Ayyyyy Look! I'm alive!

I've actually had this chapter done since Ferbruary and was just holding back on posting it until now. The plan was to finish all of Chapter 3 and possible most of 4 before posting all the chapters one week at a time, but procrastination had other plans. I'm in the middle of writing the Chapter 3 sections as you read this, so the chapters ARE coming, just very slowly.

Anyways, review time.

SpaceDimentio: Thanks for the writers block assurance, it becomes more interesting whenever I upload these chapters since there's pretty much no rhyme or reason to their posting time. Also super glad you got my reasoning for O'Chunks' new occupation. ^-^

"My Mistress, please forgive meh for failing you!" O'Chunks exclaimed as he stood before Mistress Tempo and Dimentio. The punctures, burns, scratches and dents on his armor were enough to prove that the heroes were much more formidable than predicted, even compared to his own strength.

"Don't worry dearest O'Chunks, I've already forgiven you." Said the Mistress, who let the Dark Prognosticus float next to her as usual. "I should have known that the heroes' strength would grow, they are descended from the Tribe of Ancients after all."

"Mistress!" Mimi's voice called as the assassin entered the chambers, "I came here as soon as I heard the news. Is O'Chunks safe?"

"Ay lass, you an' I both know I've been through worse." O'Chunks said, assuring his fellow follower.

"But your armor! I can only imagine the injuries underneath..." She turned to her boss, desperation in her eyes, "Mistress, you have to send me back out so I can teach them a lesson or two for hurting a fellow veteran."

"Now Mimi, you know we can't do that." Said Dimentio, almost scolding her, "Not while you're still in the middle or recovery."

"But-"

Tempo glared at Mimi mid-sentence, the latter immediately submitting to her higher-up.

"…Understood." Mimi bowed to her.

"I know you wish to enact revenge, but the physical condition of my followers must take priority over their fighting spirits." Announced the Mistress, "As such, I must call upon the only member of my higher-fellowship that is still in peak condition." She cleared her throats before calling out—"Nastasia!"

The Ringleader of Darkness herself dropped from the ceiling, startling her employers enough to make Mistress Tempo scream. "You request my services, Mistress?"

"Yes." Tempo mumbled, somewhat annoyed. The little gremlin she called her employee nearly gave her a heart attack. "I know you've been aching like crazy to show off your talents to the heroes since we first heard of them, now's going to be your chance to do that."

"Whatever you say, Mistress." Nastasia giggled to herself.

"And remember-" Tempo added before Nastasia left, "I want them alive!"

"Of course." The woman mumbled, as if there were a bad taste in her mouth.

"O'Chunks, you may go ahead to the infirmary, the Mistress will see to your wounds very shortly." Said Dimentio.

O'Chunks nodded with an 'Ay' before leaving the room, Mimi following after him as support.

"Mistress…" Dimentio began, "if you don't mind, I'll be running off to convert any of Bowser's supporters that aren't currently working for our cause, I'll report back shortly."

"Understood Dimentio." Tempo nodded, "Are you feeling any better from the wedding?"

"I've had some more dizzy spells…and the voices keep coming back…but it's probably nothing to worry about!"

"I know you insist it's nothing…but please be careful. Don't strain yourself too much. I want to be able to help you, like how you've been helping me."

"Yes, my Mistress." He nodded, before teleporting away in his usual fashion.

"Dearest Heroes, why do you try to stop me?" She clutched her locket, "Do you do so in spite? In faith? In righteousness?" The Mistress herself then left the room, her final question echoing through the empty chamber, "Or do you simply fear that which you don't understand, mistaking my personal ideology for something sinister?"

Mario woke up with his face planted in the floor, groggy and in pain, but otherwise fine; this was not unusual for the plumber. What was unusual however, was the place he'd woken up in. The floor's colors were something he couldn't quite make out, for he seemed to have struck his head in such a way that he couldn't differentiate colors properly; his only lead to prove that was the case was the pain he felt in his head, but it could have just as likely been a migraine.

"My aching head. Where am I?" He moaned as he stood up, he noticed his hammer was missing from his belt loop. "Oh right…the wedding…Princess Peach…that weird heart thing…"

"Mr. Mario, are you awake?" Asked a skittish voice. Approaching the man came a koopa troopa and an armored, mallet-tossing koopa variant known as a Hammer Bro, who both seemed just as dazed as he was.

"Honestly, now that you guys are here, I kinda wish I had stayed unconscious." Mario replied, being the intolerant man that he was. "Have either of you seen Princess Peach?"

"Not at all, sir." Said the hammer bro, "You're the only person we've managed to find since we woke up ourselves. Since you're here though, would you-?"

"No." Mario said bluntly, " I already knowing what you're going to ask, and no. I'm NOT going to lead you two around here to find your teammates."

"P-p-please! You must!" The koopa troopa insisted, "Everyone else has probably been caught or something! We stragglers need to stick together, right?"

Mario glared at them, "Everyone's missing so you need canon fodder for when you get caught, is that it? I don't understand why Luigi puts up with your kind…Luigi…" he looked away, "Little bro…I haven't seen you since the castle…are you hurt? I need to know…"

The plumber turned back to the turtles, looking them dead in the eye, "Normally I don't take the role of the brave hero for you shell-shocked cowards, but my love for my brother is stronger than my disdain for your species, so I'm going to help you just this once."

"Thank you sir!" The koopas cheered as they saluted. "After you sir!"

Mario nodded, leading the turtles through the winding halls before them, seeming to get more lost the deeper they went. It wasn't until they approached a dead end that they found trouble.

"That's not particularly good." Mario mumbled.

"I'll say!" The terrified hammer bro said, "If we stay put, somebody will surely spot us."

Without warning, the hammer bro then held his head, as if in pain, dropping his mallet as quickly as he himself collapsed onto the ground. He snarled at his former comrades as he charged towards them both; Mario picked up the mallet and, with great ferocity, swung the weapon at the hostile, knocking them out instantly.

The figure of a certain assistant then stepped before the duo, "I've been looking for you, Mario."

"YOU!" The plumber shouted. He was fuming at the mere sight of Dimentio, the man who had the audacity to get between him and sweet vengeance. "Your boss has some real nerve to hurt my little brother."

"I understand your anger sir, but that does not make it in any way right for you to knock people into dangerous artifacts of mass destruction. We are trying to do something good here." Said Dimentio.

"Does it look like I care?" The plumber replied, annoyed by the other's unnecessary use of advanced vocabulary. "What 'good' could you possibly have in store for me?"

The koopa troopa, now cowering behind Mario, starred at the group of koopas and goombas before them who now followed the orders of Mistress Tempo. The ratio of those were and weren't brainwashed into joining the new cause was split quite evenly, and the ones that joined willingly seemed too frightened of the brainwashing process to defend their unconverted brethren.

"I can assure you, your brother is alive and well." Dimentio firmly asserted, "But it is to my knowledge that you do not approve of his adventurous desires. Our new universe holds promise that your dearest sibling would never need to fight for your kingdom again, for we would live in a universe without war or conflict." He paused, "You could live in peace."

The hiding koopa perked up upon hearing this news. "A-a world of peace? That would be nice...and all I'd have to do is join you?" It asked.

Dimentio smiled in affirmation, nodding his head. The koopa scurried to his side, receiving a deceived glare from Mario behind its back.

"Well Mario?" The assistant asked, primed to snap his fingers again.

The man in red had the hammer raised, his grip tight on it. After a few moments, he made his choice without a second thought…

"Sorry I'm late."

"It's fine, did something happen?"

"My mother, she was up later than normal. I was worried I wouldn't make it here."

"You are a strange girl…you know what I am and yet you do not seem afraid."

"I don't care what you are. I just wanted to see you. Is that…Is that so wrong?"

"No. No, of course not. I wanted to see you, too."

"Blumiere, do you mind if I sit next to you?"

"Please do, Timpani. Let's return to our conversation. I must know more of you…"

Exiting the orange door, Luigi and the others were immediately met by Merlee.

"My friends, you return! Do you have the heart we yearn?"

"We sure do!" exclaimed Bowser, who held the Heart in his claws. Luigi thought it was fair that, since he'd delivered the first two Pure Hearts, the koopa king himself should carry the next two. Bowser wouldn't admit it himself, but the particular Pure Heart gave him a feeling of personal familiarity, like he was carrying his own soul in the artifact; compared to the previous Pure Hearts, Luigi felt a more violent aura from the heart, but, like before, did not question why it felt like that.

"Merlon pretty much confirmed that we'd need four heroes to save the universe, which isn't that surprising since he'd told you and me that last time he visited." Said Blecky, "I'll admit though, getting to see his mansion was pretty neat, if a bit tedious."

"If he already told you guys, why did he tell us?" Luigi asked.

"He technically wasn't suppose to tell anyone beforehand," said Blecky, "but apparently there was some hubbub about certain oversights in the Light Prognosticus and something about ghosts and a butterfly effect. I was too tired at the time to remember his explanation, but I'm sure the reasoning will be brought up again in the near future."

Suddenly, the ground and sky shook violently as the small Void in the sky grew bigger, and more noticeable.

Merlee looked at the ground, "Time grows short I fear, but we mustn't shed a tear." She then looked up, somewhat hopeful, "The books of old, both dark and light, depict one to choose which fate is right. Known as the 'Man in Green', he is someone that we've seen."

"It's me, right?" Luigi asked, looking away from everyone, "One of Tempo's cronies referred to me as 'Man in Green' before, but I didn't realize it meant anything."

"It certainly explains why they've only wanted us captured." Said Bowser, "If everyone truly believes that some guy dressed in green is solely responsible for deciding the fate of the universe, they're gonna want to make sure that guy dressed in green is on their side."

"Which means me getting captured and brainwashed by Team Tempo might not be in my best interests…"

"I must go for time being. All of you I'll be seeing." Merlee mumbled, noticeably uncomfortable with the situation and unsure on how to comfort the green-clad hero.

"Hey pal, try not to be so down on yourself." Blecky chirped, "We've got your back. I've been training my entire pixl life to help you save the universe. I'll fight tooth and nail to make sure you make it to the very end!"

Luigi chuckled a bit as the little bat punched the air between flaps his wings for emphasis, catching the pixl when he lost his flight rhythm and began to fall.

"I'll be backing you up, too, you know." Bowser added, "And the other pixls will be helping too I'm sure."

Said pixls cheered from inside Luigi's bag, getting another a chuckle from him.

"Thanks guys." Luigi said, "Now lets go find a Heart Pillar."

The group made their way to the elevator where they rode to the second floor and headed in the direction of the town's outskirts where the Pure Heart's natural energies led them to its respected pillar, although it seemed hesitant to head in the direction of the second Pure Heart before continuing to push forward. A downward slope led the group to the underbelly of town, where the ancient brick walls on either side had doorway-like wide openings with intricate wire designs within that both held up the ruin and allowed for light to enter it.

A particularly sturdy wall near the end of the hall blocked the Heroes from reaching the Heart Pillar on the other side; a thin opening in the wall had been precariously filled with a bolt pattern etched above said opening, it was as if there had been a time when a different pixl was needed to access the pillar, but a last minute change forced for an improvisation. Nonetheless, Bowser called for Fleep to use his powers on the bolt pattern, bringing the group to the other side of the wall.

Bowser felt the resonance of the Pure Heart and set it free, watching the Heart launch itself into place in its spectacle of clockwork patterns.

Content with their work, Luigi pulled out the Return Pipe that Merlee had given him, using it to bring them back to the top of Flipside Tower instantly to spare their legs the extra mileage.

"I think we can all agree that Merlon's Mansion sucked, so I'm going to get us reservations at the Inn so we're rested for tomorrow." Luigi said groggily, the pixls already fast asleep in his inventory bag. The rest of the evening consisted of Bowser stopping by the first floor to pick up dinner before everyone went through their personal rituals and tucked in for the night.

Even with his friends' reassuring words, Luigi couldn't help but struggle to fall asleep that night as he accounted all mentions of the conflicting prophecies that were described to him since his initial arrival.

There were mentions of 'fair and noble princess' and a 'ferocious monster king', even though Peach and Bowser were quite the opposite of those, and there was the quote provided after the first that only accounted for a singular hero. While Merlee had previously insisted that the Light Prognosticus mention four heroes, Blecky was the first to confess that she was bluffing and that their knowledge on four heroes came from Merlon; the Light Prognosticus only mentioned one hero. The prophecy just seemed too disjointed and riddled with problems, and the odd adjustments he'd seen with the first Heart Pillars all seemed to suggest the prophecy had another hero and other pixls in mind for the adventure at hand.

Perhaps he was thinking about it too hard; after all, he'd only collected three Pure Hearts, one of which he technically didn't need to work for, so it was a bit early to jump to conclusions onto what was probably some kind of coincidence. Luigi contemplated a while more before finally finding sleep; he could've sworn he heard whispers right before he drifted off and again when he and the others passed through the Yellow Door into the new world ahead of them.

Feels good to be back, I'll try to actually get these chapters done since I'm sure somebody is still wanting this to get done.

I've also got a couple of new stories that aren't Super Paper Mario-related up right now that are for a little indie-studio game called A Hat in Time, so feel free to check those out if you're interested!