New Friends and New Threats

by AgentDouble0

Summary:

Mario's life has entirely changed after the death of Princess Peach. This results in him and his brother Luigi having a fresh start in life by leaving the Mushroom Kingdom, and moving to a brand new place, a city known as Highfalcon, located in the state of New York. The Mario Brothers will meet new people who'll become their friends, and they'll meet people who'll become new threats.

Will the Mario Brothers and their friends be able to stop the new era that'll become a new reality?

Chapter 1: ACT 1 - PROLOGUE

Notes:

I don’t own any of the characters below. Any character who's not listed is an original character.

Agent 47 (Hitman series) First Appearance: ACT 1
Agent Stone (Sonic the Hedgehog movies) First Appearance: ACT 1
Ami Enan (Lupin the 3rd) First Appearance: ACT 1
Astolfo (Fate/Apocrypha) First Appearance: ACT 1
Bob Page (Deus Ex series) First Appearance: ACT 1
Daisuke Jigen (Lupin the 3rd) First Appearance: ACT 1
Dick Gumshoe (Ace Attorney) First Appearance: ACT 2
Dolma Sinha (Lupin the 3rd) First Appearance: ACT 1
Dr. Robotnik (Sonic the Hedgehog movies) First Appearance: ACT 1
Enzo Bron (Lupin the 3rd) First Appearance: ACT 1
Flinch (Lupin the 3rd Part 1) First Appearance: ACT 3
Franziska von Karma (Ace Attorney) First Appearance: ACT 1
Fujiko Mine (Lupin the 3rd) First Appearance: ACT 2
Ginko Hoshikage (Lupin the 3rd) First Appearance: ACT 3
Goemon Ishikawa XIII (Lupin the 3rd) First Appearance: ACT 1
Inspector Clouseau (Pink Panther) First Appearance: ACT 1
J. Jonah Jameson (Marvel) First Appearance: ACT 1
James Bond - First Appearance: ACT 3
John Wick - First Appearance: ACT 1
Kay Faraday (Ace Attorney) First Appearance: ACT 2
Larvell Jones (Police Academy) First Appearance: ACT 1
Luigi - First Appearance: ACT 1
Lupin III (Lupin the 3rd) First Appearance: ACT 1
Manfred von Karma (Ace Attorney) First Appearance: ACT 1
Mario - First Appearance: ACT 1
Master Chief - First Appearance: ACT 1
Max Payne - First Appearance: ACT 3
McGuire (Lupin the 3rd) First Appearance: ACT 2 - He'll be given a first name.
Miles Edgeworth (Ace Attorney) First Appearance: ACT 2
Morgan Everett (Deus Ex series) First Appearance: ACT 2
Oddjob (James Bond) First Appearance: ACT 1
Princess Peach - First Appearance: ACT 1
Robocop - First Appearance: ACT 1
Toad - First Appearance: ACT 1
Vault Boy (Fallout) First Appearance: ACT 1
Wario - First Appearance: ACT 1

NOTE: Some of the characters will have a small role and will not appear in the story that much.

ACT 1 START

PROLOGUE

2025

Unknown Location

Inside a facility in an office with a large touchscreen monitor on the wall, two men were in front of it. One of them was named Oddjob, who was wearing a suit and a bowler hat. The other man was wearing a black suit. He had dark red hair, red eyes, and augments on his head.

“Has he been placed in the cryo pod?” The unknown man asked Oddjob.

“Yes, sir,” Oddjob responded.

“Good.” The man nodded. “Let him rot until he witnesses the biggest change in the world. It will be an absolute nightmare for him. And what about Enzo Bron?”

“Before I arrived, I've been reported that Enzo Bron has arrived and is on his way here at any minute.”

The unknown man nodded and pressed buttons on the screen to display an image of a male individual.

“Let's talk about Dr. Ivo Robotnik.” He said as he looked at his picture. “The man with the most valuable technology in the world. Eventually, our associate will give us the doctor’s technology.”

“I hope he doesn't take too long," Oddjob replied. "Interpol added Robotnik and his accomplice Agent Stone to a red notice list. And they’re currently in Highfalcon, New York. The same city where our associate is.”

The man scoffed. “Law authorities around the world are hunting down two men who are untouchable. Those people don’t know what they’re capable of, but we do."

The man displayed news articles about Dr. Robotnik killing Sonic the Hedgehog.

He continued speaking. "Robotnik is a violent, sinful, genius man who was able to kill Sonic the Hedgehog by precisely analyzing the hedgehog’s speed. He's been attempting to do this for the longest time, and he finally got what he wanted. And Agent Stone is a selfish, loyal man to Robotnik who’ll do anything for him, even if it's killing anyone.”

“We do have two people to take notice of,” Oddjob told him. “Two people who’ll be a threat to us.”

“Who exactly?” The man asked.

“The Mario Brothers," Oddjob answered. "The brothers who were involved in the Mushroom Kingdom War eliminated Bowser, thus ending the war.”

The unknown man knew who he was talking about. He pressed buttons on the touchscreen and displayed images of the Mario Brothers.

“Mario and Luigi.” He said their names. “Two plumbers were born in Brooklyn, then moved to Mushroom City in Mushroom Kingdom when they were toddlers. You believe these two will be our threat?”

“Yes, I do.” Oddjob nodded. “And these two will be a threat to Robotnik.”

The man observed the images of Mario and Luigi. They may be plumbers, but they were soldiers and heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom and the world. That’s what the unknown man believed. And this made him form an idea that had a 50/50 outcome. That idea was going to involve someone the unknown man abducted months ago.

“Then let them be a threat to Robotnik.” He said. “Since they were able to defeat Bowser, I’m confident that they’ll be able to defeat him.”

“And with Robotnik gone, obtain all of his technology in Highfalcon, and the rest in Thunder Valley,” Oddjob replied.

Thunder Valley, an abandoned town in Nevada, became Robotnik’s main secret hideout.

“Indeed.” The man nodded. “With Robotnik’s technology, we’ll be able to use it to create augmentations on the people we'll abduct, and sell them to buyers who'll have possession of them short term, all thanks to the app that Enzo Bron created. And with the technology, we’ll form a new era. And resurrect Dr. Ivo Robotnik.”

“Ressurect Robotnik? Are you sure that’s a great idea?” Oddjob asked with concern. “I’m concerned about him betraying us and taking control of everything that we have.”

“You have nothing to worry about, Oddjob.” The unknown man reassured him. “Let him run this group the way he wants to. He'll continue what I started. When we meet our demise, he’ll have everything we have and control the world however he wants. And he’ll become a robotic god.”

The door inside the office behind them opened, revealing three black armored soldiers with black gas mask helmets that had red eyes.

The soldiers were wielding Heckler & Koch G11s. With them was a handcuffed French White man named Enzo Bron who was blindfolded. He was wearing a black shirt with a red jacket, dark red pants, and yellow and white sneakers. He had facial hair and shoulder-length hair.

The unknown man and Oddjob looked at them as they arrived.

“Enzo Bron.” The unknown man said his name.

One of the soldiers took the blindfold off, which made Enzo look at where he was. He saw the intimidating soldiers, then saw the two men in front of him. He gasped as he widened his eyes when he saw the unknown man.

“Oh my god!” Enzo spoke in shock. “You’re Robert Page!”

“Please, call me Bob.” He replied. Robert Page, commonly referred to as Bob, Bob Page.

Enzo had heard of Bob before and learned about him. One of the things he learned was that him being hunted down by Interpol and presumed dead.

“You’re still alive!” Enzo remarked.

“So you didn’t believe the misinformation about me being dead,” Bob remarked back. "That's smart of you, Enzo."

“Where am I?!” Enzo questioned as he looked around.

“Far away from home,” Bob answered. He approached him. “You made an app that was ahead of its time.”

Enzo gasped at him with fear. “PeopleLog!”

Enzo was the CEO of an IT conglomerate known as Shake Hanz Corporation. He was responsible for creating an app called PeopleLog, which would allow the user to use their phone’s camera and gather information about an individual from the web, such as where they work, where they live, betrayals they committed, their secrets, etc.

The CEO learned more about Bob online before his company launched PeopleLog. Thanks to PeopleLog, he also learned about Bob committing conspiracies and again being presumed deceased according to Interpol and news outlets.

When Bob learned about PeopleLog, he was impressed by it but also considered it a threat, as he had an associate in Highfalcon and other associates outside of his hideout working for him.

Bob ordered a squad to raid the Shake Hanz Corporation headquarters, killing all of the employees, as well as killing the PMC members who were working for Enzo, and abducting the CEO.

“You launched PeopleLog half a year ago,” Bob remarked. “The Illuminati took notice of it, and they had thoughts of assassinating you. They took too long, which was one of the reasons I ruined them. So here we are.”

The Illuminati was a group Bob worked for. He later betrayed them and killed all of the members, except for one.

Enzo spoke, “Please, Mr. Page-“

“Bob will do.” He interrupted him.

“Bob, please, sir, make me work for you. I can create something similar to PeopleLog. You don’t have to pay me, I can work for you for free.”

“You’re not going to work for me for free, nor work for me to be paid.” Bob shook his head in response.

Sweat, anxiety, and panic formed all over Enzo. He dropped to his knees and begged for mercy.

“Please, Mr.Pa- BOB! Please keep me alive and do something to me!” Enzo begged out loud.

“Like what?” Bob looked at him. “Force you to kill your daughter, Ami Enan? Kill her in front of you? Force her to commit suicide and make you watch? We almost wanted her, but now we don’t. To us, she’s just a living body rotting.”

Enzo glared at him. “Just cut my hand or leg off! But, please don’t ever do anything to my daughter! PeopleLog was made to find her!”

Bob scoffed at Enzo's words. “As if you give a damn about her. I doubt she’ll miss you.”

Bob grabbed out a Detonics Combat Master that had a strike-face compensator muzzle device. He spoke again to Enzo.

“Before life says goodbye to you, I just want to thank you for having my group gather data of all the users who downloaded PeopleLog.”

“W-what are you talking about?!”

“All of the individuals around the world who used PeopleLog have their data about them collected, such as their name, their gender, where they live, etc. Their VPN will be bypassed, so that won't be an issue."

"Impossible!" Enzo exclaimed. "That's impossible! VPNs are meant to protect the user's privacy and hide their location!"

"You've been falling behind in technology, Enzo," Bob remarked. "People will realize that VPNs will become obsolete and worthless to use. We were able to do this by turning PeopleLog into a virus. The virus starts its payload by bypassing VPNs being used and collecting data from the user’s phone. The same thing will happen when they download it from an app store. No virus protection or firewall will detect the app as a virus.”

Bob continued. “When we locate the people who used PeopleLog, they will be abducted for experiments that my group is conducting. They're going to be sold to someone who wants them."

"You sick bastard!" Enzo yelled. The soldiers restrained him from standing up. "You're going to commit slavery!"

"Yes and no," Bob replied. "The buyer will have that individual until the time of owning them expires. The so-called slave will end up killing the buyer, as that buyer will realize that the money that they spent is gone forever."

Enzo gagged and panted as he felt sweat. Hearing all of this was leading to a panic attack.

"Just what in the world are you plotting, Bob Page?!"

"I'm changing the world, Enzo. Blood will be on your corpse. Many lives will be lost because of you. You didn’t make an app to find your daughter; you made it to completely change people’s lives and the world permanently. Every single piece of life will change."

Bob aimed his Detonics at Enzo's head. "You won’t be welcome to see it happen.”

Enzo didn’t have time to respond as Bob fired his pistol at him.

BANG!  

Enzo’s body dropped on the floor and was now a corpse.

The soldiers grabbed Enzo’s dead body and dragged it out of Bob's office.

Bob watched them as he placed his Detonics pistol away and then spoke.

“A new era will become a new reality.”

 

 

 

 

 

New Friends and New Threats

ACT 1

 

 

 

 

Chapter 2: ACT 1 - Chapter 1

Days later

Mushroom City, Mushroom Kingdom

At a field near Mushroom City, a city in the country of Mushroom Kingdom in Europe, Mario and Princess Peach were enjoying their romantic moment together. The weather had the sun setting below them.

Mario was the great defender of the Mushroom Kingdom, including his brother Luigi, their best friend Toad, as well as a new best friend that the brothers made, a mercenary named Astolfo, who was the greatest friend the Mario Brothers ever had in their lives.

During the Mushroom Kingdom War that lasted for four years, Astolfo was hired by Princess Peach, who believed he could save many innocent lives during the war. The two formed a friendship. Astolfo made many friends in the Mushroom Kingdom and never wanted to leave, so he decided to stop being a mercenary and become a defender of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Mario and Princess Peach walked as they held each other's hands and were celebrating the second anniversary of the death of Bowser and the fall of his army after they lost the war.

Peach spoke first as she looked at Mario and poked his lovely, handsome face with her finger. “I’m happy that the two years were filled with peace after the war, Mario. Now that Bowser is out of our lives, we can start our future together.”

“Me too, Princess Peach.” Mario smiled at her. “During the war, I became so scared of you, my brother, and all of our friends. I did not let the fear get the best of me. I honestly don’t know what I would do if I lost you. I’m-a looking forward to the future with you.”

Peach giggled. “I always believed we were going to lose just because of how powerful Bowser’s army was, but we were victorious.”

She stopped moving with Mario and wrapped her arms around him. “I love you, Mario.” She then kissed him.

“I love you too, Princess Peach.” Mario kissed her back. “If anything happens to me, please keep living. The Mushroom Kingdom won’t be the same without you. And please make sure my brother doesn’t try anything drastic. He’ll be in shambles if I die.’

“I will, Mario. I promise.” Peach nodded. “By the way, where’s Luigi? I haven’t seen him all day.”

“He’s hanging out with Astolfo,” Mario answered. “I really hope that they’re not playing poker again with Jigen and Goemon, like what happened last time. I had to save them from getting chased and beaten up just for winning against them, Mama Mia.”

Mario was seriously hoping that Luigi and Astolfo wouldn’t be playing poker again against Daisuke Jigen and Goemon Ishikawa XIII.

---

But Luigi and Astolfo were going to play poker against them anyway.

They were inside a bar in Mushroom City. Luigi and Astolfo, who was wearing his casual clothing, patiently waited for their poker opponents, Jigen and Goemon, at the bar counter.

The noise of the bar was filled with people laughing and talking loudly.

Luigi was anxious while waiting for the two guys to show up. He had always been afraid of Jigen and Goemon as they tried to shoot him and slice him up, as they got sick and tired of losing a game of poker against him.

He hoped that Jigen and Goemon had forgotten and weren’t going to show up. And he knew Mario was gonna be mad when he found out that he and Astolfo were playing poker again against them. And he hoped Jigen and Goemon’s silly friend Lupin the 3rd would try to stop his two friends from hurting Luigi.

Astolfo looked at Luigi and patted him on the back. “Try to calm down, Luigi, buddy! Everything is gonna be just fine! Mario won’t find out about us playing poker again against Jiggy and GoeGoe!” She then giggled, giving Jigen and Goemon nicknames.

Luigi was grateful to have Astolfo in his life. His outgoing, goofy personality always made Mario’s brother feel happy. And he developed romantic feelings towards him, which he has been keeping to himself for a while. He wanted to confess to him eventually before it was too late.

Luigi looked at Astolfo and responded, “I sure hope so. We promised Mario we wouldn’t do this again. I guess being a plumber isn’t financially enough.”

“Haha!” Astolfo laughed. “Nonsense! Of course, it is! We’re just trying to have fun, that's all!”

“But Astolfo, you suck at poker.” Luigi cooly remarked, causing Astolfo to pout. It was the truth, Astolfo doesn’t entirely know how to play poker.

“Thanks for noticing,” Astolfo said in a dull tone. His expression changed when he spotted the poker opponents. He formed a smile and pointed, “Oh, they’re here!”

Luigi stared at them and almost fainted. He noticed Jigen looking locked and loaded as he arrived at the bar with Goemon, who had his Zantetsuken sword with him.

Jigen and Goemon approached the two; the former first spoke as he looked at Luigi.

“So, are you ready to play poker again?” He asked.

Luigi felt sweat forming as he gulped. “Y-yes.”

Astolfo decided to lighten the mood. “Great to see ya Jiggy and GoeGoe!”

“Don’t call me that.” Jigen and Goemon replied in unison.

Astolfo laughed, then Luigi spoke. “Let’s a go.”

The four of them went to a table and all sat down. Jigen placed the poker chips on the table and handed the players the cards. They started to play.

“Let’s all have a good, nice, peaceful , poker game,” Jigen told them as he stared at Luigi.

Astolfo noticed the fear Luigi was feeling and let out a nervous laugh, “Y-yeah let’s haha.”

They all started to play. Jigen looked at his cards and decided to bet, while Luigi did the same. It was Astolfo’s turn to make a decision. He believed he had bad cards that would lead to a loss, so he decided to forfeit and placed his cards on the table.

“I’m out, my cards aren’t good enough to bet,” Astolfo told them.

“That’s the second time you had ‘bad cards, ’” Goemon remarked. “Is this a setup?”

“N-no!” Astolfo shook his head as he stuttered. “Of course not!”

“Hmm.” Jigen hummed, feeling suspicious.

Moving on, Jigen placed another bet. He looked at Goemon. “How about you? Are you in or out?”

Goemon looked at the three at the table and looked at his cards. Unfortunately, he didn’t have good enough cards to place a bet, so he forfeited just like Astolfo did.

“Unfortunately, I’m out.” He responded.

Jigen stared at Luigi, staring into his soul. “Alright, and then there were two.” He pointed out. “What’s it gonna be?”

Luigi looked at his cards, knowing he had the best cards (hopefully) to win this poker game after he looked at Astolfo’s cards and the Jigen’s cards, including Goemon’s. Luigi formed a smile and placed his cards on the table.

“Ha ha ha! I'm the best!” He said with a laugh. “I won!”

Astolfo smiled and clapped his hands. “Yay! Congrats, Luigi!”

“WHAT!?” Jigen yelled out, causing Astolfo and Luigi to flinch. He pointed his finger at Luigi. “You cheated again!”

Goemon spoke next as he glared at Astolfo. “And you purposely had bad cards just so Luigi can win!”

Knowing it was time to get the hell out of the bar, Luigi quickly grabbed the chips and grabbed Astolfo’s wrist. “I have no idea what you guys are talking about, you lost, so goodbye!” He tried to leave but was stopped by the Jigen, who grabbed his arm.

“You ain’t going anywhere!” Jigen told him. He grabbed Luigi and lifted him all the way up and shook him around.

Astolfo widened his eyes, crying out Luigi’s name. “Luigi!” He tried to save Luigi but was stopped by Goemon, who placed his sword to his neck.

“How idiotic can you be when it comes to poker?” He said.

Then a brawl in the bar started.

Everybody except for the bartender started to attack each other. Luigi was able to kick Jigen in the face, land his feet on the floor, and kick him in the crotch, but that wasn’t enough to hurt Jigen. Jigen punched Luigi and tossed him to a table.

Astolfo was moving around very fast as he dodged the Zantetsuken sword swings coming at him. He then was able to grab the blade of the sword, which made Goemon widen his eyes. The next thing he saw was his sword being grabbed away by the femboy Astolfo.

Astolfo started running around in the bar, passing by the people fighting as he started yelling out and laughing.

“Hahaha! I got your sword, I got your sword!”

Goemon began chasing him as he shoved people out of his way.

Luigi grabbed a chair and threw it at Jigen, but the latter caught it and tossed it back at Luigi, causing him to duck. Jigen grabbed Luigi and slid his body onto the bar counter, causing all the drinks to break.

With great strength, Goemon grabbed a table and threw it at Astolfo to stop him from running. Astolfo rolled out of the way and continued to run, but was grabbed by Jigen, who forcibly grabbed Goemon’s sword away from him. He was about to body slam him on the floor, but Luigi jumped onto Jigen and covered his face with that latter’s black fedora hat.

From behind, Goemon grabbed Astolfo and tossed him out the window of the bar, landing at the entrance outside.

The femboy got up and formed a violent, angry face. “That’s it! No more Mister Nice Guy! I’m gonna kick their butts!” He marched back inside the bar.

“Here we go again.” Someone muttered. It was Lupin the 3rd.

He was peacefully (trying to) read a book. He knew this idea of a rematch in a poker game against Luigi and Astolfo would go south. He tried to talk Jigen and Goemon out of it, but they didn’t listen.

With Lupin was Ami Enan, the daughter of Enzo Bron. She became a new member of Lupin’s gang, often helping him in heists such as hacking into security footage, disabling laser trip wires, etc. She became Lupin’s best friend and a father figure.

She became aware of the raid on her father’s company, Shake Hanz. She read news outlets that talked all about it. Ami believed he was dead as sources declared he was presumed deceased.

She also helped the Mushroom Kindom Army during the war as she, Lupin, his two friends, including Fujiko Mine, Interpol Inspector Kokchi Zenigata, and Zenigata's Interpol partner Gorō "Yata" Yatagarasu, were stuck in the country and wouldn’t be able to escape safely as the war became very violent.

So they all fought against Bowser’s army and worked together with Mario, Luigi, Astolfo, Princess Peach, Toad, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Wario, and WaLuigi.

Sadly, Zenigata and Yata didn’t survive the war, which broke Lupin. Yata got killed in combat, and Zenigata took a bullet for Lupin during combat. Zenigata’s final word to Lupin was “Lupin.”

As for Fujiko, she died sometime after the war. She was in a heist in France that went violently and painfully wrong. Learning about her death broke Lupin’s mood completely. But he was grateful for his friends who helped him get out of his depression.

He missed Fujiko very deeply and still does. He realized he was never gonna call Fujiko “Fujicakes” ever again. And he realized he was never gonna get chased by Zenigata and hear him yell out “LUPIN!!!” ever again.

Another person got tossed out the window, and that person was Jigen, who had his fedora hat off.

“Son of a bitch! Bitch boy took my hat!” Jigen yelled as he marched back into the bar.

“Should we call Mario?” Ami asked Lupin.

“Yeah,” Lupin answered as he placed his book away and contacted Mario with his phone.

Mario and Lupin became best friends during and after the war. Lupin would make frequent visits to Mushroom City, and this was one of them.

---

Mario and Princess Peach continued to have their romantic moment together as they both walked down the field holding hands.

Peach spoke. “I like this. You and I alone together in peace and a quiet spot where no one can bother or harm us. Sometimes I think about remnants of Bowser’s army.”

“Sometimes I do, too.” Mario replied, “But most of the time, it’s-a nice to not think about it all the time as a way to restrain the anxiety in us.”

Mario’s phone started to ring, which prompted him to stop moving and grab it. Mario sighed. He didn’t want to answer it, but did anyway in case it was something important. He noticed Lupin was calling him.

After Mario answered his phone, he said, “As Lupin buddy, how’s it going?”

“Mario,” Lupin said his name. “It’s happening again.”

”Poker again?”

“Yep.”

Mario deeply sighed as he shook his head. “Mama Mia.” He said. “Of course, they just had to play poker again. Okey dokey, I’m on my way.”

With that, they both hung up. Mario looked at Peach and explained. “That was Lupin. Luigi and Astolfo decided to play poker again, and now they’re in a brawl with Jigen and Goemon.”

“Go out there and help them.” Peach told him with a smile, “I’ll be heading to the castle, and we can continue our romantic moment together. I’ll let everyone know in the castle not to disturb us.”

With that, Mario nodded and then walked away, getting to the bar as soon as possible.

---

The brawl in the bar continued as everyone was throwing chairs, tables, and glass bottles at each other.

Astolfo was wearing Jigen’s hat and let out battle cries as he attacked random people in the bar and accidentally punched Luigi in the face.

“Aaahhh! Sorry, Luigi!” He apologized.

“It’s-a okay, Astolfo!” Luigi forgave him.

His eyes caught Jigen, who was about to strike Astolfo. “Watch out!”

Luigi struck Jigen, punching his body and giving him hard punches in the face, “Pow pow!” He then kicked him.

“Yeah! Take that!” Astolfo shouted at Jigen. He looked at the others in the bar. “You want a piece of me!?”

Luigi grabbed a glass bottle, smashed half of it, and wielded it. “Bring it on!” He said, giving the people a bring it on gesture.

BANG!

BANG!

Two simultaneous gunshots erupted in the bar. The gunshots came from Mario and Lupin.

Mario wielded an AMT AutoMag V, and Lupin wielded a Walther P38.

“Stop!” Mario shouted.

“That’s enough!” Lupin yelled out.

“Mario!” Luigi said his name.

“Hey Mario!” Astolfo greeted him with a smile. He nervously laughed. “It’s not what it looks like!”

“These two need their butt broken!” Jigen pointed at the two.

“And they’re not allowed to hold my Zantetsuken sword ever again!” Goemon said.

Mario glared at Luigi and Astolfo. “You two, we’re leaving.”

“Let’s go, Jigen and Goemon,” Lupin said as he grabbed their cheeks like they were his trouble-making sons.

“Ow geez Lupin!” Jigen whined.

“Such an immature solution!” Goemon complained.

---

They all walked far from the bar and went into a park in the Mushroom City. It was close to being dark outside.

Mario looked at them and said, “You two. You two both promised me you weren’t going to play poker against Jigen and Goemon. Remember what happened last time when both of you were being chased by them?”

What Luigi and Astolfo started to remember was the time when they got chased by Jigen and Goemon months ago. They also remembered Goemon getting closer and closer to them during the chase as he wielded his Zantetsuken sword. All because Luigi won a poker game and was called a cheater.

“Yes, I remembered that.” Luigi replied, “I’m sorry, Mario.”

“I’m sorry too,” Astolfo said to him.

Mario nodded as he forgave them. He then looked at Lupin. “I’m-a sorry about this, Lupin.”

Lupin laughed and patted Mario’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Mario! All is forgiven. I keep on telling Jigen and Goemon to back out of this, but no, they wouldn’t listen to me.”

“One day I'll defeat Luigi, but whatever, let’s call it a night, I guess.” Jigen groaned.

“Let’s head to the castle,” Mario told them. He smiled and pointed his finger. “Let’s-a go!”

---

Princess Peach was walking alone down a forest path that led to her castle. Her smile stayed on her face as she moved. She couldn’t wait to spend more time with Mario.

But unbeknownst to her, there was a hidden young female individual who had light, dark skin, and black hair with violet hairpins. She was also wearing black gloves, a black suit with black pants, a white shirt, a black tie, and brown shoes.

Her name was Dolma Sinha, princess of the Southeast Asian country Kingdom of Padar, commonly called Padar, and the abducted individual. Bob Page believed she was the chosen one who could potentially lead his group if things went in a different direction.

Dolma was wielding a bow & arrow, which was her weapon of choice. She quietly moved behind Peach and was readying her weapon as she added not one, but five arrows on the bow.

She used her strength as she aimed the arrows at Peach. She felt hesitation; she didn’t want to do it, but the innocent lives at Padar were at risk. Padar was going through a civil war, and Bob wanted to make an outcome out of it.

If she dared to betray Bob, then Pedar would become extinct. Again, the country was going through a civil war. It started sometime after Dolma was abducted.

A tear went down Dolma’s eye as she shot the arrows at Princess Peach’s body.

"AAH!" The princess of the Mushroom Kingdom screamed.

Dolma heard the dying scream from Peach as the five arrows penetrated her body.

“I’m sorry,” Dolma whispered with a remorseful face.

She saw Peach’s knees drop to the ground.

Peach began tearing up as blood came out of her mouth.

“M-Mario....please....keep......living......I love you......................................”

After saying her final words, Princess Peach's dying face landed on the ground. Her body no longer moved. Her eyes no longer blinked. And she was no longer breathing.

Dolma immediately had thoughts of wanting to commit suicide by stabbing herself with an arrow, but she felt a large amount of hesitation. She knew she had to leave immediately before someone spotted her.

And she didn't want to leave a very close friend behind, a friend named Ami Enan. The two girls loved each other. They met when they attended a female boarding school in France. Their final moment together was a violent one, as innocent school students and teachers were killed, horrifically killed.

From a distance away, an individual witnessed the event that occurred. It was Oddjob. He was sent to the Mushroom Kingdom to make sure Dolma was going to kill Princess Peach and not commit treason.

Oddjob saw everything. Again, Bob’s plan was 50/50. 50% that it would work, 50% that it wouldn’t. He got the former outcome. It all worked. Now, it was time to see how Mario was going to handle this.

Bob wanted to mentally break Mario. He wanted to see if the plumber was able to end his life to be with Peach.

If not, then Bob Page will be waiting for Mario’s revenge.

---

The group of friends arrived at the castle and entered. As they entered, Mario greeted his friend Toad.

“Hello, Toad!” Mario smiled at him.

Toad had a sad smile on his face as he waved at Mario and approached, “Hey Mario, Luigi, Astolfo, Lupin, Ami, Jigen, and Goemon.” He greeted them as he cried.

The entire group became concerned.

Astolfo was the first to ask. “What’s wrong, Toad? Why are you crying? Something wrong?”

Toad's sadness became sadder as tears went down his cheeks as he stared at Mario. “Mario...Princess Peach was k-killed.”

Mario’s jaw dropped as the group gasped in shock with widened eyes.

Mario couldn’t believe this was true, but seeing Toad’s emotional crying, it was all true.

”WaAaAaAaAAAH!! Mama Mia! NO! Who killed her!?” He questioned.

“T-the guards noticed five arrows in her body. They couldn’t find the killer or the weapon!” Toad explained as he shed tears.

Luigi shook his head. “Mama Mia, this is ridiculous!”

Mario looked at his friends with a serious expression. “Everyone, let’s-a go to where it happened.” He told them.

He looked at Toad. “Can you lead the way, Toad?” He asked him.

“Y-yeah.” Toad nodded as he wiped the tears away.

---

The group walked to where Princess Peach died. The Mushroom Kingdom Guards were there at the scene as they wielded their MAC-10s. The Mushroom Kingdom soldiers were also there as they wielded their Steyr AUGs. The guards and the soldiers surrounded the corpse of Princess Peach.

The group stared at Peach’s corpse. Luigi was about to puke, so he quickly moved away from the group and puked. Seeing her corpse made him entirely grossed out. Toad was about to faint, but Astolfo held on to him. Jigen took his fedora off to show respect.

Mario couldn’t keep his eyes off her body. This became a wholesome day, but then it became a tragic day.

A tear was let out from Mario’s eye. He wiped it away. He looked at one of the guards and spoke to them. “Any witnesses?” He asked them.

“Negative, sir.” A male guard nodded in response. “We’re going to investigate this.”

Mario nodded to his answer. “Thank you.”. He said to him.

Mario’s day was completely ruined, and this became the worst day of his life. But not just his day, but everyone’s day in the Mushroom Kingdom. This day will not be forgotten. This day will be known as the most tragic day in the Mushroom Kingdom.

This was the fifth person that Mario lost in his life. Before it was Yoshi, Donkey Kong, WaLuigi, and Wario, they were all killed during the war. Wario's death was the final straw for Mario, and he desperately and successfully ended Bowser's life.

And seeing Princess Peach dying, made Mario restrain himself from going insane.

After Luigi recovered from his puke, he approached his brother. He placed his hand on his shoulder. He then hugged him. Astolfo then hugged Mario after Luigi was done, followed by Toad, Lupin, Ami, Jigen, and Goemon.

“My condolences,” Goemon said to Mario as he hugged him.

“Thank you,” Mario replied.

Mario didn’t know how he was going to handle all of this. This has already become too much for him to handle.

---

A month has passed since Princess Peach’s death, and a funeral happened weeks ago inside a church.

The entire population of the Mushroom Kingdom gathered at the funeral to pay their respects. This felt like karma to them after defeating Bowser’s army; many believed Bowser cursed the entire Mushroom Kingdom, and nobody had any idea what was gonna happen next.

News outlets from various countries became aware of the princess being murdered. The president of the United States, the King of England, the Prime Minister of Canada, the Prime Minister of Japan, and various other prime ministers, kings, queens, and presidents gathered at the funeral.

This wasn’t some ordinary funeral.

After the funeral was over, people lined up to Peach’s coffin and placed a flower on it. Then they spoke to each other, spoke to Mario and Luigi, and other people from the Mushroom Kingdom.

Then they were not in the mood to do anything.

Businesses in the Mushroom Kingdom were closed due to having zero motivation to operate their business. The Mushroom Kingdom Army was on high alert, thinking remnants of Bowser’s army or a different threat were targeting the Mushroom Kingdom. They’re anticipating anything. They’re all prepared for a possible terrorist attack soon.

Mario never left Peach’s grave. Luigi, Astolfo, Toad, Lupin, and his friends were with him. Mario told them to leave so that he could grieve by himself.

Mario was holding a peach-colored flower as he held his tears. He placed it on Peach’s coffin. “I wish this were a dream! But it’s-a not!”

He continued speaking as he looked at the coffin and cried.

“I’m-a going to miss you! The Mushroom Kingdom will not be the same without you! Do not worry, Princess Peach! I’m not going to end my life, because I don’t want my brother and my best friends to suffer! Ending my life will not be a peaceful way to die! It will just bring more tragedy and despair!”

He breathed as he cried and said his final words before he left the church. “Goodbye, Princess Peach.”

---

Weeks after the funeral have passed. The Mushroom Kingdom was still recovering from Princess Peach’s death. The investigation was still ongoing, but nothing was solved. The investigators realized this investigation was going to be difficult to solve, but they showed zero signs of throwing in the towel.

Being Princess Peach’s friend, Astolfo decided to leave temporarily as he had a lot going on in his mind, but he did promise to return soon. Her death affected him a lot.

Lupin and his friends left as well. They all said goodbye to Mario and Luigi and were planning to return soon for a visit.

Mario was inside his office in the castle. He’s been making plans, big plans, plans that would change his life, including his brother. He wants his brother involved in this. But he hoped this plan would be somewhat worth it.

A knock came on the door of the office. Mario told them to come in.

It was Luigi who opened the door and greeted his brother. “Hello, Mario.” He greeted him. “How are you doing?” He asked him.

“I’m-a doing okay, Luigi,” Mario answered as he approached him. ”I have some things I need to tell you.”

“It’s-a not going to make me cry, right?” Luigi hoped.

“No, I hope,” Mario reassured him. “Luigi, you and I are going to leave the Mushroom Kingdom.”

Luigi was shocked to hear that. “Is this a joke, Mario?!”

“No, Luigi, it’s-a not a joke.” Mario shook his head. “Every day, I go to Princess Peach’s grave. I’ve been having thoughts of wanting to dig her grave and have possession of her body, but I knew that would be a stupid thing to do. I’ve been burnt out after the war ended, and that burnout is coming back. I want us to have a fresh start in life and meet new people. This is something I want to do. But you don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

“Are you kidding me?! Of course, I want to go with you!” Luigi told him.“You’re my brother and I love you! I’m-a not gonna let you go somewhere all by yourself and make me worry about you endlessly and have panic attacks! But who’s gonna be in charge of the Mushroom Kingdom?”

After Princess Peach’s death, Mario succeeded her to rule the Mushroom Kingdom, but he believed the leadership belonged to Peach, and he didn’t have the confidence to lead the country, as he feared he would screw everything up.

“Toad will be in charge of the Mushroom Kingdom. We already spoke, and he agreed to keep the country protected.” Mario explained.

“Okay.” Luigi nodded. “Where are we going?”

“We’re going to a city in the United States called Highfalcon . It’s located in the state of New York. It’ll be our residence, but if we’re not enjoying staying there, we’ll leave and go somewhere else. We will pay a visit here every month, we’ll also try to offer our help, and request their help if something is going on.”

Luigi nodded at his brother’s explanation. “When are we going to leave?”

“In a week, get everything you need.”

“Okey dokey!”

With that, Luigi left. The Mario Brothers knew that they were gonna miss being in Mushroom Kingdom, and a part of them were afraid to move to a new place far from their country.

The brothers believe that moving to Highfalcon, New York, could be the start of their new adventure, and facing obstacles along the way.

Chapter 3: ACT 1 - Chapter 2

Highfalcon, New York

The city of Highfalcon.

Many citizens of Highfalcon try to live peacefully day by day. The city is known for its high crime rate, mainly from mafia crime bosses: Michael DeMarti, Anthony Leone, and Jonny Fernsby.

The three criminal bosses have had gang wars for years, trying to gain territory in parts of the city. The Highfalcon PD has been trying to end this feud for a long time and was struggling, not to mention other crime activities they had to focus on. They had help from someone powerful in the police department in Highfalcon.

One thing that kept almost everyone unaware was the activities coming from one person: Dr. Ivo Robotnik.

Robotnik had some ideas to destroy Highfalcon and turn it into his empire. He wanted to turn the citizens into goblins and then kill them all and have his robots and human soldiers control the city.

Human soldiers?! Instead of only ordering robots to do his diabolical work, he wanted to try to have human soldiers work for him and obey his demands, and so far, it’s been working. This idea was inspired by having his accomplice Agent Stone, who’s been very loyal to him and would do anything for him.

But Robotnik talked down to his human soldiers, calling them stupid, pathetic, idiots, losers, etc. He often bullied them to death. He hated them so damn much, but the soldiers still obliged the evil doctor's orders.

Robotnik was inside the living quarters of a cafe called “Mean Bean Coffee Café”. This became Robotnik’s base of operations in Highfalcon. His main base of operations was located far from Highfalcon, in an abandoned town called Thunder Valley, located in Nevada. Robotnik would go there if he had plans or was compromised in Highfalcon.

Robotnik stared out the window. The weather was sunny and the city was active. Cars drove on the road, and people walked down the sidewalk. He formed an evil grin on his face and began talking.

“All of these worthless people will experience life as a GOOOOOOBLIN! Ha ha haaaaaaa!”

“Goblinfied humans will live for a short while until I spread a virus that will kill them all, and after that, the city will be MIIIIIINE! Everyone will scream and everyone will cry for help, but they won’t get any help! Everyone will suffer as goblins and DIE! Haahahahaha!!!”

“Oh, I am so insane! I am SO HAPPY that I COMPLETELY DESTROYED Sonic the Hedgehog!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHOHOHOHOHOHOHOAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!”

“Doctor?”

“WHAAAAAAAAAAT!?” Robotnik yelled as he turned to the individual. It was Agent Stone who was holding two lattes.

“I made us some lattes with steamed Austrian goat milk.” Agent Stone smiled at him as he handed him a latte.

“Don’t you see I’m trying to monologue, Doofus Stone!? But thank you.” Robotnik grabbed a latte from Agent Stone and took a drink of it. “Ahhhhh, some good ol’ steamed Austrian goat milk latte!”

Agent Stone noticed something. There was supposed to be another individual with them, but they weren’t there. “Um, Gabe Clark is late.” He remarked. Gabe Clark is another subordinate working for Robotnik.

“I am AWARE!” Robotnik replied with major irritation. “How dare he be late! NOBODY is allowed to be late! He was supposed to arrive here with the sample of the Goblin DNA for us to use on a human to test the waters, BUT HE IS FREAKING LATE!!!”

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

“It must be him.” Agent Stone guessed.

“It better be him! Open the stupid door!” Robotnik told him. “If it’s not Gabe Clark, KILL THEM!”

Agent Stone approached the door and opened it. A White man was revealed wearing a suit with a green tie. Brown short hair and black-rimmed glasses. Named Gabe Clark.

“Sorry, I’m late.” Gabe apologized, “Slow traffic.”

“Then ram the vehicles out of the way, you POOP!” Robotnik replied as he yelled. “Do you have the sample of the Goblin DNA with you?”

“Yes, sir.” Gabe nodded. “Here you go, Dr. Robotnik.” He handed the sample of the goblin DNA. It contained a container of green liquid.

“FANTASTIC!” Robotnik shouted out as he grabbed the sample. “I cannot wait to use this on someone!” He then glared at Gabe. “Don’t you ever be late again for a meeting! And I hope nobody followed you! You got it!? GO!”

Gabe immediately obliged and left the room, leaving Agent Stone and Robotnik alone.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaalrighty then, Agent Stone!” Robotnik said his name. “I want you to work on creating a weapon that we can use to shoot the Goblin DNA on some random nobody! We must see what it will look like!”

“Yes, doctor!” Agent Stone obliged.

Far from the Mean Bean Coffee Café, Gabe Clark went to an alley and sent a text message to a contact of his.

He typed “Hey, it’s me. I just gave Dr. Robotnik a fake sample of the Goblin DNA.”

After a few seconds, a response came.

“Come to my safe house as soon as possible.”

And with that, Gabe walked out of the alley while watching his back.

---

Inside a building in downtown Highfalcon, a female named Vanessa Nelson was wearing a violet short-sleeved shirt with pink horizontal lines, dark blue shorts, and black boots. Her twin-tailed hair was blonde.

She became an associate of Robotnik when she heard about him and his activities, as well as his arrival at Highfalcon. She became a fan of him and wanted to impress him so that he could trust her. When Robotnik learned about Vanessa having a huge obsession with machines, he felt like he had met his daughter. He wanted her involved.

She walked down a futuristic hallway and went inside a laboratory, filled with a bunch of computers, consoles, terminals, and some equipment with futuristic designs. All of this was the reason why Robotnik wanted her to be involved in his plans. It became a joyful moment for him when he saw it all.

Vanessa’s eyes went to a man dressed in a scientist's outfit. He was sitting at his desk typing on a keyboard. He had short black bowl-cut hair and was wearing glasses.

“Oliver!” Vanessa shouted the scientist’s name.

Oliver jumped after she said his name. “Ah! Yes, Ms. Nelson?”

“I need you to do me a favor,” Vanessa told him as she had her hand on her hip. “I need you to steal Robocop and bring him here.”

Oliver widened his eyes in surprise. “Steal Robocop!? Robocop from the Highfalcon PD!?”

“Yeah, duh!” Vanessa glared. “I want you and some contacts of mine to steal him and bring him here!”

“But why? That’ll bring so much attention!”

“I don’t care, Oliver!” Vanessa shot a vicious glare, making him scared. “I want Robocop to be reprogrammed so that he can take orders from me! Dr. Robotnik has tons of robots, and I don’t have a single one! And I need to prove to Dr. Robotnik that I’m useful and able to take care of his technology after his death. I want to impress him. Remember, Oliver, you work for me and Dr. Robotnik. We don’t take no for an answer.”

She stepped closer to Oliver and trampled his foot as she whispered to him. “And I can command Robocop to kill you .”

Oliver gulped and felt sweat on his head. He knew he was cornered by her. It felt like he was seeing Dr. Robotnik’s sister or daughter. He didn’t want to face her and Robotnik’s violent wrath.

“Yes, Ms. Nelson, I’ll work on bringing Robotcop here as soon as possible.” Oliver obliged.

“Perfect!” Vanessa grinned, “Let me know the results, and it better be good!” After that, she walked away.

Oliver deeply sighed. This was going to be a lot of hard work he’d have to endure since this was all about stealing Highfalcon PD’s highly cybernetic-enhanced officer.

Robocop, real name Alex Murphy, was killed in the line of duty four years ago, in 2021, in Highfalcon as he battled against mafia boss Jonny Fernsby. Alex was highly respected in the city, and the Highfalcon PD couldn’t let him go, so they resurrected him as Robocop.

---

Also in downtown Highfalcon, there was a skyscraper across from another skyscraper, which was taller than the former.

The former skyscraper was the headquarters of Highfalcon Times, the city’s daily news company, run by J. Jonah Jameson. Across from his building was the taller skyscraper called Montgomery Industries, owned by Alan Montgomery, president and CEO.

Jameson became obsessed with him, just like being obsessed with New York City’s hero, Spider-Man. But why was Jameson obsessed with a businessman?

Twenty years ago, in 2005, Jameson met a photographer who later became a close friend named Nate Owings. Weeks ago, Nate was murdered, and the last picture he took was a picture of Alan Montgomery and a suspicious individual who met Alan at an alley next to the Montgomery Industries building.

The picture was handed to Jameson by Chief Inspector Clouseau, who told him that the murderer was not captured and that the investigation regarding his death is still ongoing, but close to being an unsolved case. All that was official in the investigation was that there were no stab wounds and no bullet(s). Only a hole on the forehead.

No one was around to witness the murder happening, according to Clouseau, who spoke to people near the scene, and none of them knew anything about it, which was unfortunate for Jameson.

Before Nate’s death, Jameson never trusted Montgomery. He viewed him as a shady businessman hiding secrets, an example being Alan meeting the suspicious individual. And his trust in Alan went to zero percent when the businessman announced running for Mayor in Highfalcon, saying that he’ll “change Highfalcon” after winning the election.

Whatever the hell that means. Jameson kept all of this to himself and hoped to god that Alan wouldn't become mayor. He didn’t want to have someone make an article about the man and possibly face a lawsuit for defamation and become a victim of murder. Not to mention, Alan’s son Daniel Montgomery, who was planning to become the next president and CEO of the company in the future. Jameson believed the son was just as bad as his father or worse than him.

Jameson summoned two people to his office: Master Chief and John Wick.

Master Chief John-117, the head of security of the Highfalcon Times building, and John Wick, the second-in-command of the security team.

Jameson waited for them as he stared at Montgomery’s building with his arms crossed. “What are you up to, Alan Montgomery?” He said in a serious tone. “Are you Spider-Man? Or are you a murderous killing machine?”

Jameson heard his door knocking. He knew it was Master Chief and John Wick. “Come in!” He told them.

The door opened, revealing Master Chief and John Wick. Jameson looked at them. “Master Chief! John Wick! Thank you for showing up! We need to talk!”

“Are we being fired?” Master Chief asked.

“No, of course not! Otherwise, I would’ve said it immediately!” Jameson answered, “You wanna be fired?!”

“No.” Master Chief shook his head.

“Good, now shut up! This is important!” Jameson told him.

“Is there a problem, Jameson?” John Wick inquired.

“Yes, and-“

“It’s Spider-Man, isn’t it?” Master Chief assumed as he crossed his arms.

“Don’t interrupt me!” Jameson glared at him. “Let me finish! Otherwise, you will be fired for life! Both of you sit down!” He told them.

Both Master Chief and John Wick sat down across from Jameson’s table. He cleared his throat and started to talk in a serious manner.

He began talking. “You two are my top employees whom I deeply trust. I’m putting you both on indefinite leave and am going to work undercover for Alan Montgomery. You two need to gather info about him, see what he’s been doing behind the public’s back.”

“Why are you so suspicious of this guy?” Master Chief questioned. “You’ve been suspicious of him since he started his company and announced running for mayor. He’s just some businessman.”

Jameson opened his drawer from his table and grabbed a picture, a picture of Alan Montgomery and the suspicious individual. He handed the picture to Master Chief.

“That’s a picture of Alan and a suspicious man. That was the last picture Nate took before he was murdered.” Jameson explained.

“So what’s the problem?” John wondered. “We have armed security, and the ones who are armed are Master Chief and I. Nobody dares to fuck with us.”

“Yes! You are absolutely right, John Wick!” Jameson looked at him. “But this man said on the news that he’ll 'change Highfalcon' when he becomes mayor, and make technology become a prominent asset for the population! The way he speaks makes me not trust him! He probably doesn’t even care about the public! Our mayor, David Phillips, does, and I believe that Alan will take him out when the next mayor election comes!”

Master Chief kept observing the picture. He also felt suspicious. The head of the security of the Highfalcon Times building will keep the building, the employees, J. Jonah Jameson, and John Wick, protected.

“I’ll do it.” Master Chief told Jameson. “But, I need a weapon.”

“Yeah, so do I.” John nodded.

“Thank you, Master Chief and John Wick!” Jameson thanked them. “And yes, both of you will be armed to the teeth for this undercover assignment! I’ll have some contacts to create fake resumes for you two that can convince Alan to hire you both! But if not, we’ll go with plan B! Dismissed!”

---

In a neighborhood, the Mario Brothers were at their new house and were looking forward to living there and meeting new people.

As the brothers were outside in their front yard, Mario noticed a house next to them and his eyes immediately caught a car parked on the driveway. A bright yellow 1965 Fiat 500 F.

“Hey, Luigi?” said his name. “Look at that house next to us. I think Lupin and his pals live there.”

“Oh no, I hope not.” Luigi hoped and prayed. He couldn’t tell if Jigen and Goemon still have thoughts of wanting to kick his ass for winning poker.

“Mario, I don’t think we should disturb whoever is in that house.” He suggested. “They all might be different people, not Lupin and his friends.”

“But let’s-a try and find out together.” Mario smiled as he started to walk to the house.

Luigi gulped as he followed his brother. They both stood at the front door of the house. Mario happily knocked on it and waited.

A minute has passed. Luigi thought it was a good idea to walk away. “No one’s home, okay, let’s leave.” He was stopped by his brother, who grabbed his wrist.

The door opened, and the person inside was Lupin the 3rd.

But he started to act strangely, acting like a zombie. He was moving towards the Mario Brothers like a zombie.

“Raaaaaaaauuuuuuuuggggggaaaaaaaaa BRAAAAAAINSSSSSS EAAAAAAAAT!”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!” Luigi screamed. “MARIO! LUPIN IS A ZOMBIE!!!”

Jigen appeared at the entrance. “My god, it’s a joke.”

“AAAAAAAAH! JIGEN!” Luigi screamed. “HE'S DYING TO KILL ME!!!”

Then Goemon appeared. “Do you have to be so loud?”

“AAAAAAAAH! GOEMON!” Luigi yelled out in fear. “HE WANTS TO SLICE OFF MY LIMBS!!!”

“Mama Mia, will you stop it, Luigi!?” Mario snapped at him as he glared. He then breathed and looked at Lupin the 3rd, his best friend and neighbor. “Sorry about that, Lupin.”

“Haha, it’s okay, Mario!” Lupin smiled as he parted Mario’s shoulder.

Ami appeared and was concerned about what was going on. “Is everything okay?”

Lupin smiled at her. “Yep, everything is fine, Amy!”

“It’s Ami.” She corrected Lupin, like always. She stared at the Mario Brothers. “Mario and Luigi? What are you guys doing here?”

“We’re-a having a fresh start. Princess Preach’s death affected me so much, and I couldn’t live in Mushroom City anymore. It wasn’t the same without her.” Mario explained.

Lupin nodded his head. He and Mario can relate since they both lost someone they loved. The thief placed his hand on Mario’s shoulder and gave Mario a comforting smile.

“Mario, you and I need to hang out later today, if you don’t mind,” Lupin suggested. “Your friend hasn’t seen you in a while.”

Mario smiled back at Lupin. “I would like that Lupin the 3rd! I would like to know what you’re doing here as well.”

He then looked at Lupin's friends, Jigen, and Goemon. “If you guys have any plumbing issues, just let me and my brother know, and we’ll fix it wahoo!” He looked at his brother. “Right, Luigi?”

“Uh, y-yeah.” Luigi nodded as he couldn’t keep his eyes on Jigen and Goemon.

“Don’t worry about us, Luigi,” Jigen reassured him. “We moved from what happened. But don’t think about taking my hat off and running away with it like what Astolfo did.’

“Or taking my sword,” Goemon said to Luigi.

“Yeah, I promise!” Luigi nodded as he obliged.

Jigen offered a handshake to Luigi. “Let’s shake on it.”

Luigi was afraid to shake his hand as he believed Jigen was going to flip him.

“Come on, just shake my hand!” Jigen said with impatience. “Like I said, I moved on. So did Goemon.”

“I couldn’t stand listening to you guys talk about Luigi and Astolfo!” Lupin mentioned. He had to endure every day of Jigen and Goemon talking about them. “Luigi and Astolfo this, Luigi and Astolfo that!”

“Speaking of Astolfo, where is he?” Goemon asked the Mario brothers. “Did he come with you two?”

While Luigi was nervously shaking Jigen’s hand, Mario answered. “He left the Mushroom Kingdom after Peach died. He's going through a lot on his mind.”

“I see.” Goemon nodded.

“Does he know that you’re here?” Lupin asked Mario.

“Not yet.” Mario shook his head. “I wrote a letter for him to read whenever he returns to Mushroom Kingdom. I'm-a sure hope he’s doing alright.”

---

Inside Highfalcon’s prosecutor's office, a woman was working on paperwork on her laptop regarding her upcoming court trial cases. Franziska Von Karma.

She moved to Highfalcon a year ago, wanting to have a fresh start on her prosecuting career after she had a deep emotional conversation with someone who’s considered her “little brother”, named Miles Edgeworth.

Franziska wanted to travel back to her home country, Germany, but decided to stay in the United States and move across the country, specifically Highfalcon. She thought of seeking justice during her prosecuting career instead of committing tampering with witnesses and evidence. She wanted to be better and less scary to her peers, as long as they didn’t make her angry. This was her journey of redemption.

The door in her office was already open, and a male individual arrived, named Chief Inspector Clouseau, who was holding paperwork.

“Madam Von Karma!” Clouseau greeted her as he approached her desk. “Got the statements from the witnesses who saw the murder, AH!” He tripped and landed his body on the desk, forcefully closing the laptop

Franziska wasn’t surprised when she saw him tripping in front of her. Every once in a while, she witnessed Clouseau being clumsy. Clouseau tripped because one of his shoes got untied.

Franziska opened the laptop and noticed black markings on the screen, meaning the pixels of the screen were broken. She showed it to Clouseau.

“Thank you.” She said sarcastically.

Clouseau recovered and saw what he did. He began to sweat and gulped. He was ready for it. “I’m sorry, Madam Von Karma.” He apologized.

With a small smile on her face, Franziska forgave him. “It’s okay, Clouseau.” She then grabbed something she always used: her whip. She stood up as she kept her eyes on Clouseau.

“Everything is going to be okay,” Franziska told Clouseau. She whipped him.

CRACK!

“Aaah!” Clouseau screamed.

“Out of my office, Clumsy Inspector Fool!” Franziska demanded him.

“Yes, madam. I’m sorry!” Clouseau apologized again and ran out of her office. She added another thing on her to-do list: get the screen repaired and force Clouseau to pay for it.

---

Inside a courtroom, a male judge was giving out the verdict. Franziska was standing across from the defense attorney and his defendant.

“I find the defendant guilty!” The judge declared.

“WHAT!? Wait a minute, your honor!” A defense lawyer wearing glasses yelled out. Next to him was a male with short green hair wearing a suit.

Franziska had a smug look on her face and waved her finger. “Oh, Darian, you fool of the foolish fools. Did you not understand what the judge just said? You’re foolish client is going to prison and is going to rot like a foolish fool.”

“But but but judge, please change your mind, please!” Darian begged him.

The judge shook his head. “No, my decision is final. 30 years in prison!” He slammed his mallet, and that was the end of it.

---

It was evening outside. Inside a restaurant & bar known as Martinet, Franziska was sitting at her table alone, looking at her phone, mainly at news articles. Someone from a distance looked at her. It was Mario who was looking at her.

Mario wasn’t alone. Lupin was with him at the table he was at. Luigi decided to spend time with them, and currently, he was in the bathroom.

Mario adored Franziska’s outfit and believed her short silver-blue hair made her pretty. He believed everything about her looks made her attractive. The plumber believed Franziska could become a friend. He wanted to try. He wanted to try to greet her and see what would happen.

Lupin got Mario’s attention. “You know who that woman is?”

“Huh?” Mario looked at him, gaining his attention. He shook his head. ”No, I don’t.”

“That’s Franziaka von Karma,” Lupin told him. “She’s a prosecutor from Germany. She also dealt with some cases in Los Angeles. I’m surprised to see her here in Highfalcon.”

Lupin formed a smirk. “Wanna go on a date with her, Mario?”

“Yeah...I mean no!” Mario blushed. “But I have an idea.” He stood up and approached a male bartender.

He looked at the male bartender and approached him.

“Excuse me?” Mario said to the bartender. He handed him money. “Do you mind giving that lady over there a non-alcoholic drink, please?”

“Yeah, sure!” The bartender smiled as he grabbed the money. “I uh, I just hope she’ll like it haha.” He really hoped Franziska was gonna like the drink he was gonna make.

After he was done making the drink, the bartender walked towards Franzsika’s table and placed the drink on her table. Franziska looked at it and formed a small glare at the bartender.

“Foolish bartender, I didn’t order this foolish drink!” She said. “If it’s foolish alcohol, I’ll whip you!”

“I-it c-came from that g-guy” The bartender stuttered as he pointed his finger at Mario, who waved with a smile. “There’s no alcohol in the drink, I swear!” He told her.

“I’ll be the judge of that. Now scram!”

The bartender quickly walked away. He knew who Franziska was and her whip.

Franziska stared at the drink, then at Mario and LUPIN!

LUPIN!? That foolish thief! Franziska was absolutely shocked to see him here, of all places. She despised this man for committing tons and tons of foolish theft. She always wanted him to face justice and have him rot in prison like a foolish thief fool.

She placed her phone away and stood up, grabbing the drink and her whip. She approached Mario at the table where he and Lupin were. She looked at Mario as she arrived.

“Thanks for the free drink.” She thanked him. She then sent a glare at Lupin. “Lupin the 3rd, foolish thief, stealing from foolish innocent people and foolish criminals and spreading your foolishness all over this foolish world. What are you doing here?”

“Can a man spend time here like a normal foolish person?” Lupin replied with a smirk.

“You’re here to steal something foolish, aren’t you?” Franziska hissed as she got her whip ready.

Mario stood up. “Now, now! No one is stealing anything foolish.” He reassured her. He offered her a handshake. “My name is Mario!”

Franziska glared at him, but then the glare went away. She felt like she was being paranoid. She calmed herself down.

“My apologies,” Franziska responded to them as she gave Mario a handshake.

“No need to apologize,” Lupin told her. “Mario and I are friends and we’re just hanging out.”

“Lupin told me you’re name is Franziska von Karma, right?” Mario asked her.

“Yes, that’s correct,” Franziska confirmed. “Are you from here?”

“No, I’m from the Mushroom Kingdom!” Mario answered. “I came here for personal reasons. My brother and I wanted to have a fresh start.”

Just like me. Franziska thought. “I see.” She then sat down at the table and drank. She tasted no alcohol, which made her glad. “Good. This foolish drink you paid for me has zero foolish alcohol.” She looked at Mario with an intimidating expression. “If this had the foolishness of alcohol in it, I would’ve whipped you, the bartender, Lupin the 3rd, and your brother.”

Mario and Lupin both gulped.

Mario let out a nervous laugh as his eyes caught her whip. “Is that why you brought the whip with you?”

“Yes, yes it was.” Franziska smiled. “But again, thank you. Though you didn’t need to do that.”

“I thought I would make a friend!” Mario replied with a smile. “My brother should be done at any minute. He’s in the restroom.”

“Mario?” Someone said his name. It was Luigi who walked toward his brother and Franziska. He looked at the latter. “Who’s this?”

“Luigi, this is Franziska von Karma!” Mario told him.

Franziska greeted him. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Luigi.”

“Likewise.” Luigi nodded. He noticed her whip. “Is that a whip?” He asked.

“Why yes, it is.” Franziska evilly smiled as she grabbed the whip and whipped the floor near the brothers and Lupin. This made Luigi, as well as Lupin, hide behind Mario.

Mario nervously laughed. “Haha, it’s-a okay, Luigi and Lupin, she won’t hurt you.” He told them.

“Anyway, since you and your brother are new here in Highfalcon, how are you guys liking the city?” Franziska inquired.

“We’re liking it so far!” Mario answered with a smile. “My brother and I already bought a house and got jobs. I’m a cop working for the Highfalcon PD, and Luigi is a photographer for the Highfalcon Times.”

Franziska blinked at his response. She couldn’t tell if Mario was making up a foolish story that would absolutely motivate her into whipping him, his brother, and Lupin, or if he was telling the truth. If it were the truth, she would feel surprised by the brothers getting a job that fast.

Franziska questioned Mario. “Really? How did that happen?”

“Well, it all started like this!” Mario answered. He began to tell the story.

---

FLASHBACK

On a street of the city during the sunny early afternoon, Mario faced up against a White male criminal wearing a black jacket, gray shirt, black jeans, and black shoes. He was wearing sunglasses and had short, dark, spiky hair.

Mario glared at the criminal. “Okey dokey, whoever you are! I’m-a beat you up for taking my wallet away!”

The criminal waved his knife around and laughed. “Hahaha! Bring it on!” He yelled at him.

Mario charged at him. The criminal was not able to stab him as Mario jumped in the air and kicked the criminal in the face. He then grabbed the criminal, jumped in the air, and body-slammed him to the ground. Then he stomped on his abdomen.

“AAAAH OW!” The criminal cried

“Haha!” Mario laughed. “Take-a that!”

Mario was able to grab his wallet back from the criminal who took it and placed it back in his pocket.

“Okey dokey, now it’s time to call the police and turn this criminal in for harming me and stealing my wallet,” Mario said to himself.

Mario then heard police siren noises. He noticed the sirens weren’t coming from a police car; it was coming from a man.

An African-American man wearing a police suit and a police hat. He was the one making police siren noises coming from his mouth as he approached Mario.

“Excuse me, citizen! Did you say the police?!” Someone said.

“Yes! Who are you, Mr. Officer?” Mario asked him.

“My name is Chief Larvell Jones!” He told him. “Chief of the Highfalcon PD! I saw everything you did to that criminal! You went HI-YAH at him! You wanna join the Highfalcon PD?!”

Mario was surprised by all of this. He already made his decision and didn’t think it through.

“Me, joining the Highfalcon PD!? Sure, that would be great! I get to stop criminals and solve crimes!” Mario replied with a big smile filled with enthusiasm.

“Great!” Jones smiled. “You start tomorrow! You don’t need training, because I saw it all! When you fight violent criminals who try to shoot at you, shoot them back!” He started to make real machine gun noises from his mouth.

“AAAAAH, MARIO! GUN SHOTS” It was Luigi who was running towards his brother in fear.

“It’s okay, citizen!” Jones calmed him down. “It was me making the machine gun noises! Say, is that a camera you’re holding?”

“Huh?” Luigi responded as he looked at the camera in his hand. “Yes, it is.”

“And did you CLICK at the event!?”

“Y-yeah.”

“COOL! You can send those pictures to Highfalcon Times and have J. Jonah Jameson look at them. He’ll hire you if he loves them.”

“Okey dokey, I guess I’ll do that,” Luigi replied

“You should, Luigi!” Mario patted him on the back. “Chief Larvell Jones offered me a police job!”

“Wow!” Luigi reacted. “Okay, in that case, I’ll look into working for the Highfalcon Times!”

“Oh! I never asked what your names are.” Jones remarked to himself.

“My name is Mario!”

“And my name is Luigi!”

And thus, the start of their changed life has begun.

---

“And that’s how we got our jobs!” Mario said to Franziska with a smile on his face.

“Wow," Franziska responded with shock. She believed them. She believed the foolishness. "Just like that, huh?”

“Yep! Just like that!” Mario nodded. “We originally were going to start a plumbing business here in the city, but we already got our careers started! I’m curious, how often do you come here?”

“Every evening if I’m in the mood,” Franziska answered.

“Wonderful!” Mario clapped with happiness. “We should get to know each other more if you don’t mind!”

Franziska was thinking about it quickly so she wouldn’t want him to wait too long for an answer. The prosecutor believed he and his brother were interesting individuals, and part of her wouldn’t mind knowing more about Mario.

“Sure, I don’t mind at all.” She told him. She formed a glare. “As long as you don’t become foolish and do foolish things to me.” She then whipped the floor again. “Or hire Lupin the foolish thief to steal something from me."

CRACK!

Luigi and Lupin gulped. They hoped they would never get whipped by her.

“Don’t-a worry, Franziska! I promise!” Mario reassured her. “I’m-a looking forward to seeing you!”

“Great. Well then, see you guys later.” Franziska said to them. With that, she walked away.

After the prosecutor was far from the brothers, Luigi spoke.

“She seems fun.” He said with sarcasm.

“That’s Franziska for ya,” Lupin replied to him with a laugh.

“We made a friend, Luigi,” Mario said to his brother. “I’m sure we’ll become fond of her. And I wonder how many friends we’ll make.”

Chapter 4: ACT 1 - Chapter 3

During the night, Gabe Clark walked down the dark neighborhood, going to the safe house where his contact was. He watched his back as he walked, making sure no one was following him. He didn’t want to assume a person following him worked for Robotnik.

Gabe found the safe house and walked towards the front door, and knocked on it. The door later opened, revealing an African-American middle-aged man with short brown hair. He was wearing a dark brown suit with the jacket open, brown pants, brown shoes, a white dress shirt, and a black tie. He was also wearing glasses.

“Good, you’re here.” The man said to Gabe as he allowed him to come in.

The African-American man looked around outside to make sure no one was suspicious and closed the door, then locked it. He then walked towards the dining room table and spoke.

“Where the hell have you been, Gabe!? I’ve been getting worried about you all day! I thought you were in trouble!”

“Sorry, Marcus.” Gabe apologized in response. “I thought coming here during the night would be a better idea. I was afraid of being followed and watched by Robotnik’s associates, such as Agent Stone.”

“I understand.” Marcus nodded, full name Marcus Ward.

Marcus Ward, a doctor and a member of Interpol. He’s been aware of Robotnik’s diabolical plans to destroy Highfalcon by turning the population into goblins using a virus and using another virus that would kill the goblins, thus killing the entire Highfalcon population. He sent his colleague, who was also from Interpol, Gabe Clark, to work undercover for Robotnik and gather information.

Marcus had a contact named Dr. Taggart, who had been creating a cure to remove the Goblin DNA from people. The former hoped the doctor would be able to finish the cure on time before it’s too late.

Marcus continued speaking. “I updated Chief Jones about our plan to take down Robotnik. He wants you to meet him at Highfalcon Park tomorrow morning around 6:00 am. He’s going to give you a plan to take down Robotnik and arrest him, including his accomplice Agent Stone.”

“Okay, but isn’t that risky?” Gabe questioned. “Can it be here?”

“That was the initial idea, but since the park is a mile away from Robotnik’s hideout and my home is far from it, it’s not worth making Robotnik impatient and get suspicious.”

“Right.” Gabe nodded. “He did get impatient when I showed up late to his hideout.” He breathed, then continued. “Okay, I’ll meet Jones at the park. I just hope it’s a quick meeting.”

“Everything will be fine, Gabe. Be safe and get enough sleep. We must stop Robotnik from turning the population into goblins.” Marcus told him.

The next day arrived, and it was morning. The sun was currently rising, and Gabe Clark arrived at the park and sat on a bench. Hardly anyone was around at the park, so Gabe felt calm, but he hoped no one was going to witness him talking to the chief of police.

Chief Larvell Jones arrived at the park, made bird noises as he walked, and spotted Gabe sitting on the bench. He walked towards him and sat far from him.

“Good Morning, Gabe.” Jones greeted him in a serious tone.

“Good Morning,” Gabe responded. He grabbed something from his pocket and slid it towards Jones. “Here are pictures of Robotnik’s Goblin DNA as well as other stuff that Robotnik will use to spread it onto people.”

“Great,” Jones replied as he grabbed the pictures and made more bird noises. He then spoke. “This will be perfect evidence to arrest Robotnik and anyone working for him.” After he placed the pictures into his pocket, Jones grabbed something out of his pocket, which was a device.

“You’re going to be wired,” Jones told him. “We will gather more information about Robotnik’s plans to gather more charges on him, then arrest and humiliate him. I’ll work on the wire on you tonight at Marcus’ safe house, and I’ll tell you the rest of what to do that’ll signal the SWAT team to arrest Robotnik and whoever is there working for him. We will also destroy the Goblin DNA.”

It was a lot to take in, but this is getting close to finishing. Hopefully, arresting Robotnik will end everything.

Gabe nodded. “Okay, sounds like a plan.” He responded.

“And one more thing, Gabe. Find a black sedan outside of Robotnik’s hideout. That’ll be your getaway vehicle in case something goes wrong. If something does go wrong, go vroom.”

“Got it.” Gabe nodded again. “Thank you for the heads up, Chief Larvell Jones.”

“You’re welcome,” Jones replied with a nod. “Be safe, and be careful.” He then left and walked away, making more bird noises.

Gabe took a deep breath as he placed away the wire. “Okay, Gabe Clark, let’s get this over with.” He then got up and started to move, but then he stopped.

“Hello, Gabe Clark.” Someone said that spooked him.

Oh no. Gabe gasped.

Gabe turned around and saw the person: Agent Stone. He had a frown on his face. He placed his hands on his hips.

“What were you and the chief of police talking about?” Agent Stone questioned in a serious tone as his eyes kept on Gabe.

“I uh...I was just uh...giving him some drug money. He’s corrupted. And he handed me a stolen phone filled with illegal content.” Gabe lied. He knew he was screwed.

Agent Stone wasn’t buying it. “I don’t believe you.” He shook his head. “Are you a cop? Are you trying to get me and Dr. Ivo Robotnik arrested? How much have you told the police?”

“I didn’t tell the police anything!” Gabe answered. “And I’m not a cop! He’s just a corrupted police chief doing illegal things behind people’s backs!”

Agent Stone punched Gabe in the face, knocking him to the ground. “Enough with the excuses!” Agent Stone snapped. “You are trying to get us arrested!”

“I can explain-

“Too late!” Agent Stone then kicked Gabe in the face and knocked him out. “Time to meet the doctor.”

---

Inside the hallway of the Montgomery Industries skyscraper were Master Chief and John Wick, who both sat down in chairs, waiting to speak to the president and CEO, Alan Montgomery. They were about to be hired by him. As they waited, John stared out the window next to him, seeing the skyscrapers and buildings. He wondered how this would go. He was anticipating a big shooting inside the building.

Master Chief was ready to face anything for this undercover mission. He hoped their fake resumes would fool Alan and give him a reason to hire them. This was a very risky mission to be involved in.

A bald African-American middle-aged man who was wearing a suit walked down the hall and stared at Master Chief and John Wick. The man with the suit wore a black suit with a black tie and a white dress shirt.

Marshall Smith, Alan’s bodyguard and best friend. He worked for Alan for years and promised him he would take care of his son if anything happened to him. He spoke to Master Chief and John.

“Excuse me?” Marshall said to them, gaining their attention. “Master Chief and John Wick?”

“Yes, and you are?” John replied.

“Are you Alan’s employee?” Master Chief asked Marshall.

“More than that. I’m his bodyguard. The name's Marshall Smith.” He explained. “Alan is ready to see you in his office. Follow me.”

The pair followed Marshall down the hall, passing by other offices and rooms. They then approached a hallway that led to double doors. The entrance of Alan Montgomery’s office.

Marshall knocked on the doors and came in after the voice inside responded. The three enter the office. The office had a good view of the city; there were windows behind Alan’s desk, as well as paintings on the white walls. There was also a portrait of Alan himself smiling.

Alan Montgomery was at his desk. He was a middle-aged White man, wearing a black suit with black pants, black shoes, a white shirt, and a white tie. He had shoulder-length brown hair. He was on the phone and hung up when he saw the trio approaching him. Marshall stood next to Alan and was stationary as he looked at Master Chief and John.

Alan's eyes landed on Master Chief and John Wick, and he then spoke. “Master Chief and John Wick. I was expecting you two.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Montgomery.” John casually responded. “I’m looking forward to working for you.”

“That’s great to hear.” Alan smiled. He looked at Master Chief. “How about you? Are you looking forward to working for me?”

“Of course. I thought it would be worth it.” Master Chief replied. “Hopefully, our resumes were good enough for you.”

“Why yes, they were!” Alan grinned. “You two, being former members of a private military company, have me convinced that you two are ready to be assassins!”

“Assassins?” John reacted. Despite being an assassin in the past and killing a whole bunch of people, John expected something completely different, something like working as security.

“Yes, assassins! There's some trouble that could jeopardize my company’s goals. Those goals are confidential, but you’ll be informed about them when I highly trust you and believe you are capable of keeping secrets. So we have to stop anyone who’s in our way.”

J. Jonah Jameson wasn’t being paranoid after all, Master Chief thought. Alan Montgomery wasn’t some businessman; he was a corrupted businessman and a scumbag. He expected to work for security along with John Wick, but plans have already changed. He made plans to contact Jameson at some point when he’s able to. And try to find information about Alan's suspicious contact.

“We’ll be happy to become your assassins.” Master Chief lied. “We’ll kill whoever is your threat.”

Alan clapped. “Awesome! You two are hired! Head to your offices and get to work!” He told them.

With that, Master Chief and John Wick left Alan’s office and walked down the hallway, speaking quietly.

John spoke. “I wonder who we have to kill to please him.”

“Hopefully not Jameson.” Master Chief responded quietly. “But we have to do what Alan tells us to do. It’s the point of working undercover.”

“And if we don’t make it?”

“Don’t worry, John. We’ll make it.”

---

Inside a police room with a jail cell, Mario was with Chief Larvell Jones and was giving him a rundown of the room they were in.

This room wasn’t the Highfalcon PD headquarters; this was an outpost, where criminals were in for the time being until it was time to be transferred, likely transferred to the Highfalcon PD building. This was about to become Mario’s own police station. Other police officers of the Highfalcon PD have their own police outposts as well.

As Mario looked around his outpost, he noticed a missing sign on the wall that showed Robocop.

As Mario looked at it, he asked Jones, “Who’s Robocop?”

“The best of the best in Highfalcon,” Jones answered. “His real name was Alex Murphy. He became a hero to everyone, and he's currently missing.” He then went on to explain the backstory of Robocop to Mario.

Mario hoped one day he’d be found and possibly work with him.

“You’ll likely interact with whoever will be in your jail cell,” Jones explained to Mario. “There is a tranquilizer that puts them to sleep if they drive you nuts. You make them go zzzzzzzz.” He then made sleeping noises.

“Thank you so much, Chief Jones!” Mario thanked him with a bright smile. “I’ll do my best to stop the evil in the city!”

“You’re welcome!” Jones smiled, giving Mario a handshake. “Good luck on your first day!” With that, Jones exited the police office and went outside, and started making harmonica noises.

Mario was happy he got the job as an officer. He started to wonder about Luigi getting his job at Highfalcon Times.

Inside the Highfalcon Times building, Luigi was in J. Jonah Jameson’s office. Jameson was observing the pictures Luigi took, pictures showing the criminal who tried to steal Mario’s money. Jameson became impressed, impressed with the quality of the pictures, and revealed the criminal’s face.

“Wow!” Jameson reacted. “These pictures are magnificent! So magnificent that it can be digitized easily! I never expected a rookie to take such great pictures! You got the job!”

Luigi was about to thank him, but got interrupted. Jameson was still talking.

“Keep giving me pictures! If you spot Spider-Man, take dozens and dozens of pictures of him! If they’re all crap, you’ll be fired! If you provide me with crappy pictures in general, you’ll be fired! If you provide me with zero pictures, you’ll be fired! Any questions?”

Luigi gulped. He was already intimidated, intimidated by another person in Highfalcon. He hoped J. Jonah Jameson didn’t own a whip just like Franziska von Karma. If he did own one, Luigi would believe Jameson and Franziska deserve each other. He wanted to get the imagination of Jameson and Franziska whipping him as far away from him as possible.

“LUIGI! Have you been paying attention!?” Jameson yelled at him.

Luigi immediately stood up and saluted Jameson like he was a drill sergeant. “Sir, yes, sir, I have!”

“This isn’t the military, Luigi! Get your butt out of my office and produce me some good pictures!” Jameson demanded him as he aimed his finger at the door.

“Yes, sir- I mean BOSS!” Luigi obliged and left the office. He was ready to get to work and be good on Jameson’s good side.

---

Night came. In the forest, Robotnik and Agent Stone took Gabe Clark away from the city to face punishment for working undercover. Robotnik was livid when he was told by Agent Stone, and he wanted Gabe to pay.

Agent Stone restrained Gabe from attempting to run. Robotnik approached them and started to punch Gabe in the face. “I can’t believe you were working for the police! YOU TRAITOR! If it wasn’t for Agent Stone, we would’ve been defeated! YOU RUINED MY PLAAAAAANS!” He continued punching him.

After Robotnik was done, he looked at Agent Stone. “Agent Stone, make him feel what it will be like being a goblin. Shoot him with a small dose of the Goblin DNA.”

“Yes, doctor!” Agent Stone nodded. He grabbed a scientific weapon and aimed it at Gabe. He then fired it at him.

Gabe gasped as the green projectile went into him. His body felt it, the small dose of the Goblin DNA going into his body.

Robotnik evilly smiled as he nodded. “Yeah, enjoy the rest of your human life, Gabe! My plans WILL NOT BE RUINED!”

Robotnik and Agent Stone left, leaving Gabe in the middle of nowhere as he reacted to the small dose of the Goblin DNA. Since the dose was small, Gabe would eventually become a goblin, until it spread all over his body.

Gabe slowly got up and started to puke on the ground. He started to feel major anxiety. He’s been compromised. He couldn’t contact Marcus about what just happened because his phone got taken away, and that made him feel more anxious because that phone had Marcus’ number on it as well as text messages between him and Gabe.

He breathed in and out as he moved through the dark forest until his eyes spotted a cabin.

Gabe walked towards the cabin and noticed the lights were turned on, and also spotted a truck. He looked out the window and saw an old man inside the cabin. The man had a shaved head with white facial hair and was wearing a white shirt with a tan-colored waistcoat. Blue jeans and brown boots. He was reading a book.

Gabe knocked on the door to get the man’s attention. After the man reacted to the knock, he opened the door.

Gabe spoke. “Sorry to disturb you, sir, but I need help! May I use your phone?” He requested.

The man didn’t trust Gabe and was uncomfortable. He didn’t know who he was, and he was about to close the door on him. “No, please go away.” He tried to shut the door, but Gabe stopped him.

“Please, sir, I need to use the PHONE !” Gabe yelled at him with a roar.

“Get out!” The man yelled as he panicked.

While being out of control, Gabe forced himself into the cabin and shoved his hand into the cabin man’s chest, then he ripped his heart out. Gabe’s jaw dropped, being self-aware of what he had done. He killed someone, an innocent man.

“Oh no...” Gabe said slowly with absolute regret. “I-I’m sorry!”

The cabin man’s body fell to the floor, and he was no longer breathing. Gabe realized he was still holding the man’s heart, which made him gasp and jump, then dropped it on the floor. He looked around the cabin and spotted a phone. He wanted to contact Marcus right now, but he needed to dispose of the man’s body and just hope no one showed up to the cabin.

---

Inside the Mean Bean Coffee Café, Agent Stone stood as he watched Robotnik raging, screaming, and throwing stuff around. Robotnik was smashing tables and smashing other things to the floor.

“I’VE BEEN BETRAAAAAAYED!!!!” Robotnik yelled out. “Because of him, my plans to use the Goblin DNA on people could FAAAAAAIL!” He grabbed a table and threw it against Agent Stone, who ducked just in time, making the table smash against the wall.

Robotnik kept screaming as he continued breaking stuff in the cafe, then screamed at Agent Stone as he approached him, making his body lie on the ground. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Robotnik’s body was now over Agent Stone’s. Robotnik glared at Agent Stone, who was calm as he looked at his boss.

“Want a Latte with steamed Austrian goat milk, doctor?” Agent Stone asked him.

“Yes, I just told you that, you dummy!” Robotnik yelled in response. “Make me one now!”

“Yes, doctor!” Agent Stone obliged as his body slid away and went to the counter. Agent Stone made the latter and handed it to Robotnik.

Robotnik grabbed the latter and drank it. “Ahhh, calmlicious!” He placed the latte cup of latte on the counter and said the code. "Latte, with steamed Austrian goat milk!”

The cafe transformed into a command center, closing the cafe tightly from the outside and locking up everything, preventing anyone from entering.

Robotnik observed the screens that were showing places in Highfalcon. “This city needs to be ruined as quickly as possible, Agent Stone.” He told him. “Thankfully, we were able to hack into Gabe’s phone and see a conversation about a cure for the Goblin DNA. The cure NEEDS to be destroyed!”

Robotnik then displayed an image of a White male scientist. He was a man in his sixties, with white hair, glasses, and a scientist's outfit.

“This is Dr. Taggart. He’s the one responsible for the stupid cure of the Goblin DNA. Because of HIM, my goblin plan will be an epic failure!” Robotnik explained.

He then looked at Agent Stone. “He’s located in a laboratory downtown.” He formed an evil smile. “Tomorrow, you’re going to kill people, Agent Stone.” He started to grin and laugh quietly. “Hahahaha, you’re going to enjoy it because you’ll be helping me!”

Agent Stone smiled and nodded. “I’ll kill whoever you want me to kill, doctor.” He obliged.

“Yes, you will, Agent Stone.” Robotnik nodded with his evil smile. He then stared back at the command center screens. “Yes, you will. Also, we need to kidnap the mayor!” He displayed an image of the mayor of Highfalcon.

The mayor of Highfalcon was a White male, having brown hair and brown, shaved facial hair. He was wearing a black suit with a white dress shirt and black tie. He also has a lazy smile.

“Mayor David Phillips will witness his city being filled with chaos by the goblins. He will cry and shed a whole bunch of tears like a crybaby.” Robotnik started to laugh. “Hahahaha, it’s going to be marvelous!”

“How are we going to kidnap the mayor, doctor?” Agent Stone inquired.

“We have to take another risk by hiring a stupid human who will do this!” Robotnik answered. “You’re the only reason why I decided to hire a group of those stupid human soldiers; thankfully, they’re obeying my orders just like you!”

“Should we continue to operate in here?” Agent Stone questioned. “Since Gabe betrayed us, he could’ve compromised our hideout.”

“DUH Agent Stone, I’m aware of that!” Robotnik snapped, getting closer to Agent Stone’s face, “Am I an imbecile to you?!”

Agent Stone shook his head. “No doctor.”

Because Agent Stone was concerned about the hideout being compromised and likely raided by the Highfalcon PD, Robotnik formed an evil smile and thought of an idea as he grabbed Agent Stone’s cheek with his hands.

“Ooooooooohhhhh Agent Stooooooone, you juuuuuust gaaaaave meeeee a craaaaaazy ideaaaaaaaaaa!” He brought his eyes back to the screen and displayed images of the Highfalcon PD, such as their headquarters, outposts, and their police officers.

“The goblin invasion will start by turning the police force into goblins! EVERY! SINGLE! POLICE! OFFICER! Will become GOBLINS! They’ll attack the public, committing police brutality goblin style! And this city will lose its precious police force! HAHAHAHAHAHA! YESSSSSSSSSS, this is MAGNIFICENT!!! The civilians will later turn into goblins who’ll murder each other, then this city will be MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! ”

Robotnik wrapped his arm around Agent Stone and started to evilly laugh very loudly.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHHOHOHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Agent Stone wrapped his arm around Robotnik and started to laugh with him, “ HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

They continued to laugh as they imagined Highfalcon becoming a catastrophic city invaded by their goblins, and they knew they would pull this off and believe nobody would stop them.

Their evil laughing finally came to an end. Robotnik unwrapped his arm around Agent Stone’s.

“Okay, goodnight,” Robotnik said as he walked away, leaving Agent Stone alone.

Agent Stone was ready to kill the scientist Dr. Taggart and destroy the cure for the Goblin DNA.

Chapter 5: ACT 1 - Chapter 4

Morning came. Inside the laboratory building in downtown Highfalcon, Dr. Taggart was working in a lab on the cure for the Goblin DNA. He was informed by Marcus Ward about what happened to Gabe Clark last night, so he was immediately working on a cure for Gabe and others who could become victims of the Goblin DNA.

Tons of chemical bottles were filled with blue liquid on a table behind Taggart, which were the cures that were finalized and ready to be used. He just hoped he’d get everything done as soon as possible before it was too late. He was glad he made weapons early, weapons that were made to shoot the cure onto people who were infected.

Taggart was done working on the cure. He placed the liquid into a bottle and placed it on the table with the other cure bottles. After he did that, a male scientist opened the door and entered the lab. Taggart looked at him.

The man who entered was Agent Stone, who was dressed in a scientist's outfit and was wearing white gloves and glasses. He snuck into the laboratory building, murdering a male scientist to get his clothes, as well as killing other scientists, the security, and disabling the cameras, then erasing the footage.

Agent Stone stared at Taggart, then spoke. “Apologies for the intrusion.”

“It’s not a problem,” Taggart reassured him. He has no idea it was Robotnik’s accomplice. “Is there something you need?”

“No.” Agent Stone shook his head. He quickly drew out a suppressed Glock 17 pistol and shot Taggart in the head. Blood splattered on the wall, and Taggart’s body landed on the floor with blood pouring out of his head.

Agent Stone moved to Taggart’s corpse and dragged it out of his way. He then grabbed a metal pole in the lab, which was on the floor leaning against a wall, and looked at the cures that were on the table. He raised the metal pole and smashed them all, causing the bottles to shatter as they let out a loud, glass-shattering noise.

He continued to smash everything in the lab and destroy every piece of the Goblin DNA cure. He then dropped the metal pole and walked out of the lab.

Agent Stone got back his regular clothes and escaped the lab without being spotted and without leaving a trace.

---

Inside an abandoned building, Marcus Ward has his head down against the wall. He learned about the terrible news: Taggart’s death and the cure being destroyed.

Marcus was contacted by Gabe, who told him that he had killed a man in a cabin and disposed of his body. After learning from the latter that the deceased man’s truck was parked next to the cabin, Marcus told Gabe to drive the truck to the city, ditch it, and then meet him at the abandoned building.

Marcus heard footsteps coming towards him. He looked and spotted Gabe approaching him. He was happy to see him alive, and he hoped no one in Robotnik’s group spotted him.

“Marcus.” Gabe greeted him quietly.

Marcus sighed as he responded. “Gabe.”

Gabe knew something was wrong as he looked at Marcus’ expression filled with worry and defeat. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

“Jones contacted me about an hour ago,” Marcus explained. “He told me that Taggart was shot in the head, and all of the cure has been destroyed. The security and other scientists were all killed.”

Gabe was devastated. His whole life was ruined, and his time in hell had started. He leaned against the wall next to Marcus and slid down. He tried to process every single thing that had been happening to him.

“My life is ruined.” He said. “I’m going to be a goblin monster for the rest of my life.”

“Gabe, if you want,” Marcus took a deep breath. “I can kill you right here if you want me to; that’s one of the reasons why we’re here.”

Gabe wanted to say yes, but couldn’t. He wanted to go through the rest of the life he had left.

“No, Marcus,” Gabe responded as he stood up. “Let me live for a bit. I’ll be staying at the cabin. That’s the only place where I will isolate myself until I turn into a goblin or someone comes and spots me.”

Marcus wanted to argue, but he knew the argument wouldn’t go anywhere. The two men had to come to terms with the fact that Robotnik was going to win. They wanted to raid his hideout but were afraid to since Gabe told them about the defenses of the hideout. The Mean Bean Coffee Cafe has deadly defenses that would instantly kill intruders and attackers. The cafe has a self-destruct feature that would destroy the entire cafe.

“I’m sorry, Gabe,” Marcus said with a sad face.

“It’s alright, Marcus. You’ve been a good friend to me.” Gabe looked at him with a sad smile.

Marcus handed him the car keys. “These are keys to the black sedan Chief Larvell Jones told you about, a black Cadillac CT5. It’s parked in the parking lot of the abandoned building.”

Gabe grabbed the keys and thanked Marcus. “Thank you.”

---

Inside a bank, there were some people in separate lines who were depositing or withdrawing their money. A male and a female employee were talking to the person who was in front of the line. There were also two male security guards stationed in the bank.

A male individual walked into the bank. This individual stood out from the rest of the people inside. Who was this?

Vault Boy. His normal expression was smiling. He was really happy and was looking forward to the day.

The security was suspicious and was making glances at him. Then suddenly, Vault Boy pulled out a Beretta 92FS pistol and started talking.

“Excuse me, everybody? May I have your attention, please?” Vault Boy asked everyone as he smiled.

“Oh my god, he’s got a gun!” A male civilian remarked as he became scared.

“Please remain calm.” Vault Boy told politely. “I would like everyone to lie on the floor, please.”

Everyone, including the security guards who were also scared, obliged. Vault Boy gave them a thumbs up. “Thank you, everyone!”

A female employee tried to activate the silent alarm without him noticing.

BANG!

But she was shot in the head. Vault Boy killed her.

“Mind your manners, please. All I want is the money in the vault.” Vault Boy said as he approached the desks of the bank. He stared at a scared male employee. “Now be a kind employee and open the vault.” He told him.

The male employee got up and quickly opened the vault. Vault Boy went inside and started to gather all the money and place them in a bag. An alarm then went off. There was a separate alarm in the bank that was used by the male employee.

“Oh no.” Vault Boy said nonchalantly. He shrugged. “Anyway, time to leave.”

He went towards the entrance and gave everybody a thumbs-up. “Thank you so much, everybody! You all did a good job! Have a great day!” He then exited the bank and ran.

Vault Boy ran with the money and headed towards a building. While inside, he marched up the stairs and went to a rooftop. On the roof was a two-seater blue helicopter. He got inside and started it, then started to hover and took off, flying above the city.

Witnesses and a nearby police officer witnessed him getting into the helicopter and flying. The police contacted units to search for the helicopter pilot. The Highfalcon PD was informed about Vault Boy right after he left the bank.

---

Inside an unmarked black 1974 Dodge Monaco with a red siren light on top, Mario was behind the wheel and was driving fast in the streets of Highfalcon. The siren of his car was going off, signaling the traffic to get out of his way.

The radio in Mario’s car was going off, a voice was contacting him and other officers about Vault Boy’s helicopter. His eyes caught the helicopter in the air.

Mario responded. “It’s-a me, Mario! I detected the suspect’s helicopter. I’m about to pursue him over.”

“Roger that over.” The voice on the radio responded.

Mario kept on driving fast and got on a freeway, and was able to get a perfect visual of the helicopter. Mario decided to shoot the helicopter down with his AMT AutoMag V pistol. He leaned out, keeping control of his car and shooting at the helicopter simultaneously.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

As Mario fired his gun, Vault Boy swerved around, but it wasn’t enough to dodge Mario’s bullets going into the helicopter.

Mario was able to shoot the tail of the helicopter and make it get ripped apart from the helicopter, causing it to fall, then Vault Boy completely lost control of his helicopter.

Vault Boy tried to prevent the helicopter from crashing onto the streets below, but couldn’t. It was impossible. Mario witnessed the helicopter descending onto the streets and exploding.

KABOOM!

Mario smiled as he felt victorious. “Oh, yeah! Wahoo! I defeated him! That’ll teach him to rob a bank!”

---

Vault Boy was able to survive the helicopter crash surprisingly. He was now handcuffed and was inside Mario’s police outpost, and placed Vault Boy in a jail cell in front of Mario’s desk.

Vault Boy wasn’t upset he was caught. He was still happy. As he got close to the jail cell, Mario undid the handcuffs and pushed him away from the cell door, then locked it.

Vault Boy looked at Mario and gave him a thumbs-up. “Fellow officer, thank you for doing your duty! Have a great day!”

Mario ignored him and then saw his brother Luigi entering. “Hey, Mario! I heard about what happened!”

“Hey, Luigi! This man is ready to be exposed to the public!” Mario smiled.

Luigi started to take pictures of Vault Boy, who was smiling at the camera and giving a thumbs-up. Luigi didn’t understand why he was so happy to be in a jail cell, but he couldn’t wait to see what J. Jonah Jameson’s reaction would be when he looked at the pictures of Vault Boy.

---

Inside Jameson’s office in the Highfalcon Times building, Jameson observed the pictures of Vault Boy and was shocked. Luigi sat across Jameson’s desk.

While feeling stunned by the pictures, Jameson reacted. “Oh my god...OH MY GOD!”

Oh no. Luigi thought. He believed he was about to be fired for giving him not good enough pictures of Vault Boy. He was waiting for the possible toss-out by Jameson.

“LUIGI!” Jameson shouted his name, making Luigi jump.

“Y-yes boss!?” Luigi replied.

Jameson showed Luigi the pictures of Vault Boy. “Do you know who this man is?!”

“No, I don’t.” Luigi shook his head.

“This, THIS is Vault Boy! A serial killer creation created by the defunct company called Vault-Tec!” Jameson explained. “This guy gives me goosebumps every single day! He is not someone I want to meet! EVER!”

Luigi blinked his eyes at Jameson’s response. Being told about Vault Boy being a serial killer spooked him. He hoped he and his brother would be far away from him.

Jameson continued as he looked at the pictures of Vault Boy. “Wow, this is amazing! You and your brother made history! Hopefully, both of you will catch Spider-Man one day!”

He stared at Luigi. “Your picture will be on the front page! It will be a featured article on our website! You will be given credit for the picture! And your brother will be credited for being involved in Vault Boy’s arrest! Expect 500 dollars to be sent to you!”

Luigi was surprised. He didn’t expect to be paid that much. “500 dollars!?”

“Yes, 500 dollars! You got a problem with that!? If you do, you’re fired!” Jameson told him.

“N-no boss! I just didn’t expect that much! Thank you, boss!” Luigi smiled.

“You’re welcome, Luigi!” Jameson nodded. He pointed his finger at the exit. “Dismissed!”

---

Nighttime came. On an empty street in Highfalcon, Gabe was driving his black Cadillac CT5 sedan but was having difficulty focusing while driving. He was experiencing more symptoms of the Goblin DNA. His mindset was changing a bit, making him want to get out of the car and go violent.

He stopped the car and got out. He started to feel sick and couldn’t stop himself from puking. He puked on the ground. Gabe stared at the color of the puke, and it was slightly green.

“Oh no, it’s getting worse,” Gabe remarked to himself. A middle-aged homeless man who was nearby witnessed Gabe puking. He decided to walk towards him and spoke to him out of concern.

“Are you alright?” The homeless man asked him.

Gabe pushed him away. “Get away from me!” He told him.

“Hey, I just want to know if you're okay-“

“I said GET AWAY FROM ME! ” Gabe roared and ripped the homeless man’s arm off, causing him to scream in agony as blood shot out of his ripped arm.

Gabe’s jaw dropped. He started to become self-aware again as he held onto the ripped arm. He tossed it away from him and started to panic.

Gabe started to apologize. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I’M SORRY!!!!” He then ran away from the car and away from the homeless man who was bleeding out to death.

---

Inside the Martinet restaurant & bar, Mario and Luigi were at a table talking. Luigi was telling Mario about being paid 500 dollars by Jameson.

Mario was surprised. “Wow, really!? That’s amazing!”

“I know! I was really surprised by that, too!” Luigi replied.

Mario noticed a person entering Martinet: Franziska von Karma. He was happy to see her. Franziska walked towards the bar counter and ordered a non-alcoholic drink.

Mario told Luigi he would be right back and approached Franziska, greeting her. “Hello, Franziska! How was your day?” He asked.

“Hello, Mr. Mario.” Franziska greeted him back. “It’s been good. I’ve defeated foolish attorneys during court trials throughout the day.” She noticed Lupin wasn’t around. “Where’s your foolish thief friend Lupin the 3rd?”

“Oh, he’s hanging out with his gang.” Mario smiled.

“Really?” Franziska replied, placing her hands on her hips, staring into Mario’s soul. “Are they acting like a bunch of fools committing foolish heists and stealing foolish, valuable, foolish objects?” She then trampled Mario’s foot with the toes of her boot as she glared at him. “Are you a foolish, corrupted, foolish officer Mario?”

Mario nervously laughed. “Hahaha, no, not at all, I swear!” Mario wrote a note to himself that Franziska von Karma was the last person he wanted to piss off.

Franziska stopped trampling Mario’s foot and realized she had overreacted to Mario’s answer, and a blush formed on her face. She felt embarrassed.

Mario chuckled. “You’re blushing.” He remarked.

Franziska glared at Mario and pointed at him. “Why make such a foolish remark about something foolish!?”

Mario laughed at her reaction. He believed the female prosecutor was funny, and he started to become fond of her.

Franziska quickly changed the topic. “Anyway, there’s been a foolish problem that’s been foolishly bothering me.”

“What kind of foolish problem?” Mario inquired.

“You remember earlier today, you arrested that foolish man, Vault Boy? Somehow, he escaped like a foolish fool.” Franziska explained. She showed Mario an article on her phone about Vault Boy escaping custody.

Mario couldn’t believe it. He didn’t know Vault Boy escaped so quickly and got away without a trace.

Franziska continued. “I was looking forward to prosecuting this fool, but he foolishly escaped without any foolish trace!”

Luigi approached them. “What are you two talking about?” He asked them.

Mario answered. “Mama Mia Luigi! Vault Boy escaped!”

“What!?” Luigi reacted. “How is that possible?! He’s going to kill us, Mario! He’s a serial killer! Jameson told me stuff about him, and said that Vault Boy gives him goosebumps! We’ll have goosebumps over him, Mario! Just like the boos!”

“Calm down, Luigi!” Mario told him. “We’ll stop him again, and he won’t win!” He reassured him.

Mario’s phone was ringing. He answered it and spoke. “Hello It’s-a me, Mario!!”

..........

“Ah, Chief Inspector Clouseau! Did something happen?”

..........

“What!? A Homeless man’s arm was ripped off, and there’s green colored puke on the ground?

Luigi and Franziska both gave shocked reactions to Mario’s words. To them, this wasn’t just an ordinary night in Highfalcon.

..........

“Seriously!? People spot a man in a suit crawling like a creature?!”

..........

“The forest! Alright! Thank you so much, Chief Inspector Clouseau!”

Mario then hung up. He looked at both his brother and Franziska.

Luigi was shaking and scared. “M-Mario, does this mean a creature is on the loose?”

“Seems like it, Luigi,” Mario answered him. “And we’re gonna go stop the creature. All three of us!”

Franziska gasped at Mario’s last sentence and showed a surprised expression. “'All three of us’?”

“Yep!” Mario looked at her with a smile. “Come with us, Franziska! Let’s stop this creature together!”

“You fool, I’m not a cop!” Franziska glared.

“You are now!” Mario smiled. “You have a whip, my brother is kind of scared of you, you put criminals behind bars, so that means you can kick butt! You are deputized!” He then looked at Luigi. “You too, Luigi! Now let’s-a-go!”

Mario grabbed both their wrists and exited Martinet. They were now outside walking towards Mario’s Dodge Monaco.

Franziska was making demands. “Foolish Mario, let me go! I didn’t agree to participate in this craziness of foolishness!”

Those demands were ignored when all three of them got in the Dodge Monaco and drove away.

---

In the forest, there was a SWAT team along with Chief Inspector Clouseau and Chief Larvell Jones. Jones and Clouseau took cover behind a SWAT van.

The SWAT team was wielding Heckler & Koch G36K assault rifles and spotted Gabe, who was on a tree growling. He jumped onto another tree. He broke one branch of the tree and threw it at the SWAT team.

RATATATATATATATATATATA!

A SWAT team member fired his G36K at Gabe but missed.

Mario, Luigi, and Franziska finally arrived at the scene and all got out of the car. The three approached Clouseau and Jones.

“Chief Larvell Jones! Chief Inspector Clouseau!” Mario said their names. “What’s-a going on?”

Clouseau answered, “Monsieur Mario! The man who’s becoming a monster, a violent creature, is identified as Monsieur Gabe Clark. We used his puke to identify him with a DNA test. The test detected some abnormal blood in his system.”

Jones spoke next, “The SWAT team is trying to stop him, but the growls from the suspect are going ROAAAAR!. We have zero idea of what’s going on. I hope this isn’t some sort of start of an epidemic apocalypse.”

He then noticed Luigi and Franziska. “Luigi? Franziska von Karma? What are you two doing here? Here to do the CLICK and the CRACK!?” He asked as he made sound effects of a camera and a whip.

Mario answered him. “I deputized them, Chief Jones. I hope that’s okay.”

“Absolutely!” Jones smiled. “The more the merrier!”

Gabe hopped off the tree and got on the ground, then grabbed a large rock using all of his strength and threw it at the SWAT team. One of the SWAT team members was struck in the face, which instantly killed him on the spot. The SWAT team opened fire on Gabe, who sprinted away.

One of the SWAT team members yelled out to Jones. “Chief Jones! He’s running!”

“Don’t-a worry!” Mario responded. “We’ll-a stop him! Come on, Luigi and Franziska! Let’s-a teach this monster a lesson!”

The three of them ran down the forest chasing Gabe. The three of them didn’t know where he went, but were staying cautious. Before they arrived at the scene, Mario handed the two people a pistol for each of them, which was a Beretta 92FS, so they were prepared.

Franziska wielded her whip and her Beretta pistol and kept her eyes open, not blinking once. She was ready to stop this foolish monster man. She didn’t want to be involved in this, but since her demands were ignored, she thought it would be better to step out of her comfort zone.

Luigi was scared. He dealt with spooky stuff before. He wouldn’t forget walking into a haunted mansion and having to deal with everything that was there. He was glad he had his camera with him to take pictures to send to Jameson.

Mario was very confident in stopping Gabe. He didn’t want to kill him, but he would when put into a deadly, dangerous corner. He hoped this wasn’t another Bowser situation.

Luigi kept walking slowly, but then stopped. He spotted someone in the forest. He used his camera to look through the lens and saw Gabe turning his body around. Luigi immediately took pictures of him, which angered Gabe. Gabe charged Luigi to kill him, but Franziska saved him by whipping Gabe in the face, making him let out a roaring cry.

“Take that foolish beast!” Franziska yelled at him. She kept whipping his body and then fired her gun as Gabe attempted to fight back.

BANG!

The bullet landed on his shoulder. Gabe decided to run, knowing that trying to kill her, Luigi, and Mario wouldn’t be worth it. The normal Gabe started to come back.

As Gabe ran, he knew he was absolutely screwed, killing a SWAT team member, and getting pictures of him. He was going to be all over the news. And what’s worse is that Robotnik would find out about it. Gabe didn’t know how Robotnik would react to all of this. And he hoped he and Agent Stone wouldn’t find out where he’s hiding.

Mario regrouped with Luigi and Franziska. “Are you two okay?” He asked them.

“We’re fine,” Franziska answered with a nod. “The fool ran.”

“I got pictures of him,” Luigi told him. “Male, wearing a suit with a green tie, glasses, White, and brown hair.”

“Great!” Mario smiled. “We’ll be on the lookout for him tomorrow. Let’s-a leave.”

With that, the trio walked and regrouped with the SWAT team, Clouseau, and Jones. Luigi showed them pictures of Gabe, which made Larvell Jones order an arrest warrant for Gabe Clark.

Chapter 6: ACT 1 - Chapter 5

Inside the Mean Bean Coffee Cafe command center, Robotnik looked at the screens, noticing articles about Gabe Clark and the events that took place in the forest last night. The evil doctor was very happy to see Gabe’s life being ruined since he gained police attention.

Speaking of the police, Robotnik did some research on Mario and his brother Luigi, including prosecutor Franziska von Karma. He discovered them on the Highfalcon Times website, seeing their names on an article for their involvement in last night’s event.

He was interested in these three, but he knew all three of them had to die since he believed they were a threat to his plans. He didn’t care if Gabe was going to reveal all of his plans to the police. No matter what, nothing was gonna stop Robotnik.

Robotnik’s associates were already informed by him of his invasion and suggested that they leave Highfalcon, or stay and become Goblins.

Robotnik formed a grin and evilly laughed. “Everything is coming together! The police and whoever saw Gabe Clark slowly formed into a goblin! Once he becomes a goblin, he’ll KILL anyone who sees him! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHOHOHOHOHOAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!”

“Doctor?” Someone said. Agent Stone.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT?!” Robotnik yelled at him.

“That guy wants to be involved with your plans.” Agent Stone explained. Someone arrived. Who was it?

Vault Boy.

After Vault Boy was arrested and later escaped, Robotnik became aware of him and ordered Agent Stone to contact him and hire him to work for him and assist him in his evil plans. Robotnik believed Vault Boy was an interesting fellow.

Robotnik grinned as he pointed at Vault Boy and became excited to meet him. “Aaaaaah, so you must be Vault Boy!”

Vault Boy smiled and nodded. “Yes, I am.” He confirmed. ”Your associate told me you need some help with something.”

“YES! I need you to kidnap Mayor David Phillips! I am planning to invade Highfalcon by turning everyone into goblins! I want the mayor to cry in AAAAGOOOOONNYYYYYY!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“Wow!” Vault Boy reacted with a smile. “That sounds like fun! You’re doing god’s work with your ideas!” He gave Robotnik a thumbs-up. “You’re very creative! Great job! Everyone is going to love you and your hard work and your fun, creative ideas!”

Robotnik stared at him awkwardly and blinked. Agent Stone felt a bit uncomfortable with Vault Boy’s personality and looked away.

Robotnik looked at Agent Stone. “Are you sure this is Vault Boy, Agent Stone?”

Agent Stone looked at Robotnik. “Yes, doctor.” He nodded. “He, uh, was very nice and happy to meet me.”

“Yes, and I can see that he is extremely happy to be here,” Robotnik remarked as he looked at Vault Boy. “So Creepy Vault Boy, do you want to be involved with my diabolical chaos?”

“Of course, boss!” Vault Boy smiled at him with a nod. “Is there anything you want me to do right now for you, sir?”

“No.” Robotnik shook his head. “I need an assassin who needs to kill four possible threats.”

“Who?” Agent Stone asked.

Robotnik switched some screens around and added four pictures of four people: Marcus Ward, Mario, Luigi, and Franziska von Karma.

Robotnik stared at Agent Stone and Vault Boy, then evilly smiled. “These people! They need to DIE!”

---

Inside a dark room in a hideout was Agent 47. He sat down at a table with a laptop and listened to an audio message of his briefing. The voice came from an English woman named Diana Burnwood.

“Hello, 47. You’re heading to Highfalcon, New York. You have four targets: Interpol Agent Marcus Ward, Highfalcon PD officer Mario, and his brother Luigi, who’s a photographer working for the Highfalcon Times, and Highfalcon Prosecutor Franziska von Karma.

Our client, who’s planning to run for governor, wants you to read a letter he wrote for you to read, that’s been placed in an envelope inside a subway locker number 137. The letter explains what’s been going on, and our client will have his name revealed, which he insisted on by paying double.

He also added an optional target named Gabe Clark. There are no details about him, but our client wants you to kill him if it’s necessary for you, but he would rather keep him alive to see him suffer. According to our client, Gabe is being isolated inside a cabin outside the city. The four targets you’re assigned to kill will most likely be in different locations around the city, so start strategizing and decide how you will kill them.

Be cautious, 47, Mario and Luigi were members of the Mushroom Kingdom Army who participated in the Mushroom Kingdom War, so you may have to neutralize them non-silently to avoid any pushback coming from them. Again, start strategizing.”

47 thought this was quite an obscure assignment with missing details. He equipped himself with modified AMT Hardballers known as the Silverballers, and molotov cocktails to set Mario and Luigi on fire.

Normally, 47 would use stealth tactics in his assignments, such as wearing disguises, using his signature weapon, the Fiber Wire, to strangle his targets, or planning an accident to make his target die.

He was now on his way to kill his targets.

---

Inside the cabin, Gabe Clark took off his clothes to remove the bullet that struck him in the shoulder, thanks to Franziska, who shot him last night. It was painful to remove, but he had no one to reach out to for help.

After he got the bullet out of his shoulder, Gabe took deep breaths and wiped the sweat off his head. He took his clothes back on and looked out the window to see if anyone was outside. There was no one.

He approached the phone in the cabin and dialed a number, a number belonging to Marcus Ward. He needed to talk to him.

After Gabe got an answer, he began speaking. “Marcus? It’s Gabe. I’m still in the cabin, but last night, I killed two people: a homeless man and a SWAT officer. Someone took pictures of me.”

“I heard Gabe,” Marcus responded. “It was all over the news.”

Gabe closed his eyes. He deeply breathed, knowing everyone in Highfalcon had become aware of him.

“Marcus.” He said his name. “I need you to come here and kill me. I don’t think I can take this anymore.”

“Okay, I’ll head there. I’ll inform Jones about it. He told me he issued an arrest warrant for you. He didn’t want anyone to know about his involvement in all of this.” Marcus explained. “I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

“Thank you, Marcus. Goodbye.” Gabe hung up.

Inside Marcus’ house, he informed Jones about killing Gabe at the cabin, then went to his office and grabbed a Glock 17 pistol from his desk drawer. He loaded it and cocked it, then concealed it. After he grabbed his car keys, he exited his house.

He approached his gray Chrysler 300 sedan, unlocked it, and got inside in the driver’s seat. As he started the car up, it exploded.

KABOOM!

The explosion instantly killed Marcus Ward. The car started to burn on his driveway and in front of his house in the neighborhood.

From a distance, 47, who was sitting at a bench, witnessed the explosion as he glanced at it while on his phone.

---

Mario and Franziska von Karma, who was still deputized, arrived at the crime scene at Marcus’ house. Firefighters were there who were removing the fire from the exploding car and the flames that spread to his house. Police officers, along with Chief Inspector Clouseau and Chief Larvell Jones, were at the scene.

Mario and Franziska approached them. Mario was the one to greet them. “Chief Inspector Clouseau! Chief Larvell Jones! What happened?”

Clouseau answered. “Monsieur Marcus Ward was the person who stepped into his vehicle and kaboom. This was an intentional hit.”

Jones breathed. He already knew who was responsible, and it was obvious, Dr. Ivo Robotnik believed. He wanted to quickly find Gabe and inform him about the arrest warrant he issued, not just to protect his career but to protect Gabe, try to have him flee far away from Highfalcon, or commit a murder-suicide. Whatever Gabe wanted, Jones would fulfill it.

Franziska noticed Jones’s expression. “Chief? What is it?”

Jones looked at Franziska, including Mario and Clouseau, and spoke in a serious tone. “I knew this man. We go way back. I just don’t understand who would do this.”

What he said was true. The two had known each other for a long time, and they both agreed to have Gabe help them take down Robotnik. This was a personal matter for Jones. He wanted Robotnik to face justice or death. Whatever comes first.

Mario took off his hat and said. “I’m sorry for your loss, Chief Larvell Jones. We’ll find the perpetrator who’s done this!”

“Thank you, Mario.” Jones smiled. “When you find the killer, make them go KABOOM like what happened to Marcus. Or just arrest them. Where’s your brother at? Just want to know if he’s doing okay.”

“He’s doing fine,” Mario answered. “I still have him deputized and is working at my outpost to fill in for me. Jameson allowed it.”

---

Luigi was inside Mario’s police outpost, sitting at his desk, when the phone on the table rang. Luigi answered it.

“Hello? This is Luigi filling in for Officer Mario. Who is this?” Luigi asked them.

“Uh, listen, my name is Gabe Clark.”

Luigi reacted and was scared. “What!? What do you want?! Are you planning on eating me and my brother?!”

“No!” Gabe told him. “I just need someone to arrive at this cabin I’m hiding in. Can you do it?”

“Are you nuts!?” Luigi responded in shock. “Just turn yourself in!”

“I can’t!” Gabe argued. “I’m dangerous, which is why I need you to come here. Everything will be told to you about what’s going on.”

“How do I know this isn’t some stupid prank?” Luigi questioned.

“This isn’t a prank. This is real.” Gabe told him. “Please show up. Goodbye.”

Luigi didn’t have a chance to respond as Gabe quickly hung up on him. Luigi didn’t want to go but decided to anyway. This could lead to something he thought.

Before he left, he traced the call and wrote a note for his brother, telling him about the call from Gabe and heading to the cabin. After he left the outpost, he walked to his parked car, a dark green 1934 Chrysler Airflow.

---

Luigi was able to find the cabin that Gabe was in. He was terrified to get out of his car, but he got out slowly. He slowly approached the cabin entrance and slowly opened the door. He looked around inside and didn’t see anyone. Mario’s brother assumed Gabe would be outside since the weather was sunny.

“Hello?” Luigi said out loud. He closed the door and was now inside the cabin. He looked around, seeing the lights being turned on. He spotted an open trapdoor, which led to the basement. Luigi believed Gabe was in there and hopefully no boos.

“Is someone in there?” Luigi asked. He descended the basement stairs and looked around. He then spotted someone sitting on the floor against the wall.

It was Gabe Clark, who was breathing in and out.

Luigi recognized him since Gabe was wearing the same suit with a green tie, glasses, and short brown hair.

Luigi spoke as he looked at Gabe. “You! You’re the man from last night who was acting like some sort of creature!” He remarked.

Gabe stared at him as he was breathing in and out. “Yes, and you’re the one who took pictures of me.”

Luigi crouched in front of him and noticed his skin color becoming abnormal. He believed his skin was becoming pale. “Sir, are you dying? I can call in an ambulance.”

“No, there’s no need for that,” Gabe told him. “I’m expecting someone, a man named Marcus Ward. He’s coming here to kill me, and he’s going to tell you everything. I’ve been infected with Goblin DNA.”

“GOBLIN DNA!?!?!” Luigi screamed out. “A VIRUS!?”

“Yes, I-“

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!” Luigi ran and closed the trap doors and shoved furniture above it.

Gabe groaned. “Ugh. Marcus, where the hell are you?”

---

In the Dodge Monaco, Mario was driving, and Franziska was sitting in the passenger seat. They both left the crime scene. Mario’s phone was ringing, which made him sigh since he was driving. He handed his phone to Franziska.

“Do you mind answering this?” Mario asked her.

“Not at all.” Franziska grabbed the phone. She then answered.

“Hello, this is Prosecutor Franziska von Karma. State your name-“

.....................................

“Mario’s foolish brother, calm down! What about Gabe Clark?”

..................................

“You found the foolish man in a cabin?”

..................................

“Goblin DNA? Is this some foolish joke?”

..................................

“Okay, we’re on our way.”

She then hung up and handed the phone back to Mario. “Is your foolish brother always this scared?”

“Yeah, haha!” Mario laughed. “He used to go to a haunted mansion by himself and with a friend of ours. I hope he’s okay when we arrive at this cabin.”

---

The duo arrived at the cabin. Franziska noticed the dark green Chrysler. “Is that Luigi’s car?” She asked Mario.

“Yes,” Mario confirmed to her. They both exited the car, went to the cabin entrance, and entered.

Mario and Franziska noticed Luigi pacing back and forth. Luigi saw them and approached them.

“Good, you two showed up!” Luigi said to them. He moved the furniture away from the trap door and opened it. The three walked down into the basement.

The trio saw Gabe Clark, who was still sitting on the ground against the wall. Gabe saw them and recognized the two people with Luigi.

“Never expected him to call you two,” Gabe said, referring to Luigi.

Mario responded. “It’s-a me Mario and I’m Luigi’s brother.” He told him. He glanced at Franziska and introduced Gabe to her. “And this is Prosecutor Franziska von Karma.”

“I’m the one who shot you,” Franziska told Gabe.

“Yes, I know.” Gabe nodded. “There are a lot of things I need to tell you.”

“You mentioned Goblin DNA to my brother.” Mario pointed out. “Explain.”

Franziska held on to her whip in case Gabe became a dangerous, foolish goblin.

Gabe started. “Okay, I was working undercover for a very dangerous man named Dr. Ivo Robotnik. I’m not a cop, I’m an Interpol member working with the Highfalcon PD. My friend Marcus Ward, who’s also a member of Interpol, and along with Chief Larvell Jones, became aware of Robotnik’s activities going on in Highfalcon.”

“Wait!” Franziska stopped him. “Marcus Ward correct?”

Gabe nodded. “Yes.”

Mario and Franziska were hesitant to inform Gabe. Mario chose to give Gabe the tragic news of Marcus’ passing. He took his hat off and told him.

“Mr. Clark, Marcus Ward was murdered at his home earlier today.” Mario sadly told him.

Gabe took it all in. His colleague, a friend, was murdered at his home. He closed his eyes to process Mario’s words. He already knew who killed him: Robotnik, Agent Stone, or anyone working for the former.

“How?” Gabe asked.

Franziska answered. “Car explosion.”

Gabe sighed. He wished all of this were a dream. He wished this wasn’t the reason why Marcus was taking a long time to arrive.

Mario put his hat back on and asked Gabe, “Is there some sort of cure for this Goblin DNA?”

“There was,” Gabe told him. “But not anymore.”

“What do you mean?” Franziska asked him.

“A scientist named Dr. Taggart was creating the cure for the Goblin DNA, but he was murdered,” Gabe explained. “When I was caught, Robotnik and his accomplice Agent Stone took me to a spot near this cabin. Agent Stone shot a small dose of the DNA on me. I killed a man who was living in this cabin, and I buried his body near the home. After that night, Marcus told me Dr. Taggart was killed.”

“How bad is the Goblin DNA right now?” Mario inquired.

“It’s getting quite close. My skin is slowly turning green right now, and the final symptom is me no longer becoming human.” Gabe explained.

“So where can we find this foolish man, Dr. Ivo Robotnik and his foolish accomplice Agent Stone?” Franziska asked him.

“At a coffee shop known as the Mean Bean Coffee Cafe,” Gabe told her. “The place has heavy defenses that can easily kill you. Robotnik added a self-destruct feature, which he will use as a last resort.”

This was a lot for the Mario brothers and Franziska to take in. They didn’t believe it would be this bad, and three of them assumed Robotnik was getting close to destroying Highfalcon.

“We need to get you out of here now, Mr. Clark!” Mario told Gabe. “We all need to work together to stop Dr. Ivo Robotnik!”

As much as Gabe wanted to refuse, he decided to accept Mario's suggestion. He needed Robotnik to pay. He slowly got up and spoke.

“Let’s leave.” He said.

The group left the basement with Mario leading the way. As they got to the main room of the cabin. Mario opened the door, but then he gasped as he saw Agent 47. The bald assassin held onto a molotov cocktail and threw it at Mario and the cabin.

Mario reacted. “MAMA MIA!” He screamed. “Everyone, stand back!”

The molotov in the air collided with the cabin and caused the cabin to catch on fire.

47 threw another molotov at the cabin, which landed on the home, causing more fire to spread on the cabin as well as inside. The assassin then pulled out his Silverballers and aimed them at the front entrance. He slowly walked towards the cabin. As he got close, the door kicked open, revealing one of the people in the group.

Franziska von Karma. She immediately whipped 47, which caused him to drop his pistols, but she was able to dodge Franziska’s attacks. 47 was able to kick her knee, causing her to let out a yelp while her body fell onto the ground. The assassin then quickly grabbed her whip and started to strangle her to death with it, but he wasn’t able to kill her as Mario, who was on top of the burning cabin, jumped onto him.

“Leave her alone!” Mario yelled out. He started to attack Agent 47 by kicking him around and then picking him up and performing a bodyslam. He then kicked him in the face and knocked him out.

Franziska witnessed Mario saving her from dying as she panted to regain her oxygen. Mario helped her up. “Are you okay?” He asked her.

“I’m fine,” Franziska told him with a nod. “Thank you. That foolish fool almost killed us.”

“You’re welcome.” Mario smiled. “I’m glad you didn’t die.” He was happy that she survived that attack. He didn’t want to lose a friend. He’s also hoping his brother and Gabe are okay.

Luigi and Gabe were outside, approaching Mario and Franziska. Luigi stared at 47’s unconscious body.

“Who is that?” He questioned.

“I have no idea, Luigi,” Mario answered. He approached the assassin’s body and searched it. He found a note in his pocket, including a tattoo on the back of his head. The tattoo was a barcode.

Luigi noticed Mario observing the barcode. “Is that a barcode?” He asked.

Franziska showed a shocked reaction. “Barcode!?” She yelled out.

The three men with her stared at her. Mario replied. “Yes. You know this man?” He asked her.

“No.” Franziska shook her head. “But I heard of him. His name is Agent 47. He’s one of the deadliest killers in the world. He used to work for a defunct organization called the International Contract Agency. Now he’s a freelance assassin. Many have tried to stop him, but failed. I’ve been wanting to put this insane, foolish assassin behind bars for murdering hundreds of people.”

“Aaaaah Mario, we need to do something quick!” Luigi urged him.

“I’ll get into it, Luigi,” Mario told him. He approached Franziska and handed the note to Franziska. “Go read what’s on it while I call the police to arrest this killer.” He told her.

“Sure.” Franziska nodded as she grabbed the note. She looked at it and noticed it was a list of things to do, but not written by Agent 47. This note was written by Robotnik.

“Hello, 47! My name is Ivo Robotnik! I need some troublemakers who need to be killed so that they don’t bother me to death with my life! I am trying to become governor of New York in the next few years, so tons of money will be sent to you once you kill the following people!

Marcus Ward

Mario and his brother Luigi

Franziska von Karma

Gabe Clark HE’S OPTIONAL YOU GOT IT!?!?!?!

That is all! If you fail to kill them I WILL BE VERY ANGRY!!! OKAY!? Good luck now KILL THESE FREAKING STUPID PEOPLE!!!”

Franziska never thought she would read a letter written so foolishly immature by a foolish madman fool. Now she knows who killed Marcus Ward.

Luigi looked at Franziska. “What does the note say?” He questioned.

“This is a hit list put on us,” Franziska answered. “Robotnik wants you, your brother, and I dead. Marcus Ward was also on the list, including Gabe Clark, but he was optional.”

Luigi was shocked. “What!? How did this Robotnik guy discover us?!”

Gabe guessed. “It had to have been what happened last night. Not to mention, Robotnik finding out about my connection to Marcus.”

After Mario was done talking to HQ and arresting Agent 47. He noticed there was panic coming from his brother. “What’s wrong, Luigi?”

“Mario, this Agent 47 guy came here to kill us! Robotnik wanted him to kill us, Franziska, Gabe, and Marcus!” Luigi explained while feeling scared.

Mario was about to respond, but noticed his phone ringing. He answered it.

“Hello it’s-a me, Mario!”

....................

“WHAT!? The mayor has been kidnapped!?”

Chapter 7: ACT 1 - Chapter 6

Inside a red Ford Indigo, Agent Stone was behind the wheel, driving down the Downtown road in the city while Vault Boy was sitting next to him.

He stopped the car at a spot on the street. Agent Stone then used a touch screen in the car to access cameras from Robotnik’s hidden drones. He noticed the Highfalcon Mayor, David Phillips, speaking to news reporters at the entrance of the Highfalcon City Hall.

Near the City Hall, Agent Stone noticed a black Mercedes-Benz S 500 sedan parked in front of the City Hall. Inside that car was a White female with long black hair wearing a black suit, who was the mayor’s driver.

Robotnik was somewhere else, somewhere where he was about to perform his Goblin DNA invasion. Before the invasion was initiated, the mayor had to be kidnapped first, which Agent Stone and Vault Boy were going to be responsible for doing.

Agent Stone looked at Vault Boy and asked, “Do you remember the plan?”

Vault Boy replied with a thumbs up and said, “Yes, I do! The mayor will have a lot of fun!”

Agent Stone nodded and looked back at the screen. “The mayor is leaving. Go!” He told him. With that, Vault Boy exited the car.

As Vault Boy moved at a fast pace, he grabbed a device, which was a tracking device to locate the mayor’s current location. He ran until he got close to the spot where the Mercedes was stopped at a red light.

Vault Boy approached the black Mercedes-Benz and stood in front of it. The mayor and the female driver saw him, seeing him waving. He then quickly pulled out his Beretta 92FS and shot the female driver in the head.

BANG!

The mayor jumped and got scared as he gasped after witnessing his driver getting killed in front of him. He lowered his body as he crawled to the steering wheel and tried to use his foot to press on the gas pedal to accelerate and escape, but he failed as Vault Boy smashed the window with his fist and opened the door.

“Mayor David Phillips!” Vault Boy said to him. “I have to take you somewhere immediately!”

“You’re Vault Boy!” David remarked. He heard about what he did in the bank, getting arrested by Mario, and escaping.

“I am!” Vault Boy smiled. “Now, please remain calm. I’m taking you somewhere where you’ll be safe.”

As Vault Boy dragged the mayor away from the Mercedes-Benz S 500 with strong force, another red Ford Indigo pulled up. The driver of the Indigo was a red robot, Robotnik’s robot guard. A bunch of these robots were created by Robotnik and served as his guards.

Vault Boy knocked the mayor out and tossed him in the Ford Indigo. After he did that, he noticed a car driving towards them.

It was the Dodge Monaco driven by Mario. He, his brother, Franziska, and Gabe were about to stop Robotnik’s madness.

Vault Boy looked at the robot. “Go now.” He told it politely.

The robot acknowledged Vault Boy and drove away. Mario and his friends saw the red Ford Indigo speeding away from them. It was too late to save the Highfalcon mayor, but that didn’t stop Mario and his friends. When Mario stopped the car, he got out of the car with his friends. Vault Boy was about to escape, but Franziska stopped him, hitting his leg hard with her whip.

CRACK!

“Where do you think you’re going, foolish fool!?” Franziska glared at him. She then whipped him again.

“Ow.” Vault Boy casually said as he got whipped. Franziska was able to tie him up with her whip. Vault Boy was now lying on the ground, strongly tied up.

“Foolish fool!” Franziska smiled in victory. “You foolishly dreamed about foolishly escaping once again! You failed!”

Luigi immediately took pictures of Vault Boy. He couldn’t wait to give the pictures of Jameson, letting him know about Vault Boy being captured and arrested again.

Gabe puked on the sidewalk, noticing the puke was entirely green. He also noticed himself losing hair. Mario took notice and approached him.

“Is it getting worse?” He asked him.

Gabe breathed and responded. “Yes. I don’t know how long I can go.”

Mario wasn’t able to respond as he heard a car speeding right at them.

The speeding was Agent Stone’s Ford Indigo. Mario got in the middle of the road and aimed his AMT AutoMag V at him.

“Freeze!” Mario yelled out.

Agent Stone didn’t oblige as he drove faster at Mario. Somewhere nearby, the tires of the Indigo got shot.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The gunshots caused Agent Stone to lose control of the exotic Ford Indigo.

Mario rolled out of the way and saw the car crashing into a building, which caused Agent Stone to lose consciousness.

Mario turned his head to the shooter who shot the Ford Indigo’s tires and was surprised. “Lupin!” He said his name.

It was Lupin the 3rd, wielding his Walther P38 as he smiled. “Hey, Mario! You’re welcome!”

Franziska glared at him. “What are you doing here, foolish thief!?”

“Hey, relax, I just saved Mario from that guy,” Lupin reassured her. “I heard about what’s going on from the news.”

“How were you able to find us here?” Luigi asked.

“Amy hacked into the city’s cameras, and we all saw what was going on,” Lupin explained. “Jigen and Goemon are at home keeping her safe. I wanna help you guys out.”

Mario happily smiled and jumped for joy. “Wonderful wahoo! We’ll explain everything to you, but we need to save the mayor!”

The group saw the police arriving, Mario told them about Vault Boy and Agent Stone, and they arrested both of them. They also noticed Gabe not feeling well, but Mario told them not to contact an ambulance for him and that he’s got everything under control.

Luigi got his brother’s attention. “Mario! Look up!”

Mario, along with his brother, Franziska, Gabe, Lupin, and the police officers, noticed a spaceship hovering over the city.

It was a sci-fi-designed ship that belonged to Robotnik. Robotnik was getting very close to performing his invasion by turning everyone into goblins and taking over Highfalcon.

Mario’s jaw dropped as he stared at Robotnik’s ship. “Mama Mia!” He then looked at the officers. “My friends and I need something to get on that ship!”

“There’s a helicopter nearby on a roof!” A male officer told him. “Use that!”

“Thank you!” Mario thanked him. He looked at his friends. “ Let’s-a go, everyone!”

---

Inside Robotnik’s ship, Robotnik was on the ship’s bridge and commanded his red robots, who were controlling the weapons to shoot the Goblin DNA as well as spreading havoc in the city. The mayor was tied up in a chair. He couldn’t save his city, and he was about to witness the destruction.

Robotnik commanded the robots. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAALRIGHTY THEN!!! I wanna see SUCCESS NOT FAILURE! I programmed all of you to do what I told you to do! Highfalcon needs to be MINE! I wanna have an early BIRTHDAY AND CHRISTMAS PRESENT! HAHAHAHAHA! NOW GET TO WORK!!!”

“Doctor!?” A robot told him. “Intruders have breached our ship!”

Robotnik freaked out. “WHAAAAAAAAT?! Kill them, toss them out, turn them into goblins! NOOOOOW! And where's Agent Stone and Creepy Vault Boy?!”

The mayor laughed. “I guess that got arrested.”

“SHUT UP!” Robotnik pointed at him. "I wasn't talking to you!" He looked at his robot. “Where are they!?”

“They’ve been arrested, doctor.” The robot told him.

“AAAAAAAAH!” Robotnik screamed out. “GIVE ME A BIG FAT BREAK! Whatever, I don’t need them.” He evilly smiled. “I can still win.”

---

Mario and his friends were able to land a helicopter in a landing bay on Robotnik’s ship. The landing bay was filled with aircraft that were going to be used to attack any oncoming attacks coming from US squadrons who were on their way to stop Robotnik.

The group of five agreed to split up: Mario and Luigi went to a corridor, while Franziska, Lupin, and Gabe went to a different corridor.

Gabe lost track of Franziska and Lupin since the corridor the three were in was a maze.

Gabe walked slowly while wielding a Beretta 92FS. He was having difficulty focusing as the symptoms of the Goblin DNA that was in his body were getting worse. His skin was almost green, his hair was almost gone, and the puke was getting greener.

Speaking of puke, Gabe puked again, and the color was fully green. What he didn’t know was that a red robot was sneaking up on him. Gabe heard the footsteps coming from the robot and turned. He was about to attack the robot, only for it to be attacked by Franziska and Lupin.

“Stand back, foolish robot!” Franziska yelled out as she continuously whipped the robot while Lupin was endlessly shooting it.

The prosecutor and the thief didn’t give the robot a chance to strike back as it felt the endless strikes from Franziska’s whip and Lupin’s P38, which were tearing it apart.

The robot no longer stood a chance and fell to the ground with its body parts destroyed. Franziska finished it off by giving it a powerful hit with her whip.

Franziska and Lupin both smirked at their success in defeating the robot. Their smirk went away as they stared at Gabe, who had his hand on a wall and was looking down as he breathed in and out.

“Mr. Gabe Clark!” Franziska said his name with concern as she and Lupin approached him.

“I’m fine, for a bit,” Gabe replied to her. “Leave me.”

Lupin started to protest against Gabe’s suggestion. “No, we can’t do that! We need to keep you protected!"

“I’m no longer protected. I’m just going to slow both of you down. Find the brothers and save yourselves.” Gabe told her.

Franziska thought this was a foolish idea, but she knew Gabe was close to turning into a Goblin. She and Lupin felt sorry for him since to them he was an innocent man who became a victim of Robotnik’s wicked illegal activities.

“Okay.” Franziska nodded. “Goodbye, Mr. Gabe Clark.” She looked at Lupin. “Let’s go, foolish thief.”

“I have a name, you know!” Lupin rolled his eyes as he walked with Franziska away from Gabe.

“Yes, and that’s Foolish Thief the 3rd.”

With that, they began trying to go find the Mario Brothers.

---

Mario and Luigi were battling against Robotnik’s robot guards in multiple corridors. The robots, including the Mario Brothers, were firing laser weapons at each other, laser pistols and laser rifles. The Mario Brothers decided to use laser rifles after they killed some of the robots, since they believed it would be a better advantage to use against them.

“Watch out, Luigi!” Mario told him. “There are a lot of these robots!”

Luigi fired his laser rifle at the robots, tearing them up limb by limb. Mario shot his laser rifle at one robot by shooting its head off. The brothers didn’t know how many robots there were on the ship, but nothing was going to stop them. The brothers guessed they were getting close to Robotnik.

“Mario! Mario’s foolish brother!”

The brothers turned their heads and saw Franziska and Lupin running towards them.

Mario looked at Franziska. “Franziska!” He noticed Gabe wasn’t with her and the latter. “Where’s Gabe?”

“He wanted us to leave him behind,” Franziska told him. “The foolish Goblin DNA that’s in him is getting worse.”

“He’s getting close to turning into a goblin,” Lupin said in a serious tone.

As the three talked, Luigi was struggling to kill the robots by himself. “Mario! Franziska! Lupin! I’m-a need some help!”

“We’re on it, Luigi!” Mario replied. He then handed Franziska and Lupin a laser pistol. “Here! Use these! It’s-a laser pistol!”

Franziska nodded while Lupin grinned as he chuckled. They aimed their laser pistols at the robots, taking them down flawlessly. Mario and his brother gave support to them as they fired their laser rifles at the robots.

Franziska became irritated as more robots were appearing. “How many of these foolish robots are on this foolish ship!?”

“Who knows!” Mario replied to her. “We just gotta keep-a going!”

“Mario!” Luigi yelled out his name. “Go find Robotnik! We’ll be fine!”

Franziska glared at him. “Are you foolishly foolish!? He doesn’t know where this foolish evil man is!”

“ It’s-a okay, Franziska!” Mario reassured her. “I’ll be fine searching for him myself! Stay alive, you three!” Mario then left as Luigi, Franziska, and Lupin battled the robots.

---

Robotnik was on the bridge of the ship still. No robots were there as they were all ordered by Robotnik to kill the intruders.

Slight irritation came onto Robotnik as he believed the robots he created and programmed were failing him. But despite that, it didn’t matter to him. Robotnik was typing on a console that was activating the weapons to spread the Goblin DNA onto everyone at Highfalcon. He wanted to target the police first, but thought he needed the DNA to spread all over the city right now.

Highfalcon Mayor David Phillips witnessed Robotnik performing his diabolical plan and was not looking forward to seeing his city become destroyed by this evil lunatic.

After Robotnik was done typing, he evilly laughed and said, “Time to activate the weapons! And witness Highfalcon become a ruined city! HAHAHAHA!” He pulled out a device that had a red button and pressed his thumb on it.

Sliding doors of the ship’s bridge opened, revealing Mario, who entered. He aimed his laser rifle at him. “Freeze Robotnik! Time to end your evil, chaotic plans! You’re under arrest!”

Robotnik looked at him and laughed. “Hahaha! You’re too late, Mario! Yes, I know who you are and your brother and your girlfriend, Franziska von Karma!”

Mario glared and blushed. “She’s not my girlfriend!”

“That’s what they aaaaaaall saaaaaaaay! You and your buddies are too late to stop me! I already activated the weapons which will SPREAD THE GOBLIN DNA ONTO EVERRRRRYOOOOOOONE!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!”

Mario landed on his knees and felt so much hopelessness. He felt defeated and didn’t know what to do. Robotnik kept laughing at Mario’s defeat, including the mayor’s, as a tear went down his cheek.

But then, a miracle happened. The sliding doors in the bridge opened, revealing a goblin.

Gabe Clark was now a Goblin. His suit was gone, and the only piece of clothing he had with him was his green tie, including his glasses.

The three men saw him. Mario was shocked. “Mama Mia, Gabe Clark?!” He said his name.

The goblin looked at him and nodded his head. He offered his hand to help Mario up, which Mario accepted. He pointed his finger at the bridge exit, which told him to get off the ship quickly with his friends and the mayor.

Mario quickly nodded in response and quickly freed the mayor, escaping with him.

Robotnik became very surprised to see Gabe turned into a full Goblin.

“Oh my god,” He formed a smile. “A Goblin! A GOBLIN! A GOOOOOOOOOBLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!!! IT WOOOOOORKED! HAHAHAHAHAHA! GOBLIN GABE IN THE FLESH! How come you didn’t kill Mario!? Have goblins become soft!?”

Gabe approached the ship’s controls and started to destroy everything, wanting to make the ship lose control. As well as disabling the weapons that haven’t fired the Goblin DNA.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” Robotnik yelled at him. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?”

Gabe continued to destroy the ship’s bridge, smashing his consoles and tearing the walls apart. He then entered the engine room and started to destroy the engine of the ship.

Robotnik witnessed Gabe’s destruction. “NOOOOOOO! STOP IT!!! YOU’RE RUINING EVERYTHING!!!!!”

Gabe didn’t care he was a goblin now, what he cared about the most was taking Robotnik with him and stopping his plan. He didn’t want anyone to become a goblin.

The fire was spreading in the engine room and onto the bridge of the ship. Robotnik tried to escape, but was held down by Gabe with a strong grip.

---

Mario, Luigi, Franziska, and Lupin very quickly got onto their helicopter and flew out of the ship. As they got far, Robotnik’s ship exploded.

KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM!

The ship then crashed down onto a city street. No Goblin DNA was shot onto people; everyone was saved from becoming goblins.

Mario, Luigi, Franziska, Lupin, and Gabe Clark saved the city of Highfalcon.

But, Gabe was deceased, and the person he took with him was Dr. Ivo Robotnik.

---

Sitting inside a jail cell, Agent Stone witnessed footage from a TV screen that showed breaking news coverage of Robotnik’s ship exploding and crashing. He couldn’t believe he was ultimately defeated and met his demise.

Agent Stone looked down. “Doctor.” He said, feeling defeated with sadness and anger.

Whatever was next, he hoped the Mario Brothers, Franziska von Karma, and Lupin the 3rd would be eliminated.

For the doctor.

Chapter 8: ACT 1 - Chapter 7

Mushroom City, Mushroom Kingdom

The sunny sky above Astolfo, who was wearing his Silver Light Armor outfit, was flying his Hippogriff to the country of the Mushroom Kingdom. He believed it was time for him to return after being gone for a while after Princess Peach’s death. He couldn’t wait to reunite with his friends.

He got close to the castle. He landed his Hippogriff and parked it near the castle. As he got off, he walked towards the entrance of the castle as the Mushroom Kingdom Army soldiers wielding their Steyr AUGs saluted him. He responded with a nod and a smile as he entered the castle.

He walked down the corridor and approached the entrance of Mario’s (Now Toad’s) office. He was surprised when he heard Toad’s voice in the office after he knocked.

Astolfo opened the door and saw Toad in his office. “Toad?!” Astolfo said his name in surprise. “Hey, great to see you!” She smiled.

“Hey, Astolfo!” Toad greeted back with a bright smile. The two hugged. “It’s so good to see you back! How have you been doing?”

“So far, so good!” Astolfo answered, ending the hug. “Been traveling around to keep my mind from going haywire after coping with Princess Peach’s tragic death.”

“Same here.” Toad nodded. “So is everyone.”

“How’s Mario and Luigi been doing?”

Toad moved to his desk and grabbed a letter written by Mario. “Mario decided to make a big change with his brother.” He handed the letter to Astolfo.

Astolfo began to read it.

“Dear Astolfo.

Luigi and I are leaving the Mushroom Kingdom. I’ve been trying to avoid making this decision, but Princess Peach’s death was something I could no longer handle while living my life here. I’ve been visiting her grave every day, as well as sleeping next to her grave, and having a stupid idea of wanting to dig her body out and keep her remains. I’m happy I chose not to do that.

My brother and I are going to have a fresh start in life and meet new people. We’re moving to a city known as Highfalcon, New York. We’re likely going to form a plumbing business there, and we’re hoping to make new friends. I’m sorry for not telling you this in person. Come visit us whenever you have the chance! Luigi and I became very fond of you! Don’t hesitate to come here! And don’t worry, I am going to visit the Mushroom Kingdom every month! But, if my decision becomes a mistake, I’ll be returning with my brother.

- Mario“

Astolfo was surprised by this. He definitely wanted to go see them and make sure they were doing okay. They were his best friends. And to Astolfo, friends check in on each other.

But Astolfo became concerned. He only left the Mushroom Kingdom for the time being, but Mario and his brother left permanently.

“Toad?” Astolfo said his name. “Do you support this?”

Toad sighed. “A part of me doesn’t, but a part of me understands why he wanted to leave. He felt burnt out after the Mushroom Kingdom War, and that burnout became worse after her death. I guess Mario believed it was time to move on.”

Astolfo understood now. As the letter said, Mario wanted to have a fresh start with his brother and meet new people.

“I’m going there to see them!” He declared.

“But-“

“Don’t worry, Toad!” Astolfo smiled in confidence. “I’ll find them! See ya!” He then left the office.

---

Highfalcon, New York

Inside Vanessa’s building in downtown Highfalcon, Vanessa walked with an individual down the futuristic corridor.

It was Agent Stone. He was bailed out by Vanessa, who was planning on keeping him hidden in her hideout. She knows how much loyalty Agent Stone gave to Robotnik, and she wanted him to trust her.

Vanessa wanted Robotnik’s technology so she could take care of it and use it for the plan she wanted to commit her time to. Her plan was going to surprise Agent Stone, and everyone, including the Mario Brothers.

The two arrived at the laboratory and saw two men inside.

One was Oliver, who was at his desk.

And the other was Alan Montgomery, who was one of Robotnik’s associates.

When Robotnik arrived at Highfalcon, a contact of Alan informed him, so Alan made plans to meet Robotnik and become an associate with him. He believed the evil doctor’s technology had tons and tons of value, and he wanted it all, not Vanessa. A rivalry started between the two of them. They both wanted the technology for their own reasons.

Alan saw Agent Stone and was surprised to see him out of jail.

“Agent Stone?” He said his name. He stared at Vanessa. “You were able to bail him out?”

“Why yes, Mr. Montgomery, duh,” Vanessa smirked. “What’s the matter? Jealous?”

“No.” Alan denied. “Just how?”

“It wasn’t easy, but it took some convincing,” Vanessa answered. “Bribery and threats.”

“Impressive.” Alan nodded. “So why are we all here?”

“We’re going to have Agent Stone decide who gets Robotnik’s remaining technology that’s stored here in Highfalcon. Agent Stone will own the rest that’s in Thunder Valley.” Vanessa explained. She then looked at Agent Stone. “So Agent Stone, who’s going to have Robotnik’s technology in Highfalcon?”

Agent Stone looked at them both. He was thankful to Vanessa for getting him out of jail and felt like he owed her one. Then he looked at Alan, seeing him as a rich businessman who focused on technology and believed he could make good use of the doctor’s technology.

But then he looked at Vanessa again, seeing her putting in so much work to bail him out.

So Agent Stone made his decision. He looked at Vanessa. “Vanessa.” He said her name.

Vanessa grinned.

“You’re going to have half of the doctor’s technology.” He told her.

Vanessa gasped at his words. “What!?” She glared.

“And Alan, you’re going to have the other half.” Agent Stone told him

Alan nodded. On the outside, he was fine with it, but on the inside, he wasn’t. Again, he wanted it all. Alan thought this was his chance to get all of Robotnik’s technology from Highfalcon, including Thunder Valley, but things have been changing and getting in the way, thanks to these damn decisions.

Vanessa kept her glare on Agent Stone. “Why half!?” She argued.

“Because I believe both of you can take care of the technology that's here in the city, but I want you to do something for me.” Agent Stone answered as he was unfazed by her glare.

“And what’s that?” Vanessa asked with her hand on her hip.

“Recreate Dr. Robotnik.” Agent Stone told her. “I can continue what he started, but I believe he should instead make it meaningful, and give him more lattes with Austrian goat milk.”

Recreating Robotnik was something Alan believed he could do himself, having the technology and the recreation of Dr. Ivo Robotnik. He started to form some plans privately.

Agent Stone continued. “If you don’t want to, then I’ll have his robots recreate him instead. And this will cause you to be useless.”

Vanessa shook her head. “No! It will happen! I’ll force Oliver to start working on recreating him! You have my word, Agent Stone!”

“Good.” Agent Stone nodded. “Make him get to work.”

“On it!” Vanessa obliged. She glared at Oliver. “Oliver! Get your butt up and recreate Dr. Robotnik right now!”

“Yes, Ms. Nelson!” Oliver responded as he immediately rose.

Vanessa then left the lab with Oliver, leaving Alan and Agent Stone alone.

Alan spoke. “Agent Stone? I’ll give you 50 million dollars for all of his technology, all of it .”

“Thank you, Alan.” Agent Stone looked at him. “But this isn’t about money; this is about showing loyalty to Robotnik and achieving his goals. Not to mention, revenge on the Mario Brothers, this prosecutor lady named Franziska von Karma, and a thief named Lupin the 3rd.”

“I can take care of them.” Alan offered. “I hired new assassins who I’m sure can flawlessly kill them.”

“Then get to work.” Agent Stone told him. “And maybe you’ll get a higher percentage of the technology that's in Highfalcon and probably Thunder Valley.”

---

Inside Mario’s police outpost, Agent 47 was reading a book while sitting. He then heard Mario entering the outpost and looked at 47, who stared back at him. Mario decided to start a conversation with him regarding Robotnik.

“Agent 47, right?” Mario asked.

“Just 47.” He replied.

“Why did you accept Robotnik’s demand to kill me, my brother, and my friends, including Marcus Ward and Gabe Clark?”

47 placed the book away, stood, and then answered. “I’m a paid contract killer. Robotnik sent me the money for the hits. But, I made plans on killing him as well.”

Mario felt surprised. “What really?!”

“Yes. I had a feeling he was threatening with strange ideas, and very immature.” 47 told him. “Something about that childish letter made me suspicious.”

“But why accept the hit on us?”

“Because I knew he was going to do it himself, no matter what. Most of the time I'm someone who fulfills a contract, but this one was an exception since I intended to kill Robotnik.”

Mario thought that made sense. He could tell Robotnik was a very threatening man.

47 had more to say. “I heard an explosion yesterday and a spaceship above the city. A lot of people were running for their lives as they panicked and screamed.”

“Yes, that’s-a right.” Mario nodded. “Robotnik was planning to turn the Highfalcon population into goblins.”

47 raised an eyebrow at his sentence. He believed Robotnik to be one of the strangest, most bizarre individuals in existence.

Mario continued. “My brother, my friends, and a man named Gabe Clark got onto the ship and stopped Robotnik. Gabe, however, sacrificed himself to take him down.” He then started to explain to him about Gabe turning into a goblin during the attack on Robotnik’s ship and dying with the latter.

“Hmm.” 47 hummed. “So much unexpected silliness I’ve been involved in.”

Mario believed 47 was used by Robotnik and was planning to turn him into a goblin, so he had an idea, an idea that might be criticized.

“Want me to drop the charges on you?” Mario asked.

47 was taken back by that. He thought he would be stuck in a cell for a while until he escaped.

“Why?” He questioned him.

“I believe you were used, and I think we can become friends!” Mario smiled at him. “You deserve a second chance, as long as you promise not to kill me and my brother, including my friends, ever again.”

“Thanks, but I doubt we’ll see each other again after I’m out of here.” 47 replied.

“Nonsense!” Mario responded with his smile still on his face. He grabbed a key and unlocked the cell. Allowing 47 to leave.

After 47 walked out of his cell, he looked at Mario. “You’re too nice.” He remarked.

“Haha!” Mario laughed. “I know, but we should become friends and have you live with me and my brother.”

“That will never happen. Goodbye.” 47 was about to leave, but he was stopped as Mario grabbed his ankle. He looked at him with irritation.

“PLEASE!” Mario emotionally begged him. “We need some sort of protection, and have you become another friend of ours! You can operate your business anywhere in our house!”

47 thought Mario was equally immature as Robotnik but with zero wicked intentions. He deeply sighed and responded.

“Fine, but please don’t annoy me-“ His body was grabbed by Mario, who picked him up and started to hug him as he jumped for joy.

“Yaaaaaaaay waaaahooooo!” Mario screamed in joy. “Welcome to our home, 47! I’m-a sure you’ll get along with my brother Luigi and our friends Franziska von Karma and Lupin the 3rd!”

47 stopped Mario’s joyful celebration. “Put. Me. Down.” He demanded him. “ Or else .”

Mario gulped and quickly let go of 47. He nervously laughed and smiled again. “Thanks, 47! You’ll enjoy living with us!”

“We’ll see. And never do that to me again.” 47 told him. “And this friend of yours, Franziska von Karma? The prosecutor? She’s living there too?”

“No.” Mario shook his head. “But she’s our friend! After we stopped you from killing us at the cabin, she told us about you. But she’s been trying to put you behind bars for killing a bunch of people.”

“I see.” 47 nodded. “Where do I find her?”

Mario thought he had made a big mistake telling him that. He nervously answered. “W-well I don’t know where she lives or where her office is since we met recently.” He then begged him by placing his hands together. “But please don’t kill her!”

“I’m not going to kill her.” 47 reassured him. “I just want to talk to her. I’ll go find her myself.”

---

It was nighttime. Inside Franziska’s house, 47 was able to sneak in. He opened the door quietly, which was Franziska’s bedroom. He saw her sleeping in her bed. The hitman quietly moved as he slowly approached her bed. His eyes spotted a whip lying next to Franziska. He slowly reached for it and grabbed it. He then found a light next to the female prosecutor and turned it on.

Franziska moaned as she woke up and slowly opened her eyes. She saw 47, which widened her eyes. She was about to yell, but her mouth was covered by 47’s hand.

“Shh.” 47 hushed her. “I wanna speak to you.” His hand moved away from Franziska’s mouth.

Franziska glared at him. “How did you find my home, you foolish fool monster!?”

“Information about you.” 47 told her. “I heard you were planning on taking me down.”

“Yes!” Franziska admitted with her glare still at 47. “You need to pay!”

“Many people have attempted to do that sort of thing, but they failed, and it was a messy outcome.” 47 told her. “If you’re wondering why I’m not in a jail cell, Mario dropped the charges.”

Franziska gasped as her eyes widened in shock. She couldn’t believe he would do that. She was planning on giving the foolish former plumber a piece of her mind and whipping him endlessly because of being a foolish fool filled with foolishness.

“Why would he do that!?” Franziska asked 47 in shock.

“He believed I deserved a second chance, and begged me to live with him and his brother Luigi,” 47 explained. “So I’m living with them.”

“I can’t believe this foolishness!” Franziska said with frustration. “This can’t foolishly be happening!”

She glared at the hitman. “You don’t deserve a second chance after everything you’ve done! Not to mention, you tried to kill us like a foolish murderer fool!” She then noticed 47 holding her whip. “My whip! Hand it back!”

47 dropped the whip on Franziska’s lap. He then walked away while waiting for Franziska to whip him, which would make 47 dodge her attacks.

Franziska stared at him as he exited the bedroom. But 47 stopped and then turned to Franziska. “Sorry for waking you up and attempting to kill you guys. I promised Mario I wouldn’t kill you, him and his brother, and any friends of his. Goodnight.”

After 47 left Franziska’s bedroom, the latter threw her whip against the wall and lay on her bed, deeply sighing at Mario’s foolish decisions and 47 waking her up in the middle of the night.

She was dying to whip the foolish, naive former plumber Mario and couldn't wait to do it tomorrow.

---

The next day arrived, and Mario was in a good mood as he was happily working on things in his police outpost. The door of his outpost suddenly opened, revealing a livid Franziska von Karma who was ready to whip Mario all over his body.

Mario saw her and smiled. “Oh, hello, Franziska!” He greeted her. “How are you doing?”

“YOU FOOLISHLY FOOL FOOLISH FOOOOOOOOL!!!!!” Franziska yelled out.

Mario widened his eyes as he saw the prosecutor raise her whip and start to whip him. The former plumber jumped around in his office as Franziska was trying to strike him with her whip.

Franziska yelled again. “STAND STILL SO I CAN WHIP YOU FOR BEING SO FOOLISH!!!” She demanded him.

“Mama Mia, Franziska, wait! Why are you doing this so suddenly!?” Mario questioned her as he continued to dodge Frazniska’s attacks. “What did I do!?”

“Because of that foolish fool Agent 47!” Franziska told him, still trying to whip Mario. “He foolishly woke me up last night and told me about what you foolishly did! Why on earth would you ever let this foolish man go!? Did you tell him where I live!? Do you have no shame for the foolish decisions you make, you foolish fool!?”

“Franziska, I can explain, as long as you promise not to whip me!” Mario told her as he was still dodging her strikes.

Franziska stopped and then allowed Mario to explain his reason. “Explain.” She demanded him by pointing her finger at him. “And make it make sense.”

“After believing 47 was used by Robotnik, I thought about having him become our friend and have him live with me and Luigi,” Mario explained. “And we wanted to have some protection in case our home gets attacked. And he promised he’ll never kill us again.”

Mario got himself ready in case Franziska was going to try to attack him again.

“Such a foolish decision you made, foolish Mario.” Franziska criticized him. “He’s a loose cannon. The foolish assassin didn’t promise he wouldn’t kill anyone else.”

“You’re right, but I believe we have nothing to worry about!” Mario smiled with confidence.

“So naive of you.” Franziska shook her head. She then sighed. “How can you be so foolishly nice with so much foolishness?”

“I believe in people and I always want to be friendly towards them, as long as they don’t harm me or anyone I care about,” Mario answered with a smile. “And I believe in 47, and you too!”

Franziska responded as she was surprised by Mario believing in her. “M-me? You believe in me?”

“I do!” Mario nodded. “Sure, you might be scary and whip people for a living, but I think you can be a great friend! And, I can see you always fight evil by putting the criminals behind bars!”

Franziska looked down as she tried to fight the blush that was forming. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome!” Mario grinned. He looked at the clock on the wall and looked back at Franziska. “Hey, let’s have a break! Let’s-a go to the park and bond for a bit!” He suggested.

“You want us to bond at the park?” Franziska looked at him.

“Yeah!” Mario nodded. “I would like to get to know more about you, and I can tell you about myself when my brother and I lived in the Mushroom Kingdom!”

Franziska never expected that request. She thought about wanting to know more about the foolish plumber cop, thanks to the weather being nice and not terrible.

“Okay, then let’s bond.” Franziska nodded. “But let’s not make it foolish.”

---

Mario and Franziska were now at the Highfalcon Park together. The two stood behind the tree to get some shade. They noticed some people at the park sitting on benches, walking, exercising, etc.

Being at the park with Franziska reminded Mario of spending time with Princess Peach at the Mushroom Kingdom Park. Those were some fond memories, he thought. Thinking about those memories made him miss her even more.

Franziska also had memories of being at the park with her mother, Margareta von Karma, and her father, Manfred von Karma. Those were good memories, she thought, until she learned the truth about what her father did in the past.

Mario started the conversation with Franziska with an apology as he looked at her.

“I’m-a sorry for getting you angry unintentionally.” Mario apologized

“It’s okay.” Franziska forgave him. She turned her head to him. “And I’m sorry for trying to whip you in your office.”

“Haha it’s-a fine!” Mario said with a smile. “Do you spend time at the park from time to time?”

“Yeah, sometimes,” Franziska replied. “Usually I keep myself alone so I don’t have any foolish fool bother me.”

“Why’s that?”

She looked away. “Because I just do.”

Mario frowned at that, thinking she made her upset again. He hoped this bond wouldn’t become awkward.

Franziska continued, however. “But, only in Highfalcon. Since I’ve only been living here for about a year so far, I haven’t made any friends.” She looked at Mario again. “Until now.”

Mario knew what she meant by that. “So, we’re friends now?”

Franziska rolled her eyes. “Yes, you foolish fool, we’re friends.” She then glared at him and placed her hands on her hips. “You got a problem with that?”

Mario nervously laughed and shook his head. “No, no way!”

Franziska slightly giggled. “It’s okay, I’m just foolishly playing around.” She then cleared her throat. She wanted to ask the question, what started this friendship she’s dealing with now?

“How come you ordered that free drink while we were at Martinet?” She asked as she looked at Mario.

Mario scratched the back of his head as he restrained a blush from forming on his face. “Well, uh, I thought you looked pretty.” The blush came, and Mario hid it with his red hat.

Franziska blinked at his response with some surprise. She didn’t think that would be the reason. So then she wanted to press him about her looks.

“What’s pretty about me?” She asked.

“What you’re wearing right now,” Mario answered, still hiding the blush.

Franziska looked at herself wearing her usual outfit, which she wears all the time. “Anything besides that?”

“You have cute earrings, and the white bow looks nice, as well as your hair.”

Franziska blushed but appreciated Mario’s comments about her appearance. “T-thank you.” She said with a small smile. “You look handsome by the way.”

Then Franziska's eyes shot open at the comment. She started to slightly slap her cheeks. Damn it, Franziska, you foolish woman! Are you making this bond filled with foolishness!?

Mario laughed. “Haha, thank you!” He smiled. He then placed his hat back on.

Franziska decided to quickly change topics. She wanted to know more about Mario. She cleared her throat again.

“If you don’t mind, I remember you and your brother moved here for personal reasons. What happened?”

Mario felt uncomfortable talking about it, but he believed Franziska would show comfort if he ever released a tear. So he decided to talk about it.

“There was a princess I fell in love with and formed a relationship with her. Her name was Princess Peach.” Mario explained. “She was the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom and commanded the Mushroom Kingdom Army. She was murdered.”

Mario looked at Franziska and continued. “My brother and I served in the army during a war known as the Mushroom Kingdom War. There were times I had to rescue Princess Peach from the danger that came from Bowser and his army, who invaded the Mushroom Kingdom. There were also times I had to save Luigi from being held captive. And there were times when I had to grieve with the deaths of my friends Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Waluigi, and...Wario.”

Saying that last name was hard for Mario to say.

Franziska kept on listening to this. She noticed Mario getting emotional when he said the name Wario.

“Were you two close?” She asked.

“Kind of, he raised me and Luigi after he adopted us. I always considered him a close friend, but we never saw eye to eye on things.” Mario explained. “There were times when we had arguments. One of the arguments ended when I punched him in the face and stormed out, but there were times when we apologized and hugged. But then, during the war, he was severely shot in combat.”

---

Three years ago

Mushroom Kingdom

During the Mushroom Kingdom War, at a forest during sunset, Wario got shot by a Koopa Troopa who wielded an AK-47. That one Koopa Troopa had a squad with him, but they were all killed by Wario and Mario. Both were wearing Mushroom Kingdom Army outfits.

Mario fired his Beretta 92FS at the Koopa Troopa endlessly after Wario got shot by him.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Click! Click! Click! Click!

Mario then threw his Beretta at the dead Koopa Troopa’s body out of anger.

“Bastard!” He angrily said.

“Mario!” Wario said his name while in pain. He noticed how much blood he was losing.

“Mama Mia Wario!” Mario came to him. He caught Wario’s body from collapsing and held on to him with his arms. “No, this cannot be happening!” He emotionally said.

“Mario *cough* I, I’m-a sorry for being such an asshole in the past.” Wario apologized to him as blood was coming out of his mouth.

“That was the past, Wario, you don’t need to apologize,” Mario told him. “But regardless, I forgive you.”

Wario then pulled out a pistol from his holster, the AMT AutoMag V. He handed it to Mario. “Take it.”

Mario looked at the gun. “Your gun? Why?”

“Because I trust *cough* I trust you that you’ll take care of it and use it to kill Bowser,” Wario answered as he coughed out blood again. “And, it’ll be in good hands, which are yours. I know we don’t always get along, but I love you, Mario. You’re an amazing man, haha!”

Mario’s tears were released as his hand grabbed the AutoMag V. Wario was close to dying, and Mario noticed. He seriously didn’t want him to go.

“No!” Mario shook his head. “Wario, don’t quit on me!”

“Kill Bowser, Mario,” Wario said, which were his final words to him and life.

More tears out of Mario’s eyes. He closed Wario’s eyes and then stood up as he held the AutoMag V pistol. He formed a crying, angry face and fired the gun out of pure rage at the trees as he yelled.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

“MAMA MIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

---

Mario kept himself together and continued. “Since then, I’ve been using Wario’s gun as my main firearm, and I want to keep his legacy alive.”

“Bowser wanted to spread chaos and wanted all of the Mushroom Kingdom, including the world, and make Princess Peach his queen. The Mushroom Kingdom Army did all they could to push back against Bowser, and we succeeded. Luigi and I were the ones who killed Bowser when we fought against him."

"I shot his eyes out with Wario's AutoMag V, then I shot his head, and his limbs, then Luigi and I tossed him into an inferno that was beneath us. And then finally, Princess Peach was rescued. After the war, my brother and I assisted the Mushroom Kingdom Army in helping the Mushroom Kingdom recover from the war.”

Mario paused because he was getting close to Peach’s tragic death. As Franziska was listening to all of this, she felt absolutely bad for Mario for what he had to go through.

“Two years after the war ended. I was spending time with Princess Peach. We were having a great time, until I got a call from Lupin, telling me that my brother and my best friend, Astolfo, were getting into a bar brawl with Lupin's friends and other customers, all thanks to a poker game. That’s-a story for another time. But Princess Peach and I planned to continue spending time with each other later on.“

Mario cleared his throat and fought the tears. “After Lupin and I arrived at the bar to stop the brawl, all of us went to Princess Peach’s castle to see her, but then my friend Toad was crying when he approached us. He told me Princess Peach was murdered.”

Franziska started to sympathize with Mario for losing someone he loved, as well as losing his friends during the war. She can relate to him because she lost someone too, someone from her family.

Mario kept going. “When all of us arrived at the spot where Princess Peach died, I learned from the Mushroom Kingdom Guards that she was killed by five arrows that went into her body.”

Franziska asked. “Where’s there an investigation?”

“There was, but the investigators had no leads, but that’s not stopping them from finding out who killed her.” Mario sighed. “Some citizens believe this was karma for winning the Mushroom Kingdom War, some believe there were remnants of Bowser’s army being involved in this, or a new threat.”

“It was hard for me to move forward with her gone. There were times when I slept next to her grave, and thoughts of wanting to dig her remains and have her. But my mind decided something else, and that was a fresh start here in Highfalcon with my brother Luigi.”

Franziska believed someone out there targeted Princess Peach and didn’t believe this was some accident. She placed her hand on Mario’s shoulder, showing comfort. This was a very rare time to show her soft side.

Mario smiled at her comfort. “Thank you for listening.”

“You’re welcome,” Franziska replied with a small smile. “I also had to deal with a loss, a loss of a parent. My mother.”

“How?” Mario asked.

“She was killed in a drive-by shooting that was targeted at my father,” Franziska answered. She closed her eyes as that moment became traumatic.

---

Years Ago

Berlin, Germany

Sunny sky above her was a child, Franziska von Karma, who was walking with her mother and father and was heading to the entrance of a carnival in the city of Berlin. Franziska was very happy to spend the time with her parents, but also wished her "little brother", Miles Edgeworth, were there with them.

Franziska looked at her father. “Papa, can I have cotton candy while we’re at the carnival?”

“Of course, Franziska!” Manfred smiled at her. “You can have anything you want!”

“You’re the love of our lives, Franziska!” Her mother, Margareta von Karma, said to her with a smile. “We will always love you!”

“And I will always love you too, mama and papa!” Franziska happily smiled at her parents.

“And dear?” Manfred said to his wife. “We should think about riding on a roller coaster together with Franziska.”

“Yay, roller coasters!” Franziska said with excitement.

But Margareta felt nervous. “I uh, I don’t know-“

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATARATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

The gunfire was coming from a black Audi A8 sedan with three gunmen firing their Mini Uzis at the family of three. Some of the bystanders became collateral damage, and some died from the drive-by shooting.

Manfred felt fear during the shooting and witnessed his daughter, Franziska von Karma, getting shot in the arm in front of him, and to make it worse, he saw his wife, Margareta von Karma, dead as blood came out of her head and abdomen.

“No!” Manfred said as emotional despair came to him as he saw his wife getting killed and his daughter getting shot.

“Papa...” Franziska said his name as she felt pain from the gunshot wound and was releasing tears. “Help me...please.”

---

As Franziska remembered that violent, tragic moment, she shook her head to erase the vision from her mind.

“I was shot, but my fa- Manfred survived,” Franziska told Mario. “That was the first time I got shot, and since then, my biggest fear is dying, all because of Manfred.”

“Um...” Mario wanted to ask, but was hesitant. He believed Franziska wanted to end this bond.

“Why did I call him by his first name? He did something that I’ll never forgive him for. He was a prosecutor. He never lost a case and was undefeated for 40 years.” Franziska explained. "But he was a fraud.”

Mario was surprised as he didn’t expect her to say all of this about her father.

Franziska continued with a glare that looked away from Mario. “He murdered my little brother’s father. He also hired someone to kill a man named Robert Hammond and framed it on my little brother.” Saying all of that made her sick. She hated her father for what he did.

“What’s your little brother’s name?” Mario asked.

“Miles Edgeworth,” Franziska answered. “We’re not technically related, and he’s older than I, but I always view him as some sort of sibling. I call him little brother because Manfred started to take care of him years after I was born. I always enjoyed spending time with him and wanted to make him smile, but then he left. He left after he grew up to focus on his career as a prosecutor. To make a long story short about Manfred, he had an obsession with winning cases, and that’s all he would care about, and he would go far into being selfish just to win.”

Franziska looked at Mario. “After Manfred got arrested for murder and died, my little brother left again, and disappeared suddenly, and that reached my breaking point because I got left behind by him again . I started to become like Manfred by winning cases his way."

Mario noticed something in Franziska; she was suffering from being abandoned. First was her mother getting killed, Miles leaving, then disappearing, and Manfred getting arrested and later dying while in prison. He knew she needed someone to spend time with and later form a friendship or relationship.

Franziska continued. "I blamed one man who caused my little brother to disappear, a man named Phoenix Wight. He’s a defense attorney in Los Angeles. I was close to winning a case against that foolish fool, something Miles Edgeworth wasn't able to do. I wanted to be better than him. That was part of the revenge I made against him for abandoning me the second time.“

“During a case, I was so close to winning against Phoenix since I put in so much hard work into this case. Miles returned to see me defeating him, and that was the chance to fulfill my revenge against my little foolish brother. But then suddenly new evidence came for Phoenix to use to win the case."

"After that, I completely lost it like a foolish fool. I started to attack Phoenix endlessly with my whip as I yelled at him, including his female foolish companion Maya Fay, and the foolish judge who's always foolish, then I stormed out of the courtroom while I slammed my whip on the floor. I wouldn’t be surprised if people filmed what I did and posted it on foolish social media.”

“This was when I started to leave Los Angeles and head back to Berlin, but then my little brother showed up. We talked about what happened, and I started to feel remorse because of what he said to me. That's what motivated me to redeem myself, try to fix the von Karma name, and become better than Manfred, which explains why I’m here in Highfalcon. I have made plans to visit Miles soon and tell him about how I’m doing here in this city, and make peace with him.”

“When your father got arrested, did you visit him?” Mario inquired.

“No.” Franziska shook her head. “He didn’t want to see me, or my older sister, whom I haven’t seen in years. My father never showed true love towards me. He always saw me as an asset for him to use, which was training me to become a prosecutor like him. So good riddance. You might think I don’t mean that, but ask yourself this, Mario. Would you ever miss someone who used you as a tool and never cared about you? No, I don’t think so, unless you're foolishly foolish.”

Franziska continued. “My older sister and I never interacted that much. Most of the time, I never see her. I never made any friends during my childhood. I was always a happy, friendly, and lonely spoiled brat, who later turned into a scary prosecutor lady who whips people, people like Phoenix, the judge, a detective, etc.”

She breathed as she got emotional. “I regret all of that. I don’t regret being a prosecutor, but I regret how I acted in the past. So, I wanted to show redemption and redeem the von Karma name so that people can respect the name and bury its past.”

Mario smiled and gave her a thumbs-up. “And I believe you’re showing it! People know about you saving Highfalcon with us! You’re a hero!”

“I’m aware.” Franziska nodded. “I noticed it in an article from Highfalcon Times. And I think my little brother is aware of it as well.”

She then smiled at Mario. “Thank you, Mario!” She suddenly hugged him.

Mario was surprised by the hug. “Oh, you’re welcome!” He smiled as he hugged her. “But what for?”

“For giving me the opportunity to open up, getting me out of my comfort zone, for being a friend, and for revealing my soft side, which does not happen naturally,” Franziska answered. She and Mario ended the hug.

She continued speaking. “You should think about taking me to the Mushroom Kingdom sometime.” She suggested. “I like to see what the country is like.”

“Aw, yes, of course!” Mario nodded. “I’m-a planning on visiting there sometime next month with Luigi. I told my friend Toad that he and I would visit there every month. And I’ll also think about taking 47, Lupin, and his friends with us, too. So all eight of us can go!”

Franziska rolled her eyes when Mario mentioned 47 and Lupin. “Yeah, the foolish assassin and the foolish thief and his foolish friends.” She said in a dull tone. “Anyway, let’s do this bond again sometime. I’m glad it didn’t go in a foolish direction.”

“Like when you called me ‘handsome’”?” Mario smirked

Franziska formed a dark glare as she blushed. “If you dare to tell any foolish person that I foolishly said that to you and tell anyone that I hugged you, I’ll whip you.”

Mario happily laughed. “You’re secret is safe with me!”

---

From a distance away from the Highfalcon Park, there was a black van with a company name on it. But this van wasn’t just a regular van; it was a spy van.

Inside the van was Agent Stone, who was sitting and looking at a monitor, seeing footage from a drone that was recording Mario and Franziska without their knowledge.

Agent Stone needed to know what exactly Mario looked like, including Franziska. He wanted them to pay for what they did to Robotnik. He also wanted Luigi and Lupin to pay as well.

He couldn’t wait for Robotnik to be recreated. He was looking forward to seeing him again.

Chapter 9: ACT 1 - Chapter 8

Vanessa entered the laboratory in her building and wanted to speak to Oliver and ask him about Robocop.

Some time ago, before Robotnik started his goblin invasion, Oliver was able to get Robocop stolen thanks to some assistance of his own. After Robocop was sent to Vanessa’s hideout while the former was disabled, Vanessa wanted Oliver to reprogram him.

But Vanessa noticed Oliver focusing on Robotnik’s technology. She formed a glare and said his name out loud.

“Oliver!”

Oliver was startled and turned around. “Yes, Ms. Nelson?!” He responded.

Vanessa crossed her arms. “Why are you focusing on Dr. Robotnik’s technology?”

“W-well you told Agent Stone that you would force me to work on recreating him,” Oliver replied while feeling timid.

“Yes, and that was because it was something he wanted to hear,” Vanessa explained. “But my Robocop comes first, so what’s the progress?”

Oliver gulped. He finished the reprogramming, but there was some bad news that the scientist wasn’t ready to tell her.

Vanessa's glare became scary to Oliver. “Answer me!”

“R-Robocop was ready to be used by you, but he got stolen.” Oliver stuttered. He was ready to get punched by his superior.

“STOLEN!?” Vanessa yelled. “Who would do this!?” She approached a large computer in the lab and started typing. She was accessing footage from a camera where Robocop was placed.

From the footage, Vanessa and Oliver noticed Robocop lying on a lab table. Then the two noticed a bald African-American man wearing a suit entering the lab where Robocop was. Vanessa recognized him.

“My god, that’s Marshall Smith!” Vanessa remarked. She saw him picking up Robocop and leaving the lab.

“You know him?” Oliver asked.

“No, but I was introduced to him by Alan Montgomery,” Vanessa replied. She then stomped her foot on the floor. “That man! He sent his henchman to steal my Robocop! How dare he! Wait until I give Alan Montgomery a piece of my mind!"

Vanessa brought her glaring eyes to Oliver. She pointed her finger at him. “And you! Go focus on Dr. Robotnik’s technology! Don’t stop until he has been recreated! Okay!?”

“Y-yes, Ms. Nelson!” Oliver obliged.

---

Inside J. Jonah Jameson’s office, Luigi sat down across the former’s desk as he observed the pictures. Jameson became impressed.

“Wow, Luigi! You’re giving me zero crap pictures every day!” Jameson complimented him. “Are you on drugs, Luigi!? How are you able to be so damn good at taking pictures!?”

“Uhh-“

“Don’t answer! You’re too good to answer questions! That’ll be all!”

Luigi swallowed. “Um, boss, may I make a request?”

Jameson looked at him. “A request? You’re not quitting on me, are you!? If you are, I’ll toss you out the window and see if you’re Spider-Man! What is it?!”

“Um, I would like a raise, please.” Luigi nervously told him. He didn’t know how Jameson was going to respond.

“A raise?” Jameson asked. “You’re requesting me to give you a raise in my office?! Okay, I’ll bite, how much?”

Luigi gulped and answered. “800 dollars.” He then nervously smiled and laughed.

Jameson stared at him as Luigi told him he wanted an 800-dollar raise.

He started to laugh. “Hahahahahahahahahahahah!” He looked at Luigi and started to laugh. “Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!” He ended his laugh and said. “You serious?”

Luigi started to sweat. He thought that this might be his last day here. “Yeah.”

Jameson said nothing and continued to stare at Mario’s brother.

“........”

“........”

“........”

“........”

---

CRASH!!!!

Luigi got tossed out of Jameson’s office as the latter picked him up and threw him out of his office, crashing through the door, which completely broke the door hinges, causing the door to collapse. He was slowly getting up after he landed on the floor in the hallway outside of Jameson’s office corridor.

Jameson marched out of his office with a glare, looking at Luigi. “Get out and stay out! And don’t be late tomorrow!”

With that, Jameson walked back to his office and slammed the door shut, but after he did that, his door hinges broke and the door fell onto the floor.

Jameson saw his door collapsing as his jaw opened with shock. “Are you kidding me?”

---

Now outside, Luigi walks down the parking lot to his 1934 Chrysler Airflow.

“Thank-a god I didn’t get fired,” Luigi said to him. “Or tossed out of the window.” He shuddered after that thought.

He stopped walking as he spotted something strange in the Highfalcon Times parking lot. It wasn’t a human; it was a male cyborg who was walking around the parking lot.

Alex Murphy, also known as Robocop.

Luigi couldn’t tell if Robocop belonged to Robotnik since his brother never talked about him. He hoped he didn’t work for the evil, crazy doctor. Mario’s brother believed Robocop looked very intimidating.

Luigi decided to take a risk and approach Robocop. He was nervous, but again he wanted to take a risk.

As Luigi approached Robocop, he greeted him. “Hello.” He waved with a small smile.

Robocop stared at Luigi and replied. “Hello, citizen.” He responded.

“Uh, what are you doing here?” Luigi asked.

“I became activated and found myself at an alley one mile away from this location,” Robocop responded.

“Not to be rude, but are you lost?” Luigi asked. “Are you trying to find your creator?”

“I’ve been trying to find out who I am,” Robocop told him. “When I became enabled, I monitored this city and detected the name ‘Highfalcon’ in the state of New York. So I have programmed myself to find my origins.”

Because Robocop was stolen by Oliver and his helpers, Robocop has been reprogrammed and his history erased. For now, however. The Highfalcon PD added a recovery feature for Robocop in case he ever got reprogrammed.

Luigi felt bad for Robocop not finding out about his original creator, but tossed those feelings away and decided to keep Robocop and become friends with him.

“Why don’t you come live with me?” Luigi requested him with a smile.

“Live with you?” Robocop asked. “We just met.”

“Yeah, we did! We can become friends!”

“Friends?”

“Yep! You and I are going to become friends! Walk with me to my car! I want you to meet my brother! His name is Mario!”

“What’s your name?” Robocop questioned.

“I’m Luigi!” He smiled. “And yours?”

“I don’t have one,” Robocop answered. “For now.”

“How about I call you RoboCyborg?”

“Sure.”

---

Mario sat at his desk in his police outpost office, talking to Chief Inspector Clouseau on the phone.

“Chief Inspector Clouseau, have you spotted Anthony Leone?” Mario inquired.

The Highfalcon PD issued an arrest warrant for mafia boss Anthony Leone for weapon trafficking, as well as drug trafficking and being connected to murders.

Clouseau responded. “Not yet, Monsieur Mario. I have not spotted Monsieur Anthony Leone yet. Wait! He’s coming out of the building he’s in! ”

Mario got himself ready to head out. “Okey dokey! I’m-a on my way! Thank you, Chief Inspector Clouseau!” He then hung up and was about to leave, only to spot his brother and Robocop entering his office.

Luigi greeted him with a smile. “Hey, Mario! Look what I’ve found!”

Mario reacted in shock as he saw Luigi with Robocop. “Mama Mia Luigi, you found Robocop! Where and how!?”

“Robocop? I named him RoboCyborg. I spotted him moving around in the Highfalcon Times parking lot.” Luigi explained. He smiled at Robocop as he looked at him.

“RoboCyborg, say hello to my brother Mario!”

Robocop stared at Mario and scanned him. “Scanning.” After the scanning, he said, “Mario, member of Highfalcon PD and former plumber. I am RoboCyborg. I have been programmed to find my origins and live with your brother Luigi.”

Luigi grinned at Mario. “Mario, what do you say!?”

Mama Mia, Luigi, what have you done?! Mario didn’t forget about Robocop being a missing member of the Highfalcon PD. He wanted to tell Chief Larvell Jones about it, but he wanted to handle this himself.

He wanted to tell Luigi about Robocop, but he knew he had to get going and was in a hurry to arrest Anthony Leone. “Luigi, let’s discuss this later, okay? We need to leave.”

“Leave? Where?” Luigi asked.

“We need to work together to arrest a mafia boss,” Mario told him. “Let’s-a go!”

---

Now, outside, on a sidewalk, Mario, Luigi, and Robocop drove to their destination in record time to show up.

Mario learned from Clouseau, as he called him, telling him that Anthony was still at the spot where he was spotted talking to some of his mafia members and had not left yet, but would soon.

Mario began speaking to Luigi about the plan to arrest Anthony Leone.

“Okey dokey, Luigi, you and Robocop-”

“RoboCyborg.” Luigi “corrected” him.

“RoboCyborg,” Mario said with small irritation. Mama Mia. “You two stay here and pretend to be bystanders. Your car will be used in case Anthony’s men crash into it.” He explained to him.

“Pardon me,” Robocop replied. “Are you sure you don’t want our help to arrest Anthony Leone? And are you sure you want to sacrifice Luigi’s vehicle?”

Luigi reassured him. “It’s-a okay RoboCyborg! My car is a hunk of junk. Sometimes it breaks down on me.”

“I’ll go there by myself because this could get messy,” Mario told them.

“Wait, Mario, why not deputize 47 or Franziska or Lupin, including his friends!?” Luigi asked him, feeling worried for his brother’s safety.

“I have to go, Luigi. I have no time to contact them!” Mario told him. He then left and walked down the sidewalk at a fast pace.

---

Anthony Leone, a middle-aged White male, wearing a white suit, and with blonde long hair, was entering his limo with his mafia bodyguards who were wearing gray gangster suits. They were entering a black limo.

The limo driver was about to leave, but just in time, Mario and a SWAT team with him surrounded them as they ambushed them all with SWAT vans.

Mario aimed his AMT AutoMag V pistol at the mafia members while the Highfalcon PD SWAT team aimed their Heckler & Koch G36Ks at them.

The SWAT members started to yell at them and demanded that they exit the limo. The limo driver pressed his foot on the gas to escape, but got shot in the head by Mario.

The mafia men all got out and started to open fire on the police and Mario.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

Everyone in the shoot-out took cover. Anthony Leone wielded an AK-47, while some of his men wielded the same assault rifle, while some wielded Micro Uzis.

Mario used a SWAT van as cover and returned fire against Anthony and his men.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Bullets ricochet around the street where the shooting was taking place. Mario was the only one in the shoot-out who showed no fear since he’d been put into something like this during the Mushroom Kingdom War.

One SWAT member got shot and died, and another one also died. Some of Anthony’s men also got shot and died during the shooting. One of them opened the limo’s trunk, pulled out some AK-47s, and handed them to the alive mafia members, encouraging them to use the assault rifles as an advantage.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

Now this became a struggling gunfight for the Highfalcon PD SWAT team as the remaining mafia men were firing their AK-47s at the police and Mario. Anthony started to duel-wield the AK-47s.

“Mama Mia,” Mario said to himself. “Maybe I should’ve contacted 47, Franziska, Lupin, and his friends for assistance.”

As Anthony and his men were winning and killing the SWAT members flawlessly. Anthony started to approach the SWAT van where Mario was.

“We got one more left to kill.” He remarked with a grin.

BANG!

He stopped moving as he gasped and heard the gunshot go off, and heard a painful cry from one of his men.

Anthony quickly turned around and saw his subordinate gangster getting shot by none other than Robocop, who was wielding a Beretta 92FS.

Robocop, along with Luigi, who also wielded a Beretta, started to shoot the remaining mafia members.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Anthony was shocked to see Robocop being found after being missing and killing his men with Mario’s brother without struggling.

Mario raised and aimed his AutoMag V at Anthony. “Drop your guns, Anthony Leone!”

Anthony glared and quickly turned around and attempted to fire his AK-47s at Mario, but was too late as the latter shot him in the heart.

BANG!

He fell on the ground as he dropped his assault rifles and was dead.

“Take-a that!” Mario smiled. He saw his brother and Robocop approaching him.

“Mario!” Luigi said his name. “We heard gunshots, so we arrived to help you! Don’t ever go alone like that, okay!?”

“Can’t make any promises, Luigi,” Mario told him.

---

As the police and the paramedics arrived at the scene where the gunfight took place, Luigi took pictures of everything that was happening, as well as answering questions regarding the shooting. He and his brother began discussing Robocop with each other.

Mario thought it wouldn’t be a good idea for Luigi to keep something that didn’t belong to him. He told his brother that Robocop belonged to the Highfalcon PD, which annoyed Luigi. Robocop was with the Mario Brothers as they spoke.

Luigi was shocked and upset about what Mario said to him regarding Robocop. “What do you mean I can’t keep him?! You’re not in charge of the Highfalcon PD!”

Mario sighed. He didn’t want to argue with his brother but had no choice. He hoped Luigi would understand and come around.

“Luigi, Robocop was missing, and I found out about it on my first day. I’m-a just not comfortable with you having something that doesn’t belong to you.” Mario told him.

Robocop stepped in. “Excuse me?” He said to Mario. “Did you say I’m from the Highfalcon PD?”

Mario looked at him and nodded. “Yes, that is correct, your real name is Alex Murphy, also known as Robocop.”

“No, he’s wrong, RoboCyborg!” Luigi snapped as he shook his arms around. “It’s-a all lies!

“Mama Mia Luigi!” Mario shouted. “Don’t-a take advantage of Robocop-“

“ROBOCYBORG!”

“WHATEVER! Don’t-a take advantage of his amnesiac state!”

“Who cares! Finders keepers, losers weepers!” Luigi glared as he argued. “Highfalcon PD can find a replacement!”

Mario glared back. “That’s-a it, Luigi! You’re not keeping him!” He retorted. “I’m-a telling Chief Larvell Jones about you're doing!”

“Why you!” Luigi clenched his fists. “Oh, that’s-a it you plumbing toilet!” He grabbed the front edge of his brother’s hat and covered his eyes with it, then stretched out his mustache and released, causing Mario to land his butt on the ground.

“Robocop!” Luigi said his name. “You are no longer programmed to be with this stupid Highfalcon PD! Only me, no one else!”

“Okay, whatever you say,” Robocop replied.

Mario fixed his hat and mustache and angrily looked at his brother. “Luigi!” He said his name out loud.

Luigi ignored him as he walked away from his brother with Robocop.

Mario sighed and shook his head. “Luigi.” He said quietly. He was worried about his brother and was worried about getting arrested by the Highfalcon PD for refusing to return Robocop to them. He just hoped that would never happen.

“Chief Larvell Jones, where are you when I need you?”

As Robocop walked with Luigi, he slowly started to remember who he was since Mario said his real name was Alex Murphy, and he was involved with the Highfalcon PD.

Unbeknownst to Luigi, Robocop was getting close to remembering.

---

Alan Montgomery was inside the living room penthouse of his building and stood in front of the large window of the penthouse, which overlooked the nighttime city of Highfalcon. Behind him were stairs that led to the bedrooms, a bathroom, a door that led to the stairwell, and a hallway that led to the elevator.

He was reading a news article on his phone, which was about the shooting between Highfalcon PD and Anthony Leone’s mafia group.

He then reacted when he spotted a picture of the Mario Brothers and Robocop, who were involved in the shooting. He didn’t expect this but wasn’t worried. He also thought it was funny to see Robocop being called RoboCyborg by Luigi.

“Wow, I wonder how she’s going to react to this,” Alan said, referring to Vanessa Nelson.

“ALAN MONTGOMERY, WHERE ARE YOU!?!?!?!”

Speak of the devil.

Vanessa stomped her boots as she angrily walked down the penthouse hallway to confront Alan. Behind her was Marshall, along with security who were dressed in dark camouflage outfits with body armor vests on their chests and were wearing shades. They also had Glock 18s in their holsters.

Marshall tried to restrain Vanessa, but was pushed away by her. “I’m sorry, Alan!” He apologized as he looked at him from above the railing of the penthouse. “She’s nuts!”

“I’m aware, Marshall,” Alan replied. He looked at his guards. “Go!” He told them. “Marshall, you stay.” He told him.

The guards obliged and left the penthouse.

After they left, Vanessa started her confrontation as she walked down the steps with Marshall following suit. “How dare you send this man to steal my Robocop!”

Alan displayed an image on his phone from the article and showed Vanessa the image of Robocop and the Mario Brothers. “You mean this Robocop? Or RoboCyborg?”

Vanessa looked at the image. “Yes, Robocop, duh!” She glared at Alan. “Why!? Why would you steal him and send him to the Mario Brothers of all people!?”

“You seriously think I told Marshall to send Robocop to the Mario Brothers?” Alan laughed. “Ha! I wasn’t even thinking about them! I sent him to steal Robocop and place him somewhere in the city and turn him on without getting spotted. I wanted to sabotage you. Is that all?”

“No! I demand you to give me Robocop!” Vanessa demanded.

Alan held his laugh. The way she was acting to him made him believe Vanessa was a female Dr. Robotnik.

Vanessa noticed Alan trying not to laugh. “What’s so funny!?”

“You, the way you’re acting, makes me view you as Robotnik’s long-lost daughter.” Alan chuckled.

“I’m not going to demand you again! Give me back Robocop!” Vanessa told him.

“I will, but on one condition,” Alan said.

“What condition?” Vanessa questioned.

“Give me Robotnik’s technology that you have,” Alan answered. “That’s the only way to give you back Robocop, and I’ll hand you 20 million dollars as an apology.”

“But Agent Stone-“

“I don’t care what Agent Stone says. He’s not Robotnik and never will be. If you dare to tell him about this, I will kill you and Agent Stone.”

Vanessa felt intimidated. She felt Marshall’s eyes from behind looking right at her soul. She breathed and responded.

“Okay, this didn’t happen.” She told him.

Alan nodded. “Good. Now get out of my sight.”

Marshall then escorted Vanessa out of the Montgomery Industries building. As she left and was away from Marshall, Vanessa formed an evil smile on her face. She couldn’t wait for Oliver to finish recreating Dr. Ivo Robotnik and getting Alan killed for being untrustworthy.

---

Mario sat at his desk in his police outpost and wasn’t ready to go home yet, as he kept thinking about his argument with his brother earlier. He thought about calling him and talking it out. He started to call him.

When Luigi picked up, Mario spoke. “Hello, Luigi. About earlier-“

....................................................

Mario slammed his hand on his desk and yelled. “MAMA MIA LUIGI HE’S CALLED ROBOCOP!!!!!”

....................................................

“FINE!!! GO HAVE FUN WITH HIM!!!!” He then angrily hung up. He crossed his arms and started to angrily mumble.

“Grrr, he’s not called RoboCyborg, he's called Robocop.”

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Mario hummed as he turned his head to the door that was knocked on and was surprised and happy to see Astolfo outside wearing his casual clothes. Mario opened the door.

Astolfo nervously laughed as he greeted Mario. “Haha, hey Mario! Is this a bad time?”

Mario blinked and felt embarrassed. He didn’t expect to see Astolfo here at his police outpost. But he was glad because this was his best friend. “N-no not at all! Come in!”

Astolfo entered as Mario closed the door.

“What are you doing here?" Mario asked. "Is everything okay in the Mushroom Kingdom?”

“Yeah, everything is a-okay!” Astolfo smiled. “I’m here just to check in on you and Luigi and see if you guys are doing okay, but I guess not? What's going on?”

"Luigi and I argued earlier,” Mario told him.

“About what?” Astolfo asked with concern.

“Luigi found this cyborg named Robocop, whose real name is Alex Murphy.” Mario then went on to explain how Luigi discovered Robocop.

“I heard about him,” Astolfo told him. “I saw missing posters around, and read an article about a shooting earlier. You, your brother, and Robocop were there. Or I guess ‘RoboCyborg’ as Luigi calls him.’

“Astolfo, I think my brother is in danger,” Mario said with worry.

Astolfo became concerned. “What do you mean?”

“Robocop doesn’t belong to him; he belongs to Highfalcon PD. He’s-a taking advantage of him. I just hope this doesn’t escalate and get him arrested.” Mario explained.

“There’s no need to worry, Mario!” Astolfo told him with a confident smile. “Leave it to me to talk some sense into your brother!”

Mario smiled. He felt grateful for meeting Astolfo. He hoped he could get through to Luigi. “Astolfo, thank you. Come live with us. My brother and I miss you.”

“Really?!” Astolfo smiled in excitement. “You want me to live with you guys!?”

“Yes-”

Astolfo hugged him and grinned. “Wow, thank you, Mario! We get to be housemates!”

Mario hugged him back and replied. “Not just us, but another person!”

Astolfo ended the hug. “Another person?”

“Yep! His name is Agent 47, he’s uh, very intimidating. But he’s a nice guy!”

“Cool, can’t wait to meet him!” Astolfo smiled, looking forward to meeting 47.

“And Lupin the 3rd and his friends are our neighbors who live next door to us!” Mario grinned.

Astolfo’s smile went away. “Oh, haha, so that means, Jigen and Goemon are gonna be our next-door neighbors.”

“Yep!” Mario smiled. He began talking about him and Luigi reuniting with Lupin and his friends. “But don’t-a worry, Jigen told Luigi that he moved on from what happened, so all is forgiven!”

“Okay, I hope so.” Astolfo hoped. His smile came back. “Looking forward to becoming friends with this Agent 47 guy. So Mario, let’s-a go?”

“Yes! Let’s-a go, Astolfo! Waahoo!” Mario grinned as he and Astolfo exited the police outpost and called it a night.

Chapter 10: ACT 1 - Chapter 9

Inside the Martinet restaurant & bar, Mario and Astolfo were sitting at a table and talking about what’s been going on recently. They started to talk about living in Highfalcon as well as what’s been happening at the Mushroom Kingdom.

“How’s Toad been doing?” Mario asked Astolfo.

“He’s doing alright, but I could tell he’s worried about you and Luigi,” Astolfo explained. “He misses you both.”

“So do I.” Mario nodded, missing his friend Toad. “I’ll-a need to contact him soon. Tell him everything is going okay here.”

“Are you two enjoying living here?” Astolfo asked.

“We are!” Mario nodded again, but with a smile. “Luigi and I became friends with a prosecutor named Franziska von Karma! She’s brave, cool, scary, and funny!”

“'Scary and funny'? What’s scary and funny about her?”

“She usually holds a whip, and when she gets annoyed by someone, she whips them, and he also says fool or foolish a lot haha!” Mario explained with a laugh. “She thanked me for giving her the chance to open up and getting her out of her comfort zone after we saved the city from getting invaded. It’s a long story, but sometime after the invasion, we bonded at the park. She also wanted me to take her to the Mushroom Kingdom someday.”

“Wow!” Astolfo smiled. He then formed a smirk. “Sounds like she’s about to become your girlfriend.”

Mario blushed and covered his cheeks with his hat. “Mama Mia, she’s not going to be my girlfriend!”

Astolfo giggled. “Oh, sure. The blush says otherwise.”

“Well, she did call me handsome and hugged me-AH!” Mario covered his face with his hat. He hoped Franziska wouldn't find out that he told Astolfo about Franziska calling him handsome and hugging him.

“Oooooooooooh!” Astolfo reacted. “Yep, you two should go on a date!” He laughed.

“Enough!” Mario begged him. “Change of topic.” He cleared his throat. He placed his hat back on. “Luigi and I made another friend, Agent 47.”

“He’s the one we tried to meet last night when we arrived at your home, right?” Astolfo wondered. “The one who had the basement door locked?”

When Mario and Astolfo arrived at the home, the former tried to introduce 47 to Astolfo, but weren't able to since the door that led to the basement where 47 conducted his assassination business was locked, meaning that he did not want to be disturbed. Mario called it “47’s Cave”.

Mario was also planning on seeing Luigi and Robocop and having them meet Astolfo, but they were not at home. Mario found a note from Luigi that said he was staying at a hotel for the night with Robocop.

“Yeah, that’s him,” Mario confirmed. “Since he’s always frowning, I thought about making him laugh. I kept trying, but I kept failing. My latest attempt was having him and I watch a sitcom.”

---

FLASHBACK

Inside the living room of the Mario Brothers house, Mario was sitting next to Agent 47 on the couch, and together they were watching a sitcom. Mario wanted 47 to be entertained and watch something that would possibly make him laugh.

As Mario was watching, he started to laugh when one of the characters said something funny. He began laughing when the laugh track went off.

“Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!” Mario laughed. He looked at 47 to see if he was holding his laugh, but nothing.

Zero emotion was on 47’s face as he looked at Mario. He believed this was Mario's final attempt to make him laugh.

Mario stopped laughing and frowned as he placed his elbow on the couch arm and placed his hand on his cheek as he stared at the TV.

---

“I tried, but I guess I won’t be making him laugh." Mario sighed, giving up.

“Maybe I can try to make him laugh!” Astolfo grinned. “I mean, who doesn’t love to laugh!?”

“Astolfo, I don’t-a think it’s a big deal,” Mario told him.

“Nah, I won’t stop until he laughs!” Astolfo declared with a confident smile. “Just watch, this scary assassin Agent 47 will make history when he laughs!”

Mario thought Astolfo was getting cocky. “Good luck, I guess.”

“Thanks! Maybe I can have Luigi help me with this. Oh, wait, that reminds me! He’s probably back home by now with Robocop! We should go see!” He got up, grabbed Mario’s wrist, and sprinted out of Martinet “Let’s-a go Mario!”

“Mama Mia, slow down, Astolfo!” Mario told him as he was being dragged out of the restaurant.

As they left, they didn’t know someone was watching them inside the restaurant & bar from a distance.

Marshall Smith. He recorded their conversation with a hidden camera and microphone.

---

Franziska exited the courthouse after a case and entered her limo. After she entered, the limo drove away from the courthouse building.

Franziska looked at her phone and then looked out the window. She was looking forward to seeing Mario and bonding with him again. She honestly enjoyed it as she shared her past with the former plumber, who was always foolishly naive and foolishly positive all the time. But that’s what she likes about him.

She was happy that she opened up to him and knew one day she'd have to let it all out by crying on his shoulder, as she knew she had almost cried during the bond with Mario. It wouldn't be the first time she cried. She remembered crying in front of Miles Edgeworth when she was departing from Los Angeles.

During the drive, the female prosecutor started to get suspicious as she noticed she was going to a different part of the city that she had never been to before. Franziska glared at the driver and spoke loudly.

“Foolish driver! Where are you taking me!?” She questioned, demanding the driver to respond. But no answer came.

“Answer me!” Franziska demanded. She was still being ignored.

The limo arrived at a warehouse and stopped. Franziska looked out the window and gasped as she noticed where she was. She didn’t understand what was going on. She heard the driver’s door opening and closing. The prosecutor held a firm grip on her whip and was ready to whip anyone who was going to cause her harm or make sexual intentions towards her.

Her door opened, revealing someone she had never seen before. It was Master Chief.

Franziska glared at him and was about to speak, but Master Chief beat her to it.

“Prosecutor Franziska von Karma?” Master Chief questioned as he looked at her.

“Yes!” Franziska responded with her glare. "Who are you?"

“Step out of the limo.” Master Chief told her.

Franziska refused, and in response, she started to whip Master Chief. This wasn’t enough to fight him off, as Master Chief grabbed the prosecutor and tossed her out of the limo, making her let out a yelp as she landed hard on the ground. She started to moan after she was violently grabbed and tossed out of her limo.

“What kind of prosecutor carries a whip?”

Franziska heard the voice as he raised her body, and her eyes saw John Wick approaching her. Her mouth opened as she saw him. She had heard of John Wick before.

“Not to insult you,” John said to her. “Are you a prosecutor, someone from the circus, or some dominatrix?”

“What is this!?” Franziska glared at him. “And what kind of foolish questions are those coming from a foolish killer!?”

Master Chief answered her. “We’re taking you somewhere.”

“It’s gonna be a harmless trip,” John told her.

Master Chief pulled out a tranquilizer. “Stand still.” He quickly pulled the trigger of the tranquilizer.

The tranquilizer dart landed on Franziska’s neck. She gasped as she felt the dart, then lost consciousness as her vision went black as she lay on the ground.

---

Back at the table where Marshall was sitting in Martinet, his phone vibrated. He grabbed it and saw a text message from John Wick.

“We got Franziska. Anyone next?”

Marshall responded, sending him a picture of Astolfo who was with Mario, and telling him to capture him, including Luigi and Mario, and capture Robocop.

Originally, Alan was going to kill the Mario Brothers and Franziska to gain Agent Stone’s trust, but his plans have changed. Since Luigi found Robocop, which wasn’t intended to happen, Alan wanted to kidnap the Mario Brothers and their two friends. Then demand the brothers to hand over Robocop to him. Alan already made plans if refusal were to happen.

But there was another person, Alan wasn’t aware of who was also a friend of the Mario Brothers, and that was Agent 47. He was aware of the charges being dropped on him, but he believed he had left Highfalcon and gone into hiding.

He was also aware of Lupin the 3rd, but he had no intention to kill him and his friends since he believed they wouldn’t be in the way, despite Agent Stone wanting Lupin dead.

The next phase of the plan was to set up a meeting with Vanessa and hand Robocop to her, and have all of Dr. Robotnik’s technology that's in Highfalcon.

---

Alan was in his office, standing while looking out the window, staring at the skyscrapers in the city. His phone vibrated and he answered.

“Yes?”

“It’s Marshall. Master Chief and John Wick captured Franziska von Karma.”

“Perfect.” Alan smiled with a nod.

“But I also told them to capture another friend of the Mario Brothers, someone named Astolfo. He and Mario are heading to a house owned by the Mario Brothers.”

“Excellent!” Alan grinned. “Multiple birds will be killed with one stone.”

---

Mario and Astolfo entered the Mario Brothers house and went to the living room. They both saw Luigi and Robocop. Astolfo grinned and ran towards Luigi and hugged him.

“LUIGI!” Astolfo yelled out in excitement. “It’s so good to see you!”

“It’s good to see you too, Astolfo!” Luigi hugged him back with a smile. He was very happy to see him. “What are you doing here?”

Astolfo ended the hug and answered. “I met with Mario last night at his police office, and he wanted me to live with you guys. He also told me about you finding someone named Robocop.”

Luigi wanted to “correct” him about the name, but thought it wasn’t worth it right now, so instead he nodded with a frown as he looked at Mario. “Right.”

“Hello, Luigi.” Mario nodded at him. “And hello, Robocop.”

“Hello, Mario,” Robocop responded.

Luigi glared at Mario. “How many times do I have to tell you, Mario? His name is-”

Astolfo stepped in. “Luigi, I don’t want you to have your relationship with your brother ruined because of Robocop.”

“His name is RoboCyborg Astolfo,” Luigi told him. He restrained himself from snapping at him because he always believed that Astolfo was too precious to yell at. Luigi always viewed Astolfo as an adorable femboy he loved so much.

Mario’s brother continued. “RoboCyborg is not ruining my relationship with my brother.” He told him. “It’s-a just Mario being stubborn.”

Mario was about to argue again with his brother as he clenched his fists with a glare. “Luigi!”

The start of the argument stopped as a door from the basement opened, revealing 47. He ignored the people in the living room as he walked by them.

Astolfo smiled and quickly approached the assassin and stood in front of him, blocking his way.

“Hi!” He greeted him. “I’m Astolfo! You must be the intimidating assassin Agent 47, right?!”

“Yes, just 47 will do.” 47 replied. He tried to walk around Astolfo but got blocked by him.

“Mario told me you frown a lot and you don’t laugh,” Astolfo remarked. “But he also told me you’re a nice guy.”

“He has, huh?” 47 responded as he turned his head to Mario, who gulped nervously and laughed.

“Yeah!” Astolfo nodded with a smile. “Time for you to laugh! Here’s a joke!”

“Another time. I have to get going.” 47 told him. He tried to walk around Astolfo again, but was blocked once again.

“Where? The bathroom? That can wait! Here’s the joke!” Astolfo cleared his throat.

Everyone in the living room was paying attention to Astolfo’s joke. Mario was glad that 47 appeared so that the argument between him and Luigi wouldn’t happen in front of their best friend, Astolfo.

Astolfo began the joke. “Okay! How do you pronounce come without the e and replacing the o?”

Mario facepalmed with his hand on his hip. He knew where this joke was leading to. Luigi noticed Mario’s reaction and tried to figure it out. Robocop just stood listening to the joke.

47 responded as he raised a brow. “Cam?”

“Hahaha! No, silly!” Astolfo laughed as he patted 47’s shoulder. “Cum!” He kept on laughing.

Luigi laughed hysterically as he pounded the couch with his fist. He didn’t think come and cum had the same pronunciation.

Mario sighed as he kept facepalming and shook his head.

Robocop wasn’t laughing as he thought the joke was cheesy.

Astolfo continued to laugh but stopped when he noticed 47’s emotionless reaction. He then covered his face with his hands as he felt his face turning red. His eyes looked at the assassin.

“Please laugh!” He begged him.

“...Ha ha ha.” 47 responded. “Are we done here?”

Astolfo sadly sighed and looked down as he slumped his shoulders. “Yeah.”

With that, 47 walked away and went upstairs. Astolfo stared at everyone. “Well, I made him laugh, kind of.”

Luigi calmed himself down from laughing. “Good attempt, Astolfo. Anyway, RoboCyborg and I are leaving.”

“But, but we just got here!” Astolfo told him, not wanting Luigi to leave. “Let us spend time with you!”

“I would like to do that, but Mario is here to make things awkward. Bye!” With that, Luigi and Robocop left the house.

Mario deeply sighed as he shook his head with his hands on his hips.

47 walked down the stairs and was about to head back to the basement, only for him to be stopped by Astolfo again.

“Hey, 47! Tell me some cool assassination stories- AAAAAAH!”

47 swiped Astolfo out of the way and entered the basement.

---

Luigi and Robocop were walking down the sidewalk in the city streets. Luigi began ranting about Mario.

“I don’t-a know why Mario can’t just let this go and deal with me having you and calling you RoboCyborg!” He ranted. “I mean, doesn’t he know I’m not a child!?”

Robocop stopped walking and looked at Luigi.

“Luigi, I’m not RoboCyborg.” He told him. “My name is Alex Murphy, also known as Robocop.”

With a shocked reaction, Luigi looked at Robocop. “No!” He replied. “Are you crazy!? You’re siding with him all of a sudden!?”

“My programming is recovering my memories of who I am,” Robocop told him. “But there’s more work to be done, such as my past, and where the name Robocop came from.”

Luigi started to get emotional. “But...”

“There is no need for you to cry, Luigi,” Robocop reassured him. “We can still be friends.”

That made Luigi let out a sigh of relief. He knew it would be better to end the name RoboCyborg and call him Robocop. Maybe one day he will call him Alex. This motivated him to apologize to Mario.

“Okay.” Luigi nodded with a smile.

The two continued to walk, but suddenly, they got ambushed.

A black limo drove past them. Master Chief leaned out the window and aimed a futuristic EMP weapon at Robocop. Luigi tried to grab Robocop, but was too late as the EMP projectile got onto Robocop, causing him to be disabled and fall.

Luigi became scared as the limo stopped and felt intimidated when the people in it got out. He saw Master Chief picking up Robocop and putting him in the trunk. He then saw John Wick, who was walking towards Mario's brother.

“Come with us,” John told him.

“AAAAAAH Stay away!” Luigi yelled out. He started to run, causing John to chase him.

---

Back inside the house, in the living room. Mario sat on the couch, feeling worried about his brother. Astolfo, behind him, spoke.

“I have an idea, Mario!” Astolfo smiled.

“What’s that, Astolfo?” Mario asked in a dull tone. He didn’t know what to do with Luigi’s stubbornness.

“We’ll tie Luigi up and send Robocop back to the police!”

“That’ll just make things worse,” Mario responded as he sighed.

Astolfo frowned. Not because of the idea being rejected, but because of how Mario was feeling.

The front door suddenly opened, revealing a panicked Luigi. He sprinted all the way to the house and panted.

He looked at his brother. “Mario! You were right! I shouldn’t have kept Robocop! A futuristic soldier tossed Robocop in the trunk of a limo, and some guy in a suit started to chase me!”

Luigi grabbed Mario’s clothes, shook him around, and started to yell. “I SAW THEM, MARIO! THEY WANTED ME TO COME WITH THEM AND KILL ME!”

“Mama Mia, Luigi, relax!” Mario replied out loud to him. He then looked out the window. “I don’t see anybody. Let me get 47 to help us out and-“

CRASH!!!

Crashing from the ceiling was John Wick. He saw all three of them in front of him.

“All three of you are coming with me,” John told them. “Don’t make this ugly.”

Astolfo glared and replied. “Oh, it will get ugly!” He performed a battle cry to attack John Wick, only for him to get grabbed and tossed against the wall.

Mario performed a jump and tried to body slam him, but John gave him violent punches around his abdomen and his face, then kicked his body against a dining table. He then picked him up and slammed him to the floor. Then he picked him up again by grabbing Mario’s ankle and swung him around in the living room, and tossed him out the window of the house.

Luigi got on top of John and attacked his face. John was trying to fight back, but with Luigi’s wild attacks, John lured Luigi outside towards Master Chief, who grabbed Luigi off of John and knocked him out. He then tossed him into the black limo.

Astolfo was regaining consciousness as he stepped out of the house, but was later knocked out by John Wick, who kicked him in the face. He dragged his body out of the house.

Master Chief and John Wick placed Luigi and Astolfo inside the limo and escaped after they entered.

What the two didn’t know was that they were being watched by Lupin the 3rd, Daisuke Jigen, Goemon Ishikawa XIII, and Ami Enan.

Inside the living room of the Lupin house, Jigen spoke. “What the hell just happened?”

“And was that John Wick with a soldier from the future?” Lupin asked.

“Look!” Goemon said to them. “It’s that guy Mario befriended.”

They all saw Agent 47 exiting the house and saw the tire marks on the road in the neighborhood.

47 was in the basement when the chaos happened. He exited and noticed the mess in the living room and the broken ceiling and window.

Then, just in time, from a distance away, he gained a visual of the black limo driving down the street. At first, the hitman thought a bunch of nonsense that he didn’t want to be involved in was happening, but this was something serious that he needed to fix.

But not alone, though. 47 spotted Lupin and his friends, who all came out of their house.

Jigen was the first to speak. “You’re Mario's new friend. 4 7?”

“Close, it’s 47.” He told him.

“Where were you when it happened?” Goemon questioned.

“In the basement of the house.” 47 answered. “I heard the commotion and thought at first it was just immature things going on, but it wasn’t.”

“We saw the black limo driving away,” Lupin mentioned to him. He looked at Ami. “Amy, can you access the CCTVs in the city?”

“It’s Ami, and yes, I can.” She nodded. She grabbed her phone and spoke to Underworld. “Yes, hello, Underworld. Access all of the CCTV cameras in the city of Highfalcon, New York.”

Underworld began hacking and accessing the cameras of the city. It didn’t take too long. Ami saw the same black limo in one of the camera footage, but was struggling since the limo was driving fast in the streets, bypassing civilian vehicles, and flawlessly avoiding the police.

“Anything?” 47 asked.

“Hard to catch up to them since they’re driving over the speed limit, but right now they’re in downtown.” She kept paying attention to the limo and saw them driving into a parking garage of a building, the building of Montgomery Industries.

Ami was able to access the security cameras of the building’s parking garage and saw the black limo. She saw Master Chief and John Wick exiting the limo with two security guards and grabbing the unconscious bodies of Mario, Luigi, Astolfo, and Robocop. And then she saw Alan Montgomery.

“Underworld, identify the individuals, quickly!” Ami told Underworld.

With her urgent request being fulfilled, Ami found the identities of three men. She also found the identities of the two security guards, but only revealed the ones who were relevant to the group.

“Okay, John-117, commonly known as Master Chief, John Wick, and Alan Montgomery!” Ami told everyone.

“Master Chief?” Jigen said as he raised an eyebrow, never having heard the name before.

“D-Did you just say, John Wick?!” Lupin asked as he felt sweat.

“Yes, I did.” Ami nodded.

47 explained about John Wick. “He’s an assassin. He killed a lot of people, and killed some people violently with a pencil in the past.”

The explanation was so nonchalant that Lupin looked at 47 in shock. “How are you so casually calm talking about him!? Are you his best friend?!”

“No.” 47 shook his head. “We never met. I only heard stories about him.”

“And uh,” Lupin nervously laughed. “You don’t have a contract out on us, right? Hahahahaha...right?”

“No, not yet.” 47 replied.

“NOT YET?!” Lupin exclaimed.

“But I promised Mario I wouldn’t kill any of his friends, including him,” 47 reassured him.

“Whew!” Lupin felt relieved as he wiped the sweat off his head.

“I’ll be heading to Montgomery Industries to get Mario, Luigi, and their friends out of there.” 47 explained to them.

“By yourself?” Jigen asked him.

“Yes.” 47 answered him.

“We should come with you,” Goemon suggested. “You’ll need our help for this.”

“You’re probably gonna regret not taking the three of us with you,” Lupin said to the hitman, referring to himself, Jigen, and Goemon.

“What about me?” Ami looked at Lupin.

“I want you to stay here and be safe,” Lupin answered, placing his hand on her back. “The last thing I ever want is for you to get killed. Like, like what happened to Fujicakes and Pops.”

It was hard for Lupin to mention their names: Fujiko Mine and Koichi Zenugata. He always believed they would live forever and die of old age.

Ami was there when Fujiko was in massive trouble. She tried to save her life but was told by the femme fatale to run and save herself. It was difficult for Ami to cope with her decision. She was mad at herself for not trying to save Fujiko's life, and it was emotional to tell Lupin about what happened to her.

It was hard for Lupin to not have Fujiko around anymore, including Zenigata, since he always had fun being chased by him as he called him "Pops", but he kept going with his life because he knew his friends Jigen, Goemon, Ami, Mario, Luigi, and Astolfo wouldn’t want him gone tragically.

“Sorry for your loss.” 47 said to Lupin.

“It’s alright.” Lupin smiled at him. “Thank you. Now, let’s head to that building and rescue our friends.” He looked at Ami. "And Amy? Use remote access to hack the Montgomery Industries cameras."

"It's Ami." She corrected him, again.

Chapter 11: ACT 1 - Chapter 10

Mario regained consciousness after he was knocked out during the battle against Master Chief and John Wick. He saw himself lying on a couch inside a living room. Then he saw a large window overlooking the nighttime city. He looked around and noticed he was in Alan Montgomery’s penthouse.

Mario saw his brother, who was unconscious and was also lying on a different couch in the penthouse living room. He approached him and nudged him to wake him up.

“Luigi?” He said his name.

Luigi moaned and woke up. He saw his brother. “Mario! Where are we?”

“We’re at someone’s penthouse,” Mario remarked.

“My penthouse.”

Mario and Luigi turned their heads and saw Alan Montgomery from above, who was with Master Chief and John Wick. Alan was holding Franziska’s whip.

Mario glared and pointed his finger at Alan. “Who are you!? And what happened to our friend!?” He then noticed Franziska’s whip. He was shocked to see him holding it. He sent his glare back to Alan. “The whip! Franziska! What have you done to her!?”

“She’s alive, for now, including your friend Astolfo,” Alan answered. “And to answer your first question, I am Alan Montgomery.” He answered him. “You two are here for one reason.”

Luigi slowly got off the couch and spoke. “Is it because of Robocop? I’ll hand him back to you, I swear, and we’ll move on afterwards. The Highfalcon PD won’t have him.”

“I already have Robocop. And he’s going to be sent back to the person who stole him as long as our deal between us will be made.” Alan explained.

“What deal?” Mario questioned.

“The person stole Robocop, so I sent someone to go steal him from that person because that individual has some valuable equipment that I want. So, pretty soon, I’ll be going to meet them.”

“What kind of equipment?” Mario inquired as he kept his glare on his face. “Something diabolical?”

“It’s classified," Alan told him. "So I’ll be off while the two of you enjoy your remaining time of life. Make it as long as possible, because time flies.” He then left and exited the penthouse.

The Mario Brothers stood next to each other as they stared at the duo who were in the penthouse.

Master Chief and John Wick kept their eyes on them. They both wanted to confess to them that they were working undercover for Alan, but they believed that the Mario Brothers wouldn’t believe them, or someone was eavesdropping and blowing their cover. That someone was not Marshall Smith since the two were told by Alan that Marshall would be outside of the city where the deal is happening.

The Mario Brothers began forming a plan to rescue their friends, stop Alan Montgomery, and escape.

---

Inside another room of the Montgomery Industries building was an underground cell. Lights were turned on in the hallway where two cells were located, but the cell rooms were dark with only the lights in the hall illuminating them.

Astolfo slowly awakened and saw himself in the cell. His eyes spotted someone who was in the same cell he was in. The person was Franziska von Karma, who was sitting on the floor against the wall.

Astolfo looked at her and asked. “Where are we?”

Franziska answered as she looked at Astolfo. “We’re in some foolish building taken by a bunch of foolish fools.” She looked away and grimaced. “And they took my whip.”

Foolish? Fool? Whip? Astolfo smiled after she heard those specific words. He knew who she was since Mario mentioned her. He pointed his finger at her. “I know who you are! You’re Mario’s friend, Franziska von Karma! My name is Astolfo! I’m the Mario Brothers’ best friend!”

Franziska gasped and was shocked to hear that Mario mentioned her to him.

“Yes, that’s right.” She replied as she stood up. “Mario mentioned you. He told me you and Mario’s foolish brother foolishly played foolish poker against the foolish thief Lupin’s foolish friends.”

“Haha!” Astolfo laughed. “Yeah! It’s a long story, but we survived! I was inside the Mario Brothers house, and suddenly, this futuristic soldier guy and a guy in a suit captured us.”

“Wait a minute!” Franziska stopped him, feeling surprised. “The foolish futuristic soldier and John foolish Wick captured you guys, too?”

“Yeah!” Astolfo nodded. “They captured you too, huh?”

“Yes!” Franziska nodded with a glare. “When I see those two foolish fools again, I’ll whip their foolish bodies until they beg for foolish mercy!”

Asrolfo started to laugh. He knew the prosecutor was being serious, but loved her personality.

Franziska scowled at him for laughing. “What’s so funny, you foolish fool!? I am being serious!”

“I know, haha!” Astolfo laughed. “It’s just you say fool and foolish a lot, and I just thought it was funny! Mario told me about you!”

“He has?” Franziska said in surprise. She didn’t expect Mario to mention her to anyone.

“Yep!” Astolfo nodded. “When Mario and I were talking, he told me you’re ‘brave, cool, scary, and funny’.”

“Funny? Mario thinks I’m funny?” Franziska blinked, trying to process Mario’s opinions on her.

“Yeah, he wasn’t trying to make fun of you,” Astolfo reassured her. Hoping she wasn’t upset. “He also mentioned you helped him and his brother in stopping an invasion in this city. And sometime after that, the two of you bonded. Aaaaaaaaaand you thought about wanting to visit the Mushroom Kingdom in the future. OH, and he told me you called him ‘handsome’, and you hugged him!”

A blush started to form on Franziska’s shocked face after the last sentence. Mario, you foolish fool! I can’t wait to whip you for revealing something so foolish !

Astolfo then smirked. “Hey, do you think you’ll be Mario’s girlfriend someday? And maybe marry him?”

Franziska’s face immediately blushed with red all over and was entirely flustered by Astolfo’s question. She wished she had her whip with her so that she could whip the foolish friend of the Mario Brothers, Astolfo.

“Ahh! W-w-what kind of foolish question is that!?” Franziska pointed her finger at him. “D-do you seriously think I want to be that f-foolish fool’s girlfriend a-a-and marry him!?”

“Yeah, kind of since you're blushing and feeling flustered,” Astolfo remarked.

Franziska never thought she would ever develop feelings for Mario so quickly since she just met him not long ago. She never forgot about the bond the two had at the park, discussing their pasts and almost getting emotional. That hug she had with Mario felt heartwarming.

The prosecutor continued to ask herself if she had developed feelings for the foolish, naive plumber. She wanted to say no, but believed she would be in denial.

Franziska slightly shook as she looked down while trying to respond to Astolfo.

“If I had my whip, I would’ve whipped you. B-but, I hugged him during our bond. It felt nice. Then I told him that I wanted to have another bond with him, and he agreed. So, I k-kind of have feelings for the foolish, naive fool despite meeting him recently.” She admitted.

“Ooooooo! Okay, your secret is safe with me!” Astoflo promised. He was glad Mario found someone already whom he’d loved.

“Grrrrrrr!” Franziska growled as she looked at him. “I said ‘kind of’ not entirely!”

---

At the back entrance of the Montgomery Industries, a guard looked around and was about to pee, only for him to get strangled to death by 47.

The bald hitman used his prominent weapon, known as the Fiber Wire, a weapon used for killing his targets most of the time, as well as guards when necessary.

The guard couldn’t strike 47 off because he felt weakness. He then died.

Near 47, there were two other guards, and those two were killed by Lupin and Jigen, who were wielding 47’s Silverballers with a suppressor that was handed to them by the hitman, and Goemon stabbed one guard with his Zantetsuken sword nearby.

After killing the guards, the group of four quickly put the guards’ clothes on and placed their bodies in a dumpster near them. Then, they entered the building.

While on assignments, 47 would always put on other people’s clothes as a disguise to enter restricted areas, as long as he didn’t act suspiciously. Same with Lupin and his friends, when they perform a heist to steal something valuable, they wear a disguise when there’s heavy security or when they have to access a restricted area.

The four walked down a large storage room and then went through a door that led to a hallway. They later found an entrance to the building’s lobby, which they entered. As they looked around in the lobby, they noticed there was hardly anyone inside except for several guards.

47 turned to the group he was with. “We’ll need to split up.” He spoke quietly.

“Good idea.” Lupin nodded. He looked at Jigen. “Jigen, try to find the Mario Brothers and their friends. 47, and I will let you know if we found them. And don’t forget to contact Amy for help.”

“Got it,” Jigen nodded. “We’ll do the same. And for the one-millionth time, it’s Ami.”

And with that, they parted ways. 47 spoke to Lupin as he glanced at a guard to make sure he wasn't looking at them. “Contact Ami.”

Lupin nodded, knowing what it was for. “Hey, Amy? It’s Lupin. Do you know where the Mario Brothers and their friends are?”

“It's Ami. The brothers are at the penthouse where Master Chief and John Wick are.” Ami explained. “And their friends Astolfo and Franziska von Karma are located underground inside a cell of the building.”

“Thank you.” Lupin smiled. He looked at 47.

“And before you disconnect, there’s a blue button in an elevator behind you two that will take you to the underground,” Ami explained.

“You’re the best, Amy!” Lupin smiled at her explanation.

“It’s Ami.” She corrected him. "And thank you."

47 and Lupin walked towards the elevator and got inside. Their eyes saw a blue button which the former pressed. The elevator doors closed and descended.

The elevator reached the underground, and the doors slid open. 47 and Lupin saw a room that had a door that led to the hallway where the cells were located, a door leading to an exit of the building, and a desk that had a guard sitting at it.

The guard looked at 47 and Lupin but did not see through their disguises. “Did Mr. Montgomery send you two?”

“Yes.” 47 nodded. “He sent us here to kill Franziska and Astolfo.”

The guard nodded and pressed a button on the desk, which unlocked the cell hall door. 47 allowed Lupin to approach the door first as he quickly drew out his suppressed Silverballer and shot the guard in the head. He grabbed his ankle and started to drag him.

Lupin saw 47 dragging the dead guard down the cell hall.

“Do you need help with that?” He asked him.

“No, it’s fine.” 47 answered.

They then heard Franziska ranting.

“Did you know that foolish assassin woke me up in the middle of the night just to tell me that the foolish fool Mario dropped the charges for killing us!? The nerve of that foolish fool!”

“Mario or 47?” Astolfo asked.

“47 obviously!” Franziska answered.

47 and Lupin were in front of the cell and looked at Franziska. “Who’s right here?” The former remarked.

Franziska and Astolfo both jumped out of surprise as they didn’t hear 47 and Lupin coming.

Astolfo became relieved to see them. “47! Lupin! You came to save us!”

“Yep!” Lupin smiled. “That’s right! And great to see you here in Highfalcon Astolfo!”

"We had to kill guards to wear their outfits just to get inside the building." 47 told the two. "Lupin's companions Daisuke Jigen and Goemon Ishikawa XIII came with us and our finding the Mario Brothers. Did you two see them before we arrived?”

Franziska answered. “No, we have not.” She shook her head.

“From what I’ve heard from my friend Ami, she told me that the Mario Brothers are in the penthouse with Master Chief and John Wick,” Lupin explained. “A guy named Alan Montgomery is the one who’s in charge and is behind all of this.”

Astolfo clenched his fists to his chest. “We should go find the Mario Brothers!” He suggested. “And kick Alan Montgomery’s butt!”

“And get my whip back and whip Mr. Alan Montgomery and Mario!” Franziska told them.

“Why do you want to whip Mario?” 47 asked her.

“Because he told this foolish individual about something I said to him, which made me embarrassed!”

“Oh,” Lupin smirked. “You like Mario, don’t you?”

Astolfo laughed. “Haha! She called Mario handsome, and she hugged him!” He told 47 and Lupin.

“YOU!”

“Enough.” 47 told them. “Let’s just get out of here already. I need to drag this dead body first and hide it, then we’re going to split up.”

"Split up? Why?” Astolfo asked.

“We can’t go together, otherwise we’ll be in a shootout with the guards, which could lead to Alan killing the Mario Brothers. There’s an exit to the room we’re going to. That’ll be your escape.” 47 explained. “Wait for us near the building where no one from Alan’s guards spots you.”

“But before we leave, I need to contact Ami to sabotage the security cameras so that no one from the security gets alerted,” Lupin told them.

47 nodded. “Good idea.”

---

Back in the penthouse, which was now a mess, Mario and Luigi were fighting against Master Chief and John Wick. The brothers were struggling due to the strength of the duo, but they were not giving up.

Mario charged towards Master Chief and tackled him, then grabbed the latter’s legs and started to slam his body on the floor rapidly, only to be stopped by the futuristic soldier, who grabbed Mario and tossed him onto a table, breaking it into pieces. Mario grabbed the remains of the broken table and threw it at Master Chief, which did not stop him. He picked up Mario and slammed his body to the ground.

Master Chief was about to stomp on Mario’s leg, only for him to fall on the floor thanks to Mario swiping him with his foot. Mario got on top of him and grabbed Master Chief's M6D pistol and shot him until he ran out of bullets.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

This didn’t kill Master Chief. He tried to fight back, but Mario grabbed him and started to smash him around, then he picked him up and tossed him out the window with all of his strength.

Mario started to pant. He believed Master Chief was the toughest opponent he had fought so far in Highfalcon. He noticed his brother Luigi, who was still fighting John Wick.

John was punching Luigi in the face, then started to kick him around, and tossed him against a wall. John was about to perform another strike against Mario’s brother, but Luigi was able to punch John’s face over and over, then he flipped his body and violently kicked him in the face, which knocked him out.

“Hahaha!” He laughed in victory. He looked at his brother with a grin. “I beat him! I won, wahoo!”

“Good work, Luigi!” Mario smiled, giving Luigi a thumbs-up.

“Mario? Luigi?”

Two men said their names. The Mario Brothers recognized the voices that came from Jigen and Goemon, who both came out of the elevator. They noticed the mess in the penthouse, which made them say their names.

“Jigen! Goemon!” Mario responded, feeling relieved to see him. “It’s-a good to see both of you! How did you find us?”

“Ami hacked into the city’s cameras and the building's,” Jigen explained as he walked down the steps with Goemon following in suit.

“Lupin and 47 are here too,” Goemon told the Mario Brothers. “They're searching for Franziska von Karma and Astolfo, including both of you.”

“Great!” Mario smiled. “Let’s-a go find them and-“

The four heard John groaning as he was regaining his consciousness. Jigen aimed his gun at him, the security’s Glock 18. Mario grabbed Jigen’s arm and forced him to lower his gun.

John saw them and spoke. “Don’t kill me. I need to tell you four something important.”

“And what is that, Psycho Suit Guy!?” Luigi glared at him.

“Master Chief and I were working undercover,” John told them.

“Undercover?” Mario replied.

“For whom?” Goemon questioned.

“A man named J. Jonah Jameson,” John answered.

Luigi became shocked and gasped, not knowing Jameson had an involvement in this.

“Wait!” He said. “I work for Jameson! Why would he send you and this Master Chief guy to work undercover for Alan Montgomery?!”

“Because Jameson believed Montgomery was doing suspicious activities. He had a photographer named Nate Owings who took a picture of Alan and some guy who was wearing a suit and a bowler hat .”

“Where can we find Nate Owings?” Mario inquired.

“You won’t because he’s dead,” John replied. “Nate was murdered sometime after he took the picture of Alan and the unknown man. The murder took place near the building where the two men met in an alley. Talk to Jameson or the chief of Highfalcon PD.”

“Okay.” Mario nodded in response. “Now let’s-a get you out of here.”

“I’ll do it myself.” John slowly got up. He then noticed a broken window in the penthouse. “Master Chief!”

Mario looked at the broken window he made when he tossed Master Chief out. He started to regret it now, believing he had killed him.

John then quickly left. “I have to go find him!” He went to the stairway and then jumped, passing all the stairs and landing successfully on his feet, then quickly leaving the building.

Mario, Luigi, Jigen, and Goemon exited the penthouse by using the elevator and went to find 47, Lupin, Franziska, and Astolfo.

---

After he got tossed out the window of the skyscraper building, Master Chief continued to fall to his possible death.

CRASH!

The fall ended as Master Chief’s body crashed on top of a gray parked sedan as he landed. This didn’t kill him. He survived.

He started to groan as he slowly moved his body as he tried to get off of the wrecked car, but he lost a lot of strength thanks to Mario. It became difficult for him to stand. He needed medical emergency care immediately.

“Master Chief!” Master Chief heard. He was glad to hear the voice of John Wick.

Master Chief turned his head to where he heard the voice of John as he approached him with panic.

“Master Chief, are you okay?!” John asked him.

“I’m fine, John.” Master Chief reassured him. “But I need a visit to the hospital.”

“Then let’s go!” John replied as he picked Master Chief’s body up and sprinted to the hospital.

---

47 and Lupin ditched their disguised outfits and were back to their usual clothes. They were with Franziska and Astolfo. The four of them stayed far from the Montgomery Industries building. They both stood together on the sidewalk and observed their surroundings in case someone working for Alan spotted them and attempted to capture them or kill them.

The group spotted Mario, Luigi, Jigen, and Goemon (both were now back in their usual outfits). The other group of four approached them.

“Franziska! Astolfo! 47! Lupin!” Mario said their names with relief. “Are you guys okay?”

“We’re fine!” Astolfo nodded. “How about you four?”

“Never better!” Mario smiled. “The guys who captured you and Franziska both were working undercover!”

“Seriously?!” Franziska responded with surprise. “Where are they?”

Mario explained to her and the three about what happened in the penthouse. “John Wick is currently searching for Master Chief after he explained everything to us.”

“What’s the reason they were working undercover for this foolish businessman?” Franziska inquired.

“The reasoning is a long story, but J. Jonah Jameson suspected that Alan is a corrupted businessman,” Mario answered. “But Alan did not mention Robotnik or any name. But he said he was gonna make a deal with someone involving handing them Robocop.”

“Let’s go find him quickly!” Astolfo told the group. “And kick his butt violently!”

Mario nodded with determination. “Yes! Let’s-a go- Wait! Where’s 47?”

Yes, where is Agent 47?

Lupin noticed he had disappeared and widened his eyes in shock. “What the!? He was standing right next to me!”

“That foolish assassin fool!” Franziska glared. “Is he committing treason on us!?”

“I hope not,” Astolfo said with worry.

Lupin quickly contacted Ami. “Amy! Find Agent 47! He was with us and he vanished!”

“On it, and it's Ami!” Ami responded. It didn’t take her too long to find her. “Found him! He’s wearing a police officer outfit in a subway station right next to you guys, and Alan Montgomery is in the same subway station.”

“Thanks!” Lupin smiled with a nod.

Luigi saw the subway entrance nearby and pointed his finger at it. “Over there!”

---

Inside the subway, Alan was walking down the subway station as he was holding a briefcase filled with 20 million dollars and Franziska’s whip. He was about to travel to his destination, where he was going to meet Vanessa Nelson.

Alan was setting up a deal with Vanessa, which was handing her back Robocop and the 20 million dollars he promised her, and being handed Robotnik’s technology she had with her.

Alan informed a contact of his about his plan. He told them what he needed to do after the deal. He also informed Marshall, telling him to leave the building once the Mario Brothers and their friends were captured and show up at the spot where the deal was being made.

Alan was minding his own business as he was waiting for the train to arrive. What he didn’t know however, was that someone was approaching him.

It was 47, disguised as a police officer.

47 approached him and said his name. “Mr. Montgomery?”

Alan turned and looked at 47, not recognizing him immediately. “Yes, officer? Is there a problem?”

“The briefcase you're holding. Hand it to me.” 47 told him.

Alan gasped slightly as he was caught off guard by that request. He wanted to run, but thought that would be a stupid idea. So he responded, believing and hoping this police officer was connected to...

“Why?” He asked. “Was there a change of plans? Did Bob send you?”

47 played along. “Yes.” He answered. “Bob informed me that it’ll be safer for you to lay low as he believes the Highfalcon PD is after you.”

Alan didn’t believe him. Besides, why didn’t Bob Page, Marshall Smith, or anyone contact him if there were a change of plans?

“I’m not handing you the briefcase.” Alan shook his head. “Bob or someone would’ve contacted me on the phone, not in person.”

47 knew what he needed to do. He needed to kill him now. But before he attempted to do that, he kept trying to request that Alan hand him the briefcase.

“Mr. Montgomery, for your sake, I’m not asking you, I’m telling you to hand me the briefcase.” 47 said to him.

Alan started to become suspicious. He knew this officer didn’t work for Bob Page.

Instead of running, Alan quickly swung his briefcase at 47 but wasn’t able to hit him with it as 47 saw it coming and flawlessly dodged the swing.

47 punched Alan right in the gut very hard, causing the latter to drop his briefcase and the whip. The assassin then grabbed the businessman’s head and used his knee to kick him in the face.

Alan was lying on the floor and quickly tried to grab Franziska’s whip, only for it to be grabbed by 47, who crouched down behind Alan’s head, then started to strangle the latter to death with the whip.

Alan started to suffocate violently as he was being strangled to death by 47 with Franziska’s whip.

Speaking of Franziska, she arrived with the group, who were all witnessing 47 strangling and killing Alan.

Franziska’s jaw dropped and her body shook as she placed her hands on her mouth in shock. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Seeing her whip being used as a murder weapon became sickening. She wanted to stop the foolish assassin but was hesitant.

Luigi stood behind Mario and Astolfo as he felt terrified. Lupin and Jigen hid behind Goemon.

Mario, Astolfo, and Goemon just stood and watched 47 killing Alan with Franziska’s whip.

Alan started to become lifeless and no longer moved as he lost all oxygen. 47 looked at his dead body as he stood up. He then approached a trash can and tossed Franziska’s whip in it.

Franziska darted to the trash can, then grabbed it, dumped everything that was in there, and then tossed the can towards the group she was with, which knocked them down.

Franziska didn’t know or care where she tossed the trash can; all she cared about was finding her whip. When she found the whip, she angrily looked at 47.

“Yoooooooooou!” She growled as she pointed her finger at him. She started to yell. “YOOOOOOOOOOOOOU!!! YOU FOOLISH ASSASSIN! You used my whip to murder this foolish man in front of me! What is wrong with you!?”

“I had to use something to kill him.” 47 responded, feeling unfazed by Franziska’s anger.

“It could’ve been anything besides this!” Franziska argued. She looked at her whip and noticed the rope of the whip was damaged. “My goodness! Not only did you kill this foolish fool, but you also damaged my whip!”

“I can buy you a new one.” 47 told her.

“I don’t want your foolish blood money to be spent on a new whip!” Franziska responded with her glare.

“Then repair it.” 47 suggested.

“RAAAAAAAAAWR!” Franziska roared.

Mario quickly stood behind the growling, livid prosecutor and calmed her down as he placed his hands on her shoulders.

“Okay now, let’s-a just relax.” He said with a nervous laugh. Hearing Franziska growl made him hope he wouldn’t get whipped by her. “How about the two of you talk it out?”

“Talk it out?! HA! What a foolish suggestion!” Franziska responded to him.

Luigi looked at 47. “47? Did you uh-”

“MAMA MIA!” Mario shouted in shock as he looked at 47’s disguise. “Don’t tell me you killed an officer, 47!”

“No.” 47 shook his head. “I knocked him out.”

Mario let out a sigh of relief. “Good!”

Mario was about to contact Highfalcon PD HQ about Alan’s demise, but was stopped when he and the group heard a phone vibrating, which came from Alan’s suit pocket. 47 grabbed the phone and answered it, but he didn’t say anything.

“.......”

“Montgomery? Are you there?”

“.......”

“Vanessa Nelson arrived.”

“.......”

“Your men handed her Robocop. She’s waiting for your arrival and the fake money.”

“.......”

“She’s already getting impatient! Damn you, Alan! He’ll be expecting you!”

“.......”

“Are you responding!? Just order your contact to kill her!”

“.......”

“Who is this?!”

“.......”

The person who was talking hung up. 47 looked at Alan’s corpse.

Mario became concerned. “Who was that?”

“A man, but he didn’t say his name.” 47 responded. He then looked at the group. “But he mentioned a name: Vanessa Nelson.”

“Before you murdered the foolish man with my whip, did he say anything about her?” Franziska questioned.

“No, but he mentioned a man named ‘Bob’, and asked me if there was a change of plans after I told him to hand me that briefcase.” 47 explained.

“Bob?" Lupin replied. "What about his last name?”

“No mention of his last name.” 47 answered. “From what the caller said on the phone, there’s counterfeit money in the briefcase he was holding and was going to send it to Vanessa, and hand her Robocop. Then intended to have his contact kill her.”

Luigi widened his eyes. “So he was setting her up?!” He wondered.

“Seems like it.” 47 nodded.

“Okey dokey!” Mario said to everyone. “We’ll get to the bottom of this! Before we all leave, I’ll need to contact Highfalcon PD about Alan’s death, and all of us will go home and rest.”

Mario was about to contact HQ, only for him and the group to spot a White man in his underwear.

The man looked at the group. “Excuse me. Has any of you seen my police uniform?”

Franziska pointed her finger at 47. “He has it.”

47 stared at Franziska, who smug at him in response.

---

In the dark forest were Oddjob and Dolma Sinha. They both watched Vanessa getting Robocop from Marshall and Alan’s guards, then getting impatient. Since she waited too long and didn’t want to wait any longer, she yelled at Marshall and the guards, calling Alan a fraud, and entered her light blue Mini Cooper and drove away.

“Should I go after her and kill her?” Dolma asked Oddjob.

“No.” Oddjob shook his head. “That’ll be up to Bob.”

After Vanessa was far away, Marshall and Alan's guards approached the two.

Oddjob spoke to Marshall. “Find out what happened to Alan.”

"Yes, sir." Marshall nodded. He walked away with the guards.

Oddjob pulled out his phone to contact Bob Page.

“Bob?” Oddjob said his name. “Alan became a no-show.”

“I thought so,” Bob responded. “What about Robocop?”

“Vanessa has him, but she became impatient because Alan was not arriving with the fake money. Do you want Dolma to kill her?”

“No,” Bob answered. “Leave Highfalcon with her. We don’t need Robocop, and we’ll see what Vanessa can accomplish in the recreation of Dr. Ivo Robotnik.”

“And the next phase is to steal Robotnik, all of his technology, and kill Vanessa and Agent Stone.” Oddjob assumed.

“Unfortunately, we’re back to square one,” Bob told him. “We were close to getting his technology from Highfalcon, but Robotnik will be programmed to continue his plans. Again, I thought this would happen since I believed this was too good to be true to get a good start on obtaining the technology. Return to Aeon. We’ll get all of Robotnik's technology eventually. We seriously need to be patient.”

And with that, Bob disconnected from the call. Oddjob and Dolma left Highfalcon.

---

Two weeks later

In a living quarter inside Vanessa’s laboratory building, Agent Stone sat on a bed waiting for Vanessa to arrive to give him the “good news”, whatever it was. He hoped it was something worth telling him.

Agent Stone became aware of Alan’s death and his son Daniel running the company. The latte maker hasn’t met the son yet, but he believed he could be trusted since Robotnik met him in the past and said some positive things about him.

After being informed by Vanessa about Alan stealing Robocop and handing him back to her in exchange for Robotnik’s technology, Agent Stone believed Alan was committing treason. He hoped Alan’s son wasn’t going to do the same.

The door in the room opened, revealing Vanessa and Oliver. The former looked at Agent Stone, who stood up and stared at her.

“Hello, Agent Stone!” Vanessa greeted him with an excited smile.

“This better be good, Vanessa.” Agent Stone sternly replied.

“Oh, it is! Trust me!” Vanessa grinned. She turned around. “Doctor!”

Agent Stone gasped as he was surprised. No way, he thought. Dr. Ivo Robotnik???

Indeed, Dr. Ivo Robotnik entered the room in his usual outfit. He had the same appearance as before, but the only difference was that inside his body was all robotic.

Dr. Ivo Robotnik has been recreated and formed new plans.

Agent Stone swallowed as he stared at him. “Doctor.”

Robotnik grinned. “Hello, Agent Stone!” He placed his hands on Agent Stone’s cheeks. “It’s soooo gooood toooooo seeeeeee yooooou!” He kissed his cheeks and shouted as he shook his body around. “I AM BACK IN ACTION AGENT STONE!!!”

Oliver flinched and covered his ears as he couldn’t handle the yell.

Robotnik then asked Agent Stone. “How long was I d e a d?”

“Two weeks, doctor.” Agent Stone answered.

“Have those stupid Mario Brothers and their stupid friends been dead to death?” Robotnik questioned. “They better be!”

“Um, no doctor.” Agent Stone shook his head. “Alan Montgomery got in the way.”

“What do you mean? He BETRAYED US?!” Robotnik glared.

“It’s a long story, doctor.”

“Then tell me everything, Agent Stone.”

After learning about what happened, Robotnik began to create new ideas to get back at the Mario Brothers and their friends. And visiting Alan Montgomery’s son, Daniel Montgomery.

 

 

 

 

 

ACT 1 END

 

 

 

 

 

Notes:

Thank you to anyone who's been reading the story and thank you for giving it kudos.

Chapter 12: ACT 2 - PROLOGUE

Notes:

WARNING: Graphic violence

ACT 2 START

PROLOGUE

Annecy, France

Months ago

Inside an auditorium in an all-female boarding school, there was a group of terrified schoolgirls and teachers. They all felt fear when a group of Bob Page's armed soldiers breached the school and held everyone at gunpoint, as well as killing some of the students and teachers who either tried to call the police or ran for their lives.

The black armored soldiers with black gas mask helmets that had red eyes, wielded Heckler & Koch G11s, and kept their eyes on the scared crowd as they surrounded them.

Female students held onto each other, crying, crying on each other’s shoulders, etc. Teachers tried to remain calm as they felt loads of anxiety in their bodies, except for one.

Fujiko Mine.

She was there working undercover as a teacher, Ms. Suzuki, to obtain a valuable necklace called the Bloody Teardrop from a student, and that student was Dolma Sinha. Dolma was not in the auditorium with the other students. She was held somewhere else.

Dolma was a student at the school, along with Ami Enan, who was also somewhere else. The two girls formed a close relationship.

Fujiko restrained her eyes from staring at the armored soldiers as she didn’t want to attract any attention from them. She believed they were here because of Dolma’s necklace, or something else.

A male teacher approached a soldier who stood on the stage in front of everyone. He held his hands together while begging for mercy and spoke in fear.

“Please!” He said. “J-just let the students go-”

BANG!

The soldier fired his G11 at the teacher with a single shot, shooting him in the head and ending his life.

The female students all screamed, as did the teachers. The same soldier who killed the teacher fired his assault rifle at the ceiling.

RATATATATATATATATATATA!

“Settle down, all of you!” The soldier told them.

Next to Fujiko was a long-haired blonde male teacher. He was wearing a lab coat and had glasses. He held onto Fujiko when he witnessed the male teacher getting killed. When he was self-aware of what he was doing, he gasped.

“Sorry!” He said to Fujiko. “I’m not used to this level of violence!”

Fujiko started to think about what to do. Save the students and the teachers, and how to get Dolma’s necklace. She looked at a soldier and raised her hand.

“Um, excuse me?” She said to him.

The soldier aimed his G11 at her. “Talk!” He replied.

“May I use the restroom, please?” Fujiko requested.

“No.” The soldier answered. “You do your business right here.”

Fujiko slightly gasped and formed a glare. “You’re seriously suggesting that, or are you joking?!”

“You’re not going to the restroom.” The soldier told her.

The blonde teacher stepped in. “W-what about me?”

“What about you?” The soldier looked at him. “You, her, and everyone are not going to use the restroom or go anywhere else.”

“And who decided that? You?” Fujiko questioned him.

“Orders are orders.” The soldier answered.

Of course. Fujiko sighed. She realized she was stuck in a rock and a hard place. She tried to think deeply about what to do to get out of the auditorium. She had already begun to work hard on finding ways not to have it backfire.

Double doors of the auditorium opened, revealing a man and a group of armored soldiers with him. Some carried their Heckler & Koch G11 assault rifles, and some wielded a flamethrower.

Some of the students saw the soldiers, and some almost fainted when they saw the soldiers with the flamethrowers. All of the female students, including the teachers, became absolutely terrified.

Fujiko widened her eyes with her mouth slightly open when she saw the flamethrower soldiers. She believed that this unexpected event was going to become an event of violence filled with fire. She also believed these soldiers were no joke.

She also saw the man leading the soldiers, a man wearing a suit and a bowler hat.

Oddjob.

Oddjob stood in front of the students and teachers. He looked at everyone in front of him, and his eyes saw two people: Fujiko and the blonde male teacher. He approached them and looked at the latter.

“Ian McGuire?” The bowler man asked him for his name.

“Huh?” The blonde teacher replied.

“Ian McGuire, yes or no?”

“Uh, no.” He shook his head.

“Liar,” Oddjob said as he quickly drew out a custom gun known as the Golden Gun and killed the man.

BANG!

The Golden Gun can kill anyone with one shot, regardless of what part of the victim’s body.

Fujiko didn’t flinch when Oddjob fired the gun at the supposed Ian McGuire. But the teachers and female students nearby gasped and flinched, with some releasing tears.

“Fujiko Mine?”

Fujiko looked at Oddjob, who stared right into her soul while he reloaded his Golden Gun. She knew this man and the soldiers meant business. And she knew she had to admit who she was, knowing the bowler hat man wasn’t stupid.

“Yes.” She replied. “That’s me.”

“Come with me,” Oddjob told her. “Get up.”

Fujiko obliged. “Where are we going?" She asked as she stood. "And why did you kill him?”

“You’ll know why,” Oddjob answered. As they moved to the door, Oddjob looked at the soldiers with the flamethrowers. “Fire!”

The flamethrower soldiers obliged Oddjob’s command, and they all started to fire their flamethrowers at the students and teachers.

The students and teachers let out a horrific scream as the deadly inferno engulfed their bodies. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Fujiko gasped as she widened her eyes while witnessing the innocent teachers and female students getting tortured by the fire from the flamethrowers. The horrific, violent screaming was a lot for Fujiko to handle, but she had a feeling violence would be involved, but not this much.

She was forcibly grabbed by Oddjob, who grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of the auditorium. They were now inside a hallway. They still heard the screaming going on in the auditorium.

Fujiko forcefully released herself from Oddjob's grip. She glared at him. “You guys are sick!”

“And so are you,” Oddjob replied.

“I don’t go around and set children on fire!” Fujiko shouted at him.

“But you go around and steal from children.”

“And your point?”

“My point is that you’re a thief like Lupin the 3rd, who’s on his way here pretty soon,” Oddjob told her. “Both of you are here for the same thing, the Bloody Teardrop.”

He signaled Fujiko to walk with him down the hall.

“So I guess you guys want it too?” Fujiko guessed.

“No,” Oddjob shook his head. “We don’t care about the necklace.”

“So what’s the point of coming here? Just to commit a mass shooting?” Fujiko questioned. “And that guy, why did he have to die?”

“Ian McGuire was a CIA agent,” Oddjob told her. “He had to die. And we’re here for one person in this school."

“Dolma Sinha, I reckon.” Fujiko believed.

Oddjob nodded at her response. “Smart woman.”

“So that means I’m right.” Fujiko giggled. “Why her of all people?”

They later approached some stairs and ascended. Oddjob answered her question.

"Orders are orders." He told her.

"Is she going to be held for ransom?" Fujiko asked.

"No." Oddjob shook his head.

"So what the hell do you want her for then?" Fujiko questioned.

Oddjob didn’t reply as he and Fujiko arrived at a classroom. The former opened the door and entered the room. In there, Ami was tied up in a chair. An armored soldier stood near her and was wielding his G11.

The classroom had the lights turned off, with only the sunny weather outside illuminating the room.

The bowler hat man looked at the soldier. "Don't wait for me. Leave, and kill anyone you see in the building."

The soldier obliged with a nod and left the classroom.

Fujiko looked at Ami, seeing her tied up with her mouth gagged. The latter saw Fujiko before but never interacted with her, and never trusted her, as she pulled out a gun at Lupin in the past.

“Her, too?” Fujiko questioned Oddjob.

“She’s useful,” Oddjob replied. “Pull out your gun.” He told Fujiko.

Fujiko gasped with a glare. “Why?”

“I want to know if you’re able to end a child’s life,” Oddjob explained.

“You just said ‘she’s useful’!” Fujiko remarked.

“I didn’t say she was going to be used,” Oddjob replied nonchalantly. “Pull out your gun.”

Fujiko brought her eyes back to Ami, noticing tears dropping from her innocent eyes. The female thief femme fatale took a deep breath as she slowly pulled out her pistol, a FN Model 1910. She aimed it at Ami’s head as the latter closed her eyes when the gun was aimed at her.

Fujiko may be a selfish thief, only caring about her desires, but she had morals, and her morals were never endangering a child, and never killing a child. Fujiko noticed something in Ami, being a highly skilled hacker, someone Lupin took care of and sent her to this boarding school, someone who could help Lupin and his friends, etc.

But Ami was also someone who was setting herself free without Oddjob noticing, as his eyes looked directly at Fujiko.

Oddjob spoke loudly to her. "Don't be a fool! You can kill a child!"

Because of that, Fujiko quickly aimed her FN Model 1910 at Oddjob and was about to pull the trigger and kill the bowler hat man by shooting his head.

But with fast reflexes, Oddjob saw it coming and quickly grabbed Fujiko’s arm and broke it with brutal force, causing Fujiko to release a horrific scream.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!! ”

Oddjob punched the femme fatale in the face, then grabbed her and tossed her violently against a wall.

Ami broke free from her restraints as she got off the chair and quickly grabbed the 1910 that was dropped and aimed it at Oddjob, then fired.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Ami widened her eyes as she gasped while noticing that none of the bullets that went into the bowler hat man's body killed him. Then she felt agitated when she saw Oddjob grabbing one of the bullets from the FN Model 1910 and then crushing it with his hand while smiling at the female hacker.

Oddjob then quickly grabbed his bowler hat and threw it at the Ami, who quickly dodged it by rolling away.

She saw the bowler hat with her jaw dropped. It wasn't hard for her to find out that Oddjob's bowler hat was a deadly weapon. She needed Underworld’s help to research a man with a bowler hat as a weapon.

While recovering the strikes from the psychotic man with the bowler hat, Fujiko looked at Ami.

“Ami! Run! Save yourself!” She told her as she looked at her. “Just, take care of Lupin! He's going to need your support!”

The femme fatale Fujiko Mine knew this was over for her. She knew her life was going to end. And she knew she stood no chance against Oddjob, the man with the deadly bowler hat.

Ami wanted to save Fujiko from being killed by Oddjob, but knowing she also stood no chance against the violent bowler hat man, she ran for her life with Fujiko’s FN Model 1910. She got out of the classroom and ran down the hall while avoiding any armored soldiers.

“I’m sorry, Lupin!” Ami said, wishing she had tried to save Fujiko Mine’s life.

---

Back in the classroom, Oddjob turned to Fujiko. He continued to approach her. Fujiko attempted to fight him off by quickly getting up and striking Oddjob in the face with her fist from her non-broken arm.

The punch in the face by Fujiko struck Oddjob, but the bowler hat man didn't get hurt; instead, he smiled at her. He then violently punched Fujiko's abdomen, making her scream in pain. He then struck her head with his knee, grabbed her other arm, and broke it.

Fujiko got on her knees as she shrieked. She tried to swipe the bowler hat man with her feet, but her body was grabbed and then.

"AAAAAH!!!!!!"

Oddjob broke Fujiko's spine.

He tossed her on the floor, then dragged her paralyzed body across the classroom and laid her on the wooden floor. She saw the sunny weather outside that illuminated the spot where Fujiko was.

Fujiko's eyes caught Oddjob grabbing his bowler hat and then walking towards her. She noticed the smile on his face.

Oddjob violently shoved his bowler hat into her gut and gruesomely cut it open, revealing her blood and guts.

Fujiko released a large amount of tears. She began to gag as blood came out of her mouth.

“Who...the fuck *cough*....are you?"

"You could've been useful to us," Oddjob spoke, not answering the question. "But we couldn't trust you."

"Who's....we?"

Oddjob placed his hat back on. "This is when you expire."

He left the classroom, leaving a severely wounded Fujiko all alone.

As death was getting very close to her, Fujiko looked out the window and looked at the clouds in the sunny sky. She began to think about Lupin as her vision gave her flashbacks of the two of them. A smile slowly formed on her face as she spoke.

“Lupin, I see you...please take care...of yourself.....Lupin.....the 3rd...................”

She was gone. The vision of her life after having flashbacks of her and Lupin was the clouds from outside, sunny weather. No one was there to say goodbye to her. Not even Lupin the 3rd.

Fujiko Mine died alone.

---

As she walked down the sidewalk that had trees around, Ami cried after she escaped the school unscathed. She wanted to go back and save Fujiko, but she knew it was too late. A bright yellow Fiat 500 F was driving down the road and stopped as the driver saw Ami.

It was Lupin with Jigen and Goemon. Ami saw them while crying.

Jigen was the first to speak. “Whoa, Ami, what’s wrong?!”

Lupin exited the Fiat and approached Ami. “What’s the matter? Why are you crying? Is someone bullying you?”

“Lupin,” Ami sniffed. “She’s gone.”

“Who’s gone?” Lupin questioned.

“Fujiko Mine.” Ami cried. “She died.”

Lupin didn’t want to believe it, and never ever wanted to believe that Fujiko died. He started to laugh. “Hahaha! That’s a good one, Amy!”

“Lupin?” Jigen said his name. “I think she means it.” The way Ami was feeling, he believed that Fujiko was dead.

“Nah, this is just some prank!” Lupin laughed as he smiled. “Fujicakes has always been a funny woman with her jokes and pranks hahahaha!”

Jigen, along with Goemon, exited the Fiat. The latter spoke.

“Lupin, my condolences on what happened to-“

“NO!” Lupin shouted, glaring at Goemon. “Stop it! She’s not dead! Do you guys fucking understand!?” He turned to Ami. “Right, Amy!?”

“She got her arm broken violently, then got tossed against the wall, and she told me to save myself and run!” Ami explained as she continued to cry. “*sniff* S-she told me to take care of you! I’m sorry!!!” She landed on her knees and sobbed.

Knowing it was not worth blaming Ami for Fujiko’s death, as he believed it wasn't her fault, Lupin decided to hug her as tears were released from his eyes. Ami wrapped her arms around Lupin and cried on his shoulder.

Jigen took his hat off and began to mourn Fujiko’s death with Goemon. The two were never fans of her, believing she was trouble for the trio, but they could admit that they were going to miss her. They believed the Lupin Gang wasn’t complete without her.

Lupin the 3rd was deeply going to miss her. After Zenigata died during the Mushroom Kingdom War, he wished no one he knew would also die.

But that wish didn't come true.

---

Montreal, Quebec

Months later

During the night, an African-Canadian man in a suit with short dark gray hair named Morgan Everett drove his gray Mercedes-Benz S 500 to his home and parked the car in the driveway of a safehouse. He looked at his phone and noticed encrypted messages he sent to his contacts which haven’t been responded to. He expected them to respond by the time he arrived at his home.

Morgan was a member of the Illuminati. He was Bob’s mentor in the Illuminati until the latter betrayed him and the other members. As well as getting them killed. During this, the members, including Morgan, had to go into hiding. All of them except for Morgan were found and killed.

Later on, an investigation from Interpol started, and that was to track down Bob Page as he exposed himself intentionally. Bob committed conspiracy for future diabolical plans and had to be arrested for it.

Morgan assisted Interpol, but things had changed. The investigation into Bob was canceled, and that was because of Morgan.

After the investigation, Morgan made drastic decisions that almost killed the people he worked with in the Interpol investigation. While assisting Interpol, he hid evidence that led to hints about Bob being alive, and then he forced Interpol to cancel the investigation and erase all information about it. He did all of this to hire a group to track Bob down and kill him, and he wanted to reform the Illuminati.

Morgan was able to travel back to Montreal, where his company, Picus, a multinational entertainment and media corporation, was located, and he was CEO. He told everyone there to shut everything down, no questions asked. The man was planning to leave Montreal permanently, travel to Paris, and go into hiding again. He also made other plans to travel to countries in Asia such as Japan, Singapore, and Thailand. And he made plans to reform the Illuminati.

He entered his safehouse after he unlocked the front door and then locked it after he entered. He then arrived in the living room, turned the light on, and approached a table that was filled with glass cups. He poured himself a glass of water and drank it.

Morgan felt something was off, not from the cup of water, but something in the living room. He swallowed the water and spoke.

“Is that you, Bob?” He said.

“As always, you have great hearing, Morgan.” The voice of Bob Page replied.

Bob Page sat in a chair far from Morgan in the living room. He saw the latter turning around as he placed his glass of water on the table.

“I knew you weren’t dead,” Morgan remarked. “But I wish you were.”

“And I guess you wished you didn’t bring me into the Illuminati,” Bob replied as he stood. “And wished you listened to Lucius, who didn’t trust me.”

Lucius DeBeers was the leader of the Illuminati. He warned Morgan about Bob being a loose cannon in the group and stealing secret information for his selfish goals.

Morgan started to reflect on Lucius’ words about Bob and wished he had listened to him. His gut felt tight as he was informed about the leader’s death caused by Bob.

“You’re right, Bob.” Morgan nodded. “What the hell was I thinking? I knew you were alive the entire time. I forced Interpol to cancel the investigation and erase information all about it, as well as your conspiracy to add dangerous augmentations onto people. I wasn’t helping you.”

“You were helping yourself,” Bob added as he approached him.

“That’s right,” Morgan admitted. “I was planning to hire a hit squad to hunt you down and execute you.”

“People nowadays say ‘it’s never too late’, but that’s not always the case,” Bob replied. He looked at Morgan face-to-face.

“When you took me into the Illuminati, I wanted it all, Morgan." He told him menacingly. "I wanted all of the control. Achieve the goals and change the world. The Illuminati was too relaxed when they were performing their plans in the slowest, most gentle ways. All of you were weakling cowards. That’s going to change.”

“Really? And how are you planning to do that, Bob?” Morgan questioned. “You lost everything. You compromised yourself as you compromised the Illuminati.”

“That was the point,” Bob told him. “The point was getting myself compromised, as I knew Interpol would look into my past activities in the Illuminati. I wanted to purposely commit conspiracy to get their attention and then fake my death. And reform my own organization.”

“Your own organization?”

“Ever since I joined the Illuminati, I was working on forming a group by hiring soldiers, a henchman, engineers, scientists, corrupted businessmen and women, gathering weaponry, etc," Bob explained. "All of this was done behind your back, and the Illuminati’s. And here you are right now, reforming the Illuminati.”

Morgan didn’t widen his eyes at Bob's words. He knew the latter had found out about the possible reformation of the Illuminati. And he knew why his contacts from Picus didn't respond to his messages.

“Is that why I haven’t been getting responses from my contacts?” He replied. “You killed them.”

“I’ve sent my henchman and my new female enforcer, who’s working for me, to go after them and kill them,” Bob explained to him. “And not to mention, you telling your dead employees in Picus to cease operations. I’m not the one who lost everything, you did, Morgan.”

“If you’re going to kill me, then just get it over with,” Morgan told him. “You’re finally getting what you wanted.”

“Oh, I’m not here to kill you. I’m here to take you somewhere far away.” Bob pulled out a sedative syringe. “Now hold still.”

Morgan quickly grabbed a glass cup and attempted to smash it at Bob’s head, but missed as Bob perfectly dodged the strike and pushed Morgan to the table, knocking down the glass cups and shattering them.

“This won’t hurt Morgan, you’re going to be fine,” Bob said to him as he kept a firm grip on Morgan, held his arm, and sedated him.

“Go to...hell...Bob.” Morgan said slowly, having lost consciousness thanks to the sedative.

Bob dropped Morgan’s body on the floor after the latter lost consciousness.

Bob smiled as he looked at Morgan’s body. “We’re already in hell, Morgan.”

 

 

 

 

 

New Friends and New Threats

ACT 2

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 13: ACT 2 - Chapter 1

A helicopter was losing control as it flew out of control through the night sky. Vault Boy jumped out as the helicopter descended into the ground of a forest and exploded.

KABOOM!!!

He landed on the ground successfully without dying or breaking a bone while the helicopter blew up. Vault Boy dusted himself off and looked around.

“Hmm, no one nearby saw what happened.” He remarked to himself. He then gave a thumbs-up. “Cool!”

Vault Boy was wearing a prisoner outfit and was able to form a plan to escape the prison he was held at. And the plan was successful.

“I hope Agent Stone hasn’t forgotten about me.” Vault Boy hoped. “He’s really a polite man with delicious lattes.” He started to think. “Hmmm, which direction is Highfalcon, hmmmmm.”

As he was thinking, he made a guess and pointed his finger in a direction. “I want to say, that way!”

Vault Boy started to move and hoped he’d reach Highfalcon to find Agent Stone without any authorities finding him.

Unbeknownst to Vault Boy, Robotnik was recreated after the Mario Brothers defeated him.

---

Highfalcon, New York

The next day came. In the late morning, Franziska was inside her office, going through paperwork and looking at her emails on her laptop. She heard a knock on the door.

“Enter!” Franziska told them. "And don't be foolish!"

The door opened, revealing Highfalcon Mayor David Phillips, Chief Larvell Jones, Luigi, and a cameraman.

Franziska was surprised at these people entering her office. She didn't expect this. The prosecutor stood up and looked at them. She saw Chief Larvell Jones making victory sound effects.

The female prosecutor spoke in surprise. “Mayor David Phillips, Chief Larvell Jones, Mario’s foolish brother, foolish cameraman!”

Luigi got irritated. “Ugh, I have a name!” He told her.

“So do I.” The cameraman said. “My name is Harold.”

“Hello, Prosecutor von Karma!” David greeted her with a smile. “We want to congratulate you!”

“Congratulate me? For what?” Franziska asked as she was still surprised. She looked at the cameraman. “Why is there a foolish cameraman here? Am I being foolishly punked by you foolish fools!?”

Luigi and Harold the Cameraman, gulped as the mayor and the chief of police laughed.

“No!” David laughed. He pulled out a gift that was wrapped and handed it to the prosecutor. “Here!”

Franziska didn’t know what the gift was, but she decided to find out by unwrapping what she was holding.

And it shocked her as she widened her eyes and gasped. It was a reward.

“ The Highfalcon Prosecutors' Office Reward of Excellence

Is presented to Franziska von Karma

In Recognition of her outstanding commitment and dedication, as well as achieving an outstanding winning rate in one year in Highfalcon, New York

CONGRATULATIONS FRANZISKA VON KARMA”

Franziska thought all of this was a dream, but it wasn’t. This was a fantastic start to her redeeming prosecutor career. She would’ve gotten this outstanding winning rate by going to selfish lengths to get guilty verdicts in court trials, but she changed. Her father would always try to rig the court system in his own favor, which he taught her how to do, including her “little brother ” Miles Edgeworth.

Staring at the reward that was given to her, she started to have memories of seeing Edgeworth’s rewards, one of which was a Prosecutor Trophy. Same with her father, who also earned the latter and several other rewards, until the truth about him became exposed.

The prosecutor almost got emotional but held her tearful emotions together. “Thank you!” She said to the mayor as well as the chief of police. “Thank you for this! It means a lot!”

Jones replied with a smile. “You’re welcome!” He nodded. “You know, von Karma, I always became concerned about you overworking, thinking you were going to collapse during a court trial. Thankfully, you haven’t. You’re a passionate woman, Franziska von Karma. I’m proud of you. I’m sure your friends and family will be too. Look forward to getting a Prosecutor Trophy later this year. I believe you deserve one. And from what I’ve noticed, you’re more than a prosecutor, you’re a hero, who always gives the criminals an ass-whooping with your whip! You seriously don’t mess around!”

He made a sound effect of a whip. “CRACK!” The sound made Luigi and Harold flinch, thinking they were getting whipped.

The mayor spoke next. “You, Gabe Clark, the Mario Brothers, and Lupin the 3rd, saved the city from being invaded. The public views you guys as heroes. Continue to become the best prosecutor in Highfalcon. Some folks look up to you and want to become a prosecutor just like you, and maybe teach them how to use a whip.”

Luigi also had something to say. He smiled at Franziska. “Franziska, I know you’re scary sometimes, but thank you for becoming a friend of my brother and I. Hopefully, you’ll become friends with Astolfo, 47, and Lupin.”

Their words to her touched her heart and started to form tears, then she wiped them away. She never thought she would be given so much kindness by these foolish fools, but was grateful that these people, including Mario, appreciated her.

After sniffing, she replied to the three men. “Thank you.” She said, forcing herself not to cry.

Luigi felt tears coming out of his eyes and then started to wipe them away.

Jones noticed. “Are you crying too, Luigi?”

“Yeah,” Luigi responded as he continued his tears away. “When my brother and I see people cry, we cry with them.”

“You must’ve been foolishly hallucinating Mar- Luigi ,” Franziska told him. “I don’t cry.”

The mayor clapped his hands. “Let’s all take pictures and film this event for the news!”

Luigi got his camera ready. “Okey dokey! Smile!”

Franziska tried to form a genuine smile, but had difficulty forming it since she wasn’t the type of female who would often smile out of politeness. In the past, a type of smile she would show off would be an evil, selfish smile.

Luigi looked at the prosecutor. “Smile, Franziska.”

“I’m trying Mario’s foolish brother!” Franziska replied with a glare. She couldn’t stop herself from calling Luigi that. She closed her eyes, cleared her throat, and smiled for the camera as she held her reward.

---

At a dead-end street, a massive shootout was going on between the Highfalcon PD and a mafia organization led by mafia boss Michael DeMarti. Officers and SWAT team members fired their Heckler & Koch G36K assault rifles while the mafia men, who were dressed in black suits, fired their AK-47s.

Some time ago, when the Highfalcon PD took down Anothny Leone, who was also a mafia boss, the police believed it was time to take down Michael DeMarti as well. This became a difficult battle for the Highfalcon PD, but they desperately wanted the dangerous mob boss gone.

Mario was involved in this event. He stayed in cover during the shootout and started to sneak past the mafia members. He began climbing up the ladder of a building. He stayed crouched while he was on the roof of the building to avoid detection from DeMarti’s men. He took some lessons from his buddy Agent 47 on how to use stealth and infiltrate a target’s location, though Mario wasn’t looking for a disguise; he was looking for DeMarti.

The former plumber found a door on the roof and used the doorknob to open it. He slowly opened the door and got inside the building, and walked slowly down the stairs.

Mario stopped as he heard footsteps coming from DeMarti’s men who were walking down a hallway as they exited the rooms they were in and carrying their AK-47s. He leaned against a wall in the stairway and formed an idea.

DeMarti’s men all stopped moving and were about to get ready to go into a room to shoot the Highfalcon PD from above, but then something rolled towards them, which was a grenade from Mario.

KABOOM!

DeMarti’s men blew up into pieces as they all got blown up.

“Waahoo!” Mario cheered as he got into the corridor. He continued searching for Michael DeMarti. Suddenly, a door kicked open. A White man dressed in a black suit with a black shirt, a black tie, black pants, black shoes, a black fedora, and black shades. He also had short black hair. This was Michael DeMarti, leader of the DeMarti Organization.

DeMarti was wielding a Chiappa Triple Threat shotgun and aimed it at Mario.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

He fired the three shots of the triple-barreled shotgun but missed as Mario jumped into the ceiling, creating a hole in it. DeMarti kept his Chiappa Triple Threat aimed at the hole in the ceiling.

CRASH!

DeMarti quickly turned around and saw Mario crashing through the ceiling and the floor. He wasn’t able to fire his shotgun at him as Mario’s body descended quickly.

CRASH!

Mario crashed through the floor at the spot where DeMarti was standing and grabbed his body, causing the latter to drop his shotgun. They crashed through a few ceilings heading outside.

In the air, Mario performed a somersault and smashed DeMarti’s body on the ground of the rooftop, breaking his back. He then jumped in the air and stomped on his abdomen, causing him to scream. Mario then finished him off, rapidly smashing his head on the rooftop.

The violent attacks from Mario caused Michael DeMarti to die. The former plumber cheered in victory.

“Yay!” Mario screamed out. He decided to search DeMarti’s clothes for any weapons he could use against the remaining mafia members and found a Vz. 61 Skorpion. He decided to use it.

Mario looked down and noticed the Highfalcon PD were struggling to fight off DeMarti’s men, so he decided to save the day by jumping off the roof and firing the Skorpion at the mafia members.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

Not a single bullet from the firing Skorpion was missed as all the remaining mafia members were killed. Mario landed successfully and cheered in front of the Highfalcon PD members.

“Way a go, everybody!” Mario grinned at them. "Wahoo!"

---

The Highfalcon PD members and paramedics were cleaning out everything after the shootout.

Luigi was there, taking pictures of the aftermath of the shooting, and approached his brother. “Hey, Mario!” He greeted him. “Tough battle, huh?”

“Yes, it was!” Mario nodded with a smile. “But we all kicked butt! Time for us to call it a day!”

“ I’ll-a meet you at home,” Luigi told him. “I'm gonna give these pictures to Jameson. He can’t have them later.”

“Not a problem,” Mario replied. “Drive safe, Luigi.”

---

Luigi arrived at J. Jonah Jameson’s office and greeted him.

“Hey, boss!” Luigi greeted him.

Jameson didn’t greet him back as he had his chair turned to the window in front of him. He was staring at the Montgomery Industries building. Today, he learned that Alan’s son Daniel succeeded him as CEO of Montgomery Industries.

Earlier today, Jameson shook his head in disbelief as he saw Daniel on TV saying he was “Going to reform his father’s company and kill its shady past.”. He didn’t believe any of it. He noticed he started to become more obsessed with Montgomery Industries than Spider-Man. Is Daniel Spider-Man? He asked himself that question over and over.

Luigi approached Jameson in front of him. “Hey, Mr. Jameson-“

“AAAAAH!” Jameson screamed.

“AAAAAH!” Luigi screamed and shook in fear.

“Luigi! You almost gave me a heart attack!” Jameson scolded him.

“I’m sorry! Don’t beat me up!” Luigi begged.

Jameson murmured and sighed and continued to look at the Montgomery building.

Luigi walked to the front of Jameson’s desk and set the pictures he took on his desk. “Um, here are the pictures I took.” He told him.

“Thank you! But don’t go anywhere!” Jameson told him. He turned his chair around and looked at him. “You, your brother, and your friends were involved in killing Alan Montgomery.”

Luigi gulped. He believed Jameson was going to fire him.

“But, I sent two people to work undercover for him: Master Chief and John Wick.” Jameson continued.

“Yeah, John told me, Mario, and our friends about you sending them there to find any suspicious stuff,” Luigi stated. “He also told me a photographer who worked for you named Nate Owings.”

“Yes.” Jameson nodded. “He was murdered, Luigi. And the last photo he took...“ He grabbed a picture out of his desk drawer and handed it to Luigi. “...was a picture of Alan Montgomery and a suspicious man.”

Luigi grabbed the picture and observed it. He looked at the picture, and he slightly gasped as he widened his eyes. The picture showed Alan and Oddjob shaking hands. He remembered John Wick explaining to him, his brother, and his friends about the picture.

Jameson noticed the reaction from Luigi. “You've seen that man before, Luigi?”

“No, but a friend of mine named Lupin the 3rd told me about this bowler hat man,” Luigi replied. "He's taking care of a girl he found in the past and took her to a boarding school in France."

He went on to explain the violent event at the boarding school in Annecy. He talked about Ami seeing Oddjob at the school and running when the latter was killing Fujiko Mine.

“She never found out about the bowler hat guy’s name, but she's still trying to find out who this guy is.” Mario’s brother mentioned. “Did Master Chief and John Wick ever see him?”

“No.” Jameson shook his head. “Not a thing about seeing him.”

“No disrespect, boss, but I've never seen you this quiet and serious before,” Luigi remarked.

“I know Luigi.” Jameson nodded. “Normally, I’m HYPER AND CRAZY! Hyper and crazy about the criminal Spider-Man! Wait, maybe Spider-Man is working for that shady, corrupted company! Spider-Man could be a spy! Spy Spider-Man!”

“Uhh,” Luigi let out in confusion.

“Ah, forget it.” Jameson sighed. “Anyway, Master Chief and John Wick are in their office. Go see them and get to know them. They’re in the security office. I’ll look at your pictures and pay you tomorrow morning.”

“No problem.” Luigi nodded. “Oh, may I have a copy of the picture of Alan and the bowler hat guy?”

“Yes, of course!” Jameson nodded.

---

Luigi entered the security room after he knocked and saw Master Chief and John Wick. It wasn’t just an ordinary security room. There were tons of weapons that belonged to Master Chief and John Wick.

Luigi spoke. “Sorry about my brother Mario almost getting you killed.” He apologized.

“No worries.” Master Chief replied. “Nothing stops me.”

“We’re unstoppable,” John told Luigi.

“We’re also sorry for getting you, your brother, and your friends kidnapped.” Master Chief said to Luigi. “I reckon Jameson told you everything?”

“Yes, he did.” Luigi nodded. “He told me about Alan shaking hands with this bowler hat guy.”

“We never saw him during our investigation,” John explained.

“That's what Jameson told me." Luigi nodded. "What about this ‘equipment’ that Alan was going to give to this Vanessa Nelson woman?”

“Alan didn’t tell us everything.” Master Chief answered. “So we don’t know. But Alan had a right-hand man named Marshall Smith. We saw him on our first day, and we never saw him again. But watch out for him in case he’s after you or anyone you know.”

“Will you and John be willing to help us in case something goes wrong?” Luigi requested, hopefully, they’ll say yes.

“Yeah.” John nodded to Luigi.

“We’ll keep you all protected." Master Chief told Luigi. "I’m a soldier who fought in the Human-Covenant War.”

“My brother and I were in a war too, the Mushroom Kingdom War,” Luigi mentioned to him. “What was the war you were in like?”

“That’s a discussion for another time.” Master Chief replied. “There’s a lot to talk about. But in short, I’m not from this universe.”

“WHAT!?” Luigi screamed out in surprise. “You from a different universe!?”

“Yes.” Master Chief nodded. “And again, it’s a discussion for another time.”

“Okay.” Luigi nodded. “Well, anyway, it was nice talking to you both.”

“Likewise, Luigi.” Master Chief nodded. “And remember, don’t be a stranger to us. If you need help, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Remember that,” John told him.

“I will!” Luigi smiled, looking forward to becoming friends with Master Chief and John Wick.

---

Elevator doors opened, revealing a White man who had short dark brown hair, white framed glasses, and was wearing a black suit with a dark blue shirt, black tie, black pants, and black shoes.

This man was Daniel Montgomery, Alan Montgomery’s son. He stepped out of the elevator and walked towards the living room of the penthouse. He started to cope after losing his father and started to blame the people involved in his death. He wasn’t blaming Robotnik; instead, he was blaming the Mario Brothers.

Despite 47 killing Daniel’s father, the latter believed the Mario Brothers were mostly responsible for arriving at Highfalcon and becoming friends with the assassin. He wanted them to die, but wanted to lie low and lie to the public about reforming his father’s company since the media started to ask questions about his father and the company having a connection to Dr. Ivo Robotnik.

As Daniel approached a table filled with drinks, he poured a glass and drank it while looking out of the window overlooking the city.

“Hello, Daniel Montgomery.” Someone said.

Daniel turned around and saw him.

Dr. Ivo Robotnik was grinning at Alan's son. He wasn’t alone; Agent Stone stood next to him.

Daniel set his glass down and looked at the two men. “How’d you two get in here? It’s not safe for us to talk inside my father’s building.”

“We know, chillax, okay?!” Robotnik told him. “We just wanna give our condolences.”

“Thank you,” Daniel replied. “But you two should leave. Again, it’s not safe.”

“Oooooooooh, you’re wroooooong Alan’s soooooooon!” Robotnik looked at him. “You’re talking like we’re stupid by taking the front entrance. We snuck our way here, but it’s a secret. We wanna know if you still want to be involved in our fascinating plan to destroy this dump of a city, and those meddling Mario Brothers and their freaking imbecile friends. Wanna be involved?”

“Why do you want to destroy the city?” Daniel questioned.

“AAAAAH! I wanted you to answer my question FIRST!” Robotnik snapped. “Since you politely asked, if I can’t take over this stupid city, then NO ONE CAN! SO Daniel Montgomery, do you wanna be involved or what!?”

“I want to, but I can’t,” Daniel told him. “I’ll still be associated with you, but I need to lay low and keep fooling the public about reforming my father’s company. And making plans on getting revenge on the Mario Brothers.” He then bowed to Robotnik. “No disrespect, doctor. And I apologize for what my father has done to you, Dr. Ivo Robotnik.”

Robotnik looked at him, then looked at Agent Stone, who nodded his head, which told him to keep him alive. Robotnik agreed with a nod. He then looked at Daniel.

“Alrighty then, Daniel Montgomery!” Robotnik responded with a grin. “All is forgiven! Since we’re both showing hatred towards those stupid brothers and their loser friends, I’ll leave you alone!”

The evil doctor then formed an evil smile. “For now.”

Chapter 14: ACT 2 - Chapter 2

Marshall Smith exited the penthouse elevator and met with Daniel Montgomery in the penthouse living room.

Daniel stood behind the window of the penthouse living room and saw Marshall.

Marshall spoke first as he looked at Daniel. “Is there a problem, Daniel?”

“Robotnik and Agent Stone showed up earlier,” Daniel told him.

“Robotnik?” Marshall reacted in surprise. “He survived that crash?”

“No.” Daniel shook his head. “Vanessa got him rebuilt. Robotnik came to me wondering if I wanted to be in his plan that involved destroying Highfalcon and killing the Mario Brothers and their friends. I declined.”

“Why? Those brothers and their friends were involved with your father’s death.”

“I am aware. But I had something in mind: let Robotnik handle everything himself. I’m confident he’ll kill them. I need to lie low for a while and continue to fool the public about reforming the company.”

“If Robotnik somehow wins, how will we get his technology and send all of it to Bob?” Marshall inquired.

“Regardless, we’ll kill him and Agent Stone,” Daniel told him. “Then send the technology to Mr. Page. I’m hoping a majority of it will be intact for him. It will be a lot easier for us to get the technology after their demise. And for my revenge on the Mario Brothers, I’ll reach out to Mr. Page for assistance, and that will involve his soldiers and possibly Oddjob and that girl Dolma Sinha.”

Despite planning to get revenge on the Mario Brothers, Daniel hoped the brothers would kill Robotnik and Agent Stone, and have a reason not to destroy his technology. He couldn’t wait to make things more stressful for the plumber brothers as he formed a future idea.

---

Inside the living quarters of the Mean Bean Coffee Shop, Robotnik lividly entered the living room and started stomping his feet.

“How dare he reject being involved with my wonderful evil plans!” Robotnik yelled. “How can I trust a stupid buffoon like him!?”

“Do you want me to execute him, doctor?” Agent Stone asked him.

“He’s already going to die, Agent Stone!” Robotnik told him. “Didn’t you forget about my plan to destroy Highfalcon!? He’s a waste of our time!”

He then stomped towards the kitchen, and then he screamed.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!”

He saw Vault Boy, who was wearing his usual vault uniform and was sitting at the kitchen table, eating waffles.

“Hi!” Vault Boy smiled as he greeted him.

Robotnik couldn’t believe he was seeing Vault Boy again. He thought he wasn’t going to see him again after being arrested.

The doctor pointed his finger at him, “YOU! Creepy Vault Boy! How did you get in here!? And why are you here!? AND WHY ARE YOU EATING MY WAFFLES!? THOSE ARE MINE!!!”

“Sorry.” Vault Boy apologized, “I used the secret entrance in the sewers. I thought I was going to find the nice man Agent Stone to reunite with him, but you survived!”

He stood up and hugged Robotnik. “It’s so good to see you alive Dr. Ivo Robotnik! I can't wait to help you with anything!”

Robotnik felt a bit awkward with the hug, as he normally gets hugs from Agent Stone.

Speaking of Agent Stone, he stepped into the Kitchen. He gasped as he saw Vault Boy, who saw him.

“Agent Stone!” Vault Boy smiled at him. He then hugged him. “It’s so great to see you!”

“Yeah, me too.” Agent Stone replied, feeling creeped out. “What are you doing here?”

“To help you two.” Vault Boy answered as he ended the hug. He stood next to Agent Stone. “I heard about what happened after our goblin invasion-“

“MY goblin invasion!” Robotnik corrected him with a glare.

“Sorry.” Vault Boy apologized with a smile. “I heard you didn’t survive the crash, and Agent Stone was arrested while I was arrested. Then I broke out of prison and came here. And here we are, the three of us!” He then gave Robotnik and Agent Stone a thumbs-up. “Yay!”

Agent Stone became uncomfortable standing next to Vault Boy and showed his concerns to the doctor. “Doctor, I don’t trust him.” He told him.

“Are you having memory issues, Agent Stone?” Robotnik coldly asked him. “HE was able to kidnap the mayor and send him to my wonderful robots! We can definitely have him around! Sure, he may be a worthless, creepy human, but I trust him to do anything for me!”

Robotnik looked at Vault Boy with a grin. “So what do you say, Creepy Vault Boy? Wanna be involved with my awesome chaotic plan to destroy Highfalcon and destroy the dumb Mario Brothers and their dumb friends?”

Vault Boy gave him another thumbs-up and smiled. “Sure!”

“FANTASTIC!!!” Robotnik screamed out with excitement. “We are a diabolical trio who’ll spread a violent invasion and ruin the existence of the Mario Brothers and their friends!” Robotnik started to laugh and wrapped his arms around Agent Stone and Vault Boy. “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAhAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Agent Stone and Vault Boy laughed with him, “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

After the loud, wicked laughing came to an end, Robotnik unwrapped his arms around his comrades and glared at Vault Boy as he held the latter’s vault outfit with a strong grip.

“DON’T EVER ASK OR EAT MY WAFFLES WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!!! YOU GOT IT?!” The doctor yelled at him.

“I promise, Dr. Ivo Robotnik!” Vault Boy nodded with a smile.

“GOOD!” Robotnik shouted. He then released him. “Now with that out of the way, the three of us are leaving this stupid city!”

“Where are we going, doctor?” Agent Stone questioned.

Robotnik evilly smiled. “The three of us, Agent Stone, are going back to Thunder Valley. We’ll run our operations there. But we’ll use this dump of a hideout in certain circumstances. And we’re going to form plans to destroy Highfalcon, and form more plans that’ll mentally hurt the Mario Brothers and their friends!”

He evilly laughed again. “HAHAHAHAHOHOHOHOHOHOHAHAHAHAHA! OOOOOOOOH I AM SOOOOOO WICKEDLY INSAAAAAAAAAAANE!!!”

---

Oliver has his head down on his table inside Vanessa’s lab. He was asleep.

On a laboratory metal bed inside a room next to the lab was Robocop, who activated himself after his sleep mode came to an end. He slowly stood up and observed the room he was in. Since he wasn’t properly programmed, Robocop couldn’t recognize the room. And knew he didn’t belong here.

Since Robocop knew his real name was Alex Murphy, and still had knowledge of Luigi and his brother Mario, and knew where they lived. He wanted to reunite with them.

So what did Robocop do? He didn’t harm Oliver; instead, he exited the room, then walked out of the lab, down the hallway, went down the stairs, and exited Vanessa’s laboratory building without being stopped by Vanessa or anyone.

It was time for Alex Murphy, Robocop, to find his friends, the Mario Brothers.

As he walked, his vision saw police cars that had the name Highfalcon PD on them. Because of that, the memories of being with the Highfalcon PD were slowly forming.

---

Nighttime arrived. Franziska sat in the back of her limo as it drove down the neighborhood street. She was going to see Mario and tell him about getting the reward that she received earlier today.

Today has become a rare great day for her. After she was given the reward, she released tears when she was alone. She didn’t want people to see her crying. Getting the reward without having to commit any tampering or dirty tricks, similar to what her father did when he was a prosecutor, Franziska earned the reward by being a better and genuine prosecutor than he was.

She took a picture of her reward to show Mario and Miles Edgeworth. Speaking of the latter, Franziska wondered how Miles was going to react when she told him about the reward she got. She promised herself to whip the foolish fool if he believed she rigged the court system in Highfalcon. And she also promised herself to sever all ties with him if that were to happen. Cutting ties with him was the last thing Franziska wanted to do, however. She hoped Miles would be proud of her.

The von Karma prosecutor couldn’t wait to see the naive, foolish former plumber. The two of them bonded again. Most of the topics were about funny stories about their childhood. The two also got ice cream, which Franziska hadn’t had in a long time. She would always be happy when he was around because no matter how she acted towards him, Mario would always be happy to see her. Mario became one of the reasons Franziska changed, a change in her attitude.

And then, Franziska grabbed a picture of Mario. Why would she have a picture of him?

She started to feel certain emotions, which made her feel flustered. She didn’t want to believe that she was in love with the foolishly naive foolish fool named Mario. She started to feel anxious. She couldn’t tell if the foolish former plumber would believe her to be a creepy, foolish prosecutor and say “Uhhh, let’s-a just be friends”. She would feel absolutely embarrassed if that were to happen and whip herself for being foolishly stupid.

“Ms. von Karma?” Her male limo driver said. “We have arrived at the Mario Brothers residence.”

“Thank you.” Franziska thanked the driver. She looked at the house as she exited the limo.

The prosecutor approached the front door and knocked on it. As she patiently waited for the door to be answered, she looked at the picture of Mario, then quickly hid it behind her back as the front door opened.

Franziska felt relieved when she saw Mario opening the door, not his foolish brother, his foolish friend Astolfo, and the foolish assassin fool insane foolish 47.

It was just Mario that made Franziska form a small smile.

Mario also held something behind his back as he greeted her with a smile. “Ah, Franziska! Come on in!”

“Actually, will it be okay for us to talk outside?” Franziska requested, hoping he’d say yes.

“Sure!” Mario replied. “Not a problem!” He stepped outside and closed the door, hoping to keep the thing he was hiding hidden.

Franziska noticed he was hiding something behind his back. “What’s behind your back? Something foolish?”

“N-no, it’s uh a gift,” Mario told her as a blush was forming.

Franziska widened her eyes. “A gift? For whom?”

“F-for you,” Mario answered as he revealed the gift, which was a Super Star plushie. “It’s a Super Star plushie. These are very popular in the Mushroom Kingdom and were often brought good luck to the people there, so I thought, why not give you one? I hope you like it.”

He really hoped she would like the gift.

Franziska stared at the Super Star plushie. She had some plushies before in her life as a child, until her father took them away, believing she no longer needed them since she was growing up. She grabbed the plushie and continued to stare at it. The Super Star looked cute, she thought.

Her eyes went to Mario. “Thank you.” She said with her small smile. “I like it. I haven’t had something like this since I was a child.”

“You’re welcome.” Mario nodded with his wholesome smile. He then noticed the picture Franziska was holding with her other hand. “What’s that you’re holding?”

“Huh!?” Franziska gasped, forgetting she was holding it. She started to blush. “I-it’s uh it’s nothing!”

“It’s a picture, isn’t it? A picture of nothing?” Mario looked at her, still smiling.

Franziska closed her eyes as she shook due to feeling agitated. “It’s a picture of you.”

Mario widened his eyes as his jaw opened. His face was entirely red. “Me!? Mama Mia...”

Damn it, Franziska! You’re such a foolish, foolishly foolish woman! He’s going to walk away and think you’re a foolish creep!

That’s what Franziska thought, but she thought wrong.

Mario nervously laughed. “Haha, why do you have that?”

“It’s because,” To keep her calm, Franziska tapped her foot on the ground, then answered. “It’s to think about you.”

She looked at him. “I’m going to Los Angeles to visit my little brother Miles Edgeworth. It’s only going to be a few days. It’s been a year since I last saw him, so I thought about catching up with him. And show him my reward.”

“A reward?” Mario said with surprise.

“Yes.” Franziska nodded. “I was greeted by Mayor David Phillips, Chief Larvell Jones, your foolish brother, and a foolish cameraman. It was the most joyful emotional moment I’ve ever been through. I was never given a reward before, but my foolish ‘little brother’ and foolish Manfred did but in the most non-genuine ways.”

“I’m proud of you, Franziska.” Mario smiled, giving her a thumbs-up. “You and your ‘little brother’ may not get along, but I’m sure he’ll be proud of you, too.”

“I hope so.” Franziska hoped. “And do you mind if I keep your gift here? I don’t want to lose it.”

“Not at all,” Mario said as he grabbed the Super Star plushie. “Have a safe trip.”

“Thank you.” Franziska smiled. She then did something to the former plumber.

“I’ll call you when I arrive there.” She kissed him on the cheek.

Mario never saw that coming, and the kiss made him blush even more as he felt his heart beating. “Um, what was that for?”

“A goodbye kiss and a thank you.” Franziska blushed as she smiled. “Thank you, Mario, for being my friend. I’m looking forward to seeing you again and spending time with you.”

“Me too.” Mario nodded with a smile. “Goodbye, Franziska.”

“Goodbye, Mario.” With that, the von Karma prosecutor walked back to the limo, and the limo drove away

Mario entered the home, and the first thing he saw was his brother smirking at him.

Mario scowled at him as he knew why his brother was smirking. “What Luigi?”

“She likes you,” Luigi remarked. He saw it all.

“You’re being foolish, Luigi.” Mario shook his head with his eyes closed.

“And she influenced you.” 47 remarked as he was sitting on a chair reading a book.

“Right!? Hahahaha!” Astolfo laughed while sitting on the couch. “Go on a date with her, Mario!” He suggested to him.

“I’ll be in my room!” Mario told them, trying to be alone and get rid of the red color on his face.

Mario felt an emotion when he was thinking about the prosecutor.

Love.

Same with Franziska. She also felt the same emotion when she thought about the former plumber.

Love.

They were both in love with each other.

---

Oliver was still sleeping in the lab and slept through Robocop leaving and escaping.

“OLIVEEEEEEEEEEEER!!!!”

Oliver moaned as he woke up and heard Vanessa Nelson’s loud voice saying his name. He yawned and saw Vanessa entering the lab with a livid face.

“Why hasn’t Robocop shown up to my office!?” Vanessa questioned.

Oliver yawned again and rubbed his eyes. “Let me go to him.”

The scientist approached the sliding doors and gasped. “What the!?” He looked at the room where Robocop was, and it was empty.

Vanessa’s jaw dropped. She remembered Oliver placing Robocop in this room and activating sleep mode on him. She started to clench her fists in anger.

Oliver felt the frightening aura from Vanessa as it sent chills down his spine.

“Oliver?” Vanessa said his name, “Check the cameras, now.”

Oliver did not hesitate to oblige as he went to a monitor in the lab and checked the security footage in the building. He saw security footage of Robocop waking up and exiting the room, then saw him exiting the lab and the building.

Vanessa couldn’t believe Robocop exited her building without being seen by her, and her scientist, Oliver, was sleeping through all of it.

“Oliver, you Moron!” Vanessa scolded him. “How can you be such a pathetic idiot!? How did you sleep through all of that!?”

“S-sorry, Ms. Nelson!” Oliver replied as he trembled. “I was tired!”

Vanessa growled and glared. “Grrr, we have to get him back! At first, I thought it was Alan’s son and Marshall who took him, but I know where he is.”

“Where?”

“The Mario Brothers house.”

“S-should we request Dr. Robotnik for help?”

Vanessa shook her head. “No. This is something we can fix ourselves.”

---

Inside Luigi’s bedroom, Luigi was sleeping, and as he slept, a door in his bedroom opened.

It was Robocop. He arrived at the Mario Brothers home and noticed the lights inside were turned off. He was able to bypass the locks in the home and went to see his friend.

Robocop saw Luigi sleeping and woke him up. “Luigi?”

“Aaaaaaaah!” Luigi screamed as he woke up, panting as he saw Robocop. “R-Robocop?”

“It is I, Luigi,” Robocop responded. “I have come back after my sleep mode ended, and saw myself in an unknown location.”

“Luigi!?” Mario yelled out his name from the hall. He dashed into Luigi’s room, turned the light on, and saw Robocop and felt surprised. “Alex Murphy?!”

"Hello, Mario," Robocop replied

Luigi responded to his brother with a smile. “Mario! Robocop came back!”

“What’s going on!?” It was Astolfo who arrived in Luigi’s bedroom with concern. His eyes widened with a smile as he saw Robocop. “Robocop! Welcome back!”

“Hello, Astolfo,” Robocop greeted him.

47 also arrived as he held his two Silverballer pistols. He saw Robocop. “Oh, it's you. Luigi’s cyborg friend.” He then exited the room.

“It’s awesome to see you again, Robocop!” Astolfo smiled at him.

Mario looked at his brother. “Luigi-“

“NOPE!” Luigi shook his head. “We’re not arguing about this, Mario!”

“There’s no need for an argument, Luigi,” Mario reassured him. “Alex Murphy, also known as Robocop, is going to be our friend.” He looked at the cyborg. “Alex, welcome to our home!”

“Thank you, but there’s no need for that. I need to find out more about myself.” Robocop told him.

“And you can do all of that while living with us!” Astolfo suggested. He held his hands together. “Pleeeeeease?”

“I can help you, Alex!” Mario smiled at him. “You have my word!”

Robocop began to process all of this. He made his decision.

“If this is what you all want, then I’ll live here with you guys,” Robocop replied to the three. “As long as you don’t tamper with me.”

“Yaaaaaaay!” Mario, Luigi, and Astolfo cheered.

Chapter 15: ACT 2 - Chapter 3

The new day arrived, and morning started. Agent 47 entered the basement and was about to begin his day by turning on his laptop and finding out who the assassin needed to kill today, as well as waiting for information about Oddjob. When 47 requested Luigi to hand him the copy of the picture of Alan and Oddjob, the hitman requested Diana to find info about the bowler hat man.

Ever since 47 moved into the Mario Brothers House and used the basement as his place to sleep, he was permitted by Mario to decorate the basement to his liking, such as adding his weapon racks, which contained his weapons, such as his Silverballers, a Walther WA2000 sniper rifle, a SPAS-12 shotgun, etc.

Besides his weapons, he also has storage for his fiber wire, a deadly sharp kitchen knife he got a long time ago, rubber ducks, etc.

Rubber ducks are what 47 used to place explosives in them and blow up his targets. It became something he used on certain occasions.

But then the assassin saw something so unexpected in the basement. Something that was lying on a table which were panties.

What the? That was 47’s reaction as he saw the panties and held them as he stared at them. He knew who these belonged to, and it was obvious. It was Astolfo’s panties. He was going to have a word with him later, but he wanted to check if any targets needed to be killed.

47 turned his laptop on and almost widened his eyes when he saw the background of his laptop.

Astolfo... The background was a picture of Astolfo in a bikini, showing off his bare feet.

Never mind later, time to have a word with him right now .

---

Astolfo was watching TV with Luigi, who was drinking his coffee. Robocop was also in the living room, waiting for Mario. Mario wanted Robocop to spend time with him during his work hours as a way to see if Robocop could regain memories of being a member of the Highfalcon PD.

The trio in the living room heard the basement door open, revealing 47, who approached Astolfo and stood in front of him.

Astolfo looked up and greeted him. “Morning 47! What’s up!?”

“Astolfo, why did you place your panties in the basement?” 47 asked him as he revealed Astolfo’s panties.

“Oh, haha!” Astolfo laughed. “Those are Luigi’s!’

Luigi spat his coffee out. “WHAT!?” He exclaimed.

“Since when did Luigi start wearing panties?” 47 inquired. “I know these are yours. And why did you change the background on my laptop to a picture of you in a bikini showing your bare feet?”

Luigi spat out his coffee again after hearing 47’s question. He was surprised that Astolfo did this to the bald, emotionless hitman. HE wanted to see Astolfo in a bikini and his feet NOT 47!!!!!

Astolfo nervously laughed. “Hahaha, I uh, wanted to give you some fan service.”

“I’m not interested in this fan service or whatever people call it.” 47 told him. “Since this is Mario and Luigi’s home, I’ll need to tell them to keep you out of the basement.”

Astolfo nervously laughed again since he had more to say and reveal to 47. “I uh, placed more of my panties in your storage box.” His eyes looked at the bald hitman, who showed the most intimidating expression, which made Astolfo gulp.

Luigi quickly sat up to avoid getting involved in this. He didn’t want to be involved with 47’s chaotic violence. He just hoped to god Astolfo, the beautiful femboy he loves, learned a lesson and stayed alive when he arrived back home.

Mario walked down the stairs with a happy smile. “Okey dokey! Good morning everyone!” He happily greeted them. “I’m off to work! Some things need to be taken care of!”

He looked at Robocop. “Are you ready, Alex?”

“I am ready, Mario,” Robocop responded.

“I’ll leave with you guys!” Luigi told him, wanting to leave as quickly as possible.

The Mario Brothers and Robocop left, leaving Astolfo and 47 alone in the house. Astolfo started to sweat and tremble in fear as he didn’t know what 47 was going to do to him. He took a risk by lightening the mood.

“Y-you have cute rubber ducks hahahaha.” Astolfo stuttered as he held a rubber duck while his body shook. A noise came out of it as he squeezed it.

QUACK!

47’s glaring, intimidating stare went into Astolfo’s soul.

Astolfo continued to sweat and made a rubber duck noise. “Quack, quack!”

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

47 approached the front door and answered it. He saw Ami Enan.

“Uh, hi.” Ami greeted him.

“Ami.” 47 greeted back with a nod. “Something you need?”

“May I come in? I need to ask you a question.”

“Come in.” 47 allowed. After Ami entered, he closed the door.

Astolfo felt so much relief as he breathed. “Thanks, Ami!” He smiled at her.

“For what exactly?” Ami asked him.

“For not getting me killed!” Astolfo answered.

Ami felt confused. “Uh-”

“It’s a long story.” 47 told Ami. “What do you want to ask me?”

“Us!” Astolfo corrected him.

“Sure.” 47 rolled his eyes.

“Do you know anyone who’s a criminal wearing a suit with a bowler hat?” Ami inquired.

Ami has also been trying to find out about Oddjob, but was going through difficulties and frustrations as nothing was being found about him. This started when she saw him at the boarding school and was informed by Lupin the 3rd, who told her about John Wick telling Jigen and Goemon, as well as the Mario Brothers, about Oddjob's meeting with Alan.

Underworld couldn't find anything about the man. It’s almost as if Oddjob didn’t exist.

Astolfo reacted to Ami's question. “Hey, that’s the guy that Alan Montgomery met!” He recalled. He, along with Mario and Robocop, saw the copied picture Luigi got from Jameson.

"Wait here." 47 said to Ami as he moved to the basement.

When 47 got back from finding the picture of Alan and Oddjob, he handed it to Ami.

“Is this the man with the bowler hat you're asking about?” 47 asked her.

Ami widened her eyes as she recognized him immediately. “Yes, that’s him!” She nodded.

“How much do you know about him?” 47 questioned.

“Nothing, but he tried to kill me with his bowler hat,” Ami answered. She talked about what happened during the violent event at the Annecy female school.

“Whoa,” Astolfo responded. “Are you doing okay after all of that?”

“I’m hanging in there still.” Ami nodded with a sad smile. “I just hope Dolma is found. And I couldn’t find anything about the bowler hat man. Underworld couldn’t find a single thing about him.”

“I have a contact of mine searching for information about this man.” 47 replied. “After Luigi gave me the picture, I sent her a copy of it and told her to find info about him, but she told me it’ll take a while.”

“Is she your girlfriend, 47?” Astolfo smirked.

“We’re not that close.” 47 told her.

“Will you let me know when you find information about him?” Ami asked.

“Of course.” 47 nodded.

---

Nighttime arrived, and Mario and Robocop were inside the former's police outpost and were about to call it a night. But before Mario did that, he decided to check in on someone, who was Franziska von Karma.

During their second bond, they exchanged their numbers with each other, and Mario wanted to call her and see how she’s doing. He was waiting for her to call him, but no call came, which made Mario concerned, hoping she had forgotten, not something bad that happened.

He dialed Franziska’s number on his cell phone and waited for her to answer as he heard the tones.

Then, a voice came from Franziska von Karma, but it was only a voicemail greeting.

“Hello, foolish caller, you have reached prosecutor Franziska von Karma. Leave your foolish message after the foolish tone.”

BEEP!

“Hello, Franziska! It’s-a me, Mario! Just calling to make sure your flight to Los Angeles was safe and you’re okay. Call me when you have the chance. Thank you.”

A part of Mario was worried, but he didn’t want to think about it too much. He wanted to remain optimistic and hope she was doing okay.

Robocop noticed him being agitated. “I can tell you’re worried.” He remarked as he looked at him.

“Sort of, but I’m-a trying not to let this get to me,” Mario replied.

During the day, Robocop assisted Mario in taking down criminals around Highfalcon. This started to make Robocop remember his time in the Highfalcon PD. More had to be done to fully recover his memory. He also made plans to spend time with Luigi.

Mario and Robocop left the police outpost and walked down the sidewalk to the former’s Dodge Monaco and entered, then drove away.

What they didn’t know was that two men in a black Ford Taurus were tailing them. Both men were wearing dark military clothing with vests, black ski masks that covered their mouths, and black squad goggles.

These were mercenaries sent by Vanessa. She paid and ordered the mercenaries to kidnap the Mario Brothers and Robocop.

---

Mario and Robocop arrived at the home and saw Luigi exiting the house and approaching his dark green 1934 Chrysler Airflow.

Luigi looked at his brother. “Hey, Mario! Hey Alex!” He greeted him. “Hey Alex? You still wanna hang out?”

“Yes, I do,” Robocop responded.

“You two have fun!” Mario told them.

As Mario entered the home, Luigi and Robocop entered the Chrysler and drove down the street of the neighborhood.

From a distance, the mercenaries witnessed Luigi leaving the home with Robocop and were stuck between a rock and a hard place. They were hoping they would get both the brothers and Robocop simultaneously, but now plans have changed, but that didn’t mean the three dodged a bullet.

The mercenary sitting on the passenger seat contacted Vanessa. “Ms. Nelson? Luigi and Robocop left the home.”

“So what are you two going to do?”

“We’re having a hard time making a decision.”

“My god, what am I paying you idiots for!? Get Mario and bring him to my building! Oliver and I will kidnap Luigi and my Robocop ourselves!” She then hung up.

The two mercenaries nodded at each other and exited their car. They then looked at the Mario Brothers house and decided to split up.

---

Inside the home, Mario and 47 (who was forced by Mario) were sitting on the couch and watching a funny anime.

Mario wanted to try again, making 47 laugh, but it already wasn’t working. 47 just stared at the TV as he watched the anime and believed the grown-up characters were being childish and immature, just like the people he was living with, except for Robocop.

When the commercial break started, 47 got up and went to the basement. Mario hoped he would come back and not lock himself in his basement, as the former plumber calls it “47’s cave”.

The back door of the house from the kitchen opened, which Mario became aware of as he saw the person entering. He formed a shocked and scared face as he saw the mercenary entering his home.

“Hey-“ Mario was about to confront him, but a tranquilizer dart was shot at his neck and knocked him out, which came from the other mercenary who got in by climbing into the window from the dining room.

The two mercenaries picked his body up, then they stopped when they heard a voice from Astolfo, who was upstairs.

“Mario? Is everything okay? Is 47 being mean to you?”

The mercenaries quickly dashed out of the house, but then got spotted by Astolfo, who shouted at them.

“Hey, who are you two!?”

The mercenaries didn’t stop running. They tossed Mario’s body into their car and quickly drove away from the house.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The sudden gunshots came from Daisuke Jigen, who fired his Smith & Wesson Model 19 at the mercenaries. Unfortunately, none of the bullets from the revolver landed on the two mercenaries, but fortunately, none of them landed on Mario.

Astolfo got worried after he saw his best friend getting kidnapped by the mercenaries. He was about to warn Luigi, but first wanted to warn 47. He approached the basement door and tried to open it, but it was locked, so he pounded on the door with his fists as he yelled out his name.

“47!!! 47!!! 47!!!” Astolfo yelled out as he kept pounding the door.

The basement door opened, revealing 47. “ What Astolfo?” He asked with annoyance.

“Astolfo?” Jigen said his name as he entered the house.

Astolfo looked at 47 and Jigen as he was panicking. “Mario got kidnapped!”

47 went outside and noticed tire marks on the road. He then turned to Jigen. “Jigen? Do you know what car they were driving?”

“A black sedan,” Jigen answered. “It looked like a Ford Taurus.”

47 nodded in response. He then went back inside the house, approached the house phone, and contacted Luigi.

Luigi answered. “Hello?”

“Luigi? It’s 47. Intruders showed up at the home and kidnapped Mario.”

“ WHAT!? Not again! Are you okay!?”

“We’re fine. Astolfo and Jigen saw these two men who tossed your brother in a black Ford Taurus sedan. Jigen opened fire at them but wasn’t able to wound them.”

“ Okay! Robocop and I will be on our way!” Luigi then hung up.

47 placed the phone away and went to the basement.

“Wait 47!” Astolfo said to him, following him to the basement with Jigen.

The three were in the basement. Jigen noticed the guns 47 had and became amazed as he whistled.

“Nice weapons.” He remarked.

“Thank you.” 47 replied.

47 was getting his equipment ready to rescue Mario by equipping himself with Silverballers and his Fiber Wire. Then he went to his laptop.

Astolfo stared at him. “What are you doing?”

“Tracking Mario’s current location.” 47 told him.

“Tracking him?” Astolfo’s eyes widened.

“Yes. I'm hacking into the cameras like what Ami did before.” 47 explained.

“Taking inspiration,” Jigen smirked.

Astolfo also formed a smirk. “You care about us, don’t you, Agent 47?”

“Honestly, you, Mario, Luigi, including Franziska, are the most immature people I have ever met.” 47 replied as he kept typing. “But, I became somewhat fond of you and the brothers.”

He continued. “To answer your question, it’s because of what’s going on. I know Mario would get captured again, and it’ll probably happen again, including Luigi.”

47 was typing on his laptop when he found the current location where Mario was.

“Found him.” 47 said to Astolfo and Jigen. “He’s in downtown Highfalcon inside a building.” He then turned around to Astolfo. “You two stay here and keep yourselves protected.”

“No!” Astolfo refused. “I wanna come with you!”

“You didn’t make another cum joke, did you?” 47 questioned. “If you did, you're staying here.”

“Wait a minute, you made a cum joke!?” Jigen looked at him with shock.

“Yeah, haha!” Astolfo laughed.

Jigen blinked at Astolfo’s weirdness and then went back on track with what was going on. “Okay, anyway, you need some backup for this,” Jigen told 47. “Who the hell knows how guarded that place is.”

“And I wanna help because Mario and Luigi are our friends,” Astolfo said.

“I'd rather go alone on this.”

“Too bad, I’m sure you go alone on your assassin stuff all the time!” Astolfo glared with his hands on his hips.

“Stop being a wuss and let us help you on this!” Jigen said to 47 with a glare.

“Yeah!” Astolfo shouted

47 sighed, knowing Astolfo and Jigen were so stubborn and so eager to help him. “Fine, but stay less noisy.” He told the two.

Astolfo grinned and joyfully jumped. “Awesome yaaaay! We’re gonna kick some butt together!” He ran up the stairs and out of the basement.

“Wow, he’s way too excited for this,” Jigen remarked.

“And way too happy.” 47 replied.

---

Luigi and Robocop were at a movie theater and quickly exited it after 47 warned them about what happened. The former was panicking, thinking his brother was in danger again and hoped nothing bad was going to happen to him, as well as himself and Robocop.

The two approached the dark green Chrysler. Luigi was about to enter his car, but Robocop stopped him and spoke.

“Pardon me, Luigi,” Robocop said. “Let me drive. I can drive us to you and your brother's residence as quickly as possible.”

Luigi was hesitant. “Do you know how to drive, Alex?” He asked as he stuttered.

“Yes, part of my memory has recovered,” Robocop replied. “And I’m able to drive a vehicle.”

Luigi didn’t think it through enough and allowed Robocop to drive his car. He didn’t want to think about his decision since he believed people who were after them were getting close.

“Okey dokey, Alex!” Luigi nodded with confidence. “Drive my car like you stole it!”

The two got into the Chrysler Airflow, Luigi taking the passenger seat while Robocop took the driver’s seat. After they both got ready, Robocop stomped his foot on the gas pedal and took off, pushing Luigi back in his seat.

“Aaaaaah, Mama Mia!” Luigi screamed, feeling he was about to get car sick. He sort of regretted allowing Robocop to drive his car.

From behind was a light blue Mini Cooper that was pursuing Luigi’s Dark green 1934 Chrysler Airflow.

It was Vanessa Nelson taking control of her Mini Cooper. Oliver sat next to her in the passenger seat.

The scientist noticed he and Vanessa were losing them. “Ms. Nelson! We’re losing them!”

“I am aware! DUH! They’re no match for us!” Vanessa replied. She pressed her foot down on the gas pedal to gain more speed.

Luigi looked in his rearview mirror and saw the Mini Cooper chasing them. “Oh no!” He said with worry. “Alex, kidnappers are after us! Can you go faster!?”

“I’m afraid not,” Robocop told him. “Your car was made in the 1930s, while the unknown individual’s car is modern, a third-generation Mini Cooper from roughly around early 2020. Your car is slow.”

Luigi ignored the history lessons of the cars as well as the remark and looked out the back window, seeing the third-generation Mini Cooper was getting closer.

Robocop took a sharp turn and tried to find a way to make it difficult for Vanessa and Oliver to catch up to them.

Robocop spotted an entrance to a mall and decided to drive through the entrance. Luigi took notice and formed a scared reaction.

“wha-wha-wha WHAAT!? ALEX MURPHY ROBOCOP MAMA MIA WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!?” Luigi screamed.

“Do not worry, Luigi,” Robocop reassured him. “I know what I’m doing. I’ll take responsibility for the damages.” He pressed his foot down on the gas to get top speed and drive through the mall entrance, shattering the glass.

Vanessa became surprised to see Robocop causing public damage, but didn’t stop chasing him and Luigi. She also drove into the entrance of the mall, feeling desperate to get Robocop back.

Oliver was feeling sick from Vanessa’s fast driving. He lowered the window, leaned out, and vomited.

So did Luigi, who was also feeling car sick. He started to get a headache over everything that’s been going on.

Robocop drove onto a ramp, which made him and Luigi go into the air. The car landed and kept going.

Vanessa also drove through the ramp and continued to chase Robocop and Luigi.

A male mall security guard was eating a donut and saw the dark green Chrysler Airflow and the light blue Mini Cooper driving fast in the mall and crashing through everything. The bystanders witnessed all of it, which made them record it on their phones.

What was on the security guard's mind was the donut he was eating instead of what was going on.

“This is a good donut!” He said, then taking another bite of his donut.

The cars reached the exit, and the chase kept going. The two cars drove fast down the street.

Then suddenly, smoke was forming from Luigi’s car.

“Oh no!” Luigi reacted with panic. “My car is overheating!”

Robocop noticed and was about to slam his foot on the brakes only for him to get half of the car destroyed by an oncoming civilian car, leaving the rear behind, and leaving the front with the two in the Chrysler Airflow.

Robocop kept going but had difficulty keeping the car straight as it kept swerving since it only had two wheels left.

Then, they crashed into a wall of a building. When Vanessa saw them crashing, she slammed her foot on the brake pedal. She quickly exited her Mini Cooper along with Oliver.

Luigi moaned as she slowly got out of the car. His eyes spotted Vanessa, who quickly drew out her tranquilizer gun and shot the dart at Mario's brother, making him fall to the ground and go to sleep.

She then approached Robocop as he got out of the half-Chrysler. “Back away, criminals!” He said to her and Oliver. "You two are under arrest!"

“Robocop,” Vanessa said his name. “My name is Vanessa Nelson. I am your creator, and you will serve me.”

“Negative,” Robocop replied. “I have been programmed to protect and serve the Highfalcon PD, the Mario Brothers, Astolfo, Agent 47, and Franziska von Karma. I am their friend. Now, hands up, both of you, and get on the ground.”

Fuck, what did you do to my Robocop!? Vanessa growled as she clenched her fists. “Then I guess we have to force you to serve me.” She glanced at Oliver, who was already out of the Mini Cooper. “Disable him, Oliver!”

“Yes, Ms. Nelson!” Oliver obliged as he pulled out an EMP gun and shot it at Robocop, who wasn’t able to dodge the projectile. He was now disabled.

Vanessa evilly smiled and laughed. “Mwahahaha! Perfect! I got my Robocop back, and the Mario Brothers will die along with their friends! Robotnik will be so proud of me, mwahahahaha!”

Chapter 16: ACT 2 - Chapter 4

“Mario!” The voice of Luigi said to his brother. “Mario, wake up!”

Mario moaned as he regained consciousness and slowly rose and stood. He looked at his brother. He and his brother were locked up in a cell inside a lab.

“Mama Mia Luigi, where are we?” Mario asked him.

“I don’t-a know Mario,” Luigi responded. “47 called me and told me you were kidnapped. Jigen got involved and wasn’t able to stop them, but Astolfo saw these two guys dressed in black outfits who were carrying you out.”

“Yes, I remember them,” Mario recalled. “How did they capture you and Alex?”

“They weren’t the same people who kidnapped us,” Luigi told him. “We were involved in a car chase.” He then went on to explain about the car chase and getting captured after they wrecked.

“I have to ask, how was Alex's driving?” Mario questioned.

“Mama Mia scary, so scary I made me get car sick,” Luigi replied as he shuddered. “But, I think he’s close to remembering everything about himself.”

The sliding doors of the lab they were in opened as Vanessa and Oliver approached the Mario brothers.

Vanessa looked at them with an evil smile. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Mario Brothers! I am very glad I caught both of you for having possession of my Robocop!”

Mario glared. “So you're the one who sent those men to our home and kidnapped me!”

“Yeah, duh!” Vanessa confirmed. “And both of you are gonna die! Mwhahahahahaha!”

“Who are you?!” Luigi asked as he felt scared of her.

“I am Vanessa Nelson! The woman who owns Robocop!” Vanessa evilly smiled.

Mario started to put two and two together as he remembered what Alan Montgomery said to him and Luigi regarding Robocop being exchanged for valuable equipment.

“Alan Montgomery told my brother and I about exchanging Alex Murphy for ‘valuable equipment' from you,” Mario stated. “What kind of equipment?”

"You seriously think I’m going to answer that!?" Vanessa glared. "You must be more stupid than I thought.”

Luigi stepped in. “What if we told you Alan was going to set you up and get you killed?”

Vanessa gasped while feeling surprised by Luigi. Oliver was also surprised.

“What are you talking about?” She questioned the Mario Brothers.

Mario explained. “Alan mentioned a man named ‘Bob’ to our friend, who killed him. Alan was going to give you 20 million dollars, but it was counterfeit money, then intended to get you killed.”

Vanessa processed everything Mario said. She believed him since she and Alan never got along. The information she received motivated her to inform Robotnik and Agent Stone as soon as possible. She only told them about Alan attempting to have all of the evil doctor's technology in Highfalcon and threatened to kill her and Agent Stone.

This made her wonder what Alan’s son was up to behind everyone’s backs. And she started to wonder who this individual named Bob was. She believed it was someone in the shadows.

Bob Page.

She believed he was another threat to Dr. Robotnik. She had heard of him before, but only from news outlets that talked about him being hunted down by Interpol and presumed dead. But a part of her thinks he's still alive.

She stared at the former plumber. “Thank you for the information, Mario and Luigi. Now, if you excuse me, I’m gonna spend time with my Robocop while my accomplice works on turning both of you into robots mwhahahaha!”

“I thought you were gonna kill us!” Luigi said, feeling scared about turning into a robot.

“That’s what I meant DUH!” Vanessa snapped in response. She then exited the lab as she muttered.

Luigi started to panic once again. “I hope she doesn’t sabotage Alex a-and program him to hate us and kill us! And I don’t want to be a robot!”

“Don’t-a worry, Luigi!” Mario reassured him. “We’ll escape and rescue Alex and arrest Vanessa Nelson, including her scientist.”

Speaking of her scientist, Oliver grabbed out a keycard and slid it through the slot next to the cell door, unlocking the cell. This made the brothers feel shocked as they didn't expect this.

“I-I am getting you two out of here,” Oliver told them as he stuttered. “I’m sorry about all of this. Please forgive me!”

Luigi glared at him and pointed at him. “I don’t believe you! You’re already gonna turn us into robots! Well, let me tell you something, Stuttering Evil Scientist, my brother and I will never become robots!”

“Luigi, let’s-a hear him out.” Mario calmed him down. He looked at Oliver. “Why are you doing this?”

“W-well, you see, Ms. Nelson can be rude sometimes,” Oliver answered. “But besides that, I don’t want both of you to become robots. And work for Dr. Robotnik.”

“WHAT!?” Luigi exclaimed. “He’s alive!?” He shook his brother. “Mario, I thought he died!”

Mario calmly nodded. “That’s-a what I thought, Luigi.” He glared at Oliver, which made him tremble in fear. “Explain!”

“A-after Robotnik’s ship crashed and killed him along with Gabe Clark, Robotnik’s robots found his body before official authorities did and q-quickly took his body and sent it here to this building we’re in.”

“And do what with Robotnik’s body?” Mario inquired.

“Recreate him.”

The jaws of the Mario Brothers dropped as they gasped after Oliver answered Mario’s question.

Luigi shook in fear. “D-did you recreate Robotnik?”

Oliver sweated and stuttered. “Y-yes, with the use of his technology that's in Highfalcon inside this building. Ms. Nelson was given a percentage of Robotnik's technology.”

Mario wanted to attack him for reviving a diabolical madman, but restrained himself from doing so, not wanting to attract attention. He learned the doctor’s technology was dangerous. And he was glad 47 wasn’t around because this would give the assassin a reason to kill him. He felt agitated as he looked at the man responsible for recreating Robotnik.

“Mama Mia, how can we trust you for doing this?!” Mario questioned him

Oliver kept shaking in fear as he answered and apologized. “I’m sorry! I, I didn’t want Vanessa to bully me endlessly as she always does! She always stomps on me, punches me, crushes my glasses, spits on me, calls me names, etc! Brings back terrible memories. T-the both of you can a-arrest me if you want!”

The Mario Brothers felt somewhat bad for what Oliver had to go through, but an effort had to be made by the latter for the brothers to trust him.

“A sob story won’t convince us to easily trust you,” Mario told him. “Do you know about a man named ‘Bob’?”

“No.” Oliver shook his head. He swallowed and continued. “I was surprised when you told Ms. Nelson and I. Was that really going to happen?”

“Yes,” Mario confirmed. “Let’s-a talk about it later. We need to find Alex Murphy.” He exited the cell with his brother. “Do you know where he is?” He asked Oliver.

“H-he should be in Ms. Nelson’s office or on the rooftop,” Oliver answered. "Ms. Nelson told me earlier she was going to spend time with him at one of those two places."

“Then let’s-a go!” Mario told them.

“I’ll go alone,” Luigi told them. “I wanna save Alex.”

Mario wanted to protest but didn’t want to argue. “Okey dokey, Luigi. Please be careful.”

“Take that seriously,” Oliver said to Luigi. “M-Ms. Nelson hired mercenaries who are armed, and they're guarding the building.”

“Ha! Mercenaries won’t stop us!” Luigi said with confidence.

---

Outside of Vanessa’s laboratory building, 47 kept himself hidden in the dark as he slowly approached two parked vehicles and crouched. The two vehicles he approached were the black Ford Taurus and a black van. The assassin placed car bombs underneath them.

Placing the car bombs under the cars was a plan 47 formed. Jigen and Astolfo were concerned about the plan as they believed it would raise unwanted attention, but 47 knew this was going to be a stealthy rescue.

The hitman’s goal was to manipulate the guards working for Vanessa to ditch her and leave. Sure, he could go with guns blazing, but most of the time, 47 always dealt with assignments with stealth and only got into shootouts when it was necessary.

Astolfo and Jigen were with him, sitting inside the bright yellow 1965 Fiat 500 F, the former sitting in the passenger seat, and the latter in the driver’s seat. They were a distance away from him to give him some room to concentrate. They watched 47 placing the car bombs and were surprised by him knowing what he was doing so easily.

In an alley, there was a mercenary guarding the back entrance. He held an FN P90 submachine gun.

47 stared at him and quietly grabbed his fiber wire and snuck behind him, then strangled him to death. The mercenary tried to fight the assassin off, but to no avail, as 47’s strength was too strong to fight off.

After killing the mercenary, 47 dragged his dead body to a hiding spot and put his clothes on, as well as grabbing his P90, then signaled Astolfo and Jigen to approach him.

The two exited the Fiat and crossed the street to reach 47. The bald hitman spoke.

“I’m going inside. You two stay here.” 47 told him.

“Seriously?” Jigen scoffed. “After all of that travel and us watching you kill that guy, you want us to stay outside?”

“I thought we were gonna help you!” Astolfo reminded him.

“You are.” 47 nodded. “Wait for the signal to go in. If you don’t see it in 10 minutes, then get inside.”

“Look, you should let me go with you,” Jigen suggested. “Pretend I’m an intruder.”

“Yeah, pretend I’m an intruder too!” Astolfo smiled.

47 sighed, knowing arguing with these two was going to waste so much time.

“Fine.” He said. “I need your guy's weapons.”

Jigen handed 47 his Smith & Wesson Model 19. He already knew the reason why.

Astolfo nervously laughed. “Haha, I uh, I forgot to bring my gun with me.”

“Are you kidding me?” Jigen looked at him with shock. “Are you stupid or what?”

“How did you forget it?” 47 asked.

“I got too excited to be involved in rescuing the Mario Brothers and Alex Murphy with you two,” Astolfo explained, blushing out of embarrassment.

47 sighed while Jigen facepalmed.

“Let’s just move.” 47 spoke as he placed Jigen’s revolver concealed.

47 slowly opened the back entrance of the door and saw himself in a dark hallway. He began to walk down the hall as he wielded his P90. Jigen and Astolfo stood close to him as they walked with him.

They then approached another hallway which had lights turned on and had white halls and floors, as well as futuristic sliding doors. The trio continued to walk as they were stopped by a mercenary who was wielding a P90.

“Intruders?” The mercenary asked.

“Yes, they are.” 47 nodded. “Where should I keep these two locked?”

“There’s a cell inside a lab, but I have no clue where it is.” The mercenary answered. “That crazy bitch barely tells us jackshit. She’s like ‘figure it out, bozo!’. All of this for some stupid cyborg.”

“She could’ve done all of this by herself.” 47 played along. “Maybe it’s not worth staying here.”

“You think we should ditch her?”

“Yes, I do.”

“But what about those two?” The mercenary asked as he looked at Jigen and Astolfo.

“I’ll take care of them.” 47 reassured him. “Including the Mario Brothers and that girl Vanessa Nelson. I handle any witnesses here.”

“Okay, we’ll help you out on that.” The mercenary offered.

“There’s no need.” 47 declined. “All of you should leave while I handle everything here. You let me worry about transportation.”

“Um, okay, no problem.” The mercenary nodded. “I’ll contact the others.” He walked away from the trio as he contacted the other mercenaries, telling them to call it a night and leave the building.

Jigen let out a sigh of relief. “Holy shit.” He whispered. “I honestly didn’t think that would work.”

“Neither have I,” Astolfo replied, whispering.

“Let’s watch them leave.” 47 told them.

With that, the trio kept themselves hidden as they moved through the hall and approached some stairs and ascended them. They looked around to make sure no mercenary was around and entered a dark room. They then approached a window and saw some mercenaries entering the two cars. 47 waited for more to enter the cars.

After the rest of the mercenaries entered the dark Ford Taurus and the black van, the two vehicles started and drove away.

Then, 47 grabbed out a detonator and pressed the button after the cars were far away.

KABOOM! KABOOM!

The three witnessed the explosions and saw the mercenaries getting killed by the hitman. 47 handed the Model 19 revolver back to Jigen and handed a Desert Eagle from the dead mercenary to Astolfo.

47 took the ski mask and the black squad goggles off and tossed them away. “Let’s go find them.” He told them.

---

Mario, Luigi, Oliver, Vanessa, and Robocop all witnessed the explosions that happened outside.

Mario and Luigi believed 47 caused it and were grateful for him being around to save and help them.

After Luigi witnessed the explosion, he started to feel fear while walking around in the hallways of the building. He hoped 47 was the reason the car explosions happened and it wasn’t from someone else, such as Robotnik, or any Boos. Thinking about the Boos and King Boo made him shudder.

As Luigi kept walking, 47, Astolfo, and Jigen were behind him. The former stopped and turned around slowly as he trembled. And saw the trio.

“Aaah! 47! Astolfo and Jigen!” Luigi said their names after he screamed.

“That's us!” Astolfo smiled as he wrapped his arms around 47 and Jigen, who both got his arms off their bodies with force.

Luigi felt relieved. “Oh, thank god it’s you guys.”

“Did those mercenaries capture you, too?” 47 asked.

“No.” Luigi shook his head. “This woman named Vanessa Nelson captured me and Alex. She had a scientist named Oliver who broke us out.”

“I see.” 47 replied. “Do you trust him?”

“Sort of, but uh...he...”

“What did he do?” 47 questioned him.

Luigi shook as he looked at 47’s intimidating face. “He recreated Robotnik.”

47’s eyes slightly widened in surprise while Astolfo and Jigen gasped. The hitman started to wonder if Dr. Ivo Robotnik was back in town and was plotting violent revenge on the Mario Brothers. And he already doesn’t trust Oliver.

“I don’t trust him, Luigi.” 47 responded.

“Yeah, his recreation of Robotnik raises red flags.” Jigen believed.

“And he could be a backstabber.” Astolfo glared, thinking Oliver was plotting a possible betrayal.

“I-I know, but maybe not,” Luigi said, trying to reassure the three. “I’m-a sure Oliver can tell us more about Robotnik and his plans.”

“Let’s hope that’ll be the case for his sake.” 47 said. “Do you know where Mario is?”

“He’s-a with Oliver,” Luigi answered. “We’re all trying to find Vanessa and Alex.”

“We’ll help you out finding them.” 47 assisted

“Really?” Luigi said with surprise

“Yes.” 47 nodded. He went on to explain about manipulating the mercenaries to leave the building and blowing them up.

“I knew that explosion was caused by you,” Luigi replied. He smiled and clapped his hands. “Alright! Then let’s-a go find Alex Murphy and stop Vanessa Nelson!”

---

Mario and Oliver walked down a hall and went through a sliding door that led to Vanessa’s office. As it turned out, she wasn’t there. The office was empty.

“She’s not here,” Oliver remarked.

“Then where could she be?” Mario asked with worry.

“Don’t worry!” Oliver reassured him as he walked towards Vanessa’s desk. He started to type on the computer’s keyboard. “I can hack into her computer and check the security footage.”

Mario became shocked. “What!? You can do that!?”

“Yes. I can hack into anything.” Oliver replied as he continued to hack Vanessa’s computer. That response reminded Mario of Ami, who’s also a hacker.

When Oliver was finished hacking the computer, he accessed the security footage and spotted Vanessa and Robocop on the rooftop of the building.

“Found her!” Oliver told Mario. “She’s on the roof with Robocop!”

Mario walked towards Oliver and saw the security footage of Vanessa throwing a tantrum in front of Robocop.

---

“YOU DUMB CYBORG!!!" Vanessa yelled as she stomped. "I DEMAND YOU TO OBEY ME!!!! ONLY ME!!! IT’S ALL ABOUT ME DUH!!!!! YOU WILL OBEY MY DEMANDS WHEN I BOSS YOU AROUND!!!! YOU DON’T BELONG TO THE STUPID HIGHFALCON PD!!! OKAY!?"

“Ma’am, you need to remain calm,” Robocop told her. “I keep telling you that I’ve been programmed to serve and protect the Highfalcon PD, the Mario Brothers, and their friends. Since you kidnapped me and Luigi and sent mercenaries to kidnap Mario, you will be charged with kidnapping as well as stealing me from the Highfalcon PD.”

Vanessa was about to lose it again as she had her hands on her face and angrily shook as her blood was boiling.

“You will not arrest me,” Vanessa growled. “You belong to me, and you will obey ME!”

“How many times does this need to be said to you? I am programmed to serve and protect the Highfalcon PD-“

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Vanessa screamed out. “THAT’S IT!!!!!!!! I WILL DESTROY YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“STOP!” Someone said. It was Luigi.

Vanessa turned around and saw Luigi. He stood with 47, Astolfo, and Jigen. Mario's brother glared at her with his fists clenched.

Vanessa glared back. She was shocked to see Luigi out of the cell he was placed in. “You!” She shouted as she pointed her finger at him. “How did you guys escape the cell!?”

“Your former accomplice freed us,” Luigi answered. “It’s-a over for you, Vanessa Nelson. My brother and I know about your involvement in the recreation of Dr. Robotnik. Time to give up and leave Alex Murphy alone!”

“And kick your butt!” Astolfo pointed at her with a glare.

“And make you cry to your momma!” Jigen glared.

Vanessa laughed. “Mwhahahahahaha! We’ll see about that!” She quickly pulled her EMP gun and shot it at Robocop.

Robocop became disabled. Luigi was agitated.

“Oh no!” Luigi yelled. “What did you do!?”

“I disabled him, duh!” Vanessa told him. “If you want to turn him back on, you have to fight me first!” She pulled out two knives and evilly smiled. “With knives!”

Vanessa tossed a knife to Luigi, which he didn’t pick up as it landed on the ground in front of his feet. Luigi grabbed the knife and brought his eyes to Vanessa, who was still evilly smiling.

Astolfo became scared. "Luigi, don't do this!"

"I have to Astolfo," Luigi replied.

Luigi approached Vanessa as he kept his grip on the knife. He swung it at her but missed, which made Vanessa punch him in the face.

Mario’s brother swung again but missed. Vanessa was able to swing the blade of the knife on Luigi’s back, which made him yelp.

Vanessa attempted to give Luigi another cut on his body, but Luigi unexpectedly dropped his knife and started to punch Vanessa in the face and in the abdomen, which made her fall to the ground.

The crazy Robotnik daughter reject stared at Luigi with her glare and quickly stood up and continued to fight Luigi.

Astolfo, 47, and Jigen wanted to help Luigi in fighting Vanessa, but believed this was his fight, not theirs.

---

Mario and Oliver witnessed the fight on the roof. Mario started to worry, thinking his brother was going to die.

“We have to help him!” Mario told Oliver. “Let’s-a go!”

They quickly exited the office and headed straight to the roof as fast as possible.

---

As the two continued to fight, 47 snuck towards Robocop and hid behind him, quickly searching for an activation switch. He realized he had to open something to reveal the switch. He found a cover, opened it, and noticed a switch. It was already set to “on”, so he set it to “off” and turned it back “on”, which activated Robocop.

47 saw Robocop activating, then saw Luigi getting punched in the face and stabbed in the abdomen.

Vanessa evilly smiled. “You lose! Mwhahahaha!”

The victory came to an end when she saw 47 and Robocop. She glared at the bald hitman.

“YOU!” Vanessa yelled at 47. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!?!? THAT’S MY ROBOCOP!!!!!!”

“Not anymore.” 47 replied.

Robocop noticed Luigi was harmed as he noticed he was bleeding. “Luigi!” He said his name out loud. He approached and faced Vanessa, “You have committed attempted murder on my friend! You will now face justice with violence!”

Robocop did not waste any more time as he grabbed Vanessa’s legs, held her upside-down, and then ripped her body in half. Blood and guts started pouring all over the place. He then tossed the two parts of her body off the roof along with the blood, guts, and the bones that were falling with her corpse.

“Have a safe bloody flight,” Robocop said.

From behind, Mario and Oliver showed up in time to see what Robocop did. Luigi, Astolfo, Jigen, Mario, and Oliver had their eyes widened with their jaws dropped to the ground. Except 47.

Mario yelled in shock. “MAMA MIA ALEX MURPHY! YOU DIDN'T NEED TO GO THAT FAR!”

“My apologies.” Robocop apologized to him and everyone. “She needed to pay for what she did to your brother.” He looked at Mario’s brother. “Are you okay, Luigi?”

“I’m-a okay, Alex,” Luigi said slowly to him as he held on to his bleeding abdomen.

“Mama Mia Luigi!” Mario looked at him with sadness. “Please don’t-a leave us!”

“He’ll survive, Mario.” 47 told him. “Unfortunately, I don’t have anything with me right now, so we’ll have to head back home as quickly as possible.”

“You can save him!?” Astolfo looked in surprise.

“Yes, we just need to leave right now.” 47 answered him.

“47?” Robocop said his name. “May I assist you in healing him?”

“And can I help you out, too?” Jigen asked.

“Sure.” 47 nodded at them.

Mario stood up as he held on to his wounded brother. “Then let’s-a go before it’s too late!”

Chapter 17: ACT 2 - Chapter 5

Inside the bathroom of the Mario Brothers house, 47, Robocop, and Jigen were working together to heal Luigi after the latter got stabbed in the abdomen by Vanessa.

Luigi shrieked as 47 was applying ointment on his abdomen, which made Jigen and Robocop keep a firm grip on the former.

Luigi watched the three of them healing him; it felt like he was going through surgery.

The healing trio was finished. 47 spoke. “Alright, that should do it. You need to have some rest until you feel better.” He told Luigi.

Mario's brother slowly stood up. He smiled at them. “Thanks, 47, Alex, and Jigen!” He then wrapped his arms around all three of them and hugged them. “Ow!” He let out thanks to the pain that was currently healing.

“It will sting for a while.” 47 told him. “Now end the hug.”

“Yeah, you don’t want to ruin the healing process,” Jigen said to Mario’s brother.

Luigi unwrapped his arms. “Do you know how long I need to rest?” He asked 47.

“From the wound I saw, I say roughly 5 to 10 days, as long as you don’t try to poke it so many times.” 47 answered.

“Okay.” Luigi nodded. “Does that mean I have to skip work?”

“Up to you.” 47 replied as he packed his healing equipment and left the bathroom with Jigen.

“My suggestion to you, Luigi, is to contact Mr. Jameson and request a break for a couple of days,” Robocop suggested.

Luigi thought about it but was hesitant to ask Jameson for some time off. He didn’t know how he would react, but he wanted to give it a shot. He looked at the clock on the wall and noticed it was close to midnight. This made Luigi assume Jameson was sleeping, and it was also time for the former to go to sleep.

“I’ll think about it, Alex,” Luigi told him. “And uh, your memories of being in the Highfalcon PD, have they been restored?”

“Yes, they have,” Robocop answered. “When we were at that building, when I was with Vanessa, my memories of me being in the Highfalcon PD came back. I attempted to arrest her for kidnapping us and stealing me until she committed attempted murder on you. My real name is Alex Murphy. I was killed by mafia crime boss Jonny Fernsby, then I was resurrected as Robocop.”

“Welcome back,” Luigi replied with a sad smile and sighed.

“This doesn’t mean we’re no longer friends, Luigi,” Robocop told him. “We can still hang out, as long as you don’t commit any crimes. And I’ll make sure no individual commits a crime against you.”

Luigi hugged as he had a big, happy smile. “Thanks, Alex!” He said his real name. "And one day, this Jonny Fernsby guy will pay!"

“You’re welcome, Luigi,” Robocop replied. "And yes, he will."

---

47 and Jigen arrived at the living room and saw Mario, Astolfo, and Oliver discussing Robotnik’s technology that was stored in Vanessa’s hideout. Before they arrived at the house, they talked about the doctor's hideout in Thunder Valley. The three noticed them as Mario spoke to Oliver.

“How much of the technology is stored in her hideout?” Mario inquired.

“Not much,” Oliver answered. “Most of it was used to recreate Robotnik.”

“Why would you oblige to do that?” Astolfo asked.

“I-I didn’t want to die,” Oliver told him. “Vanessa wasn’t the only person I was worried about, but I was also worried about Agent Stone.”

“Agent Stone?” Astolfo said.

“I arrested this man when he was involved in kidnapping the mayor,” Mario recalled. “He escaped?”

“Yes, thanks to Vanessa,” Oliver told him. “She used bribery and threatening tactics to bail him out, and kept him hidden in her hideout.”

He continued. “After Robotnik’s initial demise, Agent Stone gave half of Robotnik’s technology to Vanessa and the other half to Alan. When Vanessa told Agent Stone and Robotnik about the exchange that Alan was going to do regarding the technology, both Robotnik and Agent Stone declared him a traitor and gave the technology in Highfalcon to Vanessa.”

Mario then brought up Alan’s son. “I heard Alan has a son named Daniel who became his successor in his company.”

“That’s right.” Oliver nodded. He swallowed and continued speaking. “Vanessa and I have not met him, so I don’t have any info about him besides what you said.”

Jigen stepped in. “I’ll speak to Ami about this guy and see if she’s able to find info about him.”

“Good idea.” Mario nodded.

Astolfo looked at 47 and Jigen. “How’s Luigi?”

“He’s doing fine.” 47 answered. “He just needs some rest.”

Astolfo smiled at him and Jigen as he held his hands to his chest. “Thank you, 47 and Jiggy! Thank you for not just healing Mario’s brother and my best friend, but for being our friends!”

He then hugged them. “You two may be grumpy at times, but not always. And I’m sorry for putting my panties in the basement and changing the background of your laptop 47, which caused the scariest breakfast that I ever had in my entire life.”

---

FLASHBACK

After Ami spoke to 47 and Astolfo about Oddjob, she left the house, leaving the two alone again.

In the kitchen, Astolfo was trembling and sweating as he was eating his pancakes and enduring the intimidating stare of Agent 47, who stood in front of him.

“P-please don’t kill me!” Astolfo begged.

---

47 didn’t hug him back as he doesn’t often show emotions, but he forgave him for what he did. He looked at Mario, who smiled and gave him a thank-you thumbs-up. Oliver looked away as he was afraid of the assassin seeing how intimidating he looked.

“Just forgive him,” Jigen told 47 with his arm wrapped around Astolfo. “Who wouldn’t want to forgive him, and end this hug?”

He then spoke to Astolfo. "And don't call me Jiggy."

"You're no fun!" Astolfo pouted.

47 looked at Astolfo, who still had his arms wrapped around him during the hug. “You’re welcome, and I forgive you. Can you end the hug now?”

Astolfo still pouted. “Why don’t you hug me back!? Are you anti-hug?!”

“I’m not a hugger.”

"So that's a yes!" Astolfo sighed and released the hug.

47 brought his eyes back to Oliver. “So you must be Oliver.” He said to him.

Oliver gulped as he looked at him. “Y-yes, t-that’s right.”

“If this is a show of remorse for what you did, you will no longer see what the next second of your life will look like.” 47 threatened.

Jigen looked at Oliver. “Remember that.” He told him.

Oliver trembled in fear as he felt his head sweating. “I-I won’t b-betray you guys! I promise!”

“Good.” 47 nodded. With that, he left the living room and went to the basement.

Mario patted Oliver on the back. “Don’t-a worry about 47!” He reassured him. “Sure, he can be scary and threatening, but he’s a great guy!”

“Didn’t he try to kill you guys, though?” Jigen asked him.

“Yeah, but that’s the past that’s buried!” Mario smiled at him.

“Uh-huh,” Jigen replied.

Astolfo smiled at Oliver. “Hey, why don’t you live with us?”

“I can’t.” Oliver denied. “I have my own hideout, and a lot of my equipment is there. It’s not worth getting my location to be traced back here despite being encrypted.”

"You'll be protected here, you know?" Jigen responded.

"I cannot live here." Oliver shook his head.

Jigen felt suspicious of him already, but he kept it to himself. He didn’t want to start anything like an argument.

Astolfo sighed as he slumped his shoulders. “Okay...”

“Stay here for the night so you can sleep,” Mario suggested. “And tomorrow morning, give me directions to your hideout in case I need your assistance.”

Oliver swallowed again and responded. “Yeah, sure.”

“Okey dokey! Time to get some shut-eye!” Mario said, calling it a night and hopefully getting enough sleep.

---

Luigi started his recovery by spending time with Astolfo in the former's bedroom.

Astolfo requested to give Luigi some company during his recovery from the stab wound. Luigi wasted no time saying yes as he always loved spending time with the femboy.

Luigi looked away from Astolfo as he faced a dilemma. He felt very grateful for Astolfo being his best friend and spending time with him during his recovery. He began to remember the fun memories he had with him while they were at Mushroom City and other areas of the Mushroom Kingdom. There were times when Astolfo made Luigi blush and times when he heard his cute giggle. And there were times when he saw Astolfo crying on his shoulder during comfort.

Astolfo became concerned while staring at Luigi. “What’s wrong, Luigi?” He asked him.

“A-Astolfo, I have something to say to you, and you may not like it,” Luigi answered as a blush was forming.

“Why wouldn’t I like it? Oh! Is it a secret?!” Astolfo asked, feeling excited to hear the secret. Then formed a scared face. “Wait! YOU’RE NOT LEAVING, ARE YOU!?”

The yell made Luigi cover his ears with his eyes closed. He then glared at Astolfo.

“Mama Mia, keep it down, Astolfo!”

“S-sorry haha.” Astolfo nervously laughed.

“It’s no longer a secret when I tell you,” Luigi responded as he turned to face him. He cleared his throat. “Astolfo, I’ve been very grateful that I met you during the Mushroom Kingdom War. I always view you as a caring, goofball, strong, and awesome femboy friend. Seeing you makes me smile.”

Astolfo felt the blush coming as he listened to Luigi’s words. It made his heart warm as the words touched him.

“But the more I spent time with you, the more I started to view you as more than a friend.”

Astolfo’s eyes widened as he gasped. Is he going to confess!? PLEASE DO!

Luigi’s eyes looked straight at Astolfo’s eyes. “I love you, Astolfo.”

Astolfo just wanted to approach him and start kissing him, but wanted to restrain himself as he had something to say. He formed a cute smile.

“Luigi, I love you too.” He felt tears coming down. “I-I always felt fear of being alone, but ever since I met you and your brother, I started to find hope and joy, and spending time with you always made my day to become the best.”

He continued. “I started to freak out internally when I saw your stab wound, thinking you were going to die. But you survived, thanks to our friends. And from time to time, I dream about you, and us cuddling.” He placed his arms around Luigi.

Luigi placed his arms around Astolfo as his eyes looked at him. Looking at him closer made his body feel excited. He was happy that his confession to the femboy went well.

"It's-a a difficult for me to not look at you and not kiss you."

Astolfo giggled and smiled as he placed his hand on Luigi's cheek. Then Mario's Brother and the femboy began kissing. After they kissed, Astolfo kept his arms around Luigi and laid his head on his shoulder.

---

Before Mario went to bed in his bedroom, he was thinking about Franziska. He didn’t want to have the worrying thoughts come back to him, but he couldn’t help it.

He thought about trying to call her, but believed she was asleep and didn’t want to get her angry and get whipped by her when she returned. What he decided to do instead was send her a text message.

He typed “Hi Franziska! It’s-a me, Mario! Sorry for bothering you with this text message. I’m-a just getting worried about you since you haven’t called. I hope everything is going okay. Please be safe!”

The worried former plumber pressed send. He hoped he wouldn’t lose sleep over thinking about the whipping prosecutor’s whereabouts.

Mario almost forgot about the Super Star plushie gift he gave to Franziska, which was in his room, sitting on a chair. The Super Star plushie. It would bring good luck to people in the Mushroom Kingdom. He hoped Franziska wasn’t facing bad luck, or worse, becoming a victim of a tragic incident.

He shook his head at that thought because he believed he was overthinking. Instead, what he wanted to think about was Franziska having a picture of him. He wondered if Franziska had feelings for him, just like he does with her.

Mario became very fond of Franziska, viewing her as a woman with determination, humor, and bravery. Sure, Mario thought she could be scary sometimes, but he believed she had a heart. He felt proud of her for winning the reward she received days ago.

All Mario hoped for was for Franziska to be safe. He wanted to leave it at that. Time to go to bed before he had low sleeping hours.

The lights turned off in Mario’s bedroom as he lay in his bed.

Goodnight.

---

Thunder Valley, Nevada

Thunder Valley was an abandoned town in Nevada. It was abandoned until Dr. Ivo Robotnik occupied it and used it as his main headquarters.

The weather was sunny above the Robotnik town. The town was surrounded by the Nevada desert. There were many rustic old buildings in the town that had a Western look to them. Roads that led to the abandoned town were completely wiped off the surface since the evil doctor didn’t want anyone to discover the town by accident.

For the evil doctor's sake, since Thunder Valley has been abandoned for so long, it doesn't exist on any maps. However, the location of Thunder Valley was on historic maps of the United States, which were rare to find.

Under the town was a bunker where Robotnik was usually. To access the bunker, an individual will have to enter the town’s bank, open the bank vault, and then opened the secret door by entering a code that led to the bunker. This entrance was created by Robotnik’s robots as he believed it would be a great entrance for his bunker.

Robotnik’s robots also developed a compound to connect the town with. The compound consisted of Robotnik’s robots and human soldiers, as well as his ships, drones, and red Ford Indigos.

Speaking of human soldiers who work for Robotnik, they were dressed in dark red and black armored outfits with dark red sci-fi helmets that covered their faces except their eyes, and would always use laser weapons, mainly the laser rifle.

All of the human soldiers got talked down by their superior as he despised them all since he preferred robots, but the only reason why Robotnik had human soldiers was because of Agent Stone, who always showed loyalty to the doctor and wanted to try something different while disliking it.

Robotnik was surprised at how easy it was to boss around the human soldiers, as they always do what he demands them to do, but he won’t miss them when all of them are dead.

All of the human soldiers gathered in front of a stage in the compound, waiting for their leader to arrive. The soldiers patiently waited as they wielded their laser rifles.

A loud noise from a horn went off, which told the soldiers that Dr. Ivo Robotnik had arrived. Robotnik angrily stomped his feet as he approached the stage with Agent Stone and Vault Boy following suit.

Robotnik stared at the human soldiers as he very angrily breathed in and out, viewing all of his human soldiers as worthless creatures. He then lashed out at all of them by yelling and pointing his finger at all of the human soldiers while stomping his feet.

“ALL OF YOU ARE A BUNCH OF LOSERS!!!!!”

His eyes looked lividly at them.

“All of you are breathing air, all because of Agent Stone, also known as Agent Stupid! And if anyone decides to become creepy like Creepy Vault Boy, I WILL BE ABSOLUTELY MAD!!!!!”

He continued to insanely yell as he lost more of his sanity.

“I SAID THIS A BILLION TIMES AND I’M GONNA SAY IT AGAIN, I HATE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!!! YOU ALL FREAKING SUCK!!!! ALL OF YOU SHOULD GO SUCK AN EGG!!! I AM THE ONE WHO KILLED SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!!!! NONE OF YOU DID!!! SO DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT BEING INVOLVED WITH HIS AWESOME DEATH!!! AND REMEMBER, I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO IS ALLOWED TO SMACK AGENT STONE’S BUTT!!!”

The doctor smacked Agent Stone’s butt in front of everyone.

“Ow!” Agent Stone yelped as he held his butt and endured the pain.

The doctor kept yelling.

“NONE OF YOU ARE ALLOWED TO SMACK HIS BUTT!!! IF YOU DO, I AM GOING TO BE SO FREAKING ANGRY!!! HE’S MORE LOYAL TO ME THAN ALL OF YOU PATHETIC HUMAN SOLDIERS!!!!! I WILL NOT MISS ANY OF YOU WHEN YOU ALL DIE!!!!!!!!!! ALL OF YOU ARE WORKING FOR ME FOR FREE AND YOU WON'T GET STUPID MONEY!!!!! YOU GOT IT?!?!?! IF YOU BETRAY ME LIKE WHAT THAT WORTHLESS IMBECILE ALAN MONTGOMERY DID, I WILL DESTROY ALL OF YOU!!!!!!”

“ALL OF YOU IDIOTS WILL NOT BE CREDITED FOR BEING INVOLVED WITH MY DESTRUCTION OF HIGHFALCON WHEN THAT WORTHLESS CITY GETS OBLITERATED!!!!! AND THE DEATHS OF THOSE STUPID MARIO BROTHERS AND THEIR STUPID BFFs!!!!!!! I WILL DEFEAT THEM ONCE AND FOR ALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!”

He began to laugh evilly like a wicked doctor.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Agent Stone wanted to laugh but was afraid of getting punched by the evil doctor. Vault Boy stood as he smiled; he viewed Robotnik’s speech to be very motivational, optimistic, and wonderful.

Robotnik ended his laugh and gave some final words to his human soldiers.

“Now do some rock-connaissance and return to your duties!” He demanded them. He went on yelling. “BUT DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT TAKING A DOODY OR TAKING A NAP IN THE BUNKER!!!!! GO AWAY ALL OF YOU!!!!”

All the soldiers obliged and returned to their duties to guard Thunder Valley and the bunker.

Robotnik looked at Agent Stone and Vault Boy, then laughed. “Hahahahahahaha I just realized doody and duties sound the same hahahahahahahahah!”

“Dr. Robotnik!?” A robot said as it approached the three.

“What is it and make it worth my time!” Robotnik told it.

“I received reports about Vanessa Nelson dying last night at Highfalcon, and the technology that's in her hideout is currently being seized by the Highfalcon PD!”

Robotnik’s eye started to twitch, not because of Vanessa’s demise, but because of the police having possession of his technology.

Agent Stone spoke to him. “Um, doctor? Do you want me to handle it?”

“NO, Agent Stone!” Robotnik looked at him. He pointed his finger at Vault Boy. “He’s gonna handle it!”

“Me?” Vault Boy smiled.

“YES, Creepy Vault Boy!” Robotnik replied. “You, with some assistance from my robots, are demanded to bring back my technology here! NOW GO!”

“Yes, Dr. Robotnik!” Vault Boy nodded with his smile. “I will retrieve your technology and send it here and destroy all the-“

“JUST GO ALREADY!” Robotnik shouted at him.

Vault Boy still smiled as he nodded and walked away, getting himself to travel back to Highfalcon.

Robotnik brought his eyes to Agent Stone. “Aaaaaaaaaaaalrighty then, Agent Stone, move your butt and follow me to the bunker! We need to get to work! And I need more Latte with steamed Austrian Goat Milk!”

“Yes, Doctor!” Agent Stone obliged as he followed Robotnik.

---

Back in Highfalcon. It was still daytime. Vault Boy kept himself hidden from Highfalcon PD officers as they were still patrolling Vanessa’s laboratory hideout.

Vault Boy crouched on a roof near the hideout and looked down, watching the officers storing Robotnik’s remaining technology in a police van. He realized this was going to be quite difficult as there were many police officers as well as SWAT members patrolling the perimeter of the hideout. He assumed there were plenty of officers inside the hideout.

So Creepy Vault Boy thought of an idea. He had some sleeping grenades with him that he could use to knock out the police officers, but he had just now realized that the officers inside the building would take notice.

Vault Boy began requesting assistance.

---

The Highfalcon PD officers were checking their surroundings to make sure no threats came from Robotnik’s group or anyone else who wanted the technology.

A male officer saw something landing on the ground near him, which was a sleeping grenade. Smoke from the grenade came out and quickly spread all over, not giving the officers a chance to run from the smoke. They all dropped to the floor.

---

Inside the Hideout, officers were getting shot and killed by Robotnik’s robots. The officers tried to fight them off, but to no avail. Robotnik’s robots were too tough to fight against.

The robots searched everywhere in the hideout and killed everyone they saw. One of the orders was to get the technology and kill any witnesses.

There was a wounded SWAT officer who was crawling as blood was coming out of his body. A robot approached him and blasted his head with its laser pistol.

---

Back outside, Vault Boy still kept himself hidden until one of the robots spoke to him on his communication device.

“Vault Boy? It’s done. Go ahead and steal the police van that has the technology. We will handle everything here.”

Vault Boy nodded with a smile. “Roger that!”

He jumped off the roof and quickly approached the police van as he looked around, just in case he had to kill any witnesses. He then got in the van and started it up. Now it was time to head to the spot to drop the technology off, which was in a forest.

Vault Boy had another device that told him where the spot in the forest was to meet with Robotnik’s robots.

The robots continued to search the hideout for any trace of witnesses, and there were none. This now became a mission accomplishment.

Robotnik was going to become very thrilled.

Chapter 18: ACT 2 - Chapter 6

Notes:

WARNING: Slight sexual content

Inside the Lupin house, Ami was in her room, sitting at her table with her laptop, working hard to find information about Oliver. Jigen requested her to find information about the scientist since he didn't trust him.

Ami was able to access archived security footage from Vanessa's building thanks to Underworld and took pictures of Oliver from the footage and requested Underworld to perform facial recognition on him, but to no avail. No information about him was found.

Ami believed this was bizarre and frustrating as she received zero information about him. She was able to learn about Daniel Montgomery, such as his past, things like him graduating from Yale University with a business degree, and working for his father until becoming president and CEO of Montgomery Industries.

She also found information about Bob Page. After what happened in the subway regarding Alan mentioning Bob to 47 while the latter was in disguise and played along, Ami had Underworld look up relevant names that had the first name Bob in them. Underworld discovered one name that stood out.

Robert Page, commonly known as Bob Page. According to the info Ami received, Bob was a multi-billionaire, CEO of Page Industries, and an owner of a company known as VersaLife, which focused on pharmaceuticals, bioengineering, and nanotechnology. She also received info about him being a member of the Illuminati.

Ami found out about the Illuminati thanks to Underworld. She found out that the Illuminati was no longer active, with all of the members being deceased. One member named Morgan Everett was presumed dead, according to investigators who were hunting him down after he worked with Interpol to hunt down Bob Page. But that investigation was canceled with no information about it.

This made Ami even more frustrated, knowing she couldn’t find any additional relevant info about Bob and Morgan, and zero information about Oliver. She didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but a part of her believed Bob and Morgan are still alive somewhere on earth, and Oliver being connected to the two shadowy men.

But she was thankful that 47 revealed some info about Oddjob to her.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

“Come in!” Ami told the person who knocked.

It was Lupin the 3rd who opened the door. “Hey, Amy? You’ve been in here since this morning.” He remarked.

“It’s Ami, and yes, I am aware,” Ami replied. “Blame Jigen.”

Lupin shrugged. “I didn’t think he meant to stay in your room all day to find info about this Oliver guy.”

“I’ve been trying to find info about him,” Ami explained. She then exclaimed. “But nothing! Not a single damn thing about him!” She exclaimed as she slammed her hands on her table. She then deeply breathed and calmed herself down.

Lupin was surprised to see her snap, but this wasn't the first time.

“Why don’t you uh, take a break?” Lupin suggested.

She looked at Lupin. “Sorry about that.” She apologized. “Do you trust Oliver?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t met him yet, but Jigen told me he doesn’t trust him,” Lupin answered. “And that’s because Mario offered him to live with him and the others, but declined, saying he has his own hideout. According to Jigen, Oliver was eager not to live with them.”

“What about Goemon?” Ami inquired.

“He’s suspicious of him and suggested we should keep a close eye on him,” Lupin told her.

Ami hummed. She desperately wanted more info about Oliver. She believed that this scientist was hiding something.

“I wouldn’t be so obsessed with this guy,” Lupin told her. “Take a break. Think about finding info about Daniel Montgomery, and this Bob guy.”

“Nothing too relevant about Daniel,” Ami responded. “Just information about him graduating from Yale University with a business degree and working for his father and becoming his successor. As for Bob, I discovered a man named Bob Page who's presumed deceased. He used to be a member of a group called the Illuminati.”

“The Illuminati?!” Lupin widened his eyes. “Are you sure that’s what you found out? I always believed it was a mythical group.”

“It’s not,” Ami told him. “They were real. Members of the Illuminati were killed, except for two: Bob Page and Morgan Everett.”

“And where's Morgan Everett?”

“No one knows because he's also presumed dead. I haven’t had Underworld search info about Morgan, but for Bob, he was a multi-billionaire, CEO of his company Page Industries, and owner of another company called VersaLife.”

Lupin noticed how deep this information was and believed this Bob guy was indeed Bob Page.

“I’m starting to think this Bob Page fella is alive, just cause of Alan saying his name to 47 by accident.” Lupin believed. “What about that bowler hat man? Any info about him?”

“47 told me that his contact couldn’t find much info about him or his real name,” Ami explained. “The only name he got was ‘Oddjob’. He was involved in an attack at Fort Knox years ago.”

“Oddjob? Fort Knox?" Lupin blinked his eyes. "And he was the man who killed Fujicakes, right?"

“He was there at the school,” Ami confirmed to him. “I know he killed Fujiko Mine."

“I believe you, Amy. He’ll pay for what he did to Fujicakes.” Lupin formed a smirk. “And he’ll realize what it's like having an odd job. Hahaha!”

“It’s Ami.” She frowned at him. She got off her seat and left the room. “I’ll be outside.”

Lupin slumped his shoulders. “I know it wasn’t funny, but I’m trying to lighten the mood!”

He knew what Ami was going through after what happened at the school in Annecy. That violent event gave her trauma, all thanks to the evil bowler hat man Oddjob. So much info that couldn’t be found anywhere about these men.

Lupin had thoughts of wanting to speak to Mario, but after learning about Dr. Robotnik being recreated and Franziska becoming unresponsive, he would rather tell him when it was appropriate, as he didn’t want to stress his friend out. He remembered Mario telling him about Franziska not responding to his text and call, which made the former worried.

The thief remembered Ami being excited to go to the boarding school and make friends. Then, sometime later, the violent event at the school happened. He learned about the friend Ami made, Dolma Sinha, and learned about the latter being a princess from Padar and being presumed dead. As well as a civil war going on in Padar. A part of him believed Dolma was still alive and had been abducted. He didn’t want to blame Dr Robotnik; instead, he believed a different threat took her.

He believed Oddjob took her. And he also believed Oddjob was working for Bob Page.

---

One week later

Inside a private jet that was heading to Highfalcon, a female individual was sitting, looking at her phone, looking at recent activities.

Franziska von Karma.

She recently lost her phone and had to deal with the foolish phone provider, going through the foolish automated voice and having to press the foolish buttons on her phone just to speak to a foolish person about her phone being lost and quickly getting disabled. Thankfully, it happened, and now the prosecutor has a new phone.

Franziska couldn’t wait to reunite with Mario and his foolish brother Luigi, and their foolish friend Astolfo. Except for 47 and Lupin, since she despised them because of the two being criminals.

Reuniting with her “little brother” Miles Edgeworth, felt peaceful, which was a surprise to her. At first, she thought Edgeworth was going to discredit her regarding the reward she earned, but he believed Franziska had changed not just as a prosecutor, but also as a person. He felt Franziska was at peace and happy, and was going on her own path as a prosecutor. He felt proud of her “big sister”.

Edgeworth wanted to meet Mario and his friends someday, just to get to know them and possibly assist him in any investigations he’s been involved in with his boisterous companions. He was happy to learn Mario became their friend and a possible love interest for Franziska.

And Edgeworth made a promise to himself to ruin Mario's life if he dared to break Franziska's heart.

---

Franziska was now in her limo that was heading to the Mario Brothers house. The limo stopped in front of the home.

“We have arrived, Ms. von Karma.” The driver told her.

“Thank you,” Franziska replied. She got out and noticed Mario’s 1974 Dodge Monaco and Luigi’s 1934 Chrysler Airflow being parked on the driveway. She was glad to see them enjoying their weekend since it was the weekend after all. Speaking of the weekend, Franziska couldn't wait to spend her weekend with Mario.

Franziska approached the front door, knocked on it, and waited for the door to open as she had a small smile on her face.

The door opened, revealing one person, which made her frown and glare.

It was 47 who was looking at her.

“Franziska,” 47 greeted her.

“Hello, mister foolish assassin.” Franziska greeted in a dull tone. “Do you mind if I can come in and deal with your foolish existence?”

47 allowed her in and closed the door. “Did you call Mario?”

“No, I have not.” Franziska looked away, not wanting to look at the assassin killing machine.

“He told me he tried to call you, but you never picked up.” 47 told her. “He also sent you a text message, which you also haven’t responded to.”

Franziska turned to look at him. “My phone got lost. So I had to deal with tons of foolish frustrations just to get a foolish replacement.”

“You don’t look like the type of woman to lose anything.” 47 remarked.

Franziska scoffed. “I may be a professional like you, foolish assassin, but I’m not always perfect.”

47 felt suspicious, but his train of thought was interrupted when Mario arrived.

Mario grinned as she saw Franziska. “Mama Mia, Franziska! Welcome back!” He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her, but then he quickly let go, not wanting to annoy Franziska and get whipped by her.

Franziska giggled. “Nice to see you too, Mario.” She then gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Mario blushed as he enjoyed the kiss from her.

47 looked at them. “I’ll leave you two alone.” He told them. Instead of going to the basement, he went upstairs.

After the bald hitman left, Franziska spoke. “Where’s your foolish brother and your foolish friend Astolfo at?” She asked.

“Luigi is with Astolfo spending time together,” Mario explained. “Wanna go see them?”

“No, it’s okay.” Franziska shook her head. “Wouldn’t want to interrupt their moment together.”

“Haha!” Mario laughed. “They’ve gotten closer when you were away. It’s a long story, but Astolfo kept him company after he was stabbed. Luigi told me he confessed to him and also told me he has a picture of himself in a bikini showing his feet. He had been in love with him since the war, and he finally did it! Wahoo to Luigi!”

“Are you in love with me, Mario?” Franziska asked him in a seductive tone. She placed her hand on his chest. “Do you want to see me in a sexy bikini and show you my feet, hmm?”

Mario’s jaw dropped as he blushed, hearing the question out of nowhere. He never expected that type of question to come from her. He started to get flustered.

“Uhh, w-well a y-ye-I-I-mean no, not right now.” Mario stuttered.

“Why not?”

“W-well, I think we should just take it easy for a while,” Mario explained, trying to fight the blush off. “We just met weeks ago, so we should not rush anything.”

Franziska pouted. “Fine.” She said. She then formed a smirk. “Maybe some other day.”

“Y-yeah, haha,” Mario replied with a nervous laugh.

Franziska was about to leave. “Well, I must get going and go home. I’ll see you later, Mario.”

“Yes, of course!” Mario smiled as she gave her a thumbs-up.

After Franziska left, Mario thought Franziska was acting weird and a 180 from her personality. He wasn’t the only one who thought the prosecutor acted weird; so did 47, who listened to their conversation as he stood against the wall in the hall.

47 wasn’t as stupid as one may think. He wondered how Franziska lost her phone and why she would make sudden sexual advances towards Mario out of nowhere. He thought about warning Luigi and Astolfo as well as Robocop and Lupin about this and hoped they would keep it to themselves.

47 showed up to Luigi’s room and tried to open the door, but it was locked, so he looked through the keyhole and saw Luigi and Astolfo having a private moment.

Not just a private moment, a sexual private moment.

Astolfo sat on Luigi’s bed as he watched the latter licking the sole of Astolfo’s foot. Astolfo started to feel dominant as he was getting worshiped by his best friend turned lover, who confessed his feelings to him.

47 continued watching Luigi and Astolfo having fun in the bedroom. Astolfo took his clothes off and wrapped his arms around Luigi, then continued kissing him. Luigi also took his clothes off.

47 heard Mario’s footsteps coming to him in the hall.

“47?” He said his name in a quiet tone. “Being a peeping tom?”

47 looked at him as he stood his body straight up. “I wanted to ask Luigi a question, but his door was locked, which made me concerned.”

“Oh, yeah. I think Luigi is making out with Astolfo.” Mario decided to look through the keyhole and noticed his brother making out with Astolfo. “I’m-a proud of them. I remember Luigi telling me he was in love with Astolfo but was afraid to tell him. So I said ‘Luigi, my brother, it’s-a now or it’s-a never.”

He then walked down the hallway with 47. “Do you love anyone, 47?”

“I don’t feel love for anyone.”

“Oh.”

---

Later that day, Astolfo was feeling so joyful after his nice private moment with his boyfriend, Luigi. He walked down the stairs and saw 47 sitting in the living room reading a book.

Astolfo smiled at him as he saw him and greeted him. “Hey, 47!”

“Hello, Astolfo.” 47 responded as he shut the book. He stood up and faced Astolfo. “Franziska arrived earlier today.”

“Really?” Astolfo said in surprise. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“No one wanted to interrupt your private sexual moment with Luigi.” 47 answered.

Astolfo blushed. “Oh yeah, haha!”

“But Franziska acted strangely. She made sexual moves towards Mario out of nowhere, asking him if he wanted to see her in a bikini and her feet. Mario told her not now since they already started their friendship weeks ago.” 47 explained in detail.

Astolfo stood in shock after hearing the explanation. “Whoa!” He reacted. “I guess she loves him.”

“She suddenly loves him too much , but something’s off with her.” 47 believed. He then stood and walked to the entrance of the basement. But then he stopped and looked at Astolfo.

“Don’t bring this up to anyone.” He told him.

“I promise.” Astolfo nodded.

“And if you break Luigi’s heart, I’ll slit your throat.” 47 told him in an intimidating tone that sent chills down Astolfo's spine.

The hitman went to the basement, leaving a scared Astolfo alone in the living room.

Astolfo trembled after 47 gave her some scary stern words. It felt like he met Luigi’s father.

He then realized he wet himself. “Ah, geez, well, at least I’m wearing a skirt, as long as it doesn’t get wet! How can I make him less scary or something!?”

---

It was now night. Franziska exited her house while carrying a briefcase and walked towards her limo and entered. The limo drove away from the prosecutor’s home and exited through the gates.

The limo drove through the streets of the night city of Highcalcon, passing the traffic who were on their own destination, whether it was home, night shift, a bar, etc. Franziska was up to something, and she was planning on doing something.

Like what?

The limo stopped as it reached the destination where Franziska wanted the driver to go. The latter was in front of a building.

“Keep yourself hidden near the building and wait there,” Franziska told the driver.

“Yes, ma’am.” The driver nodded.

---

Franziska entered the building through the front entrance and walked up the stairs in the dark interior. She then arrived on a roof and stood in front of the edge, which overlooked the streets and a parking lot that had one car parked there, which was a white Volkswagen Golf Mk8.

The prosecutor stayed crouched as she opened the briefcase.

Inside the briefcase was a sniper rifle, a black synthetic SVD Dragunov.

Franziska put the SVD Dragunov sniper rifle together, added a suppressor, and scanned the area as she looked through the sniper scope, searching for people. She noticed a male and female couple walking down the sidewalk, but decided to leave them alone since she wanted to find a person who was alone first.

She kept searching until she spotted a young woman in her early 20s who had black shoulder-length hair, a pink shirt, blue jeans, and black boots. Franziska noticed the woman walking while looking at her phone at the lone Volkswagen that was parked in the parking lot.

As the young woman walked, she was on her Instagram account, looking at posts from the users she was following as she walked to her car. Then, a sniper bullet from Franziska went straight into her head, instantly killing her. She, along with her phone, fell onto the ground next to the Volkswagen Golf, which had blood splattered on it.

The prosecutor formed a smirk on her face after witnessing the woman being killed by her. She decided to continue scanning the streets for another victim to kill. She spotted a businessman walking down a sidewalk by himself.

Franziska fired and killed him, shooting him in the head.

She then spotted a family of three: a father, a mother, and a young daughter. She killed all three of them by sending bullets to their heads.

Then she killed one more person, an elderly woman in her 80s who was walking to her car that was parked on the side of a street. Her long life ended when a sniper bullet went into her head.

Franziska thought that was enough. She quickly took apart the Dragunov sniper rifle, placed all the pieces back inside the briefcase, and exited the roof.

As she got out of the building, she quickly looked around her surroundings, then started to text message her limo driver, who then replied by telling her where he was.

Franziska found the parked limo and quickly got inside, and then the limo drove away from the area where Franziska did her sudden nighttime killing spree.

No one was going to know what she did.

Except for Agent 47.

He saw everything. He was following her from her home since he knew where she lived to the destination she went to.

At another rooftop near the building where Franziska was, 47 kept himself hidden and recorded the footage with a camera that showed Franziska von Karma wielding her SVD Dragunov sniper rifle and killing random people. His glaring eyes were sent to her behind her back as she was killing innocent lives.

A part of the assassin lost all trust in the female prosecutor. He thought about telling Mario about this, but he wanted to keep it to himself for now. He needed to know what the hell was going on with her before he started to jump to conclusions.

He started to wonder what had happened in Los Angeles and the true reason why Franziska never responded to Mario’s call and his text message. 47 learned about Franziska by getting some information about her from Diana, and learned that someone connected to her, named Miles Edgeworth, was also a prosecutor and living in Los Angeles.

47 wondered if Miles Edgeworth was killed by Franziska, or was completely unaware of everything that’s been going on behind his back.

What 47 saw forewarned him. He was already making plans to kill Franziska von Karma when he had enough info about her intentions that involved betrayal.

But, since 47 has been recently involved in crazy shenanigans, was this the real Franziska von Karma?

Or an impostor?

Chapter 19: ACT 2 - Chapter 7

Notes:

WARNING: Sexual content

The next day, news broke out about the previous night's killing spree that happened thanks to Franziska. The Mario Brothers, including Astolfo, were stunned that someone would do this. Lupin and his friends were also stunned by what happened. They were at their house watching the news. Robocop wanted to find out who killed the innocent people and make them face justice.

47 saw the news coverage from a distance as he stood next to the entrance of the basement. He, including the others, heard a knock on the door.

Mario approached the door, assuming it was Chief Larvell Jones, but instead, it was Franziska with her whip in her hand.

“Mr. Mario!" She said his name with concern. "Did you hear about the violent foolishness that happened last night?!”

“Yeah!” Mario nodded. “Come in!”

47 snuck a stare at Franziska when she moved and stood in front of the television with Mario, Luigi, and Astolfo.

Robocop took notice of what 47 was doing.

“47?” He said his name. “Is there something about Franziska that I should be aware of?”

47 looked at him. “Are you able to scan a person’s identity?”

“Yes." Robocop answered, "My vision can detect an individual’s body and reveal their identity.”

“What happens when you detect an impostor?”

“Then my programming will notify me that they’re indeed an impostor.”

47 had an idea. “Can you quietly scan Franziska’s body from here in the kitchen?”

“Yes, I can,” Robocop confirmed. “Please stay silent as I analyze Franziska von Karma.”

Robocop began scanning Franziska’s body. 47 hoped he would do the scanning quickly, and no one would stand in the cyborg’s way.

Robocop was finished and turned to 47 and spoke quietly. “It’s not her.”

47 turned his head to the prosecutor impostor. Could it be that 47 was staring at a clone of Franziska? Or does Franziska von Karma have an evil twin? Or was she brainwashed while her DNA was tampered with? The bald assassin believed Mario and everyone in the house were in danger.

Robocop spoke to 47. “Do you want me to do anything right now?”

“No.” 47 told him as he stared at Franziska. “But keep Mario protected when the two of you are on your shift.”

Luigi and Astolfo entered the kitchen and noticed 47 and Robocop. The latter noticed 47’s emotionless, worried expression.

“Something wrong, 47?” Astolfo asked with concern.

“Everything’s fine.” 47 lied.

---

Franziska stayed around and spent most of her time with Mario.

47 stayed in the basement and wanted to focus more on this situation regarding Franziska.

Robocop was outside to enjoy the sunny weather while sneaking glances in the window to make sure Franziska wasn’t going to harm Mario.

Luigi and Astolfo spent their time together, but suddenly the former’s phone started to vibrate.

J. Jonah Jameson was calling and wanted Luigi to head to the crime scene where the murders took place and take pictures of the crime scene, or be fired and accused of being Spider-Man.

Luigi immediately obliged Jameson’s demand and decided to take Astolfo and Robocop with him just so the three of them could get out of the house. Robocop didn’t want to go because of what was going on, but he went anyway just so he wouldn’t be questioned and have to lie to his friend. And he believed 47 got everything under control.

So now, Mario and Franziska were alone. They went to the kitchen and cleaned up some dishes together. Franziska’s whip stood on the kitchen counter near her.

Franziska spoke. “Would you mind if I stayed a little longer here with you, Mario?”

“Of course not!” Mario replied with a smile. “I love having you around!”

“You do?” Franziska looked at him.

“Yeah!” Mario nodded. “I thought about having you live here with us, but uh, I know you don’t like 47 who lives here with us haha.” He nervously laughed.

“Oh, it’s not that I dislike that foolish assassin, I loathe him.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“It is, but a bit worse.” Franziska then placed her hands on Mario’s shoulder and looked at his eyes. “We’re alone now.”

“Well, 47 is in the basement, so,” Mario told her.

“So pretend he isn’t here and is spreading tons of foolishness everywhere,” Franziska replied. She then rubbed something on Mario’s body, which startled him and made him blush.

Franziska started to rub Mario’s crotch as she grabbed his dick.

“F-Franziska!” Mario stuttered as he stared at her.

“Shh.” Franziska shushed him. “I like to see some fan service from you, foolish former plumber foolish cop Mario. I’m happy to give you some lovely fan service from my body for you.’

---

In the basement, 47 was listening to what Franziska was doing to Mario.

He looked through the keyhole of the basement door and watched the prosecutor making more sexual advances to the former plumber. He was also holding his Silverballer pistol, ready to shoot and kill the impostor of Franziska von Karma.

---

“Franziska I-I-“

“Oh, Mario, you don’t want to reject me, do you?”

“N-no!” Mario shook his head.

Franziska smirked seductively and wrapped Mario’s body with her whip. “Then let’s have some fun!” She told him.

They both walked towards the stairs.

“Is wrapping me around with your whip necessary, Franziska?”

“Yes. I don’t want you to foolishly run like a foolish fool.”

After they ascended the stairs, 47 slowly opened the basement door and quietly moved up the stairs. He kept himself hidden against a wall while he stood on the steps and heard Mario and Franziska entering the former’s bedroom.

47 moved quietly down the hall and crouched as he looked at the keyhole of Mario’s bedroom door. He kept his Silverballer pistol in his hand.

The bald hitman was watching Franziska pushing Mario to his bed, then started to take her clothes off.

Mario lay his back on his bed while watching Franziska take off her boots and her high-thigh stockings and rubbing the former plumber’s face with her foot.

Mario moved his face while the prosecutor's foot rubbed it. “Franziska, you don’t need to do that."

“But I thought you said you wanted to see me in a bikini and my bare feet," Franziska recalled.

"Y-yes, but just seeing you in a bikini," Mario replied. "I’m-a not really into feet.”

"That’s a shame, that's foolishly filled with absolute foolishness." Franziska sighed as she moved her foot away from Mario's face. "You’re telling me this just now? Not interested in seeing my feet and my dominance?”

“W-well, I don’t mind seeing your legs and breasts haha.” Mario nervously laughed.

“Have you ever had an experience like this before, Mario?” Franziska asked with a smirk.

“No, I have not." Mario shook his head. "Princess Peach and I never had the opportunity to have a moment like this together. And I never viewed her as a sexual toy to play with.”

Franziska took off her top, revealing her breasts. “Then I’m going to become a sexual toy for you to play with, and you're going to love it." Franziska evilly smirked. "I'm going to make your day, Mario!”

47 kept watching. It felt like he was watching pornography, though he wasn’t the type of man who was into that kind of thing. This started to give 47 a memory of him going to an erotic fetish party inside a Slaughterhouse in Romania to perform a hit on a man known as the “Meat King” and his lawyer.

A weird moment to remember, sure, but there were females in the party who 47 saw wearing kink outfits and were holding whips. It felt like Mario was at that erotic party with Franziska.

47 saw Franziska taking Mario’s clothes and saw her doing sexual things to him, then was able to hear Franziska saying to Mario, “This is now my room, Mario.”

---

An hour and 30 minutes had passed, and 47 was still in the same position in the hall, still looking through the keyhole, waiting for something to happen, but all he was seeing was Mario and “Franziska” lying in the bed together and cuddling.

Thanks to 47’s hearing, he heard a car pulling up. He approached the window in the hall and saw Luigi’s dark green 1934 Chrysler Airflow parked on the driveway. He saw Luigi as well as Astolfo and Robocop exiting the car.

47 then heard Mario and Franziska moving around in the bedroom, believing they were quickly putting back their clothes on.

---

47 was now sitting in the living room chair, reading a book. He heard the door opening, revealing the three who arrived.

Luigi greeted the assassin. “Hello 47!”

“Hey, 47!” Astolfo greeted him as well. “Where’s Mario?”

“Is everything okay?” Robocop intentionally asked.

“He and Franziska were having a steamy erotic foreplay in the bedroom.” 47 answered him and Astolfo. He nonchalantly started to explain as he looked at his book.

“Franziska wrapped Mario around with her whip and took her clothes off in front of him. She then proceeded to rub Mario’s face with her foot, but was told by the latter that he wasn’t into feet and would rather see her in a bikini."

47 continued. “Franziska asked Mario if he and Princess Peach ever had a moment like this before, and he said 'no, we never had a moment like this together' and he never viewed her as a sexual toy to play with.'"

"So Franziska showed Mario her breasts and said, 'Then I’m going to become a sexual toy for you to play with and you're going to love it. I'm going to make your day, Mario.'. Franziska took off Mario's clothes and started to do sexual things to him as she whispered to him, saying, ‘This is now my room.’ The two then lay in bed together, cuddling.”

Luigi and Astolfo’s eyes widened as their jaws dropped to the floor when they listened to 47’s detailed explanation about what happened while they were gone. They both never thought that this would happen.

Luigi quickly left the living room and went to the stairs. Astolfo stayed where he was.

“And you sat there the entire time?” Astolfo asked him.

“I was going to the bathroom." 47 answered, not making eye contact. "As I walked down the hall, I heard the two having their moment together. I decided to read a book and mind my own business.”

“Hmmm, maybe Luigi and I can do some foreplay together.” Astolfo thought as he smirked. “What do you think 47 and Robocop?”

“Go nuts.” 47 replied.

“And go easy on him,” Robocop told her.

“Cool!” Astolfo said with excitement. She then walked away.

Robocop then spoke to 47. “47? I have not informed Luigi and Astolfo about the decoyed Franziska.”

“Good.” 47 responded as he looked at Robocop. “The last thing we want is for all of us to be in danger because of her.”

---

Luigi repeatedly knocked on his brother’s bedroom door, saying his name.

“Mario! Mario! Mario! Mario!”

The door opened, revealing Mario and Franziska, who were now back in their clothes.

“Mama Mia! What!? What!? What!? What!?” Mario replied with annoyance.

Franziska shook her head as she placed her hands on her hips. “Mario’s foolish brother is that how you knock?!”

Luigi looked at them both. “Did the two of you actually do it?”

“Do what Luigi?”

“You know the thing!”

“Mama Mia, what thing!?”

Luigi sighed as he slumped his shoulders. “Sex.”

CRACK!

Franziska cracked her whip and whipped Luigi, making him yelp.

“Aaah!”

The female whipping prosecutor glared. “What a foolish question to ask Mario, coming from his foolish brother!” She then walked away.

Mario looked at his brother and shook his head. “No, Luigi, we didn’t have sex.”

Astolfo walked past Franziska as the latter exited the hall. He approached the Mario Brothers with a grin.

“So Mario, tell me all about it!”

---

Franziska walked down the stairs and was about to leave.

“Going somewhere?” 47 asked her while looking at the page of his book. Robocop stood next to him.

Franziska formed a glare as she was also not making eye contact with the assassin and the cyborg. “I have work to do and have to get it all ready by tomorrow.”

“I hope you and Mario had a lot of fun together in that room.” 47 replied.

Franziska quickly turned as she cracked her whip and attempted to whip the bald assassin, but Robocop caught the whip and held on to it with a strong grip.

47 brought his eyes to her. “Nice try.”

Franziska tried to pull her whip back, but Robocop’s grip was too strong. She growled at him.

“Let go of my whip, foolish machine.” She demanded.

“As long as you don’t commit assault on 47 in the Mario Brothers house,” Robocop told her. He released his hand from Franziska's whip.

Franziska wanted to whip both of them, but she knew what 47 and Robocop were capable of, so instead she left the home.

Mario left the hall and walked down the stairs. He looked at 47 and Robocop. “Did uh, Franziska whip you two?”

“She tried but failed.” 47 told him.

“And I protected 47 from her,” Robocop explained.

---

A new day has arrived. The weekend was over. Mario left for work with Robocop, as well as Luigi, who was ready to give Jameson the pictures he took yesterday. He requested that Astolfo come with him and volunteer, which Jameson allowed as long as they don’t give him crappy-quality pictures.

47 was alone in the house. Instead of being in the basement, 47 was sitting on the living room couch, looking at information on his phone regarding Miles Edgeworth.

The assassin wasn’t able to find any news articles or videos regarding Edgeworth’s death; instead, he found recent articles about him winning a case, as well as losing one thanks to a known defense attorney named Phoenix Wright.

So the assassin believed he was still alive, likely not knowing what had been going on with Franziska after her trip to Los Angeles to visit him. But did that happen? He had thoughts of contacting him and asking him about the female prosecutor.

Suddenly, the front door of the home opened, which caused 47 to stand up immediately while pulling out his Silverballer pistol. He aimed the gun at the person who entered, and the person was Franziska, who was startled by the pistol being aimed at her.

“My goodness, foolish assassin!” Franziska yelled at him. “Do you aim your gun at everyone who shows up to this foolish house!?”

47 lowered his gun. “Why didn’t you knock?”

“Mario told me not to,” Franziska told him. “Where is he? At work?”

“Why do you need to know?”

Franziska shrugged. “I just want to see him.”

“Yesterday, you told me you had paperwork to work on and had to get it all ready by today.” 47 recalled.

Franziska held herself together to avoid snapping at the foolish assassin 47. “Why yes, I did say that. But I wanted to see Mario first.”

“How can a prosecutor slack off from their work?”

CRACK!

Franziska cracked her whip, but she didn’t whip 47; instead, she whipped a vase that stood on a table in the living room, causing it to break as the pieces fell to the floor.

“Mind your own foolish business, you foolish assassin!” Franziska snapped. “Ever since I came back, you’ve been thinking I have something foolish to hide! You keep asking me these foolish questions! So enough! Do you understand what I am saying to you!?”

47 was unfazed by Franziska’s anger towards him. He knew something was going on. He responded by giving her a fake apology.

“My apologies.” 47 responded.

“Thank you!” Franziska responded with her glare. “Now, if you excuse me, I’m going to see Mario, and you better back off!” With that, she left the house by slamming the door.

Enough was enough.

47 went to the house phone and quickly dialed a number to contact one person.

A man named Miles Edgeworth.

47 hoped he didn’t have to speak to someone first and then be put on hold just to talk to the prosecutor. Thankfully, the phone answered, and the assassin heard the voice of Miles Edgeworth.

“Hello. This is prosecutor Miles Edgeworth.” He said to 47

“Mr. Edgeworth? My name is Tobias Rieper." 47 responded, using an alias. “I’m a friend of Franziska von Karma. A week ago, she told me she was going to visit you in Los Angeles. Did she arrive there?”

It took a while for Edgeworth to respond to 47’s question, which made the latter concerned and suspicious.

“So you don’t know?”

“Don’t know about what?”

“I didn’t know Franziska was going to visit me here. She never told me. But her private jet crashed in the Pacific Ocean. It was on the news. Her body couldn’t be found, so she’s currently presumed dead.”

47 stood and reacted to what Edgeworth told him. Mario...

He knew Mario was already in danger. And he knew the silly plumber grew fond of the female prosecutor. He was already aware of how he was going to react. The bald hitman knew he had to get to Mario’s police outpost immediately, and hoped Robocop would be able to protect the former plumber when “Franziska” arrived before 47.

“Are you still there, Mr. Rieper?” Edgeworth asked.

“Thank you for the information.” 47 replied. He quickly hung up, not giving Edgeworth a chance to respond and ask questions. And then, he quickly contacted Mario.

---

Mario and Robocop were in the former’s police outpost. The former plumber was looking forward to the day. He began the day by looking at information about Dr. Robotnik’s technology getting stolen from the Highfalcon PD police officers. He also looked at the information about the murders that happened last night.

Chief Larvell Jones informed him all about it and told him that Inspector Clouseau was investigating the two cases and wanted him to get involved as well.

Mario heard his phone ringing and answered it with a smile.

“Hello! It’s-a me, Mario-“

“Mario, you have to get out of there.” 47 told him on the phone. “And have Alex protect you.”

Mario felt worried. “W-why?”

“Just do what I said. You’re not safe.”

Mario was going to respond, but Franziska suddenly entered the outpost.

Franziska smiled at him. “Hey Mario, you fun, foolish plumber cop!”

“Oh, hey, Franziska!” Mario greeted her back.

Robocop stared at Franziska. “Get out.”

“Mama Mia, Alex!” Mario scowled at him. “She’s our friend!”

“Who’s on the phone?” Franziska asked him as she walked towards him.

“Oh, it’s uh-“

Franziska grabbed the phone and spoke. “Mario is busy at the moment. Goodbye, foolish caller.” She hung up on 47, tossed the phone to the floor, and pushed everything off his desk.

Franziska sat on Mario’s desk and looked at him seductively. “It’s just you and me now.”

“But Alex is here,” Mario told her.

“And he’ll have to leave ,” Franziska replied as she glanced at Robocop.

“And I’ll have to tell you to back away from Mario,” Robocop told her as he pulled out his Auto 9, a modified Beretta 93R, a pistol that was handed to him when he resurrected as Robocop and given back to him when his memories were restored.

“Back away from Mario now .” He demanded her.

“Alex, please don’t shoot her!” Mario begged him.

“Don’t worry, Mario,” Franziska reassured him as she kept her eyes on Robocop. “The foolish machine won’t kill me in front of you in your office.”

“I’ll use lethal force when necessary,” Robocop replied to her. “If you murder Mario, you will die with him.”

“Wait, stop both of you!” Mario said to them. He looked at Franziska with concern. “Franziska? Are you okay?”

Franziska chuckled as she looked at him with a smile. “I’m fine! Why do you ask? Am I not allowed to have fun with you?”

“N-no!" Mario shook his head. "It’s-a just ever since you returned, you’ve been acting strange and sexually seductive towards me. Did something happen between you and your ‘little brother’ Miles Edgeworth? Did you two have a fight?”

“Haha! No, my foolish ‘little brother’ and I didn’t have a foolish fight hahaha!” Franziska told him as she laughed. “Everything was fine and we made peace!”

“O-okay b-but-“

“Enough foolish questions!” Franziska told him. She sat on his lap, looking right at his face. “Less talking, more foreplay. ” She glared at Robocop. “And you, foolish machine! Put the foolish gun down and leave!”

The three inside noticed someone who entered. It was Chief Larvell Jones who was shocked to see what he was seeing in front of him.

“Whoa! What the hell is happening in here?” He questioned.

“Chief Larvell Jones,” Robocop said his name. “This impostor must be arrested.”

“Huh, Franziska?” Jones looked at her as he felt confused. “You want the CRACK prosecutor to be arrested?” He said as he did a whip sound effect.

“Yes, sir, this is not the real Franziska von Karma,” Robocop told him.

---

Outside, Franziska’s limo was parked near the police outpost. The male limo driver was sitting in the driver’s seat. He then saw 47 approaching him. Right when he looked at the assassin, he was shot in the head by the latter, who had his Silverballer with a suppressor in his hand.

47 began walking to the outpost as he took off the suppressor. His eyes saw Robocop aiming his gun at Franziska. He also noticed Jones.

---

“Both of you foolish fools need to leave now!” Franziska yelled at them. “Is it so hard for Mario and I to have some alone time together!?"

Mario's body was wrapped in Franziska's whip, and she held him with a firm grip away from the desk as they stood.

Everyone inside noticed 47 entering and aimed his dual-wielded Silverballers at Franziska.

Mario widened his eyes. “47!?”

Franziska glared at him. “You!”

47 looked at Franziska while noticing Mario was wrapped around the prosecutor's whip.

“Let him go.” 47 said to Franziska with a glare while pulling the hammer of his Silverballers.

Franziska didn’t oblige. “Make me.”

“H-Hold on a second, all of you!” Mario said to everyone. “What is going on!?”

47 spoke, but not to Mario. “You’re not Franziska von Karma.” He said to her.

“What!?” Jones reacted in surprise.

“You found out what happened?” Robocop asked 47.

Franziska smiled and laughed. “Hahahahaha, what kind of foolish words are you saying, foolish assassin?”

“I contacted a man Franziska knew named Miles Edgeworth.” 47 replied, keeping his pistols aimed at the fake Franziska. “I asked him about Franziska, and he told me she never showed up to visit him in Los Angeles, and he wasn't aware of her planning to visit him. He told me her private jet crashed into the Pacific Ocean, declaring her to be presumed dead.”

Mario gasped as his eyes widened. No...Franziska... He closed his eyes as he tried to process what happened to the real Franziska von Karma. A tear went down his face.

“F-Franziska!” Mario said her name.

Franziska began to defend herself. “He’s lying, Mario-“

47 interrupted her. “I'm not finished. I followed you from Franziska's home to the spot where those murders took place. I recorded you aiming a black synthetic SVD Dragunov sniper rifle with a suppressor and killing a young woman who was walking to her Volkswagen Golf, and then you started to kill random people.”

Mario’s mind was going haywire. Learning that Franziska could be dead and her shooting people was driving him absolutely nuts.

“Franziska? Is all of that true? Did you actually kill innocent civilians?” Mario sadly asked her.

Franziska didn’t respond as her glare was still at 47’s face.

47 looked at her and responded. “I can show the footage to Mario, Robocop, and Chief Larvell Jones after you’ve been dealt with.”

Franziska started to laugh in an evil way. “Hahahahahahahahahahaha! I must give you credit, foolish assassin! You caught me!”

Mario opened his eyes in surprise and looked at Franziska in shock.

“Franziska, why?”

“Foolish Mario, I am not the real Franziska von Karma!” She told him. She evilly smiled. “I am Evil Franziska !”

“EVIL FRANZISKA!?!?!?” Mario yelled with widened eyes.

Chief Larvell Jones stepped in. “Franziska, or whoever the hell you are, step away from Mario.” He told her in a serious tone. He pulled out his Beretta 92FS and aimed it at Evil Franziska. "Don't make me do this."

“Right now, impostor,” Robocop demanded her again, keeping his Auto 9 aimed at her.

47 said nothing and kept his aim at the evil impostor.

“Back off, all three of you foolish fools!” Evil Franziska demanded them. She tightened Mario’s body with her whip to make him suffocate.

“Your friend here is going to die in his office, all because of your foolish shooting! You wouldn’t want that foolishness to happen, do you!?”

47 stared at Evil Franziska and lowered his Silverballers. “You're right. We wouldn’t want that foolishness to happen.”

47 quickly aimed and fired his Silverballer pistol at a fire extinguisher, causing it to shoot out the smoke coming out of it as it moved around the office.

Evil Franziska glanced at the fire extinguisher being shot, then, when she wasn’t noticing, a bullet from 47’s Silverballer pistol went into the evil version of Franziska’s mouth, making her yelp as she felt the bullet.

“Aaaah!” Evil Franziska screamed. She placed her hand on her mouth, which wasn’t bleeding. Instead, sparks were popping out.

Mario, 47, Robocop, and Chief Larvell Jones noticed the sparks popping out of Evil Franziska’s mouth. Mario was able to release himself from her and quickly moved away.

Evil Franziska glared at all of them. “f-f-fools...foolish fools.” She said.

47, Robocop, and Jones did not hesitate to gun her down.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

RATATA! RATATA! RATATA! RATATA! RATATA! RATATA! RATATA! RATATA!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The three of them continued firing their guns at Evil Franziska. They, including Mario, noticed her skin was tearing apart without blood splattering all over Mario’s police outpost. They also noticed sparks popping out and revealing some metallic structures in Evil Franziska’s body.

Mario had a jaw-dropping reaction as he witnessed his friends shooting their guns at her and noticed the sparks and the metallic structure.

The trio stopped firing at Evil Franziska and noticed her becoming entirely weak and fully destroyed.

As the sparks were popping out, a small amount of smoke was forming.

The three moved away from the metallic corpse and approached Mario, untying him.

Mario couldn’t keep his eyes off the metallic corpse of Evil Franziska.

“M-Mama Mia...Franziska... no ,” Mario said with sadness.

“I’m sorry, Mario.” 47 said to him. “I should’ve told you about what she did that night, but I hesitated, believing she was immediately going to kill you if you talked to her about it.”

“It’s-a okay 47.” Mario forgave him.

The sad former plumber slowly moved to Evil Franziska’s corpse. “Franziska’s gone. I’m-a never going to see her again. I’ll never hear her calling me and others ‘foolish fools’ ever again. I...”

Mario started to choke up as he remembered the fond memories he had with her.

Jones took his hat off to mourn Franziska von Karma. "My condolences, Mario."

Robocop looked at Mario. “Mario? We don’t know if she’s truly deceased. She could’ve survived the crash.”

Mario sniffled. “But we don’t know if she did, Alex! Her body could be floating under the water and will never be found until a shark eats her body, or a diver randomly decides to swim around where her body is and discovers it by accident! T-then there will be an official announcement about her tragic passing!”

The former plumber broke down and started to cry while he got on his knees. This moment gave him flashbacks of being told about Princess Peach's death. He couldn't believe he had another devastating moment like this.

47 didn’t fully believe that Franziska was dead, and neither did Robocop and Jones. They believed she was out there somewhere, hopefully still alive.

---

Thunder Valley, Nevada

Inside the futuristic-style bunker was Dr. Ivo Robotnik. He was sitting in a chair inside a command center and was watching everything that happened to Evil Franziska. He was watching the events from Evil Franziska’s perspective on the screen and saw her getting destroyed by 47, Robocop, and Chief Larvell Jones.

Robotnik was astonished at what he saw. He also felt angry knowing the assassin he hired to kill the Mario Brothers betrayed him, just like Alan Montgomery. He had two people who became traitors to him.

But he started to fall in love with Robocop. He wished he had him all to himself. He viewed him as an ultimate killing machine.

The mad doctor stood up, exited the command center, and walked down the futuristic bunker corridor. He then went through a sliding door and arrived at a room that had a cell.

He looked at the person who was inside the cell.

Franziska von Karma.

She sat on her bed with her arms around her knees while she looked at the wall, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone.

Franziska was being held captive in Robotnik’s headquarters in Thunder Valley. Her private jet was hijacked by Robotnik, and she was abducted by him.

Franziska noticed the lunatic doctor’s presence. “What?” She said to Robotnik.

“Your foolish friends defeated the evil clone of you!” Robotnik replied. “Hahaha! I wonder how your ‘little big brother’ would’ve reacted if he saw the clone of you!

He started to laugh again. “Hahahahahahahahaha, she might’ve given him a wedgie and called him Wedgieworth! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA WEDGIEWORTH! Come on, why aren’t you laughing and looking at me? That’s hilarious! What are you, some kind of foolish, sad circus clown!?”

Franziska looked at him with a glare. “The only ‘foolish sad circus clown’ I think of is your foolish abomination. If you dare to touch Miles Edgeworth, you’ll be the first foolish fool for me to kill.”

“OH, you broke my heart, Franziska von Karma!” Robotnik replied dramatically. “I’ve got my technology sent back to me and I have more plans to commence that involve destroying all of your stupid friends in Highfalcon and likely THE ENTIRE WOOOOOORLD!!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHOHOHOHOHOHOHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!”

Franziska endured the annoying, foolish, evil laughter from the crazy, foolish Dr. Robotnik. But she got so annoyed by his constant foolish laughing.

“Stop foolishly laughing, foolish fool!” She shouted.

“YOU’RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!!” Robotnik yelled at her.

Robotnik threw his arms in disgust at her and walked away while muttering to himself.

After Robotnik left, Franziska looked at the wall again and started to think about Mario and his foolish friends, including Miles Edgeworth. She became worried about all of them and hoped they’d find her and stop Robotnik.

Franziska never forgot that moment when Robotnik and his minions hijacked her private jet.

---

FLASHBACK

Franziska sat in her private jet and was about to use the restroom, but the door was locked. She thought that was odd. So she went to the door where her pilots were.

But that door was also locked. Franziska knocked on it. “Foolish pilots! Who locked the foolish bathroom in my private jet!?”

“That would be us.” A voice told her. It was Robotnik.

Franziska gasped and turned around. She saw Robotnik, Agent Stone, and Vault Boy.

Franziska was shocked to see Robotnik inside her private jet. She pointed her finger at him. “YOU! You’re supposed to be dead! How did you foolishly survive!?”

“Ah, so you must be the one and only FRANZISKAAAA VOOOON KARMAAAAAA!!!!!!!” Robotnik said dramatically as he clapped his hands. “Known as the Whipper-Snapper who whips everyone with THISSSSSSSS!” He revealed Franziska’s whip to the owner, who glared at him.

“My whip! Hand it over!” Franziska demanded him.

“Oh, sure!” Robotnik evilly smiled. He turned his head around. “Come here!”

Franziska became confused when Robotnik told the unknown individual to arrive, and then her jaw dropped at what she saw.

She saw Evil Franziska.

Evil Franziska evilly smiled at her real self as she had her hand on her hip.

Robotnik grinned at the real Franziska. “I would like to introduce you to your long-lost twin sister, Evil Franziska!”

Franziska reacted with shock. “What?!”

“I JUST TOLD YOU!!!" Robotnik yelled in annoyance. "EVIL FRANZISKA!!!!!!” He handed the whip to Franziska’s evil clone.

Franziska blinked her eyes as she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She knew this wasn’t a dream. She was facing the craziness of reality.

CRACK!

The Evil Franziska whipped the real Franziska, which made her let out a cry.

“Aaah!” Franziska cried.

Evil Franziska continued to whip the prosecutor, making her fall to the floor.

Franziska’s tears were released as she felt the strikes from her whip. She didn’t know what was going to happen to her. She hoped she was going to die in her private jet that was being hijacked.

Evil Franziska stood over Franziska and started to trample her face with her foot.

“Since you have feelings for that foolish man, Mario. I'm going to have so much fun with him! Hahahahahahaha!”

Franziska thought about Mario. Mario, please stay safe and stay alive. And get me out of his foolish distress.

Robotnik started to evilly laugh out loud as he spoke to the real Franziska.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Everyone will think you're DEAD! D E A D DEAD DEAD!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!”

---

That moment became the worst, most horrific moment she had ever experienced in her life.

The man she loves, the foolish man named Mario, was hopeful that he would be okay and hopefully find her and rescue her. As well as stopping Dr. Ivo Robotnik.

Just like Mario, who believed in her, Franziska believed in him too.

Chapter 20: ACT 2 - Chapter 8

Los Angeles, California

Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth stayed seated at his desk in his office while he stared out the window, looking at the sunny sky.

The prosecutor started thinking about his “big sister” Franziska, after getting a phone call from 47 when he asked him if she had arrived in Los Angeles to visit him.

Edgeworth was surprised that Franziska planned to visit him. After he explained what happened to Franziska, Edgeworth started to remember the last conversation he had with her a year ago.

---

One year ago

Edgeworth witnessed Franziska losing a court case, then whipping the defense attorney Phoenix Wright, including his female sidekick Maya Fay, and the judge, then storming out after she slammed her whip on the floor.

He had seen her losing her temper sometimes and whipping people all the time, but what he saw felt like she had met her breaking point, and it concerned him. This was not something he wanted to shrug off and move on.

With the help of his silly companions, Kay Faraday and Dick Gumshoe, they both informed the prosecutor where Franziska was located.

Franziska was currently at a hangar at the Los Angeles International Airport, LAX, that had her private jet inside. The prosecutor quickly packed her things and was about to leave Los Angeles and return to Berlin.

She was about to walk up the steps to her private jet, but a voice stopped her.

“Where are you going, Franziska?”

Miles Edgeworth. He had Franziska’s whip in his hand.

That voice from him made her scowl. He was the last person she wanted to see. The female prosecutor wanted to not whip him, not slap him, but punch him in the face. She didn’t look at him until Edgeworth spoke again.

“Look at me, Franziska.” He told her.

Franziska sighed and faced Edgeworth. “What? Are you trying to stop me?”

“From running away? Yes.” Edgeworth responded with a nod.

Franziska scoffed. “You’re wasting your time, foolish little brother fool!” She glared at him. “You don’t know what it’s like losing to that foolish fool loser Phoenix Wright! I saw you sitting there, watching me going up against that foolish circus, and this was my chance to defeat and humiliate him in front of you and everyone! This was my chance to become a better prosecutor than you! I worked so hard to achieve that, and guess what happened!? I lost! And you saw that foolish dreadful foolish moment!”

She continued. “I thought defeating Wright would fulfill my revenge against you for leaving me all alone, but I guess that's foolishly impossible!“

Edgeworth responded before Franziska had more to say. “Being a prosecutor isn’t about pride and showing off your ego, or achieving revenge. It’s about finding the truth.”

“What's this foolishness you're talking about?” Franziska responded in a dull tone.

“I’m saying you and I have been attempting to get guilty verdicts in the most selfish ways possible, just like what Manfred taught us. But when I disappeared for a few months after your father tried to send me to prison for a murder I didn’t commit, I realized I needed to seek redemption and become a better prosecutor than this ‘demon prosecutor’ that people claimed me to be.”

Franziska stayed silent for a moment while she processed his words.

Edgeworth continued as he handed his big sister’s whip.

“You forgot this,” Edgeworth told her as he looked at her.

“Keep it,” Franziska replied as she looked at her whip. “It’s yours now.”

“What am I supposed to do with it? Whip Phoenix for winning after you whipped him to death? If you don’t want it, I’ll sell it. If you decide to end your prosecuting career, then this is where we go our separate ways.”

NO! Franziska thought. Not again!

In the past, Franziska always looked up to her “little brother” and always wanted to make him smile since she always saw him frowning, but when Edgeworth grew up, he left to focus on his career as a prosecutor. She felt like she had been left behind by him.

Franziska felt pressured by her father, Manfred, when her older sister focused on her own career, so she wanted to impress her father and become a prosecutor like him and Edgeworth, and become better than the latter.

Edgeworth’s words to her made her believe she could become a better prosecutor, better than her father, and get rid of the grudge against her "little brother".

When the public found out that Manfred von Karma was a murderer, the von Karma name became tarnished.

Franziska wanted to fix that. Show the public that she, too, can be a redeemable prosecutor.

She felt tears coming out of her eyes as he looked at Edgeworth.

“I-I’m Franziska von Karma! Do you understand!? I won’t be walking over your shadow anymore! I’ll become a better prosecutor than my father and you! So prepare yourself, because our battle has just started! Don’t you ever forget that, Miles Edgeworth!”

Franziska knew the grudge against Edgeworth would take a while to go away forever. And she knew she had a lot to go through to make that foolish grudge out of her life.

Edgeworth gave Franziska a goodbye hug, which she accepted. She cried on his chest. Edgeworth hoped his words to her were words to live by because he believed she could become better.

After the crying and hugging came to an end, the two said goodbye to each other.

“Goodbye, little brother,” Franziska said to him.

“Goodbye, big sister,” Edgeworth responded. “Have a safe flight to Berlin or wherever you’re going.”

Edgeworth watched Franziska ascend the steps to her private jet. He hoped she’d be okay with dealing with the obstacles in her redemption and bypassing those obstacles.

Thinking about that moment from a year ago made him release a tear as he realized that conversation was the final one he had with her, and he had to come to terms with it. It drove him nuts, and the phone call from 47 made him ask questions. He wanted to call back and ask more questions, but he had an idea.

Since the news mentioned that Franziska’s private jet came from Highfalcon and was responsible for stopping an invasion of the city, he thought about going there and finding the truth about who was responsible for Franziska’s possible tragic death.

He wanted to investigate this alone.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

The knock came from Edgeworth’s office door.

“Enter!” Edgeworth told them.

Edgeworth looked at the person opening the door, and it was a young female named Kay Faraday. She closed the door and approached Edgeworth. Normally, Kay would always be cheerful when she sees Edgeworth, but recently she’s been the opposite when she learned about Franziska’s presumed passing.

Kay has been there for Edgeworth, showing him comfort because she’s always been a best friend to him and an adoptive daughter after her father was killed in the past. She became a successor of the great thief known as Yatagarasu, who steals the truth for the sake of justice.

Despite becoming the Great Thief, Kay so far hasn’t stolen anything; the only thing she’s interested in stealing is the truth.

Edgeworth greeted her. “Hello, Kay.”

“Hi,” Kay responded. “Just checking up on you.” She noticed his expression and formed a sad face. “And I can already tell.”

“Just having a memory of the last conversation between Franziska and I,” Edgeworth told her. “But, I’m currently thinking about something regarding her.”

“Like what?” Kay asked, feeling interested.

“Before you arrived, a man named ‘Tobias Rieper’ claimed to be a friend of Franziska and asked if Franziska’s private jet arrived here,” Edgeworth explained. “She was going to visit me.” He swallowed, knowing he had to talk about what happened to her private jet.

“I told Mr. Rieper about Franziska’s private jet crashing into the Pacific Ocean and her body not being found, and being presumed dead.”

“S-so what did this Tobias Rieper guy say?”

“He stayed silent for a moment, then said to me, ‘Thank you for the information.’, then hung up, not giving me a chance to respond.”

Kay unexpectedly slammed her hands on Edgeworth’s desk, making the latter flinch. “Do you know what this means, Miles!?”

“Gah! Kay, don’t slam your hands on my desk!” Edgeworth scowled at her.

“This Tobias Rieper guy could be our suspect!” Kay to him.

Edgeworth sighed. “What are you talking about, Kay?”

“Why would he call you just to ask you about Franziska? Was he even a friend?” Kay questioned. She then frowned. “I mean, her death has been on the news, but I guess not a lot of people cared that much.”

“This is a rare time that you’re being serious,” Edgeworth remarked with sarcasm.

Kay glared. “Gee, thanks, Edgy-poo.” She stuck her tongue out at him.

Edgy-poo...no not you too. Damn you, Wendy Oldbag! Edgeworth began to have a flashback of an old lady named Wendy Oldbag, chasing him around and calling him “Edgy-poo” in front of Kay, who was laughing hysterically.

“Please, don’t call me that. One person calling me that is enough for my sanity.” Edgeworth begged her.

“Hahaha!” Kay laughed in response.

“Comedy aside, I think you’re making a point, and I would like to meet this Tobias Rieper gentleman,” Edgeworth said to her.

“Do you know where he could be?”

“From what I understand from the news some time ago, Franziska was involved in stopping an invasion with three men named the Mario Brothers, Mario and Luigi, and Lupin the 3rd. A deceased man named Gabe Clark was also involved in trying to stop the invasion with them. This took place in a city in New York known as ‘Highfalcon’.”

“So a terrorist attack? And you said 'Lupin the 3rd'? The thief!?”

“Yes, he was involved in stopping the invasion. But this was more than just an ordinary terrorist attack. This invasion involved turning the citizens into goblins and having them spread havoc all over the city.”

Kay raised an eyebrow with her jaw-dropping since Edgeworth’s explanation turned into full of silliness.

“What?” Kay reacted.

“That’s what happened, Kay,” Edgeworth told her. “There have been news articles online that explained it. The man who plotted the invasion is currently deceased. His name was Dr. Ivo Robotnik.”

“So you know what I’m thinking, Miles?” Kay smirked.

“That you think all of this came from an episode of Steel Samurai?” A television hero, Edgeworth was referring to.

“No, haha!” Kay shook her head. She smiled. “It means we should start an investigation in this Highfalcon city! Find the truth and steal it! Maybe this Tobias Rieper man could be behind all of this!”

“I wouldn’t jump to conclusions about Mr. Rieper so fast, Kay," Edgeworth told her. "Both of us have to question him.”

“So what does this mean, Edgy?!”

Edgeworth was relieved Kay threw out the word poo away from Edgy. He preferred to be called Edgy instead, but only from Kay.

“What this means, Kay, is to begin our investigation in Highfalcon.”

“With Gummy too, right?” Kay asked with a grin as she hoped Detective Dick Gumshoe, whom she was referring to, would get involved with them.

Normally, Edgeworth was just going to have Gumshoe sit this one out, but knowing Kay had a friendship with the detective, he knew he had to say yes; otherwise, he would have to endure her constant begging.

“Yes, he can come with us,” Edgeworth told her.

“I’m right here!”

“Aaaaaaah!” Kay screamed as she turned around.

Edgeworth gasped. “My god, Gumshoe, where did you come from!?”

“The air pal!” Gumshoe replied with a smile. “So we’re going to Highfalcon?”

“Yes, yes, we are Gumshoe.” Edgeworth nodded. “But before we leave, I need you to trace the recent call that I received from someone, a man named Tobias Rieper.”

“Sure thing, Mr. Edgeworth, sir!” Gumshoe accepted, happy to help the prosecutor out. He, too, felt sorrow after learning about Franziska's presumed passing.

“Awesome!” Kay smiled in excitement. “The invincible trio is back in action to save the day! The prosecutor, the detective, and the great thief! And hopefully, no one tries to stab us in the back like what happened after our latest investigation!”

She scowled as she closed her eyes. “That man, whom I will not say, attempted to kill us just for refusing to join that group of his.”

“Don’t remind me, Kay,” Edgeworth told her as he looked away with a glare.

That moment that Kay was referring to was something that Edgeworth would never, ever forget .

---

Highfalcon, New York

Inside the Mario Brothers House, Luigi, Astolfo, Robocop, and Lupin the 3rd became worried about Mario. 47 also felt worried about him.

Since he learned about Franziska’s presumed death, Mario locked himself in his room and isolated himself from everyone. He also started to think about Princess Peach’s death as he believed this was a replay of what happened. He believed he was cursed. And that curse was loving someone, and eventually losing that person.

Mario started to blame himself, blaming himself for what happened to Franziska. He believed that if he hadn’t met her, she would’ve been still alive.

Inside the living room, Luigi, Astolfo, and Lupin stood while discussing Mario. Robocop also stood in the living room, but away from the three, including 47, who was sitting in the living room chair reading his book.

“I’m-a worried about my brother Astolfo and Lupin!” Luigi told him with his shoulders slumped, feeling worried. “Every time I knock on his door, I don’t-a get a response!” He looked at 47. “47, how do you deal with a friend’s death?!”

“Simple, I kill the person who caused it.” 47 replied as he looked at the page of his book.

Astolfo looked at him. “Is there any other solution you have besides that?”

“I’ve been created and trained to kill, Astolfo.” 47 told her. “I don’t have other solutions.”

Robocop had a suggestion. “Astolfo? Lupin? Have the two of you tried speaking to Mario?”

Lupin responded as he shook his head. “No, we haven’t.”

Astolfo grinned as he wrapped his arm around Lupin. “You gave us an idea, Alex!”

With a firm grip, Atolfo grabbed the thief’s wrist and went up the stairs.

“See ya! Wish us luck! Let's go Loopy Lupin!"

“Whoa, Astolfo, don’t give me inflammation! And why did you call me 'Loopy Lupin'?!”

Luigi, 47, and Robocop saw them walking fast up the stairs.

Luigi spoke. “Mama Mia, I hope they know what they’re doing.”

---

Mario sat in his chair in his bedroom as he had the Super Star plushie gift on his lap. He forgot about the gift since so much has been going on with all the events that he and his group of friends have been involved in.

CRASH!

A door got kicked down as it flew across the bedroom and then crashed through a window.

Lupin widened his eyes at Astolfo. “Couldn’t you just knock!?”

“And be ignored?!" Astolfo looked at him. "Hell no fuck that!”

Mario was unfazed as he didn’t move a muscle, not caring what he saw in front of him, as he continued to think about Franziska.

Astolfo and Lupin entered Mario’s bedroom and glared at him with their hands on their hips.

“Okay, Mario!” Astolfo said his name. ”No more sadness! No more feeling depressed! You will leave this room right now!”

“Yeah, stop feeling down in the dumps!” Lupin told him. “I’ve been in your shoes before, and Jigen, Goemon, and Amy helped me move forward without Fujicakes! We’re gonna do the same to you whether you like it or not!”

“Please don’t, Lupin and Astolfo,” Mario replied with sadness. “Let me be depressed in peace. The Mario you knew, who was always cheerful, naive, and foolish, no longer exists.”

“That’s crazy talk!” Astolfo replied as he closely looked at his face with his hands on his shoulders. “You will leave this room right now !”

He looked at Astolfo. “Grab his arm.”

“Got it.” Lupin nodded.

The two grabbed Mario’s arms and started to drag him out of his room. The Super Star plushie fell on the floor while the former plumber’s body was being dragged.

But the dragging became struggling as Astolfo and Lupin felt like they were dragging pounds of heavy concrete with their hands. But this didn’t make them give up on trying to bring their best friend back.

They were out of the bedroom. Astolfo and Lupin continued to drag Mario down the hall as they started to sweat.

“Geez, Mario!” Lupin said in shock. “How strong can you be!? What’s the secret!?”

“Mama Mia Lupin and Astolfo," Mario replied emotionlessly. "Leave me alone in the darkness of sadness.”

“Never!” Astolfo said, using all of his strength as he dragged Mario down the hall.

They were now on the stairs in the living room.

“Almost there!” Lupin said, fighting off the weakness that was forming.

“We’re already here.” Mario sadly told him.

Astolfo and Lupin kept themselves from falling down the stairs as they dragged Mario.

Luigi, Robocop, and 47 watched Astolfo and Lupin struggle as they dragged his brother down the steps and into the living room. Right after they reached the living room, they let go of Mario and wiped the sweat off their heads.

“Whew! I need some cold water, my god!” Astolfo said as he went into the kitchen.

“Me too, holy crap!” Lupin followed him.

Luigi and Robocop looked down at the former’s brother, who was lying on the floor.

“Mario,” Luigi said his name, wanting to talk to his brother.

“Luigi,” Mario responded as he had his sad eyes on the ceiling. “Please drag me back into the darkness.”

“Mario I-“

Luigi got interrupted, but not by Mario.

The television in the living room, which was currently turned on, was showing breaking news coverage. A male news anchor started talking.

Luigi got annoyed as he looked at the TV. “Mama Mia, what now!?”

“This is breaking news! Highfalcon Times editor-in-chief J. Jonah Jameson has been kidnapped !”

Mario immediately stood up and stood next to Luigi as he looked at the TV with him.

“Mama Mia, Luigi that’s your boss!” Mario told him.

“Mario, we need to do something!” Luigi replied.

“Let’s-a go searching for him!” Mario said. He and his brother quickly left the living room.

Mario was back, away from his depression and sadness.

“That was quick.” 47 remarked as he still looked at his book.

Astolfo and Lupin exited the kitchen and breathed happily.

“All hydrated!” Astolfo smiled.

“Yep!” Lupin smiled. He noticed the Mario Brothers were gone. “Hey, where’s Mario and Luigi?”

“J. Jonah Jameson got kidnapped, and it cured Mario’s depression.” 47 answered.

“He and Luigi are going to go search for him,” Robocop added.

Astolfo smiled at everyone. “So it’s just me, Alex, Lupin the 3rd, and you 47.” He said as he nudged him.

“Yes, this is definitely going to be a long day.” 47 sighed.

---

Highfalcon PD HQ informed Mario and Luigi about the location where Jameson was kidnapped after the brothers asked them about it.

Mario and Luigi arrived at the spot where Jameson was kidnapped and noticed the Highfalcon PD police officers, witnesses, and Chief Inspector Clouseau, who was writing notes while inspecting the crime scene.

The Mario brothers approached the chief inspector.

“Chief Inspector Clouseau,” Mario said his name.

“Ah, messieur Mario, messieur Luigi!” Clouseau said their names. “Glad both of you made it.”

“What did the witnesses say about this?” Mario asked.

Clouseau started animating movements as he explained. “According to the witnesses, a male witness saw messieur Jameson walking down the sidewalk muttering out loud about messieur Spider-Man, then walked across the street, then BOOM!” He accidentally punched Luigi’s gut. “Messieur J. Jonah Jameson got run over! His body got tossed in a red exotic futuristic sci-fi sports car!”

“By who?!” Luigi said while recovering from the unexpected punch from Clouseau.

“Witnesses say messieur Vault Boy kidnapped him,” Clouseau answered.

Mario and Luigi gasped as Clouseau mentioned Vault Boy.

“Mama Mia, he’s back!” Mario said out loud.

“B-but I thought he was in prison!” Luigi recalled. “How much stuff have we been missing!?”

“Some time ago, messieur Vault Boy escaped prison,” Clouseau told the brothers. “Sources say that he stole a helicopter from the prison he was held at and crashed it in a forest.”

Luigi grabbed his brother and shook him. He was terrified knowing the man that he and Mario had stopped was out of prison.

“Aaaaaah MAMA MIA MARIO!!! How did all of this happen under our noses!? First Robotnik, now Vault Boy! AND WE’RE LIKELY GOING TO BE KIDNAPPED SOON!!! AGAIN!!!”

Mario stopped Luigi and calmed him down. “Mama Mia, Luigi, please calm yourself! We must look at the security footage of the kidnapping.” He then smiled. “And I know who can help!”

---

The Mario Brothers arrived at an abandoned apartment building and entered. They walked down the hall and stood in front of an apartment door. Mario knocked and waited.

The brothers were in front of Oliver’s apartment, which was his hideout. This apartment building was abandoned some time ago, which made Oliver use the whole building as his hideout and use one of the apartment rooms as his living quarters, as well as storing some of his equipment in the other rooms.

Oliver opened the door and nervously looked at Mario and Luigi.

“H-hi Mario and Luigi.” He greeted them. He swallowed. “You’re not here to arrest me, are you?”

“Haha, no, we’re not!” Mario reassured him. “We need your help!”

“My boss J. Jonah Jameson got kidnapped, and we need you to access CCTV footage of the event,” Luigi explained as he told him.

“Okay, I-I can try.” Oliver nodded as he approached a desk and started typing as he hacked into security footage at the street where Jameson was kidnapped.

“Thank you so much, Oliver!” Mario smiled at him with a thumbs-up.

Oliver quickly typed on the keyboard while he was hacking, and then he saw footage of Jameson getting kidnapped by Vault Boy.

“Found the footage!” Oliver told them.

The Mario brothers approached Oliver, and three of them watched the footage of the kidnapping.

---

Moments ago

Jameson angrily walked down the sidewalk as he was thinking about that superhero named Spider-Man.

“Spider-Man,” Jameson growled. “He’s considered a hero, but he’s a damn criminal. Spider-Maaaaaan.”

He suddenly yelled at a random male civilian who was in a business suit and scared him. “SPIDER-MAN IS A CRIMINAL, NOT A HERO!!!” He angrily breathed in and out as he looked at him.

The male civilian trembled as he looked at the angry J. Jonah Jameson.

Jameson continued walking as he continued angrily thinking about Spider-Man. Some of the other civilians made glances at him as he walked by. He walked across the street without looking both ways.

“How dare he get praise for his crimes. I tell you I’ll teach him a hardcore lesson when I see him-AAH!”

Jameson yelped as a red Ford Indigo ran him over. The car stopped after running over the editor-in-chief.

The individual who drove the Indigo was Vault Boy, who got out of the car and tossed Jameson into it, then drove away.

---

Luigi freaked out after watching Vault Boy kidnapping Jameson.

“Mama Mia!" Luigi screamed. "That’s Vault Boy Mario!”

“I know Luigi.” Mario nodded. “We’ll stop him. We need to know where Jameson is being held.”

“I’ll-a head to Highfalcon Times to request assistance from Master Chief and John Wick,” Luigi informed his brother.

“Great idea, Luigi!” Mario smiled with a nod. “And I’ll-a head to my police outpost and contact Chief Larvell Jones.”

“What should I do?” Oliver asked them, wanting to help.

“Why not show up to our house?” Mario suggested. “That way, the gang of friends will stick together!”

“O-okay.” Oliver nodded. He swallowed again.

“Great! Then let’s-a-go!” Mario grinned.

---

While his brother Luigi was with Oliver heading to Highfalcon Times, Mario was alone inside his police station and started to dial Chief Jones’s number.

But then he stopped and turned to the entrance of his outpost. He gasped as he saw the person who entered.

Agent Stone. He stared at Mario while wielding a tranquilizer.

Mario glared at him as he pointed. “You’re Agent Stone! Robotnik’s partner in crime! Did you and Robotnik hire Vault Boy to kidnap J. Jonah Jameson!?”

“Yes, we did, Mario.” Agent Stone nodded calmly. “And you’re going to be kidnapped too, and tortured.” He aimed his tranquilizer at Mario.

Mario attempted to stop Robotnik’s partner in crime, but was too late. The tranquilizer dart went into Mario. He fell on the floor and was put to sleep.

Chapter 21: ACT 2 - Chapter 9

In the forest outside of Highfalcon, J. Jonah Jameson was regaining consciousness as he moaned after he got run over by Vault Boy. He did feel some pain as he was slowly getting up. The last thing he hoped when he was getting on his feet was to have inflammation all over his body.

“My god.” Jameson moaned. “What the hell happened?” While he stood, he looked around and noticed he was in the middle of nowhere. “Is this finally it? Is Spider-Man going to kill me just because of what I say about that lunatic criminal?”

“Hello, J. Jonah Jameson.” A voice behind him said as the individual was approaching him.

“SPIDER-MAN!” Jameson shouted when he quickly turned around. Then his eyes widen with a jaw-dropping expression.

Vault Boy was approaching him while smiling, then stood. He waved at him.

While feeling frightened, Jameson pointed at him. “You! YOU YOU YOU! You’re Vault-Boy! The serial killer created by that evil company, Vault-Tec! What are you going to do to me!? Give me goosebumps!? Are you trying to surpass the evilness of Spider-Man!? Did he put you up to this!?”

Vault Boy laughed. “No! I haven’t asked him to do this. I just wanted to send you a note so that we can talk privately like gentlemen.” He smiled and gave him a thumbs-up. “How does that sound?”

“That sounds horrible!” Jameson glared. “So horrible it’ll probably make my ears bleed like a teacher scratching the chalkboard!”

“Don’t worry, what I’m going to tell you will sound harmless.” Vault Boy reassured. “All I want you to do is to contact your head of security, Master Chief, and tell him to tell the security and the employees to leave the building. This applies to him and co-head of security John Wick.”

“Why would I do that!?” Jameson asked. “My employees won’t leave for a few hours! And all of them are worried sick about me after you almost killed me, you Vault Boy of Goosebumps!”

“Just tell Master Chief that everything is fine and you escaped.” Vault boy replied. “Then tell him you hired an elite security firm to secure your building.”

“An elite security firm? What a minute...ARE YOU WORKING FOR THE CORRUPTED COMPANY MONTGOMERY INDUSTRIES!?!?!”

Vault Boy frowned. “Just call them, or die here alone.”

Jameson felt his gut tightening. He believed Montgomery Industries found out what he was doing and wanted to make him pay. But he also believed Spider-Man had something to do with this, of course.

Montgomery Industries made Jameson equally obsessed with them as he was obsessed with Spider-Man.

Jameson felt his body shake a bit as he grabbed his phone and dialed Master Chief’s number.

Vault Boy looked at him. “Don’t think about it, Mr. Jameson.” He told him politely.

Jameson knew what he meant by that. He wanted to try to cry for help while running away, but he knew the consequences. He waited for Master Chief to answer, and he did.

“Jameson!?” Master Chief said his name. “Are you okay? Where are you?”

“I’m okay, Master Chief. I’ve escaped. Listen to me, I need you, John Wick, the security team, and the employees to leave the building.” Jameson told him.

“Why?”

“I’m hiring an elite security firm to secure the building. I just don’t want anyone to attempt to sabotage it.”

“What about the police?”

“I already contacted Chief Jones. Everything’s fine, Master Chief.”

“Jameson, are you sure you’re okay-“

“Goodbye, Master Chief.” With that, Jameson hung up. He looked at Vault Boy.

“We’re heading to the building, aren’t we?” He guessed.

“That’s right.” Vault Boy nodded in confirmation. “We’re going to wait for our ride. They'll pick us up.”

Whoever was going to pick them up, Jameson wasn’t looking forward to seeing them. He knew Master Chief had become concerned, and he hoped he, John Wick, and possibly Luigi would save him.

Jameson wrote a note to himself, reminding him to give Luigi that 800-dollar raise if he’s involved with his rescue.

---

At a fast pace, Luigi was walking towards the front entrance of the Highfalcon Times building, then came to a stop when he witnessed the security and the employees exiting the building. He then saw Master Chief and John Wick exiting together.

“Master Chief! John Wick!” Luigi said their names as he approached them.

Master Chief and John looked at Luigi.

“Did Jameson tell you?” John asked.

“Tell me what?” Luigi asked.

Master Chief began to explain. “Jameson ‘hired’ an elite security firm to guard the building. But I believe he’s in danger.”

“Then let’s head to my brother’s police outpost,” Luigi suggested.

“Lead the way, Luigi.” Master Chief nodded.

---

The trio arrived at Mario’s police outpost and entered. Luigi became concerned when he saw the office being empty despite Mario’s Dodge Monaco being parked outside.

The brother spotted a note lying on Mario’s desk. He grabbed it and read it.

“If you’re looking for Mario. He’s gone.”

Luigi widened his eyes and gasped. He became scared as he started to worry about what had happened to his brother.

“My brother has been kidnapped too!” He told the two.

John approached him. “Let me see the letter.” He grabbed the letter and read it.

Luigi started to gain anxiety. “Mama Mia! My friends Astolfo, Agent 47, Alex Murphy, Lupin the 3rd, and his friends might’ve been kidnapped too! EVERYONE IS GETTING KIDNAPPED!!!”

“We don’t know that for sure, Luigi.” Master Chief replied, calming him down.

“He’s right,” John told Luigi. “We need to head to your house and find out.”

“O-okay.” Luigi nodded as he panted. “Then let’s-a go.”

---

Luigi parked his 1934 Chrysler Airflow and noticed the Lupin Gang’s 1965 Fiat 500 F being parked at their house, but couldn’t tell if anyone was at their home.

And he couldn’t tell if anyone was inside the Mario Brothers house. But he did notice one car parked in front of the house, which was a gray 5th-generation Toyota Prius.

When Luigi, Master Chief, and John Wick approached the front door, they heard some commotion, which made the former become more scared, believing his friends were also getting kidnapped.

When Mario's brother opened the door, what he saw was Astolfo and Lupin fighting against 47. They were fighting with frying pans in front of Robocop.

Robocop tried to stop them. “Astolfo! Lupin the 3rd! 47! Enough of this immature roughhousing! The Mario Brothers won’t be happy with the three of you!”

What happened while the Mario Brothers were gone, Astolfo quickly took off 47’s red tie and ran, causing 47 to chase him around the house. Lupin got involved by running into the basement and stealing 47’s laptop.

When 47 noticed Lupin with the laptop, the latter started to make goofy faces and noises at him and said, “Chase me in circles, 47!” But Astolfo stepped in with three frying pans and said to Lupin, “Let’s fight 47 and kick his butt!”.

The assassin tried to fight Astolfo for the red tie and Lupin for the laptop. And this went on forever, a never-ending battle.

Robocop tried to stop them during the fight, but was ignored. He thought about getting Jigen and Goemon to stop Lupin’s silliness, but believed that it could backfire and not go the way he expected.

While fighting 47, Astolfo said, “Come on, 47! It’s just a tie!”

“It’s not just a tie, it's my tie .” 47 replied.

Lupin nervously laughed as he fought 47 with Astolfo. “Haha, look, uh, I didn’t mean to take your laptop.”

Luigi’s eyes saw the red tie in Astolfo’s pocket. He quickly jumped onto Astolfo and both crashed onto the floor.

“Mama Mia, enough!” Luigi said to the three of them. He grabbed 47’s red tie and handed it back to him, then helped Astolfo up.

He glared at Lupin. “Hand him back his laptop, Lupin.”

Lupin obliged by nodding and handed the laptop back to the bald assassin.

“Geez, come on!" Astolfo whined to Luigi. "The three of us were having fun!”

Luigi shook his head. “Mama Mia, it was more than just fun.”

47 noticed Master Chief and John Wick. “Who are these two?” He asked Luigi.

“I am Master Chief." He answered. "Head of security of Highfalcon Times.”

“And I’m John Wick, co-head of security." He said. "I know who Robocop is, but who are your three?”

“I’m 47.”

“You can call me Astolfo!”

“And I’m Lupin the 3rd!"

John nodded, then turned his head to Oliver, who was trembling in a corner. He trembled because of the fight. “And him?”

“Oh, that’s Oliver,” Luigi answered. He snapped his fingers at him. “Oliver!”

Oliver shook his head as he snapped out of his distraught trance. “Huh!? Oh, Luigi! Y-you brought some friends over?”

“Yes, I did.” Luigi nodded. “I hope these three didn’t scare you too much.” Referring to Astolfo, 47, and Lupin.

“No, it’s okay, I’m fine,” Oliver reassured him. He noticed Mario wasn’t around. “Where’s Mario?”

“He’s been kidnapped,” Luigi answered. "Just like what happened to Jameson."

“Seriously!?” Astolfo replied with shock.

“Yes.” Luigi nodded with worry. He pulled out the note he found. “This was lying on Mario’s desk.”

“Let me take a look.” 47 offered as Luigi handed him the note. 47 read it and turned to Oliver. “Have you been into any of Robotnik’s hideouts?”

“Y-yeah.” Oliver nodded. “Only one, to be precise. There’s a place called ‘Mean Bean Coffee Shop’ and it was used as a front for Robotnik’s operations.”

“Then that’s a place for one of us to go to.” 47 said to everyone.

“One of us?” Master Chief replied. “Not all of us?”

“We cannot test Robotnik or any of his accomplices.” 47 said to him. “Recklessness can motivate someone to kill Mario and Jameson, assuming both of them are there.”

“Not exactly,” Master Chief shook his head. “Jameson called me surprisingly and then informed me that he hired an elite security firm to guard the Highfalcon Times building.”

47 started to figure this out. He didn’t forget about the mercenaries who were working for Vanessa Nelson.

“That ‘elite security firm’ is likely mercenaries.” 47 guessed.

“Whoa, those guys again?” Astolfo asked.

“Possibly.” 47 nodded. He turned his head back to Oliver. “Oliver, are you able to hack into the Highfalcon Times CCTV cameras?”

“Yeah!” Oliver nodded. “I-I can do it!”

“Work on it.” 47 told him in response.

Oliver wasted no time being helpful and useful to the group. But then Lupin stepped in and spoke to Oliver.

“I’ll go fetch my friend Amy and have her assist you.” He suggested.

Oliver stopped hacking and looked at the thief. “Oh, no, you don’t need to do that.” He shook his head at him.

“Are you sure?” Lupin raised an eyebrow. “I mean, the more help the better.”

“I am aware, but I can do this myself, thank you,” Oliver told him and went back to hacking the cameras.

Lupin quietly hummed and looked away, sneaking glances at him. He didn’t forget when Jigen told him that he didn’t trust Oliver. This was after Luigi was stabbed. The thief began to wonder what was inside Oliver’s hideout. He wasn’t alone in feeling suspicious of Oliver; 47 felt the same way. He thought Oliver’s response to Lupin was odd.

It didn’t take too long for Oliver to hack into the cameras and access the footage. He searched everywhere and couldn’t find anybody, except a spacecraft landing on the roof of the building.

“I found something!” Oliver told everyone as he revealed the security footage on his laptop.

The entire group saw the spacecraft landing, and revealed the people exiting it: Vault Boy, J. Jonah Jameson, and a group of Robotnik’s human soldiers wielding their laser rifles.

Luigi became shocked to see the soldiers. “W-What the!? Who are they!?”

“They don’t look like the mercenaries we dealt with before.” 47 remarked, noticing their outfits and weapons.

“Those are Robotnik’s human soldiers,” Oliver replied. “They work for Robotnik and they patrol Robotnik’s main headquarters in Thunder Valley, Nevada.”

“But where’s Mario!?” Luigi asked, feeling worried. “I didn’t see him exiting that!”

“He could be held in that coffee shop.” 47 guessed. “We need to split up.”

“I agree.” Master Chief agreed. “John and I will infiltrate the Highfalcon Times building and rescue Jameson.”

“And kill Vault Boy and the soldiers,” John said with a nod.

“Let me come too!” Luigi offered.

Astolfo gasped. “B-but Luigi, your brother-“

“Don’t worry, Astolfo,” Luigi reassured him. He stared at 47. “47, do you mind rescuing Mario again?”

“Not at all, Luigi.” 47 nodded. “I’ll work on rescuing him and kill anyone who’s involved.”

“Thank you!” Luigi smiled. He then hugged 47.

47 sighed and didn’t hug Luigi back. “You’re welcome.” He then moved Luigi away.

“I’ll help you out on this!” Lupin smiled at 47. “Mario is my friend too!”

“Not a problem.” 47 nodded at him.

“We’re already making a great team, it seems like,” John remarked.

“We sure are, John.” Master Chief nodded.

“Luigi?” Robocop said his name. “Is there anything you want me to do?”

“I want you to stay here so you can stay safe and keep Oliver protected,” Luigi answered. “I cannot afford to lose a friend like you. After Mario is rescued, have the Highfalcon PD raid the coffee shop.”

“Understood.” Robocop nodded.

“W-what about me?” Oliver raised his hand to his chest.

47 looked at him. “I want you to do me a big favor.”

“What is it?” Oliver inquired.

“I want you to hack into the Montgomery Industries servers and locate any calls between Alan Montgomery and a man named Bob Page.” 47 explained.

“Bob Page?” Luigi said. “Wait! You found out about that Bob guy’s last name? The guy that was mentioned on the phone after you killed Alan?”

“No, I’m only guessing because the man’s name is a point of interest.” 47 answered. “I haven’t forgotten what happened at the subway.”

“Amy found info about that guy,” Lupin told 47. “I’ll explain it all to you when we prepare to rescue Mario.”

“Okey dokey!" Luigi grinned. "Then, while all of that is going on, the four of us will rescue J. Jonah Jameson!” Luigi said to everyone, referring to himself, Astolfo, Master Chief, and John Wick.

He walked to the front door and opened it. “Let’s-a go!”

---

Mario was slowly waking up as he moaned. He looked around and noticed he was tied to a wall and was inside a dark room, then he noticed a light above him.

Restraints were placed on his ankles and wrists, preventing him from escaping. He hoped Luigi and his friends were okay and not hurt.

Mario believed Robotnik was coming to meet him and taunt him, but instead, it was Agent Stone who entered the dark room and faced Mario as he held a latte.

“Hello, Mario.” Agent Stone said to him.

Mario glared. “Where are we?”

“The Mean Bean Coffee Shop.” Agent Stone answered. He offered Mario a latte to drink. “Care to drink some latte with Austrian Goat Milk?”

Mario kept the glare on him and didn’t drink it. He believed Agent Stone was going to psych him and drink the latte himself, or splash it on him.

Agent Stone chuckled. “Come on, drink it.” He insisted. “I’m not going to trick you and laugh. Dr. Robotnik would, though.”

Mario continued to glare and sip the latte. It did taste good, but Mario wasn’t going to compliment him or thank him.

“Where’s Robotnik?" Mario questioned. "Is he here?"

“He’s somewhere far away.” Agent Stone answered, then drank his latte

“Far away as in Thunder Valley?”

Agent Stone frowned after Mario asked him that. He stared at him, then pressed a button next to Mario.

Mario felt his body in pain as he was being shocked on the wall. “AAAAAAH OUCH OUCH MAMA MIA!”

Mario looked down as he panted after being shocked by Agent Stone.

“How did you find out?” Agent Stone glared at him.

“A source,” Mario answered.

“What kind of source? Was it him , Daniel Montgomery? Or that pathetic, timid man, Oliver?”

“Go ask Oliver. He told us everything. He rescued my brother and I from Vanessa and told us about Thunder Valley while we were on the road to our home. That's-a how.”

Agent Stone breathed and angrily drank his latte. He wasn’t ready to inform Robotnik about the bad news of his base of operations in Thunder Valley being compromised. He obviously knew what his reaction was going to be.

Sure, Agent Stone can kill Mario right now, but he was ordered by Robotnik to keep him alive so that he can die while being tortured slowly.

Agent Stone didn’t reply and exited the dark room, leaving Mario alone.

---

Back inside the Mario Brothers House, 47 and Lupin were forming plans to infiltrate the Mean Bean Coffee Shop and rescue Mario, while Oliver was working on hacking into Montgomery Industries' servers. Robocop kept everyone protected as he kept the house secured from threats.

Weapons and equipment were placed around the living room, which were planned to be used to strategize the infiltration and rescue.

The group of four turned to the front door that was knocked on. Oliver became startled by the knock as it was unexpected, and gulped as he hoped no one was going to aggressively kick the door down.

Robocop pulled out his Auto 9 and kept himself hidden to ambush a possible threat.

47 slowly pulled out his Silverballer while Lupin pulled out his Walther P38 and slowly approached the door and stood side by side between it.

The assassin turned the doorknob slowly and slowly opened the door while keeping his Silverballer pistol hidden.

In front of 47 were Miles Edgeworth, Kay Faraday, and Dick Gumshoe.

“Not interested.” 47 told them immediately. He tried to close the door, but Edgeworth stopped him.

“Wait, sir!” Edgeworth replied. “Are you Tobias Rieper?”

“Maybe." 47 answered. "Who wants to know?”

“My name is Miles Edgeworth.” He answered. “And these are my associates, Kay Faraday, and Dick Gumshoe. We want to discuss Franziska von Karma.”

Chapter 22: ACT 2 - Chapter 10

Miles Edgeworth, Kay Faraday, and Dick Gumshoe entered the Mario Brothers house after 47, and Lupin allowed them in. The three noticed Oliver on his laptop wearing headphones as he was listening to encrypted audio recordings, which he was able to decrypt but with tons of difficulty.

The three noticed weapons in the living room: 47’s other Silverballer, SPAS-12, Walther WA2000, and a Barrett M82A2 that Lupin borrowed from Jigen. The trio also noticed Robocop in the house. Kay's jaw dropped when she saw him. She noticed how combatant he looked.

Gumshoe was shocked to see the weapons. “Whoa, pals! What’s with the weapons? You guys planning to shoot your neighbors?”

Kay worriedly stared at Edgeworth. “Edgy? Are you sure we came to the right house?”

“Yes, I am sure.” Edgeworth nodded as he stared at 47, Lupin, and Robocop. “What’s with the guns?” He asked him.

“We’re strategizing.” 47 answered.

“Strategizing for what, pal?” Gumshoe questioned.

“Not shooting our neighbors,” Lupin replied.

“These two are forming plans to rescue a friend of ours named Mario," Robocop explained. "He was kidnapped earlier today. I'm here to keep this home secured.”

“I see,” Edgeworth responded with a nod. He noticed Oliver. “And who’s that?”

“A companion who’s a scientist and a hacker.” 47 glanced at Oliver as he answered.

“And you’re Tobias Rieper, right, pal?” Gumshoe inquired.

“No, that was an alias.” 47 told him.

“His real name is Grim Reaper hahaha!” Lupin laughed. He noticed the glare from 47, which made him stop laughing and look away with a frown.

“So then, who are you and the cyborg bodyguard?” Kay asked 47. “You and your companions look like assassins.”

“I’m an assassin but not Lupin and Alex," 47 told her. "My name is 47."

“I’m Lupin the 3rd.” He smiled.

"And I'm Alex Murphy, also known as Robocop." He said to the trio. "I am a member of the Highfalcon PD."

"Wow!" Kay grinned. "So you're a cyborg killing machine who fights criminals from erasing the truth!"

"I arrest criminals, but sometimes my programming could go out of control," Robocop replied.

Edgeworth heard of the names 47, Lupin the 3rd, and Alex Murphy. He believed 47 was a myth. But then he remembered Franziska ranting about the bald hitman from time to time. He heard of the thefts Lupin committed all over the world with his companions.

“So it’s true, you’re real, Agent 47.” The prosecutor said to him.

“Formerly Agent 47, so now it’s just 47." 47 replied. "You heard of me, haven’t you?” He showed off an intimidating aura, which made Kay and Gumshoe gulp in fear.

Edgeworth, on the other hand, wasn’t intimidated. “I thought you were a myth, and I learned about the ICA dissolving, and I stopped paying attention after that.”

He looked at Lupin. “But you’re not a myth. You’re the infamous thief, Lupin the 3rd, stealing a bunch of valuable objects in various countries. Interpol has been after you for a long time.”

“Yep!” Lupin nodded with a smug look. “My companions and I move around a lot.”

Kay could've responded to his words, but she was busy staring at 47. She noticed something about him, which was his demeanor, then compared it to Edgeworth’s.

“Edgy!? Gummy!?” Kay said their names. “Do you know something from 47?”

“He’s bald,” Gumshoe replied.

Edgeworth formed a stern look at Kay. “Where is this going, Kay?”

“His behavior! He looks so intimidating!” Kay remarked as he observed 47’s personality. She then looked at Edgeworth. “Kinda like you, Edgy. You’re always so stern, strict, intimidating, grumpy, and stuff. Like this!"

Kay did an impression of Edgeworth in front of him and everyone. Edgeworth rolled his eyes at Kay’s silliness.

The great thief then looked at Edgeworth. “Is he your brother or something?” She asked.

“No, Kay.” Edgeworth shook his head. “I don’t have brothers.”

“I do, but they’re clones.” 47 told Kay.

“C-Clones!?" Kay gasped with her jaw open. "You’re a clone!?”

“Yes.” 47 nodded. “I came from a genetic research project. A story for another time or not at all.”

“Mr. 47!” Oliver said his name.

47, and everyone turned their head to the hacker scientist.

“Found something, Oliver?” 47 asked him/

“Yes!" Oliver nodded. "I found a conversation between Alan Montgomery and Bob Page, and they mentioned the Mario Brothers, a girl named Dolma Sinha, and a man named Oddjob,” Oliver explained.

Lupin gasped. “D-Dolma Sinha!? That’s Amy’s best friend she made...”

“She’s presumed dead after that horrific day at the Annecy boarding school she attended,” Edgeworth mentioned. He looked at Oliver. “And did you say, Bob Page?”

“You know him?” 47 asked.

“No.” Edgeworth shook his head. “But I heard of him, including Oddjob.”

“My associate Amy researched this Bob guy,” Lupin told Edgeworth. “Information about being a multi-billionaire, CEO of his company, Page Industries, as well as owning a company called VersaLife. And being a member of a defunct group known as the Illuminati. He’s presumed dead.”

47 explained about Oddjob. “A contact of mine found information about Oddjob. He used to work for a man named Auric Goldfinger. Both of them were involved in invading Fort Knox years ago but were stopped by the US Military, a CIA agent, and an MI6 agent. Later, Oddjob vanished, and no one knows where he’s located.”

The hitman then asked Edgeworth. “What do you know about Bob Page besides what Lupin said?”

“His real name was Robert Page, usually went by ‘Bob Page ’, ” Edgeworth explained. “But not much. The three of us were assisting Interpol in tracking down this man for conspiracy regarding smuggling innocent people and placing them into augmented projects.”

“Go on.” 47 requested, wanting to know more.

“We had help from a man named Morgan Everett, who was Page’s mentor in the Illuminati. During his time in the group, Page later committed treason, exposing all of the past activities they were involved in, all because Page was impatient with the Illuminati, especially Everett. The Illuminati had augmented technology that they were planning to use to take control of humanity, but they were taking too long, much to Page’s displeasure.”

Edgeworth continued. “So then, Page started to expose the Illuminati members and their activities, as well as eliminating them one by one, except for Everett, who’s currently missing. Everett was able to reach out to Interpol, who assisted in tracking him down, and we worked with him until...”

Edgeworth didn’t want to go since it required him to relive that moment, which made him despise it so much.

“Until what? Did Everett betray you guys?” 47 asked.

Edgeworth breathed. “Yes.”

---

FLASHBACK

Inside a train, Edgeworth, Kay, and Gumshoe were abducted sometime after the Interpol investigation on Bob Page ended. They didn’t understand what was going on as they were trapped inside a train car.

“What happened!?” Kay asked as he became scared.

“I don’t know.” Edgeworth shook his head.

“It felt like we got kidnapped by the boogeymen,” Gumshoe said to them.

The door in the train opened, revealing an African-Canadian man in a suit with short dark gray hair.

Morgan Everett.

He was alone, and he stepped into the train car to face the trio.

“I apologize for frightening the three of you,” Morgan said to them. “I didn’t know how to get in contact with all of you.”

“You sure created the most bizarre way to get in contact with us.” Edgeworth glared at him. “Why? Why did you bring us to this train? Where’s it going?”

“I’m afraid I cannot disclose that information to you, Mr. Edgeworth,” Morgan answered.

“Why’s that, pal?” Gumshoe asked him.

“We’re not being killed, are we?” Kay hoped.

“Allow me to explain," Morgan replied. "The reason why I reached out to Interpol was to get back at Bob’s betrayal of the Illuminati. I wanted him to feel overwhelmed.”

The three gasped at his explanation.

“What!?” Edgeworth said in shock. “Wait a minute, were you a member of the Illuminati?!”

“Yes, that is correct,” Morgan confirmed. “My contacts and I were able to quickly erase all pieces of information about my involvement in the Illuminati. Then I manipulated Interpol to track down Bob Page. When we declared his death to be presumed, I gave myself the opportunity to reform the Illuminati and continue what we started, as well as hiring a squad to hunt down and kill Bob.”

Edgeworth increased his glare at him and pointed his finger at him. “Then you’re going to tell us you and your contacts threatened Interpol to cancel the case and erase all information about it.” He assumed. "The timing of everything you did was too convenient."

“You’re a mind reader, Mr. Edgeworth,” Morgan admitted. “I guess you know my intentions too well. I was hiding hints that led to Bob being alive and hiding somewhere. I didn't want Bob to know Interpol was after him and give him ideas.”

“You used us!” Edgeworth snapped with his dark glare. “You used us and Interpol just to continue with your disgraceful career! You scumbag !”

“I wouldn’t say ‘use’, I would say requesting assistance,” Morgan told him.

“S-so you’re going to kill us?” Kay asked as she felt a tear being released.

“Let me ask you three something, and this will answer your question,” Morgan told them. “Would you rather live your life with the truth being irrelevant, or have it be exposed and face the repercussions? Or, would you rather face a lethal silence just because you exposed the truth and couldn’t keep your mouth shut?”

Edgeworth blinked at his question. He didn’t like it as he knew what Morgan was truly saying.

“Don’t even think about erasing the truth, Morgan Everett.” He responded. “I cannot believe you would do something like this, all because of your selfishness. It sounds like you assisted Page in faking his death.”

“Don’t make me laugh, Mr. Edgeworth.” Morgan shook his head at him. “Were you not listening to me about the hit squad I hired to locate Bob and kill him? Bob resented me after everything I taught him in the Illuminati. Besides, why help someone who hates you? It’s a waste of time. It’s as simple as that.”

Kay closed her eyes as she tried to process all of this and wipe the tears of fear away.

“W-who are you? Really?” She asked Morgan.

“I am the invisible hand. I am what’s left of the Illuminati, and so will all of us.” Morgan told the trio.

“No.” Edgeworth shook his head as he continued to give Morgan his dark glare. “We will not join the Illuminati, a group filled with disgraceful people hiding the truth.”

“Yeah!” Kay glared, siding with Edgeworth. “You cannot just do that! We steal the truth and reveal it to the public!”

“I would rather not be involved with any injustice and shady activities.” Gumshoe nodded as he glared.

Morgan shook his head. “I guess this is how it has to be. I knew I couldn’t trust the three of you. You three focus on morals instead of making choices. This will be the end of your story. Bombs have been placed on this train car, and I’ll be disconnecting the car as I depart, leaving the three of you stranded. Don’t think about stopping me, because I have people on this train who are waiting for me and will kill you for trying anything against me. The bombs will go off in 1 minute and 30 seconds.” He quickly turned around and closed the door, locking it.

Edgeworth ran to the door and attempted to forcefully open it, but to no avail.

“Damn it! We’re trapped!” He told them. He walked away from the door.

“No!” Kay cried. “This isn’t happening!”

Gumshoe took off his coat and tossed it over Edgeworth’s body, covering him. “Let me try!”

The detective approached the door and gave it a powerful kick with all of his strength.

That kick made the door fly away from the train car. Gumshoe became surprised with that kick he performed, believing he was going to hurt his foot.

“Wow, pals, I did it!” Gumshoe smiled.

With no verbal response from Edgeworth and Kay, the former grabbed Kay as he tossed Gumshoe’s coat back to the detective, and together they quickly exited the train car and ran down the railway. The sky above them was night. They were stranded in the middle of nowhere.

KABOOM!

The train car behind exploded, causing the trio to jump down on the ground.

All three of them were panting, realizing that they had almost died in an explosion thanks to the backstabbing bastard Morgan Everett.

Kay sat on the railway staring at the inferno all around the train car. She wiped the tears away as she stared at it. She felt her body trembling a bit, thinking her life had almost come to an end so early.

Edgeworth looked at the ground on his knees as he had his arms placed on the ground with his fists clenched as he processed everything that had just happened.

Traitor. Edgeworth thought, thinking about Morgan. Morgan Everett. You’re the most dishonest man I have ever met. I hope you face justice for all of your crimes and suffer.

“Edgeworth?” Gumshoe said his name, feeling concerned and worried. “Are you hurt?”

“No, Gumshoe,” Edgeworth responded. “I’m devastated . That man was going to kill all three of us. Why? Why!? Just to be selfish and heartless, that’s why!” He breathed deeply, knowing he had to control himself. He heard Kay crying as she held her hands on her face, and she shed tears.

Edgeworth wrapped his arms around her and comforted her, which made her cry on his shoulder. What Morgan did to them became something that they will never, ever forget, nor forgive.

---

Listening to Edgeworth’s story about what Morgan attempted to do to them left 47, Lupin, Robocop, and Oliver stunned, as well as suspicious. The four believed Morgan assisted Bob in faking his death.

Edgeworth spoke. “We were stranded somewhere in Montana, but we were able to reach out to a sheriff's department in a small town called Green Hills, which helped us get back to Los Angeles.”

“Has Morgan mentioned anything about himself besides being a member of the Illuminati?” 47 questioned .

“He told me he was the CEO of a company known as ‘Picus’, a multinational entertainment and media corporation based in Montreal, Quebec,” Edgeworth explained.

Oliver raised his hand to his chest. “Um, 47? Do you want me to hack into that company?”

“No, not now.” 47 replied. “I have a contact of mine who can look for information about Picus. I’ll request her to see if that company is still in business , or if someone is taking Morgan’s position. Make tons of copies of that call between Alan and Bob, as well as anything relevant.”

“Got it!” Oliver nodded.

“And are you sure you don’t want Amy’s help?” Lupin asked him.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Oliver told him.

“Okay, if you say so.” Lupin rolled his eyes.

“We must go.” 47 told the trio. “Lupin and I need to save Mario.”

“Oh! Oh! Oh!” Kay raised her hand as she jumped. “Let us come!”

47 shook his head. “No. The three of you stay here so you can be safe.”

"I'll keep you three protected at all costs," Robocop told the trio.

“Oh, come on, the three of us didn’t travel here for nothing!” Kay complained. “Right, Edgy and Gummy?”

“Yeah, pal, you’re right!” Gumshoe agreed with a smile. “We have to do something here, something heroic, just like old times. What do you think, Mr. Edgeworth?”

Edgeworth crossed his arms and looked at 47 and Lupin. “Mr. 47. I know you're known to be the deadliest assassin in the world, and Mr. Lupin, you don’t work alone in committing thefts. You always have someone helping you."

The prosecutor's eyes were on the bald assassin. "Mr. 47, the answer to my question to you is obvious. Will this involve killing someone?”

47 nodded. “Yes.”

Edgeworth nodded back. “If there is no other option, and the people that we’re dealing with are absolutely sinful with zero opportunities to reason with them, then I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“Whoa, Edgy!” Kay said to him in surprise. “This isn’t you!”

“You’re right, it’s not,” Edgeworth responded. “But if we’re dealing with the most dangerous people, then we have no choice. It’s either kill or be killed.”

“The three of you can leave the killing to Lupin and I ,” 47 told them. “I can explain everything on the way. Let’s go.”

“We’ll take the Fiat!” Lupin told them with a smile.

“In that small car?” 47 looked at him. “We’re not going to fit in.”

Lupin patted him on the back. “Oh, we’re gonna be fine! Don't worry about it!”

---

The sun was setting, forming an orange sky above. On the road in the small 1965 Fiat 500 F, it became frustrating and struggling to get comfortable in the small Italian car.

“Oh my god!” Kay complained, feeling uncomfortable sitting in the back with Edgeworth and Gumshoe. “Edgy, Gummy, you’re squishing me!”

“Sorry, pal!” Gumshoe apologized.

“You’re squishing me too in this stupid car!” Edgeworth replied to Kay and Gumshoe.

47 sat in the passenger seat and looked at Lupin. “I told you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Lupin replied in a dull tone as he kept his eyes on the city road.

---

47 wished the weather were night, just to have an advantage. He, Lupin, along with Edgeworth, Kay, and Gumshoe, were out of the small, uncomfortable Fiat 500 F and kept themselves hidden in an alley that had a dead end.

The hitman observed the exterior of the Mean Bean Coffee Shop and noticed other buildings connected to it. He saw one building that had a ladder with stairs connected to the building’s wall, which was an emergency exit. He also noticed a ladder that led to the roof.

This made the assassin form an idea.

“Stay here.” 47 told Edgeworth, Kay, and Gumshoe. “Let’s go, Lupin.” He said to him.

“Wait a minute!” Kay stopped him. “We thought we were helping you!”

“You are, and that’s staying here in the car.” 47 told her.

“Don’t go for a joyride,” Lupin told Kay and the others.

Kay looked at Edgeworth. “Edgy, go with them and back them up!” She begged.

Edgeworth looked at 47 and Lupin. “Up to you two.”

47 didn’t want to, but he thought it would be worth it, as long as he survives. He looked at Lupin, who nodded his head at him.

The bald hitman looked at the prosecutor. “Fine.” He said. “But let Lupin and I do the killing.”

Edgeworth nodded and walked with the two. Kay and Gumshoe both watched the three men walk across the street while checking their surroundings.

“I hope they’ll keep Mr. Edgeworth protected.” Gumshoe hoped.

“I hope so too , Gummy,” Kay replied. “I’m counting on them.”

---

47, Lupin, and Edgeworth got on the emergency exit of the building and ascended quietly to avoid any attention from bystanders, then climbed the ladder to the roof. They then lowered their bodies as they moved.

As the assassin, the thief, and the prosecutor got to the edge of the roof, they lowered their bodies more as they spotted an alley and slowly peeked. The three of them noticed two human soldiers wielding laser rifles and guarding the back entrance of the coffee shop and a manhole.

“I’ll take care of the two soldiers.” 47 told Edgeworth while whispering. He whispered to Lupin. “Lupin, keep Edgeworth protected, then we’re going to go in the sewers.”

“Seriously?” Edgeworth looked at him, whispering back. “How often do you get stinky?”

“I’ve used the sewers before while on my assignments, Mr. Edgeworth,” 47 told him. “It’s a useful advantage. Besides, before you and the others arrived, Oliver told me about an entrance in the sewers that leads to the coffee shop, and we already found it.”

“But are we intending to wear their outfits?” Lupin asked quietly.

“Yes.” 47 nodded. “Edgeworth and I will wear the outfits, while we pretend to keep you apprehended for coming here to save Mario.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Lupin nodded with a smirk. “As long as you go easy on me.”

47 nodded and spoke to Edgeworth as he stared at the manhole. “So, Mr. Edgeworth, the three of us will go in there unless you want to go back to the car.”

“Don’t make me regret this 47,” Edgeworth replied.

“I don’t regret anything, Mr. Edgeworth,” 47 said. “Stay here, you two.” He then quietly climbed down the roof and got into the alley without the soldiers noticing. He snuck up on one soldier while he pulled out his fiber wire and started strangling him to death.

One soldier wasn’t noticing as he was moving away from the strangled guard.

Lupin and Edgeworth hoped that 47 would be quick enough to kill both of the soldiers without causing any alert. They saw 47 quietly dragging the dead soldier’s body and hid it in the shadow next to a dumpster. The duo then noticed the other soldier turning his body around, which made them quickly duck to avoid detection. They hoped he didn’t see them.

47 stayed hidden and heard footsteps coming from the soldier. He snuck behind him and wrapped his fiber wire around his neck, strangling the soldier.

After 47 killed him, he let out a whistle to Lupin and Edgeworth, letting them know the coast was clear.

The two men raised their bodies as they were still crouched. Lupin was about to climb down, but he noticed something from Edgeworth.

The prosecutor felt fear, a fear of heights. He wasn’t thinking about it when he was with 47 and Lupin, as he trusted them, but since the former wasn’t around, the fear came all over the prosecutor’s body. He deeply breathed as he looked down, restraining himself from freaking out mentally.

Lupin looked at Edgeworth with concern. “Are you afraid of heights?”

“I am,” Edgeworth told him as he looked away.

47 heard what he said and had an idea. He decided to climb back up the roof to where Edgeworth and Lupin were and offered to help the prosecutor.

“Hold on to me, and keep your eyes closed.” 47 told him, holding on to Edgeworth’s body.

Lupin helped out. “And think of something that makes you laugh.” He told him.

“Nothing makes me laugh,” Edgeworth replied.

“We can relate.” 47 nodded. “Hold on to me tightly.”

Edgeworth gulped and breathed as he held onto 47 and Lupin as he closed his eyes. He felt his body moving down the roof with them.

Then it was over before the prosecutor knew it, as he felt his feet landing on the ground.

“All done.” 47 told him.

Edgeworth opened his eyes and saw himself in the alley with the assassin and the thief, as well as seeing the dead bodies of the human soldiers.

47 looked at the corpses. “We’re going to change into their clothes and infiltrate the coffee shop.”

“Would anyone in there get suspicious of us?” Edgeworth asked.

“As long as we don’t act suspiciously.” 47 replied. “We’re going to keep Lupin apprehended and be told where to put him.”

As Lupin looked away, 47 and Edgeworth took off their clothes and changed into the human soldier outfits, then picked up their laser weapons.

47 opened the manhole and climbed down with Edgeworth and Lupin.

---

Mario wanted to escape as he was getting bored, and then he was getting worried about his brother Luigi and his friends.

He heard the door in the dark room opening, revealing Agent Stone again.

Mario sighed as he looked at Robotnik’s accomplice. “Mama Mia, what?”

“Robotnik’s robots are going to pick you up, then drop you off at the doctor’s headquarters in Thunder Valley.” Agent Stone explained.

“Why not just kill me here?” Mario asked him.

“I could, but it would toss away the fun that the doctor wants.” Agent Stone told him. “The doctor would rip me to shreds if I killed you.”

“What is Robotnik planning this time?” Mario questioned. “Another goblin invasion?”

Agent Stone chuckled as he shook his head. “No. It’s a lot worse than that. He’s going to destroy Highfalcon. If he can’t take over the city, then no one can.”

Mario realized the entire city of Highfalcon was in danger because of Dr. Ivo Robotnik. He knew he needed to be stopped as quickly as possible before it was too late.

Agent Stone continued talking. “The doctor doesn’t just have an army of robots, he also has an army of human soldiers who are here guarding this hideout and Thunder Valley. You’re going to need an army to invade the doctor’s main headquarters.”

Agent Stone’s words gave Mario an idea. He was thankful that Robotnik’s accomplice was stupid enough to give him a hint.

Agent Stone evilly smiled. “Time flies, Mario. Everyone knows that. Look forward to meeting Dr. Ivo Robotnik again soon.” He then exited the room.

After he was gone, Mario spoke as he smiled. “Oh, that’s-a right Agent Stone. I will.”

---

Edgeworth and Lupin stayed hidden as 47 strangled a soldier to death inside a hallway of the coffee shop. He then dragged his body into a storage room.

47 knew it would be better to quietly kill the guards in the coffee shop to avoid suspicion coming from Agent Stone and causing a shootout.

47 and Edgeworth continued to blend in as they walked down the hall while pretending they had captured Lupin. A door in front of them opened, revealing Agent Stone, who spotted the three.

Agent Stone looked at Lupin. “Wow, Lupin the 3rd, Mario’s best friend, who steals valuable things.”

“We caught him trespassing, sir.” 47 told him.

“Where should we put him?” Edgeworth asked him.

“Put him in the basement where Mario is and put him in restraints.” Agent Stone told them. “He won’t be able to free his friend or himself. One of you head to the basement and guard Mario and Lupin.”

“Yes, sir.” 47 nodded.

“Thank you.” Agent Stone nodded back. “Robotnik’s robots will be arriving here shortly to pick him up and send him to Thunder Valley.”

“And what about Lupin?” 47 asked him.

“I’ll contact the doctor about him.” Agent Stone told him. "Just wait for further orders." He then walked away.

47, Lupin, and Edgeworth looked at each other, then nodded and went into the basement, where Mario was being held.

As they walked down the stairs, the three men spoke.

“We don’t have a lot of time.” 47 pointed out to them. “We have to get Mario out of here quickly before those robots arrive.”

“What about that man who spoke to us?” Edgeworth asked.

“Agent Stone, I’ll take care of him.” 47 answered.

“Let me handle him.” Lupin offered. “That way, you two can get Mario out of here while I’ll handle that guy.”

“Alright, but be careful.” 47 told him.

They both saw a door and approached it. 47 opened it and saw Mario tied to the wall with restraints.

Mario moaned in annoyance as he looked down. “Uuuuuugh, Mama Mia, what now, Agent Stone!? Do you love annoying me?! Did you forget to have me sip on that stupid latte?”

“It’s me, Mario, 47.” He told him.

Mario looked up as he widened his eyes. He formed a big smile as he saw him, Lupin, and Edgeworth.

“47! Lupin!” Mario smiled. “ It’s-a so happy to see you guys saving me! Again!”

“Yes, I wonder how many times Lupin and I have to save you.” 47 replied. He undid the restraints on the former plumber and set him free.

Mario noticed Edgeworth. “47, Lupin, who’s this? Someone betraying Robotnik?”

“No.” 47 shook his head. “This is Miles Edgeworth.”

Edgeworth nodded at Mario. “Pleasure to meet you, Mario. I heard about you, your brother, and my ‘big sister’ Franziska von Karma.”

Mario remembered Franziska mentioning Edgeworth during their bond and their goodbye. He was looking forward to becoming friends with him and getting to know him more.

“Yes!” Mario nodded. “Franziska told me about you. The two of us bonded, and she mentioned you, calling you her ‘little brother’.”

“I’m curious, has Franziska whipped you?” Edgeworth asked.

“She attempted to, haha.” Mario nervously laughed. “Why?”

“I’m just wondering if she had her whipping spree here in Highfalcon,” Edgeworth replied. “How about you, 47, and Lupin? Did she whip you two?”

“No, but I did almost kill her by strangling her with her whip, then her witnessing me strangling Alan Montgomery with it.” 47 explained.

Edgeworth gasped. “Y-you almost killed her?! And you used her whip to murder that man!?”

“Not to worry, Miles Edgeworth!” Mario reassured him with a smile. “47 turned a new leaf! He promised me he won’t kill her ever again! Including me and my friends!”

“God, I hope so.” Edgeworth breathed.

“I’ll go find Agent Stone, while the two of you take Mario to the Fiat,” Lupin told them.

And struggle. Edgeworth nodded. “We’ll do our best.”

“I’ll go out first and look around to make sure the coast is clear.” 47 told them.

“Oh, Agent Stone told me Robotnik’s robots are coming over here to get me,” Mario said to them.

“We are Aware,” Edgeworth replied to him.

The four of them ascended the stairs. 47 held his laser pistol as he moved up the stairs in case the door in front of them opened suddenly.

The assassin signaled them to wait so that he could check the hall for anyone in there. 47 opened the door and looked around the hall, and it was clear. 47 then signaled them that the coast was clear.

Mario, Lupin, and Edgeworth got in the hall and looked around, noticing it was cleared.

“Alright, stay safe out there, guys,” Lupin told them.

“You too, Lupin.” Mario nodded at him. “And be careful.”

With that, they parted ways. Lupin focused on killing Agent Stone, but before he was going to do that, he had to focus on killing any remaining soldiers guarding the coffee shop, as well as the robots who were on their way soon.

---

After killing the remaining guards he saw in the coffee shop, Lupin walked down a hall as he wielded his Walther P38 pistol and went through a door that led him to the main area of the coffee shop, which had the command center formed. There, he spotted Agent Stone, who was typing on the console, and noticed he was initiating a bomb.

Agent Stone glanced at Lupin and widened his eyes as he looked at him.

“What the hell!?” He freaked out. “How did you get loose!?”

“I may be a thief, but I’m also a magician,” Lupin smirked at him. “Now, be a kind man and stop whatever you’re doing.”

Agent Stone wasted no time as he quickly drew out his laser pistol and started firing at Lupin the 3rd.

Lupin quickly dodged the laser projectiles, then flipped a table to use as cover and fired his gun at Agent Stone.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Agent Stone dodged the bullets from Lupin, then used a counter as cover and continued firing at the thief.

Lupin kept firing his Walther P38 at Robotnik’s accomplice. He reloaded his gun and continued firing.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Agent Stone spoke after he fired his laser pistol at the thief. “There’s nothing for you to steal, Lupin the 3rd. A bomb is going to detonate soon. This entire hideout will be destroyed.”

He fired the laser pistol at Lupin. He peeked and noticed he wasn’t hiding behind the flipped table.

“To your right.”

Agent Stone gasped and saw Lupin aiming his P38 at him.

BANG!

Agent Stone winced as he was shot in the chest by the thief and dropped his laser pistol on the floor.

Lupin walked towards the wounded agent and kicked the laser pistol away from him.

“How do I disable the bomb?” He asked Agent Stone.

“The password is ‘Fuck You’.” Agent Stone replied as he felt the pain from the bullet.

The pain became worse as Lupin stomped on Agent Stone’s leg.

“Aaaaah!” He screamed.

“Do you want me to break your legs?” Lupin asked. “I’m trying to be a nice man.”

Agent Stone gritted his teeth with anger at Lupin. “It' s robotniklatte. All lower case.”

Lupin kept his gun on Agent Stone as he typed the password to disable the bomb in the coffee shop. He chuckled as he saw the words on the screen saying “Bomb Disabled”.

“Hehehe!” Lupin chuckled. “Was that so hard-AH !”

Agent Stone swiped Lupin’s feet and made him collapse. He was able to grab the Walther P38 that fell on the floor. He grabbed the gun, but Lupin fought him for it, and they both wrestled with the pistol, trying to aim it at one of them.

Agent Stone was getting close to blowing out Lupin’s brains with the latter's gun, but Lupin pushed back while using his strength to aim the barrel of the Walther P38 at Agent Stone's head.

The wrestling continued until...

BANG!

...A bullet from the Walther P38 went into Agent Stone’s head, which made his blood splatter on the counter, the floor, the command center screens, and Lupin’s face.

Lupin shoved Agent Stone’s corpse away from him and quickly got up on his feet.

Knowing he had not much time left, Lupin quickly exited the Mean Bean Coffee Shop.

---

Lupin got to the street and noticed his companions all trying their best to fit in the Fiat 500 F.

47 and Edgeworth (now back in their normal outfits) were placing Mario in the back of the car, but were struggling as Kay and Gumshoe were sitting there.

“Mama Mia, 47 and Edgeworth, you’re hurting me!” Mario told them as he was struggling to get in the back.

“We wouldn’t be struggling and hurting you if we had a different car that’s reasonable!” Edgeworth retorted.

Lupin approached the struggling group and noticed red Ford Indigos driving towards them. The thief quickly shoved 47, Edgeworth, and Mario into the Fiat and quickly got in and started it up.

“The robots are coming!” Lupin told everyone. He stomped his foot on the gas and drove away. The robots in the Indigos saw them and chased them.

47 and Edgeworth weren’t ready to sit as they were both uncomfortable in the Fiat, and the same with Mario, Kay, and Gumshoe.

Lupin started struggling while driving fast, as there was so much going on in the small car. The bodies of 47 and Edgeworth made him uncomfortable as their legs and arms covered his vision.

The hitman noticed the robots were getting close, so he used his fist to smash the passenger window and climbed out of the Fiat and stood on top. He pulled out his Silverballers and fired.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

He noticed more Ford Indigos heading towards him and the group. He jumped off the Fiat and landed on one of the Indigos and killed the robots. He took control of the exotic car and kept the people in the Fiat protected.

Lupin noticed what 47 did and was impressed, and so was everyone else. He had an idea.

“Who wants to take control of the Fiat?” Lupin asked them.

“Oh, oh oh! Me me me!” Kay grinned.

“Kay, you can’t drive, and you’re not driving!” Edgeworth told him.

“Yes, I will!” Kay told him with a confident smile. “Besides, if the thief Lupin the 3rd can drive, so can the Great Thief!

Knowing arguing with Kay would be worthless, Edgeworth hoped this crazy idea wouldn’t backfire.

“Okay!” Lupin grinned. “As I climb out, take the wheel!” He told Kay.

“Yes, sir Lupin the 3rd!” Kay nodded with a confident smile.

As Lupin climbed out of the car, Kay took the wheel of the Fiat 500. She pressed her foot on the gas pedal to increase speed.

Lupin kept himself balanced with the increased speed of the Fiat. His eyes looked at one of the indigos and did what 47 did. He jumped off and landed on one of the Indigos.

The thief was able to kill the robots and toss them out, and took control of the Ford Indigo, then lost control as he crashed into an outside cafe, causing the people to quickly run for their lives from getting run over.

The Ford Indigo destroyed the entire outside cafe. As Lupin was driving, he let out a nervous laugh. “Haha, oops.”

Kay suddenly turned the Fiat, which made Lupin and 47 lose track of them because it was so sudden.

“Damn it, Kay!” Edgeworth scolded her. “We just lost 47 and Lupin!”

“I’m sorry!” Kay apologized as she kept her eyes on the road. She widened her eyes and screamed. “Aaaah!”

Kay slammed her foot on the brake pedal when she saw a delivery truck at the intersection. As she was able to avoid crashing into it, she quickly turned the car, and the remaining Ford Indigos continued chasing them.

The great thief decided to drive on the sidewalk, making the civilians quickly move out of the way.

Edgeworth became disgusted at Kay’s reckless driving. “Kay Faraday, you almost harmed those civilians!”

“Sorry, but I have to make things difficult for those robots!” Kay retorted.

Mario looked out the window and noticed 47 and Lupin. “They found us! 47 and Lupin!”

“Yay!” Kay smiled.

“And don’t have them lose us!” Edgeworth told her.

“I won’t, Edgy!” Kay nodded.

Gumshoe felt like he was getting car sick, which he was. He puked on Mario’s lap.

Mario’s jaw dropped as he widened his eyes. “Mama Mia!”

“Sorry, pal!” Gumshoe apologized.

I’m so grateful that I didn’t get puked on. Edgeworth thought as he felt relieved.

47 fired his Silverballer at the robots as he drove the Ford Indigo. Lupin did the same with his Walther. The bald hitman and the thief worked together to destroy the remaining robots as they fired their guns at them.

After they killed the robots who chased them, the entire gang drove back to the Mario Brothers House.

Edgeworth was relieved that this crazy, wild car chase had come to an end. And he hoped Kay wouldn’t try to continue driving recklessly like she stole Lupin’s car, or become an unhinged wild driver in the future.

Chapter 23: ACT 2 - Chapter 11

Summary:

WARNING: Suicide

Moments Ago

While 47 and Lupin were working with Miles Edgeworth, Kay Faraday, and Dick Gumshoe, in heading to the Mean Bean Coffee Shop to rescue Mario and kill Agent Stone, Luigi, along with Astolfo, Master Chief, and John Wick, were heading to the Highfalcon Times building to rescue J. Jonah Jameson and kill Vault Boy.

The sun was setting in the city of Highfalcon. Luigi was driving his 1934 Chrysler Airflow, with Astolfo sitting in the passenger seat, Master Chief, and John sitting in the back.

“Okey dokey, you three!” Luigi said to the three in the car with him. “We’re going to try to infiltrate the Highfalcon Times building without being spotted.”

“We should split up.” Master Chief suggested.

“Great idea, Master Chief!” Luigi nodded in agreement. “Who do you wanna go with? Or do you wanna go alone?”

“How about I go with you, Luigi?” Master Chief replied. “To keep you protected.”

“Okey dokey!” Luigi nodded again. “Astolfo, you wanna go with John Wick?”

“Of course I do!” Astolfo grinned.

“Watch your back when we infiltrate the building,” John told him.

As the driving continued, Luigi knew he was getting close to the building. He stopped his car at a parking spot on the street.

“I’m-a going to park the car here and we’ll go to the parking garage on foot,” Luigi told them. “It’s-a not worth parking my car in the parking lot.”

“Good idea.” Master Chief nodded. “The last thing we all want to do is get caught at the start.”

“And getting Jameson killed,” John said.

With that, Luigi shut the car off and exited with the three, then headed to the Highfalcon Times parking garage.

---

Jameson looked out the window, seeing the sun setting in Highfalcon. The sun illuminated Jameson’s office.

Vault Boy and a Robotnik human soldier were in the office. The former sat down in a chair in the office against a wall, and the latter stood next to the exit as he wielded his laser rifle.

Jameson glanced at Vault Boy. “Why hold me hostage here? Why not just take me somewhere else?”

“It would be more polite to hold you hostage in your own building.” Vault boy smiled.

“How long?" Jameson sighed. "I’m gaining boredom in my own office!”

“You need to be patient, Mr. Jameson.” Vault Boy replied. “Patience is the key.”

“Patience is the key, my butt,” Jameson mumbled.

---

Inside the parking garage, a human soldier was patrolling as he wielded his laser rifle. Near him were Luigi and Master Chief, who kept themselves hidden.

A security camera caught them, but a human soldier who was responsible for watching the security footage was sleeping inside the security room.

Of course he was.

When Luigi caught his eyes on the patrolling soldier, Luigi snuck behind him, grabbed his neck, and with his strong strength, he 180 twisted the neck, instantly killing the soldier.

Nearby, another human soldier in the parking garage had his back turned as he held his laser rifle. From behind, Master Chief grabbed him, then turned him around, and then violently shoved the soldier against the wall, and then smashed his face with his fist, giving the head a blood spatter.

Master Chief heard footsteps coming towards him, which made him whip out his M6D pistol as he spotted the person coming towards him, who was a human soldier.

BANG!

He fired the M6D at the soldier, shooting him in the head and killing him.

Luigi, nearby, heard the gunshot and ran to the location where it happened.

His jaw dropped when he saw Master Chief wielding his M6D in front of the dead soldier.

“W-what the!? Master Chief!” Luigi scowled at him as he felt anxious, worrying about them, including Astolfo and John getting compromised. “We’re supposed to use stealth!”

“I know, I didn’t want him to shoot me.” Master Chief told him. “No one will care. Let’s keep going and head to the security room.”

The two continued to walk down the parking garage as they watched each other’s backs, then headed to a hallway.

Inside the hall, a human soldier was walking to the parking garage to find out what that noise was, only for him to get shot and killed by Luigi, who was wielding a Beretta 92FS pistol with a suppressor.

Luigi and Master Chief quietly moved down the hall to the security room and then opened a door. He slowly peeked into the security room and noticed the sleeping human soldier.

Master Chief touched Luigi’s shoulder and whispered. “I got this one.”

Master Chief quietly moved to the sleeping soldier and then violently ripped his head off, causing blood to pour out of the dead human soldier.

Luigi’s jaw dropped again as he gasped and landed his butt on the floor while panting in fear.

“Mama Mia, Master Chief!” Luigi said. “D-did you have to do it like that!?”

“I’ve spent some time with a guy named the Doom Slayer who fought demons.” Master Chief replied. “Don’t worry about the mess. The color matches his outfit.”

Whoever this Doom Slayer was, Luigi wrote a note to himself to never meet him or mess with him.

Master Chief looked at the security footage and noticed human soldiers inside the lobby, then noticed a human soldier walking down a hallway, which was on the same floor as Jameson’s office.

Then he went to the footage where Astolfo and John Wick were, which was a hallway near the lobby. Both were wielding weapons; Astolfo was holding a fully automatic modified Calico M950 while John held a Heckler & Koch P30L that had a custom compensator.

“Astolfo and John are near the lobby.” Master Chief told Luigi. “A soldier is inside the hallway where Jameson’s office is located.”

“Okay.” Luigi nodded. “Then let’s-a go to Jameson’s office and rescue him.”

---

Inside the lobby, a human soldier yawned since he was getting tired after not sleeping. The same can be said of the other human soldiers who were in the lobby. None of them had any sleep thanks to Dr. Robotnik’s strict rule, which was “NO SLEEPING EVER!”.

Though the tired soldiers still had a responsibility, which was holding J. Jonah Jameson hostage.

“Hey!” The human soldiers heard. They heard John Wick’s voice. They all turned their heads to him and Astolfo.

“Time to be on the death list,” John told them. He then fired his P30L pistol at the soldiers.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

“Yeah, take that!” Astolfo yelled out as he fired his Calico M950 at the enemies.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

The soldiers all got shot and killed by them, as they stood no chance. All of them were shot in the head and the chest.

John reloaded his gun and then spoke to Astolfo.

“Jameson’s office should be on the top floor,” John told him. “We may see Luigi and Master Chief there.”

“Then let’s go!” Astolfo grinned as he nodded.

Together they went to the elevator and went to the top floor.

During the elevator ride, John noticed the gun Astolfo was holding.

“A Calico M950.” He remarked. “Interesting choice.”

“Yep,” Astolfo replied as he looked at his Calico. “It’s modified to have selective fire. It never lets me down.”

---

Luigi and Master Chief were now on the top floor of the Highfalcon Times building, heading to Jameson’s office down the hall.

As the two spotted the human soldier in the hall, Luigi shot and killed him. They then continued.

Luigi and Master Chief found the entrance to Jameson’s office.

Master Chief kicked the door open and fired his gun at the human soldier who was there.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The human soldier died as Vault Boy stood up and attempted to fight him, but it was too late as Luigi shot him right in the head.

Luigi saw Vault Boy's dead body falling onto the floor in Jameson’s office. Vault Boy didn't have any last words to say before he died; instead, his smiling face turned into a dead face.

Mario's brother laughed in victory, “Haha! Take-a-that, Vault Boy!”

Master Chief looked at Jameson, who was in shock to see him and Luigi. “Are you okay, Jameson?”

“My god, all mighty Master Chief and Luigi!” Jameson replied in relief. “You two rescued me! How!?”

“My brother and I saw footage of you getting kidnapped, which caused us to go search for you,” Luigi explained. “We-a also saw security footage from the roof and saw you, Vault Boy, and those soldiers exiting on the spacecraft.”

“That was earlier!” Jameson remarked. “How were you two able to see it!?”

“I uh, had an ally who hacked into the city’s security footage and the building’s.” Luigi nervously laughed.

“A hacker!?” Jameson slammed his hands on his desk as he stood. “You’re telling me you had someone who breached the firewall of my company to hack into the CCTV cameras!? Was the hacker Spider-Man!?”

“No, sir!” Luigi shook his head.

“You should be thankful, Jameson.” Master Chief told him. “We saved your life.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Jameson replied with honesty. “For a moment, I thought I was a goner. Thank you, Master Chief and Luigi.”

He then looked at Luigi. “Luigi? Look forward to that 800-dollar raise.”

Luigi grinned. “Thanks, boss!”

“Jameson!? Are you there!?” The voice of John Wick said.

The three saw John Wick and Astolfo entering Jameson’s office.

John saw the corpses of Vault Boy and the human soldier, then nodded as he looked at Jameson. “Yeah, you’re saved.“

“Luigi, are you okay?” Astolfo approached him.

“Yeah, I’m-a fine.” Luigi nodded. After he replied, Astolfo hugged him.

Jameson looked at Astolfo. “You, Luigi’s friend!”

“Hi!" Astolfo smiled with a wave. "I’m Astolfo and Luigi's boyfriend!”

“Perfect!” Jameson clapped his hands. “You got the job, Astolfo!”

“J-job?” Astolfo widened his eyes.

“That’s right!” Jameson nodded. “You’re now part of security!” He then stared at Luigi. “And Luigi, you’re part-time security! Every other day, you’ll be responsible for security with your boyfriend Astolfo, Master Chief, and John Wick!”

Luigi responded. “Uh, I’m not-a sure I’m the security type-“

“TAKE THE OFFER OR YOU AND ASTOLFO WILL BE FIRED!” Jameson yelled at him.

“SIR, YES SIR!” Luigi saluted him.

Astolfo laughed, looking forward to working with the man he loves.

“I’ll contact the Highfalcon PD.” Master Chief suggested. “Let them know what happened.”

“And after that, we’ll head to my house,” Luigi told them.

“Actually, John and I are going to stay here to keep Jameson protected.” Master Chief told him.

“Wait!” Jameson said out loud. “Vault Boy told me that a group of minions were going to ‘pick us up.’” He recalled as he told them.

Luigi was about to respond, but his phone started to vibrate. He noticed 47 was calling him. He then answered it.

“47! You found Mario?”

“Yes, he’s safe.” 47 responded. “Lupin killed Robotnik’s accomplice Agent Stone. And we got three new people who’ll assist us.”

“Cool, more friends!” Luigi smiled.

“Anyway, is J. Jonah Jameson safe?”

“Yeah, he’s alive. Vault Boy is dead.”

“Good work. We’ll rendezvous at the house.” With that, 47 hung up.

“Mario has been rescued!” Luigi told Astolfo and the others as he placed his phone away.

“Your brother got kidnapped, too!?” Jameson said in surprise. “My god, what kind of day is this!? Is Spider-Man plotting all of this!?”

“It’s not Spider-Man, Jameson.” Master Chief told him. “A diabolical man named Dr. Ivo Robotnik is causing this.”

“That’s-a right!” Luigi nodded. “There’s a lot to explain, but I need to see my brother.” He looked at Astolfo. “Let’s-a go, Astolfo!”

“I’m right behind ya, Luigi!” Astolfo smiled as he followed Luigi out of Jameson’s office.

"We'll keep Jameson safe at all costs." Master Chief told the two.

"Yeah." John nodded.

---

Right Now

Luigi and Astolfo arrived at the Mario Brothers House, and as they entered the home and went into the living room, they noticed the following people: Mario, 47, Robocop, Lupin, Jigen, Goemon, Ami, Miles Edgeworth, Kay Faraday, Dick Gumshoe, and Oliver.

But another individual was inside the living room, and that was Highfalcon PD Chief of Police Larvell Jones, who was making elevator music to keep the people from getting bored.

Jones stopped when he saw Luigi and Astolfo.

“Luigi! Astolfo!” He said their names.

“Chief Jones!?” Luigi responded in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“Mario contacted me, and so did Master Chief,” Jones explained. “Your brother told me everything about what’s going on. So I won’t be here for long as I need to head to Highfalcon Times building to make sure there are zero threats, as well as taking charge in raiding Robotnik’s hideout.”

“Take-a care, Chief Jones!” Mario said

“You too, Mario!” Jones smiled with a nod. He performed police music as he exited.

Robocop walked towards Luigi. “Luigi, Astolfo. I’m glad both of you survived.”

“Thank you, Alex.” Luigi smiled. “And you as well.”

Mario approached his brother and hugged him. After the hug, Mario began to introduce him to Edgeworth, Kay, and Gumshoe.

“Luigi, we got some new friends who knew Franziska: Her ‘little brother’ Miles Edgeworth, his sidekick Kay Faraday, and Detective Gumshow.”

“Um, it’s Gumshoe, pal.” He corrected him.

“Right! Detective Gumshoe!” Mario smiled.

“And I wouldn’t call Kay my 'sidekick'," Edgeworth told Mario.

“Hey!” Kay pouted at him. “Gummy and I are you’re sidekicks, you silly prosecutor! Are you still mad at me because of my driving?!”

Lupin spoke to Luigi and Astolfo. “I brought my friends here to listen to this conversation we’re about to hear. The conversation mentioned Ami’s best friend, Dolma Sinha, and the bowler hat man Oddjob.”

“And it also mentioned us, Luigi," Mario told his brother. "A man named ‘Bob Page’ was in the conversation with Alan Montgomery. The story about Bob is a long one, but 47 believed he’s a man of interest.”

“Miles Edgeworth told me about Bob Page when he came here with his friends.” 47 told them. “None of us listened to the conversation where the two of you are mentioned, including Ami’s friend Dolma and Oddjob.”

"M-Mama Mia, we were mentioned?” Luigi replied with worry. “Why would this Bob Page guy care about us?”

“We’re about to find out, Luigi,” Mario told him. He looked at Oliver. “Oliver, play the conversation.”

“Got it!” Oliver nodded. “B-but may I use the bathroom, please?”

“Sure!” Mario allowed him. “Go right ahead.”

“But what for?” Lupin questioned him.

“I gotta go,” Oliver answered.

Robocop stepped in and looked at Oliver. "Again? Before everyone arrived, you told me you had to go to the bathroom."

"I know, but I have bladder problems!" Oliver replied as he tried to hold it all in. "Now, if you excuse me!"

Before he quickly left, he quickly pressed play on his laptop, and then the conversation between Alan and Bob started to play as Oliver quickly went up the stairs to the hallway and the bathroom.

This made 47 very suspicious, as the timing was too convenient for the scientist hacker. Lupin felt the same and whispered to Jigen and Goemon about Oliver, telling them to go to the hallway. 47 joined with them, and three went to the hall while they listened to the conversation from below.

Bob: Alan?

Alan: Yes, Bob? I was told this was important?

Bob: Yes, that’s correct. Are you familiar with the Mario Brothers?

Alan: Those two? What about them?

Bob: They’re in Highfalcon.

Alan: What? Why? They’re on vacation?

Bob: No. I sent my enforcer, Dolma Sinha, to the Mushroom Kingdom with Oddjob to murder Princess Peach. She killed her while Oddjob witnessed it to confirm she was following orders. I wanted to see how Mario would handle it and see if her death would make him emotionally vulnerable. He decided to run with his brother.

Mario, Luigi, and Astolfo gasped after learning Bob Page was responsible for the death of Princess Peach. Ami was horrified as her jaw dropped with her eyes widened. Her best friend, Dolma Sinha, the girl she met at the Annecy female boarding school and formed a close relationship with, murdered the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Lupin couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He never met Dolma, but he knew how much she meant to Ami. And he indeed believed Oddjob was the man who killed Fujiko Mine since he wears a bowler hat.

Mario clenched his fist and took a deep breath. He knew he needed to control himself.

The others in the room were surprised by this as well. 47, Jigen, and Goemon became suspicious of Oliver’s bathroom activity since he was taking a long time. And they were ready to kill him if the scientist hacker attempted to become hostile to the entire group.

The group continued listening.

Alan: And I guess they’re going to be a threat to us.

Bob: Not now, but possibly soon. I do have a feeling they’ll be a threat to Dr. Ivo Robotnik, which I’m hoping will be the case so that we can have full possession of his technology, and help you become mayor in Highfalcon. Your contact, Oliver, have you heard anything from him?

When Bob brought up Oliver, everyone became shocked.

Alan: He told me Vanessa wanted him to steal Robocop. So I had Marshall and some of my men assist him. But he also told me that he’s been eagerly wanting to kill Vanessa and get it out of the way. But I told him to stand down and await further orders.

Bob: Stealing Robocop from the Highfalcon PD. A bold move from that girl.

Alan: And obviously a risky one since it’ll attract police attention. She’s doing this to impress Robotnik.

Bob: Is there anything Vanessa has worth having possession of?

Alan: She has technology of her own, but not as valuable as Dr. Robotnik’s. I can make use of her technology myself.

Bob: You had to go through a lot, Alan, because of that PeopleLog app, which was the reason Enzo Bron had to die. We had thoughts of having his daughter, Ami, but she was optional, and she ran and failed to save Fujiko Mine from being killed by Oddjob. Keep me informed of any updates. If I need you to meet me in person at Aeon, I’ll inform you.

Alan: Yes, Bob.

The conversation ended.

Everyone became stunned when Oliver was Alan’s contact and had a connection to him, as well as Bob Page.

Ami’s entire body was filled with shock as she felt agitated, and it was driving her nuts. She couldn't believe her father, Enzo, was killed by Bob because of the PeopleLog app.

The Mario Brothers felt like they got their gut punched very hard and painfully, as they came to realize that Oliver was a traitor. And they believed his personality, nervous, stuttering, and socially awkward, was all a facade.

It was.

Oliver's personality was all a complete lie.

“Mario?” Lupin said his name. “I’m sorry.”

Ami stepped in and emotionally looked at Mario. “No, I’m sorry! My friend and my love, Dolma, killed Princess Peach!”

She felt tears coming out of her eyes and began to worry about what had happened to Dolma. She didn’t know how to look at the Mario Brothers since she learned about everything from the decrypted conversation.

“This is not your fault, Ami and Lupin,” Mario told them. “It’s Bob Page’s fault. He’s responsible for everything that has happened.”

---

47 pulled out his Silverballers while Jigen pulled out his Smith & Wesson Model 19, and Goemon pulled out his Zantetsuken sword. The tiro approached the bathroom door. 47 and Jigen stood side by side by the door while the samurai Goemon swung his sword at the door to slice it into pieces. Goemon quickly moved out of the way to avoid getting shot.

The hitman and the marksman aimed their guns at the bathroom. They saw no one, but they saw the shower curtains being closed. They slowly moved towards the curtains as they aimed weapons at them.

And then 47 opened the curtains. What he and Jigen saw was the corpse of Oliver. Goemon came inside and noticed the dead body.

47 crouched and looked at Oliver’s mouth, which made him believe Oliver had committed suicide by taking a cyanide capsule. Then he saw a note that was placed on Oliver’s chest that said

“Message sent.”

This made the trio believe the entire conversation and everyone who listened to it was a message sent to the Mario Brothers and the Lupin Gang.

Mario, Luigi, Lupin, and Ami arrived at the bathroom and saw the three looking down at Oliver’s corpse.

“Guys?” Mario said his name. “You killed him?”

“No.” 47 answered. “He did it to himself.” He grabbed the note and stood, then turned around, showing the note to the Mario Brothers, Lupin, and Ami. “That conversation was to send a message to you guys.”

The group of four gasped. Not one, but TWO threats were breathing down their necks.

And these two threats were not collaborating.

Dr. Ivo Robotnik was just a madman who wanted to destroy the world and have an empire of robots.

Bob Page wanted all of the evil doctor’s technology and used it to recreate Robotnik and use it to create augmentations and put those augmentations onto abducted people who used the PeopleLog app, and then sell those augmented people and have them eventually kill the buyer.

Bob was planning to change the world, forming a new era that would become a new reality.

Luigi stared at his brother. “Mario? What do we do? We’re getting so overwhelmed.”

Mario knew he couldn’t wait to make a decision. He knew what he needed to do. The first was to stop Robotnik from his evil plans, then focus on Bob Page.

“We-a going to see Toad and have him help us,” Mario answered.

Time to return to the Mushroom Kingdom.

Chapter 24: ACT 2 - Chapter 12

Thunder Valley, Nevada

Robotnik was angrily pacing outside during the night in the abandoned town’s compound.

“WHAT IS TAKING SO LONG!?” Robotnik shouted. “Why are my robots working so slowly with my violent ship to attack Highfalcon!? I am getting very impatient!”

The doctor was getting close to commencing his plan to invade and destroy the city of Highfalcon, as well as killing the Mario Brothers.

A robot approached him and said his name. “Dr. Robotnik!”

Robotnik glared at the robot. “What!? What do you want!?”

“I obtained some really bad news.’

“OOOH GOOOOD I love bad news!” Robotnik replied sarcastically. “Tell me already!”

“Agent Stone and Vault Boy have been eliminated.” The robot explained.

“Wonderful! I guess I won’t be having their worthless help ever again! AND I WON’T BE DRINKING ANYMORE OF AGENT STONE’S TASTEY LATTE WITH AUSTRIAN GOAT MILK!!!”

Robotnik took a deep breath and stared at the robot. “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaalrighty then! Not to worry! My ship plan will succeed! What’s the progress of my ship? Is it ready?”

“Not yet.” The robot answered.

“NOT YET!?” Robotnik yelled. “ARE YOU SERIOUS!? ARE YOU ROBOTS THAT I’VE CREATED THIS SLOW!?”

Robotnik threw his arms in frustration as he stepped away from his robot.

“I want my ship to be ready as soon as possible! I want it done in 24 hours! YOU GOT THAT!?”

“Yes, doctor! But there’s more to tell you.”

Robotnik got annoyed. “UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH! What!?”

“The Mean Bean Coffee Shop has been compromised. The Highfalcon PD has raided the hideout and discovered everything.”

“Who cares about that dump!” Robotnik said to the robot. “That won’t stop my epic invasion in Highfalcon! HAHAHAHAHAHA! OH! I must pay a visit to that foolish prosecutor vampire Franziskaaaaa Voooooon KAAAARMAAAAA!”

---

Inside the bunker’s cell, Franziska Von Karma was lying on the cell bed and faced the wall.

She restrained herself from thinking about the foolish, naive, silly man, Mario, and his foolish friends. But it was difficult. She hoped Mario and his friends would come looking for her soon. She also hoped her “little brother” Miles Edgeworth, was also searching for her and was doing okay and was still alive.

Franziska sighed as she heard the sliding doors outside of her cell opening.

It was the foolish fool Robotnik who stared angrily at Franziska.

Franziska rolled her eyes as she raised her body and looked at him with a glare. “What do you want this time?”

“What do I want?” Robotnik replied. “I’LL TELL YOU WHAT I WANT!!! I want my deadly ship to be ready!”

“And how is this foolish construction of your foolish ship my problem?” Franziska asked.

“All of this is your problem!” Robotnik pointed at her. “My ship needs to be ready soon so that you can witness my destruction of Highfalcon and the death of your idiot friends! Hahahahahaha!”

“Is that it or what?”

“I’m not finished!" Robotnik told her while feeling annoyed. "You’re stupid boyfriend Mario and his stupid friends have killed my worthless and helpful companions!”

“Oh no, not foolish agent, whatever his name was, and foolish Vault Boy!” Franziska replied with sarcasm.

“His name was AGENT STONE, you nincompoop!” Robotnik yelled at her. He then evilly smiled. “You may believe my plans are failing, but on the contrary, Franziska von Karma, I never lose.” He then waved goodbye to her. “Take care now, bye-bye then!”

He then left.

Franziska shook her head as she deeply sighed. She believed Robotnik to be the most foolishly foolish immature foolish fool she has ever met.

She now had a hard time restraining herself from thinking about Mario and others.

A part of her misses the foolish man Mario as she always enjoyed being around him and wanted to bond with him again when she sees him, as well as laying her head on his shoulder. And whip whoever witnesses that.

The whip. Franziska was glad Robotnik didn’t take it and used it for himself, instead giving it to the foolish evil clone of herself. Sure, she would get a new whip, but she hoped the whip was in the right hands, like Mario's.

---

Highfalcon, New York

Daytime was in Highfalcon. Mario stared out the window in his bedroom and looked at the sunny sky above. He then looked at something that he was holding, which was Franziska’s whip.

Mario wanted to take her whip with him to the Mushroom Kingdom and wanted to pay tribute to the female prosecutor he had fallen in love with.

Today, he, Luigi, Astolfo, and Lupin were going to travel to the Mushroom Kingdom and meet with Toad at Mushroom City to request an invasion at Thunder Valley to defeat Robotnik and stop him from fulfilling his plans. But then he had an idea in mind that he wanted to keep to himself for now.

Earlier, Chief Larvell Jones contacted Mario about the raid at the coffee shop and found the command center and blueprints of Thunder Valley, being told about a bunker underneath the abandoned town, a compound, the security, etc. Because of this, Mario knew he needed the Mushroom Kingdom Army to help him and requested the president of the United States to allow the army to invade Thunder Valley.

---

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” 47 asked Mario who was in the living room with him.

Robocop was also in the living room with the two, as well as Edgeworth and his two friends.

“I’m-a sure 47.” Mario nodded. “I want you to stay and protect Robocop, Lupin’s friends, Edgeworth, and his friends. Because of Oliver’s betrayal, who knows how much info about us got sent to Bob Page.”

“So, a lesson learned?” 47 replied.

Mario sighed. “Yes, be careful who to trust.”

“Rely on your instincts.” 47 added. “And don’t trust everyone.”

“That’ll be hard for me to do,” Mario said. “But I’ll be careful. Take-a care, 47. If I don’t make it, then you’ve been a good friend to us.”

Robocop approached Mario. “Mario? I wish you good luck on this. I will also wish good luck on Luigi, Astolfo, and Lupin the 3rd.”

“Thank you, Alex.” Mario nodded with a smile. “Be safe out there."

He then looked at Edgeworth, Kay, and Gumshoe. “I hope all three of you will feel protected by 47 and Alex.”

“Despite 47 being a murderous assassin, I do trust him to keep us safe,” Edgeworth nodded. “Good luck, Mr. Mario.”

“Yeah!” Kay nodded with a grin. “Go out there and show that Robotnik guy who’s boss!”

“Good luck, pal.” Gumshoe smiled at him. “Maybe one day I can assist you with things.”

Mario nodded at their responses with a smile and exited the house. He noticed Luigi with Astolfo. He also saw Lupin saying goodbye to his friends.

“Well, I shall return!” Lupin smiled at them.

“You damn better be,” Jigen replied. He wasn’t a fan of Lupin going alone on this, but respected his friend’s choice.

Neither did Goemon, who bowed to Lupin. “I wish you good luck, Lupin.”

Ami wanted to go and help, but Lupin refused, knowing this was going to be dangerous. She looked at Lupin and hugged him like she was her father.

“Goodbye, Lupin,” Ami said emotionally. “Stay safe, please.”

Lupin hugged her back and smiled. “I will, Amy.”

“It’s Ami.” She corrected him.

“Yes, it is.” Lupin chuckled.

After the hug ended, Lupin said his final goodbye to his friends and met with the Mario Brothers and Astolfo.

The four were next to Astolfo’s Hippogriff. Instead of his casual outfit, Astolfo was in his Silver Light Armor outfit.

Astolfo placed his hands on his hips and smiled. “You three ready?”

“I am.” Mario nodded. “How about you?”

“Yep! I was born ready to fight!” Astolfo grinned. He then wielded his Calico M950. “And ready to kick butt!”

“That’s-a great Astolfo.” Mario nodded with a small smile. It already became difficult for him to talk to his brother and his two friends about what he was planning on doing.

Astolfo placed his hand on Mario's shoulder and looked at him.

“We’ll make it out alive, Mario.” He told him. “The four of us will win unscathed.” He then noticed Franziska’s whip in Mario’s hand. “You’re taking Franziska’s whip with you?”

“Yes, I am.” Mario nodded in confirmation. “I want to pay tribute to her for being a prosecutor and being our best friend.”

Astolfo smiled at that. “She would be very proud of you.”

“She would.” Mario agreed.

Lupin smiled at his friend and gave him a pat on the back. Mario did the same in return with a smile.

Astolfo looked at Luigi.

“Ready, Luigi?” Astolfo asked him.

“Yeah, I am.” Luigi nodded. He looked at Lupin. “How about you, Lupin?”

“I’m ready for anything to happen,” Lupin replied with a nod.

The four hopped on the Hippogriff and flew away out of Highfalcon and traveled to Mushroom City.

---

Mushroom City, Mushroom Kingdom

Inside the Mushroom City Castle, Toad was in his office and was informed about the arrival of Mario, Luigi, Astolfo, and Lupin the 3rd, and was also informed that their arrival was very important.

Toad wondered what it was about as he stared out the window, seeing the sunny evening sky above Mushroom City. He hoped the city and the country of the Mushroom Kingdom weren’t going to be in another violent invasion.

Toad heard the knock on the door in his office and told them to come in. There he saw his best friends: Mario, Luigi, Astolfo, and Lupin.

Toad smiled as he saw them. “Mario! Luigi! Astolfo! Lupin! It’s great to see you guys again!”

“It’s-a good to see you again, Toad!” Mario smiled at him. “How’s the city and Mushroom Kingdom going?”

“Great!” Toad nodded. “The citizens here are enjoying their lives, hopefully so far. I was told your arrival was very important. Is everything okay?”

Mario breathed and cleared his throat. “Toad, we need your help.”

“O-okay, sure,” Toad replied as he felt nervous. He knew this wasn’t something lighthearted; this was serious. “What is it?” He asked.

Mario answered. “There’s a man named Dr. Ivo Robotnik-“

“WHOA!” Toad exclaimed, causing four in front of him to flinch. “Dr. Ivo Robotnik!? The one who successfully killed Sonic the Hedgehog!?”

“Sonic the Hedgehog?” Luigi replied.

“Yes!” Toad nodded. “He flawlessly defeated Robotnik in every situation he was involved in, until he was somehow unable to. Robotnik was able to stop him and violently killed him. Ever since then, Robotnik continued to succeed in his plans.”

“But not this time!” Astolfo nodded with confidence.

“This will be his last time,” Lupin smirked.

“Huh?” Toad reacted.

“Toad,” Mario said his name. “We would like to request the Mushroom Kingdom Army to invade Robotnik’s hideout, which is located at an abandoned town in the state of Nevada known as Thunder Valley.” He then bowed to Toad. “ Please .”

“Mario, there’s no need to bow to me,” Toad told him. He smiled at him and the two. “Of course, I’ll have the Mushroom Kingdom Army help ya out! First, I'll have to speak to the president of the United States to allow the army to strike Robotnik's hideout since it's on American soil, not ours.”

Luigi felt relieved at Toad’s response. “Whew! I almost thought you were gonna say no.”

Toad laughed. “Hahaha! Are you kidding!? We’re all best friends, so of course I’ll be happy to help!”

“Thank you very much, Toad!” Mario grinned at him. He and Toad hugged each other, and Luigi, Astolfo, and Lupin also hugged the latter.

After the hugs ended, the group of four was about to leave and get prepared to invade Thunder Valley, but Mario stopped and spoke to his brother and his two friends.

“Luigi? Astolfo? Lupin? Can you three wait outside, please? I wanna talk to Toad alone if you don’t mind.”

The three were taken aback by that request. But they didn’t ask why.

“Uh, okay sure,” Astolfo responded with concern. “We’ll be at the armory.” He and the two exited.

After the door closed, Mario looked at Toad.

“What’s wrong, Mario?” Toad asked.

“Toad, I need to tell you something, and you may not support it.”

---

Inside the armory, Astolfo was getting his sword all ready and deadly, and also inspected the condition of his Calico M950 to make sure that it was ready for battle. Lupin was also arming himself with his Walther P38 and a Steyr AUG.

Luigi sat down and started to think about what Mario wanted to talk to Toad about. He looked up and saw Mario entering the armory.

“Mario!” Luigi said his name as he stood.

Astolfo and Lupin looked at Mario.

“Is everything okay?” Astolfo asked.

“What did you two talk about?” Lupin wondered.

Mario wasn’t ready to tell them this. The former plumber took a deep breath and answered.

“Luigi, Astolfo, Lupin. You three aren’t coming.” Mario told them.

The trio in front of Mario gasped as they widened their eyes.

“Mama Mia, what!?” Luigi reacted with shock.

“Hahahaha!” Astolfo laughed. “Oh, good one, Mario!”

“I always love your jokes despite Jigen and Goemon disliking them hahaha!” Lupin laughed.

“This-a not a joke, Astolfo and Lupin.” Mario regretfully told the two. “The three of you are staying here.”

“B-but Mario, what are you saying!?” Luigi asked with a face filled with worry.

“I can’t afford to lose all of you,” Mario explained. “You three are important to me. I lost Princess Peach, and I lost Franziska von Karma. I’m-a not going to lose all three of you in this fight.”

Astolfo slammed his hand on the table and glared at Mario. “So this is what you and Toad talked about! Why bother having us come here with you!?”

“To protect the Mushroom Kingdom, and to pay a visit to Toad and the people who look up to us,” Mario told him.

“Mama Mia, Mario!" Luigi said his name. He then argued with his brother. "There’s-a no proof that Franziska was killed! She was only presumed dead!”

“Doesn’t matter, Luigi.” Mario shook his head. “Her body will never be found, and I truly believe she's dead.” He restrained himself from releasing tears. He knew this would turn into an argument with his brother and best friends, though Lupin remained calm during this discussion.

“I’m-a sorry, Luigi, Astolfo, and Lupin.” He apologized to them.

Luigi dropped to his knees as he saw his brother grabbing a Steyr AUG and an armor vest, then exiting the armory.

Astolfo noticed Luigi crying, so he crouched down towards him and wrapped his arms around him, giving him comfort. Luigi cried on the femboy's shoulder.

Astolfo obviously wasn’t happy with Mario’s decision to leave him and his brother behind. Fuck that, he thought. He noticed Lupin’s calm expression.

“You seem somehow nonchalant about this.” He remarked.

“I’m not a fan of his decision, but I understand why he’s doing this,” Lupin told him. “I left my friends at Highfalcon, and I knew they thought I was making a stupid decision. Mario is going through a lot. He lost his friends during the war, he lost Princess Peach, and Franziska von Karma. Enough is enough of losing friends.”

Astoflo sighed. “It’s still bullshit. Friends should help each other and fight evil threats. He’s gonna get himself killed out there. But whatever.”

The femboy Astolfo continued to comfort Luigi, who was still shedding tears. He noticed a large amount of snot on his outfit, which freaked him out as his eyes widened.

“Ewwww Luigi!” Astolfo exclaimed.

“I’m-a sorry, Astolfo!” Luigi sniffed as he apologized, with the snot coming out of his nose.

---

Mario arrived at the army helipad and walked towards the helicopter in front of him. He stopped moving as he saw Toad approaching him.

“Mario,” Toad said his name. “How did it go?”

“Not well.” Mario frowned.

Toad sighed. “I thought so. But good luck. I’m sure they’ll come around.”

“Me too, Toad. Me too.” Mario said.

"And before you leave, the president allowed the Mushroom Kingdom Army to attack Thunder Valley," Toad explained to him. "He also offered help to send in the air force to assist us."

"Great." Mario smiled. "I love you, Toad. You'll never stop being my best friend."

Toad felt a tear being released. "I love you, too, Mario."

Mario and Toad hugged. When the hug was finished, the former plumber approached the helicopter and sat inside with the Mushroom Kingdom soldiers who were wielding their Steyr AUGs.

When everything was all ready, the helicopters and other aircraft from the Mushroom Kingdom Army traveled to Thunder Valley to invade Robotnik's hideout.

---

Night was above Thunder Valley. The battle between the Mushroom Army soldiers and Robotnik’s army was going on all over the abandoned town. US squadrons assist the Mushroom Kingdom Army in attacking the threats on the surface and in the air.

The Mushroom Kingdom soldiers were able to disable all anti-aircraft weapons that were placed around the abandoned town; now, all they had to focus on was fighting the human soldiers, the robots, and the drones.

A group of Mushroom Kingdom soldiers was on a street in the abandoned town and were firing their Steyr AUG assault rifles at the human soldiers who were firing their laser rifles at them.

The Mushroom Army soldiers took cover from the hostile human soldiers. The male captain of the group communicated to one of his companions to flank the hostiles.

A soldier nodded and quickly ran to the other side of the street without getting detected by the hostile soldiers.

The Mushroom Kingdom soldier stayed hidden behind a wall of a building. He then heard footsteps, which prompted him to aim his AUG. Then he fired as he saw a human soldier who was walking in the alley, attempting to kill the Mushroom Kingdom soldiers.

RATATATATATA!

With perfect aim and reflexes from the Mushroom Kingdom soldier, the hostile Robotnik human soldier died.

The Mushroom Kingdom soldier fired his assault rifle at the other human soldiers with the help of his allies.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

After the evil doctor's human soldiers were killed, the Mushroom Kingdom Army soldiers looked around as they aimed their Steyr AUGs at any more hostiles, but couldn’t spot any. Instead, they spotted a group of helicopters that were from the Mushroom Kingdom Army.

Mario was in one of the helicopters. Mario crouched at the edge of the helicopter as he aimed his Steyr AUG at the Robotnik human soldiers who were running as they wielded their laser rifles and fired at them, killing them all.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

A Mushroom Kingdom soldier behind Mario was doing the same thing.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

The helicopter that Mario was in hovered above the ground in front of the other Mushroom Kingdom soldiers who were there. He, along with the other soldiers who were with him, all rappelled to the surface of the abandoned town.

Mario now wielded his AUG and Franziska’s whip and approached the captain of the Mushroom Kingdom Army group.

“Are you the captain?” Mario inquired.

“Yes, sir!” The captain nodded as he gave Mario a salute. “But there are more captains who are leading other units of the Mushroom Kingdom soldiers.”

“Let’s-a watch each other’s backs and try to find Robotnik. Let’s-a go!” Mario told everyone.

They all started to move through the abandoned town as they heard gunfire and explosions going on all over Thunder Valley.

From a distance away from the group, a human soldier was inside an abandoned building and was wielding a laser rifle with a sniper scope. He aimed it at the captain and fired.

The laser projectile went into the captain’s body and killed him instantly. Mario and the Mushroom Kingdom soldiers all became alert and took cover.

“Mama Mia!” Mario reacted. “The captain has been KIA! Everyone take cover!”

While Mario took cover, he began to use his eyes to search for the sniper. He formed not one, but two ideas. One is to compromise the sniper and fire his assault rifle at him, and the second is to flank the sniper.

The sniper scanned the area for more Mushroom Kingdom soldiers to kill, but then he spotted Mario, who was able to detect the sniper’s location.

The sniper attempted to fire his sniper rifle, but to no avail, as Mario, with quick reaction time, fired his Steyr AUG at him as he looked through his scope and killed him.

But that didn’t turn into a victory for them as reinforcements of the human soldiers came out of nowhere and started firing their laser rifles at the Mushroom Kingdom soldiers.

The soldiers from the Mushroom Kingdom did everything they could to fight back against Robotnik's human soldiers, but failed as everyone was getting shot and dying.

Mario took cover behind a building as he took a deep breath and decided to use his aggressive reflexes, which involved dropping his Steyr AUG and starting to sprint towards the human soldiers as he kept a firm grip on Franziska's whip, then began whipping them as he got closer.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

The human soldiers got struck by the whip but did not stop firing their laser rifles at the former plumber, but were missing as the latter dodged all the laser projectiles that were coming towards him and jumped in the air.

While in the air, Mario targeted a human soldier and crushed his entire face when he landed.

The human soldiers became stunned and tried to kill Mario, but Mario whipped the soldiers.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Mario picked up the headless dead soldier’s body with one hand and threw it at the other soldiers, knocking them down, then crushed their bodies one by one, creating a bloody mess all over the road of Thunder Valley.

Mario stared at the violent corpses he had made. At a fast pace, he walked to where he had dropped his Steyr AUG and picked it up.

He was alone, all by himself. But that didn’t make him stop hunting down Robotnik.

Speaking of which, Robotnik was nearby, hidden in an alley, and hollered at Mario as he revealed himself to him with an evil smile.

“Yodelayheehoo Marioooo!” Robotnik hollered.

Mario turned to where Robotnik was and aimed his Steyr AUG at him, and fired as he used Franziska’s whip.

CRACK!

RATATATATATATATATATA!

CRACK!

Robotnik grinned and laughed as he quickly formed a red shield. He waited until Mario had to reload, which he was doing, giving the wicked doctor a chance to strike back, but non-lethally.

Robotnik threw a sleeping gas grenade at Mario. The latter tried to run, but it was too late as the smoke quickly surrounded the former plumber. He fell to the ground and went to sleep as he dropped his Steyr AUG and Franziska’s whip.

Robotnik approached Mario’s knocked-out body and evilly laughed.

“Hahahahahahaha! Have a nice beauty sleep, Mario!”

Chapter 25: ACT 2 - Chapter 13

Mushroom City, Mushroom Kingdom

With a downcast face, Luigi sat alone on a bench near the castle as his mind was all over Mario. He looked at the night sky that had the moon revealed as he felt angry, sad, and worried. He wanted to force himself, Astolfo, and Lupin to go to Thunder Valley to assist Mario, no matter what the latter had to say about it.

Astolfo was alone somewhere else, doing who knows what, either throwing things out of anger, or wanting to control himself from going ballistic.

Lupin decided to take a smoke to get his mind off things.

“Luigi?”

The voice caught his attention, and he looked at the person who said his name.

47 was the one who said Luigi’s name.

He, along with Robocop, Master Chief, John Wick, Daisuke Jigen, Ishikawa Goemon XIII, Ami Enan, Miles Edgeworth, Kay Faraday, and Dick Gumshoe, approached Mario's sad brother.

Luigi became surprised when he saw all of them and stood.

“Mama Mia!" He reacted. He said all their names but struggled with the last three.

“Uh, Million Eggwill?”

“Miles Edgeworth.” He corrected him. Million Eggwill, not even close.

“Miles Edgeworth. Okay Holiday?“

“Kay Faraday silly!” Kay told him as she giggled.

“Kay Faraday. Duck Gymshow?”

“Dick Gumshoe, pal.” He replied.

“Dick Gumshoe.” Luigi nodded. “Sorry, I forgot your names.”

“It’s alright,” Edgeworth reassured him. “We were told about what happened earlier regarding your brother.”

“Huh? How?” Luigi asked in surprise.

“Your silly boyfriend Astolfo.” 47 answered. “He told us about Mario becoming a danger to himself, and he begged us to help stop Dr. Robotnik.”

“And where the hell is Lupin!?” Jigen questioned as he looked around. He grabbed Luigi's outfit and closely glared at him. “Don’t tell me that son of a bitch snuck out of here just to help your brother!”

“Uuuuuuuuuuhh!” Luigi responded with a scared face. “I don’t know!”

“Hey, Luigi!”

Luigi turned to see Astolfo saying his name while jogging with Lupin towards him with a smile on their face.

Astolfo grabbed Luigi’s hand and held it.

“You’re welcome!” Astolfo said to him. “I couldn’t deal with what Mario did to us, so I contacted the house and told all of our friends to come here as soon as possible!”

“We all used my private jet to travel here, and the Mushroom Kingdom authorities were already informed about our arrival thanks to Astolfo,” Edgeworth explained.

“B-but are you sure you and your friends want to be in this fight?” Luigi asked Edgeworth.

“Yes, I do.” Edgeworth nodded. “I risked my life many times before, not just being a prosecutor, but investigating and finding the truth. Since we’re going into combat against an evil army, we’ll just pretend we’re in the military, fighting for the world.”

“Since I’ve never stolen anything despite being called the Great Thief, I’ll steal whatever this Dr. Robotnik fella has and use it for our advantage!” Kay declared.

“Yeah, I’ll give this guy a knuckle sandwich!” Gumshoe said with a nod.

“I’ll do whatever I can to protect you, Luigi, as well as your friends,” Robocop told him.

“This isn’t a war without my involvement.” Master Chief said as he pulled out an MA5B assault rifle. “I’m happy to help the Mushroom Kingdom Army.”

“Yeah.” John nodded. “I will kill everyone who works for Dr. Robotnik.”

“As much as how immature and annoying you are with your brother and your friends, I’ll still help you out in killing Dr. Robotnik,” 47 said to Luigi.

“Hey, Lupin?” Jigen said his name as he approached him.

Lupin smiled at his friend. “Yeah, Jigen? OW!”

He got punched in the gut by his friend.

“Jigen, what the hell?!” Lupin yelled at him. “What was that for!?”

“For being stupid!” Jigen told him. “I almost thought you left the Mushroom Kingdom and fought with Mario against Robotnik’s group!”

“But hey, I’m still alive.” Lupin smiled. "Nothing actually kills me."

“Yeah, and that better stay that way,” Jigen replied.

“Don’t go alone and participate in dangerous situations like this one,” Goemon told Lupin. "It's not worth being a danger to yourself."

“What are you, my father?” Lupin jokingly asked him.

“I’m glad you’re still here, Lupin,” Ami said to him. “You going alone on this made me worried.”

“Honestly, I have been thinking about you, Amy, including you two,” Lupin said to them.

“It’s Ami.” She told him

Luigi became flabbergasted at this. He couldn’t be more thankful for having all of his friends with him and wanting to help fight against Robotnik. He stared at Astolfo, who nodded his head in response with a bright smile.

“So are you ready to go find Mario and fight against Dr. Robotnik Luigi?” Astolfo asked him.

“Yes!” Luigi nodded in response. “All of us! Let’s-a go!”

---

Thunder Valley, Nevada

Mario was handcuffed and walked down a hall inside the bunker of the abandoned town. With him were human soldiers wielding their laser rifles. They arrived at the bunker’s command center, where Robotnik was.

Robotnik noticed Mario handcuffed and evilly smiled. “Aaaaah Mariyoyo! Aren’t you having FUN!? I cannot wait to see you witness the destruction of Highfalcon AND the Mushroom Kingdom!”

Mario gasped and glared at him. “I thought you just wanted to destroy Highfalcon!”

“Change of plans!” Robotnik told him. “Because of your army of bullies invading my base of operations and ruining my fantastic evil plan, I MUST GET REVENGE!”

“You won’t get away with this, Dr. Ivo Robotnik!” Mario shouted at him.

“HAHAHA!” Robotnik laughed. “So cliche! That’s what they all say! Of course, I will get away with this! I’m right and you’re WROOOONG! Time to take you to the slammer!”

Robotnik and his two human soldiers were now escorting Mario to the cell.

Mario’s face was filled with defeat and regret, regretting not taking his brother Luigi and his best friends Astolfo and Lupin with him. I’m-a sorry, Luigi, Astolfo, and Lupin.

They arrived at the room with the cell and entered. Mario widened his eyes as he saw Franziska von Karma inside the cell. He saw her hugging her knees as she faced the wall.

Mario’s jaw dropped while Franziska turned her head and widened her eyes as she gasped. She never expected to see Mario.

“Mario!”

“Franziska!”

The handcuffs were taken off Mario’s wrists, and he was shoved into the cell.

Robotnik looked at both of them with an evil smile.

“Enjoy your soap opera romantic reunion before both of you disappear forever after my violent destruction FUUUUN! HAHAHAHAHAHA!” He then left with his human soldiers.

Mario and Franziska were alone in the cell and were lost for words as they stared at each other. The former hoped he was looking at the real Franziska von Karma, not a fake.

“Mama Mia,” Mario said slowly as he looked at Franziska. “Is it really you, Franziska?”

“Yes.” Franziska stood up. “It is.”

Mario then hugged her, and in return, Franziska hugged him back as she was happy to see him still alive, while being worried about him getting captured by the mad doctor.

After the hug, Mario wiped the tears that were forming. “It’s-a wonderful to see you alive. I...” Mario almost cried as he was talking, but restrained his emotional tears from being released. “I thought you were dead. I thought you were gone forever, never to be seen again. I felt so sad about what happened to you.”

This touched Franziska’s heart. “Did you really miss me that much?”

“Yes.” Mario nodded as he sniffed. “You’re someone I care about because I always enjoy you being around. You're a fun person to spend time with, Franziska.”

Franziska felt her tears coming out. She rapidly blinked her eyes as a way to make them stop pouring down on her face. She didn’t know what to say since it had been a long time since she received this much kindness from someone.

Mario continued. “S-sometime ago, an evil clone of you arrived at Highfalcon. I thought it was you, but then, I found out it wasn’t.”

“I met the clone of me on my private jet. How did you find out?” Franziska asked.

“47 became suspicious and witnessed the evil clone of you killing innocent people with a sniper rifle,” Mario explained. “He contacted your ‘little brother’ Miles Edgeworth to find out if you arrived at Los Angeles, and he said no and mentioned your plane crashing into the Pacific Ocean.”

He continued. “The evil you tried to seduce me at the house. And she attempted to do it again in my police outpost, until Alex aimed his gun at her. Chief Larvell Jones showed up, and so did 47. The three of them gunned her down in front of me. They saved my life.”

He continued once again. “When I was told you were presumed dead, I kept believing you were never going to be found. Every time I look at your whip and the gift I gave you, I think about you. I thought what happened to Princess Peach happened to you as well."

Mario has more to say, but he saw the female prosecutor crying as she placed her hands on her face.

She sniffed and looked at the former plumber. “Mario, Y-you are so nice to me, and your words make me incredibly emotional. I never thought I would ever meet someone like you. Despite calling you foolish, getting angry at you, attempting to assault you with my whip for being foolish, you’re still kind to me.”

Franziska continued as Mario stared at her. “You are so foolishly naive, kind, brave, and funny. Just like me, except for the first.” She wiped the tears away with her hands. “I’m grateful for meeting someone like you, Mario. You bring me happiness, and I appreciate that a lot.”

She pointed her finger at him. “Don’t you ever think about feeling regret for meeting me, because I don’t regret meeting you!”

Mario blinked as he stared at an emotional Franziska. “I don't regret meeting you either, Franziska. When I thought you died, I started to blame myself. I thought insisting that you take the Super Star plushie with you to Los Angeles would’ve kept you alive.”

Mario formed an emotional smile. “But you're still alive, and I'm happy that you are! I isolated myself from everyone when I believed you died. I’m-a sorry for getting you involved in all of this. I hope I didn’t ruin your life.”

“Don’t be sorry, Mario." Franziska shook her head. "Don’t ever be sorry. I’m not sorry for becoming your friend.”

She took her glove off her hand and then took Mario’s glove off, then held his hand as she looked at his eyes. “Actually, more than a friend. And you didn’t ruin my life.”

Mario widened his eyes as he felt surprised. He was ready to hear the prosecutor’s confession to him.

Franziska used her other hand to grab the picture of Mario out of her pocket.

“I think about you every time I look at the picture of you. That is because...” She took a deep breath as a blush formed on her face. “...I love you, Mario. I truly love you, you foolish fool. If you don’t accept my feelings, get ready for some massive violence from me.”

Mario knew he couldn’t reject the prosecutor’s feelings towards him, because he genuinely loves her too.

“I love you too, Franziska von Karma.” Mario held Franziska’s hand with hers as they felt each other’s skin with their hand. "You're personality made me fond of you. And then I started to fall in love with you."

They stared at each other's eyes for a moment, moved their heads closer to each other, and then kissed.

Franziska wrapped her arms around Mario’s back while Mario did the same with his arm as they both kissed. The kiss made the prosecutor feel tons of joy that she didn't want to throw away. Mario knew he would never find anyone better than Franziska.

After the romantic kiss came to an end, Mario and Franziska continued to look at each other.

The latter spoke first. “I never went through something like that before.” She told Mario.

Mario chuckled. “I hope it was enjoyable.”

“It was.” Franziska smiled. She then formed a glare. “If you tell anyone-“

“You will whip me.” Mario assumed.

“That’s right,” Franziska smirked and giggled. She then grabbed her glove and Mario’s glove, and they placed them back on. Together, they sat on the bench.

“How did you find me?” Franziska questioned as she looked at Mario.

“It’s-a long story, a very long story.” Mario sighed. “So much is going on right now.”

He began explaining. “Luigi, our friends, and I met this man named Oliver, who was a scientist and a hacker. We met him after he helped us escape from a woman named Vanessa Nelson, who had a connection to Robotnik.”

He then talked about Luigi getting stabbed by Vanessa, Robocop killing the latter, then talked about Oliver revealing Thunder Valley to him and the others while they were on the road to the Mario Brothers house. He also talked about him getting kidnapped by Agent Stone as well as Jameson getting kidnapped by Vault Boy, and both getting rescued.

Then he talked about Oliver’s betrayal. “47 requested Oliver to hack into the servers from Montgomery Industries to find any encrypted transcript calls of Alan Montgomery and a man named Bob Page.” He then talked about 47 believing Bob Page was a person of interest despite being presumed dead.

“Oliver found one recording of a call that mentioned me, my brother, Dolma Sinha, and Princess Peach.”

“Really?” Franziska reacted in shock.

“Yes.” Mario nodded. He looked at Franziska. “Bob Page sent Dolma to murder Princess Peach and had another enforcer named Oddjob to watch her kill her to make sure she was obeying orders. Dolma is a princess from the Kingdom of Padar, which is going through a civil war.”

“I learned about the war going on over there, and learned about Dolma’s abduction," Franziska recalled. "And Bob Page was the man that was mentioned by Alan Montgomery, and the man Oddjob who was calling him while we were in the subway, correct?”

“That’s-a right." Mario nodded. "47 figured out his name because of his contact. Edgeworth explained to 47 about Bob Page, which is another long story. But Edgeworth was involved with an Interpol investigation regarding Bob Page, who committed conspiracy by adding dangerous augmentations onto abducted people.”

“I learned enough!” Franziska stopped him. “All of this foolish craziness of foolishness is giving me a foolish headache. I just want to go home with you.” She then lay her head on Mario’s shoulder and closed her eyes.

She spoke again. “I’ll learn more about all of this later, but for now, we need to stop foolish Dr. Robotnik.”

“I agree," Mario replied. "It’s-a better to focus on one thing at a time.”

---

On the streets of Thunder Valley, Master Chief, along with Luigi and Astolfo, were gunning down Robotnik's human soldiers and drones.

Luigi was wielding a Steyr AUG. Astolfo wielded his sword and his Calico M950, and Master Chief was wielding his MA5B assault rifle.

The human soldiers and robots were struggling to kill them as the three showed better durability and strength during the combat.

---

Above was a helicopter, at the edge of the helicopter was 47, who was looking through his binoculars.

Next to the bald hitman was Miles Edgeworth, who was aiming 47’s Walther WA200 sniper rifle and firing it at the human soldiers and drones as 47 guided him, telling him where the human soldiers and drones were located.

---

John Wick was with Robocop and was firing his Kel-Tec KSG shotgun at the human soldiers and throwing tons of grenades at them.

KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM!

The human soldiers were killed by the violent explosions from John Wick as their limbs were torn apart.

Robocop used his aiming ability and flawlessly fired his Auto 9 at the soldiers as he moved towards them.

RATATA! RATATA! RATATA! RATATA!

The human soldiers tried to fight him off, but laser projectiles from their laser rifles became futile as none of them stopped Alex Murphy.

Nearby, Dick Gumshoe, without his detective coat, wielded a minigun and aimed it at the human soldiers and fired.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

“Yeah, you like eating lead, pal!?” Gumshoe yelled out with a smile. This was absolutely out of his comfort zone; the same can be said of Edgeworth and Kay Faraday.

Speaking of Kay, she used her great thief skills to sneak behind the human soldiers and stabbed them, as well as slitting their throats. She never killed anyone before and never planned to, but as Edgeworth said earlier.

“ Since we’re going into combat against an evil army, we’ll just pretend we’re in the military.”

And that was what Kay Faraday, the Great Thief, was doing, pretending she was in the military and stopping evil as well as “stealing” the truth.

---

Master Chief grabbed a human soldier by the neck and lifted him, then fired his MA5B all over his body, then smashed his corpse to the ground.

While Luigi was firing his Steyr AUG, his ears caught footsteps to his right. There, he saw a human soldier coming out of an alley to flank and attack him. But that failed as Luigi drew out his Beretta 92FS pistol and fired it at the soldier.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Astolfo swung his sword at a group of human soldiers and sliced them all up. He saw an eye on the ground from a dead soldier. He crushed it with his foot as he giggled. He saw another group of soldiers and quickly fired his Calico M950 at all of them.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

The femboy hero continued to slice up more human soldiers with his sword.

---

The Lupin Gang Trio were riding in a red Ford Indigo they had stolen from the abandoned town’s compound. Lupin was behind the wheel, while Jigen sat in the passenger seat, and Goemon crouched on the car behind the two men.

Lupin was running over the human soldiers and laughing. “Hahahaha, wow, this car is awesome! I wanna keep it!”

“Lupin, this car stands out too much,” Goemon told him. “Besides, the Mercedes SSK stood out like a sore thumb since people took pictures of us. We can’t afford so much unwanted attention from the public when we’re in this.”

"And it's too dangerously fast," Goemon remarked to the thief. "I'm trying very hard not to fall from this exotic vehicle."

Lupin frowned and sighed. “Thanks for ruining the fun, you two.”

Jigen fired his Smith & Wesson Model 19 after he spotted human soldiers and oncoming drones.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

He restrained himself from getting car sick since the speed of the Ford Indigo was extremely fast. Lupin also kept himself from puking. Maybe Jigen and Goemon were right; this car indeed stood out too much and was too dangerously fast.

Goemon's eyes spotted more human soldiers who were about to fire their laser rifles at the trio. He jumped off the Indigo and sliced up the soldiers and their weapons, slicing them in half, including their weapons. The samurai’s eyes spotted drones coming towards him. He quickly jumped and sliced them in half without any problem. He hopped back onto the Ford Indigo and kept his eyes on any other drones and human soldiers.

Lupin contacted Ami, who was told by Lupin to stay at Mushroom City. “Amy? Where’s that doctor located?”

“It’s Ami.” She responded. “He’s located underground in a command center. From the security footage I’m seeing, he’s yelling at the screen while witnessing his subordinates getting killed.”

“Thanks!” Lupin smiled. He continued driving throgh the abandoned town.

---

On the helicopter with 47 and Edgeworth, the latter spotted turrets at Thunder Valley’s compound and fired at them with the sniper one by one. He also fired drones that were leaving the compound.

47 spotted the abandoned bank building, which had the entrance to the bunker. He spoke to Edgeworth.

“I’m going to jump.” 47 told him.

“What for?” Edgeworth questioned.

“To gain access to the bunker and find Mario.” 47 answered. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine out there.”

“Good luck.”

“I don’t need the luck, but good luck yourself.”

After informing the helicopter pilot about what he was going to do, 47 jumped off the helicopter and landed perfectly, then proceeded to sneak through Thunder Valley as he went to the abandoned building.

Knowing that using stealth tactics was futile, 47 pulled out his Silverballers and spotted a group of human soldiers and robots who were exiting the abandoned building.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

47 flawlessly shot and killed them all, as none of the human soldiers and the robots stood a chance against the emotionless, deadly assassin.

When he approached the corpses, 47 quickly started to put on one of the dead human soldiers' outfits, then grabbed his laser weapons and went into the abandoned bank building. And then he accessed the bunker.

Inside the bunker, 47 walked at a fast pace as he blended in with the other human soldiers who were all getting ready to fight against Mario’s friends and the Mushroom Kingdom Army soldiers. The robots were also running with the human soldiers to aid them since the number of human soldiers was running low.

47 arrived at the command center and spotted robots and Robotnik, who was getting livid while witnessing his human soldiers getting eliminated.

“HOW CAN HUMANS BE SO WORTHLESS!?!?” Robotnik yelled as he stared at the screen. “IMPOSSIBLE! I shouldn’t have hired these idiots to obey me!”

“Dr. Robotnik!” A robot approached. “The ship is ready!”

“About time!” Robotnik responded. “We can’t leave without Mario the failing hero and Franziska von Karma the vampire reject! They need to witness my awesome chaos!”

47 volunteered as he approached Robotnik. “Excuse me, Dr. Robotnik?” He said as he got his attention. “May I escort Mario and Franziska to your ship?”

“As long as you don’t show off your worthlessness!” Robotnik told him. “GO!”

“But where can I find them?”

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? THEY’RE IN THE CELL YOU BOZO!!!”

“Right, sorry doctor.”

47 then walked away to go find the cell where Mario and Franziska were being held.

The disguised assassin walked down the corridor as he passed human soldiers who were walking down the hall at a fast pace. He later found an entrance that led to the cell. He walked through the sliding door and found Mario and Franziska.

Mario gulped as he looked at 47, not knowing it was him. He woke up Franziska, who was sleeping with her head on his shoulder.

“Franziska,” Mario said her name.

“Hmm?” Franziska hummed as she woke up. After she opened her eyes, she saw 47 and formed a glare. “Foolish fool! What does your annoying, foolish leader want?!”

47 looked at the exit to make sure no one was entering and deactivated the force field of the cell. He then took his helmet off as he approached them.

“Mario, Franziska.” 47 said their names.

Mario widened his eyes. “47? W-what are you doing here?”

“Everyone found out what you did, Mario, leaving Luigi, Astolfo, and Lupin behind.” 47 told him.

Franziska gasped as she looked at Mario. “You did what!? You didn’t tell me that earlier! Why would you do that to them!? How foolish can you be!?”

“I couldn’t afford losing them,” Mario replied as he felt regret. “I would never forgive myself if they died, and I regret not bringing them with me, including you, 47. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, Mario, I understand why you did what you did.” 47 replied. “Luigi, Astolfo, Lupin, and his three friends are here, including Alex Murphy, Master Chief, John Wick, Miles Edgeworth-”

“Hold it!” Franziska stopped him as she widened her eyes. “M-my ‘little brother’ Miles Edgeworth is here!?”

“That’s right, and he brought his friends here, a girl named Kay Faraday and a man named Dick Gumshoe.” 47 replied to her. “We have to leave quickly. Robotnik wants you two on his ship to witness his immature destruction.”

The assassin placed his helmet back on.

Mario breathed as he stood, then said, “Let’s-a go.”

---

Miles Edgeworth continued to hunt down human soldiers and other threats with the Walther WA2000 sniper, but then his eyes caught Mario and Franziska with 47 and other human soldiers who came out of an exit of the bunker that was located in the abandoned town’s compound.

Edgeworth gasped as he saw Franziska, since he believed she was dead despite being presumed dead. He continued seeing the human soldiers walking with the two towards Robotnik’s ship. He knew one of the human soldiers was 47 in disguise.

The prosecutor focused on eliminating the remaining hostiles since he knew 47 knew what he was doing and didn’t want to ruin everything that could get his “big sister” Franziska, Mario, and 47 killed, including the rest.

---

Luigi, Astolfo, Robocop, Master Chief, and John Wick were together and continued battling against Robotnik’s army: the remaining human soldiers, the robots, and the drones.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA

RATATA! RATATA! RATATA! RATATA! RATATA! RATATA!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

After the group killed everyone in front of them, their eyes caught Robotnik’s ship lifting in the air and moving.

Lupin regrouped with the group of five as he stopped the Ford Indigo when he, Jigen, and Goemon gasped as they saw Robotnik's ship launching.

Luigi’s jaw dropped in fear. “Mama Mia, we’re too late!”

“It’s never too late, Luigi.” Master Chief told him. “Let’s find something that can get us on that ship.”

He looked at the Lupin gang. "The five of us are heading to the ship. You three stay here and kill any remaining threats.”

“Roger that!” Lupin smiled.

“Be careful up there,” Jigen told them.

“And make it out alive,” Goemon said to the group.

Master Chief nodded at their responses, then contacted Edgeworth, Kay, Gumshoe, and the Mushroom Army soldiers, telling them what he had just said.

---

Inside the ship’s bridge, Robotnik sat in the captain’s chair and was making demands to the robots controlling the ship.

Mario and Franziska were inside the bridge with restraints on their wrists and ankles as they sat in their chairs.

Robotnik rubbed the palms of his hands together as he evilly grinned. “OOOOOOOOOH YEEEEAAAAAAAH AAAAAAAAAAAAALRIRHTY THEEEEEEEEEEEEN!!!!! My awesome, fantastic, deadly weaponized ship is all ready to travel to Highfalcon and the Mushroom Kingdom and DESTROY THEEEEEEEEEM!!!!”

He looked evilly at Mario and Franziska and pointed his finger at them. “And you two losers are gonna watch it all happen! There’s no way you can escape this time! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-“

“SHUT UP!” Franziska yelled at him as she snapped.

Robotnik stopped his obnoxious, evil laugh. He viciously glared at the prosecutor as he stood up.

“WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!?" Robotnik yelled at her. "THIS IS MY SHIP!!!! I AM THE CAPTAIN!!!! YOU DON’T TELL ME TO SHUT UP!!!!”

The sliding doors in the bridge opened, revealing 47 still in disguise as a human soldier.

Robotnik angrily looked at him. “Why are you here!? I made it very clear, ‘NO HUMANS ALLOWED ON THE BRIDGE!!!’.”

“Sorry, doctor, but we've got intruders on the ship.” 47 told him.

“WHAT!? HOW!?” Robotnik started to cry in agony. “HOW IS THIS HAPPENING TO MEEEEE!?”

“I activated the ship’s self-destruct sequence.” 47 replied.

Robotnik widened his eyes as his jaw dropped to the floor. He brought his eyes to 47.

“You did WHAT!? WHY WOULD YOU BE SO STUPID TO DO THAT!?”

“I thought if we all go down, we go down with them.” 47 answered.

Robotnik growled and angrily replied to 47 again as he pointed his finger. “It’s too early to activate the self-destruct sequence! OUT OF MY WAY! I must deactivate the self-destruct sequence!” He exited the bridge of the ship.

This was 47’s chance. He quickly drew out his Silverballer pistols and fired them at the robots, killing them all.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

All the robots got torn apart by the deadly Silverballer pistols.

Mario had a smile filled with gratefulness. When 47 mentioned the intruders on the ship, he knew who they were.

Franziska was grateful as well. She was glad 47 arrived to save them. Maybe he wasn’t such a foolishly foolish fool assassin after all.

Mario smiled at 47. “47! I couldn’t be more thankful for your support!”

“Yes, thank you, 47,” Franziska said, not looking at him.

Mario chuckled. “That must’ve been hard for you to say that to him.” He said to Franziska, who glared at him.

“You’re welcome.” 47 replied as he undid the restraints. He then took his helmet off and tossed it away. He looked at Mario. “Before you ask, yes, your brother and Astolfo are on the ship, including Master Chief, Alex, and John.”

“What about Lupin and his friends?” Mario asked.

“And what about Miles Edgeworth?” Franziska asked.

“Edgeworth is on a helicopter attacking the rest of Robotnik’s army.” 47 shook his head. “His friends are on the surface fighting against them, and Lupin and his friends are assisting them. I wanted to keep myself hidden from all of them so that I wouldn’t get shot accidentally.”

Mario grabbed a laser pistol from one of the destroyed robots and looked at Franziska and 47. “Let’s-a kill Robotnik! And let’s-a get off this ship before it’s too late! Let’s-a go!”

---

The human soldiers and the robots were struggling to fight the group of heroes.

The battle was happening in a large corridor of the ship.

Master Chief flawlessly shot and killed the human soldiers and robots with his MA5B assault rifle.

Luigi and Astolfo stood side by side as they fired their weapons. The former’s Steyr AUG, and the latter's Calico M950.

Robocop fired his Auto 9 at the human soldiers and robots with superb aiming, since he didn’t miss a single shot.

John Wick moved all over the place as he fired his Kel-Tec KSG at the enemies, as well as blowing out the human soldiers’ heads off and tearing apart the limbs of the robots.

There were only a few human soldiers left in Robotnik’s ship, and they just happened to be what was left of the human soldiers.

Robotnik had plenty of robots, but soon they’ll be all gone.

The group of five heroes on Robotnik’s ship continued to fight against Robotnik’s human soldiers and robots with tons of effort. They then noticed one remaining human soldier who attempted to strike the heroes with his laser rifle.

BANG!

Too late.

The human soldier got shot in the head and instantly died.

It was all thanks to 47, who killed the human soldier with his Silverballer pistol. He was dual-wielding his Silverballers as he faced the robots and opened fire.

But 47 wasn't the only one firing his guns at the robots. Mario and Franziska, who were wielding laser rifles, including Luigi, Astolfo, Robocop, Master Chief, and John Wick, assisted the bald assassin.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATA! RATATATATA! RATATATATATA! RATATATATATA!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

All of Robotnik’s robots were violently destroyed by the power of the group of heroes.

But the group knew there were more robots to deal with. Not to mention the self-destruct sequence currently going on, which made the heroes have limited time to find and kill Robotnik.

After they were done killing the robots that they had to deal with, Mario looked at Luigi and Astolfo and approached them. He immediately hugged both of them.

“I’m-a sorry you two!” He apologized. “I had made such a stupid mistake!”

“It’s-a okay Mario!” Luigi hugged him back. “All is forgiven!”

“Yeah!” Astolfo smiled as he hugged his best friend. “You were worried about us, and that’s okay! We will never stop being best friends!”

After the hug ended, Mario spoke to the group. “We are going to split up and kill Robotnik, but we need to hurry because of the self-destruct sequence going on.”

“But what if Robotnik disables it?” Luigi asked.

“He won’t.” 47 answered him. “I was able to change the password so he won’t figure it out.”

“So that means we need to hurry and find him quickly.” John Wick told everyone.

“He’s right!” Franziska nodded. “That foolish man will probably jump and escape, leaving us all here trapped on this foolish ship!”

“Not exactly.” Master Chief replied. “We’ll steal one of the spacecraft stored here and escape as quickly as we can.”

”But what if we don’t make it?” Mario asked as he felt worried.

“We’ll make it.” Master Chief told him.

“We should split up in groups so that we can search the ship and find Robotnik,” Robocop suggested.

“Wonderful idea, Alex!” Mario grinned. “Okey Dokey! Franziska, you’re with me. Luigi, you go with 47 and Astolfo. Master Chief, take Alex Murphy and John Wick with you. Everyone, let’s-a go find Robotnik and kill him!”

The group split up and went to hunt down Robotnik.

---

Robotnik stood in a corridor at the edge of the entrance of his ship as he looked down, seeing the night desert surface high above him. He had a parachute with him. He then formed a grin.

“I can’t even disable the stupid self-destruct sequence of my ship because SOMEONE CHANGED THE PASSWORD!!!”

He evilly smiled as he looked down again. He was ready to jump.

“Somebody stop me!” He said out loud.

“Okey dokey Robotnik!”

Robotnik turned around and saw Mario and Franziska von Karma, who both aimed their laser rifles at the evil doctor.

Robotnik evilly smiled and laughed. “Hopefully, you two aren’t afraid of jumping off an aircraft. Bye byeeeeeeeee!”

Mario and Franziska fired their laser rifles at Robotnik, but didn’t wound him as the latter jumped off his ship.

Mario dropped his laser rifle as he grabbed Franziska's hand and looked at her.

“Hold on to me, Franziska!” He told her.

“M-Mario!” Franziska shouted while dropping her laser rifle.

Mario and Franziska jumped off the ship and fell towards Robotnik.

With a strong grip, Franziska held on to Mario’s body while she kept her eyes closed. She was counting on Mario to survive this with him.

Mario kept his eyes on Robotnik as he was gliding towards him with the help of the wind.

Robotnik turned his head towards Mario and Franziska and noticed they were getting closer to him. He decided to activate his parachute to outsmart the duo.

But Mario saw it coming as he grabbed the parachute and ripped it off of Robotnik.

The doctor’s jaw dropped, and he was in absolute shock to see him do that so fast. He pulled out his laser pistol, but that got swung away not from Mario, but from Franziska, who was showing no fear during this battle in the air.

Defeat was getting closer to Dr. Ivo Robotnik. “NO! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!”

Franziska held strongly to Mario as the latter kept a firm grip on Robotnik’s body as they fell to the surface and crash-landed.

---

Luigi, along with Astolfo, 47, Robocop, Master Chief, and John Wick, were able to escape as they heard a voice in the ship informing them that they had 1 minute to evacuate before the ship exploded.

The group was now inside the spacecraft they took. Master Chief was piloting it.

“Master Chief, do you hear me?!” Edgeworth spoke to Master Chief

“I hear you!” Master Chief responded.

“I spotted Mario and Franziska falling with Robotnik! They're outside of the town!” Edgeworth explained.

KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM!

Large explosions went off all around the ship, and it started to descend and crash into the desert surface. This forced the group to leave immediately.

“Oh no!” Luigi screamed out. “WE’RE GONNA DIE MAMA MIA!!!”

“We’re not going to die, Luigi!” Master Chief reassured him. “We’re going to survive!”

“B-but what about Mario and Franziska?” Astolfo asked with worry.

Luigi became silent. He hoped they didn’t die.

Master Chief responded to Astolfo. “We’ll try to locate them!”

They successfully escaped the exploding ship. The group went to find Mario, Franziska, and Robotnik.

---

Miles Edgeworth started to get worried about Franziska, hoping she was still alive.

Kay and Gumshoe saw the exploding ship that was crashing down. Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon also witnessed it.

The entire Mushroom Kingdom Army, as well as the US squadrons, saw the ship exploding and were looking forward to ending this battle with a victorious outcome.

But everyone became worried about what happened to Mario and Franziska von Karma.

---

Mario and Franziska both moaned as they landed on the night desert surface after they fell off the ship to go after Robotnik.

Robotnik was slowly rising and maintained his balance as much as possible. He tried to walk away slowly.

Mario helped Franziska up and glared at Robotnik, who stared at his ship falling to the surface and witnessed a massive explosion.

KABOOM!

“My ship,” Robotnik said in a defeated tone. “All that hard work...all my plans...my base...Agent Stone...Creepy Vault Boy...my worthless human soldiers...my robots...all gone...”

“Your foolish plans failed you, foolish criminal,” Franziska replied, rubbing salt into the wound. “You lost.”

“It’s-a over for you, Dr. Ivo Robotnik,” Mario told him with a glare.

Robotnik started to quietly laugh, “Hahahahahahahahaha.”

Then it became loud. “Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!”

And louder. “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!”

Robotnik turned to face Mario and Franziska with an evil smile. “YOU DOOFUSES! Do you seriously think that because of me failing, I’m going to give up!? Think again, Mario and Franziska von Karma! I’m still able to create more plans to destroy humanity and replace every single living species with ROOOOOOBOOOOOOTS!”

With excellent reflexes, Mario ran towards Robotnik and grabbed him, then jumped in the air and performed a rapid flip. Then Mario fell to the surface and smashed Robotnik’s body.

The former plumber then grabbed Robotnik’s leg and repeatedly smashed him on the ground, then did 360 spins and tossed him in the air.

“So long Dr. Ivo Robotnik!” Mario yelled out as he tossed Robotnik.

Robotnik was in the air, then suddenly a rocket went towards him and blew him up.

KABOOM!

The rocket came from Robocop, who attached himself with a Gun Arm that had a mini-rocket launcher feature.

Mario and Franziska both witnessed the explosion and saw Robocop, who was with Mario’s brother, Astolfo, 47, Master Chief, and John Wick, all inside the spacecraft that was in the air.

The spacecraft landed on the ground in front of Mario and Franziska. All of them got off and approached the two.

Robocop spoke first. “Are you two safe? Any injuries?”

“We’re-a fine Alex!” Mario smiled with a nod. “Thank you for finishing off Robotnik!”

“Edgeworth contacted us and saw the three of you falling to the surface while we escaped just in time.” Master Chief explained to Mario and Franziska.

Luigi and Astolfo approached Mario and hugged him.

“We are glad you survived with Franziska!” Luigi said to his brother.

Mario hugged them back. “Thank you!”

Everyone noticed The Lupin Gang, Miles Edgeworth, Kay Faraday, and Dick Gumshoe arriving and approaching the group.

Edgeworth was still wielding the Walther WA2000 as he looked at Franziska and approached her.

“Hello, Franziska.” He said. “Long time no see.”

Franxiska looked at Edgeworth, then widened her eyes as she gasped.

“Foolish ‘iittle brother’, why are you holding that!?” She questioned as she pointed the WA2000

Edgeworth glanced at the WA2000 he was holding. “Oh, this? I wanted to fight for the truth, and 47 taught me how to use this sniper rifle.”

Franziska glared at 47 as she pointed her finger at him. “You foolishly foolish fool fool FOOL! I’m just about had it with your foolishness since the beginning! First, you strangled me to death with my whip! Second, you woke me up in the middle of the night just to tell me that Mario became foolish and dropped the charges on you! Third, you strangled and killed Alan Montgomery with my whip right in front of me! Fourth, you taught my foolish ‘little brother’ how to use that foolish deadly object he’s holding and shoot people!”

Edgeworth responded. “Not just people but robots and drones as well.”

“Doesn’t matter!” Franziska replied to Edgeworth. She sent her glare back at 47. “Do you have anything to say, foolish assassin?!”

“Yes, be thankful that you’ve been rescued and your little brother survived," 47 responded.

“Grrrrr!” Franziska growled as she darkened her glare.

“Franziska, I know how much you despise this assassin since you endlessly rant about him sometimes,” Edgeworth said to her. “But what matters right now is that you’re alive, and that madman Robotnik is gone. We should all go home.”

Mario responded to him and everyone. “Yes, but not quite.”

“What do you mean?” Edgeworth asked.

“First, we need to return to Mushroom City, and then we need to talk about what to do with Robotnik’s technology. We’ll discuss all of this later, but we need to leave and regroup with the Mushroom Kingdom soldiers. They’ll secure the remnants of Robotnik’s technology with the assistance of the US military.”

“I’ll call in an extraction.” Master Chief told everyone as he grabbed his communication device. “Mushroom Kingdom Army? This is Master Chief. My group of allies and I need an extraction.”

“Yes sir, Master Chief! We’re on our way!”

Mario and his friends left Thunder Valley to celebrate their victory in defeating Robotnik and his army, and were returning to Mushroom City.

---

Days Later

Aeon

Hydrakain Island, Atlantic Ocean

Aeon, codename for an island in the Atlantic Ocean called Hydrakain Island.

Bob Page was inside his office in the Aeon facility and was speaking to Oddjob on a monitor screen while observing footage of the aftermath of the invasion of Thunder Valley, as well as the Mario Brothers and their friends.

“Oddjob, I need you to return to Aeon," Bob told him. "We seriously need to be as patient as we can. Normally, I’m the opposite, but this time it’s an exception.”

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

“I’ll have to go. We’ll strategize on how to get Robotnik’s technology.” He then disconnected.

“Come in!” Bob said to the person who knocked.

The door inside Bob Page’s office revealed Daniel Montgomery.

Daniel closed the door and looked at Bob. “Hello, Mr. Page.”

“Daniel Montgomery! Hello to you, too!” Bob smiled as he approached Daniel, giving him a handshake. “I was informed about your arrival. Why not contact me from your office?”

“I thought this conversation would be more meaningful in person,” Daniel explained. “My men were able to track down the location of Robotnik’s technology: A compound on the outskirts of Highfalcon called ‘Rosmont.’. Mayor David Phillips formed plans to have Robotnik’s technology be used by the Highfalcon PD for morally good intentions.”

“I’m familiar with Rosmont." Bob nodded. "They have possessions of unique equipment from various sources. And Rosmont’s purpose is to give away the equipment to those who are assumed to use it for morally good.”

Daniel handed Bob a USB flash drive. “This flash drive contains pictures and videos that reveal the exact spots where the technology is being stored in Rosmont, as well as blueprints of Rosmont’s layout. I had my men take pictures and film videos of where the alarms are located and the location of the security room.”

Bob grabbed the flash drive and placed it on his desk. “We’re getting close, Daniel. You and I will have complete control of the world. Oddjob has been showing his impatience regarding Robotnik’s technology, but now I’ll give him the good news. Are you planning to run for mayor in Highfalcon just like your father planned to do?”

“Yes, Mr. Page.” Daniel nodded. “I want to finish what my father started, but we have a problem. And that’s my father’s contact, Oliver.”

“No need to worry about that, Daniel,” Bob reassured him as he turned to him. “Oliver told me what he did, and I wanted him to expose the call between Alan and I to send a message to the Mario Brothers. And the message has been sent. No one will question a dead body.”

“No disrespect, Mr. Page, but aren’t you worried Aeon will be compromised and struck?” Daniel asked with concern.

“When people worry too much, they'll become paranoid, and it’s not worth it right now,” Bob told him.

Daniel knew he was right and wanted to end that topic right there. “I have made some ideas on how to deal with the Mario Brothers.” He said.

“Tell me your ideas,” Bob told him.

“Getting revenge on them for their involvement in my father’s death,” Daniel explained. “I have an idea, which is hiring a hitman to kill them, but I also have another idea which requires your soldiers, Oddjob, and Dolma for assistance, Mr. Page.”

“Anything to fulfill your revenge, Daniel, but please...” Bob Page formed a smile. “...call me Bob.”

 

 

 

 

 

ACT 2 END

 

 

 

 

Notes:

The third and final act will begin. Thank you for reading the story.

Chapter 26: ACT 3 - PROLOGUE

ACT 3 START

PROLOGUE

Annecy, France

Months Ago

The sunny sky was above an empty street and a bus that was parked in the town of Annecy. The bus was filled with a group of armed people who were terrorists. Their goal was to seize control of a female boarding school and hold certain students who came from wealthy families hostage for ransom. One of the students was Dolma Sinha.

The terrorists were inspecting their AK-47s and Beretta 92FS pistols and getting ready for their terrorist activity. The leader who had facial hair spoke to the entire group.

"T-minus five. Get ready, everyone."

A male member who was wearing a gray beanie stood and spoke to the leader as he was feeling agitated. "Sir! I need to use the bathroom badly!"

"Too bad." The leader replied as he looked out the window of the bus.

"It's a number 2, sir! It's not worth making this a stinky ride, right!?"

The leader closed his eyes as he deeply sighed. He knew the male member was right.

"Fine!" He said. "You've got 2 minutes. Otherwise, you're a dead man."

"Thank you!" The male member immediately got off the bus and went into a small shop building that was next to the parked bus, and went to the bathroom.

A female member who was wearing a suit with a skirt spoke to the leader. "Sir? Should I go in there and execute him?" She believed he was already a loose end.

"No, there's no need for that." The leader answered.

Suddenly, a French police car arrived and parked behind the bus. The leader noticed and grunted in annoyance as his eyes widened. He looked at the group.

"All of you hide your weapons!" He told them.

The members of the terrorist group gasped as they spotted the police car behind and two police officers exiting the car. The members obeyed the leader's command as one of the officers walked to the front of the bus.

The police officers tapped the driver's window to speak. The male bus driver opened the window as he kept his Beretta hidden.

"Is there a problem, officer?" The driver questioned.

"Yes, there is." The officer answered.

All of a sudden, the officer quickly lowered his body as a bowler hat crashed through the glass door of the bus and sliced the head of the male bus driver, which caused blood to shoot out of his body in front of all the terrorist members, who all widened their eyes as they gasped.

"What the hell!?" The leader yelled out.

The officer then raised his body as he wielded a Steyr TMP machine pistol with one hand and started firing it at the terrorist group as he walked. The windows of the bus started to shatter thanks to the bullets of the TMP.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

The terrorist members were getting shot and died, while some ducked from the gunfire. Their chance to return fire was zero as the other police officer came onto the bus while wielding a USAS-12 automatic shotgun and shot the terrorist members.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The limbs of the terrorist group started to get ripped apart by the deadly auto shotgun.

Inside the shop, people took cover to avoid getting shot. A female clerk was about to call the police.

BANG!

But she was shot in the head, and that was from the "terrorist member" who was wielding a Beretta 92FS. He, including the police officers who were also fake, worked for Bob Page.

The fake terrorist member's eyes spotted two other males, who both got shot by him.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

After killing the three witnesses inside the shop, the man went outside and saw the bowler hat man who was grabbing his hat.

Oddjob.

He spoke to the fake terrorist member.

"The three of you get ready to raid the school." He told him as he referred to the fake police officers.

"Yes, sir." The man nodded.

Oddjob began entering the bus after the man with the USAS-12 exited. He wanted to see if all of the terrorist members who were in their way were entirely dead. His eyes caught one member, the leader. He was severely wounded from the shotgun blast and the strikes from the Steyr TMP.

While blood was coming out of his mouth, the terrorist leader's eyes spotted Oddjob, who was approaching him. The leader tried to aim his suppressed Desert Eagle at him to kill him, but the strength wasn't being cooperative with him since his final moments were coming to an end.

The bowler hat man smiled at him as he pulled out his Golden Gun and aimed at the leader to end his final moments.

BANG!

---

Aeon

Dolma Sinha, in her Annecy school uniform, walked down the corridor inside the Aeon facility. Two soldiers dressed in black armored outfits with black helmets/gas masks that had red eyes were wielding Heckler & Koch G11 assault rifles as the two and Dolma walked down the hall. They were heading to Bob Page’s office.

When the raid and massacre occurred at the Annecy female boarding school, Dolma was held hostage in a room after her classmates were killed in front of her, including Ami, who was also a classmate. The two girls were in separate rooms while they were restrained.

Later on, Dolma was taken away by Oddjob and the soldiers. The Padar princess had no idea what was going on as her questions were being ignored.

Dolma began to worry about her home country, Padar. She knew her father and the high priest would become absolutely worried about her and hoped they would be able to locate her as soon as possible.

The three arrived at the entrance of Bob’s office. One of the soldiers knocked on the door. They heard Bob’s voice from inside, which signaled the soldier to open the door and forced Dolma to enter the office.

Bob turned his head after looking at footage from the monitor screen. “Thank you.” He said to the soldiers. “Leave the two of us alone and wait outside.”

The soldiers nodded and closed the door. Dolma looked around the office, seeing the futuristic design of the entire room, and noticed footage of her home country on the monitor screen.

“Dolma Sinha,” Bob said her name.

Dolma looked at him with a glare. “And you are?”

“Robert Page, but you can call me Bob.” He replied with a smile.

Dolma gasped and formed a glare at him. The name Bob Page was no stranger to her. “Aren’t you supposed to be dead?!”

“It seems people like you fall for misinformation, but to answer your question, I fabricated my death,” Bob explained. “I have plans to change the world.”

“So why am I here?” Dolma questioned. Her glare became vicious. “And why on earth would you have your mercenaries murder all of the students and teachers!? And what have you done to Ami Enan!?”

“You mean your girlfriend, Ami?”

Dolma gasped as a blush formed. “S-shut up! She’s not my girlfriend!”

“But the two of you are always happy together,” Bob remarked. “But answering your initial questions, Ami decided to run for her life, not for you, or others, but for herself.”

Dolma shook her head with her eyes closed. “No! There’s no way she did that! There was no way she betrayed me!”

“She didn’t betray you,” Bob reassured her. “Originally, we were going to bring Ami here to work for me since she has a father who developed an app called PeopleLog. But she was optional, as I believed she was useless and would never ever work for someone like me. Reports from my right-hand man told me a woman named Fujiko Mine was at your school intending to steal your Bloody Teardrop necklace.”

Dolma wore that necklace to school and everywhere she went. This was a necklace that was passed down through Padar's royal family for six hundred years. It was taken away when Dolma was abducted.

“Where is this going?” Dolma asked with impatience. "And where's the necklace?"

“It's been tossed away-"

"WHAT!?" Dolma screamed out with an angry expression. "Whoever tossed it away, order them to find it!"

"That's not going to happen." Bob shook his head. "It's just a necklace. Besides, it was about to get stolen from you."

"Huh?" Dolma responded in confusion.

"Fujiko Mine intended to steal the necklace, but when the raid at the school happened, my right-hand man forced her to kill Ami.” Bob continued. “I wanted to see if she was capable of killing children, but she wasn’t. She died. Ami ran for her life, not saving her, you, or anyone else.”

“She saved herself.” Dolma believed.

“A selfish thing to do,” Bob remarked. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

“No, I don’t.” Dolma shook her head. “If I got wounded, I would’ve told her to save herself.”

Bob pressed buttons to display pictures of Lupin the 3rd and his friends Daisuke Jigen and Ishikawa Goemon XIII.

“Has Ami ever told you about being friends with these three?” Bob questioned.

Dolma looked at the three men on the screen, and she saw one of them before, but not in person.

“Lupin the 3rd?”

“So you heard of him?”

“Not much, but I only know he’s an infamous thief worldwide.”

“He and his companions were also intending to steal your necklace. And Ami has an association with them.”

Dolma sent Bob yet another glare. “But how do you know Ami knew about them planning to steal my necklace?! You're just trying to ruin my relationship with her, aren't you?!”

Bob looked at her unfazed. “How can you have a relationship with someone who hides secrets from you and not be honest?”

“Sometimes it’s not that easy,” Dolma told her. “I doubt Ami is biased about Lupin.”

“Maybe.” Bob shrugged. He pressed more buttons to display a picture of the CIA agent Ian McGuire. “This man, Ian McGuire, or 'Ugo ', his real name according to documents that were given to me, was an agent from the CIA.”

Dolma became surprised. “The teacher from my school!”

“He wasn't a teacher; he was a fake teacher. He intended to capture you and take you to Padar to become a puppet of your own country to prevent a civil war. You were going to be used by your country’s government, the one who are the Traditionalists.”

Padar is split between the Traditionalists and the Reformists. The Reformists, led by Dolma’s father, wanted the country to move with the times as the world turned. The Traditionalists, led by the high priest, are the opposite. Because of disagreements, a civil war was possible, and it was getting close to that point.

Dolma sided with her father since she shared the same values.

“So, what side are you on?” Dolma asked Bob.

“No one’s,” Bob answered. “I don’t care about their goals, only mine. Which is changing the world.”

“So why am I here then?” Dolma questioned them.

“To work for me,” Bob answered. “A civil war is close to being a reality in your country. It will not be your problem, only the Traditionalists’ and the Reformists’. They’re both going to start a plague of violence and bloodshed all over Padar-”

“STOP!” Dolma yelled. She formed another glare right at his face. “I want to get the hell out of here right now! I need to keep my father protected from this violence that's about to happen!”

“You're not going to do that.” Bob shook his head. “There’s no possible way for you to travel back to Padar from here. If you do try to leave, the war in Padar will face an outcome of a nuclear explosion that my covert operatives placed inside an abandoned factory underneath.”

Dolma widened her eyes and gasped. The world nuclear explosion almost made her faint.

“W-what?! A nuclear explosion?!” Dolma said with shock on her face. "You have a nuclear weapon!?"

“That’s right.” Bob nodded, “Tons of lives will be lost because of your refusal to work for me. You have no other option. And it’s too early for you to see what dying looks like.”

Bob displayed an image of the nuclear weapon that had been placed in the abandoned factory's underground complex.

“If someone just happened to discover my soldiers, they will die,” Bob told her. “My soldiers at Padar will kill anyone they see, no matter who they are.”

Dolma closed her eyes as a tear went down her cheek. She took a deep breath, knowing she had no choice but to work for Bob Page.

"You're protective of your home country, Dolma," Bob remarked. "You will also be protective of me and my group, and maybe in the future, you will become my successor."

Dolma took a deep breath. “You win, Bob Page.” She said to him. “I’ll work for you.” For Padar.

---

Months Later

Bob Page walked down a corridor in the Aeon facility and approached a sliding door. He went through the door as it opened and was now in a cryo room, which had a cryo pod and a machine attached to it.

Inside the cryo pod was Morgan Everett, whose body was becoming extremely cold.

Bob stepped towards Morgan as he laid his eyes on him, seeing the man who was his mentor in the Illuminati suffering from the freezing cold of the cryo pod.

Morgan slowly looked at Bob, seeing the smirk on the man’s face. He knew the latter was enjoying this. He didn’t want to say a word to him.

But Bob did. “How are you doing, Morgan?” He asked.

Morgan slowly spoke. “Why....why answer a question...that has an obvious answer... What do you...what do you want?”

“You remember that conversation during our time at the Illuminati regarding a man named Dr. Ivo Robotnik?” Bob inquired.

Back then, the Illuminati had eyes on Robotnik’s activities and were impressed with how much technology he had, and how he committed his activities, as well as successfully killing Sonic the Hedgehog.

“What...what about him?” Morgan asked.

“I have a contact of mine who’s connected to Dr. Robotnik, and this contact sent his own contact to work undercover for Robotnik’s female associate.”

“So?”

“So, Morgan, with my contact being connected to Dr. Robotnik, he can get all of his technology after the latter’s demise,” Bob explained. “But Dr. Robotnik has an accomplice named Agent Stone who'll likely be in his way-“

“Say...say no more...Bob.” Morgan stopped him. “I...I already know...what you’re planning. You’re planning...to get Dr. Robotnik’s technology...and use it for your own...your own selfish goals.”

“That’s rich coming from you, Morgan,” Bob remarked. “Didn’t you realize the Illuminati had selfish people with their own selfish goals, just like you? Ha! Sometimes, Morgan, you do make me laugh. With Dr. Robotnik’s technology, I can use it to have my scientists and engineers create augmentations with it, as well as recreate the doctor.”

“Why? Why...recreate him?” Morgan questioned.

“Because I value the man and his technology,” Bob answered. “His technology has so much value. I want everything he has, and have him succeed me in controlling the world once I meet my own demise. But if something goes wrong with Robotnik, then I'll have my right-hand man, or my female enforcer, who I recruited months ago, take control.”

“You’re...you’re not going to...get his technology, Bob,” Morgan told him. “How are you...going to pull this off?”

“Simple. Have Dr. Robotnik face new threats, which will likely be the Mario Brothers." Bob answered. "I’ve sent my female enforcer to the Mushroom Kingdom to eliminate Princess Peach, while my right-hand man watches her. I need to see how the princess’s savior and lover Mario, will handle her death and see what he and his brother are capable of.”

“You’re doing all of this...all of this just for someone’s technology...that doesn’t belong to you.” Morgan pointed out.

“Before you make yourself look like more of a hypocrite, this could go in any direction,” Bob told him. “Dr. Robotnik is currently in Highfalcon, so if the Mario Brothers go there for whatever reason and live there, then he has a new threat to deal with.”

“Why not...why not...why not go after Dr. Robotnik yourself?” Morgan asked. “Why make this...so convoluted?”

“Getting his technology directly is a last resort,” Bob replied. “He has an army of robots and an army of human soldiers. Sure, I can send my right-hand man, my enforcer, and my soldiers to take it all away from him and kill him, but I want to see if someone else can do it themselves.”

“Let me know...that you failed...to accomplish this...Bob Page.” Morgan said as he looked at him with a glare.

Bob smiled. “We’ll see about that, Morgan Everett.”

Bob Page turned around and left the cryogenic room.

Bob knew Morgan was wrong.

And Morgan was indeed wrong.

Robotnik met his demise thanks to the Mario Brothers and their friends. The technology was now stored at Rosmont. Including Robotnik’s brain, which was used when Oliver recreated him. The brain was there for scientists to experiment on.

The people working for Daniel Montgomery were able to find out where the technology was located at Rosmont, including Robotnik's brain.

And now, the most diabolical man, Bob Page, was finally going to get all of Robotnik’s technology and his brain and use it to have him be recreated and become a robotic god.

And then, abduct all of the people who used the app PeopleLog, and use them in experiments, add augmentations on their bodies, and sell the people to buyers who'll own them until the time expires, then the buyer will meet their death.

And catastrophic events will begin.

Bob Page was beginning to spread complete violent madness.

A new era will become a new reality.

 

 

 

 

 

New Friends and New Threats

ACT 3

 

 

 

 

Chapter 27: ACT 3 - Chapter 1

Shinjuku, Tokyo

During the nightlife at Shinjuku in the Kabukicho entertainment district, everyone was walking to wherever they were going, and everyone was operating their businesses in the district during the nightlife.

But there was one man who stood out, and that man was Bob Page.

He wore a long black suit coat, a black fedora hat, and glasses. He wanted to make himself unrecognizable since he believed the Japanese public would recognize him. The Japanese public learned about Bob being presumed dead. He would rather keep it that way for now.

Bob ignored the Japanese people and foreigners he walked by. Some people tried to get his attention, one being a bald Nigerian man wearing a white t-shirt, jeans, and black shoes. He offered him to enjoy his time at a Nigerian bar where he worked.

"Hello, sir!" The Nigerian man greeted him as he followed him. "Wanna get a drink?"

Bob ignored him as he moved. The Nigerian man continued.

"Come on, buddy, we've got some girls who'll think you're gorgeous."

Bob still ignored him. The guy kept pushing.

"Yo bro, the drinks and the girls are on me-" He stopped talking when Bob revealed a concealed suppressed Steyr TMP to him. No one was around to notice the firearm.

Bob looked at the Nigerian man's eyes with intimidation. "I suggest you get back to work and not make your boss angry for getting lost in this maze." He told him.

The Nigerian man swallowed and held his hands in defense as he backed away.

"I'll back off." He said.

"If you tell a soul, I'll know," Bob replied. He then walked away.

The Nigerian man walked back to the Nigerian bar and approached his male co-workers.

"Everything okay?" A co-worker asked.

The man replied as he whispered. "That guy has a fucking machine gun."

---

Those words made the men believe something violent was going to happen at Kabukicho.

As Bob continued walking, there were some Japanese females who wanted to get his attention since they adored Bob's attire and wanted him to spend time at bars where they worked.

"Konnichiwa, konnichiwa, sir!" A Japanese female said to Bob. "Come to our bar, please!"

Bob ignored her, including other Japanese females.

Bob Page wasn't spending his time at Kabukicho to have some fun; he was looking for someone, a woman named Ginko Hoshikage.

Ginko Hoshikage was a hostess at a club in Kabukicho. There were rumors about her being an underworld crime lord. And those rumors were true, not to the public, but to Bob Page.

Bob's group found tons of information about her, all thanks to PeopleLog, which Ginko used in the past to find info about certain individuals who had connections to people who stole from her.

Since Ginko used the app, her life was about to change entirely.

A plan was already formed. Cameras in Kabukicho were disabled by hackers who work for Bob, and this happened before he arrived. And he's already made his escape plan. Bob Page thought of everything, just like what he did to Morgan Everett in Montreal.

Bob arrived at the club, where Ginko's was called Atrantis. Since he learned about Ginko and the Atrantis club from the info he received, he was ready to face anything and take her, take her far away from home. Sure, Bob could send his henchmen here to capture Ginko, but he believed he had to do this himself, in case his people failed.

He went through the entrance, walked down the steps, and saw the two females: A female manager who had pink twin-tail hair and was wearing a black pant suit with black heels.

And a female hostess who was wearing a sexy black bunny outfit with black high-thigh stockings and black heels. She also had blonde bob cut hair with blunt bangs.

The female manager greeted him as she bowed. "Welcome!"

"I'm here for Ginko Hoshikage," Bob told her. "Can I see her, please?"

"Eh?" The manager responded. "Ginko Hoshikage?"

"That's right." Bob nodded.

"She's not available." The manager told him.

"You mean I'm not allowed to see her?" Bob inquired.

"Excuse me, sir?" The bunny girl gained his attention and smiled. "How about you forget about Ginko Hoshikage and spend time with me instead? Let me give you a drink!"

Bob looked at the bunny girl. "Why spend time with you after I do this?"

He shoved his hand at the female manager's mouth as he pushed her against the wall and fired his suppressed Steyr TMP at the bunny girl.

Pewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpew!

"Aaah!" The bunny girl yelped. She felt bullets going into her abdomen.

Blood started to drip onto the floor between the bunny girl's feet as blood came out of her mouth. Bob watched her body collapse and die.

Bob looked at the manager and noticed tears coming out of her eyes as he aimed the TMP at her face.

"Can I see Ginko Hoshikage, please?" Bob asked her.

The feared female manager nodded in response.

"Thank you," Bob replied. He then fired.

Pewpewpew!

Bob shot her in the head, which instantly killed her.

Before Bob went to search for Ginko, he was able to lock the entrance of Atrantis and enable the closed sign to prevent anyone from going in and seeing the dead female bodies.

He stepped inside the main area of Atrantis as he pulled out another suppressed Steyr TMP. He saw everyone enjoying their nightlife. Since Bob stood out, several glances were sent to him.

And they noticed the guns he was holding.

A male widened his eyes in fear as he pointed at Bob's weapons.

"Guns!" He yelled out.

Bob wasted no time and felt zero hesitation in killing everyone.

Pewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpew!

Pewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpew!

---

Ginko was inside a VIP room, sitting in a chair with her leg crossed as she smoked a long, thinned pipe and was surrounded by armed guards. The guards were wearing suits and were wielding Beretta 38/49 submachine guns.

The fun in the room transformed into concern as everyone heard screaming. The henchmen began to find out what was going on. When one of the henchmen opened the door, he and the other henchmen were shot to death by Bob Page.

Pewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpew!

Pewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpew!

After killing them, Bob aimed his TMPs at the people in the room and opened fire at all of them, except for Ginko, who dropped her long, thinned pipe as she widened her eyes in horror.

Ginko saw Bob finishing off a wounded henchman in front of her. She felt like she was about to have a heart attack as she knew she was completely cornered. Sweat formed on her head. She wanted to at least strike Bob, but hesitation restrained her.

Bob approached Ginko as he looked at her. He placed his Steyr TMPs away, as well as taking off his fedora and glasses.

"Do you know who I am, Ginko Hoshikage?" He questioned her.

Ginko gasped in response. "You're Robert Page!"

"I am," Bob confirmed with a nod. "Call me Bob."

"But you're supposed to be dead, right?" Ginko questioned. "Or are you a CIA agent?"

"Definitely not from the CIA, I can assure you," Bob told her. "It's funny how people these days fall for information that's filled with lies. I expected a lot from you, Ginko, since you're a crime lord in Japan."

The crime lord glared. "How do you know about that!?"

"If the rumors were false, you wouldn't have armed men protecting you," Bob replied. "As well as bribing the police and the public, and having possession of billions of yen."

"Ms. Hoshikage!" A male voice said.

Bob and Ginko looked at the scared male who was wearing a suit.

"Run!" Ginko yelled at him.

With quick reaction time and reflexes, Bob flipped the chair Ginko was sitting in and quickly drew out his Steyr TMP and fired at the scared male.

Pewpewpewpewpewpewpew!

He shot him all over the chest. His body lay with the rest of the corpses.

Knowing Bob didn't have much time left, he needed to abduct Ginko right now.

Ginko was quickly getting up and attempted to attack Bob, but the latter had the upper hand and performed an uppercut at her, then tossed her in the air and landed on a table, shattering the table as well as the glass cups into pieces.

Bob quickly held her down as he sedated her with a syringe. Ginko started to lose consciousness but was able to say a few words to the man.

"W-what is...going on?"

"I'm taking you far away from home," Bob told her.

---

Aeon

Hours have passed, and Ginko found herself in a room, restrained on a bed with her mouth taped. Minutes after she woke up, she saw a scientist entering and began to roll her bed down a hall.

They arrived at a cryo room filled with cryo pods. Ginko spotted Bob Page, and his soldiers, who were wielding G11 assault rifles.

The soldiers were holding onto people from various countries who were abducted, such as young and elderly people, teenagers, police officers, parents, politicians, etc. They were about to put them into cryo pods.

One of the parents, a female parent with long brown hair, attempted to fight off the soldiers.

"Hands off of me!" She told them. She glared at Bob. "What the fuck is going on!?"

"You used PeopleLog," Bob answered.

Ginko was released from her bed restraints and then restrained by Bob's soldiers. She watched the events in front of her unfold.

Bob continued. "All of you used the app PeopleLog, which is why all of you are here. And all of you are about to become brand new people who will eventually be sold."

"S-sold!?" An overweight young male with short, dark red hair responded in shock.

"We're about to become slaves!?" A blonde, side ponytail young female asked in fear.

"For a while, until a change happens," Bob told her. He then spoke to everyone again. "For anyone curious, my name is Bob Page. Please let me know if you want no part in this. That decision is not recommended since it involves assisted suicide."

"Wait!" A male police officer said as he raised his hand. "You're Bob Page?!"

"Pay attention, officer." Bob scolded him.

"How are you alive!?" An elderly female asked.

"I survived," Bob answered, though it wasn't a legitimate answer. "Any more questions?"

"Can I go home?" A female teenager with long black hair asked.

"Sure," Bob answered. He pulled out his gun, a Detonics Combat Master that had a strike-face compensator muzzle device.

He fired it, shooting her in the head.

BANG!

Everyone gasped as Bob spoke.

"I made an example out of someone," Bob bragged to everyone. "If you want to die before you go into your cryo pod, please let me know. It'll be a quick one."

Everyone screamed as they tried to fight off the soldiers, which made the soldiers strike them back harder by punching them in the face and forcibly shoving them into the cryo pods.

Ginko was forcibly moved and shoved into a cryo pod.

"No, don't! Don't put me in here!" She begged.

"Beggars can't be choosers," Bob responded to her. "When you get purchased soon, you'll become a brand new woman."

Ginko's begging was ignored, and she was put into the cryo pod.

The soldiers dragged the dead female teenager's body out of the cryo room. While that was going on, Bob received a call from Oddjob. He answered it.

"Yes?"

"Bob? We've secured Robotnik's technology and his brain." Oddjob informed him.

---

Rosmont

The sun was rising above the Rosmont Compound at the outskirts of Highfalcon. A male security guard dressed in dark tactical clothing was wielding a Heckler & Koch MP5K as he patrolled the compound.

Then he suddenly stopped moving as he became stunned when the power in the compound was suddenly disabled. He and all of the guards in the compound became alerted and hoped it was just an ordinary, unexpected power outage.

The guard looked around his surroundings and aimed his submachine gun around searching for any possible intruders.

And then, his head was sliced off by a flying bowler hat.

Blood shot out of the dead guard’s body as it dropped to the ground, with blood spreading on the ground in front of his corpse.

Oddjob was the one who killed him. He was here to steal Robotnik’s technology. He hid behind a small, empty building in the compound.

Bob also sent Dolma Sinha and his soldiers to assist Oddjob, as the former knew this wasn’t going to be a one-man job.

Oddjob had his Golden Gun in his hand as he moved towards his bowler hat.

The noise of footsteps gained Oddjob’s attention, and he turned to the source of the noise. His eyes caught a Rosmont security guard, who caused the former to fire his Golden Gun at him.

BANG!

The security guard got shot in the chest and dropped his MP5K on the ground as his body fell and died.

Oddjob grabbed his bowler hat off the ground and placed it back on, then looked at Dolma, who was wielding her bow & arrow and standing on a guard tower after she killed the security guard with her weapon.

The bowler hat man raised his hand in the air as he looked at Dolma and formed a number zero, signaling her that the spot in the compound is cleared and ready to engage.

Dolma nodded and jumped off the tower as she performed a flip and landed on the ground flawlessly. She sprinted to the facility of the compound and infiltrated.

---

Inside a facility of the Rosmont Compound, the interior was dark due to the power outage, including the underground where Robotnik’s technology was stored. Originally, the evil doctor’s technology was highly secured in Rosmont, but because of the power outage, the high security system was gone.

Bob Page’s group had all of this planned out and knew exactly what they were doing and where to go, and that was all thanks to Daniel Montgomery.

Dolma was able to enter by climbing through a window. She was now in a dark corridor. The girl placed night vision goggles on and used the goggles as an advantage to sneak around the interior of the warehouse.

The Padar princess heard footsteps from the Rosmont security. She stood against a wall in the hall.

“Hostile infiltration in progress!” One of the security guards said.

Dolma took a quiet, deep breath as she peeked and noticed a group of guards armed with MP5Ks.

As the footsteps got closer to Dolma’s position, she began to engage and shoot her arrows at the guards.

The guards noticed and fired.

RATATATATATATATATATATATA!

Dolma dodged all of their bullets as she moved her body around and fought back by sending arrows into their bodies. Many of the guards screamed in violent pain from the deadly arrows from the Padar princess.

She kept her focus on killing the guards and finishing them off. She then ran down the hall and heard more footsteps from the Rosmont security, which caused her to hide.

Her ears caught loud gunfire from the Rosmont security and Bob's soldiers.

RATATATATATATATATATATATAATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATAATATATA!

Bob Page’s soldiers breached the facility and gunned down the security guards with their Heckler & Koch G11s. Dolma joined with them and assisted them by shooting her arrows at the guards.

A lone Rosmont security guard from behind aimed his Heckler & Koch MP5K at Dolma and Bob’s soldiers as he slowly moved in the dark corridor. When he was about to fire his submachine gun at all of them, Dolma heard him from behind and immediately shot him with her arrow in the face and killed him.

The group found an elevator that led to the ground. The captain of the squad spoke to the group.

“This is the entrance to the underground.” He told them.

After the captain pressed the button to call the elevator, everyone got inside and went to the underground area of Rosmont.

---

In a different area at Rosmont, a group of soldiers entered a warehouse that was filled with semi trucks and containers. Their focus was stealing the semi trucks, storing Robotnik’s technology in the containers, and connecting it to the semi trucks.

As the soldiers spotted the security guards, they opened fire at them, not giving them a chance to strike back.

RATATATATATATATATATATATAATATATAATATATATATATATATA!

One security guard from above saw the soldiers and aimed down at one of the them and wounded them as he fired.

RATATATATA!

The soldiers immediately reacted and saw the security guard above aiming his MP5K at them. The guard attempted to continue firing at the soldiers but was shot to death.

RATATATATATATATATATATA!

The soldiers saw his body falling off the rail.

The captain of the soldiers spoke to them. “Keep searching for any more security! And heal him!” He ordered them.

The medic in the group quickly healed his comrade and helped him up while the squad of soldiers scanned the warehouse for any more security to neutralize.

---

In an office room of the warehouse, finding out that the alarms were disabled in the Rosmont compound, the male manager, who was wearing a business shirt, was quickly trying to use a backup device to reach out to Highfalcon PD for help, but he wasn’t quick enough.

The manager pulled out his Glock 17 pistol as he heard bodies falling on the floor outside of his office.

The manager aimed his Glock at the entrance of his office as his body trembled.

CRASH!

The door in the office was kicked open by a soldier. The manager quickly opened fire on him and the soldiers with him.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The manager kept firing until he ran out of bullets, but he was able to kill one of the soldiers and then wound another soldier.

As the other soldiers heard him reloading his gun, they immediately entered the office and gunned down the manager.

RATATATATATATATATATATATAATATATATATATATA!

The soldiers looked at the corpse of their comrade while the wounded soldier was being healed by the medic.

“Do we leave him here or take him with us?” One of the soldiers asked.

“Can’t afford to leave his corpse here.” The captain replied. He looked at his group. “Two of you, hold on to his body. We’ll regroup with Oddjob, Dolma, and the others.”

---

Inside the Rosmont facility, in a hallway, Oddjob, who fired his Golden Gun at a guard and shot him right in the eye, causing blood to pour out of his face as he fell to the floor.

The bowler hat man walked down the hall as he reloaded by inserting another deadly bullet into the Golden Gun.

Suddenly, from behind, a door was kicked open by a Rosmont Security Guard, which made Oddjob perform a 180-degree fast spin, and fired the gun at him and killed him.

BANG!

Then, from behind, a guard ran towards him down the hall, which prompted Oddjob to throw his bowler hat at him, slicing horizontally half of his body.

Oddjob moved towards his hat while reloading his Golden Gun. Then a voice from his communicator spoke to him.

“Oddjob? This is Dolma.”

“Is it all clear?” Oddjob responded. “Has the technology been taken?”

---

In the underground area of Rosmont, there were many corpses of the guards all over the futuristic style corridors, and the futuristic style of the room where all of Robotnik’s technology was stored.

Dolma responded as she watched the soldiers carrying the technology, including the brain.

“Yes, sir, all of the guards and the employees in the underground are eliminated. Robotnik's technology and his brain are being taken.”

“Good. Bob Page will be proud.”

Not for long. Dolma thought.

And now, commencing Operation New Reality.

Chapter 28: ACT 3 - Chapter 2

Mushroom City, Mushroom Kingdom

Inside a bedroom in the castle, Franziska Von Karma was in a bed in a guest bedroom and woke up as she moaned. No alarm clock woke her up, only the lighting in the room getting brighter thanks to the sunny weather outside.

Throughout the days after getting rescued in Thunder Valley, Franziska had the best sleeps of her life and surprisingly had zero foolish nightmares, but that didn’t mean she had zero dreams.

She had a wholesome dream, a dream featuring Mario who saved her from being killed by Bowser. And together, they both killed him. Franziska strangled Bowser to death with her whip while Mario shoved his fists into his body and ripped out all of his intestines.

Sure, this wasn’t a wholesome dream since it was so violent, but thanks to Mario, Franziska was grateful for the foolish, naive former plumber for getting her out of her comfort zone and having her be involved in these silly, action-packed adventures.

Before she got off the bed, she saw three things lying next to her: Her whip, her Super Star plushie, and a note from Mario, which said

“Welcome back, Franziska! I’m happy you’re alive! I know we haven't spoken since your rescue, but I've been trying to find your whip that I took with me to Thunder Valley to pay tribute to you, and I finally found it. I couldn't be more thankful for meeting you, Franziska. I love you.

-Mario"

Franziska formed a smile. She was happy to be back.

She got off her bed, approached the window in the bedroom, and opened the curtains. She saw a sunny sky and the landscape outside, as well as the Mushroom City buildings from a distance.

She was happy to be out of that foolish cell that she had been in for too long. It was time to start her day by seeing Mario and her “little brother”, Miles Edgeworth.

---

Franziska held her whip as she walked down the hall of the castle. Hey, eyes caught picture frames that featured Mario as well as him with others, such as Wario and Waluigi, Yoshi, Princess Peach, Donkey Kong, Luigi, and Toad.

The prosecutor knew the plumber made a lot of friends during his time in Mushroom City, then lost a majority of them during the Mushroom Kingdom War, and losing Princess Peach two years after the war ended. This was her first time seeing the pictures since she was more occupied resting after getting rescued.

“Excuse me?”

Franziska looked at the person who said her name. It was Toad who was walking towards her with a smile.

“You must be Mario’s girlfriend, Franziska von Karma, right?” Toad asked as he smiled.

Franziska blushed as she looked away. “Uh, yes. That's correct.”

“Haha!” Toad laughed. “No need to blush! I’m Toad, Mario’s best friend and ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom! Pleasure to meet you!”

“Likewise,” Franziska replied with a nod. “Mario mentioned you to me before.”

“Yeah, he told me both of you bonded and stuff,” Toad said. “He also told me you helped him in some situations, like stopping an invasion in Highfalcon.”

Franziska nodded in confirmation and looked at the picture that showed Princess Peach.

“This was Princess Peach, correct?” She asked Toad.

“Yeah, that was her,” Toad answered with a sad smile, looking at the picture. “She was amazing. She was brave, kind, and showed a lot of determination to stop Bowser’s army during the Mushroom Kingdom War. She and Mario loved each other a lot. Has he uh...”

“Did he mention her murder to me? Yes, he has.” Franziska told him with a nod. “Has he mentioned a man named Bob Page? The foolish man who sent Dolma Sinha to kill her?”

“Yeah, he told me about that.” Toad nodded. “Mario told me a lot of stuff was going on, and he wanted me to keep this private from the public.”

“Why?” Franziska raised an eyebrow

“He wanted to handle this himself with his friends, including you.” Toad smiled. “He told me a lot of what this Bob Page guy is plotting, as well as being responsible for Princess Peach’s murder. The citizens in Mushroom City and the entire Mushroom Kingdom just want to live peacefully, so Mario believed it’s not worth panicking the public.”

Franziska understood. She knew innocent lives were lost during the war that the Mushroom Kingdom had to endure. So she knew it wasn’t worth worrying the public even more.

“I understand.” She nodded. “Do you know where Mario is?”

“Yeah, he’s at the cemetery.” Toad looked at the picture of Peach again. “He’s visiting her. OH!”

Toad exclaimed, which made Franziska flinch.

“What is it?” The latter asked.

“The whip you’re holding,” Toad remarked as he looked at it. “Yeah, Mario told me he brought the whip with him to fight against Robotnik’s army, but ended up losing it after he was captured. But sometime after you were rescued, he went to search for it and found it. And he also told me you tried to whip him because he dropped charges on-“

“Don’t remind me.” Franziska glared at him. “But yes, that did happen. And I read the note from Mario.”

Toad nervously laughed. “Haha, w-well hopefully all is forgiven, right? Right?”

“Maybe.” Franziska frowned. She walked away.

---

At the Mushroom City cemetery, Mario was crouched in front of Princess Peach’s grave. The grave was on a hill in the cemetery, and it showed a big statue of Princess Peach.

Mario spoke as he looked up at the statue. He began to talk about what's been happening.

“Ever since your tragic passing, a lot of things have happened. A man named Dr. Ivo Robotnik attempted to invade Highfalcon by turning the residents into goblins. After my friends and I defeated him, he attempted to get revenge on us by destroying Highfalcon and the Mushroom Kingdom.”

“We found out who was responsible for getting you murdered. A man named Bob Page sent Padar Princess Dolma Sinha to the Mushroom Kingdom to kill you. Bob is located at this place known as ‘Aeon’, but we-a don’t know where it's located; however, we’re-a hoping we’ll find out and kill this man. This is not just about avenging your death; it’s also about saving everyone. Bob is planning to obtain all of Robotnik's technology, and who knows what he'll do with it.”

Mario stopped and blinked his eyes as he felt possible tears forming.

“I’m-a still alive, Princess Peach, and uh, I met someone, a woman named Franziska von Karma. She’s-a very special person to me. She has a unique personality, and I always enjoy being around her. I thought she had a tragic passing at first. When I learned about it, it made me think about you. I thought I was cursed. But then I found out she was still alive. I pushed people away, but I’m-a not going to do that anymore, because I know you wouldn’t want that, neither does Luigi, Astolfo, Lupin the 3rd, Toad, and everyone.”

Mario stood up as he continued to look up at the statue of Princess Peach. “I will be visiting the Mushroom Kingdom again once a month. I’ll come back to you to see how you’re doing. Goodbye, Princess Peach.”

Mario turned around and saw Franziska von Karma standing in front of him.

“F-Franziska?” Mario stuttered.

“Hello, Mario,” Franziska replied with a nod.

“So uh, you heard all of that?” Mario wondered.

“I apologize for the intrusion.” Franziska apologized as she looked down.

“Oh no, no, there’s no need to apologize,” Mario reassured her. He smiled, “I’m-a glad you’re here!”

“You are?”

“Yeah!” Mario nodded with a smile. “I want you to meet Princess Peach.”

Franziska moved and stood next to Mario as both of them looked up at Princess Peach’s statue.

Franziska bowed as she spoke. “Hello, Princess Peach. My name is Franziska von Karma.”

She looked at the statue. “When I first met Mario and his brother Luigi, I thought they were foolish. But then, they started to foolishly grow on me. And Mario became so kind to me, and it made me develop these feelings that I never thought I would ever develop.”

She bowed again. “I promise, Princess Peach, I will keep Mario protected from foolish enemies, and stop him from being so foolish, and I promise I won’t be a foolishly foolish woman and break his heart.”

She stared at the statue once again. "Mario changed me, made me fully nice. And because of that, I couldn’t be more grateful. If I do anything wrong to Mario, please curse me.”

Mario gasped with his eyes widened. “Mama Mia, Franziska there’s-a no need for curses! We-a might argue, but that’s-a life and it’s-a okay.”

“Sorry,” Franziska replied. “Princess Peach, no disrespect, I’m in love with Mario. He’s the kindest person I’ve ever met, and when I tried to whip him for dropping the charges on this foolish assassin who tried to kill us, we bonded, and he made me open up to him. Again, I couldn’t be more grateful for meeting him. He is still allowed to love you, because our loved ones who passed on are still in our hearts.”

She breathed as she closed her eyes and began to think about her father, Manfred von Karma. “Including my father.”

She opened her eyes and bowed one last time. “Take Care, Princess Peach.” She and Mario looked at each other.

“Do you really mean that?” Mario asked.

“I may despise and hold a grudge against Manfred, but no matter what, he was my father and part of me still loves him,” Franziska explained. “And I know you still love Princess Peach. She’s still in your heart, and that’s okay. She wants you to be happy. And I believe she knows you’re happy.”

Mario almost broke down and cried because of Franziska’s deep response. The prosecutor noticed. She held his hand.

“You got a shoulder to cry on.” She offered with a smile.

“Thank you, Franziska.” Mario emotionally smiled at her. “Maybe one day I will. Let’s-a go.”

With that, Mario and Franziska walked away from Princess Peach’s grave.

In the sunny sky, the face of Princess Peach formed and smiled at Mario and Franziska.

“Take care, Mario and Franziska von Karma.”

---

Mario and Franziska walked together on a path through a forest and onto a field where the castle was in the distance.

Franziska spoke. “I like this place. It’s peaceful than that foolish city, Highfalcon.”

“I reckon you don’t-a like Highfalcon that much?”

“No, it’s not that.” Franziska shook her head. “This place is calmer than that city, as tons of foolishness happen there every day, which Highfalcon is known for. But, I don’t regret moving there.”

She placed her hand on Mario’s chest and stopped him from moving. She stood in front of him.

“If I didn’t travel to Highfalcon to redeem my prosecuting career, I wouldn’t have met you, Mario.”

The prosecutor held the former plumber’s hand again, then proceeded to wrap herself with Mario with her whip.

Mario became surprised. “Whoa, Mama Mia Franziska! W-why are you tying ourselves up?”

Franziska blushed. “I, I don't know, I just want to stay close to you, Mario.” She lay her head on his shoulder. “I love you so much, my foolish emotions are driving me foolishly crazy with foolishness.”

Mario chuckled. “I love you too, Franziska.”

Franziska closed her eyes as she hummed. "Thank you for finding my whip, but you didn't need to do that."

"I wanted to," Mario replied with a smile. "Because I know how much that whip means to you."

"One day I might move on from it." Franziska believed.

Then suddenly, thanks to the whip wrapped around them, they both lost balance.

Mario and Franziska both yelped as they fell to the ground.

From a distance away from the two, three people were hiding behind a tree: Miles Edgeworth, Kay Faraday, and Dick Gumshoe. They were spying on Mario and Franziska.

Kay was laughing at what she saw. “Hahahaha! A couple falling by accident is always hilarious!”

“Hahaha, I guess it is hahahaha!” Gumshoe laughed with her.

“And I guess it’s not,” Edgeworth replied to them with a frown. “All I wanted to do was go see Franziska and catch up with her, not this childish spying you forcefully got me involved in. I’m talking to you, Kay Faraday.”

“But don’t you wanna give him your approval, sir?” Gumshoe asked him.

“I’ll think about it, Gumshoe,” Edgeworth said to him. “After we rescued Mario with 47 and Lupin, Mario told me he had feelings for her, and it looks like it went well when they confessed their feelings. All I need to know is if Mario is worth it for her.”

“Geez! Obviously, he is! What are you, a goofball!?” Kay asked him.

“Are you asking me or yourself?” Edgeworth asked her

Kay stuck her tongue out at him, then continued to spy on Mario and Franziska, but they were gone, which made Kay shocked.

“Hey, where did they go!?” She asked.

CRACK!

Kay and Gumshoe got spooked when they heard the crack of Franziska's whip, which hit the ground.

“Aaah!” The detective screamed. “F-Franziska!”

Franziska glared at the three with her hands on her hips.

Mario stood next to her, hoping she wouldn’t go ballistic on them.

“SO!” Franziska shouted. “Explain why the three of you foolish fools decided to become foolish fools by foolishly stalking me and Mario!”

“Not my idea, Franziska,” Edgeworth told her. He then formed a small smile. “It’s good to see you again.”

“We got a lot to talk about, Wedgieworth.” Franziska replied as she formed a smirk after calling him “Wedgieworth”.

Edgeworth gasped at that name. “What on earth!? How did you come up with that?”

“That foolish man, Dr. Robotnik,” Franziska answered.

“Of course he did.” Edgeworth sighed. First Edgy-Poo, Million Eggwill, and now...Wedgieworth.

“Maybe I’ll give you and Scruffy a wedgie for spying on Mario and I,” Franziska suggested with a smile.

Scruffy is Gumshoe’s nickname, which Franziska calls him.

Kay stood in front of Edgeworth and faced Franziska. “If anyone is gonna give Edgeworth a wedgie, they’ll have to get through me first!”

Franziska chuckled. “It’s good to see you, Ms. Faraday. Still hanging out with my ‘little brother' when he’s alone?”

Edgeworth responded. “Only whenever she forgets that it’s ‘Annoy Edgeworth Day’.” He looked at Mario. “Be honest, Mario. I've asked you this before, but I'm going to ask you again. Has Franziska whipped you?”

“She tried to, but-“

“But I kept missing!” Franziska interrupted as she felt irritated. She didn’t want Mario to continue answering as she believed that would require the latter to mention 47, the assassin she still despises.

Gumshoe looked at Mario. “Hey, pal, wanna have me lend you a hand in the future?”

“Sure!” Mario smiled.

"NO!" Franziska yelled at the detective, which made him and Mario flinch. "You're foolish scruffiness won't interfere with our activities!" She whipped the ground.

CRACK!

"Yes, Ma'am!" Gumshoes obliged.

Mario attempted to reason with the female prosecutor. "It's alright, Franziska-"

"No, it's not!" Franziska glared.

Mario slumped his shoulders. "Okay." At least he tried.

Edgeworth sighed. “Gumshoe, Highfalcon is out of your jurisdiction. You cannot make any arrests.”

“Yeah, I know, sir, but I wanna help somehow, just like helping the Mushroom Kingdom Army,” Gumshoe replied. “Please, sir?”

"The answer is no, Scruffy!" Franziska told him.

"Sorry, Gumshoe," Edgeworth said to the detective. "Franziska and Mario need to have their honeymoon."

"WHY YOU!" Franziska yelled as she attempted to whip her "little brother".

Mario quickly grabbed Franziska's arm and restrained her from whipping Edgeworth.

"Okey dokey, let's-a just calm down." He nervously said to Franziska as he heard her growling.

Edgeoworth chuckled. He was very happy to see Franziska again and still alive.

"Anyway, when will we return to Highfalcon?" He inquired.

“Pretty soon,” Mario answered. “I just want to spend time here in Mushroom City for a bit before I say goodbye to my friend Toad and everyone else. Oh, that reminds me, do you four wanna live with me, my brother, and our friends?”

“Why?” Edgeworth asked.

“Because we’re-a friends!” Mario grinned as he gave them a thumbs-up. “It’ll be a way for us and everyone to stick together!”

“Is there enough room, though?” Kay asked him.

“Well, there’s one bedroom unoccupied in the house,” Mario told her. “The bed can only fit one person, so one of you can take the bed and two of you can sleep on the floor.”

“I’ll take the bed.” Edgeworth nodded.

“No way, I’m not sleeping on the floor!” Kay shook her head. “What if a spider crawls on my face, or worse, a MOUSE!”

“Yeah, I don’t like spiders and mice!” Gumshoe said. “They scare me!”

“Not a problem, the two of you can sleep in the living room!” Mario suggested.

“Are you suggesting that one of us sleep on the couch!?” Kay glared at him.

“Uh, yeah, haha.” Mario nervously laughed.

Kay shook her head as she crossed her arms. “Nuh uh no way!”

“I don’t mind sleeping on the couch.” Gumshoe shrugged.

“I guess that means you’re sleeping on the floor, Kay,” Edgeworth smirked at her.

“Ugh, I'd rather sleep on a table.” Kay rolled her eyes. “There are no mice in the house, right?”

“Uh, there was one time when my brother Luigi screamed in the kitchen and jumped on the table when he saw a rat walking around-”

“A RAT!?!?!?” The group screamed in unison as they looked at Mario.

Mario flinched and trembled as he felt sweat. “Y-yeah, and 47 killed it by shooting his gun at it and tossing it into the garbage.”

“What kind of home is this?” Kay asked. “Does anyone clean the house?"

"Sometimes-

"SOMETIMES!?" Franziska shouted at Mario.

"Haha, y-yeah." Mario nervously nodded. "When Luigi and I moved into the home, we sometimes argued about cleaning, and it went nowhere. But we do throw away garbage that's in the house and wipe the dust off...sometimes, haha. Most of the time, Astolfo, 47, and Alex clean the house, then they scold us for not doing it ourselves."

"Who would blame them!?" Franziska glared at Mario. "I can't believe you and your foolish brother are incapable of cleaning your foolish house!"

Edgeworth frowned with his arms crossed. "We're about to move into an irresponsible home. Who else lives here besides your brother and the others you mentioned?”

“That's-a all!” Mario answered with a smile. He placed his hands together as he begged. “But please come live with us, please?”

“Hold on a second, Mario,” Franziska said to him. “Are you suggesting that I live in your foolish home where that foolishly foolish assassin fool lives?”

Mario gulped. “Yeah.”

Franziska viciously growled with a glare as she prepared her whip in front of the former plumber.

“Start running, Mario,” Edgeworth told him.

Mario was about to run for his life, but then he was stopped when his phone rang. He answered it.

“Hello? It’s-a me Mario!”

..........................................................

Mario frowned and became shocked. “When?”

..........................................................

“Okey dokey, my friends and I will return to Highfalcon as quickly as possible! Thank you, Chief Larvell Jones!”

He placed his phone away and looked at the concerned group. “Robotnik’s technology and his brain got stolen! Let’s-a go to the castle and warn them!”

“Not yet,” Franziska replied to him with a glare.

“Oh, right.” Mario swallowed. He then ran while Franziska chased him.

Edgeworth chuckled. “Honestly, I’ve missed her.” He said to the two with him.

The three watched Franziska chasing Mario while trying to whip him.

“Slow down so that I can whip you for being absolutely foolish!” Franziska yelled.

Chapter 29: ACT 3 - Chapter 3

At Mushroom City on the field near the castle, Franziska chased Mario and tried to whip him, but kept missing. She tried to whip him for suggesting to live in the Mario Brothers house with 47.

“Mama Mia, Franziska, I beg you!” Mario begged. “All I was doing was offering you to live with me, Luigi, and our friends!”

“I wouldn’t be trying to whip you for suggesting to live with that foolish creature named Agent 47!” Franziska yelled.

The chase around the field continued until Franziska started to feel tired and slow down. She then stopped and started panting.

Mario stopped as well and slowly approached the angry prosecutor.

“Franziska, I would absolutely love for you to live with us,” Mario said. “The house is not completed without you.”

“How...how on earth...are you so foolishly fast and so foolish?” Franziska asked him while panting. “I don’t think I can restrain myself from whipping that fool 47.”

“I’m sure you can,” Mario replied as he placed his hand on her shoulder. “And I know both of you can make peace. Besides, 47 doesn’t hate you.”

“That’s because he’s so foolishly careless and foolishly reckless,” Franziska remarked.

“But he-a saved my life from getting killed by that evil clone of you,” Mario recalled to her. “And he rescued us at Thunder Valley.”

“Yes, I remember,” Franziska said as her panting started to go away. “And he saved that foolish friend of yours, Astolfo, and me at that foolish building. AND he murdered that foolish man with my whip in front of us! How dare he foolishly turn my whip into a foolish murder weapon grrrrrrr!

The two began to argue.

Mario facepalmed. “Mama Mia, you’re-a still not over that?!”

“Never!” Franziska replied. “Foolish 47 will never use my whip to kill some foolish fool ever again!”

“So what else can he use if he has nothing?!” Mario asked.

“His foolish hands!” Franziska answered. “And how dare he foolishly train my ‘little brother’ on how to foolishly kill people with a foolish firearm!”

“But Edgeworth wanted to get involved!” Mario argued. “And he told you he wasn’t just killing people, he was also killing robots!”

“I don’t care!” Franziska retorted. “He should’ve said no and not put himself in foolish danger just to find the foolish truth!”

“Are you two going to endlessly argue like a bickering couple, or are we going to the castle?”

Mario and Franziska looked at Edgeworth, who stopped their argument and had his arms crossed. He was with Kay and Gumshoe.

“Unless you two want to stay here.” He added.

“Oh, right!” Mario laughed. “I’m-a sorry, Franziska, for getting you angry, again.”

Franziska didn’t respond and kept her glare on Mario.

Edgeworth looked at her. “Franziska, my silly ‘big sister’, what do you say?”

Franziska bowed to Mario as she replied. “I forgive you, Mario, again. And I’m sorry too for trying to whip you, again. If it makes you very happy, then I’ll live with you and the others in the foolish house.”

Mario jumped for joy. “Yay! Whahoo! Wonderful! Now, let’s-a-go!”

---

Rosmont

Mario and his friends bid farewell to Toad and quickly returned to Highfalcon.

Mario, Franziska, and Robocop arrived at Rosmont. The trio exited the 1974 Dodge Monaco and approached Chief Inspector Clouseau, who was there at the crime scene in the compound. They approached the inspector.

“Chief Inspector Clouseau,” Mario said his name.

“Ah, hello messieur Mario, messieur Alex Murphy, and madame Franziska von Karma!” Clouseau responded.

“Have you found any traces of the attackers?” Robocop asked.

“I have discovered this obscured bullet,” Clouseau answered as he showed the trio a bag that had a bullet from the Golden Gun.

“Let me run forensics,” Robocop offered.

Clouseau opened the bag and allowed Robocop to scan the bullet. After the latter was finished, he got the results.

Franziska looked at him. “Anything, Alex?”

“It’s a custom bullet that was used,” Robocop explained. “It’s not a common bullet, it’s from a custom gun identified as the Golden Gun.”

“Golden Gun?” Mario widened his eyes.

Franziska looked at Clouseau. “Are there any security footage of this foolish attack?”

“None, madame von Karma.” Clouseau shook his head. “The footage never recorded this past incident.”

“Great.” Mario sighed.

“By the way, messieur Mayor David Phillips is here and wants to speak to the three of you,” Clouseau told him.

He pointed to where the mayor was standing, which was at an open warehouse entrance with his bodyguards near him.

“Okey dokey, we’ll go talk to him,” Mario replied.

The group of three walked towards the mayor, who looked at them.

“Mario, Alex Murphy, Franziska von Karma!” Phillips smiled as he said their names. “It’s so good to see the three of you!”

Franziska responded. “Hello, mister Mayor David Phillips. Foolish Clouseau said you wanted to talk to us. Is that correct?”

“Yes,” Phillips confirmed with a nod. “There’s an office nearby. We’ll talk privately there.”

---

Inside an office, the group was now talking privately. The mayor’s guards were outside in the hall, guarding the entrance of the office to prevent anyone from interrupting this important private conversation.

The mayor was the first to speak.

“Mario, Alex, Franziska, I want to thank you guys for stopping Dr. Ivo Robotnik. I wish Luigi and whoever was involved were here for me to thank. But if you see them, tell them I said thank you.”

“You’re-a welcome, Mayor Phillips!” Mario smiled.

“I’m about to make a request. I want the three of you, including your friends, to find out who was behind this attack.” Phillips told them.

He then let out a regretful sigh. “I was hoping this wouldn’t happen. I thought that maybe this type of technology could be used to protect Highfalcon, but I was wrong. It’s not worth keeping. And I guess it's not worth keeping Robotnik's brain either.”

“Mayor Phillips, don’t foolishly blame yourself for this,” Franziska told him. “Besides, we have other problems.”

“Like what?”

Mario explained. “There’s a man named Bob Page, and he-”

“W-wait, what!?” The mayor stopped. “Bob Page? He’s dead.”

“You met this man before?” Robocop questioned.

“It was two years ago during my first year as mayor.” The mayor answered. “That man gave me bad vibes. He looked shady with those menacing red eyes of his that looked like they were showing a violent future event. Not to mention, augmentations on his head. Who knows what he's capable of!”

The trio felt like Bob Page was a bigger threat than Robotnik. And they believe that a violent future event was about to become real.

“Mayor Phillips, the foolish man Bob Page isn’t dead,” Franziska told him in a serious tone.

“Huh?” The mayor looked at her.

“My brother and I met someone who hacked into the Montgomery Industries servers to find encrypted calls and found one with Alan Montgomery and Bob Page,” Mario explained. “They talked about Dr. Robotnik and his technology.”

“And Bob Page is our prime suspect,” Robocop added.

“Alan Montgomery tried to set up a deal with Dr. Robotnik’s female associate and kill her, and obtain Robotnik’s technology she was possessing,” Franziska told the mayor. “But plans have changed when Mario’s fo- Mario’s friend killed Alan.”

“Not to mention, Bob Page is responsible for the murder of Princess Peach, and abducted the princess from the Kingdom of Padar, Dolma Sinha,” Mario mentioned. “And responsible for getting a woman named Fujiko Mine killed, who had an association with my best friend, Lupin the 3rd.”

It was a lot to process for the mayor. He sat down and took a deep breath as he closed his eyes. He wondered if something catastrophic was going to happen soon, not just in Highfalcon, but the entire world.

“Please work on stopping this.” Mayot Phillips told them. “The city of Highfalcon is in your debt, and so is the world. If all of you succeed in this, then the key to the city will be handed to you.”

“We'll work on stopping them, Mayor David Phillips!” Mario told him.

“We will not foolishly give up like foolish fools!” Franziska nodded at the mayor.

“All of them will be taken down!” Robocop declared.

Mayor David Phillips formed a thankful smile for them. “Thank you. And good luck.”

---

Inside the Mario Brothers house, Miles Edgeworth, Kay Faraday, and Dick Gumshoe were moving their luggage into the home.

Luigi and 47 assisted Edgeworth in carrying his belongings upstairs and to his room.

Astolfo was helping Kay and Gumshoe with their belongings.

“Hey, pal?” Gumshoe spoke to Astolfo. “Do you know where I should put my clothes?”

“Yeah, there’s a closet upstairs.” Astolfo smiled. “Down the hall to the left.”

“Thanks!” Gumshoe nodded with a smile. He ascended the stairs as he carried his clothes and walked down the hall.

Now it was just Astolfo and Kay in the living room.

“I’m sure the three of you will enjoy living here with us,” Astolfo said to Kay. “Silly things happen here every day.”

“Like spotting rats?” Kay replied.

“Oh, haha.” Astolfo nervously laughed. “Mario or someone told you, huh?”

“It was Mario, and he told us that 47 killed it,” Kay said. She then slowly formed a smile and kept herself from giggling.

Astolfo noticed. “Something funny? Tell me!” He grinned.

“Oh, it’s nothing!” Kay shook her, still trying not to giggle. “I’m just imagining me placing a rat next to Edgy while he’s asleep!”

Astolfo became disturbed by that imagination and hoped she was just joking around.

“Haha, you’re joking, right?” He asked.

“Hahaha yep!” Kay laughed. “Rats freak me out!”

“Me too!” Astolfo laughed with Kay.

“I’m glad rats freak you out, Kay,” Edgeworth said as he arrived with 47. Luigi was using the bathroom to work on his business in there. The prosecutor and the hitman walked down the steps.

“Ah, Edgy!” Kay reacted as she got startled, “Geez, you’re so sneaky when you arrive!”

Astolfo looked at 47 as he smiled. “Did you teach him how to be a sneaky man like you, 47?”

“No.” 47 answered. “I’ll be in the basement, or my ‘cave’ as Mario calls it.”

“Not so fast, 47!” Astolfo stopped him. “You stay here!”

“For what?” 47 asked.

“Socialize with us, that’s what!” Astolfo answered.

“We and everyone in this house have nothing in common.” 47 told him.

Kay responded to that. “So what!? You must’ve gotten sucked in by Miles Edgeworth’s grumpiness and his dumb stern demeanor!”

Edgeworth sighed and shook his head. Thanks for the nice comments on my personality.

“Yeah!” Astolfo sided with Kay. “We may have nothing in common, but that doesn’t mean you get to be quiet!”

47 and Edgeworth both sighed.

“Besides, you and Edgeworth have something in common that the great thief noticed!” Kay remarked.

“And what is that exactly? Killing people?” Edgeworth questioned.

“Nope!” Kay shook her head. “Both of you are so serious, intimidating, glaring, frowning, and all that stuff!”

“Yes, we discussed this before,” Edgeworth told her.

He was going to respond more, but the front door of the house opened, revealing Mario, Robocop, and Franziska.

“Hey, everyone!” Mario greeted them with a smile.

“We have to talk,” Franziska told them.

“It’s about the attack at Rosmont,” Robocop explained.

---

Everyone in the house gathered in the living room. Mario faced the people in front of them. He also contacted Lupin to have him and his friends show up for the news.

“Okey dokey, everyone!” Mario started. “Franziska, Alex, and I spoke to the mayor, who was at Rosmont and urgently requested all of us to locate Robotnik’s technology and his brain.”

Astolfo glared at Lupin. “Was it you, Lupin the 3rd!?” He pointed his finger. "Did you steal all of it?!

“W-what?!” Lupin widened his eyes.

“We didn’t steal any of it!” Jigen glared.

“Hahaha!” Astolfo laughed. “I know I was joking!”

CRACK!

“AH!” Astolfo screamed as he got whipped by Franziska.

“Foolish friend, don’t drag this conversation out with foolish jokes!” Franziska told him with a glare.

“Moving on, Bob Page is our suspect,” Robocop told everyone. “According to the conversation he had with Alan Montgomery, it’s likely he had a hired group to steal the technology and the brain.”

“And let’s not forget about Alan Montgomery’s son Daniel Montgomery.” Edgeworth reminded them. “Alan had a connection to Robotnik, but that was only to take advantage of him for Bob. And it's likely that Daniel has an involvement in this as well.”

“47?” Mario said his name. “Have you found any more relevant calls between Alan and Bob?”

“Not really.” 47 answered. “They hardly spoke to each other. There was one call when Bob told Alan to meet him at Aeon for an unknown discussion.”

“Oh yeah, that place that was mentioned in the call,” Astolfo remembered.

“Correct.” 47 nodded. “My contact is going to try to search for the location of Aeon.”

Ami offered to help. “May I help in locating this place?”

“Go ahead.” 47 nodded.

“Hello, Underworld?” Ami said. “Search for the location of Aeon.”

After waiting for the results of the location of Aeon, Underworld gave Ami zero results.

“Darn it!” Ami said with frustration. “Underworld couldn’t find anything about the location.”

“Sounds like this place is a codename.” Jigen believed.

“And very secretive as well,” Goemon replied.

Lupin placed his hand on Ami’s shoulder and smiled. “At least you tried.”

“I guess.” Ami sighed.

“Thanks for trying, Ami.” 47 said to her. He looked at Mario, Robocop, and Franziska. “Were there any leads to this attack?”

Robocop answered. “My forensics scanned a custom bullet that came from a custom gun called Golden Gun.”

“Wait! Golden Gun?!” Lupin widened his eyes.

“What do you know about this gun, Lupin?” Mario asked him.

“The gun was used by a dead assassin named Francisco Scaramanga,” Lupin explained. “The gun can kill anyone instantly, regardless of where the bullet lands.”

Luigi yelled as he felt fear. “AAAH! MARIO! THIS GOLDEN GUN WILL KILL ALL OF US!”

“Luigi, please, try to calm down,” Mario told him. “This Golden Gun is not gonna stop us."

“Luigi?” Goemon said his name. “Do you remember that man, John Wick, talking about him and Master Chief working undercover for Alan Montgomery because J. Jonah Jameson felt suspicious of him?”

“Oh yeah, I do!” Luigi nodded.

Edgeworth stepped in to ask Luigi. “Have you spoken to J. Jonah Jameson about that?"

“I have.” Luigi nodded. “It was some time before Alex killed Vanessa Nelson. Jameson showed me a picture of Alan Montgomery shaking hands with Oddjob.”

“I see.” Edgeworth nodded. “I would like to meet this man, J. Jonah Jameson.”

“He’s-a quite a busy man,” Luigi told him.

“People’s lives are at stake as we speak,” Edgeworth remarked. “I’m sure he’ll understand. I need to see if I can find more info about this Oddjob man. I know he formerly worked for a man named Auric Goldfinger and attacked Fort Knox years ago.”

"I have a copy of the picture of Alan and Oddjob." 47 replied to him. "I can hand it to you for you to take.”

“Thank you.” Edgeworth nodded.

“Mr. Edgeworth, sir?” Gumshoe said to him. “Would you like me to tag along with you?”

“Sure, Gumshoe.” Edgeworth nodded to him.

“Hey, don’t forget me!” Kay said to Edgeworth and Gumshoe. “Take me, take me!”

“Alright, alright, you can come,” Edgeworth replied to her. “As long as you don’t do anything immature and embarrass me.”

“Hey, I don’t act immature all the time, you Goofworth!” Kay pouted. “We can’t have the Unstoppable Trio without me!”

Honestly, you are right about that. It’s not the same without you. Edgeworth thought. And good lord, don’t call me Goofworth ever again. Where are these ridiculous nicknames of me coming from?

“We’re-a not just a trio, Kay Faraday!” Mario smiled at her. “We are the Unstoppable Heroes!”

“You’re right, Mario!” Kay nodded as he grinned. “We are the Unstoppable Heroes! Two brothers, two prosecutors, a detective, a femboy, a deadly assassin, a cyborg, a thief gang, and the great thief! All of us will find the truth and fight for it! We will take down this evil man named Bob Page once and for all!”

And with that, they all started to get to work. Since it was getting late, they decided to get a good night's sleep, then start their mission to find Robotnik’s brain and technology and hunt down Bob Page.

---

An unknown man was walking down a dark, empty street during the night and looked around to make sure no one was around to either kill him or make eye contact with him.

The coast is clear. He thought. Walking down this specific spot in the city of Highfalcon made me suspicious, as I had my Beretta 92FS pistols locked and loaded with me in case things started to get ugly. I had to watch my back.

When I was told to go to the payphone here, I thought it was a joke since payphones these days have massively declined in usage, but some surprisingly still exist.

The unknown man approached the payphone and inserted a coin, then dialed a number that was handed to him on a note.

The call was answered.

“Speak.” The unknown said on the phone.

“This is Max Payne.” He told them. “And who are you?”

“Daniel Montgomery.” He said. “I’m glad you’re not ignoring my request.”

“So who’s been bothering you?” Max asked.

“The Mario Brothers that’s who,” Daniel told him. “They’re going to ruin my plans. They’re going to tarnish my career. So all I want you to do is to kill them and anyone who gets in your way.”

“And my fee? I don’t work for free.”

“3,000,000 dollars.”

“That’s over my estimated fee, but it’s a deal. I’ll prepare tonight and start on killing them tomorrow morning.”

“Perfect. Don’t think about contacting me if you failed. You will not be paid upfront before I learn that you failed to kill them. Besides, that’s a waste of my money.”

Daniel hung up after that, not giving Max a chance to reply. The latter shrugged and walked away from the payphone.

What an entitled little shit. But whatever, I’m being paid to do this. The Mario Brothers were no strangers to the people in Highfalcon, since they, including some female prosecutor and Lupin the 3rd of all people, took down this weirdo named Dr. Ivo Robotnik, who attempted to turn people into goblins. This makes me wonder if this so-called doctor binge-watched cartoons every single second of his life.

Max Payne pulled out his two Beretta 92FS pistols and looked at them.

The Mario Brothers won’t be brothers anymore.

Chapter 30: ACT 3 - Chapter 4

The start of the next day arrived. Franziska requested her “little brother” Miles Edgeworth, to have a sibling time with her at the park. The latter agreed. He wanted to catch up with her.

The two walked in the park as Franziska held her whip, but the two prosecutors weren’t talking much until Edgeworth spoke.

“So who’s going to talk? Or are we just going to walk?” Edgeworth asked rhetorically.

“Is my foolish ‘little brother’ trying to rhyme?” Franziska giggled.

Edgeworth became surprised by Franziska’s friendly giggle, as he hadn’t heard something like that in a long time.

“You have changed.” He remarked. “I can already tell.”

“You’re right, lit- Miles, ” Franziska admitted, stopping herself from calling him little brother. “I have changed. We both did.” She looked up at the sunny sky. “Though the old me is still in there. You, Scruffy, Kay, saw me chasing Mario and trying to whip him for being foolish. Like I've done to Scruffy in the past.”

Franziska stopped moving as she remembered something that had happened earlier today.

"Miles?" She said his name. "I have to tell you something that happened earlier. It was funny and foolish."

---

FLASHBACK

Inside the living room of the Mario Brothers house. Franziska walked down the stairs and saw 47, who was sitting in a chair reading a book. She made plans to talk to him and make peace with him, like Mario suggested to her.

But Astolfo stopped her as he approached her with a grin.

“Franziska Franziska Franziska!” He said her name to her.

“What?” Franziska responded with annoyance. “Can you say my name once instead of foolishly three times?”

Astolfo pointed his finger at Robocop as he walked into the living room towards them.

“I requested Alex to tell a joke to us, and he said yes!” He told her.

“So this is your foolish idea?” Franziska asked.

“Yeah!” Astolfo nodded.

“And is it going to be funny instead of being a foolish, unfunny foolish joke?”

“Yeah!”

“Okay, foolish friend of the Mario Brothers, I’ll hear the joke.”

“Awesome!” Astolfo turned to 47. “And you’re here too, 47! You’re gonna laugh, I know you will!”

“Can a man read a book in peace?” 47 asked.

Astolfo pouted. “Oh, come on, at least listen to the joke!”

47 sighed. “I guess I don’t have a choice.”

Astolfo looked at Robocop. “Okay Alex, begin!”

“Okay,” Robocop responded. He looked at the female prosecutor. “Franziska von Karma, you call Detective Dick Gumshoe ‘Scruffy’. Is that correct?”

Franziska felt confused at the question but answered. “Yes, that’s correct.”

Robocop began the joke. “What is another name for Dick Gumshoe? Scruffy Dick. Ha ha ha ha ha.”

Franziska restrained herself from laughing at that foolish joke, but the restraint was too weak as her body fought through everything to force the female prosecutor to laugh.

“Hahahahahahaha!” Franziska laughed.

Astolfo laughed with her as he thought the joke was hilarious.

47 shook his head as he sighed and placed his hand on the side of his face. He hoped one day he would be able to read a book in peaceful silence, filled with zero immaturity in front of him.

So stupid, Astolfo. The hitman thought.

---

“Haha, I never laughed that much in a long time hahaha!” Franziska told Edgeworth as she laughed.

Edgeworth formed a smile as he looked at Franziska. “Yes, you have entirely changed Franziska von Karma.”

The female prosecutor ended her laugh and responded. “It was thanks to you, and Mario, and his foolish friends, I guess. That conversation we had at the hanger made me reflect on my ways of being a prosecutor. I knew I could redeem the von Karma name and get a perfect win record without trying to do corrupted dirty tricks like what Manfred taught us.”

Edgeworth was about to respond, but Franziska had more to say.

“When I learned the truth about him, for what he did to your father, I felt guilty, guilty for not trying to stop it.” Franziska kept herself from crying while feeling emotional.

She bowed to Edgeworth and apologized. “I’m sorry, Miles Edgeworth, for what Manfred has done to your father.”

Edgeworth didn’t see this coming, but he knew his father's death wasn’t Franziska’s fault.

After Franziska's bow was finished, Edgeworth placed his hand on her shoulder.

“It’s not your fault, Franziska.” He told her as he looked at her. “I forgive you. I don’t want to hold a grudge against you after missing you for a year after you departed Los Angeles.”

The two gave each other a sibling hug. Franziska felt happy that she had made peace with Edgeworth and no longer held a grudge against him.

After the hug, Edgeworth spoke.

“I thought that conversation at the hangar was our final one when I learned about you’re private jet crashing into the Pacific Ocean,” Edgeworth said to her. “It made me emotional and isolated. I wanted to stay away from everyone, until Kay and Phoenix broke me into tears as I hugged them.”

“You should be grateful for them being in your life, Miles,” Franziska told him. “When Mario told me how much he missed me when we reunited at the foolish diabolical cell from foolish Robotnik, it made me break down in tears because of how kind and caring he was towards me. He missed me very much, and I'm thankful.”

“We are both crybabies,” Edgeworth remarked with a smirk.

Franziska chuckled. “I guess we are!”

They continued to walk and decided to sit on a bench.

“How are Phoenix and Maya doing?” Franziska asked.

“They’re doing good,” Edgeworth answered. “Maya begged me to spend time with them, but I refused, so Kay forced me to go.”

“It must’ve been a lot of fun.” Franziska guessed.

“I admit, it was fun,” Edgeworth admitted. “During our hangout, Phoenix showed me an article about you.” He looked at her. “You won a reward. I saw the picture and video of you, the Highfalcon PD chief, and the mayor.”

Franziska nodded. “Honestly, I never thought something like that would happen.”

“I knew you didn’t get that reward by being corrupted like Manfred.” Edgeworth said, “You got it by going through redemption and finding the truth in legal ways. I’m proud of you, Franziska.”

“Thanks, Miles.” Franziska smiled.

---

At the front yard of the Mario Brothers house, Mario was working on the garden with 47.

“So I heard laughing going on in the living room.” Mario brought up. “What was so funny?”

“A joke.” 47 answered. “A joke that Astolfo wanted Alex to make about Dick Gumshoe being called ‘Scruffy Dick’. This immature joke made Franziska laugh hysterically with Astolfo.”

“Oh, haha!” Mario laughed. “Too bad I missed it!”

“Don’t regret missing it.” 47 replied.

The two continued with the gardening, but what they didn’t know was that someone from a distance was standing on a sidewalk who was watching them.

Max Payne was looking at Mario and noticed 47 with him. He was surprised as he saw the bald hitman.

Well, I'll be damned, it’s Agent 47. My vision noticed the barcode on the back of his bald head. I came to terms with the fact that he’ll have to be killed first since he’s the deadliest killing machine on planet Earth.

Some conspiracy theorists believe Agent 47 is an extraterrestrial alien in disguise, while others believe he’s a genetically-enhanced human clone from an experimental project. The latter is true. My entitled client didn’t mention 47 being associated with the Mario Brothers. If he knew, and this was a setup, I’m going to promise myself to give Daniel Montgomery a violent ass kicking, and it will be a mess.

Max continued to sneak a stare at Mario and 47. He kept his eyes on Mario.

Mario might give me a violent ass kicking. He might kill me. If he does, then I get to reunite with my deceased wife, Michelle, and my deceased daughter, Rose.

I learned about Mario being involved in a war in the Mushroom Kingdom that lasted for four years, from 2019 to 2023. His brother was also in the war. And they fought together against Bowser’s army. It was a bloodbath, according to people who talk about it. Tons of deaths all over the country.

Max noticed Mario’s 1974 Dodge Monaco parked on the driveway, which was the only car parked there.

The car parked on the driveway made me believe it was Mario’s car. I know it’s not the hitman's, since I know he’s not stupid enough to park his car at the home like a sore thumb that stands out.

I don’t know who’s in the house, but I’ll know when someone attempts to stop me by barging outside. They’ll be dead in an instant.

He pulled out his Beretta 92FS pistols and walked towards the Mario Brothers house.

It was time for me to get into action and assassinate Mario and 47, and possibly Luigi if he’s here. If not, then it’ll be hunting season for him. Luigi Season. It won’t be hard for me to find him and make him cry and beg for mercy like a baby.

But I don’t offer someone mercy, because it’s not for sale.

Max Payne aimed his Berettas at Mario and 47.

And he was about to fire his guns.

But thanks to 47’s superb hearing, he quickly turned around and aimed his Silverballers at Max. As his eyes quickly noticed the dual-wielding Berettas being aimed at him and Mario, he immediately opened fire.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Max reacted and activated Bullet Time.

Everything was now in slow motion as Max Payne dodged 47’s bullets as he side dived and fired his Berettas at the bald assassin, who also dodged the former’s bullets and side dived while firing his Silverballers at Max.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Mario’s jaw dropped as his eyes widened, not expecting something like this to happen.

“Maaaamaaaa Miaaaaaaa!” Mario screamed in slow motion. He pulled out his AMT AutoMag V and assisted 47 while firing his pistol at Max.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The slow motion Bullet Time ended. Mario and 47 continued firing their guns at Max while avoiding getting shot by the latter. Their bullets collided with each other, not to mention hitting the windows of the neighbors' homes and their parked cars.

Speaking of neighbors and parked cars, the Lupin Gang’s bright yellow 1965 Fiat 500 F got shot as the bullet collided with the car. Then, Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon appeared out of the house.

Lupin and Jigen fired their guns at Max. Lupin's Walther P38 and Jigen's Smith & Wesson Model 19.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Bullet Time came back for Max, then he dodged their bullets and returned fire at the two men, including Mario and 47. He was also firing his Berettas at Goemon, but the samurai swung his Zantetsuken sword at the Beretta bullets and sliced them up.

And then, the five men with the guns ran out of ammo.

Wow, we all ran out of bullets. Max remarked. Too bad there's no video game cheat to give us infinite ammo in real life.

I knew this hit would go sideways, all because of 47 and the neighbors next door. Two Japanese men in suits and a samurai who flawlessly sliced my bullets. I couldn't tell if that sword came from a crazy fantasy world.

I was now in a fight or flight situation, and I quickly had to make a decision.

I hated the cowardly decision I made. I became a coward and ran.

Max Payne started running.

47, along with Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon, were about to chase him but were stopped by Mario.

“I’ll go after him, you guys!” Mario told him. “Contact our friends!”

“At least let us help you take this guy down.” 47 replied.

“Yeah, we’ll kick his ass together!” Jigen told Mario.

Knowing that arguing with his friends would be a waste of time since Max was running down the neighborhood and was quite far away, Mario had to accept the assistance.

“Let’s-a go!” Mario nodded at them. “But I want him alive so I can arrest him!”

“Okay.” 47 nodded back.

Together, Mario, 47, Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon chased Max in the neighborhood.

They all chased him down the street. Max Payne jumped over fences and ran through the backyards of the homes. 47 and the Lupin Gang men jumped over the fences as well, while Mario crashed through them as he continued to run.

The neighbors looked out the window and saw Mario and his friends chasing Max by jumping from roof to roof of the houses, as well as jumping on parked cars.

---

“I just can't comprehend how Mario can be so foolishly naive and so foolishly kind to everyone!” Franziska ranted. She and Edgeworth were still sitting on the bench at the park.

Her rant continued. “How can Mario live his life being so foolish enough to let a hired foolish hitman who tried to kill us live with him and his foolish brother and foolish friends!?”

Edgeworth quickly responded. “I’m sure your next question will be ‘how can Mario be so foolishly kind to me after I tried to whip him twice?’”

“Exactly!” Franziska nodded, “You’re a mind reader, Miles Edgeworth!”

The prosecutors noticed something happening in the park. What they saw was Mario, 47, and the Lupin Gang trio, chasing Max Payne.

Edgeworth stood up as he saw the chase. “It’s Mario, 47, Lupin, and his two accomplices!” He noticed.

Franziska stood up and stood next to Edgeworth. “And they’re chasing a foolish man!”

“Let’s help them!” Edgeworth told Franziska.

The two prosecutors ran towards Mario and his friends and assisted them in chasing Max. Both of them caught up to the former plumber.

Franziska spoke to Mario as she ran with him. “What’s going on? Who’s this foolish man we’re chasing?”

“We don’t-a know,” Mario responded. “47 and I were working on gardening, then suddenly 47 turned around and had a gun fight with this guy. Lupin, Jigen, Goemon, and I helped him.”

“So did 47 decide it was the day to act foolish like a foolish fool?” Franziska wondered.

47 responded to her words. “Let’s focus on stopping this man and end the childish remarks.”

Lupin saw Max entering a subway station. “He’s heading to the subway!”

Max ran towards the entrance of the subway and jumped over the steps. Everyone who was walking up and down the steps moved out of the way as they looked at Max Payne jumping over them, thinking he was on drugs and going crazy in broad daylight.

The citizens in the subway noticed Mario, 47, Franzizka, Edgeworth, Lupin, and his two friends, all jumping over the steps. The citizens had no idea what was going on in front of them. They believed it was just another crazy day in Highfalcon, or there was a parkour race going on in town.

Max shoved people out of the way in the subway station and noticed a train that was stopped. He quickly got inside.

It wasn’t too late for the group of seven who were chasing him to get inside the train.

The doors of the subway train closed. There was no one inside the train carriage where the group of eight was, but other people were inside the other carriages, feeling unaware of what was going on.

Max Payne was now surrounded by Mario, 47, Lupin the 3rd, Daisuke Jigen, Ishikawa Goemon XIII, Franziska von Karma, and Miles Edgeworth.

This might be it for me. I don’t know if this will end with me being killed or getting arrested.

Let's find out.

Max brought his eyes to Franziska and Edgeworth, who were in a defensive battle stance. His eyes noticed Franziska’s whip.

Who carries a whip in public? I can only guess it’s used for defense. I could try to snatch it away from her hands and possibly use it against her and the six men, mostly 47 and the samurai guy.

Franziska cracked her whip on the ground and kept her glare at Max.

CRACK!

“Declare defeat, foolish madman!” She said to him as she pointed at him.

“Is that whip some sort of defense, or some sort of erotic toy of yours?” Max asked.

“It’s not just a foolish erotic toy, foolish madman, it’s a whip that’s going to make you foolishly cry like a foolish cry foolish baby!”

“It sounds like the word ‘foolish’ is your favorite foolish word,” Max remarked.

Franziska responded by attempting to whip Max. The latter dodged the whip and grabbed it with both of his hands and quickly punched Franziska in the face, making her wince. He then kicked her away violently.

Max now had Franziska’s whip, and while in Bullet Time, he started to whip the group of seven he was fighting against.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Mario tried to grab Max but got kicked in the balls very hard, making him let out a painful cry as he held onto his crotch.

Mario screamed in slow motion. “Mama Mia, my balls!” He then got punched in the face.

Edgeworth tried to strike Max, only for him to get whipped in the face by the latter.

CRACK!

Max then kicked the prosecutor away.

47 tried to sedate him, but to no avail, as he was getting rapidly whipped by the foolish madman Max.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Jigen from behind grabbed Max's outfit, but got his ankle kicked by him, then struck him with an uppercut.

Lupin aimed his Walther P38 at Max, who was still attacking 47 with the whip, and fired, but with no intention of killing him.

BANG!

The shot missed. Max had his eyes on Lupin and quickly struck him with the whip, but Lupin grabbed it and punched Max in the face. Max then dodged another strike from the thief and grabbed his P38 and tried to aim it at the P38 owner, but Lupin grabbed him.

As Lupin and Max fought for the pistol, the latter started to purposely fire the P38 at the ceiling to waste all of the ammo.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Max struck Lupin by smacking his head with the gun, then head-butting him, and then he noticed Goemon swinging his Zantetsuken sword at him. Max dodged all of the swings, then grabbed the sword and tossed it across the train carriage and struck the samurai in the face with two punches and a kick.

Mario and Franziska were able to ambush the foolish madman. The former was able to use his strong fist to strike Max's face, and then Franziska performed a powerful kick to the foolish madman.

After getting struck by the kick, Max dropped the whip. Franziska was able to pick it up, then glared at Max.

“Leave our foolish friends alone, foolish madman!” Franziska yelled at him. “And how dare you kick my foolish boyfriend in the balls and try to kill him and his foolish assassin foolish friend!”

"You're under arrest, whoever you are!" Mario glared at him.

Mario and Franziska worked together to beat up Max Payne.

Max covered his body while getting attacked by the two and tried to escape, only to be grabbed by 47, who knocked him out by sedating him while holding him with a strong grip.

Max felt the sedative drug going into his body and felt weakness as his body went to sleep. His body fell to the floor.

My vision went from seeing the seven people who stood over me to darkness. I can only assume the spot where I wake up after my nap will be in a jail cell.

The group of seven saw the sleeping body of Max Payne, then noticed the subway train stopping.

"Who the hell is this tough son of a bitch?" Jigen questioned.

"And how is he able to make everything go in slow motion?" Lupin asked rhetorically.

"We know what he's capable of if one of us has to fight him again," Goemon told everyone.

Mario fully recovered after he got kicked in the balls by Max and saw the latter’s body. “I’ll toss him into the cell in my police outpost.” He looked at his friends. "Thank you all for helping 47 and I.”

Franziska smiled with a nod. “You’re welcome, Mario.” She then glared and pointed her finger at the former plumber. “This foolish madman better not wake me up in the middle of the night, and tell me you foolishly dropped the charges on him, and foolishly released him, and foolishly became foolish friends with you!”

“Haha, I promise I won’t,” Mario responded with a nervous laugh. “Now let’s-a get out of here and continue our day!”

“I’ll carry his body.” 47 offered. He carried Max Payne’s body over his shoulder.

With that, the group of seven exited the subway train and the subway station they were in, as the citizens made glances at them.

Chapter 31: ACT 3 - Chapter 5

Inside the Montgomery Industries building, Marshall Smith walked down the hall, and then a male guard inside the building approached him as he said his name to gain his attention.

“Mr. Smith!” The guard said his name.

Marshall faced the guard. “What is it?”

“It’s about that guy Mr. Montgomery hired,” The guard answered. “He got arrested.”

Marshall placed his hands on his hips as he shook his head while sighing.

He’s not going to like this. He thought. He wasn’t afraid to tell Daniel, nor was he afraid of him. Marshall was a close friend of Alan, and Daniel had a strong relationship with his father.

Marshall knew Daniel needed to avenge his father’s death.

“Thank you,” Marshall said to the guard. He now walked away and went straight to Daniel’s office to tell him about Max Payne getting arrested.

---

Inside Mario’s police outpost office, Max woke up after getting sedated by 47 in the subway train carriage. He looked around and noticed he was in a jail cell. He also noticed Mario, who had his back turned and was at his desk, going through paperwork as he stood. He then observed the police outpost office.

This is not just some ordinary police station. I don’t know how I would describe it, but this looks like a modernized western sheriff station.

Max observed Mario’s appearance.

Mario is definitely someone who stands out. He doesn’t wear a police outfit like the rest of them. He is a fighter, but I didn’t see it since I kicked him in the balls and made him scream and yell out Mama Mia.

Mario turned his body and noticed Max was staring at him.

“Are you day dreaming about kicking me in the balls, mister...” He looked at the paperwork and saw Max’s name. “...Max Payne!” He pointed his finger at him with a glare. “You Payne in the Butt!”

“That’s not the first time someone called me that,” Max replied as he stood up. “We can make a deal.”

“A deal to get you out? Not a chance!”

“So where's my lawyer? Or am I ever going to get one assigned to me?” Max asked.

“Maybe.”

“Maybe? What the hell does that mean? Do you even know what you’re doing? You know, I’ve been someone like you before.”

“Well, that’s-a great to hear, but I don’t-a want to hear it,” Mario told him. “Based on the paperwork I read, you were on a killing spree and got arrested, but you somehow escaped and have never been seen again.”

“Until now. There’s more to my backstory that you probably skimmed through.” Max remarked.

“I don’t need to know about it because that’s-a in the past,” Mario responded. “Look forward to being in court, it’s-a going to be a while. My friend who’s a prosecutor is going to ruin you in court with all of the charges dumped onto you.”

“Which prosecutor? The one with the whip?”

“I will not tell you.”

“Because it’s none of my business.”

“That’s-a right.”

“You and I might become buddies one day,” Max predicted. “Becoming friends with an officer who arrested me.”

“I doubt that,” Mario replied.

You may be right, or you may be wrong. Max thought.

The door inside the police outpost opened, revealing Luigi, who was holding a camera.

“Mario!” Luigi said his name. “Mama Mia, are you okay?!”

“I’m-a fine Luigi,” Mario reassured him.

Luigi noticed Max in the cell.

“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Luigi asked Mario.

“Well-“

“I kicked him in the balls and made him scream ‘Mama Mia’.”

“Aaaah Mario are your-“

“They’re-a fine Luigi,” Mario told him, not wanting to be reminded of what happened earlier. “Take pictures of him and we’ll leave.”

Luigi took pictures of Max Payne. The latter began to monologue his thoughts.

So this is Mario’s brother. He sure loves to take pictures of me since he's taking not one, but multiple pictures. He's treating me like I'm a male supermodel.

All I know is that what would happen next, most likely at night, is either Daniel Montgomery or someone who was sent by him to kill me. I am an open target after all. I could escape, but I have to plan it all out, and that’s easier said than done.

Max saw Mario and Luigi exiting the police station office.

Somehow, I naively believe I could become friends with Mario. But that’s just a fantasy, a naive fantasy.

---

Mario and Luigi were outside of the former’s police outpost and stood on a sidewalk next to Mario’s 1974 Dodge Monaco.

“Did that man say his name to you?” Luigi asked his brother.

“From the paperwork that was handed to me by Chief Larvell Jones, the paperwork said his name is Max Payne,” Mario explained.

“Max Payne?”

“That’s-a right. And I think I know who sent him.”

“Who?”

“The man Bob Page, or Alan Montgomery’s son Daniel Montgomery. They’re our prime suspects. They both know about us, and I know this is not some coincidence.”

Luigi felt fear. “Mario, I’m scared! W-what if this Bob Page guy could be more dangerous than Robotnik!?”

“Please, Luigi my brother, calm down,” Mario told him. “We have to watch our backs and protect our friends.”

“I just hope no one will try to kill us again and again and again.” Luigi hoped.

“We’ll be fine, Luigi. I know we will. I’m-a going to question Daniel about-”

“WHAT!? L-let me come with you, Mario!” Luigi requested, as he felt worried about his brother meeting Alan’s son.

“I’m-a doing this alone, Luigi,” Mario told him.

“Have you not learned a thing after defeating Robotnik!? What will Franziska think about this?!”

“I’ll-a talk to her and I’m-a sure she’ll understand. I don’t want Daniel to feel overwhelmed.” Mario told him as he continued to reassure him.

Luigi sighed. “Okay, Mario.” He then hugged him. “Please be safe!”

Mario hugged him back. “I will, Luigi.”

---

Hours had passed, and everyone except Mario, who was running some errands, was at the Mario Brothers House.

Franziska was in the living room waiting for Mario to arrive because she wanted to talk to him privately. The prosecutor saw 47 exiting the basement in the house and was walking in the living room. She wanted to speak to him.

“Mr. 47?” Franziska said his name. “May I speak to you for a moment?”

“Sure.” 47 replied. “What is it?”

“I know I didn’t like you when we first met, but I want to thank you for saving and protecting Mario,” Franziska answered. “Including us. I’m glad you became foolish when you tried to make us become victims of your foolish chaotic foolish rampage, so that we can become your...friend .”

"You’re welcome." 47 responded. "I know I apologized before to you, but I'm sorry for trying to get you and the Mario Brothers killed.”

“It’s alright.” Franziska nodded. “I know you’re probably busy, but may I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead.” 47 nodded.

“Has my father, Manfred von Karma, ever been mentioned to you in the past? Has he been targeted by you?”

The reason why Franziska asked was because she was curious. She knew people wanted her father dead for having a huge win record in court battles, which led criminals to prison.

47 wasn’t comfortable answering since he was talking to the daughter of Manfred von Karma, but thought he would for her sake. He wanted her to feel closure.

“He was about to be.” He answered.

Franziska slightly gasped. "'About to be’?”

“During my time in the ICA, a client reached out to my contact and wanted me to assassinate your father for winning and ending a court trial with a guilty verdict. It was a case regarding a man named Xavier Delvina who was connected to a mafia organization operating in Berlin, Germany, committing human trafficking and murder.”

It was a lot to process for Franziska. She started to have the flashback of her as a child becoming a victim of a drive-by shooting in Berlin when she was with her father and mother, who died in the drive-by shooting.

And the violent and tragic moment happened sometime after Manfred sent Xavier to prison.

She solved the puzzle and found out who was responsible for getting her mother killed.

Franziska looked at 47. “And you refused?”

“That’s right,” 47 confirmed. “I refused to accept the contract because the client refused to agree to my fee.”

It became silent for a moment when Franziska was still processing all of this. The timeline in this universe would be entirely different if the client had agreed to 47’s fee to assassinate Manfred von Karma. And 47 is not someone to not fulfill a contract once the required fee is met.

47 noticed Franziska staring out into space. “Franziska?” He said her name.

The prosecutor snapped out of her trance. “S-sorry. It’s just a lot to take in. All of this must explain why that drive-by shooting happened.”

“’Drive-by shooting’?” 47 responded.

“It’s a long story, but when I was a child in Berlin, I was with Manfred and my mother, and we were heading to a carnival. And then suddenly a black Audi drove by and the people inside started shooting us. I got shot and my mother died, but not Manfred, and that’s sad. He-"

Franziska almost went on a rant but stopped herself and breathed. "Sorry, I’m rambling.”

“It’s none of my business what happened in the past between you and your father,” 47 responded, wanting to respect Franziska’s privacy regarding her feelings towards her father. “But I’m sorry you lost your mother.”

“Thank you.” Franziska nodded with a slight, sad smile. “And, thank you, for being with us.”

“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Mario’s childish begging by grabbing my ankle.” 47 said.

Speaking of Mario, he arrived. He came from the front door and saw Franziska and 47.

“Hello, Franziska and 47!” Mario greeted them. “Getting along, I hope!”

“We are,” Franziska nodded. He approached Mario, grabbed his wrist, and walked up the stairs with him. “We need to talk, now.”

“A-about?” Mario asked as he felt scared.

“About your foolish decisions,” Franziska answered. She and Mario went up the stairs.

---

Mario and Franziska entered their bedroom. Ever since Franziska moved into the Mario Brothers house, she started to sleep with the latter. When Edgeworth became aware of that, he strictly told them that if his “big sister” Franziska ever gets pregnant, he wanted them to tell him about it so that he can look forward to meeting his nephew or niece.

Franziska then slapped her “little brother” in the face and told him not to say such foolish things to them that make them foolishly blush like foolish fools.

But Franziska always enjoys sleeping with Mario because he keeps her from having nightmares and being harmed.

Mario looked at Franziska, who had her hands on her hips as she looked at him.

The former plumber sighed. “Mama Mia, Franziska, what did I do to make you angry this time?”

“You didn’t make me angry, Mario.” Franziska shook her head. “You made me worried.”

“About what?” Mario asked.

“Luigi told me you were about to do foolish things alone by meeting that foolish man Daniel Montgomery," Franziska answered. "Is that true?”

“Yes, that is indeed true,” Mario admitted. He moved towards the window and looked out at the night sky.

“Why?” Franziska asked as she approached him. She then stood next to him. “Have you not learned a thing when we were at that foolish place in Nevada?”

“That’s the same question Luigi asked me.” Mario chuckled. He looked at Franziska. “I just can’t risk losing people whom I care about.”

Franziska got closer to Mario and held his hand.

“You need to stop foolishly worrying about foolish things like that, Mario.” She told her. “Sometimes, you make me foolishly worried like a foolish fool when you make foolish decisions.”

Franziska laid her head on Mario’s shoulder and closed her eyes.

“I love you, Mario.” She said to him. “And like it or not, I’m coming with you to meet that foolish man.”

Mario wrapped his arm around Franziska’s body.

“I love you too, Franziska,” Mario replied. “But if you ever get shot, you're not going to help me on anything."

Franziska opened her eyes in shock when she heard those words from the former plumber. She sent a glare at him.

"What!?"

"Never mind." Mario sighed as he let go of Franziska's hand and unwrapped his arm around her. He moved away from her. "We're-a just going to argue." He sat on the bed.

"I don't want to argue, I just want you to not get foolishly hurt," Franziska responded as she sat next to him. "I believe in you, Mario, just like you believe in me."

Mario looked at her. He remembered himself saying to Franziska that he believed in her. The last thing he wanted was Franziska von Karma getting killed. And he knew Franziska would never accept no as a response to her.

"We'll go there tomorrow morning.” He told her. "But please don't make me regret this."

"You won't regret this, because you'll realize you made the right decision," Franziska reassured him.

Mario knew Franziska was right. He knew that what the latter said to him was that he needed to not have fear of losing friends, get the best of him.

Same with Franziska. She didn’t want the fear of losing Edgeworth, along with his foolish great thief friend Kay Faraday, and the foolish detective Scruffy Dick Gumshoe, get the best of her.

---

The next day has arrived. Inside the Highfalcon Times building, J. Jonah Jameson was in his office, sitting at his desk, and got a call from his female assistant telling him that Miles Edgeworth, Kay Faraday, and Dick Gumshoe wanted to see him.

“For what?” Jameson asked his assistant. “Did Spider-Man send them? Or did they uncover the identity of Spider-Man?”

“No, Mr. Jameson.” The assistant told him. “They want to ask you questions.”

“About what? If they're here to waste my time, tell them to get lost in the woods!”

“A man named Miles Edgeworth said this meeting with you is important and it cannot wait.”

Jameson had heard of Miles Edgeworth before, but had never met him. He was curious to know why he wanted to meet him. Knowing Edgeworth in the past was considered to be the “demon prosecutor”, he wondered if he was gonna unleash his demonic aura on him and tell him to stop defaming Spider-Man.

Jameson told his assistant to allow the three to meet him and also told her to get the security on speed dial in case something happened to him.

Sure, Jameson was being absolutely paranoid, obviously, mostly about Spider-Man, but he wondered if this meeting had to do with something about Montgomery Industries. This made Jameson partially believe the trio worked for Daniel.

He heard about Luigi, his brother, and his friends stopping Dr. Robotnik from committing his chaotic havoc rampage in Highfalcon and the Mushroom Kingdom. Speaking of Luigi, he was currently working in security work with Astolfo, Master Chief, and John Wick since he was working as security every other day.

The editor-in-chief heard the knock coming from his door. He told them to come in. He saw the prosecutor, the great thief, and the detective.

“Mister J. Jonah Jameson?” Edgeworth spoke.

“That’s right,” Jameson replied as he stood. “You’re the demon prosecutor Miles Edgeworth.”

“No longer the demon prosecutor,” Edgeworth told him. “These are my companions-“

“No, friends, Mr. Edgeworth!” Kay corrected him.

Edgeworth sighed. Are you asking me to send you outside, Kay?

“These are my...friends, Kay Faraday, and Los Angeles Detective Dick Gumshoe.” He told Jameson.

Jameson looked at Gumshoe in surprise. “A detective from Los Angeles? Isn’t that out of your jurisdiction?”

“Yeah, but I don’t mind helping my pals out,” Gumshoe replied. He looked out the window and saw the Montgomery Industries building across from the Highfalcon Times from a distance, as well as other skyscrapers “Hey, that’s the Montgomery Industries building!”

Jameson turned around and saw the skyscraper building, prompting him to close the curtains in his office.

“Hmm, keeping this conversation as private as possible, I see,” Kay remarked with a smirk.

“Your employee, Luigi, told me about your suspicion of Montgomery Industries,” Edgeworth said to Jameson. “Is that true?”

“Yes, yes, that is true!” Jameson nodded. “That company has been up to no good! Before, Alan wanted to change Highfalcon and become mayor, but that man has always been hiding things, getting all of this money from unknown sources, getting some sort of technology from unknown sources, dealing with suspicious people-“

“Suspicious people like the man in the picture with Alan Montgomery?” Edgeworth stopped him.

Jameson breathed. “So Luigi told you everything?”

“He told me about your photographer, Nate Owings, getting murdered by an arrow jammed into his body with blood all over his corpse,” Edgeworth explained.

“Geez, don’t go so graphic into this man’s death!” Kay told Edgeworth.

The former demon prosecutor ignored her. “Mr. Owings' last picture he took was Alan and this mysterious Asian man wearing a bowler hat. Is that also true?”

“Yes.” Jameson nodded. "Want me to hand it to you?"

“No." Edgeworth shook his head. "We have a copy of it."

He showed Jameson the copied picture of Alan and Oddjob shaking hands. "Is this the suspicious man?"

“Why yes, yes, that's him!” Jameson answered as he grabbed the picture. “Do you know his name!?”

"We don't have his real name, but the name we got is Oddjob," Edgeworth explained. “What are your opinions on Alan’s son Daniel?”

“My opinions? I’ll tell you my opinions, former demon prosecutor! Daniel is a LIAR! He told the public that he was going to reform his father’s company and undo the damage he had made, but all those words were LIES! He could be Spider-Man, possibly! If he is, then he’s a crime lord!”

Should I tell him Spider-Man is a hero? Nah. I'd rather not have him kick us out. Edgeworth thought.

“To make you feel closure, Mr. Jameson, and please have this not leave this room; Daniel Montgomery is a suspect of ours,” Edgeworth explained.

“A suspect? Wait, are you about to tell me that Daniel Montgomery could’ve stolen that evil doctor’s bizarre technology and his brain!?” Jameson questioned.

“Yes, but he’s likely connected to a man named Bob Page,” Edgeowrth told him.

“Bob Page? That’s a name I haven’t heard of in a long time.” Jameson replied.

Kay looked at Jameson. “Have you met him?” She asked.

“Never met him, but he’s just as bad as Alan and his son,” Jameson answered her. “All I know is that he was the CEO of his company, named Page Industries, and he's presumed dead.”

“Has the group named Illuminati ring a bell to you, Mr. Jameson?” Edgeworth asked.

“The Illuminati?" Jameson said in shock. "All mighty god, this is already getting deep! Don’t tell me the Illuminati is real!”

“It’s not a myth, Mr. Jameson.” Edgeworth shook his head. “They were real. Bob was a member of the Illuminati, but he later betrayed them. This is a long story, but that’s all you need to know.”

“But what does Bob Page have to do with all of this craziness about the evil doctor’s technology!?” Jameson inquired.

“Well, your suspicions of Montgomery Industries are true,” Edgeworth told him. “The company has a connection to Bob Page.”

Jameson looked at him with widened eyes and his jaw dropping.

“Are you serious?” He whispered.

“I am serious, Mr. Jameson.” Edgeworth nodded. “And to make this more serious, Bob isn’t deceased. He was responsible for the murder of a princess from the Mushroom Kingdom named Princess Peach, and abducting the princess from the Kingdom of Padar Dolma Sinha. Since Dolma is known in Padar for using a bow & arrow, this means that Bob was also responsible for Nate's murder as well, since he and Princess Peach had the same type of murder, both having an arrow shot into their bodies. Since there were no stab or gunshot wounds, forensics concluded that Nate was killed by an arrow shot into his head. Dolma killed both of them in cold blood as she followed Bob's orders.”

Jameson heard of the two princesses, Peach's murder and Dolma's abduction. The news about what happened to them wasn't just news; instead, it was big news.

"Do you three have any proof that she killed them?" Jameson inquired.

"We don't have proof of Dolma killing Nate Owings, but we have evidence which is an encrypted call between Bob Page and Alan Montgomery," Edgeworth explained. "Bob mentioned sending Dolma to the Mushroom Kingdom to kill Princess Peach. Her death was caused by arrows penetrating her body, similar to what happened to Nate. The difference, however, was that five arrows were used to kill the princess. This isn't some coincidence."

Jameson took all of this in as he approached the chair at his desk and sat down. He took a deep breath as he peeked at the Montgomery Industries building. He took another deep breath as he closed his eyes. He believed Edgeworth was right. This wasn't some coincidence. He believed Dolma Sinha was forced into working for Bob. He believed this wasn't a decision she made for herself, and didn't believe she would betray her country.

Gumshoe became concerned as he looked at Jameson. “Hey, are you okay, pal?”

“I’m fine,” Jameson reassured him. “Not having a heart attack. I didn’t expect this conversation to go seriously deep. Now I’m wondering if Spider-Man has a connection to all of this, or not. I can forgive Dolma for what she did, but hopefully Luigi's brother Mario will, too."

Jameson grabbed the original picture of Alan and Oddjob out of his desk and looked at it.

"Something violent is on its way, and it's not going to be fun.”

Meanwhile, Mario and Franziska were meeting Alan’s son Daniel Montgomery.

Chapter 32: ACT 3 - Chapter 6

Daniel Montgomery was in his office, formerly his late father’s office. Instead of doing his responsibilities as CEO of his father’s company, he was sleeping on the job.

But then Daniel woke up when he heard his office phone ringing. He moaned as he opened his eyes, then answered the phone.

“Hello?”

.................................................................

“Really? That’s a surprise. For what?”

.................................................................

“Questions, huh? Hmm, okay, send them in. But put Marshall on speed dial in case things get ugly.”

Daniel hung the phone up, then waited. He looked out the window as he was waiting for Mario and Franziska to arrive at his office. Alan’s son cleared his throat and then breathed. He didn’t want to sound too hostile to the people who were involved with his father’s death.

But Daniel knew why these two were going to meet him. It had something to do with Robotnik’s technology and his brain getting stolen. He already planned to try his best to act like he wasn’t involved, but he knew he needed to take down Mario and Franziska von Karma, including the rest of them.

Thanks to Marshall, Alan's son became aware of Max Payne’s arrest. Daniel was asked what to do with him. He decided to keep Max alive. Marshall was concerned by that decision, but Daniel reassured him that if Max talks, it won’t make a difference with his and Bob Page’s plans.

Daniel's head turned when a security guard knocked on the double doors of the office, then opened one of the doors for Mario and Franziska, who both entered the room. The guard kept his eyes on them as the two entered. He closed the door, leaving the three in the office alone.

Mario did not have his AMT AutoMag V pistol with him, Franziska did not have her whip, and Robocop wasn't with them. Why? The two had to be frisked before they went to meet Daniel, and Robocop had to wait outside as the guards watched him. It was either that or no meeting.

When they arrived at the building, Mario and Franziska agreed not to press Daniel hard on the questions regarding Robotnik’s technology and brain. They knew it was worth not provoking him.

Daniel stood as he stared at the two people in front of him. “Hello Mario and Franziska von Karma. You two are the last people I would see arriving at my office just to talk to me.”

Mario responded. “I hope we’re not intruding.”

“We want to ask you questions, Mr. Montgomery,” Franziska told him.

“Questions?” Daniel raised an eyebrow. He already knew what the question was going to be about. “Questions about what?”

“We learned about your father’s connection to Dr. Ivo Robotnik,” Mario stated.

“His foolish technology and his foolish brain got stolen,” Franziska added. “We want to know if you had anything to do with it.”

Daniel sighed. “I knew this was the reason why both of you showed up to my office just to ask me about this stupid technology and brain.” He shook his head. “The nerve of you people, I swear.”

“Answer the question,” Franziska told him.

“You already got it, and I’m not going to make it obvious because it’s already obvious.” Daniel pointed at her as he glared. “If both of you can’t see the obvious, then go figure it out yourselves.”

“Mr. Montgomery, we’re not-a trying to act hostile towards you,” Mario reassured him, trying not to provoke him. “We’re sorry for-“

“Getting caught with my father’s death.” Daniel interrupted him. “You two may not have killed him directly, but both of you were there. I despise my father for what he did, and I’m trying to reform the company and erase all of the sinful things he did with this damn company!”

Franziska bowed as she apologized. “Mr. Montgomery, we apologize if we unintentionally provoked you.”

“Enough with the stupid apologies for fuck sake!” Daniel snapped. He sighed. “I lost count of how many times I had to answer people’s ridiculous questions about the technology and the brain. I am so sick of it.”

Mario and Franziska stayed silent for a moment as they tried to figure out a response.

Daniel continued. “Take my name off the suspect list, otherwise you’re wasting your time.”

“We’re keeping your name on it until this is solved,” Mario told him.

“This isn’t personal, Mr. Montgomery,” Franziska said to him.

“’It’s just business,’ like all of those self-centered idiots say these days." Daniel glared. "Just like my father. Is that all, or do I have to call security to escort both of you out?”

“We’ll see ourselves out,” Mario replied. “Thank you for-“

“Yeah, yeah, get out of my sight,” Daniel told him and Franziska.

With that, Mario and Franziska exited Daniel’s office and left the Montgomery Industries building.

---

The trio was inside Mario's Dodge Monaco that was parked in the Montgomery Industries parking lot.

“That went well,” Franziska said with a bit of sarcasm.

“At least he didn’t try to kill us and put us in a violent situation,” Mario replied.

"Did he mention Max Payne?" Robocop asked.

“I was going to question him about that foolish madman,” Franziska replied. “But I noticed how provoked Mr. Montgomery was.”

“I can already tell he hired him to kill 47, myself, and all of us.” Mario believed.

“So what now?” Robocop questioned.

“We’re-a going to have to watch our backs as we move forward,” Mario answered.

"If anything happens, I'll keep you and our friends protected as much as possible." Robocop declared to Mario.

"Thank you, Alex." Mario nodded with a smile.

Franziska nodded at what Robocop said. She was grateful for him being around. And she knew that she and her friends had to put an end to all of this foolish madness as quickly as possible. She just hoped it wouldn't take too foolishly long.

Mario drove down the street and away from the Montgomery Industrious building.

---

As a way to erase his panic and anxiety, Daniel drank a cup of water in his office as he looked out the window again. Right after Mario and Franziska left his office and the building, Daniel immediately contacted Marshall, who had now arrived.

“You wanted to see me, Daniel?” Marshall asked him.

Ever since Alan’s death, Daniel and Marshall have formed a friendship. The former viewed the latter as a father figure.

Daniel turned his body around and looked at Marshall. “Yes, this is urgent.” He set his glass on his desk. “Mario and the female prosecutor, Franziska von Karma, came to my office minutes ago and started to question me about Robotnik’s technology.”

Marshall placed his hands on his hips, believing the one person who caused this. “So he talked,” Marshall replied, referring to Max Payne.

“He might’ve.” Daniel shrugged. “He wasn’t brought up during the conversation, nor was Bob.”

“What’s next?” Marshall asked. “We send someone to kill Max Payne? Or do we form another plan to kill the Mario Brothers, including Franziska von Karma?”

“If we kill Max, we’ll gain more suspicion from the Mario Brothers and their friends,” Daniel told him. “So, here’s what I need you to do.”

---

Nighttime came, and it was time for Mario and Robocop to call it a night. The former plumber grabbed his car keys and was about to leave, but was stopped by Max, who spoke to him.

“You two aren't leaving me here all alone, are you?” Max asked.

I wasn’t scared of being alone in a jail cell, but this place will make me have terrible sleep every single night. Not to mention, this small police station being non-secured, unless alarms go off for trespassing or escaping.

Mario looked at him with a glare. “We don’t live here. Don't-a try to escape, that’ll trigger the alarm to go off and signal the police to arrive here as quickly as possible.”

"And you will be shot for shooting at police," Robocop told him.

The last person I want to fuck with is Robocop, of course. If I'm involved in a gunfight against him, it's entirely over for me.

Mario pointed his finger at a camera. “A camera will be watching you. If you disable it, the alarm immediately goes off.”

“Why not have someone who does the night shift fill you in while you’re asleep?” Max asked.

“Because this is my police outpost owned by the Highfalcon PD,” Mario answered. “Eventually, you’ll be transferred to a different cell with other criminals like you, Max Payne.”

“See you tomorrow,” Max replied.

“Is that sarcasm?” Mario asked.

“No,” Max shook his head. “Since this ‘police outpost’ is yours, we might talk to each other more often.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Mario responded. “Goodbye, and good night. The lights will be left on.”

With that, Mario and Robocop exited, leaving Max Payne all alone in the police outpost.

How the hell can anyone sleep with the lights turned on? It probably works for some people. This might avoid me having dark nightmares of my past.

---

Inside the basement, AKA “47’s Cave”, 47 went to his laptop after he was given a notification from his contact Diana regarding the location of Aeon.

After 47 turned his laptop on, he started to speak.

“Diana? I received your notification,” He told her. “What did you find?”

“At first I couldn’t find this Aeon location,” Diana replied. “But I was able to use remote access to use Daniel Montgomery’s computer and found an encrypted message that said ‘head to Hydrakain Island to meet me face to face’.”

“Was the message from Bob Page?” 47 inquired.

“Correct 47,” Diana confirmed. “I dug deeper into this location and found out that Aeon is a codename for Hydrakain Island, which is an island in the Atlantic Ocean.”

“I see,” 47 nodded.

“And Dr. Ivo Robotnik’s technology and his brain are currently stored there according to more encrypted messages I’ve read between Daniel and Bob,” Diana explained.

“I’m assuming the security at Aeon is very high.” 47 assumed.

“Extremely high 47,” Diana responded. “Bob Page is very well protected by his group of soldiers and guards.”

47 didn’t know how Bob got a hold of these soldiers and guards he hired to obey his demands. He pulled out a picture of Alan and Oddjob that was handed back to him by Edgeworth.

“Are there any updates regarding the real name of Oddjob?”

“Negative,” Diana said. “The closest you'll get about Oddjob is that he's Korean and was born in South Korea. That is it, besides him working for Auric Goldfinger in the past and invading Fort Knox.”

47 knew Diana did everything she could to find additional information about the man with the bowler hat.

Now he wanted to learn about the people who used PeopleLog.

“Do you remember PeopleLog?”

"I do."

Thankfully for 47, there was no way for anyone to gather information about the bald assassin while using PeopleLog. When the app launched, 47 and Diana knew they had to be careful.

"The CEO of Shake Hanz was abducted and killed. Any news articles about it?"

"Yes," Diana answered. "Articles say a group of murderous soldiers killed everybody in the Shake Hanz headquarters and abducted Enzo Bron, who's considered presumed dead. These same soldiers also raided a female boarding school in Annecy to kidnap a princess from the Kingdom of Padar, Princess Dolma Sniha."

"That encrypted call between Alan and Bob confirmed Enzo's death. Including Dolma killing Princess Peach."

"I see," Diana said. "I have also seen reports about current abductions around the world. This could be something to pay attention to."

"Something that Bob Page is committing, I presume." 47 believed. This gave him an idea. "Diana? Is there a way to schedule an appointment at Aeon?"

“An appointment?” Diana said. “Yes, it’s possible. From the encrypted messages, appointments in Aeon are made for people who want to purchase people who have augmentations placed into them. Anyone can make an appointment if they sign up on their website on the dark web, which is difficult to access.”

“Augmentations?” 47 said as he was processing the information. “Purchasing people? Diana, Bob Page is abducting people and selling them. He's adding those augmentations on them, and those augmentations have to be from Robotnik's technology.”

“Make the appointment now?”

“Yes, please.” 47 said with a nod. “I’m doing this so that I can observe the layout of Aeon and what to expect when my immature companions strike the island and kill Bob Page and Oddjob. As well as working on saving the people who were abducted.”

“47, what you're planning is a suicide mission,” Diana told him with worry. “You might not make it back home.”

“Every mission I’m in is a suicide mission, Diana,” 47 told her. “I don’t care how dangerous this will be for us. It’s either striking the island and saving the abducted people, or allowing Bob Page to fulfill his goals, which we obviously cannot allow him to do.”

Diana was silent for a moment, then spoke. “Okay, take care, 47.”

“You too.” 47 replied.

With that, the call was now disconnected. The assassin knew his contact had a point about how dangerous it would be to attack Aeon, but he knew Mario would think about striking the island to defeat and kill Bob Page to avenge Princess Peach’s death and save everyone in the world, and he also knew no one would allow the former plumber to do this alone.

47 wanted to have time to think about his plan to arrive at Aeon, but he didn’t want to take too long to make up his mind. He just hoped that he wouldn’t be too late, while knowing rushing through all of this was not worth it.

---

47 exited the basement and walked through the kitchen, and was now in the living room as he continued to walk.

But that walk stopped as Astolfo, who was sitting on a couch watching anime, spoke to him.

“Hey, 47!” Astolfo cheerfully greeted him. “Have you found any new information?”

47 looked at Astolfo. “Yes. Aeon is a codename of an Atlantic Ocean island called Hydrakain Island.”

“Ooooo, a mysterious island,” Astolfo remarked. He then smirked. “Cool, that means we can make this island unmysterious and attack it!”

“Don’t get too excited, Astolfo,” 47 stopped him. “My contact told me this island has very high security. Robotnik’s technology and his brain are currently located there, as well as abducted people.”

"Abducted people!?" Astolfo widened his eyes in shock.

"Yes." 47 nodded. "There was an app called PeopleLog." He explained about the PeopleLog app, the Shake Hanz Corporation, the attack in the headquarters, and the killing of Enzo Bron.

"I believe Bob is abducting the people who used PeopleLog." 47 told him. "This timing of events is perfect. Bob is selling people who are about to get augmentations, which are likely made from Robotnik's technology."

"Oh my god," Astolfo said, then taking a deep breath. "This is too much. When will we go to that island?” Astolfo asked.

“I don’t know Astolfo,” 47 shook his head. “A lot of planning is required to strike the island. I’m planning to go there by myself to have an appointment there and pretend I’m a businessman wanting to purchase an individual. I need to observe this place-”

“Whoa, whoa, all by yourself?” Astolfo stopped him as he stood.

“Yes,” 47 nodded. “Where’s Mario?”

“He and Franziska are having some private fun with each other, if you know what I mean,” Astolfo smirked as he moved his eyebrows.

“Yes, I know what you mean.” 47 replied. “And I’m guessing you and Luigi are going to have a private moment together, too.”

“Yep!” Astolfo nodded. “We're gonna watch a movie together as we cuddle!”

“I didn’t ask for the details, but thanks, I guess.” 47 said in a dull tone. He was planning to speak to Mario, but after being told by Astolfo about what the former was doing, he decided to go back to the basement, but was stopped.

“Wait 47!” Astofo approached him. “Let me come with you to this mysterious Aeon island.”

47 stared at Astolfo. He didn't feel like it was worth having him come with him to Aeon. “Why?” He asked him.

“Because I wanna help, that’s why!” Astolfo answered. He raised his fists in the air. “I wanna be in some action!”

“It’s dangerous.”

“We've both been in dangerous things.”

“Yes, we have.”

47 and Astolfo suddenly started to have a stare-down at each other. The former viewed Astolfo to be too silly to be in this, but he knew he would be helpful, but was also against taking him with him to Aeon as he didn’t want to risk him dying since he’s the Mario Brothers best friend.

Astolfo thought 47 needed more assistance in missions and thought it would be better to have a partner working with him instead of doing things alone. He always wanted to participate in 47’s assassination assignments to see what it's like being a deadly, emotionless assassin.

The stare down continued until one person saw it and ended it.

Miles Edgeworth, who came down the stairs and saw the stare down between the bald hitman and the silly femboy.

“Is this some silly challenge going on?” He wondered.

Astolfo looked at Edgeworth and smiled. “Oh, Edgywedgie!”

This is what I get for coming to the living room. Edgeworth thought. He looked at 47. “What’s going on?”

“My contact found the location of Aeon.” 47 told him.

“It's an island called Hydrakain Island,” Astolfo added. "It's located in the Atlantic Ocean."

“I see.” Edgeworth nodded. "What about Robotnik’s technology and his brain?"

“They're located on the island.” 47 answered. “I’m going there by myself to observe the place.”

“How are you going to do that?” Edgeworth questioned.

“I had my contact schedule an appointment for me to purchase an individual who'll have augmentations.” 47 explained. “I’m going to pretend to be a businessman who wants a person so I can observe the layout.”

"So Bob is conducting a slavery scheme to make money." Edgeworth shook his head, believing this was absolutely diabolical. "I'm assuming the augmentations came from Robotnik's technology?"

"I believe so." 47 nodded. "So I'll be able to confirm everything and let all of you know about it."

“Mr. 47, you should think about this more,” Edgeworth told him. “You might not come back from this.”

“I'll make it out alive, Mr. Edgeworth,” 47 reassured him.

“How can you be so sure? Are you always this cocky?” Edgeworth asked.

“I’ve been in many dangerous situations before.” 47 told him. “I almost died years ago when a Paris police chief shot me and severely wounded me.”

“You seriously need to tell me your assassination stories!” Astolfo told 47.

“Maybe some day.” 47 replied.

Edgeworth shook his head and sighed. “If this is what you want to do, then I won’t continue to go against your decision. Honestly, since you’re the world’s deadliest assassin, I’m somewhat confident that you know what you’re doing-”

“WAIT!” Astolfo shouted at them.

Edgeworth except 47 flinched.

“Was it so difficult to say that quietly?” 47 said with some irritation.

“How about the three of us go?” Astolfo suggested. “Both of you can pretend to be businessmen who want to buy people, while I do some sneaky infiltration. Huh, what do you think?”

47 and Edgeworth stared at the silly femboy, then looked at each other, processing Astolfo’s idea.

“We heard Astolfo say something that wasn’t a silly, stupid joke.” 47 remarked.

“We might’ve seen a more mature side of Mr. Astolfo that we hardly see.” Edgeworth nodded.

Astolfo pouted at them. “Geez, thanks for the compliments!”

“This is an idea I need to think about,” 47 told Astolfo and Edgeworth. “There might be a decision I make that forces me to go alone.”

“Let us know what your decision will be," Edgeworth told him. "I know Franziska won’t be thrilled with the idea of me going with you, but let me do the talking to her so that she doesn’t try to whip you or me, including Astolfo.”

“I’ll talk to Luigi and calm him down in case he gets anxiety about this idea,” Astolfo replied. "Oh! We should take Ami with us! She knows Dolma and knows she's working for Bob, so we might encounter her!"

"I'll have to talk to Lupin about it." 47 replied.

"And we should take him with us too, and his friends!" Astolfo grinned.

"This isn't a fun field trip, Astolfo." 47 told him. "This is serious. I'll talk to Lupin about taking Ami with us. But that's it."

Astolfo slumped his shoulders. "Okay."

47 nodded. “Alright, then it's been decided. We’ll head to Aeon soon.”

With that, the three parted ways.

But before Edgeworth left, he looked at Astolfo. “Astolfo?”

“Yeah?” Astolfo replied.

“Don’t ever call me Edgywedgie again,” Edgeworth told him with a glare.

Astolfo gulped and nervously laughed. “Haha, I promise.”

And with that, everyone in the Mario Brothers house began to do some activities, whether it was alone or with someone else, then everyone in the house began to call it a night.

Chapter 33: ACT 3 - Chapter 7

Aeon

The sky above a plane was sunny. Daniel Montgomery was on the plane that was heading to Aeon. He was planning to meet with Bob Page.

The plane landed on an airstrip on the island. It moved slowly into a hangar.

Daniel exited the plane and was approached by a White male who had dark brown facial hair and dark brown hair. He had tactical military glasses on while wearing the same black armored soldier outfit, but without the gas mask helmet. He's known as Commander, the commander of Bob Page's soldiers.

“Mr. Montgomery,” Commander said his name. “Bob Page informed me about your arrival.”

“That is indeed true,” Daniel confirmed. “This is important.”

“Right this way,” Commander replied, leading Daniel to Bob Page.

Aeon's layout had a forest with a large mountain that had a laser weapon tower with a bridge that led to a pit of a bright purple color of acid that was connected to a facility in the mountain. The acid can dissolve anything that falls into it and wipe their entire existence away from Earth, making everybody believe they never existed.

The island also had roads that led to other areas of the island, different buildings such as the barracks for the soldiers and abandoned buildings, as well as training areas for new recruits, and the facility located inside the Island's mountain known as the Aeon Facility.

Daniel and Commander later arrived at the mountain and went into a tunnel that led to the entrance of Aeon Facility.

---

Inside Bob Page’s office in the facility, Bob looked at the monitor screen that showed surveillance footage of Daniel and Commander walking in the facility corridor.

Bob wasn’t alone; Oddjob was there, sitting in a chair that was against the wall in the office.

The door in the office opened, revealing Daniel and Commander, who held the door open for the former.

Daniel entered the office and looked at Bob’s back as the door closed behind him. “Bob.” He said his name.

Bob Page turned to Daniel and looked at him. “Hello Daniel.” He walked towards him. “You know you don’t have to show up here every time you want to speak to me.”

“I know, sir,” Daniel nodded. “It’s about Mario and prosecutor Franziska von Karma. They both came to my office and questioned me about Dr. Robotnik’s technology and his brain.”

“And what did you do?” Bob questioned.

“I lied to them,” Daniel answered. “I hired a hitman to kill the Mario Brothers, but that failed.”

“And what did you do after the hitman you hired failed?” Bob asked as he looked at him.

“I kept him alive,” Daniel answered, and started to feel intimidated.

Bob gasped in shock. “Why would you do that!? This hitman you hired could be telling Mario everything, including that von Karma woman!”

“I kept him alive because I believe it would raise more suspicion,” Daniel explained. “The hitman wasn’t brought up during that conversation with the three of us.”

“For our sake, Daniel, not just yours, this hitman better keep his mouth shut,” Bob told him. “I know your father would say the same thing. You have been plotting more plans, haven’t you?”

“Yes, Bob,” Daniel answered with a nod. “I sent Marshall to negotiate with a crime boss in Highfalcon named Jonny Fernsby. He’s going to try to manipulate him into hiring the hitman the Mario Brothers know.”

Bob blinked his eyes as he looked at Daniel with his mouth slightly open. “You’re going to have Agent 47 kill the Mario Brothers.” He assumed.

“Yes, but just Mario and Franziska,” Daniel stated.

“Why just those two, and why Agent 47 of all people?” Bob inquired. “You know that man is closely allied with those brothers and their friends.”

“I am aware,” Daniel nodded. “But from what my contacts told me, Mario and Franziska are going to spend time at a restaurant called Martinet. We’re going to perform a setup on Agent 47.”

Bob was somewhat impressed with Daniel’s idea of this, but he also thought this would fail.

“You’re making bold moves, Daniel,” Bob remarked. “Hopefully, you know how to overwhelm Agent 47.”

“I do, Bob,” Daniel told him. “He’s going to have to make a decision that won't give him a lot of time to decide.”

Bob nodded at that, then looked at Oddjob. “Before you return to Highfalcon, Daniel,” He brought his eyes back to him. “Oddjob is going to come with you.”

Daniel was surprised by that as he saw Oddjob standing up. “No disrespect Bob, but that’s not-

“Necessary?” Bob interrupted him. “It is necessary, Daniel. You report anything important to him, and he’ll inform me about what you told him, what you did, and what happened to you. He’s also going to take over developing plans to take down the Mario Brothers and their friends. This plan of yours will be your final one, so that Mario or anyone can’t prove you caused them.”

“I doubt that’ll make a difference, Bob,” Daniel argued. “They already suspect me for what happened to Robotnik’s technology and his brain.”

“Don’t overthink about it,” Bob suggested. “This is a way for you to focus more on your father’s company, as well as planning your revenge on the Mario Brothers with my soldiers, possibly Oddjob, and Dolma.”

Daniel knew Bob was right about that. He wanted to get Mario and Franziska killed and witness the suffering of his brother and his friends when they witness the catastrophic chaos.

“I need to schedule my training,” Daniel said to Bob.

“It will happen,” Bob responded. “And it will be worth it.”

Whatever Daniel was planning involving the Mario Brothers, he surprisingly hoped Mario and Luigi would be alive when they see what Daniel is going to do to them.

An invasion, possibly?

---

While Daniel departed Aeon after the conversation, Bob Page walked to the cryo room to meet with Morgan.

Bob noticed Morgan was sleeping in the cryo pod. He knew the man wasn’t dead in there. As he saw Morgan opening his eyes, Bob spoke.

“Hello, Morgan,” Bob said. “It’s been a while.”

Morgan breathed. “Were you....were you afraid...to tell me you failed Bob?”

“No,” Bob shook his head. "Days ago, my men were able to obtain Dr. Robotnik’s technology and his brain, which were stored in a compound on the outskirts of Highfalcon.”

“Not...not destroyed?” Morgan replied. “Why...why would they store....all of that there?”

Bob shrugged. “Who knows. Doesn’t matter why they decided to store all of that in the compound. What matters now is that I have all of it. Do you remember PeopleLog? I had my people gather data about the people who used the app and abducted them. I’m already adding augmentations to those people while abducting more people who used the app."

“You...you...you have all of this...because you were lucky,” Morgan remarked. “You wouldn’t have all of it...if Robotnik's technology got destroyed....and you weren't be able to abduct....these people who used PeopleLog.”

“You’re right and you're wrong, Morgan,” Bob nodded. “Thank god, good luck was created instead of just bad luck. If bad luck only existed, everyone in this world, including you and me, would suffer as they feel misery. And those people who used PeopleLog in the past to gather information about an individual that wasn't their business are now coming back to haunt them. Even if Robotnik's technology got destroyed, it wouldn't make a difference since I have alternatives.”

“What...what are you going to do...with those people who...used PeopleLog?" Morgan questioned. "I know you said...you're adding...augmentations into them...but what's next? Controlling them? Killing them?"

"Those people won’t be returning to their homes." Bob replied, "Instead, they'll have augmentations put into them and be sold. Those augments were created with the use of Robotnik's technology.”

“No...no...don’t tell me you’re-“

“Going to sell them to make a profit? Of course, I’m going to do that, but that's not the main reason. I'm making these people feel brand new and to be used for whatever the buyer wants them to do, until time is up."

"'Time is up'? What...what do you mean?"

"The buyer will have the augmented individual for a limited time, likely short-term," Bob explained. "Then after that, the individual will be programmed to kill the buyer violently, and then spread chaos by targeting human individuals. In a nutshell, I'm scamming the buyers, and creating a new era which will become a new reality."

"You're...you're...you're going to erase current mankind...and start an apocalypse." Morgan reacted in shock.

"The resistance will cause an apocalypse if they can't accept the new era. This world is going to change, Morgan. The so-called victims won’t be returning to their families or anyone who loves them. There are some people who left their families, and those families are no longer thinking about their offspring or relatives because they mean nothing to them. There are some people who are lonely, and those lonely people will be forgotten.”

“Who....who’s going....who's going to stop you, Bob?” Morgan questioned.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Bob laughed as he ignored the question. “The Mario Brothers are living in Highfalcon. Mario made a female friend named Franziska von Karma. She’s a prosecutor and related to the late, corrupt prosecutor Manfred von Karma. The Mario Brothers made other friends, such as Agent 47.”

“Agent....Agent 47? The assassin?”

“That's right, Morgan. I spoke to a contact of mine earlier, and he told me he’s forming a plan to set up Agent 47 to kill Mario and Franziska while he believes he has to kill someone else.”

“How? I know what that...assassin is capable of...there’s no way-“

“I believe so, too,” Bob interrupted him. “I’m not too confident about my contact’s idea, but I won’t know until I’ve been informed about what happened. I sent my right-hand man to Highfalcon to deal with the Mario Brothers so that my contact can focus on his own business as well as the training he’s going to be going through soon.”

“Training? What...what training?”

Bob formed an evil smile. “Keep yourself from getting bored, Morgan. I’ll see you soon to tell you more.”

He then turned around and exited the cryo room.

Morgan hated being in the cryo pod. If a miracle happens, like being rescued, he’ll do whatever he can to kill Bob Page.

But the question is, who is going to trust Morgan Everett?

---

Highfalcon, New York

In an alley, a group of mafia members dressed in black gangster suits were with their boss, who was a White male wearing a red and black suit, the jacket being red and the shirt being black. He had short red hair and had dark red eyes. Jonny Fernsby, the leader of his mafia group.

Jonny was watching two of his men sparring with his guards. Some of Jonny’s guards were wielding AK-47s. From behind, Marshall Smith was holding two briefcases as he approached the group.

An African-American man turned and faced Marshall. “Wrong way, buddy.” He told him.

“I’m here to see Mr. Fernsby,” Marshall replied.

Jonny looked at Marshall and approached him. His guard glanced at him and spoke.

“Boss, this man wants to see you.” He told him.

“What’s your name?” Jonny asked Marshall.

“Marshall Smith,” He answered. “I have a request.”

“A request, huh?” Jonny replied. “Is it a request that’ll make me say yes?”

“Yes, sir,” Marshall nodded. “It involves a hit on Mario and prosecutor Franziska von Karma.”

“Those two?” Jonny asked in surprise. “What about Mario’s brother Luigi?”

“You don’t need to worry about him,” Marshall reassured him. “I can guarantee you he won’t be in your way.”

Jonny looked at him. He felt interested in this request.

“Okay, Marshall Smith,” Jonny nodded. “Let’s discuss this in my office.”

---

Inside Jonny’s dark office, as the window illuminated the room thanks to the sunny weather outside, Marshall sat across from Jonny at the latter’s desk.

Jonny spoke. “I know Mario and the female prosecutor can both be a pain in the ass. But tell me why you want them dead?”

“My contact is being investigated by Mario and Franziska,” Marshall answered. “They want them dead and out of their way.”

He purposely stayed neutral about Daniel’s gender so that Jonny wouldn’t try to find out who Marshall's contact was.

“Hmm,” Jonny hummed. “Alright, I’ll speak to one of my-“

“No need for that, Mr. Fernsby.” Marshall stood up, placed the briefcases on Jonny’s desk, and opened them. He then revealed the contents of the briefcases. One briefcase had gold bars, and the other had stacks of money.

“The gold bars are for you, as well as 10 million dollars that you will use to hire a professional hitman named Agent 47, as well as keeping a majority of it for yourself to do this,” Marshall explained.

“Slow down, Mr. Smith,” Jonny told him with his hand raised. “Agent 47? He’s a myth.”

“Sources say that,” Marshall told him. “Those sources were either bribed, threatened, or they chose not to believe he’s real. But I can assure you, Mr. Fernsby, he, Agent 47, is indeed a real hitman.”

Jonny looked at the gold bars and the 10 million dollars. A part of him wanted no part of this and wanted to tell Marshall to get lost, but a part of him had a feeling this would be a missed opportunity for him if he rejected all of this.

“Before you make a decision, Mr. Fernsby, I’m required to inform you that this will require one of your men to be used as a decoy target,” Marshall said to him.

Jonny looked at him. “Explain.”

“My contact told me Agent 47 is a friend of Mario and Franziska von Karma,” Marshall explained. “Agent 47 will be cornered when he finds out this was a setup. He’ll be forced to kill Mario and Franziska.”

Jonny continued to think as he listened to Marshall. “A bold plan.” He remarked.

“My contact loves making bold plans, Mr. Fernsby,” Marshall told him.

“Allow me to clarify about this,” Jonny told Marshall. “Send Agent 47 a contract hit on a decoy individual. He’ll then get informed that he’ll be forced to kill Mario and Franziska. Am I getting that right?”

“Bingo.” Marshall nodded.

“And if he refuses?”

“Oh, that’ll be a big mistake.”

Jonny stood and stuck his hand out to Marshall.

Marshall also stood and grabbed Jonny’s hand, and the two men gave each other a handshake.

“Mario and Franziska will see the end,” Jonny said with a smile.

---

Inside 47’s cave, the assassin was working on prepping for the trip to Aeon. Personally, 47 would just take Edgeworth with him since he’s the only person in the Mario Brothers house who’s mature and not annoying, and taking Ami, who knows Dolma and had a relationship with her.

47 hasn’t informed Mario and Lupin about what he learned last night about what’s going on at Aeon and Robotnik’s technology being stored there and used as augmentations to put into abducted people. That was because Mario had been spending a lot of time with Franziska, and Lupin had been performing heists around the city with his friends.

The assassin noticed how close Mario and Franziska were to each other since Robotnik’s ultimate defeat. He just hoped those two won’t get distracted from all of this despite Max Payne attempting to kill the former plumber and 47 himself. And he hoped Lupin and his friends weren't getting too distracted as well, because of their activities involving stealing valuable objects.

47 received a notification on his phone from Diana informing him to answer her call on his laptop.

The assassin was curious what it was, so he turned on his laptop and began talking to Diana.

“Yes, Diana?” 47 spoke.

“I got an assignment for you, 47 .” Diana answered, “A new contract hit.”

“Not in the mood for it.” 47 told her.

“It’s urgent 47,” Diana replied. “It’s in Highfalcon. And it’s time to take a break.”

“And work on a side activity.” 47 remarked. “Okay, did the client agree to my fee?”

“Yes, he has agreed.”

47 nodded then sat down at his table. “Give me the briefing.”

47 looked at the footage of a man walking around in the Highfalcon city. The man was a White American man dressed in a black dress shirt, black pants, and shoes. He had short black combed hair.

Diana began. “Your target is Henry Holland. Henry is an arms dealer who operates his business on the East Coast of the United States. Our client wants him taken out for selling cheap counterfeit weapons as well as killing his customers over disagreements on payment and call outs of the weapons he’s selling.”

47 thought this type of hit wouldn’t be for him since he believed this client could kill Henry. He kept listening.

“Henry often hangs out at Martinet and is planning to meet someone there. And our client has agreed to your usual fee and believes you're the one who can flawlessly eliminate him. So, what do you say, 47? Want to endlessly think about Aeon, or keep your mind off things?”

47 quickly decided, as he didn’t want the female handler to wait too long.

“What time is Henry and this individual meeting?” He asked.

“Evening,” Diana answered. “Between 7 and 8.”

“Alright,” 47 stood, “I’ll get to work.”

Since the target will be at Martinet Restaurant & Bar, 47 knew using a disguise would be futile since Mario and Franziska often hang out there. So, he had to go for a more traditional way for an assassin to kill someone, and that was using a sniper rifle, which 47 picked up.

47 grabbed his Walther WA2000 sniper rifle and checked its quality to make sure it was all ready for this assassination. Hopefully, this will make him keep his mind off of Aeon.

But, he hoped nothing would go wrong...

---

Nighttime arrived.

47 got on the roof of a building across from Martinet Restaurant & Bar and crouched. He then started to assemble his WA2000 sniper rifle and aimed it.

47 wasn’t late as he arrived at the roof. He began searching for his target, Henry Holland. He searched the interior of the restaurant and spotted two people at a table. He wasn’t too surprised when he saw them.

Mario and Franziska. Hopefully, they don’t become collateral damage. I knew they were going here on a date. This is starting to become odd...

---

Inside Martinet, Mario and Franziska were enjoying their time together as they sat at a round booth. The latter couldn’t stop blushing during the date. She wasn’t embarrassed; she just hadn’t been into something like this before in her life.

“I've never been on a date before,” Franziska said to Mario. “The foolish blush is foolishly forming like a foolish fool.”

“You’re not alone on that, haha!” Mario chuckled as he also blushed. “I never went on a date before either.”

“Really? Not with Princess Peach?” Franziska said in confusion.

“We only spent time mostly in the castle due to her notoriety,” Mario explained. “She appreciated the people in the Mushroom Kingdom supporting her, but at times she also wanted privacy.”

Franziska nodded, then decided to scoot closer to Mario. She grabbed her menu and hid her and Mario's faces. She started kissing Mario, who kissed her back.

After the kiss, Franziska quickly placed the menu back on the table and quickly scooted away. She quickly checked if anyone had witnessed what happened between the two of them.

“I hope no foolish fool watched us.” Franziska hoped.

“Otherwise, that witness will get whipped,” Mario replied as he assumed. "But I'm sure no one cared to notice."

“If only we had a private room for us to use, but foolish fools beat us to it and occupied those foolish private foolish rooms.”

The prosecutor’s rant stopped as she heard Mario quietly laughing. She formed a pout.

“What’s so foolishly funny, foolish Mario?”

“You always make me laugh, Franziska,” Mario answered. “I always enjoy hearing you say ‘fool’ and ‘foolish’ and ‘foolishly’.“

“T-thanks,” Franziska stuttered. She formed a small smile. “And I always enjoy hearing you say ‘let’s-a go’.” She then giggled.

That giggle that Mario heard from the female prosecutor made the former believe it made her wholesome.

Franziska glanced at a specific table in the restaurant & bar. “That table over there near the bar counter is where we, including your foolish brother and your foolish thief friend, first met. And this place is where our adventure started.”

“It was,” Mario nodded as he stared at Franziska. “I enjoyed every moment of it with you.”

“Me too,” Franziska nodded with a smile. She held onto Mario’s hand. “I say this a lot to you like a foolish fool, but thank you, Mario. Thank you for changing me and becoming someone important to me. You're one of the reasons my redemption progressed. I cannot wait until all of this foolishness is over. We can be at peace until we have to get involved in something foolish.”

Mario viewed a future with Franziska as he held her hand.

“Maybe one day, Franziska, we can get married,” Mario suggested as he looked away, believing he said something foolish to the prosecutor.

“Yeah, I would like that,” Franziska replied, causing Mario to look at her, seeing the smile on her face. “I would love to marry you someday Mario, and I would like to have the marriage be at the Mushroom Kingdom, and have our honeymoon there.”

“I would love that,” Mario replied as he scooted closer to the female prosecutor. “And when we say hello to retirement, we can live at the Mushroom Kingdom, and put Highfalcon behind us.”

Franziska laid her head on Mario’s shoulder. “We already made our future in advance.”

---

47 kept searching for Henry until he finally spotted him. He saw him entering Martinet and walking to an empty table not far from the former plumber and the female prosecutor.

47’s finger almost pulled the trigger until his phone vibrated. He didn’t want to answer it, but was curious to know who was calling him. He assumed it was Diana, but he wondered why she would call him suddenly.

The bald hitman answered the call as he was still aiming at Henry.

“Who is this?” 47 asked.

“Hello Agent 47.”

The voice on the phone was a male. 47 didn’t know who this man was.

“Are you the client?” 47 questioned. “How did you get this number?”

“I cannot answer that. I’m calling you about your target, Henry Holland.”

“What about him? Are you calling off the hit?”

“No. Henry Holland is not your target.”

“What are you talking about?”

“If you care about the safety of others, you will kill two people who are inside Martinet: Mario and Franziska von Karma.”

47’s mouth slightly opened in shock as he slowly raised his eyebrows. He knew something was odd, but didn't expect to go this way.

“Is this Daniel Montgomery?” The bald hitman questioned.

But the question was ignored. “If you don’t kill Mario and Franziska von Karma, then Henry will. If you kill Henry, a group of mercenaries that I hired will open fire at every single person inside Martinet, and it will be all your fault. You have 10 seconds to make a decision.”

The caller hung up. 47 has already made his decision, and that was aiming his WA2000 right at Henry’s head and pulled the trigger.

BANG!

---

Inside Martinet, Henry sat at his table and took a sip of the drink he ordered as he sneaked glances at Mario and Franziska.

And then, a sniper bullet crashed through a window as it broke, and struck Henry’s head, making his body fall to the floor as he instantly died.

The people in the bar gasped and screamed. Mario and Franziska flinched at what happened and didn’t know what was going on.

Then all hell broke loose.

---

A group of mercenaries dressed in dark military clothing with vests, black ski masks that covered their mouths, and black squad goggles, got out of their black van and ran towards the front entrance of the restaurant & bar and stood in front of it.

They then opened fire on the people and killed them with their FN P90s and FAMAS F1s.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

The glass window of the bar started to crack and shatter as bullets from the P90s and FAMAS assault rifles struck it.

As the people inside were screaming, people were getting killed, and the screaming people were also getting killed.

Mario and Franziska felt fear as they were cornered. Mario quickly flipped a table and drew out his AMT AutoMag V pistol and fired it at the mercenaries.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

He was able to kill one of them. Knowing this sudden gun fight was overwhelming, Mario grabbed Franziska’s hand and quickly ran towards a door and opened it. They were now in a hallway. Both of them were panting as Mario quickly closed the door.

“Mama Mia, Franziska are you okay!?” Mario asked her as he was panicking. "You didn't get shot, did you!?"

“I’m fine!” Franziska told him as she panted.

---

Outside in front of Martinet Restaurant & Bar, mercenaries grabbed their molotov cocktails and started to throw them at the interior of the building, setting it on fire.

BANG!

Suddenly, one of the mercenaries got shot in the head and fell to the ground.

BANG!

Then another mercenary got shot in the head.

The three remaining mercenaries tried to spot the person shooting. They all assumed it was a sniper killing them, and they already knew who the sniper was.

“Someone find him!” One of the mercenaries said to the group.

“I’ll go!” A mercenary replied as he ran.

After the mercenary left, the two mercenaries were about to enter the burning restaurant to quickly find any loose ends to kill, but both died instantly as they were shot in the head.

BANG! BANG!

---

Back on the roof, 47 noticed the mercenary running away from his group. He knew he was coming after him, so he waited by standing against a wall as he wielded his Silverballer.

As he heard and saw the entrance of the roof opening, he aimed his saw Silverballer as he looked at the mercenary who was holding a FAMAS F1.

The mercenary stopped moving, turned his body around, and saw 47.

BANG!

The hitman shot his Silverballer at the mercenary, putting a bullet into his head. 47 wanted the mercenary to see him and have a final moment of his life, seeing the bald hitman who killed him.

47 heard police and firetruck sirens. This signaled him to leave quickly, as he didn’t want to be spotted by them and possibly get arrested or questioned. He quickly grabbed everything and escaped. He knew and believed Mario and Franziska survived the attack.

---

Back inside the restaurant & bar, Mario and Franziska backed away from the door that led to the main area as they saw smoke coming below the door. The two saw a door nearby, down the hall. They both ran towards it. Mario tried to open it, but the door was locked. He gave the door a powerful kick, which made the door fly across. They were now in an alley.

Mario held Franziska’s hand as they escaped Martinet through the back entrance. Then ran down the alley and were now on the streets. The duo saw Martinet, the place where they first met, burning down. They also saw the dead mercenaries lying on the street.

“Mama Mia...” Mario said quietly as he and Franziska stared at the dead mercenaries.

The Highfalcon PD, along with Chief Larvell Jones, Robocop, and the firefighters, arrived at the chaotic scene and noticed the inferno restaurant & bar, including Mario and Franziska.

Jones got out of his police car with Robocop. The two stared at Mario and Franziska as the chief of police made siren noises.

“Mario! Franziska von Karma!” He said his name out loud as he quickly approached them. “Are you okay!?"

Robocop looked at the deceased mercenaries and their weapons. "A hit squad." He looked at the former plumber and the female prosecutor. "What happened?"

Franziska answered. “These dead foolish fools ruined our foolish romantic date!”

“’Foolish romantic date’!?” Mario looked at her.

“Sorry, but these foolish dead foolish soldiers ruined our night, and it got me all foolishly frustrated,” Franziska told him.

“Did the two of you kill these mercenary-looking killers?” Jones asked them.

“No.” Mario shook his head. “We don’t know who did.”

“But we have a feeling who might’ve caused this foolish chaos in Martinet,” Franziska told Jones and Robocop.

“I’m guessing Daniel Montgomery.” Robocop guessed.

“Precisely,” Franziska nodded. “That foolish man is driving us foolishly insane.”

Mario slumped his shoulders and sighed. “But we won’t-a able to prove that.” He said.

“Get some rest, both of you, and watch your backs,” Jones told them. “We’ll have everything under control.” He looked at Robocop. "Take them home, Alex."

"Yes, chief." Robocop obliged.

Mario and Franziska knew they needed a rest, a rest filled with hopefully a good night's sleep. They knew Daniel Montgomery had something to do with this. They wanted to confront him again, but they were afraid of whether they would make it out of the Montgomery Industries alive or deal with the repercussions.

They knew they couldn’t wait too long to end all of this foolish chaos that they were involved in.

Chapter 34: ACT 3 - Chapter 8

Mario, Franziska, and Robocop arrived safely at the home. The three didn’t say a word to each other during the car ride as Mario and Franziska were having flashbacks of the violent chaos in Martinet.

The chaos gave Mario flashbacks of the Mushroom Kingdom War, while Franziska had flashbacks of the drive-by shooting she was in and became a victim of it as a child.

The trio entered the house and walked into the living room. Mario was immediately given a strong hug by Luigi, Astolfo, and Lupin.

“Mama Mia, Mario are you guys okay!?” Luigi asked.

“We got so worried about you and Franziska!” Astolfo told him.

"What the hell happened!?" Lupin asked while shocked.

“We’re-a fine,” Mario told them as he hugged them back.

Franziska was given a hug by Luigi, Astolfo, and Miles Edgeworth, who were also in the living room.

“Are you okay, Franziska?” Edgeworth asked her. “What happened made me believe you got shot again.”

“I’m fine, Miles,” Franziska reassured him. “Those foolish mercenaries failed to kill us.”

"Mercenaries?" Lupin said in surprise.

"That's-a right." Mario nodded at him.

47 was near the group in the living room and approached Mario.

“Mario.” 47 said his name.

“Hello, 47,” Mario nodded with a sad smile. “We’re-a okay.”

“Good. I have information to tell you about what happened.” 47 told him.

Franziska approached the bald hitman. “You found out who sent the foolish man to kill us?”

“Yes.” 47 nodded at her.

“Daniel Montgomery.” Mario assumed.

“No,” 47 shook his head. “I was sent to kill a man named Henry Holland, but it was a decoy. The man was going to kill both of you inside the restaurant unless I killed you two.”

“But you killed that foolish man," Franziska believed. "Which explains why those foolish mercenaries came to kill everyone and arson the restaurant.”

“That’s right,” 47 confirmed. “Someone was able to call my phone. The voice came from a male. He didn’t say who he was, but he might've been Daniel.”

“Were you able to identify the client’s name?” Mario inquired.

“Yes,” 47 nodded. “The client’s name is Jonny Fernsby.”

“’Jonny Fernsby’?” Franziska asked. “That foolish mafia boss?”

“Correct.” 47 nodded.

"Him," Robocop said, remembering the man who killed him. "Jonny Fernsby. He got me killed four years ago. Because of him, I became what I am now."

Luigi freaked out as he became scared, “Mama Mia! S-so we’re dealing with not two threats!” He began to shake Mario’s body. “THREE THREATS, MARIO!!!!!”

Mario stopped him. “Mama Mia, Luigi, must you shake me around every time you get scared!?”

“Let’s work on confronting Jonny Fernsby, then killing him.” 47 suggested.

"I agree." Robocop agreed. "He needs to pay for what he did to me, pay for getting innocent civilians murdered, and pay for attempting to get Mario and Franziska von Karma killed."

“Can we just put this foolish fool behind bars and have him sob in defeat like a foolish fool loser?” Franziska asked.

“He’s better off dead,” 47 told her. “It ends the threats.”

"Jonny Fernsby must die," Robocop added.

“Okey dokey, we’ll handle this man tomorrow,” Mario stopped 47 and Robocop. “We need to relax.”

“Not yet,” Edgeworth replied. “47, Astolfo and I have something to tell you.”

47 began explaining. “My contact found the location where Robotnik’s technology and his brain are located. They're on an island in the Atlantic Ocean called Hydrakain Island, code-named Aeon.”

Edgeworth spoke next. “The three of us, including Kay, are going to the island-“

“WHAT!?” Franziska exclaimed. “W-why would you want to go to that foolish island, Miles Edgeworth!? Don’t you know you could get foolishly killed by those foolish fools there!?”

Edgeworth sighed as he knew this would be Franziska’s reaction.

“I trust these people, Franziska,” He replied as he looked at her worried expression. “I know 47 and Astolfo would keep Kay and I protected.”

“Why would your foolish thief foolish friend want to come with the three of you foolish fools?” Franziska asked as she still felt anxious.

“She demanded us.” 47 answered.

“And she was desperate to go,” Astolfo added.

---

FLASHBACK

“PLEASE, MILES EDGEWORTH, LET ME COME WITH YOU!” Kay begged loudly towards Edgewoorth. Kay grabbed the prosecutor’s ankle as she begged.

They were inside the living room of the Mario Brothers house. As usual, 47 was reading his book as he tried to focus on reading the words on the pages. Sure, he can read somewhere else in the house in peace, but Mario wanted him to read in the living room to avoid isolation. The assassin wished he hadn’t listened.

When Kay and Gumshoe were told by Edgeworth about going to Aeon with 47 and Astolfo, Kay wanted to come since she believed it was not a mission without the great thief. After saying “no” to Kay, Edgeworth wished he had gone alone to Highfalcon.

Astolfo saw Kay crying loudly and begging Edgeworth, then looked at the latter.

“You should say yes, Edge.” He told him, giving Edgeworth a proper nickname that made the prosecutor comfortable. “Or you might regret it.”

“Mr. Edgeworth, please, for my sake, say yes to her so I can read my book in peace for once in this house.” 47 told him.

Edgeworth breathed as he endured the constant begging from his great thief, silly friend Kay Faraday. The reason he didn’t want her to come with the three of them was because of how dangerous this mission was. Gumshoe obliged when he was told to stay in the Mario Brothers house. Edgeworth believed the scruffy detective handled it maturely, but with Kay, obviously, the opposite.

“Kay, stop it!” Edgeworth told her. “You can come with us.”

“Yay!” Kay grinned as she got to her feet. “You cannot steal the truth without me on any investigation!”

Sometimes, Kay, you’re annoying and naive. I just hope you survive this. I won’t forgive myself if you get shot or killed by someone.

This is what Edgeworth hoped. He hoped Kay would not die while at Aeon. He was glad 47 was going to be involved in this since he trusted him.

The prosecutor looked at Astolfo. “Kay is going to work with you during your infiltration in Aeon.”

“Not a problem!” Astolfo smiled. He looked at 47. "Is Ami coming with us too?"

“I haven't spoken to Lupin yet." 47 answered him. He looked at Kay. "And Ms. Faraday? Don’t hesitate to kill someone when they’re trying to kill you. This is a kill or be killed scenario.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve done it before while we were at Thunder Valley,” Kay replied with a confident smile. “I knew once I got involved, I had to do what it took to survive. As Miles said to me before, pretend we’re in the military fighting.”

She clenched her fist in the air. “Nobody will take the great thief Kay Faraday down!”

I sure hope so. Edgeworth thought.

---

“So the four of us, possibly Ami, are going to that island,” Edgeworth said to Franziska.

"Wait, Amy?" Lupin responded in surprise.

47 replied to him. "Astolfo suggested we should take Ami with us in case Dolma Sinha gets encountered by us."

Lupin breathed and was thinking deeply about this. He realized this infiltration mission to Aeon would be dangerous or worse, violently ugly.

"If Ami decides to go, then so will I," Lupin told 47. "I care about her, and she became a daughter to me. I'll take a bullet for her if it gets to that point."

47 wanted to say no, but noticed an even number of people would be traveling to the island together. He thought that six people were enough. He just hoped Lupin the 3rd would make it out alive with him and the others.

"Alright." 47 nodded. "We'll talk about the plan and what we need to do."

"Not a problem!" Lupin smiled as he gave 47 a pat on the back. "I'll speak to Amy."

"It's Ami." 47 corrected him.

Lupin widened his eyes as he gasped. "You too!?"

Franziska breathed as the anxiety was still in her body. She feared her “little brother” getting killed out there. She brought her eyes to 47.

“Mr. 47,” She said his name. “I expect your foolish existence to protect my foolish ‘little brother’ Miles Edgeworth and keep him from foolishly dying like a foolish fool who’s making a foolish, dangerous foolish decision to foolishly go to that foolish island. Are we clear?”

“Yes, crystal clear,” 47 nodded. “I’ll protect him and the others. We’ll make it out there alive.”

“W-why not just kill that Bob Page guy!?” Luigi asked as he was still feeling scared.

“The security is tight, and we’re not going there just to kill him,” 47 answered him. “The layout needs to be observed. And we need to see what Bob is capable of if we see him, including his henchmen, and Oddjob. If we kill Bob, then most likely the entire army of his group will be after us, and it might not end well.”

Franziska looked at the clock on the wall, noticing it was getting late.

“I need to sleep,” Franziska told everyone. “I wanna have a good foolish-less night's sleep without any foolish anxiety that would keep me foolishly awake.”

“Don’t-a worry, Franziska,” Mario replied to her. “I’ll make sure you won’t get any nightmares!”

---

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everything was fine.

Everything was fine for them.

Everything was fine for everyone.

Everyone was enjoying their time together in Martinet.

But then, everyone screamed.

Everyone got shot.

Except for two.

Mario and Franziska von Karma.

But then fire started forming inside the restaurant & bar.

Mario, the former plumber, was cornered.

Where was Franziska?

Mario saw her and widened his eyes with a jaw-dropping reaction. His ears heard her screaming in horror.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Franziska's entire body was on fire. She screamed out Mario's name as the violent inferno burned her alive.

"MARIO!!!!!!"

---

"FRANZISKA!!!" Mario yelled out as she rose and panted.

As he panted, Mario turned his head and noticed Franziska already awake. She was also panting.

"Franziska?" Mario said her name.

The prosecutor looked at the former plumber. "Mario?"

“Mama Mia...” Mario breathed. “Did you have a nightmare?“

“Yes.” Franziska nodded. "You're body...it was set on fire while we were at Martinet. Everyone was dying."

"My nightmare was the same; the only difference was you getting set on fire," Mario explained. He then got up.

Franziska looked at him. "Going somewhere?"

"Nowhere." Mario shook his head. "I'm-a just trying to relax. And I'm-a trying to find a way to get this nightmare vision out of my head."

Franziska could already tell Mario was feeling anxious about her, about her getting killed. She got off the bed and approached the plumber.

"Look at me, Mario." She told him.

Mario turned his head to her and listened to what she had to say to him.

"I know that nightmare made you start to worry about me," Franziska remarked. "Yeah, I may be afraid of dying, but death is inevitable. My life was at risk already when I started to become a prosecutor. And your life was at risk when you fought in the war in the country you grew up in. Am I wrong?"

Mario processed her words. He knew she was right. He nodded as she spoke. He, including his brother and friends, risked their lives to defend the Mushroom Kingdom during the war. And he knew Franziska, including Miles, risked their lives while being a prosecutor. He didn't forget about the story of the drive-by shooting that was meant for Manfred.

"You're not wrong, Franziska," Mario responded. "I'm-a just too scared of what could happen to you. After I thought you died, I was completely broken."

Franziska placed her hands on Mario's cheeks, then kissed him, and laid her head on his shoulder.

"I'm too scared of what could happen to Miles when he and the others go to that foolish island," Franziska told him. "But I can assure you, Mario, I'm not going anywhere. And I know they'll be okay while being on the island."

"You say to me that I'm foolishly naive, but are you naive too sometimes?" Mario questioned her.

"Okay, you got me." Franziska sighed. "What I said might've made me sound like I'm foolishly naive, but I would rather not think about such foolish things, like what you're thinking about it right now. It's not mentally healthy."

"You're right." Mario nodded. "Maybe I'm a stupid, naive, foolish fool like you always view me as."

"What?!" Franziska looked at him in shock. "That's not what I meant!"

Mario chuckled. "I know. I'm-a just joking, haha."

"Is that your way of lightening the mood?" Franziska asked with a frown.

"Yes." Mario nodded. "You're right, Franziska. I shouldn't worry about you too much, but I won't stop thinking about you if you get hurt."

"Don't forget about the gift you gave me." Franziska reminded him.

"The Super Star plushie," Mario remembered.

"The gift that brings people good luck." Franziska smiled. "And because of that, good luck will be on our side. And the foolish bad luck will be restrained." She looked at the bed. "Ready to go back to bed?"

Mario also looked at the bed. "Yeah." He nodded. "This conversation gave me an idea."

"What kind of idea?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow-"

"No, you'll tell me now. Is this idea foolish?"

"It might be foolish for a bit, but you'll thank me for it. I'm-a going to speak to 47 and have him give you a gun."

Franziska thought that idea was foolish, but she understood why Mario wanted her to have a gun with her to defend herself. She knew using the whip would be like bringing a knife to a gun fight.

"This gun better not be filled with foolishness." Franziska hoped.

"It won't," Mario reassured her. "Besides, we're gonna confront Jonny Fernsby tomorrow. Both of us have to anticipate anything that'll happen."

---

The next day arrived, and it was now morning.

Mario, Franziska, Robocop, and 47 agreed to go confront Jonny. 47 had Diana track down the latter’s location, and after he got the coordinates to Jonny’s hideout, the group of four started to travel.

Inside a bedroom at Jonny’s hideout, there was a woman dressed in a cat girl maid outfit, waiting for the mob boss to arrive as she seductively lay on the bed.

Jonny entered the bedroom and saw the female in the sexy outfit. He formed a smirk on his face as he stared at her.

“Well, hello there, cute cat.” He spoke. “You here to give me a good time?”

“Indeed, Mr. Fernsby,” The cat maid answered. “I can show you whatever you want, meow.”

Jonny felt his boner growing as he got turned on. He approached the cat girl maid to have some fun with her.

---

Outside of the hideout in an alley, 47 sneaked down the alley and spotted a bodyguard guarding the back entrance of the hideout. He sneaked behind him as he approached him and strangled him to death with his fiber wire.

After killing him, 47 dragged his body to a hidden spot and started to put the bodyguard’s black gangster suit on. The assassin checked his surroundings and noticed no one was watching him. He then entered the hideout.

---

Inside the hideout’s bar, Mario, Franziska, and Robocop stormed in through the entrance. Mario was wielding his AMT AutoMag V, while Robocop wielded his Auto 9, and Franziska was wielding a Heckler & Koch VP70M along with her whip.

The VP70M was a gun that 47 handed her to use in combat. The pistol has a three-round burst feature if the user adds the butt stock to the gun, which was already attached. Franziska thought the gun looked foolish, but when she fired it during practice, she believed the gun was the opposite of foolishness.

When Jonny's men spotted the trio storming in, they all drew out their guns and intended to shoot them. But the trio reacted just in time to open fire at them.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

RATATATA! RATATATA! RATATATA!

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

RATATATA! RATATATA! RATATATA!

The guards fought back against them, causing Mario and Franziska to take cover behind tables they flipped. Robocop slowly advanced towards the guards as they fired their weapons at him, which did nothing to him as their bullets ricochet. Robocop flawlessly fired his Auto 9 and killed the guards.

RATATATA! RATATATA! RATATATA!

Robocop spotted more guards arriving at the bar. Jonny’s guards fired their AK-47s and their Glock 17s at him and the two.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Of course, none of the bullets stopped Robocop. He fired his gun at them, then picked up chairs and threw them at Jonny's mafia men. He grabbed one guard, who became terrified and got his head violently torn apart by the Auto 9.

Mario and Franziska looked at each other and nodded their heads as they formed an idea. They both charged at the mafia guards and attacked them.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

RATATATA! RATATATA! RATATATA!

As Mario fired his AutoMag V pistol, he jumped all over the bar and crushed the bodies of the guards, while Franziska used her whip to whip the faces of the guards violently and fired her VP70M at them, killing them all.

A door in the bar kicked open suddenly, revealing a guard wielding a Mossberg 590 Bullpup shotgun. He fired the shotgun at the prosecutor.

With fast reaction time, Franziska took cover.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The guard quickly placed shotgun cartridges in the gun as he was reloading, but got whipped in the face by the female prosecutor, causing him to drop the shotgun.

Mario quickly picked up the bullpup shotgun and shot the guard in the head, which caused it to explode.

BANG!

Mario and Franziska used their ears to detect any footsteps coming towards them, including Robocop. They heard voices somewhere in the hideout.

Robocop located the noise. "Upstairs." He told them, getting a nod from the duo after he spoke.

Franziska grabbed an AK-47 off the floor and was now dual-wielding the AK and the VP70M as she walked with Mario and Robocop through the hideout. They didn't go upstairs yet. They wanted to clear out the entire hideout and confront Jonny Fernsby.

The group of three knew 47 would be in disguise, so they knew not to accidentally shoot him.

---

47 entered a hallway and walked down the hall as he walked by guards who were wielding their AK-47s as they ran down the hall. He noticed a group of guards wielding their AKs in the hall near the stairs and approached them.

One of the guards spoke, “Those three are inside! And we’re low on protection!”

“I’ll defend the boss,” 47 offered. “Where is he?”

“He’s upstairs in his room.” The guard answered.

47 nodded and walked up the stairs and went to find the bedroom.

While that was going on, the group of guards moved down the hall, and then suddenly.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATA! RATATATA! RATATATA!

RATATATA! RATATATA! RATATATA!

The group of guards was getting shot to death by Mario, Franziska, and Robocop. The guards didn’t stand a chance against them.

More guards came into the hall and attempted to take down the trio, but failed as Robocop spotted them quickly and fired his Auto 9 at them.

RATATATA! RATATATA! RATATATA!

One guard from behind attempted to ambush the three, but Franziska's ears caught his footsteps and shot him to death with her VP70M and AK-47.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATA! RATATATA! RATATATA!

Mario spotted a guard who appeared and attempted to fire his AK at the trio. The former plumber had quick reflexes to aim his Mossberg 590 Bullpup at him, then killed him by firing the shotgun three times.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

“I think we’re-a clear,” Mario said to Franziska and Robocop. “Let’s-a go find 47 and Jonny Fernsby.”

Before they walked, Mario looked at Robocop. "And Alex? Please don't think about it."

"I'll try not to," Robocop replied

---

Jonny Fernsby was still in the bedroom. He stood as he wielded a Desert Eagle and waited for Mario, Franziska, and Robocop to arrive so that he could shoot and kill them.

The entrance of the bedroom opened, which made Jonny shoot.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Jonny waited for them to return fire, but nothing happened except the door opening. He slowly moved forward as he kept his Desert Eagle aimed.

“Show yourselves!” He yelled, believing the trio was in the corridor.

What the mob boss didn’t know was that 47, who climbed into the window of the bedroom after he climbed out of the other bedroom that was next door, hopped to the window of the bedroom where Jonny was.

The assassin kept himself quiet as he silently moved towards Jonny and karate chopped his neck, making him screech as he dropped his pistol.

Jonny looked at 47. He tried to attack him, but let out a painful cry as the bald assassin gave him a painful headbutt. 47 then grabbed him and tossed him to the floor, then kicked him in the knee.

The hitman kicked the Desert Eagle away and sent it to the corner of the bedroom.

Jonny panted as he glared at 47. “Who the hell are you?”

“The man you hired.” 47 answered as he pulled out his Silverballers.

Jonny’s jaw opened in shock. “You’re Agent 47! I always thought you were a myth!”

“That’s what everyone believes,” 47 replied. “But that belief seems to be fading away.”

Mario, Franziska, and Robocop arrived and saw 47 with Jonny. They noticed the latter was injured, and they knew it was because of 47.

All four of them stood next to each other as they sent their glares at Jonny.

Jonny looked at all four of them. “What do you four want?! Is this you’re psychopathic way of arresting me?! Is that why Robocop is here!?”

Franziska glared as she cracked her whip and whipped the floor.

CRACK!

“We want to know why you hired 47 to kill Mario and I,” She questioned. “Then hired those foolish mercenaries to attack Martinet.”

“I...” Jonny swallowed as he felt intimidated by the four of them. He felt embarrassed since he was a mafia boss. And he knew Alex Murphy was here to get revenge on him for killing him before he became Robocop.

CRACK!

“Aaah!” Jonny screamed, getting whipped by Franziska.

“Answer, foolish mafia foolish boss!” Franziska demanded.

“Okay, okay!” Jonny responded. “This guy named Marshall Smith arrived in my territory and was offering me 10 million dollars and gold bars to hire Agent 47 to kill you and Mario! The gold bars were for me, and I paid the bald man 800,000 dollars for the job to kill you two.”

“What about those mercenaries?” 47 asked him. “Were you the one on the phone?”

“W-what!? No!” Jonny answered him. “I didn’t hire mercenaries to do anything!”

“Then who did?” Mario asked.

“I don’t know!”

CRACK!

Jonny screamed as he got whipped again by Franziska.

“Foolish liar!” Franziska yelled.

“I’m not lying, I swear!” Jonny told all three of them. “This Marshall Smith guy didn’t mention anything about mercenaries being involved in any of this! He just wanted me to hire Agent 47 to assassinate both of you! That’s all he wanted me to do!”

“Where do we find Marshall Smith?” Robocop asked.

“I don’t know, okay!? I don’t know anything about this guy! Except for his appearance! He’s a bald, African-American, wearing a business suit! He kept mentioning his contact, but he never said their name!” Jonny explained.

Mario started to believe Marshall’s contact was Daniel Montgomery or Bob Page. Asking Jonny would be pointless. Mario and the others knew Jonny’s answer would be “I don’t know.”.

Jonny spoke again. “The money and the gold bars are in the safe! You can have all of it!”

CRACK!

Jonny screamed once again after getting whipped by Franziska.

“We didn’t come here for the foolish money or the foolish gold bars!” Franziska told him.

“You're under arrest, Jonny Fernsby!” Mario said with a victory smile. “It's-a time for you-“

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

RATATATA! RATATATA! RATATATA! RATATATA!

Mario and Franziska flinched as 47 and Robocop out of nowhere fired their guns and shot Jonny to death.

Mario's jaw dropped as he widened his eyes while shocked. He was looking forward to putting Jonny behind bars.

“MAMA MIA 47, ALEX MURPHY!!!” Mario screamed at them. “I WAS GOING TO ARREST HIM!!!”

"Justice has been served, violently," Robocop responded. He fulfilled his revenge.

“He was a threat that needed to end,” 47 replied. “Besides, didn’t you and the Highfalcon PD kill two mafia bosses in the city?”

“Yes, we did, but that was for ending their crimes in Highfalcon and putting an end to their violence-“

Franziska placed her hand on Mario’s shoulder and spoke. “Look, Mario, as much as I don’t support 47 and Robocop's foolish decisions, they had to do what they foolishly needed to do like foolish fools.”

“I thought we made peace.” 47 recalled.

“We did!” Franziska glared as she pointed her finger at him. “That doesn’t mean I’m not going to call you ‘foolish’ ‘fool’, and all the other words related to fool!”

“Let’s-a get out of here already,” Mario told them. “I’ll need to contact the Highfalcon PD to inform them about what happened.”

“I’ll be heading home so that I don’t answer questions,” 47 told them.

“And after we leave this foolish place, we’ll head to your foolish police office,” Franziska said to Mario.

Mario nodded and contacted the Highfalcon PD, explaining to them about Jonny Fernsby’s demise.

---

After taking down Jonny Fernsby, Mario, Franziska, and Robocop arrived at the former’s police outpost.

Max Payne, who was sitting in his jail cell, saw them entering. He noticed the whip in Franziska’s hand and also noticed Robocop.

So that’s Mario’s prosecutor friend, the woman with the whip. I wonder what they’ve been doing since it looked like they came out of a chaotic event that happened earlier, since sirens outside were going off.

Alex Murphy, well, formally Alex Murphy to some, commonly known as Robocop. I don't know too much about him, but he was killed by a mafia boss named Jonny Fernsby. If Jonny were ever in the same room as Robocop, he would definitely piss his pants.

Max stood and spoke. “What have you three been up to?” He asked them. “Were the three of you the reason why those sirens went off? Let me guess, you three went on a killing spree.”

Franziska looked at Max with a glare. “So you must be Max Payne, also known as Foolish Payne, who tried to kill Mario and his foolish friend 47.”

"Max Payne." Robocop looked at him. "Former detective of the NYPD, and former DEA agent."

"You did some of your homework," Max replied. He looked at Franziska. “I knew you were Mario's prosecutor friend. Shouldn’t you be focusing on your work as a prosecutor, or is the chief prosecutor so laid back?”

“Stop it, Payne in the Fools!” Franziska pointed at him. “I won’t be answering your foolish questions filled with foolishness!”

“Since you say ‘foolish’ a lot, is April Fools' Day your favorite day?” Max asked.

“Why would I consider April Fools' Day to be my favorite foolish day? That day is filled with foolish jokes coming from foolish fools!”

Mario slumped his shoulders. “But I like April Fools' Day!” He said.

“Don’t ever think about doing a foolish April Fools' foolish joke on me, Mario!” Franziska told him with a glare. "Or I'll whip you for being foolish!"

“Wait, is this an abusive relationship I’m looking at?” Max questioned.

“HUH!?” Franziska exclaimed. “W-why are you asking such foolish questions, Foolish Payne!?”

“You’re holding a whip,” Max remarked. “And you threaten to whip Mario if he did a childish April Fools' Joke on you.”

"Not to mention, you tried to commit assault on him with your whip twice," Robocop remarked to Franziska.

“I'll admit, she tried to,” Mario mentioned. "But it's behind us."

“Mario!” Franziska said his name in shock and glared. “I tried to do that because of your foolish decisions!”

“But all is forgiven, right?” Mario said as he nervously laughed.

Franziska sighed. “Yeah, I guess. Just, don’t ever do something so foolish ever again, Mario!”

“I’m curious, how did the two of you meet?” Mas questioned them. “I feel like both of you are childhood friends.”

“We’re-a not childhood friends,” Mario shook his head. “We met at a restaurant. I gave her a free non-alcoholic drink.”

“If you had gotten her an alcoholic drink, she would’ve whipped your ass multiple times and called you a foolish buffoon.” Max believed.

“Haha, you may be right, Max Payne,” Mario said with a nervous laugh, imagining himself giving Franziska an alcoholic drink and suffering the consequences from her.

“No, he is right, Mario,” Franziska looked at him with scary eyes, “I’m not the type of woman to drink alcohol or smoke.”

“You and I can relate to not smoking,” Max replied to her. “I did smoke years ago, then decided to quit. A corrupted DEA agent offered me a cigarette once, but I turned him down, and then I had to kill him.”

“Why?” Franziska questioned.

“He was a mole for a pharmaceutical company that was producing an illegal drug called Valkyr,” Max explained. “It’s a long story, so I doubt you three would give a shit about it, unless you wanna Google it.”

Mario freaked out. “T-that drug is g-gone forever RIGHT!?” He hoped.

“Yeah, it’s all gone, vanished,” Max reassured him. “I killed the woman who was running her company. She was also responsible for killing my wife and my newborn daughter.”

That made Franziska gasp as she dropped her whip on the floor. She despised people who murder newborn children and their mothers. She grabbed her off the floor.

Robocop looked at Max. "My condolences."

"Thanks." Max nodded at him.

“I’m guessing that’s a story for another time, right, Payne in the Fools?” Franziska asked.

“I don’t mind talking about it,” Max responded. He began the story of his wife and newborn daughter being murdered.

---

FLASHBACK

New Jersey

Years Ago

The sunset formed outside, and my arrival had already gotten ugly when my wife didn’t respond when I spoke to her loudly about my arrival. When the husband says to his spouse, “Honey, I’m home.”, it’s not common for a response not to be given.

Her car was already parked in the driveway when I arrived at the home. Things didn’t seem right. This bothered the living hell out of me. This started to form pain in my body, no pun intended.

It was dark inside Max’s New Jersey home. He tried to switch the lights on, but they would not turn on.

We paid our electric bill days ago, unless there’s something wrong with the circuit breaker.

Max decided to go check on the circuit breaker that was located in the basement. He approached the basement door near the living room, but the door was locked.

His eyes then caught something on a wall, a marking that depicted a poison syringe.

Seeing that poison syringe formed a forewarning of violent, diabolical madness spreading all over the place.

Max arrived at the empty living room, and then he was ambushed by a man with a knife.

The man with the knife kicked Max across the living room and attempted to stab him to death. Max rolled his body away from the man as the latter stabbed the wooden floor.

Max quickly stood and aimed his Beretta 92FS at the man. “DROP THE KNIFE!” He yelled at him.

The man didn’t comply and attempted to stab Max again, but this ended his life as Max Payne shot him and killed him.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Max heard violent commotion going on upstairs, which forced him to run up there. He heard the cries of his wife and his daughter.

“Michelle! Rose!” He said their names out loud. Michelle was his wife, and Rose was his newborn daughter.

Max arrived upstairs and approached the master bedroom where the noise was coming from. Max kicked the door open as he aimed his Beretta and saw two men in the bedroom. One of them was stabbing Michelle to death on the bed, and the other was slitting the baby’s throat slowly.

Max shot and killed both of them.

BANG! BANG!

But it was already too late to save their lives.

Max dropped his gun on the floor as he dropped to his knees while looking at the corpses of his wife and his baby girl. This became the most traumatic moment he ever had to face in his entire life. It became so traumatic that it made him shed a massive amount of tears and cry.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

After this, I became a changed man, becoming more vengeful and obsessed.

When it was all over, after killing the people who were responsible for their murders and avoiding the police, I became a contract killer.

---

“And then I got arrested by you guys. The end.” Max remarked as he ended the story of his past.

“I cannot believe I’m foolishly saying this like a foolish fool, but I’m sorry you had to deal with all of that, Payne in the Fools,” Franziska said with sympathy.

“Do you mean that or are you just being silly?” Max wondered.

“I foolishly mean that you foolish fool Foolish Payne!” Franziska told him. She noticed Mario looking down with a sad face.

“What’s wrong?” She asked with concern.

“Huh?” Mario responded as he looked at Franziska and Max. “Oh, it’s-a nothing. Max’s tragic story made me have flashbacks of learning about Princess Peach’s death.”

“You had a wife, too?” Max asked.

“We weren’t married, but we fell in love,” Mario answered. “It's a long story, but I wasn’t around when five arrows got shot into her body and killed her.”

Mario and I had something to relate to. We both lost someone whom we truly loved. Princess Peach’s death was equally violent as my wife's and daughter’s.

“It was obviously big news,” Max pointed out. “I read about you and your brother being in a war in the Mushroom Kingdom.”

“That’s-a right.” Mario nodded. “Her death happened two years after the war ended. I didn’t say goodbye to her.”

“You may not want my sympathy, but I wasn’t able to say goodbye to my wife and daughter when they died,” Max replied.

“But they’re watching over you, seeing you being a foolish madman.” Franziska glared at him.

“You’re not wrong about that,” Max told her. “They’re both going to scold me as they hug me when I reunite with them.”

“I lost my mother and didn’t say goodbye to her when she got killed in a drive-by shooting,” Franziska said. She then breathed. “I was there and got shot in the arm, but my... mentor survived.”

"My family was also murdered," Robocop told the group. "This happened before I was resurrected. Their deaths ruined me emotionally, but I knew they wanted me to move forward and enjoy what life has to offer."

"Obviously, a good decision," Max commented.

Mario formed a smile at the people in front of them.

“I like this!” He told them.

“Like what?” Franziska asked.

“We’re-a bonding!” Mario remarked with a grin. “We’re-a forming a friendship!”

“I didn’t see this as a form of friendship,” Max shook his head. “You're probably being too nice.”

“He is!” Franziska replied. She began to rant. “He always makes foolish decisions and becomes foolishly naive and does a bunch of foolish things, and it drives me foolishly nuts!”

“Hahaha!” Mario laughed. “I couldn’t be more grateful for meeting you, Franziska von Karma!

Franziska formed a small smile. She was happy to hear that. She too, couldn’t be more grateful for meeting him. “Me too, Mario.”

Mario looked at Max. “Max Payne, you may not be so bad after all. We should talk more often before you get transferred. What do you think?”

“I think that sounds good, as long as I’m still breathing,” Max replied.

“Wahoo, wonderful!” Mario jumped in joy.

Franziska grabbed Mario and looked him directly in the eyes.

“Don’t. Even. Think. About it.” She demanded him. "Okay?"

"You know what she'll do to you if you try," Robocop said to him.

Mario gulped. She knew what she and Robocop meant. Don’t think about dropping the charges on Max Payne and becoming his friend.

“I promise.”

I already know what she’ll do to him if he decides to drop the charges and become my friend. Whip him, of course. Robocop might shoot him for being stupid, who knows.

I already started to become fond of this trio.

Chapter 35: ACT 3 - Chapter 9

Aeon

The night sky was above the Atlantic Ocean island of Hydrakain Island. On the road on the Aeon island were two black armored trucks heading to the Aeon Facility.

Inside the first armored truck was 47, Miles Edgeworth, and Lupin the 3rd. All three of them were blindfolded since the plane ride to the island. Among the three men were Bob's soldiers, wielding their Heckler & Koch G11 assault rifles.

It was finally the time to observe and infiltrate the layout of Aeon while disguised. The trio all had a disguise, pretending to be businessmen. 47 had shoulder-length gray hair with a bald scalp as a wig to hide the barcode on the back of his head. He was also wearing glasses along with a black suit.

Edgeworth was also wearing glasses and a black suit. He was wearing a short blonde wig. And Lupin the 3rd also wore a black suit, no glasses, but had an eye patch on his right eye, and dark brown short hair wig.

Again, all three of them were posing as businessmen in "buying" an individual who will have augmentations.

Astolfo, Kay Faraday, and Ami Enan were somewhere else, but they were planning to infiltrate the Aeon Facility.

The second armored truck had storage inside. A gray plastic crate was inside that had "money" to use to "purchase" the individual.

The armored trucks arrived at the mountain tunnel, then went through the metal gate entrance of the Aeon Facility, and were now in a large cavern filled with armored trucks and turrets.

After the trucks parked, two soldiers approached the first truck and opened the rear doors, while two other soldiers opened the doors of the second truck.

Soldiers who were inside the first armored truck took off the blindfolds of the three men and escorted them out. 47, Miles, and Lupin looked at the large cavern of Aeon.

Being in this cavern gave Lupin memories of being on an island that was also in the Atlantic Ocean, which was controlled by a defunct group of assassins known as the Tarantulas. He couldn't believe that was eight years ago, in 2017. Time flies.

47 and Edgeworth viewed the cavern as having a villainous design. As they, including Lupin, noticed the security, the three knew that picking a fight with these guys would immediately bring death to their doorstep.

All three of them already realized the Aeon Facility was quite a big place. The three men knew they were going to have to know the entire layout by heart as they had to make an escape plan with flawless effort. And, they realize they had to come to terms with not being able to save anyone who was abducted and held prisoner here in Aeon.

But maybe they can?

The three disguised men noticed a businesswoman wearing a black suit with a black skirt, black stockings, and black high heels. She had black hair that was tied.

“Welcome, gentlemen.” She greeted them. “My name is Ms. Davis. Welcome to Aeon. Please follow me and we’ll work on selling you three an individual.”

And with that, 47, Edgeworth, Lupin, along with three soldiers, followed the businesswoman in the Aeon Facility.

---

Inside a large storage area in the facility were several men dressed in black tactical uniforms and a black cap. Two of them were moving the plastic crate and were storing it inside the storage area, which had other crates stored.

After the two men were finished storing the crate, they walked away.

When they were far away, the lid of the crate slowly opened, and inside were Astolfo, Kay, and Ami.

Astolfo was wearing his Silver Light Armor outfit, knowing this was going to be a serious mission. Ami wore a black leather jumpsuit with black boots. And Kay wore her usual outfit.

The femboy started to peek as he slowly raised the lid of the crate and noticed several of the Aeon guards inside the storage area. Astolfo's eyes noticed soldiers from the above floor wielding G11 assault rifles. He also noticed other soldiers in the storage area, as well as turrets that were on the ceiling.

His eyes then caught something as an advantage, an air vent. He knew he and the two girls could use the air vent as an advantage.

Astolfo lowered the lid of the crate slowly and quietly and whispered to Kay and Ami.

“We’re gonna use an air vent,” He told them. “This storage area is crawling with guards, as well as these intimidating-looking soldiers carrying assault rifles and ceiling turrets. It's safe to assume these guys don't mess around.”

He looked at Ami. "Ami? Access the security footage and tell us what you see."

"Okay." Ami nodded. She contacted Underworld as she looked at a tablet device in her hands. "Hello, Underworld? Give me access to Hydrakain Island, Atlantic Ocean's security cameras."

The three waited, and then Ami was given access to the cameras. She noticed soldiers and guards patrolling the exterior and the interior of the Aeon Facility, as well as other spots of the island.

Ami glared. "Geez. 47 wasn't kidding when he told us this place has high security. They're everywhere."

"I guess we're cooked and eaten for dinner once we get caught and shot." Kay believed.

"But we should not feel intimidated," Astolfo reassured her. "Anything worth heading to Ami?"

"Let me see." Ami went through the footages and saw the laser tower weapon that was on the mountain. "Whoa."

"What is it?" Astolfo asked.

"This looks like a death ray," Ami answered, showing Astolfo and Kay the security footage that showed the laser tower weapon.

"Oh my god..." Astolfo reacted in shock.

"J-just how did this Bob guy get this?!" Kay freaked out quietly, not to alert any of the guards.

Astolfo swallowed. "I don't want to know what that weapon can do. Find anything else relevant." He told Ami.

"Got it." Ami obliged. She spotted someone locked in a cryo pod. She saw Morgan Everett.

"I found a room that has a cryo pod inside. A man is inside it." Ami explained to Astolfo and Kay.

"A cryo pod?" Kay replied.

"That's right." Ami nodded.

“Then let's go find this cryo pod room and wake this man up,” Astolfo told them. “Let’s go. And try to stay quiet,”

Kay and Ami nodded as the former gave him a thumbs-up. Astolfo peeked again quietly and slowly raised the lid as he got off the crate. Thankfully, the three were in a dark spot of the storage area, so Astolfo hoped no one, including the ceiling turrets, would spot them.

Kay and Ami quietly got out of the crate and slowly closed the lid. The two girls and Astolfo ducked down and hid behind the crate as they heard footsteps from guards placing another crate at a spot.

As Astolfo used his eyes to scan the storage area, he knew it was going to be difficult to get into the air vent without being seen, so he formed an idea. And that idea was to create a diversion with a 50% chance of getting caught.

He turned to Ami. "Ami? Find a way to disable the lights in this storage room."

"Okay." Ami nodded. "Hello, Underworld. Execute darkness.exe in the Aeon Facility storage area in Hydrakain Island, Atlantic Ocean."

After a few seconds of waiting, the lights and the turrets of the storage area shut off. All of the guards became alerted, which signaled the trio to quietly and quickly approach the air vent.

The guards drew out their Steyr TMP machine pistol as they moved around in the dark storage area with the soldiers, trying to find out if there were any intruders in the storage area.

The three quickly got in the air vent and quickly closed the lid as they heard footsteps from the guards and soldiers. That was a close one, the three thought.

While the three were inside the air vent, Ami contacted Underworld again. "Underworld? Disable darkness.exe."

And with that, the lights and the turrets came back on in the storage area.

Kay looked at Ami. "Why disable?"

"It's to keep the guards from getting suspicious and warning Bob Page," Ami explained.

"They'll think it was nothing," Astolfo smirked. "Now let's go!"

---

Meanwhile, 47, Edgeworth, and Lupin were inside Aeon’s futuristic facility. They were following Ms. Davis down a hall, then approached a different corridor that had windows showing scientists working on a man who was lying on a bed while asleep. Augmentations were being put into him.

The three realized they were too late to stop this slave scam that would lead to a catastrophic reality.

Ms. Davis was showing the group the augmentations being inserted into purchased people by the scientists who were using machines to perform the installation of the augmentations.

She started to explain what was being seen. “This procedure can take about four or so hours. The scientists are expected by the Controller to be delicate during the procedure and don’t want any of the augments to become faulty when in use.”

47 decided to ask a question. “Excuse me, Ms. Davis?”

“Yes, Mr. Rieper?” Ms. Davis looked at him.

Tobias Rieper was 47’s alias, while Edgeworth’s alias was Christopher King, and Lupin's alias was Kazuhiko Wolf.

“When will we be meeting the Controller?” 47 asked.

“We will not be meeting them.” Ms. Davis shook her head.

Edgeworth stepped in. “May we know why exactly?”

“Not everyone can meet the Controller,” Ms. Davis stated. “I haven’t while working for them. Only those who are closely connected to the Controller can meet them face to face.”

47, Edgeworth, and Lupin already knew the identity of the Controller, and that was obviously Bob Page.

Lupin raised his hand. “Is this procedure painless?”

“Yes, of course.” Ms. Davis nodded. “These people are put to sleep during the installation of the augmentations.”

“How long do we have to wait to get our individual?” A businessman asked.

“Not too long,” Ms. Davis replied. “Again, the scientists will have to make sure everything is working properly.”

"I'm sorry, but before we move," Lupin said. "What are the origins of the augmentations?"

"I cannot answer that, sorry." Ms. Davis told her.

The three men likely already found the answer. Robotnik's technology. They continued following the corrupted businesswoman.

The three of them knew they had to focus on observing the layout and escaping Aeon with Astolfo, Kay, and Ami before all of them became trapped on the island if they were compromised.

---

Astolfo, Kay, and Ami crawled through the air vent and peeked into the areas they passed, such as hallways, rooms, etc. Nothing special. They spotted 47, Edgeworth, and Lupin following Ms. Davis down a corridor with Bob's soldiers.

Kay almost didn’t recognize Edgeworth because of his disguise. Astolfo thought 47 looked like a professor in his disguise. He wanted to keep that thought to himself so that 47 doesn’t make him tremble in fear again.

Ami thought Lupin looked like a villain from an action movie. She noticed the intimidating villainous look of Lupin's disguise.

As the trio continued to crawl, Kay whispered. “We may be lost, Astolfo. This already became an annoying maze for us.”

“We’ll stop until we find that cryo pod room,” Astolfo told her.

As they continued to crawl, they discovered a room that stood out.

Astolfo discovered the cryo room with no one inside except Morgan. This gave him an idea.

“The cryo room,” He remarked to Kay and Ami.

Kay and Ami noticed the room. The former had a better visual as she saw the person inside, who looked familiar to her.

Astolfo spoke again. "Let's go in there and wake him up. Ami? Tamper with the cameras."

"On it," Ami replied with a nod.

"But what if someone spots us suddenly?" Kay asked as she felt worried.

"We'll be fine, Kay," Astolfo replied.

After Ami had Underworld tampered with the island's cameras, Astolfo slowly opened the lid of the air vent and placed it inside the vent. He and the two got out of the air vent quietly and were now inside the cryo room, and stood in front of the cryo pod.

Kay kept her eyes on the person in the cryo pod and recognized him.

"You..." Kay said with a slight glare. "...Morgan Everett."

"You know him?" Ami asked.

"Not personally." Kay shook her head as she kept her eyes on Morgan. "But he tried to kill me, Edgey, and Gummy months ago."

Morgan had his eyes closed. Astolfo couldn’t tell if he was dead or sleeping. And he doesn’t know who this man was. He knew about the story behind Morgan using Edgeworth, Gumshoe, and Kay for an Interpol investigation on searching for Bob Page, then later betraying them after the investigation.

“Why is he in this?” Asstolfo questioned.

“Maybe he’s getting those augmentations,” Kay asked as she crossed her arms. “Who knows, and who cares.”

Astolfo gently knocked on the cryo pod, believing and hoping it would wake Morgan up and not sound an alarm.

With a sigh of relief, Astolfo, including Ami and Kay, saw Morgan waking up in the cryo pod. Kay kept her glare at him as all trust was tossed out the window. What he did to her and her friends was something she will never ever forget.

Morgan moved and didn’t open his eyes. “I don’t...I don’t want...I don't want to look at you, Bob...I’m so sick of...being trapped inside of this....and hearing your voice.”

Astolfo, Kay, and Ami were surprised by that, but the former was curious to know why Morgan was in there.

“Uh, excuse me, Morgan Everett?” He spoke to him.

Morgan moaned and slowly opened his eyes, seeing the trio in front of him. This made him surprised. The only person he spoke to while in the cryo pod was Bob Page.

“Who...who are you?” Morgan asked Astolfo.

“My name is Astolfo.” He answered. “And this is-“

“Kay...” Morgan looked at her. “Kay Faraday...it’s been a while...and you might be...you might be happy...seeing me...suffering in this.”

“Not particularly,” Kay shook her head. “This is karma for what you’ve done.”

"Um, my name is Ami Enan." She told him. "I'm a close friend of Dolma Sinha."

"The Illuminati...heard of you before...and your father...Enzo Bron." Morgan responded. “So...so you three...were sent here by Bob...to do what?”

“Nothing,” Astolfo shook his head. “We’re infiltrating this place, and the camera in here has been tampered with. Why did Bob Page put you in there?”

“It was...it was to see me...suffer...and see him...destroy mankind,” Morgan explained. “His group...was able to steal...Dr. Ivo Robotnik’s technology...and his brain...after his demise....Now he’s conducting his plans...with the technology...to abduct people....who used an app...called PeopleLog...and install augmentations into them...and sell them....then resurrect Dr. Robotnik...with the technology...and his brain.”

The group of three widened their eyes as they gasped in shock.

"A-abducting people and selling them? PeopleLog?" Ami said in shock.

“W-why?” Astolfo asked. "Why recreate Robotnik and abduct people, then sell them?"

“Bob values Robotnik...and his technology,” Morgan answered. “Bob is getting close...getting close to getting...what he’s wanting...and he’s close to winning....The reason why Bob...wanted the people who... who used PeopleLog...is to change the world...and form a new era...But there might...might be more...that I'm not aware of...Again, Bob....is close to winning.”

“No, he’s close to losing ,” Astolfo told him. “We’re going to stop him.”

“You...you don’t...you don't understand,” Morgan responded to him.

“Yes, I do,” Astolfo argued. “With your help, we’ll know what Bob Page is fully capable of after we get you out of this.”

“Don’t...don’t do that,” Morgan told him. “Bob...Bob is dangerous...he's a monster...It’s better...if you just...let me rot in this.”

“No, I won’t accept that!” Astolfo shook his head as he kept his voice quiet, trying not to speak too loudly to attract attention.

“Astolfo, we cannot trust him,” Kay told him. She brought her glare to Morgan. “He’ll backstab us.”

“I know...what I did...was-“

“Wrong? Obviously it was,” Kay said with her glare and arms crossed. “Did you know Bob was alive the entire time during the Interpol investigation? And don’t lie!”

“Yes...I knew...he was alive,” Morgan admitted. “I didn't...I didn't help him...in anything...I needed...to find clues for myself...and hire a hit squad...to kill him...for betraying the Illuminati.”

“Bob wanted you dead to take all of the control,” Ami pointed out. “That’s why he committed treason against the Illuminati.”

“Precisely,” Morgan confirmed. “It...it was all my fault...I groomed him...into the Illuminati...and became his mentor...Lucius DeBeers...who was the leader of the Illuminati...warned me about Bob...He told me...he told me about Bob...stealing private information...and other things...behind our backs...But I didn’t listen...if I did...Bob would’ve been dead...a long time ago.”

Astolfo formed an optimistic smirk. “Better late than never,” He said. “Time to free you!”

“Please... don’t .” Morgan stopped him. “I’m...just...going to slow...the three of you down.”

“That’s what they all say,” Astolfo scoffed. “You may be a scumbag, but an enemy of our enemy is our friend!”

“How...how naive are you...Astolfo?” Morgan asked.

“Because I’m always an optimist,” Astolfo replied. “So are my friends the Mario Brothers.”

“Wait...you’re...you’re friends with them...are they here?” Morgan questioned.

“No,” Astolfo shook his head. “Our friends named 47, Miles Edgeworth, and Lupin the 3rd.”

“Miles Edgeworth...I already know...what his reaction...will be when he sees me.” Morgan imagined.

“Might as well just keep you in there then.” Kay shrugged.

“Geez, Kay, I’ll talk to Edgeworth and let him know this was my idea, okay?” Astolfo looked at her with a glare.

“Whatever,” Kay muttered in response as she looked away.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Ami asked with concern.

"Yes, Ami, I'm sure." Astolfo responded with a nod.’

With that, Astolfo pressed buttons to free Morgan from the cryo pod. As the cryo pod opened, Astolfo and Ami held onto Morgan to keep him from falling.

“You’re free!” Astolfo remarked.

"Hopefully," Ami replied.

“You three...you three are...making a mistake,” Morgan told her. “Bob won’t stop...searching for me...and bring me back...in there.”

“You worry too much, Morgan Everett,” Astolfo remarked. “Now let’s get you out of here and go into the air vent and continue our infiltration.”

Kay pointed her finger at Morgan and glared. “Just don’t do anything stupid to us, Morgan Everett. Or the great thief Kay Faraday will make you pay.”

“The only thing...I’m planning to do...is to help you...help you stop Bob Page...once and for all.” Morgan reassured her and the two. “Now...we have to go...before Bob decides to arrive here.”

“Let’s-a go as Mario would say!” Astolfo told them.

The four of them went into the air vent, with Kay going in there first, and with Astolfo and Ami, who helped Morgan get in the air vent. Before they left, Astolfo closed the air vent lid to hide their trace.

---

The group crawled down the air vent. They were anticipating anything to happen regarding Morgan not being inside the cryo pod, and accidentally causing the guards, including Bob, to get alerted.

Kay stopped in front of Astolfo, Ami, and Morgan as she spotted an empty lab with the lights turned on.

“What are you seeing, Kay?” Astolfo asked.

“A lab,” Kay answered. She noticed a bunch of robotic experiments lying around inside the lab. “Lots of robot stuff.”

“Let’s check it out,” Astolfo suggested.

"Are you sure about that?" Ami asked. "Someone could show up suddenly."

“She...she has a point...how about we just...find an escape for us to use,” Morgan responded as his body was recovering from being in the cryo pod.

“We could, but we need to know what’s inside here,” Astolfo said to him. “Let's see what’s cooking inside this lab.”

The four of them got out of the vent and were now inside the empty lab. While Kay walked around, Astolfo and Ami helped Morgan get out of the air vent like before.

The femboy hoped there was enough time for Morgan to recover from being in the cryo pod for so long.

Kay continued moving around in the lab, observing a bunch of robotic experiments that lay on tables. What she wasn't noticing was her right foot crushing something on the floor.

CRUNCH!

“Huh?” Kay let out. She looked down and noticed she had stepped on something. She moved her foot and noticed a crushed miniature robot.

The great thief’s eyes caught another miniature robot running towards the crush robot. The robot looked up at Kay and formed red eyes.

Seeing the red eyes signaled Kay to softly kick the miniature robot with her foot and crush it.

CRUNCH!

As Kay crushed the miniature robot, she started to grind it.

The great thief let out a giggle as she crushed the robot with her foot while hearing the crunching noise and feeling dominance. She believed those two miniature robots were let loose and were deadly. She shuddered as she imagined them going into her body and tearing her insides apart.

Ami looked at the great thief. “Saw a spider or something, Kay?” She asked as she, Astolfo, and Morgan witnessed what Kay did.

“Some tiny robot I crushed,” Kay answered. "I crushed another robot by accident."

“Why?" Morgan responded. "Why...make a mess here in and...get us compromised?”

“Hey, that robot was forming red eyes, so I had to show it that the great thief doesn’t mess around!” Kay argued. "And again, I accidentally crushed the other robot!"

Morgan sighed. “We need...we need to get out of here...right now.” He told them, not wanting to get caught.

“We need to know what’s inside here first,” Astolfo told him.

“We already know...what’s in here,” Morgan replied. “Just a bunch of...robotic machines.”

“Wait a minute!” Ami stopped them. “Dr. Ivo Robotnik always loved robots, right?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Astolfo shrugged. “He also had a group of human soldiers. Why ask?”

“Could this be his lab?” Ami suggested.

Astolfo’s jaw opened. He didn’t want to believe that Ami wasn’t making any sense. To him, she was making sense. He started to believe Dr. Ivo Robotnik had already been recreated and that he, Kay Faraday, Ami Enan, and Morgan Everett, had entered his lab.

Morgan processed Ami’s words. He knew the doctor had been recreated,

“He did it...Bob got...Dr. Ivo Robotnik revived.” He said as he was breathing.

Kay quickly grabbed her phone. “Before we leave, I’ll take a picture of this lab and-“

She wasn’t able to finish her sentence as sliding doors in the lab opened, revealing a person who made Astolfo, Kay, and Ami gasp.

They saw Dr. Ivo Robotnik. He had a cyborg-looking appearance, and it looked very intimidating. He stepped into the lab and spotted the four people in front of him.

He reacted as he gasped. “What the!? WHAT THE WHAT!? Who are you people!? And what are you doing in my lab!? THIS IS OFF LIMITS EXCEPT FOR THE GREATEST MAN OF ALL TIME BOB PAGE!!!”

Astolfo gulped as his eyes looked at Robotnik. “Uh, s-sorry we didn’t mean to-“

“YOU!” Robotnik pointed his finger at him. “You’re that stupid femboy friend of those imbecile Mario Brothers! Astolfo!” She then looked at Kay. “And you...I don’t know who you are, but you were at Thunder Valley attacking my stupid human soldiers!"

The doctor's eyes looked at the other two, Ami and Morgan. "And you two! I don't know who both of you are!"

Then he glared at the group of four. "All four of you don’t belong in my precious laboratory!”

When Robotnik saw the crushed miniature robots on the floor, he let out a horrific scream with his eyes widened.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!” He walked towards them and dropped to his knees. “M-my friends...my friends I created to interact with in my lab as I work...THEY’RE GOOOOOOOOOOONE!!!”

He stood up and gave Astolfo, Kay, Ami, and Morgan a vicious glare. “WHICH ONE OF YOU DESTROYED THEM!?!?!”

Kay gulped as she trembled and slowly raised her shaking hand. “M-me-AAH!”

Kay got on her tiptoes, and her feet started to dangle in the air when Robotnik grabbed her neck and lifted her. The great thief began to gag.

“How dare you murder my friends I made!!!” Robotnik yelled. “YOU WILL PAY!”

“I’m sorry...I didn’t mean to-“

“YES YOU DID MEAN IT! I need to destroy your worthless human existence!!!”

“Wait!” Morgan yelled out.

Robotnik glared at him. “Who are you supposed to be? Her best friend? Her boyfriend!?”

“No...but please...please let her go.... please,” Morgan begged him. Despite Kay having a grudge against him for what happened in the past, Morgan didn’t want her to die.

Kay was shocked to hear that coming from Morgan. Maybe he had a heart.

She hoped.

She was released as her feet touched the floor, and her neck was released by Robotnik. She started to pant.

Astolfo spoke. “So uh-“

“DON’T ‘SO-UH’ ME!!!” Robotnik pointed his finger at him. “The four of you still need to pay!!!”

“What are...what are you...going to do to us?” Morgan asked him.

“What am I going to do?” Robotnik responded. “I’LL TELL YOU WHAT I’M GOING TO DO! I’LL ERASE YOU HUMAN FLESH AND TURN YOU INTO MACHINES WHO WILL BOW DOWN TO MY AWESOME COOOOMMAAAAAAAANDSSSSS!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHOHOHOHOHAHAHAHA!!!!!”

Two people suddenly entered the lab after hearing the commotion going on inside.

Bob Page and Dolma Sinha.

“My god, what the hell is happening in here?!” Bob questioned.

All eyes turned to Bob.

Ami gasped as she saw Dolma. She believed since before the trip to Aeon that she would never be encountered. But here she was. Ami wanted to give her a big emotional hug.

Bob's eyes caught Morgan out of his cryo pod, making him let out a shocking gasp as his eyes widened.

“Morgan!” He said his name. “How did you get out of the cryo pod!?” He then brought his eyes to Astolfo, Kay, and Ami. “You three, Astolfo, Kay Faraday, and Ami Enan. The three of you got him out, didn’t you?"

“They did, Bob,” Morgan responded to him. “They got me out...I’m a free man now.”

“For now,” Bob replied. His eyes caught the air vent being opened. “So that’s how you got inside Dr. Robotnik’s lab.”

“And this DUMB DUMB destroyed my robotic friends!” Robotnik told Bob as he pointed his finger at Kay and growled at the great thief.

“Excuse me, Mr. Page?” Astolfo approached him. “We didn’t mean to cause trouble. Kay, Ami, and I wanted to meet you.”

“To tell me you and your female companions freed Morgan out of the cryo pod?” Bob glared at him.

“N-no, we just thought he needed to be out,” Astolfo lied. “He wasn’t looking so good.”

Bob looked at Morgan, who was recovering after being in the cryo pod. He noticed how close the full recovery was coming.

Ami slowly approached Dolma as the latter looked at her. The former was happy to see her and was ready to get her out of this evil island called Aeon. Ever since Dolma worked for Bob against her will, she kept having thoughts of Ami saving her life.

The Padar princess had a dream once, and that was Ami rescuing her and carrying her as they escaped. She wished for that to happen.

Her wish came true.

"Ami," Dolma said her name emotionally. "You here to save me. Right?"

"Yes, that's right, but there's a lot more to do than that," Ami replied. She hugged the princess she loved.

Dolma hugged her back, restraining herself from crying. "Please, Ami, please get me out of here. Please, I beg you."

"We will, Dolma," Ami told her as she also restrained herself from releasing tears. "We will get you out of here."

Bob noticed the two girls hugging each other emotionally. He was going to speak to them, but Astolfo spoke to him.

“Mr. Page? I want to work for you. I betrayed the Mario Brothers.” Astolfo told Bob as he lied to him again.

"Really?" Bob replied. "What a surprise."

“WHAT!?” Robotnik reacted. He pointed at Astolfo. “Are you lying, you goofball!?”

“No, I’m not,” Astolfo shook his head. “The Mario Brothers and I had a falling out. Sure, we were friends, but as time goes on, friends will face the inevitable, which is going their separate ways over disagreements.”

Kay approached Bob and stood next to Astolfo. She knew he was lying to him, so she played along with him.

“My friend, Miles Edgeworth, didn’t appreciate what I was doing,” Kay told Bob. “He didn’t like me stealing antique items as well as money, jewelry, etc. You can hire us, Bob Page. I can steal whatever you want me to steal.”

Bob looked at both Astolfo and Kay. He was thinking before allowing them to work for him. He also looked at Ami, who glared at him after she and Dolma hugged.

"You obviously didn't come all the way here to work for me." He remarked. "You came here to rescue your girlfriend."

"What!?" Astolfo widened his eyes. He played along just to avoid getting compromised and keeping Ami and Dolma alive. "You didn't say that to me and Kay!"

Ami knew what Astolfo was doing and played along, but hoped this sort of diversion wouldn't backfire.

"I-"

“The four of you, to my office, now,” Bob interrupted as he spoke to the four. “We need to talk.”

He looked at Dolma. "You too, Dolma."

“And the four of you are no longer allowed to be in my lab!” Robotnik told Astolfo, Kay, and Morgan. “Only Mr. Bob Page is allowed to come in here anytime he wants to!”

Bob nodded his head at him in response. “I’ll make sure these four won’t set foot into your lab, Dr. Robotnik.”

---

Inside Bob Page’s office, Morgan sat down in a chair against a wall, and he continued to recover from being in the cryo pod.

Astolfo, Kay, Ami, and Dolma stood and stared at Bob, who was pouring a drink of water.

“You three some water?” Bob asked Astolfo, Kay, and Ami. He looked at Morgan. “How about you, Morgan? Do you prefer cold or hot water?”

“I don’t want any,” Morgan answered.

“It’s not healthy to stay dehydrated,” Bob remarked.

Astolfo glared at Bob while putting his hands on his hips. “And it’s not healthy to keep him locked in a fucking cryo pod and make him freeze to death.”

“You’re not wrong, but I’m someone who enjoys the suffering of people whom I despise.” Bob retorted. He drank his cup of water.

“Why?” Kay questioned. “What did he do to you?”

“Nothing directly, but the Illuminati was filled with sloths who couldn’t get things done quicker,” Bob explained. He glanced at Morgan. “I’m talking about you too, Morgan.”

He drank his cup again as he kept his eyes on Astolfo, Kay, and Ami. The three noticed how intimidating and menacing Bob Page looked. So did Dolma. When she first looked at him, she could tell he was a global threat.

Bob continued. “The Illuminati had plans to control the human race, but things were taking too long. My breaking point was when PeopleLog was launched. The Illuminati made plans to sabotage the app, but patience was in the way. So I made plans to kill the members of the Illuminati and kept Morgan alive to see me succeed in something the Illuminati couldn’t do. Later on, an Interpol investigation started, and Morgan was involved.”

“The Illuminati needed...to stay patient, Bob,” Morgan spoke to him. “Lucius....wanted us to be less reckless during our operations.”

“You became too fond of a dead lousy old man.” Bob criticized him.

Astolfo crossed his arms. “Even if the Illuminati did things quicker to your liking, you would’ve betrayed them anyway.”

“I wouldn’t say betrayal, I would say take it all over,” Bob said.

“Isn’t that the same thing?” Astolfo asked.

“To you and certain people, yes," Bob nodded. "But I view it as two different things: betrayal is tarnishing someone or a group, takeover is taking control of the person or the group.”

He looked at Morgan. “Looking forward to going back inside the cryo pod, Morgan?”

Morgan breathed. “What the hell do you think?”

“Um, Mr. Page?” Ami said his name.

"Call me Bob." He replied to her.

"Okay, Bob." Ami nodded. She glanced at Dolma as she spoke. "Why did you force Dolma Sinha to work for you and murder Princess Peach? And want to erase mankind and form a new era?"

Bob wasn’t too surprised by the question. “So you and the rest found out. I chose her because to me, she's the chosen one. A strong girl with a bow & arrow who can take down any threats that harm her home country, Padar. She had the potential to work for me. I ordered her to kill Princess Peach to see how much it would affect Mario."

He continued. "I was surprised and glad to see him and his brother move to Highfalcon and fight against Dr. Robotnik and defeat him. All of that gave me the opportunity to have all of his technology, and his brain, to resurrect him.”

"And why did you order her to kill the Highfalcon Times photographer Nate Owings?" Ami questioned.

"I didn't order her to kill him," Bob denied. "I received reports about her killing him because Nate saw something he wasn't supposed to see." He glared at Dolma. "And you didn't bother to destroy that picture of those two."

"That's right, I didn't," Dolma glared back. "That was because of getting you exposed. I was waiting for that to happen."

"And here we are," Bob remarked. He looked at Ami. "To answer your second question, I want to form a new era that will become a new reality, having augmented people run the world by performing a global abduction. My group is currently conducting Operation New Reality."

"And that's all because of PeopleLog," Ami remarked with a glare. "You're not just abducting people, you're also selling them."

"And scamming the person who buys them." Bob bragged. "The sold person will eventually kill the buyer and anyone they see. The new reality will have a plague of catastrophic events. Innocent creatures will face horrible, violent madness."

Astolfo's jaw dropped as he blinked at Bob's response. "Holy shit...you're starting an apocalypse!"

"No." Bob shook his head. "I'm not the one who's going to start an apocalypse. A resistance movement will start the apocalypse should they choose to."

"Where's Oddjob?" Ami questioned as she changed the topic and looked around. "The man who killed Fujiko Mine. Is he here?"

"He's far away," Bob answered. "Allow me to demonstrate something to you all."

Bob approached the monitor and pressed a button to contact his scientists. "Bring the captive here." He told them.

"Right now? He's about to be sold! " The scientist replied from an intercom.

"Too bad. The buyer will be killed. Send the captive to my office."

"Yes, Bob."

The group of four looked at Bob, seeing how sinful he was. Astolfo, Kay, and Ami believed the other three were the buyers and believed they were about to get caught.

Bob spoke while waiting. "When the buyer says goodbye to their Benjamins that came out of their deep pockets, no refund will be accepted. Any confrontation and threats will end up with the buyer being killed for being a loose end."

Soldiers arrived at Bob's office with the male captive, who already had augmentations installed. They tossed him to the floor. One of the soldiers handed Bob a device, which was a switch to control the captive's augmentations. This was the man, 47, Edgeworth, and Lupin saw when they were with Ms. Davis.

Bob spoke as he looked at the captive. "His name is Jonathan Quartermaine. Borned in Texas, then later moved to Italy. He had a family, a wife, a son, and a daughter, who all died while fighting against the abduction. All because of PeopleLog."

Chills were sent down the spines of the group of four as they listened to Bob. Bob pressed a button that made Jonathan go insane. He looked at Bob and then pointed his finger at Kay Faraday.

"Attack her," Bob commanded him.

Kay gasped as her eyes widened. Jonathan violently looked at the female great thief like a wild animal. With super speed and reflexes, he approached her and tackled her. Jonathan began attacking her face as the great thief screamed and begged for help.

"AAAAH! PLEASE STOP! SOMEONE HELP ME!!!" Kay yelled out.

RATATATATATA!

She was saved, all thanks to Astolfo, who quickly drew out his Calico M950. With a vicious glare, the femboy fired his Calico at Bob's soldiers and killed them both.

RATATATATATATATATATA!

Bob was unfazed as he knew someone would kill Jonathan and his two soldiers. He approached Astolfo, who aimed his Calico at his head.

"You're not going to shoot that at me," Bob said to the femboy.

"What makes you think I won't?" Astolfo asked as he looked at Bob's evil eyes as he glared at him.

"If you shoot me, you won't have a proper burial," Bob answered.

Kay was slowly recovering from being attacked. "Astolfo...just fucking kill him."

BANG!

Who got shot?

Who did Bob Page shoot?

Astolfo.

Bob fired his Detonics Combat Master just in time before Astolfo had the chance to kill him. The femboy's eyes widened as he gasped and dropped his gun and fell. He was shot in the abdomen.

"Astolfo!" Ami screamed his name out. She glared at Bob as she pulled out her gun, the FN Model 1910. She kept the gun ever since Fujiko was killed by Oddjob.

Bob looked at her. "Are you sure you want to kill me and not care about the consequences?"

Dolma knew what he meant and quickly spoke to Ami. "Ami, please, I know this sounds ridiculous, but don't kill him! Extinction will happen if he dies!"

"She's right." Bob nodded. "Padar will become extinct, and Robotnik will succeed me."

Morgan stepped in. "What do you mean, Bob?"

"A nuclear weapon is in Padar while a civil war is going on over there," Bob explained. "It will detonate when Dolma betrays me."

Astolfo yelled while wounded. "You're one sick devil! Why did God give you a life like this?!"

"It wasn't God nor Satan who gave me this life," Bob told her. He looked at Morgan and aimed his pistol at him. "It was Morgan Everett."

BANG!

Bob fired his gun again.

But not at Morgan; instead, he fired it at Ami.

"AAH!" Ami screamed while feeling the pain in her abdomen.

Dolma's eyes widened as her jaw dropped while she witnessed Ami getting shot in the abdomen. No one, including the princess, saw it coming. Two out of the five people were shot. Who's next? Kay? Dolma? Or Morgan?

"AMI!" Dolma screamed out her name. As Ami almost fell to the floor, Dolma caught and wrapped her arms around her wounded body.

Bob looked at Morgan. "Morgan? Who should I shoot next?"

"Yourself, Bob," Morgan answered.

"Oh, Morgan, don't be like that," Bob told him. "It's not nice to tell someone to commit suicide."

Astolfo stood up as he grabbed his Calico M950 off the floor and aimed it at Bob. A gunshot wound wasn't going to stop him. He proved that. He used his hand and went into the wound and pulled out the bullet that went into his abdomen.

Bob witnessed the femboy flawlessly pulling the bullet out of his body and saw him throwing it at him, which made him dodge it.

Bob aimed his pistol at him. "Do you want me to send another one to you?" He asked rhetorically. His eyes went to Kay, and he aimed his gun at her. "How about you, young girl? Wanna get shot?"

Suddenly, Morgan ran towards Bob and kicked his hand, causing the gun to go in the air and land on the floor. Morgan quickly gave Bob hard punches in the face.

Astolfo began to assist him by pulling out his sword and jumping towards Bob to strike him, but an alarm was going off, which didn't stop the femboy.

Bob fought back by picking up Morgan and tossing him across the office. He dodged Astolfo's sword swings as he moved around fast. Bob was able to strike Astolfo by punching him violently in the face.

As Astolfo and Bob battled, two soldiers arrived in the office and saw what was going on. Kay reacted quickly as she grabbed Bob’s pistol and killed the soldiers with it.

BANG! BANG!

From behind, Bob was flawlessly battling Astolfo, attacking him violently. But Astolfo the Femboy was putting up a good battle against Bob Page.

Astolfo got on top of Bob’s body and started to attack his evil face to death. Bob grabbed him and body slammed him to the floor, then violently kicked his face and tossed him across the office.

Bob and Astolfo glared at each other. Astolfo swung his sword around him again. With fast reflexes, Bob dodged the swings. Swinging his sword didn't tire the femboy, as he was so ready to kill this evil bastard. Killing him would make him so happy.

As he was able to aim the edge of his sword at Bob's chin, Astolfo was close to ending the latter's life, but was stopped by Morgan and Dolma.

"Wait, stop!" Morgan said to the femboy as he got up while recovering. "We have to get out of here!"

"I don't wanna!" Astolfo shook his head as his eyes were on Bob. "I wanna kill him!"

"You can't!" Dolma told him as she held on to Ami. "If you kill him, my home country will die with him!"

"She's not joking," Bob said to Astolfo. "So what's it going to be? What's more important to you?"

Astolfo growled as his glare was filled with violence as he looked at Bob's face, which made him think of ripping it off and putting it into a shredder. The anger of knowing he can't kill him because of the consequences, he was forced to come to terms with keeping Bob Page alive.

For now.

"DAMN IT!" Astolfo yelled. "Let's go!" He said to his companions.

They all left Bob's office as Kay, Morgan, and Dolma grabbed the weapons from the dead soldiers and ran down the hall in the facility.

Dolma looked at Ami. "You're going to be okay, Ami!"

As they escaped, Morgan assisted Dolma in holding onto Ami.

Kay spoke as she escaped with the group. "That Bob Page guy scares me!" She looked at Morgan. "Thanks for saving me twice, Morgan."

"You're welcome," Morgan responded as he kept a grip on Ami with the Padar princess.

Ami noticed the blood coming out of her body. “I’m dying.” She cried.

“No, you're not!” Dolma told her, keeping her grip on her. “We’re going to try to escape! We’re going to be okay!”

“We will,” Astolfo believed as he was trying to recover from the wound from Bob. “We saw enough of this fucking place.”

“I hope we can find those three friends of yours.” Morgan hoped.

“We will, Morgan!” Astolfo replied with a smile as he got his Calico ready. “We will!”

Kay and Morgan wielded a G11 while Dolma wielded a Springfield Armory XDM pistol that she got from a dead soldier.

---

Inside a room filled with cryo pods with abducted people inside, were three dead soldiers and the corpse of Ms. Davis, who had her throat slit by a soldier's combat knife. She and the soldiers were killed by 47 and Lupin.

The "deal" in "buying" an individual went wrong as Ms. Davis detected fraud coming from the three men, because their crate filled with "money" was empty. And that got them compromised, causing an alarm to go off from one of the three dead soldiers before he was killed.

The trio was now disguised as soldiers. They placed the gas mask helmets on and wielded the Heckler & Koch G11s and took the Springfield Armory XDMs.

The three exited the cryo room and witnessed some soldiers and guards running down the hall, wielding their weapons.

A male voice came from the trio's headset, including the other soldiers.

“Search for Morgan Everett! Shoot to kill when necessary! Execute intruders Astolfo, Kay Faraday, and Ami Enan! Bob Page has declared Dolma Sinha a traitor! Do not execute her! Those are your orders!”

47, Edgeworth, and Lupin looked at each other as they felt shocked when they heard the name Morgan Everett, and their worry rose when Astolfo, Kay, and Ami were mentioned, including Dolma. They all hoped they were safe and were escaping unscathed.

The three didn’t need to remind themselves to go searching for them because it was obvious what to do: find them and escape in one piece.

Edgeworth wasn’t looking forward to seeing Morgan since he had not forgotten what he did to him and his friends.

Lupin felt anxious as he was thinking about Ami. The last thing he wanted to experience was her getting hurt or worse, killed, including Dolma.

47 believed in Astolfo. He knew he was a brave, silly femboy fighter. He believed he'd survive what's coming.

The hitman, the prosecutor, and the thief blended in with the other soldiers and guards as they ran together in the hall. They went into a large room with other hallways and doors.

47, Edgeworth, and Lupin looked around. They both realize this place was a frustrating maze.

“Geez!” Lupin spoke. “We’re not gonna find them!”

47 didn’t want to believe him, but he thought he might be telling the harsh truth. The barcode hitman wasn’t the type of man to give up so easily, as he would always fulfill a contract during an assassination. He wanted to keep trying to find them.

“We have to keep trying, Lupin.” 47 told him. “It’s not worth leaving them stranded here to die.”

“Honestly, I should’ve spoken to you privately and have just Lupin and I come with you here.” Edgeworth sighed.

“Don’t fret over it,” 47 replied.

“We spotted them! They’re at the helipad near the tower!”

47 looked at the two men with him after they heard the male voice from their headset.

"Tower? What tower!?" Lupin asked in frustration.

“Let’s go,” 47 said as he moved.

“But we don’t even know where this tower is.” Edgeworth walked with him as Lupin followed in suit.

“We’ll look for directions.” 47 replied.

---

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

A huge gunfight was going on at the helipad near the laser weapon tower.

Astolfo fired his Calico while Kay and Morgan were firing their G11s at the soldiers and guards. Dolma kept Ami protected as she fired her XDM at the enemies.

Thanks to Astolfo, he was able to heal himself and Ami’s wound, but more needed to be done to the latter's healing because of the bullet that needed to be removed. The femboy could do it himself, but he felt hesitation. Since the femboy was built differently, and by differently, he was more genetically durable, similar to 47. He didn't want to risk ending Ami's life.

As Astolfo fired his Calico at the soldiers and the guards, his eyes caught soldiers advancing towards him and the others. He quickly grabbed his sword, jumped in the air, and sliced the soldiers in half. He then jumped in the air and slammed the tip of his sword on the ground to make the ground shake.

The soldiers and the guards kept themselves balanced as they felt the ground shaking. They were going to continue firing their G11s, USAS-12s, and Steyr TMPs at them, but then, they spotted three soldiers who were charging right at the escaping group and knocking them all down as fast as possible before they had the chance to push back.

47, Edgeworth, and Lupin were the ones who knocked them down, and they got there just in time. They looked at the soldiers, the guards, and Bob Page, who had just arrived. He had his Detonics Combat Master in his hand.

47 kicked the G11s away from Morgan and Kay while Edgeworth restrained Astolfo as he grabbed the latter's gun. Lupin approached Dolma, who was about to attack him, but had her hand grabbed by the thief. He helped Ami up and held her hand.

“Bob?” 47 said his name. “Allow the three of us to toss these four into the ocean far away from here so they can die together in the water, and have their remains be eaten by the sea. We'll do the same to Dolma Sinha.”

Astolfo felt so much relief as he recognized 47's voice. He just hoped the bald hitman's escape plan would work.

And it did.

Bob loved the thought of that graphic suggestion coming from the disguised assassin.

“I’ll allow it,” Bob nodded. “But don't kill Dolma. Take her to Padar, and have her die with her country as she detonates the nuclear weapon.”

“Yes, sir.” 47 obliged him. Nuclear weapon? The assassin knew that destroying the nuclear weapon had become a priority.

Bob looked at Dolma, who was held by Lupin with a firm grip. "If you somehow survive this, Dolma, I'll know and so will Oddjob. I'll be waiting for you."

Bob faced his henchmen. “Let’s get back to work, all of you.” He told them as he went back inside the Aeon facility. The soldiers and the guards followed him.

Two helicopter pilots arrived and started up a helicopter for the group. Everyone was getting inside.

Lupin carried Ami bridal style while walking with Dolma to the helicopter. This terrified him, and he knew bringing her here was the biggest mistake he had ever made. First, he lost Zenigata; second, he lost Fujiko; he did not want to lose Ami or anyone else he cares about. He remembered Ami getting shot before, not during the war; it was a year before the war started.

When the helicopter was ready to take off, the group went inside, and then the helicopter hovered and left Aeon.

47, Edgeworth, and Lupin noticed the laser tower weapon, as well as the bridge that led to the pit of the purple colored acid. They thought the tower was just a tower, but they didn't know that the laser weapon was the tower. They didn't know what it was capable of, but they knew the menacing tower had to be erased.

---

When the helicopter was far from Aeon, one of the helicopter pilots spoke to 47, Edgeworth, and Lupin.

“Is this good enough?” A helicopter pilot asked as he looked at the water of the ocean.

“Yes.” 47 answered.

BANG! BANG!

He shot and killed both of the helicopter pilots with his XDM and kicked them off the helicopter, sending their corpses to the ocean.

47 took control of the helicopter as he took his gas mask helmet off. He then continued flying above the Atlantic Ocean.

Lupin also took his helmet off and looked at the group in front of him. His eyes lay on Ami. Seeing her injured again bothered him.

“Amy...” He said her name.

"It's Ami." Ami formed a sad smile. “Hey, Lupin,” She said to him while breathing and holding onto her wound. “How are you doing? Did you remember the first time I got shot?”

“Yes," Lupin answered as he closed his eyes. He panicked. "Damn it! I shouldn't have let you come with us!"

“It’s okay, Lupin," Ami reassured him. "Astolfo gave me some healing supplies to patch me up.”

Lupin looked at Astolfo. “Will it be enough?”

“Yeah, for now.” Astolfo nodded at him. “The bullet has to come off soon.”

“Let me take care of that when we get to Padar as soon as possible.” 47 told them.

"Padar?" Kay replied.

"We have to go there because of that nuclear weapon," Dolma told her.

"She's right." 47 sided with her. "We need to focus on that before we head back to Highfalcon."

Edgeworth looked at Kay, seeing her injuries from getting attacked.

"Kay?" He said her name. "Did Bob attack you?"

"No." Kay shook her head. "It was a male captive. Bob controlled him and ordered the captive to attack me, but Astolfo saved me."

Edgeworth took a deep breath, realizing Bob was getting close to fulfilling his diabolical goals. The man that the prosecutor looked at was Morgan Everett. Edgeworth looked at him with a glare.

Morgan noticed Edgeworth’s glaring stare at him. “It’s been a while, Mr. Edgeworth.”

“Care to explain why you were there?” Edgeworth questioned.

“I knew Bob was alive, but I wasn’t helping him,” Morgan told him. “He sent me here when I encountered him at my safe house in Montreal. He placed me in a cryo pod to see me suffer and have me witness his destruction.”

Edgeworth breathed. He knew what he meant by destruction. “Bob Page is creating a dystopian world.”

“To make things worse, Bob is getting close to winning,” Morgan stated. "He's going to erase mankind. And he resurrected Dr. Ivo Robotnik. The three who got me out of the cryo pod saw him in his lab, and almost killed Ms. Faraday."

“Are you sure that was him?” 47 questioned Morgan.

Astolfo answered him. “We’re sure 47. Dr. Robotnik is back yet again.”

47 blinked his eyes. He already knew what the reaction would be from the Mario Brothers.

The trip back to Highfalcon needed to be done quicker than ever before. The people inside the helicopter knew they did not have much time left to stop Bob Page, including Dr. Robotnik.

But they knew they couldn't travel back to Highfalcon yet, as they needed to travel to Padar to disable and destroy the nuclear weapon.

Dolma spoke to everyone she was with on the helicopter. "During our travel to Padar, I'll explain everything."

Chapter 36: ACT 3 - Chapter 10

Padar

Daytime morning was in the Southeast Asian country, Kingdom of Padar. The group of eight arrived safely in the country without gaining any unwanted attention. The helicopter landed in a field near the forest. While traveling to the country, Ami was successfully healed with the help of 47, Astolfo, and Dolma.

Edgeworth and Kay worked on keeping a close eye on Morgan to make sure he wasn't going to start a sudden betrayal of the entire group. As for Lupin, he piloted the helicopter while Ami was being healed.

47 shut off the helicopter and opened the doors. He looked at the group. “Dolma and I will head to the location of the nuclear weapon.”

“Let me come with you.” Lupin volunteered.

“Alright.” 47 nodded. He looked at Edgeworth and Kay. “Keep Astolfo and Ami protected, and keep an eye on Morgan.”

“Of course.” Edgeworth nodded.

“You can count on us!” Kay grinned.

“Lupin, Dolma?” Ami breathed as she was recovering from being healed by the group during the trip to Padar. “Please be safe out there.”

Dolma responded. “We will, Ami.”

“We'll be back unscathed!” Lupin smirked.

With that, the three left the helicopter and walked to Padar to find the abandoned factory where the nuclear bomb was located. They do expect to see Bob’s soldiers securing the location.

---

They were now in the city of Padar. Around the trio was debris all over the ground, buildings that were damaged, as well as damaged parked vehicles. It felt like they were in a post-apocalyptic setting.

47 kept his eyes on everything as he moved with Lupin and Dolma. With a strong grip, the bald hitman held his Heckler & Koch G11 and was ready to shoot threats. Lupin was also wielding his G11 and was ready to kill any potential enemies.

With the help of Ami after getting the bullet removed from her body, she was able to have Underworld track down the directions to the abandoned factory. Since being born and raised in Padar, Dolma knew where to go, so the hitman and the thief had the princess lead the way.

As the trio walked down the destroyed road, they saw two male Traditionalist soldiers. They were both wielding M16s. The soldiers spotted the three and were surprised to see the Padar princess.

"Princess Dolma!" The first soldier said her name out loud.

The eyes of the three saw them. The two Traditionalist soldiers approached them.

The first soldier spoke again. "Princess Dolma! Are you okay?! What happened to you!?"

The second soldier looked at 47 and Lupin and noticed they were wearing the outfits of Bob's soldiers and holding G11s. He aimed his M16 at them.

"You two!" He yelled at them. "Drop your weapons!"

"Stand down, soldier!" Dolma commanded him. "They're on our side!"

47 stepped in. “Long story short, these outfits were stolen.”

“We’re not with them.” Lupin shook his head.

"There's a lot to explain," Dolma told the Traditionalist soldiers. "We need to talk to your captain somewhere that's safe."

"Yes, Princess Dolma." The first soldier nodded.

---

Inside a building which was occupied by the Traditionalist soldiers and civilians of Padar, a Traditionalist captain stood in front of the group of three inside a room where they could talk privately.

Everyone in the building was surprised when they saw the Padar Princess. They were told about what was going on by Dolma, but not everything, as she didn't want them to worry and feel major anxiety. And that was because of the nuclear weapon.

After the door in the room was closed, Dolma spoke. "You and the Reformists are still fighting? If you are, it ends now."

"We're no longer fighting," The captain reassured her. "But those terrorists made Padar unsafe for everyone. We don't know who they're working for."

"Is my father okay?" Dolma questioned the soldier.

The captain swallowed as he felt hesitant to tell her what happened to the princess' father.

"Dolma...I'm sorry." He responded.

"He's dead." Dolma assumed as she scowled. Bob...damn you!

"I'm sorry, Prin- Queen Dolma." The captain replied with sorrow. "He and the high priest were killed weeks after the civil war started. And since then, we and the Reformists stopped fighting. The terrorists were our major threat, and we agreed to get rid of them, but we're struggling."

Lupin stepped in. "Does the world know this war ended?"

"I'm afraid not." The captain shook his head. "Before the high priest was killed, he ordered us to shut down the internet so that no one would spread information about it online, and also wanted all journalists from other nations to be forced out of the country or be arrested, and he also threatened to arrest journalists from Padar."

47, as well as Lupin, thought that was odd, and a part of them believed the high priest of Padar had a connection to Bob Page.

47 thought about asking the captain about Bob. "Captain? A man named Bob Page. Does he ring any bells to you?"

"Huh?" The captain raised an eyebrow. "Bob Page? Is that the guy who died while he was on the run?"

Dolma answered as she shook her head. "He's not dead."

"Those terrorists work for him," Lupin added.

"Has Bob met the high priest?" 47 questioned.

Dolma looked at the bald hitman. "I'm sorry, but where is this going?"

"I want to know if the high priest had an association with Bob, then was later betrayed by him," 47 explained as he looked at her. "Besides, why would he turn the internet off here in the country?"

"W-well the high priest has met Mr. Page before, which was two years ago," The captain recalled.

"What did they talk about?" Dolma inquired.

"I don't know." The captain shrugged as he shook his head, "The high priest told me and the soldiers who were there to leave. After they were done speaking privately, I asked the high priest about the conversation, but he told me it wasn't my concern."

The hitman and the thief looked at each other, believing Bob was assisting the high priest of Padar in taking over the entire country and overthrowing the king, who was Dolma's father. But unfortunately, answers regarding that were long gone since the high priest was killed. And believing Bob wouldn't answer questions about it.

47 looked at the captain. "Do you know who specifically killed the high priest?"

"Yeah, it was this guy in a suit and bowler hat-"

"Oddjob!" Dolma interrupted as she felt shock. "When!?"

"About two weeks after the civil war started." The captain answered. "I was there and suddenly this Oddjob guy came storming in with those terrorists and said to the high priest, 'He sends his regards.'. Then threw his bowler hat at him, which sliced his body in half."

The captain continued. "We tried to fight, but they were too strong and we were outnumbered by them, so we had to retreat."

"Did Oddjob kill my father?" Dolma glared as her fist clenched.

"I'm not entirely sure, sorry." The captain shook his head as he answered.

Anger built up in the Padar Queen as she approached a table in the room. Dolma slammed her fist on it in anger.

"Damn him!" Dolma yelled. She took a deep breath and restrained herself from breaking things in the room. She turned to the three men and looked at 47 and Lupin.

"We need to leave before they get suspicious." She told them.

"Huh?" The captain replied with confusion.

"This cannot leave this room," 47 told him. "Bob placed a nuclear weapon inside an abandoned factory in Padar. The three of us are heading there to kill everyone and sabotage the weapon."

"W-wait!" The captain stopped him. "Queen Dolma-"

"Yes, captain, I'm going with them, then I'm heading to the United States," Dolma explained.

"And I have to ask," Lupin said to the captain. "Is it possible to contact other nations?"

"Y-yeah, I believe so." The captain nodded. "Why?"

Lupin had an idea, and that was having the Mushroom Kingdom Army help Padar recover from the civil war and disposing the nuclear weapon. And he hoped peace would be made between the countries since Dolma killed Princess Peach while following orders from Bob.

"Get in contact with the Mushroom Kingdom and have their army help all of you in recovering from the war," Lupin suggested. "And have them help you and the Reformists get rid of the weapon."

"R-really?" Dolma looked at him in surprise.

"Yes." Lupin smiled. "Amy is your friend; she and I are gonna help your country recover."

"It's Ami." 47 corrected him.

"Yes, yes, I know you grouch." Lupin glared at him in annoyance. He then felt a hug from the queen. He looked at her.

"Thank you!" Dolma said to him emotionally. "Thank you, Lupin the 3rd! I just hope...Mario will forgive me."

"He will." Lupin believed. "I know he will."

"He's too nice and too forgiving." 47 said to Dolma.

"I don't understand," The captain told them. "Forgive her for what?"

Dolma looked at him. "Bob forced me to murder Princess Peach. If I didn't kill her, Bob would've detonated the nuclear weapon." She let out a regretful sigh. She knew Padar and the Mushroom Kingdom were allies, and she believed she ruined everything.

The captain had an idea for the princess. He walked to a table and pulled out a gun from the drawer. It was a Beretta Cx4 Storm. He handed it to Dolma.

"Here," The captain said to her. "You're going to need it."

Dolma knew she already had a gun with her that she grabbed from a dead soldier at Aeon, but she grabbed it anyway, as she believed she could use it as a primary weapon and use the Springfield Armory XDM as a backup.

"Thank you." Dolma smiled. She looked at 47 and Lupin. “Let’s go.”

---

The three stood on the roof of a building across from the abandoned factory. 47 noticed soldiers patrolling the exterior of the abandoned factory. He realized he quickly needed to form a plan, a plan that involved stealth but not wearing a helmet to complete his disguise.

His eyes spotted a soldier wielding a USAS-12 as he patrolled the exterior of the factory. 47 knew what to do: take his helmet, kill another soldier, take his helmet. He didn't have his Fiber Wire with him, but that didn't mean it was going to be hard for the bald assassin to kill the two soldiers.

Without saying a word to the duo, 47 positioned himself to jump off the roof.

Dolma felt confused. “What are you doing?”

“I'm going to kill two soldiers who are outside.” 47 answered. He looked at Lupin. "I'll be getting their helmet for us to put on."

"Got it." Lupin nodded with a smirk. "Good luck out there."

Lupin and Dolma witnessed 47 jumping off the roof. He successfully landed on the ground. The duo saw him approaching the back entrance of the abandoned factory compound and went in.

47 kept himself hidden as he moved quietly around the exterior of the factory. He later spotted a soldier standing stationary. The hitman moved as he looked around to make sure no one was appearing suddenly. He grabbed his combat knife and stabbed the soldier violently.

The assassin dragged his corpse to a hiding spot and took the helmet off. He placed it on and grabbed the soldier's G11. As he moved out of the spot, 47's eyes caught the soldier with the USAS-12. 47 followed him. Thankfully for the bald hitman, the soldier thought he needed to pee, so 47 followed him to the back entrance and stabbed the soldier.

After the soldier was dead, 47 grabbed the dead soldier's helmet and exited the compound to rendezvous with the thief and the Padar queen. 47 climbed the building with one hand as he held the helmet for Lupin to wear and regrouped with them.

Lupin was shocked to see 47 climbing with one hand. "You're one hell of a durable assassin." He caught the helmet that 47 tossed to him.

The two men placed their helmets on. Dolma looked at 47 as he talked.

“But based on what you did, would this alert those soldiers?” Dolma asked.

“If it does and they spot the corpses, get prepared.” 47 answered.

Lupin and Dolma held onto 47 and jumped off the roof with him. They landed perfectly without any injuries. They moved towards the front entrance of the abandoned factory.

---

At the front entrance, there was a soldier who was a gatekeeper and was reading a book. He heard a knock on the window and saw 47 and Lupin holding Dolma's arms. The soldier pressed a button which opened the gate. Soldiers who were outside saw the three entering.

One of them spoke. "I thought there were three of you."

Knowing what he said had to do with Edgeworth not being with them, 47 already came up with a response.

"He was killed by a Traditionalist soldier," He lied. "They're all dead."

"Alright." The soldier nodded, falling for the lie. "The captain is inside."

---

Inside the factory at the production area, the three noticed the interior was heavily guarded with soldiers wielding G11s and USAS-12s. They didn't have time to figure out what to do since a captain approached them.

"You two!" He said to 47 and Lupin as he approached them. His eyes glanced at Dolma. "You frisked her, right?"

Lupin answered as he nodded. "Yes, sir. We took her weapons away at Aeon."

“Great.” He replied with a nod. “Follow us to the assembly where the weapon is. It’s all ready to detonate and destroy this country."

"And destroy the princess." 47 said as he played along.

"That's right." The captain confirmed.

The trio followed the captain to the assembly of the factory. As they arrived, they saw the nuclear weapon that was placed on the floor near the assembly lines.

The captain looked at 47 and Lupin. “After she starts the countdown of the nuclear weapon, tie her up.”

“Yes, sir.” 47 responded.

47 and Lupin dragged Dolma to the bomb. 47 sneaked a combat knife to Dolma. This signaled the princess to start attacking the soldiers when the signal arrived. The knife was meant for a third backup in case the new Queen of Padar lost her Cx4 Storm and XDM pistols.

Dolma began pressing buttons to “start” the detonation, and then a gunfight erupted.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA !

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

47 and Lupin fired their G11s at the soldiers in the factory. More soldiers came after they heard the gunfire.

Dolma saw the soldiers arriving and quickly shot them with the Beretta Cx4 Storm as he moved around fast with a battle expression on her face.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The soldiers died, but more were still coming as they opened fire. But this wasn’t a problem for the heroic trio.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA !

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

More soldiers arrived. They opened fire at the three with their G11s and USAS-12s.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

All of the bullets from Bob's soldiers missed as the three moved at a fast pace and took cover.

The Queen of Padar Dolma Sinha formed a plan, and that was pulling out her Springfield Armory XDM and began to dual-wield it with the Cx4 Storm. She began to open fire at the soldiers as she moved around.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Dolma panted and noticed a wounded soldier. She approached him with a glare and trampled his wrist, making him yelp. She aimed her Cx4 Storm at his head and fired.

BANG!

The Padar queen let out a small smile, not out of enjoyment, but out of accomplishment. This was somewhat of a start to save her country. But what she didn't know was that two soldiers who aimed their USAS-12 at her. They were very close to ending her life as Queen.

BANG! BANG!

It was too late.

Too late for the soldiers as they both got simultaneously killed by the bald hitman 47, and thief Lupin the 3rd. They saved her life.

Dolma turned and saw the two soldiers dying. She let out a sigh of relief, realizing she had almost died. She looked at the two men who saved her from dying.

"Thanks." She said with a small smile.

"You're welcome." Lupin nodded with a smile. "Now let's sabotage this stupid nuclear weapon."

47 disabled the weapon as Lupin and Dolma watched him as they checked their surroundings to make sure no one was going to ambush them.

“It's disabled.” 47 told Lupin and Dolma.

“We’re not just going to leave this here, are we?” Dolma questioned.

“We're going to meet with the Traditionalists and have them guard the factory as they wait for the soldiers from the Mushroom Kingdom." 47 explained. "I’m going to speak to Mario and tell him everything that happened here. But that’ll require us to travel to Highfalcon immediately, so let’s get going.”

---

Highfalcon, New York

The sun was rising since it was morning at Highfalcon. The group arrived at the Mario Brothers house by using a rental gray van. 47 was behind the wheel and parked the van in front of the house, and they all exited. The hitman, including Lupin and Edgeworth, were wearing their usual suits.

As they all got out, 47 noticed Mario’s 1974 Dodge Monaco wasn’t parked, nor was Luigi’s 1934 Chrysler Airflow.

“They’re not home.” 47 sighed.

“It’s alright, we can go to my house,” Lupin suggested.

The group noticed the front door of the Mario Brothers house opening, revealing Franziska von Karma, who saw them.

She approached the group and looked at them. “You guys, where have you been!?!”

“It’s a long story, but this mission at Aeon took longer than expected,” Edgeworth explained.

“There’s a lot to talk about.” 47 told her.

Franziska noticed Astolfo holding on to his wound as he was breathing, as well as Ami recovering from her gunshot wound.

“Yes, I can already tell.” Franziska noticed. “Are you okay, Astolfo and Ami?”

“We’re fine,” Astolfo said with a small smile. "I got shot, but got the bullet out. So all I need to do is fully patch myself up."

“Me too,” Ami replied to her. "Lupin was able to get the bullet out of my body."

“Who shot you two?” Franziska asked. "Was it that foolish fool, Bob Page?"

“Yes,” Astolfo said with a glare as she was thinking about Bob.

Franziska gasped with her eyes widened. “S-so all of you saw him?”

“Not all of us." Edgeworth shook his head. “Just Astolfo, Kay, and Ami. They rescued Dolma Sinha and Morgan Everett.”

“Who?” Franziska raised a brow.

"Me." Dolma raised her hand to her chest and greeted Franziska. "I'm the Kingdom of Padar Queen Dolma Sinha. My father was killed by Bob's henchmen."

Morgan spoke next to the female prosecutor. “And I'm Morgan Everett. I was Bob's mentor in the Illuminati.”

Knowing the story of what happened between Morgan and Edgeworth in the past, this was the cue for Lupin to leave and go to his home with Ami. He would rather not have the latter witness Franziska’s reaction.

“Amy and I are gonna head to my house so she can rest there,” Lupin told them.

“It’s Ami.” She told her as she felt frustrated. “It’s fucking Ami.”

“Hey, language!” Lupin scolded her. “Wait until you're 18 or 21 or whatever the fuck.”

“Watch your language, Lupin,” Ami told him with a smirk.

“Yes, Mom- I mean Amy.”

“It’s Ami.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know you told me a trillion times.”

After they were gone, Edgeworth looked at Franziska. “We got a lot to talk about, Franziska. And it requires us to go inside the house.”

---

“YOU ALMOST KILLED MILES EDGEWORTH YOU FOOLISHLY FOOLISH CORRUPTED FOOL!!!” Franziska shouted at Morgan.

The group was eagerly waiting for the Mario Brothers to arrive. When Edgeworth explained to Franziska about Morgan almost killing the former, Kay, and Gumshoe, the female prosecutor couldn’t restrain herself from snapping.

Edgeworth knew that would be her reaction. He glanced at Dolma, who covered her ears with her hands as she closed her eyes. He was going to respond to Franziska, but the latter had more to say.

“You almost killed him and his foolish friends because of your foolish selfishness of foolishness!” Franziska remarked as she kept his glare on Morgan. “Do you have no shame!?”

Honestly, Morgan had no idea what to say about what he did. He knew apologizing would’ve been rejected since it would be assumed by the group that it would be a fake apology.

Franziska pointed at Morgan. “Speak foolish, silent foolish man!” She demanded.

“What do you want me to say?” Morgan asked as he looked at her. “That I’m sorry? I know an apology would mean nothing to all of you. The damage has been done for what I did to Mr. Edgeworth and his companions.”

“I’ll be honest, Morgan Everett,” Edgeworth responded to him. “Not a single person in this house, including the Mario Brothers, Lupin the 3rd, and his accomplices, will trust you.”

“So why am I here?” Morgan looked at him. “You might as well turn me in to the authorities without even bringing it up to the Mario Brothers.”

“Mario might be foolishly bothered by not having a say in this,” Franziska guessed. “And I already know what he'll say since he can be so foolish sometimes.” Since she believed what Mario’s decision would be, she let out a sigh.

Astolfo looked at Franziska. “Look, we just need to put our opinions of Morgan to the side, and just focus on stopping Bob Page,” He told her and everyone. “Otherwise, we’ll be going nowhere.”

“I agree,” 47 sided with him. “We don’t have to become friends with him. He’ll tell us more about Bob Page and help us stop him.” He looked at Morgan. “A bullet will have your name on it if you didn’t learn a thing.”

"Don't think about pulling any fast ones on any of us." Dolma glared at him. Since she learned about what Morgan did, a part of her didn't trust him. No wonder Bob was so selfish and evil, she thought. It all came from his mentor.

Morgan knew what the hitman and the Padar Queen meant by what they said. Sure, he wanted to continue to reform the Illuminati, but that was an idea that was long gone. Reforming it was already futile to do. All he can do is help stop Bob and likely sacrifice himself to do so.

---

Hours went by, and the evening started. The Mario Brothers, along with Robocop, arrived at their home, parking their cars on the driveway. They got back from doing errands.

The brothers and Robocop entered the home and saw 47, Astolfo, Franziska, Dolma, and Morgan. Edgeworth was with Kay and Gumshoe in the former’s bedroom, telling the detective what happened at Aeon.

“Hello everyone!” Mario greeted them as he smiled.

"Hello, Mario and Luigi." Franziska greeted him back. "How was your day? It wasn't foolish, was it?"

“Nope, not at all.” Mario shook his head. “No one has tried to kill us.”

“Jameson wanted me to take an indefinite break due to all of the shenanigans going on with us,” Luigi explained. His eyes spotted Morgan and Dolma. “Dolma? And who's this guy?”

“This foolish man who cannot be trusted is named Morgan Everett,” Franziska replied as she glanced at Morgan with a glare. "He was Bob's foolish Mentor in the Illuminati."

“’Morgan Everett’?” Mario replied as he looked at him. He started to remember what Edgeworth told him about Morgan, how he almost killed him, Kay, and Gumshoe on a train.

And Dolma Sinha, the girl who killed Princess Peach as she followed Bob Page's orders against her will. He, including Luigi, noticed Dolma not making eye contact as she showed a timid expression, a timid expression filled with remorse.

Morgan stood and looked at the brothers. “Hello, Mario, and Luigi. I’m here because of your friend Astolfo.”

“Kay, Ami, and I, saw him trapped in a cryo pod while we were at Aeon,” Astolfo explained. “So we freed him.”

“Oh yeah, how was it?” Mario asked.

47 explained. “Astolfo, Ami, and Kay met the man Bob Page, then things went ugly.”

“W-what does that mean!?” Luigi asked as his gut tightened in fear.

Astolfi approached Luigi and placed his hand on his shoulder as he looked at him. “Luigi, Ami and I got shot-"

"WHAAAAAT?!" Luigi exclaimed with his eyes widened in shock.

"Please, Luigi!" Astolfo calmed him. "Please relax! I'm fine and so is Ami. Bob shot us and I almost wanted to kill him, but I couldn't."

"W-why?!" Luigi asked with frustration.

Dolma stepped in. "Let me explain." She said to him as well as his brother. "Bob threatened to destroy Padar if I refused to follow his diabolical orders. If he died, then the country would go extinct."

She looked at Mario. "The man you and your allies dealt with, Dr. Ivo Robotnik, was revived."

Mario gasped. He couldn't believe the evil doctor was alive and resurrected again. He started to wonder if there was any way to make him dead forever.

Luigi panicked. "Mama Mia!"

“Kay. Ami, Morgan, and I saw him inside his lab, which we discovered." Astolfo explained. "That's when we saw Bob and Dolma."

"What about Lupin? Is he okay?" Mario asked. "He didn't die, did he? And Edgeworth survived, right?"

"Lupin's fine, and so is Edgeworth." 47 answered him. "He took Ami home to recover from her wound. After we left Aeon, we had to disable Bob Page's nuclear weapon at Padar that was supposed to put the country into extinction."

Mario widened his eyes. “W-what!?“

"A NUCLEAR WEAPON!?!?!" Luigi screamed in fear. He, yet again, began to shake Mario. "MARIO, THAT BOB PAGE GUY PLANTED A NUCLEAR WEAPON-"

"MAMA MIA LUIGI!" Mario shouted at him as he glared. "Can you stop shaking me around every time you get scared!?"

"Lupin, Dolma, and I went to disable the weapon that was in an abandoned factory." 47 reassured them. "So, since Dolma is here in front of us, Lupin had an idea in mind."

Mario smiled. "Go right ahead!"

"Speak to Toad, and see if he's able to send soldiers to Padar to dispose of the nuclear weapon inside the abandoned factory." 47 replied. He glanced at the Padar queen. "You would be doing Dolma a favor in helping Padar recover from the civil war, which stopped when Bob's soldiers were in the country."

Mario looked at Dolma, seeing how innocent she looked. He also noticed how much mental damage Bob did to her.

Mario nodded. "Yes, I'll speak to Toad as soon as possible."

With that, Dolma approached Mario and hugged him.

"Thank you, Mario," Dolma said to him as she felt a tear running down her face. "I'm sorry for what I've done. But you don't need to forgive me."

"I forgive you, Dolma Sinha." Mario hugged her back with a smile.

Dolma looked at him with shocking eyes. "H-how!? How did you forgive me so easily!?"

"Because he's a foolish fool who's foolishly naive!" Franziska answered as she felt annoyed.

"Thanks, Franziska, I appreciate that!" Mario sarcastically responded as he glared at her.

He looked at Dolma. "Because I'm-a not the type of guy to hold grudges. Bob Page is an exception. You didn't want to kill Princess Peach, but Bob forced you to. He ruined you and Padar. He needs to pay."

Dolma nodded as she felt more tears coming and sniffed. "You're right! He needs to die slowly!"

The hug later ended. Mario laid his eyes on Morgan. “Morgan Everett? May I speak to you privately in my room?”

Luigi widened his eyes. “M-Mario let me come with you!” He urged him.

"This foolish man could do something harmful to you!" Franziska told Mario.

“No, Luigi and Franziska.” Mario shook his head. “This conversation needs to be a serious private one.”

“Lead the way,” Morgan told him.

---

Now in Mario’s bedroom, Mario locked the door and closed the curtains to keep the private conversation with Morgan more private. He then faced Morgan.

“Mr. Everett,” Mario said his name.

“Morgan is fine.” He told him.

“Morgan, how dangerous is Bob Page?” Mario inquired.

“Very dangerous,” Morgan answered with emphasis. “He has augments placed into his body, such as nano-augmentations, mechanical, and cerebral augmentations. There’s a lot to go over about his augments, but the type of augments to be cautious of are the nano-augments, which can allow him to see in the dark, turn invisible, and have enormous strength. Many abilities a regular human being cannot do, except for you, your brother, and Astolfo, possibly.”

Mario rubbed his hand on his face as he breathed. He believed Bob was equally as threatening as Bowser and Dr. Robotnik.

“Has he ever mentioned to you about murdering Princess Peach?” Mario questioned.

“Yes, he has,” Morgan nodded. “He sent Dolma to kill her, though he never mentioned her name. He wanted to see how vulnerable you were. He believed you were going to be in his way with his plan to obtain all of Dr. Robotnik’s technology. He didn’t expect you and your brother to move to Highfalcon, where Dr. Robotnik was currently operating his business and killing him, including Agent Stone.”

“Why couldn’t Bob just get the technology himself?”

“That’s what I asked Page. He planned on doing that as a last resort. Bob values Dr. Robotnik and his technology. After your companions got me out of the cryo pod. We encountered a recreation of Dr. Robotnik.”

Mario swallowed. “Go on.”

"He’s even more dangerous than before. He has a lab of robotic creations. I witnessed him strangling Kay after she crushed his miniature robot friends.”

Mario was glad Kay Faraday wasn't killed by the evil resurrected doctor, and he was glad Luigi wasn’t here during this conversation with Morgan. He knew his brother would be screaming, crying, trembling, vomiting, and possibly having a panic or heart attack.

Morgan continued. “If we don’t stop Bob soon enough, the world will meet its end. He is selling abducted people who were given augmentations against their will because they used an app called PeopleLog. The sold individual will later kill the buyer and will become violently dangerous to everyone.”

Mario nodded when he said PeopleLog. "I'm-a familiar with that app. The Mushroom Kingdom banned it for bad practices and arrested people who used it with a VPN. But we have more threats to deal with, and that’s Bob's connections: Daniel Montgomery, and a man named Marshall Smith who works for Daniel.”

“Bob never mentioned their names to me,” Morgan recalled. “But he kept referring to individuals as ‘my contact’. He mentioned his contact having a connection to Dr. Robotnik, and a contact who planned to set up Agent 47 to kill you and Franziska.”

“Alan Montgomery ran a company called Montgomery Industries, and he had a facade connection to Robotnik,” Mario explained. “He was just using him to get all of Robotnik’s technology and send it to Bob. Daniel is his son and is currently running the company. Franziska and I questioned him about Robotnik’s technology being stolen, and he denied any involvement in it.”

“Have you and your friends been able to investigate Alan?” Morgan questioned.

“No, but Luigi’s friends Master Chief and John Wick investigated him," Mario answered. He went on to explain.

"They were sent by J. Jonah Jameson, who runs a company called Highfalcon Times. He had a photographer named Nate Owings who was murdered. The last photo he took...“ Mario went to find the picture of Alan and Oddjob. After he found it, he handed it to Morgan. “...was this.”

Morgan observed the picture. He recognized Oddjob and was surprised. “My god, that's Oddjob."

"What do you know about him?" Mario inquired.

“The only name I'm familiar with of him is Oddjob, but the Illuminati couldn't gather any information about his real name,” Morgan explained. "I can confirm that Dolma killed Nate because of this picture."

He handed the picture back to Mario. “Anything about Marshall Smith?”

“All we know is his appearance," Mario answered. "A bald African-American male in a black business suit. I’ll need to get in contact with Master Chief and John Wick and see if they met him.”

“What makes you think they did?” Morgan asked.

“Marshall was a bodyguard for Alan, so I have a hunch that they met him, likely once.” Mario guessed. “I know Astoflo trusts you, but the others don't; however, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

“That’s what Astolfo said to me while at Aeon,” Morgan remembered. “Both of you are quite naive.”

“Haha!” Mario laughed. “We’re-a optimistic in people and things!” He offered a handshake to Morgan. “Are you willing to work with us and not betray us, Morgan Everett?”

Morgan looked at Mario’s hand and accepted the handshake. “Yes. I’ll tolerate the damage I’ve created and lose the trust because of it. But maybe eventually, my sins will be forgiven.”

Chapter 37: ACT 3 - Chapter 11

During the night on an empty street in Highfalcon, Oddjob was inside a black Cadillac CTS and was talking to Bob on the phone. The bowler hat man stared at a building, a building where he was going to meet someone.

“Bob, I don’t mean to doubt you, but are you sure this is worth it?” Oddjob asked. He was told what happened at Aeon.

Bob knew Astolfo, Kay, Ami, and Morgan were still alive and knew 47 was one of the accomplices disguised as a soldier. He wondered if the Mario Brothers were with him and the other three.

“I understand your concerns, Oddjob,” Bob replied. “Even if they focus on stopping us, it’ll be too late for them to achieve their goals.”

“What about Daniel Montgomery?” Oddjob responded. “They might know too much about him already and could be plotting to arrest him.”

“Don’t worry about Daniel,” Bob told him. “I already spoke to him about what happened, and he’s arriving at Aeon in any minute for his training.”

“And the company?”

“Marshall is going to focus on the fate of Montgomery Industries.”

Oddjob had no more questions to ask Bob. He confidently believed everything had been thought of and hoped it would all work for their sake. Bob worked hard to get everything he needed to accomplish his goals, and Oddjob wanted zero people to stop him.

“Keep your focus on sabotaging the Mario Brothers and their friends,” Bob told him. "Starting now, selling the abducted people will be put on hold, but more will be abducted. I do believe they'll be rescued. If so, then I'll activate the kill switch."

“Yes, Bob,” Oddjob replied as he looked at the building of the hideout. “I’m meeting a former crime lord named Lorenzo Del Toro, commonly known as Zoo. I’m going to use some manipulation on him to take down those brothers.”

“A partial change to the plans,” Bob responded. “I want Luigi kidnapped. I want to add the augmentations to him and tweak his mind to kill his brother. Kidnap whoever is with him so that we can mentally damage Mario when he has no choice but to kill his brother and his friends. After that, escape Highfalcon.”

Oddjob had no reason to protest the partial change of plans. He believed this was worth the change.

Oddjob nodded. “I’ll get to work.”

“Thank you, Oddjob. Good luck.”

With that, they disconnected. Oddjob exited the black Cadillac and walked down an alley that led to the back entrance of the hideout.

When the bowler hat man approached the back entrance of the door, he looked around and noticed no one was nearby to see him. He knocked on the door and waited.

Oddjob saw a male person opening the peephole slide to see who was knocking and spoke.

“Who are you?” He asked.

“I'd rather answer while I’m inside,” Oddjob told him. “Unless you want those brothers breathing down your neck for the rest of your life.”

The man knew who he was talking about. “The Mario Brothers.” He assumed. He opened the door and revealed a masculine White Spanish-American man wearing a black suit with a purple tie. He had dark gray hair and had a cigar in his mouth. This was Lorenzo Del Toro, known as Zoo, because of the first name and last name ending with the letter O.

Zoo looked at Oddjob. “Are you alone?”

“I am.” Oddjob nodded.

Zoo smoked his cigar and replied. “You’re not from the FBI, are you?”

“Absolutely not.” Oddjob shook his head.

“Come in.” Zoo allowed him.

Oddjob entered the hideout and saw himself inside a dark library. None of the lights were turned on.

“Do you have protection?” Oddjob inquired as he looked around the interior of Zoo’s hideout.

“None,” Zoo answered. “This is my temporary hideout until I get everything I had back to me.”

“It will happen,” Oddjob told him.

Zoo smoked his cigar as he gave the bowler man a suspicious glare. “If you're making jokes to my face, no one will see you ever again.”

“I’m serious, Mr. Zoo,” Oddjob reassured him. “I can help you get back everything you had and send the Punisher to you.”

Zoo gasped in surprise. The Punisher was a male vigilante who made Zoo face his downfall. The vigilante was going to kill him, but Zoo escaped and hid himself in Highfalcon. Zoo wanted the Punisher to die, die violently and slowly.

“How did you-“

“I’ve done my research, Mr. Zoo,” Oddjob told him. “All you have to do is kidnap Mario’s brother Luigi, and anyone who he’s with.”

“Why not kidnap him yourself?” Zoo questioned.

“I could, if I had no choice,” Oddjob answered. “But I work for someone who's far from the United States, and would rather keep myself in the shadows and avoid getting compromised. I’m not allowed to give you the details because orders are orders. Mercenaries will be handed to you to keep you protected.”

“I know you’re offering me the Punisher and everything I lost, but what else?” Zoo questioned.

“You’ll be handed 50 million dollars,” Oddjob told him. “It will be handed to you once Luigi and anyone he’s with are kidnapped and sent here.”

Zoo knew he didn’t have enough time to make a decision, knowing he had to make one now. He smoked his cigar and replied.

“This sounds too good to be true,” Zoo remarked. “How do I know you’re not just going to stab me in the back?”

“This conversation would be a waste of time should I backstab you, Mr. Zoo,” Oddjob replied. “My anonymous superior wants this to happen. We know about where the Punisher is operating, and our subordinates are currently helping me in tracking him down. They believe the Punisher will assist the Mario Brothers in taking down my superior.”

“Say no more,” Zoo stopped him. “Since I despise the Punisher for ruining everything I had. I’ll do what you’re anonymous superior is wishing for.”

Oddjob took off his bowler hat and bowed. “Thank you, Mr. Zoo. I’ll contact the mercenaries and tell them to arrive here, and you’ll order them to kidnap Luigi and anyone he’s with.”

---

Morning arrived at the Lupin Gang house. Dolma was wearing a light green blouse and a light green skirt. She was also wearing black bow-less flats. The clothing and the flats were given to her by Lupin.

The Padar Queen was in the backyard as she felt the breeze from the sunny weather. She was very happy to be out of Aeon and no longer taking orders from Bob Page. She was also happy to find out earlier from Mario that the soldiers from the Mushroom Kingdom successfully disposed of the nuclear weapon away from Padar with the help of the Traditionalists and the Reformists, which meant the civil war was entirely over and Padar was now recovering.

Dolma started to think about Ami. Seeing her getting shot by that man made her go internally insane. She formed a number one wish, and that was Bob Page facing a violent death, either by being hanged or beheaded. She loved Ami. Seeing her warms her heart, and always wanted to be carried bridal style by her. She would never stop having dreams about it. Obviously, the Padar queen couldn't keep her mind off her. She hoped she would have a speedy recovery just so that she could spend time with her.

Speaking of Ami, she saw Dolma in the backyard alone. She decided to go see her. She opened the back door and approached her.

"Dolma?"

Dolma hummed and turned to Ami. "Ami." She nodded with a small smile.

The Padar queen noticed Ami having no problems moving towards her. She decided to approach her and hold on to her.

Ami felt confused. "What are you doing?"

"Making sure you don't fall because of your injury," Dolma answered. "Besides, you should be resting."

"Spending time with you is more important than resting and doing nothing," Ami told her. She saw a bench in the backyard. "Let's sit."

The two walked towards it and sat. Ami was the first to speak.

"How are you doing?" She asked.

Dolma sighed and closed her eyes. "Fine, but I feel rage building. Bob forcing me to kill Princess Peach and other innocent people, and seeing him shoot you and Astolfo."

She noticed more tears were about to be released, but she restrained them. She couldn't erase the flashback vision of her killing the Mushroom Kingdom princess and the Highfalcon Times photographer, Nate Owings.

"I feel like I'm a monster-"

"Stop!" Ami told her.

Dolma gasped and looked at her.

Ami continued. "Don't blame yourself, Dolma. You know this isn't your fault. You never wanted to do this."

"Ami..." Dolma said her name emotionally.

Ami kept talking. "Ever since you were kidnapped, my mind started to go crazy because I kept thinking about you. I almost died at the school by Oddjob. I wanted to go find you and rescue you, but I was a coward."

"You had to save yourself." Dolma pointed out. "That's not cowardice. I would've told you to do that, because I love you, Ami." She placed her hand on Ami's as she smiled at her.

Ami smiled back and held Dolma's hand. "I love you too, Dolma. You've become so important to me. I always enjoyed all the fun moments we had with each other at Annecy. Such as hanging out during break. Your head lying on my shoulder. My head lying on yours. Watching anime and movies together." Tears started to form. "All of that went by so fast. I thought I was never going to see you again."

Dolma also felt tears forming as they fought the restraints. "I never had any friends, until I met you, Ami."

She continued. "You became my first friend, and my first love. I will always love you, Ami Enan."

Ami replied as her voice cracked. "Me too, Dolma Sinha."

They cried on each other's shoulders as they hugged. After they cried, their heads touched and they looked at each other closely. Then they began to kiss. Dolma placed her hand on Ami's cheek as her lips touched hers. The two girls enjoyed every second of this.

When they were finished, Ami spoke as she looked at Dolma's eyes.

"I never got the chance to say how cool you looked wearing that suit." She smiled.

Dolma chuckled at her words as she smiled. "Thanks."

"It made you look like a secret agent," Ami remarked. "Secret Agent Dolma Sinha."

The two girls started to laugh.

The Padar queen looked at the female hacker. "Hey, Ami? Do you mind um..." A blush formed. "Can you...carry me?"

Ami felt excitement. She knew what the Dolma meant, so she got off the bench and began to bridal carry her.

As Dolma got carried by Ami, she wrapped her arms around her and closed her eyes as she lay her head on the hacker's shoulder.

Ami smiled. "I love this."

"Me too," Dolma replied with a smile. "My dream came true."

The two girls felt grateful for meeting each other in their lives.

---

At the Mario Brothers house. Luigi was in his and Astolfo’s bedroom. Since he was on indefinite leave by Jameson, Luigi decided to have some free time with Jigen and Gumshoe. He wanted to get his mind off things and not think about Bob's craziness.

Luigi looked at Astolfo, who was sitting on the bed wearing his casual clothing. “Okey dokey, I’m-a leaving.”

“Please let me spend time with you, Luigi,” Astolfo begged with a sad face.

Because of what happened to Astolfo, getting shot by Bob, and learning about Ami also getting shot by the evil lunatic, Luigi thought it would be better for Astolfo to rest. He would rather not lose the femboy he loved.

“We talked about this, Astolfo,” Luigi told him. “You need to rest and recover.”

“I already did that!" Astolfo argued. "I don’t want to wait for my stupid healing process to be over entirely!”

“Time flies by,” Luigi replied. “I don’t-a want to argue.” He approached him and held his hand, then kissed it. “Please, relax and rest. Don’t-a do it for me, do it for yourself. You’re very important to me, Astolfo.”

Astolfo almost wanted to cry, but held the tears. He loved Luigi very much. He just wanted to spend time with him and keep each other protected. He hoped Jigen and Gumshoe were capable enough to protect Mario’s brother.

“Please be careful, Luigi,” Astolfo said as he stood.

“I will,” Luigi nodded as he wrapped his arms around him. “The three of us will be fine.”

Astolfo hugged him back. “Is Mario seriously okay with this?”

“He told me to just be careful,” Luigi answered.

“If you take too long to arrive back, then I know something happened,” Astolfo told him.

“I’ll be waiting for my rescue,” Luigi replied.

---

Inside the Lupin Gang house in the living room, Lupin made glances at Jigen, who was getting himself ready to hang out with Luigi and Gumshoe. The thief couldn't stop his smile from forming and almost wanted to laugh.

Jigen noticed and looked at Lupin. "Something funny over there?"

"Haha!" Lupin laughed. "I can already tell you never saw this coming!"

"Spending time with Luigi and that Los Angeles detective of all people?" Jigen replied. "Yeah, obviously, I never saw this coming. If this is some stupid poker game, I'm kicking his ass. I'm surprised he didn't ask you to hang out with him."

"Uh, yeah, about that, he did ask me, but I declined," Lupin told him. "I told him that I wanted to keep Ami safe after she got shot."

"Wait a minute, so you suggested Luigi to have him spend time with me!?" Jigen pointed at him.

"Yep!" Lupin smiled.

"Goemon and I could've kept her safe for you, including that princess!"

"Queen."

"Whatever! You should've said yes and spent time with him!"

"Yeah."

"That's it!? Just yeah!?"

"Yeah."

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

“That must be them!” Lupin smiled as he approached the front door, assuming it was Luigi and Gumshoe. He opened the door and saw Luigi and Gumshoe.

“Hey, guys!” Lupin greeted them with a smile. "Jigen is all ready to go!"

Luigi saw Jigen and nervously spoke as he believed Jigen was not in a good mood. “Hi Jigen. Uh, are you ready to go?”

"Hmph!" Jigen huffed in response.

"He sure is!" Lupin told Luigi with a smile. "He cannot wait to have some fun!"

Jigen approached Luigi and looked at him, making Mario's brother tremble and sweat.

“Yeah, and I cannot wait for you to see you cheat in poker again,” Jigen said to him with sarcasm.

"Haha." Luigi nervously laughed. "I thought you were over that."

"I am, but you're making it live rent-free in my head," Jigen replied.

"Cheating in poker?" Gumshoe asked in confusion.

"It's a long story," Jigen told him.

“Anyway, be careful out there, you guys," Lupin told them. "Lots of chaos is going on surrounding us.”

“We’ll be fine, Lupin,” Jigen reassured him. “See ya later.”

With that, the three left the home and began to spend their day together.

---

Max Payne was waking up in his cell at Mario’s police outpost office and noticed Mario, Franziska, and Robocop hadn’t arrived.

Another day, another lonely day. Mario and his two companions never showed up here yesterday. I guess it was a day off for them.

Being in this cell sucks since I have no book to read or any form of entertainment. There’s a TV in this police outpost, but it’s always turned off and left neglected. So my only entertainment is the outside noise.

Max spotted Mario, Franziska, and Robocop entering the police station office.

But it looks like it’s going to be a socializing day.

Max stood and greeted them. “Hey, you three. It’s already been a while. But it’s good to see you guys.”

“It’s-a good to see you too, Max,” Mario responded with a small smile.

"No one suspicious arrived here, have they?" Robocop questioned.

"No one," Max answered.

“And you're still breathing, Max Payne,” Franziska remarked.

“So no more calling me ‘Foolish Payne’ or 'Payne in the Fools'?” Max asked.

“During our car ride, Mario thought it would be better to call you by your real name. So I promised him I wouldn’t call you any foolish names,” Franziska replied. She glared and pointed her finger. “But don’t thank me! I still consider you a foolish fool!”

You will always call me foolish for years to come. Max thought. “So, do you mind telling me why you guys became a no-show yesterday?”

“Our friends went to a place,” Mario answered. He began to think about Astolfo, Kay, and Ami.

“So this trip to wherever went wrong.” Max guessed.

“Mario's foolish femboy friend and a girl who's a foolish hacker friend of a foolish thief got shot,” Franziska told him.

“Is this foolish femboy and this foolish hacker doing okay?” Max asked.

“They're doing fine,” Mario nodded. “They healed and are going into recovery while my friend Lupin the 3rd takes care of his hacker friend.”

Never expected Lupin the 3rd, of all people, to be friends with Mario. How the hell did that happen?

“Why did your friends decide to go to this place?” Max questioned. "This sounds like they took a free trip to hell."

“That’s none of your concern, Payne in the Fools!” Franziska snapped at him.

“Mama Mia, Franziska!” Mario said her name with his eyes widened in shock. “You promised me you wouldn't call him foolish and any words that have the word fool in them!”

“It foolishly slipped out!” Franziska glared as she looked at him.

“It’s alright,” Max reassured both of them. “It’s none of my business.”

Despite what Max said, Mario and Franziska began telling him about the island Aeon, Bob Page, and the recreation of Dr. Ivo Robotnik. It was a lot to take in for Max. This was something he never thought he would experience.

A mysterious island in the middle of nowhere in the Atlantic Ocean, controlled by a corrupted businessman who betrayed the secret society known as the Illuminati.

The only info I learned about Bob Page was that him being the CEO of his company. He hid his scumbag personality in front of the public’s eyes and gave off a shady look, just like some corrupted businessmen like Daniel Montgomery.

Dr. Ivo Robotnik...my god, this man seems to have binged watched tons of silly cartoons since Franziska always referred to him as a foolish immature foolish diabolical foolish man. That's a lot of foolish words, but Robotnik held her as a prisoner in his evil lair.

I noticed Mario and Franziska were feeling major anxiety when they explained to me about Robotnik being recreated by Bob Page’s employees, or cult, which I view them as. Bob wants to control the world and make massive, dangerous changes to it. Maybe I can offer assistance despite being in custody, but let’s find out.

“If you want, you can let me lend you a hand during all of this wild shit.” Max volunteered.

Mario, Franziska, and Robocop were surprised to hear that request coming from them. They both listened to him continue talking.

“The piece of info that I can give you is that Daniel Montgomery hired me to kill you and your friends for killing his father,” Max explained to them.

Robocop stepped in. “What about his involvement in Robotnik’s technology getting stolen?"

“He didn’t mention anything regarding that,” Max shook his head. “He only hired me to kill Mario and his brother, including their friends if they were around.”

Franziska got mad and cracked her whip and whipped the floor.

CRACK!

“I knew that foolish son of a foolish dead man was behind this foolishness!” She yelled.

“Mama Mia, not in my office!” Mario begged her.

“You three questioned him?” Max asked them.

"Except for me," Robocop told him. "I was forced to stay outside as the two of them questioned Daniel."

“Then it’s time to pay him another visit,” Max suggested.

“You’re right, Max Payne,” Mario nodded as he smiled. “We’ll plan on questioning him further.”

---

Inside a diner, Luigi, Gumshoe, and Jigen were enjoying their food as they talked, telling stories to each other,

“Thanks for inviting me to hang with you and uh...” Jigen said as he was trying to remember Gumshoe’s name.

“Dick Gumshoe, pal.” He told him.

“Dick,” Jigen responded. He looked at Luigi. “Thanks for inviting me to hang out with you and Dick."

“It’s-a not a problem,” Luigi replied with a smile. “I just hope this hangout won’t be sabotaged. And hopefully this will settle the beef between us.”

"You hardly show any beef towards me," Jigen remarked. "But I'm over it. I'll have someone else come after you."

Luigi gulped at that last sentence.

Gumshoe looked at Mario's brother. "Hey Luigi? You should take me to a poker game someday."

"Yeah, we'll try to plan that!" Luigi smiled.

"As long as I have zero involvement in it." Jigen sipped his drink, "Maybe take Lupin with you."

Luigi nodded in response and looked at Gumshoe. “Have you played poker before, Gumshoe?”

“Nah, I don’t,” Gumshoe answered. “I don’t know how poker works.”

“I'll teach you! ” Luigi suggested as he patted him on the back. "It's easy!"

"Right..." Jigen muttered.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Glass windows around the diner broke as projectiles crashed through them and landed on the floor. They were a bunch of sleeping grenades.

“Huh?” Gumshoe reacted. “Why am I getting...so sleepy suddenly....” His body fell to the floor and out of his seat.

Luigi let out a yawn and went to sleep.

Jigen pulled out his Smith & Wesson Model 19 as he stood. "What the hell!? What's....going....on.........."

Everyone in the diner was asleep as well. A group of mercenaries wearing gas masks approached the sleeping bodies of Luigi, Gumshoe, and Jigen. They took their bodies and exited the diner with them.

Outside, they tossed the sleeping bodies in a black van and scanned the area for any witnesses to kill. When they saw no one, they escaped.

Chapter 38: ACT 3 - Chapter 12

Luigi was regaining consciousness after being put to sleep thanks to the sleeping gas that crashed into the diner’s windows, which knocked him out, including Dick Gumshoe and Daisuke Jigen, as well as everyone in the diner.

As Mario’s brother opened his eyes, he saw himself in a cell, and in that cell with him were Gumshoe and Jigen.

“Mama Mia...where are we?” Luigi asked as he was breathing in and out.

“We have no idea,” Jigen answered. “We don't know who that cigar guy is who's talking to that Oddjob fella.”

As Luigi stood up, he saw two people outside of the cell: Oddjob and Zoo. He gained their attention.

“Hey!” He said to them, which made the two look at him. “What's-a going on?!”

Oddjob approached him and responded. “You’re Luigi, yes?”

“Yes, that’s-a right,” Luigi nodded. He formed a glare. “And you’re that bowler hat man who shook hands with Alan Montgomery.”

“You must be confusing me with someone else,” Oddjob told him. “I do not know this ‘Alan Montgomery’ you’re speaking of.”

Jigen stepped in and also glared. “Don't lie! We have a picture of you and that Alan guy!”

“Hey uh, sir?” Gumshoe spoke to Oddjob with a nervous look. “If uh, if you took us here for a reason, then we’ll stop whatever we’re doing.”

Jigen looked at him in shock. "What the hell!? Why would you say something so stupid like that!?"

“The three of you won’t be going anywhere,” Oddjob told them. “The three of you will be picked up.”

“’Picked up’?” Jigen said in confusion. He widened his eyes. “Wait a minute! Are we being sold into slavery!? We're not getting those stupid augmentations!”

“I can’t do slavery!” Gumshoe cried. “Slavery is too much work! I can’t sweat every second!”

Luigi glared at Oddjob. “You won't be getting away with this, neither will Bob Page!” He told him.

“On the contrary, Luigi, we’re already getting close to succeeding with our plans,” Oddjob told him as he smiled.

Zoo spoke next as he stared at Oddjob.

“They've been caught,” He remarked. “So, my payment?”

Oddjob responded to him as he looked at him. “It’s arriving. You’ll be getting what was promised when my men arrive to pick these three up.”

“Alright,” Zoo nodded. “It better not take too long.”

“Trust me, my men are expected to oblige the demands to not take too long,” Oddjob reassured him. “Now, if you excuse me.”

Oddjob exited the cell room. Before Zoo left, he spoke to the trio.

“Nothing personal, but his payment convinced me enough to do this,” Zoo told them. “Have fun in there and pray that the timer goes very slow. To do that, just look at the clock.” He was about to leave, but Luigi stopped him.

"Mama Mia, wait!" Luigi stopped him as his hands gripped the cell. "Have you not been paying attention when we exposed Oddjob?!"

Zoo turned and looked at him. "Bob Page sounds familiar, but I don't care about him, nor Alan Montgomery. 50 million dollars is a lot of money to not say no to someone."

He walked away, leaving Luigi, Gumshoe, and Jigen alone. Mario's brother moaned in frustration,

Jigen sighed as he shook his head. “I can't believe this. We'd better get rescued before it's too late."

Luigi nodded in agreement with that. His brother, Lupin, Goemon, Franziska, etc, had limited time to go save them.

---

Night arrived, and it was now time for Mario, Franziska, and Robocop to call it a night after getting criminals arrested and socializing with Max Payne.

As he they were outside, Mario felt his phone vibrating, which made him answer.

“Hello, it’s-a me Mario!” He greeted the caller.

“Mario, this is 47,” He told him. “Your brother hasn’t arrived back with Gumshoe and Jigen. Astolfo is getting worried.”

Mario also felt worried, but thought it was nothing.

He hoped.

“Oh, they’re probably just having a lot of fun!”

“This sounds serious, Mario. Lupin and Goemon are worried about Jigen’s whereabouts, and they're inside the home.”

“What about Ami and Dolma?”

“They're with the two.”

Now Mario was feeling worried about his brother, Gumshoe, and Jigen. And he already knew who was behind this kidnapping.

“We're on our way.” He told him. He hung up and looked at Franziska and Robocop. “I’ll explain on the way. Let’s-a go!”

---

The trio arrived at the home as quickly as possible and went into the living room. Inside, they saw Astolfo, 47, Lupin, Goemon, Ami, and Dolma.

Astolfo ran towards the three. "Mario, Franziska, Alex! I'm glad you guys arrived here safely!"

“Thank you, Astolfo.” Mario nodded with a smile.

“Have you tried calling Luigi?” Franziska asked 47.

“Yes, and no answer.” 47 answered.

“I had Amy-I mean Ami hack into the security cameras of the diner, but there was no footage, unfortunately,” Lupin told them.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

The group in the house ducked down very quickly when gunshots went off as bullets crashed through the windows of the home. 47 immediately pulled out his Silverballers and went outside as Lupin, Goemon, and Dolma followed him.

As they got outside, the four saw a group of mercenaries wielding Desert Eagle pistols and FAMAS F1s.

Together, 47 and Lupin fired back at the mercenaries.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Some of the mercenaries got shot and died. While some took cover behind their black van. The protection from the van was short-lived when Goemon jumped in the air and sliced the van in half.

The samurai then sliced the mercenaries and killed them. With assistance, Dolma shot her new bow & arrow at the mercenaries, sending the arrows to their heads.

The samurai and the Padar queen left one mercenary intentionally alive.

The living mercenary already felt overwhelmed and started to run for his life.

The group of four, including Mario and Franziska, started to chase him down the night neighborhood street.

The fleeing mercenary tried to run faster, but the group of six was getting closer. He pulled out his Desert Eagle and tried to fire, but Lupin shot his gun out of his hand.

BANG!

Then shot his leg.

BANG!

The thief made the mercenary wince and trip, causing him to fall.

The group surrounded the wounded mercenary. Mario forcefully made the mercenary look at him as he held a firm grip.

“You!” Mario glared at him. “Talk! Tell us where my brother and our friends are! I know you had something to do with their kidnapping!”

“I won’t tell you jack shit!” The mercenary refused.

“Okey dokey then,” Mario raised his body and looked at Franziska. “Franziska? Make him talk.”

“With pleasure, Mario.” Franziska evilly smiled as she cracked her whip and whipped the wounded leg of the mercenary.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

The mercenary was yelping at the strikes from the whip.

“Answer the questions, foolish gunman! Tell us where Mario’s foolish brother Luigi is! As well as Lupin's foolish gunman friend and the foolish detective!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll talk, just stop!” The mercenary begged.

“Start talking,” Lupin told him as he looked at him. He moved closer to his face with an evil expression. “Or else.”

“Alright! So this guy, his name is Oddjob! He’s an Asian man wearing a suit and a bowler hat! He gave us a lot of money to protect this crime lord, who’s a fugitive named Lorenzo Del Toro, who goes by the name Zoo! Oddjob wanted your brother kidnapped and anyone he was with! And we were here to send a message!”

“Has Oddjob mentioned anyone named Daniel Montgomery? Marshall Smith? Bob Page?” Mario questioned him.

“No, he didn’t even mention anyone! All we were told to do was to kidnap your brother and friends and protect this Zoo guy! None of us was asking questions! We were just doing all of this for the money!”

47 stepped in to question the wounded mercenary about Luigi, Jigen, and Gumshoe. “Where can we find them?”

“You can find them at a hideout. It’s some abandoned library that has an underground cell. There’s a bookshelf disguised as a hidden door in the library that'll lead you guys underground.”

Goemon also questioned him. “Is there a sewer entrance to the underground area?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know the layout that well.”

“Anything else we should know, foolish mercenary?” Franziska questioned.

“That’s all I can answer. Now, are you gonna let me go?”

“We will,” Mario nodded. He looked at Dolma. “Kill him.”

The Padar queen nodded back. She aimed her bow & arrow and shot the mercenary in the head, instantly ending his life.

Mario looked at the group with him. “Everyone, let’s-a go home. I have a plan.”

---

Back inside the hideout underground cell, Luigi, Gumshoe, and Jigen noticed a sleeping mercenary who was snoring at his desk.

Luigi whispered to the two. “Hey, we can find a way to sneak out of here.”

“But how?” Gumshoe asked as he whispered back.

“Like this,” Jigen whispered. He searched his pocket and found an unfolded paperclip, which he had the entire time.

He quietly approached the cell and quietly undid the lock of the cell door.

And then, the cell door unlocked, which surprised Luigi and Gumshoe.

“Mama Mia, it worked,” Luigi remarked in surprise.

“Now we can go home with our pals and tell them everything,” Gumshoe said.

“I hope we can find a way out of this dungeon.” Jigen hoped.

“Don’t-a worry, we will,” Luigi reassured him. “Now let-s a go.”

The three quietly left the room without waking up the sleeping mercenary.

The trio was now in the underground corridor and was already lost. They had no clue where to go.

“I think we made a mistake,” Jigen told Luigi and Gumshoe as he whispered. “We’re freaking lost.”

“The big boogeyman might catch us!” Gumshoe trembled.

“We can’t-a go back there, we have to find a way to escape,” Luigi told them. “There has to be an exit from this place besides the front door.”

“Are the three of you lost?”

The voice made the trio gasp as they widened their eyes. Their fearful expressions stared at Zoo, who appeared out of nowhere and stood in front of them as he smoked his cigar.

Zoo grabbed all three of them and carried them back to their cell.

“H-hey, please, we weren’t trying to escape!” Gumshoe told him. “We just wanted to play hide and seek with you!”

“Yeah, that’s all we wanted to do!” Jigen said as he panicked.

Zoo ignored them. Luigi didn’t say anything to the former as he knew it would be futile. He hoped Mario and their friends would rescue them as quickly as possible before it’s too late.

---

Back inside the Mario Brothers house, the entire group: Mario, Franziska, 47, Robocop, Lupin, Goemon, Astolfo, Edgeworth, Kay, Ami, Dolma, and Morgan, were all inside the living room.

Mario started speaking. “Okey dokey, we are likely to find Oddjob. He’s-a most likely at either Zoo’s hideout or Montgomery Industries. What we need to do is to find and apprehend Oddjob, Daniel Montgomery, and this Marshall Smith guy.”

“We’ll have to split up.” 47 suggested.

“You're right 47!” Mario smiled as he gave him a thumbs-up. “Lupin, Goemon, and I will head to Zoo’s hideout, while 47, Franziska, and Edgeworth head to Montgomery Industries and find Daniel and Marshall. Robocop will stay at the house to protect Astolfo, Kay, Ami, and Dolma, while keeping an eye on Morgan.”

Mario looked at 47. “47? Have you found anything about Marshall Smith?”

“Not much,” 47 shook his head. “All I know is that he served in the military and worked at Montgomery Industries. Nothing else.”

“Not a problem.” Mario nodded. “Now let’a a-“

“Hold it!” Kay stopped him. “I wanna go with Edgy and 47!”

Edgeworth looked at Kay as he sighed. “Kay-“

“No, don’t ‘Kay’ me!” She told him. “Nothing is gonna stop the great thief! Nothing will stop me from stealing the truth! Besides, nothing stopped you, Miles Edgeworth. Lupin the 3rd, and 47!”

Kay, I really want to say no to you, but I already know what will happen if I do that. Edgeworth thought.

“Mr. Edgeworth, I’ll keep her protected,” 47 told him. “I’ll have her stay close to me so that no one can kill her.”

“Hey, I’m a big girl now!” Kay glared with her hands on her hips. “I can show my great thief ruthlessness to the enemies and show them who's boss!”

“Kay, I seriously don’t want you to sound so cocky,” Edgeworth replied. “That vile man almost shot you.”

“There’s no need for you to worry, Edgy!” Kay grinned. “I honestly love being in this type of action! We are going into extreme ways to steal the truth!”

Arguing with you is absolutely pointless. Edgeworth believed.

“Fine, but just keep yourself alive,” Edgeworth replied as he sighed.

“Nothing to worry about, Miles Edgeworth!” Kay smiled.

Mario looked at Astolfo. “Astolfo? I want you to stay here. I'm doing this for Luigi and you. Stay alive when all of us return, please?”

Astolfo sighed as he didn't want to miss out. "Okay. I know Luigi wants me to rest and stay alive. If anything happens here while all of you guys are away, I’ll contact you immediately.”

"Thank you, Astolfo." Mario smiled. He then looked at Morgan. "Please don't think about it, Morgan."

Edgeworth glared at Morgan. “You’ll be worthless to us if you betray us again.”

"And you'll be under arrest," Robocop told him.

"And we'll kick your butt!" Kay declared.

“Nothing selfish will happen, I can assure you,” Morgan reassured them.

Mario smiled with a nod. He looked at the others. “Everyone. Let’s-a go!”

---

Yet again, back in the hideout cell, Zoo smoked his cigar as he glared at the prisoners who tried to escape.

“You three were quite lucky when that mercenary was sleeping on the job.” Zoo pointed out.

“Are you a ghost or something?” Jigen asked him. “We didn’t hear you. It’s like you appeared out of thin air.”

“Anyone could’ve spotted you, and it just happened to be me,” Zoo replied.

“So uh, no hard feelings, right, pal?” Gumshoe asked as he nervously chuckled.

“Just be grateful the three of you didn’t get shot,” Zoo told them. He smoked his cigar and brought his eyes to Luigi. “You’ve been quiet. Have anything to say to me?”

“All I can say to you...you...” Luigi quickly tried to come up with an insult. “...you evil toilet! My brother-“

“Haha!” Zoo laughed. “Oh my god, what was that?! Evil toilet?! What are you, a child inside an adult body? Your brother Mario and your friends won’t be coming here to rescue any of you.”

A door inside the room opened, revealing Oddjob. Zoo stared at him as he smoked his cigar.

“So you have the money for me? And was he found?” Zoo asked, referring to his payment and the Punisher.

“There’s been a change of plans,” Oddjob told him.

“What are you talking about?” Zoo questioned.

“There are times when you have to be careful who you work with," Oddjob explained. "And there are times when something happens and you’ll never see it coming.”

Zoo let out a slight gasp as his eyes widened. He grabbed his cigar from his mouth and tossed it across the room.

“What is this?” Zoo looked at Oddjob. “Is this because of that lousy merc sleeping on the job? I’ll kill him just for you to know I’m not as pathetic as he is.”

“There’s no need for that, Mr. Zoo,” Oddjob told him. “That mercenary is already dead, including the rest of them.”

“What?!” Zoo reacted in shock. “Why!? You paid them!”

“No, I didn’t,” Oddjob shook his head. “They were stupid enough to fall for the counterfeit money that was given to them.”

“And you were planning to give me 50 million fake dollars.” Zoo assumed.

“I wasn’t planning that at all,” Oddjob denied. “I was planning on doing this.”

With super speed, Oddjob quickly pulled out his bowler hat and swung it at Zoo.

Zoo wasn’t quick enough to dodge the hat as it flawlessly sliced his head off, causing a bloody mess all over the floor and wall.

Luigi, Gumshoe, and Jigen widened their eyes in fear as they loudly gasped.

“MAMA MIA!!!” Luigi screamed.

“Oh, I’m gonna be sick!” Gumshoe reacted.

“Oh my god!” Jigen yelled. He looked at Oddjob. “Why did you do that?!”

“Y-you’re actually here to save us, right!?” Gumshoe asked.

“What does it look like?” Oddjob replied. He grabbed his bowler hat off the bloody floor and placed it back on. “He and the mercenaries were loose ends.”

“So why bother working with them?” Luigi asked.

“It’s better to have things be done by people for you so that no one can trace it back to you,” Oddjob answered. “A different group of people will be taking over. They’ll dispose of the corpse of Zoo and the corpses of those mercenaries. Then the three of you will be taken to a location.”

“It’s Aeon, isn’t it?” Luigi glared.

“You, your brother, and your friends already know too much,” Oddjob remarked. “Since you already know the name of the location, you already know the name of my superior.”

“Bob Page,” Luigi said.

“You definitely know too much.” Oddjob glared.

Without anything more to say, Oddjob walked out of the cell but was stopped by Jigen, who spoke to him.

“Wait!” He said with his eyes widened. “You don’t expect us to stare at a headless dead body, do ya?!”

Oddjob looked at him and replied. “Stare at the wall.” With that, he left.

Luigi sat down in the cell and placed his hands on his face. “Mama Mia, Mario or anyone, where are you when we need you?!”

---

Outside of Zoo’s hideout, Mario, Lupin, and Goemon arrived just in time to witness Bob's soldiers disposing of the dead mercenaries. They tossed the corpses into storage vans. Near them was Oddjob's black Cadillac CTS.

The group of three was surprised at what they were seeing. They stayed hidden in a dark alley across from Zoo’s hideout.

Goemon spotted Oddjob exiting the hideout and speaking to the soldiers.

“That’s the guy, Oddjob,” Goemon told them. “He’s getting into the black Cadillac.” He then saw him entering the said vehicle. Then it drove away from the hideout.

“Of course, he had to leave.” Lupin sighed. “But those dead bodies are those mercenaries trying to kill us or send a message or whatever the reason was.”

As Mario was watching, he quickly started with an idea, but then he believed that idea would be futile. He wanted to disguise himself as one of the soldiers, obviously inspired by 47.

But then he wanted to know where Oddjob was going.

“Lupin?” Mario said his name. “Contact Ami. We need to know where Oddjob is going.”

“Yeah, no problem.” Lupin nodded. He grabbed his phone and contacted Ami. “Hello, Ami? It's Lupin. There's a black Cadillac CTS driven by Oddjob, and I need you to track him down.” He began to specifically explain what the licence plate of the Cadillac looked like and what street he, Mario, and Goemon were on.

"Okay. I spotted the black Cadillac CTS near you guys. It's driving casually. I'll give you guys a relevant update on where it goes."

"Thanks, Amy- I mean Ami." Lupin smiled.

"You're welcome," Ami responded.

“As much as I despise saying this, we can’t go after Oddjob,” Goemon remarked. "We're likely not well prepared to battle against him."

“Next time we will,” Mario reassured him. “Right now, we need to rescue my brother and our friends.”

“But how?” Lupin asked. “This place is crawling with these soldiers who look like they mean business.”

“Both of you, stay here,” Mario told them.

“What are you planning?" Goemon questioned.

"Killing all of them," Mario answered.

Lupin and Goemon began to watch Mario and see what he was going to do. They both hoped Mario knew what he was doing, and this wasn't going to backfire.

Mario positioned himself to sprint towards Bob's soldiers as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Then he ran.

The soldiers took zero notice of Mario sprinting towards them as the latter got close to them. The former plumber jumped in the air and stomped his feet onto one of the soldiers’ heads, squashing it, causing blood to splatter.

Mario’s battle eyes spotted a group of soldiers who were ready to open fire on him but they were too late as Luigi's brother quickly charged at them, grabbing one soldier’s arm and ripping it off and used it to violently smack the other soldiers and killing them with the severed arm as he was smashing it on them gruesomely.

As they watched, Lupin smiled with a nod as Goemon widened his eyes at Mario’s massacre rampage. The samurai noticed Lupin’s smiling expression as he watched Mario killing the soldiers.

“How are you smiling at this violence?” He asked.

“Because I’ve seen him do this before during the war,” Lupin answered. "He's like you, but without a sword."

Goemon glared at the thief. "So you're saying I'm extremely violent?!"

Instead of answering, Lupin laughed.

Mario continued to violently kill the soldiers by squashing their heads while jumping and ripping a soldier’s head off, then kicking it across the city.

“Wahoo!” Mario cheered. “Okey dokey, all clear!” He told the two with his hands as he signaled Lupin and Goemon that the outside area of the hideout was cleared,

Lupin and Goemon approached the massacre that the former plumber created.

“You’re a violent cop,” Goemon remarked.

“Yep!” Mario nodded.

"Honestly, these soldiers deserve it," Lupin smirked.

---

The group of three entered the hideout and kept themselves hidden behind the bookshelves as they heard loud footsteps coming from the soldiers as they moved towards the entrance.

The group knew they heard the commotion coming from Mario outside, so they ambushed the soldiers.

Mario fired his AMT AutoMag V, while Lupin fired his Walther P38, and Goemon swung his Zantetsuken Sword.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The soldiers fired back at the duo and the samurai.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

But the soldiers couldn’t land a shot as Mario and Lupin took cover while Goemon moved with superb speed as he swung his sword and sliced up the bullets from the G11s.

Mario was able to get some headshots as he fired his AutoMag V at the soldiers, and Lupin was getting some headshots as well with his P38.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

One soldier who came out of a secret bookshelf door that was wide open wielded a USAS-12 automatic shotgun and fired it at the group.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

But he stood no chance as Goemon approached him and swung his Zantetsuken Sword at the soldier's USAS-12. The soldier's shotgun was sliced in half, and then he was stabbed and died.

The samurai finished off the remaining soldiers for Mario and Lupin's convenience.

Goemon let out a sigh. "Once again, I sliced up worthless objects." He noticed the open secret entrance, “Looks like we already found the secret entrance.” The samurai remarked.

“Let’s-a all go inside,” Mario told them. He moved towards the secret entrance with Lupin, and Goemon followed him in suit and was now walking down the steps to an underground corridor.

As they were inside the corridor, Goemon raised an eyebrow as he observed the secret underground corridor.

“What kind of library would have something like this?” He wondered.

“Likely to punish people who steal books or irresponsible people who don't return books to the library.” Lupin guessed.

Mario signaled them to stop as his ears picked up noise coming from soldiers. One of them spoke.

“Mr. Smith, we need assistance from Mr. Montgomery’s men quickly!” He told Marshall Smith. “There’s been a breach!”

............................

“Acknowledged!” The soldier nodded.

Right after that, Mario leaned out and fired his AutoMag V at the soldiers and killed them.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

After the soldiers were killed, Mario noticed an entrance to a room. He had no idea what room it was, but he hoped his brother and his friends were in there and not dead.

The thought of them being dead made Mario hesitant to move forward, which gained Lupin and Goemon’s attention.

“What’s wrong?” Lupin asked him in concern.

“I don’t-a think I can enter that room,” Mario answered as he gulped. “I hope they’re not dead because of my foolish decision.”

The thief placed his hand on his shoulder. “Don’t blame yourself, okay?” He, too, hoped Jigen wasn’t dead. If Jigen were dead, he would go absolutely ballistic, and it would be scary.

“Let me check the room,” Goemon told them as he moved towards the entrance.

He swung his sword at the door and sliced it. Then he saw Jigen, Luigi, and Gumshoe.

“Jigen!” Goemon said his name as he saw him. He approached the cell.

“Hey, Goemon!” Jigen smiled. “It's good to see you!”

Mario and Lupin entered and saw the three inside the cell.

Luigi looked at his brother. “Mama Mia, Mario!” He said his name.

“Luigi!” Mario responded. “Are you okay!?”

“I’m fine and so are these two,” Luigi answered.

“Hey, Lupin!” Jigen said his name. "Thank god you're here!"

"Jigen!" Lupin smiled. "It's good to see you alive, along with Luigi and Gumshoe."

"Hey pals, how'd you find us?" Gumshoe asked them

"Mercenaries came to the house and tried to send a message by shooting us," Mario explained. "My friends and I interrogated one of them, and he told us where you guys were held."

"WHAT THE!?" Lupin exclaimed with his eyes widened as he saw the headless corpse of Zoo, Lorenzo Del Toro.

Mario saw it too and had his jaw dropped while seeing the corpse.

“Mama Mia, what happened in here!?” The former plumber questioned as he felt agitated while looking at the bloody mess and the headless Zoo.

“Oh yeah, that, so this guy named Zoo got his head sliced off by that Oddjob guy,” Jigen answered.

“Oddjob did this!?" Lupin asked.

“Oddjob?” Mario said his name. “Why did he kill this guy?”

Gumshoe answered and explained. “As it turned out, this Oddjob fella used Zoo and a group of mercenaries to kidnap us.”

"We saw him throwing his bowler hat at his head and sliced it right off. It caught the three of us off guard.” Jigen added.

“So then those mercenaries are the reason why they were already dead when we arrived.” Lupin pointed out.

“That’s-a right!” Luigi confirmed.

“We’ll get you out of here,” Mario told them.

He found the key for the cell and unlocked the door. With that, the trio was free.

Mario and Luigi hugged while Jigen hugged Lupin and Goemon. Lupin then hugged Gumshoe, and Mario did the same to the latter. The two didn't want the Los Angeles detective to feel left out.

After they were done hugging, Luigi began to ask Mario about their friends.

"Are the others here?” Luigi asked.

“Robocop is at home keeping Astolfo, Ami, and Dolma protected, and watching Morgan,” Mario shook his head. “47, Franziska, Miles, and Kay should be at Montgomery Industries right now, confronting Daniel Montgomery and Marshall Smith.”

Mario’s phone vibrated, which made him answer.

“Hello? It’s-a me Mario.”

“.....................................”

“Hello?”

“............Hello Mario.”

Mario gasped. He heard a voice he didn’t recognize. He formed a glare and responded.

“Bob Page.” He assumed.

“No,” The unknown voice replied. “My name is Marshall Smith. We know what you and your friends are doing, so why don’t you guys think about coming here to Montgomery Industries? I don’t care how you do it, but show up, before you take too long.”

The caller hung up, leaving Mario anxious.

“Who was that?” Luigi inquired with concern.

“Our friends are in trouble,” Mario replied as he felt anxiety. He then looked at Lupin. “Lupin, please! Can you and your friends take Gumshoe to our home and make sure everyone in there is okay?”

“Of course.” Lupin obliged.

“Mario!” Luigi said his name. “Who was that person on the phone?! Was that Daniel Montgomery?! Bob Page?!"

"No, Luigi." Mario shook his head. He breathed and answered. “That was Marshall Smith.”

Chapter 39: ACT 3 - Chapter 13

Moments Ago

47 sat in the driver’s seat inside a black Mercedes-Benz E-Class rental car that was parked across the entrance of the Montgomery Industries building. Inside was Miles Edgeworth, who sat in the passenger seat, and Franziska von Karma and Kay Faraday sitting in the back.

The bald hitman observed the entrance with his binoculars and spotted Oddjob exiting the building and entering the black Cadillac CTS.

“That’s Oddjob.” 47 told the three with him.

“Are you sure that’s indeed him?” Edgeworth asked for clarification.

“Yes,” 47 confirmed. “Asian nationality, suit, and a bowler hat.”

“Let’s go after him!” Kay suggested. “And kick his butt and steal the truth from him!”

“That’s a reckless idea,” Edgeworth told her. First, you threaten to kick Morgan Everett's butt, and now you want to kick Oddjob's butt. How reckless can you be?

"And a foolish idea," Franziska remarked.

“They're right,” 47 said. “We don’t know what Oddjob is capable of. All I know is that he was involved in an attack at Fort Knox years ago.”

47 continued to observe the front entrance, then observed security footage of the back entrance while using a tablet device, noticing two guards outside of the entrance. He also observed the security footage of the parking garage.

“We’ll navigate our way to the parking garage and access the security room, but we’ll have to be careful and avoid the security cameras,” 47 said to them. “This building is heavily guarded. The last time I came here was to rescue Franziska, Astolfo, and the Mario Brothers, and it was guarded quite well.”

He continued. “In the security room, you three will keep an eye on the security footage.”

The hitman handed three headsets to the trio. “You’ll use those to get in contact with me and inform me about Daniel Montgomery and Marshall Smith, as well as anything relevant.”

Kay grinned as she placed the headset on her. “Wow!” She said. “Edgeworth? This looks like we're in a heist!”

“I am happy that we aren’t in one,” Edgeworth replied.

"With that foolish thief Lupin the 3rd," Franziska added.

47 turned to the female prosecutor. "Do you have your gun with you, Franziska?"

"Yes, I do," Franziska answered as she pulled out her VP70M.

47 handed Edgeworth and Kay, Beretta 92FS suppressed pistols.

“For defense.” 47 told them.

They grabbed the guns and got themselves ready to infiltrate the Montgomery Industries building.

“Let’s go.” 47 said to the three.

“Don’t you mean ‘let’s-a go’?” Kay replied.

“I’m not saying that.” 47 told her as he exited the Mercedes-Benz with Edgeworth and Franziska, leaving Kay to form a pout as she exited with them.

---

Inside the penthouse of the Montgomery Industries building, Marshall Smith was on the phone, speaking to a male security guard.

“Have all the charges been set?” Marshall asked.

“Yes, sir,” The guard said. “And all of the employees have left the building and are currently leaving the city.”

“Good,” Marshall nodded. “Hand me the detonator at the penthouse. The bombs will go off after Oddjob picks me up when he arrives back.”

“Yes, sir.”

With that, Matshall hung up. But then he received another call, which made him answer.

“Yes?”

.............................................

“They are?” Marshall replied as he felt surprised. “Inform Oddjob right away.”

---

In the parking garage, two guards were patrolling together as they wielded their KRISS Vector submachine guns.

Near them were 47 and Edgeworth, who stood against the pillars in the parking garage. 47 wielded his Silverballer that had a suppressor attached to it. Edgeworth was keeping his grip on his suppressed Beretta.

Kay and Franziska stood and were able to get into an air vent and crawl inside it. Their job was to get into the security room.

47’s eyes looked at one of the two patrolling guards as he aimed his suppressed Silverballer at him. He pulled the trigger and shot him in the head.

Pew!

The other guard heard a thump, which made him alert. He gasped as he saw the dead guard. It was too late for him to alert the other guards in the building as Miles Edgeworth shot him in the chest with multiple bullets, thus killing him.

After the hitman dragged the dead bodies to a hiding spot, he and Edgeworth continued to sneak through the parking garage. They were looking for a hallway that led to the elevators and the security room.

As they were keeping themselves hidden as they sneaked, 47 contacted Franziska.

“Franziska?” 47 said her name. “Do you read me?”

“I read you loud and clear,” Franziska responded. “We found the security room.”

---

The two females were inside the vent, looking out the lid and spotting one guard in the security room. Kay quietly opened the lid, but then her eyes widened as the guard turned his body around and got alerted as he spotted Kay in the air vent.

The guard quickly pulled out his Glock 18, but Kay used her reflexes to quickly shoot the guard with her suppressed 92FS.

Pew!

The guard didn’t die as he was bleeding out. Kay, along with Franziska, got into the security room and approached the bleeding guard.

The guard looked at her as Kay aimed her suppressed Beretta at his head.

Kay, who was showing zero emotion, shrugged her shoulders. “Sorry.” She said.

Pew!

She killed him, shooting him right in the head.

Franziska turned to the security monitors. She observed the footage and spotted Marshall Smith in the penthouse with a guard who was handing him the detonator.

The great thief saw the footage with her. She didn’t know that was the detonator, nor did Franziska. They couldn’t tell what it was since the quality of the CCTV footage wasn’t the best, as it was recording a room that lacked lighting, such as the penthouse.

Kay contacted the two men. “47? Edgy? Franziska and I are in the security room. Had to kill one guy. We spotted the man who looks like Marshall Smith.”

“We’re getting close to the security room,” 47 told her.

The door in the security room opened, revealing 47 and Edgeworth. They both spotted the dead guard in there.

Edgeworth spoke to Kay as he looked at her. “Did he hurt you?”

“Nah,” Kay smiled as she shook her head. “I hurt him.”

I hope you don’t become the “great killer”. Edgeworth hoped.

47 changed into the dead guard's clothes and spoke to Kay.

“What’s Marshall Smith’s location?” He asked her.

“The penthouse,” Kay answered. “He was being handed something from a guard. I have no clue what it was.”

“I’ll go there to find him,” 47 told them. “The three of you stay and watch the security footage. Inform me of anything relevant.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you, Mr. 47?” Edgeworth asked.

“I’ll be fine out there, Mr. Edgeworth.” 47 told him

“Be careful, okay?” Kay said to him. “Okay?”

"And don't be foolish!" Franziska pointed at him.

“Yeah, yeah.” 47 nodded as he left the security room, leaving the trio alone.

“So Edgy?” Kay said his name.

“So, Kay?” Edgeworth replied.

Kay formed a smirk. “What do you think I should ‘borrow’ from here, hmm?”

“Absolutely nothing,” Edgworth answered.

---

47 was in the elevator and got to a floor in the building. As he exited, his eyes caught several guards around the corridor he was on, wielding their KRISS Vectors.

While the disguised hitman was walking, he kept his eyes off the guards who made glances at him. 47 hoped he and his companions won’t get compromised so quickly. Seeing them wielding submachine guns made the bald hitman believe the guards in the building were heavily armed.

47 walked past a guard who glanced at him as he walked by. The hitman saw an entrance to the stairwell. He believed it would be a better option to take the stairs to the penthouse. He placed himself on a high level of the building as he looked out the window, seeing the city buildings with the lights turned on during the night.

The assassin looked around to make sure no one would spot him entering the stairwell. As he ascended the stairs, 47 heard a male voice coming from a headset he obtained while putting on the dead guard's clothes.

“We have intruders in the building, repeating, we have intruders in the building.” The voice told the guards. “Be on the lookout for Agent 47.”

What the voice said made 47 stop. Edgeworth... Franziska... Kay... He hoped all three of them were still alive. He kept going up the stairs as he knew he had to confront Marshall as quickly as possible.

47 finally arrived at the penthouse. He exited the stairwell and looked around in the penthouse. Lights were turned off, but that didn‘t mean the entire penthouse was entirely dark.

He scanned the area with his eyes, trying to find Marshall Smith, but so far, he couldn’t find him. He searched the living room, the kitchen, the bedrooms, as well as the bathroom, and a room that had a pool. He still couldn’t find him.

The hitman stood in the upper area below the living room.

“Hello, Agent 47.”

Hearing the voice made 47 form a glare as he quickly turned around and aimed his suppressed Silverballer at the person who said his name.

He found Marshall Smith.

He was aiming a tranquilizer at him. He shot it at the hitman as the latter turned around, not being able to shoot Marshall.

As the tranquilizer dart went into 47’s body, he dropped his Silverballer and fell to the floor, and saw darkness as his eyes closed.

---

Right Now

Mario and Luigi were inside the former’s 1974 Dodge Manaco, heading to the Montgomery Industries building. Mario was driving, while his brother was riding shotgun.

While on the road, Luigi looked out the window, wondering if their friends were still alive.

Luigi then spoke. “I hope they're alright.”

“All we can hope for is 47 keeping himself and the others alive,” Mario replied, hoping 47 wasn’t dead. “I’m-a sure once we see one of them, they’ll be alive.”

While Luigi was silent during the rest of the car ride, he continued to look out the window as he was thinking about Astolfo. He’ll be devastated if the beautiful femboy he deeply loved died. To Mario’s brother, Astolfo is too good for death.

---

Inside the underground cell in the Montgomery Industries building, 47 was regaining consciousness after Marshall knocked him out with the tranquilizer.

As he was waking up, he noticed Kay hugging her knees, and Franziska sitting against the wall. He then heard a voice, a voice coming from a British White male.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the mythological assassin.” He said as he looked at him.

47 didn’t know who that was. When he stood, he saw the British White man with short black hair leaning against a wall. He was wearing a black suit.

The bald hitman didn’t need to introduce himself to him since the British man already knew who he was.

“Who are you?” 47 questioned.

“Bond, James Bond.” He answered. “And you’re Agent 47.”

“Formally Agent 47, now it’s just 47.” He told him. “I heard about you, being a 00 agent for MI6. How much do you know about me?”

“You came from an experiment led by a scientist named Otto Wolfgang Ort-Meyer,” Bond explained. “I was sent by MI6 to infiltrate and execute Ort-Meyer, and his creations, including you, but you beat me to it. Good work.”

“You’re welcome,” 47 replied. “How did you end up here?”

Franziska stepped in. "And why are you here, foolish agent?"

"Geez, Franziska!" Kay glared at her. "We didn't even say a word to this guy, and this is how you start a conversation with him by calling him 'foolish agent'!?"

Bond began answering. “MI6 sent me here in Highfalcon to infiltrate this building and find a man named Daniel Montgomery. They received reports about technology owned by a man named Dr. Ivo Robotnik. And they discovered Daniel’s deceased father had a connection to the radical evil doctor. So that’s why I'm here to gather intel.”

“We got enough intel for you, James Bond,” 47 told him.

"'We'?" Bond raised a brow.

"Yes, these two females with us are my companions-"

"NO!" Kay exclaimed. "We're your friends! Okay!? FRIENDS!"

"Sure." 47 said in a dull tone.

The assassin went on to explain that Daniel Montgomery hired Max Payne to kill Mario, his brother, and their friends, including 47 himself, who were with Luigi's brother. As well as hiring a mob boss to hire mercenaries to send a message by shooting them. Then Luigi, Gumshoe, and Jigen getting kidnapped.

And then he talked about Bob Page, who’s obviously the culprit of stealing Robotnik’s technology.

“Bob Page?” Bond said in surprise. “I thought that man was dead. I guess he became a ghost now.”

“He faked his death,” 47 told him. “There was an Interpol investigation in tracking him down for conspiracy.” He then explained about Bob’s mentor, Morgan Everett.

“Bloody hell," Bond reacted. “Do you trust this man?”

“No,” 47 shook his head. “Neither does Edgeworth, who's not with us right now, and the others. He got saved because of another companion named Astolfo, who thinks he can be useful to us.”

Kay almost corrected 47 again in calling his companions friends, but Franziska quickly covered the great thief's mouth.

“And you came here to kill Daniel.” Bond assumed.

“That’s right, but I couldn’t find him,” 47 nodded. “Instead, I found someone who works for Daniel, a man named Marshall Smith. The only info I have about him was that he served in the military and is Daniel’s bodyguard.”

“Yes, MI6 has info about Marshall Smith,” Bond nodded in response.

“What about a foolish man named Oddjob?” Franziska asked him as she released her hand from Kay's mouth.

“Yes. I encountered him years ago, fought him at Fort Knox when he and his boss, Auric Goldfinger, attempted to radiate gold at Fort Knox. When Oddjob and I fought, I electrocuted him, believing that I killed him, but as it turned out, he survived the electrocution, which I learned a long time ago.”

“My contact told me about what happened at Fort Knox,” 47 mentioned. “And Oddjob has an involvement in this since he met Daniel’s father in the past. He's been working for Bob Page the whole time.”

“How do you know about that?” The 00 agent questioned.

“There was a picture taken by a dead photographer who worked for Highfalcon Times,” 47 answered. “Oddjob is a suspect of ours. We got a copy of the picture from a man named J. Jonah Jameson.”

Bond nodded in response as he listened to the explanation. “A lot to inform MI6 when I see them. Did anyone else come here with the three of you besides Edgeworth?”

“No,” 47 shook his head. “When we all found out about what happened to Luigi and the other two, we decided to split up. Edgeworth, Franziska, and Kay are with me to infiltrate the building.”

“When we escape this cage, we’ll go save Edgeworth,” Bond told him.

“That won't be happening, Mr. Bond.” Someone said.

It was Marshall Smith who looked at the group of four who were in the cell. He spoke again to them.

“You know what's pointless to point out?" He said to the hitman and the 00 agent. "Is that your numbers end with the number 7. Not trying to be a comedian, I’m just wondering if anyone pointed that out. But anyway...“ He looked at 47. “...I guess you’re becoming too old for this now, 47. You had the millisecond to take me out, but you blew it."

Marshall pulled out 47’s Silverballer. “You have a nice gun.”

“And the bullets are ready to go into your insides.” 47 replied with a glare.

Bond stepped in. “And it'll be a very violent day for you. We know everything about what’s going on. Where’s your boss?”

“He’s nowhere to be found, and it’ll be too late to stop him, whatever he’s doing,” Marshall replied.

“Where’s Edgeworth, you foolish man!?” Franziska glared at him. “Did you kill them?!”

“No, not yet. He's somewhere here in the building.” Marshall told her. He formed a smirk. “But, it’s probably too late to save him. Besides, why would a prosecutor like you team up with another prosecutor, a so-called ‘great thief’ of all people, a murderous assassin, including those Mario Brothers?”

47 responded to his words. “That’s a question I ask myself from time to time, but instead, I would rather do what’s right, and that’s by helping my companions in stopping Daniel Montgomery and Bob Page.”

“On the contrary, 47, it’s too late for you, Mr. Bond, and your friends to do anything to stop us,” Marshall told him.

“What about stopping Dr. Robotnik?” 47 asked. “Is it too late to stop him again?”

“Wait, Dr. Ivo Robotnik?” Bond said as he felt surprised. “He’s not dead?”

“Haha!” Marshall laughed. “It’s already too late to stop him and Bob Page. They're getting ready to spread mayhem all over this world.”

“I can assure you, Mr. Smith, that the Mario Brothers and their friends will be coming over here to stop you and save us.” 47 told him.

“I’m already waiting for their arrival, 47,” Marshall replied. “Goodbye, everyone.”

He then walked away from the cell and exited the corridor.

Bond looked at 47. “So the radical evil doctor isn’t dead. I knew he was a walking zombie after he was killed during his invasion of this city, but how did you manage to find out he was resurrected yet again?”

“There’s a lot to explain.” 47 told him.

"Long story short, my friends and I rescued Morgan from a cryo pod, and we saw Robotnik when we went to his lab at Aeon," Kay explained.

"'Aeon'?" Bond replied.

"Yes, it's a codename of an island in the Atlantic Ocean called Hydrakain Island." 47 mentioned to him.

"Now with all the foolish explanations out of the way, we need to get out of here now!" Franziska said with panic as she thought about Miles Edgeworth. Obviously, she was very worried about him.

47 responded. "I think we're stuck here-"

"NO!" Franziska yelled at him. "We're not stuck in here like foolish fools! We need to find a way to get out of the foolish cage!"

47 understood why Franziska was behaving this way. He knew she cared about Edgeworth. To save her from going more anxious, the bald assassin had an idea that had a 50/50 outcome.

The hitman began banging on the cell repeatedly to lure a guard to come towards them. After a couple of minutes, a guard walked down the hall to the cell and faced the group.

"Knock it off!" The guard told 47.

"Sorry, I was having a seizure." 47 told him. He then quickly grabbed the guard's body and smashed his head on the cell door, which caused him to get knocked out.

The bald hitman was able to use his arms and hands to move the guard's body towards him, and then was able to grab his keys. He used the keys to unlock the cell door.

Right after that, Franziska shoved 47 out of the way as she got out of the cell, then snatched the keys away from the hitman.

Kay widened her eyes. "Franziska! What are you doing!?"

"Locking you three foolish fools in here," Franziska told her.

"Why?" 47 questioned. "To save Mr. Edgeworth all by yourself?"

"Yes." Franziska nodded. "That's exactly what I'm going to do. I don't want any of you to interfere."

"You're being a danger to yourself, young lady," Bond told her.

"Too bad! I swear if Miles Edgeworth dies, I'll be going on a violent killing spree!" Franziska declared.

Franziska grabbed a Glock 18 from the guard's body and then shot him in the head.

BANG!

With that, the female prosecutor ran down the corridor to rescue her "little brother," Miles Edgeworth.

After Franziska was gone, Bond spoke. "A prosecutor killing someone was not on my bingo card."

---

Marshall ordered a different group of guards to patrol the parking garage. They all wielded a KRISS Vector submachine gun.

A guard patrolled the garage, but then, as he turned around, his face was violently smacked by Mario, which killed him. He couldn’t use his gun because he had no suppressor with him, including his brother.

Luigi sneaked behind another guard who was wielding a KRISS Vector. His head was grabbed and twisted violently, thus killing him.

The Mario Brothers continued to quietly kill more guards in the parking garage. Then they advanced through the parking garage and found a corridor that led to a security room and elevators.

Inside the corridor. Mario sneaked up behind a guard and killed him by strangling him to death with his hands. Mario sneaked up to another guard and performed a strike with his fist right on his head, instantly killing him.

Luigi quietly killed another guard by striking his neck violently to suffocate him. The guard later died.

The Mario Brothers approached the entrance of the security room. Mario grabbed the doorknob as he pulled out his AMT AutoMag V. As he opened the door, he aimed the gun and spotted two guards.

BANG! BANG!

He shot and killed both of them. Mario and Luigi dragged the bodies out of the security room and placed them in a closet with the other corpses they were dragging.

When the brothers came back to the security room, Mario observed the CCTV footage of the penthouse, witnessing Marshall placing a bomb on Edgeworth’s chest as he was tied up to a chair.

"Mama Mia, Miles Edgeworth!" Mario said in shock.

"Mama Mia, Mario!" Luigi freaked out. He saw Franziska in the CCTV footage from the elevator she was on.

Mario stood next to him and gasped as he saw Franziska alone. "Franziska! W-why is she alone!?"

"We should split up, Mario!" Luigi suggested. "Go find Franziska while I go find the others!"

"Let's-a go!" Mario nodded in agreement.

---

In the penthouse, Marshall approached a laptop and used it to activate the timer of the bombs that were attached inside the building and Miles Edgeworth.

“Mr. Edgeworth.” He said his name. “In 30 minutes, the bombs inside the building and the one on your body will go off, killing every single thing in this building. You'll be dying with them.”

“Why blow up the building when you can just erase evidence?” Edgeworth asked him.

“Ironic for a prosecutor suggesting illegal ideas towards me,” Marshall chuckled as he shook his head. “Daniel wants this building gone. Besides, we might miss a piece of evidence that can likely get us convicted, or murdered, since you, including 47, killed the guards here.”

“It’s not that I don’t like doing it; we needed to have some sort of way of self-defense against the people who have a full commitment to kill people, no matter what,” Edgeworth replied.

“And I’m one of those people, Mr. Edgeworth,” Marshall looked at him. “Prepare your death with your friends.”

---

Instead of using the elevator, Luigi decided to use the alternate entrance to the underground cells. He went back to the parking garage and quietly went through the garage until he found a door that said “KEEP OUT”.

Mario’s brother looked around and opened the door slowly and quietly. The door led to a hallway. Down the hall was another door. Luigi was hesitant to walk down the corridor, thinking he might get caught by a booby trap such as an invisible laser tripwire.

So, Luigi decided to take the risk by testing the security. He did it by taking his hat off and tossing it down the hall towards the door. Thankfully, nothing happened. He slowly moved down the hall as his body trembled in fear. Again, nothing happened. Luigi let out a sigh of relief as he picked up his hat and placed it back on.

Now, Luigi started to feel hesitation as he took a deep breath. He didn’t know what to expect in the room behind the door in front of him.

He opened it and saw a room that had another door which led to the cells. He noticed no one was inside.

“Whew!” Luigi let out as he wiped the sweat off his head, believing a guard was in the room.

Mario's brother approached the door and was surprised that it was unlocked. He started to move down the corridor as he spoke.

"47?! Kay?!"

"We're right here!" Kay replied as she waved her hand through the cell.

Luigi saw the hand waving and approached the cell, seeing Kay, 47, and Bond.

“47! Kay!” Luigi said their names as he felt relief. He then noticed Bond. “And Bond, James Bond, the Double-O 7! It’s-a great to see you again!”

During the war in the Mushroom Kingdom, Bond participated in it for some time, usually on some occasions.

“Likewise.” Bond nodded with a small smile. “We all live in a small world. 47 told me everything about what’s going on.”

“Were you able to find Edgy and Franziska?” Kay asked Luigi.

“We saw Edgeworth in the penthouse tied up with an explosive device,” Luigi nodded. “We also saw Franziska alone in an elevator. Mario is gonna go look for her.”

“By himself?” 47 asked.

“Yes,” Luigi answered. “And he wanted me to go find you guys.”

“We’ll go rendezvous with Mario and Franziska.” Bond suggested.

“I’ll need to go find my suit before we do anything else.” 47 told them.

“Can you just forget about your suit and get a new one?!” Luigi asked with annoyance.

“I would rather not pay 50,000 dollars for it,” 47 told him. “Cleaning it is much cheaper.”

“We can relate.” Bond replied to him.

“Fine, whatever, we’ll go find your stupid suit!” Luigi rolled his eyes. “Now let’s-a go already!”

Luigi broke the cell doors by ripping them apart and freed 47, Kay, and Bond. Together they search for 47’s "stupid suit" and then focus on finding Mario and Franziska, and helping them in stopping Marshall Smith and rescuing Miles Edgeworth.

---

While in the elevator that was ascending to the penthouse, Franziska took a deep breath and tapped her foot on the floor to erase the stress that was building up in her. A part of her believed she had made a foolish mistake by going alone to rescue Edgeworth. The foolish plumber gave her inspiration to do this, not that she would blame him, though.

DING!

The elevator doors opened, and the female prosecutor was inside the penthouse. She stepped out of the elevator slowly, as she looked around and noticed the interior of the penthouse was empty.

“Miles?!” Franziska said his name.

She heard footsteps approaching her. She turned and saw the man, Marshall Smith.

Marshall was armed to the teeth as he was wearing a body armor vest on his suit and was dual-wielding Calico M900 carbines that both had a solid buttstock and a 100-round helical magazine.

“Franziska von Karma." Marshall said her name.

Franziska glared. “Marshall Smith.”

He nodded. "You came already up here alone?"

“I'm here to save my 'little brother' Miles Edgeworth!”

"Your 'little brother'?" Marshall replied. "So what you're telling me is that the two of you committed incest?"

Franziska widened her eyes and gasped. "W-what kind of foolish question is that coming from a foolish fool!?"

"Haha!" Marshall laughed. "Don't answer, it was a rhetorical question."

"No more foolish questions to ask!" Franziska pointed at him. "Where's Miles!?"

"He's in here below, tied up, with a bomb attached to him."

Franziska gasped and approached the railing overlooking Edgeworth, being tied up, and the bomb on his chest.

"Miles!" Franziska screamed out.

"It's okay, Franziska!" Edgeworth responded as he looked at her. "If we don't make it alive, I just want to tell you that I love you as a sibling who grew up with you."

"Miles..." Franziska said as a tear went down.

The female prosecutor didn't want this situation to end like this.

Marshall spoke. "The bomb is counting down. And you might not be able-"

Franziska drew out her Glock 18 and aimed it at Marshall, then yelled at him with her violent, murderous glare. "WHERE'S YOUR FOOLISH BOSS DANIEL MONTGOMERY AT!?"

“He’s long gone,” Marshall answered nonchalantly.

“Liar!” Franziska called him.

“It’s the truth," Marshall told her. "He knew what was going on, and he knew all of you were getting too close to finding out the truth. I won’t tell you where he is, but I will tell you that this entire building is rigged with explosives. This entire building will be destroyed, so will your so-called little brother. And all of you will go down with the collapse. And the clock is already ticking.”

Franziska became more stressed out knowing she had limited time left on her hands.

She responded. “Was Daniel responsible for stealing the foolish doctor’s technology and his foolish brain, as well as sending Max Payne after us, and manipulating that foolish crime boss to hire 47 to kill Mario and I?”

“Yes, that is all true,” Marshall admitted. “Daniel wanted you, Mario, and all of your friends who were involved with Alan’s death to face death with him. Alan was my best friend. I knew him for a long time, and after his death, I became a father figure to Daniel.”

“And what about Bob Page?” Franziska glared at him.

“What about him?” Marshall replied. “We’re helping him get what he wants. Alan and Daniel had plans of their own to have assistance from Bob, but plans are changing now because of all of you getting in the way. Now, be a kind woman and put that Glock down.”

"Never." Franziska gritted her teeth.

"Hmm." Marshall hummed. "How about we duel? Not a western-style duel, a one against one in the penthouse."

Edgeworth stepped in. "Franziska, don't!" He begged her.

"Franziska is a grown woman," Marshall replied to him. "Let her decide."

"I'll go against you in a foolish one-on-one gun fight on one condition," Franziska told Marshall. Her eyes looked at the Calicos. "Hand me one of those foolish weapons you're holding."

"Deal." Marshall nodded as he tossed a Calico M900 to Franziska, who caught it.

Marshal continued to speak. "You'll only get 100 rounds from the Calico, and ammo from the Glock. If you're out of ammo on both guns, you're totally screwed. On the count of three."

3

2

1

Franziska and Marshall quickly moved. Franziska jumped over the railing and landed in the living room of the penthouse, and ran towards the kitchen.

Edgeworth looked at her and spoke. "Be careful, Franziska! You're fighting against someone who was from the military!"

The female prosecutor acknowledged his words and stayed cautious while battling against Marshall. She took cover behind the kitchen counter as she breathed in and out and kept a firm grip on the Calico M900 and the Glock 18. With the latter gun, the female prosecutor's eyes spot a switch on the Glock.

The switch was set to "single". She had the idea to set it to "auto", meaning full auto. She peaked and almost got shot in the head.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Marshall fired his Calico at Franziska. The bullets from the deadly carbine were destroying plates, glass, etc, in the kitchen.

Franziska gritted her teeth as she felt sweat because of the overwhelming gunfire from the ex-military man, Marshall Smith.

After the gunfire ended, Franziska started to pant. She took a risk with her life and returned fire at Marshall by dual-wielding the Calico and the Glock.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

Franziska, unfortunately, didn't land a shot on him as he dodged her bullets and ran down a hall.

Instead of chasing after him, Franziska saw stairs that led to the upper area of the penthouse. She went up there, believing Marshall was heading up there as well.

Watching all of this was very difficult for Miles Edgeworth. The very last thing he ever wanted to witness in his life was his "big sister" Franziska von Karma, getting killed.

As Franziska got to the top area, her ears picked up footsteps, and she knew they came from Marshall.

She was right.

Marshall sneaked behind her, but that effort of sneaking behind her and shooting was wasted as the female prosecutor quickly turned her body around and opened fire at Marshall.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

DAMN IT! Franziska screamed in her mind. She wasn't able to wound the foolish ex-military man.

But she got wounded instead.

BANG!

"AAAH!" Franziska screamed as she landed on the floor. She got shot in the leg and saw it bleeding because of that one foolish bullet from the Calico M900.

"FRANZISKA!" Miles Edgeworth yelled out her name.

Franziska started to pant and saw Marshall approaching her as he aimed his Calico M900 at her head.

"You lost," Marshall remarked. "That was a good fight, though."

Franziska gave him the deadliest glare she ever gave someone, a glare that was filled with "I'm going to fucking kill you, you foolish fool".

Marshall noticed the glare. "It looks like you want to continue. Get up and see what-"

Instead of shooting him, Franziska got her body up so fast that Marshall didn't see it coming. She used her fists to rapidly punch his face endlessly and violently. Marshall wasn't able to counter her attacks or restrain her. Because he was repeatedly getting punched, he dropped his Calico on the floor.

They moved towards the double doors of the pool area of the penthouse. Franziska was able to wield her Calico and Glock and kick him, which made him crash through the doors and into the water from the pool.

And then Franziska shot Marshall Smith to death as she aimed the Calico M900 and the Glock 18 at him. Blood started to pop out as the bullets inflicted on his body.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA !

After firing her weapons at Marshall, who was dead in the pool, Franziska started to pant and struggle to stand on her two feet as she saw the blood of Marshall Smith mixing with the water of the pool.

The female prosecutor stepped out of the pool room and looked at Edgeworth as she dropped her guns and held on to the railing with one hand.

"I won," Franziska said to Edgeworth. "But I..." She breathed. "...I don't think I'm going to be able to save you, Miles Edgeworth."

"You're better than that, Franziska!" Edgeworth told her. "Don't even think about giving up! That's not who you are!"

Franziska breathed again. She knew he was right. And she knew she would survive.

She was hoping for that.

DING!

Franziska closed her eyes as she heard the dinging noise from the elevator.

Please let it be you, Mario, or anyone, please, help us.

"MAMA MIA FRANZISKA!"

Franziska felt so relieved to hear the foolish fool plumber, Mario. She looked at him and smiled.

"Mario, you made it!"

Mario ran towards her and noticed her getting shot in the leg.

"Oh no, your leg!" Mario panicked. "D-did Marshall Smith do this to you!?"

"Yes." Franziska nodded. "But he's dead, so I won. You need to help Miles right now, before it's too late."

Mario saw Edgeworth tied up with the bomb on his chest.

The male prosecutor spoke and glanced at the laptop that was on the table.

"You should be able to disable the bombs, but do it quickly!" Edgeworth told him.

Mario nodded and jumped off the railing and quickly ran to the table. As he was turning it on, the first thing he saw was the settings of the bombs. Thankfully, he had the option to disable all of them. He clicked on "Disable all," and it was all over.

"Done!" Mario told Edgeworth and Franziska. He sprinted towards the latter and picked her up bridal style.

Franziska wrapped her arms around Mario and lay her head on his shoulder. She viewed him as her hero. She couldn't wait to have a normal life with him after all of this foolishness was completely over.

Mario gently sat Franziska down on a couch with her body lying on it. He then untied Edgeworth.

Edgeworth stood up, approached Franziska, and placed his hand on her arm, while Mario quickly went to find something to heal Franziska and get the bullet out of her leg.

"Everything is going to be okay, Franziska." He reassured her.

"Miles, I'm sorry," Franziska replied to him as a tear went down her cheek. "I'm sorry for being so foolish and making foolish decisions and doing things that were filled with foolishness."

"I forgive you, Franziska," Miles replied as he felt emotional. "But you also need to forgive yourself."

Mario arrived back with medical supplies.

"Okey dokey, Edgeworth, I need you to hold Franziska down and cover her mouth, and Franziska, I need you to close your eyes and think about something that makes you happy."

"Wait, you're gonna get the bullet out of my leg?!" Franziska asked as he felt nervous. "Right now!?"

"I want to do this now , Franziska," Mario told her. "Otherwise, I'll go insane."

"Franziska, I know I said this already, but everything is going to be okay," Edgeworth reassured her.

Franziska breathed, then closed her eyes. "Okay. Get started." She told Mario.

Mario began to heal the new love of his life, Franziska, as Edgeworth held her down and covered her mouth.

As Franziska had her eyes closed and mouth covered while getting treated by Mario, who was working on removing the bullet from her leg, she began to have flashbacks of spending time with her mother, such as having ice cream with her, watching cartoons with her, and giving her a gift during Mother's Day.

She also began to have flashbacks of her spending time with Edgeworth, arriving at Highfalcon for the first time, and winning her first court trial in the city. Then she began to have memories of Mario, meeting him for the first time, bonding with him, and him saving her from Dr. Robotnik.

She knew she couldn't die from this. She knew Mario would be emotionally devastated if she died. If she had a near-death experience, she would be told by Princess Peach to wake up and go back to Mario and her friends.

Franziska needed Mario in her life. She never wanted to lose him.

Same with Mario, she never wanted to lose Franziska.

"All done!" Mario said with a smile.

Franziska opened her eyes as Edgeworth removed his hand from her mouth. She saw Mario wrapping a bandage around her leg.

"Ow. That hurts." Franziska said sarcastically.

The three began to laugh. Then they noticed Luigi, 47, Kay, and Bond arriving at the penthouse.

Mario saw them and smiled. "47! Kay! And James Bond!?"

"Hello, Mario." Bond greeted him with a nod. "Long time no see."

Kay noticed the bandage on Franziska's leg. "Oh my god, Franziska! Did you, did you, did you-"

"Yes, Kay, she got shot," Edgeworth told her. "But she's still alive. Everything's okay."

Kay, including Luigi, felt relieved. They were glad she survived getting shot and happy to see Mario healing her.

47 noticed the bomb on the floor next to the chair. "Is that a bomb?"

Edgeworth looked at the bomb. "Yes, but Mario was able to disable all the bombs that were planted in the building."

"What about Marshall Smith?" Luigi asked.

"I killed that foolish fool," Franziska answered him. "His body is floating on his foolish blood in the foolish pool."

"What about Daniel Montgomery?" Bond questioned. "Where is he?"

Mario shook his head as he sighed. "We don't-a know."

---

Aeon

Inside a command center of the Aeon facility, Bob Page was observing footage and pictures of a country.

What country?

The Mushroom Kingdom.

Bob heard footsteps coming towards him, which made him turn his body and look at Daniel Montgomery, who was wearing a black armored soldier outfit without a gas mask helmet and was wielding a Heckler & Koch G11.

Bob spoke. “I hope this will be enough to satisfy you.”

“It will.” Daniel nodded.

“Good,” Bob replied. “Strike them hard.”

Chapter 40: ACT 3 - Chapter 14

Mushroom City, Mushroom Kingdom

It was cloudy in Mushroom City. In the castle, Toad sat at his desk in his office and received a phone call, which he answered.

“Yes?” He said.

...................................................

Toad let out a gasp of worry. “U-unauthorized helicopters?! Okay, I’ll inform the guards and the soldiers, and issue an alert! Thank you!”

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

“Mr. Toad!” A male voice said in a weak tone.

Toad got off his seat and moved fast towards the entrance. By the time he opened the door, he saw a Mushroom Kingdom guard bleeding out and falling on the floor, and then he died.

Toad widened his eyes in fear. “Oh my god! This cannot be happening again!” He ran to the window of his office and looked out, seeing helicopters and other aircraft hovering above the Mushroom City, as well as some of the helicopters flying towards the castle.

He began to wonder how he was informed just now and not earlier. He decided to call back the person who informed him.

But no answer.

He began to believe the caller was someone who was involved in this situation, or was already dead. He opened his desk drawer and grabbed out a Beretta APX pistol.

Mario’s best friend wanted to go out there but felt hesitant, believing this was another invasion similar to Bowser’s past invasion. He hoped this won't become Mushroom Kingdom War II.

---

Outside, away from the castle, Bob's soldiers landed on the streets of Mushroom City, forcing the traffic to stop as well as the civilians to stop walking as they saw the soldiers rappelling down from the helicopters.

As the soldiers landed, they all aimed their Heckler & Koch G11s at the civilians and opened fire, causing them to run for their lives as they screamed.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

Some of the civilians were able to sprint away while screaming, but some of them got shot and died.

The people who were in their cars on the road tried to quickly escape, but weren’t too quick as their windshields were struck by the bullets from the G11s, which penetrated them and killed the people inside their cars.

A group of Mushroom Kingdom guards arrived and aimed their MAC-10s and opened fire at Bob's soldiers.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

The soldiers fired back, and they became more powerful during the gunfight against the guards.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

The evil soldiers were able to kill the group of the Mushroom Kingdom guards, but they kept their G11s aimed as they moved around and anticipated any more threats that were intentionally going to attack them, as well as any civilians to kill.

The objectives: Invade Mushroom City and the Mushroom Kingdom country. Kill anyone on sight. Hold Toad hostage.

The third objective was someone’s responsibility.

Daniel Montgomery.

---

Another group of Bob's soldiers rappelled in front of the castle. The Mushroom Kingdom soldiers and some defense turrets tried to fight them, but they were getting struck by weapons from various aircraft.

Reinforcements from the Mushroom Kingdom Army arrived quickly as they drove their military jeeps. They all opened fire at Bob's soldiers with their Steyr AUGs.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

The Mushroom Kingdom Army was able to wound and kill some of the hostile soldiers, but this potential victory came to an end when more of Bob's soldiers arrived in their attack helicopters and took down the Mushroom Kingdom soldiers.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

Another attack helicopter arrived, and Daniel Montgomery was in there. He aimed his G11 at the soldiers of the Mushroom Kingdom Army and opened fire.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

The Mushroom Kingdom soldiers tried to strike the helicopters while one of the soldiers grabbed out a Panzerfaust 3 missile launcher and quickly tried to aim it at the hostile helicopter.

When Daniel saw that missile launcher soldier, he aimed his assault rifle at the missile sticking out of the Panzerfaust and fired, creating an explosion.

KABOOM!

The Mushroom Kingdom soldiers at the explosion died, and some of them were wounded with their legs and arms being ripped apart violently, thus causing a massive bleed out.

Daniel and some of the soldiers who aided him finished off the wounded soldiers. Alan's son and the soldiers he was with rappelled to the ground.

As they all landed, Daniel looked at the castle. “So, this is where Mario’s friend is at.”

A captain of the squad Daniel was with spoke to him. Mr. Montgomery? Follow us and we’ll locate Toad.”

“Lead the way, captain.” Daniel nodded in response.

---

Inside the castle, Daniel, the captain, and the group of soldiers were killing the guards and soldiers inside, as well as anyone they saw. They moved down the corridor and spotted the door that led to Toad’s office.

Daniel stood in front of the door and kicked it open. Right after that, he spotted Toad, who aimed his Beretta APX at him and fired.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Toad wasn’t able to kill Daniel as the latter and the soldiers he was with took cover. It was their chance to get into the office when Toad was quickly reloading his pistol.

Toad gasped and widened his eyes as he saw Daniel and Bob's soldiers breaching his office as they all aimed their G11s at him. Mario’s best friend started to sweat, as well as trembling and panting, as he held his hands up.

“W-what’s going on!?” Toad asked them.

Daniel approached him. “Are you Toad?”

“Y-yes!” He nodded.

Daniel struck Toad with his G11 in the face, making him let out a painful cry. Daniel then grabbed him and shoved him against the wall, then gave him a painful strike in the abdomen.

"AAAH!" Toad screamed. With tears forming, he looked at Daniel. “Who...are you?!”

“I’m Daniel Montgomery,” He replied, looking at him. “I’m here because of the Mario Brothers and their friends.”

Mario...Luigi... Toad began to wonder what happened to them and their friends, and what they did to provoke Daniel Montgomery.

All Toad was hoping for was the Mario Brothers and their friends to come here as fast as possible. He hoped he wouldn’t die like this.

And he hoped that Daniel Montgomery would DIE.

---

Highfalcon, New York

The Mario Brothers and their group of friends exited the Montgomery Industries building successfully. Mario contacted the Highfalcon PD and told them everything about what happened.

A SWAT team, as well as a demolition team, came and raided the building. While that was going on, the group spoke as they all stood near the building. Mario held Franziska's hand to keep her on her feet.

“The SWAT and the demolition team have everything under control,” Mario told everyone. “Is everyone okay?”

“We’re good,” Edgeworth responded with a nod. “I’m glad we made it out of there alive.”

Suddenly, Franziska gave Edgeworth a hug, which surprised him.

“I’m glad you survived all of that foolish chaos in that foolish building!” Franziska replied to him.

Edgeworth hugged her back. “Thank you, and I’m glad you survived, too.”

“I’m glad all of us are alive!” Kay smiled.

“I’m glad no one tried to kill us in the last second.” Bond nodded.

Luigi spoke next. “I’m glad-“

“Okey dokey, we all get it." Mario interrupted, not wanting to drag this out. "We’re-a glad to be alive after all of that.”

He looked at James Bond. “Anyway, it’s-a been a while, James Bond. I'm-a glad you're here with us. I hope you’re able to help us out here with everything that’s-a going on.”

“I’ll help you guys out,” Bond replied. “I’ll tell you everything when we leave here. There’s a lot to explain.”

“He told me everything,” 47 told Mario and the others. “It’s best that we head to your home.”

“Right!” Mario nodded.

Before they left, Mario’s phone vibrated. He answered, assuming it was Chief Larvell Jones calling him.

“Hello? It’s-a me Mario!” He said as he smiled.

“Hello, Mario.”

Mario gasped. He knew that voice belonged to the individual who made his smile turn upside down.

The voice of Daniel Montgomery.

“Daniel Montgomery?! How did you get my number?!” Mario questioned with a glare.

Everyone with him was surprised that Daniel, of all people, was calling him. They all wanted to know where the hell he was.

“My sources,” Daniel answered. “This place where you and your brother grew up is quite interesting. It's a good spot to have a vacation at.”

Mario stood still as his jaw opened in shock. No...

Luigi became agitated when he saw his brother feeling anxious.

“M-Mario!?” He said his name.

“Don’t worry, Mario, you’re best friend is still alive. I’m keeping him safe for you.” Daniel explained.

Mario clenched his fist as he responded. “You keep Toad out of this,”

“He’s been involved in this since the beginning,” Daniel retorted. “If you stayed here in the Mushroom Kingdom, we wouldn’t be talking.”

Luigi then grabbed the phone out of Mario’s hand and started to yell at Daniel. “IF YOU KILL TOAD I’LL I’LL I’LL FORCE YOU DRINK A BUNCH OF DIRTY TOILET WATER AND MAKE YOU CRY LIKE A BABY!!!!”

“Luigi!” Mario shouted at him as he grabbed the phone away from his brother.

“Hahahaha!” Daniel laughed. “So immature! We're waiting for your arrival.”

“May I speak to Toad-“ Mario couldn’t finish his request, because he got hung up on. “Damn it! Mama Mia!”

“M-Mario, what do we do!? Toad is in trouble!” Luigi asked as he shook in fear.

Mario looked at Bond. “Bond?! We need your help!”

“Say no more,” Bond reassured him. “I’ll reach out to MI6 for assistance.”

“Thank you.” Mario nodded with a sad smile. He felt so grateful that James Bond 007 was here to help.

But, he needed another person to help out as well, and he hoped it wouldn’t be a problem.

Mario looked at his friends. “All of you head to the house,” He told them. “I need to take care of something first.”

“By yourself?” Franziska looked at him. “Don’t be foolish! I’m coming with you!”

“No, Franziska, I’m going alone on this errand,” Mario told her. “Please, I don’t-a want to argue about this.”

“Foolish fool!” Franziska called him, causing Mario to sigh. “W-why can’t you restrain yourself from making foolish decisions all the time!?”

“There’s nothing to worry about,” Mario replied calmly.

Franziska glared at him. “Foolish words! Maybe you should just let me come with you on this foolish errand of yours!”

Mario glared back. “Maybe you should just head to the house with our friends and let me do this ‘foolish’ errand alone!”

"Never!" Franziska yelled. "I'm coming with you on this errand! How can you be so careless and foolish like a foolish fool?!"

"Sometimes, Franziska, I don't-a like being told what to do all the time!" Mario shouted at her. "You're going to the house with our friends, okay?!"

Franziska growled. "No, that's not okay!"

Edgeworth stepped in and placed his hands on their shoulders. “Okay, you two, we need to stay focused! Besides, we need to know if Astolfo, Lupin, Robocop, etc, are still alive." He looked at Franziska. “Franziska, please let Mario do what he needs to do alone. I could tell he knows what he’s doing.”

Franziska sighed. She hoped this foolish errand won’t get Mario in trouble or worse, shot and wounded, or WORSE.....KILLED!

The female prosecutor looked at the former plumber. “Watch your back, Mario. I’ll be out of control if some foolish fool shoots you or abducts you. And thanks again for healing me.”

Mario held her hand. “You're welcome, Franziska. I’ll be fine.”

Franziska hugged Mario and kissed him on the cheek. With that, Mario’s friends left and went back home, while the former focused on his errand.

---

Max Payne was sleeping in his cell inside Mario’s police station. As the latter entered, he caught Max sleeping.

Mario approached the cell and said the latter’s name. “Max?”

Max moaned as he was waking up. He turned his head to Mario. “Mario? So, is this finally it?”

“No,” Mario shook his head. “There’s a lot to explain. My friend from the Mushroom Kingdom, named Toad, is in trouble. Daniel Montgomery is with him, and it’s-a not looking good.”

“Is Daniel holding him hostage or for ransom?” Max asked.

“Hostage,” Mario answered. “He didn’t demand anything. And I don’t-a know what he’s-a going to do to him, but...“ He took a deep breath as he felt anxiety about what was going on with Toad. “...I just hope he doesn’t die.”

“You’re going to ask me for help.” Max assumed.

“Would you do it? Will you help me and my friends?”

“Sure.”

This made Mario form a joyful smile. “Yay, Wahoo! Thank you very much, Max Payne!”

The jolly former plumber went to get the cell keys and unlocked the cell door, allowing Max Payne to exit the cell. Mario began to happily hug him.

“You’re too nice,” Max remarked, not hugging him back. “But I know people say that to you a lot.”

Mario laughed and ended the hug. “They do! I’ll explain everything on the way to our home.”

“Are you sure they're going to be fine with me being around, despite trying to kill you and 47?”

“All of that will be forgiven!” I hope... Mario began to think about what the reactions would be in the Mario Brothers house. But he had nothing to worry about, right?

Right?!

---

Inside the Mario Brothers house, Luigi entered his and Astolfo’s bedroom and saw the latter lying on the bed watching paid programming. The latter saw him and smiled.

“Hey Luigi!” He greeted him.

“Hey,” Luigi greeted back. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“Tried to,” Astolfo said. “But couldn’t. I couldn’t stop worrying about you and everyone. At least Lupin, his friends, Robocop, Gumshoe, and Morgan kept me company. Lupin and I fought over the remote in the living room until Robotop stopped us and said 'no roughhousing over the remote.”

“I'm-a glad they're making you less bored.” Luigi chuckled.

“Yeah,” Astolfo nodded. He noticed Mario's brother feeling agitated. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing," Luigi shook his head. He sighed. "Well, Mario is doing an errand by himself.” He sat on the bed.

“What about finding Daniel and Marshall?” Astolfo inquired.

“We found Marshall,” Luigi answered. “Franziska killed him, but she got shot.”

“Wait, he was there in the building!? And she got shot by him!?” Astolfo asked in shock as he raised his body and sat next to Luigi.

“Yes,” Luigi nodded. “She was shot in the leg. Mario healed her by removing the bullet, as well as disabling bombs that were planted in the building and onto Miles Edgeworth. And then after we got out of the building, Daniel called Mario and told him that he's in the Mushroom Kingdom, and holding Toad hostage-”

“Son of a bitch!” Astolfo shouted as he stood. He clenched his fists and formed a dark glare,

Seeing Astolfo getting angry scared Luigi, as it was something that wasn’t usually seen.

Mario's brother stood and placed his hands on Astolfo’s shoulders. The latter closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Sorry,” The femboy apologized. "I didn't mean to snap like that."

“It’s-a alright,” Luigi reassured him. “We’re planning to travel to the Mushroom Kingdom to kill Daniel and rescue Toad. James Bond was held captive in the building, and he escaped with us, so he's going to help us.”

“That's great." Astolfo smiled with a nod. The cute femboy turned around and looked at Luigi. "So that means I’m coming with you, your brother, and our friends, right?” Astolfo looked at him.

Luigi swallowed. He felt hesitant in saying no to him.

“Right, Luigi?” Astolfo repeated with a frown.

Luigi closed his eyes and breathed. “No, Astolfo,” He shook his head. “You’re staying.”

"Why? Franziska is also not going to come with you guys after she got shot, right?"

"She might stay here." Luigi shrugged. "But most likely will come with us to the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Oh." Astolfo placed his hands on his hips. "So that means she gets to go, but I don't?"

"Astoflo-"

"Stop!" Astolfo told him with a glare. “You’re sounding just like your brother! He didn’t want us to assist him in taking down that stupid doctor! And now you're doing the same thing he did, keeping my ass here alone as I worry about you and the others!” He moved away from him. "Whatever! Go! Go without me!"

Astolfo's tears started to release, and he cried. Luigi hated doing this. He loved the femboy and thought staying here would keep him safe and protected.

Learning about him getting shot by Bob Page, and Franziska getting shot by Marshall Smith, is what made Luigi make this decision, a decision he hated doing. But he would never forgive himself if he allowed him to go to the Mushroom Kingdom with him, then ended up getting killed.

Luigi wanted to say something, but was afraid of how Astolfo would react to it.

Astolfo walked towards the window of the bedroom and looked outside as he cried, noticing the sun was rising.

Mario's brother slowly approached the femboy. He wanted to show him comfort but was afraid to, believing Astolfo would reject the comfort and being told to leave him alone.

So instead, Luigi turned around and left the bedroom. He couldn’t tell if he made things worse.

“I’m-a sorry, Astolfo.” He whispered.

---

Luigi arrived in the living room. The only individual nearby him was Robocop, who looked at him.

Robocop approached him. “Luigi? You seem regretful.”

“I am.” Luigi sighed.

“Do you mind explaining it?”

“I told Astolfo to stay here while we go to the Mushroom Kingdom,” Luigi explained. “He didn’t take it lightly.”

"I see," Robocop replied. "I promise to keep him protected."

"Thank you, Alex." Luigi nodded with a sad smile.

The front door of the house opened, revealing Mario and Max Payne.

Luigi saw the latter and widened his eyes in fear. “WHAT THE?! M-Mario, what’s he doing here?! Was this your foolish errand?!”

“Yes, it was Luigi,” Mario nodded. He then approached the closet. “If you excuse me. I’m-a gonna be in here.”

“To hide from Franziska!?” Luigi asked. “And to leave us here with this psycho man!?”

“Yes,” Mario answered as he went into the closet and closed the door.

Luigi and Max Payne, as well as Robocop, were together in the living room, forming an awkward silence.

Max broke the awkwardness as he looked at Luigi and Robocop. “Hi.”

Luigi glared at him and turned his back around as he crossed his arms.

I knew Mario assumed this would be the reaction from his brother. Max thought. And Mario knows he’s about to get an ass kicking from the whipping prosecutor. He laid his eyes on Robocop. Not to mention Alex Murphy. He would make my blood splatter all over this living room if he wanted to.

“Excuse me?” Robocop spoke to Max. “Did Mario reach out to you for assistance?”

“That's right,” Max answered.

Luigi told Robocop. "Max Payne is a lunatic, Alex!"

“No hard feelings, right?” Max asked Mario's brother.

“Hmph!” Luigi huffed in response.

“I guess not,” Max said.

Franziska arrived in the living room and descended the steps. She then noticed Max, which made her gasp as she widened her eyes. She pointed her finger at him. “YOU! What are you doing here, you Payne in the Fools!?”

“Mario brought me here,” Max answered. “He told me what’s been going on, and he wanted my help.”

“So this is what this foolish errand that foolish plumber Mario was foolishly doing foolishly alone!” Franziska glared. “Where is he!?”

Luigi answered her. “In the closet,”

“I’ll give that foolish fool a piece of my mind!” Franziska declared. She approached the closet door and opened it with force. She saw Mario.

Mario nervously laughed as he looked at the angry prosecutor. “Hello, Franziska.”

“You foolish fool!” Franziska responded.

Mario noticed that Franziska didn’t have her whip with her. “You don’t have your whip.” He remarked.

“I don’t need my whip right now!” Franziska yelled as she stepped into the closet and slammed the door.

The awkward silence came back in the living room, until 47, who heard the yelling from Franziska as he exited the basement and arrived at the living room while wielding his Walther WA2000. He noticed Max.

“So how do you like it here?” 47 asked him.

“It’s quite something,” Max answered. He noticed the sniper rifle. “You have good taste.”

“Thank you.” 47 replied.

“Hmph!” Luigi huffed again, avoiding eye contact with Max. “When Franziska is done with Mario, I’ll have a chat with him!”

“If it means that much to you, I’m sorry for trying to kill your brother and the hitman Agent 47.” Max apologized.

“Hmph!” Luigi huffed yet again. “Apologies mean nothing!”

“I’m guessing Mario reached out to you and told you everything.” 47 guessed.

“He did,” Max confirmed.

“I’ll tolerate you helping us,” 47 nodded. “As long as you don’t betray us.”

“You have nothing to worry about,” Max reassured him. “I’ll do whatever to help.”

“It will be a big fight.” 47 mentioned to him.

“I’ve been in plenty of big fights,” Max told him.

“Then welcome aboard.” 47 welcomed him.

The front door opened again, revealing Lupin the 3rd, Jigen, and Dolma Sinha.

Lupin smiled at everyone he saw until he saw Max, which made him gasp.

"WHAT THE HECK!?" The thief screamed out. He pointed his finger at him. "YOU! You're the guy who tried to kill Mario and 47!"

"Yeah, pleasure to meet you," Max replied. "I'm Max Payne."

Jigen pulled out not a Ruger Super Redhawk revolver and aimed it at Max. "What the hell are you doing here, you Payne in the Ass!?"

Dolma had no clue what was going on, so she stayed silent but kept her eyes on Max.

This is one hell of a goofy group I'm going to be working with. Max believed. He noticed the revolver Jigen was aiming. "That's a nice revolver, but to answer your question, it was Mario's idea. He wanted me to help you guys rescue this Toad guy."

47 wondered if the scolding was going too far, so he opened the door, and what he, Luigi, Max, and the others saw was Mario and Franziska kissing in the closet.

The two looked at them. Franziska glared at them. “Foolish fools! Respect our privacy!” She closed the door with force

---

Hours went by, daytime came, and Mario heard his cell phone ringing. He answered it.

“Hello? It’s-a me Mario!” He said.

“Hello Mario,” The caller said. It was Bond. “This is Bond. I just spoke to MI6 about what’s been going on at the Mushroom Kingdom. They’re going to send a private elite commando company known as Phantom.”

“Wonderful!” Mario grinned.

“I’ll be heading to the kingdom with them to meet with you and the others,” Bond continued. “And that guy J. Jonah Jameson allowed MI6 pilots to land on his building to take you guys to the Mushroom Kingdom.”

“Yipee, thank you very much, 007!” Mario happily thanked him. “We will see you guys there!”

“It’ll take some time for me and a Phantom squad to prepare and arrive there,” Bond told him. “Hopefully that won’t be a problem.”

“Not at all,” Mario reassured him. “I’m confident all of us will go unscathed when we fight against Daniel and his accomplices. Thanks again, 007!”

“You're welcome,” Bond replied. “Good luck out there.”

With that, they both hung up. Mario saw his brother sitting on the couch with a frown. He listened to what Mario was saying when he was on the phone, but his mind was all over Astolfo. He wanted to go talk to the femboy again, but the hesitation in him was strong.

Mario looked at Luigi. “That was James Bond. He spoke to your boss, Jameson. He allowed MI6 pilots to land on his building to take us to the Mushroom Kingdom.”

“That’s-a great,” Luigi said in a dull tone.

“Is everything okay, Luigi?” Mario asked as he sat next to him.

“Everything’s fine,” Luigi answered. “But not Astolfo.”

Mario widened his eyes. “W-what’s wrong with him?”

“Nothing it’s-a just...“ The brother sighed. “...I told Astolfo to stay here and not go to the Mushroom Kingdom with us. And he snapped and cried.”

Luigi looked at his brother with a sad face. “Mario, I made Astolfo cry. I hurt his feelings.”

“No, you didn’t, Luigi.” Mario shook his head.

“He said I’m-a doing what you did, going alone to fight against Robotnik, and leaving us in the Mushroom Kingdom,” Luigi explained.

“I’ve done that out of paranoia,” Mario told him. “And you’re doing it to keep him safe after he got shot by Bob. He’s-a currently healing, and he’ll come around. He’ll be happy to see you come home when all of this is over.”

Mario placed his hand on his brother’s back and gave him a pat on the back.

“Thanks, Mario.” Luigi looked at him with a smile.

“Anytime, Luigi.” Mario smiled back. "Honestly, I wanted Franziska to stay here, but I already know what her reaction would be."

"Calling you 'foolish fool' and trying to whip you for being foolish." Luigi assumed.

"That's-a right." Mario chuckled.

---

“You want us to go back to Los Angeles?!” Edgeworth asked Franziska in shock.

As she became concerned about the safety of Edgeworth, his foolish thief friend Kay, and the foolish scruffy detective Gumshoe, Franziska wanted the three of them to return to Los Angeles and keep themselves from harm.

Franziska and Edgeworth were in the latter’s bedroom, along with Kay and Gumshoe.

“Yes, that’s what I want,” Franziska nodded. “I don’t believe the three of you are safe here. I will not forget about you being tied up and almost blowing up because of that foolish man.”

Edgeworth responded. “I understand your concerns, but-“

“But nothing!” Franziska interrupted him. “The three of you are returning to Los Angeles, and that’s final!”

“No,” Edgeworth replied.

Franziska gasped. “What did you say?”

“Before you say ‘how dare you say no to me, you foolish fool', the three of us are staying here in Highfalcon until all of this chaos we’re involved in is over,” Edgeworth explained. “If it makes you feel better and calm, the three of us will stay here in the house while you go to the Mushroom Kingdom to save Toad.”

“Mr. Edgeworth!” Franziska exclaimed as she glared. “How dare you suggest such foolish suggestions filled with foolishness!”

“These ‘foolish suggestions’ will keep us alive.” Edgeworth looked at him. Honestly, I would like to go to the Mushroom Kingdom to help, but that’ll require me to take Kay with me since she's going to annoy me to death if I don't let her come.

“Has Mario foolishly infected you with his foolish mindset?” Franziska asked him.

Edgeworth chuckled as he shook his head. “No,” He spoke. “Thankfully.”

Franziska sighed. “Then if this is what you want, foolish Edgeworth, then I’ll allow it.”

“Thank you, Franziska.” Edgeworth nodded.

Franziska and Edgeworth hugged, which prompted Kay and Gumshoe to look at each other and hug.

---

Franziska walked down the steps in the living room and spotted Luigi, who was with 47, Robocop, Morgan Everett, and Max Payne. She noticed Mario wasn’t around.

“Where’s Mario?” She asked them.

“He’s at Lupin's house,” Luigi answered.

The front door opened, revealing Mario, Lupin, Jigen, Goemon, Ami, and Dolma.

Max looked at everyone. “I guess the gang's all here.”

"Yes, but except for Goemon and Ami. They're gonna stay here to keep the home protected with Robocop, as well as keeping an eye on Morgan." Mario explained.

Out of nowhere, Franziska whipped Goemon.

CRACK!

“OW!” Goemon screamed.

“Don't attempt to steal anything, for foolish Lupin, you foolish samurai!" Franziska told him.

“Franziska?!” Mario said her name.

“What?!” Franziska looked at him.

“He's not going to steal anything for Lupin,” Mario told her.

"Y-yeah, what he said, haha!" Lupin reassured her as he hid behind Jigen.

“I see,” Franziska nodded. “So what you’re telling me, Mario, is that my foolish whipping was for nothing?”

“Yes, it was for nothing.” Mario nodded.

Franziska bowed to the samurai. "My apologies."

"You're forgiven." Goemon nodded.

Max tried to comprehend the silliness in front of him. Wow, I think I'm dreaming, dreaming about being in someone's fanfiction.

Lupin noticed Astolfo wasn’t around. “Hey, where’s Astolfo? Is he coming?"

“Uhhh, yeah, about that,” Luigi replied, having difficulty answering.

“What’s wrong?” Jigen asked in concern. “Is he feeling complications?”

“No.” Luigi shook his head. He explained to them about wanting to keep Astolfo in the house when he and the others travel to the Mushroom Kingdom, thus causing Astolfo to snap at him and cry.

Lupin responded. “Hopefully he'll come around.”

"I'll keep him protected for you, Luigi." Goemon declared to him. "You have my word."

“Thanks, Goemon.” Luigi nodded with a smile.

Mario looked at 47 and Max. “Are you two ready to leave?”

“We’re ready,” 47 answered. “My sniper is in my briefcase.”

“And I got some painkillers to make the pain go away,” Max told him.

Mario nodded in response, then looked at his brother and Franziska. “Are you two ready as well?”

“Yes!” Luigi nodded with a grin.

“We’re ready.” Franziska nodded.

"Lupin, Jigen, Dolma? You three ready?" Mario looked at them.

"Yes, we are!" Lupin smiled.

"We were born ready!" Jigen added.

"I'm ready to fight the threats!" Dolma declared.

Ami kissed the Padar queen on the cheek. "Be safe out there."

"I will," Dolma replied.

"Stay alive when we return Amy, and contact us when you hack into the cameras in the Mushroom Kingdom," Lupin told her with a smile.

"I will, and it's Ami." She replied.

Morgan spoke to the group who were intending to rescue Toad. "Watch your backs when you get to the Mushroom Kingdom. And anticipate anything that could happen."

“We will!" Mario smiled at him. He looked at his group of friends. "Let’s-a go, everyone!”

The group of eight left the Mario Brothers house. Mario, Luigi, Franziska, 47, and Max entered the former’s 1974 Dodge Monaco, then drove out of the driveway, while Lupin, Jigen, and Dolma followed them in the 1965 Fiat 500 F.

In the house, Astolfo looked out the window as he saw them leaving. Tears were still in his eyes with his sad face. He felt bad for snapping at Luigi. He just hoped that he, including the others and Toad, would survive the fight against Daniel Montgomery.

Chapter 41: ACT 3 - Chapter 15

Astolfo lay on his stomach on his and Luigi’s bed. His mind on Luigi wouldn’t go away. He thought about sneaking his way to the Mushroom Kingdom, but knew it would be a stupid idea, and he believed it was already too late to take a trip there.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

He heard someone knocking on the door, but he didn’t answer. He heard a voice coming from Goemon.

“Astolfo? Are you in there? It's Goemon.”

The femboy decided to get up and walk towards the door. He opened it slowly halfway. He formed a sad smile as he looked at the samurai.

“Hey, Goemon.” He greeted him.

“Hello,” Goemon greeted back. “May I come in?”

“Sure.” Astolfo nodded as he allowed the samurai to enter the bedroom. The former closed the door and then went back to his bed and lay on his stomach again.

Goemon looked at the sad, cute femboy. “I learned about what happened earlier.” He told him.

“I thought so,” Astolfo replied in a dull tone. “I feel bad for what I did to Luigi. I didn’t mean to snap at him like that.”

“Luigi felt remorse for what he did,” Goemon mentioned. “He believed he hurt your feelings.”

This made Astolfo even more depressed. He wished he had the chance to apologize to him, and he became mad at himself for missing the opportunity.

He let out a deep sigh as he rolled his body and lay on his back. The femboy looked at the samurai. “Normally I’m always wholesome, bubbly, goofy, energetic, probably annoying to some people, and adventurous, but now I’m depressed.”

Goemon kept listening as he believed Astolfo had more to say.

“Goemon?” Astolfo said his name. “Have you ever been depressed before in your life?”

“Yes, I have,” Goemon answered. He began to tell a story to him. “Most of the depression comes from failure. It happens when my beloved sword, the Zantetsuken, is damaged. And being ashamed of myself for making the wrong choices.”

Astolfo sighed. "So that means I'm ashamed of myself for snapping at Luigi."

"Always forgive yourself, Astolfo," Goemon told him. "It's what I've done. Forgiving yourself for your sins can bring positive outcomes in your life. You may not be forgiven for other sins you committed, but keep moving forward, and do not take the dark tragedy road."

"Are you a therapist samurai?" Astolfo asked.

"I might be." Goemon chuckled. "Lupin asked me that same question when he was in the darkness after Fujiko was killed. Jigen, Ami, and I helped him because we care about him, despite him being stupid sometimes."

Astolfo rose as he looked at Goemon with a smile. “Thanks, Goemon! I think your words made me all better! Wanna watch TV together with the others?”

"Sure." Goemon nodded. "As long as whatever we're watching won't be insufferable."

---

The Mario Brothers and their friends were on the roof of the Highfalcon Times building while the sunny sky was above them. They all were entering the MI6 helicopter that landed.

Mario, Luigi, and Max wielded Heckler & Koch G36K assault rifles, while the others wielded their own weapons that were concealed.

Lupin took his Walther P38, while Jigen took his Ruger Super Redhawk. The latter initially thought about taking the Smith & Wesson Model 19 revolver with him, but knowing this was going to be a huge fight against Bob's soldiers, he thought taking the Super Redhawk was a better option.

Franziska had her Heckler & Koch VP70M along with her whip to whip and kill the foolish soldiers working for foolish Bob Page.

47 had his Silverballers with him while carrying the briefcase that had the Walther WA2000 inside. Dolma had her Beretta Cx4 Storm, along with her bow & arrow.

Luigi was about to enter the helicopter, but J. Jonah Jameson arrived on the roof and yelled out the former’s name.

“Luigi!” Jameson said his name out loud as he ran towards him.

Luigi turned to him. “Yes, boss?”

“Take Master Chief and John Wick with you guys,” Jameson told him.

“Tell them I said they're not coming with us,” Luigi replied.

“Why don’t you tell them?!” Jameson asked as he glared. He pointed at him. “You're going to regret not taking these two with you!”

“I might,” Luigi shrugged. “But this is my decision, and it’s for their own good.”

“Then you’re fired!” Jameson shouted.

“Is it worth firing me for not taking Master Chief and John Wick with us?” Luigi said. “I’m-a sure they’ll understand.”

Jameson groaned and sighed. He knew he couldn’t argue with Luigi for too long. “Fine,” He said as he looked at Luigi. “You’re unfired.” He placed his hand on Luigi’s shoulder. “Be careful out there, Luigi.” He told him in a serious tone.

Luigi nodded. “I will,” He said. “Goodbye, J. Jonah Jameson.”

With that, Luigi stepped into the helicopter. Jameson watched the helicopter flying away from his building. The latter became fond of Mario's brother. He viewed him as a friend rather than a photographer. He seriously hoped Luigi, as well as his brother and their friends, would survive this chaotic violence in the Mushroom Kingdom.

---

Mushroom City, Mushroom Kingdom

Nighttime came for the Mushroom Kingdom country. At the top of the Mushroom City castle, a soldier crouched as he wielded a Steyr SSG 08 sniper rifle, scanning the area for any threats.

Inside the castle were Daniel and Toad, who were both in the latter’s office. A soldier was also in there, giving Daniel support in case Toad tried to do anything.

Toad sat in a chair as he looked at Daniel, who was looking out the window.

Daniel noticed Princess Peach’s statue. He had an idea in mind that involved Toad, Mario, and everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom. He wanted everyone in the country to face despair.

---

Mario and his friends rappelled in a forest miles away from Mushroom City.

Before they rappelled, the MI6 pilots told them they would be leaving the country to avoid detection from hostiles and were likely on their own until support from James Bond arrived to assist them.

After the helicopter left, Mario stared at his companions. “Mushroom City is nearby. We’ll head there as we reach the castle.”

“B-but what will we do if Toad dies?” Luigi asked Mario as he feared for the possible, inevitable fate of Toad.

“Let’s-a not worry about that right now, Luigi,” Mario told him. “We have to focus on killing these soldiers and getting to the castle.”

Max's ears heard footsteps coming from a group of people. He cocked his G36K as he heard the footsteps. His eyes noticed Bob's soldiers walking towards their position. “Fellas? We got company.” He told them.

Mario and the others noticed the soldiers as well. “Everyone, take cover. We’ll ambush them.”

“Say no more, Mario.” Franziska nodded as she wielded her VP70M.

“I’ll offer sniper support for you guys.” 47 told them.

"I'll do everything I can," Dolma told the group.

"Me too." Lupin nodded as he got his Walther P38 ready.

"Me three," Jigen added.

“Thank you, everyone,” Mario replied to them.

Everyone got into their position, kept themselves hidden, and waited for Bob's soldiers to arrive at their spot.

A voice coming from the squad captain’s headset spoke.

“We received reports about an unidentified helicopter,” The voice told them. “They’re likely the Mario Brothers and their friends. Kill them on sight.”

“Roger that.” The captain replied. He cocked his G11 and began searching around the forest for the Mario Brothers and their friends.

From a distance away from his friends, 47 hid inside a bush as he was in a prone position while he aimed his Walther WA2000 at the soldiers. He aimed his sniper at the captain, then pulled the trigger.

BANG!

The captain died when he was shot in the head. The entire squad became alerted. 47’s friends immediately opened fire at the soldiers.

The soldiers returned fire as they were taking cover behind trees. Mario and his friends did the same.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

Franziska became anxious as she had her eyes closed and strongly gripped her Heckler & Koch VP70M and her whip. She worked hard on avoiding flashbacks of the past drive-by shooting when she was a child.

She wished she had taken cover with Mario, as he was his brother, shooting at the soldiers together. But the female prosecutor knew that she could not let the past stop her from doing what she needed to do.

She leaned out of her cover spot and cracked her whip at the soldiers as she fired her VP70M at them.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

RATATATA! RATATATA! RATATATA! RATATATA! RATATATA!

She was able to kill the foolish soldiers, then took cover again as the soldiers were shooting their G11s at her.

While Max hid behind a tree, he activated Bullet Time to make his allies have an advantage in combat during slow motion, then he side dived while firing his G36K at Bob's soldiers.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

After he was able to kill the soldiers, Max took cover behind a different tree, then Bullet Time ended.

Dolma was able to sneak towards the soldiers and flawlessly shot her arrows at the heads of the soldiers, which instantly killed them. She ran all over the place with fast reflexes as bullets came towards her. She drew out her Cx4 Storm and killed the soldiers as she moved around.

Together, Lupin and Jigen fired their guns at the soldier. Jigen shot and killed Bob Page's soldiers with his Ruger Super Redhawk.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

While Jigen took cover as he reloaded his Super Redhawk, Lupin gave the marksman support by firing his P38 at the soldiers.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The Mario Brothers fired their weapons at the soldiers with their G36Ks together.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

One soldier almost fired at the brothers until a sniper bullet from 47 saved them.

BANG!

The bald hitman spotted the last remaining soldier who hid behind a tree. He noticed the soldier was pulling out a grenade. 47 was able to shoot the grenade with his sniper rifle, which caused an explosion.

KABOOM!

Mario and everyone with him reacted to the explosion. They all witnessed the soldier exploding into pieces.

Mario looked at his brother. “Just like in the war, Luigi!”

Luigi nodded in response. He and his brother witnessed a lot during the Mushroom Kingdom War.

47 rendezvous with the group. “You’re welcome,” He said to them. “He was about to pull out a grenade.”

“That was a great shot,” Max remarked.

"You're a marksman just like me," Jigen smirked.

“And that great shot will attract more of those foolish soldiers.” Franziska forewarned them.

“But let’s-a keep going and watch our backs,” Mario reassured her and everyone.

---

Back inside Toad’s office. Daniel was getting informed by a soldier about what was going on regarding the Mario Brothers and their friends taking down the soldiers.

“How close are they?” He asked.

..................................

“Hmm,” Daniel hummed as he looked out the window. He looked at the large statue of Princess Peach again. “Okay, keep sending more soldiers after them. I want them overwhelmed.” He ended the call and looked at Toad.

“Get up,” Daniel told him. “We’re going somewhere.”

“W-where are we going?” Toad asked as he was grabbed by Daniel and forced out of the office. The soldier followed them.

Toad knew Mario and Luigi were coming to save him. They just hoped it wouldn’t be too late to rescue him.

But Toad wondered where Daniel was taking him as they, including the soldier, walked down the corridor of the castle.

---

The heroic group reached Mushroom City and was taking down more soldiers as they made their way to the castle.

As the group was moving on the streets, Luigi spotted a wounded Mushroom Kingdom Army soldier who kept himself hidden next to a damaged parked car. “Mario!” He whispered his brother’s name, gaining his attention. “Look!” He pointed at the wounded soldier.

Mario reacted as his eyes caught the soldier. “Mama Mia!” He moved towards him. His brother and the others followed in suit.

The soldier looked at him. “Mario...” He said his name. “...Thank god you and your brother came, as well as these other people.”

Mario crouched down to him. “Is there any support coming to you?”

“I was supposed to have a squad come here and help me, but they haven’t shown up,” The soldier explained. “I assume that they're dead. We were able to evacuate the civilians, but some of them are hiding somewhere. And later on, I got shot.”

Max offered to help as he crouched next to Mario, facing the wounded soldier. He grabbed a bottle of painkillers and handed the pills to the soldier. “Here, try this,” He offered him. “They’re painkillers.”

“Thank you.” The soldier replied as he grabbed the painkiller pills and consumed them. He started to feel somewhat better, but he obviously needed the bullet he had taken to be removed as soon as possible.

“Come with us,” Luigi suggested.

“No,” The soldier shook his head. “I don’t want to slow you all down,” He started to slowly get up as he moaned. “During the attack, the Army and the guards were informed about Toad still being in the castle, but those invaders breached it.”

Luigi widened his eyes in fear and looked at his brother. “M-Mario!”

Mario looked at his brother. “We need to head to the castle, Luigi. Before we jump to conclusions.”

Suddenly...

BANG!

The wounded soldier was shot in the head by a sniper. Everyone got alerted, took cover, and hid themselves from the sniper.

“Mama Mia!” Mario yelled out.

“Of course, we have to deal with a foolish sniper!” Franziska complained.

"Everyone move!" Dolma told them.

47 kept himself hidden as much as possible and got inside a multi-floor building. He was able to get on the third floor and kept himself hidden as he crouched and aimed his WA2000 out the window, and began searching for the sniper.

It didn't take too long for the bald assassin to spot him, seeing a soldier aiming his Steyr SSG 08 on the roof of a building. This made him kill him immediately.

BANG!

The hitman saw the sniper getting shot and dying as he and his sniper rifle fell off the roof and landed onto the ground.

Before he made everyone too excited, 47 continued to scan for more snipers. He found a few of them and killed them all. He watched Bob's soldiers reacting to the deadly WA2000 bullets going into their bodies and ending their lives.

The companions knew what 47 was doing and didn’t want to interfere. They were all grateful for the bald hitman being around to help. Seems like he wasn’t a foolish killer after all.

47 couldn’t find any more snipers. He believed he and everyone were cleared to go to the castle. He regrouped with them outside the building he was in.

“All clear,” 47 told them. “But we need to be as cautious as possible.”

“Thank you, 47!” Mario thanked him. “Let’s-a go, everyone!”

---

Toad, Daniel, and the soldier who was carrying a shovel while wielding his Heckler & Koch G11 were now at the cemetery. They all stood in front of Princess Peach’s statue grave. As they looked at her grave, Toad spoke.

“W-why are we here?” He asked Daniel.

Daniel looked up at the large statue of Princess Peach, then answered. “You’re going to dig your own grave next to her.”

The soldier forcefully handed the shovel to Toad.

Daniel looked at Toad. “Start digging."

“But-“

“Now!”

Toad gulped. He stared at Peach’s statue, then started to form a tear going down his face. He began digging his grave. Mario! Luigi! Anyone! HELP ME!

---

Snipers on top of the castle were informed about Mario and his friends heading to the castle and were ordered to search for them and eliminate them.

But one sniper in the castle got shot in the head. His body, along with his Steyr SSG 08, fell off the castle and landed on the ground.

The other snipers tried to locate the shooter, but they both got shot in the head and died.

47 killed them all. He lay in a prone position in a dark spot in the forest away from the field and the castle. With him were his friends, who stayed hidden. “All snipers on top of the castle are eliminated.” He told them.

“Wonderful!” Mario smiled. He looked at Franziska. “Franziska, my love. You’re-a coming with me to the castle and rescue Toad.”

“Why not the rest of them?” Franziska asked him, referring to the others.

"You're gonna need more support to fight the soldiers in there," Jigen told him.

"He's not wrong." Max sided with him. "They know we're here."

"I want to come with you, Mario." Dolma offered. "I want to meet Toad and atone for my sins to him."

"Mama Mia, I wanna come too!" Luigi begged.

"Don't make a decision that you'll regret later," Lupin told the former plumber, referring to going alone to fight Robotnik.

Mario couldn't be more thankful for having his friends want to come with him and Franziska to the castle to rescue Toad. He nodded his head at all of them as he smiled.

"Okey dokey!" He said. "Luigi, Lupin, 47? Stay here and contact us if you see anything relevant."

“Understood." 47 nodded.

"You got it!" Lupin smiled.

“Please be careful, Mario!” Luigi said to him as he felt afraid. “D-don’t die!”

“We won’t, Luigi,” Mario reassured his brother. “If Daniel is not in the castle, search for him in case he’s located somewhere else.” He looked at the people who were coming with him to the castle. “Let’s-a go!”

“Try not to foolishly get shot at by a foolish soldier, you got it?” Franziska responded as she walked with Mario and others to the castle.

"Yes, Franziska, I got it," Mario replied.

---

Mario and the four breached the castle, killing Bob's soldiers who were inside.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

RATATATA! RATATATA! RATATATA! RATATATA!

Dolma moved around fast in the castle corridor and dining area as she hopped on a table and shot her arrows with her bow & arrow at the soldiers, sending arrows to their heads and hearts and killing them.

The group of five advanced through the corridor, killing more soldiers who tried to stop them.

One soldier got behind them and attempted to ambush the former plumber and the female prosecutor, but failed as an arrow from Dolma went into his head. She approached the group and moved with them. Mario thanked her with a smile and a nod.

They entered another dining area, which was larger than the other one. There were more soldiers in the castle to kill. It wasn't hard for Daisuke Jigen and Max Payne, who worked together to kill them during Bullet Time.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

They all died, but more soldiers came to kill the group. This forced the group to take cover in the large dining area.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

Mario and Franziska looked at each other and nodded. They formed an idea.

Franziska sprinted towards the soldiers in lightning speed and painfully whipped them, making them drop their guns, then Mario gunned them all down with his G36K with one hand.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

Mario and Franziska stood in front of the corpses of Bob's soldiers. They looked at each other.

“Good work, Franziska and everyone!” Mario told her and the others. "We taught these foolish fools a violent lesson!"

“Yes, we sure have.” Franziska agreed with a smile.

Mario realized they were getting close to Toad's office. They all moved down the corridor and reached the entrance of his office. Mario kicked the door open and aimed his G36K, but couldn’t find Toad. “Mama Mia, he’s not here!” He anxiously said.

“Is there a secret room in here?” Dolma inquired.

“No!” Mario shook his head. Then he realized something. “But Princess Peach’s room does!” He then exited the office with the group.

As they exited, the group noticed a wounded soldier crawling, leaving a trail of blood on the floor.

Franziska approached him and placed her foot on his back to prevent him from moving.

“Foolish, wounded, evil, foolish soldier!” Franziska barked. “Where’s Daniel Montgomery and Mario’s friend Toad!?”

Mario wanted to do the questioning, but was glad Franziska beat him to it. He waited for the soldier to respond.

“C-cem...cemetery.”

“Cemetery?” Mario responded.

“Yes,” The soldier spoke. “D-Daniel...took Toad there...but he didn’t say why.”

Mario became worried. He started to imagine Daniel slowly killing Toad in the most painful, gruesome way possible.

“Thank you,” Franziska said, then ended the soldier’s life by firing her VP70M at him.

RATATATATA!

She placed her foot off the soldier’s corpse, then looked at Mario.

“Let’s go.” She said to the group.

“Wait, Franziska,” Mario stopped her. He swallowed as he knew what Franziska’s reaction would be. “I-“

“No!” Franziska interrupted him as she knew what Mario was going to say. “You’re not going to make a foolish decision by going alone!”

“That’s-a what I was going to say to you,” Mario told her. “I want you and the others to go regroup with my brother and our friends.”

“No!” Franziska shook her head. “We're not going to let you go alone all by yourself and get killed out there while trying to save your friend!”

Mario deeply sighed. He knew arguing with her was a waste of time, not just for him, but for everyone, and it could cause Toad to die. The former plumber knew it would be all his fault if he didn’t save Toad quickly enough, all because of arguing with Franziska von Karma.

He brought his eyes to her. “You know what I love about you, Franziska?”

“What’s that, Mario?” Franziska questioned.

“Being stubborn,” Mario answered. “You’re-a possibly the most stubborn person I have ever met. You have dedication. You’re-a selfless, fearless, passionate, and scary sometimes. But the point I’m-a trying to make is that I’m-a grateful for meeting someone like you, Franziska von Karma.”

“W-what is this!?” Franziska asked as she was trying to fight off the tears due to Mario’s kind words to her. “Are you a professional in making people cry, Mario!?”

“No, haha!” Mario laughed. “I just don’t-a want you to die!”

“It won’t happen, Mario,” Franziska told him. “I can assure you."

"You know, Mario, I wonder if Lupin taught you how to be a professional in being a danger to yourself." Jigen wondered.

"I'm glad she's able to knock some sense into you, Mario," Dolma said to him.

"So is this soap opera scene going to go on forever, or are we going to save Toad?" Max asked Mario and Franziska.

“Yes!” Mario smiled. “Let’s-a go!”

---

Toad continued to dig his own grave while Daniel aimed his Springfield Armory XDM pistol at him as he watched.

The soldier who was with them heard a noise that also caught the attention of Daniel and Toad. The latter stopped moving the shovel as he heard the noise.

Daniel looked at Toad as he kept his pistol aimed at him. “Don’t stop!” He then looked at the soldier. “Check it!” He told him.

The soldier nodded and went to check the source of the noise.

Toad started to struggle as he dug. The hole he made became deeper and deeper. He stopped as he panted and looked at Daniel. “How much more!?” He asked as he was panting and sweating.

Daniel looked at the hole Toad made. “I think that’s enough.” He answered.

“P-please sir!” Toad begged as he got on his knees. “I’m sorry that my friends got involved with your father’s death! There has to be some other way-“

“Shut up!” Daniel demanded him. “All these words you’re throwing at me won’t make a difference.” He then turned his head and saw the soldier arriving back. “Anything?"

The soldier shook his head in response.

“Good,” Daniel replied as he turned his head back to Toad. “The end of your life begins.”

Daniel almost killed Toad if it wasn’t for the noise of an assault rifle cocking, which made the former turn his head to the soldier who cocked the G11 and aimed it at Alan's son.

The Montgomery son gasped as he saw the soldier aiming his G11 at Daniel.

Daniel glared at the soldier and aimed his XDM at him. “What the hell are you doing?!”

The soldier didn’t respond.

Daniel spoke again in anger. “Traitor! Or is Bob believing I’m useless to him now?!”

The soldier once again didn’t respond.

Daniel had a feeling who it was behind the gas mask helmet. “Take your helmet off, Mario.”

Using one hand, the soldier took his helmet off, revealing his appearance.

Daniel widened his eyes as he gasped.

It wasn’t Mario.

Instead, it was Franziska von Karma.

She and the others kept themselves hidden in the cemetery to avoid detection by Daniel and the soldier. They both formed an idea that was inspired by 47.

Mario created a diversion to lure the soldier to their location. Remembering when 47 used Franziska’s whip to kill Daniel’s father, Alan Montgomery, in the subway, Franziska used her whip to strangle the soldier to death with her whip, quickly put his clothes on, and used it as a disguise to fool Daniel.

Daniel spoke as he looked at Franziska with a glare.

“Franziska von Karma!” He yelled.

“Daniel Montgomery,” Franziska replied as she aimed her G11.

“This is impossible!” Daniel yelled. “There was no way you were with us the entire time!”

“That is correct,” Franziska confirmed. “I killed that foolish soldier. You lost Daniel Montgomery. Justice will be served when your corpse rots in hell.”

“FUCK THAT!” Daniel screamed. He was about to kill the female prosecutor.

But then...

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Seven bullets went straight into Daniel’s head, causing his head to get ripped apart by the bullets, as well as blood splattering and pouring down his face.

Daniel's corpse fell into the hole that Toad made, which made Mario’s best friend move away from the falling corpse.

Franziska looked at Mario, who was the one who unloaded on Daniel with his AMT AutoMag V. He walked towards Franziska and the hole.

Mario looked down at the hole and saw Toad. “Toad!” He said his name.

“Mario! Franziska!” Toad said their names.

He jumped high towards them and grabbed Mario’s hand, which helped him get out of the hole.

Toad was saved, and Daniel was dead. The group of three walked out of the cemetery and rendezvoused with their friends.

As they were walking, they noticed helicopters flying above Mushroom City.

They were helicopters from the private elite commando company Phantom.

---

The group of friends saw the Phantom helicopters arriving. They noticed Mario and Franziska arriving towards them with Toad.

Luigi was very happy to see Toad still alive, which made him form a smile filled with joy.

“Toad!” Luigi said as he approached him.

“Hey Luigi!” Toad smiled at him. The two gave each other a big hug.

The Phantom soldiers, who were dressed in dark blue futuristic armored outfits, rappelled to the ground. They were all wielding Heckler & Koch XM8 assault rifles. Bond, including Master Chief and John Wick, rappelled with them.

Master Chief wielded his MA5B, while John wielded a Kel-Tec KSG. Bond wielded his Walther P99 pistol. He, including Master Chief and John Wick, saw The Mario Brothers and the group of friends with them. The three approached them.

Luigi was surprised to see Master Chief and John Wick. He wondered if Jameson forced them to help the former.

“Master Chief? John Wick,” He said their names. “What are you doing here? Did Jameson want you guys to come here to help us?”

"Yeah." John nodded.

“Jameson begged us to help you guys out after you didn’t want us to initially,” Master Chief explained. “It was either helping out or getting fired.”

"And being accused of being Spider-Man's accomplices," John added.

“Well, I’m glad you showed up, Master Chief and John Wick!” Luigi grinned. “A part of me regretted not taking you two with us, sorry.”

“There's no need to apologize.” Master Chief reassured him.

“It looks like this mission of yours was a success.” Bond remarked as he placed away his P99.

“It sure was, but we need to hunt down more of these soldiers and keep the Mushroom Kingdom as secure as possible,” Mario responded.

“The Mushroom Kingdom guards and the army were able to keep the civilians in Mushroom City safe, as well as civilians in other parts of the country.” Toad brought up to the group. “I just hoped they’re still alive.”

Mario smiled as he placed his hand on Toad’s back. “We'll know once we kill the rest of Bob's soldiers.”

---

Aeon

Bob Page walked down the corridor of the Aeon facility after he learned about Daniel’s demise, thanks to the Mario Brothers and their friends. He had a feeling this invasion of the Mushroom Kingdom wouldn’t be successful. But other plans were already made.

One was sending Oddjob to the Mario Brothers house and kill whoever is in there. The second was waiting for the arrival of the Mario Brothers and their friends. The third was defending the island by enabling the defenses all over the island for a possible attack.

And the fourth involved Dr. Robotnik.

He went through the sliding doors that led to Dr. Robotnik’s lab. There he saw the evil doctor.

Robotnik saw Bob entering the lab and was happy to see him.

“Bob Page, my best friend!” Robotnik grinned.

“Dr. Ivo Robotnik,” Bob said his name with a nod. “The Mario Brothers and their friends are stronger than we expected.”

Robotnik gasped. “What does that mean?!”

“That means that Daniel Montgomery has been KIA, and his invasion of the Mushroom Kingdom has failed,” Bob explained.

“AAAAH!” Robotnik screamed in agony. “We can't let them win AGAIN!”

“I can assure you, Dr. Robotnik, that they will fail once again, and you will have an advantage,” Bob told him. "Soon, you'll become a robotic god."

“You mean that I'm going to become FABULOUS!?” Robotnik grinned.

“Yes, Dr. Robotnik,” Bob nodded. He smiled. “Yes, you will.”