Paper Mario 5: The Rise of Shadow

**Predecessor** | Paper Mario: Sticker Star

2-4 player battle mode

 **Media Included** | Wii U Disc

**Paper Mario 5: The Rise of Shadow** is a new Paper Mario game designed for the Wii U. It takes place after *Sticker Star.*

## Storyline

### Prologue

Mario and Luigi were at home eating some homemade spaghetti, when Peach and Toadsworth walked in. After joining them in the meal, Peach explained she was going to Bowser's castle to try to arrange a peace treaty, and that they shouldn't try to interfere. After she left, Luigi, thinking something would go wrong, suggested that they sneak into the castle.

When the bros arrived, they saw the castle was under attack by strange hooded creatures. After going through the castle corridors, Mario and Luigi found Peach and Bowser in the throne room. Bowser claimed Peach was responsible for the attack, with Peach denying it. As Luigi stepped forth to stop the fight, a large hooded figure appeared out of thin air. He introduced himself as Lord Cloak, and told the four he was responsible for the attack. Then, an army-fatiuged Blooper flew throught the window, telling Cloak that their prisoner, Toadea, had escaped, greatly upsetting him. As a beautiful robed Toad crashed through the castle ceiling, Cloak grew even more angry. When Toadea saw Mario, she pleaded for his help in defeating Cloak. Mario agreed and the tutorial battle against the Blooper, Lt. Squiddly, began. Once Mario won, Cloak, out of anger, teleported the four heroes away.

When Mario woke up, he saw his old buddy, Merlon, looking down on him. Merlon told Mario about Cloak and Toadea, and how the Toad was actually Flipside's newest protector. For since the Void incident, the interdimensional town had been run by a powerful device called the Equallibrium Nexus, powered by ancient artifacts called Cozmo Shards and their superior relative, the Star Orb. However, a recent attack on the town by Cloak, who sought acheive some unknown goal by stealing the shards, destroyed the Nexus. The Shards were scattered across the dimensions, and the only remaining part was the Star Orb. The orb was given to Mario in the hopes that he could help restore the machine and defeat Lord Cloak. Toadea decided to team up with Mario to help him with the trials to come.

### Chapter 1: Trouble in Paradise

Mario's first destination was Utropia, an island paradise dimension known for its varied flora and fauna. Toadea said she knew of a tribe of Crazee Dayzees who may know of the location of the shard. Taking her advice, Mario headed off to the nearby Daysee Village, and talked to the chief of the village, Krownbi, and his daughter, Humbi. Mario immediately noticed that Humbi was a Nimbi, and Krownbi responded by saying Humbi had fallen from the sky as a baby and he had saved her. The chief did not know about the true location, but belived it could be in the nearby Skystone Caverns, a cave full of Ruff Puffs and Lakitus. Mario and Toadea took of to the caverns, and at the end, found not the Cozmo Shard, but a pair of Super Boots. Disappointed, the duo went back to the village and discovered they had been attacked by Cloak's minions. Mario saw Humbi crying on the ground, and when he asked what was wrong, she said her father had been taken by Cloak to the Arachnidium Citadel, an ancient chapel when insects dominated other lifeforms long ago. In revenge for her father, Humbi decided to join the group in their quest.

Mario, Toadea, and Humbi had managed to make their way to the front of the citadel, when they saw a green Bullet Bill fighting off a group of yellow and red bugs. After asking for the trio's help in defeating the bugs (new enemies called Shockroaches and Thermites), the Bullet Bill introduced himself as Scope, a famous bounty hunter that had been hired by Smognis Industries to recover a treasure in the citadel. When he realized Mario's group had the same goal, he teamed up with them. The four had made it to the center of the citadel and found Cloak in an altar with Krownbi. Cloak finally explained his plan: to use the Cozmo Shards as a weapon to defeat the multiverse's greatest evil, even if it meant conquering it. He used the Cozmo Shard in the temple to transform Krownbi into a monsterous insectoid dragon, Arachtail. Using the team's combined efforts, Arachtail was finally downed. With its last words, the dragon said to its daughter that he was proud that she had gained the courage to try to save him. With the sacrifice of his life, Krownbi gave the team their first Cozmo Shard.

### Chapter 2: The King's Crown Jewel

Mario and company's next stop was the Wuhu Kingdom, a glorious Japanese-like land populated by Bob-ombs, Ninjis, and the occasional Sammer Guy. The group found a sign near the entrance to the kingdom that claimed that their ruler, King Wu the 4th, had discovered a large jewel that had fallen from the sky. Thinking that it was the Cozmo Shard, Mario suggested that they try to get into the palace.

Upon arriving at Wu Palace, the group was welcomed by King Wu and his bodyguard, Kate. The king, an orange Sammer Guy, claimed that he always enjoyed a visitor, and that the group could stay as long as they wanted. Suddenly, Humbi noticed a group of Bob-omb soldiers carrying off Peach. When asked what Peach had done, the king said that she had tried to steal his new jewel, and as punishment, he was going to try to brainwash her. Mario began protesting, but Kate threw them into the dungeon for disobeying the king.

Upon waking up, Mario and friends found themselves locked in a cell. They tried everything that they could to escape, but a mysterious voice told them it was futile. Mario looked behind him and saw a young Bob-omb behind him. Introducing himself as Bo Ming, the young Bob-omb said that he had once been a servant of King Wu, until he found the mysterious jewel and it drove him mad with power. The group took him in and decided to stop the corrupt king.

The team made their way through the castle's dungeon, thanks to the demolition powers of their new friend. They had finally made it to the castle commons, when they were spotted by the bodyguard Kate. She was shocked they could escape the dungeon, and attempted to do them in in a battle. When Mario won, Kate asked him to do the finishing blow, but Mario refused. Ashamed, Kate decided the only thing she could do was join Mario's team.

When the group made it to the throne room, Mario discovered that the king's minions had begun Peach's brainwashing. Suddenly, they were spotted by King Wu and a cage dropped on to them. King Wu said that the jewel had given him the ability to see into other dimensions, and that he would make them all a part of his kingdom. But first, he ordered Kate to execute them. Kate pondered over this, and decided since Mario had spared her, she would do the same to him. Letting him out, Kate said she would protect Mario at any costs. Enraged, King Wu began battling them. While the battle was tough, the king was eventually defeated, Peach was saved (and out of thanks joined Mario's team), and Mario got his second Cozmo Shard.

### Chapter 3: Return to The Glitz Pit

The team's next stop was Glitzville, a floating city familiar to Mario and home to the Glitz Pit, a world-famous fighting championship. Mario arrived in Glitzville to see that his old friend, Jolene was still running the Pit, but rumors abounded of a new co-owner. And who would this co-owner be but O' Chunks, Mario's one-time foe and brutal warrior. Mario came into the Pit just in time to watch the championship match: Grubba's son, The Amazing Chubba, versus an angry-looking Monty Mole, King Montezuma. The match was extremely one-sided, with Chubba taking less than a minute to defeat his opponent. As Montezuma ran off swearing revenge, Mario jumped up onto the stage to say hi and congradulate Chubba on his victory. Unfortunatly, his reputation as The Great Gonzales preceded him, and Chubba's hard-earned fans started crowding the pudgy plumber. Peach apolagized to Chubba, and asked him if he knew of the shard's location. But, Jolene and O'Chunks caught sight of Mario and welcomed him back into the Pit's ranks.

While the team was getting a tour of the revamped Glitz Pit, Mario saw something interesting in the minor-league locker room: a young Goomba with a hat and a Chain Chomp on a leash. Mario asked who he was, and he introduced himself as Jack Goomson. He said he had entered the Glitz Pit to earn some cash for his debt-ridden family, but even with his pet helping him, he stank terribly at fighting and hadn't gone up a rank in 3 months. Listening to Jack's story, Mario decided to delete his major-league rank and mentor the young Goomba.

As Mario and his new friend Jack began climbing the ranks of the Pit, they noticed something odd. Even in the minor leagues, fighters had advanced equipment, like portable Bullet Bill cannons or energized UFOs. O'Chunks explained that it was a change in the rules: cheating allowed, but no more than one person and no drugs. Despite this, they went up without a hitch- until they got to Rank 11. There, they had to face a Spiky Paratroopa, which survived all of their attacks. They decided to quit the match and figure out a strategy, when a Blooper mother came through the halls, searching for her baby. Mario, being a hero, decided to find the baby.

Mario eventually found the baby Blooper, Squirt, outside of the Pit in a fountain. Squirt was an adorable little guy, and Jack actually wanted to keep him, but Mario said they needed to return him to his mom first. They almost took him back into the Pit, when Mario saw the mama Blooper through the glass peeling her head off- it wasn't a Blooper at all! The Blooper was actually Montezuma, who was talking to himself on how since the Blooper was a homeless little child, nobody would miss him when he put him in "it". Mario didn't know what he was talking about, but he figured it wasn't good. To keep the Blooper alive, Mario made him a new partner.

With Squirt's water-spiiting skills, the Spiky Paratroopa was defeated, and the rest of the ranks flew by. Mario didn't even break a sweat when he got to Rank 2, his old buddy Rawk Hawk. However, Rank 1 was Montezuma himself. The group didn't trust the sneaky little mole, but he was beaten so easily that they were certian he lost on purpose. Finally, Mario had to fight against Chubba. Peach tried to ask him if he knew of the shard's location, but Chubba said he didn't and started the fight. Thanks to Jack and Squirt, the battle went without a hitch. Jolene and O'Chunks presented Mario with the grand prize, 100 coins, but Mario was still vigilant and ready to find the shard.

Later that day, Mario and friends were having a drink at the nearby juice bar, with Toadea complaining that they still hadn't found the shard. Scope, with his amazing eyesight, saw Montezuma sneaking into the Glitz Pit. The team followed him in to find a hole in the arena. Down the hole, they found Grubba's old youth machine, operated by Montezuma. The mole said he had found this machine under the ring one night, and had not gained enough power to operate it. But, that all changed when he found the weird crystal that Mario recognized as a Cozmo Shard. Montezuma put it in the machine, and just like Grubba, grew to massive proportions. As Mario and friends finally defeated Montezuma, the group gained their third shard.

### Chapter 4: The World's Worst Computer Virus

Cozmo Shard number 4 was located in the Shy Guy Skyrise, a massive skyscraper and home to Sci Guy, a Shy Guy with a brain with the capacity to single-handedly bulid the place. Mario and friends walked in to the skyscrapr and were greeted by the Shy Guy and his assistant, a Duplighost named Viros. Mario immediately saw the Cozmo Shard in the scientist's hand. When asked about it, Sci Guy said he was going to use it to power up the Skyrise so he and Viros could get a well-earned vacation. Before the Shy Guy could use the shard, large explosions rocked the building. Mario, looking outside, saw Lt. Squiddly and a battalion of the hooded creatures from Bowser's castle. As Mario and buddies fought off the fiends, sneaky Viros grabbed the Cozmo Shard from his boss. Tired of playing second fiddle, he said, he was going to sell the gem and buy his own private beach. Thinking quickly, Sci Guy tripped the Duplighost as he ran off with it. Viros fell into the computer and just disappeared. At that moment, all over the skyrise, the robotic Goombot servants and Superblaster security drones stopped their work and attacked the residents. The Cozmo Shard's power had infused Viros's conciousness into the skyrise's computer system. Frightened about his citizens and his work, Sci Guy teamed up with Mario to stop his former assistant.

With the help of Sci Guy's hacking skills, Mario and friends made it to the penthouse, which was also where the main computer hub was. The team caught Viros in the act of sending part of himself as an email, trying to spread his mind to every machine on the planet. Sci Guy promised he wouldn't let that happen, and he and Mario began the battle. The battle was rough, but in a sneaky move, Viros fired a massive laser and won the match. As Viros began gloating to Peach and the other partners how he was now the strongest creature in existence, he didn't notice Mario walk over to the computer and put Viros in the recycle bin. With the Duplighost vanquished, Mario obtained another Cozmo Shard.

### Chapter 5: May the Stars Shine Down Upon You

The next location seemed to lead the group to nothing more than a small planetoid. As Jack attempted to use his pet to dig to the core, and Scope contemplated just blowing the place up, Mario chacked the other side of the planetoid and found a magnificent starship from his past- The Comet Observatory. Mario got his buddies and leapt on to the ship just before it took off.

As the team got a tour of the observatory from Mario, they eventually ran into a familiar face, Rosalina. The beautiful woman welcomed them to her straship, and hoped everybody felt at home. Toadea, with her psychic abilities, sensed something was wrong with Rosalina and asked her what it was. Rosalina explained that her assistant, Polari, had gone missing, and was probably lost in Sky Station. Mario volunteered to go search for the missing Luma, and Rosalina gave him a young Luma, Pulsar, as a bit of help.

The team found Polari sitting in a pile of Star Bits. Polari refused to come back has he had heard a rumor that the observatory woul be attacked by vicious aliens called Shroobs. As Mario and co. rushed back to the Comet Observatory, they discovered that the rumor was true. As Mario and partners went off to kill some, Peach took a look around and found a lone Shroob just sitting in the library. The Shroob, Zroob, said he had no interest in fighting a witch and her cohorts. When Peach asked him if he wanted to join their group, he immediatly perked up and said yes. With Zroob's help, the band of heroes defeated Princess Shroob and drove back the invasion.

After helping Rosalina and telling her about Polari, Bo asked her if she knew about the Cozmo Shard. She claimed it had fallen from the stars and landed in a dangerous region of space, the Blank Zone. After asking to be taken there, Rosalina eventually caved and took the ship to a completly white region of space. When Mario got off, he was in a shrine with a large purple crystal- in front of which was the Cozmo Shard. Rushing to get it, he didn't notice the sign saying "Do Not Touch". The crystal immediatly shattered, and the Dark Star- which Mario had sealed up last time- was awakened. Trying to prevent the universe from falling under it's rule again, the team tried to destroy it. They finally did and the Dark Star vanished, letting them get their 5th Cozmo Shard.

### Chapter 6: Return to The Castle

Merlon hinted that Mario's next stop would be familiar, and it sure was. It was Castle Bleck, only now in ruins and called the Mystik Ruins. Finding that attemting to traverse the ruins was easier said than done, the group was just about to leave when an orange-shelled Koopa Troopa slid up to them. Introducing himself as Karlos, he told the group that he was second-in-command of a refugee camp at the center of the ruins and would gladly help them get around. Accepting the gesture, Mario and team followed the Koopa throgh the ruins.

When they finally arrived at the camp, they caught sight of a very familiar person helping the other refugees dig through the rubble- Count Bleck himself, along with an old robed woman who was apparently Timpani. They asked the count what he was looking for. Bleck's answer was the Deathgate- a device his father had made to cross over to the underworld. The count was going to use it to try to find his father's spirit, and try to make amends with him. He then said he had a small quest for Mario- to retrieve some digging equipment from the far end of the ruins. They eventually made, and found a Super Hammer among the equipment. Thanking them, the count let them stay for the night.

Mario and Peach woke up in the camp to vicious quarrelling. When Mario looked outside, he saw two identical Blecks fighting with each other. When asking what was going on, they both explained that the other count was an imposter. Trying to stop the fight, Humbi did the only thing she could- "the 68th Annual Correct Count Contest". In the end, the count that had sent them looking for the equipment was the imposter the whole time. Outraged, he challenged Mario to a duel. The duel was won by Mario, but some of the refugees didn't get the note to stop working, and they finally unearthed a metallic gate- the Deathgate. Throwing off his mask, the imposter was revealed to be Cloak, and the old woman was in fact Lt. Squiddly. Cloak rushed off with the Deathgate into the ruins.

The group chased the villain into the shadowy, mysterious ruins. When they finally caught up with him, Mario saw him open up the gate and bring out a strange figure. Mario realized it was Dimentio, the twisted jester that had tried to destroy the multiverse before. Dimentio saw the heroes and began battle with them. Using his skills, the plumber easily defeated the psychotic jester. Dimentio attempted to warp away, but Humbi stopped him with a show of logic that caught his attention- if Cloak conquered the multiverse, he wouldn't be able to. Thinking it over, Dimentio decided that he would team up with Mario- just for a little bit.

The ruin's traversal was nothing now that Dimentio helped them get through. Mario eventually tracked Cloak to a hidden pocket in the center. As Mario entered the small pocket, he saw Cloak use the Deathgate again, and summon another figure, who looked like Bleck, but was much more fearsome and powerful-looking. Cloak saw Mario, and explained that this was the count's father- Lord Abar. He was a master of the dark arts, and would be the easiest way to eliminate Mario. As Abar lunged at Mario, the battle begun. It was long and difficult, but the fight was won by Mario and his team. Dimentio was about to end the dark lord, when Bleck rushed into the hidden underground pocket. Glaring at Dimentio, he said that he wanted to say goodbye to his father. After a long, tearful reunion, Bleck told Mario that he had been given the Cozmo Shard as a present from Timpani, but if Mario needed it, he'd gladly give it up. As the count went off to be reunited with his family, Mario got a new Cozmo Shard.

### Chapter 7: Bones vs. Boos

As Mario was about to take off back to Flipside, he noticed that his bag was lighter than usual. Then, it hit him. The Star Orb was missing! The team searched the ruins for the precious artifact, until Humbi finally found it- going through the Deathgate. The group followed Humbi through.

On the other side of the Deathgate, they found a western-style town. Peach stopped worrying, figuring that they just went back in time. Jack looked up at the sky and proved her wrong- it was the same creepy nebula formation that haunted the Ghostly Galaxy. The entire group was freaked out now, so they barely heard a frightened wailing. Humbi, with her ears conditioned by years of music love, heard the cry and checked behind the well behind them. The cryer was none other than Luigi. The green plumber finally stopped crying once he saw his bigger bro, and said that he had been stuck in this freaky mining town since Cloak's attack. Catching the scent of his favorite meal, spaghetti, Mario took Luigi into his group and explored the town.

The aptly-named Ghostly Gulch freaked even hardcore Scope out. Eventually, Mario tracked the delicious smell to the also aptly-named Spaghetti Western Cantina, which was apparently some kind of restaraunt. Mario went inside to ask for directions (and also get some of that amazing spaghetti) and was shocked to see an entire building filled with Boos. Luckily, these were friendly Boos and they didn't attack Mario. Relaxed, Mario sat down to order some spaghetti. Sitting next to him was an orange Boo with glasses and messed-up hair, who didn't fit at all with the Western style. Mario asked him why he looked so... awkward compared to the rest of the town. The Boo explained that his name was Deadward, and the western style was actually a bit of a curse. A while back, a mysterious stone fell from the sky. The Boos just thought it was some kind of space junk. However, a notorious villain, Dead Eye the Dry Bones, somehow found out that the stone possessed the power to generate curses and put the town under a time distortion spell until they gave it to him. Unfortunatly, he got his demand, but completely forgot to remove the town's curse. He didn't seem to get affected by it, though, and he could live with that. Mario, certain that it was the Cozmo Shard, asked Deadward to join his team, and the set off across the yet-again aptly named Vast Desert.

Various monsters like Dust Latikus, Cactinies, and Rumble Weeds slowed them down, and a run-in with an insane Brew Bones resulted in nasty taste buds, but soon Dead Eye's hideout, Necromancer Ranch, was in sight. However, once they came within sight of the guards, they were dragged into the rodeo ring and were forced to fight a ReDead Bull (shameless double parody on my behalf.). After the battle, the group was finally let in the ranch.

Inside, the group tried to relax, but kept watch for the Cozmo Shard. Luigi, not watching where he was going and too busy shivering to try, bumped into a Shadow Siren carrying a plate of hot spaghetti. The plate flew through the air and landed on a giant Boohemoth, who then proceeded to punch Luigi across the room. The Shadow Siren then began fuming, and asked Mario to take care of the massive ghost.

After the fight with the tubby titan, the Shadow Siren began thanking Mario for getting rid of the nasty customer. She then introduced herself as Spectra, the best waitress in the ranch. Peach noticed that Spectra kept carrying a weird lantern with. Spectra replied that it was a family heirloom, but her boss, Dead Eye, had put it out and forced her to work for him, and if anybody could relight it, she'd quit and work for them. 3 minutes later, the entire bar was ablaze as Bo Ming relit the lantern. Out of sheer joy, and keeping her promise, Spectra joined the team.

With Spectra's help, Mario and the others began their perilous trek through the ranch basement. Eventually, they came across Dead Eye's room. Upon entering, they saw dozens of stone statues all over the room. Upon examination, Scope found out that the statues were breathing- and twitching. Suddenly, Dead Eye burst into the room, the Cozmo Shard embedded in his empty eye socket. The outlaw explained that the statues were actually alive, brought to life by the Cozmo Shard. Soon, he would set his rocky minions on the town and take all the money he could carry. He then challenged Mario and co. to a duel. Dead Eye was eventually defeated, and the Cozmo Shard was removed from his eye socket.

### Chapter 8: Sailing the Dimensional Seas

Upon returning to Flipside with two Cozmo Shards in hand, Mario set out to find his next destination. According to Merlon, the next Cozmo Shard was located in the Dimensional Seas, an entire ocean of distorted time.

Once they went through Merlon's warp pipe to the dimension where it was located, the group arrived in Timeshine Harbor, a docking bay for all kinds of spaceships. As Mario looked at bizarre ships with names like the Lor Starcutter, Lightning Chariot, and the Pork Bean (nobody got that one), Luigi saw what appeared to be Mario's old friend, Admiral Bobbery the Bob-omb.

Upon being hugged by Mario, the Bob-omb replied that he was not Bobbery. His name was Captain Misilo, and his crew was just making a quick pit stop at the harbor. Kate looked behind Misilo and saw his ship, the Scarfox, a massive galleon-like vessel. Mario decides to join the crew to find the Cozmo Shard.

The captain introduced Mario to his crew; Sock, the cabin boy, Peggy, the weapons expert, and Jonathan Jones, the navigator. Johnny told the group he had predict smooth sailing ahead. However, a while later, the prediction turned out to be false, as the ship was attacked by a Space Kraken. Mario and friends exterminated the foul beast and the ship set off to its destination- Magi Island.

Magi Island, the captain explained, was an island inhabited by Magiblots, inky mages who could probably help find the shard. Upon arrival, the group immediatly noticed the town was being ranskacked by what appeared to be X-Naut troops. As Mario hunted down the evil soldiers, Toadea noticed them all getting into one big ship. Mario ran back to the Scarfox, and decided to attack the ship. This is the introduction of Ship Combat, which we will be seeing more of later.

Mario and co. went back to the village to check on the islanders. They had finally come out of hiding, and Mario had noticed that they had more of a tribal asthetic than past Magiblots. A big and EXTREMELY chubby one parted the crowd and introduced himself as Chief Inquill, the leader of the tribe. He thanked Mario for ridding the village of the vile X-Nauts. Suddenly, the island the village was situated on began crumbling. Misilo evacuated the villagers and left in the Scarfox.

Once they left what was left of the island, Misilo asked what the in the name of Bonechill's sweatpants had happened on the island. Inquill explained that the X-Nauts had stolen the power source of the island- the Twilight Gem. The Twilight Gem was a crystal that had been fused from various alien technologies- Shroob energy generators, Aurum antigravity technology, Halcandrian eternity batteries, and Covenant forcefield devices- that kept the island in stable condition but could also be used as a weapon of mass destruction. A small Magiblot floated up and introduced himself as Sagi, the high priest of the Magiblots. Sagi explained that, being the creator of the Twilight Gem, he could also help track it down. Suddenly, the Scarfox began shaking as an X-Naut vessel began attacking them.

As the Scarfox was raided by the X-Nauts, Mario noticed Sagi being carried off by what appeared to be Lord Crump, who had must've survived his apparent demise. Mario took his friends and boarded the X-Naut's ship. On board, they fought off X-Naut troops by the dozen and obtained what appeared to be an experimental Jump upgrade made of, what Toadea belived to be, Aurum technology, which was dubbed by Mario as the Aura Jump. The team finally made it to the helm of the ship where Crump was "interrogating" Sagi with a giant cannon/arm that also appeared to be made of Aurum tech. As Crump finally turned around, he challenged Mario to one final showdown.

If you've played Thousand-Year Door, you already know what happens, so I'm just gonna skip the Crump fight.

After Crump's embarrassing beatdown, he ran off the edge of the ship into an escape pod. As Crump flew off, Mario untied Sagi. The Magiblot explained that the Dimensional Seas weren't just a simple dimension. They were actually the intersecting point of every other Nintendo universe. Mario and Toadea had NO clue what he was talking about, until he mentioned an alien species called the Aurum. Mario had already heard of this mysterious species, and asked Sagi what they were.

The Aurum, Sagi explained, were a vicious, hive-minded inorganic alien race that invaded planets and stole resources to create giant armada-like vessels. The main control unit, the Aurum Brain, had been destroyed by a hero who nobody could really remember the name of, and the empty mothership's shell had drifted into the center of that universe, landing in the bottom of the Dimensional Seas. However, the X-Nauts discovered the mothership and pillaged it, stealing all the tech they could find. Now, they had powerful weapons and vehicles, but it was only a matter of time before they discovered the tech's true power- mass mind control.

Mario, shocked at the X-Naut's new plan, asked Sagi if he had any more information. Sagi replied with the coordinates of the X-Naut's base. As Mario was walking off, Sagi asked to join Mario's team out of thanks, and Mario happily agreed.

Once the Scarfox was done with its repairs, Sagi explained to Misilo about the X-Naut's plan. Shocked, Misilo set the ship's coordinates to the X-Naut's new base- The Cavernous Cavern. Upon arriving, Mario noticed that it definitly looked like a mouth and deserved the name. The captain dropped off the heroes and they set off into the cave. As they progressed, the cave began looking less like a cave and more like a factory, until they finally reached what looked like a throne room. As they looked around for anything suspicious, the doors suddenly slammed shut and Crump came down a rope in the celing, carrying something. As Crump drew closer, Mario could see that it was the head of none other than Grodus, the leader of the X-Nauts.

Mario and his partners challenged Grodus and Crump to a final showdown. After the battle, Crump ran off crying to his mommy. As Toadea laughed in his misery, Mario noticed Grodus rolling toward a crate tucked in the corner that looked suspisiously like Aurum tech. Grodus nudged the crate, and large tendrils spiralled out and surrounded Grodus. In a flash, he had gone from a head to a full body made of Aurum parts. Cackling, he created a swarm of Aurum troops, the Tribytes, to chase Mario and co. out of the cave.

Once out of the cave, the Tribytes stopped chasing Mario and his friends and headed back into the cave. As Peach, Luigi, and the partners sat down for a bit of rest, Mario started listening into the cave, and it wasn't long before he heard a terrified scream. Mario called his friends and they set off into the cave. Upon entering a room labeled "Laborotory", they saw Aurum troops- Tribytes, Quoils, and Bilts- attacking a green X-Naut PhD. Mario and co. crushed the alien troops, and talked to the doctor, who introduced himself as Chief Scientist Xeno. Xeno claimed that Sir Grodus's Aurum troops had gone haywire, attacking the X-Nauts and stealing resources from the mines under the cavern. Recalling Sagi's story about the Aurum, Mario realized that the Aurum Brain's programming must've kicked back in. Xeno then told Mario about a plan he had come up with: locating 3 pieces of powerful equipment to make a weapon to devastate all the Aurum in the cavern.

Mario searched high and low for the pieces, and eventually tracked them all down. After building the weapon in 30 seconds flat, Xeno decided to accompany them to make it to the center of the cavern. With the doctor's shrinking skills, they raced through the cavern and found a quaint little hot dog stand in the rubble. The team finally made it back to the thone room, with Grodus standing in the center, surrounded by Aurum troops. Mario yelled at Grodus to get bim to run; all he got was a respone in binary- 01001011010010010100110001001100. Suddenly, Toadea recalled Sagi's explaination of the Aurum being hive-minded; Grodus must've been absorbed into what remained of it. Realizing that this new Aurum Grodus threatned the entire universe, they faced off.

The monster was finally defeated, and Aurum Grodus disentigrated into white powder, along with the Aurum troops. Mario noticed a room behind the throne, which upon opening the door, was revealed to be a treasure room. While everyone started staring at the mounds of gold, jewels, and badges, Mario looked in the back and saw a large polygon with technological markings- the Twilight Gem. Cheering, Mario noticed a small glimmer below it. Picking it up, he discovered the 8th Cozmo Shard.

### Chapter 9: Saved by the Bell

Cozmo Shard #9 was located in Retro Plains, according to Merlon. Mario was starting to get worried, as none of his adventures had ever been this long. Toadea, sensing his distress, told him to soldier on. Arriving in Retro Plains, Mario noticed everything was 8-bit, even the enemies. Fighting off Retro Goombas and Retro Koopas, they eventually made it to a large building that didn't match the 8-bit scenery. Entering it, they discovered what appeared to be a large school, with banners proudly proclaiming "GO GOOMBAS!" Mario realized that it was University of Goom, the universe's most advanced college.

While navigating the maze-like school, one of the doors suddenly blew off, with a familiar voice crying out in pain. Mario rushed in and saw none other than his old pal, Professor Frankly, covered in ash and standing in front of a charred machine. While Mario rushed to help him, a Goomba girl ran in front of him and beat him to Frankly. Looking at her more closley, Mario could see that it was none other than his old partner, Goombella.

After the reunion in the school's break room, Mario asked what Frankly and Goombella were doing that required a massive explosion. Frankly replied that Goombella, now a proffesional archeologist, uncovered an ancient piece of technology, and they had attempted to unlock its secrets. However, every attempt had failed, and at one point, literally turned the school UPSIDE-DOWN. While Mario wondered what it could do, Toadea had another idea- taking a tour of the school.

While walking around the university, Mario and co. saw experiments beyond anything they had ever seen. There was a lab dedicated to gravity control, a room for testing psychic mutations and abilities, a large airtight chamber where scientists were testing a device called the Cardboardinator, and a giant Fire Flower-powered nuclear reactor that likely powered the school. Even the cafeteria was super-advanced, with tables with built-in appliances. Sci Guy, surrounded by all the technology, wanted to check out the gym.

The gym was utter chaos. Goombella explained the school's main sport was Dodge Brawl, an incredibly violent, no-rules fighting sport. Mario decided to join one of the teams, a team named The Xellents. Unfortunately, the team consistented of 2 Goombas, 2 Paragoombas, and a Buzzy Beetle- while the opposing team had 3 Whomps, an Infinity Bob-omb, and a Heavy Beetle. One of the Whomps, wearing a blue and white sports jacket, had their team charge immediately at the Xellents, who ran like wimps. The Buzzy was injured, and the back-up player came in- a black, gothic looking Ruff Puff. He floated up next to Mario, and introduced himself as Stormy, and he really just wanted to get the game over with. Mario and Stormy decided to team up to take down the other team. With Stormy's help the game was won easily.

After the game, Mario and his new buddy sat down to a nice meal of Deluxe Shroom Pizza, wondering where the Cozmo Shard could be. Suddenly, explosions blasted throughout the school, and the little hooded creatures from Cloak's army started to run around the grounds. As the students and scientists evacuated, they were blocked at the exit by none other than Cloak himself.

Under Cloak's control, the school became a high-tech prison for the students. Mario had been seperated from Toadea and his other partners. All hope seemed lost when Stormy floated up. Being the goth he was, Stormy knew deep depression- and this wasn't it. He wanted to restore the school to its rightful form. Teaming up with Mario again, he set off to find the one person who could help. He told Mario to search out a guy called Rockford.

Good news- Mario found Rockford. Bad news- Rockford was the Whomp who lead the opposing charge in the Dodge Brawl game. More bad news- apparently Rockford was promoted to a general in Cloak's forces. Trudging throught the school's defenses, he eventually found Rockford in the luxury "Minion Suites". When he noticed Mario, he decided not to sound the alarm- on one condition. Before Mario could answer, Rockford whisked him off to the gym. Rockford declared that he would join up with Mario and "Dweebface" if he could win in a game of Dodge Brawl. Mario eaisly won, as Rockford didn't realize the match was 2-on-1. Reluctantly, he handed over the key to the high security room where Mario's partners were.

Releasing his friends, nothing was stopping Mario from freeing the school. Navigating his way back through the halls, he eventually reached the school gym, where Cloak had set up his HQ. Entering the room, he saw Cloak sipping a mug of Glitzy Cola, which he promptly spat out upon seeing Mario's group barging in. They were about to attack, when Cloak pulled out the machine from Frankly's lab. Cloak explained it was a prison for a powerful demon, and they had two choices- surrender or be killed by the monster. Seeing as Mario wouldn't give up, he let out the monster- the powerful Master Hand. Upon defeating it, Cloak decided to give them a reward- the only Cozmo Shard he had obtained.

### Chapter 10: The Forest Maze

The Cozmo Shard count was about to reach 10, as Merlon discovered the next one in a place called Cornerstone Town, a town famous for its acting and drama community. Upon arriving, Mario noticed something else- the town was having some kind of festival. Walking into the town square, he saw an incredibly fat Toad ringing a big bell. When the crowd cleared, Mario introduced himself to the Toad. The Toad introduced himself as Mayor Bellson, and the Bell Festival was a part of the town's history. As Toadea pulled out some popcorn and a blanket, Mario decided to ask what was so important.

A long, long, long time ago, before the Mushroom Kingdom even existed, Cornerstone Town was created by an evil deity called Manevolus. He used the dimension as a base of operations to conquer other worlds. However, the citizens of the town decided that they should eliminate the deity, so the multiverse would be safe. Their most beautiful and pure-hearted maiden, Serenada, created a magic bell that would end the life of Manevolus. While the townspeople put on a big show to distract their master, Serenada rang the bell, sealing his soul into a small puppet body. However, her lifeforce was drained in the process, and she just- vanished. The town held a celebration and memorial of that day for over 9000 years.

When Bellson finished the story, a large gong rang in a giant building, easily the largest in the town. Mario, remembering that it was a memorial, thought it was a church. Upon entering it, though, he saw it was actually a giant theater, with all of the townspeople watching the stage. Looking at it, he saw actors playing out the same story he had just heard. When it got to the part about the bell's creation, Mario looked at Serenada's actress- a Spindrift, and easily the most beautiful woman he had ever seen (even topping Peach). Asking Bellson who she was, he told him her name was Serah, and she was one of the best actresses in their world.

After the play, Mario snuck off from the group to check out Serah in her dressing room. He barged in just as she was taking her Serenada costume off. While she was shaocked at first, she soon warmed up to the chubby plumber. After about 12 minutes of chat, Mario, feeling a bit in love, asked Serah to join the group. She decided not to go, as for her, acting came first. She packed up her things and exited the room, saying goodbye to Mario. Mario, a bit sad, lingered around the room for a bit. Suddenly, he heard a loud scream outside and rushed out to see what happened. He saw Serah lying on the ground, clutching her forehead. Mario was about to call the medical Toad, when she strugglingly got up. She said she had changed her mind- not only was she tagging along, but she somehow had a vision of the Cozmo Shard's location.

Heading out into the maze-like forest surrounding the town, the group eventually came across a giant tower. Serah explained that it was Booster Tower, the tower containing the body of Manevolus. Her vision showed her the Cozmo Shard resting in a pile of bushes in a garden on top of the tower. The team entered the tower, worried that something was in the tower.

Inside the tower, the group found that nothing that defined the laws of physics existed in any sort of form. Everything was turned upside-down. Pirhana Plants attacked by spitting out black Goombas-which then blew up. The team had to travese through the tower by literally pulling big chunks of rubble into a walkable hallway. When they finally made it to a big scary-looking door, the entire tower flipped upside-down, and our heroes fell into a dark room near the bottom- er, top- of the tower.

When Mario came to, he saw his buddies lying on the- celing, I guess- along with something chained to the wall. When he went to investigate, he saw it was a Shaman (Merlon's Species) in black clothing, and the chains seemed to be made of glowing magical steel. He tapped the shaman on the shoulder- and he woke up and started freaking out. When he calmed down from his spaz attack, he asked what Mario was doing in Booster Tower. When Mario replied that he was trying to make it to the top of the tower, the shaman struck a deal. If Mario let him go, he'd help him access the garden room. Sure, he was a bit insane, but he was the only form of travel they actually could have at this point. Mario decided to let him go. The shaman introduced himself as Merloom, and vowed to not go back on his promise.

By the time Mario got Merloom out of his incredibly tight chain prison, many of his friends had woken up. As Mario introduced the shaman, Merloom's eye seemed drawn to something in the group. Suddenly, he rushed over to Serah and started freaking out. The group figured he was just either crazy (which he was) or lovesick-until Mario heard him mention the name Serenada.

Mario asked him to repeat what he said. Merloom said he had known Serenada back when she was alive. He started jumping for joy, saying he was happy she had come back by some bizarre force. Serah, flustered, told him she wasn't his friend. Suddenly, the entire tower erupted in a bright flash of light. When Mario's eyes were finally able to see again, where Serah once stood, there was a beautiful human with angelic wings. She introduced herself as none other than Serenada. Since sealing away Manevolus's body, her soul had wandered the cosmos, waiting for something important to happen. When she foresaw Mario's quest, she used her remaining energy to reincarnate herself as Serah. Knowing Mario would require a helping hand, she flipped the tower right-side up and returned everything to normal. When the light cleared, Serah had returned.

With the tower back to normal, the heroes hurried up to the big door they had seen before. Entering, Mario saw a wooden doll that looked remarkably like Geno- though much more evil looking. Suddenly, the doll shuddered, and quickly sprang up and attacked the team. With the powers of their friends Merloom and Serah, the doll was defeated and Manevolus was destroyed for good. The group headed up to the garden and grabbed the shard.

Walking back to town, the group had a pleasant chat about the adventure(with Merloom remarking how the chapter drew a lot of references to Super Mario RPG). When they got back to town, however, everything was quiet. Serah, knowing it was the festival, realized something was up. The group heard a cry for help inside the theater. Being heroes, they rushed to help.

When they got in the theater, the entire place was in chaos. Many of the villagers had been knocked unconcious. The entire building was covered in sand. And Cloak was strangling Bellson. Rushing to save the portly Toad, Mario attacked Cloak. Cloak, angered by the attack, decided to finish off Mario, Peach and Luigi once and for all. He warped off, leaving only the faint sound of chikachikachikachikachika..... Suddenly, a giant sand worm burst out of the ground, flying around howling. The demon worm, Molgera, lunged at our heroes. While the battle was tough, it was eventually defeated.

After Molgera was slain, the town rejoyced and generally threw a big party for our heroes. Mario dropped the news of Serah's identity on Bellson. After the Toad recovered from his fainting, he welcomed his ancestor to the new town. While the festivities continued, Mario and friends snuck off, eager to continue their journey.

### Chapter 11: Mario Becomes Shark Bait

Mario's next destionation was what Merlon called Great Ocean City. As such, the group took a little time buying swimming gear and getting some sidequests done. When they finally went through the portal to their destination, they had a view of a beautiful blue ocean. Then it hit them- they were standing in midair after being dropped off by the portal. The group had only 3 seconds to think about this before they plummeted into the sea. Being paper, they knew they had to get ashore quickly, but many of them were horrible swimmers. Before they drowned, they were picked up by a mysterious pirate ship that had apparently appeared out of nowhere.

When Mario regained conciousness, he saw he was being dried out by the crew via a giant heat lamp. Getting out of the cot he was situated in, he saw his friends being dried out in the same way. Reassured, he headed upstairs to the captains' cabin. Along the way, he saw multiple signs calling the ship *The Sweet Stuff*.

When Mario finally reached the captain's cabin, he opened the door to find it stuffed to the celing with treasure. After navigating a small maze of gold and jewels, he came across a female pirate sitting on a golden throne stroking none other than... A Cozmo Shard! Mario knew he couldn't just take it from her, so he resorted to being nice. The pirate introduced herself as Captain Syrup, and invited Mario and his friends to a feast down in the galley.

After everyone got dried out fully, they were treated to a six-star banquet, or at least, that's what it tasted like. While Peach was daintly sipping some Koopa Tea and the guys were pigging out on a giant turkey, Mario scooted over to Syrup to stealthly ask for the shard. Before he could get close enough to sneak it off, however, Merloom, who hadn't seen one yet, asked what the in the name of Grambi's armpits was the thing. Syrup said it was her lucky jewel. Ever since she found it, she was able to create her own crew, warp her ship instantly across the ocean, and command the most fearsome beast she could find, making her the most feared pirate in existence. Looking at the crew, Mario saw they were actually Skellobits. Mario raised his hammer, but Syrup grabbed the shard and her eyes glowed yellow. In that moment, a giant skeletal shark blasted through the ship's hull and threw Mario's group out of the ship.

This time, Toadea woke up before anyone else. Looking around, she saw a beautiful coral-like structure surrounding her, like some kind of building. She tried to get up, but her side bursted with pain. A voice called to her. "Stay still," it said,"your side is ripped." Toadea looked at her torso and saw the voice was right- there was a big tear in her side. It wasn't long before she passed out from the pain again.

By the time Mario had woken up, most of the team had already goten up and were looking around. The coral structure was attached to a big city in a bubble- likely Great Ocean City. Going inside the main city, Mario saw several mermaid-like people swimming around. Maro decided to head toward the biggest building in the city, a massive palace.

Inside the palace, Mario saw several statues of a strong-looking merman with the inscription "King Posidos". Obviously being the king, Mario decided to ask him if he could help him take down Captain Syrup. Entering the throne room, he saw the king looking rather sad, just sitting on his throne doing nothing. Mario asked him what was wrong. Posidos said that his daughter, Princess Syrena, had been kidnapped by Kingfin, the most powerful beast in the ocean. While normally Kingfin did not attack the city, recently it had been attacking everything in sight. But going into the city and stealing the princess? Never before had it attempted such a feat. Mario decided to bargain with the king- he saved Syrena, and Posidos's army helped him attack Syrup's ship. The king accepted, and said Mario could take any equipment he wanted.

Mario spent the next few minutes wandering around town. Thanks to the king's deal, Mario could help himself to any items he wanted, all for free. He even got a powerful new Shell Hammer upgrade, which normally would cost him a million coins. Entering the darker, deeper downtown area, Mario found an abandonded house with skull-and-crossswords symbol. When he went in, he saw some really good badges and a pile of golden metal. After collecting the badges (HP Plus, Iron Stomp, Slick Roof and Mr. Popular, in case you were wondering), Mario examined the metal pile and touched a weird-looking button. Suddenly, the pile sprang to life and formed into a small robot. The robot introduced himself as Eternity Kingdom Service Drone CLWX-5, Temporal Division, while Mario decided to call him Clockworx for short. Clockworx said since Mario had reactivated him after his former master perished, he would serve him from now on. Glad, Mario took his new buddy back to the rest of the group.

By the time Mario's group had all met up at the city docks, they had stocked up on everything they could've needed. Going down the docks to find a boat labeled *The Pristine*, Mario introduced the team to Clockworx. Getting to the end of the docks, they finally found their boat-a shabby old worn-out wooden jalopy of a boat. Before anyone could protest, the pilot shoved them in and set them off towards Bonefin Caverns, Kingfin's lair.

Unfortunately for Mario, his boat sank immediately after the team arrived at Bonefin Caverns. Going in the back enterence to avoid waking Kingfin, they found some bizarre aquatic Piranha Plants called Seaweirds. Fighting their way through a Seaweird forest of sorts, they finally made it to a prison-like room. Only one cell was filled, and that cell was holding a small crying mermaid girl. Realizing it was the princess, Mario hammered the lock open and opened the door. The princess swam out and hugged Mario, thanking him a lot. Syrena was about to start kissing him when Scope broke it up, telling Mario they needed to evac the caverns ASAP. As the team was leaving, Syrena decided to tag along with Mario, as the caverns had slightly flooded and none of them were any good at swimming. Just as they were about to escape the cavern, Kingfin swan into the back enterence, blocking it up. They realized they had to fight Kingfin to get out.

When Kingfin was finally defeated, Syrena swam them back to Great Ocean City. While Luigi got some refreshments at a Seafood Stand to calm himself, Mario took Syrena to the palace. Posidos was overjoyed by his daughter's return, and grouped his army and told them to follow Mario's command. As the army fought off Syrup's minions, Mario would take the Pristine and attack the ship. Yep, more Ship Combat.

By the time the Pristine reached the surface, the Sweet Stuff was being bombarded with troops. As the Pristine swam up to the side of the ship, Mario and co. jumped out. Climbing through the wrecked ship led the group to the captain's cabin, where they found Syrup holding the Cozmo Shard. Enraged, Syrup demanded Mario surrender or die. Mario came up with a better idea- boss battle to the death. By the time Syrup was defeated, the Sweet Stuff began to sink. Evacuating the ship, they managed to make it back to the portal to Flipside.

### Chapter 12: Koopa Kaos

When Mario and his friends came back to Flipside, Mario was struck with an idea. While the others went off to get sidequesting done, Mario went to Merlon to ask him something. When he arrived at Merlon's place, the shaman was cleaning a large shelf of knicknacks. He invited Mario in for some cookies made by his neighbor, when Mario asked him a question- what was Cloak's beef with Flipside and his friends? Sitting down, Merlon said the reason he broke the Nexus wasn't so unknown at all.

Several years ago, Toadea and Cloak floated in from different dimensions by some unknown force. After fending off some creatures that began attacking the town, the shamans who lived there decided to have them be Flipside's new heroes in Mario's absence. The town banded together under their leadership to face against The Pixl Queen, an enigmatic being bent on conquering the multiverse. After the Pixl Queen was defeated, Toadea and Cloak created the Nexus out of crystallized fragments of her power. Everything was peaceful for the next couple years, but tension began to grow between the two heroes. Eventually, Cloak, convinced Toadea had turned to the dark side, destroyed the machine, in order to retake the pieces and use their power to erase her from existence, at any cost.

After hearing this tragic tale, Mario asked where the next shard was. It was located in Tanuki Forest, an autumn forest populated by Tanooki Toads. Entering the portal machine, they arrived in a small village covered in beautiful autumn leaves- which was being attacked by Koopas, Koopatrols, and Hammer Bros. As the heroes began to fend them off, Luigi ran into a young Tanooki Toad being chased by two Magikoopas on brooms. As Luigi ran off, getting the boy to safety, he noticed the two Magikoopas were a bit familiar- they were Kamek and Kammy. As Luigi realized what was going on, he heard a massive roar coming from the top of a house. There, he saw Mario fighting none other than Bowser- with a Cozmo Shard in his hand.

The team regrouped to take on Bowser, but when he saw Mario, he called his troops and ran out of the village. Once all the enemies had left, Mario started checking around to see if everything was alright. A small Tanoomba hobbled up to Mario and introduced himself as Chief Kitsol. He explained that the forest had been unusually eventful lately, with Bowser and his minions attacking and pillaging any village they could find. Mario agreed Bowser needed to be stopped, and Kitsol called out to the young Toad from before. He introduced the youngster as Nuki, and he had been quite the prankster around the village. As punishment, Kitsol was assigning Nuki to Mario's leadership. With a new load to carry- er, partner, Mario set off to find Bowser.

Wandering along inside the Deep Woods, Mario found out why Kitsol had given Nuki up so easily. He constantly ran off, pranked Mario, and generally just made everyone unhappy. Mario was actually relived when he saw Bowser's castle off in the distance. Entering through the castle's Bowser head, he was greeted by a ton of Bowser's troops. However, Nuki somehow transformed into a Thwomp and crushed the entire group. With the shapeshifting abilities of Nuki, they managed to fight their way to Bowser.

After running from a giant 3D cardboard Grrrol, they arrived in the throne room- with Bowser on the throne, holding the shard. Mario, knowing they needed that shard, challenged Bowser to a battle. Eager to stomp his nemesis, Bowser jumped into battle. However, when Bowser got down to 1 HP, something blasted him in the back and KOd him. Feeling happy about winning, Mario strode up and took the shard from Bowser's claws. Suddenly, Peach noticed Kamek brandishing his wand, apparently being the one that beat Bowser for them. Kamek blasted the Cozmo Shard out of Mario's hands and drained its power into his wand, supercharging his magic. With a flick of it, the entire castle was blown to bits.

When the team regained conciousness, their surroundings were negative compared to what they were when they came to the castle. They wandered around for a bit, until they found Bowser lying unconsious on the ground. Mario woke him up, and he immediately started raging and chasing after Mario. After a brief chase scene, Peach told Bowser that Kamek had gone insane with power, and was probably torturing his poor minions. Shocked at this, Bowser decided to team up with Mario for the time being- if Peach would marry him afterwards. Seeing no other way out of this mess, she agreed. With Bowser's spirits perked to the max, they headed off to battle Kamek.

With the castle completely destroyed, it wasn't hard to get back to the throne room. When they got there though, Kamek himself was there to meet them. With a quick conversation, the battle began. Though Kamek had a lot of nasty tricks up his sleeve, they eventually beat him and restored the Cozmo Shard's power by breaking his wand. With Kamek down for the count, Bowser regrouped his minions, saying he would be staying with Mario for a while and Kammy was in charge. As Bowser walked off with his team, he cried hearing the minions' cheers of farewell. In reality, though, they were cheering about getting to have a party.

### Chapter 13: Enviromental Awareness

The nest Cozmo Shard lied in the compounds of Smognis Industries, a giant and powerful corporation specializing in energy production, located in Evershade Valley. Unfortunately, the air around the island that the building was on was so polluted, no living thing could survive- not that the ghosts cared. The group would need to get some rebreathers from Great Ocean City. After buying a Deluxe 4-Piece Rebreather Set (an extra one just in case), they went off to the island.

After entering the compound, Scope started to talk with the Greenie receptionist as the others went to the coffeeroom. Picking up a random magazine, Mario saw an article about Smognis, a Possessor who was the CEO of the company. While Smognis once worked in energy production, recently, he had an epiphany, and began work on Anti-Pollutrons, robots that would spray a powerful anti-pollutant formula across not only the entire island, but the whole planet. Scope finally got a meeting in with Smognis, so the group headed to the top floor.

On the top floor, they found Smognis supervising two robotic servants while relaxing in an incredibly murky pool- probably polluted too, but he was a ghost, after all. Even though Mario said hello, he seemed to only notice Scope. After asking Scope if he had brought "the gear", the Possessor became enraged when Scope said he'd forgetten. Mario asked what the gear was. Smognis said the only reason he hired Scope was to retrieve The Golden Gear, a powerful energy device that was supposed to power the Anti-Pollutron prototype. He had forged it himself, but then one of his employees, a Sneaker named Creepa, had stolen it for unknown reasons, hiding it in the Arachnidium Citadel, where Scope met the group. Mario set up a deal with Smognis- they got the gear back, and they could use Smognis's funds to find the Shard.

They went back to the Skystone Caverns, hoping to easily take back the gear. After searching for something they couldn't get to before, they found the gear lying in a corner. Luigi went to grab it, but felt somwthing tapping him on the shoulder, and turned around to witness a Sneaker scaring the crap out of him. The Sneaker, likely Creepa, grabbed the gear and vanished. They then headed of to Ghostly Gulch, probably a ghost's first stop for hiding. Though they asked around town, the only lead they could get was pointing them towards Booster Tower. They wandered around the tower until they found a note lying on the ground. The note read "Quit following me! I'm doing this for everyone's good, so back off! And tell Smognis I know what he's up to. Creepa." The heroes guessed there was nothing to do but tell Smognis.

By the time they got back to the island, though, they found Creepa sneaking off into a nearby cafe. They went in and cornered him, demanding to see the gear. The Sneaker handed it over, but said they didn't know what they were doing. Scope merely told him to shut up, and put him in handcuffs to bring him to Smognis.

The receptionist, however, told them Smognis was in a meeting. None of Scope's pleading or reason could convince her otherwise. Mario just decided to take the group up the stairs to save time. 2 HOURS LATER, they finally made it to Smognis's suite. However, through the window, they could see Smognis yelling at two Slammers. Listening closely, they heard the Slammers telling Smognis that they had recived word of criminal action, and they were taking him in. Smognis, rising out of the sludge, told the Slammers that they shouldn't be poking around in his buisness. Suddenly, Mario noticed the Cozmo Shard embedded INSIDE Smognis's body. Smognis flew into and possessed one of the Slammers, killing it off from the inside while forcing it to kill its partner. With this horrific sight, Mario knew Creepa was right. He decided to let the Sneaker go, but he refused. Creepa said he was making sure Mario beat the Possessor, whether he liked it or not.

With Creepa's help, they made their way through the tunnels of the building, and finally came to Smognis's suite. The Possessor had apparently disposed of the bodies, and was now attaching a tank of something to the Anti-Pollutron. When he saw Mario with Creepa, he assumed he had captured the Sneaker for him, along with the gear. Asking Mario kindly for it, he refused, as he knew what Smognis was up to. Sighing, Smognis decided the jig was up. He ripped the gear out of Mario's pocket and placed it into the Anti-Pollutron. He then told Mario that he'd found the Cozmo Shard in a dumpster, and by absorbing it, it showed him how inferior the living were to the dead- he knew that kind of power would drive a live being insane. So, he decided to just rid his world of them. He then pressed a button, launching the Anti-Pollutron. He said the robot was designed to spread poisonous gas across the planet, killing off every trace of life. In fact, there were only 4 minutes until it began, and only his defeat would stop it. Determined to stop Smognis, they began to battle him. Though the world was on the line, they beat him and took the shard.

### Chapter 14: A Horrid Masterpiece

The team was about to leave Smognis Industries throuh the portal, saying bye to Creepa. With Smognis gone, the world would be safe. They were about to step through, when they suddenly heard a large explosion behind them. Mario looked back and saw Cloak attacking the ghosts, draining out their souls. Mario, red with rage, rushed up to Cloak with his hammer, and was easily thrown back by his attack. Cloak, since his last defeat by Mario's hands, decided to step up his game, and opened another portal with his bare hands. "You want the shard so badly? Take it!", he shouted as the portal sucked in Creepa and our heroes. Mario went unconcious as everything turned to a brilliant blur of color.

When Mario finally managed to wake up (AGAIN), he thought he was hallucinating. Every surface was a literal work of art. The skies were painted, the plants were painted, in fact, the only things not painted were some hooded flying beings that were doing the painting! Mario looked around and saw Peach and Toadea- apparently the only two that didn't make it to the portal. Then it struck him- where was Creepa? He woke up his friends and searched on- but it didn't take long, as they found the Sneaker playing around with one of the paint guys from before. Noticing Mario, he introduced himself as Arthur, an Artisian art student and part-time artist. Arthur said he saw them get sent through the portal, but had been too absorbed in his work to get anyone. Mario asked where they were. His answer? The Art Works, a dimension created out of primordial paint by the Artisian ruler, Master Piece. Arthur then got an idea- if they went to Master Piece, he cold help them get home for a price. Reassured, they went off to see this so-called Master Piece.

They quickly got to Piece's palace, a big marble building that looked like a museum. They wandered through the halls until they came across the throne room, which contained Master Piece himself, sitting on an absract throne that looked like it was designed by Picasso while drunk. Arthur explained to Piece that the group needed to get home, and they would pay what they needed to. Piece gladly accepted, for the price of..... 1 coin. Seriously, 1 coin. Even Mario was surprised by this, but Piece said he really only cared about his art, and money was of no concern to him. With 1 coin handed over and a portal drawn, the group said goodbye to Arthur and Piece. The portal was about to close when Piece reached in and grabbed Peach. Questioning his methods, Toadea asked why Piece was taking her. "I said I only cared about my art," Piece said, "and this pretty little lady is good enough to be in a painting!" With a snap of his fingers, Peach was transformed from a human into a painting. Mario tried to save her, but the portal closed and they were whisked back to Flipside- without Peach.

When the heroes arrived back at Flipside, Merlon noticed Peach was missing. All the other partners had arrived safely. Mario explained the current situation to Merlon- Peach was transformed into a painting and they couldn't find the Cozmo Shard in the Art Works. When Merlon heard the name of the Art Works, he jumped in shock- he had an idea. The Art Works was the location of one of Cloak's hangouts when he was a hero. That would probably be the place he hid the Cozmo Shard. Luckily, the portal could be set back to the Art Works, so their course was set- find the shard and rescue Peach.

When they arrived back in the Art Works, they immediately saw Arthur being chased by Cloak's goons. After fending them off, they asked what was going on. Arthur said Cloak, Master Piece's long-time ally, had asked for the painting of Peach in exchange for a powerful item called a Cozmo Shard, which Mario immediately perked up at hearing. However, Piece had refused, saying Peach's painting was worth more than any trinket Cloak could come up with, which caused an all-out war between the Artisians and Cloak's Hoodlums. The Artisians needed all the help they could get, and Arthur asked mario to side with them. Mario accepted, on one condition- they could have Peach restored to human form. Seeing no other way, Arthur agreed.

Arthur showed them the way to Cloak's hideout, the Monocroma Citadel. Making their way through the trap-filled lair only made Mario more determined to end the war. They eventually found the Cozmo Shard lying on a pedastal. Luigi ran up to grab it, but Humbi told him not to, as those things were always booby-trapped in movies. Luigi shrugged it off and grabbed the shard, when suddenly, a huge black and white boulder rolled down from a hatch in the ceiling. The heroes ran off while Humbi began arguing with Luigi. With the Cozmo Shard safely secured, Sci Guy said it was time to get Peach back.

The heroes made their way towards Piece's palace, dodging various enemies along the way. They managed to make it to the throne room, where they saw Piece dueling with Cloak- and Piece was winning. As Piece was about to kill off Cloak, he turned his head and saw Mario and his group. He put down his paintbrush and welcomed them back to the palace, at which Cloak warped away. Mario told Piece he had taken the Cozmo Shard and helped defeat Cloak's army, and he wanted Peach back. Piece's response was to decline the offer. He said Peach was the best work of art in his collection, and Mario would have to slay him to have her back. While Master Piece put up a great fight, Mario eventually defeated him. Before Arthur could question why they did so, they had him release Peach from her painting prison. As Mario got a kiss from Peach, they decided to head back to Flipside.

### Chapter 15: The Sands of Time

The next Cozmo Shard was located in the Chrono Desert, a desert filled with machinery from a long-dead civilization. When our heroes arrived in the desert, they quickly lost vision due to the powerful sandstorm that materialized right in front of them. They headed through the storm, thanks to the protection of Peach's parasol, until they came across a small town. However, the town was being attacked by Lt. Squiddly, Cloak's right-hand Blooper. He was bashing a Koopatrol in high-tech armor against a wall, asking where someone called Ben was. The Koopatrol refused, and Squiddly attempted to shoot him, but was interrupted by Mario jumping on his head. The two promptly began battling, and Mario came out on top once again. As Squiddly ran off, Mario helped the Koopatrol to his feet. He introduced himself as Sir Khaos, the king of Cog Town. Mario aksed him waht was going on with "Ben", and why Squiddly wanted to know about him so badly. Khaos sat down and began telling his tale.

Millenia ago, there was a race of powerful beings known only as members of the Eternity Kingdom. They were extremely adept with all sorts of technology, even so far as being able to control time itself in small doses. Their ultimate creation was a being called Lunadia, a powerful robotic being that would be able to manipulate the universe at will. This being was benevolent at first, and helped even other kingdoms, restoring water and curing diseases. The Eternity Kingdom then made a prototype living database for Lunadia, called BEN. However, a rival kingdom's soldier sabatouged BEN, turning it into a corrupt entity bent on total destruction and devouring of all dimensions. When the two were linked together, the monstrosity began absorbing the dimension, and wiped out all the life in it. BEN finally ran out of power, and Khaos's ancestors came and repopulated the dimension a long while back. Judging from what Squiddly said, he was planning on reviving BEN, though it would take a lot of power to revive it. Then it hit Mario- the Cozmo Shard! The team set off to find Squiddly.

They eventually tracked him down to an abandoned temple. They tried to attack him, but he ran in with the Cozmo Shard in his tentacles. The door sealed up with an electric barrier, so they decided to go back and tell Khaos about it. Upon hearing about the barrier, he said that hidden in the dunes of Chrono Desert, there was rumored to be another Eternity Kingdom creation, known as Eleka, buried in a place called Revenge Tower. Eleka was supposedly capable of electrical manipulation, and could remove the gate. They decided to head there and find Eleka.

Revenge Tower stretched beyond the clouds, supossedly even impaling itself through an entire star. Unfortunately, nobody knew if they could climb that high. Luckily, Sci Guy had the smart idea to keep the rebreathers from Smognis Industries, making sure that they would be able to breathe above the atmosphere. After avoiding various tricks and traps around the tower, they found a small female robot made out of golden metal stored inside a metallic pod, most likely Eleka. However, when they went to open the pod, a Wizzerd popped out of the wall. Mario noticed it had some pixelated glitchy stuff attached to its face. The crazed Wizzerd attacked the group.

After beating the Wizzerd, it crumbled into a glitchy black and red mess. Clockworx rushed up to Eleka's pod and opened it, causing her to fall out of it. She slowly regained conciousness, and looked around as if she didn't know were she was. Mario introduced his team to her, and said they needed her help, but she still looked confused. Clockworx then began talking to her in some chittery robotic launguage, at which point she jumped with shock at whatever he was saying. She talked back to him, and Clockworx said he would reprogram her voice chip to something Mario could understand. Eleka then told Mario she would be glad to help him, but asked what it was for, so Mario began telling her his story. It went well until they got to the part about BEN, where she began crying. Eleka said she was once human, like Mario and Peach, but some crazed madman removed her from her body to use it for raw materials to create BEN. Her father had to seal her inside a robotic body to keep her soul from vanishing. Saddened by this tale, Mario decided to leave her alone, saying she shouldn't have to face BEN. She then turned at him, saying she wasn't scared- beating BEN could give her her original body back. Then, she noticed the glitchy Wizzerd's remains, looking horrified. She said the glitch was BEN's work, a worm in the universe's coding that took over the Wizzerd and began dissolving its data, much like the Eternity Kingdom went. She then pulled out a pair of purple shoes. These Magna Boots, she said, would come in handy later. They rushed back down the stairs- aside from Bowser, who was exhausted.

Our heroes eventually made it back to the temple where Squiddly vanished, though they had to wait for Bowser to catch up. They then had Eleka open up the electric gate, allowing them access. The team made their way through a series of mechanized hallways until they found Squiddly, at an old-looking computer. They tried to stop him, but he plugged the Cozmo Shard into the computer, releasing a black pixelated being- BEN. BEN looked at Squiddly, thought for a moment, then promptly turned him into pixels and inhaled them. BEN then floated off to the town. Knowing they needed to stop him, they ran back through the temple to catch up- Bowser seriously hated all the running.

When they got back to the village, BEN was devouring everything in sight while the village degenerated into blank polygons. He was about to eat Sir Khaos when a burst of fire shot BEN in the back. It was Bowser, who said he was tired of all the freaking running and would take down BEN with both arms tied behind his back if he just stood and fought. Taking this into consideration, the evil database decided to delete them in combat first before devouring the world. Thanks to Mario and his friends, BEN was erased and the village was restored. Bowser tried to fry the newly-reconstituted Squiddly, but he flew off, dropping the shard. With a celebration and a few goodbyes, our heroes took the Cozmo Shard and headed off to the next adventure.

### Chapter 16: Candyland

The next Cozmo Shard was located in Candyland, which seemed pleasant, but Merlon was wary of it. Asked why, Merlon said Candyland was essentially a candy-coated war zone. For generations, the whole dimension had been a battleground for two races- the Mellos and the Choclites, who had begun the war over something called The Sugar Cube, the purest source of sugar and energy in the multiverse. Whereas the Mellos merely wanted to take small bits to fuel their cities, the Chocolites wanted it for their ruler, Count Carob, who wanted to create war machines of sugary destruction. Realizing that this Cozmo Shard wouldn't be a cakewalk (pun fully intended), Mario took the time to stock up on items. When they went through the portal, they arrived in a perfect gingerbread house village- or it would've been if it weren't for the fact that the whole place had been destroyed, covered in smoking hot fudge sauce, cherry bomb shrapnel everywhere, and Cloak's minions patrolling the area, wielding aerosol cans of poisonous whipped cream. Realizing Cloak had entered the Sugar Cube War, Mario went off to fight the Hoodlums.

After clearing the village of enemies, the team set off to find any survivors. Mario checked under a weird-looking rock and saw a tiny white being shivering in fear. This must've been one of the Mellos Merlon was talking about. Asking the little guy who he was and what happened, the tiny creature said his name was Bitesize. When the Choclites attacked their village, along with the new hooded monsters, they captured all the Mellos they could find, but buried him under the rock as he was "too small to be of any use." Bowser realized what this could possibly mean- slavery of the Mellos. He decided to ask Bitesize to join the team, much to Mario's visible rage, but Bitesize said he was really hungry, and would need some food first. After scouring the village for a slice of cake, Bitesize pointed in the direction of Dark Chocolate Mountain, the Chocolite's hideout.

The team quickly approached Dark Chocolate Mountain, but the place was surrounded by guards. Having to sneak in wouldn't be easy either, as large candy-tanks circled the perimeter. The team decided to look around for a secret entrance or something similar. It wasn't long before Sci Guy found a candy cane Warp Pipe labeled "Secret Entrance". While Mario wondered why the Chocolites would so easily expose their secret entrance, they went down the red-and-white pipe. When they popped out, they were shocked to see that it had led them into an empty room with no visible escape routes. Bo Ming and Bowser tried to bash open a hole, but the walls must've been made out of something harder than steel, as they couldn't break it. (A later examination by Creepa found it was made of jawbreakers. Go figure.) Mario decided it was a phony and turned towards the Warp Pipe- which had disappeared.

Humbi, with her highly developed ears, heard someone talking on the other side of the wall. Bitesize noticed a small edible area of the wall, and ate away at it, revealing Cloak and Count Carob talking to one another. Carob asked when Cloak would need his end of the deal he had made. "Soon," Cloak said, "I'm gonna need more time to make the blueprints for it. You keep looking for the Sugar Cube until then." Carob then asked if Cloak could get a malt bath warmed up for him, and Cloak walked off, returning in a few minutes with a tub full of malt. As Carob slowly got in, his apparently feeble body not being able to move much, Mario realized that Carob wasn't the mastermind of the plan, but merely a partner. Suddenly, Squiddly popped out of a hole in the floor, holding a blueprint. The three looked over it, saying it would do nicely for Cloak's master plan, and Cloak would take them out to lunch as a treat. As the villains walked off, Mario wriggled out of the hole and opened the cell.

The group then snuck after Cloak and Carob, wondering what kind of plan they had. They tracked them down to a large banquet hall, where Cloak's Hoodlums were forcing the Mellos to load the Sugar Cube into a massive machine. The machine ground up the Sugar Cube into tiny bits, which were then loaded into several tanks and airships made of candy. About half the bits were sent into a canister labeled "For Operation Flipout." They were about to sneak over and unleash the sugary bits, when someone found them. It was Count Carob, looking incredibly feeble. They almost ignored him, but he pulled out the Cozmo Shard, summoning a massive candy mecha. They took it down and set the Mellos free, while gaining the shard.

### Chapter 17: Gambling with Your Life

Almost immediately after arriving in Flipside, Mario realized they had never gotten rid of the big canister of sugar bits. There was no time to worry, though, as they had a new location of a Cozmo Shard. Lucky 13 Casino- the multiverse's largest place for gambling, drinking, and pretty much everything kids weren't allowed to do. The place was run by Boss Bandito, a reformed Bandit who used his fortune to open the massive casino. They entered the casino to find out that entry was 150 coins. After handing over the money, they walked over to the Juice Bar to get some info.

While Bowser actually began drinking, Mario and Peach began questioning some bar patrons. Mario asked a nearby Koopa if he had seen anything resembling a Cozmo Shard, but the answer was no. Peach asked the Clubba who was running the bar if he knew where Boss Bandito was. The Clubba said Boss Bandito was no longer running the casino. Wondering what that ment, she heard a loud announcement over the casino's intercom, telling everyone to report to the casino's stage. She left to go see what it was, and looking on stage, saw a familiar face- a Beanish thief named Popple. He began a long spiel about how glad he was that he was running the casino since Boss Bandito retired. Peach saw something glittering in his pocket, and she had seen that telltale shimmer a ton of times already- the glittery matter that coated the Cozmo Shard. She dragged the drunk Bowser out of his seat to help her investigate.

Bowser and Peach found a mysterious room near the bathroom labeled No Entry. Entering it, they saw a weird machine with the Cozmo Shard inside. As Bowser tried to break it open, Peach noticed an old Bandit tied up in the corner, shaking his head furiously. When Peach tried to untie him, Popple opened the door, accompanied by two massive guards. He ordered one to put Peach in the performer's room and the other to throw Bowser out. As they were carried out, Popple laughed evilly.

Mario was on the casino floor chatting with a family of Punies when the Clubba from the Juice Bar came up to him, saying he needed help with something. He followed the Clubba over to the No Entry door. He opened the door and showed Mario the Bandit in the corner. The Clubba said the Bandit was Bandito, and Popple had taken over the casino using the power of whatever the sparkling crystal was. Only he hadn't been affected, and wanted Mario to help him take back his boss's casino. Mario agreed.

Suddenly, Mario heard a massive ruckus in a room labeled Performers Only. Looking in, he saw Peach laying waste to dozens of hypnotized performers who were attacking her. He opened the door and ran in to help, but it appeared Peach already had it taken care of. When she finished beating them, she told Mario that Popple had thrown Bowser out into the dumpster outside the casino. When they got out, Bowser was having his face bitten by a Garbage Fuzzy. They beat it, and the team was whole again.

Bowser, eager for revenge on Popple, decided to take him down before anything else, 'cause nobody chucked the Koopa King in a dumpster and got away with it. For once, Mario actually agreed. They snuck through an air vent outside the casino and entered the attic. Climbing through the Fuzzy-filled attic, they finally arrived at Popple's office, where he was sitting in a big comfy chair. They dropped down and demanded that Popple release Bandito and hand over the shard. Popple refused, saying if they wanted to have the rock so badly, they'd have to fight him for it. Though the hypnotized crowd gave Popple an advantage, they finally won.

Afterwards, Mario untied Bandito while Peach shut off the hypnosis machine and Bowser spun around in Popple's big comfy chair. Bandito thanked the heroes, saying they would always be welcomed into the casino. With some goodbyes, they left, as much as Bowser wanted the big chair.

### Chapter 18: The Snow Princess and The Crystal King

Today was a momentous occasion, as the heroes only had a single Cozmo Shard until the Nexus was repaired completely. That final shard was located in Sheever Mountain, one of the coldest places in the multiverse, though Mario should be fine, thanks to Toadea's magic. On the way to the portal, Mario told Toadea that he would return to the Mushroom Kingdom after the Nexus was fixed, and thanked her for helping him along the whole time. The team arrived at Sheever Mountain and immediately noticed a large ice castle on the summit. They decided to head there.

Upon reaching the massive castle's door and opening it, they saw the whole castle was coated in a thin layer of ice. They walked towards a room labeled Throne Room, and went to check it out. Inside, sitting on a massive throne of ice, was a young girl in a white ballgown. The girl introduced herself as Princess Crysta, the princess of Sheever Castle. She asked what they needed, and Mario explained the story. When he got to the part about the Cozmo Shard, she jumped up and said he father had found one in the garden. When Mario asked who her father was, someone opened the door.

The one who opened the door was none other than Mario's old nemesis, the Crystal King. Upon seeing him, Mario nearly pulled out his hammer and whacked the old man. However, Crysta ran up to him, welcoming him home and calling him "Dad". Realizing the now-obvious, Mario asked the King how he was doing. After a quick chat, the King floated up to Crysta, and told her that he had brought someone for her. Waving his arms, he called in a young man who was just as pale as her. The King said that he was Prince Lanche, her date for the upcoming Crystal Ball.(BAD PUNS!!!!) He told Mario he'd be glad to give him the Cozmo Shard, but needed it for the ball as a decoration. On that note, he invited Mario and his team to stay at the castle until the ball was over. Crysta went to her room, looking worried.

As everyone else settled in, Mario checked on the princess to see why she was so worried. Upon entering and asking her, she said she hated the Crystal Ball. Her father meant well, but every year, he made her incredibly embarrassed. When Mario asked what was so embarrassing, she pulled a picture off the wall, then showed it to Mario. His eyes widened in fear, and he quickly agreed. On top of that, she said Prince Lanche was nice on the outside, but inside, was a total psychopath who once threatened to set fire to the castle if she didn't marry him. If her dad hadn't come in the room and put the torch back outside, it would've been done. Still, her dad loved Lanche, and would do anything to get them hooked up, Crysta began crying and worrying about how bad the night would be. Just then, a blue glow appeared outside the window.

A massive glowing blue ball of light floated in as Mario pulled out his hammer. The ball suddenly transformed into a middle-aged ethereal woman wearing a glowing masquerade mask. She introduce herself as Masquerada, Crysta's fairy godmother. She had sensed her sorrow through a one-way psychic connection, and had arrived to help. She handed Crysta a bright red mask, similar to the one that she wore. Masquerada said the mask was magic, and if she needed its power, to put it on. As she floated away, Mario wondered if he should trust her, though Crysta seemed to not mind.

Just like that, it was time for the Crystal Ball. Peach began chatting with a group of well-dressed ladies in the corner, Bowser began devouring the ham at the buffet, Toadea and the other partners began mingling on the dance floor, and Mario, though still suspicious, began dancing. he then saw Prince Lanche stride into the room, with a mad gleam in his eye. He asked Crysta to follow him into a nearby corridor. Mario followed. Lanche asked Crsyta, apparently from the bottom of his heart, to marry him. Mario ran up to sheild Crysta as she said no. Enraged, Lanche pulled out a Magikoopa wand, the tip covered in fire. Crysta put on the mask she had been given just as the fire touched her skin. Suddenly, Mario was thrown back by a burst of red light.

When Mario opened his eyes, Crysta had undergone some amazing changes. Her pale white hair had become a fiery red, and her fancy dress had transformed into a skintight scarlet bodysuit and orange armor. Another thing that had changed is that she was holding Prince Lanche by the scruff of his neck, and held a red crystal in her other hand. She stabbed the crystal ino his stomach and Lanche dissolved into nothingness, as if the crystal had burned him to death. Crysta then smacked Mario out of the way and headed towards the Crystal King, who was chatting with a massive Mr. Blizzard who was so big that he went over the top of the screen. Mario looked and saw that they were next to a large fountain that had the Cozmo Shard on top. Just as Crysta was about to stab her father, Mario knocked the crystal out of her hand with his hammer. The whole group joined Mario to fend off the transformed Crysta.

When Crysta was finally defeated, her mask broke, and she slowly shifted back to her old self. Mario then told the understandably enraged Crystal King about Masquerada and the evil mask she gave his daugther. Suddenly, Masquerada herself materialized in front of Mario. She claimed that the mask was indeed her doing and he would never figure out her plan. Suddenly, Bowser, who had one too many drumsticks at the buffet, promptly hurled on her. A small charm bracelet on her wrist began sparking, and Masquerada faded like a hologram, revealing none other than Lieutenant Squiddly standing in her place. Squiddly said he had been Masquerada the whole time, and Cloak had given him the dark mask to obtain the last Cozmo Shard. He then challenged Mario to a duel, but lost. The Crystal King, out of thanks, granted Mario the eighteenth and final shard. The quest was over. Mario had won.

### Chapter 19: The Darkness Rises

Mario and his team returned to Flipside victorious, as the Nexus was finally finished. As everyone in the town celebrated the completeion of the device that kept the town, and the whole universe, stable, Mario walked over to Toadea, who was drinking a Topline Tonic at the bar. (The Topline Tonic cures status effects and prevents them for a few turns.) Mario said that he was happy to go on the adventure with her, and that he hoped he'd be able to see her again soon. Toadea agreed, and she hugged Mario. Just then, massive rumbles came from outside. They went out to see what it was. To their horror, they saw a massive battlestation attacking the entire town. On top of the massive fortress was a giant holographic Cloak, who demanded that Mario face him in battle once and for all or he'd destroy the entire town. Realizing what was at stake, Mario's intrepid team set off to the battlestation to end Cloak's reign for good.

They jumped onto the battleststaion and entered through the front door. As it turned out, the floating fortress was much bigger than it looked on the outside. There were troops of nearly every dimension gathered there, though enhanced by Cloak's dark power. It took Mario all his strengh and wits to make it to the battlestation's central tower, where Cloak lay, waiting for Mario to battle him. Along the way, they saw a massive generator room filled with chunks of the Sugar Cube, so now our heroes knew what Operation Flipout was. It took nearly forever, but they finally made it to the central tower. Toadea said to Cloak that she was sorry she'd have to do this to her friend. Cloak's response was to smack her across the room. And just like that, the final battle had begun.

The heroes knew that this was their one chance to defeat Cloak. But considering the guy had 1500 HP, it was easier said than done. Through their blood, sweat, tears and other bodily fluids, they managed to whittle him down to 10 HP. It was at that point Toadea walked up to the crippled Cloak, saying she was genuinely sorry for what was about to happen. The Nexus ripped itself out of the ground in Flipside Plaza, then floated up to Toadea and arranged itself into a powerful cannon. The cannon then fired at Cloak, draining away all his power. Mario was about to thank Toadea, when she summoned a blue freball and blasted him. The Nexus began shuddering, and the gears shattered as the Cozmo Shards were absorbed into her in a burst of light. When it cleared, Toadea's robes had become much more dark and etheral, and her eyes glowed white with concentrated power. With a wave of her hand, she decimated the entire team, then flew off cackling. Mario caught a few words before he blacked out.

"I'm sorry Mario... Cloak was... right... I'm the evil one here."

### Chapter 20: The Final Showdown....

Everyone was shocked by Toadea's apparent change of heart, aside from Cloak, who was now locked up in Mirror Hall. Cloak explained that the Cozmo Shards, made of the Pixl Queen's power, may have possibly stored part of her conciousness as well. Toadea was always the more responisble of the duo, and was the only one who actually guarded the Nexus at night. Cloak was always partying with his college friend-turned army soldier Squiddly. Late one night, Cloak had one too many Boggly Rootbeers and stumbled out of Saffron's pub. He quickly came across Toadea, and she was TALKING to the Nexus- something about generating a portal to the Dark Realm, a pocket dimension where heroes from a distant era hid an army of ancient shadow warriors and advanced weaponry. From that point on, it was clear that Toadea had been tempted by whatever was left of the Pixl Queen, and Cloak and Squiddly made it their goal to stop her at any cost- they even renounced Cloak's role as a hero and destroyed the Nexus entirely. That's why he wanted to stop Mario: to stop any chance of Toadea fixing the Nexus and winning. Mario said he was sorry for what he had done. It was at that point Cloak stood up, saying he'd go with Mario if the worlds depended on it. Merlon set the portal to the Dark Realm and our heroes, and Cloak, set off to finish what Cloak started.

Of course, this would be the last chance for anything major to be completed, so Mario decided to build up the team a little more.

The first stop was back at Lucky 13 Casino- Boss Bandito had emailed them for some help. Apparently, his special badge, which enabled him to drain HP from his enemies, had gone missing within the casino, and needed Mario's help to find it. They found it and Bandito joined their team in gratitude.

The next was actually located back in Flipside, inside Saffron's pub. A little Twilight Towner girl named Noira had been abandoned there by her abusive stepmother, and she'd used her plentiful cooking skills to help Saffron with buisness ever since. Talking to Noira, Mario asked what could convince her to join their team. She said only one thing would convince her- a legendary cookbook called Louie's Masterpieces, which would enable her to do field cooking for the entire team. Mario eventually tracked down a man in a spacesuit within the Dimensional Seas, who gave him the book for free. With the book of apparently alien recipes in hand, Noira sided with Mario.

Finally, Bowser had heard tales of a powerful being sealed within the nearby Cavern of 200 Trials, a 200-floor dungeon filled with very powerful monsters. They fought their way through every boss they had ever fought against, even a carbon copy of Cloak. They finally reached the 200th floor to find a small bat sleeping on a barren tree in the middle of the room. When approached, the bat transformed into someone Mario and Luigi though was long dead- the manefestation of nightmares, the bat king himself, Luigi's ultimate fear, Antasma. Apparently, the monsterous bat had retreated to the cavern after being defeated by the bros on Pi'illo Island. They defeated him, and he reluctantly joined their team.

At long last, the heroes entered the Dark Realm. For a place with dark in the name, it was surprisingly bright compared to past final dungeons, being a giant floating gold castle in the middle of a multicolored void. Inside the castle, though, there were many robotic minions called Shadow Drones and Shadow Constructs. Fighting off the robotic beasts, they made their way towards the highest tower of the castle, assuming that was where Toadea was. They made it there, with a beautiful sky marking their final battle- but apparently a giant bug-like dragon slept up on the tower instead. They defeated the beast, Insectail, and it dropped a small key. Going back down to the ground floor, they found a large door with a similar-looking lock on it and unlocked it. Down below was a series of trials that Toadea had obviously set up for them, with puzzles involving every partner in the entire group, along with some new enemies, Light Demons and Void Fairies. Making it through this extensive maze, they finally made it to Toadea's throne room. The final battle was about to begin.

The now fully-corrupted Toadea was floating in front of her throne, and she was now glowing with blue and red energy. She told Mario she was genuinely sorry for what was about to happen, and that she still didn't want him to die in battle with her. Mario told her that no matter what, she needed to be stopped, and Toadea began crying slightly. With that, the final battle with the all-powerful Wraith Toadea, with 2,000 HP, began. It went well until the halfway point, when she collapsed to the ground. A dark blue smoke began emenating from her, which depowered the Star Orb. With the powerful device useless, Toadea began attacking Mario's team relentlessly. Just before she was about to unwillingly decapitate Mario, Cloak gave him something out of his pocket. It was a small orange sphere the same size as the Star Orb. Cloak said it was the one piece of the Nexus he had saved- the Sun Orb, the true greatest part of the machine. The Sun Orb fully restored Mario's whole team, and through a lot of pain, emotionally and physically, Toadea was defeated. The blue smoke evaporated from around her body, and Cloak carried the unconcious Toad back to Flipside.

### Epilogue

Toadea was placed in the Flipside Memorial Hospital under investive care. Her body was fine, but her mind was shattered apparently beyond repair. Mario and the whole team watched over her in her bed. Eventually, a doctor came in and told Mario that Toadea's mind was completely gone, and that he should leave. Just like that, Toadea snapped out of whatever coma she was in and looked towards Mario. She said she was sorry for what she had done, and hoped he could forgive her. After a quick hug, Mario decided she was back on the team. Everyone rejoiced, especially Cloak. After the "party" in the hospital, Mario was about to head to the portal, which was set to Mario's house. He waved goodbye to everyone, then stopped for a second. Bowser and Peach weren't in the crowd with everyone else. He saw Bowser carrying Peach towards Mirror Hall, saying that she had promised to marry him back in Chapter 12, and he was keeping her to her promise. Sighing, Mario pulled out his hammer, and all his friends joined him in a smackdown on Bowser.

#### Where are they now?

* Mario, Luigi, Peach and Bowser are continuing their normal lives in the Mushroom Kingdom.
* Scope joined Popple in running an organization called the Thieve's Guild.
* Humbi became the village leader.
* Bo Ming became a well-known advisor to the new Queen Wu, who just so happened to be Kate.
* Jack raised Squirt, and they became the best tag-team in the Pit.
* Sci Guy developed a cure for paper cuts. He also expanded the Skyrise.
* Pulsar is still cleaning the Comet Observatory. Zach is still scared of Rosalina.
* Karlos runs the refugee camp in Mystik Ruins.
* Dimentio attempted to destroy all worlds again. He is now rotting in the Underwhere.
* Max Boo invented the Combooter and brought Six-Shooter Gulch back to its original state.
* Spectra runs the Necromancer Ranch- and still works as a waitress.
* Sagi married and had 100 kids. All of them hated their house.
* Dr. Xeno is helping Lord Crump plot to conquer the world.
* Stormy and Rockford passed their MKST tests and went on to become great athletes.
* Serah has changed her name back to Serenada and is adored by everyone in every dimension.
* Merloom helped Merlon rebuild the Nexus. After it exploded twice.
* Clockworx helped Eleka get a new body. The two are in love, but the woman whose body they stole hates them.
* Princess Syrena is the queen of Great Ocean City.
* Nuki finally got on parole.
* Arthur painted the greatest painting in the Art Works, and became very well-known.
* Creepa began running Smognis Industries, and began the actual Anti-Pollutron project.
* Bitesize ate his entire dimension, causing him to lose his hunger permanently.
* And Toadea and Cloak are living happily ever after. The End....

Suddenly, the scene switched to a dark room. The only object within was a large statue that resembled a giant Cozmo Shard. The statue shuddered slightly, and small red and blue cracks appeared on the sides, as if something within was attempting to escape. A tall being with a top hat and mask appeared and bowed to the statue, saying that he had discovered a method of shattering the prison that had trapped his master within the underground caverns of Isle Delfino. An eerie, feminine voice emanated from the statue saying to obtain the power while also keeping an eye out for "the key of eternity". The man just smiled and exited the room, and headed off to Isle Delphino....

## Characters

### Partners

Partners act differently than past games. One, they now have their own BP, removing the need for partner variants of regular badges. Two, past games featured battles with Mario and one partner. Now, you can alternatively fght with 2 partners or 2 main heroes at once. Three, partners can now level up. Leveling up doesn't grant new moves, but is the only way to upgrade HP, POW, or BP.

## Worlds

* Hub World: Flipside
* World 1: Utropia
* World 2: Wuhu Kingdom
* World 3: Glitzville
* World 4: Shy Guy Skyrise
* World 5: The Comet Observatory
* World 6: Mystik Ruins
* World 7: Ghostly Gulch
* World 8: Dimensional Seas
* World 9: University of Goom
* World 10: Cornerstone Town
* World 11: Great Ocean City
* World 12: Tanuki Forest
* World 13: Smognis Industries
* World 14: The Art Works
* World 15: Eternity Kingdom
* World 16: Candyland
* World 17: Lucky 13 Casino
* World 18: Sheever Mountain
* World 19: Cloak's Battlestation
* World 20: Dark Realm
* World X: Cavern of 200 Trials

## Bosses

* Boss 1: Arachtail
* Boss 2: King Wu the 4th
* Boss 3: King Montezuma
* Boss 4: Viros
* Boss 5: Dark Star
* Boss 6: Lord Abar
* Boss 7: Dead Eye
* Boss 8: Aurum Grodus
* Boss 9: Master Hand
* Boss 10: Manevolus/Molgera
* Boss 11: Kingfin/Captain Syrup
* Boss 12: Kamek
* Boss 13: Smognis
* Boss 14: Master Piece
* Boss 15: BEN
* Boss 16: Count Carob
* Boss 17: Popple
* Boss 18: Crysta R
* Boss 19: Lord Cloak
* Final Boss: Wraith Toadea
* Boss X: Antasma (encountered at the end of the Cavern of 200 Trials)

## In Battle

Battle style is similar to TTYD and the original Paper Mario, but two partners are allowed to be in battle at the same time. Also, the Star Orb, which is Mario's new means of special attacks, gives Mario the ability to identify enemies, removing the need for a tattling partner.

Special Moves are:

* Identify- Scans an enemies stats and weaknesses.
* Starburst- A weak explosive attack. Costs 1 SP.
* Regenarate- Restores 15 HP and 10 FP. Costs 1 SP.
* Powercharge- Raises ATK by 2 and DEF by 3. Costs 3 SP.
* Roaring Crowd- creates a crowd of fans to defend Mario and mob the opponent. 3 SP.
* Phaseout- Mario and his partner turn intangible for 2 turns. Costs 2 SP.
* Solidify- Causes enemies to harden up and become easier to guard against. Costs 3 SP.
* Luxury Guard- A golden barrier that increases DEF by 9 and repels physical attacks for the rest of the turn. Costs 4 SP.
* Negativity- gives 1 enemy 2 non-conficting status effects. (By non-conflicting, I mean you can't use it to freeze and burn an enemy on the same use, but you can burn and poison.) Costs 4 SP.
* Aurum Assist- depending on how well the Action Command is performed, it can summon a Tribyte, Quoil or Bilt to assist you. Costs 6 SP.
* Educate- Raises the intelligence of Mario or his partner. The Intelligence buff reduces FP usage and makes Action Commands easier to pull off. Costs 5 SP.
* Serenada's Serenade- Doubles the player's attack and defense, and halves enemy attack and makes them dizzy. Costs 6 SP.
* Maelstrom- summons a powerful whirlpool that has a chance to make enemies soggy. Costs 8 SP.
* Take Two- restarts a battle from the beginning if you don't like how it's going. Costs 2 SP.
* Technobomb- does 0 damage 75% of the time, and 150 damage 25% of the time. Costs 9 SP.
* Dark Arts- summons a shady version of Bowser to attack enemies for you. Costs 9 SP.
* Error 404- reprograms enemies to attack their allies if Action Command is pulled off successfully. Costs 9 SP.
* Canderode- summons bits of the Sugar Cube to damage and erode away enemies. Costs 10 SP.
* Psych Up- hypnotizes Mario or partner into dealing back any damage they take for 3 turns. Costs 11 SP.
* Plasmstorm- summons elemental plasm to damage all enemies. Costs 12 SP.
* Sun Orb- Unlocked during the final battle and available during New Game+. Causes all special attacks to be absolutely free.

Status effects and terrain effects are also thrown into the mix. They can have different effects on battle. Terrain effects include quicksand, poison, snow, fog, and cursed fog. Status effects can be found in a list here: Paper Mario 5: TRoS/Status Effects.

Badges, a concept not seen since TTYD, returns in TRoS. Badges are equipable items that grant boosts to Mario or his partner when they are equipped. However, each badge costs a certain amount of BP, which hinders usage. A list of badges can be found here: Paper Mario 5: TRoS/Badge List.

## Sequels

Rise of Shadow is considered to be the first part of the *Eternity Kingdom Trilogy*, with 2 games following it. Paper Mario: Legend of the Sun Flower is also considered a non-canonical sequel to the game.

People who pre-ordered The Rise of Shadow recieved a demo version of the next Pyro Enterprizes game, Metroid: Power Shift, along with access to exclusive multiplayer maps and weapons.

## Soundtrack

See Soundtrack here: Paper Mario 5: TRoS/Soundtrack.

## Ratings

Rate the game at this page: Paper Mario 5: The Rise of Shadow/Ratings