Super Paper Mario 2: The Tribe of Darkness (Complete + Art Project)

[Wiiario]

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).

[Reading]

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...

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-

[Kimimaru]

Nice! These are getting better and better!

[Reading]

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.

[Reading]

I finished SPM2PDF a few days ago. You can download it here 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.

"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-

[Reading]

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.

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-

[Reading]

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.

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!"

[Kimimaru]

Great chapter!

[Luigalaxy]

Woah. Although, when I'm bored I read SPM2, but I've barely read this one. Good chapter.

[Reading]

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?

"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-

[Reading]

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.

"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-

[Reading]

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...

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-

[Kimimaru]

That was great! The miniboss battle was intense!

[Reading]

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.

"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...

[Reading]

"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."