Super Mario Continuance (REITERATED)

Chapter 14: Questions and Answers

Riba came back to. The Memory Fragment was gone, just like last time. Riba didn't scream. He didn't cry. He just stared at the floor. Empty.

"Riba?" Luigi asked after a few seconds, breaking the silence. "Are you okay?"

"I'm... fine," Riba muttered, narrowing his eyes. He couldn't believe it. That girl--- Edith--- looked just like Elizabeth Addington, his first wife. This meant many things. The jewelry he had bought from Len and given to Edith, Spot, and his daughters must have reiterated them... good lord... his daughters, Vanity and Vanilla looked just like Anna and Serina, his kids with Elizabeth and Alice respectively. Meaning he had been reunited with them already.

This meant that they were still out there somewhere! And Len may know where. But Riba couldn't get ahead of himself. Mario came first. "Len, where is the next fragment?" Riba asked. He looked to Len, but beyond the bandages and wounds... she wasn't looking too well. She appeared sickly. Her skin was veiny, her eyes appeared foggy, and she was shaking. "Len, are you feeling okay?"

"Riba..." Len sniffled. Riba ran over, as Luigi looked over to the both of them.

"What is it?" Riba asked.

"Whatever you saw at the end of that fragment..." Len coughed. "It wasn't supposed to happen. It wasn't supposed to happen at all."

"What are you... talking about?" Riba asked.

"It's already starting, Riba. That wasn't in the fragment last I checked," Len whimpered. "The person who is affecting the past, and the fragments--- that was them. The one who killed you."

Riba gasped. Suddenly, everything made a little more sense.

This is what you deserve.

You don't know it yet, but you tricked me, you made me think you were my friend.

You are just another obstacle in my way to revenge. Die.

It won't be long now.

A cold chill ran down Riba's spine. "They said it wouldn't be long now," Riba stated. "What do they mean?"

"I don't know," Len whispered. She slowly got to her feet, shaking. "But---" she inhaled through her teeth. Whatever was happening to her--- it must have been painful. "I feel like something big is coming," Len said. Her breath was cold, and you could see it as if it were winter. Just like when they had truly met in that alleyway. "The gods are angry with me. I can tell... that's why I appear so ill. I'll die soon unless we find the fragments, and even then--- I don't know if they'll forgive me enough to let me live."

"Well then, we just have to finish our quest before that happens!" Riba shouted. "I told you I'd help you. I'm not going to break a promise like that ever again!" Len looked up at him.

"I guess we should get going then," Len whispered. "Although, I don't know if you'll like where we have to go next."

"Where?" Riba asked. He knew he wouldn't like the answer. In fact, he already had an inkling of where they must go.

Len remained quiet for a few seconds. "The mansion."

BA-BOOM! Went the thunder, lagging behind after a flash of lightning. An engine pushing its limits could be heard in the distance, as a car sped through a path on the border between the Mushroom and Cap Kingdoms.

"I'm sorry, this is as fast as she goes!" Luigi cried, a sense of urgency in his voice, driving his Standard Kart with a basket in the back to hold Riba and Len. Len's condition had only worsened since they left the castle. She had so many nosebleeds since they left the castle, her hair now appeared gray at the ends, and she had grown a few wrinkles on her, before, smooth young face. "Which way?"