Your Pursuit of Perfection

Nothing is what it Seems

Our hero's were in a bit of a pickle. Three was gone, There was still no reply from Smg1 and Smg2, who had gone back to protect the Mushroom Kingdom, and the rest of them were locked in a cold and damp dungeon.

Bob tried to use a crowbar he made from the environment around him, but it broke on the bars. "DANG IT!" Turns out whatever was lying around was of no use in escape. "Really Bob?" Saiko asked with her arms crossed. "WHAT!? DO YOU WANT TO ESCAPE OR NOT!?"

"What can we do now?" Tari asked. "One and Two aren't here to help us and we aren't strong enough without Three and Four." Meggy tried putting a hand on Tari's to encourage her. "We have to be strong for our friends. I'm sure that One and Two are doing everything they can and I bet Three is on his way right now."

"Well if he is coming...CAN HE HURRY UP! I'M CLAUSTROPHOBIC!" Luigi was hyperventilating as this enclosed space made him think he was going to go lightheaded or something. "Mario do you have any ideas?" Meggy asked. Mario was drawing a picture in the dirt while humming to himself.

Meggy took a closer look and saw that the picture was stick-drawings of him and Four. "Are you okay Red?" Mario turned up to her and said "Mario's having lotsa fun! We will escape and turn Smg4 back to normal!" The others went quiet. Even if there was a possibility they could escape, Four was long gone. How could they bring him back now? "Mario look...there's something I need to tell you. Smg4's not-"

"Wait!" Meggy turned to see Tari kneeling down by the bars and sticking her hand out. "It's okay little guy. We won't hurt you." The crew watched closely as a sad, goopy creature came out of the shadows and sniffed Tari's hand. Bob made disgusted face and yelled "DID SHE GET HIT ON THE HEAD OR SOMETHING!? THAT PIECE OF CRAP CAN'T HELP US! THREE COULDN'T EVEN SAVE US!" Meggy decided to trust Tari's instincts and watched sweetly as Tari cuddled the poor thing. "Three...I hope he's okay."

~Back on the other side of the realm~

Three was laying unconscious on the ground. He suddenly started twitching and woke up in a state of panic. He looked around and observed his surroundings. "Where the hell am I?" Things finally settled into him as he recalled his friends in danger, being flung by that stupid tentacle (he would have to kick his butt later), and Four... didn't even listen to his reasoning this time.

No. Not again. He's still in there...somewhere. He got up and made his way to a dark castle in the distance. No doubt that it was where the TV Adware lives. "You can do this Smg3.  Sure you're stuck in this hellhole, but your friends need you. This is the time to show everyone that you've changed." The castle slowly got closer in view and every time it did, Three could feel his heart pumping. "Did Smg1 or Smg2 ever tell us his name?" Three thought to himself. Probably something real full of himself like Mr. Puzzles.

Whatever his name is, Three knew one thing about him for sure. He wouldn't keep Smg4 for much longer if he had anything to do with it. He ran, and ran, and ran. "God this castle looked much closer from my view." His legs started to wear out and Three thought he was going to collapse. "Note to self: I should have Eggdog set up a home gym when I get home."

He then realized he was at the foot of the castle and took a deep breath. "Four and the others have to be in there somewhere." He looked for an opening, but there was none to be found. Wait! There was a balcony. "Okay Three, time to do a bit of climbing.

"There is no time to waste! If we want the Showgrounds and the Mushroom Kingdom, we must go now while those meddling mortals are locked up." As Mr. Puzzles stared into the abyss from the balcony, Four raised an eyebrow. "But master, aren't they still a threat to us?"

Mr. Puzzled turned around and softly raised Four's chin to meet his gazing eyes. "Oh Four. My dear, sweet, perfect Four. I picked you for a reason. To render your friends powerless!" Four shook his head and looked down at the ground, but then looked back up. "Master? May I ask you something?"

"Of course!"

"Why did you choose me in particular? Isn't Three the one you are worried about." Speaking of the man and doth he appears. He was about to climb over the rails until he saw the two talking and quickly ducked. "What was that?" The two dismissed it as Mr. Puzzles continued. Curiosity got the better of Three as he peaked over to hear their conversation. "I chose you specifically because...shall we say you have some self-esteem issues?"

Four was quipped with inquiry as he wanted to hear more. "I needed someone who was willing to be able to break through my bonds. That old self of yours was so eager to make his suffering end. So stressed with perfection. But he had a deep underwhelming fear that I just knew would make him cave."

Three gasped. His nightmare was right. That TV was right. Four was right. If he had just prevented this from the start then all of this could have been avoided. "Darn your selfishness Three!" He thought to himself. He then spiraled out of his thoughts when he heard the corrupted being say "What do we do with the prisoners when we win?"

"Leave them in the dungeon for now."

"Dungeon? They're still okay?" Alright, better help them first if he wants to save Four. Mr. Puzzles went back inside and started laughing. "Or we could lock them up and throw away the key!" He gave a small shiny key to Four and Three watched him put it in his pocket.

Once the coast was clear, Three snuck through the door to find a hallway lined with doors. "Well this won't take hours to find them." He said in a sarcastic tone. A staircase caught his eye has he snuck down. "Well dungeons are always downstairs right?" When he got to the bottom, that thick black fog was covering the room. He stepped through only to be found back at the main lobby of Four's castle.

"The Showgrounds again?" A figure crept out from the door in front of him. Once he saw it, he could tell this wasn't a nightmare.

I have a little proposition for you Smg3...