Nastasia returned to the large black castle, kneeling down and gasping for breath. "Golly, Nassy. Did the hero actually beat-cha?" Mimi asked.

Nastasia looked up, her eyes filled with guilt. "Please, my countess. Forgive me. I underestimated her. It won't happen again, I swear on it."

Countess Tippi looked down at her minion, then over at Mimi. "So the hero really is a force to be reckoned with. Mimi, the prophecy! Consult it and learn where the hero will go next... We will lay a devious trap for her and bring her to her very KNEES! Tippi decreed," She laughed, as Mimi raised her hand.

"Already on it!" Mimi chimed. "I had Chunky sent to a site! He's so strong he'll surely beat this so-called hero."

Tippi nodded in approval, then stood up, holding out her arms. "I depart! Alert Countess Tippi when this 'hero' is no more! Teeheehee! TIPPI!" She exclaimed, walking off and laughing wickedly.

"Yes, my Countess," Mimi mumbled, looking away and muttering under her breathe. "But first... I have some other business to take care of. NASSY, Come with me. I got a JOB for you."

______

Meanwhile, at the other end of the castle, a lonely prince was lying on the ground. His head rung loudly, as he rubbed his eyes and slowly sat up. "Nnnhg...hmm?" He mumbled, blinking his eyes a few times as the place went into focus. "Where am... wait."

The prince suddenly jerked up and got onto his feet. "Didn't that nasty... ugh, what was her name, Countess Tippi? YEAH! Didn't she try to make me marry...BOO?! And then Daisy, she..." Mario shut his mouth and nervously looked around, not seeing anyone else in the room with him. "DAISYYYYY?! KING BOO?!?!?! IS ANYONE HERE?" He called, not wanting to be alone. "HELLO?"

He nervously walked around when a small voice suddenly came from behind him. "Are you a bad guy?" The voice asked, causing prince Mario to jump and whirl around to see a small boo. The ghost immediately got scared and froze, covering its face.

Mario's eyes softened as he took pity on the small ghost. "No," He assured, offering a soft smile. "I'm not a bad guy."

The boo slowly uncovered his face, looking up at Mario. "Yeah... that's what I thought. I thought I recognized you. Because our king kidnaps you all the time..."

"Ah. Yes..." Mario mumbled, slightly uncomfortable. "Do you know where King Boo would be? Or Daisy, for that matter?"

"Nope..." The boo mumbled. "No idea. But we gotta get out of here before the bad guys-"

"Well, golly. You're already leaving?" Mimi interrupted, causing both the prince and the small boo to whirl around to face her. "But we just got here."

The boo seemed a little nervous but bravely floated in front of Mario. "H-hey! I'm not afraid of you! Where's my King-"

Nastasia, who was standing right next to Mimi, suddenly looked at the Boo and adjusted her glasses, making a bright flash appear. The boo suddenly got very dizzy, then shook its head. "HAIL TIPPI!" It shouted, sounding like a whole new boo.

"W-whoa!" Mario stuttered, stepping back. "What did you do to him?!"

"Oh, my good friend here just brainwashed him~!" Mimi chimed, patting Nastasia's back. "And you're next, pretty prince. Looks like your luck runs out right here, and right now."

Mario held his hands up to shield his eyes as Nastasia raised her hands to her glasses, when Mario suddenly vanished, making Mimi and Nastasia's jaws both drop.

"WHERE'D HE GO?!" Mimi shouted, rushing to where Mario just was, before looking back at Nastasia, who just shrugged.

"Well... this isn't a real dealbreaker. It's not like the lousy prince can do much anyway," Mimi giggled, walking off. "This isn't that bad. He'd probably slow us down anyway."

______

Peach and Bleck returned to the town of Flipside, another pure heart in hand after beating Fracktail. 

"Not gonna lie, that was kinda fun," Peach admitted. "The dragon, the clown, fighting the weird lady blindfolded! I can tell this isn't a normal adventure! Whew! I'm even breaking a sweat!" She laughed, taking her hat off and wiping some sweat from her brow.

"I'm glad you're having fun," Bleck chimed, floating along behind her as she pushed the elevator button to go down. "Truth to be told, this is my first REAL adventure." He admitted.

"Really?" Peached questioned, stepping inside the elevator. "But you're so good at it. I'd expect you to be like, a professional, with all the stuff you know!"

"Thanks!" Bleck beamed when the doors opened up at the bottom of the tower now. "That's just my tattle ability though. I mean, I'm not actually THAT smart." 

"No, no. You should give yourself more credit!" Peach beamed as she stepped outside, Bleck following her when a voice suddenly called from not far off.

"Well that was fast," Pierre's voice called, causing Peach to jump slightly, but immediately relax upon seeing the familiar face. His hood was off again, so she could see the bright smile and the young expression.

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

"Huh? O-Oh! Right," Pierre giggled, putting his hood back up over his face. Even with the hood up, miraculously he was still able to convey so much excitement and emotion through his eyes. "Sorry. I keep forgetting. But never mind that. Follow me. Merlon told me to bring you to his house once you returned! Quickly, this way!" He chimed, waving his hand as if he wanted them to follow him.

Peach wondered if Merlon was paying him. It was like he was Merlon's assistant, helping him with all his tasks. Or perhaps he was earning college credit, being an intern for an ancient.

Peach shrugged the thoughts off and quickly followed him into a blue house decorated with stars. "Don't bother taking your shoes off. Merlon LOVES mud. I track it into his house all the time! It's why I'm his favorite person in the whole wide world," Pierre beamed, opening the door and walking in with full confidence. Peach raised an eyebrow and gave Bleck a confused look. The pixl just chuckled and floated inside, so Peach followed.

"WE HAVE ARRIVED!" Pierre excitedly announced, holding out his arms and gesturing to Bleck and Peach, smiling through his eyes like an excited child. 

"Pierre... what did I say about the mud?!" Merlon sighed, pointing down at his muddy footprints which led into the house.

"That it is a natural part of our planet and the foundation for growth and life~!" Pierre beamed.

"Well, yes. But also to STOP tracking it into my house!!! Why are your shoes even muddy?!" Merlon questioned. 

"Probably because I got mud on them," Pierre snickered when Bleck suddenly cleared his throat, grabbing both their attention.

"...Right. Eheh, sorry," Pierre chuckled, rubbing the back of his cloaked head and stepping back.

"I think you best wait outside," Merlon breathed, pointing to the door. "Just... be on the lookout or something."

"Right," Pierre sighed, giving a few finger guns and walking away. "On it. I'll watch for anything weird. Like bad guys appearing or royalty falling from the skies."

Merlon shook his head at his friend, then turned his attention to Peach, smiling. "So, have you found a pure heart?" He asked.

Peach nodded, grabbing it and holding it up for all to see. Merlon's yellow eyes went wide at the beauty as he looked at it in awe. "Oh ho, such pure brilliance... This is a true piece of the one true Purity Heart!"

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

"What? 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!" Pierre suddenly interrupted, swinging the door open and rushing inside, tracking more mud onto the carpet.

"PIERRE! What did we say about the mud-"

"I know, I know, I'll clean it later," Pierre assured. "But a dude just fell out of the sky!"

"Excuse me?" Bleck questioned, lightly chuckling. "Let me guess. Was it royalty?"

"YEAH! HOW DID YOU KNOW?!" Pierre exclaimed, his blue eyes widening.

Bleck stopped laughing, not expecting that response when Pierre grabbed Merlon's arm and dragged him outside. "Come on! He looks like he's hurt or something! He needs your help! You can save him like how you saved-"

"Pierre, Pierre, slow down, my friend," Merlon chuckled. "Just take us to the poor fellow."

Pierre slowly recaught his breath, calming down and nodding. "Okay. Okay, okay, okay. H-he's this way."

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

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

"Agh... it hurts. Can I like... have a medical team or something." The guy muttered, lying on the ground with his eyes shut, though the damage was actually very minimal. A few bruises at most.

"Oh, Pierre. You worry too much. This guy's fine!" Merlon chuckled. "He's just dramatic."

"Dramatic?!" The guy questioned, sitting up. "Okay, listen here buddy! I was kidnapped by some psycho woman, forced to marry a crazy ghost, then 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 forward.

"Mario?" Bleck asked, looking at Peach. "Oh, so THIS is the prince Tippi kidnapped."

"P-Peach?" Mario asked, slowly standing up, looking at her with a confused expression. "You're alright?! Where are we?! Who are these cloaked weirdos?"

"Pierre!" Pierre chimed, holding out his hand to Mario.

"....And... Merlon," Merlon added, waving, though slightly insulted by being referred to as a "Cloaked Weirdo."

Mario raised an eyebrow, then gently shook Pierre's outstretched hand, almost as if he was a little scared of it. "Charming," Mario muttered. "And what's the floating thing."

"'The floating thing,' would be me," Bleck stated. "I'm Bleck!"

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

"Well, perhaps you'd like to come back with us. I want to hear all about what happened to you!" Merlon chimed.

"Okay...." Mario mumbled.

~Twenty Minutes Later ~

"And then I fell from the sky," Mario finished as everyone gathered around the prince at Merlon's house. "Say, what do you suppose happened to King Boo and Daisy?"

"There is no way to tell," Peach sighed. "I just hope they're okay."

"I'm sure your friends are fine," Bleck breathed, turning his attention to Merlon. "So, what's next?"

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

"Fine. I hope your friend and the ghost king are alright," Bleck sighed, slightly annoyed.

Mario nodded in approval at the correction when Merlon stepped forward, clearing his throat and grabbing everyone's attention. "'And one Pure Heart shall lead the way to the next...' So it is written," Merlon quoted. "There are still more Heart Pillars to be found in Flipside, young ones." He said before snapping his fingers. "Pierre!"

"Yes sir?" Pierre replied, perking up. Merlon stood up, gently taking the pure heart from Peach and placing it into Pierre's arms. "Go to the next Heart Pillar. You must set the Pure Heart in it. And when you do so, a door to the world containing the next Pure Heart will appear. And do not trip. This is fragile."

The guy seemed to look down at the heart, then up at Merlon with excited eyes. As always, he was eager to help. "Okay! I won't let you down!" He beamed, rushing off with the heart, stumbling slightly, but re-centering his balance so he didn't fall.

Merlon smiled and shook his head, then turned his attention to the three remaining in the room. "You three should all be up there for when the door opens."

"I'm sorry," Prince Mario laughed. "Did you say three?"

"Yes," Merlon admitted. "As in you, Peach, and Bleck."

"ME?!" Mario shouted. "I-I'm not an adventurer! Wouldn't it be better if I just... didn't go?"

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

"But-"

"It'll be okay," Peach assured, grabbing his arm. "I'll protect you from anything scary. Deal?"

The prince felt his face heat up slightly when he crossed his arms and looked down. "Fine. Deal..."