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Vivian and Doopliss then burst into laughter. They laughed so hard tears began to leak from the corners of their eyes. Doopliss plopped his back against the bench and bellowed loudly, and Vivian, barely able to contain own crazed laughter, fell over and felt her head land on Doopliss's lap.
They laughed together for a long time...
And when they finally settled down, they were silent. Vivian still rested her head on Doopliss's lap, and it didn't seem like she was ready to get up anytime soon. This suited Doopliss just fine. In fact, he felt happier now than he'd ever been in his Atlan disguise. Even more so then when she had kissed him. He wondered why that was...
Doopliss looked down at Vivian. "You know, I think this is the first time I've ever heard you laugh..."
Vivian chuckled. "Really?"
"Yeah... You have a cute laugh."
"Mmmm... thanks."
Silence.
A beautiful silence.
"...I wonder what my sister's doing right now..." Vivian finally said softly.
"Well, at least she's not anywhere near us," Doopliss cracked. "But hey, if she ever tries to do anything to you again, just gimme a call! I'll show that old hag what for, know what I'm sayin'?"
Vivian laughed again.
"I'd never let anything happen to you Vivian..." he finished.
Vivian turned her head and looked up at him seriously. "Thanks Doopliss. That's nice of you. But... I still don't understand. Did you really come here to Morteva just to get away from Beldam?"
Doopliss stared back down at her.
If he told her the truth now, it would ruin this precious moment... I mean, she was lying in his lap, for goodness sake! This was too good to just let go!
"No, I have other reasons..." he said, smiling. "But I'll leave those up to your imagination to figure out."
"Hmhmm... OK..." she said, returning the smile.
Vivian and Doopliss continued to sit on the bench, gazing out at the moonlit ocean.
Nice, Doopliss...Ya didn’t blow it...!
Vivian sat with her head still resting on Doopliss's lap. While lying there, she began to think... So much had happened that day. Some things great, some things terrible... They had found 3 Rainbow Relics in a single day, yet on the other hand, Vivian had killed a Cheep-Cheep and so many innocent children. Just thinking about these things made her eyes water...
She could only imagine how the parents of those children felt. They would probably demand to know who had ended the life of their poor little boy or girl. Mr Warburton would probably just say it was an accident or something, because as he’d said, he probably wouldn't want the public knowing that he'd allowed a murderer into his school.
Vivian couldn't deny it. She was a murderer. Yet she didn't know why.
And it scared her...
Doopliss shifted a little. "Geez Viv, you droolin' on me or what?"
Vivian then realized she'd been crying, and her tears had run down her face and onto Doopliss's sheet/body/whatever. She quickly lifted her head and turned away from him. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was just..."
Doopliss could hear a distinct quiver in your voice. "You... Were you cryin'?"
Vivian was too choked up to say anything, so she just nodded.
Doopliss snorted. "C'mon Viv, my lap isn't THAT uncomfortable!"
"No, it has nothing to do with you..." Vivian assured him.
"Well, that's good, I guess," Doopliss said. "Ehh, well... I'm kinda feelin' a bit tired, so I'm headin' back to the Heaven's Bell. Wanna come with? We can talk on the way or somethin'..."
Vivian looked somewhat reluctant to accept Doopliss's offer, but she eventually nodded. Together, the two got up and began to walk back into town towards the Heaven's Bell resort.
"So, tell me why you cry," Doopliss said sympathetically.
Vivian shuddered. " Well, it's just... a lot of stuff has happened to me today, and... I dunno, it's really depressing. Not that you care, but..."
Doopliss sighed in frustration. He placed his hand on Vivian's shoulder. "Viv, come on. Look at me."
Vivian slowly turned around to face him, wondering what he was so intent on telling her.
"Viv, I know I've done some very, very terrible things to you. But the truth is, I never wanted to hurt you. The Crystal Star, it... I dunno, it just totally took control of my mind, and suddenly it became all about the Crystal Star and how it was all mine. I felt like Gollum, ya know? All like, 'Oogh! My pwecious!' and crap. I was so obsessed with that thing that I pretty much tried to kill anything that came near it. And that included you and Mario..."
Doopliss spoke in such a genuine tone that Vivian knew right away that he was being serious. "You... You didn't really want to hurt us...?"
"No, of course not! Heck, if I'd met you guys before finding that damn thing, I'd have probably welcomed ya'll with open arms! Got kinda lonely up there in the Creepy Steeple. You know, honestly, I think you guys beating the crap outta me and taking the Crystal Star was probably the best thing that's ever happened to me!"
His tone grew serious and apologetic once again. "Believe me Vivian, I never wanted to hurt you, and I'll understand if you and your friends never forgive me, but... All I can say is, I'm sorry..."
Vivian seemed to be getting what he was saying, but another thought then struck her mind. "But Doopliss, if the Crystal Star is what drove you to try and kill us, why did you fight us again with my sisters in the Palace of Shadow, even after we took the Crystal Star from you?"
Doopliss was about to say something, but then was suddenly at a loss for words. He of course knew that the reason he'd joined the Shadow Sirens was so that maybe he could see Vivian again...
But he couldn’t tell that to her, could he?
No, not yet. He had to make something up.
"Oh, well... I was still kinda under the Crystal Star's spell, so I still didn't really know what I was doin'..."
Vivian gave him a look as though she didn't fully believe what he was saying, but she eventually just went with it and nodded. "Oh, OK..." She then smiled a little. "You know, Doopliss... I appreciate you telling me that. Otherwise, I think I'd probably hate you forever. And umm... I'm actually kinda glad it was all just a big misunderstanding, cuz..."
"Cuz what?" Doopliss asked, dying to hear the rest.
Vivian smiled shyly. "Well, cuz... you're a pretty nice guy."
Doopliss's heart swelled with happiness. With an excited expression, he turned to her. "R-really? You think I'm a pretty nice guy?"
Vivian laughed. "Hehe, well you seem pretty excited to hear that!"
Doopliss nodded. "Well, it's just good to know I've finally gotten through to you!"
Vivian nodded too. And in fact, that conversation pretty much ended there when the two found themselves walking through the entrance of the Heaven's Bell.
Vivian and Doopliss walked through the resort’s corridors to the door of Room 13. Once there, Doopliss kind of backed off a bit. Vivian looked at him curiously. "What's wrong?"
Doopliss shook his head. "Umm, I don't think the guys in there will really understand if they saw you hangin' out with me, ya know?"
Vivian figured he was right, but she didn’t seem worried. "Well, that's OK! We can explain everything to them."
"But why?" Doopliss asked. "It's not like they'll really care..."
"Oh, sure they will! They're good people, you know that! Mario's always willing to make a new friend, even if its an old enemy. I mean, just look at me! I was once his enemy too, ya know..."
Doopliss looked at the ground nervously. "Naw, I don't I wanna..."
Vivian was confused. "Really? You sure you don't wanna be friends with everyone?" She then smiled slyly. "Or do you just wanna be friends with ME?"
Doopliss chuckled. "Yeah... I just wanna be friends with you for now!"
"Yeah, just you... I wanna be more than friends. Forever..."
Vivian laughed too. "OK, fine! But I’ll let them know you're here!"
Doopliss sighed nervously. "Yeah, sure. Go ahead..."
"K, bye!" she said sweetly.
"Yeah, bye..." he answered as she opened the door to her room and floated in.
Once she did, Doopliss opened the door to his own room and walked in slowly. Man, how unbelievable had this night been? Vivian trusted him... And she said she thought he was a pretty nice guy! ZING!
Of course, if it hadn't been for his little Atlan lie, he probably never would've gotten a chance to even talk to her.
As Doopliss plopped down on the bed, he realized perhaps he did owe Atlan a pretty big thanks after all...
Vivian floated into Room 13, and saw everyone stop what they were doing for a second and look up at her.
"Why hello Vivian!" Flurrie exclaimed. "So, how did your little date with Atlan go?"
"He didn't show," she said quietly. "Evidently he got on a boat earlier today and took off. I guess he didn't really love me after all..."
"Oh, poor dear..." Ms Mowz said sympathetically. "Your feelings aren't hurt too bad, are they?"
"No, not really," Vivian said. "Looks like he was a total jerk anyway."
"Well, you sure waited for him a long time," Flurrie observed. "Did you find someone else to talk to, perhaps?"
Vivian smiled a little. "Well, yeah..."
Ms Mowz and Flurrie looked at one another. "Who was it?" asked Ms Mowz.
"Well," Vivian said. "Let's just say it's someone we all misunderstood..."
Goombella jumped up onto one of the beds. "Well, that's good! In any case, we gotta practice for the karaoke! It's starting in, like, 10 minutes!"
Koops laughed. "Oh, c'mon Goombella! Karaoke isn't something you practice for! If it was, we'd have a lot better karaoke singers in general, lemme tell you!"
"I'd have to agree," said Bobbery. "Besides, I do say I doubt 10 minutes of practicing will help much with your singing abilities, old girl."
Goombella rolled her eyes. "Ugh, fine. I'll wait it out, you bunch of babies!"
Verdugo frowned. "Yo, I resent that!
Vivian looked around the room for Mario. She really needed to talk to him, but she didn't see him in the room. "Hey guys, where's Mario?"
Peach pointed to the bathroom door. "He's in there. He’s been in there for almost an hour. Last he told me, he was treating that burn around his neck.”
"Oh..." Vivian moaned. There was a very deep silence in the room after that. Vivian wondered if she should even talk to him right then. He still must’ve been very upset. Maybe she could wait until after the karaoke...?
No. Waiting until then to talk to Mario would've been too awkward, she realized. She decided it was best just to talk to him now...
Vivian floated over to the bathroom door and knocked lightly.
"I'm in here," she heard Mario say.
"I know, Mario," Vivian replied. "It's me, Vivian."
There was a rather long silence.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"Mario, please. I just wanna talk to you..."
"I'm in the bathroom, Vivian. I'm BUSY. We can talk later."
"But we can talk now, too..."
Silence again.
Vivian was beginning to grow impatient, so she did what she did best. She slipped underneath the shadows.
Vivian poked her head up from the bathroom floor and saw Mario looking in the mirror, dabbing something on the burn wound around his neck. Realizing he wasn't doing anything too private, she rose up from her shadow, not saying a word.
When Mario saw her reflection in the mirror, he jumped and stumbled away from her, nearly falling over in the process. He looked at her rather annoyed. "Vivian, what the hell-?!"
"Mario," she said calmly. "Please, listen to me..."
Mario struggled to stand upright, and once he did, he stared at Vivian with one eyebrow raised, as though thinking about walking out of the room right then and there.
But eventually, Mario sighed and scooted past Vivian towards the toilet. He sat down on the lid and looked up at her. "OK, I'm listening," he said, picking the Vaseline container off the counter and continuing to apply it to his wound. "What do you wanna talk about?"
Vivian sat herself down on the rim of the bathtub across from Mario. She stared at the burn on Mario's neck. It made her so depressed to see Mario trying to treat an injury that she herself had evidently caused him. Never in a million years would she even dream of hurting Mario after how much he had done for her.
"That burn..." she said, stroking her own neck. "Did I really do that to you?"
Mario simply nodded and continued to stare, waiting for her to say the rest.
"...And I really killed all those poor little kids...?" she asked, already starting to feel the hot tears building up behind her eyes.
"Yeah. You did..." Mario said quietly.
Vivian shook her head. "I don't believe it..."
Mario sighed. "We all saw it happen, Vivian! And to be honest, I find it hard to believe that you had no idea what you were doing. Really, I do!"
Vivian looked up at him seriously. "Hard to believe...? Mario, you know me! I would never hurt an innocent person! Never! How could it be so hard to believe that something's happening to me that I don't understand?"
"Well, seeing is believing..." Mario said, not taking his eyes of her.
Vivian breathed deeply. "No Mario, I don't think so. I think sight is the most deceitful of all the senses. It's what you FEEL that should matter..."
Mario raised his eyebrow again. "Oh, yeah? You think so? Well, lemme tell you, this burn around my neckFEELS pretty damn real to me!"
Vivian felt a severe rush of frustration rise up her body. Why would Mario not believe her? Why would he not support her? They trusted one another, like friends should... right?
Vivian's frustration could've been released as violence, and Vivian knew it.
But no. If found another way to let it out - Through her tears. This day had just been a teary event after another.
"Mario..." she gasped. "Please believe me..."
When Mario didn't answer for a long time, she admitted the plain truth.
"I'm scared Mario. I'm scared..."
When Mario heard those words, the tension and suspicion all but left his face. He looked at Vivian with soft, sympathetic eyes.
What was it about those two words... "I'm scared"... That immediately made him realize that Vivian wasn't lying in the slightest bit?
At that moment, Mario suddenly felt like crying alongside her. He got up from his seat on the toilet and took a seat next to Vivian on the bathtub rim. He put his arm around her and rocked her gently, almost like a caring father would do to his daughter. Vivian immediately buried her face in his chest and continued to cry.
Mario sighed. "I'm sorry Vivian. I'm scared too. Seeing you do all that... And seeing you do that to me... Probably one of the scariest things I ever witnessed in my life. I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I was just scared, too. I still am..."
Vivian lifted her head and looked at him. "Oh, thank you Mario..."
Mario smiled. "Hey, I'm your friend, aren't I? I'll always be there for ya!"
After a little more silence, Mario began to reach into his pocket. "You know Vivian, I wasn't sure when would be a good time to tell you about this, but... I figure it may be a good time now..."
Vivian became curious. "Tell me about what?"
Mario pulled the Crystal Ball out of his pocket and showed it to her. It was filled with that freaky purplish smoke. "Oh..." she said. "The Crystal Ball. The one that prints the Rainbow Relic symbols on the Map and adds new verses to The Poem, right? What about it?"
"Well..." Mario said. "You see, I noticed a connection between your occasional deadly behavior and the smoke within this ball..."
Vivian looked at Mario, frightened. "R-really?! What is it?!"
Mario stared at the shifting mist within the ball. “It's so odd, but... I remember I first noticed it when you went crazy on that Cheep-Cheep in the Ninja Dome. When you became all evil and shit, I noticed the smoke in the ball was gone. Then, when I noticed you were back to, shall we say, 'normal', the smoke had returned...”
Vivian stared at the smoke-filled ball as well as Mario spoke, completely intrigued. "Did... Did the same thing happen at-"
"Warburton's Boarding School?" Mario finished her sentence. "Yeah. I happened there too. I have no idea what it means though. What IS this thing's connection to you...?"
Vivian shook her head. "I have no idea... But to be honest, I don't really like the look of that smoke. It reminds me of that mist that was always surrounding the Shadow Queen..."
Mario studied the mist more closely, and realized Vivian was absolutely right. It did, in fact, look just like that mist that protruded from the Shadow Queen's body.
"You know, if I had to guess right now," Mario said, "I'd say that this smoke... Isn't smoke at all. It's some sort of evil spirit that occasionally leaves the Crystal Ball to possess your body, and then reenters when it feels like it. That would probably explain why the smoke is gone from the ball when you're evil, and back in there when you're normal again."
Vivian stared at the mist in fear. "Oh my gosh... Do you really think so?"
Mario closed his eyes and nodded. "It seems to fit, I'm afraid..."
Vivian then stood up firmly. "Mario. Something's REALLY wrong here..."
Mario stood up too, startled by Vivian's sudden action. "Well, that's obvious Vivian, but still-"
"No, you don't understand!" Vivian cried. "If that thing in the Crystal Ball really is evil... Mario, that THING is telling us where the Rainbow Relics are! AND it's telling us The Poem every time we find a new Relic! Doesn't that strike you as odd?"
Mario stroked his chin. Indeed, it was an odd thought. This possibly evil being... helping them find the Rainbow Relics? And telling them The Poem...?
Could it by chance mean that this being was... good?
No, Vivian's occasional deadly behavior pretty much disproved that theory.
How strange...
Mario sighed. "Look, don't worry Vivian. Once we find all the Rainbow Relics, we'll understand just what all this is about, OK?"
Vivian shook her head. "No, Mario!! If this thing is really trying to lead us to the Relics, couldn't it possibly mean that it's trying to lure us all into some sort of trap? I mean, think about it! You remember the latest poem verse... It said 'When the Rainbow Relics are back in their post, they'll bring the world's end’ or something..."
Mario looked down. "But that makes no sense! The Rainbow Relics are supposed to protect the world, not end it!"
Vivian sighed. "Mario, why are we even on this quest anyway?"
Mario looked at her in a funny way. "So we can get The Rainbow back in the sky to protect against outside aliens... What, you forget already?"
"No!" Vivian said roughly. "I mean for whom are we doing this for?! WHO sent us on this quest in the first place?!"
Mario was still staring at her like she was crazy. "Reinus..."
"No," Vivian said, shaking her head yet again. "Reinus didn't send me that letter and those boarding passes. Reinus didn't say the X-naut threat was a big deal. Reinus didn't say searching for the Rainbow Relics was even high on his priority list. REINUS didn't make me out to be some kind of great hero to bring me here... It was that messenger guy! That goddamn messenger tried to lure me here, and like an idiot I took the bait! And I dragged all of you guys into this too! Now, I don't know who that guy is, if he has any connection to this Crystal Ball spirit or WHAT, but..."
Vivian had to take a deep breath. "Mario... Something really bad is coming our way. I know it... There are so many signs telling us to just stop this quest right now, but we're just not seeing them! Well, you know what? I'm seeing them now, and I really think we should pay attention to them..."
She stared at Mario deeply, her face absolutely filled with fear. "Mario, please. Let's just... stop this quest right now and go home. Before something terrible happens..."
Mario thought about what Vivian said for a long time. Indeed, everything she said seemed to make sense. But still, a huge part of him still thought maybe they could uncover the secret to this whole mystery by finding the Rainbow Relics, and still manage to outrun whatever cataclysm Vivian claimed was coming their way...
Mario then sighed. "...I'll think about it."
Vivian stared at him, her expression dead serious. "Promise me you will."
Mario nodded. "I promise."
Vivian then smiled. "Thank you Mario..."
The Heaven's Bell bar was completely filled with cheering and jeering vacationers and locals alike, all looking for a good time. The stage was complete with karaoke machine, lighting, and a word projector that displayed the song's lyrics for anyone who dared get up on stage and sing!
The DJ didn't allow the singers to pick their songs. Instead, he would play the intro to a song of his choosing, and anyone who more or less knew the words could volunteer to sing it. Also, a singer could volunteer to sing before a song was even selected, in which case the DJ would pick a random song for them, whether they knew it or not! Few dared to do this, but they were usually the funniest ones to watch on stage!
Mario and the gang entered the bar while a Toad was on stage singing "I'm Too Sexy". He was finished shortly after they arrived (thankfully) and took their seat at one of the tables. Once they were set, Goombella looked around. "Oh wow! There's like, SO many people here! I don't know if I'm brave enough to go up there and sing..."
"Well, you'd better work up the courage," Mario said while laughing, "Cuz we're all goin' up there and singing at least once tonight!"
When Mario said that, the whole rest of the party exchanged worried glances. To all of them, Mario's word was law.
When the Toad got off the stage, the DJ laughed over the microphone. "Yo, that was some hot stuff right there! Alright, got any willing volunteers? No? That's cool then. Lemme play a sample of the next song on my list..."
And with that, the intro to Ricky Martin's 'She Bangs' began to play.
Verdugo jumped up. "Oh! Oh yeah! I know this song! Yeah, I'm SO goin' up there!" As Verdugo began to run up towards the stage, Peach grabbed and stopped him. "No Verdugo!" she cried. "You're just a baby! You're WAY to young to be singing songs like that."
Verdugo raised an eyebrow. "Songs like what? 'She Bangs' isn't a bad song or nothin'. It's just about a girl holdin' a gun or something, right?"
Mario sat back and crossed his arms. "Nooo, it's worse than that... But what the hell! Head on up there, little man!"
"All RIGHT! Thanks Gonzales!" Verdugo exclaimed, running rapidly up to the stage.
The DJ was shocked to see little Verdugo run up onto the stage. "Whoa, look at this little dude! So, you ready to sing 'She Bangs' for us, are ya squirt!"
Verdugo grabbed the microphone and got ready. "Hit it, DJ!"
And with that, the song started, and Verdugo sang his heart out. The crowd went wild with laughter and cheers and Verdugo sang the words.
"She bangs! She bangs!
Oh baby, when she moves! She moves!
I go crazy!
Well she looks like a flower but she stings like a bee!
Like every girl in history!..."
When the song was over, Verdugo did an enthusiastic bow to his cheering audience and ran down to meet with Mario and the gang again. "Hey guys, how'd I do?!" he asked excitedly.
Koops chuckled. "William Hung would be proud, Verdugo."
After seeing Verdugo's, err... grand performance, the rest of Mario's party then got the courage to go up and sing themselves. However, seeing as they all felt bold enough to go up on stage before the DJ even chose a song, they usually got stuck with some odd song choices. Even so, they all did surprisingly well.
Mario and Peach agreed to sing a duet together, and were somewhat surprised that the song the DJ chose for them was "Barbie Girl" by Madonna. It was a very funny performance to say the least. Peach sang Madonna's part with a little difficulty, but Mario's 'Ken' was enough to fill in any errors. The ending was especially funny...
“Oh, I'm having so much fun!”
“Well Barbie, we're just getting started! Heh heh, alriiight!”
“Oh, I love you Mari- I mean, Ken!”
Bobbery went up next, and was very surprised to hear that the DJ's choice for him was Weird Al's "Amish Paradise". Bobbery didn't know the words to the song, but he had heard the song "Gangsta Paradise" many a time (don't ask why), so all he had to do was remember that melody and read the words on the lyrics projector. His thick British accent fit the song pretty well, but since the song's words were new to him, he found himself laughing on stage a wee bit more than singing. XD
Koops went up next. His song? "Beat It", by Michael Jackson. Like most people when it comes to songs, Koops was really only able to sing the chorus, and even what little he did sing wasn't great because, well... Koops knew himself that he was a terrible singer! However, his breakdancing skills to match Michael’s were enough to make the crowd go totally nuts, earning him a humongous applause.
Because Goombella was too afraid to go on stage alone, she urged Flurrie, Ms Mowz and Vivian to go with her. When the DJ saw all four girls go up, he immediately knew the perfect song for them - "Lady Marmalade" by Christina Aguilera, Pink, Mya, and Lil’ Kim. Their performance was actually very energetic and fun to watch, especially Goombella herself. Her not-so-womanly voice didn't fit the song well, but she did know the words. Flurrie and Ms Mowz tended to sing as a duet, though they had their solo moments. Their voices were deep and filled with feminine sophistication, so they worked out very nicely. Vivian's voice was undoubtedly the best, despite the fact that she'd had little prior experience in singing. Therefore, since she knew the words, she lent her voice to the solo parts sung by Christina Aguilera. After the song was over, they got a huge applause, especially from the men.
After that, everyone in Mario's party continuously complimented Vivian's excellent singing voice and urged her to go up and sing a song on her own. Vivian didn't even realize how good of a singer she was until even the DJ himself said it over the loudspeaker. Feeling confident, she went up on the stage.
The DJ decided to choose something slow, but meaningful and deep for her to sing, so he chose Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams".
Vivian's female voice wasn't at all comparable to the real singer's punkish voice, but it still sounded great. Her voice was hauntingly beautiful, and for the first time during the whole night, the crowd was completely silent, and just listening.
“I walk a lonely road,
The only one that I have ever known...
Don’t know where it goes,
But it’s only me, and I walk alone...”
When Vivian finished, the ensuing applause was the loudest heard that entire night. Vivian was smiling and blushing as she made her way down back to the table.
Doopliss ran up to the reception desk in a hurry. The female Toad looked up from her computer at him. "May I help you, sir?"
Doopliss cleared his throat. "Um, yeah. Have you seen a guest lately that looks kinda like a purple ghost in a witch's hat? I need to confess something to her! Right away!"
The Toad woman looked at him in a funny way. "Um, no. I don't recall seeing anyone like that... However, she may be in the bar right now. They're doing karaoke in there. Just go through this door over here and it'll take you straight there!"
"OK, thank you!" he exclaimed, running through the door.
A minute later, Parakarry flew into the building. He flew up to the reception desk, interrupting the Toad woman’s work once again. "Excuse me miss, have you seen a girl that looks like a purple ghost in a witch's hat lately? There's somethin' I gotta give ta her! Please hurry, my friend Zanthir's waitin' outside!"
The Toad woman raised an eyebrow. "Umm... well, she may be in the bar right now. They're doing karaoke in there. Just go through this door over here and it'll take you straight there..."
"Alrighty! Thanks!" he exclaimed, flying at full speed through the door. The Toad woman rolled her eyes and continued her work.
Bowser and Crump then ran in from a hallway and up to the reception desk. "Hey you!" Crump ordered the woman. "Tell us where Vivian is! She's a girl that looks like a purple ghost in a witch's hat!"
"Yeah! And tell us where to find Princess Peach to!!" Bowser demanded.
The Toad woman sighed heavily and didn't say anything. She merely pointed to the door.
"Um, thanks!" they yelled simultaneously, proceeding to trip over one another while running through the door.
Doopliss found himself running through a dark hallway that one might expect to find behind a stage. What the heck? Where was the bar that woman had spoken of? Where was Vivian supposed to be?
His thoughts were cut short when he ran through a lit opening and found himself standing on a stage in front of a crowded bar. He let out an audible "What the hell?"
He then heard the sound of flapping wings...
And out from the same opening he'd just run through came Parakarry, the postman he'd seen many times before.
"Parakarry? What are you doing here?" Doopliss asked.
Parakarry looked around, confused. "Umm... Where am I? What's goin' on here...?"
Doopliss and Parakarry then heard two more voices coming from behind the stage...
And out stumbled Bowser and Crump. They stood up and suddenly stopped arguing about whatever it was they were arguing about. They, too, looked completely dumbfounded.
"What the...? What's all this?" Bowser wondered.
"Are we on stage?" Crump asked. "What for?!"
The DJ then spoke. "Well, what have we here? Looks like four guys have accidentally stumbled onstage! Well, whether they meant to or not, they're still onstage! That means they gotta sing! Ain't I right?!"
The crowd went crazy. Doopliss, Parakarry, Bowser and Crump all looked at one another, completely confused and nervous. They had to SING? Oh boy.
Then the music started...
And Parakarry moaned when he recognized it. "Aw HELL no..."
The YMCA! o.0
Doopliss, Parakarry, Bowser and Crump all stood in a row, in that order. And they all had the same thoughts running through their mind as they stood up on that stage, in front of all those drunken loons waiting for them to sing the YMCA...
"Oh SHIT!!"
The lyrics then started. All four of them pointed out their fingers and slowly swept across the audience, just as they all unfortunately knew they had to.
Young man! There's no need to feel down.
I said, young man! Pick yourself off the ground.
I said, young man! Cuz you're in a new town.
There's no need - to - be - un-happy!
Young man! There's a place you can go.
I said, young man! When you're short on your dough.
You can stay there! And I'm sure you will find
Many ways - to - have - a - good time!
DUN! DUN! DUN! DUN! DUN!
It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A!
It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A!
During these parts, the four guys each made their corresponding letter with their arms. Doopliss did the 'Y', Parakarry the 'M', Bowser the 'C', and Crump the 'A'. The crowd went wild at this part!
"They have everything for you men to enjoy!
You can hang out with all the boys!
It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A!
It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A!
You can get yourself clean! You can have a good meal!
You can do whatever you feeeel!"
Doopliss was actually having a little bit of fun, but the song's subliminal 'messages' made him very uncomfortable to be up there. Nonetheless, he did his best performance (whatever THAT entails...)
Parakarry felt more or less the same way, but he wasn't too clear on the song's inside story like Doopliss was. Thereby, he was somewhat surprised to see many men in the audience giving him very enthusiastic thumbs ups!
Bowser was having a blast. YMCA was one of his favorite songs.
Crump was so frickin' nervous up there he was about ready to crap his pants. His singing sucked and his moves weren't smooth. If he didn't have the others up there to carry the performance, he'd have probably been stoned.
"Y-M-C-A ... you'll find it at the Y-M-C-A.
Young man! Young man! There's no need to feel down!
Young man! young man! Get yourself off the ground!
Y-M-C-A ... you'll find it at the Y-M-C-A.
Young man, young man! Are you listening to me?
Young man, young man! What do you wanna be!?
Y-M-C-A ... you'll find it at the Y-M-C-A!!"
When the song was brought to its fabulous end, all four of the guys held their arms in the shape of their respective letter, spelling out 'YMCA' on the stage. The crowd threw flowers and beer bottles on the stage, and some of the men were really cheering loudly.
Doopliss was feeling proud, if a bit awkward.
Parakarry was proud too, but still confused about all the male attention he was getting.
Bowser had never felt more alive in his life.
Crump had soiled himself. --;
But yes, they were a hit. The Village People of the Morteva is what they would be forever known as. w00t!
Even while up there, though, all four of the were scanning the audience for any sign of Mario or his party. They were all looking for the same person... plus Bowser and Crump were additionally looking for Peach. However, it was impossible to see anyone in particular with all the jumping and hollering hooligans.
Doopliss was looking especially hard. Where was Vivian? He desperately needed to find her. Near the back, he spotted someone in a rep cap and overalls...
Mario?! That must mean...
Yes! At that same table! There sat his love, Vivian! And she was looking straight at him! The expression on her face was questionable, but still he still saw her! He had to make some sort of shout-out!
"Hey Vivian!" he shouted. "VIVIAN! Up here!!"
He saw Vivian crack a faint smile and wave. Mario's party all turned to her, and then spoke to her as though wondering why Doopliss had acknowledged her. Heck, they were probably wondering why on earth Doopliss was even in Morteva at the same time as they were! She looked like she was explaining something back to them as well. Maybe she was explaining to them that he wasn't a bad guy? Oh, he hoped so!
However, his happy thoughts were soon shattered when Bowser let out a huge roar. "VIVIAN?!" he growled. "Where is she?! If Vivian's here, that must mean PEACH is here too! Where do you seen 'em, ghost boy?!"
Doopliss realized his mistake and quickly covered his mouth. Of course, it was too late for that...
Parakarry suddenly looked very concerned as well. Did he, too, know that Bowser and Crump were after Peach and Vivian?
Evidently, he did. Flashing an angry look at Doopliss, Parakarry called out to the audience at the top of his lungs. "Vivian! Peach! Wherever you are in here! Run! Run away! Bowser ‘n Crump are huntin’ for you! And so is Grodus! Peach, Bowser wants to kidnap you! And Vivian, Grodus wants to KILL you! RUN!!"
Crump knocked Parakarry to the ground. "Shut up, ya stupid bird thing!! You’re blowin’ our cover!!”
He then jumped off the stage and into the audience, looking frantically for Mario and co. Bowser hopped off right behind him, badly frightening many people in the crowd and causing them to run amuck. While Crump and Bowser rampaged around in the bar looking for Mario, they didn’t realize that Mario and his friends had already escaped from the bar in the fiasco and were running back to their room. Doopliss had followed them out, and Parakarry did so as well not long after. They both had their reasons to find and speak to Mario's team as fast as possible...
Mario threw the door to Room 13 open and allowed everyone in before promptly slamming it shut behind him. Once they were all in the quiet hotel room, they all plopped down on the beds, breathing heavily. That was definitely one of the weirdest things any of them had ever experienced.
"Doopliss, Parakarry, Bowser and Crump singing the YMCA..." Koops moaned. "Scariest thing I've ever seen in my LIFE."
"Ugh... Talk about a dramatic childhood," Verdugo said to himself.
Mario was the only one that wasn't sitting on a bed. He was pacing around the room, sweating and panting heavily. He was clearly thinking hard about something.
"What the hell...? Doopliss, Parakarry, Bowser, Crump... And did Parakarry mention Grodus, too? Have they all been here with us in Morteva the entire time?! But why? What business do any of THEM have here?"
"Well," Peach said, "Parakarry said Bowser was here to kidnap me, and Grodus and Crump were here to kill Vivian... right?"
Vivian nodded slowly. Why did it seem like every evil force in the world was always out to get her? What had she ever done to deserve any of this?
"Yeah, true." Mario muttered. "But why was Parakarry even here in the first place? And Doopliss...? Vivian, he called out to you, right? Did you know he was here?"
Vivian nodded again. "Yeah, but I told you already - he has no bad intentions. He was only evil because of the Crystal Star, and he doesn't have it anymore..."
"Sure was pretty dumb of him to call out your name while Bowser and Crump were on stage with him, don't you think?" Mario asked, a bit of distrust in his voice.
Vivian shook her head. "Maybe he didn't know the bad guys were after us..."
"Then why was he up there singing with them?" Mario asked. "Seems to me like he might be on their side... Hell, maybe even Parakarry too! Ugh! I'm not sure what to think!”
At that moment, there was a pounding on the main door.
The next moment, there was a pounding on the glass sliding door that led out to the patio. It made everyone jump.
The only one with enough guts to answer either knocking was Mario. He looked back and forth between the main door and the patio glass door, which was covered up by the blinds. Who could be beyond either door...? Perhaps Parakarry? He did warn them that Bowser, Crump, and even Grodus were after them, so he must've known something about their plot. Maybe he came to explain more...?
Maybe Doopliss? He didn't seem to have anything to do with anything, but he WAS the one who blurted out their position in the bar for Bowser and Crump to find. He may have come to do just that again... But, if what Vivian said about him was true, he was probably there to apologize. But that didn't seem like something Doopliss would do, so he was probably there for a bad purpose.
Bowser and Crump, perhaps? Maybe even Grodus as well? Whatever their ambitions were, they wanted Peach and Vivian. But that didn’t make sense. How would they know what room they were in?
Hell, how would ANY of them know what room they were in?
Before his brain could explode, Mario suddenly dashed for the glass sliding door and threw open the blinds.
There was Parakarry, hovering in front of the glass, getting ready to knock again. When he saw Mario through the glass, he motioned for the lock. Mario, who was quite relieved, unlocked it and slid the door open. Parakarry flew in. "Hey ever'body!"
Everyone gave an enthusiastic 'Hey Parakarry!" For goodness sake, everybody knew Parakarry! He was probably the only postman in the world!
"Yo Parakarry, nice performance up there," Verdugo mocked. "How'd it feel singin' with that buncha loons?"
Parakarry grimaced. "It was... odd, to say the least... But whatever, that's not why I'm here!"
"But Parakarry," Mario said, "We'd really like to know how you knew Bowser and Crump were after us. You sure sounded like you knew what was going on."
"I'll get to that in a minute," he answered. "But right now, I gotta do what I came all the way to this land of Morteva for..."
Parakarry scanned the room and saw Vivian sitting on one of the beds. She looked happy to see him.
However, the look on her face became one of concern when he slowly flew over to her with a sad face.
He hovered right in front of her, then plopped down on the ground on one knee.
"Vivian, I... I came all the way to the island looking fer you because... I have something I truly need to express to you..."
Vivian looked down at him funny. "Umm... OK..."
"No, please!" Parakarry urged. "I understand how you must feel right now, so please... Just let me speak. You see Vivian, I..."
Bobbery had trotted over to watch this rather odd scene. "Goodness, old boy. Are you going to propose?!"
Parakarry turned his head roughly and stared at Bobbery. "NO, I'm not proposing! Now, if you'll excuse me..."
Parakarry looked back up at Vivian, who was still feeling a bit weirded out. "Vivian, I'm gonna be straightforward with ya. I'm terribly sorry, but... I lost the Elation boarding pass I was supposed to give to yer friend Bobbery! OH, the shame! Please, I know how sad you must be that he couldn't come with you, but the guilt in my heart is far worse than any sadness you can muster! PLEASE, STOP CRYIN’!! Can you just find it in your heart to forgive a failure of a postman like me!? Oh, please! Forgive me...!"
Parakarry then grabbed Vivian and began to cry heavily. He cried for a little while, but he then realized that no one was saying anything.
He stopped and looked Vivian in the eyes - or rather, the curl of hair over her eyes.
Vivian gave a shy smile. "Well, I appreciate your willingness to come all this way and apologize but..."
"But you don't forgive me?!" Parakarry interrupted.
"No, it's not that..." Vivian replied. "It's just that... Bobbery's right here!"
Parakarry then appeared struck with confusion. "HUH?!"
He looked down at Bobbery, who was still standing there. "Right-o, old chap! I've been here the entire time! I've no idea what makes you think I didn't get my Elation pass! I have it right here!" Bobbery held it up for Parakarry to see. Parakarry stared in disbelief.
"S-so wait... All ya'll have your passes?"
Everyone nodded.
Parakarry shook his head roughly. "No no no! This makes no sense! I swear to you I lost one while I was flyin' over the sea lookin' fer Bobbery's ship! It was the one I was s'pposed to give to him!"
Bobbery then looked at his ticket suspiciously. "Umm... Pardon everyone, but... Parakarry, did you personally hand-deliver these passes to everyone?"
"Of course. Hand-delivery is what I live for."
Bobbery was then the one looking confused. "...And you claim to have lost my pass while flying over the ocean... Presumably by strong winds?"
"Yessir. Them winds blew it right outta my bag. I couldn't catch it, and it just went a-blowin' away..."
"How odd..." Bobbery said softly, "For my boarding pass did reach me, but it wasn't delivered by you nor by the wind..."
Everyone suddenly became intrigued. "Well then who gave it to you?" Mario asked.
"Everyone sit back and I'll explain..." Bobbery said. He then cleared his throat and began his tale...
"It was the dark, early hours of last Wednesday. My crew had taken on a task to deliver some Chuckola reserves to several different ports. Being the navigator, it was hard work for me to even stay awake, but being the devoted sailor I am, I forced myself to. However, we soon found ourselves at the mercy of an approaching storm. I tried my best to steer around it, and I did a pretty good job, but unfortunately, I narrowly miscalculated and we ended up having to pass through the very edge of it. It as during this time of the voyage that it happened..."
"The water was rough, and the winds mighty. While everyone else retreated below decks, I alone stayed above and steered the boat as best I could, but my best wasn't good enough. A monstrous wave crashed up onto the deck and knocked me down flat, several feet from the rudder. I was knocked around pretty badly, and I lay there on the cold, rainy deck for several minutes, unable to move..."
"But then suddenly, a bolt of lightning illuminated the deck... And standing across from me was a stout figure in a cloak. I saw it for but a second, for the light soon faded. But then, another bolt of lightning, and the figure had magically moved closer - 'twas but a few yards from where I lay. 'Who are you?!' I called out, but no answer. Once again, the light faded, and the figure vanished from sight. The one more illuminating bolt of lightning... And I then saw it stood mere inches from my body. It wore an odd red and gold pendant around its neck, and it loomed over me like a wicked ghost. I was frightened to death.”
“Who are you and what do you want from me?!' I cried. But the cloaked figure said nothing. It merely reached into its pocket, pulled out the boarding pass, and tacked it to my sturdy, shivering body. 'A gift from Vivian...' it replied darkly. The light then faded again... And the figure was gone. Strangely enough, seconds after it disappeared, the storm ended...”
“I later came to, and took a look at the boarding pass tacked onto my body. Once I saw what it was for, I ordered a change of course and sailed back to Keelhaul Key, where I met all of you to board the Elation, and go on the adventure that we are all on at this very moment...”
Everyone listened to the tale in horror, and when it was finally over, the silence in the room was like that of an empty coffin.
Parakarry was shaking in his boots. "B-but... I swear to God, I lost that thing..."
Bobbery scoffed. "Well, whatever that beastly thing was, it found it and gave it to me!"
Peach was intrigued as well. A stout cloaked figure with a red and gold pendant around its neck... Where had she seen someone like that before...?
Vivian was shaken by the story as well, but she eventually took a deep breath and came to. "Well, whoever this person was, they can't be that bad, could they? I mean, they did get Bobbery's pass to him. Maybe they were just being nice!"
"I dunno," Mario thought. "Whoever this weird thing was, they were probably monitoring Parakarry closely to make sure he delivered all those passes..."
Parakarry gasped. "Ya mean... Someone was watchin' me?!"
"It sure seems like it," Mario replied.
But Vivian shook her head. "But that doesn't matter, right? What really does matter is that this person helped get Bobbery his pass, which means he's here with us right now!"
"I suppose," Bobbery said with a smile.
Vivian turned to Parakarry with a warm expression. "Oh Parakarry, it was really sweet of you to come all this way just because you felt guilty."
Parakarry shrugged. "Well hey, I had a few days off! And uh... Well, I just thought I should cuz you're the nicest girl I ever met, and I had to make it up to ya."
"Oh, thanks Parakarry," Vivian said with a smile. She then jumped up and gave him a big hug.
After that was done, Mario had another question. "Yo Parakarry, how'd you know which room we were in?"
"Well, " he said, "I followed that Doopliss fella to your front door, and I needed to talk to ya, but I though it'd be weird to see me and Doopliss standin' together at your door, so... I sped outside and decided to knock on the patio door."
Vivian gasped. "Doopliss is at the front door?!"
And with that came another knock on the door. He'd been knocking periodically for the last five minutes.
Mario was about to answer, but then stopped.
They still had a lot to ask Parakarry. Would it really matter if Doopliss was in there, too? Could he maybe tell Doopliss to wait outside another few minutes?
Plus, he still had to consider that Doopliss might be on the side of evil...
After a little self-debating, Mario carefully walked up to the front door and grabbed the knob, though he didn't open the door. "Who's there?" he asked.
"Umm... room service!"
"Doopliss, I know it's you. What are you doing here?!"
"Huh? Oh, damn. Uh... Look, just let me in and I’ll explain!"
"You'd damn well better explain! Because of you, it's probably not safe for us to sleep here tonight now that we know Bowser, Crump and Grodus are after us!"
"Look, I'm sorry about that! Really, I am! That’s all I came here to say! Honest!”
"Alright then, well you've said it. Now go away!"
"No! There's more I have to tell you!"
"Seriously Doopliss, leave! Bowser and Crump could round the corner at any second, and if they see you standing outside our door, they'll know we're in here!"
"Oh, oh yeah... Well... Well in that case, I-I'm not moving from this spot until you let me in!"
"Doopliss, come on!!"
"No, YOU come on! I'm tellin' you, I'm not moving until you let me in! So what are ya gonna do?!"
Mario clenched his fist and thought hard about the situation. Doopliss did sound like he was being serious... He finally figured it wasn't worth risking Crump and Bowser finding them. He sighed, twisted the knob, and opened the door. Doopliss squeezed past Mario into the room. "Thanks," he said.
"Whatever," groaned Mario. "Now say want you have to before we throw you outta here!"
Doopliss walked into the room and found everyone to be staring at him in an odd way. Aside from Vivian, Flurrie, and Ms Mowz, no one had seen Doopliss since he was last present at the rebirth and defeat of the Shadow Queen. Therefore, they were all stunned to have suddenly seen him here dancing the YMCA on stage with Parakarry, Bowser and Crump. On top of that, he had pointed out their position to the princess-hungry Bowser and Crump to find them. So... yeah, it was a pretty awkward moment for him.
"Hey guys," he said quietly.
No one said a word for a long time... Until Vivian broke the silence. "Hi Doopliss. How are you?"
Doopliss smiled, but his smile quickly faded. "I'm... Well, to be honest, I feel pretty dang awful right now." He let out a quivered sigh. "I can't believe I totally blurted out your position and showed Bowser and Crump that you were here. Even after I knew what they were up to..."
"Tell me about it," Parakarry uttered. He'd never met Doopliss personally, but judging from what he'd seen so far, his first impression wasn't too great. "If I hadn't told them to escape, Bowser and Crump would've probably had them by now!"
"Now hold up a second!" Mario cried. "You BOTH knew beforehand what Bowser, Crump and Grodus were planning?"
Parakarry and Doopliss both nodded.
"But how? I mean, if you're not in league with them..."
Parakarry and Doopliss looked at one another suspiciously. "No, I'm not on their side," they both said at the same time.
"Then how do you know their plans?!" Mario asked, exasperated.
"Well," Parakarry said, "On my way here to apologize to Vivian for that, umm... 'failed' delivery, I happened ta run into the trio o' villains while they were riding here in that Klown Kar of Bowser's... but that meeting wasn't too important. It's when we met again at the dock that was. Grodus told me he planned on allowing Bowser to kidnap Peach, and that he also wanted to kill Vivian fer some reason.”
“Did Grodus explain why he wanted to do any of this?” Mario inquired.
“He offered to tell me his whole plan, but only if I agreed to help him search for ya’ll. Naturally, I didn’t accept that offer, so I’m afraid I don’t know their motives. I’m sorry...”
“I know their motives...” Doopliss said, raising his hand slightly.
Mario looked at him seriously. He didn’t bother asking how Doopliss might have known that information. “Alright then! Spit it out already!”
Doopliss jumped in surprise. “Oh, right! Umm... so, yeah. Grodus wants another chance to take over the world, but because all of his funds and supplies were lost during his last failed attempt, he needs to repair his moon base and his whole X-naut army back to its original state. However, he’ll have no chance of doing this unless his mainframe computer helps him. What was it called again? Started with a ‘T’ or something...”
"TEC?" Peach asked with a certain joy in her voice.
"Doh, right! TEC! That's the name! So yeah, he needs TEC to cooperate in order to revive the base. However, since TEC is still angry at Grodus for not allowing him to love Peach, he still resists Grodus's commands. Therefore, Grodus plans to actually allow Bowser to kidnap Peach. Once that happens, he'll tell TEC that Peach is in the hands of a terrible monster, and that she will only live if TEC helps him rebuild the base. TEC would then have no choice but to comply, thereby ultimately allowing Grodus to have another shot at world domination. And, uh... Yup. That’s about the size of it.”
When Peach heard this, she couldn't help but feel very depressed. Bowser planned to kidnap her (again!), TEC was about to have his love for her be used against him, and Bowser was going to kidnap her... AGAIN! But... now that they knew of the plan beforehand, they could avoid it all. This made her very relieved. "Thanks for telling us this, Doopliss..."
Vivian then stood up. "But wait! You said Grodus wanted me, too. Why!?"
Doopliss readily volunteered to explain. “Vivian, you remember when you quit the Shadow Sirens and joined Mario, then I took your place?”
“Yeah...” Vivian said.
"Well, it's like this... Grodus was really upset when you betrayed him and joined the side of good so abruptly, and he was even more angry to hear that the Shadow Queen had been defeated by your hand... Therefore, as a little bonus to the princess-kidnaping plan, he plans to kill you as revenge for your disloyalty."
Vivian gasped. "But... but Mario was the main hero that killed the Shadow Queen! Why wouldn’t Grodus want to kill him, too?"
Mario frowned. "Hey Vivian, where you gettin' at!?"
Vivian continued. "Heck, ALL of us aided in the Shadow Queen's defeat! Why wouldn't Grodus want to kill ALL of us?!"
Doopliss shook his head slowly. "He only seeks to kill you now because you betrayed him. All the rest will probably die if his plan works and he does end up with control of the world, anyway..."
"Oh for God's sake..." Vivian moaned, pulling her hat down over her face.
Mario was still confused. "Now wait a minute. You mean to tell me that Grodus just waltzed up to both of you and told you all this?"
"Naw," Parakarry said. "He only talked ta me because he thought maybe I'd know where ya were. When I said I didn't know, he thought maybe he could convince me to join his team to search for ya’ll, seein’ as I can fly and all. Of course, as I said, I didn't agree to help ‘em...”
"Ditto, basically. Except for the flying part," Doopliss said.
"Oh..." Mario thought. "OK, I suppose that makes sense then. Thanks guys, for not giving in to them."
Vivian still had her face covered. "Doopliss..." she said lowly. "...You knew Bowser and Crump were here to kidnap Peach and to KILL me... and you still blurted out our position to them?"
Doopliss suddenly felt the guilt in his heart start to grow heavy. "I... I'm sorry. It was an accident..."
Vivian looked up, her mouth twisted in anger. "Weren't you even THINKING about it?! Did it even cross your mind that your little 'shout-out' was putting us in serious danger?!"
Doopliss shook his head. "No, really! I just... I saw you in the audience, and I just couldn't help myself! I had to call out! I admit, I wasn't thinking about that at the moment, but you gotta understand..."
"Understand WHAT?!" she shouted.
Mario's eyes went wide and whipped out the Crystal Ball, just to make sure the smoke was still in there. He was relieved to see that it was, and that this was Vivian's own true anger.
"WELL?!" she asked once more.
Doopliss struggled to breathe. "You gotta understand that... My mind was only on you at that moment!"
An odd aura settled in the room with that statement. Vivian herself made a gesture that showed she was feeling a bit uncomfortable. "...What do you mean by that?"
Doopliss realized just how close he'd come to revealing his true feelings, and couldn't take the risk of revealing anymore. "...Nothing," he said. "I just wasn't thinking. I really am sorry..."
Vivian pulled her hat down over her eyes again and said nothing.
Flurrie and Ms Mowz looked at one another and shook their heads solemnly.
"Well..." Mario announced. "It's uhh... It's probably too dangerous for any of us to stay here tonight, seeing as Bowser and Crump are probably frantically searching this resort for us as we speak. So... I say maybe we should pack up our things, sneak out the patio door, and stay at the Portside Motel just on the other side of town. We'll hopefully find the last two Rainbow Relics tomorrow. Once we do, we'll do what we have to with them and leave as soon as possible. That cool with everyone?"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Oh, hey!” Parakarry exclaimed, reaching into his mailbag and feeling the stone within it.
Speakin' of Rainbow Relics, there's somethin' I gotta talk to you concernin' that..."
"Sure thing," Mario said. "Tell us when we get there. Right now, let's just leave quickly and quietly..."
"Hey Mario," Vivian then said, "We still haven't learned the new Rainbow Relic location or poem verse from the eye-shaped Relic yet. Should we maybe do that first before leaving?"
Mario realized that they had indeed forgotten all about the eye-shaped Relic they'd gotten at Warburton's Boarding School, and that they should do all the necessary stuff with it tonight.
Mario dug through his suitcase and pulled out the blue, eye-shaped Relic and held it up for all to see.
You got the Blue Rainbow Relic! Also known as the Eyes of Virtue!
Almost immediately, the Crystal Ball levitated from Mario’s pocket, as did the Map from Peach’s. The two objects began to float about magically and began their odd little dance.
Parakarry and Doopliss were trippin' out. And they nearly fell over when the Crystal Ball fired it's black mist at the Map!
When the objects settled down again, Peach grabbed the Map, and sure enough, there was a new Relic symbol and a new poem verse printed on the backside.
However, by this point, Mario knew they'd wasted enough time already. Bowser and Grodus would find them soon, and they needed to escape as quickly as possible. Mario immediately knew what everyone was thinking about at that moment, though, and knew they all needed to focus their attention on getting out of there.
"The Map and Poem can wait," Mario said, stuffing the Crystal Ball back into his pocket. "Right now, we need to leave. Everyone grab your things. We're leaving in five minutes."
With that, everyone began to hastily pack up their stuff. They grabbed their clothes and belongings from all over the room and stuffed them into their bags. They were even urged to pick up things that weren't even theirs, just to make sure no one forgot anything. After five minutes, they did a final sweep of the room just to make sure nothing was left behind. Once they made sure of it, Mario opened the patio door and urged everyone out. It was a good thing they were on the bottom floor, as they were all able to sneak out quickly and quietly...
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