Mario 1. Chapter 1

"_What are your final words, Dark King?"_

Inside of a citadel resting on the plains of a desert, a figure in a bulky black suit of armor is kneeling on the ground, chained to a seven-circle rune seal by hundreds of holy ropes. Another man stands before him, a plethora of mages holding torches standing in rows behind him. He has a sword at the other man's neck, his eyes not visible under the shadows of the night sky. The man in the armor lifts his head up and grins from ear to ear, fangs being revealed in the center of his teeth as he looks up at his executor.

"You have me bound to these ropes as you prepare to extract my soul and seal it away…But in the end you are only sealing one card out of four. You got the King, but the other three still linger, wandering this world under my orders so they can revive me when the time is right and extinguish your legacy…Elemental Overlord." "…Is that so?" The other man calmly replies to the Dark King's grim omen. "It will be. You know the higher-ups won't accept my disappearance for too long, and the evil they will create to fill my void…Hehehe, you don't want to know." A follower of the Elemental Overlord appears behind his master, kneeling on the ground to bow in his presence.

"Sir, we have sealed away the Dark King's second-in-command like you requested." The Overlord turns his head around and looks at his follower, one eye glancing back over at the overly calm Dark King as he continues to grin. "Take a scouting group and look around the planet, there may be some remnants of his army wandering around that will need to either be sealed or killed." "Yes sir!" The follower promptly responds, nodding his head slightly as he vanishes in a puff of fire. The Dark King bursts into a fit of laughter, which is aimed at the Elemental Overlord for his naivety. "Overlord, you are wasting your time…That is, the little time you have left in this realm." He states with a frenzied look in his eyes.

"They'll be allowed to accomplish what they wish to do, and there is nothing you can do to stop them. After all, you've already done enough to interfere with the balance between light and dark…Get involved with one more planet, and not even your own soul will be spared from their wrath. It matters little…One day, someway; somehow, you will once again endure the wrath of my judgment. All you are doing is stalling that inevitability…" The Elemental Overlord presses the tip of his blade against the Dark King's neck, making certain that he doesn't break a blood vessel in the process. "There may be nothing that I can do, but something will be done about your followers on this planet, rest assured. I've allowed you enough words Dark King…If you may…" The man nudges his head up towards a robed figure standing behind the man clad in black. She takes her hands and wraps them around his head, pulling it back as far as she can while the Overlord retracts his blade slightly to compensate for the increased length of the guilty party's neck. The robed woman begins a chant, and before the job is done the Dark King's laughter echoes throughout the nearly barren citadel…

Cut to the present, where the green-skinned witch that goes by the name of Cackletta is busy reminiscing about the Dark King's final moments in an unknown realm. She is overlooking a dark, hazy view screen that allows her to peer into the mortal world, the hood of her cloak covering her head as her thin, wrinkly fingers are stretched out in front of her. Her attention focused on the household of the Mario Bros., her wicked mind is putting together the final pieces of her master plan, a plan that she has waited many, many years to execute. The day to unleash hell upon Plit was about to arrive, and before she turns around her trusted aide Fawful walks up behind her and chuckles gleefully to himself.

"I am in the act of having that which I have clearly described as chortles! Mistress Cackletta, I can sense that you are feeling the emotion that can clearly be seen as happiness. May I perform the act of inquiring as to what is up?" The witch walks forward and waves her hand to seal the view screen behind her, laying one of her hands down onto her colleague's shoulder and sending a shiver down his puny spine. "I'm going to make the final preparations. Tell Smithy that it is time for him to play his role in our plan, and don't come back until Dimentio is alerted of the news as well." With her order given in an excited tone, the witch opens a portal of darkness in front of her and slips through it to vanish from sight, the little green man opening his mouth up wide to chuckle once more before sealing it with a grin and scurrying across the pitch black realm to the destination his mistress assigned him to go to. Yes, little did the people of Plit know, today was the start of the longest twenty-four hours the planet had ever known…

**Clash of the Elements Part 2: Judgment of the Dark King**

**Chapter 1: A Normal, Peaceful Beginning**

It is a bright sunny day in the land of the Mushroom Kingdom. Then again, a majority of the time the weather is like that around there, so it really comes as no surprise that today would be like the rest of them. There is a lone house far away from the main city of Toad Town where the planet's most renowned heroes, the Mario Bros., live. But as of now they aren't around, having gone to town to collect any supplies they need for the coming weeks. This leaves another person alone inside the house to tend to his own business.

He is Alex Whiter, the 12-year old boy who with the help of the Mario Bros., five other heroes, the rest of the planet and his own determination, managed to make his way to the top of the Origin Temple and claim the Elemental Overlord's powers for himself. Three months ago when this event happened he also succeeded in slaying the one who had gained the power of the former Overlord's polar opposite, the Dark King. But in the process of doing so the temple was obliterated, leaving little left of the man's legacy save for the powers that the boy now wielded and the former outer guardian of the Nature Castle, the once wolf now Crayzee Dayzee known as Driad.

Two months after that battle, Alex was thrust into another one against the lord of Subspace, who went by the fitting name of Tabuu. Though at first he and the herald of Star Haven Geno spent time defending the holy sanctuary of the Star Spirits from the charge of the Subspace Army, the young Overlord eventually made his way into the realm and fought the man in single combat. After learning of Tabuu's reasonable grudge against the strange being called the Master Hand, Alex took it upon himself to carry the burden of that grudge, allowing the lord of Subspace to finally pass on and removing the realm from existence forever. In the span of time since then the boy has managed to keep the truth about Tabuu a secret from all but one other person. But save for that, nothing has happened to disturb this period of peace that the period is going through.

Even Bowser, the fearsome Koopa King of Dark Land, has minimized the amount of times that he goes and kidnaps Peach. Some say that his ego has been bruised because of the fact that he has had to help his long-time nemesis TWICE recently; others say that he fears retaliation from the reborn Overlord if he ends up going too far in his goals. Either way, the only appearances he has made as of recent days is during the usual sports events and kart races that the kingdom holds, where he discards his antagonistic behavior and plays fair in hopes of beating Mario to impress the lovely Princess Peach.

Anyways, now that all that has been said, it is time to check up on the young Alex Whiter, as he is seen sitting on a couch drinking Goombaberry juice out of a humble ruby goblet that Mallow had gotten for him on his birthday just a week ago. He has the T.V. on in front of him, the screen showing the weather reports for the various locales on the planet. He is wearing his usual clothes, right down to the socks and shoes. The black leather glove of his that was specifically designed by the resident scientist E. Gadd is still on him, and will continue to be there until the day he dies. Though this wouldn't exactly be a pleasant through for most, the boy never once lingers on that fact and continues to keep his attitude as cheery as he can whenever an enemy isn't threatening the sanctity of the world.

"Sunny with a chance of clouds on Saturday…Huh, the barometric pressure in the atmosphere says otherwise." He says in a sarcastic tone, flaunting his knowledge to the weather reporter who obviously cannot hear him. "Oh wow, Yoshi's Island is going to have a rare temperature of 75 degrees next Monday? I haven't been there yet; maybe I should fly over there and check it out…" After taking another sip of his rather sweet drink, Alex places the goblet on the glass portion of the table and picks up the nearby remote, lifting it up and pressing down on the power button with his thumb to shut the T.V. off. He then places it back down and stands up, his arms outstretched above him as he lets out a light yawn.

When this is done he smacks his lips together, turning towards the doorway and moving away from the couch before he leans one arm against the underside of the other's elbow and rests the palm of it against the bottom of his chin, his head tilted to the left as a curious look gleams in his eyes. "What should I do today? E. Gadd is off at the Science Expo in the Beanbean Kingdom to show off the Stargadd, so I can't go check out the ruins of the Origin Temple…Mallow is talking to Peach, and since he has some royal duties to take care of afterwards he won't be able to spend any time with us at the house…I seriously doubt Alpha and Gemini require my company, even if I did know how to reach them…And Geno, well, I really can't consider him an option considering it's not his time of the month to visit. I guess I could head into town and try to find Mario and Luigi, or Driad if I'm lucky enough. Yeah, I think I'll do that!"

Enthusiastically stating his intentions for today, Alex rushes out the front door and doesn't waste any time in leaping off the edge of the porch and sustaining flight so he can rocket off to Toad Town. Even though logically it would've been faster for him to take the pipe nearby, he did this so he can once again patrol over the kingdom and see how everything has been going lately. There turned out to be little purpose in taking the long path, as everything is back to normal after the last two attacks, but in all fairness Tabuu's attack caused surprisingly little damage to the world so there really wasn't much to deal with after that. "Oh well, at least it's nice to see the citizens' nice smiling faces as I fly overhead…" The boy thinks to himself as he waves down to a few Toad kids who are merrily playing in a park.

After a few more minutes Alex finally arrives in Toad Town, landing down in the center of town with such force that a cloud of dust is lifted up and startles the Toads who up until then were just minding their own business. But when it settles and they see the boy standing there harmlessly, they chatter among each other before getting back to what they were doing. One Toad passes in front of the befuddled young Overlord and whispers to him "You always got to make an entrance like that?" In a deadpan tone before continuing on his way without so much as a glance back. Alex scratches the side of his head while wondering what the fungi meant by that, but stops thinking about that almost instantly as he then begins to wonder where Driad and the Mario Bros. are at.

"Mario and Luigi said they were heading to the shopping district today, so it should be easy to find them. Driad said he was going to train somewhere, but the exact location was not mentioned…" Obviously, there was only one place in town that one could go to get some practice fighting, and since it was the closest and most easily accessible location Alex decided that he would head there first to see how the living flower is handling himself. Strolling across the smooth ground, the boy holds his arms calmly behind his head as a humorous thought pops into his head. "Hehehe…It would be funny if they are already back home wondering where I'm at. It did take me ten minutes to get over here at the rate I flew after all."

When Alex finally reaches the side of town where the dojo is at, he hears some loud noises coming from there. The door to the place is looking ready to break open, either from someone being battered against it or because there is a lot of fighting going on inside that the commotion is causing tons of wind to be blown around. Wanting to investigate the cause of this, the boy runs up the staircase and places his hand on the doorknob to twist and pull it open. When he gets inside, a sharp leaf almost cleaves his head right off of his shoulders. "Whoa!" He exclaims in surprise, his eyes widening momentarily before he takes a look at the fight that is currently going on.

On one side of the room is a Toad wearing a bright yellow robe as a powerful golden aura radiates from his body. His flowing, curved beard is a different color than usual thanks to the aura, and his body floats slightly off the ground while both of his fists are held out beside his body. His opponent is a Crayzee Dayzee wearing a small set of samurai armor made out of wood. He wields a small, rose colored katana held tightly in his right vine hand, though the tip of the blade is resting on the ground and the warrior looks exhausted. Of course, the elderly Toad is also showing signs of wearing down, but he has been trained to not let his opponents know of his weakness.

But with the young Overlord's arrival the flower warrior known as Driad turns his head to the left and gets a happy grin on his face, only for the Toad's left eye to gleam before he charges forward and strikes the flower in the face with a burning uppercut. Alex hadn't even blinked in the time it took for the man to reach the other side of the room. The Toad then stays suspended in mid-air and vanishes until he is behind Driad, a powerful sound similar to that of a sonic boom ruptures the air as an x-crossed shockwave emerges from the flower warrior. This is followed up by three more instances of the Toad appearing back and forth and shockwaves emerging before he lands on the ground and calmly folds his arms into his sleeves, a star-shaped explosion appearing in the sky and knocking the Crayzee Dayzee onto the ground and turning him back into his original form.

The Toad dispels his aura, leaving him back in his red robe and grey beard as he leans his head forward and lets the effects of his age take hold on him again. He then turns around and pulls a green Ultra Shroom out of his sleeve to give to his beaten opponent. The mushroom turns into dust and sinks into the body of the flower, who absorbs the healing effects of it and revitalizes his energy. Driad then leaps to his feet and shakes his head, looking down and noticing that his impact with the floor has left a crater there. Worried about more retribution from "The Master" of the Dojo, he turns around and bows his head with his vines on his knees.

The man is benevolent though, and raises one hand to stop his actions. However, he has some words of advice to say to the flower warrior before their session is done for the day. "You almost had me this time young one. However, you can't keep allowing yourself to be distracted by the motions of those around you. As a swordsman, you have to keep a refined blade at all times. Doubt, hesitation, guilt, surprise…All those emotions do is dull it and lower your efficiency in battle. Either way, that will be all for today. You are dismissed." Driad thanks the Master for his advice after a moment of silence to take it all in, and he then rushes over to Alex with a grin on his face.

"I'll talk to you later Alex, I promised Mario and Luigi that I would make it to the shopping district right after I was done here! Kthnxbai!" After speedily making it past his friend and to the door, Driad opens it up, waves one vine out as he slips past it, and slams it shut as he heads out on his way. With a dumbfounded reaction, the boy only has enough time to raise one hand up in hesitation before the Master begins to walk over to the other side of the room and call out to him. "Young Overlord, stay for a moment, I wish to speak with you about something."

Responding to his request with a silent nod of the head, Alex turns around and walks over to the Master, who has sat down on a pillow and put himself in a meditative pose. He moves a hand away to pat down on one beside him, urging the boy to take a seat next to him as they prepare to talk. He complies to the wishes of the wise old Toad and does just that, folding his arms and legs to mimic the pose that he has taken, keeping only one eyelid open so he can see what the Master is doing. "Eyes shut child." The Toad promptly yet calmly states without a single bit of skin budging besides his mouth.

After Alex closes his opened eyelid, the Master takes a deep breath in and breathes out through his mouth. The young Overlord does the same. After ten seconds of serenity the Toad says something. "You are the one responsible for Driad, correct?" "In a way, yes." "Do not take this as an insult. I do not mind training the Crayzee Dayzee, but as one in tune with the elements don't you think that it is up to you to help him out?" "…It is true that I should be helping him out, but he has already expressed that he would like to gain the strength needed to protect me on his own. If I were to get involved in his training I would simply be staining his honor and disregarding his beliefs." "I see…And Alex, what about your own training?" "My own training?" The boy repeats as a way to expression his utter confusion at the question. "Umm…I haven't actually done any thing of the sort recently…" The expression of the Master crinkles slightly, his thoughts perturbed by that revelation.

"…I see. And just why is that?" "Well, it is mainly because I've been enjoying the peace as of recently. My birthday was last week a-" "So, it is arrogance." "Huh?" "You feel that just because you subdued two threats to the planet, that it gives you an excuse to not further you abilities as the Elemental Overlord and fool around like a mortal normally would, correct?" "…Ummm, well…It is not like I haven't had the time to-" "You have plenty of time to better yourself during a time of peace. You cannot allow your progress to stagnate, or you'll be letting more people down than just yourself. Remember, evil knows not of the definition of time. They will take any chance they got to destroy, torment, and kill whatever or whoever they wish, regardless of their attachments or dreams."

Clenching his right fist in anger over the fact that this senile Toad is trying to lecture him, the all-powerful Elemental Overlord, Alex gets up and starts to storm out towards the door, when the Master says one more thing without breaking his composure. "You would be wise to listen to an old man. I wouldn't be telling you these things unless I knew from experience. Before he exits the dojo, the boy takes a moment to calm himself down and turn towards the meditating Master with a half-hearted smile on his face. "No, you're right. I really should consider doing some training in the future. Thank you for your time, Master." After Alex has left the building, the Master releases a heavy sigh and opens his eyelids slightly, a dreary expression on his face as he worries about the fact that he knew that the boy wasn't serious in his "promise" about training. "Arrogant fool…" He murmurs in a surprisingly cold tone of voice.

Outside the dojo Alex can be seen marching across town towards the shopping district, a grumpy expression on his face as his head is lowered slightly. His once cheery mood having been soured by the words of the Master, the young Overlord alternates between the two as he tries to rationalize with himself about what was said to him. "Where does he get off giving me advice? I'm the Elemental Overlord. I have slain the Dark King, that makes me the strongest out there! But then again, he did sound concerned for my safety…Bah, who is he kidding, his senility has finally gotten to him! Of course, if I don't listen it could come to bite me in the ass later…GAH! THIS PISSES ME OFF!"

While the citizens give the boy worried and puzzled glances, he places his fingers in his hair and ruffles it around, lifting his head up high and letting out a low-pitched growl of annoyance at his current predicament. In his moment of non-attentiveness he ends up running into someone that just so happened to be walking in front of him. The polite side of his personality takes over almost instantly, and without even knowing who he ran into he frantically moves his hands around in front of his chest and utters apology after apology for his reckless, inattentive behavior.

In a lucky coincidence though, the person he ran to was one of the two that he was trying to look for in the first place. It brother of the famous hero of the Mushroom Kingdom who went by many names. "Greenie" "Man in Green" "That One Guy With Mario" are just a few on the long list, but those who respect his efforts to the world always call him by his real name, Luigi. The man in green turns around, in his hand is a bag filled with goodies such as Golden Leaves, Honey Syrups, Super Shrooms, Jammin' Jellies, and for some odd reason, a Coconut Bomb. When he realizes who he ran into, Alex lets out a laugh at the ridiculousness of his constant apologizing and nervously rubs the back of his head.

"Heehee…Oh, its just you Luigi. For a moment I thought I hit a stranger…" "Alex?" The man in green says out of surprise for his young comrade's sudden appearance. "What are you doing in town right now?" He then proceeds to ask. "I was bored and decided to come down and see how you, Mario, and Driad were doing. I caught up with Driad at the Dojo, but after his fight with the Master he ran off, saying that he was coming to find you both…Come to think about it, where is Mario?" As the boy looks around for any signs of the red-garbed plumber, Luigi lifts a hand up over his shoulder and points at the nearby Item Shop. "Driad wanted to know how currency worked, so Mario offered to show him firsthand. I'm just out here holding the supplies until they get out…Actually, I'm surprised that he didn't say anything about you when he arrived."

"He sounded pretty excited to me when he left the Dojo…Even though the Master pretty much kicked his butt twenty ways to Friday when I had arrived. I don't know, I guess he just forgot to mention it." "I suppose so…" Luigi says in a dull tone, not really caring either way since that issue isn't really important at the moment. "So Luigi…" Alex says after lowering his arm down beside his hip and slanting his body to the right. "Want to tell me why you have a Coconut Bomb in that bag of yours?" "Hmm?" The man in green mutters, not really paying attention to the young Overlord due to something else on his mind. It takes him pointing into the bag for Luigi to look at the contents and piece together just what he is getting at.

"Oh, that…I just bought it on a whim. Well, partially on a whim…I figured that maybe I could use it to make something explosive for dinner later on…" The man in green continued to look lost in thought. Alex knew what, or rather who, he was thinking about. It wasn't his business to be snoopy though, so he just kept a mischievous smile on his face to show that he knew. "Man, I'm telling you though, this streak of sunshine we've had lately is certainly relaxing…" Luigi says, embarrassingly turning his head up towards the sky and using his left hand so he can peer towards the sun. "Yeah, you got that right…" The young Overlord cheerfully replies, turning his head to do the same thing as the man in green.

It was certainly a peaceful day, but "The Calm Before the Storm" would be the proper thing to say about this scenario. As said in the beginning, the planet's longest twenty-four hours were about to begin soon enough. Unknown to the two heroes, a dimensional rift is opening up in the sky far away behind from their location, a curved piece of metal poking through it as it something begins to emerge…

_Next Time: The Defenders of…Villainy_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: We Fight For Evil!**

Inside of the Item Shop where Mario and Driad are currently at, we find the two heroes speaking with the shopkeeper, a Toad that goes by the name of Sor. T. The fungi currently has his left hand applied to the front of his face, a puzzled Driad keeping one vine beneath his lower lip as he mumbles a few numbers to himself. Mario, whose appearance I should not have to describe, is holding five coins in the palm of his left hand, and seven in the palm of his right. "Umm…So if I were to take five coins and…No wait a second…Umm, five plus seven is…Umm…" "Driad, do you not know how to add?" Mario says to interrupt his friend's long train of thought and ask him a rather important question. The Crayzee Dayzee moves his vine away from his face and twirls it around in circles while his eyelids are closed tight.

"Well what do you expect; I didn't exactly have anyone to teach me Mathematics during my two-thousand years in the Osagi Woods." He says in such a way that makes Mario interpret that he doesn't really find anything wrong with the issue. "I'm just surprised. From what I've seen, you seem like someone who is really smart but would rather have fun than apply that knowledge to everyday things." The plumber says. "Hey just because one knows a ton about Botany doesn't qualify them for the title of genius. That's pretty much my entire repertoire, save for the fact that I know a couple foreign languages and have an above-average understanding of the definitions of some words." "…Well I guess that's understandable. In that case, why did you want to learn about currency?" Mario then inquires.

"Well I can't just live off your guys' food and water forever. I figure that if I can learn how money works, then I can just use your money to get that stuff myself!" With a goofy smile on Driad's face, the plumber looks at him with a straight expression and thinks to himself "And just how is that any better?" With that question thought, Mario turns to the shopkeeper and apologizes to him for the time wasted that could've been spent dealing with the storage in the back, offering to buy a couple more products to owe up for that fact. The Toad removes his hand from his face and tells the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom not to worry about it, and after the two heroes have exited the shop he gets back to his business for the day.

While Mario and Driad are walking over to the unaware Luigi and Alex, the plumber turns his head towards the cheery flower with a somewhat concerned look on his face. "You know Driad, if you are willing to let me, I would be more than happy to teach you everything you'll need to know about math. And whatever else you are interested to learn about too. Just give me permission and I'll be more than glad to take time out of my day to help out." Mario was being honest in his promise. It was not as if he wanted the Crayzee Dayzee to move away from him, but it wouldn't weigh on his mind as much if he was at the very least capable of handling his own affairs while his brother, Alex and he weren't around the house.

Driad turns around, surprising the plumber with a serious expression to show that he is taking his offer seriously. "Would you really be ok with taking care me like that?" He says with a hint of guilt over his earlier actions in his voice. "Sure. It wouldn't be detrimental for me to do so." Mario replies in a happy, caring tone. "…" The flower turns his head away from the plumber and looks towards the ground. "Mario, while I thank you for the offer…I-I I'm going to need to take some time to think about it. You know how I am about these things, so don't get offended by my lack of an immediate answer…" In an instant after quietly stating his response to the plumber, the Crayzee Dayzee looks up and sees Alex staring up at the sun, his eyes lightning up as he runs over to him and see how he is doing. Mario is left with a hand held out of himself, his mind telling him to say something to Driad but his lips doing nothing to follow-up on those urges.

The plumber gets over to where the rest of the group is, and after a few words are exchanged they decide to make their way back to their house since it was close to lunchtime. On the way, Mario continues to think about Driad's well-being. It really shouldn't be eating him up as much as it is, but there is just that nagging feeling inside of him that is telling him to be a little more forceful with the Crayzee Dayzee. However, it wasn't in his character to force people to do things against their will, so that was not an option that he could ever consider doing. As the seconds pass-by a voice calls out to Mario in his head. _"Having trouble there Mario?"_

"Hmm?" The plumber mumbles in response, looking around for anyone who could've been looking his way in hopes that they would call out to him again and he can respond. _"No need to look around, I am inside of you at this very moment."_ It takes a moment for it to click, but Mario recognizes the tone of the being communicating with him as of now. "Oh, you're the original Elemental Overlord. How are you doing this? Aren't you supposed to be stuck in Alex's body?" The plumber thinks to give his response. _"While that may true, there is nothing stopping me from speaking to others through telepathy." _

"I see…So what is the matter?" _"It is about Driad. I could sense the discord in your thoughts, your confliction on whether or not you should be gentle or forceful with your desire to teach him the ways of the world."_ "Actually, I have a question about that." _"Go right ahead with it." _"Why didn't you give him all of the knowledge that you wielded? Or at the very least, enough to survive in the world on his own." _"I didn't want to be restrictive. Giving him the knowledge that I wielded would leave him with nothing else to learn. For him to become his own person, I left him with only traces of what I knew. The rest he would hopefully come to learn from experience." _"Well that makes an odd amount of sense."

"_Either way, the right thing for you to do would be to wait for Driad to make up his mind on his own. I have no other advice to offer on the matter besides that." _"Thank you Overlord." _"However, I do have one thing to say, since you are so focused on speaking to me." _"Yes?" _"Look up."_ Ending their conversation right on those two words, the plumber moves his folded arms away from his chest and lifts his head up, stopping in place as the rest of the unaware group continues on their way. Flying across the sky is a massive, weaponized battleship whose front resemble that of a gigantic axe. At the position it moves its shadow has yet to be cast upon the town, but that will change soon enough. Though Mario recognized some parts of the ship, like the axes hanging by chains from the sides and the castle brick-like appearance of the backside, the rest of its appearance had changed immensely, starting from the fact that the eyes on the side of the face of the ship look more menacing, there are rockets in the back that propel it forward, and the metal plating looks incredibly sleek and brand new.

"Guys, we got trouble." Mario says to get the others attention. They look up into the sky and notice what he had at the very moment that it passes in front of the sun and casts a shadow over the rest of the town. The Toads at the northern end took notice of this battleship's appearance long before anyone else did, and in fear of their lives they start panicking and rush towards the opposite part of town to avoid getting caught up in whatever battle is about to occur. "Bro, isn't that?" "The Blade…" "You told me about it once before…But how is it possible for it to be here if it got destroyed?" "I don't know Luigi…Smithy was the one who created it, but he isn't alive anymore." "Apparently, that's not the case…" Alex interjects as he notices five shines popping out of the battleship and into the sky, the lumbering machine stopping in its place the moment they appear.

From far away Driad can tell that there is fire surrounding what was just launched, a trail of smoke being left in its wake as the projectiles arch and spread apart in five different directions. "Incoming!" The Crayzee Dayzee immediately raises his arms to brace himself for the impact of the objects, while Mario and Luigi puts their fists out and Alex draws his flaming sword into the grasp of his right hand. The objects finally crash into the ground around the gathered heroes and sends dirt clouds and debris scattering across the area. The crackling of fire from the craters distracts the group from the streaks of light leaping out of them. When they land outside the rim of it their backs are turned to the group, though it matters little because their appearances are obscured by the clouds in the first place. All in the name of drama, an artist would say if they described the scene.

"We fight for evil!" A clear, authoritative yet goofy sounding voice declares from the front of the heroes. "We live for disorder!" A cool and hip voice then says to follow up on the first comment. "We like what we do!" The next voice sounds somewhat wheezy and is quieter than the two before it. "We eat donuts!" The sound of someone with a bulky demeanor speaks out next, as the dirt clouds begin to settle and in turn increase the visibility of the attacker's bodies. "We struggle for chaos!" A final voice declares, a faint, girlish giggle being heard at the end of it. Finally they all turn themselves around and draw their weapons, axes whose rods are about or bigger than their heights. They each hold them differently to further emphasize their unique traits, the tip of the weapon's edges very nearly touching the heroes closest to them before they all say quietly in unison "We are…"

"**THE AXEM RANGERS X!"**

Indeed. It was just as Mario suspected. The ones attacking Toad Town today were the five teenage machines with attitude, creations of the machine king Smithy who already made their titles known. The "X" added to it wasn't put there just for added coolness though. Their appearances had been upgraded. Before they were all stout, in Axem Yellow's case he was also pudgy and in Axem Green's case he was as thin as the stick he now is grasping in his right hand, but now they were as tall, or for a couple of them taller than the heroes.

This is a basic rundown of each of their appearances. Axem Green is still thin like he was before, but in comparison to before he doesn't look nearly as bad. Axem Black and Axem Red have the same body structures, the only differences between them being that Black has a monochrome color scheme while Red has some yellow mixed into his body, and that Black wears shades on his face. Axem Pink has a more feminine body, with slightly thicker upper legs and a long stream of golden hair flowing down the back of her head that is tied together by a green band. How can a robot have hair? Who knows who cares? Axem Yellow has a gorilla-like build, his bulky hands carrying the only axe that was designed to have two blades and a golden coat for added strength and durability. To owe up for his bulk, he was given jet boosters on his back to push himself along the ground and faster speeds than walking would allowing him to go. Despites their difference they all have one thing in common, and that is their rounded heads with a small spike on top and a white cut-off tube where their mouths should normally be.

Red takes a moment to look at his archenemy, the one responsible for his previous death, the intrigue in his eyes confirming to Mario that the Axems have somehow retained their memories of their past "life" despite their new forms. "Well, if it isn't our old pal Mario. I remember the defeat you dealt us the last time!" He says. "How are you all alive? Smithy was destroyed, so did someone else reconstruct your bodies?" "Master Smithy, destroyed? Hahaha, that's a good joke Mario." Axem Red nonchalantly responds, as if he assumed that the news of the fact that the machine king was alive wouldn't warrant a reaction from the group. Having no knowledge of the being in question though, Driad is the only one without a shocked expression on his face. "That's impossible, I saw him die before my very eyes." Mario says with an emphasis on surprise packed into his voice. The rest of the Axem Rangers join their leader in laughing at the heroes' naivety.

Red then holds his right hand up to get them to stop and stamps the bottom of his axe's staff into the ground, standing arrogantly with the knowledge he holds in his head as he prepares to divulge a little bit of it his archenemy. "The remains of our bodies and the Blade were found by Master Smithy and brought back to his realm, where he worked tirelessly to bring us back better, faster and stronger than we ever were before! We aren't awesome anymore, we are X-CELLENT!" With a quick swing of his axe to punctuate the exclamation of that last word, Mario's eyelids close slightly as he glares at Axem Red with little surprise in his eyes. Though their bodies were upgraded, their minds were not, and they were still as cheesy as before.

"Anyways, time to get down to business. Actually, as unfortunate as it is, we didn't come here to have a rematch with you Mario. Master Smithy gave us strict orders to find and slay the Elemental Overlord, nothing more, nothing less. So if you would be so kind as to leave the area so we can fight, that would be most appreciated." Axem Green, the second-in-command, says in as a polite of a tone as he can muster. Luigi raises an eyebrow, finding the proposition to be highly suspicious for a number of reasons. "Why should we listen to your demands when we have the home field advantage?" He says with confidence.

Red nods to Axem Black, the one in control of the Blade, to give him the confirmation to show off one of the new enhancements given to the battleship when it was rebuilt. With a coy push of a button on the bottom of his right wrist, the mouth of the axe-face on the Blade begins to slowly creak open. After a few seconds a massive, golden barrel pushes its way out of the black abyss inside. This is then followed up by another barrel of smaller size coming out of the hole of the first one when it has reached the proper length, and a final one when that too has gotten to its limit. The cannon points itself down towards Toad Town, a siren blaring from the battleship signaling that it'll prepare itself to fire on cue.

"Remember our Breaker Beam attack? Well Master Smithy upgraded it to such a level that instead of instantly wiping out an army of a thousand, it can decimate an entire populated city!" Axem Yellow boasts, his fists lying close to the ground as he tilts his head towards the battleship. Though it was highly possible that the bulky ranger was over exaggerating the weapon's power, Mario didn't believe that it was a good idea to call his bluff, especially with all the citizens cowering in the town. He began to analyze the situation, looking around at the five rangers and thinking about what he should do with them. Black was the farthest from him, and since he was in control of the Breaker Beam incapacitating him would be the wisest option.

The plumber remembered the speed they boasted in their previous forms though, and that is more than likely to have increased thanks to their upgrades. So if he were to make a jump for Axem Black, either he would move away and press the button for defying their wishes, or one of his allies would knock him cold and the end result of the first option would occur. Calling on the power of the Star Spirits to change his own form and increase his speed and strength is also an option, but considering how long it takes that would give Axem Black just enough time to press the button and wipe Toad Town off the map. This was a conundrum that Mario knew no answer for, but there was no way that he was going to leave Alex to fight alone, even if he had full confidence over the fact that he could defeat the Rangers with little effort.

"Mario...You, Luigi and Driad should evacuate the citizens and the Princess while I take care of these guys." Alex offers with a whisper, to which Mario reacts to with a tilt of the head and a surprised look in his eyes. "Haven't you figured that this might be a trap?" He says to state the obvious. "Probably, but on the off-chance that the Axem Rangers get desperate, I don't want everyone else being collateral damage from the Breaker Beam." "…" Mario is silent for a few seconds, hesitant to go while a check over his shoulders reveals that to him that the listening Driad and Luigi are not. ""Alright then, just be careful." "Don't worry about it Mario, I'm the Elemental Overlord, I'm not going to just let a few mooks take me down." Leaving Alex to his fight, the rest of the heroes spread out to round up and evacuate the citizens. Axem Black keeps his fingers near the button as Mario passes by to head to Peach's Castle, his eyes peering through the lenses to follow him until he is out of sight. When that is done he moves his hand away and picks his axe up off the ground.

With his sword still drawn and held in the grasp of both of his hands, the young Overlord raises it high into the air as a shockwave of air pressure emerges from his feet. The molecules are ignited, a ring of fire surrounding him as he powers up for the battle. In his base form there is no other environmental effects caused by his charge, and the ground doesn't even tremble an inch. The Axem Rangers' bodies are pushed back against the ground by the build-up of power around the boy's frame, forcing them to plant the tip of their axes into the ground to avoid falling on their backs. When the charge comes to an end the pocket of air surrounding the boy bursts, a thin crater forming below his feet as he swings his blade in an arc in front of his body. "Well what are you waiting for, come at me!" He boasts loudly with confidence.

Axem Red makes the first move and pulls his weapon out, running forward and taking a swing at Alex's head that the boy slyly dodges a second before it touches. He then uses his right shoulder to backhand the soldier away effortlessly, swinging his body around without hesitation to thrust the dull edge of his sword into the gut of Axem Green to stop his movement momentarily. He then leaps into the air before Axem Yellow can slam his fists together with his head in-between them and coats his left foot in a layer of iron, bringing it down into the hardhead of the Ranger to knock him to the ground. Axem's Black and Pink rush him in mid-air, Black alternating between his left and right hands to swing his weapon around in a circle rapidly, while Pink thrusts the tip of her weapon out in multiple locations in front of her body.

Alex pulls his right hand away from the sword and places it besides his hip, jamming the blade into the path of the swirling axe beside him to stop its advance and accidentally twisting Black's wrists in the process. Without even looking her way the boy senses the movements of Pink's weapon and moves his head around to avoid the upper thrusts while he twists his mid-section to avoid the shots aimed there. He doesn't have to put in any effort into his legs, because the attacks just naturally miss there. "This is sad…" The boy notes in his head with his eyes looking up towards the sky. He may not have been able to sense how strong his opponents were due to their inorganic components, but he knew that they would be stupid to go against him with nothing less than their full power. Even so, he was toying with them, he didn't even need to coat his leg in iron when attacking Yellow earlier, he just did it for the heck of it.

Still, he couldn't allow the Rangers the honor of scratching him, which Pink might end up doing if he continues to wallow in his arrogant thoughts. With Black incapacitated the boy spins his body to the right and holds the corresponding foot out, the backside of Pink's axe rubbing against the bottom of his pant leg as he kicks her right in the chest to send her away. In the span of time that Alex spent dealing with the two of them, Yellow has recovered and he leaps into the air with his arms out held, bringing them together to wrap the boy in his grasp as he continues to rise into the air with the help of some rocket boosters on his feet. Rolling his eyes around in annoyance, the young Overlord pushes his arms against the bulky ones that the Ranger that captured him has, effortlessly pulling them apart against their will so he can escape.

Yellow's eyes widen in surprise and a slight amount of pain as he feels his wires and metal plates being cracked at the seams. When the boy finally escapes he quickly turns his body around and playfully waves one hand out with his eyes closed while the bulky ranger continues flying up. All the while Alex seems unaware of the fact that Axem Red is rising up and using his axe to perform an uppercut. But the boy moves back, his eyelids still closed as the leader spins his body around and grasps the staff with both hands, holding it diagonally in front of him as the young Overlord creaks his eyelids open and glares at his foolish opponent as he looks at him with a dumbfounded expression.

"Aw come on, there is no way you should've seen me coming." He says to express his utter disappointment in his failure. Alex points at the Ranger's chest with one finger brandished in front of his own. "You are made of metal, right?" "Yeah, and?" The young Overlord gets an arrogant grin on his face upon hearing the Ranger's reply, and after a few seconds of silence it dawns on Red just why he was detected. "…Oh." He then blankly states. "Well I see you got it, so I don't need to explain myself. See, just think about it more knowing what you know now. I can take all of you out just by pressing the tip of my fingers against the palm of my hand. And this is just in my base form! I don't know what your Master Smithy is thinking, but when I'm done wasting my time with you I'm going to hunt him down and give him a permanent death!"

"You won't ever lay a finger on Master Smithy!" Axem Red boasts as he swings his axe out in front of him. He is then surrounded by a red ring at the feet that creates a wall that rises to his head and lowers back down before it vanishes. This technique known as "Vigor Up" increases the user's attack power slightly. With this Red hopes to even the gap between himself and the young Overlord and punish him for his heresy. "Rangers, assemble and take him down!" Red rushes forward and swings his weapon in a vertical arc, following up with a horizontal one and two diagonal ones when it fails to hit. Alex actually has to exert some effort to avoid them, for he can sense the power in the blows and knows that he'll be scarred if they connect. "Finally getting serious huh? Alright then…"

Alex grumbles under his breathe and counters the strikes by using his sword to parry one of the blows, pulling his weapon back and grabbing it with both hands to pull it behind his back and then swing it out like a bat, striking Red across the neck. Instead of the head being separated from the shoulders, he is sent flying away, his metal proving to me more durable than the boy had originally anticipated. With two steady spins the blade is held against Alex's shoulder while he uses his free hand to backhand the approaching Axem Black and stun him long enough for him to roundhouse kick him away into Axem Green.

Remembering Axem Yellow's existence for a moment, Alex flips back to avoid him as he plummets down with both his fists fused together to form a hammer that was intended to crush his skull. Not wanting to take the risk of him breaking the ground upon impact, the young Overlord takes his right hand and tosses a fireball at the bulky Ranger, the collision of the two forces breaking the hammer down into the two fists and slowly his advance to the point that when he finally lands the cracks in the ground aren't spread out as far and not as much dirt rises as it could've. Not wanting to allow the possibility of anymore damage being caused to the town in any way shape or form simply because he got too preoccupied in the events of the battle, Alex starts to descend to the ground to continue from there.

On his way there Axem Black recovers from the previous attack and lifts one finger up to nudge his glasses. From above the young Overlord comes a rain of miniature bombs, all of them spread out in such a way that the boy would have to take some of them to make sure that the town isn't harmed. Or at least, that's what the cool Ranger expected to happen. Instead Alex dispels his sword and turns his body towards the bombs without slowing his descent, holding his electrically charged hands in front of him and firing off a net made out of that very element to short-circuit the bombs and render them useless.

Then Alex moves his feet down so he can land gently on the ground, cockily placing one arm in his left pocket and raising the other one up beside himself. With a grin aimed at Axem Black, who at this point has broken his demeanor with his sunglasses actually slipping off his face slightly. The young Overlord snaps his fingers, a thin current of wind lifting the inactive bombs off the ground before he opens his hand up and charging it with some more electricity. From the palm the energy flows into the bombs and reactivates them, warranting wide-eyed reaction from the normally stoic Black as Alex snaps his fingers again to have the wind fling the bombs back to their owner.

In his moment of surprise Axem Black fails to get out of the way, a bombardment of explosions covering both him and Axem Green, who was unlucky enough to be in the way of them upon waking up from his earlier unconsciousness. While the two Rangers are dealing with those, Alex turns around and delivers a punch straight into Axem Pink's gut as she tries to perform a sneak attack on him. The recoil forces her to stop in place on the ground and wobble around for a few seconds as Axem Yellow comes from behind and thrusts his right fist out. Alex slinks to the left, letting the blow brush against his hair before it strikes the his helpless companion right in the face. Pink should consider herself lucky that Yellow noticed what was happening before it was too late and thus pulled back slightly, otherwise her face would've been blown right off. Even so, the young Overlord couldn't let this consideration for his allies cloud his judgment, and proceeded to turn his body ninety degrees to the right and lift his right knee up with such force that when it slams into the joint of the Ranger's held out arm it almost comes clean off.

But the attack was still enough to force Yellow to retreat, but not before he uses his other arm to grab Pink and leap away before Alex could use his sword to cleave his arm away from the rest of his body. The Axem Rangers gather in the center of the town, the young Overlord turning towards them with his sword brandished in front of his body with a smug look on his face all the while. "This is bad Red…He is beating us around like we are nothing more than rag dolls…" Green points out quietly to his superior. "You think I don't know that?" "Man, I could really go for a nice Toad Burger right about now…" Yellow interrupts, his humorous remark not really fitting the Ranger's desperate mood. "You always want to go for something Yellow! What you really need to go for is a diet!" Pink rudely and bluntly remarks. "Says the one who is always so focused on make-up." Black says, earning some strife from his female companion in the process, who turns her head to look at him with an angered expression on her face. "So says the sunglasses obsessed freak!" "Hey, these are priceless, I won't have you insulting my lovelies you barbarian." "I think that comment would be better directed at Yellow you swine!" "Hey, what was that Pink?" "Guys, calm down now, there really is no need for us-" "SHUT UP GREEN!"

As the rest Axem Rangers bicker among one another, their leader Red calmly tells them to "Can it!" to get their focus back on their immediate goal. "We aren't out of the running yet. We still got Master Smithy's secret weapon." Red stands up high and raises his right arm above his head, a powerful flash of light filling in an area that is supposed to represent the weapon's frame as it is being summoned. When it finally materializes in the real world the Ranger lets it drop so the handle at the bottom is grasped tightly in his hand, the back portion held up by his shoulder with little effort put into keeping it held up. The weapon is a massive silver cannon whose length is the same as seven Toads put against each other from side to side. There are five small barrels in the front, so it is obvious that this is meant to be a laser-based weapon. A scope on the bottom allows Red to lock-on to the young Overlord, who is unconcerned by the appearance of the weapon.

"Are you seriously going to continue this game? Alright then, I'll humor you." Alex holds his weapon with both hands and leans forward slightly, pointing the blade towards the sky while his arms are lowered in front of his abdomen. "This is your last chance though, so make it count." He then adds to what he previous said, teasing the Rangers under the pretense that the weapon will be just as harmless as everything else they've tossed at him. Red wastes no time in pulling the trigger of the cannon, red energy glowing in each barrel as an uneasy feeling begins to cover the battlefield, but that is something that the young Overlord takes no notice of.

In a matter of seconds a massive, almost see-through ruby-red orb is fired out of the cannon, other shades of red being blended into it as it makes its way across the air. That one shot wastes all the ammo in the cannon, and it vanishes in the blink of an eye back into Axem Red's arm from where it spawned from. Black lightning sparks from the orb, and the ground below the path it travels across starts to become decayed and dehydrated, yet another thing that goes unnoticed during Alex's bout with vanity as he pays attention only to the orb coming his way. He raises his sword above his head and swiftly brings it down to strike the shot. From his previous experiences, all it takes to dispel the energy of an orb is to cleave it down the middle…

But that is not the case this time. Instead of putting even a slit into this mysterious attack, the blade of his sword passes right through it, its movement pushing onward as its surface begins to envelop and consume Alex's arms into its grasp. The young Overlord tries to pull his limbs out, but finds them frozen in place for reasons he cannot hope to comprehend. He hears a variety of screams coming from within his body as static surrounds his sword and distorts its appearance to the point that it becomes almost unrecognizable in merely a few seconds. In time the screams become fizzled and eventually die out, something that causes the boy to lose his arrogant expression in exchange for one of genuine concern as the orb reaches the rest of his body and drags it in with minimal effort on its part.

When this happens the orb stops in place and falls to the ground, its form staying rounded and solidified despite what was now inside of it. At the worst possible time Alex's sword completely vanishes after breaking down into many molecules and sinking away into the orb. He stares at the now open hand where his weapon was once grasped, looking back over at the Axem Rangers with unbridled anger welling up inside of him. The desire to make them pay for this clouds his thoughts, and in response to them the boy tries to summon flames in his hand to break his way out of the orb. But nothing comes, not even a flicker of light covers the palm of his hand. When he realizes this, Alex turns his head towards his hand again and closes his fingers into his palm, focusing all of his might in another attempt to summon ANY fire into it. Try as he might, nothing ever comes.

The Axem Rangers, successful in their goals, vanish and reappear in front of the orb, the shadows of the figures looming over the helpless young Overlord as he leans his body forward and pounds his fists against the surface of that which confines him. His efforts are "rewarded" by the orb releasing energy into his body that thrusts him back, smoke rising out of him while the Rangers rear their heads back and laugh at his situation. With one arm doing its hardest to keep his body steady, Alex pushes himself up and opens his eyelids to look at his enemies.

He knew not the reason why, or rather not how they were able to do so, but he couldn't use any of his elemental powers, and it felt as though his strength had been reduced to average human levels. "I can't believe it actually worked! Hahahaha…Oh wow, and it was only because you were so absorbed in your own arrogance! Thanks 'Elemental Overlord'!" Axem Red says in a taunting tone of voice, his voice cracking as he does everything in his power to hold back his own amusement. He then stops and claps his hands together to get his comrades to stop. "But seriously now guys, we still got work to do. We need to hurry and bring our prize back to Master Smithy. Now then…" The Leader of the Axem Rangers leans his body forward, his arms outstretched so he can sweep the orb with the trapped Overlord up off the ground. As he gets closer and closer Alex realizes the harsh reality of this situation that he has only himself to blame for. Axem Red and the Master both stated the truth. It was because of his arrogance that he is about to be helplessly dragged away to the machine king, where god knows what type of experiments will be performed on him. As the darkness of his capturer's shadows comes closer, Alex closes his eyelids so he can avoid seeing what will come from here on out…

_Next Time: A Battle Made Personal. Mario vs. The Axem Rangers _


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Mario, a Hero Through and Through**

On the hills outside of Toad Town, the heroes have successfully evacuated every last citizen along with Princess Peach. In the process Mallow has joined up with them, and once Mario has made certain that Peach will be kept safe he goes over to the cloud Prince and thanks him for his assistance. "Not a problem Mario. So…The Axem Rangers are the ones causing trouble around here?" Mallow says with the back of his right hand leaning against his hip. "Correct. From the sounds of things Smithy has come back to life." Luigi replies. The Nimbusian rubs the back of his head, his eyelids slanted with his mouth in a scowl as he grumbles to himself and thinks about this disconcerting bit of news.

"You got to be kidding me. Mario, this would make him the third villain you've fought and killed that has come back to life now. Do you go easy on them or something, or do you keep forgetting to check and make sure that you weren't fighting copies of their true selves?" Mallow brings a good point to the table here, and Fawful and Cackletta's return a few months back is good evidence towards it. Speaking of the crazy followed of the witch, an idea immediately pops into Mario's head upon thinking about him. "Cackletta was dealt with by Alex in the Origin Temple, but Fawful escaped our battle and hasn't been seen since. Do any of you think that he might have had a hand in Smithy's return?"

"It is possible bro. The incident with the Dark Star showed that despite his craziness he had a clever mind buried within it. Even so, how would he know of his existence? Smithy's act was pretty self-contained within the kingdom, so Peach saw no reason for news to spread to the other kingdoms about the attack. Unless Fawful was in the area incognito at the time, there is no way he should've known. Plus, the only way to Smithy's realm was through Exor's mouth, and the sword was destroyed when you, Mallow and the others defeated Smithy." Luigi remarks as a rebuttal to Mario's question.

"That is actually true Luigi." The brother of the man in green states, part of his mind deep in thought as he rubs his chin and looks towards the ground. Driad, the only one in the group having nary a clue as to what is being discussed, gets impatient over the fact that his existence is being ignored and promptly exclaims "Hey! Mind telling me just who this Smithy guy is?" The heroes turn to the exasperated Crayzee Dayzee, but Mallow is the only one to offer him a brief explanation. "Smithy is a war machine from another dimension who builds machines himself to conquer worlds and fill them with nothing but weapons. He created the living sword Exor to not only bring his creations into this world, but to shatter the Star Road into seven pieces and make it so people's wishes couldn't make it to Star Haven, thus putting the Star Spirits out of commission until Geno helped us gather all the parts."

"And what about the Axem Rangers?" Driad then asks, nodding his head after Mallow's explanation to show that he understood it. "They are Smithy's elite fighting squadron of teenage robots with attitude. And I got be honest, despite their goofy behavior they are actually incredibly competent fighters. We almost lost to them when we confronted them at Barrel Volcano, and not even Smithy posed as much of a threat to our lives as they did." "And Alex is fighting upgraded versions of them right now?" The Crayzee Dayzee breaks into concern for his friend and master, but Mallow nervously waves his hands in front of his face and tries to ease his tension. "I didn't mean to worry you Driad, I'm just pointing out that they were troublesome for us back then. Don't tell me that you think that Alex can't win…"

As Mallow and Driad continue to converse, Mario stands at the Cliffside looking out towards Toad Town. He tilts his head up and notices two specks in the sky. With the coloring of the first one he recognizes it as Axem Red. With that information planted in his mind he easily deduces that the other one must be the young Overlord. But looking at this scene unfold leaves him feeling uneasy, a chill rushing down his spine and a sharp sensation piercing his brain and forcing his legs to move all on their own. Luigi turns and notices his brother leaving the area, holding one arm out to call to him in vain. "Mario! Where are you going?" The other two heroes turn and look at the plumber as he runs across the fields of green to get back to Toad Town, but he doesn't stop for even a second…

Fast forward back to present time, where Axem Red is getting ready to carry off the orb that Alex is trapped in, the young Overlord currently having his eyelids closed to avoid seeing what shall occur next. But Mario leaps into the air outside of the Ranger's field of vision and thrusts his legs forward, the soles of his boots connecting with the side of Red's head and as a shocked expression instantly appears on his face he is sent flying through the wall of a nearby house, Mario spinning his body around and kneeling down on the ground upon landing and grabbing the front of his cap with one hand while the other lays on the ground. "Mario!" The other Rangers state in surprise while pulling their axes out ready to fight him.

"Hold your weapons men!" Red calls out to them from inside the rubble that remains of the wall he crashed through. A red streak leaps out of the pile and crashes through the roof of the house, the leader landing in front of his allies and drawing his own axe to the grasp of his right arm that is currently held behind himself. After two spins he points the tip of the blade at Mario with an annoyed expression on his face. "What are you doing here Mario? This wasn't part of the agreement." He asks. "Everyone has been evacuated from the town; your threat holds no water now. The better question is…" Mario tilts his head over his left shoulder, Alex opening his eyelids up slowly until he recognizes his savior, at which point they thrust open the rest of the way and he moves his body forward to press his hands against the side of the orb. The plumber turns his head back and looks at the Rangers with an angered glare. "What have you done to Alex?"

"That's none of your business! …Because honestly, we don't know ourselves. Master Smithy gave us the weapon to use to incapacitate the Overlord so we could bring him back without a struggle, but we don't know just how or why it worked against him." Axem Green replies. "Why do you even care in the first place Mario? We told you already that you aren't our target, and it is not like you can free the Overlord from his confinement by fighting us." Axem Black then adds-on to his partner's sentence. "Honestly Mario, I bet if the boy were any other person you wouldn't even care about his safety. But because he is the Elemental Overlord, one of if not THE most powerful good guy in the entire universe, you feel the need to be Mr. Goodie-two-shoes like you always are just to save his life."

Mario winces at what was just said to him. Despite the charade they had of being a tightly-knit group, the Axem Rangers knew nothing about bonds between friends, and as the plumber clenches his fingers together into the shape of a fist as he finds himself determined to let them know just exactly what was on his mind. "You think that is the reason why I'm doing this? I couldn't care less about the title that Alex currently has, I'm doing what I've always done, and that is follow my instincts to do the right thing. Even if he was powerless and I was in the same situation he is now, he would do the same thing that I'm doing here and now. It is not because he is the Elemental Overlord that we are friends, but it is because he has proven himself time and time again to be a kind; caring individual who is willing to put others needs before his own. I've put my trust in him, and he has done the same for me. I'm not going to betray that trust by letting you take him away to be experimented on by Smithy. So if you think you will be able to succeed in your goals…"

Mario closes his eyelids as a pillar of holy light comes down from the sky and covers him completely. Holographic projections of the planet's seven Star Spirits surround it, the energy splitting apart and vanishing not long afterwards. Floating in the air in the center of where the light once shone is the plumber in a new garb. The colors on his clothes have changed the red becoming golden while the blue has become silver. He has a cape attached to his back, and upon seeing his eyelids thrust open the Rangers see that the eyes themselves have become golden in color too. Mario turns his attention towards the rather unnerved Rangers, and waves his right hand out in front of himself while he finishes his earlier sentence. "Come and get me…"

"Very well Mario, we will do just that since you've forced our hand! Axem Rangers, show him whose boss!" With his declaration the Rangers rush forward one after the other, Red staying behind at first to see how the first phase of the battle unfolds. Mario backhands Yellow in the face when he approaches and spins his body around so he rises up and punts the stunned machine into the ground. He then slams two hands together to keep Black's axe at bay, pulling the weapon closer but off to the side of his body so he can get a better shot at the Ranger himself. He then let's go and swiftly follows through with a punched to the face, which shatters the left lens of his sunglasses and makes him let go of his weapon as he is sent back.

Mario grabs the staff of the weapon before it falls and spins it around his body effortlessly, deflecting some incoming slashes from the front and back by both Pink and Green before he holds the weapon horizontally in one hand and thrusts it back, the bottom tip of the staff slamming into Green's gut and stunning him, where he then proceeds to move it forward and swing the blade up at a ninety degree angle to knock Pink's weapon out of her hand when she makes another attempt at hitting him. With its job done the plumber drops the weapon, twisting his body to the right and holding the respective hand out to launch a fireball that knocks Green away, moving his body back to the proper position and combining both of his hands into a fist before slamming them both down on top of Pink's head to get her to join her comrade Yellow in the ground below.

At this point Red rushes in and uses his axe to deliver a clean blow right across Mario's chest while the hero is busy recovering from his last attack. Though no blood is drawn from the skin the tip of the blade ended up being only a millimeter away from touching it. In the moment that the plumber expresses surprise over this damage despite how minimal it is, Black recovers from the earlier attack and nudges his sunglasses to use his "Spritz Bomb" attack, a rain of bombs falling from the sky towards Mario like they did against Alex earlier on. Red speeds out of the way and moves across the ground like a streak to pick up and carry Yellow and Pink out of the way while the plumber looks up to see the bombardment approaching.

The plumber plucks his cape from his back and swings it above himself with both hands, a heavy gust of wind being blow that sends the bombs higher up into the air after they hover in place for a few seconds upon being caught up in the gale. Mario did this to give himself enough time to destroy them before they hit the ground, and after reattaching his cape he summons fireballs in both of his hands and rapid-fires ten of them at the bombs. They all move right through the explosives and set them off, the multiple miniature detonations filling the sky before they fade out and become a large cloud of black smoke that lurks above Toad Town and is noticed by the heroes on the hills nearby.

Now that his defense had proven successful Mario brings his arms down and calmly blocks a punch attempt from both sides by Yellow and Black. He then pulls his arms in and thrusts them back out after covering the palms with a veil of golden fire, knocking the two soldiers away with ease. He then turns around and kicks Pink away as she approaches, keeping his momentum up to deal with Green as well. He then stops and thrusts one fist up, the knuckles colliding right with Black's jaw as he makes a return trip to attack once more. The Rangers drops his axe as Mario rises into the air as a follow-up to his punch, a series of flaming coins rising out of Black's head until the tenth one, where the plumber uses his other fist to send him away with a punch to the chest.

In the brief moment that Mario has he lifts one arm up and tosses a fireball into the air, bringing the limb down onto Green's head to stun him temporarily before rapid-firing both of his fists out in front of his body in an attempt to dent the metal plating on his chest. By the time he has finished up there is a couple knuckles shaped grooves in a couple locations, but nothing thick enough for Mario to bother with a follow-up to what he just did. So with that the plumber pulls his right fist back as far as he can and after two flashes of light appear behind it he thrusts it out faster than one can bat an eyelash at, the force of the blow being strong enough to send Green flying through three houses at a whopping thousand MPH.

Though the plumber briefly grimaces at the damage he is causing, he knew that now was not the time to loom on the issue, and he puts his arms out beside himself and starts spinning around wildly to turn his body into a miniature, glowing tornado of punches that knocks away Pink, Yellow and Black in rapid succession. However, Red rushes towards him and places the blunt edge of his axe into the "tornado", which causes Mario's left arm to slam into it and make the move halt instantaneously, with the added recoil sending a spike of pain through the muscles and nerve-endings in the arm and very nearly breaking the wrist bones in the hand. Not wanting to risk a counterattack, Red follows up his previous move by pulling his axe back and proceeding to swing it in an upward arc, only for Mario to recover quickly enough for the attack to only cut off part of his cape.

Disappointed by his failure, Red follows up by activating "Vigor Up" to regain the power boost he lost after he had fought the young Overlord. He then draws his axe and brandishes it out, Mario pulling his gut back to avoid being punctured by the tip. The plumber then flies back, moving his arms diagonally to send out five fireballs into the air, flipping his body around and using his feet to block two slashes from Axem Red. But with his increased strength the force of the blows pushes his feet in and sends the plumber through the air for a few feet before he holds his hands out to stop himself. Upon recovering he sees the leader rushing towards him again, but now that Mario is prepared he throws his left arm out and catches the axe by the portion of the staff right below the blade.

He then puts his other hand right in the mid-section, pressing against the staff while Red does the same to resist the plumber's efforts to break his axe. But Mario's determination to prevail is strong than the machine's, and the axe's staff splits in two, allowing Mario to pull both halves out of the grasp of its owner and toss them away. Despite the loss of his weapon, it turns out Red only did that as a distraction while the rest of his group set up attacks to take the plumber down. Pink winks her right eye with her axe held out in front of her, causing a storm of pink petals to rush towards Mario. These sharp little objects cut up the plumber's clothes as he raises his arms in front of his face to protect it, but in the end they too are also a distraction.

As the plumber pulls his arms away with the attack coming to an end, a shimmering blue wave of static energy flies through the air, summoned forth by Axem Green. When it hits and vanishes, Mario is left paralyzed in the position he is currently in. This is followed up by Yellow using his axe to summon a giant thunderbolt that crashes down on top of Mario and sends him into the ground, where he is left helpless as Black casts "Spritz Bomb" once more knowing full well that it won't be reflected back. The bombardment of bombs impacts with various locations on the ground, the majority of them targeting Mario to ensure his defeat. The sounds of the explosions fills the skies until they stop, at which point a heavy cloud of smoke covers the ground while the gathered Axem Rangers look on in curiosity.

Suddenly a medium-sized fireball is shot through the clouds, zooming past the stunned expressions of the Rangers as a golden streak speeds by them not long after that. Moving past even the fireball he just tossed is Mario, who heads up to a massive fireball whose energy he had been building up at certain intervals during the battle. Before it is complete the plumber rises above the orb and pulls out his hammer, whose head now has a golden tint to it, and brings it right down on top of the orb. The force of the blow sends it hurtling towards the unknowing Rangers, where it also absorbs the energy of the previously fired orb and grows even larger.

Red is the first to look up and see the attack coming towards his group, but instead of warning them he swings his axe and summons a blue ring around himself to activate his "Valor Up" Technique. The power of this ability goes into effect just a second before the orb consumes all of the Rangers in its burning grasp. After that it keeps soaring downward until it collides with the ground, a wide pillar of fire with a height of thirty yards erupts into the sky, with Mario just out of its range. The plumber puts his hammer away and heads back to the ground, one of his knees planting itself into the ground as he begins to pant from the attacks taking their toll on him.

Alex leans against the orb that is behind the plumber as he turns his head around and gives him a weak thumbs-up. "Nice display Mario, shame it went to waste." Mario quickly turns his head towards the fading smoke as he hears a familiar voice call out to him. Axem Red's figure appears as a shadow until he leaps out in a flash of red and lands a few feet away from his opponent completely unharmed. "Did you forget that I have a resistance against fire based attacks? Add the defense boost given to me by my Valor Up skill and I came out of your move unharmed…A pity about my comrades though…" Red says the last part of his sentence in a melancholy tone, but stops reminiscing so he can look over at the orb that the young Overlord is trapped in.

Moving towards it, Axem Red does little to pay attention to Mario, his goal being the only thing ingrained into his cybernetic mind. But the plumber isn't about the let the mechanical man succeed, and with great resilience towards the pain in his body he grabs performs a breakdance maneuver on the ground to trip the ranger up. Mario squints his eyelids in pain, but after Red has fallen on his back the plumber kicks himself back and stands up, following his move up by leaping into the air and bringing his right fist down towards Red's face. The knuckles slam right into the metal plating, the bones behind them cracking and sending a sharp sensation of pain through the appropriate nerves.

Mario put all of his strength into that blow, but not even that was capable of denting the defense-boosted Axem Red. The plumber's eyelids become heavy, his body giving out and collapsing backwards off of the Ranger, who quickly gets on his feet and looks at his opponent as he reverts to his normal form. "Sheesh Mario, just what the heck are you made of? …I know my original goal was to capture the Elemental Overlord, but I really can't risk you getting up again, and without my axe I won't be able to do that myself…However." Red looks behind his back towards the Blade that is still hovering in place where they left it. Vanishing in a streak of color, the Axem Ranger eventually makes it all the way back to the ship, specifically near the controls on the back of the axe-blade head.

"I don't have any against Toad Town, I really don't…But Mario" Axem Red mutters to himself as he moves his hand towards a single button that will ultimately decide the innocent town's fate below. "I have plenty against YOU." Just before he can perform this action though, a loud, booming voice calls to him from beyond the clouds above. "You might want to reconsider what you are about to do there, Axem Red." Turning his head around to see who spoke his name, a massive shadow covers the Blade in its entirety. The leader goes wide-eyed as he is greeted by the presence of a battleship whose size vastly dwarves that of the one he is on. There is a large runway in the front used to launch vehicles, an abundance of high-tech weaponry attached to a series of pods on the bottom side of this long road of metal. There is a massive glass dome in the back of this ship where most of the action goes on inside. Attached to the back of this dome is a long red cloth that moves about in the breeze, its form resembling that of a creature's tail. Any further details explained would just ruin the magnificence of this multi-functional aircraft. Deep inside the confines, a being sits on a chair at the top of a multi-layered pedestal, looking down at his troops as they work to keep this machine afloat. He is Alpha, the Goomba Commander of the secret organization known as the M.S.I.. As the vehicle stops right above the Blade, he lets out a brief, cocky sounding laugh through the gaps of his smirk…

_Next Time: Priority, Capture Axem Re_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Red vs. The Blood Thunder**

The terrified Axem Red looks up at the battleship that dwarves his own. His Master Smithy told him nothing about the person who owned it, so this wasn't a factor that he had taken into consideration when he and the rest of his men journeyed into this realm to capture the Elemental Overlord. Nothing on the ship's arsenal save for the Breaker Beam could ever hope to match the defenses it has, and even then he knew that there was no way that he would be able to outmaneuver the weapon system to be able to fire it in the first place. There was only one thing he could hope to do at this point, and that is to use the highly destructive beam to annihilate Mario and the rest of Toad Town, which if he is lucky enough might allow him to speed down and swipe up the orb that the young Overlord is trapped in during the ensuing confusion.

"There is too much of a risk involved in this plan, but without the rest of my team I don't really have any other ideas…" Red says, his voice dripping with the feeling of desperation. Sacrificing a town to accomplish his goals wasn't really something he wanted to do, but as he moves his trembling left hand towards the button he realizes that if he is successful he'll be killing two birds with one stone. This insight reinforces his resolve and allows him to curl his fingers into a fist and slam the button with all his might, a klaxon going off inside of the ship's engines as the axe-head opens its mouth up wide to summon the barrels that will mark the town's end.

Will this scene unfolds down below there is one person standing on the runway of the M.S.I. gargantuan technological marvel, and that is the second-in-command of the esteemed Alpha. A Koopa with a yellow shell, the Lieutenant known as Gemini waits with arms folded into his chest, a serene smile on his face as he awaits his superior's orders. The man in question is still sitting in his rotating in his chair looking on at a view screen that shows an aerial perspective of the area where the Koopa is at. "What is with the smile Lieutenant?" Alpha asks in a curious tone while he leans one elbow of his mechanical arms against the right side of his chair.

"_I'm just glad to be on the battlefield again after the whole Tabuu thing, that's all." _Gemini says in response to the speakers on deck, his reply coming off as a bit fuzzy due to some interference from their current elevation. "Well stay focused, the mission here isn't to take out the enemy, but rather to incapacitate them." _"Right, right. So my opponent is Axem Red huh? Don't worry Commander, I'll be making him see red before you know it."_ "The quipping isn't welcome right now Lieutenant, I'll have you know…" _"Sorry, that was just a spur of the moment. So what about the Blade?" _"I'll take of that. You've already been given your mission, use your own judgment where necessary Lieutenant." _"Roger that Commander, I will mobilize right now!"_

His acceptance of the orders is given before the klaxons go off, but that does little to hasten him as he removes his arms from his chest and makes a dash towards the end of the runway. When he is at the proper point he dives headfirst off the edge, his arms outstretched as the sky opens up above him and sends a pillar of holy light cascading down to meet up with him. Axem Red looks forward past the giant metal head of the ship and sees the glowing magnificence crashing through the Koopa's body, the thin images of the Star Spirits surrounding and following him as he continues towards the ground.

At the end of the pillar's appearance white electricity surges through it, by this point the barrel of the Blade's weapon has started charging up the energy needed to fire in the form of a translucent orb with blue swirling around it. It was close to reaching its peak, and as he looked on in anticipation Axem Red wondered just where the Koopa had gone, for his body had not impacted with the ground after his appearance. The moment arrives, and Alex looks up towards the sky as the area trembles in the face of the beam's overwhelming power. The boy grits his teeth and pulls his right fist back, hitting the side of the orb he is trapped in with all of his might. He noticed the M.S.I.'s battleship, but not the falling Gemini or the pillar of light that followed him.

"I can't let the Breaker Beam…" He uses his other fist to hit the orb. "FIRE!" He exclaims the moment it connects and once again fails to even disrupt the energy. "Son of a BITCH!" Alex yells out at the top of his lungs as he repeatedly pounds both of his fists against the orb. The moment of destruction comes at last though, as glowing crevices start to emerge across the cannon due to build-up putting pressure on the structure. At the very second that the massive beam of energy fires towards the town, the cannon explodes and the bits are absorbed into it, disintegrating until there is nothing left to remind anyone that it existed.

Parts of the ground are torn and pulled up by the gravitational force exerted from the beam before it has even come close to touching it. It looks like this might be the end of Toad Town, and that is the only thought running through the minds of both the citizens and the heroes standing on the hills as they look on with expressions of abject horror on their faces. But it is not too late, it is never too late so long as one hero is still alive to fight. Gemini quickly rockets towards the path the beam is taking, angelic wings having now appeared on his back and a curved sword also being attached to his right arm. He had been hiding in wait by hovering in place so Axem Red wouldn't notice him and re-direct the beam his way.

Gemini raises his sword up and thrusts it right out in front him, the tip of his blade slamming right into the center of the beam and causing a loud "Boom!" to echo across the lands from the act of the two forces colliding. At the same time a powerful invisible shockwave goes off and fractures most of the ground below them. "You are certainly one obstinate beam, but I will never acquiesce to one of Smithy's creations!" Raising his voice to match the intensity of his determination, the Koopa pushes against the beam with all of his might, his other arm grabbing the elbow of his sword one to reinforce it.

His efforts are not in vain, and slowly but surely the beam is being pushed back into its place of origin. However, seeing as reversing the flow of the beam would destroy both the Blade AND the being that he has been assigned to capture, Gemini tilts his blade so it is pointing to the left, using the reflective surface of the dull edge to absorb the light from the attack. But he doesn't stop there, and continues to bend his wrist to move redirect the beam in another direction. Since the energy wasn't being continuously fired, the end of it comes sooner than expected, and with time it vanishes from view into the sky, never to be seen again.

Victorious in one of his efforts, Gemini swings his weaponized arm out to the side and bends his body slightly before launching himself through the air like a torpedo to get over the Blade, curving himself mid-flight in order to swoop down and land gracefully onto the ship, his back turned to Axem Red with his wings outspread to obscure his view of the area behind him. The leader turns around and looks at the Koopa with surprise in his eyes, but refuses to surrender and runs at him. He was without a weapon, but he knew that he would be able to procure another one if he could make it to the armory stored in the other side of the ship.

He somersaults forward to avoid a 180 degree slash from Gemini, flipping his body so he is back on his feet to continue his rush while the Koopa deals with the cool down from his attack. When that has ended Gemini turns around and quickly flicks the fingers of his left hand towards his fleeing target, sending out a few weak streams of electricity towards him so he can paralyze his circuitry for easy capture. With his sensors detecting the energy before it can touched him, Red grinds his feet against the metal plates below him and turns himself around, holding his left hand out and using the tip of an electromagnetic rod stuck to his palm to absorb the electricity without suffering any negative repercussions.

Gemini raises his brows in surprise while Red lowers his arm and looks on at the Koopa out of curiosity. Then a spark of remembrance hits his mind, the words his Master Smithy once told him about a ground-breaking experiment of his that escaped from the factory and returned to Plit without ever being found during the attack on the Star Road and the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom. He lowers his arms to the side of his body while the Koopa pauses to gather his thoughts and think of another plan of attack. "I see, so you are the one Master Smithy talked about. You are the end result of 'Project: Demonheart'!"

Red's comment is ended with a chuckle of disbelief at his luck. He may have lost his comrades and failed to destroy Toad Town along with his eternal enemy Mario, but luck kept giving him new ways to owe up for those short-comings. Not only was he going to be able to bring the Elemental Overlord back, but also the thought to be deceased subject of his Master's greatest achievement. While his cybernetic mind was racing at the prospect of pleasing his creator, he had no idea the consequences of which his comment will bring upon him. Gemini tightly clenches his right fist behind the cold metal of his blade, veins popping out slightly as the bones crack underneath the skin. He closes his eyelids and slowly breathes in air through his nostrils, thoughts of anger plaguing his mind as he tries his hardest to fight against them.

"Well, at least now I understand just why I was outfitted with the ro-" A punch to the face. Closing the distance between the two fighters in a span of time faster than one could ever hope to react to, Gemini delivers the previously-mentioned action to silence the leader before he could say anymore. His body goes hurtling back, colliding with the ground and sending him scraping across the surface until the back of his head slams right into the wall separating the deck from the section where the armory lies. The Koopa walks towards him slowly while placing his hands together and cracking his knuckles as hard as he can. As Red slowly opens his eyelids, Gemini has but one thing to say to him. "If you want to open your mouth about the experiment, be my guest. I was told to bring you back alive, but if you say anymore then I will not hesitate to beat you within an inch of your fabricated life!"

With his threat given the ranger begins to panic, understanding full well that the Koopa will go through with what he is saying. Immediately after these thoughts are cast Gemini breaks into a run, pulling his sword arm back behind himself and leaping forward with his speed still kept up. He thrusts his weapon out, Red reacting to this by regaining his composure and rolling to the right. With the tip of the blade piercing the wall Gemini becomes momentarily stuck. While he deals with freeing himself, the leader leaps up to the front of the armory and presses his right palm against the sensory on the front. Recognizing his data code, the armory door folds up into the roof, revealing the plentiful cache of weapons that he can use against the tranquil fury of his opponent.

Opting to stick with something familiar at first, Red pulls out a duplicate of his axe and turns around right as Gemini has ripped his sword through the metal and risen his body up off the ground. He can feel the Koopa glaring at him, even when he closes his eyelids for a couple of seconds. If he had a heart, this would be the part where it would start beating rapidly. If there needed to be another reason for Axem Red to silence himself when it came to glorifying his creator's proud achievements, then it would be Gemini's action now that would cement that as a part of his mindset.

"You won't take me alive!" Red yells with much bravado, charging forward in a streak of red and colliding the blade of his axe into the blade-arm of the Koopa. The metal of the two forces creates a quick clinking noise, followed up by the sounds of many more as the Ranger brings his weapon back and swings it repeatedly at Gemini's defense. His efforts are proving to be successful as the Koopa inches further away from his previous location and actually grimaces after a few more strikes hit the dull side of his blade. Gemini quickly analyzed that his opponent was desperate for survival, and decided to retaliate to this barrage of attacks by quickly pulling his blade back and letting him stumble forward after a single hard swing, floating backwards slightly and squinting his eyelids to focus in on the hand with the electrical rod stuck in it.

"Got to puncture it, once I do that this battle is mine…" With his one goal now set in his mind the Koopa could now put more focus into the battle itself, and the first objective on his agenda is to destroy the armory to leave Axem Red defenseless. However, after acquiring his current weapon the door was sealed shut, and Gemini wasn't certain that he would be able to break through it after seeing how Red was designed to handle his powers. So the Koopa pulls his sword back horizontally and swings it at the delicate staff portion of the axe the moment the leader shows signs of recovering.

One slash is done at normal speed to break the target in two, but this is followed up by an unnoticeable flurry of cuts that breaks it apart all-around. The only thing that survives is the blade itself, and that is only because of the durability of the metal it is composed of. Looking out at his arms ready to strike again, the very moment that Red moves them above his head is the point where his weapon breaks apart and falls right out of his hands, the blade falling right to the floor with a metallic thud. Though Red's eyes widen momentarily, he quickly realizes how exposed his reaction leaves him and proceeds to backflip out of the way of another attack attempt by the Koopa, making it back over to the armory and opening it up with a snap of the fingers since the door could now recognize any action he performs.

When it slides only halfway open Red goes right for the laser pistol, brandishing it out in front of his body after turning around and clicking the trigger, the barrel glowing red as a couple shots are fired out at the caught off-guard Gemini. The Koopa takes his sword and blocks one shot, swinging it towards the ground to deflect the other away from his sight. He then rushes forward, caring little about the other shots aimed at him due to how flimsy the wielder of the gun's aim is. But Red manages to get lucky and one shot connects with Gemini's left wings, igniting it and wrecking his flight pattern just moments before he was about to cut the gun in two.

The Koopa collides face first against the ground, but instead of taking the act of his face grinding against it he stamps his hands down and lifts his legs up, using his weight to flip himself over Red right after a laser is shot between his legs and landing on the top of the armory with his body bent down as he rapidly flaps his wings to kill the fire. The leader turns around and prepares to fire again while his target is immobilized, but Gemini senses the electricity in the gun building up and leaps forward with his arms outstretched in front of him over the edge of the battleship.

Even with the damage taken Gemini sustains flight long enough for him to glide to the underside and magnetize his left hand to the metal plates, the rest of his body dangling towards the ground. "Whew…That was a close one…Alright, I can't fool around at this point. Got to launch a sneak attack and take out the armory while I have the chance…" While the Koopa thinks over how he is going to proceed, on deck Red is opening up the door of the armory to put the gone away. "Seeing as he hasn't come back, I guess he wasn't able to keep in the air for very long with that burned wing and fell to his death…Oh well, so long as his body is somewhat intact Master Smithy won't mind."

Unbeknownst to him though Gemini has already soared back up on the right side of the Blade and aimed his electrically charged sword at the now vulnerable armory. He fires out a highly concentrated beam of static energy at it, taking precautions to lower its power to the point that Axem Red won't be damaged too much in the ensuing explosion. The leader turns around upon hearing the crackling, expressing his surprise with a "WHAT?" before leaping out of the way of the attack by rolling straight to the left. The tip of the beam strikes the grenades that rest on the bottom and set them off, causing a chain reaction with the gunpowder in a couple of the other weapons that eventually leads to the armory going off in a fiery detonation that encompasses and takes out most of the battleship's backside as well.

Thoughts rush through the leader's head now that the situation has changed and he is truly defenseless. But he had little time to react as he gets on his feet, for Gemini promptly rushes towards him and jams the tip of his blade into the palm where the lightning rod is at, damaging it to the point that it will no longer be able to perform its original function. As the Koopa stamps his feet onto the ground and raises his other hand to catch his opponent's punch in mid-air. "Checkmate." Gemini states with a grin as he quickly sends a low-voltage amount of electricity through Axem Red's body to shut him down temporarily. He doesn't react in the slightest, the process being swift and painless.

When he finishes Gemini pulls his sword out and lets go of the fist, lifting his right leg up and kicking the robot square in the chest to knock him to the ground. After that he walks over and picks him up, carrying him over his right shoulder as he prepares to take off back to the M.S.I. ship. "I have captured the target, returning to base." _"Roger that Lieutenant. You might want to get out of the way…Things are about to get ugly." _Hearing his Commander through a transceiver in his ear, the Koopa nods his head and flies off, the guns on the bottom of the ship above directing their barrels towards the Blade to destroy it for good.

As Gemini arrives on the runway and returns to his original form, the soldiers on deck turn their chairs around towards their Commander. "What are your orders sir?" "Do I need to say them?" The Commander replies in a sarcastic tone, the men getting the clear message and turning back around to activate the weapons system. It takes a few seconds for the orders to be given through the motherboard, but at the sound of a echoing detonation some miniature napalms are launched through the cannons, impacting with the now defenseless Blade and creating widespread explosions that tear up and atomize the entire structure one massive chunk at a time. It was a bit overkill considering the difference in size, but Alpha was merely making sure that no one in the Kingdom, not even himself, would be able to salvage the specs for the Breaker Beam from the battleship.

It takes a few seconds to cover the entire ship in a sea of explosions, but when the job is finally done and the echoes of the explosions finally die down all that lingers in the air is the blackened ashes from the napalms that gently float down before the wind carries them away. Back in the confines of the dome, Alpha can be seen speaking with Lieutenant Gemini as he walks across the runway. "You can just put him in one of the jail cells for now. After you are done with him, come here and wait for me to return with the others." After the Koopa has nodded at his orders the Commander waves a hand at one of the soldiers in front of him to shut the screen off. When this is done he moves one of his hands towards a button on his chair, causing the seat to sink into the pedestal he is on.

He moves towards the bottom of the ship, the chair pulling back into a wall and allowing the Goomba to fall onto a capsule shaped platform, which then descends out of the range of the ship and heads towards the ground. Specifically, the Commander is heading towards the area where the unconscious Mario and the encaged Alex are. His arms are folded behind his back, and even when the platform is hovering close to the ground and he jumps off he keeps them there. He overlooks the area, noting the bit of damage the town has taken from the overall battle. "I guess I'm gonna have to send a clean-up crew to deal with this mess later…"

Since the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom wouldn't be able to hear him at present, he heads over to Alex's orb and examines it in great detail, intrigue present on his face all the while. "Got into a bit of a jam here, didn't ya Alex?" He asks. The boy can barely hear him due to the low volume of his voice, but responds none the same. "…Yeah, I did. Can you break me out of here Alpha?" "I'm afraid I cannot." The Commander bluntly replies as he removes his arms from his back and stretches the left one out to wrap it around the orb so he can pick it up and take it back with him. The young Overlord's body tumbles around inside for a bit as the Goomba walks over to Mario and picks him up as well. "Look, I can't say anything major right now, but we got a big problem on our hands here, and let us just say that a certain someone may not be as dead as we once thought she was…" Leaving the boy to think about those words, Alpha leaps onto the platform with both heroes in his grasp and ascends back up towards his massive battleship…

_Next Time: The Witch and Crafting Machine._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Of Welders and Witches**

It has been a couple of hours since the Axem Rangers invaded Toad Town on their battleship, the Blade. With a timely assist by Alpha and Gemini, all of them except Red were defeated. The leader himself has been captured and put into jail cell for further questioning, while their ship was destroyed by the magnum cannons on the M.S.I. main battleship. The citizens have returned back to their duties in town, the battleship looming a slight distance away so as to not incite panic in the minds of the Toads. Luigi, Driad and Mallow have boarded the ship per Alpha's request, while Alex has remained trapped in the orb that is currently placed in the command center so the Commander could keep an eye on him, and Mario has been resting for all this time to recover from the damage inflicted onto him during the battle.

Eventually the plumber awakens, finding himself laying on a bed whose ability to comfort could not be so easily described. Beside him is a Shy Guy in a doctor's robe, a cloth covering his mouth to keep germs from entering in. "So, you are finally awake Sir Mario. I am Doc Guy, the medical expert of the M.S.I.'s ACD, or Aerial Combat Division, if you prefer the long pronunciation." As the Shy Guy speaks to him in a confident tone, the plumber raises his body up and feels a kink in his neck, placing the palm of his right hand against his forehead and letting out a small groan as he tries to get a bearing on his location.

"M.S.I….Oh yeah, Alpha's 'secret' organization…" Not liking the prospect of having to owe the Commander for pulling him out of the fire, Mario mumbles a few more words to himself before coming up with a question with the creature who treated him. "So how long have I been out for?" "Two hours, Sir Mario. Not a very long time mind you, but your bodily functions were at critical levels. I'm quite surprised that I managed to heal you as quickly as I did. From what I heard, you pushed yourself far beyond your normal limits out there." Doc Guy replies, deep down admiring the lengths that the proud hero of the Mushroom Kingdom went through to defend Toad Town.

"I see. Well what happened to Axem Red and the Blade after I got knocked out?" Mario then asks, caring very little about what the doctor said about his condition due to the fact that he is still waking up. "Sorry, I was authorized not to tell you anything myself. If you want the lowdown, Commander Alpha gave me orders to tell you to head into the control deck after you awoke so he can catch you up on the situation." Realizing that he really has no choice in the matter, the plumber kicks himself off the bed, landing beside the Doc Guy and stumbling forward slightly due to having weakened leg muscles at the moment.

The little creature turns to the magnificent hero and nudges his mask. "Word of caution. Don't do anything strenuous for a few more hours. The last thing I want to hear is that you pulled a tendon, or worse, you suffered cardiac arrest from overexertion." Nodding to the Shy Guy to show that he is now taking his warning seriously, Mario leaves the infirmary and moves through the glimmering hallways of the massive battleship. Soldiers are moving about trying to get their jobs done, like in some cases they are making repairs to broken light bulbs and faulty wiring in the walls. Before he reaches his destination he sees the Commander walking in front of him, coming from another hallway on the left side of his body.

Mario stops in place as Alpha flinches in his presence, the Goomba making it clear that he didn't expect to run into him at the moment. "Enjoy your little nap there Mario?" The Commander says to be courteous, but the plumber knew he couldn't reply to it with absolute honesty. "Yeah, your doctor did a good job healing my wounds." He says while twisting his left arm around in circles, a chipper tone in his voice causing the Commander to grin slightly. "Hehe, well that's wonderful news. The kid certainly has proven his reliability with that medicinal knowledge of his…"

Alpha then begins to walk towards down the hallway Mario was on, the plumber moving cautiously by his side with his head tilted down to look at him. The Goomba's arms were held behind his back, "an action he only reserved for times he spends formulating plans" as the plumber suspects. The grounds of trust between the two of them was shaky at best, no thanks in part to the one thing the Commander did to Alex during their previous journey. Granted, while Mario did later determine that Alpha deserved some of his trust, he couldn't give it to him in full due to his general secretive demeanor. Still, after the hospitality provided to him it would be rude to just up and ignore him during the rest of the walk to the command room, so the plumber decides to ask Alpha the one thing that is on his mind right now.

"So what transpired after I fell unconscious?" Alpha takes his arms away from his backside almost instantaneously, letting them hang out beside himself as he continues to move. "Red was ready to fire the 'Breaker Beam' at the town, but Gemini took care of it and incapacitated him so we could lock him away in a jail cell for interrogating. The ship's weapons then destroyed the Blade, and I went down and brought you and Alex here. After that I set up a force field around town to protect everyone from any further attacks, and called your brother, Prince Mallow, and Driad to fill them in on the situation." Mario noticed there was on person missing from the allies Alpha mentioned. A certain star being who communicates with the living realm through the body of a wooden doll, and a major player in the downfall of the Dark King a few months back.

"What about Geno?" He asks. "You think I can just contact Star Sanctuary on a whim?" Alpha bluntly responds, admitting to the fact that there are certain things that even he is not capable of doing. "Besides, he has his own duties to perform, and it would be rather discourteous of me to expect him to get involved." "Fair enough point." Mario says in response, closing his eyelids and nodding his head to agree with the Commander's point. "Now about Alex…" The Goomba then says. The plumber grimaces and quickly remembers the situation the young Overlord was in when he initiated battle with the Axem Rangers.

"I'm glad you reminded me about that Alpha. I hate to say it, but since I'm not an expert on scientific matters like you and E. Gadd, I was hoping maybe you could tell me about the composition of the orb he was trapped in." "I believe 'Is' would be the more apposite term, my friend. And truth be told, I wouldn't call myself an expert, I'm just a guy who happens to know some of the ins and outs of the world." Alpha's attempt to be humble comes across as an attempt to avoid the subject in the mind of Mario, earning more than a little irritation from the plumber. "Alpha…" He says in a tone befitting his emotions.

"Right, right, sorry to get off-track there." The Commander replies, turning his head towards the plumber and giving him an apologetic grin. He then turns back and places one hand out onto a scanner attached to the side of a nearby door, his signature being recognized and allowing the large metal plates to slide apart so the two heroes can finally enter the commander center. The general environment is relatively unchanged, save for one detail. On side of the room the orb Alex has been trapped in has been placed onto a stand where four jagged prongs use gravitational influences to keep it afloat. The boy has his head buried into his legs, his expression not visible at the moment.

Seeing this, Mario runs over to the device and takes a look inside of it. He wants to say something, but Alpha interjects before a single word slips through his lips. "Let me be frank with you here Mario. I have no idea what the heck this orb is made out of. All I've gathered so far is it is a substance that originates from outside this world, it has completely negated Alex's elemental powers, and according to him he hasn't been able to contact the souls of the Genesis Samurais, the inner guardians, OR that of the original Elemental Overlord. In other words, while in there he is just a powerless, human boy." This explanation is given as he walks over to the plumber, and when he is close enough Alex lifts his head up slightly and peaks over at him, lowering his head back down not a moment afterwards.

"Can you free him?" Mario then asks. "Full of questions today are we?" Alpha says with a hint of sarcasm, which the plumber takes a sign that he doesn't take this situation seriously at all. "But honestly now, if I had the capability of doing what you ask, I would've done it already. The only one who would know anything about the orb's composition is the one who used it on Alex in the first place." Though the Commander was on to something his idea, Mario had one thing to point out. "Actually, one of the Axem Rangers acknowledged that only Smithy knew anything about the orb. So the only way to figure out its weakness would be to get the answer from the machine king himself." "…I see." A scowl emerges on Alpha's face as he walks around the orb, his response grumbled under his breath as he thinks about the information just given to him. "So Mario, do you have anything else you want to ask me?"

"Would it hurt you to say thank you for giving you the info?" The plumber says in a somewhat joking tone. "No need. I saved your life, and that information is a good enough repayment for my services. Speaking of services, I'll let you in on a little something. This stand I made to support the orb is also outfitted with a device that will block out outside influences from finding out that our young companion is with us. Now then, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get on the intercom and alert the others to gather in here so we can get down to business…" With that Alpha departs from Mario's line of view, which is now tilted upward to look at the clearly disheartened Alex.

The Commander makes it halfway to the stairs leading to his chair before he looks over his shoulder and notices what the plumber is still doing. Thinking back to a previous set of events in his life, Alpha lets out a tired sigh and looks towards the glass windows in front of him, preparing to say something while Mario can't see the expressions he is making. "Don't assume that I can't understand what is going through your mind Mario." The plumber, surprised to hear the Commander speak to him again, turns around and looks over at him as he folds his arms behind his back. "It is such a horrible feeling, to have a friend of yours standing just a few feet away from you, yet you are completely powerless to save them…Before I became the Commander of the M.S.I., such a scenario happened to me, and my failure to avert it has and shall continue to haunt me to my grave…I may not have formed a bond with him like you have, but I'll be damned if I can't do my part to prevent you from failing to save Alex from his current predicament. We are in this together Mario, and together we will fall…"

Mario is shocked at the Commander's rather empathetic plight, simply because he didn't think that it was possible for him to express such feelings. "Thank you for that Alpha." The plumber decides to say, Alpha nodding without looking back before he continues on his way to his chair to deal with his business. A few minutes after sending the message through to the rest of the battleship, Gemini, Driad, Luigi and Mallow all gather in the center room. The Commander continues to sit on his chair, pulling up a massive view screen behind him and pressing a button to summon forth an image of the machine king Smithy for everyone to see.

"Glad you could all make it here. As of 02:00 hours ago a foe familiar to the likes of Mallow and Mario attacked the Mushroom Kingdom. The Axem Rangers, as they prefer to call themselves, managed to incapacitate the Elemental Overlord Alex Whiter in an orb of unknown origin. Their battleship, the Blade, was destroyed by yours truly, the soldiers save for Red were dealt with by Mario, and Lieutenant Gemini captured Red for later questioning. Now that I've brought you up to speed I would like to bring a new issue to the table, and that is of the apparent revival of the warmonger Smithy."

Flipping through images that show off the scenes described during his speech, Alpha returns back to the one of Smithy as he prepares to talk about him. "We know that he is interested in the Elemental Overlord for some reason, and the first envoy sent out was specifically designed to not only capture him for his use, but was also equipped with features that allowed them to deal with Gemini's specific electric powers." Driad raises one of his vines, one of the Commander's eyebrows being raised as he notices this. "Yes Driad?" He asks. The Crayzee Dayzee lowers his vine after that. "Why would the Axem Rangers need to counter Gemini's powers?" He ponders.

Alpha breathes in deeply and lets out a heavy sigh, as he had hoped that this question wouldn't have been brought up. "I don't have the right to answer that question. If you want to know, ask Gemini himself." Driad turns to the Koopa and is prepared to say something, but he replies with a rather blunt "No comment", which causes the flower to discard his thoughts for the time being. Letting out a light cough, Alpha says "Anyways…" To grab the heroes' attention so he can continue on with what he was saying. "Now, I have taken measures to ensure that Alex won't be detected by Smithy's devices, but I fear that he is receiving assistance from an outside source. To give a more specific I.D. of the perpetrator, the source in question probably has the ability to use magic."

Thinking about what was told for a moment, Mario comes to a conclusion that he wishes he'd rather not have thought of. "Alpha, you aren't implying that Cackletta is still alive, are you?" The words from the plumber's mouth cause the rest of the heroes to turn at him with looks of utter shock on their face, and for good reason too. Alex said plain as day that he finished off the witch by using the power of the inner guardians, so for her to be alive yet again wasn't the most pleasant thing for them to hear. "I'm afraid so Mario. Worse yet, I have reason to believe that she is in alliance with Smithy and another, as of yet unknown, being."

Pressing a button on the side of his chair as he turns it around, the screen changes to show footage of Cackletta in what appears to be a warehouse where precious metals are stored. She is taking some silver and gold, for what purpose the heroes do not know. But the Commander, who had seen the event in question unfold, is ready to enlighten them on the scene. "A few years back, before Smithy's attack on the Mushroom Kingdom and his subsequent defeat, Cackletta robbed a variety of metals from the central Beanbean warehouse. These materials have never been recovered, nor has there been any sight of them since then."

"She probably used them for alchemy or something, nothing really suspicious about that." Mallow is quick to point out. "I thought about that, certainly, but that doesn't fit in with her actions in her attempt to get the Beanstar. If she had the ability to use alchemy, she would've created Homunculi to aid her in acquiring it." Mallow places one arm underneath his chin and begins to think to himself in the face of Alpha's response, and comes up with something else to say after merely a few moments. "So what you are suggesting is that Cackletta stole materials for Smithy to use in creating his army, and in turn he would help her capture the Elemental Overlord when he finally came back to life?"

"That is one theory I've come up with, and definitely the one with the most evidence backing it, yes…" Alpha replies, his tone praising the cloud Prince for his deduction. "But that would mean that measures would've had to been taken ahead of time to ensure the two villains survival until that time." Mario then says. The Commander raises one arm and waves the hand around. "A truer point has never before been stated my friend." He says before snapping his fingers and turning his chair back around. "There are a lot of questions that need answering, and I get the feeling the only way we are going to solve these mysteries is by confronting Smithy himself and getting him to tell us his relation to Cackletta, and hopefully shed some light on the mysterious third person involved…"

"Well then how are we going to get to Smithy? The only way to his realm is through Exor's mouth, and the sword was destroyed, so…" Luigi's concern does not go unheard by the Commander, who gets off of his chair and begins to walk down the staircase in front of him. "Yeah, that does pose a problem…But that is why I planned ahead by having Gemini capture Axem Red. I'll head on over to the jail quadrant and interrogate him on a way to enter the factory." "You know, the Blade had to have arrived here somehow. Maybe if SOMEONE wasn't so trigger happy we could've examined the battleship for clues on how to get there that way." Gemini quips, the Commander nervously rubbing the back of his head with his right hand in response to that comment. "Admittedly…That probably wasn't my best judgment call Lieutenant."

Regaining his composure to let out a light cough, Alpha folds his arms behind his back and lets out a little chuckle over the fact that he had to own up to his little miscalculation. "Now then, this effort of mine may take some time, so if you got anything you wish to take care of beforehand I would suggest doing so now. The cafeteria is a few rooms down from the eastern hallway…" Upon hearing that, Driad, Mallow and Luigi leave the premises, their movements being gazed at from over Alpha's shoulder. "…Mario, you may want to spend a few hours with Peach. Or at the very least, bring her up to date on the situation. Lieutenant, I'm giving the order for you to follow him down there." Gemini has objections to the command, and he is not afraid to make those feelings known. "Sir, shouldn't I be with you when you go to question-" "That is an ORDER, do you understand what I'm getting at, Lieutenant?"

As much as he didn't want to take his superior's rather harsh scolding of his protest, as evidenced by the tight crackling of his knuckles, Gemini knew full well the consequences he would be forced to suffer through if he said any other disapproving comments. "Yes, sir." He replies with an abundance of forced enthusiasm, leaving with Mario not a few second after making that comment. With Alpha left to his own devices, the Goomba walks casually over to the orb the young Overlord is stuck in, his body still in the same position it was a while ago. "You going to stop wallowing in self-pity anytime soon Alex?" He says to grab his attention. "Go away Alpha, I don't want to hear anything you have to say to me…" The boy replies in a depressed tone of voice.

"Really?" The Commander then says, his right eyebrow cocked upward. "Well that's too damn bad. You can't do anything to stop me from saying anything in your current state, so I would suggest just shutting up and hearing me out. Now look, I know you are the Elemental Overlord, and your defeats of the Dark King and Tabuu have probably given you a mindset where you feel that you are invincible…But let me tell you, one many does not make an army, not matter how badly they claim to be one. And you of all people have no right to go around arrogantly boasting about your feats, seeing as you have only made it this far thanks to the souls of the fifteen warriors living within you and of course because of our timely assists. I may have an assortment of weapons and devices stored within these arms of mine, but that doesn't make me omnipotent, I have my own faults and weaknesses that any enemy would be more than happy to exploit. Hell, the Axem Rangers easily used your arrogance to capture you, just to list off an example that enforces my point….Alex, I'm not trying to put you down, so don't assume that to be the meaning behind my words. I want to see you succeed as the new Elemental Overlord, so I'm merely giving you some food for thought to muse over so you don't end up in this type of situation again. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a certain leader to interrogate, so I'll see you back here in a few hours…"

With his peace said as firmly as he can muster, Alpha quietly leaves the area, and Alex raises his head up slightly to let out a disheartened sigh. "…Why did I allow myself to sink this far?" He mutters under his breath. The Commander enters the northern hallway, which is unsurprisingly empty, seeing as only a few select people are allowed access to the jail section of the battleship. Once he nears the end the light that came from outside sources vanishes, instead replaced with a dark red luminescent glow on the ceiling. A four-layer titanium door stands before the Goomba, but all he has to do to unseal it is raise the open palm of his right hand, and the composition is analyzed and recognized.

Each layer slides off in a different direction, the Commander casually walking into the room once his arms are back to being folded behind himself. Behind the indestructible bars in the only jail cell is the battered Axem Red, whose arms and legs have been nailed to a wall by some plasma coated cuffs. Hearing the Commander approach, the leader raises his head up to look at him, his vision blurred thanks to his robotic body still slowly rebooting from his electrocution. "You awake there soldier?" Alpha asks in a chipper tone of voice. "What do you want?" Red says, mustering up all of his strength to let those words loose. "What any other man with even an ounce of intellectual instinct wants, and that is some answers. I want you to tell me how to enter Smithy's dimension so we can stop him."

Alpha is nonchalant in the way he speaks his words, and Axem Red takes this is as a sign that the man had lost his mind if he thought that getting such an answer would be so simple. "Are you insane? Why should I tell you anything?" The Commander is silent. He knew of Red's loyalty to his Master Smithy, and had already determined that resilience was to be expected. However, his brilliant mind had already pieced together the bits of info he needs to persuade the leader to reveal everything he needed to know. "Tell me Axem Red…Why do you give loyalty to a mongrel whose only loyalty is to his own selfish desires?"

This single piercing question is enough to incite Red's anger, as he thrusts his body forward in an attempt to break himself free from his bonds. "You silence that mouth of yours Goomba! Master Smithy will turn your planet into a glorious weapon-filled utopia!" He exclaims. Alpha closes his eyelids and lets out a sigh, his body not even flinching in response to the leader's behavior. "I don't recall asking you about whether or not you believe that Smithy will succeed…Let me rephrase the question. How would you react if you found out that Smithy only saw you as a means to an end?" "That's impossible…Smithy told us that we would be by his side as he basks in the glory of his reign…" Thinking about what he just said for a moment, Red silences himself and hangs his head in shame for being such a fool. Alpha catches onto this, and comes to the same realization that the leader did.

"See? He stated it plain as day. He doesn't consider you or any of his other creations to be his equal, you are just tools he uses to conquer other worlds. The very moment you prove to be worthless, he'll discard you and create another version to use. Actually, you should be grateful right now that I had my Lieutenant paralyze you, otherwise you would truly be dead." Red wonders what the Commander means by his statement, and lifts his head up to look at him before pondering the meaning behind those words. "How so?" He quietly asks, nervous to hear the answer. "After incarcerating you in this cell, I had a few of my men run x-rays on your body. Did you know that you had a nuclear bomb attached inside of your chest? Were it not for Gemini short-circuiting it and negating the fusion reaction, I'm pretty certain Smithy would've eventually set it off, killing not just you, but taking out a large chunk of the population and spreading radiation that would kill the rest. And because he is not organic, that move of his would only benefit him and his pawns."

Red, who from creation to now has always stayed undoubtedly loyal to his Master Smithy, was having to come to terms with the fact that he mattered little to him. But at the same time… "How can I trust you? I've heard about you, how you manipulate others to get what you want…What reason do I have to believe that you aren't doing the same to me now?" It was a good question, and Alpha was actually pleased to see the leader staying true to himself and not succumbing right away. "You're right. I want to know how to get to Smithy's factory, so everything I've said up until now could be lies, since there is no substantial evidence to present to you to prove that I am right. Of course, when one is recruiting soldiers they have to be certain to exercise honesty."

"…Excuse me?" Red picked up on the subtle clues littered through the Commander's words, but that merely left him looking at him in confusion. "I don't want to see talent go to waste. You are more than a machine. You cared about your teammates, and you hesitated to fire the Breaker Beam at Toad Town. You have emotions, and you have a slight sense of honor. The way I see it, you got two options here…You can refuse to say anything and live the rest of your life alone in here, or you can divulge what you know and be freed from your confines to become a proud and equal member of the M.S.I. It is your choice Axem Red. I won't rush you, take your time deciding…" The leader was given his two options, solitude or survival. He didn't know what would be the better choice, especially now with the added confliction brought on by what was told to him about his 'Master' Smithy. He closes his metallic eyelids and lowers his head to concentrate, and Alpha looks on in anticipation…

_Next Time: Cleave the Planet in Tw_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: The Day of the Machines**

It is now a few hours later in the day, and most of the heroes have gathered once more in the command room. Alpha is absent, but for good reason. He had to take care of a few last second details involving his arms, and is walking down the hallway at this very moment to get to where he needs to be. All the while he is remembering what Axem Red told him in the jail cell.

"…_Smithy has created an upgraded version of Exor." "I beg your pardon?" Alpha says in response to Red's comment. "Exor 2.0, he calls it…It is a gargantuan sword, with a blade that is capable of cleaving a planet in two." "And he plans on dropping it on Plit?" Alpha asks. "Correct. His plan was to have us capture the Elemental Overlord, and after a predetermined period of time a dimensional gap would appear above Toad Town and the gravitational force would slowly bring the blade down towards the surface…If I remember correctly, it'll appear in a few hours, and by then you'll have a period of twenty minutes to enter through the gap to Smithy's Factory…" Red lowers his head from exhaustion, as it took all of his remaining energy to tell the Commander what he knew._

_Alpha is silent for a few seconds, but eventually he makes his way over to a console in front of the jail bars. Pressing down on a silver button in the center, the plasma cuffs deactivating, bringing Axem Red down onto his knees on the floor. The rest of his body follows suit, though he reacts in time to lay his palms down as well. The Commander turns around as the leader raises his head, a look of surprise on his face. "You were actually serious?" He inquires. "Thank you for your help…Go ahead and stretch your arms around to get your circuitry and gears running again. When this all blows over, I will make sure to get you out of the jail cell so you can sign the necessary papers to become a member of the M.S.I." Alpha starts to make his way for the door after calmly speaking to the machine man, but he has one last thing to say. "I am in your debt, Commander Alpha…" _

Returning his focus back to the events chained to the present, the Commander arrives at the door and lets it slide open so he can enter the room. His presence causes the once relaxing crewmates to turn their chairs hastily around and continue working, while the heroes look at him and wonder just what took him so long. "We've been waiting for half an hour Alpha, what the heck have you been up to?" Driad asks first, the Goomba replying with a curt laugh as his held is pulled back slightly. He then makes his way up the stairs, saying to the Crayzee Dayzee in response, "Just tweaking the ol' arms for battle. Now then…" Alpha turns his body around and leaps backwards into his chair, the force of his movements causing it to turn around once before it stops. His arms latched firmly onto the side of the chairs and he looks down at the rest of the group. "Let us get down to business!"

From inside of the young Overlord's orb, the boy in question raises his head up, which has still been stuck in the same position it was when Alpha spoke to him a while ago. "First order on the list…In the interlude between our two meetings I spoke with Axem Red. He told me that Smithy plans to summon a stronger Exor to cleave our world in two." This startling bit of news causes Luigi to think about the size of the blade that pierced Bowser's Castle before, and he then enlarges said size in proportion to that of the planet, which in turn causes him to understandably freak out as he compares the two in his mind and realizes that the previous sword would be like the size of an atom in comparison to the new one. He expresses his fear over this matter with a deep gulp and a nervous nudge of his shirt collar.

"Umm…That's not really something I wanted to hear…" The man in green states, adding a chuckle to the end of his sentence as his brother turns his head to look at his responses. He then looks up at Alpha with a question of his own. "How do you know that Red didn't lie to you just to shake us up when you gave us the information?" "I have my reasons, none of which you need to know about." The Commander calmly replies, and though Mario backs down vocally after that he still has his suspicions. "And don't worry about it, I doubt Smithy would've been able to create a blade the size of a whole planet in a couple year's time. If anything, it is probably magically enhanced thanks to Cackletta." "Forgive me for interrupting Alpha." Mallow swiftly says to stop him before he continues on to another sentence. The Goomba raises a brow in response.

"But why do you keep thinking Cackletta is behind everything that Smithy has done today? You ever think the machine king could be-" "If you don't want to be smacked I suggest you don't interrupt me to ask such an unproductive question for the rest of today, Prince." Alpha's harsh reply catches both the Nimbusian and the rest of the group sans Gemini completely off-guard, and Mario in particular is deeply disturbed by the fact that the Commander suddenly declared his intention to hit a figure of royalty if he 'stepped out of line'. "Alpha, what the hell did you say that for? Are you out of your mind?" Though it was a minor word, the fact that the plumber actually swore when voicing his disgust at the Goomba caused everyone else in the room to go silent.

Alpha's eyes widen upon being called out, and he realizes quickly that he let words slip from his mouth that would've preferred not to say. It worried him, and he raises his right hand and presses it against his face, his synthetic heart pumping slowly as sweat begins to drip down his face. "Calm yourself Alpha, you've come to far just to fail in your goals…Just a few more hours, just a few more hours…" Repeating those five words to himself for a few seconds to loosen his tightened nerves, he removes his hand from his guilt-ridden face and closes his eyelids, opening his mouth up wide to take in a deep breath and release it to finally return to normal.

The first thing he does after that is look at Mallow, who flinches in fear of what he might say next. "I'm sorry for my outburst…Cackletta is just a sore subject for me to discuss…That's all." The cloud Prince is cautious for a moment. He didn't know whether or not it would be right to accept the apology considering how quick it happened after the threat. He turns his head to look at Mario, who is glaring at Alpha with strife being felt between the two of them. Mallow shakes his head. He couldn't look to the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom for answers, he needed to do this on his own. "Thank you for the apology Alpha…" He finally brings himself to say.

Mario, on the other hand, glances to the right at him. He has no qualms with Mallow having his own view on the Commander, but to him he isn't just going to easily forget every single instance where his moral fiber must be questioned. He had his eyes on Alpha, and because of what he just did he was going to make sure that he wasn't allowed to get away with anymore heinous acts against the group just because of his position of authority. But begrudgingly, the plumber knew that he couldn't just up and leave while Smithy was about. Perceptive as he is, the Commander has caught on to the plumber's current behavior in his presence, but instead of saying anything directly to him he returns to his previous briefing.

"Anyways, Red told me that in the time it'll take for the tip of the blade to reach the surface, a dimensional gap will open up that'll allow anyone to enter Smithy's Factory. Thus, the mission objective is clear. When Exor makes its appearance, I want two people to fly in through the tear and take care of the blade before it can do its job. Then, head into the factory and take Smithy down. Do not finish him off all the way until he reveals what he knows about either Cackletta or the third party. Considering his villainous nature, he should divulge the information without having a reason to do so."

"Wait a second…Why only two people?" Driad is quick to ask. Instead of the Goomba saying it, Gemini is actually the one to turn to the flower and provide an answer. "Two-man squads are usually more efficient in combat depending on the combination. Two soldiers of equal strength do good against a single powerful target, and two soldiers that specialize in weapons are usually better suited for clearing armies out so the first group can accomplish their goal. I could go on, but that is the basic logic behind sending in only two people to fight." The Lieutenant lowers his arms after one had been raised beside his face with a finger pointing up towards the ceiling, and he turns his head towards the Commander and gives him a nod, which is then returned before Alpha picks up from where Gemini left off.

"While that is part of the reason, there is another point I'd like to bring up. Seeing as Exor is assumedly going to be keeping the dimensional gap open, upon his defeat there is a slight chance that it will seal up. Since we have more enemies to worry about then just the machine king, sending in two guys now will leave us with enough men here. And before there are any objections, I would like to assure you that no would be sacrificing themselves to do this job. Since the sword itself isn't the one responsible for creating the hole, it can only be assumed that Smithy has some device set up deep within his factory that can open the way back to the planet."

"So who do you want to go take care of Smithy?" Gemini says, enthusiastically punching his right hand into his left palm as he grits his teeth looking raring to go. "That's not going to be my decision to make. Instead…" Alpha turns his chair seventy degrees to the left and raises one of his hands, pointing a finger at the orb that young Overlord is trapped in. "I'm leaving it up to him." The heroes are taken aback by the Commander's decision, and even Alex stops moping long enough to move his limbs into a more normal position so he can turn around in the zero-g field to look at the Goomba with an expression of utter surprise on his face. "M-Me?" He stutters while trying to let that one word loose from his lips.

"Yes Alex, I'm entrusting YOU with this decision." Alpha calmly says with a smirk across his face. The boy turns his head away in shame, for he does not want to accept such a burden after what he did earlier. "I'm sorry Alpha, but letting a fool like me choose…" "Alex, I don't want to hear about your angst right now. We don't have the time for that." Alpha swiftly interrupts the boy once he can tell where he is going with his sentence. He stops, and turns his head back to look up at him to see that he has a tender smile on his face. "You have my full trust Alex, I believe you will make the right decision. So go right on ahead and pick two from the group to go fight Smithy. I have to decline for now, seeing as I have to help run operations in the ship…" With everything he needed to say out of the way, Alpha puts his chair back in the proper position and awaits Alex's choices.

He looks at the heroes one at a time. Gemini is tapping his foot impatiently, the boy taking it as a sign that he REALLY wants to get out there and fight Smithy. Driad is gazing around without a care in the world, which is rather typical behavior for him. Luigi looks as though he is still worried about Exor, Mallow is standing still without expressing an emotions, and Mario continues to glare at Alpha with scorn buried in his eyes. With this taken into consideration, it probably wouldn't be best to send the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom out while he is so negatively focused on the Commander. That leaves Driad, Gemini, Luigi and Mallow as valid options, but Alex was only allowed to choose two to go into battle.

It is at that point that the young Overlord recalls something Gemini said to him that at the time seemed rather insignificant, but actually has some merit to the current situation. _"Rule 27, Article 5. 'When working together, one will find that sometimes the best partnerships are between those who have little in common with each other.'" _ It was something that was apparently commonplace for the M.S.I. to follow, and now would be the best time for Alex to use it himself. "Alright, I've decided on the two who are going to take on Smithy." He then says, nodding his head once to confirm the certainty of his own decision.

"Gemini, Mallow. I want you two to take out the machine king and find out what is up with this orb I'm trapped in, if you can get him to divulge that info." Gemini claps his hands hard once in ecstasy, and Mallow flinches slightly before a shocked expression adorns his face. "Alright, good choice Alex!" The Koopa says before gritting his teeth. "Hold the phone here, why are you pairing me up with Gemini?" The cloud Prince asks out of utter confusion. The Lieutenant knew the answer, but decided not to say anything. "Do you not want to fight Smithy or something Mallow?" The young Overlord politely inquires, and though Mallow does have a slight objection to the subject in question it is not because of Smithy that he is hesitant to team-up with Gemini. "It has nothing to do with Smithy. Considering I was one of the five who originally fought him it would be for the best if either me or Mario went there, and I'm glad that you probably thought of that Alex…It is just that…"

The Nimbusian looks up at Alpha, who is glaring at him from afar. The look in his eyes unhinged him a bit, and made him reconsider what he was about to say. "Never mind." He responds in a normal tone of voice after faking a smile and nodding his head once towards the boy. Failing to notice the person he was looking at, Alex merely shrugs his shoulders and decides to lay back against the orb to relax for a bit now that he had finished making his decision. In essence, he gave control of the situation back to Alpha without saying a single word.

"Excellent choices if I must say Alex." Alpha says as he folds his bulky arms in front of his body. "Now then, it would be best if the two of you got onto the runway to wait for Exor's emergence. Everyone else, go ahead and do whatever you want since you won't be fighting for now." Luigi and Driad immediately head off to attend to their own affairs, while Gemini and Mallow walk towards the northern hallway that'll eventually lead them to the runway. Mario stays where he is at, turning his body around only after the Commander looks down and acknowledges his existence with a raised eyebrow.

It takes two minutes for the two heroes to make it to the end of the hallway, and upon arriving there they find an elevator that carries them to their destination. Once there they stand in place, Gemini looking up towards the sky for any signs of a forming dimensional tear. All the while Mallow nervously waits beside him, and he turns his head around towards the dome, still thinking about what Alpha said to him. "Gemini…Why didn't you stand up for me when Alpha made his comment?" Surprised by the suddenness of the Prince's question, the Koopa stops what he is doing and turns around to face the Nimbusian as he turns his own head back around. "What do you mean Mallow?" He asks with a hint of concern.

"Everyone else looked ready to cause a ruckus over the threat, and Mario himself verbally lashed out at Alpha. You just stood still and didn't react at all." "…I owe Alpha my life. To say something negative towards him would've been a betrayal of that very debt. I do apologize for my passiveness in that situation, but…" While the two talked a gaping hole was opening up in the sky behind them, within it lied a bleak realm covered in a hazy mist. The conversation is interrupted when a vacuum of pressure presses down against the entire surface of the ship, drawing the two heroes' attention to turn their bodies around to look at the hole that has just opened. Gemini leans to the left and holds his arms out beside him, Mallow pulling out his magic staff as a powerful gust of air blows across the deck, the tip of silver metallic blade almost as wide as the dimensional tear making it's way through to the world of Plit…

_Next Time: Pursue the End, _Vs_. the Factory Guards_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: The Hasty Climb to the Factory**

The blade was continuing its descent towards Toad Town. The populace looked up, their eyes widening in fear as they see the massive object approaching. They make many gestures towards it, acknowledging their emotions by huddling their children and cowering in the corners of their houses. But the town does not erupt into panic, simply for the fact that they knew that their hero Mario would protect them. However, despite the fact that they were in good hands, it was not the famed plumber that would be their saviors, but the courageous Lieutenant of the M.S.I. and the somewhat tense cloud Prince of Nimbus Land. They both stand on deck, their positions remaining unchanged. "Mallow, go into your other form and follow my lead…" Lieutenant calmly and quietly gives his order, the Nimbusian removing his tension and replying with a gentle nod.

Holding his staff in both hands horizontally in front of him, Mallow is completely engulfed in a pillar of golden light as the faint images of the Star Spirits soon surround it for but a second. When it vanishes he now wears the hat of a pope on his head, his staff now changed to look more regal-like in appearance with the jewel on top now having turned into an orb shaped emerald. He makes as high of a leap as his body can muster and uses some magic to create a cloud for him to land on. This compensates for his inability to fly in both forms, and at the same time will allow him to keep up with Gemini no matter what he does next.

"You going to transform as well?" Mallow asks the Koopa out of curiosity as he parts his arms and holds his staff in the middle with his right hand. Gemini stretches his head back, connecting his hands together by the fingers and cracking them out in front of his body to loosen the muscles for battle. "Yeah, but I don't need to rely on the Star Spirit's power quite yet." Shaking his arms out beside himself, the Koopa looks up to see that the tip of Exor's blade has edged closer to the front of the runway. At the rate it's going, it would take twenty minutes for it to impact with the ground. As for how long it would take after that for the planet to be cleaved…Well, Gemini wasn't going to allow it to get that far in the first place, so he quickly discarded that thought and prepared to scale the metallic blade of the gargantuan sword.

With his mind focused on the golden, goopy material in his back, Gemini draws it out of his shell and has it take the form of a pair of solid demonic wings, the remainder of it melding around his head to create a helmet that also has a demonic appearance. He reaches into his back with his right hand, searching for the three-tipped prongs that make the offensive portion of his signature weapon. He whips it out and spins it around, using his electric powers to quickly cause a reaction that summons forth a rod from the backside of the prongs. He opens his fingers and lets gravity lower the weapon slightly so he can snatch the middle of the rod out and grasp it firmly.

Wiping his left pointer finger against the bottom of his nose, Gemini has finally prepared himself for the mission. "Keep up with my movements if you can Mallow." "Got it Gemini!" They say with a good deal of chemistry found in their actions. The Koopa rushes across the runway with his arms outstretched, his companion following right behind with great ease. Making a slight leap forward, the Koopa has a surefire way of getting the necessary speed needed to make it to the blade in a span of a few seconds. He would need it to, since the pressure from the sword's emergence would make it rather difficult to get close to it otherwise.

Once his feet lands on the ground, Gemini reverses the polarity of the soles so he is rejected by the magnetic force buried within the metallic runway. His body is then propelled upward at a rapid rate, his wings folding back to resist the air pressure and keep his movement towards the blade smooth and steady. Mallow rises up after him, surprisingly keeping up in spite of everything going against him. Eventually the Lieutenant flips his body around and uses the magnetic properties of his electricity to attach himself near Exor's tip. He doesn't stop to think, but instead looks up and pushes himself into a sprint with Mallow tailing right beside him.

"You holding up ok?" Mallow asks. "Yeah, I'm itching with anticipation here…Though I admit it is a little hard getting used to another gravitational pull besides that of the planet." The Koopa points out, his teeth slightly gritted as he continues to run towards the top. From what the two heroes could estimate, it would take them five minutes to reach the top of this blade at the speed they were currently going at. _"Lieutenant, can you hear me?" _The Commander's familiar voice calls to the Koopa from within his eardrum. A communicator was placed inside before the previous meeting so they would be able to keep in contact once the gap was sealed. "Yeah, loud and clear." He civilly replies. _"Good, then you shouldn't leave the communication range even after you are stuck in the factory. Just wanted to test that before you proceeded any further. You won't hear from me again until Exor is dealt with, so I wish you the best of luck._"

Cutting off the conversation right then and there, Gemini looks at the cloud Prince, who has his staff raised above his head. Pondering just why he is performing this action, the Koopa turns around to notices a series of metallic specks falling in their direction. But they were not normal objects by any means. They were arrow-like creatures with pointed heads that had demented expressions meant to represent their faces, their bendy yellow bodies having red strings coming out of the bottom. These were known as "Aeros", and for whatever reason their appearance garnered a scowl from the Koopa, who brings his trident viciously out in front of him like an arc to cut through the bodies and faces of five Aeros.

The gem of Mallow's staff glows blue, a crystalline yet barely visible barrier quickly surrounding his body and cloud to protect him from the bombardment. None of the projectiles even managed to dent the protection, and those that ricochet off are unable to return to their normal positions to save themselves before they finally collide with the ground and break into their three separate parts. Even though he is safe and Gemini is handling himself just fine, the cloud Prince recognizes the danger the Aeros hold, as in a single touch from the tip will leave the target paralyzed until the creator is defeated. Though he is certain that they'll be able to defeat Smithy, he'd rather not allow any Toad to endure being motionless, so he readies his staff with his heart dripping with gallantry and prepares another spell.

This time the gem is surrounded by a golden, sparkling hue. A few trails of light that share the same features as the gemstone moves across the sky ahead of Mallow, creating a pathway that allows a series of three-dimensional stars to pass across it and burn right through any Aero that is unlucky enough to cross its path. So long as he isn't hit the Nimbusian can keep the spell active, and thanks to his barrier that is just what is going to happen. Even so, he can be hit by his own powers, and to avoid the stream of stars he thrusts the bottom of his staff against the cold steel in front of him to propel his cloud back enough to narrowly avoid the stars coming at him.

Gemini casually leaps over it, thrusts his left hand out to send out a constant stream of electricity that takes out many Aeros in front of him. When Mallow got back into position he looked at his comrade with concern laced eyes. The way things were set-up there was no need to attack the Aeros, but the Koopa kept striking them down when they got near them, the most violent of his methods being to grab one of the projectiles below the head and effortlessly crush the "neck", flinging the two section aside and continuing to wildly slash his trident out in front of him.

They were all unnecessary actions, and if Gemini kept it up he would be out of energy before they even entered the factory. "Gemini, what are you doing?" Mallow asks in a voice that would be loud enough for his ally to hear amidst the sounds of metal clashing against each other. There was no response. This was not because the Koopa didn't hear him, the sound of his voice rang loud and clear. He said nothing because he was far too focused on tearing through the swathes of helpless Aeros. There were reasons for his uncharacteristic behavior, not a single one known to the prince of Nimbus Land. But the lack of a response just increased his desire to know the truth while also making the distress on his face become more apparent.

Before Mallow could say anymore, he noticed something sticking out up ahead. It was a lone, stone grey platform that looked like it was starting to decay. That was where they needed to go, and with the Aeros finally halting their fall the Koopa regained his focus and looked at the platform. Once he was above it he reversed the polarity on his feet and was sent spiraling towards the landing spot, his body twirling around until his feet can be placed down to grind against the floor and stop himself right then and there. Mallow follows closely behind, lowering his shield and dispelling the "Star Stream" with a swing of his staff right as the last Aero was dealt with. Getting off his cloud by using his weight to press down on it and causing it to disperse, Mallow turns his body around in unison with Gemini the moment he touches the ground, looking up to the see Exor's astoundingly detailed face up above. Six minutes had passed in total. With only fourteen minutes left it should be easy to attack the face with their strongest attacks to destroy it and take the rest of the sword down with it.

But nothing is ever that easy. Gemini knew that all too well. In fact, thanks to his powers he had already sensed the approaching presence of four mechanical beings of varying sizes. Turning back around just as quickly as had turned before, his inactivity grabs Mallow's attention, and as the cloud Prince currently has his staff raised above his head ready to take care of the massive sword he tilts to the right to see what is going on. "Gemini, you going to help me out here?" He inquires. "Disregard Exor for the moment Mallow…We got company." The Nimbusian joins his friend in turning around to see the enemies approaching them.

Actually, that is not an entirely accurate statement. Two of the machines are incapable of movement on their own, so they had to be set up ahead of time to attack anyone who would dare try and foil the plan with Exor. On the left is a large golden monstrosity with curves all-around, three gears of differing sizes attached to the back and two cannon-like objects sticking out of a gap in the front. On top there is a vat of silver liquid, signifying that this mechanical being is also used for smelting. Beside the rims of the vat are two launchers, which were used to fire the Aeros Gemini and Mallow had to deal with just a moment ago. Beside it is a gigantic clock with Roman numerals representing all twelve numbers on its body, the body is made of emerald, the hands made of ruby and the "nose" of sapphire. It has been melded to a metallic table, and a half-full hourglass attached to its underside. On the upper corners of the head are two bronze bells, each one having the mark of the "Ztar" engraved on the front of them.

"Count Down and Gunyolk…" Mallow murmurs upon recognizing their appearances. "So these aren't new members of Smithy's Gang?" Gemini asks upon hearing this information. The cloud Prince shakes his head back and forth after sealing his eyelids, replying "No. This two were a couple of guardians we faced before we reached Smithy himself." "Figures that a mongrel would just recycle the supplies they have access to instead of trying to come up with something new on their own…" The Koopa mentions to himself through the scowl on his face. "Still, seems weird that there would only be these two here to stop us…Wouldn't it make more sense for-"

"-The other two guardians to be here as well?" His sentence finished by a voice that Mallow was familiar with, the cloud Prince tilts his head to the right and sees a figure emerging from the shadows behind Count Down. It is a sword and shield wielding jester machine with an appearance similar to that of an Arabian knight. It has a portly body with no feet, the colors on its body ranging from red to blue to yellow. In fact, the only thing different about its overall look is that its shield has been gilded with gemstones that respects the coloring of the original. Floating over to the front of the massive clock, the machine raises its sword up and brings it down to check the functioning of his gears, finding his movements to be adequate enough for the situation and brandishing his weapon forward to intimidate the two heroes.

"Welcome to Master Smithy's factory heathens." Mallow knew who this second voice belonged to. It was the mystifying spell caster who always fights alongside his "brother". It floats over the Gunyolk, its four-clawed green hands held out beside its rounded body as he glares at the two heroes behind its purple veil face. Its head resembles that of a snake's, a fitting tail attached to the back that slithers around with ecstasy. They were Cloaker and Domino, the vanguards of Smithy's Army. "I can't believe it, Smithy actually rebuilt you clowns as well?" Mallow says, finding the two new foe's appearance to be more of nuisance than that of the first two. "Indeed! We will not allow you to violate our Master's domain, so we will destroy you and allow Exor to deal with everyone on your planet!"

The two heroes had almost forgotten. As Gemini glances over his shoulder he notices that the sword has descended further than he had expected it to. There was only twelve minutes left now, and they had no time to waste on these distractions. "Mallow, we can't waste time talking. We got to take them down, pronto!" Nodding in response to his comrade's declaration, Mallow turns his body towards the gathered foes and raises his staff, but the small hand on Count Down turns to strike the 11:00 mark. "Indeed, time cannot be wasted…" The machine says, the bells ringing as barely visible shockwaves emerge and move through the air towards the two heroes. The sounds increase in volume for a few seconds as the images of the two become more and more distorted. Eventually a clock symbol appears over their bodies and the hands on them spin backwards rapidly. In a matter of seconds they vanish, leaving the two heroes in their most basic forms, understandably confused looks present on their faces.

"W-What?" Mallow looks at his open right palm with eyes widening in response, his staff having now reverted back to its previous form as well. Gemini's trident remained the same, but even he was left wondering just what has transpired. "This can't be possible…" He mutters, which earns a laugh from both Domino and Cloaker. "You underestimate the powers of Count Down. He has moved your time back so you are now the way you were before coming here. Don't even think of trying to go back, the time effect is permanent until Count Down is defeated!" Cloaker boasts, but in that moment he predictably revealed the secret to un-doing the spell, which causes his brother to takes his right hand and move it through his veil to rub against his face.

Though they were weakened, Gemini had confidence that they would be able to best the four machines. "This will take a little more time, but we should still pull this off. You feeling ok Mallow?" The Nimbusian turns his head to the Koopa, nodding once and saying "I'm a bit dazed, but otherwise fine." "Good. I got the swordsman, I trust you'll be able to handle the sorcerer?" "Yeah, I got enough magic in me to get the job done." "Alright. We won't be able to deal with Count Down or Gunyolk until they are dealt with, so be on the watch for their attacks as well." Giving another nod to approve of his allies' plan, Gemini rushes at Cloaker, putting the distance between the two of them at minimum before taking his trident in both hands and swinging it after placing both feet into the ground to keep himself steady.

The attack is blocked by the shield, the prongs successfully impaling itself in the center of it. But instead of letting the momentum work against him, Gemini pushes his feet off the ground and vaults over the rod, narrowly avoiding the sword slash from Cloaker. Clapping his hands together as his body hangs upside down in mid-air, the Koopa sends as many volts as he possibly can into his trident, which disperses it into the shield and breaks apart the atoms within to cause it to explode in Cloaker's hand. The trident flies into the air as Gemini flips his body around and lands behind the machine swordsman. Taking the lose of his defense lightly, Cloaker spins around and tries to charge the defenseless Koopa.

Sensing his movements thanks to his powers, Gemini uses his magnetism to draw his trident back into the grasp of his right hand, holding it vertically behind his back to block the stab attempt and being forced to exert effort as the strength of the blow proves to be enough to almost force his hand out of alignment with the rest of his arm. The Koopa pulls his weapon up and at the same time flips his body around, using the momentum built up to strengthen the swing of his trident and strike the dull side of the blade in hopes of detaching it from his opponent's grip. The two forces clash, sparks flying but the black blade not even budging an inch. Fearing retaliation in his current state, Gemini pulls back and performs a backflip to put some distance between the two.

He lands on the ground kneeling, twenty feet of a broken rocky floor separating them as he lifts up and stares at the emotionless Cloaker. "Shit, what is your sword made of exactly? Onyx?" Gemini asks as he begins working on the kink in his right arm. "The sword is a part of my body. You cannot remove it unless you cut the whole arm off, unlike my shield which you so mercilessly destroyed." Gemini is surprised at the machine's chivalry, considering the being responsible for his creation. "How kind of you to tell me that…But why?" The Koopa curiously asks. "I may be designed for conquering and defending, but that doesn't mean that I am a mongrel. I have my own sense of honor…Unlike you, who brutishly mangled my gem-encrusted shield. May I ask as to why you did such a thing?"

The Lieutenant gives the warrior a smile before deciding on his reply. "I have my own code of honor to follow as well. As you see it fit to reveal information about weaknesses to your enemies, I myself feel it is only right for two warriors to be balanced in combat. As you can tell, I lack a shield to guard myself with. Thus, you'd have the advantage over me thanks to using your sword to attack me while I'm busy dealing with your protection. If I was truly being dishonorable, I would've increased the range of effect to blow up your arm as well. But now…" Gemini points the prongs of his trident at Cloaker, who raises his metallic eyebrows in shock. "We are on even footing. I guess I should thank Count Down for that at least, since you have proven to be an admirable opponent." "As have you, Koopa. Enough talk now, en garde!" The two warriors rush at each, their weapons perfectly prepared to strike the other down.

On the other side of things, Mallow is busy engaging in a spell war against Domino. The machine's hands are charged with purple sparks between the tips, while the cloud Prince waves his staff around with different colored streaks following the tip. Domino thrusts his hands out, a medium sized flaming rock getting sent through the air right at Mallow, who raises his staff above his head with both hands and calls forth a giant cloud that sends a torrent of rain down above him. The fire surrounding the rock is caught up in the water and dispelled after a short period of time, the material being broken down until it becomes a pebble that lands harmlessly on Mallow's left foot. The rain also has the added effect of healing the Nimbusian' earlier fatigue.

Grabbing the weapon in his right hand and swinging it once in front of him disperses the cloud and leaves a puddle surrounding his feet, most of the water slipping through the cracks between the rocky floor below. "Well played, but negate THIS!" The sparks on Domino's hands turn black, and a bubble of a similar color starts to wrap itself around Mallow's body. Before he can react a piercing scream enters the Nimbusian's eardrums, paralyzing him and forcing his eyes to widen against his will. Nightmarish faces cover the surroundings and look as though they are inching closer to him with each passing seconds. Mallow is forced onto his knees, his hands pressed against his face as he feels the creeping sensation of slimy hands moving towards his skin.

But just as quick as it happened the effect ends, and the cloud Prince finds himself suddenly in his original pose as if none of it happened. That is to say, that is what Mallow wishes were the case, but he knew that the spell did something to him, for he felt weakened and looked ready to tumble over. He couldn't tell if this effect was real or if it was all in his head, all he could determine was that Domino was preparing for another attack. "I'll cut you in two!" He yells out in a sadistic tone, as if he took pleasure from seeing the Nimbusian suffer. A storm of pixilated silver dust fills the sky, as two razor-edged snowflakes spawn beside the floating sorcerer and fly towards Mallow.

Though he is slowly rebuilding the pieces of his fractured psyche, the cloud Prince grits his teeth and musters enough energy to hop into the air, the snowflakes gliding under the soles of his shoes before he lands back down and nearly stumbles on impact. He was thankful for his survival at the moment, but knew it was only a matter of time before one spell ends his life. He had to strike hard as fast as he could while he still had an opening. Slamming the bottom of his staff into the ground in front of him with one hand, the tip is surrounded by a bright aura as the sky opens up and calls forth a gigantic star to smite the enemy before.

His eyes only focused on the enemy before him, Domino only changes his view once he sees the rim of the Star's glow. Looking up, he is befuddled by the events occurring before him. Despite his "Endobubble" spell's fear inducing effects, the Nimbusian still had enough energy within him to summon something of that caliber to the field of battle. But the mechanical wizard refuses to accept defeat at the hands of such a creature, and in a variation of his usual pose he opens his fingers up wide. Two metal panels in his palms that are usually kept sealed together open up, revealing otherworldly crystals buried underneath them. Uttering two words "Serpentis Flammei" causes their effects to be triggered.

A thin beam of light thrusts out between the two palms, three seals of differing sizes spawning from them connected at the center. Each one has various symbols on them. The first has those representing the fundamental laws of the universe, which is broken through quite easily by the massive star. The second shows the kanji for the seven elements, and while it is broken through it puts up more of a defensive than the previous one. The final seal shows the alchemist symbol for the Ouroboros, but that too shatters to pieces and leaves Domino completely defenseless. In retrospect, it would've been simpler for him to leap out of the way, but not he was too late, and the massive star collides right into him and bursts, releasing a radiating explosion that is wide-spread enough to cover parts of the Gunyolk's inactive body.

By this point Mallow has recovered from his earlier psychological attack, and turns his head to the right to see Cloaker being knocked towards him by one of Gemini's more powerful blows. His body collides with the ground the moment the explosion dies down, grinding across until he lands near the cloud Prince's feet, at which point he rolls to the right to avoid the Koopa impaling him in the gut with his trident. He then gets up and quickly flies over to the front of Count Down, Gemini turning his body around and spinning his trident in the palm of his hand once before tightly gripping it and brandishing it at his foe. "Dodged a bullet there…." Cloaker says, counting himself lucky that he was able to avoid the death blow with split-second timing.

"How you holding up on your end?" The Koopa says without looking at his comrade. He didn't need to update him on his situation, since it was clear as day that he was performing just fine in spite of his handicap. "I think I got Domino. So now I'll change my focus to Count Down, since it seems like Gunyolk isn't going to do anything to stop us." Mallow replies. "Do…Do not count me out just yet!" From the cloud of dust left behind by the Star's destruction emerges the mechanical wizard, his veil tattered and large chunks of his body torn off to reveal the machinery at work underneath. He raises his arms in defiance, ready to interfere with his "brother's" fight with every last ounce of power he has left.

"Domino, quit while you still have energy. Go recharge, I will continue the fight myself." "Shut UP brother! You have no right to demand that I exit the area, especially considering that you look to be struggling against Smithy's so-called greatest experiment!" Domino, having now gone past the point of sanity, accidentally let slip something from his mouth that he shouldn't have. Gemini's right hand twitches in response, with Mallow noticing this brief movement and quickly coming to realize as to who his opponent is referring to. "Gemini…Are they-" The Koopa raises his other hand to silence his companion, his ears focused only on the conversation between the two machines as he tries his hardest to suppress his rising anger.

"Domino, I am commanding you as the eldest brother to stand down and say no more." Even with Cloaker's calm request, Domino simply erupts into a maniacal laughter and raises his head back in an attempt to contain himself. "Hehehehe! What are you worried about BROTHER? That I will piss off that weak-minded Koopa and he'll make me his target? Please, thanks to Count Down that experiment won't be able to use that stupid demon heart of his. He is nothing compared to me!" "You rage is making you arrogant. I'm ordering you to STOP right now before you get dismantled!" "Do you remember what Smithy told us about when that stupid experiment escaped? How the demonic flesh bulged out of his body and bubbled as if it were alive on its own free will? Let me just say that Master Smithy's fancy was not the only one that was tickled by the description…"

Veins start to become noticeable on Gemini's fists, electricity surging around his body as Mallow cautiously attempts to step forward to try and calm him down. The Koopa jerks his head to the right slightly and snaps at his companion. "Get away Mallow, the last thing I want is for you to be in the crossfire when I fry this bastard!" The cloud Prince couldn't see from his point of view, but the anger in Gemini's eyes were immense. One more comment would seal Domino's fate, and the Koopa was held together enough that he was willing to give the magician one last chance before he attacks. "You think the pain I went through is a subject for your own amusement Domino? You better follow your brother's wishes and cease speaking, or I WILL annihilate every last atom of your body without mercy."

Even with his threat delivered Domino thought of it to be a bluff, especially considering that normal electricity is incapable of harming him, and the demonic variation was sealed by Count Down. He had no fear, and chose to continue drilling the memories of the past back into his head with sadistic glee. "Come now Gemini, surely you didn't enjoy the sensation coursing through your body when your skin ripped open and allowed the demonic flesh to take its place? It would've certainly been insane of you to not have relished in the moment…" That was it. That was the final trigger needed to break Gemini. There would be no mercy, Domino's fate was thus sealed by his own words.

"SILENCE!" The Koopa violently exclaims, his body lurching forward as he starts grunting as hard as he can. He was trying to draw out the power of his demonic electricity, and his efforts start proving successful when the color of the energy around him changes from yellow to black. The golden goop comes out of his shell to try and form the necessary attachments for his form, but the symbol of Count Down's spell appears in front of him and the hands turn to force the material back in. But that is not enough now, Gemini's rage was far too great for the spell to handle, and as the ground trembles all-around the hands grind to a halt and actually start to spin in the other direction. In a matter of seconds the seal shatters to pieces, the Koopa being put back into his demonic form not a moment after that.

The presence of Gemini's power actually causes Domino to start shivering, his body attempting to get away by slowly backing out of view, but the Koopa would have none of that. Raising both of his hands in front of his chest, the Lieutenant gathers all the energy around his body and compresses it as well as he can into a black and red orb that rests between the palms. "NOW YOU DIE!" After another outburst of anger, the size of the orb triples and is fired at the stunned Domino. Parts of the metal in the ground are dragged into the orb and disintegrated, and this very same force is preventing the wizard machine from fleeing for his life. He continues to struggle against the attack's pull as it gets closer, but nothing is helping his situation out.

It is at that point that Cloaker interferes and crosses in front of the orb's path, bringing his sword down to block it before it can destroy his brother. The wizard flinches, surprised by his brother's sacrifice especially in light of the fact that he brought this on himself. "Brother, what are you doing? You don't need to die for my sake!" He cries out, but Cloaker merely smirks and keeps pressing his blade against the orb even though it is obvious that the attack is ready to overtake the weapon and devour his body whole. He would be crying at his brother's show of affection were it not for the fact that he lacks tear ducts. "Hehehe…" Is the laugh he musters upon seeing that his efforts will amount for naught.

"Forgive me brother…I was hoping I could hold this off long enough for you to escape…But this attack is just far too powerful for me to keep at bay…But I had to try anyways…Cause despite our lack of blood relation, we are still…Brothers…" Those were last words, as his sword is broken apart by the lightning orb and dragged in along with the rest of his body, the attack continuing its rampage until the real target is caught up in its might and dealt with swiftly. When this merciless destruction has come to an end, Gemini calmly snaps his fingers and causes the orb to collapse upon itself, making certain with that move that Domino is truly destroyed.

In the aftermath of the two warrior's defeat, Gemini calls to his wings and helmet and has it revert back to the material it was before appearing and it slinks into his shell, his body bending forward with one hand on the ground as exhaustion starts to overcome him. He had used his blood transfusion technique to increase the power of his attack, and need a moment to catch his breath before continuing the fight. His anger also wasn't helping anything, and he knew that fully well. Gunyolk and Count Down were left completely surprised by what Gemini just did, and during that period of time Mallow decided to return to his Star Spirit empowered form.

After the process is finished without any interference the cloud Prince takes his staff and swings it in an arc in front of his body, the golden glow around it increasing in intensity until a gigantic star is summoned from a gap to collide with the two motionless machines and explode. The resulting sparkling pillar of light consumes the two targets and sucks them into the sky one part at a time, each section burning up into ashes until the entire constructs are dealt with, at which point the pillar vanishes without a trace and Mallow is able to turn his head to check on his ally.

Though he was deeply perturbed by Gemini's behavior and the things that Domino had mentioned, he was more concerned at the moment with healing the Koopa than bothering to ask him any questions. His staff at the ready to cast HP Rain, the cloud Prince freezes in place when the Lieutenant tells him "Have…You forgotten something?" He was right. Mallow had completely forgotten about Exor, and the battle had made him lose track of time. There was no point in hesitating, he had to finish the sword off if there was still a moment to do so. Turning his body around with urgency in his mind, the cloud Prince raises his staff as high as he can when the face on the sword's hilt starts passing in front of him.

"I summon you in the final hour, the judgment of the seven stars that brings righteous justice to the world below in a form that appears and disappears in a flash. Fall now upon my enemy and reduce him to nothing…INDIGNATION!" A thunderous boom fills the air, as the multi-layered seals needed to guide the spell cast through its destination appears on the ground of Toad Town, where the tip of the blade is only a minute away from impacting with. A thin beam of light pops out of the ground and moves through Exor until it reaches the top in a matter of seconds. Cascading from above is a massive lightning bolt, which effortlessly fries the gigantic sword's face as it engulfs it. After a few seconds the spell crashes into the ground, the effects being contained within the seals and merely scorching the ground.

Still, it was a better option than the planet being cleaved in two, and effort which has been foiled because Exor's face has now taken enough damage. Grinding its movements to a halt after a few seconds, the eyes become white as the mouth is left agape. At first the steel at the bottom of the blade starts to disintegrate into dust, blowing away into the wind as the effect scales up the rest of the weapon until it reaches the tip of the hilt. Mallow knew before this point that Exor was done for, and with the mission complete and the dimensional gap sealing itself up without anything keep it open he can now focus on healing Gemini's exhausted state. With a cast of HP Rain, the Koopa is covered by a light drizzle that replenishes his lost stamina and allows him to stand back up all the way. He breathes in and out, his negative emotions dispelled in the face of his newfound tranquility.

"Whew…That was a close one…" The Lieutenant notes as he claps his hands together and picks up his dropped trident to push the rod back in and stuff the prongs into his shell. He turns to look at Mallow, who has returned to his original self with eyelids tilted to show his concern. "Something up Mallow?" He says in a chipper voice, which is an obvious sign that his current emotion is an act meant to draw the cloud Prince's attention away from the subject of Gemini having apparently been experimented on by Smithy. "Gemini…About what Do-" Mallow bites his tongue mid-sentence, deciding that now would not be the best time to bring the issue up. The Koopa heard only part of what he said, and tilts his head towards him and murmurs "Hmm?" in hopes that his ally would finish what he was trying to say.

"Never mind." Mallow replies. Not really caring at the moment, Gemini shrugs his shoulders and turns towards the archway that leads into Smithy's Factory. "Alright, we won't be able to head back now until Smithy is defeated. Are you feeling raring to go Mallow?" The cloud Prince nods his head once, not saying anything because he still had his mind fixated on the issue of Gemini's past. "Ok then, let us get a move on!" Giving the command to move, the two heroes march their way under the archway, heading into the factory where the mechanical man responsible for today's events awaits their arrival…

_Next Time: A Past Better Forgotten_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: The Life Before Gemini**

The two heroes are making their way through the confines of Smithy's Factory. Everything is just like Mallow remembered it, with conveyor belts rolling machines down to unknown parts of the realm and the veil of fog making it difficult to see too far ahead. But if there is one thing to be thankful for, is that there are no monsters guarding the way, even more-so now that the four heavy hitters were dealt with at the entrance. Thinking back to the battle in question, Mallow is still busy wondering about what Domino mentioned. _"Do you remember what Smithy told us about when that stupid experiment escaped? How the demonic flesh bulged out of his body and bubbled as if it were alive on its own free will?"_

Looking at Gemini now, one could easily see that he didn't have any such features on his body, the only thing demonic about him being the wings and helmet he summons himself. Clearly the event in question happened long before Smithy first attacked the Mushroom Kingdom, but just how far back is one of the things that Mallow wants to inquire about. Is Gemini even the Koopa's real name, or just an alias he took because he was too ashamed of something to bother keeping his former identity? The Lieutenant current period of silence wasn't helping anything, as the Nimbusian was more than certain that he would've at least said something by now to Alpha via communicator.

Mustering up the courage inside of him to speak, Mallow decides that he has to say something while they are not preoccupied with fighting any enemies. "Gemini, I didn't say anything before because I felt you wouldn't want to say anything, but is there any chance you could explain to me as to what Domino was talking about?" Gemini is silent a few seconds after the question is brought, but suddenly he stops in place and creaks his head to the left, Mallow running into his shell and wobbling back not long afterwards. Once his equanimity has been regainedthe cloud Prince looks at the Lieutenant and proceeds to turn his head to see what he is seeing.

On a far-off conveyor belt there are motionless and monochrome copies of the Axem Rangers X being rolled along to an unspecified destination so they can eventually be finished up and sent off into battle. Looking at this causes Gemini to tightly clench his fists in anger, the bones heard cracking as a scowl appears on his face. "Such a disregard for life…" He murmurs, but he fails to lower the volume to the point that Mallow couldn't hear him, and the cloud Prince inquires "Why do you say that?" to get some more details out of his ally.

The Koopa raises his left hand, moving it around in tune with the words he is about to say. "Look at this production line Mallow. Smithy's machines may be used for conquering, but each and every one of them had a personality, and in Cloaker's case he actually followed a code of honor like I do. But does that mongrel care about any of that? Each and every machine he makes is a tool crafted to help him and him alone, and if they prove ineffectual he just makes more of them without so much as a care. Who cares if they don't have any flesh to their name? They had enough control over their existences to act on their own accord if they so desires, and yet they merely chose to work for the one who created them. And how does he repay their sacrifices? By creating more copies of them to go out into battle and die, where the process repeats again and again until the bastard responsible is finally silenced!"

Mallow was surprised. Looking back to his previous travels through this factory, he never once thought about the Machine-Made replicas' existence like that. But hearing Gemini go off on such a rage-induced tangent actually made him feel a little pity towards Smithy's creations, and helped fuel his anger against the creator himself. "Gemini…I-I never thought about it that way." It was an awkward response, but the cloud Prince was still reeling back from the shock of that revelation. The Lieutenant sensed something amiss with his allies' admission, but for the entirely wrong reasons than he is currently thinking about.

"Mallow, agreeing with the views I have isn't going to get you an answer to your question." Gemini bluntly states, which catches the cloud Prince completely off-guard seeing as he was still thinking of what was previously said. He waves his arms around nervously, backing up a couple inches before looking straight into the Koopa's brow-raised eyes. "N-n-no! That wasn't my intention at all, honest!" He mutters out to save face. This is enough to curb Gemini's suspicions, and he nods his head to show that he believes his friend. "Sorry for my accusation. I'm just a little on edge because of the environment…"

As he speaks Gemini tilts his head and stares at the production line once more. "Actually, I guess my little tangent provide an answer if you look at it in a certain way…" "Huh?" Mallow says in a befuddled tone. "I guess there really is no point in hiding it. Yes, the reason I have my black electricity powers is because of Smithy's experiment. He transplanted a demon's heart into my body, and the otherworldly powers possessed by the organ fused with the rest of my body and…Well, you heard some of the gruesome details from Domino firsthand."

"So that's why you expressed excitement when Alex chose you to go on this mission…" Mallow says after hearing the Koopa's explanation. Deep down, he couldn't help but feel sorry for his ally. From the way he described it, it was clear that the experiment wasn't performed willingly, and all it took was for him to fill in the blanks mentioned by Domino for disturbing images to appear in his mind about the aftermath of the heart transplant. Expressing his disgust by shaking his head to try and dispel the thoughts, Mallow lifts his head up and looks at Gemini, who has turned around and chosen to look on ahead.

"Honestly, and I'm not blaming you or any of the other for this mind you, but you should've made sure Smithy was dead the first time around. Then Cloaker wouldn't have had to be rebuilt just to die again." Gemini saying that made Mallow realize something. Before their deaths it looked as though the Lieutenant was having a rather friendly scuffle with the mechanical swordsman, but the cloud Prince never would've suspected that the Koopa would've felt regret for accidentally killing an enemy. "Didn't know you were feeling guilty about that. Is that why you were silent for a while back there?" He then asks.

"Yeah. I was fighting both my anger and my regret at the same time. Not a fun combination of emotions to deal with let me tell you, but it was better than me being unable to focus later on because of such a conflict." "Well while that makes a lot of sense, that seems like a pretty common reason for dealing with most emotions…" "Hahaha, you got a point there Mallow." Giving the cloud Prince a good to honest chuckle over his little comment, Gemini turns back around and suddenly gets a rather serious look on his face. "Really though, if you think about it for a moment the only thing stopping most of Smithy's sentient machines from defecting to the side of good is because of their blind allegiance to that mongrel."

"You really think that?" Mallow then inquires. "Yeah." Gemini replies with a nod of the head, tilting his body to the right and leaning the back of his right hand against his hip. "Sure there are probably those of them like Domino who just aren't right in the head, but I would have absolutely no problem working alongside a guy like Cloaker or even Axem Red." "You sure are a good judge of character Gemini. But now I got to wonder…Considering your desire to get revenge on Smithy for what he did to you, why didn't you do anything when he first attacked the Mushroom Kingdom?"

"Because I wasn't in range at the time." Gemini swiftly answers, returning his body to his normal position with an honest yet dejected look on his face. "Alpha had me out on a mission, and I didn't even learn that Smithy had attacked until after he was already taken care of. That's another reason why I was excited to be chosen to come here, because life had given me a second chance to take of that monster." "…I'm sorry to hear that." Mallow says, lowering his head in empathy for the Koopa's troubles.

"While I am grateful for the second chances, I wish that it would've come without bringing anyone else down first. Alex is trapped in that orb, both powerless and feeling self-loathing, and we don't know is it is permanent or not. To make matters worse, Cackletta seems to be involved in Smithy's affairs, and now that I think about it there is a high possibility we could run into her here as well…" "Gulp…" Mallow gathers up spit in his mouth and does a massive gulp, having forgotten about the witch's part in the grand scheme of things because Smithy was a much more immediate threat.

"Don't worry about it Mallow." Gemini says as a way to instill his ally with a bit of relief. "I don't care what she knows, you are a better spellcaster than she could ever hope to be." Mallow calms down momentarily, letting out a heavy sigh before giggling slightly and closing his eyelids and giving the Koopa a surprisingly chipper grin. "Are you just saying that to cheer me up, or do you really mean it?" "I meant it, cross my heart and hope to die." The Lieutenant says with absolutely sincerity, motioning the tip of his right pointer finger across his chest to mark a cross over where the aforementioned organ is at.

"…Hehehe, thanks for the compliment Gemini, I really do feel raring to go now." The cloud Prince, after thanking the Lieutenant for his comment, opens his eyelids and the two of them continue on their way through the factory. But after just a few seconds Gemini stops and Mallow passes him, halting his movements too not a moment later to turn his body around to wonder why he has paused. The Koopa gets an embarrassed grin on his face and blushes lightly, putting his head down and rubbing the back of his head with his left hand as he finds himself having difficulty with admitting what he is about to say.

"Mallow…You mind leading the way through the factory?" The cloud Prince is surprised by this request, and asks about the meaning behind it with a simple "How come?" To which Gemini replies to by raising his head and saying "I don't know how to navigate the area, and since you've had prior experience I would feel better putting my faith into your guidance than getting us lost with my own." "Alright then, follow my lead, assuming everything hasn't been changed I should be able to get us to Smithy with ease."

And so the two heroes continue on their way without any interruptions. Gemini helps Mallow get up onto platforms he can't reach, but never once asks to lead the way. The cloud Prince eventually takes them to the hole that led to the location where Mario and the rest of the heroes fought the original Cloaker and Domino. With them out of the way all they needed to do was drop down and they would be within walking distance with Smithy's actual Factory. "You ready?" Gemini says, drawing on the golden material inside of his shell to create his demon wings for easy descent. Mallow replies with a nod, and after the Koopa has picked him up they fall down into the hole, the wings fighting the air and slowing them down until they land safely on the floor far below.

After that, the cloud Prince leaps out of Gemini's arms and the two of them start to walk towards their next destination, the Lieutenant putting his wings away as he moves. "Well, this wasn't here before…" Mallow looks on ahead. There is a three-layered magical barrier blocking the way to the main factory, and it covers such a wide area that there would be no way through it or around it. "It definitely has a magical vibe to it…Cackletta must have set it up to prevent us from entering. But no spell alive should allow you to create an absolute defense, so there has to be some way to bypass it." As Gemini and Mallow wrack their minds trying to come up with a way to neutralize the factory's defense.

"Nyeh, there is a way around, but easy it is not!" There was only one being who had such a goofy sounding voice pattern. But the one responsible is not alone in the area. Leaping down from on top of the barrier is three of Smithy's most trusted warriors, the ones who were given the primary responsibility to collect the scattered pieces of the Star Road alongside the Axem Rangers. The first to land is a knife shaped pogo stick with a tiny blue metal man riding on top of it. There are also two slanted eyes on the front of the man's legs which don't blink even once. This is Mack V2, the leader of the Shyster unit.

Next up is a walking bow with black and blue stripes alternating across its body while the rest of it has a lime-green tint to it. There is a ridiculous looking pink-lipped smile underneath its arrowheaded nose, and the eyes under the arched unibrow seem to be incapable of looking in the same direction. There is also a wild golden mohawk on its head, and short arms and legs that make it clear that their only purpose is to pull the string on his back to fire arrows. He is Bowyer Mk5, the leader of the Aeroes unit. Finally, there exists the strongest of the three, a living spear that has similarities to a wandering samurai in his appearance. There is a long, ruffled light-red cape attached to his neck, the elongated spear grasped in his right hand having two jagged tips that make it better suited for impaling his opponents. In contrast to his previous appearance, the steel on this machine's body is now white, while the eyes are now slightly darker in tone. This is Yaridovich Crimson, and unlike the other two he leads no troops into battle.

"I should've figured that Smithy would've revived you three." Mallow dully and sarcastically states, find the three warrior's appearance to be nothing more than an expected event. "Well darn it…I was hoping we could've gotten the jump on you, but it seems you were leaps and bounds ahead of us!" Mack's horrible puns cause the other two machines to apply their hands to their faces and let out a disappointed moan. He turns his head towards the two of them and wonders why they are acting like that. "What? What did I say?" He says.

The two heroes aren't in the mood, especially with their real target only a short walking distance away. "I'm guessing you guys are the ones in charge of protecting the barrier." Gemini pulls his trident out of his back and spins it around for a few seconds before brandishing it at Yaridovich. "Wouldn't it have made more sense for you to stay out of view?" "He asks. The crimson spear pulls his hands away from his face and looks down at the Koopa. "We would've gladly done so, but Master Smithy has expressed his desire to reclaim your demonic heart, so we are here to knock you out and bring you back to him. There is no time to exchange words…Mack! Bowyer! Take them down!" Thrusting his left hand out at the two heroes, the two lieutenants nod their heads and charge at their opponents, who get their weapons ready for battle…

_Next Time: The Four Lieutenants and the Princ_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Fall from Grace**

"I had yet to be created when the experiment occurred…" Yaridovich, the spear-like Lieutenant of Smithy's Army, is standing by himself in front of the barrier that keeps the two intruders Mallow and Gemini from reaching his creator. He is not doing any fighting, instead choosing to let his two companions, the sword-shaped pogo-stick Mack and the living bow Bowyer, do it all for him. But as he watches his eyes are filled with interest, his mind thinking about the things his Master mentioned to him once before about 'Project: Demonheart'.

"From what I see, the one that inherited the thunder demon's heart doesn't appear to be anything special…But Master Smithy holds him in high regard for whatever reason and wants me to capture him, and do so I shall…That is, after Mack and Bowyer wear them both down a bit." His expressionless underlies his conniving nature, and Yaridovich raises his left hand to his chin to rub it and continue looking on after letting out a short, chilling laugh.

The two heroes have split up to take on a separate opponent. Mallow is fighting Mack while Gemini tackles Bowyer. The platform outside the main factory is big enough to keep the two battles from being interfered with by each other, and the two heroes have already managed to drive their opponents to the opposite sides without them realizing their intentions. It is then that they begin to put up an offensive, with Mallow raising his staff above his head and calling forth a thunderbolt from the clearing air that narrowly smites the pogo stick where he stands.

Even though he leaps to the left to get out of the way, he is taken off-guard simply for the fact that he thought that the cloud Prince was playing the part of a coward up until now. "I see you aren't the nervous crybaby you once were little cloud!" Mack says as a taunt before he bounds off the ground and hovers in the air above Mallow, who looks up and quickly runs forward before gravity takes hold and brings the tip of the pogo-stick into the ground, which cuts an indent into the thick metal. Mack presses against the mark he made and hops out, turning his body around to face the cloud Prince as he also twirls around and thrusts the top of his staff out in front of his body to send a snowball straight into the machine's face.

Since the pogo-stick's element is that of fire, the ice dust projectile melts quickly and leaves water dripping down his face until the heat dehydrates it and turns it into smoke. This leaves Mack more or less infuriated than it does anything else. Mallow knew this, and really only did that move on a whim so he can have a few seconds freed up to think of how he is going to deal with the pogo-stick. He didn't have much in the way of fire spells, but it wouldn't matter anyways because they would just heal his opponent. Only lightning based spells would do any good, but for the best effect he should try and use it in conjunction with a water one.

"You know, I'm all for a good laugh, but considering the situation I really hope that snowball wasn't meant to be a serious attempt at hurting me." Mack dully notes while Mallow is wrapped up in his thoughts, and the pogo-stick proceeds to rapidly leap across the surface of the battleground to stamp out his target. Catching onto this just in the nick of time, the cloud Prince raises his staff and summons a light-green barrier to protect him. The tip of the blade cracks the surface upon making contact with it, and Mack bounces off without a care not a moment afterwards, leaving Mallow to dispel the magic protecting him and turn himself around.

It probably would've been simpler for him to run out of the way again, but considering how low his jumps were it would've been too easy for him to sharply curve his movements and catch up to him. Still, too much MP was used to protect himself, and he didn't have much to draw on outside of his Sage form. There was also the matter of the pogo-stick's sharpness, which would surely sliced Mallow in half in one attack. The damage to the metal flooring is proof enough of that. "Alright then, can't allow myself to get too distracted here…First things first…"

Mallow waves his staff out in front of his body, a grey veil of smoke coming out from the tip and slowly spreading out across the area until a large enough portion is covered completely by the vision-obscuring cloud. Mack looks around in confusion, his target having completely vanished and he is left without a clue as to where he could be. He hears something in the distance though, and that is the echoing clanks of Mallow's feet running along the ground. "Oh I see what you are trying to do here…" Figuring out the cloud Prince's plan to have him accidentally jump off the edge of the battlefield, Mack smirks as he body is surrounded by a fiery glow, the sound of a spark igniting being heard as fireballs spawn from his body and begin to gravitate around the blade, the light from them reaching out and causing Mallow's shadow to be cast without him knowing about it at first.

"Found you!" The pogo-stick declares enthusiastically as he presses down and springs up through the fog veil, his fireballs still keeping the Nimbusian's shadow in view below as he rapidly descends to split him in two upon impact. The collision comes swiftly, with Mallow surprisingly doing nothing to stop him. The body is cut in half right down the middle, both sides puffing out before it reaches a breaking point and bursts. The cloud Prince's death causes water to be sent flying out everywhere, some of it sticking to the dull side of Mack's pogo-stick as he lands on the ground and the fog disperses.

The jumpy machine looks over the front of his body to see the puddle that he is now standing in. It could've posed a problem had it been there beforehand, but without Mallow's existence Mack can stand happily in it without a care in the world. "That…That was easier than I thought it was going to be!" He excitedly boasts with his eyelids sealed as a smile glimmers on his face. "Shocker!" Another attacked is declared, but in his moment of supposed triumph Mack takes a moment to realize what was said. Hearing the crackling of electricity above his body, the pogo-stick quickly leaps out of the way as a massive thunderbolt comes out of the sky and crashed down onto the water puddle he once stood in, an explosion going off as the two forces contradict the other's existence.

Mack is lucky to not have been caught up in the brunt of it, but as he turns around he looks beyond the edge of the smoke left by the blast to find Mallow standing disappointed that his attacked failed to connect. Understandably puzzled considering how certain he was that he had killed the Nimbusian, Mack takes a moment to pause and question his opponent on his survival. "How are you alive?" Mallow lifts his body up and takes his staff to his side. "I created a copy of myself by compacting water into a balloon-like seal." He casually replies. "So while you were busy relishing in victory I was supposed to have taken you out with a thunder spell, but guess I miscalculated. Either way…"

Mallow points towards the blade that is Mack's pogo-stick, and the little man on top looks down at to see that it has become drenched with drops of a liquid that for whatever reason refuses to slip off onto the ground. Coming to the proper conclusion quickly enough, Mack looks up at Mallow with scorn in his eyes, and the Nimbusian finishes his sentence by saying "Now we are on even footing. I win if I hit you with an electricity-based spell, and you win if you land on me. One-hit, one kill."

Mack scoffs at how calm Mallow is acting. It was if the cloud had forgotten the speeds of which he was able to move at with his jumps in comparison to the time it takes him to cast his spells. But at the same time, he would have to be a little more cautious because he would become a vulnerable target if he tries to jump too high into the air. "Alright then, but I'm not the only one you should be concerned about." Mack whistles through his metallic lips and in a matter of seconds four mechanical grey Shy Guys riding pogo-sticks that look like miniaturized versions of Mack's leap out of thin air and land in front of their master. "Keep him distracted for me boys!" The lieutenant orders his soldiers, who follow his wishes dutifully and bound towards Mallow.

On the other side of things, Gemini is currently engaging Bowyer, whose arrows are proving absolutely ineffective thanks to the swiftness of the Koopa's electricity based shots destroying them in mid-air. "Nyeh! Interesting your powers may be, but annoying for me they are!" The living bow voices his increasing infuriation, and spawns three arrows from hyperspace between the string and rest of his body. He stretches out his right arm like rubber behind his body and pulls on the string, the heads of the arrows pressing against multiple portions of his body until he lets go, at which point they fire out in different directions. The one going straight at Gemini is dealt with by a bolt fired from the Koopa's right pointer finger, the one in the middle snapped in half after he leaps up and breaks it with a swing of his trident, and the final one flying overhead before curving around on its on like a boomerang in an attempt to impale itself through its target's shell.

Gemini smirks and ducks his head back, letting his weight do the rest by bringing his body towards the ground. During his descent he thrusts his left hand out and plucks the passing arrow mid-air, once this action is performed he uses the weight of his head to spin his body around and land on his feet, where he quickly flings the picked up projectile at the living bow. The machine takes a moment to curve his body slightly to the left to avoid the attack, showing his surprise with widened eyes before changing them to express his continued annoyance. "Nyeh! Difficult to deal with, you are proving to be. Solution, I shall surely provide."

Raising his rounded hands into the air, three 3-D squares plummet down and implant themselves into the ground in front of him. They are marked with different symbols. One has three-prongs, another has a lightning bolt, and the final one has two feet on it. "Prepared for you, Master Smithy was." Bowyer declares, earning a not so expressive glare from Gemini, seeing as such a revelation isn't too surprising at this point. The living bow takes another arrow and shoots it into the air, and after a quick curve it lands on the lightning bolt button and causes it to become grey and sealed by an X-Shaped metal plate.

Swiftly following up said action by firing another arrow at his enemy, Gemini thrusts his left palm out ready to fry it with an electric beam, but is mortified when nothing comes out. With the projectile still coming his way the Koopa switches his options over to his trident, but Bowyer fires another arrow in retaliation to this move. This one lands on the prongs button, and in an instant Gemini's trident becomes intangible and slips right through his grasp, landing on the ground and solidifying right as the Koopa reacts to this new development with impeccable timing by shifting his head to the right, the sharp point of the arrow just nearly grazing the opposite cheek.

With his weight shifted in the current direction, Gemini spins the rest of his body around and skids across the ground with his feet before he stumbles. He bends his body forward and raises his head with one hand presses against the cold floor while another is raised up as a fist. This action allowed him to dodge another arrow, but he looks on at Bowyer as he is ready to launch yet another. The shot comes at him swiftly, and all the Koopa can do is roll underneath it to avoid getting hit.

More come one after another, and Gemini keeps decent footing as he tries to get closer to the living bow. Without his weapon or electricity powers, he is going to have to rely on his training and the agility of his species to defeat his opponent. After jumping over another arrow the Koopa tucks into shell and lands on the ground, the speed at which he leapt through the air allowing him to propel forward between two of the buttons until he is able to slip underneath the machine. Before he goes flying off the edge to an unstoppable demise, Gemini pulls his shell back and lets it grind against the metal plating to stop himself, pushing his limbs and head out to continue from there and hop into the air. Spinning his body around twice to help slow down his movements even further, Gemini lands on the ground and the bottom of his smooth feet skid across the ground until he stops with his soles going exactly one inch off the battlefield.

There was only two options for the Koopa at this point, both of which would lead to the machine's demise. The riskier of the two involved him snapping the string that allowed Bowyer to do anything right as he was about to fire an arrow, and then take that very projectile and jam it into the machine's body to paralyze him long enough to push him off the edge off the platform. There would only be a short window for which he would be able to pull this off, and there is too high of a possibility that the arrow will end up lodged into his arm and he'll be the one who will lose.

The other choice he had was to build up enough speed to be able to launch himself through Bowyer's body while he was tucked into his shell. Not only would the only viable target for the arrows, his flesh, be protected, but he wouldn't have to worry about the final button affecting him, since he swiftly deduced from the symbol that it is meant to paralyze his legs via some magical force. There was only one problem, and that was getting to the point that he would reach the maximum speed needed to pierce Bowyer. He could easily put some distance between them, but as for the arrows there was no guarantee that he would be able to look over his shoulder to see them coming while keeping his pace intact.

Gritting his teeth as these thoughts come to fruition and his opponent finally turns around to face him after the prior events unfolded, Gemini takes two steps forward to avoid slipping off the edge, and as Bowyer takes an arrow out ready to fire the Koopa's feet begin to alternate movements to carry the rest of his body across the battlefield at the fastest possible speed. In the moment it takes for the living bow to launch his shot, Gemini has already passed him, his nimble form keeping the machine from getting a lock on him even after he quickly spins his body around with yet another arrow, this time with a blue-ish glow surrounding it, attached to his string.

There was no way that Bowyer could take a chance at attempting to paralyze the Koopa now. His bulky arrows would take too long to reach him now. It was time for lighter projectiles, and after pulling back on the string and letting go a rain of hundreds of miniature arrow shaped projectiles fly towards the fleeing Gemini. They have no solidified form, and thus neither gravity or the air has an effect on their speed. But they do make a sound, one akin to that of a laser being blasted from a pistol, and because of the arsenal that his Commander has Gemini recognizes it and quickly curves his body to the left, dodging the barrage before continuing to run straight.

Eventually the Koopa makes it to the other side and stops running, turning around and facing Bowyer head on as he twists his own body and prepares to fire another rain of light arrows. There was nothing he could do to stop this now, and there was only ten seconds before he would be impaled by them all. Quickly dashing towards the machine, Gemini clenches his fists together and reaches his top speed in five seconds. Jumping into the air, the Koopa tucks into his shell and flies towards Bowyer, rising slightly since the force of his leap was still in effect. The time limit had passed, and the arrows fly towards their intended target.

But by the point had passed where the would've been able to do anything, and the defense of Gemini's spinning shell deflect every shot with a "Clink!" sound accompanying each impact. There was only one thing left to do, and that is muster up the strength needed to break the steel body of the living bow. Remembering back to days past, the Koopa increases the rate at which his shell is moving, friction grinding against the air and causing sparks to erupt around the upper part. It was something a friend of his came up with, the ability to compensate for a Koopa's inability to break through anything harder then their own shells by turning them into a high temperature projectile.

It was called the "Flame Shell", and in the name of his friend that inspired him to keep pressing on, Gemini would use this technique to finish his opponent for good. Bowyer nervously summons another arrow, pulling the string back ready to fire, but it was far too late for him to do anything. The heated shell collides with the center of his hardened body and burns right through as if it were as delicate as a leaf. The Koopa's flight continues until he sets fire to the wooden part of the air and the string it was attached to, landing on the ground and stopping the fire effect around his body as he starts to melt through the floor.

With his figure split in two and his melted components leaving his functions incapable of working, Bowyer can only raise his left arm into the air in futility and weakly declare "Master…Smithy…Nyeh…" before both halves fall to the ground and the still active parts twitch slightly before a complete shutdown goes into effect. With nothing keeping them in this world, the buttons spontaneously explode, their effects wearing off as Gemini soon confirms by walking out of the melted hole in the floor and snapping his fingers to create a spark of electricity. "Whew…Don't want to go through that again…" Relieved at the return of his powers, the Koopa turns around and walks towards his trident, picking it up without stopping and swinging it around to make sure it is working properly before he reaches the center of the battlefield.

Back with Mallow, he is currently running around to avoid the constantly hopping Shysters, and trying to focus on a spell long enough to deal with them proves problematical thanks in part to Mack's presence. The Shysters don't have the sharp blades that their leader does, but that doesn't make them any less hazardous for his well-being. Mallow raises his staff, feeling that he has a moment of peace to cast HP Rain to refill his lost stamina, but a Shyster to his left hops on top of him, wrecking his concentration and causing the cloud to appear away from him, the water raining down forming a puddle that lacks the healing effects thanks to contacting the damaging properties of metal.

"Hold the phone…" Though the annoyance of his initial failure causes Mallow to angrily grit his teeth, he sees the puddle as an opportunity to deal with the four minions. Before another Shyster hops onto him, the cloud Prince sidesteps out of the way and quickly makes a run towards the puddle, the minions turning around and following in hot pursuit. He doesn't stop once he reaches the water, only once he has passed it does he flip his body around and thrust his staff out horizontally in front of his body. "SHOCKER!" He declares the name of his spell with absolute vigor, the massive thunderbolt coming down from the sky and smiting all four Shysters before they even have a chance to react. The water below them detonates when the electricity connects with it, ensuring their mutual destruction within the ensuing explosion. The force from it ruffles the hairs on Mallow's head, but he stands calm and collected as the dust settles from the aftermath of his attack and Mack looks at him both petrified and dumbfounded.

"This is impossible…You are a Nimbusian, a walking cloud, you shouldn't still be able to be this effective in battle!" The pogo-stick exclaims. Mallow doesn't turn to acknowledge his opponent's remark at first, instead he casually raises his staff and casts HP Rain on himself like he originally intended to do. He was back up to snuff in a matter of seconds, and after lowering the arm his staff is grasped in he turns his head slightly. "You are right. We of Nimbus Land have never been known for our defenses. I am different from the rest, having been taught how to use magic by my second father Frogfucius…And what I've learned compensates for that weakness of mine. If you try to take advantage of it, you will be devastated by my powerful spells, there is nothing else to it then that…"

Mallow finally turns his entire body around and glares at Mack, who becomes somewhat unhinged by the fact that he is allowing himself to be intimidated by this cloud. "If you want to summon more Shysters, go right ahead. So long as I have even a single MP in my being I will continue to bide my time, because there is no way you'll be able to remove the water that is stuck to your blade. You are a living, bouncing lightning rod, and I don't have to remind you as to what it'll take to finish you off for good. For you see, I have a brain that allows me to come up with ideas on my own, and you are just a machine with actions programmed into your body ahead of time…"

Mallow knows the truth about the machine's personalities, but he said what he said to press Mack's buttons and get him to attack prematurely. It was a sly ploy, but from the scowl visible on the pogo-stick's face the cloud Prince could tell that what he said was having an effect. Mack couldn't believe it, the timid little cloud that fought him long ago is now standing before him acting like he is all high and mighty. "A machine…A machine? I am more than a machine, and I'll show you just how independent my actions truly are!"

Mack bravely yet foolishly leaps into the air. It was his highest jump yet, his last desperate attempt to finish Mallow off before he dies. But he just hastened the effort rather than doing anything to slow or stop it. Letting out a light sigh, the cloud Prince raises his staff into the air and dryly says the word "Thunderbolt." And that is exactly what flies out of the tip of his staff. As realized beforehand, Mack could easily turn his body around to re-direct the path he jumps across if his leaps are small, but with a jump as high as this one there is no way to avoid anything directed at him. The electricity collides with the tip of the pogo-stick, climbing up the blade and making contact with the water droplets scattered around it.

Feeling the sting and paralyzing sensation of the element coursing through the wires in his body, Mack feels absolutely nothing as the chain reaction goes off and blows his pogo-stick to bits, each remaining part falling down in multiple directions as the little man on top stays attached to what little remains of his ride. Gravity brings him down onto the ground behind Mallow, and after smoke rises out of the blown holes where his eyes once were the little man falls off the decimated pogo-stick due to his connection to the main unit being cut off. He doesn't say anything, and the cloud Prince does the same. He knew that he had won, and upon looking at the other side of the platform he sees that Gemini has done the same. There was only one opponent left, who guarded the last barrier that had yet to fade from existence…The spear of Smithy's Gang, Yaridovich…

"Well done, well done indeed." The machine says, his tone filled with praise. He slams the bottom of his spear against the ground, turning his head to look at both Gemini and Mallow, returning back to the Koopa with intrigue in his pupils. "In the end, it turns out that Master Smithy's experiment proved successful." Gemini flinches. It was obvious where Yaridovich was going with his words, but instead of being enraged with them he decides to keep himself together for the time being. But he is surprised when Mallow decides to ask the spear a question about the experiment. "What was Smithy's plan for Gemini?" He says.

Yaridovich rubs his chin, conflicted mainly because he feels as though the two beings aren't worth mentioning the details too. "I guess I should satisfy your desire for knowledge, so let me divulge what I know." Moving his hand from his face, he begins to speak to the two heroes, Gemini in particular wiggling his fingers back and forth as the muscles tense up within them. "Project: Demonheart. It was an attempt to bond the heart of an otherworldly demon into the body of a Koopa in order to see how the unique properties within their shells would react to it. In the case of a yellow shelled Koopa my Master theorized that it would grant them the power to control electricity."

"And what purpose would that serve him? I thought his goal was to create mechanical weapons to conquer the world." Mallow then asks. "To run the machines that generate our forces we need energy, of course. In a realm unconnected from reality our Master had to come up with something to power our production line for all eternity. That's why the one you call Gemini was chosen." Yaridovich responds. "But obviously there would be complications. That's another reason as to why we used a demon's heart. It may contradict all known theories, but the heart had the ability to consume and overtake the mind of its host, converting its body into a more natural form but leaving it incapable of rationality in the process. My Master ripped open the Koopa's chest and transplanted the heart into him, and in time he would've converted into the creature of mystery…"

"The flesh burst from the arm, wings emerging from the back of his shell and leaving him half-converted in a matter of seconds. Smithy did not describe the process as gruesome, but said he relished in the beauty of such a transformation, and was ashamed when the experiment escaped back into the real world. I do not know all the details, but I am just as surprised as anyone to see that he has regained his normal body while maintaining the powers of the heart. In the end though, it matters little. You are nothing more than a useless battery, and defeating my lesser comrades doesn't mean that I will-"

As the spear continued to talk, Mallow could sense an overwhelming pressure coming from his left. He turned, and Gemini was gritting his teeth in restraint. Black electricity was rising up around his body, and he looked ready to transform just like he did when Domino went too far in his speak. He wanted to stop him, but the moment Yaridovich insulted his fallen comrades he knew that there was nothing he could do. Gemini's demonic wings and helmet appear, and before the spear could even react the Koopa was in front of him, swinging the prongs of his trident out to cleave the machine's head from the rest of his body. Its eyes widen momentarily, but then as its body topples backwards onto the ground the head is impaled at the bottom by Gemini's weapon.

There is no further reaction, for Yaridovich knows there is nothing he can do. He still maintains some sentience, but his energy reserves will soon die out. Gemini can sense this, and creaks his head towards the frightened machine with a menacing smirk visible across his face. "So I'm a battery am I?" He says with a slight hint of angered glee in his voice. "I'm feeling a little filled…Let me share what I have with YOU." At his cue black electricity surges through the trident, rising up into Yaridovich's head and filling it up with as much of it as he can bear. The machine should consider himself lucky that it is a light dosage, but the pain is still immense, as his excruciating sounding growls indicates.

Mallow can only look on in horror once more. But this time Gemini's actions were different. He was sadistically torturing the machine's head in spite of the fact that he would gain nothing from it. He wasn't acting like his normal self, he was acting more like…A demon. "Stop…" He quietly begs. "Stop…" He repeats in a louder tone as he tries to fight back the tears. "STOP!" He declares with all his might, his voice nearly going hoarse in the process. But Gemini doesn't listen, he continues to fill Yaridovich's head with electricity even though it is clear that he has already shut down.

Mallow did not want to cry, he promised himself that he would stop doing that a long time ago. He tightly clenches his left fist and runs towards the Koopa. What he was about to do was suicidal, for he had no way to predict how his friend would react. But there was no alternative. Once he was only a foot away from his target Mallow stretches his arm out, socking Gemini's square in the right cheek and forcing the head to turn in the opposite direction, the bones in the neck cracking slightly from the force applied to the blow. The electricity immediately stops, and the smoke rising from the top of the head hides the white-eyes of Yaridovich.

Mallow stands completely still afterwards, cautious of what is to come next. Gemini turns his head back, blinking his eyelids a few times before looking at the machine's head impaled on his trident. He then turns to look at the cloud Prince, who says not a single word. Giving him a guilt-ridden glare, Gemini lowers his head in shame along with his weapon, the head dropping in front of his foot and getting weakly kicked off the edge of the platform. At the bottom of the vast abyss an echoing crash can be heard because of it breaking apart, and the final layer on the barrier shatters due to its controllers demise.

Returning to his normal form, the Koopa continues to hang his head in shame before turning it to the right and seeing a large metallic cylinder at the end of the walkway. The only noise being heard is the clanking of the machinery that is building the soldiers, and as much as he wants to say something to break this period of awkward quietness Mallow just keeps his mouth shut and watches as Gemini turns his body around and starts to walk towards the pipe. "…Come on Mallow, let us get the mission over with…" Is all he says in a tone of deep regret. There is no response from the cloud Prince as he walks forward in a somber mood. Once the two heroes reach the pipe, they jump right in, ready to confront the mastermind behind their battles, Smithy…

_Next Time: The Crafter's Pride_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Smithy I: Battle in the Factory**

The two heroes are falling to their destination, where the main target Smithy is lying in wait for them. Everyone that has come their way has fallen, but Mallow worries about the costs of their victory. He looks at Gemini, concerned about the stability of his mind after he destroyed Domino and tortured Yaridovich's cleaved head. Was it his own emotions getting the best of him, or could it be that the demonic heart implanted into his body is trying to once again take control. In fact, that brought another question the cloud Prince's mind. One that got unresolved because the person giving the info had no clue as to how it was possible.

All Mallow wanted to say to Gemini was "How did you get your original form back?" But because of his ally's melancholy mood he figured it would be intrusive for him to ask such a question. The way he saw it, Gemini had an agenda against Smithy alone. Once he is dealt with for good the Koopa would probably be back to his normal self and might be willing to talk about his past. These were only guesses, but Mallow wanted to believe in them not only for his sake, but for his friend's as well.

With their descent bringing them closer and closer to the bottom, the two of them begin to hear a massive object getting banged against a metal plate. "Clang! Clang!" The sound gets louder and louder, echoing through the air as the two heroes finally start to see the ground below their feet. There is a fan that blows enough air to cushion their fall, and after bouncing up and down a couple of times the two of them float in place. At that point they have to use their arms to wade through the wind and land outside of the fan's range. The area is much bigger than Mallow remembers is being, with more crafting tools spread about and columns of steel supporting the gargantuan platform that they are on.

Gemini looks around, but finds that Smithy isn't anywhere to be found. "Just got to follow the sounds…" He thinks to himself. The anticipation was overwhelming. He has done many heroic things with the powers of his demonic heart, but at the same time he has lost many bonds due to a premature lack of control over it. He was going to make Smithy pay, he was going to kill him using the very powers that he had given him. If he loses himself to the heart in the process, so be it. He didn't care about the consequences, he just wanted to see justice be delivered to that mechanical mongrel.

The Koopa marches towards the noise with Mallow following close behind. He already had his black electricity prepared around his tightly clenched fists, and the cloud Prince has his staff held out ready to cast the first spell of the battle. Walking across the platform, they soon find their target, who has his massive rounded hammer gripped in the curved golden fingers of his squared crimson hand. He hits it against the front of a large bronze construct that has consists of seven pillars and a two-sided door that has an empty crystal orb on top of it. The mechanical leader hears the footsteps of the two heroes approaching his body and lowers his hammer, but refuses to turn and look at them directly.

"So you finally arrived…Prince Mallow of Nimbus Land and Lieutenant Gemini of the M.S.I., correct?" Smithy's deep, elderly voice echoes within the confines of his body. But he is not yet done speaking. "Forgive me actually, I shouldn't call you by your fabricated name…My proudest achievement." Mallow knew perfectly well who the machine maker was referring to when he said that second sentence. The following reaction was expected, as Gemini grits his teeth and raises his hands in front of his chest, pouring his energy into a compressed spherical form aimed at Smithy. "You're right, you shouldn't call me by my name. Because as of now I'm not Lieutenant Gemini, but YOUR EXECUTIONER!"

Exclaiming his murderous intent to the mechanical mongrel, the Koopa thrusts his palms out and sends the orb spiral towards him. Letting out a metallic sounding sigh, Smithy calm twists his body around and uses the back of his left hand to swat the demonic lightning away as if it were a gnat in his line of sight. This reveals the full appearance of this grey mechanical monstrosity, and all that there is left to note is that he has a golden crown on his head and a long white beard on his face. "Was that really all you could muster? I felt a bit of a tickle in my hand, but besides that I stand here unharmed. So much for that declaration of yours…" Smithy acted haughty, but he did have a point in what he was saying. Gemini fired that attack off hastily, and there wasn't any power backing it up. The Koopa thrusts his hands out beside his body and charges more electricity in them ready to fire another shot, a scowl ever-present on his voice as a growl can be heard under his breath.

"_Lieutenant, pull yourself together! The last thing I want to see is you dying on the battlefield out of recklessness!" _ Gemini had completely forgotten about his Commander's communicator, and as he is called out on his behavior by him he has but one thing to wonder about. "Commander? Why are you telling me this, how would you know about the current situation?" _"I've been watching your progress via a microscopic camera that is hovering behind the two of you, obviously" _Alpha's reply is said so casually that one must wonder if he didn't realize the repercussions of that comment.

"What…What did you say?" Gemini says with his lips curling into a scowl. He knew all too well that the Commander has cameras set up around the planet to monitor the activities of the people in the name of good, but to have on watching his and Mallow's progress? To the Lieutenant that felt like a breech of trust, as if Alpha didn't trust him to keep in control. Of course, he has failed to keep himself together twice now, but Gemini was feeling far too enraged at this point to think about that side of things at the moment. _"We can have a talk about the ramifications of my decision later Lieutenant, right now there's a more pressing matter in front of you." _

That comment from Alpha calms Gemini down, and he lifts his head up and looks at the machine that is lurking behind Smithy. _"Lieutenant, increase the volume of the communicator so I can ask that mechanical mongrel a question." _Complying to the request, the Koopa taps the side of his head to increase the volume of the device. _"Smithy is it? I must admit it is not exactly an honor to have to talk to you…" _The machine king hears the Goomba's voice calling to him from Gemini's head and raises one brow in confusion. "My goodness, the great Commander Alpha of the M.S.I. wishes to speak to me? To what do I owe the pleasure?" He says with a great deal of mocking sarcasm.

"_Just what are you up to? That device certainly doesn't look like it is meant to act as a weapon…" _"Oh?" Alpha's comment piques Smithy's interest, and he turns his head to look up at his grand creation, a light yet deep sounding chuckle emerging from his metallic lips not long afterwards. "Perceptive, aren't we? Unfortunately I am not going to let slip my little secrets, so…" Smithy turns back around and raises one hand into the air, snapping his metallic fingers together with a loud "Clang!" following as if he was trying to grab someone's attention.

"Jester, I know you are watching from afar! I have done all that I need to do, you can take it from here now!" "Is that so my companion of steel? Very well, like a leaf in a mid-summers breeze I shall be on my way~" The sound of another pair of fingers snapping is heard echoing in the distance, and a three-dimensional neon box grows from the bottom left corner of the bronze construct until it completely engulfs it. By that point the device flips around a few times before vanishing into a puff of smoke, leaving the two heroes with befuddled expressions because of how unexpected that action was. "Where did it go?" Mallow asks.

From within the M.S.I. battleship the rest of the heroes have been watching Gemini and Mallow's progress on a widescreen T.V. positioned in the northern quadrant of the command room. Mario of course had his qualms with doing this, but he stood still with arms folded and did little to make his objections known. But the moment he notices the 3-D box his eyes widen in shock along with his brother's, for they recognized the technique all too well. Luigi immediately rushes up the staircase where Alpha is at and shoves him away from the microphone so he can speak to Gemini.

"_Gemini! That box was created by Dimentio, the dimensional-warping jester from Flipside! He must be the other ally working for Cackletta!" _The man in green's urgent message reaches the Koopa, but unlike the Mario Bros. he knows nothing about the being described to him. Smithy however, who is listening and watching the movements of the two heroes with interest, knows the identity of the jester full well and can't help but chuckle at Gemini's ineptitude. "Are you puzzled, my little experiment?" He says to mock the Koopa and ignite that feeling of anger he was expressing before.

Gemini stops listening to the communicator for a moment and lowers his hand down to the side of his body before clenching it into the shape of a fist. "What did you say?" He asks. "You look flustered…Do you know nothing about my colleague Dimentio? That's funny, Alpha knows about his existence, just like he probably knew all this time that I wasn't truly dead. He has been hiding many things from you, hasn't he?" That was the last thing Smithy needed to say to make Gemini snap. Bringing that up causes the Koopa to widen his eyes and think for a moment about just how much he can trust the loyalty of his Commander.

"_Gemini, don't listen to Smithy! While it is true that I knew about Dimentio, I had no idea that Smithy had managed to survive for this long, you got to believe me when I say this!" _There was a conflict of emotions welling up inside of Gemini. His hatred of Smithy, his distrust of his Commander, and his desire to keep himself together just so he Mallow doesn't have to go through what he had to see ever again. But nothing being said to him was calming him down, and there was only one thing he could think of doing to alleviate some of the pressure.

"Sorry Alpha…" Breaking through his rising anger for just a moment to apologize to his superior, Gemini's hands spark with electricity. From the battleship Alpha can hear the static and notices the screen becoming blurry in a matter of seconds. Nudging Luigi out of the way momentarily, the Commander latches onto the microphone with one hand and brings it close to his face. _"Gemini, don't do it. Revenge isn't worth it if you lose yourself in the process…" _ Alpha's words are barely heard by the Koopa, for the effects of his electricity are already taking hold and causing both the communicator and the camera to deactivate.

Before they shut off completely, Alpha slams his fists against the arms of his chair and screams into the microphone with all of his might "LIEUTENANT GEMINI, DON'T YOU DARE DO IT!" But it was too late. The screen becomes filled with static along with the speakers that projected the noise from the other realm. The Commander looks on in abject disbelief, taking his right hand to the front of his face and spreading his fingers out wide. "What have I done…Why did I allow him to go…" He mutters under his breath, horrified by the fact that by the time this day is done, Gemini may no longer be himself.

Back in the factory, Gemini's hands surge with black electricity. The job was done. He had cut off all communications with his Commander and the rest of the heroes back on Plit. It was just him and Mallow alone against Smithy now. The power of his energy jolts outwards and causes the lights above to flick on and off. The mere presence of the Koopa in his current state of rage was enough to alter the flow of electrons in most of the machinery around Smithy's workshop. Rubbing his metallic beard with a look of intrigue on his face, the machine king looks forward and says "Marvelous. Simply marvelous…" With a creepy amount of intrigue in the tone.

"It is such a shame that you somehow managed to escape from my factory six years ago…That power source within your chest, the heart of the demon from the otherworld, would've certainly made my invasion force unstoppable…Whatever, that is all in the past. As of now I WILL sub-due you and your Nimbusian ally and use both of your powers for my own ends!" Though Mallow has been mainly silent up until this point, he now finds himself feeling the same way that his ally does towards Smithy. His blatant lack of empathy, his inability to understand the value of life, and his desire to fill the world with nothing but weapons. There was nothing likeable about this mechanical mongrel, and he was a threat that needed to be silenced even before it was known that he was working with Cackletta.

"Smithy…You aren't going to anything to either me or my friend! No, scratch that…You won't do anything to anyone ever again when we are done with you! I'm going to kill you with the very powers you granted to me, and this time you won't be able to weasel your way out! Mallow!" Exclaiming his desires with the utmost confidence, Gemini turns to the cloud Prince and sees him nodding his head in response to the mentioning of his name. "Don't hold back, hit this monster with everything you've got!" "Understood!" Mallow replies with a great deal of vigor in his voice.

Raising his staff high into the air while his ally transforms into his demonic state, Mallow lets the tip glow brightly as he prepares his strongest spell. Gemini takes his hands and places them in front of his chest, drawing in blood from his body and converting it into electricity to power up the compressed orb being created between his palms. Smithy stands completely still, letting a sigh out as he waits for the two heroes to finish charging up their attacks. He has his hammer hand lowered, which the Koopa mistakenly takes as a sign that he is actually willing to accept his death.

"Die! You goddamn mongrel!" Thrusting his hands out as hard as he can, Gemini sends out a massive black and red mixed electricity sphere at Smithy. The bottom of the attack melts a path through the ground and collides with the mechanical monstrosity in a matter of seconds, creating a wide-scale explosion that sends darkened sparks through the ensuing cloud of smoke. Mallow swings his staff in front of his body, opening the sky up and sending a gigantic thunderbolt cascading down through the cloud, dispersing it and leaving behind an electrical explosion in its place, the likes of which sends volts hurtling through the cracked metal plates below their feet.

It was pretty well-thought out, considering that as a being of metal Smithy should have a weakness to the lightning element. Gemini was pretty confident that the two of them had won right then and there, but that feeling would not last for long. "Is that all you got?" Swinging his hammer through the smoke to dispel it, Smithy is revealed in full form without a single scratch on his sleek armor. "Impossible…" The Koopa states with a hint of exhausted disbelief in his words. "Our strongest attacks did nothing?" Mallow then exclaims in surprise. Smithy raises his hammer over his shoulder and looks at the two heroes, scoffing at their hastiness with a smug look on his face. "Fools. You think that after my previous defeat I just stood around and made upgrades only to my men? Gaze upon me as I stand now, the pinnacle of all machinery that has and ever shall be created. I am Smithy, the lord of all machines, and you who have come to topple me shall now see just why I earned that title!"

_Next Time: The First Car_


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Smithy II: The Jack-of-All-Trades**

"Big talk coming from a machine who lowered himself to the point of working with Cackletta." Mallow is quick to call Smithy out for his bravado, and the machine king takes his hand to his metallic beard and begins to stroke it with intrigue. "Curious…What purpose is there in mentioning such a thing? Or rather…What basis is there in such a trite assumption?" Moving his hand away from his face, the machine raises his hammer over his shoulder and lets out a sigh. "Never mind, you don't need to answer that question…That meddlesome Goomba let slip that info, didn't he? That's why I told the witch that he needed to be killed because he knew far too much…"

"So on top of everything else you sold your dignity as a blacksmith to that witch? Do you have absolutely no shame Smithy?" Gemini yells out, insulted that the man before him would even say the things he is saying considering who he allied himself with. "Why would I need to have any shame?" Smithy lets out a scoff and raises the back part of his left hand, where a silver light then etches out the symbol of a Jack of diamonds card onto it. "What…What is that?" Mallows eyes widen in shock, for he has no clue as to what he is supposed to make of the symbol's appearance.

"THIS, my little Nimbusian foe, is something that no mortal has ever had the honor of gazing upon since the era of the Dark King's glorious existence." The machine king utters the name of one who the heroes once had the horror of facing. But from the way he spoke it was as if he was alive during the time period where that very being fought the Elemental Overlord. That would place his age at close to two-thousand years, perhaps even more. "Y-You knew the Dark King?" Gemini mutters out in utter surprise.

"Knew him? Ha!" Smithy lets out a cocky laugh and lowers his hand before glaring at the two heroes and continuing to speak to them. "I was one of his most trusted men I will have you know. Cackletta, Dimention, myself and our Master…Together we were known as the Apocalypse Royale, and we were each given a title based on the highest ranking cards in existence. I was assigned the title of 'Jack' because I was quite literally referred to as a Jack-of-all-Trades. Since our King was usually busy with his own affairs, the rest of us would regularly work together to spread mayhem across other planets…Though I will admit that I didn't relish in the madness as much as the two did. I guess that is something I should thank my intelligence for…"

After hearing Smithy's explanation of the significance behind his symbol, Mallow has but one thing to ask. "So what, are the three of you working together now to bring back Joe Dark so he can take the place of your master?" Though the cloud Prince expresses his outrage at the thought to the best of his ability, Smithy merely shrugs the question off without a single expression shown. "That wretched boy doesn't deserve a second chance. He sought the darkness for the entirely wrong reasons, and died like a dog. No, what we plan to create is something I have no intention of revealing to you. After all, no point in explaining your motives to those whose lives will soon be forfeit…"

After refusing to disclose anymore information, Smithy swings his hammer away from his shoulder and brings it close to the ground. The head splits open and folds apart into separate layers, which spread out and meld together to form a blade that is roughly as wide as half of his hand and is exactly eight feet in length. The steel is given a sleeker coat, and Gemini can tell just by looking at the weapon that one wrong move will leave without any limbs. "I know that what you showed me before was not the best of you had to offer. So you better come at me with everything you got or I will not hesitate to take you down."

"'I will not hesitate to take you down'? Geez, that's a pretty cliché'd line to be saying don't you think?" Gemini mocks what was said in a chipper tone in order to alleviate some of the stress brought on by the fear of Smithy's sword, but the very moment he opens his eyelids up after that snide remark he is surprised to find that the machine king has managed to cover the distance between the two heroes and is just about ready to swing his sword to scar them. Mallow and Gemini leap back to avoid the attack, but the wind created by the sheer force of the blow sends them hurtling through the air and straight into walls on the opposite sides of the room.

Though a sharp pain thrusts itself through the Koopa's back, Mallow remains relatively unharmed due to his own body cushioning the blow. With his head stuck to the wall, Gemini is forced to pull it out before looking down at Smithy with seething fury in his eyes. "You think I will let you get away with that?" The Koopa frees himself from the wall and recklessly charges towards Smithy with black electricity once again surging through his hands. He had no idea as to why his attack earlier didn't melt through the machine king's body, but he wasn't going to bother rationalizing a reason at the moment.

Smithy turns his body to the side and casually plants his blade into the metal flooring. The plates break open, revealing launchers inside that quickly adjust their aim towards the incoming Koopa. Mallow lands on the floor and notices the weapon's transformation, looking at his ally and wondering just why he continues his charge in spite of the obvious threat looming ahead of him. It was too late to do anything though, as a flurry of missiles fires out of the holes in the launchers and heads towards Gemini.

The Koopa thrusts his arms out to send electricity at the projectiles and destroy them. The miniature detonations obscure his view, but he still spirals around to avoid any that slip through the smoke. It would be easier for him to deal with the missiles if he wasn't using his black electricity, since magnetism would redirect the projectiles back at their owner or disrupt their activity long enough for the explosions to not occur when they made contact with his body. After a couple more missiles are dealt with Gemini is only a few feet away from Smithy, who is standing without concern as the Koopa approaches him.

Suddenly without warning another missile fires itself from the hilt of Smithy's sword as he flies overhead, colliding dead center with his chest and creating a massive explosion that once again sends the Koopa flying away. The edge of the blast just barely touches the armor that the machine king wears, and with his target supposedly neutralized he takes his bulky right hand and grabs the hilt of his sword, shutting off the missile defense system right as he plucks it out from the ground. As the smoke vanishes the blacksmith is surprised to find that his greatest experiment has completely vanished. "Hmm…" Instead of lingering in this feeling of disbelief, Smithy shuts his metallic eyelids and comes to the obvious conclusion. "I had forgotten about the Nimbusian…That's alright, I have plenty of time to spare."

Smithy had a point, considering that the area he was currently in was pretty small in size. There was no way that the heroes could slip under his radar, and he knew that far too well. The machine king starts to slowly move around, shifting his head back and forth for any signs of the heroes' existence. Gemini's demonic wings would be easy to spot, so that is the one thing that he is looking specifically for. "Come out come out wherever you are…" The machine king says in a creepily cheerful tone, grinding the blade of his sword against the ground in hopes that the sharp sound it makes will unhinge the two heroes.

As Smithy lurks about, Mallow is currently peeking out from behind a wall where he managed to carry the weakened Gemini over to after the prior explosion went off. There is one hand held against the Koopa's mouth to keep him silent, and after the machine king has started to turn his head the cloud Prince retreats and takes the hand off, letting out a quiet "Shush" through his lips to tell his ally to calm himself down. "Don't blow our cover…" He then whispers, at which point Gemini successfully gets a hold on his own thoughts and takes a deep breath in, releasing it from his mouth quietly to ease his tense mind.

The Koopa returns to his normal state, looking at Mallow with guilt-ridden eyes once more. "…I did it again…" He says with a somber tone of voice. "Gemini, what is going on with you? One minute you are enraged, the next you are scared, and then you were laughing in the face of Smithy's weapon before going back to being angry. Alpha has a point…You can't just throw your life away for the sake of killing one person." Mallow's kind words sink deep into Gemini's consciousness, and the Koopa turns his head away in shame and lets out a somewhat depressed sigh.

"I know that Mallow, I really do…But it is just that…" "You don't need to explain it. I understand well enough after everything I've seen and heard today. Smithy put you through a lot of hell to plant that demonic heart into your body, and though you have done good things with those powers you can't forgive him for his crimes. So just looking at him is enough to draw out those images of the past and send you into a blind fury. But Gemini, I got to be honest with you…Do you think that Alpha would ever forgive himself if you died from recklessness? Would you be able to forgive yourself in your final moments for falling to maintain control? Would _**I**_ be able to forgive myself for being incapable of stopping you from throwing your life away?"

"…You're right Mallow." Gemini says after letting out another sigh. "Hehehe…" Chuckling as a way to mock his own foolishness, the Koopa opens his eyelids and gets back on his feet, the cloud Prince following him not a moment later. "Gemini, I'm not going to ask you forgive Smithy, especially considering how hypocritical that would be of me to do so…But can you at least promise to try and keep yourself together long enough to finish him off?" "Yeah, I can promise you that Mallow…Sorry for concerning you, let us show Smithy what we are truly made of, alright?" Given the Lieutenant a brief nod after he had responded to his compromise, the two begin to focus their energy in preparation for the second phase of the battle.

Meanwhile, Smithy continues to wander around in search of the two heroes, turning his body around to return to the beginning of the room just in case they somehow managed to slip past his view. From behind the wall on the right side of the room a gigantic pillar of bright golden light cascades down, a shockwave of pure energy pounding the divider before dispersing out above the ground until it reaches the front of the machine king's body. "So this is what it is like to be in the presence of the Star Spirits…" Smithy states, but from the tone of his voice it sounds as though he isn't really in awe of the power displayed before him.

Suddenly, the pillar breaks apart and two separate streams of light shoot out from behind the wall, arcing through the air until they both land many feet away from the machine king on the ground. Mallow and Gemini now have the features expected of them after the Star Spirit's power has been imbued within their bodies, and they look at Smithy with a determined gleam in their eyes. "You should've just done this from the start. It is not like it was a secret that you had those forms…" The machine king says in an unsurprised tone as he swings his weapon so it is held behind his back.

Though the mechanical blacksmith's comment begged the question as to how he could've witnessed these forms being utilized before now, Gemini spent no time letting that inquiry slip from his lips. He places his hands against the ground and springs into the air, charging at his target and covering the distance in the span of a second, thrusting his sword forward and successfully impaling the tip of it right into Smithy's chest long before he had a chance to react. When this damage is dealt the Koopa quickly follows up by having two streams of white electricity spinning across his right arm until it crosses the blade and spreads across the machine king's body.

There are no signs of flinching being expressed on Smithy's face, but instead his eyes glimmer with a fascination for the oddly colored electricity coursing through his metal skin. He takes his sword high into the air and prepares to bring it down to chop the Koopa's arm off, but Mallow quickly swings his staff and after the tip glows a black-purple color a field of the same color surrounds the blade of Smithy's sword, and after it has vanished the weight of it has increased to the point and the machine king is forced to pull his hand back to let go of it before it topples down and cuts him in two. The dull side of the sword slams against the ground, and during the period of time that Mallow has spent distracting him Gemini pulls his sword out and performs a backflip to get out of Smithy's range.

"Move out of the way Gemini!" Mallow declares to alert his ally as he spins his staff above his head ready to cast another spell. There is no aura around the tip of the staff, and an invisible force launches itself out from above it a couple seconds later. It flies through the air, passing over the head of the ducking Koopa and slamming right into the machine king's chest as he turns around with his sword picked back up into his hand. The energy expands out into a magnetized orb, which is strong enough to start tearing apart the ground and cause the nearby pillars to bend towards it. The armor in Smithy's body is looking ready to give in to the force, but the blacksmith takes his sword above his head, resisting the force of the magnetism with all of his might in the process before bringing the sword down to cleave the orb in two, disrupting it to the point that the effect has worn off.

But the damage to the area has already been done, and Smithy can't allow things to go any further than it already has. With his sword already impaled in the ground the machine king drags it forward a few feet, lifting it up to send a wave of energy rampaging towards the two heroes. Gemini blocks it as it approaches with a raise of his sword, but while he is busy with that Smithy charges past him and moves towards Mallow, who was almost too preoccupied with his spell to see him coming. As the mongrel brings his sword above his head to strike the cloud Prince down in one blow, the Koopa tilts his head behind him and widens his eyes in shock.

To counter the blow before it is too late, Gemini continues to press against the energy, but at the same time he twists his body to the left, tilting the direction of his sword so the wave moves along the path it is pointed at. Specifically, the energy grinds across the floor and hits Smithy square in the back. The white electricity added into the move by the Koopa is enough to cause the machine king to flinch momentarily. In that lapse of time Mallow lower his staff to his feet and creates a cloud that he uses to ride out of Smithy's range.

Skirting along that scope, the cloud Prince rejoins his ally and dispels his cloud, turning his staff around horizontally in front of him and letting the staff glow with a fiery aura. A crackling noise is heard coming from below Smithy's body, as a burning reticule etches itself into the metallic floor. From the sky a bombardment of meteorites lock-on to that target and descend. The machine king turns around and brings his sword up, cutting two meteorites in that single motion before bringing it down to take care of five more. A horizontally slash after a slight raise bats four out of his sight as three collide with his metallic body and burn right through it without him doing anything to react to what should have caused him a lot of pain.

He edges closer to the heroes while continuing to deal with the objects being flung his way, but the reticule follows those movements and keeps sending meteorites headed his way. Gemini launches himself forward and brings his sword forward to try and damage Smithy's weakened body, but the machine king's resilience proves itself true when he swings his sword down to block the attack with minimal effort. In doing so however more projectiles bombard into his body, weakening its structure further than it was before. Mallow has to stop his spell not long after though when he realizes the risk of his friend getting hit as well.

With the reticule fading in a puff of smoke, Smithy gets a cocky grin on his face and uses most of his might to press his sword forward, slowly pushing the Koopa back with the girth of his blade alone. Gemini moves his legs back and uses all of his might to push as well, but the only reason he ends up closing the gap in their strength is because Smithy senses something amiss with his workshop. The mechanical mongrel feels the ground beneath his feet becoming unbalanced, mainly due to the damage dealt to the floor and support beams. This along with the damage inflicted onto his body tells him but one thing.

"Very well then…" With a bit of hesitation in his voice Smithy takes his sword and lifts it up, the force of his blow catching Gemini completely off-guard and knocking him right onto his back. In a surprising move the machine king then leaps his hulking body into the air, moving right over the two heroes while swinging his gargantuan sword to create a wide-crescent slash mark in the air that breaks apart the four bent pillars around him. With barely anything keeping the area supported, the platform starts to bend downward, many objects sliding off the edge as Smithy lands on the other side of the two heroes.

He keeps his body latched onto the platform while Mallow casts a spell to summon a cloud for him to ride and Gemini uses his wings to suspend himself in mid-air. The area continues to rumble as the machine king's weight causes the other two support pillars to snap off from the rest of the platform, sending the entire thing hurtling down into the depths below. "Did Smithy just seriously commit suicide?" Gemini says in astonishment of what just happened before his very eyes. "No, something like this happened the last time we fought him…We better head down and get ready for what he has next in store for us…." After Mallow says his peace in a rather worried tone the two heroes descend into the pit to see where Smithy fell to.

As they get closer to the bottom the temperature starts to increase, and a dim red glow fills the air around them. Eventually light drops of sweat form around Gemini's body, but whether they are from the heat or an incoming sensation of fear is something that cannot be determined. At the end of their descent the two heroes find Smithy standing motionless by himself with sword in hand still and a bunch of replications of his head lying about in piles, though those visible clearly have a more demented appearance to them then the one he is seen wearing now. The two heroes land on the ground, Mallow dispelling his cloud before pointing his staff right at Smithy while waiting for him to make his next move.

"You going to swap your heads around like you did before Smithy? Cause don't think that you'll be able to win with something I've seen before!" Mallow declares to the machine king, who pays the cloud Prince no notice as he looks at the ground and lets out a bellowing laugh. "Hahahaha…You are right, such a trick would be pointless. Even with the multiple abilities my other heads grant me, you are still faster…Besides, I think that repeating battles with the same moves over and over again is just a sign of stagnation on my part…It seems as though you have finally given me a reason to shed this shell of mine. Now you shall witness the true magnificence of the Apocalypse Royale's Jack-of-all-Trades!"

The ground in the area rumbles as the metal on Smithy's body begin to break apart. Power can be felt exuding from the cracks as each plate falls to the floor, dust resting since the last time a battle had been fought in the area rises up and covers the mongrel's form as the two heroes raise their weapons in preparation for whatever it is that is about to appear. In a matter of seconds after the sounds of metal clanking against the floor has filled the air the dust starts to settle and the shadowy outline of Smithy's newest form appears beyond the cloud.

But neither Gemini nor Mallow could've expected the truth as it was soon revealed to them. In the place of the bulky mechanical being was a human. A 6 foot+ tall human being with thin strips of sheet metal grafted all across his body save for the mouth and glowing red eyes was what was hidden behind that shell that the mongrel just shed. But even with the loss of his gigantic hands the human was able to wield the sword he created effortlessly in his right hand. It was extended out in front of his body horizontally, the tip just barely hovering over the ground. The purpose of the metal on his body was not clear, save for a few hints visible on his organic features that suggested that they were the only things keeping him alive. With his eyes looking straight at the two heroes, "Smithy" opens his dehydrated lips and says to them in the same deep, menacing voice he had before "Now then, who wants to fall first?"

_Next Time: Becoming What _You_ Creat_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Smithy III: Weapons, the One Addiction**

"That…That can't be…All this time, Smithy was a human?" Gemini mutters out in disbelief once the machine king's true form has been revealed to him. Smithy closes his eyelids and creaks his head back, loosening the bones that haven't had any use in quite some time. "Are you truly surprised? Who else but a human would truly know how to construct and program artificial-intelligence into their work?" He says in an arrogant tone. "…That begs a good question now. What would drive you to trap yourself into your own self-made shell?" Mallow then mentions, and in a surprising moment Smithy leans his head forward slightly and turns to look at the cloud Prince as if he were ready to answer said question. "You really wish to know? All things considered I suppose I can satiate that interest of yours…This won't take long, so stay still and listen carefully."

"_It all starts two-thousand years ago, as most tales involving the remnants of the Dark King's forces do…My Master's soul had been sealed away by the Elemental Overlord, and members from his tribe were wandering the universe searching for anyone who still had a connection to the Dark King himself. Cackletta, Dimentio and myself retreated to the planet Plit, which rested far outside the reach of the Overlord's jurisdiction. Cackletta and Dimentio parted ways from me to handle their own affairs, but I myself had a different thought on my mind as I wandered about._

_I was scared of the consequences of my prior actions and feared that it would only be sometime before someone or something on the Overlord's side would come and either seal my mortal body away, bind me to the core of a planet, or force my soul to endure countless agony for all eternity. I did not want to suffer any of those fates, so I chose to turn over a new life and use my skills for the greater good. The civilizations of Plit, though primitive they may have been, had a vast plethora of metals for me to mine for my own purposes._

_I struck a deal with the leader of the providence that would eventually be known as Toad Town, in that return for my services in their war against the Koopa Tribe they would allow me access to their mines, though I had to go and salvage the supplies on my own. My brittle body wasn't well-suited for labor at the time, so as you can imagine my initial efforts did not go over so well…The caves almost collapsed one time because I didn't apply the right amount of strength into my pick-axe._

_However, I was able to get a little bit of materials, but nothing significant enough to create weapons for the armies that the Toads had amassed for their next battle. The leader was understanding of my plight, and told me not to worry about it for the time being. Thankful for his sympathy, I used what I had to begin crafting something that would help me with my shortcomings in the mines. Looking into the technological levels of the people, I discovered that they had advanced far enough that it would actual be possible for me to generate electricity if I so needed to._

_Building a generator out of wood, rubber and gears of my own design, I ran a wheel close to the nearby riverbank, and wires that I created were attached to the head of what is now a long-lost prototype for my Drill Bit soldiers. I had to wait for the water's flow to pick up, but when it finally did electricity flowed into my creation, which both brought it to life and gave it the ability to recognize my commands. I put it to work right away in my excitement, telling it to break apart the metals in the mine for my use. I was fascinated how the Drill Bit followed my order without hesitation, and the speed at which it worked gave me more materials at a faster pace than I could've ever dreamed to do so on my own._

_I was overcome with ecstasy, and with what I had gained from the trip I created three more Drill Bits, putting them to work with the original in order to craft more and more metal. Eventually the leader of the tribe of Toads noticed how quickly my progress was growing. He made me a new offer. Since I looked to be enjoying what I was doing, he mentioned in passing that the war with the Koopa Tribe was about to come to an end, and that after all is said and done that he would like for his people to be able to live in something he called "Houses". _

_Of courses, what seemed to be a foreign word to him was something far too familiar for me, and I agreed to his terms. He even made me an equal partner when everything was all said and done. I created more and more Drill Bits to fasten the collection of materials even further, and made a new machine that would later on be the basis of the designs for my Axem Rangers. They closely resembled Toads, but moved on their accord instead of on my orders like the Drill Bits. They helped build the houses out of stone, clay and wood, with metal reinforcing the ceilings and rooftops that would later go on them._

_By the time everything was done a year had passed since my arrival on the planet, and The Imperial Toad City was born. A castle had been erected on the northern end of town, where the leader thanked me for my efforts, and offered me a room to stay in for all that I had done. For the first time in what seemed to be forever, I was able to lay on a bed. It was made of stone, for mattresses had yet to be invented, but I still felt comfort all the same. I was at peace, I was atoning for my previous allegiance one step at a time…_

_A cycle began. I would get up, greet the townsfolk, send my Drill Bits to collect materials, and help make new things for the town to use. It was a pleasant routine, one not easily discarded…But nothing about it changed. The very primitiveness of the planet that brought me peace also brought about a feeling of stagnation, which settled upon me yet another year later…And with it came the urges. Sleep became harder to endure, for I kept dreaming of swords cutting up bodies and guns banging through my eardrums. It wasn't a nightmare, but an erotic dream…My desire to build weapons again was rising to the surface with nothing keeping it under wraps…_

_So the day came when I submitted to those urges and used the materials I had collected to build the Aeroes. I was satisfied for a time, but I knew it wouldn't be long before the sensations would return. Even worse, I had to hide my creations away from the eyes of the leader, for I vowed to him that I wouldn't create any weapons during this period of peace. I created my own type of punishment in the form of the binding you see around me now. The severe heat of the plates overcame my latent desires, but at the cost of robbing me from movement for quite some time. The leader of course questioned my choice, and I lied to him…Telling him that I was developing an armor to protect the bodies of his subjects._

_He believed me, but I felt ashamed for having to hide the truth from him…I laid myself to rest for a couple more months, and by the time things were done the metal had cooled down and I had lost all of my desires to build weapons. I went back to work, but found that I was incapable of feeling anything…My nerves had been burned, but that was a consequence I had chosen to take to keep myself together. But destiny continued to conspire against my all the same…After a few more months had past an envoy from another planet had arrived to speak with our emperor. He was in the service of the former Elemental Overlord, and he was searching for a man by the name of 'Smithy'…_

_I was terrified as I listened in to the conversation from afar. With the recent addition to my body still garnering suspicion from the Toads I thought I would be ousted without hesitation. But the emperor proved my fears wrong, and told the envoy that he had not seen such a man. I sighed from relief, but the envoy heard my noise and told the emperor that he would be staying on the planet just to check. He left without another word, and nervousness began to well up inside of my body. With that returned thoughts of the weapons, an uncontrollable desire to build those tools of destruction quivered through my entire being. _

_If I could draw a comparison to said desire, it would be akin to that of an alcohol addiction. You take one sip, the feeling lingers in your body and messes with your neurons, creating a false sense of pleasure that leaves you looking for more. You continue to give in to that sensation, and eventually you find that you are no longer yourself. You are someone completely different, unrecognizable to even your closest friends. _

_After the envoy had left I approached the emperor and asked to talk to him in private. I expressed my concern over my desire and begged him for help in solving my problem. I was on my knees crying, for I didn't want to lose what I had worked so hard to achieve. He agreed to help, not even asking why the envoy was looking for me. So with my guidance the townsfolk created an armor to limit my movements. Yes, the very same armor you are more familiar with than this metallic shell that has become my skin. I was grateful for their work, and though my face looked a little goofy I said nothing of it._

_But by that point it was all for naught. I was far too concerned about the envoy's return to exercise rational thought. So I came up with a compromise with my desires. Just one time I would build weapons, and use them as an army to fight and kill the envoy, thus ensuring my peace in this planet for all eternity. I forced myself to figure out how to work the armor I was in, and with my sharp intellect I did so in only a couple of days. Then I used my hands to carve a hammer, which I pounded in secret to create soldier after mechanical soldier fit for battle. _

_I couldn't keep things going for too long though, and eventually I was caught red-handed. The emperor, worried that I hadn't been making any appearances lately, came to my workshop to check up on me. One of my soldiers, a prototype of Bowyer, took the presence of the person as a sign of hostility and shot an arrow at the emperor against my will, impaling him through the chest and leaving him a battered mess on the ground. I noticed this and ran over to him, picking his tiny body up off the ground and holding him in the palm of my right hand._

_He looked up at me, muttering in an exhausted tone "Smi-Smithy…W-W-Why?" He was mortified in his dying moments. He didn't know why he was shot, he didn't even know what I was up to. I wanted to explain everything to him, leaving him in peace. But his eyelids were shut tight, and I couldn't even release a single word from my cold steel lips. The man who offered me solitude…The man who gave me a home, lied to protect me without knowing the truth about my past…Died in my hands thinking he was killed via a betrayal. _

_Things got worse from there, as after a few more seconds a couple of the emperor's guards came across my workshop. They noticed their leader's dead body and immediately assumed the worst. They tried to run back, but one of my weapons killed one of them on sight, the other one just narrowly escaping with an arrow lodged into his left shoulder. I wanted to rush after him, but there was but one emotion I was overcome with amidst my grief. And that was rage. I blamed everything on the Overlord's envoy…No, I blamed it all on the Dark King and the Overlord's petty violent war for driving me astray from my home._

_I had nowhere else to go on land, and if I tried to leave the planet the envoy would kill me. I knew that, and was left with no other option. In a day's time news had spread and the armies of the Imperial Toad City had come to combat me. I matched them with my own forces, waging war for a week without end. I had the advantage, not in the numbers, but in defenses. The metal coats my soldiers had weren't easily broken through by the primitive weaponry, after all. But things changed when the envoy of the Overlord was alerted. He cut down my men and easily turned the tide of the battle, forcing me to get involved personally._

_The man's movements were like a crimson streak, as he leapt around without a single care, his sword matching my own with each blow. But he could do nothing to harm my armor itself, and in time I wore him down and cleaved his head in two. But as I soon learned a victory can be earned even after death, and a few Toad sages banded together and opened a portal to another dimension behind me as I was distracted with my battle. Not only was I dragged into it, but the machines I created were as well, leaving no trace of my existence save for the homes and castle that I helped built. In time though, even those records would be wiped from history, as would the name of the man who helped found the ancestral city of Toad Town…_

_But the story does not yet end there. As it should be obvious to you all I was banished to this area, a prison of my own consciousness that I was to burn in for all eternity. And that would've been my fate were it not for a comrade of mine. Yes, Cackletta caught wind of my banishment in the outside world and infiltrated the realm. Once she arrived she gave me an offer. In exchange for renewing their partnership with herself and Dimentio she would grant me immortality and enough magical assistance to make a factory where I would be able to make another army and invade the planet when the time was right. I was alone, I had nothing but my hammer and my rage. So I agreed to her deal and she teleported out of that burning realm, bringing me up to a metallic platform that I would be able to get started from there on. From then on I had but one goal in my now warped mind…_

"To conquer all worlds and replace every life form with an emotionless weaponized counterpart, so wars and betrayal could never again be the norm for any planet's populace…" Smithy finally reaches the end of his story, capping things off with a more detailed explanation of his goal that was once stated to Mallow and the other heroes when he was fought before. "This land we stand upon now is a reminder of what I have done. Each face that stares at me is meant to represent each Toad that my weapons slew, their eyes filled with an everlasting feeling of scorn…But I eventually conquered that gaze and adapted one of the heads to my body…You know enough about that, don't you Nimbusian?"

His question, laced without a single emotion, is directed at the cloud Prince, who doesn't say anything in response. "I don't need an answer, enough time has been wasted. The sooner that I leave this realm, the better…Now then." Smithy takes his massive sword away from the ground and raises it above his hand with both hands gripped around the handle. With a blade taller and wide than his frail body hanging hazardously above his head, the machine king brings it down to send a wave of energy towards the two heroes. The energy draws in the heat from the ground and glows with a reddish hue, becoming much stronger in the process.

Gemini wastes no time in leaping out of the pathway of the attack, but is surprised when Smithy suddenly appears in front of him with sword ready to strike. Even when his own blade is raised in defense the Koopa is knocked back through the air a good twenty yards by the force of the blow, colliding straight into one of the demonic faces and send out a massive cloud of dust in the process. Once on his feet Smithy takes his sword with both hands and holds the sharp end of his blade in front of his neck, the tip pointed towards Mallow as he stands with his staff ready to cast a spell.

The machine king twists his body so his face points in the same direction as his blade, pushing his feet against the ground to launch into a charge towards the cloud Prince. Mallow quickly erects a shield around his body with a swing of his staff, the tip of the blade colliding head on with the curved section and causing it to start heading over the top of it. Smithy quickly flings his hands up, the handle and the rest of the sword rising up into the air as it approaches the center. Jumping into the air as quickly as a young grasshopper, the blacksmith makes it above his sword and slams one of his feet into the handle. The blade crunches against the shield and immediately stops moving, but doesn't manage to puncture through the defense that the cloud prince has set up.

Flipping his body around so the palm of his right hand is resting flat on top of the handle, the machine king begins to rapidly spin his body around in mid-air. The hot wind picks up as his velocity increases, which soon begins to transfer over to his blade and causes it to start spinning around rapidly, acting as a drill that grinds against Mallow's barrier. The cloud Prince keeps his staff held-out in front of his body, trying his hardest to ignore the grating noises echoing outside of the range of his vision while he keeps his concentration focused on his spell.

In the mean time, Gemini leaps head-first out of the head he was thrust into, bringing his hands forward to flip off of the ground and land on his feet after a momentary flip. He then grinds the soles of his feet across the hot steel to stop himself from slipping any further, turning his body to the right to glance over at Mallow's current predicament. The shield surrounding him looked ready to crack, and if this were to happen there was nothing stopping Smithy's sword from coming down and ending his life then and there. With his own sword swung back, the Koopa rockets into the air towards the machine king, his body taking the form of a yellow bolt of light in the process.

The bolt charges straight at the body of the machine king, but as he spins he notices the light coming towards him and applies pressure to his palm to leap into the away so the shot goes straight under him. Gemini does a quick 180 to return and hit Smithy in mid-air, but the blacksmith spreads his legs up wide and the Koopa passes between them without even touching the metal. Once at his sword Smithy moves his body so his legs are pointing downward, grabbing the handle of his sword with both hands and letting it rub against his skin for a while to grind it to a halt, at which point he plucks it out and swings it into the air, batting the Koopa away with a hardened strike when he comes back once more.

The force of his blow also propels his backwards through the air, descending at a steady pace as Gemini emerges from the bolt and flips his body around, grinding his feet against the air before pressing against it to launch out straight towards his foe. His sword is drawn out and collides with the steel of Smithy's own blade, which is swung around in a 360 degree motion to build up enough momentum to continue moving his body around like a helicopter blade. Each swing blocks Gemini's successive sword swings, and the Lieutenant is forced to bend his head back on a couple occasions to avoid it being cleaved off.

Before Smithy touches the ground Gemini notices a brief opening and charges through it, slamming the machine king right through the chest with his out held left arm and knocking him into one of the nearby heads, forcing him to let go of his sword from the sheer force of the blow. During this period of time Mallow drops his shield now that the pressure had been alleviated and turns his body around to see how Gemini is faring. The Koopa, having pinned the machine king to the head with magnetism, backflips onto the ground and raises his sword arm into the air, white electricity coming from above and smiting it to bring it surging with energy. The cackling noise fills the air, and the Lieutenant turns his head towards his ally.

"Get ready to fire at my signal!" He proclaims, and Mallow nods his head and quickly holds his staff out in front of his body. The tip glows a golden color, streams of light of that same hue flying through the air beside the Koopa before merging in the center and moving right towards the chest of the machine king. With the set-up now complete Gemini yells out "GO!" with all of his might, bringing his sword arm down to send a diagonal blast of electricity that leaps in all directions uncontrollably as it heads towards its target. It is compacted into a thinner form that is clearly designed to pierce, but Gemini has little control over its movements.

Mallow adds on to the attack by sending a multitude of stars across both streams, and once they collide in the middle they fuse into larger projectiles that speed up and ram right into Smithy's chest, each precise hit dealing a high amount of damage as they release a flurry of sparkles into the air. However, the once unconscious blacksmith awakens after a couple have come in contact with the plates on his body, and upon noticing his current condition along with the electric bolt coming his way Smithy tightly clenches his fist and begins to pull away from the magnetic force that binds him.

Using nothing but the strength in his limbs he successfully pulls his body away from the head, his movement also succeeding in break the stream of star energy connected to his chest. Once he is on the ground his body leans forward, his weakened state fading only a moment later as he lifts one leg up and begins to charge towards the two heroes. He brings his left hand up into the shape of a fist and thrusts it at the electricity moving at him. He is willing to allow the shot to puncture right through the back of his hand so its job will be done then and there. He then continues to charge forward as both Mallow and Gemini are surprised by what he has done. Only one thought as going through their mind, and that was "How could this man possibly be human?"

It was a legitimate question, for a lot of the things that he was doing just shouldn't be possible after the conditions he put himself through. He shouldn't be able to carry that sword of his, his movements should be slow, and the height of his leaps should be average at best. Yet he is moving at superhuman speeds, wields his sword like it is a toothpick, and jumping as if gravity isn't a factor to him. Was his drive to create weapons so strong that he somehow had the willpower to ignore his shortcomings, or is something else influencing his movements?

There was no more time to be thinking about such a subject, as Smithy is but a few inches away from Gemini's body. Behind the Koopa lies the blacksmith's sword, and if he can somehow use his fists to overcome his defense then he will back to being a credible threat. For now though Gemini can afford to use a bit of lenience in his blows, as he raises his sword up to block an attempted jab towards the left side of his face. But this was a distraction shot, and with only one form of defense Smithy is able to take his other fist and thrust it out into the Koopa's gut as fast as a bullet being shot.

The recoil is immense, as the Lieutenant feels the air being forced right out through his back. It was a surprisingly powerful blow that he hadn't anticipated coming. Smithy then takes advantage of the stun period to move around him and go for his sword, only for a large chunk of ice summoned by Mallow to collide right into his body. The land mass crawls across the ground, melting in the process due to the combined force of friction and the rising waves of heat. But Smithy can't wait for the ice to become liquid, and after slamming his feet against the ground he curves his arms out in front of his body and slams both of his fists into the frozen mass.

His metal works in tangent with the ice, the rough grooves in the sheets allowing him to use the indents punched in as footholds for climbing. Alternating between punching and jumping, Smithy eventually makes it on top of the wall of ice and leaps out, flipping his body through the air towards his sword, as Gemini regains consciousness and lifts his head up to see what the machine king just conquered in order to get where he is at now. "Is that man a blacksmith, or a berserker?" He asks himself in disbelief before leaping into the air himself to intercept the man.

A slash from his sword fails to break through the metallic skin, but was aimed accurately enough that Smithy is forced out of his mid-air somersault and flinches around the chest, a cough being released from his mouth due to the suddenness of his ceased movement. Since he can't due anything to cut him down at the moment, Gemini sends electricity surging through his body to try and fry his insides while the mouth is open, but the machine king quickly slams his lips shut and brings his right fist up to try and get the Koopa away from him. But Gemini was ready for retaliation this time and brings his foot up to block the shot, using the knuckles as a platform to kick flip away from his opponent.

The electricity lingers on Smithy's body for a few more seconds as gravity takes hold and brings him towards the ground. Despite his other feats it seems he was incapable of flight. While he descends Mallow quickly swings his staff upward and twirls his body around as a yellow light glows on the tip, bringing his casting weapon down with great vigor and causing the sky to open up above Smithy. A massive bombardment of lightning bolts comes down from the gap, and the machine king's eyes widen upon looking up from the ground. He rushes towards his sword with urgency and scoops both of his hands towards the handle to pick it up as most of the bolts smite the floor behind him.

With his weapon reclaimed without the heroes doing anything to be able to stop him, Smithy turns his body around and swings his sword in an upward arc, taking care of a bunch of other bolts coming his way with that motion. But in doing that he has run the risk of falling onto his back, so he kicks his feet against the ground to propel himself into the air over the cloud Prince, his sword crossed in front of his body as he flips backward. He turns to implant his sword into the ground, letting go once the extra weight has been discarded so he can flip around the rest of the way and land on the ground.

Mallow turns around and preps his staff to cast another spell, but Smithy rushes forward and brings his left knee up right to the cloud Prince's face, knocking him onto his back in a matter of seconds and forcing the staff out of his hands. When it makes contact with the ground not even the Star Spirits protection can stop it from melting due to the heat. With Mallow out a staff that he can focus his magical energy into, he is now completely helpless, a fact of which the machine king is more than happy to take advantage of. Leaping into the air to grab the handle of his sword, Smithy bends his legs back and flips over it, pulling at the weapon with all of his might to drag it out from where it is at.

The tip is pushed forward from the endeavor, the shriek of metal grinding ringing through everyone's ears as it is finally ripped from the ground and just narrowly passes in front of Mallow's body as it rises. Once on the ground again Smithy charges forward and brings his sword down for the final blow, but Gemini appears before him in the blink of an eye and raises his left palm in defiance, using his white electricity to create a barrier seal that effortlessly blocks the swing of the blade with only a few cracks appearing on the surface. However, after pulling his sword behind his neck and flipping it around, Smithy just need to take one more swing to make the seal shatter completely. The wind from the release of his blow sends the two heroes flying into the distance, separating them from each other as they both slam into a couple of the demonic heads.

Their bodies fall to the ground, Gemini landing on his knees with his sword supporting him while Mallow is just barely able to keep his footing. Smithy's blow were nothing to laugh at, but their exhaustion can mainly be contributed to the temperature of the room, and the blacksmith was factoring that in during their entire battle. He cautiously walks towards the two heroes, and the Lieutenant slowly raises his left arm in defiance, charging it with white electricity for a few seconds before the spark dies down and he is forced to lay his hand against the floor. Smithy stops for a moment and looks at the creature he experimented on, amazement filling his eyes as he once again catches a glimpse at the Koopa's display.

"The power to control a form of electricity imbued with holy energy…I never would have guessed that when I implanted that heart into you six years ago that you would've eventually reached such a peak when it came to that element. Better yet, you have shown me that the Star Spirits have the power to briefly purify the detrimental effects of otherworldly demonic energy, they aren't just limited to sources from the world they observe. Tell me, do you remember what I told you about why I chose you to receive the heart?"

Smithy's words bring a slight feeling of ire to the surface of Gemini's thoughts, as he raises his head and gives the machine king a rather weak scowl. "I had another purpose in store for you besides using you as a battery…I wanted to see the combat capabilities of the demonic entity that emerged from the fusion of the two sources. Granted, I would've had to create some attachments to inhibit the violent nature of the abominations so they wouldn't go rampaging through my factory, but to be able to wrestle control of such raw, unrefined power from the minds of those savage beasts…Just the thought of the creation of such a potent bio-weapon is enough to fill me with ecstasy."

The machine king forces a grin to appear on his face as he finds pleasure in his own words and thoughts, and after another glance at the weakening Gemini he has but something else to say. "And why stop at just yellow-shelled Koopas? Red ones that control fire, green ones that control botanic creations, and blue ones that control water? The possibilities are limitless, and I already have a perfect environment to harvest my subjects from." Gemini knew where Smithy was going, and the thought of the success of his plans weighed heavily on his mind as he weakly blurted out "No…" in an angered tone. "Yes, the Koopa Village, the place where you were so easily captured and brought to my realm…Though now that I think about it I am quite curious to find out how the unique shell variant Koopas would be affected by having a demonic heart implanted into their bodies…Particularly, what would happen if I experimented on that pink-shelled friend of yours?"

That question finally made Gemini snap. The time for tranquility in his mind was over as he swiftly gets onto his feet and all of his muscles tense up in anger. "YOU WILL NOT SUBJECT HER TO YOUR DEMENTED EXPERIMENTS YOU DEPRAVED, LOATHSOME BASTARD!" He screams out at the top of his lungs as electricity begins to spark uncontrollably around his very being. But this is nothing like his previous outbursts of anger. No, it was the advent of something much, much worse. The Koopa grunts with all of his might to force power through his body, drawing deep down into his heart for more electricity to come so he can smite Smithy with every last volt he can muster. But his rage fuels the heart and causes the demonic energy to start breaking through the protection that the Star Spirits had over it, and in time black electricity starts to slip out and overtake the white variation. In doesn't stop there though, as demonic flesh starts to emerge from Gemini's shell in an attempt to consume the angelic wings attached to it. This horrific spectacle is finished off as the Lieutenant raises his head and reveals his entirely dark red eyes, electricity of that color sparking out through them as the Koopa opens his salivating mouth up wide and snarls deeply at Smithy. His rage taken him over, and the target of his malice could only stand in awe of what was occurring, oblivious to the fate that awaited him soon enough…

_Next Time: The Hammer Falls_


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note:**

Well, I have good news and bad news fellow readers...The good news is, this chapter marks the end of the Smithy part of Part 2. The bad news is, the chapters being released from here on out won't be as frequent. I'm going to be trying my hardest to get a chapter out once every two days, but don't be surprised if problems in my schedule lead to it taking three days for a chapter to be released. Don't worry, there will never be week breaks between chapters, I'm too dedicated to this story to let that happen again. Either way, enjoy this chapter!**  
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**Chapter 13: Smithy Final: The Proof of His Success**

"_What have you got there?" A man clad in pure black armor inquires. His eyes gleam with interest towards a young boy with ashes surrounding the features on his face and a newly crafted sword laid out across the palms of his hands. He looks up nervously at the man, who raises an eyebrow wondering why the boy is saying nothing. He wanted to muster up the courage to speak his mind to the man of darkness, who was both the leader of their people and a man he deeply admired. But no matter what he thought he couldn't get over how imposing the man's powerfully built_ _figure was to him._

_The man notices this slight hesitation and without muttering a word or changing his expression he turns his entire body turn the boy and moves a couple steps closer, kneeling down and laying one arm against his legs so that he is now staring eye-level at the boy, who then nervously leans his body back before finding comfort in the man's fatherly gaze and accepting his presence. He inches closer to the man, who looks down at the weapon in his hands before he acknowledges him any further. "So I ask again…What do you have there?" He asks again in a pleasant tone which expresses equality between the two individuals._

"_I-It is a sword, my lord…" The boy says with a slight trace of embarrassment in his voice due to his rather muddled appearance. "And where did you acquire such a weapon?" The man then asks. The boy desperately wanted to answer, but feared being rejected by the armored figure for his shoddy craftsmanship. "I-I-I made it myself." He finally says with a stutter. The man averts his gaze from the boy's own, looking once again at the weapon with yet another question on his mind. "To what purpose did it serve you to create such a blade?"_

_A red glow fills the boy's cheeks, though this change in his appearance isn't noted due to what covers it. He suddenly gets on one knee and raises his arms up, presenting the sword to the man while his face is pointed towards the ground. "I saw that the blade of your sword was getting dull sir, so I smelted the metal and forged a weapon that looked exactly like it for you to wield!" The boy says quickly to the man standing before him, his composure kept steady as he never once looks up towards him. _

_The man is shocked by the young man's declaration, and even more impressed by the amount of detail that went into the creation of the sword. It was entirely accurate, even down to the single amethyst encrusted on the hilt. The man could tell from the battered look of his hands and the nervous demeanor of the boy that not only did he go to incredible lengths to get this weapon made, but that this was also his first time accomplishing such an endeavor. He was passionate towards his goal, and it was trait that the armored figure could not even consider ignoring._

_Lifting his body up and moving one hand out to grab the sword by the handle, the man plucks the weapon away from the boy and brings the blade closer to his line of sight. The young boy flinches in surprise, opening his quivering eyelids up wide and lifting his head up high to stare at the man as he murmurs quietly to himself while moving his blade in different directions to get a basic feel of the weight and maneuverability of it. The boy is in awe of the away the sword is swung around. In contrast to what was expected from one of his build, the sword is swung gracefully around his body, each movement being done as if aiming with precision towards a specific point. The blade keeps together, the handle never once slipping out of his grasp._

_Finally he stops, holding the blade upright before turning his head towards the boy, who is shivering at the sight of his slanted eyebrows. "What is your name, child?" He asks in a deepened tone, and the boy nervously bows his head towards him in response. "S-Smithy…My liege." He says. "And your age?" The man then inquires. "8 years old…Sir." The boy swiftly responds. The man in armor was understandably taken aback by the news. A boy of such a young age created this weapon for him, showing prowess in the field of blacksmithing when he logically shouldn't be mature enough to do so. It was a talent that couldn't be overlooked, and with a slight turn of the body the man looks down at the boy once more._

"_Tell me Smithy. Do you understand what a weapon is?" He asks. "Ummm…Umm…" It was such a sudden question, and with his head raised and a cold sweat dripping down his face the boy named Smithy looks up at the man and hastily puts together an answer. "Isn't a weapon something you use to slay your enemies…" The man in armor lets out a sigh. While the answer held some truth to it, it was clear that the boy was not looking at the bigger picture. He once again kneels down and looks the boy straight in the eyes._

"_I won't lie to you when I admit that you are partially correct. But a weapon is more than just a tool used to kill. It can also be a tool used to protect, a tool used for sport, and a tool used to impress. In essence, our bodies are also weapons. But you know what separates our bodies from the sword in my hand?" Smithy shakes his head, and the man continues onward. "A sword allows you to focus your power into one exact blow. A sword user that tries to target many areas of the body at once will certainly hit their mark at least once, but at the cost of doing little damage to the skin. However, if you concentrate and make one precise strike, there is nothing that you can't cut down."_

"_The body is similar to that, as in you can focus all of your energy to strengthen your punches and kicks while multiple kicks and punches will merely disorient your opponent. The difference between the two lies within the basic form. While you can alter the blade of a sword to cover a wider or longer distance with your swing or make it more durable overall, you should never try to modify your own body's functions. Sure, you will more than likely give yourself powers beyond that of mortal comprehension, but self-control is not something that most beings are willing to exercise."_

"_Take me for example…" The man places the tip of his blade against the ground, extending his left palm out and letting a small orb with a pitch black glow form into it. "I was born with this darkness, therefore I am used to the powers granted by it. Now take a look at yourself…If you chose to buff yourself using your machines, you'd become stronger sure but it would be such a sudden an unexpected change that your mind would be incapable of quickly grasping the concept of that power. And with doubts lingering in your subconsciousness there is always the possibility of you losing control. The uncontrollable power of a living body unbound…Is something to be both awe-struck and afraid of."_

"_I am telling you all of this because I don't want you to go too far down the path of becoming a master blacksmith…I've seen many a man who have lost themselves in the pursuit of that goal, after all. So to sum up what I said in short…A weapon should be used mainly to protect, and if you wish to create weapons you should never modify the body of a living being in order to get the job done, because the worst thing that could happen after that is that you are killed by something you created gone out-of-control…" The man in black rises up, finishing his conversation with the kid as he places his gift into the scabbard attached to his right hip. _

"_T-Thank you, Dark King…" Smithy says, building up the courage to thank his lord for his time explaining weapons to him. The Dark King gives the boy a nod, and suddenly stops in place. "Smithy…You may be young now, but if you haven't lost yourself to your ambition in ten years time…Come and find me. I will be waiting to see what you can do for the worlds of the universe…" The Dark King vanishes into the distance after saying his final words to the boy, who looks towards the sunset in the distance with a smile gleaming on his soot-covered face._

In the present day, that very smile is on Smithy's face for entirely different reasons. Instead of feeling excitement over the Dark King acknowledging his talents, he was grinning in the face of the display of power that his greatest experiment was showing before him. But that expression is soon discarded and placed with one of looming regret, as his eyelids grow heavy with exhaustion, his lips going straight as the memories of the lesson his master once gave him come rushing through his head like a river. While he still has a moment to reminisce he lowers his head towards the plates on his body, then takes a look at his sword. After all these years, after everything that had happened to him, he had forgotten completely about what was said to him.

He broke that rule twice, turned both himself and the Koopa into weapons. Even worse, he made weapons in the name of conquering, which would mean he would've had to kill to get what he desired. He had fallen so far from grace, and those memories of his were reminding him of the morals he had forgotten. But it was obvious as to why he was undergoing this feeling, this sensation of guilt as his eyelids shuts tightly. He had gone too far with Gemini, and the cold hand of death was preparing to pluck his life from the world the moment the fire in his soul died out. He was given a last chance to feel regret for what he had done, and with everything that he was able to recall he couldn't help but apologize within the confines to his mind to those he had harmed. When he was done there was only one other person he had to apologize too, but there was only one problem with that…

Mallow lifts his body up from off the ground, turning to look at his ally and finding that the powers of his demonic heart were raging without control. He was being overtaken by the organ, and if nothing was done to stop it Gemini would certainly kill him as well once Smithy is dealt with. But there WAS nothing that he could do. The Koopa looked incapable of rationalization, for his mind was probably not even there. There was only one thing to do, and that was wait and pray that there was some fragment of Gemini's consciousness lingering within him that would snap him out of his condition before his power destroys everything in this realm.

Smithy lowers his head and looks towards the Koopa, whose blood-filled eyes glare towards him with hostile intent. He took one step forward, then another, and finally one more. After that step there are a couple seconds of silence, followed by the boom of thunder as Gemini rushed forward and places both of his hands around Smithy's neck, using the propulsion of his feet to force the machine king to the ground. Black electricity flows out into the man's body as it slams down with incredible force, but the searing of the flesh is stopped only a few seconds later. The Koopa stops applying pressure to the neck and brings his fists up. Demonic flesh is starting to overtake the backside of the hands, and it is only a matter of time before the Lieutenant is killed and replaced with a hellish mixture of angel and demon.

The eyes glow brighter, which is then followed by Gemini taking his left fist and bringing it down upon Smithy's face with all of his might. The blow releases a powerful black shockwave that quakes the floor, but at the same time the Koopa's face flinches. It was but a brief gesture, for another fist comes down and has the same effect as the previous one. A rapid-fire barrage of punches follows, each one coming out as quickly as a bullet and leaving Smithy helpless to do anything. However, with each successive punch the flinches last for longer periods of time.

There was a purpose to this, a motive unknown to all. Inside the deep recesses of Gemini's fragmented mind a battle for control was raging. A spiritual manifestation of the Koopa's true self was standing firm against a wave of darkness that looked to be unstoppable. However, each time that the furious demon on the outside threw out a punch, the consciousness sent out three. The corruption of Gemini's mind was an abstract conception, something without a physical form. But in the realm of the mind everything is solidified in the plain of reality, and thus can easily be harmed.

The punches collide with the mass, pressing indents into the form and pushing it back with rapid succession. "No, no…I refuse to allow this to be a possibility." The fragment of Gemini's self speaks out, his voice echoing through the realm of thought. Six more punches are thrown out, by this point the mass has become half its size. "But at the same time…I think I understand now. I'm not the one who is angry here…It is you, isn't it?" The voice speaks to the mass, trying to emphasize with it as he continues to fight against it. "You never wanted to be a part of me, there is something lingering inside of you that desired to get revenge against Smithy, and that part leaked out into my mind and manipulated my emotions so I would act exactly like you wanted me to…"

"But because there actually was a part of me that desired the same thing, I wasn't fully aware of your subtle manipulations, and by the time I did notice you were already beginning to consume me…" More punches are thrown following those words, white electricity forming around them and arcing through the air. These blows have more of an effect on the mass, as a definite sign that Gemini is starting to regain control of his powers. "But I am not you, the you you once were. I am me, and so long as I have people riding on me to be the me I am today, I am not going to let you take over my body!"

The mass was almost to its smallest possible mass, and in the sight of Gemini's bravado it decides to salvage itself by running away from the Koopa. But the Lieutenant raises his hand up, white electricity flowing to the palm as the angelic wings appear on his back. Beside him are representations of his other selves, which include his normal form, the man known as "Koopis" who he was before the transformation, and his demonic self, which shows that despite his rejection of the demonic heart's hatred he has come to accept the powers as a part of his very being.

Each part of Gemini charges a different type of electricity in the palm of their hands in unison with the real one. Black for the demon, yellow for the normal one, and red for "Koopis". The beam of energy are fired off all at once, colliding and merging together into one unified beam that perfectly shows off the properties of each color. The electricity swirls around, the pressure exuding off it becoming greater as it approaches the fleeing mass of darkness. In a matter of seconds it is consumed by the attack, disintegrating into nothingness and in a symbolic sense, its hatred was then quelled.

Outside of the mind the effects of this victory were shown automatically, as the Koopa's appearance has reverted back to its normal state. Resting under the weight of his kneecaps is Smithy, whose face looks absolutely massacred after the beating the "demon" gave him. But despite the damage the machine king was still alive, and his bloody lips are surprisingly curled into a grin. Seeing Gemini pause causes Mallow to rush over to him, cautiously moving closer once he has reached the proper distance because he is uncertain about how back to normal his ally is.

And then, in an unexpected move, Gemini suddenly turns around and wraps his arms around Mallow's fluffy body, cuddling him with all of his might as teardrops start to form in his eye ducts. "You…You are real…" The Koopa says in a mentally exhausted tone of voice. "Thank god…I-I-I thought I would've killed you…During my rampage…" The trickling tears go down Gemini's cheeks, as he then sounds overjoyed to feel the body of his ally. Mallow is surprised, his widening eyes expressing his disbelief at his friend's display. But after letting his feelings be known Gemini regains his confident composure and quickly lets go of the cloud Prince, turning his body around and letting out a light cough before folding his arms behind his back.

"You are not to tell anyone of this…" He says in a flustered tone, his cheeks red with embarrassment beyond the scope of view of Mallow. "But thank you…For sticking with me…" The Koopa then whispers, leaping off of Smithy's body to alleviate the pressure put on the man's lungs. With a deep gasp the machine king opens his eyelids and looks on at the two heroes, and notices Gemini tapping the side of his head with a spark of electricity emerging from the fingertip. "Alright Smithy…" The Koopa tilts his head down to look at the man, as Mallow reverts back to his original form, his staff still held just in case the man tries anything funny. "Tell us what you know about the device you were working on, and just exactly where Dimentio is currently at."

"Hehehe…" Smithy weakly chuckles with a defiant grin on his face. "And why should I tell you anything? I'm slowly dying…And it is only a matter of time before my body gives out…I can just wait things out…Leave you entirely without hope…" The machine king had a perfect point. He held all the cards in this situation, and beating him to get him to speak wouldn't solve anything, it would just speed-up the inevitable. "However…I am not filled with ill-will towards you both…So I will speak…" Smithy suddenly says in a kind, forgiving tone.

He tilts his head back, gazing upward into the black void outside of this fiery pit. "Unfortunately, I don't know anything about the device. I was just given the schematics via Cackletta's minion Fawful and told to get to work making it…I don't know its function, but if anyone would know it would probably be Dimentio…However, I must regretfully inform your Commander that I know nothing about the jester's whereabouts. He was observing me before you two arrived, but save for a few unsavory comments he didn't tell me where he planned on going…"

"_Heh…So you knew that I was listening in?" _Alpha speaks out from Gemini's communicator, a hint of surprise present in his voice. "It wasn't too hard to notice the Lieutenant turning the device back on, even if the presence of the spark was only temporary." Even if he couldn't help them with their questions, Smithy had something to bring up on his own accord. "I can reveal one detail to you, and it relates to the condition that the Elemental Overlord is currently in…" This was something key that Gemini and Mallow had forgotten about, which isn't surprising considering everything that had happened up until now.

"What do you know?" Gemini asks. "Enough to assist your endeavors…Cackletta gave me something that she had been saving for hundreds of years just a week ago. She called it the 'Anit-Genesis Theorem', a rare viral strain that was rumored to have the effect of briefly negating the powers of one who has close ties to anything that gives birth to life. I merged the strain to my laser technology and gave the developed weapon to Axem Red, telling him to use it on the Elemental Overlord should he show up…From your reactions though, I can tell that the weapon was a success…However, the amount input into the device was minimal, and against someone of the boy's level he should only be incapacitated for twenty-four hours…Which means he'll be free thirteen hours from now with no other side-effects present within his body…"

The answer had been given, and from what was stated there was nothing that could be done to hasten the period of Alex's entrapment. Disappointed by such a revelation, Gemini stays focused on that issue for a few seconds before Smithy speaks directly to him. "Gemini…I have but one question to ask you before I die…" The machine king's breathes were becoming heavy, as the last bits of life within him were being snuffed out. The Koopa turns his head towards him, his eyes showing no emotion towards the man as his eyelids start to close.

"I am not expecting you to ever forgive me…But have you…Have you used your powers for the greater good of the world?" Gemini is surprised by the question, a flinching gesture on his face used to show his shock. He hesitates for a moment, but chooses not to lie and nods his head towards Smithy, who releases the grip on his sword and lays his head flat against the heated floor. In the end, the one he experimented on had gone on to do good, adapting to his powers to protect the people from his world. It was a thought that gave him peace, and with his eyelids shutting all the way Smithy is left with a brimming smile on his face.

There is a period of silence, which is followed shortly afterwards by the Koopa bending forward and using his powers to check for any nerve activity. There was none, the man was certainly dead this time. He gets back up, moves silently away from the body and talks into his communicator. "He is dead Commander…" _"I see…"_ Alpha gives his response in a cold tone of voice. _"So what are you going to do now?" _He then asks out of concern for the Lieutenant's well-being. "Well, I guess Mallow and I are going to take a look through the factory to find ourselves a way out…Oh, and we will shut down the production line so no one else can use it. What about you Commander? What is your next move in the meantime?"

"_Dimentio is our next priority out here. Don't worry about use, we will take things from here on out…Oh, and before I go…Lieutenant?" _"Yes Commander Alpha?" _"It is good to know you kept yourself together…I'll be looking forward to you and Mallow's return…This is Alpha, signing off." _With that heartfelt goodbye, static fills the device, which Gemini then shuts down on his end with a single spark. He then turns towards Mallow, who has turned around to look at the Koopa. "Gemini…How do you feel now that Smithy is dead?" The cloud Prince's answer was simple yet direct, and the Koopa looks at him before lowering his head, closing his eyelids, and letting out a light sigh.

"I don't really feel anything…He was a man driven by desire, and I had nothing but resentment towards him despite the good acts I've performed with my powers…" "Oh…" Mallow replies in an unsurprised tone to Gemini's answer. "Though, I guess what I'm saying is a bit of a lie…If I feel anything, it is relief over the loss of weight on my angered heart." The cloud Prince gets a smile on his face upon hearing this, giggling lightly as the Koopa does the same. "Well that's good to hear." Mallow then says. "Well, shall we get moving? The faster we get out of here, the better."

"Agreed." Gemini says with a nod. He turns his body around, twisting his head to the left and waving his arm towards the cloud Prince. "Hop on, I'll carry us back to the top." Mallow nods his head, walking forward and leaping onto the Koopa's back, which suddenly causes him to wince in pain. "Whoa! You feeling ok there? Maybe I should just-" "No…Its alright, I'm just a little sore from the fight…" Gemini quickly lies to the cloud Prince after he expresses his concern. He bends down slightly and summons his demonic wings. "Hang on tightly Mallow!" Obeying the command, Mallow wraps his arms around the Koopa's neck as hard as he can without cutting off the airflow, and the Lieutenant leaps into the air and takes off towards the pipe they had gone through earlier on.

Meanwhile, beside the dehydrating body of the once Jack-of-all-Trades, space distorts around him, the shadow of a being with a pointed hat floating precariously over the corpse. "Well well, like a machine without proper care it seems your bolts have been undone, the soul's life fleeting into the wind like a midsummer leaf…As a comrade-in-arms, I suppose I must give you a parting eulogy…Ahem."

"_He takes up his hammer_

_Starts pounding away_

_What is on his mind?_

_What shall be created today?_

_It was a foolish ambition_

_Some say it led to his demise_

_But that is merely a perception_

_Coming from those with untrained eyes_

_He succeeded in death_

_The one he did make_

_A memory that will live on_

_He will do good for his sake."_

The poem is ended, the being withdraws from the body, turning himself around with a smile across his face. "Oh well, that was my one lifetime act of generosity…Now with the blacksmith dead that leaves me and the witch to 'honor' the memory of our former master. Hmm…I must admit I'm feeling quite famished right now…Perhaps I should head off and…Get my fill of greens in. Do not worry my audience beyond the wall, the story is only partly written, and I will be certain to satisfy your desires for entertainment…" With a snap of the fingers the being departs, the realm becoming empty with silence…

_Next Time: The Heroes Clad in Gree_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Aftermath I: The Jester's Play**

With all contact with Gemini and Mallow now cut off, the Commander is left sitting on his chair in silence. He folds his arms in front of his face to obscure his expression, which shows relief over his Lieutenant's survival. "Thank god almighty that Gemini didn't end up losing himself because of my own agenda…" He whispers, a happy yet nearly tearful laughter emerging from his mouth before he catches himself in the middle of his act and moves his arms away so they are laying on the sides of his chair. "Just keep it together Alpha…One down, two to go, and you'll finally be free of the demons…"

Luigi stands at the bottom of the Commander's pedestal. There was something brought up when Smithy first talked that has had him on edge this entire time, but he had yet to say anything because his concern towards Gemini was more prominent in his mind. But now that things had been taken care of with the machine king the man in green walks around so he is within Alpha's line of sight and speaks up to him, saying "Alpha, what are we going to do about Dimentio? If he is connected to the Dark King then we really can't let him live, right?"

Alpha tilts his head, gazing down at the man in green with one eyebrow raised and a glimmer of intrigue in his pupil. He could sense the contempt on Luigi's mind, the latent desire to fight and kill the dimensional warping jester being visible in his current pose. "Don't concern yourself with that matter right now Luigi. I'll be able to track Dimentio down no matter where he is at…That is to say, if you give me a couple of hours to analyze the dimensional spectrum, I'll be able to find his current location." Driad tilts his head and leaves his mouth agape after Alpha has finished talking. "The dimensional wha?" He says in absolute bewilderment.

"It is something beyond most mortal comprehension, and thus there really aren't any words I can use to describe it to you without leaving out many key details." "Come on, surely you don't think I'm that dumb, do you?" The Crazyee Dayzee retorts to the Commander after he gives his reasoning. Tapping down on a button beside his chair to activate the dimensional scanner present deep within his ship, Alpha folds his arms and crosses his stubby feet before looking down at Driad and letting out a light chuckle. "Heheh…Very well Driad, if you think you can handle it…You see, the dimensional spectrum is a multivariable quantum plane of existence that-"

As Alpha babbles on to the intrigued, open-eyed Driad, Luigi slinks off to go near his brother, whose arms are folded in front of his chest as he glares up at the Goomba. The man in green notices the ire hidden within his pupils and snaps his fingers once to grab his attention. After a brief flinch in his facial features Mario turns his head, lowering his arms after noticing his brother's presence. "What is it Luigi?" He asks, his volatile emotions subsiding almost instantly. "Why are you so focused on Alpha? You've done nothing but stare at him since Gemini and Mallow left to Smithy's Factory."

A scowl briefly emerges on the plumber's face as he tilts his head to look up at the Commander. "There is just something about him that rubs me the wrong way…Like every action he performs has an ulterior motive behind them…" Luigi looks at Alpha as well, who is cheerfully explaining things to Driad despite a quick turn of the head revealing that the Crayzee Dayzee is starting to lose interest in the subject. "I understand what you are getting at bro…I feel like Alpha tries too hard to have control over everyone else, and that he is perhaps a little too intrusive for someone that has a good motive behind doing so."

Luigi and Mario face each, their eyes making contact as the man in green starts quivering slightly all-around. "In fact, it was almost as if he was puncturing my very being with that cybernetic eye of his…Brr…" With a chill going down his brother's spine, Mario nods his head once in response. "I can certainly agree with that statement Luigi…But that isn't the main reason I have a problem with Alpha." Curious to the real reason, Luigi tilts his head to fit his emotions and looks on in intrigue. "What is it then bro?" It was an innocent question, but what will follow-up after that will leave the man in green regretting that he ever asked. "…" Mario turns and looks back up at Alpha, his eyebrows slanted in anger as his arms are once again folded into his chest.

"My problem with Alpha is that he thinks that just because he is in a position of power that he can harm anyone who doesn't obey his wishes…" The man in green widens his eyes. He didn't understand the meaning behind his brother's response, especially seeing as he never saw the Commander do anything like that before. "What? Bro, Alpha may be many things, but-" "Luigi, I'm sorry for not bringing this up before…" Mario suddenly interrupts his brother, turning his body around and using one arm to gently bring him away from the pedestal, fearing that the Commander may hear him even if he whispers.

This was a rather foreboding gesture, seeing as the life has seemingly vanished from Mario's eyes as he recalls what occurred in the past. Once they are out of range the plumber turns his head back, seeing that Alpha is still busy talking before turning back and letting go of his brother. Luigi turns with concern in his eyes as Mario lets out a sigh before continuing where he left off. "You know how Alex revealed the truth about his parents a day before we went to the Origin Temple?"

The question was sudden, but to the man in green it didn't seem relevant at the time. So he raises an eyebrow and dully replies with "Yeah?" A questioning tone put into his voice as Mario places his arms beside his hips and gets a rather serious look on his face. "Well that wasn't exactly a voluntary decision…" Luigi's eyes widen as his pupils shrink and a cold sweat drop trickles down his face. With everything that had been brought up by this point he didn't like where this conversation was going, but at the same time he didn't bother to say anything to stop his brother since a part of him still wanted to know the truth.

"Alpha took Alex from the hospital and tied him to an electric chair, where he shocked him every time he detected a lie coming from his mouth. His purpose in doing so was to wrestle information out of him to try and find some connection to Joe Dark that would rationalize his hatred since he was still alive and all, but it doesn't change the fact that the way he went about doing things was cruel and downright disturbing to hear. I got into an argument with the Commander and pretty much called him out on his actions, but Alex stopped us by relenting and choosing to reveal the truth about his past…That's why I'm keeping a stern eye on Alpha now, since I don't want him to try and pull anything on everyone else. You witnessed him insulting Mallow, so what other proof do you need of his deranged mind after what I just told you?"

Though Luigi's ensuing reaction is something that was expected by his brother, the intensity of it was not. The man in green grips his hands tightly in the shape of a fist, electricity from his Thunderhand powers surging around them as he grits his teeth and a vein bulging slightly out of his forehead. He turns towards Alpha as he sits idly by on his chair. "Bro…Don't stop me right now, because I'm going to blast that Goomba's face right off." The revelation had snapped Luigi's mind, and Mario could tell that he was serious in his threat.

But now was not the time for lashing out against the Commander, and it was clear that the man in green wasn't thinking logically. Mario leaps out in front of his brother before he takes a single step, holding his arms out beside his body in an attempt to get through to him. "Luigi, calm down and think for a moment." "You are actually trying to get in my way after all you just said?" The man in green blurts out in utter disbelief, and Mario shakes his head twice in response. "Luigi, please listen to me when I say this. While you may be angry at Alpha, perhaps to an even greater extent then I am, you can't just charge up to him and kill him in one blow!"

"And why shouldn't I? Give me a few good reasons why I shouldn't Mario!" Luigi keeps his hands charged, and it was clear to Mario that if he didn't provide the proper reasoning behind his defense that his brother wouldn't hesitate to push him out of the way to get to the Commander. "Ok Luigi, you want to hear my reasons? First off, take a look around you. We are in a highly advanced base that is probably filled to the brim with soldiers trained to use weapons of assumedly unknown origins. From the sounds of things Alpha has earned enough of their respect to keep them working for him for who knows how many years. You take Alpha down and there is no guarantee that we will survive their vengeance. Second, while Alpha may have his twisted methods his organization does good things for the world under his guidance. Kill him off and there would be anarchy over who should be worthy to succeed him, and that's not benefiting the world now is it? Third and most importantly, Cackletta and Dimentio are still roaming about, and as much as it pains me to admit it we won't be able to deal with either of them without Alpha's assistance. So you can either waste our lives taking down a Goomba who does bad things in the name of good, or you can conserve your energy to take down an insane jester who tried to bring the multiverse down with him upon his supposed death. Your choice Luigi, just know that if you choose to continue I will not stop you…"

Mario's logic was strong, and he stood headfast in his resolve as he stared his angered brother down. Luigi sees reasoning in his brother's words, and after snapping his fingers to remove the electricity around the hands he lets out a sigh of relief and lowers his head slightly. "I guess you are right bro…" But after raising his head back up to look over at the Commander, whose position hasn't changed an inch even though he has long since finished talking to Driad, he turns to Mario. "So what are we going to do about Alpha after this all rolls over?" He asks.

"I'm not really going to worry about that right now…The more pressing issue is Dimentio." Mario brought a good point to the table. Dimentio, the jester that allied himself with a enigma known as Count Bleck while secretly planning on usurping him and using the power of the Chaos Heart to end all worlds. The thought of having to face the being again sent a shiver down Luigi's spine. "Ugh…Don't remind me bro…But seriously, it is kind of ridiculous when you think about it." "Hmmm?" Mario curiously mumbles in response. "First Cackletta and Fawful, then Smithy, and now Dimentio. Most of the villains we have fought in the past have come back to life and are working together towards a common goal…Geez, the next thing you know we will be fighting the Shadow Queen or the Dark Star again…"

"Don't tempt fate like that Luigi." Mario says, noting that experience having taught him to avoid saying such remarks. With an embarrassed chuckle emerging from his lips Luigi rubs the back of his head and closes his eyelids in a goofy manner. "Hehehe…Good point bro." Resuming his normal pose, the man in green slants his eyebrows and turns his body around. "Anyways, shall we continue our conversation in the cafeteria?" He suggests while waving his left arm out from the rest of his body. "Yeah, Alpha is probably going to take some time to find the realm where Dimentio is at, so in the meantime we should get some nourishment." So with nothing else to say the Mario Bros. depart from the room, as the Commander finally turns his head towards the two of them, his enhanced hearing allowing to him to have overheard everything they said. He folds his arms in front of his face to once again obscure his emotions, murmuring to himself "How far have I fallen?"

A couple hours later, Alpha calls the heroes back into the center of the room. Though the Mario Bros. return with a great deal of reluctance, Driad is still managing to maintain his cheerful disposition as he walks in whistling with his eyelids sealed tight. Mario looks over at the Crayzee Dayzee as he approaches him, and it is at that moment that something comes to his mind. Driad's opinion on Alpha is as of yet unknown. The two fought together when Tabuu attacked the planet, so the plumber knew not of what was said to the little flower, but he suspected that Driad wouldn't really care about it anyways.

"Perhaps I'll ask him after everything has blown over…" Mario thinks to himself, turning his head up towards Alpha as he prepares to address those that remain. "Well, now that you are all here I am pleased to inform you that I have picked up on Dimentio's whereabouts. I'll be able to open a dimensional rift to there in just a few minutes, but first things first…" The Commander twists his chair around to look at Alex, who has been laying back ever since he heard over the communicator about the time limit of his confinement. Though his position shows that he is content, Alpha calls out his name to disrupt that peace and make his eyelids creak open.

"Eh?" The boy murmurs in a tired tone before taking his arms away from behind his head and creaking the upper part of his body straight up, letting out a yawn and smacking his lips before he lays his arms out in between his legs and looks up at the Goomba, who is looking at his right arm like there is a watch attached due to how long it is taking Alex to get ready. "What do you need Alpha?" The young Overlord asks, his body adjusting to being awake again as he looks on with anticipation. "I need you to choose another two heroes to go after Alpha. Like before, I got to stick around, so you got three combinations to choose from…"

Alex looks on at those who remain. Out of the three options the boy right away considers Mario and Luigi to go after Dimentio. Not only do they have experience fighting the jester, but they are able to easily work in tangent no matter what situation is flung their way. But at the same time Mario stills is looking towards Alpha with scorn in his eyes, and it would be best to save one Mario Bros. to go fight Cackletta. So with the other option eliminated, there is one left for the boy to choose. "Alright…Luigi, Driad, I think you two should go fight Dimentio."

The man in green is surprised by Alex's decision. He was certain for a moment that he would've been fighting alongside his brother, especially considering that the boy was looking his way. It is not that he had a problem with teaming up with the Crayzee Dayzee, but Luigi was a little concerned that he might not be taking everything that has happened so far seriously enough. After all, not much had been said by him since they entered the ship. However, he was not going to open his mouth to object, and he looks away from the flower not a moment afterwards. "Very well then. Just give me a few seconds to set up and-"

Alpha's words are interrupted by the interested muttering of an unknown being, which echoes through the eardrums of everyone in the room. This is followed up by the being speaking to the heroes, the Commander in particular "Oh how magnificent. I must express that I was certainly in the mood for chess today, and here you are setting up the pieces so intricately for me to play with…" The all too familiar voice sends a chill down Luigi's spine, as space distorts around a specific point in the center area above where the main heroes have gathered.

Appearing from that distortion is a playful looking figure, whose body floats casually above all around him. His mid-region is covered completely in a cloak made entirely out tie-shaped cloths, which alternate between a pale-ish yellow and an exotic looking purple-pink mixture. Attacked to the cloak are pitch black rectangular legs and mountain-like feet, both of which have white outlines to them. His hands float out only a small distance from his body, and the fingers lack the curves normally seen on a human's, though their colors remain roughly the same as that of the legs and feet. His face is split into two different colors. One side is black with a yellow eye, and the other is a pale ivory with a black eye. The eyes along with his reddish mouth are shaped like crescent moons, none of which move an inch. His hat is composed of larger versions of the cloths on his cloak, only with yellow squares attached corner-first to the purple ones. After stretching his cloak out gracefully to the group, the jester known as Dimentio puts his hands away without a single trace of them remaining.

"Hello one and all, 'tis I, the Master of dimensions, the pleaser of crowds…I am…Dimentio!" After his brief and playful sounding introduction, the M.S.I. soldiers sitting in the chairs around the room immediately turn around with guns cocked and ready to fire at the jester. Lasers aimed from the scopes leave bright red dots scattered around the being's body, but he doesn't even flinch in their presence. "Now now, hasn't your Commander ever told you that you aren't supposed to attack with provocation? Alas, I must teach you the error of following your misguided beliefs…"

Dimentio swiftly summons his right and snaps his fingers. Suddenly, a box is drawn around each of the soldier's weapons, their existences being traced carefully so as to not engulf the hands that hold them. After he has finished creating them the jester summons his other hand and lets out a callous laugh. "The play's second act has begun, so let us start things off with a bang, shall we?" With another snap of the fingers a series of detonations go off inside of the pre-made boxes, which break apart so the soldiers are hit with a couple of them as their guns are destroyed.

But even with his men flung back into their chairs with the damage dealt to them, Alpha does not bat an eyelid at the jester's mischievous behavior. "What do you think you are doing here Dimentio?" He says in a tone that has a underlying threatening feel to it. "My, are we on edge today or what? You know, you should seriously consider taking off that mask you are wearing Alpha…It is probably cutting off the circulation to whatever is left of that brain of yours." Dimentio's comment was meant to get underneath the Commander's skin, but as his dull folding of the arms proves the words had no effect on his psyche, and the jester disappointedly moves his hands away.

"It really is such a bore when you try to deal with those who have experienced so much else before…By the way, my most esteemed Commander, don't you think those arms of yours are getting a bit worn out after all the times you've used them to play with strings?" Alpha raises an eyebrow. He knew what Dimentio was getting at right away, but didn't see the purpose in him being cryptic about it. "You got ten seconds before we all come at you, so choose your next action wisely." The Commander gives his threat without a hint of emotion, and the jester tilts his head to look down at the heroes. Each of them are prepping themselves to fight him, with the man in green in particular having a vicious look in his eyes.

This expression fills the void in Dimentio's heart with glee, and after bringing his hands back out he turns himself away so he is no longer looking at anyone in the room. "Hmm…As much as I enjoy a good scuffle I would rather have a chance of victory…You already chose the two that were going to come after me, correct? Well, I hope you don't mind if I…Whisk them away for a bit." With a quick snap of the fingers a two-dimensional outline draws itself in front of Luigi and Driad. Though it only covered two side of their bodies the two heroes found themselves incapable of escaping it, even when they attempt to pound against the front with their fists.

After a few more seconds the panel flips around, taking the elements of the area surrounding the two heroes for a couple spins before Luigi and Driad vanish from sight, the outline leaving from view as a wave of distorted energy ripples the air. Mario, Alex and Alpha are mortified by this sudden development, but before the plumber and the Commander can retaliate against Dimentio the jester lets out an overjoyed laugh. "Hahaha…The looks on your faces, it is an intoxicating sensation…But I'm afraid that I now have other guests to entertain. Seeing as this will be our last meeting, I must bid you all adeiu!" With a cheerful farewell space once again distorts around the jester, and he vanishes from the area. Mario is left looking on in utter disbelief as he nervously extend his left hand out. He has a hard time letting the words emerge from his lips, but eventually he just says one thing in the saddest tone that he can muster… "Luigi…."

_Next Time: The Realm of the Void_


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Alone in the Black and White**

"Wake up…Wake up…" A voice calls out to the man in green, whose body has been knocked unconscious due to being forced to travel through dimensions. He is being shaken back and forth, these gentle movements slowly but surely waking him from his condition. His eyelids creak open, and upon looking up he realizes that he is on his back. A pained mumble slips through his lips, and the one who spoke to him removes his fibrous arms from his stomach and gets on his feet. It was Driad, who upon seeing his friend waking up gets an overzealous smile on his face and does a joyous leap into the air. Luigi lifts his head up as it throbs in pain, signifying that he fell from the sky upon entering this strange dimension.

"Alright! Nice to know that you are alive and well Luigi!" The Crayzee Dayzee exclaims, his vines pressed together in front of his face as the man in green gets back on his feet and looks at his surroundings. There was nothing but pitch black darkness in the sky, and the only thing stopping his heart from skipping a beat is that he looks down and sees a white traced pathway. "Yeah…Well I wouldn't say that we are in a good situation Driad…" Luigi voices his concern and turns to look at the living flower, who loses his cheerful expression and exchanges it for one of curiosity.

"Yeah, no kidding…Just where did that Dimentio guy send us too?" The Crayzee Dayzee clearly did not recognize the environment, but as the man in green takes another look forward he notices a faint glimmer that might come from a flame or some other source of light. It was an odd sight to see in this realm, but it sparked a sensation of remembrance within the man in green's mind. "I think I may know…Darn him though, now he has cut us off from the others, so they have no way of knowing our condition." Luigi snaps his fingers out of anger, while Driad moves his vines towards the left side of his head.

The man in green notices this action and tilts his head. "What are you doing Driad?" He asks, his emotions in control so he can focus on his ally for the time being. "I'm going to contact Alpha real quick and let him know that we are alive." The Crayzee Dayzee's response surprises the plumber, who was unaware of Driad having a communicator. "Wait, when did you get a communicator from Alpha?" He then decides to ask. "He gave one to me after you and Mario left to eat." That comment took Luigi aback. Neither he nor Mario told Driad where they went off to, so for him to know that information is a big enough hint that Alpha overheard their conversation. Granted, the little flower could've pieced together everything on his own, but that just doesn't seem likely considering how the Commander usually acts.

But that's not important right now. After thinking about the implications of Alpha sharing what he knew with Driad, he was overcome with a feeling of relief over the fact that he would be able to assure his brother that he was alive. "Alright, send the signal to them then." With Luigi's approval Driad activates the device, static at first filling his eardrums as it tries to establish a connection. Eventually it comes through, and the first thing heard is _"Hello? Who is this?" _Which is quite obviously asked by Alpha. "Commander Alpha? It's me, Driad." The Crayzee Dayzee is met with silence for a few seconds after his response, as the Goomba takes a moment on the other line to run the sound waves of Driad's voice through a scanner to make sure that he isn't speaking to an impostor.

When the results come up positive, Alpha keeps his surprise hidden as he moves one arm towards a button on the side of his chair so any further words spoken are heard by Mario as well. "Nice to see that you are alive and well Driad.." The first part of the Commander's sentence is heard by the distraught plumber, whose emotions immediately light up upon hearing the Crayzee Dayzee's name being spoken. "My thoughts exactly Alpha…Luigi and I have been teleported to this strange black and white dimension, and Dimentio is nowhere to be found." Driad moves his head around, and though it is faint Mario's relieved sigh can be heard coming from the other side.

"_Black and white dimension you say?"_ Alpha notes with a tone of familiarity. _"Well, looks like the jester did my job for me, since that was the place I was going to send the both of you too…"_ "Well isn't that convenient…" Luigi notes with sarcasm, and this doesn't go undetected by the Commander. _"Convenient as it may be, it is also something to take concern over as you traverse the dimension…Dimentio brought you there, so that means that you are playing by his rules. I can't send reinforcements now since it is more than likely the jester warped the pocket dimension you are in to another location on the dimensional spectrum. This also means your only hope of escape is to stop him so I can get a lock onto your location. I wish you both the best of luck…"_

Driad nods his head, understanding full well the current situation they are in thanks to the jester's meddling, but before he shuts the device off the Commander says something else. _"Mario, you want to say something to your brother before we sign off?" _The question was surprising to say the least, and both brothers are taken aback by it. "I guess Alpha is able to show some empathy…" The man in green thinks to himself. _"Luigi, can you hear me?" _Mario calls out from the other line. "Yeah bro, I can." Luigi says in a cheery tone. _"Good…Luigi…Go and show Dimentio what for!" _It was a short line, but it displayed the plumber's faith in his brother in a rather subtle manner. This clue is picked up on by the man in green, who nods his head once thinking that his brother would somehow know that he replied that way.

The communication is then cut off from the other side, leaving the two heroes alone to face Dimentio in this foreign dimension. "You ready to go Luigi?" Driad then says without a hint of hesitation present in his voice, his head turned to the man in green as he expresses surprise over the flower's sudden change in demeanor. His eyebrows we slanted slightly, and his eyes exuded confidence. He seemed much different than before, and Luigi can't help but reply to this behavior with a determined nod. There was only two ways to go, but the heroes knew that going backwards wouldn't get them anywhere, so they proceeded in the direction of the faint glow in front of them.

Along the way something pops into Driad's head. Out of everyone remaining in the group of heroes he was the only one who knew nothing about the being they are going to be facing. Luigi did, however, and the little flower saw fit to inquire about him before he shows up. "Luigi, can I ask you something?" Driad says, hoping that the man in green would figure what he was about to ask him and thus give him permission to continue. "Hmm?" Luigi, focused on another matter in his mind, stops his line of thought after hearing his ally speak to him. "What is it Driad?" He then says in response.

"How do you know Dimentio exactly? I can infer from the details that he is a villain that you and Mario fought in the past, but just what were the circumstances that led to you encountering him?" Luigi was glad to hear the question, and he was more than happy to shed some light on the matter. He slows down his pace for a moment so he can stand beside the Crayzee Dayzee, and then he brings one up beside his face so he can begin talking. "You see, we came across Dimentio when a being by the name of Count Bleck threatened all of existence by forcing Peach and Bowser into a marriage that called forth the Chaos Heart, and object of unimaginable destruction that brought forth a phenomenon known as The Void into existence."

"The Void threatened to consume all worlds, leaving blank white slates in their place unless the Chaos Heart's power was neutralized by the eight Pure Hearts. With Bowser and Peach's help, Mario and I worked to gather the Hearts, but along the way we met Dimentio, who worked under Bleck for unknown reasons. He got in our way many times on our journey, but no one could have ever suspected his true motives…When we eventually reached Bleck's Castle I fought the jester on my own while Mario went on ahead to take care of the Count. However, Dimentio managed to escape after I beat him, where he later went on to betray Bleck. He revealed that he was manipulating events in tune with the Dark Prognosticus, the book of grim prophecies, so he can gain the Chaos Heart's power for himself and remake all worlds in his image. He fused with it and became Super Dimentio, and were it not for a close friend of ours' love for Bleck restoring the Pure Hearts we wouldn't be alive at this very moment."

"So he is a trickster then?" Driad says after Luigi has finished his explanation, pondering about everything said as he rubs his chin with his eyes closed. "Pretty much. Though I do wonder how he survived, especially considering the only reason things ended up getting as out of control as they did is BECAUSE Dimentio died to accelerate the process of the worlds' destruction." Luigi adds on to what he previous stated. "…Say, what happened to Bleck after all was said and done?" The Crayzee Dayzee then decided to inquire on. "…" The man in green was silent for a moment, his head turned away from the little flower as he tilts his own head and looks on waiting for an answer from the hesitant plumber.

Luigi finally turns back towards his ally with a melancholy look in his eyes. "It is kind of a sad story involving Bleck…Or rather, the man who used to go by the name of Blumiere. The reason he followed the Dark Prognosticus and in turn tried to destroy all worlds is because he thought the love of his life, Lady Timpani, had vanished from existence. He felt a despair like no other, and sought the Chaos Heart to take everyone else with him. But Timpani was alive, reborn as the Pixl Tippi that followed us throughout our journey. The two reunited in Bleck's castle, and after Dimentio died the two accepted their love upon a holy altar, and with their emotions in sync with the Pure Hearts the Chaos Heart was finally stopped and all the damage was undone…At the cost of both of their lives."

This revelation shocked Driad immensely, a horrified gasp emerging from his mouth as Luigi closes his eyelids and recalls his thoughts on the Count. "Sure Bleck seemed like a bad guy at first, but he was merely a victim of circumstances, which Dimentio was more than glad to take advantage of to accomplish his goals…" "That's bullshit!" Driad suddenly blurts out near the end of Luigi's sentence, which takes him aback due to how unexpected the proclamation was. The two heroes stop momentarily as the Crayzee Dayzee clenches his vines and looks at the man in green with anger brimming in his eyes.

"They had to sacrifice their own lives to save everyone? So what if they saved existence, what does that matter if they no longer exist themselves? Especially after everything that had to happen for them to be reunited in the first place!" Luigi was completely shocked by this point. He really hadn't expected the Crayzee Dayzee to take such a vocal offense to the story of Bleck and Tippi's sacrifice, especially considering that the flower never knew either of them before in his life. "Driad…Sometimes sacrifices have to be made to save the world, you do know that right?" The man in green offers the question as a counterargument, but Driad wasn't willing to back down on something he was strongly against.

"What is the point of making a sacrifice if you hurt those around you? I bet Bleck and Tippi both had people in the world that still cared for them, did they take into consideration all that when they threw their mortal bodies away to destroy the Chaos Heart. Did they think that maybe, just maybe, they wouldn't be able to live with their sacrifice?" Driad was unaware of some of the details, and Luigi blames himself for neglecting them. But he decides not to say anything, for he wanted to see where the flower was going.

"Take the Genesis Samurais for example, who gave their life in a futile attempt to stop Joe Dark! They worked hard to reunite with their master, but they sacrificed their mortal bodies and robbed themselves of their chance to see him again or serve the boy who took in his spirits and powers! And even the Elemental Overlord is not exempt from my ire! He created me, he is my father, but because he gave up his mortal body I can't even embrace him! I wanted to wrap my arms around him after I regained my memories and he was reborn, but I can't embrace Alex as a replacement because he is someone else entirely! I will never be able to show my new master any affection either, because every time I would try and do so I would just regret the fact that I can never see the physical form of my father ever again! …That's why I always look like I'm feeling aloof as of recent days, because I'm trying to cope with these thoughts of mine by…Well, not thinking anything. Don't think that I don't understand what needed to be done Luigi…I just hate the way it had to be resolved, that's all…"

Luigi was left in absolute silence. He knew nothing of this level of depth to Driad's personality, and now that he did he regretted being the one who brought it to the surface. "Driad…" He murmurs once in disbelief, and the Crayzee Dayzee takes a moment to catch his breath before he responds. "Luigi, what should I do in regards to Alex?" He asks in a curious yet bittersweet tone, but the man in green didn't know how to reply to it. "That's not something I can give advice on…You need to express your views to him and see what he says, that's the best I can come up with." Luigi finally says after folding his arms to pause and think. With them unraveled from his chest he looks at Driad, who grins from cheek to cheek and does a tiny nod. "You're right, I'll have a talk with him after everything blows over. Thank you for suggesting that Luigi…"

The man in green nods once, but as he turns his head back "Oh, and by the way…" With something left to say Luigi turns back to Driad, who has his vines wrapped behind himself with a light blush in his cheeks. "Sorry for trying to thrust my problems onto you…" "Don't concern yourself over it, I was more than glad to help." Luigi says as an acceptment of the sentiment. "Yeah…" Driad moves his vines away and nods. "Now, it is time for us to fight and beat Dimentio, and rest assured I will be by your side as we do it!" There is a pause before Luigi weakly nods and turns his head so it is facing straight ahead, a look of disappointment on his face thanks to the ever-present fact that there were a few details in his story that he either lied to or withheld from the flower. But with a feeling of caution kept in their minds the two heroes start to briskly trek down the path set before them.

Not too long after they depart they look up to see little glowing white lights appearing in the sky, which seem to represent stars. Following this is the appearance of torches with black flames and a white glow. More and more Luigi was putting the pieces together, and it was rather foreboding that he knew just where they were at. But that wasn't enough, he thought it was just a mind game that Dimentio was playing on him to throw him off-guard. It would be like him to do so, after all. However, the man in green truly wasn't prepared for what was coming across the horizon. In the shadow of its former glory was the remains of a once massive castle, whose towers and archways had been broken apart by some unknown force. The black and white walls were distorted, obviously it was done by the jester. But even his presence doesn't explain the rest of the castle's state, nor does it go as far as to detail just how it could still be around.

Luigi lets out an overly surprised gasp, which Driad overhears as the man in green suddenly stops in place. "Luigi?" The Crayzee Dayzee says out of concern and curiosity before he turns his own body around and tilts his head. "What is it?" He then inquires. "If I must take a guess, it is probably the fact that this castle…Shall I say…Sparked, a memory from the past?" The familiar, playful voice calls to the two heroes from afar, and after Driad spins around and Luigi flinches in surprise space warps in the air in front of them and the jester makes his presence known. He bows to the two heroes, who prepare themselves for battle. "Ah, like a cheetah to the prey you are quick to go on the offense. But I come bearing no ill-will…Yet." Dimentio states in a subdued tone.

"Yeah, sure you aren't…" Luigi says in a way that expresses that he is not buying a single word the jester is stating, and his eyebrows slant to show his rising anger. He hasn't busted out his Thunderhand yet, but he will the moment Dimentio makes a move. But the jester stays absolutely motionless, his charming yet sarcastic grin staying ever present as he shifts his eyes between the two figures. "Are you both upset? Curious, I haven't done anything today to earn your hatred…Especially not to you, Mr. L." It was a name that the man in green would rather not have heard in his lifetime ever again, a name that Dimentio knew full well would rattle his mind and provoke him into attacking.

But he kept himself calm, and even with his face grimacing in anger he never budged and inch from where he stood. Driad, on the other hand, repeats the name upon hearing it being mentioned and turns his head around to look at his ally. "Luigi, what is he talking about?" He asks. "It is nothing Driad, it is just a nickname he invented to unnerve me!" The man in green says as quickly as he possibly could, but Dimentio simply chuckles at Luigi's attempt to hide the truth. Instead of revealing it though, he decides to act like he normally would to taunt the two heroes.

"Anyways…I must welcome the two of you to my new home dimension. Yes, as you have guessed Mr. L, this is the subdued interior of The Void, where the ruins of the once high and mighty Castle Bleck now exist, unattended to by anyone. Like a speck of dust on a newly furnished desk, this dimension now serves only as a haphazard blemish in the grand scheme of things…But do not concern yourself with despair in this empty realm, for you have me to keep you both company~" Driad stands firm against Dimentio's words, brandishing his sword in front of him with a determined expression bearing him down. The jester is, to say the least, surprised by this action.

"The only blemish around here is you, and we are going to do all in our power to remove you!" The Crayzee Dayzee then boasts. The jester claps his hands joyfully a few times in response. "Wonderful, wonderful, I do enjoy seeing such an enthusiastic young warrior…It makes it all the more pleasant for me when I finally break them…" The second part of his sentence is said as a whisper, and with nothing more to bring to the table Dimentio snaps his fingers and vanishes out of sight. But the echoes of his void still exist through the realm. "Oh, and by the by…Be on the look out for any bugs lurking in the castle, and squish them just as you plan on squishing poor, pitiful me…Ta-ta!" With that said the doors of Castle Bleck creak open, their rusted hinges barely managing to budge. The two heroes lower out of their battle poses, and Driad turns his arm back to normal. "…Well, that was rather pointless advice…" The Crayzee Dayzee admits, but Luigi knows that there is more to Dimentio's words than what was led on. However, with their pathway opened before them now was not the time to linger on that matter. The two heroes make their way to the castle, the doors slamming shut after they pass through it…

_Next Time: Fragments of the Castl_


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Champion of Destruction**

The two heroes are making their way through the castle with relative ease, though there was really no reason to even suspect that there would be anyone alive after all that had once occurred in here. A chill goes down Driad's back, dissent noticeable in the air in spite of or possibly because of the empty hallways that they are traversing through. Though the hollow arched windows the sky remains the same, though there are chaotic violet clouds looming just off in the distance. "I don't get it Luigi…How can we be inside The Void if Bleck and Tippi's sacrifice stopped the Chaos Heart?" The flower suddenly asks.

The man in green had no answer, mainly due to his own bewilderment taking hold in his mind. "I…I really can't tell you." He then states in a hesitant manner. "I see…" Driad mutters out of disappointment. Both of them wanted an answer, but neither knew enough to say for certain what was going on with this dimension, nor did they know just why Dimentio bothered to bring them here. There was no evidence suggesting why present before them, so they continued to walk until they reach a doorway with white, mystic looking engravings carved into it. They pull the doors open, walking through it to reach a hallway full of mirrors on both walls.

"Well, this is a familiar sight…" Luigi bemoans as the doors shut themselves up tight behind him and Driad. "How so?" The Crayzee Dayzee then asks while turning his head to look at the somewhat agitated man in green. "Mario and I traversed this hallway before, and Dimentio ambushed us by using clones of his to attack from inside the mirrors. It wasn't exactly a pleasant experience, and that isn't even getting into the room with hundreds of Dimentio clones." There was a key bit of information in Luigi's rather lackadaisical explanation that had to do with a question that had been on both heroes' minds, and Driad had decided to bring it to the man in green's attention. "Dimentio can create copies of himself? …And you wonder why he is still alive…"

It was a rather piercing remark; it was something that Luigi had never once taken into consideration since the news of the jester's revival had become apparent. But now he was thinking about that possibility, and the more that he did think about it the quicker it dawned to him that Driad's tirade about sacrifices had more of a point to it than what he originally thought it did. If it was a clone that Dimentio used to fuse with the Chaos Heart, then that means that Bleck and Tippi sacrificed themselves for nothing, since the main responsible for the turmoil was still alive.

"Darn it all…" At first Luigi stays subdued, trying his hardest to suppress the anger welling up inside of him. It occurred to him. Dimentio kept this room intact when most others had been destroyed or sealed off by the rubble, just for the purpose of reminding him of the clones so either he or Driad would come to the appropriate revelation about his continued existence. But then something else came to mind. How could he know what they were talking about, when he wasn't present at the time of the discussion? That's when the man in green realized the truth, that in this dimension the jester could hear everything no matter where they stood, and he was going to use every bit of information possible to break the two heroes' psyche and thus make them easier to defeat.

His fists clenched tightly in anger, Luigi couldn't bear the thought of having Dimentio get away with anymore of his mischief and mayhem. He takes one step forward before launching himself suddenly into a run, Driad flinching in surprise before he calls out "Luigi, what's wrong?" To which the man in green gives no reply to as he leaps over one of the nearby pits and continues to sprint towards the door at the other side of the hallway. Not wanting to lose him, the Crayzee Dayzee makes chase, following him as he heads through the doorway without any hesitation.

Driad could tell, it really wasn't hard to see that Luigi was horrified by the point that he had brought to his attention. But the man in green was running blindly towards what was quite possibly a trap. Then it dawned on the flower. "Wait a second…Mentioning that The Void is inactive…Bringing us both to the wreckage of Castle Bleck…The machine that Smithy made…" As these thoughts were being made the Crayzee Dayzee was putting them all together, a sweat of dew forming on his vacant forehead as he comes to a startling conclusion. "Oh no…Dimentio is luring Luigi deep within the castle, and he is going to use Smithy's machine to recreate the Chaos Heart and fuse with it, thus allowing him to take revenge on Luigi for beating him the first time around…And then he'll activate The Void and destroy all worlds, succeeding where he once failed since the Pure Hearts are no longer around to stop him!"

Driad grits his teeth in determination and hastens his movements, his body inching closer and closer to Luigi with each passing second. As he thinks about the basics of Dimentio's plan he blurts out in vigor "Not if I have anything to say about it!" After which he leaps out once he is only a foot away from the man in green, his vines wrapping around his gut before they are both knocked to the ground just seconds away from an imposing, grandiose staircase. The dust that flies into the air from them skidding along the floor falls down, and the flower starts to breathe heavily, his lungs somewhat devoid of oxygen after minutes of constant running.

He pulls his arms away from Luigi's body, standing and getting off his back so he in turn can have a chance to recover without the pressure of his weight cutting off his circulation. It takes a few seconds in this quiet atmosphere, but Luigi starts breathing again and he presses his hands to weakly raise himself up, his feet working in conjunction with them to get him standing up again. He lightly dusts his overalls off before turning around to look at the exhausted Driad with a guilt-ridden look in his eyes. He knew what he had done, and after looking at the ground briefly he lifts his head up and says "Sorry for running off Driad…" In the most apologetic tone he can muster.

"It's alright Luigi…I get that you want to stop Dimentio for good, but you shouldn't just run off without me. He wants you alone, to finish what he started during your last encounter." Luigi nods, both heroes returning to their normal pace of breathing not a moment later. "I understand that, and I'm once again sorry for what I did…But Driad, I need to tell you some-" "Bleh heh heh heh!" A familiar, echoing laughter cuts the man in green off, and only he freezes in place upon hearing it. The reasons he reacts like this is because such a noise shouldn't have been made, not now, and not ever again.

The laugh came from the top of the stairs, and after Luigi turns around he holds his hand out and says to Driad "Hold that thought…" before he advances up each step set in front of him. The Crayzee Dayzee follows in tow until they reach the foreboding doorway at the top, where they then stands together as they enter through it. On the other side is room enclosed on the sides with a plethora of cubes floating across the air, the pieces of the collapsed ceiling scattered across the floor near the walls. There is not a single being in sight at first, but that did little to ease the heroes' minds.

"This is where it all ended…" Luigi thinks to himself, remembering the people present when the final battle against Dimentio occurred. Suddenly, three two-dimensional boxes appear, flips space where they float and cause three figures to appear in their place. The man in green is quickly taken aback, for the three that have appeared have no reason to be here. There was a man whose body was wrapped entirely in a cloak, his right detached hand floating near the left side of his body with a jeweled scepter in his grasp. His squared fanged face as a monocle covering the left eye, and a large top hat on the top of his head. The second figure is a bulky man with fists that are the same size as his feet, and a raggedy beard attached to his googly eyed face. The final figure is a little girl with a square head and hair pieces that have no curves to them. Attached to her dress are her stick-like arms and legs.

"No, no…He didn't…" Luigi mutters a few times to reassure himself that what he is seeing isn't real, and Driad soon senses the distraught coming from his ally. "Luigi, what's wrong?" He asks. "Dimentio…That damn jester revived Bleck and took control of Mimi and O'Chunks' minds!" The Crayzee Dayzee lets out a horrified gasp upon hearing the first name, but finds that he doesn't recognize the other two at all. "Mimi and O'Chunks?" He repeats in a questioning tone. "They served Bleck, but unlike Dimentio they were both loyal to him…They lived through the events in Flipside, but now…" With the man in green's response comes a release of anger from Driad's mind, as the Crayzee Dayzee turns to the figures and scowls in disgust. "Does that jester have no moral boundaries?" After angrily declaring his increasing hatred of the jester, the figures move closer to the heroes, their full appearances being revealed under the dim lights in the sky.

Turns out they are not the real versions, but monochrome copies forged via magic, as their auras indicate. That doesn't make things better for either hero, who grit their teeth and realize that they will have to battle these fakes against their will. The Bleck clone unfurls his cloak, his floating hands stretched out as far as possible as he looks at Luigi. "I know nothing about love, so declares Count Bleck!" The other copies follow suit in speaking, with Mimi going first with "DOOFUSES DOOFUSES DOOFUSES" and O'Chunks with "I must chunk the chunking chunk out of you chunky chunker chunks."

It was an absolute disgrace, these copies were quite literally shadows of the real deals, their personality traits stripped to the bare minimum. It was insulting to hear them speak, and it only managed to increase Luigi's desire to murder Dimentio for his dishonorable crimes. But these obstacles had to be overcome for justice to be delivered to the jester, and the man in green prepares his Thunderhand for battle. "Driad…I'm going to fight Mimi and O'Chunks…You take care of Bleck, got it?" Luigi gives his order, and with his leafy blade ready to go Driad gives the man in green a light nod without turning to look at him and charges forth towards the cloaked Count.

Bleck's clone raises the cane of his scepter, blocking the blade of Driad's sword and the force of the blow proves to be strong enough to send both fighters through the air away from the other two clones, who stand motionless as their "master" is hit. Luigi presses his hands together and then pulls them apart, streams of electricity moving between the two palms as he looks on at Mimi and O'Chunks' apparitions. "I never fought the two of you…But I don't think I should have too much trouble." The man in green gives his thoughts and runs forward, ready to engage the two clones in battle.

With Driad however, he has driven Bleck close to the wall on the other side of the room, but with a sly smile the fake count is suddenly surrounded by the 2-D box from earlier, his body vanishing after it flips twice and leaving the Crayzee Dayzee still propelling through the air until the tip of his blade impales itself into the surface set before him. Driad turns his feet and plants them against the wall, wrapping his other vine around the blade in an attempt to pull it out. But Bleck's doppelganger was not about to let his prey escape on his own accord, and after reappearing behind him the count swings his cape up wide.

Following this the jewel on his scepter glows dimly, and a rip in the vacuum of space opens up below him. This is an imitation black hole, whose powerful suction targets everyone who is not the creator of the phenomenon. Driad's head is forced back, his body slowly being dragged towards the black hole against his will. Once his blade is thrust out of the wall, the rest of the flower's body goes along with it. Though with this moment of supposed helplessness comes a moment of opportunity, as Driad takes his other vine and thrusts it with all of his might towards Count Bleck's scepter in hopes of wrenching it free from his control.

But the black hole is of course the stronger force here, and despite the speed of Driad's vine it too gets dragged towards the phenomena, which in turn speeds up the process of him getting sucked into it. Once he has been fully consumed by the black hole the Crayzee Dayzee can feel the excruciating pain coming from his body as his molecules are being slowly turn apart and everything around him continues to spin without end. It wasn't just an attack on all sections of his body, but every individual fragment from molecule to atom to electron and neuron felt like it was on the path to death.

But the phenomena could not be maintained for long, and after it is broken by the count Driad is spat out against the wall, his body slamming there with the force of a thousand bricks, cracking the surface in a radius of twenty feet. Needless to say this puts the Crayzee Dayzee out of commission for a few seconds, as he creaks his eyelids open and uses all of his might to wrench himself free. But in that span of time Bleck swings his scepter to summon forth a glob of dark energy that is then flung at the flower.

As Driad starts to descend after being freed the glob hits him due to his somewhat lowered guard, knocking him back into the wall, and in turn sending him hurtling face-first onto the floor only a moment later. Using his sword as a balancer, the Crayzee Dayzee brings his head up and grits his teeth. He was being battered without anyway of defending himself, but Driad knew what was to blame for his situation. The scepter in the grasp of Bleck's fake, the aura of its jewel matching that of…The thin one surrounding his body. Upon making a connection between the two, the flower came up with a theory. "Of course! The scepter must be the catalyst keeping this copy of Bleck around, if I get rid of it then this fake should vanish as well!"

It was ok that he spoke his plan out loud, since the clone had no rationality to its movements and thus wouldn't do anything differently upon hearing it. But even so, this would prove to be a difficult endeavor. His imitation black hole and seemingly unguardable projectiles were stuff that Driad was incapable of overcoming right now, and he wasn't about to bust out his Star Spirit powers when Dimentio still needed to be dealt with. As he gets on his feet he thinks about the vacuum of the black hole, and with that in mind he comes up with a plan to deal with Bleck's clone right on the spot.

However, for it to work he needed to force the count to resort to using the phenomena. Leaping into the air before the copy had time to react, Driad thrusts his sword forward and cuts right through the cloak, impaling the blade right into the chest. The Crayzee Dayzee feels the wet flesh pressing against the dull side of his blade, but the count doesn't react in the slightest to what should be an unbearable amount of pain. There was no sense of feeling within this clone, no emotions or thoughts besides those fabrications created by Dimentio. With this rather grim thought in his mind Driad pulls his blade out before the count can take a swipe at him with his scepter.

The attack narrowly cuts across the flower's chest before he falls to the ground. After that Bleck flies towards the cubes, thin red shadows of his form following behind him as his speed increases. The flower follows him, leaping as high as he can in order to land on a cube just inches away from the location where Bleck ends his flight, taking a slash with his sword and successfully cutting his cloak in half. The cloth falls gently to the ground, and the clone falls back a bit to avoid another cut from his opponent. He then swings his scepter to send another dark glob at the Crayzee Dayzee, who leaps over the shot and performs a flip to get above the count and land on the cube behind him. The shot connects with the cube he was previous on and causes it to collapse upon itself.

With a twist of his body Driad shoots his free vine out towards the scepter, but when it wraps around the jewel it begins to glow dimly, the fibers wrapped around disintegrating without a trace. The rest of the vine begins regenerating while it retracts, and the Crayzee Dayzee leaps out once the count turns around. With his blade ready he performs a diagonal slash, but this is guarded by the scepter's staff. Following up on this, the flower uses his momentum and presses down on the blade, flipping himself over the count and successfully slashing towards the face. However, the only damage done is that the top hat is cleaved in two, the upper half falling towards the ground.

With his wardrobe wrecked by the Crayzee Dayzee, the Bleck clone waits for Driad to land on another cube before he turns around and spreads his arms out wide. With his scepter glowing a black hole starts to form. This is the chance Driad was waiting for, and he flips his body around and extends the vines on his feet so they wrap themselves around as tightly as possible on the cube. Then, before the suction takes hold he thrusts his blade arm through the air above the count, his trajectory decided ahead of time after he had taken the force of the phenomena into consideration.

Finally the vacuum from the black hole starts to drag everything around it in, and even with the reinforcement applied to his feet the cube is also being dragged it. But the events were already put in motion, and Driad's victory was all but assured. His blade arcs through the air and flies towards the black hole, but with the way things were moved it first has another target to hit. The tip of the blade collides with the jewel of the scepter, shattering it into a million bits thanks to the velocity it had built up. Within that instant the black hole subsides, and with a motionless expression on his face the clone vaporizes into dust that scatters throughout the air. Driad brings his weapon back and laments over what he had to do, but knows that he is not to blame for the fake's existence, and that Dimentio is the one who he should direct his hatred towards.

On Luigi's side of things, he isn't faring as well as his flowery friend, since he is facing two opponents at the same time. The Mimi clone has red, jagged jewels called Rubees surrounding her body as a shield, and on occasion she rapid-fires them at the man in green. They impale themselves into the ground, a couple just narrowly cutting through the cloth on Luigi's sleeves and overalls. When he isn't busy sidestepping and somersault past projectiles, he is being punched and manhandled by O'Chunks. At this very moment, he is in the bulky man's grasp, where he is then tossed up into the air like a rag doll.

Following up this movement by leaping into the air himself, O'Chunks' copy claps his hands together to crush the defenseless Luigi before proceeding to mesh his fingers to grab onto him and flip his body around. Spinning in circles as he reaches the peak of his jump, the massive man rapidly descends until he collides with the ground, fracturing the floor and sending chunks of the ground up at the same time. Letting go of Luigi, O'Chunks gets on his feet and jumps away, doing a rather goofy dance that, considering the overall mood of the battle, is very off-putting. Next, Mimi takes the Rubees that have been impaled onto the ground and brings them close to her body, letting them spin around for a couple seconds before bombarding Luigi with them.

There is no precision to her shots, so many of them miss their desired target. One does manage to scrape against the man in green's left shoulder, a cut forming and causing blood to drip from it out onto the jewel. With his muscles weakened by the previous attack the cut was more painful than Luigi thought it would be, but he grits his teeth through the pain and quickly gets on his feet, though he is almost thrown off-balance by the change in the battlefield's surface. With a quick turn of the head he notices Driad finishing off Bleck's clone, and quickly comes to the same conclusion he did, that the clones of Mimi and O'Chunks have catalysts that keep them tethered to this world.

For O'Chunks it was clear as day that his was his beard, since it had a dim glow around it. But Mimi's was a little harder to notice at first, since there were so many Rubees floating around her body. There was one above her head at the moment that had a faint aura, so all Luigi had to do was destroy that one and he'd be done with her. There was a way to take care of both of them at once, but the man in green had to act fast.

Leaping into the air, Luigi swipes the glowing Rubee before Mimi's clone can react. The sharp edges cut through the cloth of the glove and scrape the skin underneath, but despite wincing in pain slightly he lands on the ground with the jewel gripped in hand. He turns around as the O'Chunks clone does the same, his hand thrusting out and sending the Rubee hurtling right towards his beard. While he is turned to his side the sharp jewel cleaves nicely through the beard, and with his catalyst destroyed the fake disintegrates like Bleck did. The Rubee lands on the ground, but before Mimi's clone can pick it up with her powers the man in green rushes forward through the blackened dust and swipes it up off the ground.

After which he turns around, the fake firing another Rubee aimed right at his chest. Luigi knew he couldn't destroy this catalyst on his own, that it would take something of equal strength to break it. So with another flick of the wrist the jewel in his hand is flung post-haste, the two objects meeting in the middle and breaking apart into scattered bits, but those turn to dust along with the body of Mimi and the remainder of the Rubees surrounding her. The job was done, all three blasphemous creations were dealt with, and though it was done so shortly just the mere fact that the event did happen did nothing but increase the two heroes' bile towards the callous jester.

The two take a moment to catch their breath, but before they can get back together two-dimensional boxes surround their bodies. Space is warped inside of that area, teleporting them both away from the ruined castle. After a few seconds of one-dimensional travel they are brought to a new location, their bodies put in such a way that they are now side-by-side. There is no ground where they stand, the multi-colored sky filled with miniature stars and other spacial phenomena such as comets, meteors and a few harmless wormholes. Wondering just where they are at now, the two heroes move their heads back and forth to examine the scenario, the lack of a floor making their hearts skip a beat. But before they can ponder out loud, space warps before their very eyes, and the target of their hatred appears in plain sight.

Dimentio, with his ever-present smile, looks at the two heroes, his eyes brimming with sadistic glee. "So Mr. L, how did you enjoy squishing those bugs?" It was said in a taunting tone, and with his eyes widening his horror Luigi suddenly realizes the meaning behind what he said to them as they entered the castle. It was bad enough that he would make a mockery of the tragic count and his loyal allies by making those copies of him, but to soil their names even further by calling them bugs? Everything the jester had done was causing a rage unlike any other to build up within the man in green, and with his Thunderhand charged fully in both of his hands Luigi glares viciously at this prime example of despicableness and cruelty and yells out at the top of his lungs "DIMENTIO!" To which the jester responds to with an overjoyed grin, for his pleasure came only from seeing the angered expressions of what he considered to be nothing more than his playtoys…

_Next Time: The Tragedy of Blumiere, the Puppeteer who pulled the strings…_


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: Dimentio I: Madness of a Man in Love**

In this spatial battlefield where only three figures exist, the tension could be felt coming from only the heroes, their eyes converging on the jester Dimentio as he looks on in ecstasy. "My my my…The both of you are certainly intriguing to watch, the way you look at me with such HATRED in your eyes. I must say, if I were to get you any madder you'd melt your eyes out with the intensity of your resentment. So before we begin, how about I relax you both with a little tale from the past?" Luigi cracks his knuckles tightly and scowls at the jester as he speaks. "I doubt that there is anything in your past that could make us hate you less." He says in a tone of a somewhat subdued fury.

"Hmm?" Dimentio murmurs as he leans his body back a bit and looks at the man in green in bewilderment. "Curious, I don't recall saying that I would be telling you about MY past…After all, a book with blank pages is never an interesting read. No, I am going to tell you of another past, one that connects to our struggle here today." "We don't wish to hear it!" Driad replies swiftly, swinging his blade across the empty ground before brandishing is at the jester. In response to what the crazed being thought of as impatience, coyly rolls his eyes around and snaps his fingers, a three-dimensional box surrounding both heroes before they are given a chance to leap up and attack him. "See, the thing is…You really don't have a choice in the matter." He says without a single care in the world.

Luigi and Driad take their fists and sword respectively and slam them against the foggy, neon walls, not a dent being put into its frame even though they are hitting it with all their might. Dimentio giggles at their futile efforts, but after putting his body upright and moving his hands out beside it he looks down at the two heroes. "Don't bother; you can't break that, for only I have the ability to do so. You will have to hear my story now, and once it is over I will provide the key to your freedom. Show anymore resistance though, and I will end both of your lives with a snap of my fingers…" With said fingers prepped and ready to go at the first sign of movement from the two heroes, Luigi and Driad decided for the time being to stop with their efforts and hear what Dimentio has to say, no matter how reluctant they are in doing so…

"Now then…" With another snap of the fingers all the lights in the area fade away, the place becoming pitch black in a matter of seconds save for the box that the heroes are trapped in. Even Dimentio has vanished, though this is only a temporary affair. Without warning, a wide spotlight appears in the "center" of the area, a gigantic version of the upper portion of the jester's body appearing with half of it covered by the light. His hands loom ominously in front of his cap as strings wrap themselves around the fingertips. On the strings of his left hand is an unknown man whose body is wrapped in a foreign black cloak, and on the other hand is an elegant looking lady wearing a pure white dress, though part of the cloth is draped over her face to hide her beautiful appearance.

"This is a magnificent tale of tragedy; the actions partook in it wrapping the tentacles of influence around the functions of the world as a whole for years to come afterwards…" After he has put together what he believes to be an exquisite prelude, Dimentio calls forth a backdrop depicting two cities, one bathed in an aura of darkness, and the other clothed in a wave of holy light. "There once were two tribes…The Tribe of Darkness and the Tribe of Ancients. Both civilizations had their own beliefs and methods with which they used to live out their lives. They were fundamentally two entirely different groups of people, and both were forbidden from interacting with the other."

"The reason for this was made clear by their leaders. They only desired for pure continuations of their legacy, and the act of intercourse between a member from each tribe would just dirty the blood of the descendants and leave them impure. It was not that they hated each other, but their greedy desire for perfection meant that not one person could form an attachment with a member of the opposite sex from the other tribe. But there were two people who longed to defile those sacred laws set by the elders of old, not knowing of the consequences that would be brought by their misbehavior…"

The scenery behind the two figures changes to that of a Cliffside, where with a slick manipulation of the fingers the man in the black cloak is now on his back and the lady in white is walking over to his body. "During one inconspicuous day a lady from the Tribe of Ancients took a walk out to the peaceful countryside. She enjoyed the cooing of the birds and the rustle of the flowers beneath her feet…But it was not those sights that she would find to be the most interesting today…A lone man, battered and bruised after a nasty fall, came up in her line of vision not long after he walk began. His appearance was unfamiliar to her, for she was forbidden from even knowing that the Tribe of Darkness existed…"

"Even though he was a stranger, she obeyed her own emotions and attended to him. She made bandages from leaves, and nurtured the wounds until the man rose to his feet. He thanked her for her aid, and the two exchanged their names. She was Timpani, he was Blumiere, and at the time they did not know how intertwined their fates were…They both revealed their birthplace, the sheltered lady expressing surprise over the existence of Blumiere's tribe. After a long exposition on what he called his home the two departed on surprisingly good terms, promising to meet at the top of the cliff again soon…"

With a flip of the background it now showed a lone tree sitting on a grassy hillside, the two puppets placed at the center of this wondrous scenery. "And that promise was kept in absolute secrecy…Lying to their elders, their fathers, under the pretense that they were going for only a walk every day, they continued to meet in the same location time after time again…Their affection for each other soon blossoming into love. But they knew the obstacle they had to overcome, for the rules of their tribes foretold that it was only by the will of the elders that they could undergo a marital ritual…"

Dimentio changes the scenery back to that of the two cities, the puppets returned to their respective positions as two new marionettes representing the elders appear beside them. "They went back home, bravely going to their fathers and revealing to them of their love. But no matter how much they protested, the elders forbade their union, perfection once again blinding their emotions. Blumiere was told never to leave the city again, but he refused to consign to the rules and left once night fell. Lady Timpani had done the same, and they met under the three that had now bloomed cherry blossoms. They told each other that they would marry here in secret, defying all that had been said just to profess their love."

"But the worse was yet to come…" The scene changes to the Tribe of Darkness' city, with only Blumiere and the elder being shown. "The elder revealed to his son upon his return that he had erected a magical barrier that would detect the movements of anyone who shared his blood. With the secrecy revealed the elder had no choice but to put an end to everything before his son further defiled the name of his tribe. He bound Blumiere in chains and dragged him across the lands to the Tribe of Ancients. The elder of that tribe was waiting with Lady Timpani bound as well. With their mouths sealed neither could say anything to the other, but their eyes said enough about what would then be mentioned…"

"A deal was struck between the two tribes. In order to keep their bloodlines pure, Lady Timpani would be forced to wander all dimensions until the day she died. Lady Timpani came from a family with three sisters, so losing her would not make an inch of difference to the Tribe of Ancients' elder. Blumiere, on the other hand, was the only child of the elder, so losing him would end the prime lineage of the Tribe of Darkness. Luckily, only one child needed to disappear for the affair to end, so Lady Timpani was chosen. The dark elder raised his jeweled staff and cast the spell, opening a gateway that thrusts the lady away from the love of her life upon which she would've soon been married to…"

"But the destruction of Lady Timpani was only one part of the deal. In return for her banishment, the Tribe of the Ancients returned to the Tribe of Darkness the Dark Prognosticus, a book which foretold of much destruction. Blumiere and his father returned to their city, the son broken beyond all belief as the only thing keeping him tethered to this imperfect world was gone from his life. He knew nothing about where she was, he only knew who to blame for her destruction…He heard the tome of dark prophecies calling out to him, and he desperately reached his hand towards it, answering the call of power. His father begged him not to, but his fingertips contacted the cover, the power infusing with him and turning his body into something that was no longer himself."

"He became Count Bleck, his identity changed to remove any trace of connection to the father who ruined everything, and with the powers of the Dark Prognosticus he stole the elder's staff and used it to kill everyone in his tribe. It was a rampage of sadness, but it was far too late for anyone to quell it. Lady Timpani had been lost, and Blumiere along with it…There existed only…Count Bleck!" The first part of the tale was done, and everything that had been done up until that point was displayed eloquently by the movements of Dimentio's hands. Each limbs was swung around with precision, accurately depicting the scenes described in his words.

Now was time for a change of scenery, as the Blumiere puppet has already been changed to that of the tragic count, and the backdrop has become that of absolute darkness. In the strings of his left hand is a puppet in his own image, which looked too real for the heroes' own taste. "Years passed on by without a trace…Bleck focusing only on the sadness at the loss of his lover as he wandered from place to place…He carried the Dark Prognosticus within the confines of his cloak, and in time something about him changed…In his depression he became sane, and in that newfound sanity he determined an answer to his problems. He would follow the prophecies written in the Dark Prognosticus to call forth the Chaos Heart and bring all of existence to an end!"

"Around this point is where I came. I disguised myself as a wandering mercenary, coming to the service of the Count since he required some people under his service. He was suspicious of my motives, but relented after the tome revealed to him that I was in its pages…And after that, the rest is history you have already been a part of…Mr. L." Though he no longer had a use for the puppets, the jester slyly lifts his eyes up and glares at the man in green, whose emotions cannot be seen through the box. "Hahahahahahaha!" Unexpectedly, Dimentio loses his composure and lets out a prolonged, gleeful laugh.

He stops himself after the echoes of his enjoyment have started ringing through the eardrums of the heroes. "What is so funny?" Driad asks, since there was nothing hilarious about the story of Blumiere. "I just find the last part of my tale to be so hilarious…The man who had lost the love of his life, the one who turned to dark prophecies and magic the end of everything, the one who discarded who he was before…Chose to work with the being responsible for all of his problems in the first place…"

The heroes are rendered speechless by Dimentio's reply. The implications of what he said were dire, and if they were true and not something he made up to mess with them, then there was truly no going back for the jester. With a snap of the fingers Dimentio makes the scenery return to normal, his body reverting to its normal size as he holds his hands out and looks at the stunned heroes with a smile on his face. "That's right…I, Dimentio, am the creator of the Dark Prognosticus!" Clapping his hands to congratulate himself on his own work, he is unsurprised when the heroes don't share in his delight and instead look at him with horrified looks in their eyes.

Dimentio is pleased by these expressions, and with no regard for his own life he decides to reveal more and more information to the heroes. "Oh, but you must understand how hard it is to have a prophecy come to fruition…Hehe, who am I kidding, you helped the Elemental Overlord fulfill one that he wasn't worthy of, so of course you wouldn't know…But not to stray too far off the subject matter, I had to take matters into my own hands to make sure that at least one of my selves would succeed in creating the Chaos Heart. So I did everything in my power to manipulate events to my own will…I planted the tome of darkness into the hands of the Tribe of the Ancients so they would something worthwhile to trade to the Tribe of Darkness when the time arose…I killed Blumiere's father and disguised myself as him, lying to him about the magic barrier so I would have the perfect excuse to remove the only thing he had an attachment to in his life and at the same time bring the Dark Prognosticus into his possession, and because of my influenced being imbued into the tome he would become Count Bleck like the book foretold. And it worked to perfection…He became lost in insanity, and followed everything well enough to summon the Chaos Heart for me to obtain! Of course…One irritating little speck got in the way and ruined everything, but that's what your brother does Mr. L, he never lets anyone have a shot at glory…Of course, you would know a lot about that, wouldn't you?"

Everything was piling up inside of Luigi's head. Every single revelation drove him further and further down the road of anger, and he couldn't even look at Dimentio anymore without his eyes becoming blind with rage and his brain throbbing in pain. He just couldn't put his mind around the concept of a being existing who could be so callous, so slimy, so maniacal…But such a person did exist, and he was crossing line after line without end, uncaring in his words and mannerisms. There was no holding back now, the jester shouldn't be allowed to say anymore, his face should be torn from his head, his body ripped in two…No, such a agonizing sounding death would probably just please the jester, give him exactly what he wanted. And there was still the matter of Driad's theory, that the Dimentio he fought before was a clone, so who is to say that the one floating before them is the real deal? There was that great uncertainty that couldn't be ignored, so the only thing that Luigi could do for the time being was…

"Driad! No restraints, let us take him down with everything we got!" The Luigi's fervent declation caught Driad completely off-guard, for his focus was on the jester and his words of mockery towards the man known as Blumiere, his hatred also reaching a threshold in his mind. He doesn't need to say anything as he turns his head to the man in green, for the next course of action was easy to interpret even though it wasn't directly stated. With their bodies remaining motionless two separate beams of light pierce through time and space to reach their location, the pillars cascading through the box they were trapped in and shattering it instantaneously. The two heroes are consumed by its magnificence, the thin images of the Star Spirits appearing around the entire thing as Dimentio looks on at the scene unfolding. His eyes are anticipating the end result, though he has seen it happen once before.

Finally the lights part, and the heroes are left in different forms. Luigi is wearing a gold and silver garb similar to what his brother has, the same cape placed upon his back. Driad is more unique in that he has a similar ensemble made entirely out of plant based products, a katana with a rose-red blade grasped firmly in his right hand. Dimentio was pleased with the results as expected, and with his body leaning back he wildly claps his hands to congratulate the two for revealing their strongest forms to him. "Wonderful wonderful wonderful! The glistening fury in your eyes, the wide-eyes of madness and the scowl of hatred…You got the perfect ensemble down for our fight!" Dimentio says with absolute glee in his tone of voice.

"But…" In a surprising twist of events, the jester suddenly switches to a more serious expression, his eyes flipping upside-down as he looks at the heroes with a murderous intent. "It was fun tormenting you both…But like a line up of dominoes, the time has come for you to fall." Flipping his right hand around as it is placed in front of his face, the card symbol for the joker is etched onto the back of it with a majestic glow filling the indents. It was the type of symbol also seen on Smithy's hand, which confirms what was mentioned by the machine king earlier. The jester didn't have to say what group he was in, he could tell from the lack of surprise on Luigi and Driad's face that they already knew, so all that was left was to unstill fear into them by revealing what his symbol referred to. As a way to taunt them as he speaks, he chooses to tell them in the form of a poem.

"_Upon this day_

_In this spatial maw_

_You look at my symbol_

_Your face lacks awe_

_You were filling with hatred_

_Now you are at the brim_

_But you are in my presence_

_Your future looks dim_

_Don't lose your mind heroes_

_This is no game of poker_

_Now you'll face the Royale's Second_

_Tread lightly through the places you walk_

_For I am the Unrestrained Joker!"_

_Next Time: Mr. L and Luigi, the Two-in-One Man in Green._


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note:**

I have incredibly interesting news to tell you readers here today! On a routine visit to TvTropes, I stumbled upon THIS!

/FanFic/ClashOfTheElements (Don't know why, but this is the only part of the url that'll get posted into the document. If you want to find it, just paste this part to the home page of the TvTropes Main page url, or just search "Clash of the Elements" on the site)

Don't know who is responsible for the creation of this page, but they have a decent amount of tropes put in at the moment, and it is rather nice to have some recognition for my work. If those of you reading want to help the troper with the page's growth, you have my permission. I can't do anything myself, since I'm the author, but I will gladly edit things that are misconstrued. Either way, enjoy today's chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 18: Dimentio II: Envy, Shame and Truth**

"I don't care what your title is Dimentio, the only one whose future looks dim is yours!" Luigi swings his left arm out valiantly, raising his right fist in front of his chest and charging it with the power of the Thunderhand. With nothing left to say the man in green kneels down and leaps into the air, closing the distance between him and Dimentio in three streaks, his movements being left behind in the form of a golden streak. His empowered fist thrusts forward, the jester nudging his head to the left as the attack nearly grazes his cheek. He then summons his right hand and wiggles his fingers before firing a black and purple energy sphere straight into Luigi's gut, which causes a small burst and sends him flying away from his body.

Driad flies into the air and raises his sword above his head, passing above his ally as he flies right by. He then descends and brings the sword down as the jester tries to summon his other hand to attack, but a quick cut connects with the right side of his cloak, bringing part of the cloth off as Dimentio retreats backward to avoid a possible follow-up attack. The Crayzee Dayzee then does exactly that, flipping his sword around so the blade is pointed behind himself and jabbing the handle forward to try and stun the jester with a connection to the gut.

But Dimentio snaps his fingers and his body vanishes in a spatial rift, the jab missing and leaving Driad to glare over his shoulder to try and locate where his enemy has gone to. The jester reappears behind the Crayzee Dayzee, but with his presence alerted to early on Driad grabs the handle of his sword with both hands and performs a 180 degree spin in one second that allows his blade to slice the jester right through the gut. The two halves split apart, but when the upper part gives a gleeful wave of the hand before it vanished the flower gets a wide-eyed look of surprise on his face.

There is no time to react though as the real Dimentio fires another sphere right into the back of Driad's head, which explodes in a burst of energy that sends the flower warrior hurtling towards whatever ground there is below. The jester performed a fake-out technique with a duplicate so he was able to attack the more vulnerable part of the Crayzee Dayzee's body, but even as Driad lifts his body up he is stunned to find that he hasn't take much damage whatsoever. Was the attack not fired at full power, or is Dimentio weaker than both Luigi and himself?

The flower turns towards the jester, and Luigi, who finally regained his balance in the air, looks at him as well. The dimensional warping being raises one hand up and taunts the two heroes by waving a finger towards them. In response, the man in green rockets forward, leaving a sonic boom in his wake this time around. His fist collides with Dimentio's gut, following up by a rather brutal beat down as punch after electrically charged punch collides with various sections on the jester's body. But even as he flinches while being battered around like a rag doll, his slick smile continues to be present on his face.

After a few more seconds of pounding away Luigi begins to suspect that something is up, the shockwaves of his blows dying down in intensity as he notices the jester is starting to break apart before his very eyes. In his place is a wall of energy spheres, and as the real Dimentio floats above the man in green with a look of bliss on his face upon seeing the absolutely dumbfounded widening of Luigi's eyes he snaps his fingers. The sound alerts the man in green to the danger set before him, but after quickly shifting his head up towards the jester he tries to make a getaway. However, it was far too late, and he only backs two feet away before the wall of detonations consumes him.

As he is knocked away, the jester snaps his fingers with his other hand, catching Luigi in a 3-D aurora colored box before he can go too far away. Dimentio turns his body and brings his hands high into the air, raising the box so it is on level with him. Luigi detaches himself from the wall he was slammed against and with his body shaking slightly in pain he brings his fist up and charges it with as much electricity as he can muster at the time. Once he is ready he drives the fist in the direction of the side of the box set before him, and even with the force applied to his blow the electricity simply releases into the wall and flows through the entire cage, returning to its master and zapping him with half the voltage.

The act of defiance humors Dimentio, who then lets out a coy chuckle. "Futility is the only thing to describe your present actions Mr. L…There is no way to break out of this box like you did before. Now, fall." The final two words are stated with emotionless sadism, and with his hands dropping to the front of his waist the box Luigi is trapped in suddenly does the same. He speeds towards a collision point, his body being knocked against the ceiling as his velocity keeps him pinned there. If he hits the ground he was certainly going to be killed, but help was not too far behind.

A sword comes flying towards the pathway where the box was falling through, the tip of the blade grinding against the bottom rim and curving up diagonally. With the weapon under Driad's control he guides it and turns it so it is pointed straight at the wall, and within a few seconds the sword manages to cut across all the walls, finally arriving at the upper left corner of the eastern one where the Crayzee Dayzee swings his vine down to have it do the same. The beginning and end of the cut mark is connected by this movement, and the box splits at those points. The top half grinds to a halt seeing as the jester was applying pressure there to get it to fall, and the bottom portion crashes with the ground and shatters into a bunch of glassy shards.

Though there is irritation present in Dimentio's eyes now that Luigi has escaped, he discards that feeling and floats down to the two heroes as they regroup. "Well, I didn't say it wasn't possible to break in, congrats for figuring that out! In return, have a present." The jester snaps his fingers, and in an instant space warps around Luigi and Driad, the distortions forming a dome that then goes on to summon hundreds of spheres to keep them trapped in. Through the cracks in the spheres the man in green turns his head and glares at the jester, who wiggles his right pointer finger in the air playfully. "Now now, no returns on this gift Mr. L…After all, death is something one can only receive once in their life."

With another snap of the fingers the spheres detonate all-around the heroes. The air fills with explosions that rise up and dissolve into a pillar of thick smoke. But in the interlude between the snap and the aftermath, Luigi rushes out from the side, his body sustained flight despite the slight injuries present throughout his body. Dimentio averts his glare from the center to mark his sights onto the man in green, but in that moment Driad propels himself through the area that the jester looked away from, the speed of his propulsion breaking a circle through the smoke and carrying it along with him as he heads towards his target.

But the Dimentio reveals a trick up his sleeve to defend himself, and without motioning his hands a series of dimensional holes opens up, swords of various shapes and sizes thrusting out of them and forcing Driad to dodge and weave through them to avoid one of them getting impaled through his fibrous form. A couple scrape against the vines on his arm, but the structures aren't damaged enough to disrupt the grip on his own weapon. Only inches away from the jester, the Crayzee Dayzee takes a swing at his head, only for a gigantic blade to fall down from the sky and block the blow. The runes on the dull side shine with a violet glow, and the sound of the flower's blade grinding against its surface is music to Dimentio's ears. He floats on the other side, watching in wait for his summoned sword to leave so he can hit the Crayzee Dayzee with a couple of his magic spheres.

But there was a factor he had forgotten of momentarily, and that comes to strike him while his guard is down. With his body lying horizontally Luigi rams Dimentio head-first, colliding with him at a speed of approximately 300 MPH and forcing his spheres to break apart from a lack of concentration. As the jester is sent spiral away from the blow, it is revealed that Driad has used to friction of both blades colliding to spend a little time putting some of his solar energy into his own. When the time finally comes for his blade to move past the side of the gigantic one, he notices Dimentio flying away and releases all of the energy in the form of an uncontained, bright-yellow crescent wave. The jester quickly recovers and, upset over the man in green pulling one over on him, starts to twirl his left hand over his head to create an even bigger magic sphere. However, his eyes catch a light coming his way, and upon twisting his head the attack the Crayzee Dayzee sent at him connects right with his mid-section, once again breaking his spell. The energy splits apart, the damage having already been dealt to Dimentio.

He placed a hand on his chest and takes a deep breath in. It was the first hits he had taken to his real body, and it turns out he has sustained more damage from those two hits than what has been dealt to his two opponents combined. He looks on with a stunned expression, his smile losing that feeling of abject glee he once had before. With the heroes regrouping again, Dimentio chuckles nervously. "I shouldn't be surprised by this…After all, my powers aren't exactly best suited for combat…They are more or less used for-" As he speaks Luigi charges right towards him, the jester not failing to break his stride as he lifts his right hand up and snaps his fingers. With his fist brought up and his full concentration put on striking his foe, he fails to notice the move and is subsequently trapped in yet another 3-D box, which flies through the air until it stops a few feet away from Dimentio.

His hands are soon lowered beside his body, the jester floating over to the front of the box and moving his face close to the wall as Luigi once again tries to pound his way out. "You think you would've learned your lesson by now, Mr. L…Oh, and it was rather rude of you to try and attack someone while they are talking, ok?" He speaks in a loud enough voice so the Crayzee Dayzee also hears him, and once he is done and the man in green starts gritting his teeth Driad calls out to him from behind the box. "Hey! Stop referring to Luigi by that nickname you made up for him! What gives you the right to do such a thing?" The flower warrior tightly grips the handle of his sword and prepares to charge, but as the jester floats over the box Driad is overcome with hesitation upon seeing his rather peaceful looking grin.

"Nickname? Curious…I always assumed that a nickname had to be a type of false identity that didn't already exist before." It was those words that caused the flower to take pause, as he widens his eyes in confusion over what the jester was saying to him. He lowers his stance, re-adjusting his body's pose as he stutters only one words from "W-What?" He could tell there was a meaning behind Dimentio's words, but to what lengths was something he had not a clue about. From within the box Luigi could hear everything, and he turns around and after a brief glance towards the jester he presses the palm of his hands against the wall before him and yells out to his ally to attack. But Dimentio, knowing the properties of his box better than anyone else, merely chuckles at both heroes' naivety, mainly at the man in green for trying to reach Driad through the soundproof walls.

"Hmm…He didn't tell you the truth? You know Mr. L, dishonesty only leads to suffering, but I guess even heroes know no restraint when it comes to deceit. Yes, my little flowery guest, the man you call Luigi was at one time known by another alias, the mysterious green thunder Mr. L. Oh, but did you know that Mr. L did not fight for good, but for evil? Considering those widened eyes that look akin to that of a baby koala's, I would assume not…Either way, thanks to the hypnosis of a certain little wench who worked for Count Bleck, Luigi undertook the identity of Mr. L, working for the count in the name of evil. He fought and impeded the progress of the heroes on two separate occasions, failing both of those times. So in response, I killed him, sending him to the Underwhere like an evil being like him deserved to be."

"Of course, thanks to that stupid demonness' interference he came back to life, where he reunited with his brother and went to confront the Count alongside the princess and the brutish turtle. Of course, you know how he confronted me, but there is a part of the tale that was left out. After my 'defeat', for lack of a better term, I planted a Floro-Sprout onto the man in green, activating its power of mind control after Count Bleck was defeated and the Chaos Heart was relinquished from his control. I will give credit to Mr. L for one thing, he was at least accurate in his statement that I fused with the Chaos Heart to become Super Dimentio…But once again, he forgot one key part of the story. The third component that made everything meld together like a perfect soup in the pot, was his own body. He was the absolutely perfect candidate for the fusion, and it was because of him that all worlds almost met their end!"

"But it is alright Driad…I'm sure you'll be willing to forgive you friend for his deception…Maybe." Driad was absolutely shocked by the revelation. It didn't matter to him just who the source of the information was, cause deep down he felt that what he heard was the truth. He felt somewhat betrayed by his comrade for not telling him about being evil once before, nor could he fully accept the fact that he was part of the act that almost ended existence. Dimentio could tell that his words did their job, and with Luigi's lies unraveled he snaps his fingers and frees him from the box. The man in green floats his head hung low, the jester moving his body behind him with an overjoyed grin on his face. "You see Mr. L, this is the cost of betrayal. You lose the trust of your comrades, you become engulfed in despair as you realize your own past shame, and most importantly-"

Dimentio, so wrapped up in the enjoyment of his manipulations, closes his eyelids mid-sentence and fails to notice Luigi swiftly retaliating to what he is saying by turning around and throwing his fully powered fist right into the jester's face. The blow sends him spiraling through the air at a rapid pace, but the man in green does nothing to follow-up on his attack, instead choosing to let Dimentio recover and irritatingly snap his fingers to warp back over. By this time Luigi has returned by Driad's side, but the flower cannot bear himself to look at his ally. The jester rubs the spot on his face where he was struck. "You know…What is it going to take to get you to sink into despair Mr. L?" He asks, his expression showing annoyance over the failure of his plans thus far.

"It'll take more than your twisted words to make me flinch Dimentio. Even if it was against my will that I was evil, the things I could've possibly done during that time can't ever match the atrocities you have committed. I will continue to fight for good, that will never change from here on out, while your evil dealings will be silenced right now!" Luigi swings his right arm out beside his body, and with his proud proclamation Driad raises his head up high and looks at the man in green. It was true, there was really no point to what Dimentio was saying and he was a fool for listening to the words. That Luigi that stood before him was the same one he met not too long ago, and he would forever remain that way no matter what trials came before him. The Crayzee Dayzee raises his sword and brandishes at the jester.

The dimensional warping being was on the verge of a breakdown, his eyelids slanting down in annoyance as he rejects in his mind the thought of him failing to shatter the heroes' psyche. He takes his left hand to the appropriate side of his face and knows all too well that his time draws to an end. He can sense death looming in the air, her scythe ready to slice the soul of his head away from the rest of his body. "Hahaha…" He laughs without much confidence being mustered in his voice. He is not finished though, and he knew there was one point in Luigi's mind that he could still target to break him. "What is the point?" He says, moving his hand away from his face and moving his eyes towards the man in green while returning his face back to a false, cheery form.

"What or who are you trying to fool with your false bravado Mr. L? Underneath those clothes of gold and that mortal flesh beats the heart of a coward, and you can't hide that no matter how hard you try to. And what about your brother? You have always been in his shadow, he has been a mountain to overcome, and he has forever been a step ahead of you. Your jealousy of him has already grown into a force of your own design. That 'Negative Zone' of yours that warps the dimensions themselves, blossomed from the shadow of which you hid yourself under. It is also from that very jealousy that made you capable of being fused with the Chaos Heart, for your doubtfulness to overcome your brother gave birth to a subconscious desire to end all worlds. Your mind has had a thought buried deep within it that asks only one thing 'If I can never be happy, then why should anyone else deserve to feel that way?" Hahaha…In many ways, you and I are alike."

Luigi grits his teeth in response to Dimentio's lies, his body's muscles tightening up as he clenches his fists and looks at the jester with all of his searing hatred. "I am NOTHING like you." Dimentio replies with a raise of the finger and the repeating of the sound "Tsk Tsk". He then goes on to say "Now now Mr. L…" Moving his hand towards the sides of his mask, he slips his fingers around the edges and begins to remove it from his head. He doesn't make the act overly dramatic, he just takes it right off and lets the two heroes see what is behind it. Their expressions change to shock and revulsion. They couldn't believe who they were looking at now. Their views on him were changing entirely just because of this sudden change. But in the end there was an entirely good reason for their disbelief and confusion. Dimentio's true face, the one wrapped in the black and white mask…To Luigi, it was like he was looking into a mirror. The jester had the features of his face, but with grey hairs and wrinkles to show that he is older. With a tone that now matches that of the man in green, "Dimentio" says to his counterpart "I think I would know my past self better than anyone else would, yes?"

_Next Time: Futility_


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Dimentio III: 'Til The Year We Meet**

For a moment, Luigi couldn't believe what he was seeing. Dimentio, the jester who tormented him so very much, turned out to have his face. It was an impossibility; their two personalities were as different as day and night. But why then, did the man in green find himself incapable of expressing doubt to those thoughts of his? Was it because of how sudden the revelation was, or maybe it was because he not the circumstances behind Dimentio's past. "That's…No…You can't possibly be me!" Dimentio, in a fit of laughter that is rather disturbing to witness without his mask on, looks down at Luigi while his head is pulled back. He was laughing not just at the man in green's naivety, but also giggling at the hesitant denial in his tone of voice.

"But I am Mr. L, whether you want to accept me as you or not, my identity will not ever change." He says after stopping his laughter, and with his head adjusted back into its original position Dimentio snaps his fingers and comes up with an idea. "Oh, I got it! I'll give you some insight into my past…Which of course means I'll be telling you of YOUR future Mr. L, I hope you don't mind the spoilers, but I think you'll enjoy them for the better." The jester floats menacingly in the air, and while Driad is about ready to launch an attack against him, Luigi holds his arm up to stop him. "Wait Driad…I want to hear what he has to say." He states.

"Now, I don't remember how many years into the future it will be, but the events in question I recall very well. On an unspecified date you'll come to accept the former identity of Mr. L and decide to separate yourself from your brother by becoming a superhero who wears the black and green masked garb that you once wore before. Now granted, many a person figured out who you really were, but they never told the commoners, who regarded you as an incredible hero. In time you got married to the love of your life, Princess Daisy of Sarassaland, and she would become pregnant with your child."

"But by going under the mantle of a superhero you ended up attracting the attention of more than just the Neo Koopa Clan and the King Boo Alliance…The Shroobs, the alien race you and your brother dealt with so many years ago with the help of your past selves, organized all of their rebuilt forces in an attempt to conquer Plit, fearing that in time you would become strong enough to be a threat to their race. With a retinal scanner they were able to match your identity to that of the man in green who opposed them. Knowing your identity, they made their first target clear. With a bombardment of missiles they destroyed the Kingdom of Sarassaland, killing not just its populace, but also slaughtered the love of your life, the then reigning Queen Daisy, with your soon to be son still growing in her delicate womb…"

"The Shroobs did this to weaken your morale, assuming your heart to be weak due to what they saw of you before…But they signed their death warrant on that very day. With righteous fury you will destroy saucer after saucer, blowing up pod after pod to make sure that no one escapes the planet's atmosphere…Your rampage will eventually draw you to the mothership, where you'll choke the King Shroob to death and impale his heir through the skull with his staff. But your vicious acts won't end there…With your hands already having felt blood you will hijack the ship for yourself, using the immense firepower loading upon it to decimate the Mushroom Kingdom…"

"Every hero that will come to detain or end you will fall, from your little flowery friend there to the partners of which you shared many memories with in the Waffle Kingdom…Eventually, as the fires ravaged the landscapes of Plit, there would be only one person left to oppose you. Your brother, who would board the ship and try to reach out to you…However, as you were now so consumed by rage and grief, you declared your scorn to your brother for taking all the glory but never suffering the consequences, yet the one time he decided to step out of his shadow he lost the love of his life and the child he was going to bond with…"

"Horrified by the monster his brother had become, and saddened that he felt this way about their life up until now, Mario would be left with no choice but to kill you…However, your brother ended up underestimating how strong you were, and in time he too was killed by your hand. He was not given any time to speak, and as you will stand there panting like a wild boar you will momentarily regain your sanity…Only long enough to see the destruction you have caused. Peering through the glass windows, you won't recognize anything…The ashes and smoke remaining from the mayhem that unfolded kept hidden the ruins of Peach's Castle, the burning mountain tops and desolate wastelands that were once bountiful forests and grasslands were the only things visible…In your blinded rage, you destroyed everything…In the reflective surface of the mirror, you wouldn't see yourself, you would only see me."

"Everything would come to overwhelm your mind, the revelation that nothing you can do to change the past and avert what you had done, and that all you wanted to do was find happiness and step out of your brother's shadow…Would cause that very shadow itself to warp into a newfound existence and consume your body. Most of your flesh and sanity will get consumed as you try to resist, but don't worry, it is more pleasant than it sounds…I would go into greater detail, but I would rather there be some enjoyment to the experience when you under-go it…Either way, the end result is obvious. From the darkness of loss and despair, from the shadow which you tried to step away from…I, Dimentio, was born!"

Taking a pause from his explanation, the jester moves his mask back to his face, sealing it back on tightly as the crescent shaped eyes then gaze down upon the heroes on their own free will. "Then the most unexpected thing happened…Unaware of anything, I subconsciously snapped my fingers and was flung back in time…In hindsight, I guess the incident could be explained easily, seeing as the timestream is, in a sense, a dimension of its own making. Maybe deep down I wished to avert my disaster, but I overshot my target and ended up in the era of the Dark King and the Elemental Overlord…Where of course, thanks to my maniacal nature, the Dark King took me in as one of his advocates."

With his story at an end, Dimentio lowers his head and starts giggling gleefully, once again shaking his head as he looks at his "past self" and notices how pale his skin is becoming. "Even if you kill me now, you will just someday become me, and the cycle will continue over and over again for all eternity. It was an absolute, no matter what I wanted to do to avert it." He says as a taunt. But he then lifts his head up and widens his eyes, his pupils pressing against the mask's lenses as he raises his right hand with a smile of sadism present on his veneer. "But if you want to try your hardest in spite of what I have proclaimed…"

Suddenly, space warps beside "Dimentio" after his fingers snap, and another "Dimentio" appears in the place of the distortion. Then hundreds upon hundreds of more distortions appear in a circle surrounding the two heroes, copies of the jester appearing in their place nearby a second after they came into existence. Overwhelmed by the 1000 Dimentios that have shown up so unexpectedly, the heroes both turn and press their backs to each other, getting into their battle poses even though Luigi is more hesitant to fight now that he knows the truth about "Dimentio".

The real one talks to Luigi and Driad through the swarm of his clones. "You were curious as to how I survived before Mr. L? Well now I can explain to you that…You see, my dimensional warping powers allow me to pull out alternate versions of myself into my own existing timeline. Sure they can't speak like I can when I pull out so many of them at once, but I think only one of my voices is good enough for you anyways…Either way, thanks to a copy I pulled that fused with you and the Chaos Heart, I myself am still alive to torment you! Now, if you wish to avert your inevitable future, come at me with everything you got…IF you can find me that is…"

Luigi was standing still, only his head was moving to see the multitude of enemies set before and around him. A cold sweat drips down his neck, and Driad can feel him quivering. After glancing over his shoulder the Crayzee Dayzee says, "Luigi, are you seriously going to let him get to you? This is just another one his tricks!" He says in reference to the truth about Dimentio's past. "How can I not be affected by his words Driad…He might be telling the truth, he might actually be me!" Luigi cries out, his voice edging on the tone of a paranoid breakdown.

"So what?" Driad proclaims, catching the man in green entirely off-guard as his sweat suddenly stops forming. "Even if Dimentio is actually you, his past is not YOUR future! Time is not an absolute, history is never set in stone! The very fact that he has revealed things to you just proves that point in its entirety…And even if for some reason those events have to unfold, I will always be by your side, and I will never allow you to lose those you for nor will I let you succumb to madness. You have my respect Luigi, so please regain your focus so we can finish this jester off for good!"

Driad's words of encouragement give the man in green pause, as he finds his spirits suddenly being lifted by his friend's concerns. With a nod of his head Luigi turns towards the Dimentio swarm without a single clue as to where he could be and raises his right fist in vigor. "You know what Dimentio, Driad is right…What defines me isn't what the future says I will be, what I am is decided by the choices I make in the present and the past! Maybe you are me, maybe I will eventually become that person, but as of here and now YOU are the one who is opposing me, and I have few choice words to say to you. I admit it, deep down I still am a coward…But you know, that's the thing. I may be a coward, but I know when to suck it up and be brave when others are counting on me. But you Dimentio, you hide behind your mind games and little tricks to try and break us. You are right about one thing, we are alike, but only in regards to one trait…And it just so happens that YOU are a bigger coward than I am!"

"You dare declare such lies?" Dimentio says in response to Luigi's calm and proud rebuttal, but the man in green can't determine where the sound is coming from. "Very well Mr. L, you know nothing and refuse to accept the truth…I've already come to exist, killing you here won't break my existence…Now perish!" Many of the jester's clones raise their hands and summon forth energy spheres, launching them into the air until a swarm of lights forms a dome up above. This is the prelude to their descent, and after tilting their heads to look at each other Driad and Luigi nod and glare back at their enemies. The battle then begins again, as the two heroes charge at different sides of the swarm while the bombardment of magical spheres rains down simultaneously against the ground, each one releasing a miniature explosion that sends wind blowing towards the heroes.

Driad is the first to strike, the swift swing of his blade cutting two Dimentio clones in half. As such, it didn't take long for the Crayzee Dayzee to determine another flaw of pulling these copies from alternate dimensions. Not only were they incapable of talking when mass-produced, but their defenses were weakened to the point that they are as easily cut as rice paper. In this form he can maintain flight, and he keeps charging forward, swinging his sword left and right without breaking his stride. Clone after clone is cut down, but as he reaches the edge of the circle five Dimentios suddenly appear before them with magic spheres already placed in front of their bodies. Driad's eyes widen as the shots are fired and then collide with his body, the combined burst of air and mystical energy sending him hurtling through the swarm of clones until he smashes against the ground in the center of them, losing the grip on his sword midway through in the process.

The sleek metal clunks on the floor below the clones, and a few of them instantly move down to cover it with their bodies. The attacks sent his way did meager damage to the Crayzee Dayzee, as proven by the fact that he is back on his feet in seconds without any struggle. If anything, the impact with the ground hurt him more than the shots. With his sword out of his grasp though he is going to have to work a little harder to break through the swarm until he can re-acquire it. Charging forward, two Dimentio clones come down to intercept him. In this form he cannot turn either of his arms into leaf-shaped blades, so as the copies lift their hands and summon forth magic spheres at the tip of their fingers the flower warrior stiffens his vines and places them in front of his chest, rapid-firing thorns that puncture through the skin of both clones until they break apart into the dust and disperse into air.

With one obstacle down the Crayzee Dayzee loosens his vines and whips them out, moving them between the two Dimentio clones before him until they pass beside the other clones behind them. He then swings his limbs out wide, hitting all six clones around his sword with enough force to defeat them. Now he was only a few feet away from his sword, and after his vines have been retracted he leaps forward to avoid a few magic shots being fired at him and proceeds to slide across the floor, swiping his sword up in his right hand and then sticking his thorns into the ground so he can stop in place and flip his body into the air, removing his thorns so he can launch himself upward. With a few flips he puts the clones back into his line of sight, swinging his sword out after filling the blade with sunlight to send two waves of energy in rapid succession. The first wave dies out after taking out ten clones, but the other one makes it to the front of the swarm and opens a gap back to the center.

With the way open to him Driad lunges forward as the Dimentios try to close the gap. But with his sword gripped near his hip he keeps pressing on, making quick swings to give himself more breathing room as he makes passes by the clones. Along the way he notices a few of them raising their hands to create more magical spheres, though with his speed he knew they would be incapable of hitting him mid-flight. After a couple more seconds Driad turns his body and lands on the ground, screeching to a halt with his feet before flipping his weight to the right so he can turn to face his foe. But his movements were figured out ahead of time, and with widened eyes the Crayzee Dayzee is hit by a barrage of fifty some spheres, the ensuing explosions consuming his body whole.

On the man in green's side of things, he flies towards a Dimentio clone and punches it straight in the gut to destroy it. He then grabs another one by the tip of their jester hat and starts spinning wildly with the body out held, using it as a club to take out all other clones around him. The velocity builds up a pocket of wind as wide as the swing's diameter, and as Luigi starts feeling dizzy he begins to slow down his movements.

While the wind is still active Luigi tosses the clone up with his left hand, a trail of air connecting to the circular pocket as the man in green activates the Thunderhand in his right hand, the golden electricity sparking around it following him in streaks as he rockets up to follow the clone he threw. Once he overtakes the jester's copy Luigi spins his body around and slams his fist full force into its gut. The body becomes filled with the electricity as a thunderous crackle fills the air, and the plummeting clone hit's the pocket of air and releases the energy into it.

The clashing atoms causes the pocket to burst and spread the electricity out in a orb shaped detonation. Nearly a hundred clones perish in the face of the attack, but while Luigi watches from above he suddenly breaks his own concentration upon hearing a few finger snaps ringing in his eardrums. A normal sized three-dimensional box appears to surround him, which is then followed up by another one covering that, and this continues until there are thirteen layers of boxes spread a centimeter apart surrounding the man in green's body. With his pupils shrinking in fear Luigi hears more fingers snap, and he is left to surrender to the fact that there is no escape for him.

The smallest box explodes, a short-lived explosion sends Luigi colliding with the wall of the next box. Each subsequent box detonates, his body continuing to get battered around by the slowly strengthening blasts until the last one explodes, which sends him flying towards the center of the ring of Dimentios at rapid speeds. With his lurched back smashing into the ground, a sharp sensation of pain thrusts itself into the man in green's spine. He quickly slams his palms against the ground, hoping the cloth of his glove would keep him for grinding for too long, but in the end that is not what stops him.

Driad, after being hit with the clone's barrage, gets on his knees and plants his blade into the ground. He took more damage than he had anticipated he would, and there are still far too many Dimentios looking at him all-around. Luigi skids into his back a few seconds later, his head almost knocking his ally back onto the floor but successfully keeping him from going any further. Though he has taken a great deal of damage, the man in green takes his left arm and wraps his right fingers around the elbow as he lifts himself up onto his feet. His right eyelid lowers, a half-hearted smirk on his face as he looks to face the swarm.

"I am a coward? Hmmm, if that is true, than my methods are at least leading me to victory, Mr. L" The real Dimentio says from within the ring, his callous laughter following up his words as Driad lifts himself up high and holds his sword close to his hilt. "All you'll have is a hollow victory if you truly believe that Dimentio…Even so, we aren't dead yet, so don't get cocky." Driad says with his words filled with confidence. Luigi tilts his head and lets out a laugh. "You seem pretty sure of our victory…We haven't even taken out a quarter of the clones and honestly, I've taken more damage than I would like to admit…" He weakly states.

"Do your arms and legs still function?" The Crayzee Dayzee says without batting an eye to his ally's words. Luigi is taken aback once more by Driad's behavior. It seems the further they go into the battle, the more and more confident the flower becomes in himself, and in turn he believes less in the concept of defeat. The man in green couldn't help but push himself further and lets go of his arm, shaking it around despite the pain ringing through it. "Yeah, they do." "Good, cause I have a plan to ensure our victory. I can sense who the real Dimentio is through the swarm…I'm going to conjure up a seed that can react to his energy signature, but that is going to put me out of commission for a bit, so I need you to defend me until it is ready. Can you do that?"

Luigi punches his left fist against the palm of his right hand, the cracking of his bones being his answer to the question. "Alright, thank you Luigi…" Driad sheathes his sword and presses his vines together, working his fibers to the bone to start producing the object projected in his mind. With his body braced for battle, the man in green awaits for the Dimentio clones to make the first move. Some magic spheres are tossed his way as the starter, but Luigi swings them right back to their creator's by taking his cape off and blowing them with a mighty swipe.

But as he deals with those two shots collide with his back. Though this makes him go skidding along the ground for a couple of inches Luigi turns around and uses his cape to deflect two more shots. He then lets go of his cape and dunks another shot into the ground with one fist, using the other hand to reattach the cape before leaping forward and taking five shots that were aimed at his ally. The man in green refuses to budge, tanking a few more shots before thrusting his palms forward to shoot Thunderhand lightning streams and take out a few Dimentio clones.

He then spins his left foot out, taking the brunt of a magical sphere that was heading his way even through the winces of pain his body is experiencing. The man in green had something worth fighting for, and even it Dimentio was a version of him that was driven to madness, unlike him he would never forget that it is not an eternity of happiness that one needs to have with the ones they care for, but that they should work to make each moment worth the most that they can. As he brings both his hands out and crunches two magical spheres with the closing of his fingers, he looks down at his friend. He was uninterrupted in his concentration, for he too had something to believe in as he fought. He wanted to prove his worth to his master, and that was enough to drive him no matter the circumstances.

What pushed them both was something Dimentio could never hope to comprehend, and by that logic he had already lost. Their bodies may not make it to the end of the battle, but they won the emotional war, successfully fending off his mind games and tricks no matter how far he drove himself to make them break. By this point Luigi could start to sense the jester's animosity rising, and every clone sends a magical sphere out to finish the two heroes off for good. But the man in green breaks his own limits and charges flies at the highest speed he can muster, curving his flight so he spins around in circles to the point that a massive, golden glowing ring is left hovering above Driad. Time slows down for him as his speed increases, and he effortlessly kicks and punches away every shot that comes his way. By the time all of them are deflected, the Crayzee Dayzee has created the seed.

It looks like a walnut in the grip of his right vine, and as he moves his left one away a sweat starts to form on his head. It was the first time he had done such an act, and it exhausted most of his remaining energy. He had only one chance to make this work, and with a Dimentio "copy" lined up in his sights Driad grips the seed tightly and fires it at him. It travels between the clones, moving closer and closer to its target until it is only inches away…And in an unexpected moment, Dimentio bats the seed away with the backside of his right hand, sending it below the feet of another clone.

The jester starts laughing wildly from within the swarm, but the Crayzee Dayzee only looks on with a half-visible smirk present on his face. "You see now Mr. L? Effort amounts to nothing when the fates have it out for you…It is a lesson you would've learned in time had you accepted things the where they are now, but with your rejection of fate your only path shall lead to-" Midway through his sentence, the seed below the real Dimentio's feet sprouts, sending a plentiful amount of vines up into the air that suddenly wrap around his arms, legs, body and neck to inhibit his movements entirely. "WHAT?" He exclaims, his confidence breaking as a feeling of utter surprise can be seen in his widening eyes. He didn't know how this was possible, but the fact that he reacted as such was a dead giveaway to the man in green that Driad's plan worked.

With the friction built up from his high-speed flight, Luigi slingshots himself towards Dimentio with his Thunderhand already prepared. The fist is held back as far as it possibly can, and with the jester freaking out ready to put up a struggle to escape, he finds that he can only look on in horror as the man in green strikes him with everything he has got. A boom strong enough to rupture most eardrums breaks the air, and all of the electricity built up in Luigi's fist is unloaded into the jester's body, the excess energy thrusting out in the form of a shockwave that disintegrates all the clones. With the vines atomizing into nothingness, Dimentio's eyes and mouth release smoke, and it is clear from the twitching of his fingers that that one attack has brought him on the verge of death…

_Next Time: Prelude to the Witch's Final_


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Dimentio Final: One Of No Worth**

"…" He was starting to feel cold. Life was flowing out of his body like an endless river. "…" He tried to remember what he had done, but not a single memory flowed into his mind. "…" Not a single paragraph, not a single sentence, not a single word. He had nothing TO remember besides his recent endeavors, he had accomplished nothing, fulfilled not a single purpose in his long, long life. "…" It was all a blank, a blank that could never be filled in. Loyalty to the Dark King, what was it all worth for him in the end? He tried to break away from his allegiance to do things on his own accord, but nothing changed. He was and always shall be remembered as, a purposeless figure.

His body, charred by the onslaught of voltage that is just now leaving him, falls backwards towards the ground. He laments everything he has wasted, from his time to his actions. He never made a connection with anyone; he was going to be alone in his final moments, for the only two people left in this dimension to watch his demise scorned him so very much. But in the end it was his own fault, and he knew this to be true. He couldn't keep a smile on his face, for his ability to express any emotions no matter how callous they were had vanished. His body collapses onto the floor, the smoke dissipating as he tries his hardest to lift his head up from the ground.

Even with nothing left, he felt like he couldn't die in such an undignified manner, and his struggle to pick himself up only furthers hasten the deterioration of his muscles. His head crashes back against the ground, the temperature of which he can no longer feel due to his nerve-endings being killed off. His opponents start to walk over to him, the man in green of which his abhorrence ran deep for was the first to stop moving before his body, with the intrepid Crayzee Dayzee joining him just a couple seconds later. He expected them to gloat over their victory, he was a tattered shell of a being and he deserved every word they had gathered within their mind.

But then, a spark of inspiration burns in his mind. For all of his manipulations and mind games, there was still a part of him that felt the need to be honest, but this time he was going to tell the truth not to enrage of depress but instead he was going to alleviate the doubts lingering in the mind of the man in green. "Mr. L…I must be honest to you…Since I am soon going to die…My real identity is not a version of you from the future…I really don't even remember who I am anymore, or rather…Who I used to be." Dimentio's reveal surprises Luigi, but even though he has a reason to suspect dishonesty from the jester he stops himself from opening his mouth.

"Then why did you even bother saying that to Luigi if it wasn't the truth? Just what motives did you have in all of this Dimentio?" Driad cries out in confusion, for it was becoming increasingly evident that the jester was simply wasting time by bringing them to this realm. "Heheheh…" Dimentio laughs with a half-open mouth. "I said what I said because I wanted to have more fun with the both of you…I am a being without nary a purpose. I don't remember my own origin, I don't remember my time with the Dark King, I don't even recall if Dimentio is my real name or just an identity I took up when I learned of my powers…Either way, whether it be that the use of my powers degraded my mind or age simply made it impossible for my mind to continue maintaining my memories, I still remember the time I spent with Mr. L and the others...And the fun I had messing with them all…"

"You see, when a being such as me has no purpose worth living for, we end up deriving our own fun from the asinine torment of others…I had the most enjoyment and pleasure with Mr. L because he had enough flaws to taunt him about, and because of our brief fusion I was able to delve into his psyche and learn more and more about the man's life…He had someone to protect, someone to surpass…He had purposes, and perhaps a jealousy was born in me that superseded all other forms of rationality…Either way, I have done what I have done, and with all that I have harmed and killed I don't fully expect you to pity me…"

And do so the heroes did not, they just kept looking at the jester with the same expressions, though not to the same degree as before he started talking to them. "But wait, if you aren't who you say you are…Then why did your face look like an older version of my own?" Luigi then asks. "Hmm…It is a really simple matter when you think about it…I am a master of dimensions, so I merely changed around the dimensions of my own facial structure." It was a brief explanation, but one that made sense and was thus satisfactory to the man in green. Now Driad once again had something to ask, but he does so this time with a lower volume to his voice. "Now, where in this realm is the device you teleported away from Smithy?"

"Heh…Who ever said that I brought that hulking device to my realm? I'm just the delivery boy for my other companion…Its in that stupid witch's hands now…" "What, what are you talking about? What is Cackletta planning that would make you insult her like that?" Luigi then inquires. "Now now…I'm not going as far as to reveal everything my partner is planning to do…But let me just say she was my primary motivator in drawing you both here and trying so hard to derive pleasure from your pain…For you see, if the witch's misguided plans manage to come to fruition, no one, not even myself, will survive…" Dimentio's words are ominous to a fault, and as Driad cautiously moves his vine to the side of his face, he says in a rather fear-struck tone, "Did you hear that Alpha?"

The Commander, listening on the other end of the communicator, responds with, _"Yeah, I did…" _Dimentio, realizing just who has been listening in to his words, lets out a sly bit of laughter and creaks his head up an inch. "Ha…Commander Alpha…You who has the greatest ire towards the witch…You and Mario are the only ones left to combat her…And the best suited to do so…" In response to Dimentio's rather polite compliment, Alpha hesitantly says through Driad's device, _"Thank you for the vote of confidence, I won't let her ever succeed in her machinations."_

There was something weird about what Dimentio said, Luigi thought, for he and Driad were still alive and well. "Why only my brother and Alpha? Can't you send us back to fight Cackletta as well?" The jester finds the inquiry to be rather humorous for reasons only he can describe, and he opens his mouth again to say to the man in green "As much as I would like to, I'm afraid it just isn't possible…You see, I set up a portal in the realm that'll activate only an hour after the Elemental Overlord child has been freed from his confinements…And because of my current state I don't have enough energy left to change the portal's conditions…"

Luigi looks away out of disappoint towards the scenario, but Dimentio says one more thing. "Besides Luigi, don't you think you've earned the rest…" There is no questioning tone in his voice, but the man in green is shocked to hear the jester calling him by his real name. He shifts his head back, finding that Dimentio's body is fading into dust. With a smile as true as day glimmering on his face before it disappears, the jester opens his mouth and says a variation on one of his more well-known phrases… "Ciao…This time for good…" And with that he is gone, the dust scattering to the winds.

Now the two heroes were left alone, and as Luigi lifts his body up Driad continues to talk to Alpha. "So are you ok with all this?" He asks. _"Yeah, I understand the situation…I'd try and pull you out myself, but with the switch in locations it would take a couple hours to get the job done…And with Cackletta still alive…"_ "Don't need to go into greater detail, you got your priorities, and she is more important to deal with than us…" _"Hey, Alpha, can I have the mic for a moment?" _Mario then says once Alpha and Driad's conversation had come to an end. _"Yeah, go for it…" _The Commander replies swiftly. The Crayzee Dayzee knows what is about to happen, and removes his vine from the device so Luigi can hear.

"_Luigi, are you there?" _Mario says to grab his brother's attention. The man in green turns his head and nods, removing his arms away from his body before moving closer to his flowery ally. "Yeah, I am bro." He says in a cheery tone. _"How are you feeling?" _The plumber quickly inquires. "A few stiff joints and my head is throbbing a bit, but otherwise I'm feeling rather good about myself…" The man in green says in a joking manner. _"That's great to hear…I knew you'd be able to take Dimentio down…I'm so proud of you Luigi."_ Mario says, his tone brimming with praise.

"Hey, what about me?" Driad says out of playful irritation. _"Hehehe…Yeah, you probably helped Luigi out well Driad…Sorry for forgetting about you." _The Crayzee Dayzee grins at Mario's apology and lets out an innocent giggle. "Its alright, I'm not upset about it." "Bro, I'm really sorry that I won't be able to help you stop Cackletta, so give her a good firm punch in the face for me, alright?" _"Yeah, I will do that. See you later Luigi, you have deserved to relax for now…" _With that comment Mario signs off, and Driad shuts down the communicator to avoid the presence of static.

With no one left to fight Luigi and Driad return to their normal forms, and the man in green stretches his arms above his head. He then sits down and crosses his legs, Driad looking towards him with a puzzled expression on his face before he follows his friend in his action. "So what are we going to do for who knows how many hours?" He asks. "Just lay back and relax Driad…There's nothing to talk about and we could both use a bit of a nap." The man in green casually responds. The Crayzee Dayzee merely shrugs his shoulders and lays his head back, placing his vines behind it and looks up towards the sights in the vast sky. The two heroes let out heavy, relaxed sighs, and calm themselves in the midst of this wide, empty dimension…

_Next Time: The Pursuit of Darkness_


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Aftermath II: The Commander's Secrets**

Back in the Mushroom Kingdom, tranquility can be found in the streets of Toad Town as night has fallen across most of the planet. The citizens have managed to handle the presence of the giant M.S.I. battleship quite well, and on the balcony of the castle Princess Peach stares up at it. Her hands are pressed against her chest, a prayer being recited quietly as she thinks of her hero. Her trusty aide Toadsworth hears her as he walks through the halls, and turns his head before walking out to greet her. "Princess, what are you doing out this late at ni-" The old shroom didn't need to finish his question, the answer was already obvious.

As the Princess finishes her prayer, she removes her nimble hands away from her body momentarily before resting them delicately in front of her dress. She turns around to face Toadsworth with a half-smile visible on her. "Worried about Master Mario?" He then says, to which Peach replies with a nod. "Toadsworth…Commander Alpha, he was alive when my parents were ruling the Kingdom, wasn't he?" The elderly Toad was curious as to what brought the question up, but decided not to hide anything from his princess. "Yes. The Commander made many visits to the Mushroom Kingdom when he first came to lead the M.S.I. thirty some years ago…You were not born at the time, though you were being conceived in your mother's womb…Either way, Alpha offered his services to the Kingdom many times during their reign, but for some mysterious reason he stopped after the Shroob Invasion had been foiled…"

"Hmm…" Peach closes her eyelids and thinks. She is able to vaguely recall a couple moments in her past where the Commander appeared in the castle of old, but because of her age the memories are not clear. Either way, she got confirmation on what she wanted to know, and after opening her eyes up she bows her head and thanks Toadsworth for the info. "It may be intrusive of me Princess, but why did you want to know this?" He then asks. "I just wanted to know a bit about Alpha, since I've never actually spoken to him before. If he has been an asset to this kingdom in the past, then he is someone that I can trust, and I'm certain Mario can too…" Toadsworth's eyebrows slant upwards in the face of his princess' rather innocent trust in the Commander, and after a deep sigh he thinks to himself, "I sure hope you are right about that second one…"

Up in the battleship, Alpha sits by himself in his chair, minutes having passed since he got off the communicator with Driad. Mario has jumped down onto the floor, his eyes tilted upward at him as he folds his metallic arms in front of his face and a sweat drop starts to form on his forehead. "The Dark King…Slain by Alex Whiter…" He thinks as a still image of the boy Joe Dark floats in his mind. "Smithy, the Jack of All Trades…Armor destroyed and true form killed by Gemini…Thus relieving the Lieutenant of his burden…" As he thinks about the brief glimpses of the shadowy outline of Smithy's human body, his heart starts thumping loudly. "Dimentio, the Unrestrained Joker…This timeline's variation silenced for good by Luigi…And in a way, Lady Timpani and Count Blumiere's lives have been avenged…" The organ pounds against his chest, a heavy breath being released from the Commander's mouth as he starts wiggling his fingers against each other.

"And finally…" Alpha recalls a distant memory, something that has haunted him for the longest time. The witch Cackletta stands laughing in maniacal glee, and the foggy vision brought on by his teardrop filled eyes obscuring the blood slaughtered body of an unknown figure below her feet. As her laugh echoes in his head, the Commander crunches his hands together, the metal bending out of place as his heart starts beating rapidly. "Cackletta…Placement in the Apocalypse Royale as of now unknown…Status: Alive…Retribution: Shall be obtained today…" Realizing how worked up he is getting, Alpha lifts his eyebrows up high and places his arms apart. The pace of his palpitating organ starts to die down as he catches his breath, and he turns his head to see that Mario is now looking at him with his head turned all the way.

Their ragtag group was down to just two members, himself and the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom. Not exactly a promising prospect, the Commander thought, especially since it was made clear recently that Mario still held disdain towards him for his earlier actions. "Not that I can blame him…" Alpha then thinks as he removes himself from the seat of his chair and turns his body sharply to the left. He closes his eyelids and lets out a "Tsk" before leaping off the pedestal. As he falls he thinks to himself "The time has almost come…Once it has passed, then I'll make amends with those I have harmed…" The Commander lands on the ground, the weight of his body shaking the ground around him, though Mario does little to flinch at the disruption.

The two heroes' eyes meet as they turn their heads, and as the plumber removes his arms from his body he says to Alpha, "So how many more hours until Alex is freed from the Anti-Genesis Sphere?" The Commander gives Mario a slight smirk, surprised that he is politely asking such a question without letting his ire take prominence. "About eight hours left…However, we aren't going to need his help, we are going to take Cackletta down right here and now." He swiftly replies, at the same time providing an answer to the question that he predicted the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom was going to ask next.

Mario's facial features flinch in response to the answers given to him, but at the same time he is puzzled by the Commander's declaration. "Wait, what do you mean take Cackletta down? Maybe you weren't listening, but Dimentio didn't exactly spill the beans on her current location, and I doubt you can analyze the dimensional spectrum to find her." "That's fine, I don't need any fancy device or other type of scanner to determine her location anyways…I've known where she has been the entire time!" Alpha says in a subdued tone of voice, which throws the plumber completely off-guard considering how important such information is.

"Are you kidding me? You withheld-" The Commander suddenly raises his right hand to stop Mario before he makes anymore sudden accusations. The plumber takes pauses, only because deep down he does want to hear Alpha explain himself. "You are in the right here Mario, it was wrong of me to withhold what I knew about Cackletta's location from you and the rest of our group, but pursuing her earlier would not have been a good idea while Dimentio and Smithy were still alive. After all, with her magic it would've been easy for her to alert them…So by picking them off one by one, it will now be easier for us to take the witch down."

"But if we were all still together then that wouldn't have been a problem, would it?" Mario then offers as a rebuttal. "Not exactly…You forgot about someone else." Alpha replies, which causes the plumber to take a moment to pause and reflect on the past. He remembers the one person who has always been the most loyal to the witch, the insane little green man who fought him and the others outside the Terra Cave and escaped without ever being seen since then. "Fawful…" Muttering the name of the man in question, Alpha nods his head once and turns to look out the windows with his eyebrows slanted. "Fawful is a bit of a rogue factor…It would be hard to predict what he would do if he went after Cackletta while Smithy and Dimentio were alive, seeing as he is more intelligent than he lets on…"

Mario nods his head in agreement over the point Alpha makes, but the Goomba then raises his left arm and wiggles his pointer finger around. "However, even taking him into consideration, there is another factor involved in the destruction of Cackletta that would've prevented us from taking any action earlier. You'll find out what I'm talking about when he head there in a bit…" The plumber wants to say something else, but the Commander quickly pops open a radio device on the palm of his right hand and puts it up near his mouth. After a short dial tone a connection is established, and the person on the other line speaks first.

"_Commander, what is up?" _The voice is filtered out through speaks in Alpha's arm, and Mario recognizes it as that of Gemini's. "Lieutenant, how goes the progress on finding a way out of Smithy's factory?" Alpha asks. _"Eh…I'd like to say that it is going well, but it seems as though Smithy really didn't want anyone escaping his factory if they ever got in there…" _"How so?" The Commander inquires in a chipper tone. _"Mallow and I DID manage to find an interdimensional traveling gateway similar to the Stargadd the professor made, but it is password activated and for whatever reason my electrical powers aren't allowing me to hack into the mainframe to override the protection."_

"That's…Not exactly something I wanted to hear…" Alpha says with a hint of worry in his voice. _"Commander, are you showing concern for me? Come on, you know I've dealt with worse things than this. Though I must ask, how are things going on your side?" _The Commander smirks at Gemini's lack of panic in his current situation, and after a nervous crack in his ensuing chuckle he says to his loyal Lieutenant, "Everything is going ok Lieutenant…Dimentio is down for the count, and Cackletta is all that remains of the Apocalypse Royale now." _"Awesome. Hey, sorry that I won't be able to help you take her down, but I do have good news to give to you before I go."_

Even though he is enthusiastic in spite of a situation that would usually lead to one's depression or anger, Alpha finds no problem with Gemini's behavior and actually increases the width of his grin. "Alright, shoot Gemini." He says. _"Well, before we found the device, Mallow and I worked together to shut down all the production lines throughout the dimension along with destroying any machine made copies that were already brought into existence. So no one will be able to mis-use this factory after we leave." _"Way to think ahead Lieutenant!" The Commander says with gruff enthusiasm in response to the Koopa's smart thinking. _"Actually, it was all Mallow's idea…Not going to take credit where it isn't due here sir." _Gemini says humbly, which garners a laugh from the Commander.

"Alright Gemini, I'll make sure to congratulate Mallow for his savviness when he gets back. I wish you luck, and I'll hear from you later…Goodbye for now." Alpha seals the end of the conversation off with a heartfelt farewell, and the device immediately shuts off without the Commander knowing just how his Lieutenant responded to what he said. With the radio communicator sealed up by a plate, his arms are folded behind his back and he begins to make way towards the closest door set before him. "I got a few preparations to make Mario, my joints feel stiff from a lack of activity as of recent…Go ahead and get ready yourself, maybe get some caffeine to keep yourself awake, since you've been up for probably about sixteen hours by now."

As the Commander shuts the door behind him after giving Mario some advice, the plumber tightly clenches his fists. Something was angering him now that Alpha's presence was gone, and after he grits his teeth Alex takes note of his friend's disappearing tranquility. "Mario…Are you feeling ok?" He calls out to him, and the plumber turns around to acknowledge his inquiry. With a brief shake of the head Mario walks over to the orb that the boy is trapped in and folds his arms in front of his chest. In turn, Alex lays back against the object that confines him with his arms wrapped behind his head and his legs crossed against the bottom of it.

"So what is the cause of your blatant antagonism Mario?" The boy asks. Mario lets out a sigh "It is not that I'm feeling antagonistic towards anything, I'm more or less irritated than angered…" he then says. "Because of Alpha?" Alex quickly deduces. Looking up after relieving the tension in his muscles, the plumber's eyes widen in surprise momentarily. "Don't look surprised, anyone could've figured it out." The boy replies with a cheery grin on his face. Mario chuckles out of embarrassment and grins as well. "Fair enough." He then states.

"So why are you still mad at him? If its because of what happened in the copter…" "It has nothing to do with that." Mario swiftly cuts Alex off mid-sentence, and the boy lets out a sigh of relief. "Good…Because if you were still holding on to that then I'd be really concerned." Though the boy's comment ironically earns some concern from Mario, who thinks to himself "As the victim, how could Alex be so quick to let go of that matter?" But he then opens his mouth and says "Yeah, that's not my problem with Alpha. My problem with him is that I'm getting sick and tired of the fact that he has a seemingly endless supply of secrets buried in that cranium of his. Judging from a couple of Gemini's reactions, Alpha is hiding secrets even from his closest allies. Honestly, I don't get where he gets off trying to act nice towards any of us if he is going to do everything in his power to keep the truth from coming through his lips at the most opportune times!"

Alex could see Mario's point, and deep down he believed the same thing about Alpha, but there was something the boy took into consideration that the plumber probably didn't. "You know, maybe there is a reason for that. Maybe something happened in his past that left him incapable of trusting anyone with secretive information…We don't know his backstory Mario, so his behavior could more than likely be justified by the events that occurred before he met us." In return, the plumber gets what the boy is trying to say, and nods his head once and begrudgingly admits "Yeah, you may be right Alex. Still, I really don't like the fact that I'm going to have to travel with him if we are going to have a chance at stopping Cackletta."

"Well if there is one thing I can say for certain…And this is just my opinion mind you" Alex says as he lifts his body up and places his hands against the calves of his legs. "But it seems as though Alpha likes to spill his secrets more whenever you are around." Mario's eyes widen upon hearing the boy's observation. There was evidence to suggest that what he said was correct, but the plumber didn't know what to make out of any of it. Alex interrupts his train of thoughts though with a couple more sentences from his mouth. "Mario, back in my world you were always portrayed as the happy-go-lucky sort of hero. I hate seeing you feel this way about Alpha right now…But I'm not going to demand that you just let your problems go. Instead, can you just bear with him for a bit longer? Cackletta is the greater of two evils, so if you want to confront Alpha about his secrecy, do so after everything has resolved."

Alex raised a good point, that despite his faults the Commander had done nothing to betray the heroes to the enemy to his best of knowledge, and with her incredible persistence Cackletta has proven herself to be too much of a threat to let live another day. So with a nod of the head Mario regains his cheery resolve and thrusts his right fist in front of his face. "Alright, thanks a lot for the talk Alex, I feel much better now." He says with a tone of gratitude. Giggling happily to himself, the boy lays himself back and says to his friend "Glad to be of assistance. You've been there for me when I needed help, so I'm glad to have returned the favor for once." With nothing left of interest to bring up, all that was left for Mario to do was stand around and wait for Alpha to return.

An uneventful hour passes, the time now passing 2:00 AM when the Commander finally makes it back to the center of the battleship. His arms look renewed, a fancy looking polish on it that would blind everyone in the room if the sun were still out. "My my, you sure look better now than you did when I left…" Alpha says, commenting on the change in the plumber's overall demeanor as he makes his way towards the pedestal behind him. "You ready to go now?" The Commander asks with a tilt of the head towards the man in red. There was no hesitation present in Mario as he nodded his head, and the grin on the Goomba's face proved that he was delighted to hear such an answer.

Climbing the staircase to the top where his chair lies, Alpha jumps and flips his body around 180 degrees as he steps on the second to last step. He is propelled into the seat, his trenchcoat moving slightly before he lands. The right arm flips over, revealing a series of buttons on the bottom that the Commander casually moves his hand over and begins typing on. On the runway of the ship, a siren starts blaring loudly, but because of precautionary measures the sound is contained within an anti-noise barrier so the citizens below are not disturbed. A metal plate pulls back into the runway, a medium-sized silver device slowly popping out of the hole made as the sirens begins to die down.

With a rounded barrel that has a five antennae sticking out of the front of it in a star-like pattern, the rings connected to it start to glow various colors, a signal to the Commander that the device is powering-up. The whirring of the engines is unheard by those in the protection of the main command room, but Alpha can tell that everything is ready to go only a few seconds after the device locks into place. "Alright then…Setting coordinates, opening causality rift…NOW!" With a firm press of the red button at the front, the device activates. Instead of glowing brightly, the tip of the center antenna starts losing its color until it has become entirely pitch black, the rings following suit as sparks start breaking out through the cracks in the barrel.

When it has been charged to the fullest extent, a powerful, demonic looking shot is thrust from the antenna's tip. Moving faster than anyone could ever hope to calculate, the shot breaks a hole right through the fabric of reality and creates a distorted black and violet gap in front of the ship. The gap looks ready to expand outward, consuming all within its twisted grasp. But four miniature lasers shoot out from the other antennae and connect with different ends of the gap, stopping its advance while still allowing its existence to be maintained. Satisfied with the results, Alpha lets out a cocky grin before getting off of his chair and leaping down to join Mario down below.

Having watched the spectacle unfold, the plumber is rather perturbed by the gap's presence, especially considering the measures that had to be taken to prevent it from growing. "What was that all about?" He questions. "You referring to the expansion of the gap or the lasers fired at it?" Alpha says in response. "Both, actually" Mario says as a third option response to the question fired back at him. "Eh, don't concern yourself about the gap. It would've expanded only a little bit more before stopping…We would have more reason to be concerned about what could've come OUT of the gap, which is what the lasers are for. So long as they are up, only those registered in the M.S.I. database can exit and enter."

Mario was thankful to hear that the Commander had thought ahead on such matters, and with a relieved nod of the head the plumber joins Alpha is heading on out. However, before they leave through the door…"Hey you two!" They turn their heads around to the boy who called out to them from within the crimson sphere. With a cheery smile on his face as he sits straight up, Alex looks out to the two heroes, proud to see that they will be working together for the greater good of the planet. He didn't care at this point about his situation, he knew that everything would turn out alright in the end so long as people like them existed.

"I want you to give Cackletta a message from me…Tell her that Joe Dark's soul is waiting for her in hell!" Relaying the message with much enthusiasm, the two heroes share a quick laugh before nodding their heads. Alpha says in response, "Can do Alex, can do…" And with that they leave through the shutter doors, heading down the long hallway until they eventually reach the platform that takes them to the runway. Gazing out into the starry night sky, Mario finds that the gap blends in well with the dim lights above, and not even the lasers can take away from the majesty that is the crescent moon above.

As the two of them edge closer to the portal, Alpha folds his arms behind his back and has but one thing to say to the plumber. "Call on your Star Spirit powers. Trust me, you are going to need them." Not one to disagree, especially seeing as he'll need to fly to reach the gap anyways, Mario nods his head and focuses his energy inside of himself while the Commander does the same. The usual routine happens, with the pillars of light cascading and the Star Spirits faded images appearing. Alpha grows angelic wings on his back, his skin becoming more golden while his arms turn black and his trenchcoat silver. Mario's ensemble remains exactly the same as before. With their bodies floating inches off the ground, the two look at the gap, and without any hesitation they speed towards it, entering it and leaving their home world behind without a single look back…

_Next Time: Unknown Desolation_


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: Unknown Suffering**

Upon entering the gap the two heroes suddenly find themselves forced onto their feet. The area around them is pitch black as can be, and not even the light surrounding their bodies can allow them to see anything around. Mario couldn't even tell if he was blinking his eyelids at all, or if they were even edging closer to their destination. Everything felt motionless, like darkness was wrapping against his goose-bumped flesh and chilling him right down to the nerves. In time salvation comes in the form of a passageway to the outside world. It is not by the lifting of their feet that they make it out though, but because of the vortex itself that carries them to the end.

Their bodies land on the ground, the gap keeping open behind them so they can return once their business is taking care of. Mario feels dizziness welling up inside his, especially considering he had never experienced such a sensation before in his life. He places one hand against his forehead as he tries to shake off the pain, but as he regains his senses he turns to look at Alpha. His body is motionless, for he has already noticed the plumber's predicament and is waiting patiently for the sensation to subside within him. However, Mario notices that the Commander looks unaffected by the transportation, which would signify that his body was either adapted beforehand to handle it, or it was simply used to the sensation because he had experienced it once before.

His vision starts to focus on the environment set before him, and once fully recovered he pauses for a moment while removing his hand from his face. The two of them had arrived at a deserted, aqua blue hallway. Looking off to the sides, Mario found that there are many, many empty prison cells, and the doorways to them have broken glass hanging out from the edges. There are layers of dust and an abundant amount of rust set across the metal walls and ceiling, and it even looked like the roof could collapse upon them at the slightest misstep. Wherever they were at, it had been abandoned by all living beings for centuries, perhaps even many a millennia.

The lights on the floor are struggle to maintain power, their constant flickering on and off providing the only comforting atmosphere in this bleak looking breadth. Alpha is the first to step forward, unfazed by the destruction. The plumber follows him after trying his hardest to take in everything around him at once. It was an environment he was not used to witnessing, and even the Palace of Shadows' desolate design paled in comparison to what he saw at this very moment. He almost hesitated to inch ahead, the trip through the vortex having dismissed the courage from his mind and leaving him fearing what lurked behind the door on the other side.

The Commander turns around and notices Mario shivering, which prompts him to remember a time in his past when he too feared the tread through the dark unknown. He doesn't sigh in annoyance, instead choosing to open a small panel on his right arm, and a miniature claw pulls a brown/green pill out that is plucked in the grasp of the Goomba's left hand. He looks towards the plumber and calls out to him, and once he is aware of his actions the pill is tossed straight at him. Swinging his right arm out to grab it, he looks towards Alpha with a puzzled look on his face, not because he didn't know what the pill was for, but because he was surprised that the Commander was being nice to him like this.

However, Alpha recognizes his facial expression as a sign that he doesn't have a clue about the pill's contents, and with a slight sigh he closes his eyelids and reassures his ally by saying, "Relax, it's a Melatonin pill, it'll relieve the anxiety you got from entering this realm." He says without a hint of arrogance in his tone, and after a nod to thank him Mario puts the pill into his mouth, building up saliva so he can down it through his esophagus. The effects are instantaneous as the clear coat is melted off, and though his heart beats rapidly for a few seconds it adjusts to the vitamin intake and returns to a normal pace a few seconds later.

Mario was finally ready to go, and without exchanging a word he darts out to catch up with Alpha, the two joining side by side as they make it to the end of the hallway. There was no point to them trying to pry the doors open, so the Commander casually raises his right arm and changes it to its cannon form, pointing it at the center crease before firing an ionic beam that melts a hole into the center for the two of them to walk out through. When the limb is converted back to normal it is placed behind his back, the other one grabbing onto the melted edge of the outlet as Alpha peers his head out and uses the cybernetic eye hidden underneath his eye patch to scan for any life forms. He confirms that there is no one besides the two of them in the area, and after he slips with caution through the hole Mario ducks his head down and follows close behind.

Now in a new part of this mysterious locale, the plumber looks around and notes that they are now in a curved hallway that, while it is lighter in color, there is a lot more destruction present than there was with the prison cells. Right away a quick turn of the head reveals long, rabid looking claw marks etched across the wall for yards on end. On the other side of things there were rings of soot, possibly from blaster shots or, as Mario shivers upon thinking about it, a part of the wall where a living being was burnt to death by the same creature that created the claw marks.

The gloomy atmosphere, already obvious to the point that it would be ridiculous for there to be more to increase the feeling of despair, does indeed get worse as the two heroes tread forward. Mario almost feels revulsion as he notices the rotten, cobweb covered skeletons of creatures he is not familiar with. "…Cackletta definitely chose the right place to put her base. This nightmarish locale fits her demeanor to a 'T'." Mario notes, but Alpha, who remains unflinching in his walk, turns his head slightly and says to the plumber "Mario, with her magic I never would've been able to teleport us directly to her location…This lifeless ship is not where she is at."

Mario is surprised that Commander is familiar with this structure that they are walking through, though not the extent that he usually is considering recent events. "What…?" He says, holding back the puzzled tone in his voice for only a second. "Look, I can't waste time explaining things in my own words, so allow me to just show you…" Alpha stops in place in front of a circular doorway, whose sliding segments have been ripped right out and flung off into the room itself. Inside the room there are many signs of a struggle, but no corpses to suggest that it ended in there. At the very end of the room is a clear, rounded screen with a console lying in front of it. A short observation made the plumber assume that it was incapable of functioning, but he trusted that the Commander knew what he was doing for now, especially considering he needed answers about the realm that they are in.

Alpha opens up a panel below the dusty keyboard, and though there are cobwebs abundant in the mainframe, he figures he can get the screen up and running with a little effort. He sticks his right hand into the wires, where it transfers it an unknown device while Mario tries to peek in behind his rounded body. He couldn't catch a glimpse of what he was doing, but the sound of sparks filled his ears. In time the Commander finished things up, and changed his arms back to normal before the plumber could see what he used. The panel is slammed back into place, dust puffing out of the slits on all sides as the Goomba claps his hands together.

"Alright Mario, you want to know what we are up against here? Well prepare to find out…" He says with a glance over the shoulder. There was a glowing green orb at the back of the keyboard, and Alpha's right hand went towards it quickly, pressing down on it with an open palm to activate the screen above. The clearness is filled in with black, and the Commander gets to work typing information into the console. Suddenly, noises are heard coming from the speakers, as video footage pops up on the screen. Alpha and Mario step back and lift their heads up an inch to get a better look at the events that unfolded in the past.

There are strange alien symbols at the bottom right corner of the screen, a couple of them changing to show the shift in time with every passing second. However, there is no way to translate them so Mario moves his focus away from them. There is a lot of static, probably because even with Alpha's efforts the console is struggling to keep the video playing. The footage starts in the midst of what appears to be a grand battle, as a bunch of lizard-like aliens wearing intergalactic space armor keep their plasma blasters aimed ahead of them. They are in the hallway that the two of them had entered the realm through, though the damage doesn't look as extensive on the video as it does now.

They fire at the door, the pillar of smoke raised by the impact of a hundred shots concealing the enemy from view. One soldier yells out, "They are…We can't ha…." Though his words are half-obscured because of the worn out circuitry, Mario could easily tell that he was in a state of panic. A few echoing thuds are heard as the camera starts to shake. A blaster shot bigger than all the others is fired straight at the door, a green energy based explosion going off before it dissolves into smoke. The one responsible for the attack is a steel blue-skinned alien who dwarves the others in size, his elephant like feet and curved tusks on the bottom of his face suggesting a whale/elephant hybrid species. He puts his blaster into the teal holster attached to the left side of his waist and looks down at his soldiers with his slanted, pupil less blue eyes.

"Fall back men…I will ho…line…" He gives his order in a deep, baritone yet authoritative voice. The soldiers easily respected his command, and started to head out through the doorway on the other side of the room. However, the footage suddenly skips ahead to a few minutes later, when every last soldier in the room including the giant whale have fallen to the ground without their bodies showing any signs of life. Squinting as hard as he can, Mario is surprised to see that save for a few battle scars here and there none of the aliens are secreted blood from their wounds.

But that didn't matter, what was true was that they had lost the battle, but to who or what was still unknown. However, that wasn't what Mario learned about next, as his eyes widen he sees an event that defies all imagination. Emerging from the chests of each alien is a sparkling, crystalline heart-shaped object. It floats over the bodies for a few seconds, like it is trying to make a decision about where to go now that it has been released. But suddenly something black leaps out and snatches one of the hearts in the grasp of its miniature, three-pronged claws. With the bleak atmosphere in the room the plumber couldn't make out just WHAT the creature was, but he doesn't linger on the issue for long as he witnesses the mysterious being devour the heart in one fell bite.

It was so sudden, so horrific to watch, and it almost snaps Mario back into a feeling of anxiety because he just isn't used to seeing such events unfold before his very eyes. Then the plumber turned to look at Alpha, who watches on without ever changing his emotions. This causes him to think back to what Alex said, and in turn he starts to wonder to himself "Could witnessing this footage in the past be the reason Alpha is so secretive? Because there are just some things out there that you are better off not knowing about?" Then he changes the direction of his thoughts to a new subject, sweat trickling down his forehead as he realizes, "Did Cackletta force him to watch this video?"

It was but a theory, and he knew that directly confronting Alpha about it would do no good. He had no concrete evidence to support his thoughts, and he lifted his head back up to see the video reach its conclusion. More of those pure black creatures had appeared to claim the remaining hearts, their glowing yellow eyes piercing through the static as if they started to notice the camera's existence. An orb shaped being with chains and horns thrusts itself down suddenly, causing Mario's heart to skip a beat as it opens its mouth up wide and bites right down onto the camera's lens. The video footage cuts off there as steam starts coming out from the slits in the console's doorway, and a small explosion occurs due to the overloading of its circuits.

The panel is thrust open and black smoke flies out like a stack, reaching up towards the ceiling as the heroes back away from it. That was the last time the footage would ever be witnessed by living eyes, and as Alpha turns around to look at the horrified look in the plumber's eyes he says in a calm and collected tone, "Do you understand now Mario?" The plumber, though he saw bits and pieces of the enemy the Commander referred to, was still confused by their appearance even after he calmed his beating heart down. "No…I don't get it Alpha, what were those creatures?" He asks. "…I'll explain more about them on the way out. All you need to know at the moment is that they are the only things protecting Cackletta from us, and leave it at that."

Mario, as his shifted facial features suggest, doesn't exactly like the prospect of having to combat those creatures after seeing that for all their attacks the aliens in the video couldn't do anything to stop them. However, he trusts Alpha's judgment for the time being, and if the witch is associating herself with these creatures then that gives him even more of a reason to stop her. The Commander starts to exit the room, and the plumber follows close behind. It felt weird to him, letting someone else lead, but in the end Mario had to submit to the fact that he was absolutely clueless about the area he is traversing. This wasn't anything like the journey to reincarnate the Elemental Overlord, where Alpha was perfectly fine with him leading because he had been doing so from the start. Until the Commander told him everything, there was no even ground between them as far as intelligence went.

The two of them continued down the hallway until they reach another door, this one still having its doors active, which Mario found impressive considering everything else. Alpha gave a quick warning to tread lightly as he went over the panel and activated the four-digit code that made the doors slide open. The plumber walked to the end of the hall past the Commander, and his pupils shrink as he sees the environment set before him. It was a distorted landscape where no white light existed to brighten anything, and there is a multitude of grey platforms connected together by violet branches that have glowing blue streams flowing through them. In the background is a mysterious vortex surrounded by dark thorns.

Mario then looks around him, revealing that the ship they are on has been cleaved in two, the second half having fallen so long ago and the remaining half struggling to maintain balance while it is wedged between two platforms. Even with his and Alpha's combined weight, it wouldn't be enough to offset the balance, so the plumber breathed a sigh of relief knowing that the ship's half wouldn't collapse into the depths below. After all, their exit home was buried within the confines of the once massive, extraterrestrial battleship. "So, what now?" Mario asks with a glance over his shoulders to the Commander. "We descend…" He replies without a loss of his composure.

With the power of flight granted to him the plumber isn't concerned about the height at which he has to drop down from. He moves his legs out past the edge of the hallway, his body slowly dropping down towards the platform in front of them as Alpha joins him only a few seconds later. Once they've caught up to each other the Commander turns his head to the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom. "Time for another revelation Mario." He says with a bit of dry enthusiasm, for he feels as though he will be saying that sentence a lot over the next few hours.

"As you've probably noticed by now, the air is thick with darkness in this realm. You experienced the light-effects of exposure to this realm already with that anxiety attack of yours, that's all I'm going to say as far as that goes. It is hard to maintain one's existence in this realm for very long, and there are only two ways I've determined that you can stay in her for a prolonged period of time. One, you have a strong heart that can fight back the darkness…And two, you enter this realm under the Star Spirits' protection. Anyone who doesn't fill either of those conditions will find themselves being slowly corrupted by the vast quantities of negative energy until they become an unrecognizable shadow of their former selves."

Alpha's explanation brought to light something that Mario had wondered about before, and as he continues to be surprised by the Commander revealing one thing after another to him, he murmurs out, "I see…So that's why…" "It is why we didn't go after Cackletta earlier." Alpha interjects with an honest expression present on his face. "Because I…I mean, we needed their powers…You know, I guess in the end I should be thankful to Joe Dark for forcing them to go to such measures, cause now we will be able to defeat Cackletta because of it…Even so, I will openly admit that I had to also create the device that opened the gap to this realm, and after that test to make sure that my theory held true. In total, those efforts took two and a half months to complete, though the final stages were delayed thanks to Tabuu's attack…"

After that brief explanation the two heroes land on the ground, and Alpha wastes no time in taking one out to point it at the vortex. "We will need to break through there to get to where Cackletta is at…" "Sounds like a plan." Mario replies with his arms folded in front of his chest. Though he was worried about the creature's from the video appearing to stop, he kept his mind away from lingering on those thoughts. The two heroes start to take a few steps forward, but the Commander notices something moving along the ground in the distance. Blobs of darkness wiggle through the ground, inching their way closer to them as Alpha raises his left arm to stop the plumber while converting his other one into its sword form.

When the blobs make it to their destinations, they stop in place and become puddles that spawn round-headed, tiny creatures with glowing yellow eyes and three-pronged claws, the same type of creatures that devoured the hearts in the footage Mario witnessed just a few minutes ago. He couldn't believe that they were able to take down the advanced alien soldiers, cause there was nothing about them that signified that they were threatening. However, following behind the little "Shadows" are more black creatures, though these ones have more humanoid, muscular builds and longer, crooked antennae. There are also dark-blue lines through their body that are barely visible amongst the endless black.

"Figures this would happen…" Mario reluctantly says as he turns his body to the side and puts his fists out ready for battle. "I'd like to say 'Have my back' right now Mario…But I get the feeling if you'd try and get near me I'd accidentally cut you!" Alpha says as a lighthearted joke, which actually earns a chuckle from the plumber. "Yeah, well you'd be better off worrying about me accidentally hitting you Alpha!" With their quips exchanged the two heroes charge at the swarm of black creatures, which continue to spawn in droves. The Goomba swiftly moves to two of the smaller creatures and cuts them down in once slice, backflipping out of the way of another's charges and landing in the center of five of them and three of their larger counterparts, a 360 swing bringing them in contact with the tip of his blade and cutting them down, their darkness dispersing into the wind never to be seen again.

Mario charges at one of the bigger shadows, bringing his fire infused right into its face with all of its might. There is no change in its facial expression as the damage is taken and it disintegrates. But another creature behind it lunges at Mario, bringing its claws out and scratching the air before the tips of the right claw make contact with the top of the plumber's cap that he uses as a guard to protect his skin from harm. However, even with the scratch marks on the top leaving parts of his scalp vulnerable, Mario keeps up with his momentum and slams his head right into the creature, the veil around his body proving more than enough to burn a hole right through the creature's gut and dealing with the rest of it the same way once his whole body makes contact with it.

But he can't keep doing this for long, and the plumber lifts his head up to see two of the bigger shadows opening portals below their feet and jumping into them. A swarm of the littler ones show up to distract him from the bigger one's actions, and Mario lights both of his hands with the Firebrand before charging straight at the shadows. He swings his body around, his extended arms flinging fireballs out that ignite four of the creatures in a holy blaze that turns them to ash and sends their essence away. He overshot his propulsion though and starts to fall onto his back. It is only with quick thinking that Mario holds his hands down against the ground to prevent his collapse.

He props himself up high and after maintaining a balance he spreads his legs out wide and uses his hands to twirl around and kicks away all other shadows that charge his way. The tornado of feet looks like it'll never end, were it not for the fact that there were creatures lurking in wait out of the reach of anyone. The puddles reappear on two sides of Mario's body as he slows his spin down, and the bigger creatures leap up one after the other. The first one offsets the plumber's balance with one claw while using the other one in rapid succession to push him onto the ground. The second one catches him mid-air by wrapping both of its arms around Mario's figure and landing on its feet after gravity takes hold and it lowers its head down to glare at his prey.

The eyes, perfectly round but expressing no emotions, burn themselves into Mario's retinas as he grits his teeth and wiggles his arms out to break from the creature's grip. It was strange how his aura wasn't burning it like it did to the others, but the plumber quickly figured that it only worked if he attacked them physically. The head of the creature started to creak, fangs slowly coming into view to represent the shadow's mouth while a dozen salivating tendrils thrust themselves out the newborn crevice, hungry for Mario's heart. One of them gets close to his cheek as he tries to wiggle away, the slime rubbing against it so the shadow can get a reading on how strong his heart is.

The process was hard to determine, but when it was done the shadow retracted his tendrils and lifted his head up high, letting out a high-pitched, joyous sounding screech. It was an alert to the rest of its clan, that for the first time in what were probably many millenniums, the creatures had found a heart that would satiate their hunger for decades to come. Mario couldn't figure out what it was doing though, but knew that it would lead to trouble. So while the shadow is distracted he pulls his right arm out of its grasp and sets it on fire, socking it in the face with enough power put behind the blow to disintegrate it.

But it was too late, for hundreds of other shadows both big and small suddenly pop out of the sea of darkness to surround him. There was no time to waste now, as Mario flares his fists up brightly and leaps into the air, throwing as many fireballs as he could in front of him to bombard the shadows and diminish their forces. He takes out twelve, but triple that amount leap into the air simultaneously and latch themselves around his body. Submerged in the darkness created by them merging together, the plumber grunts his all of his mighty to increase the intensity of his starlight aura. The shadows stood no chance, as they are annihilated without a trace by the golden glow covering Mario's body.

The shadows keep coming, three replacing every single one that the plumber destroys. But before the swarm can react any further Mario charges down and impacts the ground, sending out a massive burning shockwave that hits and takes out more of the shadows. He then rushes forward undeterred, his fists flying out in a frenzy through every creature that stands in his path. But there is no edge in sight, for more come to replace him. They try to charge at him, only to meet the end of his knuckles and die. Mario quickly realizes he was getting nowhere, and that he had a better chance of falling of the platform at this rate than he did of breaking through.

So he flips his body around, jumping and landing on the ground so his momentum will have him grind for a few seconds while giving him time to make preparations. He holds his hands up and below his body, fire trailing out his movements before he pulls them behind his body. After a couple seconds of charging as the flames crackle in his eardrums the hands are thrust out, the palms colliding in the center and sending out two high-speed streams of shining fire that resemble comets, the two of them swirling together like a cylinder and successfully burning through hundreds upon hundreds of shadows while at the same time scorching the ground in its wake.

When the attack finally collides with one of the darkened branches, it explodes and releases a widespread detonation field that takes out close to a hundred more of the creatures. The damage was immense, but still the shadows looked on without any change in emotions. However, they remained motionless now, and dark puddles started to appear below their feet. They sunk into it, and though they were probably without minds Mario was right to assume that if they did, they would be thinking, "This prey is not worth dying for." So the swarms vanished, leaving the plumber with a moment's reprieve.

He lifts his arms up and starts panting lightly. It took a lot out of him to just keep going like he did and even if the swarms stayed he knew that he would never be able to eliminate them all. Their numbers were probably infinite, spawned from the darkness entrenched around them. Alpha walks up behind him, and with his body on edge the sound of his feet touching the ground to approach him made him quickly spin around and set his right hand on fire. The flames were ready at the fingers to fling a fireball when he widens his eyes and sees the flinched expression on the Commander's face. He lowers his arm to the side of his body and dispels the flames only a moment afterwards.

Looking up into the sky, Mario sees hundreds of glowing hearts flying towards the vortex. They were the same ones from the video, obviously spawned from the creatures they slew. "…These creatures consume the spiritual hearts of every living being they meet, using them to fuel their otherwise worthless existences." Alpha says, answering a question that he figured the plumber had on his mind at that very moment. "What or who created them?" The plumber asks after lowering his head to look at the Commander, who turns his body around to meet his gaze. "I don't have a clue." He says with a shrug of his shoulder and a tone of honesty.

"They could be a product of this realm's abundant darkness, or creatures spawned from satan's thrall…Either way, I have at least come up with a name to call them by. Obviously since they feed on hearts, this would imply that they themselves lack them…Therefore, I refer to them as 'The Heartless'" There was a seriousness to Alpha's tone of voice that Mario had never seen him take before, like deep down he actually feared the creatures. But the Commander wasn't done, and continue his sentence by saying "Just giving you a heads-up Mario before we go any further…What we fought were the weaker varieties, and further in they won't be as easy to scare off. You still ready to press on?"

The plumber didn't have to think, he nodded his head at once that Alpha grinned at. "Wonderful." He says in enthusiasm. He then turns around and brandishes one hand at the vortex. "Now, to break through that we are going to need to fly through it as fast as we can…However, once on the other side, the darkness will be so thick that it'll be impossible to maintain flight. It sucks, but it'll take us longer to reach Cackletta because of it…" Mario thought about how long it might take, thinking about the time that has passed and putting an estimate in his mind. "Six and a half hours…Alex will be freed by then. Can we stop the witch's plans before that?"

The plumber had a bit of doubt in his mind, but as the two heroes rise into the air he shakes his head and says to himself. "Yes…Yes we can." With full confidence. He looks at the vortex, the obstacle currently in his way, and arches his eyebrows ready to go. Alpha clenches his right fist in front of his face and says to himself "Alright you bitch…I'm coming for you." In a quiet tone. The preparations now readied, the two heroes shoot their bodies forward like streaks of golden light, their visages vanishing into the center of the vortex in a matter of seconds as they leave the area behind…

_Next Time: Who Can You Trust?_


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: For Once, The Truth**

The two heroes are pushing their way through the vortex of never-ending despair, and though their Star Spirit granted powers absorb the brunt of the maelstrom, most of it still seeks to penetrate through it and force their abundance of negative emotions into their conscious minds. Mario and Alpha both have to squint their eyelids as they continue to push through with all of their might. The darkness swirls around, the thorns looking ready to pop out at any moment to strangle and bind the two heroes in place. It is but an illusion, an illusion meant to dissuade their advances. Was it being done via magic, or did the realm have a mind of its own that was insulted by the presence of two beings covered in pure light? These were the two questions on Mario's mind at that very moment.

Then something else came to his mind. The hearts that floated away after the Heartless' destruction, they clearly originated from the bodies of those who have long departed from those worlds. Alpha said that they were the spiritual hearts, which meant that contained within those glowing effigies were the conscious souls of the departed. So more than likely, they were forced to endure the maelstrom of negative emotions, but unless their spirits were strong they wouldn't be able to endure it. It was a horrible scenario to think about, and Mario hoped that it wasn't because the vortex was getting to him that he was even considering such things.

An end to the vortex was slowly coming into view, and as the Commander noted the darkness started to become thicker and thus they slowly start to descend towards the foggy hole that leads outside. In a matter of seconds they are thrust out the other side, their bodies crashing onto the ground with much force. They land on their sides, skidding along the ground for a few seconds and tearing up the ground as they move. Even with the expected results, the decline occurred faster than the two heroes could react to. Luckily, Mario has his clothes to protect his skin while Alpha has his bulky, metallic arms to protect his.

Once they stop and the grey dust settles back onto the ground, the plumber gets on his knees and starts panting loudly while trying to maintain his sanity. He takes a look behind him, seeing that the exit of the vortex exists above a forest of warped, diabolical yet leafless trees. "You know…I felt this sensation once before…" Alpha calls out to Mario, who turns his head back around to find that the Commander has his palms lying flat onto the ground, the rest of his body showing the same signs of exhaustion that he currently has. It goes a long way to show how bad of an idea it is the traverse through the vortex, even with the protection of a strong heart or the Star Spirit's veil. "Just give me a moment to recover…Alright?" Alpha asks kindly to Mario, who nods his head and lets him have his reprieve while he himself gets on his feet and tries to get a scope of the area.

He walks over to the edge of the platform, which has a darker hue than the one they were previously on, though that is because there is less light, if that was even possible, then there was in the prior area. He tilts his head outward and places one hand above his eyebrows, squinting his eyelids as he notices something lying in the distance. There are the ruins of a darkened castle, the ground below concealed by a layer of dark purple fog, while the skies above crackling with lightning in the clouds of a similar color. A couple of the castle's towers have collapsed, and the damages done to it looked incapable of repair.

Mario could only imagine how the structure looked in its prime, with pristine walls and lively interiors. As he thinks about this though, his mind suddenly shifts the image set before to that of Peach's Castle, which had undergone a vile transformation thanks to the effects of the realm's abundant darkness infecting it. This foreign realm, all these different locations that were consumed by it…As the plumber shivers trying to erase that disgusting image from his mind, he has but one question one his mind, "What happened in here to make everything like this?"

Alpha, having finally recovered from his earlier emotional pain, gets up and walks up behind Mario, noticing his behavior and misconstruing it for something else. "Don't worry about it Mario…Cackletta isn't anywhere in that castle." The plumber turns his head as the Commander points to the right of him. In the distance is a series of neon hexagon platforms unconnected to the rest of the platform yet still reachable with a single jump. It leads to a hole carved into the fog, and the area beyond it looks brighter than everything Mario had seen beforehand. "You feeling better?" The plumber asks the Commander, turning his body to look at the Goomba, who shakes his head slightly and laughs. "Yeah, don't concern yourself over my condition…" He says to alleviate Mario's worries.

"Now then, let us trudge onwards." Alpha makes the first move, walking towards the right edge of the platform with Mario in tow. The plumber has a question to ask the Commander before they continue any further though. "Alpha, did you know anyone in the ship we traversed through?" The Goomba glances over his shoulder, giving the plumber a strange look in response to his question. "No…I actually didn't know any of them." He then looks back, jumping out without breaking his stride and landing on one of the hexagon platforms that float precariously in the air. After Mario joins him he turns his body around and stops to say, "Doesn't change the fact that no one on there deserved their fate…"

"Didn't say that they did, I was just curious if you had a connection with any of them. It just seems like you've been involved with a lot of the more notable people on Plit, so I thought maybe you knew a few people off world as well." "No, I know no one off Plit…" Alpha bluntly replies, suspicious of Mario's constant questions. The plumber could sense the dissent in the Commander's voice, and promptly chose to back off from asking anymore. However, that doesn't mean that the Goomba had nothing less to say. "I hate this realm with a passion though…" He turns his head away from Mario and shifts his eye back and forth.

"Why is that?" Mario asks, and this time Alpha was fine with the question since he was wanting to tell him more about the realm soon anyways. "Simply put, compare this realm to your own body, and the Heartless to antigens. Any actions you perform that open up holes in the body release your antigens, where they then spread through the air and infect other hosts with crippling diseases. This realm is a body that releases its antigens, the Heartless, to enter other worlds and devour people's hearts, crippling them permanently. The difference between a human and this realm though is that while you may spread illnesses unintentionally, the realm spreads its mayhem deliberately…Even worse, it doesn't cripple worlds so much as wipes them off the face of existence."

"…So wait a second." Mario thinks after hearing Alpha's explanation while the two of them continue on their way. "If what you say is true, then why haven't the Heartless attacked our world? Better yet, why hasn't someone like Rosalina or the Star Spirits warned us of this realm's existence? Cause for the Heartless to invade, they would've had to had to exit through a tear in space, right?" "Perhaps, I'm not exactly an expert on their behavior, after all…Though I do have a couple questions of my own…" Tilting his head to the right so his one organic eye stares over at Mario, Alpha says to him, "One…Judging from the ghastly look of hunger in the eyes of the creatures we fought, there is a high chance that is has been a very long time since the realm sent them out to consume hearts from other worlds…So the question is, who or what is holding them back in here?"

"Second…" The Commander says as they near the hole and he raises his right hand up. "For the Heartless to have consumed hearts with such frequency, someone or something would've had to been created to be a counter to them. I theorize that such a person or phenomena existed before or after the Elemental Overlord did, but the question raised by that is…What ever happened to him, her or it?" With his questions revealed, Alpha folds his arms behind his back and continues to press on, Mario now thinking about what was said with intrigue plastered onto his face. After much time spent talking, the two heroes finally reach the next area in this realm of infinite darkness.

However, this new location provides a more vibrant change in the atmosphere, contrasting the other parts of the realm immensely with its bright red skies, the source of light coming from the shadow of a gigantic castle off in the distance. The landscape is blank save for that, and the ground consists of platforms similar to the ones they tread to get here, though there are some gaps scattered throughout. "So that is where Cackletta is at…" Mario quickly points out as he looks on ahead, and Alpha only has to nod lightly to confirm his suspicions. "But where is this light coming from?" He then says as he looks up into the sky. "That…I don't know…" Alpha honestly replies, his tone showing uncertainty in the face of castle's shadow.

Suddenly, puddles of darkness skim through the ground, "Shadows" both big and small appearing out of them. Though all members of their species looked the same, the two heroes could tell that these were the same ones that ambushed them earlier. However, they were not alone now, and from out of nothingness in the air appeared another type of Heartless. These ones had pitch black spherical bodies with streaks of dark blue and small yellow eyes. The insides of their jagged, toothy mouths are blue, and it has three thick, black and blue tentacles with frayed, pink tips sprouting out of its body, two on its top and one on its underside.

They were not the only creatures to surround the two heroes though, as droves of curved swords in the air suddenly float above the rest of the Heartless, rings of violet fog collapsing into itself to spawn something new in its place. They have an incredible muscle frame, black skin, and a heart-shaped hole in their torsos. They have sharp purple and blue horns that form the outline of a curled heart, and they also have small blue bat-like wings on their back, gold-tipped feathered wings on their forearms, and bluish-purple fireballs under their feet. Their long tails appear scaly, and end in a sharp, crescent-shaped blade.

The amount of Heartless in view was immeasurable, but Alpha and Mario stood side by side ready to fight. They nod their heads once, say not a word, and charging at the swarm. It takes much longer than anticipated, but the two heroes are eventually able to drive the Heartless away once more with a well-coordinated effort. Surprisingly, they aren't as exhausted as they were after the previous encounter, probably because they were more used to fighting the creatures now. After clapping his reverted hands together, Alpha turns to Mario and pats him one on the shoulder, congratulating him for a job well done.

The plumber, in shock, turns his head to the Commander and sees a true to honest smile present on his face. His eyelids are actually closed as he does it, and his demeanor is similar to that of a father proud of his son. But it was an emotion that was not to last, as Alpha thrusts his eyelids open and lets out an embarrassed cough, turning his head away and saying with dignity, "Anyways…Let us keep moving, we got a long way to walk." With nothing else to say the Commander starts to trek towards the castle, and Mario follows in close pursuit.

An hour passes after that, and though they are slowly getting closer to the castle they are still a long ways off. Thankfully, the Heartless seem to have given up on targeting them, since they haven't encountered a single one since the entrance to this part of the realm. Mario thinks to himself "Four and a half hours left…" In reference to the time limit. The plumber himself had been going nearly non-stop for twenty-two hours, the only break in his run today being given when he wore himself out fighting the Axem Rangers. And even now he wasn't certain of the time, because for all he knew everything moved faster outside of here, or possibly even slower. Alex could already have been freed, or maybe it was five minutes after their departure.

Then Mario starts thinking deeper into the issue. Maybe years have passed on the outside, maybe the planet he lived on has already been destroyed, or the universe as a whole has been silenced. He imagines such empty darkness existing where everything once was, his heart pounding madly as sweat starts to secrete from many pores on his forehead. He didn't like these thoughts at all, he never wanted to think about any of them. One hand subconsciously moves towards the front of his face, his body beginning to tremble as the thoughts get worse and worse. The darkness is filled with the eyes of the Heartless, which scurry around this blank universe without end. The claws feel like they are scrapping his brain, and it hurt like hell.

But then Mario starts to think to himself, he remembers the place that he is in, and that the paranoia he is experiencing is more than likely a by-product of the realm's thick darkness, and now it is more evidence due to reaching what is probably the core. He regains his composure in record time, letting out a heavy sigh of relief as he moves his hand away from his face. He looks down at Alpha, who has kept his own arms held behind his back the entire time. Why was it so easy for him to continue walking this path? What did he have that Mario didn't have? He was still hiding some things from the plumber, and thinking back to what Alex said to him, he couldn't wait until Cackletta was finished to figure out just what those things were.

"Hey Alpha, what is with all the secrecy?" The questions slips out, and it was too late for Mario to take it back as he quickly realizes what he just asked. It is not that he didn't want to say it, but he was planning on wording it a bit better so he didn't sound so intrusive. It was because he was on edge in this realm though that he screwed up and let the question out prematurely. Alpha pauses in place, turning himself and looking at the plumber with a raised eyebrow. "What brought this on?" He asks in an irritated tone. Mario, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head with his right hand in regret, replies with "I just want to get to know you a little more, and now would be the best time to do so before we fight Cackletta."

"…" Alpha was silent for a moment. Now was not really the most opportune time to discuss such an important issue, but due to how sudden the question was the Commander can't really be bothered coming up with an excuse to get out of answering it. He scrunches his forehead with two of his fingers, closing his eyelids out of annoyance before quickly shifting his arms to the back of his body and opening them back up to glance up at Mario. "Alright, if you want to know why I'm so secretive around others, then I will tell you. Just know right now that I am going to be as brutally honest as I can possibly be. Do you still want to hear what I got to say?" The Commander sounded incredibly serious as he gave the plumber his warning, but Mario refused to back off, and nods his head once in response. "Very well then…" Alpha then says nonchalantly as he brings his arms away from his body.

"One of the basic elements in building a relationship with others is to form a bond of trust between, but I am incapable of following that because quite honestly everyone on Plit just simply cannot BE trusted. The weak of heart could easily divulge what they know to the enemy to save their own pathetic skins, the weak of mind can have their minds punctured by magic to gain information, and those who share neither trait will just become corrupted by power, rage or jealousy…I'm the only one on the planet who realizes just how much of a threat everyone or everything can be at any given time, and because of the resources granted to me in my base I've set up countermeasures to take down every single person on the planet if they turn to the side of or help those of malicious intent. Actually, let me go over with you just why each person in our so-called merry little group can eventually become a threat to this planet…Driad has control over nature, that means if he so wished it, he could dehydrate all plants on the planet and deprive every one of the oxygen necessary to keep themselves alive. Mallow will eventually become the ruler of Nimbus Land, and if he were to one day decide or be manipulated into expanding his territory his weather-based powers would lead to catastrophic results on the planet's atmospheric conditions. Gemini, my Liuetenant and the person I've come to closest to trusting, could become consumed by his demonic heart at any time, and even if I were to eventually stop him his powers over electricity would be able to kill hundreds of people and greatly cripple the planet's electronic based forms of economic growth. Geno, the current overseer of Star Haven, has access to the Star Rod, a majestic object of unknown origin whose powers grow exponentially with every wish and dream that travels up into the Star Sanctuary…All it would take is for him to wrongfully decide that 'No one deserves to live' and he would be invincible. Then there is Alex Whiter, the current Elemental Overlord…It really shouldn't take too much thinking to realize how big of a threat he'd be to the universe at large if he ever went rogue…Unfortunately, I as of yet haven't got a way to incapacitate him if that day were to ever come. Now let us talk about the two people closest to you in your life…Your brother, despite what he may think, is actually stronger than you in every way shape and form, and I have reason to suspect that he would be the easiest to corrupt if a villain would want to do so, especially considering how he was the only one on the entire planet who could've synchronized with the Chaos Heart like he did, which would suggest a repression of negative emotions inside of his mind. And in the end not even the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom is safe from evil's grasp…After all, her once pure heart was corrupted by the possession of the Shadow Queen, so she is just as susceptible to corruption as everyone else now. If it comes down to it, regardless of political position, I will kill even her to keep the world sa-"

Mario had been listening to Alpha go on his tirade throughout the entire thing, and as it edged closer and closer to the climax the plumber couldn't help but be increasingly disturbed by what the Commander said about his supposed allies, that he didn't trust a single person in the world and that he, in Mario's opinion, falsely believed that everyone would eventually endanger the world. It was especially grating to hear him talk about people he had worked beside and in turn see how through thick and thin they fought valiantly in the name of good. It wasn't so much a matter of distrust as it was Alpha trying to justify cases where he might end up having to murder someone on the planet when they show even slight signs of slipping at any given time. Then Mario considered that maybe he was misconstruing things, and jumping to a rash conclusion…But then Alpha mentioned the name of the woman he loved, and at that point he snapped.

With a swift punch thrust out at the Commander's face, the Goomba raises his right arm up suddenly and blocks it with the palm of his hand. Wrapping his fingers around the knuckle to keep it from pressing any further, Alpha looks at Mario as if the plumber had lost his mind. "Are you insane? We need all of our energy for Cackletta, are you letting this realm's negative influence get to you?" He says, his tone showing signs of a struggle to hold Mario's attack back. Alpha then lets go after pushing down on Mario's arm to prevent the fist from striking after his release. He then leaps back out of the way, as the plumber raises his head and grits his teeth in anger. "I'm sick of your arrogance Alpha. You don't have any valid reasons for your secrecy, you are simply paranoid of everyone around you and you think that your fear justifies murder. You are not above anyone you self-conceited Goomba, and if anyone is likely to turn evil, then all you have to do is look in a mirror to find the answer!"

"Your claims are ridiculous Mario, paranoia only works when you stop thinking in absolutes and start to consider the worst possible scenarios to be the only realities. I never said that everyone on this planet WILL turn evil; I'm just noting to you that it is a possibility and that I'm taking the necessary precautions to stop things from spiraling out of control. That's why I'm so secretive, because if I entrusted ANYONE with some of the information I wield and they fell to darkness, then there is a high probability that the planet Plit would never again exist in the cosmos! Now I'm telling you to stand down before you do something that you'll regret later on in life."

"That's where YOU are wrong Alpha…" Mario says firmly as he clenches his fists and ignites them both on fire. He glances at Alpha, who hesitantly transforms his right arm into its cannon form and stares at him back. "I'm not going to regret showing you how unjustified your line of thinking is!" The Commander raises his arm in front of his face while the plumber charges at him, his feet raised off the ground to increase his speed. A beam of ionic energy is fired that is surrounded by a veil of holy energy. Mario tilts his body to the right, the beam nearly scraping against him as he continues forward to the surprise of Alpha. Shifting his arm to the right to keep the beam going towards him, the plumber moves himself out of the way every time it is nearly an inch away from his body, and as the distance is closed Mario thrusts his right arm out and socks the Commander straight in the forehead.

With the two heroes having the same energies surrounding their bodies, Alpha is protected from the scorching effects of the fire, but the blow is still strong enough to send him tumbling backwards, his cannon automatically shutting down when it senses the damage done to its master. The Commander regains control and slams his feet against the ground, skidding across it and spreading his wings out to have the wind help slow him down. When he sees Mario charging him again, he summons forth his glowing rounded shield from a panel in his right arm and thrusts his left hand out, which then detaches from the rest of the arm connected by a sturdy wire. The plumber flings his right hand out to toss a fireball at Alpha, but the mid-air hand dispels it and latches on to the hand that tossed it.

The Commander reels his hand back in, Mario quickly dragged through the air against his will until the Goomba lets go and he continues flying at high speeds. With the hand screwed back into place Alpha raises his shield arm up and brings it down like a hammer onto Mario's back, the force of his blow slamming the plumber right into the ground gut first and sending a vibration of pain through his spine as the dust raises off the ground. The rim of the Commander's shield is reinforced with the strongest steel, so he is quickly surprised as Mario presses his hands against the ground and spins his body around, using his feet to trip Alpha up and have him flip onto his back. The plumber continues his motions by using his momentum to lift his legs into the air, pressing his hands against the ground to propel himself upward.

He spins around until his head is upright, setting his fist on fire mid-air and leaving the trail to follow him as he falls down towards the Commander with his hand held behind his head. The fist comes down, but not before Alpha widens his eyes and folds his wings, rolling out of the way of the blow just in the nick of time. He gets on his feet and turns his right arm into a sword, looking on at the plumber in stunned disbelief. "I'm not rusty…So why am I not able to react his movements in time?" He thinks to himself. Mario gets up and turns to the Commander, smirking as he raises his left hand above his head and summons a fireball in the palm with a snap of the fingers.

It then came to him as he looked into the plumber's eyes, and peered into his own heart. Mario charges forward and thrusts his hand out, tossing a fireball that Alpha quickly cuts down. This is followed up by the plumber attacking the Commander with a flurry of punches at close-range. With his sword he is able to swing out and block each blow, but he is unable to cut him. "Why?" He asks, confused by his sword's inability to function properly. Once again he thinks to himself as he continues to be pushed back by Mario's attacks. "…I get it now…"

Mario had something driving him; he always did as he fought for good each and every day. He was never at risk of becoming evil, because as long as he existed he would never lose the people that he protects, the connections that tether him to purity. He could push back the Commander so easily because at that very moment he was conflicted, and he remembers his own advice, _"A blade without focus is dull…"_ which provides him a good enough explanation as to why he cannot cut through the cloth of Mario's gloves as he strikes. However, that wasn't the only reason Alpha could think of as to why he was incapable of slashing the plumber then and there. His words had gotten to him; he had begun to doubt his own reasons for his continued secrecy. He was fighting out of paranoia, and for all his preparations they all amounted to nothing because the only threat to the planet was the one standing in the place of his conscious mind. Everyone else he mistrusted would never stray away; they did indeed prove that to him time after time. That's why he couldn't strike back, because if he did he would be denying his doubts, rejecting his revelation, he would win the battle, but lose himself and become the very person he strived to kill. Alpha looked into Mario's eyes, he could tell that deep down, he still saw hope for the Commander to redeem himself, and that in the heat of battle he would be the better man and come to terms with his own problems and allow the plumber to help him regain what he had lost, and that was the ability to trust those around him.

So finally Alpha chooses to drop his sword and let Mario hit him square in the face, the force of the blow sending ripples briefly through his skin before he gets knocked back many feet away from the plumber, his back scraping against the ground until he stops a few seconds later. He spent a few moments in silence to reflect on what he had learned, and after a quiet chuckle to himself he says, "Thirty years…And I still have people teaching me new things…" He thought it was funny, and as Mario walks up to him he notices him extending his hand out so he can be lifted up. Alpha accepts that offer and is back on his feet within seconds. The Commander then backs away to allow Mario breathing room as he places his right hand on his hip and wiggles the other one around in the air.

"Alpha, you need to re-learn to trust others more. Not everyone is working for Cackletta, and whatever past you have with the witch shouldn't have greatly influenced your opinion on everyone else. I'd be more than willing to help you out, if you'd accept my assistance." Mario's offer wasn't as surprising as it should've been, mainly because the Commander predicted that he would say that something to that extent. He imagines another man standing in the plumber's place for just a moment, and turns his head away to murmur to himself "You're just like your father…" To which the plumber replies unintentionally with "Huh?"

Alpha quickly turns back to look at Mario, saying out loud "Nothing Mario, it is nothing…" Letting out a cough to prepare himself for another tone of voice as he folds his arms behind his back and gets a sly smile on his face. "You know, it is the funniest thing Mario…Because for all of my prior distrust, you are the one person on the entire planet I know will never turn evil. You are the beacon of hope, the incorruptible purity that many people desire to live up to…Including, admittedly, myself…Very well, I will take you up on that offer Mario, and I must sincerely thank you for looking past my faults to allow me to trust people again…"

"Not a problem…" Mario replies in honesty. "By the way Mario…How do you feel now?" Alpha inquires with a raised eyebrow. "Umm…Actually, I feel a lot better than I did before." The plumber says after thinking the question over for a moment. "Hahaha…I guess our little scuffle relieved both of our conflicted minds a bit…Which is good, we wouldn't want this realm to get to us now would we?" "You're right." Mario joins the Commander in a jolly laugh, but that eventually subsides when they remember what they got to do. Even if it was for their benefit, they still used up precious time dealing with their affairs. Cackletta still waited for them in the castle in the distance, and they had a long ways to go before they reached it. So they turned to the shadow cast afar and began to tread towards it, Alpha raising his right hand up near his face and clenching it into the shape of a fist. He thinks to himself, "I am one step closer to happiness Commander…But still, there is-" His thoughts are cut off, and the journey continues…

_Next Time: The Hollow Castle_


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: Fawful's Last Stand**

An hour of two passes after the aftermath of Mario and Alpha's conflict, and they are just a few yards away from the castle. It is no longer obscured in a shadow, but instead the two-dimensional projection of darkness bathes the landscape, covering the two heroes as they advance. The light hidden behind it isn't nearly as bright because of this. Mario stills wonders what is responsible for casting the light, but knew that if neither he nor Alpha had nary a clue about it, then there was no way that they'd be able to get any answers if even they did come across the source. After a few more feet the two heroes take a better look at the castle.

Its condition is worse than anyone could've imagined looking at it from afar. It was clear that there used to be some towers attached to the sides, but they have long since collapsed onto the ground and are nearly unrecognizable as debris save for the metal portions, which have rusted to the point that has become glued to the floor, unable to be budged. The long staircase leading to the doorway at the top has become crumbled, as if an earthquake ruptured apart each individual step. There are tall, pinkish pillars at the center of platforms that resemble the heads of rooks, but the one on the left has been cleaved cleanly in two, the upper half missing from sight. There are gears trapped between an arch in the center of both pillars, but none of them move due to the wear and tear of age.

To sum it all up, the castle was uninhabitable from the damages done, and one would be a full to think otherwise after looking at it. Alpha could tell from scanning that a great battle was fought here, possibly a last stand against the Heartless before the world was consumed into this realm. Whatever great importance this castle once had, it was now just another landmark that exemplifies the untamed destruction that the black creatures were capable of inflicting onto all worlds. "Hey Alpha…Check this out." Mario calls out the Commander from on ahead, and the Goomba buries his thoughts and walks over to where he is at.

The plumber is bent over to look at a rusted metal panel set in front of a layer of bricks on the left side of the staircase. There were letters that would reveal the name of the castle, but they were obscured by the rust. Alpha politely asks Mario to step aside, and uses his right elbow to try and rub some of the material off. He persists for a few seconds, but after moving his limb away he finds that his efforts were in vain. So he flips his eye patch off for a moment to let his eye scan the outlines of the text. The thin infrared laser glosses over the letters, a few beeps being heard as the information is being place in Alpha's mind in the form of an image that he sees by putting his eye patch back down.

"What does it say?" Mario inquires with his arms folded in front of his chest. The Commander pull his head back and says to him "I guess before the Heartless invaded, this castle used to exist in a world known only as Radiant Garden." Suddenly, a shiver runs up Alpha's rather small spine, but he didn't know the reason as to why he is feeling this sensation. However, Mario notices his behavior and asks him "Is the name familiar to you or something?" Alpha turns around and shakes his head back and forth, his eyebrows raised up in stunned fear as he says to his ally, "No…It's just that…I get the oddest feeling that we have uncovered something that no mortal eye should've ever gazed upon…"

Mario is both surprised and disturbed by Alpha's reaction, and he moves his hands away ready to say something, when suddenly he looks down and notices a massive puddle of darkness beginning to form beneath both of their feet. "No time to think about that, we got company!" The two heroes make haste away from the plaque, running away from the darkness as it continues to expand outward. Eventually it reaches full size, Mario and Alpha making it to the edge just as he creature responsible for its creation begins to emerge.

It is a massive, muscular, humanoid Heartless with black skin. Its legs are rather short and its feet are very thin and curl upward. Its arms are quite long, and it has two relatively small, twisted wings on its back. Its head is covered in dozens of twisted, black tentacles. Only its small, glowing yellow eyes are visible. In the place of what the two heroes theorized used to be a hole is cybernetic device of equal size, the wires fused to the rest of the body and spreading glowing teal lines throughout its skin. Its lumbering body towers over both Alpha and Mario, its hands big enough to grab both of them within its grasp. It doesn't move though, and the two heroes couldn't tell if it was staring at them or out into the great beyond.

"…Should we attack it?" Mario asks in a whisper, hoping the creature won't him speak. "I don't know…While I've seen a Heartless like this before, it looks like someone modified its appearance…And I think I know just who is responsible…" Alpha lifts his one organic eye upward as the sound of engines are heard coming from above. Mario hears that same noise and also looks up. Descending from the top of the castle on a round lime-green platform with a spike on the bottom and rockets on the side is Fawful, whose body is wrapped up in a regal red, gold and white cloak. His widened, toothy grin is as always present, and as electricity surges around the platform he floats in front of the Heartless' mechanical heart.

He swings his left arm away out, parting his cloak and revealing the leather suit wrapped around his rounded body and the belt kept around his gut. The cloth is kept away as he holds his hand beside his body, looking down at the heroes with furious eyes and his teeth parting so he can relish in his own demented laughter. Once he is done he closes his pearly whites and says to both Alpha and Mario, "Welcome, salutations, konichiwa heroes of red and golden of which my eyes flare in fury at the sight of!" "Fawful…" The two heroes say in annoyed unison at the green bean.

"Yes, it is I, the subservient gnome of the witch that is Cackletta, the cockroach who persists under the foot of the reaper, and the handsome stallion that rides where he wants to!" Fawful rears his head back and breaks into laughter once more, he declares in the midst of it, "I HAVE CHORTLES!" In a rather insane sounding tone. He looks down at the two heroes, and quickly realizes that something is missing, which explain why his fury is only at half-mast compared to usual. "Where is the brother whose clothing is comparable to a vegetable and his demeanor relatable to that of a chicken?" He exclaims to Mario.

"He isn't here right now…I hope you don't mind just having one Mario Bros. to fight." The plumber says as he gets into his fighting pose. Fawful's exuberant grin is blatant in its presence, and after holding both of his arms out beside his body he says in response to the red man's confidence, "It is an issue of little importance, like the measuring of mustard on the sandwich of your own doom! My time, like a Marathoning midget, is running short, but before Mistress Cackletta's plan, that is as ridiculous as a big Koopa covered in makeup comes to fruition Fawful will have the honor, the pleasure, the joy of crushing the man in red whose appearance makes my eyes and mind become filled with the emotion that is fury, and the Goomba of deceit whose mask is as tightly-fit as the cuffs around a Chomp Bros' arms!"

Fawful calmly snaps his fingers, and a glass dome flips over the platform to protect him from harm. A hole opens up in front of his stubby feet, a series of levers, buttons and various other controls spawning onto a console that rises up in front of him. The rockets move the orb towards the metallic heart, which opens up a rounded hole for safe insertion of the protective capsule. The two mechanical devices merge together, and after a glow briefly surrounds the orb the gigantic Heartless finally shows signs of movement. Its tentacle covered head rises up, its arms extending out in front of its body with the palms pointed upwards.

It was ready to go, its movements controlled by Fawful in the center with incredible ease. Alpha wastes no time in turning his right arm into its cannon form and firing a holy ionic beam at the creature's face, thinking of how strange it was that such a massive target would be the one that the crazed bean would choose to take control of. With the swift press of the button energy travels from the heart to the right arm, which suddenly defies all known theories of momentum by thrusting the back of his hand up near its face and summoning a barrier of energy to block the attack sent at him.

As Alpha lowers his arm he grits his teeth and says "Well this'll complicate things…" With much annoyance in his tone. He changes his arm's form to that of his sword and says to Mario without turning his head "Try and hit his pod while I distract the limbs!" To which the plumber replies with a nod. The Commander charges forward while Mario leaps into the air, sustaining flight and charging straight at the pod with a streak of light following his every movement. He thrusts his punch right into the glass that composes Fawful's protection, and in a scenario similar to what happened during their previous encounter, Mario finds that his attack is incapable of denting the glass.

But as the green bean chortles behind the screen, the plumber refuses to give up and presses his assault, bringing his hand back and spinning his entire body around with both fists extend. His body becomes a glowing tornado as his knuckles pound against the glass rapidly. He is attempting to wear down the glass to the point that it'll be easy to put some cracks on the surface, but not a single blow manages to get the job done. In fact, Fawful finds Mario's efforts to be so futile that he stops focusing on him and continues to control the limbs to attack Alpha.

The energy moves through the wires to both arms, which swing around without a care to try and strike the Commander. However, his movements are too swift, his nimble body curving around the arms as they move while at the same time he tries to find a weakness to exploit. He then flies away from the Heartless' body and extends his sword out to the side of his own body, quickly charging it up with energy to the point that it is almost ready to overload, and then he binds the sword in holy energy so it doesn't break out and destroy him. With his blade now lengthened and made stronger, Alpha charges back towards the creature.

Fawful re-directs the energy in the Heartless' arms to the back of the hands, creating blades that he then has the mammoth creature use for defense. The Commander's weapon and the gigantic swords clash in mid-air, and each swing colliding breaks off more and more energy from both weapons. What is lost is replaced with ease, and it seems as though this stalemate will never end. But with the insane bean greatly focused on the conflict, he forgets about Mario, who quickly flies higher up into the air with both fists held out and burns right through the arm with his aura covered body. The size of his holy veil weakens the arm to the point that the part with the sword breaks off on its own and starts falling to the ground, dispersing into darkness before it makes contact.

Then Alpha's sword slashes with the other arm, but more force is put into the blow to shatter the energy from the Heartless' blade. From this swing all the energy from the Commander's blade is sent out as a crescent wave, cleaving through the arm vertically until it reaches the shoulder, at which point the entire section falls towards the ground. Though half of the arm still remained, without most of the muscle it was now limply resting beside the Heartless' body. Since he wasted all of the blade's energy to get this job done, the Commander converts his arm back to its normal form so it can recharge.

Fawful, still grinning in his pod, presses another button set before him. In a matter of seconds darkness from the air solidifies into a cohesive form and is drawn towards the shoulder sockets of the creature he is commandeering, where it then converts into replacement arms for its body. "Using nanotechnology to boost the functions of the creature's limbs…Energy weaponry to cover for how big of a target the Heartless is…And regeneration to repair any damage that we may cause to the main body. However…" Alpha turns to Mario after giving his thoughts, and exclaims to him "Mario! Have you figured out what I have?" The plumber, who is floating above the Heartless at this very moment, turns his head over the Commander and nods. "Alright then…Just give me a moment to test something out."

The Commander then turns his body downward and rapidly descends, flipping himself around so he lands on his feet with a solid thud at the last second. Without breaking his stride he then converts his right arm into its cannon form, pointing it up at the pod that Fawful lies in and preparing to charge energy through the metal cylinder. With some well placed movements of the levers and buttons, the giant Heartless slams its right fist into the ground, a massive pool of darkness swirling out from the knuckles and moving towards Alpha's feet.

His balance is disrupted, as he looks down and notices that he is beginning to sink into the puddle against his will. However, the Commander isn't too concerned about this at first, since he is still able to position his arm to aim at the pod. But then some of the small "Shadows" appear by the dozens out of the pool and leap onto Alpha, consuming his body and weighing him down so he sinks even faster into the darkness. Mario, noticing this happening as rapid-fires his golden fireballs at the giant Heartless' head, stops his attacks and rockets down to try and save the Commander.

But as he extends his right arm out to grab for him, Alpha is completely engulfed into the dark puddle. Too late to save his ally, Mario floats in the air stunned by what he failed to do, and looks at the puddle in horror for a few seconds before he notices something wrong with it. There is a circular glow appearing in it, which grows bigger and brighter with every second, and the plumber can hear the charging of energy underneath. He could tell from the redness of the glow as to just who is responsible for the light, and immediately backs off as a ionic laser beam thrusts itself through the puddle of darkness, opening a pitch black hole that Alpha thrusts himself right out of just a few seconds later. The puddle vanishes, and the Commander starts panting heavily after he joins Mario beside him in the air.

"I never want to go through that again…" Alpha tiredly states, the experience having been more traumatic then he would've liked it to be. They turn around as Fawful slams the Heartless' other fist into the ground, using both hands to scoop up a crimson orb of darkness with an unstable black core in the center of it. The orb is raised above the creature's head before it bursts, which disperses into hundreds of smaller orbs that start to rain down from the sky. Mario gets his cape ready in his hands and flies to the closest orb with a quick burst of energy, swinging it out to deflect it straight at the Heartless' head.

The plumber is forced to play defensively for the time being, as the Commander takes his arm cannon and holds it out, charging energy that'll be sent out at the pod in due time. Meanwhile, orbs keep flying his way, but Mario speeds in front of them and diligently swings his cape to send them back at their creator. The miniature energy field explosions help knock the creature back after awhile, and when the orbs have all vanished Mario reattaches his cape and ignites his palms, rapid-firing golden fireballs to continue to assault on the Heartless.

By the time the plumber has finished Alpha has charged his energy up to its maximum power. Without any need to alert Mario to get out of the way, the Commander fires it out through the cylinder, the beam triple the size of his body and surrounded by holy, intertwining streams. Colliding with the pod, the energy presses against the glass much to Fawful's chagrin, but even this powerful beam isn't enough to break or crack the glass. As the green bean laughs maniacally, he fails to notice the energy streaming around the pod and burning everything around the mechanical heart.

Fawful moves his hands towards the levers as the beam dies down, but upon lifting his head up he sees Mario charging right at him with his fist held back. It was plain as day as to what Alpha's efforts amounted to by that point, for while his jetpack's are still active, he is no longer attached to the Heartless' body, and while the missing darkness is regenerating he is completely vulnerable to attack. In a repeat of what happened earlier, the plumber's fist slams into the glass of his pod at full force, causing it to jettison away from the Heartless' body and crash into the staircase. The darkness tries to seal itself around where the mechanical heart used to be, but to do so would be a contradiction of the creature's own existence, and that on top of the energy overloading from a lack of a conductor leads to the titanic creatures to slow fall forward onto the ground and die in a dispersion of darkness.

The crazed green bean, shaken but not quite defeated by the loss of the creature he controlled, lifts his body up and tries to move towards the front of his platform. The levers still work even though a hole has been broken through the glass, though the circuitry is on the fritz and may not be reliable right now. He then hears a noise calling out to him from the speakers, "Warning, self-repair functions damaged. Destruction countdown initiated…5...4..." With his eyes widened behind his classes, Fawful quickly leaps above the console and through the hole in the glass, landing feet first onto the ground as the timer reaches "2".

He starts to run away from the pod, but it explodes before he can escape the blast radius. The shockwave from the detonation knocks him face first onto the ground, his hands sprawled out as a pillar of smoke rises into the air behind him. He tilts his head up with his teeth surprisingly gritted in anger, and sees Alpha pointing his cannon arm at him ready to fire the killing shot. Fawful chortles to himself with a shake of the head, and after looking back up he says to the Commander, "So, I guess now would be a good time for me to drop the act, huh Commander?" In a departure from his usual mannerism, the question is said in a normal tone of absolute respect. In fact, Fawful was not only speaking like a normal person would, but he was talking to Alpha as if he knew him personally. Both of these revelations cause Mario to flinch, his arms swung back as he tries to take this surprise in.

"Yeah, I'd say you've put on a convincing enough show, Covert Ops Agent Fawful." Alpha replies with praise, converting his arm back to normal and letting go of the elbow so he can better help Fawful out. The green man accepts his assistance in getting back on his feet, and after brushing the bottom of his leather suit off Fawful undoes the rope that keep the cape on his body and taps the side of his glasses, the swirly lens being covered by a black one. He then taps the front of his belt, the color of his suit becoming pitch black and revealing a gun holster that was previously invisible on his waist.

He then takes a badge out from a pocket and flashes it at Mario, and the plumber leans his head forward to see the letters etched into the golden symbol. They say "M.S.I. Gold Rank Member: Level EX Covert Ops Agent". Mario clearly had no clue what any of that meant as he brought his head back in utter confusion. "Ok, you are going to have to fill me in on all the details here…" The plumber then says, his mind wracked by this startling piece of news. "Do you want me to do it, or can you handle it Fawful?" Alpha asks, glancing over his shoulder at the green man, who humbly takes one hand before his chest and says, "If you wouldn't be offended, I'd like to explain my side of the story." "Very well, go for it." The Commander politely replies.

"Alright then…" After letting out a cough to get himself ready, Fawful folds his thin arms behind his back and stands up straight before looking at Mario. "Many years ago I was an independent Secret Agent who would help people acquire information on anyone they wished to spy on, but only if the people in question had malicious intentions. Alpha came across and hired my services, having me act as a sleeper agent within Cackletta's ranks. I followed her plans to the letter under the guise of what you saw as my incoherent, crazy self, using my intellect while at the same time relaying everything I knew back to Alpha so when he finally finished his portal device he would be able to come to this realm."

Alpha turns to Mario, who has his eyelids shut and his arms folded while listening and silently nodding. "After all, I had to be positive that Cackletta would still be here when we arrived, otherwise we would be wasting time in an attempt to find her. That's what I was doing in the hour before our departure…Well, beside fixing my arms that is. I was making one last call to Fawful here…" Mario then opens his eyelids and looks at Fawful, something coming into his mind as he glares at him. "So wait a second…Then explain the whole Dark Star incident to me. Luigi, Starlow and I saw you explode before our very eyes. How are you still alive now in that case?"

Fawful takes one hand and nervously rubs the back of his head, tilting his head downward with great embarrassment. "Yeah…Not exactly one of my finer moments there, since I had to really overwork my brain to figure out a plan to make everything work out for that incident…You see, Cackletta, for whatever reason, was showing interest in the Dark Star along with the Beanstar, so she wanted me to acquire it for her. However, the plan had to be put on hold for a bit after you and Luigi took her down in the Beanbean Kingdom…When I finally got around to initiating it, I sent a robot doppelganger in my stead to see what the Dark Star could do. When I found out that the Dark Star was sentient, instead of having the robot grab it, I had it replicate its genetic structure into its own body, which then transferred the info over to me so I could clone it in a controlled environment where it wouldn't go out of control. Of course the clone eventually had to be destroyed, but the dark copy of Bowser and you guys took care of the real Dark Star and the robot for me, so I thank you for that…However, upon Cackletta's revival she took the copy Dark Star and hid it away for later use. I know this all sounds rather convoluted considering our previous encounters Mario, but I had to keep the act going at all times so Cackletta would never wise up and have me killed."

After his long-winded explanation Fawful turns to Alpha, and the Commander says to him, "I'm sorry this took so long Fawful, but now you can go back to Plit and retire from duty if you so desire. I'm not going to force you to stay with the M.S.I. after all you had to do for me." Fawful looks at Alpha with a toothy grin, which now expresses joy instead of madness. "Thank you for your concerns Commander, but I'm not going to quit just yet. However, I AM going to take a vacation for a few months…I mean seriously, do you know how grating it was to hear my own voice for as long as I had to? Or just how difficult it was to learn fluent Engrish and come up with all of my ridiculous metaphors? Either way, if you need me after Cackletta is dealt with, I'll be soaking up rays at Serena Beach…"

Giving both Mario and Alpha a gracious bow, Fawful removes the grin from his face and dashes off into the distance, the plumber turning his head around to look at him before his body becomes nothing more than a dot. With his presence removes Mario takes a deep breathe in and lets a heavy sigh out. His head was throbbing from taking all that information in, and he couldn't help but wonder something as he twists his head to glance at Alpha behind him. The Goomba stares at Mario with an eyebrow raised, and after a nervously chuckle he says to him, "This is definitely one secret that didn't need to be let out of the box, wouldn't you say?"

Turning his entire body around, the plumber nods in agreement. "Considering the situation, I'm glad you didn't tell anyone about Fawful's role in things. But now we got another thing to worry about with Cackletta…That mysterious machine, her involvement with the Heartless, and now she has a copy of the Dark Star at her disposal…" "Then we shouldn't be standing around here now should we?" Alpha says in response to Mario's concerns. With the point made clear, the two heroes turn towards the staircase and run towards it. They climb it, making it to the top where the large doors await them on the other side of an undamaged pavilion. They go over to the door and combined their strength to force one side open, entering the abandoned castle to go confront Cackletta…

_Next Time: No More Sanctuary_


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: Cackletta I: Kingdom Hearts**

Now inside of the castle after the battle with Fawful, Alpha and Mario are currently busy navigating the damaged corridors, being cautious of their surroundings with their every movement. So far, not a single Heartless has appeared to impede their progress, but that does little to ease the tension that is wracking both heroes' minds. "What an odd design for a castle…" Mario notes as he looks to the left and sees a dried up blood stain cut through by three-claw marks. He remembers the condition the ship they entered the realm through was in, and something else comes to mind thanks to the fight outside the castle.

"Alpha…When you were in this realm before, did you ever encounter any giant Heartless like the one Fawful had commandeered?" He inquires. "You mean of the same species or those of the same size range?" The Commander swiftly replies. "Second one." Mario answers after turning his head back to look at the Goomba. "Can't say that I have…What brought this up?" He then asks, sensing that there is a purpose behind the plumber's question. "I just recall there being a Heartless with horns in the video we saw, and though those balls resembled it closely they were two entirely different species. I'm just asking ahead of time in case we run into anymore types of Heartless. I want to be prepared, after all."

"Well while I commend you for your quick-thinking, I highly doubt we are going to be attacked by anymore Heartless." Alpha responds, which earns a puzzled head tilt from Mario. "What makes you say that?" He questions. "The titan we fought only appeared because Fawful called it to the front of the castle…Ever since that one swarm we fought at the beginning of this part of the realm we haven't come across anymore Heartless, or rather, they haven't come after us. Hard to explain why, but either this is a part of realm that even THEY fear to tread, or they've wised up from being the vicious creatures I encountered before and have already come to realize that in spite of their hunger we just aren't worth their time and effort…"

Mario sees reason behind Alpha's second point, but ponders as to what could cause the emotionless beings of darkness to avoid appearing in this area. After a few more minutes of walking through the corridors, the two heroes arrive at an inconspicuous doorway, which is the only one they've managed to find after this short period of time. They decided that it would be for the best to investigate what lies behind it and instead of dealing with the rusted hinges Mario delivers a firm kick to the door to bust it down, though a plume of dust rises into the air afterwards to conceal the room transitorily.

When the dust finally settles after the heroes have backed away to avoid inhaling it, the two advance into the room to see what secrets it may hold. It appears to be a study, for what purposes remains to be known. There is a desecrated table in the center of the room, a knocked over throne behind it, contains filled with hearts on the shelves, and the spines of book lying on the ground with the pages shredded by an undetermined source. There were only two things that looked to be in an acceptable condition, and that was a portion of the wall where text that said "Princesses of Heart" was written in white chalk and a portrait whose frame was leaning against it that depicted a somewhat tan looking man with silvery long hair, two bangs framing his face and three backward-facing spikes on top of the hair.

As Alpha stands and scans the area, Mario is drawn to the portrait, seeing as it is the only thing kept intact in this cluttered space. "Could this be the former owner of the castle?" The plumber asks a question to himself that no one would be capable of answering, and the Commander walks over and decides to check out the man in the frame. He notices words etched into the bottom of the frame, and he slowly mutters out to the plumber "Apprentice…Xehanort?" His puzzled tone suggests that he had never seen this picture before, and that the extent of his knowledge about this realm was now rendered useless.

As Alpha pulls his head back, Mario stands up and folds his arms in front of his chest to look at the wall. He sees significance in the words, and feels reminded of Peach's powers, which have always relied on the conviction in one's heart to work. But considering the time this text was probably marked onto the wall, Peach obviously couldn't have been one of these "Princesses of Heart". So he says to Alpha "Does this look like a password to you?" The Commander turns to the text and nods his head after scanning it for a few seconds. "So…Perhaps there is a computer in the general vicinity that requires this code to work…" As Mario offers his theory, Alpha has his own counterargument. "I doubt that significantly…Even if the computer can be turned back on like the console back at the ship, this seems more like a hint to the real password then the actual one. Plus, this was obviously put here a long time ago, which would suggest to me that someone has more than likely changed the password in the intermediate time frame."

"Then I guess it isn't worth our efforts…" Mario says with a tone of surrendering disappointment. "Even if he knew the code it wouldn't be a good use of our time. Our focus here is to find and kill Cackletta, not to lollygag around in an attempt to uncover the truth about this realm." Alpha reasons, and after the plumber's nod of agreement they both turn their bodies around to continue on their way. However, they see something that wasn't obvious before, and that is a passageway in the wall that leads to a new area. What is suspicious about the passageway is that it has been undamaged, and the walls have a metallic-blue coating to them with pipes that contain wires attached near the top.

They enter the metallic hallway, the cold steel beneath Alpha's feet sending a chill up his spine and into his brain. He hadn't felt such a sensation for months, but considering everything else he has seen in this realm up until this point it was a as much of a nuisance as a fly landing on the skin. They turn the corner and notice a boxed in room with a console more advanced than the one on the ship lying within it. However, something else catches their eyes rather quickly, as they turn another corner and look out beyond the encaged area. Floating amidst a wall of hundreds of empty pods was the source of the bright red light in this part of the realm.

A heart-shaped moon, split into two halves with fragments floating precariously around it, was surrounded by a powerful looking flame aura. Its radiance extended far out from the glass roof and wall, but its existence here felt very ominous, as if it were something that was never meant to be. It provided its own gravitational field, but not one that was strong enough to drag anything in or suspend anything in the air but itself. There was oddly no heat coming from the surface, and the two heroes could gaze at it without being blinded. Neither of them knew what to say in the presence of this broken phenomenon, and continued towards the room with their eyes still gazing at it.

In the room there is not only a still-active console, but to the right of them there is a strange device with a deactivated dark red core and many yellow metal pipes surrounding it. In a way, it reminded Mario of the Stargadd. "You know, I've been thinking about something for a bit now…" The plumber notes as he turns his head to look at the Commander, who has frozen in place to continue observing the moon. "From the sounds of things the inside of this castle is unfamiliar to you, so what makes you certain that we will be able to find Cackletta in here?" But as Alpha turns his head to the side the plumber comes up with an obvious answer on his own, "…Unless Fawful told you exactly where she is."

"Bingo." The Commander's one word response was filled with praise, and as he folds his arms behind his back he follows up by saying to Mario, "He told me before we left Plit that she is waiting deep within the castle, and that to find her we would need to just keep moving through here until we reach a white hallway…I get the feeling we are close to that, now that I think about it." Alpha then looks towards the console, back out to the moon, and then to the pods. He says nothing as he looks at the exit at the other side of the room, and the two heroes continue on their way, the Commander's eyebrows slanted in disdain.

They keep moving, and another glance down below the moon reveals that part of the ground has been forced open, a ramp leading down into a darkened passageway to an unknown location. "Let us go investigate that." Mario says, noticing what the Commander does a few seconds after he does. Alpha nods, and the two flip their bodies over the bar so they can slowly descend to the bottom. When they arrived they move towards the ramp, taking one last look up at the flaming moon and hearing the crackling of its fire before they descend. The area at the bottom of the ramp is without much light, the only thing helping the two heroes see besides their holy aura is the essence of darkness being siphoned through the tubes around them.

They are at the start of a spiral pathway, a dark essence symbol on the ground point to the right of them as a signal to go down. The heroes didn't want to risk descending through the center, especially considering they wouldn't be able to control their flight once they reached their destination. It was a long walk with nothing interesting of note minus the fact that out of every area in the castle, this is the only place that is completely unharmed. Many minutes are spent walking down this spiral, and at the end of their journey the heroes reach a pearly-grey doorway, both sides of the door sliding open when they step in front of it.

There is a hallway behind it, the floor paved with navy-blue tiles while the walls are filled to the brim with empty jail cells that have chains crossed below the square bar windows. The journey to the other side of this room isn't as long as with the spiral, and at the end the two heroes reach a pure white door with two black chains painted on the sides. It too slides open in their presence, and they walk through it to end up in a circular room of unknown origin. On a low platform in the center is a pure white throne, and black chain symbols stretch out from all sides onto the walls, where they connect to insignias that look like a sharp cross fused with a card spade.

"We just passed through a white hallway…So where is she?" Mario asks, looking at the surroundings for anything significant to their cause. He is still surprised at how undamaged everything is, but even more so when he takes a peek behind the throne and notices something out of place lying before it. Sprawled out onto the floor is a rusted piece of dark-blue armor with steel metal portions. Any other parts are incapable of being recognized. The plumber can only look at the armor with pity, thinking to himself "The stories the person could've told…" But then he notices something odd about the armor, and that is the fact that it lacks a skeleton inside. That suggested that whoever was the owner of it lost it before their death.

There was a weapon planted into the ground beside it that looked like a key, but was too complex in appearance compared to an actual key. Mario wanted to go over and touch it, but Alpha calls out to him and says "Don't get near it, it might be a trap." The plumber turns his head and notices the Commander sitting on the chair. Pure white light flows out from the now glowing platform and into the chains, which causes the symbols on the wall to light up as well. The room starts trembling because it is getting loosened from where it is at. The gears grind to try and get themselves working, and once they are rolling the room begins to spin around, and Mario can feel the room elevating beneath his feet.

He tries to keep a stable balance, but instead of staying on his two feet the plumber kneels down and places one hand on the ground, turning his head towards Alpha as he grasps his hands on the arms of the throne. "How did you figure this out?" The Commander looks at Mario and shrugs in the face of his question. "I didn't. It activated automatically after I went to sit down and get a better observation of the area." That is his reply, and as much as he wished not to the plumber accepted it as the answer. After a few more seconds of rising the room abruptly stops, the throne Alpha is on turning around to the door since they now arrived at a new area.

After getting off the seat Mario and Alpha exit the room. They step out onto an ethereal platform that exists in front of a swerving staircase. The black atmosphere is filled in with vibrant shades of violet and red, twinkling starlights providing much needed visibility to the other dismal area. There is a jagged, symmetrical platform at the very top of the staircase, and though there is not much to it the two heroes can see the tips of seven pillars of dark essence slowly raining down from the sky. Alpha takes off his eye patch and stuffs it into a compartment on his right arm, using his cybernetic eye to scan up top for any signs of life forms. "There is an influx of darkness pouring into the same device Smithy was working on…That means we found her at last." Mario and Alpha need not say anymore, and the two of them run up the staircase diligently to reach the top.

At the edge of the upper platform the two heroes leap as high into the air as they can, crashing down close to the center of it once gravity takes hold of their bodies. Alpha looks on ahead and transforms his right arm into its cannon form, locking on to a figure in the distance with his teeth gritted. Mario stands beside him in his battle pose. The bronze machine that Smithy created towers over the figure standing before it, the pillars absorbing all the darkness it can into its confines as the orb above the doorway is now obscured by a dark-purple fog, something pulsating inside of it with each passing second.

It was clear as day now that the machine was working to create something, and the person standing before it knew all the answers. Sensing the heroes' presences, the figure in the ivory cloak turns around, her reddish-purple robe with the golden trim hidden underneath the center split of the cloak, the real colors having faded slightly from overexposure to the dark essence above. Her rounded, grassy-green face opens up near the chin, her fanged grin resting underneath her iris-less pink eyes. Her wrinkly, prickly four-fingers hands are hidden under her cloak, while the purple head attachments stay completely in place no matter how swiftly she should choose to move.

Her body is mostly covered in the shadow cast by the machine, so she slowly walks out of it to let the two heroes see her better. She gracefully moves her hands out of her cloak and hangs them out near the sides of her body. "Welcome to the Realm of Darkness, humble hero of the Mushroom Kingdom and my most esteemed Commander." She says in a gracious tone, but Alpha squints his eyelid angrily in response to the comment. "Cut the counterfeit chivalry witch, I refuse to accept compliments from a murderer like you." Cackletta rears her head back after a few seconds are spent trying to contain her laughter, and as she begins to pace back and forth in the area she stands she release it all in full force. Her familiar cackle echoes through the empty void, which manages to unnerve Mario a bit until the time she stops.

"Murderer?" She says in a tone of feigned ignorance, shaking her head lightly as she rests the tips of her fingers against her forehead. "Now really Commander…Who are you accusing me of murdering? You got a million heads to choose from, so pick wisely." Cackletta's well-placed comment causes Alpha's muscle to tense up, his eyelid thrust open as he yells out to the witch "You know damn well who I'm talking about!" "Ehehehehehe…Of course I do my dear." The witch replies with a hint of sadism in her voice, stopping her pacing to turn and face the heroes. "I just wished to rile you up, because let us be honest, the looks you get whenever I'm around are simply PRICELESS!"

Alpha growls at Cackletta's snide comment, and as Mario ignites a fireball in his right hand ready to throw, the Commander holds his other arm to the side to stop him. Earning a bewildered glance from the plumber, Alpha places his arm back on the elbow portion of his cannon and says to him, "Don't make the first move…She is a witch, she'll have the upper-hand if we go that route. I may be feeling a bit angry, but I'm not about to toss away my rationality…" With the plan exchanged over to Mario, the plumber dispels his flames and keeps his fists held at waist length, waiting for Cackletta to strike first. Of course, considering the type of person the witch is, that meant that he would probably have to endure through her taunts until she made the first attack.

"Tell me then brave heroes, how did you enjoy traversing the Realm of Darkness? Or rather, to you Commander, how was the second visit? I sure hope it was better than it was before…" Alpha lowers his head and chuckles at Cackletta's attempt to break him, retaliating to her words calmly with "Oh I thought it was rather enjoyable this time around. The scenery wasn't rough on the eyes, I was able to vent some frustration out on the Heartless, and I successfully pulled one over on you with the help of my ally Fawful." Alpha raises his head and smirks, and the witch grimaces only after the third fact has been stated. She doesn't lose her cool though, and with a bit of a frown she says "…Indeed." It was obvious from her remark that she had absolutely no clue about Fawful's true allegiance, but she returns to her arrogant grin as if the revelation meant little in the long run.

"Now, what are you doing with that machine?" The Commander inquires. Cackletta folds her arms behind her back in response, essentially mocking the pose Alpha usually uses before she leans her head forward with intrigue glimmering in her eyes. "That's not a very interesting first question Commander…Of all the things you could ask me before you kill me, you choose to learn of my plans of which you have expressed in confidence in foiling? What if I told you that I know the truth behind the destruction this realm spread across the universe years before the Elemental Overlord ever existed?" Mario and Alpha both freeze in shock, and the witch brightly grins as she finds herself quite enjoying the response. The Commander hesitantly lowers his arms, converting the cannon back to normal and lowering his guard to hear Cackletta out.

But he only does so because he senses no ill-intent coming from the witch's body, which leads him to believe that she is going to tell the truth about the dark realm. "Looks like you were right about the realm existing before the Elemental Overlord did, Alpha…" Mario whispers to the Commander. "I'll believe my own theory once I hear her out…Just stay ready to fight while she talks, ok?" The Goomba replies in full, and with a nod of the head the plumber puts his fists back out. Glancing over at the witch with a brow lowered in scorn, he says to her "If you are going to spill what you know, you better start now." The witch moves her hands away from her body and with a nod of the head she says, "Most certainly, my patient guest. Let me start from the beginning…"

"_When the universe was first birthed, there existed a phenomenon that was the absolute pinnacle of light in the human spirit. It took the form of a heart-shaped moon, spreading hearts out into the bodies of the worthy at the cost of decreasing its own natural power. This form, which was later rumored by many who saw it to be the way to Heaven's pearly gates, dubbed it to be called 'Kingdom Hearts'. But the law of balance between Light and Dark always exists, whether one wants it to or not. So with the creation of Kingdom Hearts was born its polar opposite, the Realm of Darkness. While Kingdom Hearts was a solid representation of the human spirit, the Realm of Darkness was considered to be a formless dimension that represented an empty existence. While Kingdom Hearts spread hearts out to the universe at large, the Realm of Darkness tried to counter these actions. Thus the Heartless were forged, hundreds upon hundreds of them being spread out to intercept the hearts and consume them._

_At first their actions went without much notice, for only few were worthy of gazing upon either. But as planets were born from the dust of the universe's creation and people began to populate each and every one of them, the existence of Kingdom Hearts became more and more noticeable. Eventually people began to fight amongst one another to try and claim the phenomenon's abundant power for themselves, their strong, light-filled hearts creating unique weapons that allowed them to fight against each other to prove a person worthy to wield Kingdom Heart's power. The weapons known as Keyblades clashed against each other in a tiresome war that spread for many months as thousands of people lost their lives trying to succeed in their endeavors._

_Eventually every soul perished, not because they were all killed, but because a clash of warriors whose heart was wrapped in Light and another who was wrapped in Darkness clashed and created the ultimate key blade called the X-Blade. The powerful weapon drew Kingdom Hearts to the battleground like a magnet, but with one force being called its polar opposite had to appear as well. For the first time, the Realm of Darkness seeped into the real world, its rapid growth consuming all around it including Kingdom Hearts itself, and many worlds perished as the dimension spread out uncontrollably. But all hope was not lost, for in the pitch black darkness awoke the hearts of seven pure maidens, which worked in unison to push the Realm of Darkness back to where it came and rebuild the universe anew. _

_All that remained from the great Keyblade War was a graveyard, where each weapon was planted into the ground as a reminder to not let events unfold the same way again. But Kingdom Hearts had vanished, its location unknown. Many years passed after this war, and the descendants of the warrior's family eventually decided to re-use the Keyblades for something else. Instead of fighting amongst each other, they would use the tools to become protectors of the Realm of Light. The founding Masters of the Keyblade created a world all on their own called the Land of Departure, where new prospects with strong hearts would be trained to wield the Keyblades they were deemed worthy of wielding._

_Students came and went, and the Masters eventually passed their titles on to their greatest students, Xehanort, Eraqus, and Yen Sid. All of them showed great promise, and as the original Masters laid on their death beds they had no regrets with their lives. However, while Eraqus and Xehanort showed interest in staying to teach new keybladers at the Land of Departure, Yen Sid humbly declined and retired to a tower that existed far away from everyone else. Eraqus took in two children who went by the names of Aqua and Terra, and all the while the aging Xehanort realized something._

_He was getting old, his body no longer in its prime. He had an ambition, one that he knew he would never live to see be fulfilled unless he took measures to prolong his life. He wanted to recreate the X-Blade and draw Kingdom Hearts back into the world, at the same time bring the Realm of Darkness out so the disaster could be recreated and he could see what lied beyond it. He took in his own apprentice, a young man by the name of Ventus, and after training him for a few years he tried to test his skills against some Heartless that he brought out from the realm with his now tainted heart. He wanted Ventus to fight using his darkness, but the boy flat out refused to give in to such a force._

_Xehanort saved his life from the Heartless, but only because he still saw use in his body. Using his own Keyblade, Xehanort forcibly extracted his darkness from the boy to create a being named Vanitas. However, the process broke Ventus' pure light heart, and Xehanort, in an act of kindness, chose to lay him to rest on the place he was born, Destiny Islands. But Ventus did not die, instead his heart connected with that of a newborn child, and this repairs his heart. Xehanort, witnessing things unfold, saw the boy summon his Keyblade and chose to keep him around. Taking him to the Land of Departure, Xehanort asked his old friend Eraqus to take Ventus in._

_Along with Aqua and Terra, Ventus grew stronger as a Keyblader, and they grew stronger as friends. However, the time soon came for the Mark of Mastery exam, which would determine who between Aqua and Terra would be worthy of becoming a Keyblade Master. Xehanort was invited to watch, but that was where his new plan began. By manipulating the darkness of jealousy in Terra's heart, the boy was deemed unworthy of becoming a Keyblade Master. Xehanort then told Terra that the darkness within him could not be destroyed, and that he should embrace it._

_Eraqus then told Aqua and Terra later on about how the new Princesses of Heart were in danger. The seven purist hearts in the universe bound themselves to new hosts, and Yen Sid warned his old friend about the threat to their lives. After Terra leaves, Ventus and Aqua followed him. They journeyed across many worlds on their Keyblade Gliders, and along the way Xehanort's plans came closer to fruition. He had two goals. One, to made Terra vulnerable to possession by overloading his heart with darkness, and two, to have Ventus and Vanitas clash to re-create the X-Blade. _

_Xehanort's manipulations eventually reached a point that Terra was forced to fight his Master Eraqus, who he had come to see as his father. With him on the verge of death, Xehanort killed his old friend and plunged the Land of Departure into darkness. Fueled by rage, Terra joined Aqua and Ventus at the Keyblade Graveyard. Xehanort and Vanitas awaited them there, and a great battle unfolded. But another Keyblader was there to help. A young King by the name of Mickey went despite his Master Yen Sid's concerns, and helped Aqua fight off a combination of Vanitas and Ventus that, much to Xehanort's disappointment, made an incomplete X-Blade with the fusion of their souls. However, Xehanort accomplished his other goal, taking over Terra's body and regaining the youth he once lost._

_But unknown circumstances led him and Aqua to meet at Radiant Garden, where the Keyblade Master demanded that Xehanort returned his friend's heart. However, Xehanort was too crafty, and sacrificed his own key blade just to seal away the memories of his heart and plunge himself into the Realm of Darkness. Aqua, unwilling to let her friend vanished, jumped in and removed her armor so Terra's body could return unharmed. She then sunk into the Realm, never to be seen again. And in the end her efforts amounted to nothing, for Xehanort ended up right where he wanted to…_

_There was a subconscious desire to research the Realm of Darkness in his heart, and he was found by a man who had similar interests to him. The owner of Radiant Garden, a man by the name of Ansem the Wise, took him in as an Apprentice, just like he had done to five other individuals beforehand. Time passed, and after a betrayal Xehanort regained his memories and thrust open a portal to the Realm of Darkness. Heartless came out in full force, consuming the world and forcing the inhabitants to flee to a sanctuary called Traverse Town. Before that happened though, Ansem the Wise was forced to wander the Dark Corridors between realms, while Xehanort forcibly used his key blade to remove the hearts from each of the apprentices._

_So far I have told you about Keybladers, who border on light, and Heartless, who sink through the darkness. But what about the middle ground? What about a contradiction to existence that never should be? That is the Nobodies are. When someone is turned into a Heartless via the removal of their spiritual heart, they leave behind a grayish husk, which exist for no reason except to work under the command of the more powerful Nobodies. The six original apprentices of Xehanort, along with six other members, created Organization XIII, putting their base in a planet between both realms called The World That Never Was. _

_Their goal was simple, to reclaim their hearts by making a copy of Kingdom Hearts. To do so, they needed the hearts released from the bodies of the Heartless. Their leader, Xemnas, the nobody of Xehanort's soul and Terra's body, told them that they needed a wielder of the key blade to help them with their goal. However, the only two still alive, Yen Sid and King Mickey, would be impossible to manipulate thanks to Xehanort's prior efforts. So Xemnas waited…_

_Meanwhile, the Heartless rampaged across all worlds, devouring their hearts so they would then be assimilated into the Realm of Darkness. The Purebloods were assisted by those with Emblems, Heartless manufactured in Ansem's lab by the Heartless of Xehanort, who stole Ansem the Wise's name and dubbed himself the Seeker of Darkness. The man eventually came back to Destiny Islands, where he met the two people that would further the real Xehanort's plans. The first was Riku, a boy who wished to leave the world he was on and see the greater unknown, inspired by the things Terra said to him when he was younger. The other was Sora, the one who touched Ventus' heart and allowed him to live. _

_Commanding the Heartless to devour Destiny Islands, Sora learned how to call forth a Keyblade and was taken to Traverse Town, while Riku was saved by Ansem and brought to the abandoned Radiant Garden, which was now called Hollow Bastion. Their friend Kairi, who unbeknownst to them was one of the Princesses of the Heart, was kidnapped by a witch who became intrigued by Xehanort's promise of power from the gathering of them all. Her name was Maleficent, and as fate would have it she came across Riku, warping his mind and heart until he became a fine vessel for darkness. Sora met with King Mickey's closest friends Donald and Goofy, and with their help Sora learned how to use the Keyblade and the strength of his heart grew. He sealed keyholes across different planets to stop Heartless from continuing their advances, and always kept an eye out for his friends. However, when he reunited with Riku he had changed so much, almost unrecognizable with the scent of darkness surrounding his body. _

_Sora tried to reason with him once they finally got to Hollow Bastion, but Riku had already lost himself to the darkness. Dying from the overwhelming pressure on his heart, Riku was soon possessed by Ansem, who then killed Maleficent and forced Sora to surrender Kairi's heart, which had been trapped in his body the entire time. Becoming a Heartless himself until saved by the purifying light of the Princess' embrace, Sora's actions involuntarily created two Nobodies. However, that is a detail that will be elaborated on in a bit._

_Eventually Sora and his companions were driven to the End of the World, which lied the closest to the Realm of Darkness but never once edging into it. There they confronted Xehanort's Heartless, and after a long battle the man was bathed in light from Kingdom Heart's light and destroyed. Riku and King Mickey, who the heroes had sacrificed so much to rescue, had to be sealed behind a door to the Realm of Darkness to prevent the Heartless from emerging once more. This also resulted in most of the worlds being restored, at the cost of splitting Kairi and Sora from each other._

_So afterwards Sora and his friends continued to try and find Riku and King Mickey, but it was at that moment that Xemnas and Organization XIII made their moves. They tried many plans to get a keyblader for their own…From having Kairi's nobody Namine manipulate Sora's memories to get him on their side, to recruiting his nobody Roxas to the Organization, to creating a Replica that stole Sora's memories and was eventually driven to suicide by the ensuing identity crisis. Nothing worked, and Ansem the Wise, who returned to the Realm of Light driven by madness under the identity of DiZ, helped restore Sora's memories by having Riku kidnap Roxas and store him into a digital realm until he could be transferred back into Sora's body._

_Speaking of Riku, in the intervening years Riku and King Mickey escaped the Lanes Between with Ansem the Wise's help, where Riku then had to conquer the remnants of Xehanort's Heartless to save himself. However, even with his success he was forced to become Ansem, Seeker of Darkness when Roxas proved too strong for him. Ashamed to have succumbed to his weakness, Riku avoided Sora as hard as he could after he awoke, refusing to look at both him and himself the same way again. Upon his awakening, Sora followed King Mickey's advice and along with Donald and Goofy, went to see Yen Sid to see what had happened in the year he had been asleep._

_Learning of the Nobodies and the Organization XIII, Sora went on another quest, not just to stop them but to also find Riku and reunite with Kairi. Through thick and thin Sora took down the Heartess, advancing Xemnas' plan unwittingly until later on, and even then he continued to fight the Heartless, driven by the desire to save his friend Kairi after she got kidnapped by the Organization. Each member went down one by one, and it was only near the end that Riku returned and revealed what had happened to him. Sora accepted his changes, saying that on the inside he was still the same Riku. The three friends of Destiny Islands reunited, and alongside King Mickey, Donald and Goofy they stopped the rest of the Organization until only Xemnas remained._

_The artificial Kingdom Hearts was near completion though, and it was only because of Ansem the Wise sacrificing himself that most of it was damaged. In return though, Riku's got his body back. Too many sacrifices had to be made for Xemnas, rather Xehanort's, madness to end. And in the end Xemnas had lied to the Organization, and that was that each one of them truly had hearts, and that he had lied to further manipulate them for his goals. Xehanort had plan upon plan prepared to recreate the X-Blade, his atrocities continuing to be committed through his avatars of nothingness and darkness. But the heroes were ready to put and end to his machinations, confronting Xemnas atop the castle as the Nobody stared up at his shattered Kingdom Hearts._

_He tried to face Sora along, but the keyblader proved to be too strong for him to handle. Desperate but not quite dead, Xemnas fused with the remnants of Kingdom Hearts and engaged the heroes in one last battle. Summoning a dragon that represented nothingness in its entirety, he divided their forces and waited. After Sora, Riku, Donald and Goofy made it to the dragon's head, Xemnas donned his Keyblade Armor after his memories as Xehanort began to return, but ultimately lost. _

_He was persistent though, and after only Riku and Sora remained in The World That Never Was he forcibly sealed all ways out and brought his dragon back to life. Following him in a glider, Riku and Sora worked together to destroy the dragon's primary functions and again beat Xemnas' armored form. With the dragon destroying itself, the three of them were transported to the epicenter of the Betwixt and the Between, where Xemnas noted that if light and darkness are eternal, then certainly he should be as well. Riku and Sora refused to let him try and use that logic on them, and said that just because Light and Darkness are eternal doesn't mean that he himself truly is._

_The final confrontation began, and Xemnas, having now donned a coat that showed his confliction between both light and darkness, proved capable of handling both Keybladers with ease. He didn't need to kill them, he wanted to incapacitate him for his own nefarious purposes, the questioning of his eternal life having brought a crisis to mind that drove him away from his original goals. He bound Sora to his ethereal chains, trapping him in an orb that slowly drained his life. Riku was left to rescue him, while Xemnas created a copy of himself to distract the warrior. Xemnas intended to drain Sora of both his and Ventus' hearts, and then take Riku's heart to complete the X-Blade. _

_And despite Riku's efforts, Xemnas succeeded in his goal. The hearts were dragged into his own being, Sora's body fading away into nothingness not long afterwards. Enraged by what the Nobody had done, Riku charged at Xemnas with all of his might, but he just wasn't strong enough to do anything on his own against the man, and succumbed to the same fate. With powerful hearts of both light and darkness brought into him, Xemnas waited for the X-Blade to come into his hand. However, that is not what happened…What happened was much, much worse._

_His body was strongly rejecting the hearts. He was a being of nothingness who was trying to become more than something, and even worse was the fact that because he had a heart of malicious intent along with Riku's heart that was stained in darkness, they overpowered Sora's and Ven's shattered hearts, turning Xemnas into a highly corrosive being that if left unchecked would bring about the end of everything both Light and Dark. He fled to Hollow Bastion, furiously looking for a solution to his problem in Ansem's research notes, finally accepting the help of the man he betrayed when it was far too late to make amends. _

_He found nothing, the darkness beginning to spill out through all of his orifices as he got on his knees and began to die. With one final scream, his body exploded, but that was just the start of the calamity. The Realm of Darkness was drawn back into the world, only this time without the real Kingdom Hearts to slow down its advance. Starting from Radiant Garden, the realm expanded outwards like a bubble, consuming every planet in its wake like before. However, the expansion was so sudden and uncontrolled that there was no time for the Princesses of Heart to stop it like they did long ago. So the Realm continued to grow and grow, eclipsing stars and solar systems into its very being without end._

_But then a miracle happened beyond the scope of anyone's comprehension. The Realm of Darkness just stopped its advance, and the entire thing was sealed off by a barrier disguised as the constellations that light up the night skies around all the remaining worlds. This was an act of the higher-ups, three multiverse observing beings who sit only two positions below God on his hierarchy. A greater tragedy was prevent, but at the cost of hundreds of trillions of lives, whose hearts were all consumed by the Heartless and used to fuel the Kingdom Hearts that was buried at the core of the now gargantuan realm. However, the phenomenon overloaded, cracking in two and becoming a burning monument buried within the castle where everything began to end. To keep the façade intact, the higher-ups did nothing to restore the worlds or the people…And thus, the Keyblades and the Heartless became fragments of imagination and nightmares, never to be heard of again…"_

And with that, Cackletta's tale about the birth of Kingdom Hearts and the Realm of Darkness, and the influence they had on the universe as a whole came to an end. Mario and Alpha weren't really affected by what was said. Sure it was tragic as to what occurred, but they happened a long time ago and thus couldn't be fixed now. But Alpha's theory was right on the mark, that there used to be a counter-force to the Heartless in the form of the Keybladers. However, the most interesting part about the whole thing is that as the witch stated, the higher-ups, whoever they were, did all in their power to erase the evidence of both this Realm and Kingdom Heart's existences, so that begs the question…How did Cackletta find out about this realm?

"Interesting tale Cackletta…So why did you come here then? Or rather, how did you find out about this place?" Alpha asks with his arms folded behind his back. "Now see, that's a more interesting question to ask, one that I am more than happy to answer. You see, before the Realm of Darkness consumed all worlds, one person left behind a journal that detailed everything I just told you, but the book was cast outside of the realm, where it floated through space for hundreds, even thousands of years before landing on the planet where the Dark King and Elemental Overlord would one day be born. I came across the book on my own, and intrigued by the story I learned of a way to infiltrate the Realm of Darkness after the Dark King had fallen."

"Hold up, that doesn't make any sense. So going by what you are saying, you've been visiting this realm for over two-thousand years? If those higher-ups you talked about were so adamant on making sure that no one knew about this realm, then how is it that you've manage to evade their wrath for so long?" Mario inquires which causes Cackletta to swiftly rear her head back in rancorous laughter. She found the question amusing, but at the same time she was relishing in the magnificence of the fact that she knew so much more than the other heroes did.

Pushing her head back forward, the witch says in response to the plumber's inquiry "That is the greatest thing about this whole ordeal…After all; the discovery of this realm gave me the perfect cover while I sought out my goals!" "Stop with the nebulousness of your words and explain what you mean, witch!" Alpha blurts out in annoyance, and after taking another moment to grin at the Commander's impatience the witch decides to comply with that blunt request. "Very well…You see, for all the higher-ups are capable of with their ability to observe everything, they refuse to ever glance into this realm, especially since because of their efforts it is a problem that will never again arise to haunt them. In fact, as I've now determined from the way the journal was written and other facts I gathered throughout the years, one of the higher-ups is a being that once existed in one of the worlds consumed by darkness!"

Mario and Alpha didn't know how to react to that piece of information. There were many people spoken of in her story, and many, many more that were probably never mentioned. Any one of them could've been one of the three higher-ups, but while this was a pressing question it was not something that needed to be delved into at the moment. What mattered is that because of a happening of fate, Cackletta has being doing things behind the back of a group of multiverse observing beings. Whatever her plan was now, it was obviously something grandiose in scale, or she wouldn't go through the effort to avoid being watched.

"Think of the facts Mario…Cackletta is in the Realm of Darkness, she quite clearly has nefarious intentions, she has a machine whose purposes were not known by the person who created him, and Dimentio mentioned that if she were to succeed everyone, including himself, would be killed. Then there was the acquisition of the Anti-Genesis Theorem that was used to incapacitate Alex, but so far a reason hasn't been given as to why…" Then it dawned on Mario, hitting him like a bolt of lightning as his pupils shrink in abject horror and a cold sweat starts to form on his face as his mind began to race in fear. There was only one reason why Cackletta would be going this far. She was a member of Apocalypse Royale alongside Dimentio, Smithy…And the Dark King.

She wanted to revive him, or more specifically, the boy who inherited his powers, Joe Dark. The only one who would logically be able to stop him would be his counterpart, the Elemental Overlord, but with Alex currently helpless in the sphere it would too easy for the Dark King to slay him and become an unstoppable force of nature that would ravish not just Plit, but all other worlds as well. Cackletta was prepared to release that madman back into the universe at large to cause mayhem, only this time he would be undeterred without anyone strong enough to stop him, and because he represents the abstract concept of darkness, the higher-ups wouldn't be able to do anything to kill him so long as the Dark King slayed enough beings of light to keep the balance in check.

And then the witch would be the absolute ruler, because Joe Dark was easily made to be her puppet. "You're insane Cackletta…How could you even think about resurrecting Joe Dark?" The plumber declares boldly, but as Alpha turns his head in shock upon hearing Mario's revelation, he is interjected by Cackletta's sudden fit of maniacal laughter. Her rapturous sounds echoed, her body trying to contain the joy she is experiencing from the foolishness of the red man's words. "Ehehehe…HAHAHAHAHAHA! Tell me…Please tell me you were joking when you asked me that…" Raising her head back up after regaining her composure, Cackletta places one hand against her chin and begins to rub it gently. "After all, what use would I have for such a disgraceful piece of human flesh?"

_Next Time: Another King_


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26: Cackletta II: Machinations of the Witch**

"The Dark King was useless to you?" Mario says, surprised by Cackletta's insult of the once living avatar of the Dark King's power. "Do you need your ears cleaned out? I'm certain I was very clear with what I said." The witch remarks with much sarcasm. While Mario did agree with Cackletta that Joe Dark was a disgraceful human being thanks to his lack of sanity, he couldn't accept the fact that the witch thought of him as nothing more than a puppet that could easily be discarded into the trash whenever she so pleased. But maybe that wasn't the case, perhaps Cackletta has a different reason for calling the boy what she did. "Why would you even say that?" The plumber inquires, disguising his curiosity in a tone of utter disbelief.

"Simply put, the boy was too consumed by his own insignificant emotions to ever be of lasting use to me." Cackletta responds. "His emotions got in the way then…" Alpha murmurs loud enough for the witch to hear him, and after rolling her eyes and sighing in annoyance she says in a brusque tone, "Yes, he was too consumed by rage and insanity in pursuit of his rather blindsided goal. Simply put, had he accomplished his goal of killing the new Overlord, he would have never seen any reason to go about destroying other planets for me. He was a rebellious child, and with his strength I never would've gotten him to obey. So in the end, it was better that the Overlord killed him instead of forcing me to get the job done."

She was nonchalant in her words, for she cared little about the lives of others no matter how good or bad their mindsets were. The fact that she could talk so casually about two pre-teen boys attempting to kill each other was disturbing to say the least, and as Mario winces in disgust he looks into Cackletta's eyes as she finished up and said to her, "That's disgusting." "Oh come now, it is not like you cared about the false Dark King in the first place." It was a sharp rebuttal, one that held a lot of truth in it, Mario realized. However, instead of a focus being placed on that comment, Alpha had something of his own to ask the witch. "Ok then, if you aren't trying to revive the Dark King, then what was the point of everything you've done up until now?"

"There was definitely a point to my actions, I can assure you that right now. You see, my plan is not to revive the Dark King, but to create a new one in his place." Alpha and Mario widen their eyes in shock. "You're insane. That's something you have no right to mess with. You are NOT the governor of the two elements of balance, you are trespassing on God's domain by attempting such blasphemy!" The Commander's outcry, while heard by Cackletta, go deaf on her ears as she shakes her head in defiance. "But I'm not trespassing…After all, only those under his service who acknowledge such actions can declare my actions to be blasphemous…But as I've already said, the higher-ups have no idea of what I've done in here. God himself may know, but since the time of genesis has long passed he can no longer do anything to directly interfere with the universe's affairs."

Cackletta stated what she knew, and Alpha knew that even if she was lying, it was clear that if she hadn't been stopped by higher forces up until this point, then she wasn't going to be terminated by them right here and now. But that's what he and Mario were here for, to accomplish what the so-called "higher-ups" have failed to notice and deal with. However, as previously noted, Alpha can't kill the witch until she makes the first move, though he is admittedly starting to grow tired of her words. "Actually, speaking of my plans…I have always had two goals ever since the Elemental Overlord and the Dark King both perished." Cackletta then says while rubbing her chin and glaring at the two heroes with her eyes dripping with pleasure. "…Go on." Alpha says reluctantly, with both him and Mario keeping their eyes focused on her arms, since those are what she uses to cast spells.

"I will, I didn't need your permission, Commander. Now, let us start from the beginning of this whole ordeal. As you all know, the Elemental Overlord divided his powers among seven temples in the form of the Elemental Stones, the core of his spirit that powered them all up to their fullest potentials existing within the heart of the Origin Temple. The temple was guarded by his most loyal seven bodyguards, the Genesis Samurais, and a barrier that would move the unaware to the other side of the temple. So when I said I had two goals, these were the two I had in mind after figuring all this out. One, I would find a way to circumvent all the barriers and acquire the Elemental Overlord's power for myself, or two, I figure out a way to create another Dark King. Both options would allow me to follow along towards another goal, which I'll detail later on. Either way, dealing with the barrier was far too easy, since I simply had to use my magic to open a gateway through it. However, in their prime I stood no chance against the Genesis Samurais, and their immortality ensured that I couldn't wait for them to die of old age. However, a lack of fighters from Plit would one day cause their strength to regress to a weaker state, where I could take care of them at my own behest. So to make sure that that would come to pass, I killed anyone who tried to gather all the Elemental Stones, absorbing their life force to keep prolonging my own. I knew that I'd be in danger if someone gathered all seven, so I made sure to ambush them before the seventh temple. Eventually the time came to pass where I could kill the Genesis Samurais with a flick of the wrist, but first I wanted to make certain of something. I examined the Genesis Orb from the Realm of Darkness, and came to determine that even if I were to kill them all, I would never be able to touch the orb and take the Overlord's powers. The reason for that was because of a prophecy you are already aware of, which the Overlord knew would someday come thanks to his power to see the future. However, the protection he provided on his orb was not an absolute law, and thus I tried to determine a way to take it down. My own magic wouldn't work, so I did some researched to find out of something strong enough in Plit's history to dispel the barrier. I learned of the Beanstar, whose powers would only activate upon hearing the voice of a maiden pure. There turned out to be a benefit to the Overlord's prophetic powers, for because of them he predicted such a person to one day exist. The one you refer to as Princess Peach was the only one worthy, so I had to wait even longer until the proper day arrived. What made her capable of such a feat probably had something to do with the fact that she is one of the seven Star Children, but since you probably know nothing about that I won't bore you with the details. Either way, since obviously my plan with the Beanstar failed I had to resort to one final measure to undo the seal around the Elemental Overlord's orb, and that was to wait for the time to arrive when the boy of prophecy would come to Plit. By killing him, the seal would be undone in a snap, and I would have the powers I desired. Of course, you know what happened after that…So now let us move on to the other side of my plan, which actually took a bit longer to begin than the first one. I knew all along where the Dark King's spirit was, but since I was not the one foretold to take his powers I didn't bother releasing him or restoring his body. Even though I wanted to create my own Dark King, I decided to wait and see if the other boy of prophecy would prove worthy of discarding my doubts. At the same time though, I still focused on finding an energy source of pure darkness that I could use as a catalyst to create the Dark King anew. I heard of the Dark Star, an object buried within the ruins of the old Toad Town that would perfectly suit my goals. However, because of what I heard about it I couldn't bother to go after it myself out of fear of being possessed. I didn't have a guinea pig to go after it, since Smithy was busy with his own affairs while Dimentio couldn't be trusted near such an object. So I waited for a lackey, which ended up being that traitor Fawful. What he did after that, I assume he already told you, so we shall skip past that. Then came the day where both boys of prophecy appeared, and I planted a seed of darkness harvested from the Heartless in this world into the boy destined to become the Dark King, making him into a magnet that would draw in the Dark King's spirit from afar while at the same time amplifying his more negative emotions and draining him of all his positive one to see how his actions would be affected by having his body changed like that. I placed him in the desert, since that was close to where the Dark King's prison was, and he gained his powers just as predicted. But he proved me wrong in my dreams, as a creature of unbridled rage is unworthy of having the Dark King's title. Having dug my own grave on that one, I quickly picked up my old plan and had Smithy start to work on the machine you see behind me. And now here we are, as I'm soon minutes away from the success of my creation!"

Her long-winded explanation now out of the way, Alpha can only look on at the witch in utter disbelief. The lengths of time she had to endure just to get what she wanted, the sanity she still had when anyone else would've cracked from impatience, the Commander couldn't comprehend any of it. "That's a nice explanation, but that all sounds too contrived for me to believe. Everything couldn't have gone this perfectly for you, what would've happened if something screwed up?" Mario questions, and as Cackletta leans her head back and opens her mouth prepared to laugh, she stops, realizing that she shouldn't strain her vocal cords any further when she has even more to say to the heroes. "You don't get it do you? Even failures would benefit me in the long run." The witch states in arrogance. "Let me list it all off to you, ok?"

"Starting from the earliest point when my plans could come to fruition…If Smithy managed to conquer Plit then Fawful would've easily been able to capture the Dark Star without any interference from the Star Spirits, if he failed then his death would be easy to feign so know one be able to notice when he builds the machine later on. If I got the Beanstar, then I would acquire the Overlord's powers and accomplish one of my goals, if I failed then you would all think I'm dead and I would be able to manipulate things from afar without consequence until the time arrive for my return. If Dimentio takes control of the Chaos Heart and destroys all of existence then my main goal afterwards would be accomplish, but if he fails then he can at least can draw out another clone who has exposed himself to the object's powers and along with Fawful they could recreate it and use it to power the machine behind me. If Fawful fails to get the Dark Star then I could just extract the darkness from the dark boy's body and use it instead, but if he did get the Dark Star or its data to recreate then there was nothing left to stop that part of the plan. If I manage to get rid of the boy of prophecy before he acquires the Overlord's powers then I get the powers myself, but if I fail then the next possibility can come to pass. If the new Dark King kills the new Elemental Overlord then I can eliminate him before he vanished from the world and go about the remainder of my business with ease, but if the Elemental Overlord vanquishes the Dark King then I can quickly take what I want from him and go on with the next phase of my plan. Everything else in between, before and after didn't matter so long as every member of the Apocalypse Royale was around to keep things under control when I myself couldn't get the job done. So as you can see, everything done to stop me was futile, for I would've reached the fruition of my goals, it just took longer to do so than I had originally thought it would."

There is silence for a few moments after she is done bragging about her supposedly assured triumph, but Alpha interjects this empty sound with a rebuttal to everything spoken to him. He shakes his head and brandishes one hand out in front of his body with his eyelids sealed tight, saying to the witch "Actually, you are wrong. No matter what you say, you haven't won yet." "But I have, esteemed Commander. Nothing you or that wretched plumber say or do will change the events that have unfolded, the events that are already in motion, and the events that are to come." Cackletta's words are dripping with arrogance, but they are nothing that both heroes aren't used to. Slamming his knuckles into his palm, Mario cracks them in the grip of his hand and steps forward all ready to go. "That's not true Cackletta, there is one thing we can do to stop you."

"Eheheh…" The witch's laughter at Mario's bold remark starts off light, but unable to contain herself she pulls her head back as far as she can and expresses her enjoyment over the heroes' naivety with an erupting fit of laughter. When she stops she puts her hands out in front of her body and says to them both, "Face the facts heroes. I have done everything in my power to succeed in my goals. I revived and manipulated the foolish Lord of Subspace to damage the M.S.I. Base of yours so you wouldn't try and stop me sooner, I incapacitated the new Elemental Overlord so he wouldn't be able to do anything until it was too late, I managed to get your forces split thanks to utilizing one of the laws of your organization while at the same time get rid of the two people who could've but a dent in my plans if they so desired to, and in the end the only thing that has gone wrong is that Fawful turned out to be a traitor. However, he did everything I needed him to do despite his true allegiance, and nothing he could've said or done for you will make a difference. Once again heroes, as far as things go I am the victor, and you as the failures shall soon be dead."

"Like Mario said Cackletta, you are wrong." Alpha says, unflinching in the face of the witch's resolute boast. He raises his head up high and thrusts his arm out in front of his body, transforming it into its cannon form where it is then aimed at his enemy. "Once you die, your plan is ruined. And this time, we will make sure your death is permanent. No clones nor savior will come to rescue you from us both." "Oh, and by the way Cackletta…" Mario says with a grin of resolve as he nudges his cap into place, "A friend of mine wanted me to tell you that Joe Dark's soul is waiting for you in hell!" With Alex's comment relayed to the witch, Mario flares his hands up in a veil of golden fire.

"Then the time for mincing words is over." Cackletta notes, accepting all that has been said with her arms folded into his cloak and a callous grin on her face. The two heroes air on the side of caution as everything goes quiet. Suddenly, the witch's arms are flung up, both Mario and Alpha somersaulting forward as lightning bolts come crashing down from the sky above. They strike the ground in a flash as the heroes get on their knees and thrust their right arms out. An ion beam from the Commander and a flame beam from Mario are sent at Cackletta, who waves her hands in front of her hands and from the tip of her fingers comes magical energy that swirls into a small barrier on both sides that absorb the impact of the attack and cause them to explode.

But before she is scarred by the detonations the witch leaps backwards with her cloths flowing out to follow her movement. She thrusts her hands out with sparks in the palms, and two separate rows of lightning head out rapidly towards the heroes. Each strikes the ground diagonally, and as the two heroes leap into the air to avoid one strike they are forced to bring up their defenses to stop the next one in sequence. Alpha uses his shield while Mario deflects with his cape, and when their arms are back into position they look at the witch as she lands on the front pillar of the machine. She takes one of her fingers out, the time glowing brightly with a streak of fire as she etches across the air.

After a foreign seal has been drawn a dragon's head surrounded by the crackling flames emerges and makes its way towards the two heroes. Opening its mouth up wide to roar, Alpha notices that the spell is big enough to devour the both of them. However, Mario was more than capable of handling it with his powers, and quickly folds his arms above his head. As he turns to look at the Commander, the Goomba notices that he hasn't set his palms on fire as the bottom of them collide together in front of his body. With an approving nod Alpha takes advantage of his ally's distraction to charge forward at the witch, his body narrowly flying near the swerving body of the fire dragon as he inches closer.

Mario pulls his arms back to his side, the sudden jerking motion creating a powerful vacuum that pulls the fires apart from the dragon's form and brings them into the center of the plumber's palm, compression it all into the form of a fireball of medium size. The density is great, almost too much for Mario to handle, but he keeps it together, concentrating with all of his might as he shifts his eyes around to get a lock onto Cackletta. Before the dragon is absorbed completely, Alpha managed to take his sword out with his left hand and draw some of the fire into his blade, swinging it out at the witch before it dispels.

She raises her arms to block the incoming attack, but then the Commander rushes in while her guard is up and slams his right fist into her face. Bones are heard cracking as the head is forcibly turned towards the ground, the metal of Alpha's fist grinding against her skin but failing to draw any blood. Unrelenting in his assault, the Commander converts his other arm into a fist and slams it into her gut, the rest of her body following in recoil as his two attacks have successfully pushed her back. What was odd to Alpha though was that Cackletta was not grunting or showing any signs of pain. With his other arm quickly converted to its cannon form, Alpha presses the barrel into the witch's gut and fires a short burst of energy, smoking rising from the struck spot as Cackletta skids back approximately twenty feet, nearly causing her to fall off the edge of the pillar she is on.

Once on the ground the Commander turns his arm back to normal and opens the palm, the hands quickly detaching from the rest of the arms and flying straight towards Cackletta. The witch, after being battered around a bit by Alpha, slyly moves her left hand up and snaps her fingers. A pitch black hole pops up in front of her body, much to the Commander's vexation. But he has already commanded his hands to clamp down as they enter the hole, and he knew exactly what the witch was planning to do with them. From Mario's point of view he sees nothing of interest happening during Alpha the Cackletta's scuffle, as he himself moves his body slowly to the left in order to get a better shot in that won't harm his ally. The fireball is about to reach its limit and will thus harm him if he keeps it any longer, so as the plumber prepares to thrust his arms out the other hole opens up behind him and Alpha's arms fly out, their finger clasping down onto the plumber's shoulders so suddenly that his focus is broken long enough for his aim to shifted.

The fireball is flung out; its size expanding now that it was no longer being contained within the cusp of Mario's palms. On the other side of the battle the Commander quickly pulls his arms out of the hole after letting go of his ally and brings them back into place, swiftly turning his body around as he hears the fireball get closer and bringing his shield up in front of his face to absorb the brunt of the impact from the massive orb of flames. The blazing field that arrives after the collision fails to penetrate around the edges of the barrier But in the defense of one attack comes vulnerability to another, as two lightning bolts speed straight from the tips of Cackletta's fingers and hit the Commander straight in the back, his body wincing in pain from the sudden sharpness thrusting itself through his spine.

Alpha was the first of the two heroes to take any lasting damage during this battle, but the Goomba came into this battle knowing full well that neither he nor his ally were going to come out unscathed. Now was the time for retaliation, as the Commander recovers from the strike and flips his body around with the cannon setup ready to fire. The ionic blast shot at the witch is dodged with a quick dip into one of her magic holes, the bottom of the beam just nearly grazing the attachments on her head. Unwilling to let her escape, Alpha keeps his arm the way it is and charges through the air towards the hole with his wings outspread momentarily, retracting them as he dives through the hole to follow Cackletta.

The witch re-appears suddenly a few feet away from Mario, quickly snapping her fingers to change the exit of the hole she went through so Alpha slams headfirst into the ground below her. Now with the Commander briefly knocked unconscious she focuses her attention on the plumber, who has set his fists on fire ready to engage Cackletta in physical combat. Unfortunately for him as he rushes towards her he is quick to discover that the witch is not a fan of such a style of fighting, for she uses her magic to create a lightning based seal in front of her that blocks Mario's swiftly thrust punch. It was a defensive spell specifically designed to work when it was hit, and the electricity quickly spreads out to bind the plumber's body in three rings.

With his legs pressed together along with his arms put against his body, Mario right away tries to escape by moving his arms against the solidified electricity to try and break it apart. While his struggles are made clear the witch readies another spell, her hands being set on fire as if to mock the fighting-style that the plumber has adopted. Even with his slight resistance to flames, Mario knew he'd be fried to the bare bone in his current condition, so he increases his strength beyond the levels he normally has and puts his elbows to work in trying to break the rings. They begin to stretch apart, unable to keep the plumber's might at bay.

When the lightning rings finally break around the arms, the ones on the legs follow suit, much to Cackletta's pupil-shrunk surprise. Mario then moves a few feet forward and hits the witch with a powerful left hook, and though he does neglect to ignite his knuckles as he deals this blow he doesn't fail to do so when he thrusts his other fist straight into her chest. The blow releases a shockwave of fire before she is sent flying away a few feet, her arms held out but still set on fire. She has enough consciousness within her to cast the spell though, and as a small flurry of flames begin to collapse behind the plumber to drag him in for the aftermath, Mario hurriedly charges forth to avoid the ensuing medium-sized explosion.

Once he has caught up to Cackletta's hurtling body he holds his arms out straight and presses his legs together, spinning his body around rapidly like a tornado to deliver a flurry of blows to the witch, continuing to push her along through the air with each repeated strike until she grows tired of taking damage and brings her hands out in front of her body, grabbing Mario by the head to stop his motions almost immediately. Before he is given time to react she casts a spell on him, a veil of black, purple and blue energy surrounds his body for two seconds, vanishing just as he starts to feel his body's mass increasing tenfold.

The weight on his organs is excruciating, but he endures it until Cackletta lets go, where his body then rapidly descends towards the ground, the hard impact with the floor breaking the spell of gravity but leaving Mario injured as he lays face-first on the cracks created from his fall. He is an open target for attack, and with the witch swinging her arms out overhead and her cloak flailing in the gentle, melancholic breeze of this realm she summons a gigantic lightning bolt to smite the plumber. Suddenly, moving in for defense as a blur of gold is Alpha, who summons half of a shield from both arms and clashes them together, the fusion of the halves creating a dome shaped barrier of energy above his head that takes the most of the brunt from the witch's spell as it cascades downward.

Most of the electricity moves past the edges of the barrier and falls down around Mario as smaller lightning bolts, but so long as his ally was safe from harm nothing else mattered to the Commander. When the lightning finally leaves the air Alpha decides to strike back, putting one half of his shield back into his arm and recreating the full shield on the other arm before launching it out like a discus towards the witch. Cackletta brings her up to guard, the edge of the shield colliding with them and ricocheting into the air, where Alpha then charges forth and converts his right arm into something similar to his cannon form, only with a smaller barrel at the helm of his harm and two iron cylinders pumping into his limb.

Needles rapid-fire out of the barrel, impaling themselves into Cackletta's arms in a matter of seconds. The pumps were used to compress energy down, and without the boundary of the barrel to keep them down they explode. Her arms swung out in pain, she is clocked in the jaw by Alpha's left elbow, sending her flying away as he quickly turns his other arm back to normal and catches the shield while it falls, retracting it into him as he flaps his winds out wide and propels his body in an curved arc so he gets behind the witch. With a twirl of the body his foot connects with Cackletta's back and sends her back towards where she once was. The Commander speeds to the predetermined location as a bolt of light, backhanding the witch with a spiral turn to send her towards the ground.

With his cannon arm held above his still body as if he was ready to toss a baseball, Alpha thrusts it out down towards the ground and fires a beam that catches up to the witch before she hits the floor. From his point of view the Commander can't tell, but the energy from his attack isn't spreading wide on the ground. He turns his head, using his eye patch to try and sense the witch's energy signature. There is nothing to be found, and with a tilt of the head he notices a hole opening up above Mario, who is has just gotten back on his feet from the previous spell. "WATCH OUT!" Alpha exclaims as loudly as he can muster, and as the plumber looks up and sees the light piercing through the whole, his eyes widen and he quickly backflips out of the way of the beam as it comes down.

Though he feels that he is safe, Cackletta quickly reappears behind the beam and casts a spell that fires five dark orb-shaped bullets at the plumber. Each shot bigger than the next, they collide with the unaware Mario and sending him skidding along the ground farther and father until the final shot bursts on his gut and sends him flying. Alpha stops his beam and flies down to catch his ally mid-air, the palm of his left hand acting as a cushion to catch him and allow him to put his legs down onto the ground after turning his head to nod and thank the Commander for the quick rescue.

Now that they stood staring at Cackletta, the witch walks so she is standing in the shadow of the machine, her hands clapping slowly as the hole she made seals up. With their bodies turned towards her, the two heroes raise their eyebrows wondering why she is congratulating them. "I don't know how I feel about garnering praise from you of all people…" Alpha says in a scorn-filled tone. "You don't think it is deserved? I'm surprised to see the two of you faring as well as you are, though admittedly you wouldn't be alive still if it wasn't for the Star Spirits powers." As she makes her point with truth and arrogance present in her voice, she looks to be struggling slightly with her movements, signifying that she is in fact taking damage thus far.

"But it doesn't matter how strong you are, you cannot deliver a permanent death to someone like me." She says, folding her arms into her cloak and glaring at the two heroes with her grin ever-present. "And why is that?" Mario questions. "Remember when you killed me down to my soul Mario? Remember when Alex claimed that he finished me off at the Origin Temple? It is a question you have both been wondering about, I can tell, the mystery behind my revivals you wish to know. I can reveal all I know to you simply because you will die anyways. Whether you kill me or not is irrelevant to my affairs…Now then, where should I begin?"

_Next Time: The Second Life_


	27. Chapter 27

**Author's Note:**

I am pleased to inform you readers that there is now a topic on TvTropes forum where Clash of the Elements can be discussed. So now I can express thanks to TheMageOfFire for making the page and this topic.

Just go to the TvTropes website, click the Troperville tab on the left side of the page, click on forum, go to FanFiction, and find the topic from there. I'd post the link, but it seems the site won't allow me to do the full thing...

Either way, go there if you wish to talk about the series. Either way, enjoy today's chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 27: Cackletta III: Fear is the Queen**

"I guess a good starting point to my wondrous tale would be about a thousand years ago. Remember how I mentioned using the souls of those wandering around the planet in search of the Elemental Stones? Well after a while of plundering their life force and adding it to my own the populace was warned to forget about the legends, discarding them due to the lives being lost being taken as a sign from a higher power that they shouldn't meddle in the affairs of the gods. So I was without my sustenance, and in time the stockpile of souls kept within my body was starting to prove ineffectual. It was such a backlash from consuming so many over time, which eventually led to my body beginning to mutate into the form you see before you now. I still had my plans to consider, so I looked into my forbidden spellbooks to search for a solution.

I came across a ritual that would grant me the ability to come back to life in the state and age I was in when I first performed it, but with time still having passed around me so I don't just end up repeating the events in my life. The name of the spell/ritual was fittingly called 'Second Life', and I got to work on procuring everything I needed to activate it right away. I took over a lone town that was far detached from most of the outside world, disguising myself as a queen that ruled righteously with the shadows. I had to sacrifice the souls of exactly or above one-million living beings, and most of them had gathered in that town for me to harvest with the activation of the ritual.

Certainly I had to wait things out a bit, but I still had a few decades of life left within me, so it didn't matter in the end. However, word spread out about my plans about a day before I was ready to under-go them, and four brave heroes, consisting of a Toad, a Goomba, a Koopa, and a Boo who had betrayed my army at the Koopa's behest. They gathered the Crystal Stars I had created as catalysts to drag the souls from the million people and sink the town I was in into the depths. Confronting me in the depths of the submerged city, they used the Stars to trap the essence of my darkness into a chest, which in turn killed my mortal body. Before I left the world, I cursed the four heroes, which eventually led to them becoming trapped in black chests as spirits after they spread the Crystal Stars around the world.

Either way, their tale doesn't matter, for in the end my spell worked. It took a little bit of time, but my body was revived, proving the ritual's success and leaving me to laugh maniacally at my own ingeniousness. However, my victory came at a cost, for a lost a lot of power because of the Crystal Stars, so I would no longer be able to fight off anyone who tried to go after the Elemental Stones…At least, not on Plit. For whatever reason, I return to my full power whenever I'm in this realm, so all I had to do after the ritual was drag any of the more curious explorers to the Realm of Darkness and either have the Heartless deal with them or kill them myself. Of course, you should know all about that part of the plan, right Commander?"

Though the question asked at the end of her spiel left Alpha clenching his right fist in rage, he was more pissed off after hearing Cackletta's explanation. There were many details left out, such as the creation of the three dragons and her army of darkness, which were more than likely to be the Heartless at this point, but most of the information stated fits in with the established legend. He turns his head to Mario, who is frozen in a mixture of disgust and shock having heard the legend before when he visited the repopulate area above where the "old town" mentioned once stood. There was no implying anything; Cackletta once had the identity she said she used to get what she needed for the "Second Life" spell.

"So I guess genocide can be added to your list of misdemeanors, Shadow Queen." Alpha states the name in a sharp, sudden tone, which causes the witch to raise her hand through the cloak to her chin, rubbing it in intrigue for a few seconds before a cackle breaks through her slightly open lips. She then continues to laugh virulently, the sadism of her echoing sounds sending chills down both heroes' spines before she ends. With a black void in her heart filling up with maniacal glee, she moves her hand back in and uses it along with the other one to brush the sides of her cloak away, holding the backside of her right hand back up as something starts to be etched into the skin. "I never read the legends of my reign in Old Rogueport, but I consider the name they gave me to be rather coincidental…"

After her comment is made the card symbol for the Queen is etched onto her hand, and unlike Smithy and Dimentio this symbol does not shine brightly but is instead shrouded with a dark aura. "Especially bearing in mind that my title amongst the Apocalypse Royale is that of the Queen of Shadows…" Mario was the one to say something to the witch this time, his eyes widened with a righteous fury the likes of which neither Alpha or the witch has ever seen before. "You killed a million people just to keep your wretched existence going? I don't care about the balance between light and darkness, how could making a new Dark King EVER justify all the people whose lives you robbed prematurely?"

Cackletta chuckles at the plumber's enraged bombardment of inquiries, and in rebuttal she says, "Now when did I say that I was ever looking for justification for my actions? I just want to create a new Dark King, and I am perfectly fine admitting that my reasons for doing that are impure." "What, you think your little puppet will succeed in destroying Plit while the Elemental Overlord is around?" Alpha declares calmly, and once again the witch laughs in response. "The machine will finish about an hour before the Overlord is freed from the Anti-Genesis orb, so his involvement matters not because he will be slain while he is trapped. Also, don't go about saying that one planet, especially a backwater one such as yours is worth all of this effort. Were it not for the Elemental Overlord's interference, Plit wouldn't be worth ANYONE'S time…Besides, I'm not looking to destroy a planet, but for something more grandiose in scale."

"…You don't mean..." It takes a few seconds of thinking from both heroes, and as Alpha raises his eyebrow in disbelief over Cackletta's claims, the witch finishes his sentence for him with a sharp declaration of "But I do, Commander…I plan on having my Dark King wipe out every living being in the entire universe." "You're insane!" Alpha and Mario state bluntly in unison, their minds not needing to pause and react to this revelation. "Am I? If I was, I wouldn't be standing before you now, my mind having been consumed with discord and rendered incapable of the things I've done up to now. My rationale is still intact, and perhaps that is scarier than anything else."

Mario grits his teeth in anger, mortified by the actions the witch has taken up until this point, and in the end the plumber has decided that nothing that happened in Cackletta's long-life could ever explain why she has gone this far to accomplish her goals. The witch takes notice of the red man's behavior, interpreting his thoughts in her own way and coming up with yet another sentence to give to the heroes, "Perhaps a little enlightenment will help you both out, since we aren't going to continue our fight until I make another move, and we have plenty of time anyways."

"There are three types of alignments in this world. Either you follow good, follow evil, or keep to neutrality. Each side has its own fundamental flaws, but it is not very often that you see people come to the rightful conclusions about them, and it is even rarer to see people act to do something against them. First you have the absolute purest of the pure, those who follow the law right down to the letter to accomplish their goals, only on the rarest occasions do you see them break this rules in order to get a job done. The flaw in this allegiance is that while they usually stick to their guns, they also keep to these rules so perfectly that their ideals can eventually consume their very being and lead to situations where their very heroism will end in the deaths of their closest friends, and possibly even millions of others.

Then you have those who lean towards the side of Neutrality, and those who follow this path will usually be some of the nicest people you will ever meet…But what use are these people when a war comes around? How can you expect those who have never strayed from their kindness to slaughter other soldiers in battle? Certainly they might not follow the law at times compared to the more lawful ones, but what does that matter when they are incapable of anything but kindness? Then you have those who live on the edge of chaos, who believe in order, discipline and honor but may go to greater lengths to make sure that everything stays as it should, or may even try to abolish the laws of the world to sustain their own perceived conception of order. Their flaw is simply that, they are untrustworthy, for their rampant beliefs have a better chance of ruining the world then it does of saving it, and they are always more than likely to get themselves killed out of recklessness.

Everyone who follows Neutrality, whether via the law, chaos or themselves, are the most worthless alignments that you can choose to embrace. Those who follow the law are more likely to betray you as they are to help you if the rules dictate that to be their path, those true to themselves will never budge from their views of balance, predictably following what they have kept in their minds until the day of their pitiful, useless demises, and the chaotic variety of neutral beings are the worst of the lot due to their inability to care about anything but mayhem. They move about under the guise of absolute freedom in their lives, but fail to realize the lunacy of their actions as they simply try to get a kick out of life itself.

Then you got those under evil's shadow. You have the lawful, who keep their order intact at any costs. While those under this allegiance are the lesser of the three evils, they are usually the ones who manage to accomplish their goals, but the flaw in this is that any of their successes greatly disrupt the balance the world once had, plunging it into greater chaos than anyone could ever hope to comprehend. Those of neutrality are the worst of the bunch, those who manipulate and deceive in order to make it impossible to predict what their true allegiance is until the day where they take their knife to your back. They are annoying simply because those of that alignment are the only one who are difficult to figure out. Then you have the chaotic, creatures of unprecedented destruction who cause this all to happen simply out of insanity, or from well-placed calculations to cause misdeeds without a reason. What makes this alignment imperfect is that while some people sway on the side of intelligence to get this done, others stray away from this mindset and believe that only destruction makes them the most despicable creatures in the universe.

In the end, every single alignment has a flaw, and there are more of them that I didn't mention to you simply because the basic ones convey my point across wonderfully. The alignment system is something no one can avoid, we are given these marks from the day of our birth to the outset of our lives, and even though we can change things in ourselves we can never escape the system, only change which title has been given to us through it. So while this system exists, everyone has a flaw within them that renders them useless so long as they can be exploited, and it is through that end that my Dark King is going to kill everyone in the universe for."

It was a good argument against the alignment system, Alpha and Mario both knew this well, but there was an important flaw that Cackletta has notably overlooked. "While it is true that some people have their flaws, you can't fault the alignment system for them having those." The Commander says as his rebuttal. "Actually, I can. But that's not the only problem with it. Tell me, how often do you see a living being acknowledge every flaw they have within them? You cannot answer that question, because there is none to be found. Deep down, everyone has a hint of arrogance or fear that prevents them from going as far as to accept what is wrong with them."

"So what if they do?" Mario asks. "Not all flaws impede the progress of civilization, not every problem in the psyche of the living can justify your desire to wipe out the universe. Why are you trying to convince us to believe what you have to say when you've already shown how monstrous YOU truly are?" The plumber pierced a hole right in Cackletta's argument with that question, and the witch grimaces in disappointing disgust, knowing that any further attempts to continue persuading the two heroes would not only end in failure, but would work towards clouding her mind in rage over the two's one-way line of thinking. So she chooses to swiftly change the subject, holding her left hand out as the cloak covers the other one.

"Very well then…Tell me, have you ever heard of the Seven Deadly Sins?" The heroes nod their heads in response to Cackletta's question, which causes her to grin in return. "And you know how the Overlord has control over seven elements, correct? Well you see, there is good reason for there being seven of both, even though logically Water and Ice should be part of the same group. While the Elemental Overlord is capable of balancing the seven elements within their body, the Dark King has the ability to balance the Seven Deadly Sins without ever losing control of their mind…Well, at least that's how it should've been…" The witch mumbles the last part to herself, which Alpha manages to hear with his acute hearing.

"What do you mean?" He asks. "Unfortunately, in the last moments of his life the Dark King I once knew succumbed to the Lust within him, and became a being of pure Wrath and Gluttony. It was his Envy for what the Overlord had that drove him to declare war, and the reason I have discarded the notion of bringing him back to life. He became worthless, a disappointment to the men of his that still survive to this very day…But my new Dark King will have within him a perfect balance of the Seven Sins, and he won't ever succumb to a single one of them because he won't have any emotions to listen to."

It was with that response that the machine behind the witch made perfect sense. The pillars were designed to draw in the raw energies of the Seven Deadly Sins, and the Dark Star Fawful was told to clone is the source of darkness, which is probably the object hidden behind the foggy orb. But there was one thing still missing from the equation, and that was the catalyst needed to make a living being in the first place. Even taking that into consideration, there was only one thing to call the end product of Cackletta's designs after her remark about the creation having no emotions. "So basically…You just want another puppet to replace the one you lost." Alpha says.

"Something to that extent, but if I get what I want then I couldn't care less about the details involved." The witch responds nonchalantly, which causes the Commander to lower his eyebrow in subdued anger. "I've had enough of this. Cackletta, for the crimes of genocide, destruction of the old city of Rogueport, an uncountable amount of singular murders, and the attempted usurping and murder of a figure of royalty, I not only declare you guilty, but you have been sentenced to a permanent death." Converting his right arm into his sword and brandishing it at the witch's neck after her crimes had been listed off, Alpha follows up on what he said by declaring, "And we have come as your executioners, accept your fate and perish!"

The witch replies to the Commander's bravado by gentling clapping her hands, spreading them apart as electricity begins to crackle between them. "I must commend you Commander…You have certainly come a long way since the last time you were in this realm…You are courageous, confident, yet more importantly you have become stubborn to a fault. But you will never stop me, because you are a man that follows the laws of science, and such beliefs will never be able to surpass the unknowns of magic. Allow me to demonstrate in full the futility of the last thirty years of both of your lives!"

Cackletta thrusts her hands out to send lightning bolts hurtling at the heroes in the form of streams, and as they somersault forward to pass underneath them the witch stops immediately and snaps her fingers before the energy has dispersed. Holes up in the ground in front of the their projected path, and they tumble into them without any time to avoid it. They fall out above where they dropped, their bodies still pushing forward from the previous momentum. Cackletta waves her hand in front of her, hitting both heroes with the same gravity effect she struck Mario with earlier.

In a nanosecond the two heroes slam into their ground on top of their skulls, an echoing crack being heard as they continue to roll forward and their legs crash against the ground with a booming thud. Any normal person would've gotten a concussion from that blow to the skull, but it is because of the heroes' incredibly irritating level of endurance that they are able to use their arms and legs to slowly push their bodies up off the ground. Once they are back up, Alpha rushes forward and takes one slash at the witch with his sword, but with a flick of the wrist she summons another hole that the Commander puts his blade through, cutting Mario across the back after it emerges.

The pained grunt emerging from the plumber's sealed lips catches Alpha off-guard, and as he nudges his head to check on his ally Cackletta seals the hole in front of her. As he pulls his arm out the energy from the blade is cut off, forcing with to withdraw it into his arm to recharge. He brings his cannon out and fires a quick beam at his foe, but she casually swings her head to the side with her eyelids closed arrogantly to dodge it. After the shot has crashed into the machine without any damage being done the witch brings her arms out and swirls them around to gather energy as Alpha thrusts his fist out.

The punch collides with the energy and releases a resounding boom as it breaks, both fighters being forced back a few feet from the ensuing shockwave. But while Cackletta spreads her arms out in stride Alpha grabs onto the elbow of his cannon arm with his other hand and aims it out in front of his body. The moment he stops he sets his sights on the witch, but the swaying of her arms creates a wall of flame in front the Commander, causing him to flinch from the suddenness of its appearance. Though the heat is hard to bear he fires the ion beam out from the barrel, burning a hole right through the flames and disrupting its structure enough to dispel the rest of it.

But Cackletta took advantage of the brief distraction to move out of the way of the attack with one of her magical holes. As she appears behind the Commander with her nails dripping with darkness, her maniacal presence sends a shiver down his spine. He is about ready to turn around as she raises her hand, but the plumber quickly dashes at her after recovering from the pain of Alpha's redirected slash and leaps into the air. Hearing his steps as he approaches, Cackletta twists her head, glancing over her shoulder to notice the Commander taking a few steps forward and flipping his body around with both his arms now back to normal.

Mario brings his fist down on top of the witch's head, her body twisting out of place as she is forced to look at the ground. When the plumber gracefully lands he performs an uppercut to get her head back into place, her neckbones cracking from the sudden shifts in alignment. But her body isn't knocked into the air, and after letting himself fall back and using his hands as stands to perform a flip kick that knocks the witch off her feet with one fell swoop. With her body floating in mid-air Alpha refuses to give her any heed and rushes at her, jumping up and bringing his fist down like a hammer to slam her back into the ground. But he doesn't go down with her, and quickly rises up with a flap of the wings.

He creates slots in the palms of both hands and fires out two shurikens from each slot, which pin down Cackletta's cloak and keep her in place. But the witch uses some magic to have air thrust up below the sharp projectiles and send them back out at Alpha. With his arms held out to block them he fails to notice the witch getting back on her feet. Mario, still in the area, charges forward with his fist held back, but Cackletta calmly turns around and places one hand on the plumber's head. A shockwave followed by the sound of a beating heart happens as Mario is frozen in place, and with a flick of the wrist the falling shuriken change their course and fly into the elbows and kneecaps of his body.

Releasing him from his state, the plumber feels a sharp sensation of pain wringing through his limbs. But even with the objects pressing against his nerves Mario grits his teeth and continues through with his punch even though tears are forcing themselves out of his eyes. The blow to Cackletta's face sends her hurtling away, tumbling against the ground as the plumber swings his arm down in front of his chest and uses his hand to tear the blood-dripped shuriken out. He continues this process with all the others while the witch gets back on her feet thanks to one of her holes. Mario is forced to kneel down, his body having taking more damage from those precisely connected shots then he had anticipated.

It was Alpha's turn to continue the fight, as he dives down and curves his flight near the ground so he is charging Cackletta while being nearly level with it. Once in range he brings out his sword and takes a swing, only for the witch to brush her energy-surrounded arm in front of her body to guard against the blow. She keeps swinging the limb out while stepping back with each continuous slash from the Goomba. Eventually she is backed under the shadow of the machine and makes her move upon sensing her opponent's vulnerability. With a thrust like lightning Cackletta slams the tips of all her fingers straight into the Commander's forehead.

Delicate as they are they don't puncture through the skin, instead they apply the gravity effect to his body and bring him against the ground. The pain is light, but then the witch follows up by smiting Alpha with a lightning bolt from above. This short-circuit's the arms temporarily and causes them both to revert back to normal. As the weight on his body dies down the Commander tries to get back onto his feet even though his wings and skin having been singed from the last attack. He can't even think about failure, not only because of his sheer determination, but because if he shows any doubt the Star Spirit's veil will vanish and he'll succumb to the realm's darkness.

He takes his electricity surrounded arms and thrusts both of them out after he has turned them into fists. As slow as the motions are Cackletta has little trouble leaning the lower part of her body back to avoid the attack, and as Alpha reels his arms back in the witch powers her left foot with magical energy and delivers a firm kick right into the Commander's face. The blow knocks him away, his body flying with the back pointed towards the ground until he descends, at which point the membranes in his wings grind against it until he stops beside the still kneeling Mario.

The plumber turns his head in shock, his body still recovering from the damage done to his nerves as Cackletta stands before the still working machine with her hands folded into her cloak. Alpha gets up, slowly but with his body still alive. He leans himself forward slightly, taking in heavy breaths. His arms could function still, but they were not at their maximum strength. His eye was receiving static, but even with all this damage he could still keep going. He knew that the witch was starting to be worn down from both his and Mario's attacks, for her motions had been slowed immensely from the start of the battle.

Even so, he was surprised by how resilient Cackletta was. For the years she has lived along with the fact that she wasn't a physical, she has taken all of the physical blows while still being able to keep moving. Did she have the same determination he did to win? Was she THAT engulfed in her own success that she refuses to succumb to the two heroes even though she would be revived after her defeat? He couldn't bring himself to comprehend why the witch is the way she is, and it was for the best that he didn't lest he become like her as well. Cackletta folded her arms behind her back, glaring her otherworldly eyes at the Commander with a grin present on her face. She was done at the moment attacking with her hands and feet, and instead she was ready to get Alpha to submit by attacking him in the one way that she excelled at striking the most. "Tell me Commander, what have you accomplished?"

It was a strong question, aimed directly at his psyche…

_Next Time: Similarities and Vengeance_


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28: Cackletta IV: Avenged, Thirty Years of Waiting Now Over**

The question left Alpha motionless, his eyebrow raised in bewilderment as to why the witch would ask it. Seeing his hesitation to answer, Cackletta chooses to ask it again. "Tell me, Commander, what have you accomplished?" Her tone is blunter this time, but the same point still stood. Raising his head up as high as he can, the Commander is still curious to hear just why this question is being asked, and says in response with an inquiry of his own "What do YOU mean, Cackletta?" Cackletta is amused by Alpha's attempt to turn things back towards her, but is more than happy to oblige to his request, for this is something that she had prepared since the start of the battle.

"Thirty years ago wasn't it? The day I killed the previous Commander of the M.S.I., your mentor, your 'father'…Ever since you've dedicated your life to finding a way to permanently end me, but after all this time how much closer are you to bringing your goal to fruition? I've lingered here in the darkness, watching the world from afar and keeping my presence in the mortal realm at a minimum while you continued to slip farther and farther off the edge of sanity behind the view of your so-called comrades. By this point all you are doing is hiding behind a mask of your own design. You show a gently, honor bound face to those whose trust you wish to earn and manipulate, but away from their sight you let your sadistic side take hold and become just as despicable as the being you try far too hard to kill. And so what if you somehow manage to negate the effects of my 'Second Life' spell? Now that the truth has been revealed do you think that that goodie-two shoes Mario or the Elemental Overlord is going to show you benevolence? You'll be ostracized by the Kingdom you thought you were protecting, sentenced to death in front of everyone. And even if you are spared from the hateful glares of the populace, what will be the point of your continued existence? You've said it yourself once before, that 'Everything I've done up until this point has been leading to your demise.' So your purpose will have been fulfilled and you will have nothing else besides the ghosts of the people you've mercilessly tortured to death and the lies you've let build-up against your consciousness. Face it Commander, you and I are alike in more ways than one. All you have to do before I send you to Hell is break the mask you wear and let your true self be known to the only living being you still trust, and accept the truth of the futility of your life!"

Alpha was left in absolute silence after everything that Cackletta had just mercilessly proclaimed to both Mario and himself. He folded his arms behind his back, his eyelids sealed tight as he could, avoiding contact with the plumber's eyes because he couldn't bear to see how he felt now that the full truth had been revealed. But there was an action that the plumber performed while the witch closed her eyes and laughed madly at the fact that the Commander has chosen to accept the truth as his ally stands next to him. With the strength he has left Mario takes his left hand and places it against the side of Alpha's face. Opening his eyelids to see the results of this action, the Goomba is shocked by the fact that the plumber nods his head, showing that he accepts what was said about him. He didn't know why, and still questioned it even after the plumber withdrew his hand, but now was not the time for looming on the issue. What mattered was that that simple action, wordless and true, did exactly what it needed to do and restored Alpha's confidence in the situation, which he quickly realized he never should've discarded in the first place, mainly because of the hypocrisy present from the person responsible for his brief lapse into depression.

With his arms folded proudly behind his back as Cackletta opens her eyelids once more, the Commander takes one step forward much to her surprise. He has but one thing to say, the only words necessary to ruin her plan to break his psyche and turn Mario against him. "You are wrong Cackletta." The witch grins at Alpha's bluntly stated rebuttal, feeling that his denial is incredibly foolish at this point in time. "No, I'm pretty certain that everything I listed was true." "It was, there is no denying that." The Commander says, closing his eyelids as the witch fails to see the point that he is trying to get across here. "Then you are a fool for saying that I am wro-" "Perhaps it you'd let me finish you would understand the point I'm trying to convey here."

Alpha's sharp interruption causes the witch to immediately cease her tongue, and with eyelids thrust back open the Commander takes a brave step forward and says to her, "You see, while what you say it the truth, YOU are wrong for revealing it all in the first place. You claim I've slipped into insanity? Maybe it is getting harder for me to keep myself together while you are alive, but it is as clear as day that YOU are the one who went off the deep end a long time ago, you are just keeping a facade going because you'd rather have no mortal see you express weakness. And where do you get off calling ME sadistic? I will gladly admit I've employed some excruciating torture methods in the past, but the only people I tortured criminals who threatened the sanctity of the world at large, save for Alex who I won't deny I hold deep regret for ever touching in the first place. Also, you claim I wear a mask that hides my true self…And you are right on that, but I hide my kindness away from my enemies as my mask, because when you deal with the people of the world who have sunken far off the deep end you can never afford to show weakness to them."

After breaking down Cackletta's first point bit by bit, Alpha casually puts his right arm in front of his body and converts it into its cannon form. With the witch angered by the Goomba's rebuttal, she fails to put up a proper defense in time as a beam of ionic energy is fired straight at her. Hitting her square in the gut, her body is thrust back across the ground in recoil before the energy runs out in the Commander's arm. With smoke rising from her now singed robe, the witch raises her arms up and snarls in disgust, magical energy charging in the fingertips ready to strike back against Alpha. But Mario leaps before her, his hands swerving around with fire in the palms as he prepares to strike. Cackletta couldn't understand how the plumber was able to keep going after everything that has been some of the most vulnerable nerves in his body.

He swipes the knuckles of both fists against separates parts of the witch's body, her magical enhanced robe prevent it from being ignited but the impact from the blows still pushing her back a couple inches after they connected. Her magic now disrupted, Mario says to the witch as he prepares the next attack, "And who are you, with your lack of empathy and understanding of emotions, to judge how you think I would react to the 'truth' about Alpha?" Stating the word "truth" in a tone that shows how difficult of a time he has believing what Cackletta said, the plumber steps forward and thrusts both of his fists out right into the witch's chest. Her body flung forward from the brunt of the blow, Mario pulls his entire body back and brings his fist out as hard as he can, slamming his burning fist right into Cackletta's head before continuing his rebuttal of her second point with, "You are an unreliable source of information Cackletta, whose manipulations have come to an end now that you have run into the two people who will never believe a word you say. Not only that, but even if Alpha has tortured some people in the past I'm not going to have him ostracized for it. I'm not making rash judgments; I don't know at all the reasons behind why he had to do what he did." As the witch lifts her body up and screeches in rage, she brings her right hand down towards Mario's head ready to freeze him in place like she did before. But the plumber takes the backside of his right hand and brushes the wrinkly limb away without so much as acknowledging it with a glance. The force applied to this rejection cracks the wristbones, leaving Cackletta to grimace in pain and take a few nervous steps back while clenching her damaged wrist. "Knowing him though, his intentions were probably for the sake of the planet, unlike you, who only does things in the name of darkness."

Mario stops his advances then and there, as Alpha flips over his body and after landing he sends his right fist straight out like a bullet into the witch's gut. As she flinches from the bluntness of the blow the Commander decides to tackle the final point she brought up, "But you are right, there are a couple things we have in common. We both come up with intricate plans to succeed in our goals, and we are willing to use other people to get what we want. But those are the only two similarities…" Performing an uppercut into the front of her leaned over face to knock her into the air, Alpha leaps up and delivers a roundhouse kick straight into the witch's body. The sharp thrust of his foot creates a shockwave from the impact, and Cackletta is sent hurtling straight into the door of the machine, her body sprawling out against it as the Commander lands on the ground and folds his arm behind his back nonchalantly.

"Think back to you declaration a while back about the one million souls you sacrificed. You would allow that many people to die so long as that benefited you, whereas with me I would gladly sacrifice my own body if it meant that they would all survive. You think only of yourself Cackletta, you are narcissistic, sadistic, and so self-absorbed in your own malignant goal that you have become an even bigger monster than the Heartless that exist in this realm. And the reason for that is while they have no minds to deter them from their rampant purposes, you do have one even if it has spiraled off the deep end. You've made your choices on your own free will, and now you will be slain for following them."

The witch, pressed against the cold metal of the wall, feels the remnants of her heart beating rapidly against her chest. Her rage was incomprehensible; her attempt to break the Commander and turn the plumber against him had failed completely. As she pulls her hands free from the machine she realizes that worst of all, everything she said had been turned against her. As her weakened body stumbles across the ground, the two heroes look on, waiting for a response. She suddenly thrusts her head up, her bloodshot eyes glaring down the two heroes with seething anger as she quickly draws darkness from the air around her into the tips of her hands and thrusts it all out in the form of several speeding shockwaves.

The heroes are struck with every one, pain thrusting itself through their bodies as they are then flung back away from the witch. They both slam against the ground, the energy dying out as Cackletta folds her arms into her cloak and begins to slowly make her way out of the shadow cast by her grand machine. The darkness is starting to pulse from the beams, signifying that the her creation is nearing completion. Mario tries to use his arms to lift himself up, but the damage to his nerves makes it hard for him to succeed, especially since the attack he just lived through has weakened him even further. Alpha is back on his feet after ten seconds, but he looks at his arms and scans them with the last bit of power left in his eye. Most of the major functions are down, but there was one feature in particular that he was glad was still working.

His mechanical eye then shuts off, the static being the only thing filling his view until he commands it with a thought to fade to black. He can only see Cackletta staring at him from afar, her scornful pupils and fevered grin doing their best to intimidate Alpha. "Do you think I give a damn about your opinion of me you wretched Goomba?" The witch declares, her anger consuming her words. "Nothing you say will affect me. I will continue to live while you will die! Look at me as I am now, so close to another death from the heat of battle! Why don't you muster up the remainder of your energy to finish me off COMMANDER? You will then get the satisfaction of killing me at least once before you are killed by my new Dark King!"

"You really want me to kill you?" Alpha says followed by a light scoff, his arms folded confidently behind his back as he relishes Cackletta's breakdown. "Don't invite death so easily, because as I've said before you will be dealt with permanently this time." He follows up with. "What is with your overconfidence? Why do you over-exaggerate your importance when all this time you've been nothing more than my pawn?" "Have I truly been your pawn Cackletta?" The Goomba calmly replies, opening his eyelids and giving the witch the coldest stare he has ever given anyone before in his lifetime. "Let me break it down for you witch…"

"In a game of chess the goal is to protect the King. Your king is the Dark King you wish to create, my king is Alex Whiter, the Elemental Overlord. You and I are both the Queens on the board, the strongest pieces around that can protect the King. Before us are our pawns, pieces that are first sent into battle to get a better feel of the strategies of the opponent. They may seem like the most basic of troops, but their purpose isn't clear until later on. In chess you always have to manage all of your pieces, for a misplaced move will lead to your inevitable defeat. In this game of chess between the two of us we have used up all of our pieces, and all that remains are the Queens, the Kings, the Rook that is Mario, and a single pawn whose importance wasn't made clear until the very end. That's right Cackletta, that single pawn whose true allegiance you failed to notice and factor into your plans made it to the end of the game and in turn the end of the board, where he reveals himself to be a Rook all on his own. It is because of his reveal that the Queen can be toppled, and the King given a decisive checkmate. Do you understand now why I'm so confident in my victory?"

Cackletta knew who the pawn in question was; it was the person she had entrusted with most of the information, Fawful. But she hated so much how the Commander has become so arrogant all things considered. "So now you choose to become absorbed by your own confidence and optimism? Have you foolishly forgotten that it was those very traits that led to the previous Commander of the M.S.I.'s death?" The witch boldly proclaims in defiance of Alpha's analogy of the clash between their plans. "I suppose you are referring to my mentor and father, Commander Zeta, right?" The Goomba meets her rabid declaration with an unnatural calm, to which Cackletta breaks down further in response to and exclaims in rage, "I couldn't care less about that stupid Koopa's name, in the grand scheme things he was only a flea, a germ that was easily dispatched!"

"Commander Zeta was a great man!" Alpha yells out with his right arm clenched and pressed below his mouth. "He had his dreams of peace, of unification around the world and a perfect balance between all races, a dream you robbed him of accomplishing when you brought him here to this realm and murdered him in cold blood!" "That was a fool's dream Commander! No world can ever truly be at peace! You may be able to stop the instigators of war, but thieves and murderers will always be a present threat! You ridicule his name by continuing to follow that dream, and eventually you will have to rob the people of their freedom to see his goal through!"

"You are wrong once more Cackletta!" The Commander declares proudly as he holds his open palm out in front of his body. "I may be following his dream, but I am doing things my own way, just like he said for me to do in his final moments! The only thing I am carrying on is his will and spirit, which both live on through the arms he built for me so very long ago! Each metal plate, each tool and weapon I add on to them strengthen that very spirit, which in turn builds on my resolve to finally end your life Cackletta! I once had a different name, but Commander Zeta gave me the new name of Alpha when he saved my life, and it was only after his death that I realized why he chose to call me that. Alpha stands for the beginning, as I was to be the beginning of the planet's peace. This form I have, power imbued by the Star Spirits, I have given the title of Omega which stands for the end, as I am to be the end to all evil's disharmony. You think I am a fool for following my father's dream. I have continued to work towards keeping the planet as peaceful as I can make it without subjugating the people to my will, while you have worked towards bringing it to its end for no reason except to satisfy your own sociopathic desires. It is because of those differences in goals that I had won this match from the start, because one who continues through life without a meaningful purpose cannot ever hope to match one whose purpose motivates them to do what anyone else would deem to be impossible!"

"ENOUGH!" The witch was at the boiling point. Never before had she seen someone who was so resilient to her manipulations. Even the foolish Commander Zeta had succumbed to her words long ago, and he was the strongest mind she had ever encountered up until now. She was incapable of accepting or comprehending how a mere Goomba, the lowest form of life on the planet Plit, could ever surpass her in a battle of wits, in a battle of psyche, or in anything at all. Even if she won now, she would forever have to live with the fact that there was one person in the realm of existence that she could never break and force into despair. But she still had one trump card that made her better than the Commander, she swiftly realized, and as she pressed her wrinkly hands against her sweating mad face she giggled maniacally to herself.

"Ehehehehehehe…EHEHEHEHEHEHE! …You think what you say matters in the slightest? All your efforts are forever for naught, because the peace you claim to have maintained will crumble whether you kill me or not! I am Cackletta, my 'Second Life' spell makes me eternal, and even if that traitor Fawful told you about it ahead of time there is absolutely no way anything scientific you could have come up with would be able to stop it from working!" Alpha stands completely still after taking both of his arms out and holding them adjacent to his body. Squeaks are heard coming from within them, bolts loosening as only he can command them to. "Why don't we find out now, huh?"

The Commander closes his eyelids and concentrates, as suddenly a couple plates and bolts drop off from his arms. He thinks to himself, "Senki Soni…Or as it is better known in ancient Plit language as 'Emotional Release', is a three-way style of combat that allows me to combat specific types of opponents. The first style, Peaceful Dragon, symbolizes the spiritual release from one world to the next, and in turn my arms are made capable of grabbing those who no longer have a form." As more plates and various others parts clank onto the ground, Alpha thinks back to when he used this style against the Genesis Samurai of Wind, Darnia Stratos. "The second style, Dictation of the Storm, symbolizes the torment of one's mind in comparison to a raging hurricane, and that the only thing that can 'dictate' the way it flows is the person who feels the pain inside of them." With all the metal plates gone, the few wires bundle up underneath them untwine and begin to fall down as the Commander remembers when he used that style against the Subspace Army. "And finally…"

As the disassembly of his arms reaches its climax, Alpha is left with average sized human-looking arms made entirely out of molten gold. In his right hand is a silver handle, a sword made of ionic energy shining brightly out of it. He opens his eyelids up and brandishes the sword in front of him, and with Mario finally back on his feet he takes a look at the blade and in his awe notices that there appears to be something different about the energy in comparison to everything else the Commander had used before in his attacks. "This is my Senki Soni Final Style: Avalon's Concerto!" In his mind he then adds on to what was declared to the witch, "Avalon, the promised land where the greatest of spirits are said to depart to. I have chosen to use that name in this attack because that is where I believe Commander Zeta now lies…But his spirit is not resting easy, and it will only be the euphonious sounds that echo to his resting place with each slash I perform against Cackletta that he will finally be able to know peace."

"Are you ready to go, demon witch?" Alpha was finally done calling Cackletta by her name. He had given her too much of his honor and received none of it in return. The title he gave her now was fitting, and as he spreads his wings out in front of her she holds her right arm up and prepares magical energy within the fingertips, with her other hand being left down behind her cloak. With a single flap of the wings the Commander charges forth, his body flying across the ground as Cackletta slowly raises her hand. Time slows down til it grinds to a halt, as Alpha begins to calculate the witch's next move. He imagines her as an outline in his head along with himself. He can already tell that she is going to fire a stream of lightning at him, but then he determines that the other hand is lowered because she is preparing to raise it at a moment's notice to summon a hole that will surely lead to his demise. He figures out where the hole will be placed in timing with his own movements, and at the same time he comes up with a way to deal with the electricity so it doesn't pass him by and hit the helpless Mario behind him. All of this is thought up in a nanosecond, and it is after that brief moment that he puts his plan into action.

The beam of lightning is fired, Alpha holds his sword in the grasp of both hands beside him and swerving his body to the left so the electricity is absorbed into the blade without disrupting its structure. Just as predicted, Cackletta then raises her other hand up without taking a moment to realize what had been done. The hole opens up, and as the Commander continues to fly he curves his movements upward, his body skimming near the front of the hole before he reaches the top. He stops in place, floating mid-air and launching the electricity back at the witch in the form of a compressed wave. The attack strikes the witch dead-on, paralyzing her as the energy is released. The hole seals up, and then Alpha lands on the ground and charges forth on his feet with his sword held tightly behind him.

It was over the moment he landed, for there is no longer anything Cackletta can do to save herself. The first slash is performed as Alpha passes beside her body. But after the fading of the bright light from the impact of the blow three slash marks are seen in place, which cut through the witch's cloak and robe and scar the skin beneath. Though Cackletta snarls in pain as she turns her body around to try and defend herself, the Commander quickly spins around and with his sword held in one hand he performs a slash in the path of an arc. There are once again three slashes, but this time in different directions. He then stamps his foot down after the attack and dashes ahead, turning and going into the air to perform a multitude of slashes back and forth across the witch's body.

From Mario's point of view, he saw Alpha moving at a normal speed, and couldn't understand how many slashes appeared at once. And then it dawned on him. With the weight of his arms now shed the Commander was able to swing his arms around at a faster pace, and with the blinding light coming from each blow on top of the previous factor he had plenty of time to perform as many slashes as he wanted before it ended. One thing that was for certain was that Cackletta was incapable of mounting a defense of any sort. After finishing up his flurry of cuts, Alpha roses high into the air, giving the witch a chance to turn her head up to look at him with magic brimming brightly in her hands. "ALPHA!"

Her furious declaration is met with silence from the Commander as he descends with the sword held in both hands. With his speed he is down in a second, the tip of his blade cutting right across the center of the witch's body in full and stopping her magic for good. Then once he lands he charges past her tattered cloak and scarred body until he is on the other side of Cackletta's body. He then leaps up and performs a roundhouse right into the back of her head, sending her flying through the air until she lands facedown on the floor, her arms laid out in front of her body. While still in mid-air Alpha flings his sword straight at the witch's body. The blade pierces itself right into her spine, her horribly pained screech proving to the Commander that the deed…Has finally been done…

_Next Time: Birth of the Ace_


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29: Cackletta Final: My Son, I Bequeath to You My Hatred…**

"Why did it have to be this way?" As Cackletta is attacked without end by Alpha, she asks herself a question. "Why did you have to rob me of him?" She prepares her magic to retaliate, even though she knew that she couldn't do anything to slow the Commander down. "Why did she have to exist…" As Alpha comes down and strikes him, a long-hidden memory emerges from Cackletta's mind.

"_It was two-thousand years ago, a few days before the Dark King was to declare war on the Elemental Overlord…He had already lost himself to madness, but spoke to his still loyal men as if he were the same. He only dropped his façade in front of me, when I confronted him at his humble abode…" Cackletta remembers her appearance from back then, when she wore the same cloak and robe but had an elegant female figure with her flowing violet locks and dark-green lips adding a subdued sense of beauty to her blemish-free face. She stood behind the black-armored man, who holds an iron chalice up to his lips and takes a sip of cold liquor. _

"_Why are you declaring war on him? Have you forgotten already what happened to the last person who tried to defy the Overlord, the man who also defied you and the balance of the universe as a whole?" She pleads to the man in futility, as he downs the clear red liquid and slams the cup down onto the table, breaking it in two. It was a fearsome display, but the hostility in the blow was not aimed at her. "I am not like the other one…I am the Overlord's equal, I know I can succeed…" The man says coldly to the witch. "You claim that…" Cackletta replies, unable to believe what her king has to say. "But unlike the others I know your true intentions…And it is because of that that you are more similar to the other man than you wish to believe…"_

"…_That is not for you to declare, Cackletta." The man once again says without a hint of emotion. "Killing the Overlord is not going to get her to fall in love with you! Open your eyes and see how consumed by Envy and Lust you are! If anything, his death will motivate her to take revenge against you, not avert her gaze away from the man she cares for!" The Dark King holds his hand up near his face, the flames of darkness burning brightly in his palm as he turns his head an inch to the right in order to peek at Cackletta. "The Overlord never deserved her in the first place, the only reason they joined in matrimony was because it was a contract necessary to avoid an all-out war…"_

"_And now you are going to instigate a war just to satisfy your own petty jealousy? There is a better option for love out there, you don't need to risk the balance of the universe just to find the one that cares for you…" Cackletta's tone is dripping with guilt at the end, as she hangs her head to the left trying her hardest not to directly admit her feelings. The Dark King pauses in silence, and after lowering her hand to his sheath he pulls out the sword that Smithy created for him and holds the reflective surface of the blade up in front of his face. "No…There is no one else I could ever love more than her…" He never realized it before his death, but that comment he made broke Cackletta's feelings for all eternity, her eyes having widened in shock as tears drip out of the ducts. _

In the present, the witch now finds herself wearing a similar expression, but this time because of the pain coursing through her back. As she screeches she thinks to herself once more, "Why did you have to reject me…All I wanted was for you to be happy, for you to live and love me forever…But that day when you rejected me, I could no longer look at you as the same person, you had become unknown to me…To think, at the end of the day, I just wanted to birth your child, so the son born from the unison of our bodies would be able to live bearing the same smile you once wore in the days of our forgotten childhood…" After lamenting the loss of love, Cackletta then wonders something. All the other times she had been killed for the 'Second Life' spell to activate anew, she never experienced the memories of her past. What made this death different from all the rest?

With her body nearly pinned to the ground the witch used her hands to move her body around, her head releasing heavy pants of cold air as she stares at Commander Alpha with all of her fury brimming deeply in her shrunken pupils. She lets out a weak laugh as he folds his thinned arms behind his back and walks over to pull his sword right out of her body. Magnetism in the arms then pull the wires and metal plates towards him, a process of reconstruction occurring that puts them back to normal in a matter of seconds. As the Commander walks past Cackletta without looking at her, the witch once again laughs. "Ehehehe…Ehehehe…"

Now at Mario's side, Alpha turns around and acknowledges the witch's presence with an eyebrow raised. "What is so funny?" He asks. "So you killed me once…It doesn't matter at all…I will just come back to life again…Your attack did nothing to stop my spell…" She claims in an arrogant moment of denial. The Commander closes his eyelids and shakes his head back and forth. "That would be true…If my intention from the start was to stop your spell." The witch widens her eyes, as Alpha thrusts his eyelids back open and gives her a coldhearted glare. "The way I see it, whenever you revive with your Second Life spell you maintain your bodily structure right down to the last cell within your bloodstream. You see, before me and Mario came to this realm I combined the ionic energy in a specific blade with some experimental nanocells that instantly react whenever any new life is detected in a person's body, breaking down the new cells until they die out completely. Each one of my slashes injected more and more of those nanocells in your body, so now I'll leave this last one for you to figure out…Everytime you are reborn, every cell in your body is considered to be a new one, isn't it?"

Cackletta's stunned expression at the final question shows that she has quickly come to a revelation about what Alpha had done. Thanks to the nanocells that now reside within her, every time she revives with her 'Second Life' spell they will activate and head out to destroy every cells in her body, killing her again and again until the spell is finally incapable of working. And with how many of the nanocells that have probably been implemented into her body the process will happen quickly every time, leaving her no time to use her magic to remove them and end her cycle of death and rebirth. It was a worse fate than her 'Second Life' spell being negated and her dying once at the Commander's hands. Because of what he has done to her, she will suffer many times until whatever force above chooses to let the cycle end. She had been outwitted, on one end, but as she suddenly feels the pillars of darkness stopping their descent her confident grin returns.

The two heroes look up and notice the machine is starting to die down. The fog clears from the orb above the door, revealing the form of a spherical dishwater-violet orb with a black star in the center and several spikes around the circumference. But the object turns to dust, sinking down into the chamber as the glass orb spins around to unlock the doors. Both Mario and Alpha's horrified expressions please Cackletta immensely, as even with her death her other plan was able to succeed. She turns her head to stare up at the two heroes, saying with absolutely arrogance, "Sorry Commander…Looks like I still win…"

Behind the doors is nothing but pitch black darkness. No one knows who or what lies within them, but something is in fact moving. Some eyes look around, confused about its surroundings. It at first can't feel, a few seconds spent with the person wondering where it is at. It then suddenly realizes that his body exists, his right hand being raised up and the tips of his fingers grazing against the cold steel of the door. "Am I…Still alive? Where…Where am I?" The emotionless voice calls out for an answer, and the doors slide open, corresponding to his will. He sees the darkened realm, his eyes focusing to what little light that can be found so he can determine which figures the blurs belong to.

As he takes a nervous step out of the machine, Alpha and Mario stare at him in utter disbelief. It was the boy who as of now is the Elemental Overlord, Alex Whiter. No…It wasn't truly him, but a clone born from the machine. His appearance differed greatly from the original though. His hair was a smooth black, his shirt was a darkish grey while his pants are a foggy black and his shoes purely white. His right eye was black, his left eye was white, and his skin had a pale-ish hue to it. The only thing missing from the clone was the glove on his right hand, but it clear that Cackletta had done it, she had created a nearly perfect replica of the Elemental Overlord that at the same time controlled the darkness of the Seven Deadly Sins, just like the Dark King once did.

The witch could tell from their bewildered, fevered faces that they couldn't comprehend the sight standing before them. She whispers to them, "This is a part of my plan I had yet to reveal…In the aftermath of the confrontation between Joe Dark and Alex Whiter, I plucked one of the feathers from the Elemental Overlord's Phoenix form and used it as the catalyst for the new Dark King…In the end, it looks like I still win…There is only one thing left to do now…" Inching her body to the right in order to turn and look at the Dark King she had worked so hard to create, the witch is noticed from the child's point of view, his emotionless lips muttering out the word, "Mommy?"

Cackletta grinned with maniacal glee, converting her face to a pitiful yet at the same time angered expression in the presence of the boy as her body begins to turn to dust and the cycle of death preparing to welcome her into its grasp. With her right hand weakly held out, she declares to the new Dark King, "My son…Oh my wonderful son! I had tried to hold them off for as along as I can in order to protect you until you were healed…But it seems as though my time is now up, even though I succeeded in my goal! I wanted to help you defend the world from the evil that threatens us all…But now you are the only one left, so I bequeath to you as my final gift a wish of vengeance…Avenge me my son, destroy everyone in the universe, everyone who robbed me from your loving arms and plagued the world with their malignant goals and dreams! No one can be trusted, no one can ever help you in this world now besides yourself…KILL THEM ALL MY CHILD, MAKE THE WORLD A BLANK SLATE THAT GOOD CAN REPOPULATE ONCE MORE!"

Having played up her final message to her son as hard as she possibly could in order to get him to carry out her final wish, Cackletta's face fades away with an overzealous grin as her fingers fall flat against the ground and in time turn to dust as well. All that is left in the area is absolute silence, as the now alone child stares solemnly at the area where her mother once was, unable to express anything. But then his body starts shivering, the loss of his mother's life having impacted this "emotionless" creation more than anyone could ever have predicted. However, Alpha and Mario look at this clone and come to only one conclusion. "Alpha, I know this person looks like Alex but…"

"Right, despite appearances we have to take him down while he is still frozen in sadness by Cackletta's death." The Commander and the plumber, despite weakened beyond belief, still have enough energy within their bodies to take down a clone of Alex that is at the lowest possible level of power. With the witch's death they were confident that there would be nothing to stop them as they start to make their way over to the child. As the shivers begin to increase in intensity, the boy mumbles to himself, "Mommy…Mommy…Is gone? She is…Gone?" Then there is a sudden snap, the clone's eyes widening as a sharp pain thrusts itself through his body.

The pressure exuding from his body increases spontaneously as he holds his hands against the sides of his head and pulls it back to let out an aggrieved scream. A pocket of darkness bursts, releasing a wave of energy out that pushes the two heroes back across the ground. In the aftermath of this wave a pool of swirling dark-purple energy surrounds itself at the clone's feet, a pure black hole opening itself from the bottom of his neck to the top of his pants. Something rounded starts to emerge from it, demonic tendrils lunging themselves right out of the skin in the child's back with greenish slime covering them as they flail about. The object emerging is recognizable in due time, as the living two-dimensional black star on the front makes the heroes quickly realize how swiftly the situation is changing for the worse.

The screams abruptly end, drowned out by the callous laughter of the malicious force known only as the Dark Star. When its spikes come into view, the hole is sealed shut, the object now forcing the body to stand up on its own, the head hanging to the side as the lifeless eyes of the clone look on ahead. The tendrils become steady before they start wiggling again above and under the arms of the clone. The body then starts rising up off the ground, the Dark Star now attached firmly to the chest with its full glory returned as its laughter comes to an end. Everything was fine before, when the clone was defenseless, but now that the most vile, sentient force known to Plit had hijacked control of the body it was able to access a level of darkness that matched Alex Whiter's power in his basic human form.

Having the body sniff the air around him, the Dark Star absorbed the smell into its receptors and let out a joyous sigh. "This air is riveting…The darkness is thick and the malicious intent from its inhabitants is strong." The being looks forward, seeing the two heroes standing before him but only paying any particular attention to Mario. His eyes slanted in scorn, as memories from the past of the original Dark Star begin to flow into him. "I…Remember you…You were one of the three 'heroes' that defied me when I was released a while ago…" The Dark Star says in a tone of disgust. He then has the body holds its hands out in front of the head like a puppet master, swinging them down to make sure that he has full control of the clone's functions.

"Excellent…" He says in sadistic glee before acknowledging the heroes' presence once more. "I am willing to let bygones be bygones though…If you bow to me and give your loyalty to me in full, I will let you both live. You are both exhausted from a previous battle, so don't think you stand a chance of stopping me any other way." Mario and Alpha don't even need to think about the Dark Star's foolish offer to surrender peacefully. No matter how weak they were, they still followed their instincts and got into their battle poses. The malignant force let out a deep, echoing chuckle. "Very well then…Perish." The hands of the clone are flung up, a thick wave of darkness shooting out once they are level with his chest.

The wave collides with the two heroes quickly, knocking them onto their backs a few yards away without them exclaiming anything in pain. The Dark Star lowers his host's arms and feels as though that one attack got the job done. He then twitches slightly after a victorious grin, sensing something inviting him from afar. "A portal to the outside world is it? Hehehe…Looks like I won't be forced to derive pleasure from just here after all…" Using the clone's ability of flight post-haste, the Dark Star has it speed off like a bullet surrounded by darkness, leaving the two heroes behind as his malicious laughter echoes through their eardrums.

Once they are certain that he is gone the two heroes lift their bodies up and weakly get on their feet. They took more damage from the attack, but their Star Spirit forms are still capable of being maintained. Alpha takes this change of situation in stride, scoffing lightly to himself as he folds his arms behind his back. Mario can't help but wonder two things though. "I don't get it, how did we live through that? And more importantly, why do you look so unconcerned about the Dark Star taking over the clone's body?" The Commander turns to the plumber and says to him in response, "The Star Spirits were originally the ones to seal the Dark Star away. Logically, this makes our forms the perfect defense and offense against its power. As for why I'm so calm, it is because that even with the power the Dark Star now wield it'll take it quite a long time to break through the barrier set up on the other side of the portal, and with about an hour left Alex should be able to deal with him once he does break throu-"

Suddenly, Alpha's eyes widen in fear, a cold sweat forming on his forehead as something he hadn't taken into consideration up until now. "Oh no…" He turns his head in worry, and the plumber expression of concern quickly returns upon seeing his ally's reaction. "What…What is it?" He asks. "That clone has Alex's genetic signature…And since Alex is registered in the M.S.I. database, that means the Dark Star will be able to use his body to get past the barrier and reach Plit without any resistance!" The Commander's quick revelation chills Mario to the core, as with the amount of time left until the boy Overlord is freed from his confinement that means there is no one alive on the planet strong enough to combat the Dark Star. As the two heroes stand motionless in the face of this startling bit of news, they can only toss their hopes out that when they get back to their homeworld, that there will even BE anything left of it for them to return to…

_Next Time: A Star Powered Showdow_


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30: Last Aftermath: The Most Unlikely Savior**

It is now 9:00 AM exactly in the Mushroom Kingdom. The sun has risen a few hours ago, the soldiers working the main M.S.I. battleship having gotten up to work again around the same time. With the start of day breaking away the dark skies of night and replacing them with the clearest blue, some sunlight shines in through the windows and collides with Alex's eyelids. The sudden brightness slipping through the cracks wakes him from the deep slumber he had undergone after Alpha and Mario left to fight Cackletta. The boy lets out a yawn, stretching his arms against the back of the orb as he uncurls his arms from their folded position and sits up straight.

With a few smacks of his somewhat dehydrated lips Alex hears a hungered growl coming from his stomach. He wanted some nourishment, but he was trapped in the Anti-Genesis Orb for an undeterminable amount of time. He could only blame himself for his situation though, as it was because of his arrogance in the battle with the Axem Rangers X that he has been unable to help the heroes thus far. It was then that he realized something else. As he took a look around the room all he saw were a bunch of dedicated soldiers whose names he never knew. It was quite a contrast to yesterday and the days beforehand when he at least had one friend to say "Good Morning" to whenever he awoke.

This realization made Alex feel rather depressed, his solemn hanging of his head being followed up by the gentle laying of his arms against the top of his calves. He knew that Gemini, Mallow, Driad and Luigi were alive, but he was rather worried about Alpha and Mario, seeing as they haven't relayed any communications since vanishing into the portal. "Geez, it would be kind of nice if Geno were to drop in here right about now…But he has his duties up in Star Haven, and probably isn't allowed to interfere considering the weight of the situation…" He murmurs to himself, thinking about the seventh members of their ragtag group before letting out a tired sigh.

Once again his stomach growls, but this time Alex shows annoyance at his body's natural reaction to hunger, his forehead crinkling up as he glares down as his gut and yells out, "Will you shut up, you aren't helping!" In his moment of anger he fails to notice someone standing before him. It is a red dinosaur like creature with stout arms, a bulbous nose, and a red-shelled saddle on its back. It wears a dark-blue vest of which part of it wraps across the top of the saddle and is buttoned all the way down. In its hand is a tray with a glass of orange juice, some scrambled eggs, and a couple pieces of toast. A basic looking breakfast, but clearly one meant for the boy.

"…How long have you been standing there for?" Alex asks, not caring at all about the tray at the moment. "Thirty seconds. Though don't worry yourself about my reactions to your outburst. Creatures and people both get irritable whenever they get hungry. Being a Yoshi and all, I would know a lot about that…Trust me. Either way, figured you'd be hungry Alex Whiter, so I brought you some food." The Yoshi, with its tiny arms, lifts the tray up into the orb. A floatation device attached to the bottom brings it closer to Alex, whose face flinches momentarily upon witnessing the metal tray break apart the barrier before it is sealed up tightly once more.

"How did-" "The barrier seems to be designed only to keep you from getting out. Anybody or anything else can go in and out as they please. Rather interesting specifications, but seeing as I'm not part of the science division I could really care less about analyzing more of its cellular structure." The Yoshi answers the boy's question before it is asked, and after giving his quick explanation he expresses his lack of interest in pursuing the subject further and turns his body around, preparing to head off. "Thank you for the food…Umm…" "Captain Florence of the M.S.I. I'm the one in charge around here while the Commander and Lieutenant are away."

Alex, having almost pressed the rim of the glass to his lips, lets out a barely restrained snort after hearing the Yoshi's name. The dino turns his head to left, raising a brow as he says in a serious, unamused tone, "What's so funny?" He asks. "…Heh, sorry if I offended you by laughing." Alex quickly apologizes after putting his glass down and nervously rubbing the back of his head. "I just expected a more, pardon the word, badass sounding name. It was something I came to expect after hearing Alpha and Gemini's names, that's all." "It is fine to assume that, honestly. But do you know why they have those names? They act as covers, preventing people from the outside world from realizing who they are or the connections they have with innocents who have no idea about the greater things they accomplish daily. I don't consider it to be a cowardly move, if you feel that's the reason I haven't given myself a name change, but instead I openly welcome the idea. However, I have no reason to use it myself simply because, well…"

Florence turns himself around completely, his head pointed at the ground with a dejected look on his face. "I don't have anyone I'm attached to outside of the M.S.I….My mom and dad, my relatives and friends, they all perished a few years back. You know, in a sense…I'm sort of like you, Alex." Turning his head to look at the boy as he takes a bite of the toast with his eyes focused on him in surprise, the Yoshi can already tell what he is thinking. "Yeah, I read the file Alpha made up for you. When it comes to classified information, me and Lieutenant Gemini are the only other members the Commander entrusts to look at it. Me because of my lack of connections, and Gemini because he is too strong willed to break down from interrogations. Anyways, I'm getting off track here…"

"You see, like me you have lost everything you cared for, and the only friends you have now are people that exist in a world that is largely unknown from the one you used to live in. Don't take it is as a shot against you though Alex, I'm just pointing out that one similarity without any bad intentions." "That's fine Florence, I see what you are getting at." Alex replies with a grin. The Yoshi raises a brow, thinking that the boy truly did misinterpret what he said and is merely hiding his real feelings behind that cool smile of his, but in the end it wasn't a viable issue to pursue and the boy quickly brought up another subject. "Still though, didn't know Alpha had Yoshis recruited into the M.S.I. as well."

Said with a tone of intrigue, the Yoshi couldn't help but answer the boy's innocent inquiry. "Actually, so long as the species has arms or legs the Commander recruits as many worthy people as he possibly can. I'm actually a rare exception among the other soldiers in that I'm the only Yoshi among them. And I'm also another exception in that while everyone else here has at least one talent that they greatly excel in, I excel in a wide variety of subjects and physical feats. When you are freed from this sphere, maybe I'll tell you a few stories about some of my prior missions." Florence gives Alex the first smile he has shown all day, his happy tone signifying that he is already warming up to the boy somewhat.

It was a peaceful morning, but one that was not to last. Outside the protection of the ship the dark gap was showing signs of activity. A couple of tendrils poke out, touching the barrier set before it and instantly reeling back in pain. A voice echoes in the vortex, saying to its attachments, "Hmm…Guess you won't be able to follow me into the outside world…" Retracting the tendrils into his body, the person responsible for the voice starts to emerge from the vortex. It was the Dark Star, still in control of the clone Alex's body. The barrier recognized the clone's genetic signature regardless of the abyss-born object's presence on its body. As he emerges from the real world dark clouds are drawn to his form across the sky. Their sudden appearance blocks the sun, the booming sounds of thunder rupturing through the air as the Dark Star summons back his flailing tendrils and has the clone's arms held out to the sides with the head pulled back and the eyes on its own body widening with maniacal glee. "Heheheh….HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Inside the ship, Florence feels the change in barometric pressure, no matter how slight it may be, and that along with the change in lighting makes him think to himself, "I thought the weather was supposed to be nice today…" He turns to look outside as Alex eats behind him, and he widens his own eyes upon seeing the figure floating precariously above the runway. Some of the troops are already in a state of panic as they sit in front of their consoles, their bulging eyes showing that they have no idea where this being came from. The only thing recognized is the Dark Star on its chest, but that is more than enough to force the Yoshi to action. As he makes a mad dash towards the front of the staircase, Alex takes a break from his meal and looks up, his pupils shrinking in fear as a foreboding feeling overcomes his very being.

He takes in a heavy breath as he looks straight into the Dark Star's glowing red eyes, releasing it in the form of rapid pants as he drops his food and yells out in panic, "That's…That's the Dark Star!" He couldn't be blamed for stating the obvious, he knew the object well enough. But what he couldn't recognize was the body it was attached to, which was mostly obscured by the blackened aura surrounding it. All he could feel though was a familiar power coming from it, and he didn't like that feeling in the slightest. "Yeah, we know what it is." Florence retorts as he turns his head towards the boy. "Just keeping eating to regain your strength. We will hold him off until you are freed!"

After giving his quick order to the boy Florence leaps into the Commander's chair and flips it around, placing his arms on the buttons and activating the weapons system and communications array. "Attention Dark Star! This is Captain Florence of the M.S.I. Battleship. You are to surrender immediately or be destroyed!" He yells out through the speakers as panels open up across the runway, revealing laser turrets and missile launchers all across it. They aren't aimed at the Overlord's Dark Star infused clone…Yet. Instead of retaliating, the star tilts its eyelids and has the tendrils rise up above its body. Energy is poured out through the tips, sparking about until it becomes a more cohesive form, that being a grandiose orb with a collapsing black core and a pitch white field of energy surrounding it.

It looks similar to a sun, and from the distance the rest of the soldiers are at the center looks like a pupil staring directly at them, burning its demonic presence right into their retinas. The orb breaks apart, spreading shots of energy into the sky until they all come down around the ship in unison like gigantic raindrops. They crash into the unsuspecting town, destroying portions of the street and blowing up several houses within a twenty foot wide radius of each shot. A couple shots collide with the roof of Peach's Castle, the ensuing explosions sending chunks of rock rocketing up into the air to the horror of the soldiers within the battleship.

With a brief display of his power shown with a callous intent, the Dark Star has the hands of the clone crunch its finger together, spreading them out again so power surges across the fingertips. "And that was only a mere fraction? Fascinating…" He relishes in the destructive potential of this body's full power and turns his glowing red eyes towards the main room of the command ship, peering through the glass at the stern Captain before saying, "If you want to destroy me still, then fire all of your weapons. I'll tank them all without a scratch, and then I will start my destruction of this pitiful planet be annihilating your ship."

After giving his taunt to the M.S.I. soldiers, the Captain tightly clenches his fingers around the edges of the chair's arms and weighs in the gravity of the situation at this point in time. "Damn it…" He says, lamenting the loss of lives down below and panic that has probably erupted just from the Dark Star's first volley. He had to submit to his taunt though, because he needed to stall for forty-five more minutes so Alex can be freed and take care of the enemy, especially since he truly is the last one left that can face him. But the problem was that he didn't believe that there would be enough ammunition to keep the Dark Star at bay for that long, and with a gritting of his teeth the Yoshi thinks to himself, "Why aren't the Star Spirits doing anything? This is something they would be more than capable of handling…"

It was a legitimate question, one that required answering. In the high up reaches of Star Haven, two mysterious figures obscured in the shadow are making their way to the pristine Star Sanctuary. "Are you sensed her presence here?" "A strong witch she may be, but her magic has been diluted with time, and thus is easy for me to track. If she isn't here, then at the very least she must have done SOMETHING to the Star Spirits." "Hmph…I couldn't care less about that. All I know is that if the witch is here, I'm going to pummel her for taking control of my body long ago." With their conversation over with, the two beings enter the Sanctuary.

The environment looks untouched, every part of the structure kept together just like it always has been. But the once holy atmosphere has been tainted by dark magic, the smaller of the two beings detecting this disturbance and following his lord to the top of the stairs to get a better look at the situation. What they witnessing is shocking. The Star Spirits, Twink and Geno, the proud beings who observe over the entire planet of Plit, have been strapped down to the pillars they usually float over as they make their decisions, their bodies each covered in a dark-crimson veil of electricity that the two quickly recognize as Cackletta's handiwork. After the larger figure stars down at Geno and Twink, who are both sprawled against the top of the center altar with their eyelids squinting in pains, he has but one thing to say to his subordinate.

"Can you free them all Kamek?" His question is given in an innocent tone deprived of any ulterior motive. "…Yes, I can do that sire. Just give me a second…" The blue-robed Magikoopa known as Kamek responds to the command in an instant, brandishing his wand and swirling it around in the air to prepare the magic needed to perform the dispelling spell. A wave of energy spreads out from the ruby gem at the top of his staff, and as it all makes contact with the crimson electricity it melts away, leaving those trapped within it free to move at their own discretion. With tired grumbles the Star Spirits rise up off the ground, shaking the pain off as they get their bodies floating above the pedestals once more.

Geno and Twink get up, the Star child paying now attention to the two figures at first as he spins around the wooden doll and says in a concerned tone, "You holding up ok there Geno?" The doll grabs the side of his head with his right hand, his dizziness apparent in his wobbling movements as he opens his eyelids up and replies with, "Not really…But I'll recover with time…However, I have to wonder…" Lifting his head up, both the gaze of Geno and the eight other Stars are focused on their saviors. In particular, Geno is surprised to be looking up at his old comrade Bowser, the lumbering Koopa King, as he has his arms folded in front of his well-built chest, looking not into the wooden eyes of the doll but around at the Star Spirits, whose surprise is ever-present on their faces.

Geno finishes his sentence, saying, "What are you two doing here?" He says in a bitter tone that has an underlying sense of gratefulness to it. The Koopa King replies bluntly, but not in the way that the doll would like him to answer. "What happened here?" He asks, his comment directed right at the oldest Star Spirit, Eldstar. The yellow star with the bushy light-grey mustache looks at Bowser with an eyebrow raised, curious as to what drew both him and his Magikoopa compatriot here, but after a light shrug of the shoulders he chalks up down to fate and in a thankful tone he says to the Koopa King, "Whatever your reasons are for being here, I thank you both for your help. We were ambushed here by the witch Cackletta, and she used her vile magic to bind us here over twenty-three hours ago, just as we were beginning to observe the Elemental Overlord's confrontation with some of the members of Smithy's army."

"Gwah?" Bowser says with a snarl upon hearing the machine king's name. After a momentary shocked reaction the Koopa King unfolds his arms and lets out an angered growl. "Smithy? You mean that metalhead that took over my castle a couple years back? I thought I pounded him into dust when we last fought!" He expresses both rage and disappointment over this news, and stamps his foot down ready to forget about the witch and focus his anger towards him instead. After the tremor has calmed from the pressing of his foot against the floor, Geno interjects, saying to him "There is no need to worry about him, he has already been dealt with, along with someone named Dimentio from the sounds of things…"

The name of the jester rung a bell to Bowser, and after folding his arms in front of his chest without a care in the world as to how both foes were still alive, he found another pressing question on his mind and decided to ask the Star Spirits, "Wait, why did that witch bother to target you guys in the first place?" "She wanted to inhibit us from interfering with her affairs, but we were still able to see the events unfold down below, and now it is clear to us the reason why…" Eldstar then spends a few moments detailing to the Koopa King all the events that have transpired under their watchful eye, and when he nears the end and brings up the Dark Star Bowser's nostrils flare up in anger as he thrusts open his eyelids and lets out a surprised guffaw.

"So, that pansy black star came back for another round, and you're telling me he is currently attached to a clone of that Alex Whiter boy?" "Correct. The way things stand now, there is no way that the M.S.I. will be able to hold off the Dark Star until the Elemental Overlord is freed from his confinement." Eldstar replies. Bowser folds his arms in front of his chest and pulls his head back to think after hearing this information. His lackey Kamek stands beside him, his head tilted up in bewilderment over his Lord's actions. "Sir? What are you thinking about?" He asks in a tone befitting his current demeanor, and after thrusting his scaly eyelids back open Bowser leans forward slightly and suggests what may be either the craziest or most brilliant idea he has ever come up with. "Give me the Star Rod."

The Star Spirits save for Eldstar let out a collective gasp of surprise, and Skolar, the only star wearing glasses, blurts out to the Koopa King as he is taken aback by the idea, "Are you insane? You think we are going to trust you with our most sacred artifact after what you did with it the last time? We may be desperate, but-" "But it is the only method we have of either stopping or stalling the Dark Star." Eldstar interjects to his brother's opinion on the matter, causing Skolar to stop and turn to the elderly star wide-eyed in shock. "Eldstar…Are you serious?" "I am my brother…Face it, we have no other choice. The other heroes that were given our power have been scattered about by Cackletta's machinations, and Geno can't fight the Dark Star himself because anymore direct interference with the planet's affairs will lead to the higher-ups sanctioning the destruction of Star Haven. Besides, as much as we would not like to admit it, Bowser is indeed compatible with the Star Rod's power."

"If I may inquire, father…" Geno says as he turns his body around to look up at the elder Star Spirit. "Why is Bowser able to use the Star Rod? Didn't you say once before that you have to be pure in order to wield it?" Eldstar nods his head, affirming that what the star herald asks of is true. "Correct, but the conditions behind what qualifies as pure is rather broad. Pure can refer to absolute, incorruptible purity, or pure, unholy evil. However, in Bowser's case, it is his pure focus towards the desire of surpassing his rival Mario that allows him to use the Star Rod. But there is actually another reason why he can use it, and I shall quickly detail it to you all…"

"You see, thirty years back, Bowser's father, who at the time was the reigning tyrant of the Mushroom Kingdom, sought out greater power through our domain, and brought his army to try and invade Star Haven. A monster to the end, we were incapable of bringing him down no matter how hard we tried. But with his armies thinned he was unable to fight for long, and retreated back to his castle, but not before breaking a portion of the Star Road off so we would be unable to pursue him. Because of what he did that, seven miniature stars flew off across the planet from the shards of the road, seeking out worthy newborns to imbue them with their holy power. You should be familiar with these children Bowser, since you and Kamek once traveled to the past to seek them out. They were deemed by us to be Star Kids, and as we later found out the gathering and extraction of the stars from the child's bodies in time could grant someone the power to conquer the universe.

The seven children were the Mario Bros., Princess Peach, Wario, Donkey Kong, the Yoshi that Mario now has the closest ties of friendship with, and in a ironic twist on things, you, the proud Koopa King. Your father eventually learned of the Star Kids, and cut a path of destruction through the lands in pursuit of them. Predicting ahead of time that his first targets would be the young Mario Bros., we prepared a safety precaution against your father after your failed attempt at collecting them in the past led to you returning to the future. We sent the young Mario Bros. and their parents away to an Earth that exists far away from the one Alex Whiter is familiar with, thus ensuring the futility of your father's goal.

You see, being a Star Kid is the reason that you aren't a monstrosity like all other Koopa Kings before you. No matter what evil ways your father would try and instill within you, the pure star in your heart kept your mind at a certain level of purification, thus putting you at a more lawful side of the scale of evil. It is also that very star that helps you to draw out the true power of the Star Rod. It is the briefest explanation I can offer, seeing as we are running out of time…" Bowser, having folded his arms and tapped his foot on the ground while what he thought to be a "big boring waste of time" was happening before him, is finally glad to hear Eldstar admit that it is time to cut to the chase.

"About time old star. I couldn't care less about what my father did, or why I can use the Star Rod. Point is that I can, and right now I'm not about ready to let some megalomaniac destroy the Kingdom that I've worked so hard to conquer. Mario has to have a place to return to, otherwise I will never be able to defeat him once and for all! Bwahahahahaha!" Letting out the proudest evil laugh he has ever unleashed, the echoes shake the Sanctuary, leaving all the Star Spirits but Eldstar unbalanced. The elder star has a smirk on his face, and with a nudge of the head to the wide-eyed Geno, the star herald turns around and holds his arms out wide. Emerging from the sparkling altar is the Star Rod in all its glory, the radiance projecting from it nearly taking the blue-robed Magikoopa off-guard.

"So this is what my sister Kammy got to witness…Magnificent." As Geno's shadow is cast against the bottom half of Eldstar's body, the Star Spirit gives Bowser a firm, unflinching look and declares to him. "The Star Rod has enough power stored within it from the abundant wishes gathered during the battle against the Dark King that you should be able to match the Dark Star as he is now. He is too ignorant, and so long as he doesn't figure out how to use the Elemental Overlord powers that the clone's body surely has you should be able to either kill him or stall him." Bowser gives him an overzealous grin as his right claw starts to reach for the object of mystical beauty. Before he grabs it though, he has one more thing to ask Eldstar. "Are you sure you wish to entrust me with this?" "Depends, am I right in trusting you to return this to Star Haven after the battle has subsided?" The Koopa King gives no vocal reply to the Star Spirit's question, instead widening his grin as he firmly grasps the Star Rod floating before him, a grand flash of light spreading out and consuming the Sanctuary as a whole.

Back inside the M.S.I. battleship, Captain Florence is sweating all-around as he looks out at the

cloud of smoke that has formed from the constant bombardment of the Dark Star. Every weapon on the ship within range has been used up, and as the cloud parts the grim object floats in mid-air, unharmed just like he said he would be. If he had a mouth, this would be the part where his arrogant grin would be brimming, but his unscathed presence was more than enough to unhinge the Captain. "Twenty-five minutes…That was all the time I could buy us…" He thinks to himself in a tone showing absolute defeat. With his head hanging low in shame, he grits his teeth and tries to hold back the tears before saying, "I'm sorry Commander…I let both you and the rest of the planet down…"

Outside the ship, the Dark Star takes the silencing of the weaponry as a sign that it was all at an end. The clouds above him have grown darker, the sun now completely obscured across the entire planet as lighting splits the air and crashed down onto the surface below. "Are you done? I guess you have tossed out everything you got…" "You're right, THEY have thrown everything they got at you." As the Dark Star had the hands of the clone lifted up ready to launch an attack in retaliation, he hears a deep, familiar voice calling to him from the side. Turning his body to see the source, a punch collides with the front of his true body the moment he stops.

The force applied into the blow sends out a shockwave of star energy, his host and himself hurtling away from the area he was struck at rapid speeds. Once past the side of the M.S.I. Battleship's runway, the Dark Star forces the clone's body to grind to a halt, a scorch mark now present on the front of its black insignia thanks to the blow. "Who DARES?" He declares in anger, the attack having actually successfully harmed him. As he looks up, he sees his assailant. Covered in a light rainbow veil is the Koopa King, who holds his left arm up proud as the Star Rod grasped in his right hand is held near his hip. "I dare, Dark Star." He boldly answers, and with a smirk on his face seeable by Alex Whiter and the stunned soldiers witnessing his appearance inside the ship he looks at the irritated Dark Star and says to him, "I must admit, for someone who has gotten in my way twice now, I have to give you credit for creating battlegrounds suiting a clash between us great titans. Now then…Let us begin, shall we?"

_Next Time: Regaining Control_


	31. Chapter 31

**Author's Note:**

I have to regretfully inform the readers of this story that for a few days, CotE is going to have to go on hiatus. I'm going to having my wisdom teeth removed tomorrow, and that will leave my incapable of doing any writing until I recover...Well, that may not be entirely true, but it is more likely than anything else. So in the meantime, I would suggest reading up on previous parts and seeing if you can catch anything you never caught before, theorize future events based on what you find, and maybe just in general spread the story around other websites for other people to read and possibly enjoy. I know this sounds like a bit of forcefulness on my part after so long, but I just don't want things to die down for this, especially considering there really isn't that many chapters left in this part and I am really ashamed to be taking a break after keeping up with my schedule to the letter.

Either way, enjoy and be patience until this returns!

* * *

**Chapter 31: Clash Between Stars**

In the midst of the devastated Toad Town, any survivors are busy scrambling through the wreckage, getting in contact with their friends and loved ones if they are lucky to not discover their burning corpses. The pale fires spread out across the land continue to burn without end, and a feel of distress has been created as well. Peach and a few Toad soldiers are evacuating everyone in the castle, and thankfully there have been no casualties on her end. She turns around and looks at her burning castle, a teardrop rolling down her right cheek away from the view of everyone else as she remembers all the good days she and Mario spent in it.

As she then falls to her knees with her eyes blank in fear, Toadsworth runs up to her in worry and yells to his princess, "My Lady, get up and get moving! We don't have time to sit around!" Tugging on her right arm from behind, the elderly shroom fails to notice Peach staring up past the side of the M.S.I. battleship where the two figures fighting can be seen. She recognizes Bowser immediately, and in the face of this despair she couldn't believe that she would be relying on the Koopa King as a way to feel hope. She knew not where her hero was, but could only hope that Bowser would be able to succeed in the fight against his opponent so he can return safely.

Speaking of the being cloaked in darkness, Peach turns her head towards them and her eyes widen for a second as she is instantly overcome by the pressure resulting from her direct gaze. She recognized it as that of the Dark Star, but there was another energy mixed in that she also thought to be familiar. It was the same as the Elemental Overlord child, and there was concern mixing in with her despair as she wondered if the boy had gotten possessed by the being of absolute destruction. It was only after she discarded her emotions that she got up on her feet and turned around to follow Toadsworth away from her burning castle.

In the sky, Bowser has his arms folded in front of his chest, his confident grin earning ire from the Dark Star, who squints his burning red eyes in anger at the smug face of the Koopa King. Though it was foggy, the object of desolation remembered a time in the past where he had a body copied from that of his current opponent, and that this very turtle was responsible for his previous death. But even as he remembers his horrible demise and discards any questions as to how he is now alive, he quickly returns to his normal, condescending gaze and says to Bowser, "What do you think you are doing?"

It was a blunt question aimed at his motives, and the Koopa King raises his right eyebrow in response as he unfolds his arms and leans forward in an intimidating manner. "You may have killed me before, but my darkness is now much stronger than it was in earlier days. The only reason you got a hit on me was because I was unaware, and it is not something that will be able to occur twice. Besides, you are a villain, and as pitiful of a creature as you may be you are certainly not the type of person to be meddling in heroic affairs, correct?"

"No, you got that right." Bowser bluntly replies, letting out a light guffaw through his fanged grin. As he holds his head up high he looks at the Dark Star while keeping his confidence and says to him as he keeps his calm demeanor, "I'm not doing this for any heroic praise or anything of the sorts. Maybe I hit you in the head so hard you've already forgotten, so let me remind you of what I said to you before." Glaring at the malicious object with all of his might, the Koopa King lets out a mighty roar that actually causes it to flinch before holding the Star Rod high above his head and saying, "This is MY Kingdom, and I am not going to let some two-bit star trapped in an orb destroy what is rightfully MINE!"

Even after witnessing Bowser's bravado the Dark Star regains his composure and returns his stare with his eyes gleaming with sadistic intent. "What is rightfully yours? That's a foolish desire. Nothing belongs to you. Darkness has always existed, the very space your planet floats in is always darkness no matter how many stars illuminate its existence. Plit was born into darkness' grasp, and therefore it is only right that I do whatever it is I wish to do with my property. But how could you understand my plight when you are so-" After rolling his eyes once in annoyance over having to listening to the Dark Star's meaningless, 'deep' triad, Bowser charges forth while the being is too wrapped up in its own words to fight back.

The Koopa King's scaly right fist is thrust out straight into the blackened sphere, the force of the blow stunning the being in place as a shining shockwave is released from spot between where both physical objects collided. But it doesn't get any time to dispel before Bowser pulls his fist back and alternates to his other one to strike again, bombarding the Dark Star with a series of unavoidable close-range blows infused with all the energy from the Star Rod. It is not the strength of the blows that harms the malicious being, but that very energy, and it takes a moment for him to recognize the object grasped firmly in his opponent's hand.

Enraged that the Star Spirits would once again meddle in business that is rightfully his, the Dark Star calls forth his tendrils and has them lash out at Bowser. Each tip strikes the body and retreats quickly to avoid being exposed to the very energy that is their bane. It takes each blow to move the Koopa King away and give the being enough time to put some distance between the two of them by moving backwards through the air at high speeds. But after recovering from the stings of the tendrils Bowser charges forth, overtaking the Dark Star's speed much to his surprise.

The tendrils held out in front of his body glowing with darkness at the tips, spheres expanding in size before they are launched out at his target. The Koopa King opens his mouth with flames spreading out from the sides of his lips and launches fireballs, each one glowing with a starlight aura as they are aimed precisely at the orbs coming his way. But another orb of a much bigger size comes at him, created from the fused energy pulsating through all four tendrils. This doesn't deter Bowser as he thrusts his right fist out, his crunched knuckles colliding with the side of the orb and pouring in energy from the Star Rod. The darkness is converted to holy light, which is then collapsed into a two-dimensional form before it is flung back at its original creator in the form of a gigantic beam.

Widening his eyes in the face of the incoming attack, the Dark Star retracts his tendrils long enough to have the body he inhabits thrust its arms out to absorb the brunt of the beam with its palms. For some reason, the starlight energy isn't toxic to the body like it is to the malicious object, but in panic he fails to notice this little detail. When the energy runs out of steam and splits apart into sparkles, the blinding light detracts from the danger set before him, and Bowser rushes forward and pulls his fist back, sending it straight out with the force of a running train applied to the blow that collides with the Dark Star's face.

Shooting out through the air towards a nearby mountain, the clone's body and subsequently the being crash into the top, their collision breaking it apart and sending chunks of rocks scattering throughout the air in random directions. As the dust and dirt rise up after Bowser's successful effort in the form of a cloud, the Koopa King quickly folds his arms in front of his chest and slants his eyebrows. He realizes swiftly that the Dark Star hasn't been finished off quite yet, but waits to see what will happen next.

Suddenly, a flare-like object is fired into the sky, the colors flashing between violet and dark-pink before it bursts close to the layer of clouds. The air ruptures as multiple stream of dark energy are fired out towards Bowser. He instinctively holds his arms in front of his face to guard against the shot coming straight at him, the rest of them falling towards the grassy plains and exploding like mortars, scattering burning debris throughout the air while the Dark Star suddenly reappears in front of the Koopa King with dark energy surging around him. His fist is pulled back in a scenario mimicking what launched him towards the mountain earlier.

He has the clone bring his fist down through the gap between Bowser's buff arms and strikes him square in the face, a crash being heard as the collision forces the Koopa King to break his arms apart and forces him back a few inches in the air. Once on level with him the Dark Star continues his onslaught by resummoning his tendrils and having them lash out a few times against Bowser's chest and push him back even further. With them quickly retracted the Dark Star uses another punch to knock the giant turtle into one of the pillars of smoke created from his earlier energy assault. Though this would handicap a normal person, the red eyes of the malicious creature are able to peer through the smoke to see Bowser's figure, and the attacks continues without hesitation.

A few more punches are tossed out as the Koopa King begins to experience the same helplessness he had to endure earlier on, and the Dark Star starts to relish in the glee he feels from beating on the being responsible for killing him and ending his reign of terror prematurely. But in his bout of sadistic arrogance he starts to slow down his blows, and it is with the opening provided as the two fighters emerge from the smoke that Bowser is able to exploit and counterattack. Regaining his composure long enough to block one of the punches in one hand, the Koopa King gives the Dark Star and unflinching smirk before bringing his forehead straight into the body of the clone, letting go quickly enough so both figures rocket right into the edge of the crater created by their attack, cracking it apart even further.

Then Bowser stuffs the Star Rod into his shell and cracks his knuckles in the grasp of his left hand, removing his power of flight and letting gravity drop him down towards the Dark Star, the bottom of his body positioned just right so that his full weight will strike the body. He collides with the clone's back with all of his might, the act of pressing against the ground sending a tremor through the plates below and sending a circular wall of rock, dirt and grass spreading out a few yards until it all bursts and sends the debris sprawling across the darkened sky.

In the aftermath of his attack Bowser removes his girth from the damaged body and stands in front of it, grabbing the clone by the head and holding it up before him to check on the Dark Star. The eyes still glare at him in angered defiance, and with another grin the Koopa King flings the being straight up into the air, flying up after it ready to fight once more. But the Dark Star regains his composure mid-flight and shows his rage in the form of an unholy, demonic screech. The sound waves of his rage manage to stun Bowser momentarily thanks to the pain now ringing through his eardrums.

Taking advantage of his distraction, the Dark Star lashes out his tendrils around the arms and legs of the Koopa King, bringing him up level with his body before letting go and having the clone slam both of its palms straight into his gut to send him flying. This brings the battle back near the M.S.I. battleship as Bowser regains control of his flight and pulls the Star Rod back out of his shell. When the Dark Star appears a few feet away from him with his eyes glowing brightly in rage, the malicious object states in disgust, "I am your master! I am the ruler of this domain and all others that fall under the veil of darkness! You are a turtle, I am the devil! If I have to leash you to get you obey me…."

Six tendrils thrusts themselves through the skin on the clone's back, green ooze leaking from the sides of its mouth from their sudden appearance as the black aura surrounding the being's body flares up to its maximum level. "SO BE IT!" With the right arm of the clone brandished out in front of him, the Dark Star shows an express that would signify a smirk on his blackened body if he actually had a mouth, but is surprised when the tendrils under his command fail to do anything. "…What?" He calms down and says in surprise. He then tries to get the clone to thrust its arm out again, and this time the tendrils start to move.

Slinking through the air, the demonic tips start to advance, not to Bowser, but to the Dark Star itself. From his point of view it takes a while to realize what is happening, but by the time he does the tendrils have already buried themselves between his form and the skin of the body he inhabits. "What? What is going on?" In anguish he screams, which actually causes Bowser to lower his arms for a moment in wait to see what is unfolding. Acting as crowbars, the tendrils begin to pry the Dark Star out, two of the tendrils wrapping around the object and twirling it around so that the red eyes are staring right back into the body as it is suspended in the air.

There is now a big, gaping hole where he once existed, which is slowly being healed with darkness from the air. As molecule after molecule is reconstructed the head of the clone slowly creaks back upright, like a marionette coming to life for the very first time. It arms linger beside its body, and when the head has finally gone back to its proper position there is nothing but silence as the fingers wiggle around to get a firm grasp on their own existence. The head lifts up almost subconsciously, the black and white eyes looking straight into the Dark Star.

The being was frozen in fear. Even though it wasn't directly shown in the pupils of his vessel, he could feel an overbearing sense of contempt coming from the aura. The being was incapable of expressing any emotion, but as its eyes met the feverous gaze of the Dark Star, black fire started to swirl around his right arm, a sword with a similar appearance of Alex's but with a monochrome color scheme appearing in his grasp. "You are evil…Die." The voice is stated dully, but there is denying that the boy takes great pleasure in bringing its sword up into the air and thrusting it straight into the center of the Dark Star's body.

The tendrils immediately vanish, breaking apart into the separate atoms that compose their being as the Dark Star floats in the air, twitching as a cold embrace wraps itself around its form. As the clone pulls his sword away he shudders, unable to comprehend how he had lost control of the body when all others were so easy to possess. But as he begins to slowly fade away into nothing he stares at the boy with blurry eyes and says, "But if I die…Then what will…Hold you together…" With his final words the Dark Star fades away, never realizing that he himself was also a clone much like the person he inhabited.

Bowser and the clone both float away from each other, and the Koopa King just pauses in place for a moment upon seeing the body's true appearance. Though he didn't see the original person for very long, he knew that the person of black and white was a clone of Alex Whiter, the boy who traveled with Mario and became the new Elemental Overlord. But it didn't matter who his opponent was, for the clone's body was starting to degenerate, just like the Dark Star knew it would. The first thing that starts to fizzle out is his sword, which he holds up in front of his face to try and see its pale reflection in the steel. He couldn't see himself, the distortions were too strong. He didn't believe that he existed, he couldn't feel anything both physically or emotionally.

But then he remembers the final words his "mother" left to him as he laid dying on the ground after his rejuvenation. These very words echo in the deep recesses of his mind and give him a purpose to fulfill, and through the sheer willpower brought on subconsciously by his desire to see that goal through to the end his body suddenly regains its solidity right down to the last atom, which garners a flinching reaction from the Koopa King. The clone raises its sword out in front of his body and stares at Bowser without showing any signs of caution or concern. "You are also evil…My mother wants you to fall too…"

The Koopa King could easily take a guess as to who the clone's "mother" was, and with a sly grin he cracks his knuckles and says to the clone, "The only one falling here today will be you, right into the space in the Underwhere that you mother is currently occupying!" Thrusting his head out with flames swirling in the mouth, he spreads his lips open and unleashed a massive, sparkling breath of fire towards the clone. The child of black and white slowly readies his sword in front of his body and coats it into dark flames, using the sharp edge to block the brunt of the incoming wave. The burning intensity presses around the blade and increases the heat to near unbearable levels, but the feeling fails to overcome the clone's sense of dedication to his goal and he begins to absorb the flames into his own blade.

This greatly surprises Bowser, especially considering the star energy infused into his attack. But even if his mind wracking over how this is possible, he increased the intensity of his flames in hopes of forcing the clone to retreat before it burns. But the flames are continuously endured, even though the heat starts to ignite his clothes at various points. He doesn't flinch as he absorbs the fire, and the Koopa King eventually stops before he gives the clone too much power to wield. The holes burned into his clothing are healed up slowly by the darkness, as the boy of black and white swings his blade out beside his body and extending the length of his flames so it is now as long and wide as his body multiplied by three.

After folding the sword behind his back he charges towards Bowser at full speed, and as the Koopa King places his arms up to react the clone swings his sword out diagonally, cutting right through his body in one fell swoop. But no blood ruptures out of Bowser's veins, instead the star veil quickly shatters as all the black flames built up in the blade explode out as a funnel-shaped wave that stretches for miles, the top brushing against the clouds and splitting them to let the sunlight come down and encompass the land for a few brief seconds before the flames die down and the damage done to the environment is fixed.

But the Star Rod's protection on Bowser had broken, and though he was still capable of flight he knew he would no longer be able to survive another attack from the clone. With his emotionless eyes staring into the Koopa King's surprisingly fear-struck own the boy of black and white pulls his sword behind his body and pressurizes the black flames against the steel of his blade. One swing is all he had to perform, and he didn't have any emotions within him to care about the consequences of what he was to do. He was a puppet meant only to fulfill his "mother's" diabolical ends.

Inside of the ship, as the boy Alex Whiter watches the black flames pass before the view of the windows, he clenches his fists tightly, wanting so badly to help save Bowser even though he has performed villainous deeds in the past. "So what if he has performed a few atrocities…Right now he is acting as the last glimmering hope this planet has while I am trapped here, helpless because of my previous act of arrogance." He thinks to himself. "He shouldn't have to make amends by dying, he has children to care for and troops that have always been loyal to him to the very end. He rationalizes the reasons for Bowser's survival, and looking at the orb that surrounds him he is pissed off immensely by the fact that there are still five minutes left before it'll shatter.

"No…Bowser shouldn't have to pay for my mistake…Everyone else had to charge into battle, charge into the face of death without regret all because I let myself get captured out of arrogance! Is this truly the cost of being an Elemental Overlord, when everyone I make a bond with gets dragged down with me if I fall? And what about the other innocent people on this planet who could perish if evil prevails today?" Looking at his right tightened fist with sheer determination brimming in his pupils, Alex looks at the barrier and yells out with his limb held back in full, "SCREW THIS TIME LIMIT!" With his furious declaration the young Overlord slams his fist right into the side of the sphere with enough physical force applied to it in combination with his newfound resolve that it shatters instantaneously, much to the surprise of everyone else in the room as they hear a sound similar to glass breaking.

Alex is now seen floating in mid-air with his sword quickly summoned into his right hand and his flaming aura charged up to its maximum intensity. He makes a quick acknowledging nod up towards Captain Florence and says to him, "Tell Alpha I'll fix this later!" Before he pulls his body backward and launches forward like a torpedo, crashing right through the glass to enter the darkened battlefield. As everyone inside looks on in utter awe Florence shakes his head and says, "That boy truly is something…" With a tone of absolute praise.

As the clone floats in the sky ready to swing his sword, Bowser starts to float back as he senses a new presence entering the battlefield. With an eyebrow raised in suspicion of the Koopa King's futile retreat, the boy of black and white swings his sword out, only for the monochrome steel of his blade to meet the bright-red steel of the real Alex Whiter's sword. The young Overlord crosses in front of him, his body separating the distance between his opponent and Bowser as both their eyes meet. Though Alex is momentarily shocked by the fact that the boy of black and white has his physical appearance, he chalks it up as Cackletta's work and decides not to let his mind linger on the issue. But as the clone stares at him without emotion, it says a few words without hesitation to the original. "So you have finally arrived…Evil me…"

_Next Time: Black and White_


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32: Chaos Alex I: The Purpose Given to Me**

There is a bit of a calm now as the boy Alex Whiter clashes blades with his clone. Bowser floats behind him, surprised that he has appeared on the battlefield a few minutes earlier than expected but is still glad to see him around. "Alright, just keep holding him there like that and I'll beat him to a pulp!" He proudly declares, and as the two warriors stand even with each other the young Overlord turns his head to the left and shakes it twice. "Bowser, you can't do anything without the Star Rod now. You took care of the Dark Star, and I am in your debt for buying us some more time. Just retreat and rest up for now…"

Though Bowser knows he can't take credit for the Dark Star's destruction, he just chuckles lightly to himself upon realizing that he has the Elemental Overlord of all people in his debt, and after folding his arms in front of his chest and beginning to fly back towards the battleship's runway to rest he says to the young Overlord, "Alright, just don't screw this up, I'm going to be asking you for a favor in return later on now." With Bowser's last comment Alex focuses his attention back towards the clone. "Of course you would let your servant escape…" The boy of black and white says in monotone. "It is behavior warned me to expect of you…Evil me."

The way he said those last two words, even with its emotionless tone, brought unease to Alex's mind as he kept his sword pressed against the clone's own. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, that the clone was on the mindset that he was the original Alex Whiter and that the person he was fighting was his evil counterpart. "I'm not the evil one here…" The young Overlord stated firmly with his eyelids slanted. "But you are…That is what mother told me…" The clone replies in full, more strength being put into his advance as he attempts to break through Alex's guard.

Pulling his arm back quickly, the young Overlord tilts his body so the blade of the clone grazes close to his back and gives him an opening where he takes the handle of his sword and jabs it straight into his opponent's gut. Though the body responds, the face remains the same as it did before, and Alex quickly attacks the head by releasing his right handed grip on the sword and raising the backside of his hand up to swat the clone in the chin, which knocks him higher into the air. Then while he is distracted the young Overlord grips his sword in both hand and holds it at the side of his body, charging forth across the air for a few seconds before curving his flight around and rising up to head straight towards the clone.

He brings his sword out in an arc, sending out a crescent wave of flame as the opening attack, but the boy of black and white recovers from the previous attack and senses the fire coming towards him, spinning his own body around and performing one quick vertical slash to cut through the wave of burning energy. With the sword held backwards in one hand, the clone lets go of the handle and holds it in the grasp of the opposite one, slamming his palm against the dull part of the blade in defense of Alex's charge. With his blade held at face length outward, the young Overlord thrusts the tip straight out before he notices his clone's defense.

The collision of the two blades sends out a cross of shockwaves both black and red, and after leaning his sword forward Alex shifts it upward and presses the sharper edge against the dull side of the clone's blade. He rises up and puts his body on level with the clone once more, and decides to bring up the point previously mentioned. "What mother are you talking about?" He could only take a gander as to who it might be, but wanted his dark mirror image to state it outright as confirmation. "Cackletta…My loving mother who was killed before my very eyes by those two vile lackeys of yours…"

Those few monotonous words were enough for Alex to understand everything that happened in the other realm. Alpha and Mario had succeeded in slaying the witch, but failed to stop the machine from creating the clone. However, what he didn't know was how the Dark Star fit into everything, nor did he know if the two brave heroes were still alive. But that wasn't the most pressing matter at the time, he knew he had to stay focused on the opponent standing before him. "Loving? Geez, that isn't exactly the adjective I would use to describe Cackletta…" Alex says that in light of the situation, closing his eyelids with a smile on his face, his action earning the subconscious ire from his evil clone. The two warriors break their stances and fly back, a distance of twenty feet being put between them before the boy of black and white decides to respond to that comment.

"My mother did love me…I was born long ago as the Elemental Overlord, and she raised me to defend everyone who is good, putting me under her caring grasp with every breath she took. But then an evil man by the name of Alpha appeared in the world, rising up like a demon and creating a evil clone of me, who he called the Dark King. I tried to fight you once before, but then you nearly killed me…My mother brought me to a healing chamber, telling me that though the world we lived on would be devastated for a bit, she would work hard to keep it from being completely destroyed while I recovered…But by the time I fully recovered and emerged from the machine, that horrible Goomba had turned my mother into a monster and slaughtered her, while also implanting a Dark Star into my body so I could be controlled just like his evil clone was…But I dealt with the seed of corruption, and now I am confronting you once more…Evil me…"

Alex became exasperated that his evil clone would make such comments. "Does this planet look devastated to you?" He proclaims. The clone takes a solemn gaze down towards the ground, noticing the fires spread about and the panic on the faces of its citizen. He looks up at the original, closing his eyelids and saying in monotone, "How can you ignore the damage that you've caused, you heartless beast?" The young Overlord takes a look down as well, and realizes that he had failed to notice just how far the devastation of the battle between Bowser and the Dark Star had spread. While the loss of lives was pretty much guaranteed, he knew one thing for certain.

"This isn't my fault, you did all this!" He exclaims to the clone, who takes the accusation with an emotionless stride and responds to his "evil" clone by saying, "You're right…Were I not so weak before, I would've been able to stop you from going this far in your destruction…Now you've attacked the last refuge on the planet, and though total restoration is impossible now, I can at least give the last people alive a new utopia, just like mother would like them to have…" "You're insane. The entire planet still breathes of life, and YOU are the one who has brought destruction to this town for no reason except to carry out Cackletta's inane goals!"

"If what you claim is true…Then why do the Toads stare up at you with such fear-soaked eyes?" The clone offers as a rebuttal, and as Alex looks down at the shivering shroom men and the families that are huddling the corpses of their loved-ones in their stubby arms he can't help but look back at his clone in utter disbelief and yell out to him, "They are scared because of what you've done. They've lost hope because of YOUR appearance. I'm the Elemental Overlord here, if anyone should be marked the Dark King it is you!" After his bold declaration Alex brandishes his sword out with one arm and waits for the clone's response.

The boy of black and white once again looks down, his lips curling into a false frown as he sees the widespread panic, and after sensing nothing but death looming in the thick black air he turns back to the person he proclaimed to be evil and says once more without emotion, "I see how it is…" Waving his sword out beside his body as slowly as he possibly can, the blade becomes drenched in pale black flames that reflects off the surface of his eyes. "They've waited so long for someone to come save them, they had to endure so long under the gaze of your tyranny that when their savior has now finally arrived they can't avert their fearful gaze away from him…They refuse to accept the bringer of paradise, the Elemental Overlord, into their realm because you used your life as a false prophet to persuade them into believing that sins are the righteous path…"

"No…" Alex grits his teeth in response to everything the clone was saying to him, having a difficult time comprehending how the boy of black and white could even believe everything that was coming out of his mouth when the evidence pointed so obviously to the contrary. "So as misguided as they are now, they are not worthy of being saved…I'm afraid because of you and those wretched men Alpha and Mario I've been left with no choice but to destroy this world." "Destroy this world?" The young Overlord replies with an exasperated scoff. "Do you not hear the words emerging from your own lips? That is the talk of a Dark King, not a proud balancer of light like the Elemental Overlord."

"But aren't some costs necessary in order to keep the balance going? My mother always told me that my predecessor, the original Elemental Overlord, had to kill the Dark King and destroy a few planets himself in order to do what the heaven's willed…But in this case your corruption as the Dark King has probably spread far and wide, your wicked ideals forced upon the lives of trillions and trillions across the universe…Therefore, I have no other option but to wipe out all worlds under your thrall and rebuild them with new life to support a more balanced ideal, one without emotions to guide them down the wrong or right path."

"So basically, you want to destroy and then rebuild everything into an emotionless state just like your mother did when she blindly created you?" Alex thrusts his opinion on his evil clone's train of thought out with fury, and with a cold subconscious glare the clone replies with, "You have only yourself to blame…You corrupted everyone with your views, evil me…" "That's not true. Look at the flames surrounding my sword." Holding his weapon out horizontally in front of his chest, the crimson flames burn brightly towards the evil clone, who stares at them without flinching. "These symbolizes a beacon of hope to those who need it, and they will continue to burn brightly so long as my determination stays as strong as they elements I wield."

Turning his sword with a flick of the wrist so the tip points at the evil clone, Alex looks at his blackened blade and says to him. "Now look at your blade, drenched pitch black with deceit and chaos. You have no right to call me the Dark King, you don't have the right to call yourself the Elemental Overlord when it is clear as day that your flames bring nothing but fear, misery and death into the hearts of the citizens below!" "You are wrong once again…Evil me…These flames of mine are only black because of the corruption your Dark Star brought to me. I am not succumbing to darkness, but embracing it as a tool for justice."

"You mean a tool for genocide!" The young Overlord offers as a fierce rebuttal. The evil clone watches as the flames around his opposite's body flare up like an aura, and with his eyelids closed he has but one more thing to say, "Genocide…Or a righteous releasing of the troubled souls of the universe?" As Alex grits his teeth and holds his sword behind his body, he secretly curses Cackletta's name in his head. The witch had programmed her tool so perfectly that it didn't matter what the young Overlord said to it, it would never be dissuaded from following his "mother's" insane ideal. The only course of action was to kill his evil clone, because if he fell here and now then everyone else both on Plit and far beyond the reaches of the stars would perish in due time.

"You've said your peace…I've said mine." "So now is the time for our blades to say the rest…" "Because by the end of the day…" "Your reign of terror will come to an end." Both fighters say their words in unison, their heads lifted up high and proud as their faces are lit up by the fires of their blades. The fate of the everyone rested in both of their hands, and they knew that all too well. But the boy of black and white's blade was held in the name of stoicism, while the original held his with his face brimming with fierce determination. This wasn't a clash of the elements, but a battle to determine whose ideals about emotions would be prevalent.

Both warriors charge at each other, the swings of their blades meeting in the center and sending a shockwave out both vertically and horizontally. Alex slashes two more times before pulling his blade back and rising into the air to avoid a frontal attack from his clone. The heel of his shoe is brought down onto the skull, and after flatting his foot he leaps into the air off of his head. While the boy of black and white is flinching the young Overlord uses the propulsion from his flight to ignite his blade and spin around to send a wave of flame at his clone.

After recovering the clone splits his legs apart and thrusts the dull side of his blade up past his head to guard against the attack. He then twirls his body all the way around and extends his left palm out, sending out five dark-purple vines at his opponent. Three are cut in half at the tips by Alex, and the other two slip around his blade and latch themselves around his arm. With a light tug the young Overlord's blade is thrust out of his grip, falling to the ground slowly as the rest of his body is pulled in closer to the clone. Though he could easily call the blade back and free himself, he wanted to wait until he was in range to get an attack in against the clone.

It takes three seconds before Alex thrusts his left arm down and forces his sword to freeze in place, where it then rockets back into the air and into his grasp. He sets his right arm on fire momentarily to turn the vines to ashes, and then makes a quick slash at his mirror opposite. When the attack is blocked with a quick raise of the blade, the young Overlord takes his other hand and surrounds it with wind. The torrent of air swirls around the fist as he thrusts it out into his clone's chest, and the pocket released from the blow deals with his defense by knocking his entire body backwards.

Once on level with the clone Alex leans his body forward as he charges out with his blade at his side. He slashes upward, sending a wave of flame towards the right side of the black and white boy's body. Turning to avoid it, the clone summons his blade into his other hand and turns ready to strike as his polar opposite flies by, but the young Overlord grips the handle with both hands and spins his body around a few times, the blades striking against each other three times before the clone loses his grip on his weapon as it is flung into the air. But the boy of black and white shows no surprise over his loss and moves his body backwards to avoid being cut across the chest.

When Alex stops spinning he floats back into an upward position and holds his sword diagonally in front of him. With his stance he prepares for another attack, electricity and wind swirling up and around his body like a typhoon as the flames on his sword die down. Channeling the energy into his blade, the young Overlord's hair rises up as he lets loose it all with one fell swing. A tornado spins along towards the clone with the electricity forming into a dragon's head. But in the time it took for him to make his preparations the evil clone retakes his sword from the air, turns around, and slices it down the middle.

But the two splits swerve around behind the clone, rising up and swirling around like a tornado to trap the boy of black and white between a maelstrom of the two elements. The electricity paralyzes the arms and legs, forcing the sword out of his grasp as they wrap around them like chains. He is forced higher into the air as the tornado twists back and forth towards the clouds. With his sword still held in both hands behind him Alex charges up through the clouds after him. Now in the presence of sunlight amongst the light-blue sky, the young Overlord lets go of his blade and draws sunlight into his palm. After a slash cuts off the tornado and frees the clone from his bindings, Alex closes the distance and thrusts the energy into his opposite's face.

The orb of sunlight bursts out past the face, spreading out like a cone as the clone's body performs three complete flips in mid-air to end up lying horizontally, where the young Overlord then brings his rock-covered knee into his back to deal even more damage. When the rocks shatter Alex pulls his legs back and slams both of his fists into the stomach, sending the clone back through the clouds with his combination attack now complete. With bits of the cloud following his body as crackling can be heard coming from the sky, the clone silently moves its right arm out and has his sword disappear from view, where it then reappears in his grasp as the original comes sprinting after him.

With another slash the two blades collide, and Alex unleashes a relentless assault of sword swipes to push his clone further and further towards the ground. But as the clone stares emotionlessly at him he says to him as he hears the clash of metal ringing in his ears, "You've left yourself open…" With the echoing of thunder from above the young Overlord stops swinging and turns his head upward just in time for a massive bolt of lightning to come cascading down from the skies, having been set-up just a few seconds ago when the clone fell through the clouds from Alex's previous onslaught.

It was something that the young Overlord couldn't have suspected due to his inability to detect anything from his polar opposite's unsettling calm demeanor. When the electricity strikes him and sends pain surging through his body, he is forced motionless for a few seconds with his arms and legs limp beside his form. The clone quickly gets into position and moves around like an ethereal phantom, moving himself beside the original's body and swinging his sword upward to call out a water spout that knocks Alex higher up. While he is suspended in place from this attack the clone rockets up until he is on level with his body and surrounds his sword in dark-red flames.

But when he goes to swing his blade down at his back, Alex quickly recovers and spins himself around, crashing his sword into his polar opposite's with great force. The ensuing collision knocks the young Overlord back in recoil from the strength of his clone's blade and throws his arm slightly out of alignment. When he gets back into position he endures the pain in his nerves long enough to get the arm level with the side of his body. He rises up, staring down his clone as he is surprised by how much damage he took even after he put up his defense.

"Darn it…I can't fight in this condition. But still, I got something that my evil clone couldn't have." With all the strength left in his arms Alex holds his sword in front of his body, closing his eyelids as he moves his fingers towards a green trigger on the handle. But as he floats on level with his clone the boy of black and white moves his arms, placing his sword below his waist and moving his hands towards a swamp-green trigger almost unconsciously. Having been silenced by the Anti-Genesis Theorem up until now, the original spirit of the Elemental Overlord calls out urgently to Alex from within, _"Alex, stop! You don't know what Cackletta has done!" _But his voice was unable to be heard as the two warriors say the following in unison. "Uproot the Wild Grasses!" "Devour the Trees in Hunger!" "Trigger:" "Jungle Whipper!" "Gluttony Lasher!"

With the triggers on their swords pulled a poison ivy leaf, both of different colors, rise up before the two warriors and quickly spin themselves around their bodies. When they sink away without a trace Alex can be seen wearing a dark green army vest with various other colors plastered onto it in order to give it an appearance befitting a camouflage for the jungle. On his legs are tattered jeans, and at the bottom of these he is without shoes. His hair has become an olive-green color, with his eyes now being purple. There are two dirt streak marks on both of his cheeks, and in his right hand he wields a chain-whip that comes out of a black crystalline tulip.

As he opens his eyes he is shocked as he looks in front of him and notices his clone wearing a similar garb. In place of the green are various dark shades of purple and red, his hair is a dishwater light-green, his eyes are a lighter purple than Alex's own, and his crystal tulip is wilted and devoid of any color. "Impossible…I could understand if she was able to take my basic elemental powers…But this clone shouldn't have these forms without…" _"Without copying our spiritual structures, right?" _A voice calls out to the young Overlord, and appearing by his sides is a the phantasmal forms of a hulking titan made of wood, moss and vine, and a young lady with a wardrobe befitting the element of flowers and nature as a whole.

"Acia…What are you doing out like this?" Alex can't help but ask the girl. He then turns to the giant, acknowledging it with only a nod seeing as it has no way of communicating with its master vocally. _"Look, I'm just going to lay it down for you quickly since our old Master is feeling weak right now. That stupid Anti-Genesis Theorem whatchamacallit that Cackletta trapped you in wasn't just designed to keep you from interfering with her plans. She used her magic to analyze all the souls you have contained in your body so she could make copies of them to implant into her blasphemous puppet. That's why your mirror opposite can use the same forms you can." _

As her voice echoes in Alex's mind, Acia keeps a nonchalant attitude about things as she leans back in the spiritual realm of the young Overlord's body. As Alex looks at his clone horrified by this news, he sees something floating beside him that is currently keeping him from attacking. It was a person who looked nearly the same as Acia Rose, except chubbier around the stomach and arms, and with freckles and zits splattered around her face. Her spiritual body leans against the right side of the boy of black and white, a vine being used to pick grit out of her teeth as she stares down at the heroes and asks her master, "Hey, I get to eat them all when you beat them, right?" In a gluttonous tone of voice…

_Next Time: Temple of Seven Sin_


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33: Chaos Alex II: Sin Carnival for Four**

"Hey, I get to eat them all when you beat them, right?" The question was repeated in Alex's mind, and heard by the two souls sharing his presence at that very moment. Acia Rose, the good counterpart of the being responsible for the comment, was deeply disturbed and revolted upon hearing it, as she hung her head and stuck her tongue out slightly with a perturbed level of blankness in her pupils. "Honestly, if Cackletta wasn't probably already dead I'd seriously consider coming back to life just to punch her wrinkly face inward…" The girl says with a hint of sarcasm. The pudgy version of Acia on the side of the evil clone turns her head to look at her counterpart and with her grime coated, salivating grin she says to her, "Well if it isn't my slimy evil half."

The real Acia Rose was disgusted by the comment, not just because of how forward it was, but because of the hypocrisy present in it. "Have you even looked in a mirror lately? Actually, you couldn't have, the moment you lay your eyes on something you probably eat it without question." She offers as a subdued rebuttal, but her evil counterpart lays her bulbous body backwards against the air of the spiritual plane and says with her frenzied eyes focused on her, "That's not true…I haven't eaten you, YET." A pause is taken before the last word is spoken menacingly, and the real Acia actually takes a cautious, frightened step back in the air after it rings in her ears.

But Alex is there to reassure her out of her distress, and with a comforting turn of the head he says to her, "I won't let that happen. However, I can't think of a way to counter the clone or the sinful soul's line of thinking. The only way to silence them to is to kill the body they reside in." "You are perfectly fine with killing yourself?" Acia asks with a curious tilt of the head. Alex chuckles nervously as he raises his weapon and places it over his shoulder. "I'm not exactly warm to the prospect of killing someone who looks like me, but will you be able to fight your counterpart with the Gaiden Plant's help?"

"Huh?" The girl murmurs in utter confusion. As the young Overlord turns to look at the silent clone, who remains motionless and unflinching even as the evil counterpart of the Genesis Samurai talks beside him, he points his weapon at the ethereal phantom and says, "You are all spirits right, so logically she should be able to touch you if she so wanted." "Umm…" Realizing the truth in her master's words, Acia takes her hand towards the ornament on her head and after it glows she pulls out a whip similar to what he is using but with a crystalline rose as the base. "Just focus on holding your evil counterpart off and when you get in close we will take care of my gluttonous self." She then declares in bold.

"Right!" After Alex blurts that word out the clone suddenly flinches back to life. He clearly didn't hear anything the entity the young Overlord now dubbed "Sin Rose" had said to them, and as he raises his whip in stern defiance he says to his mirror opposite, "Let us continue the fight…Evil me." The evil clone charges forth and swings his whip in hopes of wrapping it around the young Overlord's gut, but with a raise of the left hand a tree trunk is summoned, the spikes of the whip sticking to the bark and spinning around it until the boy of black and white pulls his arm right back and rips the structure apart.

The splinters of wood fly about, some of which follow the young Overlord as he dashes around with some leaves surrounding his body. He curves around to avoid any of the larger pieces, sending his whip out to strike the clone's chest whenever an opening can be found. After a few strikes stun him he sends out his leaves on a whim, their sharp edges cutting across the skin of the arms and chest as Alex closes the distance and gathers them back around his right fist. He is about to thrust it out into his opponent's face when with a duck and swerve of the head he avoids it.

He then takes his whip and flicks it up under his left armpit, the chain extending out and wrapping itself around the wrist to release the boy's focus on the leaves. After tugging hard enough that Alex's entire body flips around after the whip is removed, the clone bends his body back up and with both hands he swings his whip out, the spiked steel lashing against the young Overlord's spinal region and scraping away the cloth on his vest. The second strike of the whip hits the skin, cutting through it and hitting the raw nerves underneath the flesh. After Alex winces in pain he extends his arms out and starts having moss grow out on his back to cover the wounds while his evil counterpart stages another attack, which is dealt with by a snap of the fingers that summons the head of a venus flytrap to take the blow for him.

As the sentient plant whimpers in pain from the spikes withdrawn from its head, Alex whispers out, "I'm sorry…" Before turning around as the plant fades into nothingness and using his whip to strike his evil clone as hard as he possibly can across the chest. Blood is drawn from the long scar painted across his body, and from the tips of the spikes the young Overlord had a paralysis pollen secreted that takes effect almost instantaneously. With his body floating motionlessly as he finds difficulty in holding on to his own whip, the clone looks at Alex with emotionless eyes as he charges forth.

But even with him unable to perform any motions all it takes is a simple thought caused by the subconscious guidance of Sin Rose for vines to burst from all across the clone's body. As expected he doesn't feel anything even though his flesh has be split around the holes they emerged from, and as the young Overlord lashes his whip out to cut down one of the squirming vines the rest of his limbs are entangled by them as quickly and painfully as possible. When they tighten around and start to cut off the blood circulation from Alex's arms he is forced to dispel his whip before it falls out of his grasp.

His body is then held up in the air before the clone, the only limb still out being the one where the weapon used to be grasped in the hand, which is then held up as multiple seeds are shot from a portal on the palm. They all bombard the face of the young Overlord's opponent until he turns his face to the side out of subdued annoyance and commands one of the vines around the legs to switch to the arm. When it has wrapped around it the one vine remaining below extends out and goes around both legs, pulling the entire body so it is only a few feet away from the clone. He now looked like he was nailed to a cross, and the symbolism did not slip past Alex's mind.

Scoffing at this display, the young Overlord smirks despite the numbness in his limbs and the painful throbbing of his back muscles. His evil counterpart raises a brow in suspicion, and as Sin Rose floats behind her host she does the same while picking some grit out of her front teeth with her untrimmed, grimy nails. "I think this is good enough…" Alex thinks as a way of communicating to his spiritual compatriots without letting it be known. Suddenly, the real Acia Rose and the Gaiden Plant appear behind him in their ethereal forms, and when Sin Rose flinches in surprise ready to alert her master she is plucked out of the air by a swing from the inner guardian's hulking, wooden arm.

As big as her body is, the titan has to hold the upper part in his left arm and the bottom in the other. All that sticks out is her head, which has become a purplish shade of red thanks to all the blood now rushing up towards it. As fat as she is she has no muscles, and is incapable of freeing herself from the barky grasp of the guardian. The real Acia rises up and extends her whip out in the grasp of both hands, smiling menacingly as she is eager to attack. Sin Rose's eyes tremble in a frenzy, and with her gluttonous tone still persisting she pleads to her good counterpart, "No…D-D-Don't! Don't let me leave this world hung-"

Her plea is unanswered, as Acia thrusts her whip out around her pudgy self's neck, a gagging sound being the last thing released from her lips as she tugs. Turning her body around and using both of her arms in unison with the handle, the Genesis Samurai pulls back with all of her might and rips the head of her counterpart right from the rest of the her body, a gushing torrent of blood and viscera emerging from the neck as the spiritual body starts to fade from existence after being given its only actual death. As a few of the drops splatter on the arms of the guardian and the back of Acia, the girl flips her whip around and places it back into her hairpiece, sighing with a hint of trembling in her voice over the fact that she had to kill herself.

With the two souls retreating into their master's body, the "Gluttony Lasher" form of Alex's evil counterpart shatters apart, leaving him back in his base form with the vines holding his prey having now dispersed into ashes around him. The young Overlord quickly gets an attack in against his polar opposite to push some distance between the two. As the whip is pulled back Alex looks at his triggers and determines the next form he is going to use, especially since he needs to heal after the damage he took from that previous exchange.

The clone does the same, noticing that the green one has vanished from view for the time being. He doesn't lament this loss, he doesn't show anger or any emotion once more as he moves his fingers towards the brown trigger. As Alex holds his whips out in front of his chest and the clone imitates the motion but with his sword, the two of them say their chants once more. "Fracture the Silent Earth!" "Take Glory in your Grandest Fissure!" "Trigger:" "Gaia Bruiser!" "Prideful Quaker!" After mud covers both warriors bodies and crumbles off after drying, Alex can be seen wearing the same jeans from his previous form, only this time around one can see dirt on his knees. His shirt is off of his body and wrapped around his waist, with streaks of dirt placed all around his skin. His hair is ruffled, but besides that there is no other change to his facial region. He wields a giant hammer with part of a pickaxe on the flattened portions.

His evil counterpart merely has darkened clothing and a coal-black weapon in comparison, and once again the spirits representing the elements appear beside their masters. The gruff, bearded and dirty muscular man floating beside Alex gives his counterpart a smile, because despite what his comrade Acia told him the two of them looked exactly the same. "Well, I reckon Cackletta had to keep one of our good looks intact…" The man named Ezekial Gaia notes as he rubs his chin in intrigue. His mirror counterpart looks at him across the sky and responds with a crazed sounding, "Yes, focus on me and my lovely beard why don't you my evil self? You are certainly not much to look at anyways…"

Insulted by the comment, Ezekial removes his laid-back demeanor and gets a serious expression on his face as he draws out his hammer and says, "I guess this jackass embodies the sin of pride…Forget my previous comment, I refuse to let such a shamble of a creature share my appearance." "Heh…So you'll actually take this seriously?" Alex asks, referring to the Genesis Samurai of Earth's sometimes rambunctious behavior. With a turn of a head to his master he cocks the handle of his hammer over his shoulder and says in full, "As seriously as a drill to the forehead. Though I'll be going this alone, the inner guardian isn't exactly in the mood for an appearance today."

"When is he ever…" The young Overlord replies with snark as he turns his head back to his clone and prepares his own hammer for battle. "Don't worry, my counterpart is so consumed by his own desire for attention that it'll be easy to overtake him." After his reassurance Ezekial's spirit vanishes as Alex charges at his polar opposite with his the bulkiest part of his hammer held behind his head ready to strike. This battle wasn't one alternating between attacking and defend, but one of pure offensive power. With the strength of the strongest magnitude earthquakes plunger into his weapon, the young Overlord swings it outright, where it matches blows with his clone's quickly swung hammer.

The shockwaves rupture the ground but fail to effect the ground without it being in close proximity, and the two fighters float in place and clash the bulk of the hammers for a few seconds before Alex chooses to alternate his movements. After dodging a swing from his clone he flips higher up and holds his weapon behind his back, bringing it down as hard as he could on top of the clone, who uses his broad handle as defense in futility. The strike hits him with the force of a magnitude ten earthquake, sending his body plummeting towards the ground faster than a bullet could possibly travel.

When he collides with the ground below his body sends cracks through the surface, heaving chunks of the ground up from the disruption of the planet's plates as a crater then forms from the center of his impact. Peeling his battered body out the impact zone is the first priority for the clone, and as he lifts himself up he stares up to see his good counterpart coming down at him like a meteorite. The fall needed to be slowed or there was a high probability he could die. A straight on approach wouldn't work, so after the clone let his hammer fall to the ground beside him he has energy surge from the tips of his fingers towards the debris scattered around him.

With his arms thrust out in front of him the rocks go flying straight towards the young Overlord, who takes his hammer and swings them out to destroy the ones that approach him first, but the remainder below the first wave are coated in metal by the boy of black and white and prove to be a little more difficult to deal with. When swung at with his hammer all Alex manages to do at full strength is put a massive dent into the structure, but he uses the momentum built up to let go and flip over the boulder, increasing his weight by adding rocks to the mass of his arms and legs so the clone doesn't have enough time to retaliate further.

When he lands on the ground in front of his counterpart as his face actually flinches in surprise, a tremor of raw power is sent through the ground that is felt all the way back in Toad Town, but Alex thinks not of that consequences as he rushes forward and thrusts his right fist out to punch his clone in the face. As the body takes a tumble back, the boy of black and white snaps his fingers in both hands to call forth two rocky pillars. One blocks a punch from the young Overlord before it shatters both itself and the rocks surrounding his hand, and the other knocks the hammer lying on the ground into the air so the clone can leap up and grasp it back in his right hand.

It was then time to go on the counter-offensive, as he drops down and swings his hammer in an arc beside his body, the pick scraping against the firm skin of Alex's gut as the rest of the weapon strikes straight into his gut. But instead of letting himself get launched back the young Overlord takes this opportunity to wrap his arms around the bulkiest part of the hammer and tug it, bringing the clone straight out of the air and back into the ground with a mighty thud. As the dust settles from the impact though Alex's opponent is revealed to have landed on his feet, and though he struggles to stay on them he keeps a firm grip on his hammer and pulls it right out of his opposite's grasp.

With it reeled back behind his neck grasped in both hands, the clone nearly loses his balance as he prepares another swing, but the young Overlord grins in anticipation as he coats his left arm in diamond ready to break the head of the hammer once it is swung out. But the clone actually thought ahead, and commands the rocky dust from his previous impact to fly right across the open, bloody wound brought about from the strike of his pick-axe. While Alex grimaces from the pain his focus is ruined, leaving himself wide-open as the hammer comes ever closer to his face.

Even with his teeth gritted to endure the scraping of the almost sand-like flurry of particles against his vulnerable flesh, the young Overlord lifts his diamond arm up and reinforces it by latching his other hand around the backside of his arm, coating it in gold so it won't also be thrown out of alignment. When the strike finally comes Alex is pushed back a good fifteen feet across the ground, but his body is unharmed and he can finally relax for a moment without the grains pressing against him. He turns his arms back to normal and raises his right arm into the air to call for his hammer.

As it turns out, after flipping over the metal boulder earlier Alex commanded his implanted hammer to start spinning around. By the time of landing it had built up enough friction to slowly grind through the surface like a drill, and with its speed increased at the young Overlord's command it thrusts itself right out through the bottom, shattering the object into pieces that all begin to rain towards the ground. When the hammer is back in his hand Alex bends his legs forward and tilts his head to the side, holding his weapon behind his head like a bat as he whistles quietly in wait.

When one of the metal rocks enters his view he takes a swing, striking it with enough force to send it flying at his clone at over 200 MPH. When it collides with his bare-chested body the boy of black and white is flung right into the crater's face, which is thankfully sturdy enough to not give in to his and the rock's combined velocity. But for the time being he has been planted into the crater, and as the rock rolls off of his bruised body the clone weakly reaches for his hammer and tries to remove himself so he can attack again. Alex runs across the ground, relentless in his charge as his hammer pulls up the ground behind him.

The clone snaps his fingers, and rock formation spring up left and right to impede or impale his polar opposite, only for the young Overlord to swerve his body right past them and in a couple instances swing his hammer quickly to destroy them. He never deters from his path, and when he finally has closed the distance he refuses to let his counterpart retaliate and uses his mind to command rocks to rise up and wrap themselves around the arms and legs of his counterpart. Though the weapon is still grasped, with the predicament that ironically the original was in just a few minutes ago, he was now helpless to defend himself. Now it was time for Ezekial's spirit to take over since they were in range.

He emerges in his ethereal form, leaping at his pride-driven counterpart without his hammer visible in his grasp. His evil half refuses to fight, wiggling his hands around and taking a steady retreat as he pleads, "No please…Whatever you do, don't mar my perfect image!" Sickened beyond belief at his opposite's actions, Ezekial tightens his right fist and pulls it behind his body. "Look buddy, there is no such thing as perfection…" As he angrily tosses his fist out with the spiritual plane trembling from such a display of strength, he exclaims boldly, "IT IS TIME YOU LEARNED SOME HUMILITY!" With the collision of the knuckles with the bushy face of his counterpart, all the theoretical seismic energy of a magnitude twenty earthquake is unleashed into his body, liquefying him before he has a chance to lament his fate.

With his body fading into spirit particles the form connected to the clone's body shatters and Ezekial retreats with his job now complete. Alex shows some honor to his evil counterpart by releasing the restraints on his body and letting him grab his sword to transform into his next form in defense. "Not bad…Evil me." As the two stand away from each other they move their hands towards the grayish triggers, preparing to pull them as they say, "Quell the Eternal Storm" "Give Jealousy to that without Form." "Trigger:" "Wind Reaper!" "Envious Headhunter!" After a heavy veil of fog surrounds both of their bodies their forms quickly rise out and head back into the air to continue their fight.

Alex is now garbed in a white poncho with trails of dark-blue cloths hanging down from his shoulders. It reaches down to his ankles, and both his hair and eyes have become light-grey in color. In his right hand is a black scythe that has many bumps on its rod, each one filled with varying amounts of air. The clone's outfit is dark and monochrome, just like one would expect to see in the clouds amidst a raging storm. The spirit of an elderly, silver-haired bearded man wearing a similar poncho floats beside both fighters, but the young Overlord is joined near the left by a well-built man wielding a rapier and a wolf's mask. The difference between the two elderly spirits is that the one on the side of evil is giving his good counterpart a frenzied, jealous look.

"It is nice isn't it? To have once had a solid form my evil half? Hehehe…We of the sky both real and spiritual are never allowed to be seen visibly, and yet you haven't succumbed to hatred over this simple fact…Hehehe, your jealousy is weak." The evil half says, cackling like a madman in a tone unbefitting of his other half's proud demeanor. With his scythe raised up the man named Darnia Stratos says calmly to his other half, "I don't need hatred when kindness and wisdom are the breezes that I follow. With the one-dimensional way you behave you deserve the fate you've been dealt." The warrior with the wolf mask follows up his comrade's comment as he brandishes his rapier in front of him, "Besides, who are you to call him the evil half? Your life is nothing but a sham and you know it, the only reason you are keeping the act up is so your 'master' doesn't wise up and start questioning his own existence!"

This remark silences the evil counterpart of Darnia, who dissimilates without a word back into his master's body. The two warriors standing beside Alex don't have to say a word as he rises above the clouds, his poncho fluttering out beside him as he suddenly stops and swings his scythe out to block an incoming wind blade attack from his opposite. With the spirits retreating into his body until they are needed, the young Overlord unfurls his poncho as a torrent of air spins and forms around his body in the form of two rings, acting as protection as he readies his scythe to charge forth.

The clone defends himself with two swirling tornadoes, bringing his scythe around in a circle beside his body as he is the first to fly out. Alex stays motionless at first and swings to send out a few wind blades, and though a couple are absorbed by the tornadoes the others are guided backwards in an arc as they pass their target. The young Overlord swings his scythe to block a physical blow from his opposite's own, the sharp metal grinding together between the barriers of air as the boy of black and white displays his stoicism in contrast to the teeth gritting behind Alex's own grin.

When he pulls his scythe up out of the clash he quickly waves his other hand to summon a veil of fog to conceal his retreat, which is blow apart by the sudden movement of the clone, but the young Overlord is nowhere to be seen. Solidifying from his lighter form behind his evil counterpart with his scythe held at his waist Alex takes a swing at the tornadoes, using the weapon's magical properties to absorb the abundant wind into the bulges on the rod. But at the same time the clone quickly swerves his body around and uses his own blade to do the same thing to the young Overlord's protection with a single swipe.

Though both forces are without protection, Alex performs a backflip and the wind blades he had earlier boomerang into the clone dead on, ripping through parts of his poncho and scarring across the skin as well before they disappear. Using the shine from the metal of his blade to briefly blind his opponent, the young Overlord aims his scythe at his neck and rests the cold, sharp edge of the scythe against the flesh before he sharply tugs it back. Though no physical wound is left the oxygen in the body of the boy of black and white is ripped right out, making his breaths heavy and his movements somewhat more limp.

It was reckless behavior on Alex's part, but the young Overlord knew the dangers of leaving his evil counterpart in this form for too long, especially since damage to his air capacity couldn't be repaired by changing forms. Besides, he knew that his efforts wouldn't deter his evil counterpart, but he was just weakening him so he can stay in close range while Darnia and the inner guardian of the Sky's spirits take on Sin Stratos. While the clone swung his scythe out, Alex kept up on his guard and never let the tip of the blade get near his skin. All the while the spirits were waging battle out of their view above their heads.

Sin Stratos was putting up more of a fight then his other counterparts, as the swings of his scythe could be comparable to the relentless assault of a hurricane but with a lot more precision put into his aim. He was wanting to rip the air from both fighters bodies, and used torrents of wind blades and powerful gusts to distract and damage them from afar. Though the wolf-masked warrior Fujin is protected somewhat by the armor present on his body, Darnia has to work hard with his scythe in order to keep any of the attacks from opening his skin. "You know, I wouldn't be so worried about this if I hadn't already died once before…" The elderly man comments while keeping himself calm.

"Yeah, what is with your evil half…" Fujin snarks as he uses his rapier to swiftly cut down three wind blades in a row. "The other two Sin counterparts didn't put up nearly as much of a resistance as he has so far!" With a beastly snarl the warrior feels his body being forced forward by a vacuum of wind, which puts him within range of Sin Stratos' scythe. His chest now vulnerable to attack, the evil counterpart of Darnia takes a swing that would strong enough to rip all the air from his lungs, but is blocked by the quick intervention of the original, who places his own weapon out in front of his comrade and uses all of his might to keep the other scythe from advancing further. As the evil counterpart grits his teeth and gives Darnia another frenzied glare, he keeps his scythe gripped in both hands and tries his hardest to make his offense succeed.

"It isn't fair! Why were you allowed to exist but not me?" He yells out in righteous fury. As Fujin readies his rapier to kill Sin Stratos while he is so hyper focused on his good counterpart, Darnia shakes his head and uses his other arm to pat his shoulder to get him to stop. "Why do you curse me?" The elderly man asks without resentment. "Even though I embody the sin of Envy, even with Cackletta's designs, I am the only one who realizes that I am nothing more than a fake, a copy of the original! You were born with flesh, a heart, feelings and a mind! I was given nothing at birth but false memories, a hollow existence, and this accursed, blinding jealousy! I want to know, just once, what it is like to experience all that you have, just like the air is the one element that always desires to be visible like the rest of its companions…"

Darnia could tell from the way his evil counterpart spoke that he still retained his wisdom despite his mind being consumed by his sin. In a way this made him feel genuine pity towards him, but there was a sad truth to Sin Stratos' desire, and as much as he didn't want to Darnia chose to make it clear to him. Turning his body around but switching the grip on his scythe to keep his defense up, the Genesis Samurai of Wind looks his counterpart straight in the eyes and tells him with absolute honesty, "We cannot change what has happened. Though our spirits linger in our master's bodies we will be forever denied a chance at a mortal shell ever again…The suffering you feel can never be quelled because of that, and as much as I would like to do so, the best I can offer you is a quick, painless death to free you from your inner torment. Now the question remains, do you accept or deny the harsh reality of your existence?"

Darnia's counterpart takes his words to heart, his frenzied gaze slowly dissolving into one of utter shock from the revelation. Though he keeps pushing his scythe, he knows that winning means nothing to him now. His Envy would just persuade him to become jealous of something completely different, and he loathed the idea of having to endure an eternity of such mental torment. He withdraws his weapon to the side of his body, and with an approving nod from Darnia, Fujin sends his sword straight into Sin Stratos' heart. The death happens in an instant, not a single reaction being found from his elderly body as his head hangs low and the sword is withdrawn from his flesh.

His body fades away like the other two beforehand, and with a tear trickling out of his mask Fujin vanished into the ethereal nothingness, followed by Darnia after he takes a moment to ponder about his counterpart's former existence. On the physical plane, Alex keeps his defense mounted, but an opening becomes present at his neck. His evil clone is ready to take the strike that'll rob him of his oxygen when his weapon converts back into his sword that falls just out of reach of the skin, the rest of his body now back to its normal form with an empty, rather puzzled gaze coming from his eyes.

He wasn't aware of the battles between his souls and that of the original, and as he notices another trigger now gone from his weapon he merely looks ahead as Alex swings his scythe and sends out a burst of air that launches him backwards. With his body tumbling around without disgruntled screams emerging from his lips, the clone forces himself to a halt a few seconds later after he has now been moved twenty feet away from his polar opposite. He wastes no time in divebombing towards the clouds with his fingers moving towards the yellow trigger, and Alex follows in hasty pursuit with his hand doing the same on the scythe. As they dip into the cover of the darkened clouds, they both state the necessary phrases.

"Shoot the Furious Lightning!" "Take all seen under your Flash!" "Trigger:" "Electric Sniper!" "Greed Gunner!" The clouds echo with the sounds of thunder as sparks of blue and black lightning surge through their domain. When the warriors emerged their appearances have once again changed. Alex wears a metallic commando suit made out of hardened black and yellow lightning with his head covered up by a helmet made out of a similar material. The only part of his face revealed is his mouth, as the eyes and nose are covered by a dark green visor, though there is still a clear enough view that you can see that his eyes and hair have become yellow as well. His left hand has a black latex glove on it, while the other hand has kept the same protective glove as before, and in the grasp of his right hand is a dark yellow sniper rifle that he quickly cocks and aims to the left of him. He is locked on to his evil counterpart, whose armor is blue-and-black with a light-purple visor and pure white gloves.

The spirit of a young boy wearing similar armor flies beside him as the first shot rockets out of the barrel, an electrical bullet zips through the air with great precision, striking and messing with the visor of the clone's armor so the shot he fires is misaimed and grazes the back of his helmet. After the attack is fired the boy, Pitroi Sparks', polar opposite appears behind the boy of black and white as both warriors break their flight and float precariously in the air. The only thing visible on the spirit's face was a widened, fanged grin. "That's right…Take everything they got, give it all to me so I can have more, MORE, MORE!"

His crackled voice sounded similar to a gremlin, as and as the real Pitori quickly uses his own sniper rifle to fire a warning shot past his evil counterpart's face he pulls his smoking weapon behind him and says, "God, why did my sinful counterpart have to represent Greed? I would've been perfectly fine with Sloth, that would've been more fitting anyways…" After letting out a sigh the boy puts his weapon away for the time being since his message was given with clarity. Appearing beside him is a small, bulbous creature with a regal outfit and scepter. Though the child beside him had said his peace, the Lightning Djinn had his own words to proclaim furiously to his evil half.

"Where do you get off demanding everything? I may be a figure of royalty, but you don't see me hoarding everything that is or isn't mine! I am deeply offended by your ludicrous behavior child, and I will see to it that you are properly punished underneath my stubby, regal shoe!" Though he was steaming mad, it does little to disturb Alex's concentration, as he remarks calmly with, "That's fine and all, but don't let your attitude get the best of you…" As he cocks his sniper rifle aimed at his clone. With his visor's vision restored the boy of black and white turns his head back and notices the spirit lurking beside him a second before it retreats.

He shows a hint of emotion when he gently widens his eyes, but after a sharp sensation of pain rushes through his head with the words, _"Hush your curiosity…"_ echoing through his mind he turns back to his opponent and prepares his weapon for battle. Two shots are fired from the rifles, the first ones colliding into a field of sparks in the center while the other two shift around in multiple directions guided by their masters to hit their respective opponent. But Alex decides to take a defensive approach and has hit shot return back to him to block the one fired by his clone, which was a good move as the shoulder plates on his armor pull back to reveal laser turrets that fire paralyzing laser beams straight at him.

Sensing that they are strong enough to melt through his own armor, Alex swerves his body to the right to avoid the first shots, then ducks down to avoid the other two from the opposite shoulder. He then retaliates with a quick rifle shot that hit's the clone straight in the armor. It wasn't a strong shot, but the shields were damaged all the same. This is followed up with three rapid shots of similar strength, each targeting different parts of the armor. The goal for the young Overlord was to keep up the long-range assault until he can disable the functions of his clone long enough to get in close and let his spirits take care of the rest.

But the boy of black and white does the unexpected, and uses the boosters on his back to charge forward, stuffing his rifle away into a holster as he draws a million volts of electricity into both of his fists. Both are thrusts out into Alex's chest like precise bullets, unleashing the energy all through the armor and shutting down the weaponry on his shoulders and arms. As the crackling rings through his ears the young Overlord quickly withdraws before his helmet is shut off too, but the clone thinks ahead and opens the palm of his gauntlet to set a sticky grenade before the retreat occurs.

When it detonates much to Alex's surprise he is launched backwards through the air, his sniper rifle being thrust out of his grip as he is left helpless in flight. Consciously opening panels up on his arms and legs, the clone sends out mirrors at specific vectors in the air, aiming his rifle at one of them with one trembling hand as he waits for his target to get in range. The shot is fired out, quickly reflecting off each surface and growing bigger with each hit until it charges towards the young Overlord. With little time to react, the spirit of Pitori Sparks calls out from the spiritual plane to the armor his master wears, "Activate Defense Protocol Vector Twelve!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice the armor reacts by opening a panel on the backside of Alex's right gauntlet, summoning forth an energy barrier that takes the brunt of the lightning shot at the cost of destroying the gauntlet from a sheer energy overload. But what mattered is that the young Overlord lived through an attack that would've punctured his chest otherwise, and Pitori's spirit retreats with a sigh as his master recovers from being flung back and notices the damage done to his armor. Thrusting his bare right hand almost without realizing it, Alex calls his rifle back into his hand, sighing in annoyance as he notes in his head that any further shots will singe his skin and nerves without the rubber to protect him.

But he still cocks his weapon and aims it straight at his clone's head, firing a quick disruptive shot that brings static to his vision in a flash and forces his head backwards. With his ability to see briefly robbed Alex dashes through the air, thrusting back and forth like a thunderbolt as the automated defense system on the clone's armor activates and fires an endless barrage of lasers and electric bullets, each barrel and turret being blasted at with spreadshots from the young Overlord's rifle. As the repairs finish on the visor Alex closes the distance, discarding his weapon and summoning spikes into the tips of his left gauntlet's fingers that are jabbed into the chest of the clone's armor.

Electricity is sent through that short-circuit's the systems, and with a nod the battle is carried over to the spirits, who emerge from his body to attack Sin Sparks as he giggles maniacally behind his host. "Fools, all power is mine, electricity allows me to control all things from the economy to the very weather itself. I deserve it all, and there is nothing you can do to stop me!" He says with sniveling glee, but Pitori merely pauses in place and closes his eyelids, calmly muttering out, "Vocal Recognition Code PS7, Deactivation of Primary Armor Defense Initiated." In an instant both armors respond to the command, saying in a cold, robotic tone, "Deactivation Confirmed."

The evil half widens his eyes as suddenly he is left without his armor, which vanished into a location he knew nothing about due to his blind following of avarice, but he notices that his counterpart has a relieved look on his face despite the fact that his body is barren as well. Sin Sparks lets out a pitiful whimper as he expresses disbelief in his loss, but as a shadow looms over his body he notices a ceramic plate appearing below his feet as a massive generator can be seen above his head. The Lightning Djiin with his arms raised above him, utters out one word callously, "Checkmate."

The generator then drops down from the binds of motionlessly as his arms part away, gravity slamming the evil child's body between the bottom of its girth and the plate. Pitori vanishes away before he hears the squishing of flesh and guts from the impact along with the cracking of bones, and the inner guardian grimaces at his own vulgar, uncharacteristic display as his spirit returns to Alex's body. The boy in question pulls his fist back as his clone's armor breaks apart. He flies back and summons forth his rifle once he is far enough away, and his counterpart is left with his sword in his hand he looks up with a solemn, forced teardrop trickling down his left cheek. He doesn't acknowledge it, because he doesn't know it exists, and he says to his opponent again with no emotion, "Let us keep going…Evil me…"

_Next Time: The Last Three_


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34: Chaos Alex III: Our Cursed Fate**

The two warriors take their respective weapons and move towards the blue triggers, though Alex's opposite is more reluctant in his movements this time. "Split the Raging Seas!" "Be Intoxicated by the Tides…" "Trigger:" "Water Sage!" "Lusting Wizard…" With their uttering of the phrases the triggers are pulled back, their bodies surrounding by orbs of water that quickly burst to reveal their new forms. The young Overlord is now wearing a light-blue vest with a white t-shirt underneath it. His jeans have turned into dark-blue latex pants, with a belt wrapped around the waist that holds both a trident and a short mage's staff in separate holsters. There is a Japanese symbol for "Ocean" on the left side of the vest, and the boy's eyes have become a blue-green color with his hair now having the same color as that of a clear afternoon sky.

His clone's garb is of a darker shade, his shirt pitch black as his eyes look like murky swamp water and his hair diluted as if it was dipped in chlorine. As the spirit of the Genesis Samurai of water, a mid-teen girl with a mermaid like set of armor that goes by the name of Tina Aqua appears beside her master, the spirit of a robot with hoses for arms also appears by his side. She turns to look at his face, which is grimacing in horror as he looks on ahead. Puzzled by his expression, she turns to look at the clone, and is mortified when she notices the gruesome spirit residing above him.

What can only be described as an unholy cross between human and machine lingers in the spiritual plane. It has the body of the inner guardian of water, but the eyes are replaced in the front by Tina's completely bare body melded into it. The melted metal only goes to the halfway point of her calves, and her arms are crossed in front of her chest to avoid revealing her nipples to the others. But as the body's head is bent down, the two heroes and the real guardian see her gelatinous, depraved, bloodshot eyes looking straight at them as her mouth salivates without end. The hoses on the machine…Well, their placement is better left to your imagination.

It was blatant as to what sin was being represented here, but it did nothing to alleviate the disgust on both Tina and Alex's faces. The teenage samurai almost throws up out of revulsion, her heart beating wildly as her head begins to experience a seizure like feeling. The young Overlord, always one to show concern, turns his head to his spiritual ally and asks in a comforting tone, "Will you be able to hold up?" as he pulls his trident out with his right hand. Tina turns towards not to her master in response, but to her evil half, who stares down at him and blurts out in a garbled tone, "I want you…I want you…I want you…" Almost without end in reference to Alex.

"Perhaps…Just end this quickly, please…" Tina then replies as she pulls out her own trident and the robot guardian whirls to life away from her. As the young Overlord nods and looks to his opponent, he decides to say something that is on his mind. "Probably the worst time to be bringing this up…But I've been thinking, for these spirits to be personifications of the seven deadly sins, wouldn't you guys have to have hints of these traits to be exemplified in the first place? So I'm just asking since the spirit seems to have lust towards me…Did you or do you consider me to be more than just a friend and your master?"

It was a gently asked question, but one that Tina wanted to shy away from. She turned her head to the side as her cheeks become red from embarrassment. "Physically I'm 16...You are 12...Even if I was alive, it would never have worked out…" She replies earnestly, and Alex nods his head thankful for her honesty. "That's fine, I just was curious. That's not the focal point now. Guide me with your strength so we can win this battle!" With his proud, confident command Tina thrusts her head back with a firm glare in her eyes. "Right!" She declares before all spirits fade into their masters.

The first move made is by the clone, who flings his trident outright, commanding it to swerve about through the air like an eel would underwater. The tip of the staff leaves behind an outward gush of water as it inches ever closer to Alex's face. Though the young Overlord moves his head to the left to avoid the prongs, the water splashes into his eyelids and leaves him blinded. The trident then performs a U-turn, guided by the wavering hand of the clone to impale itself right through Alex's skull. But the dulling of his vision doesn't deter his other senses, and with a feel of the water approaching the young Overlord quickly turns around and smacks the three-pronged weapon out of the way with his own trident.

By this point his vision returns, only for a geyser cast from the clone's staff to erupt underneath his body that launches him helplessly into the air. Then the trident recovers from its hit and turns back around, rising up and striking right across the tendons of Alex's left calves before it arcs downward and returns to its owner. Though the damage is painful and blood oozes out of the wounds and down his leg as he floats back in the air, the young Overlord refuses to succumb to the sensation wracking his nerves and tosses his trident up into the clouds, clapping his hands together like the swift sound of thunder as the activity of the weather phenomena starts to stir.

Heavy raindrops begin to pitter out from the sky as the trident falls, covering the battlefield in a light veil so both sides' movements would be obscured. But Alex had a plan to go along with this spell of his, one that'll allow him to get in close to his clone so the blasphemous spirit could be decimated. The young Overlord dives down as his opposite's view is focused on him, and with both fighters pulling their staffs out after Alex holsters his trident their next moves are made with a swing of the scepters. With a bluish glow the raindrops around them freeze in place and warm up to the point that all others turn to vapor in their presence.

Many drops are launched out as bullets from both sides as Alex goes below his counterpart's vision, the forces colliding in mid-air and creating a formless cloud of steam. Every drop lost is replaced with a newly converted one, but there comes a point where the rain stops and leaves only the supply around the two warriors for them to utilize. The young Overlord swerves his body upward, holding his arms aside his hips as he shoots up towards his unaware counterpart and uses his staff to call forth more water to wrap around his body til it is shaped like a leviathan's head.

At the point which the clone finally looks down with his emotionless eyes Alex collides right at him, the water burst all at once as the boy of black and white is flung back in a daze. His vision is blocked, as everything contained around his counterpart is compacted into three separate rings the float in front of the young Overlord's body as his fingers are held out to support them all telepathically. He rushes towards his flying clone and with three flicks the rings are flung out, the first one wrapping around the part of the arms closest to the shoulders while the next one suspends the wrists and the last one the legs.

Then Alex gets in closes and after putting his staff away he throws his right fist out into his clone's face. While he was blinded this was a rather cheap shot at him, but the young Overlord need to secure his unconsciousness for just a few more seconds so the spirits residing within him can get the job done. With his blow having stopped both their flights through the air, Tina Aqua and the inner guardian of the water appear and go straight into combat against the lusting monstrosity, who keeps muttering out with depravity, "I want him…I want him…I want him…"

"Well you can't have him!" Tina yells out furious as she raises her staff up high and surrounds the top with a deep-blue glow. The robotic spirit fuses its hoses together into one hydraulic cannon that is surrounded by a hue that is the same as that from the staff of its ally. With the water pressure building up inside the barrel having now been strengthened by her magic, Tina ducks down as a massive torrent of water gushes out of the lip of the cannon that consumes the entirety of Sin Aqua's body. The feeling is comparable to being instantaneously burned and melted into absolute nothingness, and not a single cry of pain or misery gets out of her palpitating lips as she dies.

With relief overcoming her being after lifting her head to see that the deed has been done, Tina and the robot retreat into Alex's body, as he stands before his clone as his garb vanishes without a trace. He hangs in the air with his sword in hand, and instead of falling back for once to switch forms the young Overlord rushes before him and uses both of his hands to grab him by the collar of his shirt and force his head up so he can glare right into his emotionless eyes as tears start to trickle out of them.

With his teeth grit in rage over everything he has witnessed thus far, Alex exclaims to his counterpart in hopes of reaching through to him, "You need to surrender right now. You are down to two spirits while I still have all of mine. It sickens me to have to keep battering around someone who looks so similar to me, and even more so to have my spiritual allies fighting against themselves like they have been. If you believe that I am your evil half then that means you have some sense of good within you in spite of all the spirits of sins that Cackletta forced into your body. Your lack of emotions doesn't make you incapable of thinking, so realize what you are doing and quit before we are forced to continue this senseless fight!"

Though his plead is heartfelt, the clone just looks at him with a blank expression befitting his lifeless demeanor, and though he could've easily impaled his counterpart through the chest right then and there with his blade he instead pushes him away with a thrust of his left palm. Alex lets go as his clone wobbles around in the air, as his body becomes more and more weakened with each soul, something he is not at all aware about as he steadies himself, lifts his head up and silently moves his hands towards the icy-blue trigger.

Alex lets out a disappointed, frustrated scoff as he turns his head to the side and pulls his trident out ready to combat his counterpart's next change with a great deal of hesitation. "Very well…This is your choice then, not mine." The two warrior's meet their respective gaze and get ready to pull their triggers. "Shatter the Reclusive Glacier!" "Trudge through…The Slowing Blizzard…" "Trigger:" "Frozen Lancer!" "Sloth's Impaler…" Both of them are covered in a smooth, diamond shaped shell of ice. When it shatters the air around them instantly chills to sub-zero temperatures.

Alex now wears medieval knight's armor made completely out of diamond. Unlike a true knight, he does not have a helmet on his head, revealing his icy-blue hair and cold, piercing white eyes. Grasped in his right hand is a lance made entirely out of jagged ice. His counterpart's armor is worn down and a combination of dark-blue and purple, and his lance is held with less enthusiasm than the young Overlord. The spirits appear, a lady with an ice cold maiden/casual wardrobe and ponytails that look like snowflakes appears behind Alex with her lance at the ready, and her polar opposite spawns from out of the clone's body, her body leaning against her positioned lance as she opens her mouth up wide and lets out a tired yawn.

"Cecilia, not that it is saying much, but your opponent should be easy to beat." Alex notes to the lady as he grabs his lance in both hands and holds it behind his neck. "Yeah. I know this battle is bothering you Alex, but know that you aren't alone in your confliction. My husband and son, the rest of my comrades, our former master…We are all worried about how everything is affecting your mind. Just keep that focus of yours as clear as ice and we will be done with him after two more souls…" As Cecilia finishes speaking to her master in her gentle, motherly tone, the young Overlord lets out a light chuckle as he notices something funny in what she said.

"Heh…Clear as ice. Had to slip that pun in there on purpose to cheer me up, right?" Cecilia need not nod, for her motive was picked up on without hesitation. As he swings his lance beside him, Alex shifts his shoulder around with the help of his other hand and says in a tone of appreciation, "Thanks Cecilia. It makes me really glad to know that kind people like you, Mario and the others are looking out for a kid like me…" With his confidence returned the young Overlord slants his eyelids in determination and looks his opponent head-on as both spirits return to their owners.

Though he stumbles around, the clone is the first to attack, swinging his lance across the air to scar it and send out a flurry of frozen needles at his opponent. This is countered with a precision block from Alex, who then grips the handle of his lance with both hands and gathers in the chill from the air to strengthen its piercing capabilities. This makes the ice on the weapon smoother and thus easier to maneuver through the air when he swings it. So with his mind reinforced with determination, the young Overlord runs across the air towards his target with the lance held at his waist.

When he gets in close the clone puts his lance downward to divert the charge, spinning his body around and thrusting the back of his left hand out right into Alex's vulnerable face to force him to a stop. With the rest of his body flung upward the boy of black and white pulls his arm above him and brings his icicle spiked elbow straight down into the chest plate of the young Overlord's armor. Though it isn't punctured, the strengthened blow sends him straight down into the crater lying below them with his weapon still in his grasp. But with his armor padding the fall Alex is back on his feet in a matter of seconds.

However, a gigantic iceberg is coming down from above, one that is double the size of the crater. Though he could out-fly it with ease, the young Overlord instead chooses to tightly grip his lance and rocket straight at it. He holds his weapon above him and increases his velocity to breakneck speeds, striking the bottom of the mighty glacier full force. The structure is automatically broken apart from such a collision, the cracks acting as a precursor to the further splitting of the massive ice obstacle. When it breaks into chunks they are still massive in size, but all of them fall away from the boy and crash into the ground all the same.

But this detail slips Alex's mind as he keeps pressing on towards his clone, breaking through every other chunk of ice he can as her zeroes in on his target and forces himself to slow down before he overtakes him. Letting go of his lance, Alex coats his right gauntlet in solid ice and smashes it right into his opponent's jaw. As it shatters the sound of bones cracking is heard, and the young Overlord follows up on his blow by stopping and placing his left hand on the chest of the armor, releasing a frigid chill that traps most of the body in a cage of ice. The lance of the clone pokes out simply because it is resistant to the cold.

With the target immobilized on the physical side of things Cecilia Frost emerges from Alex's body in spirit form and charges at her lazing counterpart. As the copy nips her lips while leaning against her lance, the real one thrusts her weapon straight at the head. Under the assumption that this would be a simple task, Cecilia is surprised when her counterpart swerves her head to the left, the attack just barely grazing the hairs on her head. As she pulls her lance back she thrusts it out just as quickly, unleashing a barrage of rapid thrusts that are consistently avoid without her clone's eyelids ever creaking open to show full awareness.

"Hold…Still…" Cecilia says in a tone of slight annoyance. When her thrusts fail to work she just decides to swing her lance in a horizontal arc, but that is avoided by her copy jumping over the strike. Realizing that the problem here is that the clone is simply "too tired to get hit", the Genesis Samurai just decides to avoid physical strikes and uses her magic to summon a spherical cage of icicles, all of which spin around the clone in mid-air before a crossing of the arms brings them together to impale her target.

The blood that drips out through the cracks confirms her victory, and with a sigh of relief Cecilia decides to make like her clone once did and take a bit of a nap inside her master's body. As her spirits retreats the boy of black and white's armor shatters along with the ice that confines him, and Alex draws his body back knowing full well that there was only one trigger and one deadly sin left to deal with. His clone keeps his sword in hand, his fingers wobbling as if ready to let go, but he lifts his head up, bloody teardrops of black and white emerging from the ducts without his notice as his vision blurs and he struggles to lift his blade up to pull on the last trigger. "Rend the Searing Flame!" "Show the sun…Your boundless…rage…" "Trigger:" "Flame Samurai!" "Wrath's…Swordsman…."

Both warrior's bodies become engulfed in flames, their katanas being swung out to part the fires away to reveal their ensemble. Garbed in samurai armor that comes complete with chest plate, shoulder pads, and baggy pants that one would see being worn by Japanese Samurais in the late 17th century, during the Sengoku era, the two warriors put their diamond katanas into their holsters, gripping them by their amber marked handles as their bright red-orange colored hair flows in the dying breeze. Their dark red eyes are focused only at each other, and Alex is actually surprised by the fact that there is no change to his opponent's appearance this time.

The final Genesis Samurai spirit, fittingly the leader of the group, emerges from the young Overlord's body with his similar garb all ready for battle and his right hand leaning against the handle of his katana. His name is Zeno Blaze, and as he joins his master in looking on with fierce determination. His opposite emerges from the body of Alex's counterpart. Actually, that isn't an accurate statement. He doesn't emerge so much as he bursts across the spiritual plane with an explosion akin to one you'd see from a volcanic eruption.

The final soul drenched in sin is an amalgamation of Zeno and a dragon, with the hands covered in black and red scales and the fingers mutated to look similar to claws, the warrior grips his sword tightly as the handle is revealed to be made of a demon's skull with the blade made to look like one of it's bones. Degrading wings are present on the back of his armor, while a quick look at his legs reveals that he has jagged grieves attached to them. His face is barely visible behind the shadow of the veil of fire scattered behind him, but from what can be seen he has red-orange eyes with slit-shaped pupils and two sets of teeth that have been converted into fangs.

When the mouth of the abomination finally opens, it isn't a human roar that emerges from the lips, but an unholy combination of every possible demonic screech and painful outcry known and unknown to human ears. This very scream ruptures not only the spiritual plane, but actually reaches out to the physical world and is heard across the entire planet. But both Zeno and Alex are unruffled by the noise, and the Genesis Samurai takes his weapon out and holds it just like his master is. "Now this is truly an embodiment of Wrath…No wonder the other sins are as mad as they are if this is their leader" He says, refusing to acknowledge the beast as a copy of himself and actually going as far as to mock him with his tone of voice.

"I'll be following your movements to the letter. There is no need to hold back now that we've reached the end of the line." It was unusual for Zeno to give the boy an order, but the young Overlord wasn't going to reprimand him when he spoke the truth. With blade gripped in hand Alex charges forth at the same time as his clone, the weapons being swung out in a blaze of channeled fire that gets spread out with the collision of the blades. They then stand up, swing their sword around rapidly and clashing each blow without either breaking their stride.

Alex is surprised by the strength put into each strike, especially since he is fully healed while his clone should've been substantially weakened by all the souls he lost. With this power boost being quickly chalked up to the unbridled rage of the embodiment of Wrath fueling his host's body, the young Overlord continues to swing his blade around, trying to break through the furious onslaught but being met with resistance no matter how precise he tries to be. As a couple slashes nearly graze the side of his head, Alex grits his teeth down and goes for a different approach, using his sword with one hand to deflect another attack and then using his flame covered fist to strike right into the chest plate of his opposite.

The blow knocks him back, but he quickly recovers without hesitation and charges back to his opponent, bringing his sword near his neck and igniting the blade with the bluest of flames before swinging it outright in an arc. Ducking down to avoid the blow, Alex feels sweat building from his body, which isn't too surprising considering the temperature of the flames being hotter than his protection can resist. But he lowers his body further and uses both of his feet to punt his opponent right in the face to knock him into the air.

Every single movement by both opponents is being mirrored by their spirits, but the conflict there is more personal than the one between the young Overlord and his counterpart. As he rises up to follow the personification of Wrath, he holds his sword behind him and coats it in flames so compacted that it becomes as bright as a neutron star. But the flash of light ends quickly as the energy is released in a single slash against his counterpart. However, the creature quickly thrusts its scaly right claw out and uses it to block the attack, and the fire is spread out in a nova-shaped burst as the pronged tongue of the monster lashes out in angered glee.

With one of his strongest attacks blocked without consequence, Zeno's calm demeanor is broken by a widening of the eyes and a lowering of his jaw. But he quickly recovers as a counterstrike brought on by a punch from his opposite hand sends him flying diagonally away from him. This is followed up by a brutal charge through the air, where his extended claws tear through the realm and set fire to the marks he leaves behind. He then brings the palms together and launches them straight out, slamming the samurai with all the force he can muster.

But this time Zeno uses his katana in defense, cracks forming in its surface but since he is still alive that detail matters little to him. He is staring his counterpart straight and the eyes, feeling as though he is looking straight into the jaws of death. "Tsk…Sorry, well actually, I'm not really sorry about having to do this." Zeno says, taking a quick glance over to the physical plane and noticing that his master and his clone have still been matching moves up until this point. However, the young Overlord isn't looking at him, which causes the Genesis Samurai to smirk.

"Time to end this." He thinks to himself as he quickly draws his sword back, and in a flash he swings it back out, cutting his counterpart across the palm of his hands much to his surprise. The frenzied look dies down for a second as dark green blood drips from his body, followed by his counterpart floating away from him and charging him straight on with his shoulder held out. The limb collides straight into his lifted face, a swatting motion following up this attack to knock the embodiment of Wrath into the air.

With his katana gripped at his side Zeno lunges his entire body forward at his helpless counterpart with his blade coated in blue fire. In the three seconds it takes for him to strike, the embodiment of Wrath looks on in disbelief and solemnly closes his eyelids to accept his fate. The slash is quick and cutthroat, the entire body of the clone split in half as the fire spreads out from the sword and into the being's vulnerable organs. As the samurai sheathes his blade with a heavy sigh, his counterpart slowly turns his dying head around before it burns, revealing a more normal appearance as it says in thanks and regret, "Thank…You…."

The job was finally done, and as Zeno turns his head to see his master floating before the clone that no longer has any of the sinful Genesis Samurais residing inside of his body he gives him a smile that isn't seen and transforms into spirit particles that return to their rightful resting place. Alex backs away from his evil self, looking straight at his lifeless, head-hung body as nothing but white and black blood drips from various wounds that have now opened themselves all over. He still has his sword held in his right hand, but the trigger have all vanished and the flames have dispersed into nothingness.

"He'll die from his own wounds…I refuse to cut him down after breaking him this far." Alex says, speaking to the spirits within him as he notes in his mind that every organ in his clone's body has probably ceased to work. "Either way, guess now it is time to head back to Toad Town and wait for the others to get back…Assuming they haven't already." Successful in his endeavors, the young Overlord looks to the sky as the dark clouds are seen parting to let the sun through once more. He then turns around and begins to fly back when out of the blue, a familiar, echoing laugh is heard from behind. _"Ehehehehehehe!"_

Alex's body freezes in place as he senses a dark presence coming into existence. The skies begin to return to the condition they were below at a rapid pace, and the young Overlord quickly turns around with katana brandished before him. Floating behind the clone in all of her vile, monstrous glory is Cackletta, with the upper half of her body looming over the land like a giant demon shrouding entirely in pitch black darkness. The only thing visible beyond the shroud is her piercing yellow eyes and her hovering, decrepit claws. The glowing, holy orb that is the original Elemental Overlord immediately emerges from Alex's body as the boy stands pale with shock.

"Son of a bitch!" The Overlord says in a surprisingly furious tone, as if this was a development he had not foreseen. _"Ehehehe…"_ The spirits laughs again, riled up by the fact that her appearance managed to anger such a usually refined being. _"Surprised to see me, Elemental Overlord? It should've been obvious from the start that this would've happened…After all, your stupid honor bound bodyguards had counterparts in my child's body, so of course I simply had to place a fragment of my corrupted soul into this vessel to act as your counterpart!"_

"How dare you claim yourself to be the Dark King you blasphemous vermin!" The Elemental Overlord declares in bold anger, taking great offense to the witch's proclamation. _"It doesn't matter what you think anyways. Still, I'm ashamed to know that my mortal body will never revive again, but who cares when I have a much more powerful one to guide through the obliteration of all worlds and stars!" _"Guess again Cackletta." Alex says, unfazed by the spirit's words in spite of how imposing her stature may be. The witch bends her head down, letting out a light "Huh?" in ecstatic confusion as the young Overlord flips his katana around and lets her takes a good long look at the triggers on the handle.

"We destroyed your personified Seven Deadly Sins and left my evil clone without consciousness. He is on the verge of death as we speak, so your appearance amounts to NAUGHT!" Feeling somewhat peeved about the fact that Alex continues to show bravado towards her, Cackletta's spirit rears her head back and partakes in a haughty bout of laughter before looking back down at the young Overlord. _"You are so foolish…You think I would show myself unless I was confident in my victory?" _With her proclamation the witch's spirit snaps her wrinkly fingers.

In an instant the blood dripping from the boy of black and white is sucked back in, darkness oozing down onto the handle of his sword and returning the seven triggers back to their rightful place. With a raise of her hands her puppet's head lifts up and turns to look at his weapon. With emotionless precision he moves the sword to the front of his body and grabs all the triggers at once. Alex knew full well what was coming, and in haste he brought his katana to the front of his body and moved his hands towards the triggers as well, the Elemental Overlord's spirit returning to his body to let the fight continue without his further interference.

Cackletta's lips open up as the darkness from her body begins to sink back into her host. The entire planet trembles as both warriors begin to incite their creeds, the witch's voice synchronizing perfectly with that of her monotone puppet. "By the oath of the almighty servant I offer my soul to harmonize the seven elements into one equal being." _"In the name of Satan I pledge my body to your cause so you can use it to fill me with your sinful desire to lash against the heavens." _"I am the vessel of which the golden flames shall connect, the bane of evil and the siren through which good prevails." _"In my true form lies the beginning of the god's twilight, the collapse of all things pure, the unholy cry that signifies absolution." _"I offer my prayer to the heavens to give me the wings of the reborn unifier." _"So as I deny my trespasses against the Lord almighty I call forth the wings of sins reborn." _"All Trigger Unison: Phoenix Form!" _"All Trigger Unison: Chaos Phoenix!"_

Cackletta's spirit vanished completely from view, wrapping the body of her creation up entirely in the pitch blackness of space as Alex is covered in a barrier of golden energy. From all around the planet bits and pieces of the separate elements that the young Overlord commands are drawn to him, while the negative energy that composes the seven deadly sins is pulled from all foreign realms into his evil counterpart. As all the components compact into a solidified form wings spread out from within, the glowing, purified red-orange wings from Alex completely contrasting the shadowy, contaminated violet-dark blue wings emerging from the orb of pure darkness.

The moment both orbs shatter, the trembling of the planet comes to an end. What is left in the air are the two warriors, both wielding blades thick with flames of red and black respectively. Their eyelids have been sealed tightly, but when the moment comes they are both thrust open simultaneously, Alex's majestic, fiery eyes glaring straight into the glowing black and white eyes of his opposite. He had no words to say as he flapped his wings and held his flaming sword out in front of his body. This was certain to be the last fight, not just against his clone, but against the witch who had been plaguing this planet for so very long. After one more glance is exchanged, both warriors charged straight at each other without hesitation…

_Next Time: An Eternity Wrapped in Black_


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35: Chaos Alex IV: Engrave our Darkness Forever**

The two fighters swing their blades out in full, clashing five times as shockwaves erupt from their strengthened blows. Fire spreads out in shockwaves and obscures the view of their conflict, but it is clear that neither fighter is giving in to the other. When Alex pulls his blade black his clone does the same, both of them charging forth with wings folded to attempt another strike at each. The swiftness of their movements allows them to pass each other in a second and slash, the clinging of metal repeated seven times over as they arc back around and rise up to clash even more.

As their zip lined movements are calculated by both parties, the young Overlord is also working his mind to try and find a way to deliver a decisive blow to his foe. He had plenty of room for error thanks to his souls providing him with fourteen shields against all manners of attack, but still he wanted to end the battle quickly. The one thing he wondered about was if his clone shared the same protection as he did in this form, especially considering that the inner guardians appear to not be present inside his body.

He brings himself around, ducking underneath another charge and spinning around to strike the vulnerable underside of his counterpart as he passes by. But the clone predicts his change in tactics and with a mental control over the air he creates a trail in front of him that carries him along at a faster speed to avoid the slash. Disappointment that his attack missed, Alex lets out a light "tsk" with his eyelids slanted in annoyance and immediately halts his flight. Floating in the air with his arms out held, the young Overlord gathers flame energy into his already ignited blade until the fire is as thick as that seen from an Olympic torch.

He then focuses to compact the flames into his blade, replicating an action Zeno Blaze just did earlier but decreasing the overall brightness as to not blind himself or anyone in the distance. He dashes at his foe as they stop the air propelling them and turns around to attack. The clone's sword is held upright in front of their chest, the black flames rising up as forming the head of a dragon that roars to call forth a bombardment of dark meteors from an otherworldly realm. As they rain down at him, Alex swings his sword around as swift as lightning, each rock feeling as thick as paper with how easily they are dealt with.

He can't do anything about the others as they impact with the planet and detonate in a series of dome-shaped explosions, but as he puts the sanctity of the world in his thoughts the young Overlord swings his blade out vertically, sends all the pent up energy out as a violent torrent of crescent shaped projectiles. But the clone dodges every shot by rising into the air, only to be met by an incoming barrage of electricity empowered beams. There are three of them in total, and as the clone flaps his wings he holds his arms in front of his body to guard against them.

Alex takes this as a sign that his counterpart has no soul shields, and as the beams collide a few small, static-y explosions occur in front of him, covering the clone from the young Overlord's view. As he grinds his movements to a halt, the boy waits for the aftereffects to die out. But his eyebrows rise as he sees the clone unharmed, the raising of his arms being used as a fake-out while he used his Earth based powers to create metallic spheres that absorbed the electricity for him to use. However, this is what Alex wanted, and as the energy spreads out into a field ready to fire he floats in place and snaps his fingers.

A waterfall gushes down from out of nowhere, reacting negatively to the electricity and causing the sphere's composition to break down into nothingness before it all explodes right on the clone. When the water vanishes the young Overlord blows away the ensuing smoke with a heavy gust of wind so he isn't ambushed before it clears. What he sees confirms his theory, with flesh wounds created by the burning of his flesh on the clone's body showing that he is at a handicap. With a confident grin, Alex readies his sword to strike again, but notices something off as more darkness from the sky drags itself into his opposite's body.

The wounds start to heal without there ever being a sign that he was damaged at all, and with an annoyed sigh that shows how well Alex is taking to this rather unsurprising revelations he thinks to himself, "You just had to make this accurate of a Dark King, didn't you Cackletta?" With the situation having changed the young Overlord chooses to go on a more brutal offensive, since one way to counter a regenerator is to deal more damage than they can heal. He quickly charges forth before the previous scars have been healed and slashes his sword diagonally in an arc, striking his clone viciously across the chest in three consecutive strikes, cutting open the body and digging in close to the black void that represents his opposite's heart.

But this only causes more darkness to be drug through the air to fill the body, the healing process increasing rapidly and leaving Alex's attacks moot. The young Overlord swiftly flies back as a quick sword slash from his clone flies close to his face, and he flings his left hand out and shoots out a vine from his palm that wraps around his counterpart's stomach. With a quick swing to the left the clone is flung in that direction, Alex commanding the vine to let go so his opponent is temporarily away from his range so he can have a moment to think to himself.

The boy tries to come up with an idea on how to circumvent the healing, especially now that it was discovered that rapid damage would just increase the rate of which it worked at. As Alex blamed Cackletta's lingering spirit for assisting her puppet, his eyes turned to look at the glove that has been stuck to his right hand all of this time. He instantly thought of the attack that he used to stop the last Dark King's regenerative powers, the "Blazing Overlord Fist". But at the same time he also remembered the consequences that arrived from using them before and the warnings given to him about using the energy after a prolonged period of not releasing it all.

It had been two weeks since he had done the last thing he thought about, and he was deeply concerned about what effects the Anti-Genesis sphere may have had on the energy built up inside of his body. Discarding the attack as too risky of a gambit as of now, Alex turns his attention back to his clone as it recovers from his previous effort and charges straight back at him. A bundle of vines wrapped into a cylinder-like form spins through the air above him, the sharpened tips dripped in poison that would secrete into the young Overlord's body if they broke through the skin.

To counter this effort, the young Overlord figures out the path the vines will travel through and snaps his fingers, igniting the targeted area in a furious blazes that consumes the cylindrical force and turns it all to ashes in a matter of seconds. Though this leaves him vulnerable, Alex is willing to lose a soul shield as his clone brings his flame-coated sword forward in a sweeping arc. Or rather, that's what the young Overlord is confident will happen. But as the sword connects with his body and a green shockwave emerges from the strike zone, he hears a beastly wail instead of the proud growl he was expecting to come from the spirit responsible for this line of protection.

As the slash continues on its way a blue and white shockwave emerging in rapid succession, the cries of the spirits filling Alex's ears and forcing him to retreat before he has to endure the sound of another. It was clear then what the flames composed of, and that was an energy source similar to that which the young Overlord remembered the lord of Subspace Tabuu using against him via his Off-Waves. Though he didn't know just what exactly that foreign energy was, it was dangerous enough to get in contact with, and prolonged exposure to the flames at close-range would leave him defenseless in a matter of seconds.

So now it was time to change battle strategies, and Alex quickly responds to his clone's attack by holding his left hand up and using his willpower to summon forth a diamond roughly the size of his head, grasping it in his fingers and quickly flinging it out without taking pause to look at it. The object strikes the backside of his counterpart's right hand, harming it enough to force the sword out of his grasp. Though it would be far too easy for the weapon to be recalled after the damage to his bone structure was done, the young Overlord refuses to give him the benefit and rushes straight at him with his right fist held back once his sword is dispelled in a small flurry of flames.

He begins a relentless barrage of fists against his clone's body as it rises up to take notice. The first strike is an uppercut to the jaw, which knocks the head up and allows Alex to have an easier time hitting the rest of the body. A flurry of blows are pounded into his counterpart's chest before the young Overlord pulls his fist back hard and coats it in rock, bringing it forward to smash it right into the side of his clone's face to fracture his skull. This is followed up with a similar left hook on the opposite side of the head to damage the bones there as well. He knew that if he couldn't deal physical wounds, he would at least wear down his clone's stamina.

The breaking of the bones was merely used as a front to keep his counterpart from fighting back as he focused on repairing the damage. As Alex grits his teeth and launches a bullet-speed blow right into his clone's ribcage, he loathes the fact that he has to resort to such lowbrow tactics to get an advantage in this battle, but rationalizes that this isn't a matter of dignity at this point but rather a fight to secure the safety of the planet and finally end the threat of Cackletta by destroying her well-constructed puppet.

However, there comes a moment where Alex shows a hint of hesitation in his assault, at which points the clone swiftly raises one arm up and catches the next blow in his left palm. He then finally takes a moment to call back his sword in the grip of his other hand and lifts his head up to glare his counterpart straight in his awe-struck face. "Why do you try to hurt me constantly evil me? I will always reject the pain you bring because my conviction is stronger than yours…" The clone then says in monotone, a sure sign that despite Cackletta's spirit sinking into his body to initiate the change of forms his thoughts and actions were still his own.

But his remark brought a thought to Alex's mind as he quickly swerved his sword under his out held arm to block a slash from his counterpart. Attempting to weaken his stamina was pointless, because without emotions there was no reason for him to tire, and with his regenerative powers on top of the previous factor he would never experience agony. This was a rather thought out combination. Quick regeneration so the body wouldn't be destroyed by stronger forces, no emotions so he would never be conflicted or tired, and the flames powered by Subspace would be enough to shred through even the strongest defenses.

It was becoming more and more apparent as Alex and his clone clashed blades that the young Overlord would have to resort to the "Blazing Overlord Fist" to truly annihilate his foe. But he was far too hesitant to resort to that option still, and as he drew back his body he spins it around in a circle, bringing his sword down like a guillotine to block another strike from his counterpart. However, he pulls his body upward and uses his weapon to vault over his clone, twirling around in the air to draw in flames into a tornado formation. He then slashes his sword out, sending the built up fire outward in a spiral that consumes the body of his opponent and burns them continuously as they turn around undeterred.

This is followed up by a landing on the air that splashes fire around like a ring below Alex's feet, his sword dispelling as he lifts his hands up and thrusts them out with the fingers rolled into the palm. The first fist sends forth a torrent of boiling water that washes away the flames and scathes the skin before being dispersed in all directions by an incoming torrent of wind blades. The clone takes damage from every attack and continues to push forward towards his counterpart. With sweat dripping down from a combination of stress and the rise in temperature, Alex's facial features sink slightly as he lets his palms out once more.

Vines shoot out near the wrists and wrap themselves around all parts of the clone's body, and as the constriction gets tighter the wiggling of the clone's arms can be felt within the fibers. With his great strength he is free within a matter of seconds and keeps moving to advance, but is quickly frozen in a cube of ice with a snap of Alex's left fingers. However this too is broken through with a flexing of the clone's arms muscles, only for him to be trapped in a boulder made of solid adamantium with a snap of the young Overlord's other fingers. Now certain that he was encased properly, the boy started to come up with a plan to keep him trapped that way forever.

But as his mind was wracked in an attempt to come up with a solution, he senses the temperature around him increasing rapidly through small holes in the gold's composition. It starts to melt quickly, becoming drops that splatter down towards the ground as a bubble of air surrounds the clone's body to prevent him from getting the molten gold stuck to his bones. As the air bubble vanishes and the clone creaks its neck around from the stiffness brought on by being trapped, he is struck through the chest by a quick bolt of lightning.

With a hole now burned through his cavities, the clone continues to advance with his body healing, undeterred still by the pain. Disturbed by having to see the flesh rebuild piece by piece, Alex looks away for a moment as he folds his arms to the side of his body and fills the area between the palms with flames compressed into an orb like form. When they reach the smallest size they possibly can be he thrusts his hands out, unleashed a close-range tunnel of flames that devours his clone whole. He doesn't call out the name of the attack, which goes far in showing how unhinged Alex is at this moment.

As his clone bursts through the flames with his sword gripped at the his hip, he delivers a hard slash outward, arcing it through the air from the top of the young Overlord's right shoulder to the left side of his hip. This motion cuts through barriers whose colors are yellow, brown and icy-blue in that order. When red fades away as well Alex stops his attack and retreats, the side of his pants getting cut through til the tip of the blade cuts into the skin. Grimacing in pain, the young Overlord quickly begins to fill in the hole by summoning leaf fibers to replace what was cut, but he can still feel the blood leaving his body as he pulls his sword back out.

Now for the next minute he would have to go on the offensive to play defensively until the second round of soul shields could spawn inside of him. "Gah…" He murmurs to himself as he realizes how foolish his thoughts were about his protection, which had been rendered nearly useless in the face of his clone's black flame sword. The young Overlord felt bare as he saw his counterpart staring blankly at him. It was a complete reversal of what happened when he fought Joe Dark, where the Dark King was the one who was losing his composure while he fought with a subdued feeling of confidence.

He was starting to have a hard time focusing as his options were becoming more and more limited with each passing second. It became worse as he realized that he never would've even gotten into this predicament is he didn't slip into arrogance against the Axem Rangers just one day earlier. No, none of this would've had to happen had he never became the Elemental Overlord. His life was in peril, his heart started pumping rapidly to keep up with the race of emotions in his mind, and the burden of his position started to work against him, weakening his resolve to the point that he starts believing that it would've just been better if Mario had never come for him.

That was the thought that breaks him from his slip into absolute despair, as he widens his eyes and takes a heavy breath in to get a hold of himself. He thinks to himself, "No. Mario and the others…Their bonds of friendship with me were something I always needed to better myself as a person" As he raises his left fist up near his face and thinks about their situations. "They need a planet to return to, I can never give up on myself no matter the grim circumstances." He then opens his eyelids right up and glares back at his clone, peering deep into his empty sockets to reach Cackletta's spirit within.

The witch's pitch black soul feels a chill upon being noticed, which reaches out to her vessel and causes it to flinch and freeze in place unexpectedly. "You know, evil me…" Alex says in a sharp tone that mocks his counterpart for the nickname he has been using this entire battle. "You may think I'm a pariah, but at the end of the day if I win I WILL actually have friends to return to. Friends who are kind and compassionate. However, IF you manage to kill me and everyone else all you'll have left is the spirit of a 'mother' who sees you only as a means to an end and seven insane copies of the proudest group of warriors that I will forever have the honor of having inside of me. Honestly, that bastard witch you call your parent should've never created you in the first place if she couldn't realize this simple fact…"

For the first time, Alex said something that actually got his opposite on edge. The once emotionless being grits his teeth and stares at the young Overlord, tightly gripping his sword as Cackletta works hard on the inside to suppress her puppet to no avail. _"What the hell…NO! NO! This can't be happening…I designed my child to be without any emotion to balance the seven deadly sins…How could rage be forming now?" _As she mutters her concerns to herself within the black void of his vessel's mind, the clone charges at his "evil half" and yells out in violent rage, "YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

It was clear what had set him off. The mere mention of Cackletta in such a negative way at the end of Alex's sentence forced an emotion to be born within him. But this now made it easier to predict his movements, and as the young Overlord forms a grin on his face he quickly ducks his head down to avoid a furious slash, dispelling his own blade and quickly moving through the remaining flames to deliver a few punches square into his opponent's gut at lightning speed. When the clone flinches from these blows, Alex brings his hands together and lifts them up to perform an uppercut straight into the neck region.

With the air circulation briefly cut off by the amount of force applied to the pressure point via that blow, the clone lets out a dry sounding cough before the young Overlord grabs him by the neck with his right hand and lifts his entire body up to look straight into his frenzied eyes. Letting go momentarily to wind his fist back, the clone attempts what should've been done earlier on and pulls his sword back ready to thrust it out and stab it through Alex's heart. But as the killing blow is brought to full the young Overlord grins.

The time had passed thanks to the moments he spent riling his counterpart, and a simple stab wasn't going to burn through the new soul shields like the slashes did earlier. With the emergence of the green shockwave comes a "Hmph" from Acia Rose in the clone's eardrums. While his evil half wondered how this could be possible, Alex thrust his fist out faster than he could hope to react to. The face is struck hard, the knuckles digging into the skin until the young Overlord decides to knock his counterpart away with a mighty burst of wind.

Laying flat against the air as he is blown away, the clone's feathers slip off the wings until Alex appears above him and slams the backside of his right fist straight into his gut to send him hurtling downward. However, this is then followed up by the young Overlord holding his left hand up and summoning forth seven glowing orbs of differing colors, each infused with their own elemental properties. He flings them downward, each one spiraling towards their target in sequence and leaving behind a vapor trail that connects back to their creator.

Each shot connects with the clone and explodes, sending him down faster and faster until he reaches terminal velocity upon the fire shot colliding with his body. After that he hits the ground like an anvil, his body forcing itself through the layers of dirt and rock underneath and cracking the surface around the hole he makes. Alex can't tell how deep he is going, but as he finds himself pleased with his effort he flips his body back upward and redraws his sword knowing full well the battle is not quite over. He can feel the darkness building up underneath the planet's plates, and as an abundant amount of it rises out of the hole the clone was knocked into a lump starts to rise out of the surface of the crater.

Suddenly it bursts open like a super-volcano, a dark sphere of energy with a pitch black core spreading out in a radius of approximately twenty miles while massive chunks of land get flung around in all directions. The one that goes towards Alex is cut down instantly, and as the separate pieces fall back towards the ground the young Overlord holds his sword out in front of his body and turns his head to the right to see his clone now floating just a few feet away from him. His body was excreting darkness at a rapid rate, his eyes releasing sparks of that very energy as his scowl could not become anymore prominent. It was clear that his body was suffering a meltdown thanks to his ungodly levels of anger on the outside, but on the inside the spirit of Cackletta was working to regain control of her puppet before things got any further out of hand.

It was unknown as to just what she was doing, but as Alex turns his body around ready to combat his opponent, the darkness surrounding the clone simply vanishes without a trace and he returns to his emotionless demeanor as if he never exited it in the first place. He also dispels his sword, his eyes looking on at the perplexed young Overlord and saying to him in monotone, "I see that you are still alive…Evil me…I underestimated how stubborn you truly are…" With his right arm brandished beside his body, pitch black flames start to form in the hand that crawl up the limb in separate streams before connecting to the shoulder and sinking in to return back to the fist. Alex can hear the pulsation of darkness beating within the flames, and as he looks at his clone's arm he comes to a startling revelation about what he is planning to do. Sensing the seven elements imbued within the black fire, it was clear as day that his opposite has about ready to perform what he himself has been hesitant to do…

_Next Time: The Bullet that Slays God_


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36: Chaos Alex V: The Day That A God is Shot**

The situation had changed gravely after the outburst of anger Alex's clone had undergone. With his emotionless state restored he had summoned forth black flames onto his right arm in such a fashion that reminded the young Overlord of his own form's ultimate attack. But the way the flames were burning across his arm worried Alex, as he immediately began to think that it wasn't a close range punch that he should be worried about. The clone cocked his arm up like a machine, the streams of black fire pushing towards the fist and transforming everything into pure darkness that compresses until it is roughly double the size of the hand itself.

"Satanic Sin Bullet." The clone says in monotone. That was all the confirmation Alex needed about the true nature of his attack. Leaping through the air to the right as a massive, comet shaped blast of darkness is fired from his counterpart's hand, the young Overlord is relieved to see that despite its size he was able to avoid touching the perimeter of the attack's pale white aura. But before it is out of sight the clone opens his hand up and swings it out to the side. The bullet quickly switches the place of the trail so it is behind Alex's point of view and thrusts itself in its newly turned direction.

As his eyes widen the young Overlord is quickly run through by the bullet, his entire body consumed by the darkness as he feels two soul shields vanishing instantaneously and the pained cries of the two Genesis Samurais ringing in his ears. Even as the bullet leaves behind him he still has traces of dark flames burning across his clothing and skin. They don't cause any damage, but Alex felt agony and paranoia welling up inside of his mind as they slowly faded away. It was only when they disappeared that he was offered freedom from the negativity. He then quickly turns to his clone as he prepares more flames in his right arm to strike again.

This causes Alex to quickly list what he knew about this attack in his head to prepare to avoid or counteract against it. The bullet moved at high speeds, could be controlled by his clone's movements, and took out two soul shields every time it passed through him. What he really disliked though was the form the attack took, since it reminded him of the disaster that took his parents away from him long ago. As a cold sweat drips down his forehead, the clone lowers his arm so Cackletta's spirit can talk through her puppet for a few seconds.

"_How do you like my version of your ultimate attack?" _She asks in a tone that expresses sadistic mockery of Alex's pain. "Well I must give you credit where credit is due…Instead of making my final attack into a physical move you had it act as a projectile." _"Of course. Though honestly, you could do the same thing to with your soul flames…Or have you forgotten what you used against that stupid robed bitch a long, long time ago?" _It was a rather shrewd question, but one that brought up a ton more to Alex's mind. "How could you…" The young Overlords shakes his head before his inquiry is asked in full.

It wasn't a detail that mattered at the moment, and will never matter in the future. He started to back away from the clone's body one inch at a time, keeping his gaze focused on him as Cackletta continued to talk. _"Of course, the main reason I made it a projectile was so that I kill you in a manner similar to how your parents died…With a bullet that looks exactly like a comet!" _This sentence caused Alex to flinch in place and stop his flight, suspending himself in mid-air as he looks at his counterpart and notices the witch's vile grin brimming deep inside his blank eyes.

It was obvious. She knew way too much, she was greatly prepared for this battle and this one specifically, and the situation was growing grimmer with each second that this puppet of hers was allowed to live. Alex knew the reason why she was so prepared to combat him. As the Elemental Overlord he was the one who governed over balance on the side of the Light, and thus he was the only real threat to one who stood on the side of Darkness. Unless he is taken out, Cackletta will never be allowed to accomplish her goal of absolute destruction through her creation.

"…Why do I keep reminding myself of such obvious facts?" The young Overlord notes as he snaps out of his brief moment of depression and returns his focus to the battle. He flies back further as Cackletta lets her puppet's consciousness return. "Alright, at this distance I should be able to avoid the attack before he can re-direct it…" Reassuring himself of his safety, Alex looks on and watches as his clone raises his right arm up and shoots out another bullet at him without calling the name of the attack. This speeds through, picking up darkness through the air and increasing in size marginally.

Alex speeds to the right, the clone following him with his hand to force the bullet to swerve to head towards him. However, the young Overlord watches the attack approach him, just barely keeping on much to his surprise. He then takes his sword and performs a quick slash behind him while his speed is still at maximum. A flame wave moves towards the larger projectile and impacts against the surface. Though it isn't broken through Alex draws his sword back and curves to the left, getting out of the attack's path with ease as he looks over to his clone and sees him already conjuring up more flames in his arm.

This confirmed two things for the young Overlord. First, that the direction of the projectile can only be changed once. And two, that even though he can't destroy the bullet with regular attacks he can slow it down by striking it with a direct hit from another projectile. With this information in mind Alex now has a slight advantage against his clone. He reverses his direction and moves towards where his counterpart is, drawing his sword behind his body with both hands as he prepares for the right moment to prove another theory of his.

As the right arm is lifted up ready to launch another bullet at the desired target, Alex swings his sword out in a quick arch and sends a wave of super-condensed flames at his clone. Inside the fire is electricity, which bursts out of the flames after colliding with into the palm of the boy of black and white. Though the black flames coursing across his arms are disrupted momentarily by the attack they continued to pulsate until they reach the fist and condense into the orb of pure darkness needed to fire. As the bullet speeds towards Alex he dispels his sword and thinks to himself, "Guess that won't be a viable tactic then…" before lifting his body into the air to get over the bullet.

A raise of the hand changes its path as usual, and as his head is bent down to watch the black projectile come his way the young Overlord quickly notices his clone summoning more flames into his arm to fire off another shot. What was to come wasn't the focus of Alex's attention though, and he quickly thrusts his arms downward and sends a salvo of light-red energy spheres at it that slows it down and allows him to slip away from it by performing a flip in the air. Now above his clone, the young Overlord twists his head behind him and looks down to see him with his hand up high ready to fire another shot.

Upon seeing this another plan is put into motion inside of his mind, a smirk brimming across his face as he begins to dive down towards his opposite. The bullet is fired out as he charges towards it, but he curves his movements forward and swerves around it, getting beneath it and gripping his now formed sword behind him with his clone in his sights. He arches his eyebrows to stay focused as the counterpart jerks his arm back towards him to reverse the bullet to hit Alex before he can strike him, but this is exactly what he wanted in the end.

With a quick cut burned across the front of his clone's chest, the young Overlord is successful in breaking his concentration long enough for him to curve and rush forward out of the way as the bullet comes down and consumes the body before it vanishes below the feet. It was a quick and effortless blow, and unlike all the attacks Alex had used beforehand, re-directing the bullet actually permanently damaged the clone. As he turns around Alex sees the scars spread across his arms and legs, parts of his clothing torn off to show the bleeding scars underneath as well. With his regeneration unable to work against damage done to himself, the clone twists his body towards his counterpart without focusing on the pain and raises his right arm up.

With black flames spawning for another bullet, the young Overlord prepares his sword in defense beside him, gripping the handle as the blade hangs diagonally behind his hip. He floats back to put some distance between the two of them, but widens his eyes as he sees his clone raise his other arm up as well with flames at the ready. "Oh great…He can fire two of them." Alex thinks to himself in a deadpan tone. With his previous strategy now incapable of being performed thanks to this new addition, the young Overlord tries to come up with another plan as the first bullet is fired from the right arm.

Alex quickly rises up to get out of the projectile's path before it is switched via the jerking of the clone's arm, which is then promptly followed up by another shot being launched diagonally towards where the young Overlord is about to go. Alex didn't know if two bullets hitting him at once would remove four soul shields, but he wasn't in a position to test that hypothesis out and quickly flipped his body downward to send a wave of flame at the bullet below him to slow it down. He then raises back up and performs a backflip to get out of the first bullet's pathway, the other one being redirected towards him with a flick of the clone's wrist.

The young Overlord then speeds himself up, flipping through the air multiple times and gathering wind and electricity into his blade like a conductor for his next attack. The bullet edges ever closer to his body, but with a sudden halt and a thrust like lightning the blade unleashes a tornado surging with the voltage of a thousand generators at the projectile. The built up wind grinds against the bullet and wears itself down and slows the bullet down to a crawl. Before the electricity vanishes with a fizzle Alex turns himself around and dashes away, arching his flight upwards until he is lying on his back on the air.

He then flies towards his clone, leaning his head back to see him creating another bullet in both arms. Flipping his body around with his arms out held and his glorious wings flapping just once, the young Overlord rushes forth in a burst of speed and divebombs towards his opponent. With his sword above his head he slashes towards the face, cutting it straight across the center and keeping the movements towards the rest of the body as leans his own figure to slip between both arms and ram his shoulder right into his clone's chest.

The bullets are fired but pass harmlessly behind him, and their movements are unable to be controlled thanks to the disruption of concentration Alex has given to him. As the clone breaks out of his counterpart's charge and holds his arms outright to cover them both in flames, the young Overlord delivers and arced slash covered in fire, spraying out bolts of lightning from the burning cut that puncture multiple holes through his clone's black shirt and skin and sends a million volts coursing through the nerves to briefly paralyze him.

The black flames fizzle out of existence as his mind is incapable of keeping them formed, and Alex continues his assault by keeping his position steady and pressing onward, performing multiple sword slashes in the span of a second to cut up the skin on his clone's body. He knew regeneration would keep them healed in a matter of moments, but he kept wanting to stall for time so he could figure out how to counteract the "Satanic Sin Bullet". He never let up in his attacks, even as the darkness grew thicker around his clone's body to hasten the healing process. The only parts unaffected were those damaged by his own projectile, which was something of a reliever for Alex.

"Ok…My basic attacks won't work, I can't stall long enough to use my stronger beams and spells to test if they would at the very least destroy the bullets, and now that both arms are being used as guns I can't trick my opposite into sending them back towards him. I can disrupt his projection of the flames by attacking him quick and hard, but since I can't deal permanent damage I won't be able to end the barrage by killing him. Damn it, what other options do I left have to use now?" With everything coming together inside his mind the young Overlord bore his teeth down against each other and realized that the only inch of progress he made during this entire battle was with the destruction of the souls embodying the Seven Deadly Sins, and even that was not of his doing but because of the actions of the Genesis Samurai and Inner Guardian's spirits.

"Can I even do anything on my own?" Alex asks himself as he delivers a hard slash horizontally across the chest of his clone. "No, that's not the issue here." He assures himself. "Besides, my opposite has only survived this long because of Cackletta's godforsaken interference." Shaking his head, the young Overlord discards that line of thinking, mistaking what he considered as a sign of arrogance. At the same time though this denial got him thinking about other things, such as why he has refused to remove the glove pressed against his right hand to use his "Blazing Overlord Fist" to try and end this battle.

It was a flaw in his mentality that he couldn't figure out. But just as his blade struck the body of his clone and pushed him back further, so too did a revelation strike his youthful mind. The question he asked himself just a few moments ago tied in to that which he wondered about now. "Of course…I want to prove myself now. I want to win this battle via my own strength and resolve…And if I let loose the Blazing Overlord Fist I will simply be relying on the energy of the others to save me…However, there is a point where the mixture of determination to prove one's self and my ludicrous denial of the truth will have to end…"

Finally the clone summons his own sword and swings it out to block an attack, the collision of blades knocking both warriors away long enough for the boy of black and white to dispel his weapon and ignite both of his arms with black flames ready to launch his projectiles once more. The clone is able to recover from the blows faster than Alex can, and with the current distance between them the young Overlord had no time to avoid them. The fists fire the bullets out simultaneously, Alex's entire body being consumed by the full might of their darkness as he feels the anguished cries of the remaining Genesis Samurais and the last four soul shields breaking away without a trace.

But he accepts the damages done to him with his eyelids shut and his body suspended in the air with his magnificent wings having not lost their glow. He dims the aura around his body, dispelling his sword and hanging his head so the clone can not peer into his eyes. The boy of black and white lowers his arms and disperses the flames around his body, looking at his counterpart with his head tilted to the right out of curiosity. "Why have you given up…evil me?" He ponders in monotone. The young Overlord is unresponsive, his eyes gazing towards the glove on his right hand as it is lifted up and clenched tightly into the shape of a fist.

He looked deep inside of himself, the mind of his body intact but its inhabitants lying on the spiritual plane broken and exhausted from their efforts. He could see despair buried deep in a few of their eyes, a result of having to endure the brunt of the clone's bullets for their master. The original Elemental Overlord stayed floating as a beacon of hope on both the inside and outside, his formless appearance giving light to all things dim. All of them looked up, sensing their young master's faint presence and wondering just how he is holding up considering the turmoil present in his mind.

But as Alex looked in he felt other fragmented spirits buried deep within his body. Each of these spirits held within them wonderful memories from the past. As he recalled them one by one he commented in his mind on the people present in his recollections. "Driad, naïve yet faithful…You were the first non-human ally I met on our journey, and thus the one being I formed the closest bond with due to the time we spent together. You had a past no one knew about besides yourself, and when you learned the truth you were unable to accept it at first…I helped you through your difficult times and saved you when you almost succumbed to your bloodlust…Now you have become a proud and courageous warrior that can protect himself without being deterred, and I'm glad I was there to help you in what little ways I could, even if deep down you wished to become strong on your own…"

"Luigi, the man in green who I always thought was a coward…You always had courage buried within you, and that always surfaced when you had a cause, a person to protect…In the months between now and our first meeting, I have come to realize that the reason for your courage throughout the whole journey was because no matter where you went, the desire to protect Daisy was always right there with you. Perhaps some of that courage rubbed off on me throughout our travels, and for that I am thankful to you…"

"Mallow, the proud, cheerful prince of Nimbus Land…You were always optimistic even in our darkest hours, yet you still knew when it was time to buckle down and get serious. You had grown so much from the days of old, as Mario has told me a couple times before, and it is reflected in the magic you have learned and the maturity of your actions day after day. You are a fine example of royalty, a chip off the old block wouldn't you say? You've made your parents proud, and I am happy to have known you…"

"Gemini, the level-headed electricity wielding demon Koopa…You had a hard time getting accustomed to our ragtag group at first, since we didn't follow the guidelines of your organization due to how unknown it was. But in time you chilled out, showed off your sense of humor and provided a level of depth that I was surprised to have found out from the others. You were smart, strong, and brave…A well-rounded individual that was a perfect fit into our group once you got used to us, and I'm sorry that your line of work keeps you so busy…I would've liked to have gotten to know you more as a friend…"

"Geno, the strong, somewhat rebellious herald from the stars. Having known Mario and Mallow in the past, you fit right in with little difficulty. You saved our butts from the frying pan more times than we can count, and I owe a great deal of gratitude to you out of all the others for standing firm in your beliefs and finding hope when no one else could, illuminating the night sky with the dreams of the planet to save not just me, but everyone around and below you. You are in my debt, he born from the stars…"

"Alpha…Ok, I'll be honest about my thoughts right now since I am alone. I disliked what you did to me immensely…I may have said what I did, may have but on a façade to hide the truth from all, but it doesn't change what you did to me for your own inane reasons….Even so, you stood firm in your beliefs of justice, you fought against Cackletta knowing full well the disdain the others may or not have had towards you. You have held a great burden on your shoulders for thirty years, and even after what you did to me I still respect you for standing strong and continuing on even if the whole world were to turn against you just so you could stop the witch from ending all others…"

"Mario, the courageous, cheerful, heroic, empathetic…You know, I don't have enough adjectives to describe one of the greatest heroes the universe has ever known. You are selfless in everything you do to save the world. Even if you've never seen someone before if they are having problems you will deal with them without any regard to your own safety or without concern about the reward. The countless people who remember your name or your appearance is proof enough of the respect you have gained, and even though you never knew it beforehand the people who have played your games on Earth have come to respect you as well for the very traits I have listed in my mind. It can't honestly be expressed enough how many positive qualities you have in comparison to those you lack, and as the one who brought me to this world I feel as though I have been able to take on some of those traits and become a better person for it. Thank you, most of all, hero of the planet Plit…"

As Alex finishes reminiscing, he pulls his fist away from his chest and looks up towards his clone. He thinks to himself about the time before he gained his Phoenix Form, and realized why he was able to call on these memories so swiftly. Because each of the seven heroes put a bit of their essence inside of him to help his recovery. So no matter what, even when all fourteen shields are down for good, he will forever have someone protect him from the inside, even if it does little to affect the conditions around him on the outside. He raises his hand up and brandishes a pointer finger at the clone.

"I haven't given up. I never will give up on myself or the world so long as I have people looking out for me, and I continue to look out for them!" He says with righteous enthusiasm, but the clone doesn't flinch at his resolve and responds without emotion, "But your spirits have given up…Your statement holds no weight anymore." "That's where you are wrong. The Genesis Samurais, the Inner Guardians, and even the original Elemental Overlord…They aren't the only people protecting me. Even if they aren't here physically thanks partially to your mother's machinations, there are nine others who have watched over me through their and my own struggles. They have never given up, and neither shall I!"

The clone looked at his counterpart in utter confusion, and the boy continued his previous sentence boldly, "You know seven of them already from the memories fabricated within your head…" As he speaks Alex moves his right hand until it is held out in front of his face, his left hand gripped around the glove as his eyes slant fiercely with an overwhelming since of determination. A single tear drips out of his left eye as he thinks about what he is going to do. To remove the glove from his hand, he needs to utter out a password that he had set on it previously. It was a few words that were tied deeply in the strife of his past, but he knew that those above who knew their true meaning would be proud of him for using them so confidently. "These two people have been watching me from the Heavens since their departure from the mortal plane, and as they look down at me with loving eyes I call their names…" With his hands quivering out of sadness, teardrops start to trickle down both of Alex's cheeks as he finds it difficult to contain himself. "Recognize Password: Lumina and Abraham Whiter!"

_Next Time: A Serene Ending_


	37. Final Chapter

**Final Chapter: Chaos Alex Final: Existence and Answer**

"_What has my purpose been? I've seen Death reach its scythe out before my very eyes. It has always waited for the day when I would fall to the floor and never again let out a breath. Have I always been destined to die? I have peered into the light of Heaven and seen its splendor, only to be pulled back for a reason that cannot be unexplained. Am I truly worthy of the fruit I've bitten? Of the power and knowledge I now yield, what use have I made of it, and why was it decided that I should be the one to host his mighty soul? I ask myself why I'm worthy, I ask about my destiny, I cling to an existence without a purpose…Can I ever truly know what it is like to be free of these concerns?"_

The password had been uttered, the mechanism comprehending the pronunciation and deactivating the magnetic plates that bind the glove to Alex's hand. He floats by himself as a mighty pressure begins to exude outward past his wrist. As he grips the glove and begins to pull it away from the throbbing sensations in his skin, the young Overlord gently shuts his eyelids and lets out a sniffle as he is reminded of his childhood. These memories bring more pain to him then anything his clone could ever hope to strike him with, and as his vision is obscured by the combinations of tears and the tight squinting of his eyelids he rips the glove right off of his hand.

No time is wasted in discarding the object responsible for his protection through the air, where the weight of the plates sends it hurtling towards the ground out of his view. He then thrusts his eyelids open as the flames erupt across his entire right arm as it is lowered to the front of his gut. The fingers are spread out, hanging limp towards the surface of the planet as the rainbow colored flames disperse up towards the arm like a raging wildfire, consuming the entire limb whole but leaving no pain to be felt in the nerves.

As the fire crackles across the skin the wind gently blows the flames out to the side, not a single bit getting put out across the inch-thick layer of energy. After swinging his arm out to the side, Alex raises his head up high and proud with his tear ducts dried and increases the intensity of his the flames surrounding the arm with a quick clenching of the fist. With the cracking of the bones near the knuckles being mixed into the sudden flaring of the once calm flames, the young Overlord discards all doubts and stares his clone straight on without concerns about the black flames present on both of his arms.

The flames rise brightly, reaching above the height of Alex's head as the arm lies level with his shoulder. From afar in Toad Town, the panicking citizens notice the luminous glow reaching out to them and find hope within themselves just by continuing to look at it. Streams of pointed light radiate from it on and off, and from that stems a newfound belief in a new tomorrow in the hearts of everyone in the world, whether they know the light exists or not. Bowser and Peach, both watching while kneeling at different locations, close their eyelids and admit in their own minds, "Keep going strong…Overlord Whiter."

In the skies of the battlefield the pressure from Alex's flames expands out like a sudden burst of wind, ruffling the hair and tattered clothes of his clone as he widens his own eyes in utter shock and a cold sweat begins to form across his face. He wants to open his mouth to respond to what he is witnessing, but Cackletta keeps it sealed from within, looking out to the physical plain on her own accord and gritting her teeth in absolute disgust. The young Overlord can see her revulsion as he peers deep into the blank pupils of his counterpart, and with a smirk brimming with determination he says to her, "Witch of the abyss…Can you truly strike me down with your puppet's hands as I stand before you in all my radiance?"

He could've all but followed up on that statement by charging forth and attacking, but he wanted Cackletta to call his bluff and have her creation attack with his bullets. The clone raised his right arm up and thrust his fist out like lightning, sending the pitch black bullet straight at his counterpart at speeds unnoticeable to the human eye. But as Alex waits for it to come closer, its presence feeling slower than it has all other times, he glides his blazing arm out to the front of his body and opens his fingers out in a forward star-like pattern. He doesn't change his firm-eyed facial expression, staring on in waiting as the bullet tries to push back the pressure exuding from his limb.

The projectiles collides with the tips of the young Overlord's fingers, his stance not flinching in the slightest as it presses with all of its might to break through the neon flames. Shockwaves ripple through the entire structure, darkness pulling apart from the form as this disruption makes it difficult for it to maintain itself. As each blackened speck shrinks into the air, Alex cocks his arms back like a gun, pulling the bullet with him until it is only a foot away from his face as the flames flare up to the highest intensity he can muster and spreading out to very nearly form the shape of a gigantic wing.

As the young Overlord lets out a struggled grunt he opens his mouth up wide and roars with a furious feeling of determination, thrusting his arm forward with such suddenness that the limb punctures right through the center of the projectile from the abyss. As the flames are coated in the intoxicating sensation of darkness, they never once whittle in their presence, instead spreading out throughout and burning it up slowly but surely. It only takes a few seconds for the core to disintegrate and the rest of the bullet to vanish into nothingness. All that is left in the space where it once existed are the small, scattered flames from Alex's limb.

He didn't have to exert any effort, simply because the energy burning from his souls did all the work for him. But it mattered little to him about how he came about this result. So long as he survived and proved how futile the projectiles were against him now that he had unleashed his ultimate attack. He thought about the differences in strength between the two forces. What made his energy stronger than the darkness wasn't just the resolve in his soul and mind, but the period of time in which the energy was built up within his body.

Not only that, but while the bullets aren't as contained so as to cover a wider field at a faster rate to keep the enemies at bay, the fist allows all the energy to be concentrated and unleashed straight into the opponent's body. There Alex is able to pour it all in continuously, burning through their body at such a rate that any and all forms of regeneration will be rendered incapable of keeping up with the damage the energy brings upon them. At least that's how it should be in theory. It worked that way the first against Joe Dark, but now the foe floating had the powers of an Elemental Overlord thanks to Cackletta's plans, so would it be as effective?

There was no time to be thinking about that now, especially considering that with the glove discarded there was no going back. Actually, from the start of the battle to this point that option was never available. There was no retreating, no breaking down and giving in to his foe, and certainly no time to sink into the madness of despair. All the young Overlord could do now was charge forth with all of his might and deal what may be the final blow. However, before he did there was one last thing to take into consideration. When the energy has finished unloading to destroy its target the remainder goes critical and detonates, even more so when it makes contact with a physical force.

The last time the range was that of a pillar large enough to wipe out the Origin Temple and nearly pierce through the atmospheric layer that covers the planet. "No…Enough concerns." Alex stops his line of thinking right then and there, crossing the right arm in front of his pelvic area and grasping the wrist with his left hand as he calls forth his sword once more and pools most of the flames into the blade to replace the ones that were there before. He swings his weapon outright in an arc as he rises the arm above his head, the uncontained energy being flung out as a formless blast towards the clone.

As he pushes his entire body forward ready to charge the blade falls behind his head, lingering about until jerked forward as Alex moves towards his clone. There was a distance of about one hundred feet between the two of them, and the clone was retreating at a rate that made it difficult to keep up with him. The young Overlord grips his sword with both hands and lets out his strongest battle cry yet as his counterpart quickly raises his arms and fires off bullet after bullet at his closing in target. The neon-coated flames of the blade are swung out, each precision slash cleaving straight through each projectile at such a rapid rate that the collision of the forces brings about separate sparks of light that flash out into the distance.

With each bullet destroyed Alex increases his momentum, pushing ever closer to his clone as the shots become more rapid and panicked in their releases. The young Overlord grits his teeth and thinks to himself as the distance closes with each passing second, _"I am he who holds the glory of the morning sun."_ Another slash is made to a bullet in front of him, only for him to notice two shots coming towards him at once, one from above and another straight ahead. _"Law is that which I abide to"_ Alex swings his body around in a circle, cutting the bullet in half horizontally before rising up and using his sword to uppercut through the second bullet.

He loses some speed in the process, but as he flips forward in the air to keep some of his momentum up he continues his thoughts. _"Surrender is not an option, my devotion to justice is unwavering"_ There was fifty feet left between him and his clone, and he could not let himself be distracted by anymore attacks below and above him. He charged forth, his pleasant memories guiding him towards a future where he will still be there to share them with the others. _"The time has passed, but I cannot let the moon rise yet." _

He widens his eyes to get a clear focus on his target as he slams both his fists together to fuse together all the darkness he had built up within his arms to create a gigantic version of his ultimate attack. As the pulses of a demon's heart can be heard beating rapidly within Alex's ears, he has but another thought on his mind. _"They don't want to rest, and I don't wish to lose the feeling of their souls."_ He keeps pressing on, even as the triple-sized bullet is launched at him with crimson electricity flowing around the perimeter. It was more comparable to a supernova than a comet now, but that does little to stop the young Overlord's steel-minded determination.

"_Beat as one with my movements, never surrender the sky to the will of fate"_ With blinding speed Alex performs seven slashes that etch out a symbol of holiness into the bullet with rainbow fire, which seethes through the darkness and destroys the core in a matter of seconds. The ensuing explosion of neon light blinds the clone and leaves him unknowing of the young Overlord's next actions. Alex charges forth through the brightness with his eyelids slanted low and with one last burst of speed he pushes out of the field as it fades and dispels his sword, drawing the flames back into his right arm as he pulls it all the way back with fist at the ready and finishes the creed in his head. _"I am connected to deliverance, and if it shall be I will wait before I rise again."_

With the black flames on the clone's arms fading into nothingness, the boy of black and white summons his sword once more out of unawareness for his final moments and pulls it behind his body. The young Overlord is too quick for him though, and as he thrusts his burning arm out with his face filled to the brim with an unwavering resolve in his slanted eyes and gritted teeth he exclaims with gusto, "SYNCHRONIZED OVERLORD FIST!" The fiery fist collides straight into the clone's chest, puncturing right into it as his blank eyes widen and his fingers spread out to release the sword in his grasp after all of his limbs have become frozen in place. The energy starts to spread out through his body and burns everything without end, any attempts at regeneration via the darkened air just leading to the healed sections being disintegrated time after time again at a pace that is considerably faster than the regenerative rate that the body can muster.

Across the many dimensions, the heroes who had traveled to face the members of the Apocalypse Royale are suddenly overcome with a feeling of shock as their eyes widen and they let out a sudden gasp. They all stop what they are doing and place their hands on their rapidly beating just, each member of each group turning to look at each other as they wonder why this sensation was brought into their bodies. In Smithy's deactivated factory, Gemini moves away from the console he was currently working at leans against a nearby metallic pillar, his body sinking to the ground as he takes a few steady breaths in to get a hold of himself.

The curious cloud Prince Mallow walks over to him after quickly recovering himself and asks out of concern, "You felt that too?" The Koopa lifts his head up to look at his ally and nods, closing his mouth and returning his expression back to normal as he gets back on his feet. "Yeah…How weird. That feeling, it was rather ominous…Do you think the others are alright back on Plit?" Gemini then asks after giving an answer to Mallow's question. "I can't say for certain…Geez, how long have you been working on that teleportation device by now?" "Don't know, it is impossible to judge the flow of time in this area. Though I'd imagine it has been a while since Alpha contacted us…"

Gemini moves back towards the console and begins typing onto the keyboard, his fingers clicking the keys at a much slower rate than they were before. "…You know, I think I understand now what the password is." The Koopa, hesitant to type the two words he just thought up, nonetheless does so with fluidity, the hexagon shaped device that stands away from them creating a multicolored warp gate the moment he is done inputting it. Mallow turns towards its glow in surprise, stating in awe to his ally, "You did it! What was the password?" He asks as he turns to look at him. Gemini turns around and shakes his head back and forth. "It was something obvious, something I hadn't even considered until I thought back to what Smithy mentioned to us. The password to activate the device is 'Dark King'." As the cloud Prince widens his mouth in shock over this bit of news, the Koopa turns back towards the device and continues typing to set the portal to drop them both off back at their homeworld.

Inside the unknown dimension, Luigi and Driad were busy sitting down and relaxing in wait for the portal that would take them home when the sudden shock overcomes them and their hearts begin pounding rapidly against their chests. After pressing one hand against it to feel it before it stops, the two heroes look at each other once more and shake their heads before expressing curiosity about the sensation. "What was that all about?" Luigi asks with a heavy sigh of relief. "…" Driad is silent, his head turned away as he tries to see any signs of an exit. He looks without ease, his eyes widened out of as of yet subdued panic.

"You feeling ok there Driad?" The man in green notes as he gets on his feet and walks over to get a better look at his ally. The Crayzee Dayzee stops looking around and stares up at Luigi, getting a grip on his emotions as he blinks once and also gets on his feet. He lets out a sigh as he quickly shakes his head a few times. "No…No I don't…" The flower's speech is slurred, and he jerks his head towards his ally and begs with a frenzied glare, "How much time do we have left?" Luigi's eyes widen briefly in shock, and he responds with, "Not too much longer I imagine…Why do you ask?" "Because…I sense that something has happened to Alex…" Driad replies as he turns away from the man in green and looks into the horizon with his eyes slanted in concern.

In the Realm of Darkness, Alpha kneels down and places one hand against the ground to support himself, and Mario walks up to him and bends down to offer him a hand to get back up. Both heroes, worn out from their battle with Cackletta, have departed the Radiant Garden castle and are on their way back to the portal that will take them away from this realm forever. But as the Commander shakes his head to assure his ally that he doesn't need his assistance, he gets back on his feet and thanks him for the offer anyways. "Hehehe…Last thing I needed was a sudden jolt to the heart." He says in stride.

"Are you functioning alright?" Mario asks, his own body apparently handling the strain of walking just fine in spite of the sudden rapid beating of his heart. "Yeah. It is rather unfortunate that we have to walk back though. The sooner I discard the accursed memories of this place, the better." The plumber tilts his head, remembering something that the Commander had mentioned before he struck Cackletta down for good. "Say…You mentioned something about a person called Commander Zetta. He was the leader of the M.S.I. before you were, right?" He asks. Alpha turned to his ally, puzzled as to what brought this sudden question up.

"That he was." The Commander says without hesitation. "What type of person was he like?" Mario then asks, curious as to the truth behind this enigmatic figure. "I'd be more than happy to talk about him, but first I got to ask you something." The plumber stands and waits for the inquiry as Alpha folds his arms behind his back and says to him, "Consider he is our only hope now, do you entrust that your planet's fate will be secured by our twelve-year old companion?" Mario knew what the Commander was trying to get at with his statement.

The kid may have had his moments of rashness, he may have shown arrogance earlier on, but his heart was always in the right place. From his actions to his words, the plumber felt that there was a threat he couldn't handle, he wouldn't have to fear anything because he could trust the young Overlord to secure victory afterwards. He would be there to protect all that he cares for until the very end. This didn't need to be described to Alpha, all Mario had to do was say "Yes" in the firmest manner he could muster, and the Commander grinned at him with satisfaction. He didn't say anymore to him regarding that subject, and started on his way towards the distance. As Mario follows besides him he says, "Now, let me start back thirty years ago…"

"_Huh? What is going on? Why can't I feel anything?" _In the lifeless, grey expanse of nothingness, Alex Whiter floats with his Phoenix Wings spread out and the flames burned out from his right arm. His eyelids are sealed tight, but as they slowly creak open he is surprised to find that he is not alone. Away from his own body is his evil counterpart, his hostility dispelled as he keeps his arms out by the sides of his slowly fading figure. There are no black flames, his pale eyes glaring at him as a grin is surprisingly present on his face, happy to see his other self waking up.

"I'm glad you are here, evil me." He says with emotion befitting his tone. That was not what the young Overlord was curious about at the moment though, and as he looks around he says in bewilderment, "Where are we?" "Thanks to your last attack, our spirits have connected for a momentary period of time. It is just you and I, no need to worry about anyone manipulating my thoughts as we talk." Alex quickly jerks his head to look at his clone, surprised by the amount of rationality in his words now that he is capable of expressing emotions.

"So you are dying?" The young Overlord asks, finally noticing the decaying of his clone's spirit as he nods his head once in response. "Yep…You finally got rid of me." He says in stride. "It didn't have to be this way. I offered you a chance to live!" Alex exclaims, swinging his right arm out to the side as his clone closes his eyelids and lets out a light chuckle. "It just doesn't work that way, evil me…" He says. The young Overlord widens his eyes and pulls his extended limb back, keeping it hung low as he lifts himself up to look straight at his counterpart in disbelief.

"I was here for a purpose, and that was to avenge my mother and destroy all the evil that plagued the universe. Surrendering to you was the equivalent of giving in to sin…But in hindsight, my body was already consumed by the seven deadliest ones the whole time, wasn't it?" Alex said nothing in response to the question, but the silence was enough to confirm the truth for the clone. "So that's how it is…But I still say my goal was pure, even if what was inside of me was not." "That's not true. How can you even begin to say that killing everyone could ever be justified?" The young Overlord says fiercely as a rebuttal.

"Because their existence drove my mother to madness. Retribution against their sinful defilement of the universe is the only way to honor her departed soul…And who are you to call me out on whether my purpose is right or not anyways?" The question brought up by the clone was sudden, one that caught Alex completely off-guard as his body is pulled back and he says flatly with a trembling of his spine, "What?" Expressing confusion over what was said to him. "Let me ask you, what do you think your alignment is?" "I'm aligned with justice, that is what it means to be an Elemental Overlord, after all." The young Overlord replies, which garners yet another chuckle from his counterpart.

"What a half-hearted answer, but I guess I can't expect more than that from you." The clone thrusts his eyelids open and glares at his counterpart, who has a cold sweat forming on his forehead and is looking ready to retreat to avoid having to listen to him any further. "Ok, let us go along with that then. You say you follow justice, but you follow it your way, not that of the Elemental Overlord's. So far you've followed a mentality of killing anyone you perceive as evil. You killed Joe Dark because he was insane, you tricked Tabuu into believing that you would slay the Master Hand even though you have no intention of ever leaving the planet, simply because you knew that if he didn't back down you would die, and now you have killed me because you are insulted that someone shares your appearance."

The clone scoffs, taking a break from his speech as he rears his head back and looks at his counterpart in disgust. "What you are doing isn't justice, you are merely abusing your powers to take down anyone who dares to raise their hand against you. You think that by being the one who was chosen by the higher-ups to keep the balance of Light intact, that you are holier than all? You are but an immature child who was given power too early on and without a purpose it is only a matter of time before you sink back into an incurable boredom and choose to create your own fun at the expense of everyone around you."

Alex wanted to interject far too many times too count, but he always stopped himself before a single syllable was uttered, for everything his clone said held a scary amount of accuracy in each individual sentence. When it was finally over, there was only one thing the young Overlord could say in response, "Who are you to judge my actions? What could you possibly know?" Surprised to hear his counterpart raising his voice in defiance, the boy of black and white simply leans his head forward and with a piercing glare as the lower half of his body completely vanishes he says, "I am you, therefore, I know everything about you."

"I won't deny that you may be me in a physical since, but our viewpoints our different. You may think that all in the universe are unrepentant, but I know the difference between right and wrong, good and evil, and light and darkness. You are just trying to break me to get the last laugh in, so quit acting so goddamn smug you evil reflection!" Alex calls his clone out on his actions, holding his right fist firmly out in front of his body much to his counterpart's disappoint and anger. Pulling his head back up, the clone makes sure that the young Overlord doesn't see his expression as he smirks and says in response, "Very well then, but let me bring something else to your attention."

"You claim to know the differences, but what will happen when you come across someone whose intentions truly are pure but they can only accomplish their goals by going to extremes that you may not agree with? Say, for example, if to save a million people from his tribe, someone had to sacrifice a million others that he knew nothing about. In this scenario, say you knew neither group of people. How would you go about things? On one hand, you kill the one initiator, but a million others fall. However, you let the initiator go about his ways, and though a million people are dead there is still no guarantee that the million others will survive as well. Death exists on both sides of the coin, so which way do you want it to land on?"

Alex is silent, frozen in place as he puts his mind to work to come up with an answer. The fact that he has to even consider this means that it is something that he hasn't thought about before. And after a minute of waiting the clone interrupts him suddenly by saying, "See? You don't even know. Once again, you may say that you are doing the right thing as the Elemental Overlord, but that is all just a façade, isn't it? You are clueless, and you refuse to do anything to reprimand this problem. All you do is lay back, day after day, relaxing to escape the stressfulness of your past and the inevitability of your future ever since you acquired the Elemental Overlord's power."

The young Overlord halts his train of thought, looking at his clone half-heartedly as he grits his teeth and parts his lips slightly so his disdain can be revealed. The boy of black and white notices that his torso is about to disappear, and as he looks back up he says to his counterpart, "How can you ever have time to relax now? With my death, another evil is going to have to come to fill the void. And guess what? They will come to you, threatening the planet with their own goals and wishes, and you'll just keep cutting them down one after another without ever listening."

"So long as your line of thinking stagnates, the only threat to the universe will be yourself. And now that the populace of this world has seen the destruction that can be caused by an Elemental Overlord's powers, it is only a matter of time before all of them turn against you." The disintegration of the clone's spiritual body reaches the bottom of his mouth, and as he smirks he says as his final line, "You want to make use of yourself? Just go and die, evil me…" With his words stated in the grimmest tone he can muster, the clone vanishes without a trace, and the dejected Alex floats by himself with his head hung low, his hands clenched tightly into fists as he opens his lips and whispers solemnly to himself.

Outside the spiritual realm, in the quietness of Toad Town, all the Toads are looking up towards the spot where the light has stopped shining. They are waiting for something to happen, anything that can signify the end of the drawn out battle between the Elemental Overlord and his counterpart. Peach has her hands folded in prayer, and under her breath she says, "I wish for your safe return, child of the elements…" Opening her eyelids, the Princess folds her arms at the helm of her dress and looks up into the sky where her vision allows her to see an event unfolding in the dark, clouded sky.

There is an drawn out, quiet hissing sound as energy swirls inward at a central point. There is an unnerving calm, when suddenly an explosion goes off in the sky. With multiple detonations filling the sky, each one spreading out through a large radius, the multicolored bursts eventually fill in an area of fifteen miles, sending out a large, outward gust of wind in all directions. The violent gust reaches the edge of the town, blowing dust and debris through and very nearly knocking some of the citizens off their feet due to how sudden it all is. Everyone there is forced to endure the aftermath of the massive explosion for twenty seconds, at which point it all but dies down, leaving a thin layer of dirty clouds to obscure everyone's view.

As most of the citizens cough from accidentally inhaling the grainy veil, Peach pushes through it quickly to reach the edge. Without any concern for her own safety, she looks up into the sky, noting the permanent retreat of the dark clouds and the return of the blue skies and the rays of light from the sun beaming down across the world. She also sees the smoke up above that looms after the explosion. She didn't know what was responsible for it, but knew that evil had once again been vanquished. Grateful not just to the Elemental Overlord, but to Bowser, the other heroes, and especially Mario for their efforts here today, she looks up in hopes of greeting the boy Alex Whiter when he returned. She figured that it wouldn't take very long for him to fly back with a proud smile on his face, so she is surprised when a minute passes and there is not a single sign of his figure in the sky. Even after the smoke clears, his presence isn't visible. With her eyes widening in fear, she waits for a little loner, hoping to find some proof of his survival. But after a couple more minutes, nothing can still be seen. It was a quiet aftermath, and as much as the Princess desired to share it with the Elemental Overlord until Mario and his friends returned, it seemed that it was not meant to be. It was apparent what had happened, that it was not just evil that perished on the field of battle on this day. Though it was hard to accept, the evidence was clear. The Elemental Overlord, the young Alex Whiter, had given his life to end the threat of his evil counterpart…

As she thought about this, Peach couldn't bother to look up at the sky anymore. With this gloomy atmosphere that had overcome her mind, there was no way that she could look at the sunlight as a symbol of a new, peaceful dawn…

**PART 2: Judgment of the Dark King.**

**THE END...**


	38. Epilogue and Final Thoughts on Part 2

**Epilogue: A Time to Think**

It has become nighttime. The chill of the evening brushes against the trees of the forest, ruffling the leaves as the shadows brought down by the moon cover the activities of the denizens. Amongst the plentiful bushes, something is stirring. The crackled rustling of the branches as they are pushed aside fills the air, startling any creatures in the area and causing them to make a hasty retreat. There is no way to get a visible look at the being responsible for this disturbance due to the collaboration of shadows in that particular area. All that can be heard are tired breaths, the chilled air causing fog to emerge from the mouth with each exhale as the person moves closer to the edge of the thicket.

They look on, skimming their eyes back and forth as more leaves and sticky branches are brushed aside with a wave of their right hand. "By my calculations, it probably would've dropped somewhere around here…" They say. Eventually, the being passes the bushes, reaching out to an open patch of tall grass that is lightened by the full moon hovering in the dark night sky. The person lifts their head up, blinking their eyelids twice before moving forward and looking back towards the ground.

They wave their arms around, pushing aside the gentle blades in search of something. "Come on, is it here or not?" They ask to themselves. Dew has started to form on the grass, and it feels chilly against the back of their hands. The being shivers, coughing once before continuing to step forward with their head pointed at the ground. "Hmm?" Something caught their attention, and they scurry through the blades to reach it. In the center of the patch of grass was a familiar black glove with a metal plate attached on both sides. It used to be owned by the Elemental Overlord, Alex Whiter, but with his death it was simply a memento of his few accomplishments.

The being's right hand comes down and scoops the glove up, grasping their fingers around it tightly and saying to themselves, "I have to hold on to this…" The being takes a look around, making sure that he isn't being observed. They then slip the glove away into an unknown compartment, lifting their bodies up as they turn around and look back up into the night sky. "Well now that that is over with…Time to go heal and think about my next move…" The person says in an exhausted tone. They walk out of the forest, leaving no trace of their existence behind as everything is put back into place almost instantly. But as sure as the being is of their existence being unnoticed, there were was indeed someone watching over them.

"_So this is the outcome of this possibility…" "Cackletta's anomaly was dealt with before it could cause too much trouble for us. You should be thankful that the Elemental Overlord dealt with that creature that came from the realm you despise so much." "…." "If only you discarded that fear for even a millisecond, then we could've taken measures against the witch right off the bat." "There are some things even us should not tamper with, dragon." "Hmph…Very well. That is not why we have gathered here at this junction of time."_

"_Correct. With the clone's appearance many timelines have ceased to exist and a whole new set have become scrambled throughout the multiverse. It is up to us to put them all in their proper places and evaluate another matter, and that is, the loss of the Dark King." "Exactly. With the Dark King and the Apocalypse Royale's respective deaths there is a greater void for evil to fill…However, in light of the Elemental Overlord's removal from the grand picture of this timeline, I motion for taking no immediate action." _

"_Indeed." "But what about the replica of the boy that resides on his version of Earth? Is he too not a threat to the balance?" "As of now, he seems to be content warding off evil that strikes his planet. He won't be a problem for a couple more years, and even then it won't be he who travels out to check the condition of the planets. We shall make certain of that." "Very well, then there is nothing else to discuss?" "Correct." "Then it is time for us to depart and observe our own branches of the multiverse until the need to meet arises again. Until then, farewell…"_

_To be continued…_

**Author's Notes:**

And that my friends is the end of Part 2! Got to say, all in all I enjoyed writing every chapter and paragraph of this. It flowed smoothly, there was a much better narrative going on in comparison to Part 1, and the final battle didn't draw out for an unnecessarily long ten something chapters! Hehehe…Sorry, just had to poke a little fun at myself on that last one. But seriously, thank you all of those who have been watching, favoriting and reviewing this fic, and I especially want to thank TheMageOfFire from TvTropes for making a page for this story and trying to maintain it.

Now then, with my thanks and brief comments out of the way, time to cover a few things now that this story is over. First off, I want to give some of my thoughts on each arc in this story.

**Beginning/Smithy Arc:**

This one was the longest of the three arcs, though not without reason. The plot had to be established after all, and we needed to get a brief look into how our core heroes were doing before the situation changed. One of the most important things about this arc was the theme of "Forgiveness", which was prominent in both Gemini and Smithy's conflict. Gemini had to learn to forgive the machine king before his rage consumed him, while likewise Smithy had an internal struggle to forgive himself for accidentally killing his closest friend on Plit, which blinded him from pursuing a peaceful world creating with his machines until his final moments.

Granted, Mallow may not have been the best person to go along on this journey, but we will get more into that later. One of the things I really liked about writing this arc was showing off Smithy's past, especially going as far as to present a somewhat realistic take on what happens when one who has gotten with the wrong crowd, or in the machine king's case with Cackletta and Dimentio, tries to repent for their actions even though the shadows of the past are still there to haunt him. In all honesty though, even if Smithy had surrendered himself to the envoy, his crimes wouldn't have been forgiven and he would've been killed.

I know that seems to go against the message I tried to portray in this arc, but there are some people who are willing to forgive and others who aren't. It is a fact of life that has to be accepted, even if others aren't able to comprehend it.

**Dimentio Arc:**

Honestly, this one was fun to write simply because the Luigi and Dimentio conflict is rather interesting when you think about it. Where as Luigi is kind, has jealousy of his brother, is sometimes a coward, and tries his hardest to suppress the dark urges within him, Dimentio is wicked, thinks himself to be above all others, has no fear, and does everything in his power to prevent himself from expressing any good intentions. They are polar opposites, and for good reason too.

One of the major reveals in the arc besides the fact that Dimentio was responsible for the banishment of Lady Timpani and the manipulation of Blumiere into Count Bleck, is that the jester claimed to be Luigi himself. An interesting development honestly, and I bet some of you are a bit disappointed that I backed out of it, right? Well, just keep reading on and I will discuss that a bit more later. Honestly, I felt Driad was the best choice to go with Luigi, though our little Crazyee Dayzee friend could've also gone with Gemini as well! Again, I'll cover that later.

Finally, the arc's theme. This one was about "Acceptance". For Luigi to conquer Dimentio, he had to accept the possibility that he is him, but instead of letting that revelation guide his future he vowed to not become that very man. Likewise, Dimentio had to come to accept the fact that his fun was almost at an end, and that once he dies there will be nothing left for him but grief and misery in Hell. Unfortunately, this is not exactly something he came to terms with by the time of his death, but he only has himself to blame for that one.

**Cackletta Arc:**

As far as a narrative goes, I can honestly say that this arc was my favorite one to write out of the four, and Chapter 29 is by far the best one I have ever written. Sure, that may be a little bit of bragging on my end, but you honestly don't realize how much stuff I got planned ahead for this series, and even in comparison to what you will see in the next couple Parts Chapter 29 will beat out each and every one of them in my book. All of you, on the other hand, are welcome to your opinions on favorite chapters.

…Before I get too absorbed into my own triad here, let us discuss the arc itself. Yes, I did just make a pseudo-crossover with the Kingdom Hearts universe, you aren't wrong in assuming that. However, this arc is the only time that the Realm of Darkness will be visited, and for good reason too. Cackletta is done for, Alpha would rather leave the place behind and never remember it, and no one else has a reason to go there. Besides, not like anything can be done. The Realm of Darkness has already done its damage. As grim as it sounds, in this fictional universe, all the characters from Kingdom Hearts along with all worlds related to the Disney name have been devoured and wiped clean of all life by the Heartless and the realm.

However, let us not focus on the negative aspects of this scenario. It may all sound bad, but rest assured that Xehanort and all of his counterparts are burning for their trespasses, and everyone else pure of heart has ascended to enjoy the serenity of the afterlife. In a way, it is a bittersweet conclusion to their lives. Now, back to the part of the story that actually involves…You know, Mario characters! First off, I'd like to say that Mario and Alpha was always saved for the last arc, there were no changes involved with the hero selection there. AGAIN, COVERING THAT LATER.

Honestly, it was because out of everyone Mario had the biggest conflict with the Commander, and it was something they needed to work out by themselves without Alex or anyone else stopping them. I liked writing that chapter, simply because it set the stage for the start of Alpha's development into a different, more trustworthy person. Another thing that helped him along was the death of Cackletta, which I handled especially well all things considered. As to why it makes sense, I'll detail that in a bit. Either way, the Cackletta arc was my favorite of the four, which leads me into…

**Final Battle/Chaos Alex Arc:**

This arc turned out well for a wrap up of the story's plot. I liked writing the actions and dialogue of both Chaos Alex and the Sin Samurai, especially when they communicated with their good counterparts. Such a shame that both sets of characters are gone for good, eh? And yes, Cackletta is seriously gone for good, in case you were wondering. Of course, not much I can really say about this arc that won't be covered in the next section. Now we move on to the characters themselves, and with each person/being I will delve into a few details not revealed or clear up some issues that weren't made clear at the time of their discussion. First off…

Heroes:

**Alex Whiter:**

Let us start by getting the obvious out of the way. Alex was NOT the main protagonist in this Part. He played a supporting role throughout the whole thing. Even though he was the one responsible for ending the final threat of the story, in the end he was just finishing the job the main hero actually started. Actually, in the grand scheme of things, Alex was only a decoy to lead you off the trail of who the real protagonist is…Which should be obvious if you've seen the final chapter of Part 1 and read the above Epilogue. You'll find out who in Part 3 anyways. Either way, none of it matters because Alex is dead. He sacrificed himself to save Plit and the rest of the universe. And I'm serious when I say this too, no matter what way you interpret the above Epilogue, it ISN'T Alex who grabbed the glove. But yeah, such a pity that he performed his sacrifice, especially with the plot potential brought on by Chaos Alex's final words. Sometimes though some decisions have to be left unexplored…

**Mario:**

Yes yes yes, for a Mario fanfic the main plumber really didn't do much did he? That was intentional of course, and this was justified by his distrust of Alpha. He got his time to shine come the Cackletta arc, and in the end Mario is still THE hero the people of Plit trust with their lives. On the subject of the Cackletta arc though, I would like to briefly talk about Mario's fight with Alpha. It should go on record to say that even if both combatants fought seriously, and Alpha pulled out everything in his arsenal, Mario STILL would've beaten him. It is that rock-hard determination of the plumber's that allows him to overcome all obstacles, and it is something that Alpha has no way of countering. Either way, Mario is going to be helping the Commander out over the next few months on Plit, and we will see the end results of that in Part 3.

**Luigi:**

Ah yes, everyone's favorite man in green. In all honesty, I prefer Luigi over Mario, mainly because there are many routes you can go with conveying his character. From the lovable coward to the brave hearted adventurer, there is no really wrong way to do Luigi…Well, assuming you've played enough Mario games anyways. As for my view, I decided to go with a mix of personalities for this Part 2, which was explored throughout the Dimentio arc. Either way, I'd say Luigi was my third favorite hero to write this Part, and it was nice to give him a break by having him take down a major villain.

**Driad:**

Not much I can really say about Driad honestly. His presence was kind of reduced simply because most of his plot relevance was taken care of in Part 1. All that is left really is him trying to become his own person, which didn't get covered much because he needed to talk to Alex about that. However, rest assured that he will still be in Part 3, and the matter of what will happen to him now that the Elemental Overlord is dead will be brought up. Either way, Driad still has something that needs to be brought up in relation to two other heroes, but you will see that later.

**Mallow:**

…Honestly, I would say something here about Mallow, but that will spoil what I want to discuss later on. So I'll hold off until then.

**Gemini:**

Part 2 dealt with some plot threads from Part 1, and one of them was the mystery about the origin of Gemini's powers. With the mention of a demon's heart it was probably assumed that some otherworldly force was responsible, so I bet it came as a shock when Smithy was revealed to be the one who caused him to have the powers he has. However, throughout the story and back in Movie 1 it was brought up that something happened to the being who once went by the name of "Koopis"…The question is though, WHAT happened back then, why and when did Alpha come in contact with him, and more importantly, how did he first gain control of his heart? There is actually a story that answers all of those questions, and I'll get into that at the end of this whole triad.

**Geno:**

Ah yes, Geno, the ensemble dark horse of the Mario universe that…Got completely neglected throughout the story save for his cameo in Chapter 30. Why is that, you may ask? Well, that'll be covered in just a bit more time.

**Alpha:**

Alpha is the main character of Part 2. Even though he isn't fully focused on until the Cackletta Arc, the Commander still guided everyone towards taking down both the witch and her forces. Again, even if Alex finished off his counterpart for the final battle, Alpha did most of the work to silence Cackletta, the REAL threat, forever. Even with that resolution though, the Commander is still an enigma. One of the important things brought up near the climax was that Alpha lived thirty years ago, which also matches up with the time that Bowser's father attacked Star Haven. There is also the matter of yet ANOTHER enigmatic character, the former M.S.I. leader Commander Zeta. All that you know about him is that he is a Koopa, as revealed in a flashback during Alpha's fight against Darnia Stratos, and that he had dreams that Alpha himself is carrying on.

But unfortunately, the details about Alpha's past are a story for another day, as his time in the main character limelight is over. Don't misinterpret this statement. While he won't be the focus of a Part ever again, he is still going to remain a central character alongside Gemini, and you'll find out what I mean in due time. Either way, Alpha was definitely my favorite hero to write during this arc, simply because he is rather complex in his motivations and actions.

**The Elemental Overlord, the Inner Guardians and the Genesis Samurais:**

So you may be wondering…With Alex's death, where does this leave the above character's spirits? The Overlord specifically stated that he has been denied entrance to either Heaven or Hell, and in a way the others are limited from entering simply because Alex's replica exists, so they have an obligation to protect him…Except that they can't leave Plit, because the spiritual plane of space is very different in comparison to that of a planet. So what will be their fates? That's something that Part 3 will answer.

Villains:

**Axem Red X:**

Let us start off with a plot point that was dropped after its introduction. Yes, Axem Red did sell out Smithy, but he is wanting to make a genuine change to the side of good now. However, you won't be seeing him again until Part 3. Now with that short detail out of the way…

**Smithy:**

Ah Smithy, like you take metal and make it into machines, I too took the flat motivations of your character from Super Mario RPG and turned you into something a little more complex and pitiable. Seriously though, out of all the Mario RPG main villains, Smithy is the only one without any depth to his motivations. So I wanted to rectify that problem by fitting him into the role of one of the members of the Apocalypse Royale. And honestly, I think I did a good job with him, though I do kind of wonder if the whole "Underneath the armor is a human" and then the subsequent, "Oh hey, after two-thousand years of no food or water I CAN MOVE SUPERFAST AND WIELD THIS GIGANTIC SWORD WITH EASE" may have been me jumping the gun a bit…Either way, Smithy was definitely interesting to write, and it was important to show that there was some good in his heart, because that'll be important to consider when you see some of the other remnants of the Dark King's army later on…Whoops, did I just say that?

**Dimentio:**

Ah yes, the charming magician from Super Paper Mario. Yes, I do sort of admit that I did come up with a bit of a contrived explanation as to why he survived the events of the game to torment the heroes, Luigi specifically, once more, but honestly, at least it wasn't aliens. However, the jester is a fun villain to write, so whatever justification to his presence shouldn't matter so long as he is written the right way, yes? Even so, I considered his arc to be the weakest of the four arcs…Though the problem there lies in the fact that it was too short, not through any fault of the character himself. Actually, this is something that probably would've been better to bring up back up top. Either way, anymore that can be said about him will be covered in a bit.

**Fawful:**

Ok, ok…I got to say this real quick. Fawful was really difficult to figure out what to do with. His type of speech isn't something easily replicated, and I didn't want to overuse him even though he was a popular character. In fact, by the time I actually started writing Part 2 I was thinking to myself, oh right, I got to conclude Fawful's part in the plot…So I ran through the options in my head. One, I could kill him off. That would garner some backlash, so I chose not to do it. Second, I could have him live, but keep him evil. However, I'm not really a fan of villains getting off unpunished, so I chose not to go with that too. So in the end, I decided to have him reveal himself as a spy working for Alpha, which would allow him to still have done all the things he did without ruining his credence, and he would still be alive. I fixed things up in such a way that it also actually had an impact to the plot and made Alpha come off as less of a "Oh hey, I know everything without there being any logical way for me to do so." person. After all, a well-written character is one that has flaws…Otherwise you are dipping into Mary Sue territory and I'd rather none of the characters come off that way.

**Cackletta:**

Honestly, Cackletta was my favorite villain to write in both Part 1 AND Part 2. Yeah, Joe Dark was bats hit crazy and stuff, but honestly…Anyways, change the subject quickly here. Her motivations lie in the fact that she became heartbroken long ago by the Dark King, but was she already changing into the diabolical witch we know her as now before that moment in time? Chances are, she probably was, and sought the love of the man she adored as a last chance shot at redemption before she went off the deep edge. Of course that failed, and she just snapped and went through with her plan after the Dark King was sealed away.

Also, what was fun to write about her is that she was a villain who quite frankly was savvy about everything the heroes had or would do. She was dangerous simply because she could easily predict most of their actions and have all the cards ready to counteract their movements. Even failures didn't really slow her down. But just as Alpha's flaw is that he is so prepared for many scenarios that he is too paranoid to trust anyone, Cackletta's flaw is that she is so certain about her own victory that she believes she has everyone in the palm of her hand. Which is something that Fawful was able to easily exploit and thus lead to the downfall of her plans.

Still though, give Cackletta credit where credit is due. She WAS wiping the floor with Alpha and Mario up until the Commander busted out Senki Soni Final Style. Even so, she did have her back-up soul in her creation just in case Alpha did manage to get around her "Second Life" spell. Oh, and I guess this should be brought to attention since the spell was mentioned. You may be wondering why the Shadow Queen acts differently from Cackletta even though in this story she is said to be "Cackletta's darkness ripped out and given form." Well the answer to that is simple. You see, the Shadow Queen is nothing but pure, callous, maliciousness with some degree of sentience while Cackletta has all those traits plus a functioning mind, so in essence the witch isn't one-dimensional while the Shadow Queen is. I hope that makes sense anyways…

**Chaos Alex and the Sin Samurais:**

Well, both forces here acted as the de'facto final boss for Part 2. Oh, and the Dark Star, but he was weak sauce who got owned by Bowser of all people so who cares. Hehehe, I'm just kidding there, Bowser honestly has a really good track record in this series of screwing up plans, but since he wasn't a major, MAJOR character in the grand scheme of things he won't get a focus section. Anyways, what I found interesting about Chaos Alex as I wrote him is that there is really no way to discern his character alignment. At least…Not easily anyways. To everyone else his purpose would be seen as that of one being fulfilled under the "Chaotic Evil" alignment, but in his mind Chaos Alex believes he is going to kill everyone in the name of the greater good, which means to him he thinks he is "Chaotic Good". So with a combination of viewpoints, wouldn't it be better to call him a "Chaotic Neutral" character? You know, I'll let you be the judge of that, but the fact that both of his alignments fall under the "Chaotic" category is the reason why the clone was given the adjective of Chaos before his name.

Now then, with that said it was a pity that I couldn't do more with the wise Chaos Alex that appeared at the very climax of Part 2. But his emotionless was a key point in regards to Cackletta's previous triad about the Seven Deadly Sins and the Dark King, and you saw what happened in the story when Chaos Alex succumbed to Wrath. Speaking of the sins, I honestly liked writing and showing the differences between the Genesis Samurais and their sinful counterparts. And honestly, Darnia's counterpart brought up a good point about having a falsified existence. What sounds worse to you? Being a copy of someone else with their memories and being blissfully unaware of that fact, or being a copy of someone else with their memories and KNOWING full well that you aren't the original. Combine that with the fact that the Sin Samurais never had a mortal body and were just born already dead, and you can really understand why some of them are messed up the way they are.

Also in regards to the Seven Deadly Sins, my methods in doing so were subtle at times, but most of the Genesis Samurais did happen to show off the opposing virtues during their appearances throughout Parts 1 and 2. Pitori showed charity in that he was more than happy to let Alex, his master, use his armor without asking anything in return. Darnia showed kindness by hearing his counterpart out instead of killing him on the spot. Ezekial showed humility to his prideful counterpart. Cecilia has always been diligent in her job. And Zeno chose to be patient in waiting for a new master to arrive. Acia didn't show temperance and Tina didn't show chastity, but those two can be forgiven simply because their minds are young and unaware of how to express those virtues.

Now then, with all I wanted to say out of the way, it is time to cover some questions and other tidbits that may or may not be plot holes to you folks out there. Granted, I haven't considered every possible plot hole, so if there are some not listed here just point them out to me and I will try to explain it if it doesn't spoil future events.

First item on the list:

**Mallow, Geno and Driad on the Cutting Board?:**

One of the more difficult things to think about going into Part 2 was how the groups were gonna be split up. I had to have two people fight each villain, and with Alex already knocked out that left me with seven heroes from Part 1 left to use. Alpha, Gemini, Mario and Luigi were safe off the bat, so that left Driad, Geno and Mallow. I at first considered removing Mallow because he was the least developed character throughout Part 1...However, I corrected myself and noted that it is for that reason that Mallow should stick around, so I can show just why his existence was justified on the team. That left Geno and Driad. Both heroes had their plots resolved in Part 1, so it just came down to a matter of "Who could I justify not appearing in Part 2?" Naturally, with Driad's connection to the Elemental Overlord I just couldn't get rid of him, so I came up with the whole "Cackletta attacks and binds the Star Spirits and Geno" plot point and that was that. Oh, and it should be noted that Driad honestly could've gone with either Gemini or Luigi, since he would easily be able to relate to both of their issues in their arcs.

**How Did Cackletta Know about the Events of Part 1's Extra Chapter?:**

One of the final things revealed in this Part is that Cackletta knew about Alex using the soul energy of the Blazing Overlord Fist as a beam. But you must be wondering, "How can that be?" The answer is simple actually if you look back to the very beginning of Part 2. Remember those opening paragraphs before the title? That wasn't just a random bit of information from the past, it was Cackletta remembering the Dark King's physical demise and his spiritual imprisonment. She had been on Plit ever since then, and from there it was just a matter of keeping an eye on the woman she loathed from the Realm of Darkness, where she saw her battle the young Overlord who traveled to the past. Actually, this answer also goes as far as to explain why Cackletta was so certain about the success of her plans…

**Why do the Seven Deadly Sins match up with these elements?:**

This one is going to be a little long. Ok, let me detail one by one why I chose each specific sin to go with the chosen elemental counterpart.

Gluttony/Grass: The reason for this combination is that grass, plants and flowers naturally desire to consume. Whether it is to suck nutrients from the root, absorb sunlight from the sky, or stretch their branches of vines out to make other environmental landmarks part of their form, you can expect them to want to consume.

Lust/Water: The ocean tides always stretch out across the shore, slowly but surely desiring to have you in its watery grasp. Kind of a short one there, but that's the best I got.

Envy/Sky: This one was detailed a bit by Darnia's counterpart, but I'll explain a bit here. You see, unlike the other six elements, air does not have a visible form. Thus, the sky is envious of the others for having what it does not.

Greed/Electricity: I got to be honest with you people, I almost made a reference to Ky from Guilty Gear in calling Chaos Alex's form "Greed Severer", but I pulled it back because it would've been in bad taste. Anyways, Electricity is associated with greed because those who control electricity usually desire to go for more power, and eventually that desire leads to a point where all they think about is "MORE! MORE! MORE!".

Pride/Earth: The earth always wants attention. Earthquakes are done to remind the populace that it exists, canyons are formed in hopes that people will come and see them, and gems were crafted so in one way or another the earth would feel another's gaze and thus be satisfied with the abundant attention it received.

Sloth/Ice: This one isn't too difficult honestly. Ice advances at a slow pace without a desire to speed up and accomplish anything, not really much else to say honestly.

Wrath/Fire: Again, an easy one to explain. Wrath is unrestrained anger without any desire to stop, and the destruction they pave is easily comparable to a raging wildfire. No need to give a further description after that, really.

**Why did the Dark Star fail to keep control of Chaos Alex?:**

Simply put, this happened because of Bowser pounding on his body with the power of the Star Rod infused within him. With the damage done his concentration was slowly broken down until the point where Chaos Alex was able to regain consciousness and rip him free from his control.

**Luigi and Dimentio: Who is who?:**

This is the last one I'm gonna cover simply because I don't want to overdo things. So it was mentioned that Dimentio is a future Luigi gone crazy, but then it turns out at the end that it was all a lie right? Actually, that's only half-true. You see, while Dimentio isn't really Luigi, he actually is Luigi? Confused yet, let me explain. Dimentio, the Dimentio we saw in this story, is indeed Luigi from the future and his backstory is true. However, he is NOT the Luigi we are following in this story, since as Driad noted the changes have already been made to the timeline and the man in green will never become the jester.

So that just brings a few more questions to the table. Dimentio said he wasn't Luigi, so did he lie? Actually, that's not true, because Dimentio, "I'm not you." So he basically admitted to what I mentioned above. As for the "Warp dimensions of his face" matter, that wasn't a lie either. Trust me, Dimentio looked a LOT uglier underneath that mask before he did his thing.

**Aftermath:**

So with all the questions wrapped up you have to wonder, what is next for the future of Clash of the Elements? Well, I am pleased to inform you that a lot of stuff is on the way over the course of the next month. First off, I'm going to be writing and posting the Extra Chapter for Part 2. Next, you'll get Gemini's origin story posted in Part 2 since it is short enough to not justify another story being made. Then, I'll be working on one more story for Part 2 involving the aftermath of Alex's sacrifice, and then I'll be creating the What-If Stories for Part 1 and Movie 1 (So read those if you haven't already, or keep it on watch so you know when they show up)

Regrettably though, because of my focus on these things, you won't be seeing Part 3 until the month has passed. However, I have a couple things to mention about it. First off, it will be different from the other three stories in that it'll be told via a first-person narrative. Second, that the story will focus on the clone of Alex Whiter. Which means in the very first chapter you will learn the name he decided for himself. Until the Extra Chapter though, see you all later and enjoy what you got


	39. Extra Chapter

**Judgment of the Dark King Extra Chapter: An Alliance Across Planets**

_Earth Year 20?, Month April, Hour: ?:?:_

In a secret underground facility filled to the brim with electronically advanced computers, there are a bunch of high-wage humans in cyberpunk-like outfits tapping away at the holographic keyboards set before them. Their eyes are focused only on satellite imagery that shows the conditions of the planet Earth in all of its blue and green glory. Each person has been relegated to a different task, each screen covering a different state, country, or sector of the world for better prioritizing. All of their activities are overlooked by a middle-aged man who is about six-foot one in height, his right hand rubbing against the bottom of his shaggy beard as a square-shaped glass of liquor is held tightly in his left hand. His light-brown eyes shift back and forth at the glowing lights around him, and as his gruff expression changes to that of one of relief he lifts his cup up and presses the rim against his lips to deposit the drink into his mouth.

After a mighty gulp he takes it out and lets out a sigh, a few drops of liquid dripping down from the cup onto the front of his casual, short-sleeved gray shirt. He looks down and notices this, ashamed of such a mistake as he uses the tip of his pitch-black tie to pat down on the wet spots and dry them up. Afterwards he wipes a drop of sweat away from his forehead, which was brought upon thanks to a busy day of work. He doesn't have to worry about putting his hair out of alignment, for he is entirely bald, the only thing decorating the top of his head being a couple faint age spots.

As he walks across the floorway his worker's black jeans stretch to follow his movements, and his brown leather shoes pressed against the skin of his feet due to how tightly they've been tied together. He lets out a sigh, annoyed at the current inactivity as he sets his glass down on a balcony beside him. "This is the problem with a world at peace…People like us just become robots who continue to follow a set protocol in hopes that we will be prepared when something actually does happen again…"

As the man mumbles to himself in a deep tone of voice, he is suddenly thrust to life by the sound of the alarms in the facility blaring loudly around him. "SYSTEM INTRUSION! SYSTEM INTRUSION! FIREWALLS 1 THROUGH 50 HAVE BEEN BREECHED!" The lights shift to red almost instantly, as the man then turns to his men on the keyboards and yells out to them with his hands pressed against the rails. "What is going on down there?" The closest worker turns his hovering chair around and says with an almost monotone voice, "Chief, someone is breaking through our security systems at an alarming rate. We have almost lost all of our firewalls in just a matter of seconds."

"Well get the anti-virus systems working before it reaches the core!" The man known as the Chief of this building proclaims bluntly in response. "There are two problems with that sir…One, the anti-virus systems have already been shut down…And two, the virus has been identified as that of unknown origin…" With the person bringing unnerving news the man widens his eyes in shock and turns around with his teeth curled into a scowl. "What the hell kind of being is responsible for this?" "SYSTEM FAILURE! NOW SWITCHING TO EMERGENCY-" The alarm is swiftly cut off by the silencing of the base's power. All lights and electronically devices shut down, leaving the room covered in black.

The man turns his head around, looking for a possible intruder only to find nothing from all sides of the side. No glowing eyes, no screams of pain, and certainly no sounds of destruction. The horrific, unhinging atmosphere had been set, and the Chief reaches into his right pocket to pull out a silver barreled laser pistol for self-defense, and with its glowing red antenna alerting the others to its presence he nudges his head to order them to pull out their weapons as well. With everyone armed they wait for someone to strike. But the next bit of activity doesn't come from an intruder, but from the sudden return of power to the entire facility.

The whir of the machines is a bit unsettling, but as everyone was about ready to ignore it and get back to work, the Chief uttered out a quick "Wait" in a cautionary tone, keeping his weapon held with both hands as he looks up towards the ceiling. He knew it wasn't over yet, and he was right to make that assumption. _"I think I'm right in assuming that I've made contact with the planet Earth, yes?"_ Over the speakers a voice similar to that of a deep-toned alien speaks, which causes the Chief to say in response, "Who is this? Whoever you are, can you hear and understand what I am saying to you?"

"_Perfectly. Though I must ask as to who I am speaking to." _The man puts his gun away after a few seconds of pause and thinking and says to the voice, "How about you go first?" _"No can do. You see, I can confirm that you are the person I'm looking for if you give me the details, but you'll learn nothing if I give you my name. Besides, you really shouldn't question someone who was able to hack your systems like they were created by a low-grade manufacturer." _The Chief had to surrender a point over to this mysterious person for their well-mentioned point, and with a low sigh he says to him, "My name is Chief Prometheus Jeremiah of the F.B.I."

"_F.B.I. eh? So this is the right facility, that's good to know." _The voice states quickly to himself, but then says something else to the man, _"Still, Prometheus? Jeremiah? Either your parents didn't know what they were thinking when they named you, or that is a codename you came up to protect your real identity. Either way, that's not what is important right now. Tell me, are you familiar with a child by the name of Alex Whiter?"_ The Chief flinches in surprise upon hearing that name, and as he delves into the realm of curiosity as to how this person could know of him, he says hesitantly, "Yes…Yes I do, why?"

"_I can't go into details at the moment, but from what I've heard you took him in after his parents were killed by a comet, correct?" _"…That is correct." Prometheus states without any desire to lie to the voice. _"Alright. Well, let me lay things down quickly for you. The boy you know is with me at the moment, and in just a day he is going to acquire the powers of the Elemental Overlord and become one of the strongest beings in existence." _Though the words stated by the voice were breaking the barriers of belief, the Chief continued to listen to them without any choice in the matter, only saying in response to them all, "So? What does that have to do with me?"

"_From the way the story went, I don't think Mr. Whiter thinks too highly of you, Chief. After all, what type of person says 'they' in a depressed tone unless they had a particularly bad experience with them. Now, I'm not going to pry into your records and find out what you did, but instead I'm going to offer you my services." _From the way things were going Prometheus was feeling concern for his own life, but widened his eyes briefly in shock once the voice got to his last line. "What?" _"It is a simple matter really. There may come a day when Alex goes rogue and the first target of his malice would more than likely be you. So if that scenario comes to pass I would like to help station a defense weapon to counter him."_

"But didn't you just say that Alex might become one of the strongest beings in existence?" The Chief says, repeating the previously stated point with a tone of bewilderment. _"Even gods have their Achilles' Heel, Prometheus. Tell you what, I'll give you a bit of time to think about my offer, and I'll get in contact with you again once I've acquired or built something to send over to you. Until then, you'll have full control of your base and its features. Farewell, Chief." _The voice suddenly shuts down, leaving Prometheus standing on the walkway confused and afraid about everything they had said to him.

_Earth Year 20?, Month June, Hour: ?:?:_

Even after a couple months, the routine still feels the same for the people of the F.B.I. Prometheus has given the mysterious person's offer some thought, and when the moment comes when he talks to them again he will give it to him. He takes the cup in his hand and places it down onto a nearby ledge, looking up towards the ceiling in anticipation for the person's return. "Geez…Maybe it was all just a bluff…" As he assures himself with that tidbit of words, the speakers suddenly turn on and respond to them in a familiar voice. _"You can be certain of the fact that it wasn't one, Prometheus." _

Everyone besides the Chief flinches from how sudden the sound's appearance was, but as they are preparing to turn around in self-defense they are stopped by a quick word of relief from their leader. "How long have you been here?" _"I've been watching for a few minutes." _"You can see us too?" Prometheus asks with an eyebrow raised in suspicion. _"Only when I'm about to contact you will I be doing that. I'd like for there to be some trust between the two of us…Speaking of trust, do you have an answer to my offer?" _The Chief folds his arms and looks up towards the closest camera. "Considering my life is at stake, and possibly that of my men, I will accept your help…"

"_Excellent decision Chief. Now then, a recent endeavor has given me a couple things to give to you as a present. Tell me, on your planet have you ever heard of two video game characters by the name of Duon and Galleom?" _The Chief once again raised his eyebrows. His response afterwards further expressed his disbelief at the mention. "Duon and Galleom? I vaguely remember those two from a video game I used to play when I was a kid…But they don't exist, so why are you mentioning this to me?"

"_Rest assured my friend the beings you know from fiction do in fact exist in some shape or form in this grand universe of ours. Just as I too am a creature from your planet's 'fictional' realms…"_ "Fine, so those two robots are real and you managed to acquire them. How are they going to help me when you have them over where you are at?" It was a legitimate question, but not one that was difficult for the voice to answer after a momentary pause. _"I have my own teleportation device set up in my base. I've already downloaded your base's coordinates in relevance to your galaxy's region, so if you wish to accept them I can send them off at any time."_

"…Hmph, you know, I just got to ask you something first." Prometheus stops, gives the camera a smirk, and with a perplexed expression he says up to it, "If you are so damn smart that you are able to hack into our systems from across the universe, then why don't you build something out of your robots and take down the boy yourself?" _"There are a few reasons as to why I can't do it myself Chief. One, the materials needed to construct the robot I'd need are native to your planet, not the one I live on. Second, I am neutral to this affair between you and Alex, and considering I hold the cards here I'm not going to just do your bidding like that. And finally, from what I've heard the F.B.I. is a key organization on your planet, and if Alex were to destroy it in the process of hunting you down that would just not be beneficial for your world now would it?"_

The Chief had to concede to the voice's points, not because he didn't have a counter-argument to them, but because he didn't feel like wasting time arguing with someone he couldn't even see. "…Very well then." He replies in a murmur. _"Once again I'm glad for your cooperation. Trust me, you'll feel better for doing this once all is said and done." _The voice leaves without another word or a chance being given for the Chief to reply back to him. Prometheus stands along, a little concerned about the alliance he has gotten himself involved in.

_Earth Year 20?, Month July, Hour: ?:?:_

"_How are things coming along?"_ The voice calls out to the Chief suddenly in the middle of the day, which causes the man to flinch and nearly spill coffee all over the floor. He turns around towards the speakers and says in response with his heart pounding and a nervous grin on his face. "Quite well honestly…The technology in the robots may be advanced, but our men have been able to handle the parts just fine. We still have a bit of deconstructing to do before we can create the gigantic mech with the blueprints you sent us." _"So progress is going smoothly? That's excellent to hear. Such a shame though that Alex has died now…" _The voice states the last line so nonchalantly that as the Chief pulls back he almost chokes on the coffee he just swallowed down from the shock of hearing the words.

As a burning sensation goes down his throat he tries to recover, pounding his fist against his chest until he is able to maintain a steady breath. "What the hell…Why are you saying such news as if it doesn't matter at all?" _"Because it doesn't. I have my reasons to believe that our young compatriot is still alive. Since you don't know what is happening in our world, I'm not going to waste time explaining everything to you. Just keep your men going on the project for now." _"Now hold the phone here! If Alex IS alive then that might mean that he could be coming for me right this minute!"

As the Chief exclaims in panic, the voice on the other side reassures him with a calm reply, _"Don't worry, he hasn't left the planet…Yet, anyways. But I'll detect him if he does attempt to puncture the atmosphere. Also, I have another present for you as further proof of our trustworthy alignment. In my most recent venture I managed to come across a viral strain known as the Anti-Genesis Theorem. It was proven to be most efficient in incapacitating those with the power of the Elemental Overlord, and the men on my side were able to replicate the strain."_

"I hate to put a damper on your enthusiasm, but I'm pretty certain viral strains don't work that…" _"On your world, maybe not, but remember…You aren't dealing with realism anymore, you are getting involved in the supernatural affairs of fantasy and fiction. Just saying this right now, if you have faith that Alex Whiter won't come after you, you are welcome to back down now and you can keep the robots as a means to protect your own planet. Otherwise, you are sticking through this until either he falls or you do." _

The voice gave an ultimatum, one that did not please the Chief no matter which way he looked at it. "My death or his…" _"Just remember, even though you are fighting a god-like being, you will have in your possession two materials that can gravely injure him." _As the voice utters that out to give the man one last sign of reassurance, Prometheus looks up and says to him with confidence, "Very well. I'm not going to lose to some kid!" _"….Hehehe…That's the spirit. I will be keeping in touch then, and I will be looking forward to the day when you two finally go at it. This is Commander Alpha of the M.S.I., signing off for now…"_ As the room goes silent upon the voice giving its name out, Prometheus picks up his cup of coffee, takes a long, relaxed sip, and after keeping his expression blank he widens his lips into a sadistic smirk and walks away while whistling a tune to himself…

**Judgment of the Dark King Extra Chapter: An Alliance Across Planets**

**THE END**


	40. Remembrances of Alex Whiter

The waters sway, each individual ripple paving the way to the endless sea beyond the docks of Toad Town. The sunlight reflects off of it, giving it a bountiful shine that would be a sight to behold for anyone passing by. The wind is almost calm, portraying no emotion besides serenity as they work to keep the waters flowing steadily. There is not a single cloud in the sky, but the sun was already lowering, and in an hour it would sink behind the rounded, green hilltops and let the light of the moon take over in its place. The atmosphere was almost too relaxed, but no one gathered there could share in this peace.

Hundreds of Toads were bundled together in a group, their white caps replaced with ones that are black with dots of varying colors. In front of them are the familiar faces of the heroes who had fought bravely against Cackletta and her forces merely a week ago. Mario, Luigi, Mallow, Gemini, and Alpha are present in funeral outfits, the usually cheery Driad being the only one absent from their group. Standing beside Mario is Princess Peach, her dress replaced with one of black and white as a veil covers her face. In the palms of her hands is a round, golden stand with wax stacked up and a wick at the top.

As she hands the candle over to her beloved hero, the plumber lowers the front of his cap over his eyes and turns so she doesn't notice the single teardrop coming out of his ducts as he takes the object out of her grasp delicately. He then twists back towards the dock and begins to walk to the edge with Mallow following behind him with his staff at the ready. After kneeling and letting the candle sink out of his hands and lay against the surface of the water, Mario lifts his right hand up and with a light spark on the palm he sets fire to the wick.

With the luminescent, orange-red glow reflecting off of his pupils, the plumber stands up and turns to Mallow, giving him a nod so he can proceed to the next step as he walks back towards the others. As the cloud Prince walks to the edge he holds his staff back and seals his eyelids tightly in an attempt to fight back the tears. He couldn't cry now, otherwise everything would be ruined. With a swirl of wind at the tip of his staff, a light gust brushes the bottom of the candle, sending it floating along the water away from everyone's point of view. As he puts his staff away Mallow turns around and slowly walks to join the others. They were all their for one purpose, to mourn the loss of the person that had saved them from destruction three times in the past, one who had formed a close bond with a few of the people present at his funeral. The lighting of the flame was to pay respect to one who would never be reborn again, this was to honor the life of the young Elemental Overlord, Alex Whiter…

_**Remembrances of Alex Whiter…**_

With the lighting of the candle out of the way, Mario walks over to the esteemed Commander and turns his head towards him, saying in a somber tone, "Hey Alpha, I want to thank you for offering to use some of your funds to erect a statue in the center of town to honor Alex's death…" Alpha turns to the plumber, accepting his praise with a nod and a subdued expression that hides away his thankfulness at the comment while at the same time keeping his sadness at the current situation prominent. "It'll take a bit of time, but it will be done…" Cracking a slight smile, the plumber turns away and walks over to join his brother by his side, flipping his body back around to look out towards the waters as Mallow swiftly joins them as well.

Peach walks up to edge of the docks and lifts her veil up over her head, placing her arms in front of her chest ready to recite a poem. Having not known the boy for long, it was hard for her to come up with the words on her own, so before today she had decided the most respectful thing to do would be to ask Mario for assistance. As she mentions the plumber's name in her mind she starts to think ahead to a day when she might be attending her hero's funeral, and as those thoughts started to disrupt her memory she shook her head lightly and dispelled them in an instant, focusing out towards the waters as she quietly begins to speak towards the candle as it was leaving her sight.

"_As your flame floats on the river_

_Our hearts, they doth quiver_

_Under the stars you'll soon ascend_

_You'll see your parents again at the road of light's end_

_As short as your time was we shall recall_

_The peaceful memories we shared before your fall_

_When you look down and see the skies much brighter_

_Just know that we have thanked you, Alex Whiter."_

With her part said and through, Peach fights back the tears some more for reasons she can't quite explain, and with a light sniffle she turns around and quickly covers her face with her veil before returning to the crowd of people. Next up to say something was Luigi, who can only think to himself as he steps forward, "Man…Why isn't E. Gadd here right now? Then again, he pretty much vanished off the face of the planet after Tabuu's last attack…" As he thinks about the elderly professor who allowed Alex to come to this world, the man in green stops one inch away from the edge and folds his arms behind his back.

Only the tip of the candle's light could now be seen, and even then it was only barely thanks to the pale red sky obscuring most of it. As Luigi prepares to speak he thinks back to the days he spent with the kid. It was nice to have him around the house to take the burden off of his shoulders with the housework and cooking at times. To the man in green, Alex felt like a younger brother, and as he gives him that title he thinks about how horrible his own brother would feel if he were to ever permanently die. As he tilts his head to the left and glances over his shoulder towards Mario, he quickly pulls himself back and says in a nervous tone, "No…That'll never happen. When we die, it'll be via old age, and we will perish together…"

As he reassures himself of that fact in the midst of his beating heart, Luigi holds his hands in front of his chest in prayer and as he closes eyelids a multitude of images flash in place of his concealed vision. They are barely visible at first, but become more prominent and brighter with each passing second. He is remembering everything from the time he met the boy to the last time he got to look at him. He realized that he couldn't recall his last words to him, for he was pulled away so suddenly from the world thanks to Dimentio's interference. But this regret did not dissuade him from saying something now, even though he wasn't going to be able to respond.

"Hey Alex…It may have been only three months, but I thank you for being around for the time you were with us. It was nice having a little brother-like figure around, and if you are paying attention from above I just want to ask you…If you see Lady Timpani and Blumiere wandering around in the Overthere or Heaven…Or wherever it is an Elemental Overlord like you would be at, please let them know that took care of Dimentio for good…They can rest easy now without worrying about his further existence. Umm…That's really all I have to say, so enjoy your rest now my friend…"

As Luigi finishes his heartfelt prayer he keeps himself together as he turns around, walking back to the group so Alpha could take over for him. The Commander walks with his head held high and proud, but with each step he builds up to a melancholy sigh before releasing it from his mouth with a lowering of his head. There was little for him to recall, but that just caused him to feel regret simply because he DIDN'T spend more time with the young Overlord. "You know…I always wanted…" As he murmurs innocently to himself he slaps himself a quick one on the forehead with his right hand to smack the thoughts away. "Stay focused Alpha…You can't screw this up by thinking about other things…"

After saying that, he steps to the edge of the docks. It felt like time was flowing quickly now, since in the span of a minute the sunlight was almost gone and the dark of night was ready to replace it at any moment. The Commander felt tense, like there was something amiss that he was at the moment unaware of. But even with the anxiety welling up inside of him he looked towards the sea with his arms folded behind his back and began to conjure up the words in his mind that would be spoken outright without hesitation. As he does so he worries that the time he is spending thinking things up might be taken offensively to both Alex's spirit and the people standing behind him.

"Hey…Alex, I'm pretty certain you can hear us all from up there, and I'm glad to know that you are watching from above…I said this once before, but this time in front of hundreds of others I will once again apologize to you for what I did to you months ago. If there is anything I should ever regret, it is that I had the gall to harm a child just to get information that truly wasn't useful for the sake of the world. My old mentor Zetta probably hung his head in shame after witnessing that from above, and even now that the burden of Cackletta's existence removed from my mind…Heh, this is turning into a admission towards someone else, so once again I'm honestly sorry for what I just did. Really, I could go on forever about how sorry I am for the things I did…Not just to you, but to everyone else…However, I believe now would be the right time for someone more worthy to speak to you to that the helm here…"

With his words both pure and honest, Alpha finishes his speech just as quickly as he began it, turning around and moving past the heroes after delivering a brief nod to Mario. He then moves his way through the crowd of Toads, vanishing from sight not long after the plumber starts to walk towards the edge of the dock. Gemini turns towards his Commander, curious as to why he is leaving prematurely, but instead of pursuing him he chooses to stick around to hear the last words his ally is to say to the young Overlord. With his arms folded behind his shell, the Koopa stands still and waits patiently.

For Mario, each step feels more painful than the last. He was reaching the point of which he would have to forever let go of his emotions towards an ally of his. Such an event had never happened to him before, and the last week was spent thinking of a way to convey such a release of sadness and regret. He turned his head to view his friends standing behind him, but all he could see above their heads were the faint images of gravestones. He couldn't even bring himself to look at Peach, for he couldn't bear the thought of imagining hers floating ominously above her saddened face.

As the plumber reaches the end of the dock he takes a deep breath in and gets a hold of himself, rationalizing that the moment he finishes speaking to Alex's departed spirit his stress will come to an end and he will be able to move on, even if the memories of their time together may still come up every now and then. In fact, those very past events are swirling rapidly inside his mind, but he chooses to endure the brutal onslaught of remembrance until it ends. "No…I won't loom on this issue, it wasn't my failure that caused his death…" He murmurs to himself as he tightly clenches his fists and looks out onto the horizon, noticing that the light of the candle has now left his view entirely.

"Alex…It's me, Mario. Did it make you happy to hear what everyone else had to say? If so, I'm glad they did their part. Even Alpha has lightened up a bit, and you should know by now that him and I have settled our differences. But enough of that, I want to tell you now what I never will get a chance to say again…Alex, I considered you to be my son. Even though you showed a mature demeanor at times there were still times where you acted rash and arrogant, and I felt that it was my job to act like a substitute father to you in order to help you overcome those faults. We shared wonderful memories in just the three months you were around, and it was a time that was cut far too short because in the end…Your duty as the Elemental Overlord took precedence over all else and you sacrificed yourself to destroy your evil clone so we could stand in the splendor of a new tomorrow. I don't hate you for your decision, I understand what had to be done…But I will still not deny that in the recesses of my mind, I believe that if the rest of us were around, we could've prevented your death…So rest easy now Alex, and know that though we will move on, you are still in all of our hearts."

Those were the last words of this memorial towards the young Overlord, and with his job now done Mario feels an abundant amount of relief welling up inside of him. With a great weight lifted off of his shoulders he turns around, standing high and proud as he walks back over to his friends and begins to talk with them about the ordeals they've gone through in recent months. All the while the Toads, now done listening to the words of their heroes, begin to wander about the docks while chatting with one another, their voices drowning out the conversation between the heroes in their own ears.

The absent hero, Alpha, has left the dock area and has proceeded to the center of town. He had a prior arrangement set up with one of his men, and the time of their meeting was almost about to occur. Standing in wait for his Commander is Captain Florence, the red-skinned, blue vest wearing Yoshi who commandeered the M.S.I. battleship to combat the Dark Star for a brief period of time. The dinosaur turned its head to the right, hearing the footsteps of his leader and bow in respect towards him. "How many times do I have to tell you to cut the chivalry Florence?" Alpha says with a bit of snark in his tone of voice.

The Yoshi, embarrassed after being reprimanded by his Commander, raises his head up and lets out a light cough from the mouth. "Forgive me Commander, it is simply a reflex of mine…" Raising his eyebrow yet not giving a care about the weak excuse given to him, Alpha stops a few feet away from the dinosaur and notices something resting against the top of his saddle. Laying unconscious with his vine arms sprawled out is the Crayzee Dayzee known as Driad. With his previous topic discarded from his head for the time being, the Commander diverts his focus towards his friend and asks his Captain, "Where did you find him?"

The Yoshi, knowing full well as to what Alpha is referring to, uses his stubby arms to flip the Crayzee Dayzee over his head and lay him gently onto the ground. The flowery creature is snoring, the breaths through his nasal passages sounding peaceful yet frequent. "I found his body lying around on the ground…He wore himself out, probably from over-exerting himself trying to find something that can confirm that his denial of Alex's death holds merit. In fact, I even heard him mumble a few times on the way back, 'No…No…Come back Alex…Come back…' It was rather unsettling if I do say so myself."

With his last words said in an unhinged tone of voice, the Yoshi lets out a light chuckle to relieve himself as the Commander kneels down and pats the Crayzee Dayzee on the top of his head, gentling gliding the backside of his right hand's fingers against the forehead which causes him to let out a relaxed sigh before snuggling his arms up against his chest and continuing to snore at a slower pace. "He'll be fine…" Alpha then says as he lifts his body back up. "I'll make sure to get him to Mario and Luigi before we head back to base. Now then, about the job I assigned to you…"

"Oh right!" The Yoshi, having been absorbed into the observation of his Commander's act of kindness, remembers his reason for being here in and instant and he quickly looks Alpha in the eye to tell him what he knows. "I went to the spot you told me to go to with the device you handed to me…And it is like you said, there are faint traces of a magnetic signature similar to that radiating from the glove Alex used to conceal those flames of his. But why does that matter to you at all?" With the news delivered to him swiftly, Alpha's face lights up with a grin and he folds his arms behind his back.

"Simple. If there are traces of a magnetic signature, that means someone picked up the glove…And who else would be able to predict where the glove dropped besides me?" Florence quickly realized what his Commander was getting at, and as his eyes widen in shock he blurts out without any thought, "Alex Whiter is still alive? But then that means…" The Yoshi struggled to think about the meaning behind this revelation, but all thoughts prove futile as he spends a few seconds with his arms folded in front of his chest. "Wait…So why is it that after a week, he hasn't come back to Toad Town?"

"Wish I could answer that. I don't know what exactly happened during the battle, but I could imagine that fighting an evil copy of yourself could really get you to start thinking about things no other being would ever consider thinking about…Perhaps our young Overlord is taking a break from the world around him so he can sort all his problems out. I'm not omniscient, so I really can't take a guess as to what he is doing." "So should we tell the others?" Florence asks with earnest in response to his Commander's rather half-baked answer.

"I'd rather we not. It'll just be a secret between you and me, and it should be obvious as to why I am doing this." "Right. You don't want to get their hopes up just in case he doesn't end up coming back." "Hit it right on the mark Florence. Either way, thank you for your help, and I'd like for you to join Gemini at the dock now so you can see how he is holding up. I'll be joining you in a minute or two." The Yoshi promptly nods his head at Alpha's request, but as he dashes by him at a nimble speed he just as quickly stops in place as yet another question pops into his mind.

"If you had a feeling that Alex was alive, then were the words you spoke at the docks true or not?" "That they were." The Commander wastes no time in replying, turning his body around after picking Driad's body up off the ground and turning to face his ally. "They had to be. I wasn't going to risk the chance that my theory was wrong. If he truly was dead, then my words would echo to him in Heaven. But if he is alive, then I've already figured out what to say to him the next time we meet." Florence didn't need to say anymore after his superior's honest reply, and with a silent nod he runs off into the distance.

As Alpha stands alone under the gaze of the night stars, he looks back up at them and notices them sparkling sporadically. It is then that he hears the twinkle of the stars and grins as he turns around and sees the wooden doll Geno descending from the center of a pillar of light. He lands on the ground with his arms outstretched beside him, folding them into his cloak as he lifts his head up to stare at the Commander with his blank pupils. "Geno? And to what do I owe the honor of seeing you here tonight?" Alpha quickly asks, but his mechanical eye quickly picks up another presence standing behind him, who calls out to him with a blunt, "WE need to talk Alpha."

Tilting his head over his shoulders, the Commander sees the elderly, red-robed Toad known as all in this town as the Master. With his body lurched forward the shroom strokes his grey beard and takes a couple steps ahead of where he stands. "Well, didn't know that you two shared a history together." "Alpha remarks as he turns his body sideways and takes a couple steps back so he can see both figures in his line of sight. The Master waves his right arm out, gesturing to Geno and saying in response, "I am more acquainted with the Star Spirits, not their herald."

"Circumstances of your relation to the Star Spirits not-withstanding, may I have an explanation as to why you two have chosen to approach me now?" Alpha says with his eyebrow raised out of suspicion. "It is in regards to the young Overlord, and the news you've discovered about his continued existence." Geno states. "Ah, so you already know about that?" The Commander says with little surprise in his voice. "Not really hard to figure out when you can see the entire planet from above." "So you know where Alex is as of now?" Alpha then asks quickly after the herald had given his response to the question prior to this one.

"Yes I do, but don't get impatient, now isn't the time for you to help him out. What I'm about to tell you isn't my own words, but information I was told to transmit over to you by the higher-ups." Alpha knew not of the group of beings Geno just mentioned, but widened his eyes in shock as he begun to think about the fact that Geno, and by extension the Star Spirits as well, answered to a higher order. "Go on…I'm listening." The Commander hesitantly says. "Alright then. You see, thanks to Chaos Alex's existence, the timelines are in a jumble. As such, Alex's fate in the universe as a whole has been shifted in a new direction. As the person who instigated the investigation that lead to the discovery of the boy's survival, you have now been assigned the duty of assisting him when the proper time arrives."

"Assisting him? Assisting him with what exactly?" Alpha says, for once in his life showing confusion over something that was said directly to him. "Perhaps you would understand what I'm getting at if I went into a little more detail…You see, the higher-ups miscalculated, and as it stands Alex is of too young an age to officially go out and handle the duties that being an Elemental Overlord entails. Not only that, but he has some issues to sort out that will require the help of a few select people to help him overcome them fully. As it stands right now, you are one of those few people…However, it'll be a while before you can get involved."

After Geno finishes explaining things to the Commander, he finds himself feeling less bewildered about the details and lowers the intensity of his confusion and gets a grin on his face. "So basically, I'm supposed to be like a father to him, correct?" "We weren't given all the details from them, but that could be the gist of it." The Master then replies. "And I'm guessing a time wasn't specified as to when I need to help Alex out, correct?" "Yes." Geno swiftly answers Alpha's question. "You can try and look for him if you want, just don't let things get out of control. Of course, if YOU fail, a counterpart from another timeline will likely succeed…That's how it works in theory I believe."

"Still, I'd rather be the one to succeed…And let me guess, because someone of a celestial order told you to convey this info to me, I'm not allowed to tell anyone else about my purpose?" After the Commander asked his question, the other two beings nodded their heads, remaining silent for a few more seconds for they sensed that the Goomba had something else to ask them. "You guys are going to involved with the other people, aren't you?" He asks after taking in everything said thus far and coming to his own conclusion. "That is a correct assumption Commander." The Master says. "I am to guide the first person down the right path, but unlike you I know when my disciple will appear and who they will be."

"And as for me, I will be guiding my person to Alex close to the time when you will be seeing him again." Geno says right after the Master had finished his sentence. The elderly tone, content with letting the herald finish off there, pushes his right hand into the opposite sleeve and with lightning reflexes he pulls it out and swing it outright, tossing an object to Alpha that the Commander anticipates and catches in the grip of his right hand after flinging Driad over his left shoulder. He holds his hand out in front of his face, revealing to him a fragment of a stone tablet that is meant to connect to something that the Goomba knows he had seen once before.

Lifting his head up to glare at the Master, he finds suspicion over the fact that he was holding this fragment, assumedly for quite a long time. "How did you come across this?" Alpha quickly asks the elderly Toad, who folds his arms into his sleeves and closes his eyelids slightly. "I've been alive for a very long time Commander, immortality granted to me by the Star Spirit's allowing me to travel the world many times over in search of enlightenment and the truth about our planet's mysteries. That fragment connects to the main tablet of the Elemental Overlord's prophecy, but the truth revealed in its completion is not for you to know about. Thus, you are to keep that fragment until the day you meet my new disciple, at which time he will take it and return to E. Gadd to learn what he needs to help Alex. You'll know who I'm talking about when the time is right…"

As Alpha spends most of the Toad's speech looking down at the object, the Master quickly leaps into the air and vanishes from the detection of the Commander's mechanical eye in an instant. This sudden disappearance catches him off-guard, and as he lifts his head up all he can feel is the nightly breeze brushing against his skin. It was cold, but at the same time relaxing to the touch. With his advice given the Master's gift is tucked away into one of Alpha's many arm compartments. After that, Geno walks up to him and looks over at Driad, taking one of his wooden arms and resting it gently on the right side of his face.

"I'm sorry that I can't talk to you right now Driad…But know that your life will turn out alright once you move on from Alex's death…" The herald lied at the end of his sentence to keep up the façade just in case the Crayzee Dayzee was conscious enough to hear him, and after his heartfelt comment Geno pulled himself away from his friend and nodded his head towards the Commander. "Well, I'm going to depart for now. Remember, no one else can know about what you are up to, so before you go make another call to that F.B.I. guy on Earth, take careful consideration about what I just told you."

With another pillar of light appearing to take Geno back to Star Haven, Alpha looks up with a subdued sense of surprise in his expression, and as his physical form fades out the Commander looks away and says to himself, "Yeah…I'll keep that in mind." While he was a bit perturbed by the knowledge that the herald knew about his calls, Alpha just glanced up towards the stars as they stopped flickering and he raised his right arm up to his face. After establishing a connection with his desired target, the Commander activates the voice modifier with a thought and says into it, "How are things coming along?"

**Remembrances of Alex Whiter…**

The End?


	41. The Tale of Gemini

**Author's Note:**

Sorry for the lateness of this upload, but I've been busy with other things...Heh. Just remember, after this the next upload will be back in Part 1, which you can see here:

s/7538101/1/bClash_b_of_the_bElements_b_Part_1_A_Flame_Reborn

And yes, there will be a What-If story for Part 2, along with one for this particular tale, but you won't be seeing those until after Part 3 finishes. So then, enjoy!

* * *

The Mushroom Kingdom, a most peaceful place where various creatures of many shapes and sizes roam the beautiful, lively landscapes that exist all around. Some creatures have created cities and villages for themselves, allowing them to live peacefully, far away from the rulership of the evil Koopa Kings. Those that lie close to the royal lands that they rule usually form alliances with either the rulers of the Mushroom Kingdom, or the rulers of Sarassaland in order to ensure their safety. One village that has such an alliance with the Mushroom Kingdom is the small Koopa Village that lies to the east of their main city Toad Town. There, the turtle-ish creatures and a small group of living explosives known as Bob-Ombs live their lives peacefully, occasionally this is disrupted by the rampant Fuzzies population in the forest, who have a tendency to invade the village and steal the innocent Koopa's shells. They don't mean any harm, they merely wish to have a little fun, and usually return the shells to the villagers within 24 hours.

During one normal day in the village, there were two ordinary Koopas sitting in front of a wooden table playing Poker with each other. They were inside a small house with a green roof that was crafted to look like the shells that the creatures wore on their backs. The Koopa on the left, the owner of the house, has a blue shell on his back, wears blue boots on his feet, and has a red scarf wrapped around his neck. The Koopa on the right has a yellow shell on his back, wears yellow boots, but besides that has nothing else on his body that makes him look unique from any other yellow Koopa in the world. Both Koopas have their elbows leaning on the table, two cards grasped in their hands. They have both gone all in with their chips, and now they each wait for the other to reveal their hand. The tension is thick, so thick that there is not a single blade that could cut it in the entire universe. Eventually, the yellow Koopa lays his hand down onto the table, bearing a confident grin on his face as he does so.

"Look at this and weep Kooper." He says. "Two aces!" Indeed, his hand consists of an ace of hearts and an ace of spades. After analyzing the hand that was just played, Kooper gets a smile on his face, which is hidden behind the two cards he has held in front of his face. He reveals his hand, laying both cards down onto the table. Upon looking at the hand Kooper has played, the yellow Koopa's smug expression is quickly replaced with one of surprise. "I also have two aces." Kooper says with a hint of confidence in his voice. Looking down at the cards in disbelief, the yellow Koopa raises his eyes to look at Kooper, and a quiet chuckle emerges from his mouth. "Well then...You know what this means, don't you Kooper?" He says. Kooper cracks his knuckles, stretching his arms behind his head as he does so. "I do, Koopis."

Kooper takes his right fist and slams it down onto the table at the same time that Koopis slams his down. The combined impact of both of their fists on the table knocks over the towers of gambling chips that had been set up beforehand, and the cards are blown off by a light breeze that came after their fist's impact. Both of them look at each other straight in the eye. As they try to anticipate what the other is going to do next, they raise and lower their fist three times in rapid succession, chanting three words in a row in unison. "ROCK! PAPER! SCISSORS!" They exclaim. Lowering both of their fists onto the table slowly, Koopis has kept his hand clenched into the shape of a fist. Kooper, on the other hand, has his thumb lifted into the air, and the finger next to that pointed towards Koopis. The two other fingers are clenched tightly against his palm, a small cracking sound coming from his knuckles. Koopis stares at Kooper with a look of total awe on his face. He knew then and there that he was defeated. "T-47 Grenade Launcher beats all, Koopis." Kooper says confidently.

Unraveling his fist and slamming his hand down onto the table, Koopis lifts one leg up off the ground and places his foot on the end of the chair he is sitting on, his knee bent against the edge of the table with a look of anger on his face. "No fair Kooper! The game is called Rock, Paper, Scissors for a reason you know?" Victorious, Kooper raises the hand that gave him victory to the front of his face, and blows on the pointer finger. "Hey, don't be mad because you lost to someone who knows how to play the game better than you." At that moment, Koopis lunges at Kooper from the other side of the table, knocking the surprised Koopa and the chair he sat on down onto the ground. The two begin to fight, knocking down the other furniture in the house as their fight continues to escalate.

Later on in the evening, Koopis can be seen carrying an unconscious Kooper on his back. He approaches a house with a pink shell on the roof, and two windows on the front of the shell. Koopis knocks on the door, hoping that someone will answer. The yellow Koopa can hear footsteps. Someone was currently walking down the staircase to answer the door. The door slowly creaks open, and standing before Koopis is a young Koopa with a pink shell, who wears a blue vest on her body, a small digital camera connected to a rope that's wrapped around her neck, and a pair of clear, rectangular glasses placed in front of her eyes with bits of gold around the border of the glass. Koopis' cheeks glow red out of embarrassment, as he nervously rubs the back of his head with the hand he just used to knock on the door. The female Koopa looks over the yellow Koopa's shoulders, having to lift her feet up off the ground due to being one inch shorter than him. She then moves back to her original position and lowers her head, raising her eyes to look at Koopis with the back of her hands pressed against her hips and one foot tapping on the ground.

"Did you two fight each other AGAIN?" Before the female Koopa starts scolding Koopis for his reckless and childish behavior, the yellow Koopa speaks out. "Ummm, yeah...Kaylie, is your mom home right now?" Removing that serious look on her face with a confused one as she tries to figure out what Koopis just said, her mind being focused on scolding the young Koopa as he was busy talking at the time. "Huh? Oh yeah, she has been home for the last hour or two now...Let me call her." Cupping her right hand around the front of her mouth, Kaylie turns her head to the right and takes a deep breath in. "MOM! KOOPIS AND KOOPER BEAT EACH OTHER UP AGAIN!" Her piercing yell forces Koopis to use both of his hands to protect his eardrums. In the process of saving his ears, he accidentally lets go of Kooper, who falls off of his back and lands shell first onto the ground. And as loud as Kaylie's yell is, it's nothing compared to the horror that is her mother's yell. "WHAT? THOSE DARN KIDS NEED TO LEARN TO STOP BEING SO DANG FOOLISH!" To put things in perspective, Kaylie's mom is currently in the kitchen, yet despite the distance her yell sounds just as loud as Kaylie's from where Koopis stands.

"...Anyways, pick Kooper up off the ground and come on in. Once my mom gets him all healed up, would you like to stay for dinner?" Kaylie, despite feeling a bit embarrassed while standing before Koopis, manages to keep a straight face as she talks. Not one to turn down such a polite invitation, Koopis nods his head and mutters a positive response from under his breath. After picking Kooper up off the ground, Koopis carries him into the house and lays him down on a nearby couch. At that moment, another pink shelled Koopa walks in from the nearby kitchen. She wears pink shoes with metallic pointed heels, a green cloth wrapped around her head, and an old, red wool sweater on her body. On both sides of her mouth are some wrinkles, a sign that this woman is much older in comparison to the other, more younger Koopas in the house currently.

"My my, you two are so dang reckless..." The elderly Koopa walks over to the couch and pulls a ceramic shell-shaped bowl out from underneath the nearby glass table. "Let me guess" She says, turning her eyes to look at Koopis from over her shoulders. "You two played Poker again, tied after both of you went all-in, and then when you went to settle things in a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, Kooper pulled off the Grenade Launcher move knowing full well that he couldn't win any other way against you, and in anger you lashed out at him." As he nervously raises a finger in preparation to respond to Kaylie's mom, a single sweatdrop forms on the top of his head. "Well..." Before he can continue, Kaylie's mom finishes tossing a Koopa Leaf into the bowl, pulls a small, ceramic mixer from within her shell and begins to stir the leaf in with a few other ingredients, including Maple Syrup and a Boo Sheet. "You don't need to say anymore dear...Honestly, you youngin's don't even know the first thing about Poker..."

"So, if you don't mind me asking, Kaylie's mom-" "Please, you should know by now just to call me Kylie, Koopis." Bowing his head in apology, Koopis wonders what kind of mixture Kylie is concocting in that bowl of hers. Kylie herself is way ahead of Koopis' train of thought though. "Anyways, after two more minutes of stirring I will apply the finished goop onto Kooper's body. There it will phase through his skin and heal any injured bones or damaged nerves. He should be healed up after about fifteen minutes of rest once I've applied it all." With nothing else to do except wait for Kylie to get done creating the remedy, Koopis sits on the other end of the couch that Kooper is currently rested on top of, while Kylie tells Kaylie to get into the kitchen and finish stirring the soup so it would be ready for dinner. Quickly complying to her mother's wishes, Kaylie walks towards the kitchen, taking a moment to glance over at Koopis with a cheerful look in her eyes. Kaylie's momentary pause does not slip pass Kylie's eyes.

"Honestly, she gets the the love of journalism from me, and the inability to admit her true feelings of love from her father..." She whispers to herself, Koopis managing to overhear a few parts of her sentence at the same time. "What was that?" He asks. Quickly but calmly attempting to deny having said anything, Kylie closes her eyes and slowly shakes her head as she continues to stir. "Nothin' dear, nothin' at all." After two minutes have passed by, Kylie gently lays the mixer down onto the table, and places her now freed up hand into the slimy mixture she has just created. After lifting her hand out of the bowl, Kylie places it down on top of Kooper's stomach, and begins to rub it all around the surface of his belly. After covering the entire area, Kylie places the bowl down on the table next to mixture, and gets up off the chair to head into the kitchen. Koopis turns his head, and to his amazement watches as the goop sinks right through Kooper's skin. "Wow..." Is the only thing he can bring himself to say in the face of this event...

Five minutes later, Koopis, Kaylie, and Kylie are seen sitting around a circular dinner table. And, surprise surprise, the top of it has a pattern similar to that of those seen on the back of the Koopa's shells. After Koopis lifts a spoon full of soup into his mouth and swallows the hot liquid down his throat, he points the metallic eating utensil at Kylie, waving it around in a circle with his fingers while leaning his palm against his chin. "So tell me, what made you decide to become a part-time doctor in the first place?" As he asks that question, Kaylie can be seen taking her spoon and repeatedly slashing it through the air in front of her throat. "Well..." As Kylie rubs her chin in thought, Kaylie drops her spoon into her soup bowl and smashes her right hand into her face, squinting her eyes in annoyance.

"Is something the matter dear?" Kylie and Koopis both stare at Kaylie as she leans over and places her face down onto the table, resting her left arm down on front of her hand and waving the other arm at the two of them. "Never mind...Just make it quick mom..." As Kaylie mumbles to herself, Kylie shrugs her shoulders and lets out a small sigh. "For someone so interested in journalism, you think you'd learn to listen to other people's stories by now dear..." "I know that mom...But you've told this story about a million times before!" Sighing once again, Kylie pats her daughter on the head and turns her head to look at Koopis. "Yes, that may be true, but your boyfriend has never heard the story before." That single word, "Boyfriend", causes Kaylie to immeadiately raise her head up off the table and glare at her mother with an insane look in her eyes while pointing at Koopis. Koopis also points at Kaylie while nervously glancing at Kylie from the corner of his eyes. He is a bit more reluctant to point at her though than she was to point at him.

As she watches the two young Koopas react to her words, she rears her head back and begins to laugh loudly. It is at this point that the both of them turn their eyes to look at each other, then after noticing that their fingers are pointed at each other, they quickly put their hands away and their faces turn red out of embarrassment. "Hahahahaha! Oh I swear, there has GOT to be a word for the way you two act towards each other...HAHAHAHAHAHA!" To stop her mom from getting out of hand with her laughter, Kaylie decides to quickly try and get them back on track. "Mom...You going to tell Koopis the story or what?" Kylie stops laughing, places her right fist near her mouth, and lets out a small cough. "I'm sorry, I really got ahead of myself there...Well, let me just tell you a tale..."

_"Back in the days, I was a photojournalist for the Koopa Kronicle. I always tried my hardest to find 'The Big Scoop' so my name would be remembered in history as the greatest Journalist ever. In the days of old, I had to get the news stories by sneaking into spacehips, traveling through blazing hot deserts, icy mountains, and even the volcanoes themselves. I truly enjoyed my job, and I had both the energy and the enthusiasm to accomplish my goals. Sadly though, my body was not as strong as my mind. Age started to catch up to me, and I found myself soon being unable to continue journalism. In one of my last journeys, I traveled to Yoshi's Island to find out about the chief's famous medicines. As he explained to me about the multiple procedures and techniques, I found myself becoming increasingly interested in the subject..."_

_"A few days later, I quit the Koopa Kronicle, and settled back down in this village. Eventually I got married, and after I received my Doctor's Degree, Kaylie was born...Before I became too engulfed in the wonders of raising a child, I wrote a book called 'Fungicide: The Epic Battle For the Mushroom Kingdom', which detailed a story about some heroes called the Mario Bros., who fought off some mushroom-shaped alien invaders called the Shroobs. After winning, they vanished from this world completely...The book I wrote ended up becoming a best-seller, which gave me enough money to create a Clinic here in the village..."_

"You see Koopis, even though you may have some goals in your life that you want to accomplish, you may find yourself changing your mind when life-altering events occur." "I see." Koopis closes his eyes and begins to think about his goals in life for a moment. "Take my dear sweet Kaylie for example...She wishes to become a reporter at one of those newfangled News Stations at Toad Town, but she may change her mind later on and decide to become a chef! It's just a matter of what fate has planned for you..." Koopis peaks through his eyelids and notices Kaylie glancing over at Kooper's well-rested body in the other room as she lets out a heavy sigh. When the female Koopa notices him staring at her, she blushes and turns towards her mother. "So mom...Umm, thanks for the dinner. I'll just go put my dishes away and head up into my room to study...Koopis, when Kooper wakes up, let him know that I said hi..."

Kaylie takes her bowl plus spoon and walks over to the dish washer, which she quickly opens up and puts both items into. She then retreats to the nearby stairway for the night, taking one quick glance back at Koopis with yet another blush on her face before looking back at the path she walks. Once she is gone, Kylie turns towards Koopis, and the young Koopa can see a spark in her eyes similar to that one would find in an aspiring journalist. "So, what exactly are your plans for the future? I know you wished to be a Doctor when you were a only a wee lad, but has that changed?" Koopis drops his spoon into the bowl and is about ready to answer her question, when he hears Kooper's waking moans. He gets up out of his chair and is about to head out into the living room, when he realizes how rude he is being to his host and turns around to give her a grateful bow. "Thank you for the meal." He says in a polite yet humble tone. He then turns around and continues onward into the next room.

"Tsk tsk tsk..." Kylie gets off of her chair and picks up both her bowl and Koopis', she then looks over to a picture of Kaylie, a male Koopa with a small, pointed beard and red shell, and herself standing before their house. As a bout of nostalgia overcomes her, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath in through her nostrils. "It's been a while since you left us to travel the world honey...This peace we've had since the death of the previous Koopa King has been enjoyable to say the least." Kylie opens her eyes and takes a look at Koopis, who is now speaking to the awoken Kooper, the two of them having a good laugh at a joke that Kooper had said. "This new generation...I will continue to live in order to see how they fare in this world..."

Some time later, when the full moon's light peeks through the night clouds to shine down onto this quaint little village, Kooper and Koopis can be seeing saying their goodbyes to Kylie before proceeding to walk back to their respective houses after saying good night to each other. Koopis reaches the front of his house, and is prepared to open the door, when he starts to feel uneasy. Two mechanical clinks signal to him that something is approaching him from behind. At first he thought that it was only a Bob-omb with metallic shoes walking through the village on his way back home, but the sound of a string being pulled back dispels his assumptions from his mind and causes him to turn around just in time to jump out of the way of a tranq-dipped dart's path. But even though he manages to avoid the first one, a second one quickly finds itself stuck to his neck. As his vision begins to fade away, Koopis weakly pulls the dart out of his neck and looks out in front of him to see who his attacker is. All he can see is the silhouette of a bow-shaped creature before his eyelids force themselves shut and his body falls flat against the ground...

After an unspecified amount of time has passed, Koopis slowly awakes, his body stiff due to just now waking up from his brief period of absolute paralysis, only to feel the icy feel of cold steel pressed against his right arm. As he regains the full use of his sight, he blinks a few times to make sure that what he sees before him is real, and not the product of a dream he might be having. But no, the visage of reality that rests before his eyes continues to exist, and as pushes himself off the metal bench that is suspended slightly in the air, he walks over the set of iron bars that keeps him trapped within this fully metallic jail cell and wraps his hands around them, staring in absolute horror as he tries to grasp the sights surrounding him.

A factory. "No, not just any factory..." Koopis utters to himself. Indeed it wasn't. As gears grinded and bolts were turned, Koopis watched as liquid magma was poured into a bowl and being used to smelt what looked to be a line of living weapons, which included the likes of axes with legs, arms and eyes and a spearhead with the same features on them. They lacked any colors, but that only helped to make their blank expressions all the more terrifying to him. These miniature "soldiers" are carried along a conveyor belt, where they are examined by armored machines that are about the same size as them. If they deem the products to be unworthy, they are dumped into a chasm with no end. If they are cleared, they are given a coat of paint and are sent to join their fellow brothers in a storage room on the left side of the belts.

Koopis takes a few steps back and places one hand on his chest, feeling the rapid beating of his heart resting beneath his skin. "W-W-What is going on? W-Where am I?" Though in this time of panic he has many questions to ask, he decides to silence himself once he begins to overhear a conversation between two people that are slowly approaching his cell. "So, you have any idea as to why the Master wanted this Koopa?" "Nyeh, I'm afraid I do not my black little friend. From what I heard, the only ones who know are the Master and that stick in the mud Yaridovich." "Hmm...That's what I thought. When I asked Red about this whole matter, he pretty much said the same thing...Minus the part about calling the second-in-command a stick in the mud."

As the voices get louder, the sound of continuous footsteps echoes off the walls of this mysterious factory until the two figures appear before Koopis' cell and turn to look at him. The first of the two, a small black soldier with orbs for hands, a spike on the top of his rounded head and sunglasses covering his eyes takes a key out of his pipe-like mouth and puts it into the cell's lock. The other, taller figure is one that Koopis is quick to recognize based on shape alone. A walking bow with yellow and orange stripes on it's body, a crazed look in it's eyes and a wild, spiky red haircut on his head with a string that connects from that to the bottom of his body stands next to the black soldier in anticipation.

"Who are you two?" Koopis screams out, his question falling on the black robot's deaf ears as he walks over to him. Detecting an oppurtunity to escape, the young Koopa makes his move when the robot is about ready to grab him, leaping right over his head and running straight out through the cell door before the walking bow can hope to react. Not upset by their prisoner's sudden departure, the black bot taps a com link attached to the right side of his head and speaks into it. "Yo, hey, the Koopa got away. No, he just left, you should catch him if you hop to it. Yes, understood, Axem Black out." The robot called Axem Black shuts off his communicator and walks outside of the cell, motioning at his companion to fire some tranqs at Koopis just in case the back-up fails to reach him in time.

And just like that the bow machine starts to rapid-fire some small darts from his mouth aimed directly at the fleeing Koopa. With the speeds his target is moving at, none of his shots manage to hit their mark, but instead they manage to alert Koopis to his pursuer's attack. When the time is right, he tucks into his shell to not only increase his speed, but to also make it even harder for the bow to hit him. Distracted by a newfound confidence in regard to his escape, Kopis failes to notice another machine landing right in front of him, and promptly rams into the sword-shaped pogo stick that makes up the lower half of it's mechanical body. Having smacked almost headfirst into his, Koopis is once again rendered completely unconscious due to impacting into such a solid object...

A few hours pass away like seconds within Koopis' mind, and as his mind begins to function properly once more he slowly cracks open his eyelids, only to be greeted by a bright light that looms above his body. As he tries to lift his body up to take a look at his surroundings, he finds that his arms and legs are refusing to move. Leaning his head to the left, he finds that his limbs are being restrained to a steel bed by some chains. Try as he might, Koopis cannot slip his limbs free, nor can he break them off with his muscles as weak as they are. He lifts his head up slightly and looks for any signs of life. Hell, he'd even accept seeing the body of one of those machine soldiers than continue to stare out into this infinite darkness. "Hello? Where am I?" He asks in confusion.

After a few seconds, perhaps in response to his question, a small, silver robot that looks like the sunglasses wearing one Koopis had encountered earlier begins to approach the table with a chainsaw in it's right hand. But Koopis will soon wish that he hadn't brought his existence to this robot's attention, for the little bot revs up the chainsaw and gets ready to lower it down onto the Koopa's body. "What are you doing? Get that thing away from me!" Koopis struggles to break himself free as the sounds of the saw get louder and louder, but it seems as though there is nothing that can be done to save him at this point. Before the sharp tips touch his flesh, a voice echoes out from the distance. "Cease!"

The machine stops it's advance and lowers the chainsaw away from Koopis' body, with no emotion found in it's response. The young Koopa lets out a sigh of relief, but that brief period of peace is shattered instantaneously by the sound of another approaching machine. Looking off to the right, Koopis watches as a grey mechanical monstrosity that has a gold crown and a long, white beard rolls in from the shadows. In his right hand is a sledge hammer, and his red piercing eyes projects a feeling of fear into Koopis' heart. This machine was different from the others, he thought. He had the ability to exert free will, he wasn't being controlled by anyone, not man or beast. Taking these facts into consideration, the young Koopa comes to the conclusion that this machine is the factory's creator, but also the leader of the soldiers who kidnapped him.

"So you're the head honcho...What do you want with me?" The large robot refuses to look his prisoner straight in the eyes, instead his gaze is focused at the light hovering above him. He isn't ignoring what he says, he just refuses to look at a creature he deems lower than him. "Thank you for listening, Engineer Black..." He speaks to the silver bot, who raises one hand up to his forehead and salutes his master. "Answer my question, darn you!" The factory owner lets out a scowl, irritated by the fact that this lowly creature is showing such disrespect as he addresses him. "You would be wise to seal your lips, Koopa. You should be thankful that I have allowed you to have a few more seconds of free will..." "Free will? I refuse to become one of your robots!" His patience running thin, small amounts of steam slowly begin to seep through the sides of this large machine's head. "Turning a living creature into a robot? Clever idea, but I don't plan on doing that to you..." "Then what madness could you possibly be planning for me?"

On the very brink of a mental breakdown, the factory owner takes his hammer and slams it hard into the steel floor beneath him, at the same time screaming out "IF YOU WOULD JUST SHUT UP, I WOULD TELL YOU YOU INSOLENT, FLESHY CREATURE!" The very room quakes in fear, and Koopis sees the absolute fury in his eyes as he looks ready to hyperventaliate. But this period of anger lasts only a moment, and soon enough he regains his composure and goes back to looking at the ceiling. "Hmph...Ignore my sudden outburst, it is quite unlike me to do that..." Even though the machine acts apologetic, Koopis could tell that he was being insincere. "Now, allow me to introduce myself. I am Smithy, the owner of this factory, and the king of all machines. You are currently in my...Well, to put it in basic terms, this is the room where I take things apart and...Improve them."

Horror overcomes the young Koopa, his eyes widening as his pupils shrink to the size of dots. "So that chainsaw...Is meant to cut open my chest?" "To put it simply, yes." Smithy responds, a slight tone of glee being heard in his voice as he speaks. "You're a madman! What will that accomplish?" Smithy lets out a smile, and backs up a bit before holding his left hand out to reveal a pulsating, unnatural looking heart. "You are...Compatible." Disgusted by the sight of that throbbing organ, Koopis tries to turn his head away, but the Engineer Black drops his chainsaw and grabs hold of the young Koopa's head with both hands and forces him to look back at it. "You dislike such a thing of beauty? I am not usually one to compliment the creations of the fleshy shell, but this heart...That I ripped free from the rib cage of a dead demon, will allow me to achieve absolute dominion over Plit..."

"And how...Exactly do you plan on doing that?" Koopis struggles to speak mid-sentence due to attempting to push the silver robot's hands away from his face. "Of all the creatures in this world, it just so happens that your species has a special genetic trait in your shells that makes you compatible with these kinds of hearts. When combined with a red shelled Koopa, they will be granted the ability to control fire...Green gives control over plants, and blue gives control over water. And you, with your shell of yellow, will grant me a creature that can control electricity, and with him at my command I will have a conductor powerful enough to supercharge my machines forever!" "You are stupid if you think I will just willingly obey you!" Koopis yells out, objecting to Smithy's insane claims. "Oh, I know you won't willingly obey...That's not a problem, honestly. You see, once your heart is replaced with this one, your body will...Oh, how do I put this? It will mutate into a more demonic form. Not only that, but because of this mutation, your brain will decompose into goop, leaving you a lifeless shell that I will be able to control with a few...Mechanical additions."

"You bastard! I won't let you get away with this!" As Koopis' struggle becomes increasingly frantic, Smithy begins to let out a low yet evil sounding laugh. "Ah...The amount of times I have heard that phrase, in my two-thousand years of banishment in this realm...I have talked for long enough. Begin the process now!" The Engineer summons a needle on the top of his left pointer finger and injects a mild sedative into his neck, knocking him unconscious in a matter of seconds. The small bot lets go of his head and lets it lie flat against the surface of the bed, then goes back to pick up his chainsaw and start it up once more. The blade cuts into the flesh of Koopis' chest, the robot working being careful as to not cause unnecessary damage to the body besides what he was told to do.

Once a square shape had been cut into the chest, the robot shuts off the chainsaw and places it delicately onto the ground. He then lifts that heavy chunk of flesh out of Koopis' body, placing that off to the side near his power tool. Smithy drops his sledge hammer and leans over the young Koopa's body. The object he is seeking, his heart, beats slowly in the center. He hated having to do dirty work such as this, but he could not trust his small companion to accomplish this next task quickly enough. Wrapping his strong, metallic hand around the blood-pumping organ, Smithy rips it right out of the body without even trying. Blood begins to spew from the veins, but the machine king quickly remedies this situation by placing the demonic heart in where the old one once was. The otherworldly organ begins to act on it's own accord, using some sort of dark magic to reattach itself to the rest of the veins in Koopis' body, fusing together so perfectly with them that the only sign that there wasn't a heart there for a moment is the pool of blood that rests beneath it. But even then that doesn't stick around for long, because the heart slowly begins to suck it into itself like a sponge, leaving behind not even a single drop when it has finished.

With his job now done, Smithy discards Koopis' old heart into the depths of this dark room and gives his companion the signal to proceed. Saluting his master, Engineer Black takes the piece of flesh that he had carved out of the young Koopa's body and puts it back where it belongs. When he does this, Koopis' eyes spring open instantly, and as he lifts his head up the first thing he notices is his flesh being reattached to his body by some unknown force. At first he is confused as to what is going on, but then his body is overcome with both fear and pain as he realizes that the machine king had successfully transplanted the demonic heart into his body. As he feels the unholy pulse of his new heart pounding against his chest, he starts to breathe heavy breaths, and each time he does so the breaths come out faster and sound more painful than the last.

Then, a loud cracking sound silences the fearstruck Koopis. Looking at the source of the sound, he notices the skin of his right arm is slowly being torn apart, as something tries to emerge from underneath it. In a matter of seconds, a huge mound of bulging demon flesh bursts free from it's skin-covered cage, the flesh taking the form of a gristly claw that lumbers off the side of the bed. This newborn arm breaks apart the chain that once held it down, and this somehow causes the rest of the chains to break apart as well. At the same time, the right side of Koopis' face mutates into a mass of rotting demon flesh, and as he raises his body up off the bed, a pair of demonic wings burst out of his shell, their hefty girth weighing him down immensely. As he is forced to lurch forward in order to prevent himself from becoming completely immobile, a thin field of electricity begins to spark around his body, causing the lone light above him to slowly flicker on and off.

Turning his head to look at the one responsible for his gruesome transformation, there is an expression of anger on Koopis' face and a hint of sadness in his eyes. "Smithy..." The young "Koopa" lunges his claw out and grabs ahold of Engineer Black, crushing him like a grape in the blink of an eye. "HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME!" He yells out soon after, his voice now sounding gruff and demonic. Smithy does not care for his anger, nor does he care that one of his creations no longer exists in this world. His eyes are radiating with awe, and all he can do is stare at his magnificent new creation with absolute glee. "Wonderful...Yes! This is truly my greatest creation ever...I am now, UNSTOPPABLE!" Pissed off beyond all form of mortal comprehension, Koopis musters all of his strength to lift the claw up onto the bed and aims it at the machine king, the hand surrounding by about one million volts of electricity. "Hahaha..." Smithy laughs in a rather chilling tone. "Do you honestly think you can harm me with that? Accept your fate, and let the demon within overcome you...Be my puppet, for all eternity!" As he speaks the machine king raises his left hand and clenches it tightly into the shape of a fist.

Regaining his composure for a moment, Koopis realizes that what Smithy says is probably true. Seeing that he is able to command his wings to flap, the young "Koopa" decides to take a chance and fires a blast of electricity off to the right of him. The blast crashes through a wall in the room, revealing a long, metal passageway where the soldiers are being produced at. Without any hesitation, Koopis quickly turns himself around and launches himself off the steel bed, using his wings to fly right through the hole he just made to escape. Smithy is surprised by this sudden action, and is quick to retaliate by tapping a small button on the side of his head to activate the factory's self-defense system.

As Koopis tries to find a way out of this nightmare, gatling guns emerge from the floors and begin to unload their bullets at him. He moves back and forth to avoid the shots, but dodging is quite hard for him due to his demonic arm throwing off his balance. The next wave of attacks come in the form of lasers being fired from the walls, forming a web that proves to be very difficult for the young "Koopa" to overcome. Try as he might, he ends up being unable to pass through all of them, as two lasers singe the tip of his right wing, causing him to start to descend towards the ground below. As he falls, he sees a portal waiting for him at the very end of the hallway. Pushing his wings to their limits, Koopis flies past the remaining lasers and enters the portal, the moment he does so the self-defense system deactivates and the portal itself closes.

A 2-D square appears in mid-air, and as it flips to form a 3-D box, a mysterious figure appears from within it. The person, if you could even call him that, is a jester with a face separated into two halves, a black half and an ivory half. He has two black hands with white outlines that float on their own beside his body. His legs and feet look similar as far as colors go, and the lower part of his body is connected to a robe of sorts made out of nothing but a series of connected ivory and sand colored cloths shaped each shaped to look exactly like a tie. He has two eyes, one black and one yellow, each one along with his red mouth shaped like a crescent moon. His "hat" consists of solid objects shaped like the things on his robe, only the ivory ones have a bunch of light-purple dots scattered near the tips, where a yellow square is attached onto the end of each one.

"Smithy will most certainly be steamed if he finds out that I let his new project run free." The jester says in a worried tone. "But alas, the pot must sometimes learn to cool it's own jets, otherwise the steam will blind it from it's own duties. Of course, I won't say anything to him in the first place, so there is no way that he will be able to figure things out." The jester turns his head to look out into the horizon, this time around it seems as though he is speaking to someone, as his new tone of voice would imply. "Now then, I hope you will enjoy this spectacle of chaos that will unfold from my actions. After all, a show is nothing, without an audience to watch it..." The jester then goes back to talking to himself as if his previous sentence never existed at all. "Now then, it is time for me to head to Flipside, where I will have a little fun with a certain Count...Ciao!" With that all said, the jester teleports away.

On the other side of the portal, Koopis emerges above a forest that rests near his village. He knows this due to the fact that he could see his house from above. He tries to aim the trajectory of his fall towards the village, but the weight of his demonic flesh combined with the force of gravity pulls him down into the forest. "Darnitdarnitdarnit!" He repeatedly yells out as his body slams into the tree branches beneath the layer of leaves. The tip of the branches grab hold of the flesh on his arm, each one causing an unbearable amount of pain to be inflicted onto his body. When he finally smashes into the ground, the dirt floor scrapes across his face, causing his nerves to burn in agony. Yet despite all of the pain that he has had to endure, Koopis refuses to let himself cry, deciding that he has to stay strong in order to survive what is happening to him.

"Gah..." As Koopis coughs up a little blood, he uses his hulking arm to lift himself up off the ground, which proves to be a struggle for him due to it being weakened by the fall. "Well, on the bright side...At least I landed close to the village..." Once he is on his feet, Koopis takes his left hand and places it on the shoulder of his other arm, then begins his short journey back to his home town with the claw being dragged along the ground behind him. It takes only a minute for him to emerge from the forest, arriving at the entrance of the village only a few seconds later. When he walks in, the first thing he notices is that the villagers are walking around, everyone having a smile on their face as they perform their daily routines.

That is...Until a random red-shelled Koopa turns their attention towards him, and quickly alerts the rest of the village to Koopis' presence. "Demon! DEMON!" The villagers stare at the "demon" that has entered their domain for a few seconds, and it's only a matter of time before they deliver the appropriate response to this scenario. Most of them run around in a panic, the mothers and fathers take their kids and run to the sanctuary that is their homes, while the remaining Koopas create a solid line of defense right in front of Koopis, with a row of Bob-ombs standing in wait behind them. "Guys...Wait...I'm..." The exhaustion that Koopis is going through thanks to the amount of air he wasted before his transformation combined with the damage he has taken so far makes his voice inaudible to the villagers that stand before him.

Each villager takes a Bob-omb into their hands and raise their arms behind their heads to prepare to fire. "Take aim!" All of the Koopas move one foot back in response to the red-shelled one's commands. "ATTACK!" And with that single word, the Bob-ombs are tossed, leaving Koopis to defend himself against this mighty barrage. The young "Koopa" raises his demonic arm to use it as a shield, which actually turns out to be quite effective as the Bob-ombs land on the surface of his flesh and blow-up, causing minimal damage thanks to the veil of electricity that was formed just before the explosion went off. Thanks to their powers, the Bob-ombs respawn by falling down from the sky behind the Koopas, ready and waiting to be tossed once more.

Koopis lowers his arm after a few seconds have passed, only for him to be slammed right in the gut by a Koopa tucked into a blue shell. The force of this impact sends the young Koopa fly back a few feet and land flat on his back against the ground. When he lifts his head up, Koopis struggles to open his eyes back up after the attack forced them shut, but nonetheless he manages to catch a glimpse of the one who struck him, and is shocked to find that it was his best and most trusted friend, Kooper. But his vision is forced to look up, as yet another barrage of Bob-ombs comes crashing down onto him, only this time around he can do nothing but absorb the brunt of the multiple explosions as they are set off on him.

The cloud of smoke created by the explosions is dispelled in a flash by a single flap from Koopis' wings. Even though he is gravely injured and almost on the verge of death, he pushes himself up off the ground with his demonic hand and stares at his own people with absolute determination in his eyes. "So you still draw a breath demon? Very well, fire one la-" "No, wait a second." Kooper interupts the red-shelled Koopa with not only his words, but a quick raise of the hand as well. "I will finish him off with my ultimate technique!" The energetic Koopa pounds his right fist into the palm of his left hand and then quickly withdraws into his shell.

As the shell spins around on the ground, Koopis thinks back to the fun times he was having not too long ago with his old friend. During this thought process, he realizes that he doesn't even know how long it had been since he had been kidnapped by Smithy, that it was possible for him to have been gone for a year and the village thinking him to be dead. But despite this depressing revelation that he is currently discussing in his head, he looks deep down inside of him and keeps telling himself that there has to be ONE Koopa in this village who must recognize him, and prays that somehow, in some way, that person would come to save him. When he sees that Kooper's shell had been set on fire, Koopis closes his eyelids and lets out a heavy sigh. He tries to gather electricity in his demonic claw, but he is too weak to even ignite a spark. His only choice left for him at this point is to hope that luck is on his side today...

The young Koopis hears the sound of Kooper's shell speeding along the ground towards him, but the next couple of sounds come as a surprise to him. A "Clink!" followed by a "Crash!" causes him to open his eyes up in order to see what has just transpired. Kooper has been sent flying into a tree, and the Koopa villagers have lowered their Bob-ombs onto the ground. Puzzled by this sudden act of pacifism, Koopis looks down to see a pink shell spinning around on the ground in front of him. Once it stops in place, Kaylie emerges from the shell and stands up, holding her arms out in defiance of the older Koopa's attack. "What are you doing?" Kaylie calls out the villagers for their blind acts of aggression. "I can't believe that you guys would attack one of your own!" As she stands strong, the young lass fights back the tears that are beginning to drip from her eyes.

Overcome with surprise by the fact that his prayers were answered, Gemini opens his eyes up wide and manages to utter a single word to himself. "What.." Kooper frees himself from the tree, and as he adjusts his head to fix a kink in his neck, he turns his eyes towards Kaylie as if she had lost her mind. "Are you crazy? You think that thing is a creature from our species?" "I can't believe you would be so blind Kooper! Come over here and take a closer look, and you'll see just why I am defending this so-called 'demon'" Kooper is at first hesitant to walk over to the "demon", but decides that the creature shouldn't be able to inflict any harm to him while it's as damaged as it is. Besides, something about how it reacted to Kaylie's words strikes Kooper as suspicious, so he asks the other Koopas to hold their fire as he heads over to investigate the creature.

Koopis steps back a couple feet in an attempt to retreat, but upon determining that doing that would only make the situation worse for him, he moves back to his original position as Kooper walks right before his face, being invited to glance at him the moment Kaylie stepped off to the side. Staring into the demon's hazy, purple eyes for a long time, Kooper then goes and analyzes the rest of the creature's body, and it is only when he sees the back of the shell that he comes to the same conclusion that Kaylie managed to come up with. Moving his head away from the side of the "demon's" body, Kooper looks into it's eyes once more with his pupil's now shrunken from shock. Koopis let's out a chuckle and quietly says to his friend, "Heh...You can't use a Grenade Launcher in 'Rock, Paper, Scissors'..." Having now spoken something that only he would recognize, Kooper was 100% as to who this "demon" truly was.

"Koo...pis?" He says in a nervous tone. "Sniff...It is you, isn't it?" The blue-shelled Koopa is about ready to break into tears, overcome with both surprise and horror in the face of the fact that his friend has transformed into such a fearsome looking creature. "What happened to you man? How did you become...This?" Kooper holds his arms out wide in front of him, emphasizing the entirity of Koopis' changed being. "It's a long story...One I will discuss with you and the rest of the villagers later...I have a question to ask you first though...How long was I gone for?" Kooper has to think long and hard about the answer to his friend's question, but before he can say anything Kaylie interjects and says it herself. "Not even twelve hours..." Koopis lets out a heavy yet relieved sounding sigh. "Whew...That's good to know. That does explain why the two of you are only shocked about the changes that have occured to me..."

"So yeah...What shall you do now?" Kooper asks. "Well, I guess-" "You'll die, that's what you are going to do now!" Koopis is interupted mid-sentence by the booming sound of the red-shelled Koopa's voice. Kaylie and Kooper turn around and Koopis lifts his head up to see that he is now carrying a much bigger looking Bob-omb over both of his shoulders. "Are you crazy? This creature is Koopis, so why are you still attacking him as if he were a demon?" Kaylie yells out, desperate for the battle hungry Koopa to listen to her pleas. "It's because he is a demon! Look, I understand...You kids are young, you don't any proper experience in these affairs. But I have seen this type of thing happen many times before! He may still have his memories, he still may have control over his body, but it's only a matter of time before all of that is lost to him forever and he tears us all to shreds!"

As Kaylie and Kooper argue with the red-shelled Koopa as to why his actions are wrong, up to and including willing to die with their friend before they would ever think about moving out of the way, Koopis thinks back to one of the things that Smithy had told him about the after-effects of his transformation. _"Because of this mutation, your brain will decompose into goop, leaving you a lifeless shell.."_ And because of this, the young "Koopa" wonders just what will happen to him in the future. "Was Smithy telling the truth? Will I be left a lifeless shell unable to function? Or is that Koopa telling the truth, and I will become a monster who will kill everyone I know and love without being able to do anything to stop it?" As he thinks over his options carefully, Koopis becomes increasingly certain that no matter what the outcome will be as a result of this new demonic form of his, he can't let Kaylie and Kooper suffer because of it.

"Guys...Don't waste anymore of your breath." Koopis lumbers forward between his two friends as they stop talking and turn their heads to look at him. He now stands directly in the red-shelled Koopa's line of sight, but before he can toss the Bob-omb, Koopis raises his hand up to stop him. "Please, before you do something that you will regret, can you take a moment of hear me out while I still retain the ability to speak properly? If you do so, I can offer a solution to this situation that will prevent any unnecessary bloodshed." The red-shelled Koopa is about ready to ignore Koopis' plea and toss the bomb at him, but then he notices that the two young Koopas are still in the way, and suddenly realizes in an instant how much he has fallen if he is ready to sacrifice others just to ensure his own safety. With this revelation, the red-shelled Koopa lowers the Bulky Bob-omb onto the ground beside him and folds his arms out in front of his chest, ready to listen to what Koopis has to say.

"Thank you..." The young "Koopa" says to him. "Now, we can't really say for certain just how long I got until I am completely taken over, but what CAN be said for certain is that I am a threat to this village as it stands. As such, I propose that I banish myself from this place forever." In response to this, Kaylie and Kooper step forward and yell out at their friend in utter shock. "WHAT?" Yet despite their concern, Koopis raises his demonic hand up into the air to get them to stop. The red-shelled Koopa thinks about the young "Koopa's" proposition for a few seconds. From the way he rubs his chin, you could tell that he was giving this some much needed thought. "Hmm...Very well Koopis, I will agree to your terms, but only on one condition." "And that condition would be?" Koopis is curious as to what he has to say.

"If you are truly serious about leaving, then I must ask that you forfeit all of the possessions that you own in your house to the rest of the villagers. And before you say anything, we will not get rid of any family pictures or heirlooms...I knew your parents well, I will keep those to honor their memory, so don't worry about that at all." Kooper and Kaylie walk right up to the front of Koopis' body as he thinks about what the red-shelled Koopa's conditions. "You can't be serious about this Koopis, there is just no way that I can allow you to give up everything! There has to be some way to save you, so please reconsider..." Try as he might, Kooper's begging doesn't get through to the young "Koopa", who proceeds to place his only normal arm onto his friend's shoulder and look him straight in the eyes. "Kooper, you are my best friend...In fact, you and Kaylie are the only two people who have ever befriended me throughout my entire life so far. Which is part of the reason that this decision is so hard for me to go through...As for a cure to my transformation, I doubt that one exists..."

"But-" Kooper is about to object to that last statement of Koopis', but upon seeing his friend sniffling while almost on the verge of tears, he decides to silence himself. "Please my friend...Don't make this any harder...Than it already is." Try as he might to cry, not a single tear drop emerges from his ducts, both of them having been dried thanks to a lack of water during the last twelve hours. "Alright Koopis, I'll respect your wishes...There is one thing I want you to have though before you leave." Kooper takes his hands and places them both on the back of his neck and using them to untie the knot of his scarf. Once it has been undone, he walks over to the left side of his friend's body and wraps the scarf around the upper part of his arm. "There...Now, until the day that your transformation takes hold, you can look at that scarf, and remember that no matter what happens, I will never forget that you were my friend...Koopis." Kooper's voice breaks up as he reaches the end of his sentence, and he backs away once he notices Kaylie slowly begin to approach Koopis.

Thanks to Koopis putting his full attention onto the scarf, he doesn't even notice Kaylie standing next to him until Kooper nudges in that direction with his left shoulder. When he turns to look at her, Koopis notices that Kaylie has lowered her head to avoid making eye contact with him, and her arms are held out with a white square held in both of her hands. "Here...Please take this." Koopis grabs the object with his left hand and holds it out in front of his face, as Kaylie lowers his arms down to the side of her body. The object is a photo, which the young "Koopa" reacts to with a stunned look on his face and nostalgia of the good old days in his mind. "Koopis...I don't care what you think, I don't care what they say, I believe that there is some way for you to return to normal...But if you have to leave for our own sake, then promise me that you will never give up hope, don't let yourself be taken over by whatever it is that plagues you...And...And...I'm sorry...For never..."

Kaylie struggles to finish her sentence, but at this point the weight of this emotional moment has become too much for her to bear, and as she runs off towards her house Koopis and Kooper can hear her crying her heart out. Koopis weakly raises his demonic claw up and tries to call out her name, but Kooper places one hand on his left shoulder and shakes his head slowly. "Koopis, don't worry about it, I will make sure to go and comfort her...Of course, assuming that her mom doesn't help her out first." "Thanks man, I would appreciate that..." Kooper lets out a heavy sigh and begins to walk towards the direction that Kaylie ran off at. "So, I guess this is goodbye, huh?" He says to Koopis. "Yeah, I suppose it is...But hey, Kooper, before I go..." Koopis extends his left fist out. "Promise me you won't get into any trouble, ok?" Kooper let's out a lighthearted chuckle before turning around and placing his right fist against his friend's extended one. "I can't promise that, but I'll try to be a little less reckless, alright?" "Hehehe...That's fine by me. Now go on, Kaylie needs you..." After motioning his claw towards her house, Kooper turns and runs off to help her get through this rough time.

"Ok...Now back to you..." Koopis refers to the red-shelled Koopa, who waited patiently as the young "Koopa" said his goodbyes. "Very well, I agree to your conditions." "Alright then..." The red-shelled Koopa sighs and places his left arm down beside his body, then points the right one at Koopis with a very serious look on his face. "Koopis, as you have wished, you shall be banished from this village. You are not to step foot in here again, nor are you allowed to interact with anyone from this village should they wander outside of here, or even take a look back at this place that you once called home. Now, begone from here!" Honoring his own agreement, Koopis nods his head and turns his body around, his demonic claw dragging along the ground and leaving a mark where he once stood. As he leaves through the gateway of the village, his face looks sad, but once again not a single teardrop emerges from his eyes. "I guess it's impossible for a demon to show emotion..." And with those words, he slinks back into the forest, vanishing within the tree's thick shadows without a trace...

Many hours pass, and night falls down onto the quiet Koopa Village. Everyone has settled down for the night, save for the red-shelled Koopa, who sits by himself on a chair in his house, watching the nightly news on his big-screen T.V. when suddenly he hears a knock on the door. "Who is it?" There is no answer, and the door is opened without the house owner inviting the person inside. The floorboards creak as the person approaches the chair that the Koopa is sitting on. Thinking that he is being invaded, the Koopa is about ready to leap out and attack the intruder, but once he glances over the side of his chair, he recognizes the person and promptly sits back down. "What are you doing here?" He asks in a very irritated tone.

"The Koopa that was in your village earlier, do you have any clue as to where he went off to?" The person says. He has a gruff sounding voice, but at the same time he also sounds like a well-mannered individual. "No, I do not. And I would like it if you wouldn't spy on this village, Alpha." "I'm sorry that I did that, but I had detected a dimensional interference gateway opening above your village and I just kept watch to make sure that things wouldn't turn out like they did with the other three demon hybrids..." The red-shelled Koopa tightly wraps his fingers around the arm of his chair, angered by the things that Alpha mentioned at the end. "There was no need to bring that last part up...Those are memories I would rather leave forgotten...After all, my-" "Ok, you don't need to force yourself to remember if it pains you that much, I'm sorry for even bringing it up."

"So what are your plans for the boy anyways, if I may ask?" "I finally did it, I was able to come up with a way to deal with any demon heart transplant victims." "After my retirement five years ago, I told you straight in your face that I never wanted to hear from you again...But I'm really glad that you did come here tonight, for what you just said has eased my conflicted mind..." "Yeah...That reminds me. You may not work for me anymore, but your plan to kill the boy...That wasn't you thinking about your own village, that act right there was merely an attempt to save your own skin." "Indeed it was...I haven't forgotten the codes of honor that you taught me Alpha, but after all the things I have had to sacrifice in my life to help my home village achieve absolute peace, I was so afraid of everyone losing all of that that my judgment in regards to the situation had become...Irrational."

"We all make mistakes, you and I have enough experience to know that...Anyways, though you may not know just where exactly he went off to, could you at least brief me on everything he had said to you? Perhaps I can piece together the info and determine where he went off to." "...Very well, I can at least do that for you, my old friend." So the red-shelled Koopa spends the next few minutes explaining to Alpha just what went down today, and after all is said and done he comes up with an idea as to where Koopis might have gone off to. "Hmm...I think I can guess where he would've wandered off to now. I got a machine in my copter that allows me to detect heat signatures. I'll pay attention around the location that I have in mind, and I should be able to recognize his signature if my assumptions are correct." Alpha turns around and begins to walk to the door, when he is stopped by one of the red-shelled Koopa's comments. "Give my regards to the rest of the M.S.I., would ya?" "That I will do, Ex-Lieutenant Shindo..." With their conversation over and their goodbyes now said, Alpha exits the house and shuts the door behind him...

Three days pass, and we find Koopis walking through the barren wasteland that is the Dry Dry Desert. There is not a single change to his appearance, for it seems as though the fact that he now refuses to give up hope has strengthened his will power to the point that he is able to hold back the magic that's trying to morph his appearance. Of course, despite the sheer will power he now contains, all of it does little to curb his finger. To deal with that, Koopis has chosen to take a small bite out of each cactus he comes across, making sure to pluck off all of the needles before biting in. This also is effective in dealing with his thirst, thanks to the amount of moisture packed into the plant. However, while his plan has worked out so far, he not only has not managed to come across a cactus in quite some time, but thanks to the fact that his wounds haven't been healed at all makes it increasingly harder for him to continue moving onward.

"I...Can't afford to lose my concentration..." Koopis falls to his knees and starts panting as his mouth begins to dehydrate. "Ok...Maybe...I should take a quick break...In order...to...Huh?" The wind blows up a cloud of sand in front of the young "Koopa's" line of sight, and beyond that cloud he can see the shadow of someone who is slowly approaching him. "Out here? Who could...This be?" Right before the shadow walks out of the cloud, it stops in place and folds it's arms behind it's back. "You must be Koopis, I presume?" The voice speaks in an inviting tone, and Koopis raises his head to look at what he presumes to be the person's eyes. "I am...And who...Are you?" The cloud is dispelled as the winds die down, and the figure is now fully revealed to the young "Koopa." It is a Goomba, a Goomba with two golden mechanical arms with so many different features on it that it be impossible to properly describe them all, an eyepatch that rests over his right eye, a scar across his other eye, and a black trenchcoat on his body.

"My name is Alpha." The Goomba responds, the wind ruffling his trenchcoat slightly as he speaks. "Nice to meet you..." Koopis says politely. "So how did you find me? And...What do you want with me?" "I found you thanks to a few hints that an old friend of mine in the Koopa Village had given to me, as for why I wanted to find you, well..." Alpha takes his right arm out from behind his body and extends it out in front of him. "I want to help you." There is silence between the two for a few seconds as Koopis takes the time to stare deep into Alpha's single eye in an attempt to see if he can trust this man. "...Thank you...For the offer...But I don't think you know what I am going through right now..." "Someone transplanted a demon's heart in your body, I really don't need to know anymore details besides that."

"H-H-How did you-" Koopis stutters as he speaks, completely overcome with surprise over the fact that this one man could save him from his cursed fate. "I've seen what happens to those who have had those type of hearts placed into their body. It's a very gruesome experience to witness...I would know, I had to put down three good people because they had lost themselves to that curse..." "So what...You have come to kill me?" Koopis' happy tone is replaced with a sigh and a dreary look on his face as it seems that he might've been wrong about this man. "Nonsense, if that was my intention I would've done so already. No, I can help rid you of those dreadful attachments that have appeared on your body."

"Seriously?" Koopis is a bit scepticle at this point. "Yes, I am being serious, no need to put me under suspicion here. Of course, in the end all I can do is make your body look normal again, I can't do anything about the heart itself..." "I see..." Koopis bites the lower part of his lip and stares down at the sand. He then looks back up at Alpha with a question on his mind. "Alright Alpha, just WHO are you? As in...What kind of organization are you running?" Alpha raises an eyebrow, surprised by how perceptive the young "Koopa" is. "What makes you think that I run an organization?" "You mentioned something about losing a few good men. The way you spoke, I came to the conclusion that you were either referring to comrades in a war, or soldiers that worked under you." "The answer would be both, actually. Not a bad observation you had there kid...Alright, I guess it would be okay for me to tell you the truth."

"As I said before, my name is Alpha. Now to add on to that previous statement...I am the Commander of a secret organization called the Mushroom Secret Industry. I know that sentence sounded redundant, but just bear with me here, ok?" "Alright." "Anyways, our organization is based around one thing, and one thing only. And that is protecting this world from the dangers that inhabit it. To do that, I look around the world for creatures with unique abilities or ones who simply have a strong enough dedication to their duties, and recruit them to come to my base, where they will receive training to better utilize their unique talents, and/or develop other skills necessary to deal with a variety of situations. I will say right now that even though I will sometimes try and persuade the people I find to join, I do not force them to join against their will."

"So why me?" Koopis asks. "Hahaha...I'm glad you asked. You see, the training that one goes through at my base not only prepares them to do things like fight fires, stop kidnappers, and research scientific stuff, but it also readies them for the fight against the forces of evil. I'm guessing that heart allows you to control electricity, correct?" "You would be right." Koopis responds. "Good, good, just making sure...Anyways, like I said before, I can get make your body look normal, but the heart would still be there. However, if you join me, I can help you use the powers granted to you by that organ for the greater good of the world. Remember, this is only an offer, I am not demanding that you come with me, nor will I tazer you and take you back to my base. It's all up to you, so I'll give you a little time to think about it. Oh, but I guess I WILL say one thing. There aren't any more cactuses around here for miles..."

Alpha folds his arm back behind his body and turns himself around, waiting patiently as Koopis thinks about his options. "I don't have a home to return to...If I keep wandering around here I'll die...Either from dehydration or starvation...And if I try to push myself beyond my limits, I may cause myself to mutate even more...And that..." As he thinks Koopis stares at the Goomba standing before him, catching a glimpse of his eyes as he glances over his shoulder to look at him before he turns back around. "...Heh...I guess you were right Kaylie...There was a cure out there...I...Will put my trust in this man..." Alpha turns around and glances deep into Koopis' eyes. "So, what is your answer?" He asks, even though he can tell just what his answer is already. "I...Will come with you..." Koopis extends his normal arm out, Alpha extends his right arm out, and the two of them share a handshake to symbolize their agreement. "Welcome aboard, Koopis. Now, just give me a second to head back to my copter and grab a stretcher for you. Heh...I have many features on these arms of mine, but I have neglected to add the ability to create one of those in them..." That last sentence of Alpha's is spoken to himself as he turns around and heads back to his aerial vehicle. It takes five minutes for him to return, but once he does he helps Koopis lift himself onto the stretcher before carrying it above his body with both arms and walking back to the copter. Once he has loaded the stretcher with Koopis on it into the vehicle, Alpha gets into the cockpit and takes off into the skies...

A while later, we find Koopis lying down on a metallic bed once more, and just like the last time he went through this scenario there is a lone light hovering above him. Unlike before, however, he knows that he is in good hands. A Boo with a protective teal mask over it's face floats over to the bed with a syringe in it's right hand. Alpha can be seen overlooking the operation from behind a window on a high balcony. "I'm sorry that I can't be down there with you." He says from over a mic. "When the doctor puts the sedative in you, you'll release a burst of electricity from your body that would short-circuit my arms, so that's why I'm having someone who can phase through the bolts take care of the first part. But don't worry, I'll be directing the surgeons from up here for the second part."

"Thanks for letting me know that Alpha." From behind the glass, Alpha can't hear Koopis speak, but is able to make out what he says by analyzing the way his lips moved. "Hey, not a problem Koopis. Ok, you may proceed Dr. Goul." The Boo nods his head and sticks the needle into Koopis' fleshy demonic arm, releasing the sedative into his veins so it's effects can take hold. At first it seems as though the sedative was ineffectual, but in time Koopis' eyelids slowly begin to shut, as the demon hearts reacts to the injection by causing an electric field to surround his body and spread out until it covers the whole room. Dr. Goul turns invisible to avoid the outburst, but returns to normal the moment it all dies down. Having done his job, the doctor takes his leave through the nearby sliding metal doorway. Taking his place are two green Shy Guys with scapels in their left hands, two with a pair of oversized scissors in their right hand, and one with normal sawblades gripped in the palm of his hands.

The Scapel holding ones walk over to Koopis' head, and the sawblade one heads over to his demonic arm. The ones working on the head use their tools to slowly yet delicately scrape the unholy flesh off of his head, while the one working on the arm use his sawblade to begin cutting through the flesh near the armpit. It takes some time to get all of it off, but once they reach the layer of flesh before the skull, the Shy Guys drop their scapels as one of them points to the other's mask. The Shy Guy in question takes his mask off and pulls a metallic panel out from within with one hand, then quickly puts his mask back on to avoid embarrassment. He then takes the panel and places right over the part of Koopis' face that was just cut into, the object proving to be a perfect fit for the lost area of his flesh. Small wires at the bottom of the panel attach themselves to the muscles of his face, and after analyzing his facial structure it morphs into a perfect replica of what that part of his face looked like before the transformation had occured.

The one Shy Guy that works by himself on the arm has just finished cutting the demonic limb straight off of the the body, and the object falls to the ground with an echoing thud. For whatever reason, no blood seems to be pouring out of Koopis' body, which relieves the Shy Guy slightly as he drops the sawblade and wipes the sweat from his mask. Like the Shy Guy working on the head, this one pulls out a mechanical arm crafted to be an exact replica of Gemini's from behind his mask and places it near where it should belong. With a quick push of a button, wires emerge from the upper part of the arm and merge with the muscles, then the Shy Guy lets go of the arm so it is dragged into place by the wires and fused with the rest of the body in a almost perfect manner.

With their jobs done, the three Shy Guys work together to flip Koopis' body over so the wings are now on top. The two Shy Guys with the scissors then walk over and clip them off with one quick snip, with two of the other Shy Guys picking them up and moving them out of the way afterwards. To fill in the big hole left by the wings bursting through the shell, the last Shy Guy takes out a bucket filled with some sort of metallic goop and pours it in until the shell is halfway full. Then he pulls out another panel shaped to cover the hole and places it onto the hole, where just like with the face plate it summons wires that connects with the rest of the shell and morph's it's appearance to perfectly mimic it's lost part. With everything put into place, the Shy Guys flip Koopis back onto his back and bow at their Commander, who commends them for their work over the intercom as they leave.

Alpha heads down the stairs behind him and passes by the Shy Guys in the hallway as he enters the operating room, where Koopis can be seen slowly regaining his consciousness. The young Koopa lifts his head up off the bed, a loud noise ringing through his ears and giving him a headache as he does so. "Ugh...My head..." Koopis takes his right hand and places it on the top of his head, rubbing it back and forth to try and ease the pain. After a few seconds of rubbing he begins to slow down as he realizes something odd about what he is doing. "Wait a second...How come my head feels smooth now?" As he speaks, he also realizes that his voice, though it may still be deep, is no longer demonic sounding. Looking in front of him, Koopis sees a welcoming smile on Alpha's face, and decides to lower his right arm to take a look at it. The moment it enters his line of sight, he let's out a surprised gasp as he sees that his normal arm has returned, albeit with a now metallic appearance to it.

Koopis leaps off of the bed and as he continues to stare at his arm, he walks over to where Alpha's is standing. "Alpha...You got a mirror around here?" He asks nervously. "Why yes, yes I do." The Commander is overjoyed as he presses a small button on his left arm that causes one of the metal panels on the back wall to sink into the ground, revealing a mirror behind it. Koopis turns around after being prompted by Alpha and walks over to the mirror to see the changes that have been applied to his body. "Un...believable..." Koopis twists his arm around, the metallic attachment making realistic bone cracking sounds in response to his actions. "It's so real...How did you do this?" "With the power of science, anything is possible my friend." Alpha says as he walks up beside him. "So, got any complaints?" He asks. "Well, I suppose there is one...Why do I feel something liquid-y on my back?"

"Ah, good question. You see, we dumped some experimental liquid metal into your shell. Well actually, you can't really call it a liquid, even though that's what it's appearance would suggest to the untrained eye. It's actually a massive collection of nanomachines that you can control with your mind, since they've been designed to work in unison with your specific genetic signature." "I see...So what exactly could I use them for?" "A lot of things, really. You just got to put your mind to it and the machines will do the rest." "Well, thanks for giving that to me then." "Not a problem Koopis. Anyways, let us see if your body is in order here..." Alpha snaps his fingers, and a target is dropped down from the ceiling suspended by an iron rod. Koopis turns around and stares up at it.

"Try and shoot the target with a quick bolt of electricity." Koopis raises his right arm into the air and aims it at the target. "One word of advice. If you call forth any electricity with a little bit of concentration, try snapping your fingers. The act of rubbing two solid forces together should be enough to make a spark." Following Alpha's advice, Koopis snaps his fingers together, and a stream of black electricity that is fired from the tip of his pointer finger runs straight through the target, burning a hole right into the center and leaving his finger with steam rising out of it. Koopis lowers his arm and stares at his finger in awe for a few seconds before turning to look at the Commander. "What was THAT?" He asks.

"Ah...Yes...I really should've gone over this with you before I told you to take a test run." Alpha rubs the back of his head as he nervously apologizes to Koopis for his foolhearted error. "You see, you got control over three types of electricity. Normal, which performs the basic functions that you would come to expect from such an element. Black, which is a more powerful version that has the ability to melt right through even the toughest of metals. At the same time, when you use that electricity, it'll awaken your demonic heart, which will not only increase your physical capabilities, but will also set you on a sort of timer. If you use that electricity for a period of more than thirty minutes, you'll run the risk of being overtaken by your own heart and becoming a mindless monster in the process. To get around that, all you need to do is stop fighting and take a break for five minutes, and your electricity will return back to the normal state. Finally, you got the Crimson variety. This is a very rare type of electricity, which in your case came into existence because your demonic heart absorbed some of the blood that was lost from your body thanks to the transplant and converted it into electricity to keep your body from burning out. You can draw out some of this power after you've used the Black variety, but beware...Though you will be able to greatly strength your attacks by using it, it should be noted that you are doing the equivalent of draining your own life force, and if you use too much of the Crimson variety, you'll die. So, you got all of that Koopis?"

After taking in all of Alpha's long-winded conversation, Koopis is silent for a few moments, which the Commander takes as a sign that he is probably worried about what could go wrong if he uses the Black electricity. The young Koopa's eyes are focused on the mirror, and instead of seeing what he looks like now, he sees a reflection of what he looked prior to everything that had happened to him this week. He raises his left arm up in front of his face and stares a the red scarf that Kooper had given him. He then thinks back to some of the last words he had said to him. _"I will never forget that you were my friend...Koopis" _He then recalls the words of the red-shelled Koopa as he stares back into the mirror. _"You are not to step foot in here again, nor are you allowed to interact with anyone from this village should they wander outside of here, or even take a look back at this place that you once called home." _

"Koopis is dead." The young Koopa states to Alpha with a serious look on his face. "Pardon me?" Alpha says, his interest piqued by that one single comment. "Then who, pray tell, am I speaking to right now?" The young Koopa turns around and looks the Commander straight in the eye, his seriousness remaining intact the entire time he does so. "He who does not exist in this world, one who lives in the body of a person who exists only as a memory, born in a place that can no longer be returned to. There are two sides of my being trapped within me, both stuck in a conflict for control. I am two minds, in a body of one. You can refer to me as...Gemini." Alpha has a massive grin on his face, and lifts his right hand up to greet the man that stands before him. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Gemini." The Koopa extends his hand out as well, and the two of them share a five-second long handshake. "The same can be said in regards to you, Commander Alpha."

After the two have finished their greeting, Alpha takes his arm and hangs it around Gemini's shoulders. "Now, follow me, I want to show you something." Gemini nods his head, and the two of them walk together out of the room. After traversing a few of the many hallways in the base, both of them arrive in front of a sliding copper door with black-and-yellow stripes painted across it. Detecting their presence due to them stepping on a pressure pad in front of it, the door slides open to reveal a dark room hiding behind it. Alpha walks in and flicks on a light switch, revealing a cache of weapons that seems to extend on forever. Any weapon you could think of is here, from swords, to bazookas, to bows and arrow, and there are even a couple Holy Hand Grenades mixed in with all the other stuff.

"This is the Weapons Vault. Since you'll be a part of the organization now, you'll need to choose one just in case you end up being called into battle. But unless you find a pair of matching swords or guns that you can dual-wield, only take one weapon, alright? I'll wait here at the door until you are done, so take your time." Gemini turns and bows at Alpha, thanking him for letting him do this, then lifts his body back up and walks over to the right shelf to take a look at all of the options he has available to him. He automatically checks off guns from his list, seeing as his electric powers remove the need for bullets. As he passes by a thick, curved sword, he picks it up and takes a nice long look at it. "Heh...This weapon looks kind of cool. Maybe if it was melded to my right arm I could..." The Koopa stares out into nothingness for a few seconds, then after a few blinks of the eye he places the weapon back and chuckles to himself. "Nah, that would just look silly."

He continues to walk through the room, and for a moment he almost thinks about taking a bow for himself, due to the fact that a weapon like that could be used effectively in combination with his powers, but then he realizes that such a weapon would look impractical if he carried it around on his back, and removes that idea from his mind. After a minute or two, he reaches the back of the room, and sees a golden glimmer calling out to him from behind a Grenade Launcher. By walking over to the shelf that carries that bulky weapon and pushing it off to the side, Gemini sees a single, golden trident resting behind it. There is something odd about this weapon, and the Koopa can't help but pick it up by the handle and pull it out, laying the whole thing out in both of his palms and giving it a nice, long stare. "A trident...The weapon utilized by none other than the Devil..." He mutters to himself.

Gemini turns around, and with the weapon still rested on his hands he walks back to where Alpha is standing. As he approaches, the Commander raises his head and is surprised when he sees that Gemini had chosen the trident. "Incredible..." He whispers to himself. Gemini stands before Alpha and looks him straight in the eyes, his own pupils projecting a confident feeling towards him. "This is my choice, sir." He says with the utmost respect. "Excellent choice there Gemini. You want to know something about that weapon? It can commanded via a magnetic pulse to have the rod part retract into the prongs. Go ahead, try it out, your electric powers will allow you to create a pulse with ease."

Gemini tightly grasps the handle with his left hand and focuses as hard as he can onto it. Though a little electricity flows into the trident, the rod does not retract. "Hmm...Why isn't it working?" Alpha ponders to himself. After a quick revelation he snaps his metal fingers together and waves his arm in front of his face. "Oh yeah, that's right! Gemini, you probably used a Positive attraction. If you use a Negative one, that SHOULD do the trick." "Ah, that is a good point you bring up there Alpha." So with the idea now implanted in his mind, Gemini changes the magnetic force in his electricity from positive to negative, and sure enough the rod does in fact retreat into the prongs. Gemini is quick to grab the prongs before the weapon drops out of his hands. He then puts the weapon into the back of his shell for safe keeping.

"Alright, so I have my weapon...Now what?" Gemini says as he folds his arms in front of his chest. "That's it for now." Alpha says. "Eh?" The Koopa says in confusion. "It's been a long day...Actually, scratch that, the last few days have probably been tough on you Gemini. Now that you are a part of this organization, why don't you take a day or two to explore this base, get situated in your own room, and maybe grab a bite to eat in the cafeteria to fill that empty stomach of yours. Just try to replenish your body's lost energy, and when you are ready, let me know so I can get you initiated in the M.S.I.'s training program...Until then, I bid you farewell, Gemini." Alpha salutes the Koopa standing before him, and he does the same. But as the Commander turns around and begins to exit the room, Gemini stops him in place. "Hey, Commander...Thanks for doing all of this for me." Though the Koopa is unaware of it, Alpha has a happy smirk on his face, which portrays a different emotion than the tone he uses in his next spoken sentence. "You're very welcome Gemini...Oh, and don't forget to shut off the light on the way out, ok?" The Commander doesn't even need to turn around to see that Gemini had nodded his head in agreement of his orders as he leaves the room.

With the Koopa now by himself in this lone, vast room, he reaches into the front of his shell and pulls out the picture that Kaylie had given to him. It shows an image of the two of them plus Kooper when they were all just kids. Kaylie has her arms wrapped around Koopis' neck, while Kooper looks at the two of them with his jaw dropped slightly. As the memories of the past overflow through his mind, and he remembers the emotions he felt on the day that picture was taken, he also remembers one of the last things that she had said to him. _"Don't let yourself be taken over by whatever it is that plagues you..."_ Everything he has felt just now causes a single tear to drop from his eye and land on the picture, which greatly surprises Gemini, who then takes the photo and places it back in his shell. "Kaylie...I won't become a demon. I will learn to control these powers of mine that have been granted to me by fate's unholy hand, and I will become a better man because of it...When that day finally comes, then I promise to you, that will be the day when Koopis will return to this world..." With nothing else left to say to himself, Gemini walks over to the light switch and shifts it downward, filling the room with darkness once more. He then exits through the doorway, and as the door seals itself shut, the Koopa looks on towards the future...

**Epilogue: The Six Years**

Toadstool Era 1995: Gemini joins the M.S.I. training program. Kaylie joins the Toad Town's newspaper company. Kooper meets Kolorado for the very first time. Princess Peach becomes the new ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. Cackletta meets Fawful, who then proceeds to partner up with her. Smithy makes begins work on Project Exor. Dimentio creates the Dark Prognosticus. Bowser begins to come up with a plan...

Toadstool Era 1996: Gemini completes with training and starts working on the field, where he ends up becoming a hero in the eyes of the citizens. Kooper gets an education in archeology. Kaylie's reports have been on the #1 spot for five months. Bowser executes his plan, and kidnaps Peach. Daisy becomes the Princess of Sarassaland, and takes in a mysterious advisor called Tatanga...Cackletta meets Smithy to discuss the Bean Star. Smithy powers Exor with Cackletta's magic. Dimentio meets Count Bleck, and the two form an uneasy alliance.

Toadstool Era 1997: Gemini fights Bowser's forces, but cannot defeat Bowser himself. Kaylie goes to Rogueport until the war ends. Kooper watches as his Bob-omb friends are kidnapped by the Koopa Bros. Wario plans to take over Sarassaland with Tatanga's help. Mario and Luigi come to the Kingdom, and soon Bowser is defeated with the Princess saved soon after. Smithy finishes Exor. Bowser attempts more kidnappings with the help of his family, but is foiled every time by Mario, Luigi, and on one occasion, Yoshi.

Toadstool Era 1998: Gemini is sent on an assignment to Sarassaland after being promoted to Lieutenant. Smithy launches an attack on the Mushroom Kingdom by using Exor to break the Star Road and prevent the Star Spirits from interfering. The Herald Geno heads to Plit, and teams up with Mario and Mallow to defeat Smithy and repair the Star Road. With their help along with Peach and Bowser's, Smithy is defeated and the Star Road is restored, which gives Bowser an idea on how to defeat Mario...Though he was thought to be dead, Smithy was actually teleported away from his factory by Dimentio, where he takes the time to heal and rebuild all that he had lost. Bowser steals the Star Rod, but even after defeating Mario the plumber comes back from near-death and defeats him with the help of the Star Spirits. Cackletta and Fawful go after the Beanstar, but Cackletta is killed by the Mario Bros. Mario takes a trip to Isle Delfino with Peach, but gets confused for a guy who really doesn't look like him who is actually Bowser Jr. who thinks he's Peach's son but actually isn't, and after seeing Bowser in a bathtub over a volcano along with a talking Water Pump, Mario chooses never to take another vacation ever again. The Galaxy Arc happens. The Thousand Year Door incident occurs. Cackletta brings herself back to life with her "Second Life" spell.

Toadstool Era 1999: E. Gadd makes a time machine after studying a strange tablet he found near some ruins. The past Shroob Invasion is re-explored by the Mario Bros. as they team up with their baby selves to take them down. Gemini deals with a few elite Shroobs who emerged from a Time Hole near the M.S.I. base. Bowser freezes some Shroobs and stores them in his castle. Fawful gets some funds with the help of his rare bean collection to start up the next part of Cackletta's plan. The Mario Party arc occurs. Dimentio convinces Bleck to start his plan, and with his expert manipulation skills he almost succeeds in destroying all of reality with the power of the Chaos Heart. Though his plans are foiled, he lives unscathed due to using a clone to fuse with Luigi and the Chaos Heart. Smithy has begun to create an upgraded army. Fawful, with the help of the unwitting Bowser, manages to find the Dark Star and uses a robot duplicate of his to scan the mysterious object for later use in Cackletta's plan. Of course, the robot is defeated by the Mario Bros. and the real Dark Star destroyed by Bowser.

Toadstool Era 2000: Dimentio uses his dimensional powers along with Fawful's scientific abilities to begin work on a duplicate Dark Star. E. Gadd begins to translate the tablet that he had found. Gemini contemplates visiting Kaylie. Smithy and his upgraded men work on Exor 2.0. Mario meets and defeats Tatanga, saving Princess Daisy in the process. He then proceeds to do the same to Wario when he attempts to take over his own Land. Bowser kidnaps Peach and steals the 150 Power Stars that power her castle. Mario, Wario and Luigi head there for cake, but all of them get trapped within paintings and end up getting rescued by Yoshi, allowing Mario to defeat Bowser once more. Mario, Peach, Luigi and Toad journey to Sub-con in their dreams and defeat the evil mastermind Wart...In the process, Mario sees visions of the future...Mario is kidnapped by King Boo because the ghost doesn't want him to fulfill the Element Prophecy, but Luigi ends up saving him and capturing the King in a vacuum that E. Gadd made. With all this confusing stuff happening to him, Mario is a bit worried when E. Gadd asks him to come to his lab...

2036 A.D. (Earth Years): A young boy leaves his house to go for a walk in the mountains...

_**THE END...**_


	42. What-If Story: Confusion from Chaos

"…_You are back once more, are you now? After two stories about the end of an era for two timelines, and the complete, helpless annihilation of one of those two you seriously desire more tales about the alternate universes that exist all around us? Hmmm…Your bravery is only superseded by your curiosity, young child of the wandering cosmos. Oh? You have already witnessed future events and seen a being that chronicles the multiverse in all of its glory? Am I that being? Though I am deeply honored by the inquiry, I have only been acquainted with the Chronicler and thus am not him. Thank you though, it has been many years since I have heard such kind remarks…"_

"_Please try to understand how the multiverse works. For every good conclusion, there shall always be an alternate timeline where the worst manages to become reality. That is one of the many absolutes in the universe, as designed by the higher-ups themselves…But in spite of that absolute law, there are also instances where the opposite shall hold true, and even in the grimmest of hours hope shall be found and peace can be delivered…Hah…You know, for your troubles in coming here once again, I shall weave together a tale with a more peaceful end than the two that preceded it. Today then, we shall be breeching familiar territory…This time, we shall see what happens when fate allows two brave heroes to return to a battlefield where it is not their fists that shall be needed, but rather their empathy…Come with me then, the tale has begun already…"_

**Clash of the Elements What-If Scenario (Part 2):**

**Confusion from Chaos**

The battle against the witch Cackletta has finally come to an end. Left to die and be reborn continuously until her "Second Life" spell runs dry, the witch alas managed to reach her long desired goal of creating a Dark King of her own, who took after the image of the new Elemental Overlord but with a more darkness inspired color scheme. With her final words, the witch imprinted within her creation's mind the desire to wipe out all beings in the universe both good and evil, convincing him that all of creation is a vile, distorted mess that needs to be wiped clean without sympathy. However, as her body faded amongst the ashes of her own molecules, the Dark Star, a malicious force born from an unknown power source, took control of the one known as Chaos Alex and quickly brushed aside the weakened Alpha and Mario before making his way through the Realm of Darkness to re-enter Plit and wreak havoc across the planet with powers the like of which he never had before.

But as he would soon find out, the Star Spirits, having been freed from Cackletta's binding spell by Kamek and Bowser, are already at work to subjugate the Dark Star. However, as those events transpire outside of the two heroes' current level of knowledge, the view shall shift over to them and give us a chance to see the greatest change in this universe's timeline. Having recovered somewhat from the battle against the witch and the attack launched at them by the Dark Star, they begin to traverse the way they came through the ruins of Radiant Garden's castle until they make it back to the area where the burning remains of the once glorious cosmic artifact known as "Kingdom Hearts" lies burning out beside them.

Alpha stops for a moment and looks out towards the burning effigy of the past, his eyelids slanting downward as a melancholy atmosphere droops down over his weakened mind. Mario, just a moment later, turns towards the Goomba as he folds his arms behind his back and lets out a saddened sigh. "Alpha, you feeling ok?" Mario asks. With a slight glance to the right and a thankful grin towards the plumber's inquiry, Alpha says in response "I don't know Mario…I don't think I'm feeling the way I should be right now." His tone was laced with confusion, which Mario picked up on with a raise of his right eyebrow and a curious murmur.

"We still have a long way to go before we make it back home, and considering we have to walk the whole way we really shouldn't waste any time standing around here…So can we talk about it on the way out?" Mario wanted Alpha to understand that he was willing to listen while also reminding him of what they needed to do, a gesture which the Commander greatly appreciated and chuckled at as he turned around and stepped away from the broken keyboard in order to join the plumber by his side as they continued through the inner regions of the castle. "Anyways…You know, it really is weird looking at it now. After all those years of going after Cackletta, I just can't bring myself to feel happy after knowing what was sacrificed long ago in order for this accursed realm to even exist…I mean, none of us can do anything to change what has come to pass, but if I could do something now to forever destroy the Realm of Darkness just to bring peace to those who fell to darkness…Wouldn't you also do the same, Mario?"

After Alpha turned his head to the plumber as they entered the nearby corridor, Mario folded his arms in front of his chest and thought long and hard about the question, coming up with an answer as they went through the large room in the center of the castle and made their way down the appropriate hallway to make their escape. "Yeah, I likely would try and do something to destroy the Realm of Darkness. But…I don't think either of us could do anything about it." As Mario tries to end his sentence off in a light-hearted tone, the Commander turned to him and said with a hint of brutal honesty "But if we don't do anything, who will?"

"Alex? I mean, as the Elemental Overlord, isn't it his job to deal with otherworldly forces such as this?" Mario was taking the situation rather seriously, which was something that both surprised and concerned Alpha, who slowly turned his head away from the plumber before sighing and saying in response "I don't think he is really the right person to be dealing with this…As you are not the type of person who should be too concerned about otherworldly affairs." "…What do you mean by that?" Mario asked after taking a moment to pause and discover that his curiosity was piqued by Alpha's comment.

"Before I can answer that, let me ask you something…Why did you choose to help Alex out?" "Hmmm?" Mario was bewildered by the sudden subject that the Commander was wishing to discuss, and as they exited the castle through the front doors the two of them stopped in place and turned to look each other straight in the eyes. Alpha crunched his skin together between the two eyes with a pinch of his right fingers, sighing and gathering his thoughts before folding his arms back behind his back and looking up to Mario in order to say straight out "How did it go again? E. Gadd showed you the tablet explaining the prophecy of the Elemental Overlord, and you went to Earth to find Alex and bring him back, right?"

"Now here is the part I don't get…" Giving Mario not even a second to answer or nod at the prior question, Alpha continues on his way while keeping his gaze locked on Mario's own eyes. "You likely knew very little about Alex…And yet you were perfectly willing to trust and join him on his quest…A quest you had little to no reason to care about after bringing the boy of destiny to our planet. So why? Why did you take part in it?" Alpha stopped right then and there, forcing himself silent so Mario would be given the time necessary to work out an answer. The plumber did find it a bit weird that the Commander was trying to look into the meaning behind why he helped Alex out. But as he thought about it, Mario realized deep down that he really didn't have a reason for joining Alex on his quest back then.

Even so, he couldn't help but think about how everything was back then, and how wondrous the whole adventure was even if it got rough at times. With his arms unfolded away from his chest, Mario made a gesture towards Alpha with his right fingers and said to him with gentle honesty "Because in the end, despite all the burdens he had placed upon him, Alex was and still is a kid. I couldn't just let him go out into our world even though he knew much about it. Cackletta's appearance proved that there would be many unexpected things out there waiting for him, and even if it was against the Overlord's wishes I wanted to be there to help guide Alex through the challenges if they ended up proving to be too much for him to handle alone…So now I have to ask, what brought these questions up?"

With Mario's honest reply, Alpha was taken aback for a few moments and had to regain his composure before he remembered just where he had left off with his inquiries a few moments ago. "The first question was brought up because I'd rather you not get too concerned with matters outside of Plit's scope. You were born unto this world to protect it and it alone…If destiny calls you forth to give you the power necessary to expand the range of which you protect, then that's when you should be more concerned…Otherwise, it would be best to leave the cosmic and multidimensional level threats to the people better suited to handle those type of things. As for the second question…Well, this is a bit of a long one, so prepare to hear me out all the way." After giving his fair warning, Alpha turns his body to the side and takes in a deep breath to prepare his lungs for what was to come.

"You see…I don't believe we should have trusted Alex to become the Elemental Overlord. After finding out what his past was like, in that he lost his parents and was forced to live along through many years of his youth…I can only conclude that while Alex became mentally advanced for his age, he also became emotionally unstable somewhere down the line. I mean, it just isn't normal the way he cycles through emotions and behavior the way he does. He is happy one second, sad another, courageous and brave one second, and arrogant the next…The last one only became prominent though after he became the Elemental Overlord. He sees his powers as a means of escape from his emotional distress, I feel, and that is not what the original Overlord likely wanted of his successor…In fact, his psychological issues are so grave that I feel as though he may have hidden something about his past from us…A traumatizing event separate from the one involving his parent's death that molded together the once cheerful child you met, perhaps? …You know, Alex showed regret towards his arrogance…But I just can't bring myself to believe that such regret will stick. Once this ordeal with the Dark Star/Evil Clone is over with I can see Alex being easily satisfied for about a month before he becomes bored and realizes that there is no one on this planet stronger than him…Its something to have a kid with emotional instability…But to have a kid with godlike powers that ALSO has emotional instability, and I fear that Alex will eventually end up doing more harm than good to everyone across the universe…"

"I don't believe that's true." Mario interjected after Alpha had finished his long-winded paragraph. The Goomba turned towards the plumber as a smile crossed his brushy face, and with a murmur of "Huh?" the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom nodded his head and said to the Commander "Alex is without parents, that much is true. But if you think he is so emotionally unstable, then really all we need to do is set him on the right path before its too late…You know, be father figures to him or something like that. He just needs the proper guidance in his life, and he'll be alright…Don't you think it would at least be worth it to give it a try, Alpha?"

As Mario brought the subject up, Alpha had to admit as he widened his eyes that the thought had never actually crossed his mind before. He figured that he still had the lingering mentality inside of him that "Everyone in the world is an eventual threat". But even though Mario brought the subject to his attention he couldn't help but think that there was no point in trying to go through with the attempt to help Alex out. With a heavy sigh, the Commander lifted his head up towards the happy plumber and with his eyelids sagging slightly he says to him "Look Mario, I like how optimistic you are thinking here, but if I have to give an honest opinion here, I think-" Suddenly, the Commander's right arm begins to blip, his eyelids flinching in surprise before he moves the limb in front of him and checks something going on with one of the scanners beneath the plates.

Flipping it up, he looks inside and his eyes widen briefly in surprise before he shuts the plate down and looks up at Mario. "I'll have to hold that line of conversation for later. I don't know what is going on around here, but the darkness has thinned immensely to the point that we can pretty much fly back to Plit within a couple minutes if we launch off now. Shall we go then?" It was a rather rhetorical question, but one that Mario nodded to none the less. With their bodies turned towards the edge of the staircase they leap into the air and burst forward in a perfect moment of speed and flight, traversing their way through the Realm of Darkness to make it back to their home planet before its too late.

Back on the battlefield on Plit, Alex has managed to drive his evil counterpart into using all seven of his Elemental Forms, the spirits of the Genesis Samurais successfully beating down their own evil counterparts to break the forms forever and living the aforementioned Chaos Alex as a lifeless husk floating in the air for but a few brief moments before darkness overtook the body and leaked outward to reveal the spirit of Cackletta had left a fragment of herself within the body to save it at just the right moment. As the spirit loomed over the land and spouted blasphemous remarks towards the furious spirit of the original Elemental Overlord, Alex stood still and waited to see what the witch was planning to do next.

Far away from the battlefield though, the portal that lead to the Realm of Darkness began to show signs of activity, and as two ripples with a tint of gold reverberated through the gap Alpha and Mario slowly began to burst through. Their bodies landed on the deck only a few seconds later, and as they get a grip on their surroundings after shifting so harshly through dimensions each of them are greeted by a different voice. "Mario?!" _"Commander?!"_ It was Bowser and Captain Florence of the M.S.I., respectively. The proud Koopa King was busy licking his wounds on the deck of the M.S.I. battleship in front of the two heroes while the Yoshi captain was speaking through the intercom connected to Alpha's left arm.

Their voices were both laced with surprise, which detracted their attention away from the battle going on far away as they focused on the arriving heroes and quickly struck up a conversation between them despite the grimness of the situation. "Bowser? What are you doing here? …And just why do you have the Star Rod?" Mario's attention is directed towards the glowing artifact in the Koopa King's right claw as of the last bewildered inquiry, and after a somewhat hesitant smirk Bowser lifts his head up slightly and says to his rival "Don't worry, it was loaned to me by the Star Spirits and I plan to give it back…But I needed it because of that 'thing' floating in the air over there."

"_Commander, what took you so long to get back here? And just what the hell is that creature that emerged from the portal?!" _As Florence panicked towards his Commander, Alpha calmly tried to reassure his ally that everything was alright with a light whisper or two, and once that was done Alpha raised his arm to his mouth and spoke into the communicator. "Things didn't go exactly as planned Florence. Cackletta created an evil version of Alex from his DNA and thus he was able to breech the portal without difficulty. Where is he now?" Taking notice of the dark clouds in the sky, Alpha waits for his Captain's response. _"In the sky to the right…But sir, I don't think you are going to like what you see."_

After the Koopa King gestured towards the air in front of him, Mario and Alpha turn towards the direction where Alex and his evil counterpart were battling at, and see the ominous shadow of Cackletta floating above the figure of Chaos Alex. Alpha's immediate response is a frightened flinching of his body, as he mutters through his mouth "No…way…", his mind incapable of comprehending just how the witch was still alive through her vessel. Mario's reaction was more subdued, but still expressed a level of surprise fitting for this situation. The one thing that caught Alpha's eye besides the shadow was that both corporal figures were raising their swords in front of their chests, and with a sharp witted guess the Commander knew what was to come.

"Forget the reasons as to why she is alive. Mario, we need to get moving before that evil sonuvabitch transforms into his strongest form!" Alpha leaps into the air without a second thought to his own safety and charges towards the two fighters while Mario holds his right hand out ready to stop him only to panic and quickly follow him. Both fighters were going through the chants necessary to enter their Phoenix forms, with Cackletta manipulating her puppet's mouth in order to get the job done. But both fighters were focused only on their own presences, and were completely unaware of the one factor that was about to change their fates forever.

With a simple thrust of his right arm despite the damage done to the inner gears, Alpha converted his arm into its cannon form and launched a beam of ionic energy through the air. With a star empowered aura surrounding the cylindrical form, the attack's purity seethes through the gruesome spirit's left arm, burning it right off as the malicious screech of the witch breaks through the air and the puppet's arm quickly falls off in unison with the destruction of the spiritual one. This breaks his hold on the triggers, but also stops Alex from using his triggers simply because of how sudden the action in front of him was. With a turn of his head towards the direction where the beam was fired from, Alex watches as Alpha flies in front of his body with his cannon arm swung out beside him, his eyes flaring madly as Mario quickly flies by his side with his body weakly pushed into a battle pose.

"M-Mario? A-Alpha?" Alex could only stutter out a response through his mouth as he nervously lowered his katana below his waist and lifted his head up slightly to see the two heroes standing before him while Cackletta's ugly spirit grimaces in pain before the darkness seeps into her melted limb and restores it in full along with her puppet's arm. _"Impossible…You two should not be here now…The Realm of Darkness should have prevented you from returning so quickly! My plan was foolproof, I took all options into consideration!" _The witch was on the verge of a mental breakdown based on just her words, but kept her composure anyways as she snarled at the two heroes' sudden appearance. "I guess you didn't, because here we are."

Alpha's simple, one sentence response greatly angered Cackletta, who let her rage and bitter confusion flush into her puppet as the poor child of black and white's expression morphed to fit her enraged scowl and glowing black eyes. As the glow changes into the most impure black flames one has ever seen, the witch's spirit roars out towards the two heroes while brandishing her right pointer finger at everyone in front of her with a condescending amount of arrogance present from the fingernail upwards. _"How dare you have such a sickening air of arrogance and confidence around you, you wretched Goomba! You and that accursed plumber will only share in the fate of that bastard Elemental Overlord, and when I have wrenched your entrails from your limpid body, your rotting spirit will only wish that it had stayed in the demented Realm of Darkness as I torment you throughout eternity from the mortal plane as your decrepit soul loses consciousness in the afterlife!"_

After Cackletta's anger laced onslaught of empty threats and boasts had come to an end, the witch forced her puppet to grab onto his sword with his right hand and swing it out beside him with one strong thrust, the arc shaped motion sending a whiff of air across the sky that impacts the ground below and causes a crater to form on the surface, the plume of debris and dirt rising up beside him as the puppet's eyes glow bright red and the dark clouds in the air begin to split apart all across the planet. With a rapturous roar and her arms being swung out across in front of her as she flings her head back into the empty sky, the witch watches as all-around her the sky becomes a bloody dark red shade, her darkness influencing the atmospheric effects on the planet from afar without so much as an effort on her end.

With the planet clasped in a crimson sky, Cackletta lowers her wrinkled, ethereal black face and looks down upon the heroes with her eyes glaring downward like a raunchy, otherworldly demon before she began to tear into the heroes for their supposed naivety _"You insolent, deplorable fools! Why are you even choosing to defend this wretched specimen of humanity anyways?! Do you not even know the lies of which he has weaved, the arrogance of which he has shown, the painstakingly gruesome history that he has chosen to hide from you all this time, and the emotional instability that will surely prove to be more harmful than good if you allow him to live past this day?! You can despise me for everything else I have done, but I am doing all of you a FAVOR by killing that pathetic sapling of an Elemental Overlord!"_

"You are probably right Cackletta. Alex might just be volatile to the universe…" Alpha appeared to be in full agreement of the witch's view from the boy's point of view, and as he nervously trembled and moved his head away from the two heroes out of disappointment over how the Commander was reacting to the witch's remark he only barely heard what the Commander was saying next "But that's why we too shall be doing him a favor, and our option is much less violent and more helpful then yours can ever hope to be, Cackletta." Alex shifted his head back up in surprise, and after ending his comment on with a snap towards the witch the Commander turned his body around and held his hand out towards the boy.

The only thing on his mind right now was that "Mario…I will give this option of yours a try, simply because I'd rather see the kid make something of himself than become a destructive force…" and as he spread his fingers out wide and creaked a smile towards the boy he said as kindly as possible "Alex…We want to be like a father to you…I know we can never compare to the parents you once had, but would you be willing to accept us as your father figures anyways?" The Commander gave a warm and open inquiry towards the young Overlord despite how far away his vision was from the malicious witch. With a look of exasperated shock on his face, Alex's agape mouth began to shut and curl into a teary smile when all of a sudden Cackletta lashes out vocally at the heroes.

"_NO! You…You fools think you can just save the day with your clichéd vows and tender heart?! You defile the universe with your nauseatingly stupid ideals, you are a threat to everyone around you and will continue to do so so long as you believe in that ignorant, hypocrite of a child! I will destroy all of you, breaking your indomitable spirits before the twilight of the gods overtakes the universe and ends all that you know! I AM CACKLETTA, AND MY PLANS HAVE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION THINGS EVEN THE OMNIPOTENT NEVER CONSIDERED, AND I SHALL NOT BE BESTED BY AN ATOM TO THE UNIVERSE'S SCALE! SO PERISH!" _Cackletta lashed her arms in front of her body, her puppet following her whims after throwing the sword away into the air without so much as an emotion in its movements.

From between the two heroes, Alex notices the puppet's movements and quickly worries, for he senses darkness being built up by the witch's fury that would be more than enough to wipe out the people who offered him a chance to have parental figures in his life once more. "NO!" Alex exclaimed boldly and tearfully in defiance of the witch's wishes as he drew his sword beside him with both hands and clasped the triggers ready to activate them with a single, thoughtful gesture. He lunges his entire body forward, pushing aside his friends without saying a single word as golden flames wreath his body and the air begins to tremble in fear of his evil clone's display of power.

As he emerges from the flames with the wings of a phoenix and an amazingly golden aura surrounding his body along with his piercing amber eyes looking through the darkness with all he has got, he swings his arms outward with the sword taking the forefront. With a blazing slash through the air, Alex successfully cuts through his opposite's left arm, cleaving its away from the rest of his body and causing him to reel back through the air as black goop seeps out through the open wound as blood. With a waterfall of blood trickling towards the ground without the wound showing any signs of healing due to being in contact with the purity of Alex's flames.

"_You dare touch me you inbred mongrel?! You sinful scum of the earth don't deserve to wield those purest flames! I will not stand for this injustice!" _Cackletta screams out to the high heavens in anger and pain, but Alex calmly raises his sword horizontally in front of his body and glares straight through the aura of flames coating the blade and says to the witch "Don't speak of injustices…For all those you have committed. I won't let my parental figures die ever again, especially since this time I CAN control the circumstances revolving around them! You and your blasphemous doll will perish for your crimes, Cackletta!" With a righteous boast laced with confidence, Alex grits his teeth and flings his high above his head, looking straight into the blank eyes of his evil clone as he prepares to attack.

With a single charge through the air, the young Overlord cleaves diagonally through the body of the clone, breaking across to the other side before swinging the blade around and cutting in the opposite direction of where he went before. As the blade crossed in front of his face the second time, the flames reflected off of Alex's pupils, his burning determination driving Cackletta's black spirit to furious insanity as the young Overlord continued to cut away at the puppet that she had worked thousands of years to create. The wounds glowed brightly with the white hot intensity of the bright flames that burned through the black flesh, and each scar was reflected on the witch's ghastly body as her screams grew coarse.

With one final draw of his blade underneath his left arm, Alex pushes across the air in a blink of an eye, delivering the final cut across the center of the other slash marks as his body skids to a stop on the other side of the clone's body while his legs are pushed out in front of him. With the energy overloading inside of Chaos Alex's abyssal body, the spirit of Cackletta screeches as loud as she possibly can, cursing the gods for foiling her plans in such an asinine way as the overloading flames collapse back into the gaping wounds of her puppet and explode in a fiery, supernova-ish blast that is contained within a twenty foot radius of itself.

With the crest of the flames brushing against the feathers of Alex's wings, the boy calmly raises himself up and folds his sword against his hip, reverting back to his base appearance calmly as he hears the echoes of Cackletta's final scream fading away. She was dead, now and forever more, along with her sacrilegious doll. As the young Overlord turned himself around, Mario and Alpha immediately flew over to him, congratulating him on his victory as the boy cracks a smile and thanks the two of them for coming back through whatever madness they had to endure…And also thanking them for their offer…A rather happy ending to it all…

"_If I do say so myself…"_ A hand moves away from an ethereal orb depicting the aforementioned scene, and with but a whim of his incomprehensible mind the orb flies through the white, endless void towards a gigantic tree with many orbs of a similar nature. Branches made out of the pure essence of space itself grows out of every orb, continually stretching out in multiple directions without end as more orbs growing into place, each one detailing specific events as the beings responsible for watching over them wanted them to be perceived as such. However, unlike all the other orbs in this tree, the one the man who was human in appearance only made this one levitate detached from the rest of the tree, making sure that the branches wouldn't touch this single orb and decay it from within. As the "man" retracted his hand into the depths of his shadowed clothing, he is immediately greeted by a voice from behind.

"_What do you think you are doing here?" _The growling being, whose length was as immeasurable as the very universe itself, floated behind the man as he turned around to look up as his equal's majestic face in order to see the disdain present in his slanted eyebrows and snarling jaw. _"Dragon…I did not expect to see you here." _The man said without a hint of fear in his voice. _"You know well enough that we are not allowed to create timelines based around impossible shifts in phenomenon activity, so speak now the reason for your disobedience before I seek a council with our only superior in order to have you dispossessed from our realm forever." _The being had little patience for his equal's calm demeanor at this infinite moment in time.

"_Do not fret over my behavior here today, my comrade. I have merely created a timeline in which the young Overlord can have happiness in his life…Even if I had to manipulate events in the most inane ways imaginable in order to make that a reality. I have made sure not to tamper with the Multiverse Tree itself though, and this event is contained within itself and shall never branch out no matter what happens from here on out in that universe. For all that shall happen in the future in the many other timelines, at least one version of the child deserves to live in bliss forever more…So what shall you do now my friend? Charge me for my supposed transgressions, or let things be the way they are?" _

Keeping calm as he expresses his actions in the most polite manner he can muster, the "man" is not surprised as the dragon snorts once and turns away from his equal. _"…You shall not be punished for now…But you shall be wise to not grow too attached to the singular unit. In the end, you know what awaits him at our hand…." _As the dragon trails out of sight through the void of blank white, the "man" turns back towards the tree that houses within it the multiverse, and watches as the branches sprawl upwards towards a glowing mark placed there by the higher-ups themselves many millennia ago. With a heavy sigh, the "man" says to himself _"Yes…The day will come when only one Alex Whiter shall reach the point we don't want him to be at…And when he does, everything will change for the multiverse…"_

**What-If 2.1: The End…**


	43. What-If Story: The Unrelenting Beast

"…_You are back yet again? I shall admit that I greatly enjoyed our company last time, especially since the heartwarming tale I told was different from the norm of the others preceding it…But know now that my tales won't always end happily. That was a rare occasion, and one that shall not be repeated often. Oh? You already figured that such a thing would be true? You are more curious about the fact that I spoke of the higher-ups and you now assume I'm the third member? Haha, a silly jest, if I must say so myself…No, I was merely able to observe them because they were connected to the timeline itself, even if it was greatly disconnected from the Multiverse Tree. It was not a bad observation though, child of the cosmos."_

"_Now then, I feel as though delving too deeply into philosophical affairs is unnecessary at this particular juncture, so I will instead talk a bit about the planet that shall be the focus of this next tale. Truth be told, I care little about the affairs of this planet before and after the Elemental Overlords have their time in the sun on there. Such simplicity, such ignorance to the grander workings of the universe truly sickens me, especially when many others have suffered under the shadow of such malicious truths…But there were two events in particular that grabbed my attention as I observed the timelines, and though the second one is not an alternative to events you have or will see the first one shall prove capable of following that way of thinking…So let us take a journey into the past once more, only this time the pendulum shall swing to and fro six times…"_

**Clash of the Elements What-If Scenario (Gemini's Origin):**

**The Unrelenting Beast**

He was once known as Koopis, a young, yellow-shelled Koopa living a happy with his friends Kooper and Kaylie in a secluded, peaceful village on the eastern side of Toad Town that shared the name of their species in its simplistic title. However, one day a madman by the name of Smithy ordered one of his soldiers to pluck the unsuspecting Koopa away from his home and bring him to a nightmarish, mechanical realm where the whirring machinery was only a constant reminder of the joy he was robbed of having back home. Having been plucked away, Smithy planned to implant a demonic heart in the young Koopa in order to great an electricity empowered demon that would fuel his factory for as long as necessary.

Though a grotesque transformation began to consume poor Koopis' flesh one molecule at a time, he retained enough free will to escape Smithy's grasp with the unknown help of a jester named Dimentio. He was brought back to his village, but was attacked because of his now unfamiliar appearance. Though the pain of this betrayal was hard for him to handle, Koopis survived simply because his friends were able to recognize him long enough for the villagers to stop their attack and give the Koopa a chance to willingly leave until he could fix his problem. A strong will and the luck that allowed him to meet Commander Alpha gave birth to a semi-restored body and the alias of Gemini…Or at least, that's how the story went once before.

As Koopis was recognized by the tearful eyes of his friend Kaylie Koopa, the two kids were blissfully unaware of what a single Koopa was doing behind the scenes. With a ill-willed intent, the red-shelled turtle spoke to a gigantic Bob-omb that he planned to toss at the demonic hybrid in order to destroy him all for the sake of his village. He cared not that the being was once a member of the village he leads, because he knew well enough that if the demon was allowed to live he would become uncontrollable. And though before he was willing to give the Koopa a chance to see his fate, in this particular timeline the red-shelled turtle decided to launch a sneak attack while the demon hybrid was distracted with his friends. But as he would soon find out, there were consequences to his well-intentioned desire to save his people, and by the time the day was through he would find himself wishing he had given more thought towards his plan…

"Ok, so are you ready to go?" The Koopa known as Shindo says to the bulky Bob-Omb standing in front of him. The gigantic, pink bomb was a bit hesitant, his eyebrows arched downward as a steady sweat drop trickled down his rounded girth. "Sir…Are you certain you want to do this?" He asked, knowing full well how suicidal it was to question the authority of the man in front of him. "Yes. We have no other options now…" He said in earnest, his forehead scrunching together slightly as he folds his arms in front of his chest and gives the bomb a stern glare. "…Don't you think we should at least give him a chance to defend himself?" There was a five second pause after that point, for the Koopa tried to contain his emotions by closing his eyelids and taking a deep breath in through his nostrils.

"Did you not see what Koopis was capable of back there? He isn't even fully transformed, and he brushed most of what we threw at him with but a simple gesture. If we let him be fully consumed by that demon, I don't think anyone on this planet will have any hope of surviving his rampage…Not to mention if I do this now, I'm saving the kid a whole mess of pain in the future…" After rationalizing towards the questioning Bob-omb, the bulky explosive says in response "Sir, you sure you aren't just doing this to save yourself?" "….Perhaps I am, my friend." Shindo wasn't going to deny what the bomb was accusing him of, for he knew that he shouldn't lie…Not even towards himself.

"But that is not the main reason as to why I am doing this, that I can assure you of. I'm doing this for our people too…So please, just cooperate with me here and everything will be just fine." "…If you say so, sir." The Bulky Bob-omb, reluctant as he may be, nonetheless agreed to his superior's wishes and stayed silent for the rest of this period of time as he concentrated on the fuse on top of his head as the stout turtle surprisingly manages to pick the bulky creature up from below its body, his arms heaving the bomb high above his head as he peeks out from behind the corner of the house he hid behind and sees Kooper and Kayle standing close to their friend and trying their hardest to comfort them.

"Poor kids…They will hate me for the rest of time for doing this…But it is what it is…" As his heart starts racing and his thoughts swarm inside of him like an uncontrollable hurricane, he focuses all of his might into throwing the girth-y bomb resting against both of his palms above him, the bomb flying through the air in an arch with only the sizzling of the disintegrating fuse providing any warning to the three unaware Koopas. The first to turn towards the bomb in the air is Koopis, who in a panic quickly yells out to his friends "GET OUT OF THE WAY!", but instead of responding to his words with a swift movement to the right or left they turn towards the descending bomb with a hesitant spin of their heads.

Worried greatly for his friend's lives, Koopis quickly forces his bulky demonic arm up off of the ground and swings it out in front of him off to the side of his friends, brushing both of them away from the radius of the inevitable explosion much to their surprise. With the weight of his arm being too much to carry, Koopis lets it sink back onto the ground with a thud as he quickly creaks his head upward and sees the bomb nearly inches away from the tip of his nose. With a slow gritting of his teeth, the demonic hybrid takes the full brunt of the ensuing explosion despite how painful the heat was against his vulnerable, demonic flesh.

The explosion proceeded to unleash a radiant if destructive flash of light that spread out over a hundred foot radius, and though it was blinding Kaylie and Kooper got on their feet and cried out to their friend in sadness and panic. With tears being brushed out of their ducts by the wind coming from the edge of the explosion, they raised an arm in front of their eyes to prevent dust from entering, keeping their thoughts away from their racing hearts and more towards their friend in hopes that he would survive his present ordeal. And as the explosion began to subside and the smoke left behind formed a cloud above a thin crater in the ground in front of them, an eerie shroud of silence covered the village.

Having detonated himself, the Bulky Bob-omb recovers and falls out of the sky beside the man who threw him, both of them looking nervously at the cloud of smoke to see what emerges from it. A shadow begins to appear, and as it becomes more and more clear Shindo can't shake this creeping feeling in his spine that he has made a grave mistake. This feeling increases moreso as the demon hybrid is shown to be alive as the smoke vanished completely. He had some damage and some flames were dying out on his fleshy arm, but save for that the only thing that could hint at the bomb having any effect was the fact that Koopis was now breathing heavily with a hot, gooey sweat dripping out of the afflicted side of his face.

"Who…Who…Did that?" Koopis, weary from the full impact of the detonation, looked around in hopes of finding his assailant but to no avail. His vision becomes blurred slowly as he starts heaving in air by the mouthful in a rather slow and painful manner. He knew right away that this feeling wasn't natural, and as he felt a scratch against his lungs his demonic heart pounded against his chest with enough force that his chest cavity could have been busted open at a moment's notice. "N…No….Not now…No…No….Please not now…" Quivering in place out of fear of what was going on inside of his, Koopis stamped his real hand against his chest and tried to keep his balance with the other one as he slowly felt his eyeballs moving on their own in multiple directions.

With his will power broken by the damage he took from the massive explosion, the Koopa could do nothing to suppress the heart from infecting him even further than it had already. He could feel his motor functions slipping away as his left arm starts vibrating rapidly and a painful sensation rips through the muscle tissue. In a matter of seconds the skin ruptures, and more demonic flesh piles out to replace the previous layers of Koopa flesh that covered his body once before. With a second claw attached to his small body, Koopis can only watch in horror as the new limb unconsciously raises itself in front of his face and spreads its fingers out to reveal electricity charged talons at the tip of each finger.

Each one was imbued with the malicious desire to tear the surrounding areas to pieces. These desires were echoed inside of Koopis' slowly slipping mind, and he loathed each and every one of these thoughts as they came and went by the second. But while he still had an inkling of consciousness left, Koopis forced his head to turn to the right, his spinal bones cracking with each centimeter moved until he can look straight at his frightened, teary eyed friends and scream out to them in a growling, half-demonic voice "GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE WHILE YOU STILL CAN! ALL OF YOU, MAKE A RUN FOR IT BEFORE YOU ARE KILLED!" The pain in his voice was almost not expressed because of how quickly the flesh was digging across his face and into his mouth, but at the very least Koopis knew that Kooper would listen to his warning and get Kaylie out of there even if she went kicking and screaming.

As the last bit of flesh crosses his face, Koopis leans forward and snarls in agony, his mouth opening up wide as a torrent of venomous liquid is barfed out against the ground, splattering around in a toxic puddle that bubbles as it melts through the dirt below his face. The creature that existed in place of the former Koopa was unrecognizable now, and the mutated mass of foreign demonic flesh is too ghastly to describe in its current state. The only "normal" part of its body were the eyes, which reeked of bloodlust with the purple irises and yellow pupils glaring through the air and the three nostrils below sniffing into the air to seek the scent of flesh around its new domain.

With the gurgling of liquids inside of its rancid mouth, the demon sprawled its webbed left claw against the ground and turned towards the frightened villagers with two tongues peeling out from the scaly backside of its mouth and an acidic material oozing across the many taste buds littered on the surface. The beast was incapable of speaking, but it did not need to use words in order to express the malicious intent inside of its mind. With a raise of its left claw, it was ready to rush towards its first target like a rampaging dinosaur, and there was only a little time span in which the two victims had to react to his bloodlust.

With a roar, the beast lunges forward, his claws alternating across the ground with the knuckles acting as support for his heavy body until he is but a few feet away from the two Koopas. With a leap into the air, the demon viciously opens its mouth up and raise its right claw into the sky, a single swipe being more than enough to tear through ten Koopas worth of flesh. However, at the last possible second, Kooper wraps his arms around the emotionally broken body of his friend Kayle and quickly tosses himself over to the right, his right arm skidding across the rough grains of dirt in the ground and breaking the skin apart slightly, but at the very least he was alive instead of eaten.

With barely any way to control his descent, the demon collides with the ground with a heavy thud, a plume of debris flying across the sky before he can stick his pointed talons against the dirt and scrape to a stop, his entire body swerving ninety degrees to the right so he can line himself up towards his targets once more. His tail swipes against the ground with enough force to leave a massive, crescent skid mark in place of where he struck. With his eyes bulging outward in ecstasy, the demon lashes his claws against the ground multiple times to rebuild momentum in order to charge forward and take the fallen Koopas into his gaping, fanged jaw and impale them against a nearby tree in order to incapacitate them for further consumption.

But just two seconds after it began to run again, a bomb is launched through the air that explodes straight into its face and causes the body to recoil backwards for ten feet as the head is forcibly swung to the left with no damage done to the spinal cord. As the smoke settled and the flesh was left ablaze, the demon still swung back to see who struck it with no care in its eyes towards the damage done to its body as a frenzied amount of saliva drizzled off of its tongues. Shindo, with a swarm of Bob-ombs standing around him, stamped his front down in front of the beast in stern defiance of its relentless desire to consume those around him. "Get out of here kids, everyone else has already evacuated, and I don't want your lives on my consciousness after I have already screwed so much up already!"

Having to admit to the fact that he was the one who threw the bomb that started this whole ordeal, Shindo was unsurprised when Kaylie got on her feet and yelled out towards him in bitter, tearful rage "Y-You did this to Koopis?! Because of your reckless bomb toss he became fully consumed by whatever it is that's inside of him! So unless you have a plan to bring the real Koopis back, then give me five good reasons as to why I shouldn't just fling you into the beast's mouth right now as an example of poetic justice?!" As the Koopa shut his eyelids and heard the girl tear into him without remorse, he accepted the complaints but also shunned her naivety in this situation, especially since the happy ending she so wished to occur was physically impossible to obtain at this point in time.

"Kid, I don't have much time to explain this to you before the beast becomes fully conscious…But its over for Koopis. That demon has taken over his mind and body completely, and the only path left for him is life or death…And right now, I'm going to make sure death is the one that comes, no matter how much you wish to object to my plans, Kaylie…." As one Bob-omb lights its fuse and leaps into the red-shelled Koopa's extended left arm, he gestures with his right hand as a way of ordering Kooper to get his friend out of there before he causes a distracting ruckus. Though Kaylie was still pissed off and teary eyed at what Shindo was planning to do, she was silenced by Kooper placing his right hand onto her mouth while using his left hand to pick her up and haul her over his shoulders despite how much pressure was being applied to his backside.

"…I'm sorry this had to happen, my friend…" Kooper was staying strong, even though a single teardrop trickled out of his right eye, and he ran off in a matter of seconds as Kaylie pounded against his blue shell and tried to get him to stop. As he left the area, both of them along with Shindo had no idea that there was still a bit of Koopis' consciousness left inside of the demonic lump of flesh. It was just a small part of the brain, but it was more than enough to allow the Koopa to see through the foggy purple eyes of the beast and muse to himself about this gruesome situation that he had been put into.

"Oh god…Oh god above…Do something to save everyone…Please…" He looked through the hazy eyes, watching in pain as the red-shelled Koopa arches his eyebrows and throws a bomb straight at the demon as it lunges forward. With an explosion around the chest region launching the demon back through the air with its body falling backwards at the same time, Koopis feels the innards of the mind rumbling around him until the demon regains control mid-air by spreading its wings out wide and sending out a powerful gust that causes the nearby trees to sway outward in various directions. The lung cavities had been set on fire by the incendiary components inside of the Bob-ombs, and the flames caused the creature a lot of pain for a few seconds until he folded his claws in front of his body and underwent a metamorphic process that resulted in armor plating growing over the vulnerable flesh to protect it from here on out.

Back at Shindo's point of view, he sees the demon sprawled out in front of the afternoon sun with his claws spread out as wide as physically possible, the gleaming light piercing the fibrous skin between each finger and the shadows from his face obscuring the changes to his chest. With no idea of what has occurred, the red-shelled Koopa quickly throws a bomb forward through the air as the demon launches itself down in an attempt to swoop its pray off the ground. The bomb collides and explode on the demon's face, but the beast simply charges through the cloud of flames with its claws lashed out beside it and its jaw agape with hunger as Shindo leaps over to the right to avoid being even brushed by the creature's wings while the Bob-ombs surrounding him are swept up by the gust of wind from the creature's descent.

With his ammunition sent flying away from the village and a series of explosions being heard in the forest, the Koopa knew he'd have to resort to his fighting prowess in order to survive. "Its been a while since I've implemented my training…And now is not the time for me to be rusty." He thought to himself as he remembered what he as taught during his time in the M.S.I.. The beast turned around and flapped his wings to try and get the red-shelled Koopa off balance with a powerful gust of wind, but with steel focus he keeps his ground and claps his hands together with his battle stance now remembered and achieved. He then wiggles his hand towards the demon to come at him, to which the creature maliciously obliges to with another dive through the air.

By now the Koopa had gotten used to the beast's repetitious movements and was prepared to counter them with well-timed jumps that allowed gravity to take hold quickly enough for him to descend and kick down against the spinal region of the demon's backside. The blow was precise enough to make the creature screech in pain as it was knocked from the sky and sent against the ground, but not strong enough to put it down for more than a few seconds before it used its claws to push itself back up and swing itself around to face his opponent once more. However, the creature would be surprised to find that his prey had already vanished, and though curiosity gripped its fragile mind it was for but a brief second as it proceeded to sniff the air to detect his flesh.

With a casual spin of its body the creature caught Shindo divebombing him from above his right foot held out as far as his muscles would allow. All it took then was for him to raise his electricity charged talons into the air and launch a barrage of lightning that struck the Koopa in full across his body. The energy from the electricity launched Shindo back through the air, the voltage surging across his singed body to paralyze him for a few seconds as his shell collides with the archway leading into the village and fracturing it down the center, leaving a bit of wood around his body as he lands back first onto the ground, helpless as only a Koopa can be in this particular moment.

With the demon surrounded by static in Shindo's line of sight, the Koopa calmly yet in an understandable moment of desperation tried to get back on his by swaying his body back and forth like a cradle, and he kept himself together even as he knew that the demon had a free shot at his body considering his current position. With his wings spread out and a ring of electricity burning itself into the ground around him, the creature let out a satisfied roar before it leaped high into the air so his helpless prey can get a full look at his body before he dies. However, as the creature lashed its acidic tongues out of its mouth it was quickly struck square in the chest by a quick, glowing red beam of ionic energy, which caused his limbs to reel forward away from the body as the demon flies back through the air and crashes through the roof of one of the nearby houses.

Within seconds Shindo recognizes both the beam and the person responsible for firing it as they calmly walk in front of him with their golden mechanical arms folded behind his back and calm demeanor surrounding him as the right arm converts to a more normal, human-like form despite retaining the golden sheen seen before. "C-Commander Alpha?" Shindo says, recognizing his former Commander instantly as he manages to finally pick himself back up and kneel down behind the above-average sized Goomba. "…I-I don't know what you are doing here, but I assure you that-" "You have the situation under control? The situation YOU started in the first place? I doubt that sincerely, former Lieutenant Shindo…You just sit back now, and me and my men will put this demon down for good."

Alpha's words were filled with subdued anger towards the Koopa at first, but he relaxed himself for the sake of his men as he lifts his left arm in front of his mouth so he can speak into the intercom and give them the order to appear. With a quick folding of his arms behind his back, the sound of whirring blades descends overhead from all sides of the village, as a ring of copters is formed with five soldiers lines up at the edge of the doors with submachine rifles cocked in their hands. They were locked on to the house where the demon had been forced into, and they would keep focusing on that singular point until the creature emerged and they were able to put a steady bead on their target.

Sure enough, after a few seconds of silence the demon leaped out of the house, angered by the attack that managed to successfully dent his chest plate and left the rest of his fleshy body bruised from the impact with the house. It landed on the ground and noticed the assailant responsible for the damage standing far away from him with an air of confidence around his shroom shaped body. However, the Commander did not take solace in what he was about to do here today, since an observation of this area prior to his arrival made him see the being of which the demonic heart had taken over, and Alpha did not consider this to be the grandiose slaying of an uncontrollable beast but rather the cruel robbing of a poor soul's innocent life.

Still, with the beast staring him down, he had little time to lament on what he was about to order his soldiers to do, and thus with a mighty snap of his metallic fingers the men standing above in their armored suits that robbed the demon of a chance to detect them via sniffing their flesh aimed their guns directly at the demon and began to fire down a rain of bullets one salvo at a time. Without ears to hear what was going on around him, the demon was surprised when an overwhelming sensation of pain bombarded him from all sides as bullets tore through his flesh and broke into some of the more vulnerable organs in his body.

The bullets pinned the demon to the ground a couple of times before he began to fight against the pain and used his claws to prop himself back up so he could look out at the Goomba standing by himself with his face expressing no emotion save for contempt towards the person responsible for allowing this demon to exist the way it did. Confused, angered and still hungering for flesh, the demon did what any other beast of its nature would and pushed away from the things responsible for causing it pain in order to rampage relentlessly towards the one source of flesh standing before him, hoping that within his final moments he'll snack down on this last tasty morsel and be drenched in the blood leaking out from the bite marks.

However, the demon's bestial nature had already been taken into consideration by Alpha, and having reacted in the way the Commander expected him to he proceeds to open a slot on his right arm and pulls out a white, rectangular device with two buttons present on both sides. With a steady fling as the beast leaps into the air, the button on the backside taps against the chest plate of the beast and causes the strange device to activate, and with a rather primordial glow preceding the ensuing event the beast is quickly entangled by dozens upon dozens of steel white tentacles. Just inches away from Alpha's body, the demon struggles to fight the binding of his entire body inside of a rather tight chrysalis of steel, but to no avail. Within seconds of attempting to fight the bindings around him, the demon is suspended in mid-air by an anti-gravity aura exuding around the tentacles.

His strength had been depleted by the bullets that rained down upon him, the demon was completely helpless in front of Alpha as the Commander gestured off to the side to get his men to step down for now. With his task now complete for the moment, Alpha folded his arms behind his back and turned to the side as Shindo walked around to see the demon hoisted up into the air. While the Commander was angered by what his former Lieutenant had done here today, the Koopa was clearly in disbelief over the monster that the once innocent villager Koopis had become, and it reminded him of the days of old where he had to put down other innocent people because of a rather similar condition.

Because of the struggle, Koopis is allowed a chance to see through the hazy eyes of the demon once more, and is surprised to find that now he can hear what is going on outside. But he would soon find that what was to come would not be pleasant in the slightest. "…Do you have to do this, Commander? Is there truly no way to save this kid's life?" Shindo spoke in a solemn tone of voice, to which the Goomba responded to in a rather subdued tone "Since its gone this far…No. With this amount of demonic flesh, if I tried to have my men remove it all that would remain of the kid would be his skeleton and a little bit of muscle tissue. There is nothing to salvage in there…"

"That's not true! I can still think, I can still see! I'm still alive in here, just please hear my voice!" For all of Koopis' cries and efforts, the only thing he manages to do is have the demon grumble in a saddened tone of voice, but it is so quiet that it is unnoticed by either party outside. "I still can't believe you did what you did Shindo…I know you hate demons because one of the victims was your old partner, but to rashly attack the kid when he still had enough self-control to prevent the demon part of him from taking over…Honestly, I expected better from you." Alpha spoke to the Koopa with a tone of utter disapproval and disappointment, a dejected sigh being released from his lips soon afterwards before he scrunches the skin between his eyes together with his right hand.

"Whatever…What's done is done…Nothing can be done to fix this mess you made, so I'm just going to remind you of the consequences of your actions here today in hopes that this time around my words will stick…You didn't just force me to rob this poor Koopa of his young life…You have also made me destroy the bonds he may have had with fellow members of his species, you have made certain that the years he could have had left will never come to pass, you robbed a girl a chance at a lover, you robbed a kid the chance to be born into this world, and most importantly you ruined whatever innocent memories this village ever had of this single Koopa…Both you and the heathen responsible for his gruesome transformation will have to carry the weight of these consequences on your conscience for the rest of your natural days in this world…And even I'm not certain whether the villain understood what he was ruining by doing what he did, if he allowed things to go this far already…Leave my sight for now and be with your frightened villagers, Shindo, and be thankful that I can't arrest you for your actions here today…"

Having calmly laid things out for Shindo to consider now and forevermore, the dejected red-shelled Koopa merely stands still in stunned silence for a few seconds before pulling himself away from the scene with a look of depression on his hung low face. As the last Koopa he'd unknowingly ever see left his line of sight, Koopis began to panic as the Goomba turned towards him and moved a few steps closer. "What?! I-I'm going to die?! No…No, that can't be the truth! I don't want to die like this! What would happen to Kooper, to Kaylie…To everyone else I know and love in this world if I was to die?! Please, can anyone hear me out there?! Keep me alive, freeze me in ice if you must until you can find a way to cure me! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

Koopis nervously and tearfully screamed out inside of the demon's mind, but everything came out in the form of a tired growl from the mouth of the demon as Alpha stepped forward and folded his arms behind his back while staring up at the demon's grotesque face. But he addresses the creature not as what he appears to be, but rather the proud, innocent Koopa he once was before. "Kid…I know you can hear me deep inside of that demon's mind…" Alpha acted completely different from his usual behavior. Instead of keeping up a demeanor of authority and calmness, he became rather humane in his tone of voice and expression, keeping a neutral position on his lips as to not bring toxicity into this moment.

"I-I have to admit…I may not have known you at all, but from appearance alone you reminded me a lot of my old Commander…Its rather eerie now that I think about it some more, and its makes it even harder for me to have to go through with this…Had I just gotten to you sooner kid, I could have saved you from the demonic flesh, I could have turned you into something that could benefit this planet instead of this grotesque mound of flesh I see trapped before me…You know, my heart feels rather ill right now…As if deep down, I subconsciously know that in another life, another time and place…You and I could have been more than just strangers in the night…You could have been a friend, a comrade…A second brother to me…But instead, it has come to this…And I'm so very, very sorry…"

As Alpha lets out a tiny sniffle, he takes a couple steps forward and moves his hand towards the front button on the device he used to bind the demon and takes one last look up into the eyes of the beast. "NO PLEASE! DON'T KILL ME! I CAN'T DIE YET, I DON'T DESERVE THIS FATE! I-I…I'm a victim…Sniff…please don't kill me…I-I want to be saved…I want to go back to the way things were before…I…I…" As Koopis breaks down over the fact that despite all of his persistent attempts to break through and get the outside world to listen to him, his fate had already been decided just a few short if painful minutes ago. He was going to die, and the impact of his death would reverberate for years to come in the hearts of his friends.

"I'm so sorry…Kooper…Kaylie…." With his final words, Koopis tries to get the demon to close his eyelids, for he didn't want to see what happened on the outside anymore. For once, the creature obeyed his commands, and all that was left was for the noise to dictate what was going on beyond the scaly eyelids. "Rest assured though…From now until the day I die, I will do everything in my power to hunt down whoever did this to you, and I will make them pay in the most cathartic manner possible…This type of incident…Will never happen again." With the final words of Koopis' life heard, the Commander pressed against the button lightly, and all that was left was for a sharp spike to push out from the other side of the device and puncture through the chest plate and reach into the deepest parts of the cavities in order to poke into the heart and kill it just like that. Koopis' body goes limp…His far too short life…Now over…

**What-If Gemini.1: The End**


	44. Part 4 Announcement

Hello everyone. You may be wondering right now "Hey, why is Part 1 and Part 2 getting updates when they are listed off as complete?" Well, its because my recent story only has a 125 something views compared to the other ones having between 2000-6000 each. So I figured posting this on those would be better for alerting my viewers about the next Part.

Yes, that's right, no more What-Ifs, not more side-stories (For the time being anyways, but I'll get to that in a moment), its time for me to being work on Part 4! …About half a month later then what I was expecting, but at least League of Legends isn't the reason as to why I was so late on Recollections of a Former Goomba. So yes, if you have at least looked at Part 3 you know what was mentioned and thus what is happening with a certain character. Otherwise, the vagueness in that previous sentence is to the prevent massive spoilers for the end of Part 3.…Even though the next paragraph is going to sort of spoil what happened there. Oh well, this type of thing happens on occasion.

Anyways, Part 4 is going to be the longest part yet. The reason for that is simple…The next part is going to involve a lot of interplanetary travel between different video game worlds…And yes, that does sound like Kingdom Hearts but then again its not I'm trying to write interplanetary travel off as an entirely new concept, especially considering how much fiction has evolved over the years. Still, I know what I'm doing with this concept, though its up to you to decide that depending on how much you are familiar with the video game worlds. There will be familiar characters and locations, and a couple familiar plots as well…Yes, of course there will be a main character here that is one of my OC's, which honestly means I wouldn't blame you for automatically assuming that I've lost my mind and am about to go all "Mary Sue" with all of my characters and have them take control of the plots and make everyone act OoC at every possible moments. I'll be taking careful consideration into how I write the other video game characters, and considering how most of them have more defined personalities than Mario's guys it should feel more genuine…

So, what exactly is my plan for Part 4? Well, I can't spoil all the worlds that will appear, and I DEFINITELY can't spoil the Extra Chapters and other stories that will be happening between certain worlds…The other stories specifically will be posted on FictionPress because they will be composed with entirely ORIGINAL CONTENT. Yeah, I know, didn't think I had it in me either…So anyways, without further ado let me give you a basic idea of what's going down for Part 4:

_**(Timeline)**_

Prologue (Sonic the Hedgehog World, Battle with ?) Birth of ? Legend of Zelda World Metroid World Kirby World ? Sonic the Hedgehog World Tales of ? World ? World ? Final World

So yeah, got a lot of work ahead of me as far as writing goes. I feel like this MIGHT take the whole year to complete, and please don't quote me on this one considering how terrible I've been at fulfilling times in the past. Not to mention I'm going to try and do a thing for the Mario World in between certain chapters and/or worlds. It'll be a series of side-stories compiled together under one title "Tales of Plit: (Character Name Here)". Again, don't hold me to a time limit on this one, but I plan to get at least three chapters per main character (For Example: Driad, Mario, Luigi, Gemini, etc…) And perhaps a couple more characters will get some stories afterwards if its requested…But they have to be Mario characters, they have to be alive, and they have to have appeared in CotE beforehand. So no, I'm not writing a story about Bow fighting Bonetail to the death. So yeah, with no other announcements, there is only one thing left to say…

Pay close attention to the "Sonic the Hedgehog" part of this site for in a few days it will be time for…

**CLASH OF THE ELEMENTS PART 4: TRAVELS OF THE OVERLORD**


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