Paper Mario: Color Splash RECUT/Chapter 7

This is a story plotline of Chapter 7, the final chapter of the game, "Paper Mario: Color Splash *RECUT*".

Pre-Chapter 7

Mario and his allies’ ride atop the final Grand Paint Star, the Emerald Grand Paint Star, and by extension all Grand Paint Stars, ends at Prisma Fountain. As Emerald makes himself comfortable, Huey is still wondering what the heck the olive-colored celestial body just restored. Eventually, Huey shrugs it off, for all that matters is all the Grand Paint Stars are back home at the fountain. Emerald feels the same sense of accomplishment, too, thanking Mario, Huey, and the rest for their splendid work. Having mentioned this, Emerald is also more tuckered out from his flight than his siblings, and proceeds to doze off. With Emerald so deep in sleep, Huey realizes the gang will have to ask their last questions about Prism Island’s history later.

In lieu of resolving the remaining mysteries, a Toad declares it’s finally time to party! Soon, a lot of people, from the three Chosen, to Orion and the Vellbex Ghosts, to Captain Baabeaussa and the pirates, Bakke T and Chef Vinochi, Enerr T, and many more arrive on the scene to boogey. It’s a relief for Huey to see so many dancing around Prisma Fountain after all this time, filling the bucket with a pool of joy. These happy tears pour into the Prisma Fountain, causing an Artifact-Up Slot to emerge for Mario.

Merlon arrives too, thanking the gang from the bottom of his heart for recovering the stars. Now, all that’s left is to find O’Chunks and deal with Shroomsday. Then, finally, find the Koopalings’ main base of operations and boot them off the island!

However... there was some good news and bad news.

The Good News: The first problem is resolved when O’Chunks is thrown into the Town Plaza from the Yellow District.

The Bad News: Shroomsday arrives from that entrance, and everyone previously partying runs off, either in fear or knowing they’re not strong enough. Even worse, O’Chunks is clearly tired, and lets Mario know Shroomsday is now looking for HIM! With one last angry push, O’Chunks forces Shroomsday back into Yellow District. Huey, worried for their friend’s mortality and dwindling strength, emphasizes they should go give O’Chunks a break while they finish Shroomsday.

In Yellow District, the gang see O’Chunks, finally brought to his knees defiantly before Shroomsday. The violent Violet taunts the Glaswegian powerhouse for his weakness, and O’Chunks eventually collapses. Nya becomes disconcerted, as not only are the Rescue Squad still only on their way back at best, but she also thinks the team has no way to power down Shroomsday. Looking to Mario for a solution, the licensed plumber-snake wielder weighs his options. Finally, he lets his friends know the reality of the situation- even if they can’t disable Shroomsday, they have to at least try and fight him. Kidd and Sledge commend Mario for this decision, with Kidd explaining O’Chunks would do the same for them, and Sledge remembering the creed of the Hammer Bros- keep your foe at bay, no matter how strong they are.

Steeling up their courage and overalls, Mario leads the gang towards Shroomsday, standing between the monster and O’Chunks. Strangely, Shroomsday doesn’t see Mario as a threat, even mentioning he won’t let Mario win again. Mario, Nya and Huey are confused, Huey asking if Mario’s met the enlarged enoki before. To clear this up, Shroomsday uses his space power to start writing memories into Mario, Huey and Nya’s minds…

Our heroes and Shroomsday find themselves in the strangest of locations and times- they’re at the Sticker Fest in the Decal Lands, one year ago! And on the stage is the past, fatter Mario, watching with Peach as the past Bowser is crowned with the Gold Royal Sticker…like the one Shroomsday always wears.

At the moment Bowser is crowned, Shroomsday delivers a series of bombshell revelations to Mario. First off- when Bowser first wore the Gold Royal Sticker at that time, Shroomsday’s worldwide consciousness began to awaken, beginning a continent over where the stickers were originally stolen from it. In addition, Shroomsday had begun possessing Bowser more and more during the entire sticker battle adventure, as well as creating sleeper agents with sticker power for future use, in the event the mind-controlled Bowser was defeated. Chastising Mario for not realizing how odd it was a supposedly “holy” artifact would simply cause one to go mad, Shroomsday also ferociously remembers Mario has stood in his way at every turn since that night. The devastating death even enlightens Mario to the beast’s subtle presence in the other Mushroom Kingdom, helping to form the final foe Mario and his counterpart fought there.

Those revelations pale to the granddaddy of them all- when Mario went all-in trying to fight Shroomsday-Bowser on that sparkling night, a white flash went off. What no-one in the entire crowd could make out in that sightless sight was the Gold Royal Sticker, and by extension Shroomsday, marking Mario, too! Shroomsday brags at how easily he pulled this off in front of a large crowd without anyone knowing what was really going on. Luigi tried to stop the battle, but the Shiny Bowser took offense and scared green into hiding across the Decal Lands. However, Shroomsday didn’t mark Luigi, sensing a strange floral presence in the homo sapien, and declared him sloppy seconds.

Evidentally, Mario did sense something had changed about him, but Kersti’s voice waking him enticed Mario to brush it off as a feeling and nothing more. Unknown to Mario then but made clear to him now, Shroomsday reveals the wrongly-delivered baby gained extraordinary abilities thanks to this eldritch pact. The beast elaborates, enlightening Mario that his prowess with unleashing the full power of the Things in the Decal Lands, as well as the true reason he and Bowser’s minions was able to clone himself in the other dimension despite actually non-functional or no Copy Blocks, really came down to Shroomsday’s lingering presence…

Our heroes and beast end up in the conscious world, Mario trying to grasp in his horror just how much Shroomsday had been guiding him all this time. He’s brought out of this funk when he and the others see and hears O’Chunks carried away by Merlon and Merluvlee. All Shroomsday is focused on is revenge on Mario- and controlling him, too, so the hero can help restart and enforce the “Eclipse Empire!” The showdown between man and mushroom manifests.

Like his “children”, Shroomsday pulls a stunt before Mario can play his first card. Luckily, it’s not showering the arena in purple pollen to make himself shiny. But it is much worse, for Shroomsday’s tendril reaches across reality and jacks the Partner Meter. Now, as Shroomsday informs Mario, every time Mario harms Shroomsday, he’ll also power up the meter, and twice as fast to boot. When it’s full, Shroomsday will possess Mario briefly and force him to remove one of his partners for the rest of the battle. If Mario fills up the meter yet has no remaining partners, the heroic idol will take half the damage of what he inflicted upon Shroomsday!

If Khairacles had a variety of moves in his arsenal, Shroomsday carries a swiss army knife of swiss army knives in his. The lesser five Royal Stickers aren’t just for show- each of them grant Shroomsday a different move he can use, though only one of the five can be cast per turn. Red’s numerous shurikens are contrasted with the sheer power of Orange’s tendril topple. The Purple sticker entices some summoned tendrils to hit Mario in rhythm with a harmony only those watching from another dimension could hear. The rhythm of the assault gives no time for Mario to chill out, throwing his blocking off from the Blue Sticker’s spatial frost.  Finally, the Green Sticker heals Shroomsday significantly every turn. As for the True Crown, it doesn’t seem to do anything- yet. Even this would all be tolerable, were it not for Shroomsday’s body reducing the power of all attacks he takes not to half, but to quarter damage! To say Mario is fighting the immovable wall would be failing to mention that Shroomsday is also the unstoppable force.

Slowly, Mario keeps hitting Shroomsday for piddle damage, yet inflicting enough for Shroomsday to possess our hero at least three times. Despite Mario’s best efforts, the beast uses the Paint Hammer to boot Sledge, Kidd and Nya to the sidelines, injuring them greatly. Hope is not lost, though- during some of Mario’s multi-target attacks, he shorts out some of Shroomsday’s Royal Stickers, rendering them inert.

Noticing this, Mario changes his tactics and starts targeting the sparkly evil mind control crowns directly. Not only does this not fill up the tainted Partner Meter, but eventually, when all six are disabled, Shroomsday suddenly starts to look weakened. Mario exploits his chance and thwacks Shroomsday for greater damage even with extra jumps, and this window of opportunity also does not see the Partner Meter increase.

After Shroomsday is reduced to half his life, he uses the Green Royal Sticker to call in reinforcements. It’s not any of the Musketeers he summons, however, but Petey Piranha! Likely summoned due to his previous possession, Shroomsday exerts his influence over whatever energy remains of the Green Royal Sticker in the confused Petey, retaking the tropical Piranha once more.

The addition of Petey to Shroomsday’s side does complicate the battle significantly, for like Mario’s own card-summoned enemies, Petey takes all single-target attacks aimed at Shroomsday. Mario’s choices are even more limited as he discovers Petey really doesn’t like anyone jumping near him, biting anyone who tries. To further slow the battle enough and bleed Mario dry of his friends, Shroomsday enchants Petey with the Shiny status, halving all damage the polka-dot flytrap takes.

Regarding Petey’s offensive set, he bites, spins, and slams. Spinning is actually a no-no for Petey, though, for while it deals quite a bit of damage, it leaves Petey open to being tipped over with a Hammer, exposing his belly button. Hitting that belly button just wrecks Petey, proving itself quite the reliable target. Best of all, Petey on his back gives Mario a chance to also hit Shroomsday more.

When Petey is also reduced to half health, he (and by extension Shroomsday) cuts all pretense of being fair with the Partner Meter. Faster than Mario can keep his eyes on the flower, Petey beats up the plumber to force Marirana & Louis out of his remaining party. He then bites them & Edwin and chews on them, leaving Mario with only Huey. Despite Huey calling out Shroomsday and Petey for their flagrant cheating, Shroomsday has no concern for these rules, taunting the duo at being all alone…

…When O’Chunks unexpectedly dashes back in, hitting Petey in the stomach and causing the plant to spit out Marirana, Louis & Edwin. However, regardless of being saved, they’re still beaten up badly. O’Chunks is grateful for the gang tagging in while he recovered- as payback, they can take a break while he finishes up with Shroomsday. Kidd thanks O'Chunks, and the other partners hide inside the Mawk and Pawk Dojo. Before proceeding, O’Chunks recovers the Partner Meter from Shroomsday, better evening the odds.

With O’Chunks on Mario’s side, Mario starts to feel all Chunked Up from the otherworldly general. The confidence radiating from O’Chunks lets Mario hit Petey and Shroomsday for normal damage, as if they weren’t Shiny at all. That said, Mario takes some extra damage from the two planted punks’ attacks, a lesson in the costs of Chunking Up.

With time, Petey is finally KO’d, and explodes. Shroomsday is angered at Petey being a worthless plant, just the same as the other.

Mario and O’Chunks reach the home stretch as Shroomsday is further reduced to a quarter of his health. Victory is within reach! You know what they say about a cornered rat, though- they tend to slash back hard. And so Shroomsday, realizing Mario is now resisting his control, falls on his last resort- using all six Royal Stickers, Shroomsday goes into his Megasparkle Mode, enormously reducing the power of all attacks he takes to the absolute lowest it can go, as well as fully restoring his health. Even O’Chunks presence and Chunking Up cannot penetrate Megasparkle Mode Shroomsday’s defense.

After attacking Shroomsday three times in this state, O’Chunks despairs at his opponent suddenly resisting everything he and Mario throw at him. Mocking his foes, Shroomsday gives the spiel of “we could have been great together, but we’re not, so forget you”, and spells out for them they have nothing to threaten or weaken him with, no-one to save them.

One good deed deserves another, for Kersti flies in from up high, conking Shroomsday in the noggin. When Shroomsday comes to, he recognizes Kersti as the one watching his power for generations. Kersti doesn’t believe Shroomsday has anything to do with the Royal Stickers, to which Shroomsday mentions the Monty Moles would beg to differ. In the middle of Kersti explaining to Huey that a passing Goomba told her Mario was in danger, Shroomsday speaks up to remind everyone of the still-ongoing battle. Kersti replies as follows-

“YOU WAIT YOUR TURN! Don’t you know how to address a proper lady?!”

Oddly, this one pair of sentences tempers Shroomsday’s presumptuousness, amazed that “Aace’s suspicions” were correct. The mushroom bugaboo further defies expectations and more politely asks Kersti to PLEASE stand aside. Kersti’s not hearing it, however, and uses the power she showed at Dark Bloo Inn to reverse Shroomsday’s Shiny Status! In fact, because it’s MEGAsparkle status, Shroomsday takes thrice as much damage, really mucking him over!

The final phase goes as fast as it comes, with just the Worn-Out cards dealing insane damage. Fearing for his life, Shroomsday finally calls upon the Gold Royal Sticker to unleash the monster’s most powerful attack, the rainbow blaster. Channeling all six Royal Stickers into the Gold one, Shroomsday then channels that power to his mouth and unleashes a blast so raw in power, Mario’s Blocking fails to reduce its power.

But in the end, a last resort is last for a reason- because Shroomsday cannot win against Mario. The beast finally accepts Mario has bested him in combat no matter what he tries, and faints.

The beast is down for the count, letting Mario’s other friends exit out of the dojo safely. O’Chunks is relieved his job is finally over, and Huey hands it to Kersti for her major contribution. Blissfully, everyone jumps for joy- Mario’s adventure is over!

…

…Yet Kersti is apprehensive for some reason. Is there more to be done after all? The formerly temperamental Sticker Fairy returns her cool, relaxed with the knowledge they defeated Shroomsday now, rather than having to explore some giant fortress and fighting him at the end.

Out of nowhere, Shroomsday reawakens, but he’s weakened. Mario and friends give the monster a stern look, all fired up to begin round three if needed. It ends up not happening, signalled by Aace’s arrival with Perry and the still hypnotized Pitholl and Cucleer. As Aace commends Shroomsday for putting up the good fight, Aace demands to know what’s the meaning of this. In response, Aace reveals how to correct his greatest mistake, before ordering Pitholl to bring Shroomsday to Prisma Fountain for a front-row seat. As for Cucleer and Perry, they are ordered to retrieve the princess.

Pitholl follows his orders without fault, picking up Shroomsday effortlessly and bringing him back to the centre of town. However, Cucleer and Perry don’t leave town to look for Peach- instead, they head towards and nab Kersti, puzzling everyone including the Sticker Fairy. Aace proceeds to apologize to Kersti for his comments ahead of time…while also referring to her as “your majesty”.

As Aace reveals to Kersti, she is not just the sealed form of any average Mary. Rather, Kersti is the transformed amnesiac version of the moustached Boo’s old student, Shadhema, the heir of King Starmageddon and the Shadow Queen, and therefore ruler of Prism Island. As hard as it is for Aace, he also gives Kersti the news about her three friends and other sticker fairies. Hoping her friends side with her, Kersti’s anger turns to trouble when Mario, Huey and Edwin fall silent on “correcting” Aace. Aace regrets not knowing Shadhema was here earlier so he could break the news more gently, before ordering Cucleer and Perry bring Kersti to Prisma Fountain.

Mario and friends, dreading for Kersti’s safety and real identity, scramble back to the fountain. They’re almost too late, seeing several Dark Boos & Boosketeers and Broozers gathered around. Merlon and Merluvlee are also tied up, while Shroomsday is looking worse for wear. In the fountain’s paint is the coffin from Redpepper Crater, along with Kersti.

Merluvlee pleads with Aace not to go through with reviving Shadhema, but Aace counters that Her Majesty is their only hope at getting rid of the cause of all this, as well as Aace’s guilt. The ghostly dueler is also sure Shadhema spending this much time away from her body would cool her off, and posits everyone will just laugh this whole thing off once she’s back.

The scared silver crown cries for Mario and Huey, and O’Chunks assures her they’ll get her out of there. Unfortunately, Mario and his drained friends start getting dogpiled by the Broozers. While Huey makes it the furthest, he too is weighed down under the undead boxers.

In Kersti’s last moments, Huey apologizes for not telling her about what happened to Ellshe and leading her on a wild goose chase. The bucket almost keeps pouring his soul out, until Kersti accepts her friends’ apology, knowing they were only trying to protect her. All Kersti wants from Huey is for him to keep Mario and his friends safe when she’s gone.

All six paint pools from the resisting Grand Paint Stars are poured onto Kersti and the coffin at once without mixing, creating a rainbow-colored sphere. However, whatever is supposed to happen isn’t, frustrating Aace. Shroomsday weakly wheezes this ritual only works for the body- for Shadhema’s spirit, meanwhile, more desperate means need to be called upon. Slowly, Shroomsday gets up, and the Gold Royal Sticker starts glowing. As it dawns on Aace what his mushroom friend’s doing, Shroomsday insists on his idea, confessing it’s his own fault everything bad on Prism Island had happened.

As Shroomsday begins disintegrating, his spiritual particles head towards Kersti, soon joined by more from the skies and underground openings. This alerts Aace to learn what Shroomsday is up to- he is sacrificing not just this body, but the entire Shroomsday network and all master cores around the Mushroom World, all to break the spell over Kersti’s Sticker Seal. Even when Aace vigorously warns Shroomsday that he’ll never return if he does this, the monster truly feels this is his only path. Leaving Shadhema in Aace’s capable hands, Shroomsday’s last request is Aace to tell Shadhema that he’ll always be part of her.

The long pain finally ends- Shroomsday and the Gold Royal Sticker disintegrate and its particles merge completely into Kersti. The other five Royal Stickers, meanwhile, fly somewhere far away, their Sticker Seals breaking and bound to break into their real selves eventually. In closer proximity, the greatly grieving Aace loses the color in his eyebrows and moustache, while Pitholl and Cucleer break free of their possession. Neither Aace, nor anyone else, can believe Shroomsday’s really gone.

One’s demise leads to another’s life, for inside the rainbow colored sphere, a Sticker Comet symbol appears and breaks apart. Suddenly, the paint combines with the coffin and a purple Kersti. Soon, the paint starts to shape a female humanoid…

When the paint finishes, Mario and his friends look to see a young princess. Her back hair is purple with pink on the spike parts. Her dress is deep purple with pink at the bottom. And her eyes are blue. The heir of King Starmaggedon and the Shadow Queen, Princess Shadhema has returned.

Horrified, Huey asks Kersti what they did to her. Shadhema only laughs off the name Kersti- or, as she hears it, Cursedy, the name of her pet mushroom. For a princess, Shadhema has the curiosity of a child, asking Huey if he’s an invention of her father’s. Reluctant, Huey answers truthfully. This seems to placate Shadhema…until she suddenly conjures two Musketeer blades, each fashioned after Shroomsday and Sporepocalypse. Now angered, Shadhema declares that her mother warned her that the King’s inventions were evil!

Kind of hot off the heels fighting Shroomsday is another battle with Shadhema. At the start, Shadhema appears to recognize Mario, indicating some part of Kersti remains inside her. Sadly, she rejects Nya’s attempt to remind her of the honor fighting along the Mushroom World Famous Hero, as she believes that fighting alongside Mario would sully her rep as a proper lady. Things don’t get any better on the next turn, for while Edwin gets Shadhema to faintly recall her Sticker Fairy friends, his rougish looks also threaten his credibility in the Eclipse Princess’ eyes. Even stranger, Shadhema inflicts the Megasparkle status- but on Mario, rather than herself!

O’Chunks takes up the bat on the third turn, reminding Shadhema that she just helped them with Shroomsday a few minutes ago by using her magic to reverse his own MS status. This ends up being a blunder, not only upsetting Shadhema at “Cursedy” being roughed up, but giving her the idea to reverse Megasparkle on Mario. Immediately, O’Chunks regrets his part in reminding Kersti.

It’s up to Huey to jog Shadhema’s memories. Tragically, the two are now polar opposites of each other, and Shadhema has become bored of listening to these “strangers”’ reminders. The Eclipse Princess takes this chance to impress Aace and Merluvlee with a lesson Shadhema learned the other day- how weaklings fare in jungles! Raising her arms, Shadhema summons a huge beam of eclipse energy from the sky. Blocking fails to reduce the immense damage the beam deals, and the reversed Megasparkle effect only triples the magnitude of the attack! No more health is available for Mario, and he collapses with his friends. But this does not mean "Game Over" for our heroes.

Her enemies defeated, Shadhema declares this is where she ends them! …normally. However, this time, she’s feeling rather charitable. Though everyone else is confused, Aace takes this as a hopeful sign Shadhema has cooled off with time. Soon, Shadhema notices Aace is nearby, and the two joyfully reunite! Everything’s going to be allllll right!

That’s what Aace thinks, until he starts to realize something- Shadhema hasn’t changed. From not caring for the sleeping Billy, to her disturbing lack of concern for the lingering problem the Musketeers on edge, and even up to interrupting Aace when he’s about to tell Shadhema about Shroomsday’s sacrifice…it’s entering Aace’s mind that whatever change he hoped Shadhema would undergo didn’t happen. He even tells Shadhema to her face that he thinks she’s worse than before- only for Shadhema to reply with a single, angry, threatening utterance of Aace’s name.

Broken-hearted, yet not willing to disobey after all he went through, Aace stops disagreeing with his princess. Shadhema proceeds to demand the Musketeers take over an unforeseen castle in the sky, despite its black paint being present in the lower levels. Aace looks to Perry for guidance, but the Goomba’s desire for self-preservation and being with the winning team leans him towards Shadhema’s side. Aace is saddened, unenthusiastically giving the command for the Musketeers to follow. Given Shadhema’s eclipse beam, the lower Musketeers see it best not to upset her.

Since Perry and the land-based Musketeers can’t fly, Shadhema begrudgingly uses her magic so they can all reach the castle. While Shadhema and the others go ahead, though, Aace sneaks in a word with Mario that he and Huey are expected at the castle. The conflicted graying Musketeer then flies after his comrades and the princess.

Once our heroes regain their strength, Huey panics about fighting Kersti when the team only got past Shroomsday thanks to her. The panic ends when Edwin assuages his brother-in-arms on Shroomsday tiring the gang out before they fought Shadhema. And on the bright side, he and Nya take into account that Shadhema IS taking care of the Koopalings’ home base, so the gang can focus on her and the Musketeers. This mostly placates Huey, but it leads back to the issue of Shadhema’s super move and Megasparkle reversal combo.

That problem is somewhat solved by Pitholl and Cucleer, having retained some recollections of a conversation about the Starlight Workshop. Pitholl rationalizes the King wouldn’t not know his own daughter might not be so perfect, and probably made something to deal with her in case they ever battled. Cucleer has no advice of his own- just giving Huey an earful for the King making him as the island guardian, yet not contemplating other back-ups for other problems.

Once again calmed, Huey thanks everyone for helping him see straight. While appreciative, Nya compliments Huey on his own helpfulness and supportive nature during the journey. Huey returns the sentiment, thanking everyone for their encouragement. The bucket is thanked by O’Chunks, then gives the call to head for Starlight Workshop.

Everyone’s surprised at what O’Chunks just said. When Kidd asks for clarification, she and the others sure receive it- O’Chunks is coming with Mario and the others, knowing Mario will need all the strength he can get. The gang take this to mean O’Chunks has joined the party, and Mario realizes this is the first time anyone from a previous quest who wasn’t a partner then is one to him now.

The final question, this one from Edwin to Pitholl & Cucleer, is what they intend to do. After a few seconds, Pitholl reveals he and the bird are off to look for Khairacles- maybe he can help. In case they don’t return, Cucleer gives Mario a Musketeer Feather to remember the hench-duo by. Cucleer proceeds to carry Pitholl into the sky, looking for their sell-out simian sidekick. Our heroes and new recruitee O’Chunks follow suit, leaving town, to try and find a way to save Kertsi…

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Meanwhile... High above Prism Island, the Koopalings’ airship is barely flying. Lemmy is disappointed the Black Banzai Bill’s paint vanished like a rabbit in a hat, but Morton is just concerned returning to base to gather more black paint. Two like-minded voices agree, the former revealing he researched the black paint for the purpose of getting the edge, while the latter maniacally touts nothing being edgier than a Black Banzai Bill fired from an airship.

Morton and Lemmy are surprised at these voices. They turn around to see Ludwig, Iggy, Wendy, Larry and Roy. No-one’s sure how they came back, though Roy knows the answer to dealing with Shroomsday (none of the Koopalings aware of what just happened below)- bathe the entire island in black paint! At this point, Morton is willing to try anything, just to deal with the Musketeers.

Larry is in agreement, when a mysterious dark voice interrupts. The Koopalings turn around, seeing Bowser Junior and Motley with a captured and tied up Princess Peach…yet the two Koopas are different. As Peach tries to warn the Koopalings about something despite her muffle, Wendy commends Morton for finding Peach, Junior and Motley. However, Morton is stumped at their presences, not knowing they were back on the ship, and surmises they snuck onboard while Morton and Lemmy stole equipemtn from Regale Trainworks.

Abruptedly, Bowser Junior and Motley attack the airship pilot. Morton is about to stop them, when he and the others comprehend too late that their comrades aren’t acting like themselves. A disturbance rocking the airship starts, then ends just as quickly.

The airship proceeds to fly further into the sky- dripping black paint as it does all the while heading straight for someplace…

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Chapter 7-1: The Rise of Princess Shadhema 

"Mario and his friends have found all 6 Paint Stars....but at what cost? Now Kertsi had been trasformed back into her true form: Princess Shadhema. But with a mind as black as darkness. And what became of Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings? Where are they taking Princess Peach? All these questions would soon be answered as the final chapter of Mario's Adventure would soon begin."

On Mario and his allies’ way to Starlight Workshop, they detour to Bloo Bay Beach’s Blissful Paradise. It’s a good idea, if only to see Nastasia and show her O’Chunks is OK. Lunch time is approaching, though, so Nastasia’s stomach growls. This prompts Huey to suggest a nice, juicy burger- just hold off on the mushrooms. Such a joke inspires everyone to laugh.

Soon enough, O’Chunks, Huey and Mario explain what’s left to accomplish. Nastasia is sure if the team works together, they’ll be done by nightfall. Nastasia begins to walk away, when Birdo arrives on her moon prop. The singing pink dinosaur gives Mario another shard similar to the one he found in the Green Energy Plant’s virtual world, and she tells him the object is better off in Mario’s hands.

Having taken care of Nastasia and getting a welcome surprise to boot, our heroes resume their journey towards Starlight Workshop. It’s unusually quiet, though, and Edwin are further thrown off by the continuing existences of Slugshrooms, Carrishrooms and Monstrooms in the entrance hall. Huey’s only guess is Shadhema now having control over all of Shroomsday’s minions thanks to his sacrifice.

The main hub of the workshop, however- it’s covered in black paint, blocking off the west and east wings! Edwin doesn’t get it- the lab is deep underground, with no way any Black Bills could enter. It’s Huey who rivals Edwin in utter horror, the bucket flying into the back room ASAP to check on something.

Our heroes hasten after Huey, to find the back room in even worse shape! The golden Huey statue is completely demolished, all the machinery’s been torn apart, wreckage litters the perimeter, the Things are mangled beyond repair, and most important is black paint complicating travel within the room. What I’m trying to say is, stuff got real in here.

Huey is overcome with alarm, knowing the King isn’t going to like this. Meanwhile, Kidd and Nya are stunned at the gold Huey statue’s condition. Further inspection leads the women to surmise the statue was punctured outside, then something broke out. Apprehensive, Louis queries Huey on what the statue contained. The smaller bucket hints it’s something far worse than anything they’ve encountered so far, including Shadhema.

The quiet of the room is broken when an elderly voice weakly cries for someone to help the princess. This alerts everyone, and they start looking. Careful echolocation directs the gang to the top-right of the room, but all the junk and black paint forces Nya, O’Chunks and Marirana to use their skills to destroy and push back the miasmic dark substance.

Reaching their target, Mario, Louis and O’Chunks pull two people out of the wreckage- a rising Toadsworth, and a Tailed Goomba who looks very reminiscent of Kitanu. Questioned by Nya, Toadsworth reveals that Peach and Kitanu overheard Larry Koopa had located a secret Musketeer base, this workshop. The old Toad proceeds to quickly recap everything from meeting Kolorado, to being knocked out. In Toadsworth’s unconsciousness, however, he overheard Peach once again being kidnapped, just like many times before in his presence.

Recounting this fact fractures Toadsworth’s spirit, and he begins- or rather, resumes- doubting his helpfulness and competence in the face of Peach’s constant abductions. The aging porcini-man finally raises the question- why does Peach tolerate him, when Mario and even Luigi are far more dependable?

To Toadsworth and everyone’s surprise, the new Kitanu answers it’s because Toadsworth is Peach’s closest friend. Despite the reborn Tailed Goomba’s mild bemusement at the name Kitanu, he continues to encourage Toadsworth that he not give up. Furthermore, Kitanu brings up Toadsworth leaving will cost Peach some protection, a faithful advisor, and her closest friend, the latter which Kitanu senses he himself lacks.

The pep talk slightly improves Toadsworth’s depression, but he still desires something to prove he can defend the princess. One with the elements, Kitanu reveals he senses something Huey embarrassingly admits he should have remembered while helping Ellshe- a door even further into the workshop, which may hold something Toadsworth can use. The name Ellshe instills a vague memory within the true Kitanu, and he departs while wishing his old-new friends luck on their journey.

Sure enough, when O’Chunks breaks down the back wall, there’s a secret path. This hidden chamber is really tall, with no black paint in sight. At the top of the room is a platform with a cloth draped over something. To reach these heights, Mario needs Louis’ leaps, Edwin’s pole-suction & swinging, Kidd’s speed for a buzzsaw bridge, and O’Chunks to clear rocks on the way interfering with Huey’s Cut-Out. Trying to explore away from the tower only yields a spiked road, no way to safely cross it. The last thing out of the ordinary is a sign to hide the delicious key behind the emblem.

Climbing up to the top, Mario and company arrive at the clothed object. At Louis’ suggestion, Mario pulls the cloth off, revealing a gold go-kart with a neat looking helmet and brushes on the ends. Kidd finds it a sweet ride, and the vehicle really strikes a chord with Toadsworth. The car activates, shooting paint of all colors as a kind of demo. While Louis reads the license plate as “P8R8D3”, Toadsworth places the helmet on him and jumps in. Toadsworth then turns the wheel around. At this point, he’s more machine than mushroom- he could even pass off as Mecha-Toadsworth!

Marirana applauds Toadsworth for his style. Regrettably, in his rush to enter the AU-TO-MO-BILE, Toadsworth learns from the Beepboxer that he accidently left his cane behind. When Toadsworth asks someone to pick the cane up for him, however, Toadsworth’s helmet levitates and grafts the fungi stick onto itself. The problem solving itself, Toadsworth finally joins Mario’s party. (Wow, two in one hour- it’s Mario’s lucky day!)

The excitement of joining Mario and having the power to save Peach fills Toadsworth so joyously. Before he can continue celebrating, though, he realizes Mario’s gang didn’t even know he and Peach were here. As fast as possible, Huey explains all the twists & turns that happened between the Mustard Café meeting and this moment, ending with the gang coming here to find Shadhema’s weakness. All caught up, Toadsworth is up for further inspection of the workshop- as well as a testdrive.

With Toadsworth and his new car on the team, Mario can take a Mild Ride in the elder’s helmet. True, he doesn’t drives fast, but he drives regardless. A few nearby Corona Golems also give Mario the chance to see how Toadsworth handles his ride. Along with the ability to Reload Paint a little at the start of Mario’s turn, Toadsworth can unleash a Paint Barrage that not only damages foes, but makes them drop more paint after battle.

As they continued practicing, they noticed General Guy and his troops arrive and search in the room. Huey questioned him what he was doing, and General Guy replied that he was helping them look for Shadhema's weakness. His troops were looking through nearly every book the workshop had for information. Kidd doesn't think that looking at the old books is all they need to look at, but General Guy insists that his troops are doing their best to assist. Huey tells him that he can keep looking at them as long as he likes..but it's not really helping them at all, much to the General's concerns....

After this discussion, the gang ride Toadsworth atop the spiked floors. The tough build of P8R8D3 and its wheels prevent any accidents while riding the sharp terrain. The room is more than it appears at first glance, though, as rising floors under spiked ceilings, dripping water, and buzzsaws would probably cause the average car to crash or explode. There are some safe floors, but not a lot.

Near the end of the obstacle course, Mario, Huey and Toadsworth notice a Grand Paint Star emblem inside a square, denoting a Cut-Out Zone. Traveling this zone reveals a secret basement to the obstacle course with tougher obstructions and only two solid floors. It’s a real test of Mario and Toadsworth’s driving skills, figuring out the pattern to the rising and falling floors while also avoiding buzzsaws. Thanks to ther patience, they survive.

The prize, though, is unusual- a Key Lime made out of the same material Huey is, with rainbow colored teeth marks. It takes a moment for Mario and Huey to grasp that the Key Lime is what’s needed for the door into the Pit of Trials…which Ari Sworda probably wants. Swiftly, the idea is put out of the duo’s mind, and they ride Toadsworth into a hole back into the standard course.

Upon reaching the standard end of the path, Mario and his comrades find a large circular platform with a starry pattern. Toadsworth and Edwin concentrate hard on what may be hidden here, when Toadsworth reverses onto a switch.

Suddenly, the middle of the platform starts glowing. Huey is excited, recognizing the technology as one of the King’s 3D messages. Apparently, the conversation is recorded so accurately, one would swear it was happening right now. According to the data log, the one about to play was recorded almost a year ago. The middle of the platform shoots out three holograms- Aace, Starmageddon in his mechsuit, and most shocking off all…

…Leblaanc, the sight of whom infuriatingly baffles Kidd. Regardless, the message relays the following…

Leblaanc is shocked to see his King, alive and well. Nearby, Aace relates he was just as surprised when Starmageddon pulled him under Starlight Cape fur centuries ago, before assuring Leblaanc it’s really the King. Starmageddon turns around, for he is about to go reclaim his body from where his enemies sealed it. However, His Majesty flies into a fury at Leblaanc’s presence, as no-one outside Aace and the guards stationed here is supposed to know His Majesty is around.

Upon learning from Aace what happened to Billy, Starmageddon is curious, for he instructed Aace to plant the seed he got in a very secure location. It’s what the Blight King did to his own seed, after all. Unamused, Aace actually tells off Starmageddon for keeping him in the dark about how widespread the seed’s roots and plants travel once planted, also knowing the same is happening where the King is. Starmageddon justifies it as slowing down “BZZT” when it breaks out of that “seal”, but Aace calls the King out, seeing this reason as an excuse for revenge in the King’s banished dimension.

This affects Starmageddon, and he gives Leblaanc a strange potion. Sadly, Leblaanc’s joy is cut short when he presses the King’s “wife” button, that one word painfully reminding him of the Shadow Queen’s betrayal. A look from Aace quickly recomposes the King, but it’s clear His Majesty has an agenda tied with the potion. For it to work, Leblaanc needs the hair of a princess. While Starmageddon dropped the princess he kept off with some mean Shy Guys for his plan, he not-so-subtly informs Leblaanc that Prism Island does have a princess he can take head-shavings from- Shadhema.

Immediately, Aace realizes that Billy’s fate is tied to Shadhema’s revival. The musketeer may be all for bringing his student back, but not as torture for another. Aace calls out this plan, seeing it cruel as something horrible the King did to a large Jabbi recently. With such apparent disloyalty, the King gives an ultimatum- either Aace and Leblaanc wake up Shadhema and have Huey take care of BZZT, or Starmageddon returns with his body and blights out the world.

Aace and Leblaanc look at each other, both uneasy with this idea. Begrudgingly, they form their pact, and the matter is almost settled. However, Leblaanc knows that while Aace and Starmageddon have offered their assistance, Shadhema hasn’t and likely won’t. This leads Starmageddon to reveal he did know Shadhema could have a mean streak, so he created something to clean her up whenever she acted grossly out of line. The item to deal with Shadhema is in this room, where Mario and friends are watching the hologram.

Starmageddon also gives Aace a letter, to be delivered to Luigi on the appointed date. Everyone now knows their duties, and Starmageddon cackles he’s off to invade the lion’s den, taking joy in tricking some kind people into helping with his perfected mechsuit. Though the King laughs, Aace regrets the good becoming wicked. When the Blight King almost hears this, Aace pretends he was merely wishing His Majesty luck in retrieving his body. The professionalism of Aace brings out a rare genuine moment from Starmageddon, before taking his mechsuit off. The holo-log cuts out before the helmet comes off the King.

The Underwhere hath no fury like a backstabbed Vellbex woman, for Kidd is fuming at Leblaanc knowing what happened to Billy all along, yet still chewing her out. Before Kidd can relapse, O’Chunks tries to find some merit in Leblaanc’s actions, concluding he helped Aace because he had nowhere else to turn and was much angrier at himself for keeping up the charade, even when lecturing Kidd. Edwin even remembers Leblaanc was about to come clean before he left for Emerald Circus. While Kidd is calmed, O’Chunks can’t disagree with her that Leblaanc should have told her sooner.

Our heroes look around the platform, trying to find any kind of switches. Mario thinks, and comes to one thought- the switches must be camouflaged, like way back when he and Peach arrived at Prisma Fountain. This is correct, and with the help of Edwin, Marirana and Toadsworth, three switches are found and triggered.

Upon solving the puzzle, a certain object drops from the ceiling. This object is, defying all possibility, beyond good and evil, undefined by time and space itself, a Luma Sponge. Edwin is letdown by this weakness, while Huey chides himself for not expecting how weird the King could get, especially in light of the Big Oink Artifact. But Huey’s excitement, Nya is deep in thought on a bothersome issue…

When the gang head back to Prisma Fountain, Emerald has regained his strength, awake once more. The Grand Paint Star also recognizes P8R8D3 as the Blight King’s invention, knowing his craftsmanship. Toadsworth’s elatedness at the idea of using the vehicle at the next Mario GP is interrupted when Emerald notices Nya is still thinking. What Nya wants to ask is of the black paint’s nature, and why Shroomsday was affected so much by it.

To some surprise, Emerald enlightens Nya and the others that the answer to her question goes back to near the beginning of Prism Island’s history. The Grand Paint Star proceeds to write one last memory into the gang’s minds…

It’s a peaceful day in Port Prisma. All around, the original Vellbex are filling normal buckets with paint, then throwing the stuff or dabbing their horns in it. Unfortunately, Shadhema arrives in town, along with Shroomsday and Sporepocalypse. The sight of all three Royal family miscreants instills anxiousness in the past goats, and they back off.

Since this looks like a bad time, Shroomsday uses his tendril to block off Shadhema from the fountain. Sporepocalypse does the same- only placing his vine in front of Shroomsday’s. Annoyed, Shroomsday summons another tendril in front of Sporepocalypse’s vine. This ticks Sporepocalypse off equally, returning the favor.

The two keep trying to assert themselves, until Sporepocalypse upsides Shroomsday. The force of the blow breaks off a thorn atop Shroomsday’s head. Before a full-out brawl breaks out, Shadhema starts laughing. She then pets Shroomsday, followed by Sporepocalypse. This calms both creatures greatly, enough to distract them from seeing Shadhema open her hands.

The princess’ magic mixes together all the paint in the fountain, creating the black paint. Shadhema is too into her paint mixing to notice the Vellbex and her pets grow scared. Shroomsday and Sporepocalypse try warning Shadhema away about mixing the colors together, but she doesn’t pay attention. The situation becomes much worse when Shroomsday’s broken-off spike is sucked into the pool of black paint. Two yellow eyes appear on the black paint pool, before starting to rise from the fountain and start changing its shape.

Eventually, Shroomsday and Sporepocalypse grab Shadhema’s attention. Unfortunately, Shadhema becomes infuriated at her pets interrupting her fun.

Suddenly, a long black paint arm grabs Shadhema. The arm belongs to the newly-born black paint entity, now in the form of a long, sinister cloak. The black unnamed entity flies off into the sky with its hostage, eventually twinkling like a star.

Panicked, Shroomsday and Sporepocalypse look back and forth, before leaving Port Prisma in a hurry...

Nya is astonished at the existence of Sporepocalypse, understanding what Roy and Perry were talking about when Shroomsday revealed himself. Meanwhile, Edwin finds some merit in the longevity of the two ten-eyed beasts. Huey, however, doesn’t understand how the black paint entity was born when Shadhema only meant to have fun. This prompts Emerald to give Huey, Mario and the others a simple fact about life, children and innocence.

The gang dwells on this lesson for a moment, before Kidd pops the question of the entity’s fate. Though Emerald does confirm the eldritch being was dealt with, he discloses it was no easy feat. Even when Shroomsday and Sporecalypse alerted the Blight King and Shadow Queen, and even when the queen brought all three of her pet dragons along, the black paint entity- Splotchleek- proved incredibly formidable. Eventually, Sporepocalypse felt he had no choice but to convert most of his energy into one burst of time to freeze Splotchleek. Working fast, Starmageddon rescued his daughter and constructed a “prison” to contain their foe, sealing the menace away. Sporepocalypse’s last-ditch effort greatly weakened the giant flower, requiring time to heal.

Sadly, the plant would never get that time. Though the public didn’t realize it, Sporepocalypse’s move broke the walls between dimensions, alerting other players to Shadhema’s power. In order to keep his island and daughter safe, the King rallied troops of Wizzerds and Corona Golems, as well as loyal Vellbex soldiers, to repel the intergalactic invaders away. He even called in a few favors to some powerful friends. Eventually, the Shadow Queen seemed to join Starmageddon by his side.

A great battle was fought in outer space, as day was blocked by night. Finally, the battle was won- but at a great cost. One of these costs, as Kidd guesses, is the annihilation of most of the Vellbex, even ones not at the battle. Sporepocalypse also met his end at the breath of a great dragon, leaving behind only two seeds which the King collected. Finally, there’s what the Shadow Queen did to the King. To this day, the conflict became known for the title the Princess held, and the time when it was fought- the Eclipse War.

Everyone takes some lesson from this ancient retelling. For Louis, he’s stunned they could have avoided all this if they had just installed a “Don’t Mix the Paint” sign, though he recognizes he never would have met Mario otherwise. However, Emerald has to explain to Louis it’s not that simple. The green paint star clarifies, revealing that while mixing Prism Island’s paint will create black paint- something even Emerald doesn’t understand- it can be dealt with if addressed immediately. The thing is creating a black paint ENTITY requires a series of circumstances that are incredibly difficult to replicate- black Prism Island paint, royal energy, and Shroomsday… or someone infected at some point with his difficult-to-remove scent, like Bowser. Now that Shroomsday no longer exists, further black paint entities like Splotchleek should prove impossible.

Clarified and slightly relieved, Huey becomes fired up to finish the Musketeers, Koopalings and Splotchleek. That said, Huey explains to an equally enthused Toadsworth that he thought assembling all six Grand Paint would reveal a path. To Huey’s consolation, Crimson leads the other stars in pooling all their color power to create a rainbow road into the sky. The end of the techicolored path uncovers a patch of stormy clouds. Behind the clouds, revealed to be the final destionation for the Final Chapter: The Koopalings’ Hideout, Bowser Jr.'s Castle, covered in graffiti. Toadsworth, Marirana and Kidd are all stunned at the auroric path painted before their eyes, and heed Huey’s suggestion to give it a try.

That is, until a white-haired individual in a black cultish cloak is seen, flying haplessly over Port Prisma, and landing far away. The Grand Paint Stars are perturbed by the person’s impact elsewhere. Conflicted, they give Mario and friends the choice in either trying the road now, or heading to the victim’s impact point at Cherry Lake. They also encourage Mario finish up any business he has on the island.

Chapter 7-2: Title Unknown

Hustling to Cherry Lake, they find the young person in the area’s center, unconscious. Huey discerns whether the pale-haired traveller is male or female, before Iron Hard Jonny arrives. Jonny and the others take a gander at the conked-out visitor, but the only hint they’re still playing the game is the sleepyhead muttering “Chrom” and “Validar” as they slumber. Iron Hard Jonny body slams whitey, but he or she (or shkle/shklim from now on) is still napping. Distraught, Jonny asks that Mario and the others find the remaining Yellow Squad members to perform a risky procedure together. Upon Mario agreeing, Jonny advises the gang to check with Leblaanc for guidance.

Back in Port Prisma, our heroes do just that and head to see Leblaanc. Unfortunately, Leblaanc’s good mood is undermined by Kidd and, somewhat oddly, Huey’s beefs with him. Kidd is enraged that her hubby left her out of the deal with Aace, while Huey is unimpressed that Leblaanc knew Starmageddon had been alive, yet didn’t tell him. Swiftly, Leblaanc realizes the gang saw the holo-message at the Workshop, and apologizes for this level of deceit.

Just as O’Chunks thought, Leblaanc somewhat defends his actions as relating to keeping Kidd out of dangerous stuff. With Huey, meanwhile, Aace looks Huey in the eyes and, without blinking, tells him Aace believed the guardian would be distracted if he knew His Majesty was still around. After a moment of weighing the story, Huey chooses to believe Leblaanc. Nevertheless, Leblaanc tear up, promising there will be no more secrets between him and the others, especially Kidd, Enerr T or Huey.

Everyone’s on the same page, trusting each other once more. Leblaanc proceeds to check over where the remaining Yellow Rescue Squad members are patrolling. Starting with Caan, the gang find the cockney cockatoo at Fortune Island, watching Pirra T and Baabeaussa fight. Then Sol is at Starlight Cape, watching the night sky while trying to enter the Workshop for supplies. With Veronica, she’s deep in the Indigo Underground, washing her hair feathers. Last but not least, Armstrong is visiting the sleeping Billy at Green Energy Plant, just to keep him company. By listening to Mario, each of the four Memphawks return to Port Prisma HQ to await Leblaanc’s own command for deployment to Cherry Lake.

The back-and-forth search leads back to Cherry Lake. At Jonny’s command, all five Memphawks leap into the air to form one giant living bird-kite. Together, Yellow Rescue Squad descends upon the unconscious target, inflicting a powerful blow. The move works, and the white haired dududette finally jolts up.

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The cloaked person looks around the area, remarking it isn’t the Dragon’s Table- a term that instantly confuses the guygal. The sight of the Yellow Rescue Squad, Sledge, Huey and especially Mario trips the humanoid, wondering where shkle is. When Orion asks where the person came from themselves, shkle’s not sure. In fact, shkle doesn’t even remember shklis own name. The only word that comes to mind is “Robin”, befuddling Mario and Sledge.

Out of nowhere, a bunch of Slugshrooms, Carrishrooms and Monstrooms arrive. However, before they attack, Robin instinctually conjures a magic bolt from a book, vaporizing one of the Slugshrooms. The incident inspires the other monsters to high-tail it out of there, mesmerizing Robin and the others. This gets Huey to realize maybe Robin can help Mario, a sentiment the sorcerer agrees with. And that’s how Robin joined Mario’s party during the colorful quest.

A new ally in hand, Mario and Robin find some braver Shroom monsters the lightning wizard can test shklis skills on. If Robin's Thunder Tome doesn't electrify shklis land opponents when it's read to them, it will when sklhe uses the Partner Meter to conjure the spark once again. The cultish-looking magus also teaches Mario far better than his other friends, the Veteran wringing out more EXP Hammers from foes- but it comes at the cost of coins and paint. And if Mario just wants to cut to the chase, Robin's Sword Slash delivers a Defense-piercing First Strike, from the overworld into battle.

Thanks to the training Mario and Robin got at the lake, the plumber and tactician are stronger, smarter, and better looking than before. The duo and company leave the lake, only to hear Masque causing trouble yet again. After shooing him from Crimson Tower, though, Mario and Huey get a reminder that Ari Sworda's probably waiting for the Key Lime. Even after all this time, Huey doesn't consider trusting the large bandit a good idea, especially with the Blight King's stuff that he locked away. On the other hand, Marirana and Edwin counter there may be something more in the Pit of Trials to assist with defeating Shadhema and Aace. And should Ari Sworda try to double-cross them, the team can just battle and defeat him. Finally, Huey gives on, yet warns them to keep an eye on Ari.

Ari Sworda and his Bandits are twiddling their sleeves when they see Mario, Huey, Marirana and O’Chunks arrive with the Key Lime. A sought prize so near fills Ari Sworda with unrivaled glee, and the 30 Bandits follow their leader in unison. At Ari’s behest, Mario brings the Key Lime to the locked. When Mario has trouble turning the lock, however, the marauders’ spirits start to diminish. O’Chunks soon loses patience and slashes the door with the metal fruit. As it turns out, this is the proper way to use the Key Lime, the teeth acting as an “eraser” for the door. On the right track, O’Chunks scrubs the door out of reality, allowing entrance into the Pit of Trials.

Appreciative of the way forward finally open, Ari Sworda gifts Mario and friends a set of Mega class cards. The 30 Bandits proceed into the entrance, with their extra large leader following. However, as Ari Sworda is passing through the arch, he lets slip he can finally confirm with his client if there’s any remnant of “the dark predecessor” at the bottom.

Mario and Marirana are overcome with betrayal, unsure how they were played so easily. Huey is about to give the two a reaming for just letting Ari Sworda stroll in, only to lose this fury just as quickly. The more the bucket guardian thinks, the more he understands the main reason he didn’t trust Ari was because of Starmageddon’s pedigree, not because Huey himself saw any danger. Now, this mention of something evil at the bottom is motivating Huey for the right reasons- to prevent something as dangerous as black paint ending up on Ari Sworda’s hands and beard.

The open doorway is all the motivation Mario needs to explore the Pit and discover its mysteries, including its shorter name. As soon as the gang enters, though, they fall into an ornate red room with 10 enemies. At the back of the room is a door with a round opening, for a key. Assuming the rules are the same as usual, Mario and O’Chunks start wailing on the weak enemies around them. Strangely, while their foes still give out paint as well as reward more cards than usual, no EXP Hammers drop. Such a rebalance of reward forces Mario to battle much more carefully.

After just his sixth battle with a Crazy Dayzee, a Round Stone drops from the happy flower. Looking at the stone and the door, Mario knows they have the way forward. The early victory also serves to explain why the Pit does not have 100 in it’s name, signaling Mario in that he can probably skip a few fights this time.

The next room is more orange in coloration, with slightly stronger adversaries. This time, a Square Keyhole blocks the way forward. The floor shows itself as unlucky for Mario, since he doesn’t find the Square Stone until the ninth battle here. Wondering if there’s some trick to finding the shape stones, Mario decides to KO the final opponent just for kicks. The act of defeating all 10 enemies turns out to be a good call, for Mario is rewarded with a few Mushroom and Syrup cards for putting in the extra work.

Third floor dips into a little bit of yellow, and a Triangle Keyhole ensures Mario sticks around for a while. Before fighting, Mario checks for a Huey Hint to see if his enhanced accomplice notices anything- probably something he should have done on the first floor. Fortunately, Huey discerns that some enemies give off shape shadows when they notice Mario. Thanks to this hint, Mario finds the Triangle Stone after only three battles.

On the very subtly greening fourth floor, things look suspect when not only does the door forward protected by both a Circle and Pentagon Keyhole, but there’s only nine enemies, most of them subspecies never seen outside the pit. Apprehensive, Mario decides to forgo a quick victory and clear all the foes on this floor, if only to learn of any surprises. Eventually, Mario earns both stones after two and four battles, but clearing all nine rewards nothing. Frustrated, Mario and Huey open the door further in…only for iron bars to block the way immediately after.

Unexpectedly, a large Spiny with native markings and decorated spikes is summoned by a ghostly aura. The Spiny introduces himself as Chief Pointamo, leader of the lost Kiwano Spiny tribe. He touts that the six guardians, always connected to the Pit, poofed him here to ensure the dark piece at the bottom stays in slumber. Though Pointamo curses not being able to stop Ari Sworda, his renewed energy will make quick work out of Mario and O’Chunks.

For a Spiny, Chief Pointamo is actually pretty tough to predict. Flipping him on his back fails to impede him the whole turn, as he turns right-side up and resumes his assault immediately. The native spiked beetle also jumps during a shell spin randomly, turning blocking into a timed exercise. Pointamo can even spin on his head and exert his spikes, demonstrating him as the apex member of the Spinies.

Pointamo’s still a Spiny, though, so it’s just slightly tougher to deplete his health. In defeat, the Chief chastises himself for letting down the six guardians and their creator. He also warns Huey that if he’s not careful, his body will decorate the walls of the Pit as it should have. The same ghostly aura envelops Pointamo, and he vanishes like he was never here.

Despite Mario and O’Chunks’ relief at the Spiny’s defeat, however, Huey is puzzled that the six Grand Paint Stars never mentioned monitoring the Pit, as well as Pointamo’s odd comment. The only consolation is the bars on the door vanishing, as well as several Super class Mushrooms and Syrups appearing as reward for beating every foe.

The process of exploring the Pit repeats for the fifth, sixth and seventh floors proceeds as usual. Not surprisingly, the hue of the walls continues changing from green, and arrives at a hint of purple on the seventh floor. The seventh floor also steps up the ante, the door locked by 3 keyholes and harboring just 9 enemies. Half of them are Bandits, while the others are stronger versions of Prism Island’s feral inhabitants. At this point, Mario decides to give O’Chunks a break and hit up Toadsworth for back-up.

The gang retrieve all three keys after the seventh battle, but Mario finishes all nine foes just to replenish himself after the inevitable mini-boss. A smart plumber he is, as once more iron bars block the way after the door is unlocked. Nothing could prepare Mario and Toadsworth, though, for the sensation of an eruption, or a large Phantom and a swarm around it summoned in a ghostly manner.

What’s weird is the Phantom is unable to truly speak, frustrating Mario and Toadsworth to the apparition’s intentions. Hearing this, a ghostly Shy Guy poofs in to serve as a translator between the two parties. By listening to the Phantom, the Shy Guy reveals to the heroes that the Phantom collective, Eruptasm, is also under the employ of the six guardians to test Pit explorers. Regardless, Eruptasm is not above pre-battle taunts, the Shy Guy translating it as a reminder the ghost is made of fire and Mario’s gang isn’t- so have fun with that.

It’s unknown where Eruptasm was transported from exactly, but it must be one haunted locale. Similar to a queen bee, the green giant ghost commands its swarm to strike all who oppose it. When Mario gets the bright idea to use water-type moves, the swarm flies in front of their leader to protect it from the brunt of aquatic doom. Eruptasm also fancies itself a fire dancer, cycling the smaller Phantoms in and out of its body to power each other up.

Soon enough, the embers of conflict dwindle to a wisp, and Mario’s team come out the winner. As Eruptasm begins to vanish, Huey questions what the Grand Paint Stars were thinking recruiting the giant ghost to guard this area. Strangely, the ghostly Shy Guy has no clue what Huey’s talking about, the Grand Paint Stars not in charge of overseeing the Pit. This riles up Huey, reminding the Shy Guy what Eruptasm just said about six guardians, just like Chief Pointamo did. Understanding Huey’s confusion, the Shy Guy counters they never said six Grand Paint Stars- just six guardians. Before the ghostly Shy Guy can further explain, he dissipates in a ghostly aura, only giving him time to reveal the Grand Paint Stars are much like the guardians.

Huey keeps puzzling over Eruptasm and the Shy Guy’s cryptic remarks while Mario and Robin handle the eighth, nine and tenth floors of the Pit. More puzzles arise in the transition between floors, for while B8 is purple and B9 is black, B10 abruptedly turns back to purple…but bizarre, dark vines adorn the final room’s walls. They look all dried out, yet they’re not Shroomsday nor Splotchleek’s doing. Mario, Huey and Robin almost lose their lunch once they use their noses, a stench of decay and malice emanating from the alien-like vines. The horrid…it’s unknown if it’s even plantlife… is coming out of the final door, locked with four Shape Keyholes at once.

Keeping themselves together, the gang work quickly to eliminate all nine enemies in the room. With all four Shape Stones, the door is unlocked. As if to cut the gang some slack, nothing bars the way forward this time. Instead, several Mega class Mushrooms and Syrups, as well as a single 1-Up Super, drop from the ceiling. Whatever relief this breath in difficulty could provide is choked by the continuing odor of disease and death.

Beyond the final door, Mario, Robin, Huey and Marirana find Ari Sworda investigating a large rock adorned with two mysterious emblems. One of the emblems is three stars joined together, while the other is an unknowable emblem encrusting a dark, cracked stone.

Ari Sworda sees the good guys approaching him and changes tact. Congratulating them for managing to follow him this deep, he apologizes for rushing on ahead without the gang. However, Huey and Marirana chastise Ari Sworda for wanting something potentially more dangerous than Shroomsday or Splotchleek, while Robin thinks any other mercenary would carry some ethics. Slightly annoyed, Ari Sworda corrects the trio, repeating it was his client wanted to check out this dark power. This also comes with the revelation the substance was used to create Shroomsday and Sporepocalypse. Ari relieves Huey’s mind by revealing the substance within the dark stone has dried out and decayed substantially, completely unuseable in his client’s talons. Regardless, Ari still collects a sample, just to prove to his boss he was down here. The rotund foreigner also notes the strange vines cannot penetrate the walls of the Pit or even leak past them, eyeing Huey as he brings this up.

That said, Ari Sworda prides himself on his services as a mercenary, and doesn’t want to return to his employer practically empty-handed. Therefore, he will not just take the unuseable substance- he will take Huey too! Pulling out his sword, the leader of the 30 Bandits engages our heroes.

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Sword dashes, sword drills, calling his fellow Bandits…it’s clear despite his impressive skills, Ari Sworda isn’t fighting at top strength. The thought both comforts Mario and frightens him, the bandit still performing alright. To try and make up the difference in strength, Ari sometimes throws his sword to his fellow Bandits, who throw the blade back up for a powerful jump blade strike. Other times, Sworda uses the flat side of his weapon as a baseball bat for his rallied robbers. If the bandits can work together, Mario can too, switching out his partners when he feels like it and letting Robin get a few Thunder Blasts in.

Eventually, Ari Sworda calls the duel to a halt- he knows he’s lost. However, he reveals he doesn’t need to take Huey- just borrow him for a few seconds. In the blink of an eye, Ari Sworda grabs Huey and lightly raps his noggin while holding a recording device, making a distinct echoing vibration sound. The bandit then lets go, and does the same to one of the random walls in the room. While the walls give off a louder sound, the sounds match- meaning Huey and the Pit of Trials are made of the same material.

Just like that, Ari Sworda calls for him and his Bandits to leave- they didn’t get exactly what their employer wanted, but they did learn something interesting. As they leave, an infuriated Huey demands to learn why Ari drummed him. This only prompts a hearty laugh from the lead bandit, only informing the “little conta- I mean, bucket man” that’s between Ari and his clientele. As a compromise, Ari Sworda tantalizes Huey, Mario and the others with something odd- while Huey may have been built on Prism Island, the material he’s made of is not found here, but elsewhere. Soon, Ari Sworda departs, along with his Bandits.

The bandit honcho’s remarks leave Huey to wonder about his heritage, as well as how much else Prism Island “borrowed” from other places. Is any part of the island truly unique to it? Finally, O’Chunks and Toadsworth speak up, assuring him that Huey’s home is where he makes it. Louis and Kidd also join, for Prism Island has been their people’s lands for a long time, and their contributions help make the island stand out. His friends’ encouragement cheers up Huey, deciding he’s proud to be a Prism Islander.

At that moment, a large stone tablet with the etchings of six star-leafed trees is conjured up. Using his car’s scanners, Toadsworth translates the writings as “Frutta Mural.” Mario picks it up, noticing it could be equipped like the King’s Artifacts.

Before leaving, Huey, against his better judgement, takes another whiff of the disgusting dark substance. Rather oddly, it "smells" like the black paint, but without the "paint" part of it. Curious, Huey is stumped where Starmageddon found this substance, or what convinced him obtaining it was a good idea.

Outside the Pit entrance, the gang find Ari Sworda still standing around with his Bandits. Pressed on this, Ari lets Mario know he’ll still sell his services to the plumber- he doesn’t have to depart for a while yet. Secure in the knowledge of Ari Sworda's gracefulness, Mario pays the foreigner some coins for more Bandits to assist him.

Next on the list of unfinished business is hearing the rest of Merluvlee’s story at Port Prisma’s pier. The gang awkwardly walk past the Prisma Fountain, the rainbow road reminding them to not muck around too long. This time, two new parts of Merluvlee’s tale are ripe for the listening.

The fourth part of Merluvlee’s story continues with her new transformation into a comet. When Merluvlee returned to Port Prisma, Shadhema’s spirit had broken free of bodily limits. Learning what happened with Shroomsday infuriated the princess, unleashing her full ancient power. Not even Draggadon, who tried standing up to Shadhema, could stand up to such might. And with Aace gone, there was no-one to calm her majesty.

Though Merluvlee was weakened from her previous battle, she used the transfiguration technique of the Ancients to change Shadhema’s spirit into a fairy. Keeping Shroomsday’s crowns and Shadhema altogether began to strain Merluvlee’s power, unfortunately. Trying to keep this power under control gave Merluvlee an epiphany- to save her home from destruction, she would have to leave for other stars.

Eventually, Merluvlee found an uninhabited planetoid, allowing her to relieve the power strain. But the fairy who was formerly Shadhema grew lonely, needing a friend.

In comet form, Merluvlee took Shadhema’s desires to heart, as the fifth and final part of her long saga begins. Still in her comet form, Merluvlee returned to a rather humble section of the Mushroom World. As a precaution to ensure Shadhema’s memory couldn’t be triggered, the sorceress brought Shroomsday’s crowns with her.

When Merluvlee landed, she shed power in the form of Stickers. A settlement grew around where the magic comet landed, a settlement that came to be known as Decalburg. As the settlement was built, a festival was held honoring the comet’s power. Every time Merluvlee spoke, it was in Ancient tongue. However, the locals mistook it for a new language altogether, coining it “Stickerish”.

Following the first Sticker Fest, the Ancient-Stickerish comet found a female Koopa who had been seriously injured. Merluvlee looked around, but no-one seemed to recognize the girl. Taking a questionable chance, Merluvlee used her magic to change the female Koopa into another fairy, hoping she could serve as a companion to Shadhema. Thankfully, this faith paid off back home, and Shadhema- now calling herself Kersti due to distorted memories- got along with the shell fairy, Ellshe.

From that point on, Merluvlee travelled to the newly-christened Decal Lands almost every year. Whenever a loner became injured, the sorceress would change them into another fairy.

And so many things came to pass. Merluvlee was now called the Sticker Comet, the festival Sticker Fest, and her subjects Sticker Fairies. Most importantly, the home of the Comet and Fairies would gain a name of its own- Sticker Star.

Along with several powerful Mega class cards, Merluvlee pleads with Mario and friends to make Shadhema see sense. She also gives Mario an object Leblaanc brought back from Emerald Circus, a large crown with the same design as the M the gang got from Piper. By combining the two objects together, the King’s Crown Replica is created, its royalty bringing to mind that of a Round Dimension.

Holding the King’s Crown Replica, Mario starts to mentally checklist other items he may need to complete to ensure no regrets. At last, he looks at the two Panic Shards he’s found during the adventure, and notices there’s room for one more piece. By checking with Merlon, the wizard reveals while Mario no longer requires Artifacts in the future, he could still find items with “traces” still on them. Utilizing mystic energies, Merlon peers into his crystal, and finds the yellow Toadette at Sunglow Ridge’s lumber mill awakening from a nightmare.

Dashing like an orange marsupial, Mario and Louis discover the Toadette still taking an uneasy catnap. It’s as Mario feared, Toadette telling Wart to keep his bubbles away from the lumberjacks. The Toadette jolts awake, and the last Panic Shard appears in her hands. Unsure of how she got it, the Toadette gives it to Mario in hopes of tamer dreams. Mario combines the shard with the others, and it creates the Panic Amulet!

Mario returns to check with Merlon again for other traced items. Another vision later, Merlon sends Mario back to Fort Cobalt, as General Guy has called a meeting with his Shy Guys. At the meeting, General Guy is motioning a call to arms in case Shadhema comes back down to Prism Island. Seeing Mario, General Guy explains he’s busy arranging a naval-to-air strategy, and finds Mario’s unexpected entrance as rude as always. Nevertheless, he gives Mario a small Toy Tank, the one General Guy based his on when he was younger.

By the time Mario heads to Dark Bloo Inn’s Timespace Pod to test all these objects, he’s almost up to here with all these side activities. Regardless, the plumber looks between the three items he just got, as well as the Musketeer Feather he obtained a little while back. Soon, Mario decides to deal with the Feather and Toy Tank first.

The Musketeer Feather brings Mario and friends back to Redpepper Crater, facing with the strongest versions of Pitholl and Cucleer. Unlike when it actually happened, the duo are not possessed by Shroomsday in this incarnation of the battle. And man, does Mario regret leading himself to believe the late mushroom beast was better at being the Musketeers than they were, for the duo are much stronger when not controlled. Pulling their leaves and feathers again rewards Mario with the Musketeers Sabers Artifact, increasing damage against Musketeer enemies and bosses a little. Mario also obtains three copies of Pitholl and Cucleer’s cards.

Next, the Toy Tank recreates the second half of the battle with General Guy at Fort Cobalt, skipping over the Super Ludship in the process. It’s nothing to really write home about beyond greater health, power and defense. For Mario’s efforts fighting the enhanced past General Guy, a Toy Tank Wheel Artifact is the gang’s for the taking, doubling the card drop rates of Koopaling enemies and bosses.

Following that battle is the King’s Crown Replica, sending Mario and friends to the colorless version of Emerald Circus…and Sporepocalypse is looking right at them. Huey and Nya are baffled at the giant flower being their next EX opponent, but Mario doesn’t back down. Weirdly (or not), Roy is not recreated, meaning Mario and friends must fight Sporepocalypse fair and square. In turn, despite enhanced (or high to them) statistics, Sporepocalypse does not reheal himself or conjure a barrier, ensuring things stay clean. Finally weeding the time-keeping flower, Mario obtains a colored version of the King’s Crown Replica, doubling the card drop rates for enemies and bosses not affiliated with the Koopalings or Musketeers.

Last on the bonus boss bonanza is the Panic Amulet. Even if Mario has a huge hunch who this will summon and where, the plumber still takes the plunge into the pod anyways. And Mario was right- in the deepest areas of the dream world Subcon, on a platform near a weird vegetable machine, is the great and powerful Wart.

The large frog hits like a truck, his body slams dealing an insane amount of damage. The real crux of Wart’s battle style, though, floats in the form of his bubbles. Not only do they pack a little punch, but Wart sometimes uses his tongue to steal color from Mario and add it to the bubbles. Depending on the color, Mario can suffer a variety of side-effects, from burning, to poison, to shrinking, becoming dizzy, and other nasty surprises. And should Mario use enemy cards to call for backup, Wart’s bubbles can absorb them to become stronger when they hit Mario.

Hanging on by the edge of his nose-hairs, Mario once again ends up overthrowing the nightmare frog king. Such a monumental victory grants Mario an unusual Artifact in the form of the Nightmare Turnip. While it replenishes quite a chunk of Mario’s health, it drains a lot of paint to carry out this function. If Mario runs out of paint, he takes a high amount of damage each turn instead, creating quite a risk and reward situation.

Again, the gang make one last sweep of Port Prisma and Prism Island just to make sure there's nothing left to do. Near the Rescue Squad HQ, where Gulliv T used to stand, is a female Lakitu with anime eyes and fake cuts. The girl cheerfully introduces herself as Lakishima. The girlfriend of Lakitaku, Lakishima knows all about Deep Cuts, or optional Cut-Out Zones. For a price, the fangirl informs Mario and Huey on any Cut-Out Zones they missed.

Armed with these locations, our heroes manically run back and forth to past locations to find these spots, sometimes finding Il Piantissimo once more. Eventually, all the Cut-Out Zones are found, rewarding quite the coin shower.

Now that they've done everything important and noteworthy on Prism Island, there was only one thing left for them to do: Get to Bowser Jr.'s Castle and save not only Princess Peach, but the Shadema-poessessed Kertsi as well. 

After Mario and his friends made their preperations for the final battle, they headed towards Port Prisma and they were geared to jog up that rainbow road to the fortress. But when they try to climb up the rainbow, they slipped and fell back to the ground. Neither Kidd nor Toadsworth can make much progress, either. A nearby Lakitu offers to fly the gang up, but when he approaches the Koopalings' Castle, the building seems to emit a cold gas just to deal with aerial invaders, chilling his cloud into an icicle and causing him to plummet below. Huey becomes distressed, the rainbow too slippery for anyone to walk on. Before Huey can grow more upset, Edwin calms his buddy down, confident there has to be a way.

The sound of a kart engine revving up fills the Prisma Fountain area. Suddenly, Luigi drives in on a green Standard L, with Daisy and Nabana in the back seat. His friends introduce themselves to Mario's partners, while Luigi fills Mario in on the treasure they found. Daisy guesses whoever sent her and Luigi letters did so in anticipation of their rainbow problem, while Nabana blusters of his own assistance and tutelage. For now, Luigi suggests Mario and his friends climb onto the kart so they can all save Princess Peach.

All of Mario's partners except Huey climb into his pocket. Luigi starts his engines...waits for the countdown...and GOES up the rainbow road!

After the kart leaves, Ellshe and Kitanu enter the scene. While Ellshe curses for being too late, Kitanu assures the Koopa he sort of recognizes Mario and the others will succeed and gather all four friends back together, whoever they are. Needless to say, Ellshe finds her "new friend" cool, yelling this sentiment for all to hear. The one friend she's most concerned for, however, is K-girl.

On the kart's way to the castle, Luigi and his allies hear what Mario's team experienced on Prism Island. The tale is interrupted as Daisy and Nabana see the floating castle straight ahead. Luigi adjusts his driving, not wanting to fall all the way down without the Lakitu they know with his special cloud to save them. 

Chapter 7-3: Storming Bowser Jr.'s Castle

"With the help of Luigi, Daisy and Nabana from their own adventurs, the Mario Bros. and all their friends are now heading straight for their final desination: Bowser Jr.'s Castle, The Hideout of both Bowser Jr., Koopalings and Motley. As well as the place where Princess Peach is being held prisoner. Not to mention the castle where Princess Shadema is So as the curtain rises upon the climax of Mario's Adventure, will Mario and his friends face the black-hearted princess and save her from herself?"

Our heroes arrive at the Koopalings' Castle. Shadhema's been busy, decorating the exterior with more stickers and graffiti. O'Chunks isn't impressed, claiming he's seen better castles. Meanwhile, Nabana finds something familiar about the stickers decorating the fort's walls. While Luigi got Mario and friends this far, though, he decides to stay behind with Daisy and Nabana for a quick get-away. Louis appreciates this, reminding Luigi to use his mean stare if anyone gives him trouble.

All of Mario's partners are pumped. Huey is eager to save Peach, O'Chunks concerned with saving Kersti, Edwin in stopping Shadhema, Sledge prepping his hammer to take back his boss' castle, and Marirana resolute to finish "understanding" people. Meanwhile, Nya is concentrating on ending the Eclipse Empire, Kidd obtaining the truth for curing her son, Toadsworth a little antsy in proving he can protect the princess, Robin in figuring out who shkle is and why shkle's here, and Louis to prove the team is all united. Seeing his allies so focused on their mission, Mario is motivated to lead the charge as they all enter the front door of the castle!

It’s hauntingly quiet inside the castle’s main hall. All over the walls and floors are black paint and rubble. And at the other side of the hall- a painting of a colorless Princess Peach! The sight abhors Toadsworth and O’Chunks, while Sledge ponders why the Musketeers would just leave it out for anyone to take.

A captive Princess is all the thrust Mario requires to know things have gotten real. (In fact, it’s the only thrust Gonzales needs, but that’s a whole other yarn.) Precise driving atop Toadsworth and mindless carnage from O’Chunks trump the obstacles inside the long hallway, bringing the troupe within arm’s reach of Peach’s portrait. Mario, Toadsworth, Sledge and O’Chunks are just about to grab the painting and bring it back to Luigi, when a trapdoor opens beneath the gang.

Tumbling in the darkness, Mario and his tough cohorts enter the basement of the castle with a thud. Huey gives Shadhema props for her craftiness, while Toadsworth is thankful the team isn’t surrounded by vagabonds. Someone unknown interjects, preferring the term “bad guys”.

Perry and, surprisingly, a bunch of normal Goomba spin in around the team. As Toadsworth chastises himself for assuming too much, Sledge recognizes Perry as “the self-serving coward”. No love is lost between the Sledge Bro and Goomba, Perry insinuating Sledge as a hypocrite for abandoning his causes before. The Goomba musketeer and his reunited brethren give Sledge no time to reply, for they rush towards Mario and co.

When the battle begins, Perry is primed to give Mario a taste of his own medicine regarding who’s stomped on. The Musketeer is also painfully obvious in how sore he is from Mario’s sneak attack at the beginning of the Paper Jam adventure.

Channeling this pain into power, Perry leads his conscripted Goomba “friends” in a relentless beatdown. Nothing seems to have changed in Perry’s offensive capabilities at first, still relying on the staple Multibonk. The same goes for the Goombas, barely giving it any effort in fighting.

Midway through the fight, Perry does change tactics. With Shadhema’s help, Perry remembered the art of forming a Goomba grid goliath, like how old Megasparkle used to lead him. Minus the lunacy, Perry and his eight brown buddies join together into a 3 by 3 goliath, increasing their power greatly.

Our heroes soon witness the unpredictability of Perry’s equally-divided creation. In addition to only taking half the damage, the Grid Goliath can temporarily detach Goombas and use a strange magic to throw them like shurikens. The disgruntled Goomba Musketeer also authorizes rolling out onto Mario and shifting forms into a living plane, keeping Mario off his toes.

Focusing their strength, Mario and friends come to damage the Grid Goliath enough to make it disassemble, exhausting Perry and the Goombas. Perry attempts to convince his “friends” to continue fighting alongside him, but sadly, none of them believe in his cause and start leaving. Among the departing Goombas is Perry’s pal Gary, who sees the Musketeer turncoat as having a real problem with loyalty at this point. The loss of all Perry’s friends outrages him, swearing revenge on Mario. Revenge he’ll never get, by the way, because Mario and pals outnumber the little dude and easily overpower him.

Trounced once more, Perry enters a mental breakdown, upset trying to start over only made his friends hate him more. He starts bawling, and Mario’s friends can’t help but pity the poor shroom. Soon, Edwin speaks up, and teaches Perry if one just joins a cause for power- or wealth, as Edwin did- they end up in a worse situation than before. Edwin retrieves two coins out of his bag, giving them to Perry so he can buy a sense of loyalty. In the end, it’s loyalty that molds one into a valued fighter.

Perry is moved by Edwin’s speech, and the Slurple looks to his own friends to verify what he’s learned. In addition, Sledge finishes what he was trying to explain earlier, that you can still earnestly help one’s “enemies” if you remember where your loyalties lay.  Taking both these pieces of advices into account, Perry renounces his loyalty to the Musketeers, and swears unending loyalty to Bowser’s Army, the Koopa Troop. To prove he’s serious, Perry takes off his hat and shakes his head to remove his fake beard. The eyebrows are real, though, so he’ll have to wait to regrow those.

Following Perry’s wardrobe change, Toadsworth politely asks for Peach’s portrait back. Complications arise, though, when Perry hasn’t the foggiest on what Toadsworth’s talking about, nor Edwin’s clarification of the Princess’ portrait a floor above. Even then, Perry insists he hasn’t seen Peach in the castle at all, before rushing off to find his friends. The reformed Goomba runs towards the opening into the factory. Huey’s eye shrink in fear, for he has a sinking feeling who created the mess upstairs…

The gang arrives in the castle’s basement. In contrast to the Koopa Clan’s other castles, the basement here is one giant paint factory, strewn with buckets ranging from small to machine-sized. Edwin and Huey’s eyes are soon drawn to some Shy Guys carrying buckets on a conveyor belt, acting like mindless pawns. The sight is the sixth creepiest thing Edwin has ever seen, and the Slurple garners whatever’s in the next room isn’t going to be pleasant. What befuddles Huey most is the lack of Musketeers in the immediate vicinity.

Under the stairs is a lone Shy Guy, hiding from the Musketeers and other invaders. He admits it’s not a good plan, but it’s the only one he’s got. The masked minion soon prays for General Guy to show.

Within the room are several Musketeer minions, such as Lepbellers, Blue Paratroopas, Dark Boosketeers and Broozers. The only Koopa minions still fighting are the classic Koopatrols from Mario’s previous epic adventures. However, their power and defense doesn’t provide them the endurance to fend off both Mario and the numerous Musketeers.

An idea crosses Mario and Huey’s minds- what if they got on the belt themselves and infiltrated the next room like a snake of various physical states? Louis gives the duo the Leap up onto the belt, and Mario holds Huey above him. Despite the Shy Guy at the security desk recognizing Mario, the threat of the Musketeers holds enough sway for him to give our heroes a pass.

Nothing could prepare the red caravan for what awaits in the next room- several giant buckets holding at least a small ocean’s worth of black paint. The nightmare is heightened as the demonic concoction is poured into an ever-growing arsenal of Black Banzai Bills, increasing their killing power greatly. Huey is, of course, alert to the sheer damage such a large amount of this ammo could inflict upon the world, while taking a guess why manufacturing is still continuing.

The fellowship of the colors finally gets off the conveyor belt, mulling over the best course of action. During the course of deciding what to do to stop this project, the team slide down a flagpole, filling Louis with a mistimed sense of old-school hijinx. Louis, regretting such feelings in the face of the black paint, excuses himself as just trying to keep hope up, like the Big Bob-ombs held behind the thick fences. Once Huey takes a look at the enlarged explosives, Huey claims Louis a genius! The bucket explains this- by igniting the big bombs, they might be strong enough to destroy the black paint tank. Everyone, including Louis himself, is completely on-board with the plan.

Proceeding deeper into the factory is complicated by a few things. One, there’s several boxes placed in the most obstructive way possible, requiring O’Chunks to demolish them. Also present are a few poles and spiked floor traps, giving Edwin and Toadsworth some hero time.

The other hindrance to progress further is an enhanced set of the Shroom enemies, safely patrolling away from the black paint. Slugshrooms are succeeded by Wormshrooms, Carrishrooms improved into Chassishrooms, and Monstrooms evolved into Beastshrooms. The higher stats make them stronger- but not invincible.

Soon, our role models arrive at the bottom of the factory, where the bulk of Big Bob-ombs are stored. Perry and the other Goombas are waiting for Mario. When Red arrives, Perry lets Mario know the Goombas are off to evacuate remaining Koopa Clan personal- meanwhile, Aace is just ahead. The Goombas proceed to go warn their friends, while Perry warns Mario the other Boosketeers respect Aace a lot.

Mario heeds this warning, hitting a nearby Save Block to record his life story up to this point. The team head further in- but Aace is nowhere to be seen. The no-show angers Edwin, and starts to second-guess Perry’s intentions. However, Perry ends up not being a liar, as Aace appears from behind Mario, still bummed out.

Since he’s never met Aace before, Toadsworth guesses the Boo must be the group’s leader. But the talk with Aace isn’t filled with some grand speech or philosophical perspective- instead, Aace is greatly disheartened how all his efforts just brought back more problems than they solved. The ghostly swords master curses himself for thinking Shadhema would change, chalking it up to nostalgia.

Toadsworth sees a bit of himself in Aace, and empathizes with him on their female rulers not always listening. While the mushroom retainer does wish Peach would listen more, he knows she has a good heart with the alternatives she takes. What Toadsworth is trying to say is Shadhema may still have a kernel of goodness in her, too.

It is with regret that Aace can’t agree on that last point, for Shadhema hasn’t shown any innate goodness since she woke. Yet there’s something that saddens Aace even more- he still care a lot about his student! Pointing his saber at Mario and friends, Aace declares if they want to duel against Shadhema, they have to prove themselves against himself first. And this time, he means business, too. As he promises to fight to the last whisker despite Toadsworth driving the Blight King’s invention.

Right as the battle starts, Aace turns invisible again while vowing to go all out. Annoyed, Marirana gives Mario a reminder of her timely assistance from their previous battle with the phantom blade leader. Mario does so, switching between Marirana and his other partners during an enhanced repeat of the first bout.

When Aace reaches a third of his life, he rebuffs the idea of losing now- falling otherwise would leave Mario and friends unprepared to deal with Shadhema. Aace resorts to use the ancient Boo technique, loudly summoning 45 of his Boosketeers. At their leader’s command, the Boosketeers converge on Aace. Soon, a large version of Aace, known as Aacelossus, is formed. The gestalt ghoul pressures our heroes if they can’t defeat this technique, they can’t defeat the Eclipse Princess.

Similar to the shiny enemies and the Goomba Grid Goliath, Aacelossus shrugs off half the damage he takes. In turn, he can spook like a normal Boo and body slam with a touch of poison. Most important, Aacelossus can suck in the air one turn, then fire a barrage of all his comrades on Mario. Depending on how well Mario blocks, Aace still demonstrates grace and eloquence in motivating his foes, or critiquing them if they lag too much.

Things don’t look too good for Mario, his health waning and running low on Mushrooms. To delay Aacelossus, Mario utilizes a Spiked Helmet card in the hopes the ghoul will come in close. Mario should get a ton of lottery tickets for that choice, because Aacelossus does indeed try another body slam. Not only does it prick the combined specter, but it also starts cracking apart the Aacelossus. Breathing a sigh of triumph for his ingenuity, Mario follows up with two other sharp cards on his next turn, and it breaks Aacelossus back into just Aace. The instructor commends Mario for breaking apart the form, despite clearly not able to take much more.

After the battle, Aace is astonished how Mario and his squad outdid the Musketeers at every step of the way. He considers Mario’s excellent leadership as the reason Shroomsday’s agents transformed and teleported the decolored Postmaster Pesshi to Peach. Nevertheless, Aace forewarns the team of Shadhema’s mastery over the saber, alongside her unfathomable power. With his last wavering words, Aace asks one last favor for Mario- to destroy the black-hearted paint factory, to stop Splotchleek, to save Shadhema from herself, and most importantly of all: to tell everyone how so sorry Aace is. The rest- is a ghostly implosion, the only thing left was Aace’s Journal.

Even in light of the trials the Musketeers put Prism Island through, Huey feels sorry for Aace. The bucket’s also concerned Aace meeting his demise despite Mario and friends battling the same as ever. One possibility is raised by Edwin- Aace still didn’t have it in him to go against Shadhema, and just wanted to vanish. The still young Slurple doesn’t know if Aace was cowardly to still face his fear, or smart to not pick a fight with the Eclipse Princess. All Mario and Huey agree with Aace on is the factory needing to go, as the first step to finishing this.

O’Chunks is able to destroy a weaker fence near one of the Big Bob-ombs, allowing easy access. There’s just one problem- the gang have nothing to light it with. However, knowing the conveyer lines were carrying Bob-ombs across the room. O'Chunks decides to  The next thing Mario knows, he and the others are sent flying in the air, caused by the chain reactions of Bob-ombs exPLOOOOOODing!

Their problems with the black paint are just beginning, for the factory starts rumbling and the vile substance begins flooding the room. Adrenaline surges through Kidd, calling for Mario and the others to hustle out of here while thrown aback at how much black paint there is.

The race is on, Kidd carrying Mario while the facility around them drowns in villainous black goo. Amid the carnage, several Koopalings, Musketeers and Shroom minions are consumed by the black paint. Though the Koopalings and Musketeers merely drown, the Shrooms start burning up the instant they make contact with the poisonous mixture- your guess which is worse.

Up ahead is a long storage hall with a Save Block. Huey, Kidd and O’Chunks catch their breath, and O’Chunks outright states he never wants to see another drop of black paint again.

As Mario and company proceed past the Save Block, an increasingly unstable dark voice speaks up, insisting the team not leave without a little black paint. Then and there, the dangeorus infectent pours and bursts in the door the team just entered from- more running! Sometimes, Mario needs O’Chunks to destroy large wreckage blocking the way to salvation. In the nick of time, our heroes find a Warp Pipe back up to the first floor, just as the Black Paint covers the entire hallway.

Perry and his fellow Goombas are discussing various minutiae when they feel the rumbling beneath them. Fortunately for them, Mario and Huey arrive to explain what happened. As Huey mistakes one Goomba for Perry, he and Mario notice the hallway is no longer covered in black paint. Even worse, Peach’s portrait is gone. Again, Perry assures the duo he didn’t see a picture of Peach when he arrived.

…But while he and the other Goombas were waiting in the basement for the ambush, they heard strange voices. Gary even remembers what they were discussing- “the gift of black paint”. Huey looks terrified, the Goombas continuing the voices sounded like the Koopalings, yet they all shared the same mind.

Regardless of what other danger is present, the Goombas definitely don’t want to stick around for Shadhema. Perry advises Mario to prepare himself for the final battle, as well as tell the Koopalings that Perry said “hi”. The reconverted Goomba and his comrades leave out the front door.

Pulling a nearby rope removes the wall, revealing the door into the next room. What insidious brain-busting puzzle awaits the gang in there? What cardiac-arresting beast could threaten Mario and friends before they face Shadhema? What airborne nonsense might-

Oh, wait... it’s just a normal room with a bent path like a bridge leading to a big door with some blocks for items and a block for saving. Fair enough.

As Mario and co cross the bridge, Huey is compelled to say something to all his friends. This one sentence draws everyone to their possibly-steel sidekick, hanging on Huey’s every word. Huey becomes nervous at so many eyes, and almost calls off what he intended to explain. However, Kidd’s simple peer pressure entices Huey to reconsider and state his business now.

Taking a deep breath, Huey is confident they’ve all gotten to know each other pretty well, or at least appreciate in Robin’s case. Ever since Mario’s rude awakening, the team’s been through good times and bad times in various ways. But no matter what, none of the party gave up on Huey or on finding Starmageddon’s Grand Paint Stars, even when Huey felt the situation was beyond his ability.

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Brimming with joy, Huey thanks his friends. Nya, Louis, and O’Chunks all return the favor. Meanwhile, Robin is also supportive, wishing shkle got here earlier to spend more time with Mario and Huey. It’s Huey’s comment of always being grateful for their friendships that get the waterworks going. Edwin, Toadsworth, Sledge, Marirana and Kidd choke up on Huey’s big, hopeful heart.

Now that his friends know how he feels, Huey can face his perhaps-known future, and motions the gang towards the final battles with Shadhema, Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings.

…As well as someone else Huey unwittingly suspects.

Chapter 7-4 (The Final Chapter): A Blacken-Barred Battle

"This is it! Now knowing of the Koopalings' plan with the dangerously fatal black paint, Mario and his friends knew what they had to do: Defeat Princess Shadema, thwart Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings' plans for the black paint and save Princess Peach. However, they would soon be facing one last enemy, an enemy whom Huey suspects. As our heroes enter the final door, entering the throne room, would peace be restored to Prism Island? The final battles would decide the fates of both the island the entire Mushroom World in the final act of Mario's Adventure."

Within the final chamber, darkness greets Mario and the others. When Mario steps forward, however, the torches all ignite. Up ahead is none other than Shadhema! Shadhema is more bemused than angered with the team’s arrival at the castle. Rather, she’s more disappointed with Aace and the Musketeers unable to fulfill the simple task of fending off Mario.

Kidd takes the chance to request Shadhema give some of her hair for the awakening potion. Though Shadhema recognizes Kidd as Billy’s mom- who Aace filled her in on- she cares little for the suffering of others.

The mention of the spectral leader props Toadsworth to deliver the sad news on Aace’s demise. But he’s interrupted when Shadhema mistakes the elderly Toad for Starmageddon. Toadsworth correcting the mistake sends Shadhema for a loop, unable to consider someone else in the driver’s seat.

Nya and Huey get the conversation refocused- the Koopalings’ bomb factory has been destroyed, so all Shadhema has to do is surrender. In addition, Huey decides they’ll draw a nice sponge bath so Shadhema can clean up her act. Unfortunately, Shadhema feels insulted at the sheer audacity of the Mario team’s actions and requests. Summoning her two blades, Shadhema demands the gang bow before the Eclipse Princess, and soon-to-be ruler of the world.

The beginning of the fight is alike to when the team battled Shadhema in Port Prisma. The only change is Mario and friends are no longer holding back, acknowledging they can’t afford to jinx their jumps or botch their blows. Enduring the jabs of Shadhema’s saber thrusts, our heroes manage to reduce enough of Shadhema’s life for her to try the Megasparkle reversal strategy again. Fortunately for team red, the Luma Sponge prevents Shadhema’s shiny gift from being inverted, and she dispels the cursed protection she granted.

As Shadhema turns unfocused from her strategy being thwarted, Huey tries to appeal to “Kersti” by reminding her of the detective agency they talked about. Instead, Shadhema is furthered enraged being called by what she hears as Shroomsday’s real name, and yells that no-one knows anything about her. The one bright spot in this tirade is Shadhema finding the idea of an agency quaint.

In the following turns of battle, Shadhema increases the variety of her powers with extra moves. She starts using her hair as a whip, summons the stronger Shroom enemies, and raises her sword to give herself two moves the next turn. The addition of powerful attacks and more opportunities to use them keeps Mario and allies out of any comfort zone for too long.

At the halfway point, Shadhema’s moveset becomes larger, for she begins using the ability to change between different forms. She glows white, then changes to her space form and time form. On top of all her other attacks, the Eclipse Princess utilizes a different dimensional distortion- a super strong space boom, or a weak but multi-hit time boom.

Mario and friends still manage to reduce Shadhema’s vitality to the home stretch, forcing her to use one of Starmageddon’s ancient techniques. Shadhema opens up 3 timespace holes, and 3 meteors of increasing size emerge. As the Princess sees the move as changing from a cavalier to a comet, thoughts of the Sticker Comet appear to surface in Her Majesty. Finally, Shadhema decides she’ll no longer let these images bother her, holding Mario responsible. She also steadfast wanting to eradicate the plumber’s mustache- though she may keep his hat as a souvenir.

Today on “Obvious Facts You Don’t Need a Scientist For”, a meteor dropping on one’s head hurts immensely. Mario learns such a captain duh facet of life as the meteors fall from the sky above, and there’s little he can do. Even as Mario comes to understand how Draggadon felt the same, he still fights through the pain, unleashing various card combos and Mega class cards upon the unwieldy girl before finally emerging victorious. And that was another “Obvious Facts You Don’t Need a Scientist For”.

Greatly weakened, Shadhema can’t comprehend losing even though she’s the strongest in the world- even if Nabana says otherwise. Immediately, Shadhema covers her mouth at Nabana’s name, now starting to suspect there’s holes in her memories. The Princess’ time collecting herself is cut short, for she falls to the ground, fainting.

Chapter 7 Part 2

None of Mario’s friends can believe it- they managed the impossible and defeated Shadhema/Kersti! Still antsy for some reason, Huey encourages Mario to hurry and bring the Princess to Luigi before something happens. For Kidd, the rogue Vellbex finds elation, her dream of curing Billy within hoof’s distance.

Just when Mario is about to pick Shadhema up, however, who else drops in but the Koopalings, Bowser Junior and a much braver Motley. As Huey feared, the entirety of Koopa leadership and the Koopa Kids are now covered in black paint. It’s not just any black paint either- when the Black Koopa Clan all congratulate Mario for destroying most of their enemies, Huey is quick to call the collective by another name, the Black Paint Spirit, Splotchleek.

Black Lemmy- or more accurately, Splotchleek speaking through Lemmy- gives Huey a round of applause for paying attention to the entity really in control. Black Larry “interjects”, Splotchleek channeling Larry’s appetite into creating a blob of black paint. The blob then picks up and swallows Shadhema. Savoring the taste, Black Larry comments Shadhema will keep Peach company.

Toadsworth’s temper rises at the mention of Splotchleek having captured Peach, but the Black Motley isn’t threatened by the metal-riding mushroom. More worrisome is Black Junior’s excitement sharing the black paint with everyone, even if it leads to another Eclipse War that could possibly end the world if it could. The possessed Prince is looking forward to baiting so many powerful foes, if only to infect and spread further throughout the multiverse. For now, the Koopa Clan decides to drown the heroes in black paint. Black Morton, Iggy and Ludwig stand their ground, while the other six Koopas hop into the black blob.

It’s a bizarre battle against Splotchleek’s Black Koopa All-Stars. With so many foes, Mario and his partners plan their attacks more carefully, in a bid to take all the active Koopaling’s out at the same time. From what our heroes observe, the Koopalings only use three attacks each- wand blast, shell shot, and their unique move. Since Splotchleek has to control so many victims, their power isn’t as high as previous encounters, to say nothing of their EX counterparts. In exchange, every time Mario and friends’ attacks connect with a Black Koopaling, some black paint splatters off them.

Regardless, there’s only so much damage Mario can take before he considers calling allied enemies. Seeing it only fitting for Splotchleek to symbolically meet its end by its progenitor, Mario summons a Beastshroom to inflict major pain. This ends up the definition of a bad idea, for when the Beastshroom launches its claw at Morton, not only does Morton receive no damage- the Beastshroom instead takes quadruple the damage it may have inflicted, enough to knock itself out. Following this disastrous attempt at backup, Huey reminds Mario that Shroomsday couldn’t even touch the black paint, making the deceased disease’s minions useless against Splotchleek. Instead, Mario falls back on Musketeer and Koopaling-allied cards. To Mario’s relief, the Koopalings’ new allegiance means their former henchmen can attack them without a power loss.

Over the course of the conflict, Mario is able to remove all the black paint off each Koopaling. As soon as this happens, Splotchleek pulls them back into the black blob and replaces them with the next combatant. Once Morton falls, Wendy is compelled to join Iggy and Ludwig. The battle becomes more energetic once Iggy falls and Roy tags in, then Ludwig conducts his last symphony and leads to Larry joining, followed by Lemmy.

Dealing with all the Koopalings’ antics leaves Mario and friends with only two combatants, Black Junior and Black Motley. As much as Mario understands the blues filling Junior not able to see his other dimensional counterpart, or Motley’s mixed loyalty defending the former, he and the others still must fight the duo to put a lid on Splotchleek for good.

While Junior goes down too, Motley is able to survive with the tiniest sliver of health. Enough black paint has been knocked off Motley, allowing him to gain control over himself. Meek once more, Motley sees Mario and worries how Junior is going to react with the plumber in here, likely blaming the clown. Unfortunately, just as Motley remembers how he got here, Splotchleek drops the act and just grabs the clown against his will.

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The blob of paint changes shape. Soon enough, it reforms into a black version of Motley’s Bossblob form. Splotchleek Bossblob makes a cruddy attempt to trick Mario and the others into thinking it’s still Motley, but they’re just as attentive as they ought to be. All the attention in the world can’t change how mad Splotchleek Bossblob is.

Mario and the gang are undeterred, continuing the assault. The giant clown blob keeps firing black orb blasts and hammering the heroes, but they’re sure they can win this.

That is, until Splotchleek Bossblob merely recalls all the black paint the gang knocked off the harmful harlequin after its own attack, rendering normal combat useless. Kidd takes extreme notice of the unwinnable situation they’re in. Alongside this observation, Louis posits Splotchleek’s nature is why the Royal Family had such a tough time dealing with the abomination, something Robin compares to as a living corpse.

It’s Marirana who thinks instead of fighting Splotchleek, the big dark demon has to be contained into something, somehow. The Beepboxer’s words gives Huey a radical idea, but he needs to return to full power. Mario is unsure of how- until he remembers while Shroomsday’s essence came from all over the world just to free Shadhema and while Mario was marked, it dawns on the plumber nothing came out of him. On a hunch, Mario reaches deep inside himself, before a purple energy emits from him. Successful, Mario uses this energy to reverse the dimensions around Huey to restore the bucket’s “shape”- though it turns Huey into a card as well.

However, when Mario tries to use the Huey card, Splotchleek opens his right hand. As Huey’s card is spinning in place, it’s frozen in a barrier of time.

Mario and his friends look traumatized, and especially angers Edwin, demanding to know what Splotchleek did to Huey. The giant pulsating clown explains it borrowed some of the Eclipse Princess’ power. Then, it proceeds to reveal the other purposes of Shroomsday and Sporepocalypse’s creations- not just to expedite the strange primal goo the King and Queen used to create Shadhema, but also to be her equals in power. What Splotchleek is trying to explain- it has Sporepocalypse’s control over time, AS WELL AS SHROOMSDAY’S MASTERY OF SPACE!

As a demonstration, Splotchleek Bossblob opens his left hand. A spatial hole appears in front of Splotchleek. With great force, it sucks Edwin, Louis, Marirana, Nya, Kidd, Sledge and O’Chunks towards it! Scared for their lives, they initially try holding onto Toadsworth. Soon, they realize the futility and let go, attempting to block off the hole. The seven partners are sucked into Splotchleek Bossblob, and the clown closes his hand.

With only Toadsworth and Robin still on his side, Mario is at a loss of what to do. Thankfully, Robin encourages Mario stay focused, by faintly recalling someone once told shklim “a leader should always be at the top of their game”. Toadsworth agrees with Robin, also emphasizing Huey holds the key to Splotchleek’s defeat. To try and help Mario, Toadsworth decides to look in the car’s enclosed instruction while the plumber and tactician keep Splotchleek occupied.

Toadsworth’s request ends up a tall order- now Splotchleek Bossblob is using the full power of spacetime! Imbuing his punches with both scientific elements and slowing down space as well as freezing time ensures it’s Mario and Robin who are occupied. Worst of all, with Huey frozen in time, Mario is unable to apply Paint on his cards, making them one use.

After a few turns, Splotchleek reaches for Mario with his left arm. Not wanting his friend to share the other partners’ fate, Robin gets in the way. To shklis own surprise, Robin conjures up a Flametongue breath burning the vile mass’ hand. Quickly, Splotchleek grabs Robin with the right hand, inspecting shklim, before coming to terms what power sleeps within the cloaked brainiac. The giant clown absorbs Robin into itself, chortling on this gift from the dimension of tactics. Over the next few turns, though, it’s evident the Flametongue breath greatly weakened Splotchleek’s offense to four-fifths of its power.

Eventually, Splotchleek grows weary for the conflict, and is about to grab Mario again with his right hand. It’s not going too well for Toadsworth, either, the instruction booklet for his car written in some ancient language. The elderly Toad, knowing Mario, Huey, Peach and the entire world are counting on him, desperately prays to the stars for help to save his friends.

Defying all expectation, the quiet laugh of a certain star princess is head, and something glows under Toadsworth’s helmet. Suddenly, Toadsworth’s car changes shape, from a go kart to a mechsuit! Filled with more confidence than ever before, Toadsworth announces his own role as vassal of the Mushroom Kingdom’s Princess Toadstool, watching over Peach since she was a child, and view her friends go on adventures. Toadsworth aims his arms at Splotchleek Bossblob, flat out telling the villain it’s going to let the mech-pilot’s friends go!

Giving his foe no chance to respond, Toadsworth fires a white substance from his brushes at Splotchleek. Amazingly, this hurts the clown even more than Robin, freeing Mario’s partners as well as dispelling the barrier around Huey! Splotchleek Bossblob recoils in anguish, the liquids of egg whites destabilizing the nightmarish mass of unliving black paint. While that’s going on, Kidd, Louis, O’Chunks, Sledge and Robin credit Toadsworth with rescuing them.

Even better, Nya brings everyone’s attention to time flowing normally around Huey’s card again. Huey’s card finishes spinning, and he emerges with full form!

Huey thanks Mario and Toadsworth, then checks himself out. He feels kind of heavy, but also strong. However, Huey’s plan with his new form is rather risky- he wants Mario to use the bucket as a shield to block Splotchleek’s attacks. Rightfully caring, Edwin tries to dissuade Huey from putting himself in danger, but Huey tells Edwin not to worry- again, he feels stronger than ever right now! Anyways, what Huey wants from Mario is to hit Splotchleek Bossblob as usual. Then, when the fake Bossblob attacks, Mario blocks the imitation jester- in that moment, Huey will open up and use his power to suck any loose black paint in, ensuring Splotchleek stays injured! Marirana squees at Huey’s strategy- it’s perfect!

The gang test out this theory, however unwilling they are to let Huey take the brunt of attacks. It works out great, exactly as Huey expected. Making this even better, Splotchleek Bossblob hasn’t fully recovered from Robin’s unexplained spell, so Huey can take even more damage than usual! That said, Mario and Edwin are well aware that no matter how sure Huey is of his durability, he’s still taking a lot of damage. The self-sacrifice of their friend versus his mortality provides the gang ample reason to fight and block as hard and accurately as possible, to stop the possible torture on their friend.

In a stroke of cursed luck, Splotchleek resorts to a last-ditch final breath move at only one-fifth of its remaining “life”. The remaining bits of Splotchleek form into a miniature Bossblob, freeing the trapped Koopalings, Bowser Jr. …as well as the portrait of colorless Peach! The mini-Bossblob then jumps high, intending to land on Mario.

Timing his block perfectly, Splotchleek’s final resort ends up the eldritch being’s undoing, and Huey sucks the last of Splotty in. The last words Splotchleek screams as it connects with Huey… “NOOOO! I needed you…Eclipse Princess…for the starry seal…”

Despite Splotchleek’s rage, Huey closes, and Splotchleek’s a splot in a cage.

Mario and friends are exhausted, defeating one of the most intoxicating villains the plumber has ever faced. Eventually, he regains his breath, and delivers hammer blows on the Koopa leaders. He sends them all flying, the nine Koopas conscious enough to say goodbye to Mario as they’re all hit. Ludwig also notes to himself that neither he nor Bowser Jr. or any of the Koopalings would ever mess with black paint anymore. Most gracious of all, Junior rues not listening to Motley, while the clown thanks Mario for freeing them.

With every single bad guy or morally ambiguous foe finally gone, everyone jumps for joy at the immense task they all accomplished. From within Huey, Splotchleek takes on the bucket head’s personality and does its best to persuade freeing it by offering black licorice. Thankfully, no-one’s that stupid, with Kidd agitating the imprisoned entity over its idiocy.

All of a sudden, the castle starts rumbling. Shadhema drops from the ceiling, along with the blank painting of Peach. The castle continues violently shaking, and soon, black paint starts surfacing! Pretty quickly, Louis starts regretting his earlier idea, while Splotchleek lusts for its great creation to make its foes see error in sealing it.

Huey, not wanting to hear another word out of Splotchleek, shushes his prisoner- but he’s aware the castle’s not going to last much longer. To help his friends, O’Chunks picks up Shadhema with one arm and tells everyone he’ll get the Eclipse Princess out of here. The large general leaves, and a large pillar drops down.

First, Mario has to recolor Peach. Regaining consciousness, she notices not just Mario, Huey, and everyone who joined after Nya, but also Toadsworth in his mechsuit. There’s no time for Toadsworth to explain much- he tells the Princess they need to leave now! Peach actually listens to Toadsworth this time, healing everyone from the gauntlet they’d previously endured.

It’s rather fortunate for Mario and friends the Koopalings’ Castle is rather slow in its collapse, the team not wanting to consider what would happen if they so easily perished after an insane battle medley. In fact, the castle doesn’t give out until after they walk over its floors. However, a slow collapse is still a collapse.

Just before leaving the bent bridge room, a pile of wood almost falls on Mario, Peach and the others. In his mechsuit, Toadsworth moves in the way. He catches it, allowing his friends to sidestep- but the mechsuit can’t take this weight for much longer. Peach is grateful for Toadsworth’s save, and Toadsworth asserts he would give his cap for her. Also touched is Nya, who notices a way out of this.

Nya vanishes. Suddenly, Toadsworth vanishes from the mechsuit. Following that, Nya and Toadsworth reappear in front of the others. Eventually, the wood crushes P8R8D3, reducing it to junk.

While Toadsworth appreciates Nya rescuing him, he’s upset over the loss of the mechsuit- how can he prove himself to Peach now? Thankfully, Peach reveals not only did Toadsworth succeed- all she ever needed from him was his company. Toadsworth, validated at last, almost cries heartfelt tears. The castle rumbles once more, unfortunately, and Kidd emphasizes the team needs to hurry.

The entrance hall is in worse shape than when Mario’s alliance first entered. Kidd assists getting everyone out of there quickly, as they dodge all the falling wood and bricks.

Outside, Luigi, Daisy, Nabana, O’Chunks, Perry and the Goombas are all waiting. As Luigi and Daisy greet their main counterparts, Perry decides it’s time he and the other Goombas rolled out. Using their last bit of Shroomsday’s power, the Goombas combine into the Goomba Wheel, then quickly roll down the Rainbow Road.

There’s a bit of a problem, however- there’s not enough room on the kart for Shadhema and Peach! Even worse, Mario’s partner pocket doesn’t have space for both Princesses, preventing that cheat from working.

When all hope of full escape seems lost, Pitholl and Cucleer fly up to the castle, with Draggadon in toe! Draggadon respects the two Musketeers for the twenty Magma Burgers they gave him, but it’s so cold up here, the giant Toad-opposing dragon demands they hurry. In addition, Pitholl reveals they have Khairacles and General Guy on standby- everyone, regardless of alliance, is pitching in.

It’s then Pitholl notices Aace isn’t present. The lack of words from our heroes is all Pitholl and Cucleer need to know what happened. For once, the Pianta and Cucleer fall silent- even if Aace wasn’t completely honest, he did always try and make sure they were never in any real danger. …Except from the possession, but even then, they weren’t mind-controlled into jumping in lava.

To avoid digging too deep into their boss’ morality, Cucleer hastens Mario’s friends onto Draggadon. O’Chunks, Louis, Nya, Robin and Sledge all board the great dragon, carrying Shadhema. Seeing the Eclipse Princess, Nabana changes rides. In addition, as Kidd is aboard to climb on Draggadon, she gives Huey/”Tin Thing” a smooch, wishing him good luck.

When Draggadon notices Shadhema on-board, he almost loses his temper. It’s only thanks to Kidd that Draggadon stays his vengeance- for now. The treasure guarding dragon also feels something odd about Robin, but shakes it off. The immense reptile flies back down to the Mushroom World, and the Musketeers follow suit.

Suddenly, another shake occurs- the Rainbow Road is detaching from the castle! With the freed capacity, Toadsworth, Edwin and Marirana are able to climb onto the Standard L. Mario finally jumps across. All that’s left is for Huey to board, and everyone can say goodbye to this mess for good.

However... Huey does not board.

Instead, Huey decides to stay behind. As he painfully explains, when the castle collapses, all the black paint is going to fall out and engulf a large amount of the planet. Huey can’t let that happen, for it’s part of the function Starmageddon built him for. At last, Huey reveals he figured out what his purpose truly is- not to recover the Paint Stars like he suspected, or restart the world as the Blight King eventually sought. This whole time, Huey’s purpose has been to destroy Splotchleek and the black paint.

The road begins breaking apart. There’s no time left, as Huey demands his friends leave now. He promises he’ll be right behind them, especially as he can fly- he just needs to clean this mess first. Marirana is shocked at what Huey intends to do, but it’s Edwin who doesn’t want to lose a brot- another friend. Frantic, Edwin begs Mario or Luigi to say something. Instead, the two brothers know Huey’s right. Luigi drives off with Mario and the gang, while Edwin screams Huey’s name.

After our heroes leave, Splotchleek gets under Huey’s finish- it’s aware Huey has no intention of following them, calling him a coward. This angers Huey, both at Splotchleek’s accusation, and himself needing to lie for the greater good. Huey flies under the Koopalings’ Castle, opening himself up. Despite Splotchleek’s doubts, Huey calls upon the Grand Paint Stars to grant him the SQUEEZE ability.

The castle starts dripping all its paint, being sucked into Huey. Once the bucket is finished, the castle becomes small and Chrome, floating downward.

With the castle gone, the Rainbow Road crumbles. This knocks the Standard L, its passengers, and the Goombas up ahead off. All in mid-air, Mario & Toadsworth, Luigi and Edwin go catch Peach, Daisy and Marirana respectively. Just before they meet their doom, Mario, his group and the kart are caught mid-air by Khairacles, acting as a safety net on Cucleer’s orders.

Far away, Perry and his Goombas almost fall to their doom- until they land inside a bouncy spring. Confused at first, the nine Goombas realize they landed on a large life raft, commandeered by General Guy and the remaining Shy Guys. The white masked General wants a full report from Perry on what happened, as the life raft collective sails away from Prism Island.

Back with Mario and friends, Khairacles lands in Port Prisma. Around Prisma Fountain, many of the people Mario encountered are gathered. Khairacles gently places Mario and his close pals in front of Prisma Fountain, asking they remember to vote for the big ape at Emerald Circus. The large monkey runs off. Also taking their leave is Draggadon, watching from the skies in case Shadhema tries something.

Once Mario and Peach get comfortable, Nastasia lets them know she gathered everyone to make sure the team made it back safely, thanking them for everything they did.

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The Chrome Koopalings’ Castle Artifact floats into the Port town, and Mario collects it. The tiny colorless building stuns Merlon as to its nature. Just then, Merluvlee slowly contemplates who was responsible for squeezing the color out…

High in the skies of Prism Island, Huey recollects himself over the titanic task he succeeded with. However, Splotchleek not only reminds the guardian of its continuing existence- the unknowable being threatens Huey once it breaks out, it’ll resume covering the world in black paint and-

Tired of Splotchleek, Huey decides on a valiant course of action. He’ll take Splotchleek and the black paint far away from the Mushroom World, so it can never hurt anyone ever again. And unlike Merluvlee, Huey affirms he’s not coming back. The matter is settled, and Huey flies deep into space with an annoyed imprisoned Splotchleek.

Back in Port Prisma, Shadhema wakes up, upset. She begins rattling off a series of questions, desiring to blast everyone around her until she gets answers. Before Shadhema can unleash her renewed power, though, Ellshe speaks up and reminds “K-girl” that Mario and his team just lost their friend.

The name “K-girl” is enough to stay Shadhema’s hand, and she recognizes Ellshe. Soon, Nabana and Kitanu arrive, and they proceed to further jog Shadhema’s mind on her history as Kersti. The string of yarn is pulled, and thanks to her friends, Shadhema starts remembering more and more of her Sticker Fairy existence, including her favorite subject- how paper fares in jungles.

Most important, Shadhema now starts to understand how bossy she used to be as Kersti, as well as her current/”past” behaviour. Orion takes this chance to apologize for Prism Island’s ancient ancestors not finding a more peaceful solution than sealing her in a coffin. To everyone’s surprise, Shadhema takes the blame, admitting if she weren’t playing so recklessly near the fountain, the Eclipse war would never have happened.

Rather than anyone rubbing it in, Kitanu brings up the bright side in all this. Despite the tragic events that followed the day at Prism Fountain, a series of positive changes ensued. Of these changes was Shadhema gaining new friends, a new home, and travelling with a respected hero, Mario. Thanks to her friends’ encouraging approach and the sight of Mario, it finally comes back to Shadhema that Mario has saved her several times now.

Happy for her friend, Ellshe reiterates how while things were bad at first, they became better. Nevertheless, Shadhema should never forget who or what made her “her”.

All these words get Shadhema to reconsider her stance. She’s still going to blast everyone…but not with magic. Using her sorcery, Shadhema once again moves the paint out of Prisma Fountain. This time, instead of mixing the paint together, she merely levitates the individual colors over the entire plaza. Positioning it carefully, all the paint falls on everyone, and Shadhema calls for a paint fight!

A great paint brawl erupts! Everyone starts throwing the colored liquid at each other- Luigi at Mario, Marirana at Edwin, Nastasia and Robin at O’Chunks, Keirf and Sledge at Nabana… Pretty soon, the whole plaza’s a mess!

During the paint fight, Gulliv T gets a red paint ball in on Shadhema. Immediately, the fighting stops! There’s silence. Shadhema conjures up a huge ball of paint! …Before letting it drip enough to a safer small size and throwing. The paint fight resumes!

As they stand out for a bit, Catguru, Keirf and Kolorado brim at visiting the island now, if only to see this. Merlon even suggests they have their own version of Sticker Fest to celebrate in Port Prisma. The wizard gets the idea to call it Splatfest! …Though he thinks the name might need work.

Closing off this wonderful turn of events, Shadhema sees Leblaanc and Kidd she heard from Aace about their woes. Using her twin sabers, Shadhema cuts off not just a small amount of her own hair, but the entire length! Everyone thanks Shadhema for her turn towards the better, as Kitanu considers how this all started with a Color Splash.

Shadhema feels great being accepted by Prism Island’s people after so long. Turning to the sky, she also thanks Aace, Shroomsday, Sporepocalypse, Starmageddon, Huey, and even Mario for their help. They say if one were to look up that day, you would see those guys looking down in peace, and Mario jumping up.

Ending

Nighttime approaches. Everyone is celebrating!

Edwin is giving and receiving coins alongside a dancing Marirana and Suebelle.

Louis and Orion chat with Mawk and Pawk Hawk.

O’Chunks and Nastasia sit atop a square tree, with Nastasia close to O’Chunks.

Nya talks with Caapri, while Baabeaussa and Pirra T do likewise.

Kidd and Leblaanc are walking together…and Billy catches up, awake and happy! Enerr T joyously walks aside Billy.

Luigi and Daisy are hanging out with the relaxed Bakke T, Bella T, Chef Vinachio, and Keirf.

Sledge is juggling in front of some younger Rescue Squad members.

Robin watches from the east entrance, content, when shlke unexpectedly gets a headache. A blue portal with a six-eyed mark appears under shklim, taking Robin back likely to shklis own dimension. As Robin is drawn into the portal, the memories of Prism Island within shklim crack apart.

On the top veranda, Mario, Peach, Toadsworth and Shadhema are watching the festivities. Admiring their handiwork, Peach and Toadsworth are gleeful with the peace returning to Prism Island. Regardless, Toadsworth still misses his mechsuit. Sympathizing with the old Toad, Shadhema mentions it’s good to see everyone celebrate on her island before “we” head back to the Decal Lands. She then opens her ends, emitting red time energy, and cryptically assuring Toadsworth while the suit is gone, she’ll give him the gift of a little more time.

Peach is surprised Shadhema will continue doing Sticker Fest. Explaining herself, Shadhema lets Peach and the others know Merluvlee is putting her in charge of the celebration- therefore, Shadhema will pose as the Sticker Comet from now on. The Eclipse Princess demonstrates this, shifting between her Space and Time forms, before cycling to the look of the Sticker Comet. As one other surprise, Shadhema shifts back into Kersti, showing she can still take that look, before returning to her real form.

This prompts the obvious question from Toadsworth- will Shadhema and Merluvlee tell the inhabitants of theSticker Star Land the truth of their being? Shadhema confirms, and also elaborates she and Merluvlee will bring back everyone who wants to return to their homes. Relieved, Peach thanks Mario and Toadsworth, promising in front of her elderly vassal she’ll thank Mario’s partners too.

Everyone’s attention is drawn to the night horizon. Several of Shroomsday’s minions are flying in orbs, towards space. When Toadsworth inquires where they’re off to, Shadhema reveals she and Merluvlee found the remaining Shroom monsters a new home on a dark, uninhabited planet with the essential nutrients to their growth. The reason they’re being moved is since with Shroomsday/Cursedy gone, there’s no reason for his offspring to linger on the Mushroom World anymore.

Even after Shroomsday’s minions exit the atmosphere, though, Mario still looks towards the night sky. After a moment, Peach realizes Mario is thinking about Huey. Shadhema reflects on Mario’s feelings, until she arrives at the right choice of words…

“Even if I’m no longer coming here…

Even if he’s stuck with Splotchleek for awhile…

I know my detective buddy is watching over all of Prism Island…

I know he’s happy.”

“I can feel it.”

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Parade time! The next day, the inhabitants of Prism Island get together and build a flotilla of parade floats. Upon finishing, they lead and drive the floats around the island, for all to watch and admire. Princess also returns to give Orion a lift, and Louis runs after them. Some remaining Koopaling and Musketeer troops also help out with the parade. Out of a sense of obligation, the islanders even construct floats in the images of Aace, Shroomsday, Sporepocalypse and the Koopalings.

That said, as night approaches, Mario swears he can hear Kammy Koopa and Kamek somewhere, despite not seeing them on the island. In addition, for one brief moment, Mario swears he sees a shadow of Bowser and another oddly familiar face battling a large opponent. It, too, reminds Mario an awful lot of someone- in this case, Shroomsday, but stronger.

Equally as quick, Mario shakes off this feeling. He’s just imagining things- yeah, that’s it. All is as it should be, with him, Peach and Toadsworth waving from their boat-based float. Oh, and the sensation of several names scrolling upwards, possibly relevant to observers on another plane of existence.