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All of the starships had returned back to base after the victory on Popstar. Everyone else had gone off to assess the damage on themselves and their gear, but Timpani had taken Blumiere directly to the infirmary. The doctors had taken him in immediately after Timpani begged them not to tell his father he got injured. She assumed it would only cause drama after all.
Timpani looked down at the floor as she hummed to herself, waiting for the doctors' okay for her to go in. He only sprained his ankle and suffered a minor head blunt trauma, he should have recovered by now. She could only hope that was all there was.
After a few minutes, the doctor came out of the room. Timpani stopped them in the hall, tapping them on the shoulder.
"Um, excuse me, am I allowed to see Blumiere?" Timpani asked.
The doctor shrugged.
"You may, but I don't think he would want you to see him." The doctor replied.
The doctor walked off and Timpani went through the door to the infirmary. She eased the door open and walked inside. Timpani couldn't help but smile to see Blumiere resting peacefully on the bed, his foot all bandaged up.
"I don't know why I was advised against visiting... He seems so nice..." Timpani murmured.
Eventually, Blumiere began to stir. The blue Star Warrior unconsciously stretched, revealing a pair of wings on his back! Timpani gawked as Blumiere's eyes snapped open. He quickly hid them from view behind his back, folding them in.
"Th-thank you for taking me to the infirmary, Timpani..." Blumiere stammered, "And I take FULL responsibility-"
"You're wings are beautiful..." Timpani murmured.
"M-my father claims that my type of wings is a sign of villainy and that-" Blumiere paused, "I don't... repulse you?"
"Why would that matter? Anyone with a heart would not ignore an injured soul!" Timpani exclaimed.
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Mario and Luigi shouted for joy as they hugged each other tightly, bouncing up and down.
"Bro, I missed you!" Mario said.
"I missed you!" Luigi echoed.
"It was so scary watching you disappear!!! What even happened?!" Mario exclaimed.
Luigi sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as he reached into his hat and pulled out what was left of his warp star. The star had been split down the middle but appeared to have cracks on it.
"One of them broke my warp star and put it in a mirror..... I'm so sorry, Mario... I know that you said never to lose that..." Luigi murmured, tears welling up.
Mario shushed his brother and wrapped him in another hug, refusing to let him be sad.
"It's okay Weegee... We'll get it back, I'm sure of it!" Mario replied.
"That's the thing, I don't think we can..." Luigi stated, "I passed out after they broke my warp star, but I could've sworn that there was something in the mirror that took the other half. I don't know what it is, but it has my star."
Mario nodded in response as Tippi fluttered forward.
"Hello, my name is Tippi, we haven't really formally met, heh," Tippi told him, "But Mario and I couldn't really find any tracks earlier, do you know where the guys who kidnapped you went?"
"Ummm..." Luigi trailed off, trying to wrack his memory, "They said something about a charm..?"
"The Chaos Charm?" Mario asked.
"They must have left Luigi as a distraction... And whatever they pulled out of that mirror earlier must have been their warrior in green substitute." Tippi pointed out.
"So... Where would those guys be now?" Mario questioned.
The three of them paused to think, a silence passing over them. Luigi perked up, a memory hitting him.
"Oh! They said that they needed to repair their ship!" Luigi exclaimed, "They must be there! At their ship!"
"Like a starship? The only place I know of that they could keep a starship would be towards the coast!" Mario said.
Tippi nodded in response.
"That isn't too far from here. If we can make it there before they fix their ship and take off, we might be able to stop them from using the Chaos Charm and the sword Galaxia!" Tippi said.
"Then let's-a go!" Mario chirped.
Mario reached into his hat and pulled out his warp star, allowing it to grow in size so he could ride on it.
"C'mon Luigi! Hop on!" Mario told him.
Luigi nodded and hopped onto the star beside his brother. The two Star Warriors took off flying with Tippi not far behind, their destination as the beach.
--------------
Mr.L laughed to himself as he twirled the necklace that was called the Chaos Charm on what would pass as a nub for a hand.
"You wanted me to go through that trouble for this piece of jewelry?" Mr.L questioned, "WOW. Why not just make Mr.KnuckleBuster go in there?"
"OI!" O'Chunks protested.
Count Bleck simply chuckled in response.
"The Chaos Charm can only be found by its rightful owner, the warrior in green." Count Bleck stated, "Count Bleck wants you to hold onto that charm in the meantime."
Count Bleck walked off and Nastasia took his place.
"Yeah, and try not to break it, it's worth more than your life, 'K?" Nastasia added, "You're expendable, the charm isn't, yeah."
Nastasia walked off as well and Mr.L paled, immediately stopping playing with the necklace.
"Okaaaay..." Mr.L replied, slipping it on and tucking it below his bandana, "I'll just... Keep it right here."
"A wise choice. I don't want to fish through a mirror again for another warrior in green, ah ha ha." Dimentio laughed.
Dimentio, O'Chunks, and Mr.L all started off again, following behind Count Bleck and Nastasia. After a few minutes of walking, Mr.L grew impatient.
"So where are you taking me? Last I checked, you promised me some big things for helping you. All I'm getting so far are my steps in." Mr.L spat.
Dimentio laughed in response as Nastasia shot them a glare.
"Count Bleck is taking you here, to complete a greater task, for Count Bleck." Count Bleck told him, "Count Bleck will be putting a lot of faith in you for this..."
"Cool, got it, but where is HERE?" Mr.L questioned.
Count Bleck nodded to Nastasia and she walked ahead as the Count stopped. She pushed aside some shrubbery, revealing a large cave with a busted-up command starship docked inside.
"Count Bleck presents to you what was my former star command's ship." Count Bleck said, gesturing to the large ship, "They didn't need it anymore."
Mr.L's eyes went wide with wonder as he looked up at the ship. The massive thing was easily fifty times taller than him, at least a thousand times longer, and armed to the teeth with potential weaponry and defenses. However, potential is not reality, as this ship was in terrible condition.
"Wow..." Mr.L murmured, walking up and touching the cool metallic surface, "How did this work of art get so busted up?"
"Oh, just dear old O'Chunks claiming that he can pilot a large ship through an asteroid bank claiming 'it can't be much harder than a wee starship'!" Dimentio replied, terribly mimicking O'Chunks.
O'Chunks shot a glare at Dimentio and the jester simply laughed.
"So, what are you gonna do with this hunk of junk?" Mr.L questioned.
"Not Count Bleck, you." Count Bleck stated, "You shall repair this ship as your own, and then we shall fly it to Count Bleck's final destination."
"And where might THAT be?" Dimentio asked, his yellow eye turning a tint of green.
Count Bleck hummed in response and looked up at the sky, his red eyes reflecting the many stars in the blackness above.
"Planet Dark Star." Count Bleck simply replied.