Mimi held her arm to her chest as she walked down the halls of the large, bright palace. She had hoped she would have time to get to her room and fix her makeup, which looked nothing short of disastrous, but the countess had called a meeting, so she was going to have to show up looking like a mess.

"Ai, lass. Did te 'eroin actually beatcha dat bad?" O'Chunks asked, meeting her in the hallway before walking into the inner sanctum.

"I let her walk away," Mimi muttered. "I wasn't sent to kill her. I was sent to get a feel for her. It's different."

The green girl couldn't help but let out a sigh, though. She could only hope that the countess wouldn't be disappointed in her for not putting up a little more of a fight.

They both walked in and took their places in their assigned seats. Aside from Dimentio, they were the last to arrive. The jester showed up about three minutes later, making him only two minutes late to the meeting, which was probably a record.

Mimi felt herself shrink as the countess stared at her, observing all her injuries.

"Hmm..." Countess Tippi hummed. "It seems this heroine really is a force to be reckoned with, as predicted."

"Yes... it seems so. Worry not, though! I have a plan as solid as titanium!" Dimentio chimed. He waved his hand, making a small clipboard appear out of thin air. "With your approval, my countess, I'd like to send O'Chunks out to slow this heroine's pace."

"Sounds excellent," Countess Tippi smiled. "That was just what I was about to suggest."

Dimentio nodded and tapped his temple. "Aha ha ha, yes, it seems great minds think alike, my countess. O'Chunks, in your room is a list of directions and instructions. Do try not to get lost."

O'Chunks nodded and straightened his posture, giving a quick yet formal salute before hopping off his seat and running off.

"As for you, Mimi," the countess started.

Mimi felt her blood run cold as she turned her gaze away.

"Please, do not fret," Dimentio chuckled. "You did good. You showed us how much of a threat this heroine really was."

"Yes," Countess Tippi added. "For that... I am requesting that you take time to rest and regroup. I was initially going to have you and Dimentio deal with the heroine's friends, but I'm sure Dimentio can handle it on his own."

Mimi looked back up and tilted her head to the side slightly.

"Wait, really?" the green girl asked. "But... I failed. I can still help Dimmy with—"

"I'd like to make a correction. This is not a request, it's an order," Dimentio stated. "Rest."

Mimi nodded, then quickly turned and scurried back to her room. She knew not to argue with Dimentio. Not in front of the countess, at least. He was her golden boy, her favorite.

Nastasia shrugged to herself, then hopped down as well. "I have some things to take care of too," she breathed. "Regarding those little boos. If you need me, just call. Until then, goodbye."

She gave a short wave, then went off alone, her heels clicking against the neatly polished floor.

The countess nodded, then turned her gaze to Dimentio.

"You know what to do," she breathed.

A brief smile made its way onto the jester's face as he nodded, then waved his hand, vanishing with a ripple.

Meanwhile, far from the inner sanctum, a lone prince was finally starting to regain consciousness. 

Prince Mario slowly sat up, rubbing his throbbing head. He blinked a few times to fight off the dizziness, then looked around himself. Where was he, and how did he get there?

He shook his head as memories of the altar and the forced wedding resurfaced. He remembered a large heart, Daisy saving the day, then everything going white.

"Daisy?" Prince Mario called, though no one responded.

He wasn't going to just sit around and wait to be saved, though. This wasn't one of King Boo's haunted mansions. This was a whole new game, a whole new story. If he just sat and waited, then who knew how long it would take for Peach to save him?

He let out a sigh and started down the hall.

"You're going the wrong way," a low, yet calm voice stated.

Prince Mario jumped and covered his head, protecting his crown.

"Don't kill me, please!" he cried, squeezing his eyes shut.

There was an audible sigh, then the sound of heels clicking against the floor.

"Stand up straight, you look ridiculous," Nastasia stated.

Prince Mario remained still for another moment before slowly opening his eyes and turning to look at the blue girl.

"Who are you...?" he meekly asked.

"I'm breaking you out of here," she whispered. "But you have to keep quiet, okay? And tell no one about this."

The prince's eyes widened slightly as he shook his head.

"Wait, so you're one of the good guys?" he asked.

"I'm... just helping you escape, okay?" she hissed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Now keep your voice low. Dimentio's supposed to come around and take care of you soon, so I need to get you out of here before that happens."

Dimentio... the name felt familiar.

Wasn't that the guy from the wedding? The person working with Countess Tippi?

Mario shook his head, trying to process all the information. Why was this woman helping him when he didn't even know who she was? If Dimentio was there, that must have meant the prince was in Countess Tippi's house or something. It was even bigger than his palace back in the Mushroom Kingdom. It was probably bigger than his and Prince Luigi's castles combined!

"Wait, but what's your name?" Prince Mario started when Nastasia adjusted her glasses, making him flip out of sight and out of mind.

She let out a brief sigh, then smoothed out her clothes before flipping away as well.

. . .

Peach used the return pipe to bring Bleck and herself back to the top of Flopside Tower. She kept the Chaos Heart fragment close. She hated to admit it, but this adventure was fun. It was special, different from any adventure she had ever been on.

The only thing that was missing was Daisy...

She hoped her trusty sidekick was okay.

"You know, for someone on their first adventure, you've got a knack for it," Peach giggled, bowing her head at Bleck.

The pixl seemed to chuckle and look away as if slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, I'm nothing special. My tattle ability makes it easy. Other than that, I don't do much," he said.

"Hey, shush. That's one of my best friends you're talking about," Peach giggled with a grin. "You need to give yourself more credit. Now come on, let's get this thing put away."

Bleck nodded and the two of them started to head for the elevator when there was a soft chime behind them.

"Well that was fast," Pierre's voice called, causing Peach to jump slightly, but immediately relax upon turning and seeing the familiar face. His hood was off again, so she could see the bright smile and youthful expression. The wind at the top of the tower was slightly stronger than normal, making his hair and cloak blow slightly, almost like they were dancing.

"Um, Pierre," Bleck breathed. "Hood."

"Huh? Oh, right," the ancient chuckled. He grasped his red hood and pulled it up over his head. The wind must have blown it off. Even with the hood up, he was still able to convey excitement and emotion through his eyes. "Sorry. I keep forgetting. But never mind that. Follow me. I discovered something while doing some reading! You can put the heart away right afterward. Quickly, this way!" 

Peach gave a short nod and quickly followed him, taking the elevator down and following Pierre into a black house decorated with stars all over the walls.

"Don't bother taking your shoes off. I'll clean the floors later," Pierre beamed, pulling open the large doors and holding them for the heroine.

Peach slowly walked in, taking a moment to look around and familiarize herself. The house was even smaller than her own. As the leader of Flopside, a part of her expected Pierre to live somewhere much more spacious.

"Welcome to my humble home!" Pierre excitedly announced, holding out his arms and gesturing to Bleck and Peach, smiling through his eyes like an excited child.

She nodded, noting how it felt a bit cluttered as well. There were books all over the place and shelves filled with the most random of items.

"Pierre, I thought you said you were going to clean while we were out," Bleck breathed, his tone slightly whinier than usual. The pixl seemed to sink slightly as if he was embarrassed.

"Oh. Right. Eheh, sorry," Pierre chuckled, rubbing the back of his cloaked head. "I was going to, I swear. I just... got busy. So, you have the Chaos Heart fragment, right?"

Peach nodded and held it up for all to see. Pierre's deep blue eyes went wide at the beauty as he looked at it in awe.

"Oh my Jaydes..." he muttered, stepping closer to it. He held his hand up to it but didn't touch it, allowing his hands to just hover over the floating heart.

"So the adventure is done, right?" Peach asked.

Pierre stilled, then looked at the heroine.

"Umm...."

"Oh, no, no. You have only just begun." Bleck replied. "But worry not. We are but a step closer to—"

"SIR, you won't believe what I've seen!" a small citizen of Flopside suddenly interrupted, swinging the door open and rushing inside with a frantic look on her face.

"Whoa, what's the matter?" Pierre asked, rushing over to the citizen and kneeling down so he could be at eye level with her. "The gash in the sky?

"No! Well, yes, but a dude just fell out of the sky, like, from the big gash! At first, we thought he was a fallen angel, but he doesn't have the look!" she cried.

"Excuse me?" Bleck questioned, lightly chuckling. He wasn't laughing because this was funny to him, but because he knew Pierre's relationship with the citizens. Sometimes, people ran in and played these kinds of jokes on him.

"It's not a joke this time," the girl cried. "He legit just... fell out of the sky!"

Bleck slowly stopped laughing, noticing the urgency in her tone as she grasped Pierre's arm and dragged him outside.

"Come on! He looks like he's hurt or something! He needs your help!"

"Okay. Okay, okay, okay, take me to him," Pierre breathed. "I'll do what I can."

The worried citizen led everyone through town until they came to the bottom of the tower, where a guy was lying on the ground, groaning in pain.

The red-cloaked ancient let out a breath, then walked over to him, placing two cold fingers on the man's neck to check for a pulse.

The mysterious man flinched and inhaled sharply upon being touched.

"Oh good," Pierre breathed, seeing that the fallen person was moving. "You're not dead."

"Agh... it hurts. Can I like... have a medical team or something? And who's pressing ice to my neck...?" the injured man muttered, lying on the ground with his eyes shut, though the damage was very minimal. A few bruises at most.

"Oh, my dear," Pierre smiled, turning his expression to the worried citizen who summoned him. "You worry too much. This guy's fine! He's just dramatic!"

"Dramatic?!" the man questioned, sitting up quickly. "Okay, listen here buddy! I was kidnapped by some psycho woman, forced to marry WITHOUT being allowed to plan my own wedding, and taken to a weird castle! And now I'm apparently falling out of the sky! I'm allowed to be dramatic!"

"Mario?" Peach asked, pushing her way forward.

"Mario?!" Bleck asked, confused as to how Peach knew him.

"Mario..." Pierre trailed off.

"PEACH!" Prince Mario gasped. He quickly stood up and grasped her arms. "You're alright?! Where are we?! Who's this cloaked weirdo? You haven't joined a cult, have you? Dear Jaydes, not again..."

"Oh, I'm Pierre!" Pierre chimed, holding out his hand to Mario. "I'm actually not a cult leader. Despite the way I dress."

Mario raised an eyebrow, then hesitantly shook Pierre's outstretched hand, almost as if he was a little scared of it. He winced as soon as they made contact, pulling back "Cold, cold, cold!" he hissed as he wiped his hand off on his overcoat.

"Sorry. It's a medical condition," Pierre shrugged with a smile, taking no offense.

"Charming," Mario murmured sarcastically. "And what's the floating thing."

"I'm Bleck!" Bleck smiled, assuming that Mario was referring to him. "I'm a pixl!"

"Not a pet," Pierre added.

"Bleck. Weird name..." Prince Mario muttered, raising an eyebrow.

"Weirder than Mario?" Pierre asked with a slightly joking tone, though the prince didn't seem amused.

"Are you making fun of my name?!" the prince gasped.

"Hey, you made fun of Bleck's name first!" Pierre pointed out. "I'm sure that whoever named him put a lot of thought into it."

"Well, they sound like an idiot," Mario huffed.

Pierre shook his head, then turned away, waving everyone forward. "We're getting off-topic. Come back with us. We've so much to catch up on."

Pierre led everyone back to his house and set a table while Prince Mario ranted about everything that happened to him since being taken from his castle in the Mushroom Kingdom. He left out the part with the strange blue girl saving him, but made a mental note to bring it up later. He was rather curious about it, but she did tell him to keep quiet...

"What do you suppose happened to King Boo and Daisy?" Peach asked after Prince Mario finished explaining his story. 

"There is no way to tell," Prince Mario breathed. "I just hope they're okay. Or... I hope Daisy's okay. King Boo can rot for all I care."

"I'm sure your friends are fine," Bleck breathed.

"Okay, I wouldn't consider King Boo our friend," Mario corrected.

"Fine. I hope your friend and the ghost king are alright," Bleck said.

Mario nodded in approval as Pierre stepped forward, clearing his throat and grabbing everyone's attention. "Well... there are more Chaos Heart fragments to be found. In order to stop this void of light from growing and consuming us all, we need to keep going. Bleck!"

"Yes sir?" Bleck replied, perking up. 

"Don't call me sir," Pierre chuckled. He shook his head and nodded at the Chaos Heart Fragment. "Could you please take Peach and go to the next heart pillar? You must lead the heroine there and have her set the fragment inside. When you do so, a door to the world containing the next fragment will appear. And do not trip. This is fragile."

"Okay, sir! I won't let you down!" Bleck beamed. He and Peach exchanged a quick nod, then rushed off with the heart in tow.

"What did I just- oh never mind," Pierre breathed. She shook his head, then turned his attention to Prince Mario, who was sitting in a chair and idly kicking his legs. "You should be up there for when the door opens." 

"I'm sorry," Prince Mario laughed. "Were you talking to me?"

"Yes," Pierre said.

Prince Mario's smile faded slightly and his left eye twitched slightly.

"Look, I don't know who the heck you are, but I do know one thing. I don't do this part of the adventure," Mario explained with a slightly condescending tone. "I'm the one who gets saved, not the one who does the saving."

"No, no. You could be of great help! You must join Peach on her quest, Mario!" Pierre urged.

"It's Prince Mario, actually. And nah, I really would rather not," Prince Mario shrugged.

"You're doing this."

"Make me," Mario sneered.

Pierre's left eye twitched slightly as well. He seemed to let out a long sigh, then took a slow, deep breath. 

"Your Highness," Pierre started. "I hate to say it, but at this point, we don't have a choice anymore. I promise Peach and Bleck will protect you. And I'll do everything I can to make the journey as simple as possible."

"Why do you want me to go so bad?!" Mario asked. 

"It's written in the Dark Prognosticus!"

"So?"

"So, you have to," Pierre breathed, pressing his fingers to the side of his hood and rubbing his temples. "I-I'm sorry... that's not a good explanation, I know. I'll give you a better one... you have to go because Peach needs you. Countess Tippi... she's a force unlike anything your heroine has ever faced, and like it or not, Peach will need your support. She's done so much for you. Please... just do this one thing for her."