"Welcome my friends, welcome!" Merlon beamed as soon as Peach, Prince Mario, and Bleck arrived back in Flipside at the top of the tower after their little adventure. "Have you obtained the pure heart?"

"Yes, and I got chunked like five times to do it, so you're welcome," Mario replied with a salty tone, the small bruise on his elbow clearly still weighing him down.

However, though Mario was being fairly obvious about being unhappy, Merlon seemed not to notice. Or maybe he did notice, but he made the choice not to address it. "Yes. I would expect nothing less from the legendary heroes!" Merlon chimed, taking the pure heart. "I'll have Pierre put this away once he returns. He's just-"

The world suddenly began to shake, as if a large earthquake just hit, striking a wave of fear into everyone. Prince Mario immediately jumped into Peach's arms as the ground shook, causing her to giggle as she caught him, holding him in a classic princess carry.

"You don't need to freak out, your highness," Peach laughed. "It's just an earthquake."

"Heh... right," Mario muttered, waiting a moment and getting down once the earth stopped shaking. "S-Sorry. The Mushroom Kingdom doesn't get many earthquakes."

"Um, Sir?!" Pierre politely asked, suddenly teleporting into view, only to stumble and trip forward, nearly landing on his face.

"Whoa, Pierre. What is-"

"Shh..." Pierre quietly hushed, his voice just above a whisper as he rushed up to Merlon and held a finger to his mouth to silence him. Then he pointed up to the sky. "Look..."

Everyone looked up and gasped, seeing that the void grew in size. 

"Oh no. Our time is growing short!" Merlon exclaimed in a worried manner. 

"Yeah. No pressure, but we gotta hurry. I have every bit of faith that you heroes can save us all!" Pierre added, his tone back to how it used to be, still somewhat cheery, which seemed impossible for the situation. He paused a moment, then jumped slightly as if he had just remembered something. "And that's not all! I just remembered- er, I mean found out that there's not one, not two, but FOUR heroes required to defeat the one who wields the Dark Prognosticus."

"Four?" Merlon questioned.

He paused a moment, then suddenly grabbed Pierre by the ear and pulled him aside, whispering to him a few feet away so no one else could hear their conversation, making sure his voice was a hushed whisper.

"...What are they talking about?" Peach questioned, raising an eyebrow at them as they had their own separate conversation.

"Oh, they just do this every once in a while," Bleck replied, almost sounding bored. "Sometimes Pierre and Merlon have their own private chats. You learn to stop caring after a while-"

"Merlon... I swear this isn't about that. I-I already know... I'm just saying that there's four!" Pierre suddenly stated, raising his voice slightly but keeping his happy tone. "Four. You know, as in two squared. Three plus one. Fifty-two divided by thirteen. Take your pick." 

"I hear you, I hear you," Merlon assured, holding his hands up. "Let's just calm down. Deep breaths, my friend. We'll find the other two. I have faith in the legend. You mustn't forget that I studied the prophecy for years-"

"Yeah... me too," Pierre quietly whispered under his breath. The cloaked man then shook his head and cleared his throat, speaking louder again. "...You're right. You're right. I have faith. I totally have faith" Pierre assured. "I just... thought they should know that... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it seem like I was doubting anything. I mean... it's not like they don't know about the girl in orange. Eheh..."

"The who in what?" Peach asked, intruding on their conversation.

"The one person who will determine whether the Light or Dark Prognosticus predicts the truth... Both books refer to her as the girl in orange'," Pierre explained, voice peppy. Although after he explained that Peach could see his eyes soften slightly. "Wait... did you not know about that?" He asked.

He briefly glanced at Merlon, who simply shrugged. "It didn't come up," Merlon explained. "I merely forgot."

Pierre paused for a moment, eyes still seeming to smile. Then he softly chuckled to himself.

"Ah, yes," He whispered in a now almost too cheery tone now. It was like he was ALWAYS happy, no matter how grave the situation may be. "Well... I'm very glad they know now. That's all that matters now. That's all that matters...."

Peach, Mario, and Bleck all just stared as Merlon nodded in approval then turned to them all. "We'll take that heart and put it away for you, my friends. Then you may continue your journey. I'm sure you'll find the other two heroes as you search for the rest of the pure hearts."

"...Yeah. I'm sure it'll be fine," Pierre added, snapping his fingers and suddenly making his voice much more enthusiastic, bringing that child-like quality back. "No, I KNOW it will be fine! Now run along. You've got a world to save!"

______

"So, two other heroes," Mario muttered once the trio stepped through the next dimensional door and onto the next part of their journey. "But I thought he said we needed four! Three plus two is NOT four."

"I don't count," Bleck plainly replied. "I'm a pixl. So, yes, I am accompanying you on your journey, but I am not the hero from the legend."

"Which sucks because you're awesome!" Peach added. "Seriously, I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for you, so thank you!"

"Aww... stop!" Bleck laughed. If he were a human with a body and the ability to blush, he most certainly would be right now.

"No, really!" Mario added. "I mean, at first I thought you were weird. And I... still kinda think you're weird, but you've been pretty helpful."

"Aww, You guys...." Bleck gushed. "Let's find the next-"

"HEY! BACK OFF! THIS IS BOO TERRITORY!" A boo shouted, suddenly rushing past the group.

"H-huh?" Bleck asked as the boo flew forward and past them, seeming to be in a rush.

"Was that... a boo?" Mario asked. "What does it mean by, 'boo territory'? King Boo's castle isn't anywhere NEAR here!"

"Well... let's find out." Peach chimed, bravely starting forward. The trio walked for a while through the land, coming up on a small castle-like looking area, to which they found more and more boos by the minute.

"ALRIGHT, FELLAS! KEEP IT COMING! WE GOTTA FIX THIS PLACE UP IF WE'RE GONNA STAY! AND BY WE, I MEAN YOU! AND BY FIX, I MEAN CLEAN! GET TO IT! CHOP CHOP!" Called a familiar, chilling voice.

Peach halted, holding her hand up to tell the others to stop, then carefully looked around the side of the stone castle wall to see none other than King Boo, ordering around a bunch of normal Boos as they cleaned the place up.

Mario immediately gasped and narrowed his eyes, starting to tremble slightly in fear. "HIM?!" Mario whisper-screamed. "What's HE doing here?!"

"SHHH!" Bleck yelled even louder than Mario had whisper-screamed. "He'll hear you!"

"DON'T SHUSH ME SO LOUDLY!" Mario exclaimed, voice EVEN louder.

"Yeah, don't shush him so loudly!" King Boo added, suddenly floating behind Mario, crossing his arms and smirking.

"Thank you- wait, AHH!" Mario shouted, turning and stumbling backward once he saw the ghost king, earning a laugh from King Boo.

"Ah, well, well, well, if it isn't my husband. The apple of my eye," King Boo sarcastically laughed, crossing his arms and smirking. "And look! He brought his girlfriend."

"Y-you!" Mario exclaimed, pointing at him with a shaky hand and an angry expression on his face. "B-back away! I am NOT in the mood to be kidnapped right now!"

"Back away?" King Boo questioned, still smirking. "But why? After all, you're the ones who've intruded. In case you haven't realized, I've been relocated! So I think it's YOU guys who should be backing away."

"King Boo..." Peach muttered, her voice much softer and kinder than Mario's.

"Go on! You know, if you were going to bother me by bringing whiny princes, you could have at least been decent enough to bring the cute one." King Boo spat, causing Mario's face to turn a bright shade of red in rage.

"IF LUIGI IS SOOOOO MUCH CUTER THEN WHY DON'T YOU KIDNAP HIM, HUH?!" Mario exclaimed.

"Eh. Sarasaland has better security," King Boo admitted. "And I don't kidnap you just because I like hanging out with you. In fact, some may even say I HATE hanging out with you. Your mustache is questionable at best and your attitude is even worse. I just do it so I can take over the Mushroom Kingdom and give the boos a better home. If I were to Kidnap Luigi and take over Sarasaland, the Boos would probably overheat and die....again. The Mushroom Kingdom is simply better fitted for their needs. After all, they do deserve the best."

"They're GHOSTS!" Mario exclaimed, annoyed. "How would they overheat and die?! That doesn't even make sense!"

"Hey! Just because they're ghosts doesn't mean they don't feel!" King Boo argued.

"THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT IT MEANS! THEY DON'T HAVE NERVES!" Mario shouted, crossing his arms. "How did you even GET here?!"

"Oh me?" King Boo asked, shrugging. "How should I know? I was locked up in Countess Tippi's stupid castle... I mean, I'm cool with dark walls, but that place was just SAD! Has she no sense of style? It was horrific! When all of a sudden, BAM! Me and the boos wake up facedown in this field. Then we found this castle, and I thought, why not make myself a new home, since I have NO idea where I am or how to get home." He explained.

Now, most would just take this information and shrug it off. If it were up to Mario, he'd say, 'Cool. Have fun with that!' And leave. However, Mario wasn't the leader of this group, and Peach was a very different person, and when she saw someone, she didn't care about their past or who they were. She saw everyone as a good guy. Some good guys just looked and acted differently than others.

"Well, why don't you join us?" Peach asked, when Mario immediately turned to her, a horrified look on his face as if she just suggested they all go rob a bank, which to him, would have been preferable to having King Boo join them all.

"Um, Peach, dear? Can I speak with you?" Mario asked, as he took her arm and pulled her a few feet aside, taking a few deep breaths.

She allowed him to, blushing slightly at him calling her 'dear."

"Yes?" She asked him as he pulled her aside. The prince of the Mushroom Kingdom took a deep breath, then looked up at her.

"... ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" He exclaimed. "Have you forgotten who this is?! KING BOO!"

"I know, I know," Peach assured, trying not to laugh at his angry expression. "But we need FOUR heroes, not including Bleck. So..."

A small smile formed on her face as Mario frantically shook his head, completely rejecting the very thought of King Boo joining them. "No! No, no, no! ANYONE but him!!"

"Oh, come on! We need him! Who else can we get to join us?! We have no other options! Luigi is probably back in the Mushroom Kingdom filling in for you, busy running two kingdoms at once! Plus, he's not strong or brave enough to handle an adventure like this! And with Daisy, well... we have no idea where Daisy even is! Come on! We need him!" Peach argued.

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation," King Boo smirked, floating down between the two. "You know because I was eavesdropping. But first of all, why are you discussing this as if I already agreed?"

"YEAH!" Mario added, smiling in agreement. "He doesn't even WANT to help!!"

"Please!" Peach begged, looking up at King Boo with a desperate expression in her eyes. "We need you. We need all of us! Together!" She cried. Then she turned and looked at the prince with puppy dog eyes. "Mario, it's not like I'm asking you to be best buddies. I'm just asking you to tolerate him. And King Boo, if you don't help us, then where will the boos live?! They can't go anywhere if all the worlds have been destroyed!!! If you won't do it for us, then do it for them! Please?"

King Boo and Mario both paused once Peach had finished talking, one not sure how to say no to her when she gave him those puppy dog eyes and the other concerned about the last thing she had said.

"D...Destroyed?" King Boo asked, voice shaking slightly, which was odd since he usually spoke so smoothly.

"Yes," Bleck replied, inserting himself into the conversation. "That wedding you were in? That was what brought upon the Chaos Heart. So now we must work together to fix it!"

"AND," Mario added, holding up his hand. "T-The bad guys are brainwashing boos. I saw it happen myself!"

King Boo let out a small squeak in horror and covered his mouth, turning around and facing away for a moment as if this information was too much. He then looked up at all the boos working on cleaning up the castle for him.

He really only did want the best for them. And they all seemed to want the best for him.

"............................................FINE! I'll join your stupid quest. Happy?!" King Boo spat, shooting Peach a glare, just to remind her that he didn't WANT to go on this quest, but was doing it out of the goodness of his heart. Or whatever he had as a ghost.

"YES! Thank you so much! You won't regret this!" Peach exclaimed, grabbing Mario's arm with one hand and King Boo's with another. "This'll be fun! You'll see!!"

A small boo floated up and seemingly bowed its head to its king, having heard everything. "Don't worry your majesty. We'll hold down the fort until your return. Be safe on your brave journey! We all believe in you!" It beamed!

King Boo smiled down at it, then looked up to see the rest of the boos putting a pause to cleaning and lining up behind it, all cheering him on and smiling like he was a hero going off to war.

"We love you, our king!" "Stay safe!" "You're the real hero!" "I'll miss you!" They all chanted over one another, giving the ghost King an almost warm feeling.

He truly believed that he had the best subjects.

"I'll return!" He promised, smiling and blowing kisses as all the ghosts cheered for him. "And when I do, we'll find the perfect place! For all of us!"

"Oh, brother, I hate this already..." Mario mumbled, covering his face while King Boo waved to his subjects.