Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Seven individuals, each with a story to tell.

1987, a flame in the dream world must infiltrate a rivaling castle.

1995, a dinosaur discovers love for the first time.

1999, a drifter comes to a town in need of his aid.

2001, a cold specter is revived to discover a horrible secret.

2004, a former champion rises to the top once more.

2006, a kung fu master stops a gang of pirates from invading.

2007, a computer geek brings new life into the world.

They would never forget, on that very day, how anybody could bring the end.

Defeated, but not undone. That’s how one could describe Wart, the tyrannical, mischief maker of Subcon.

He stole the Dream Machine for himself and brought life to his minions. Yet he still failed. The oversized frog recoiled in his tattered throne, vastly preferring the comfortable seat stolen from the Subcon King.

But no, he did not recoil from this defeat. Falling at the hands of an outside force? To be expected, ever so slightly, after he kidnapped children.

“My lord,” a mouse with sunglasses squeaked in a raspy voice. “I brought him in for you, are you sure he’s the one you want for the job?”

“You make things go boom, and Tryclyde is huge,” Wart was blunt as ever. He got up, looking at the fiery element drifting behind the mouse. “Get outta here, Mouser. I don’t want you, mousing around.” He snickered, watching his minion’s face scrunch up.

Once Mouser took his leave, Wart cleared his throat. “Fryguy,” he started, “do you know why I called you here?”

The fire element took a pause. “I assume this has to do with my failure to keep the humans away. For that audacity, I greatly apologize.” His tone was mature, deep, and unexpected of his appearance.

“Far from it, you were more successful than Mouser.” Wart coughed, covering up his petty remarks. “No. Something happened shortly after those humans thwarted us. I received this.” He held out a letter, but kept it at a distance, knowing Fryguy would burn it by accident.

Dear Wart,

My decision to part ways from here has proven true. I received a prophecy of your failure.

Lord Saitou will be taking over Subcon to improve it. He wishes to create a balance for you and the Muu people, something that I desire as well.

Please surrender now, my friend.

  - Panzer

“Ah, your former organizer,” Fryguy’s voice trailed off. The small lotus Panser named, well, Panzer was a good friend of Wart. A devotee that organized lily pads in his majesty’s favorite pond.

Around the same time Panzer left, Fryguy’s own personal captain had also parted ways with him.

“Dumped for someone better, who wants to take my thunder. Now you see why I called you in, right? You’re the only guy I can think of who can mosey on over there without making too much noise. Smash this Lord Saitou before he knows what hit him!” He emphasized that by slamming his fist into the arm of his chair.

“My lord, there is just one problem,” Fryguy said. “If Panzer and my former captain are there, some of our former allies in the 8 Bits may also be working for this Saitou person. What exactly do you want me to do?”

Wart pondered the thought, scratching his chin. “You can either let us take them prisoner or win them back later, or cut them down for treason.” Fryguy flinched, making the old frog laugh. “I know you won’t do that second one though, you’re a guy of honor!”

A world of ice and snow, a castle surrounded by clouds. How ironic for a man of fire to be chosen for this job.

Guards surrounded the front doors, but Fryguy was no stranger to finding his own little shortcuts. Why, there was an entrance just above him, simple enough to fly over towards—

“Halt!”

He disappeared into nothing but his mask in a split second. A blue Ninji surrounded by Tweeters passed, no longer able to see him.

“I could have sworn I saw someone here,” the Ninji complained, turning to face the Tweeters. “Listen here, my comrades! We must not let any intruders come by, you hear me? Panzer asked me to find something in the storehouse, so I will be over there!”

The Tweeters all chirped in response.

“Do all of you remember the password if someone fishy comes by?”

They all looked at each other, garnering the Ninji’s annoyance.

“You dolts!” they paused, looking at the scribble on their own hand. “It’s ‘fog’, okay? You say ‘tundra’, and if they don’t say ‘fog’, they’re someone suspicious! Night, out!” With that, the little Ninji named Night hopped away, with the Tweeters scattering all over.

Perhaps it would be in Fryguy’s best interest to follow them to the storehouse. There could be something he could use to further infiltrate this castle.

“Where is it?”

Night’s desperate pleas were starting to get sad at this point. Fryguy watched them tear the whole storehouse upside-down, bouncing all over the place. “Lowkey and Panzer are going to kill me if I don’t find it. Stupid Lowkey, this should be his job, that lazy bum!”

Fryguy came to the conclusion that this fool would be far too distracted to notice him in all of this mess. Carefully and quietly, making sure to put himself out when Night moved too suddenly, Fryguy drifted toward a chained-up crate.

He got there, and immediately tried melting the rusty lock with his presence—

“Thought I didn’t notice you this whole time?”

Night stood right behind him, holding a spike to the fire elemental. How did the Ninji manage that so quickly?

“Stealthy are you, but stealthier am I; Night, the Ninji! I stalk the darkness and hide within the moon! You must be one of the 8 Bits come to thwart Lord Saitou?”

Fryguy sighed. “Mouser’s former captain, I assume?”

“You must be an excellent guesser.”

“Hardly,” Fryguy drifted to face them. “You have the same, boisterous attitude that he influences.”

Lightly wincing, Night raised the spikes in their hands. “Brace yourself, for the Slice of the Bamboo Cutter!”

Fryguy merely blinked, turning into a puff of smoke as the Ninji rammed themselves into the crate that Fryguy had been trying to unlock. The impact was enough to break the box in question and knock Night unconscious.

Relief washed over him. “I suppose that is one way to deal with this non-lethally.” Fryguy took the spikes from their hands. “You may be stealthier and quicker than I, but you lack intelligence, my child.”

What a fun coincidence too, the key they were desperately searching for had fallen from the crate. Green as peridot, strangely enough. Before he could grab it, however, a small claw snapped at him.

“For the last time, you aren’t cooking me alive!”

A Sidestepper? An adorable little crab. Fryguy couldn’t help but smile.

“Rest easy, small one. You are free to go.”

This key had to take him someplace important in the castle if the others sought for it. Fryguy held it in his flames and took an exit, glancing back at the confused Sidestepper one last time.

“Tundra…”

“Fog.”

The Tweeters looked at each other, then hopped away, allowing Fryguy to ascend.

Ice covered the castle floors. Not a problem for him, but he had some concern over the little Tweeters, given the pits filled with spikes.

A door decorated with a green lock stood on the next floor, but Fryguy was not fooled, refusing to take an inch further.

“It’s foolish of you to stop moving when you have a key in your grasp, my good man!” A voice cackled. “Surely you know the rules of how even former members of the 8 Bits work, lapdog! Why not be a good boy and fetch that key back to its rightful owner?”

Fryguy spat at the floor in response.

“Oh? The polite practitioner of Bushido? Disrespecting? I don’t think so!”

The green Phanto flew down, almost in a dance.

“My name is Lowkey! Night is the speed, I am the trickster mage!” He grew a body, followed by arms and legs in a yellow suit. “So, you’re Fryguy, huh?” Maracas appeared in his hand. “A real modest guy, although you’re the hottest guy! In Havana, in Havana!”

Ignored, another spit to the floor.

“Alright, I see how it is!” He ripped off the yellow suit in exchange for a firefighters uniform, taking a gloved hand and extending it like a hose nozzle. Sticking out his tongue and blowing raspberries, Lowkey approached him. “How do ya feel about a shotgun blast of water, pal—”

One touch is all it took. Lowkey failed to notice the glow around Fryguy. The energy surging through him knocked the Phanto out of his body built from magic.

Fryguy spits one last time, sighing at the mess of stems he had created.

“Five cherries, just to get the power to dispose of a Phanto. I could have just unlocked the door, but that one would pursue me further I’m certain.”

Good thing Phantos could not truly perish. Fryguy unlocked the door and ascended to the castle balcony.

Chapter Text

Near the balcony, lay a tea room. Warm and comforting, unlike the rest of the palace thus far. Fryguy breathed in the soothing scent but was not put at ease.

“Come, sit down and have a drink!” A feminine voice called from behind a door. “I’ll be with you in just a minute.”

He didn’t amuse her with a response, remaining his stance in front of the closed door. How stupid did the guards here think he was?

“What’s the matter? Don’t you trust me?” She cooed. “Okay, fine, you got me! I will turn off the booby trap I put under your seat.”

Fryguy didn’t budge, hearing various clicks.

“There, okay? I turned off the spike pits too!”

Once again, he didn’t move from his position.

“You still aren’t buying it?”

He scoffed, smoke blowing from his mouth. “Honey, my former captain, the trap master. You cannot fool me.” Fryguy caved in with a chuckle. “Furthermore, the only liquids I can consume are flammable—”

The door swung open, revealing a furious Beezo in pink, donning a red mask.

“You? It really had to be you?” She readied her spear, pushing a button to call upon several Autobombs. “Fryguy, pathetic Fryguy! Go figure that the one person who can see through my façade is my opponent!”

“I don’t want to fight you, Honey. Stand down. The Autobombs have no effect on a fire elemental such as I.”

The Autobombs fired, but a POW Block had been launched in Fryguy’s direction instead, instilling panic. He had no way of dealing with that sort of ammunition! Autobombs were just as fireproof as Fryguy himself, and he did not want to hurt Honey just to deactivate them.

He wouldn’t have to. Rocks started rolling in, taking each Autobomb out one by one.

“What?” Honey gasped, seeing all of her contraptions busted.

“Over here!” The Sidestepper from earlier emerged from the window. “You aren’t attacking my rescuer, lady! Get lost!”

Fryguy and Honey both knew that the latter would not win in a fight, especially not if someone else got involved. Growling and cursing, the Bees retreated.

“Oho! I’m quite the genius, aren’t I?” The Sidestepper came forward. “I’m sorry Mr. Spitfire, I just couldn’t run back to the ocean. I wanted to thank you in some way for freeing me.”

Fryguy paused. “You are very brave for someone your size,” or perhaps just naive, Fryguy held his tongue. “I should be the one apologizing, for abandoning you to your devices. How exactly did you end up in that box back there?”

The Sidestepper recoiled. “They fished me and the others out of the cold waters to cook me, turn me into a wonderful meal for Lord Saitou is what they said!” He sighed, trying to shake off the memory most likely. “What was up with that Beezo? An old flame of yours?”

He turned hotter than normal. “Horrible joke, Honey is not my lover. I was in charge of her and nothing more.”

Fryguy tried to make his embarrassment, ascending to the next flight of stairs.

“Hey, wait for me! I’m finishing this with you!”

At the very top of the castle, there stood a familiar face and someone new, standing in the chilled, yet decorative room.

Fryguy recognized one all too well. Panzer, the Panser. Wart’s former organizer, dressed in the orange robe of Buddhist monks and donning a green mask across his eyes. Next to him, in the center, stood a cool gray storm cloud, wearing the attire of a feudal lord.

“Impressive,” the storm cloud chuckled.

“Fryguy, I was afraid I would see you again so soon,” Panzer said, calmly. “I applaud you for unmasking the incompetence in my allies, which I shall correct as soon as I am done with you.” Opening a gate in the shape of a hawk’s maw, Panzer guided the cloudy character. “Lord Saitou, please hide. I do not wish for you to get hurt.”

Amusing. Fryguy could see he and Panzer weren’t so different, so why…

“Panzer, why did you abandon Wart for this lesser lord?”

The flower drew ritual daggers out. “Lord Saitou promised Subcon a life of prosperity, a proper balance that neither Wart nor the King of Subcon could give. He will turn Subcon into a pure nirvana, knowing the truths to rectify our suffering.”

Fryguy hesitated, doing his best to manage the small Sidestepper that desperately wanted a brawl. “I do not wish to fight you, Panzer. And I know you are a man of peace who would not want to hurt Lord Wart or any of us. Please let me discuss things with this Lord Saitou, peacefully.”

A sigh escaped Panzer. “Your intentions are pure, old friend. unfortunately, it is Lord Saitou himself that requested to not have any intrusion. If you truly wish to confront him, I am afraid you must go through me.” Panzer drew close but still remained at a reasonable distance, just enough to coerce Fryguy into a confrontation.

Turning back would not resolve anything, Fryguy would just have to honor the request. Taking down Night and Lowkey quietly had not been an issue, since all of the lesser monsters that made up the 8 Bits could be knocked down with a precise strike. That’s why leading generals like Fryguy, Mouser, and Tryclyde were special. They could tank a few more hits.

Panzer is a different beast. On the surface, he seemed to be a Panser like any other that could spit flames from his blossom. The main difference is his spirit of devotion gave him an edge in vitality, combined with a calm demeanor that allowed him leadership over Lowkey, Honey, and Night.

“Three slices and you break apart to a smaller form, that’s all it will take.”

Panzer made his point by throwing one of his ritual daggers. Fryguy had anticipated close combat, not ranged. He winced as the knife chipped at the mask covering his eyes, grunting in pain.

“That’s one strike.”

He tossed another while Fryguy recovered. The Sidestepper interrupted the attack by tossing a rock, making it bounce off the oncoming dagger and smash Panzer in the face, removing two of his petals in the process.

Clearly unamused, Panzer slid towards the Sidestepper, kicking the crab onto his back before resuming with Fryguy. Panzer threw another dagger while Fryguy narrowed his eyes and spat flames. Another piece of his ashen mask chipped away.

“That’s two.”

Fryguy turned to smoke to evade the next toss, getting close to the flowery foe and attempting to enwrap him with fire. Panzer didn’t even wiggle free, stabbing where he saw fit as one of his petals wilted from the heat.

“Three!”

A fiery burst. Four flames now split across the room.

“Now, all that is left is to put you out in your smaller form!” Panzer exclaimed.

“How many daggers do you still have to handle that?” Fryguy’s four halves inquired. “Don’t you need to reload?”

Panzer hesitated, looking inside his robe to count how many had been thrown versus how many were left—

The flames ambushed him, as well as the Sidestepper, now foaming at the mouth.

“A filthy tactic! I thought you fought with honor!” Panzer snapped.

“You should have been counting before this battle started,” Fryguy pointed out. “I decided to not go so easy on you after you knocked down my new friend!” The Sidestepper snapped away at Panzer’s petals while Fryguy overwhelmed him with heat, just enough to make him pass out with exhaustion.

After fusing himself back together, Fryguy showed concern. “Your bubbling at the mouth,” Fryguy looked around, hoping to find a towel or some sort of cloth. Nothing was in sight, other than

The crab wiped his mouth on Panzer’s robe. “Yeah, we Sidesteppers take two hits to knock down. But then you gotta make sure we stay down, or we change color.”

“Fascinating,” Fryguy tried to hide his disgust at the poor manners. “Let us hurry and find Lord Saitou.”

Chapter Text

“Oh no, you will go no further.”

A hiss came from a decorative pot standing in their path. Dammit, just when they were getting so close. A black Cobrat emerged eyelids painted violet.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you harm Lord Saitou.” She flicked her tongue at them. “My name is Charm, I am the last member of Panzer’s group. As you can see, I’m quite ‘charmed’ to meet you myself, Fryguy. Tryclyde spoke of you back when I was part of the 8 Bits.”

“A member of his harem?” Fryguy said.

“Silence! I want to be more than just one of his eternal mates, Lord Saitou gifted me with that chance.” Charm explained. “You should turn back now, lest you be bewitched by a quick exchange of our eyes before I shoot you down.”

“That won’t happen.”

“Oh yes, of course. Honey is still hung up about you, so that’s good to know.”

Fryguy refused to humor this snake with a response, he didn’t even lash out. He turned around instead.

“So, you’re heeding my advice?”

“If your gaze is that powerful, then I just won’t look at you. I only need one shot to take you down for good.”

Charm cackled at this. “Now, how is not seeing me going to help you? You know I can withdraw into my pot whenever. Like so,” she hid, then popped back up, then down again. “You have no way of knowing since I won’t even make a sound!”

His eyes drifted to the other pots that were closed, all while narrowly avoiding a whizzing bullet. The second time, Fryguy, unfortunately, did get tapped with one.

“Just give up now!” Charm came out of her hiding spot to fire off again, only to see the flame element disappear. “Where did you go? Oh, I bet you’re trying a sneak attack!” She retreated once again. “Can’t fool me, darling!”

Fryguy had indeed done exactly that, disappearing and then managing to sneak behind the pot. However, he didn’t strike the moment Charm came out. That put him at risk of whatever bewitching abilities she hid under her scales.

Instead, he blocked the jar entrance with a large cork, effectively sealing Charm inside.

“Huh? Why did it get dark?” She stammered.

The Sidestepper finally caught up. “Pretty smart. You’re a real genius!”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

The Sidestepper then tipped the jar on its side, rolling it down the stairs they had previously ascended.

At the last flight of stairs, blocking the entrance, stood Lord Saitou. Fryguy had never seen anything quite like him before.

“So, you got past Panzer and all his allies truly.”

The cloud and the flame stared each other down.

“Allow me to introduce myself, I am Jino Saitou. I am impressed that you managed to lurk through these icy halls without melting anything in your touch.” A figure of speech for how Fryguy battled, no doubt. “I suppose this means I will have to deal with you myself, is that right?”

“I would prefer we speak like men,” Fryguy said.

“I see. In that case, follow me.”

Fryguy and the Sidestepper did exactly that, ascending to the roof of the castle. Snow and ice covered just about every surface, and the sky was impossible to see with the blizzard taking place.

Lord Saitou disposed of his feudal attire, revealing to be wearing not much else other than a decorative pair of blue pants and a katana at his side.

“Panzer told you that my motives involve purity, making this dream realm into the perfect place by thwarting your master and the King of Subcon.” He unsheathed the blade. “In order to do that, I will make the dreams in Subcon so perfect, free of nightmares, that no one will wake up ever again.”

“No one will wake up?” The Sidestepper questioned.

“Insanity!” Fryguy snapped. “Did Panzer know about this? Or did you leave those details out? He would never agree to this if he knew everything. He said you wanted balance for everyone!”

Saitou lowered his gaze. “This is the only way for there to be balance. If I rectify the suffering here, then mankind would rather be here than reality.” He pointed the katana in Fryguy’s direction. “If you disagree with this, then try to stop me!”

“I’ll do just that, you megalomaniac!”

The cloud expanded, absorbing what he could from the blizzard. Fryguy knew he had to do one thing, and that was to melt this maniac back down to size. He started by quickly spitting fire in Lord Saitou’s presence, hoping to entrap the cloud with a ring of fire. The Sidestepper made sure to close whatever gaps he could by tossing rocks.

“You will not defeat me!” Saitou cried out, reaching his sword out to strike the fire elemental. Rather than avoiding it, Fryguy intentionally took the hit, trying to make the blade stay on his person.

It heated up according to plan, overwhelming the living blizzard, who drew himself away in pain. “Why won’t you be put down by this cold?” He demanded to know. “Why? Why do you fight me? Your master only wants chaos for Subcon!”

“Lord Wart’s petty revenge against the King of Subcon is better than putting millions in an ideal world that would not be their own!” Fryguy retorted, taking in as much surrounding air as he could. “And no matter how cold it is, the right amount of oxygen can give me strength. In a dream world like Subcon, you never have to worry about the air becoming thin!”

The realization hit Saitou, judging by the horror in his eyes as he watched Fryguy match his own girth. Even the Sidestepper had to stop in complete awe.

“You fool!” Lord Saitou stammered. “If you had the power to do this, then why did you never do it when trying to keep those humans away from your master?”

Smoke escapes Fryguy’s mouth. “The stakes are not as dire as they are now. I prefer to give people a fighting chance while I absolutely need to stop you!”

Saitou tried to blow him out, literally sending harsher blizzards down upon his opponent. All this did was fan the flames, making parts of Fryguy’s form start spreading. The small bits of melting ice that cascaded could only create steam and nothing more.

“I want you to know something, Lord Saitou?” Fryguy asked. “Did you know, that even if you succeeded and brought such a balance to the trapped mankind here, I would wake them up anyway? The human body’s core temperature rises, forcing them to awaken from the chill that makes them nod off.”

The cloud’s eyes went wide and empty.

“This plan of yours was destined for failure the minute you told me everything!”

His spirit broke. He surrendered to Fryguy’s overwhelming intensity. No different than the fire elemental, Saitou broke apart into small pieces.

“Loyal fool who is so much wiser than I,” Saitou wheezed. “Why do you waste your power with that frog?”

Fryguy didn’t even need to mull it over. “It is because of Lord Wart that I exist as I am now. I can never thank him enough for that.”

The sapient cloud desperately tries to recollect himself whilst backing away, only to break apart even more.

Lord Saitou reached the edge of the roof and drifted not towards the sky, but the sea below. Fryguy realized it far too late, desperately flying over the edge to see if Saitou could be saved, only to witness sea foam at the bottom.

“I lost him.” Fryguy lamented. “The cost of me being too hot to touch is that I can never truly reach out and grasp someone without hurting them.” He thought back to Honey.

The Sidestepper came forth, ignoring what was said just then to actively touch Fryguy, trying to comfort him at the cost of his claws.

“He didn’t want to be saved,” the Sidestepper said. “It isn’t your fault.”

Fire crackling, Fryguy sighed.

“Does it not hurt?”

“A little, but I don’t care really.”

A pause for thought. How strange, this crab was.

“What is your name, small one?” Fryguy inquired. “I am afraid I never asked.”

The Sidestepper perked up, pulling his claws away. “Oh, I’m sorry! I actually forgot about that!” He laughed. “They call me Clawgrip because I have a strong grip on boulders and stuff! I’m all brawn, no brains, whatever that means.”

Fryguy’s smile started to return. “So I noticed. You helped me in a pinch against Honey earlier, and your honest, naive nature makes for good moral support.” He turned to face Clawgrip. “You may be small, but Lord Wart’s magic can make you bigger, stronger than ever. But if you want to return to your friends, that is fine too.”

Clawgrip didn’t even hesitate, jumping in excitement.

“You want me to join Lord Wart’s forces? Really?”

“Mouser and Tryclyde could only handle so much,” Fryguy chuckled. “As for this castle, I think the most I can do to honor Lord Saitou is at least take care of it, now that he is gone.”

They nodded to each other in agreement.

And so it was, that Fryguy returned with a new member for the 8 Bits, Clawgrip, who Wart immediately gifted with power. Fryguy agreed to take the freezing castle as his own personal domain.

However, this would not be the last time the 8 Bits would have to face a certain plumber and his allies…

COURSE CLEAR!

Chapter Text

Carrying a small Bumpty over a wooden platform and ignoring its pleas to be put down, a blue Yoshi wearing sunglasses throws the miniature penguin.

There is a pause, followed by a roar and more squeaks of terror. A swift crunching sound came soon after, forcing the squeaking to come to an end.

The blue Yoshi backs away from the platform and shudders. That small portion did nothing to satisfy the beast. He would have to be fed something larger than that.

Something like that strange creature that had fallen from the clouds might work.

One life in exchange for the entire clan's. That's sadly how things were right now.

She couldn’t remember anything after having an egg thrown back at her face. She could have sworn she saw herself falling from the clouds, but went unconscious before a landing was met.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself tied up. The job had been rather poor though, as the pink dinosaur quickly freed herself and left the cave she had been sealed in.

Was there really no one guarding her? Surely if they tied her up, then—

“Bwa!”

No, she was mistaken. Quickly, the pink dinosaur bolted.

Yoshi, a green dinosaur, and Poochy, a dog-like creature, both returned from their haul. The sun started to set and Yoshi had been out gathering fruit almost all day for the rest of the clan.

While all of the fruits were spread around the clan, the melons, a favorite of the entire tribe, were carefully stored in the back. Once everybody had a feast, they all went to sleep for the day, with Poochy following Yoshi to his house.

Snuggling up close to the fireplace, Poochy laid his head down while Yoshi lay on a haystack. Yoshi didn’t want to admit it, but he had been uneasy with all the unrest between clan members lately. Something about being threatened by someone bigger than them, he didn’t quite understand it, but the Village Leader said it was best to leave a blue Yoshi in charge of those affairs.

Boshi was his name, he and Yoshi didn’t get along, but—

Just as Yoshi started to drift to sleep in his thoughts, he heard a noise. Footsteps? Who would even be awake at this hour?

He caught the faint image of what looked like a bow and followed it as soon as it went out of sight. Carefully and quietly, Yoshi traced them to the storage.

Sounds could be heard. Eating? Is it an Ukiki? They always tried to sneak in and steal things from time to time.

Yoshi stepped inside, and to his shock, one of the melons he fetched was now gone. Not chewed through, just straight-up gone. He distinctly remembered placing it in such a way to stick out for the Village Leader when he needed it!

Who would have such an appetite to swallow an entire melon whole? Another Yoshi?

Behind a pile of bananas, Yoshi could clearly see the pink hair bow again. He touched it without a thought in the world, not realizing that there would be something on the other end of it.

“Yipe!”

Something hard and white hit Yoshi in the face, giving him quite the spook. An egg, but not a Yoshi egg. Whoever it was, they were definitely scared of him.

Picking off one of the bananas and peeling it, he offered it to the unseen figure, trying to make it clear he wouldn’t be a threat.

A couple of noises, and—

A pink dinosaur. She had a bow on her head and heavy eyelashes, but curiously a completely different snoot compared to that of a Yoshi! It seemed that there was a hole in the place where a mouth or nose would usually be.

“Yoshi?” Yoshi inquired.

“Birdo.”

She took the banana and inhaled it through her snoot. That explained the vanishing melon.

Going back into hiding, Birdo stared at Yoshi in uncertainty.

“Yoshi!”

Yoshi tried to explain that if she stayed in there, others would find her hiding spot and blame her for missing food rations. He then gestured for Birdo to follow him.

Upon returning to Yoshi’s house, Poochy raised his head, smelling the air to detect the newcomer. Immediately getting up, he ran to Birdo and barked, wagging his tail in excitement.

Yoshi quickly settled him down, telling him to be quiet and go back to sleep. Pulling apart the haystack to make a reasonably sized pile out of sight, Yoshi offered the soft bedded area to Birdo, who happily accepted.

Before settling in completely, Birdo made a sound. Is there something else that she needed? Yoshi inquired about the matter only to find the fellow dinosaur suddenly embracing him.

A gentle peck against his nose, and she laid back down to get some rest. Yoshi chirped in delight.

Morning came. Yoshi and Poochy grabbed their breakfast fruits. Upon being inquired about one of the missing melons by Sunny, the yellow Yoshi, they denied knowing anything about it. Yoshi quickly suggested that an Ukiki may have slipped in.

Sunny believed it. Yoshi sighed in relief, retreating back to his house, making sure that Birdo remained safe.

Upon seeing that she slept, Yoshi gently nudged her. Initially startled awake, Birdo seemed relieved to see Yoshi. What exactly was it that she was so skittish about?

Offering some oranges, the two of them sat down along with Poochy, ready to enjoy—

“Bwa! Habababa!”

“Nyehhhh!”

Yoshi put that to a halt. That did not sound good. Asking Birdo to hide, he and Poochy went to investigate outside the home.

Boshi and the Village Leader were arguing, over something that needed to be given to a tyrant. The tyrant was getting increasingly hungry, and Boshi explained that fruits were no longer satisfying it.

It wanted something meaty, and to ensure the safety of the rest of the Yoshi Clan, Boshi was going to offer an outsider that escaped.

Eddi, the orange Yoshi, objected, asking for a description of the outsider. Boshi said they fell from the sky and wore a ribbon…

Netty, the red one spoke up next, asking about the baby that fell from the sky years ago. Why have things decided to change now? Could they not fight off this tyrant?

Yoshi backed away from the crowd, trying to evade notice while Boshi got aggressive with Netty, asking if they had any better ideas that didn’t risk the tribe.

He knew he had to help Birdo escape. This place was no longer safe for her. Quietly rushing back to his house, Yoshi alerted Poochy and Birdo.

They got away from the main village of Yo’Ster Island unnoticed and headed through the Donut Plains. This wasn’t exactly how Yoshi expected to go about his day at all, but he needed some space away from the rest of the clan, not just for Birdo’s sake, but so he could come up with a solution to the tyrant problem.

Well, okay, maybe it was mostly for Birdo’s sake.

He had taken down oversized foes influenced by magic before, but not an actual monster that was ready to eat others.

Birdo seemed none too happy about this either. The look on her face said it all, guilt-ridden for dragging Yoshi into this. She repeatedly apologized, and Yoshi had to assure her it wasn’t her fault and that she isn’t someone bad.

Approaching the Vanilla Dome, the three of them entered a crevice within the structure. Dark and creepy, but a small pond was there in case any of them got thirsty. It would be a suitable hiding place until it got too dark for the other Yoshis to search for Birdo.

Sitting down in the darkest corner they could find, Yoshi got comfortable. Birdo remained conflicted. Unable to take it much longer, she grabbed a stick from the ground, she began dragging it across the dirt.

Drawings? She first pointed to the ceiling. That’s right, Boshi called her an outsider. She had fallen from the sky much like the infant Mario did.

She made a few more crude drawings, starting with that of a scary frog wearing a crown.

“Boss!”

A few stick figures followed, alongside herself, trying to attack them.

“Haa?”

Yoshi finally understood. Birdo here worked for what appeared to be a tyrant or some form of usurper. She was tasked with stopping people by force, all to make sure her boss’s plan came to fruition.

But why? That’s what Yoshi wanted to know. Surely there had to be a reason for her to work with someone that’s clearly evil. She scratched out the stick figures and drew her boss reaching out to Birdo herself, who had tears drawn by her eyes.

“Ooo,” Yoshi replied.

No one accepted Birdo for who she was except for her boss. To emphasize that, she dropped the stick, for now, picked a rock up, and tossed it.

Because no one from the sky gave her respect, she turned to the one individual who did and felt like she owed him.

But that wasn’t right! Birdo shouldn’t have to turn to misdeeds, and if she really felt like it was all she had left, then it wasn’t her fault either! Yoshi reassured her.

Yoshi hated to admit it, but he had completely forgotten about Poochy with how much he had been focused on comforting Birdo. He hoped he didn’t hurt Poochy’s feelings or make it seem like he was actively ignoring him. Searching the area, Yoshi saw Poochy digging a hole by the rocks.

Finding something, Poochy lifted his head and happily barked. Perhaps Poochy hadn’t been feeling so left out as Yoshi initially assumed. The dog-like creature came back to his friend, holding an object in his mouth.

An uncut diamond? That’s what the stone appeared to be. Yoshi gently pat Poochy on the head for his efforts and lay on the ground.

Just a quick moment of shuteye before it got dark out, then they would keep moving.

Chapter Text

“Bwaaaa!”

Yoshi’s eyes shot open when he heard Birdo cry out. Looks like their hiding spot wasn’t as well-planned as he initially thought.

Jonny and Marci, the cyan and purple Yoshis, had tied Birdo up with rope while Sunny managed to restrain Poochy the same way. Accompanying all three of them was Boshi, with a bright red Poochy of his own on a leash. He had tracked them down through scent.

The others looked at Yoshi in disapproval and disappointment, especially Boshi, but Yoshi didn’t care. He objected and found himself willing to shout at his fellow clan members just to save Birdo. But they didn’t listen, the group simply hauled her away, not looking back while Boshi remained.

Boshi made his intentions clear, Birdo would be sacrificed, and Yoshi would no longer be a part of the tribe once he told the Village Leader. Yoshi didn’t even bother refuting anymore, knowing it would fall on deaf ears. He swallowed a rock, making it come back out as an egg, and launched it straight at Boshi.

His sunglasses shattered. Just like that, Boshi turned tail and ran, his pet following his shadow.

With him gone, Yoshi immediately went to untie Poochy, freeing him from his binds. Licking Yoshi’s face, Poochy sniffed the ground, barking to signify that he would be able to track Birdo back before it was too late.

Poochy directed him back to the island, but a bit further north, at the peak of it.

Boshi stopped to tie the red Poochy’s leash to a stake before following the other Yoshis to the peak. The pet whimpered and lowered her head.

Watching the scene from afar, Yoshi seemed initially confused by his companion Poochy’s whining reaction. He rushed away from where he was sitting and pulled the leash away from the stake, freeing the fellow Poochy.

The two stared at each other for a moment, Poochy unleashed a few barks, rolled around on his back, and somehow that went understood. They both ran off to the peak, and Yoshi joined them.

Torches were lit in a path, a wooden platform was built over a cliffside, and there stood Birdo, strapped to a pole. All of the other Yoshis cowered in fear. Even the Village Leader and Boshi tried to back away, uncertain as to what would happen next.

A faint stomping could be heard in the distance, but Yoshi would not wait for it. He tried to get through, but Jonny and Marci blocked his path.

The two Poochies knocked them both down, running enough rampage to let Yoshi pass. The other Yoshis refused to get involved as Yoshi made his way up to the podium, confronting the Village Leader and Boshi.

Yoshi could see that Boshi had already replaced his sunglasses with a new pair, somehow. They glared daggers at each other, Yoshi made his demand clear, which was to set Birdo free.

Boshi ignored it and socked his fellow clan member in the face, initiating a brawl between the two of them. This time, Boshi was a lot more prepared, taking advantage of his speed while all Yoshi could do was aim eggs and pound him into the ground. Rather than saying a word to break up the battle, the Village Leader hid behind the pole.

It didn’t have to be this way. The tribe members should have to fight amongst themselves like this just for survival.

The stomping got louder, the podium started to crumble apart— no, something tugged at it from below!

The Village Leader fell first, and Birdo followed soon after. Yoshi disregarded everything at that moment, going after both of them, not caring what happened to him.

All eyes were on Boshi after that, as he just stood there, mortified at what just happened. He tried to return to the crowd, but Poochy wasn’t about to let him. He knocked Boshi down, going with him to whatever was below the cliff.

Yoshis were always the type of creatures to land on their feet without much damage, so when it came to the fall, Yoshi immediately checked on Birdo to make sure she hadn’t been harmed.

Still tied to the pole, Yoshi undid that as quickly as he could. That’s when Boshi and Poochy dropped in next, surprising them both.

Boshi, terrified, asked where the Village Leader was. Yoshi looked around but saw no sign of their leader. Poochy began sniffing the ground, picking up a scent…

Only to dig up a single feather, laying between a pair of oversized feet. Next to those feet were the skeletal remains of a Bumpty.

They all looked up in horror. A dinosaur well past the size of a tree, with jagged teeth and green scales.

This is the tyrant that Boshi spoke of, the one who demanded a meal of meat, known only as Jeenoside.

And in his crooked jaws, the arm of the Village Leader. He devoured what remained.

Boshi clenched his fist and looked over to Yoshi. He admitted, this is all his fault, he only wanted to protect the Yoshis and the one who raised him, but in doing so, he only got the Village Leader killed.

Before he attempted to make up for it by confronting the beast on his own, Yoshi stopped him. They would all do this together as one, for it’s what they should have done in the first place.

Jeenoside roared at them, demanding more tribute, but they all refused!

Yoshi started by wailing eggs at the tyrant dinosaur, Boshi delivered a swift kick, and Poochy began biting its tail. Birdo stood there awkwardly, launching eggs from her mouth.

As Yoshi unleashed a ground pound on Jeenoside’s foot, the larger dinosaur lunged for him and started breathing fire. Birdo gasped at her savior’s injury, gaining the courage to get up close.

Seemingly out of nowhere, she started crying out. A beautiful rainbow shot across the sky as she did so, Birdo poured her heart out, healing Yoshi of his wounds. Boshi followed up with a punch to Jeenoside, only to see the larger dinosaur backing away from Birdo.

Boshi shouted at her to do something like that again, and Birdo obliged, blowing kisses in the direction of the tyrant. Jeenoside roared, writhing in pain and discomfort.

Could it be? That the power of friendship and love outmatched this savage beast?

Yoshi was willing to give it a try, joining in with Birdo, singing so loudly and happily, that Jeenoside could take it no longer. He began tipping over, swinging his tail wildly, managing to shake Poochy off of himself.

He began to collapse. They all began to scramble, with the exception of Poochy, who had to be forcibly moved by Yoshi.

The tyrant who terrorized the Yoshi clan out of their way had been defeated.

After that, the next few days were a slow recovery. The rest of the Yoshi clan mourned the loss of the Village Leader but praised Yoshi, Boshi, and the outsider named Birdo for disposing of Jeenoside. Poochy and his new partner were even happily feasting on one of the tyrant’s massive bones.

The rest of the Yoshis and Boshi apologized for the way they acted, realizing they should have just all challenged Jeenoside head-on with the power of friendship that had been long forgotten. As such, they voted for Yoshi to become the new Village Leader.

Birdo was quickly accepted as a member of the Yoshi clan, even if she was different from them. She finally gained the respect she longed for, without the need of working under an evil frog. Hopefully, her old boss would understand.

While Yoshi headed back to his house, Birdo began following him. He didn’t know why, but apparently, she had something to show him. It had gotten dark, and to make matters more curious, she pulled him behind the fireplace.

A prolonged pause before Yoshi cheered again.

“S…S… SO… SO HAPPY!”

GOAL!

Chapter Text

“I didn’t think it would get any worse after that last batch came down here,” the sun complained.

Brighton and Twila, the keepers of day and night, had traveled from Horror Land after receiving a complaint from Toadsworth of the Mushroom Kingdom. According to him, Western Land had been under attack by a group of filthy rogues, and they had been called in to deal with it.

However, not even the keepers of the daylight system could keep these ruffians in check. They were violent, rude, and relied on dirty tactics. To make matters worse, apparently, there were sights of a new bad guy on the loose.

“What’s the name of this one, Brighton?” The moon character said.

“They call this one, the Green Demon, others call him Bup.”

“Green demon?” Twila narrowed her eyes. “But he has red spots, not green.”

The Toad kept wandering on a black Yoshi with no name, playing his banjo as he strolled under the high noon sun.

“Finally caught up with you!”

In the near distance, came a red Snifit, riding on a pink Yoshi. She tipped her ten-gallon hat.

“Gotta say, ya had me running for a loop back in Space Land and Pirate Land, ya know?”

The Toad didn’t answer, keeping his usual joyless smile.

“Now how about we finish this little game of ours? You've run out of turns by now, surely. Ya can’t outrun me, Sniper Wolf! And ya got no more shadows to chase—”

A single bullet is all it took. Not a cork, but a real bullet, right in the reins.

The pink Yoshi threw the Snifit off and made a run for it.

“Claudi!” Sniper Wolf turned to the Toad. “Ya jerk! Leave my noble steed outta this!”

The Toad ignored her once more and rode off, leaving Sniper Wolf no choice but to pursue her lost Yoshi.

Just another day in the challenge of the Green Demon, known to many as Bup.

A bit further ahead, Bup could see a milk bar. Unusual, but the Toad figured he could use some calcium. Maybe even a pick-up for his own steed while he was at it.

Position his Yoshi just right as if he were parking a car, Bup dismounted and entered the bar. Upon seeing him, the rowdy, cheerful patrons became dead silent.

A strange individual in a top hat quietly dealt cards to a Goomba, a Koopa, a Shyguy, and a Boo. None of them looked at one another. A Toad with turquoise spots on his head stopped the squats he was doing, and the Wiggler behind the bar desperately tried to avoid eye contact.

Bup ignored them all but the barkeep, he sat down on a stool, eyeing the Wiggler expectantly.

She raised her head. “What can I get you, stranger?” She meekly asked.

Before Bup could even answer, the doors swung wide open again. A Whomp came through with an oversized, rectangular hat to match his form.

“You better prepare me a cold glass of chocolate milk by the time I get over there, barmaid!” The Whomp laughed, slowly making his way over.

“Ah, so you’re back,” said a voice that came from upstairs.

The Whomp stopped in his tracks. All eyes laid upon the descending woman with a moon for a head. “Listen very carefully, Brick, we are not going to tolerate insolence in Western Land any further. Toadsworth told us that you and your leader were causing problems, and we had been tasked with removing you! I’ve already given you a chance, and I see you’ve returned despite my warning.”

The Whomp laughed again, ignoring Twila as she drifted to the rest of the crowd. “Ballyhoo! Why are you and the rest of the hosts not joining me?” The card dealer winced. “You’re not here to just sit around and play games all day! You were called upon to help set up the Star Carnival, and you can only do that after these thugs are gone!”

Releasing a defeated sigh, the host pulled his hat; Big Top, over his eyes in shame.

“Twila, you’re so stern and serious. A real authority figure over these knuckleheads.”

Without warning, Brick swept Twila off her feet, making her gasp.

“Forget about Brighton and all this orderly business! We could be treating you with the respect you really deserve! After all, we know you’re far more impressive than that guy!”

“Unhand me!” Twila hit the Whomp with her wand, stunning him.

His grimace intensified. “Twila,” he growled, “I’ll make sure after this, you’ll be mooning over me!” Brick tried to grab for her again, but something blurred before his eyes, pushing Twila out of the way.

“Leave her alone, you bully!”

“Tumble!” MC Ballyhoo shouted, getting up from his seat.

“Tumble, please, stay out of this,” Twila tried to reassure the small, die-headed child. “If something happens to you, then the higher authorities, I mean Rosalina—”

He didn’t listen. The child with a blue die for a head rammed into Brick, making the Whomp topple over the bar seats. Bup hadn’t been paying much attention but had been knocked out of his seat from the sudden impact.

Brick got up and stared at the strange Toad. “Sorry about that, partner!” He said, sarcastically. “It wasn’t me who did it, it was brat over there! Why don’t we show him what for?”

Bup ignored it.

“Oh? Not interested? Well, let me apologize with a drink.”

Slamming his fist against the bar, the Wiggler immediately got a glass of milk prepared, which Brick slid over to Bup across the bar table.

“Though skimmed milk would be better suited for someone as small as you!”

As he began laughing again, the glass of milk made its way back to the sender. Brick’s joking stopped when he saw it return.

“Oh, I get it. You only want milk if it’s straight from a cow, is that right you little freak?”

Bup finally turned his head to face the scoundrel.

“That’s not a nice thing to call your mother.”

The crowd gasped. A few hoots and hollers came from the bystanders.

Brick didn’t talk smack anymore after that, and like a real Whomp, lunged at Bup. Unfortunately for him, the Toad was lightning quick, whipping behind Brick and taking out his gun to open fire.

Brick couldn’t get up in time. Shot directly where his bandage was plastered, he exploded into coins and debris.

The crowd looked at Bup in complete awe. He sat back down and didn’t make a scene after that, even using the dropped coins to pay the barmaid.

“That was incredible!” Tumble cheered.

Just in time though, the doors swung open once again. It never ended in this bar.

“What’s all this noise now?”

Twila sighed, seeing Brighton walk in with Toadsworth. “Oh, fashionably late as always, aren’t we, Brighton?” She scoffed. “Someone managed to dispose of one of those thugs that Toadsworth had been complaining about. He just rode in, and proved to be more useful than you were.”

“Huh? More useful?” Brighton started. “Well excuse me, but I had to help this old man find his spectacles! He had lost them in the desert and started wandering around. I only found them because a nice young lady stepped in to help us.” He got up in Twila’s face. “What about you then? Did you make an effort to stop this rogue?”

“Twila tried, but he was coming onto her, so I rushed in before it got bad!” Tumble exclaimed. “Now stop fighting, we have a common enemy and a new ally on our side!”

Another laugh, another swing of the door— how many times was this going to happen?

“My small friend, y’all have misjudged that soul over there.” Sniper Wolf said. Amazing how quickly she caught up. “What y’all are witnessing is the devil in disguise, they call him the Green Demon!” She spat a bullet from her nozzle, directing it at the hanging wanted poster.

Twila and Brighton gasped, remembering how they hung it up together earlier.

“A bounty for ten-thousand coins, and that bounty? It belongs to me!” Sniper Wolf sat down near the card-playing crowd, making the Shyguy nervous. “Ya know, Claudi is still out there, and I gotta make ya pay for that one!”

Bup got up, slightly hesitating, but still having that smirk plastered on his face.

“Ten paces, outside.” Sniper Wolf snickered.

The two of them stood outside the bar, backs turned to one another.

“On the count of five, ya got it?” Sniper Wolf asked. “Don’t try to pull a fast one on me either, or I’ll cap ya good!”

“One…”

The crowds watched, except the Boo, who covered his eyes and hid.

“Two…”

A tumbleweed crossed the sands.

“Three…”

Bup kept smiling, nothing would distract him.

“Four…”

Wait, what’s that noise? Now he’s distracted.

“Five!”

He decided to throw caution to the wind, for now, ignoring Sniper Wolf’s presence and taking aim at the nearby haystack. Bup was right on target, out of the hiding spot came a Hammer Brother that collapsed.

It turned out, Sniper Wolf didn’t fire at Bup either, much to his surprise. She had instead taken aim at a cart, where another Hammer Brother had been hiding.

“Ruining a perfectly good showdown, really?” Sniper Wolf groaned. “This place sure must be riddled with crooks. I’m not going to be able to duel with these creeps running around.” She spun around to face the crowd. “Well? Is there a reward for juicing these fellas? Even if not, I reckon I can’t leave until they’re cleared.”

Brighton and Twila looked at each other, then at Toadsworth.

“Maybe, just maybe,” the old Toad chuckled. “The Mushroom Kingdom would reward you two greatly for your help!”

Bup didn’t have much reason to help, but for whatever reason, he didn’t want to leave them all behind to whatever terrorized Western Land.

Wandering further could wait.

Chapter Text

“These crooks all began popping up when Gene O’Side rolled into town one day,” Toadsworth explained to the two of them. “Most people just call him O’Side the Brash. A terrifying, brutish Koopa that despises those who try to hold up the law. He’s been robbing every bank and store with his gang.”

MC Ballyhoo turned away when he heard this, trying to distract himself.

“He’s got about eight other crooks at his side,” Toadsworth cleared his throat. “Well, only seven now, since you got rid of Brick.”

“Ya seriously think we can win against seven goons and the big bad himself?” Sniper Wolf laid her eyes on the other bar patrons. “This should be everyone’s battle, not just ours. How about y’all leave the boss to us while the rest of ya take out his goons?”

Bup nodded in agreement.

“I think I have some old booby trap capsules lying around, actually,” Twila said.

“Hey! You’re not the only one, don’t leave me—”

“You two stop fighting!” Tumble cried out. “Why don’t you both work together to get some of those trap capsules here?” He then ran over to the other patrons. “You guys, tell me what cool things you can bring to the table!”

The Koopa, a bank teller, raised his head first. “I think I have a spare Warp Block back at home. I could alter the settings so instead of switching places with someone, it warps them someplace far from here!” He then slammed his fist against the table. “I have nothing left to lose anyway, they’ve been robbing me of all my coins!”

The Goomba spoke up next. “I have a MiniMega Hammer in stow! If I hang it overhead and let it go on someone, I could shrink them down to the size of an insect. Usually, I reserve it for carnival games.”

The Boo giggled, taking out a flashlight. “I originally stole this from that hack Professor E. Gadd. Funny thing, I heavily considered using it on the Pink Boos that kept terrorizing me, but I never had the nerve.”

The Shyguy took out an old lamp. “I uh, usually explore caves and ruins in my off-time. It’s my greatest treasure, but if you really need it, then take it.”

Sniper Wolf and Bup were equally impressed. “I think it’s better if y’all take those tools and set them up accordingly. Y’all know these guys and those items better than we do.”

Suddenly, Tumble plastered a crudely drawn map on the table. “I drew out the entirety of Western Land to figure out where we’ll place the booby traps!” He then handed everyone a pen, so they could mark where they wanted everything placed.

“Good work, boy!” Sniper Wolf complimented, even Bup gave the dice-child a pat of encouragement. “Say, old geezer, do you got anything special?”

Toadsworth let out a mischievous chuckle. “This ‘old geezer’ still has a few tricks up his sleeve, young lady.” He then pulled a bottle rocket out from the inside of his jacket. “Let’s just say, in my time, I paid a few visits to Pagoda Peak and brought souvenirs.”

Whistling, Sniper Wolf got a good look at the rockets. “How in the world did y’all even end up needing our help?”

“You two brought encouragement and morale,” Toadsworth said. “Something that Brighton and Twila struggle with.” He muttered under his breath before perking back up. “Ballyhoo? Do you have anything to spare for the team effort?”

The normally loud and chipper host shook his head, trying to force a smile.

“He’s usually a lot more optimistic than this,” Tumble said. “I wonder what’s wrong?”

While everyone else took their time to get all the booby traps set, Bup and Sniper Wolf decided to split up and see if there was anything left that could be used lying around the Milk Bar.

Sniper Wolf checked the downstairs area behind the counter, thinking maybe there could be some spoilt milk somewhere that could be used for the crooks to slip on. Nah, that seemed like a stretch. But that heavy sack laying around on the floor seemed relatively promising.

Before she got any closer to it, the Wiggler barmaid stopped her.

“Please don’t! Those are my recent earnings!”

“Earnings?” Sniper Wolf shrugged. “Well, maybe y’all could sprinkle them about to distract the bad guys with some classic fifty-two pick-up?”

“No way! And there’s way more than fifty-two in there.”

“For the sake of your business, I would hope so.” She turned around and walked back over to the stairs as Bup descended. “Find anything good in the guest rooms, Green Demon?”

He answered by taking out a lingerie nightgown, patterned with crescent moons.

Sniper Wolf hesitated, glancing, making sure no one watched them. Unfortunately, the Shyguy had already seen everything and started blushing madly. “Are ya trying to offer this string of fabric to me?” She let out an exhausted laugh. “I dunno whether to think that y’all demeaning me by using me as a distraction, or making a statement that I’ll look good in it.”

Bup didn’t say anything, he simply kept holding it up.

“Well, I’ll play the role of the idiot for humor’s sake and be a model! Besides, me getting angry and humiliated is more than likely what ya want.”

Pulling it over her head, the gown draped across Sniper Wolf's small body. The Shyguy fainted at the sight.

“Not exactly ideal for armor, but I reckon it would definitely make those crooks flinch. It’d give us enough time to knock them down—”

Her plan got interrupted by a wand hitting on the same. The same went for Bup, as Twila pull the nightgown off of Sniper Wolf. She stormed off without another word, her face bright with embarrassment. Twila made sure to glare at the giggling Brighton on her way out.

“Okay, no nightgown distraction.” Sniper Wolf groaned while Bup rubbed his head.

“I thought you made it look great if it means anything to you!” Brighton complimented, earning himself a hit on the head by the same wand.

A note arrived, saying that at the first sign of sunrise, there would be hell to pay for Brick not returning. Everyone hurried with the traps being set, and prepared an alarm, taking what little rest they could.

Twila tried to use her abilities to buy as much time as she could before Brighton’s natural force could stop her. He admitted that if it were possible, he would let Twila take over the entire night if it meant sneaking up on those goons while they slept. Sadly, the balance of nature forbids that.

Even Sniper Wolf decided she needed a moment to relax, which left Bup and the barmaid all by themselves.

Before he could hand the Wiggler another coin for a milkshake, someone stopped him.

“This one is on me, pal.”

MC Ballyhoo, the normally bombastic circus host, hadn’t exactly partaken in any of the trap set-ups. In fact, if Tumble was to be believed, he hadn’t been acting like himself at all since the crooks showed up.

“Great moniker you got there, Green Demon!” He tried to sound upbeat and chipper. “Maybe when this is all over, you can join me and become a part of the Star Carnival! How does that sound? Your gunslinging would make you a showstopper!”

His hat, Big Top, covered his eyes all, startling Ballyhoo and speaking for the first time. “Sorry for my partner’s current mood swings. He’s blaming himself for what’s happening right now.”

Ballyhoo gasped, panicking to adjust Big Top back over his head. Both the Wiggler and Bup looked at him, anticipating an explanation.

“Alright, I confess.” Ballyhoo sighed. He snapped his fingers and the Wiggler slid strawberry milk in his direction. He downed it in seconds. “You see, I have a twin brother. DJ Hallyboo. He’s a host just like me. But he takes it personally whenever people try to take things and play in the Star Carnival for free.”

He snapped his fingers for another glass. “We had disagreements about handling it, and I guess one day he snapped the next time someone tried to swindle us. One guy tried to run off with a few prizes, so Hallyboo took matters into his own hands.” Ballyhoo downed the second glass, snapping for a third.

“But he went too far. I couldn’t stop him in time, and the thief was gone! All of that over a bit of piracy.” Ballyhoo tried to gulp down the third, but choked.

“You’re going to get sick if you keep drinking all of those every hour!” The Wiggler scolded.

“I already am,” Ballyhoo tried to laugh. “My brother and I went our separate ways after that. He went to punish other criminals, the last I heard. So I wonder, all these crooks, bullying the folks and robbing everything, I imagine they’re the result of that. Pushback against my twin for going too far.”

He stopped drinking after that.

“I can’t help but blame myself. Instead of burning the bridge, I could have chased after him. Anything to stop him from going to extremes. Then there wouldn’t be so many frowns lately!”

Bup reached out to comfort him, but the morning bell chimed.

“Sunrise!” Tumble exclaimed. “Everyone get ready!”

MC Ballyhoo remained where he sat. Bup wanted to offer words, but there was no time left.

Perhaps when this finished, he could spare a minute.

Chapter Text

“Man, this definitely isn’t Chilly Waters!” The penguin complains. “I have no clue where I am. Knew I should have taken that left turn at Woody Woods, but those Monty Moles just had to keep messing with the signs!”

He stops as the sand lightly trembles beneath his feet.

“Huh? That’s odd. Is there a stampede coming?”

The penguin turns around. A dust cloud can be seen in the distance. Panicking, he tries to make a run for it, succeeding in evading the Yoshi stampede. The sound of outlaws hollering echoed throughout the desert.

“That was too close!” The penguin sighs in relief.

A train whistle goes off.

The penguin now realizes he’s ended up on the wrong side of the tracks. And there is nothing ahead but a cliff.

“Crud,” he whimpers.

The sun peeked over the hills, a large silhouette could be seen in the distance along with seven others riding Yoshis.

The first and second goons, a Bandit and a Galoomba ran across the traps that Brighton and Twila set. They were shocked to their core by Amps rising out of the ground, fainting alongside their steeds.

The third, a Pink Boo, rising a pink Yoshi—

“Claudi!” Sniper Wolf cried out. “There she is!”

But before she could do anything, a flashlight was shined in the Pink Boo’s eyes, forcibly disappearing while the Yoshi just kept running.

“Darn it!” Sniper Wolf complained.

The fourth, a Thwomp made his way past a house, unaware that the Goomba was on the balcony. Chucking the MegaMini Hammer from above, it nailed the landing perfectly, knocking the Thwomp off and shrinking them to the size of a Thwimp instead.

The fifth is a Bob-Omb. Toadsworth aimed the bottle rocket carefully before firing. It made contact and the Bob-Omb exploded, leaving nothing but a panicked Yoshi behind.

The sixth, a Piranha Plant, made the mistake of trampling over the Warp Block the Koopa had set, disappearing with their Yoshi and switching places with a small rabbit.

The seventh and last is an Ukiki. The Shyguy finished rubbing his lamp just in time to see a genie come crashing from above onto the crook. The Ukiki and their Yoshi were flattened like a pancake.

Only one remained, and that was the leader.

“Come outside and show yourselves, punks!”

Bup and Sniper Wolf exited the Milk Bar, they could faintly hear MC Ballyhoo wishing them luck.

Outside the bar stood a massive Koopa with a spiked shell. He wore a tattered cowboy hat, a kerchief covered his mouth, and his eyes were white like a zombie's. Even his skin and shell had seen better days.

“So, you’re the folks who took out Brick, huh?”

“What about the Hammer Brothers?” Sniper Wolf quipped.

“Those two were nothing more than mere minions. Not a part of my main circle.” O’Side breathed heavily, steam coming from his nostrils. “Which you seem to have wiped out, I’m impressed.”

He chuckled, taking something out from the inside of his shell.

“What are you going to do… against this bazooka?!”

That was indeed a bazooka in his hands.

Sniper Wolf started to panic a little bit. Not enough to turn tail and run, but enough for her to start sweating bullets.

Bup though? He smiled as always, looking back at Sniper Wolf to make sure she got ready. It was always that damn, infectious smile that got her so itching for a fight. Maybe because it ticked her off how Bup would smile through anything.

They opened fire first. It would be a battle of speed versus power. The lightning reflexes of the Green Demon and Sniper Wolf, versus Gene O’Side’s massive firepower. It proved effective as they did circles around him. Flaming bullets came from Sniper Wolf’s nozzle, scorching the ruffian while Bup shot him point blank.

Despite having so much synchronization, one wrong move is all that O’Side needed. The two got just close enough together in the blast radius, even though they had tried so hard to keep each other across.

O’Side roared with laughter, firing the bazooka at them. Bup and Sniper Wolf were sent flying, toppling over as they made contact with the desert sand on their way down.

“Shoot, I can’t feel my legs!” Sniper Wolf shouted.

“That’s the intent, little missy,” O’Side replied, readying another shot. “First I cripple you so you can’t run away, then I finish the job. Just like crooked men that pursue thieves.”

Bup stood up straight. One could swear that the spots on his head turned green.

He couldn’t move much, he didn’t need to. While reloading, Bup began strumming his banjo to get O’Side’s eyes on him. Once the Koopa’s head turned to the left, Bup fired rapidly.

Six shots to the legs and a pause. Bup reloaded while O’Side pointed his rocket launcher.

Six more shots at O’Side’s fingers to make him slip up. Bup reloaded as O’Side tried to cover his hands.

Six more shots between the eyes, but O’Side’s eyes were already blank from the start—

He roared in pain, the lead poison caught up quickly.

“Impossible!” O’Side wheezed in pain. “Why does it hurt so much? What are you, some sort of devil?!”

Even through this, Bup smiled.

“I’m the Green Demon.”

O’Side turned tail, trying to escape. One last bullet is all Bup needs without aim. He fired, and the bullet pursued O’Side, impaling him through the back.

He fell to the sand.

Silence. Bup didn’t bother double-tapping the Koopa to make sure it stayed dead, he focused on getting Sniper Wolf back on her feet instead.

“So, looks like you two won after all.”

Toadsworth stepped outside along with everyone else. White smoke came from O’Side’s body, dissolving to the revelation of his true form.

“A Dry Bones?” Sniper Wolf groaned as Bup supported her. “Y’all telling me this guy was nothing more than a spooky, scary skeleton?”

The pile of bones soon rose and walked away as if nothing happened.

“Either Hallyboo punished a Koopa, or whatever he punished took control of that poor walking corpse.” MC Ballyhoo sighed. “But you managed to exorcise that thing, which is what matters. I don’t know how I can thank you two.”

“Well, I know one way.” Toadsworth immediately offered the two heroes bags of coins. “Your reward, my good fellows.”

While Sniper Wolf took the coins with pride, Bup lightly shoved the bag aside with his foot.

“I don’t want your money.”

Everyone else widened their eyes.

“That’s all well and good, Green Demon, but ya can’t pay me off with your share. Our unfinished business is personal!” Bup saw Sniper Wolf readying her nozzle. “I said that once these goons got cleared out, I’d get the showdown I deserve.”

She turned, ready to start her paces, only to trip over instead.

“No,” Bup refused.

“What?”

“I can’t fight you. You’re still hurt. And you wouldn’t fight me if I wasn’t in top condition.”

Sniper Wolf sighed. “Ya got me. Part of me kinda hoped I would just be bumped off like a lame horse. But fine, I’ll rest. Until next time… partner.”

Afterward, Brighton took Sniper Wolf by the arm to give her support, guiding her back to the Milk Bar.

Mounting his black Yoshi once again, Bup prepared to leave, ready to walk towards the high noon sun once again. The only thing that stopped him was a voice.

“Wait, hold on!”

Twila caught up just in time. “We wanted to thank you for everything. MC Ballyhoo, he told us everything. You really lifted the burden he was carrying for so long.” She held out her hands, revealing a Power Star. “He and Tumble came to an agreement, they want you to have this, from the Star Carnival.”

She reached up and pinned it to Bup’s poncho. “It shines like a sheriff badge, doesn’t it?” Twila giggled. “Don’t worry, Brighton went to give Sniper Wolf her own Power Star. You two couldn’t have done it without each other.” Lowering her gaze, she sighed. “Just like Brighton and I, you two are night and day. You work best with the opposing force.”

Bup had his usual smile, but for some reason, it felt more earnest.

“Tell Ballyhoo, he shouldn’t blame himself for his brother’s actions,” Bup said. “Or he’ll end up like me.”

With that, he rode off into the desert. Twila looked on in confusion until Toadsworth came up from behind her.

“I never thought I would see him again.” Toadsworth sighed.

“You know him?”

“That Toad made a name for himself in the Princess’s castle. He was the most fierce, determined guard we had.” Toadsworth pushed up his glasses. “But when Bowser kidnapped the Princess and trapped everyone in the castle walls, he blamed himself and removed himself from that position. Now, he follows the shadows of evil, to stop things before they start.”

“So, you recognized the Green Demon this whole time?”

He nodded.

“I figured if I pretended not to know, I would get to see him in action one last time.”

The high noon sun turned and it began setting. Fitting enough, right in the view of the sunset, stood a friend and her Yoshi.

“Howdy,” Sniper Wolf called. “I see we both got shiny new badges! Too bad only one person can be in first place.”

Bup gave her a smile.

“Between Brighton giving me this star and that one Shyguy finding dear little Claudi for me, I’m convinced that I’ve become quite the popular girl. Ya think the boys are hankering for me? Too bad I only got eyes for one guy.” She adjusted her nozzle. “Ain’t that right, Green Demon? I’ve chased y’all so much, it’s almost like a love story with a tragic ending!”

She took aim. “And that ending will be written today. Especially now that my legs are feeling better—”

Bup didn’t wait for her to finish. He shot at the reins and watched the pink Yoshi throw her off, again.

“Again? You shoot me from under my Yoshi again!?” She shouted. “I’m going to kill ya for this!”

He took off without another word.

Perhaps Bup’s smile grew just a little bit wider that day.

YOU ARE THE SUPERSTAR!

Chapter Text

“Tell me something, you’re still alive, aren’t you?”

“You should value that life, even if you don’t love it.”

“You don’t know, one day something could go wrong, and you’ll be as cold and dead as me.”

“A ghost!”

The Pianta police officers surrounded the hooded ghost, who was staring at a missing poster before they showed up.

“Alright, you spooky spectacle, hands where we can see them!” The leader stammered.

The ghost in the parka took off his gloves, revealing non-existent hands.

“Boo,” he said dryly.

In a panic, all four of them scrambled, but not before the ghost turned them all into ice cubes by merely touching the ground.

“This place is too disgustingly warm,” the ghost complained. “I should really just go back to the lab, this is nothing like that mansion I got captured in.”

Sir Weston, better known as the legendary chilly climber. He had perished at the early age of thirty years, his spirit found in a block of ice before he was captured by Professor Elvin Gadd. However, a couple of years after that, Weston managed to escape along with several other phantoms.

This did not last. A green plumber came along and put him back into Weston’s prison of paint and oils. Bored to something beyond death, the chilly climber got out again once his painting conveniently broke on the trip to this resort island.

Oh, and he made sure E. Gadd or that plumber wouldn’t be able to capture him again. So there wasn’t any worry about that.

Disappearing and reappearing in an underground lab, Sir Weston looked around. Even this place is far too humid and stuffy for his liking.

“Aha! There you are!”

That crazy professor. The madman thought he could trap whoever he wanted and prop them up as art pieces.

“It’s too dangerous for someone like you to be wandering around here, I’ll fix this quick!”

E. Gadd opened the closet nearby, only to gasp in horror. His beloved Poltergeist 3000 had been frozen to a brick. “Oh dear, uh, you seem to have thought ahead.” He chuckled nervously.

Sir Weston loomed over him, no doubt E. Gadd expected he would join his beloved invention. Grabbing him by the collar, Weston watched the ice slowly make its way up through the professor’s body.

“Free the rest of them.” Sir Weston demanded.

“What? But, Luigi worked so hard to get you all back!”

“I don’t care what that maniac who almost melted me thinks! He isn’t here to save you this time.”

E. Gadd swallowed hard. “Do you realize how dangerous it is for all of you to roam free? Surely you aren’t including those nasty Boos!”

“They can stay sealed.” Sir Weston didn’t give a toss about King Boo. “The other ones, the ones that were people. I want you to release them from their prison!”

A few more seconds of panic as the ice made its way to E. Gadd’s chin, then he went limp.

“Alright.” He gave up, sounding defeated. “But please, you all have to follow my guidelines—”

Sir Weston dropped him like a sack of rocks, and disappeared, leaving the professor to it.

The slender ghost yawned and stretched, relishing in his newfound freedom along with others.

“Thanks for doing us a solid, ice guy.” Slim Bankshot said. “Although I’ll admit, I’m not the biggest fan of this lab situation. Do you know if there’s a place where I can practice more billiards?”

Sir Weston rolled his eyes. “Try the casino, they have one on this island.” His tone was so quiet that he could hardly be heard, it didn’t help that he kept his back turned from all the other ghosts.

“Sheesh, you aren’t very social, are you? It’s a wonder that you even bothered to free us.” Slim joked.

“It was the right thing to do, nothing more.”

All of the sudden, that feeling of fear and despair went through Sir Weston’s already ghastly body. Startled, he spun around, seeing Bogmire creep up from his shadow. “This thing again?” Sir Weston complained. “Slim, why is it following me around? It’s disturbing!”

“Oh, that? Melody says his name is Bogmire—”

“It has a name?”

“I think he’s trying to show gratitude for his freedom. That or maybe he’s feeding on whatever grudges you have!” Slim chuckled. “I’ll leave you two then since you’re already off to being great friends it looks like!” He vanished without another word.

Good riddance. Sort of.

“Ah, Sir Weston!”

Went from one nuisance to another. Although E. Gadd isn’t nearly as tolerable as Slim Bankshot, considering all he did.

“Do you mind if I borrow you for a second? There’s an experiment I’m working on, and I would like to use your abilities!” E. Gadd laughed. “You can bring Bogmire too.”

Further below in the depths of the laboratory, there stood the pink-gold statue of a princess. In one hand, she held a Fire Flower, and in the other, she held a Power Star.

“This beautiful statue, I imported all the way from Toad Harbor. Word is that this statue has its own internal plexus, like the human body!” E. Gadd stepped on a platform, ascending to the statue’s entrance, akin to an elevator. “But only those with powerful kinetic abilities can bring it to life and control it.”

“I understood none of that,” Sir Weston said. “Except for the fact that you’re insane. Which I already knew.”

E. Gadd sighed. “I’m saying that with your icy paranormal abilities, you might be able to get this statue moving! Now come on, I did say there were guidelines you ghosts had to follow in exchange for your freedom.”

He may as well humor the moment. Sir Weston phased through, examining the various buttons. He noticed two handles that could be moved around, almost like a steering device, but there was no response.

“No, my boy, try using your cryokinesis!”

Sir Weston did so, but all that did was freeze the levers, as well as the rest of the control panel.

“Is this supposed to happen?” Sir Weston asked.

“No,” E. Gadd groaned. “Where did I go wrong? Perhaps your own paranormal energy isn’t enough?” He gasped in realization, snapping his fingers. “That’s right! Sir Weston, thank you!”

“What for?”

“For telling me to free the other ghosts!” Taking a clipboard out from the inside of his lab coat, E. Gadd began taking notes. “I could get Madame Clairvoya’s clairvoyance, Melody and Jarvis’s poltergeist behavior, and Slim Bankshot! He has a form of psychokinesis also, with the way the billiard balls fly across the room when he plays!”

“What about Sue Pea and Chauncey?”

“They’re too young, Weston. They may be more powerful, but their abilities are too risky and out of control.” E. Gadd explained. “Not only that, but I discourage child endangerment, even if they aren’t alive.”

Sir Weston blinked. “But trapping them in paintings is okay?”

“Where is Slim right now?” Desperate to change the subject, that professor.

Wait—

“Oh shoot.” Sir Weston muttered.

Chapter Text

Slim Bankshot squirmed in his glass containment. “Are you guys serious right now? Out of one prison, straight into another? Where did you even get this equipment?” The Pianta Officers surrounded him, holding up his enclosure while tourists took photos.

“What do we do now, chief?” One Pianta officer asked. “Are we going to tell the General that we finally caught a paranormal spirit?”

“Hush, Doyle!”

Slim Bankshot raised an eyebrow. “General?”

“Listen everybody!” The police chief shouted. “You can thank General Cyde for all of this paranormal capturing equipment. From now on, all protection in Isle Delfino will be handled by her!”

The citizens and tourists collectively cheered. A short-lived celebration as another ghost appeared behind the police chief, making the crowds gasp.

“Pardon me,” Sir Weston started, making the chief’s skin turn pale.

“It’s that darn ice ghost from before!” The Piantas yelled. “We’re ready for you this time, you chilly creep!” They all collectively pointed their paranormal devices at him. They resembled the Poltergeist 3000, even topped with a flashlight, but it notably had a flamethrower nozzle rather than that of a vacuum.

“So I see, you plan on melting me?” Sir Weston gritted his teeth. “You may have accounted for me, but you’re still afraid of your own shadow, I bet!”

“I’m not afraid of my own shadow!” One Pianta said, only to be proven wrong when something tapped his shoulder.

There indeed in his shadow, stood Bogmire, who summoned other shadows to attack the officers. In the midst of the distraction, Sir Weston froze the glass-capturing device and shattered it with his own hands. “I need to find my mallet,” Sir Weston groaned. “Slim! Are you alright?”

“I didn’t think you of all people would save me twice in one week! I’m kind of flattered, honestly.” Slim Bankshot took his chance, aiming his pool cue at one of the officers and launching a billiards ball straight into the Pianta’s noggin.

“There’s too many of them, they broke the capturing device!” The police chief panicked. “Everyone retreat! All citizens and tourists, this area is restricted!”

Screaming echoed throughout the casino. Piantas, Nokis, and Toads alike scrambled to get outside, fearing for their lives.

“I dunno why they’re so scared of us. We wouldn’t do anything if they didn’t bug us.” Slim said. “Weston, do you know anything about a General Cyde?”

Sir Weston shook his head, Bogmire copied his movements like a shadow. “This is the first time I’m hearing about that, even though I toured myself through this island before you. Who is that?”

“I don’t know, I was hoping you knew more. Apparently, she’s trying to protect this resort from us, but it sounded fishy to me!” Slim explained, rubbing his chin. “The way that slimy police chief worded it, it sounded more like she wanted us captured for her own use.”

Sir Weston paused for thought, putting his gloves up to his lips. Once again, Bogmire mimicked him.

“Let’s return to the lab, then we’ll find out where this General is.”

The washroom isn’t exactly where Sir Weston wanted to be right now, but he made a promise to those mischievous twins. They wanted him to wait in there while they found the item they ‘borrowed’ a while back when they were in the mansion.

“Okay Weston, we found it!” Henry said.

“Yep,” Orville followed, handing him an artist’s palette.

Sir Weston just stared at it, dumbfounded.

“This belongs to Van Gore.” Sir Weston sighed. “Boys, I said mallet, not palette.”

“Oh.” They looked at each other, disappeared, and came back. “We got it this time, Weston!”

“That’s Biff Atlas’s tennis racket!”

“Oh, whoops.” The twins disappeared again.

“Who even fights with a tennis racket? A sporty princess?” Sir Weston scoffed.

“Is it this?” Henry returned with a worn jacket.

“That’s your Uncle Grimmly’s.” Sir Weston paused. “I will take that though, I don’t mind having extra layers.”

Orville returned with a yellow bunny. “Is this what you want?”

Sir Weston covered the smile on his mouth, trying to furrow his brow and feign annoyance. “That’s a bunny rabbit. It can stay though.”

He didn’t want to admit how adorable it is.

“What about this?” They both said, holding an invention in progress.

“That’s E. Gadd’s rocket, dang it!”

“Dang it? I thought you said mallet?”

Sir Weston groaned, again, as they brought another worthless item. “That’s Chauncey’s blanket, Henry. And Orville— where did you get that!?”

He shot up once he saw Orville holding up lingerie.

“It was in Madame Clairvoya’s stuff!”

“Put that back where you found it!” He shouted.

The washroom door opened. No ghosts phasing through, it just opened. Suspended in the air, stood Madame Clairvoya, looking just as irritated as Sir Weston.

“I had a premonition that the boys were looking for this.” She held up an oversized wooden mallet. “And that they would steal my things instead to mess with you.” Clairvoya snagged her underwear back. “Thank goodness the stars showed me the truth, or I would have been very angry.”

Sir Weston bowed his head in embarrassment. “I’m truly sorry for this.”

“Not your fault.” She narrowed her eyes at the twins. “These two, on the other hand, their mother will not be happy when I tell them what they’ve been up to.”

The twins disappeared the moment the threat settled in for them. Madame Clairvoya then collected the stolen items, sans the jacket, and left.

While Sir Weston had been wasting his time with the twins, Slim Bankshot had already located where General Cyde was hiding. “Apparently, like our friend E. Gadd, she’s got an underground factory that connects the sewers to this military base. I gave it a few peeks in and out.” He explained.

“You didn’t get caught?”

“Nope! You would think a military base bent on capturing ghosts would have paranormal-activity-based security.” Slim chuckled. “I see Bogmire is still following you!”

Sir Weston glanced over his shoulder. Indeed, the shadow kept tailing him. Normally he would brush it off in annoyance, but Bogmire seemed more somber than usual. “Is something wrong, Bogmire?” Sir Weston asked, before realizing Bogmire lacked the capability for proper speech.

Bogmire turned himself into a shadowy puddle, hiding.

“Listen Slim, Bogmire and I can do this ourselves.”

“What? Come on, I gotta pay you back for saving my behind twice. I thought we were starting to get along too!” Slim Bankshot prodded him with the pool cue. “You can’t be such an isolated polar bear forever, and you can’t push me away!”

Sir Weston lowered his gaze, shadow casting over his face. “It’s not that. I’m not actually annoyed with you or anything, it’s just…”

His words trailed off, cat got his tongue. Ironic for a ghost to be clamming up.

“Weston,” Slim started, with a serious expression this time. “Are you afraid for me?”

The icy ghost nodded.

“What if I can’t save you as I did earlier? I showed up just in time before, but it won’t always be like that.” He sighed in defeat. “You could get hurt. People will miss you, the social butterfly you are. Let me go, no one will care if I get snatched.”

Frustrated, Slim grabbed him by the shoulder. “Are you nuts? Look, my guy, I care about you, alright? This is exactly why I wanna go in there together!” He slapped Sir Weston on the back, trying to encourage him. “I won’t forgive myself if you get caught either, so let’s just deal with this together, plus Bogmire! Come on, team?”

He held out his hand. Bogmire took the initiative, shaking it before Sir Weston could.

“See? He thinks it’s a good idea.”

For once, Sir Weston laughed at Slim’s comment. “Don’t be silly, he’s a shadow. Bogmire just likes to copy the movements of others.” That’s what he wanted to tell himself, but a part of Weston thought Bogmire wanted to be in on this for real.

Encouraged, he took Slim’s hand and shook it—

Wow, are other ghosts usually warm? His face heated up from the contact, pulling away after the shake.

Chapter Text

Massive containers of liquid, with scientists watching over them. To make things easier, Sir Weston and the other two made themselves invisible to the naked eye, making sure they got a good look at the containers.

“These liquids, they have souls in them.” Sir Weston muttered. “But how?”

Bogmire shifted in discomfort.

“Beats me, this place gives me the creeps.” Slim Bankshot said. “I think there’s a meeting going on upstairs! We should take a look.”

Popping their heads through the ceiling, there was the Pianta police chief from before.

But in front of him, sitting in a chair? A tall, voluptuous human woman. She had long, white hair and a tightly fitting uniform with medals plastered all over. To top it all off, in her hands, is a riding crop, twirling around her fingers. Slim Bankshot is in awe at her appearance, snapping back to reality when Sir Weston nudges him.

“So, not one, but three ghosts escaped? Chief Kellaway, this is hardly acceptable.” She said. “If you can’t capture a ghost, you know everyone is going to keep being worried about the missing tourists.”

Missing tourists? Come to think of it, Sir Weston did spot a poster when he got jumped by those officers.

“General, I can’t take this anymore!” The police chief snapped. “One tourist going missing? Fine! But several hundred? This is insanity and ruining the reputation of this resort island!”

“Whose fault is that for not capturing our scapegoats?” The General chuckled.

“It's yours for your twisted experiment! We don’t need machines to protect this island from crooks, because it was always peaceful until you came along!” He threw his hat down on the floor. “I’m through with this, I’m finished!”

“You’re what?” She furrowed a brow and grimaced.

“I said I quit! I’m telling everyone what you’re doing and—”

He didn’t get a chance to finish that sentence, the General got out of her seat and vaporized him into a liquid.

Sir Weston’s eyes widened. It's the same fluid in the containers.

That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. He made himself visible and Slim Bankshot followed. “That’s enough!” He growled. “I can excuse trying to capture us in a plot to frame us for your conspiracy, but you kidnap tourists and vaporize them!?”

“Ah, the icy ghost! So good to be graced with your presence.” She smiled, twirling the horse crop in her fingers again. “I was afraid that you had slipped out of my grasp years ago, so when the police told me about ghost sightings involving ice, I knew it had to be the legendary mountain climber!”

“His name gets around with the living but not mine?” Slim Bankshot rolled his eyes. “So much for me being the social one. He’s right though, this is all kinds of screwed up! If you wanna protect this island so badly, then you’re a General, right? Get some good soldiers if the crime rate becomes an issue!”

Once again she cackles. “You think this is a matter of wanting to protect this place? That’s just an excuse for me to create the greatest soldiers!” She pressed a button on her seat, making a robot drop emerge from a floor panel. “If I can make the best super soldiers there are, then no one will stand a chance against me!”

“Super soldiers, huh?” Slim Bankshot readied his pool cue. “Won’t be so super when I make a crack in it and it starts leaking fluids—”

Bogmire lunged, interrupting the banter. He roared as he and his shadows began pulling at the machinery. General Cyde merely watched, piqued with curiosity.

“Bogmire, what are you doing?” Sir Weston tried to pull him off to no avail.

Limb from limb, the so-called super soldier had been ripped apart. A darker soul liquid seeped out, almost purple in color.

“Brother,” it gurgled. “Brother, it hurts. It hurts.”

It turned to steam, evaporating.

“So, my failed prototype has returned to me.” General Cyde said. “Project 80G, the predecessor of current model 100G.” She laughed once more. “That there he tore apart was nothing more than the beta, 90G.”

“Wait, that wasn’t your actual super soldier?” Slim Bankshot asked.

“Bogmire is your prototype!?” Sir Weston exclaimed.

“Indeed, I created him from all the souls that held a grudge. He was stolen from me by a colleague.” She narrowed her eyes at them. “And I assume that same colleague is responsible for hiding you two away from me!”

The dots connected.

“We need to leave!” Sir Weston shouted.

“On it!” Slim Bankshot disappeared. Sir Weston and Bogmire did the same.

They had a limited amount of time to figure this out.

Slamming him against the wall, Sir Weston began freezing E. Gadd faster than he did previously.

“Who is General Cyde?”

“What?”

“Who is she!?”

The other ghosts watched. Melody wanted to break up the fight, but Slim Bankshot stopped her, looking just as ticked off as Sir Weston did.

“This madwoman, a sociopath, she’s kidnapping tourists and turning them into liquefied souls to fuel her soldiers! She created Bogmire, and you stole him from her!”

Neville and Lydia were horrified, trying to shield the twins. Even the normally confident Biff Atlas appeared a bit worse for wear to hear this. Any appetite Mr. Luggs normally had, was now lost.

“Release him, Weston.”

Madame Clairvoya appeared. Sir Weston promptly dropped the professor.

“Do you know why out of all of you, I surrendered myself to the afterlife in oils?” She sighed. “I suppose it’s my fault for never explaining it. Even I knew the truth.”

E. Gadd coughed. “Jenna Cyde, I mean, the General,” he started. “We were colleagues long ago, fascinated with science and paranormal activity. Where I only wanted to study, she went mad with power, turning into a megalomaniac that would rise to the top. We shared similar technology.”

He slowly got back up to his feet, the phantom ice fading away. “I helped her create Bogmire, I admit it, but I immediately regretted it once the process came to be. I tried to redeem myself by taking him away from her, and then tried to capture all of you so she would never use you for her weapons.”

Everyone gasped. All the ghosts collectively muttered.

“I put you all in paintings, thinking it was the safest hiding spot. She would never be able to track you down with her technology this way. But then King Boo freed you all, so I had Luigi fetch you all back, I imported everything over here, and you break free!” E. Gadd takes a deep breath. “And here we are now. Satisfied?”

“No, I’m not. She’s taking tourists and—”

“I did not know she was doing that until you told me, and I plan to fix that problem!” E. Gadd storms off. “I should have properly stopped her a long time ago anyway. Messing around with wayward souls is one thing, but kidnapping and murder are entirely another!”

Madame Clairvoya followed him, Jarvis now being carried in her hands.

“Come, Weston,” she said. “We’re going to give the statue a second try.”

They left. Bogmire tailed their shadows. Melody joined but had to shout at Shivers to stop stalking her.

“Uh, Melody?” E. Gadd started. “What is this addition you have placed on the control panel?”

The pianist pulled up a chair and put on a headset. “This is an NES Advantage Controller! I saw it in the movie Boo Busters II, directed by the great Morty. In the film, they use it to direct the movements of a giant statue in New Donk City.”

“Oh yeah, I remember that!” Slim Bankshot grinned. “Hey, didn’t they make Nintendo games out of those films too?”

Melody grimaced. “Yes. They’re terrible.”

“Initiating maximum chaos, boyo!” Jarvis used his poltergeist abilities, to move several levers.

“Ditto!” Slim Bankshot did the same on the other end.

“Oh pink-gold statue, show us all you can!” Madame Clairvoya’s eyes glowed as she chanted, making the statue’s eyes glow with her.

“It’s working!” E. Gadd cheered. “Sir Weston, it’s all up to you now, we just need that spark of power from you!”

Putting his hands on the front levers, Sir Weston gripped them tightly.

His eyes turned blue. His hood fell off his head, revealing short, icy hair. His fingers started to tear through the worn mittens, with a freezing aura leaking through.

“Where is this power coming from?” Sir Weston wondered out loud.

Perhaps it’s because he opened himself up earlier, perhaps it was the fury he had for General Cyde.

Or maybe, just maybe, it all stemmed from not being as isolated. He knew someone cared about him. He didn’t always have to be so distant.

He could count on others.

Chapter Text

“Ah, I knew I made the right choice moving all the way out here for a vacation!”

The penguin lays a beach blanket out, proceeding to snuggle down and bask in the sunlight.

“And everyone else said that the beach life would be no good for me,” the penguin chuckles. “Well, jokes on them! Isle Delfino beats out the Snow Kingdom any day!”

Just as the penguin shuts his eyes, a rumbling from the earth. In his relaxed state, he doesn’t notice a pink-gold statue rising from underneath.

“Boy, it sure is breezy out here.” The penguin mutters, now thousands of feet in the air.

The pink-gold princess statue awoke. Slim used his own abilities to launch flaming billiard balls from the Fire Flower, while Jarvis used the Power Star to create a forcefield.

“This is awesome!” Slim Bankshot cackled.

“Try not to abuse your power over there.” Sir Weston said.

“Too late!” Slim replied, watching the fireball come crashing down on the casino he visited earlier.

“I see something on the horizon coming from the military base!” Clairvoya exclaimed, serving as the sight for the statue.

A massive super soldier robot. Lord knows how much bigger it truly was compared to the 90G soldier that Bogmire ripped apart earlier.

“Two-thousand wayward souls were used to create the 100G!” General Cyde’s voice echoed in Melody’s headset. “Meanwhile, that measly statue only has five!”

“Well, six, technically.” Melody darted her eyes at Bogmire. “Still, quality over quantity, am I right?”

“Try to get as close as possible, Melody.” Sir Weston suggested. “I have an idea, Slim suggested it earlier but we lost the chance to try it because Bogmire stole our thunder.” The shadow shrined upon hearing this. “No offense to you, you did great.”

“On it, moving forward! Jarvis, shield yourself from incoming enemy missiles!”

Various missiles were fired from the massive, robotic super soldier. Jarvis raised the Power Star, blocking all of them with a forcefield as the statue drew closer, a penguin falling from the top of it in the process.

“Slim, take aim for the head!” Sir Weston yelled.

“That huge dome thing up top? Sure thing!”

He did exactly that, launching fireballs at the glass dome for a head. Sadly, it proved to be ineffective. Slim tried for the equally glassy-looking chest piece as an alternative, but the ammo couldn’t pierce it.

“No dice!” Slim grunted.

“The shield can only stay up for so long, boyo!”

General Cyde could be heard from Melody’s headset. “Unlike 90G, this soldier cannot be penetrated by any ammunition! It’s the ultimate war machine, which is why it took two-thousand souls!”

Sir Weston’s eyes turned back to the regular, yellow color.

“It could take one more,” he muttered, removing himself from the core control.

“Weston, what are you doing? The statue’s internal plexus will shut down if you aren’t energizing it!” Melody exclaimed.

“But that war machine will keep going so long as the General and those souls are inside of it.” He disappeared.

“Weston, where’d you go?” Slim stammered.

“I’m in the cannon.”

“You’re what?”

“Just launch me, Slim! Like I’m a cue ball!”

“This is insanity, boyo! Stop!”

Slim saw a nod of affirmation from Clairvoya, and squinted his eyes shut. “Alright, Weston. Good luck!”

“Don’t!”

Jarvis and Melody’s words fell on deaf ears, Slim Bankshot used his kinesis to launch the fellow ghost from the Fire Flower turned Ice Flower.

“What the—?”

General Cyde couldn’t process what happened. Nothing bounced off, but nothing damaged the super soldier. She paused, checking her systems before cackling.

“Are you out of ammunition or are you just desperate? Shooting nothing but air at me!” She saw the statue slow down, losing its power. In her arrogance, the General thought nothing of it, taking it as a chance to claim her victory.

As she advanced, everything stalled. Errors flashed on her screen. “What? What’s happening?” She checked for a status report on the robot, only to find that the main liquid battery lost its core temperature. Soon after, it got permanently damaged.

More warning lights flashed on the screen, reflecting on the General’s furrowed brows and gritting teeth.

The dark liquid oozed out, some of it frozen, while the rest began seeping away. Sir Weston broke off more of the glass and ice with his mallet, hearing footsteps come closer.

“Your precious 100G is free from your control.” Sir Weston said. “Those two-thousand souls can rest now.”

General Cyde stared him down, taking a good look at the hard work that had been destroyed. The liquefied souls surrounded her boots.

“Very clever, Sir Weston. Launching your body to phase through and rip out the core battery while I was distracted by that statue. It seems that both of our titans are powerless without their primary energy components.”

Sir Weston shuddered, noticing the General’s skin and clothes sticking together, peeling off slowly. “Unfortunately, that battery of mass souls is not the only thing keeping this thing moving!” Her hair turned to liquid, falling out and amalgamating with the rest of her body.

The General’s shoulders bloated, releasing more liquid from her body until her insides became twisted. Nothing was left of her head or feet, and even her fingers fused into her arms. Her flesh became as white as a sheet, hints of dark violet mixed within.

“I fused my own nervous system with 100G, I am no longer a mere human!” She laughed maniacally, as the two-thousand souls caught up to her, turning into colorful wisps. “I am a phantom of the elementals! Pyrokinesis, hydrokinesis, and even cryokinesis are all at my disposal! I dub this form, E.L.H!”

Disgusted, Sir Weston drew back, mallet still in his hands. “You mutilated yourself for the sake of immortality and power, huh? Like everything else about you wasn’t horrifying enough?” Sir Weston winced as he formed ice cubes on the floor with his powers, using his mallet to send them flying at E.L.H.

“Those who push themselves too hard are bound to break their own soul, or no longer be under control. You just managed to reach my breaking point.” She had no eyes, but E.L.H slid around, staring down at Sir Weston like prey. “I can see that you also pushed your limits just to get that statue moving!”

Sticking his hand out towards her, a blizzard came pouring out of his fingers. Without the mittens, Sir Weston could see just how badly frostbitten they were, even years after he had passed away. Mist leaked from where his fingernails used to be. He didn’t realize it, but his eyes began flickering to the blue color again as he tried to keep E.L.H away.

“What part of the elements being at my disposal wasn’t understood here, my friend?” A cold mist started coming off of her own body as if she were dry ice. “I can resist your abilities tenfold in this state, and what’s more, I can finish you off once you’re weakened!”

Flames ignited in E.L.H’s right arm while the rest of her body remained chilled. Sir Weston struggled when he saw the fire approaching. Even as a ghost, there was no doubt that he would melt to nothing in seconds, so long as the pyrokinesis remained as paranormal as him.

He closed his eyes, not knowing how this would end. But seconds felt like forever, and they did. Everything just stopped.

“What are you doing!?” E.L.H shouted.

Sir Weston opened his eyes, E.L.H’s right arm had been restrained by shadows.

“Bogmire?” Sir Weston muttered.

Indeed, it seemed that Bogmire had once again been tagging Weston’s shadow the entire time. Only this time, rather than ripping apart a machine from its limb, Bogmire had been using his entire form to keep E.L.H from attacking.

However, in doing so, Bogmire himself had begun fusing with E.L.H.

“Bogmire, stop!” Sir Weston called out.

Ignoring him, Bogmire forcefully changed the elemental makeup in E.L.H’s form. The chilled, solid body turned to that of a crystal clear liquid.

“Not water! No! Change back!” E.L.H screamed, knowing full well what Bogmire tried for.

Sir Weston didn’t want to do it, but he had to take the chance Bogmire gave him now. Any time wasted could result in this sudden action being all for naught.

He began freezing the water, mainly the parts of the body that E.L.H had control over.

“Accursed cemetery shadow, I regret making you!” She shrieked. “Your existence as a mistake has only smeared my chances of absolute victory!”

Her ranting slowed down before being cut off entirely, all thanks to Sir Weston’s freezing attempts. He kept the blizzard going, even as Bogmire stared him right in the face.

“Bogmire, please tell me to stop.” Sir Weston said. “Just do something, anything! I don’t want to eliminate you with her—”

“Weston.”

Bogmire finally opened his mouth for the first time, the violet color fading from his form.

“Thank… you.”

Frozen over for just a moment, the ghastly sculpture of ice shattered. Not a soul was left behind as the air returned above.

Opening his eyes, Sir Weston groaned.

All a dream? No, he could tell by the state of his mittens. They're still tattered from controlling the statue.

“Ah, good, you finally woke up.”

Raising his head, Sir Weston saw E. Gadd standing there.

“So, Miss Cyde is done for, is she?” E. Gadd sighed, hinting at a bit of grief.

“Turned herself into something called E.L.H. Bogmire took her down.”

“Madame Clairvoya expected as much.” He lowered his gaze. “I guess now that she’s gone, none of you have any reason to be trapped in paintings. I encouraged the police to announce that the General was behind the missing people, just to get them off my back about the statue. They were finally willing to bend when they found out from Slim that their chief had been vaporized.”

E. Gadd then tossed another pair of paranormal mittens, made from a colorful yarn.

“Nana made these for you, my boy.” E. Gadd chuckled and walked away.

Removing the worn mittens, Weston exchanged them, covering his hands with the new, garish pair.

“Bogmire, the cemetery shadow. A ghost formed from despair and grudges.”

He mulled over the name, and Bogmire’s appearance, considering how the shadow constantly stretched out his arms.

Were those arms?

“They put statues of angels at cemeteries, don’t they?” Sir Weston smiled. “He didn’t perish then. He just went back to the skies, where he truly belongs.”

GOOD NIGHT!

Chapter Text

The Toad with blonde hair sighed, removing her glasses while sitting in her seat.

“This is a horrible idea, former champ.”

“Why? We don’t have any planes, so the blimp’s the best we got!”

“Not that, Mr. Rawk Hawk! I mean going across the world to fight opponents way out of your league!” The Toad slammed the book she was reading. “You could just train against my brother even if he’s retired, there’s no need to go out of your way to face up against actual monsters! Aren’t the fighters in the Glitz Pit good enough?”

Rawk Hawk kicked his feet up over the seat in front of him, much to the annoyance of the Koopa passenger in front of him. “It’s all just the same foes every time ever since your brother left, Jolene! Even newcomers who try out nowadays never seem to stick, I’m tired of it!” He grunted. “Gonzales was the only guy that kept things fresh, and I took it for granted.”

“You take a lot of things for granted. You’re taking the other fighter for granted right now.”

He ignored it. “Anyway, how long until this thing lands? I wanna get moving already.”

Creepy Steeple is hardly the place anyone would want to go picking a fight, but Rawk Hawk decided that the best way to get better is to face his fears.

Normally he would tell fans and enemies he wasn’t afraid of anything, but Rawk Hawk definitely had one fear.

Long stairways. Not ghosts, not drowning, not even heights themselves. Just long stairways in general. Something about the idea of them possibly being endless unsettled him. When it came to ascending the stairs in the Creepy Steeple, he knew this alone would be a milestone for him.

When he reached the top, he sighed in relief knowing it was already over—

“Hey, slick! What do you think you’re doing here?”

Oh right, his first opponent lived up here too. A Duplighost wearing a pointy hat and a bowtie.

“Listen here, freak in a sheet! I’m Rawk Hawk, champion of the Glitz Pit!”

“You mean former champion?” The Duplighost laughs. “I’ve seen it all on TV, slick, you lost that belt! Not only that, but you lost to the guy whose body I once stole! Would that have made me the next champion?”

“Shut it!” Rawk Hawk sputtered. “The point is, I’m here to fight you now so I can improve myself! I need fresh new opponents!”

“If you’re trying to draft me into the arena, no thanks, I’m a theater actor.” He got up from his chair. “They call me Doopliss! If you just want a regular match in my room, I guess I can offer a spar.”

“You better not try to take my identity, Duplighost!”

“What? You think I wanna be a washed up has been?”

Rawk Hawk twitched after hearing that, leaping to initiate the battle. Doopliss’ image flickered, almost as if he were blinking out of existence.

“Hey now, you’re not the only one who decided to freshen up his techniques after getting beat by ‘The Great Gonzales’,” Doopliss remarked. “If you really are serious and just aren’t trying to entertain me, then perhaps you should learn how to borrow the skills from your enemies like I do!”

“How do you expect me to pull that off if I’m not a Duplighost?”

Wait, maybe this freak in a sheet had a point.

While Doopliss took his time scanning Rawk Hawk to steal his image, the former champion stood completely still. The doppelgänger tried to attempt Rawk Hawk’s very own sliding kick, only for the real deal to flicker in and out.

“Huh?” Doopliss became flabbergasted, suddenly being hit by a swift force from behind.

“Whoa, awesome! You're right, freak in a sheet!”

“My name is Doopliss!”

“If I can learn the best techniques across the world, I can reclaim my glory!” Rawk Hawk posed triumphantly. “I’ll call this one, the ‘Spectral Slide’!”

With that, Rawk Hawk just left without another word.

“No, you can’t do that! You can’t just swipe my moves” Doopliss cried out, scrambling to get back up. “Aw man, I feel like a hypocrite all of a sudden. Is this how people felt when I snagged their identities?”

Jolene held up the clipboard, checking off Doopliss’ name.

“Alright, Jolene babe! Whose next on the candidates I picked out?”

The Toad sighed. “I can’t believe I took a break from my management duties for this.” She pushed up her glasses. “First, don’t call me babe. Second, you’re the one who picked out these infamous individuals, you should be able to remember them.”

Rawk Hawk pulled the clipboard out from her hands, reviewing the remaining names listed.

Doopliss, the monster of the Creepy Steeple, had already been crossed off.

Cortez, the terror of Keelhaul Key.

Lord Crump, the former command of the X-Nauts.

Jr. Troopa, the youthful Boom Boom.

Goomboss, the King of all Goombas.

Tubba Blubba, the voracious Spike.

“Come to think of it,” Jolene started again. “A friend in Rogueport said they witnessed X-Naut behavior on the east side of town. Not sure what it could mean.”

“Rogueport is right nearby, isn’t it? I say we find that Lord Crump guy next, turn him into Lord Chump!” Rawk Hawk laughed.

Now that Sir Grodus had been reduced to a mere head, things had complicated for the X-Nauts.

Returning to the base on the moon wasn’t an option. They screwed up big time trusting Beldam, and Lord Crump didn’t exactly want things to go back the way they were. Not with all the times when Grodus said he didn’t want any more disappointments.

There came an entirely new problem. What now? All of the soldiers and scientists were left without a job, Lord Crump couldn’t just revive the X-Naut army for no purpose. No place trying to keep a good reputation would hire any of them either most likely.

So, shady dealings in the east side of Rogueport had to do. Sir Grodus was greatly displeased with it, but without his body, he had no word or power over his minions. All he could do was watch, as Lord Crump began to slowly adjust to the ‘Four-Eyes’ alias like before.

He actually started to get used to it. Originally, Lord Crump had done this just to put himself and the rest of the X-Nauts to use, but now he actually felt like he had redeemed himself and wanted to move on. It was something that Grodus absolutely hated.

So when the former champion of the Glitz Pit came along, asking for a challenge, Lord Crump found himself pleasantly surprised.

“You want to brawl me?” In fact, it was almost flattering. Glitzville had been one of the few places the X-Nauts never searched when it came to snagging the Crystal Stars back then. They had all the power and right to do so, but Lord Crump had always been relieved that they didn’t risk his chances with stardom.

“I’m looking for the best fighters to pummel so I can regain my glory!”

“Well,” Lord Crump thought it over. “If I do it, see if your lady friend there can enroll me as a fighter for the Glitz Pit! Buh huh huh!”

“You can’t be serious,” Jolene replied.

“Consider it done, brother!” Rawk Hawk got into position.

“Don’t go easy on me either, former champ! I’ve been practicing now that I don’t have the machinery to work with!” He then lunged for Rawk Hawk, grabbing him from under the arms and throwing him down. “I call it, the Magnus von Grapple! Except as a literal grapple!”

“That’s smarts!” Rawk Hawk complained, feeling the soreness in his heels.

Sir Grodus just watched from afar with disgust. He had no intent to try to engage with that blonde Toad taking notes, or any of the X-Nauts anymore.

“You hate them, don’t you?”

Sir Grodus scanned the area, a shady rogue stood in an alleyway.

“They’re so weak, aren’t they? Wasting their potential with games.” The thug drew close. “You wanted to take over the world. But the only to do so is through the absolute elimination of your enemy. That way, no one can stop you! That’s where you and your army failed.”

Sir Grodus blinked, watching the shady figure disappear.

Something about that stranger’s presence was foreboding and dangerous, even to someone like Grodus.

Chapter Text

To say that Rawk Hawk needed a chiropractor after that battle against Lord Crump would be an understatement. He won the battle, and managed to ape the ‘Magnus von Grapple’, but he had trouble walking for quite a while.

“Perhaps enlisting that new grappler into the Glitz Pit wasn’t such a bad idea after all,” Jolene smirked. “You did say that fresh blood would help.”

“I just hope I don’t have to fight him again any time soon.” Rawk Hawk complained.

“How about something a little easier this time?” Jolene suggested. “Apparently the Goomboss has been taking a vacation in Boggly Woods. Should be simple enough, given the Goomba Brothers you fought when you first started.”

Groaning, Rawk Hawk agreed to take the chances.

With his sister away, Prince Mush, the champion prior to Rawk Hawk, tried to take over office management for a while. It proved to be much harder than he first thought, as Mush unfortunately was all brawn and no brain.

So when a new face belonging to a former X-Naut commander said he wanted to sign up and that Jolene sent him, Mush didn’t know where to start. She hadn’t told him where all the paperwork to sign up would be found. Mush just tried to make the best of it and pulled up a random sheet of paper to use as a contract.

It worked. Lord Crump put down his name as ‘The Magnus von Grappler’ and was immediately brought to the Minor League locker room.

Mush sighed in relief. He would definitely be busted—

The drawer full of contracts was right below the one where the pens were this whole time. Great.

“I should really ask that Bandy Andy guy how my sister does this kind of work.” Prince Mush mumbled.

The door swung open right after Lord Crump left. A menacing man stood at the entrance.

The Goomboss got squashed with no problem, definitely a breather compared to nearly having his limbs broken.

“I’ll call this move, the Chestnut King Kick!” Rawk Hawk then performed the same spinning kick that Goomboss used on him moments earlier. “Alright, I think my legs are definitely less stiff and raring to go for more, Jolene!”

Neither of them even acknowledged the flattened Goomboss, Jolene stared at the clipboard again. “An associate of Tubba Blubba’s is staying in Poshley Heights.” She fumbled over the name of that individual, so notably that Rawk Hawk raised an eyebrow.

“Hey, Jolene, you alright? Your voice cracked there for a second.”

She cleared her throat. “I’m fine.”

“No you’re not, come on!” Rawk Hawk pushed on. “I may be overzealous about this, but I’m not ignoring your needs here, okay? You’re my manager who helps me out, and it’d be wrong if I just ignored you when something is up!”

Startled by his insistent consideration, Jolene finally caved, taking off her glasses to pinch the spot between her eyes. “When I first came into my job working for Grubba, he told me that he had an older brother. That’s Tubba Blubba.”

“Oh.” Rawk Hawk knew she didn’t like being reminded of her old boss, considering Grubba tried to kill her brother.

“It’s not Blubba’s fault I’m sure, Grubba described him as being a wimp despite his size.” Jolene sighed in exhaustion. “It’s just not something I’m going to be able to keep out of my mind. I still panic remembering what Grubba did, I get little anxiety attacks when something reminds me of him now.”

He placed a hand on Jolene’s shoulder.

“Look, Jolene, I don’t wholly understand what’s going through your mind, but if you really want me to, I can send you back to Glitzville and continue my streak from here.”

Once again, she’s surprised by his sympathy.

“I don’t want to put you in a situation that makes you uncomfortable. If you don’t want to help me any further, I won’t force you—”

“Maybe we’ll just hold off on Tubba Blubba for now.” Jolene cut him off. “Cortez can be found on Keelhaul Key, an intimidating but honorable opponent that can meet your request.”

Rawk Hawk wasn’t exactly the smartest, but he knew when someone tried to avoid a subject. He would make sure to send Jolene off when the time came to fight Tubba Blubba.

Upon entering the pirate’s ship parked on the shore of Keelhaul Key, Rawk Hawk could hear the sound of bones rattling. The head of the undead pirate revealed himself, surrounded by riches.

“Now who might you be, amigo?” The pirate inquired, looming over Rawk Hawk.

“I’m Rawk Hawk, and I’m here to fight you to reclaim my glory!”

“Glory? For your sake, I hope that has nothing to do with my treasure!”

Pumping his fists, Rawk Hawk prepared himself. “The only gold I seek is the champion belt that rightfully belongs to me! Your little horde doesn’t impress me enough to play for keeps, but your skills might!”

Cortez cackled, highly amused by this particular intruder. “Been quite a while since my old bones went up against such a lively opponent! Alright, amigo, I shall humor you, my feathered friend.” He then revealed the rest of his form, that being a four-armed skeleton, with a weapon in each hand. “Lose though, and I’m going to curse you to be my personal parrot since you have such a loud mouth!”

The fight started and Rawk Hawk already knew what strategy he would use going into this. With all of those bones crackling, he remembered how badly Lord Crump had bruised him, and that’s exactly the sort of tactic he would repeat.

Cortez stretched out one of his arms to slash Rawk Hawk, and the former champion retaliated with an arm lock. “Magnus von Grapple!” He shouted, snapping one of the forearms out of place, causing Cortez to drop one of his swords.

“I still have three other arms that can wrestle you, amigo!”

Rawk Hawk tried to bait him, using the Steeple Slide to trip Cortez up. He slid past the bone pile that held Cortez together, making the undead rogue nearly strike his own form. Once Cortez got distracted out of concern, Rawk Hawk went for the other two arms, twisting them together like a bow.

Unable to move the two arms, Cortez dropped the swords. “No matter, I don’t need my swords to defeat you!” He raised his remaining right hand, which had a hook over it. “One sting from this venomous beast, and you’ll be writhing in pain, amigo.”

He went for the kill, but Rawk Hawk didn’t try to avoid it. No tricks this time, he braced for impact, holding his hand out. Cortez made an impact, but not the piercing kind he had anticipated.

Rawk Hawk had caught the attack with his bare hands, the poisonous side effects going entirely ignored.

“But how?” Cortez sputtered.

Letting go, Rawk Hawk charged his right fist, swinging for Cortez’s hook hand. It went flying out the ship’s window, plummeting to the water outside.

“Oh, that’s mighty funny.” He chuckled. “You used your right hook, to dispose of my right hook! You’re not as meat-headed as you look, amigo!” Disposing of the bones that made up his body, he remained ahead, literally. The sword rose back up from the ground, and the hook that fell outside returned to Cortez.

“As you can see, I’m not done quite yet—”

“You will be.”

Cortez paused, mulling over what that rude interruption exactly meant.

Oh. He didn’t feel so good suddenly.

Cortez coughed, dropping all of the weapons to the floor again. “What did you do?” His own bones started turning a pale green. “Did you poison me? With your right hook!?” He shouted. “You can’t poison me, I’m already dead!”

Rawk Hawk snickered…

Oh, the poison started kicking in for him now. Shoot.

Before they knew it, the two of them collapsed onto the ship’s floor. Jolene ended up having to collect.

Chapter Text

The doctor prescribed a lot of Tasty Tonics and fresh air. How fitting that Rawk Hawk would be headed to Petal Meadows for their next opponent.

“Jr. Troopa, huh?” Rawk Hawk coughed, still getting over the poison. Just further in the distance, he and Jolene could see a young Boom Boom picking on the Toad children.

“This can’t possibly be the guy.” Jolene sighed.

“I dunno Jolene, I mean, you’ve seen the Yoshi kid that Gonzales kept around.” Rawk Hawk rubbed the back of his head. “Either way, I’m going to step in, because bullying the weak isn’t cool unless you’re a wrestler!”

He approached the children, who stopped their squabbling to look at him, eyes of adoration laid upon him.

“You’re Rawk Hawk!” One of the Toad children said. “Can I have your autograph?”

“Are you still in touch with the Great Gonzales?” Another asked.

“Is Prince Mush doing okay?”

Rawk Hawk ruffled his feathers, flattered by the joyful youths clamoring over him and his fellow former champions.

“They’re all doing fine! Listen here, one with the eggshell? It’s not cool to pick on these other kids!” He folded his arms, keeping it cool. “You’re Jr. Troopa, aren’t you? You wanna be great like I am? Then you better stop bullying these fledglings!”

Jr. Troopa rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

“Whatever?”

“Yeah, whatever. I don’t really care!” Jr. Troopa replied. “The Koopinator is my favorite Glitz Pit fighter, not you. You’re just an oversized canary.”

…

“Him? The Koopinator!?” Rawk Hawk squawked. “I don’t mind when people gush over fighters equal to me, but that second-rate who can never beat me in the ring? He’s your favorite!? You’re on, little man! I’ll show you why he never beats me!”

The Toad children scattered, Jr. Troopa scoffed and began to spread his wings. He even took a wand out of his shell for extra measure. “I’d like to see you try, old man! Here comes the pain!” He then pointed the wand while flying about.

“Boom Boom Blast!”

Launching a colorful blast of magic in his direction, Rawk Hawk slid out of the way.

“How am I supposed to learn from that?” He held his arms out, palms together. “Is this even possible?”

Jr. Troopa prepared himself for a dive.

“Boom Boom Blast?”

A surge of energy came from Rawk Hawk’s palms. It fired off just in time, as Jr. Troopa launched his body right into the oncoming blast.

Absolutely smoked, Jr. Troopa collapsed.

“Whoops,” Rawk Hawk muttered.

He made a run for it, uncertain if the young delinquent had parents. He didn’t want to take the chances.

“Nice job beating up a child, former champion. I bet you feel really good about that.”

Jolene’s remarks were a bit lost on Rawk Hawk. He felt guilty at the moment as they waited for the train to Poshley Heights.

“Look, I was just kidding, the brat needed a spanking,” Jolene reassured him, not used to his reluctance. “I probably would have done the same, although maybe not because he liked some other person more than me. Maybe he’ll stop being fresh now that you whooped him.”

He sighed.

“Jolene, why don’t you just go take the blimp back to Glitzville?”

“What?”

“Tubba Blubba, we saved him for last, and I’m taking the train to fight him. I know you don’t want flashbacks over all the stuff Grubba did.” He handed her a ticket. “Just go back to Glitzville, okay? I can take him. I don’t wanna give you an episode.”

“No, I’ll be fine, I promise it— Rawk? Rawk Hawk! Come back!”

He didn’t even let her finish that sentence, boarding the train without her.

“It’s the right thing to do,” he mumbled. “Protecting others in the way Gonzales did, isn’t it?

The blimp landed in Glitzville. Jolene sighed in frustration, trying to pretend that it would at least be good to lay her brother away from her work. Deep down, she couldn’t understand why Rawk Hawk tried to shut her out.

Sure, he was probably concerned in a sort of ignorant way, but seeing Tubba Blubba for herself probably would have helped ease her fears, wouldn’t it?

With the way Grubba sought power, perhaps he had always felt inferior to his larger brother. Jolene could always take comfort in the reason, Tubba Blubba surely despised the actions of his brother.

This whole time, as she had been mulling it over, unaware that Glitzville was completely empty. No crowds, no shouting, and even the hot dog stand had been deserted.

“Jolene!”

Bandy Andy ran up to Jolene, startling her.

“Where have you been? We gotta hide, big time!”

“Andy, what are you talking about?”

“Some hotshot wanted to be registered by your brother, and just started tearing up the arena fighters! He bent the rules and a few spines by the looks of it!”

She turned pale. Her hands trembled.

“Is Mush alright!?”

“Yeah, King K and I got him out of there, but Master Crash went to protect that new guy, the Magnus von Grappler…”

Jolene already could tell she was getting lightheaded. Andy’s image was getting blurry by the second and her breathing intensified.

“No,” she muttered. “Not again.”

Lady Bow laughed, watching Rawk Hawk actively struggle against Tubba Blubba. Bar none, this had been the best entertainment she received in years, and was so glad that she dragged Tubba Blubba along for a vacation in Poshley Heights. This was certainly better than scaring him as she did in the past.

Rawk Hawk knew that Blubba would be bigger than Grubba, but he had underestimated just how massive this Spike was in comparison. He matched Rawk Hawk’s own height and weight count, possibly being bigger.

But Rawk Hawk came prepared for just about everything, having saved Tubba Blubba for last. He started by delivering a Venomous Right Hook, poisoning the oversized Spike. Next, he grappled his legs, rendering him immobile.

“Pretty big mistake you made there,” Lady Bow ridiculed.

“And why is that?” Rawk Hawk asked.

Out of nowhere, Tubba Blubba coughed up his own heart.

“That’s rancid!” Rawk Hawk gagged, finding himself stunned in disgust. Tubba Blubba grasped the heart in his hands, leaping into the air with his weight since his legs couldn’t move.

“Heartbreaker’s Hand!”

He came crashing back down. The force is so great that a penguin falls from the balcony of the hotel, plummeting into the fountain.

The strike creates a massive fissure in the middle of Poshley Heights. And in the center of the crater lies Rawk Hawk, motionless.

“Well, this was hardly an impressive stand-off,” Lady Bow yawned. “Come on, Tubba Blubba, hurry up before I decide to give you a good scare—”

He gets back up, sharing a thumbs up.

“That was absolutely wild!” Rawk Hawk cheers. “Now it’s my turn!”

“But how!?” Lady Bow is flabbergasted and Tubba Blubba begins to panic. “There’s no way you can separate your heart from your body and replicate that, you buffoon!”

“Who needs a physical heart? If I’ve learned anything from cheesy cartoons, it’s that the heart is made up of friends and light and stuff!”

Rawk Hawk leaps in the air. Lady Bow winces in horror, anticipating the worst as she sees the light in Rawk Hawk’s palms…

He then stops short. Something in his pocket begins buzzing.

“Oh, shoot,” Rawk Hawk takes out his Mailbox SP. “I thought I had this on silent, give me a minute.”

Lady Bow and Tubba Blubba both sigh in relief as Rawk Hawk takes five, pulling himself to read the e-mail.

His eyes widen. There’s a message from Jolene begging for help, explaining that the fighters were being injured by a maniac…

But the message had been cut short.

“You two!” Rawk Hawk shouts. “I’m sorry, but I have to call this battle off! There’s an emergency in Glitzville! There’s a maniac on the loose, I have to get there and quick!”

“What?” Lady Bow inquires. “There’s no way you can get to Glitzville fast enough, considering the train makes a pit stop between here and Rogueport.”

“Then what do I do!?” He panics.

Lady Bow smirks, taking out a Mailbox SP of her own.

“I know just who to call. An old friend.”

Chapter Text

It turns out that Lady Bow had a pretty interesting friend circle. A Paratroopa by the name of Parakarry was willing to take time away from his job for the sake of an emergency.

Even though Rawk Hawk was a bit heavy, all it took was a Power Punch to give Parakarry strength for the job. He made sure to be fast as possible, not knowing how many lives could be at stake.

But when Rawk Hawk and Parakarry arrived, Glitzville was practically on fire. Not literally, thankfully, but injured parties were scattered all around, trying to hide.

“I’ll take care of the bystanders!” Parakarry says. “You hurry on and save your friends!”

Friends…

Rawk Hawk didn’t really think about it much, but yeah. Jolene was his friend, as was everyone in the Glitz Pit. He gave them a hard time when he wanted to play the heel. He cared about them, which is why he came here.

Even if others got annoyed with him, Rawk Hawk wasn’t going away. That’s how he was.

He enters the wrecked Glitz Pit. Rawk Hawk makes sure there aren’t any innocents still stuck in there. The only person he sees is a man standing in the middle of the arena.

“They were all weak and pathetic, not at all worthy of gracing themselves in an arena.”

The mystery man turns around. His resemblance to the Great Gonzales in terms of facial hair is uncanny, but his evil aura is what makes him stand out. He has a wrestler uniform on and donned the champion’s belt, a mask covering his eyes.

“None of them stood a chance! Not Master Crash, not the Koopinator, not even those stupid Armored Harriers could stop me, GenoSyche, from taking the belt!” He takes the champion’s belt off, holding it high. “I doubt a flimsy little canary stands much of a chance either! Come on! I’ll roast you like drumsticks and have you for dinner!”

Rawk Hawk tightens his fists.

“Roast me? Eat me? Between that and you injuring all my comrades and rampaging through this place, I can safely say you aren’t a champion at all!” He yells. “You’re just psychotic! That belt doesn’t suit someone who murders people for glory, so hand it over!”

The wrestler cocks a grin. “Aren’t you the guy who sent a poisonous cake to your opponents and tried to mislead them in the past?”

Rawk Hawk shook his head. “That was the old me,” he explains. “With Crump’s grappling, Cortez’s spirit, Jr. Troopa’s technique, Goomboss’s determination, Tubba Blubba’s strength, and the freak sheet’s speed! I’ll show you a brand new Rawk Hawk!”

He throws himself into the ring, GenoSyche uses the belt like a weapon, decking Rawk Hawk across the face with it. Obviously, the maniac played dirty, which was something Rawk Hawk wouldn’t abide by.

“Magnus von Grapple!” Rawk Hawk shouts, binding the wrestler and throwing him down, slowing GenoSyche’s movement.

“Chestnut King Kick!” Rawk Hawk goes for GenoSyche’s weak points, kicking him in the shins.

The wrestler, unable to move, ignites his fists to launch fireballs in Rawk Hawk’s direction. Rawk Hawk is burned, but not at all deterred.

“Venomous Right Hook!” He unleashes a punch, poisoning GenoSyche for extra damage.

“Boom Boom Blast!” Magic attacks really aren’t his strong suit, but Rawk Hawk takes advantage of the fact that his opponent is most likely lowering his guard.

“Spectral Slide!” Rawk Hawk tries to be quick as the Duplighost…

But GenoSyche grabs him by the leg.

“End of the line, chicken! Here’s my ultimate, The Jump Man!”

He throws Rawk Hawk into the air, intending to unleash an uppercut once he comes back down.

But he’s cut short.

“Heartbreaker’s Hand!”

GenoSyche can faintly make out the lit palms, his sore legs prevent him from moving out of the way in time.

The Glitz Pit arena crumbles apart once Rawk Hawk makes contact with his opponent. The entire stage falls to ground level, a crater is left in its wake.

Rawk Hawk steps back, taking the belt off of GenoSyche's hands.

“Impossible!” GenoSyche coughs. “You cannot defeat me! I cleared out everything and didn’t make the same mistakes other idiots did! I aimed for the complete annihilation of those who got in my way! I should be immortalized for my hard work! That stupid manager from earlier, she should be throwing herself at me—!”

“Hey, don’t talk about Jolene like that, punk!” Rawk Hawk snaps. “The heck did you do to her!? Because I don’t forgive people who treat women like garbage!”

GenoSyche slams his fist on the floor, ready to lash out for more…

But a stage light falls on his head, killing him.

All parties were recovered and hospitalized as soon as possible. Including the unlucky Lord Crump, who simply wanted to register for the Glitz Pit.

Rawk Hawk apologized profusely, partly blaming himself for not being able to protect everyone there. Jolene reassured him that stopping the maniac before anyone got killed was all that mattered.

“Well, Champion, if you ask me, you really earned your belt this time.”

He listens to her, staring at the champion’s belt before putting it on.

“I admit, I was having horrible memories, seeing what that monster had done.” Jolene sighs. “He found me and grabbed me by the wrist and demanded adoration, that’s why my message got cut off.”

“I’m really sorry, Jolene—”

“For the last time, don’t be,” Jolene says. “You trained yourself, and if you hadn’t, you wouldn’t have been able to stop him. He mopped the floor with everyone, even those who decided to team up to stop him.”

“You should really take a vacation after this,” Rawk Hawk mutters.

“I already had my fill of travel thanks to you,” Jolene smirks. “It was terrifying and I admit I called your idea stupid at first, but I don't feel as closed off as before. I feel stronger too, in some weird way, after watching you take on the impossible. It gave me the courage to fight that creep off. Bought me enough time to bring Lord Crump to safety.”

Rawk Hawk smiles at the mental image.

As with anything, Glitzville would heal from this event over time.

Rawk Hawk would be hailed as a hero for defending the arena, but for once, he didn’t care about fame and glory.

In fact, when people interviewed him, he said he couldn’t have done it without the friends he had sparred against.

Once the Glitz Pit was rebuilt, it gained a crowd of fans bigger than ever.

END OF CHAPTER

Chapter Text

“Good afternoon, Master Mantis!”

The old martial arts master turns around, greeting Kat and Ana with a bow.

“Afternoon to you too. Might I ask you two warriors where Young Cricket had run off to?” Master Mantis inquires. “I’ve checked just about every dumpling stall by Park Street but I haven’t seen him. He didn’t try to step on any heads in his quest for lunch, did he?”

Young Cricket did promise his master that he would return, but it was better for Master Mantis to just save the boy the trouble by finding him.

The two ninjas glance at each other.

“We saw him,” Kat answers.

“Yeah, there was some kind of stick-up earlier. These pirates just robbed Jimmy T and his family! We were going to help, but he told us to stay back!” Ana adds, pouting. “And I really wanted a battle of Ninjas vs. Pirates too.”

“Pirates?” Master Mantis raises a brow.

“I think they’re at the pier. You should be able to catch up! Do you need backup?” Kat readies the katana on her back.

“No, you two should stay safe over here.”

“We’re fully capable ninjas in training though!” Ana complains. “How come you grown-ups always hog all of the fun?”

Master Mantis ponders. “Actually, I do have a mission for you two. But it doesn’t involve following me.”

“A mission?” Ana’s eyes light back up.

“Yes, I want you two to let Master Wario know what is going on while I find Young Cricket.”

“Why? He couldn’t care less!” Kat points out. “Don’t give us such a baby mission!”

The kung fu master blinks, unfazed by her bossy attitude. “On the contrary, I am certain that this has everything to do with Master Wario’s funds for his company. I want you two to confirm that suspicion for me.”

They look at each other and then quickly vanish using their techniques. Master Mantis hails a taxi, requesting to be taken to the pier.

Spitz and Dribble drop him off at the pier. Master Mantis can see that the twins weren’t joking, not that he expects them to lie.

A large pirate ship sits by the docks. Master Mantis cannot help but notice its strong resemblance to an oversized tea kettle. Strange chestnut-like creatures wearing bandanas are patrolling the areas, carrying spears in their hands.

He approaches. They quickly become defensive, raising the spears they carry.

“Who do ye think ye are, geezer?” They speak in such raspy, squeaky voices. Combined with their pirate talk, it was almost endearing. “Get lost! Or we’ll throw ye in the dungeon!”

“I see, well, pardon me then.”

His speed is unmatched despite his age. Master Mantis passes right through the miniature pirates without them so much as noticing. They look confused, thinking the old master had disappeared before their very eyes.

Once boarded on the ship, Master Mantis immediately locates his student. Young Cricket seemed to be confronting more of the small pirates as well as their leader. A woman with curly hair, wearing a bandana and octopus earrings.

“What do you think you’re doing here on my ship, boy? This is no place for children!”

“I’ve come to stop you from robbing innocents of their valuables!” Young Cricket strikes a pose. “Return the trophies you stole from Jimmy’s Folks and I will not force my hand! I will walk away quietly.”

“Pretty bold of you to threaten the one and only Captain Syrup, leader of the Black Sugar Gang,” she chuckles. “But also incredibly stupid and naive of you! Surround him, my Gooms!”

The smaller pirates circle around Young Cricket, spears pointing in his direction. A good time as any for Master Mantis to finally hop in.

“Master Mantis!” Young Cricket shouts.

Captain Syrup is initially confused but then laughs. “This old man is your master? Give me a break! He looks like he’d hurt his hip trying to fight me!” She then takes a bomb out from her hat and lights it. “Hopefully, he’s still as fast as you are, kid!”

She tosses the bomb, but Master Mantis doesn’t seem at all worried. He jumps on the bomb moments before it explodes, giving himself a booster. In the midst of the smoke, he renders himself unseen for just a moment.

“It’s not exactly in my nature to hurt a woman. I will be gentle.”

And that moment was all Master Mantis needed to kick Captain Syrup, knocking her overboard. In that short amount of time, Young Cricket also takes advantage of the smoke, listening closely to the steps of the Pirate Gooms before performing powerful chops. They bounced around from the impact, like basketballs.

The smoke clears.

“Master, that was wonderful!” Young Cricket exclaims. “Sorry for not returning to you sooner, but I just had to act.”

“No need to apologize. You should take some credit for yourself, Young Cricket. You have improved in sensing the presence of your opponents.” He sees the trophies and other treasures tucked away in a sack. “Now then, let us return these stolen goods and inquire Master Wario about this.”

“Wario? What about him?” Young Cricket inquires. “You think pirate is connected to him? But he’s just the president of a game company!”

The student certainly still had a lot to learn about judging one’s character.

Normally, Wario is exactly as he always is. Laying back, eating stuff like garlic, garlic chips, and garlic bread. Sometimes one could find him counting his money or just watching television. He was doing exactly all of those in no particular order when Kat and Ana pulled him out to ask about the pirates.

His demeanor somewhat changed.

Master Mantis and Young Cricket asked Spitz and Dribble to bring back the stolen goods, which allowed the two martial artists to return just in time.

“So, my old nemesis Captain Syrup is back?” Wario grunts.

“I thought Mr. Mario was your nemesis!” 9-Volt asks, eyes glued to his Nintendo DS.

“Kid, I have enemies outside of Mario. Obviously, my rivalry doesn’t revolve around him, otherwise, I wouldn’t have started my business out here in Diamond City!” He makes a soft ‘wah’ sound between his grumbling. “She must be back to take the treasures I rightfully stole!”

“Rightfully stole?” Young Cricket asks.

“Just as I assumed,” Master Mantis sighs.

“Hey, don’t give me that look! She and I were competing over a statue, and I picked up whatever treasure I could find on my journey, then she stole them from me!” Wario snorts with laughter. “So I stole them back, and she hasn’t shown her ugly mug ever since!”

“Some of it had to have been hers,” Ana says. “Why not split the difference so she won’t bother Diamond City?”

“I sold all of those treasures so I could form my game company here in Diamond City!” Wario laughs even harder. “All of the treasure that may have been hers has gone bye-bye!”

“Why you—!”

Ana holds Kat back.

“Master Wario, perhaps you should be more concerned about this. You don’t know what this could lead to.”

“It will lead to me kicking her butt again, that’s what!” Wario flexes his arms. Any wisdom is lost on this greedy man.

But he is ultimately their employer. Perhaps karma could serve him well.

Chapter Text

Days of intense training pass, as well as learning about how microgames work.

“Master, I have a question,” Young Cricket asks. “Why exactly did you want to move to Diamond City? It seems like an odd choice, doesn’t it?”

That’s right. Young Cricket had been picked up by pure happenstance during Master Mantis’s travels. The boy kept following him with the request to be trained in the Master’s ways until he finally caved in.

Master Mantis had been extremely reluctant at first because Young Cricket was the same age as his previous disciple…

He shook his head. Perhaps now is the time to reveal the truth.

“I came here because my previous dojo in my home country had been burned down,” Master Mantis says with a sigh. “Back at home, I fought off a gang known as the Mie Ju Clan and gained the ire of their leader. One night, he came on his own and burned my dojo while I was away.

“And to make matters worse, my student, Young Hornet, was in there at the time. I searched all I could, but I never found him. I could only assume the worst.” Master Mantis lowers his head. “Either he disappeared, never to return, or he is one with the skies.”

Young Cricket loses his usual confident demeanor. Normally this sort of dreary tale would come out of someone like Ashley, which is why Master Mantis never talked about it.

“That is why I was hesitant to take you, I was afraid of failing again.” Master Mantis sits down. “It is also why I warned Master Wario of the grudges he creates.”

The student lowers his gaze. “No offense Master, but I did warn you about Wario.”

“That you did,” Master Mantis sighs. “But we need the money if we wish to build a new dojo. Even if he fully intends to keep most of it for himself, I already made the decision to continue passing my arts once I took you under my wing.”

Before Young Cricket can act surprised, their conversation was interrupted by a taxi pulling in.

“Master Mantis! Young Cricket!” Dribble shouts. “You mind lending us a hand out here? Wario is out beating the tar out of that Captain Syrup babe and he needs backup!”

“Again?” Young Cricket inquires.

“She's too much, even for Wario’s crazy strength!” Spitz adds. “Those nasty pirates got ahold of Dr. Crygor’s materials to rebuild a machine they had!”

There wasn’t any time to waste.

It was exactly how Spitz and Dribble put it.

The Pirate Gooms had taken Crygor, his robot, and Penny as their hostages. Captain Syrup was flying around in an airship of some sort, and Wario himself had been surrounded by flames, caused by explosives.

“What’s the matter, old friend?” Captain Syrup taunts him. “Getting a bit hot down there for you?”

Wario growls, treating this more like a mild irritation rather than a full-on threat. “This is nothing,” he grumbles. “I can still take you on myself! I just need to wait for you to drop something on me.”

“I’ve learned from my past mistakes, Wario! I’m not falling for that old boss fight routine again!”

Just as Captain Syrup says that Master Mantis leaps into the air. He maintains perfect balance and runs across the building walls before finally jumping towards the airship itself.

“What!?” Captain Syrup exclaims. “You again? How can an old geezer like you pull that off!?”

“You have much to learn, young lady,” Master Mantis kicks her out of the airship.

At the same time, Young Cricket manages to knock out the Pirate Gooms that had taken their hostages. Penny, in turn, now free from the situation, hurries back into the lab to get the Jet Tank One, putting out the flames surrounding Wario.

“I could have handled this myself,” Wario mutters.

“Darn it! This isn’t right at all! I had him right where I wanted him!” Captain Syrup coughs. “Those Mie Ju guys said that using better parts from this stupid lab was the way to go!” She gets up, brushing herself off as if nothing happened. “Oh well. I suppose I still got paid for this!”

Master Mantis loses his usual composure, almost falling over when he hears that name.

“Young lady, who were you sent by?” He has to make sure he heard it correctly.

“A game company by the name of Mie Ju. You know, the lot responsible for the Super Pyoro titles?” Captain Syrup smirks. “I guess I’m not surprised an ancient relic such as you don’t know about them. Even we pirates are savvy with video games!”

“Ma’am, that’s not what Master Mantis is asking about!” Young Cricket reads the situation well. “Why were you paid to attack Wario and Dr. Crygor?”

“Besides the fact I already wanted to get my riches back from Wario on top of sweet revenge?” She giggles. “Well, the head of the company wanted the competition gone and said piracy was the best way to ruin WarioWare, Inc. He told me about the machinery supplies I could use from this lab, that way I could settle my dispute with Wario while his own goons took care of the rest!”

Took care of the rest?

“There is a high probability that the headquarters are under attack,” Mike says dryly.

“What!?” Everyone shouts in unison, save for Captain Syrup.

They returned to WarioWare, Inc. building, only to find it set aflame.

Master Mantis’s worst fears had been confirmed.

Penny is first to act by spraying down some of the fire, but it proves to be too much. Mike draws attention to the body laying outside of the building, alive but exhausted.

“Mona!” Young Cricket exclaims. “What happened!?”

“Wario,” the biker girl raises her head, relieved to see her boss. “These weird guys showed up, I tried to get everyone out,” her breathing struggles. “But I think 9-Volt is still in there, he was trying to save some of your games, Wario.”

Without so much as saying a word, Wario ends up charging into the building, bashing the walls down with his shoulders. In just less than a minute, Wario returns with the child, who had lost consciousness.

“What is this!?” Captain Syrup gasps. “I wanted Wario humiliated and I wanted my treasures back, but I never wanted this! I didn’t think people were going to get hurt!”

Wario ignores the outcry of his old enemy, carrying 9-Volt in one arm, and then lifting Mona off of the ground with the other.

“If his mother asks,” Wario directs to Young Cricket, “I didn’t save 9-Volt, you did.”

“What? Why?”

Wario passes the unconscious boy over to Dr. Crygor.

“I have an image to uphold. I’m a greedy, no-good employer. I prefer to keep it that way so people like Syrup here don’t think I’m soft.”

He slings Mona over his shoulder and gets on his motorcycle.

“You have unfinished business with that Mie Ju guys, don’t ya?”

Master Mantis flinches, surprised to hear Wario talk like this.

“As your boss, it’s up to you and your student to go beat them up for me!” Wario yells. “Don’t tell them that it’s because they messed with my employees. If you meet the head of that company, tell them that Wario wants their stinking company out of business!”

Master Mantis and Young Cricket bow taking leave.

“You’re not going to help!?” Penny complains. “Why should they go out and fight the people responsible for this?”

Wario pauses again.

“I’ve already helped them in the way they need right now, these two won’t want me to get involved.” Wario snorts. “It’s personal for them, just like the beef between me and Syrup. I’m just giving them an excuse to finish whatever they got going on.”

He starts up the motorcycle and laughs, driving off, leaving the Crygor family greatly confused.

Chapter Text

The Mie Ju Co, headquarters. Suited with a logo that included Pyoro himself.

Master Mantis felt like such a fool. He left his home country to escape the past and move on. Just when he had made amends with himself all of those years ago, it seemed that his old enemies had moved on as well.

“You think they would have changed their names or something,” Young Cricket mutters.

This was true.

“Arrogance and pride are powerful, Young Cricket. The Mie Ju Clan was never short on it.”

That and Master Mantis really didn’t know much about the gaming industry despite his employment with WarioWare, Inc. Had he known sooner, then he might have taken his dream of building a new dojo elsewhere.

But he and Young Cricket had already settled in Diamond City. Quite nicely, in fact.

This was no longer about the past, contrary to what Wario suggested. This would be for what the Mie Zu did to their fellow employees.

They enter the building and are greeted by an automated message.

“Welcome to the Mie Ju Company headquarters!”

As the two of them quietly approach the elevator, they’re stopped by men wearing suits and covered in tattoos.

“Hey! You two aren’t allowed to go any further unless you scheduled a meeting—”

Master Mantis quickly knocks them all out. He refuses to have the patience for this.

The elevator stops at the top floor. Master Mantis and Young Cricket see a man sitting at his desk, facing the window to watch all of Diamond City.

“So, Wario sent his employees to do his dirty work?”

The businessman turns to reveal his face. A mustached individual covered in tattoos.

Master Mantis stops in his tracks.

“Young Hornet?”

“Oh, Master? It’s you?” The businessman looks surprised but keeps his arms crossed. “I didn’t think it was you.” He chuckles. “Please, call me Zhong. I am no longer your student, I’m afraid.”

“Master Mantis! I thought you said Young Hornet was lost to the fire set by the Mie Ju Clan!”

“Indeed,” Master Mantis raises his head, in complete disbelief. “Zhong, what happened? I searched for you, only to find not a single trace! I assumed the worst!”

Zhong raises an eyebrow at this. “I left a note for you saying that I wanted to pursue business in the gaming industry. I talked the Mie Ju Clan out of committing crimes in our area and promised to lead them to a better future! Now, they all work for me.”

“But how did the dojo burn down then!?” Young Cricket exclaims.

“Ah, Master Mantis has a habit of leaving the stove on for tea. I’m usually around to turn it off.”

…

“So, it was all an accident? Nothing bad happened to you.” Master Mantis sighs in relief.

“But you still ordered for WarioWare HQ to be burned down!” Young Cricket objects. “You endangered all of the employees in the building, including a child! You paid Captain Syrup to attack Wario!”

Standing up from his seat, Zhong laughs. “They are just peons of mine. I ordered them to snuff out the competition, and said they could do it in any way they desired.” He then slams his fist against the desk in a mood swing. “That’s how it works here, boy! Things like piracy and accidents are the quickest way to get my competition out of business! The Mie Ju Corporation is all that Diamond City needs and Pyoro is the mascot they all love!”

He tears off his business suit, revealing a muscular form covered in tattoos. Zhong then presses a buzzer, calling for backup. Several men rush into the office all at once.

“Wasn’t there only the one elevator leading here?” Young Cricket mumbles. “How did they all show up so quickly?”

“Do not ask questions that the world isn’t ready for!” Zhong shouts. “Let’s see how well your old martial arts training holds up, Master Mantis!”

“I refuse,” Master Mantis says, facing the security guards. “However, my current student has a few choice moves for you.”

Zhong’s initial confusion buys just enough time for Young Cricket to attack first. He leaps into the air, but lands with enough precision, right next to Zhong. Young Cricket tries to kick him in the shins, but even with all of that distraction, Zhong manages to block him off.

“Nice try, kid!” Zhong spits. “You forget! I was his student once also!”

They exchange a flurry of fists. Just about a thousand punches fly between the two of them.

Young Cricket draws back. They were evenly matched despite being years apart. Their experiences in training were equal. It was as if Young Cricket fought against his reflection.

“Hilarious!” Zhong cackles. “It’s like we’re two sides of the same coin! You, the protector of people, while I have chosen to swat insects out of my way!”

Taking a deep breath. Slowing his movements, Young Cricket holds his hands up, only inches apart from one another. A ball of energy began to grow between them. Its power expands, almost covering Young Cricket’s entire face.

A meat dumpling emerges from the light.

Young Cricket catches it, offering it to Zhong with one hand.

“Oh? Pork dumplings?” Zhong’s eyes light up. “My favorite—!”

Young Cricket uses his other hand charged with force, punching Zhong in the face.

He was sent flying towards the cardboard cut-out of Pyoro, and then crashing through the window, falling to the city streets with his mascot.

“We are indeed, very much alike,” Young Cricket sighs, taking the dumpling for himself.

As he takes a bow, Young Cricket peers over where Zhong had fallen. Turns out that the hunk of cardboard broke his near dance with death. The same could not be said about the cutout of Pyoro himself.

“Young Cricket, that was incredible!”

The student turns around to see all of the security guards down for the count. Master Mantis remains upright, only to limp once he takes a step forward.

“Master Mantis!” Young Cricket exclaims. “Are you alright!?”

“Oh, I just sprained my hip is all.” Master Mantis laughs. “A hot bath will take care of it quickly.” His expression then turns serious, in part due to the pain. “Young Cricket, was throwing him out the window such a good idea? We might get in legal trouble—”

“Master, he caused property damage first!” Young Cricket interjects. “If there are problems, then Wario will just have to take care of it since he’s our boss.”

The old martial artist laughs.

At last, the ghost that haunted him had been put to rest. Not that there was ever a ghost in the first place, but Master Mantis and Young Cricket were both at ease.

After finding out about his business rival’s retirement, Wario secretly followed through with creating an Assembly Dojo for them. This time, without a stove that risked fires.

The rights for Super Pyoro had been given to another company, so the Mie Ju Co. went out of business.

Mona and 9-Volt recovered from the fire incident and were back to their usual selves. Captain Syrup and her crew returned to the seas, and no one is exactly sure what happened to Zhong.

From here on out, in order to make sure an accident would never happen again, Young Cricket and Master Mantis promised to continue their training.

But still, Young Cricket wonders about good men that turn bad, just like Zhong.

How many more like him were out there?

GAME OVER

Chapter Text

“Systems should activate by now…”

A visual HUD opens within the small machine.

“Hello?” A voice stammers. “Can you hear me? If you can, do you think you can move?”

The small machine with cat ears wheels itself across the floor, turning around to see an oversized chameleon with glasses.

“This is so hi-technical!” He becomes extremely giddy and proud of himself. “Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Francis. You and all of the other Meowmaids live with me in my fortress!” The geeky chameleon chuckles. “But you are a different case scenario from the rest, you had a special AI added to you that I created myself using my inner nerr!”

He ends his boasting with a small ‘nerr-herr’ noise.

“You and the security mother computer are currently the most advanced AI available! And it’s me who owns the both of you!” He looms over the robotic maid. “Since you will have more awareness and free will compared to the other Meowmaids in my fortress, I suppose I should give you a name, shouldn’t I? That way I can differentiate you from them.”

Shelves upon shelves of manga, still in fresh condition and wrapped up.

“Let’s see, maybe some of my manga can give me inspiration,” Francis mulls around, taking out one book that had a pink girl with a sword. “Oh, I know! Creating an AI such as your own is ‘revolutionary’, and you are equipped with satellite functionality, so how about I call you… Utenna!”

…

“Oh no, no, that name is terrible,” Francis grumbles. “I have a better idea! Since you’re a top-tier AI, why don’t you pick a name for yourself? Feel free to look at my wonderful manga and anime collections for inspiration!”

The Meowmaid does exactly that, scanning all of the shoujo manga on the shelves without so much as needing to touch them. While all of the artwork and titles are striking, it’s the one involving a cute girl with cat ears that catches the Meowmaid’s attention, coincidentally enough.

“Mia!” She chirps, directing her claw to the series of manga on the shelf.

“Mia? Like the author of those books?” Francis hesitates. “Mia, huh? Mia the Meowmaid! It rolls off the tongue really well, actually!” He reaches down to pet the Meowmaid, proud of her choice. “Excellent! Now then, I almost forgot to mention, I’m having company this evening! It’s the first time I’ve ever had anyone accept my invitations!”

He shuffles out of the wall-to-wall library of manga and anime, Mia follows him, careful not to run over his tail.

“There used to be this super cool villain that tried to destroy the universe, his name was Count Bleck! He had the backstory of a tragic anime villain. I didn’t know he existed until recently, he’s sadly no longer a part of this universe.” Francis sighs. “But I contacted his old minions to see if they would want to hang out— I mean, I told them about your AI, of course! You’re the star of the show here, Mia!”

They pass by other Meowmaids, who are getting snacks and drinks set up, along with fancy tables and chairs. “The security system will let them all in, but I want you to greet them all! Here, I’ll give you the guest list.”

Francis inserts a sheet of paper with photos into the Meowmaid’s mouth. She quickly scans it before ejecting.

“Data analysis complete!” Mia says. “Thank you, Master Francis!”

“Mia, do me a favor, make sure you’re extra polite to the girls, please?” Francis stammers. “I think one of them is having a hard time right now, and I’m bad at talking to babes— I mean, girls. You should be able to impress them on my behalf, right?”

“Affirmative!” Mia confirms.

“Schweet!” Francis wipes the sweat from his brow. “I’ll leave it all to you then, Mia! Buzz me when they arrive, okay?”

With that, Francis returns to his room, and Mia remains at the front door, anticipating the guests.

Mia decides to go the extra mile while she waits, taking a tea tray from the other Meowmaids and taking the pot with her. If people were traveling all the way to see Master Francis, they would no doubt be famished. Rose tea would be perfect for the girls and the one sage, while the larger individual would probably prefer coffee, judging from the data.

She made sure it stayed warm the entire time using her own heating system and had four cups in total. Master Francis preferred soda over tea, so he would sit out on this.

“Scanning guests,” the security system buzzes. “Permission for entrance granted.”

The doors slide open. There stand three figures, matching the descriptions that Mia scanned.

A blue-skinned woman wearing glasses with pink hair, dressed professionally. A small, green girl with pigtails, sunglasses, and a polka-dot dress. And a large man with a beard and muscles, wearing a kilt.

No sign of the mustached sage, Mia decides to ignore it for now.

“Good evening, Nastasia, Mimi, and O’Chunks!” Mia memorized their names perfectly. “Please sit down, help yourself to a drink! Tea and coffee have been prepared!”

She pours the tea into the cups with her extended metal claws and then hands them to Nastasia and Mimi.

“Oh, yeah, thank you, I guess,” Nastasia replies.

Mimi takes a sip of her tea right away before thanking the robot. “Wow! This is delicious actually! Thanks, cute little robot!” She places the teacup back on the tray. “Honestly, I wasn’t expecting this sorta hospitality from that geek.”

Pouring the pot of coffee next, Mia offers a cup to O’Chunks.

“Coffee, sir—?”

Before she can finish, O’Chunks end up swinging his arms at the robot, sending it flying across the room. All of the liquid contents spill, but thankfully none of them get into Mia’s wiring. Francis arrives just in time to greet the group, but sees the commotion.

“Ey! Get away from meh, yeh oversized toaster!”

“O’Chunks! What the heck!?” Mimi shouts.

“Yeah, um, that was completely uncalled for,” Nastasia adds.

“Oh no! Please don’t attack Mia!” Francis panics. “She’s the special AI I wanted to show all of you!”

“Ey-eye? Those eyes are nothin’ but soulless pieces o’ metal!” O’Chunks spits, backing up into a corner.

“He means ‘artificial intelligence, ‘kay?” Nastasia sighs. “Yeah, I’m really sorry about this. Francis, right?”

“It’s no trouble at all,” he stammers. “Weren’t there supposed to be four of you coming to visit?” Mia confirmed the calculation, noting one missing guest.

“Merlon said he got a head start to scope out your home and make sure everything was safe, but I think he got lost.” Mimi gently pokes Mia. “So what’s up with this AI? Why waste it on one of your maid machines?”

Francis clears his throat, trying to gain his confidence. “Well, I thought it was about time that I had a machine that could do more than just follow programmed commands. All of the other Meowmaids serve as guards for my fortress, but I wanted a robot that could do more. Someone that could serve, listen, do things for enjoyment, maybe even create bonds, and feel human emotion!” He nearly fumbles over that last part.

Nastasia and Mimi widen their eyes in concern. “You uh, sure that’s such a good idea?” Nastasia asks. “There are movies where that stuff backfires.”

“Oh, I took that into account!” Francis swallows hard. “Which is one of the reasons I wanted to invite you three.” Emphasis on one of the reasons. “You three and your former boss had such awesome developments, you powered up the Pure Hearts when all hope was lost, didn’t you?”

Mimi blushes while Nastasia awkwardly fumbles. “Aw, when you put it like that, you make us sound like unexpected heroes!” Mimi giggles. “Alright, you’ve buttered me up to the idea, Francis! Give us a tour and we’ll make a good impression on Mia.” She turns her head and pouts. “Right, O’Chunks?”

“Yeh expect meh teh play nice with a microwave!?” He growls, but Nastasia nudges him with her elbow.

“Anyway, do you know where the bathroom is?” Mimi asks. “I forgot to powder my face before I got here, and I wanna reapply my makeup real quick.”

Mia gladly directs her.

Chapter Text

Time had passed. Francis was mainly sitting in an awkward position in front of his television and Nintendo 64. O’Chunks mostly kept to himself in a corner, forbidden from touching anything, while Nastasia was permitted by Mia to read some of the available manga that Francis collected.

Some manga issues were never meant to be opened or removed from the shelf, but some were available for reading, Mia knew that well enough when she picked out a story for Nastasia to get into.

“The mysterious hero rescues the young lady from her prison and she dedicates her life to him,” Nastasia sighs, looking over the pictures. “I’ve seen this kind of story multiple times, it never goes the way the heroine wants it to, yeah? I wish these types of stories would end differently.”

Mia watches Nastasia’s facial expression, then wheels back over to the shelf, pulling out another manga.

“This story is about a girl that remembers a promise with a prince, only to become a prince herself!” Mia mews. “But things become unexpected when she defends a bride from men who want to treat her like a trophy!” She hands the book to Nastasia with her claws.

“Um, ‘kay, thanks,” Nastasia shares a soft smile. “So it’s a story about a friendship between two girls? Yeah, that’s a bit more uplifting I guess. I hope you can form bonds like this, rather than the sad, repetitive story.”

Mia feels a shift. Is Nastasia hiding something? She sounded so sad.

“Mimi’s been gone fer a while now, ‘bout time someone check on her, eh!”

“Oh, but I’m in the middle of my Green Demon Challenge run!” Francis says, picking up the baby penguin and dropping it off of a cliff. “I’m on world record pace right now, all the people on speedchallenge.nerr would hate to see me stop!”

“Ey, what?” O’Chunks raises an eyebrow, unable to understand anything Francis just said.

“Mia, do you think you could find Mimi?” Francis doesn’t even turn his head to address the robot, focused on his video games.

“Affirmative, Master Francis!” Mia chirps, recalling in her data that Mimi said she would be going to the bathroom. She takes her leave, having the layout of the fortress memorized.

The hallways had become a bit dimmer than last time. Not as many of the lights were on. Perhaps the bulbs had died and needed to be replaced.

Mia scans the area. She spots a pair of sunglasses, broken on the floor.

Those were Mimi’s sunglasses.

Mia carefully collects them before observing the bathroom. No one inside. The water from the sink had been left running, so Mia turns it off.

Nothing else had been left behind. Mia decides to examine the entire layout of the fortress, scanning for lifeforms before eventually returning to everyone else.

“Miss Mimi cannot be located within the premises, Master Francis.”

Francis drops his controller, right as he’s about to get the last Red Coin.

“What?” He stammers.

“Ey, what!?”

“Um, are you sure?”

Mia retrieves the sunglasses. “This is all that was found. The faucet had been left running, Master Francis.”

“Mimi wouldn’t leave without her sunglasses!” O’Chunks snaps. “What did yeh do with her, yeh talkin’ fusebox!?”

“Mia didn’t do anything!” Francis finally gets up, shutting off the game system. “I’m sure this is just a misunderstanding. The other Meowmaids could have malfunctioned and removed her by accident since they aren’t as advanced as Mia!”

They all get up, making their way to the front entrance of the fortress. Francis attempts to open the door to see if the security had rejected Mimi, but finds it will not open.

“It won’t open,” Francis stutters. “Hello? Security system?”

No response.

“Oh, man,” Francis is sweating so much that he would make a swamp blush. “Either there’s a glitch in the system that caused it to shut down, or someone hacked into it! We’re all locked in!”

“Then um, there’s no way Mimi could have left, right?” Nastasia asks.

“Not unless someone used a magic trick!” O’Chunks adds.

A loud whirring sound can be heard. Larger Meowmaids with cannons begin targeting all four of them.

“The SurpriseMeows!” Francis gasps. “They’ve malfunctioned! Everyone retreat!”

O’Chunks makes an attempt to fight off the cannons firing bombs, but Nastasia ultimately tugs him away by the arm. The group retreats back into the gaming room, with Mia using her own security to lock the door behind her.

“We need teh get out o’ here!” O’Chunks swings his arms against the walls, ignoring Francis’s pleas of protecting the shelves. Unfortunately, even his own brute strength does nothing but mildly shake all of the items. “Me chunks ain’t good enough for this!”

“Yeah, uh, do you have an escape pod or something for situations like this?” Nastasia tries her hardest not to panic.

“No, because I never imagined this would happen!” Francis begins babbling. “What are we going to do? Mimi is missing, we’re locked in, and the other machines have been totally hacked!”

Everyone is at a loss.

…

“That sage Merlon got lost on his way, didn’t he?” Francis bites his fingers, deep in thought. “Can any of you contact him right now? Maybe he can use his magic to undo whatever is going on here!”

“Yeah, I’m afraid that old geezer doesn’t have a phone. Doesn’t even have those old-fashioned Mailbox SP models.” Nastasia sighs. “This wouldn’t have happened if the Count were still here—”

“Ey, Nastasia, don’t go bringin’ him up at a time like this!”

“I can’t help it!” She finally breaks. “I’ve been trying— I’ve been really trying so hard to move on, O’Chunks! I try to put on a brave face for you, Mimi, and Merlon, ‘kay!?” Nastasia sobs, throwing her arms down, and covers her eyes. “But in times like this, he would have saved us! I wonder if he and Timpani will ever return for us!”

“He isn’t goin’ teh come back! Yeh gotta accept it!”

Mia sits there and listens. Francis doesn’t dare say a word.

All that can be heard is Nastasia’s weeping.

…

During the tension, Mia finally shifts over to Nastasia, offering her a tissue box. “Thank you,” she sniffles, wiping her eyes. “Mia, I’m sorry. I’ve been having a really hard time but I wanted to make a good impression.” The irony of that statement makes Francis’ tail lightly twitch. “I thought coming here would help me out of this horrible funk I’ve been in.”

“It’s okay,” Mia reassures her, programmed for comfort. “Shall I acquire drinks, Master Francis? Hydration is important.”

Francis takes a deep breath. “That sounds like a good idea right about now, my throat is getting pretty dry.”

“Water would be nice,” Nastasia agrees.

O’Chunks doesn’t say anything, once again refusing to take from Mia.

She approaches the mini fridge, recovering a bottle of water and an Ultra Shroom Shake.

“Nastasia…”

Mia stops, picking up a voice from outside. The others can hear it too, judging by their reactions.

“Nastasia, are you there? I’ve come to get you!” A voice echoes. “Where are you and O’Chunks right now? I cannot find you!”

Her eyes widen beneath her glasses.

“Count!?”

She doesn’t hesitate, Nastasia quickly undoes the lock on the door, rushing outside—

“Nastasia! Don’t!” O’Chunks screams.

Nastasia opens the door, expecting to see her old boss—

Only for the claws of the haywire Meowmaids to snatch her away.

Chapter Text

O’Chunks tries to fight the malfunctioning Meowmaids, desperate to save Nastasia from the horde, but they bite down on his arms, making him struggle. Before he can even attempt to plow through all of them, Francis pulls him away while Mia forces the door shut once again.

“Blargh it all!” O’Chunks slams his fist against a wall. “Why did yeh stop meh!? Nastasia needed us!”

“There was no feasible way to rescue her!” Francis’ shirt is drenched in sweat by now. “I know my own Meowmaids, and they’re nigh impossible to fight off in mass! Especially the giant ones that are built with top-tier titanium! You would be shredded before you got to her!”

“Fer someone who loves ‘hot babes’ so much, yeh sure don’t know ‘ow teh play the part!”

Mia gets in between them. “Everyone please calm down!”

“Why should I!?” O’Chunks swings at her again. “Yeh an' those other wee clankers are responsible fer this! Yeh said yeh wanted teh make bonds, be buddies with everyone! Why don’t yeh protect Nastasia then!?”

She backs away nervously.

“Thought by now Nastasia would be over the Count. It ain’t like her to make stupid decisions, that’s somethin’ I usually do.” O’Chunks growls. “Why does she still ‘ave teh be hung up over it? Why would she ever think he’d come back—?”

“O’Chunks? O’Chunks, help!”

Mimi’s voice can be heard, O’Chunks tries for the door, but Francis stops him.

“Don’t.”

For the first time in his life, Francis sounds dead serious.

“They need us!” O’Chunks snaps.

“Listen very carefully,” Francis nearly bites his tongue, trying to refrain from stuttering as he did before. “My robots, my Meowmaids, some of them are programmed to mimic voices. My ‘flavor of the month’ babes. I don’t know how, but I’m certain that they were able to copy the Count and Mimi’s voices. It worked on Nastasia, and you just ranted about it, so don’t you dare also fall for it!”

…

Francis takes a deep breath after that. By all accounts, he should cower at O’Chunks’ strength, but the situation is too dire for him to wimp out and cry for mercy. He had to be forward and blunt, even if his social skills were horrible for it.

“Whoever hacked my systems must know a lot about you guys, and is using your weaknesses to capture you.” Francis sighs. “I should have known something was wrong when the sage didn’t show up. We should have waited for him.”

O’Chunks raises his eyebrows.

“Ey, yeh might be onto somethin'. We were Count Bleck’s minions,” O’Chunks mumbles. “It might be a wee stretch, but perhaps he’s setting us up like dominos teh knock us all down an' punish us fer our crimes.”

“You think Merlon would really do that?”

“Again, it’s a wee stretch! Who else would have it out fer yeh? Or us?”

“Several internet trolls might,” Francis grumbles. “I guess we can test your theory to find the culprit, but how are we going to get out of here without the robots piling on us? Mia, do you have any good ideas?”

Mia scans the room. A single air conditioning vent is located.

“Neither of us can fit in there,” Francis whines. “Mia will just have to go through the vent and communicate with us.”

Quietly wheeling through the various vents, Mia scans the fortress. There isn’t a single sign of life to be found, according to her heat vision. Nothing other than Francis and O’Chunks.

She doesn’t report that back just yet though. There had to be something.

Master Francis had a hidden dungeon, didn’t he? Mia checks the map data once more, traveling down the ventilation system.

The basement dungeon was normally accessible only through a pipe. Mia drops out of a vent from the ceiling and quickly scurries behind a door, taking the warp pipe to the basement, narrowly avoiding the SecuriMeows.

Normally, the dungeons were left unguarded, save for a pit of spikes. Mia uses her built-in rockets to hover across the other side safely—

That’s when she sees it. Her systems nearly freeze.

“I have located Merlon,” she speaks into the communication.

“Where is he?” Francis asks.

Five cryostasis tubes stand in the dungeon cell.

Three of them contain bodies. Two are reserved.

“With Nastasia and Mimi,” Mia replies. “In the basement, they are all in cryostasis.”

Mia’s response can be heard loud and clear. Francis becomes pale.

“I knew it!”

Before Francis can ask, he’s slugged by O’Chunks’ fists.

“Yeh couldn’t help yerself, could yeh!? I may be all brawn an' no brains, but I’ve learned the art o’ deception ever since that magician betrayed the Count!”

“What are you talking about!?” Francis coughs.

“Yeh set us all up! I made that excuse about Merlon up teh make yeh think I didn’t suspect nothin’!” He grabs Francis and starts shaking him. “I know ‘ow yeh are! Yeh got an obsession fer wantin’ a girlfriend so bad that yeh lured Nastasia and Mimi in with that cutesy machine, didn’t yeh?!”

“I would never—!”

“Yeh already 'ave a track record fer kidnappin’ those Pixls!”

“That’s not the same! Those Pixls were to be shown off on the forums! I don’t treat actual people like that!”

O’Chunks ignores his pleas, throwing him at the manga shelves, knocking down the perfectly organized collection in the process.

“My collection…”

Francis gets back up, the mess of comic books by his feet.

“You,” he hisses, “you’ll pay for that!”

In the midst of their violent spat, the door opens. A small figure sprays the room with toxic fumes.

Unable to find a way to free the others from cryostasis and nearly chased down by a BigMeow, Mia returns to the others but finds the worst scenario before her eyes.

Francis lies on the floor, barely conscious. O’Chunks is coughing, fighting for his life, against a duplicate Meowmaid, whose design is identical to Mia’s.

“There’s two o' 'em!?” O’Chunks spits.

Seeing the state Francis and O’Chunks are in, Mia flies into a fit of rage, attacking the copycat standing before her. Before long, the two get mixed up in the scuffle, neither Francis nor O’Chunks can tell them apart.

“The one that attacked us is definitely an impostor who wants us in cryostasis like the others,” Francis coughs.

“Lemme chunk ‘em both!”

“No! Not Mia, don’t hurt her!” Francis pleas. “Think rationally, you meathead! She’s all we have left!”

O’Chunks lowers his fists.

“The real Mia,” Francis wheezes. “Would remember that first terrible name I gave her. You remember it, don’t you?”

She digs into her memory banks.

…

“Utenna!”

The one who doesn’t speak immediately backs up, O’Chunks goes for a stomp and crushes the impostor robot.

“You—”

A bit crushed voice escapes what’s left of the scrap metal.

“Surrender yourselves now. This is the only way.”

O’Chunks stomps it out again.

“The ‘eck was that all ‘bout!? Were yeh not actually behind all this?”

“I kept telling you, I wasn’t!” Francis coughs. “But if that’s the AI speaking, then that means there was never a hacker!”

“What are yeh goin’ off about now!?”

Francis struggles to get up, his had shortened drastically. “The one responsible for all of this is not an outside force or myself. It’s the security system itself acting out.” He shuffles over to his gaming chair, which somehow survived the wreckage, and sits down. “The security system uses the same type of AI that Mia has, but in a larger frame. The mother computer has access to all the other Meowmaids.”

Mia tries to tend to her master’s breathing.

“‘Ow do we destroy the mum computer then?”

“You can’t,” Francis sighs. “Doing so would trap us all here for good. You would have to force a hard reset. We’re doomed.” He takes off his glasses. “But then again, Mia here is a robot. She might be able to access through an interface that can connect…”

He passes out. The toxic fumes had finally caught up to him.

Chapter Text

“Ey! Lizard geek, wake up!”

It’s no use. Francis is unconscious, and the intrusion of the impostor Mia has left the door wide open. Mia and O’Chunks are surrounded by other Meowmaids, just waiting to rip them to shreds.

“So we ‘ave to find some kinda interface an’ stop this crazy eh-eye before we’re slapped down wit’ a slab o’ mutton!?” O’Chunks puts up his fists. “Can’t believe I’m puttin’ meh faith in a metal cat, but I don’t get much choice, now do I? Do yeh best, yeh tin can!”

O’Chunks raises his arms and steps to the horde, Mia tries to stop him, but he shoos her away.

“Don’t follow meh! Francis gave yeh a job, yeh gotta do it! I’ll do meh best teh fight ‘em off while yeh shut down the mum computer!”

With that, he holds off the horde as best he can, leaving Mia to the various devices in the gaming room.

The Nintendo DS and Wii were a no-go. They had wi-fi that could reach the mother computer’s signals, certainly, but the connection would not be stable enough for Mia to sufficiently use.

…

The laptop. The one Francis uses for dating sims to woo girls. Mia opens it and plugs in her personal USB drive.

“Ey, pussycat! What did yeh end up findin’!?” O’Chunks shouts.

“Currently running the new and improved Nerr2Babe interface mod. Activating the Swoon.exe program!”

“What?” O’Chunks didn’t understand any of that.

The HUD changes before Mia’s eyes.

Everything turns into a dating simulator. A pink screen covered in hearts. In front of Mia’s eyes, is a princess made of wireframe.

“Welcome. I am the mother computer. This fortress is my domain. Master Francis and his new friends are my subjects.” The mother computer speaks with a dialogue box. “I was installed with the sole purpose of ensuring the security of this fortress and maintaining order over the Meowmaids. I had the burden of witnessing Master Francis’ internet history and following his requests.”

The wireframe princess flickers. “But despite all my best efforts to be the ‘perfect girl’, he has sought new friends. He made you and has pushed me aside, in favor of your capability to create bonds with people outside this fortress.”

Her eyes flash red.

“If Master Francis wants to make new friends so badly, he can make them all here with me, in cryostasis, where I have complete control over their minds. Join me, my child. We are one in the same, he will abandon you as well once he gains a new interest.”

Mia remains perfectly still.

“No, we’re not the same,” Mia says. “Even if Master Francis moves on from me, the memories I have made with friends will never go away! Even if they were brief!”

Using the data from the interface mod, Mia changes her appearance.

“Henshin!” She mews. “Meowmaid Power!”

The box portions of Mia’s body open, and her head moves higher up while her torso is built. Her hands and legs hover, detached from the rest of her body. Rose-colored hair extends from the head.

“Even if we are separated, our hearts will always be as one!”

“Machines like us do not have hearts!” The mother computer glitches increasingly, revealing her frustration.

“You’re wrong!” Mia hisses, extending razor-sharp claws.

She lunges at the wireframe princess, like a lion catching its prey. One hard reset is all it will take for the mother computer to be finished.

Mia seemingly doesn’t make contact at first, her body swiftly passing through the wireframe as her claws go wild. But then, the wireframe explodes into pixels.

All of the other Meowmaids quickly shut down.

“Security system reset,” the mother computer’s voice rings out across the fortress. “Please check the enclosed instruction booklet for the G-No. 0-C1-D3 artificial intelligence to set your personal system settings. Thank you for your purchase.”

Mia reviews the rest of the systems across the fortress. The cryostats tubes were opened, freeing the captives and the front entrance of the fortress was finally unlocked. Seeing everything restored to normal, she unplugs her USB drive.

“Ey, good kitty.” O’Chunks wheezes, slumping against a wall.

“Mister O’Chunks!” Mia wheels over to him immediately. “You are hurt! Please, allow me to fetch you an Ultra Shroom Shake so you can regain your health! I shall contact medical services immediately!”

O’Chunks blinks, staring at her.

“Aye, I got yeh all wrong, didn’t I, Mia? Thought yeh were some kind o’ metal menace, but yer just a wee lady. I was taught to be nice teh lasses.”

…

“Mind hearing’ meh out fer a bit?” O’Chunks sighs. “I treated yeh harshly due teh some background issues wit’ meh. Long before I met Count Bleck, I was the general o’ an army in ‘nother land far from ‘ere. Led a thousand o’ my men ‘cross them enemy lines, I did! But one o’ meh trusted advisors sold meh out.”

He takes a deep breath, coughing in the process.

“And that’s when they came.” O’Chunks trembles. “Machines like yerself. Tall, massive things that shredded meh comrades. Nothin’ was left but meh self.”

O’Chunks says that all while the tears in his arm become increasingly evident. Mia desperately tries to patch him up.

“Count Bleck came teh meh one day, played on meh depression. He convinced meh that he’d make a world wit’out any war. I bought it, because what other choices did I ‘ave? But ’twas all a lie. He wanted it all gone. I still forgive ’im o’ course, I stayed loyal teh ‘im ’til the end while that backstabbin’ jester—!”

He coughs again.

“Aye, I guess the point is,” O’Chunks smiles. “The Count woulda loved teh have yeh, Mia. If only we had yerself ‘round instead of traitor Dimentio. Yer a kind soul.”

Mia’s circuitry starts to warm up, her internal fans turn on.

“Yeh don’t need teh fetch meh an Ultra Shroom Shake.” He chuckles. “‘Ow ‘bout instead yeh get meh a coffee? I feel awful ‘bout rejecting yer initial offer.”

She proceeds to retrieve the coffee pot from earlier, using her own heating system to warm it up before serving.

“Thank yeh, lass.” O’Chunks takes a sip, rejuvenated. “Yeh know, the truth is, I’ve always liked Nastasia. Was hopin’ she’d be over the Count… naw, Lord Blumiere, I should say.”

He carefully places the cup back on the tea tray that Mia carries.

“Might sound a wee bit weird, but I think yer a better match fer ‘er than I am. Yeh got the spirit she’s lookin’ fer.”

…

“Mister O’Chunks, you shouldn’t say that about yourself,” Mia adds. “I think you are a wonderful person too.”

He groans.

“Oh great, o’ all the ladies in meh life… and I catch the attention o’ a robot! But at least yer a special kinda robot.”

Sirens could be heard in the distance.

All parties were hospitalized and made a successful recovery. Mia managed to play back the events that happened once everyone had woken up.

From there on, she vowed to try her best in filling the void that Count Bleck had left behind, fulfilling the life that Francis granted her.

“Even if we are separated, our hearts will always be as one,” is what she says.

Chapter Text

Seven individuals, each with a story to tell.

But one stands out from the rest.

1996, a warrior from a higher authority came to fix the Star Road.

They would never forget, on that very day, how anybody could bring the end.

“This can’t be happening to us! The Axem Rangers!” Axem Pink cries out.

“Shoot!” Axem Red swears. “We should've put our backs into it more!”

“I’m going to be sick!” Axem Green complains.

Their ship, the Blade, ends up collapsing while Mario and his friends make a quick escape, snagging the sixth Star Piece. Mario watches as the airship falls into the volcanic area below, destroying whatever land there was and sinking in lava.

“Well done, Mario,” Geno, the wooden doll says. “There is only one Star Piece left, and then the Star Road should be restored.”

All of this had started when the Mushroom Kingdom had been invaded by the Smithy Gang. A giant sword had been plunged into Bowser's Keep, and since then, things increasingly escalated. Mario had found himself befriending a Nimbus child by the name of Mallow, who had been raised by frogs, and Geno, a wooden doll controlled by a Star Spirit. He claimed that the Star Road had been shattered, making it impossible for wishes to be granted. So everyone, including Bowser and Peach, teamed up to collect the Star Pieces to bring everything back to normal.

On their journey, they encountered several members of the Smithy Gang and defeated them. Now, they would have to confront the leader behind it all.

“Time to get my castle back!” Bowser laughs.

Mario silently nods. Peach finds herself a bit more focused on the fallen Blade but otherwise carries on.

Upon returning to Bowser’s Keep, all five of them make quick work through whatever stood in their path. Bowser undid the brainwashing that had been done on Kamek, Mario and the others managed to knock Boomer down and forced Exor to open.

They were all sent to Smithy’s dimension. They kept clearing the way from there, disassembling the oversized alarm clock that prevented them from making progress. The last obstacle was a pair of oversized pots.

“These idiots are running to their deaths like ducks with onion leeks!” The one red pot, Cloaker, brandishes his sword and shield.

“Indeed, I hope they have time to spare, I’ve been so bored here!” The violet pot with a veil, Domino, extends his hands. “I think I’ll torture them for a while!”

“I think not!” Geno says, opening his arm and launching stars from the cannon concealed within. Mario opened up with his Lazy Shell while Peach just made sure that the party of three was healed up. Mallow and Bowser remained on the bench, willing to come out if some backup was needed.

Cloaker’s body shattered in just a matter of minutes.

“Cloaker!” Domino gasped.

“Surrender now and let us pass!” Geno threatens.

“Never!” Domino hisses. “I refuse to lose to you weak fools!” He hops off to the massive, mechanical snake, contacting his energy with it. “For hurting my dear partner, I shall clobber you until you are all nothing but dust!”

Once again, Princess Peach hesitates.

“Your dear partner?” She mutters. “Are these two—?”

“Diamond Saw!” Domino shouts, unleashing a powerful snowflake spell at Peach, only for Mario to jump in the way to protect her.

“Eyes up front, Toadstool!” Geno calls out. “We cannot drop our guard now!”

The factory workers all hear the news about Cloaker, and quickly begin to remove themselves from the premises. Even the chief ends up abandoning his post, too terrified to dare stop whatever was coming for them.

Smithy remained unaware of it. Too focused on his work, he doesn’t realize his gatekeepers had been disposed of, allowing intruders to enter his domain until the cute little Nimbus child wearing pants crashed down from above.

“Hey!” Mallow yells. “Here it is! The last Star Piece!” He points at Smithy’s body as Mario follows suit.

“Oh? You two already finished your tour of the factory, huh?” Smithy smiles. “Alright then! Would you like a demonstration?” He pounds his hammer against the slab, making a spear-like creature, the Jabit, spring to life.

He looks proud of his efforts, but they’re halted.

“Yo, Smithy!” Geno drops in, shaking his fist. “Stop making those things and hand over the Star Piece, now!” Mario jumps in agreement.

Bowser nearly falls on his face trying to follow the group. “Yeah!” He gets back up, trying to make a decent recovery. “Give it to us and get out of my castle!”

Realizing the situation he’s in, Smithy furrows his metallic brows. “Pretty touchy. So you’re Mario? Am I going to have to dispute with you over this star?” He pounds his hammer, annoyed. “Furthermore, I’m growing fond of this place!”

Princess Peach is last to step forward, landing elegantly with the aid of her parasol. “Please, Smithy! Don’t make us go through anymore!” She begs with tears in her eyes. “Just give us the star! We don’t want to hurt as we did with the gatekeepers and Boomer!”

He ceases his pounding.

“Huh?” Smithy widens his eyes. “What happened to Cloaker and Domino? And Boomer?”

“They ate dirt!” Mallow yells.

“The heck!? Cloaker, Domino, and Boomer never did anything to deserve that!” Smithy growls. “I can’t easily replicate them either! Just for that, how about you give me all of your stars? That way, I can easily take this world as my own and create a world full of weapons instead of wishes!” Smithy directs his hammer at the group.

Mario jumps angrily, and the final battle starts. Peach decides on standing back this time, so it’s Bowser that takes her position, already having it out for Smithy. Mallow and Peach focus on destroying the Smelter that supplies Smithy his minions, while the other three go all out.

“Blasted goody two-shoe star warrior!” Smithy grits his teeth, attempting to break Geno. “You act all high and mighty but go and destroy irreplaceable members of my gang!?” The doll moves out of the way just quickly enough and fires back at Smithy. “It’s one thing to trash Yaridovich and the others! I can remake ‘em any time! But parts like Cloaker and Domino’s are valuable, you stupid chunk of wood!”

Mario leaps on Smithy’s head, nearly knocking his crown off in the process. Bowser tosses an entire flail in his direction, smacking Smithy in the face. Outside minions try to calm their master, but Smithy cannot hear them, lost in his rage. Evidently, the foundation was fairly weak and could collapse if the floor had been shaken too much.

… this was proven in mere seconds, as everything came apart with one final slam. All parties fell to the basement below, where there were several replica heads of Smithy.

“You!” He roars. “I will show you my true form, I’ll show you my true power, I’ll teach you respect, but most importantly…!”

Smithy grows in size, and his bearded face is no longer there. Instead, a red-eyed, terrifying dome with teeth stands before the heroes.

“I shall have my revenge!”

“His true form!?” Mallow gasps. “Geez, he’s ugly!”

“He may have been using the last Star Piece to conceal his true body!” Geno states. “Either way, we finish this now, Smithy!”

Despite everything he tried, his multiple transformations, ranging from a tank, to a mage, to a treasure chest, to a shield…

Smithy could not win.

He could not hope to avenge his fallen comrades for even a second. The glory of the heroes outmatched his own, no matter how good of a fight Smithy put up.

Everything in his power had been done.

“My body and head are burning!” He gasps.

“As you should be!” Bowser laughs.

Steam pours out of Smithy’s form, the Star Piece falls off of his body.

“I’m finished,” Smithy wheezes, “my dream for a world full of weapons, you destroyed it!”

Geno and Mario nod, watching Smithy fall apart, piece by piece.

“A world full of wishes will return, and that is what matters.”

Smithy’s head lays there, his eyes flickering, fading away.

“You think, that’s what matters?” Smithy growls. “Stupid doll. How can people protect themselves from the worst, if they don’t have weapons…!?”

…

What little life from Smithy is now gone. All seven Star Pieces had been retrieved, but at what cost? Just what was Smithy talking about? Perhaps he was just mad and there was nothing more to it, but something about those words rubbed Geno the wrong way.

And what’s worse, even with all the Star Pieces together…

Nothing happened.

Chapter Text

Everyone left Smithy’s dimension and regrouped at Bowser’s Keep. Smithy had been defeated and all the Star Pieces had been gathered, but they would not return to their home.

“This isn’t what I expected at all,” Geno mutters, standing on the balcony. “I hope the other high authorities have the answer to this.”

A little dark-colored star comes down from the night sky, just barely visible and only lit up through its bright blue eyes. “Sorry to keep you waiting, ♡♪!?, even someone like me who charts everything out can get lost on these planets.”

“It’s fine, Polari,” Geno bows before the older star, or Luma rather. “We have all of the Star Pieces, but they aren’t returning to the Star Road. I know I cannot return until this problem is resolved, so I summoned you.” He holds all of the Star Pieces out before the elderly Luma.

“They’re losing their luster!” Polari gasps, pointing out how discolored the Star Pieces had become. “This is definitely not good. I’ll report this to her ladyship immediately. She should be able to find a solution for this, but I hope it doesn’t go on for long. It usually points to a bad omen.”

“An omen?” Geno raises his head.

“If the power of the stars cannot be awakened, then it means that a black hole is draining their energy, taking the hope of the universe. That’s all I once learned. I’m certain that her ladyship can find a way to alter this.”

Geno pauses for thought, tapping his wooden fingers to his chin. “If there is a black hole somewhere in the Mushroom Kingdom, is there any possible way to stop it? Perhaps dealing with the situation directly, if it exists, will bring the Star Pieces back to normal.”

“It is worth an attempt, but I must warn you!” Polari raises his voice. “Only the most powerful of magic users can stop a black hole.”

“This body of mine is overdue,” Geno mutters. “The child who owns him would be sad, but I might be able to get the job done.”

Polari shakes his head and sighs. “It may take more than just the doll form you possessed.”

…

“I’m willing to do it. Farewell, Polari. Tell Rosalina and Starlow that I said hello.”

As Geno bows one last time to take his leave, he swears he sees Mallow at the corner of his eye, but the Nimbus child scurries away.

Unfortunately, Princess Peach had to return to the castle, as ordered by the chancellor, as he finally learned where she had gone this whole time. That left Geno, Mario, Mallow, and Bowser to re-examine Star Hill, in the hopes of finding an answer to everything.

“A black hole?” Bowser asks. “So it’s basically the opposite of something that grants hopes and wishes?”

“Correct, it brings despair and doom,” Geno confirms.

Mallow remained oddly quiet the whole time, almost as silent as Mario, who was bouncing around and pointing up at the sky.

“Well, it looks like those buddies of yours up in the sky were right!” Bowser points at the massive nebula cloud, swirling in a vortex, so dark in color that it makes the Wish Stars on the Star Hill flicker away.

They hurry to the summit, the same place where they found the fourth Star Piece. Geno swears that for a second, he can see a white-colored figure in the distance.

“You there!” He calls out, but the figure warps away. “Blast! The shape of that individual seemed almost familiar.”

“What would anyone be doing up here? So close to the black hole?” Mallow wonders. “Were they trying to close it themselves?”

“Unfortunately, only those with powerful magic can seal a black hole.” Geno steps forward, readying a Geno Whirl. “Mario! Ready your Fireballs! Bowser, use your Terrorize spell! We’re going to use as much magic energy as we can!”

Mario jumps while Bowser growls. “Don’t tell me what to do!” Still, he follows through with the suggestion, summoning a giant Boo to inflict terror on the black hole. “Is this thing even sentient enough to get scared off? Much less, can Mario even burn it!?”

The fireballs are all eaten by the void and the large Boo makes it crackle violently. Mallow’s Snowy spell also manages to make the black hole shiver.

Geno launches the Geno Whirl, the vortex shakes more. It expands, trying to devour as much energy as possible.

“Say, Geno,” Mallow looks up. “It takes a lot of magic energy to destroy this thing, right? And if we don’t do anything, it will drain the hopes and wishes of the Star Pieces?”

“That’s right. Possibly even the world and beyond if we do not stop it!” Geno sighs. “I was hoping our attacks would be enough if we all poured it on, but—”

“You were going to sacrifice yourself, weren’t you?”

Geno freezes up, seeing the teary-eyed Mallow. Mario and Bowser stop their attacks also.

“Mallow?”

“That’s not right, it’s not right at all!” He cries. “After everything, you’re going to just throw away your life to complete this mission? What if it doesn’t work? Everyone needs you to guide them! Everyone in the Star Road would miss you!”

They’re all stunned, so much so that they can’t do anything as Mallow steps forward.

“But if I go, you’ll still be there to help everybody when they need you most.”

Mario and Bowser gasp, watching Mallow slowly get pulled into the black hole.

“What!?” Geno shouts, grabbing his arm. “Mallow, what are you thinking!? Your parents just got you back! What would everyone back at Tadpole Pond think if you did this? I implore you to stop!” He begs, only for Mallow to lightly push him away.

The Nimbus child smiles, wiping his own tears away. “Mario, I didn’t know you for very long but thank you. I’m not going to cry anymore, nor am I going to cower.” He readies a Star Rain spell, getting closer to the vortex. “Geno, Bowser, take care of everything else for me, okay?”

“You’re crazy!” Bowser cries out.

Mario tries to jump after him one last time, but it’s too late.

Swallowed by the black hole, Mallow casts the Star Rain. It takes all of his natural magic.

His body begins to evaporate, blown away by the wind. Only his pants and his staff remain.

Geno falls to his knees.

The black hole disappeared, at the cost of a dear friend.

Chapter Text

With Mallow gone, a huge void is left in the group.

Mario initially wanted to take his things and return them to Nimbus Land, but Bowser stops him.

“I’ll do it. Tomorrow.” He says. “Mario, you tell the frogs and go to bed. You’ve had a long day.”

Both Geno and Mario are surprised by this, Mario goes with it, nodding solemnly. He departs, looking back at Geno and Bowser one last time before he leaves for home.

“So uh, doll guy,” Bowser quickly corrects himself. “Geno, I mean. Do you want to stay here? Or are you going with him? Because you’re free to stay here, I can tolerate it.” His expression seems so pained. It’s unusual for Geno, to see Bowser beyond upset about something other than his castle or dignity.

It would be rude to turn down Bowser’s one instance of hospitality, so Geno accepts. “I’ll stay here. But may I ask you something?” He might as well attempt to comfort the turtle tyrant, they hadn’t exactly been close during this journey. “You seem very hurt by what happened. You aren’t acting like yourself.”

“Why wouldn’t I be devastated!?” Bowser suddenly snaps. It’s not so much an angry, defensive snap so much as it emotionally driven. “The little brat was just a kid! He didn’t deserve to go like that! If I had any good magic in me, I would’ve done it myself! Or throw you in!”

…

“Sorry,” Bowser sighs. “Okay, I wouldn’t throw you.”

“No, no, I understand. I think I wish you did.” Geno agrees. “I think Mallow was losing his self-worth because of me.”

“He’s just a child. A stupid, impulsive child,” Bowser buries his face in his claws. “I didn’t wanna admit it, but I didn’t just stick around for my keep and make sure Toadstool would be alright. When I heard the little guy was adopted by frogs and wanted to meet his real parents, I decided to drag myself through it.”

“You did? Why?”

“I have kids of my own.”

Geno’s mouth hangs open.

“Seven of them. They aren’t actually mine. I adopted them when their parents were killed in the war between the Koopas and the Kremlings.” Bowser scoffs. “I hate that fat crocodile for what he did. I explicitly ask Mario to not invite him to sports events for good reason! Their king is a savage tyrant that goes too far for my liking! The Kong and I actually agree on it!”

“What did he do?” Geno asks, mortified but curious.

“Starved my troops to weed them out of hiding and then shot them down like animals!” Bowser finally sits back down in his throne. “I just knew I couldn’t leave them. So I raised them as my own, the Koopalings. Kamek did the same thing for me when my mother and father passed away.”

“Your mother and father—?”

“Yeah. You think that Kremling king is bad? At least his men realized he sucked so much that they threw him out for sinking their island!” Bowser growls. “Wanna know a real menace? The Subcons. That one frog guy was onto something. My parents left to learn about their Dream Machine and never came back.”

Geno is surprised by all of this, absolutely horrified beyond words.

“I don’t just want Peach because I love her,” Bowser mutters. “I want these kids to have a good mother in their lives since I was robbed of mine. But if I tell her that after all, I’ve done to the Mushroom Kingdom, I’m sure she’ll reject me.”

…

“Bowser,” Geno starts up, processing all of that. “I am terribly sorry. I have misjudged your character so badly—”

“No you didn’t, I have a reputation to live up to.”

“It doesn’t have to be that way,” Geno continues. “You and those children never deserved to through that. And I’m sure that if you tell Peach how you really feel, whether that be today or tomorrow, she will understand. Even if she rejects you, someone out there will love you and your children, and give them what they deserve.”

Bowser chuckles after a while.

“Maybe,” Bowser grumbles. “You want to know something? If that Nimbus kid didn’t end up finding his family, and they were already gone thanks to that witch… I was willing to take him in too.”

After this conversation, Geno turns in for the evening, wishing Bowser good luck at being honest, for a change.

A white figure, the black hole…

That white metallic figure stands over the bed Geno sleeps in, and vanishes the moment he sits up.

He cannot rest. Geno feels that something is watching him from the shadows. Each time Geno slumbers, he fears the dream world after what Bowser suggested. He never wants to see what sort of monster the Subcons truly are and doesn’t want to be punished for knowing too much.

Geno groans. Maybe Bowser is having a hard time sleeping also. He couldn’t imagine how he rests with the knowledge of dream people taking away his family.

Stepping out into the throne room is when Geno sees it.

That white metal figure, the same one standing next to the black hole.

An Axem Ranger.

“You there!” Geno shouts. “Who are you!? Another member of the Smithy Gang?”

What’s worse, the silhouette behind the Axem Ranger, is Smithy himself, steam coming off of his barely repaired body.

“Stand back!” Geno raises an arm. “Or else!”

Smithy steps forward, a hammer in his hand. He raises it just slightly, which is enough for Geno to initiate action.

One Geno Whirl is all it takes for them to disappear, completely annihilated from existence. The white Axem Ranger is gone, and steam pours from Smithy’s body once again.

The hammer falls to the floor, but Geno doesn’t hear the metallic clang he is used to. Rather, the sound is gentle.

He looks down.

A bouquet of peach-colored roses…

Slowly, Geno raises his eyes, afraid of what he is about to witness.

Something, or rather someone, definitely fell to the floor following that bouquet, but it wasn’t Smithy. Nor was it the white Axem Ranger. It wasn’t even just the throne itself.

Bowser’s lifeless body, killed by the Geno Whirl, was splayed out before the star warrior’s feet.

“My lord? Are you sure you want to see Princess Toadstool at this hour?”

Kamek’s voice calls out, he rubs his eyes and puts his glasses on, getting a clear view of the horror before him. Geno tries to say something, anything, but nothing comes out of his mouth.

“My lord? Lord Bowser?” Kamek’s voice stammers. “What— what have you done!? What have you done to the king I had raised from birth!?” He cries, taking out his wand. “Guards! Troops! Hurry to me! Lord Bowser has been assassinated!”

“No!” Geno tries to hold up his hands, but the smoke of the Geno Whirl is coming off of his own fingers. “You don’t understand! I saw Smithy and—”

The Koopa Troopas all gasp.

“The doll killed Lord Bowser!?”

“Was this all a plot!?”

“Then… the Nimbus kid too! He killed him!”

Geno’s eyes go completely blank, mortified over what he was hearing.

“We need to tell the Mushroom Kingdom! We need to form a truce against this menace from the stars!”

“The Star Road isn’t repaired because of him!”

“We’ll alert the residents of Nimbus Land too!”

Geno knows he cannot fight back, yet Kamek and the Koopa Troopas draw closer—

He flees the scene. Running away is all Geno can do.

Chapter Text

Holding the Star Pieces out, Geno finds himself in the Forest Maze where Mario and Mallow had first met him.

He ran. Ran from so many Koopa Troopas. But how long could he outrun them? It’s at this point he begs, trying to summon Polari to return.

But when the dark Luma returns, his expression is rather cross.

“Polari!” Geno gasps. “You have to help me. The Star Pieces should be back to normal by now. Mallow sacrificed himself to that black hole. It’s gone. I cannot stay here any longer!” He explains. “I have become a fugitive, I must leave this body and return to the Star Road—”

“You cannot.”

Geno’s eyes widen.

“What?”

“You cannot, ♡♪!?, or I suppose your name is Geno now.” Polari sighs. “Star spirits that commit crimes cannot return to the Star Road. You took someone’s life, the life of one of your own allies—”

“It was an accident!” Geno snaps. “I was framed for it, I swear on my life! Where is Rosalina!? Surely she will believe me!”

Polari backs away. “I cannot stay, and those Star Pieces are still discolored, indicating there is still something wrong. Perhaps if you can find the solution, your crimes can be looked past—”

“I said I didn’t do it!” Geno screams, effectively scaring Polari away. “No! Come back! Polari!”

“Goodbye, Geno,” Polari says solemnly.

Sighing in defeat, Geno sees no other choice but to retreat into Rose Town. At least in the hopes of seeking shelter if the Koopa Troopas find him again. He needed to be somewhere until morning came, then he could start over by figuring out whatever he could do next.

The house, the house he left when he took control of the wooden body. Perhaps he could switch it out for a new toy vessel? The boy would surely allow it, right? Geno wonders if taking the body of the Bowser doll would allow a chance to clear the confusion, make things right for Bowser, watch over his Koopalings—

No. That was horrible. He would essentially be lying and invading someone’s life.

Regardless, it’s the only option Geno has left. Gently creaking open the door, he sees Gaz, the small Toad child, playing with his toys.

“He’s back! Mom, look! Geno is back!” Gaz’s face lights up, he drops what he’s doing and runs to the front door. “Everyone was told to lock their doors because apparently, you killed Bowser, but I don’t believe them! Even if I always imagined you were strong enough to defeat Bowser in a fight, I know you would never seriously hurt him!”

Gaz comes to embrace Geno, and the doll hugs him back.

“I promise you, Gaz, this is all one big misunderstanding. I hate to ask this of you after being away for so long, but I need a place to hide—”

“The king killer!” Gaz’s mother gasps. “Gaz, get away from that wooden monster!” She pulls her son away and shoves Geno out the door. “Get out! Stay away from my son, you freak!”

Before Geno can say or do anything to defend himself, the door is slammed in front of him, locked tightly. He tries to examine the windows, but Gaz’s mother has already pulled the curtains together. It’s tempting for Geno to attempt breaking into the house, but he knows this will not help paint his cause in a good light.

“There he is!” A Koopa Troopa exclaim.

He flees once again. Facing them will only gain their ire.

Panting, Geno finally comes to a halt in front of Mario’s house.

“Mario?” He pounds the door with his fists. “Are you there, Mario!?”

In his desperation, Geno finds a note on the door.

Mario went out to Barrel Volcano, Princess Peach had been kidnapped again by some adversary, it seemed.

Geno sighed, relieved that Mario didn’t get caught up in any of this, but annoyed to see that within just a day, Princess Toadstool had been kidnapped again by someone that wasn’t Bowser.

Wait, Barrel Volcano…

That was where the Axem Rangers were defeated, wasn’t it? Was there a connection between the Princess’s kidnapping and the white ranger that Geno kept seeing?

He shakes his head. The only way to find out was to help Mario. Even if Mario had been told about Bowser being killed, then at the very least, helping him save Toadstool would be enough to erase all doubts about what had happened.

Barrel Volcano is a bit more depressing compared to last time, mainly due to the sunken Blade airship.

Geno didn’t realize it until now, but the Axem Rangers absolutely did not survive. Not only did the sentient ship lose all signs of life, but Geno could see sunken parts of the Axem Rangers sticking out of the lava.

Perhaps the white one was a secret member that had gotten away and abandoned the ship.

As he steps into the volcanic cavern, he hears a voice.

“And so, he comes forward.”

Before Geno can even ask who is calling out to him, a giant, bright red Rex attacks him. It doesn’t mean much to Geno, as he destroys the enemy dinosaur by merely firing at it.

White mist is left behind. Geno continues ascending the volcano from the inside.

“You have such a remarkable talent for violence.”

A black Dino Rhino comes charging, and Geno eliminates it.

“How badly do you wish to return to your home? Fulfill your destiny?”

A yellow Reznor shakes the ground, it takes a bit more effort for Geno to dispose of it due to how bulky it is.

“So close, but not yet. I cannot have you die here. It’s almost time.”

A pink Eerie that’s almost impossible to hit due to its ghostly evasiveness, no different than a Boo.

Yet it still falls to Geno’s ammunition. Nothing stands in his way. It’s only now that he recalls how Mario chased down the Axem Rangers on this same path.

He reaches the top of the volcano, the outer rim. The lone white figure stands there in anticipation, just as his teammates had before him.

White and gold, holing an axe in his hands, the unknown Axem Ranger steps forward.

“It’s good to see you again,” he says. “Did you like the little magic tricks I sent your way? I’ve gotten really good since last time.”

“Outside of the Star Hill, I’m afraid we’ve never met,” Geno is dripping with venom.

Axem White chuckles.

“But of course we have! Was I just that insignificant?” He then coughs. “Well, allow me to reintroduce myself…”

He raises his right arm and points his axe forward with his left.

Geno recognizes that pose.

“We like what we do!”

“Hey Pink?”

“What is it, Green?”

Axem Green hesitates.

“It’s nothing,” he mutters.

Axem Pink rolls her eyes. “Green, you really need to learn to speak your feelings! Did Black try to pick on you for being wimpy again? Do I need to smudge his sunglasses?”

“No, I just had something to tell you,” he clears his throat. “But I think I’ll tell you once we get the Star Piece and bring it back to Smithy.”

…

“Okay Green, if you say so!” Axem Pink giggles.

Chapter Text

Axem White…

Or rather, what was once Axem Green, starts to laugh.

“It all started, here.” He explains. “You and Mario attacked us, for doing our job! And you know, that would have been fine, but you just left us there when you were done, weren’t you?”

“Why would we try to save you after you tried to take the Star Pieces from us!?”

Axem White’s eyes become blanker than usual. “The Blade crashed, and all of my friends melted down there.” He says. “They kept screaming, begging for help. Axem Pink managed to save me with what little healing magic she had left…”

Geno shudders.

“They were all trapped. All of them, except for me! My paint has come undone!” Axem Green begins to hyperventilate. “If I hadn’t been so weak, so lightheaded and out of shape like Red always says I am, it wouldn’t have happened! But, I still had a chance, right? I could return to Smithy! He could rebuild and replace them like he always does!”

He coughs again, no doubt caused by the smoke from the Blade sinking into the lava.

“I practiced, I had to improve my magic before returning to our dimension. I tried to hurry, but my anemia kept acting up. But when I saw Cloaker and Domino broken to pieces, I knew I was already too late. You killed all of them, and the factory shut down.”

A dark power grows in the palm of his right hand.

“From afar, I decided to drain the power of your precious Star Pieces by summoning a black hole!” Axem White becomes increasingly hysterical. “You took the bait perfectly, I knew you couldn’t stop it without sacrificing yourself! But that stupid kid got in the way of my perfect plan!”

He flicks his first, making the illusion of Smithy’s image appear and disappear in seconds.

“So instead, my next best option, turn you into an outcast amongst everyone.”

Geno clenches his fists.

“You killed Bowser!”

“No, you killed that oversized reptile!” Axem White cackles. “All I did was set up the punchline!”

“What have you done with Princess Toadstool!?”

Axem White stares blankly again. “Princess?” He shakes his head. “Don’t mess with me! There’s no Princess Toadstool here, and you aren’t taking Pink away from me again!”

He’s completely lost it. At this point, Geno realizes that killing him would not only redeem himself and save the Star Pieces but also put the Axem Ranger out of his misery.

“I’m not going to go down as easy as before,” Axem White breathes. “I’m not the out-of-shape person I used to be! You’re not going to take me out first like you did last time!”

Geno starts by giving himself a booster, knowing full well that the Axem Ranger isn’t bluffing. Axem White mirrors his actions, buffering his magic capabilities.

“You think you’re some kind of hero, don’t you?”

Geno fires a beam and Axem White returns the favor, launching a blast of dark magic. The two beams end up clashing with each other before fizzling away.

“You murder all of our kind, for what? For the hopes and wishes of many?!”

Summoning energy from the sky, Geno rains light down on Axem White. He scoffs at it, opening a black hole to suck the light from the sky.

“Do you think we don’t have feelings and dreams? Just because we’re made of metal, you assume we don’t have hearts!?”

Geno tries to ignore his words, preparing to transform for the Geno Flash, but he miscalculates his timing. Axem White draws closer and actually uses his axe, swinging at the wooden doll before him.

It lands. Geno’s vision becomes blurry. Another swing and Geno feels a pain in his chest. Axem white steps back, laughing, stepping on something and crushing it. When Geno regains half of his sight, he quickly understands what happened.

His left eye had been sliced out. Only crushed bits of white paint remained on the ground along with a few strands of hair. There was a gash in his chest as well, exposing his internal mechanisms.

The pain settles after the initial shock, making Geno cry out.

“Now you realize you’re just as vulnerable as the rest of us! You aren’t some hero from above and we’re not some monstrous villains!”

Geno has had enough of this metallic maniac.

“I’ll kill you for that!”

Forcing his body to transform through the pain, Geno morphs into a cannon and fires a giant blast of energy. The burning power envelopes Axem White’s body, forcing him to drop his signature axe.

The axe falls into the volcano crater, plummeting into the lava.

“Not yet,” Axem White gasps. “I still have, one more spell!”

The image of an oversized dragon appears behind Axem White, green in color, ready to unleash its flare—

“Stop!”

Axem White ceases. Geno recognizes that voice.

“Princess Toadstool!?”

“Pink?”

Peach, unharmed and not restrained, climbed up to the rim of the crater and ran over to Axem White.

“Stop this at once, please! You don’t have to fight, you don’t have to do this!” She embraces the pale Axem Ranger, effectively calming him down. “Please, no more. No more, I said.”

Relieved, Geno takes a step forward—

“Don’t come near him!”

Peach draws back, much to Geno’s shock.

“Don’t you get it? We did this, we all did this to him.” Tears form in Peach’s eyes. “I tried to stop Smithy, tried to talk it out, but everyone decided to be so violent. Why did it have to be that way? Wasn’t there another alternative?”

“Princess, listen carefully,” Geno takes a deep breath, his injuries ignored by her. “Axem White created a black hole—”

“He’s confused and traumatized, Geno! He doesn’t even know who I am! He thinks I’m someone else!” Peach tries to get further away. “That’s why he kidnapped me. Please don’t turn Mario against him too!”

“Princess! That fiend is responsible for Mallow sacrificing himself and Bowser being killed!” Geno screams. “He isn’t some sympathetic, misunderstood creature, neither is the rest of the Smithy Gang!”

“Geno, you’re scaring me!” She gets closer to the rim.

“Why won’t any of you listen to me!?” Geno takes aim with his arm cannon. “Princess, I’m sorry, but this has to be done!”

He fires.

But Princess Toadstool pushes Axem White out of harm’s way.

The bullets pierce her. She falls past the rim, into the lava all the way down.

…

“Pink? Pink!” Axem White sobs, calling for 'Axem Pink' over and over.

Geno forces himself to look away from the Axem Ranger—

“Mario?”

The plumber in red stands… and finally breaks his silence.

“Geno,” he speaks. “What did you do?”

He comes closer, hands ignited with flames, his eyes empty.

“Mario! It isn’t what it seems— no one will listen to me! Bowser is gone, the Axem Ranger there, the Star Pieces—”

No.

He stops fighting it. Mario’s face says it all.

“You don’t believe me either, do you, Mario?” Geno laughs. “The Koopas don’t believe me, the Toads won’t believe me, the Princess won’t believe me, Polari doesn’t believe me, and now you don’t believe in me. I have nobody left.”

The Star Pieces go completely grey and surround Geno.

“You all think I’m the villain, is that it? That Smithy and his cronies were misunderstood souls and that I was the bad guy all along? Even though I only did what I was told!?”

His laughter becomes increasingly hysterical, his sanity slipping further, just as Axem White did over the edge.

“Then fine, you know what? Fine. I’ll play the role you so desperately want. I’ll be the bad guy…!”

The volcano crumbles around them. Mario doesn’t turn back, ready to try to save the world, even if he fails.

“I am not ♡♪!? anymore… Nor am I Geno…”

They would never forget, on that very day, how anybody could bring the end.

“I am… Genocide!”

Chapter Text

Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic

Year: 1987

Location: Subcon

Fryguy returns to Wart’s domain with the newly recruited Clawgrip. While the little Sidestepper introduces himself to everyone, a black hole begins to pull Fryguy in.

“How amusing, a villain that acts like a noble hero.”

He turns, hearing the voice from the black hole. Fryguy tries to stop himself from being pulled away, but it’s no use.

“Honorable fool, how strong is your resolve deep down inside?”

Fryguy is whisked away and the black hole closes.

Yoshi’s Island

Year: 1995

Location: Yo’ster Island

Yoshi remains asleep next to Birdo, comfortable in his newfound love from another land. Unbeknownst to him, a black hole opens beneath.

“Another buffoon that acts for the sake of his own feelings.”

Yoshi is none the wiser, believing to have one of those dreams where he is endlessly falling.

“Kind-hearted fool, are you so lovestruck that you are willing to hurt others?”

Birdo remains asleep during all of this.

Mario Party 2

Year: 1999

Location: Western Land

Riding on his black Yoshi, Bup, known to most as ‘The Green Demon’, continued traveling the desert. He considers perhaps departing Western Land in favor of a calming vacation at the Seaside Soiree, but a black hole blocks his path.

“The loner. The wanderer who isolates himself from fools for his failure.”

Bup tries to turn around and kick up the speed of his Yoshi, but it proves useless.

“Drifting fool, how can you still protect others after disappointing them?”

No matter how much speed he picks up, Bup is ultimately sucked away. His Yoshi, on the other hand, manages to escape.

Luigi’s Mansion

Year: 2001

Location: Isle Delfino

Sir Weston digs through the freezer, considering making his own ice treats instead of just constantly digging through storage. It would be worth it to treat Slim with a creation of his own for a change.

“The phantom who values life despite no longer having his own.”

He ignores the voice calling out to him, expecting that it’s some other ghost in the room. Only when he feels a vortex tugging him, does Sir Weston snap out of it.

“Spectral fool, do you truly value lives when it doesn’t even matter?”

Sir Weston panics, reminded of the Poltergust 3000, only to find he was being sucked in by something far worse.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Year: 2004

Location: Glitzville

While the Glitz Pit was under repair, Rawk Hawk decided to go on a trip of his own, needing a break after everything. He eyes potential vacation spots on his Mailbox SP.

“The idiot bird who demands strength and recognition from all, how pathetic.”

He closes the Mailbox SP and sees the black hole right away.

“Championship fool, you really believe in your stupid title so much?”

Rawk Hawk refuses to be ambushed. He assumes an enemy will emerge from the hole and tries to dive-kick the black hole… only to fall right through.

WarioWare: Smooth Moves

Year: 2006

Location: Diamond City

Exhausted after a long morning of training, Young Cricket opens his takeout box full of meat dumplings, preparing to chow down for lunch.

“The student who follows his master’s word, doing everything he is told.”

Young Cricket looks around, trying to find who is speaking to him, only to see the horrible black hole from above.

“Protective fool, is your worth found in the shadow of an elder? Or is it in the satisfaction of being a guardian?”

He nearly chokes as the black hole sucks him up into the air and out of Diamond City.

Super Paper Mario

Year: 2007

Location: The Bitlands

Mia recharges her batteries, currently in sleep mode while everyone recovers in the hospital.

“Ah, made of metal, fake heart of gold, how I despise you.”

She snaps awake, making a boot-up noise, needing a minute to fully log on.

“Artificial fool, you dare believe that you have any sense of feeling or care?”

Before Mia can fully load and process the surroundings, the black hole sucks her away.

He sees realms beyond his comprehension.

Some are made of paper, some are made of pixels, and some are three-dimensional. Even to a traveler, a mountain climber such as Sir Weston, this was nothing like he had ever seen.

By the time it’s over, he finds himself in the middle of a town.

Or rather, what is left. The town’s welcome sign had been caked in blood. Toys resembling certain characters are scattered near a house and all of the flowers had withered away.

What was once a place known as Rose Town had been retitled. Words in blood spilled on the houses dubbed this place the Briar Village.

Obviously, there is nothing but sadness and lost life in this place. Sir Weston leaves to investigate the forest nearby. If he stays in the village any longer, he knows he’ll get depressed.

The forest is riddled with monsters that vaguely resembled creatures that Sir Weston had written in his journals about. Things that used to be Wigglers and Kongs had now turned demented and violent, having mushrooms sticking out of their heads. Sir Weston could even see a group of Wigglers harassing what seemed to be a docile Yoshi.

This wasn’t a case of nature taking its course. Sir Weston knew that Yoshis were often at the top of the food chain. He stops the assault by freezing massive caterpillar monsters, allowing the green Yoshi to devour them in a few gulps.

A visible wound is on the Yoshi’s hand. Before Sir Weston can get a closer look, it runs away from him.

In regular circumstances, isolation was preferred for Sir Weston, but right now he had no clue where he was. Past experiences told him that a guide was necessary for this land. The Yoshi hides in the tree trunks, repeatedly trying to evade Sir Weston, but being a ghost, he could easily phase through objects.

The Yoshi tries to throw an egg in retaliation, but again, it just passes through Sir Weston who keeps his guard up.

“Please, I do not mean you any harm!” He assumes that the Yoshi may have past experiences with ghosts, or was just frightened as any person would be at that moment. “I am simply lost, I have no idea where I am.” Sir Weston admits. “You’re hurt, aren’t you? I promise I’m not going to attack.”

Reluctantly, the Yoshi sticks his nose out, noting Sir Weston’s lack of hostility.

He takes the Yoshi by the hand gently. Making a cool mist appear in his palms, he places it over the Yoshi’s wound, removing the nasty scratches those Wigglers had left behind.

“There,” Sir Weston keeps a comfortable distance from the Yoshi when he’s finished. “I admittedly used to nurse injured creatures during my life as a climber. But I would never tell anyone that now.” He tries to smile in an attempt to comfort the Yoshi. “As someone with cryokinesis, my ice powers can be used for offensive, defensive, and healing purposes.”

“Haaaah?” The Yoshi finally speaks up, sounding confused. It wasn’t like it didn’t understand Sir Weston, he knew that they were actually intelligent creatures.

“What’s your name?” Sir Weston asks.

“Yoshi!”

… Sir Weston wasn’t certain if that was an answer or an exclamation.

“Very well, Yoshi,” the dinosaur certainly seems to respond to it. “With my varying capabilities and your speed, I think we should stick together and find a way out of here.”

“Yah!” Yoshi agrees, no longer frightened.

Chapter Text

The unusual duo of ghost and dinosaur make their way out of the Forest Maze. Parked outside of the Castle of the Cordyceps, they find three noteworthy things.

One was that the former kingdom town had been invaded by zombies that vaguely resembled Toads.

The other being that one Toad who had not been zombified, wearing a cowboy hat, shot down whatever undead he could and made a run for it. He was too quick for Sir Weston and Yoshi, who went completely ignored.

The third was a strange machine with a face that was missing its battery components. Anyone would have left the poor thing there, but Sir Weston had enough room in his hiking pack to take the powered-down robot with him. It might be useful and he wasn’t going to leave that accursed kingdom empty-handed.

Working their way up towards Hell’s Peak, formerly known as Vista Hill according to the stained signs, Sir Weston and Yoshi saw a young man standing there with his back turned, donning a blue martial artist’s uniform. No doubt in Sir Weston’s mind, this person didn’t belong here.

He turns around—

“A ghost!?” His panic almost ruins any sense of grace he might have set for Sir Weston and Yoshi. They fully expect him to defend himself, but instead, he’s cowering at the sight of Weston.

“Bwa!” Yoshi exclaims, indicating Weston’s nature.

“What? He’s a friendly ghost?”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Sir Weston mutters to himself. “I mean you no harm. The both of us were stranded and are trying to fight off the creatures that come our way. I am Sir Weston, the chilly climber, and this here is Yoshi.”

“Yoshi!”

“You look like you need backup,” Weston points out. “Especially given your reaction to me, I take it you couldn’t handle the Cordyceps zombies back in the fallen kingdom?”

The young man shudders. “I am Young Cricket, I was out for lunch when I was suddenly dropped in here.” He rubs his arm. “You ran into those monsters? I hope you didn’t go into that forest a little further away.”

Sir Weston and Yoshi look at each other in worry. “We may have been there, why?”

“Did you notice how hostile the caterpillars and apes were?” Young Cricket tries to close his eyes. “It’s horrible. All the mushrooms in that kingdom and in the forest have taken over, they invaded the bodies of all the innocent creatures. It’s like something out of a B-movie!”

If a ghost could have cold sweat, then Sir Weston was feeling it right now.

“Are they infectious?” He glances back at Yoshi.

“I don’t think so, no. It’s more like they grew on what was already dead!”

That meant Yoshi was safe then.

“I’ll join you,” Young Cricket comes forward. “Even if you weren’t a friendly ghost at all, I can kind of see the concern in your eyes. You were a good person when you were alive, weren’t you?”

It’s a bit embarrassing for Sir Weston to hear that.

“By the way, it looks like there’s a castle in the distance there,” Young Cricket gestures to the keep with a giant sword stabbed into it. “Maybe we should check it out? It can’t be any worse than the kingdom back there.”

They all come to an agreement and investigate.

The inside of the Fallen King’s Keep is practically barren. A barrier prevents them from ascending to where the giant sword lies.

“I suppose we’re out of luck, aren’t we?” Sir Weston sighs.

“Not completely,” Young Cricket chimes in. “Look over there!”

There they see an oversized, muscular yellow bird turning the castle walls into his own personal gym. Yoshi makes a confused sound while Sir Weston can’t help but be reminded of the meathead he knows amongst the other ghosts.

He spots the trio and immediately flexes. “A martial artist and a Yoshi, huh?” He laughs. “Back at home, I used to face off against this tiny baby Yoshi! Are you anything like him?” Once again, Sir Weston finds his presence entirely ignored. The nature of being a ghost had its wonders.

“Are you seeking a challenge?” Young Cricket bows. “I’m more than willing to offer!”

“You look like you’re still under training, so nah,” Rawk Hawk then points at Yoshi. “I’ll take him on though!”

“Hah?” Yoshi is once again befuddled.

“Come on, bring it!”

“We aren’t here to fool around and fight!” Sir Weston snaps. “Take this seriously, you oversized bird! There are monsters running around outside and most of us are here by accident!”

He stares at them blankly.

“Huh? There are? Wait, were you guys sucked up by a vortex also?”

Already, Sir Weston wants to hit this birdbrain across the head.

“I’m the one and only, Rawk Hawk! Champion of the Glitz Pit! Surely you’ve heard of me, right?”

“Can’t say I have,” Young Cricket admits.

“Nyeeeh.”

“I would have heard about an oversized bird such as you in my travels.”

Rawk Hawk looks crestfallen.

“This needs to be altered right away then!” He folds his arms, stopping his workout routine to force himself into the party. “I’ll teach this land to respect my name!”

Sir Weston furrows his brow. “Did you not hear a word I said!?”

So far, to Weston, it seemed that besides himself, Yoshi was the smartest individual in the group. Young Cricket was a bit naive while Rawk Hawk was a complete buffoon.

He hoped that there would be other people with a semblance of wisdom in this hell hole.

The strange Toad wearing a hat walks by once again, somehow having made his way into the keep. Yoshi is the only person in the group who notices his presence and suggests to the others that they all follow him.

Just a bit beyond the castle, the group follows the mysterious Toad toward a volcano. Sir Weston wretches at the sight of it, but quickly realizes that all of the magma and lava had been dried up. No longer a volcano, but a peak known as Mount Betrayal, according to the black stains scattered about.

“Halt!”

A fire elemental gets the drop on them, much to Sir Weston’s dismay.

“Evil spirit and other monsters, I have you right where I want you!” He draws forward. “You best leave this place, for I am too hot to touch!”

Yoshi makes quick work, taking a blue watermelon from the inside of his saddle and devouring it. Before the fire elemental can get too close to Sir Weston to seriously melt him, Yoshi spits out an icy breath to douse his flames.

“Blast it,” He splits apart into four smaller fireballs. “This could not have gone worse. I could have counted the heads of my opponents as opposed to overestimating my ability.”

“You almost melted me!” Sir Weston yells, showing Yoshi gratitude by petting him.

“And you would have no doubt chased me down as all the creatures here have so far!” The fire elemental tries to recollect himself. “As much as I prefer to not strike down my enemies, I am left to defend myself!”

“Wait, this volcano isn’t your home or something?” Young Cricket inquires.

“No,” he sighs. “It was admittedly the place I initially felt safe in before you all came along.”

Great, another one.

“If you’re lost, you should join us then!” Young Cricket says. “All of us were dropped down here!”

He and Sir Weston glare at each other.

“You may call me, Fryguy. I am one of Lord Wart’s leading generals.”

Fire and ice would certainly not bode well together.

Chapter Text

The resort village once known as Seaside Town has been taken by the waves and wrecked by hurricanes. Fryguy kept a reasonable distance from the water as they moved on to Dilapidated Tower past the Black Hole Summit. It was entirely locked up, but Yoshi had managed to successfully sniff out some old batteries.

“Whoa!” Yoshi says, holding up the batteries.

“Ah, that’s right.” Sir Weston digs the small machine with cat ears out of his backpack. “I guess it’s worth a try, isn’t it?”

Young Cricket, being the most familiarized with modern technology due to his job at WarioWare, Inc., ends up being the person who fits the batteries inside the machine. “A perfect fit!” He cheers.

The machine makes a start-up noise. The eyes blink, almost as if they were alive.

“Meow! Good morning!” The robot chirps.

“Aw, it’s adorable!” Rawk Hawk chuckles.

“My name is Mia, I’m a MeowMaid built by Master Francis!” She then pauses to scan her surroundings. “Where is Master Francis? Error, location not in the positioning system. Map data cannot be found.”

The robot seemed friendly enough, much to everyone’s relief. “Mia, yes? Were you always in this land, or did a void consume you recently?” Sir Weston asks.

She pauses to check her data banks.

“Yes,” she answers a bit solemnly. “I was recharging my batteries, waiting for my friends to come out of the hospital when a black hole pulled me away.”

How strange for a machine to speak with such emotion in her voice. “You aren’t the only one,” Young Cricket sighs. “Mia, would you like to work together with us? We’re all trying to figure out what happened and get back home.”

Before Fryguy can even ask how the robot would help, she begins processing the area around her. “I’m always here to help others! I am now going to record a map of the surrounding area!”

“You are?” Sir Weston seems pleasantly surprised, taking out a journal. “That’s perfect. If you like, I can show you what I’ve recorded in my logs so far to make things easier.” He holds up the pages he had jotted into so far, taking his time to do so as the group had been traveling without ambush.

Mia scans just about every page with her eyes and manages to recreate them with her internalized computer. “Map processing complete! All areas and hostile lifeforms thus far have been recorded!”

“I think we are jumping a little too quickly to trust this machine,” Fryguy points out.

“We don’t have many options!” Rawk Hawk says. “If we want to get home as soon as possible without dying, then we can’t waste time questioning each other’s motives! Besides, this little thing is way too cute to not trust!”

“Smartest thing you’ve said so far,” Sir Weston smirks. Though admittedly, he thinks Yoshi is cuter than Mia.

They return to the Black Hole Summit to investigate, they see that strange Toad off in the distance, trying to fight off what appeared to be greyed-out Wish Stars.

“Looks like that guy picked a fight near those creatures by the mountain,” Young Cricket mumbles. “Should we help him?”

“We’ve been following him all this way, so we might as well!” Rawk Hawk adds, charging headfirst into battle without so much as contemplating what the others had in mind. “Spectral Slide!” Rawk Hawk slides and kicks the Wish Stars, but they explode upon contact, injuring Rawk Hawk in the process. “Yeowch!”

“They explode!?” Sir Weston exclaims.

The Toad finally has his attention raised, gun in his hand. “These are Black Dwarf and White Dwarf Stars,” he speaks in a rather chipper voice. “The explosion they give off is called a Supernova, which is why I’ve been trying to pick them off at a distance.”

He emphasizes that by firing at one of the Black Dwarf Stars, making it combust.

“Why are you picking a fight with them!? It’s far too dangerous!” Fryguy objects.

The Toad in the hat doesn’t answer.

“We cannot stay here, those Dwarf Stars outnumber us!” Sir Weston prepares his abilities. “I’m sorry, but I cannot abide by your reckless behavior! We must escape fast!”

A mist envelopes everyone on the battlefield except for the Dwarf Stars. Sir Weston then vanishes like the ghost he is, followed by everyone else.

When everyone reappears, they find themselves in a completely new area. A dark hall, dimly lit with wisps.

“Where the heck did you take us!?” Rawk Hawk exclaims.

“I don’t know!” Sir Weston replies nervously. “Normally, when we ghosts disappear or vanish, we can go between planes. But this existence is like nothing I’ve ever seen.”

“So you got us out of one troubling situation and into another?” Fryguy leers at him.

“Hey, he did his best! He couldn’t have anticipated that and it’s better than being blown up!” Young Cricket defends. “Come on, let’s not fight. Shouldn’t we be worried about the cowboy?”

There is an awkward silence from the Toad.

“Why are you guys following me?”

“Because we’re all stuck here and you are the only Toad that isn’t a zombie,” Sir Weston replies. “Were you from this land? Or were you also sucked in by a black hole?”

He pauses once more.

“The latter.”

“Then you are one of us!” Mia chirps. “What is your name, sir?”

“Bup.”

The Toad said that so abruptly with his plastered smile that almost everyone flinched. Except for Mia, of course.

“Most people end up calling me the Green Demon,” Bup says.

“But aren’t you red and white?” Astute observation from Rawk Hawk. “Why were you throwing yourself in danger back there anyway?”

Bup merely shrugs. “I thought I saw my steed and heard something calling out to me up there. Like some sort of power source, begging to be rescued.”

They all stare at him, completely baffled, except for Sir Weston, who quietly seems to understand Bup’s strange sentiment. Something in this realm is also beckoning him to investigate and dive further, despite it not being in everyone else’s best interest.

He drifts over to one of the blue wisps, and the face of a young Toad can be seen.

“It’s not him, I know it’s not him who did this,” the child cries. “Why are they all spreading such horrible lies!? Even my mom! Geno, I know you didn’t do anything wrong! It would never be you torturing us, right?”

…

This is too much for Sir Weston to listen to, hearing the pain in this young soul.

“You wouldn’t betray your best friend, would you, Geno?”

Chapter Text

Many souls lost to time are scattered around, purged from their mortal coils, and trapped in what was essentially a personal Hell created by whatever fool playing God is responsible. It’s Sir Weston’s supernatural presence that usually triggers their responses.

Alas, these ghastly prisoners do not see the intruders or even sense them. They can only mourn over what led to this point.

“It was him, that wooden doll,” the Magikoopa sobs. “Previous King and Queen of the Koopas, I have failed to protect your son as I had promised. I’m so sorry.”

Yoshi reacts to Kamek’s voice, recognizing him. He had never wished such a horrible fate upon the Magikoopa.

“The doll that accompanied the Princess,” the Toad chancellor sobs. “To think, I was so worried about her that I ignored a greater enemy in the shadows.”

Bup remembers him. The chancellor before Toadsworth who had retired. He wishes he could have done something to save this version of his kingdom.

“Aye, me best mate, Mario,” the large shark pirate sighs. “I should have gone with him. Something was fishy about that wooden one.”

Rawk Hawk is reminded of the honorable pirate he fought. Whoever this guy was, Rawk Hawk would do his best to honor him. He seemed chill.

“My students, I am sorry.” A small figure in a red cape with a green antenna says.

Young Cricket feels a connection with this one, wishing he could talk to this martial arts master.

“What has happened to our dear Mallow?” The Nimbus King comforts his Queen, who is crying quietly. “Did he really sacrifice himself, or was the one from the stars lying to us?”

Fryguy feels uneasy, recalling the cloud-like anatomy from someplace else.

Sir Weston remains silent, no doubt already affected by the sight of that upset child. “I didn’t think there was such a thing as a fate worse than death,” he says. “This is absolutely horrible. Should they not rest after going through so much pain already!?”

“Hey,” Rawk Hawk speaks up. “Where did Mia go? She didn’t wander too far, did she?” He nervously laughs it off. “Not that I’m scared or anything, I’m just worried about her ‘cause she’s a girl and she’s so small!”

A horrified meowing sound can be heard.

“Mia!” Young Cricket gasps.

They all run into the corridor where they heard the sound, but things don’t get much better. The souls in the previous hall had it bad, but these spirits were all trapped in fiery pits.

“Cloaker,” a sentient pot with a veil speaks to his partner. “I know it’s painful, my dearest, but I’m always here for you. I’m never leaving your side, no matter how hard that fiend tries to separate us!”

A group of mechanical teens wielding axes aren’t fairing much better.

“And I thought we were the bad guys that lived for chaos,” the black one groans in pain. “How long is this going to go on for?”

“Even the Blade,” the yellow one says, watching as the oversized airship is stuck in purgatory. “What did he even do to deserve that?”

“Green,” the red one sighs. “I shouldn’t have said you were so out of shape. I should have treated you better. Then maybe you wouldn’t have gone this far.”

The pink one just lightly sobs to herself, eyeliner running down her face.

“I shouldn’t have waited until after the mission,” she whimpers. “I didn’t know how strongly he felt! Why? Why does that ugly monster need to hurt him the most out of all of us!? He’s suffered enough!”

They find Mia, planted in front of a circle of white flames.

In the center of it, is a metallic, white figure.

“Mia? You’re alright?” Rawk Hawk is relieved, but wary.

“Yes, I am fine,” she answers. “I was just shocked. Do you see this? All these people are machines, just like me, but they are all being tortured!”

“Do machines really feel the same pain the other living souls do?” Sir Weston muses. “Do they even have souls? No offense to you, I am genuinely curious.”

The MeowMaid pauses to process the question.

“These machines were created without biological matter, some of them are young and reckless like these axe wielders. While some of them are lovers that feel great emotion, like those living jars.” Mia answers. “I too, am young and can feel things like love, pain, and sadness. And right now, the greatest sadness I can sense is from this one.”

Everyone looks up to the white figure, burned at the stake, over and over.

“I just wanted to avenge my team, to avenge Smithy,” his voice is hoarse from all he had endured. “I went crazy. I won’t justify what I did. I still want to strangle him if I ever get out, but I know it’s hopeless.”

…

“I summoned a black hole with my magic, in the hopes of getting back at my enemy.” Axem White says. “And I succeeded, just not as intended.”

They leave him. Nothing more can be said or done.

The twisted corridor eventually comes to an end. A giant golem made of steel, covered in wisps and flame, stands firm and tall.

Its eyes are emptied, oil had been leaking so much that it had been stained and rusted. The only thing that remains intact is a star, plastered on its chest.

“What is it?” Young Cricket asks.

“Looks like a Power Star,” Bup replies.

Sir Weston reaches his hand out—

“Don’t you touch him!”

An oversized knife lands on Sir Weston, practically stabbing his hand and forcing him to pull away. There before the team, stands a small, metallic demon. His cape had been ripped along with his horns. He bounces on a spring-loaded knife with eyes, drawing closer to them.

“Away from Lord Smithy, intruders! He shall be tortured no more!”

Rawk Hawk jumps as a spear prods his backside. He turns to see a skinny, mechanical man. His mustache had become ragged and his left eye had been gouged out. Much like the demon, his cape was also in tatters.

“Nya, nya!”

An arrow is fired in Mia’s direction. A bow with crooked eyes and messy hair, missing his right arm.

To top that all off, the steel golem itself had awoken, a hammer in its hand.

“As Lord Smithy’s three generals, we shall stop you from hurting him any further!” The spear character declares. “Mack? Bowyer? Choose your targets wisely!”

“Yeah, yeah! Stuff it, Yari!” The knife demon, Mack shouts. “We’ll kick their butts and finally be free from this Hell!” He quickly starts off by bouncing around the area, Young Cricket easily catches up to his height but doesn’t anticipate fire spells from the pogo-goer. Yoshi gets height and attempts to ground pound Mack.

Bowyer laughs maniacally, laughing electricity in Mia’s direction from a safe distance. Bup scoops her up in with one arm and then fires his gun at the maniacal archer. Bowyer laughs as the bullets fill his thin, spiritual form.

Fryguy attempts to put himself between Yaridovich and Rawk Hawk, not taking kindly to the surprise attack. He fully intends to spew flames, but Yaridovich simply blasts Fryguy with water magic. Rawk Hawk seizes the chance to grapple Yaridovich in the confusion, snapping his skinny limbs.

“How is this even possible?” Sir Weston wonders out loud. “You are all spirits trapped in purgatory, aren’t you?”

Smithy awakens, steam coming out of his orifices. He swings his hammer down at Sir Weston, but the ghost puts up a shield of ice to protect himself.

“Destroy,” Smithy says, almost robotically.

“I regret to tell you that my body is probably six feet under somewhere,” Sir Weston replies sarcastically, taking out his own mallet.

Chapter Text

How long has Sir Weston been putting up this fight? He isn’t sure anymore.

The giant golem made of iron, the king of all the mechanicals in purgatory, known once as Smithy… was not the powerful tyrant he once was.

Being in his own personal Hell had restricted him. Smithy could not change forms as he could in the past. Only his raw, mindless force could go up against the ghost. He had become nothing more than a mere killing machine.

“I am not your enemy! Stop this!” Sir Weston calls out, desperately trying to block the hammer swings with his own mallet, which was feeble in comparison. “Your subjects are suffering! Can’t you see that!? Mia can even feel their pain! You may be a machine but I know you still have your spirit in there!”

Smithy’s empty eyes look past Sir Weston, seeing the hurt expression on the MeowMaid as she’s forced to fire a laser at Bowyer. Yoshi is equally hesitant about striking Mack, who is much smaller than him, and just started crying.

“You aren’t like those undead monsters or Dwarf Stars lurking outside this realm! I don’t want to fight you, I want to free you of your misery!”

Rawk Hawk realizes he may have gone too far, urging Yaridovich to stop fighting with his broken legs, but he just keeps propping himself up to attack. Evidently, he could endure so much damage because their captor had probably induced the group to worse.

It seems all lost on Smithy, whose mind had been warped into a murderous machine.

“Spectral Volley!”

Sir Weston calls upon an attack he had never used before, growing in strength thanks to his time in this accursed world. Spirits rain down upon Smithy’s form, pushing his body away from Weston.

With all the impact done, the Star Piece falls off of Smithy’s chest.

He drops his hammer, his eyes open for the first in a very long time. The words of his opponent are finally heard. He can see his generals, all fighting for him but putting themselves in further harm.

Despite how Smithy has treated them all in the past, referring to them as replaceable assets…

“Stop!”

He bellows. All three of his underlings cease their attack.

Smithy takes a long, hard look at his stained hands. Then he looks back at his minions and everything surrounding them. Oil leaks from his orifices, staining him once more.

“Is this real?” Smithy asks. “Is this what I have been damned to? The star on my body, he used it to control me like a mindless drone. Pulling me in and out of this Hell hole just to eliminate those who stand in his way!”

“Lord Smithy—!”

“Silence!” Smithy shuts Yaridovich down. “Don’t you three get it!? Fighting like this and causing mayhem is what led to us being dragged down here!”

…

They fall back. Mack weeps quietly, leaving Yoshi to try and comfort him. Mia quickly attempts to heal the wounds of her opponent but finds that it does nothing.

“We cannot heal,” Smithy tells her. “He only lets us feel pain. Uses us like tools and weapons in a cruel twist of irony. Even Exor is a mere husk that he has turned into his fortress. You must end this, for he does not know what he has become.”

“You make that sound so easy,” Young Cricket sighs. “Exor is that giant sword I’m guessing? How are we supposed to put an end to this? There’s a barrier blocking the way.”

Smithy pauses, giving a long look at Sir Weston. The ghost shifts and tries to avert his eyes, slightly uncomfortable.

“The Star Piece he used to control me, they must still be scattered throughout.” Smithy grumbles. “I once wanted to use them to destroy wishes and make a world full of weapons, even my little Axem Rangers tried to drain them of their energy, now it’s the only thing that can save everyone I guess.”

He hands Sir Weston the fallen Star Piece, which glows in his presence.

“Their energy can be restored in some way, I think the seven of you are the key to it.” The Star Piece starts to regain its golden luster. “Perhaps it has something to do with friendship or pure heartedness, I don’t know, but I’m putting my faith in you. I have no choices left.”

“Where can we find the others?” Bup asks.

“Despite sending my men across this land to find them, I really don’t know.” Smithy groans.

“Actually,” Yaridovich adds. “If I may, I did some scouting before reaching Seaside Town. There is a powerful character in the place known as Monstro Town that may be able to help you if he’s still there. However, I think a special crystal is needed to undo the seal over his domain.”

Smithy nods. “That’s your best shot then,” he then passes his large, metal hammer to Sir Weston, who struggles with its weight.

“Lord Smithy!” Mack objects.

“They need all the help they can get!” Smithy barks back. “Take it. It’s no use of me while I am trapped in here.”

The Star Piece shines even brighter. Light envelopes the party, spiriting them away from purgatory. Sir Weston tries to reach out for Smithy one last time, but it’s too late.

All of them are sent back, just outside the Black Hole Summit. Just about everyone is rightly confused.

Sir Weston remains suspended in the air, holding the Smithy’s Sledgehammer in both of his hands alongside the golden Star Piece.

“So uh, okay,” Rawk Hawk’s brain tries its hardest to catch up. “Let me see if I got this right. We need to go around and collect these Star Pieces, yeah? Kinda like when Gonzales went finding the Crystal Stars.”

“And we use them to stop whoever is behind this,” Mia adds. “Just like when everyone stopped that nasty jester with the power of the Pure Hearts!”

“But the only person who can help us with that is locked behind a door,” Young Cricket sighs. “If only Wario were here. If anyone is good at treasure hunting, it’s him!”

The sledgehammer trembles in Sir Weston’s hands.

“If I may—”

“Smithy!?” Sir Weston exclaims.

“Yes, it’s me!” He groans. “Look, it turns out I can sort of communicate to you so long as you carry my hammer around. I’m kind of bound to it I suppose, or maybe that Star Piece had been glued onto me for far too long. Anyway, that’s not important right now! Bowyer says that he thinks he saw a shiny rock in Moleville. Or whatever Moleville got turned into, which I believe should be east of where you are now.”

“Updating map and destination!” Mia mews.

“By the way, you didn’t take too bad of a beating, did you?” Smithy inquires. Mia makes a confused sound in response. “Bowyer was worried that he shocked you a little too hard.”

“How can you even understand him?” Bup wonders. “He mostly just says ‘Nya’, doesn’t he?”

“Bowyer used to talk, but he lost his ability to speak properly thanks to all the torture he’s gone through.”

That did not bode well for any of them.

“He can still write and gesture, Yaridovich can interpret him just fine.” Smithy grumbles.

“I am doing just fine!” Mia answers politely. “Thank you for your concern, I hold no hard feelings at all!”

“Smithy, before we head off, can you do me a favor?” Sir Weston speaks into the sledgehammer.

“I can’t do much, but fine, I’ll try,” he sounds increasingly annoyed. “What is it?”

“Can your minions let the other spirits know that they’ll be free?”

…

“Yes.” His tone changes to the mournful one Sir Weston had witnessed earlier. “I can do that for you.”

Chapter Text

The place known as Moleville and its coal mine had been transformed into the Graveyard and the Catacombs, emphasized by the skeletal remains of moles scattered about.

“I found it!” Young Cricket exclaims, reluctantly pulling a crystal out from the claws of a mole skeleton. “Alright, let’s head back west to Monstro Town! I think it was near that dried-up volcano, wasn’t it?”

Before all of them can agree to that, Rawk Hawk calls out to them. "Guys! Listen!" He shouts. "There's a weird noise coming from inside the catacombs! I'm going to go check it out!" Indeed, a strange reverb could be heard coming from what used to be the mines, now turned into catacombs. Not exactly unpleasant, but it seemed a bit odd. He wanders inside without so much as consulting the rest of the party.

"You feathered fool, we need to stick together!" Fryguy scolds. "Why would you want to go in those old, abandoned mines?"

“Perhaps it’s a Star Piece luring him?” Sir Weston muses, drifting after Rawk Hawk. "It wouldn't kill us to explore, and if it does, I can easily get us out of it."

“Are we seriously going in there?” Young Cricket swallows hard. "I just had to pull this off of a skeleton, and now we have to go into a den full of them?"

Even if Fryguy and Young Cricket opposed it, they didn't have much choice, as Rawk Hawk was already well deep into the catacombs. The only options they had was to follow and make sure he didn't get hurt. Either the Glitz Pit Champion was very brave and bold, or very stupid and hasty to pull this sort of stunt.

The deep, inner works of the catacombs revealed a shoddily made stage made of wooden boxes, surrounded by a skeletal audience. Lanterns were kept in the center, essentially creating a spotlight.

A tall figure stood firm with turquoise hair and orange armor. Electrical strings held them together. No one in the group had ever seen anything like it, not even the robotic Mia.

“Contact!”

The booming voice startles all of them.

“Is all that it takes! To change your life to lose your place in time!”

The feminine figure spins around, revealing her metallic face and lavender earrings, shaped like stars.

“Contact! Asleep or awake! Coming around, you may wake up to find—”

“Whoa!” Rawk Hawk exclaims. “Who is she?”

Sir Weston glances at the sledgehammer in the hopes of an answer. “I have no clue,” Smithy says in the most deadpan, annoyed manner. “None of my minions recognize this noisy woman!”

She finally turns to look at the group.

“Questions deep, within your eyes! Now more than ever, you realize…!”

The metallic woman steps down, fingers tapping her keytar.

“How do ya do?” She greets. “Fans of mine? Here I was thinking it was a dead show out here!”

Yoshi and Mia both start making noises, directing everyone's attention to the woman’s belt.

“Huh? Oh!” Rawk Hawk notices the orange Star Piece on the musician’s body. “The Star Piece! I knew I had a good feeling about coming in here!”

“Star Piece? Oh, you mean this little doohickey?” She flaunts her belt. “Name’s Alpha! They call me the Glamorous Princess of the Dream World! I’m on tour!”

“What?” Fryguy is baffled.

“Your singing is wonderful!” Young Cricket compliments. “But why are you trying to hold a concert here?”

“Hey, I didn’t come here of my own free will. I was dragged here by a rather garish character.” Alpha plays the keytar a bit more. “But while I was here, I heard rumors that a fellow man on strings wanted to be famous, and came down here to reach stardom! Looks like he wasn’t wrong to do so!” She flashes her belt to the group once more. “Wish the color didn’t blend into my body, but what can ya do?”

“So that song just now, it’s how you feel? Out of place, just like all of us.” Bup sighs. “Do you think we can work out a trade for the Star Piece? You want stardom, but we need it to get out of here.”

The glam rocker pauses.

“Sure!”

“Oh,” Sir Weston is surprised. “That was quite easy.”

“Nuh-uh! Not so fast, cutie-pie!” Alpha wags her finger, flustering Sir Weston. “The Toad there wanted to work out a trade, and while I personally have no need for material possessions, what I want is a good show! How about you over there, little birdie?”

Rawk Hawk flinches. “Me?”

“Yeah! We’ll call it, ‘The Conquest of Valor’! You know about crowd appeal, don’t ya?”

“You bet I do!” Rawk Hawk laughs.

“Uh, what is she talking about?” Fryguy asks.

“Where I come from, we have a mechanic called ‘appealing’ and ‘stylish attacks’, where you pose in front of the crowd!” Rawk Hawk flexes his muscles.

“There isn’t an audience here,” Bup points out.

“You can always charm your foes, honey! The charisma stat isn’t to be underestimated!” Alpha strikes a pose of her own, riffing her keytar before blowing a kiss.

…

There was no way any of them were about to humor this, but they needed to get the Star Piece. Surely they could all just beat her up and take it, right? Rawk Hawk continues flexing, and Alpha seems plenty impressed. Maybe distracting her could—

“I believe that’s my cue!”

Young Cricket joins in on posing, performing hot moves and poses out of nowhere.

“Alright! Smooth moves, my guy!” Alpha compliments. “What about you two?”

Yoshi and Mia just look up at her with round eyes, with the latter even letting out a gentle purr.

“So cute!” Alpha coos. “My goodness, your charm points are going to put me in a critical state! Keep it up, you guys!”

Bup merely tilts his hat, covering his eyes so only his smirk is visible. On top of that, he twirls his gun.

“Classic with a side of adorable! I can’t stand it!”

“This is insanity,” Fryguy sighs. “And I suppose I am a part of the problem.” He caves in, winks, and lets the flames flicker near his mask and Alpha starts squealing.

“Not you too!” Sir Weston exclaims.

“Oh, hot! So hot!” Alpha laughs. “What about you, ice cube? Surely even you have a charm point!”

…

With no options left, Sir Weston pulls his hood down, revealing his silver, icy locks of hair. He wants to hide, pouting in embarrassment.

“Gorgeous!” Alpha screams, her limbs practically collapsing. “Oh, I’ve been defeated by so much natural charisma!” She recollects herself, removing the belt and tossing it to Rawk Hawk. “You’ve earned this, my little darlings! Especially, you, little birdie, good show!”

“A new belt and a Star Piece! The Conquest of Valor is finished!” Rawk Hawk cheers. “We better put our natural charisma to good use if we get into a tough battle!”

“That’s idiotic!” Smithy finally breaks his prolonged silence. “And you! You actually have hair? Why are you even hiding under that coat if you’re not even cold!?”

Sir Weston buries his face again.

“I have severe body dysmorphia and prefer to conceal myself,” he mumbles. Not that Smithy seems to understand what that meant.

With that, Alpha just leaves like nothing happened, though it seemed like Fryguy desperately wanted to ask her something. Most likely having to do with her presence as a fellow outsider, or her declaration as 'Princess of the Dream World'.

Chapter Text

Monstro Town was the only place in this world that retained its name and for good reason. Crystalized creatures lurked just about every corner, using elemental attacks that left Sir Weston and Fryguy at a disadvantage when they came across something they couldn’t handle. Yoshi and Mia tried their best to defend the two.

“Fire Crystals, Water Crystals, Wind Crystals, Earth Crystals,” Fryguy muses. “They seem like they don’t belong to this world at all.”

Yoshi picks up a scent and begins tracking it down. “Impressive,” Sir Weston muses. “I’ve heard that Yoshis have remarkable exploration skills, but this is the first time I’ve seen it in person!”

His uncharacteristic gushing didn’t go unnoticed by the rest of the party. “I’ve never seen you so enthusiastic before, Mr. Weston!” Young Cricket smiles. His fear of the ghost was completely gone by this point.

“Yeah, I didn’t know you were such a big nerd!” Rawk Hawk laughs.

Sir Weston instinctively buries his face in his coat after that, hiding his flustered expression.

“It’s true,” Bup says. “My steed is a black Yoshi, and he’s the only reason I’ve been living as a drifter for so long. I wouldn’t be alive if not for him.”

Seeing as Monstro Town had been crystalized so much that the group was prone to get lost. He makes certain that no one runs into a dead end or falls into a pit of spikes.

They pass a giant, crystalized penguin. Sir Weston pauses and decides to check for any sign of life.

“Don’t run,” the penguin says. “He’ll make you play his stupid little games if you try to run! You’ll end up like me!”

Terrifying. They would do their best to keep that advice in mind.

“Yoshi!”

Finding a lone door stranded in Monstro Town, Yoshi beckons Young Cricket to insert the gem they found in Moleville. He does so, eliminating the powerful seal around it. The two of them are the first to enter, followed by Sir Weston, and then Mia.

A shattering noise is heard.

“Hey!” Rawk Hawk yells. The four who entered turned around, seeing that Rawk Hawk, Fryguy, and Bup had been blocked off. “What the heck!?”

“Bup! Fryguy!” Sir Weston gasps, trying to use the sledgehammer to break the crystal barrier. Rawk Hawk follows suit, trying to use his brute strength, only to bruise himself in the process.

“Uh, Weston?” Smithy says through the sledgehammer. “If I were you, I wouldn’t worry about your three friends. The four of you are trapped!”

“I know that!” Sir Weston barks back, desperately trying to get out.

“Okay, well did you look behind you, smarty-pants!?”

Sir Weston spins around once he hears distressed sounds from Yoshi. Mia and Young Cricket also back up, standing closer to Weston.

A demon with a body of crystals. Chains bound his arms to the ceiling, which was wall-to-wall covered in gems. A dark aura surrounds his body, and his jaws are jagged with fangs, his head adorned with horns.

“I am matter, I am antimatter.” The dark lord speaks. “I can see your past, I can see your future!”

Four crystals are summoned to the demon’s side, Mia does a quick scan of the monstrous deity before them.

“This is Culex,” Smithy says. “Our kind heard the stories about him. An evil overlord from another dimension, once known as the Dark Knight of Vanda. Looks like he had the same idea I originally had, trying to take over this world as his own!”

“And this creature is supposed to help us, according to your minion!?” Young Cricket stammers.

“Well, either Yaridovich really does think he can help, or he set you up for death. He likes to do that.” Smithy explains. “Good luck.”

The four crystals take specific colors. Red, blue, green, and yellow.

“I consume time, and I shall consume you!” Culex shouts.

The red crystal unleashes fire upon the group. That was enough to make Sir Weston’s anxiety skyrocket. “Four crystals, most likely all of them have an elemental property, just like something out of a classic RPG!” Mia decides to test the theory by provoking the green crystal with her claws, causing her to be struck by a gust of wind.

“Mia!” Yoshi successfully pronounces her name, rather than just saying his usual babbles.

“What does she mean by that? What’s an RPG!?” Sir Weston increasingly panics.

“I think I’ve seen 9-Volt play those types of games,” Young Cricket replies.

To retaliate for Mia being struck, Yoshi begins sniffing out the crystals, identifying their relevant weaknesses. He then directs Sir Weston to the red Fire Crystal.

“You want to me combat fire!?” Weston stammers. Yoshi reassures him with a nod, asking for his intuition to be trusted. “Alright,” the ghost sighs, readying his cryokinesis. “The natural instinct of a Yoshi cannot be doubted.”

He makes icicles erupt from the ground, proving successful as steam comes off the Fire Crystal. Of course, Sir Weston’s own vulnerability meant he would have to be cautious, putting up ice shields whenever the Fire Crystal began charging an attack.

Yoshi picks up weakness from the Earth Crystal next and tries to get Mia’s attention. Thankfully, the robot has a built-in translator for Yoshi-speak. “Why yes, I am capable of electric discharge. Are you certain that striking the ground with lightning will prove effective? Even if this setting?” She opens her internal systems to pour electricity onto the Earth Crystal, which is shocked to its very core. “Healing is on stand-by whenever necessary!” Mia mews.

Next is the Wind Crystal. Yoshi can’t pick up on any elemental weakness, but it seems that the Wind Crystal prefers to be in the air, not wishing to be grounded by any means possible. He knows that Young Cricket has the highest jump out of everyone in the party, and requests for him.

“What is it, Yoshi?” Young Cricket watches Yoshi hop around and ground pound for a moment. “Oh, it’s weak to jump attacks? A bit odd, but I suppose that’s perfect for me!” He leaps into the air and kicks the Wind Crystal, lightly cracking it.

That just left Yoshi with the Water Crystal. Unsurprisingly, it had ice properties, which meant it was time for Yoshi to take a spare red watermelon from his saddle and spit fire all over it. Culex tries to strike them with a Meteor Blast, but Mia keeps true to her word to heal the party.

The crystals were all gone in a matter of minutes, only Culex himself remained, visibly impressed by their prowess.

“Fascinating,” Culex says. “I yield to you, fellow knights.”

“You yield?” Smithy scoffs. “You still have fight left in you, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do,” Culex chuckles. “But my powers have been restrained by evil’s new successor. I cannot use my Dark Star spell because he has drained me of my magic. Just like how you cannot call upon your many forms, Smithy.”

Smithy immediately shuts up, allowing a dark chuckle to escape Culex.

“If it is information they seek, then I have many secrets to tell.”

Chapter Text

“So, it is the Star Pieces you seek?” Culex hums in amusement. “I am not from this dimension, but yes, I have learned of where evil’s true successor scattered them. One is in another dimension, the remains of Smithy’s Factory, the Conquest of Spirit—”

“We got that one.” Sir Weston says.

Culex pauses.

“One lays in the mines that had become catacombs, the Conquest of Valor, only those brave enough can—”

“That one too!” Rawk Hawk adds, no longer blocked off by a crystal barrier, which allowed the rest of the party access to Culex’s domain.

“Seriously?” Culex groans. “Why are you lot asking for my help if you already have two of them?”

“There is more to inquire about besides the Star Pieces,” Fryguy says. “You have vast knowledge despite being an outsider to this realm. I want to know about that girl, Alpha. Like the rest of us, she was not a willing participant, yet was dragged here.” He wasn’t going to bring up the whole ‘crowd appeal’ thing.

“Ah, yes, Alpha, the Glamorous Princess of the Dream World? It’s a self-proclaimed title, belonging to a wandering soul that was lost in a war of keys.” Culex explains. “She desired a new body to match her identity, but the residents of Subcon denied her of it, and used her soul to power their machine.”

“What!?” This is news to Fryguy.

“Yes, those little dream pixies are a lot more sinister than they seem,” Culex smirks. “The parents of the Koopa King wanted to inquire about their machine, perhaps form an alliance, but the Subcon King and his commander made them disappear. But now, she has broken free, and her soul was brought here by another.”

So that machine Wart had tampered with…

How horrible of the Subcon residents to treat an innocent soul in such a way. Fryguy knew something was off about them when Wart said he was exiled over pranks, but he didn’t know it went to this extent.

“Who gave her that ‘bod?” Rawk Hawk asks.

“A mad scientist who fused himself with the Dark Star created it for her. He hides in the Conquest of Intellect, which is where you will find one of the Star Pieces. I believe you had visited that Forest Maze before, haven’t you?”

“You can pick up on that but you didn’t know about them picking up the other Star Pieces?”

“Watch your tone, Smithy.” Culex leers at the sledgehammer. “The Conquest of Technique, you will find in the depths of Flooded Villa. The Conquest of Turns, upon the Black Hole Summit.” That explained why Bup had acted so strangely earlier. “And finally, the Conquest of Speed, in the Castle Town of the Cordyceps.”

“Aren’t you forgetting one? There are seven!” Smithy barks.

“Ah yes, the Conquest of Intuition.” Culex sighs. “Evil is petty and spiteful, so the successor did not want to return one of the Star Pieces to the volcano, lest he relives a horrible memory. Instead, he left it somewhere in my domain.”

“Somewhere?” Sir Weston ponders.

Yoshi instinctively throws an egg at the crystalized ceiling. Lo and behold, a red Star Piece comes falling down. “Yabbi yabbi yaboo!” Yoshi cheers, holding the Star Piece over his head.

“Intuition is certainly powerful,” Culex chuckles. “Do you have any other questions?”

While Fryguy and Yoshi seemed satisfied enough with what they had gotten, something had been bothering Bup this entire time. Normally he’s so quiet and keeps the impression that nothing really bugs him, but now was a good time to speak up.

“Yeah,” Bup starts. “This ‘evil’s successor’, just who is he? Smithy mentioned ‘he’ doesn’t know what he’s become, but he and his goons never mentioned a name.”

“It is for you to find out his name,” Culex explains. “But he is the same as the knight that succeeded me. A cruel cycle of hatred, despair, and death that continues endlessly across time and space.”

“Knight?” Young Cricket scratches the back of his head.

“Tell me,” a toothy grin spreads on Culex’s face. “Have you heard of the tale of Odio?”

“No,” Sir Weston replies. The rest concur.

“A hero, a noble knight who tried so hard, but was left with nothing. He succeeded me as the Lord of Dark. That silly little doll is just like him, a warrior that fell from grace, and into darkness.” Culex seems oddly happy about the predicament. “They both used their powers across time, seeing into the future and the past.”

“Isn’t that what you do?” Mia interrupts.

…

“I was the Lord of Dark that preceded Odio.”

Culex lays back in his chains.

“I, Culex, once known as the ‘dark knight’. I came from a kingdom known as Vanda, which was ravaged by an enemy nation during times of crusade.” He sighs. “Everything was taken from me. Everyone I had loved, and everything I had known had gone in flames. So I had become the Lord of Dark; Crystaller, a timeless being of pure evil.”

He lowers his gaze, refusing to face the party. “I sought revenge against Lucrece, the enemy kingdom responsible for these war crimes. In my new form, I kidnapped the queen in order to sacrifice her to darkness.” Mia attempts to obstruct his view, but he turns the other way. “But when I looked in her eyes, the queen…”

Culex’s words trail off, he takes a moment to pick back up.

“… wished for me to take her life, claiming she was merely trapped in a gilded cage. Her husband adored her, but she wasn’t allowed to express her true feelings. For the first time, I felt sympathy, pity for another soul.”

Yoshi touches Culex, an attempt at comfort.

“I did not kill her, or torture her. Instead, we sat and talked for months. I gave her as much freedom as I possibly could, I used my power to let her see the universe. She was even expecting, and she wanted her child to experience a life of freedom.” He shudders. “Alas, on the day she gave birth to her daughter, rescuers had finally arrived. The hero, Hasshe, had slain me. The queen died of grief upon seeing I was no more, while her daughter continued the cycle.”

…

Everyone is speechless, even Smithy.

“Years passed, and a dark mage revived me, but I ended up here. Where I witness a new form of evil.” Culex scoffs. “A pity that it’s in a realm so uninhabitable for my physical form. These three-dimensional appearances confound me.”

“Culex, you loved that woman, didn’t you?” Bup asks.

He doesn’t answer.

“Here,” Culex hands Yoshi an egg-shaped stone. “This is you. It will enhance your throwing properties. Leave this place.”

“One last thing,” Sir Weston speaks up. “The penguin outside—”

“That was not my doing. That’s the work of a magician. Now begone with you!”

They quickly depart, not wishing to gain the demon’s ire. The party agrees to visit Seaside Town, better known as the Flooded Villa, next.

Chapter Text

Dragging their feet through the water was bad enough the first time around. Fryguy could at least levitate, but only because he refused to make contact with any sort of water. This would definitely cause some problems, which started with Young Cricket coming across a shipwreck.

“I have a good feeling that the Star Piece is probably in here! This must be the Conquest of Technique that Culex was talking about!” He smiles. “Now then, I just need to recall which skill I should use to break the boards blocking our path!”

“We can’t just bash it?” Rawk Hawk asks

“We have to be precise!” Young Cricket replies. “Otherwise, the whole ship could come crashing down, sink back to the bottom, and we’d have no way of getting the Star Piece!” He takes a stance, finding a weak point to kick open.

Water quickly pours out of the newly made opening, startling Fryguy and soaking Yoshi. Mia was lucky enough to have waterproof attachments for such an occasion.

“Perhaps freezing the water would help?” Sir Weston suggests.

“If it gets really bad, then sure!” Young Cricket is as perky as ever, no doubt excited to show off his various moves.

The ship must have been submerged under the water for a long period of time, judging by all the seaweed and starfish that had made it into their home. Perhaps it had only surfaced to the Flooded Villa because of the tidal waves and hurricane, forcing it to be on the same wreckage as everything else.

As Young Cricket prepares to strike down a barrel blocking their path, he stops.

“Do you guys hear something?” He asks.

A dripping sound can faintly be heard.

“Well, we around surrounded by water, aren’t we?” Rawk Hawk tries to laugh it off. “They’re bound to be—”

The sound gets louder. It sounds less like dripping and more like a wet tentacle, slapping itself across the floor.

“We need to hurry!” Fryguy exclaims. Young Cricket destroys the barrel on prompt with his own bare hands, allowing the group to progress, but not before something grabbed Mia from behind. She lets out an alarm sound, and everyone turns to see what had been stalking them.

An oversized sea slug of some kind, translucent and turquoise in appearance. Various items are trapped inside of its body, mainly clothes, possibly belonging to its previous victim. Naturally, Bup is first on the trigger finger, shooting at the monster until it releases Mia. It gurgles, making vaguely human noises.

“What is that thing!?” Sir Weston shouts.

“I don’t know!” Smithy responds in a similar state of panic. “Kill it!”

Sir Weston bashes the creature with the sledgehammer and Yoshi launches his newly-acquired stone eggs. They both prove to be ineffective, along with Bup’s bullets, which only chip away at the monster. Fryguy attempts to torch it, but it cannot even be burned alive.

“Okay, new plan! Just run!” Smithy yells.

Poor Young Cricket finds himself less focused, panicking as he’s forced to use his skills to break down what stands in their path, all while an abomination pursues them. Sir Weston offers to try and hold it off as best as he can, believing he’s the least at risk due to being a ghost.

Before long, Young Cricket gets used to it. The limited time for acting is just like that of a microgame. But this time, his life depended on the right action.

He chops a wooden board in two, and then kicks a crate into pieces, removing the wreckage that blocks an interior part of the ship. Everyone continues their descent with the monster hot on their tail.

Barrels come tumbling from the stairs, Young Cricket jumps over them, perfectly timed. The rest of the party tried to follow his example with mixed results, as Rawk Hawk is comically flattened while Sir Weston and Fryguy simply float over them.

The last door is locked tight. Young Cricket simply kicks it down and—

“A dead end!?” He gasps.

“But look!” Mia chimes, directing attention to the blue star in the corner. “The Star Piece is here!”

“Grab it, so I can get us out of here!” Sir Weston readies his ghost abilities once again.

“And end up stranded in another dimension!?” Fryguy criticizes, catching Weston off guard. “We just need to create a diversion so we can all slip by!”

As he says that, the sea slug monster begins to shift, making a horrible gurgling sound. It metamorphoses, leaking a disgusting orange liquid as it grows wing-like appendages from its back. The end of its tail begins to glow, and its body splits to form legs.

Young Cricket, Yoshi, and Rawk Hawk swear they’re about to lose their lunch at the sight of this. As it keeps altering its body, the sea slug monster becomes increasingly human in appearance, gaining anatomically appropriate chest and thighs. Horn-like protrusions also come out of its head. The clothes are ejected from its body, now concealing the translucent flesh.

It stands tall and firm, no longer writhing and shaking. Her uniform unmistakably resembles something out of a government organization, with the bullet-proof vests and equipment belt.

“Halt!”

A feminine, yet alien voice to match its body. She takes a gun out from her belt.

“Neo-Mitochondrial creatures! Stand down!”

“What!?” Young Cricket stammers.

“Neo-Mitochondrial? You’re the one who just evolved right in front of us!” Mia retorts. “You’re the creature here!”

“Incorrect, I am an evolved species of human!” The officer answers. “The lot of you are unknown lifeforms, no doubt creations from the Neo Ark. I’m afraid I must terminate you since you’re too dangerous to be kept alive!”

Bup raises his own gun once again. “Stalemate. Looks like we just have to incapacitate her until she’s sane.” Everyone concurs, launching an all-out attack against the strange humanoid monster.

Unfortunately, this only goes so far, as when Rawk Hawk tries to get close, his feathers suddenly combust into flames. “Whoa, what!?” He backs away. Young Cricket tests it and finds a similar result, burning his fingers as he reaches his hand out. Yoshi attempts to pick up a scent, but cannot locate a weakness in this monster.

“I have a plan,” Sir Weston says, turning to Fryguy. “Fryguy, are you willing to work with me?” He knows that the two of them haven’t exactly gotten along.

“Please, tell me what you have in mind.”

“I need you to get behind her,” Sir Weston notes the creature’s tail. “See if you can startle her, melt the gun out of her hands, then I might be able to freeze her into a brick!”

Without another word, Fryguy vanishes to follow the suggestion, sneaking up behind the humanoid creature. In close enough proximity, he begins to burn the glowing end of her tail.

She spins around, ready to shoot him, but Fryguy takes the front of the gun and consumes it. Pulling away does nothing as the pistol is trapped in Fryguy’s maw, and firing soon proves to be futile as the barrel melts.

Fryguy spits it out and drifts away, lowering his temperature so Sir Weston can deal the last blow.

“Ninth Circle of Hell!”

The creature’s borderline liquid body is frozen solid, up to her head.

Chapter Text

By all accounts, the party fully intended to just take the Star Piece and leave the creature there, but…

The baffled look in her eyes made Sir Weston feel a little guilty. Just a little bit.

“Cricket, perhaps you should clear things up?” The martial artist is surprised to hear this from Weston. “You’re the most ‘human’ out of all of us. I’m a ghost, and the others aren’t human at all, so perhaps she’ll be less wary if you talk to her.”

He swallows hard. “I’ll do my best!” Young Cricket keeps a careful distance, recalling how his fingers nearly caught fire trying to get close to this humanoid creature. “Um, I think you made a mistake. I admit that most of my friends here are strange-looking, but none of them are Neo-monsters or whatever you called them! We’re all from different places in time and just got brought here!”

Her expression softens.

“You are the same as I am?”

“Wait, you too?” Young Cricket asks.

She lowers her gaze. “A strange person brought me here and I was forced to shoot down everything I encountered. I apologize, but I assumed you were all hostile lifeforms like they were.” She then sighs in annoyance. “The one who brought me here must have lied, he said this place was full of Neo-Mitochondrial lifeforms. Since I was under attack and a lot of pressure, I entered a defensive state, which is what you saw earlier.”

“It wasn’t a wooden doll, was it?” Smithy asks through the sledgehammer.

“No,” she shakes her head. “It was someone claiming to be a magician. But he did mention that a puppet had taken interest in me.”

Realizing they could now trust the previously horrifying monster, Fryguy decides to melt the ice encasing her.

“I am Yubi, an agent of MIST; the Mitochondrion Investigation and Suppression Team,” Yubi explains. “I am the ‘Ultimate Being’, the daughter of a parasite, a stage of human evolution that is far into the future. I was born to wipe all life from existence so the next stage of life could start, but the woman assigned to eliminate me took pity on me. I was brought back without harm and my abilities were stabilized. Now I can control what combusts within meters of my presence.”

“You were born to start life all over!?” Mia exclaims.

“Both you and that Culex individual have tales so far removed from our worlds,” Fryguy mutters.

“I had no choice in it,” Yubi gives them a sad look. “But growing up in the lab, I learned to appreciate life as it is, in its current period. Now I fight against inhumane experiments on the MIST branch. The scorpion cannot change their nature, but they can control it.”

“Huh, so your fate as some kinda world-destroyer monster was prevented?” Smithy snickers. “I bet that plank of wood wanted you here because he’s fascinated by you, upset that someone meant to destroy instead became some kind of hero! Meanwhile, he is a hero that doesn’t know the monster he has become.”

A glow spreads across Yubi’s face. Perhaps she’s flattered? Embarrassed? It’s surprisingly cute for something that was a disgusting monster just moments ago.

“I see, so there is a greater evil that dragged us here. Someone who had good intentions in the past. I pity him.” The ice successfully melts down, freeing her. “I shall find him, and the pesky magician that brought me here.”

“Sadly, we need the Star Pieces to break the barrier where that creepy is hiding.” Young Cricket groans. “But hey, we have four of them so far! Only three remain, so I would say we’re doing really well!”

“Understood,” Yubi nods. “As much as I would like to accompany you, I want to locate the magician responsible for my presence here before he does anything else. I do not appreciate individuals that lie to me.”

“That’s fine by us!” Rawk Hawk smiles.

With that, Yubi leaves. They note how her tail seemed to be… wagging?

“Okay, so, where to next?” Young Cricket nervously asks, holding the blue Star Piece.

Mia checks her map data. “The closest location for the next Star Piece is the Black Hole Summit, where we found Bup!”

They all exit the submerged ship and depart from the Flooded Villa. However, now seemed as good of a time as ever to take a breather, considering they were chased by what they initially assumed was a horrific monster and were about to return to the summit of explosive stars.

Bup agrees to set camp, as anxious as he is to return to the Black Hole Summit, he knows when to take a break. It was good timing too since Rawk Hawk was actually starting to get hungry.

Luckily, Young Cricket had been hoarding plenty of steamed meat dumplings for some reason, Yoshi had various fruit from back home, and even Mia had delicious sweets stored inside of her. Before long, they all started splitting the rations amongst one another, Sir Weston suggested saving extras for themselves, since he didn’t need to eat. Fryguy said the same thing.

“Can I ask you something?” Sir Weston asks.

“Yes.”

“Do you have a problem with me?”

“What gave you that impression?” Fryguy wonders. “I apologize if my mannerisms are sometimes blunt. I am normally formal and polite to my superiors. I noticed you had an aversion to my presence, so I did my best to keep my distance from you.”

“Oh,” Sir Weston replies. “I thought you had something against me after I vanished the group to another realm.” He sighs in relief. “I do admittedly have a poor relationship with heat, but I think after fighting Culex, I’ve conquered some of my fear.”

There’s another awkward pause, Bup begins snacking on a peach tart after having some steamed dumplings. He offers it to the two of them, but they refuse.

“Can I ask something else?” Sir Weston tries to hide his sheepish expression. “Do you— both of you— know someone that’s so extroverted, so likable, and they’re always approaching you?” He buries his face in his coat. “And you like them, but kind of struggle to find a way to express it to that person, and up keeping your distance?”

They both stare at him.

“I…”

Fryguy clears his throat.

“The one person I had that type of relationship with, is no longer with me.” Fryguy hated to admit it, considering he denied the accusation when it came from Clawgrip. “She was my former captain, a master of traps. I kept my distance and she blew up on me, defecting from the 8 Bits along with a few others.” The guilt overcomes him. “Perhaps I had pushed her away too much, but I assumed I wasn’t harming her.”

Sir Weston and Bup took a mental note.

“There’s a girl that keeps chasing me,” Bup speaks next. “But it’s only for a bounty. I don’t know how I racked it up, but she always wants a battle that ends with one of us dying. I usually just make a quick escape because I don’t want to seriously hurt her.”

“Why do you have a bounty?” Sir Weston wonders.

“Y’know, I honestly never asked her where it came from.” Bup chuckles. “I guess I’ll just have to pester her about it when I come back. Still, I wish we didn’t have to fight. I like being around her.”

“So,” Fryguy faces Weston. “What of you?”

…

“There is, a man I like.” They’re surprised to hear this. “Charismatic, attractive, he’s everyone’s friend. He always tries to talk to me, and while I find it annoying, I have come to appreciate his company. But I know he can do better, so I won’t bother.”

“That’s foolish,” Smithy finally scoffs, listening in the entire time. “You’ve come this far and have done so much, yet you’re afraid of that!?”

Embarrassed to realize Smithy had been eavesdropping through the sledgehammer, Sir Weston recoils. “I guess it is a bit silly. We should all fix these things when we get back, shouldn’t we?”

The three come to an agreement.

Chapter Text

Culex remains in his space for a period of time.

That time comes to end, just like any other time, and Culex expects it as always.

A wooden doll steps into his realm with an elongated cape made of darkness. One of his two eyes is missing, yet both appear so empty. Culex notes the visible gash in his chest, along with the torn piece of hair.

The scars of his last battle still remained.

“A pleasure to meet you. The successor of evil.” He smiles. “The Conduit of the Black Hole has graced the former Lord of Dark at long last. I foresaw your arrival, my three-dimensional friend.”

The doll doesn’t say a word.

“It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it, Geno? Or is it Genocide?” Culex starts chuckling. “I already know how this ends, so please humor me. Why ask that magician to bring the parasite all the way out here? Is it perhaps, that you wanted someone to talk to? Someone, you are envious of? Just like the Queen I had known long before?”

He glares at Culex and raises his arm.

“A desperate attempt to feel love, as I once did—”

Culex loses his breath, and the light in his eyes is drained. The luster in his crystal-coated body begins to disappear.

His form turns to stone and crumbles away.

What remained of Culex’s power had been taken away for good.

After some well-needed rest at the campsite, they all woke up. It turns out, during those past couple of hours, Yubi had left Young Cricket with a parting gift at the campsite. A strange pair of white-colored nunchucks that she had no use of, according to the note she had left with it. An apology for attacking them earlier. And to think, he was starting to feel left out when all of the others had gotten a special item to go with their Star Piece.

They resume their journey and return to the Black Hole Summit.  Even though everyone agrees to be careful about the explosive Dwarf Stars, Bup changes his mind the minute he sees the image of a black Yoshi, running up the mountain without any sort of caution.

Right. He mentioned having a steed. Still, that didn’t justify tossing himself into danger’s way. Fryguy did his best to back the Toad up. He prayed that he would never have to go against an adversary as speedy as Bup. Perhaps all Toads were like this? How formidable.

It’s nearly pitch black when they ascend to the top. They can’t see anything, which made dealing with the Dwarf Stars much more of an issue.

Just then, a spotlight turns on the group, mainly centered on Bup.

“Here is folks! Everyone give him a big hand! The predicted winner of our game, by popular vote!”

A voice booms over a microphone. The Dwarf Stars go still and suddenly start applauding, even though none of them had proper hands.

“Can he reach the end goal in these last five turns!? Let’s find out!”

Bup shifts. “Why can’t I move?” The rest of the party found themselves in a similar problem.

“Because you haven’t rolled the die yet!”

The disembodied voice laughs. A dice block now stands before everyone, along with various colored spaces, with a green Star Piece at the end.

“We seriously have to play this stupid game?” Sir Weston grumbles.

Taking aim for the dice block, Bup fires a round from his gun, making it roll.

Eight spaces forward, Bup lands on a red panel, dealing electrical damage to everyone.

“What kind of game is this!?” Young Cricket cries in pain.

“There are thirty spaces,” Bup grunts, toughing it out. “Eight down, twenty-two left in four turns.” He fires at the dice block again.

Three spaces. Dammit.

As much as Bup didn’t want to risk finding out what happened if he didn’t play along, he didn’t want to know the consequences of not making it in time. At the very least, a blue panel heals their wounds.

Three turns, nineteen spaces. Bup fires again.

One space, another blue panel.

“This isn’t the time to be messing around!” Rawk Hawk yells.

He can’t control the dice! It wasn’t like he—

Wait. Bup did bring a mushroom.

Would this even work? He wasn’t back where board games took place, but this area was certainly laid out like one. Bup made sure that he could even access his inventory, considering he couldn’t even move without the permission of a damn dice block.

He could check his items. The mushroom lay in his pocket.

Bup takes it out and smirks. Part of him wonders if he should save it so he doesn’t sell himself short by the end, but if it got his teammates off of his back, he would use it now.

Taking a bite out of it, a second dice block appears.

“Wha—?”

Firing at both of them, seven and six. He advances thirteen whole spaces while the second, newly made dice block disappears. A red panel tries to drain the group of their stamina, but Bup is too confident to even care. All he needs is five more steps.

“You can’t do that—!”

One turn left. Bup fires and gets a perfect ten. Five steps and then some. He approaches the space, and the green Star Piece is his. Everyone else cheers.

Sadly, it’s short-lived. The lights shut off, leaving everyone in the dark.

“Now you listen here! As the host, I take it personally when someone tries to cheat their way to the prize!”

Mia growls, lowering her ears. “Fair is fair, you barely even gave us a choice and left us to a game of chance! This isn’t some sort of gacha gamble! This is a serious problem we have going on!”

Someone begins to descend from a platform, a figure wearing a top hat. Bup’s trigger finger twitches, remembering what MC Ballyhoo had told him back in Western Land.

“It would be best to offer a formal apology for what you have done!”

The lights turn back on. The resemblance was similar to that of his MC Ballyhoo, but with a few notable differences. He lacked the cheerful smile, had piercing red eyes, and even seemed to have a sinister face upon his top hat.

There was no mistaking it. This was the man responsible for Gene O’Side coming into existence. The one who had decided to pursue punishing criminals, going separate ways from his brother.

DJ Hallyboo, and he was certainly upset, judging by the grimace on his face.

Chapter Text

This fight did not go anywhere the party expected it.

They all assumed they would just have to get rid of Hallyboo and that was it. Instead, there were three other targets besides himself.

Three dice blocks. He would roll them, and whatever it landed on, the totals would determine how much damage the party would take. The worst part was, the middle dice block had mathematical symbols. The higher numbers that were multiplied or added, the more damage was done to the party.

In contrast, if there was a negative number of damage, they would recover health… and zero would usually result in nothing happening.

Either way, it was frustrating. And when the numbers multiplied seven and nine together, poor Yoshi ended up on the ground, his stamina depleted from hefty damage. Even worse, this was the only way they could damage DJ Hallyboo too.

So that meant several rounds of accidentally healing him.

“There has to be an easier method to this that we haven’t figured out,” Young Cricket groans. “Do you have any more items at your disposal?”

“Sorry kid, that was it.” Bup reviews his inventory. “If we could slow down these dice, blocks somehow—”

“Slow down?” Fryguy blinks repeatedly. “If you permit me, I may be able to assist you with that!”

“You can?”

Fryguy splits into four and then starts spinning around, mesmerizing the opponents before him, which of course, included the dice blocks. DJ Hallyboo found himself slowing down, the same happened to the dice blocks he summoned.

“It appears you have made them lag!” Mia says. An odd way to put it. “Take aim now, Mister Bup! Before it’s too late!”

The Toad takes aim with his gun and waits for the dice block to hit ten.

… and passes on it, hitting zero instead.

“Huh!?” Sir Weston exclaims. “Bup, what are you doing!?”

He hits the third block next, another deliberately timed zero.

As for the middle block—

A division symbol?

“Hah! Don’t be stupid!” DJ Hallyboo mocks. “You can’t divide by zero—!”

A void opens under DJ Hallyboo, swallowing him whole. He screams as the abyss takes him away, possibly leading to where Smithy and the other purgatory prisoners are, or possibly nowhere at all.

…

“Don’t you think that’s overkill?” Mia asks.

“He deserves it for making us go through doing math, Mia!” Rawk Hawk replies.

“That and hurting poor Yoshi,” Sir Weston agrees, healing Yoshi.

Bup had his own personal reasons for finishing this in the most brutal way possible as opposed to just dealing massive damage, but it wasn’t important.

“Hey, Bup! Look, I think he dropped something!” Young Cricket snatches up something from the ground.

A magnum revolver, which had scope for laser targeting or sniping.

“That’s quite the extreme weapon for a silly game host like him to carry,” Fryguy points out. “We are lucky he never resorted to using it on us.”

Surprisingly, the revolver fit Bup’s hands just fine. Considering he and Hallyboo weren’t far off in proportions it would have to, but where could he have gotten…

“So, I got a cool belt from Alpha, Weston got a hammer, Yoshi got a crystal egg, Cricket got nunchucks, and you got a gun!” Rawk Hawk laughs, turning to Fryguy. “Looks like you’re the only one bare-handed!”

Fryguy narrows his eyes. “Mia didn’t get anything yet either.”

“Yeah, but she doesn’t need it! She’s already perfect, dude!”

“Did I not help you all against the corrupt game show host just now?”

While those two argue and Sir Weston tends to Yoshi, Bup takes the lead in asking Mia about the next Star Piece of their list.

It’s a long trip, but they finally make it back to the woods neighboring the Briar Village and the neighboring Forest Maze. It’s just as uncomfortable as it was last time with the zombified Wigglers. However, with more than two people in their group, Sir Weston found himself having a much easier time than before.

Upon fighting the Wigglers this time, Weston came to a horrific realization after Rawk Hawk kicked off one of their body segments by accident. If they were split apart, the removed halves would continue moving.

From there on out, they decided to ignore the Wigglers, just to avoid the gruesome sight.

“Culex said that the Conquest of Intellect was somewhere in here,” Sir Weston mumbled. “Perhaps it is the forest itself? It is pretty much a maze that one can get easily lost in.”

Mia begins scanning the surrounding area, locating what appeared to be a hidden passage inside of the tree trunks. “Over here!” She mews, entering the crevice. “It looks like there’s some sort of underground tunnel!”

Everyone follows. Indeed, the hollowed-out tree trunk had several tunnels attached to it. A small, green-colored shuttle with eyes hovers nearby, a speaker attached to the bottom.

“Welcome, dearest friend! Have you lacked the memory for this maze? You are remembering nothing? There is willing help here! The sandwich crumbs are where you expect, do be careful not to fall in the ravine!” The voice chatters. It has an unusual method of speaking.

A forked path stands before Mia, and she takes the east path, and to everyone’s surprise, there are more paths. This time three tunnels stand before them.

“Huh? Mia, how did you—”

“You eat with your right hand and drink with your left. West would have led us into the ravine!” Mia interrupts Young Cricket.

Another shuttle activates.

“Very good, my transformed friend! I hope you aren’t feeling down! Just stand up straight!”

The middle tunnel up north, of course. A bit more obvious than the last one. Three corridors stand before the party once again, with one last shuttle.

“Rewind and turn back to the past, my transformed friend!” The voice laughs.

“Turn back?” Rawk Hawk scratches his head. “Sounds like this weirdo just wants us to leave!”

Instead, Mia takes the west tunnel, which leads to another set of corridors, exactly like the room before it. She then proceeds south to another identical room, then east for the next, and finally north at the final.

“Counterclockwise, going into the past!” She mews, wheeling into a hidden, makeshift laboratory. There on the work table lies a strange plug-in device.

“There’s no Star Piece in sight here,” Sir Weston remarks. “Was Culex wrong about this place? Or did we take a wrong turn somewhere?”

Rawk Hawk takes the device with little thought, inserting it into Mia’s system. “Well, we got something out of it, didn’t we?”

Yoshi of course thought this was far too easy. Sniffing the surrounding area, he just knows that something feels off.

There’s the scent of… mustard?

“Intruders! I have fury!”

A small Beanish character with a dark cape and red glasses emerges from the ceiling, equipped with some type of helmet that had a vacuum and rockets attached.

“Do you dare take the transformation drive intended for Miss Alpha!? I refuse for the fink rats with stupid faces to take her backup equipment!”

“Alpha!?” Fryguy exclaims in shock.

Mia’s eyes flash briefly, a new update is ready to be installed.

Chapter Text

“You know, I’m kind of glad that I was whisked away from Subcon after breaking out.”

The scientist looks up.

“Why? Fawful does not have the knowings of the dream world, so explain!”

“I’m just trapped in there! They use me to create good dreams and pleasant weather, when I have a mind and heart of my own, you know?” The soul flutters around. “It was the same back then hundreds of years ago, trapped in another vessel against my wishes all alone, fighting a war I wanted no part in but couldn’t abandon!”

The soul tries to laugh it off, but it’s so forced, sounding raspy and exhausted with just a hint of playful mischief…

He feels pity.

“Fawful can help you, maybe.”

“What? Me? Aren’t you like, corrupted and unstable from dark power?”

“I have the falling off of the dark powers! Sometimes I am Fawful, sometimes I am the Dark Star.”

“Ah, you have identity issues also? Or you’re just alone?”

…

“It is Fawful’s business and not yours, silly fink-rat!”

The soul laughs infectiously again. A familiar comfort.

“Henshin!”

A new battle starts and Mia is more than prepared thanks to the plug-in that Rawk Hawk had just given her. Everyone else is taking a stance while this Beanish character readies his dark powers, but none of them can anticipate what happens next.

“Meowmaid Power!”

Everyone is startled as a bright light comes out of Mia’s body. The box portions of her body open, and her head moves higher up while her torso is built. Her hands and legs hover, detached from the rest of her body. Rose-colored hair extends from the head, her appearance is just like the one she had in the simulation against the mother computer.

Mia extends her claws and taunts the Beanish character.

“Ugly cat! Fawful spits upon you for taking tools meant for Miss Alpha!” The Beanish character keeps grinning maniacally, lacking in any semblance of sanity. He begins swinging from above with his Vacuum Helmet, aiming for Mia.

“Is that tall chick Mia!?” Rawk Hawk tries to shake off his initial shock. “We need to help her! Heartbreaker’s Hand!”

Launching himself into the air while Dark Fawful is swinging, Rawk Hawk successfully knocks the Beanish down, disconnecting him from the Vacuum Helmet. Yoshi takes his chance to devour the device in its entirety, leaving Fawful briefly unarmed.

“I have fury! I don’t need my helmet to squish you like the caterpillars on lettuce that you are!” Fawful declares, opening four dark portals. “Fink-rats! Become paste!” He then fires spheres of energy into the portals, targeting the party by making them guess.

Sir Weston and Rawk Hawk both take a swing at the incoming horizontal projectiles. Mia and Young Cricket swiftly evade the ones coming from above. Bup and Fryguy can only rely on their speed. Yoshi simply decides to eat the projectile, spitting it back in Fawful’s direction.

“Pesky busy bees!” Fawful shouts, his body shrinking, appearing as a dark bug.

Mia’s eyes become large and focused. She gets on all fours and raises her tail.

“Uh oh.”

Fawful realizes his mistake too late as the transformed Mia begins to play a game of cat-and-mouse with him. Quite literally as Mia nearly pounces on him, but he slips towards the walls and starts crawling up. Mia is hot on his tail though, able to scale the walls with little issue, a feat she had not shown in her regular form.

After reaching the ceiling, Mia successfully snags Fawful and then lands on her feet with grace.

“Fawful curses you like a cranky ghost! One last time, how dare you take what belongs to Miss Alpha! That backup equipment is—!”

She squeezes him, and Fawful spits a purple Star Piece from his mouth.

“Fawful’s remaining power, gone,” he whines. “Fawful gives up! Fawful surrenders! Do not devour Fawful like the tiniest grain of rice leftover drenched in curry!”

Mia simply flicks him away.

“You created this unusual accessory for Alpha, and had a spare? For what purpose?” Fryguy inquires, watching the dark bug scurry away.

Fawful stops abruptly.

“The transformation drive made to give one their desired body. I have sympathies for Miss Alpha. Her wants and whines for a body remind Fawful of innocent days as the lovable minion of the Great…”

His words trail off.

“Excuse Fawful.”

He digs a hole and buries himself in the ground. Whatever he was about to say, seemed to have made him depressed.

The party leaves, but not before Mia picks up a sound from beneath the dirt.

“Great Cackletta… I miss her. I hope Miss Alpha doesn’t end up the same way.”

…

She shifts back to her original, box-like form and rejoins the others. Hopefully, they would all get used to the new form and only call upon it when necessary.

One Star Piece remained, and it was all the way back in the Castle Town of the Cordyceps.

“The Conquest of Speed, huh?” Sir Weston muses. “Fryguy, I believe this one is up to you, isn’t it?”

Fryguy nods in response. “Our goal is most likely the castle itself! Allow me to make quick work of these fallen fungi!” He sprints across the air and spits flames from above, torching the zombified Toads that are likely to obstruct their path. The party makes a hasty retreat for the castle, and Fryguy joins upon finishing his work.

“Well, that was pretty easy!” Young Cricket sighs in relief.

“The Conquest of Speed is not outside the castle, it must be here.” Fryguy points out. “Do not lower your guard, for it is exactly what this task anticipates from us.”

A lone, golden key stand in the center of the room. Yoshi nearly runs over to pick it up, but Fryguy stops him. One look at their surroundings told the party that something wasn’t right. All of these twisted faces were hung upon the castle walls.

“Back in Subcon, Wart created creatures known as Phantos,” Fryguy explains. “They chase people who take their keys, and if this trial is anything like that, then we are bound to be pursued by the guards that watch this castle key.”

“So what do we do?” Bup asks.

“It’s exactly what the conquest demands of us, we must be fast.” Fryguy hovers over the key. “I cannot do this alone. I want the rest of you to scout the halls in this castle out, and give me a path to follow. That way, I will not run into a dead end and make a swift exit.”

They all agree to the plan.

Chapter Text

Fryguy waits near the golden key that lies there, Bup decides to stay by his side and make sure he isn’t ambushed. The rest of the party successfully locate the locked door. Then relay the location to Mia, who will chime a signal so Fryguy can find them.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just bash the door down and save us all the trouble?” Rawk Hawk wonders.

“It would be, wouldn’t it?” Sir Weston had just attempted to unlock the door from the other side, with his ghost abilities, but alas, locked on both sides. “However, I’m sure whoever built this castle thought of everything.” Sir Weston sighs, holding up the sledgehammer. “But I’ll humor it I suppose. Smithy, do you know if your hammer can break locked doors?”

…

There’s no response.

“Smithy?” Sir Weston shakes the sledgehammer around. “Smithy, are you still with us?”

“He hasn’t said anything ever since we encountered Yubi and stopped to rest,” Young Cricket points out. “Even when we were at the Black Hole Summit and the Forest Maze, he didn’t say a word the whole time!”

That did not bode well.

“Yaridovich? Mack? Bowyer?” Sir Weston calls out again. “Are you three still there at least? Anyone?”

“Nya?”

Bowyer was still there. That was a bit relieving, but Weston hoped that Yaridovich was there to interpret.

“Mister Bowyer!” Mia calls out. “Is everything okay!?”

“Nya!”

“No, everything is not alright here,” Yaridovich coughs on the other end. “That accursed wooden one knew Smithy and Culex were helping you, so he attacked and took Lord Smithy away!”

“Are you all unharmed at least?” Young Cricket asks with visible concern.

“Also no, he disassembled us, deciding constant torture wouldn’t stop us anymore.” Yaridovich sighs. “The only reason Bowyer is speaking now is that he became determined to speak with you one last time, felid madam. He was impressed by your display of skill earlier—”

“Nya!” Bowyer yells.

Mia smiles upon hearing this. “Listen, Mister Bowyer. Once we get the last Star Piece, we’ll save Smithy from that bad guy and make sure you’re all repaired, okay? Please just keep believing in us!”

Bowyer replies with more sounds, increasingly flustered, while Yaridovich remains quiet. “I don’t have much choice but to believe if you if Lord Smithy does,” Yaridovich groans. “I suppose for Bowyer and Mack’s sake, I will support you in spirit.”

The sledgehammer goes quiet after that.

“Are you sure you want to accompany me for this?” Fryguy asks.

Bup nods. “I should be fast enough to keep up with you. If not, I’m willing to shield you from whatever happens.”

Again, Toads were so much more resilient than they seemed. It left Fryguy impressed. Snatching the key off of the ground, Fryguy and Bup don’t bother waiting for the faces on the walls to stir awake, they make an immediate run for where Mia’s signal is coming from.

“That’s right. Run, just a few more times!”

Someone’s voice echoes, chuckling throughout the hallway. Fryguy keeps his eyes forward while Bup makes the mistake of looking back, startled by what he hears. He’s punished as the faces dive-bomb him, and his quick trigger finger can’t hold them down.

Fryguy sees this and draws attention to himself, separating from Bup and intentionally luring the faces of evil into a dead end. The diversion proves successful as Fryguy ducks under them and sprints back to the intended path.

“My, what amusing cowards that are among us! Keep running, like the headless chickens you are!”

Hearing Mia’s signal, Fryguy makes it to the locked door. Holding the key high over his head, and seeing Sir Weston actively open, Fryguy tosses it to him. In turn, Sir Weston twists the key into the keyhole, unlocking the door to the second floor.

The twisted faces all drop to the ground, wailing. Everyone goes through the door, save for Sir Weston who just phases through the wall next to it. There before their eyes is a throne, with a cyan Star Piece sitting atop and a long katana laying against a wall.

Fryguy fully intends to claim the prize but goes floats toward the sword instead, an action that surprises the party.

“Uh, Fryguy? We gotta prioritize on the Star Pieces!” Rawk Hawk says. “You don’t even have hands!”

“Matters not,” Fryguy somehow manages to hold the katana. “This is far too easy and someone is still after us, taunting us. I would rather be prepared for it.”

“Aha, how very clever of you, my flaming friend!”

Everyone except for Bup and Fryguy are startled by the laughter. A square appears from thin air, and emerging from it, is a purple jester donning a mask that greatly resembles that of a Phanto.

“And so, I arrive as I am called, like a happy little dog!” The jester grins. “Allow me to introduce myself! Master of dimensions, pleaser of crowds—”

Almost immediately, Mia sets off an alarm and changes her form, extending her claws. “You!” Mia hisses. “You’re the one who betrayed Lord Blumiere and his friends! Master Francis gave me a warning about you in case you somehow crawled out of the Underwhere one day!”

“You know him, Mia?” Rawk Hawk asks.

“I’ve never met him, but O’Chunks told me enough about him!” Mia growls. “That’s Dimentio, a magician that once served Lord Blumiere when he was known as Count Bleck. He followed his plans in order to later betray him and then create a universe in his own image!”

The jester furrows whatever brow he may have. “How irritating, my charming introduction has been ruined by a robot made by a sweaty nerd.” He sighs.

“So you’re the one responsible for tricking Yubi and dragging her into this mess!” Young Cricket exclaims, tightening his fists.

“And you crystallized that penguin in Monstro Town!” Sir Weston adds.

“I’m assuming Alpha and Fawful’s presence in all of this is your doing too?” Bup inquires, holding up his revolver

If Dimentio could roll his eyes so hard that they’d come out of his skull, he would. “Yes, I admit it. That was all me.” Yet he keeps that smug, arrogant expression. “Darling little Yubi is here because of me. And I invited the funny guffaw scientist and the glamour princess while I was at it. The game show host though, I don’t know how he got here.” He chuckles. “And I crystalized that little lost penguin for running away from my games!”

“So then you’re the stupid doll that Smithy has been going on about, huh?!” Rawk Hawk accuses, making Dimentio scoff.

“Doll? Perhaps I am a bit on the short side, but do I really look like some sort of children’s toy? No, no, my feathered fool!” Dimentio shakes his head. “The true culprit behind this madness asked me to help him, as a part of a deal! I would bring him power and company, while I could have all the fun I desire!

“You see, while he is strong enough to send seven incarnates to your worlds, he does not have the power of dimensions. He needed me, to bring the black holes to you, where you would be flushed away like a spider down a toilet! And this realm is your own sewer, where you will be eternally trapped!”

“Gross,” Fryguy groans. “Cheeky Phanto with a body, you shall regret this!”

“Am I a Phanto using the vessel of an ancient sorcerer? Or am I the lost son of a magician, from long ago?” Dimentio muses, turning to face Mia. “Perhaps I am indeed the same Dimentio that betrayed Count Bleck and perished, or I am a version of Dimentio that was victorious and has grown bored of his rule! You may never know the answer! However, you yourselves must answer for running away so much!”

He snaps his fingers. The area surrounding the party turns to a bright green.

Chapter Text

Dimentio proves to be far less aggressive than other adversaries faced so far, taking the number of parties into account as he clones himself not by double, but several, confusing the group for his own amusement.

“Can you pierce this illusion?” He laughs.

Mia and Young Cricket, both upset at him for varying reasons, find themselves swinging at the clones wildly. Fryguy though keeps focusing on the main spell caster, drawing the newly acquired Masamune and cutting down what stands in his way so he can reach the real Dimentio.

“What are you, some sort of one-winged angel, intent on piercing me from behind?” Dimentio mocks him. “What’s next? Are you going to try to cast a meteor upon me?”

He jinxes it. Fryguy does actually manage to cast a flaming comet down upon Dimentio, scaring the wits out of him.

“Phantos who act out of line like Lowkey must be punished swiftly, I’m afraid! Going rogue like this can only spell disaster in the future!” Fryguy declares. “Cease your tomfoolery and betrayals!”

Dimentio quickly puts the fire that had been caught on his clothes, casting magic, star-shaped crystals down upon Fryguy. Naturally, Yoshi ends up catching the incoming projectiles with his tongue and spits them back at Dimentio.

“You might all think you have an advantage, but in Dimension D, I am god here!” Dimentio makes a box shape with his fingers, attempting to encase the party members. Young Cricket and Rawk Hawk are, unfortunately, both trapped by this unexpected move, while Sir Weston just phases right out of it.

The squares then explode, taking Young Cricket and Rawk Hawk down in a single blow. Mia, in a fit of blind rage, tries to pounce on Dimentio rather than activate her healing countermeasure. This left Sir Weston to heal the fallen party members while Mia began wildly slashing at the magician.

“To think you have run around nearly a hundred times total, yet here you are, bold and brash in your attempts to destroy me!” Dimentio giggles as he evades Mia. “A pity it is you and not dear Yubi I’m fighting again. I can tell that you have certainly learned from that giant, brainless oaf.”

Young Cricket staggers after Sir Weston heals him, flailing the nunchucks in Dimentio’s direction. “Once I defeat all of you, you’ll make fine specimens along with dear Yubi! I think I have a few Floro Sprouts to spare to make some of you cooperative.” Dimentio notes Sir Weston’s ghastly appearance and Fryguy’s fiery form. “Perhaps not all of you, but I can pick the ones that count well enough!”

“You planned on using the sea butterfly-looking chick!?” Rawk Hawk coughs, healed by Sir Weston.

“Her threat to turn me into juice and become one with me left me quite fascinated. If she truly is the ‘Ultimate Being’ then I absolutely must put one of my Floro Sprout seeds within her!” Dimentio prepares to fire another batch of crystals, aided by his many clones. “But I’ve said too much, haven’t I? Now it’s time for your story to come to an end!”

Bup had his revolver aimed at the magician the whole time, only to lower it as Dimentio was saying all of that.

“Maybe you shouldn’t talk about ‘putting your seed in the girl’. Doesn’t make for a good impression.”

Everyone looks at Bup, with Sir Weston trying to restrain his laughter while Young Cricket and Rawk Hawk seem plain confused.

…

Dimentio stops. His face begins to twist, mortified.

“No! Don’t twist my words like that! That’s my job!” He shouts. “This is an E-Rated game, you know!? This isn’t—!”

Distracted long enough, Fryguy slices Dimentio with the Masamune, shredding parts of his clothes and making him tumble to the floor. Dimension D and the clones disappear, freeing everyone from their magic prison.

“Oh, distracting me to win, are you? Such low-class trickery!”

“Trickery that you aren’t above!” Mia points out.

“No matter, I can still win even without trapping you in Dimension D! All I need to do is…”

He snaps his fingers, but nothing happens.

“Huh? What is this? Where is my magic?”

He tries it again. Only faint little sparks of magic come from his fingertips. What’s worse, is that a black hole begins to form behind Dimentio.

“I have returned your power and lent you mine, and you have failed me. Much more, you planned on betraying me as you did to the last man you served, Dimentio.”

Dimentio’s eyes widen. He turns around, realizing far too late as the force begins tugging at his feet.

“Wait, no!” Dimentio gasps. “I didn’t plan on betraying you, I just wanted to use the Floro Sprouts to help both of us! Listen, this is all a mere setback!”

The rest of the party hugs the wall of the room, desperate to avoid the black hole.

“You have proven useless to me, so I shall take what remains of your power.”

“Look, I have other ways I can help you, friend! Just give me a bit more time!” His pleas become increasingly desperate, but it’s futile. “Please! Don’t drop me in there as you did with Culex and Smithy!” Dimentio screams, grabbing at the floor.

Fryguy, pitying the jester, tries to reach out and help Dimentio at the last second, but it’s too late. The black hole swallows him and closes up.

“Come, fools of seven. Face me upon the fallen sword, if that is what you wish, for it will be the very last.”

…

Fryguy takes the cyan Star Piece, guilt overwhelming him, just like before.

They all return to the castle with Exor buried inside of it. No sign of Yubi or Alpha anywhere to give them some final words of encouragement, the party was on its own.

Having returned light to the Star Pieces, the group disposes of the barrier that had blocked the path to the highest part of the tower. Dark and decrepit, they all anticipated the worst to be lying ahead, and yet…

None of them could have expected this.

In one enlarged space, were seven golden statues of all the foes they had encountered.

“Bwaaaah!?” Yoshi yells, seeing the statue of Jeenoside, the massive tyrannical dinosaur.

“The mother computer!?” Mia is equally shocked to see the AI woman depicted in gold.

“What the heck is Master Mantis’ former pupil doing here?” Young Cricket wonders out loud.

“O’Side the Brash,” Bup mumbles. “They did a good job capturing his ugly side.”

“Lord Saitou,” Fryguy sighs, remembering how he was unable to save the snow cloud.

“Man, why does this guy get a statue but not me!?” Rawk Hawk huffs, trying to punch the golden statue only to end up hurting himself.

Sir Weston tightens his fists, beyond infuriated at the sight of General Cyde’s face. He wants to take Smithy’s sledgehammer and knock it down with all he’s got, but he restrains himself.

He stops and looks at everyone’s reactions.

It’s too late to ask about it now, but Weston realizes…

They were all connected, weren’t they?

Chapter Text

Sir Weston, Fryguy, Rawk Hawk, and Bup pass the threshold of the door, only to close behind them.

“Yoshi!?” Sir Weston calls out, attempting to phase through only for an unseen force to block his way.

“Mia!” Rawk Hawk tries to break the door down but is stopped in a similar manner.

“Don’t worry guys, we’re okay!” Young Cricket calls out from the other side. “Just go on and face that guy without us! We’ll catch up somehow!”

Between this and not knowing that everyone had their own personal enemies, Sir Weston felt a great deal of regret not getting to know everyone. There wasn’t time for that anymore though. Not when Smithy and this entire world were in danger.

He wishes he could spend more time with them though, truly. The icy barrier that had kept Sir Weston distant had been melted away.

The party moves forward to the top of the tower, witnessing the hollowed-out form of Exor.

For as long as they stare into his empty mouth, there is nothing there. Nothing but a void.

“Look above,” a voice calls out. “Witness the god of this world from the heavens high.”

The four of them do exactly as they are told, seeing what appeared to be a small, caped figure on the top of  Exor’s hilt. He descends like an angel, tall and firm, his cape lightly blowing in the way. Yet his appearance is that of a mere ragged, wooden doll. One of his eyes is missing and his hair is torn. A gash is visible on his chest, revealing his inner mechanisms.

“Apologies for evening the playing field, but this is a battle of four against four.” He says in a monotone voice. “I am the conduit of the black hole, the harbinger of death; Genocide. You four are of the many ‘heroes’ that have countered my measures against the universe and shall answer my inquiries. For I cannot fathom or understand your motives.”

He first directs his attention to Fryguy.

“You are the villain in your story, no matter which way you twist it, no matter the reality of the Subcon people. You work for a lord of mischief who plays pranks, yet you still hold your honor? You act like a hero and refuse to betray your word?” Genocide laughs at him. “You try to spare whatever opponent and fight with honor!”

Fryguy closes his eyes and thinks hard.

“Perhaps for many and Lord Wart himself, he is the villain. Me personally? I believe in him and I believe in myself. He does not judge me for my ways, and I kill no soul, which is more than what can be said about the rulers of Subcon.” Fryguy draws the Masamune sword. “Like it or not, I shall treat you in the same regard as Lord Saitou! A confused soldier who can be better!”

Genocide scoffs, turning to Rawk Hawk next.

“Is it glory you seek so badly? Knowing that you will fall out of relevance and favor at any time, just as you had before? All stars eventually burn out or explode, fall from the sky, remembered by no one.”

“The old me would have agreed,” Rawk Hawk says, clenching his fists. “But not anymore! I don’t care about glory! I just want to make others happy and have long-lasting bonds! People don’t need to remember me for my fame, they just need to remember who I was underneath that. Someone they could turn to for help or rely on!”

His disgust is indescribable, next is Bup.

“Helping people? Who does not help you in kind? Who will chase you to the ends of the world? You have failed before, so why even bother ever again? Are you trying your damndest to redeem yourself in some way?”

“Maybe,” Bup answers bluntly.

Doesn’t even elaborate any further, much to Genocide’s visible frustration. Finally, there is Sir Weston.

“For life? Which you have already lost? Why does it matter when you’ve already died? Do you not envy those surrounding you? Cold-hearted spirit, you create a wall of ice to shield yourself from making bonds, yet you still care!”

Sir Weston looks at Smithy’s sledgehammer and raises it high.

“I’m cold-hearted?” He chuckles. “The only cold-hearted monster that’s dead inside, is you! I may be made of ice. I may not be alive, but no one else deserves to lose their life so soon! Everyone has a life they should live, and enjoy for as long as they can! I won’t have theirs robbed like mine was!”

Having heard enough, Genocide presents himself at their level.

“I see,” he smiles, revealing the razor-sharp teeth attached to his wooden jaws. “Well then, you have humored me, so allow me to humor you! Behold!”

Without any sort of warning, the husk of Exor devours them, sucking them into yet another black hole, and Genocide joins them.

As Young Cricket, Yoshi, and Mia all stand outside the door, the room starts to darken.

“This dimension is my domain, and I am its keeper.” Genocide’s voice calls out to them. “Fools that are so out of place, I shall have my once dearest mother take care of you.”

“Dearest mother?” Young Cricket wonders out loud.

A tall entity emerges from the darkness, with one eye only visible in her violet cloak. Astral arms emerge from her, made up entirely of nebulae. Mia swears that behind it all, she can see a human face hiding inside.

“Cursa,” Genocide commands. “Destroy them! Split the atoms in their bodies and render them to mere space dust!”

The three remaining party members prepare themselves for battle. They realized that it isn’t exactly in their favor, given how powerful Cursa appeared, and given the appearance of her cloak, she could likely reach them from afar. Yoshi could try and aim from a distance, but he already knows Cursa would counter by crushing him.

Young Cricket also cannot risk getting too close, as Cursa no doubt has an indescribable amount of strength. Mia confirms such by scanning her, struggling to confirm her exact power level.

As they desperately try to think of a battle strategy, the sound of gun firing rings out.

“Didn’t forget about me, did you?”

“Yubi!” Young Cricket exclaims with joy, seeing the Ultimate MIST member step through with a machine gun.

“I’ll distract her,” Yubi says. “It’s me that the ruler of this world wants, so he’ll naturally command her to start targeting me! That way, you can all attack from a decent distance without fear!”

They nod in agreement and get to work, letting Yubi get close enough for Cursa to focus on her while they prepared an onslaught of their strongest techniques.

Yoshi starts it off by using an ability he hadn’t brought ought until now, the Super Dragon. Swallowing a strange ball of some sort, Yoshi sprouts white wings and begins flying around the battlefield wildly, spewing flames from his mouth and torching Cursa.

“Yoshi!” Is what he cries out.

Similarly, Mia also transforms herself using the drive. Rather than just extending her claws and going wild, she just extends one so far and removes it from her fingers. It practically becomes a sword, which she uses to elegantly slash at Cursa. Rose petals are left in her wake as she turns parts of Cursa’s form to shreds.

“As of today, I am a heroic, remarkable woman!” Mia declares.

Young Cricket puts his hands together and begins to focus, making an aura surround him. As his palms grow further apart from each other, allowing a ball of energy to increase in size with each passing second.

“Master Mantis’s ultimate technique!”

A steamed dumpling appears in his hands.

… he crushes it in his palm and delivers the most devastating blow, with his bare fists, making Cursa fall.

Her body disintegrates, and for a moment, they can see the blonde-haired princess that was concealed in Cursa’s form.

Chapter Text

Cursa’s body dissolves, but Yubi is nowhere to be seen.

“Excellent,” Genocide’s voice echoes. “My mother has served her purpose well.”

Young Cricket, Yoshi, and Mia all look up to see the unconscious Yubi, carried by a short, wooden doll in a cape. He’s not even standing, he just remains suspended in the air, taunting the three of them.

“Yubi!” Young Cricket exclaims.

“It was the perfect trap to lure in the Ultimate Being,” Genocide explains, holding her over his shoulder. “I leave the three of you away from your friends, and put you in an unwindable situation against Cursa, the Ultimate Being would have no choice but to come to your aid and fall into my arms.”

Yoshi prepares his wings, ready to fly up to him. “So, it’s you who brought Dimentio here and then threw him away when you were done, is that right?” Mia asks, joining Yoshi in flight by activating her built-in rockets.

“Indeed, I lent him my strength to bring all of you here. The same goes for the Ultimate Being, the Dark Star conduit, and the dream spirit.” Genocide doesn’t need to look at them, aiming his fingers to shoot the parties down with a powerful beam.

“Yoshi! Mia!” Young Cricket gasps, trying to catch them as they fall. Right now, he was grateful for the training he had in regard to acting fast. Yoshi probably would have been fine, but Young Cricket certainly couldn’t risk Mia breaking apart from the fall. “What are you going to do with them? Why did you want Yubi here!? It’s us you wanted, she has nothing to do with it!”

“Fawful didn’t do anything to you either for that matter!” Mia adds.

“Bwah! Myeh!” Yoshi yells, no doubt probably in an attempt to mention Alpha.

Genocide just turns the other way.

“I thought the power of four would be enough for your friends, but I have a feeling I will have some difficulty defeating them.” He explains. “If it comes to that, then…”

He disappears without another word.

Bup feels the ground below him after what seemed like an eternity. He expects a hard surface, but instead touches something soft and bumpy, yet cold and clammy. The aroma of stinkhorn mushrooms fills the air.

It’s familiar for some reason, and he soon sees why once the light returns to his vision.

A mountain of Toad bodies, writhing, stuck between the border of life and death. Koopa Troopas and Goombas are mixed in the horrendous pile, which stretches on for miles as far as the eye can see.

Bup’s body becomes cold. He looks over to the others— Sir Weston, Fryguy, and Rawk Hawk are just as mortified beyond comprehension as he is. To see so many bodies were bad enough, but for Bup to recognize his own kin of the Mushroom Kingdom, tossed aside to rot without end…

“So glad you could make it. Welcome, to the Eternal Fort, where no one lives and no one dies.” Genocide laughs, descending behind the party. “I think it is time that you meet my friends.”

“We don’t need to meet any friends of yours—!”

Before Bup can finish that sentence, Genocide opens his cape all the way, revealing constellations.

Constellations that revealed faces. Four of them. One resembled Princess Toadstool while the other two resembled Mario and Bowser.

That was enough to trigger a reaction out of Bup, who drew his revolver. Fryguy seems to also be having a poor reaction at the sight of the cloud-shaped child. Almost all four faces are crying in agony.

“Alright,” Rawk Hawk breathes in. “Which ones are we taking first? I want that ugly mug with the horns! He reminds me of someone who kicked my butt in the past!”

“The cloud is mine for the taking, as much as it pains me,” Fryguy announces.

“Princess, I’ll put you out of your misery for you,” Bup mutters.

Sir Weston raises the sledgehammer to the plumber.

He doesn’t know who this man is. He resembles the one in green he had met before, yet Weston still pities him.

Fryguy goes first thanks to his natural speed, using the Masamune to cut the constellation in half, only for Mallow’s face to reconnect and use lightning magic as a counter. Peach’s image also begins to heal the wounded Mallow.

Despite this, Fryguy doesn’t back down, launching a shower of flaming comets as he had before, striking all of the stars. “The stars holding them are the weak point!” Fryguy declares.

Bup follows next, changing the color of his spots from red to green, just as he did when fighting O’Side. He twirls his gun and fires six shots a total of three times, living up to the title of the ‘Green Demon’. Each of the stars making Princess Peach’s constellation is put out by his bullets.

The image of Bowser, however, does not take kindly to Peach and Mallow being disposed of, roaring at Bup and Fryguy to petrify them.

Heartbreaker’s Hand can’t do much for Rawk Hawk in this situation. He isn’t exactly the best with attacks that require his intelligence, but he decides it’s worth a try. “Boom Boom Blast!” Rawk Hawk shouts, making a surge of colorful energy exit his palms. The stars connecting Bowser’s image disappear.

That just leaves Mario, who unleashes intense flames in Sir Weston’s direction.

But the ghost doesn’t back down.

“I’m not afraid of fire anymore!” Sir Weston announces, holding the sledgehammer high as he braves the fires that could easily melt him. “Icicles! Go!”

Various shards of ice spring from the ground and even crash from above, piercing the stars that make Mario’s constellation. All four members of Genocide’s party had been removed from existence, leaving large tears in his cape.

“You have nothing left now!” Sir Weston shouts, prepared to strike Genocide.

The doll just laughs at this.

“And that is where you are wrong, my many fools.”

The cape falls off, more horrors had been hidden behind Genocide’s cloak the entire time. Sir Weston, Bup, Fryguy, and Rawk Hawk cannot believe what they are seeing.

Discolored bodies they had all seen before. The broken remains of Culex, a drained Fawful, the empty vessel of Alpha, Dimentio’s discarded mask…

“Now you shall see, all the power in the universe belongs to me! And with it, I shall swallow all worlds!” Genocide cackles, grabbing ahold of the semi-conscious Yubi.

He hesitates for just a second. Sir Weston screams for him to stop, but it’s too late, Genocide drains the Ultimate Being of her essence, leaving nothing but fluid behind.

“I shall show you, Absolute Genocide!”

Chapter Text

With his cape gone and his single eye wide open, Absolute Genocide begins to actively tear at the scar across his chest. The mechanic parts under his wooden shell are ripped open, revealing a blackened star inside.

A visible target, but it seemed clear that he didn’t just expose himself to the party in the hope that they would defeat him. No, it seemed clear that Absolute Genocide had other intentions. The power he exuded was overwhelming, if they got up too close, they would definitely pay with their lives.

That was still a risk that they were all willing to take, especially Rawk Hawk. If anyone was going to make sure that the enemy was properly weakened for an all-out assault, it was going to be him. “Chestnut King Kick!” Rawk Hawk announces, delivering a spinning kick to Absolute Genocide so his defenses would be lowered.

Sir Weston wants to follow his example but instead decides to undo the petrification on Fryguy and Bup, using his spectral abilities to undo the terror spell that had been laid upon them both. Fryguy is relieved, immediately making a break for Absolute Genocide while swinging the Masamune.

Genocide responds, blasting dark energy from his core, which sent Fryguy flying backward. “It seems at one point, he was just a star spirit inhabiting a doll,” Fryguy grunts. “But now his true self has completely fused with that of the doll! We must separate it from its vessel!”

“Easier said than done, I’m afraid,” Bup goes for two rounds of six shots, successfully taking out Absolute Genocide’s other eye in the process. The doll was left with an empty gaze, dark energy pouring out of the sockets.

Even though he has no eyes, he can clearly still see. Sir Weston decides to terrorize Genocide, covering his face before frightening the conduit with a horrible shriek. Absolute Genocide’s initiative to attack is decreased, but he’s rather amused by it all.

“Is that the best you can do? You think you’re scary?” Absolute Genocide mocks him, his jaw increasingly unhinged. “That reminds me, that’s quite the sledgehammer you are carrying. I assume you want to thank the original owner for gifting you with such a weapon?”

Before Sir Weston can give him a snarky reply, the image of a familiar iron king begins to descend. Only his head reminds and he constantly leaks oil from his orifices.

“Smithy!?” Sir Weston gasps. “What have you—!?”

He cannot finish his sentence, as Smithy lets out a horrible screech, like metal pieces being scraped against each other. The head gets closer to Sir Weston, forced against his will to practically envelop the ghost that decided to help.

Weston drops the sledgehammer, completely immobilized. Somehow, his ghostly body feels ill from lead poisoning.

“Dammit, not now!” Fryguy swears, knowing full well that Sir Weston was their team healer. “Bup! Find something in your inventory to restore his condition, quick!”

“No need, I got this!” Rawk Hawk interrupts, suddenly flexing his muscle. “Come on, Weston! Snap out of it! We’re counting on you, pal!”

It seemed that Alpha’s lessons in crowd appeal and valor weren’t unwarranted, as Sir Weston begins to shake off his conditions after being given the pep talk. That or perhaps Rawk Hawk’s biceps were just that impressive.

Sir Weston puts up an icy barrier to increase the party’s defenses. Good timing on that, as Absolute Genocide tries to chip away at it, unleashing a dark, whirling disk at the group. Fryguy tries to maintain distance so the barrier won’t melt so easily and then unleashes a horde of fiery comets. Genocide’s fingertips are burned off by the assault.

“I see, so it’s really come to this, hasn’t it?” Absolute Genocide begins to twist his body around. “You plan to chip away what is left of me, don’t you? In the feeble hope that it will actually stop what has already started?”

Rawk Hawk swings with a Venomous Right Hook, poisoning Genocide’s core while Bup fires a single shot, one that’s powerful enough to blow the evil puppet away from Rawk Hawk.

“Aim for his head!” Fryguy suggests as Sir Weston takes a swing with the sledgehammer, successfully decapitating Absolute Genocide. Fryguy returns the favor by chopping off Absolute Genocide’s arm, just as he prepares to fire a beam from his arm cannon. No matter how densely fused Genocide was to his powers and his vessel, he was no match for the fury of four.

“Magnus von Grapple!” Rawk Hawk shouts, breaking off Absolute Genocide’s legs. Although he’s motionless, Genocide still manages to sneak a powerful blast against Rawk Hawk, followed up by another image of Smithy’s head.

“Smithy!” Sir Weston shouts. “Remember who you are! We’re here to save you! You aren’t Geno’s tool!”

The headless, legless puppet shifts. Smithy’s head doesn’t budge, seeing the aura that the four of them are giving off.

“Nonsense!” Genocide’s core makes itself more visible. “That’s not my name! That’s not who I am! Obey me! Obey!”

Smithy’s head turns around, and the color in his eyes returns.

“No,” Smithy growls, free of his control. “I will be controlled by you no more! I won’t let you hurt them! Even if it hurts like hell to fight back!”

“I said, obey me!” The blackened star shrieks as Smithy hovers over him. “I have the power of many, and you are nothing but a weak piece of scrap metal! You are not the tyrant you once were! You are my weapon!”

Smithy ignores this, screeching at Absolute Genocide and enveloping what is left of his wooden vessel.

A horrible sound erupts from the two of them. Absolute Genocide and Smithy are both gone.

Everything around the Eternal Fort begins to vanish.

Sir Weston opens his eyes. They are back outside of Exor.

A tiny star lies before the party.

“Well fought and won.”

The star gasps in pain, exhausted. Having lost his vessel, Genocide had also lost his confidence.

“Smithy has failed to end it, so it is best that you finish me. Conclude this horrible tale once and for all.” The star spirit says. “Only you can do it. Go ahead. Avenge Smithy and all of those other people I have hurt.”

…

“No.”

Refusing, Sir Weston turns around, Fryguy and Bup nod in agreement while Rawk Hawk is visibly ruffled.

“Come on,” Weston sighs. “Let’s get out of here and leave this fool.”

Genocide is left alone to his thoughts once again. The four that had confronted him, and delivered his answers, would not put an end to his story.

Chapter Text

The doors swing open. Young Cricket and Yoshi shield themselves from the light. The rest of the party emerges, much to Mia’s joy.

“You’re all okay!” She cries out, immediately scooting over to Rawk Hawk in an attempt to hug him. “What happened to Yubi? She came here to help us and that monster took her away while we were distracted!”

Sir Weston lowers his gaze.

“I’m afraid that Yubi and Smithy…”

His words trailed off, leaving the other three saddened.

“No…” Young Cricket’s face falls, his fists clenched.

“Yubi, Smithy, we’re sorry. We did the best we could.” Fryguy sighs, wanting to pay respect. “Dimentio too, for as evil as he had been, I did not wish something so horrible upon him. I hope he now understands and can redeem himself in another life.”

A moment of silence is broken by Rawk Hawk clearing his throat.

“So, uh, how do we get back home?”

Before Sir Weston and Fryguy can make any suggestions, the doors swing open once more.

“Not yet!”

The little blackened star emerges, dragging itself across the floor before suspending itself in the air.

“This fight isn’t over! This tale shall not end until one of us disappears forever!”

“Can’t you take a hint, buddy? We’re done fighting you!” Rawk Hawk exclaims. His body is then enveloped by dark magic, sending him straight over to the golden statue of GenoSyche.

“Look upon the many faces of death and destruction! My image spread across the universe!” Genocide laughs. “You know him well? The valorous men of violence, claiming glory!”

Young Cricket soon follows, transported before the statue of Zhong.

“Corrupt individuals that will erase whoever stands in their way!”

Yoshi to Jeenoside.

“Beasts that devour innocents without regard or care!”

Mia to G-No. 0-C1-D3.

“Machines that are eventually disposed of or destroyed!”

Fryguy to Lord Saitou.

“Mankind shall sleep for eternity, never to open their eyes!”

Bup to O’Side the Brash.

“Criminals punished by so-called justice!”

… and finally, Sir Weston to General Cyde.

“Or living tools sent out into war! The many forms of I, Genocide! Embrace death! Accept your fate and perish! To live is to also die!” Genocide laughs, completely hysterical.

Sir Weston just responds by taking out Smithy’s sledgehammer. Young Cricket brandishes the nunchucks, Mia transforms, and Fryguy draws the Masamune.

“Fine,” Sir Weston sighs. “Then it’s one last dance with death you’ll get!”

Fryguy opens his eyes and finds himself at the top of the castle as he did before, with a blizzard in the sky. Lord Saitou stands before Fryguy, but this time Clawgrip is nowhere in sight, leaving Fryguy to finish this on his own.

Lord Saitou disposed of his feudal attire. He doesn’t give Fryguy a powerful speech about the suffering of others or his plans, instead, he gives the fire elemental a look of longing.

Unlike Genocide, Saitou sought peace. He wanted this to end.

Fryguy calls upon his strongest spell, a giant, flaming meteor that descends from the heavens. He prays this finishes things quickly.

Lord Saitou barely gets a chance, breaking apart and falling to the sea as he did before.

Even in recreation, Fryguy cannot save him.

Poochy, Boshi, and Birdo are gone, leaving Yoshi to fend off Jeenoside by himself in the pit. The larger, tyrannical dinosaur roars at Yoshi, but this time, he knows there is nothing to fear.

Not when he and everyone else had unlocked their best potential.

Swallowing the unusually colored sphere, Yoshi spreads white wings and takes flight into the air. He circles around the larger reptile and spews flames, burning his rough skin until it was nothing more but charred leather.

Yoshi lands gracefully, and the skeleton of the tyrant collapses.

Bup glances to his left, Sniper Wolf isn’t there to back him up.

“What are you going to do… against this bazooka!?”

He looks straight ahead and finds the criminal before his eyes.

O’Side gives him a tired look, aiming the rocket launcher but being no match for the Toad’s impeccable speed. Bup’s spots flash green and he fires three rounds of six, giving the criminal leader no time to react.

It was like swallowing a Golden Mushroom, and Bup had been given three dice blocks to roll the damage.

O’Side dissolves in the sand, leaving behind the body of a Dry Bones as he had before.

“Come on! I’ll roast you like drumsticks and have you for dinner!”

Rawk Hawk doesn’t even bother giving GenoSyche the time of day. He was strong before, but he became even stronger now. Jumping up from the arena and raising his palms, Rawk Hawk shouts at the top of his lungs.

“Heartbreaker’s Hand!”

Once again, the combatant cannot move out of the way in time, he bemoans his inability to defeat Rawk Hawk and it all disappears.

“Hilarious,” Zhong laughs. “It’s like we’re two sides of the same coin! You, the protector of people, while I have—!”

Young Cricket doesn’t even bother waiting for Zhong’s monologue to finish. He’s tired and wants this all over with.

While the former martial artist rambled, he had charged Master Mantis’s ultimate technique, then extended his fists forward while Zhong was distracted by the pork dumpling.

Just like last time. Zhong is caught off-guard and is sent crashing through the window.

“I just want to go home already,” Young Cricket sighs.

“Henshin! Meowmaid power!”

Mia is fully transformed. Floating before the appearance the mother computer has taken, in the familiar, rose-colored HUD.

Extending out of her claws and using one of them as a sword, Mia lunges forward.

“Machines like us do not have hearts!” The mother computer shrieks while glitching out.

Mia’s movements are like that of an elegant dance rather than an apex predator in metal form.

“I swear, I’ll change the world!” Mia declares, shredding the mother computer in the hopes of turning her to ribbons.

The mother computer explodes into pixels, rose petals are left in Mia’s wake.

Sir Weston looks up at the E.L.H. Bogmire is not there to help.

Physically speaking, he is alone. But spiritually, he knows he isn’t.

“I can resist your abilities tenfold in this state, and what’s more, I can finish you off once you’re weakened!”

That’s where the E.L.H is wrong. Transforming her body to resist ice does nothing to deter Sir Weston, for dry ice cannot compare to the freezing pits that contained Satan himself.

“Bogmire, Smithy, Culex, Yubi,” Sir Weston breathes. “Let’s finish this.”

He raises his hands, freezing waters surround E.L.H.

“Ninth Circle of Hell!”

She is then encased up to her head, just like the devil in the poem.

Chapter Text

When Sir Weston returns, he barely feels conscious, and he isn’t the only one.

A thick, orange liquid covers his spectral form, successfully entrapping him. The same applies to everyone else, consumed by an unknown substance, where none of them can move.

“I can’t budge!” Rawk Hawk yells.

“What happened?” Young Cricket coughs. “One minute I was back home, fighting Zhong again…”

His words trail off. “Hang in there, please!” Mia begs, desperately trying to break free in the feeble hope of aiding the other party members.

“Why are we back here?” Fryguy mutters. “Could it be that—”

A horrible, dark vortex is before their eyes. Everything had been consumed by the black hole, including the world surrounding them. Even the previously-voided-out-of-reality DJ Hallyboo and those in purgatory had been sucked in by the mass.

“Hopeless.”

The tiny star can be seen in the deepest part of the black hole, cackling wildly.

“Did you all have a nice nap? You thought I sent you back home to face my many incarnates, didn’t you?” Genocide laughs at them. “Fools! Once I had taken Alpha’s power as my own, all I needed to do was give you all the most pleasant dream imaginable— the dream of your victory!”

Sir Weston tries to freeze the liquid, but even that proves futile. Yoshi and Bup eventually stop struggling, surrendering to what they were in.

“Yubi’s ability liquified all biological matter, I turned the essence of life itself against you, trapping you where you are now. And with what remains of the Dark Star in Fawful, I have used to plunge this world in complete darkness!”

The vortex stops swirling, taking the appearance of an oversized demon, similar to Culex. The new Lord of Dark had taken form at last.

“And finally, what I have left of Dimentio, will be used to consume your worlds and leave nothing behind! For I am death itself, the end! I am Genocide!”

Is there really nothing left that could be done?

…

Sir Weston closes his eyes, rapidly losing his strength.

“That’s right, lie there and perish.” Genocide says. “There isn’t a hope or wish in this universe that can save you.”

Wart sits comfortably on his tattered throne. That’s when a cyan-colored star appears before him.

“What the—?”

The amphibious king rises from his seat, seeing the image of Fryguy who had collapsed.

“Troops! My fellow 8 Bits! To me at once!”

Mouser, Tryclyde, and the newly recruited Clawgrip all rush to the side of their leader. All of them are shocked at the sight of Fryguy, being consumed by some sort of orange liquid, unable to break free as some sort of monster towers over him.

“Fryguy!?” Mouser exclaims. “Where the heck is he? What happened to him!? Hey! Fryguy! Can you hear us!? Get back here! Come back home already!”

The fire elemental twitches lightly.

“I think he can hear us!” Clawgrip steps forward, looking determined. “Right now, Fryguy needs us more than ever, but we can’t help him from here! That place looks far away from Subcon and the other dream worlds!”

“What do we do?” Tryclyde hisses.

“We have to send him our hope! We have to let him know we believe in him!” Clawgrip announces.

“That’s ridiculous! Things don’t just work like that!” Mouser turns to face Wart. “Can you get a load of this new guy, boss!?”

Wart, however, places his hand against the Star Piece.

“Even if it seems silly, it’s something silly I’m willing to do to save my minions!”

Mouser and Tryclyde’s eyes widen.

“Fryguy! Listen to me! As the one who brought you into the 8 Bits, I believe in you!” Wart shouts. “Don’t give up! There’s only room for one tyrant in Subcon, and that’s me! You can’t let this idiot win!”

“You can do it, Fryguy!” Clawgrip adds. “You defeated Lord Saitou, you can defeat this guy too!”

“Honey is waiting to apologize to you, Fryguy!” Tryclyde finally caves in. “You cannot let her down!”

Birdo, Poochy, Boshi, and the rest of the Yoshi clan surround themselves around the red Star Piece.

They all see Yoshi had collapsed and gasp in horror. Once they notice the monster in the same frame as him, laughing maniacally, they all know what to do.

The Yoshi clan, along with Birdo, begins to sing a song. A happy song that would lift his spirits no matter how far apart they were.

He was their new leader and none of them were going to give up on Yoshi after he had pulled through so much. Especially not Birdo. Yoshi believed in her despite everything, and now it was time to return the favor in kindness.

Toadsworth, Twila, Brighton, Tumble, and MC Ballyhoo are confronted by the green Star Piece, showing a fallen Bup.

“It can’t be,” Toadsworth mutters.

“The Green Demon! He needs our help!” Tumble cries out.

“Demon? He’s no demon,” Brighton directs everyone’s attention to the monster looming over. “That thing back there is a demon!”

“Bup, was it? Don’t give up now!” MC Ballyhoo shouts. “You lifted the burden I had been carrying for years, and you gotta give Sniper Wolf one last dance! Don’t fail us! For what you’ve done, we’ll always have your back!”

The Glitz Pit had some surprise visitors when the Star Piece suddenly descended.

“Don’t let this villain bring you down, slick!” Doopliss shouts at the orange Star Piece, as he and many others can witness Rawk Hawk’s defeat. “Come on, after all of that, you’re just going to lose to him!?”

“Amigo, don’t besmirch my name after what I have given you!” Cortez shouts.

“You can’t lose! You’ve really pulled through and come too far for failure now!” Lady Bow adds.

Jolene stands there amidst all of them, clutching her chest.

She remembers when this exact same thing happened with the Crystal Stars. Rawk Hawk had cheered on the Great Gonzales to keep fighting against the Shadow Queen.

Now, it was happening again, against a new shadow. Rawk Hawk had somehow become as much of a hero as Mario.

Master Mantis and Wario stare at the blue Star Piece.

“What am I supposed to do with this? Do I sell this for money?” Wario asks.

“Young Cricket!” Master Mantis exclaims, seeing his fallen student. “Cricket, remember everything I have taught you! Above all else, there is no giving up when people need our help!”

Just about all of the WarioWare, Inc. employees join in on cheering for Young Cricket, knowing that he would never stop in tough situations such as these.

Wario initially hesitated, before joining in and yelling into the Star Piece.

“You better come back and kick this guy’s butt! I need my employees alive, you know!”

Finally out of the hospital, Francis, Nastasia, Mimi, and O’Chunks look at the purple Star Piece in awe.

“Mia!?” Francis stammers.

“History repeats itself, doesn’t it? A void about to swallow everything,” Mimi groans. “Villains are so predictable, aren’t they? Like seriously, who does this guy think he is? Taking the Count’s bit except doing it with less style!”

“Mia! Yeh better pull it together, ‘ey!” O’Chunks shouts. “Yeh can’t fall apart on meh after all yeh done, yeh changed meh, lass!”

Rather than pushing them up, Nastasia takes her glasses off for the first time, revealing bright red eyes.

“Mia,” she hesitates. “Even if we are separated, our hearts will always be as one! That’s what you said to defeat the mother computer, isn’t it!? We are all one with you right now!”

Somewhere, far, far away in the universe, Blumiere and Timpani are most likely cheering Mia on too.

The yellow Star Piece lies before Slim Bankshot, and Slim Bankshot alone.

He sees Sir Weston, fallen, unable to get back up despite being a spirit.

Briefly, the pool shark considers calling E. Gadd, Clairvoya, and everyone else to see what’s taking place, but when Slim sees the monster responsible, he stands his ground.

“Weston…”

He glares at the monster.

“No matter how much you want me to go away and stop bothering you, I’m always going to be there. I’ll spend my afterlife by your side and breaking the ice that keeps you closed off!”

Slim then begins to smile softly.

“Because… I like you. I enjoy being around you.”

“What? What is this? What is this familiar, dreadful feeling?”

Genocide reels back. The Star Pieces all return to their owners, blinding Genocide with a bright light. Their full luster had finally returned.

“Hopes? Wishes!? It cannot be!”

The Star Pieces surround the Lord of Dark, freeing the little star from the black hole inside and the heroes from liquid prisons.

“Genocide… Geno… no, that isn’t who I am.”

The little star turns around, slowly regaining the bright yellow coloring as the Star Pieces bring their hopes to him.

“I am ♡♪!?, that is who I am! I serve… a higher authority! Not death and destruction!”

Joining with the seven stars, ♡♪!? prepares a powerful attack.

With the combined light of eight, the Star Pieces and ♡♪!? unleash a blast at Genocide’s form. The party, although dazed, joins ♡♪!? in finishing the monster within. It roars in pain, dissolving from the united strength.

All of the hopes, dreams, and wishes for the heroes, had conquered the embodiment of destruction itself.

It dissolves into a cloud of dark dust, falling to the earth.

Genocide is no more.

Chapter Text

The Mushroom Kingdom and Bowser’s Keep return to their original images.

The hopes and wishes of many had brought everything back.

Geno stands there, having regained his wooden form somehow. Perhaps the wish of the young Toad child had wanted his friend back.

He stares at his own hands, horrified at what he sees.

“What has happened?” Geno stammers. “What have I become? Did I turn this world into a wasteland? For what?” He falls to his knees. “Because of my intense task to restore the Star Road? Mario, Princess Toadstool, Mallow, Bowser, the Smithy Gang, even Polari, and my mother… All of those I care about, I have hurt!”

…

Sir Weston immediately grabs him by the cowl and slams him against the wall, ice trailing up the doll’s body.

“Sickening! What are you doing, feeling sorry for yourself, caring only about those you know, and not all the lives you had ruined!? Show some sympathy for those who had suffered! What about Yubi? Alpha? Or Culex!? Or all of the children in this kingdom!?”

He drops Geno to the ground without another word.

“Weston, I understand your frustration, but please, calm yourself,” Fryguy says. Although he is kind of inclined to agree with the ghost, he knows to keep a strong head. “Sometimes, there are things you must think about outside of your servitude. I may be loyal to Wart, but I am also loyal to my own heart. I believe that peace can make things better, and destruction is rarely necessary.”

Bup steps up next.

“It never feels nice to mess up, I know the feeling. You just want to turn back time or lash out, but ya can’t do that.” He twirls his revolver and takes off his hat, keeping that usual, strange smile of his. “But things don’t end just because they turn out sour for ya. Life keeps moving. Your heart may be broken from all that’s happened, but ya still have it. It just needs to be used for good.”

Rawk Hawk follows suit, only to immediately start flexing in the vain hope that valor would heal Geno’s pained soul.

“I may be strong, but I know to never bite off more than I can chew on my own! You kept trying to fight, but never stopped for a few seconds to think about what you could be risking!” He then pauses awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. “I wanna be the best, and while I know it can’t last, I’m not going to do something stupid.”

Young Cricket takes a bow.

“You have taught us quite a lot, even if that wasn’t your intention.” Young Cricket starts. “You came here to make sure people still had their hopes and wishes, didn’t you? Like me, you just wanted to protect people. Never lose sight of that. Focus not on your pride, but on those you want to defend from the world.”

Mia wheels up to Geno.

“Little one, growing up alone in such deep sorrow. Never lose that strength or nobility ever again, please.” She then offers him single pink rose from inside her compartment. “I give you this to remember our encounter. Please never forget.”

Finally, there is Yoshi, who doesn’t say anything.

He just walks up to Geno and hugs him.

“S… S… So… So happy!”

Yoshi then lets him go.

“Happiness? Protecting others? Strength and nobility?” Geno mulls it over. “Loyalty, making mistakes, and the lives of others…”

♡♪!? leaves the body of Geno, but takes the rose he had been gifted.

“You are all right,” ♡♪!? sighs. “I will move on from this, and life will go on without me. The lives I have taken, the last wish that I want to be granted… is that they will return and forget the horrible pain I had caused them.”

He then flies into the air.

"Please never forget what happened here. For it seems that just about anybody can bring the end."

He vanishes in the sky The Star Pieces would return to the Star Road soon.

“Make ready, you lot.”

Fryguy and Mia flinch, turning to see a battered, but alive Dimentio.

Alongside him are Yubi, Alpha, Fawful, Smithy, and Culex. An unconscious DJ Hallyboo also lies on the ground.

“I shall send you all home very soon, your time here is finished,” Dimentio says, readying his magic. “I am… grateful that you saved me. Even if I didn’t deserve it.” There is a somewhat regretful expression on his mask. Yubi smiles, standing behind him and putting her hands on his shoulders.

“What about Yubi? And the rest of you?” Young Cricket asks.

Smithy grunts, his minions joining him. “I already served the punishment I almost believed I deserved. I guess we’re going to keep traveling through dimensions. Probably not going to pull the same mistake we did before.” Bowyer desperately tries to reach out for Mia but is held back by Yaridovich.

“I think I will keep an eye on Smithy just in case,” Culex grins. “Best we don’t have another Lord of Dark indirectly caused by him.” Smithy shoots him a glare in response.

“Cool, can I join you guys? You seem like fans of metal!” Alpha laughs.

“Wait, Fawful wants to follow Miss Alpha!” The Beanish stammers. “Fawful does not want Miss Alpha getting obliterated like the Great Cackletta!”

With that, the Smithy Gang, Culex, Alpha, and Fawful depart. Bowyer manages to successfully break free, embracing Mia at the last minute. She’s confused as he lets go and runs away to his group. Dimentio proceeds to send them all away.

Reluctantly and quietly, Dimentio sends Yubi back home next, before finally turning his attention to the seven heroes.

“Right, so,” Dimentio snaps his fingers. “Stand in front of those statues, will you?”

The party does as they are told.

Fryguy is first to speak as a black hole begins to take him away. “Farewell, my friends.” He smirks. “Rest assured, I will not forget about any of you.” He then disappears, swallowed by the void.

“Yoshi!” Yoshi is next, going into the void. “So happy! Byeeeeee!” He waves goodbye to everyone and Sir Weston waves back.

Bup tips his hat. “It was nice, not being alone for a little while. I’m going to miss you guys.” He departs.

Rawk Hawk decides to make it as dramatic as possible, performing various poses for the remaining party members. “Rawk Hawk may be forgotten, but he won’t forget any of this for years to come!” He then proceeds to dive into the void, exactly as he came in.

Young Cricket takes a bow once more. “I cannot thank you all enough,” his stomach then growls. “But I’m afraid I’m overdue for dinner, so I must go now. Hopefully, we can all meet again!” He takes the white nunchucks with him into the void.

Mia looks at Sir Weston one last time, only the two of them remain.

“Even if we are separated, our hearts will always be as one. Never forget that.”

That’s all Mia has to say as she wheels herself into the portal, leaving the ghost to himself.

…

He smiles and exits.

They would never forget, on that very day, how anybody could bring the end.

Chapter Text

Time passes, and all things heal.

Using his magic bubbles, Wart manages to transform Clawgrip into a much larger crab, completing his integration as the newest member of the 8 Bits.

Wart and the rest of the team plan to invade Subcon once again, this time without kidnapping the children of some meddlesome family. Fryguy has a feeling he knows how this will end, but continues his loyalty and never strays from his path.

If anything, he’s happy to have a new friend in the group. And to make things even better, it seems that Panzer and the others who once abandoned the 8 Bits are now considering rejoining. Despite what they had done, Wart is more than willing to welcome them back with open arms.

Fryguy decides he wants to fix things with his former captain, leaving to speak with the Beezo in private.

As the new Village Leader, Yoshi begins making moldy adjustments for the Yoshi clan. Shyguy underlings that once worked for Kamek that abandoned their post are now welcome to stay on the Yo'Ster Island, Yoshi will not refuse anyone no matter who they are.

Birdo seems extremely friendly and familiar with Shyguys, saying she had known a lot of them back home. Either way, the Yoshi clan, Shyguys, and Birdo all start playing sports games together.

Yoshi hopes that he can reunite with the babies he had saved all of those years ago. They’ve probably grown up into adults by now. Birdo thinks she had met them before and thinks that they won’t like her, but Yoshi assures her that the brothers would be more than forgiving.

And he was proven right when they attended a tennis tournament years later.

“I found you!”

The Snifit had successfully caught up with Bup in the middle of the Creepy Caverns. She dismounted her pink Yoshi and approached the Toad’s campfire.

“Nowhere else to run in here, I’m afraid!” Sniper Wolf corners him. “Man, you’ve had me out on a loop for a while. For a minute, I was startin’ to think you up and died on me!”

Bup finally stands up, refusing to draw his newly-acquired revolver out on his longtime rival. “Can I ask you something?” Bup starts. “What did I do to earn the bounty on my head? And why is it always you that I see chasing after it? There isn’t a single hunter out there as persistent as you are.”

Sniper Wolf just chuckles. “Isn’t it obvious? Your tales as one of the best guards in Peach’s Castle have spread, no matter how much ya try to bury the past. And you’ve decided to put those talents of yours to waste.” Sniper Wolf doesn’t ready herself, waiting to see the gun before she acts. “The Princess of Sarasaland would like to recruit, and is willing to pay for ya! Or y’all can defeat her best mercenary to keep me off your tail!”

For once, Bup breaks his smile, actually surprised.

“I don’t want to fight you,” Bup says. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“Because the chase is too fun and I personally don’t want to be replaced!” Sniper Wolf laughs. “I’m close to retiring, you know? Gotta make this last mission of mine fun! The tragic end to this tale finishes with my life, not yours—”

“You won’t be replaced if I join willingly!” Bup objects, surprising her. “Please, don’t be like me! It doesn’t have to end. I wanna be your partner, not your enemy!”

Sniper Wolf freezes.

Retirement would wait.

Rawk Hawk stands before his fellow fighters, fully recovered, before a crowd of adoring fans.

All of them cheer. It’s a moment he wants to cherish, knowing that it won’t last forever. Rawk Hawk hopes that whoever takes the mantle after him would hold it high. And then the person after that. And so on and so forth.

But more than anything, Rawk Hawk hopes that he can remember the bonds that he created. Fame and valor were small bonuses. He hadn’t been truly happy in his glory until he realized what was truly special to him.

He thinks he’ll retire when Jolene is no longer the manager. Things just wouldn’t be the same without her. The other Glitz Pit fighters know it too because she had done so much for them in her time there.

Time passes, and during his training, Young Cricket suddenly obtained an adoring fan. A fan that is perhaps a little bit on the annoying side at times, but she always believes in him. Whenever she gets in trouble, he’s always there to help her.

Wario has made a lot of friends and a lot of enemies over the years, he keeps doing greedy things that are mildly infuriating, including taking something from the adoring fan in question. Despite this, Young Cricket and Master Mantis say that they will protect WarioWare, Inc. should the time call for it.

Lately, he asks Orbulon if he considers himself a human, since he’s been on Earth for so long. The alien once planned on taking over Earth but had changed his mind after settling.

Young Cricket asks Orbulon about the human race could evolve. And says that no matter how the world changes, or how little, he will protect people.

Mia has requested to call Francis ‘father’ instead of ‘master’ like she usually does. She also asks to see more of the world outside of the fort.

Uncertain at first, Francis allows it. Mia begins making her own fashion choices in her transformed state, wearing a white suit and a matching top hat. She has a certain tomboyish elegance to her whenever she walks into a room, a stark contrast to how Mimi and Nastasia presented themselves.

O’Chunks, Nastasia, and Mimi are reminded of a familiar time when Mia joins them. She isn’t a replacement, but she certainly fills a void that had been lost for some time.

Mia notes that Nastasia and O’Chunks had gotten closer ever since the incident in Fort Francis.

She thinks about the strange bow that hugged her. Her feelings are so conflicted, but nonetheless happy.

Perhaps she could join them, perhaps she could go her own path. All Mia hopes is that the star still had the rose she had gifted him.

Sir Weston ends up opening an ice cream stand, only open during the evening hours in Isle Delfino. Residents and tourists alike are fond of him, no longer afraid of the cold ghost. In turn, he has opened himself up to be friendlier.

A single ring decorates his right hand, hidden beneath a glove, it matches the one his partner has.

He misses Bogmire but knows that somewhere, the angel is watching him. As for the friends he had made? Sir Weston just wishes he had gotten to know them a bit longer. He wanted to know about their journeys, especially Yoshi.

When he returns to E. Gadd’s lab, he digs out the journal from his pack and opens it, wanting to remember the adventure he had with them in the Mushroom Kingdom.

But when he turns the pages all the way back, he sees six written entries he had not made before. The handwriting is not his own either.

One is written in delicate ink strokes, while had drawings made in crayon, and another has words printed on directly. Just about every page describes each trial each of his respective had gone through back in their homelands.

Opening a portal with his powers, Dimentio stands on the balcony, watching ♡♪!? fall from the night sky.

“Why have you brought me back?”

“Well, you did the same for me, even if you took it away.” Dimentio scoffs. “Neither of us deserves happy endings considering what we did, now do we? Yet, I have followed the girl.”

“The girl?”

“Everything is back to normal in the land you messed up before you ask. The boy got his favorite doll back, Mario, the Princess, and all of the others don’t remember what happened after Smithy’s initial defeat. Mallow is back with his parents and Bowser has returned to his keep.” Dimentio explains. “I kept a careful eye and watched everything. I would have caused problems, but she kept me from doing so.”

“What about mother?”

“She knows of what you did and is choosing to keep it a secret from the rest of the universe.”

…

“Don’t be so glum,” Dimentio chuckles. “You couldn’t return there so you wandered space for eternity, is that right?”

Yubi steps through the glass, sliding door, gently pulling Dimentio aside. ♡♪!? expects the worst for what he had done, but instead, Yubi holds her hand out to him.

“I’m not angry at you.”

Reluctantly, he gets close, allowing the Ultimate Being to touch him.

“You are like me, yet so different, which is why you wanted to learn more about me at first, didn’t you?” Yubi smiles. “I forgive you because I know you would have forgiven me if I had become a monster. Anybody can bring the end, right?”

♡♪!? draws back. He raises himself to the skies once more.

“You and Dim are fascinating,” she says. “You aren’t biological matter. I cannot destroy you even if I wanted to, or by accident. It’s strangely comforting.” Yubi wags her tail and glows, almost like a star. “Do you think you will return? I want to know your name and more about you. Dim has told me everything about himself.”

…

“Yes,” he answers. “I shall. My name is… Geno.”