Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was vast.

They drifted through the area, their destination set from the moment they began moving. It didn't matter how long it took; they would eventually get there. They didn't need to eat or sleep, so it was of no matter to them.

To anyone except them, the place would appear entirely foreign, perhaps even too much for the naked eye? They weren't entirely sure, but sometime in the future they'd get to test that out.

Crystals of various sizes and shapes lined the area, glowing but otherwise worthless. They were nothing more than decoration, but they were also invulnerable, no matter how much they tried to even make a scratch on them.

How far did this land stretch out? Forever. It may as well; if they got lost then they would already have to give up on coming back where they came from. After the first few times it happened, they created some... landmarks for themself, reminding them of the places they've visited. It was all the same, but it was... nice to have a bit of familiarity for a change.

But how did they create such landmarks, one hypothetically may ask. If everything was the same and the crystals were invulnerable, then there left only one other option.

No matter where they went, there was the liquid. Everywhere was flooded with it, the liquid going almost a foot up their robe. By now, the liquid was normal, just as everything else was to them. It was bright, the color impossible to describe. Regardless, it was useful in a multitude of ways.

They stopped for a moment, glancing at one of their landmarks. Good. Thankfully, they were on the right track.

Instead, they bent down, reaching toward the liquid with two of their arms. With ease, they scooped up a bunch of the liquid, holding it in their arms before straightening back up. This liquid was... malleable, in a sense. At one point in time, they found they were easily able to form the liquid into whatever shape they willed. And that opened the door for unimaginable possibilities. Not infinite, but quite a big number.

The liquid dripped a bit as they continued their journey, but they didn't mind. They could just get more if they... tripped or something.

…

…

Another landmark.

…

…

It took a while, but at last, they arrived. Unmistakably, this was it. A small smile formed; they'd been waiting for this... for such a long time.

With a wave of a free arm, a chair formed, the liquid on the ground taking their desired shape. Wasting no time, they sat down, too excited to wait any longer. They'd waited so long, they deserved to hurry things up a bit. Plus, it was nice to sit in a comfortable chair.

"How's my audience been? I'm sure you've missed me. ...Haven't you?" Their voice was tender, and yet at the same time petrifying.

So petrifying that their audience didn't have a word to say. But could the audience have said anything in the first place? Such is life.

"No matter what your answer might be, the outcome is the same." They spoke, a big smile creeping onto them. "At last, my dear audience... it's time for the final act of the story."

They lifted up the liquid in their arms, making sure their audience got a good look at it. Seconds later, the liquid began to float. They made sure that it stabilized, moving their hands over and around it until... it split up into three smaller blobs of liquid. It was mesmerizing, but they'd only just begun.

"Listen up, because I'll only be able to say this once. Time is limited, after all." It was imperative that they knew that fact. Reality was that time only moved forward, and there was a limited amount. "This tale will span generations upon generations, eons, even..." They took a slight pause, figuring out the best wording for their next sentence. "And perhaps the very essence of time itself."

A harsh truth, but a necessary one. If the story is to be told, then it must be done properly. Nevertheless, it was still a fascinating tale.

"Every story has a main character; at least one that the audience roots for." An obvious fact, one that even the most mindless, slow-witted dullard could understand. So why did they say it? Perhaps... to add a bit of dramatic effect. "Although, this story... I suppose it has three of them. Three main characters, all of them very special people."

Even the very thought of those three brought them immense joy. Oh, they were ever so eager...

Their hand moved, and the first of three blobs of liquid began to change. It twisted, spun, stretched, morphed... "First..." They spoke, watching the blob of liquid transform into their desired shape. "The red-capped plumber, one that is commonly referred to as 'jumpman.'"

Right on cue, the liquid's transformation was complete. It was no longer formless, now resembling that person. It clumsily fell onto their open palm, attempting to look around before standing up. It was funny, this one. It jumped around on its own, making sure not to fall off their hand lest it be re-assimilated into the liquid below.

"Second..." They continued, now shifting their focus to the second liquid blob. Just as the first one a minute ago, it too began to change, albeit a bit more... wildly than the last one. "The teenager who's won the hearts of many, born with the gem powers of his mother."

And just like that, the second liquid's transformation completed. It too fell into one of their open palms, slowly floating down before landing. This appeared more cautious from its body language alone, not immediately wanting to explore its surroundings. Instead, it tried to summon a shield... and it worked! For all of two seconds, before the shield glitched out and disappeared. Oh well.

"And finally..." It was time for the last one. The final blob of liquid remaining began morphing and shifting, three smaller parts of the liquid breaking away and changing on their own. "The boy with buck teeth and a silly pink hat, having the gift of fairy godparents to help escape the cruelty of everyday life."

In a way, that could be... more than relatable for them. It may as well be a distant, fading memory, but even then... if they had fairy godparents, things would've been much, much different. But again, it was impossible to change the past.

The final blob's transformation was at last completed. It resembled the boy, its arms flailing as it too fell onto their open palm. Three smaller blobs hovered above it; those blobs represented the boy's fairies. The small blobs raised their wands, slowing the boy's descent. And with that, it landed safely.

They stayed quiet as two of their palms connected, allowing the blobs to... interact with each other, in a sense. Jumpman jumped from one palm to the other, the teenager attempted to introduce itself to the others, and the boy made sure to hide its fairies from sight. It was... adorable, in a way. The blobs moved about like they knew each other, even if in reality they'd never seen each other before.

"All three of you..." They looked down at the blobs of liquid in their palms, addressing them directly. "Even if your stories may seem separate, I can assure you that you're all very important..." Their voice dropped to a whisper, their hands trembling a little before-

SLAM!

As if it didn't matter in the slightest, they closed their palms together with as much force as they possibly could, utterly annihilating the life they created only moments ago. The liquid went flying everywhere, getting all over their body, slowly trickling down before assimilating itself with the rest of the liquid stretching through the vast land.

"As we're all about to see soon..." They finished, before wiping off the last of the remaining liquid. They slowly stood up, having no need to stand in their chair any longer. "My audience, thank you for listening. I assure you, in due time... everything will pay off." Their tone dark, the chair dissolved, splashing into the rest of the liquid.

It only took time. Everything would come together when it was good and ready, and they were more than anticipating it. Watching everything, every moment remembered... all of it would lead up to... oh, why spoil the fun? They were prepared, they just didn't want to ruin it for themself. Everything had to be kept on track, it was impossible to undo any mistake in the past no matter how gargantuan it might've been.

They took a bow to their audience- slow and graceful. It was only right to savor the moment. And then...

Turning around, they walked away.

Chapter Text

The crowd was going wild. Truthfully, it was a bit hard to hear anything over the various screams and shouts of the Mushroom Kingdom citizens in the stands, but that could only be considered a good thing with how high stakes this once in a lifetime event was.

High in the sky above everyone else fluttered a Lakitu and his crew, armed with microphones and camera equipment, all aimed at the track below. "What a FANTABULOUS race we have on our hands, folks! It might be a cloudy day, but that's not stopping ANYONE!" The Lakitu, Tadd Morgan bellowed into the microphone he held with an iron grip.

His voice could be heard through the various speakers in the stands, a video feed on a screen below each speaker. Practically the entirety of the stands were filled; this event was booked up multiple weeks in advance. Even then, people at home watched on their TVs, listened to their radios... it was impossible not to have heard about this if you were anywhere in the Mushroom Kingdom.

"We are approaching the final lap everyone, I repeat: the FINAL lap!" Tadd Morgan said, narrating everything and giving exposition to anyone that might've just been tuning in. "But folks, it's not just any final lap, no siree!" He adjusted his eyeglass camera slightly, flicking a switch to change the video feed on the big screens.

"If you've somehow been living under a rock this whole time, then I'll gladly fill you in!" Tadd Morgan said, more than enthusiastic about his job. He got paid so many coins per race; who wouldn't be happy about that?

"This is the final lap of the final race of the entire CUP! Everything's on the line here folks, tensions are so high they're out of this WORLD!" Tadd Morgan yelled, causing the crowd to erupt in cheering yet again. "It's still anyone's race, but I'm hard-pressed to believe anyone in the back could possibly make it to first at this point! Such as..."

Tadd zoomed in his eyeglass camera down to the track below, watching the eight racers zoom and zip by on the track as if their very lives were on the line. It took a moment for him to decide who to focus on, but as soon as Tadd laid his eyes on him, he just knew he had to.

"Such as the legend himself, MARIO!" Tadd yelled, the crowd erupting into a massive at the mere mention of his name.

…

Despite the massive urge to lavish in the praise he was getting, Mario knew he had to focus on the race. He kept his grip tight on the steering wheel, his foot pressed down on the gas pedal, and his eyes locked on the road; getting distracted for even a second could make him lose this race. He was absolutely determined to win.

Mario began drifting to turn a sharp corner much more smoothly than if he'd tried to take it normally. Over the years, he'd picked up many little tricks like that while kart racing, it was almost natural for him at that point. He gritted his teeth, desperate for any advantage he could get. There would normally be item boxes ahead, but the racers ahead of him had already passed through them, and Mario had no time to wait around for the item boxes to respawn.

Tadd Morgan had been talking a bit about Mario, but the plumber was too focused to listen much. "...BUT as we can see on the big screen here," That caught Mario's attention, briefly turning to one of the nearby massive screens.

It displayed the current positions of all eight racers, and Mario... was in seventh. Ouch.

The racer in last was Nabbit, and Mario still couldn't figure out how that thieving rabbit had integrated himself into their main group.

But as long as Mario didn't let Nabbit get ahead of him, then he wouldn't be in dead last. Mario used a Mushroom he'd been holding onto for a minute or so to give himself a short speed boost, hoping to catch up to another racer. They were all racing on Mario Circuit; Mario just had to win! It was too fitting!

Years ago, if anyone told Mario that he'd have an entire racetrack named after him in a fantastical, mystical place where he'd have multiple years' worth of adventures... he probably would've laughed in that person's face. But now, that was reality. Mario was in his early twenties, having lived in the Mushroom Kingdom for multiple years now, ever since he was eighteen.

Normally, Mario didn't like dwelling on the past. He was content with his life and adventures in this place; wasn't that enough to make him happy? Yes, yes it was. Aside from his adventures, he had a well-paying job, so many friends he couldn't even count them, and a bunch of memories to cherish for however long he'd live.

Before long, he saw the next racer ahead of him, Mario quickly speeding up. The racer in front of him took things more carefully than Mario ever would, and Mario knew exactly why. This was his brother, after all.

Mario kept his current speed for just a bit longer to catch up with his younger brother (younger by only a few minutes, though) before matching his pace, deciding he had enough time to chat with him.

"Luigi! Found you!" Mario said, greeting his brother.

It turned out that Luigi wasn't expecting anyone to talk to him, especially not during a race. Luigi briefly jumped in surprise, but re-oriented himself as he realized that it was just Mario. "Oh! Well, look who finally showed up!" Luigi playfully taunted, driving a bit closer to Mario while making sure to keep his eyes on the road.

"Hey, you were only one place ahead of me!" Mario chuckled. He lightly elbowed his brother, Luigi laughing as this happened.

"That may be true, but it's one place closer to first!" Luigi said, smirking.

Mario overdramatically rolled his eyes. "Sure, but not nearly close enough." Drat, Luigi had him beat on that one. "Hey, remember the last time we raced next to each other like this?"

"And that announcer couldn't decide which place we were in, so he just kept saying it over and over?" Luigi asked. Before either of them knew it, the two brothers began laughing, that being only one of many fond memories they shared.

The two of them almost always shared playful banter with each other like this. Anyone who knew them would know that they were inseparable, able to stand up to nearly anything if they worked together. And even if anyone somehow didn't know them, they were instantly recognizable by their matching outfits; blue overalls, Mario wearing red underneath while Luigi wore green.

"I guess that's why they have a new announcer now." Mario said, having never figured out before why the previous one quit. Oops.

"It's probably for the better, the new guy is much better at it." Luigi said, Mario nodding in agreement. Tadd Morgan was perhaps the best announcer they'd ever had; his tone and energy couldn't be replicated by anyone.

"Weird question, but are you aiming to get first place?" Luigi inquired.

"Of course." Mario said, narrowing his eyes, reminded of his goal for this race.

"B-But that sounds impossible!" Luigi replied, starting to get a little nervous. Luigi... had always been a bit more nervous and timid than Mario, which Mario couldn't fault him for. After all, Luigi did save him from a haunted mansion once; Mario would forever be in Luigi's debt for that.

"With me, nothing's impossible." Mario said, overconfidence oozing through his very being.

He gripped the steering wheel tightly, seeing that the road split off into two paths ahead. A higher, more difficult path, and a lower path that was easier to traverse, but would take longer compared to the higher path. It was obvious which path he had to take.

Mario slammed down on the gas pedal, pulling ahead to sixth place as he turned toward the higher, dangerous path. It was filled with obstacles, turns, and ramps... but Mario knew this course like the back of his hand; he'd practiced all this so many times over. He didn't have time to say goodbye to Luigi, but he'd see him again after the race.

"Folks, we're almost halfway through the final lap!" Tadd Morgan's voice rung through the air. "It looks like our racers in seventh and eighth have decided to take the easy path down below, which I can't fault them for! Better to guarantee they make it past in one shot without getting hit by one of those big Hammer Bros!"

So, Hammers Bros were the main obstacle on the upper path, huh? The obstacles here changed each lap, so Mario couldn't prepare on that front, but with quick thinking, he swerved, dodging around all the hammers that were thrown onto the track. Mario even picked up one of the hammers, throwing it at a hammer that was about to hit him, causing both projectiles to fall to the ground.

Moments later, Mario hit an item box without even realizing it, only noticing when a small screen next to the steering wheel began rotating through dozens of items per second. Yes! Mario waited, anticipating what item it would stop on...

A boo. Boos were one of the oldest items used in kart racing, letting a person turn completely invisible for a short amount of time. ...That wouldn't really be useful for him right now. He could just press the button underneath the small screen and use it up right now, but something in his gut told him he might need it later... he trusted it.

Mario frowned, considering all his options. He really hoped for something like a bullet bill or a golden mushroom to help boost him up a few places, but of course luck wouldn't always be on his side, would it? He was still in sixth place and about halfway through the final lap, how could he possibly pull all the way ahead to first?

He racked his brain, trying to think of something, anything... wait! Mario glanced at a large, wide waterfall to his left, and if Mario remembered correctly...

Gritting his teeth, he made a sharp left turn, practically drifting as he sped toward the waterfall. It wasn't just any ordinary waterfall, after all. This... was a shortcut! All courses made for kart racing were littered with them, some harder to reach than others. This waterfall was just one of many among the several waterfalls along the wall, and most would assume it was just part of the scenery and keep on driving.

But Mario knew better. He'd practiced this course so many times, inspected it for any plumbing issues, and even had it memorized to the point he might be able to drive it with his eyes closed. ...He wasn't actually going to test that out, though.

As Mario drove through the waterfall, he got absolutely drenched in cold water, soaking up his vehicle as well. ...This was why everyone's karts had to be made waterproof, after all.

On the other side of the waterfall was a dark, wide path in the mountain. There were multicolored lights strung along the walls, as well as a few bats on the ceiling. Though Mario initially shivered upon having the massive amount of water on him, he shook it off the best he could. Despite the fact that Mario was still dripping wet all over, he was satisfied in a way.

"You found it too?" An all-too familiar voice asked him, a sly grin on her face.

That voice was Peach, though she was more formally referred to as Princess Toadstool. She didn't mind if Mario called her Peach, though. She was another racer, a bit ahead of him.

"Please, it was so obvious." Mario said with a laugh as Peach slowed down slightly so the two of them could race side-by-side.

"Was it the flower patch that gave it away?" Peach asked, curious.

...Mario didn't notice a flower patch, to be quite honest. "Uhhh... sure." Mario lied. Everyone was racing so fast that nobody would notice a random flower patch and realize that led to a shortcut, honestly. "Actually, the flow of water on this waterfall looked a bit different, so that's how I, uh..." Mario trailed off, unsure of where he was going with this.

Peach giggled a little in response, Mario blushing slightly as he looked away.

The Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom played a part in many of Mario's adventures over the years. Whether it be a passive or active role... or a damsel in distress. Needless to say, the two were quite good friends after all this time. Heck, after Mario's first adventure with Luigi, Peach was so grateful that she commissioned a house built for the two brothers just outside the Mushroom Kingdom. It was a small house, but it worked.

Over the years he'd known her, Mario knew more than enough about the Princess. Sure, she might be a damsel in distress sometimes, but she was still brave enough to hold her own and defend her kingdom when she needed to. Peach wasn't the Princess for nothing, after all. ...It was really admirable.

Great, now Mario was blushing even more, but at the same time, he... felt confused? He shook that off; that was a conversation he didn't want to have.

"This has to be the best Grand Prix I've ever hosted, don't you think?" Peach asked, changing the conversation topic. Right, she'd always hosted these. It was a difficult job, making sure nobody cheated or tried to sabotage the race. Hey, at least only one fight broke out this time, and that was in a previous race when second place finished only a millisecond behind first.

"It sure is." Mario agreed with a chuckle. All things considered; it was going so well! ...Maybe a little too well? "Especially since I'm gonna win."

"Please, I doubt it." Peach jokingly replied. "I'm not sure who's gonna win, but whoever it is, this race is bound to be the talk of the kingdom for weeks." Peach smiled at this, and Mario wanted to smile too, but...

Now, he was more determined than ever to win. But Peach had a point, they were more than halfway through the final lap at this point... it'd take a miracle for him to win at this point. But hey, Mario's survived plenty of worse odds before. This wasn't any different.

The two of them saw another waterfall ahead, both of them bracing themselves as they were once again soaked in water. It wasn't as bad as the first time, thankfully. The second waterfall indicated the end of the shortcut, getting Mario and Peach back on the main track; this part of it didn't have guard rails for some reason.

Above them, Tadd Morgan began narrating over the race again, but Mario didn't listen to him, narrowing his focus down to winning. The crowd's cheering made it almost impossible to focus, and at this rate... just how would the race turn out? Mario and Peach were neck and neck, and ahead of them was another racer; a pink Shy Guy.

Peach pressed a button on her kart, giving her a banana peel. "Watch this." She got Mario's attention. Huh, she must've been saving that for a while. "I'm gonna nail this guy." Peach held up the banana peel, glancing toward the Shy Guy ahead of them. Even in a race like this, Peach still found time to be playful, huh?

Mario didn't say anything as Peach threw the banana peel forward, landing on the track in front of the Shy Guy. The Shy Guy made a weird noise as he turned out of the way before straightening himself up, zooming ahead. Well, that was a waste. No matter; Mario still tried to think of a way he could get into first before-

"Watch out!" Peach yelled, trying to get Mario's attention.

The plumber had gotten so hyper-focused on thinking about how to get in first that he became completely unaware of his surroundings, not realizing until Peach yelled at him that he was about to drive right onto the banana peel-

Mario gasped, desperately swerving out of the way. He turned his steering wheel multiple times over, knowing what would happen if he so much as grazed that banana peel. He avoided it by a mere inch, but there soon was another problem on his hands, evident before his very eyes as he sped toward the edge of the track.

He tried to straighten himself out, turning the steering wheel back in the other direction... but he couldn't turn. He was stuck drifting, the tires screeching against the road. Mario tried desperately to stop himself, slamming on the brakes... but that didn't do anything either, and in a matter of moments...

Mario fell off of the racetrack.

Time seemed to slow as Mario shut his eyes, waiting for one of the rescue Lakitus to pick him up and put him back on the track... Peach screamed his name; the crowd gasped... but after what felt like ages of falling... Mario abruptly landed, the sheer unexpectedness of it causing his eyes to snap open.

What? Mario still had his foot on the gas pedal, and he drove forward, having found a much narrower and more difficult part of the track to navigate. What was this? Mario never saw this before, unless...

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Tadd Morgan yelled as loud as possible into his mic. "Folks, this is something even I couldn't foresee happening! Mario found the Ultra Shortcut; I repeat Mario found the Ultra Shortcut!" It seemed unbelievable, but that was the truth.

Ultra Shortcuts were rarely if ever found on these racetracks, requiring nearly impossible maneuvers to even find or navigate them... but somehow, through sheer luck, Mario happened to stumble upon one. He wasn't sure how or why this happened, but he wasn't going to pass up this chance.

Narrowing his eyes, he drove through the narrow path on the Ultra Shortcut, following a straightish path that skipped most of the remaining track. Within a minute, Mario found a ramp that led back up to the main track, the plumber slamming down on the gas pedal as he drove off the ramp. While in the air, he decided to show off, performing a brief handstand trick before getting back into his vehicle, just in time for him to land on the track.

"That... was intense." Mario said to himself, panting. What place was he in? He knew how much of the track that Ultra Shortcut skipped; he recognized this as being near the finish line... did he dare look at the placements?

He couldn't stop himself. For the briefest of moments, Mario snapped his head to look at the nearest scoreboard, seeing that he'd jumped all the way up to second place. There was only one person standing between him and first place, and that person was...

Wario.

The pudgy, yellow-capped racer was just a bit ahead of him, but Mario wasn't sure if he'd be able to get past him in time. Mario rolled his eyes and loudly groaned to himself, unable to handle the thought of Wario being recognized as the Grand Prix. Wario didn't need much explaining, except that he lived in some city not too far from the Mushroom Kingdom, constantly ripping off his 'friend group' while they made a bunch of games for him. ...Didn't they go on vacation recently? How'd that turn out?

As if on cue, Wario turned his head, his eyes widening and his mouth agape as he noticed Mario racing behind him. "WHA-You? How'd you get up here so fast, cheater?" Wario yelled, clearly angry.

"I didn't cheat!" Mario yelled back. Wario was always this obnoxious; Mario tried not to let it get to him.

"Argh, WHATEVER!" Wario roared. "It doesn't matter because I'MA GONNA WIN!" He jabbed a thumb at himself, laughing maniacally before focusing back on the road. "But just to make sure..." He pushed the item button on his kart, which gave him a red shell moments later. "Take THAT!"

Without warning, Wario threw the red shell backwards, intent on hitting Mario. ...Ignoring the fact that this wasn't how you were supposed to use red shells in these races, the last thing Mario needed was to get hit by the thing. He'd get stunned for several seconds and possibly leave room for someone else to pass him, but it was too risky to drive around the red shell zooming along the track... unless...

Hoping his on-the-spot idea would work, Mario slammed on the brakes, jolting forward slightly as he began skidding to a stop. The red shell got confused, slowing down as it reached Mario... before turning around. Yes! These specific red shells were always programmed to zoom toward the nearest racer ahead of them, homing in to hit them and stun them for several seconds; because Mario stopped, there was only one racer that the red shell could detect.

Wario kept laughing to himself, only stopping when a warning alert appeared on his kart that a red shell was approaching- and fast. "Wha- NO!" Wario yelled, panicking and swerving to try and avoid getting hit. "CHEATER! CHEATER!"

Mario couldn't help but be transfixed on the scene before him, watching Wario completely lose track of where he was going, the hot-tempered man screaming as he desperately tried to avoid the red shell... only to crash right into a safety wall, the red shell hitting him moments later as if to add insult to injury. Ouch.

Mario felt only slightly bad for Wario as he pressed on the gas, driving ahead. There it was, just in sight...

And only moments later, Mario drove past the finish line, making record time.

"AGAINST ALL ODDS, OUR FIRST PLACE WINNER IS... MARIO!" Tadd Morgan bellowed, the crowd going into an uproar so loud that Mario couldn't hear anything else that Tadd said. It took a few seconds to process it, but...

He really did it! He made it and beat the race in FIRST PLACE! Excitement bubbling inside him, Mario pulled over to the side, his heart pounding with the rush of accomplishing what he set out to do. He felt as if he was on top of the world, like nothing else mattered right now! He almost wanted to get out of his vehicle and cheer but decided against it; it wasn't safe to do that when others could drive by at any moment.

But that didn't mean he couldn't relish in his victory! Mario took a deep breath-

And nearly forgot how to breathe for a split second as the BOOM of what sounded like a cannonball being fired rung through the air... before that massive cannonball crashed onto the ground several yards away, creating a huge crater in its wake.

Mario's celebration stopped before it even began, everyone realizing that this wasn't planned in the slightest. Mario's body filled with adrenaline, first from winning the race and now with whatever was happening now; it was all going so fast he could hardly keep up.

"As if this final race in the Grand Prix wasn't already insane enough, it appears the racetracks are under attack!" Tadd Morgan yelled. "For next course of action, I'm gonna get the heck out of here! And I suggest everyone else does as well!" With that, Tadd Morgan flew away as fast as he could, screaming. One of the cameramen followed him as he slowly disappeared out of view.

The crowd was in a panic, everyone running and trying to get away as fast as they could, especially as a few more cannonballs rained onto the ground. Thankfully none of them hit the stands, but people were practically trampling over each other to try and escape... Mario grimaced, hoping nobody would get seriously injured.

"Good, you're safe!" Peach said, driving onto the scene. Luigi was with her, looking scared out of his mind.

"What's going on?" Luigi asked, shaking.

Now that Mario had a few moments to think, it became obvious. "I might have a feeling." Who else was the source of their misfortune, the main reason (most of the time) that they had to go on adventures to save the Mushroom Kingdom in the first place?

The clouds in the sky began to part as an airship came into view, several small airships beside it. There was no mistaking it now. Mario, Luigi, and Peach all looked up at the sky; the airships getting closer to the racetrack.

Luigi let out a short gasp. "Is that..."

Peach nodded, confirming it. "It is."

The emblem on the front of the airship revealed everything; there was no room for doubt. Mario glared up at the main airship, anger and rage boiling through his body as he only spoke one word.

"Bowser."

When Mario & Luigi initially came to the Mushroom Kingdom shortly after they turned eighteen, they saved Peach from Bowser's villainous clutches so many times that Mario stopped keeping count after a year or so. Even on the extremely rare occasion that they'd team up, Bowser always decided to go back to his old ways and kidnap the princess, no matter what.

The Koopa King himself appeared in view as he stepped into view at the front of the airship, glaring down below him. "Princess Peach!" Bowser roared, breathing fire out of his mouth for several seconds before he pointed forward. "This time, you're mine!"

Chapter Text

The camera pointed at the gilded purple book that lay on the large silver stand. The live video feed broadcasted this to any compatible gem equipment across the universe, making sure as many gems as possible saw and heard what was about to take place.

It took a bit of time to set this up in the first place, but it was worth it to spread the message as far as possible. Everyone needed to be caught up, after all! This all took place on Homeworld, which was the most convenient place for it, to be honest.

White Diamond picked up the large book, titled 'Steven Universe' off the stand, holding it up to the camera. "Once upon a time..." White Diamond spoke as she opened the book to the first page. Each page of the book was comprised of a large illustration, with a description below written in gem glyph.

"...The Gem Homeworld was ruled by Diamonds as part of the Diamond Authority." White Diamond continued. "White, Yellow, Blue..." The camera panned to each of the illustrations of the Diamonds, stopping for a few moments on Blue. "And finally, the littlest Diamond, Pink."

The shot lingered on Pink Diamond for a few seconds before the page turned.

"While the other Diamonds conquered many planets across the galaxy..." ...A multitude of those planets having sentient, breathing life that was stripped away as if they were mere ants. "...Pink had only one- the planet Earth." The left side of the page showed many planets in ruin at the hands of the Diamonds, while the right side showed the Earth in all its glory... and in peace, as it always should be.

Yet again, the page turned.

"One day, Pink fled the comforts of Homeworld." Was 'comforts' really the right word to use? Especially since the illustration literally depicted Pink Diamond running away as fast as she possibly could. "On Earth, she made a new home," Another thing the book failed to explain was how she faked her own shattering to live as Rose Quartz, but maybe that was a bit too depressing for the uplifting mood that they were trying to create.

"New friends," The illustration depicted Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl of the Crystal Gems. "And finally, new life; giving up her form to bequeath her gem to her half-human son." That was possibly the most selfless and selfish decision Rose had ever made... and it was also the last one.

After making sure the camera got a good view of the illustration on that page (the artist spent a lot of time and hard work on it!), White Diamond flipped to the next page.

"Without Pink, Gemkind entered an era of despair." That was evident by the illustrations of the massive weapons partially stuck in the ground, with White, Yellow, and Blue Diamond in the middle of all of them, the three diamonds saddened. "But when Steven Universe learned of his heritage..." There was another pause, making sure the half-human's name stuck in the minds of whoever watched.

"He reunited with his fellow Diamonds and championed a new era of peace and freedom across the furthest reaches of space!" White Diamond finished, the last illustration showing Steven facing the Diamonds, with the symbol of the Diamond Authority above them completely flipped on its head- with Pink on top and White at the bottom.

And with that, the book closed, the camera panning up to White Diamond's face. "And now, dear gems everywhere, I'm pleased to announce that Steven is finally ready to take his rightful place on Pink Diamond's throne!" White Diamond was sitting on her throne in the throne room, with Yellow and Blue Diamond also sitting on their respective thrones.

Right on cue, there was a dramatic fanfare as the camera shifted down to a young man, looking away from the camera. He was in fact not sitting on Pink Diamond's throne, waiting a second or two before there was a spotlight on him, to which he turned to face the camera, beaming with a smile.

"How's it going, everybody?" Steven Universe asked.

Two years had passed since Steven managed to convince White Diamond to help heal the corrupted gems. It was the first step in a list of many to attempt to fix the many atrocities and mistakes the Diamonds committed in the numerous millennia that they'd been alive. And now, one of the next steps was to hold a broadcast, reaching as many gems as possible to get everyone up to speed on what the current state of gem affairs was. It was more than trivial to set up, especially with Blue Pearl controlling the gem camera and Yellow Pearl handling the internal controls.

Steven Universe was now sixteen years old, on his way to becoming a fully-grown teenager. He still wore his usual sandals with blue pants, but now he had a black shirt with a yellow star, wearing a pink sports jacket on top of it.

"I know you all might be thinking of me as the new Pink Diamond..." Steven began, speaking the honest truth. There was a script prepared for him earlier, but he threw it out when nobody was looking. "But you don't have to put me on a throne. I already have a rightful place, and it's on Earth." Not to mention he absolutely refused to sit on Pink Diamond's throne if he could help it.

Though Yellow Diamond appeared bored and Blue Diamond waited patiently, both of them had their interest piqued at Steven's statement, the two Diamonds leaning forward on their thrones in confusion.

"What?" White Diamond whispered in surprise, leaning forward as well. Steven could feel the three Diamonds staring down at him, but he ignored it.

Yellow Pearl tinkered with the settings, making some final adjustments to make sure that the broadcast reached even the farthest corners of the universe where there was gem technology... even places where there were seemingly little to no inhabitants.

"I live on a beach house in the state of Delmarva." Steven began, hoping nobody would interrupt him. "My friends Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl live with me, and together the four of us made up the original Crystal Gems."

His message did indeed reach practically everywhere it could, from various places on Homeworld with thousands of gems listening in the same place, to many other planets across the galaxy, gems stopping what they were doing to listen to Steven's message. "There's also my best friend Connie, who I met when I accidentally trapped the two of us in my bubble..." The numerous gems watched in interest, taking in all of Steven's words.

"My pink lion, who I met in a desert, and my dad, who's always been there for me..." Steven continued. The numbers of viewers grew by the second; even a few gems that were still very entrenched in Era 2's ways decided to give it a chance. "And various other gems that I've befriended, like Peridot, Lapis, Bismuth..." Those were just three out of many.

Even locations such as the long-forgotten garden with only one inhabitant and the eerie, uncanny blue moon were receiving the message as well.

Steven paused, shaking his head as he chuckled to himself. "I'm sorry, I got a little ahead of myself." He shrugged. He couldn't help it; he adored talking about the people he loved!

"As much as I've loved dismantling the empire and saving all your planets, I can't wait to get home and spend some much-needed quality time with my friends and family." Steven concluded, once again beaming with a bright smile as he brought his hands to his chest.

Above him, White Diamond sat there, taking in Steven's words. Once she realized he finished speaking, she scowled. "Cut the feed." She demanded.

Yellow Pearl nodded. "Your time is up anyway." She sneered, pressing a button to turn the feed off as Blue Pearl giggled, grabbing the handles of the large gem camera to wheel it away. Yellow Pearl then pressed another button, the feed now showing a generic message.

Huh. That was more time than Steven expected to get, to be honest. Some things were still a struggle to get the Diamonds to understand, but it seemed like they were all on the same page now. Steven turned behind him, facing the three Diamonds. "I think that went well."

"Steven, please!" White Diamond said, her arms partially outstretched as she stood up off her throne, frowning.

"You can't go!" Yellow Diamond added, standing up as well.

"You must stay!" Blue Diamond cried, her hands on her cheeks as she joined White and Yellow Diamond.

...Maybe they weren't on the same page after all.

"You're all we have left of Pink!" White Diamond pleaded, clasping her hands together. Steven tensed up, feeling weirdly cold and nervous all of a sudden. Without warning, she went down to her knees with a THUD, causing Steven to jump slightly. "Steven... you belong here, with us!" White Diamond stared down at him, sadness and despair written all over her face.

"Uh..." Steven wasn't sure what to say without upsetting- or angering- the Diamonds any further. The camera feed was off; Yellow and Blue Pearl had already left the throne room. Steven was alone with the Diamonds. The warp pad was just several yards behind him...

"Thanks, but no thanks." Steven backed away slightly, his hands raised. If he could just get to that warp pad...

The three Diamonds were quiet for a few moments, staring down at him. Their eyes bore into him, as if they were scrutinizing his every move-

"Come live with us in the palace!" To Steven's surprise, the three Diamonds broke into song. "There's a room waiting for you!" They sang in a harmony that fit them, but this was the last thing Steven needed right now. He was briefly reminded of when he and his dad barely snuck by Blue and Yellow Diamond in the late Pink Diamond's throne room, while Yellow Diamond sung her heart out to Blue. A memory that he was not too fond of to say the least.

He needed to get out of here-

"Come on..." Yellow Diamond sang, stepping down onto one knee. -Yellow Diamond ran at him at near-lightning speed, Steven barely only managing to get a shield up in time; Garnet yelling his name as Yellow Diamond raised her foot up before slamming it down on him- A flashback. It lasted only a fraction of a second.

"Come on..." Blue Diamond followed, also taking a knee. -Steven jumped higher than he ever had in his life, reaching his arm out to Blue Diamond's arm ship, trying to stop it before Blue Diamond could kidnap his dad and take him who knows where- Another one. The anxiety and fear and panic from that moment bubbled up within him all over again, Steven trying his absolute hardest to remain calm in the present.

"Come on..." White Diamond sang, straightening up on both knees as she clasped her hands together. -White Diamond easily lifted him up in her palm, a wicked, almost demented look on her face as she intended to rip Steven's gem out to prove that he was just still Pink Diamond- But he knew for a fact that he wasn't her; that didn't suddenly erase White Diamond's previous actions.

Steven gulped; it was as if he was slowly sinking into quicksand, stuck here with people that he just desperately wanted to get away from. Be patient, be patient...

The three Diamonds leaned forward. "Just let us-"

"Yeah, I'm not in the mood for a song right now." Steven shook his head, stopping the song entirely. It was as if a record scratch went off, the Diamonds recoiling in mild surprise. Steven continued making his way to the nearby warp pad- it was so close.

"But you love songs!" Blue Diamond gestured to him, confused.

From anyone but you, maybe. Steven didn't say that out loud, but that certainly was how he felt. The back of his foot bumped against the warp pad, relief washing over his body at seeing the gem device. "I know..." Steven jumped up onto the warp pad, at the same time feeling guilty. "I just..."

What was he supposed to say? He already explained everything well enough when he made his announcement to the universe. "Look, you guys have gotten better at showing affection." Steven redirected the conversation, hoping to find an excuse to leave. "But I've got my own life to get back to. Don't forget, I'm not Pink Diamond."

The three Diamonds stood back up. Yellow Diamond let out a sigh, turning her head to the side. "I know you're not her... but you were her's..." Right. Pink Diamond- Rose Quartz's son. Steven chuckled nervously at the mention of his mother.

"And you remind us so much of her!" White Diamond exclaimed, agreeing with Yellow Diamond. Just how many people in his life have said that to him?

"Thanks, but I really, really have to go." Steven waved goodbye, about to activate the warp pad.

"But Steven!" The three Diamonds all exclaimed in unison, breaking the teen's concentration. Oh great, here we go.

"I've disbanded my armies! I've liberated my colonies!" Yellow Diamond said. But she only did that after Steven explained several times over and over again... but once she understood, it was an easy... albeit very tedious process. Yellow Diamond was ruled by logic and reason, and with no war or enemy to fight, there was no reason to have an army or any of that other stuff.

"I never shatter. I never make anyone cry!" Blue Diamond added her own accomplishments... well, Steven really wouldn't call it that. For one, shattering was worse than killing, it was an unforgivable act for numerous reasons. Blue Diamond was ruled by her emotions, and it was... interesting getting her to change her mind, to say the least.

"And I've been saying 'please' and 'thank you' to lower life forms." White Diamond said, trying to get Steven to listen to her. ...Even with Steven trying to course-correct the Diamonds, they still had an unimaginable amount to work on, if it wasn't already obvious.

Steven shook his head and crossed his arms, glaring up at White Diamond. "What did we talk about?"

White Diamond appeared confused for a moment until she realized the problem, the former ruler of the Gem Empire rolling her eyes. "Ugh, equal life forms..." She grumbled, having a hard time even saying it. "Steven, we've done everything you asked!"

And because of that, they wanted him to move in. And there was absolutely no way he was going to do it. Steven needed a break; a chance to relax and breathe after two years of dismantling the empire for the sake of everyone.

"And that's great!" Steven gave them a thumbs up. Time to wrap this up before anything else could happen. He began concentrating on where he wanted to go, the warp pad's energy tingling with his gem. "Good job! Keep it up!" The warp pad was nearly ready- "Bye!"

Steven cheerily smiled as the warp pad activated, the Diamonds looking up as the beam of light began transporting Steven to his location. Just like with a bunch of other gem stuff, the warp pads functioned on a form of magic, connecting with a gem's energy to send the gem (and anything else on the warp pad) to any other warp pad the gem wherever they wanted.

Normally it'd only take seconds, but due to his destination being so far away, it took just a bit longer. Steven soared through the cosmos at light speed, many planets and moons whizzing by in a flash. Space was so beautiful...

Before he knew it, Earth fast approached, Steven more than thankful to see the blue and green planet again. Finally... he arrived at his beach home in the state of Delmarva, the warp pad's light bright as he landed, before it dissipated entirely.

Ah... home sweet home. Well, to be more exact, the warp pad was located in the Conservatory, located in the back of the Beach House. It wasn't always here, only being built after half of the house was destroyed a few years back- when Yellow and Blue Diamond attacked-

The place had potted plants all over, as well as a few beanbag chairs and tables. It was a place Steven could escape to and just be by himself, where nothing else mattered. There was a diamond-shaped button-activated door on the far side of the room, and sitting on the floor next to the door was Steven's best friend, Connie Maheswaran.

The two met multiple years ago, it was... a long story that Steven didn't want to get into. Connie was flipping through a magazine when she looked up, the bright light from the warp pad getting her attention. "Steven!" Connie called, excited. She stood up, the magazine and other items she had with her quickly forgotten.

"What took so long?" Connie asked as Steven leapt off the warp pad, landing right in front of her. The two embraced each other in a hug, Steven content to stay there for who knows how long. He'd been gone for longer than expected; he remembered telling Connie earlier that day before he left that he would be back soon... oops.

The two parted from the hug, Steven letting out a sigh. "The Diamonds." He answered, not happy at all to talk about them.

"What happened?" Connie asked. She knew more than well how... eccentric they could be.

"They reeeeally want me to move in so they can smother me with attention 24/7." Steven answered. He already had enough attention from them for about twenty lifetimes, he could go without it for a while.

Connie couldn't help but giggle at Steven's plight as she walked toward the door. "Sounds fun." There was a hint of sarcasm in her tone, combined with playfulness.

"It's not!" Steven whined, following her. "It's so draining being around them." He grumbled. Everything just felt so draining... well, he did have a lot of work to do with them these past few years, after all. Of course that would make him feel so drained.

"Well, at least you don't have anything else you need to do today, right?" Connie asked, pressing her palm against the pink diamond-shaped button next to the door. It was pressure-activated, the button lighting up as the door slid open. It would stay open until the button was pressed again.

While Connie wasn't looking, Steven was checking a few things on a large, pink projection screen. He turned to her, seeing that she was waiting for him to follow. "Oh yeah, right." Steven confirmed, pressing a circle on the screen, causing the projection to turn off. He had so much to do lately that even the moment he got home, he was checking on work stuff... wow. Was he really that entrenched in work?

He walked over to Connie, the two of them exiting the conservatory. Steven closed the door behind him, following Connie as they both descended the stairs to the balcony outside of Steven's room.

"Today, I'm just gonna kick back and enjoy my happily ever after, no working or anything." Steven said, confident. He thought he deserved it, after all. Anyone deserved a vacation after having to put up with the Diamonds.

Connie snickered. "You're talking like you're in a storybook or something!"

"Like Unfamiliar Familiar?" Steven asked, a sly look in his eyes.

In response, Connie began outright laughing, Steven giggling a bit as well. The two really were great friends, huh. Steven walked past Connie and opened the sliding door for her, Connie wiping tears of laughter from her eyes before she walked into Steven's room, finding her duffel bag on the floor and standing next to it. Steven walked in after her, deciding to sit down on his bed.

"So, are you gonna make it to Sadie Killer's concert in a few nights?" Steven asked, changing the subject. He'd been meaning to ask her about it, but he never found a good time to.

"Heck yeah, of course I am!" Connie cheered in response. "I can't believe it's so far out; I mean... Nevada?! That's on the other side of the country!"

"Well, this is gonna be their biggest gig yet." Steven explained. Sadie Killer's next gig was going to be at that big stadium in Nevada, playing as the first act of the night! It was an incredible honor; Steven remembered the look on Sadie's face when she first got the news. To say she was excited would be a severe understatement, to say the least. "They're very lucky to have gotten it."

"I wouldn't say 'luck', it's more like..." Connie thought for a moment. "Years of skill, blossoming outward onto their final act!" Her arm stretched outward to emphasize her point.

It was Steven's turn to giggle, the half-gem then remembering something else he wanted to bring up. "Are you really going to go through with space camp?"

"Well, yeah." Connie shrugged. "I've always wanted to go to space camp." But still... Steven's heart ached at the thought of Connie going away for who knows how long. "It's not gonna be for a few weeks, remember?"

Oh! That was true. Steven stood up off the bed. "But you've literally been to space multiple times! And you've done way cooler stuff than just camp there." Part of Steven already knew he wouldn't convince her to change her mind, to be honest.

"Eh, my parents are just doing what they can to support my interests." Connie said, clarifying that her parents were the ones who signed her up in the first place. "It's sweet. Plus, I get all the freeze-dried ice cream I want." she added with a laugh.

Before Steven could respond, Connie's phone vibrated. She took it out of her pocket and read over the text message, pocketing the phone afterward. "That's my mom. I've gotta go run a few errands." Connie explained. Well, at least it wasn't space camp... yet.

Connie picked up her duffel bag up off the floor, carrying it on one shoulder before she and Steven embraced each other in another hug for several seconds. Connie pulled away, turning to leave... but she paused, blushing slightly. What was she-

Before Steven could react, Connie turned back, leaning forward and giving him a quick peck on the cheek. Steven froze at the action, stunned.

"Okay!" Connie said, turning around again and running downstairs. "I'll see you later! Call me if you need me!"

Steven stood there, holding his hand on his cheek. A wide smile slowly formed on his face; blushing a bit. Wow... he really should ask her out sometime, huh. If only he would stop forgetting to.

The front door opened and shut, and Steven went back to his senses, turning to the nearby balcony and running outside, leaning over the railing as he saw Connie walking away on the beach. "I will! Bye!" He yelled, waving at her.

Connie turned, looking up and seeing Steven. She smiled, waving at him before she continued walking away, soon disappearing out of sight after she walked behind the large rock. Oh, Connie... The two were perfect together, weren't they? He might've been embarrassed about seeing her the literal first time they met, but now... things were different. When he had the chance, he had to make it official.

And now... it was quiet. Steven turned, leaning his back on the balcony as he looked up at the sky, taking a deep breath and smiling.

Chapter Text

It all began here.

The desolate, burning wasteland that could once be considered a town. A building couldn't support its own weight anymore, causing to slowly tip over... before outright crashing onto the ground, destroying several small homes while kicking up dust and smoke, making it more impossible to see than it already was.

A blood-red sky, and a blue moon to contrast. The air was near-impossible to breathe without some sort of health hazard. No plants or anything of the sort. This place... it was uninhabitable.

Evil struck, no doubt. At the first signs, everyone fled, leaving everything they knew behind. Nothing remained.

Except for one person. One hero to stand above the rest, to bring justice and order and drive back the chaos so that he could restore the city to its former glory.

From his vantage point, he peered down at the wasteland. Fires burned. The entire city looked to be moments away from collapsing in on itself... many would say that this place was beyond help, but the hero thought differently. In the face of evil, good would always triumph.

The hero was masked in shadow, obscuring his identity. To tell the truth, he grew up in this city. It was his former home. And now, he was going to take it back.

It was time to reveal his identity. The hero... was NOT the mailman delivering mail nearby- Wait, why was there a mailman here? The hero casted a suspicious glance at the mailman. In response, the mailman realized that staying in this place would be a real danger, which was why he began screaming before running off.

Well, anyway...

Now it was time to reveal the hero's identity. The shadow obscuring him slowly faded away, revealing...

"Double T!" The hero himself yelled, striking a pose. He was a tall, muscular man, wearing a ninja outfit. He also wore a pink mask, black cape, and pink hat. His appearance exuded confidence, as if already knowing the outcome of what was to come.

"Better not waste any more time standing here." Double T said, taking a mighty leap off his vantage point, jumping into the wasteland. His cape slowed his descent, allowing him to land safely on the ground. "Hm..." He scanned the area, searching for his target. "Where are you..."

His hat twitched just barely, and Double T turned on the spot, facing the building he watched fall a few minutes ago. He had a feeling it didn't fall on its own, of course. In the same motion, he summoned his purple staff, readying himself. Any second... NOW-

Various robots and other enemies jumped out from the fallen building, Double T jumping up at the same time. He let out a battle cry, kicking the nearest robot away before turning in the air and striking another one with his staff.

Despite how powerful the robots seemed, Double T dodged every single attack or blow they attempted to hit him with, easily evading everything. It all became a fast-paced blur of action as Double T used everything in his arsenal to take the robots down.

Combos, special attacks, items, bonuses... the works. Double T didn't so much as break a sweat, even when waves upon waves of the robots arrived, re-doubling their efforts to take him down. It was all for naught, Double T easily adapting to the robots' changing strategies as if he were intimately familiar with all of it, and before long...

"The last one!" Double T cried. There was just one robot left. Once he destroyed it, everything would go back to its former glory, back to the way it should be. His staff readied, Double T charged at the robot-

He stopped in his tracks when the staff let out some sort of staticky sound effect, glitching in his hands. Bewildered, Double T glanced at the staff, before noticing that the now motionless robot had the same glitchy effect as his staff.

There was nothing in his hands. Double T's eyes widened; the staff had glitched so much it disappeared out of existence. "What the heck?!" What was going on?

Once again, he glanced back at the robot; it glitched so badly that... it was green. And it had Cosmo's face plastered on it.

"Sorry Timmy!" Cosmo said in a rush. "I was just messing with a bit of the code on this game and then I saw something cool but I must've gotten carried away and caused this glitch!" Despite how high-pitched his voice was lately; he had been training it to go back down to how it was back when he first met Cosmo.

Double T groaned, facepalming in frustration. Well, the game was a bust. A pause menu appeared, the selection going down to 'quit level'. No point in finishing now when the run was ruined.

...Because it was all just a video game that Timmy Turner was 'secretly' playing in class.

"Seriously? I was so close that time!" Timmy said in frustration, his grip on the handheld system that his fairies poofed up tightening. This wasn't the first time something like this happened, either. One time his other fairy godparent, Cosmo's wife Wanda showed up, asking him about redecorating Timmy's room in their fishbowl, and another time his baby godbrother Poof just wanted a bit of attention.

Timmy Turner lived in Dimmsdale, California. Over a year ago, due to how miserable his babysitter made him feel, he was granted two fairy godparents to grant him any wish he desired (as long as it fell under Da Rules), and along the way, they had dozens of adventures, at around two each week. Semi-recently, Cosmo & Wanda had a baby, Poof, born from one of Timmy's wishes.

But today wasn't anything too special... except for it being the last day of 5th grade before summer vacation. Dimmsdale Elementary didn't have any special dress code, so he just wore his usual clothing: a pink hat, pink shirt, and blue pants and shoes. But even if he were wearing something else, anyone would recognize him by his buck teeth.

"Oh come on, what? That was cheap!" Chester, one of Timmy's best friends said. Chester sat at the desk beside him, leaning over and watching Timmy's progress on the game. "I can't believe companies just release games with all sorts of bugs like that nowadays! And then they expect us to always have an internet connection so they can release a patch that fixes all that problems that SHOULD'VE not been there in the first place!"

"I think you need to calm down." Timmy's other best friend, AJ said. He sat on the other side of Timmy, also watching the game. Chester and AJ had been Timmy's friends for a long time, probably since first grade if Timmy remembered correctly. "Besides, have you seen how overworked those game developers are?" AJ asked. "It's like they're living in a prison?"

"Guys, can we please not talk about the sad state of gaming right now?" Timmy asked, raising an eyebrow. How did the conversation even get to this in the first place?

"Sorry." Chester and AJ said at the same time. That was better.

"Dude, you got the high score!" AJ said, pointing at the screen on the handheld device.

Really? Timmy looked down again, seeing the screen flashing with a new score in the millions. "Whoa, cool." Even though he lost at the last second due to something completely out of his control, it was still an accomplishment. Hopefully next time...

"Also, I don't want to jinx it, but by now the teacher would usually say something about this." AJ realized. Obviously, video games weren't supposed to be in the classroom, but they were literally doing nothing today.

"You're already jinxing it!" Chester whisper-shouted, glaring at AJ.

The three of them looked over at the teacher's desk at the front of the classroom, where the teacher, Mr. Crocker sat at his desk. Normally, Crocker would either be drilling them with endless amounts of classwork or pop-quizzes, or even try to hunt down Timmy's fairies in some complicated plan that would always fail, but today...

He just sat at his desk, bored out of his mind. Crocker noticed they were looking at him, glancing over at the three of them, clearly seeing the handheld device that Timmy made no effort to hide. Crocker let out a sigh. "Oh, what's the point." He said, almost monotone.

"Uh, to learn?" Timmy replied. "Not that I care?"

"Exactly! Nobody cares!" Crocker said, suddenly standing up out of his chair. "Because it's the last day of school, everyone's already anticipating going home!" Here we go, another huge overdramatic speech. Timmy rolled his eyes, awaiting what insanity Crocker would spout today.

"As my teacher, it's my job to teach you! But on the last day of school, nobody wants to be taught! So I play a movie, but everyone keeps talking over it! I try and do a quote-on-quote 'fun' activity with you, but nobody cares! Half the class brought gaming devices today anyway, so I may as well not be here, I don't need to provide entertainment!"

As Crocker droned on, pacing around the classroom, most of the class stopped listening, going back to whatever they were previously doing. AJ made a swirly motion with his finger next to his head, indicating Crocker is nuts. Another student folded up a piece of paper into an airplane, attempting to throw it at Crocker.

"...But if I could capture a fairy godparent, then I could just wish that there was no summer vacation! No breaks! Constant learning so the future generation won't have their brains rotted by mindless garbage!" Crocker paused, seeing the students stare at him after the mention of fairy godparents.

Beat.

The classroom erupted into a cacophony of laughter, drowning out nearly anything else Crocker had to say. The teacher grew frustrated for a few seconds, his emotions swirling back to boredom and sadness as he sat back down at his desk. The laughter slowly died down, returning to the usual classroom chatter.

Just like always, Crocker couldn't go through one speech without declaring that he would capture Fairy Godparents. Everyone always called him insane for believing they existed, but Timmy knew the truth. Crocker did end up nearly succeeding a few times in the past, but his attempts were always thwarted in the end.

There was a pattern to it. Timmy noticed that Crocker's attempts to capture his fairies slowly became more and more frequent, some of his plans just outright bonkers. Timmy always had to be on-guard; in fact he was surprised that Crocker didn't accuse him of having fairies because of the handheld gaming device he had with him.

"Uh, quick question?" Chester asked, raising his hand. Crocker gave him a look. "It's the last day of school, so can't we just leave early? I have waaay more important things I have to get done."

"Since when?" AJ challenged.

"Since right now!" Chester yelled.

"Nobody's going home early!" Crocker yelled louder. "And besides, if I let you all leave early, then I'd be fired!"

"...But do you want to still be a teacher here?" Chester asked, an idea forming in his mind.

Even though not having Crocker as a teacher anymore sounded great, it actually wasn't a good idea to get rid of him. Timmy learned this the hard way when a woman named Ms. Doombringer came in as substitute teacher, very nearly capturing his fairies. It seemed that Crocker wasn't the only person out there trying to capture fairies... and Ms. Doombringer was still out there.

"Dude, relax. Waiting a few more minutes isn't going to hurt." Timmy said, trying to dissuade Chester from whatever he was going to do. Today flew by so fast, unlike other days where Crocker seemed to drone on and on forever about some boring thing that Timmy didn't care about in the slightest.

"Fine." Chester leaned back in his chair, rolling his eyes before crossing his arms.

Well, that took care of that. AJ was now busy with filling out college stuff, so Timmy decided to go back to his game. The system dimmed due to inactivity, so Timmy pressed a random button, and the game was now on the home menu. He may as well see if he had enough time to try and get another new high score.

But when he was moving the selection over to the NEW GAME button, Wanda popped up from the side of the screen, as if it were urgent. To fit with the theme of the game, she looked to be a bit pixelated.

"Oh, sorry sport." Wanda said, gripping her wand with both hands. "Can you give us just a little bit to recharge? This game requires a lot of energy to get going, and we could use a break, just in case. Please?"

That was sudden. There was a look of hopeful understanding on Wanda's face, the fairy seeming a bit antsy for his response. First Cosmo did that weird glitch earlier, and now Wanda was asking him for a break. ...Basically, usual behavior.

"Meh, whatever." Timmy shrugged, turning the handheld off and setting it in his lap. He could wait a bit; he was already mapping out in his head what kind of wishes he'd make when he got home. Had any kid wished for a pizza party in a bouncy castle before? ...Maybe, but Timmy bet that nobody added dinosaurs to the mix.

Unlike last summer when he had a book report that he put off until the last minute, Timmy didn't have any sort of assignment this year... because he was going to middle school. Sixth grade. He already knew he was going to Dimmsdale Middle School (reeeeallly creative name, there) with all new classes, new teachers... though Crocker was probably gonna find some way to conveniently get a job at the middle school, somehow.

Not all of his classmates would be going to the same middle school as him. Chester and AJ would, as well as some other kids he didn't know. And despite how rough things might have gotten, he was going to miss some of these people.

...Probably not Francis, though. He was going to summer school, and then either be held back or placed in military school. The gray-skinned bully sat behind another one of Timmy's friends, Elmer. Elmer's most distinguishable feature was his boil. Timmy and Elmer hadn't talked much lately, but a while back, Timmy did declare that Elmer would be the backup Timmy, in case the real Timmy could not fulfill his duties... whatever that meant.

Elmer was at his desk, fiddling with something when Francis cracked his knuckles, standing up and reaching over, grabbing Elmer's underwear and giving him a wedgie before the boy could react. Elmer screamed, Francis immediately sitting back down at his desk and whistling innocently.

"That smarts." Elmer groaned, unable to undo the wedgie.

Nearby, Sanjay gasped, having seen the entire thing happen. Sanjay was another one of Timmy's more distant friends. "I will not stand for this!" He yelled; his finger pointed to the air. "It's time for revenge!" Bursting with sudden confidence, Sanjay stood up out of his seat, marching over to Francis-

Only for the bully to give Sanjay a wedgie before he could do anything. Sanjay sighed in disappointment, awkwardly walking back to his seat. That was short-lived.

At the same time, Elmer finally managed to undo the wedgie Francis gave him, his underwear snapping back into place. Elmer growled, glaring at Francis. "Patience, Elmer." Elmer's seemingly sentient boil, Bob whispered. "Someday, we will gain an opportunity to get our revenge."

Meanwhile, in another part of the classroom, two rich and popular students Tad and Chad were chatting it up, discussing what they'd do over summer vacation.

"Well, after I take another tour of the entire world, I'm gonna take a trip to the moon!" Tad boasted.

"The moon? Please, I've already been there like... eight times!" Chad said, the two boys laughing about it afterward. ...It only then occurred to Timmy how similar Tad and Chad looked to Chester and AJ. Weird. But also, it was obvious how much they were stretching the truth with their claims. Despite how rich they were, they didn't have infinite wealth.

"Guess what?" A popular girl, Veronica said, walking over to Tad and Chad with her best friend... Trixie Tang. Trixie... "As soon as the school day's over, the four of us are invited to an exclusive interview with the president of the United States!" Oh, please. Timmy could wish for that in a second if he wanted to. ...That was a good idea, actually.

"Yep." Trixie confirmed. "Complete with a limo, a hot tub, and custom-made keychains symbolizing our bond." With that, Tad, Chad, and Veronica clapped, the three of them impressed.

...Trixie would be going to the same middle school Timmy was, right? Right? ...Hopefully. Otherwise, he'd have zero chance with her. Yes, he was madly in love with Trixie, and he may have had other brief crushes like Cindy Vortex, but he knew that he and Trixie were meant to be. If only she could realize that too.

Timmy almost started coming up with another plan to woo Trixie, only to stop in his tracks when he noticed Veronica constantly side-eyeing him. ...That girl was madly in love with him, and he didn't want any part of it. Timmy stopped paying attention to the popular kids' conversation, hoping Veronica would stop looking at him.

"Are you seriously still trying to go after Trixie?" AJ asked, getting Timmy's attention. "And don't lie, I saw that look in your eyes."

Timmy took offense to that, giving AJ a slight glare. He opened his mouth to speak, only for his handheld system to re-activate, turning itself on as Cosmo laughed wildly. Oh, come on!

"He's gonna go after her for years!" Cosmo said before laughing again. Seriously? First his friends were teasing him for being in love, and now his fairy godparents?!

With a groan, Timmy rolled his eyes as he picked up the handheld. "Not true."

"Oooooh, but it sounds like it is." Wanda chimed in, flying in from the side of the side of the screen. "But you can't go after the same thing forever, you know." Her tone abruptly shifted.

As if on cue, Poof flied in from the bottom of the screen, giggling. "Poof poof!" He waved his arms, trying to say hi. Timmy waved back, but... something seemed a bit odd. He dismissed Cosmo & Wanda's earlier behavior as just the usual, but something about their tone, the way they spoke to him... it was a bit different to usual.

"Are you two okay?" Timmy asked, an eyebrow raised. Were they getting sick or something? Hopefully not another case of the fairy flu, Timmy didn't want to have to feed them sauerkraut to get them better again.

"Uhhhh..." Cosmo and Wanda slowly turned to look at each other, as if contemplating if they should tell him something... before the two of them began laughing, drowning out anything Timmy might've had to say. Before long, the laughter turned into that of nervousness before dying out entirely.

"Poof poof!" Poof said, trying to join in on the laughter, only to realize it stopped. He opened his mouth, babbling something that Timmy couldn't quite understand. Over the past few weeks, Poof had been trying to say his first words, but he just couldn't quite get them out. It was adorable, almost making him forget about the weirdness that was going on with Cosmo and Wanda.

Timmy was seconds away from demanding a real answer from the two of them, only to hear Chester whistling next to him. Timmy lowered his system.

"Dude, how is your system so advanced?" Chester asked. Uh oh, how much of that did he hear?

"That's what I wanna know!" AJ added. "Where'd you get something like that?"

Chester and AJ stared at Timmy expectantly, waiting for an answer.

"Uh, uh..." Timmy stammered, trying to come up with an excuse. "Internet?" It was his go-to answer.

Okay, now he had to ask Cosmo and Wanda what was going on with them. He raised his system again... only for it to be in sleep mode. Well, that wasn't an issue, he could just turn it back on-

The final bell of the school day rang, blaring into everyone's ears. A split second later, the students erupted into cheers, Crocker cheering as well because he wouldn't have to sit and watch them anymore. Fifth grade was officially over, and so was elementary school. Timmy should've been excited, but with the weird suddenness of his godparents' behavior, something nagged at him as just barely, ever so slightly off.

...Meh, it would pass. Maybe they were just anticipating the sheer amount of wishes that Timmy would make once he got home. Yeah, that was it.

The students all gathered their things, slowly filing out of the classroom. At the same time, the intercom activated, Principal Waxelplax's voice blaring out to every room in the school. "Have a wonderful summer vacation, students! ...But to all of you in summer school, you better be here by 8am, TOMORROW!"

Timmy was one of the last to leave the classroom, his previous suspicion fading.

...

...

...

End of Part 1.

Chapter Text

The only way to describe the current situation would be pure chaos.

Mario couldn't take his eyes off the airships; Bowser stood on the largest one, while there were several others on either side of him that all sported cannons of their own. The red-capped plumber gripped the steering wheel of his kart, almost shaking with fury at the absolute horrible timing of this. Did Bowser really have to attack now? Granted, any attack was always horrible timing, but still.

Cannonballs shot out of the various cannons, flying to the ground and making the racetracks an absolute wreck. Cannonballs hit the road, some trees, and even parts of the stands; it would take weeks to clean this all up. Luigi nearly jumped out of his kart when a cannonball landed too close for comfort, the impact causing debris to fly in his direction.

"This way!" Peach said, turning her kart and gesturing for Mario and Luigi to follow her as she drove away from the line of fire. The two brothers didn't hesitate for a moment, all three of them driving to hopefully find some form of cover.

Screams of various people trying to get away filled their ears and eyes, others running past them in a mad dash for the exit. Mario recognized a few of them but he obviously didn't have time to talk to them, not with what was going on.

After a minute or so of frantic driving, Peach finally found a hiding spot behind a particularly tall wall where they wouldn't be seen easily. A blind spot, so to speak. Mario took a second to catch his breath, his heart racing faster than he had earlier. He took another look at the finish line in the distance, where he was earlier... only to see that it'd been completely destroyed. Yikes.

But aside from that, there were also dozens of Toad soldiers of various colors marching forward in several lines toward the airships, the soldiers armed with weapons and other gear. They were always nearby wherever Peach was, just in case Bowser tried anything.

"Soldiers of the Mushroom Kingdom army!" A familiar voice bellowed via a huge horn. Mario, Luigi, and Peach craned their heads to see Toadsworth from his vantage point in the stands, the elderly Toad (also Peach's longtime steward) appearing determined as he pointed down at the Toad Soldiers.

"Make haste in dispatching Bowser's army at once!" The horn amplified Toadsworth's voice, the Toad then blowing on the horn. It created a loud, low-pitched rumbly noise, the Toad soldiers letting out a unified battle cry in response.

Would they be able to take care of this on their own? Peach didn't watch, but Mario and Luigi did as the soldiers charged forward, trying to claim higher ground so they could reach the airships. However...

Mario cringed, looking away as the Toads screamed, fleeing and running off in different directions as multiple cannonballs flew in their direction. Toadsworth tried desperately to get the soldiers back in order, barking orders at them, but it proved useless. The constant attacks from the airships made it near-impossible for a direct approach, and not to mention the chaos of it all made it even harder to hear what people were saying unless you were right next to them.

Bowser laughed, staring down at everyone from his airship. A Koopatrol steered the airship for him, leaving Bowser to relish in the current invasion. At least Peach was right here. With Mario and Luigi guarding her, it would be nearly impossible for Bowser to kidnap her without being noticed.

Mario turned away from the disaster that was the Toad soldiers to check on Luigi and Peach. His eyes fell on the Princess, who scowled, clearly frustrated. If looks could kill, then Bowser would probably evaporate where he stood.

"Something on your mind?" Mario asked, snapping her out of it. "...Aside from all this going on, I mean." In hindsight, that was a silly question to ask.

"Bowser timed this intentionally." Peach said matter-of-factly.

"Really?" Luigi asked, a bit intrigued. Mario turned his head for a second to make sure that nobody would surprise them and give away their temporary hiding place.

"Think about it." Peach continued. "He waited until the exact moment that Mario finished before launching his attack. That couldn't have been a coincidence."

"Are you sure? For all we know, he could've coincidentally arrived just as I finished in first place." Mario said. Granted, he knew next to nothing about Bowser's attack plans, and it wasn't like he would just casually waltz over to the Koopa King's castle and ask for a copy of his future invasion dates and strategies.

"I would agree under any other circumstances." Peach said. "But remember that it's cloudy today. Bowser could've been lying in wait, using the clouds as a cover until waiting for the perfect moment. And this event has been all over the news, so it's impossible for him not to have heard about it."

"She has a point." Luigi shrugged. "Plus, we would all be worn out and disoriented after the final kart race of the tournament. That would be the perfect time to strike..." Despite putting on a brave front, Luigi was a bit shaken. But who could blame him?

"Then he's a coward for striking now." Mario said. After this incident was over, he'd have to think about any ways he could mitigate or prevent Bowser from trying to kidnap Peach in the future. But how?

"Coward or not, we can't give up!" Luigi said. Mario and Peach could definitely agree with that.

"Exactly. We'll beat Bowser again, like however many times we have before." It must've been dozens by now; the guy just didn't know when to quit! "This won't be any different."

The most recent incident involving Bowser didn't involve him kidnapping Peach, funnily enough. Bowser had decided to invade the nearby Flower Kingdom after Mario and company went to visit... and things took a turn for the weird, to say the least.

Another cannonball hit the ground not too far from them, Mario shielding his face from any debris that may fly in his direction. Mario nearly swore, cursing under his breath whoever shot that cannonball.

"They're going to find us here sooner or later. We have to take action." Peach said.

Mario nodded in agreement. "Right. And after this is over, the Mushroom Kingdom army should probably be given some new training."

"No offense taken." Peach replied. She oversaw the training sometimes, but due to how busy she'd been as of late, it was hard to come to any sessions save for a few here and there. Perhaps the current trainer needed to be fired...

"So, what's the plan?" Luigi asked, seeing that Peach was in thought. "And should we stay in our karts?"

"Yes, you'll be able to get around faster." Peach answered with a nod. "As for the plan, I'm going to find Toadsworth and figure out an actual attack plan for our army, so it isn't useless." That made enough sense.

Luigi gave Peach an incredulous look. "By yourself?!" He asked. "I'm coming with."

"No!" Peach shook her head. "I know where he is, and this kart will keep me safe." Peach patted the side of her kart, unimpressed when Mario frowned. "You know I can take care of myself, right?"

"Of course!" Mario said. On the one hand, he knew Peach could get a bit... overzealous sometimes, but on the other hand, she knew what she was doing. Despite appearing to be a damsel in distress when Mario first met her, Peach proved repeatedly that she could stand on her own.

So why would today be any different?

"Just be careful." Luigi said, sounding the slightest bit unsure.

"I will." Peach waved his concerns off, moving to the next topic. "You two should try and take down Bowser if you can, though that goes without saying. I don't care how, just think of something. We can't let him advance too far into the racetracks, otherwise his army will spread like wildfire."

Mario and Luigi agreed to the plan; the faster they stopped Bowser, the better. It would be a race against the clock to stop him before he kidnapped Peach or did who knows what else, and the Mario brothers were more than ready to once again take Bowser down like they always did. Before they separated, Peach waved goodbye and flashed them a smile, driving off in Toadsworth's direction.

With that, Mario and Luigi drove toward the airships.

...

Luigi ignored the growing fear inside him, focusing on the mission at hand. He zoomed past many cannonballs, the airships ahead having a seemingly endless amount to fire at him and Mario. The two of them had beaten Bowser so many times before in the past, but Luigi couldn't help but feel that something... was just a bit off.

He brushed it aside, dodging past a fallen tree before he caught back up with Mario. "Any ideas?" Luigi asked, having none himself. It was hard to think properly with all the chaos and yelling around them; hopefully the civilians were safe and out of harm's way.

"The only chance we have is if we can find a way to reach up to the airships quickly." Mario said. "Maybe if we found an aerial powerup, like a propellor or raccoon leaf..." It was a good plan, but Luigi wasn't sure if there was anything like that on this racetrack.

"Even if we do find one, we can't let anything hit us, or it's over." Luigi pointed out, Mario nodding afterward. That was the caveat with those powerups, suffer one major hit with them active and they'd be gone faster than the snap of a finger. Even so, it would be a miracle to find any sort of powerup here...

The two brothers slowly approached the airships from below, but there was no way they'd reach them. But there had to be some way to get up there... Before Luigi could think about it too much, some of the smaller airships noticed them, redirecting their cannons at them.

"Turn back!" Mario yelled. Luigi didn't question him, turning his steering wheel multiple times over as he skidded into a complete 180 before slamming on the gas as hard as he could, flinching as a cannonball struck the ground right behind him.

The assault of cannonballs didn't stop, Mario and Luigi swerving and dodging out of the way of all of them. There were several close calls, one cannonball landing inches away from Luigi at one point, nearly causing his kart to topple over. Thankfully, he came out unscathed, only needing to wipe a bit of debris off himself.

Eventually, the small airships seemed to dismiss them, no more cannonballs coming their way. Luigi stopped his kart, practically heaving for breath after that. Mario drove by him, but turned around, slowing down and stopping next to Luigi. "Do you need a minute?" Mario asked.

"This isn't getting us anywhere." Luigi said in-between breaths. "We have to think of another strategy."

"I know." Mario admitted. "I just don't know what else to..." The red-capped plumber looked around, slowly stopping when he saw a massive hill in the distance that had a cliff face on the side.

"Mario?" Luigi asked, wishing he knew what Mario was thinking. His brother appeared deep in thought, as if already figuring out what to do. ...While Luigi still had no idea whatsoever. And that's how things always were.

"I got it!" Mario suddenly turned back around. "Luigi, I need you to distract those small airships." Mario pointed up at the airships in question. "Get them away from Bowser's airship any way you can, and I just might have a shot at taking Bowser down."

"What do you mean?" Luigi asked, not really understanding. Yes, distracting the other airships would leave Bowser's open for attack, but how would Mario get up there without a powerup to help him? And without being spotted?

"There's not much time." Mario said, glancing back at the hill. "Just trust me, please. Everything's always worked out before, hasn't it?"

It was true. No matter what, the day had always been saved, even if it was through some weird, complicated method. And as always, Mario would take most of the credit for it, leaving Luigi to be Mario's "number two." But... did that really matter? In the end, how much credit anyone got didn't matter when the day was always saved. That's what Luigi always told himself, at least.

Luigi thought about it for an uncomfortably time before... he nodded, giving Mario the okay to execute whatever plan he had in mind. Mario gave Luigi a thumbs up, the red-capped plumber turning and driving off moments later. Mario reached for something in his pocket, but Luigi didn't see what it was, giving Mario one last nod before he drove off toward the airships.

Time to execute his part of the plan.

Gulping as he approached the airships, Luigi already began having second thoughts about this. So many things could go wrong, the airships might not focus on him at all, how would Mario even get to the main airship- Peach! Was the princess alright? He hadn't heard from her even since they separated.

Slowing down ever so slightly, Luigi found a pair of spare binoculars in his kart (every kart came equipped with one) and began to look around.

First, he found Bowser on his airship, gloating. The other airships were nearby; there was no surprise there.

Luigi turned to where Toadsworth's vantage point was, figuring that Peach would be there. He saw Toadsworth yelling at part of his army, but... wait, where was Peach?! Luigi hurriedly scanned the area, trying to find any sign of the princess or her kart or anything- but nothing.

His heart racing, Luigi turned slightly, trying to find Mario. He knew he went off in the direction of that huge hill... wait- where was he? Luigi nearly screamed, not seeing Mario at all, no matter how many times he checked over the same area. How could Peach and Mario just... disappear? He'd just seen them!

But he had to stick to the plan. He had to swallow down that ever-present fear and anxiety and focus. Everything would turn out fine. Luigi hadn't even realized he'd stopped his kart, but he put the binoculars away, about to press on the gas when he saw something in the corner of his vision, lying next to him.

A discarded Fire Flower. It must've been ejected from a block and never picked up... This would work perfectly.

Luigi reached over, stretching his arm as far as he could before his fingers grazed the Fire Flower. It was just out of reach... after a few tries, he managed to get a grip on the stem, the warm, almost tingly sensation all too familiar to him. He re-adjusted himself, sitting back down with the Fire Flower in hand, allowing himself to absorb the flower's magical power moments later.

The large flower disappeared, Luigi's clothing changing colors in response to the fire power now encompassing him. His hat and shirt were now white, and his overalls were green- but he'd seen and felt this change about a thousand times before, this was nothing new.

Without wasting another second, Luigi drove toward the airships in the sky, keeping one hand on the steering wheel while preparing a fireball in the other hand. Sure, he had thunder abilities thanks to that adventure in the Beanbean Kingdom, but the abilities from a power-up were inherently more potent. It was just convenient that he found one here; his thunder abilities could've worked just as well for the plan.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on the little details. Once he was close enough, Luigi extended his arm upward, shooting the large fireball up to one of the small airships. It had enough momentum to hit, the airship immediately changing course in response.

Perfect! As fast as he could, Luigi shot out fireball after fireball at the airships, ignoring the one Bowser was standing on. He had to act fast, because- "Whoa!" Luigi swerved out of the way of a cannonball that was shot at him, the plumber barely out of the way by the time it hit the ground.

Luigi couldn't stop yet. Just a couple more...

After getting the attention of the last airship, Luigi made sure that all their focus would be on him by shooting one last fireball, this one the biggest of them all. Just to show that he wasn't messing around. And it worked. The small airships all careened onto a completely different course, lowering down to try and chase him off. He dodged cannonball after cannonball, hoping that Mario would come through with his part of the plan. Luigi couldn't mess up now, he just couldn't.

...

His arms crossed; Bowser let out a huff. From the view on his airship, everything appeared to be going according to plan. The only minor snag was that for some reason, nobody could locate Princess Peach... but he wasn't worried. She'd be found soon enough, and then she would be his for the taking!

Even so, Bowser let out a snort at seeing all the chaos and destruction below him. That's what the Mushroom Kingdom gets for not inviting him to the kart racing tournament this time! Revenge is a dish best served, after all.

"For once, everything is going right!" Bowser said. The pathetic Mushroom Kingdom army was somehow more pathetic than usual, and Mario was nowhere to be found! He probably ran away like a coward, as he should've done a long time ago. And now... victory was all but assured!

Bowser couldn't help but throw his head back and laugh, already imagining the incoming days with Peach in tow. "Once I have Peach by my side, we're going to throw a huge party! And it's going to last all night!"

"Um... Your Boastfulness?" The koopatrol steering the airship said, getting Bowser's attention. "The surrounding airships are going off-course."

"W-What?!" Bowser yelled, baffled. He stomped over to the side of the airships; the koopatrol wasn't lying. The airships on either side of them were flying downward a bit, completely ignoring the orders he'd given them. "Hey, wait! What are you idiots doing, get back up here!"

"Sir, I believe someone on the ground is trying to take the airships out." The koopatrol said without missing a beat.

"Then squash whatever it is like a BUG!" Bowser roared at the airships. He couldn't quite make out who it was on the ground, but whoever it was, they sure tried their hardest to be as annoying as possible, that's for sure.

"Should we do something about it, Lord Bowser?" The loyal koopatrol asked, keeping his eyes focused on what was ahead.

"No, don't bother." Bowser shook his head as he walked back to the middle of the airship. "We have to stay on the offensive." The koopatrol nodded, silent once more. The airship neared a massive hill with a cliff face, the airship passing right by it.

Bowser couldn't help but glance around, trying but failing to discern Peach's location- out of the corner of his eyes, he saw something. On the nearby hill. Something he should've expected but didn't think was possible. Didn't think he could be so bold as to...

...

Bowser noticed him, but it would be far too late for the koopa king to do anything about it.

Mario flickered back into existence; it was a good thing he kept that boo item from the earlier race on-hand. He knew it would be good for something.

It provided him with just enough cover to drive all the way to the hill unnoticed, the powerup only running out when there'd be no stopping what happened next. Mario's heart practically beat out of his chest as he knew what he had to do in order to make it to the airship. He only had one chance.

"Mario?!" Bowser roared. The koopa's eyes were wide with shock, his jaw slack. Mario smirked in response, satisfied that he got such a reaction out of the koopa. Stay confident, he told himself.

Keeping his foot pressed on the gas, Mario steeled himself as he approached the cliff face- the kart flew off faster than he expected, Mario's eye shutting for a brief moment before he forced them open again.

Time slowed to an absolute crawl, Mario's kart reaching the peak of its leap. Any moment now, gravity would take effect and Mario would be sent on a one-way course to death- but that wouldn't happen. He fumbled for a button on the side of his seat-

"YAHOO!" Mario screamed as he pushed the eject button, a spring launching him in the air and out of his kart, right in the direction of Bowser's airship.

His arms flailed wildly as he flew through the air, time resuming as he landed roughly on Bowser's airship, just barely making it. That was going to hurt later. ...But he did it. Needless to say, it was perhaps the most dangerous, death-defying trick he'd ever pulled off...

After this, he needed a vacation.

Bowser stood there in shock, giving Mario enough time to stand up and adjust his hat, striking a fighting pose, ignoring any pain he might be in. Beating Bowser at this point would be nothing. The koopa king blinked a few times before shaking his head, absolutely furious.

"Mario! Get off my airship, now!" Bowser roared.

"Absolutely not! There's no way you're kidnapping the princess today!" Mario retorted, standing firm.

"What makes you think you can stop me?" Bowser questioned, baring his claws. "I've got a whole army coming, so you may as well give up now!"

"I'll never give up!" Mario stepped forward, his words more passionate than ever. "Not until you never try and kidnap her again!"

"And just how do you plan on doing that?" Bowser challenged.

"As if I'd tell you!" To be frank, Mario had no idea how he'd ever convince Bowser to stop. It was hopeless, like trying to talk to a brick wall. He might be able to think of something later, but right now, he had nothing.

Frustrated, Bowser let out a roar, Mario shielding his ears lest his eardrums be blown out. Bowser let out a small ball of fire from his mouth, and in that moment, the inevitable fight began.

Admittedly, a flying airship wasn't the best place for a fight, but Mario needed to confront Bowser before it was too late. Mario jumped to the side, managing to avoid the fireball completely as he focused on building up his firebrand in retaliation. Bowser wasted no time in charging at Mario, attempting to shoulder bash him. Mario dodged that as well, his firebrand completely charged.

He shot out multiple small fireballs at Bowser; being such a large target, Bowser wasn't able to dodge any of it, taking the brunt of each and every hit. The koopa king roared in anger, charging at Mario the moment the assault was over, trying to swipe at him with his claws. Mario ducked under the first swipe, but Bowser went low for the next one, hitting Mario in the side.

Mario tumbled over with a grunt, barely having time to stand up before Bowser tried to swipe at him again. The red-capped plumber ducked, rolling to the side, taking several deep breaths. He was beginning to regret trying to fight on an airship. The koopatrol steering the airship was right next to him, but Mario didn't care much at that moment.

"Hold still, you!" Bowser roared, as if Mario would actually listen.

Bowser threw a punch, Mario dodged- only for the punch to hit someone, the person falling to the floor. Bowser stopped in confusion, and Mario turned around, both of them realizing what had just happened. Instead of punching Mario, Bowser accidentally hit the koopatrol steering the airship, knocking him out.

...Which left nobody to steer the airship, made evident as it began to tilt downward, ever so slightly.

"This is your fault!" Bowser said as Mario scrambled to stand up, grabbing the airship's steering wheel in an attempt to get it back upright.

"You're the one that tried to punch me!" Mario shot back. He didn't have time for this, he needed to make sure this airship didn't crash! ...He'd never steered an airship before in his life, but surely it was similar enough to a kart, right?

"Whatever! Just move out of the way already!" Bowser shoved Mario to the side as he stepped up try and steer the airship himself, Mario nearly tripping his own feet in the process.

"What was that for?!" Mario turned.

"Trying not to get us killed, duh!" Bowser said. However, it quickly became clear that Bowser had no idea what he was doing as the airship quickly lost altitude, starting to descend into a complete nosedive.

Before Mario could fall off the airship, he ran for the steering wheel, fighting to try and get a grip on it, despite how much Bowser kept trying to push him away. "You don't know what you're doing!" Mario said.

"Shut up!" Bowser roared. "You're messing it up, are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

"I'm trying to do the opposite, thank you very much!"

The two bickered and argued, trying to get complete control over the steering wheel no matter what. But in the process, it only made things worse, the airship tilting further and further until it was practically at a forty-five-degree angle, steadily losing altitude by the second. Mario and Bowser grabbed the steering wheel at the same time, struggling to yank it away from each other until-

SNAP! They stumbled back a bit, still holding the steering wheel. In their attempts to get the steering wheel for themselves, they accidentally broke it off its hinges.

And now, there was nothing stopping the airship from continuing its crash course onto the racetracks.

Bowser screamed; everything slowed down and sped up at the same time. Mario shut his eyes, the wind blowing past him nearly taking his hat off- but he kept a hand on his head, letting go of the steering wheel and letting it fall to the ground as he tried to brace himself for-

CRASH!

Not too long after Connie had to leave to do some errands with her mom, Steven went back inside the house, contemplating what to do next.

The decision was made for him when he heard his stomach rumbling; when did he last eat? Boy, sending a message for all gems across the galaxy sure worked up an appetite! But what to eat...

Steven wasn't too picky, though he made sure to stick to his vegetarian diet, taking several minutes to make himself a quesadilla, filled with scrambled eggs, black beans, and melty cheddar cheese all sandwiched between toasted tortillas! Also dipped into guacamole for good measure. He washed it all down with a tall glass of orange juice, Steven sitting on the couch and savoring every second of his meal. After how hectic things were earlier, he needed this. Just a bit of time to himself, for himself.

"Ah..." Once he was finished eating, Steven stood up, picking up his plate and glass, walking over to the sink to clean up. There was a skip in his step, the teen humming a tune to himself. He was in such a good mood; everything was accounted for; no gems were trying to invade or destroy the planet, nobody was hiding any secrets... just as things should be.

He scraped the leftover food bits from the plate into the garbage, glancing at a nearby photo of himself, Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl, all of them smiling for the camera. The photo was attached to the fridge, a constant reminder of the bond the four of them shared. It was taken recently, about a month ago if Steven remembered correctly.

The tune Steven hummed continued, and before he knew it, "Here we are in the future," Steven sang to himself, setting the plate aside so he could focus on the empty glass first. "Here we are in the future and it's bright!" After getting the necessary tools, Steven cleaned the glass as thoroughly as he could, making sure not to miss a spot. "Nothing to fear, no one to fight!"

Steven did a twirl as he set the cup out to dry, now grabbing the fork from the plate. "I can't believe... We've come so far!" Cleaning the fork was an easy task; it took less than a minute. Singing made the time pass so much faster, after all. "Happily ever after, here we are!"

Once he was finished with the fork, all that was left was the plate, also known as the most difficult part to clean. Steven looked up as he washed the plate off, almost getting lost in his singing, starting to think about all the progress he had made up to this point.

"Once upon a time, I thought I'd always be in my mother's shadow..." For a while, he was unsure if he even was a different person from his mother, but now he knew the truth. "Answering for her crimes, I thought I'd always be in an endless battle..." Every Homeworld gem seemed to think he was his mom, all because of the gemstone on his body.

"Till I began to hone... A power all my own..." Over time, Steven had learned to use his shield, (thanks to a strange person who called himself 'Uncle Grandpa'), his bubble, healing spit, and a multitude of other abilities, all helping him defend himself against the various threats Homeworld threw at him-

-Despite everything he thought he knew and believed in, Cookie Cats weren't the answer to getting his shield to work, which was poor timing considering the Centipeedle monster was currently attacking the gems-

-"I get it now. I'm the only one who can stop what she started. I can stop all of it!" Steven cried; if it weren't for his mom and himself, then Homeworld wouldn't be attacking Earth and trying to capture his friends. The way things were, he had to fix it, he had to solve every problem that came his way-

-He may have unlocked the power to jump high and slow his descent to the ground, but now he couldn't figure out how to speed it up, after jumping so high into the air. Steven knew that if he couldn't get down soon, he wouldn't make it to the Big Donut in time, he'd miss out on the new episode of Crying Breakfast Friends when it first airs, and so much more, all because his stupid gem-

The plate clattered in the sink, Steven snapping out of it a moment later. Great, more flashbacks. Steven shook his head, trying to dismiss them as he picked the plate back up, making sure it was spotless. "Huh, I must be losing my touch." He decided not to continue singing after that.

Once he made sure he was finished cleaning, Steven put his cleaning supplies away, walking outside onto the porch. Cat Steven was sitting there, staring at a butterfly, only for the butterfly to flutter out of sight, the small animal fixating on the insect, staring.

Steven chuckled, giving Cat Steven a few pets before looking up, seeing Greg's van parked near the edge of the beach. Greg sat on a beach chair, practicing his guitar while Pearl stood by him, playing an instrument of their own. After the... strained relationship the two had with each other, it was nice to see them finally getting along. Also, Lion was asleep not too far from them.

Seeing no reason, Steven walked down the steps, waving his dad and Pearl down as he made his way over to them. "Hey, Pearl! Hey, dad! How's it hanging?"

"Hey, schtu-ball!" Greg said, setting his guitar aside.

"Steven!" Pearl greeted. "I'm learning to play the bass." She gestured to the instrument in question. Steven was initially confused, until realizing that Pearl was simply just misspelling it, she was playing the base.

"I keep telling her, it's 'base'." Greg shrugged, hoping Steven would back him up on this.

"Excuse me, b-a-s-s spells bass." Pearl said, a smug look on her face.

Steven couldn't help but chuckle at this exchange. "Pearl, sometime you should try catching a 'base' from the ocean." He said, wondering how she'd react.

Pearl let out a gasp of realization. "That is an excellent idea, Steven! But first, I'll have to brush up on my fishing capabilities. I think I have a book for that somewhere..."

"You mean that overpriced book you got online?" Greg asked, taking his sunglasses off.

As Pearl and Greg got wrapped up in their own conversation, Steven couldn't help but let his mind wander, thinking about Pearl. How she was initially made for Pink Diamond, only for the two of them to rebel against everything Homeworld stood for, Pearl becoming her own, independent person... even if she still had a hard time getting over her former lover, Rose Quartz. This made things... difficult sometimes-

-It sounded incredibly absurd, but Pearl wanted to take Steven to space for 50 years; she thought nothing of it in her manic state, even as her small spaceship began to fall apart- -Steven climbed up the vines, struggling to make sure he wouldn't fall to his doom, also struggling with trying to figure out how to prevent Pearl from breaking down further; it regarded his mom, after all- -The knowledge that Connie's sword training was to turn her into a machine to give up her life for Steven almost broke him, how could Pearl do something like that? He had to stop this before it was too late-

"Penny for your thoughts, schtu-ball?" Greg asked, Steven returning to the real world in that moment.

"Huh? Oh, uh..." He shook off those jarring flashbacks; nobody was perfect, after all. "I am a-okay, don't worry!" Steven gave an overly cheery smile, letting out a nervous laugh.

Greg only shrugged. "You're the boss!"

"I sure am." Steven said, not too sure how to continue the conversation before it got awkward. "I'm just gonna head into town to get a bite to eat at the Big Donut. Anyone wanna come with?"

Greg and Pearl declined, so Steven opted to go on his own. As he started to walk away, Lion let out a yawn, the large, pink animal waking up before rushing over to Steven, blocking his path. The teen was initially confused at this until he saw the look on Lion's face; he'd know that look anywhere. "Aw, hey buddy." Steven smiled, happy to see his large, feline companion.

Steven gave Lion a few pets on the head, the lion happily accepting it. He did feel a twinge of guilt; he didn't know why Lion was pink when he first met him... but after Steven's first visit to Homeworld, the tragic truth became all too clear.

"I don't need a ride, Lion." Steven shook his head, declining Lion's unspoken offer. Steven could tell by now, and while he'd more than often accept a ride from his feline companion, "I'll take the scenic route. You can keep resting."

Lion obliged, yawning before walking away, circling in one spot a few times before plopping down, already fast asleep.

Steven couldn't help but chuckle at this before he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, walking by. It was a several minutes' walk from the temple to Beach City, but Steven didn't mind, taking in the view... of the ocean, the beach, the cliff face, the lighthouse...

-The hand ship crashed back on Earth, right next to the temple; thankfully Steven was able to produce a bubble in time to spare himself, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl from the worst of it-

He hadn't even realized he had stopped walking. Steven continued forward, his pace quickening ever so slightly as he made his way to the Big Donut, one of his favorite places to go ever since he was young. So many good memories... and bad ones, too.

As he neared the familiar establishment, there was a group of gems sitting at a table, talking amongst themselves. There were five of them; four of them Steven knew as the Off Colors, first meeting them on Homeworld. It was nice for them to be in... much better circumstances compared to when he first met them.

There was Fluorite, the massive six-gem fusion polycule... Rhodonite, a fusion between a Pearl and a Ruby... the Rutile twins, two conformed gem twins due to a deformity in their gem... and finally, Padparadscha, a sapphire who had the ability to see exactly what happened only moments ago. All of these gems were 'wrong' in the former Homeworld's eyes, leading them to be dubbed the Off Colors.

The four of them chatted amongst themselves, but there was one more gem at the table who noticed Steven. Garnet stood up from her chair, waving to Steven as he walked over, happy to see one of his guardians.

"Steven!" Garnet called, pulling out the chair for Steven. "I saved you a seat."

"Thanks, Garnet!" Steven sat down in the chair provided, smiling. There wasn't another chair for Garnet, but she didn't mind, opting to stand by. "So, what'd I miss?"

"We were just going over the progress we've made on our new hobbies!" The left Rutile twin explained. Oh, hobbies were always fun!

"I've been into knitting and embroidery lately, and..." The right Rutile twin began, before reaching down and grabbing something, showing everyone else. "This is my newest project!" She had made a small, red frog plush, with its tongue sticking out.

Steven could only stare at the adorable little plush. "That. Is. Amazing." He whispered.

"Thank you." The right Rutile twin nodded. "Wait, Rhodonite! Show Steven what you've been doing!"

"Right, right!" Rhodonite said, sounding excited. "I've been..." Her tone shifted, sounding dramatic. "Collecting cards!" She pulled out a deck of cards. "I've been trying to collect at least one card from every set I can find! See, this one has the cutest little animal on it, this one has a guy swinging a bat, and this one-"

"Everyone!" Padparadscha stood up, slamming her hands onto the table. "I have just gotten another vision! ...Steven is going to arrive at any second!"

"Thank you, Padparadscha." Garnet said, sounding slightly amused.

"Anyway..." Fluorite began, everyone else quiet so she could speak. "I've...been...expanding...my...knowledge...via...the...internet..."

"Did you know that at least fifty percent of all statistics are made up?" The left Rutile twin added. "That's what a website told me!" In response, Steven chuckled, albeit a bit nervously, not wanting anyone to fall victim to a typical internet scam.

Before anyone else could continue the conversation, the door to the Big Donut opened, Lars walking out of it, carrying a plate of food. "Three Ube Rolls! Two regular and one vegetarian!"

"Over here!" Garnet waved. Lars walked over, Steven offering him a smile as the employee set the Ube rolls down, passing the vegetarian one to Steven, and the other two the others sitting down.

"Hey, guys." Lars greeted. Steven gave an almost quizzical look at the ube roll he was given, knowing that he didn't order this. "Garnet told me you'd be here, Steven." Lars explained.

Steven mouthed an "oh" as his response; that made sense. While Garnet's future vision wasn't perfect, it was... complex, showing a sea of paths or whatever that meant.

"Lars!" Fluorite greeted. "How's your new bakery coming along?"

...As the group's conversation shifted to that topic, Steven couldn't help but yet again be lost in thought, thinking about the gem- or rather, fusion standing near him. Garnet was not just one gem, but a fusion of Ruby & Sapphire, their fusion held together by the powerful, romantic bond the two gems had shared for over five-thousand years. Steven occasionally saw Ruby and Sapphire unfused, but the vast majority of the time, they were Garnet.

A loving, wonderful gem, known as the leader of the Crystal Gems for a long time ever since Rose Quartz gave up her form to have Steven. Garnet knew everything there was to know about fusion-

-Steven stood there, helpless as Garnet continued playing Meat Beat Mania without stopping for second, even as everyone else was in danger outside. "Garnet, snap out of it! What's wrong with you?!"- -Before Steven's eyes, yellow lines ran across Garnet's body, the gem giving Steven one last look of sorrow before she poofed, her body disappearing- -"I thought you wanted to have a fun time but, everyone's been acting awful too! It-It just came with us! I don't understand! Is it... is it me?" With everything going on, even though Garnet split up into Ruby and Sapphire, Steven just wanted to get away from his current troubles, but-

"Well, Steven?" Lars asked. "You'll be the first customer at my new place when it opens, won't you?"

Steven stumbled over his words, nodding some sort of hasty agreement before he tried to make it look like he wasn't spacing out, grabbing his Ube Roll, taking a rather large bite of it while laughing nervously. Hey, this Ube Roll was good.

"You're really invested in that Ube Roll." Garnet said with a light chuckle as Steven swallowed the food, offering her a strained smile.

"Haha, yeah..." Suddenly, Steven wasn't hungry anymore. Maybe it had something to do with how it hadn't been long since he ate breakfast, or maybe it had to do with him growing more and more uncomfortable sitting at this table. "I'll just save this for later."

Before anyone could stop him, Steven surrounded the half-eaten Ube Roll in a bubble, sending it away to the Temple shortly after. As he did this, he couldn't help but wonder...

"Hey, any idea what Amethyst's up to?" Steven asked as he stood up out of his seat, more than ready to leave.

"I have every idea what everyone's up to." Garnet said with a knowing smile as she adjusted her visor. Of course, future vision. "You'll find her if you head to Little Homeworld; take the warp. And be careful."

With that weirdly vague warning in mind, Steven waved his goodbyes to everyone, quickly walking to the nearest warp pad. Ah, Little Homeworld... it was a fair bit away from Beach City, near the old barn that belonged to uncle Andy. Steven couldn't wait to see it again, his previous troubles forgotten as he hopped onto the warp pad down the street, concentrating on where he wanted to go- Little Homeworld.

Within a second or two, the warp pad activated, lighting up as Steven was sent to his destination in a matter of moments. His eyes closed, Steven casually strolled off the warp pad, ready to greet Amethyst-

Only for two things to happen at the same time.

"Whoa!" Amethyst said as her whip lashed out, wrapping around Steven's waist and pulling him back as he opened his eyes, realizing that the warp pad was in the air, suspended by ropes. Steven yelped as he tried to balance himself, one foot completely off the warp pad.

Thankfully, Amethyst pulled him back onto warp pad before anything disastrous could occur, releasing her whip moments after. Without any provocation, the two engaged in a secret handshake, one that they'd been developing for a while now in their free time.

"Pew! Pew!" Their handshake began with them making finger guns at each other, before they did other complex hand movements that ended in them shaking hands, pulling each other into a brief embrace.

"Thanks, Amethyst!" Suffice to say, Steven was more than happy to see the purple gem, and she felt the same way, giving him a smile.

Before either of them could exchange so much as another word, the warp pad began to be lifted upward, Steven holding onto one of the ropes for support. "Whoa!" Steven said the sudden movement, steadying himself.

Steven looked over, seeing that the rope was attached to a large crane, and that two more of his friends, Bismuth and Lapis were sitting on a platform attached to the crane. ...Sure, Bismuth might've been the one who poofed Lapis thousands of years ago during the war, but neither of them had to know that.

"Steven, you're just in time!" Bismuth said, eager to see the young gem. "We're just about to install the last warp! Isn't this exciting?!" Bismuth leaned over and put her hands on the crank handles, already eager to get started.

Peridot then appeared on the scene, hovering on a trash can lid. She was able to do this thanks to her metal manipulation powers that she discovered a few years ago. The green gem looked at her tablet, typing and adjusting a few things. "Which means Little Homeworld is 99.8 percent complete!" She confirmed.

"If we're already this close, then why wait on the last 0.2 percent?" Lapis asked, standing up. She then summoned her water wings on her back, flying up and off the crane, allowing Bismuth to finish her work.

"I'm on it!" Bismuth said, a grin on her face. Without wasting a second, she began to spin the horizontal crank, turning it- and the rope with the warp pad to the right, giving Steven and Amethyst a brilliant, stunning view of Little Homeworld.

Part of Steven couldn't believe how far this place had come. It was almost like yesterday, when the first buildings and the layout were only just blueprints... but now, the place was bustling with gems, living in their homes any way they wanted to, free to do whatever they wanted! It wasn't just gems, some humans elected to stay as well, and a few gems had already gone and decided to explore the world or the cosmos, once they were finished with their curriculum.

To think, gems could finally be free to do whatever they wanted, without any Homeworld or other oppressor tying them down... it was a relief, to say the least. Steven looked down, seeing a few gems go about their daily lives, not a trace of doubt in his mind that this was the right choice.

"Little Homeworld has come so far..." Steven said to himself, not realizing Amethyst overheard him.

"So have you!" Amethyst said, playfully elbowing him before she decided to shapeshift into him for a laugh. "Look at me! I'm a young adult!" Despite her poor imitation of Steven's voice, it brought a bout of laughter out of the teen, Amethyst joining in moments later.

The crane stopped, Bismuth now turning the vertical crank to slowly lower the warp pad into position. Amethyst shapeshifted back into her usual form, an almost nostalgic look on her face. "I love that all these Gems want to make their new home on Earth. Wish I'd had this when I first emerged."

Of course... Amethyst emerged from the Prime Kindergarten five hundred years late, which meant she was overcooked, with no knowledge of who she was supposed to be. Even so, Rose, Garnet, and Pearl took her in as one of the Crystal Gems, and the rest was history-

-Despite Amethyst's advice that Steven shouldn't let anyone treat him like garbage, he had to wonder... did people think that way about her? ...Or even, him?- -There was nothing Steven could do to help Amethyst, running away didn't help, visiting where she was made didn't help, and now, things were spiraling out of control faster than he could handle, with Pearl and Amethyst now in an outright brawl- -Yet again, Amethyst reformed within moments, trying to compensate yet again for something that Steven didn't quite understand. Her new forms were cool, but saying that felt a bit wrong, now that he thought about it-

"Aaand here we go!" Amethyst grabbed Steven's hand before the two of them jumped off the warp pad right before it was inserted into the hole specifically dug out for it, the two of them turning at the last second to see it.

"That's one hundred percent, right?" Steven asked, hoping he got the math correct and trying to distract himself.

"Eh, it should be." Amethyst shrugged, not really caring too much. "Unless there was some streetlight they forgot to put up or something. Anyway, see ya!" All too fast, Amethyst waved him goodbye, walking away. "I'm gonna go mingle."

"Goodbye!" Steven waved as the crane and the ropes moved away thanks to Bismuth off in the distance.

So far, his Happily Ever After was going pretty well. He'd met up with Pearl, Garnet, Amethyst... as well as his dad, Lars & the Off-Colors, and Bismuth, Peridot, and Lapis. So many of his friends and family, but that wasn't all of them.

Because there were still all the gems in Little Homeworld he could hang out with!

Though summer vacation didn't officially begin until he exited the school building, it may as well have already started. Pandemonium and chaos were present through the hallways, lunchroom, and even the science lab, nearly every single student excited for the three months off of school.

Timmy was no exception, though instead of taking part in the chaos, he instead opted to just head to his locker, that way he could get home and then indulge in all the wish-granting fun he wanted. It was tempting to join Chester in TPing the teacher's lounge, but it could wait. After all, the first thing he wanted to do after getting home was go on a wish marathon! He might even try to break a record!

A bunch of students had already exited the building by now, leaving the hallway Timmy was walking down pretty much empty. He hummed to himself, finding his locker before turning the lock, remembering his combination- just as always.

Once his locker was open, Timmy took out his yellow backpack, getting the stuff he needed while throwing his schoolbooks in the garbage- he wouldn't be needing those anyway. So far, so good.

But when he zipped up his backpack again, there was a shadow cast from behind him. "Huh?" Turning around, it was easy to figure out who it was.

Francis. The grey-skinned bully that always picked on the kids much smaller than him... which was pretty much everyone, considering he was one of the tallest students. Francis glared down at Timmy, the bully cracking his knuckles.

"Hey, so..." Timmy said, already nervous at the mere sight of Francis. "What's the news today?" He offered a nervous smile.

"The news is that I'm gonna be in summer school." Francis said. "Which means I'm gonna be stuck in a crummy classroom all summer because you made me fail that test."

"What? What are you talking about?" Timmy asked, wondering where Francis even got this from.

"Exactly. So now I'm gonna beat you up to make up for it." Francis said. Aaaand there it was. Of course there wasn't anyone else nearby, just Timmy's luck.

But he wasn't doomed, far from it in fact. Because it was literally as easy as saying the magic words! Timmy wore a smug look on his face, already feeling satisfaction at how Francis would soon get his just desserts. "Gee, Francis! I sure wish you couldn't beat me up!"

Beat.

Nothing happened. What? Why didn't Cosmo or Wanda hear him? Francis was getting impatient, and any second now he would start his beatdown, with no way for Timmy to escape. "I said, I wish Francis couldn't beat me up!" Timmy yelled, thinking that he just needed to say it a bit louder.

Yet again, nothing. No POOF!, indicating that his wish was granted. Before he could process this, Francis raised his fist. "And I wish I didn't have to go to summer school."

Timmy gulped, incredibly nervous. Well-

He had no time to think or say anything before Francis beat him up, landing many painful blows all over his body. It lasted less than a minute, but the sheer pain made it impossible to keep track of time, especially as Timmy yelled and screamed, no one around to help him. As abruptly as it began, it was over when Francis stuffed Timmy into his locker before slamming it shut, the bully walking away with a satisfied grin.

Pain... so much pain... Timmy couldn't move, it was a tight fit in his locker, not to mention he couldn't see except for the lights that shone through the locker.

He was too dazed to move or think properly, waiting for the pain to die down. He'd experienced something like this so many times before, so it wasn't anything new... and hey, what was the end of the school year without getting bullied one last time?

Without warning, the locker abruptly opened again, Timmy yelping as he fell face-first onto the hard floor, staying there for a few seconds before slowly lifting his head and seeing who freed him: Sanjay.

Sanjay stood there expectantly, tapping his foot as if he were waiting for something. Timmy didn't really know what for; in fact he was still too dazed to think, his vision blurry and his head spinning. The most he could manage was a groan.

A minute passed...

"Uh, you're welcome?" Sanjay scoffed, dissatisfied with the lack of thanks. He rolled his eyes before walking away.

Before long, Timmy finally got his bearings, standing up and shaking himself off. Now that the pain was gone, he could think properly. He shut his locker, peeved for multiple reasons. First, because Francis beat him up, and second, his fairy godparents didn't help him, even after wishing twice. They were always supposed to grant his wishes, even if they were unintentional. So why was now an exception?

Heck, if they were unable to grant a wish due to being busy, they would've sent him an IOU, just like the time when Jorgen had a spat with the Tooth Fairy. And that clearly wasn't what was going on, so...

Timmy took off his backpack, zipping it open before fishing for something, where was it- "Aha!" He pulled out the same handheld game system he used earlier, finding it in seconds before pushing the power button, unable to wait before he started interrogating his fairies. "Alright, what's going on?"

Before, there was Cosmo, Wanda, and Poof on the screen when it was turned on. A gaming system was a clever disguise, after all. But now, when Timmy turned it on... he only saw his baby godbrother, Poof taking a nap.

"Huh?" Timmy's previous anger faded away, slowly replacing itself with confusion. Weren't Cosmo & Wanda just in there? He knew they were, he was just talking to them several minutes ago before he left Crocker's classroom. So why weren't they here? "Okayyyyy..."

Timmy gently tapped the screen a couple times, trying to get Poof to wake up. Maybe he knew where Cosmo & Wanda went? The fairy baby's eyes slowly opened at the loud noise, yawning before blinking several times, his eyes trying to focus. Timmy knew to be patient with him, he was only a few months old.

Poof giggled, his little arms waving as he flew across the screen, babbling. While he couldn't outright say anything, Timmy sort of understood what he was trying to say... his name. ...It was endearing.

"Have a good nap?" Timmy asked as Poof slowed down a bit. The fairy baby nodded in response, incredibly enthusiastic. "Great! Do you know where Cosmo and Wanda went?"

Poof tilted in confusion before looking around, as if expecting them to be nearby. Upon realizing that they weren't around, Poof unexpectedly flew offscreen, disappearing for a few moments before he flew back onscreen, frowning and shaking his head.

"Figures." Timmy said. So, Poof didn't know anything. That was... to be expected, but at the same time, strange.

If Cosmo & Wanda were going shopping, for example, then they would've either woken Poof up to take him with them or wake him up to tell them that they were going shopping. Sure, Poof could've forgotten, but then Timmy remembered their strange behavior from earlier that he already brushed off... maybe he shouldn't have?

But still, there was no way to know for sure. A million different things could've happened to them, and it wouldn't do any good to assume the worst. Besides, Timmy knew how to take care of his little godbrother... for the most part, at least.

Everything about this was just... so strange, alarm bells went off in his head, but at the same time, was there really anything to worry about?

"Wow, Chester was right! That is advanced!" Sanjay exclaimed from behind Timmy, staring over his shoulder in awe at the handheld system.

Seriously?! When did he come back? Timmy lowered the system, turning around and giving Sanjay a glare. The two stared for several seconds before Sanjay sighed dejectedly, walking away with his head lowered.

Well, that was thankfully over with rather quickly. Timmy looked back at the system, immediately realizing that something was wrong. Poof was frowning, looking away and frantically scanning for Cosmo & Wanda. Timmy had a feeling he wouldn't find him, so he needed to correct this- and fast.

"Uh- hey!" Timmy said, getting Poof's attention as he put his backpack back on, walking through the hallway. "Don't worry Poof, I'm sure they're fine." Was his worrying a few minutes ago too obvious? Poof had the tendency to pick up on stuff like that, after all...

Then no more worrying in front of Poof. Now, it was time for a new mission: be the best big brother he possibly could be! Within reason. "They're probably just busy with... adult things?" Timmy shrugged. The only thing he knew about being an adult was from the time he wished he was an adult, and that resulted in him sleeping on the bleachers and watching a gross movie that his parents just so happened to be at.

"Poof?" The fairy baby said, not really understanding. Well, at least he wasn't upset anymore, just confused.

"Yeah, exactly." Timmy nodded. "The two of us can just go home and wait for them, how does that sound?" To tell the truth, Timmy had no idea how long he'd really have to wait. For all he knew, they could be waiting at home for some kind of surprise, or...

Poof giggled, as if he was never sad in the first place. Timmy smiled, happy that he was able to calm down his baby godbrother. Even if nothing else, Poof's smile was always a wonderful sight. Poof waved his rattle a few times, the rattle starting to glow before-

The handheld gaming system and Poof disappeared. Timmy didn't have to worry about where Poof went, because a moment later, Poof re-appeared as a button on Timmy's shirt, giggling. Well, that was certainly more accessible.

"Alright, let's go." Timmy said, walking to the front doors of the school. By now, the chaos and pandemonium had mostly died down, leaving the hallways quiet... too quiet, almost.

When Timmy opened the front doors and stepped outside, he saw the school bus. The only problem was that the door was closing, the driver already about to leave. No! Timmy didn't want to waste time walking home!

"Wait! Wait!" Timmy yelled, running down the steps, racing to the bus as fast as possible even as it started to drive off. "Wait for me!" Despite his desperate pleas and begging, the bus driver didn't listen, driving off. Timmy stood there on the sidewalk, him and Poof coughing as the exhaust from the engine remained in the air for a few moments until it dissipated, the bus long gone.

"Poof?" The fairy baby asked, looking up at his godbrother.

Timmy let out a sigh, his mood soured. "Figures."

His ears rang, drowning out any other possible noise. Mario groaned, his body aching, bruised and injured all over... he felt so heavy and weak, he might pass out. But he didn't.

Miraculously, even after the airship crashed onto the racetracks, he was alive. He repeated that mantra in his head, too injured and in pain to think of anything else. Mario groaned, slowly crawling away from the crash, trying to distance himself from it as fast as possible.

His body screamed at him to rest; he was pretty sure he might be bleeding from several places. But he didn't care, his head pounding as he finally managed to get up to his knees, slowly but surely standing up to his feet, even if it took more than a minute.

Where... was he... His vision was blurry, making it hard to tell where exactly he was. He knew he landed on the racetracks, the airship crashed... Mario let out a few coughs, realizing he was inhaling smoke. He turned, his eyes bulging out of his head when he saw just how bad it was.

It was lucky enough that he'd managed to survive, but he might as well call himself the luckiest person in the Mushroom Kingdom, considering he didn't get buried under any rubble. The airship was in pieces, some of it strewn all over the place, not to mention what was left was in flames, causing so much smoke in the first place.

Mario tried to take in a breath- he coughed again, stumbling backward before falling onto his butt. Ough... he stayed sitting, unable to take his eyes off the wreckage as he tried to get his bearings. To think, a minute ago, he and Bowser were bickering, and now...

Wait, where was Bowser? ...Or that Koopatrol that had been steering the airship? Mario looked around, not seeing either of them anywhere. Uh oh... fearing the worst, Mario stood up, wondering if he should inspect the crash-

He jolted as Bowser's fist punched upward from part of the rubble. The koopa king growled as he crawled out of the wreckage, glaring daggers at Mario. ...Well, that answered one question. To think, for a moment he'd been worrying about Bowser of all people.

...There was no sign of that Koopatrol, though.

"YOU!" Bowser roared, infuriated. He didn't look too much worse for wear as he stomped over to Mario, the plumber backing away. Bowser kept his distance, thankfully, but that didn't stop him from exuding an aura of pure, unbridled hatred.

"...Bowser." Mario said evenly, staring the koopa king down.

"You're lucky, Mario! That both of us survived!" Why did he feel the need to clarify that? "I just so happened to tuck into my shell at the last moment if you were wondering! But thanks a lot for ruining one of my airships, you... you..."

"Give it up already!" Mario said, part of him unsure if he could take Bowser on in this state. He needed some sort of revitalization if he wanted to stand a chance...

"Never!" Bowser stomped the ground. "This is all your fault, anyway! You and green-stache always ruin EVERYTHING for me!" Aaaand there he goes on another rant. "You two just ALWAYS have to keep Princess Peach from me; well who says she belongs to you?! I'm tired of this! This is going to end right here, right now!" Bowser growled, a bit of fire emanating from his breath.

As villainous as Bowser was, Mario couldn't disagree. This had to end. Right here. Right now. Every time Bowser tried to kidnap Peach, the resulting disaster ended up being worse each time, the consequences more far-reaching than anyone could hope to realize. But now, today... it would end. No more of this. As fun as the adventures were, Mario just wanted some peace for once in his life.

Taking a fighting stance, Mario tried to prepare himself for the inevitable battle. He winced, his ankle in pain, as well as his clothing torn, wetness from bleeding in a few places. But he had to do this. If he didn't who else would?

"Mario!" Luigi's voice called as he drove onto the scene. Mario and Bowser turned as Luigi stopped several feet away, sporting a fire flower powerup. When did he get that... wait, that didn't matter!

"Green-stache!" Bowser roared. "Get out of here, this is between me and Mario!" He shooed Luigi away, but he didn't listen. Mario felt bad; he'd tried to correct Bowser on Luigi's name so many times, but he just never listened, did he?

Regardless, Luigi grabbed something from his kart, tossing it to Mario. "Take this!"

It was a healing Mushroom.

"No!" Bowser yelled as Mario jumped up to grab it in mid-air, letting the healing properties wash over his body the moment he made contact with it. His injuries were healed, the bleeding stopped, and all he was left with was a dull ache as he landed on the ground, energy flowing through him as if he didn't just crash-land from an airship.

"Thanks!" Mario tipped his hat to his brother, knowing he could count on him. Luigi gave Mario a thumbs up in return before strangely driving off. "Wait, where are you..." Mario trailed off as Luigi drove out of view; where did he have to go in such a hurry? Mario thought Luigi was coming by to help, but maybe there were other pressing matters.

"MARIO!" Bowser roared, the plumber turning on a dime to face him. Right. Focus on the problem at hand.

Rejuvenated from the mushroom, Mario resumed a fighting stance once again. The fire crackled from the burning airship; the air was eerily silent... it was time. Time to end this kidnapping attempt once and for all!

Chapter Text

With a swing in his step, Steven casually walked around Little Homeworld. There was still so much time left in the day, so no rush in trying to get anything done. That was the beauty of a happily ever after! No major responsibilities! Pretty much everything was already solved and done with; at least, that's what Steven thought.

The various homes and workplaces in Little Homeschool only helped to make the place that much livelier. It'd been a long road to get the place to where it was now, but boy was it worth it. A gem carried a mailbag as she walked out of a post office, another gem wheeled a stroller around as she babysat, and various other gems (and occasionally a few humans) were here, living their day-to-day lives.

Steven couldn't help but stop and smile, crossing his arms as he admired it all. To think... no more corruption, no more colonization, they were free to do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. That's how it was supposed to be. It was nice to be thinking about this now, instead of... whatever those brief blips earlier were.

"Steven!" A voice the teen recognized said, in-between... munching?

When he turned to see who it was, Steven was pleasantly surprised. "Oh, hey Nephrite!" Steven waved to her as she walked up to him.

Nephrite was a bit taller than he was. She was predominantly green, with two white tufts of fur on her shoulders, also wearing a black skull cap over her hair. Her gem acted as her eye, Nephrite only having one eye. She also had six short, conical spines on her upper arms, and dark green sclerites on her forearms, signifying a corruption scar. Every single uncorrupted gem had a scar like this.

"Finally, I get to see you again!" Nephrite said after she swallowed a chip she was eating, taken from her favorite snack of all time, Chaaaaps. "It's been, what, twelve earth cycles? Or was that thirteen?" Nephrite had an inquisitive look on her face.

Steven let out a nervous laugh. "Wow, has it really been that long?" Whoops. First step to his happily ever after: figure out how to manage his time better. "I'm sorry, I guess time flies when I'm busy and caught up in a whole bunch of stuff."

"No worries, no worries!" Nephrite shrugged it off as if it were nothing, and Steven soon forgot about his earlier worries. "Are you free today?"

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't!" Steven said, giving her a cheerful wink.

"Then we have so much time to catch up!" Nephrite cheered. With that, the two of them exchanged a high-five, one that Steven was more than happy to accept. It may have been many months since he's had a chance to see Nephrite, but it was as if they'd never been apart.

With that, Steven continued walking around Little Homeworld, now with Nephrite joining him. "So, what brings you back here?" Steven asked, curious. Nephrite didn't usually come to Little Homeworld or Little Homeschool, after all.

Nephrite reached into her bag of chips. "Well, after all this time, oh hang on-" Despite fishing around for several seconds, she couldn't find even a single chip left in the bag. She held the empty bag up to her gem, storing it inside to presumably throw away later, before then getting a fresh, unopened bag of the same chips out, immediately opening it and digging in, eating more Chaaaps. Just how many bags did she have in there?

"Hm?" Steven asked, wanting to know what Nephrite was going to say.

But he had to wait for Nephrite to swallow the chips she already stuffed in her mouth. "There we go." Nephrite said. "After all this time, I've finally signed up for Little Homeschool!"

"That's great!" Steven beamed, pleasantly surprised. "I'm happy for you." It wasn't like Gems were forced to go to Little Homeschool, but it always made Steven happy whenever a new Gem wanted to try it out. Sure, it didn't always work, but that was the beauty of it!

"Thanks!" Nephrite said, a bright smile on her face. "Look at this, I even got my schedule!" Nephrite took out a class schedule for Little Homeschool written on a laminated sheet of bright pink paper, letting Steven see the classes she took. Everything was written in both English and Gem Glyph, though there were other languages available for anyone that might need it.

Truth be told, Steven barely knew any Gem Glyph. He knew 'I'm sorry', 'Hello', and a few other words and phrases, but aside from that, he hadn't had much time to learn it. He did make sure to learn those specific phrases, because...

All the way back when, so many years ago, when all he had to worry about was the Big Donut running out of Cookie Cats, Nephrite was the first corrupted gem he fought against. Back then he only knew her as the 'Centipeedle', but still... to think, everything was so much simpler back then. She was the first corrupted gem he tried to fix-

-His small freezer ruined, Steven's heart shattered. The Crystal Gems were in trouble, his shield wouldn't work, and there was only one way left he could stop the Mother Centipeedle- -Steven tried his absolute hardest to tame Centipeedle, but no matter what, it just didn't work. If he could try just a bit harder- -Despite his efforts to fix Centipeedle's corruption and figure out what happened to her, it was all for naught. His healing spit wouldn't be enough-

With the crinkling of a bag of Chaaaaps being waved in his face, Steven snapped back into reality. ...Great.

"Want any Chaaaaaaaaaaaaa-" Nephrite teased, only for Steven to lightly push the bag away.

"No thank you." Steven said. Nephrite had already put the class schedule away, but Steven wanted to change the subject; trying to avoid thinking about anything related to his own past, and before Nephrite could ask him any questions. "Hey, if you're gonna be starting Little Homeschool soon, why don't I show you around?" Steven asked.

Nephrite stood there in thought, taking another bite of her chips. "Hmm... I did think I knew a lot about this place... but it's been ages since I've last been here so sure!"

Perfect! "Woohoo!" Steven cheered, pumped. Back to his happily ever after, as if he hadn't had another small flashback he didn't want to acknowledge- oops.

Steven cleared his throat, preparing to sound as overdramatic as possible. "And now it's time for: the Grand Tour, Steven Universe edition!" He gave Nephrite a small bow as he extended his arm out in an over-the-top gesture. Nephrite couldn't help but giggle, clapping in amusement.

But in trying to clap, she dropped her bag of Chaaaps, which she quickly reclaimed. The two froze before bursting into laughter, unable to stop for several seconds at least.

Before long, Steven and Nephrite began making their way to Little Homeschool, Steven opting to take the scenic route so he could spend more time with Nephrite. Plus, there were still a few things he was curious about, such as...

"So, do you already have a place here?" He obviously hadn't been able to keep up with everything going on here, so he missed a lot. Heck, a few things even surprised him recently, such as how popular Sadie's band had gotten! Who knew she could be such a smashing hit?

"As a matter of fact, I do!" Nephrite eagerly confirmed with a nod. "I'll show you." What luck! Walking along the sidewalks, the two eventually made it to the house Nephrite called her own. "Here we are!" It was a two-story house, painted a nice, cool blue. "I decided to room with a few friends of mine, by the way. Just to save space."

"Can I meet them?" Steven asked. It was always neat to meet friends of his friends!

"Of course! I was about to offer, anyway!" Nephrite answered as the two stopped at the front steps. Nephrite took the house key out of her gem, Steven humming to himself as she unlocked the door, opening it. "Come in, come in!"

Steven walked in after her, Nephrite closing the door behind her. Immediately upon walking into Nephrite's home, he could see how... messy it was. Not nearly enough to warrant an intervention, but it wouldn't hurt anyone to clean up a bit. He didn't want to bring down the mood by mentioning it, though. "Nice place you got here."

"Thanks!" Nephrite said. The living room was massive, taking up most of the first floor, with a kitchen and bathroom off to the side. Nephrite's three roommates were all doing their own things in the large living room, and Nephrite led Steven over to them, one at a time.

First was the only human living there, Avery. "Sup, Nephy?" Avery said, giving Nephrite a not-so-subtle wink. They worked on a project on their laptop, Avery briefly explaining what it was. Some of it went over Steven's head, but even so, Avery was nice, laid-back... but could get very into their work, as evidenced when Nephrite revealed that it was Avery's turn to do the chores today. That explained a few things.

Next was a Gem, Red Beryl. He was painting something, but upon seeing Steven and Nephrite approach, Red Beryl dropped everything he was doing, letting out a gasp. "No way! It's Steven Universe! In the flesh!" Red Beryl ran over, unable to contain his excitement.

"Yes, that's me." Steven greeted, having dealt with fans of his like this before. Thankfully, Red Beryl calmed down a bit at Nephrite's word, and Red Beryl excitedly talked about his paintings, still gushing about Steven all the while.

After that conversation died out, Nephrite introduced Steven to her last roommate: another Nephrite, who called herself Tal. Apparently, she tried out many different hobbies, but never stuck to one for too long.

"Shhhh... gotta focus." Tal said as Nephrite tried to greet her, the gem too focused on her newest hobby: sewing. Yesterday, she'd been gaming, and the day before, she organized different types of clothing, and- "SHHH!" Oops.

Steven now had a good idea of how Nephrite lived and what her roommates were like. The two exited the house shortly after, Nephrite locking the door behind her.

"You've made... quite the friend group." Steven said, wondering if he would ever meet them again.

"Thanks!" Nephrite said, before leaning over to whisper into Steven's ear. "Don't say anything, but I'm pretty sure Avery is into me." Upon hearing this, Steven couldn't help but snicker, having already suspected that was the case from earlier. "Hey!" Nephrite gave him a playful shove.

"I won't say anything, promise!" Steven said, still giggling. Nephrite accepted this, and from there, the two continued making their way through Little Homeworld, Steven leading Nephrite toward Little Homeschool.

Along the way, they met up with other Gems, taking the time to stop and talk to them. It was fun, mingling and chatting, taking it easy without having to worry about anything.

They met up with the Topaz fusion –from when Steven gave himself up to Homeworld-, a group of Rubies, notably –not the same group that was looking for Jasper-, and some other formerly corrupted gems. Steven had a great time, and Nephrite was too.

After an hour or so, the two were at Little Homeschool, and with perfect timing. From far away, they could see Amethyst about to teach some sort of class outside, with a handful of students.

"Wanna check it out?" Steven asked.

"Sure!" Nephrite answered. With both of their minds made up, they walked over to see what Amethyst would be teaching.

The purple gem wore glasses for this specific occasion, as well as having a large board beside her, and a stick to point to something on the board if needed. Also, the students attending the class were Onion, Ocean Jasper, Biggs Jasper, and a person Steven didn't recognize.

"Hello, I'm professor Amethyst." The gem in question said as she adjusted her glasses, noticing Steven and Nephrite walking up. "Go on, take a seat anywhere." At that, Steven and Nephrite sat down on an open spot, Onion scooting over a little to make room for them.

Amethyst flipped to the next page of the board, directing everyone's attention to it with her pointer. "I'll be teaching, 'How to Decide Stuff for Yourself 101'. Today's lesson is: There is no lesson." Without warning, Amethyst suddenly tossed aside her pointer and her glasses, discarding them. That went about as expected. "Just do whatever you want for an hour. Hey Steven, wanna grab some lunch?"

"Sure!" Steven said, standing up as the other students began to disband, doing their own things. Lunch sounded good; after all, Steven had been out and about for a few hours. He was getting pretty hungry... "Nephrite, you wanna come with?" Steven wouldn't mind hanging out with her a bit longer.

"No, but thanks anyway!" Nephrite declined, deciding to instead get another bag of Chaaaaps out of her gem, munching on those instead. "It was nice to hang out with you!"

"Same here!" Steven waved her goodbye, hoping he would get to see her again soon.

It took about a half an hour, but Steven and Amethyst decided to go to the Beach City boardwalk for lunch, going to Beach Citywalk Fries today. Amethyst opted to just get a drink, but Steven got his usual Fry Bits, as well as a drink of his own. ...Fry Bits weren't ever on the menu, and they would never officially be on the menu, but he still got them all the same.

The two sat down on a bench, enjoying their lunch. It was such a nice day! Ah, summer...

Amethyst let out a sigh of happiness after she took a sip from her drink. "This school thing's such a cool idea. I love being a teacher. No one's ever looked up to me before, you know?" She gave Steven a sly look. "Except for widdle baby Steven!"

Without warning, Amethyst reached over, teasing Steven by playfully rubbing his belly. Steven couldn't help but laugh at the ticklish sensation, trying not to drop his food in the process. After several seconds, Amethyst finally stopped, pulling away.

"Seriously dude, it's been going great!" Amethyst continued. "I know we only started recently, but everyone wants to come and learn how to be an Earthling."

"Yeah!" Steven agreed. For the past two years, so many people and Gems have wanted to join the cause and help. Learning how to live life on Earth or anywhere else wasn't an easy task, but if Peridot was able to learn, then so could anyone else. Heck, even people on Earth who weren't sure if they could fit in were accepted; pretty much ANYONE could come here. Although...

"Well, not everyone." Steven's smile faded; there was one Gem who absolutely refused to take part, no matter what. The one gem who probably needed it most, considering what she went through.

Amethyst also knew who he was talking about, the purple gem rolling her eyes as she put an arm over the bench. "Psssh! Man, forget her!"

Steven knew where Amethyst was coming from, but he just... couldn't. There was no way he could ignore this. "I don't know, I'm worried." No matter how well things were going, it would always creep up in the back his mind as something unfinished, left forgotten...

"We healed all these Gems, and we're pretty much finished building that town and the school, because I wanted to fix some of the bad things the Diamonds did." Steven went on, rambling, trying to get all his thoughts out. He knew he couldn't literally fix everything, but it was still his responsibility to help as much as possible. The effects of the Diamonds' misdeeds were beyond far-reaching, perhaps to an extent that he might not even know yet.

"Knowing there's someone out there still hurting because of the Diamonds, because of... my mom..." Steven went quiet. He never knew her for even a second, but his mom was perhaps one of the most selfless... and selfish gems to exist. Just like the other Diamonds, everything his mom, Rose Quartz did... it had an effect, whether good or bad. "Uh- I mean, I know it's not my fault, but if there's a chance I could make it better, shouldn't I try?"

Amethyst didn't respond, instead choosing to slurp loudly on her drink for an uncomfortable amount of time, to the point where some of the tension faded. She was visibly unimpressed with Steven's rant.

"I think you..." Amethyst said as she stopped sipping, pointing her drink at Steven. "Should stop trying to fix everyone." With that, she leaned back on the bench, her point made.

"..." Steven didn't say a word. He couldn't deny Amethyst, he was only one person after all. But still, he couldn't just... leave that Gem. "Yeah, you're right." Steven chewed the last of his fry bits, making up his mind on what he had to do as he sat his drink down, standing up.

Amethyst sighed, knowing she couldn't stop him. "Just be safe, dude."

"I will be." Steven gave her a quick nod as he walked off. He had to check on her. Even if he couldn't make any progress, he had to put in the effort, or he'd be just as bad as... no, he couldn't think about that. Everything would turn out fine.

Mario wasted no time in charging at his adversary, ready to end this as fast as possible. Bowser had the same idea, charging toward Mario, the Koopa King letting out a roar, his stomps almost creating craters on the ground below.

Bowser unleashed a fireball from his mouth, one that Mario was quick to dodge by sidestepping, the plumber shifting his weight before using the momentum to leap high in the air, his target clear. Before Bowser could react, Mario landed on his head, bouncing off a moment later and landing behind Bowser, right by the wrecked airship.

The koopa king faltered slightly at Mario's stomp, but he was quick to regain his composure, turning and throwing a punch- that never hit Mario, for he saw it coming a mile away, already running past the attack. Bowser's eyes widened as he lost his balance, falling onto his stomach. Perfect! Mario raced over to Bowser's backside, laser-focused on his next move, which would be to grab Bowser's tail and spin him around until-

"I don't think so!" Bowser said, raising his leg before kicking Mario away. Mario's entire world spun as he flew through the air, landing several feet away on the hard racetracks.

He recovered quickly, standing up and readjusting his hat, at the same time realizing that someone who should've been here was now gone. "Hm?" Luigi was there a moment ago in his kart... but now he was gone. Where'd he go?

Mario turned around on a dime as something snapped behind him. Bowser had already stood up, and his brief distraction gave his opponent an advantage. Shoot. While he wasn't looking, Bowser had snapped off a large piece of the fallen airship, holding it above his head.

"Think fast!" Bowser hurled the large airship piece at Mario, the thing sailing toward Mario at an alarming rate. At the last possible moment, Mario ducked under it, the airship part just barely grazing his hat- Bowser was gone. Where was he?

A shadow formed around Mario, one that grew rapidly by the second. Still crouching, Mario looked up, nearly freezing as he saw Bowser in the process of a ground-pound, the koopa king intending to crush him under his weight. Mario had his wits about him just in time to roll backward right before Bowser landed on the ground right in front of him.

"Oh come on!" Bowser complained as Mario stood up. "Stay still, you!" He raised a claw to swipe at Mario, but the plumber was yet again faster, kicking the side of Bowser's leg, trying to get him off-balance.

It somehow worked, Bowser crumpling to the ground with a shout of pain. But he didn't stay there for long, Bowser immediately rolling up into a spiky ball. Mario sweatdropped, nearly forgetting that Bowser had that ability, not to mention how he and Luigi had been the ones to give it to him. How ironic.

Bowser began to charge up a sort of spin dash, giving Mario all the signal he needed to get out of the way. He ran as fast as possible, but Bowser was on his tail, slowly catching up with him- until Mario faked in one direction, immediately pulling off a side-flip. From what he remembered, Bowser couldn't make tight turns while curled up into a spiky ball, so he needed to take advantage of this.

As Mario expected, Bowser had to turn wide once Mario sidestepped him, giving him ample time to figure out his next move. Mario's eyes landed on the airship part Bowser threw at him; maybe he could use that? He didn't have time to think, instead making a mad dash for it, hoping he'd be able to pick it up.

Bowser approached fast, but Mario managed to pick up the large airship piece faster, holding it for just a moment- he tossed it forward like it was some oversized frisbee, allowing it to land right under Bowser.

Mario's spur-of-the-moment plan came to fruition as Bowser's spikes got caught on the airship piece, forcing him out of the spike ball as he stumbled to his feet. During this, Mario had been charging up a large fireball, which he immediately let loose, landing a direct hit.

"Argh!" Bowser roared, trying to shield his face from the large fireball. It did little to help, even as Mario blasted wave after wave of smaller fireballs at him. Mario wouldn't let up, even with how much energy this took out of him- Bowser needed to be taken down, now.

Bowser blasted a large fireball of his own, which completely swallowed up all of Mario's fireballs as it hurtled toward him, Mario having no time to even brace himself before it hit him, thankfully not burning him too much as he stumbled backward with a grunt, his eyes shut tight.

He barely made out the sound of Bowser chuckling before stomping over to him, Mario opening his eyes just in time for Bowser to smack him with a brutal backhand, sending the plumber careening backward. Mario tumbled across the ground, eventually stopping after several seconds, groaning and trying to get his bearings.

Yet again, a shadow fell on him, Mario looking up- his eyebrows fluttered. It was a question-mark block. These were rare on this track, since nobody would usually hit them, but they were placed here and there for decoration... but just in case of an emergency...

Bowser huffed, crossing his arms. "Giving up already?" He gave Mario a quizzical look. "This is hardly a challenge!"

It was true, Mario hadn't quite been putting his all into this, but that was about to change. "Yes!" Mario couldn't let this opportunity go to waste. Getting up to his feet, he jumped into the air, hitting the block with his raised fist. It let out a sound as it turned brown, a distinct item popping out.

It was a large white-and-orange feather white a yellow line down the middle, and as soon as Mario landed on the ground, Mario jumped up again, grabbing the feather, or rather... the Cape Feather.

The moment he touched it, the power surged within him, begging to be used. Mario knew how this worked by now, and he gladly accepted it, the power now smoothly flowing through him- before he landed on the ground, his transformation complete. Some powerups gave him more drastic costume changes, but this one was self-explanatory, giving him a yellow cape with a blue backside.

Bowser wasn't happy in the slightest, enraged by Mario's convenient advantage. "Oh, come on!" He roared as Mario ran forward, picking up speed. "Using powerups should be cheati-"

He froze as Mario got off the ground, flying at terrifying speeds- Mario struck him, Bowser reeling from the blow as Mario flew past him. The wind blew right past him, Mario knowing exactly where he was going. He turned just as Bowser got his bearings, delivering another brutal blow- this time to his gut, Bowser letting out a roar of pain.

Mario flew circles around the koopa king, who couldn't even lay a finger on him. This was his chance to end things before something catastrophic happened; he had to act now. No matter what Bowser did, nothing worked, his frustration growing by the second as Mario landed hit after hit, blow after blow.

It was an almost humorous display, Bowser swatting at the air as if Mario were a fly. Mario chuckled to himself; Bowser looked so pathetic- everything came to an abrupt stop as Mario gagged, something yank his cape up from behind. Mario kicked at the air, trying but failing to tear the cape off him, Mario just barely unable to breathe. He cursed himself for not being more careful and watching to make sure this didn't happen.

Bowser let out a low chuckle, smug. Before Mario could react, Bowser turned, slamming Mario's back into the nearby wall, creating a sizable dent in it. The action caused Mario to lose his powerup, the cape fading into nothing. Well, there goes that... that was only a blip in Mario's thoughts compared to the sheer pain all over, Bowser pressing his hand against Mario's chest to keep him from escaping.

Despite this, Mario struggled to wrestle himself free, repeating to himself that he couldn't let Bowser beat him. He had to get free, defeat Bowser, and save the day just as he'd done time and time again, because if he didn't... But even after a minute or so of struggling, Mario couldn't move an inch, Bowser even pressing onto Mario's chest with more force to prevent him from escaping. Mario let out a wheeze, thankful that Bowser hadn't outright crushed him at this point.

Mario ran out of energy, trying to take deep breaths. Bowser let out a hearty roar, Mario only glaring in response. Great, was Bowser gonna gloat now?

"What a pathetic display!" Bowser sneered. "At last... I've got you right where I want you! This time, it'll be ME who comes out on top!" With his free hand, Bowser pointed at himself. Mario couldn't show him any weakness; he'd be defiant until the bitter end. Bowser didn't appreciate this, tightening his grip on the plumber, to which Mario hissed in agony.

"No more Super Mario saving the day!" Bowser continued his rant. "You're gonna lose like the big chump you are, and ME, BOWSER, will get to take a nice stroll back to my castle with Princess Peach by my side. When I'm finished with you, there'll be NOTHING you can do about it!" ...Did Bowser have more planned for him? Was he gonna throw him in jail again, like that one time? Or...

To be honest, Mario didn't know what would happen next. He knew Bowser likely would take over the Mushroom Kingdom, but what then? There would be so much resistance; Mario wouldn't give up on fighting for what was right until his very last breath. Bowser opened his mouth, about to start his speech back up-

"Mario!" Luigi came back onto the scene, running up without his kart for whatever reason. Mario turned his head to his brother several yards away, Bowser turning his head as well, but just enough so that he could keep an eye on Mario.

Relief washed over him at the sight of Luigi, but oddly enough, the green-capped plumber was panting, completely out of breath. He looked as if he was about to collapse, his hands on his knees. "Princess... Princess Peach is gone!" Luigi said in-between breaths.

"HUH?!" Bowser whipped his head to Luigi completely, flabbergasted and confused.

In doing so, he lost focus, his grip on Mario loosening-

Mario didn't waste a second. He pushed Bowser's hand off of him with as much force as he possibly could, Bowser surprised once again as he stumbled backward, Mario landing on the ground. Mario ran forward just as Bowser regained his balance, delivering a mighty uppercut to Bowser's chin, Bowser's head snapping upward as he yelled, tumbling backward, falling onto his back.

Bowser flailed his arms, his huge shell making it difficult to stand back up. Mario wouldn't give him the chance. Making sure he wouldn't hit any of the spikes on Bowser's shell, Mario turned, giving him a kick that sent Bowser spinning, freaking out and unable to control himself. Just a bit more... As Bowser began to slow down, Mario kicked him again, this time delivering a kick that sent Bowser flying upward, falling back onto his stomach only moments later.

Mario took several deep breaths, waiting for Bowser to get back up... but he didn't. The koopa's eyes were closed, and he was still breathing... but that was it, wasn't it? It was admittedly a bit quick, but he didn't have time to question it. Though things were a bit hairy for a minute, Bowser was finally defeated, and Mario had one person to thank for it.

He ran over to Luigi, the green-capped plumber having watched the whole thing. Luigi opened his mouth to speak, but Mario wrapped him up in a hug before he could. Everything hurt... but it was nothing another healing Mushroom couldn't fix. Luigi returned the hug, though he fidgeted ever so slightly. Mario broke off the hug, his hands now on Luigi's shoulders.

"Mario-"

"Quick thinking on that distraction!" Mario unintentionally interrupted him. It was very effective; Mario would have to remember that for the future. "Remind me that I owe you one."

Luigi gave him an odd look. "Wh-no, this is serious!" Luigi shook Mario's hands off his shoulders. "Peach really is gone!"

"...Huh?" Mario's adrenaline and euphoria from defeating Bowser once again already began to fade, the implications of Luigi's words not lost on him.

"I drove back to check in with Toadsworth and Peach never made it to him!" Luigi spoke frantically, almost stumbling over his words. "Nobody can find her at all! I would've gotten back sooner if my kart hadn't stalled, a-and there's not a trace of her anywhere!" He put a hand on his forehead, trying to slow his breathing down a bit.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Bowser opened an eye, listening in on the conversation.

Peach wasn't... anywhere? Mario shook his head, that couldn't be right. "Luigi, that doesn't make any sense. I'm sure she's just hiding somewhere until this all blows over." It wasn't unlike her to do this; it would throw someone off her track after all.

"No, you're not listening!" Luigi said, frustrated. "She's GONE! G-O-N-E, Gone! Nobody's seen her!" Luigi threw his arms up for emphasis.

Despite Mario's attempts to justify why Peach would disappear, he knew that Luigi wouldn't lie or make something up in a situation like this. Luigi was serious, and that bad, almost awful feeling in Mario's gut multiplied as the realization sunk in. If nobody knew where she was... then what happened to her?

Before Mario could suggest calling for a search party, there was a low growl from behind him. Mario & Luigi turned, only to be bewildered as Bowser stood up as if nothing had ever happened.

"What?" Mario questioned, getting tired of all the constant twists and turns. "Didn't I defeat you?" How did Bowser just shake it off so easily?

"You get stupider every day, don't you?!" Bowser sneered. "I've been defeated by you so many times I know how to FAKE it!" He crossed his arms, Mario & Luigi getting into fighting stances. Now that they knew he could fake his defeat, they were going to have to try harder this time.

"So, hiding Peach somewhere, are ya, green-stache? Where is she?!" Bowser barked. Seriously? That's what he took from the previous conversation?

Luigi shook his head. "I have no idea where she is!"

"Feh! That's one of the worst lies I've ever heard!" Bowser stomped the ground, bumping Mario & Luigi off the ground for a moment. "Come on, cough her up!"

"Are you even listening?" Mario questioned, glaring at Bowser. "Ask either of us a thousand times, the answer won't change!" He couldn't believe how dense and stubborn Bowser could be.

Bowser huffed, tapping his foot on the ground as if to contemplate this. This also gave Mario the chance to actually think for a moment... how could Peach disappear without a trace? A few possibilities fell into his mind, but one stood out immediately, Mario feeling stupid for not realizing it earlier.

"Of course!" Mario exclaimed, directing his attention toward Bowser. "While I was off fighting you, one of your minions must've snatched Peach!" It was the obvious conclusion to make. Mario turned to Luigi. "That's why you couldn't find Peach, this whole thing was just one big distraction!"

Luigi didn't say anything as Mario refocused on Bowser once again, not pulling any punches. "Where is she?"

"Hey, I had NOTHING to do with it!" Bowser said. "Don't go blaming ME for this!" Mario gave Bowser an incredulous look, wondering if the koopa king realized what he was even saying.

"I-I think he's telling the truth." Luigi said, trying to avoid any more escalation, the green-capped plumber shaking ever so slightly. "He wouldn't stop boasting about if he DID get her already." ...He had a point. But if Bowser's minions didn't take her, and nobody could find her, then where...

"You're darn right I would!" Bowser said, a cheeky grin on his face. "And you were right about something else, too. It was all just a distraction... for this!" Bowser snapped a finger. The deafening silence that followed was almost too eerie, as if... oh no. Mario fell right into Bowser's trap, didn't he?

Luigi gasped. "Look!" His declaration was barely audible over the many approaching footfalls, the source immediately apparent.

An uncountable number of Bowser's minions ran onto the scene, encircling the group in a massive, inescapable circle. It happened so fast, there was no time to react. Mario should've seen this coming, but even so, where could they have been hiding? There wasn't any time to question it.

Mario & Luigi stood close together, glancing around for any potential openings or escape routes, but there weren't any. Bowser pulled no punches; there were Goombas, Magikoopas, Paratroopas, Charging Chucks... pretty much every type of minion, including the four Captains and the Koopatrol that had been piloting the airship. Despite how weakened he was, Mario would fight with everything he had, he would defeat Bowser, and he would find Princess Peach, no matter what happened to her.

"Pssst!" Luigi whispered, nervous. "We can't win this! There's gotta be hundreds of them!"

Mario understood where his brother came from, but he couldn't give up yet. "Stay calm." He whispered. "We just need to stall and wait for an opening. ...I'm not sure how we'll get out of this, but I'll think of something, don't worry." At his words, Luigi slowly nodded, waiting for Mario's cue.

Bowser triumphantly laughed, placing his fists on his hips. "There's nothing you can do now! Give up and submit to me!"

No... there had to be something. If he moved, then Bowser's minions would swarm him, but if he didn't do anything, then he and Luigi would get captured for sure while Bowser used all his resources to track down Peach's location. No matter what, it was a lose-lose situation. If he paid more attention, or maybe watched Peach instead of letting her go by herself, then maybe things could've turned out differently.

But before any scenarios could play out, a massive ripple of light appeared above the three of them. They looked up for a split second before being forced to shield their eyes, the light so piercing that it hurt even when Mario shut his eyes and covered them with his arm.

After several seconds, the light dissipated, Mario opening his eyes to see it transform into some kind of large, rainbow cage. It was partially see-through with hexagonal bars, everyone staring in awe as the cage slowly lowered itself to the ground, stopping just a couple feet in the air. Though it was hard to see in it at first, there was someone in there... but who...?

Needless to say, the increasingly bizarre series of events distracted Mario from each one before, making him almost forget that Bowser had the upper hand and was about to win. But even he was taken in by this, and perhaps Mario could use that to his advantage- the crown.

The person in there, laying down on their side... the crown sparkled, and shockwaves of recognition and horror washed all over him, the revelation that the person inside the see-through cage was Peach. The others realized this as well, Luigi letting out a soft gasp while Bowser didn't know what to think.

"What the?" Bowser asked, almost tempted to poke the cage before he chuckled. "Well well well, looks like Peach is already captured and ripe for the taking!" He tried to grab one of the hexagonal bars, only for some force field to prevent him from doing so. "Huh?!"

Mario was about to tell Bowser how moronic he was for trying that, but Luig ran up to the cage, banging on it with his fist. "Peach! Wake up!" He yelled, trying to get her attention.

Thankfully the cage wasn't sound-proof, as Peach's eyes snapped open with a gasp, the princess immediately standing up and looking around, trying to get her bearings. She tried to grab onto one of the hexagonal bars, but just like a minute ago, a force-field prevented her from touching it.

Peach whipped her head around, seemingly realizing the situation she was in. There were so many questions Mario needed to ask, but he couldn't even so much as say a word, too shellshocked over what he saw before his eyes.

"Someone!" Peach yelled, desperate. "Get me out of here, hurry!" She continually turned, trying to see if anyone could help her. ...What made her be so frantic? ...Or rather, who was behind this? "Before-"

"Hmph!" Bowser cracked his knuckles, Mario wishing he could just shut up for one second. "Stand back, Super Pitiful Bros! Watch a REAL king do his work!" Bowser shifted his weight, winding up a punch... Peach backed away as Bowser punched the cage, his fist colliding- but nothing happened.

"Wh-I'm just warming up!" Bowser put on a confident face. If he was trying to impress anyone, it probably wasn't working. The koopa king took a few steps back, taking a deep breath... before roaring, spewing fire out of his mouth. Peach went wide eyed and tried to shield herself, thankful when the cage's forcefield blocked the fire as well. Bowser had to stop after several seconds, letting out a few coughs before groaning.

"What's wrong with you?!" Peach yelled at Bowser. "Are you trying to burn me alive?!" Nobody could blame her; fire might melt the cage, but it would also burn her... yeah, not the best option.

Bowser attempted to stammer out a response and apology, one that Peach ignored as she rolled her eyes, turning back to the Bros. "Mario! Get me out of here, please! The sooner the better!" She glanced away for a split second, as if watching out for something... or someone.

"I'm trying to think of something!" Mario racked his brain for anything that could get this cage open. Bowser couldn't get it open... if only Mario had his hammer with him, then he might be able to bash through that pesky forcefield. And if he couldn't do that, then he might have to take the cage back to the castle and figure out what to do from there, but then again, there was the ever-present threat that Bowser faced.

...He didn't have any ideas or leads. Mario looked to Luigi for help, who could only offer a shrug.

"Who did this to you?" Mario asked.

Peach couldn't answer.

A vicious, sinister cackling began, sounding as if it came from everywhere all at once.

"BLEH BLEH BLEH! BLECK!"

The cage moved to the side, and appearing seemingly out of thin air, flipping into existence, someone appeared. The person who took Princess Peach, now hovering in the air above them all; his cackling ceased.

"It is the man before you... Count BLECK!"

Chapter Text

After missing the bus back home by just a second, Timmy had no choice but to walk instead. He knew the route back to his house off the top of his head by now, but it was still frustrating whenever his poor timing made him just barely miss the stupid bus.

It took upwards of an hour to get back home on most days, and since Cosmo & Wanda were nowhere to be found, he couldn't just wish that he was back home. Poof remained a button on Timmy's shirt the entire time, the fairy baby bored with nothing to do.

"Still haven't heard from Cosmo and Wanda..." Timmy wondered aloud. It was safe to do so since nobody else was around. But still, it'd been over an hour since they disappeared... he told himself that they would be coming back any second now, even though this wasn't like them at all.

"Oh well, I can survive the rest of today without them, right?" Timmy paused, now unsure since he said it out loud. "Right?"

With a shrug, Timmy continued on, making it to his familiar house just several minutes later. Summer vacation had just begun, and yet it didn't really... feel like it. Eh, the feeling would pass. Walking up to the front door, Timmy opened it, stepping inside into the living room-

Only for the door to slam shut behind him, followed extremely loud rock-n-roll party music to start playing, causing the entire house to shake and quake, the vibrations threatening to make it collapse. Timmy shut his eyes and slammed his hands over his ears, trying to block at least some of the music from assaulting his ears, but to no avail.

To add to the chaos, confetti, streamers, and balloons rained from the ceiling, Timmy opening his eyes to see it all start falling to the ground. "What's going on?!" Timmy yelled; at least he thought that's what he said, he could barely hear his own voice over the music. He could hear Poof giggling, though.

A moment later, his parents ran into the living room, his dad nearly tripping over a fallen balloon as the two adults began dancing wildly, not even trying to keep to the beat of the song. They were dressed in their usual clothes, which meant they just dropped whatever they were doing to start dancing.

Timmy's parents were... something else, alright. They meant well, but they were far from perfect, as evident by how Timmy got fairies in the first place. And there was something strange about them; any time he or anyone else tried to say their first names, something would always interrupt them. Plus, the first time Timmy went to the past, he found that even as kids, everyone called his mom and dad... 'mom' and 'dad' just to get around that strange issue.

His dad stopped dancing, out of breath. He said something, but Timmy had absolutely no idea what, the music was too loud and he couldn't read lips.

"WHAT?!" Timmy shouted, just barely audible as he took his hands off his ears. His dad repeated himself. "WHAT?"

His mom realized the problem, frowning. She walked over to the pair of mega-speakers attached to the wall (when did those get there?) before turning off the loud music, everything no longer shaking from the vibrations. All the party stuff had finished falling too, making the floor a mess. Still, Timmy's ears rang for a few moments in the aftermath of... whatever that was.

"We're celebrating the first day of summer vacation!" His mom exclaimed as she walked back to her husband, her arms raised in excitement.

Timmy raised an eyebrow before he got all the party stuff off himself, all of it falling to the floor. "Yeah, for me." Based on past experiences, Timmy doubted that they'd hold this huge celebration for him. "I didn't think adults would get summer vacation too."

His parents stared at him... then stared at each other... before they laughed out loud, as if the answer was obvious. Timmy rolled his eyes.

"Timmy, Timmy, Timmy." His dad shook his head. "Pencil Nexus is having 'lay-offs'," he said, using air quotes. "Which is obviously a code-word for having the entire summer off!" ...Oh. Timmy was eleven, and even he knew what that meant. Mental note for later; wish that his dad had his job back.

"And I don't have any work over summer vacation, because people are too busy going on trips to have time to buy houses!" His mom added. What kind of logic was that? "With all this free time, we're going to do all sorts of fun summer activities!"

Timmy grew excited; for once, he would get to do something with his parents! "Wahoo!" He cheered, Poof cheering as well. Now he wouldn't mind too much if Cosmo & Wanda took their time coming back.

"...That don't involve you today." His dad finished. It was as if a record scratch echoed through the room, Timmy and Poof instantly no longer cheering.

"Oh come on!" Timmy complained, glaring at his parents. He knew they didn't do that intentionally, but it was still rude nonetheless. Poof frowned, but thankfully didn't get too upset.

"Don't worry, Timmy. It'll only be until tomorrow evening." His mom casually shrugged it off. Well, if it wouldn't be the entire vacation... With school seemingly starting earlier and earlier each year, he needed all the time off he could get.

"After all, adults need all the alone time they can get before... kids take over summer vacation." His mom grimaced, remembering the insanity that happened last year right after school let out. "So! In the meantime..."

Timmy didn't know what she was talking about- DING DONG- until the doorbell rang.

His eyes widened, fear coursing through his body. "Uh oh." His voice was barely above a whisper, turning around and backing away from the front door. He should've known the moment his parents said that they'd be doing stuff on their own.

"Poof poof..." His baby godbrother whispered, also knowing exactly what would happen next.

Timmy's dad walked up to the front door, opening it... revealing his teenage babysitter, Vicky on the other side. Timmy gulped in anticipation, wanting to just get this over with.

Vicky wore the sickest, sweetest, purest smile in the whole world, the redhead beaming as if she hadn't terrorized him so many times over and over again. Despite the clear skies and the sun shining brightly, lightning struck twice at her arrival, her hands neatly behind her back.

"Hello, Mr. Turner!" Vicky greeted.

"Thanks for being so willing to babysit on such short notice." Timmy's dad said, moving out of the way to let Vicky walk into the house, keeping the door open.

"Well, you know me. I can't help but just keep coming back!" Vicky said with a short laugh. Without the parents seeing, Vicky flashed a brief, split-second evil grin at Timmy, knowing that his parents would never believe him if he tried to call it out.

His mom looked at her watch before walking over to her husband. "We'd love to stay and chat, but we better go!" Without warning, the two parents ripped off their clothing, revealing that they were wearing much prettier, fancier clothes underneath. With those kinds of clothes, they must've been going to a fancy restaurant.

"And they say it's good luck to leave in a rush!" Timmy's mom added, which is why the two adults literally ran out of the house as fast as they possibly could before Timmy could even say anything, but not before tossing a large bag of cash at Vicky, which she easily caught in her arms, a wide smile on her face.

With the bag of cash in her arms, dollars signs appeared in Vicky's eyes, a cash register sound playing at the thought of all the money she just earned. She kicked the door shut, not bothering to lock it before she then tossed the bag of money onto the couch.

Timmy watched as Vicky then got out a broom and dustpan, before walking over and unceremoniously dropping them on top of him, Timmy letting out a scream as they hit him, causing him to fall to the floor. "OW!" Timmy yelled, a bit dazed. Poof gave Vicky a glare, not that she could see it. "What was that for?"

"That's simple." Vicky said in a strangely calm tone, before- "You're going to clean EVERYTHING up off this floor!" Vicky yelled so loud that Timmy literally got flung backward onto the wall, even more dazed than before. He managed to pick himself back up again, shaking it off.

"I can't watch TV with this huge mess everywhere!" Vicky complained, gesturing to the party stuff scattered all over the floor. Timmy wondered how his parents managed to set something like that up in the first place, but ah well.

"You have five minutes, by the way." Vicky added. "In the meantime, I'm gonna load up on your dad's favorite soda and then maybe blame it on you later!" The teenage babysitter leaned her head back as she let out an evil laugh, walking into the kitchen and out of sight.

Timmy glared at Vicky as she left, not even bothering to pick up the broom and dustpan off the floor. Sometimes he wished why he put up with her abuse almost every single day, reminding himself that it was so he could guarantee he could keep Cosmo & Wanda until he turned 18. After that, he wasn't sure what he would do, but whatever.

Poof got rid of his disguise, appearing next to Timmy with a frown. The fairy baby turned, giving a thumbs down in the direction Vicky went, displaying his shared disdain for the babysitter in the only way he knew how. It was adorable, to say the least.

Still, Timmy had to get rid of this trash. He leaned over, to Poof, whispering in his ear to make sure Vicky wouldn't hear. "I wish all the garbage Vicky wants gone would go somewhere else." Timmy paused. "Not under the house!" He didn't want to call Wanda's dad again to take care of another case of magical trash buildup, after all.

...Actually, since male fairies gave birth, wouldn't that mean Wanda's dad gave birth to twins? Wanda did have a sister, after all. Wait, why was he thinking about this again? Curse his short attention span!

Poof nodded, waving his rattle. It sparkled with magical energy, and with a POOF! All the party stuff on the floor disappeared, making the living room squeaky clean. "Thanks!" Timmy said. "I wonder where it went?" Probably to the Dinkleberg's house or something.

A few moments later, Vicky walked back into the living room, Poof panicking and turning into a purple lamp to disguise himself. Vicky was busy drinking a tall glass of soda, so she didn't see him transform, the babysitter letting out an overdramatic burp as she finished off the soda. To her surprise, all the garbage in the living room was gone.

"Wow, that was quick." Vicky commented. Would this mean that her torment was over? Timmy was oh so very wrong. Vicky tossed the soda aside, pleased with herself. "Now that we're ahead of schedule, this gives us plenty of time to film!" She put on a director's cap, got out a script, and pulled out expensive filming equipment, leaving Timmy more baffled than worried.

Where did she even get that from? Sure, Timmy may have been involved in filming stuff multiple times before, but this was just weird. "Filming what?" He asked. Poof appeared confused as well.

"It's the new movie I'm directing!" Vicky said, opening the script to the first page, playing up the drama of it all. "Based on a true story, it's about the sad, sad tale of a brother named Arthur, and his poor sister Tiara, and blah blah blah..." A true story? Timmy had never heard anything like what Vicky described before, but then again, he never bothered to read a lot.

Without warning, Vicky grabbed some old-timey woman's outfit, forcing it on Timmy before he could protest or even react. Timmy had been made to wear women's clothes before, so this was nothing new, but still. "Hey, I didn't agree to this!" He yelled.

"That's why I forged your handwriting for the contract!" It was just as Vicky said, the teen showing him a contract with a signature eerily similar to his own written at the bottom. She moved it out of his reach before he could tamper with or destroy it; not like that would stop her.

Vicky cackled, opening the script again, flipping through the pages. "Hmm... aha!" She stopped on a random page, her smile growing more sinister by the second. "Perfect." That didn't sound good.

The babysitter cleared her throat. "So, this scene involves the brother- that's me, tormenting her sister- that's you, because he started abusing his powers he got from- yawn! Boring!" Vicky let out an overdramatic yawn, clearly not too invested in whatever the script was about. Just like everything else, she was in it for the money.

Still, there were multiple obvious flaws to what Vicky was trying to do. "Wait, how come I'm the sister and you're the brother?" Timmy raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't it be the other way around?" That was how it should be, no? After all, Timmy was a boy and Vicky was a girl.

"I'm the director, so what I say goes!" Vicky yelled, leaving no room for argument. "And... ACTION!" Before Timmy could say anything, Vicky grabbed a literal flaming chainsaw, not even bothering to turn on the camera to record for the movie she supposedly was directing.

Timmy screamed in terror, drowning out Poof's scream before the disguised fairy baby poofed away without Vicky noticing. Timmy should've known it would escalate this far; Vicky's tendencies to try and torture him have gotten more extreme over the past few months after all.

That didn't mean he would stick around to see how far she would go. He ran past Vicky as fast as he could, accidentally bumping into the filming equipment. Vicky let out a scream followed by a CRASH as Timmy ran up the steps, the boy glancing back for a moment to see that he had accidentally caused the filming equipment to fall on Vicky, but he didn't care, rushing into his room and slamming the door shut.

Poof appeared in his normal form, Timmy panting in exhaustion after having to sprint like that to escape Vicky's wrath. At least he got away... Poof hovered over to Timmy and tapped him in concern, trying to get his attention, but Timmy just didn't have the energy to talk-

"TWERP!" Vicky screamed at the top of her lungs, jolting the two kids upright.

"Ah!" Timmy rushed to his bed, ducking under it and hoping he still had the extra supplies- he did, grabbing the boards, hammer, and nails, managing to carry them to his door without being able to see, thanks to the tall boards he was carrying.

That didn't deter him though, Poof watching as Timmy dumped it all on the floor before getting to work, knowing how to do this from the several times he's had to before. As fast as he possibly could, Timmy nailed the planks onto the door, the fierce hammering forcing Poof to wave his rattle to poof up earmuffs in order to block out the noise.

And after a minute or so, Timmy finally finished hammering the planks to the wall so that the door would stay shut.

Mario could only stand there, flabbergasted by the turn of events. When he woke up that morning, he never could've imagined... this. Mario, Luigi, and Bowser stared up at the strange, almost alien-like man that took Peach, keeping her locked in that floating cage. The minions surrounding everyone didn't know what to do, waiting for Bowser's command.

Peach scowled at her kidnapper; the fuel for reigniting that rage within Mario once more. He had no idea of the specifics, but he had a pretty good idea of what happened. This guy must've ambushed Peach while she was on her way to Toadsworth, before trapping her in the cage. It was the only explanation.

Some part of him, though small, couldn't help but have some... familiarity with this man. But on the same coin, it was an insane notion. He'd never seen this guy in his life! Regardless, he had more important things to worry about at the moment.

"Who are you?!" Mario exclaimed, pointing a finger at Peach's kidnapper.

"Are you deaf?" Was the response he got. "Your princess has been taken by me, Count Bleck!" The man then bowed, giving a show of display, knowing that he was in complete control of the situation, before cackling at them all.

Mario had to know what exactly what he was up against. Count Bleck wore a white top hat and coat, shrouded in a cape colored white and blur. Part of the cape was open, so Mario could see the strange patterns within. Count Bleck also wore a large red brooch, white gloves, a monocle on his left eye, and wielded a brown scepter topped with a blue jewel. The strangest part about him was that he appeared to not have legs, but rather a long, almost wispy tail, which was the same color as his skin: blue.

Bowser let out a roar, stomping the ground. "Hey, genius!" And now all attention was on him. "I'm supposed to be the one with the Princess! Give her up now, or you'll be pulverized!" Luigi could only facepalm at hearing this.

"Count Bleck shall do no such thing! The princess belongs to me!" The man in question argued.

As if she didn't already have enough of this, Peach scoffed. "I don't want to go with either of you!" The princess then got her parasol out, thankful that she managed to keep it with her. She bashed it against the cage wall as hard as she could, but it didn't even create so much as a dent in it. Nevertheless, Peach tried again, desperate to escape.

Count Bleck sighed, unamused. With a simple wave of his scepter, the cage glowed, Peach freezing in anticipation- before she let out a scream, the cage turning and spinning over and over again in random directions, causing Peach to be flung around like a ragdoll.

Mario gasped in horror, wishing there was some way he could prevent this. Bowser was just as shocked that anyone could treat the princess this way. Her screams filled the area, Mario shaking ever so slightly. It was far from the first time he heard a scream like this, but still, it was haunting.

"STOP!" Luigi screamed, unable to take it any longer. "Why are you doing this?!"

As if it didn't matter at all to him, Count Bleck waved his scepter again, the cage's glow dissipating. The cage immediately ground to a halt, Mario keeping his eyes locked to the cage to check if Peach was okay. His heart skipped a beat when he saw her lying on the cage floor... but she groaned before sitting up in a daze. She was hurt, but still okay.

"Count Bleck is the chosen executor of the Dark Prognosticus, and also the fine fellow prophesized to come to this dimension!" Count Bleck said, answering Luigi's question.

Bowser let out a short huff, the koopa quickly becoming enraged. "I'll tell you who doesn't make even a little bit of sense... Count Bleck!" At least that was something Mario could agree with. That man came in out of nowhere with plans Mario couldn't even begin to comprehend, and he knew it wasn't anything good.

Mario got into a fighting stance, Luigi joining him a moment later. "There's no way you're getting away with this!" Mario had to take action. Surprise Count Bleck before he could attack.

He rushed forward, taking only several steps before he leapt high into the air, just enough to meet Count Bleck's height. Count Bleck didn't appear surprised in the slightest as Mario tried to punch him- but before Mario could even graze the man, some kind of solid, invisible force pushed him backward, Mario grunting as he tumbled backward to the ground, having no idea what just happened.

"Mario!" Luigi yelled as he rushed over to help his brother stand up. "What was that?"

At first, Mario didn't know. But once he managed to stand up and dust himself off, he took yet another look up at Count Bleck, straining his eyes to see out of place... Hold on. The light from the setting sun shimming on something right in front of Count Bleck. It was nearly impossible to see, but it was there.

"It's some kind of shield..." Mario muttered to himself. This guy came prepared, it seemed. "I don't know how I'm gonna break through that or the cage, but I will stop you and get the princess back!" Mario challenged. To tell the truth, he had no idea how he was going to do this, he just knew he had to.

Count Bleck said nothing at Mario's declaration, only staring. But then, he chuckled, before devolving into full-on maniacal laughter, mocking him, "Count Bleck says NEVER! This princess is integral to fulfilling the prophecies..."

"Prophecies...?" Bowser wondered out loud.

"She will be brought back to Castle Bleck and be used... to destroy the multiverse!" Count Bleck said. She was still a bit dazed, but Peach turned her head toward Count Bleck, shocked and baffled at what she just heard.

Everyone else shared her shock, Mario's heartbeat rapidly accelerating. Sure, he dealt with world-ending scenarios before, stopping villains before they could destroy or take over the world. But the entire multiverse? It was a concept mostly alien to him, the idea of a multiverse. Though it didn't take a genius to realize that Count Bleck meant he wanted to destroy everything.

...How would Peach be able to accomplish that? Sure, Peach was used in the past to break the Dark Star's seal and open a treasure chest that led the way to an ancient demon, but using her to destroy the multiverse? Count Bleck was confident that it would work, which meant Mario couldn't wait any longer.

Readying his firebrand, Mario turned to Luigi in a panic. "We have to stop this psycho right now!" Unlike other times where villains nearly succeeded in their plans before Mario stopped them at the last second, Mario wouldn't give Count Bleck that chance. Luigi hesitated, but it didn't matter. Fire would be able to burn through that shield, right?

"Wait-"

Luigi tried to say something, but Mario wasn't listening. Pure rage overtook rational thought, Mario already anticipating Count Bleck's capture and arrest after this. He backflipped, still building up his firebrand to the point where he was sure it would break through that shield-

But he faltered ever so slightly as Count Bleck already had his scepter pointed at him. Mario let out a short gasp, energy building up within the scepter- Count Bleck fired a blast of some kind of dark magic, the blast hitting Mario in the chest.

Mario barely registered the wind rushing past him as he was sent flying backward, his firebrand having dissipated. He didn't register the minions watching him fly backward, everyone staring at him in shock before his eyes shot open as his back hit a wall, creating a sizable dent in it. He knew he should be in pain, but he was in too much shock, the dark blast making him strangely tingly.

It was all too much for him, Mario's world turning dark as he fell, landing on a bunch of stacked up boxes, causing them all to topple. The last thing he knew was that he got buried under the boxes, but even then, he couldn't do anything about it.

...

"MARIO!" Luigi and Peach screamed as Mario lifelessly fell, buried beneath the large boxes.

A moment later, Bowser snapped out of his momentary trance, still in shock at what he just saw. So many confusing thoughts running through him, he shook his head, frustrating himself that he couldn't comprehend or understand it all.

Peach leaned up against one of the walls of her cage, waiting for Mario to get back up. Luigi tried to find some way to get past the circular wall of minions, but it was impossible, despite him telling them over and over to move. They were too transfixed on what they just saw, a handful of them yelling and screaming in panic.

Count Bleck shook his head at this display, putting a hand on his chin. "This man deserves ridicule... weaklings cannot stand up to Count Bleck!" His scepter sparkled with a bit of that dark energy; a warning to anyone else that would try anything.

Bowser gulped, he lost control of the situation so fast, and now he could hardly comprehend what was happening. "Oh man..." He lowered his voice, talking to himself. "If this guy can beat MARIO... then this is serious." Bowser knew that one day, he would defeat Mario, proving himself worthy to have Peach for himself.

He couldn't deny Mario's strength or charisma. That red-capped plumber had thoroughly beaten him so many times for a reason, and Bowser was so sure he finally had gotten the upper hand. He'd have to try again another time, but first he needed to take care of this Count Bleck guy. Not just because it might impress Peach, but also because he was the one who was supposed to trounce Mario! Who did Count Bleck think he was, trying to steal the show from him?

Bowser cleared his throat, trying to think over all the screaming. "MINIONS!" He called, all of his present minions immediately shutting up and standing at attention. Bowser pointed up at Count Bleck. "Attack on my command!"

The minions all understood, getting into fighting positions as they closed the distance between them and Count Bleck. Bowser crossed his arms, watching Luigi back away from the minions so they wouldn't run him over, before turning around and getting into a fighting stance himself. Hmph, maybe Luigi would be useful after all.

But before Bowser could utter even a word of an attack plan, Count Bleck turned and hovered over to him, the otherworldly man in deep thought. Bowser took a step back; he badly wanted to deck this guy in the face, but that stupid shield would prevent him from doing anything!

"Hmm..." Count Bleck thought aloud, Bowser keeping his eyes on him as he circled around the koopa king. "Bowser, evil King of the Koopas... Count Bleck will take you too!"

"Wh-huh?!" Bowser stammered, completely taken aback. Count Bleck didn't just want Peach... but also himself? An inescapable sense of dread crawled up within his shell; something about this just screamed at him that if Count Bleck went through with this, there'd be no going back.

Mario was right, Count Bleck needed to be stopped now. But any attack plans that he probably thought about were gone, instead replaced the overpowering dread that stopped him in his tracks.

He and the others could only watch as Count Bleck swirled high into the air, laughing maniacally as dark magic flowed from his scepter. The dark, purple magic gathered in the sky, growing until it was much bigger than anyone nearby, emanating a cold energy that made even Bowser a bit chilly, shivering. There was a flash of light, and it formed into a black and purple wormhole, somehow occupying a three-dimensional space while it appeared two-dimensional in front of him, slowly lowering to the ground in the center of everyone. What was this...?

Bowser gasped as an oppressive, powerful wind began, threatening to pull him and everyone else into the wormhole. Screams and shouts filled his ears as his minions desperately tried to escape the suction, several of them already falling victim to it as they were flung into the wormhole.

Whatever Count Bleck was trying to do, he wouldn't let it happen! Bowser let out a roar as he sank his claws into the ground, giving him an anchor point to remain steady, the suction seemingly growing more powerful by the second.

Peach let out a scream as she was sucked into the wormhole, completely disappearing. Trapped within the cage, there was nowhere else for her to go, so she never even had a chance.

Meanwhile, Luigi tried his best to avoid getting sucked in himself, running in the opposite direction as fast as he could, but he barely got any distance between himself and the wormhole, finding it difficult as he tried to dodge the minions flying in as well. When it looked like he just might escape the suction's grasp, a stray Goomba flew onto his chest, Luigi letting out a scream as he was knocked backward, also disappearing into the wormhole.

Only a minute or two passed before the surrounding area was nearly deserted, Bowser being the only one remaining as he tried to hold out against the impossibly powerful suction... but despite his sheer size and weight, his luck wouldn't last forever, as it all became too much for him. He was lifted into the air, flailing his arms as he tried to stop himself- but it was in vain.

...

After Bowser flew into the wormhole, it slowly shrunk until it disappeared entirely, having no one else to capture. The racetracks were silent, save for Count Bleck's deranged cackling as he had his arms outstretched, relishing in his victory.

"Count Bleck's preparations are now in order! All that remains is for the dimensional void to appear, as foretold in the prophecy..." There was no reason for him to stay here, so he promptly disappeared, leaving the racetracks empty... save for one, forgotten person...

Less than an hour had passed after Steven said his goodbyes to Amethyst. He knew this might not turn up any results, like all the other times he tried this, but he just couldn't stop. Not when he still had a chance to fix this, just like he'd done with so many others. He'd keep trying and trying, until... well, he'd just keep trying, wouldn't he? Plus, his happily ever after wouldn't be complete unless everyone was happy, right?

Steven walked through the woods on the outskirts of Beach City. He was by himself, proving that he didn't need backup or anything. The woods curved upward into a hill, Steven knowing he was close to his destination. Just a bit more... It was a particularly hot day right now, the sun shining bright even through the thick trees, leading Steven to wipe a bit of sweat off his forehead.

When he got to the clearing, he knew he had arrived.

There was a rocky cave with a drapery entrance, and the surrounding area was completely devoid of any trees, plants, animals, or any sort of living creature at all. Steven continued forward, walking past a tree stump that looked to be forcibly ripped up from the ground. The dirt was a bit bumpy as well, Steven wondering why he always wore sandals. Eh, it was part of his style.

There was a point where the dirt ended, replaced with much drier ground, Steven casually walking onto it-

"Hold it!"

Steven stopped in his tracks, knowing who called out to him... but he looked around, unable to find where she was. He craned his neck, finally noticing her standing on top of the cave. She wore a cloak to obscure her identity, but soon abandoned it, Jasper scowling at Steven before letting out a groan.

"What do you want now?" Jasper asked, already tired of Steven's presence.

There she was. She was still the same as ever; a tall, orange, buff Gem, her gem located where her nose would usually be. She had corruption scars in the form of a few horns, as well as a few green discolorations on her body, but aside from that, nothing was out of the ordinary.

Steven gulped, knowing this wasn't going to be easy. "I just want to talk!" He half-expected her to turn around and walk away, but she instead let of a short scoff, jumping off the top of the rock cave, landing in front of Steven, the ground shaking ever-so-slightly. She glared at him expectantly, waiting for him to speak.

"So, umm... how's it going?" The pressure of having Jasper right in front of him made him that much more nervous. "I know it's been a while since we last, uh, talked..." He trailed off as Jasper glared off to the side, Steven also looking when he saw something adorable.

Two small, adorable bugs were crawling by together. One of them was a green beetle, and the other was a larger brown hornet, both of them side-by-side. "Aww, it's two cute little-" He couldn't even finish his sentence before Jasper stomped on the insects, killing them instantly. Steven was horrified, letting out a gasp. "Why did you do that?!"

Jasper shrugged before walking away. "Any Earthling that invades my space gets crushed. The trees, the small quadrupeds... it took forever to yank those puny green Earthlings out of the ground."

Steven dully raised an eyebrow, knowing what she meant. "You mean grass?"

"I don't know their names!" Jasper said in exasperation.

It wasn't worth getting mad at Jasper over this; Steven knew her well enough by now. The insects would be dearly missed, though. "So what's with the rocks?" Steven jabbed a thumb back at the boulders surrounding the cave.

"Training." Jasper answered, grabbing another boulder in one hand with her immense strength, before hurling it into the air, Steven watching as it landed on top of a large pile of boulders near the cave.

"Oh, I thought maybe-" Steven grunted as Jasper walked by, intentionally bumping into him. Steven rubbed his shoulder for a bit of relief. "-Maybe you were getting into art? That pile really complements the decor." From the angle he looked at it, it was pretty nice. The way all the boulders were stacked together reminded him of Jasper's hardened resolve, how she kept building upon it and never let herself back down.

Jasper didn't seem too amused, though. She kicked a boulder aside, causing the whole pile to tumble and roll around, kicking up dust everywhere. Steven barely dodged a boulder that rolled by him, but he was more annoyed than anything, seeing Jasper not care about what he said. "Okay... What are you even training for? There's no one left to fight."

"There'll always be someone to fight." Jasper said as she leaned on one of the remaining boulders, her arms crossed. "I just haven't found them yet."

"In that case, maybe you could come join us at Little Homeschool?" Steven suggested. "There's some self-defense courses if you're interested in-"

"No."

"Come on." Steven wanted her to at least listen to him! "We're all learning and growing together." Jasper snorted in disinterest. "An-And you could be a part of that." He tried and tried, but he couldn't get through to her, even after managing to get the Diamonds to change their minds! Jasper was way too stubborn!

Jasper turned her head to the side, not even the slightest bit interested. "Sounds dumb."

And Steven took issue with that. He couldn't stop until Jasper at least made an attempt, but the only thing she managed to accomplish so far was be a brat and refuse to listen to anyone. Sure, she stopped trying to kill him once she found out that Rose Quartz was Pink Diamond all along, but aside from that, not a single thing changed about her, which really got Steven frustrated.

"You know, half those Gems are soldiers who fought by your side before they were corrupted and turned into monsters." Steven said. "They're lost and confused and still a little messed up, but they're getting the help they need." Steven helped a few get started recently, and he was planning on helping more tomorrow.

"So? Who cares?" Jasper asked dismissively.

"I do!" Steven yelled, getting angry. "And if I didn't care, you'd still be a monster too!" It would be cruel of him to leave her in a corrupted state, after all, no matter what she tried to do to him in the past.

Jasper stopped leaning on the boulder, standing upright as she glared down at him. "And what? Now I owe you?" Jasper challenged.

"No!" Steven said. That wasn't how it worked!

"You think because you did something I never asked for, I'm going to obey you?"

Steven was flabbergasted; how could Jasper possibly come to that conclusion? He wasn't trying to be a new Pink Diamond, he wasn't trying to keep things the same, he just wanted everyone to be happy and in peace! "No! That's not-"

"Like all the other Gems you used."

That was it. Jasper just had to keep pushing it, didn't she? Steven yelled in frustration, beyond done with Jasper not listening to him. "I only came here because I felt bad for you, but all of this is your own fault!" Steven yelled, gesturing at the area around him. It was the bare minimum needed for a shelter, and it might've been the tackiest house he'd ever seen in his life.

"All the other Gems were corrupted by the Diamonds, but you corrupted yourself just to win a fight, which you lost, to me!" Steven pointed at himself, emphasizing his point. Jasper's expression changed from frustration to fury; now she was listening. "No one's making you stay here all alone in the middle of nowhere ready to fight a war that's been over for years! Are you just gonna sit here for centuries waiting for someone to give you a purpose?! Because I'm TRYING to give you one!"

His rant was over, Steven's anger and frustration clear. Steven tried so many times to help her out of her metaphorical hole she dug herself, but she kept digging herself deeper and deeper to the point Steven wondered if it was worth it. He wanted to help her rekindle old friendship and maybe find new ones, but it was impossible with the way she acted now. And yet, his rant didn't help at all, Jasper stomping over to him.

"Listen, weakling! You might have Pink Diamond's gem, but you are not my Diamond!" Jasper said, pressing her finger on Steven's forehead before she pointed back at herself, full of rage. "And I am not going to take orders from some weak, sappy, useless piece of dirt! If you think you're hard enough to tell me what to do, then fight me and prove it." Jasper pushed Steven before turning to walk away.

So that's how it was gonna be? Jasper wanted a fight? "Fine!" Steven said without thinking about what he had gotten himself into. Every Gem had their own unique tick, after all.

Jasper stopped, immediately turning around with an excited look on her face. "Really?"

Steven put his fists up, shifting into a fighting stance. Jasper was twice his size, but Steven could take on anyone- not that he needed to... when was the last time he fought someone, actually?

Seeing that he was serious, Jasper cracked her knuckles, giving Steven an eerie smile. "Huh, well then! Why don't you throw the first punch?" She took a single step forward as she tauntingly beckoned at him, staring down at him.

To be quite honest, Steven wasn't sure about this, but Jasper's behavior was so confusing and frustrating that he wasn't sure if there was any other way to get through to her. He winced as he punched her in the arm, forgetting his own strength for a moment as he knocked Jasper back a short distance. Jasper was amused, all revved up as she laughed out loud, charging at Steven.

"I... guess we're doing this." Steven said. It was too late to back out now, but he was prepared.

Jasper tried to retaliate with her own punch, but Steven jumped out of the way, using his floating powers to fly up and land on top of the cave. Jasper followed him up there, but by the time she got there, Steven already had a plan, grabbing the cloak Jasper used earlier before tossing it over her, confusing and blinding her for a moment as she tried to take it off. It was an amusing sight, but Jasper didn't feel the same way, finally taking the cloak off.

"Oh, you think that's just so funny, don'tcha?" Jasper hurled the cloak at Steven, the teen managing to take it off himself and toss it aside much faster than Jasper did- only for her to be charging at him again with another punch.

At the last second, Steven summoned his bubble, which absorbed the force of the punch, but also sent him rolling off the cave and into the woods, Steven trying to reorient himself within the bubble before he got dizzy. He managed this just in time to see Jasper chasing him, Steven having no choice but to run backward within his bubble to keep the distance.

However, Jasper was much faster, throwing a punch- Steven dodged it by tilting to the side, his bubble following suit. Jasper threw more punches, Steven dodging each one in a pattern until Jasper kicked the bubble as hard as she could, sending Steven hurtling backward until he collided with a tree, the bubble bursting upon impact.

Steven let out a groan, before looking up, seeing a bird's nest falling from the tree, as well as multiple baby birds. "No, babies!" The impact must've shaken the nest out of the tree! Acting as fast as he could, Steven stood up, catching the bird's nest before holding it out, using it to catch the falling baby birds. He got one, two, dive for the third one... the fourth landed in his hair before jumping into the nest.

Whew.

Steven turned; Jasper was closing the distance. He didn't have time to put the nest back in the tree, so he bubbled the nest to keep it safe before tossing it onto nearby bushes, putting it out of harm's way. "Got it!" He'd go back and make sure the babies were okay later.

Not wasting a second, Steven summoned his shield right as Jasper threw another punch. The impact on his shield caught him off guard, Steven stumbling backward as Jasper approached yet again, this time delivering an uppercut that connected, Steven grunting as he fell to his back, still holding his shield up to defend himself.

"Stop trying to help those tiny flapping Earthlings, and fight me!" Jasper said, tired of these antics.

"I'll never stop trying to help them! Or you!" Steven said, his resolve hardening. It might've faltered for a minute or two, but he was determined to help Jasper, no matter what it might take.

Steven winced as Jasper kicked his shield away, his last remaining defense dissipating as it hit a tree. "I don't need your help!" Jasper yelled, stomping on Steven's chest before he could get up. "You're the one that needs help." Steven tried to ignore her words, grabbing her foot to try and push her off of him. He grit his teeth as Jasper's foot just wouldn't move, the weight of her foot and her words getting to him. He didn't need help.

"You think you've beaten me, but you've never beaten me on your own." Jasper leaned down so she was only inches from his face, making eye contact. Steven couldn't ignore her even if he tried. "You've always been a fusion! You've always had your FRIENDS!" While it was true that the only times he beat Jasper were when he was Stevonnie and Smokey Quartz, that still didn't change the fact that she lost. But it was always just her against multiple people... whether it be him or someone else, like Garnet.

Still, the pressure became more suffocating by the second, Steven trying to pull strength from somewhere to push her off.

"Because you're nothing without them! You think everyone needs help!" Jasper continued. Steven's eyes snapped wide open, tearing up.

That couldn't be true, right? Sure, he helped others... because there was always someone to help! He wanted others to be the best versions of themselves they could be, and with so many Gems coming out of the woodwork, there were so many new people to help! That wasn't a bad thing... was it? "I- I just..." He couldn't find the words to refute her, despite wanting to so badly.

"But it's only you. No one is as pitiful as you!" Jasper sneered. Steven shut his eyes tight, rage bubbling from within. Jasper acted like a bully, refused to listen, and now tried to talk down to him like he was the bad guy?

It was beyond frustrating, Steven wanting to scream. He didn't know it yet, but a pink glow enveloped his body, Jasper letting out a gasp in surprise. Strength swirled all throughout his body, empowering every single part of him as he focused, opening his eyes before slowly but surely lifting Jasper's foot off of him.

With a shout, he exploded, hovering a few feet into the air, pink energy bursting from him. It flung Jasper into the air, the orange gem managing to flip backward and land on her feet. She didn't move, too stunned by Steven's show of strength, instead now watching, waiting.

As soon as he was out of immediate danger, Steven took notice of how his body changed, his skin and hair glowing pink. "Whoa... What?" Was this a new power?

Energy and power swirled within him, immediately making him refreshed despite how winded he was only moments ago. Just how many powers did he have? Healing spit, TV manipulation... and now some sort of pink powerup. He briefly thought back to his confrontation with White Diamond, seeing his gem half for the first and only time. It glowed the same pink, just as he did-

Focus. He could wonder about this later. Right now, Jasper needed to be taught a lesson. He summoned a bubble around his hand, acting as a glove of sorts, before sprinting- no, flying at Jasper, the orange gem having a glint in her eye.

"I'm not pitiful!" Steven shouted, punching Jasper in the chest. Jasper let out a shout as she was immediately flung backward, knocking over tree after tree, taking out probably a dozen or more in her path before she finally slowed to the point where she hit a tree, falling to the ground in a sitting position.

Time seemed to slow for a moment as Steven rushed over to where she was, slowing down as he approached. Jasper chuckled in amusement, giving him a cheeky smile. "Not bad."

Jasper was on him in seconds, but Steven was faster than she could ever hope to be. He dodged a punch, ducked below a second one, and then jumped above a third one, delivering a swift kick to Jasper's face with enough force to send her back a bit. He hardly even broke a sweat, landing on the ground with even more energy than before.

Once Jasper re-oriented herself, she charged up a spin dash, her body alight with energy as she launched herself at Steven. In turn, Steven flung himself at Jasper, waiting for the exact right moment...

They collided, kicking up so much dust that any hypothetical people watching wouldn't be able to see what was going on for a few moments. The dust settled, Steven's palm raised as he had stopped Jasper in her tracks before she could try another punch. She was so predictable.

"Nice catch." Jasper said, impressed.

"You should see my throw!" Without warning, Steven grabbed Jasper's outstretched arm with both hands, using his immense strength to toss her in the air, Jasper letting out a yelp of surprise.

Without wasting a second, Steven launched himself in the air after her, Jasper laughing in amusement as he struck her with a punch before continuing to soar past her. Did she think this was some kind of joke? Steven growled, hyper-focused on beating Jasper as he summoned his shield to give himself a brief platform to stand on before flinging himself back at Jasper, striking her again.

He struck her several times in succession, the large, orange gem just laughing more and more with each punch. Steven's eye twitched, the pink that was all over his body starting to fill his vision- Jasper didn't deserve to laugh after all she'd put him through!

Launching himself through the air one more time, he stopped right behind Jasper, raising his fists above his head and summoning another bubble glove that surrounding both of them. "STOP LAUGHING!" Steven screamed, bashing Jasper in the back, sending her hurtling to the ground, where her impact created a humanoid-shaped crater.

Upon seeing this, Steven gasped in shock and horror, his pink power slowly fading as his skin and hair went back to normal. What did he just do?! Did he really get consumed in his own frustration and anger so easily? ...First things first, check on Jasper.

He slowly hovered to the ground, more than relieved to see Jasper crawling out of her crater before standing up, satisfied. "Jasper!" Steven called out to her as she shook stray pebbles and dirt out of her hair, seemingly unharmed.

"Hmph. I didn't think you had it in you." Jasper was impressed, but Steven hardly felt the same way.

He stammered as he tried to say something, but just couldn't find the words to explain what that all about. "I don't know what that was. I'm sorry." How could he even describe it, other than it being as if he was in some sort of rage, fueled solely by that type of negative energy?

Jasper groaned and rolled her eyes. "Don't apologize."

A new power he couldn't control... it didn't make sense- it clicked. A new power. He was so used to most of his other powers by now that he never stopped to consider that he might get new ones. Sure, there were still powers that he never tried training much, such shapeshifting into anything non-human; it was still something scary after that experience with the cat fingers years ago.

But the point was, with every new power came the unpredictability of what it might do, and here he was, experiencing something like that all over again. It wasn't anything to be worried about! Steven's frown turned into a smile as he finally realized this, his worries fading fast.

"I... think I had you all wrong." Steven said, now glad that he decided to visit Jasper today. "Maybe, you don't have something to learn from me. Maybe... I have something to learn from you." Confused, Jasper raised an eyebrow. "Would you ever be interested in teaching?"

Jasper scoffed at the mere idea of it. "At your crummy little school?"

"No, just me." Steven clarified. "You brought something out of me I didn't know I had." He had to know more about his new power. In a way, Jasper was right, he did need help. He wasn't sure if he could unlock this power's full potential without her, after all.

Jasper stared at him, contemplating what to say before she sighed, walking over to Steven. Once she was right in front of him, she put a hand on his shoulder before kneeling so they were at eye level with each other. "Consider that fight back there your first and only lesson." Her stance on this clear, she stood up and began walking off.

That was a bummer. Maybe someone else could help him with this; Steven didn't want to push her further. "Well, can I come back to see you sometime?" Steven called after her.

"Do what you want." Jasper answered before walking off into the distance, presumably to the cave she resided in. And with that... Steven finally felt as if he came to some form of reconciliation with her, even if wasn't quite what he expected. A new power, a new understanding of Jasper... now he had to find those baby birds in that nest before he forgot about them.

Chapter Text

A weak, almost inaudible groan escaped his mouth.

His vision was covered in darkness, he couldn't hear anything... there was nothing. Emptiness... until there wasn't. He wished there still was.

Pain. It slowly came back to him in waves, causing him to shudder. The pain spiked briefly before simmering down, leaving a dull ache all over him, making him wonder just what the heck happened to get him like this. It was as if he'd been flung around through a tornado before tossed aside like he was meant to be discarded.

He wanted to move, but... everything all over him radiated with aches and pains, sapping away all his energy before he could even use it. Maybe he could just go back to sleep...

"Hey! You! What are you doing? Wake up!"

The sudden, gruff voice jumpscared him awake, his mind moving a million miles per minute. Huh? Who was that? He didn't recognize that voice... should he listen to them? Maybe he should try and wake up...?

With more effort than he would've liked, his eyes opened, lifting his head up. His vision was blurry, out of focus for several seconds as whoever was in front of him waited impatiently... was that a Goomba? His vision mostly cleared up, confirming that it was a Goomba, wearing some kind of fancy getup.

Why was the Goomba wearing that? He wanted to say something, but another wave of tiredness hit him like a blanket being draped over him, maybe more sleep wouldn't be that bad...

"Open your eyes, man!" The Goomba yelled before his eyes could completely close. "You're gonna miss the ceremony just laying around like that!"

...What? "Ceremony..." He mumbled to himself, trying to make sense of it all. Questions with no answers flooded his mind-

The race – Bowser's army attacking – The ambush – Count Bleck's arrival – Mario knocked out –

His eyes shot open, a whirlwind of memories coming back to him like lightning bolts, crashing down one after another, replaying so fast in his head that it almost gave him a headache. "Ah!"

Luigi abruptly stood up as fast as he could, trying to make sense of the situation. That turned out to be a mistake, the sudden motion causing his head to spin more than before, pounding with such a powerful ache that he thought he would fall over. His vision was spotty and fuzzy, Luigi groaning as he tried to maintain some semblance of balance, the Goomba doing nothing to help.

Eventually, Luigi found a nearby wall, leaning his back against it as he took slow, deep breaths, trying to figure out where he was. ...Did that wormhole take him here? Where was Count Bleck now? Or anyone else? So many questions with no answers...

His vision cleared up again, allowing him to get a good look at the place. For starters, he was in a massive, white chapel, lined with eight or so stained-glass paintings, depicting various figures and structures that Luigi didn't recognize.

There were an abundance of tables and chairs in the place, along with many food, drinks, and utensils on the tables. But what caught Luigi's attention the most... there were dozens upon dozens of Bowser's minions here, mingling with each other and having a blast, all of them in various fancy getup. Were these the same minions that got sucked into Count Bleck's wormhole? They had to be... but why were they acting like nothing was wrong?

Luigi turned his head, seeing a massive set of double doors in the back on the room, as well as black and white bells above the doors, just waiting to be rung. Luigi didn't recognize this place in the slightest, so there was no reference point of where he was or how he got here... that wasn't good.

"Oh, GREAT!" The Goomba said. ...Luigi forgot he was even there. "Good, you're up! Now you can tell me where you got that sweet, sweet tux!" The Goomba stared at him expectantly.

"Tux...?" Confused, Luigi looked down at himself, his heart skipping a beat when he saw that he in fact did have a tuxedo on. It was black with a white undershirt, complete with a black tie and black pants. He still had his regular brown shoes on, and after pulling his hat off his head, he was relieved to find that it was still his same green hat, at least that didn't change.

But still. "I... don't remember putting this on." The more time passed, the more clearly he remembered the events leading up to this. And he knew for a fact that he never put on a tuxedo, when would he have time to do that in-between an intense kart race and two separate attacks?

The Goomba's smile instantly turned to a frown upon hearing this information. "...Oh. Real disappointing, my guy." He shook his head, Luigi's answer unsatisfactory.

"I'm sorry?" Luigi gave the Goomba a look. Was it really that offensive? "Hey, can you tell me- and you're walking away."

Luigi sighed as the Goomba was already gone to mingle with others, just like his chances of getting any answers or clues were gone. ...What should he even do? This was one of the most confusing situations he'd ever been in, and considering what he's lived through, that said a lot.

Mario... the last he saw of him was Count Bleck attacking him, did he get sucked through the wormhole too? If so, he surely would've spotted him by now... but how long had it been? There were no clocks or calendars in the room, but it wasn't like knowing how much time had passed would help him at all...

There was only one other thing he could do right now. By now he had enough energy to stand up without leaning on the wall, moving himself off of it before hesitantly walking around, trying to make sense of the situation. Maybe someone here could give him some information?

But who? Luigi didn't find anyone he recognized here, not that he would be on friendly terms with many of Bowser's minions. Hm... he couldn't waste too much time; as anxious as he was, he had to talk to someone.

Luigi picked someone at random, walking over to a nearby Hammer Bro that was in a conversation with an Ice Bro. "Um, hello?" Luigi tapped on the Hammer Bro's shoulder, getting her attention as she turned partially to face him. "What's going on here?"

The Hammer Bro gave him a weird look. "What, haven't you heard about the ceremony?" She immediately turned back and resumed talking with her Ice Bro friend, not listening to any of Luigi's further attempts to get her attention.

This pattern continued for several minutes; Luigi got someone's attention and he asked them a question, but their answer was either vague or unsatisfactory, and then they would go back to whatever they were doing. With each time this happened, Luigi slowly got more and more frustrated; surely someone could tell him something? Maybe someone overheard something, or had more knowledge, or...

After another failed interaction, Luigi couldn't take it anymore. "Can someone tell me anything, please?" He said in frustration, not caring who heard him. Why was it so freaking difficult?!

"Uh, everything okay?" A familiar voice said. Luigi turned to see the Elite Captain Quartet walking up to him, all four of them donning matching outfits. Luigi remembered them from those incidents involving Fawful, but he nor Mario never really had to face them before, but they'd heard about them.

The Quartet consisted of a Goomba, Shy Guy, Boo, and a Koopa. The Captains wore a red flag on their head, and the Goomba, Captain Goomba was at the front of the pack. "I know you're one of those people that try and stop our King Bowser, but since you seem okay with this, we're cool with you right now."

There it was again! The vagueness! The Captains did appear to be friendly right now, so maybe Luigi could get some information from them? "What's going on? What ceremony is this?" Please, anything... the more time passed, the more worried he became.

"Come on, everyone knows! Don't step on our toes!" Captain Koopa said. There was a beat of awkward silence, a small gust of wind passing by.

Captain Shy Guy sighed. "Your rhymes still need work."

"It was all explained to us earlier, green guy. Were you asleep?" Captain Boo asked, ignoring the glares Captain Shy Guy and Koopa were giving each other.

"Yes!" Luigi yelled, impatient. The very thought of not knowing was enough to get his hair frazzled, some part of him hoping that this was a strange dream that he was going to wake up from... any second now... "So tell me already!"

"There's no time, it's gonna start any second!" Captain Goomba said, his tone more frantic. Seriously?! Captain Goomba turned to the rest of his team. "But after this, we're gonna follow in their footsteps and get married, aren't we?"

As the other captains cheered in response, Luigi almost overlooked the bombshell that just dropped. Wedding? For who? Luigi racked his brain, trying to think... but the strange situation he was in, combined with how stressed and achey he was made it difficult to put the pieces together, too much brainwork making his head hurt.

Luigi walked away from the Captain Quartet, shaking his head. He always knew they had something going on between them.

Nothing. No answers. If only someone would tell him outright-

The two bells above the double doors clanged together, getting Luigi's- and everyone else's attention, a huge GONG reverberating throughout the room. Luigi walked closer to the double doors, everyone else transfixed on the scene. The sound was so loud, but so entrancing... The bells gonged two more times, Luigi stopping several feet in front of the double doors.

Luigi didn't move as the doors slowly opened, an abundance of light shining in. Finally... could the answers he need be in whatever room this was? Would Mario be there? Or- There were many cheers and shouts, a cacophony of noise drowning out any lingering sounds from the bells.

"Huh?" Luigi turned around, his eyes bulging out of his head as every single one of Bowser's minions raced for the door. "Wai-" Luigi held his hands out to try and stop them, but it was futile.

Before he could react, Luigi fell to the floor as the seemingly endless number of minions trampled over him, stepping on him and crushing him, ignoring Luigi's pleas and cries of agony as they raced through the open double doors, completely preventing him from seeing anything.

And as quickly as it began, it eventually ended, Luigi in pain all over. The room was empty... except for him, and he was back to where he was earlier.

So much pain... so little energy... Luigi could only groan in pain, trying not to pass out.

...

...

...

...

Total blackness.

She let out a few groans, completely out of it. She had... some vague semblance of awareness, not knowing where she was or what she was doing before this moment. Everything felt so far away, swaying ever so slightly, as if the entire world would topple over at any moment. Even so, she had no idea what was happening, vague questions slowly coming to her, ones that she hoped she'd get answers to.

"What happened to me... What is this place?" She asked, managing to find her voice. Bits and pieces of her memories and life came back to her, filling the gaps in her head, creating a vague picture-

An eerie, almost inhuman cackling interrupted her thoughts; it came from somewhere nearby. She... she knew that voice. It sent a chill down her spine, every part of her body screaming at her to run and never come back to this place as long as she lived. "Oh, you're awake, Princess!"

She shook, knowing who this person was. She begged her brain to catch up; it was processing information too slow right now for it to register. "...Huh?" At last... she forced her eyes open, a blurry image slowly appearing, shapes and colors filling her vision before they created the clear picture of-

Princess Peach's eyes snapped open, time standing still for a split second.

Count Bleck.

The man who kidnapped her, the man who locked her in a cage, the man who didn't give a damn as he let her tumble around and take who knows how many injuries.

Peach was already standing up, but that was the least of her worries.

As Count Bleck hovered upward out of her reach, Peach hurriedly glanced around, trying to figure out where she was. She was in some kind of... ethereal wedding venue, to put it simply. It was so bright, the walls adorned with many light, mixing colors, making it hard to look at for too long. She stood on a wedding altar, flowers and hanging banners above her, and she nearly screamed when she saw Bowser on the other side of the altar.

There was a pedestal in the middle of the altar, but she didn't care about that one bit. Peach was more focused on the white tuxedo Bowser was wearing, the koopa having a giddy look on his face, standing impatiently. Once he saw Peach look at her, he gave a cheerful wave, one that she did not return.

If he was wearing that... then what was she wearing...? She didn't want to look down at herself, the thought of it terrifying. She gripped the bouquet of flowers she was holding tightly- wait, when did she get these?! She dropped them to the floor and looked down, confirming that she was indeed wearing a similar white tuxedo to Bowser.

She needed to get out of here. If Bowser and Count Bleck were involved, then it wasn't anything good. She backed away- but could only take a step. There were chains on her ankles, preventing her from going anywhere.

"Wh-"

A horde of people screaming "BOWSER!" Drowned out anything she was about to say. Peach shut up and Bowser turned, both of them staring down a long flight of steps. As if things weren't already bad enough, Peach wanted to scream again when she saw an entire horde of Bowser's minions down there.

"Niiice, dude!"

"All hail!"

"Hi, Peach!"

A cacophony of voices cheering over one another made trying to discern anything nearly impossible. Bowser waved to his minions, raising his arms and having a few laughs as they all cheered for him and complimented him in various ways. There weren't any chains around Bowser's ankle.

Peach stammered; this was all too much for her. The crushing realization that she wouldn't get out of this so easily dawned on her, and she waited for the minions to die down, not wanting to be drowned out. She had to speak; she had to say something, she just wasn't going to go along with... whatever this was!

"Wh-What's going on here?!" Peach finally managed to ask.

Her question was ignored; another woman seemingly teleported into the room, hovering next to Count Bleck. This lady was on the shorter side, having blue skin and wearing a business uniform, having a stern, unmoving expression on her face as she adjusted her glasses before she spoke.

"Count!" The mystery woman addressed him, Count Bleck turning to face her. "Yeah, um, 'K, so preparations are complete..."

"Mmm... Very well, Nastasia..." Count Bleck replied, giving her name. She was Nastasia, huh? Count Bleck's wicked smile somehow turned even more demented. "Then it shall be begun...by Count Bleck!"

A bell rung several times, loud wedding music accompanying it. Where was it coming from?! And did they really have to go with something so tacky?! The ceremony began, and Peach couldn't do a thing about it.

Count Bleck hovered down to meet Bowser, his wispy tail flicking the air before it caught up with him, reaching the floor before he gave Bowser a smile. "Bowser... Ferocious and fearsome, evil king of the Koopas... Do you take Peach to be your lawfully wedded wife 'til your life is over?"

Bowser let out a hearty laughter, giving Count Bleck a look as if he was saying 'You already know my answer!' "Will I marry Peach? Are you kidding me? The answer's YES!" He clapped his hands repeatedly, unable to contain his excitement for the day he'd been hoping for.

Count Bleck gave him a nod, turning away before hovering over to Peach. He stayed just far away enough so that she wouldn't be able to try anything; not that it would work due to his shield. "Peach... Noble princess, pure of heart... Do you take Bowser to be your lawfully wedded husband 'til your life is over?"

Peach scowled at him, not dignifying him with an answer. Why should she? She wanted to back away from him, but those stupid chains... Count Bleck must've known that she would try and run but Bowser wouldn't, explaining the chains. Peach shook her head, she wouldn't answer any questions until she had questions of her own answered.

"Now, wait just a second! You will explain to me what is going on...RIGHT NOW!" Peach said, demanding an explanation. If they were going to put her into this situation, the least they could do was tell her why she was here!

Low, dark laughter escaped Count Bleck's throat; he wasn't fazed in the slightest. "Is it not obvious?" Count Bleck gestured to the area around him. "This is your wedding, Princess!"

She didn't want to believe it. Beyond bewildered, it was becoming harder for Peach to accept this as reality, even with previous situations she'd been in. "But...why in the WORLD am I marrying Bowser?!" She thought back to how Bowser tried to marry her on the moon, and she got so frustrated with him and Mario that she wanted to be left alone for a while. Was she cursed to always get close to marrying Bowser?!

Bowser let out a chuckle; he wasn't fazed. "Hey, no gripes from THIS side of the altar, Bleck old boy!" He then turned his attention to Peach. "He might not have made the best first impression, but the count here has gone to a lot of trouble planning this!" Peach wanted to be shocked, but she just couldn't bring herself to be. "Just relax! We'll get married, we'll be in love, it'll be awesome! Finally!"

Of course. Of course. Her previous fear and anxiety were all but gone, replaced with frustration and rage. All she wanted today was to finish up the Grand Prix and have a wonderful time as the event finished up. But instead, Bowser attacked, then Count Bleck kidnapped her, attacked Mario, and kidnapped a whole bunch of other people to set up this whole thing for whatever reason she didn't care about.

And Peach was so, so sick of it. What was going on in her kingdom right now? What if Count Bleck had other lackeys like Nastasia that caused havoc in her absence? She wouldn't stand for it. And Bowser didn't seem to give a damn, because if he got his oh-so precious wedding, then why should anything else matter, right?

"No!" Peach yelled, finally having enough of this. "And who picked this dress out? It's AWFUL!" The suit was even more tacky, considering the context of the situation. She then picked up the bouquet of flowers off the ground. "And I hate these flowers, too!"

She threw the flowers at Bowser, who attempted to shield himself by raising his arms, even if the flowers just bounced off of him. "H-Hey, take it easy-"

"Take me back to my castle immediately!" Peach wouldn't listen to anything Bowser had to say. That's it, if they were going to try and keep her here, then she would rip off those chains herself and-

Peach abruptly yelled in pain, a red aura surrounding her. She crumpled to the ground, unable to catch herself as she fell, letting out an additional hiss as she fell at an awkward angle. It was as if she were being gripped by an invisible hand, held tightly, bound to its whim... Peach knew exactly what this was.

Hypnosis magic.

Bowser was in shock at the scene, unsure what to do.

She tried to resist to the best of her ability, but was unable to move her body no matter how much she willed it to. Peach was able to shift her eyes, looking up and seeing that the source of the magic was Nastasia, the woman adjusting her glasses, which had a similar red glow.

Nastasia shook her head as she looked down at Peach. "Yeah, um, being rude to the esteemed count is sort of frowned on, 'K? So, yeah, Princess Peach, I'm gonna need you to answer the count now... Do you, Peach, take Bowser to be your wedded husband 'til your life is over?"

Peach knew that this wedding had to have some sort of secret or catch to it. That's why she had to resist. The red aura squeezed around her, assaulting her mind with voices as low as whispers.

Say yes...

It'll be over soon if you say yes...

Why don't you say yes, Princess Peach?

No... she couldn't... the voices increased in volume, trying to not just prevent her physical movements, but take control of them as well. She couldn't let herself say yes, no matter what. Her mouth was being opened- "Unh... Nuh... No..." Despite their attempts, she managed to pull through, straining so much she thought her head might explode.

Bowser only became more nervous and confused by the second. "...Are all weddings normally like this?" Nobody dignified him with a response.

"Gee... You sure are a fighter." Nastasia said. Her tone always remained unchanged. "But yeah, no one withstands my super-hypnosis, sorry. "I do." Say it now, 'K?" She adjusted her glasses again.

Peach only had a second to try and prepare herself.

The grip was so tight she couldn't breathe.

She couldn't think. The voices screamed, her skull vibrating.

SAY YES!

NOW! SAY YES ALREADY!

YES! YES! YES! YES!  YES! YES! YES! YES!

It all raged within her mind, she was so close to shutting down completely. But they wouldn't let her.

She apologized to everyone she knew, unable to stop herself from opening her mouth.

"...I... I...do..."

Against her will, she said yes.

The instant she did, the pedestal began to rumble, an oppressive black light emanating from it. Everyone that could look at it stared, unable to take their eyes off of it for varying reasons.

Bowser's jaw dropped, the koopa king more than flabbergasted by the course of events. "Wh-What is that?!"

Nobody could answer.

...

It took a few minutes for Luigi to get his bearings again, but once he did, he burst open the double doors, rushing into the room...

And was met with absolute pandemonium and chaos.

He stumbled forward, pretty much all the minions running around, talking and yelling over each other in a panic. There was a low rumble affecting the entire area, clashing with the awful music playing from some unknown source.

What was going on? Luigi had to find out. He saw a flight of stairs ahead, running forward- or at least he tried to, it was difficult without one of Bowser's minions nearly knocking him over. Regardless, he managed to push his way through all of them, getting to the steps.

"What in the world...?" Luigi gave himself a small break by craning his head, looking up the steps. There were several people on a wedding alter; Bowser, Count Bleck, a woman he didn't recognize, and... "Is that... HEY!" Luigi's hat nearly flew off his head.

Peach was up there. She was laying on the floor, as if trying but failing to subtly struggle with something.

A black glow shone from a pedestal; he couldn't tear his eyes away from it.

Luigi wanted to run up there and rescue Peach from the clutches of Bowser and Count Bleck, but he... hesitated. He froze up, unable to hide how scared and confused he was. So many unknowns, this wasn't anything near what he was used to... and Mario wasn't here to support him or help him out.

Nobody else would be coming to help him. Even Bowser's minions were too scattered and confused to do anything... which meant that whatever evil scheme was going on, Luigi would have to be the one to put a stop to it.

He gave himself a moment to steel himself, knowing that every second wasted was that much closer to some kind of untold disaster.

He raced up the long flight of steps, being careful not to trip as he ran as fast as he could.

At the same time, Count Bleck stared as a large object slowly emerged from the pedestal. He couldn't take his eyes off of it, not wanting to in the first place. The black light shone brightly, emanating from a large, black heart, releasing almost invisible waves of energy from it every few seconds.

The sight of such a thing... Count Bleck cackled maniacally, his cape opening and his wispy tail thrashing through the air. "Yes, all precisely as written in the Dark Prognosticus! Already it is unleashed! The Chaos Heart!"

Nastasia couldn't bring herself to look at the Chaos Heart. "Oh, yeah, um, congratulations, Count..."

Bowser's mouth was agape, too beyond shocked to even think about saying anything.

"HALT!" Luigi yelled as he reached the top of the steps. He had overheard everything, deciding that this was Count Bleck's scheme, not Bowser's.

Bowser, Count Bleck, and Nastasia all turned to face the green-capped intruder. Luigi put on a brave face, glaring at them, despite how much he shook, absolutely terrified. He told himself over and over that he could do this. He had to do this. Because if not...

Count Bleck closed his cloak around himself again. "And just who are you? ...Asked Count Bleck."

"I-I..." Luigi tried to speak up, but shook his head, not giving Count Bleck the time of day. "That doesn't matter, you scoundrel! You hurt Peach and my bro, so I'm here to stop you and... whatever you're doing!" He really needed to work on his heroic speeches.

"Yeah, I'm gonna need you to stop right this second and cease whatever you're thinking of doing, 'K?" Nastasia said. "If you interrupt this now-"

Before she could continue, Bowser let out a roar, infuriated by Luigi's arrival. "ARGH! Quit ruining everything!" Bowser yelled. Part of his fury stemmed from not understand what was going on. "I'm this close to finally being happy and I don't need you trying to mess it up! I've married Peach! I've won!"

"Liar!" Luigi spat. What nonsense was Bowser spewing now?!

Bowser didn't like that response, stomping the ground, clenching his fists and glaring at Luigi with a look that could kill. Without much buildup or warning, he roared again, throwing a punch-

Luigi jumped at the last moment, taking action. Bowser's eyes widened as Luigi dodged the punch, Luigi soaring through the air. If he did this right, he could give himself a direct path to Peach!

Gravity took control, Luigi landing on Bowser's head, bouncing off of it. Bowser grunted in pain, staggering away as Luigi soared through the air again, this time soaring past Count Bleck and Nastasia to bounce off the Chaos Heart, giving him enough height to land next to Peach. The Chaos Heart gave off a star-like aura, shuddering.

"Are you okay?!" Luigi kneeled next to Peach, shaking her. She was unresponsive, having some sort of red aura glow around her. Luigi assumed the worst, desperately trying to get her to wake up or stir. Nothing.

His heart pounded, only for him to flinch as a harsh noise pierced the air, cutting through the wedding music, which seemed to fade at the same time. "Huh?" Luigi tried to find the source of the noise grating through his entire being, his eyes landing on the Chaos Heart yet again.

The Chaos Heart flashed several times, Luigi trying to shield his eyes while also steadying himself, the steady rumbling getting worse and more violent by the second.

Before Luigi could say or do anything-

The place filled with a white light, overtaking everything so fast-

Everything stopped.

...

...

An unknown amount of time passed.

...

...

Everything in the area was gone. The wedding venue, the alter, everyone... except for the Chaos Heart. The flashing and the harsh noise had stopped, the Chaos Heart returning to its previous state.

Count Bleck re-appeared in the area, his eyes on the glimmering, shining Chaos Heart. He had a book with him; it was black with a purple and red pattern, as well as having a blue jewel lodged in the middle of it. This book... it was the Dark Prognosticus.

Before long, Nastasia re-appeared as well, hovering several feet away from Count Bleck. The two were silent, the only noise being the low humming of the Chaos Heart. It was... eerie. Nastasia coughed, having no idea what to say, until she finally spoke up.

"Um, yeah, so are you all right, Count?" Nastasia asked. It took her a bit to find her way back here after... whatever had happened with the Chaos Heart.

"Fools..." Count Bleck muttered to himself, a mix of apathy and rage written all over him. "Pointless acts like these will earn you only pain...from Count Bleck!" Thanks to whatever that green-capped man did, the Chaos Heart had a brief moment of instability... but it was back to normal now.

"...But yes, Count Bleck is well." He remembered to answer Nastasia's question. "As the Chaos Heart is secured, this ragtag group now lacks use. Especially that koopa king..." He especially needed to be disposed of. That strength, that power... it had the potential to ruin everything. It didn't matter where, but Bowser had to go somewhere.

"Um, so, yeah, Count..." Nastasia said, taking Count Bleck out of his thoughts. She adjusted her glasses, making sure they were straight. "This means you may turn to a new page of dark prophecies..."

Of course. Count Bleck set his scepter aside for a moment, grabbing the Dark Prognosticus. He eagerly flipped through the pages; all he had to do was find the correct page... aha! Here it was. Holding the Dark Prognosticus in one hand, he grabbed his scepter again with the other. And now...

"Open your mouth, darkness! Consume everything and destroy all dimensions, as told in the prophecy! BLECK!" Count Bleck commanded, pointing his scepter at the Chaos Heart.

For a moment, nothing happened.

The Chaos Heart then flashed multiple times, the black shine overtaking Count Bleck's vision. The rumbling from earlier resumed, Count Bleck's smile more wicked and twisted than ever before.

And thus... it was set in motion.

Whenever Timmy had to hammer planks onto his door, he was able to do it a bit faster each time. It only took a minute today, Timmy panting in exhaustion. After the first couple times, he always made sure to have spare supplies, because there would inevitably come a time where he'd have to do it again... such as today.

Timmy dropped the hammer to the ground and wiped the sweat off his forehead, his heart pounding. Poof discarded his earmuffs, no longer needing them. Timmy leaned against the wall, worn out from the fast work. Poof hovered over him, still concerned for his older godbrother.

"That's it!" Vicky yelled from downstairs. Timmy jolted in fear, Poof wincing, wishing he hadn't discarded his earmuffs.

"Ah!" Timmy said, as if Vicky could phase through the wall with her scream. Vicky must've gotten the filming equipment off of her by now. Timmy didn't mean to have it fall on her, but it was the only reason he managed to get up to his room and have time to block the door...

It was then that it occurred to Timmy. He was still wearing the old-timey woman's outfit. He looked down at himself before staring at Poof, the baby not caring that Timmy was wearing such an outfit.

But Timmy did. "Be right back!" He rushed into the restroom, locking the door as he quickly changed back into his regular clothes, also taking the opportunity to use the toilet since he was in there. The adrenaline from earlier still lingered, allowing him to take care of everything quickly, exiting the restroom after a minute or two.

The entire time, Poof hovered in place, unsure what to do.

When exiting the restroom, Timmy carried the old-timey woman's clothes before immediately tossing them in a nearby trash bin. He wouldn't be needing those anymore.

At the same time, Vicky marched up the steps, her fists clenched, fury seeping through every atom of her body. She had tossed the director's cap aside, no longer seeing any use for it. Vicky purposely stomped as loud as she could as she walked up to Timmy's door, grabbing the doorknob and jiggling it-

It wouldn't open. Vicky gritted her teeth, shaking. "Open up!" She banged her fist on the door several times, yelling a demand that she had a feeling Timmy wouldn't follow.

Timmy and Poof stayed absolutely quiet. Not even the smallest noise escaped them.

Vicky glared at the door, as if she could will it open with her mind. A lightbulb went off in her head. She grabbed her chainsaw; the flames on it had died down by now. The flaming part was still a work-in-progress. She revved up the chainsaw, making sure it was on before picturing how she was going to cut the door open.

Timmy gulped, more than familiar with the sound of Vicky's chainsaw. Seconds later, Vicky began using the chainsaw to slowly cut a hole in the door, starting from the bottom edge and working her way up.

Poof squealed in terror, Timmy backing away while trying to think of a plan. It was difficult with the panic slowly rising inside him, but he hurriedly glanced around the room; his window wouldn't help, a hammer wouldn't do well against a chainsaw... aha!

His closet. It was overflowing with all the Crimson Chin comics he ever owned, a few even poking out. The door shook and quaked under the pressure, Timmy knowing exactly what would happen if he opened it. Timmy's panic faded, a smirk on his face. He knew exactly what to do.

"Poof, let's give Vicky what for!" Timmy said. The chainsaw was over halfway through cutting the door. Poof giggled, knowing his big godbrother wouldn't let him down.

Timmy ran over to the overflowing closet, standing to the side of it. Poof followed him. "On the count of three, I want you to open this closet!" Timmy said.

Poof was briefly confused, but upon seeing how much the closet overflowed, along with its position relative to the door, the fairy baby understood. "Poof poof!"

Timmy nodded, glad that Poof understood. He kept his eyes on the door to his room, Vicky's chainsaw slowly cutting through more of it. "One..." He narrowed his eyes; the chainsaw was nearly all the way through the door. "Two..." Poof braced himself, grabbing the closet's doorknob. The door to Timmy's room creaked, falling over. Vicky appeared, holding the chainsaw.

"Three!" Timmy yelled.

"Now you're gonna-" Vicky raised her chainsaw.

Poof began to open the closet door, only for it to fly open on its own, faster than Poof expected. The force of it caused all the Crimson Chin comic books to come flying out in Vicky's direction.

Her eyes bugged out. She didn't even realize she dropped her chainsaw. "AHHHHH!" Vicky screamed as the comic books collided with her, the sheer force of them all pushing her out of the room and down the steps, Vicky tumbling down the steps, buried in a massive amount of comic books.

It actually... worked! "Awesome!" Timmy cheered, elated. He and Poof exchanged a high-five before he cheered again, Poof joining in. Any victory against Vicky, no matter how small, was worth celebrating.

The chainsaw had turned itself off, so while Vicky was dazed, he opened the window before grabbing the chainsaw, dragging it to the window. It was too heavy for him to carry too long, so he waited until he was close to the window to pick it up before tossing it outside.

Timmy dusted his hands off, satisfied. "Now that that's taken care of, time to find out what's going on with Cosmo & Wanda." Timmy said. Poof nodded in agreement. Even while Vicky was terrorizing Timmy, that always stayed in the back of his mind. If they weren't here and still hadn't shown up or said anything... there was only one place they could be.

"Poof, I wish we were in Fairy World!" Timmy said, raising his arm, pointing his index finger upward.

Eager to go to Fairy World again, Poof raised his rattle, shaking it. The rattle glowed with magical energy- pffft the rattle bent over weirdly, making a noise. All the magical energy disappeared, the wish failing. Poof was confused.

"Okay..." Maybe Timmy had to word his wish better. He should be more specific with Poof, he was just a baby after all. "I wish we were at the entrance to Fairy World!" Maybe Poof couldn't grant the wish because he didn't know where in Fairy World to put them; this would make it much easier.

Poof raised his rattle again, shaking it- pfffft and the same thing happened. It filled with magical energy before bending over with the distinctive sound of a failed wish. Poof frowned, wondering if something was wrong with his rattle.

Timmy raised an eyebrow. "What's going on?" Today was only getting stranger.

Downstairs, Vicky finally managed to get her bearings, standing up and freeing herself from the pile of comic books, except for one left on her face, obscuring her vision. She grabbed the comic book, scowling at the depiction of the Crimson Chin stopping yet another evildoer.

It was then that she remembered what happened. Not even a second after barging into Timmy's room, she'd been assaulted by hundreds of comic books, not able to see anything in Timmy's room before that happened. She couldn't contain her fury, ripping apart the comic book she was holding before grabbing several others, also tearing them to tiny shreds.

"TWERP!" Vicky's scream practically shook the entire house, reminding Timmy of the ever-present threat of her downstairs. He was banking on going to Fairy World to escape from her for a while, but that was no longer an option.

"Ah!" Timmy yelped, panicking once again. "Uh, uh..." The combination of Vicky's attempts to terrorize him as well as the mystery of what happened to Cosmo & Wanda overwhelmed him, making it hard to think or focus on anything.

But he had to come up with something to deal with Vicky! "I wish a salesman would stop Vicky!" He blurted out the first thing that came to mind, even if it didn't make too much sense.

Poof waved his rattle as fast as he could, trying to grant the wish.

Vicky once again seethed with rage as she walked over to the steps, purposely stomping on the Crimson Chin comics-

POOF!

She was stopped by a large pink cloud, Vicky coughing as it obscured her vision for several seconds. It faded, and in its place was a shifty salesman, his hair slicked back with his arms behind his back. He stood in front of the staircase, a wide, beaming smile on his face.

"What the-"

"Hey, you there!" The salesman said, pointing a finger at her. His loud, powerful voice overtook whatever Vicky was going to say.

Vicky tried to ignore him and walk around him, but he kept shifting his position ever-so-slightly, making it impossible to get on the steps no matter what she did. He was blocking her only path upstairs.

"Move!" Vicky yelled, her eye twitching.

The salesman didn't miss a beat, ignoring her. "Have I got what you need? Of course I do!" He casually leaned on the banister, reaching into his pocket. "Introducing... the money sponge!" He took what appeared to be a regular, unassuming yellow sponge out of his pocket. "Guaranteed to get all the dirt and grime off your coins and bills just like that!" The salesman squeezed the sponge, water dripping out of it while he snapped his fingers with his other hand.

"Why would I need that?!" Vicky asked incredulously.

The salesman shook his head. "Patience! I'll give you a test run, just watch!" Reaching into his other pocket, he took out an incredibly dirty dollar bill, rubbing the 'money sponge' all over it.

Vicky screamed in frustration, realizing there was no way around this.

Upstairs, Timmy and Poof heard everything that happened between Vicky and the salesman. It was a huge relief that Vicky would be distracted for a while longer, but at the same time... "That wish worked?"

Then again, the cleaning wish from earlier worked; he was able to move all the trash to the Dinkleberg's house with one simple wish. Was Poof having issues getting his rattle to work? Or was there something else going on... Timmy had to test it out, hoping this wasn't a coincidence.

"I wish my door was fixed!" Timmy said, pointing at the door Vicky destroyed. Poof shook his rattle... and it filled with magical energy, transferring to the fallen door. It rose up back into place, intact, as if nothing happened. Timmy didn't want it to be true, but this confirmed his suspicions. "So it's specifically Fairy World wishes that won't work?"

When wishing to go to Fairy World, it didn't work. Anything else did, though. It was way too suspicious to be written off as nothing. Why didn't those specific wishes work? Where were Cosmo & Wanda, if not Fairy World? Even if they weren't there, it was the most likely place to check. They often had to go there for a multitude of reasons, after all.

If only he could at least see what was going on there... That's it! "I wish I had a telescope!" If Timmy couldn't go to Fairy World, he could at least see what was going on there. Poof granted the wish, a telescope on a tripod appearing next to Timmy's window.

Timmy walked over to the telescope, turning it so that it faced outside, before looking through it and adjusting the knobs... only to realize that he had no idea how to work a telescope properly. The image was all blurry and out of focus, and Timmy didn't feel like taking the time to learn. Timmy sighed in exasperation. "I wish I knew how to use a telescope!"

Poof shook his rattle again, his arm getting a workout from all the wishes he was granting. Now when Timmy looked through the telescope, knew how to adjust it properly, getting the clearest picture possible.

He moved it into different positions, trying to find where Fairy World was in the sky. It would only appear to people who knew where to look, randomly changing places to avoid people like Mr. Crocker from catching on.

It took just a bit more time before... "Hey, it's... Fairy World?"

Timmy's initial excitement upon seeing the familiar, flashing sign for Fairy World faded upon moving the telescope a bit. There was no rainbow bridge leading to Earth, only the tips of it remaining after it appeared to have been broken by a large weapon. To make matters worse, the rest of Fairy World was blocked off by a huge, circular metal wall, tall enough that not even the Big Wand was visible.

This didn't answer any of his questions; in fact it only brought about a dozen more. Timmy scanned the surrounding area with the telescope, trying to look for any clues... nothing. He gripped the telescope tightly, frustrated with everything going on. No Cosmo & Wanda, no access to Fairy World, no answers...

The only thing of note he saw was some weird, microscopic purple speck in the sky. Even with the telescope at maximum clarity, it was nearly impossible to make out; Timmy thought he might've been seeing things, but nope, it was really there.

Timmy stepped away from the telescope. "Did a smudge really get on the telescope that fast?" It didn't really matter, since he had no more use for the telescope.

"Poof?" His baby godbrother asked, looking to Timmy for answers.

The whole situation kept getting weirder and weirder, didn't it? Should Timmy really tell Poof what he found, worrying the baby even further? Poof's emotions were volatile, and Timmy didn't want to make things worse.

Also... Cosmo & Wanda were adults, they could take care of themselves for a bit. Instead of constantly worrying, maybe he should start his summer vacation on a good note by spending some quality time with his baby godbrother.

"Uh... hey!" Timmy said, getting Poof's attention. "Who wants to practice his fairy ABCs?" Poof immediately got excited, giggling and waving his arms. They were in for a fun time, that's for sure.

Around an hour had passed since Steven confronted Jasper in the woods. Now, it was cloudy out, being a bit cooler than earlier. With nothing else to do, Steven decided to invite Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl to relax on the lighthouse hill by the temple.

Garnet arrived first, followed by Amethyst and then Pearl. Thankfully, Amethyst never asked him about how his meeting with Jasper went. Steven didn't want to think about that right now, and he could tell the gems about his newfound powers another time. Right now... he just wanted to relax and enjoy himself.

The other three gems decided to lay down on the grass first, looking up at the cloudy sky. It wasn't completely cloudy; it was still possible to see some stars in the sky.

Before Steven decided to lay down, he picked a nearby pink flower from the ground, before sticking his pinkie in his mouth, getting some healing spit on his pinkie so he could poke the broken stem protruding from the ground, healing it and restoring the flower he just picked. With such excellent control over most of his powers, it was nice to be able to do little things like this.

Steven turned and laid down on the grass with the gems, taking in the soft breeze, the cool, comforting air... they were all content with where they were. Steven was waiting for something, though...

"Mmmm, this grass feels goooood." Amethyst said, her eyes closed as she started making grass angels.

"I personally made sure this grass was grown to perfection!" Pearl said, making sure her efforts were recognized.

"And I helped mow it." Garnet said. Steven wasn't there for when either of those things happened, but he was sure they did an excellent job. The teen smiled, happy that they were all together... just here and now.

Garnet adjusted her visor. "We've got company."

Steven sat up, seeing Connie walk onto the scene. Once she saw Steven sitting up, she quickened her pace, waving to him. Steven waved back, a slight blush on his face. There she was!

"Sorry I'm late, those errands took longer than I thought they would." Connie said, giving a reasonable explanation. She had texted Steven earlier about this as well, saying that the line at one of the stores was taking longer than normal.

"No big deal." Steven didn't mind Connie being late, there was no issue at all. After all, he had invited her while knowing she was still running errands, it was lucky timing that her errands finished around the time that the other gems were free. He patted the ground next to him, inviting Connie to lay down.

Connie did just that, laying down next to Steven. The five of them stared up at the sky, watching the clouds pass by. Steven liked staring at clouds; sometimes they could form all sorts of unique shapes. "You know, that cloud up there looks like a heart." Steven said, pointing up at a particular cloud.

"And that one looks like a butterfly!" Pearl said, joining in.

"And that one reminds me of a jester." Garnet added, before pausing. "Or a queen. I'm not sure which."

"Oooh, oooh!" Amethyst got excited, pointing wildly at a specific cloud. "That one reminds me of... a huge swirling cloud!"

Connie looked around at a few clouds before settling on one. "That one right there makes me think of a huge wand. You know, from fairytales? Though..." Connie strained her eyes, as if trying to focus on something in particular.

"You okay?" Steven asked.

"Yeah." Connie answered. "I thought I saw some purple speck in the sky, but I'm probably just tired." That made sense, errands could be exhausting after all.

"Ah." Steven didn't have much else to add. With that, they did nothing but relax, taking in the peace and tranquility that their lives currently were. No troubles, no looming conflict... "I want everything to stay exactly like this and never change."

"Agreed." Pearl nodded.

"Here, here." Amethyst said.

"Couldn't agree more." Connie said with a smile.

"How's the future look, Garnet? Do we all stay just like this forever?" Steven asked, positive of what her answer would be.

Garnet adjusted her orange, star-shaped visor, smiling while using her future vision, seeing into many possible futures- only to sit upright with a frown on her face, one particular future bright and clear. "No!"

Before Steven could ask what she meant by that, a strong, oppressive wind blew into the air, the flower flying out of Steven's hands. A massive, ominous shadow cast over the hill, the Crystal Gems and Connie sitting up, staring up at the sky, trying to discern where it was coming from.

The clouds parted, revealing the source of the show. A strange, purple shadow lowered from the clouds, looming over Beach City. What... what was a spaceship doing here?!

Chapter Text

All he knew... was pain.

He must've been drifting in and out of consciousness, having strange thoughts and dreams that he soon forgot, unaware of his surroundings, where he was... He almost couldn't remember who he was, until a name came to mind.

Mario.

That's who he was. And right now... he was sore. So, so sore. He didn't care why; he just wanted to go back to sleep.

But he couldn't. The soreness, the heaviness all over him- wait, what?! In an instant, the literal weight of whatever was on top of him seemed to crush him further, his eyes opening as he grumbled, trying to see what weighed him down, but he couldn't. There was only complete and utter blackness. He tried to shift himself, but found it nearly impossible to move.

Panic set in, his half-awake state only telling him that he had to get free. He struggled, whatever it was proving to be difficult to get off of himself. He punched, kicked, shoved- before finally something creeeeaaaaaaked, Mario pushing up one more time.

He saw light, also hearing clamoring of a bunch of stuff tumbling over. Mario gasped, the immense weight off of him. He needed to get out of here before it somehow came back on top of him, rushing to find any sort of footing and stand up, managing to do so, barely registering that it had been a bunch of boxes that were weighing him down.

Upon standing up, he let out a gasp, his vision still trying to get used to the immediate light, only for him to be hit with something else. Standing up so fast resulted in a wave of dizziness overtaking him, Mario swaying from side to side. "Ough... ngh..." Mario tried to keep his balance, the last thing he needed was to pass out again, not in this state of... wherever he was. Stumbling and swaying, his outstretched hand managed to plant itself on a nearby wall, Mario using that to steady himself.

He turned, now using his arm to lean against the wall, panting, trying his absolute best to catch his breath. It all happened so fast, Mario fought against the urge to go back to sleep, shaking his head and trying to think about anything else, to reclaim the memories that were tucked away in his head.

"What... what happened..." Mario turned his head to the scenery before him, his heartrate spiking in alarm at seeing the state the racetracks were in. Right, he was at the racetracks...

How long had he been here? It was surely approaching the evening by now, indicated by the sunset in the distance.

The racetracks were a complete wasteland. Cannonballs lined the area in an odd fashion, bits of broken road surrounding them, not to mention all the other destruction. Perhaps a result of people fleeing in a panic? But why would... His eyes were drawn to the remains of a wrecked airship, almost completely unrecognizable by now. Something awful happened here, but in his hazy state, Mario couldn't quite get himself to remember, frustratingly enough.

Maybe a clue would jog his memory, anything... The boxes surrounding him didn't do anything, neither did the remains of the airship... Mario turned, looking at the wall he was leaning on. What was... he looked up; there was a huge dent in the wall-

He let out a short gasp; it all came back to him in a series of quick flashes.

The race, Bowser's attack, the fight, Peach kidnapped, and finally-

"Ah!" Mario got off the wall, rushing forward, trying not to trip over the boxes. "Count Bleck, you-" He stopped; in his haste he had failed to realize that there wasn't anyone else here with him.

Abandoned. Desolate. Nobody else was here... no, surely there had to be someone. He had no idea of what happened after he was knocked out, but surely someone could tell him!

"Hello?" Mario called out.

No response.

Worry and dread slowly settling in, Mario walked around the racetracks; it was as if he were stepping through the aftermath of an apocalypse.

There had to be someone, anyone...

"Peach?" He yelled, a sliver of hope remaining. "Luigi?" Nobody, not even a civilian in hiding showed themself to him. "...Bowser?"

It was worth a try.

Mario gulped, any attempts to contact anyone may as well be futile. Something was so... off about all of this, as if Mario was somewhere he absolutely shouldn't be. It was eerie, feeling out of place like this. It wouldn't be the first time, but...

He needed to get out of here. Find help, contact someone to figure out what the hell was going on.

Grrrrr...

For a split second, the thought of a wild animal roaming the place with him struck him like a truck, but it vanished the moment Mario realized where the sound came from.

His own stomach.

...He was hungry, so hungry he might as well be starving. How long had he been out? As much as Mario needed to get out of here, he also needed food. No point trying to do anything on an empty stomach, after all.

And so, he resumed walking.

...

...

The racetracks were much bigger when he traveled on foot. ...And when there was a bunch of debris he had to maneuver his way around. Eventually, he did find a concession stand in the distance, quickening his pace. Please have something left...

He made it to the stand, peering inside to make sure there wasn't anyone in there. ...Abandoned, just like anything else.

Mario's heart lowered, knowing what he had to do... but nobody would notice, would they? Going over to the side and fully opening the cracked-open employee door, he got a better of what was inside. It was ransacked, the shelves nearly empty save for a few candy bars. What used to be stacks of cups coming in three sizes was reduced to a few stray cups knocked over onto their sides.

...He would have to make do. Looking out one more time, as if there were anyone out there to catch him stealing, he grabbed all the candy bars and shoved them into his pockets, only to take one back one and leave it there. Just in case someone needed it.

"I'll pay for this later." Mario said. Part of him knew that nobody would know or care, but it weighed too much on his conscience to just take them without leaving some form of compensation.

Without missing a beat, he grabbed a cup, carrying it over to one of the soda dispensers. He tried the soda he usually drank, but nothing came out. Shame. After deliberating for a few moments, he tried another flavor that seemed appealing enough, filling the cup until it was mostly full, before putting it to his lips and taking a sip.

"Not bad." It had a bit of a tangy aftertaste, but he might try this again sometime. He may as well drink the rest since he poured it, no sense in wasting.

Mario did set the cup down for a moment, the soda fizzing as he took a candy bar out of his pocket, partially opening it so he could eat it when he felt like it. He grabbed the cup with his free hand, making sure to avoid any debris as he left the concession stand.

...The more he observed the racetracks, the more... desolate and lonely it seemed. Mario really was alone. Just... how long? How long had he been asleep? How much time had passed? The only way he would know was by getting out of here.

It might take a while before he found an exit; this place was huge. To pass the time, he planned out in his head what he'd do upon getting out of here. First, inform any and as many authorities as possible as to what happened, the next step being to try to send for help from nearby Kingdoms. The BeanBean Kingdom was literally their neighbor, maybe they'd be able to help?

He'd be able to think better once he began eating. Mario took a bite out of the candy bar, savoring the sweet, chocolatey taste, crunching loudly on the food-

Flap flap flap

Mario froze, nearly choking on the food. In his panic, he spat his food out, the half-chewed piece of food landing on the ground before Mario straightened up, knowing that he heard something from behind him. He wheeled around on a dime, his heart pounding as he faced... No one.

There was nobody there.

But Mario knew he heard something. He wasn't imagining it, he distinctly heard something flapping and fluttering behind him. ...Which meant he wasn't alone here. Mario wasn't sure if he should be relieved... or terrified.

Instead, he chose to remain on-guard. Gripping his food and drink tightly, he slowly turned back around, trying to be as quiet as possible. If he could put some distance between himself and whoever this was, then that would be ideal. The fluttering did sound like it came from close by, so he needed to prepare for... he wasn't quite sure, but no matter what, he would get out of here.

Mario couldn't remember where the nearest exit was. Slowly, he tip-toed forward, keeping so quiet he could hear his heart pounding-

There was a yelp from behind him, something- or someone bumping into his back, startling him. "Agh!" Mario dropped the candy bar and his drink on the ground, no way to recover either of them. He still had the other candy bars, but that was the absolute last thing on his mind right now.

Adrenaline kicking in, Mario turned around yet again, preparing for a fight, only for absolute confusion to set in at what he saw.

A butterfly. She had an admittedly cute face with two antennae on her head that slowly changed colors, while her wings were a glowing rainbow. Her head was tilted ever-so-slightly as she slowly bobbed up and down, fluttering in place.

Mario stared, baffled and on-edge. The butterfly stared back, confused. The stare down lasted too long for comfort, Mario having no idea what to think.

The butterfly let out a gasp that she should've done earlier, flying back a bit. "I'm sorry for bumping into you!" She apologized, her voice and inflection louder than Mario expected. The butterfly fluttered down, noticing the dropped food and drink before gasping again, flying back up to Mario a moment later. "And I'm sorry for making you drop your food-"

She stopped herself with a squeal, Mario wincing. How could someone make such a high-pitched noise?! Before Mario could say anything, the butterfly must've realized something, flying in circles around Mario several times over, her wings flapping like crazy. "I found him! I found Mario!"

"W-What?" Mario sputtered out, alarm bells ringing in his head. The butterfly soon stopped, allowing Mario to back away, unnerved. Everyone disappears, and this butterfly comes looking for him? Something immediately smelled suspicious about this whole thing.

As Mario backed a few steps away, the butterfly kept an even distance, curious. Mario needed answers. Now. "Who... how do you know my name?" Knowing who she was would be borderline useless without knowing her motives.

A smug look appeared on the butterfly's face. "Aha, I KNEW it was you!" She sounded so proud of herself.

Mario shook his head in disbelief, trying to make a mental note to not give up any more information to her. "You didn't answer my question, but whatever. Yes, it's me, whoever you are. Who are you?" Maybe getting her name first would be easier.

The butterfly perked up. "Okay, Mr. Stache! My-"

"Wait wait wait, 'Mr. Stache'?" Mario repeated, still baffled. Since when-

"Mhm!" The butterfly nodded eagerly. "That's my nickname for you and I'm sticking to it! Anywayyyyyyyy my name is Tippi!" She smiled brightly, doing a little twirl in the air. Tippi, huh? "I've been told I'm a..." She paused for dramatic effect. "Pixl!"

"A... Pixl?" Mario asked, trying to remember if he heard that term before.

"Yeah!" Tippi nodded eagerly.

Despite his attempt, Mario was only confused at the term. "Never heard of 'em." At this point, he got over the nickname, it was relatively harmless.

"Aw." Tippi's smile faded. "Hm, how should I describe this..." She was deep in thought, putting her hands over her face for a few moments before a lightbulb turned on in her head. "I know! Pixls are like... a type of fairy! You know what those are?"

"...Fairy?" Mario made a weird face at that word, his brain tickling a bit. It was as if he was trying but failing to process something; a connection that couldn't be made.

"Yes yes yes!" Tippi nodded her head, elated. Mario was now distracted from his thoughts. "And most importantly, I came here to find you, but well you probably already knew that!"

That would explain why Tippi suddenly showed up here. She had some form of knowledge on who he was but still hadn't explained why. Mario was hungry, still sore, and still had no idea what had happened after he was knocked out; he took a step back, weighing his options. With a stranger such as Tippi suddenly appearing in these circumstances, his brain worked itself dry trying to decide what to do...

"I don't have time for this." Mario made up his mind.

Tippi let out a gasp; a bit too overdramatic for Mario's liking. "What? Why?"

Mario knew he had to be blunt with someone like her. The stress ate away at him, so many things piling up at once that he didn't know how to handle it. "Everything about this is weird and suspicious!" Mario threw his hands in the air. "A butterfly randomly shows up, already knowing who I am? Yeah, no."

He turned around to walk away, but as he did, Tippi swerved, making sure to stay in his sight. "Mr. Stache, wait-"

"Leave me alone!" Mario couldn't think, he needed a few minutes to gather his thoughts without someone hovering right next to him.

He still had no idea where the exit to the racetracks was, but nearby, there was a stairwell that led to the partially destroyed stands, Mario deciding to walk in that direction, heading up the steps. Hopefully he could find a seat that was intact enough to sit in.

Saddened, Tippi's wings lowered... "Well..." before she perked back up a few seconds later, speeding over to Mario before fluttering next to him as he walked up the steps. "I'm sticking by your side, no matter what!"

There was a goofy smile on Tippi's face, Mario sighing in exasperation when he saw it. He just couldn't win with her, could he? His eye twitched, wishing she would listen and just leave him alone already. Mario was nearly at the top of the stairs by now.

"Why are you so on-edge?" Tippi asked.

That was it. Mario let out an audible groan, fed up with Tippi's antics. "Gee, I dunno." Mario stopped walking, sarcasm and frustration laced within his voice. "Maybe because everyone mysteriously disappeared after I passed out and I don't know where anyone is or how much time has passed?!" Sure, it looked like only a few hours had passed, but for all he knew, it could've been so much longer than that.

Tippi blinked, taking in what he said. "That's a pretty good reason!" She fluttered over to his shoulder, trying to rest on it, but Mario wasn't having any of it, shifting his stance and shooing her away-

SMACK

Only to accidentally hit her in the face, Tippi yelling in surprise. "Ah! There wasn't a good reason for that, meanie!" Tippi pouted, crossing her arms.

Any sort of apology Mario was thinking of saying quickly went out the window. "Listen, butterfly-tippi-whatever your name is!" Mario snapped, Tippi's eyes widening in surprise at his tone.

Mario wasn't going to hold back, everything would be laid out on the table. "I'm not in any mood for your games. I'm stressed, I barely even know what's going on, and I don't need you acting like everything's a-okay like some kind of fantasy!" He didn't care how loud he yelled, Mario hopefully making his point clear.

He took several deep breaths, staring into Tippi's eyes. The butterfly just stared back... only for tears to well up in her eyes, her breathing speeding up before she began sniveling. "I... I-I wasn't saying that- I just wanted to..." She stumbled over her words, trying but failing to find anything to say.

...Oh.

What was he doing?! Mario snapped back to reality, wishing he could take it all back. It went against everything he stood for, yelling at and antagonizing someone who didn't do anything wrong. Everything just... was too much, but that was hardly an excuse. His heart sunk; he was way too harsh, and now he had to right this wrong.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled; you didn't deserve any of that." Mario couldn't bring himself to look at her after that, hoping the apology was enough. He made his way to the nearest seat that was intact enough to sit on, sitting down and leaning forward, putting his hands on his cheeks.

In the moment, he didn't hear anything else. From here, he had a much clearer view of the destroyed racetracks, as well as the Mushroom Kingdom in the distance. These racetracks... it would take a long time to repair them in the state that they were in; would it even be worth the effort? To cling to what used to be great, despite how much disrepair it was in now...

Tippi's fluttering took him out of his thoughts, Mario partially relieved that she didn't leave after his outburst. She settled down on a chair next to him, taking a rest. "I forgive you, Mr. Stache..." Tippi's voice was low, Mario's heart twisting further. He was going to trust her from now on; it wasn't like she tried to attack him or anything.

"Because you apologized and you meant it!" Tippi continued. The butterfly let out a short giggle, before covering her face with her hands, her next words muffled. "Plus... you're really cute."

Mario gave her a weird look, before deciding to ignore that comment and let it go, leaning back in his chair. "So much has happened so fast, even for my standards." He wasn't used to this many twists and turns all at once. "I still can't comprehend it all, and I understand none of it. Hm..." What was he supposed to do?

Tippi perked up, fluttering up off her chair. "I can help you understand! If you let me!" Despite her words, Mario still hesitated just a bit. "I promise I'm not a bad guy or an enemy or anything! And besides... if you didn't know, we're all on an important time limit..."

This immediately got Mario's attention, the plumber nervous. "What do you mean by a time limit?" He didn't like the sound of this at all.

"Do you remember everything that happened to you today?" Tippi asked.

"Of course." Mario nodded, thankful for the confirmation that it was still the same day. Everything was still fresh in his mind; he wouldn't forget it anytime soon.

"I got ready for the last race of the cup. I was nervous but also really excited, and I got first place, only for Bowser to attack the place." As Mario recounted the story, Tippi listened patiently. "I thought I defeated him, but he tricked me, and that's when Count Bleck showed up and knocked me out."

Tippi reacted to the name Mario said, pausing for a split second before she straightened up again. "Oh no..." Tippi shook her head. "This is very, very bad..."

Mario stood up in a rush, wanting any sort of explanation whatsoever. "What do you mean? What's going on? Who's Count Bleck? What happened to everyone? This doesn't make any sense!"

She opened her mouth, but Tippi hesitated... but knew she had to say this. "Right now, Count Bleck is beginning to form... the Void. You've gotta come with me if you want to save your friends!"

...The Void. Mario wasn't sure why he got a chill down his spine, but... it didn't sound good in the slightest. He had no idea what to expect.

What he did know is that he had to save his friends. Luigi, Peach... well he wouldn't consider Bowser a friend, but still. In this situation, he basically had no choice; it was either wander aimlessly or go with someone who seemed to know what might be going on. Plus, he's seen crazier things in the past, so...

"I'm ready." Mario said, preparing himself.

Tippi let out a sigh of relief. "FINALLY! I thought I'd never get you to come with me!" She fluttered much closer to him, stopping a few inches above him. "Brace yourself Mr. Stache, this might be a doozy!"

Mario had no idea what this meant, but before he could ask, he only watched as Tippi grabbed at the air, focusing and concentrating before slowly pulling down, a thick black line appearing in mid-air where she pulled. She strained herself as she pulled down some more, struggling with this. Mario wanted to say something, but he was too fixated, wondering just what the heck this even was.

"I've never had the chance to test this with someone else, so I really hope it works!" Tippi said in-between grunts and groans. Before long, Tippi reached the floor, sitting there for a moment before she let go of the black line.

It happened in an instant; the completed line formed a tear in reality itself, appearing for only a split second as it swallowed Mario and Tippi whole, the area correcting itself a moment later after they vanished.

What began as an educational ABC lesson slowly transformed into general entertainment, as evident by the various games, coloring books, and other stuff that Poof liked, strewn about Timmy's room. Timmy knew he'd have to clean it up at some point, but... eh, Cosmo & Wanda weren't home, so it wasn't an issue at the moment.

Timmy lost track of time while keeping Poof distracted from the big issue, even having some fun himself. Sure, some of the games were extremely simple, but it was the smaller things that sometimes brought the most entertainment. Maybe a few hours had passed? Timmy wasn't exactly sure.

Still, it was worth it to see Poof's smile. After his baby god-brother finished another page of a coloring book, he went back to a puzzle he was having trouble with, the last few pieces eluding him on where they should go. Timmy didn't give Poof any hints, hoping by some miracle that Cosmo and/or Wanda would show up and explain their absence.

But they didn't.

"Poof! Poof poof!" Poof cheered, trying to get Timmy's attention. Timmy sat up from where he was sitting, turning to see Poof holding up the completed puzzle.

"Whoa, great job!" Timmy gave Poof a thumbs up, the fairy baby giggling in response. The puzzle itself wasn't anything too special, just depicting a library of some sort. Poof then took out his rattle, shaking it as it lit up with magic. Was he going to wish up another puzzle?

Timmy thought wrong, the puzzle being replaced with a family photo. A very specific family photo from not too long ago, Timmy immediately recognized it when he saw the cow that decided to photobomb it.

That day... Timmy remembered it all too well. Cosmo & Wanda had been getting Poof ready for a family photo, and Timmy had yet again been frustrated at his godparents prioritizing Poof over him. Now Timmy understood why, but in the moment, his frustration was understandable. ...And yet, it felt all the more ironic, now they were nowhere to be found, leaving Timmy to take care of Poof instead.

Poof pointed at Cosmo on the photo. "Co...Cos..." Despite trying his best to speak, Poof soon devolved into his usual baby babble, still unable to articulate himself. He then pointed at Wanda. "Wa...Da!" Yet again, he couldn't speak, trying but failing to talk.

Even if Poof couldn't get his words out, Timmy knew exactly what he was trying to say. He wanted to see Cosmo & Wanda. At first, Timmy frowned, unsure of what to say... but his expression shifted a moment later, his eyes narrowed, immediately set on what he'd do next.

"That's it." No thinking about it further, why would he? "Poof. We're gonna find Cosmo & Wanda." If they weren't coming back, then Timmy and Poof were going to have to go to them.

"Poof?"

"If I'm right, they're in Fairy World." Timmy said, tapping his foot as he tried to think. "And we can't just poof there, which means that we'll just have to find a different way to get there, and then we can figure out what the heck is going on!" He couldn't really think of an extravagant plan, but he did have something in mind.

Poof tilted his body, confused at what Timmy was saying.

"Don't worry, I might have an idea." Timmy said, trying to reassure him. He walked over to his door, gently opening it a crack, the door creaking loudly. Ever so slowly, he peeked his head out, looking down at the first floor to see what was going on.

Vicky was downstairs, watching TV. She must've gotten rid of that salesman Timmy poofed up, though he wasn't sure how.

She must've heard the door open, because Vicky glanced around for a moment to see where the noise came from before giving up, going back to her show. "As soon as this makeup show is done, twerp, you are SO DEAD!"

Timmy wordlessly moved back into the room, slowly closing the door. "The front door is out." It was a good thing he had another option available, walking over to the open window. "Perfect..."

"Poof..." The fairy baby understandably was worried about the prospect of sneaking out of the house, but Timmy was no stranger to this. He'd do what he'd have to in order to get to the bottom of this.

"We're going to find Cosmo & Wanda, one way or another. I wish there was a ladder right outside!" Timmy said, pointing to the window. After a moment of hesitation, Poof waved his rattle, a tall ladder appearing outside. "Thanks!"

No more time to waste. Timmy didn't spare a second as he used the ladder to carefully make his way out the window and outside, hopping off when he was close enough to the ground. Poof followed him, not knowing exactly what Timmy's plan was, but still trusting his big godbrother anyway.

...

Neither of them noticed the figure quietly laying on the roof, watching them with its red eyes.

The five of them stared up at the massive, mysterious purple spaceship hanging above them. None of them said a word, only watching. The spaceship cast a shadow over all of them, Steven unable to recognize the type of ship this was. It must've been a much older model than any of the ones he's seen.

A door on the spaceship opened, a path slowly extending out a few feet. What must've been a Gem walked out of the spaceship, stepping over to the edge of the path, looming over them. The Gem's form was obscured in shadow, making it impossible to tell who she was from her silhouette.

"HEY!" She called out, her voice unfamiliar. "Are you Steven Universe?"

"Um... Yes?" Steven shrugged, a bit nervous. He had no idea who this Gem was or why she was here, but it would surely be sorted out soon.

Upon his answer, the Gem snickered to herself. "Perfect." She lifted her finger up, shapeshifting into a giant horn before blowing on it, sounding exactly like a loud, annoying airhorn.

At the same time, another door on the side of the ship opened, this one much more difficult to see, almost invisible unless it was being directly looked at. A small object shot out of it in a flash, soaring into the distance too fast for any of them to get a clear look at what it was.

"What the heck are you doing?!" Amethyst yelled, shaking a fist at the unknown Gem. "You can't just litter your garbage wherever you want, you dingus!"

But the Gem only cackled in laughter, shapeshifting her finger back to normal. "I'm afraid it's waaaaaaaay too late for that, and besides..." The spaceship slowly began lowering a bit more. "It's not as if I'm the FIRST one to throw away unneeded garbage!"

"Move!" Garnet yelled as the spaceship accelerated downward.

Everyone rushed to take several steps backward, keeping their eyes on the spaceship, preparing for it to make a crash landing... but it never did, the spaceship abruptly jerking to a stop. The path the extended out several more feet, bringing the Gem even closer to them, allowing them to see what she looked like.

She had a pink complexion, magenta eyes, and dark cerise hair that is styled into messy, uneven pigtails. There were three black lines underneath both of her eyes, almost reminiscent of running mascara. She wore a plum-colored top, puffy pointed hot pink sleeves, puffy rose shorts, hot pink wrist-length gloves, white stockings, and a pair of rose knee-high pointy boots.

Her gemstone was on the center of her chest, cut in the shape of an upside-down heart. The gemstone flashed, the Gem cackling. "Well, well, well, well, well. Lemme get a look at the menagerie." She shapeshifted her hand and eye into a telescope, using it to look down at the group of five.

"You're just a human." She first focused on Connie, the teen giving the Gem a scowl in response. She then focused on the other Gems, each of them one at a time. "You must be Amethyst. You must be Garnet. And Pink Diamond's Pearl."

Upon focusing on Pearl, the Gem retracted her eye telescope, much more agitated than before. "Wow, she took you with her. Isn't that just..." She grit her teeth, her hands balled up into tight fists. "Swell?!"

Pearl almost didn't know what to say. "... It can't be." Did she recognize the unknown Gem?

There was no time to clarify, as the Gem laughed once more, taunting them all. "Oh, but it can be, and it is. I got a new style," She brushed her hair aside. "And a few new toys..." She then gestured to her spaceship, refusing to explain where she got it from. "This and a few other surprises from my new associates are gonna put an end to your "happily ever after" once and for all!"

Steven already knew this would spiral out of control if he didn't do something. There were already a myriad of questions he had on his mind, but those could wait until he managed to calm this Gem down. "Whoa, whoa." He took a few steps forward, making sure he got the Gem's attention.

"This has gotta be a misunderstanding." Steven said, continuing in spite of the Gem rolling her eyes. "In case you haven't heard, I've established peace across the-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've heard!" The Gem snapped, Steven taken aback. "I've had your little message to the universe... ON LOOP!" In a show of frustration, the Gem extended her leg out, kicking Steven in the face. He had no time to dodge, taking the full brunt of the attack, getting knocked backward-

Until Connie caught him, helping Steven reorient himself. Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl were momentarily shocked at the display of violence, before snapping out of it and summoning their respective weapons, Amethyst with her whip, Pearl grabbing her trident, and Garnet's gauntlets appearing around her fists, all three of them preparing for a fight.

"Stop!" Connie shouted as the Gem retracted her leg. The teen brought out her sword, also ready to fight. "Who do you think you are?"

Yet again, the Gem cackled, though this time, it sounded... so wrong, so maniacal. "Name's Spinel! Not that any of you are gonna remember it soon anyway~" It was a threat so... ominous, Steven had no idea what Spinel meant by it, but he didn't want to find out.

"And I just love that one part of your little speech, Steven... where Pink Diamond spends the rest of her days on this... nowhere planet..." Spinel couldn't stop herself from chuckling as she spoke. "With... a bunch of... nobodies!"

Without warning, Spinel launched herself off the spaceship.

To be Continued...

Chapter Text

Upon launching herself off the spaceship, Spinel immediately broke into song, singing to a beat only she knew, throwing the others off for a few moments before they tried regaining their focus.

"That's right, I heard the story! Over and over again!" Spinel landed, immediately bouncing on her head and feet toward the others, singling out Steven as she landed in front of him, the teen running to meet her- only to fall back onto his butt at her sudden approach.

Steven was taken aback, ready to summon his shield to defend against any sudden attacks- but she didn't, instead choosing to dance in front of him, Steven stunned as he watched the scene before him.

What... was she doing? Taunting him? Well, this was better than another kick to the face. Still, he couldn't completely let his guard down yet.

"Gee, it's swell to finally meet her other friends!" Spinel sang, easily dodging out of the way as Connie moved to strike her, the swing of Connie's sword wilding missing as Spinel did a cartwheel, stopping several feet away from her, right in front of Garnet.

As Connie helped Steven stand up, Spinel bobbed and weaved around Garnet's punches, not missing a beat in the slightest. "That's right, I heard the story!" Garnet prepared to strike again, only for Spinel to casually extend her legs, stepping away from Garnet as if it were nothing, stopping right next to Pearl.

Spinel was taunting them all, wasn't she?

"Don't really like how it ends!" She flicked Pearl's long nose, the white gem scoffing at her, not even taking the opportunity to attack, allowing Spinel to casually step over to Amethyst-

Who only gave her a cursory glance before Spinel grabbed her long hair, shoving it over her face, effectively blinding her. "Gee, it's swell to finally meet her other friends!" Spinel was far from finished, looking directly at Connie, sticking her tongue out while using her fingers to stretch her mouth out to an absurdly high length. Connie took the bait, charging at her, only for Spinel to jump and dodge out of the way far before Connie could ever hope to reach her.

Spinel landed several feet away from Pearl, the white Gem only having a moment to face her before Spinel launched her rubber-like arms at Pearl, grabbing her. Within seconds, Spinel took advantage of her limbs to wrap herself around the lighthouse, enlarging her head as she had Pearl dangling upside down, playing with her like she was a puppet, Pearl unable to break free. "What did she say about me? What did she say?"

Casually dropping Pearl to the ground, Spinel raced over to Amethyst, leaning on the ground, resting her hands on her chin. Spinel's legs were splayed out on the ground, bouncing Amethyst between her feet. "What did you do without me? What did you do?" She suddenly slinked away under Amethyst, the purple gem falling to the ground.

Before Garnet could react, Spinel grabbed her, enlarging her hands and grabbing the sides of the lighthouse, rapidly wiggling her arms as Garnet was on them, the fusion unable to do anything about it. "Did you play games without me? What did you play?"

Enlarging her head, Spinel gave Garnet a look while raising an eyebrow, before dropping the gem, Spinel flattening herself on the ground before racing over to Steven in a zig-zag pattern, jumping up and surprising him at the last moment. "Did you think all this time that I wouldn't find out about you?!"

Steven fell onto his butt again, not raising a finger against her. If he could get through to Jasper earlier that day... then surely he could try and talk to this gem, right? Spinel didn't really seem to be outright attacking them too much, just singing, dancing and playing with them.

Connie saw her chance, trying to attack Spinel from what she thought was a blind spot, only for her to jump so high that Connie couldn't hope to reach her.

"Oh, that's right, I heard the story!" With her height advantage, Spinel grabbed Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl with her limbs, also wrapping her last limb around Steven and Connie, making sure to grab them both. "Over and over again!" Spinel spun around, her limbs wrapping around herself, causing everyone she held to slam into each other, all of them letting out grunts of pain upon impact.

While they were still dazed, Spinel unraveled herself from the five over them, using her momentum to swing herself onto the lighthouse. "Gee, it's swell to finally meet her other friends!" She stood on all fours, glaring down at them, waiting.

The five of them began to get up, Steven holding his head in pain. The way he brutally slammed against one of Garnet's gauntlets caused his head throb, but his natural healing powers thankfully reduced the pain to a minimum, Steven able to bear with it.

Garnet was the first to get up, standing on one knee. "She's running circles around us!"

Amethyst picked her face up off the ground a moment later, frustrated. "I'm rusty. Give me a break!"

...That was true; without needing to fight corrupted or Homeworld gems, they didn't have any reason to keep up their fighting skills as vigorously... Steven should've anticipated a situation like this, maybe training sessions? Daily? No, because of schedule conflicts... Weekly? Why was he thinking about this now?

"We've gotta try to talk some sense into her!" Connie said, brandishing her sword as she stood up. Steven did know of one way, but-

No. He wasn't going to use that new power on her. Jasper could handle it, but she's Jasper! Steven had no idea how durable or fragile Spinel was; he didn't want to risk anything. Plus, he really didn't want this to come to that, especially considering that he hadn't told the others about his new power yet. After this he would, but...

"It really is her..." Pearl said while on her knees, staring at the ground. "But she can't be serious." All eyes were on her.

"You know her, Pearl?" Steven asked, hoping for answers. "Can you tell us who she is?"

Spinel stood upright as she stared down at them... but as she listened, her expression changed multiple times.

First, she was wary, listening in on any plans they were making.

Then, smug as she knew she was winning, even before-

Steven asked his question, and some last little piece inside her snapped, Spinel's expression contorting into pure rage.

"Who am I? Who am I? What are you even saying?" Spinel sang, everyone's attention on her once more as she pointed at herself, walking to the edge of the round roof, leaning down and grabbing the edge. "I'm the loser of the game you didn't know you were playing!"

"Let's play another game, this time I get to win!" Without missing a beat, Spinel stood up, taking a thin, purple object out of her gem, tossing it a few times before throwing it higher than before, making sure to grab it with both hands. She pressed a small button on the object, allowing a thinner portion to extend out several feet, pointed with a gem-like object at the top.

Light crackled out of the top part, soon forming the unmistakable shape of a scythe. Spinel didn't waste any time, spinning around and twirling the scythe several times, everyone below trying their best to prepare themselves for the unknown weapon Spinel had at her disposal, knowing that this was getting serious.

"Lives on the line, winner takes all, ready or not, let's begin!" Spinel leapt off the lighthouse, landing in the middle of the group of five with pin-point accuracy, wildly swinging her scythe at the retreating group. "Oh, that's right I heard the story!"

All of them got out of the way fast enough, not wanting that weapon to even graze them. Connie tried but failed to find an opening to attack, the teen remaining cautious.

"Over and over again!" After another swing of her scythe, Spinel used the momentum to her advantage, stretching her leg and kicking Steven, sending him flying away from the others. Connie rushed over to him to help him up, Spinel spinning her scythe in circles as Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl.

"Gee, it's swell to finally beat her other friends!" Spinel locked eyes with the three Gems before suddenly launching herself forward as if to attack- but at the last second, she did a 180, just out of reach of any attacks the three Gems tried to unleash upon her.

"Oh, that's right, I heard the story! Don't really like how it ends!" Spinel dug her feet into the ground, keeping them anchored there as she continued forward, her legs extending as she looped herself around the lighthouse multiple times, glaring back at the Gems as she waited-

Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl rushed forward, trying to take Spinel off-guard. Connie helped Steven to his feet again, Steven trying to warn the three Gems, but no words came out of his mouth.

"Gee, it's swell to finally beat her other..." Spinel released a tiny bit of the tension built up from her legs, and her body did the rest of the work, Spinel rapidly unraveling herself from the lighthouse. "Other..." The gems faltered in their steps, unable to keep up with how fast Spinel was unraveling herself. "Other!"

In her fiery, flashy display, Spinel was too fast to stop, upon the Gems in a moment so brief they couldn't even register it before-

SLASH

"Friends!" She cleaning swiped her scythe through their forms with perfect accuracy, striking all of them at once. Time seemed to slow, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl having shocked expressions on their faces as their forms separated-

POOF POOF POOF

Their physical forms poofed in rapid succession, Steven and Connie watching in shock and horror as the four gemstones clattered onto the grass. Time resumed.

Frustration and rage boiled within the half-gem as he summoned his shield, keeping it at the ready. "That's enough!" Messing around with everyone was one thing, but hurting his family? Steven couldn't- wouldn't stand for that, the same power from before slowly bubbling within him.

He didn't want to use it while he had barely any control over it; it was lucky that Jasper was able to take it without flinching. But even if he wasn't sure how durable Spinel was, he couldn't stand by and do nothing while she had a weapon that could poof Gems instantly- and who knows what else she had at her disposal?!

"Aw, what's the matter, Steven? Miss your friends already?" Spinel asked mockingly, a fake tear running down her eye. "Well, don't worry. You're right behind 'em!" Without warning, she jumped high into the air, her scythe spinning so fast it became a blur, Steven only having a second to raise his shield as he flinched,

He heard a scream that didn't come from him, and he didn't get hit. He opened his eyes; Connie was in front of him, having taken the hit instead.

"Connie!" Steven gasped. It took a moment to register, but Connie appeared to be completely fine, the scythe didn't do anything to her. ...So the weapon didn't do anything to humans.

Spinel scowled. "Move aside, human!" Extending her leg, she swept Connie away, the teen unable to dodge before being sent tumbling across the grass, dropping her sword. Steven couldn't take his eyes off of her; for a split second he noticed a glint in the corner of his vision-

He raised his shield on the exact same second that Spinel struck him with the scythe.

Steven grunted in pain, his shield breaking in half from the impact before fizzling away. Glowing pink circuitry spread across his body; a feeling so foreign and yet so familiar, he briefly thought back to the destabilization shields in the green handship; was this something similar?

It was fuzzy, his mind and body cloudy, unfocused, as if there were a haze dulling his entire being, the power bubbling inside instantly popping, fading away into nothing. The fuzziness dissipated, his body tingly as the circuitry fizzled, his body returning to normal. Steven checked over himself once it was over, making sure there were no lasting side effects.

He was pretty sure there weren't. Steven laughed it off; of course a weapon meant to disrupt Gems' forms wouldn't work on him. "That was nothing!" Adrenaline still pumped through his body, helping him power through the sudden tiredness and exhaustion overtaking him.

Spinel snickered, taking his statement as a challenge. "Then I guess you won't mind if I do it again!" Gripping her scythe, she swung at Steven again, the teen crying out as he was unable to evade her attack.

She kept swinging, slashing wildly at Steven, the half-Gem teen panicking as Spinel cackled maniacally, the pink circuitry lining nearly his entire body by now from how many times she hit him. It was actually getting painful, Steven needing to stop this before it was too late.

As Spinel's scythe came down again, Steven managed to grab it with a pained grunt, Spinel still cackling all the while. "Cut it out!" He snapped, trying to pull the scythe away from Spinel's grip. He didn't have the energy, but he desperately kept his grip so she couldn't pull it away from him, keeping them locked in an even battle.

"You don't poof, do you?" Spinel asked. Steven didn't answer, only glaring at her. "Hmm, figured as much. Just wait!" She leaned her head forward for a moment, her pupils jiggling like googly eyes. "Your human half won't stand a chance against everything that's been planned, not after I've already put my part of it into motion~" Spinel spoke in a sing-song voice, her tone and words catching Steven off-guard.

"What are you talking about?" Steven faltered, giving Spinel the split-second she needed to rip the scythe out of his grip, taking a step back before-

Connie let out a battle cry, finally managing to get up, grab her sword, and charge at Spinel, surprising her. Before Spinel could react, Connie was upon her, swinging her sword and knocking Spinel away, the gem briefly tumbling to the ground before managing to get back up, Connie still ready to fight.

Spinel put a hand on her chin, as if it was all a joke to her. "You know..." She thought out loud, glancing around the area. "I could spend precious time dancing around you some more, but I'm already on a tight schedule, and this was a huuuuuuuge but necessary detour so toodaloo!"

She spoke so fast that Steven nor Connie could register what she was saying before she comically waved them goodbye, springing back up onto her spaceship.

"No!" Connie charged at Spinel in an attempt to stop her before she could escape, so many questions still needing answers. But Connie was far too late, Spinel already in the spaceship far before Connie could reach her, the spaceship activating and flying away out of view, going to who knows where.

Nobody could do anything about it.

After around a half an hour of watching TV without so much as a noise upstairs, Vicky knew something was up. She had decided to put her war with the twerp on hold to let herself recharge, coming up with something else to put him in his place. She would not let him get the better of her this time, not when she was in control!

Ah, yes. Babysitting. Easy money, and she got to torment little squirts that deserved it. Why else would a parent want to hire her as a babysitter? Heh... all those parents she suckered into paying her double-no, triple the usual rate, all to rake up that sweet, sweet cash! Including Mr. and Mrs. Turner, they were so dim that a lightbulb couldn't help them! They had so much money to spend! On her!

The quietness upstairs was getting more and more suspicious by the second. There were still numerous chores that had to get done, and the house needed to be cleaner than ever if Vicky were to get her proper payment. That twerp wouldn't get out of it forever...

First the mountain of old comic books, and then the weird salesman appearing out of nowhere (that she managed to literally kick out after a few minutes), Vicky knew Timmy had to be behind all of it. Her hate boiled; she shouldn't do anything super extravagant to trick him, no... She knew exactly what to do.

Her hand behind her back, Vicky casually walked upstairs before stopping in front of the door to Timmy's room, brushing over the fact that it was somehow repaired.

"Oh Twerrrrp!" Vicky called in a sing-song voice, making sure to get his attention before knocking on the door a few times. "I ordered a pizza for you!" In reality, she had a long, rolled up list of chores behind her back. It had only taken a few minutes to come up with a list of over a hundred meaningless tasks, including a few new ones she never thought about before.

Vicky waited, trying her best to keep a soft, happy smile on her face. She knew exactly how to catch any child off-guard.

But when several seconds passed with no response, not even a hint of movement in the room, Vicky grew a little frustrated. "There's no anchovies!" She gritted her teeth, trying to keep up her facade. She even banged on the door a few times in case he fell asleep or something.

Still nothing.

"That's it!" She gripped the doorknob, roughly slamming the door open as she stormed into the room. "Time for your-" She stopped in her tracks, her rage disappearing for a moment.

His room was messy, but he was nowhere to be found. "Where are you?" She walked around the room, not even bothering to hide the list of chores at this point, not caring what she stepped on. "You can't hide from your chore-I mean pizza forever!"

The open window was creating a draft in the room, so she absentmindedly closed it before resuming her search. She knew what was going on now. He was trying to hide from her! Nothing new, but he couldn't evade Vicky forever.

Putting the rolled-up list in her pocket, Vicky started with the most obvious hiding spots. Under the bed and covers, in the closet, the bathroom... nothing.

Vicky spent several minutes combing through the room, coming up with nothing. Her heart sunk- just a little, something about this situation all too familiar to her. "Where is he?!"

She had to find him. He had to be in this house somewhere.

Her movements became frantic and erratic as her search expanded to other rooms, staying on the second floor for now. Mr. & Mrs. Turner's bedroom, the other bathroom... still nothing. Vicky even began looking in increasingly bizarre and unlikely places, her hopes diminishing and fears rising by the second.

She was barely even aware of where she was anymore, the only thing coming to mind was the first time where something like this happened. Timmy mysteriously disappearing from the house before Vicky thankfully found him at the police station by chance.

The twerp, gone. Gone. She looked everywhere she could; having to stop when her body swayed a little. She sat down on the steps for a moment to get her bearings-

And the true panic set in.

"AGH!" Vicky shot up, back on her feet. "If his parents come back tomorrow night and he's not there, they'll blame me!" Her vision distorted, already imagining the two adults finding out about every other thing she did, this incident being the catalyst. "And then I won't get any of my money, and I'll get fired, or worse!"

She could already see it. She would be thrown in jail without a second thought, and she'd never get any money or babysitting jobs ever again.

No... no... No!

Vicky had to stay in control. She bolted out of the house, slamming the door shut before she took a deep breath and screamed to the sky. "TWERP!"

Beat.

No response. As expected.

She had to find him. But if she didn't have any clues- Vicky wheeled around, noticing something in the corner of her eye. She walked over to it; it was a discarded ladder just lying there. "How did this get here?"

It was splayed across the ground. A ladder... Vicky racked her brain, an idea forming in her head, one that she didn't like in the slightest. She propped up the ladder against the house... she knew it.

The ladder was just the right height to reach Timmy's room.

That's why the window was open!

Of course. He must've left and gone who knows where! He couldn't have gotten far.

Vicky paused; would the house be okay without her? ...Eh, it wasn't her house.

She had to bring that twerp back here before he cost her everything.

Mario's head pounded and swirled, his eyes shut tight. He didn't know how to describe this strange, unwelcome feeling, but he didn't like it in the slightest.

Just as it began, it ended, his eyes opening as a large tear in reality appeared a split second later, spitting Mario and Tippi out onto a gray floor. Tippi didn't appear very bothered, but Mario on the other hand...

That was awful. "Urgh..." Mario stood up, more than dazed from the short-lived experience. It was a miracle he didn't fall back down again, his vision unfocused and blurry, slowly trying to correct itself.

It was as if he'd been on the most confusing rollercoaster of his life, all condensed within a singular moment. Mario tried not to throw up, the nauseous sensation in his stomach thankfully fading once the experience was over. He'd moved so fast and yet stayed in the same place; he was compelled to keep his eyes closed during the experience, or else he thought some horrible, awful fate would be upon him, and he wasn't even sure why. If it had lasted any longer than a second, he wasn't sure what would've happened to him.

Tippi playfully nudged him. "I warned youuuu!"

Right. In her own words, it would be a 'doozy'. Mario glared at her, silently telling her that had to have been the understatement of the century. Tippi understood, laughing nervously before fluttering a few inches away from him.

"Hm." Mario didn't really know what to say, but he knew he'd never been in a place like this before, noting his surroundings.

He and Tippi were on top of what appeared to be a large, circular tower. Mario didn't want to chance falling off, that was for sure. The floor was stone; a light gray. In addition, there were several lines on the ground, converging in the middle, as if the tower were cut like a pizza or pie into seven or so spaces.

Mario had to stop for a moment when the last bits of nausea and confusion refused to fade away for a moment.

"Are you okay, Mr. Stache?" Tippi asked, making sure he was okay. She felt bad, wishing she gave him a better warning earlier.

Mario slowly nodded, shaking it off. "...Yeah, I am." He didn't want Tippi to worry about him anymore than she already has.

"Great!" Tippi immediately perked up. "I'm not sure when I'll be able to do that again, though. It's very... draining."

Draining? Mario wanted to ask what she meant by that, but before he could, something else took his attention, soft footsteps behind him.

"Oh ho! Getting acquainted, are we?" The voice of what sounded like an old man said. Mario turned around, Tippi already familiar with whoever it was as her expression didn't change.

The old man... even with all the kinds of people Mario has met, this old man was so... alien. He was strange in a way that seemed inviting, homey even, hypnotic and yet nothing at the same time. He wore a blue cloak, his face hidden under it, only his yellow eyes visible. His magnificent white beard nearly reached the ground, swaying slightly with each step he took. In the middle of his beard, he wore small green orb, a yellow star slowly spinning inside it.

"Well, well, well... Back so soon, Tippi?" The old man asked before addressing Mario. "And who might this be?" He peered closer, analyzing the plumber. "Red shirt. Blue overalls... And a magnificent 'stache! Tippi, you have truly outdone yourself..."

"He matches the description of the hero in the Light Prognosticus perfectly!" Tippi said, patting Mario on his cap. "He's Mario! But I call him Mr. Stache~"

Mario gave a short laugh in acknowledgement before moving on, still not sure how to interpret Tippi's tone. "I... I think I'm missing a lot of context." He spoke up. "For all of this. I'd like to know where I've been taken, first of all."

"I welcome you, Mario!" The old man greeted. "My name is Merlon, and this is the town of Flipside." Huh, Mario has met at least one other person before with the name Merlon, though...

"Never heard of it." This was the first he knew of any place called Flipside.

Merlon nodded, walking around on the circular gray tower. "But of course, you have come far from the Mushroom Kingdom of your dimension..." He came to a stop, making direct eye contact with Mario. "Our fair Flipside is in no dimension at all! No! It is BETWEEN dimensions!"

With everything happening so fast, Mario failed to understand it. "I am completely lost." It didn't make sense, a place couldn't be in-between dimensions, could it? How would that even work?

"Just try to imagine it!" Tippi said, cheering him on. "You can do it, Mr. Stache!"

...Hm. The chances of Tippi playing a practical joke on him at this point were next to none, which meant that Merlon was telling the truth. It wasn't about wondering how this would work, it was figuring out how. He wouldn't get anywhere unless he understood.

Mario focused, trying to paint an image in his mind of how a place could be in-between dimensions. First... how would the dimensions themselves be represented? The first thing that came to mind were bubbles, Mario imagining one for the Mushroom Kingdom, another one, and then an abundance of other numerous dimensions that were bound to exist. Next, the space in-between dimensions... It was a bit of a roundabout way to showcase it, but if the bubbles were encased in something like a jar or other container, then there'd be plenty of space in-between them.

That's it! That's how Flipside worked! ...It was simpler than he realized; all it took was a little thinking. "I think I get it now." There had to be more to it than that, but at least Mario understood it a bit better.

"Good." Merlon nodded, taking a few steps to the side. "I am a descendant of the Ancients who created this town." He turned away, as if unable to face Mario. "I busy myself studying musty, ancient texts to forestall the end of all dimensions."

"W-What?" Mario was flabbergasted, trying to keep up. Of all the things he's dealt with, nothing has been on a scale as massive and dire as this. "What are you talking about? Explain yourself!" He didn't mean to snap, but with how vague Tippi was earlier, he had to know what he was getting himself into.

Merlon turned to face Mario once again, his head lowered. "Ahh... Tippi has not yet told you, I gather?"

No. All she talked about was something called 'the Void.' Mario gave her a look.

"HEY!" Tippi said, giving Mario a look of her own. "A certain SOMEONE was so stubborn that I didn't have time to tell him anything!" Fair point.

"At ease, Tippi." Merlon said, the butterfly Pixl calming down. "Mario... The answer hangs above you."

...Above him? Mario didn't know why, but a sudden sense of unease washed over him as he slowly lifted his head upward. The sky was a beige and light-blue pattern, the colors mixing together so seamless he had to squint to tell them apart, as well as there being other square-like patterns in the sky.

But that was nothing. Mario spotted it in a second; the black and purple hole in the sky. The black and purple constantly moved, swirling around each other, purple lighting occasionally escaping the hole. Mario couldn't tear his eyes away from it for several moments until Tippi poked him, Mario snapping out of it.

He was speechless.

"The gathering darkness in the sky is known as the Void." Merlon said, Mario making sure he listened to every word. "A hole forcibly torn open in the fabric of spacetime, visible from any possible dimension you can see. It will slowly grow, and none will be able to escape from its destructive grasp as it destroys everything." Merlon's expression was downtrodden, as if he'd already resigned himself to such a fate.

As Merlon explained, Mario thought back to how he imagined Flipside and the various dimensions. If the dimensions were bubbles in a container, then... what would happen if something else was addled to the container? Perhaps a purple bubble, one that seemed innocent at first, but...

But it approached another bubble, absorbing it, the purple bubble growing bigger. The foreign bubble grew faster as it absorbed every single bubble in the container, before-

Mario shuddered as he gulped, going back to reality. He tried his best not to think about the implications.

"...And the Void was created by Count Bleck, who wields the Dark Prognosticus." Merlon finished explaining. Mario began connecting the dots; it was obvious that Count Bleck was the mastermind behind this, there was no question about that.

Tippi cleared her throat before speaking in a different tone than usual. "A fair and lovely princess... A furious monster king... The union of these two will call forth the Chaos Heart, the consumer of worlds... And the Chaos Heart will ravage the sky and so bring forth The Void."

Merlon gave her a nod. "Yes... The passage Tippi just quoted is from the Light Prognosticus of my ancestors."

Light and Dark Prognosticus... the Light Prognosticus must be what Merlon studied. But now everything made sense... and yet didn't at the same time. "There's no way Peach would've ever agreed to marry Bowser!" Mario blurted out.

He remembered the last time Bowser tried to marry Peach, taking her all the way to the moon in order to do so. His attempt failed, and Mario still felt bad for how he didn't give her space immediately afterward, causing Peach to walk away from both of them. After that incident, it was clear that Peach wasn't interested in marriage, Mario almost able to relate to her.

The only explanation for this Mario could think of was that either Bowser, Peach, or both of them were threatened or coerced by Count Bleck into a sham marriage. He didn't see it for himself, so that was all he was going to get for now.

Merlon spoke up again. "The book also says this: "The Void will swallow all... Naught can stop it...unless the one protected by the dark power is destroyed. The hero with the power of the eight Pure Hearts will rise to this task." ...So it is written."

For a few moments, Mario couldn't say anything. The hero... it could only be him. And the one protected by the dark power had to be Count Bleck. It was such a huge, heavy burden to be tasked with; one that was with little forewarning, being thrusted into this out of the blue. To think, not long ago he was kart racing, and now he was being tasked with collecting Pure Hearts in order to stop Count Bleck.

If nobody else would do it... then he had to. "Where are the Pure Hearts?" Mario asked. He had a feeling they wouldn't be so easy to collect.

Instead of Merlon answering, he turned around for several seconds, shuffling slightly, before turning back around, holding something in his hands. It was a large, glowing red heart, pulsating with energy as it slowly spun in place.

"This is one of the eight Pure Hearts." Merlon explained, holding up the mystical object. "You are surely the hero spoken of in the pages of the Light Prognosticus. You are the only one who can defeat Count Bleck and save all worlds and dimensions! Mario! Will you take this and save all worlds from destruction?"

Mario had to think about it for a moment. He didn't really have a choice in the matter, but for a split second, the thought of being able to relax at home without having all the burdens he did sounded nice... but on the same token, everyone he knew and loved were all in imminent danger every moment that the Void was active. He knew what he had to do.

"...I will." He had to find all the Pure Hearts and save all dimensions, no matter what.

"Excellent!" Merlon said with a chortle. "You truly are the hero of the book of legend! My eyes never deceive! So..." He cleared his throat before speaking further, walking up to Mario. "Ahem! Mario, our brave hero! Take...THIS!"

Mario held out his hands as the Pure Heart was shoved into his grasp, the plumber holding up the mystical object to get a better look. The first of the eight Pure Hearts... red was a good color. The object was seemingly weightless, but Mario didn't want to have to carry it around everywhere-

It vanished into thin air, Mario jolting slightly. "Wh-Where'd it go?!" It couldn't come alive and run off, right?!

"Don't worry!" Tippi said. "It just... went inside of you! If you need it, just think about it and you can take it back out. Easy!"

Mario decided to believe her. He did feel an unusual warmth from within him; was that the Pure Heart?

"Now great hero Mario..." Merlon said, imparting more information. "The Pure Hearts have been hidden in such a way that each one will lead to the next." That made sense. Mario remembered something similar being the case with the Crystal Stars. So he wouldn't be completely in the dark on where to look for them.

"Your first task awaits." Merlon continued. "You must take this Pure Heart... and you must place it in the Heart Pillar in this town. Once it is placed, it shall help guide the way. Tippi will lead you there. Return to me when you are through with this task!"

Mario nodded in understanding, and Tippi immediately grabbed Mario's shirt sleeve and tugged, a huge smile on her face. "Follow me! I know the way!" She was really excited to do this.

Her smile didn't waver in the slightest as she led Mario over to a red button in the air, pointing down. Mario pressed the button, stepping back as an elevator appeared in mid-air before walking inside. He hadn't seen technology like this before, but that made sense this was an alternate- er, a place between dimensions.

Tippi hummed a tune to herself as the elevator went down, taking a minute or two to arrive at its destination, a display indicating that they arrived at the second floor of Flipside. Upon stepping out of the elevator, Mario was greeted with a quiet town, only several people out and about, multiple buildings and houses to his left and right.

"This way!" Tippi called, Mario following her as she fluttered off to the left.

Mario followed her, lagging behind a bit as he got a closer look at the citizens and buildings of Flipside. There were a few shops, several houses, an inn, and... when he saw two of the Flipside citizens, he waved to them and said hello to one of them, noting how... angular their appearance was, made up mostly of shapes, similar to Merlon.

The citizen gave him a quick look before not-so-subtly turning away, whispering something to the person they were walking with. They were commenting, judging his appearance, from the little snippets Mario heard. ...Great, five minutes here and he was already seen as out-of-place, what a fantastic start!

"Ignore them, Mr. Stache!" Tippi double-backed and pushed Mario along, the two of them soon making their way to the next elevator. ...Eh, Mario was used to being seen as the "weird" one. It didn't happen often, but as long as nobody singled him out, it should be fine.

Once again, Mario pressed the button to make the elevator appear, the two of them going inside and up to the third floor, this trip only taking around twenty seconds. The third floor was mostly empty; there were only a few people here. Mario and Tippi walked past them, taking a few minutes to walk to the end of the path, Tippi suddenly getting a burst of speed and fluttering right past him.

"Aaaand it should be over... here!" Tippi said proudly as Mario approached, gesturing proudly to nothing notable. Mario didn't say anything, staring at her and wondering if something went awry. Tippi glanced at where she gestured to, her eyes shooting wide open. "I thought it was!"

Mario resisted the urge to laugh as he took out the Pure Heart again, confirming that Tippi was right earlier. All he had to do was think about it-

He didn't even get to look at it for a few seconds before the ground began rumbling. "Whoa!" Mario took a few steps back, nearly dropping the Pure Heart, Tippi letting out a yelp as well.

A large section of the floor opened in front of them, a massive white pillar slowly rising into view. It was at least twice as tall as Mario was, the plumber unable to take his eyes off it, noting the heart-shaped slot within the pillar. It took several seconds before the ground stopped rumbling, everything as it once was.

"There it is!" Tippi said, frantically pointing at the Heart Pillar. "Hurry, Mr. Stache!"

Mario had no objections, the red Pure Heart in his hands as he walked up to the pillar, the Pure Heart perfectly slotting into the hole he carefully placed it in. He took a few steps back, watching as the pillar slowly began to glow red, clockworks and other imagery of mechanisms surrounding the structure. They disappeared, a red beam of light shooting up in the sky for several seconds, slowly draining the new color from the Heart Pillar, the light beam slowly fizzling out.

...Did it work?

"You did it, you did it!" Tippi cheered, flying around in circles around Mario. "Let's go back to Merlon now."

"Hang on. I need to scout out this area first." Mario said before Tippi could get too ahead of herself. "I know those people looked at me weird, but I need to see what this place is like." He was more than likely going to come back here after getting each Pure Heart, so it would be imperative for him to get acquainted with this place properly as soon as possible. Plus, getting supplies would be necessary for the road ahead.

"Alright! But we can't take too long, Mr. Stache!" Tippi said, fluttering ahead of Mario before suddenly pausing, realizing something. "...Oh, I can be your guide for this too!"

Mario didn't have any problem or issue with that.

The two of them took the elevator back to the second floor, Tippi showing Mario around. Tippi stuck to the second floor, and she even had a convenient excuse to not go to the first floor due to the elevator for it being in maintenance. Was that because of the Void? Was it already screwing things up in places? ...Mario wasn't sure, but he had to be careful.

Before going to any shops, Tippi showed Mario where Merlon's house is, as he'd likely be there whenever they got back to Flipside. They couldn't go in right now; Merlon was very particular about who was allowed in his house... which amounted to a total of one person, Tippi. There wasn't any point in dwelling on the matter.

Going to one of the stores went more smoothly than Mario thought it would, the shopkeeper Howzit only giving him a hard time at first when Mario wasn't used to the store policies. Tippi walked him through it; it was fairly simple actually.

Mario did have a small number of coins on him, which Howzit accepted as payment. According to Howzit, Flipside had a system that automatically converted foreign currency with some complicated exchange rate that he immediately forgot after being told about it. Regardless, he was able to get what he needed, about enough for two or three days. Hopefully it wouldn't take that long to get the next Pure Heart, but it was better to overprepare in case of an emergency.

After the shopping trip, Mario did contemplate trying to have a conversation with another one of the Flipside citizens, but decided against it, knowing he was on a time limit. Perhaps on his next visit...?

With that, Mario and Tippi went back to the elevator that would bring them to the tower, a minute passing before they arrived.

"Ah, the two of you return!" Merlon called the moment they stepped out of the elevator. Did he not move from that same spot the whole time? "Look! A door has appeared!" Merlon gestured to an area of the tower that had changed drastically. One of the seven slivers dividing the tower was now red, a door of the same color at the end of it.

"This "dimensional door" was made to lead the hero to another Pure Heart." Merlon explained. That must've been what he meant by each Pure Heart leading to the next. "Yes, somewhere beyond this door lies one of the seven other Pure Hearts..." That sounded easy enough... collect the Pure Heart, return to Flipside, rinse and repeat until he had all eight and could stop Count Bleck's evil scheme.

Merlon then focused his attention on the butterfly Pixl. "...Tippi. You must use your power to help Mario find this Pure Heart and return here."

"Of course." Tippi gave Merlon a nod. Mario didn't have anything to add, he knew what to do.

"And Mario... I have something to give you that will aid you on your journey." Merlon took something out from his pocket, it had the appearance of a warp pipe; red with white streaks at the top, reminding Mario of a candy cane. Merlon handed it to Mario, leaving him confused.

The old wizard answered Mario's question before he even asked it. "This is the Return Pipe. With this, you will be able to return to Flipside from any dimension you are in! Use it whenever you feel you must return in a hurry."

"Thank you, Merlon." Mario pocketed the Return Pipe, knowing he'd need it in a pinch later. The red door crossed his mind again; he had absolutely zero idea what to expect. "Is there anything you can tell me about what's behind the door?"

Merlon didn't answer right away, the wizard deep in thought before suddenly perking up. "...The Light Prognosticus foretells that the hero will meet a "dimension governor". And from him, the hero will learn the dimensional technique..." Dimensional technique? That sounded interesting.

"I am almost certain this refers to my friend, the Flip Wizard, Bestovius. So go now through this door and seek out Bestovius!" Merlon finished, gesturing to the door once more, beckoning for Mario and Tippi to go through.

"Right." Mario steeled himself, nodding. Find Bestovious, get the Pure Heart. He did wish that Merlon could've given him more information on what to expect, but it couldn't be anything too bad or dangerous. "Are you ready, Tippi?"

"I'm ready for anything!" Tippi exclaimed, doing a backflip in the air before immediately trying to playfully push Mario through the door, the plumber shrugging her off a moment later.

He was ready. He had to be. Mario took a few steps until he was directly in front of the door, mentally preparing himself as much as he could. This would be just like any other adventure. No matter the twists and turns, everything would turn out okay.

Mario opened the red door, not realizing just how deep of a hole he's getting himself into as he walked through, him and Tippi facing whatever lay beyond.

...

...

...

End of Part 2.

Chapter Text

Count Bleck's castle was absolutely massive, sprawling with so many different floors and rooms it may as well also function as a maze. Anyone not following Count Bleck would easily get lost within the halls of the gigantic castle, which was by design. The castle's true location wasn't disclosed to anyone, which wasn't a problem for most people staying there, since most of them were content with the place by now.

The hallways were all a solid black, torches with black light lining the walls. There were scarcely any windows, only showing up in a few select hallways and rooms. White patterns decorated the walls, serving to liven up the place a little, as well as indicating which parts of the castle they were in, their language only known to those who served Count Bleck.

Hidden deep within the castle was a large, mostly empty room. Patterns of various colors lined the walls, a few of them even floating in the air. This was the designated meeting room for Count Bleck's most important minions and followers, a meeting about to take place at that very moment.

A circle of six white chairs hovered a few feet off the ground; half of the seats being occupied.

In one chair sat O'Chunks. He was a large, bulky man, sporting a bristly beard, wearing leather armor over his chest. He also wore a kilt, the man lazily leaning back in his chair and yawning, acting like he was about to fall asleep. Strangely enough, he never acted like this before.

Then there was Nastasia, Count Bleck's right-hand woman. She sat and waited patiently, her hands clasped together, resting on her lap. Nastasia let no emotion show, her face neutral as she sat there, only moving slightly to adjust herself.

And last was Dimentio. The magician had the appearance of a jester, the hat and cape he wore being lined with purple and yellow stripes. His face was styled after a theatrical mask, one half a light, dull purple while the other half was black. He sat patiently as well, kicking his feet back and forth, trying but failing to hide his sheer excitement.

The room stayed silent, all of them waiting.

...

Eventually, the large, black double doors slowly started to creak open, the three of them swiveling in their chairs to see Count Bleck at the open doors. He briefly scanned the room to see who was present, the man hovering above the ground, holding his scepter and the Dark Prognosticus. The doors shut by themselves behind him.

"Welcome, Count." Nastasia said with a nod, acknowledging his presence.

"How very wonderful to see you!" Dimentio said, clapping his hands and swiveling around in his chair before he suddenly stopped, making eye contact with Count Bleck. "I do believe you're a minute late! But that matters not, does it?" He held up a single finger.

Count Bleck ignored his antics, hovering over to his chair- the largest one in the room, sitting down upon it, letting his wispy tail hang off to the side. He set his scepter down next to him, also letting the Dark Prognosticus hover in the air.

"I'll just go ahead and mark the Count as being on time, K?" Nastasia said, not that it mattered. O'Chunks rolled his eyes in response.

Before anything else could start up, Count Bleck loudly clasped his hands together, getting everyone's attention, beginning the meeting. His hands twisted, grasping each other tightly-

He couldn't take the excitement anymore, Count Bleck letting loose and devolving into loud, maniacal laughter, everyone waiting it out until he was ready to speak. Count Bleck got like this often, and it was sure to happen plenty more times to come.

"The Void has been ripped in the dimensional fabric! Yes, Count Bleck is pleased. All has gone as foretold in the Dark Prognosticus. Now it's just a matter of time until all dimensions meet their demise! Bleck!" The only thing that would make it better was an exact date and time that everything would come to an end, but unfortunately, he wasn't so lucky on that front.

"Wow, that's just super, Count!" O'Chunks said, his gruff voice not matching his tone as he sat up with a wide grin. "Yeah, first you'll erase all these naughty dimensions... And then you're gonna build a perfect world without war and all that other icky stuff!"

"Yes, yes, no one likes the icky stuff..." Dimentio nodded along, lost in his own imagination. "Yesss... A perfect world...Sounds magical... The Chaos Heart can rebuild, after all." He let out a laugh, chuckling to himself. "I can hardly stand the wait."

Count Bleck was about to continue, but before he or anyone else could say a word, the doors to the meeting room were practically slammed open with a loud THUD, the doors nearly being taken off their hinges.

Everyone swiveled in their chairs to see... another O'Chunks in the room, the man out of breath from running so fast.

He only took a few moments to breathe, the doors slowly shutting behind him before he stood back up. "Sorry I'm late!" He yelled, rushing over to his seat, only to stop in surprise at seeing another version of himself casually sitting there as if nothing was wrong.

The O'Chunks that just ran into the room stared at the other O'Chunks with suspicion. "What in blazin' bog rats...? How'd I beat meself 'ere?! What's goin' on?!"

Having been caught in the act, the O'Chunks sitting on the chair let out a long, obnoxious giggle. "Mimimimimimimimimimimimi!" It was obvious to everyone in the room by now which O'Chunks was real. "Oh, O'Chunks, you big silly! Didja oversleep or something?"

Before everyone's eyes, the fake O'Chunks was completely covered in a purple puff of smoke. Moments later, the smoke dissipated, the faker turning into a near-identical copy of Count Bleck, mirroring nearly everything about his appearance. He stood up out of O'Chunks's seat, a wide smile on his face.

"I guess it's kinda hard to be on time, though, when you've got muscles instead of brains!" The fake Count Bleck cackled, reaching down and giving O'Chunks a couple of light taps on top of his head, only infuriating him more.

"'EY!" O'Chunks yelled, stomping his foot on the ground several times before he reached up and grabbed the fake Count Bleck, yanking him out of his chair and pulling him off to the side, the faker unable to stop laughing for a few moments before he managed to straighten himself up.

"Yeh can't fool me wit' that crazy shape-shiftin' hooliganry! It's Mimi, innit?!" O'Chunks questioned, the faker nodding to confirm it. "Show a little respect fer the count! Yeh can't go a'borrowin' 'is face, lass!" O'Chunks gestured to the real Count Bleck, trying to prove his point.

But instead of agreeing with him or reprimanding Mimi, Count Bleck cackled softly. "How delightful, Mimi. Almost as dapper...as Count Bleck!"

With a cheeky smile on his face, Mimi made his way to his actual seat, deciding to change forms once again, purple smoke surrounding him before she turned into a near-identical copy of Princess Peach, casually sitting down. O'Chunks gave her a quick glare before sitting down in his own seat.

"Aw, golly, thanks, Count!" Mimi said as she checked her nails before turning to Count Bleck. "With you around, it's nothing but big smiles all the time! Hanging out with the count! That's MY idea of a perfect world!" She clasped her hands together, moving her arms back and forth.

"And here I thought Mimi's ideal world was a gem-filled pool with hunky lifeguards..." Dimentio mused to himself, a hand on his chin.

Mimi's eyes snapped open, purple smoke surrounding her again, this time turning into Bowser. "Hey! Dimentio! Have you been reading my diary?" He only realized after yelling that all eyes were on him, Mimi shrinking slightly in his seat. "I mean... Umm... Never mind."

Count Bleck couldn't help but laugh at the exchange. "Well, different strokes for different minions..." He couldn't keep getting distracted; he had to get back to the meeting.

"After these rotten worlds are ended, Count Bleck will make all your dreams come true! But for that to happen...we must follow the instructions of the Dark Prognosticus." Count Bleck said, everyone listening intently. At this point it was a given, but he had to reiterate. With everything already in motion, pushing it further along would only benefit them.

Nastasia adjusted her glasses, making sure she sat up straight. "Yeah, about that, just an FYI? I've got an urgent memo for your inbox..." Oh? "Apparently there's been some unapproved interdimensional activity lately."

Count Bleck made sure he was listening closely. After all, it was hardly a coincidence that someone just so happened to start hopping dimensions right when he put his plan into action. Nastasia's ability to track when there was cross-dimensional activity was an essential asset to their plans, the woman even proving herself when listing a few examples of major dimension-hopping occurrences that took place several months ago. It had nothing to do with the current situation, but it proved that her skills couldn't be replaced.

"Yeah... I'm thinking it's the hero of prophecy. We're gonna need an action plan for this guy..." Nastasia finished, Count Bleck lowering his eyes.

"A dimensional interloper! And possibly the hero?! You are sure of it, Nastasia?" Count Bleck asked. Nastasia nodded in confirmation. Of course...

There was only one person that could be. The person that fit the description of the legendary hero! "Interesting, mused Count Bleck. We must put an end to this nuisance..." Didn't he blast him back at those racetracks? That meant he must've survived... but he wouldn't continue his escapades much longer if Count Bleck had anything to say about it.

"Count Bleck!" O'Chunks yelled, jumping off his seat, crossing his arms. "Lemme get this right in me brain. The 'ero Nastasia's goin' on 'bout... He yer enemy?" O'Chunks stomped the ground a few times. "Then yeh gotta cut me loose on 'im! Yeh gotta! I'll give 'im a nice taste o' O'Chunks!" For emphasis, O'Chunks slammed his fist against his open palm, sneering.

Hm... O'Chunks certainly was fit for the job. A brute like him could certainly overpower the hero, especially if he was still weakened from his encounter with Count Bleck. "Very well, O'Chunks. I'll leave the hero-chunking to you. Do not fail Count Bleck."

"Yeh can count on me, Count!" O'Chunks said, giving Count Bleck a quick salute. "I'll rain down like a fat thunderstorm! I swear it!" Without missing a beat, he spun around to Mimi and Dimentio. "Mimi! Dimentio! Yeh should tag along! Yeh could witness a proper chunkin'!"

Without waiting for either of them to answer, O'Chunks charged out of the room, Count Bleck thankful in that moment that the doors could open on both sides.

"Mmm..." Dimentio thought about O'Chunks's offer. "I do enjoy a good chunking... Well, then... I believe I'll head out as well." The magician warped away, remembering the warping ability Count Bleck gave him, something that O'Chunks clearly didn't remember to use.

Mimi didn't even acknowledge O'Chunks's offer, the shapeshifter grunting before purple smoke surrounded him, this time turning into Nastasia. "Here's another urgent memo for you!" Mimi overdramatically exclaimed, constantly fiddling with her glasses to the point she might break them. "There's been an empty seat this whole meeting!"

Still being overdramatic, Mimi pointed to the one chair that hadn't been occupied the entire time. At most, there had been five people here; Count Bleck, Nastasia, O'Chunks, Mimi, and Dimentio, and yet there remained one lone chair, clearly marked with a name.

"Erm, yes." Nastasia said, avoiding eye contact with Mimi, trying not to let it get to her, especially as Mimi began twirling the glasses.

"That reminds me." Instead of focusing on Mimi's antics, something else came to mind, Nastasia swiveling in her chair to face Count Bleck. "I feel it's in my best interests to warn you about the new minion we just hired, K?" Nastasia didn't mention her by name, since everyone in the room already knew who she was referring to. "You spoke with her briefly, but in my follow-up interview, she was... how do I put it... unstable."

Nastasia would never forget someone like her, the woman shuddering slightly. That follow-up interview, while short, did reveal a lot... but if they never found her, then they may have been blindsided later by something they couldn't have predicted; the information she gave them was valuable, to say the least.

Count Bleck nodded. "I know this very well, Nastasia. If she wasn't a good fit, she would not have been recruited." He looked away for a moment, not regretting his decision. The initial discussion with her was admittedly brief, but after she was found, it soon became clear that she'd be a vital asset, even before Nastasia's follow-up interview.

She was lacking in certain aspects, but that was nothing a few additional tools couldn't fix, and to his surprise, she had a few secret weapons of her own. Count Bleck smiled at the thought; with her on their side, the chances of success grew even higher than before. "She will succeed in distracting any other potential interlopers that could attempt to stop me. In exchange, she will have her own place in the new world."

And yet... on the same notion, Count Bleck paused. Obviously she wouldn't be fired, but he still couldn't ignore the troubling aspects surrounding her, especially considering some of the things she had said. "But she does need to be kept in check... admitted Count Bleck." Even Count Bleck knew when he made an error.

But there was an easy way to remedy that. "Nastasia, watch over her. Make sure she does not ruin everything."

The new asset hadn't made it to the meeting; so what she said she had to take care of must've taken longer than they thought. That in of itself wasn't a big deal, but everyone couldn't start running amok and doing whatever they wanted!

"Worry not, Count. I have a plan." Nastasia said, getting up from her seat. "I have a plan. But first, I'll need to take care of some things in the castle, K?" After all, there were still loose ends that needed to be taken care of.

With that, Nastasia made her way out of the room, choosing to use the double doors, the meeting unofficially over.

Only Mimi and Count Bleck remained in the room, the former lost in her own world, while the latter cackled to himself. "So, hero... You would defy Count Bleck? Then hurry, for your end draws near..."

Count Bleck's loud cackles echoed throughout many rooms; the wheels of his plans made to spin until they reached their goal.

Acting as if he was in a stealth segment in an action movie, Timmy stealthily made his way around Dimmsdale, not wavering from his goal for even a second. For this one mission, he managed to overcome his issues with his short attention span, but that wouldn't last forever.

Poof followed close by, trying his best to follow Timmy's lead. The two of them had to be stealthy, lest they be caught by an adult wondering why they were out and about by themselves, especially as night fast approached, time passing by faster than either of them predicted.

Timmy and Poof hid in an alley between two buildings, Timmy purposely taking a route that wasn't as busy as other parts of town. It took a while, added with the fact that Timmy was being overly cautious, trying to make sure not a single soul even got a whiff of them. Along the way, Timmy occasionally wished for a small snack to sate his growing hunger, asking for what any child would want: chocolate bars and soda! He didn't care about tossing them aside once he was finished either, at the end of the day it was just more garbage.

"Hang on..." Timmy whispered to Poof, waiting for someone to enter a building. He rolled his eyes as the old man fumbled with his keys before unlocking the door walking inside... "Now!"

Wasting no time, Timmy and Poof emerged from their hiding spot, Poof following Timmy as they continued making their way to Timmy's destination. The two had several close calls on their journey so far, Timmy hoping he was still going in the right direction-

"Look out!" Without warning, Timmy grabbed Poof and dove into a nearby bush. Timmy's heart pounded; he heard a car driving much faster than it should, taking action to avoid detection. The two of them peeked out from the bushes as the car drove by, only to see...

"Ms. Waxelplax?" Timmy raised an eyebrow, seeing his principal in the car. Well, former principal since he'd be going to Dimmsdale Middle School come fall.

The principal let out a loud, crazy cheer as she let go of the wheel for a moment, raising her arms high in the air. "WOOHOO! Time to get wild!" With that, she pressed down on the gas pedal even harder, Ms. Waxelplax speeding off into the distance.

"...Okay then." Timmy had absolutely no words for what he just saw.

He and Poof stepped out of the bushes, Timmy letting go of the fairy baby. Poof stared at Timmy; his eyes were narrowed as he walked down the sidewalk, focused.

"Poof poof? Poof asked, worried.

Timmy knew what Poof asked; not the exact words but the general idea of what he was trying to say. "I know it might be tough to get to Fairy World ourselves, but trust me, I have a plan." Timmy said, the two turning a corner.

"Without being able to wish ourselves to Fairy World, there's only one person that can get us there." Timmy added. His plan was fool-proof, it didn't even take long for him to come up with it. He still kept quiet about it, not wanting to ruin the surprise just yet.

"Poof?" The fairy baby was still confused, the two of them passing a house that looked lovely, before... they arrived outside the residence of one Denzel Crocker. "Poooof." Now Poof understood.

Crocker's place had to be the most run-down house on the street; multiple windows were shattered, the garage door didn't fit quite right, and there were cracks on the walls, as well as evidence of sloppy repair work done in other places. It was as if one bad storm could cause the house to collapse.

But it was the perfect place to check for anything that could get them into Fairy World. With all the gadgets Crocker's made to try and capture Timmy's fairies, one of them had to have a function that would help them! Crocker was bound to store some of them in his house, after all.

"I wish I had x-ray goggles!" Timmy said. Poof waved his rattle, the glasses appearing on Timmy's face a moment later; they were yellow and pink with a swirly design where the lens would usually be. "Hmmm..."

Straining his eyes, Timmy adjusted the settings so that he could see through walls. After all, even if he wanted to barge in, doing so without knowing who was in the house could result in all kinds of disaster.

Timmy scanned the various rooms, seeing Crocker's mom fast asleep in her bed. Even after double-checking, he didn't see Crocker anywhere, a devious smile forming on Timmy's face. Crocker must've been out on another fairy hunt or something along those lines.

"Perfect, the coast is clear. Let's move!" Timmy said, Poof nodding.

After tossing the x-ray goggles in a nearby bush, the two of them going up to the front door. Timmy tested the doorknob; it was locked. But there was a welcome mat that he was standing on! An idea coming to mind, Timmy lifted up the mat with one hand, finding an unassuming key on the ground. He knew it! Timmy picked up the key, holding it up to Poof.

"Once I get us in, we're gonna go in, get up to Crocker's room, and take a few minutes to find what we need. If we don't find anything, we get out. Got it?" Timmy asked, Poof nodding along in confirmation. Good, they were on the same page about the plan.

With that settled, Timmy inserted the key, twisting it, the door making a clicking sound... but not unlocking.

"What is the entry password?" A feminine, robotic voice said, coming from the doorbell. Of course it wouldn't be as easy as a key under the mat!

"Poof?" Poof was confused by the sudden voice.

"Vocal recognition failed. Password recognition failed." The doorbell voice said. "Entry password must be stated by someone in the Crocker family."

"Someone's upped their security." Timmy said. He would be impressed, but the doorbell voice gave him everything he needed to enter the house, so this wasn't really much of an obstacle or something he had to figure out.

He began whispering in Poof's ear, the fairy baby listening carefully. "I wish I could imitate Crocker's voice." Timmy made sure to emphasize that it was an imitation, due to the last time he wished for someone's voice. He accidentally ended up swapping voices with Chip Skylark due to the wish swapping vocal cords, causing Timmy to have to trick Chip into wishing he had his voice back, since vocal wishes could only be done by the voice of the godchild.

It was weird how many strange, arbitrary rules like that there were.

With a wave of his rattle, Poof granted the wish, a POOF! cloud appearing around Timmy before it slowly dissipated. To test it, Timmy cleared his throat as a test, and it did indeed sound like Crocker. Since this was an imitation, there should be no ill effects.

Timmy faced the door once more. "And now, the password." Timmy paused for a moment, needing only a few seconds to make his first guess for the password. "FAIRIES!" He unintentionally spazzed out just like Crocker did whenever he said that word.

"Password recognition and vocal recognition accepted." The doorbell voice said, its tone unchanging. "Welcome home, Denzel."

There was another click. Timmy waited a few seconds before reaching to the doorknob, twisting it and carefully opening the door. He tried to not let it creak too much, not wanting to wake up Crocker's mom and make everything go wrong.

Poof followed Timmy, the pink-hatted kid silently telling Poof to be quiet as they made their way up the steps. Timmy easily remembered where Crocker's room was, on the second floor, where there was surely something that would help them out.

"Poof..." The fairy baby whispered, expressing his concern and worry over Timmy's methods. If he would do this now, what else might happen in the future? Was breaking into someone else's house using magic just the start?

Timmy stopped walking for a moment, understanding what Poof meant. "I get it, but we don't have a choice." Timmy said. It was still jarring hearing Crocker's voice coming out of his mouth. "It's either this or nothing; we have to figure out what's going on."

Poof couldn't argue with that. He followed Timmy's lead, the two of them making it up the steps and over to Crocker's room. The two had a stroke of good luck, the door opening without any resistance.

Crocker's room was the messiest room either of them had seen in a while. A few spilled coffee cups littered the floor; a rat ran by... the walls and even the ceiling were adorned with various papers, posters, and blueprints, detailing Crocker's various, numerous attempts to capture proof of fairies. There was an inactive, old computer set up in the back of the room, and scattered around were various boxes, filled to the brim with all of Crocker's other possessions.

Geez... it was worse than Timmy thought. He shut the door behind him, Poof moving to the door and locking it so nobody else could walk in.

Now was the time for action. "Poof, search for anything in here that's useful, suspicious, weird, or all of the above." Timmy commanded. There was a lot of stuff in the room, so it might take a while to sift through.

"Poof!" The fairy baby complied, making a salute.

The two went off in opposite directions, each of them taking a side of the room as they searched various boxes and crevices for anything useful.

Several minutes passed, neither of them finding that looked particularly useful. Sure, Timmy found the rudimentary Fairy Finder, Crocker's heat-seeking fairy suit, a digital copy of Crocker's computer virus, and the Anti-Mind Reading Helmet... but nothing that would help him.

Poof didn't have much luck either, finding random items and clothes that he wasn't interested in. At one point, he dove into a box to find something, popping back out only to be wearing similar glasses and clothes to that of Crocker. After noticing this, Poof shook the clothes off, moving onto the next box, pulling out a larger item-

Only to let out a short squeal upon seeing it was a butterfly net, Poof dropping it and letting it clatter to the ground, getting Timmy's attention. Poof sighed, lowering himself slightly. "Poof..."

Timmy felt bad for him; both of them were searching so much and yet didn't find anything... There were still some boxes that they hadn't looked through, but Timmy didn't think they would have anything. "Okay, okay, this isn't getting us anywhere. We gotta go and-"

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Timmy and Poof froze at hearing the loud knocking at the door.

"Denzel, what's all that racket in your room?!" Crocker's mom, Dolores-Day said, standing outside the door. Shoot, all their searching must have woken her up! So much for being quiet...

"I didn't hear you even come home, I thought you were on another one of your late-night fairy hunts... again..." Dolores-Day said, sounding sadder with each word.

"Uh-uh..." Timmy stammered, remembering that was still imitating Crocker's voice. He had to think of something to get her to leave! "I... I'll admit it, that was a fake story I told you. I was just... uh, what's something Crocker would say-AHA!" Timmy raised his finger up high, coming up with the perfect sentence.

"I lied because I'm actually... working on a special son to mother project for you?" Timmy cringed to himself, realizing after he finished speaking that it wasn't so perfect after all.

Dolores-Day squealed in excitement, jumping up and down. "Oh my gosh Denzel, I've been waiting my whole life to hear that! Can I come in and see it?"

Shoot! "You can't! I have to finish getting it ready first and it'll take a while so bye!" Timmy said all in a rush, wondering why she just wouldn't go away already!? It was a good thing Poof locked the door earlier.

There was no noise outside the door for a few seconds, Timmy hoping she left- "Well... can I at least come in and see my son?" Dolores-Day asked, somber once more.

Timmy wanted to swear so badly, at the same time feeling bad for Dolores-Day. Did Crocker ever spend any proper time with her? "Yeeenope!" Timmy caught himself at the last moment before he said yes, shaking his head.

"I have no time, I also have to get everything ready for summer school tomorrow!" Timmy explained, trying to enunciate in the same way Crocker would. The entire time, Poof kept his mouth shut, trying not to give himself away. "You know how those... failing summer school students are, right?"

"You're just making excuses again, aren't you!" Dolores-Day yelled, frustrated. Whoops, that was probably the wrong thing to say.

Without any prompting, Dolores-Day launched into a rant. "Here we go again, always doing anything you can to not spend time with me! Remember when we had that appointment with the family therapist and you skipped out on me because..."

Timmy stopped paying attention to her loud, overdramatic ramblings as he quietly walked over to Poof, whispering low enough so that Crocker's mom couldn't hear. "We really aren't gonna find anything here, we should get out before Crocker's mom sees us."

Poof nodded in agreement. So far they found nothing useful, and they had to leave before Crocker's mom realized who was really in the house with her.

With the plan set, Timmy walked over to the window, straining to open it, unlatching it before pushing it up as much as he could. He couldn't jump out without probably breaking something, so maybe if he wished for another ladder-

"...Well I've had it!" Dolores-Day yelled, Timmy and Poof listening to her rant again, stopping upon hearing her try and open the door. "Locked! I'm getting the spare key and I'm coming in! We're gonna talk whether you like it or not! Where is it, where is it..."

The old woman fumbled around, trying to find the key, wherever it was. Timmy gulped, knowing he didn't have much time.

"I wish I had a rope, and I wish I wasn't imitating Crocker's voice anymore... and hurry!" Timmy whispered, hoping Dolores-Day wouldn't overhear as she muttered to herself, trying to find where that old key way.

Poof waved his rattle, and with a POOF!, Timmy found himself carrying a long rope in his hands, as well as his voice hopefully being back to normal. "Test..." Timmy sounded like himself!

Click

Dolores-Day found the spare key. Timmy only had seconds to act.

Poof flew out the window as Timmy tossed one end of the rope, tying the other end to the window latch, using it as an anchor point before holding onto the rope for dear life, praying it would hold as he rapidly slid to the ground-

-Just as Dolores-Day slammed the door open, glaring as she looked around the room...

And found nobody there.

Her shoulders sunk. "Oh... it happened again..." Dejected, Dolores-Day sighed and left the room, not even bothering to close the door. She was probably going to go back to sleep.

...

Outside, Timmy breathed a huge sigh of relief. He had nearly fallen off the rope in his rush, but he and Poof escaped with no time to spare; they couldn't cut it closer even if they tried. "That was too close."

He didn't consider it a mistake to visit Crocker's house, now he knew there wasn't anything he could use there. "Aaaand that was also a bust." Crocker horded anything except for something actually useful; that was just like him to do.

"But we have to keep going." Timmy couldn't give up just yet.

"Poof?" Timmy's baby godbrother asked.

"We can't go back home now; Vicky might get suspicious." Timmy explained. Plus, he wanted to avoid her ire for as long as possible, else it delay him any further. But what else to do... "Hm... I'll think of something else, come on."

Timmy and Poof left the property, moving on. Timmy did have an inkling of where he might go next...

Steven gasped as he looked up, seeing Spinel's spaceship for a split second-

"Agh!" He let out a cry of anguish, collapsing to his knees. All at once, a sudden, blinding pain ripped through him, Steven feeling strangely cold and yet warm at the same time. The world seemed to slow down as he blinked several times, his energy sapped away so fast he didn't know what was going on. Spinel's spaceship was long gone by now.

The last time something like this happened... it was when White Diamond forcefully ripped his Gem out of his body. That painful memory flashed through him again, Steven sweating profusely. He couldn't think, wishing that Spinel hadn't gotten away, that he managed to get the scythe out of her hands and used it to subdue her.

But he didn't.

"Steven!" Connie yelled in alarm, rushing over to him. She bent down and slowly helped him stand up, the pain slowly subsiding as he took several slow, deep breaths. "Are you okay? You look exhausted!"

"I'm... I'm fine." Steven lied. He didn't normally feel so fatigued after a fight, and considering he fought Jasper earlier and was just fine afterward, something was definitely off. But he didn't want to worry Connie with his own issues.

Steven jolted slightly as the pink circuitry lining his body finally disippated, sighing in relief.

He briefly glanced over Connie, gasping when he saw something was wrong. There was a gash on her arm; something must've cut through her long-sleeved shirt during the fight. "You're bleeding!"

Following where he was looking, Connie saw the open wound, part of her arm covered in a bit of blood. There wasn't too much blood coming out, but it wouldn't be a good idea to let it fester. "I didn't even realize it." Connie said. It made sense; only a minute ago they were focused on Spinel after all.

Now that she was aware of the wound, it stung badly, Connie's face crinkling up slightly.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it." Steven said. Nothing he wasn't used to; in a few seconds Connie's wound would disappear. He reached his hand up to his mouth and licked his palm, covering it in a magical healing spit.

He didn't have to think much about activating it; all he had to do was concentrate slightly when he needed it, and the healing properties would be there. Steven was thankful to have a much better handle on it now; it would help avoid any future incidents like when he accidentally created an army of sentient watermelons that eventually started their own civilization.

Steven carefully placed the spit on Connie's wound, his friend hissing and closing her eyes as it was applied...

Nothing happened.

"What the-" Confused, Steven licked his hand again, making sure to concentrate on wanting the spit to have its familiar healing properties before placing it on Connie's wound again.

Still nothing. Not even a tiny sparkle or a hint of healing.

"Why isn't it working?" Steven asked, getting worried. Out of all the times, why now?! He gets a new power but then loses another one? There was too much happening today; he wasn't sure how much more he could take!

"It's fine, don't worry about it. I can take care of it." Connie said. Steven conceded, stepping back as Connie got to work. She rolled up her sleeve, wiping up the saliva as best as she could without irritating the wound before getting emergency gauze out of her pocket, wrapping it tightly around the wound. She'd have to clean it more thoroughly later, but this would be good for now.

Even if he literally couldn't help, Steven hated doing nothing and just standing by. He couldn't explain why, he just... had the urge, the need to help.

"Try and use some of your other powers." Connie suggested as she continued slowly wrapping the gauze around the wound. She could only use one hand so it took much longer than usual.

Steven nodded. "Okay." That was a good idea. Maybe it was just a fluke that his healing spit didn't work right now.

He held out his arms, trying to summon his bubble. He'd done it hundreds of times before, to the point where he could summon it in an instant, but now... Steven concentrated as hard as he could, straining and visibly groaning as he willed the bubble to appear, needing it to appear. It took several seconds, but eventually, the pink bubble barely appeared, Steven trying to force it to expand outward-

POP

...Only for it to pop. Steven gasped, exhausted and shaking slightly. His bubble didn't work either, but... "Maybe if I..." Steven mumbled to himself, trailing off.

He held his arm out in front of him. If his bubble didn't work, perhaps his shield would. Steven focused, visualizing the shield in front of him. Slowly, it began to form, the shield starting out as a small circle before it turned, slowly getting bigger and taking its shape, Steven gritting his teeth and clenching his muscles, trying to keep focus-

Until he couldn't anymore, the shield fizzling away. Steven panted, totally wiped out as if he ran several marathons in a row, swaying slightly.

Connie finished wrapping her cut, frowning at seeing Steven's failed attempts. "It's not working, stop. Please don't make yourself pass out."

He didn't plan on it. Panic took over, Steven lifting up his black shirt slightly to see the state of his Gem. His eyes shot open. The pink gem's color was dulled, darkened, a single point of light barely visible. It flickered and wavered, like it was a lightbulb that needed to be replaced. "What's going on? What's happened to me?" Nothing like this ever happened before! His Gem... Steven couldn't think clearly, partly due to the exhaustion threatening to overtake him.

Connie examined his Gem for a few moments before Steven pulled his shirt back down. "Hm..." At least Connie was able to approach this much more rationally.

"It might have something to do with that weapon Spinel used." Connie said. Right, the scythe Spinel attacked them all with. "Maybe it disrupts Gem abilities? It explains why it didn't do anything to me, and why they haven't reformed yet."

"I was wondering that as well..." Steven said, glancing at the gemstones of his fallen family, just lying there on the grass. Connie was probably right; her theory matched up with everything that happened.

The half-Gem walked over to the gemstones, carefully picking them all up one by one, making sure they didn't have a scratch. Ruby, Sapphire, Amethyst, Pearl... everyone was accounted for, Steven cradling them in his arms. Until they reformed, he'd watch them. Hopefully it didn't take two weeks, like Pearl did years ago.

"We've gotta figure out where Spinel went." Connie said, looking up at the sky, squinting. "I doubt she just came here to poof everyone and then leave."

"Worry about her later. For now, we have to make sure the gems are okay." Steven said. Gems first, and then Spinel. So many unanswered questions, but hopefully the answers will come sooner than later.

On the other side of the red door...

...

Mario and Tippi found themselves in a lush grassland, Mario stepping onto the grass as Tippi hovered next to him, the Pixl butterfly eagerly taking in the sights.

For a moment, there was a sort of... strange sensation that gripped hold of Mario. He could only describe it as a pulling feeling, one that disappeared as fast as it suddenly appeared. It was so quick he wouldn't have noticed if he wasn't paying attention.

But the sensation soon escaped his thoughts, Mario taking in the sights as the door disappeared behind him. "Whoa..."

There was a very slight breeze in the warm air, the trees swaying in the breeze. Their leaves were an assortment of colors, colliding and mixing with each other, creating works of art all on their own. Few clouds populated the sky, but various floating equations made up for it, Mario having no idea what they meant. Last but not least, the sun shone brightly in the sky, Mario making sure to not look directly at it.

He couldn't help but wonder. Had he... seen something like this before? Experienced a similar sensation? It was so specific, but he couldn't put a finger on it, so where...?

Tippi nudged Mario's shoulder, taking him out of his thoughts. "Everything okay, Mr. Stache?"

Mario stood there for a moment before nodding. "Yes." If it wasn't important to getting the Pure Hearts, then he didn't want to worry about some feeling he may or may not have. Maybe if he found any clues, he could think about them along the way, but for now he set it aside for Tippi's sake.

"Great!" Tippi squealed in excitement, flipping and spinning a few times. "Great great GREAT!" She suddenly stopped, looking around before nodding. "I feel the Pure Heart. But it's still far from here..."

"We should find Bestovious first so I can learn that technique Merlon told us about." Mario said. He still wasn't sure what a 'dimensional technique' entailed, but hopefully Bestovious wouldn't be hard to find.

"Sounds good to me!" Tippi beamed, still so full of energy. "Lead the way, Mr. Stache!"

And so, the two of them set off, taking the first steps on their quest to find the Pure Hearts.