The Grass is Yellow

## **Plot**

Lizel and Luigi are discussing what happened to him while he was unconscious. Lizel tells him that all she remembers is seeing Fawful attempt to take him away but she stopped him dead in his tracks, leaving out their talk. Luigi thanks Lizel for everything, saying if it wasn't for her, he would have gotten taken away due to the fact that Mario was trapped inside the illusion bubble and Peach and Rosalina being oblivious. Lizel takes his love with glee but begins feeling guilty once again. She tells Luigi that she needs to tell him something but before she can, Rosalina and Peach tell them that they found another clue to sealing off the rifts connecting Earth and the Macroverse forever instead of temporarily. Rosalina explains that they need to find a purple goo called "Seal Serum" that can only be found in the Forest of Misery down in the lowlands. Lizel and Luigi agree to go on the journey but Mario insists that he will stay behind at the castle and watch over the kingdom. They bid adieu and leave.

Toadsworth asks Mario if he personally thinks Peach has proven herself to be a brave woman like he does. Mario responds that he does with all of his heart, saying he has not seen anyone that courageous or willing to do things they haven't done before. Mario then tells Toadsworth he is going to take walk down main street.

While on the walk, he overhears a loud noise coming from behind a store. He goes to inspect it and a machine zaps Mario into another dimension. He begins to take in his surroundings, wondering where he is before being approached by the little boy that stayed in the castle with them months prior: Leroy. Mario immediately goes to attack him but Leroy insists he had to steal from them in order to save his dying home. Mario asks him what he means before accusing him of lying. Leroy requests that he just shows him what he means by taking him to his village which has been raided. He tells Mario they are in a place called Holli Jolli Village, a place once known to be filled with joy and happiness. But that all changed once an alien species invaded their home, destroying everything in the process. Mario suddenly has a flashback to the events of the shroob invasion and asks Leroy if the aliens were purple looking creatures that spoke an odd language. Leroy asks him how he knows this information and Mario tells him that the kingdom suffered the same fate but they were able to go back in time to stop the invasion before it became worse. Leroy tells Mario that was exactly how he was trying to fix his problem as well, to go back in time but he had to travel to different dimensions to find different parts as his dimension lacks the technology. Mario begins to understand his misery and asks him if he knows where the shroobs went to which he answers that they left the land in ruin and just vanished. Leroy tells Mario that their troubles aren't over however, as now a hideous monster is on the loose around their home. Mario tells him that he will take care of it.

Back on Earth, the group enters the forest with Rosalina telling them to be wary of what they might see as not everything is as it seems. Luigi shrieks and sees a gap but to the others' confusion, they do not see one. Rosalina tells him that is an illusion but Luigi becomes too frightened to cross. Peach tells him to throw a rock as a test and to his dismay, it does fall. However, Rosalina adds that if one believes an illusion to be true, it will be true whereas vice-versa, if one believes something isn't there, it isn't there. Luigi takes a deep breath, closes his eyes and begins to cross the gap. Luigi almost makes it over until he stumbles and falls but is relieved to have not fallen down the ravine but unfortunately remembers that if he acknowledges the gap, it becomes true. Luckily, before he falls to his demise, Rosalina shoots Luma and it carries him on to safety.

Meanwhile, Mario and Leroy continue searching for the beast that is causing trouble for the town. Along the way, he gains a sense of danger and rushes behind a bush. Sure enough, loud stomping accompanied by shaking emerges and out comes a large beast that lets out a loud roar. Mario tells Leroy where everyone else has gone and he replies that they are "in him", implying that the beast has eaten everyone. This disgusts Mario and he wonders if any of them are still alive to which Leroy points out that he admittedly doesn't want to find out. Mario tells him that they won't be able to fight it off alone. Leroy says that there is no way that the villagers would still be alive, including his own parents. Mario looks intently at the creature's belly seeing movement, proving that the victims are still indeed alive. Mario tells Leroy that they haven't been fully digested yet and they still have time but Leroy demands that they stay put where it is safe. They continue to bicker and don't realize the beast has its attention on them. Before they realize what is happening, the creature slurps up Leroy, leaving Mario utterly alone. Mario taps into his power and begins to battle it out with the creature, throwing fireballs at it every chance he gets. It swats at him, but Mario dodges it and grabs a large piece of debris and throws it at the creature, It howls in pain which leaves Mario enough time to make a decision and fire at his belly, shredding its body. The creature regains focus and attacks Mario, shooting him with a gooey acid. Mario begins to immediately feel weakened, stating that the acid must have some sort of negative effect on his powers. It chases down Mario, attempting to tongue him down but Mario continues to run away. He becomes cornered and ultimately decides that he too must enter the creature's body in order to defeat it and free the others. He willingly lets himself get eaten and he falls inside a pit of acid inside the creature's belly. He finds Leroy but is horrified to see the skeletal remains of the townspeople. He asks what he saw earlier and Leroy responds that they were too late.

Rosalina tells the others to find the literal silver lining along the river ahead of them as that is what they need. Lizel sees a butterfly and is attracted to its beauty. It lands on her finger and she giggles. She then spots the seal serum and puts it inside a vial she has, still laughing. The others ask her what she is laughing about until they realize that she too is hallucinating. They tell her to snap out of her trance but bramballs snatch her away. Rosalina and Peach quickly run after them with Luigi following close behind. Peach begins to hear a faint womanly voice calling her name. She stops running and sees her mother who she recognizes from photos Toadsworth showed her as she grew up. Her mother tells her that she is happy to see how much she has grown and how pretty she is. Peach leans for a hug but her mother says that she is disappointed. Peach asks why and she replies that Peach is still too oblivious to even understand what is real and what is not before transforming into a batch of fuzzies that begin to jump all over her. She yells for help before a school of cheep-cheeps begin tying her down with vines. Luigi is still running before realizing that Peach is gone. He calls for Rosalina but she is too far ahead and he begins to fall under the illusions as well by seeing a mirage of Mario. He asks what he is doing there and Mario tells him that he escaped the belly of a large beast and that the little boy they met months ago was actually just trying to save his village. He tells Luigi he is glad to see him safe and that they need to escape. Luigi tells Mario that if he is really telling the truth to which he replies that he is but in order for their bond to become stronger, he needs to trust him. Luigi is hesitant, calling him an illusion and saying he isn't real but Mario grabs him and they both go after the others. They hear Peach's cries and they untangle her from the enemies. Rosalina is still running after Lizel and before she is taken into an underground hole, Rosalina and Luma lasso her out of harm's way with their magic. Lizel thanks Rosalina for her help. Mario, Luigi, and Peach unite with them, with the rest of the group confused as to how Mario got there. Mario thanks Luigi for trusting him, before revealing himself to not only be an illusion, but Fawful, using his own illusion bubble. Fawful takes Luigi, and blasts off with his headgear. The others are left helpess but Rosalina isn't giving up as she tells Lizel and Peach to hold on before Luma blasts them off following them.

Mario is still struggling to escape the rising acid of the beast's stomach. Leroy tells him there is no point in trying as they are both are going to die. He tells Mario that he is beyond terrified and is sad this is how his life is going to end. Mario begins to reminisce on everything he has been through with the others. He begins to silently sob but ultimately decides to give one last fiery punch to the stomach, refusing to give up. This works as the creature regurgitates the duo, with just enough time to escape before the acid began eating them alive. The creature subsequently dies from the punch. Leroy is left homeless but lets Mario know that he will find a new home somewhere in his dimension. Mario asks him if he would want to live with them instead and Leroy jumps with joy, exclaiming he would love to, this time promising not to steal anything.

Rosalina shoots Fawful with her magic continuously, but he dodges every attack, shooting a fireball at her, injuring her and in the process causing the trio to fall on the roof of a house. Luigi tells Fawful that he refuses to be taken under his wing and fires up in a green aura, blasting him to the ground. They both battle with each other with Luigi gaining the upper hand from the others. They tell Fawful to never return, saying should he do so, he will be killed. Fawful is left powerless once more and retreats. He tells himself that he isn't going back to the Macroverse as he knows what will happen if he does. He peers around a corner, seeing Lizel happy with the others. Fawful smiles sinisterly, seemingly scheming another plan, only this time, involving Lizel. Mario and Leroy return from the machine behind the bar and they meetup with the others. Before Luigi and Peach can react, Mario tells them the whole story. Peach is hesitant, but ultimately allows him to stay with them, for now. Lizel reveals to the team that she got the seal serum from the forest and they apply it onto the rift, sealing it shut.