Reunited

By Martin

Chapter 14: Secrets

Prince Peasley sneaks through the lower levels of Popple's ship, anxious to find out what kinds of things Popple hides in his quarters. Upon entering the room, he locks the door behind him and immediately sits down at his cohort's desk. He pulls out one drawer and sees what you would expect: pads of paper, pens, old photographs, and a few other things. Peasley, realizing that this drawer is not of importance, closes it and moves on to the next. Inside it Peasley is shocked to find tons of newspaper clippings. Confused, Peasley pulls one out and begins reading through it.

Keelhaul Key destroyed!

Did arson break loose on the island inhabited by the ghost of Cortez, as well as a small group of settlers? Authorities were stunned to find that the entire island had been burnt to nothing but ash, with a can of gasoline being the only thing found at the scene of the crime. All of the sailors who had settled upon the island, as well as Cortez himself, have not been seen since the fire and are presumed to have been killed either in the blaze or while attempting to escape. - K. Koopa

Peasley gasps, "Why would he keep a clipping of something like this?" Confused greatly, Peasley pulls out another. The date on this is much more recent.

Destruction of Sierra Beach Hotel Planned?

Recently, King Doopliss of Sarasaland authorized a pirate known only as Captain Syrup to tear down this infamous tourist attraction in order to get a priceless artifact buried deep below the building. How long does this historic hotel have left to stand?

Peasley, still not sure what is going on with this, pulls out another clipping to see if it will offer some hints.

Infamous pirate captain and king of the Kremling race, K. Rool was recently found dead alongside a yellow female Mouser who has yet to be identified but is believed to be Pipsy Mouse, who went missing around two months ago. Police currently have no leads but an investigation is currently underway.

"What is he up to?" Peasley wonders aloud before shutting that drawer and opening another. In this, he finds two bottles of pills, with one marked "F. Death" and the other labeled "Revival". No sure of what these could be, Peasley shuts that drawer and moves on to the last one. Inside it, he finds a thick folder loaded with documents, and a piece of paper with what looks like a checklist. Peasley reads down the checklist, which has no true organization to it and appears to be random.

Bobbery (check), Syrup, Flavio, Cortez (check), K. Rool (check), Jamano (check), Johnny Jones, Pa-Patch...

Peasley continues to read down the list, noticing that every single name on the list is a famous pirate, and that most had been checked off- and that all of those who are checked off are dead.

"This doesn't make any..." Peasley opens up the folder and shudders in horror. Inside are a ton of bios of not just pirates, but people who have been found dead alongside each pirate that is checked off. And most gruesomely of all... crimescene photos. Peasley recognizes most of these- he was shown similar pictures each time a new death in the Pirate Hunter case was brought to his attention. As he shifts through bios of Bobbery, Johnny Jones, Flavio, Cortez, Pipsy and the many other names either on the checklist or who had been found dead alongside those checked off, he gasps in horror when he stops at one of the later bios.

Name: Prince Peasley
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 182
Born: Beanbean Town, Beanbean Kingdom
Status: Bachelor
Occupation: Prince of the Beanbean Kingdom
Weapon of Choice: Rapier
Target: Jonathon Jones

"No..." Peasley likely would scream if not for the fact that he knows that Popple would have his head that much quicker if he were to discover what he was doing. It is then that Peasley discovers something else in the drawer that causes him to become sick to his stomach. Pulling out a small jar, he notices a large, yellow eyeball floating inside of it, which makes Peasley realize that not only is Popple evil, but he is also completely insane.

He decides to put everything like he had found it and leave everything as it was, then expose Popple when the two reach civilization. After putting everything back the way it was, the Bean sneaks off back to his room.
 

Chapter 15- Slave and Master

The door flies open to a small warehouse inside of a huge abandoned factory, and into the building comes the Apprentice. Looking around at the many pieces of machinery and deactivated robots inside, she smiles evilly. The girl then flips the switches that turn the two artificial beings on.

"Mack, awake, we are?" Bowyer asks of his fellow awakened robot.

"I guess so..." Mack answers before beginning to bounce excitedly. The two then notice the Apprentice standing before them.

"Who, you are?"

"Your new master." With that, the Apprentice launches a small blue orb at the two which disappears immediately after impact, doing no damage to either.

"What was that?" Mack asks of the woman, confused.

"Simple. You'll do as told, or you'll crash. Do as I say, and I may grant you freedom one day. Now then, go to Toad Town and make some noise. I've got commitments elsewhere.

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"And what have you been doing all of these years anyway?" Cackletta asks of the Bean, her long lost assistant Fawful. He has gotten himself shaved and cleaned up, and is now in a long white robe that trails behind him.

"I was taking a job asing a merchanter in the underness of Peach's castle. However, this was changing when knowledgeness was learned by me that the masterness was in the failing to bring destructioning upon Red and Green. Depressed became I, and I lost most fury while wondering while with despair. But then, I was meeting a Bean who had the name of Popple who soon was changing the life of mine. This Popple was telling Fawful of the jewelsness, and explaineded to me his planness to conquering the sea. He also was telling me of your survival, and so coming here I did.

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"Get... back... here!" the Golden Diva wheezes, exhausted from trying to keep up with the Goomba schoolteacher.

"Not on your life!" Goombella replies before jumping into the air and kicking off a wall with her left foot, kicking the Diva with the right as she lands. As soon as she does this, Goombella begins to run again, slowly but surely taking the Golden Diva out.

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Popple and Peasley pull into a small harbor on the island on which the Barrel Volcano is located. As the two walk off of the ship, they see a green Podoboo floating before them.

"Hello, welcome to Barrel Island. Can I interest you two in a tour?"

"No thank you," Peasley replies, "we're here because we need to talk to Hinopio about something important." He continues to keep his mouth shut about Popple at the moment, saving this knowledge for whenever the two reach a bigger town.

"Oh, Hinopio?" the Podoboo asks in response. "He just left yesterday on his shop's annual world tour. You should be able to catch him up in Nimbus Land if you hurry."

"Ugh," Popple moans. "This is becoming a wild goose chase. All right, fine. Any way to get there without going through Bean Valley?"

"Well, there is a lift that will take you there, but it is found inside the volcano. We just put it in a few months ago for adventurers who pass through."

"Sounds good," Peasley answers. "We'll stop by to take you up on that tour after our goal is completed."

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Wendy O. Koopa and her Cloudrunner fly through downtown Nimbus Land, blasting bolts of lighting at the buildings below and causing utter chaos. Just as the Koopa is about to launch an assault upon the palace itself, she feels a ball of ice hit her in the back of the head. Turning around, the Koopa sees a certain short, black-hatted figure before her.

"Sorry, but I can't let Ludwig takeover. It'd hurt the plan, see?" says Beldam as she launches an icey flurry at Wendy's ship. Most of the shots hit, but then Wendy blasts her with a bolt of lightning, blowing Beldam to the cloudy ground.

"Nice try, but that won't work."

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"You know, Popple," Peasley tells his comrade as the two hop along small islands floating in the midst of the magma, "I wouldn't be surprised if that Czar Dragon thing were still here somewhere."

"Bah, I doubt it. Mario and his friends killed that thing, remember?"

"I don't know... There's bound to be another one lurking around somewhere."

As the two reach the bridge and clearly see the lift just ahead, they also see something rising from the lava.

"Well, glad I didn't bet money on that," Popple says as he draws his sword and begins to get a few free licks in on the Czar Dragon. Peasley, not wanting to risk fighting the beast (or rather, wanting to hurry up and reach Nimbus Land so as to expose the truth about the Pirate Hunter), merely grabs Popple by the forearm and pulls him over to the lift, with the two exiting the Barrel Volcano as the Czar Dragon stares up at them furiously.

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The Golden Diva continues to chase after the Goomba, but soon stops dead in her tracks, completely out of energy. Goombella, seeing this as her chance, lets fly with a Headbonk into the Diva's gut, which causes her to be knocked to the ground. As the Diva lays on the floor unconscious, Goombella pulls out the shard and begins to look around for the door.
 

Chapter 16: Everlasting

"So, spill," Goombella tells Eggo as the group walks through the streets of the Dry, Dry Outpost while heading to the warp pipe in order to get back to E. Gadd's lab quickly. Goombella has the map in a small knapsack on her back, along with some items. "Tell me about this Glitz Pit promoter. Who is he?"

"I don't know," the Yoshi answers. "He's pretty new. The guy who replaced Jolene retired just over a month ago, and this fella just came in and is going along with what he originally came up with. What I do know, however..." All attention turns to the Yoshi as he says this, "...is that the guy knows the entire story of what we're dealing with. I listened in on him once and heard him talking to someone about all kinds of things: the crystals, Cackletta, and some interesting comments about the Gate. At the time, I had no clue what he was talking about with all of this, but now I wonder what he has to do with it all."

Just then, Koops speaks up. "You know what? We should stop in at Koopa Village real quick and let everyone know that our quest is going well and all is fine. And of course, check in on my wife and egg."

"Sounds good," Goombella answers, "but we can't stay long. You know Cackletta likely has someone on the trail of one of the crystals by now."

"Actually, I'm quite surprised that no one has been sent after us yet," Vivian tells the rest of the group. "You would think that Cackletta would have sent someone after us by now."

"Maybe she doesn't know about our efforts?" Ms. Mowz suggests.

"No, she knows. Trust me, with the particular magic being used to keep her spirit bound to Plit, she has to know that we're getting involved in her affairs. The question is, what does she have to gain by not harming us?"

"Maybe she has a deal with someone," Goombella states. "Think about it: someone would have to be doing the work for her, and that someone would want something out of it. Could be that we're the payment."

"Seems plausible," the Koopa responds to the Goomba, "but I'm sure that there is likely something else she could use to get someone to do work for her."

"Power, money, revenge, it could be anything. Could be that whoever is doing her work for her gets the crystals after she is done with them," Ms. Mowz points out.

The conversation continues until they reach the warp pipe, where everyone jumps in. They all jump into the pipe, and there see the other two pipes as well as three ghosts: one enormous Boo, one ghost resembling a human man and dressed much like a Frenchman, and the last a normal Boo with a blue tongue hanging out of his mouth, glowing red eyes, and a crown made of gold. All three disappear upon being seen.

"Weird," Vivian says to her friends as the five enter the warp pipe. They come out in Koopa Village, and look around to see that all appears to be peaceful. They go inside Koops's house and there see Koopie Koo looking depressed, though she immediately perks up upon seeing the heroes, or more specifically, her husband. She rushes over and excitedly gives him a hug. The heroes then begin to explain to her what is going on with their quest before Koopie Koo begins to explain what's been going on with her.

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Popple and Peasley jump off of the lift, and immediately notice that very few buildings in town are not in pieces. Before them, they see Beldam fighting Wendy's vehicle.

Great, of all the luck, Peasley thinks before withdrawing his rapier and leaping into the battle himself to help out Beldam, not because he knows her (he doesn't) but because he wants to stop any and all Koopalings he runs into. Popple does the same, and soon all three are working together against the Koopa.

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"I have fury!" Fawful screams out as he enters a small cave just outside of Smithy's factory. There, upon a stone chair, he sees a white-faced, blonde-haired, human-looking creature.

"Cackletta was telling of me that you were having a jewel of helping to the cause of ours," the Bean tells Deathnify, who chuckles in response.

"Of course I do, but I am not ready to part with it just yet, my strange-talking friend. Instead, I have a preposition for you- if you help me with what I need, I'll cut you in on all the more... unnecessary fruits of my labor."

"What is this business of which you are speaking?"

"Simple. I have had for years a most fantastic greatest desire- namely, I wish to have all this world has to offer, and see all there is to see! How could this be done in even a lifetime as long as a demon such as I? Very easily, that's how. You see, there is an ancient legend that I believe could help me gain the immortality that I so desire! Do you understand? I want my hands on the ancient piece of history that all, deep down inside, in places not realized, desire. I want the one thing in this world that will give me endless life and unabridged power. But I have no need for this item's other ability, namely to transform metallic materials into solid gold. Do you know what I am asking? You can have an unlimited supply of a most precious substance if you can find and supply me with..."

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"Well, I guess we'd better be leaving," Koops says, starting to get a bit emotional as he says this to his wife. "We'll try to stop in after we get the next jewel."

After everyone gives their goodbyes, the five heroes leave, and outside immediately see that Ludwig stands before them with an enormous army of guards behind him, all with weapons drawn.

"Thought you could get away with helping one of my criminals hide, did you?" Ludwig asks, his voice as though he's on the edge of sanity. "Guards, arrest them. If anyone resists, have their head."
 

Chapter 17: Cackletta Speaks

Eggo, Koops, Goombella, Vivian, and Ms. Mowz all ride in the back of a large truck, being carted to Ludwig's own dungeon for his own reasons.

"I can't believe this," Goombella tells the others as she sits with her back against the back wall of the truck. "All this work for nothing."

"I can't believe Ludwig would go through such drastic measures just for shielding someone who hasn't paid taxes when none of the money from it would have gone to him at the time anyway," Eggo answers as he lies on the floor.

Vivian, who is sitting in one of the corners, suddenly falls over, groaning and grasping onto her head. The others gasp and begin trying to figure out what happened. As Vivian sees nothing but pure darkness, she hears a voice- not her own- inside her head. "See? It all works out my way, Vivian. You did the work, and now I'll just send my Apprentice to take those pesky jewels from Ludwig. Funny how it all works out, huh? She killed Bowser, and she will kill you too."

Just as Vivian starts to come to, she hears Cackletta once more. "Oh, and by the way, you remember your friend Flurrie? My Apprentice killed her as well. And those two old men? Both are in the hospital because of her efforts. So just give up and accept your fate." Vivian's eyes open, and she looks at her friends, suddenly looking terrified.

"What happened?" Koops asks while holding Vivian up by her arm for support in case she is weakened.

"Cackletta was talking to me. She told me that her Apprentice, whoever that is, killed Bowser, and she'll kill us and-" Vivian begins to sob a bit, "and she killed Flurrie and put Gadd and Frankly in the hospital and..." Vivian suddenly breaks off.

Hearing this, everyone in the truck except Goombella begins to show signs of remorse, consoling each other as well as Vivian. Goombella breaks up the conversation by saying to her friends in order to bring them back to the realization of what this means, "Well, the first shot has been fired. Are you readyfor the barrage?"

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Sometime later, the heroes arrive at what was once Peach's Castle but is now in Ludwig's property. As they are led out of the truck, Ludwig walks behind them. He goes with them to the dungeon, where he sticks around after the guards leave.

"Trust me, I have been wanting to take my stress out on someone for a long time, and it's going to be you five. You'd be lucky to not be hung."

"Ludwig," Vivian starts, talking for the first time since she told the others what Cackletta had told her, "we know who killed your father. But if you don't let us out, they'll takeover the world as we know it."

"I've heard of strange excuses to get out of prison, but this is something new! How is it you expect me to believe that you can actually help me get what I want more than anything else in this world?"

"Simple," Vivian answers with her head down. "I'll stay here while they go. If they do not bring you the killer within a month, you execute me."

"Vivian!" Goombella shouts out, shocked that her friend would even suggest such a thing.

"Fair enough."

Ludwig opens the door to the cell and, much to his surprise, Vivian does not attempt to escape. The others very reluctantly leave, only because they realize the world is on their shoulders. Ludwig closes the cell door once more before escorting the four out of the building.

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Goombella, Koops, Ms. Mowz, and Eggo walk around the side of the building with all of their possessions with them, getting ready to leave Toad Town and try to stop Cackletta. As soon as they round the building, all four friends see a sight that brings a smile to their faces, namely Vivian emerging from the shadows as is her specialty.

Upon seeing all of her friends startled and elated reactions, Vivian jokes, "What, did you think I didn't have a plan?"

Read on!

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