Bleck and the three heroes had been climbing a grand, spectacular tree in search of the next Chaos Heart fragment. The hot, seething sunlight burned into their skin as they continued to climb, sweat dripping from their foreheads. The air somehow felt warmer than the air in Sarasaland, though it was heavier as well. The humidity made Peach's hair frizz slightly, though she didn't mind much. She tied it up with an elastic band so it could stay out of her face.

"I hate this," Prince Mario huffed as he started falling behind. "This is taking forever, and I can't stand the heat. There's a reason I never go to Sarasaland, you know!"

"If you used more of your arm strength you could get up faster," Bleck suggested cheerfully. The pixl was staying close to the prince, just to make sure no one got left behind.

Prince Mario shot the pixl a brief glare, then rolled his eyes.

"Awww, someone seems upset," King Boo teased, floating next to Mario and smirking as if his pain was amusing.

"Shut up," Prince Mario snapped back. "If you can just float, then why not take us to the top?!"

"Your suffering is fun to me," King Boo answered. "You know... this reminds me of a long-forgotten story of the vine-spirit! Have you heard the tale?"

"No, nor do I want to—"

"Oh, great! Well, once upon a time," King Boo started. "There was a young girl whose father had done the most cruel and heartless things to her mother. Seeing this, the young girl grew to fear men and their violence, so when she was forced into an arranged marriage with one of her father's friends, she ran to the woods, screaming 'I won't do it! You can't make me do it!' Her father gave chase after her, ready to drag the young girl, who was no older than fourteen, back by the ear when the lush and deep forest seemed to thicken. It grew so thick with vines and leaves that all he could sense from her was her echoing voice and the occasional moving shadows. Determined to find her, he started to climb, up through the vines. He climbed, higher and higher, pushing through all the ropes when he finally found her, sitting in the heart of the forest on a swing made of vines. He grinned and reached out for her when there was suddenly a snap, and the vines supporting him fell, but not before a few of the vines from above wrapped around his neck. It is said the vine spirit was the one to blame for his demise, and legend tells that the girl stayed in the forest to serve her savior—"

"Oh my Jaydes, please shut up," Prince Mario begged. "That story was even more trashy than the last."

"If you keep speaking like that, you'll surely be the vine spirit's next victim," King Boo teased. "Now quit complaining and climb faster, prince boy."

"Don't worry, Your Highness! You're almost there!" Peach chimed, swiftly jumping from branch to branch, then gracefully landing at the top of the tree. "See?"

Mario let out a short breath, noting how much further he still had to climb. How did she get up there so quickly?

"Take all the time you need, Mario," King Boo laughed. "It's not like the end of all worlds is at stake or anything."

"I'd go faster if you'd just shut up for once!" Prince Mario cried.

"Alright, alright, I'll go bother your beautiful wife then. Get to know her, if you know what I mean," the ghost king grinned.

"Don't you dare," Prince Mario hissed. "And she's not my wife—"

"Too late, bye Mario!"

The ghost king floated to the top of the tree, making Prince Mario grit his teeth and climb faster. Still, it took him about thirty more minutes to make it to the top, where King Boo and Peach were waiting. The prince couldn't hear what they were talking about over the sound of his own heavy breathing, but knowing King Boo it was probably just stupid ghost stories. Despite his teasing, Peach wasn't the ghost king's type. Prince Mario knew that much. Or, at least he hoped.

"Oh, you made it!" Peach chimed, turning to face him.

"Ah. Yes," King Boo smirked, crossing his arms. "It only took you three years! I'm impressed!"

"Shut up. If you had to climb you'd be just as exhausted as me, and you know it." Mario spat, slowly standing himself up, legs shaking.

"Guys, we don't have time to fight," Bleck urged. The pixl nodded at the multicolored door in front of them, sitting at the top of the tree they just conquered. "We've wasted enough time as it is."

"Thanks to Mario," King Boo chimed. "So what... we're just going to walk into some random door? Sounds like a swell idea that definitely won't get us in legal trouble!"

"You're one to talk," Prince Mario breathed.

"We probably won't be in legal trouble," Bleck replied. "Hopefully. This is the pathway to the Chaos Heart fragment. I can sense it! So, we have no other choice but to push forward!"

Peach nodded and walked up to the door, using both her hands to push it open. King Boo and Mario exchanged a brief glance before following closely behind her.

The world seemed to fall silent. The air was slightly cooler, yet heavier too.

"We're not alone," Bleck breathed. 

Peach nodded and clenched her fists slightly. She could tell. The air always got this quiet before something big went down. 

"So... you made it," an almost bored-sounding voice breathed. There was a scratching noise, and then a small girl with pink hair tied up into a bun appeared. The same one who had appeared to Peach and Bleck before back when the heroine had to fight Bonechill.

"You," Peach hissed.

"Hello, Peach," Nastasia said. She turned her eyes to Bleck and nodded slightly. "Bleck. You're all a bit behind schedule... You don't wear tardiness well."

She seemed to tilt her head slightly, her tone soft yet manipulative. No one was falling for it, though.

"Um, who's the nerd?" King Boo asked. "Are we supposed to know her?"

"I haven't had the pleasure of meeting the royalty yet," she breathed, briefly narrowing her eyes at Prince Mario, who froze in place upon seeing her.

He couldn't speak out. She specifically told him not to tell anyone what she did.

She turned her gaze back to Bleck, briefly adjusting her glasses as she did so. "You really don't want to give up, do you?"

"We can't," Bleck stated. "I can't let Pierre down. Or the world."

"Pierre, the countess, so many people to let down," she breathed. "What about yourself, Bleck?"

"Stop that! What are you here for?!" Peach demanded.

"I'm here to make sure Bleck ends up accompanying the right girl," Nastasia shrugged. "You don't go well with him, Peach. You just don't have what it takes."

"Hey!" Prince Mario cried, his face turning somewhat red. "Don't say that to her! Who do you think you are?"

"A humble, loyal servant" she stated. "You may call me Nastasia. It's a pleasure to meet the rest of the gang. I take it you haven't found your fourth yet. Well, obviously, the countess wouldn't let something like that happen so easily."

She let out a yawn, then brushed off her clothes.

"It seems I'm here to stop you again. It's nothing personal, just business. So... why don't we roll a dice? Blondie is numbers one through four, the prince is five through eight, and the ghost is nine through twelve."

"What does that mean?!" Prince Mario asked when the girl pulled out a set of two dice and shook them in her hand before dropping and allowing them both to land on the ground.

The first one landed on two right in front of Nastasia.

The second rolled forward a ways, landing just in front of the three heroes.

It read a five.

"Lucky number seven," Nastasia stated. "You win, your majesty."

"Win what—" Prince Mario started to ask when she adjusted her glasses, making the prince cover his eyes and fall to the ground.

"Mario!" Peach cried out, kneeling down next to him and grasping his arm.

"He's fine. He'll be up in a second," Nastasia breathed. "Though... I wouldn't stand so close."

"Why not?" King Boo asked. "Is his breath that bad?"

"No, but I've been ordered to go to battle with you," Nastasia stated. "And one thing you should know about me is that I don't like to get my hands dirty. Fighting people is so messy. Yeah, I'd rather not. So... your prince will be taking my place."

Peach furrowed her eyebrows, confused as to what that meant when Prince Mario suddenly stood up and kicked her back.

"Oh, she's good," King Boo breathed. "How come I've never thought of doing something like-"

Prince Mario suddenly grabbed the ghost king and sunk a fiery punch into the side of his face.

"Whoa–OW! Since when could Mario do that?!" King Boo cried out.

"He always could, he just never did," Nastasia yawned. "I think it's called firebrand? I'm not sure. He's got some kind of fiery spirit buried deep within him.

King Boo clenched his jaw as he recovered from the strike. "Remind me to tell him the story of the fire spirits later."

"Focus!" Peach called out, digging through her backpack in search of supplies. She couldn't use the umbrella this time, the fire would burn right through it.

"On it," King Boo breathed, waking his arms and making his purple gemmed crown glow slightly. A spiked ball fell from the ceiling, nearly hitting Mario until Peach dove forward and shoved the prince out of the way.

"Don't hit him!" Peach cried out.

"But he's the bad guy right now!" King Boo spat back.

"Under her control," Bleck explained, floating up beside the ghost and using his tattle ability on Prince Mario. "He's under a spell. Hypnosis, though it's only temporary. Break her connection to him, and he's free. If we fight and defeat him, she'll just get another one of us."

The ghost king let out a groan, then waved his hand, making another spiked ball appear over Nastasia. The girl tiredly looked up, then stepped aside before it could hit her.

Unfortunately for her, she stepped next to Peach, who was able to quickly grasp her arm and throw her onto the ground.

Nastasia let out a quiet yelp and scrambled to pick herself up when King Boo leaned over her, grinning.

"Gotcha," he breathed as the spell on Prince Mario vanished, making him fall to the ground once again.

She stared up at him for a moment, then moved her gaze to Bleck, who was floating just behind the ghost.

"Oh heroes, you'd all be nothing without him here telling you what to do," she breathed, smiling slightly to herself. "Think about that for a moment, K?"

"And I'd be nothing without them here to help," Bleck shot back.

"You could never just be nothing," Nastasia stated calmly. "You were always more than that. Don't forget it."

She waved her hand and flipped away, reappearing just a few feet away from the group. She ran her hands over her hair, tucking a few flyaway strands back into place.

"Of course, this was nothing more than a little game to me," she stated. "This went exactly as I planned it would. Did you have fun? Perhaps next time we'll have more time to talk and get to know each other."

"Are you serious?" King Boo asked. "At least I know how to accept defeat. We won fair and square. Quit playing it off like you planned this, we all know you're just a sore loser."

Nastasia shrugged, then snapped her fingers, flipping away yet again. Only this time, she completely vanished from sight.

Peach let out a deep breath, then rushed over to Prince Mario, who was barely conscious.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?!" she cried as she helped him sit up.

He blinked a few times, his head feeling fuzzy. He could hardly even recall what happened. It felt like the world was spinning and it wouldn't stop.

"He'll be okay," Bleck breathed. "Let's just be careful. Now come on, we have a Chaos Heart to find!"

King Boo let out a slightly annoyed groan as if he was a child being told to do his chores. He floated forward as Peach helped Mario up and slung one of his arms over her shoulder.

Then, the heroes were off yet again.

Nastasia waited until they had left the small battlefield, then flipped back in, watching as they vanished in the distance.

"They're smart," she whispered to herself, looking down at her hands. "Smart enough to face the countess, though?"

She stilled, then let out a long sigh.

They'd have to be if her plan was going to work.