Chapter Text
“Calm down, citizen! Please!! Now..you told me you saw the man crash here?”
“I see..yes, I see him. Return to your home, I'll take it from here.”
Footsteps on the soil grew louder and louder…
“..Hello? Are you hurt..?”
“..Can you..hear me..?”
A woman's voice feintly echoed in the head of the man who was drifting through space.
Slowly, the man's eyes opened…
He looked up at her…
…It was a woman with robes and a witch hat covered in flashy stickers, a big paintbrush was on her back.
Seeing the man successfully awaken, made her smile…
It..was beautiful.
“...Hello, traveler!”
The man did not speak, he merely tried propping himself up with his hands, but he soon realized..
He…was on a planet..this was soil…
He hasn't touched the ground in..who knows how long.
“...Is something wrong?” Said the woman.
“......I……this……am……is……”
“......Where…..am……I…..”
The man spoke very faintly, and stoically.
“...Well..you're on the Sticker Comet!!!” Said the sticker woman.
“Sticker..Comet..?”
The man stood up, on his knees, looking up at her.
“This doesn’t look like a sticker comet.”
“...I know, hehe.” The sticker woman scratched the back of her head, chuckling nervously.
“..Well! We can talk while we walk! In fact..it seems like you could use some assistance!”
“Well, not to worry!”
“Ah ha ha! You are most fortunate to be guided by the great Karrolynn!”
“Karrolynn..”
“That's you?”
“The one and only!~ I'm the go-to gal around here, nothing gets done if I'm not around to make it happen!”
She reached out her hand to him, smiling.
“Can you walk?”
“No.”
“I haven't stepped on the ground in ages.”
“..Say no more, I'll help you get the hang of it.”
Karrolynn helped him stand up.
Karrolynn helped the traveler walk.
Soon enough, he was able to start moving on his own, if not slowly and a bit wobbly, he was able to walk.
“You see, I have big plans for this dusty old planet, but currently, I am fully ensuring that I gather the materials necessary to form a prosperous world…” Said Karrolynn.
The traveler simply nodded.
“Due to my great power, the people here have accepted me as their guide, their director, I'm like the captain, steering us towards a good future..”
“And, well. I've gotten most of the provisions needed for this planet through my ventures to other worlds!”
“...Ah! I have been so affixed in my discussion that I haven't even asked for your name!”
“What IS your name, dear traveler of the stars?”
“...............”
“I don't know.”
“You…you..don't? That's..terrible…” Karrolynn said sadly.
“And..I couldn't have helped but notice you were awfully light..can you, at the very least, recall the last time you've eaten?”
“No.”
“I…this is..absurd, this is immensely dreadful!”
“Well..I utterly hope that you understand that I will help you every step of the way.” Said Karrolynn, putting a hand on his shoulder.
“In fact, I shall make this my very first priority!!”
“.........”
The man looked at her.
“......Thanks.”
Later on, Karrolynn was waiting calmly outside of her room, she was considerate enough to let the traveler use her shower, and also got him a nice change of clothes.
She hummed patiently as she was writing in her diary.
The moment the traveler opened the door, Karrolynn shut her diary and tossed it in her drawer.
“I'm hoping you feel much bet…..”
Karrolynn was stunned.
Now, this traveler looked nice before, but now that he's looking his best..
….Well, she didn't know what to do! She was so stunned, nay – starstruck!! She…never met someone with looks so…like this before!
The traveler was wearing black pants and a red t-shirt, he was very well built, despite his plight..he dried his big, crimson red hair with a towel, and well..due to it being so long since he's done..anything, it was quite long!
But, that face..his golden eyes..his…
“Is something the matter?” The traveler said plainly.
“!!! A-ah…”
Just like that, Karrolynn was snapped out of her trance.
She nervously looked away, blushing. “..N..Nothing is wrong..nothing at all..”
“Well, you were just standing there, as if there was.”
“I-I was just..thinking about something! Apologies..”
“Not necessary.” He crossed his arms.
“..Thanks for the clothes.”
“Ah, yes..I do have an eye for fashion, don't I? Red and black just REALLY suits you, I must say!”
“...Th..Thanks.” The traveler looked away.
“Your…stickers look..nice.”
“!!”
“Wh-Why..thank you! Yeah, I make stickers, it's kinda my thing! I have a whole album of them, and..uh..um…”
(“Why am I SO NERVOUS!? He gave me such a normal complement!!”)
“..Ahem! Now, then..let us talk further, my friend.”
“........................”
“......Friend?” The traveler pointed to himself, raising an eyebrow.
“Gah!! I..said that?”
Karrolynn nervously tugged at her collar and fanned herself with her hat. “I..heheh!! I don't know what's gotten into me today!! I mean, why would I just say that, that doesn't make sense-”
“I like that.”
“Friends, it is!” Karrolynn nodded rapidly.
Later, the traveler and Karrolynn enjoyed a nice meal together…
“..Now, doesn't that feel better?” Karrolynn smiled calmly.
“Absolutely. Thank you.”
“...Okay, how does this sound?”
“Your name shall be……”
She drummed her hands on the table, got up from her chair, then pointed to him dramatically.
“...REKSICT!”
“...”
“...Hmm.” The traveler thought about this intently.
“...Reksict…yeah…not bad..”
“I…think I could get used to that…I mean, I like it, yes.”
“Thank you, Karrolynn.” Said Reksict.
Karrolynn desperately tried not to gush over Reksict calling her by her name, what was this guy DOING to her!?!
She mustered up the strength to get back to business.
Reksict was able to keep up with her, and walk more properly now, as he and Karrolynn walked along the Sticker Comet.
They shot the breeze with one another, did some talking, and enhoyed each other's company.
She couldn't help but notice that Reksict has become a bit more talkative, actually starting conversations instead of staying silent until needing to be spoken to..
“My planet was..utterly annihilated. I lost contact with my brother..” Reksict said.
“I never had much going for me to begin with, however. I forget when I lost my home, but..I don’t remember it being much of a home to begin with.”
“I do remember being much younger before then, though.”
“....Do you…think your brother is still out there?” Karrolynn asked gently.
“....I don’t know.”
“What I do know is…I have no direction to turn to in my life…no purpose.”
“...”
“I..wouldn't say that's true.” Karrolynn said.
“What?”
“...”
“I..can sense genuine power and potential in you.”
“I wouldn't normally do this, but..I cannot deny that I haven't grown desperate..”
“But..if you truly need direction..”
“I..will let you in on something, Reksict.”
Karrolynn whipped out her paintbrush and pointed to a castle down the road of the town.
“In the depths of that castle, there's something special.”
“You can call it a…project, that I've been working on.”
“A project?” Reksict asked.
“Shhh…we have to keep this on the down low…I don't plan on telling anyone yet, not until it's evident that I have a chance.”
Reksict nodded.
Karrolynn and Reksict walked inside.
“This…is Comet Castle.” Karrolynn said.
“I put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into making this massive place..”
“It contains a variety of rooms and other necessities, further helping the people of this planet.”
“...What an elegant place, I must say.”
Karrolynn walked down a hallway with him, leading him back to her room.
“You can also say that this place is my base of operations..where I make stickers..but most of all…”
Karrolynn thought for a moment…
…
With a snap of her fingers, a trap door opened on the floor, steps opened up.
“...Well, perhaps..it’s better to show you.”
Reksict's eyes widened slightly.
Karrolynn walked down the steps, but stopped after going down two, silently looking over her shoulder at Reksict.
It was as if she was asking for his trust.
Reksict followed her, without hesitation, after all, she already helped him immensely the moment he landed here.
Torches illuminated the room as Karrolynn led their descent, as if this room bended to her will…
The two reached the bottom, the room dimly lit, they stood on a carpet that depicted Karrolynn, with her eyes shut, 8 lights dancing around her…
Rainbow torches lit around them..
Karrolynn faced forward, Reksict did the same.
A big platinum statue of Karrolynn had her hands raised to the sky, and above them….
A big, rainbow chandelier lowered, and on said chandelier were 7 cages, within each cage were sparkling stickers that looked like crowns, in the center of the cages was an 8th cage, holding a golden crown sticker.
“Aren't they absolutely glorious? Yes, they're completely stunning!!”
Karrolynn gazed upon them from the ground.
“These are eight powerful stickers…within them slumbers the potential for great power, depending on the user…”
“A mere novice could only utilize its power for say, one attack, but with enough time and training..and a powerful mind..”
“..Well, who knows what could be accomplished!”
“Where did you find these..these…” Reksict tried to name them.
“That, even I don't know how exactly.”
“I just..managed to stumble across them during one of my many harrowing adventures…”
“I have dubbed them…The Royal Stickers.”
Karrolynn then looked to Reksict. “Now, the reason I have brought you here is because I have a proposition for you.”
“You..you need purpose..and..I have never seen a more..built specimen on this planet.”
“I..I-I genuinely think you have potential, and…”
“You want me to wield one of these Royal Stickers?” Reksict said what she was thinking.
“A-Ah…but, it's not simple!!!” Karrolynn said.
“This will take inTENSE training! You can only use ONE!!! And…and, if you wield one..they can NEVER be used for evil!!”
“..Never..for evil.”
“...”
“You want to make me a hero?” Reksict asked.
“...It’s not about what I want.” Karrolynn said.
“I have been desperate to try this out, but…”
“It is your decision, you want a purpose..and I can give you the best one I can offer.”
“No real harm will come to you, and if this succeeds..”
“You'll be loved by many.”
“You'll be quite powerful.”
“You'll make a myriad of people happy.”
“But…”
“Would that be enough to make you happy?”
“....”
“I…”
“I don't think I know what to say..” Reksict said, thinking hard.
Karrolynn took her hat off and faced him. “I will not pressure you, you're my firs..m-my friend!! …So if it turns out that you want to give up, you always can.”
“.............................................................................”
Karrolynn looked away.
…
“..!!!”
Reksict suddenly grabbed her hand, and looked into her eyes.
“Let's see what happens.”
“.....”
Karrolynn nodded with determination.
And so, it begins…
“.......” Reksict looked at the Royal Stickers.
“...So, do you have one picked out for me, or…?”
“Pick your favorite!” Karrolynn said happily.
The training was, as Karrolynn said: INTENSE.
Reksict managed to have the body, for the most part, but not the experience.
It was..rather comical watching him fling his fists and feet so weakly.
But he strangely never found himself giving in.
He just kept going, every failure just motivated him to swing harder, to try new strategies, to find his strengths.
Karrolynn worked him hard, but knew when to relax with him and take breaks, even when Reksict thought he should keep going, she made sure to get him to take breaks consistently.
Every working strategy he found, he remembered and compiled together…
Eventually, after enough training, more challenge was required.
Karrolynn swung her big paint brush around dramatically.
“...Alright! Here's when we step things up!”
“You, against ME!”
“Envision me as your greatest opponent…”
“...And STRIKE with all you've got!”
Reksict sharpened his blades against each other by spinning them, he chuckled joyfully, then grinned as he said…
“Be careful what you wish for, sensei!”
Oh, how they sparred.
How they clashed.
This training very soon felt more like fun and games than training.
But Reksict got stronger, and stronger..
And that was not the only benefit.
Yes, Reksict and Karrolynn ended up inseparable…
Their bond was stronger than both of them combined.
Karrolynn found herself coming out of her shell a bit more, and socializing more with others.
Reksict reveled in socialization, always stopping by to see others, help others, even to ask them about their day, or just gift them a smile.
All this made him utterly happy.
He felt as if
he wasn't himself until he landed on this comet.
But he found himself.
He wanted nothing more than to have a wonderful life, and he has it….
But also…
He wants to give back.
“We're stuck together, huh Karrolynn?”
Reksict and Karrolynn were at the very top of Comet Castle, just laying on the roof of the castle, the highest point in all of the kingdom, gazing at the stars.
“Y-You..you're cool with that?” Karrolynn looked at him.
“Of course I am!!” He flashed her a big smile.
“Man, I didn’t think things would ever turn out like this.”
“I just kinda thought that I would just…”
“Float through space forever.”
“..I wish I could have met you sooner.” Karrolynn said.
“...Heh, me too.”
“There..are plenty of things I wish went differently in life.” Reksict said, taking on a more grim tone.
“But, there's nothing we can do about those things, huh..?” Karrolynn tipped her hat.
“......”
“Yet, meeting you…”
“Meeting everyone on this comet…”
“..Heh, I wouldn't change a single thing.” Reksict chuckled, now having a more brighter mood.
Karrolynn put a hand on her heart, her hat tipped over her eyes, her breathing got a bit more heated, her heart beating faster.
“R..Reksict…”
“Wh-What if I told you, that I…”
She went a bit quiet.
“...I..lo..”
...Reksict's face heated up as he turned to her. “..Hey. Is everything alright?”
“...I-I..appreciate you, a lot..more than you know, is all…” Karrolynn said.
“....................Yeah, well..”
“Me, too.”
“.....What's your dream?” Karrolynn asked.
“....”
“...Shoot, how did that happen?” Reksict realized.
“Huh?”
“I can't say I ever had one.”
“Not for any reason in particular, just..”
“It never really came to mind.”
“Or maybe..I have it already, but can't put it into words.”
“...What's yours?”
“....I wish….to explore the galaxy more and more…”
“I just..heh..kinda have a hunger for knowledge.” Karrolynn giggled.
“But, most of all…”
“I wanna spread all my precious stickers across the universe!!!”
“Everyone, everywhere, through every corner of the worlds!!”
“All will know the joy of my wonderful stickers!!”
“...And..I wanna do all that with..”
“...With you.”
Karrolynn put her hand on his.
Reksict looked at her.
“...”
“...Heeehh, heh heh heh heh eh..” He grinned.
“...Well!”
“Let it be known that whatever dream I have…”
He grasped her hand tightly, looking into her eyes.
“...I want you in it, too.”
“ATTENTION, COMET SETTLERS!!!”
Everyone all over the comet gathered in a great, regal hall inside of the Comet Castle.
Karrolynn spun over to the podium, everyone cheered.
“...RRRah ha ha ha haaaa!!!~”
“...Oh, this is such a WONDROUS occasion that I have been anticipating for such a long time…”
“For today! This is all in honor of one of our own..”
“..He has shown courage..POWER, an UN. FLINCHING. Resolve!”
“Tirelessly, he and I have molded the dull lump of clay that was this very comet into a far BETTER place.”
“But MOST OF ALL…”
“..He has shown a heart of gold.”
The audience applauded vigorously at that response.
“..Oh yes, you know it, I know it, we ALL know it!!!”
“So, without further ado..”
Karrolynn lovingly opened her hand directly to him.
“...Reksict.”
A stage light shined down on him.
Reksict stood proudly and took a bow as the audience cheered.
“...Come forward, and claim what is rightfully yours.” Karrolynn said.
Reksict, in his gilded armor, ran down the hall, high fiving the audience members as they all chanted his name proudly.
He jumped onto the stage.
“...AHHH ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!” Laughed Reksict with a triumphant voice.
“I thank ALL of you from the depths of my very soul!!”
“It has been an utter honor to help each and every last one of you!!”
“Well.” Karrolynn said to him. “It has been an even greater honor to have you.”
“..Now, Reksict. Kneel before me, please.”
Reksict kneeled before Karrolynn.
Karrolynn smiled, and gently raised her hand towards the sky.
The gold Royal Sticker descended from on high, over to her palm, everyone cheered at the sight of its shimmering beauty.
Karrolynn, with her hand still in the air, took out her paint brush.
She gently put it on Reksict's shoulders.
“...I hereby officially dub thee..”
“...Reksict!! The first ROYAL. STICKER. GUARDIAAAAAAAANNNNN!!!!!!”
The gold Royal Sticker was placed onto his head.
A shiny aura of power enveloped Reksict.
He slowly stood.
Karrolynn and Reksict, hand in hand, faced the whole of the comet.
The two raised their hands in the air, into a peace sign, and everyone cheered.
Truly, this was a new, bright beginning…
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So how did it ever come to this?
CHAPTER 9
All That Remains is…
We return to the present day, but most importantly…
We return to Mario, after he was flung out into space, unconscious..
Slowly, our..now lonely, hero..
Opens his eyes..
All he can see is darkness.
Yet, strangely…he had footing.
He..he could walk.
He could stand.
He could move!
..He..he just…needs to focus..and figure out where he is!!!
Mario walked through the darkness…
…For only a short time, before suddenly.
“..It has been ages since I've seen you, Mario! I nearly assumed you were a mere figment of my imagination.”
Mario looked to the source of the voice.
He saw someone.
A woman in a light blue dress, with a star shaped brooch, vanilla white hair, one bang covering one of her eyes, a silver crown, and a star shaped wand in hand.
“Nevertheless, I, Rosalina. Warmly welcome your return all the same.”
Rosalina did a curtesy.
The area around Mario became clear.
A gentle grass covered the planet, beds of flowers gently standing tall…
Houses and tree stumps stood.
Water rushes by as Mario and Rosalina face one another.
“...Welcome back to the Gateway Galaxy, my friend!”
“For a time, I remained amongst my darling little Lumas as we peacefully traveled the stars..watching over the universe..”
“..But, that peace was soon halted, recently.”
“The stars must have shined down upon you, for me to have found you drifting through space..”
Mario jumped a bit, then asked Rosalina something.
“Yes, I am more than aware of your plight now, and I am more than willing to help you, as you have done for me, my friend…”
“At the height of your success, it was all snatched away from you.”
Rosalina shut her eyes, and placed a hand on her heart.
“...You were separated from those close to you, and sent to the stars, never to be seen again…”
“....Reksict. The evil one, who has caused all this…”
“Has only grown stronger and stronger.”
Rosalina tightened her fist.
“I…unfortunately managed to run into him.”
“He grasped more power..grasped the power of the stars..”
“But was unsuccessful.”
“I fought valiantly against him, to protect my family, not a single Luma was harmed..”
“...However…”
“He managed to scatter 6 of my Power Stars away, each in a certain galaxy..”
“He did this specifically to hinder my ability to help.”
“...So, Mario. I must ask of you.”
“May we work together, quickly, to get the Power Stars back?”
Mario nodded, and gave a thumbs up.
“I absolutely knew you would help!” Rosalina held her hands together and smiled.
“But, I will not only help you retrieve the stars..I shall help you get your dear friends back..”
“..And shatter Reksict of his new, chaotic form.”
“I will work diligently alongside you, for Reksict’s evil ways have become a galaxy sized threat.”
Mario and Rosalina firmly shook hands, joining forces.
“..Mama!! Mama!!!”
A small, yellow, round star with black dot eyes floated down to Rosalina.
It was one of her darling star children, a Luma.
“Is it time!? Can I do it!? Can I!? CAN I!?”
Rosalina giggled and gently hugged the Luma. “Yes, my sweet! It is time!”
The Luma jumped joyfully in the air.
“ Yahooo!!!! Okay, hero man! The first Power Star is nearby!”
“I'll transform into a Launch Star , and send you flying to Good Egg Galaxy!!!”
“Are you ready!? Then…”
“TRANSFOOOOOOOOOOOORM!!!!”
The Luma spiraled and glowed..before transforming into a Launch Star.
“Before I depart, I have a Super Sticker to help you going forward.”
Rosalina gave you the Star Spin Super Sticker!
Equipping this sticker gives Mario the Spin move!
(It takes QUITE a bit of STP (this game’s version of badge points) to equip it though, but ANY enemy on the ground can be hit by your spin attack! It costs 0 FP to use, and it even enhances your superguard to have a bit more range, this sticker only affects Mario though, but it's great!)
Rosalina flew off.
Mario thought of his friends…
He tipped his cap, and with determination in his eyes, he fearlessly jumped onto the Launch Star and was launched away!!!!
(Hey, guys! Welcome back to the story!!)
(What? You say the story should have ended already?)
(What do you mean there's supposed to be only 8 chapters?)
(SAYS WHO!?)
(No, you'll take your 9th chapter and you'll LIKE IT!!)
(Seriously though, the story continues on Good Egg Galaxy!)
(Hop from planet to planet with the Paper Mario style! For good egg, you venture starting with the grassy planet that has a dark side with structures underneath, you got the planet that's shaped like a peanut for some reason with all the boulders on it, it's all here!)
(We have paper mario gameplay with some super mario galaxy elements and gimmicks thrown in.)
(Dodge black holes and fight enemies from Mario Galaxy in a new turn-based way! Face the Octoombas, Micro-Goombas, Swoopin’ Poinks, huge Pokeys, and those Biggol Prickly Piranha Plants!)
(Rosalina directly helps Mario get around by making platforms and blasting through obstacles, stuff like that!)
(At the end, Mario hitches a ride on a launch star that takes him past the planet where he would fight Dino Piranha, and goes farther away as the music fades out and the space gets darker…)
Mario soars through the dark void of space..
A bright light comes into view, on a strange, black, crusty planetoid..
He crashes through the top into a foggy room with a murky dark green..
Mario slowly walks and looks around the room..
Searching carefully for the Power Star..
The room was so big..
Mario asked Kersti for advice!
…….
But, he remembered that she wasn't here…
“GnnREEWRRRAAARRR…”
A rumbling groan is heard…
And from the ground, it arises.
A beast with the same dark purple color as Reksict, with a flashy reflective sheen of colors, it had a dinosaur skull with jagged spikes along it, dark blue flaming eyes and a dark blue flaming maw to match.
A skeletal crawling beast with sharp, boney saw blades for feet, black, long jagged horns, and a giant tail shaped like an ax, its long legs helped it effortlessly tower over Mario.
In its exposed ribcage was the Power Star..
It bit through the air in front of Mario before roaring frighteningly.
Dark Beast of the Stars
WEPROROAR
Mario balled up his fists and readied himself.
(This is Weproroar! A beast that as of now, has unknown origin!)
(Kersti's tattle says:)
(I said, KERSTI'S tattle says:)
(...........)
(... Oh …)
(..Well, uh…)
(Anyway, you can jump on it by jumping directly onto its backside, or whack at its feet with your hammer, don't jump on its feet though!)
(Weproroar can attack by extending a long fiery tongue of blue flames at Mario and just lashing at him with it, it can do a HEAVY stomp attack, or stomp from afar to make spikes shoot out of the ground, attack with its long tail, shoot its horns out at you, crawl over and squat down its boney ribcage, and halfway through the fight, it'll crawl on the ceiling and make stuff fall from on high, and even try just crashing down on Mario to gnaw at his head to get some health back!)
(Guess it's a good time to mention this too…Mario can somehow still use Royal Sticker attacks.)
(After doing enough damage, Weproroar unleashes a wail of agony…and slowly starts being consumed in blue flame..)
Having won the fight, Mario tips his cap…
..But Weproroar suddenly GRABS Mario by its gaping maw!!
The dark skeletal beast planned on burning Mario to a crisp with its last breath before vanishing in dust!
…It was then…
That a PICKAXE was chucked mightily at Weproroar's head!!
Mario was released from its mouth, and Weproroar slowly returned to the ground, engulfed in blue fire…
And from its ashes, remains the Power Star!
The Power Star slowly descends right into the hands of none other than…
…Captain Toad!
He looked forward, and was happily surprised to see Mario!
“Mario!!!!”
Captain Toad ran over and grabbed his hands, jumping up and down excitedly.
“Oh, boy! Toadsworth WAS right!! I shoulda known you'd survive whatever that Reksict guy did to you!”
“Yeah, the moment we found out that you, the Princess, and Luigi went missing, I decided to hop in my spaceship and go looking for you and the others!”
Captain Toad dusted himself off. “Whew!! I was so worried when I went looking, but with you still keeping at it..I'm sure the others are fighting the good fight, too!”
Mario nodded, fully agreeing.
“A couple of Lumas filled me in on Rosalina's plight.”
“You need Power Stars, right? Go ahead and take this one!”
Captain Toad handed him the Power Star.
Upon grabbing it, the Power Star swirls and dances around Mario, before going RIGHT into his hand!
You got a Power Star!
Mario flies through the air with the star..
He and the Star arrived at a big galactic structure…
It was Rosalina's Comet Observatory.
The Power Star faced Mario, then plunged right into the center, into a glowing beacon orb.
Mario landed on the observatory, looking around before Rosalina descended to him.
Rosalina smiled gently at him. “..Ah, it's as if you're a natural..”
“Reksict certainly had his hands full dealing with you, of that I am certain.”
“It’s wonderful to have an ally like you.”
“5 Power Stars remain..the first one you found was in Good Egg Galaxy, which was located in The Terrace, the first dome.”
(The camera pans over to the Terrace, then returns to Mario and Rosalina.)
“The remaining five…” Rosalina began.
(We now get a slow spinning view of the entirety of the Comet Observatory.)
“Those will be located in the 5 other domes..”
(The camera then zooms in on the remaining 5 domes..)
“...The Fountain , The Kitchen , The Bedroom , The Engine , and The Garden.”
“If you recall, those are the other domes, and in those territories, you'll find one stolen Power Star in each.”
“Fortunately for us, we have more than enough star power, so you can access the domes in any order you choose.”
A blackish-brown Luma with blue eyes joined the scene.
“Do you remember my advisor Luma, Polari? He will be helping me figure out the exact location of your friends..”
Polari, the brown Luma, spoke.
“You needn't worry about searching each Galaxy for the one that has the missing star, for we have already figured that out for you.”
“The domes shall take you directly to the Galaxy with the missing star!”
“But, you shouldn’t just rush to the next thing, Mario.”
Rosalina put a hand to her heart. “Bowser, Peach, Luigi..they are very capable..”
“It's also to my knowledge that a girl from the Sticker Comet is in his captivity as well..but I am certain that she wouldn't want you recklessly rushing to save her and the others…”
“Please feel free to look around the Comet Observatory while you take a break, I am certain that there are things here to assist you as well.”
“..And, with that..I must get to work.”
(Welcome to your new hub for a while! The Comet Observatory!)
(No matter what is going on out there, things are safe here.)
(It’s basically the same as it was in galaxy, layout wise, ofc there are platforms to compensate for your lack of double/triple jumps.)
(Go around, talk to cute lil Lumas, enjoy the place..as for shops, a blue hungry Luma named Lumalee handles that!)
(Upon first encounter, he says this:)
“🎶Lumalee, Lumabop! Welcome to the Luma shop!🎶”
“Hey, mister! Wanna play store with me?
star bits are great! But I've been after coins lately!”
“If you gimme any of those tasty coins, I'll give you some of my cool stuff!”
(He'll have items unique to this place that you won't find anywhere else, but…interestingly enough, the food items aren't as good at healing as the ones from Reksict Roadway still.)
(One of the most interesting places you can visit for some extra lore is…Rosalina's library.)
(Let's go over the books you can find here.)
(The game says:)
° There are several books here, some are true stories written of Mario's past adventures.
° Here's one… “Paper Mario!”
It's a tale of how Mario and all his friends saved everyone's wishes from Bowser's almighty new power..
° A beloved, classic story of fun and adventure, Rosalina must read this one to her Lumas sometimes.
(Here's more text)
° There are several books here, some are true stories written of Mario's past adventures.
° Here's one… “Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door!”
°It's a tale of how Mario and Peach discovered a legendary treasure of a faraway land..for better or worse.
° A wonderful story, with even more crazy adventures! Rosalina must read this one to her Lumas sometimes.
(More library text)
° There are several books here, some are true stories written of Mario's past adventures.
° Here's one… “Super Paper Mario!”
It's a tale of love…
Mario gathers the heroes of prophecy to go against a terrifying threat that could erase all life….
° It's probably the best story out of the three!
….But, it's a tad too dark at times for a younger audience, so Rosalina has to read this one cautiously to her Lumas and be careful about the dark parts.
(Those are just haha cute ref stuff, plus I feel like Rosalina would read these stories to her children, HERE'S the stuff I really wanted to show.)
° This book is called “Star Power: Wishes and Protection” read a few pages?
(If you select yes..)
“...The Star Spirits ..the Star Kids..”
“...Rosalina …the Lumas…”
“Both have similarities, but are, at the end of day, quite different.”
“Both utilize the power over stars.”
“The Star Spirits used this power to grant wishes with the power of an incredible tool…”
“...The Star Rod.”
“This tool can only be matched by sheer star power, otherwise outclassed, and is used to grant the wishes of people all over the world, and perhaps even across the universe..”
“The Star Kids, while being small stars, are different from Lumas.”
“Besides physical appearance, with them having mouths and being more accurately shaped like stars, born in the wonderful Starborn Valley, they will one day grow up to grant wishes, just like the Star Spirits.”
“Rosalina, however…”
“Greatly utilizes the power of her one hundred and twenty one Power Stars to directly combat evil, and protect the galaxies.”
“Unlike the Star Kids, Lumas are destined to become something else..”
“After eating enough Star Bits and growing, a Luma will eventually transform! Perhaps into a NEW galaxy!”
“Rosalina will see to it that her Lumas will be fed and happily safe in her protection.”
(Here's the last one:)
° This book is called “Star Power V. Sticker Power”, read a few pages?
(If you select yes…)
“Royal Stickers use the power of thought , regardless of good or evil…”
“But, there is a direct weakness to this power.”
“While Sticker Power seems very powerful…”
“It absolutely pales in comparison to the power of wishes and stars.”
“For starters, it only takes someone with intense training, through body AND mind…”
“...Just to wield a single Royal Sticker.”
“The user can utilize this power, but even then, only to an extent, as this power can be very exhausting if used recklessly.”
“However, regardless of anything, prolonged exposure to Royal Stickers will still grant the user some of its power, if only for one attack per sticker.”
(...THAT explains why you can still use Royal Sticker power, despite Reksict having them now!)
“The only way immense damage could be done is if either two things…”
“Someone was immensely trained in the power of Royal Stickers.”
“Or…”
“Someone fully used all eight Royal Stickers.”
“...But, so much as using more than one Royal Sticker fully can produce horrifying results…”
“...This is uncertain, however..but it is to be believed that the mind of a simple mortal cannot handle using more than one to their fullest potential.”
“So, if more than one is to be used..”
“The results could be fatal.”
“Karrolynn, the founder of the Royal Stickers, claims that not even she knows of their true origin..”
“We can only hope that no poor soul gets the frightening curiosity to use all eight to their fullest potential…”
“..THIS is the main reason why the Royal Sticker Guardians were formed, according to Karrolynn herself!”
“To protect this power, and use it responsibly for the benefit of all.”
“But, despite this, even if someone were to use all Royal Stickers to their fullest potential at once..”
“This is still NOTHING in comparison to Star Power anyways, so it should absolutely not be risked!”
“There is an interesting theory however..”
“If someone was at the brink of death..”
“And used their Royal Sticker with all their strength to stay alive..”
“Their powers may be amplified, their limits would be broken.”
“This is still not enough to overcome star power, but…”
“It's enough to cause chaos even more.”
(And this explains how Reksict got all giant and powerful at the end of Chapter 8.)
“The power of the Royal Stickers can be very dangerous or very helpful.”
“Only 8 of these exist, and since they are being donned by the guardians, it means that at least no crazy person can get their hands on one.”
(..Aaaand, that's all the interesting stuff in the library!)
(Two more cool easter eggs, there's a telescope!)
(Looking into it, you can see how messed up Mario's world became, front and center!)
(But if you look around space with the telescope reeeal closely..you can see the moon, and by extension, X-Naut's Fortress atop it.)
(But most of all, look even harder through space..and you can see the whole of Star Haven!)
(Now, while you CAN go to any dome in any order you want, i'm just gonna take you through each one in order.)
(Entering The Fountain dome, you have…)
(...Space Junk Galaxy!)
(You’ll face Spoings, Amps, more Octoombas, and even Roctos as you maneuver the galaxy. Jumping from planetoid to planetoid, using the pull stars and launch stars to get around, collecting star chips TO make launch stars, hopping to different outer space junk, all that.)
(As always, Rosalina will assist you to get around stages.)
(Captain Toad will assist you in battle and is far more capable than before, you can now actually use him as a partner! He can toss bombs, give a random item, toss pickaxes, he has a main normal attack when he swings a pickaxe and has another for flying foes where he tosses it, and can throw a pow block to hit all enemies on ground, OR ceiling, flipping over some enemies as well! Attacks like that!)
(The last launch star takes you far past the entire galaxy, deep into the darkness of space..)
Mario and Captain Toad crashed onto a pale white, brittle and cracked battlefield…
The arena looked..dead.
But Mario's face soon turned to the sky…
Thousands of stars shined brightly, shooting stars glowing different colors flew by, stars swirled about…it..looked almost too peaceful.
Amongst them all floated the Power Star, high in the air.
….
Luigi could have jumped up and gotten it easily.
….
…Luigi…
“...Mario? Is everything cool?” Captain Toad asked. “Can't help but see that you look a bit gloomy, pal.”
Mario snapped out of it and nodded.
“...Don't worry, I know the others are okay.”
“..They don't go down easily, y'know! Hehehehe..”
“RRRRMNNGGEEEWWEERAAARRRRRRGGHHHHHhhh…”
The two were stunned silent by the sudden beastly roar..a stark contrast with the beautiful stars in the sky.
The eyes and mouth of the beast, engulfed in blue flame, revealed itself to the sky..
It's gaping, flaming maw opened wide..and like a black hole, it sucked up all the stars in the sky.
Captain Toad desperately boosted Mario up to jump for the Power Star..but to no avail, already, it was sucked in with all the rest..
All the stars in the sky of this arena were consumed, only darkness remained…
Then, suddenly..it fully revealed itself.
The beast had a massive dark purple skull of a monster, huge, hollowed out eyesockets where flames of different, constantly changing dark colors, were filled, and a massive mouth that was filled with the same flames, it had a huge, dark purple skeletal tail, it's whole body was a dark purple with a flashy shine of different colors, stars coated its body, and out came two big skeletal hands with shooting star tails as DEADLY sharp claws, it's body, glowing from the stars, was the ONLY thing that illuminated the arena..
It gnashed its teeth and soared down to Mario..
Consumer of the Cosmos
NECROSTAR
(Alright, another crazy eldritch cosmic beast thing!)
(Necrostar's main form of attack is slashing at you with its giant claws, doing BIG damage if not blocked, but it's pretty slow to make up for it.)
(It'll just charge at you to bite, shoot out a stream of big, flaming shooting stars down, suddenly stretch out spikes, and halfway through the fight, it'll sacrifice some attack power to gain more defense!)
(After defeating it, HUGE cracks show in its head, and then cracks show all along its body..then..it WAILS in agony, ALL the stars it consumed shot out of its mouth.)
(Lastly, it was coated in blue flame, and reduced to ashes that scattered in the wind…)
The stars returned to the sky, and the Power Star floated gently down to Mario..
Captain Toad breathed a sigh of relief. “..Let's get outta here!”
Mario grabbed the Power Star.
It swirled and twinkled around him and Captain Toad, then went RIGHT into his hand!
You got a Power Star!
The two adventurers returned to the observatory, and the Power Star returned to the beacon.
“...Marvelous! As I expected from you both.”
Rosalina looked to Mario and smiled.
Captain Toad tipped his headlamp. “I'll be tinkering my Shroom ship at the garage, but I'll show up when you need me!”
He made his leave.
Rosalina thought aloud. “...Reksict…”
“...”
“When I first encountered him, I absolutely held my own just fine.”
“But, that wasn't my biggest concern.”
“I..couldn't help but sense a vile, terrifying truth within him..it..worried me.”
“...But, that doesn't change what's happening now. I must defend my family from his madness..”
“..........Family……..”
“...”
“....Two Power Stars..”
“Four left.”
Rosalina went back to diligently looking for Mario's team.
(....Up next! We head to the kitchen, for BUOY BASE GALAXY!)
(Scaling the huge floating fortress that resides on a sphere of water, you'll face the enemies from before, with the addition of Topmen!)
(Scale the mighty base, dodging amps, electric fences, Thwomps, tons of stuff as you climb your way to the top!)
(Oh, and in case it wasn't obvious, ever since Reksict's defeat in Chapter 7, he stopped controlling enemies and instead created his own, meaning all the enemies in the galaxies aren't under his control.)
(Reaching the top of the iconic Pokéball shaped planet will then lead you to another launch star, which will whisk you away far beyond…)
(The inky black dark void of space returned as you ventured once again to an all new, dark realm..)
Mario and Captain Toad stumbled to their feet…
….Mario made a look of shock as he looked around the room.
It was a dark cave with a huge waterfall….sharp, jagged crystals stood tall.
Mario looked around the room…the rushing water was the only sound of the frightening cave.
Despite the atmosphere being intimidating…
….
Mario shut his eyes softly…
And recalled the moments of peace he had with Princess Peach.
Reborn courage filled him.
He looked down at the water..
But his reflection was not seen..
All that was seen was a Power Star.
The Power Star spun slowly, then faced him.
Its eyes went angry, then a dark blue.
…Suddenly, a MASSIVE GEYSER SHOT UP OUT OF THE WATER!
“WAUUUGGHH!! WHAT IN THE WORLD!?” Captain Toad panicked.
A giant, rainy hurricane took place as all of the water was sucked into one massive amorphous blob…
Mario grabbed Captain Toad and jumped out of the way!
A giant leg made out of water with a skeletal leg visible inside emerged from the hurricane and slammed violently onto the ground, making the arena crumble and shake..
Then another, and another, and another..
From the hurricane, two big, piercing blue angry eyes were visible..
The hurricane stopped, and what stood before our heroes was a massive sphere of water with big dark blue rage filled eyes and four legs.
A low, intimidating rumble came out of the beast as the arena shook and its watery blue color changed to a dark transparent black…
Shifting Mass of Evil
MORPH MATTER
(This freaky thing means business, I assure you!)
(First of all, it's pretty tanky, and the way you attack this thing isn't as simple as you think! Each attack you do to it will make blobs of itself come off of it! These blobs are called “Drop Matter” and have small HP, and they get their OWN turn to attack after Morph Matter does, they'll always gang up on you to do small chip damage, but what is MOST dangerous about them is that they can return to Morph Matter's body, HEALING it!)
(It is IMPERATIVE that you kill the Drop Matters as soon as possible to keep the damage you did to Morph Matter from being undone, and since Captain Toad has bombs that can hit all enemies, this shouldn't be too tough!)
(Back to Morph Matters attacks, with its legs, it can do a BIG, fast stomp attack, and if you don’t block, it'll slurp you up into its body, and you have to button mash to break free as it slowly damages you.)
(It can shove its ENTIRE body into the ground and violently sprout out from under you as a huge geyser, doing big damage, it can also stomp over to you, and smash its whole body down onto you, or even fake you out and pause before doing it!)
(If you didn't notice, almost all of these attacks involve Morph Matter using its legs, huh? So why not attack the LEGS directly? Well, you can!)
(Each leg can be targeted, and it loses attack power for each one destroyed, until all legs are destroyed and it falls to the ground.)
(In this state, Morph Matter can reach over to bite you, make water tentacles come out of its body that harden into a solid glass like matter and STAB at you, transform into rain that crashes down on you, and it can still do the geyser attack!)
(But that's not all, Morph Matter can also harden into a glass like cube form, in this state, it is far more tankier, and has new attacks like crashing down onto you, rolling over to you, or blasting into shards that fly at you.)
(When it's HP is halfway down, the fight REALLY changes up! It's legs return, and that's not all! It's body returns to its RAINY HURRICANE form! Yep, that wasn't just for a cool introduction!)
(Captain Toad says:)
“WOO! This thing never lets up, Mario! It's relentless!! Where did it even come from!?”
“We definitely WON’T be able to hit this monster's body while it's in that form.”
“But we CAN hit its legs..maybe doing that will stop it?”
“..If it does work, we have to do it FAST, I feel like this thing is gonna be super dangerous for as long as it has this form!”
(Captain Toad is 110% correct! The hurricane form is this monster's most deadliest state, it has two violent attacks, it's legs retract into the hurricane and it dashes at you, or it's legs retract into the hurricane and it expands into a bigger and bigger storm that gets all over the place! Both of these attacks are REALLY tough, so you'd best destroy its legs as soon as possible before it destroys YOU!)
(As Captain Toad said, attacking the hurricane directly will do no damage, but JUMPING into it does small damage to you FOUR times so especially don’t do that!)
(Destroying the legs brings Morph Matter back down into its legless form, but it has a VERY likely chance of transforming back into a hurricane, so make these moments count!)
(The fight from here on is a loop of you destroying the legs and stopping the hurricane, hitting it for as long as it's not in a hurricane form, destroying the legs when they return in the hurricane form, rinse, repeat, until you finally take it down.)
Morph Matter bubbles and boils, turning back into normal blue water and becomes more and more unstable, before..
..It suddenly explodes into a huge splash of water!!!
The waterfalls return, a bunch of rain falls down slowly as the Power Star descends.
Captain Toad breathed heavily. “Huff…puff…heh..hahahaha...”
“...WHAT WAS THAT!?!”
Captain Toad was completely stunned.
“Where did these things COME FROM!? Who MADE them!?”
“Reksict.”
“!?!”
Mario and Captain Toad looked to the source of the sound…
Ekris looked them over in the darkness.
He slowly stepped out of the shadows.
“Reksict has gotten far more powerful…beyond imagination.”
He looked to the side, tipping his cap.
“Unlike his R. Men and K. Girls..they lack soul, heart, free will.”
“These monsters..they exist only as an extension of REKSICT'S will.”
“..W..W-Woah…” Captain Toad was shocked..
“..Mario, the rest of the Guardians await you at the Comet Observatory.” Ekris said.
“Claim the Power Star and return with all due speed, we await you!”
Mario nodded.
“I shall take my leave and rejoin them.”
Ekris started walking away, then stopped.
“...I hope you know that us guardians do not blame you for what you did.”
“You had to relinquish the Royal Stickers, Reksict gave you a lose-lose situation..”
“We are frankly glad that you didn't consider risking your friends for the sake of the stickers.”
“Reksict played all of us for fools, had us all figured out from the very beginning.”
“All we can do now is do the best we can and fight with all we have.”
Ekris left.
Captain Toad nodded. “..Well, you heard the man!”
“Back to the Observatory!”
Mario claimed the next Power Star.
You got a Power Star!
As the Power Star returned to the beacon, so did Mario and Captain Toad return to the observatory.
Captain Toad went back to the garage, Mario waved “See you later!” to him.
“..Great to see you've still got it!”
Mario turned to see the Royal Sticker Guardians speak to him, specifically Ceri.
“Never thought things would turn out like this…” Ceri crossed her arms.
“We all played our cards right, but we still found our way into playing RIGHT into his hands..” Teris said.
“..But, with you still fighting on, that brings us hope.”
“Hope can be made into something very, very powerful..we must hold on..”
Mario asked them all a question.
“..How did we get here?” Teris repeated his question.
“Weeeeelll..” Ristic smugly piped up. “I've been tinkering with a spaceship in my spare time for a long while..”
“I was able to finally put it to use!”
“You and your lil toys..” Eskee shrugged and shook her head. “Always got some big egghead tool up your sleeve!”
She looked away and scratched the back of her head. “...But, uh…that's one o’ the things I like about you… ”
“...Alright, you lot.” Teris sighed. “You know what we've gotta do, yes?”
Kesi spoke up. “Mario! We'll leave the Power Star catchin’ and friend saving to you, Captain Toad, and Rosalina!”
Crecksi put a hand on her heart. “Luigi, Bowser, Peach..”
“...Kersti.”
“They all must be fighting the good fight as well, you must reunite with them as soon as humanly possible!”
Ekris continued. “The world is suffering..we Royal Sticker Guardians will split up and head down to fight.”
Teris thought sincerely of Kersti. “My dear daughter…”
“I am going to trust in you, and her, that she will be okay and undoubtedly return to your team, along with everyone else.”
“I know she would want me to protect your world, so I will journey with my fellow guardians..”
“Then we must move QUICKLY!” Ekris spoke. “Reksict is twisting each land of Mario's home with every passing moment!”
Ristic nodded. “Let's GO! RÁPIDO!”
The Guardians went for a big Spaceship that looked like Ristic X's helmet.
Teris nodded solemnly. “Let's believe in all of us, Mario..” She saluted him and joined the Guardians to head down to the land..
“...Well done! You have already achieved 3 stars!”
Mario turns his attention to Rosalina.
“...They care about one another, don't they?”
“Things seem so rough for them right now, but they soldier on..”
“...But, I can't help but sense that…they have deep regrets…”
“....”
“You are halfway there, my friend.”
“Three more.”
Rosalina went back to work.
(Up next, if you're going in order instead of going to whichever one you want, we go into the Bedroom to head for Freezeflame Galaxy!)
(Within the icy-hot planet, you'll skate along the ice and trek through the snow in the ice mountain, while dodging the flames and jumping over lava pits in the lava path, move between fire and ice realms, jump over freezing cold ice lakes , face ice goombas, snow pokeys, lil’ cinders, ice bubbles, (lil cinders and ice bubbles can be blown out with the spin attack, greatly weakening them so they can be jumped on for 2 turns) ice swoops, urchins and ground urchins, dodge lava geysers, fire geysers, ice cold water geysers, push giant snowballs, dodge magma balls, icy rain, flaming meteors, all that!)
(The last launch star of the area….)
Mario and Captain Toad flew past the ice and flames…
But the cold did return to them…the unforgiving cold of the black space..
But a Power Star was close by, so Mario and Captain Toad flew to the frightening unknown fearlessly..
The heroes landed onto a dark arena..a rocky floor, with a huge moat of fire that glowed dark shades of different colors, illuminating the room.
Mario couldn't help but imagine Bowser giving him some hammy insults about “not being scared” or something.
He chuckled softly.
Captain Toad gulped nervously, but readied his pickaxe, giving a determined nod to Mario.
Mario tipped his cap to Captain Toad.
“SCREEEEEEEUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEECH!!!!!”
A violent screech rang out, immediately giving the heroes its attention.
The arena rumbled with chaos..
“Screek, SCREECH!!!! SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!!!!!”
From the middle of the arena a hole in the ground opened up…
Out slowly emerged a huge centipede, the backside of it's body was the same intimidating dark purple, it's underside however glowed rainbow, it had a huge sharp tail at its end, big sharp legs and claws and it's face was a BIG rainbow glowing eye with super sharp, big mandibles, and dark, spiky curly horns that curled sideways.
It floated through the air as if it was a flying serpant..
Then it sooned faced Mario and Captain Toad.
“SCREEEEEERRRNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!”
Vile Shimmering Bug Beast
GIGAPEDE
(Gigapede is an aerial enemy that can dash and slash and bite at you, but is also capable of various elemental attacks!)
(It can aim it's tail up at the sky for lightning to strike it, and then FIRE a blast of lightning at you, it can bite you, and if you don’t guard, it MUNCHES on you while affecting you with an element, obviously it's capable of burn, freeze, paralyze, the works, it can make a huge wall of ice and knock it down at you, curl into a snowball to run you over, breathe poison breath, or EVEN breath out a thick fog that can make attacks miss.)
(Sometimes, Gigapede will return to the hole in the ground it created, and pop half of its body out, becoming a grounded enemy, but DO NOT BE FOOLED, in THIS state, it is at its strongest, it'll charge up for one turn, then shoot out HUGE streams of fire, poison, ice, OR electricity, doing BIG damage.)
(When this enemy is grounded, Captain Toad says:)
“Woah, I-I just gotta reeeeeally bad feeling, Mario!”
“I do NOT think we wanna let this thing get a chance to attack like this!”
“...”
“You know, now that I think about it…a hammer attack would probably give this thing a SPLITTING headache!”
(Gigapede is VERY sensitive to hammer attacks! Any hammer attack will really, REALLY hurt this thing, and IMMEDIATELY make it stop staying to the ground and fly back up!)
(The fight will be a loop of you attacking it while it's in the air, dealing with it whenever it grounds itself, rinse, repeat.)
(In the air, Gigapede can let out a high pitched screech that can make fire meteors, balls of ice, or balls of lightning fall from the sky, and when Gigapede's HP gets really low, it'll ground itself, but THEN make multiple holes in the ground, THEN make fakes of itself to fill the other holes.)
(But don't worry, it's not like Wizzerds or Magikoopas when it's impossible to tell which is real, there's a Gigapede that glows brighter than all the others – THAT'S the real one!)
(Deal with all that, and victory is yours.)
Gigapede flies around frantically and lets out a warbly screech, all the holes in the ground close up except the center, then suddenly Gigapede falls to the ground.
It's body slowly gets dragged into the center hole, it violently reaches out to Mario as it's body gets pulled in, letting out one last screech..then it's body stops moving entirely, hardening into a statue and staying right there, arm extended to Mario, but out of reach.
A Power Star sprouted out the fire moat, right behind Mario, and floated to him and Captain Toad.
“Woooo! 4 stars found!” Captain Toad applauded.
“Who knew that the great Mario could pull it off!? Everyone, that's who!”
(You have two dialogue options.)
- “Thanks for the help, buddy!”
- “They don't call me “Super Mario” for nothing!”
(If you choose “They don't call me “Super Mario” for nothing!”)
“Ain't that right!? You're the best!!” Captain Toad nodded.
(If you choose “Thanks for the help, buddy!”)
“Me!? Aw, shucks…I've just been following your lead and supporting you, is all!” Captain Toad chuckled.
Mario shook his head and gave a thumbs up.
“Wait..really!? Oh..thanks, Mario!!”
Captain Toad and Mario high fived.
“Alright, that Power Star is practically calling our name, let’s grab it!”
Mario reached for the Power Star..
You got a Power Star!
The heroes returned to the Observatory, Captain Toad returned to the garage, and the Power Star returned to the beacon.
“...Your skills exceed expectations, my friend!”
Rosalina smiled. “While I have been working with you out there, I have been working diligently in my search for your friends, and I have already come up with plans for various situations, I assure you, there will be no failures, your friends will be saved.”
“Now only two Power Stars remain..do your utmost best to find them, I feel as if we approach our moment soon enough..but we won't if the remaining stars go uncollected!”
(Up next, to the Engine to tackle Toy Time Galaxy!)
(In this playroom based galaxy, it's composed of toys, building blocks and moving mechanisms, you'll face Mechakoopas but specifically the chunky fire breathing ones of this game and they are way more easy to damage when flipped over.)
(Move around on toy trains, climb around on different toys and such, even scale the Heavy Metal Mecha Bowser to finish things off! But…)
(Instead of getting a Power Star, you now get a launch star…)
Soaring the dark void of space, Mario and Captain Toad arrive…in a pitch black room..
Nothing could be seen.
The two walked through the sinister shadows….
There was a howling wind that got louder, and louder..until..
Reksict suddenly just appeared into reality, rather uncannily, in his regular form with his gold Royal Sticker.
He wasn't moving or anything, just sitting on the ground, head hung low.
Mario and Captain Toad slowly approached, Reksict's head and body started twitching and convulsing rapidly as they approached…
Frantically they backed away, and Reksict stopped.
….
They advanced closer..and closer..Reksict's body writhed erratically….
Then he stopped.
He got up, looked at Mario, and smiled.
Arms out wide, a string shot down and jabbed into Reksict's left hand, another jabbed into his right.
Two strings jabbed into his left and right foot.
He was pulled by the strings into the air…
Then an arm suddenly shot out of his left side.
Then his right, then his left, then his right, then….
Reksict, still smiling..suddenly VOMITED OUT A MASS OF CONFETTI!!
The confetti spinned and spiraled around him like a storm..his body getting bigger and bigger, and becoming one with the shadows…
The confetti vanished…
In the darkness..a pair of small dot white eyes, and a wide, sharp toothed grin emerged.
And, he appeared.
This Reksict was a fake.
This Reksict's entire body giant, and is a rusty gold, with rainbow stitches in places, he has a big round head, no nose, with the same white small dot eyes and wide sharp toothed grin, he has his flowing hair, but it's a pristine silver, he has a short, round torso, a bit smaller than his head, has no legs but and has EIGHT big arms, four on his left, four on his right, his hands are just spheres with big, sharp, skinny clawed fingers on them, each hand held up by a big, glowing rainbow string. His shoulders and elbows are just giant spherical gems, and his arms, while also being colored rusty gold, also have gems on it, these gems have the colors of the Royal Stickers, he hangs from the ceiling by the strings pulling up his arms.
The pitch black area morphed into a bizarre backdrop with a HUGE wall of rainbow flame and lightning dancing in the background as this fake Reksict let out a loud, chaotic, distorted cackle, moving his head around with each laugh as his arms shake, his voice booming and echoing as it constantly changes pitches.
“Rohoho”
“Hehehehehehe”
“HAHAHAHAH”
“AHAHAHAHAHAAHHA”
“HAHAHAHAHAEEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEE!!”
Strung along by his own Chaos
PUPPET REKSICT
(Puppet Reksict springs his head out at the screen with a super mario world spring sound and BITES violently.)
(This guy just has a whole crazy and silly but also creepy and uncanny feel to him.)
(His idle animation consists of his head tilting left and right and his arms moving, his hands constantly moving.)
(The theme is this chaotic cool song accompanied by an electric guitar as the main part, but you can't help but faintly hear Reksict laughing psychopathically in the background.)
(You can try hitting Puppet Reksict's head, but he'll just swipe you away with his arms and laugh at you, you have to take out the arms first, by destroying their strings!)
(All EIGHT of his arms and himself attack on the same turn, the arms don't do much damage to compensate, the arms can either spring themselves at you, slap at you all ragdoll like, fire a glowing ball of yarn at you, use their fingers to walk along the ground and then punch and kick you, BUT, each arm has its own signature move on top of that.)
(One arm will have its hand transform into a big, red squeaky hammer and whack a party member twice, then wind up and do a BIG hammer whack, if the big hammer swing isn't blocked, you can become paralyzed)
(One entire arm will transform into a baseball bat, it's hand will pop off and turn into a baseball that will be swung at by the bat HARD into a party member, if not blocked, you can become dizzy)
(One arm will put its hand into a finger gun motion, then suddenly shoot out small bullets rapidly, if not blocked, the bullets have a chance of inducing the poison effect)
(One arm will wind up comically, then do a BIG flaming punch, if the punch is not blocked, you may catch on fire!)
(One arm can just have it's hand turn really big and start going up and up and up, Puppet Reksict eerily then says “3…2…1…” then RIGHT after, the hand SLAMS down hard, for some reason having a chance of freezing if not blocked.)
(One arm will turn into a lever for a slot machine, the hand turns into a big red knob, and Puppet Reksict's face will transform into three slots, the lever pulls on it's own, and the mario kart sound plays for when your item wheel turns, before landing on a random match, which could be offense up or defense up, or even give Puppet Reksict some HP back.)
(One arm will entirely turn into a classic magic wand, the wand taps at the ground in front of Mario, and a rumbling takes place, and presto! The wand lifts up as a BUNCH of big flowers sprout out that you have to block, or receive a random effect.)
(One arm will have it's hand suddenly turn into a HUGE pair of golden safety scissors with red blades, and snip at the heroes hard, doing 4 snips.)
(The effects from these attacks do not stack because that would be horrible, and the attacks aren't very strong, but Puppet Reksict's HEAD is the big deal, he can shoot out a long tongue that's straight up a sword that slashes like crazy at you, make all his arms and his mouth work together and fire out a fast, big glowing yarn ball at you, he can spring out its head at a party member and bite, he can vomit out a huge stream of confetti again, stretch out his tongue and have Mini Reksict dolls dance out of his mouth and jump on you, or bring down a big golden microphone and scream into it!)
(In case it wasn't clear, Puppet Reksict's head is invulnerable to attacks as long as his arms are working, so you got to attack the strings on his arms enough times, snapping each string and making all of his arms fall, until his whole body comes down, when all the strings are snapped, Puppet Reksict will comically flap his arms like wings before he falls to the ground, his head has a sad wide sharp toothed frown as his head struggles to pull his body up, in THIS state, only Puppet Reksict can desperately attack, and his head is vulnerable!)
(But eventually his strings will return and pull his whole body up, so it'll be a cycle of you hitting him while he's down, then when his strings pick him back up you snap those again, then hit him while he's down, and repeat till all of his precious HP is gone!)
Puppet Reksict let out a droaning scream and held his head, then screamed louder as his whole body started unraveling with a comical xylophone sound, only his head remained.
Puppet Reksict's head fell to the ground, he spat out the Power Star upon impact, and blew up into golden glitter.
Mario grabbed the Power Star.
You got a Power Star!
“Incredible….”
Back at the Comet Observatory, Rosalina faced Mario.
“This makes five..bringing us back to 119 Power Stars..”
“Reksict's forces must have given you much trouble, so I am impressed that you and your Toad friend have persevered despite all of these troubles.”
“....”
“...But, do you fully understand this situation?”
“The damage Reksict caused with one Royal Sticker alone…”
“Now, he has gained all 8 of them…”
“He doesn't even need their full power to be strong, considering the usurping he's wrought, and the beasts he's created…”
“Are you seeing it now?”
“Are you seeing the threat he poses?”
“....”
“One, two, three, four, five….”
“Only one left.”
(If you've been going in the proper order, the last Power Star is in The Garden, at the Matter Splatter Galaxy!)
(Four sections!)
(Drops of matter splat onto the ground into puddles, you have to jump on the puddles in order to have footing, and move to the next before they disappear, otherwise fall and take big damage.)
(Dark void hands from Reksict Roadway are here and they will ACTUALLY face you head on as enemies this time, or attack from afar with widespread lasers.)
(Layout going by the original Mario Galaxy, the first section is a large room, the camera tilted slightly.)
(The next is a 2D section with no camera tilt that otherwise goes by the same principles, BUT..!)
(Section number 3 has a HUUUGE puddle of matter in 2D that you must stay onto otherwise fall off of the galaxy, you use trampolines for a bit of edge to proceed.)
(For the last section, a looooooong network of walkways lead to a launch star, but the puddles of matter must light the way first, you follow the puddles of matter that splatter onto the ground, and there you go!)
The launch star takes the heroes to a dark, dusty place…
Grayed out rubble was all around the room, heaps of bones…
Mario and Captain Toad cautiously looked around…
The area was filled with the ashes of pain, the cruel, cold embrace of death..
More rubble, like the remains of a kingdom, surrounded them…
It was then.
Right in Mario's face, was a grayed out body that looked exactly like his.
“I.…S E E….Y O U….”
Mario and Captain Toad jumped back in shock.
The grayed out Mario vanished into dust.
The deathly voice surrounded our heroes.
“I should have known that you would survive!”
“You have always found your way to be a thorn in my side.”
“But I believe you'll find that things have changed..”
“There will be no more simple planning..”
“No more patience.”
“Now…”
Rage filled, flaming dark blue eyes lit up behind the heroes.
“I WILL CLOSE YOUR EYES…FOREVER!!!!!”
The eyes vanished..
Loud stomping of a horse was suddenly heard behind our heroes.
The heroes turned to see nothing there…
Dark flames blew around our heroes..screams of nonexistent souls were heard…
A familiar maniacal laughter was heard.
And then, Reksict was seen..
He was wearing black armor and a red cape, riding a skeletal horse with a black sheet over the top of its body.
Reksict stopped in front of Mario, the horse made no sound at all.
Mario balled up his fists and looked at Reksict in rage.
Reksict grinned. “AAAAAAAAhahahahahahaha!!”
“HeheheheheheHAHAHAHAHA!!!”
Mario's courage didn't falter, Captain Toad tried to stay strong, knowing he was needed.
Reksict stared at him, suddenly stopped laughing, but his grin didn't fade.
“.....”
Slowly, he tilted his head…
Then, there was a cracking sound.
His eyes lost all soul.
Then his head started to engulf in flame…
(The screen goes black)
(Then Reksict is revealed in full view, only his skull remained of his face, small blue lights for eyes were in his eye sockets, he laughed directly at the camera, letting out a echoing, menacing laugh.)
Almighty Phantom of Power
DOOM REKSICT
(This fight is the strongest spawn out of all of Reksict's new spawns thus far!)
(Doom Reksict's Death Horse will constantly gallop in place, when Doom Reksict is on his horse, he is rendered impervious to attacks, so you'll have to take out the horse first!)
(The horse can charge into you, or breathe out a mist that moves slowly but does big damage.
Reksict can ride the Death Horse around the arena and swing deadly blasts at you, doing good damage that ignores defense, pull out a double bladed scythe and toss it at you, doing damage when it hits, and when it swoops back, or even just shoot a massive stream of blue flame!)
(Destroying the Death Horse brings Doom Reksict to the ground, he has all of the attacks he has before, but does more damage with them this time, however he has less defense to make up for it so you just gotta hurry and beat him!)
(He has new moves, like a REALLY quick slash, sending a stampede of Death Horses at you, ane even raise his hand in the air and make a bunch of skeleton hands shoot out!)
Upon defeat, Doom Reksict wails and writhes in pain as his boney body rattles..
The flame in his eyesockets died out, and then his body went limp in the center of the room.
“UrhuhuhahahahAHAHAHAHAHA.. “
“Still got lots of fight in you, don't you, Mario?”
Reksict's voice was heard all around.
“But, I hope you know that wasn't my fullest might, this was merely a shadow that I created just to torment you!”
“I promise you, we will meet very, very soon, and when we do, I'll finish what I started.”
“STAY ALIVE UNTIL THEN, SO I MAY TAKE YOUR LIFE!!”
Doom Reksict began to crack and break..then his body exploded into bones.
Reksict's maniacal laughter fades.
From the pile of bones emerges a Power Star! The very last one!
Captain Toad was shocked. “W-Wait..that voice we heard was REKSICT!? AND THAT SKULL JOCKEY WAS A FAKE!?”
“So, he made that thing just to torment you..that's insane!! He's really gotten THAT powerful!?”
“Looks like you and the others got your hands full…but we beat his creepy cosmo cronies with our combined capabilities!!”
Captain Toad and Mario high fived again.
(If you just said it was all Mario, Captain Toad would have just said “you” beat him, following with no high five)
“Alright, let’s send this one wayyy back!” Captain Toad said.
Grabbing the Power Star, it spins around the two, shimmering and twinkling, then goes to the palms of Mario and Captain Toad!
You got a Power Star!
121st Power Star in hand, the two return to the Comet Observatory, and the final star returns to the beacon, fully restoring the Observatory, all star power returned to where it rightfully belongs!
“Da-da-da-da!🎶 Weeeeeeeeeeeeee DID IT, Rosalina!” Captain Toad said.
“As I knew you two could!” Rosalina said. “With all the star power returned, I will be able to assist you even more against Reksict's Sticker Power!”
“And this could not have come sooner, for I, and Polari, have finally figured out where your friends are being held.”
Mario was very happy with this news, almost anxiously ready to head for them.
Polari spoke up. “We have targeted their location to a desolate, ruined planet that seemed to be a comet.”
Rosalina thought carefully aloud. “I..I can't help but remember reading a book about such a place…judging by the danger spikes we've been detecting, and the massive amount of Sticker Power that seems to come from that exact spot..
“...It is very possible that this ruined planet is supposed to be the Sticker Comet!”
“And on that very comet, there is a huge castle that now resides there that wasn't there until recently.”
“..Which is impossible, for that must be the Comet Castle, although…I think I remember all 8 Royal Stickers being used to transplant the kingdom to different planets …it must have been brought back.”
“The castle seems to be the same, but..”
“Reksict seems to have usurped the entire Sticker Kingdom…”
“And your friends have been trapped inside.”
“The Comet Castle…woah..” Captain Toad thought about all this.
“..Well, we can't back down now! Okay, Mario! Let's head inside the Comet Castle together.”
“We'll have to go all the way inside, and somehow find them..how are we going to-”
“All the way inside?” Rosalina interrupted. “Oh, no. I couldn't possibly make you do that after all you've done for me and my Lumas.”
“Mario, I shall make a path that takes you directly to the big chamber where your friends are being held, you are to get in, get your friends, and get out as soon as possible. But you'll have to go at it alone, in order to not arouse suspicion, Reksict will undoubtedly have this place heavily fortified…”
Mario jumped and nodded, thanking Rosalina.
Captain Toad understood the situation. “Go at it alone, huh..”
“Well, I'm glad I could help you for as long as I did, Mario!”
“In fact, you've inspired me..I'm gonna head down to the Mushroom Kingdom, and fight off Reksict's attack with the others!”
“Listen, you're gonna save your friends, AND you're all gonna beat up Reksict! It's a done deal.”
“And when you all do, I'll be there to with a smile and firm back pat!”
“We're ALL gonna take our stand, right here. Right now! So, let’s GO!”
Captain Toad ran down triumphantly to his ship.
“Ah, you have really lit a flame in that young lad..” Rosalina chuckled.
Polari spoke up. “Listen well, Mario! Reksict is TREMENDOUSLY strong now! And so are his followers, when getting inside, you are to avoid all of them, at all costs!”
Rosalina added on. “You should have a slim chance of facing Reksict's forces if you reunite all of your friends, they still have traces of Sticker Power that should help, but Reksict is still nigh IMPOSSIBLE to defeat as you are now.”
“Whenever you are ready, we will begin, and take you straight to where your friends have been taken.”
“Prepare as best as you can, this is a very risky mission, but I know you can do it, my friend, but step forward into the unknown with caution!”
(When ready, speak with Rosalina…)
“The time has come, your friends await to be reunited with you, are you ready to infiltrate Comet Castle and save them?”
- LET'S-A GO!!!!
- Not yet!!
(...And pick “LET'S-A GO!!!!”)
“Very well then…”
“I see your determination, your will to fight for as long as it takes..”
“So, your mission begins NOW!!”
Rosalina jumps high into the air and begins to soar, flying to the very top of the Observatory.
“This plan absolutely needs to succeed, otherwise Mario's World..”
“..NO! Otherwise ALL GALAXIES will suffer!!”
Rosalina reaches the top.
“We must all fight to stop Reksict's chaos..”
Rosalina raises her wand to the air..
“Even if it means GIVING IT EVERYTHING WE'VE GOT!!!”
Star Power flows from her wand like a fountain and spirals around the Observatory, an egg shaped barrier surrounds it, and it begins to soar through the cosmos, faster and brighter than any star, any comet…
Lumas bounced and boinged around the Observatory, not in any harm, but clearly there should have been a warning to hold on to something..
Mario stood his ground, more than ever empowered to save his friends as soon as possible.
The Observatory soon arrived at its destination.
Far, far off in the distance was the Sticker Comet, an ominous, foreboding colorful aura surrounded it..
A Launch Star appeared at the edge of the Observatory.
Rosalina descended to Mario's side.
“This is as far as the Observatory can take you without being in eyesight of Reksict's forces on the comet.”
“But don't fret, the Launch Star shall take you straight to where you need to go.”
“So, make your way, with many blessings from the stars! I have much to do, for I have preparations to make for anything that goes wrong…”
Mario took the Launch Star and was sent flying through the stars, straight into the chamber…
He soon lands right inside!!!
The Comet Dungeons
(A dark, huge chamber…)
(Rosalina wasn't kidding around, this place is DANGEROUS.)
(As you try making your way to the cells, there is loads of trouble..)
(There's big, static like monsters with the same dark purple glow of all the others, their heads are composed of one big, gaping, toothless mouth, with glowing eyes all over its sides and sharp toothed mouths for hands, and if they see you…)
(They let out an unholy, monstrous, distorted roar before a huge gaping sharp toothed mouth opens in their chests and they chase you REALLY fast, just crawling on the floor rapidly with their mouths open to consume you as they emit disturbing cosmic monstrous howls.)
(These are the Devoureyes, you can NOT beat them, and the moment they see you they move INCREDIBLY fast, you only have a SLIM chance of getting out of their view of sight or better yet, hiding, when they catch you, you are FORCED into a battle where they will ALWAYS attack first, doing BIG damage, and your only choice is to run away because you aren't strong enough…)
(Luckily there are good healing items about to help, u just gotta look veeeery carefully.)
(It helps that, when the Devoureyes spot no prey, they just shuffle about very slowly.)
(Much like all the other powerful cosmic horrors Reksict created, Devoureyes lack heart and soul, only existing to consume and destroy for their king.)
(From now on, there's a new battle theme, a more dark, slow, aggressive beat, eerie synths being used, a rough baseline, but still having the feel of a dangerous battle.)
(There is a new game over theme as well, a more frightening one, a loud brass horn wails out, and then a bunch of instruments just break down crazy and slowly stop playing as Reksict laughs loudly, his voice getting lower and more monstrous as he laughs and the song slowly stops.)
(Mario must hastily climb the chamber, evading the cosmic pursuit, until…!)
“MARIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”
Making his way to the top, Mario soon encountered a loud roar, then suddenly, blasting away the wall, arrived…
…Bowser!
Mario would never admit it, but he was actually happy to see him. Obviously Luigi or literally anyone else would have been preferable, but he finally found one of his teammates!
…But, the moment Mario looked into his arch nemesis’ flaming eyes, he knew he was in for trouble.
“WHERE THE HECK HAVE YOU BEEN, YOU WASTE OF AIR!?!”
Bowser stomped his foot angrily. “WHILE YOU, ‘THE HERO’ WERE ON A LIL SPACE SIESTA, I'VE BEEN SMASHIN THROUGH THIS PLACE LIKE A BULL IN A CHINA SHOP, LOOKIN FOR A WAY TO GET THE OTHERS OUT!”
Mario told Bowser everything that happened.
Bowser raised an eyebrow. “..Huh? You didn't know where we were? And you've been looking for us while getting a buncha stars?”
Mario nodded and gave a thumbs up.
Bowser shut his eyes and thought about this.
“..Huh, why didn't you just say so? Well, now that you say that…”
Bowser than shouted while breathing a massive stream of fire at Mario. “I DON'T CARE!!!!!”
Mario, covered with soot, blinked twice, coughed, then fell to the ground.
Bowser pointed at him intimidatingly. “Some HERO you are, not getting here sooner! Oh yeah, the next game DESERVES to be a Paper Bowser game after this one! I caught you lacking, chump!”
“But guess what, you're gonna make up for all the time you spent slacking off!”
Mario dusted himself off and got back up.
Bowser rejoined your party!
…But it should be noted that he's NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT!!!
Bowser continued. “Now..GET BACK TO WORK!! We gotta go kidnap Peach!”
“...Oh, and Kersti, I guess.”
(HEY! DON'T FORGET LUIGI!!! D:< )
(..Uh, I mean, with Bowser back on the team, we further advance through the dungeons!)
(However, you will soon begin to require Bowser's cooperation to get around! Blowing torches, kicking his shell around, going across lava, all that!)
(You'll encounter another type of monster here..)
(Small, floating dark skeletal fists that move on the floor or ceiling, when you approach them, they open their fists to reveal an eye, and their fingers stretch out to you, getting grabbed by them makes them slowly drag you close, doing big damage slowly, as long as you move the control stick around, you can break free just fine.)
(You must cross a dangerous labyrinth to get a prison key, and after doing that, you make your way up to a cell…)
“....Mario.”
Peach was in her cell, hands on her heart, eyes shut, pouring her hopes into Mario's safe return..
She knew he would be fine, he had to be, he had to.
He….
….
….
….
….
….
….
….
….
….
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….
….
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…Click!
She opened her eyes, the lock to her cell fell to the ground, and…
There he was…
“...M..M-Mario..?”
Mario faced Peach..
Bowser got in between them. “..AND ME! I caught Mario SLACKING, so I dragged his butt here!”
Peach looked at Mario.
There..he…was-
“MARIO!!”
Peach ran to Mario, COMPLETELY knocking Bowser away, Bowser knocked unconscious as Peach suddenly..
…Kissed Mario.
Mario was completely shocked, mouth agape as she kissed him on his cheek, he wasn't against it, of course, he just..didn't expect it.
Mario's HP was COMPLETELY restored!
“...Oh!” Peach gasped.
“I…I just..did that…?”
“I..I…”
“I was wishing on the stars with all my strength that you would be okay..I…I don't know what came over me..I don't know why I um..d-did that..”
(She totally does.)
“I-I mean..well..um..”
“...Ahem!”
She regained her composure, still blushing. “I knew you would be okay, Mario! Reksict..he had all of us played from the start, but he is a fool to assume that we have given up!”
“I'm so happy you have persevered, much like us all!”
“There was nothing I alone could do to escape from confinement but wish for your safety, but Bowser seemed to be able to break free.”
Bowser managed to stir awake. “..Huh? That's my name! Whuh!? What happened!?”
Peach suddenly got flustered and defensive. “D-Don't worry about it!! Mario set me free, that is all!”
“Anyway..I should thank you as well, Bowser. For helping Mario get here.”
“!!!”
Bowser's tune changed immediately. “...Yeah! I was just looking out for my good pal Mario, is all!”
“Okay, I know you're lying, but we have priorities…”
Peach thought carefully. “Now, we must turn our attention to our other friends…”
“..Luigi and Kersti..”
“Reksict is as cunning as he is ruthless. He made SURE to keep our cells separate, so we couldn't help one another!”
“But I'm free now, thanks to you Mario…I'll help as much as I can, and I'm positive we can save them!”
“Now then, no time to waste! Let's hurry! Lead on, Mario!”
Peach rejoined your party!
(With a party of three, you leave Peach's cell and make your ascent.)
(A more zen but serious song plays as you make your way to your friends.)
(Peach's help is needed here, of course.)
(Along with the other vicious beasts you faced so far, you now also have..the Stillstones.)
(You'll face eerie monstrous faces on the walls, looking vaguely like Reksict, watch out for when they're about to open their eyes, and stay out of the way when they do! If they spot you, you'll be PARALYZED into stone for a short time, allowing any nearby beasts to easily attack you! Beware!!)
(Eventually….)
“Uuuggh..what's those creepy screams from outside?”
Luigi tried listening through the walls.
“Sh-Sheesh..”
“..Heh! I bet my bro's out there causing a ruckus right n-”
‘ ‘ Y O U .. . . . .. . ‘ ‘
“EYAAGH!! Who's there!?! You don't wanna face me!! I don't go down easily!!”
Luigi braced himself as he heard a rumbling get louder, and louder, and louder, and LOUDER, UNTIL…
Team Mario burst through the door!
“COME AT ME-OH!”
“Mario! Hahaha! I knew you'd be ok, bro!” Luigi jumped for joy.
Mario nodded and set him free.
“Whew! I knew I had no reason to worry, the Mario Bros always bounce back!” Luigi and Mario hugged one another.
Luigi rejoins the party!
“How did you find your way back though, bro?”
Bowser grumbled. “Bah! I wanted to get Kersti back first.”
“...Anyway, Mario said something about getting some poser stars, going through space and wasting time.”
“..Sure, well no worries about me! Luigi is a-okay!”
“...Kersti, though…she has it bad!”
“The last time I saw her, she was just..crying, sobbing your name.”
“No offense bro, but uh..I don't think she's used to seeing you…in such deadly situations.”
“Let's amscray, bro!!!! You gotta give ‘er a pep talk!!!!”
Peach nodded. “I agree! All I saw was despair in that poor girl's eyes..she needs us now, more than ever!”
Bowser cracked his knuckles. “Then let's smash our way over there, MARCH!!!”
(The same monsters are here in abundance this time, it should be noted that Devoureyes are the most primary ones.)
(I have tried to make all of Reksict's spawns feel like they don't belong in Mario's world, but not going too far with it.)
(Eventually, we reach the final cell..)
Kersti did not get any better since Mario was cast through the darkness of space.
Still she laid on the ground in tears, sobbing until her voice was hoarse, all she could think about was losing her..
Her..
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She couldn't stop crying no matter how hard she tried.
Mario entered the room, Kersti didn't even notice because she was just so heartbroken.
He unlocked her cell.
“..-sniff-..huh…?”
Kersti gently looked up at him.
“..M..Mario?”
Her tears ran down her face harder.
“I..I don't…”
“...”
“WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME!?!”
She lashed out, but despite that, her voice sounded more sad than angry.
Mario wasn't even upset or shocked, just letting her vent.
“WHAT WERE YOU THINKING WHEN YOU JUST DID THAT!?”
“WERE YOU THINKING ABOUT HOW I FELT AT ALL!?”
“WHAT. IS. WRONG WITH YOU!?”
Mario sincerely apologized for giving Reksict the Royal Stickers.
“You…You're..”
“...You're sorry about giving up the Royal Stickers…?”
Mario nodded.
Kersti held her face. “You..little..”
She got up in his face and erupted.
“ARE YOU BRAINDEAD!?!”
“I WASN'T EVEN THINKING ABOUT THE ROYAL STICKERS!!!”
“I WAS THINKING ABOUT HOW *YOU* GOT TOSSED TO THE FAR REACHES OF THE GALAXY!!”
“I WAS THINKING ABOUT HOW MY BEST FRIEND COULD HAVE BEEN SPAGHETTIFIED BY A BLACK HOLE!!!”
“..I…I WAS IN TEARS DECIDING WHETHER OR NOT YOU WERE DEAD!!!”
“I WAS OVER HERE, SCARED IF I…”
“I-If I lost you forever!!!”
“Scared if I..would never ever see you again..all because I dragged you on this stupid adventure…”
She was slowly sinking to her knees..
“And..I-I..I was scared that..all the happy memories I had with you..would turn into sad ones..”
“And that I would never be able to make new memories with you, and…a-and…”
Her voice was trembling.
“And..and..a-and….”
She burst into tears, all her rage was gone.
“..OH, WHO AM I KIDDING!!! I'M JUST SO HAPPY YOU'RE ALIVEEEEEE!!!!”
Kersti ran to Mario and hugged him tightly, tears soaked his shoulder.
He gently patted her back, just allowing her to feel.
“WWWUHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!”
“MARIO!! YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND EVER!!!”
“NEVER FORGET THAT!!”
Kersti was Mario's best friend too.
And she knew that.
Her tears soon dried.
Kersti let go and gently wiped her tears.
“Thank..thank you for putting up with me..buddy..”
“Sorry I cried so much, I was just..so shocked.”
Mario shook his head.
“...Huh?”
He told her that she has nothing to be sorry for.
“..Thank you so much, Mario…”
“..ALLRIGHT, is the coast clear!!?”
Bowser impatiently stomped in, everyone else followed suit.
“...If you mean I'm feeling better, yes.” Kersti said.
“I don't even care about any setbacks, what matters is that we're together again.”
“That's the right attitude!” Peach said happily. “We're all here, so I KNOW we still have a chance!”
“Ain't that the truth!” Luigi said. “Since when have we ever failed, huh? Huh?? We faced WAY worse than this, Kersti! Trust me!!”
“Yeah, yeah, friendship and heroes wins the day, blah blah BLAH!” Bowser grumbled. “Can we just get a move on!?”
“..But, uh. Yeah. Great that you're not sad or whatever, Kersti. We don't need you blubbering out there!”
“...Right you are, Bowser!”
Kersti rejoined your party!
(a more heroic, serious, inspiring song starts playing)
Kersti wiped her remaining tears with one swipe and smiled.
“..Alright! So what if Reksict has the Royal Stickers!?”
“We're still here, and we have plenty of sticker power!”
“..But, even that might not be enough…”
“..Mario! Take us all back with you! Let's get someplace safe and come up with a plan!”
(The normal path you took to get here has been blocked off, so you have to go forward.
The song continues playing, even during battle as you further advance up the deadly dungeons of the castle, all the combined terrors from before are here)
(..But, now you can actually FIGHT them! And deal with them just fine!)
(You'll be putting absolutely everyone's skills to work here!)
(But enemies, and deadly obstacles are in an ABUNDANCE as well, so you have to come at this with all your might!)
(You eventually reach this moment..)
Team Mario reached the main hall of the castle…
“..Looks like we-HAAH!”
Kersti held a hand on her heart, all the words dried in her throat.
….
These halls were once bustling with people, but looking at it now..
“...I used to feel so warm and welcome here..but..”
“...This place is so devoid of life now…unless you count those..things Reksict made as living creatures…”
“Dear heavens..what has Reksict done to the Sticker Comet..?”
“..I have a feeling he has only begun..”
“You'd be right.”
Reksict appears, right behind them, his body is still the same chaotic dark purple, seems like he resized himself to fit in the room.
(Reksict has a more sinister and menacing theme now.)
Reksict crossed his arms, the heroes anxiously backed away.
“...Thanks again Mario, for being so willing to fork over the Royal Stickers for the sake of all your little friends.”
“As you saw, I left them completely unharmed..”
“..Was taking all this power not enough..?” Kersti looks up at him.
“This was your home, you know!! Why ruin it!?”
“Hmhmhmhmhm…”
“There is NOTHING left in this place but bad memories..”
“They are better off reduced to nothing!”
“But don't worry, something far better than you imagine will be replacing this dratted old castle soon!”
Kersti gasped. “Wait, you mean you're DESTROYING this place!?”
“Exactly! And you all are just in time to watch!!”
“Oh, I've been anxious to do this for so, so LONG!!”
“Now, let’s get the party STARTED!!”
Reksict snaps his fingers, and a huge FLASH was made.
And just like that, loud explosions rang out, the castle started shaking like crazy, immediately crumbling all around our heroes..
Reksict just vanished and laughed..
“WOAH!! WH-WH-WHAT'S HAPPENING!?!?” Luigi flapped his arms in a panic.
“What, you got meatballs in your ears!? Reksict is gonna TOTAL this place with all of us in it!!!” Bowser shouted.
“N-No!! The castle!!” Kersti looked all around.
“Kersti!!” Peach put a hand on her shoulder. “I know this must be hard, but we all have to move, NOW!!”
“Oh, think think think…”
“The exit is blocked off, we should be able to get out the way Mario came in..”
“..Mario! Lead the way! Please!! We don't have much time!!”
(Peach is ABSOLUTELY right, a timer IMMEDIATELY shows up and if you don't get out in under that time limit, GAME OVER, and you have to start the chase sequence all over again! And the timer does NOT give you a generous amount, if you're gonna make it, you need to HURRY UP.)
(You hurry out of the castle with all due speed, using your abilities quickly, dodging falling debris and enemies, oh, and by the way, the timer moves DURING fights so you REALLY don't have the time to fight!)
(The place gradually shakes more and more as the timer runs out, terrain breaks apart all around you, the stakes are HIGH!)
(And, as if that wasn't enough, near the end…)
“GET BACK HERE, NOWWWWWW!!!!”
(Reksict gets really big and chases after you!)
(His speed varies depending on how close he is to you, if you're far from him, he'll move REALLY fast, if you're closer to him, he moves much slower! And if he so much as TOUCHES you, you're DEAD, so you need to move as fast as you can, until..)
Team Mario desperately jumped out of the entrance Rosalina made!!
“GNNERAAAAAAAAGGHH!!!!”
Reksict shouted in frustration and sheer rage as they BARELY escaped his wrath.
Team Mario plummeted down the castle to the outside.
“EYAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!!!”
Peach grabbed Mario and floated with him via parasol, Bowser tucked into his shell to break the fall, Kersti grabbed Luigi and slowly flew down…
Everyone safely landed outside of the castle, it now reduced to a pile of rubble.
The heroes looked at the ruined castle behind them.
“Huff..puff…” Kersti collected herself..
“..We..we don't have time, we NEED to hurry off of this place, before Reksict finds us!!!” Peach said.
Everyone nodded and started running out of Decalburg, debris fell all around them..
BOOOOM!!!
Reksict instantly crashed down in front of them, way bigger than they could be.
“Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.”
“I bet you feel super accomplished for that.”
“You ran from me like little cowards instead of taking me head on.”
“WoW!! aMaZInG!!!”
“..But, tell me. Where will you run now?”
“Nowhere left to run…”
Reksict took one step forward, sending a massive shockwave throughout the area.
“Nowhere left to hide…”
Another step, and another shockwave rang out.
“Reksict, PLEASE!!! YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS!!” Kersti begged desperately.
“Oh, but you all MADE me do this! So… just let me kill you.”
“I lost all choice in my role so, so long ago..it's so much easier to just…give in.”
“Oh, WOW! VERY intimidating!! You wanna medal!?” Bowser said.
“So WHAT!? You think you're some kinda BIG SHOT now just because you have all those stupid stickers!?”
“...BIG SHOT?”
“AHAHAHAHAHA!! Buddy, I've been a big shot EVER SINCE I ruined everyone's little festival and took back my Royal Sticker..”
“But now…hehehehe…”
“I'M GODLIKE!!!”
Peach spoke up. “What's a God to people who bow to no tyrants!?”
“If you won't bend..”
“You'll just have to B R E A K . . . ‘ ‘
Reksict raised his fist in the air..
…But suddenly, a GIANT BEAM OF LIGHT SHOT HIM DOWN!!
It sent him flying backwards into some rubble..
There she was.
Rosalina appeared, her wand raised in the air.
“...ROSALINA!?” Peach looked up at her.
“YOU'RE here!?” Luigi gasped.
“YOU!?” Bowser's jaw dropped.
“...Everyone, please get behind me.” Rosalina said.
Reksict blasted himself out of the rubble.
“WHO DARES!?!”
“I dare.” Rosalina looked down at him, completely serious.
“I am Rosalina.”
“Your wrongdoings spell chaos and despair for the galaxies.”
“You MUST stop now.”
“I will NOT repeat myself and take drastic measures if you show any more violent intention.”
Reksict put a hand over his forehead, and floated over to her.
His huge form towered over her.
“..WHERE do you find these guys, Mario!? HUH!?”
“..Well, Miss Rosalina, I won't be stopping anytime soon. You could never understand the lengths I'll go to.”
“So why don't you just back off!?”
“STOP your unreasonable behavior at once, Reksict.” Rosalina crossed her arms.
“That power you have, it doesn't just change your strength, or Mario's world, it changes YOU.”
“Return the Royal Stickers to their rightful owners or things will get far worse for your life.”
“...But, if emotions aren't enough to sway you. Believe me when I say that you do NOT want to face me.”
“You would be atoms before my power.”
Reksict chuckled.
“..Heheheh, well. It would be nice to face someone who could stand to my might..”
“...You know what? You actually couldn't have shown up at a better time for me!!”
“Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Kersti.”
“..Watch this.”
“I will make an example for all of you now..”
“...BY TURNING THIS GIRL INTO SPACE DUST!!!”
(And so we begin!)
(ROSALINA vs Reksict!)
(Reksict crashes onto the stage.)
“Heheh, time to take my powers for a REAL spin!”
“Rosalina, try to make this battle last for me, okay? Great!”
(You play as Rosalina, and she has a LOT of power.)
(You have a LOT of HP, FP, great healing items, and great attacks to work with, you're able to do LOADS of damage with your own star powered blasts, you can crash into him with a launch star, rain down stars upon him, surround him with stars that collide with him, all VERY powerful moves.)
(The moment she lands a hit on him, Reksict is shocked.)
“WHAT!? You can ACTUALLY damage me!?”
“....”
(“...Star Power is stronger than Sticker Power..”)
(“.....Oh no.”)
“..Ah..ha! Aha!! HAHAHA!!”
“You think I'm WORRIED about that!?”
“I just know now that I DON'T HAVE TO HOLD BACK!!!”
(Reksict is INCREDIBLY powerful as well, with a LOT of health to make up for the damage you do, and he does INSANE damage as well, powerful punches, making the entire arena have a massive earthquake, firing a laser that takes up the WHOLE stage, AND he can use Royal Stickers the same way you could!)
(This battle is ALL OUT on both sides, odds evenly matched, but when Reksict loses all of his HP, he INSTANTLY uses the White Royal Sticker to fully heal himself, and DOUBLES his attack and defense, so while you, as Rosalina, are VERY powerful, you have to use ALL of that power to beat him.)
(Deplete his health again, and that'll be it.)
“ENNERGGH!! GYAH!!!!”
“HOW!!! NO!!!”
“UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!”
Reksict holds his head and lets out a malice filled roar of frustration.
“YAHOO!!” Luigi cheered.
“That battle was INSANE!!” Kersti said.
“I've never seen your full power, Rosalina, what a spectacle! That was-”
“Was?”
“WAS!?”
Everyone looked at Reksict.
Reksict snapped his fingers, the Royal Stickers spun around him.
“...!!” Kersti reached out. “Reksict, DON'T!--”
The Royal Stickers zapped Reksict with more power, his aura now engulfed in a dark flaming rainbow.
“COME ON, I'VE ONLY GOTTEN STARTED!”
“Very well, then! So have I. Shall we continue!?” Rosalina waved her wand.
….
For a brief moment..
She could see through Reksict's soul.
His being was
Filled with unimaginable pain and suffering.
Rosalina's grip trembled.
She stepped back a bit..
“U-Um..Miss Rosalina, was it? Are you okay?” Kersti asked.
“...N..No…”
“....”
Rosalina collected herself.
“I…will spare your life, just this once, Reksict..”
“For I see in your heart unrelentless, unjustified pain by the hands of fate.”
“But. I must vehemently warn you, Reksict…”
“CEASE your destruction, at once, lest it leads you down a road filled with far more suffering than you could imagine.”
“Wait, WHAT!?” Bowser shouted. “THAT'S IT!? You're just gonna let him off with a warning and let him go!?”
“...Let him go?” She looked at the heroes.
“..Who said I would do that?”
Rosalina raised her hands in the air..
“..!?”
“What do you think you're-”
Blue, starry chains dropped down from on high, and COMPLETELY bounded Reksict within SECONDS.
“NNGHAAAAAAAAAAGHHH!!!!”
Reksict….couldn't move at all, breathing and blinking was all he could muster, his hands and knees to the ground.
“I…WHAT!?”
“Don't bother trying to escape your binds. It is absolutely impossible.” Rosalina said.
“These chains were made with pure Star Power.”
“You shall stay attuned to your home planet, while we clean up the damage you've caused.”
“N-No…no, I…I CAN'T MOVE!!!”
“I CAN'T DO ANYTHING!!! WHAT IS THIS INFERNAL PRISON!?!”
“Thank Mario for that. The reason it's as powerful as it is is due to all one hundred and twenty one of my Power Stars.”
“I suspected I would need all of them, you see. I suspected you would, no matter what Mario and the others did, find them, and hunt them down.”
“But that will no longer happen, for you are stuck here until further notice.”
“You will not be harming anyone else.”
“...So.”
“If I was in your situation..”
“In my personal opinion?”
“I would think about everything I've done.”
“And question if it's even worth it to continue.”
“No..NO!!!”
Reksict desperately tried freeing himself.
“INSUFFERABLE STAR WITCH!! LET ME OUT OF THIS AT ONCE!! THIS IS FAR BEYOND ANYONE'S UNDERSTANDING!!!”
“BWWAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” Bowser pointed and laughed. “Looks like you're on a time out!!”
“Be lucky, PUNK! If I got my hands on you, you'd be mincemeat!!!”
Peach crossed her arms. “You were a fool to think we wouldn't find a solution, Reksict.”
“Good always triumphs as long as everyone gives it their all.”
“Perhaps you aren't used to how we really handle things.”
“...”
“...You should seriously take Rosalina's advice, Reksict.” Kersti spoke up. “For your sake, too.”
“GNNGGAAAAAAAAHRRGHH!!!”
“LET ME OUUUUUUUUTTT!!!!”
“CURSE YOU, CURSE ALL OF YOU TO THE UNDERWHERE!!!”
“I WILL FIND A WAY OUT!!!”
Mario tipped his cap.
“...Alright, let’s-a get outta here, waddaya say, guys?” Luigi asked.
“Right.” Rosalina nodded. “There is much to be done.”
Everyone starts walking away.
“....Heheheheheheh…”
Everyone quickly looked back in worry.
“HeheheheheHAHAHAHAHAHA….”
Reksict gave everyone a deranged, hateful smile.
“You really think it'll be that easy?”
“...”
“Fine, then.”
“Go ahead, run along home..”
“This couldn't have worked out any better, actually!”
“Go back to your world!”
“...Hehehe…”
“...But, I'm afraid…”
“I've made a few small….changes..”
“It MAY look different from what it once was, hehehehAHAHAHA..”
“So go, see all the wonderful new changes I made!”
“Enjoy your final moments, all the changes will surely break your fragile little hearts..”
“And, I WILL get out of here.”
“And when I do, I'm coming for every last one of you.”
“By all means, hurry home!”
‘ ‘ L e t m e g i v e y o u a h e a d s t a r t . ‘ ‘
“..So, THAT'S what happened?”
Back on the Comet Observatory, flying back to Mario's world, Mario just finished explaining everything that took place after Reksict threw him into space.
(From now on, until the game is won, a more serious space theme will play on the Comet Observatory.)
“...Oh, Rosalina…thank you so much for helping Mario!” Peach said.
“He helped me as well.” She smiled. “He and your little Toad captain.”
“Oh! Captain Toad?” Peach pieced it together. “Where is he?”
“He said he would go back to the Mushroom Kingdom to help save it.”
“...Which brings us back to our mission.” Rosalina gently shut her eyes.
“So, lemme get this straight..all we gotta do now is fix up the damage Reksict caused? That it?” Bowser asked.
“...Mostly.” Rosalina said. “We must hurry, because-”
Luigi tipped his cap. “Well, at least we won't have to race against Reksict! Considering he's all locked up-”
“The chains aren't strong enough to hold him.”
Rosalina had no other way to say it.
Everyone just stood silent for a moment.
“...Wh..What..?” Peach asked.
“Eventually, he will break free. The chains will hold him for a good long while, but not forever.”
“Well then WHY were you going on as if they were invincible!?” Bowser said.
“It’s important he doesn't know that it's possible to shatter them, it might buy us some extra time..” Rosalina looked forward.
“Extra time!? EXTRA TIME!?” Luigi said frantically. “No offense, but what does it matter if he breaks free!?”
Polari spoke up. “It will give us ample time to combat him!”
“Currently, I'm working on a device that will be a good offense AND defense against Reksict! It is nearly complete!”
Rosalina nodded. “And I am working on a device that will be able to destroy Reksict's limitbroken form..”
“..But, it will take quite some time.”
“...So..you're saying there's a chance!?” Kersti said excitedly.
“Indeed!” Rosalina said. “But, for now. We must turn our attention to your world..”
“All over, Reksict's spawns run rampant..”
Polari spoke. “Currently, they control…”
“The Mushroom Kingdom – From Toad Town to Peach's Castle.”
“The Desert – Dry Dry Outpost and the Yoshi Sphinx.”
“Whittle Forest – From the Whittle Kingdom to the Whittle Queen's Castle.”
“The Shirate Ship and the Spear Guy Jungle.”
“Shiver City and Castle Enigma.”
“Bowser's Castle.”
“And finally, Comet Tower.”
“If something is NOT done soon…”
“His reign will surely spread to everything.”
Rosalina stood firm. “Me and Polari will work on our devices to help you. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Kersti, you all will wipe out the evil that has taken each area.”
Luigi spoke. “Each area, huh? …Guess we won't have to worry about Delfino Plaza…”
Peach thought aloud. “Although it's likely Reksict will escape and attack, we should use all of our time wisely.”
Bowser nodded. “Yeah, makes sense. Plus, my castle is in danger! Reksict or not, he ain't taking that down..AGAIN!”
Kersti looked back hopefully. “And..who knows? Maybe Reksict will stop and change his ways..”
“...Right..?”
Team Mario didn't know what to say.
“..I certainly hope so, Kersti.” Rosalina said.
“In any case, we must hurry into action!” Peach said.
Rosalina looked onto her screen. “Seven whole areas of the world..usurped by Reksict..and he WON'T stop at these, so we MUST be prepared!”
Polari spoke. “Reksict's power over the world is so strong that only the Mushroom Kingdom is accessible!”
“With more of Reksict's power banished, the next area will be open to you!”
“..Alright, everyone..” Kersti said.
“This is undoubtedly gonna be tough..far tougher than anything we've done so far.”
“So, let’s prepare as best as we can, and get out there!!”
“Mario, you're the man! Lead the way!”
(You'll be going in order this time around, your first area to explore will be The Usurped Mushroom Kingdom!)
(All of these Usurped Areas aren't meant to take SUPER long, just a short-ish mission for each one.)
(Let's go!)
Team Mario descends to the Mushroom Kingdom…
…And they quickly see that it is barely resembling what they once knew.
Landing in the kingdom, they all look around..
The whole kingdom had these dark, unnatural colors..the grassy fields now an unnatural dark blue, the road now black, the ground is a murky dark purple, the water black as tar, the whole area has an unnatural light to it in places, the trees a dead black color with no leaves, the skies were a dark, messed up pink, the kingdom barely resembles what it once was, as if it was killed, instead of being filled with bustling townsfolk, Reksict's horrid spawns roam the streets, the massive dark hands watch over the area..
Peach's Castle was now a black, twisted, thorny castle with Reksict's face on the front in stained glass, holding the world in his hands and laughing sinisterly.
Peach held her hands over her mouth as she looked around in horror.
“I…n-no..this…this is unnatural, this is unreal, what IS all this!?”
“....Reksict told us his plan..he would twist this world into his own planet. And here he is, getting away with it..” Kersti said sorrowfully.
“...Look!”
The dark, ominous hands gazed over the world through their gem eyes..
“Those hands…I feel like those are our main target!”
“All sights on them, team! Let's GO!!”
(....Ahem.)
(Okay, so like)
(Have you ever heard of the hit game, Sonic CD?)
(No, serious question, have you ever-)
(Why am I talking like you can speak back to me-OK ANYWAY-)
(In that game, you can get these Bad Futures that mess up each zone you go to.)
(Reksict's Usurped areas, are basically that design wise, in a nutshell.)
(Reksict has warped these areas into stark contrasts of what they once were, Reksict's chaotic leitmotif permeates each song, the songs only BARELY resembling what the songs once were, this one in particular is a bizarre and rough theme.)
(For every usurped area, the usurped themes play during battles as well.)
(Your main objective in each of these areas is to take out the dark hands, these hands are called the Royal Distorters, and must be slain to stop the damage Reksict's causing!)
(Here you face new enemies as well, you have the Dark Cracker.)
(A short, slumping, vaguely humanoid black figure with shadowy vapor enemating off of its body, four huge thorny tendrils on his back with dark blue, flaming angry eyes)
(Kersti's tattle says:)
“This is one of Reksict's new forces, they fiercely guard and destroy all opposition.”
“This type in particular is named the Dark Cracker, (on account of their tendrils can crack bones and buildings alike…)”
“Max HP is [#], attack is [#], defense is [#], their tendrils allow them to attack FOUR times in one turn! They can shoot them at you for a quick jab, morph them into spike balls to smash down to do big damage, and even punch everybody with a buncha fists! But what's worse is that they can grab a party member with all four tendrils and hold them for a few turns!”
“As a defense mechanism, they can make a spikey shield with all their tendrils, when they happens, let em have it with a quake move!”
“Unlike the R. Men and K. Girls, these beings lack heart, free will, and soul , they live only to fight for Reksict.”
(Here's the other one, a black, floating beast with huge, black long arms huge black hands with shadowy vapor flying off of them, and sharp, jagged fingers, it has no bottom half, meaning no legs and feet, it wears a red, torn suit with a white shirt, a black tie and no head, merely a crown engulfed in blue flame for a “head” this beast is called, The Forcrowned.)
(Kersti's tattle says:)
“This is…The Forcrowned. Max HP is [#], attack is [#], defense is [#].”
“The flame means no jumping, but it's also an ariel opponent, so no ground only attacks.”
“The flaming crown can do a fiery explosion that hits EVERYONE, or crash into one party member.”
“Beware his giant hands, too! It's hands can crush a party member in their grip, spike up the ground, or quickly shoot out at you in all directions!”
“Such a freakish monster..I think I'm gonna be sick…let's beat it quickly, okay!?”
(One more regular enemy from this Usurped Area.)
(You will see a shadowy humanoid figure with stress filled, soulless white eyes standing there, in a red, torn suit with a white shirt and a black tie, they will gently sway in place and just stand there.)
(..But the moment you are in their view, they shriek, their heads are consumed by these massive, sharp black mouths with a thousand spikes on top, and blue flame constantly coming out of their gaping maws, their hands turn giant and they use their hands to quickly chase you down.)
(This is Emptyhead.)
(Kersti's tattle says:)
“That's Emptyhead, a monsterous, feral consumer. I can't help but feel like all these monsters can also represent things about Reksict..or at least some of them..”
“Max HP is [#], attack is [#] defense is [#].”
“Jumps won't work…”
“It'll bite at you harshly and siphon up HP and FP for every second it has you in its sharp, flaming maw…”
“And if it gets enough FP, it'll do a devastating attack…”
“Even so, it's sharp claws do serious poison damage, and of course, it can breathe fire.”
“....”
“...There is something very unsettling about this monster…”
(It’s FP attack is becoming huge and biting the entire team at once, three times. To make up for it, it needs QUITE a bit of FP to even do the move.)
(Now, we have the Royal Distorters.)
(The giant dark hands take up the entire enemy side of the stage, you face one at a time.)
(Kersti's tattle says:)
“This is a Royal Distorter, THESE are the things that have been changing the world into Reksict's twisted design!”
“Max HP is [#], attack is [#], defense is [#]!”
“The ones HERE have the power of the Red Royal Sticker! But take a GOOD look at their jeweled eyes! Whatever color their eyes are is a color of a Royal Sticker you CAN'T use on them, for example, if their eyes are orange, Gamble Grandé won't work!”
“They can drag their fingers on the ground and make flames come up, conjure up deadly blasts from their eyes, smash at the ground, firing lasers from their fingertips, or worse, they can even potentially PUPPETEER one of our party members, be weary to block their strings, but if someone gets puppeteered, you'll have to hit their strings to save them!”
“Their biggest issue is being tanky, just toughen it out!”
(As you save areas of the world, the Royal Distorters get more Royal Sticker powers, so be careful.)
(You go through Toad Town, fighting the Royal Distorters, but while they are tanky, Toad Soldiers from the Castle will arrive to help fight!)
(If you try to go into buildings during these attacks, Kersti will call you out on it, here's some of the lines:)
"What!? There's no time to mess around in these homes, the world is in DANGER!!"
–
"Mario! I'm POSITIVE there is nothing important in there, just help us save this place!!"
–
"The doors are LOCKED. FOR. A. REASON. WE. ARE UNDER. ATTACK!"
–
(If you try going to Mario's house:)
"NO. NO. NO . Mario, Reksict is ATTACKING!!! This is NO time to be lounging at home."
(If you try going to Peach's Castle:)
"What are you DOING!? This is no time for having cakes and parties, Reksict is taking over!! And besides, all the people are probably barricaded in the castle!"
(If you try going to any shops:)
"Mario. MARIO. The shops CAN'T OPEN RIGHT NOW!! What, did you expect a "Reksict Apocoylpse Sale"!? HELP US SAVE THIS PLACE!!!"
(After defeating all the Royal Distorters outside, you're prompted to head to the castle..)
“PRINCESS PEACH!!!”
The heroes bursting through the doors prompted Toadsworth to rush to the Princess's side, holding her hands and jumping for joy.
“Oh, you had this old spore consumed by worry! Why, what with Reksict's attack, I almost feared that you were…”
“Oh, Toadsworth..” Peach hugged her ward. “I understand your worries, but once again, I am perfectly fine, okay?”
Breaking the hug, she looks around the room, seeing everyone from town, including the Piantas that recently moved in. “Besides, we have more pressing matters! Is everyone okay? Did anyone perish!?”
“Oh, absolutely not. We all safely evacuated here!” Toadsworth said. “Strangely, those frightening jeweled hands outside only attack when provoked, and those dratted monsters seem to prohibit those from being near it.”
“Nevertheless, I sent out some of our finest soldiers! And I assume that they were successful in aiding you?”
Mario nodded.
“Jolly good! I've heard far less of a ruckus out there, I am ever so grateful that you've managed to handle those monsters. Perhaps our worries are finally over?”
“But..how about the matter of restoring our…”
A bright flash hit the room.
The ground shook rapidly.
Everyone looked around.
A Toad frantically flapped his arms. “WAAAUUGHH!!! NOT AGAIIIIIN!!!!”
Toadsworth's gaze darted around worriedly. “Oh stars!! Have I spoken too soon!?”
Kersti held her chest. “I…I'm sensing very huge traces of Sticker Power!!”
Peach suddenly felt a chill down her spine.
“..TOADSWORTH, WATCH OUT!!”
Peach shoved Toadsworth out of the way, and IMMEDIATELY, a Royal Distorter unearthed!
Peach was caught in its grip, the civilians went into a panic, but Peach quickly broke free, standing beside her friends.
“Those things breached the castle!? Oh, no no no…EVERYONE, PLEASE TAKE COVER!!”
Everyone ducked for cover as the hand shot a flashy beam of light..
..But it was not directed at anyone. Only the castle walls..
Its beam warped anything that wasn't an organic life form into Reksict's corrupted design, right before their very eyes.
Kersti stomped. “AGGHH!! I DRAW THE LINE AT MESSIN UP OTHER PEOPLE'S HOUSES!!”
Captain Toad and Toadette were blasted out of a door, the poor Toads tumbled to the ground.
“..Mario!?” Captain Toad got to his feet, helping Toadette up. “Th-Those things are already sprouting all over the castle!!!”
Toadette panicked. “Oh, what do we do!? What do we do!? What do we DOOO!?!”
Peach called out. “TOAD SOLDIERS!! Please take all the civilians to safety!”
“YES, PRINCESS!!!”
“Right this way, everyone!!”
“C'mon, move it! The heroes are gonna need some room!”
“Everyone, this way!!”
The civilians were quickly rushed around to the safer rooms of the castle, Toadette went with them.
Kersti charged at the hand with a dash, only to be caught in its grasp.
The hand slowly charged something…
But, suddenly!!
In came Teris, delivering a hammer flip to the Royal Distorter!
Kersti was knocked out of its grasp, the hand paralyzed, its gem eye went bloodshot!
….Somehow.
Teris gently grabbed her dear daughter.
“..Oh, my dear. I knew Mario would be successful.”
Kersti pouted a bit. “Mooooom! This is like, the gazillionth time you had to save me!!”
“....Th-Thanks anyway.” She jumped out of her grasp.
Teris bowed to the heroes. “Pardon my tardiness. Many Royal Distorters threatened to make their way out of the kingdom! I had to make short work of them..”
“Your timing couldn't have been more perfect, Teris!” Peach smiled. “We'll need all the help we can get to give these hands a good slap on the wrist!”
Bowser growled. “Yeah, as long as you don't get in my way! THOSE hands are gonna have to deal with THESE hands!!” Bowser punched and clawed at the air.
Some of the Toad soldiers came back, the others guarding the defenseless.
Toadsworth turned to the soldiers. “Listen up! Team Mario all shall provide team A! You lot will provide team B! Find and defeat these “Royal Distorters”, am I understood!?”
“YES, SIR!!”
The soldiers charged ahead. Captain Toad saluted the heroes. “I'll be going with them! Let's get those things outta here!”
Captain Toad ran off.
Toadsworth stamped his cane into the ground. “As much as I would like to assist, I know this is not my place, I shall head to safety, and pour my faith into all of you!”
Toadsworth began to flee.
“We won't let you down!!” Peach said.
The Royal Distorter's palsy wore off, it coldly gazed at the heroes.
“Alrighty! Let's show these thugs what happens to uninvited guests!” Luigi said.
Teris readied her hammer.
(You run through the entire castle, facing off these Royal Distorters for the final half of this mission, Teris is an assist type member, and will just attack during turns with a crazy hammer flip, she does some SERIOUS damage, and can even paralyze the enemies thanks to her lightning powers.)
(You can already see that some bits of the castle, even ENTIRE rooms, have been warped to fit Reksict's regime.)
(But as long as you hurry and beat them all, everything should turn out okay!)
(...Right?)
(At the end of the mission..)
Everyone charged at the last Royal Distorter all at once for a mighty fatal blow!
The hand writhed and twitched, its gem eye shattered, and it vanished in a flash.
“HUZAAAAAAAAH!!!” Teris raised her hammer to the sky.
Peach jumped happily. “Finally!! The kingdom is safe from harm!!! Everyone, come out of hiding! We've done it!!!”
Everyone returned and cheered.
“WE'RE SAAAAAAVED!!!”
“YAH-HA-HOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
Captain Toad and Toadette joyfully danced.
The Toad Soldiers honorably stood.
“Ho! At last, those ruffians are all taken care of! As expected from the lovely Princess Peach, and Team Mario!!” Toadsworth said.
Kersti smiled. “You're darn right! Now everything will go back to normal!”
……………………
……………………
……………………
Everyone looked around.
Nothing changed.
The grass
was still a messed up blue.
The road
was still pitch black.
The trees
still dark and dead.
Nothing happened.
“...Huh..?” Peach looked outside. “I..the kingdom…”
“...I'm sorry, WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA!?!” Bowser growled.
“Kersti?” Luigi looked at her.
Kersti walked around the room. “I…no..”
“...I j-just…”
“...I thought maybe, the Royal Distorters…I thought beating them would be enough to reverse all the damage they caused, but…”
(In complete silence, only cold, hollowing wind, the player is shown the entirety of the Mushroom Kingdom, seeing all the horrible changes that were made…)
(The castle's interiors..you see the halls, and see that everything wasn't COMPLETELY changed, but….)
(....)
(A melancholy, nerving, but also defeated sounding melody plays, something like “What's That?!” From Mother 3)
Kersti looked so torn..so guilty..
“Uh..h-hey! Don't go there, Kersti!” Luigi said. “I mean, at least we won, right!?”
“...Won?” She slowly looked at him. “..You don't understand, Luigi. We didn't win anything…”
Kersti held her face. “He..he ruined the kingdom…”
“....The kingdom…”
“He..he's going to do this ALL OVER THE PLACE!! HE ALREADY HAS!!!”
“HE..THOSE THINGS..I..THIS..NO!!”
“WHOA, Kersti!! Simmer down!” Bowser said. “No use blowing a fuse over it! What's done is done ! We can't change the past!”
“MGGHAAAAAAAAAHH!!”
“REKSICT, WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!?!?!”
“I'm..feeling…sick..my head…”
Teris quickly rushed to her side and held her close. “Kersti..please..”
“You can't do any good by worrying yourself to suffering..”
“I..but..Reksict..” Kersti just stared off into the distance.
“...N..No!!!”
Toadette spoke up bravely.
“Don't do that to yourself! That's NOT FAIR!!”
“Not after all the things you've done with your friends!!”
“When..when those dark, creepy hands shot up everywhere, I thought we were done for, but..you all saved us!!!”
Captain Toad nodded. “Y..Yeah! All these poor, defenseless people..we're all just lucky to be alive!!”
Toadsworth looked up at Kersti. “At the end of the day, all this damage can be fixed, rebuilt, my dear Kersti…”
“...But the lives you and your friends saved..were any of them to perish, they would be unfixable, irreplaceable.”
“That is what matters most of all..”
“I…..”
Kersti sighed.
“I..suppose so..”
Kersti looked down, she then gently embraced her mother.
Peach smiled. “Yes, what matters is that my people are safe..”
“...Look!!”
Peach pointed to a window.
All of Reksict's spawns gazed up at the sky.
…Then suddenly flew away.
“It looks like destroying the distorters caused Reksict's beasts to flee too! It's safe to go outside now!”
Toadsworth sighed with relief. “..Yes, the attacks have fully ceased!”
“But..what of the other biomes out there?”
Peach looked at him. “Toadsworth..there's more..and they surround the other sections of our world..”
“...!?” Toadsworth held his head. “By the stars..no..not them!! What are they to do about their poor homes!?”
“To so much imagine what became of their homes..it breaks my heart..”
“Masters Mario and Luigi, Lady Kersti, I entrust you all will be taking your leave with the Princess? After all, I couldn't think of a team more capable of destroying those unhandy hands!”
Mario gave a thumbs up and a firm “Uh-huh!”
Luigi nodded. “Always bet on the bros!”
Kersti sighed, and put her hands on her hips. “..We have to…before any other lands are usurped!!”
Bowser stomped. “HEY! Don't count me out, you Dried Shroom!”
“ᵈ⁻ᵈʳᶦᵉᵈ ˢʰʳᵒᵒᵐ…?”
Bowser pointed at Toadsworth. “That punk messed with MY men, and MY home. MY. HOME! And he is gonna get a STOMPING, BOWSER STYLE!”
“I don't care HOW MANY of those hands I gotta beat, his days of conquering are NUMBERED!”
“Ah..well, who am I to stop you, Master Bowser?”
“We will need all the help possible to stand a chance!”
“In fact…I am certain everyone, everywhere is giving it their all!”
Teris looked to her daughter. “The Royal Sticker guardians are all over the world right now, helping the civilians.”
“You are most likely to run into them, as well!”
“As for..me…”
Teris coughed softly. “My..apologies my dear..I have overexerted myself..especially after all the fighting I had to do to get here alone.”
Kersti understood everything. “No worries. We're heading back to the Comet Observatory. You can rest there.”
“If..you insist.”
Captain Toad walked over to the others. “Now that this place is safe, the shops have already reopened! Pretty quickly, might I add, heh.”
“You're always welcome here, guys! Travel safely!”
(Despite the hope, the melancholy music still plays all throughout the Kingdom..)
(As Captain Toad said, the shops are reopened!)
(..But no Reksict Apocoylpse Sale. :( )
(Back to the Observatory..)
“Ready for the next mission?” Rosalina spoke calmly.
“...”
“..Before you choose an area, there is something that I feel like I should mention.”
“..An area is available..”
“I didn't really pay attention to it, because it wasn't usurped…”
“But perhaps, it may be a useful area to you?”
Bowser thought carefully. “Hmmm…”
“...Well, how about you stop with the riddles and just TELLUSTHENAMEOFTHEPLACE!?!”
“...Reksict Roadway.”
The team was shocked.
“...THAT place!? Why would we wanna go back there?” Luigi scratched his head.
“Wait, how do you know about that place anyways!?” Bowser asked.
“Oh, how could I not!? When that place opened, Reksict's obnoxious commercial was beamed all over my screen out of nowhere..” Rosalina facepalmed.
“I'm one for a fun time, but that place is far too deadly, I and my Lumas could never go to such a place.”
“..But, if by some small chance you wish to go there..you can.”
“..Huh, interesting. Thank you very much for letting us know, Rosalina!” Peach said.
“Hm, where to now…” Kersti thought carefully.
(The Usurped Dry Dry Outpost and Reksict Roadway are available.)
(You'll be taken straight to the hub part of Reksict Roadway.)
(Let's see what happens if you choose to revisit Reksict Roadway.)
“...Really, Mario? You want to go back there?” Peach asked.
“...”
“...Alright then, I trust your judgment.” She smiled.
The heroes descended to Reksict Roadway…
……………..
They seem to have touched the ground.
Although, they couldn't entirely tell at first glance, because…
…It was so dark…
Abandoned Roadway
Some buildings were busted up, broken, or even just pure rubble..
Lights flickered faintly every so often.
A distorted, low quality version of Reksict's song faintly echoed in the empty city, only a section of it played over and over, it would echo through the howling wind before fading out again, then echo through again, on a loop.
The city was BARELY visible amongst the pure darkness…
“....Wow, I..sh-sheesh..” Luigi shivered a bit.
“I know, right..? To think this place was filled with bizzare, evil energy just moments ago..” Peach said.
“Looks like a cataclysm hit this place or something!!!” Kersti said. “What the heck happened!?”
“Hello!! Anyone here?” Luigi shouted.
“...Hello!! Anyone here?””
“…….hello! anyone here?”
“………..hello, anyone here?”
“…………………ʰᵉˡˡᵒ, ᵃⁿʸᵒⁿᵉ ʰᵉʳᵉˀ”
“…………………………. …., …… …..ˀ”
Luigi's echo rang throughout the city. No one answered.
“Cooool! Looks like a blackout!” Bowser laughed. “And everyone's gone!? Aweeeesomee!! Let's take their things!!!”
“Bowser! You uncouth Koopa! Of course you would jump on such a terrible idea!” Peach huffed.
“We can't just take people's stuff! It's..not right!”
Bowser mocked her. “iTs nOt riGhT- Oh, C'MON! This place's deserted! Plus, they're all BAD GUYS anyway, they had it coming I'd say!”
“Oh, you big..Kersti, can you believe this!?” Peach asked her.
Kersti looked at her.
“...”
“...He has a point-”
“Ah!!” Peach crossed her arms. “Well, I'd never-”
“Come ON! This place is DEAD! Whatever anyone left here they ain't coming back for!” Kersti said.
“Would it REALLY hurt to snatch some stuff?? Huh???”
“Yes, it WOULD!”
“..But, we can still explore, perhaps find some new things..” Peach said.
“Do you…think we should look, Mario?”
(The Launch Star is always available to take you back to the Observatory, far away from this dark, creepy place.)
(The song sample mentioned earlier plays throughout the entirety of the area.)
(Going through the city, and yep..it's absolutely deserted.)
(No signs of life whatsoever.)
(It’s so dark, it's so quiet.)
(If you try going through the outside of the Roadway…you'll find that it's completely blocked off by rubble, interacting with it, Kersti will say:)
“A roadblock…we won't be able to go back there…”
“..Considering what we had to go through before JUST to get here, I'd say that's a blessing in disguise.”
(Roadway Refreshments, despite being broken down, still has SOME food in there you can take.)
(There are some buildings you can enter, and take stuff in there too.)
(But if you take anything, Peach will count it as stealing, and this will happen:)
Bowser laughed. “Gwahaha! Yeah, take their stuff, plumber! Who's gonna stop us!?”
“I do NOT approve of this.” Peach crosses her arms.
“Peach, I really don't think it's that big of a deal..” Luigi said.
(If you walk to the center of the city…)
“....Hey, could we actually stop for a second?” Kersti asked.
The heroes stopped and looked at her.
“....Call me crazy, but..do you guys think we should go inside the Empire Sticker Building?”
“Hm? …Why do you ask?” Bowser looked down at her.
“It’s just…”
“..Maybe there's something in there that can help us..”
“Something that Reksict might've left behind..”
“Don't you guys think so?”
“....Hmmm…that does sound like a safe bet..” Luigi said.
“I-I mean, a place as nerve-wracking as this o-oughta have something to make it worthwhile, right!?”
Bowser thought aloud. “Now that I think about it, we didn't get to do much in his throne room..considering I have my OWN dungeons, I can bet there's something all the way at the top!”
“That card that Reksict gave you…if the elevator is still available, do you think it would work, Kersti?” Peach said.
Kersti looked back at her card. “........”
(“His…successor…”)
(“He used to think I was nothing, but in that moment…”)
(“...He saw me as an equal.”)
“...Kersti?” Peach tilted her head concerningly.
“...Yeah, this card should still work.” Kersti nodded slowly.
“...Well, shall we?”
(Even in the Empire Sticker Building, the distorted melody is heard all the same, all throughout the tower…)
(You can bet that every room is very dark as well.)
(In the throne room, as Bowser suggested..surprisingly, there's something glowing upon the seat of Reksict's throne.)
(If you pick it up…)
Mario looked at the item…
“..Good thing this thing glows, otherwise it'd be way too dark to tell what this is.” Kersti said.
“Looks like a card..”
(It was black with red diagonal stripes, the red stripes were glowing.)
“..What's this? There's a button…”
“..It says ‘In case of emergency, press me.’ ”
“...Well, consider my curiosity peaked! Let's press it!!”
- Uh-huh!
- Uh-nah.
(If you say uh-huh, you just press it.)
(But if you say uh-nah, this happens:)
“..What's that?” Kersti raises an eyebrow.
“Too scared to press it?”
“...”
She crossed her arms and grinned smugly.
“Y'know, I can respect that.”
“I mean, you and I have really formed a bond over all this time, we just GET each other, y'know?”
“And, with that in mind, get this.”
“When I see a button.”
“Nothing in the world can stop me from pressing it.”
“That thing said “in case of emergency”. And I'll be STRUCK by lightning if this isn't one!”
“BOOP.”
Kersti pressed the button!
….
….!!
In an instant, the card flips to the floor, and a red beam shoots out of it..
“AUGH!!! WHAT DID I DO!? HAS MY IMPULSE BECAME MY UNDOING!?”
(If Mario presses it, Kersti blames him before admitting that she'd press it too)
The beam fizzled suddenly into…
…A hologram of Reksict.
“G-G-G-Greetings, f-f-f-f-friends!! -kkrr, zzRRT!!- I-It iszzzzzz I!! Your o-o-o1 and only ruler..r-rr,rrr!!”
Bowser cringed. “Geez, looks like this thing got damaged during whatever quake hit this place.”
“I-If you're seeing this message, it can only mea-ee-ee-ee3n that you're a st-st-STRAGGLER that got left behind during the usurption!!”
“-zzzz..zRRTT!! BZZZZTT KKRRZZssss…-”
“G-G-Guess I…”
Static was heard as Reksict's image fizzled out, then soon returned.
“The poor guy's even buffering..” Luigi said.
“..Guess my plan wasn't as perfect as I thouggt if someone didn't get to the safe zone..”
“Huh, he's even wrong about that, we didn't see a SOUL out there, he must have evacuated everybody!” Peach said.
“Luckily, your p-pPO0WERful leadererder thought of everything!!!111”
“I h-h-hid a card that I have told you all was in the ceiling of this very room!”
“G-G-Geat to…to-to-to-to2 the safe zzzone!!”
“It'sz located in the Reksickt Roadway zlums!!”
“Zlums!?”
“..Ohhh, he must've meant SLUMS.” Kersti chuckled.
“D-D-DoOnT worry about remembering!”
“-kzzRMNN..bbzzz..b-bzzkstzznnrrtt..-”
“Th-Th-Th-TH1¡S kaard right here will admiszztt-ter a red holographic arrowowow!!”
“Follow the arrow, it'll take you STRAIGHT to the hideout!”
“Then just scan it at the door, and voila!”
“Stay safe, my loyal people!”
“I will see you again after my plan is complete!”
“Reksict, OUT!”
(The red arrow will appear above Mario's head.)
(Follow it down to the Abandoned Roadway Slums, and at the train station, in a wall that you'd otherwise never see..is THIS!)
Mario scanned the card onto the wall…
…And a door opened!
The heroes head inside…
Reksict's hideout.
It was a pretty plain area, but quite big, plenty of room.
The R. Men, K. Girls, and all the others have made this place their temporal home.
This must be where Reksict always retreated to! And the heroes have finally found it.
Just think, if they completely ignored this place…
The walls were a nice blue, the floor a dark purple, as they always were.
Plenty of food for the people to last them a loooooong time.
Strangely, the place has technology as well, brightening up the place.
(The song here is a mellow, chill tune, but also a bit nerving, kinda like “mysteries of the pit” from ttyd)
A R. Man Greeter greeted the heroes.
“WELCOME, WELCOME, WELCOME!!!”
“GYAAAA!!!” Kersti stepped back.
“Wait a minute, I know what's going on here!!” The greeter aggressively pointed his sign at the team.
“You..you guys are the HEROES who've been a thorn in President Reksict's side since the beginning!!!!”
“Well, you aren't getting anywhere in here! You better just GET LOST!!”
“....Is what I would've said, IF you guys were the heroes, but you're obviously not.”
“You see, I, Johnson, have a sharp mind. No one can fool me that easily!”
“..Uh, yeah! You certainly got it, Johnson! Heheh..” Luigi chuckled nervously.
“Point is, we've got tight security down here! So don't worry stragglers, you're all safe!”
“Stay for as looooong as you want! Consider Reksict’s Hideout your new home!”
The R. Man Greeter (named Johnson) floats off merrily, as if skipping.
“..W-Wait, did that guy just say this is Reksict's HIDEOUT!!?” Kersti exclaimed in bewilderment.
“Well, DUH! Didn't you see the title card!?” Bowser said. “Tch, some hero.”
“THE Reksict hideout that he always retreated to!?” Kersti looked around.
There were pretty okay couches, beds, more of Reksict's great food was available, bathroom and shower, appliances like microwaves, fridges, televisions, even video games.
The R. Men, K. Girls, and all the other people were here.
“I never thought we'd find this place! Let's take a look around!” Kersti said.
Peach nodded. “Perhaps the people have information that could prove useful, I'd say we talk to everyone!”
(This is the real hub of this area, when you leave and head to the Launch Star, a teleporter will show up beside it, and you can use it to warp here at any time when you return to the Abandoned Roadway.)
(Let's see some of the things our npcs here have to say!)
“So, like. You'd think this place would have no power, right?” Started a R. Man Citizen. “Wrongamundo! You didn't think the city ACTUALLY lost power, didja!? Nope! Reksict just rerouted ALL of the city's power to this shelter!”
“Man, isn't our leader the coolest? I mean, he thinks of EVERYTHING!”
“Like seriously, just when you think you took him down, he comes back with a bajilion more tricks up his sleeve!”
“...Believe me, we know.” Kersti said, grinding her teeth.
—-
“Eeeeheeheeheehee…” Chuckled a K. Girl Raider. “I just ran around and snagged every appliance I could find right before the usurption hit! They're mine! All for me, me, MEEE!!”
“...And I decided to share them with everyone else! I'm just generous like that!”
—-
An R. Man Engineer and a K. Girl Machinist were shooting the breeze, they were building a cute lil train, based off the Reksict Express.
“...I always wanted to go on other trains, y'know?” Said the Engineer. “I love my job ‘n all, it's the dream! ..But, to relax on a luxury train…”
“...You…deserve to have those things.” Said the K. Girl Machinist in a low but polite voice. “You're a nice person…who works hard to make sure the people of this city get all around on that wonderful train of yours…”
“...”
“...On another topic though..did you hear of Reksict's plans…?”
“It seems as if he wants to conquer every inch of this world…”
“I…can't help but feel like he's..changing…”
“Well, yes. He's like a titan now!” Said the Engineer. “It's…kinda terrifying!!”
“That..is not what I mean..” Said the K. Girl Machinist.
“...Oh…”
“Do..do you really think he's changed? Or…”
“Maybe things showed up about him that we've never seen before..?”
The K. Girl Machinist's grip trembled for a moment.
“..I never considered that..”
“...I'm sure Reksict knows what's best! He'll usher us all into HIS world!” Said the R. Man Engineer.
“All we have to do is wait, and who better to wait with than my best buddy?”
“Best..buddy..?”
The K. Girl Machinist was a blushing mess under her welding mask.
“Such an honor..”
“...Ahem! Thank you.”
—-
“..You.” An R. Man Assassin glared daggers at the team.
“....”
“...I hope you don't really think we're fooled. Of course you're the heroes.”
“But it is no longer our place to take you down.”
“Not that it matters, considering Reksict is unstoppable…”
“..Besides, who am I to take away some kills that rightfully belong to him?”
“We all will give our master the pleasure of erasing you all himself.”
“So..hehehe..you're on borrowed time.”
“Run. As fast as you can.”
—-
An R. Man Musician (Opera), and K. Girl Dancer (opera) gently spun together.
The K. Girl Dancer giggled gently. “Ho ho ho ho ho…♡”
“Did you hear what a friend of mine said? ♡”
“....”
“She said that Reksict has reached a form that was hushed in legend…”
“Oh oh oh oh oh… ♡” said the R. Man Musician. “..Yes. He has broken his limits entirely, reaching a form beyond any power he had before.”
“But..is that power enough to match my love for you? ♡”
“Ho ho ho ho ho hoooo!~ ♡”
“Why, that's beyond description, my song master.. ♡”
“....”
“There was something else that friend of mine said too…”
“....”
She looked directly at the heroes.
“She says you have a fate coming that's worse than anything you've ever seen.”
___
Radien was lounging on a couch, his headphones on as he was on his laptop.
“....?”
“Well, what do we got here?”
“Heheheheh…fate sucks, doesn't it?”
“Y'see, what's funny is that you guys have no idea what trouble you're in..”
“Future belongs to US now, didn't you get the memo?”
“Honestly, you should have just stayed out of his way, now I believe he's gonna stop at nothing to destroy you, and…”
“Well, heheh. I really think you should just stop pushing his buttons.”
—--
Glimmer gently sipped some tea.
“Reksict had everything planned out from the very beginning.”
“Almost every second of his life since abandonment was devoted to his plan..”
“And all of it has gone spectacularly..”
“He even accounted for all of you surviving.”
“He even accounted for you stopping The Usurption.”
“He even somehow accounted for you all breaking his limitbroken form.”
“So, why even try?”
—-
An R. Man Enforcer was diligently dipping his donut in his Reksict branded mug of coffee.
“....”
He glared menacingly at the heroes.
“....I have nothing to say to you all.”
“Except…good luck.”
—-
A R. Man Weapon stood tall.
“> NOT INSTRUCTED TO DESTROY OPPONENTS.”
“> NOT GIVEN ANY INSTRUCTIONS.”
A K. Girl Energal sat beside him.
“Pardon my friend! He's trying to adjust to not having objectives! I'm helping him relax!”
The R. Man Weapon looked down at her.
“> ….RIGHT.”
“> INITIATING SELF PROTOCOL TO “RELAX”...”
“beepbopboopbopeepbopboopbooboobeepyppeep”
He gently sat down next to the K. Girl Energal.
The K. Girl Energal giggled gently.
—--
Two K. Girl Tricksters were tossing colorful balls to each other.
“Ha ha ha, heeheehee!!~” Giggled the Trickster on the left. “She said Reksict is unstoppable!! He'll make the whole wide world all cool and fun!! Eeeheeheeheee!!!~”
The Trickster on the right spoke. “Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!!~ Lovely! Lovely! Fun for all of us!!!~”
“Reksict, you meanieweanie boss! Stop keeping us waiting!!”
“Even flirti-I mean PRANKING my R. Man Champion is starting to get boring!!!”
—
A K. Girl Reporter spoke enthusiastically to the camera that her R. Man Cameraman had.
“THIS is Klementine, a humble K. Girl Reporter coming at you LIVE from Reksict's hideout with BREAKING NEWS!!!”
“The world below us has been USURPED by our leader, and is being changed to fit his mighty regime!”
“Local heroes, Mario, Kersti, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser, plan to (pathetically) step up to his reign!”
“Reksict's newfound forces surround each land, and he grows stronger and stronger, always with new plans!!”
“Will Team Mario prevail? Or will Reksict once again have the last laugh?”
“Don't drop that controller, you won't wanna miss how THIS story ends!!! Stay tuned!”
“...CUT!!!!”
The R. Man Cameraman turns off the camera, the K. Girl Reporter just leans on him and sips a shroom shake.
(If you talk to her now)
“..What!? Don't bother me on break..”
(If you talk to the R. Man Cameraman)
“...!?”
“Uh”
“Hi.”
“I'm Chuck.”
“...I didn't expect to have a conversation, please go away.”
—
Lindi the Ninji was calmly playing on her Nintendo 3DS.
“Uuughh…wadddya want? I'm at a boss.”
She pauses her game and glances at team.
She does a double take. “..Huh.”
“Nice to see someone actually cool here.”
“You guys are okay?”
“We should be asking you that!! Mind telling us what happened upstairs?” Kersti asked.
“Suddenly I hear Reksict saying “LET THERE BE USURPTION! Which isn't even a word, but whatever, the whole place loses power. Me and my man try to make a run for it, but get hoisted down here..we're not allowed to leave for our homes in the Whittle Woods.”
Elastico the Ninji appeared, doing some tai-chi. “I've heard that our home is being corrupted…so maybe we're all safer here.”
“...You all are strong to have survived for so long..surely you all can return our homes to the way they once were?”
“.....W-We..we don't know for sure…” Kersti said.
“We're..sorry..”
“....I see.”
“But I have faith that you all at the very least put an end to Reksict's reign.”
“If you're here for refreshments, you'll find them being distributed by P. Laster, in the kitchen.”
“We'll be rooting for you guys.” Lindi said.
“All I know is, everyone working as one and giving it their all can make things happen.” Elastico said, bowing.
“Do your absolute best.”
—-
A K. Girl Trickster stood on her own.
“Um..hey! Are you guys the heroes!?”
“I-Its me! I mean, you probably don't recognize ME, but I saw you all climbing the Empire Sticker Building..”
“And..well..”
“I-I actually agree with you guys!! Reksict is going crazy!!”
“He wants to change EVERYTHING and get more and more power..”
“B-But I don't want everything to change! This is all too much! This isn't fun anymore!!”
“G-G..Get more power..? Change..everything?” Kersti's voice trembled.
“Oh, PLEASE tell me you'll stop him, PLEEEASE!!!” She bowed rapidly.
Mario walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder, speaking to her.
“I..really? You guys will stop him!?”
“I-I know I've been such an enemy..but I was only doing what I was told! Everyone else, too!”
Peach spoke softly. “We understand.”
“We're going to save everyone, everywhere. We promise you.”
“NO ONE is gonna suffer Reksict's wrath!” Luigi said.
“You're lucky I have beef with the guy..” Bowser said.
“...I know what it's like to be scared..and anxious for safety. No matter what, we will stop him.” Kersti nodded.
“Oh, thank you thank you THANK YOU!!”
With a slide whistle sound, the K. Girl Trickster stretched her arms and wrapped them around everyone.
Breaking the hug, she smiled. “I can't go out there with you, but I have something to help!”
“Here! I snagged this from the storageway, it's not much, but it should be useful…”
- The K. Girl Trickster gives you a Jelly Ultra!
(YEP.)
(Here's one more of the interactions I feel like should be shown.)
(Ted the Toad, Bryce the Shy Guy, Blissy the Bandit, Jasper the Koopa, and Phill the Plungelo were looking at something..)
(Interacting with them shows you what they were looking at..)
(It’s the framed photo of the beach day they all had with Reksict. It's a bit broken.)
(They all have nothing to say.)
(...)
(Let's..move on to the Usurped Dry Dry Outpost.)
The sky black, the heroes descended onto bizarre, crimson red sand, amidst a huge sandstorm…
Ruined homes fly all around them in the storm.
The sun is twisted and jagged, showing cracks in it, it beaming a blue color.
The road is a jagged line of black.
Freakishly tall white cacti stand.
Spikey green tumbleweeds blow by every so often.
The buildings that WERE NOT blown away in the storm are freakishly hot pink and blue and green..
(The song here is an intense quick beat, barely having the dry dry outpost theme as the main melody, but even then the melody is made more HARD and grungy.)
The heroes didn't even have enough time to take it all in, before…
“HEEEEEELLLLPP!!!!”
They quickly run to the source of the cry.
A few Egyptian Yoshis were trying to free Princess Daisy, pelting eggs at a Royal Distorter who gripped her violently.
Everyone charged at the Royal Distorter at once, knocking its hand back and loosening it's grip, allowing Daisy to break free.
“Daisy!!!” Luigi called out.
“Luigi!? Mario!? You're ALL alive!!!” Daisy smiled brightly at them.
Kersti nodded. “Yeah, yeah, we've been getting that a lot, but we gotta hurry and save this place! You all in!?”
“Heck yeah!” Daisy said.
(Immediately starting off, you have Daisy and some Egyptian Yoshis helping you face off against the Royal Distorters here.)
(The Royal Distorters now have the Yellow Royal Sticker ability as well as all their other ones, so be careful!)
(Going through here, you have new opponents.)
(You have this black sarcophagus that looks like Reksict, it teleports around the area.)
(This is the Underlife.)
(Kersti's tattle says:)
“Woah! Sheesh, the way this thing just gets around without ACTUALLY moving is freaky.”
“This is the Underlife! It has a max HP of [#], attack of [#], defense of [#].”
“Beware, this thing will cause random disasters to hit us, like a blinding sandstorm, sleeping fog, it can coat the floor with its heat vision, but that's not even its WORST, sometimes it'll just crash down on our heads, that's easily its most hard hitting attack!”
“...Thankfully, this guy's hp SUCKS, so it won't last long at all, it's more like a glass cannon.”
“So we better hurry and hit it quick before it gets to do anything!”
(Unfortunately, when you defeat it…)
(It is revealed that this was only the beasts’ shell.)
(The sarcophagus falls to the ground, and slowly opens, revealing a mummified beastly humanoid like figure with blue flames at it's back, wearing a Neme (that's the name of the pharaoh hat, fun fact lol) this monster is called Kaa’ Gah’ Raa.)
(Kersti's tattle says:)
“WHAT!? EWWWW!! THE HECK IS THIS!!!??”
“This..THING is Kaa’ Gah’ Raa, some sort of mummified creepy freak!”
“It can grab you with its mummy wrappings, and drag you close as it shoots blue fireballs out of its body that you have to dodge, whack at you three times with a staff, then shoot a laser at you from it, use its staff to make a wall of sand blocks to shield itself, make the sand rise into geysers beneath us, or even burn a wall of sand into a sheet of glass and make it crash on us!”
“This thing doesn't pack as much of a punch as its shell though.”
“Those mummy wrappings…I'm almost tempted to just pull them off– NO! I don't want any nightmare fuel!! I'm good!”
(Up next, a beast that perfectly blends in with the sand, only to form a wide smile on the ground, and SPROUT up at you, a big mass of red sand with a long, alligator-like mouth, small black eyes and flat black teeth.)
(This is the Saber Sand.)
(Kersti's tattle says:)
“That's a Saber Sand, A carnivorous sand monster!”
“Max HP is [#], attack is [#], defense is [#], it can spit out balls off sand that'll make us miss sometimes if we don't block it, it can gobble one of us whole and munch on us until we hit it enough, hide in the sand, or make a wave of sand hit us!”
“And those cold, dead eyes..what a beast..”
(Lastly, we have the Tribeetle, a big black scarab like buzzy beetle with a golden shine to it and golden spikes, it has a neck on one side of its shell and a neck on the other, with two more scarab beetles on each neck.)
(Kersti's tattle says:)
“This is a Tribeetle, some sort of scarab beetle cerberus like monstrosity!”
“Max HP is [#], attack is [#], defense is [#]. The two smaller beetles on its necks have less hp, a max hp of [#] each, and you're gonna wanna take those things out, quick! They'll EACH bite us in ONE turn, and do poison damage, that's THREE poison attacks in one turn!”
“AND these things can fly and attack from above! On top of being able to skitter around real quick.”
“Now, the MAIN center beetle has spikes, BUT if you take it out first, the whole beast will die.”
“So really, you have to pick your poison, pun intended, would you rather kill the smaller beetles and power it down or focus on the main one and deal with a tougher foe? Decisions, decisions!!!”
(Exiting the Outpost after taking out all the Royal Distorters, you find yourself LITERALLY in the eye of the sandstorm!)
(Jumping from spinning platform to spinning platform and trying not to get blown away to escape the sandstorm, and make it to the Usurped Yoshi Sphinx.)
The Yoshi Sphinx was now black, it had Reksict's face instead of the face of a Yoshi, with piercing red eyes and a red body.
Within the halls, Ceri is seen running and jumping and dodging attacks from Royal Distorters, she frantically long jumps away from their grasp and runs, prepping her bat, sliding and winding up for a big swing, whacking a Royal Distorter in the face, swinging like crazy, then finally jumping into the air and driving her bat into its eye, destroying it.
Upon the heroes bursting in, Ceri looked to them. “WOOOOO, good timing! These hands have been showing up left and right and doing some crazy renovating!”
Daisy looked around inside with the Yoshis, already this place was losing its original design, statues of Reksict like a pharaoh, hieroglyphs of previous fights with him..
“Agh!! This place is REALLY getting messed up! We've gotta DIVIDE and CONQUER!” Daisy said.
“Alright Yoshis, let's storm this place, beat up any of those hands you find, let's save your home!!!”
Daisy looked to Team Mario. “You guys go with Ceri, we'll SWARM em all! Lets GO!”
Daisy and the Yoshis ran through.
Kersti looked to Ceri. “You okay with smashing a few more of those things with us?”
“You kidding? I've never been more ready, besides, this isn't about me. It's about these innocent lives that I've been bothering under Reksict's control, it's time for me to redeem myself!”
Ceri swung her bat fiercely. “COME ON!!”
(Running through the Yoshi Sphinx, you see that it's far more changed than Peach's castle, more now Reksict's Sphinx than the Yoshis..)
(You make your way to the top while facing more Royal Distorters, but you mop them up quicker now thanks to Ceri supporting with crazy swinging bat attack every turn.)
(After that..)
The heroes utterly bash the final Royal Distorter, its form fading fast..
Ceri steps in front of the team.
She pulls out a baseball, and tosses it fiercely into the heavens…
The Royal Distorter stretches over to her, Ceri just winds up her bat once more with all her might…
The baseball falls back down, and Ceri SWINGS her bat into the ball with all of her might!!
The ball blasts through the air, moving faster than a shooting star, and it PIERCES the Royal Distorter completely.
The Cosmic Spawns of Reksict once again look to the sky before leaving the planet.
“This place is already very changed…but we stopped the damage from continuing..right?” Kersti said.
“Y-Yeah! And once again, the enemies left the planet! Where do they go, I wonder…”
Slowly, the howling wind died down.
Ceri grinned. “Huh, and look at that! The sandstorm stopped, too.”
“The people are at least safe to come and go now.”
Peach looked up at the Observatory in the sky. “..But our fight has only just begun. Let's hurry and make sure the other areas will be alright!”
(The same melancholy song from before would play after each usurped area you “save”)
(Moving right along to the Usurped Whittle Kingdom…)
Whittlepath is COMPLETELY deserted! The wood now a bizarre dark purple with black, veiny roots, the plants a strange, dark red-orange, dead trees overgrown all around, the Whittle Castle is completely white, and is covered in black thorns with big, blue roses on them.
(A bit of a tribunal forest beat plays with almost ghostly vocals in the background, the song sounding more sad and hopeless)
From behind our heroes..
“YOU!!”
Team Mario looks back in shock. Some Whittle Soldiers stare down at them.
The Soldiers gently bow.
“Please. You help us.” They spoke.
“Dire danger, very dire! Whittle Queen: trapped, all subjects, trapped in castle.”
“Purple one, defending subjects, with full power..”
“Giant hands, forbid access, giant hands, change forest.”
“Forest needs fixing, NOW! But giant hands, overwhelming…”
“Say no more.” Kersti said.
“...W-Wait, where's Flutter!?!”
“Here..huff..Flutter is..”
Flutter floated down weakly. “Whew..Flutter is too tired..”
“Flutter loves plants, but these are too much!!! Let Flutter fly you all over them!!!”
“Sounds like a plan, but don't overexert yourself, Flutter!” Peach urged.
“These trees are too tough for me to claw or burn through, looks like the bug is our only option.” Bowser said.
“..Well!? Let's move it! My kingdom could be getting more Reksict-ified by the second!”
(Going through this forest of freaky foliage, the Whittle Soldiers aid you in battle against the deadly Royal Distorters, now with the power of the PURPLE Royal Sticker, on top of the other ones!)
(As was said, you'll need Flutter sometimes to fly around the trees, watch for the pointy branches, though!)
(Now to go over the enemies, we first have a tall, thick black tree with no leaves, but a single big dangling black apple in front of it, this apple having a ghoulish, jack-o-lantern like grin with blue flames inside of itself.)
(These trees like to blend in with the other ones, then when you least expect it…BAM!)
(This is a Werewood.)
(Kersti's tattle says:)
“THAT'S a Werewood! Agh! I could've sworn this was a normal tree!”
“..Well, none of the trees here are normal, but..”
“Max HP is [#], attack is [#], defense is [#].”
“It can whip at us like crazy with its huge roots FOUR times in one turn, and they can HURT, or it can toss its huge apple head at us.”
“This thing can also siphon nutrients from the earth to heal itself, or make it stronger! We gotta hurry and make this tree go: TIMBERRRRR!!!”
“Oh, and if it gets the chance, it can BURST into flames at low health and EXPLODE, hurting ALL of us a lot!”
(Next, we got the Faker Flower, a flower with a permanent toothy grin for a face, with torn, wavey black petals, and a white stem.)
(Kersti's tattle says:)
“Agh! Not these things! This is a Faker Flower!”
“Max HP is [#], attack is 0, defense is [#]..”
“Every turn we leave it alive, it'll open it's mouth wide and suck up 15 FP. Yeah. I'm serious.”
“We gotta hit this thing hard, and FAST.”
(Lastly, we have the Albino Swarm, lots of sentient, white pollen, all grouped up.)
“This is the Albino Swarm! It's a gaggle of living, killer pollen!”
“Max HP is [#], attack is [#], defense is [#]. They'll attack as a horde, come at us one at a time, or even multiply..”
“Worse of all, they'll power up any plant based enemy, so beware!!”
(Beating every Royal Distorter in your path, you soon arrive at the Whittle Castle. Vines cover the front door and spiral up to the top.)
The Whittle Soldiers pointed to the top. “Whittle Queen and people, hide up there. Big danger they face.”
“Kingdom changed, but people still have chance.”
“Flutter must fly you!”
Kersti gasped. “Flutter! Do you think you can fly us up there, buddy?”
“I-I..I…”
Flutter flapped his wings with all his might.
“..Everyone's working so hard, so Flutter will too!!”
“Everyone, hop on!!!”
“Whittle Soldiers….too heavy, Whittle Soldiers wish good luck.” The Soldiers bow.
Team Mario hops on.
(The music slowly stops playing)
Flutter flies to the top of the castle..
His flying stutters here and there, but he's really pushing it to the max.
“HnnnnngggaAAAAGGGHHHH!!!!!!”
And finally..he reached the top!
Flutter smashed through a window and toppled over, the team stumbling off of him.
“..Sheesh, that's a strong lil bug.” Bowser stood up.
Flutter laid there exhausted.
“..Mario!? Kersti!? Everyone!?”
The Whittle Queen ran over to them.
“By the mother of nature..you all came back for us!?!”
“Flutter!!!”
The Whittle Queen gently rubbed his head. “Oh..you flew them all the way up here..?”
“Such a brave hero, I won't let you fly another inch until you rest!!”
The Whittles looked to the heroes, then themselves.
“Mario..here!?”
“Mario Team come to save Whittles!!”
“They help like purple one?”
“..Purple one?” Kersti looked at them. “Are you talking about-”
Ekris suddenly backed out of a door back into the room, and tossed a poison bomb through the other side.
“Ekris!!!” Peach exclaimed.
Ekris jumped over to everyone.
“There are Royal Distorters all over the place that are attuned to the massive vines.”
“We destroy the distorters, we destroy the vines.”
“I see! So we're gonna have to make our way back to the bottom.” Kersti said.
Luigi spoke. “It’s our only way outta this place now..”
Ekris sighed, removing his hat. “I feel stupid asking for this, but..will you all help me?”
“These things are all over the place, but I know with our combined forces, they'll be gone quick.”
Mario gave a thumbs up.
Kersti pointed to him. “Think nothing of it! We came here to help you, and everyone else, Ekris!”
Ekris tipped his hat. “Alright then..nothing left to do but face it all, huh?”
(A more intense battle song plays now as you go through the whole Usurped Whittle Castle.)
(Ekris supports the team with his poison pistol, crossbow, knife, poison bombs, all that stuff.)
(This castle seems completely taken over by Reksict, not at all resembling what it was, but I'm sure something can be done…)
(You'll dodge thorny vines, the blue roses on the vines can shoot out Albino Swarms at times, and you'll tear through more Royal Distorters.)
(You make your way from the top, allll the way down to the bottom.)
(At times, the area will get REALLY dark, so beware!)
(After the battles..)
Ekris jumps in the air and shoots out a barrage of arrows, completely pinning the final Royal Distorter down.
He fiercely charges at it, and dives into it with his pistol ready, completely blasting it into nothing.
The entrance door busts open, everyone was freed from the castle, and all the vines withered away.
As the spawns retreated, the Whittles cheered jubilantly, while the forest had changed, they are free and safe from harm.
Kersti sighed. “We..did it.”
“But what about the environment? Is..there nothing that can be done?”
“....!!!!” The Whittle Queen gasped.
“I..have to check something!”
She ran back into the castle.
Ekris decided to follow her, and Team Mario wasn't far behind.
“What's this even abou-”
“...?”
Kersti stared up at a huge tree, hidden in the castle.
It..was completely unchanged.
Flutter slept under its leaves, Whittle Queen gently hugged Flutter, eyes shut and breathing softly.
Everyone else looked up at it as well.
Luigi speaks up. “Wow…”
“Oh..I'm so happy they have something to hold on to..” Peach smiled.
Ekris stepped forward, looking at Kersti.
“...Having perseverance and seeing things through to the end have their way of making even the impossible happen.”
“Because we kept fighting, the people of this fair kingdom have a garden of hope.”
“Let this inspire us to fight to the finish, no matter what.”
“...I..should have thought of that.” Kersti said.
“....Yeah.”
Ekris gently wrapped an arm around Kersti.
Kersti chuckled gently.
(Up next, our heroes fly to the middle of the ocean..)
The Shirates were still caught amidst a heavy storm, frantically firing at Royal Distorters at all sides.
The Distorters were clawing onto their ship and holding it aloft!!
“EYAAAARRRGH!!!” Said the Shirate Captain.
“This dratted storm picked up just a couple o’ minutes after we escaped that flashing tower!!”
Shirates of all classes were fighting against the Royal Distorters.
“Cap'n! I'm running outta ammo!”
“Captain, our damage output be insufficient!!”
“Captain Shirate! Our ship, she ain't getting away with any more damage like this!!!”
Suddenly, Team Mario lands onto the ship, the Royal Distorters lose their grip on the vessel.
“Fortune shines on us!! The heroes, they've returned to us, they did!!” Exclaimed a Shirate.
Captain Shirate stood up and slashed his blades. “Alright, ye scallywags!” He pointed to the Shirates. “Make with the repairs to this vessel right away! Me and me mateys are gonna need some room to face these beasts!!!”
“AYE-AYE!!!!!”
The Shirates depart.
Bowser laughed. “One fight after another huh!? I can go ALL DAY!”
Everyone readied themselves.
(You now face a Royal Distorter with Captain Shirate at your side!)
(All the Royal Distorters also have the Green Royal Sticker ability now.)
(After that battle, things get shaken up a bit..)
Captain Shirate dropped his blade. “Hooo…it would seem that once again this gilded Captain is in your debt. Our ship would have surely met its last voyage if not for you lot!”
Luigi spoke. “Alrighty, we gotta get to Spear Guy Jungle, can you get us there?”
“But of course, me mateys! You all leave this to me. I'll chart us to safer waters!”
The Captain jumped to the helm and started steering the ship.
(We have a far tougher version of the boat segment from chapter 4, but the Shirate Ship is far stronger than the boat!)
(Different types of bullets, like homing bullet bills, banzai bills you can pick up to do INSANE damage, and even a lock on feature!)
(Royal Distorters plague the ocean..you'll have to shoot them down along the way, aiming for their eyes take them out a whole lot quicker!)
(After this segment, we arrive at the Spear Guy Jungle, and…)
(It’s completely and utterly different.)
Within the jungle, the grass is an unnatural dark brown, the stone structures were a dark pink, there were totem poles with Reksict's face on them, the plants matched the grass, and there was little light amongst the storm, dark red pipes and machinery all over.
“Th..This is supposed to be the jungle!?” Luigi looked at it in shock.
“Heavens..are the plants even still alive?” Peach said in a shaky tone.
“The poor creatures..and the Spear Guys..they must be hiding away.”
“...!!” Kersti gasped. “Look!”
Kesi was wrestling two Royal Distorters with his bare hands, he took the two distorters by their arms and SMASHED their palms against each other, cracking both of their jewel eyes, and destroying them.
“AAAHAHAHAHA!!! Mario, Kersti!!” He ran over to them, a Royal Distorter sneaking up on him from behind.
Kersti spoke up. “K-Kesi! Behind y-”
Kesi hit the Royal Distorter with the back of his fist, it instantly went down. “I figured you'd all be back! I was about to die of boredom, fighting these things by myself!!”
“..There's too many of them, one after the other!
It..it's almost as if they were stalling me by attacking, and corrupting the environment around me.”
“We're better off teaming up, and just..OVERPOWERING them! You know?”
“Tch, couldn't agree more!” Bowser said. “Let's GET EM!!”
“We can't afford to hold anything back! Right Mario?” Kersti asked.
Mario nodded.
(Our first monster of the area, THIS thing can sometimes just drop from the sky on you!)
(It’s a beast with long, jagged, flaming curly horns, hollowed out eyes and a soulless, never fading massive smile, it hangs upside down from the ceilings during battle, it's long, thin arms reach all the way down with MASSIVE sharp claws, it's whole body completely black with flames burning it's claws and fleeing it's eyeholes.)
(This is called Freefolly)
(Kersti's tattle says:)
“This freak is Freefolly, WIPE THAT SMILE OFF YOUR FACE!!”
“....Max HP is [#], attack is [#], defense is [#], it'll reach it's head down at you for a headbutt, make its horns jab at you rapidly, grab you and toss you HIGH in the air before you crash down HARD, and even shoot tiny fireballs that bounce and EXPLODE on contact unless you block!”
“...Seriously, can this thing get that STUPID smile off its face!? It's…c-creeping me out!”
(Up next, we have a shadowy humanoid figure in a torn red suit, with a white shirt and a black tie, this creature is immensely tall and thin, wavering around and barely able to keep balance, its body slightly hunched down.)
(This…is the Dark Lurker)
(Kersti's tattle says:)
“That's a Dark Lurker! They strike without warning, senselessly, before returning to the darkness.”
“Max HP is [#], attack is [#], defense is [#].”
“They're prone to toppling on their opponents, they can freakishly break apart and launch their body parts at us, become one with the shadows and be invulnerable, jump like frogs and crash down on us, or just do a bunch of crazy stomps! Their moves are quick, but they move so wonky it can get confusing!! Makes me wonder if it's intentional…”
(Some of the Reksict Totems can become sentient as well!)
(Kersti's tattle says)
“That's a Reksict Totem! Tall, bulky totems with bezerk faces on them!”
“Max HP is [#], attack is [#], defense is [#]!”
“Each face will attack on the totem in one turn! Some will breathe blue fire, some can spew out buzzsaws that slowly glide on the floor, some will shoot out three poisonous arrows REALLY fast, or the totem pole can just split apart and toss itself at us!”
(After all the Royal Distorters are beaten..)
Kesi grabs the last Royal Distorter with his bare hands.
“NGGHRRRAAAAAAAAGGH!!!”
He then jumps HIGH into the air, RIPPING the Royal Distorter out of the earth, and FLIES back down for a suplex!
Immediately upon contact, the Royal Distorter is eradicated in a massive flashy explosion!
All the spawns of Reksict's forces once again flee the planet!
“All RIGHT! More stupid hands down!” Bowser laughed.
“Whew…you know, all this chaos makes me really appreciate the boring moments I have at home..” Luigi said.
Peach clapped her hands. “Three areas to go! We're almost there!!!”
Kersti patted Kesi's back. “You GOTTA teach me that finishing move! That suplex was AWESOME!!”
Kesi laughed triumpantly.
“I've seen better.”
That voice sent a chill down everyone's spine.
Everyone looked behind them to see..him.
Reksict stared them down with a malicious smile. “Hehehahahaha.”
They all gasped.
“R..R-Reksict…you..got out?” Kersti's voice trembled.
“Oh, don't give me that “gAsP”! ” Reksict said, gasping mockingly. “OF COURSE I GOT OUT!!”
“Did you REALLY think a few chains were enough to hold me!?”
“I'm BEYOND any silly tricks you all have up your sleeves now!”
He grinned down at them. “ Yeah, I just kinda managed to break out after struggling enough."
“..And, you know what? Maybe, in a way, Rosalina was right.”
“Toiling in those shackles, with nowhere to go, but in my own head, made me realize something.”
“I have to absolutely stop all of you.”
“My goals are beyond anyone's understanding.”
“So… ” He cracked his knuckles. “We're just gonna end this, right now..”
Kesi got in front of everyone. “Brother…I never wanted it to come to this.”
“Good! Because it won't. At least not yet.”
Reksict snapped his fingers, and Kesi was floating in the air.
“Huh!?!? Put me down, NOW!!”
“My inferior brother..you should rest. Head back to the Observatory. I'll have to deal with you and the other traitors later.”
Kesi didn't get to say anything before immediately vanishing.
“..NOW then! Have you all said your goodbyes!?”
“Sad that I have to rush along the whole final boss thing, but we just gotta live with that!”
“N-NO!! GET AWAY!!!!” Kersti shouted.
The heroes backed away as Reksict stepped closer, knowing full well they were still weak from battle.
“What's the matter?”
“Scared of the big bad, unstoppable force of nature ending your games?”
“Hehehe…”
“I just want to let you all know that you only have yourselves to blame for all this.”
Reksict looked at them with an insane smile.
“FAREWELL!”
The heroes try to run, but Reksict initiates the battle!
Can't flee this fight!
Reksict crashes onto the stage, your whole audience runs away in fear, Reksict laughs maniacally, shaking the stage.
“..HAHAHAHAHA!!!”
“A shame, this will be our final fight.”
“Why? Because I'm just going to obliterate all of you!”
“....”
“..But, that's a tad boring, and I am feeling a little generous today.”
“I'll give you all three turns to try to come up with some stupid plan, use them wisely!”
(Here you are, facing Reksict!)
(He gives you THREE turns without him attacking to try and face him.)
(Kersti's tattle says:)
“That's Limitbroken Reksict! He's truly beyond our strength, just like he said…”
“...I can't read his strength at all!! He's just too powerful, I can't tell!”
“He gave us all three turns to come up with something, is there ANYTHING we can do!? Come on!!!”
(As a surprise to no one, once again, you can't damage him AT ALL, every time you attack him, he just laughs at you instead of having any hurt animation, as if he's just toying with you.)
(After the first turn)
“...Huh, I'm sorry. I zoned out, did you guys even attack?”
“Well, that was one turn well spent. But I'm sure you guys will use the next one wisely.”
“TWO turns to go!”
(No matter what, you can't hurt him at all…)
(After the second turn)
“As I thought, I don't feel a thing! Its like you're just poking me!!”
“..I gotta say, I'm enjoying every moment of your hopeless little efforts.”
“Seeing you foolishly try with all your strength to find SOME sort of method to ACTUALLY damage me!”
“ ‘Oh! Maybe this ability! No no no, this special attack will work!’ “
“ ‘Wait, WAIT! Maybe I need better Super Stickers? Should I try stacking up effects?’ “
“So much is probably circling through your mind right now.”
“But I gave you a lose-lose situation.”
“..And just like that, there's only one turn left, and it's GAME OVER, do you hear me!? GAME OVER. I MEAN it!”
“At this point, the smartest thing to do would be to surrender.”
(After the third turn)
“..Heheh.”
“Well, you can't say I didn't let you try.”
“Are you ready? I won't even need to try hard.”
“Here we go, Team Mario! GOOD NIGHT!”
(Reksict slowly winds up a punch that does 999 damage to Mario, then winds up a FASTER punch that does 999 damage to Kersti, and then fires a massive blast that does 999 damage repeatedly to everyone!)
(Not even blocking or superguarding saves you.)
(Everyone immediately fell..)
“FEEL ME!!!!”
“...?”
“H..Hey, is it getting bright in here, or is it just m-”
Just then, Reksict was STRUCK DOWN with the same starry chains from before!
“MARIOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!”
Polari flew down with all due speed, and quickly spiraled around Team Mario.
Team Mario was revived!
“I…W-WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?!?” Kersti shouted.
“My whole life flashed before my eyes for a second there!!”
“No time for talking! Here!!”
Polari handed the heroes blue, star shaped pendants.
Team Mario got the Power Pendants!
Polari noticed Reksict struggling intensely, the chains already breaking.
“!!! Mario, Kersti, everyone!! I don't have much time to explain, listen VERY CAREFULLY.”
“Make sure to BLOCK Reksict's attacks, okay!?”
“And charge up your special gauge to the MAXIMUM! It will grant you a new move to use against-”
“NGGHGAAARRRRRRRRAAAAAAAGHHH!!!!”
Reksict quickly breaks his binds again, and lets out a maddened roar of sheer frustration, sending Polari flying away.
(Reksict immediately does the same attacks again, if you DON'T block, you WILL take 999 damage again, but if you do block, you won't take much damage at all!)
(Superguarding will also make you take no damage!)
(After you survive the attack:)
“You…YOU!!!”
“THAT'S IT. I'M JUST GONNA ERASE ALL OF YOU, NO MERCY!!!”
(The REAL battle begins now!)
(As you fight, more of your audience returns, and you have to fill up your special meter all the way!)
(Doing this, you get a new move unlocked:)
(Super Starman Beam)
(-Overpowers Sticker Power.)
(Your goal for this fight is to survive long enough to fill up your super gauge for the Super Starman Beam!)
(Once then, you HAVE to use it on Reksict!)
(When you use the beam..)
(A GIANT beam shoots out at Reksict that takes up the ENTIRE screen!)
Reksict let's out a wail of agony as he is blasted.
“NEYAAAAAAAAAGGHH!!!”
“That…purifying starlight!!!”
“IT BUUUUUUURRRRRNNS!!!!!”
Reksict desperately shoves it away, and flies away immediately.
“Huff…puff…whew..” Kersti held herself.
“That was far too close..” Peach said. “Let's hope he doesn't come back for more..”
“Oh, he will. Trust me. I know his type!” Bowser said.
“Sheesh, well WE'D best not run into him again! He obliterated us like it was nothing!!” Luigi said.
Mario spoke to Luigi.
“Yeah, you're right bro. Point is that we stopped another attack! Let's hurry back to the Observatory!”
“Three areas to go, right?”
(Returning to the Comet Observatory…)
“...Do you REALLY think they'll be okay?” Kesi asked.
Ekris nodded. “Absolutely, I just saw them hold their own very well.”
“Yeah, relax. Seriously, it's only gonna hurt you…” Ceri said.
“..Kersti!” Teris looked at her.
The team walked over.
“We saved another area!” Kersti said.
“AND we beat Reksict!” Bowser said.
“..Well, “beat” is a strong word..” Peach said.
“Ah! So my power pendants worked perfectly!” Polari said.
“I REALLY had to devote a lot of time to that thing to make sure it was ready!”
Rosalina sighed. “..I knew Reksict would break free, but I didn't think it would be so soon.”
“He is truly formidable.”
“Everyone, if I may have your attention…”
Everyone looked to Rosalina.
“Reksict has not only broke free of his prison, but…”
“He has also used it against us..”
Rosalina's monitor showed the Sticker Comet.
Massive dark purple chains now spiraled around the comet…
“...No way…” Ceri stared at the scene.
“...Only Reksict and his forces can pass through this barrier. Nothing else stands a chance.” Rosalina said.
“...But, there is still hope.”
“The device that I am working on..”
“It can not only destroy Reksict's limitbroken form, but also destroy this barrier.”
“And, it is 75% complete already.”
“Already? Whew, that's fast!” Kersti said.
“So, we should just keep going until then?”
“Mario.” Rosalina started. “ Your team will continue their mission.”
“As for the Royal Sticker Guardians, a higher calling awaits you.”
“When the barrier is down, you all will venture to the Sticker Comet with Mario and his team, and take back your home.”
“Please forward this message to any guardians that return.”
“Does everyone understand?”
“Roger!” Ceri saluted.
“Got it!” Kesi nodded.
“Sounds like a plan. I will prepare.” Ekris replied.
“It’s for the best.” Teris said.
The Guardians leave.
“Don't you worry about us, we're ready to go!” Kersti said.
Rosalina nodded. “Then, your next mission will take you back to Shiver City.”
(Let's get right back to the action.)
Heading to the Usurped Shiver City, our heroes find that it's nothing like it once was.
Amidst a harsh snowstorm, hail rains from the sky in giant chunks of ice.
The snow is now an unnatural bright teal, jagged green ice has consumed entire homes in its wrath.
Entire sections of the ground are caved in with strange, purple ice lakes that are DEATHLY cold.
(The song here doesn't even sound close to any Shiver City song, just a chaotic song with Reksict's leitmotif as part of it in places.)
The heroes make their landing.
Kersti held herself and tried to keep her body steady against the freezing cold storm. “U-Ugh..sh-sh-shoulda p-p-put on a s-s-sweater like my m-mom said…this is much c-c-colder..than anything I've f-felt bef-f-fore..”
“G-Gotta..keep myself moving f-for warmth…”
Bowser laughed as he burned at ice all around him. “HA! This stuff still means nothing to my fire breath!!”
“But..the city..the homes..” Peach looked around.
“OH, THE HUMANITYYYYY!!!”
“Eh!?” Luigi looked ahead. “That voice!!”
Everyone ran over to see none other than Perily, crying out in pain amidst the snowstorm.
“Perily! What's wrong?” Asked Luigi.
“Where's Heim??” Kersti added.
“L..Look..”
Perily showed them Heim, imprisoned in ice.
“!?!?!”
Peach gasped. “H-Heim? The man who ran the lift?”
“He..” Perily sniffed. “..He fought to protect everyone..to make sure everyone evacuated to his castle…all by himself…”
“I-I'm so pathetic..I got caught by one of those..dreaded hands…Heim protected me..saved me..b-but..he's..”
Perily just burst into tears.
“What a CRYBABY!!” Bowser growled.
“BOWSER!!” Peach looked at him fiercely.
“No, outta my way, NOW!”
Bowser shoved everyone out of the way and breathed fire at Heim.
……..
Heim was slowly dethawed!
“...Uuuugh..no, mommy…turn the heat off…” Mumbled Heim.
“..Huh!? Perily? You're okay??”
“Oh, HEIM!!!” Perily cried and hugged him.
Heim nervously blushed. “Sh-Sheesh…n-not in front of everyone…”
“..Thank the stars you're alright, my handmaid.” Said the cold Twilighter. “What are you still doing out here?”
“I'm NOT leaving you behind, especially not now!!” Perily said.
“Oh, thank you, Koopa King!!” The maid Twilighter said with utter gratitude.
“Bwahaha! Nothin I can't do!” Bowser laughed. “Ice? What ice!? It's NOTHING to me! I don't even know what cold is!”
“....Looks like there's more of those monsters around..” Heim looked up and all around, standing up.
“Well, as much as I'd love to greet all of you, I'm not done tangling with these fellas yet!!”
“You'll still fight!?” Perily said in shock. “But aren't you weak from battle!?”
“Chilly? Maybe. Weak? Far from it! I'm ready to rumble!” Heim balled up his fists. “I'm a champ! I got a rep to uphold!!”
“..Well, I am your handmaid, and I vowed to protect you, so I shall help as well!” Perily nodded.
Luigi tipped his cap. “Well, we're all on your side too! Let's get these guys!!”
(Perily and Heim join you to face off against the Royal Distorters of this area.)
(The Royal Distorters now have the blue royal sticker atfack!)
(Heim supports you with attacks against foes, Perily supports you with healing and stat buffs!)
(Also, I only recently found out about the Gloom Hands in Tears of The Kingdom while writing this, the Royal Distorters aren't meant to be inspired by them or anything, frankly i got the idea for them gameplay wise from epic mickey and design wise from older zelda titles and kirby games, the fact the Gloom Hands look a bit similar is a funny coincidence.)
(Now, the enemies:)
(These are statues of the same greenish blue snow that vaguely look like sentient snow people they ALWAYS attack in huge groups, kinda like the Fuzzy Horde from TTYD.)
(This is the Yuki-Yukihitos.)
(These guys are based on these "snow monsters" in japan I found out about one day. Pretty interesting actually)
(Kersti's tattle says)
"Ugggh..these things look so uncanny..."
"..That's a Yuki-Yukihito! A sentient(?) snow shaped..thing."
"Max HP is [#], attack is [#], defense is [#]."
"Yeah, I know they're pretty weak, but don't be fooled! These things come in TEAMS, and will all attack at once by pelting snowballs at us! Or they'll all just DOGPILE us!"
"They all share HP, and their attacks become weaker and weaker as we take em out."
"Obviously, fire is the recommended play here.."
(We next have these glowing greenish blue floating snowflakes with a single red eye in the center, these are the Korimita.)
(Kersti's tattle says:)
"That's a Korimita! A strange sentient snowflake."
"Max HP is [#], attack is [#], defense is [#]."
"These guys fly around, so a fire flower or some other fire move that hits enemies in the air can make short work of em."
"They'll charge at us, float over to us and spin like buzzsaws, doing a buncha chip damage, or EXPLODE, with a chance of freezing us!"
"Yeah, they're pretty annoying, we better mop them up quickly."
(Lastly, we have a shadowy figure that's supposed to have a full body but their body is completely frozen in massive spiky ice, their body underneath not even visible, arms with more spikey ice and huge sharp ice claws for hands.)
(This is the Koriyaketa.)
(Kersti's tattle says:)
"Woah..this is the Koriyaketa, a being almost completely consumed by ice. Just looking at it makes me cold..."
"Max HP is [#], attack is [#], defense is [#]."
"It’s ice is WAY too spikey to jump on, and if given the chance, this thing will freeze us completely!"
"It has really long range strikes due to its long ice arms, it can shoot out icicles from its body, do a crazy backflip into us, or rain down massive balls of hail from the sky!"
"We better melt this thing as soon as possible!"
(Beyond Shiver City, there's a straight up HUGE crack in the world, a GIANT CHASM of icy water death below, moving from floating platforms and crumbled debris to make your way to Castle Enigma!)
(Now, onto Castle Enigma…)
Castle Enigma is now twisted and spiraling, a dark green color with Royal Distorters ALL OVER IT!
Heim was shocked for a moment, but the shock turned into anger as he cracked his knuckles and ran to it. “This way, ladies and gentlemen!! Everyone's in here!!!”
The team, + Perily followed Heim inside, hastily dodging huge falling ice from the hailstorm.
They burst through the doors…
What a nightmare!!!!
Royal Distorters and spawns left and right moving about erratically in the castle, Reksict's menacing regime owned this place.
“...MAYDAY, MAYDAY!!!!!”
Suddenly, Eskee CRASHED into the castle, a Royal Distorter pinning her down, but Eskee gathered all the debris in the room to form a forcefield around herself and knock it away, before jumping up, using the debris to make her shoes big and spiky, then STOMPING the Royal Distorter into nothing.
“Eskee!!! ….Sheesh, how do you just..get back UP from that!?” Kersti said.
Eskee kicked some rubble out of her way. “I could ask you the same thing! You had me worried!!!”
“...Look, I'm gonna be honest with you guys, EVERYWHERE I look, these freaks are inbound!”
“I'm gonna need help taking down the rest of them, I'll support you guys while I gather more strength, sounds like a plan?”
“..Yes! You all go with your friend!” Said the Castle's owner, Heim. “I will hurry and insure the safety of the evacuated, Perily?”
“R-Right behind you, sir!” Perily took his hand.
Perily and Heim left.
“Man, one war after another…” Luigi gulped nervously. “Reksict’s really been infecting more and more places!!!”
“Yes, and I fear the worst is yet to come..onward, everyone!” Peach said.
(You now go through the barely recognizable Castle Enigma, more Royal Distorters here than any other area, but Eskee is here to back you up with strong attacks!)
(Scale the floors of the castle, facing off Royal Distorters all over!)
(But after taking them all out…)
Our heroes find themselves at the top of the castle, the dreaded hailstorm raging all around them.
“Is…is that it!? We're good here!?” Bowser looked around, fists tightened.
………….
….!!
Just when our heroes were about to breathe a sigh of relief…
“No…” Eskee and Kersti said in unison.
Suddenly, a BLITZKRIEG of Royal Distorters soar into the air and surround the castle, spiraling around it, the castle rumbles with intensity..
“WHOAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!” Luigi ducked for cover.
Bowser slashed around frantically with his claws.
“TAKE COVER!” Peach shouted.
Royal Distorters bash into the heroes from all sides, Eskee barely backflipping out of the way.
“I-Impossible!! There's so many of them!! How can we take them all out!?” Kersti said.
“..HEHEHEHEHE!!!!” Eskee laughed.
Everyone looked at her strangely.
“You mean, ‘How can I take them all out?’”
“And the answer is THIS!!”
Eskee stretched her arms out wide and floated into the air.
Huge balls of ice from down below and snow gathered around her..
“What's she doing!?” Bowser said.
“...Wait, is she–” Luigi said, but he was cut off, being carried into the air by the cold breeze.
Peach, Bowser, Mario, and Kersti found themselves floating to Eskee, she glowed in a blue light..
Kersti looked up at her. “Eskee, you're-”
…
In an instant, Team Mario stirred awake to a pleasant cold..
Everyone got up to a white, snowy area, blue trees gently rustled against one another, and in the center, right above their heads..
…Was Eskee, floating, staring forward.
Outside of the snowy area..
..Everyone found themselves inside of the Eskee Ice Statue!
From inside the statue, Eskee looked down at everyone, eyes glowing blue.
“You guys just get comfortable!!!”
Returning outside, Eskee controlled the Ice Statue, just slapping and punching at Royal Distorters effortlessly.
It wasn't long before they started..running away?
Eskee watched all of the Royal Distorters soar off into a specific direction, just a few miles in front of her.
All the Royal Distorters gathered and spiraled around each other.
“...What are they doing!?” Bowser shouted.
The Royal Distorters flashed brightly constantly…
Suddenly, a bright EXPLOSION was made as all the remaining Royal Distorters in the whole area morphed into one GIANT one, about the size of Eskee's ice statue.
“AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!” Eskee laughed, her ice statue giving her a booming voice as she beat her chest.
“So, THIS is how we're gonna play!? FINE! Would have been too easy to just crush you all anyways!”
“Let's RUMBLE!!”
(To end off this area's struggles, you play as Eskee's GIANT ice statue and combat the giant Royal Distorter.)
(You move around in 3D as the Royal Distorter quickly lunges at you for attacks, firing energy blasts, lasers, or utilizing Royal Sticker attacks.)
(Eskee can throw punches, stomp down on it, gather huge balls of ice and toss them, blow ice breath to temporarily freeze it, or send clutters of debris at it.)
(The Royal Distorter can do quite a bit of damage if it hits you, so it's a good thing you have Eskee's REINFORCE move! You can cover yourself in a snowy shield that will tank damage until its destroyed! You can't just spam it though, you'll need time to recharge it before you can use it again.)
(You'll do damage if you hit any part of the Royal Distorter, but throwing stuff DIRECTLY at the eye does greater damage!)
(Halfway through its hp, the Royal Distorter moves a lot faster, and can drag you close with laser strings from its fingers that you have to break out of, otherwise take chip damage for every second you don't get out, and just move around erratically to get you!)
(Take down its remaining HP and that's it!)
The Giant Royal Distorter wails in agony and convulses.
Eskee grins, cracking her knuckles..
“..HEHEHEHEHEHEHEAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
Laughing, Eskee's giant ice statue ran at the Royal Distorter, hand raised and glowing in power.
She GRABS the Royal Distorter by its hand face, her fingers entangled in its fingers as she struggles to smash it down, but the Royal Distorter pushes against her.
The two entered an intense arm wrestle, for the sake of what remains of the frosty land…
By the time the heroes made it to the top of the castle, everyone came out of Castle Enigma.
They looked up at Eskee, giving it her all….
“ESKEE! ESKEE! ESKEE! ESKEE! ESKEE! ESKEE! ESKEE! ESKEE!!!!”
Eskee's grin grew wider, her grip tightened, with relentless power, she brought her fist back down and slammed the Royal Distorter into the ground!
A shockwave went out, and the giant Royal Distorter, along with all the remaining Royal Distorters, was destroyed.
The people cheered in relief as the hailstorm ceased, and Reksict's spawns fled the planet.
The heroes gently floated down on a nice, cool breeze, Eskee's arms crossed with a smug grin, the mighty storm was now reduced to a gentle snowfall.
“.........Whoa. Guess this shortstack has some fight in her after all.” Bowser said.
“Yeah, I know. ” Eskee replied smugly.
“Wheeew, great job, Eskee! Hehe, I bet everyone here will REALLY respect you now!” Kersti said with a smile.
Eskee chuckled happily. “Hehehe..thanks, Kersti. That really means a lot..”
“But I have you guys to thank, needed a lot of Sticker Power to pull off that giant form, and you guys doing most of the fighting in the castle allowed me to recharge my power.”
“But that fight…I don't think I'll be able to take on that form again, not without my Royal Sticker, at least.”
“Aw, really? Bummer.” Bowser started. “Oh well, don't need you biting my “turning giant” style anymore, anyways.”
“An exEMPLARY preformance, my friends!”
Heim walked over to them, Perily and everyone followed suit.
“As expected from the slayers of the beasts that haunted my castle way back when!”
The Mayor of Shiver City spoke up. “But..what of our homes? That giant ice chasm between the castle and our city..”
Heim sighed. “I wouldn't bother worrying about that for a while, all the homes we saw back in the city were frozen over..”
“But fear not! I shall let all of you stay in my castle for the time being!”
Perily bowed. “We have plenty of rooms, let us get out of this weather and warm up in the castle..”
Perily led the people back inside.
Heim was starting to follow, but he turned back to everyone.
“...I don't entirely know what's going on.”
“But, I'm positive that you all will be able to handle it. So I have nothing to worry about.”
“..Absolutely.” Peach said. “Our courage is unflinching. I assure you.”
Heim nodded. “I wish fortune smiles upon you all.”
“...YAAAAWN!!”
“Sheesh, I'm tuckered out.”
“If you guys need someplace to rest, as before, you're always welcome.”
“Now then, if you'll excuse me..”
As Heim left, Mario waved “Bye-bye!”
“You know what? That guy was speaking my language..” Eskee said, stretching.
“I gotta haul my butt to the Observatory and take a quick siesta.”
“See you guys there!”
Eskee stomped, and suddenly, a huge pillar of snow shot up beneath her, propelling her far over the huge chasm.
Luigi tipped his cap. “Okay! So..two areas left, already?”
“..Th-That was a whole lotta Royal Distorters that time, though, we'd best prepare for the worst!”
(You now head back to the Observatory.)
(But once you reach Shiver City…)
A HUGE BEAM shot down at the team, knocking them all away!
Thousands of beams shot down soon after that our heroes BARELY dodged by running around like crazy!
“ GIVE UP AND DIE ALREADY!!!”
Reksict crashed down with his fist, scattering everyone around him.
Everyone hastily got back up, looking at Reksict as he raised his big form.
“You all still find your ways to being UTTERLY INSUFFERABLE!”
“But no matter. I can keep this up for as long as I need to. Hunting you all down like cattle, over..and over..and over..until you're all GONE .”
“REKSICT!!” Kersti spoke up. “How do we fix these lands? I KNOW you have a way!”
“Fix? What!? What's done is DONE. There is no REVERSING the changes I made!”
“Y..Y-You're bluffing!!” Luigi said. “Like we'd believe you!”
“It doesn't matter WHO perishes, whether it's me, or all the Royal Distorters, you'll NEVER find a way to save your petty little world!!”
“Don't you guys get it? I've already WON!”
“No you HAVEN'T!!” Peach said. “We WILL find a way, I swear it!”
“Tch, believe what you want to. I've had you guys doing exactly what I wanted from the very start!”
“Beating the Royal Sticker Guardians out of their messed up state, getting their Royal Stickers, bringing them all to me and trying to stop me..”
“It was ALL according to my plan!”
“But I've long since lost the need for all of you, so now you BURN!!”
(Limitbroken Reksict engages you once again!)
“I shouldn't have gone easy on you to begin with, a mistake I will not make again.”
“Go ahead and roll the dice for your life.”
(You have to beat Reksict the same way as you did before, but from now on Reksict not only does not give you free turns, but he uses more of the attacks he used against Rosalina on you, so you've GOT to be careful!)
(Fill up the special gauge, charge up the Super Starman Beam, use it, and you'll be done!)
The Super Starman Beam once again engulfs Reksict in its power..
“GNNRRRAAAAAAAYYYEERRAAAAAAHH!!!”
“THE..THE POWER..HOW!? HOW HAVE YOU FOUND A WAY!?”
“ENOUGH, ENOUGH!!!!”
Reksict shoves the beam away once again, and desperately flies off of the planet.
“I…wow…” Kersti breathed heavily. “He..he almost got us this time..”
“Heh, loved seeing him get blasted away though!” Bowser said, laughing a bit weakly.
“Man, this next break is gonna be well deserved, that was too close..” Luigi said.
“Hm? What's that, Mario?” Peach tilted her head.
Mario spoke to her.
“You're right, we should head straight for the Observatory, the Launch Star should be just a bit further..”
Our heroes went back to the Observatory…
…Only to realize that Reksict truly meant war.
Making their descent, they saw that 75% of the Comet Observatory has been USURPED!
Royal Distorters loomed over the Observatory, ALL OVER THE PLACE , no Lumas in sight, a dark brown color overtook the Observatory, The Terrace, Bathroom, Library , and Engine domes were completely changed, flashing sirens all around, cracks in places, the grassy floor was black, dangerous machinery everywhere..it was a pure nightmare.
“WOAH!!! WHAT IS ALL THIS!?” Kersti looked around.
“I..even the OBSERVATORY isn't safe!?”
Peach gasped. “How could he have done this..that monster! He must have sent Royal Distorters here while we were busy in Shiver City!!”
“A-And, hey! Where's Rosalina!!?” Luigi said.
“AIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!!”
Rosalina was blasted out of the sky, crashing down onto the observatory.
Everyone ran over to her.
“Huff..puff..”
Rosalina got up.
“These things…shortly after Eskee arrived, I checked up on the guardians..and just then, they all arrived..”
“I..am deeply worried about my Lumas, they are all hiding away in the Gateway to the Starry Sky…”
“The Royal Sticker Guardians….were gravely exhausted after defending the other areas, so they now rest there as well..”
“Then..please go and protect them, and your kin.” Peach said. “We..we can take care of this..”
Rosalina looked at them all immediately. “N-No! Look at yourselves, you're exhausted! Please..”
“Oh, what to do..what to do..”
“SORRY I'M LATE, FELLAS!!!”
A loud voice from a speaker boomed above them..
“!!! That voice!!!” Kersti gasped.
Down from the sky, arrived a familiar looking tank..
It was the Ristic Weapon!
Out from the top emerged Ristic! “Sorry I'm fashionably late, guys! Just had to do some extra work on this thing, but I'm just in time for the “Shooting Hands with a Tank” party!!”
“Ristic! The others were wondering where you went..” Rosalina said.
“Rosalina! Take five, okay? Go make sure those cute lil Lumas are okay, I'll take it from here!” Ristic finger gunned her.
“I..thank you.” Rosalina nodded and quickly flew away.
Ristic then turned to Team Mario. “Alright, hop in!”
“You came all the way here and rebuilt that to help us!!?” Bowser asked.
“Bahahahah!! No!” Ristic said, flexing his toned, thin body. “I came all the way here and rebuilt this to take over for you guys!”
“Hop in here and just chillax while I blow these guys sky high!”
Everyone nodded to one another and hopped inside of the Ristic Weapon!
Ristic went down to the controls, cracking his knuckles. “Alright..it's my turn to pull the weight. Let's get this party started!”
(THIS mission is different! You'll be controlling the Ristic Weapon and moving around the Observatory, shooting at Royal Distorters like nobody's business.)
(The only enemies here are Royal Distorters.)
(Dodge their attacks, come at em with the tank, you can even hover for a short time and use jet propulsion to move faster!)
(You even get to use the moves from the Ristic Weapon’s boss fight, like the Last Laugh Blast!)
(The song here is, once again nothing like a song for the Comet Observatory, it's a fast paced beat with grungy metal guitar at times, you use the teleporters to get the tank to the higher areas, and just make your way to the top while shooting down Royal Distorters on the way, and hey! There's even a first person mode!!)
(After you make your way to the top and conquer the final one..)
The final Royal Distorter desperately jerked away.
Ristic grinned. “Hehe. Time to finish this one off with style.”
Ristic exited the tank, the others followed, but Ristic stood atop his tank, facing the Royal Distorter.
The Royal Distorter slowly draws close to Ristic.
Ristic pulled out a bomb. “This one's for Isle Delfino, you-”
In an instant, Ristic was blasted straight through the chest, the bomb fell out of his hand.
“RISTIIIIIIC!!!!!” Kersti shouted.
Ristic couldn't even get out a single word, what with the gaping hole where his lungs would be…
The Royal Distorter grabbed Ristic tightly.
Everyone looked up in utter shock, the world dead silent.
Ristic faintly tried to speak. “g..g..gh..”
...Ristic's head suddenly sprang off, his eyes all googly as his head bounced out of place like a jack in the box.
“..Gotcha.”
The fake Ristic suddenly emitted a big explosion!
The Royal Distorter rapidly writhed in pain before vanishing in a flash of light.
The REAL Ristic leapt out with a somersault, and stuck the landing beside the team.
“Ristic!!! I should have known!” Kersti punched his arm lightly.
“Like I'd just drop dead like that, c'mon!” Ristic laughed and ruffled her hair a bit.
“...Darn it, that was kinda cool.” Bowser said.
(A melancholy, sad, slower version of Rosalina's Observatory theme starts playing.)
Soon after, Rosalina returns with her Lumas.
They look around the Observatory…
….
Most of it was corrupted by Reksict.
The Terrace was completely locked off, Reksict's disturbing smile on it, The Bathroom's waters were an unnatural purple.
The Library's books were completely changed…all the books were changed to foretell of Reksict's vengeance, and the demise of Team Mario.
The Engine had eerie electricity enemating from it, and was deemed unsafe.
Rosalina sighed, and held her face, ashamed of what has become of her beautiful home, Lumas held onto her gently, as Polari rubbed her back.
Peach gently hugged as many Lumas as she could.
Bowser just looked away in silence.
Ristic lowered his head, stomping his foot, fighting back tears of rage. “ Darn it …”
“I..Ms. Rosalina, I'm so sorry..if I arrived quicker, maybe I could have…”
Rosalina wiped her face. “No, Ristic. I sincerely thank you for your help.”
“Your weapon was able to get rid of them before they could have corrupted the entire Observatory.”
“My beloved Garden , the Bedroom , and the Kitchen are still safe and sound, thanks to your noble efforts.”
“....Still..I…”
“....”
Ristic slowly crossed his arms and looked down, a shadow cascaded over his eyes.
“....I should..go and check up on the others, I'll get right to work on repairing my armor too.”
“...Adios.”
Ristic walks away.
Kersti tried speaking up. “R..-sniff-..Rosalina..”
“I'm sorry too, we should have went back to check on you sooner.”
Rosalina spoke up immediately. “And let the people of the Shiver City further suffer under that horrible hailstorm? You have nothing to apologize for, Kersti.”
“And the same goes for all of you.”
“You all have done very well.”
“I remember all the storybooks by heart, anyways.”
“..If I may borrow everyone's attention..”
Polari spoke, and gestured for everyone to join him over by the screen.
Everyone followed.
Polari put the screen back on.
“..We are getting closer and closer to ending ALL of this!”
“Only two areas remain..”
“Bowser's Castle..”
“...And Comet Tower.”
Kersti gasped, pointing to the screen. “Bowser, look! All the work we've done beating up Royal Distorters has weakened Reksict's hold on the world.”
“We can get to your castle now!”
Luigi sighed. “A shame we couldn't have accessed it sooner, eh?”
“Gnrrraagh..better late than never!!!” Bowser said. “Let's hurry over there!”
“..But uh, you guys take a quick break and prepare n’ stuff, I want EVERYONE on their ‘A’ GAME!”
Peach nodded. “..Right you are, Bowser!”
“Things are only going to get more and more dangerous.”
“Mario, Kersti, everyone..”
“The least we can do is save our lands from further devastation.”
“...For now.”
“But we must focus on stopping these things, and Reksict!”
Mario nodded.
“Okay, guys..let’s get back to it.” Kersti said.
(From now on, this depressing version of the comet observatory theme plays every time you're here.)
(Once ready, your next mission will take you to the Usurped Bowser Castle.)
The world is dark, lightning crackling down rapidly.
Our heroes get a good view of the castle, and it is nothing like it once was, more so than when it was changed before..
It's a twisted castle, completely golden, Reksict’s face all over the place, blue flames billowing out all over, machinery seen overtaking most of it.
Bowser pounded his fists together with aggression, the whole team descended to the castles front doors, Reksict's face on the door with a twisted open smile.
“YOUR UNBEATABLENESS!!!!”
Bowser looked behind him to see Kammy Koopa rapidly approaching on her broomstick.
“It’s been ages since we've seen you! What kept you!?”
“..Reksict. But forget about that! How are my troops!?” Bowser asked.
Kammy nodded. “I've gotten everyone safely aboard our airships just in time! But it's getting far too wily here..”
“Crazy jeweled hands have been popping up by the dozen! But now that you've arrived, I'm certain we can tip the scales, my king!”
“What say we head back inside and show those things what for!?”
“What do I say? I say: GWAHAHAHAHA!! Let's END this thing!”
Bowser punched down the door.
(Kammy Koopa joins you to take back the castle!)
(You go through Bowser's usurped castle, taking on far stronger enemies and tangling with those dreaded Royal Distorters, now with the orange and white royal sticker abilities!)
(There's far more dangerous obstacles than ever before as you make your climb, Kammy Koopa has her attacks in combat, including one where she can call in the airships to shoot down enemies!)
(Which is the PERFECT segway into talking about the new enemies!)
(We firstly have a shadowy figure consumed completely by black and red fire, with two white eyes, and a monsterous, dragon like head, it's torso and limbs also big because of the flames, you can faintly see a dark skeletal form underneath.)
(This is Blaze Wrath)
(Kersti's tattle says:)
"That's a Blaze Wrath! A being fully ignited in flames!"
"Max HP is [#], attack is [#], defense is [#]. Fire is fire and fire burns, so don't lemme catch you touching it..."
"It can hit the whole room with a massive heatwave, toss its flaming bones at us rapidly, or just become pure flame and try to consume us! All of these moves WILL light you afire if you aren't careful!"
"And also, for obvious reasons, you should NOT try attacking with fire."
(Up next, we have a bulky golem made entirely of flint, with flaming blue eyes and mouth.)
(This is the Dark Sparker.)
(Kersti's tattle says:)
"That's a Dark Sparker! Lemme shed some light on em for you!"
"Max HP is [#], attack is [#], defense is [#], these flint forged footsoldiers are no joke, they'll fire sparks from their fists that shoot out rapidly, or spin in place with their fists aimed at the ground to generate sparks that go in all directions, or smash their fists together to make explosions three times!"
"Really, their power lies in their defense, it should also be noted that these guys should NOT be lit afire as well!"
(Finally, we have the Grandmaster Statue.)
(A big, golden statue of Reksict holding sissor swords in each hand.)
(Kersti's tattle says:)
"That's the Grandmaster Statue! A statue of Reksict that is also a heavyweight weapon!"
"Max HP is [#], attack is [#], defense is [#], it'll stretch its arms to swing at us HARD, we HAVE to block when that happens!"
"It can toss an array of swords at us, crash into us, or even burst into flames and send its whole body at us!"
"As a rule of thumb for this guy, the slower the attack, the HARDER it'll hurt! So BLOCK!"
(The music here is, once again NOTHING like a Bowser castle theme, it's an intense, hard beat, Reksict's leitmotif all over the song.)
(If you couldn't tell, the more Reksict has taken over an area, the less the music sounds like the original area theme.)
(But all this, is only ONE HALF of the area! The other half begins when you take out all the Royal Distorters inside the castle.)
(Now, Team Mario will ride on Bowser's Airship! You get to control it!)
(For this, you fly around the Usurped Bowser Castle, shooting down Royal Distorters all over the Castle's exterior!)
(A more fast paced version of the Usurped Bowser Castle theme plays as you do this part, Royal Distorters can stretch and slash at you or blast at you from afar, and they'll move QUICK, so you gotta watch out for that.)
(You shoot these last distorters down and you're good!)
“...Alright, cease fire!!!” Bowser shouted.
Bowser pulled out a telescope, gazing over the castle. “Hm..”
He whips a cool Bowser-themed walkie talkie out of his shell. “STATUS REPORT, KOOPALINGS!”
The Koopalings reported from their airships.
Ludwig spoke. “I, the leader, reports no sign of the evil hands!”
Larry grunted. “Who said you were the–!!! I-I mean, looks good from up here!”
Iggy sighed. “Awww, no more hands!? I liked blowin em up!!”
“SPOOKY GEM EYE HANDS GONE!” Morton shouted.
“Hahaha! All gone! Those freaks had it coming!” Laughed Lemmy.
“Taken care of, boss!~” Said Wendy.
“Heck yeah! Busted em all up!” Roy guffawed.
The entire clan cheered.
Bowser laughed and answered his talkie. “OK, gang! Get down there and do some renovatin’, PRONTO!”
The Koopa Clan returned to their castle.
“GWAHAHAHAHA!!!”
“WAHOO!” Luigi jumped with joy.
Peach clapped her hands gently.
Mario tipped his cap and gave a thumbs up, Kersti smiled softly.
“MARIOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
“!?” Mario looked around frantically.
Right from below, Reksict emerged and gave the ship a MASSIVE UPPERCUT!!!
The ship flipped into the air, everyone desperately hanging on for dear life..
Kammy panicked. “MAYDAY, MAYDAY!!!”
Bowser shouted. “GET A HOLD OF THIS THING, YOU OLD BAT!!”
“!!! G-GETTING A HOLD OF IT, YOUR BRASHNESS!!”
Kammy grabbed the wheel and got the ship out of the spin.
Reksict loomed over all of them.
The heroes stared up at him.
Kammy Koopa gulped nervously.
“So, you surely can't ignore it now, can you?”
“It doesn't matter how many of my distorters you smash into nothing. Just like it didn't matter how many guardians you saved.”
“You all FAILED the moment I got my powers back.”
“The power from all that matters..”
Reksict raised his fist in the air, engulfed in power.
“...belongs to ME.”
Then DROVE IT DOWN ON THEM!
The enemy attacked first!
(Another Reksict fight! Reksict strikes FIRST to start it off, not even giving you a chance to rest after the battles you've endured, and he’s using even more of his attacks that he used on Rosalina!)
(When you charge your special gauge halfway, he starts attacking TWICE in one turn, so you HALF to be careful, and block, block, BLOCK!)
(After beating him with the Super Starman Beam again..)
The blast hits Reksict directly, it's blinding, pulsing light engulfs him.
“NnGRRAAAAAGH!!!”
“THE..THE LIGHT…”
“MUST… RESIST…”
“NGGH..AGHHH!!! NO!!! IT BURNS!!!”
Reksict desperately knocks the blast away and ascends from the planet once again.
(Bowser's Kingdom is…”saved”...)
(Already, we reach the final Usurped Area..)
( The Usurped Comet Tower)
It is completely unrecognizable.
The tower has been turned into a very dark hot pink colored giant statue of Reksict, hands in the air, laughing, Royal Distorters all over, a dark storm surrounds the top.
Stepping onto the dark cloudy ground, our heroes meet up with an exhausted Crecksi, admist a dead flower garden.
“Kersti…? Everyone?”
“You all made it…”
(You get a view of the horrifying statue from down below as she speaks.)
“...You might not recognize it, but this was once our dear Comet Tower, which withheld most of our history..”
“But now, it is absolutely uninhabitable.”
“It’s an absolute death trap, several Royal Distorters and other beasts assulted me at every corner..”
(We return to our heroes.)
“I admit that I absolutely cannot do this alone..”
“Say no more, Crecksi.” Kersti said.
Mario nodded.
“Yeah, we're here to help!” Luigi said.
“Absolutely.” Peach nodded and helped her up.
“Well, if we HAVE to..” Bowser shrugged.
“Plus, I can always go for slaying Reksict's freaks of the week!”
“All of you…thank you.” Crecksi nodded.
“I shall support you all in any way I can, believe me when I say you'll need it . This place..it's a nightmare.”
“..But we must save it, let's go!”
(The song here is a despairful, aggressive metal beat, Reksict's leitmotif all over it, as if the song is taunting you for trying to save the world.)
(You can faintly hear words like: “Life is impossible.” or “Your fate is mine.” in the background, along with Reksict's laugh pitched down to an almost monstrous sound.)
(All the murals are now written in red, and all that every mural says now is)
“REKSICT WILL KILL YOU REKSICT WILL KILL YOU REKSICT WILL KILL YOU REKSICT WILL KILL YOU REKSICT WILL KILL YOU REKSICT WILL KILL YOU REKSICT WILL KILL YOU REKSICT WILL KILL YOU REKSICT WILL KILL YOU REKSICT WILL KILL YOU REKSICT WILL KILL YOU REKSICT WILL KILL YOU REKSICT WILL KILL YOU REKSICT WILL KILL YOU REKSICT WILL KILL YOU REKSICT WILL KILL YOU REKSICT WILL KILL YOU REKSICT WILL KILL YOU REKSICT WILL KILL YOU REKSICT WILL KILL YOU REKSICT WILL KILL YOU”
(..And it just goes on like that.)
(When first reading one, Kersti will say:)
“Wh-Who wrote these!?” Kersti backed away in horror.
(Speaking of killing, onto the enemies!)
(We first have a entity with a round body, and the head of a crow with dark blue eyes, shadowy wings, and several golden talons floating and spinning around it.)
(This is the Necrow.)
(Kersti's tattle says:)
"That's a Necrow! A multiclawed death bird!"
"Max HP is [#], attack is [#], defense is [#]."
"It'll let out a painful "CRAAAW!!!" that'll blast at us as a soundwave, or send a murder of crows our way, or lunge over, slashing and scratching at us with all its talons!"
"What's worse is that it can straight up grab one of us and fly us outta battle! The person who gets flied away will be unable to fight until the battle is over."
(We next have a fake Ruff Puff, a much bigger cloud with dark blue flaming eyes and a jack-o-lantern frown and big, sharp, jagged spikes.)
(This is a Corruff Puff.)
(Kersti's tattle says:)
"That's a Corruff Puff! Don't be fooled! This is a FAKE puff, one of Reksict's spawns is masqurading as one!"
"Max HP is [#], attack is [#], defense is [#]."
"It will randomly shift to a different element to charge up for an attack, it can be ice, fire, electricity, poison, sleep gas, all that!"
"It’s ramming attack does way more damage because it'll bash, THEN jerk its spikes out!"
(Lastly, we have a VERY monsterous depiction of Reksict as a mural, and when I say monsterous, I mean MONSTEROUS, like something out of those Japanese folklore scrolls)
(This is Mural Reksict.)
(Kersti's tattle says:)
"AAGH!! Um..sorry, this thing creeps me out."
"That's Mural Reksict, a mural on the walls of this very tower that came to life, and the strongest of all of Reksict's normal spawns."
"Max HP is [#], attack is [#], defense is [#]. This thing just shifts around uncannily, attacking any threats.."
"It can make a thousand hands surround us, open its big mouth to make a thousand swords slice at us, breathe 5 streams of fire at us at once, morph into a giant sword that slices at everyone, or straight up try tearing into us with its sharp, gnashing teeth!”
(Crecksi absolutely meant it when she said this area is dangerous, there are DEADLY traps and obstacles at EVERY CORNER, as if the tower itself wants you dead. But Crecksi will help you through all of this with her supporting moves, like healing, buffs, or even elemental attacks of her own, whether she will heal, buff, or attack depends on your HP.)
(Beat all the Royal Distorters as you make your ascent, and reach the very top..)
Crecksi engulfs herself in a mighty aura, and makes a heavy stormy tornado consume the final Royal Distorter, doing massive damage.
She then runs to it, jumps DIRECTLY into the eye of the storm, and PIERCES the Royal Distorter's jeweled eye, eradicating it once and for all.
The heroes looked around, left with nothing by silence….
After what felt like ages, Reksict floated into view, staring down at all of them.
“....”
Crecksi stared up in fear. “R..Reksict…what have you done with this world..”
“..And what further plans do you have for it..?”
Reksict stared down at her.
“..Stay out of my way, weakling. My beef is with the actual heroes.”
“Go back to hiding away with your friends on my Observatory, your deaths will come soon enough.”
Crecksi tried to stop Reksict, but just like that, she vanished.
“..So, heroes. What's your big plan this time?”
“You already ‘stopped’ my Royal Distorters.”
“I'm dying to know your next move.”
Kersti pointed up at him. “LISTEN UP, REKSICT!”
“We're coming straight for our home, the Sticker Comet!”
“We'll break your seal, defeat you, and-”
“And WHAT makes you think you even have that power?”
“Deluded lower life forms..”
“You think you can save your little comet?”
“Have you SEEN what has become of this planet!?”
(You get a shot of each usurped area you ‘saved’ all of them still in ruin and broken beyond recognition.)
“Think about what happened last time you faced me before you even come anywhere near MY comet!”
“...If you can, that is.”
(Reksict brings down his fists upon Team Mario, initiating another battle with a first strike!)
(Once again, you face Limitbroken Reksict!)
(He'll be using ALL the moves he used against Rosalina now, and will now attack twice per turn, so this is SERIOUSLY down to the wire now!)
(He doesn't even give you a chance to rest, knowing he has to go all out on you, given Team Mario's power.)
(But that's not even it all! The MOMENT your special gauge is full, you HAVE to use the Super Starman Beam ! Because Reksict will immediately charge up a super powerful explosion that will INSTANTLY kill your entire party, even if you block or superguard, so you HAVE to hurry and use the Super Starman Beam when it's fully charged, because if you do anything BUT use it? GAME OVER.)
(After using the Super Starman Beam..)
Reksict screamed out in utter rage as he was blasted.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”
“I..GRRNN..GNNAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHH!!!!”
“I..I REFUSE!! I'LL FIND A WAY!!! I'LL DESTROY YOUR PATHETIC POWERS!!!!”
Reksict shoved the beam away and vanished.
Team Mario was utterly exhausted.
“I…I can't believe we got out of that..alive!” Kersti held herself.
“He was really out for blood that time!” Peach said. “But our Power Pendants once again saved us!”
“So..uh, guess we'll head back to the Observatory again?” Bowser tapped his foot.
“I uh..suppose..shall we, bro?” Luigi looked at Mario.
Mario nodded.
Our heroes begin to leave-
CRASH!!
Our heroes were immediately struck down, and floated in the air.
“Huh!? Wait wait wait, what's going on!?” Luigi flapped his arms.
Reksict suddenly reappeared, exactly where he was before.
“..Power Pendants, huh?”
Reksict snapped his fingers.
“No no no NO NO-”
Kersti was powerless as the power pendants were ripped from everyone's bodies.
In an instant, they were shattered into nothing.
“...I knew that power had to come from somewhere, and it looks like I was right.”
“Every power comes from somewhere..”
“Heheheh…”
“I await you all at the front of the Sticker Comet.”
“Whether you come there to face your death, or force me to hunt you down, is of no consequence to me.”
“...See you soon.”
“MhmhmhmHAHAHAHAHA AH AH AHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”
Watching Reksict fly away, our heroes stared up at the sky.
They were completely defenseless against Reksict now.
It was enough for him to be invincible, but he was never strong enough to just easily kill them with just one limited Royal Sticker…
Now he is at a level where he could obliterate them in seconds.
“...We..we need to hurry back to Rosalina, now.” Kersti said.
(An intense premonition guitar song for the awaiting battle plays as you make your way down to return to Rosalina.)
So much is riding on this…
To save..or avenge their fallen worlds..
Or heroes desperately rush to Rosalina…
“Come on…come on, COME ON!!” Kersti shouts as she dashes ahead.
Bowser picks up the pace rapidly, Luigi not too far behind, accommodating for her dress, Mario runs, holding Peach's hand.
Our heroes quickly fly back down to the Comet Observatory.
“...You all have arrived.” Rosalina looked to them.
“Currently, the Guardians are training rigorously for the battle to take back the comet.”
Peach spoke up. “Rosalina! Reksict broke our pendants! PLEASE tell me your device is ready!”
Rosalina replied. “My work was halted a bit thanks to Reksict's attack, but it is absolutely ready.”
“Everyone, please follow me to the Engine Room.”
Rosalina floats to the Engine room, Polari stays behind.
(Talking to Polari..)
“This is it, everyone..our one chance to shatter his berzerk form..”
“I will be staying behind, don't worry about me.”
“Your battle awaits, but we all know you can do it.”
“Everyone..everyone believes in all of you, even if they don't know it.”
“Go, before it's too late.”
(You follow Rosalina all the way up to the Engine Dome.)
“This is it…” Peach said. “But..what are we to do? Reksict has corrupted it…”
“Yes, but its barriers are nothing to me.”
Rosalina spoke confidently before raising beams of light to the Engine dome.
The door shatters open..
Rosalina heads inside, the others follow.
They all stand onto a pad inside that raises them up to the very top of the entire Observatory.
Rosalina put her hands together. “Now then….”
“BEHOLD!!!”
(The other theme fades out a new one fades in, a heroic, serious strategic beat.)
A thousand stars cascaded into one spot, a rainbow ray of light was formed.
And then, it took shape..
A big, dark blue ship, rainbow stars on the side, with big feathers along its back, with big golden rings rotating around it like the rings of Saturn.
“This..is your weapon. The Shooting Starman.” Rosalina began. “It is quite basically the ‘anti sticker power’ device.”
“Now, it's a tad unstable due to circ*mstances, but it's completely safe, and all the power you need to truly destroy Reksict's form, AND the barrier around the comet.”
“Mario, Kersti, Luigi, Peach, Bowser.”
“We will depart for the Sticker Comet, and face Reksict.”
“The Shooting Starman's features include..”
“A chargeable star beam cannon..”
“A scanner to absorb projectiles in order to boost stats…”
“Big wings for fast, swift air control, along with barrel rolls.."
“A state of the art lock on feature..”
“And an alternate rapid star shot that will constantly shoot out stars for as long as you hold it down.”
“Use absolutely ALL of its power, all of it will be utterly necessary!”
“Do that, defeat him…and we'll be a very important step closer to ending his reign.”
“We would have him utterly cornered, nowhere to go!”
“Do you understand this, Mario and Team?”
Mario nodded, tipping his cap.
“Thanks-a very much, Rosalina! We'll go all out with this thing!” Luigi said.
“To save all of my people…” Peach said.
“To save my kingdom..” Bowser stomped.
“To save the day…” Luigi and Mario thought in sync, Mario thinking exactly what he said.
“To save my…”
Kersti sighed.
“...ALRIGHT!”
“Mario, this is it! You ready?”
“I should warn you, I don't think we'll be able to go back to your planet until this is all over.”
“If you wanna stock up on things, now is the time.”
(Select ‘yes’)
Rosalina nodded. “Then, it is time…”
“All of you, stay here, and hold on to something…”
Rosalina, her head held high, flies to the very top of the Comet Observatory, and stands atop it.
“For everyone..everywhere…”
“I WILL GIVE IT MY ALL!!!”
“FOR THE GALAXY!!!!”
Rosalina emits a huge beam from her wand.
The entire Comet Observatory is enveloped in a egg shaped barrier once again, and begins soaring to the Sticker Comet!
The Comet Observatory flew through the universe, everyone in every world could see it fly by in the moonlight sky…
Some familiar, some unfamiliar, but either way, it was completely clear that something very important was happening.
Everyone stood their ground.
Team Mario looked at each other, knowing they would have to face a mighty task.
But they were all ready.
The Observatory blasted through asteroids, through anything with no struggle.
Attacks from afar hit the Observatory, but to no effect.
Rosalina let out a battle cry as she gave the Observatory more power, allowing it to burst further and further ahead, all of space was flown through as they were heading straight for the comet, accelerating at light speed…
In a flash of stars, The Comet Observatory appeared, and stopped.
They have arrived for the great battle.
The Sticker Comet was nearby.
Reksict descended, blocking the Sticker Comet.
The heroes entered The Shooting Starman.
The ship flew off of The Comet Observatory, entering the arena.
Reksict simply grinned.
“...Welcome to your final resting place, right here, amongst the stars…”
“Reksict! We insist that you stop your crusade this instant! This has gone on for FAR too long!” Peach said.
“Stop? Here? When I've gotten so far?”
“Now, that wouldn't be very interesting, would it?”
“Have you all enjoyed your tour of my new world?”
“Our lands aren't yours to own! They belong to everyone!” Luigi said.
“Actually, they belong to ME, but we'll worry about that later.” Bowser said.
“It's a nightmare, all of it.” Kersti said. “And I swear on my life, we WILL find a way to bring this world back!!”
“We've already destroyed each and every last one of your Royal Distorters!”
“...Did you, now?”
Reksict snapped his fingers.
And just like that, several more Royal Distorters appeared, flying around him.
“I…h-huh!? No..you can't!!!”
“But I did.”
“Remember when I told you it didn't matter how many you beat?”
“It wasn't just because of the permanent damage they bring.”
“I can make as many as I wish.”
The Royal Distorters recoiled at the sight of the heroes.
“I guarantee you, for every one of these things you slay, another thousand will come to fill their place!”
“I just had to keep this a secret from you for a while, knowing how much you struggled against them, and I gotta say, the looks on all of your faces makes it all worth it.”
“It..it doesn't matter!!” Bowser shouted. “I don't care how many of those stupid things I gotta stomp!”
“Oh noOOooo! You're sending the same goons at us again for the quadrillionth time! BIG. DEAL.”
“I'll defeat em like any other baddie!”
“But you can't defeat the damage they've done to your home, now can you?”
Bowser growled as he glared at him.
“Man, failure just follows you all wherever you go. Me? I keep winning.” Reksict said, grinning down at them maliciously.
“No, seriously! Let's review.”
“I got my Royal Sticker back, I took advantage of your precious Guardians messed up mentality, and Bowser's troops, I got you all to hand over your Royal Stickers…”
“What makes you all keep going? Seriously, maybe your advice would help me out back then!”
“...”
Peach spoke up. “Together, we've all faced far too much in the past to give up to the likes of you.”
Mario nodded.
Luigi added. “And you're gonna end up beaten just like any other foe we've faced.”
“Heheheh…”
“What a pathetic, foolish answer.”
“But, this makes things easier for me.”
“If you all are so fearless of death, that you wanna risk it all against me..”
“Then COME FORWARD, and I shall do what I should have done long AGO!”
“EHHEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!!!!”
LIMITBROKEN REKSICT
(Here we go!)
(You fly around a circular like arena, with the camera following you and Reksict.)
(Lemme just say that Reksict is absolutely NOT messing around, since you have such quick flight, he moves VERY quickly, slashing and punching at you, stomping to generate shockwaves, pulling out his swords and doing huge screen slashes that you gotta go through the gaps in order to dodge, giant laser beams, summoning Royal Distorters to chase you down, using the chains you once tried to use on him to drag you close to him for an attack, or straight up use them like whips to lash at you!)
(He is no pushover, fast and DEADLY, but when HP is running low, Polari can sometimes toss mushrooms to help you out!)
(The theme for this fight is this super chaotic, devastating intense song, really showing off the overwhelming power of the enemy you're against, a haunting choir playing at times, it's all so intense and dangerous, giving this feeling like you NEED to win this, that there's NO other option!)
(Let's go over how you'll attack Reksict.)
(First of all, you start by shooting down his barrier, which has a health bar of its own, but after you shoot down his barrier, THEN things get serious, he lets out a massive scream before his actual health is revealed, and starts using far more dangerous attacks.)
(The key with this entire fight is to KEEP. YOUR. DISTANCE, he's dangerous from afar, but even MORE dangerous up close, so steer clear!)
(When his barrier is down, you can ONLY aim at his head to do damage, so keep that in mind!)
(Scanning broken projectiles that get sent after you can increase attack, defense, speed, invincibility frames, reduce charge time, or add a scatter shot! All the buffs last temporarily though.)
(After you bring Reksict's health down halfway, he screams louder than before, and gets this blazing, dark shaded rainbow flame aura around him, and starts moving WAY faster, along with his attack power and defense permanently being doubled.)
(Bring his hp all the way down, and this happens:)
“NNGGRRREEEEEEAAAAAAAAGGHHHH!!!!”
Reksict held his head as he wailed, before giving the heroes a deadly glare.
He simply summoned the White Royal Sticker and fully healed himself!
“No..no!!! What can we do!? He's making this IMPOSSIBLE!!” Kersti shouted.
Reksict violently grabbed The Shooting Starman.
“Hehehe…”
He tightened his grip on the ship.
“Hehehehahahaha!!!”
He charged up a blast of energy.
“ HAHAHAHAHAHAHA-”
Suddenly, a GIANT BLAST OF STAR POWER HIT HIM!!
Reksict was forced to let the ship go, The Shooting Starman spun out of his grasp, Reksict holding his head in pain.
“GRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”
Rosalina flew over, then stuck her wand into the ship.
The Shooting Starman surged with more star power than ever before..
HP fully restored!
Team Mario can now do the Hyper Starman Beam!
Rosalina's wand slowly floated out of the ship, returning to her hand.
She swiped her hand around with the wand grasped, aiming it at Reksict.
“I warned you. Did I not?”
Reksict met his realization..
He immediately drove his fist to Rosalina's face, only for The Shooting Starman to collide with the fist and knock it away!
The heroes looked to Rosalina, and immediately knew what needed to be done.
Reksict engulfed himself in a crimson red flame, and roared to the heavens before beginning to attack.
(Despite everything, The Shooting Starman is nowhere near enough to defeat Limitbroken Reksict alone.)
(So you must work with Rosalina to defeat him!)
(Your Hyper Starman Beam is your strongest weapon against him, and the only thing that will do great damage.)
(Rosalina will often attack Reksict herself to distract him and give you the openings you need, or flatout bind him again, if only for a short moment.)
(The song for this phase is far more intense, but heroic and hopeful, this is your only chance, but you have him cornered now.)
(When Reksict realizes what's going on, he'll start flatout playing unfair with you, moving way faster, spamming attacks, shooting off thousands of lasers at once, but Rosalina will come through to defend from that.)
(The game practically FORCES you to just go all out on Reksict, or else it's over.)
To finish him off, Rosalina blasts him down with all her strength, and holds him in front of the Comet Observatory via the bindings.
Several launch stars appear in a row in front of him.
“NOW, EVERYONE!! WHILE HE'S VULNERABLE! BEFORE HE HEALS!!” Rosalina calls out.
(You charge up the Hyper Starman Beam..)
Kersti breathing hastens. “...Come on…”
The entire ship engulfs in starlight..
“....Come on!!!”
The ship directly targets the center of the Launch Stars, lining up with Reksict's head.
“FIRE!!!”
Everyone shouts out before the The Shooting Starman uses all of its energy into one final beam!!
The beam goes through the Launch Stars, becoming stronger and stronger and accelerating more and more quickly, until…!!
FWAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMM!!!!
The beam COMPLETELY pierces Reksict AND the barrier of the Sticker Comet.
Reksict holds his head in agony, then suddenly fails his arms as all of his limitbroken power leaves his body in an agonizing vapor like light.
“NNERRREEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaa…..”
Reksict was left in his Royal Sticker form, floating in the zero gravity of space, right over the Sticker Comet, the limitbroken power nearly completely leaving him.
“...”
“....So, that's how this all is, huh?”
“.....”
“.....Fine, then.”
“Two can play at this game.”
Reksict desperately raised his hand out, aiming it at Mario's world.
“...!? What's he doing!?!?” Kersti asked frantically.
Luigi frantically pressed buttons and pulled levers on The Shooting Starman, to no effect. “R-Rosalina!! Do something! This thing is outta energy!!!”
“This guy's always got some stupid plan ready!!” Bowser growled.
Rosalina quickly flew in front of Mario's planet.
“...Hehehe..hehehahahaha…”
Reksict used the final remnants of his limitbroken power…
…to unleash a BLITZKRIEG of Royal Distorters!
Rosalina prepared herself for an attack, only for the Royal Distorters to completely avoid her.
“...!?”
The heroes turned to look behind them.
“...What did you do.” Peach said.
“WHAT DID YOU DO!?”
Reksict chuckled weakly. “You…won't be able to go back there anytime soon.”
“They will change your world into its perfect form..”
“And I shall take all of its power..”
“..But, that is then.”
“...Right now?”
Reksict smiled at them all.
“Your final battle is at hand.”
“I await you..inside ‘Comet Castle’..on my comet..”
“There, this will all finally end.”
“And Rosalina won't be joining you.”
“..What makes you say that!?” Rosalina spoke up.
“Because you'll go back to Mario's world, and helplessly try and defeat the distorters.”
“Unless you think facing me is worth more than the heroes’ poor little planet…”
“Do you?”
“...!!!” Rosalina gasped.
The heroes looked at her.
“You…insufferable…”
Rosalina tightened her fists.
“He..is right.”
“Rosalina?” Peach looked at her.
“I am sorry, everyone.” Rosalina bowed.
“But I simply cannot let him get away with this…”
“Polari.”
Polari appeared. “Yes, Rosalina?”
“Take their ship back to the Observatory, and go over the plan with them.”
“You are to watch over the Lumas until I return, do not worry about me.”
“...”
“...Yes, Rosalina.”
Reksict laughed maniacally.
“...Heroes….”
“I'll be seeing you soon.”
Reksict let himself slowly fall down to the Sticker Comet.
“...We understand, Rosalina.” Peach said.
Mario nodded slowly.
“Yeah..don't go worrying about us, either!” Luigi said.
“And hey! Don't let those freaks undo the work my minions are doing!” Bowser said.
Rosalina looked at them all.
“......Thank you.”
“May the stars shine down on you.”
Rosalina immediately flew away.
Kersti spoke up, reaching a hand out to her.
“...ROSALINA!!!”
…….
…She already left.
As the ship descended to The Comet Observatory, Kersti left her hand out, and said…
“....Thank you.”
End of Chapter.
Our heroes are face to face with the final battle.
The end that awaited them all was uncertain.
While Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser were determined…
Kersti felt uneasy.
…But, she knows for a fact that something has to be done.
While our heroes may be prepared.
Little did they all know, that something far beyond expectations will soon take place.
