grabbed another key. "This'll get us through that door."
"What's on the other side?" Novelle hurried. "I think we should check that one out too."
"I guess. Let's make it quick." Mario and the others exited the door, flipped onto the ceiling, and returned through the upside-down door. As they emerged, however, an unwelcome sight greeted them.
"Missed us?" taunted the Netherclops, waiting directly in front of the door with the robots. "You'll never be able to lose us in this maze."
"Adding weight to that postulate," formulated B-A Omega, "this maze isn't really that complicated, and most of its difficulty arises from the different gadgets and puzzles it contains, rather than a multitude of branching, twisting paths. I think it should be a theorem that you guys can't lose us, shouldn't it?"
"Perhaps." The Netherclops rose his staff, causing a meteor to materialize in mid-air.
"In the door!" Mario blurted before the Netherclops could unleash his attack. Our heroes scrambled into the door, coming out in a mirror version of the previous upside-down area they'd just been in. They flipped their gravity and ran into the door just as the minions entered the area. Mario grabbed the third key from the chest, but he was too late. The three minions were blocking our heroes' exit.
"There's no escape now." H-X Alpha spoke with a smug tone.
Mario took a step backward. The heroes were trapped. B-A Omega drew a line of knives from his arm, set them on fire, and aimed them for our heroes. As they jumped over the onslaught, the Netherclops conjured another meteor. He sent it directly toward our heroes. Mario had time to shout "DUCK!" before the flaming space rock exploded above their heads, slamming them into the ground.
"No...!" Novelle pulled herself up, blocking H-X Alpha's laser shot with her wand. She moved to the small robot's side and slammed it with a burst of energy.
"You annoying pest!" Omega extended spikes from his arms and jumped for the messenger.
While Novelle and Omega were at each other, Mario drew a line of sight from our heroes' position to the door. He turned to the others, speaking as quietly as he could while still allowing them to hear. "I'm going to clear a path to the door. We'll make a break for it." He immediately turned around. "Novelle! Follow us!" He spun his hammer in a wide arc, pushing the remaining Netherclops to the side, and opened a path for all nine heroes to escape through the door.
"Gaah!" Omega followed our heroes into the door, closely succeeded by Alpha and the Netherclops. Our heroes had fallen through the ceiling vent into the initial hub room.
"Whatever's beyond the door, we might be able to lose them again!" Mario guided the other eight heroes back into the hallway with the two locked doors, dodging the minion's attacks, and opened the rightside-up one at the end of the hall. This led them into a tiny room with only another locked door. Mario opened this one as well.
Our heroes entered a new section of the maze that contained several winding passages. "This looks like a good place to get those guys lost!" Luigi observed. "Let's hurry!"
The group sped through the winding tunnels, ignoring or quickly defeating enemies on the way, while doing their best to lose the three attackers. "Let's loop back around here," offered Blumiere, pointing to a section of the maze they'd already traveled through. "They won't expect us to do that."
"Won't that just slow us down?" Peach countered.
"He is right," Novelle explained. "The minions wouldn't expect us to do something like that. I say we should do it." Our heroes had grown accustomed to following the messenger's instructions. Something told them not to question her idea as she led them back around a twisty loop. "Now we should go straight ahead. I think I hear the minions somewhere above us, so going down would be our best option." They descended a short tunnel and continued to the right, guessing and checking their path on the way.
At a certain point, pushing their way ever to the right, our heroes noticed that the scenery had been gradually changing as they worked their way across the maze. The background had ever-so-slightly transformed from pure black to a dull gray, and the technological designs had grown fewer and far between. Our heroes hadn't seen the minions in a while as they walked, the ground also growing lighter and pinker. Finally, our heroes reached the door at the end of this maze. The background and foreground were pure white, with no background decorations in sight, and only a black line with some dull pink internal lines to differentiate the foreground from the beyond. "Well, those minions are long gone," Tippi reflected. "It looks like we finally lost them for good."
Our heroes examined the surrounding scenery. "This place gives me chills for some reason," Luigi observed. "It's so...cold and imposing."
They stood for a few moments before Mario finally spoke. "Well, I guess we'd better move on."
"I feel another portal up ahead," Tippi reported as our heroes entered the door. "It's not too far."
"That's good." Novelle took a few steps forward as she examined the upcoming area. The next room was a moderate-length hallway. Sparking electric pillars, identical in color to the pink ground decorations, were located in precarious spots that blocked our heroes' path unless they could carefully avoid them. Some extended vertically from the floor, others were connected to the ceiling, and still others were oriented horizontally or diagonally.
"Let me see if I can flip to avoid them." Mario flipped into 3D. The electric barriers extended the width of the hallway, making them no easier to evade. The hero returned to 2D. "Nope. They're just as dangerous there."
"Well, this should be easy stuff for us now," assured Mimi. She leaped over the electric fence, easily plopping down on the other side. "You've trained us pretty well, Mario."
Mario shrugged. "Thanks." He followed Mimi across the barriers, performing his latest tutorial for the others to follow. The end of the hallway branched into small upper and lower alcoves, each containing a stoic black-and-pink door. The one on the bottom had an outlined black lock. Our heroes, knowing what this setup meant, entered the door on the top.
This room was slightly more open. A short distance in front of them, an sea of the pink electric sparks resided, seeming to replace more traditional lava. Small platforms floated back and forth across the electricity, and at the far side of the room was a safe ledge with a treasure chest. "Those are some long jumps," Nastasia took note. "Mario, are you sure you can do this? Maybe Luigi should try."
"I never said Luigi shouldn't go." Mario smiled, extending his hand to his brother. Luigi took up his new task, carefully leaping across the platforms, avoiding the floating sparks on the way, and reaching the treasure chest at the other end. After collecting the key, the man in green jumped back across the platforms and rejoined with the others. They returned through the door and unlocked the one below it, allowing them passage to the next area.
They emerged on a short alcove near a ceiling, and after jumping down and falling through a small field of coins, our heroes plunged into a narrow hallway that led to the right. More of the lava-style electricity, electric pillars, and various enemies crowded the hallway, making for some dangerous trekking. Our heroes were hit several times before coming to another door. This one took them to yet another hallway, this one with a much higher ceiling. "What's that door?" Tippi noticed. A door was attached to the wall on the left, its top facing to the right. "Looks like we need to find another one of those gravity blocks." Indeed, another gravity switch lie at the end of this dangerous hallway, flipping our heroes onto the ceiling.
"This still isn't where we want to be." Bowser looked back down the hallway. "There's another gravity switch back over there. That'll probably flip us where we need." Our heroes traveled back to the left, hitting the black block. However, instead of planting our heroes' feet on the wall to the left, it flipped them to the right.
"Waaaah!" Luigi screamed as our heroes were pulled to the right, falling directly in the direction of all the floating hazards they'd made it through. Our heroes were careful to sidestep all the electricity beams as they finally fell into a sideways alcove at the far right. This one contained a direct left-right gravity switch.
"Now all this again." O'Chunks and the others flipped to the left, again pulled through every hazard until they touched down next to the door on the left. Our heroes entered it, emerging in another hallway with normal downward gravity.
"Oh...what's this?" Tippi hovered to the black outline of a circle, located some way to the right of the entrance. "I feel something here. This is the portal to Slraburlds. But it doesn't seem to work..." She moved toward the portal, attempting to enter it, but her body pressed against solid matter. "We have to find some way to activate it."
Novelle seemed disturbed. "Oh..."
"Novelle?" Mario asked. "Is something wrong?"
"I think I can feel the minions somewhere nearby. They must have solved that maze. It might be a little while before they reach this room, but we should get the portal working as soon as we can." She ran to the left side of the room, stopping at a square of nine floor switches. A larger red switch was beyond them. The other heroes joined Novelle as she pressed the red switch. The center switch in the square of nine briefly lit.
"I guess that means we have to hit it?" Mario jumped onto the center switch. It lit again, followed by the on the top-left.
"Oh, I get it," Bowser offered. "We have to follow the pattern." He stomped the center switch and then the top-left one, causing those two plus the bottom one to light. "And it keeps growing."
Once our heroes had successfully memorized and hit the center, top-left, bottom, bottom-right, right, left, top, bottom-left, and top-right switches, the portal's white covering shattered, revealing the shining, working passage. "We must hurry," urged Novelle. "The minions are closer. Let's hope Slraburlds is complicated enough to keep them at bay." Our heroes returned to the circle and leaped into the vortex, awaiting the third sector of Cybertetra.
-END OF CHAPTER-
Our heroes emerged in the third sector, Slraburlds. This area had a black, spacey sky similar to Yxab, but with only far-off stars and no large galaxies. The ground and platforms were made of a transluscent glass that glowed with reflections when our heroes moved. Technological lines, colored various shades of gray, radiated through some of the scenery, following a regular horizontal-vertical-horizontal-vertical wavelike pattern. The entire scene had almost no saturation - it was all black, gray, and white. "This place looks neat," observed Mimi.
"It is," agreed Novelle, "but we shouldn't hang around to admire the view. Those minions are coming. We might be able to fight them off if they attack us here, since we have both gravity and an open space, but I think it would be best to avoid them."
The heroes set off, eager to explore the next section of Cybertetra - while, of course, keeping watch for the minions...
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Slraburlds was a very difficult area to traverse. The glass-like ground had little traction, adding further annoyance to the precariously-positioned platforms and enemies. The ground formed several Castle Bleck/Castle Dimentio-style traps, such as the rising-and-falling ground segments, and new hazards, including rotating spike pillars. "You can heal us, can't you, Novelle?" Nastasia asked after being heavily damaged.
"Yes. I gave you those items in Castle Dimentio, but now that I'm here, I can heal you in a more constant way. I've been doing some of it along the way. Have you guys noticed it?"
Our heroes hadn't felt much of any healing effect, but examining themselves, they found their bodies to be in much better a condition than they would have expected. "I do, now that you mention it," Luigi replied. "You've been doing this while you were here? Thanks, I guess."
"Heh. You don't have to thank me, Luigi. I don't have to worry about saving my power anymore, so I'll just use it to help the heroes, like I've always done. It's the least I can do to help - and as a thank-you."
"We're the ones who should be thanking you," Mario offered. "You saved us so many times."
Novelle gave Mario that alluring smile. "But you heroes are the ones who're doing all the world-saving. I'm just here to assist."
"Us? You saved the world the very first time the Chaos Heart was activated, and you're the reason it was deactivated twice again! You don't give yourself nearly enough credit, Novelle."
The messenger shrugged. "Oh well. Maybe I don't. But who's giving credit to who is a small matter compared to saving the multiverse, isn't it?"
Mario gave Novelle a teasing, smiling stare. "Yeah, that's definitely true."
Luigi spoke from behind Mario. "I do think Tippi deserves more credit. If she didn't bring Mario to Flipside in the first place, the worlds would have been lost."
"Me?!" Tippi whirled toward Luigi. "Well, I suppose, yes, I did contribute a bit...but we really do have Blumiere to thank. He realized his shortcomings before it was too late."
"You give me far too much credit, dear." Blumiere laughed. "But I guess that's what we've been doing this entire time. I really think the heroes should be thanked. They ventured to the worlds and collected the Pure Hearts before The Void could destroy the world."
"We wouldn't have succeeded if it wasn't for Novelle," Mario pointed. He shook his head, smiling. "Now we've gone full circle."
As Mario continued to think about their conversation, Novelle suddenly blared. "MARIO! WATCH OUT!" Mario had barely enough to dodge the incoming energy blast. "The minions! They-"
"I'm sure you missed us that time, didn't you?" Our heroes froze. The Netherclops descended in front of them. "The robots and I have decided to attack you seperately. Now that you're in a good fighting environment, we're not going to take our chances. So just sit still, heroes. You won't live as long, but it'll be more comfortable."
"You don't have to fight us, you know," accused Peach. "You could just stay out of our way, and not suffer the humiliation of displeasing Amtakan."
"Just stay out of our path, Netherclops," added Nastasia.
"Oh, why do you even have to call me Netherclops? It's such a negative name. Just call me Cuddlemuffins, OK?"
"...Cuddlemuffins?" Nastasia's face twisted into a confused scowl.
"Yes. It's much more appropriate and has a nicer tone, wouldn't you say?"
Novelle stepped in front of the heroes, holding her arms to either side. She looked menacingly at the minion. "If you're going to fight us, get on with it instead of dragging this out."
The Netherclops tilted downward. "How dare you accuse me? You should know not to play so mean."
"Stop stalling," Luigi demanded. "Attack us fair and square. We dare you!"
"Oh, is that so? I guess I have no choice, then. Sob. NOW YOU'LL ALL FEEL THE WRATH OF CUDDLEMUFFINS!"
MINIBOSS
The Netherclops
The Netherclops immediately sprang into action, holding his rose-like staff straight in the air. It produced a multicolored beam that shot straight into the air. "Watch out from above!" Novelle warned. Our heroes looked above, observing several laser beams descending directly for them. They moved to the nearest safe spot as the lasers hailed from above, slamming into the ground at random locations.
"Ho ho ho! Let's see how you do against this." The magician moved to the side and maneuvered his wand in a circle, creating a semi-transparent ball of teal energy. "Let's play with the Bouncing Bubble!" The ball shot into the air and crashed into the ground, bouncing into the sky again.
"Quick! While he's overly obsessed with his toy!" Mario and Luigi went in for the attack.
"Oh, you didn't think I'd be distracted by something that's not a pretty girl that easily, did you?" The Netherclops blasted Mario away with a beam from his wand. He went for Luigi as well, but the green plumber had used the delay to charge his power and spring into the air faster than the minion could aim. Luigi ground-pounded directly on the Netherclops' giant eye.
"How do you like that, huh?"
"OWW! No! Not my eye! That's my weak spot!"
"Who would've guessed?" Bowser came with his spinning shell, nailing the Netherclops with his spikes.
"Agh! You cheapskates!" The Netherclops rose into the air and assaulted our heroes with crazily fired lasers.
"Mario!" Peach pulled Mario away from the range of a laser. "You're all right, aren't you?"
"He's fine," Novelle assured. "With my protection, you guys can take more of a beating than normal, but still, be careful. These enemies are powerful."
"'Ow do we attack 'im?" O'Chunks inquired.
"I can get him." Novelle moved away from Mario and Peach, flying up to the Netherclops's level. "Take this!" The messenger bounced one of the minion's lasers back at him.
"You guys just keep pulling out all the tricks, don't you? I guess I'll have to come up with some of my own." The Netherclops rose his staff, enclosing the arena in a white line. He drew several more vertical and horizontal lines, dividing it into sixteen square segments that were bathed over in a transluscent red. A darker red number appeared on each compartment, varying from 3 to 10. At another flick of the Netherclops's staff, the numbers began counting down one by one. The first boxes to hit 0 exploded.
"We have to stay where it's safe!" Mario rushed toward an area that had just exploded, careful to avoid the box to his right, one second away from detonation.
"Ho HO! Having a bit of trouble avoiding my completely awesome and clever attack?" Just as the box attack faded, the Netherclops surrounded himself in an energy cloak and dove for the ground like a shooting star. He smashed into the ground, shattering a large portion of it. The glass pieces flew away as if not under the influence of gravity, creating hazards for our heroes.
"Aaahg!" Luigi fell to the ground, injured by a glass shard.
The Netherclops went for Luigi, only to be blocked by a magic blast from Blumiere. "Attacking a man while he's down? Who's playing mean now?"
Enraged, the Netherclops aimed for Blumiere, who swung his staff toward the minion. The Netherclops countered the maneuver with his own staff, initiating a duel between the two. "Now's a good time to get him," Mario observed from below. "Luigi, let him have it with your Super Jump!"
Luigi nodded, creeping below the Netherclops and charging him with the powerful jump. The minion turned to attack Luigi, opening his backside to attack from Blumiere's charging maneuver. At the same time, Mimi nailed him with a torrent of Rubees. "Gaaaaah! You guys are better than I thought."
"That's what everyone says," Tippi explained.
"Shut up! You won't be able to stand up to this!" The Netherclops spun in a wide circle, creating a torrent of glowing pink energy. "Now you have it, 'heroes'!" He sent the tornado whirling around the area. Some of our heroes had been inside the tornado's range when it was created, and others outside it, so each one had to perform a different kind of dodging tactic to escape. The glass crater in the center certainly didn't help things.
"Nooo!" Peach screamed as the minion's laser blasted her into the center. She struggled to stand up in the sharp glass crater, reminiscent of the giant ice crater they'd just visited. The Netherclops took the situation to his advantage, charging for Peach while readying his magical staff.
"Peach!" Mario swiftly grabbed his princess's hand and pulled her out of the glass crater. "You're going to pay for this, Netherclops!" Mario stomped the villain's giant eye while Peach attacked with her parasol.
"You annoyances." The minion gathered energy and blasted Mario and Peach away. "See how you all like this, too!" He unleashed the sky-high laser beams again, in more numbers this time. Our heroes were hit again.
"We're getting low," exclaimed Luigi. "We've got some Ultra Shakes, right?"
"Yeah, but Mario has them." Novelle looked over at Mario and Peach. "Oh, no! He's going for them!"
"Stop that cyclops!" O'Chunks charged for the minion with all the speed he could. Luigi, Mimi, Nastasia, Bowser, Blumiere, and Novelle followed.
The burly O'Chunks managed to dent the Netherclops from behind before the minion could reach the downed Mario and Peach, causing the Netherclops to stumble slightly. Bowser used this as an opening to douse him in a stream of fire. "And this time I don't need to feel bad about it!"
"What's with the dogpile on the nice guy, huh?" But the Netherclops was too late. Nastasia and Luigi attacked him from the front while Blumiere and Novelle swung around from the rear and hit him with magical attacks. "Ugh...GAAAAAHHHH!" The Netherclops gathered his staff's power. He thrust the rod into the ground, creating a shockwave that bowled over our tightly concentrated heroes, knocking them flat onto their backs.
"We...almost...had him..." Luigi groaned.
Novelle charged. She took up a mad dash for the Netherclops, attacking him with her wand to defend the others. The two initiated a duel similar to what Blumiere had done. "Why do you bother?" the minion dared. "Your little friends are down and out."
"Down, but not out!" Novelle flipped over an energy assault and countered by issuing a fiery beam to her enemy's eye. The Netherclops responded by rising into the air and attacking Novelle with multiple energy blasts. "Gyaaaahhhh!" Novelle screamed as she went in for the kill, attacking the Netherclops with everything she had. A frantic, crazed fight broke out, with energy and magic flying in all directions.
"You think you've almost got me? Think again. With fewer of you, my task will be easier." The Netherclops descended toward the other heroes.
Mario knew the situation was desperate. The Netherclops's attacks were powerful enough to cause large amounts of damage, even with Novelle's protection. He had to distract the Netherclops and get him to stop attacking somehow. But how could he do that? Oh, you didn't think I'd be distracted by something that's not a pretty girl that easily, did you? The minion's earlier words came back in Mario's mind. That's it! He turned to the princess beside him. "Act injured!"
"You got it." Peach slowly stood up, pretending to be hurt more than she actually was, while Mario rushed toward the others. "Owww! Netherclops, why are you so mean?"
The minion looked directly at Peach. "Why, I'm not mean. I'm just carrying out my orders."
"But why do you have to hurt us while you do it? That's not fair."
"Not fair? What have you guys been doing to-" That was when he was hit. "Aah! You little-" It was too late. All of the others were upon him, attacking with everything they had.
"Time to be put in your place!" Luigi nailed the minion multiple times.
After a final head stomp from Mario, the Netherclops admitted defeat at last. "Hoo...hah...you guys are strong, that's for sure. And girls."
The lead hero approached the minion. "You deserved every bit of it. Now, are Alpha and Omega here too?"
The Netherclops gathered himself. "Yes, they're most certainly here. We'll get you all. I'll meet back up with them, and we'll destroy all of you! Totally annihilate all of you guys! And girls." The Netherclops waved his staff, creating a dark, circular field that enveloped him. It contracted, sending out a pink, short-lived energy pulse similar to Dimentio's exit.
"We need Shroom Shakes, don't we?" Mario pulled out one of his Ultra shakes. "Here we go, everyone." He used the item, restoring our heroes to health.
"That was tough," Peach exhaled. "I wonder what new...advancements Alpha and Omega have made. More advancements that they say will logically defeat us but never do."
"They have a very different sort of lack of love than the Netherclops, don't they," agreed Luigi. "Or in his case, lack of true love." Novelle gave Luigi a smile.
"Villains just never have a clear focus, do they," Mario acknowledged. "Well, I guess some do. Like...Amtakan."
"His goal is to obliterate love," Blumiere recalled. "And of course, we need to make sure that doesn't happen."
"HEY!" Bowser shouted. "I have a focus! Princess Peach! And you guys call me a villain for it."
"Perhaps that's why, Bowser," Novelle pointed.
"What!? Why, you-"
"We don't have to go much longer." Peach pointed to the distance. Another shining portal was visible.
Our heroes approached it. "You don't know anything about Bawisisug, do you, Novelle?" Mario confirmed.
"Nope. I've never seen it. We'll just have to discover it for ourselves."
"All right, then." The lead hero looked back toward the others. They'd grown and shrank in number so many times, and now were the fully assembled nine. "Are we ready?"
"I know I'm ready," Novelle assured. "We can take care of it. We're the heroes of prophecy."
"That's true. All right. Let's go." Mario jumped into the portal, followed by Luigi, Peach, Bowser, O'Chunks, Mimi, Nastasia, Blumiere, and Novelle.
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
Blackness and silence enveloped our heroes. Then, a line was drawn. A circular green shape flashed in the distance for an instant, accompanied by a sound effect, and then disappeared. More polygonal shapes appeared in the foreground, blinking in and out. Our heroes felt very surreal. "Are those platforms?" Mario asked. He looked down at his feet, which were resting on the red outline of what was apparently one of the very few stable platforms in this area. He jumped onto a flashing yellow rectangle. As soon as it faded away, the hero fell to the ground. "These are serious platform antics, people. We'll need to be careful."
"All right," Novelle agreed. "I can sense the last portal that'll take us to Amtakan's hideout. We'll be approaching it any time now."
"That's good." Mario set off across the multitude of shapes, beginning his last venture within the confines of Cybertetra...
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Our heroes pushed off in their forward march. They had to carefully time their jumps in order to land on anything safely, and when multiple unstable platforms appeared in a row, it only complicated things. Mario was able to figure out the precision leaps and hop across them without too much trouble. This sometimes involved hanging on one platform that was about to disappear while waiting for the next one to present itself, increasing our heroes' nervous tension. Finally, they reached another large, seemingly safe platform. "Is there anything here?" Peach asked.
Her question was answered when an outlined red cylinder flashed above our heroes' heads. It soon disappeared, just like the other platforms, and reappeared a few instants later. "That entire structure is appearing and disappearing?" Mimi questioned.
"It looks like it." Mario stepped up to the nearest platform. "We need to climb upwards as carefully as we can." Just as his platform disappeared, he leaped upward in the direction of another platform's space, landing on the new platform just as it materialized.
The vertical chamber was similar to the one they'd encountered in Reidlos X's airship. Spikes and enemies infested it, making for some very difficult jumping. At several points, our heroes misjudged a jump and plummeted downward, only saved by the reappearing chamber. Once our heroes reached the top, they were again confronted with a multitude of appearing-and-disappearing platforms. Once they finally made it to the next safe platform, another portal confronted them.
"Does this portal take us to another area in Bawisisug?" Tippi mused.
"Yes, I think it does." Novelle examined the shining disc. "I can tell that this isn't the portal that leads directly to Amtakan's headquarters. We'll know when we see it."
"Let's jump in, then." Mario leaped through the new portal.
Our heroes emerged in an area with a dark blue-purple backdrop. They were standing on a wavy substance that was transluscent except for a lighter gridline running across. Objects that looked like miniature versions of stars, galaxies, and even black holes were placed throughout the area, each of them warping the fabric-like substance around them to some degree. "It's like the space-time continuum...or something," Luigi remarked.
"I believe the correct term is 'fabric of spacetime'," Novelle corrected. "Or it might be something else. Who knows what they've come up with since?"
As Mario stepped forward toward a large fireball, he felt himself being pulled toward it. He quickly stepped backward, holding his arms out slightly. "There's many different gravity fields here. Let's stay as far from anything as we can."
The spacetime-fabric ground contained many ebbs, flows, and hills. Our heroes traversed this strange landscape until they came upon an enormous black hole. The black void at the center was encircled by a fiery red accretion disc that orbited the black hole at amazing speeds. Small platforms were placed as stepping stones across the deep hole. "This looks difficult," O'Chunks remarked.
"I'm sure it is." Mario jumped onto the first platform. He could feel the black hole's powerful gravity dragging him downward. "We should jump with more force than we think we need. If we miss, it's Game Over!"
Mario carefully moved across the platforms, Note Blocks, and other stepping stones allowing him to cross the behemothic vortex. The heroes approached the other side, and all seemed well until Luigi began his leap to the final platform before the black hole's edge. He started his jump like any other jump. As he landed, however, a laser was suddenly fired in his direction. He screamed, twisting to avoid the shot, and managed to grasp the edge of the final platform.
"What?!" Mario quickly jumped onto the platform, grabbing his brother's hand, as his eyes shifted to the left. There, grinning, was B-A Omega.
MINIBOSS
B-A Omega
Mario had no time to think, only to act. He pulled Luigi onto the ledge while B-A Omega charged another laser. The Mario Brothers jumped over this next laser, but Omega halted their progress toward the safe side. "A black hole. That's a good, logical place for your defeat, isn't it? Considering I can float and you can't."
"And I can." Novelle hovered toward Omega, magic wand ready. Omega retaliated with a swift downward dive, sinking low enough to avoid Novelle's blast but not enough to be consumed by the black hole. While Novelle and the robot minion were at each other, Mario and Luigi used their opportunity and returned to the safe ground on the other side where the others were waiting.
"Darn it! My plan to kill Mario didn't quite work like it should have. Oh well. The odds are still in my favor!" Omega twisted his body, creating a spinning machine of death that aimed for our heroes. They dispersed away from the black hole, leaving Omega to damage them.
"I'll get him." Mario drew his hammer and simply held it in front of Omega's path. The spinning robot slammed into the obstacle.
"Oww!" Omega stopped, seemingly dizzy.
"Now's the chance!" O'Chunks initiated a dogpile on the minion, swinging with his powerful fists. The others joined.
"Gah!" Omega blasted his way out of the huddle, sending our heroes flying. Mario was pushed directly above the swirling void. "Ah ha HAAA!!!" Omega zeroed in.
"No! Mario!" Novelle sped toward the lead hero and used her wand to send him away toward safe ground just as Omega tossed a shuriken for them both. It slammed into Novelle's wing, damaging it heavily. "Ahhg!" The messenger began an unstabilized flight toward the safe area.
"I could eliminate you, too, while I'm at it!" Omega reached for more shurikens.
Novelle pulled the shuriken out of her wing, grunting, and threw it at Omega's chestplate. The metal plate was split slightly. Novelle wasted no time in attacking Omega's new vulnerable area, causing the robot further harm. "Yaahh!"
"You haven't changed your tactics at all, Maia. We don't have an ice crater here, but a black hole is availible!" Omega charged for Novelle and slammed her with his steel arm, forcing her down toward the wide singularity.
"Ehhhh!!!" Novelle uttered as she fought the black hole's influence.
No, Bante, you aren't! Mimi hurled a Rubee over the chasm toward Omega, following with several more that distracted the robot.
"Why, you little..." B-A Omega charged, confused at Mimi's widening smile.
"Let him have it!" the minion finally told O'Chunks. She jumped out of the way, leaving Omega to again find himself the target of O'Chunks's massive fists.
"Daah..." Omega stood up, weakened. "You heroes...you're just..."
"Too powerful?" Luigi offered.
"No! Not that! I'm obviously more powerful than you are, because I have sweet weapons! And great offensive capabilities!" Omega soared into the air.
"Get as far away from the black hole as you can!" Mario warned. Our heroes sped away from the black hole, in the direction they were progressing. B-A Omega soon smashed into the ground before them, creating a shockwave that sent them back toward the hole. Their escape had, fortunately, put them in a distant enough position to avoid being tossed into the bottomless pit, but they were now vulnerable.
"Nyah!" Omega taunted as he began an energy charge for the group.
"Mario..." Luigi stared at his brother.
"I don't know what to do, Luigi."
"Hang on one second." Novelle prepared her magic.
"Oh, you can create a shield, right?" Peach recalled.
"That, and better. Just stay still, heroes."
Omega approached, his glowing energy charge very visible. Bowser moved up a step.
"Stay put, Bowser."
"That guy's so close! He's going to kill us!"
"Stay put!"
"Why?"
"Because if you don't..." Novelle paused. "This...cannot happen." Just as Omega would've blasted our heroes to ashes, Novelle activated a transluscent yellow barrier and flipped our heroes over it, landing them safely. Omega continued foward, smashing his robotic body and soaring over the massive black hole.
"Wha...NOOO!!!" Omega's arms and most of his legs broke apart, tumbling into the void. The robot struggled against the black hole's pull, finally escaping, but in heavily damaged condition. He stared our heroes down. "You'll pay for this, heroes. Alpha and the Netherclops are working on something. And it'll destroy you all. Just try to find Amtakan's place!" Omega hovered away.
"Looks like we got him pretty good," Tippi noted.
"Amtakan might power him up with some new stuff, though," Novelle pointed, "once he finds this out. We still need to be careful, especially with whatever it is Alpha and the Netherclops are planning."
"How much farther to the portal, Timpani?" Blumiere asked.
"It's...not too far. We should be approaching it soon. But those guys will probably try to stop us before we reach it..."
After a few more obstacles, our heroes reached another portal. "This is the last portal, I can tell," examined Novelle. "They're probably waiting on the other side."
"Well, I'm not scared," defied Mario. "Let's take the plunge." Our heroes stepped into the portal, emerging in outer space yet again. This area had a bright, starry sky and a technological gray ground, similar in some ways to Slraburlds.
A few more platforming obstacles and gimmicks, and our heroes arrived at Alpha and the Netherclops's waiting place. The damaged Omega was here as well. "What are you two planning?" Tippi demanded.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" the Netherclops taunted.
"It involves ME," H-X Alpha bragged. "That means I'm COOL!"
"You..." Novelle uttered. "You're so unlike the uber-serious Hanetul I knew."
"WHUT?!?!? AHM UBAIR-SERIOUS!!! TOTALLLLLYYYY!!!"
"Yeah," Omega admitted. "The Netherclops and Wretcha couldn't restore all of his brain functions after that injury. That injury that you caused."
"He's one of the citizens of the Bluecaps' territory, isn't he?" Mario recalled. "That explains his size."
"We've known about that dimension for a while," Novelle explained. "The Bluecaps and X Faction were two different nations. It was only when Radnamok X took power that they became enemies."
"What about Reidlos X?" Peach questioned.
"Oh, that guy?" the Netherclops stated. "He was the leader before Radnamok X. Amtakan saw a minion opportunity and hypnotized him. Radnamok X used the confusion that followed as a way to take control."
"Totall-ay," Alpha approved in a "bratty teenage girl" impression.
"Bante, you, on the other hand," Novelle continued, "haven't changed either. Why do you keep insisting on your faulty logic when the heroes defeat you over and over?"
"Tell us, Omega," Mario demanded. "And what made you join Dimentio in the first place? Why didn't you tell him what you knew?"
"Why should we have?" Omega responded. "We didn't know how competent he was. If he could release Amtakan, he could find out everything he didn't know then. And I suppose he did. But he had to get you guys to do it for him. That massive rebellion he staged at Beachfront Town impressed us enough to convince us to join him for the moment, but why settle for Dimentio? We're always going to be with Amtakan, to the very end."
"And this isn't the time to be questioning our awesome motives," the Netherclops disapproved. "I've been working on a little something that'll allow Alpha to destroy you all, once and for all. Ready, Alpha?"
"Totall-ay!" Alpha separated his body into three segments, each of which, in turn, produced another H-X Alpha. "You like my sweet new duplicating powers, stereo headphones?"
"And that's not all," the Netherclops continued. "I've upgraded him with weapons like you couldn't believe. And the gravitational laws of space...or lack of them, for that matter...allow H-X Alpha's abilities to be utilized to their full potential!"
"YOU GOT IT, FOO!" The three Alphas produced six more, and all nine flew off into space.
"We have to chase them!" Mario and the others followed the robots, falling into a gravity-free area in the middle of outer space. The minion's multitude of laser shots headed straight for them.
"How do we hit him?" Luigi wondered. "He's moving too fast!"
Novelle set her eyes on the robot swarm. "There's only one way to beat him." She readied her magic wand. "Let's make this a space shooter!"
BOSS
H-X Alpha Robot Phalanx
As our heroes careened through space, Novelle swerved out of the lasers' target range and positioned herself slightly to the right of the group of Alphas. She fired multiple bursts of energy at the group of H-X Alphas, destroying them one by one. When all nine were defeated, however, another wave dropped in with more lasers. "Can't we get to the original and defeat him?" Mario proposed.
"Yes, that's what we need," Novelle assured, "but it'll take a while to get to him. He's produced so many clones!" The messenger again aimed her magic blasts for Alpha's clones, dodging lasers when nessecary. When this wave was finished, a line of robots swooped in from the left, firing lasers at unpredictable angles.
"Novelle's pretty swarmed," noted Tippi. "Isn't there any other way to attack them?"
"Only if you can attack from a distance," the messenger responded.
"In that case," Blumiere began, "Mimi and I are ready." Blumiere and Mimi joined Novelle at the front lines as another curling line of clones appeared from the right. Mimi's Rubees and Blumiere's energy blasts, combined with Novelle's magic, were enough to demolish this third wave.
More robots came, forming a huge rectangle in front of our heroes. A few of the robots swooped downward for our heroes, entering their area. They attacked too fast to be immediately attacked, but the three fighting heroes were skilled enough to destroy them on their way back. All of the remaining robots soon, however, began charging for a massive laser. "They're going to fire!" Mario warned. "Get in this safe zone!" Mario showed the others exactly where to line up, in an area where a laser wouldn't be fired. The heroes successfully avoided the blast, and Novelle, Mimi, and Blumiere continued their assault.
Once these were destroyed, one more wave came in, attacking from all three sides with a massive number of robots that shot lasers like crazy. Mimi saw an opportunity and fired Rubees in one direction as fast as she could, taking out an approaching line of attackers one by one. The rest were still attacking, and several were aiming themselves toward our heroes. They drew close enough for Mario to smack a few with his hammer, as well as for Bowser to kill them with fire, but the majority of the legion was still up front, attacking with lasers. "There's too many of them!" Novelle announced frantically, bouncing all over the place to deflect and dodge the laser shots.
"Hey, maybe my fire can help?" Bowser shouted. Novelle turned around. "You could, like, absorb my fire with your wand, and then blast it out or something, right?"
Novelle considered this. "Maybe I could. Let's give it a try." Bowser unleashed a stream of fire. Novelle placed her wand in the fire's path, allowing the red gem to absorb Bowser's flames. Once Bowser was finished, she turned around. "Now, Alpha, take...THIS!" Novelle thrust her wand forward. Brilliant red flames exploded from the wand's gem, tearing up H-X Alpha's robot squad. Every last clone was destroyed.
"You complete and utter annoying and meddling deep-fried FOOLS!" The real H-X Alpha approached our heroes. "Looks like we'll have to settle this the hard way, eh?" H-X Alpha split into three robots that surrounded our heroes in a triangle, directing attacks inward.
"They're close enough now to attack!" Novelle announced. "Go for it!"
"I'm on it!" Mario space-swam to the nearest clone while Peach and Luigi attacked the real minion.
Once both clones were gone, H-X Alpha charged a dark purple ball of energy and sent it into the crowd. "You can't avoid this MINIATURE BLACK HOLE! It's a LEVEL 11 WEAPON!"
The miniature black hole drew our heroes in. "Go with your hammer, bro!" Luigi grabbed the struggling Mario's arm and hurled him through the vacuum toward Alpha. Mario spun his hammer, hitting the robot multiple times.
"I'm ready too!" Mimi pitched in with her Rubees from a distance. Mario was wary to descend somewhat and avoid the sharp weapons.
"O RLY?" The robot minion extended a tube from his side and produced five glowing orange energy spheres that moved toward our heroes, growing larger with every passing moment.
"I think those are going to explode!" Mario guided.
"Really?" Luigi shouted. "I thought they were gumballs!" He swerved out of the path of one.
All five spheres exploded, pushing our heroes slightly through the moving expanse of space. "Have a taste of this, retarded shrimp legs!" Alpha surrounded his body in spikes, circled in place for a few seconds, and hovered around the space arena, slamming himself into the heroes as he rolled.
"No!" Mario was thrown back several feet. "He's got our number!" Our heroes had been badly damaged.
"In your weakened state, it will be of excellent assurance to know that I AM AWESOME." The small robot produced a larger energy sphere and tossed it at Mario, hitting him squarely.
"No..." Mario was hit. He half-closed his eyes, exhaling.
"Mario...you can't give up now!" Novelle urged. "In zero gravity, there's nothing keeping you from moving, so it doesn't matter how weak you are!" She smiled, making a "come here" motion with her hands. "Come on. We just need to keep nailing him. We need to save the universe!"
Novelle's approval filled Mario with the confidence he needed. The hero space-swam toward Alpha from behind and caught him by surprise with a solid hammer whack. The minion turned around, but before he could fire at Mario, Blumiere assaulted him from his new behind. "That's the tactic we need to use."
Alpha turned to face Blumiere, again finding himself the target of Mario's hammer. He was caught between Mario and Blumiere. Frustrated, the robot swooped downward, firing lasers above toward our heroes. "We can't take this much longer," Nastasia wailed.
"I'll let him take this!" Bowser space-charged in Alpha's direction, sending his spiky shell toward the small robot.
"Ugh..." Alpha recoiled, hovering above our heroes. "It's sudden death! Who will win? Of course, it'll be me, but I just wanted to pose the question." H-X Alpha produced a multitude of clones, one last time. They surrounded our heroes, swarming them with lasers and projectiles.
"We...can't...take this!" Mimi crouched, trying her best to avoid the field of weapons.
"Bowser!" Novelle shouted. "Give me more flames! Everyone else attack in the other direction! This is our last shot!" Bowser obeyed. Novelle charged Bowser's fiery breath, then set it loose on Alpha's clones. A wall of the robots were vaporized, creating a distraction and allowing the other heroes to give the other side their all. H-X Alpha himself was finally pelted by one last Rubee.
"Guuuuhhhh...!" H-X Alpha fell over in space. "Nooo! I'm in no shape to fight now. Even with my super-special-awesome cloning abilities! HOW could I lose TO these STUPID heroes?"
Novelle hovered over Alpha, smirking. "We wouldn't have to beat you so badly if you weren't such a loveless machine. Read: minion of Amtakan."
"Yes, you got that right, I'm a minion of Amtakan, all right, yeah!" The robot gathered himself. "And ah'm gonna beat ya heeroes if it's the last thing ah do...Eh, Steve!" The robot casually flipped out.
"I think we're approaching the portal we need," Tippi announced. "The portal to Amtakan's lair..." Indeed, our heroes soon reached a portal quite unlike the others. It was black, and seemed to absorb light rather than emit it.
Novelle examined the passage. "Yes, this is it, all right." She moved her wand over the vortex. "When we get back to Flipside, I'll be able to use the black door on Flopside Tower to take us straight to wherever this portal leads." The messenger stared into the portal, seemingly lost in thought. "Amtakan...you're really on the other side of this portal, aren't you..." She extended her hand, almost touching the transporter.
Mario floated next to Novelle. "Yes, Amtakan's there. We just need to defeat him. I know it'll pain you...but we have no other choice. Tippi and I had to do this when we faced Count Bleck. You just have to focus on your goal. Having a goal you know for sure, in itself, is a pretty nice thing, isn't it?"
Novelle looked at Mario, connecting their violet and blue eyes. "Yeah. Thanks, Mario." She paused. "We really do help each other a lot, don't we? I know you've experienced a lot of me helping and encouraging you guys, but you've done a lot for me, too. I'm not the only advice-giver around this joint." Her smile widened as she partially closed her eyes.
Mario smiled as well. "Thanks...Maia."
Novelle gave Mario a look. "You know...after I changed my name, no one who knew both of my names ever called me Maia in a friendly way."
"Well, we did call..." Mario stopped, realizing the heroes hadn't known that Maia and Novelle were the same person.
"Anyone who called me Maia after that was someone like those robots who did it to intimidate me. But you're willing to use my real name in a friendly manner. I'm really, totally Novelle now...but somewhere, deep down, I guess I'll always be Maia."
Mario and Novelle continued to look into each other's eyes. Novelle's violet eyes weren't a normal human color, but they possesed a strange beauty. "You are Maia," Mario continued. "I'll call you Novelle, but to me, you'll always be Maia, too." The two heroes were still.
"That's as far as you're gonna go, right?" Luigi interjected. "I mean, you don't want to be like the Netherclops or anything."
Peach was about to scold the green plumber, but Novelle halted the princess. "It's fine, Peach. Warnings are always a good thing, aren't they? But it's fine, Luigi. I know Mario isn't going in that direction. I want to be friends with all of you. I can thank you with the greatest gift of all...the gift of love."
Our heroes nodded. If Amtakan wasn't stopped, then that very gift would cease to exist.
"Now, let's go back to Flipside. All we need to do is to reach Amtakan. Once he's out of the picture, the Dark Prognosticus's reign over future events will finally be shattered for good. And every world, all of existence...it will be safe once more."
Our heroes were ready. At the command of Mario's Return Pipe, they disappeared in flashes of energy, ready to return to Flipside and initiate their final mission.
-END OF CHAPTER-
The location of Amtakan's headquarters has been found at last. Our heroes return to Flipside with one last venture to make. To reach this point, they have fought through many trials, solved many mysteries, and pursued many objectives...and now, it all comes down to Amtakan's defeat. Can the Dark Prognosticus be vanquished once and for all? Or will Amtakan utilize his creation's power and obliterate the worlds with The Void like he originally intended? Our heroes have learned many powerful lessons, and one of the ones foremost in Mario's mind, is the value of confidence. It will do no good to worry or fret about the specifics of the plan; there is a plan, and that is assurance enough. Our heroes have also learned much about the value of love, and as we shall see, this value just may help them save every world...
"There's no doubt about it, Amtakan. Those heroes have found the entrance to this place. And once she modifies the black door on Flopside Tower, they'll be here. And they'll come for you."
Amtakan listened to B-A Omega's report, noting the damaged minion. "Very well. I will visit each of you individually at your posts and do what I can to ensure that you will defeat the heroes."
The minions were silent for a moment until Margaret spoke. "You're, um, going to repair Omega and everything, right?"
"Of course. B-A Omega will need a major upgrade in order to pose a threat to the heroes. Make sure, minions, to attack Count Bleck's former minions first. We will need their energy to reactivate the Chaos Heart."
"Yeah, yeah, OK..." Margaret trailed off. "So, what else is new, Amtakan?"
"Nothing of interest. We will simply stop the heroes when they come." The villain seemed finished.
"Really? Nothing at all? Well that's...unexciting."
"Exciting isn't exactly Amtakan's middle name, you know," Omega reminded. "We just need to beat those heroes and find a pure, logical way to do it."
"Don't worry," Mortcha assured. "We'll be there for them. A world without love and emotion...I can hardly wait!"
"Please return to your posts, minions," Amtakan commanded. "I will be with you momentarily." Amtakan flipped out.
"I suppose I'll be on my way as well." The Netherclops vanished, closely followed by Mortcha.
Margaret eyed the Dark Prognosticus on Amtakan's platform, partially obscured by the dark red curtain that bore the Tribe of Darkness's symbol. It was sitting side-by-side with the Light Prognosticus. She turned to Omega. "Hey, Omega," she began, "I just want to know something. What IS love?"
"Love is an intense affectionate concern for another person."
"Really? Is that it?" The shape-shifter lowered her eyes. "That's what Amtakan wants to get rid of?"
"Yes, of course. Haven't you been paying attention for the last 1,300 years?"
"Yeah, but...I never really knew what love was. Amtakan never mentioned it."
"I suppose that's just as well." Omega and Alpha flipped out.
Margaret again stared at the two Prognosticuses. An intense affectionate concern for another person... She sighed before flipping out to join the other minions.
Our heroes exited the Return Pipe to find themselves at the top of Flipside Tower. "Now we just head for the black door," Mario recalled. "We should check with Merlon first, though."
The heroes took the elevator down to the second floor of Flipside, greeted by Merlon once more. "I trust you've found the entrance to Amtakan's headquarters?"
"We have," Novelle assured. "We'll be able to head straight to it from Flopside Tower."
"Excellent." Merlon looked downward. "Well, heroes, this is it. This is the final trial. Amtakan is the only obstacle left."
"Yes," Mario agreed. "We have all the orbs, we have Novelle, and now we know where to find Amtakan. We're all set."
"That is quite well. You still have plenty of items in your stock, is this not so? Well, you can never be too prepared for something like this. I would go and buy all the items you think you'll need. This will probably be your most difficult trial to date."
"We'll be ready." Mario led the others toward the shop in Flopside. They purchased all that they could with their money, including more healing items and a few defensive ones. After another rest at the inn, our heroes prepared themselves. "Are we ready for this?" Mario initiated as they rode up the tower.
"I sure am," Blumiere approved. "I will provide all the assistance I can."
"Let's do it," agreed Luigi.
"I'll show that meddlin' fool 'ow I put the chunk in O'Chunks!" the burly minion added.
Our heroes exited the elevator, emerging on the black tower once again. Nolrem was waiting for them here. "I see that you're heading for the final fight, heroes of legend." He paused. "Merlon filled me in on the details. This truly is the battle for all worlds."
"Indeed." Merlon's voice approached our heroes from behind. "And I know that Novelle has replaced the Light Prognosticus as our guide, but the book's words can still help us." Merlon walked next to Nolrem. "The passage I read to you just before you entered Castle Bleck for the first time...'Only those who have not abandoned hope can turn back the prophecy of doom.' It had relevence then, and it still is as relevent as ever, now. If you heroes wish to defeat Amtakan and stop the Dark Prognosticus's influence once and for all, you cannot abandon hope."
"Hope and despair are opposites..." Nolrem continued. "...and so are faith and fear...love and hate...and you must have all three of the former. Hope, faith, and love."
"Your enemies face you with despair, fear, and hate. That is what brought them to their current state. And you cannot fight fire with fire. Only love can drive out hate. Only good can drive out evil."
"You've fought through many obstacles to reach this position. You've learned so much and traveled such vast distances. Everything between that moment when Count Bleck married Peach and Bowser, and now...it has all prepared you. Consider everything you've been through, heroes. It will help you on the way."
"And that is all we can do to help you." Merlon stepped aside. "We know you've heard all of this before, but reassurance is a good thing to have. Make sure you don't forget any of this. Be brave, heroes...brave and full of love."
Mario approached the door. "Thank you, Merlon, and Nolrem. We'll be sure to return safely. All worlds will be saved." He glanced over his shoulder. "Right, everyone?"
"Yeah!" Luigi gave a thumbs-up sign.
"We're gonna do it!" Mimi celebrated.
"Let's bash some heads!" Bowser offered.
Novelle hung silent at the back of the group. "I'm ready," she finally stated. "I'm ready. Ready to defeat Amtakan and save every world."
"You've experienced more than any of us will live to see," Merlon reminded. "You truly are the hero that completes the set of nine. You've done excellently...Maia."
Novelle smiled.
"And Tippi...ahem...Timpani," Nolrem continued, "You may not be the heroes' main guide anymore, but you have still done a magnificent job. I am sure your assistance will prove to be vital to the heroes in this final trial."
"Thank you, Nolrem."
The two old sages shifted. "We send you forth, heroes," Merlon initiated. "Go, and save every world." Our heroes needed no further discussion. Mario opened the door, and our heroes plunged into the final dimension of their adventure. A dimension in which they would either save every world...or die trying.
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You are TOO creative.
I hope you are posting this in other forums, and not just here.
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I hope you are posting this in other forums, and not just here.
His site, The Hidden Scepter (?) is another place he posts this.
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His site, The Hidden Scepter (?) is another place he posts this.
That's correct. If you haven't seen the thread in General Chat, we're also hosting an event called the "Creation Convention" until the 27th of this month. A link is in my profile.
I've finished Chapters 8-1 and 8-2, but I'm holding off on uploading the entirety of Chapter 8 until the post-convention awards. This event will occur soon after the 27th; the convention awards will be handed out, all the rest of SPM3 will be uploaded, and a new site design will also be introduced.
Incidentally, looking back, I can't believe I thought of this story as a "side project" when I started it. I wasn't even intending to put it on my website (I finally put it on after a month and a half) because it was supposed to be a "fun" side project for the Fungi Forums that simply spawned from my like for Super Paper Mario. This story has actually received more attention than my "main" project, The Hidden Scepter. I'll be sure to "fix" tHS after this, since I've developed most of my current taste in writing from SPM2/3.
And thanks again, Nintendoobsessed. :)
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Entered Paper Bowser into competiton
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I waited to post Chapter 8 along with the convention awards, so here's the final chapter. I hope you all enjoyed the story. :)
There were now nine heroes in one corner, and Amtakan in the other. Our heroes had reached the true final act - either Amtakan would be defeated and the Chaos Heart and Dark Prognosticus destroyed, or the Chaos Heart reactivated and all of existence sucked into The Void. They have learned almost everything regarding the history of the Tribe of Darkness - and their newest hero, the helpful Novelle. Amtakan was the true author of Dark Prognosticus, authoring it to aid in his evil plans to rid the multiverse of love. The mysterious voice Maia was in fact the Novelle who had guided and assisted our heroes throughout their entire adventure. The heroes plunged into the final door, ready for anything that might come their way. This was it. This was the fate of every universe.
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The black door was drawn into existence. Our heroes stepped into the last dimension, greeted by almost total blackness. Once their eyes adjusted, they began to scope out the details of the scenery around them. They were standing on what seemed to be a glass floor. More glass formations, similar in some ways to the corkscrews in the Dimension of Refuge, existed in the distance. There were hexagon-shaped discs that floated in air, some in vertical columns. In these columns, the individual hexagon segments were sometimes oriented in different directions. Different formations such as vertical bars with spikes at each end also existed, as well as sloping spikes emerging from the blackness below. A few very dark red curtains hung from above, ending in two points. Just above the forked bottom was the white Tribe of Darkness emblem - as white as it could be in the almost pitch-black environment.
Mario blinked. "This place is...dark."
"And creepy." Luigi took a single step forward, listening to the faint echo of his shoe hitting the glass. "I'd hate to spend all my time here."
"There's...no emotion here," Tippi reflected. "It's just a black void. Just what Amtakan would like."
Our heroes stood for a few minutes, just staring at the blank scenery that lie before them. "This is it," Novelle sighed. "The World of Amtakan. He's created this loveless paradise for himself and his minions." She turned around. "You know, Mario..."
Novelle looked as if she wanted to say something more, but she was silent for several seconds. "What is it, Novelle?"
The messenger shifted. "Well, I wanted to say something to you...but I don't really know what I was going to say. I...don't even know why I wanted to talk to you. I just did."
"Friends talk to friends," Mario reassured her. "If there's anything on your mind, you can tell us. We'll be there for you, just like you were there for us."
The corners of Novelle's mouth slowly rose until they formed her usual smile. "OK. I know." She turned forward. "Well, no use standing here. Let's go forward. Amtakan must be at the end of this world."
Mario nodded. Our heroes plunged ahead, setting their course through the emotionless void.
The group's path brought them absolutely no obstacles or enemies - just a long, straight hallway with no interaction whatsoever. After entering a dim door, however, things changed. Our heroes found themselves in a narrow passage with glass spikes lining the floor. The ceiling housed a thin metal bar that they could hold onto to cross the spikes. "This shouldn't be too much trouble..." Mario jumped and wrapped his fingers around the horizontal pole, working his way across the spikes. Enemies, however, littered the area. A few enemies that shot fireballs upward made things difficult for the traveling heroes. Once they'd reached the other side, a few platforms led them up to a new area with spikes on the floor, walls, and ceiling, and a few small platforms to get them across. "This looks like it'll be harder than what was in Castle Dimentio," Luigi observed as he jumped from one platform to the next. After this newest spike trap, our heroes were presented with a lower area that featured a locked door. There was no apparent path onward.
"What do we do here?" Tippi set forth.
"Let me flip. I'll see if there's anything." Mario flipped, revealing a square hole in the ground that dropped into a short passage leading to the right. After swinging his hammer and besting the enemy-infested hallway, Mario uncovered a treasure chest with an ominous black key inside. He returned to where the others were standing. "This looks like the key...literally." He unlocked the door, and our heroes proceeded.
Within this door was a square-shaped room. Each of the four sides contained a door, and a pit lay at its center. "This is like in the ice palace, isn't it?" Luigi entered the door on the right, only to reemerge in the exact same room with the others.
"I think we'll know if we've entered a different room..." Tippi mused. "Let's try the other doors, just to be sure." Our heroes went for the door just ahead of them. This room was also square, but contained four spaced-out pillars running from the floor to the ceiling, and a few enemies. The pillars were made of see-through glass, like the rest of the environment, and even through our heroes were boxed within the room, the transparent walls allowed viewing beyond. It was apparently by magic that our heroes couldn't see the rooms beyond the confines of this area, only the eerie glass formations that littered the environment.
"We didn't take the left door last time, so how about this time?" Peach offered. The others followed her into the door on the left, emerging in a new room with some enemies attached to the walls. There was nothing indicating which door to take, so, guessing, Mario led the others through the one on the right. Our heroes reappeared in the room with the pit at its center.
"Looks like we took a wrong turn." Bowser angled his head back and forth, trying unsuccessfully to discern some information from the distance.
The group retraced their path until coming to that room again. This time, our heroes took the door right in front of them. They were greeted with a spike-infested room with another three doors to choose from. After taking the left door and returning to the initial maze room, our heroes chose the door on the right, escaping the door maze. Giant spikes of glass sprouted from the nothingness below and dripped down from the ceiling, directly in our heroes' path. Various other glass formations also filled this space. The bad news was, the ground ended just before them. "How do we get across?" Tippi looked to the other side, noting another door on firm ground past the glass spikes. The Pixl's voice grew softer and worried. "I think we have to...climb across these..."
"Climb on the...gulp...spikes?" Luigi shivered. The spikes were thick enough for our heroes to wrap their arms around, and the other various formations, including floating hexagons, provided platforms for them to jump on, but the entire process looked very, very dangerous.
"Yes, I'm afraid, that's the only way you guys can get across." Novelle surveyed the obstacles. "Unless...I think I could use my power to help you in some way. I could probably alter these glass formations in some way that'll assist you."
"Could yeh add more o' these platforms?" O'Chunks questioned.
"I'm not sure if I could do that, but I might be able to move some glass around to create platforms. Let me see." Novelle drew her wand, manipulating certain sections of the see-though glass. She created a more convenient platform system for our heroes to travel across. "It's not perfect, but it's the best I can do."
"It's fine, Novelle," Mario encouraged. "You're doing all you can." Novelle smiled at Mario again before the hero set off with a bold leap upon the first glass platform. He jumped from there to the nearest glass spike, gripping the area near its sharp top for balance. Mario resisted the temptation to look downward into the black depths below him as he loosened his grip on the spike and planted his feet on the next small platform. He turned back to face the others. "It should be OK, guys."
This was reassurance enough for the others. Luigi bounced into the air and landed on the platform, closely followed by the rest of the heroes who weren't able to fly. "Is that a wall in front of us?" Peach questioned.
Novelle floated closer to the impediment. "Yeah, it looks like a big glass wall." She thought. "Let me try something." The messenger tapped into her magic again, creating a circular hole in the blockade. "It might not be easy to jump through, but it's all I can do."
"Thanks, Novelle." Mario accepted the guide's attempt and carefully leaped through the opening, swiftly grabbing onto another glass spike.
"Oooh...this is unnerving." Bowser marveled at the platforms' ability to hold his weight in the air. "Thanks, Novelle. I don't think I'd have the stomach for this if you hadn't helped out."
"You're welcome, Bowser." Novelle hovered over the pit, close by.
Mario drew close to the other side. With a final jump, he landed on the safe ground at the end of this hallway. "You've almost made it, guys."
"Yeah," said Peach, gauging her next jump. She leaped for the next spike, but misjudged her jump just slightly. This sent her against the side of the spike and downward toward the pit. "AAAIEEE!"
"My lovely wife!" Bowser jumped off his platform, curling into his shell, and smashed through the glass spike, catching Peach as she fell while retaining his foothold in the smashed-out interior.
"Oh...uh...thanks...Bowser." Peach was still in shock as Bowser gently carried her back to the platform.
"Peach...are you OK?" Mario inquired once Bowser had safely escorted Peach to the other side.
"Yes...I'm fine." Bowser gently set the princess down, and she slowly stood up. "That was scary for a few moments."
"But I was there to protect you, right?" Bowser insisted.
"Bowser..." Peach stared at her adversary-turned-temporary-friend. "...Yes, I suppose you were." She turned to Mario. "I know you would've done just the same, Mario," she whispered. The hero smiled.
All of our heroes were now safely positioned on the platform beyond the spike pit. "Well, let's go in this door." The single door provided the only way ahead, so Mario opened the door, allowing him and the others into the next room.
This one was guarded. "So you finally came, huh?" Mortcha pointed. "Ha. I knew you'd get past that really awesome impossible-to-pass spike pit. You just beat all the odds. And it'll be fun to destroy you ourselves. Right, Margaret?"
"Yeah!" Margaret hung behind her creator, her facial expression not quite matching her tone of voice.
Tippi moved forward. "Oh, come on. We defeated you last time. Why couldn't we do it now?"
"Well, if you must know," Mortcha began, "Amtakan respected us individually and trained us to defeat even the most potent of heroes. There's no way any of you could possibily defeat us, so...how about just jumping into that pit over there?" Mortcha extended her arm behind her, motioning to a large pit that contained a multitude of floating glass formations, as well as a few more spikes. There was a door on the other side.
"We're going to get to Amtakan," Mario firmed. "And there's nothing you can do about that."
Novelle shifted. "Morris...don't you remember? When you saw me? It seemed like we were friends then..."
"I'm Mortcha, idiot! And no, you'll never get the chance to talk to your sweet little Morris again. As long as I'm in his body, his soul is floating somewhere in limbo, so as far as I'm concerned, he doesn't exist anymore. It's sad. I know. But live with it."
Bowser put on his best tough guy pose. "Well, as far as I'm concerned, if you don't get out of our way right now, I'm personally going to turn you both into confetti. And you don't want to be turned into confetti."
"OH! A CHALLENGE!" Mortcha approached Bowser with her best "angry mother" look. "Well, Bowser-pie, if you don't get your naughty little rear into that abyss right now, I think I'll turn you into laundry detergent. How would you like THAT?"
Margaret sort of sighed.
"You're on, crazy lady!" Bowser marched toward the witch. "Oh yeah! Here it comes!"
MINIBOSS
Mortcha and Margaret
"Bring it!" Mortcha drew a sapphire-hued stone and flung it toward Bowser, meeting directly with Bowser's fire breath.
"You think that can hurt the Koopa king?" Bowser rushed Mortcha, sending her flying back several feet. "Yeah, take this!" Bowser picked up the fallen stone and threw it at Mortcha, missing and sending it over the pit behind them.
"Oh, it's ON now!" Mortcha pulled out another blue stone and randomly threw it backward over the pit as well.
"Is that your attack? Try actually hitting me!" Bowser nailed the witch with his fire.
"Margaret!" Mortcha shouted. "Don't just stand there! Turn into a spider and destroy these fools!"
"Yeah...OK. Got it!" Margaret gave a clearly fake smile as she snapped her head and performed the transformation unique to her, Mimi, and the other minion. She moved for the heroes, creating a giant sphere of green rocks around her head.
"Mimi, should you go with the spider, too?" Tippi inquired.
"No, Mimi," Blumiere cautioned. "Stay in this form. I can tell Margaret's attacks have a wide range. You're a larger target as a spider, and you're more mobile in this form, so don't transform. You should combine your Rubees with my magic attacks to break this stone shield. Understand?"
"You got it, count...uh, Blumiere!" Mimi and Blumiere worked on destroying Margaret's barrier while the new spider attacked the others with a multitude of duplicated heads. A group of the heads slammed Mario into a corner.
"Agh!" Mario drew his hammer. "You won't get that satisfaction for long." Mario angled his hammer in a neat line, destroying the heads one by one. He resisted the urge to blow on his hammer as he rushed toward Margaret's true location.
"You won't get to attack these heroes!" Novelle moved toward Margaret, shielding the others while helping Mimi and Blumiere remove the bits and pieces of Margaret's shield.
All of the chipped stones provided excellent ammo to attack the minion with. "Why bother?" Nastasia dared. "We can practically do this in our sleep now!" She picked up an armful of the green stones, retreated to the corner where Mario had been assaulted, and started attacking Margaret from a distance.
The minion's shield was nearly depleted. Luigi went in for the kill by sneaking underneath her and springing from below with his Super Jump, coming back down to land on her head with a stomp as well. As the trio of range-attacking heroes continued their drive, Margaret lost two of her six legs. She retaliated by spreading her remaining four outward, attaching them to Luigi, Blumiere, Peach, and O'Chunks. "Mario!" Peach wailed.
"Peach, I'm right behind you!" Mario used his hammer to slice through Margaret's leg as the minion surrounded her head with green stones and spun toward the struggling Blumiere. She had reached O'Chunks as well when Mario freed his brother.
"You big, ugly king." Mortcha insulted Bowser as she and the Koopa king continued their duel.
"Oh, you're asking for it now! I think I'll make you into confetti, and then stuff Margaret with you, and then beat her until you come out!" Bowser sprang into the air and aimed to pound Mortcha into the ground, but the witch swung out of the way and produced a ball of dark energy that she sent at Bowser, propelling him back into the nearby wall. Glass shattered around the area. "You little!" Bowser fell to the ground.
"Not so high and mighty now, are you?" Mortcha prepared more projectiles, but Bowser knew what to do by this point. Just as the minion was about to throw them, Bowser shoved his hand in their direction, breaking them free of Mortcha's grip. Bowser kicked them directly into the witch. "Aaaagh! You..."
The other heroes were busy with Margaret. "I'll teach yeh a lesson yeh'll never forget, bugface!" O'Chunks rose into the air with a flatulent burst and descended directly down on Margaret. He then forcefully grabbed the spider's head, swung it around, and sent it flying over the pit.
"Whoa!" Bowser watched the minion sail above his head. "That's a pretty solid shot, O'Chunks!"
"Aha!" Mortcha used this opportunity to pound the distracted Bowser with lightning-like bolts of dark energy.
"Mwaaaahhh!!!" Bowser struggled against the dark power's paralyzing influence.
"Bowser, we're coming!" Novelle flew to Bowser's side and thrust her wand between Bowser and the energy's path, severing the connection between him and Mortcha.
"Whew...thanks." Weakened somewhat, Bowser began another attack against the witch, but Novelle stopped him.
"Let me handle this." Bowser had severely drained Mortcha's health, so Novelle assisted with her own attacks.
"Oh, you think you can hurt me, you incompetent fairy?" Mortcha sneered. "Let's see you overcome a double attack!" She produced a blue stone as well as a dark energy charge and propelled the stone into Novelle using the energy from the dark magic.
"Aiigh!" Novelle flew back into the wall, cracking the glass barrier.
"You aren't hurting Novelle anymore!" Mario leaped for Mortcha while Peach came in with her parasol as well. Mortcha was soundly knocked out of the fight.
"One down, one to go!" Bowser looked over the wide glass-filled pit, noting the still Margaret. She was standing with both of her two remaining legs on a different glass formation, attacking our heroes with green stones from afar.
"Come over here, you coward!" Blumiere hovered to Margaret's location and attacked her with his body slam. Aggravated, the spider assaulted the former villain with a wave of stones, but Blumiere was too fast. He attacked her again, leaving her with a single leg.
"I'll go over there and help him." Luigi climbed over the glass formations to reach the place where Blumiere and Margaret were dueling. He rose into the air, drawing his first back and delivering a sound punch to Margaret's head. The minion recoiled long enough for Blumiere to assault her with one last blast of magic, defeating her final leg. Margaret wasn't about to admit defeat, however. She shape-shifted into a giant blade, slicing through the glass pillars that Luigi used as platforms. "Aaahhhhh!!" Luigi stumbled across the glass, staying ahead of Margaret by inches, until he reached the main platform. The minion didn't stop, however. She smashed into the safe arena, shattering a large portion of it into flying shards of sparkling glass that rained across the area.
"Gack!" Peach moved away from an incoming glass flyer, only to be sideswiped by another. The glass gouged a small cut in the side of her face, but there was a threat at hand that had to be focused on. The Mushroom Kingdom princess jumped for the standard form of Margaret amidst the settling shards of sharp glass, aided by Luigi and O'Chunks. Our heroes were careful not to slip and fall on the saber-like pieces.
"There's glass everywhere!" Mimi kicked aside a small piece of the ground as she went for Margaret, Rubees ready. Margaret defended herself with a line of produced green stones, but Mimi's Rubees pierced her defense and sent her toppling over. Overconfident, Mimi rushed toward her counterpart - and tripped. Her legs gave way as she fell headfirst, screaming, partially over Margaret, and the other half over the saber-littered floor.
"Mimi!" Blumiere called, but his former minion was in too much shock to respond. Her entire left side had been scratched and cut in an instant by the glass, and despite the rate at which her body healed itself, the volume of injury was large. Mimi stared at Margaret. The entirety of the other minion's backside had been shredded. As Mimi and Margaret slowly pulled themselves up to their feet, our heroes could see that a large mass of Margaret's green blood had leaked from her backside, dripping to the floor in large puddles. Tears leaked from her eyes as well. Neither minion said anything. Finally, Margaret simply flipped out.
Mario absently kicked over more shards of glass. "Margaret didn't speak at all while we were fighting her." He turned to face the others, a quizzical frown on his face. "Did you notice that?"
"She didn't seem herself," Novelle noted. "Not anything like what I saw when you fought her near the ice crater. She was so bratty and self-centered, but now..." Novelle lowered her eyes. "She was quiet. It almost seemed like she didn't want to be here."
"What...happened to her?" Mimi slowly walked over to the others.
"Something, that's for sure..." Novelle looked at Mimi. "Mimi, I think I can speed up your healing." Novelle moved her wand, doing her best to alleviate Mimi's pain. It didn't completely heal the minion, but it cleared most of her scars.
"Thanks, Novelle."
"You're welcome." The messenger looked at the other side of the room. "Well, I guess our path ahead is through that door."
Mario took the first step, jumping to the nearest glass formation. Once all of our heroes had arrived on the other side, they entered the door. "We're another step closer to Amtakan," Mario announced. "Come on, heroes. We have to keep up our fight. Let's go!"
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
Our heroes entered a small room with nothing but a pit and a large glass spike emerging from it. "What now?" Peach asked.
Mario looked around the room, trying to discern the way forward. "I don't see anything," he finally announced. "It looks like the only way to go is...down."
"Down?" Luigi stared at the void below. "There couldn't possibly be anything down there..."
"Well, let's look around." Tippi hovered around the area, trying to sense anything that could help them. Novelle did the same.
"I don't feel anything around here," the messenger finally announced. "I really think going down is our only option."
"Well..." Luigi sort of stammered. "Should you go down and test it, first?"
"Of course. I'll be right back."
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Novelle soon returned. "Yeah, it's safe down there. And not just safe...it's cool. You guys should check it out." Her smile seemed somehow more mysterious and intimidating.
Mario stared at the spiky glass pillar. "All right, then. Let's try this out."
Mario carefully moved toward the spike. With a jump, he aimed for the spike and wrapped his arms around it. He looked below for a moment, then gently eased himself down the glass formation. Darkness surrounded him. He couldn't see the glass spike before his very eyes as he descended into the void, further and further downward. Finally, a crisp yellow light caught his eye against the pitch-dark backdrop. His feet hit something solid as a world of neon-glowing underground passageways appeared before him. "Whoa..." Mario paused for a few moments to look at his surroundings. The landforms were shaped like a typical underground cave, with stalactites and stalagmites replacing the glass spikes of the area above, but they were just neon yellow and purple outlines against the blank backdrop. As Mario continued to stare at the world in front of him, he was reminded of the "underground" cave within the giant castle Bowser had created after stealing the Star Rod.
"Yah-ho!" Luigi shot downward, landing next to his brother. "Wow. Novelle was right. This place is...um...I don't know...awesome? Yeah, that's what it is."
"It is pretty neat," Mario reflected. "I mean, all this is way below the glass landscape above us. It's like a cave. But I don't want to say it's awesome. Amtakan created it and everything..."
"Well, so what? Evil villains always have really cool hideouts. Remember Castle Bleck? The original Castle Bleck, I mean?"
Mario nodded. The photo-negative black-and-white Castle Bleck had displayed an impressive landscape. "Yes, it is cool, I suppose."
"Not just cool. Awesome!"
Bowser had landed, followed by the other six heroes and Tippi. "Well, I'll be! That Amtakan jerk can't even come up with his own ideas!"
Peach turned to face her kidnapper. "I'm just glad you're back to normal, Bowser. Memories and all."
"Why, thank you, my lovely w..." Bowser paused, then scowled. "Oh, yeah, I guess you're really not my wife anymore. Phooey. Ah well..." Bowser seemed to withdraw.
"Bowser..." Novelle approached the Koopa king. Mario would have cautioned her against this if she were anyone else, but our heroes had their reasons never to question her. "You really love Peach, don't you?"
The villain-hero gave Novelle a "duh" look. "Yeah, of course I do! Haven't you heard about all those times I kidnapped her?"
"But Peach doesn't love you."
"Well, uh, you see, ummm...well, yeah, she does! Just look at her! She's giving me a smile, isn't she?"
Peach was frowning.
"I think, Bowser," Novelle continued, "that Peach doesn't love you because she doesn't like being put in a dungeon or wherever else you keep her, against her will. Maybe she wants someone that'll offer her true love. Someone like Mario."
"Mario..." Bowser gave his rival an angry stare. "Yeah, you just keep stealing her from me."
"Have you ever considered that maybe Mario and Peach think you're stealing her away from him?"
"Why would they think that? I've...uh...well, you know, I guess I've never thought of it that way."
Novelle's smile slowly crept onto her face. "I think it would be best if you just left Peach alone. She wants to be with Mario, so if you love her so much, why don't you let her have what she wants?"
Bowser's eyebrows dropped. He considered everything for a few seconds, and then shook his head. "Whatever. I'm not really into deep philosophical discussions, OK? Let's just go for Amtakan and kick his butt." Bowser set the path forward.
As our heroes began their trek through this new area, jumping through obstacles and defeating enemies, Mario hung back and whispered to Novelle. "How did you do that? Bowser sounded like he was actually considering what you said."
Novelle shrugged. "I know a lot about love. And I guess my position would incline Bowser to listen to me more closely, just like all of you."
"But that was amazing. If you could actually convince Bowser to respect Peach's wishes and not kidnap her all the time, that would be...awesome. To put it lightly."
The messenger smiled again. "Well, I can do what I can to help, but I don't think Bowser is going to stop taking Peach anytime soon. He's that stubborn kind of person, you know? You can make him contemplate a few things, and maybe even see a little of the perspective of the other side, but at the end of the day, he's..." Novelle shook her head. "...you know. Bowser."
"Yeah. I guess." "Bowser" would always hold a set definition in Mario's mind. "That was still pretty surprising, though, what you could make Bowser think about."
"He does listen if you pressure him enough. But he's a person with very misguided ideals about love, just like Amtakan and his minions. I wouldn't want to persist beyond what I already have, not at once, anyway, just to ensure that he'll maintain friendly relationships with us. I won't dismiss the possibility that he could change, but even if he doesn't, that just means that nothing will change at all. You're pretty used to having Bowser kidnap Peach all the time, aren't you? Since he's done it, like, 20 times."
Mario was listening carefully to Novelle's breakdown of Bowser's motives. "Well. That's some deep stuff, Novelle."
Novelle took this in stride. "I like to think about deep things. There's been times over the last 4,118 years when I've had nothing better to do."
"4,118 years? Is that really how old you are?"
"Yeah. That's my exact age. 4,118 years, 5 months, and 27 days. I was 17 when Amtakan and I became friends, and I had no idea what was coming for me. People always want to live longer, but you know..." She closed her eyes and sighed. "Being immortal isn't all it's cracked up to be."
"I see. It must get boring at times. And all the knowledge of what was happening..."
"It does. Especially when we knew Amtakan was out there, plotting whatever he was plotting."
"You had to sit through multiple human lifetimes of that uncertainty," Mario sighed. "How did you stand it?"
"It wasn't easy."
Novelle and Mario smiled at each other. The hero just couldn't let go of the thought that the seemingly young girl walking next to him was a 4,000-year-old magician who'd saved the universe from destruction on multiple occasions.
"Whoa! Incoming!" Luigi stood back as a large block slid in our heroes' direction. It abruptly stopped just before reaching them and proceeded in the other direction.
"Looks like a platform obstacle." Mario looked above the moving block, observing several more of various shapes and sizes. "We have to be careful here, or we'll be smashed flat." Mario expertly leaped through a gap between the crushing blocks.
The moving block structure extended upward some way before leading into an open area above with a single door. Our heroes entered it, coming out in a similar area, but with orange and blue neon outlines rather than yellow and purple. "What is this place?" Tippi questioned.
There was a single path in front of them, so our heroes walked toward it, only to encounter another door, as well as a ceiling passage that extended far above them. For those of our heroes who couldn't fly or climb walls, there appeared to be no way to travel upward. "I guess we take the door," Mario announced. He and his team entered this door as well. The scenery was now yellow and purple again, and the room's layout was the exact same except for a few moving platforms providing upward access in the passage. "I think I know what's going on here." Mario jumped upon the nearest platform. "There's two different sides to this area, one that's yellow and one that's orange. When we go in a door, we switch."
"No puzzle is too great for the mind of Mario," Mimi joked.
Our heroes ascended the passage, encountering more doors and solving more mazes on the way. As they traveled to the right, powerful enemies assaulted them, but under Novelle's influence, our heroes managed to get by with relatively few injuries.
Finally, they reached a door that led them to the next minion room. H-X Alpha and B-A Omega were waiting inside. "It's those robots again..." Tippi sighed. Our heroes looked ahead, in their "not-this-again" mindset, until their eyes fell upon B-A Omega.
The robot had not only been repaired, he had been upgraded. Instead of the simple metal beam it once was, Omega's right arm now contained four small gun ends positioned around the main one, as well as a joint in the middle. His left arm contained a joint as well, in addition to two glowing white rings that encircled the arm. His left leg now sported a row of compartments similar to his left arm, and the two-toed foot on the right leg had been replaced with a triangular device that contained several flashing buttons of unknown use.
"You're dead meat now, heroes." B-A Omega spoke with venom.
"Oh...don't be so serious, Omega." H-X Alpha extended a thin metal bar with a blade at its end. "You need to be more serious. Those heroes...they're on us again. I feel so sad." The small robot proceeded to cut himself.
Novelle moved forward. "No matter how many times we do this, it will end the same. Haven't you robots learned your lesson by now? FIVE TIMES these heroes have beaten you, no matter what the situation. Have you ever considered you might be doing the wrong thing?"
"Doing the wrong thing? Hah!" Omega scoffed. "We merely need to improve our strategy using logic and reason. Our tactics always have a scientific basis."
Novelle looked peeved. "You guys have the same problem as the civilization that created the very situation we're in now. What's so scientific about wanting to destroy the world's love and emotion? How could civilization possibly survive without them?"
"The better question is, how can civilization keep on going, with them? They serve no purpose in the grand scheme of things, so we might as well abandon these worthless, time-consuming pursuits in favor of pure reason to create a better plan of existence."
The messenger groaned. "You robots and your philosophy."
"It's got to be a better philosophy than yours, doesn't it? Think about it. What purpose are you doing all this fighting for? To preserve envy, hate, wrath, despair, depression, and all the other emotions that cause the world so much trouble? To preserve the thoughts that drive some to go mad, others to seek power and control at the expense of anyone who stands in their way, and still others to kill themselves? Wouldn't you rather have a world in which everyone is of the same mind and works together to accomplish a single, undisputed goal? And this wouldn't be a robotic society where everyone is exactly the same. Oh no. We'd definitely allow everyone to have their own individual thoughts and personality."
"Wait...what?" Mario stared at the larger robot. "Isn't Amtakan's goal to destroy the universes and their population?"
"Destroy their love and emotion, yes. But destroy existence itself, definitely not. His plan is to create a new world. He plans to take a select few citizens from different dimensions, brainwash them, and have them build the new existence he desires. Isn't that a foolproof plan? Listen, heroes. There's no logical backing behind love and emotion. They are malfunctions of human nature. Why do you even bother coming to this fortress and trying to defeat Amtakan? It's not going to happen. We have the backing of pure reason...of which there is none to oppose us."
Novelle took center stage again. "You can talk all you want, Omega, and make it sound like your argument is the way to go, but no one else will buy it. You know what you're doing? You're selling us a product. You're highlighting the bad aspects of emotion and refusing to even mention the positives that come from it. You're billing it as a 'malfunction of human nature', while not even stopping to consider that love is a force that has brought us together and shaped existence. Or maybe you have considered it - you just don't want to accept it. You're insulting and degrading anyone who disagrees with you - and this is from someone who claims to use logic and reason to guide their behavior!" She was on a roll. "And you know what the sad thing is? You'd probably respond to these allegations with something like 'Novelle has a tiny mind and doesn't know what she's talking about.' Yeah, well, guess what? Anyone can say that. Anyone who can talk is physically capable of forming that sentence and carrying out that intended meaning. Yeah, because you say it, you big paragon of logic-guided relationships, that makes it true? Oh please. You're the least rational person I know. If you really thought you could defeat the heroes with your weapons, you would've specifically decided on what could eliminate them instead of just upgrading the same weapons over and over. And you would've considered the emotional and psychological aspects of fighting instead of just trying to blow the whole thing up. If you want to get rid of a fundamental part of existence, I guess I can't do anything about it, but there's no way in heck I'm going to sit here and live with it!"
Omega was still. "Very nice speech, Novie. Now how about you wait nice and still while Alpha and I destroy you heroes' existence from the space-time continuum and prove your little theory wrong."
MINIBOSS
H-X Alpha and B-A Omega
"Hut!" B-A Omega and H-X Alpha swerved to opposite sides of the dark, outlined battlefield, aiming inward toward our heroes with a multitude of lasers. Omega fired a beam of electricity from one of the five cannons on his right arm, directly hitting Peach.
"Peach!" As Mario's princess struggled in pain, Luigi ran toward the larger robot and swiped through the air, planting his feet into Omega's face.
"Gah!" The robot shut off his beam, and Mario rushed to Peach's side. "Idiots! Wait until you see the real power of pure reason." The glowing rings around the minion's left arm emitted an encompassing radiance that surrounded his body, producing a rapidly spinning field of glowing particles that encircled the robot. He hovered around the room, smashing into our heroes and blasting them to the side with his new attack.
"Omega's really into it this time," Novelle noted. "He's still angry about what happened." The messenger flew in B-A Omega's direction, trying to slow his attack.
"You guys haven't forgotten about the cool one, have you?" H-X Alpha multiplied the blades he'd used to cut himself and fired them in the direction of Mario, Peach, and Nastasia.
"Jump!" The three heroes leaped over the low flying blades as they slammed into the wall, sticking in their positions. Seizing the opportunity, they each pulled one of the knife-like blades from the wall and hurled them at the smaller robot. Alpha managed to hover out of the trajectory of the first two, but the third stuck directly in his left "wing".
"Ouchies! You meanies!" Alpha extended another metal arm and pulled the blade out, but Mario and Nastasia used this time to attack him.
"You're OK, Peach?" Mario called back. Peach was still in pain after being zapped by Omega's attack.
"Just about." Peach waved her arms and legs, making sure everything worked properly.
"Take this, Mr. Biased-Logic!" Mimi leaped into the air and precision-aimed a sharp Rubee at Omega's chest plate as Omega moved toward her, scoring critical motion-augmented damage.
"Oh, you little!" B-A Omega activated his fastest motion setting and dashed for the minion. Mimi wasn't able to defend herself as Omega slammed into her, sending both of them careening into the nearby wall. Mimi struggled, frantically scraping at Omega's blockade with whatever Rubees she could pull out. The two conflicting minions fell to the ground, still clawing at each other. "Bring it, Little Miss Freak!"
"I'm...not...a...FREAK!" Mimi drew her leg up and slammed it into Omega's eye input, yelping as her foot came into contact with stiff metal.
"Ha ha! You see that? You heroes have taken out my visual input one too many times, so I got smart and covered the device with some durable protection. There's no way you'll be able to penetrate THAT, not even with Rubees...freak girl!" B-A Omega rose, charging a massive laser to blast Mimi.
"Why don't you pick on someone of your own totally-non-freak-itude?" Nastasia appeared behind Omega. "Because, you know, getting mortally wounded and then being rebuilt into a half-biological, half-robotic minion really doesn't classify you as a freak by your own definition." Nastasia spin-kicked Omega's right hand, causing the metal arm to ricochet backward and slam into the wall. This tore off one of the metal guns in an explosion of sparks.
"Oh?" Omega grunted. "What makes you-"
"Take this!" Mimi aimed another Rubee straight for the damaged hand, shearing off another gun.
"Grrr! You little minions have grown a bit too annoying for your size." The robot folded back his steel-beam leg. Instead of a laser, the limb rapid-fired a row of shurikens from its knee joint, striking both minions.
"Aaaaaagh!" Nastasia winced as the shuriken scraped her right arm, drawing blood.
"Nastasia..." Mimi's stomach had been struck, provoking large pain, but the knowledge of her fast-healing injuries helped to mentally alleviate the temporary discomfort. "You're OK, aren't you?"
"I would say not!" B-A Omega pulled a row of knives from his left arm and released them with a spinning throw.
"Agck!" Acting without thinking, Mimi dive-tackled Nastasia, sending them both under the assault. The shape-shifting minion pulled out a Rubee under cover of confusion, then sprang up, threw her weapon, and dented Omega's chest plate.
"You heroes..." Omega's visual input device couldn't move, but if he had eyes, his eyebrows would be moving way downward.
"JALAPENO!!!" H-X Alpha's latest attempt to stop our heroes was a series of generated spiked maces that swung in circles around the smaller robot, sweeping a wide area. As Mario and Peach dove out of the way, the spiky balls smashed into O'Chunks's side.
"'OW!" The strong minion didn't have time to examine his injuries as Alpha drew still closer. After a rear assault from Mario to get the robot's attention, however, O'Chunks had some time to ready himself. He released some gas, flew into the air, and gave H-X Alpha the strongest ground pound he could muster, critically damaging the robot.
"No! At this rate, we'll never get the contract signed. I'll pull out my secret legal weapon." H-X Alpha floated to the other side of the room, performing the attack that involved covering himself with a circle of spikes and spinning around the room, similar to what Mimi and her partners could do. This maneuever affected the heroes on B-A Omega's side of the battlefield, as well.
"Why don't I give you heroes a taste of this!" Omega rose above the center of the room and spun his arms around, releasing homing, fast-moving lasers.
"Whaaag-uhh!" Luigi was struck by one of the beams of energy and sent crashing into the wall face-first.
"Feeling a little down, Luigi?" Alpha withdrew his spikes and shot even more lasers toward the green plumber.
"Halt!" Blumiere rushed in front of Luigi and blocked the small robot's lasers with his staff, noting Bowser standing behind Alpha. "It's all yours, Bowser!"
The Koopa king wasted no time. He summoned his hotest fire breath and enshrouded H-X Alpha in the potent stream.
"Ugh...gah..." Alpha's mechanical processes were in danger as the robot sparked and crackled. "I'll...get...you...all!" The minion gave one last attempt to stop the heroes, extending multiple firearms and charging for the ultimate laser. Just before he fired, though, Novelle jumped in front of him and readied her wand. As Alpha fired, Novelle's wand deflected the attack. The laser's line of fire exploded, sending bits of glowing laser fire flying across the room, some of which came back to hit H-X Alpha. The robot's central button panel exploded, incapaciting him.
"He's finished," Mario observed.
B-A Omega stared at his partner. "Help...me...good...friend..." the smaller robot begged.
Omega continued to stare. His eyes didn't give off any expression as usual, but his mouth contained definite traces of intense anger. "You know, Alpha," he said, "in the grand scheme of things, you've done nothing to help me other than blast out your schizophrenic nonsense."
"Whuuuut? I thought that was, liiiiiiike, guuuuuud..."
The larger robot suddenly rose his voice to an alarming level. "It's NOT good, you imbecile! All you do is misuse the great technological advances Amtakan supplies us with, wheras I'm here, using them rationally for the purpose of defeating the heroes. You know what? I think I'm going to be the only robot around here to use the technology." He pointed his right cannon arm's three remaining guns directly at H-X Alpha, and blasted the other robot with a combination of laser, fire, and electricity. The energy overload created a huge glowing explosion in the room's center. Embers, fire, and sparking bits of H-X Alpha rained down.
Our heroes stared at the mess, still shocked, when B-A Omega spoke again. He pointed his cannon arm directly at Mario. "Now you'll see, heroes, why I'm truly, the wielder of the universes' most advanced weapons technology!" Omega threw his arms into the air, charging a strange form of dark energy, and released it across the room. Our heroes felt as if the world had flipped upside-down as they rose away from the ground and collapsed upon the ceiling.
"He's reversed our gravity!" Novelle exclaimed.
"Now!" Omega pointed his fingered hand at our heroes and charged the flaming red jewel. He pulled more shurikens from the arm, set them aflame, and threw them up at our heroes.
"No! Run!" Mario tried his best to keep the others out of harm's way, but our heroes were too disoriented to discern exactly where to dodge. One of the spinning shurikens sideswiped Blumiere's cape, setting it aflame, and another passed Bowser's leg, cutting a deep gash.
"Graaahhh!!" Bowser felt for his injury, oblivious to the new laser Omega had aimed straight for him. The Koopa king was slammed into the ceiling again.
Omega re-issued his gravity maneuever, sending our heroes' gravity to the right. The room was wider than it was tall, so this severely limited our heroes' fighting space. "Aaagh!" Blumiere swatted at his flaming cape, using his staff to alleviate the heat.
"Now do you see my true power?" B-A Omega angled himself to point his cannon arm downward and fired a volley of bullet-like projectiles at the heroes.
"We have to get used to this gravity effect and fight him!" Novelle's statement was obvious, but it was a great initiative for the disoriented others. The messenger rose to Omega's level and charged her wand with an envelope of sparks.
"What're you trying now?" Omega whirled around to confront Novelle, unsuspectingly driving his left hand directly through Novelle's wand. The energy-soaked staff sheared Omega's hand clean off, producing an even larger shower of sparking metal. "Grr!" Omega swiped at Novelle with his other arm. The messenger swerve-ducked out of Omega's range and quickly snapped back up, driving a blast of magic into the minion's damaged chest plate. Omega retaliated by firing a metal bar from his new triangle-shaped right foot. The bar split into six identical segments that spread into a cage-like form and trapped Novelle against the wall, too tightly for the hero to use her wand at all. "It's over now, Novelle."
"Not quite!" Omega became the target of a Rubee assault from Mimi below. The stones were interfering with Omega's aiming, so he flew downward to attack her. At the same time, Blumiere rushed upward and blasted open Novelle's cage.
"Oh!" Novelle's wand well from her grip and plummeted toward the ground. She and Blumiere both dove downward to catch it.
"Interception!" Luigi shouted to warn the two heroes just as Omega blasted through the crowd to capture the magician's wand.
"Oh no you don't!" Novelle swiftly drew her leg back and kicked Omega's chest, enlargening the plate's dent and sending the robot backward. She cooly caught her wand. "I'm not completely defenseless without this thing, you know. And it'll only work for me!" Novelle showed off her weapon's power by blasting Omega with another beam of magic tinted blue-green. The wave sent sparks of blue-hot energy radiating from the damaged robot. Our heroes found themselves falling back to the floor - Novelle's attack had apparently destroyed his gravity-altering mechanism.
When the magical debris had cleared, our heroes observed B-A Omega. All of his right arm's cannons, and part of the main central one, had been destroyed, as well as all of the left arm below the central joint. His chest plate was in shreds, allowing the heroes to see inside the minion's central unit. In the very center of the myriad wires and electrical devices, a red heart-like object pulsated with a regular beat. Our heroes gulped. Had they exposed the only truly biological component of B-A Omega's body?
Novelle waited a few seconds before addressing the minion. "Please, Omega. If you continue to fight us, you could die. We don't want to kill you. Just go back to Amtakan. You want to survive...right?"
Omega didn't respond. He simply continued to stare at Novelle, processing the 4,000-year-old messenger who had been the reason for his transformation into a mechanical cyborg soldier. The same girl who'd attacked him and Hanetul, reducing their bodies to a mess of blood and armor. The same girl who'd foiled his master's plans so many times over the millenia. And now here she was, begging him to leave to save his life. What now?
Well, surviving would be the logical thing to do...
The minion flipped out.
"Well, I'm glad he decided to save his life." Novelle sighed, checking over all of our heroes' injuries. "I'll see if I can help a little with those." The messenger tapped into her magic to heal our heroes' wounds as best she could, but not all of the damage could be repaired.
"That was pretty...noble of you," Nastasia commented.
Novelle smiled weakly. "As long as someone's alive, they have a shot at repentence. I never try to kill anyone unless it's obvious that they're never going to turn away from their ways. Like Amtakan."
"That's what we have to do." Mario looked forward. "All right, gang, our next trial awaits. Let's go." The hero led his group further into the World of Amtakan, knowing that one of the most evil souls he'd ever encountered would be waiting.
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
Mario blinked as yet another new landscape opened before him. The scenery was pure white, much like the World of Nothing created by The Void, but red volcanoes and other rock formations seemed to exist intermittently in the background. Strange shapes appeared in the foreground as well - floating, polygonal sections of lava, random black areas of similar shapes, and a few other scattered bits and pieces here and there. The ground itself wasn't even consistent; one moment, it was pure black, then a simple black line, then a checkered white-black-red-brown mix. "This place is hot," Luigi observed.
"Yeah. I can feel it already." Mario turned around. "Ready, everyone?"
"Totally!" Bowser approved. "I'm awesome with lava, 'cause I use it in all my castles."
"Be careful, Mario." Novelle gave her typical approval. "Amtakan's sure to up the ante, and we'll probably be up against the Netherclops after this trek. And then all that remains will be Amtakan himself."
"I'm ready." Mario set his jaw. "Be brave, everyone."
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The road ahead was littered with enemies, hazards, and, of course, fire. The heroes encountered obstacles like they'd never seen before, such as a block consisting of four rotating squares, two of which were made of lava. They had to run quickly through the block when one of the non-lava sections passed by, making it through before the next lava section came down to broil them alive. "We just have to get through this place and defeat the Netherclops," Mario began. "And then there's nothing stopping us from reaching Amtakan. This is the last minion."
"Amtakan paired up the last two boss rooms," Luigi added, "but it doesn't look like he has anyone to accompany the Netherclops. We'll be fighting him solo."
Novelle shifted. "We've only fought him once before, so he might be more difficult to deal with than Mortcha, and Margaret, and H-X Alpha and B-A Omega. Keep your guard, heroes. He's got all sorts of tricky and probably seductive maneuvers."
"But Amtakan is probably going to pose our greatest challenge..." Tippi looked ahead. "He's somewhere far beyond this void of inferno, waiting for us to come and meet him..." The Pixl looked at her fellow guide. "So, this isn't too complicated of an objective, is it? We just need to destroy Amtakan."
"Yes, that's correct." Novelle sighed. "We must reach the place where he resides and destroy him using any means we can. Once we do that, we'll be able to destroy the Dark Prognosticus, and its power will vanish. All the worlds will finally be safe from its influence once the Prognosticus is destroyed once and for all."
"He has the Light Prognosticus too." Mimi moved her eyes toward Novelle, feeling the instinct to ask her any question she wasn't sure of. "Not to mention the Dark one in the first place. He must be even more powerful than Count Bleck was."
"More powerful, that's for sure. With both books in his hands, he's capable of controlling the very fabric of reality to a small degree. We'll have to be as careful as we can when we confront him. No doubt, he'll use the power of the prophetic books to try and stop us."
"Novelle?" Mario joined the crowd of heroes staring at their new guide. Novelle seemed to be answering our heroes' questions rather bluntly, and with a different tone than her usual. Her head was lowered. "You're OK, aren't you?"
"What? Um, yeah, I suppose..." She stopped walking, tilting her head upward, staring into space with her beautiful violet eyes. "A few days before Amtakan went mad, he told me something. I remember exactly what he said...'Maia, even if the entire world is against us and what we're doing, I'll always be there to support you. You can count on me never to change my mind.' And then, a couple of days later..." She turned around. "He's the most destructive villain existence has ever known."
Novelle was silent for a moment. Our heroes took in what she was saying.
"I guess it's natural that I'd get more upset as we get closer to Amtakan...because...with every step we get closer to him, it's another step we get closer to killing the closest friend I've ever had." Tippi moved toward Novelle, planning to comfort her, but the messenger spoke again. "Well, I guess Mario isn't so far behind." She smiled weakly.
Mario smiled as well. Novelle sure could inject a smile into the most despairing of situations. "We must go forward," he told Novelle. "It's easy for you to give advice, but no advice-giver can do without some advice themself. All we need to do is go forward. Remember what you told me, in the Sereniburg prison? 'You have to convince your mind to move on.' I remember that. When your mind seems like it doesn't want to do what you know you have to do...just convince it. Just keep moving forward."
The messenger's smile widened. "Yes. Thanks, Mario. Gosh, I've given you so much advice. How can you stand it?"
The hero laughed. "A lot of advice is all for the better. The more advice I get, the more likely I am to actually pay attention and apply it."
"That's so true." Novelle sighed. "Well, I guess the only route from here is forward."
"Let's do it." Mario set off.
After jumping to a raised ledge, exploding sounds echoed all around our heroes. They looked around, trying to locate the source of the sounds, until Blumiere finally understood. "It's hailing meteors!" The former count used the magical prowess of his staff to blast the space rock apart.
"Not these again!" Nastasia stared at the blank-white sky, observing the meteors that appeared to be forming from thin air against the blankness.
"Let's make a run for it." As soon as Mario moved his muscle in the forward direction, he stopped. Before our heroes was a gigantic pit of molten lava. Small, rotating circular platforms spanned the magma lake. Some were faster than others, but they all appeared incredibly dangerous. He looked behind again. "This is the review for the final exam of platforming antics, guys. Amtakan's area is probably the final." He utilized his trademark jumping skills and leaped upon the first rotating ball. The meteors were still raining down, and that was a tough obstacle to juggle with the already-dangerous platform.
"Whoaaaa!!" Mimi spun her arms in crazy circles, slowly calming down as the platform's movement carried her to a higher, more stable position. "This is nerve-wracking..."
"Watch out, guys!" Mario pointed to another obstacle, this time coming from the lava below our heroes' feet.
"...You've got to be kidding me." Luigi stared at the dangerous Lava Bubbles that leaped from the boiling liquid below, adding an obstacle from below as well as above. Not to mention the very ground on which our heroes were standing.
"There's no looking back, heroes!" Tippi encouraged, seemingly holding on to whatever last shred of her advice-giver position there might be. "Just go forward and see when to dodge the next obstacle!"
A flaming meteor descended directly for Mario's platform. This was a trick he'd had to pull off only a few times before; he jumped in the direction of backwards, then swerved in mid-air back toward the platform. "Whew." Stable ground was only one more platform away, so Mario took his next route and planted his feet onto the safe ground.
The meteor storm eventually thinned out. Our heroes were welcomed by the relative silence, but that silence was soon replaced by the roar of a large network of lava-falls. The molten rock flowed and dripped downward in a series of rivers and falls, floating in air, as if they were flowing down an invisible mountain range. Another large lava pit formed the collection of the falls' exit points. "So how do we get past this?" Peach stared into the distance, squinting. She couldn't make out any stable land beyond the vast expanse of lava falls.
"I don't see anything." Novelle lifted into the air and moved over the lava falls. "It looks like these falls go on for a really long time," she called back to the others. "And since this is the World of Amtakan, who knows. They could literally go on forever."
"So we're stuck here?" Bowser complained. "OK. Got any solutions?"
"Well, I'm not sure. We'll just have to look around and see if there's anything we can use." Novelle scanned the surrounding area.
Maybe there's some invisible coin blocks? Mario tried jumping around the area, but no hidden blocks revealed themselves. 3-D? He flipped to the third dimension and had a look around, but there were no Flip Blocks or hidden paths to make use of. He flipped back. "There's nothing in that dimension."
"Hmm...I think I see something," Novelle reported. She was staring in our heroes' direction, but downward. "The lava looks like it's flowing into a hole at the bottom of this cliff. Maybe, if we blocked it somehow..."
"I think I can do that." Mimi tossed a Rubee into the fiery chasm, followed by another, and another, and another. The mass of stones finally piled up next to the opening, blocking the liquid's path forward. Without anywhere to go, the lava level began to rise.
"Now what have you gotten us into?" Bowser glared at Novelle.
"Stay calm, Bowser. The lava's got to go somewhere."
As the magma continued to rise, O'Chunks expressed concern. "Shouldn't we be avoidin' this 'ere hot stuff?"
"Well, yes," Tippi explained, "but I don't know where we can go!"
Mario looked at the lava. The boiling liquid was inching closer and closer to where our heroes were standing. Once it reached the ground level, it would spill out and vaporize them all. What could they do? How could they move forward? There wasn't a way forward, so Mario looked back. That's it! Back! "I know what to do! Everyone, follow me! We need to go back!" He began running back.
"Back? What for?" Nastasia questioned the hero, but Mario seemed like he knew what he was doing. The rest of our heroes followed him, back through the hot obstacles and platforms until they came back to the area with the rotating platforms suspended over the lava pit.
"Jump on these and stay there!" Mario jumped to the farthest one. The overflowing lava had already broken free and was flowing in our heroes' direction. It began pouring into the lava lake below our heroes. As it reached the platforms' level, they began to rise. "Yes, I knew it! The lava is carrying these platforms upward. We'll be able to reach a new area."
"Is there anything up there?" Luigi looked into the featureless sky, and he could make out some platforms far above our heroes. Once the lava had risen to their level, our heroes ditched their ride and went with the platforms. There was little interference on their road until they reached a door.
"I think the next minion is beyond this door," Novelle cautioned. "We need to be careful. We've already used a few of our health items."
"Let's do it then." Mario opened the door.
On the other side was another blank-white area, this time with rocky ground and lava beneath it. Waiting for them in its center was the Netherclops.
"Well, well, well. Who have we here?!" The Netherclops focused his giant eye on the crowd of heroes. "Oh, I'm just kidding. I know it couldn't be anyone but those heroes Amtakan hates so much. But really, Novelle, those eyes of yours capture me every single time."
"Let us pass, Netherclops..." Novelle breathed. "Or we'll beat you again. Bad."
"I said don't call me NETHERCLOPS, idiot! Call me Cuddlemuffins. It's so cuddly and nice."
"I'll call you what I flippin' WANT to call you, Muffin Sandwich!" Bowser stepped in front of the cyclops minion. "And before you start hitting on Peach, too, I'm gonna warn you that I won't respond too kindly to that."
"Hey, Peach, you're pretty."
"I warned you!" Bowser breathed the strongest fire blast he could muster, but the Netherclops blocked his hot breath with his staff and blasted it back at the Koopa king in a hyper-concentrated beam of energy, sending Bowser flying backward.
"Any more of you fools want to challenge me?" The minion twirled his staff. "No, you don't want to hurt a creature with such an innocent name as Cuddlemuffins. Ah, I can't wait until Amtakan begins building his new world! A world without true love. I do believe I'll be able to pursue my own loving interests without objectionally moral people like you getting in the way."
"Yeah, that's what you think," Tippi dared. "Amtakan's going to get rid of all emotion! He won't allow any form of love!"
"Are you so sure? Why wouldn't he at least make an exception for me? We're the ones who gave him his power in the first place. Surely he, being the rational person he is, would never think of not repaying us in some form. There's no way he could make us follow his rules, you know. We're just with him 'cause we have a common world-destroying agenda."
"Which means you're villains." Novelle stepped forward. "And that means, as heroes, we're morally obligated to stop your plans. Amtakan wants to get rid of love, but that's stronger than hate."
"Oh, Novelle..." The Netherclops laughed hysterically, although it seemed somewhat artificial. "Listen to yourself. If love is stronger than hate, why don't armies fight with hugs and kisses? Why is it so easy to give into your hateful desires, yet loving ones require so much more attention?"
"Why don't you listen to yourself? Armies fight to destroy. Love does not destroy. If you know what love is, it's easy to keep following that path if you're strong enough. And if you're not strong enough, then become stronger. And that's what we're going to do now."
"Yo ho ho! And a bottle of rum! If you could just hear your-"
"I've had enough!" Luigi ran toward the Netherclops, and before anyone else could speak, launched into the air with his foot aimed directly for the demon's eye.
MINIBOSS
The Netherclops
"Hi-YAAAAHHH!!!" Luigi accented his ninja-style move as the bottom of his foot came in direct contact with the Netherclops' giant eye. He backflipped once his attack had hit and landed smoothly on the ground. "How do you like that, huh?"
"Ouchies! You cheater! The battle wasn't even started yet! Can't we do this, like, in RPG fashion or something?" The minion gathered energy with his staff and fired a blue ray at Luigi, who promptly Super Jumped over his attack and nailed his enemy with a gravity-augmented super-stomp. "Gaah! You heroes just cheat too much." He readied himself. "Well, I'll show you all! How will you be able to fight without a platform to fight on?" The Netherclops thrust his staff into the ground, cracking the rocks beneath. The wide platform split apart, producing a loud cracking sounds as the individual pieces of the large rock slab drifted apart into a field of small platforms floating in the lava.
"There's safe ground over there!" Mario pointed to the area beyond the Netherclops, noting a larger area of ground that contained the passage forward.
"Yeah, there's safe ground over there." The minion moved menacingly toward the general area of rocks our heroes were standing on. "But it's not safe if you never get there, is it, now?" He lifted his arm and rose his staff directly toward the sky. Lightning suddenly shot down from the sky toward our heroes.
"No!" Mario made a jump over the incoming bolts and landed on the Netherclops's platform. "Now who's cheating?" The hero pulled out his hammer and whacked the minion's eye as forcefully as he could.
"There's nothing you can do about me, you know!" Novelle flew toward her adversary and contributed with her own attacks. The Netherclops didn't give them as much time to attack as they'd liked, however. He spun around and encased himself in a transparant pink shield, sending the two heroes to the side. Unfortunately for Mario, to the side was in the lava.
"NO! MARIO!" Novelle dove for the red plumber and caught him in her arms just before he touched down in the boiling liquid. Moving upward with all of her strength, she gently let him down on one of the larger rock platforms.
"Thanks, Novelle." Mario didn't have time to say much else before the Netherclops attacked again, this time rising into the air and extending rays of energy.
"I have a plan!" Our heroes immediately focused their attention on Blumiere. "Everyone, get to the other side while Novelle and I keep him occupied with our energy attacks!"
"Your plans never fail, Count...Blumiere." Nastasia set off across the floating rocks, followed by the other six non-flying heroes, while Blumiere and Novelle hovered around the Netherclops, battling him with their non-direct energy attacks. The three combatants zipped around the air, blasting each other with their powerful attacks as the other heroes crossed the lava pool safely and landed on the larger area of ground ahead.
"Novelle, let's keep him cornered!" Blumiere shouted. Novelle aligned herself so that she, the Netherclops, and Blumiere formed a perfect line, and the two heroes fired at their enemy from both sides. The Netherclops was surrounded.
"Come on! Why gang up on Cuddlemuffins? You know what, I don't want to be called that anymore. How about...Gooshie-Ooshie-Lovie-Dovey-Cuddly-Guy?"
"In your messed-up dreams." As the minion pulled out a fiery ball of energy, Novelle countered with a ray of cold ice that demolished the projectile before he could release it.
"Oh, you've done it now! NOW YOU'LL ALL FEEL THE WRATH OF GOOSHIE-OOSHIE-LOVIE-DOVEY-CUDDLY-GUY!" The Netherclops rose above Novelle and summoned a beam of glowing light that zapped her directly.
"Aaahh!!" In obvious pain, the messenger allowed herself to fall onto one the rocks.
"You will not harm her!" Blumiere body-charged from behind, smacking into the Netherclops and pushing him aside. "Novelle, are you OK?"
"Yeah...I'm OK." Novelle stood up and slowly rose into the air. "Come on. We've got to give him what he deserves."
"What's this I see?" The Netherclops looked over at the crowd of heroes hanging out on stable ground. "You dirty cheats cheated me! I'm never going to call you again!"
"Oh, hooray." Novelle jump-kicked the Netherclops from behind, letting Blumiere send him back again with a shot from his staff. Novelle attacked him again before the minion broke out of their volley and charged straight for the others.
"He's coming this way!" Bowser announced. "Let's get him, everyone!"
"I'm ready!" Peach moved to the front of the group. "I'll bet he won't even move to avoid this." She held out her parasol with the end sticking in the Netherclops's direction, and the minion ran directly into it.
"Oww! Right in the eye!" The Netherclops staggered. "You heroes have been pushing me around for far too long. I'll up the ante." The diamond-shaped stones that surrounded the Netherclops's head area glowed a bright teal and began rotating in a wide circle around the minion's body. "Try avoiding this!" He body-charged around the area, striking our heroes with the orbiting stones. The energy-enhanced obstacles caused massive damage to our heroes.
"We 'ave to git rid o' those diamonds some'ow!" O'Chunks jumped and pounded on one of the stones, but only managed to injure himself further.
"Rubees are hard. Maybe they can do something!" Mimi threw a Rubee at one of the circling diamonds. It appeared to damage the weapon, but didn't have much affect.
"We have to create a stronger impact!" Novelle moved toward Mimi. "Please give me a Rubee." Mimi obeyed. "Thank you. Now hold still, Netherclops..." Novelle threw the Rubee upward and held her wand outward, surrounding the stone in a lavender-colored energy bubble. With a wand swipe, she sent it toward one of the minion's diamonds at a hyper-sonic speed. The object smashed into hundreds of shards, scattering across the arena as the Rubee flew upward, flipping through the air.
"That won't stop me for long! Let's see what else Rubees are good for." The Netherclops magically maneuvered the Rubee and flung it toward Novelle, hitting her face squarely. The messenger recoiled as she rose her hand to her left cheek.
"Novelle!" Mimi rushed to examine her fellow hero as Novelle picked up a drop of blood with her hand. "Oh, I'm sorry! I-"
"You don't have to apologize, Mimi. In fact, give me another one." Mimi produced another Rubee and handed it to Novelle. "Thanks." She destroyed another diamond with the new Rubee, leaving only three.
"Gah! This isn't working like I planned." The Netherclops slowed the rotation of the projectiles. "Maybe some good old bouncing ball tricks will work." He summoned his staff's magic to create a teal sphere of energy that he sent downward at the ground. It flew upwards once it touched down, homing in to smash directly into Luigi. "Yeah, it's homing now! How do you like that?"
"Luigi..." Mario rushed to his brother. "You OK?"
"Sort of." Luigi inhaled deeply. "Oh, but watch-" The ball fell again, striking Mario and sending the two brothers crashing in a heap.
"Come on..." Mario stood up as quickly as he could, feeling the large scrape on his forehead. "Let's move!" Both Mario Brothers dove out of the way just before the ball came down again.
"Nice try!" Novelle shot the ball with another stream of energy, bursting it into thousands of specks. The Netherclops extended his staff and captured the pieces of his weapon, forming them into another blob of energy that he hurtled at Novelle. The messenger promptly blocked his fire, sending it back at the Netherclops.
"Whee! This is fun, isn't it?" the minion taunted, sending the energy away again. "It's like ping-pong!"
"Not for long!" The Netherclops turned to look at Mimi's voice, and Novelle's charged energy slammed him into the ground. Mimi, Nastasia, and O'Chunks promptly gang-tackled the minion and pinned him down.
"Dogpile on the bad guy!" Nastasia threw her hardest punch.
"Get the..." The Netherclops struggled to push the three minions away.
"He's almost down!" Mimi announced. "Come on! We could use some backup!"
"That's what I like, Mimi." The minion turned to look at Novelle. "It's good to see you asserting yourself. Confidence is nice!" Novelle joined the brawl from a distance with her ice ray, Mario and Bowser dashing toward the Netherclops as well.
"NO!" The Netherclops smashed his weapon into the ground again, creating a shockwave and throwing all of our heroes to the side. "Now TAKE THIS!" He rapid-fired energy pulses in our heroes' direction, damaging them heavily.
"We've just got to get one more decent hit in." Mario looked at Bowser, the only other hero who looked to be in near-perfect condition. "Want to give this guy what he deserves?"
"What? Oh, yeah, sure. Got a plan?"
"Yeah. I'll run in front and pretend to attack him. Sneak up from behind and give him a Bowserization he'll remember!"
"Awesome! Now only if you didn't have these planning skills when you attack my castle."
Mario ran toward the Netherclops, pulling his hammer out in a fake preparation for attack. The Netherclops retaliated, blasting the hero with a wide beam of energy. Mario was smashed aside, but behind the minion, Bowser was ready. He leaped into the air and came down directly on the Netherclops's eye with a classic Bowser ground pound. The minion was defeated.
"Rrrrrgaaahh!!! Nooo!!!" The Netherclops lay on the ground, injured. "I...I can't believe this! How could they have...defeated...me?"
Novelle approached the minion. "There's a quality we all have. And none of you do..."
"Is that so..." The Netherclops punctuated his words oddly. Novelle didn't think much of it, but was soon shocked as the Netherclops, in a flash, whipped out his staff and blasted her in the direction of a nearby large rock. Novelle's breath flew out as her back smashed into the stone. She fell to the ground, clutching the back of her left leg. "Ho ho ho ho...Amtakan will still get you guys, you know. And then there'll be no more love to defeat minions with." The Netherclops vanished.
Tippi floated to Novelle, concern in her voice. "Are you hurt, Novelle?"
"...A little." The messenger slowly rose, examining the injuries on the backs of her arms and legs. She sighed. "I've suffered so much for what I believe in."
The other heroes approached their newest member. "That's true," Peach noted. "You've fought for 4,000 years to preserve the existence of love and emotion. Not to mention every dimension."
"Yeah..." Novelle righted herself. "But I'm fine with it, really. I don't mind if I have to get hurt in order to accomplish my goal. That's a small price compared to all of existence being destroyed. Or at least drained of emotion..."
Our heroes looked ahead. A staircase extended before them, leading to a higher area. "There's Amtakan's place," Mario mused. He turned to the other eight heroes. "Let's go. We've got to stop Amtakan as soon as we can." Our heroes rushed up the stairs, drawing closer to their final conflict than ever before.
-END OF CHAPTER-
-
Our heroes climbed a spiraling staircase of rock as the sky around them grew darker with every step. They could soon barely make out the rock they were stepping on. Eventually, they emerged on a patch of a dark substance against a backdrop of total blackness. None of the group could even tell what they were standing on; it was a rugged, patchy substance that contained random areas of dark red and dark grey, almost as black as the void beyond. It felt solid to their feet, but transmitted no other sensory input like stepping on wood or glass might. They could see a few platforms made of this substance in front of them, but their vision was limited. Whether this was because of the lack of light, or the abundance of darkness, they couldn't tell. Mario looked back at the others. A nod was all he needed to set our heroes forward. They traveled, silent, across their newest and last challenge. This was the end.
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Amtakan's area began with a few mild platform exercises. A small assortment of strange enemies fired projectiles as our heroes moved across the silent obstacle course, but there was nothing at the level of what they'd seen in the previous section. "Is this almost too easy?" Luigi whispered.
A few seconds after Luigi finished, a flash of soundless lightning lit up the entire area for a fraction of a second. "Whoa..." Mario kept his voice low as well. The silence hung over our heroes like a thick blanket. It almost seemed like talking loudly would cause something disastrous to happen.
The lightning flash illuminated a large metal bolt attached to a horizontal pole that extended across a pit. "Let me check this out." Mario jumped onto the bolt, walking in place to start it spinning, moving it across the pit to the other platform. When he was about halfway there, however, he was unsuspectingly fired at by a cannon above the start of the next platform. The projectiles were like Bullet Bills in concept, but were flashes of energy; they couldn't be jumped on. Mario was hit, but the hero was careful to maintain his balance despite the shock. Once he reached the other side, he was immediately attacked by a fast-moving, blobby enemy. "Be careful, guys! It's getting harder!"
As our heroes moved on, the difficulty would only increase. The road ahead was littered with traps, puzzles, and obstacles like they'd never seen before. At one point, it took the heroes nearly ten minutes to figure out how to place circle-shaped stones in slots according to color. This was followed by a series of platforms spanning a pit that moved upward toward a spiked ceiling. As the group traveled through all of the dark, emotionless rooms, using doors that were simply barely-visible gray outlines, they were forced to use most of the items they'd brought along. After a certain point, however, they hardly even noticed the passage of time. They had been dodging obstacles and enemies for so long, it felt like an eternity.
A huge, dark-red door graced with the Tribe of Darkness symbol brought our heroes back to full awareness. "Is that Amtakan's door?" Tippi questioned.
"Amtakan's door?" repeated Nastasia. "Wait..." The secretary looked back, noting the door they had used to enter this area. They were at the top of a gigantic staircase with that door far below. "What have we been doing all this time? I can't remember much besides...dodging enemies and stuff."
"And all of that..." Mimi agreed. "Wow, we weren't even fully aware. You've trained us well, Mario."
"Thanks." Mario looked around the room, as if expecting to recieve any vibe other than none.
Tippi floated toward the door. "We've fought long and hard to get here." She paused, seeming to sigh. "And this is where it'll end."
The other eight heroes all looked at Novelle. The room was silent for a minute, before Mario again spoke to her. "Do you think you can do this, Novelle?"
The rest of the group awaited her response. "Yes, I...suppose I can." She looked at the ground. "If I show Amtakan more mercy than I should, please, just...let me know."
"OK," Mario promised. "We will." He turned to the door. "Is everyone ready?"
Our heroes nodded.
"All right. Here we go." He began to open the door, setting our heroes with the same line he'd spoken just before entering Dimentio's room in Castle Dimentio. The utterance of one of Mario's catch phrases in such a solumn tone felt strange to the heroes, and even Mario himself. And yet, it reminded them that even in times like this, Mario was still Mario; the hero who'd willingly endure the bitterest of trials in order to save the world everyone else lived in. The fight, at its core, was between Amtakan and Novelle, but the messenger couldn't have hoped to accomplish it on her own. She and the Ancients had needed more people to enter their side of the fight; the other eight heroes of prophecy. Our heroes walked into the door, knowing they were about to decide the battle once and for all.
They emerged in a room that, if possible, was even darker than the previous areas. It was similar to the final room of Castle Dimentio, except with incredibly-dark-red ground, walls, and ceiling made of the same unknown substance. The dim curtains our heroes had seen in the World of Amtakan's entrance area were also present here, four of them evenly spaced, with the same "white" Tribe of Darkness emblem. Mortcha, Omega, the Netherclops, and a very worried-looking Margaret in a simpler blue dress stood at the far side of this room, with Amtakan himself in front. A thin film of wire had been placed across the area where Omega's chestplate had been. The heroes and villains stared at each other for a few seconds. "So be it," Amtakan finally stated.
Our heroes watched as he hovered toward them, betraying no feelings whatsoever. "Amtakan..." Novelle whispered under her breath.
"You have arrived, Novelle. Arrived to pit your last efforts against my plan...efforts that will fail." Novelle closed her eyes as Amtakan continued. "I will destroy these three minions, as well as the rest of you, and use their energy to reactivate the Chaos Heart once more. With its power, I will wipe all love and emotion from existence! A perfect world awaits us all, Novelle." He extended his hand toward her. "Contrary to what you may think, I am not completely heartless. Although some of you must die in order for my plan to be set into motion, I would be willing to allow the rest of you to live once this world has been destroyed, if you will submit to my will and authority."
"Why would we submit to you?" Novelle demanded sharply.
"Because your choice is between that or death. I know that you still hold a trickle of love for me, Maia..." The villain paused. "And while that love will cease to exist in our new order, you will still be able to like me as another person. I no longer have the ability to sense emotion, but you and your comrades do, and I know that somewhere inside, Maia, you still love me." Amtakan firmed his ancient scepter.
Novelle uttered a noise as she blinked. "Amtakan...why? Why do you want to destroy all of the world's emotion? Why do you want to create such a soulless existence?"
The ancient wizard folded his arms. "Ha ha ha. Why would I not? I see no advantage in allowing these things to remain."
"But why? What advantage would there be in having them not exist? Isn't that the very thing you tried to rebel against when we lived in the same civilization? The absence of emotion? The absence of putting thought into things besides just analyzing them?"
Amtakan uttered a thoughtful "Hmm." He paused. "It is true that they were wrong, Maia."
"Exactly! So why try to force everyone to live that sort of life? Isn't that what you hated from the beginning?"
The villain stared directly into Novelle's eyes, focusing her vision on his own soulless ones. "It was emotion that caused me to become upset. It was emotion that brought us together as a team...a team that eventually failed. It was love that drove your concern for me...while I slumped ever downward."
Novelle blinked again. "Yes, so..."
"Maia, you had no idea how I felt while we were working to solve our civilization's problems. I felt hopeless, abandoned, like no one but you cared in the slightest. I felt that the entire world was against us, against us and what we stood for, simply because we thought differently from their misguided 'established wisdom'. I felt that nothing we could do would ever change things. And I felt that you were just repeating the same things over and over, never actually bothering to help."
Novelle was whispering. "You felt hopelessness...you felt despair...you felt sadness...you felt anger...you felt betrayal..."
"Yes, Maia. I felt all of these things."
"And they are emotions?"
"Yes. The feelings of despair, that nothing would ever change, that the world around us had failed...they were my feelings. And they were emotions, fueled by love. I wanted no one else to ever feel the same kind of pain."
His former friend was silent for a long moment. "And you didn't want anyone else to experience the kind of emotional hurt that you suffered..."
"That is correct, Maia."
Novelle stared at the floor. "Getting rid of emotional pain..." She snapped back up, firming her glare at Amtakan. "But is this really the way to do it?"
"There is no other way. Even with all the encouragement, smiles, and love in the worlds, emotional pain can never completely be eliminated. That is why I must destroy emotion for good and allow none of it to remain. And love is the catalyst that drove so many of these emotional relationships...I will have it gone, as well."
A single tear dropped from Novelle's right eye. "Amtakan...oh, this isn't the way. What good will it be to eliminate negative emotions while doing away with the positive ones, as well? Will you eliminate hope, joy, peace, contentment? Will you destroy everything positive that mankind has ever felt? All to save us from a few of our shortcomings?"
"If it is the only way, Maia...then so be it."
Novelle was silent.
"Now then, heroes." Amtakan readied himself. "Make your final choice. Will you allow me to kill these minions of Blumiere and remain alive to live in the creation of our new world?"
"We will not!" Tippi exclaimed. "We'll never submit to your agenda!"
"Does everyone else agree?"
"Yes." Mario set his position forward as the others nodded.
"Very well." Amtakan pulled his scepter into fighting position. "I'll kill you all by force."
As Mario readied for battle, he looked over at Novelle. "Stay strong..." she was whispering. "Stay focused..."
MINIBOSS
Amtakan
Amtakan hovered away from our heroes, toward his minions, and waved his scepter, creating an irregularly-shaped transluscent shield around himself. "Witness my true power!" The villain produced a bolt of lightning that sailed for Mario, who promptly jumped the assault and leaped toward Amtakan. The hero bounced away from his shield without dealing any damage.
"How do we penetrate that shield?" Mario ducked as Amtakan shot more energy bolts at them.
"It's made of pure energy..." Novelle examined the shield. "I think we can deactivate it if we hit it with a strong enough force."
"What's the most powerful attack we have?" Bowser asked. "If I still had my awesome powers, I could blow him away, but..."
"Novelle and I can attack with magic." Blumiere began planning their attack. "Let's attack from both sides at once until Amtakan's protection wears away."
"We'll go in and distract him." Mario motioned to the other heroes.
"Excellent. Let's go, Novelle." The former Count Bleck led Novelle toward their new villain, swerving to opposite sides to get a good shot at him.
"Take this, heroes!" Amtakan spun around once, forming a greenish cocoon around himself, and air-charged toward Mario's group.
"Dodge!" Mario dove sideways as Amtakan smashed into the wall behind them. A few of the heroes were hit by Amtakan's charge, but his pause that followed allowed Blumiere and Novelle to attack him without interruption for a short period of time.
Luigi jumped around behind Amtakan, trying to get the wizard to attack him. Instead, Amtakan turned his attention to Blumiere and Novelle. "I'll stop you two." He rushed toward them, creating and hurling a series of spiked projectiles at them.
"Watch out, Blumiere!" As one of Amtakan's weapons raced for Blumiere, Novelle impeded its progress with a magical sheild. "Go for it!"
Blumiere wasted no time. He flew above Amtakan's line of fire and descended upon the villain with a bodily charge. His shield had been weakened, but it wasn't broken yet. "You put up a nice challenge, Blumiere." The two magicians rushed for each other with each one's magic staff ready, and collided in an explosion of energy. They both were sent flying against opposite walls, Blumiere in the direction of Amtakan's minions.
"I think I'll take out the rest of this shield!" Bowser delivered a claw attack to what remained of Amtakan's protection, shattering the magic shield and exposing his body to attack.
"Good goin', Bowser!" O'Chunks congratulated. "Now let's dish out some 'urt!" The minion pulled back his fist and slammed Amtakan with an old-style punch.
"Fools!" The villain rose toward the ceiling. "You won't be able to avoid this." He sent a rain of glowing energy drops from the ceiling, creating pools of acid on the floor that damaged our heroes.
Mimi stood in a precarious spot between two acid pools, carefully aimed, and hit Amtakan with a Rubee from below. The acid spots were beginning to fade away, but Amtakan turned around quickly enough to require Mimi to tumble to the side, avoiding his lightning blast and the slowly-deteriorating acid.
Peach stood below Amtakan and used her parasol as a weapon while Luigi also Super Jumped from below. "Enough!" The villain descended to the ground and sent out a wide beam of light that stretched across the room. Our heroes weren't able to dodge the unexpected weapon.
"No!" Novelle ran toward Amtakan and brought her wand directly down on him, slamming him with a spear of energy.
"You're quite competent in battle, Maia. But not competent enough." Maia's enemy surrounded himself in a circle of energy pulses. "Now feel my wrath, heroes!"
"I'll handle him!" Mario flipped to 3D and took a position to the side of Amtakan, swinging his hammer into the villain. He flipped out, reappearing on the left side of the room, and released the energy balls at the other heroes, damaging them severely. Mario returned to 2D and jumped on Amtakan through a new break in his rotating shield.
"Let me get in the action here!" Bowser retreated into his shell and spun for Amtakan, but the magician stopped Bowser with a lightning bolt and sent him backward. He then flipped out, flipping back in on the right side of the room, and flew around the ceiling, dropping more bolts of lightning everywhere he went.
"Mario, slam him with your hammer!" Novelle advised. "I'll get him too." Mario obeyed, swerving to avoid a lightning drop and tossing his hammer up to hit Amtakan. Novelle also hit him with a magical blast.
"We're doing pretty good," Mario exhaled. "Just keep this up, guys." He looked around the room as Amtakan flipped out again, watching for where he might appear again. Once Amtakan had fully vanished, however, he was momentarily distracted by Novelle. "You're doing good, Novelle."
Novelle turned to face Mario. "Yeah. I guess." She looked away for a moment. "Just keep whaling on him. If I tell you to stop, don't listen to me."
"Got it." Mario readied his hammer just as Amtakan flipped back in and rushed for the wizard, spinning his hammer in a freestyle upward flip and landing on his feet in front of the villain.
"You heroes are just as annoying as the last time I fought you." Amtakan again produced the spiky projectiles.
Once a few of them dropped to the floor, Nastasia carefully reached for one. The spike pricked her finger as it made contact. The secretary quickly drew her hand back, and tried more carefully to lift it from the ground this time. "Take this, Amtakan!" She threw the object toward Amtakan as carefully as she could. It hit his stomach squarely, clearly damaging him, but Amtakan didn't appear to be in pain. He attacked Nastasia with another lightning blast. "Aaagh!" The minion fell against the nearby wall, shocked to the core.
"Let's do it, bro!" Luigi motioned to the distracted Amtakan. Mario and Luigi rushed for the villain. The older brother leaped upon Amtakan and ground-pounded, while the younger one Super Jumped and crashed down, dealing a double blow to his head.
"Graaah!" Amtakan spun to face the Mario brothers. "You have no idea what true power is!" He sent a wide vertical beam down on the pair, zapping them into a semi-conscious state.
"Mario! Luigi!" Novelle quickly pulled Mario out of the way of Amtakan's future attacks. "Oh, Luigi!" As Amtakan readied a lightning charge, Novelle swung Luigi over the villain's assault and attacked him from behind. "Peach, make sure they're OK!" Novelle flew in to keep Amtakan occupied.
Peach obeyed. "Mario, Luigi. Are you OK?"
The brothers slowly stood up. "Yeah, I think so." Luigi moved his limbs, making sure everything was working properly.
"We've got decent damage on him," Peach continued. "Let's do it!" The three heroes went for Amtakan and attacked him with everything they had.
"You heroes..." Weary from battle, Amtakan charged for them.
Mario noticed Novelle behind the villain. "Get him!" he shouted.
Novelle wasted no time. She powered up her strongest magic blast and hurled it for her enemy. Amtakan was hit and flung against the far wall. He slowly turned back to face Novelle as the two fighters stared at each other again. Novelle's eyes were wide. Mario hoped she wasn't feeling remorse.
Amtakan finally moved toward the center of the battlefield. "All right. I've toyed with you heroes for far too long."
The Light and Dark Prognosticus flipped in on either side of the villain. "Mortcha, the Prognos is safe, is it not?"
"It sure is." Mortcha caused a small bronze-colored bowl to flip in. It was filled with a thick, dull black liquid that was undoubtedly Prognos.
"Excellent." Amtakan moved toward the minions, then faced the heroes. "While you heroes were fighting Dimentio, I acquired several samples of his Prognos-infused blood in case of the event that I'd have to make modifications to the Dark Prognosticus." He flipped in a feathered writing utensil. "And with the Light Prognosticus in my hands as well...I control fate! I control the very future of every world!" He took the bowl from Mortcha's hands and dipped his pen into the Prognos.
Mario looked at Novelle. The messenger was breathing forcefully, almost hyperventilating.
"I can't directly cause your deaths, because Maia could counter the book's effect, but I can still use the Prognosticuses to grant myself power to a limited degree...and with their power, I will destroy you all! You have made your choice not to side with me, so I will leave none of you standing!"
Our heroes shifted nervously. Novelle opened her mouth, but no words came out.
"Your ultimate fate awaits, heroes." Amtakan began to write.
"Not so fast!" Novelle leaped toward Amtakan and fired a magical blast in his direction. It struck the container of Prognos, blasting it into pieces, and sent both Prognosticuses flying away from Amtakan's grasp. They ricocheted off the far wall, as the liquid Prognos formed a huge puddle on the floor, before landing on the floor between the two groups.
Everyone was silent for a few moments. Suddenly, Novelle and Amtakan both dove for their respective books. Novelle secured the Light Prognosticus, while Amtakan seized the Dark one. "Well, well, well," Amtakan mused. "Both of us have a book of prophecy. I suppose we'll have to decide for ourselves which Prognosticus will truly predict your fate. I will make sure that the Dark Prognosticus will overcome the Light." He drew his scepter, preparing for battle once more. "Maia, your fate has been sealed!"
MINIBOSS
Amtakan and the Dark Prognosticus
Using the still-intact ink on his pen, Amtakan wrote a sentence in the Dark Prognosticus. Gathering his newfound power with his scepter, he created a series of wide flaming darts that rained down from the ceiling. They were very difficult to avoid. "Having a difficult time, heroes? Let's see how well you do when I up the ante even more." He lowered himself to the floor and picked up some more ink from the spillage on the ground.
"Oh!" Not carrying any proper writing utensil, Novelle dropped to her knees and dipped the holding end of her wand into the Prognos. As the heroes scrambled to dodge Amtakan's flaming arrows, she wrote, and said aloud, "The heroes will be protected from Amtakan's next attack!"
As the villain unleashed a gigantic shockwave that spread across the floor, glowing transluscent yellow shields encased our heroes, keeping them safe from any harm. Once the shockwave and the shields had dispersed, O'Chunks looked at Novelle in amazement. "Yeh can really change our fate with that book!"
"Oh, I know what to do." Novelle wrote "None of Amtakan's attacks will effect the heroes."
"Fool." Amtakan stared at Novelle, seeming to glare, but his emotionless-void-for-a-face made it impossible to tell for sure. "You can't permanently protect the heroes, if I assume that's what you're writing. Each Prognosticus can nullify the others' influence with the proper phrase!" Amtakan wrote "The Light Prognosticus's influence will cease to exist" in the Dark Prognosticus.
"Don't even try!" Novelle quickly countered with "The Dark Prognosticus's words will fail to take effect." The Prognosticuses' energies neutralized each other, resulting in no change.
While Novelle and Amtakan were busy with their fate-changing duel, Mario and Blumiere took action with a head-stomp and a body charge, hitting Amtakan twice. "Damage," the villain began, "that can be easily remedied." He wrote "I will not be affected by the heroes' attacks."
Novelle was hot on Amtakan's trail. She wrote "Whatever he just wrote won't happen!"
Mimi and Peach went in for the attack as well, damaging Amtakan with a Rubee and another stomp. "Drat! You seem to be countering my statements." Amtakan picked up more Prognos and wrote again, giving himself another new power.
As he did, Novelle secretly wrote "I'll know what kind of attack he's going to do before he does it." She sensed that Amtakan would freeze the heroes in time and attack them, so she combated his technique with "Time won't be frozen." She dipped her wand again.
Amtakan's attack failed. "Grr!" The villain wrote "I'll have energy spears." Before Novelle could reply, Amtakan had already begun his assault, firing bright orange flashes of energy that pierced the heroes' defenses.
"Novelle, do something qu-" Peach began, but she couldn't finish her statement before one of the glowing spears slammed into her right arm, causing enough pain to disable it. "AAGH!" She clutched her arm with her other hand, shaking in a desperate attempt to ward off the pain.
"I'm trying!" Novelle put down "Amtakan's next attack won't work." Thinking quickly, she also wrote "The heroes will defeat him."
The evil magician's next attack failed, and as he retreated to write another, Luigi and Nastasia rushed to attack him. "How is this possible? I should be destroying you heroes now!" He eyed the Light Prognosticus. "Oh, I know about your little tricks, Novelle." He wrote "I will kill the heroes," followed by another attack that sent a massive ray of dark energy in our heroes' direction. They were all engulfed in the blast, apparently under massive pressure.
"No!" Novelle whispered to herself. She got more Prognos and wrote "Amtakan won't kill or defeat the heroes." While the other heroes were still under Amtakan's fire, she added "And his attack will go away." The villain's attack was promptly removed. "Hmm." Novelle thought, looking at where Amtakan's minions were standing. Could I make them join us? She wrote "Amtakan's minions will turn against him!" Nothing happened, however. Darn! He's probably protected them already. And counteracting that protection would take way too much effort. She looked back at the heroes, who were under fire from Amtakan's regular, non-Prognosticus-augmented attacks.
"I guess he decided to get smart and use the attacks he always can." Mario's voice was weaker than normal. The blast must have taken a lot out of him.
"Mario! Don't you have an Ultra Shake left?"
"I did, but Amtakan must have gotten rid of it!"
"Oh, no." Thinking around the situation, Novelle added "The heroes will be completely healed."
Mario suddenly perked up, but he and the others knew better than to announce this out loud. The heroes rushed for Amtakan, denting him with all the techniques they could use. Astoundingly, although our heroes had damaged the villain heavily since the beginning of their fight, he seemed even stronger and healthier than when it had begun. Of course! Mario thought. He's using the Prognosticus to restore himself! While the others whaled on Amtakan, Mario dropped to Novelle's level. "Can you counteract his self-healing?"
"I figured he was doing that." Mario watched her add "Amtakan's self-healing will fail" to the Light Prognosticus.
"It's amazing," Mario uttered. "Along with all that other stuff you added in there."
"Yeah." Novelle looked at a few of the other entries. "The ones I added remotely weren't truly Prognos, though. I couldn't access it."
"I see...but what about the ones that prophecied? Like the one about Dimentio's secret?"
"I knew that from my limited future-seeing experience with the Ancients. There's some bits and pieces we could figure out, but not the whole story, so we had to make do with what we knew and alter fate accordingly."
"Wow." Mario looked up at the others, who were about to be blown away by a powerful laser from Amtakan. "Watch out!" Mario tackled the nearest heroes, which included Luigi, Mimi, and Blumiere, but everyone else was struck by the laser and flung against the wall. They immediately popped back up from the attack, though, on command from Novelle's Light Prognosticus.
"This is taking far too long." Amtakan wrote "The heroes will be defeated now" and fired another large magic blast. The impact took out all of our heroes' remaining health, but Novelle quickly responded with "That won't have any effect." In turn, Amtakan wrote "The Light Prognosticus will be nullified."
As Novelle and Amtakan unleashed a fury of commanding and counteracting, both our heroes and Amtakan found their strength and vitality sporadically increasing and decreasing. Their inconsistent power made it difficult to judge when and how to attack, not to mention making the outcome of the battle impossible to judge. As Novelle wrote a spell to counteract Amtakan's latest attack, the Light Prognosticus suddenly snapped shut. "What? Hey!" She tried to pry it open with both hands, but it appeared to be held together by some mysterious force.
"Foolish Maia. Didn't think to counteract that action, did you?" Amtakan blasted the heroes with a ray of fire.
What can I do? Novelle watched the heroes' vitality drain away as Amtakan hit them with one attack after another, frantically searching her mind for any way to open the Light Prognosticus. Her eye caught on the pages that formed the Prognosticus's width. Could I... Wasting no time, she turned the book sideways and wrote "I can open this book" on the side of the pages. The Prognosticus opened. Yes! Novelle quickly restored the heroes' health. She considered writing a spell that would "seal off" the Dark Prognosticus, perhaps by sealing it shut and creating a barrier over the pages, but soon realized it wouldn't work; that would involve changing the structure of the book itself.
"You guys are getting nowhere. I think I'll jump in." Mortcha ran for Novelle, attempting to steal the Light Prognosticus. Novelle quickly added "Mortcha won't take this!", preventing the minion from grabbing the book. "Gah! You're clever." She turned to Amtakan. "Hey, Amtakan! Do you want me to take that book? You can just focus on taking these heroes out."
"That would be fine, Mortcha." Amtakan handed her the book and his pen.
"Thanks. OK, what do you want next? How about a super-hard-to-dodge spear attack?"
"That would work fine." Amtakan received his power, rushing for the heroes with his new maneuver.
Mortcha observed Novelle writing furiously to deactivate the villain's new attack. "Go away, Novelle." She shoved the messenger away from the Prognos puddle. "Only people who really know how to control fate allowed."
"We'll see about that!" Novelle sent Mortcha flying away with an energy blast.
"Ugh! Why didn't I think of that?" Mortcha scooped up the Prognosticus. She thought about giving herself an endless supply of Prognos on her pen, but then recalled that Prognos couldn't be created by the Prognosticuses themselves. The pen still had an ample supply, so she wrote "Amtakan will have a super-awesome homing energy attack."
The evil wizard felt the energy of the Dark Prognosticus surge into him. He began his new attack immediately, sending missiles of glowing energy into our heroes. "You'll never defeat me, heroes!"
Mario gritted his teeth as Amtakan's attack hit him, only to be fully restored a moment later. "Novelle, this isn't getting us anywhere. Is there some way you could stop him from using the Dark Prognosticus for good?"
"Nope, I don't think so," she sighed. "The books can't actually be made unusable unless the person who's in 'control' of it dies. And I can't use the book to directly kill him."
"What's the closest you can get?" Mario ducked under a laser shot.
"Hmm...I might be able to drain his health to the point where a few attacks would defeat him. You'd have to get him quick, though, before Mortcha restores his health."
"Go for it." Mario ducked into the crowd and told the nearest heroes of the plan. When Amtakan appeared to have his strength sapped out of him, Mario led Luigi, Bowser, and Blumiere in a dash for the mad villain. He delivered an uppercut with his hammer while Luigi jumped from above, Bowser attacked with fire, and Blumiere swung his staff. Amtakan was nearly defeated, but Mortcha was quick on her fingers, restoring him just before Mario could deal the finishing blow.
"Darn it! This isn't working!" Novelle stared at the puddle of Prognos. It had considerably lessened in size since the spillage with all that she, Amtakan, and Mortcha had taken. Could we stall him until the Prognos runs out? But that could be risky...we'd have a limited amount, and what if I wasn't fast enough? Novelle didn't want to stall, but she saw no other option. She waited for Mario to come around. As the hero backflipped over an energy laser and landed next to her, she got his attention and said, "I think the only way for us to pull this off is to stall until the Prognos is gone. I can only try to counteract whatever he'll have left."
"All right. Give us a warning if there's anything we need to do."
Novelle nodded and returned to the Light Prognosticus. Hmm... She waited for Mortcha to look down at the Dark book and write, and then scooped as much of the dark liquid into her left hand as she could, hoping Mortcha wouldn't notice. Hey, I could do that. She wrote "Mortcha won't notice me taking this Prognos," following with a block for Amtakan's next attack.
The battle wore on, our heroes and Amtakan continually being hit and recovering, Novelle and Mortcha writing, and the puddle of Prognos constantly waning in size. "No! It's almost gone!" Mortcha exclaimed. Novelle quickly took what she thought was the last drop, but Mortcha scooped up the remaining moisture on the ground. The Prognos supply was now exhausted.
Only one chance! I've got to do this! Novelle watched for whatever Mortcha was writing, only to find that she wasn't writing at all. She was saving it to counteract whatever Novelle might write! The messenger put down "Mortcha's attempt to counteract this book will fail." Novelle and Mortcha continued watching the battle. Amtakan appeared to be winning, and both writers had enough ink for one more sentence. Novelle's mind raced. What should she do? Amtakan dealt a definitive blow to our heroes with a wave of dark power. He rose his scepter, aiming to finally defeat them. Novelle knew she had to act. She quickly wrote "Amtakan's attack will fail and the heroes will defeat him!"
When the villain's attack failed to work, our heroes jumped for him. Amtakan was about to be defeated and...Wait! No! Mortcha still has- Without time to think, Novelle threw herself at Mortcha, tackling the minion and causing her to drop the Dark Prognosticus.
"Mwa ha ha. It's too late, Novie." Mortcha sat up and pointed at the last entry she'd written in the book. It read, "Amtakan will kill the heroes and Novelle can't do anything about it."
-
"It ends now, heroes!" Amtakan produced a lightning bolt that plowed into the group of heroes, knocking all of their remaining energy out. The eight heroes dropped to the floor, breathing forcefully, a single attack away from death. "I will give you one final chance. Will you allow me to kill the minions and live to see the dawn of my new creation?"
Mario breathed. He didn't know what to do. Weary, he looked over at Novelle. The messenger was staring at Amtakan with worried eyes, her mouth half-open.
"If you will not reply, I assume you do not wish to join me." The villain rose his scepter, charging it with energy. "It's been a long and painful fight, heroes. But my purpose has triumphed in the end." He pointed his scepter at the group, ready to fire. "Now it-"
"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Margaret screamed, taking out a green stone and hurling it at Amtakan's scepter with pinpoint accuracy. The villain lost his grip, and the staff flew out of his hand, in our heroes' direction, clinking to the ground.
Amtakan whirled around to stare at the worry-eyed Margaret, but before either of them could speak, B-A Omega broke down. "I assume full responsibility for Margaret's behavior, Amtakan. I've been noticing her diminished enthusiasm for a while, and after you left at our last meeting, she asked about love. I apologize for allowing this to happen by not warning you about it."
Amtakan stared at both of the minions. "Is this true, Margaret?"
The minion was silent. She moved her eyes, looking over at the heroes. Mimi was staring at her with an expression of surprise and confusion.
"It is true," the robot continued. "I had the meeting recorded on my sound drive before the heroes destroyed it, so I can't offer any direct proof, but Margaret's actions and her facial expression should be all the evidence you need."
Our heroes' Dark Prognosticus-augmented weakness had begun to wear off. "Margaret..." Mimi took a few cautious steps toward her counterpart, stopping several paces before reaching Amtakan. "What happened?"
The minion's eyes drooped. "Mimi...you see...Amtakan...and..." She sobbed, lowering her head. "When Amtakan sent me to fight all you guys...it was...well, fun. And I thought I could beat you. But then you defeated me, and Amtakan didn't really seem to care..." She paused again. "I saw how virtuous you heroes were...it was, it was so unlike what I've seen for the past thousand years."
Mimi listened carefully, still shocked.
"Amtakan and his minions and everything...they didn't have any love or emotion or anything. Amtakan was so...nothing...and Alpha and Omega were so soulless...and the Netherclops was so pleasure-seeking...and I was...so self-indulgent..."
The heroes, Amtakan, and the other minions took in every word Margaret spoke, their faces, except for Amtakan's, carrying various forms of disbelief, approval, and anger.
"It made me wonder just what love really is...and then I...uhh...." As the minion looked at Amtakan again, tears began falling from her eyes. "I...I..."
The villain spoke. "You have joined the heroes' cause?"
Margaret was still, apparently deciding how to respond. Finally, she slowly nodded, the space below her eyes wet with the salty tears.
"Then, since you are no longer of any use to me, I will kill you and add your energy to that of Blumiere's minions to reactivate the Chaos Heart." Amtakan lowered to pick up his scepter.
"Oh no you don't!" Mimi scooped up the ancient wizard's weapon before he could lay his hands on it, giving Margaret a quick, awkward smile before turning to face her co-creator. "You know what I always thought about you, Amtakan? You were nice to us, and everything, and let us do stuff...but it seemed like you never really loved us." She slammed the head of the scepter into the ground, producing a loud clank. "Now I know why, and I know that Margaret is absolutely right to desert you." Mimi narrowed her eyes, seeming to bore directly into Amtakan's lack of a face. "And since we're all out of Prognos, I guess we'll beat you now and stop your little plan. And Margaret will live a happy, relaxing life, totally filled with emotion and love and all that stuff you want to get rid of."
Wait...but what about the prophecy that states only one of them will survive? Mario recalled Novelle's addition to the Light Prognosticus. The words on the page didn't have any power by themselves, but could the heroes actually overturn the fate that the Ancients had foreseen?
"Oh, but Mimi, I still have a supply of Prognos."
What? Mimi followed Amtakan's gaze toward Blumiere.
"Blumiere belongs to the Tribe of Darkness's bloodline. His blood contains the Prognos that I need."
"Well, I'm not letting you get to him!" Mimi stood in front of her former master, holding Amtakan's scepter in a menacing position.
"Ha ha ha. My scepter will not work in the hands of anyone else." Amtakan hovered toward Mimi.
"She doesn't need your scepter's power!" Margaret cried, running up to Amtakan and hitting him with another stone.
The villain looked at Margaret again, then at Mortcha. "Mortcha, keep the Dark Prognosticus safe. Omega and Netherclops, come in and assist!"
"You got it!" The Netherclops moved toward Novelle while Omega rushed for Mimi, aiming to reclaim Amtakan's scepter.
"Hi-yah!" Mimi dented the robot's semi-repared right arm with a Rubee. The robot swung his other arm for the scepter, but Mimi drew the object back and smashed his faceplate with the head. "Looks like we destroyed all of your pretty weapons, huh?"
"Not all of them! I can still use most of my non-energy weapons, but they would be useless in a fight like this."
"You aren't taking this book!" Novelle aimed an energy blast at the Netherclops before he could steal the Light Prognosticus. The Netherclops promptly sent one of his diamond rotators at Novelle, knocking her backward. The book flew out of her hand. Novelle quickly snapped back up, and she and the minion grabbed the Prognosticus at the same time. They pulled it toward themselves as hard as they could, fighting to overcome the other's strength and yank it out of their hands.
"Wretcha, give up that Dark Prognosticus!" Margaret demanded, summoning all the courage she could. She rushed for the witch and nailed her with another stone.
"No way, sissy hero-sympathizer!" Mortcha pulled the book away. Margaret lunged for it, knocking both shape-shifters over.
"Urrgh!" Mortcha and Margaret wrestled on the ground, fighting over the prophetic book.
"I must claim the Dark Prognosticus if I am to suceed." Amtakan moved to interfere in Mortcha and Margaret's brawl.
The other heroes stood to the side. They knew that they should help either Mimi, Novelle, or Margaret in their struggle over Amtakan's scepter, the Light Prognosticus, and the Dark one, but they weren't sure exactly what to do. "I'm going to see if I can keep that scepter safe from Omega," Mario announced. "We should split up and help all of them!"
"Got it." Luigi moved toward Novelle and the Netherclops to defend the Light Prognosticus.
Our heroes took their positions, spreading themselves evenly among the three conflicts. Mimi and Omega's fight over the scepter was joined by Mario and O'Chunks. Luigi and Peach moved to help Novelle against the Netherclops, and Bowser, Nastasia, and Blumiere joined Margaret to keep the Dark Prognosticus safe from Mortcha and Amtakan.
"Give it up, Mimi!" The cyborg minion reached and clawed for Amtakan's scepter. "That's Amtakan's weapon! It has no place in the hands of someone like you."
"If you expect me to take that as a logical argument, think again." Mimi swung the scepter in a downward arc to avoid Omega's swipe for it.
"'Ey! Give it up!" O'Chunks threw a punch for the robot's face.
Omega quickly snapped himself backward and then up again. "You're going to have to do better then that, you big oaf!"
"Big...oaf..." O'Chunks's eyebrows moved down. "NOW yer gonna get chunked! An' right'n those silly-lookin' shades!" O'Chunks leaped into the air and crashed down on B-A Omega.
"Oof!" Omega pulled himself free, his faceplate damaged. "Grr! Give me that!" He reached for the scepter. Mimi, who'd been watching O'Chunks, was unprepared. At the last second, Mario dove and blocked Omega's hand with his own. A surge of pain traveled up his right arm as the hero's hand collided with Omega's steel plating.
"Take this!" Mimi swung the scepter into the minion's same hand, almost severing one of the metal fingers.
"I don't need fingers to fight!" Omega moved his right arm like a club against Mimi's weapon. The opposing minions initiated a saber fight between Amtakan's scepter and Omega's steel arm.
"Yah!" As Omega swung for the scepter yet again, Mimi held the scepter downward to block his attack, thinking she must have looked like a medeival knight. The fight wore on.
"Errgh!" With a swift downward cut, Luigi chopped the Light Prognosticus out of Novelle and the Netherclops's grip. It fell to the ground in the space that had formerly contained the Prognos puddle. Peach quickly scooped it up, but just as her fingers touched the book, the Netherclops struck her to the ground with a blast of energy. As the minion reached for the book, Novelle grabbed it again and rebuked the Netherclops with a beam from her own weapon.
"Novelle!" Mustering all of her energy, the princess stood up, unfurled her parasol, and blocked the cyclops's staff from reaching Novelle. While the Netherclops was distracted, Luigi jump-kicked the minion's eye from the side, dealing the minion enough shock to make him stagger backwards.
"Here, Peach!" Peach turned around, and Novelle handed her the Light Prognosticus. "Let's spread out a little and pass it among ourselves. That'll keep him away from it."
Peach and Luigi put Novelle's plan into action immediately, moving back several paces from each other. Peach threw the book to Luigi, and as the Netherclops rushed for it, the green plumber tossed it back to Novelle. "Gah!" Frustrated, the Netherclops tried to attack Novelle, but she blocked his move with her wand and threw the Prognosticus over the minion to Peach.
"Come on...come on!" Luigi glanced at the other conflicts. Mimi, Mario, and O'Chunks were holding up well against Omega, so at least Amtakan's scepter was secured. When Luigi looked to the right to observe the fight over the Dark Prognosticus, however, it was a different story.
"Gaaah!" Bowser was slammed into the wall by Amtakan's powerful arm.
"I am not completely offenseless without my scepter, you know." Amtakan continued to pound on Bowser while Mortcha and Margaret rolled on top of each other, kicking and punching, the Dark Prognosticus shifting endlessly between them. Nastasia's efforts appeared to be little help to the violently brawling minions.
"Aaaaagh!" Margaret recoiled as Mortcha, on her back, slammed her fist into Margaret's left eye. While the minion placed her hand over her injured eye, Mortcha grabbed the Dark Prognosticus from Margaret's loosened grip.
"No!" Nastasia violently kicked Mortcha's left thigh, wrenching the book from her hands. Margaret threw her body in front of Mortcha to block her arms from reaching for the Prognosticus, pulling her right hand up to block her burning eye from a side-kick. Now her hand throbbed as well.
Bowser stuck and weakened in the corner, Amtakan turned his attention to his prophecy. "I believe I'll take the Dark Prognosticus now." He reached for the book in Nastasia's hands.
"N...no! You can't have it!" Nastasia blocked Amtakan's reach, ducking under a swing from his other arm.
"Peach! Novelle!" Luigi passed the Light Prognosticus to Novelle. "You guys can take care of that book. It'll take more than two people to keep the Dark Prognosticus safe from Amtakan!" Luigi ran in the direction of that struggle. "Nastasia!" The secretary turned around, spazed a bit, and thrust the book into Luigi's grip without any further thought.
"You will not take that book!" Amtakan knocked Nastasia aside and reached for the Prognosticus. Luigi retreated, sweating with anxiety, until his back made contact with the wall. He looked to the left in panic, searching for any possible escape routes.
"Hurgh!" Nastasia thrust her arms in front of Amtakan's, initiating a heated struggle between the three fighters.
"Oh, oh!" Margaret got up to help Luigi and Nastasia. As she began to run, however, Mortcha tripped her underfoot.
"Not a chance, goody-goody!" Mortcha grabbed a handful of the back of Margaret's dress. "You're going to stay here and get the punishment you oh-so-deserve."
Margaret struggled, trying to work her way out of Mortcha's grip. Finally, she settled down and turned her head back to face Mortcha. "Wretcha..." She bared her teeth. "You and Amtakan don't rule me anymore!" Margaret lowered her head and sank her teeth into Mortcha's arm.
"Yaaagh!" Mortcha drew her arm back in pain, and Margaret wasted no time in hurrying to assist in the struggle over the Dark Prognosticus.
"Margaret!" Nastasia held the Dark Prognosticus in an iron-death grip, Amtakan clutching the other side.
"Take this, loveless scum!" Margaret rose into the air, formed a circle of green rocks around her body, and hurled them all for Amtakan.
"Grrgh!" Amtakan tried his hardest to maintain his grip on the book of prophecy while under constant fire from Margaret.
Come on, come on! Nastasia watched Margaret mercilessly pelt Amtakan with the sharp weapons. Just a few more, and his grip should-
"Hey, Nastasia!" Nastasia didn't have time to discern Mortcha's position before the witch swiped her foot into Nastasia's, tripping her and causing her to lose her grip on the book.
"No! The Dark Prognosticus!" Nastasia made a mad leap for the book, but it was too late. Amtakan had the book secured within his grip. He flipped it out.
"I believe I'll recover my scepter now. Mortcha, come!"
"Aye aye, Amtacaptain!" Mortcha followed her master to where Mario and O'Chunks were standing with Mimi and B-A Omega.
"Uh oh. Amtakan's coming!" Mario warned Mimi of the impending danger. "Stop fighting and keep the scepter safe!"
"Oh gosh!" Mimi pulled Amtakan's scepter back and retreated to the side of the battlefield. Mario and O'Chunks stood guard.
"Omega and Mortcha, do whatever you can to release the scepter from Mimi's grip."
"Yes, Amtakan." The two minions moved in Mimi's direction, their eyes focused on the magical object.
"Try gettin' in 'ere, yeh buffoons!" O'Chunks blocked Mortcha with his giant fist while holding back Omega with the other.
While O'Chunks kept the two minions in place, Mario jumped to the side to stop Amtakan from taking the scepter. "We're going to triumph in the end, Amtakan. You just watch." He leaped on the villain's head, followed by a hammer strike. If I can wear him down enough...
"How about watching this, Mario?" Mario turned his head just in time to be slammed in the face by one of Mortcha's blue stones. The projectile cut a gash on the right side of his face between his eye and his ear. Mario deftly ducked another stone throw. He was in pain, but he couldn't let Amtakan get his weapon at any cost!
"Mario! Mimi!" Novelle caught the Light Prognosticus from Peach, and flew toward the new struggle. We can't let him have his scepter! Novelle stood with Mario, blocking Amtakan from Mimi.
"Let go!" Omega ducked under O'Chunks's fist and moved toward Mimi, Mario, Novelle, and Amtakan.
"Stay back!" While Novelle and Amtakan were occupied with each other, Mario blocked the robot from reaching Mimi.
"Not a chance!" Nastasia, Peach, Blumiere, and an injured Bowser walked into the fight, as well as the Netherclops. Every hero, villain, and minion was now compacted into a tight space against the wall, fighting each other hand-to-hand or holding back another.
"Gah!" Mortcha and Margaret continued their struggle, Peach and Luigi added to the mix.
Amtakan... Novelle and Mario worked to hold Amtakan off while O'Chunks stood his ground in front of Mimi, trying his absolute best to keep Omega out of Mimi's range.
Blumiere and the Netherclops waged a magic war, attacking each other with the most powerful attacks they could muster. Bowser and Nastasia tried to turn the battle in Blumiere's favor. "Get him!" Bowser clawed the Netherclops's back, sending him foward into the target range of Blumiere's spell.
Even as everyone in the room continued to fight, breaking out in sweat and spasms and sustaining battle injuries, neither side appeared to be definitely winning. Heroes and villains alike fought hard, their strength slowly diminishing. Almost everyone was either in pain or barely had the energy to fight, their sheer willpower being the only force keeping them in action. After several minutes, however, the tide turned.
"Get...off me...you dirty...mannerless...girl!" Mortcha tried unsuccessfully to shove Margaret away, the two shape-shifters' legs caught on each other.
Margaret's face was wet with both sweat and tears as she held on to Mortcha. "You...can't...order...me...around...anymore!" With a violent shake, Margaret threw her legs against the wall, taking Mortcha's with them. Both minions heard a sickening crack as the witch's leg made contact.
"AAAAAGH!" Mortcha knew her leg had been broken as blue blood poured from the injury site. She gritted her teeth, shoving back in Margaret's direction. She grabbed both of Margaret's hands and hurled the younger minion toward the wall. O'Chunks, however, was right in Margaret's path. The two minions collided, causing O'Chunks to stagger backward. This opened Mimi to attack from Omega's direction, and the robot immediately saw his chance. He readied his metal leg and delivered a swift kick in the center of Mimi's stomach.
"Gaaagh!" Mimi's breath flew out as sharp, intense pain overcame her. She bent over and clutched her stomach, forcing her hands to stay closed around Amtakan's scepter as best as she could.
"I believe I'll be taking this." B-A Omega reached for the scepter, trying his hardest to yank it out of Mimi's grip. Mimi tried with all her strength, all her will, and all her determination to retain her control of the scepter, but her efforts went to waste. Omega kicked her stomach again, physically forcing Mimi to loosen her grip as she fell to the ground, tears of pain streaming from her eyes. While Mimi writhed, the robot minion collected the scepter and held it in his master's direction. "Amtakan! Here's the scepter!" He threw it over Mario and Novelle, and Amtakan moved backward, reaching his hand upward to catch it.
"Excellent, Omega." Amtakan moved toward Blumiere, who was still dueling with the Netherclops.
"NO! He's got the scepter!" Novelle shouted and raced toward Amtakan, Mario and O'Chunks hot on her heels.
"Take this, Blumiere!" Amtakan fired a beam at Blumiere that smacked him against the side wall. The unsuspecting Blumiere wasn't able to look and see where the attack came from before firing a blast of his own in the direction the attack seemed to come from. Taking his hand away from his face, he saw Amtakan dodge the attack and come closer, bent on spilling his blood.
"No! You won't!" Blumiere avoided Amtakan, rushing to the other side of the room and attempting to attack Amtakan from afar. "Heroes! We must keep attacking him until his strength is gone!"
It was a nigh-impossible task. Amtakan hadn't been attacked much during the brawl, only held back by Mario and Novelle, not to mention the fact that he was by far the strongest enemy our heroes had faced on their adventure. The five other heroes who felt well enough to fight, Mario, Novelle, O'Chunks, Luigi, and Nastasia, did their best to keep Amtakan away from Blumiere, attacking him however they could, but the villain was too quick to be stopped. He attacked Blumiere over and over, driving him into the walls time and time again. Finally, at the receiving end of a particularly powerful burst of magic, Blumiere was slammed sideways into a wall. His hand was crushed against the weight of his body. As he slowly peeled himself from the wall, a small leak of black liquid fell from his hand.
"N...no...Amtakan...you musn't..." Margaret struggled toward Blumiere. In her current condition, it was a wonder she could even move. Mimi, laying on her side with her eyes half-open, was both surprised and amazed at Margaret's tenacity.
Amtakan gestured toward his renegade minion. "Omega, kill this traitor. Her energy will benefit us."
"Yes, Amtakan. That is the most logical solution." The robot hovered toward Margaret.
He hasn't changed... Novelle sighed amid her surprised expression. Not even after that battle.
"No! You can't...you can't..." Mimi's breath heaved with every syllable as she struggled to move, slowly hobbling toward the two minions.
B-A Omega had the weakened Margaret trapped against the wall. There was no way for her to escape as Omega extended a sword-like blade from his left arm. Slowly, Margaret turned toward Mimi. The minion looked like she was about to cry again, but her face, somehow, carried a sense of hope and determination. And as Mimi listened to her sad, raspy voice and continued to observe her face, there was no mistaking Margaret's expression: it was one of love. "Thank...you...Mimi...I'm...sorry..."
Omega plunged the blade through Margaret's chest. The minion uttered one final grunt of pain, and then, as the weapon pierced her heart, fell silent, her eyes closing and her head lulling to the side. Finally, B-A Omega withdrew his blade, leaving a mess of green blood and purple veins on it, letting Margaret's body drop to the floor. Our heroes were silent, unable to avert their eyes from the morbid scene.
Mimi had reached the area where Omega was standing. As the robot turned to look at her with mild surprise, she wordlessly pulled out a Rubee, drew it back, and heaved it through Omega's wiry chest protection. Omega seemed to deactivate, slowly falling backward as the damage to his biological heart caused his life processes to cease to function. He fell to the floor backwards with a clank of metal, still. The others were doubly shocked, remaining as silent as ever.
Amtakan had watched the entire scene. "Ha ha ha." He flipped in his pen and the Dark Prognosticus. "The loss of Omega won't be a dent in my plans at all." The villain rushed to the small puddle of Blumiere's blood on the floor, loaded his pen, and began to write.
No...no...NO! Novelle sped toward Amtakan, dipped her wand, draining the remaining blood, snapped open the Light Prognosticus and speed-wrote "Amtakan won't kill anyone!"
An explosion of dark light radiated from the room's center. Two bright flashes filled the area for a brief instant. As the silent, unmoving heroes watched, the Chaos Heart slowly materialized in the air. Mario snapped around, looking at Blumiere's minions. They appeared to still be alive, although they were heavily injured.
"Ha ha ha." Amtakan moved toward the artifact of destruction. "I decreed that the heroes would die and the Chaos Heart would be reactivated from the minions' energy along with Margaret's. It appears Novelle protected them from death, but all the power I needed was given to me." Amtakan stared at the object he'd created, with a sense of wonder and familiarity. He moved his hand to touch the Heart, slowly brushing his fingers across its dark surface. "It's been a long, long time since I've seen this Chaos Heart with my own eyes." He turned to Mortcha and the Netherclops, giving a soft, ominous nod.
The two minions apparently understood. The Netherclops helped Mortcha walk toward Amtakan and the Chaos Heart. "We will use the Chaos Heart to join with you again," Mortcha began. "Our power combined with that of the Chaos Heart will make us impossible to defeat."
"And in our new form," the Netherclops continued, "we will destroy these heroes, the Breaker Orbs they collected for the case of this very event, and the Light Prognosticus that has caused us so much trouble."
The three drew closer to the Chaos Heart. Amtakan spoke slowly and solumnly. "It...is...time." He waved his staff. The Chaos Heart extended a flash of dark light. It spread to encompass the entire room, beginning to engulf Amtakan, Mortcha, and the Netherclops. "Open your mouth, darkness!" Amtakan declared. "Consume everything and destroy all worlds!"
The room exploded. The dark violet backdrop of The Void overcame the area as our heroes floated in the gravity-less environment. "Mario..." Novelle uttered. "It's happening...it's happening again!"
The Chaos Heart emitted another rush of darkness. The shapes of the three villains merged into a single entity that surrounded the Chaos Heart, expanding with every moment. As the shape grew, its dark gray color seperated into different shades. The entity formed into three gigantic, wide, straight limbs that extended from the three sides of the Chaos Heart, its two lobes and its pointed bottom, forming perfect triangular angles. The limbs grew large points at their ends as three smaller points extended from the regions between the large ones, giving the entire monster a somewhat compass-like appearance. As the three segments were colored with dark red, dark blue, and dark yellow, curved black spikes appeared all around its edges. Three black shapes extended from the Chaos Heart in the monster's center in the directions of the three large points. Sharp tan shapes extended inward from these regions, making the structure look much an elongated, tri-ended mouth that held the Chaos Heart at its center. Finally, two large, glowing, red, pupil-less eyes appeared in the region of each of the monster's three large points, stacked vertically between the mouth and the end of the point. The monster had six eyes in total, all lining up with the mouth and the points to form a straight line from each of the Heart's three sides, creating an enormous triangular figure centered around the Chaos Heart.
The monster emitted an ear-splitting roar. "We are the Triumvirate!" it shouted in a triple mutation of Amtakan's, Mortcha's, and the Netherclops's voices. "Destroyer of worlds and true leader of the Tribe of Darkness!"
Mario was struck with a sudden realization that he'd seen this monster before. Its shape was very similar to the Tribe of Darkness's emblem!
"We will destroy you heroes and eradicate all love and emotion! We will create a new world and rule over it! Mwa ha ha ha ha ha! It is hopeless, heroes! That meddling Novelle cannot save you now! All worlds will fall!"
Our heroes looked at Novelle. "Can...can we use the Breaker Orbs?" Tippi finally asked. They were in absolutely no shape to fight this monster.
"We might be able to, but...its power is much greater than the last time I saw it. I don't think the Breaker Orbs would seperate them from the Chaos Heart, at least not right away. We'd have to stop the Chaos Heart's energy, but it's being shielded from attack."
"Then how can we break that shield?" Luigi breathed.
Mario looked at Novelle. The messenger appeared to be thinking the same thing he was thinking. "The Pure Hearts," he finally uttered. "We can use them again just like we did the last two times. They'll combat the Chaos Heart."
"Yes!" Novelle exclaimed. "I don't think they'll be able to completely counter the shield, but they'll at least make it possible for us to attack this monster. Let's do it, heroes! Think thoughts of love!"
Our heroes closed their eyes, thinking of as much love as they could. Everyone they'd saved...everyone they'd been concerned for...and everything that existed. They'd fought and explored for a time that seemed amazingly long. Exploring Mount Lineland and finding the desert and ruins beyond. Being trapped in Merlee's Mansion and finding the true Mimi. Journeying through The Bitlands to find the kidnapped Tippi. Plunging into Outer Space to find the mind-boggling Whoa Zone. Trekking through the Land of the Cragnons to find the underground Floro Sapien caverns. Fighting the 100 Sammer Guys only to be transported back to Flipside as the dimension was eaten by The Void. Climbing from The Underwhere to The Overthere above. Making it through Castle Bleck and defeating Super Dimentio. Adventuring across an ocean and defeating the fabled Monster Blooper. Walking across a desert to fight some renegade cowboys. Joining the Bluecaps to fight in their war against the X Faction. Freeing the prisoners of the Animaul Kingdom with help from Kara. Discovering Morris's plot to trap the heroes. Traveling across a desert, a mountain range, and into a volcano to defeat Dimentio's plan to destroy them. Uncovering the ancient underground ice palace and unknowingly freeing Amtakan. Getting through the newly renovated Castle Dimentio, learning Dimentio's true identity, and watching his plan apparently suceed. Receiving instructions to find an orb and venturing through a dusty town and some ancient ruins. Getting more help from the mysterious Maia and fighting a new war machine to find the second orb. Searching around a city with help from Paletta and defeating Morris yet again. Joining a tournament and escaping across the ocean at night. Finding Blumiere's minions and struggling with Wretcha to claim the last two orbs. Defeating Hyper Bowser. Traveling across the cold mountains, finding Novelle, and learning the history of the Ancients. Journeying through the spacey Cybertetra and combating the H-X Alpha Robot Phalanx. And finally, venturing through The World of Amtakan to save every world, once and for all.
The Pure Hearts slowly materialized in the air above our heroes' heads, emitting the colorful, pleasant light they were familiar with. "There they are!" Blumiere exclaimed.
Our heroes' vitality was completely restored as the Pure Hearts formed a circle around the Chaos Heart, destroying the protective barrier. The Triumvirate was apparently unintimidated. "Those Pure Hearts won't do anything!" it asserted. "The Chaos Heart is still protected! You heroes can't get it to it...not before we destroy you first!"
Mario and Novelle looked at each other for what seemed like the hundredth time. They nodded. "Let's do this," Mario declared. "With the power of the Pure Hearts and our own love. We're going to save every world!"
-
BOSS
The Triumvirate
The giant monster rotated so that the red segment, seeming to represent Amtakan, pointed upward. Blobby orange pockets of energy appeared from Amtakan's two red eyes, traveling slowly but homing toward our heroes. "Attack the eyes!" Novelle commanded. "If we can deactivate them, I think the Chaos Heart will be open to attack."
"Got it!" Mario floated up to Amtakan's eyes, avoiding the swarming orange blobs, and smashed the top eye with his hammer.
"Let's split up," Blumiere suggested. "Each group of three will attack the three segment's eyes until the Chaos Heart is open."
"Another great plan from Blumiere!" Nastasia called.
"I'm going with Mario." Luigi moved to help Mario, Peach closely following.
"Let's dish out a little CHUNK 'ere!" O'Chunks moved to the blue head on the bottom-left that appeared to be Wretcha.
"Come on." Blumiere led Bowser and Novelle toward the bottom-right yellow yead, evidently the Netherclops. Our heroes began attacking the eyes as much as they could.
"Take this!" Luigi punched Amtakan's bottom eye over and over, expertly dodging the orange blobs it produced. "Ha! You think we haven't gotten used to zero-gravity physics by now?"
The Triumvirate slowly began to spin clockwise. "Uh oh," Bowser uttered. "What's it doing?"
The monster's rate of rotation increased until it was spinning in fast circles. Finally, it abruptly stopped with the Netherclops's head facing upward. The Chaos Heart fired a trio of dark lasers in the direction of each head, damaging our heroes by surprise.
"Whoa! Watch out for the lasers!" Our heroes hadn't changed their positions, so Luigi now readied to attack the Netherclops's eyes.
He, Mario, and Peach soon defeated both of the demon's eyes, turning them a deactivated black color. "How's it going down there?" Mario shouted to the other two groups.
"Excellent!" Mimi rejoiced, about to take out Amtakan's second eye. The last trio, Blumiere, Bowser, and Novelle, were almost through with Wretcha's eyes as well.
Once all three pairs of eyes were done in, the Chaos Heart's shine diminished, and the Triumvirate roared. "Now's our chance!" Novelle began attacking the Heart from a distance, firing one magic beam after another.
"Yah!" Mimi threw her Rubees at the dark artifact. Everyone else pitched in with their attacks as well.
The monster shook. "What's happening?" Nastasia wondered as the Triumvirate drifted away from our heroes. Its three segments condensed together as the monster began spinning in place with a drill-like motion. It suddenly sped toward our heroes, boring through their ranks with its spinning attack. A few of the heroes were hit by the Triumvirate and knocked away, tumbling through space.
"Luigi!" Mario grabbed his brother's hand and pulled him before he became the victim of a series of compact lasers spawned from the Chaos Heart. Several of the others were hit, but the Triumvirate reopened as the heroes who'd been smacked away space-swam back to attack, giving them more shots at the Chaos Heart.
After a few seconds, the monster's eyes regained their glow, and the Chaos Heart resumed its usual shine. "It's recovered," Novelle lamented. "Come on. We've got to attack those eyes again." Our heroes shifted back to their positions.
The Triumvirate bellowed. Sudden flashes of black lightning exploded from the Chaos Heart, traveling in random directions. Our heroes couldn't dodge most of them in time, and the shock made them temporarily lose control of their bodies. This allowed more of the orange blobs to hit them. "Grrrgh!" Peach was sideswiped by the last bolt to emerge. "We need to be more careful!" She punched Mortcha's bottom eye.
Amid the constant fire of lasers, blobs, and lightning, our heroes managed to defeat all six eyes again, rendering the Chaos Heart vulnerable again. "Now it's our turn!" Mario smacked the Heart with his hammer, O'Chunks dealt his best punches from below, and Blumiere and Novelle attacked from a distance.
The monster roared again, and a heart-shaped pulse of energy extended from the Chaos Heart. It carried a ringing sound that exploded in the heroes' ears as they were pushed away from the center. "Attack from a distance!" Blumiere commanded. Not everyone could, however, so Mario and several others were forced to return to close combat until another energy pulse appeared. They moved closer to the monster's edge, waiting for the wave to disappear, and resumed their assault.
Suddenly, a streak of lightning blasted from the Chaos Heart and zapped Mario and Luigi. While they were still disabled, another pocket of energy extended and wrapped around the brothers, trapping them. "Hang on! I'm coming!" Novelle flew toward the pair and was immediately assaulted by a multitude of dark gray tentacles. They jolted toward her, assaulting her senses whenever they made contact. "Ugh...gghck!" Novelle swatted one away with her wand and blasted two more away. She couldn't physically touch them without her brain seeming to explode.
After several seconds, the messenger managed to clear enough space to break open Mario and Luigi's constricting prison. "Thanks, Novelle." While Luigi rotated to the top-left to attack an open area of the Chaos Heart, Mario used his hammer to bash the rest of the artifact's supernatural tentacles.
"Thanks...Mario." The heroes gave each other a quick smile before resuming their assault.
Three bright flashes suddenly burst from the central Heart, traveling in wide ovals and returning to the center, only to emerge again. The orbiting flashes sent our heroes flying away damaged every time they made contact. "It's pulling out all the tricks," Bowser said. Along with this maneuver, the monster also began rotating again, counter-clockwise this time. It was very difficult to attack the Chaos Heart with all of the obstacles in the way, and by the time the attack had finished, the eyes had re-emerged.
"We've almost got this thing," Novelle rejoiced. "Just one more time should do it!" Filled with hope, our heroes rushed to attack the eyes once more.
Once they had gotten decent damage on the eyes, the entire body of the Triumvirate began to glow as the body began to rotate again. "Watch out!" Novelle warned. "I think it's going to do something!"
The heroes moved out of the monster's way. Finally, spinning as fast as a top, it careened to the right in an energy charge. It slammed into O'Chunks, Bowser, and Novelle, curved downward, circled back around, and flew upwards, colliding with Luigi and continuing on its way. The Triumvirate finally emerged from the left and halted.
"Novelle, how can we heal ourselves?" Bowser asked. "We don't have any more health items!"
"The Pure Hearts' power combined with my own might allow me to do something. Let me see if I can restore some of our health." Novelle tapped into the energy of the Pure Hearts. Our heroes' vitality wasn't restored fully, but enough to allow them to continue fighting.
"All right, now we're ready ta bring some pain!" O'Chunks punched Wretcha's top eye.
The Chaos Heart charged again as our heroes whittled the eyes down. It fired wide, dark lasers in six directions, following the smaller points between its three main sections as well as those sections themselves. As it maintained the fire, and orange energy blobs still chased our heroes, they were forced to remain within the tight laser-formed sections and avoid the blobs. It was a very difficult task, and our heroes frequently found themselves surrounded and hit.
Faced with a combined assault of five blobs, Luigi deftly spread his body flat in space, making him thin enough to kick off in another direction and avoid the blobs for now. Mario flipped into 3D, allowing him to avoid the lasers altogether, but the energy blobs could transfer to the new dimension. When the lasers receded, Mario flipped back to 2D and continued his attack on the eyes.
The very eyes our heroes were attacking suddenly shot an array of lasers that moved in polygonal patterns around the eyes, making them almost impossible to attack directly. After a while, the laser formations homed in on the fighters. They could continue attacking the eyes, but could only do so for a few seconds at a time. "Are we almost there?" Mimi grunted.
Once the lasers disappeared, the monster gave one last effort to protect the Chaos Heart. It began to spin once more, not attacking but keeping its eyes out of our heroes' reach. "We have to attack them when they pass by!" Novelle ordered, holding her wand out to damage the eyes when they came. As this continued, the Triumvirate sent out the dark lightning flashes again, incapacitating some of the heroes for brief moments, but it wasn't enough to prevent the remaining ones from finally knocking out all six of the monster's eyes. The Triumvirate roared, the Chaos Heart once more availible to hit.
"Now let's do it!" Blumiere sent waves of magic shapes at the Heart, bringing it ever closer to defeat.
After our heroes had attacked it a few times, however, a larger blob of dark energy extended from the Chaos Heart, growing tentacles and other formations all around the center. It began shooting lasers, the slow blobs, and a multitude of other projectiles at the heroes, adding to the already present danger of the far-reaching, disabling tentacles. "No! We were so close!" Novelle began attacking the tentacles with everything she had.
"How can we-" Nastasia began, before being hit by a laser and then engulfed by a tentacle. "Aaggghck!!! H-help-p!"
"I...I'm trying!" Mario swatted a tentacle away and then sliced his hammer through the one that was holding Nastasia, severing it in two. Nastasia's end dissipated.
"Thanks." Nastasia moved above the Chaos Heart toward its right side, two pillars of energy suddenly thrusting vertically in both directions from the Heart. Nastasia was hit, but managed to push over to the right side. Novelle and Blumiere had attacked much of the dark energy on this side, rendering it the most vulnerable, but Luigi, Peach, Mimi, and Bowser were now trapped on the left. The monster's tentacles surrounded them.
"HELP! HELP US!" Mimi struggled amidst the constricting energy, but it was enough of a struggle to remain self-aware while touching the energy-draining tentacles.
If I can just... Novelle measured the amount of dark energy between her and the Chaos Heart. The tentacles were so plentiful, they formed a sort of floor and ceiling above and below her. It'll be risky, but I have to! The messenger swerved between two reaching tentacles, curved her body and bypassed three more, and fired her most powerful beam straight into the central area. The remaining darkness in that area disappeared, allowing her to fire straight at the Chaos Heart.
The Triumvirate collapsed inward. The power of Novelle's blast sent it backward slightly, and it drifted slowly in space, tilting, floating in the gravity-less environment. The three segments broke apart, each section floating individually, but remaining close to each other.
"Is it over?" Luigi exhaled.
"It might be." Novelle held her arm out. "Be careful. They might have something up their sleeves."
Slowly, three shapeless figures emerged from the Triumvirate's three sections; Amtakan, Wretcha, and the Netherclops. "The Chaos Heart has been defeated," they intoned. "But our power will make it whole again. Our cause will never die. The heroes falter...love withers...the Chaos Heart lives on!" The three shapes poured into the Chaos Heart. After a few seconds of silence, the Heart began to grow, pulsing and beating like an actual heart. The three seperated sections of the Triumvirate slowly turned. The three smaller points attached to the larger segments split apart, forming an array of five pointed, finger-like objects on each. As the Chaos Heart reached its maximum size, nearly four times larger than normal, it stopped its pulsing motion and rotated until its characteristic heart shape was upside-down. It began moving away from our heroes, and they continued to watch its transformation.
Four tentacles grew from its sides. The two upper ones, branching from the sloping areas that were actually the bottom of the heart's shape, extended outward for some distance and then pointed upward. The two lower ones also extended outward, for a slightly longer distance, and then curved downward, giving the upside-down Heart a somewhat spider-like appearance. As it stopped its recedement into the background, the original Triumvirate's three sections now pointed toward the Chaos Heart in a triangle formation, appearing to be a formation of three hand-like objects that surrounded the artifact; the red one was on top, the lower-left was blue, and the lower-right was yellow. Finally, three vertical red lines appeared on the Heart, one at its pointed "bottom" and the other two on the ends of its two lobes, forming a right-side-up triangle. As a noise of dark energy pulsed through space, the red lines opened, revealing three large black eyes with glowing blood-red vertical pupils. A transparent red shield formed around the central Chaos Heart.
The transformation was apparently complete. Once our heroes took their eyes off the mutated Chaos Heart, they looked at Novelle. She contemplated. "We need to attack the eyes on its hands," she finally stated. "It'll probably use those hands to attack us, so get them when they come near. Once we're able to attack the Chaos Heart, we'll defeat it again and get rid of its energy for good."
"And then?" Peach asked.
Novelle thought. "And then," she began, "We'll use the Breaker Orbs and the Pure Hearts to seperate Amtakan from the Chaos Heart...and in his weakened state...we'll...destroy him."
Our heroes nodded their approval. "You can do this, Novelle," Mario encouraged. "I know you can."
Novelle's smile contained a twinge of sadness, but she appeared to be doing her absolute best to focus on our heroes' mission. "Yes. I know I can, too."
"Then let's do this." Mario locked his gaze on the Chaos Heart. "For every world."
FINAL BOSS
The Chaos Heart
The monster drew its detached bottom-left hand back and swiped it at the group of heroes. It quickly followed with an attack from the bottom-right, and then a downward thrust from the top hand. They moved back to their respective positions after attacking. "How are we supposed to hit those eyes?!" Peach questioned.
"We'll have to be careful about it." Novelle waited for hands to attack again.
Several miniature Voids flashed into existence in the area our heroes were in. It was somewhat difficult to tell where the Voids' edges were against the identical background, and our heroes were sucked into the vortexes and damaged several times. As this happened, the hands attacked again. All the while, the mutated Chaos Heart remained absolutely still, its tentacles not moving and its eyes not blinking.
"Here it comes!" Mario waited for the lower-left hand to draw near and slammed his weapon into the former Wretcha's lower eye.
"Take this!" Mimi attacked both of the lower-right hand's eyes with Rubees.
The Chaos Heart began to glow, remaining still as a statue, and unleashed a more concentrated laser than before. Our heroes were able to avoid it, but their mad swerves put some of them in the range of one of the small vortexes. All of this while the hands were constantly attacking as well. "Just avoid what you can!" Novelle urged. "My healing power's limited, so if you're going to attack but think you could be hit, wait until you have a clearer shot."
Our heroes followed Novelle's advice. Bringing down the eyes was a long and arduous process, but they eventually persevered with little inujry. When all six eyes had been defeated, the red shield surrounding the Chaos Heart vanished. The Heart itself, however, became active. Its eyes shot energy projectiles as the hands shifted to block the Chaos Heart from harm.
"We need to get through those hands and attack the Heart," Novelle thought. "But its defenses are so strong. I don't think we have much of a chance..."
"There...well, there must be something we can do!" Bowser asserted. "Come on! There has to be a way to hurt this thing! We didn't come all this way for nothing!"
Novelle smiled. "Yeah. We certainly didn't." She carefully examined the Heart's defenses, contemplating any possible way to reach the Chaos Heart itself and damage it. "I think...I think I could send one of you flying toward the Chaos Heart in an energy charge. You'd have to hit one of the eyes. But if anything managed to hit you, you'd be stopped."
"Then I'll do it." Mario moved toward Novelle. "Send me toward it!"
"OK. Don't hit anything!" Novelle charged her magic and flung Mario toward the Chaos Heart.
"Whooo!" Mario reveled in the thrill of acceleration, but he couldn't enjoy the ride for long. The Chaos Heart's three hands formed a protective barrier. Looking to find any way through, Mario decided to see if he could squeeze through a space between two fingers. He angled his body so that it would fit, and bypassed the monster's defense. The hero immediately came under seige from lasers and other projectiles, but he swerved down and to the right, curved back upward, and slammed directly into the top eye. The Chaos Heart roared as Mario was thrown backward, retreating to where the others were waiting.
"Did you get it?" Tippi observed the Heart as its shield was reactivated. The eye Mario had hit was still intact.
"Nope. Looks like we need to hit it a few more times."
Our heroes geared up to begin a new round of attacking the eyes as the Chaos Heart sent its hands their way. After doing this for a while, the Chaos Heart unleashed a teal-colored beam that swept the entire area. The heroes seemed to be unaffected, until they began to move. They were moving incredibly slowly. "That beam slowed us down!" O'Chunks exclaimed. "Now we're sloshin' around like a bunch o' crumbs in me mum's lard gravy!"
The monster's hands continued to attack our slowed heroes, damaging them before they could get away. "We can still attack!" Novelle urged. "Just keep hitting the eyes! The beam will wear off eventually!"
It did, and they kept attacking. The Heart's energy shield was removed again. "I'll go in there," Luigi volunteered, being the closest to Novelle.
"All right." Novelle readied herself. "Be careful out there." She sent Luigi toward the Chaos Heart.
"Let's see how tough you really are, spider-heart-Amtakan-whatever!" Luigi flew through the hand defense, dodged the lasers, and nailed the top eye again. The monster gave another roar. Luigi returned to the group. "The eye's still there."
"I think one more hit will do it in." Novelle groaned as the shield reappeared. "Just one more time, guys."
After another round of eye-attacking, Peach was sent to hit the top eye on the Heart. She hit her target squarely. The top eye exploded, spewing a mass of metallic red-gray blood across the upper area of the Chaos Heart.
"We got it!" Mario rejoiced. "Now..." He stared at the monster's hands, noting that the eyes hadn't regained their color. "Wait...the shield is back up, isn't it?"
Novelle examined the new shield around the artifact. "Yes, the shield has reappeared. But it seems weaker than before."
The hands continued to attack the heroes as more miniature Voids faded in and out. "Could we break through it?" Mimi asked.
"I...think so. We'll have to get close and attack the shield until it breaks, then go for the eyes."
"But those hands..."
"Well, we'll have to get by them." Novelle moved in the direction of the Chaos Heart.
Golly, she's confident... Mimi followed her endeavor, leading the others toward the center.
As expected, the monster's hands attempted to stop our heroes. The lower-right hand moved in front of them, blocking their progress. "You aren't going to pull that one for long!" Bowser let his fiery breath loose on the hand, damaging it and causing hit to retreat. This opened the path to the center.
"Watch out!" Novelle cautioned as the Chaos Heart fired a gigantic laser in their direction. A few of the heroes were hit, but their sheer willpower gave them enough strength to continue moving in this dangerous direction.
"Yah!" O'Chunks punched the red shield with all of his might.
"Take this!" Mario struck the barrier with his hammer.
"Enjoy this while you still can, Amtakan." Blumiere attacked the shield as well.
As they continued to whale on the shield, the Chaos Heart fired a stream of orange light that coalesced into a mass of spear-like energy pockets. These attacked our heroes, putting a dent in their efforts to deactivate the shield. "Agh!" Nastasia was struck by one of the spears and knocked back.
"Hey..." Mario moved away from the shield and lured one of the energy spears toward himself. He quickly retreated to the other side of the Chaos Heart, and the spear rammed into the shield. "That's how we do it! We use these spears against it!"
"Oh! Great thinking!" Novelle congratulated. Our heroes worked individually to turn the spears around into the shield, and within moments, the barrier had been broken.
"I'll take care of this thing!" Bowser set his eyes on the Heart's lower-left eye and drove his claw into it. Damaged, the Chaos Heart roared, reactivating its shield.
"At least we know how to take care of it now," Novelle approved. Our heroes repeated the process of using the energy spears to dent the shield. This time, however, the Chaos Heart also sent homing lasers at the group. It was difficult to tell whether the fired projectile was a homing spear or a laser before it slammed into them, but through the spears and the occasional direct assault, the heroes managed to lower the shield again. O'Chunks went in for the kill, attacking the bottom-left eye again.
As the shield was restored, a horde of dark energy gathered around the Heart. The paralyzing tentacles that had caused our heroes so much trouble during the previous battle with the Triumvirate appeared again, reaching toward our heroes. "Not these again!" Luigi ducked to avoid one, only to be slammed in the back by another and jolted into semi-consciousness.
"Urgh!" Novelle swatted another one away from Luigi, trying to send a magic blast to one of the shield's exposed areas.
"Novelle, can you attack it?" Mario was busy on the left side of the Chaos Heart spinning his hammer in circles to deflect the tentacles. He occasionally managed to hit the shield.
"Yeah...I think."
Novelle moved around the area, helping the others resist the dangerous energy tentacles. She freed Mimi from one's grip. "Thanks, Novelle." Mimi targeted the shield with Rubees.
"You're-" As she spoke, the same tentacle reached out and grabbed Novelle. "Aaaiighh!!!" She could barely scream under the limb's influence.
"Novelle, the shield's almost down!" Mimi annoucned. "I'll get you out of there!" She produced one last Rubee to aim at the shield, but just before she could throw it, another tentacle suddenly extended and wrapped around her, freezing her in place. "Novelle...Mario...Blumiere..."
"At your service, my loyal minion." Blumiere sent a blast of energy at the shield's open area, deactivating it and causing the tentacles and dark energy to disappear.
"Oh, you don't have to call me 'minion' anymore!" Mimi smiled and hurled another Rubee for the Chaos Heart's bottom-left eye. The eye was shattered, again releasing a hideous mass of blood. The lower-right eye was the only one that remained.
"Yes! We're almost there!" Novelle rejoiced. Her happiness would be short-lived, however. The shield reformed, and a gigantic mass of the dark tentacles extended from the Chaos Heart, growing outward with every moment. "Um...fall back, guys!" Novelle shakily advised.
Our heroes retreated to their original, more distant position as the the dark mass continued to expand. It reached its maximum size, stopping just short of our heroes' position. They now had the dark tentacles, the Chaos Heart's three hands, and the ever-present Voids to deal with. "Can't we just attack the eyes and get rid of the tentacles or something?" Bowser griped. "Compared to this, that was easy!"
"I'm afraid that isn't a solution..." Novelle tried to discern any way to reach the Chaos Heart, noting that the hands' eyes had reactivated. "We will need to attack the eyes again, but that won't get rid of the tentacles, only the shield. We should attack the tentacles too. To get that last eye, you'll need to charge for it again like what we did the first time, but watch out for the tentacles. We'll have to clear a path."
"Let's split up." Blumiere moved his hands to indicate his plan. "Half of us will attack the hands, and half the tentacles."
"Good idea." The heroes moved according to their position. Mario, Bowser, Mimi, and Blumiere attacked the tentacles with their non-direct weapons or magic, and the others worked on the eyes.
The miniature Voids proved more than an obstacle for the hand-attacking heroes, and the ones with the dark tentacles had their hands full as well. When the hand group managed to deactivate all six eyes, the tentacle group hadn't gouged a very deep hole to attack. "I'll help with those," Novelle offered, joining the four heroes in their fight with the tentacles. With Novelle's help, they cleared a larger path, but just as the messenger was about to announce that they were ready to attack, the Chaos Heart's shield reactivated.
"What? How'd the shield get back up?" Mimi complained. She looked at the eyes on the monsters' hands. They'd been restored.
"It looks like the eyes recover on their own," Novelle observed. "We have only a limited amount of time to attack the Chaos Heart. Here, I'll help you guys create a larger gap. When it's large enough, just maintain it, and I'll send someone in to attack!" Novelle pointed at the other members of the hand group. "Attack the hands again, guys!"
"You got it," Nastasia approved. A Void then emerged directly next to her. "Whoaaaaa!" The secretary was pulled in, heavily damaged. "I don't know much longer we can keep this up!"
"You can do it!" Novelle shouted. "I don't think I can heal you any more, but just stay clear of danger! I know you should do it as fast as possible, but not if that makes you get hurt."
"Yeah. That works." Nastasia resumed her assault on the eyes.
Once Mario, Bowser, Mimi, Blumiere, and Novelle had cleared a large enough opening, Novelle called to the other group. "How close are you?"
"Pretty close!" came Luigi's response. "Just one more on Amtakan and Wretcha!"
"Excellent. All right, guys, let's keep this gap open."
The five heroes held their opening, waiting for the others to succeed. Finally, Nastasia called. "We've got it!" The Chaos Heart's shield disappeared.
"Great! We have to keep this open, so I'll send you in to attack, Nastasia." Novelle sent Nastasia hurtling toward the Heart, aiming for the lower-right eye. The minion hit her target and bounced back to the others.
"Looks like two more to go." Mario continued to attack the tentacles with his hammer, the shield reappearing like he expected.
Our heroes worked through another trial of deactivating the eyes and keeping the gap in the tentacles open. Blumiere was the chosen hero to attack again. When Novelle sent him, however, the Chaos Heart had greatly increased the number of tentacles standing between him and his destination. One of these managed to swat him away, sending him tumbling back to the heroes, very hurt. "Blumiere! Are you OK?" Tippi worried.
"Yes, darling. I'm fine." Blumiere slowly recovered his strength. "We've still got time before the shield reappears! Send me again, Novelle!"
"Do it fast!" Novelle repeated her feat, and Blumiere dodged through the waves of tentacles and struck the eye again. The monster roared, and Blumiere returned.
"Only one hit left!" Mimi rejoiced. "Come on! Let's teach this guy a lesson he'll never forget!"
"Yes!" Novelle agreed.
Our heroes resumed their respective tasks, brimming with excitement and determination. The Voids grew ever more plentiful, and the hands more active, but this didn't stop our heroes. They were at the treshold of saving all existence from these villains. They had to do this!
The eyes were defeated. "Let me go this time," Novelle urged. "I'll finish the fight I was drawn into 4,000 years ago."
"You can do it, Novelle." Mario gave her a smile.
Novelle smiled back. "Here I go." She plunged into the mass of tentacles, dodging, rolling, and blasting her way through to reach the Chaos Heart's final eye. She slammed into it with all of her force, breaking it apart and spreading the Heart's blood once more.
The tentacles and dark energy vanished as Novelle retreated to our heroes' position, but the flashing Voids still appeared intact. She looked back at the Chaos Heart. Its empty face seemed to condense into itself, forming a single, much larger eye in the heart's center, and the Heart's red shield was activated once more.
"It's not over," Mario exclaimed.
"No. It's not." Novelle sighed, examining the Chaos Heart's energy levels. "This eye seems less powerful than the others. The Chaos Heart must be holding on to its last bit of power. We just need to attack-"
Suddenly, lasers sprouted from everywhere. The dark lasers erupted from the Chaos Heart's eye and all of the hands' eyes, constantly moving and targeting our heroes. "Whoa!" Luigi uttered. "How are we supposed to attack the hand eyes?"
The miniature Voids appeared as well. Our heroes were heavily damaged by the combined assault. When the lasers finally turned off, Bowser made his move. "Now's our chance!" He dove for the Netherclops's bottom eye. As the others began attacking the three hands, the eyes produced the same orange blobs our heroes had seen in the previous fight, making it incredibly difficult to attack them directly.
"Come...on!" Luigi punched Amtakan's top eye, only to be swept into a Void shortly afterward.
The Chaos Heart fired three lasers in a rotating triangle pattern that swept the area, blocking our heroes' access to the hands. The hands themselves slammed into the heroes, only weakening them. "Come on...come on..." Mimi breathed. "We can...do this..."
"Y...yes!" Bowser defeated Wretcha's top eye. Only Amtakan's bottom eye remained.
"Let's do it!" Nastasia's voice was weak and breath-filled.
The Heart turned off its triangle lasers, only to start firing smaller beams of energy at a much more rapid pace. Bowser was struck by one, knocked just about out of fighting condition. "No...we have to do this!"
"Let me go for it..." Luigi crept up to Amtakan's bottom eye. Slowly, he drew his fist back.
"No! Luigi! Watch out!" Novelle sped in front of the green plumber and blocked a laser shot, allowing Luigi to take out the final eye. The central shield was deactivated.
The Chaos Heart went crazy. Its hands moved and clawed wildly as its eye produced a multitude of lasers, projectiles, spears, and every other weapon our heroes had seen in this battle. "Mario." Novelle called the hero.
"Should I score the final hit?" Mario asked, guessing at what Novelle wanted him for.
"Yes and no. We're both going to do it."
"Both of us?"
"Yes. That's all I have power for, and both of us will guarantee that the eye is finally defeated. We're going to put an end to this menace once and for all."
"I've got it, Novelle." As Novelle prepared, Mario looked at the messenger that had guided the heroes throughout their entire adventure. "You're not sorry for this, are you?"
Novelle sighed, smiling a little. "No...I'm not. We have to defeat him. And I know that no matter how much it pains me, I have to either do this or watch the whole world disappear. And all of its emotion and love." Novelle was ready. "And I know I have to do it right and save everyone from this villain Amtakan. We're going to defeat him now, once and for all. Are you ready?"
Mario nodded.
"Then let's go." Novelle hurled them both toward the Chaos Heart. A laser immediately shot in front of them, but Mario and Novelle ducked down to dodge the blast. More energy spears came their way. The pair temporarily split up to avoid this obstacle, and when more lasers attacked, they moved to opposite sides.
The Chaos Heart was fast approaching. Mario felt Novelle draw closer and close her hand around his. After dodging one more laser swipe, Mario and Novelle struck the Chaos Heart's eye together, defeating it once and for all.
The final eye exploded, the hands deactivated, and the entire monster became devoid of activity. The area was soundless. "Did we do it?" Peach asked.
Novelle was silent. "It's time, isn't it?" Mario asked her. "Now we use the Breaker Orbs."
The messenger sighed. "Yes. That's what we do. Come on." Novelle brought Mario to the Chaos Heart.
Even without its eyes, in the dark Void environment, the deactivated Chaos Heart still appeared somewhat frightening. It was a lone object in the middle of a vast void - and not a Void you'd want to be lost in. Mario watched Novelle as she summoned the orbs. The five orbs, red, yellow, green, blue, and violet, circled around the Chaos Heart, expelling the shapes of Amtakan, Wretcha, and the Netherclops from the artifact.
This was the part Novelle had been dreading from the very beginning. Slowly, she moved toward Amtakan, readying herself to kill him.
Amtakan's voice came, repeating a statement Novelle had heard before. "Whatever you do to me, Maia, I will have the same done to you. It is in my magic. You cannot harm me without also harming yourself."
"Oh...!" Novelle hadn't considered that. Measuring Amtakan's magic energy, she determined that he could, indeed, kill her if she killed him.
"Can he do it?" Mario asked.
"Yes. He can. And..." Novelle examined the other two souls, as well as the Chaos Heart. "If Amtakan and I kill each other, Wretcha and the Netherclops could recover after a while. And then they'd be free to continue Amtakan's scheme." Novelle looked at Mario with utter sadness in her beautiful eyes.
Mario was pained. Seeing Novelle this sad was a shock to him. And as tears fell from the corners of her eyes, they fell from Mario's as well. "Then what do we do?"
"There's only one thing we can do." Novelle moved between the Chaos Heart and the three souls. "I'll stand here, and with the last of my energy, I'll destroy all of this - Amtakan, Wretcha, the Netherclops, the Chaos Heart, both Prognosticuses, and...myself."
A strange sensation rushed through Mario's body. "You mean..."
"Yes. There's no other way. I must die in order to save the worlds."
"But...but you..."
"It's a sacrifice we all need to make, Mario. I always expected it would come to something like this. I'd need to..." Novelle trailed off, sobbing. She buried her face in her hands. "No! I didn't want this! I didn't want to become the savior of every dimension! I wanted to live a peaceful, normal life, and not have to worry about Amtakan...or Ganter...or Count Bleck...or..." Novelle cried. Mario could already see the tears leaking through her fingers, floating off into the gravity-less space.
Mario moved next to her. He rested his hand on the messenger's shoulder. "I know. If I had to deal with all of that, I probably would've gone insane." He gently moved Novelle's hands from her face. "But you accomplished your task perfectly. You succeeded. You saved the entire multiverse from complete destruction on three different occasions. And this makes four. That's a lot more than anyone, even I, can truthfully say they did. You've done wonderfully, Novelle. And I can truthfully say that you are, without a doubt, one of the most amazing people I've ever met. Probably the most."
Novelle raised her head. She smiled, the same smile our heroes had grown familiar with. Knowing that this was probably the last time he'd ever see that smile drove needles of emotional pain into Mario's heart. He hadn't even known she existed until a little while ago, and had known her true identity for an even shorter time, but in that short time, she had done so much, and said so many things, and offered so much insight. To lose her would be...well, painful. Very painful.
"Yes. You're right," Novelle answered. "I did succeed. But you heroes helped out a lot, too. Don't give me all the credit." She continued smiling, looking very innocent, kind, and intelligent - as she was.
Mario nodded. "I guess we did. We both did our best to save the worlds from a man who would cause their destruction. And in the end, we succeeded. But we couldn't have done it without each other."
"That's true." Novelle looked down again.
"Novelle. No, I mean...Maia." The messenger perked up at the mention of her true name. "I want you to know that I'll never forget you. You helped pull our entire adventure together. You guided us when times were tough. You orchestrated the defeat of a plan that would destroy love forever. And you're so kind...and friendly...and happy...and confident. And full of love." Mario lowered his eyes, trying to think of the right words. "As far as people go, you're the closest thing to perfect I've ever seen."
Novelle smiled. It would be the last time anyone alive saw her do it. "Well...thanks...Mario. I'll never forget you, either. You're the greatest hero I've seen. You have the drive, the will, and the power to get things done. You're willing put yourself in danger to protect those you love and...well, anything that needs protection. And, Mario..." Novelle's tears grew more plentiful than ever, but her smile only grew wider. "You can do the craziest platform stunts I've ever seen."
They both laughed. Platforming, indeed, was one thing Mario could do extremely well.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye," Novelle concluded after they had settled down. "Mario...let me make one final request. Do your best to preserve love in the world. You're going to save the world whenever the next new threat arises, aren't you?"
"Of course I will. It's in my job description." Mario and Novelle shared another quick laugh. "Yes. We'll never truly be free of evil. As long as the world goes on, anyway. But I'll do my best to keep evil out where I can. You never know how long it'll be before someone else decides to destroy the world. Or how long it'll be before you're called to save someone in distress, or..." Mario shook his head. "Yes. I understand, Novelle. I'll do my best."
"Thank you." Novelle nodded one last time, and then began to sob uncontrollably. "Goodbye...Mario."
"Goodbye...Maia."
Mario turned around. He didn't look back as he returned to where the others were waiting. He lowered his face into his hands, crying for a reason he wasn't entirely sure of himself.
Amtakan, Wretcha, the Netherclops, the Chaos Heart, The Void, the Dark Prognosticus, the Light Prognosticus, and Novelle all vanished in one final, cataclysmic explosion.
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"Mario, you can stop crying now."
Mario slowly looked up from his hands, observing the diamond-filled, tan-colored sky of Flipside. Our heroes were standing atop Flipside Tower. "Yeah...OK." Mario wiped his nose and held his head high. "Luigi, it's just that...well...I...I don't really know."
"Yeah, that's all right. I understand. I'm sad about her, too, but I guess the important thing is to move on. We saved the world, bro! So let's hear it for us! Yeah!" Luigi pumped his fist into the air.
"Indeed," came Merlon's voice from behind. He walked closer to them, clearing his throat. "And you have done it magnificently. Thanks to your efforts, all of the good folks of Flipside, and everywhere else in the worlds, can rest safely knowing that their fate is not to be swallowed up by The Void. The Dark Prognosticus and the Chaos Heart have been destroyed once and for all, and so has the person who was secretly behind all of our troubles: Amtakan."
"Yes," Tippi agreed. "You know, from what Novelle told us, it seemed like Amtakan wasn't really that bad of a guy. He just had a tendency to get upset over things, and one time...that just lead him to make a terrible decision. His intents were noble, and his...I suppose you could say, his heart was in the right place. His desires just twisted and perverted him into eliminating emotion from his being, and once that happened..." Tippi sighed. "There was no turning back."
"But Novelle was there to stop him," Nastasia continued. "Her love for these worlds is what allowed us to stop Amtakan's plot."
"Novelle..." Merlon spoke the word as if tasting it on his tongue. "She arrived mysteriously, and left just as suddenly as she came. It's a shame I never got the opportunity to speak with her for longer. She was a true blessing while she was here. I've never seen anyone so...so...ah, where are the words I'm looking for?"
"I know what you're trying to say," Mimi approved. "But I can't find the words either. Maybe something about love, or nobleness...or something. Like she almost seemed divine. Like an angel or something..."
"Angelic?" Merlon thought about this word. "Perhaps. But she was many other things, too. A fighter, a defender of truth...oh, there's so many things one could say about her. It's just such a shame what had to happen to her. I'm sure she would've wanted to help improve the worlds. I can imagine her now, working to help solve our everyday problems, and smiling all the while..." Merlon sighed.
"Speaking of which," Mario began, "I promised her something before she...left. She wanted me to do my best to preserve the worlds and their love, from anyone who might try to harm them."
"Sounds good," Bowser agreed. "I think I'll do my best, too. As long as you don't try to rescue Peach whenever I kidnap her, you're totally cool with me!"
Our heroes laughed. Bowser would always be Bowser, even if he'd helped them save the universes from a threat much bigger.
Merlon exhaled. "Well, heroes..." He looked at the original four heroes of legend. "I presume you'll be returning to your own dimension now..."
"Yeah, we will," Luigi answered. "Not right away, though. I mean, Flipside is such a great place...we should hang out here a little more! What do you say, bro? Peach? Bowser?"
"Sure, why not?" Peach agreed. "It'll be great to finally be back in the Mushroom Kingdom, but I wouldn't want such a sudden goodbye to this place and all the people I've met since Count Bleck abducted me. We can hang out, relax...and remember all the great times we had. Remember when you guys made me eat that Black Fruit?" Our heroes shared another laugh. "Pbthhh!!! That thing was disgusting!"
"Can we visit the dimensions we've been to?" Luigi asked. "Merlon, you could probably change the doors to go to one of their previous destinations, couldn't you?"
"Indeed, I believe I could." Merlon moved toward the green door. "Say you wanted to revisit Beachfront Town, for instance..."
"Oh, yeah," Bowser exclaimed. "We were going to tell Kara everything she wanted to know about what's beyond that bridge."
"And it'll be good to let Merlrock know we succeeded," Mario added.
"And we can visit Tedac again..." Luigi began. "And Paletta and Merlee and King Sammer and Chip Ahoy and Dusty and all of the other people we've met. Won't it be a blast?"
"Ahhh...yes." Merlon looked at the others. "And what about you, O'Chunks, Mimi, Nastasia, Blumiere, and Lady Timpani? What's next for you all?"
"I know what I'm gonna do," O'Chunks began. "Get some o' those de-LECT-able snacks!"
"Tee hee! You're so silly, O'Chunks!" Mimi teased. "But that does sound good." Mimi sighed. "You know, I am sad that the two friends I've had all my life are gone, but I know Margaret wouldn't want me to just stand here and cry. She'd want me to get active. Bring love to the four corners of the world...or however that saying goes."
"Well, I must admit I don't really know where we want to go from here," said Blumiere, glancing fondly at the now-human Timpani. "But there are so many possibilities, it's hard to even decide where to start."
"The possibilities are never-ending," Timpani agreed. "Who knows where we'll end up? We could do anything. I guess the only thing for certain is that..." She put her arm around her loving husband. "...Whatever we do, we're going to do it together."
"That's right, dear. Despite everything, I really do have Novelle to thank for such a wonderful wife."
Timpani laughed.
"We have her to thank for that and much more," Merlon agreed. He seemed finished. "Well! I do believe someone mentioned snacks?"
"Absolutely!" O'Chunks approved. "We saved all o' those worlds, lads! GRA-GOOGLY-HEY-HOORAH! Why don't we have a wee celebration?"
"A 'wee' celebration?" Mario teased. "Why not a gigantic celebration? If we're ever going to match the scale of everything we did, we'd better start planning now!"
"Then let's get to the fun!" Bowser walked toward the elevator. "I'm beating you guys!"
"Not so fast, Bowser!" Luigi chased Bowser across the tower, and the others followed close behind.
"Whew," Mario breathed as they descended. "That was one exciting adventure. I sure am ready to relax."
"But, you know, the world's always going to be threatened again," Luigi reiterated. "Guys will want to take over the world...someone'll try to activate some other ancient prophecy...Bowser will kidnap Princess Peach..."
"Heh heh. Yep, I know, Luigi. That's what we do." Mario leaned back, closing his eyes. I'm never going to forget you, Maia. I promise you that.
And I'll never forget you, Mario.
Mario's eyes snapped open. What?! He stood for a few seconds, listening for anything within his mind. Maia? Is that you?
No response came.
Huh... Mario didn't know what he'd just experienced. Had that really been her? Had...well, probably Grambi let her contact Mario one last time? Or had that just been a thought within his own head? But it had seemed so real...and at the same time, he couldn't remember exactly what it had felt like. It had came and left so quickly.
The elevator opened onto the second floor of Flipside. Well, whatever that was, I'm going to keep my promise to you, Maia. Mario walked with the others, boldly stepping forth in his old, but somehow new mission. To bring love to everyone...it was such a noble objective.
"Hey, Mario, you coming?" Luigi asked, about to hit the button for the first floor.
"What? Oh, yeah!" Mario joined the others and waited for the elevator.
"So, what's your favorite thing there, Mimi?" As the others drifted into their own conversations, Mario still thought about where he'd go from here. There'd always be something to take care of in the worlds, and he would be there to get it done.
Whatever happens from here, I'll do it. Love.
And so the dark prophecy was, once and for all, destroyed.
Amtakan, destoyer of worlds and love, was defeated.
The citizens of Flipside are at peace once more, knowing that The Void will never again emerge in the sky.
Our heroes celebrate saving the world once again, knowing that whenever trouble appears, they'll be ready.
And so the story of the lost book of prophecies meets its true end.
May we meet again in another time and place...
-STAFF CREDITS-
-Lead Writer-
Reading
-Assistant Writer-
General Stuff
-Original Character Design-
Reading
General Stuff
Xeus
-Artwork-
Reading
General Stuff
-Based on a game created by-
Nintendo
-Special Thanks-
Original Super Paper Mario staff
General Stuff
Xeus
Lady Timpani
Thanks to the original Super Paper Mario staff, again, for creating the game that inspired the project of mine that ran from July 30, 2007 to March 24, 2009. Super Paper Mario was such an amazing game, and I hope I've written a worthy sequel! Well, two, to be exact.
Thanks to General Stuff for reading every new chapter before they were posted and helping weed out any obvious errors and problems. Now get back to work on whatever biography part you were on! :P
Thanks to Xeus for, not only helping me with the H-X Alpha and B-A Omega's design, but also helping me with the design of the Triumvirate, and approving the design for the Chaos Heart's final form. I would never have thought of curved spikes around the edges! You're the man when it comes to sheer coolness.
Thanks to Lady Timpani for reading the whole story and enjoying it, and for proofreading Chapters 8-1, 8-2, and 8-3 before they were posted. You've been a great help, not to mention a great member of the Forums of the Scepter.
And finally, a general thank-you to everyone who's read this story. It's been a long, fun, and sometimes hectic road, but the Super Paper Mario sequel project has finally reached its end. I hope you all enjoyed reading the story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Now that SPM2/3 is finished, I'll be moving on to other things like The Hidden Scepter. It's been very fun working with this project, but I do believe I've had enough Super Paper Mario for one lifetime (actually, if you do the math, I've actually been working on this project for about one-tenth of my entire lifespan up to this point. Crazy, isn't it?). Nonetheless, it's been a pretty wild ride, with lots of bumps, obstacles, and plot twists, and I'm proud of my accomplishment. So, uh...may we meet again in another time and place!
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Congratulations, on not giving up on this. I can only HOPE that my new story lasts half of the time your story took. :)
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Thanks. I've been meaning to read your story, actually, and now that the SPM sequel project is finally over, I'll have tons of more time to do that and the other activities I desperately need to catch up on. ;)
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Just simply AMAZING! Your story is so well-written that it seems like I'm reading what a professional author wrote. This was definitely the best fan fiction story I have ever read! Congratulations on your accomplishment! I had just as much fun reading it as you did writing it!
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Seeing as I finished the PDF version of SPM3, and I put all sorts of character art in there that I didn't post here, I think I'll show the new artwork you guys didn't see last time after I finished SPM2 Chapter 4-4. I'll post those ones here too, just for a complete picture.
I'm also working on a project in Art class at school inspired by SPM and my two sequels. I'll post a picture of it here when it's finished.
Mario
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_mario.gif&hash=9fd46b2a831834736aeb40ba8b568acd)
Luigi
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_luigi.gif&hash=6d45ab2fc8b44ef72153eb2eea9c43c5)
Peach
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_peach.gif&hash=7b3733a0c82ebb8dbb2a9f8ffbf71721)
Bowser
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_bowser.gif&hash=ad4703181d34775ba8ff455c73926e9c)
Count Bleck
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_bleck.gif&hash=ae42b2a4c082b71de00347302c821028)
Timpani
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_timpani.gif&hash=d2a8f9f9b4abfc742f0bf3fb72afdb7e)
Dimentio
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_dimentio.gif&hash=b7f6f1c06e1b8eaa0eecedfdffbe22f0)
O'Chunks
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_o%26%23039%3Bchunks.gif&hash=f1ef12160145b82bf30b3dfddda72cd5)
Mimi
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_mimi.gif&hash=942a8b331782d188aa2af3cce09422b1)
Nastasia
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_nastasia.gif&hash=b327a4663c6d94d8f39ef6eb4b3e1f0d)
The Ruffer Ruffian
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_ruffer_ruffian.gif&hash=41bef336940b83ee1492494d6182d313)
Tedac
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_tedac.gif&hash=63029e7c43714484ebd873ab3d54462b)
Radnamok X
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_radnamok_x.gif&hash=e463292e1783182da198297c920e12e1)
H-X Alpha
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_h-x_alpha.gif&hash=961e3e54e1b80e49f2f5d4fce3ca279c)
B-A Omega
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_b-a_omega.gif&hash=f4ae6b12fad63d176e14e76b6c384ff7)
Kara
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_kara.gif&hash=9914dd57e3212b778095e508acfb15bf)
Novelle
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_novelle.gif&hash=79e546ea4a639308d22544625f67b382)
Morris
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_morris.gif&hash=e3ea2a3688123f896d507d093b41a179)
Amtakan
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_amtakan.gif&hash=715f19413e1d9fa1a0e5a877240858db)
Hyper Dimentio
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_hyper_dimentio.gif&hash=e7b75adc70b7c98825389c0b090e2850)
Mortcha
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_mortcha.gif&hash=b6ba346f1f742f2fee68eb1a4c8f4659)
Hyper Bowser
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_hyper_bowser.gif&hash=85c180eb13a8687a11aad83fff0d4baf)
Margaret
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_margaret.gif&hash=ae7bae4b4e65a175545ea3739ad287cd)
The Netherclops
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_netherclops.gif&hash=ed0df7fed2ba812bdf0fadef7b3f7263)
The Triumvirate
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_triumvirate.gif&hash=b7c63e5b11b3f8e43039a07d241c3a89)
The Chaos Heart
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiddenscepter.com%2Fspm2_chaos_heart.gif&hash=c8d4fe0379ea7c97574fe1a9eea8693e)
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Those boss designs are incredible.
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Well, now that school's out and that aforementioned art project is finished, I believe I'll post it here. You should be able to figure out what it's about. :)
Click here to see it. (http://www.hiddenscepter.com/spm2project.jpg)