#bomberto

As the Airship approaches the Barrier between Muppetopia and Bowser's Zone, the first thing Tari notices is the music.

"Um, we're still pretty far away, aren't we? Just how loud is this place?"

"The entire Zone is a giant, nonstop rock concert." Kamek groans, "It couldn't have latched onto his chicken nugget addiction, noooo. It just had to be his musical tastes."

Eggman chimes in from nearby, where he's working with some sort of tablet, "Made worse by the fact that everyone who's been converted there has special adaptations that allow them to withstand far greater volumes than normal. I've taken the liberty of installing sound dampeners throughout the ship so our eardrums don't get blown out during our approach. They'll activate when we change Zones."

Sure enough, after a few minutes they cross the barrier and the noise briefly gets FAR worse before abruptly dropping down to a distant rhythmic pulse that's more felt than heard. As they continue towards where Bowser is, Mario looks over the side at the inexplicably bright green lava flows that cut through the area.

"Look Meggy, they've got rivers of jello!"

"I'm pretty sure that's lava, Red. Or...it used to be?" she thinks it over for a moment before shaking her head, "Anyway, we probably can't eat it."

Predictably, this leads to him pouting, "Take all the fun out of it..."

Eventually, they reach what looks like a colossal city/concert hall hybrid that presumably used to be one of Bowser's fortresses. Thankfully the airship docks still exist and there's plenty of spaces for them to park. As they do, Kamek turns to address the group (so all the named characters but not the assorted random Mario enemies and Badniks).

"Alright everyone, this may be friendly territory, but it still carries the risk of conversion, plus it's a giant concert. Don't go anywhere alone, don't get caught up in the festivities," that he clearly directs at Bob and Toad as the musicians and known impulsive troublemakers of the group, "and remember where we parked. SMG4, Mario, you're coming with me to see Lord Bowser. Everyone else, either come with us or do whatever else you want and be back here in three hours. If you're not here on time you will be assumed to be converted and left behind."

As everyone confirms they understand the terms (or in Sig's case just goes belowdecks so nobody expects him to leave the ship. no way he's dealing with all the noise and crowds in this Zone), he gets ready to lead them down the gangplank, pausing to address the ship's captain, "look after the place while we're gone, Bomberto."

"Oye sir, she'll be restocked an' ready ta go when you get back."

He nods and keeps going, only for the group to pause again on the docking station's stainless steel walkway when they hear a familiar laugh, "Mwee-hee-hee-hee! Looks like these guys came late to the party!"

Another young voice chimes in, also familiar, but far less so due to the tone, "How're you supposed to be late to a party that don't stop, BJ?"

"Eh, true. Wadd'ya say we give 'em a warm welcome?"

"You read my mind!"

In drops a pair of small, mostly blue black and green figures. One is clearly Bowser Junior in his canonical Wonder form, complete with mask-turned-space-defying-beartrap-maw and ponytail made of neon green flames, while the other appears to be a floating preteen girl with messy hair the same so-dark-it's-almost-black shade of purple as Junior's head and bangs covering her right eye (both of which have purple sclera and acid-green irises), what appears to be purple lipstick, eyeshadow and nail polish but given how conversion and her own physical form work is probably recolored skin, sharklike teeth, an oversized black tee-shirt with a green Bowser logo half-tucked into jeans with ripped knees and frayed rolled-up legs, black-and-red fingerless gloves with orange Eggman logos on the backs, shoes designed to resemble the boot portions of Eggman's jumpsuit, and what would look like the sleeves of a black and green pixel pattern undershirt if it weren't for the fact that the green parts are moving and the same pattern is visible in the rips on her jeans and a thick streak through her bangs.

While most of the group has trouble figuring out who exactly she is, Eggman, Cubot, Root and Lil Coding's eyes are practically popping out of their skulls seeing her like THAT.

"SAGE!?"

Whatever sort of introduction the two had planned is thoroughly derailed as Sage hears that, actually takes a good look at the group they're supposed to be greeting, and smiles even wider than she already was before hurling herself at Eggman and wrapping her arms as far around his body as they'll go, "DAD! You're okay! Oh chaos, I was so worried when I saw what happened to Metal!"

Well, even as awkward and...unnerving as it is to see her look and act so out-of-character, he immediately melts and returns the hug, "It's good to see you too, sweetheart."

Bob, of course, takes this moment to be Bob, "Huh. Didn't figure she'd have a grunge phase." Meggy promptly smacks him to the other side of the docking bay, "Ow, my ovaries!"

(also, because I got attached to the random background oc and am making him slightly important way later on (because of course I did) here's Boberto)

We begin with what's left of the SMG4 Crew, Cubot, and Marcy already sneaking through the streets of Robotropolis, heading towards the overgrown Eggman Base that Metal Madness is attached to. Floating high above the metallic blue skyscrapers is the airship, shielded from view with an invisibility spell by Kamek and Sig.

Soon enough, they're in an alley only a street crossing away from the base, and Cubot starts looking for something on the wall, "Okay guys, there should be a side entrance just across from us, and with any luck Metal's been too out of his mind to bother changing the access codes. All we've gotta do is get past the guards."

At that, he points up at a nearby watchtower, where a mechanical Toad looks out over the dark streets. Another robot, this one a pink-and-white knight with a basketball-patterned faceplate, swoops down to address him for a moment before resuming his patrol.

4 winces, "good thing Toadsworth isn't here to see that."

Cubot manages to spot the entrance, and as soon as the group sees an opening they make a break for it. There's a brief scare when Mario accidentally kicks a can (why is there even litter when everyone is in a robot hivemind) and catches Mecha Franky's attention, but thankfully the side of the base has plenty of alcoves to hide in, and a few more "civilian" level robots happen to walk by at the same time.

As it turns out, Metal Sonic really didn't bother changing the access codes, so Cubot's current status as leader of the Eggman Empire gets them in without issue. When they get inside, 4 realizes something pretty important.

"Uh, do you have any idea where they'll be keeping the Seed? 'Cause this is a pretty big place and I really don't thing wandering aimlessly would be a good idea."

"Well, the base is pretty different from how it was the last time I was here, but based on the structure there's a few spots in particular that would make sense. Plus the scanner's still working," he waves the tablet a bit for emphasis.

With that out of the way, the group keeps going, doubling their efforts at stealth now that they're this deep into enemy territory...and also doing their best to keep the more chaotic members of the group from getting distracted by the various robot-related memes they encounter along the way.

As they're moving, Root notices Tari scratching at the elbow of her Meta Runner arm, "Are you okay Tari?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, my stump just started itching a bit. Haven't really had a chance to take my arm off in the past few days. I'll be fine."

"It comes off?"

"Yep! Just because I didn't get a prothesis the normal way doesn't mean I don't have to take care of it like everyone else."

"Oh, that makes sense. Just, make sure you tell somebody if it starts getting worse, alright?"

"Of course. Sorry if I made you worry."

As it turns out, she's not the only one having slight problems. Lil Coding's got a slight headache that's causing a bit of static on the edges of his hearing. Or...is the static causing the headache? Eh, either way it's probably not a big deal, so he doesn't bother to mention it.

Eventually they reach a dark room that seems as though it used to be a command center, with some sort of containment unit on the other side from the door.

"Well, according to the scanner this is the place. I'm betting the seed's in that thing."

"Mario's on it!" immediately he grabs Meggy by the legs (she's got a deadpan "oh not this shit again" expression but dutifully goes into a T-pose) runs at the container with intent to Smash, "Here we GOOOOO!!!!"

Unsurprisingly, this doesn't work, and he drops Meggy and shrugs, "Well, I've done all I can do."

The rest of the group just rolls their eyes, and Cubot floats over to the main console, "I'll handle it."

It takes a bit to find the right program, but soon enough he finds the controls for the containment unit and opens it, revealing a yellow Wonder Seed.

"Alright!" 4 walks over to grab it, "Just two more and-" Suddenly the room is bathed in red light, and the central monitor changes from Eggman's desktop to a mechanical-looking black-and-red eye.

"Did you really think it would be so easy to steal from me?"

The group quickly backs away from the monitor, 4 remembering to grab the still-accessible seed in the process.

"Fortunately for you, that trinket matters little to me. Still, you are intruders, and intruders must be either converted or destroyed."

While most of the group is shaking in fear, Marcy scoffs, "And how do you plan on doing that? There's no weapons in this room, and if your troops were close enough to catch us before we were ready and able to fight our way out they'd be here by now."

"You are correct...for a few more seconds, at least."

"What do you-" She's cut off by the rippling colors and chime of a wonder effect, and the group turns to a horrible sight, "no, not them..."

The mechanized Lil Coding points his claw at his stunned and horror-stricken father, "PRIORITY_1: ELIMINATE_INTRUDERS."

Mario pulls SMG4 out of the way just before Mecha Coding can hit him with a powerful energy blast, "RUN BITCH, RUUUUUN!"

And so the group books it back the way they came, their roboticized friends hot on their tail and Badniks and other conversion victims closing in around them, with Mario still having to drag 4 along.

Eventually they manage to get outside, where they see that the Airship, now in full view, is heading right towards them with pursuers of its own. They thankfully all manage to grab onto a hastily dropped ladder and climb up to help the crew fend off the robot army in their mad dash to the mercifully-nearby barrier between Robotropolis and the next Zone.

Unfortunately, their luck runs out, as Mecha Desmond appears high above them and uses his Galacta Knight powers to summon dozens of Heart Spears, which rain down and tear through the ship. It ends up crashing down just barely on the wrong side of the barrier, and the main group comes to in the flaming wreckage, robots closing in on all sides and the assorted minions and badniks all either unconscious, trashed, or beginning to convert themselves.

Desmond stands before them, eyes locked on Meggy's prone form because of course he'd be just cognizant enough to remember hating her, and in the blink of an eye lunges-

Only to be stopped short by Toadsworth's cane, the old toad shaking with the effort and half-metal already, but smirking up at his adopted grandson, "Come on my boy, I know you can move faster than that! This conversion nonsense really isn't doing your training any favors, is it?"

He looks back at what's left of the group, "Go on then, get out of here! We'll hold them off for as long as we're still ourselves!"

True to what he says, all the other half-converted characters jump into the fray, many fighting several full robots at once. Bomberto's among them, "Just like old times, eh?"

"If this is "just like old times," then you and I remember those times very differently, old friend."

Not wanting to squander this chance, the group follows Toadsworth's orders as soon as he gives them and runs for the barrier, which apparently when approached personally at ground level like this is opaque with a similar shifting rainbow color pattern to the unsprayed versions of the Super Mario Sunshine level portals.

Good news, the scanner isn't having any issues in this Zone and they know almost exactly where the Seed is.

Bad news, the further in you go the denser the forest gets and they can't fly through the mushrooms, so yet again it's time to go on foot. This time the away team consists of 4, Mario, Meggy, Tari, Lil Coding, Juliano, Toadsworth, Eggman, Cubot, and surprisingly enough Bomberto, who apparently has experience traveling through dense hostile forests and jungles. Kamek, Marcy, Root and Sig stayed behind to protect the ship, and Toadsworth is coming because this Zone includes the location of Peach's current castle, and between that and the theme he has his suspicions for who the trigger character might be.

As they slowly pick their way through the fungal undergrowth, it's clear that their two least likely members had other reasons to come as well; apparently Bomberto and Toadsworth were old...well, not war buddies since their respective Kingdoms were obviously the ones at war with each other back then, but more just that they kept running into each-other and were largely amicable despite being enemies, as evidenced by them regaling the rest of the group with tales of their youth to pass the time, commenting on and correcting each-other's take on events with fond amusement. A lot of the group is either mildly interested or just ignoring them to focus on the mission, while Lil Coding and Cubot are listening with rapt attention and Mario is bored out of his skull.

At one point Tari leans towards Meggy, "You know, I can't help but wonder if there might have been Something going on between them back then."

"You also thought Bob was my ex-boyfriend for multiple years."

"Fair enough."

Soon after this, Bomberto cuts himself off mid-sentence and stops dead in his tracks, "Wait. You hear that?"

Everyone else stops and look around nervously, before 4 answers, "I... don't hear anything."

"Exactly. There's animals 'round 'ere same as any forest, an' if they've all gone quiet at once..."

The implications gradually hit everyone, and they look out into the treeline, readying themselves for whatever might be coming.

They don't have to wait long, as desaturated, yellow-tinted Piranha Plants with long stems the color and texture of overripe bananas lunge out of the mycelium undergrowth, massive jaws snapping at whoever's closest and clouds of spores shooting out from the ones in the back like they're trying to use their usual breath attacks (one of which ends up blasting Eggman right in the face).

Thankfully, Piranha Plants aren't exactly that hard to fight, so the only real advantage they have over the crew is sheer numbers. Even Toadsworth manages to hold his own, beating them back with his cane and in one rather impressive display managing to stab one that tried a low approach clean through to the ground with the thinner end.

Still, there are a lot of Piranha Plants, and it's only a matter of time before 4 gets unlucky and finds himself pinned, staring into the approaching maw of a Plant until-

*BLAM!*

The Plant's head explodes into debris, soon followed by several others as a red and tan figure leaps into the fray and dispatches several of them in seconds with a shotgun.

As the remaining Plants retreat into the forest and the spores settle, the group is met with a familiar face.

"Shroomy!?"

The ex-demon-hunting boyscout, completely free of any signs of conversion, waves to them with his usual cheery grin, "Howdy fellas!"

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As the group continues, Shroomy tells them what he's been up to lately. Apparently, neither of his personalities are compatible with whatever mindset triggers this Zone's conversions, and his skill at combat has so far protected him from what he's taken to calling the Moldy Piranhas. He's been spending his time exploring the forest, which he's dubbed the Toadstool Tangle, and guiding any other survivors he meets to Floyd's Zone. After all, even if becoming a depressed ghost isn't exactly pleasant, it beats the alternatives of mushroom trees or mind-controlled evil robots.

The group explains their own situation to him, and he's pretty sure he's got a good idea of where they need to go. The good news is, he knows a (relatively) safe route to get there. The bad news is, when they do make it there, they definitely won't be able to reach the seed's most likely location without a fight.

As they're traveling, Eggman and Juliano find themselves lingering towards the back, inexplicably worn out. While for Juliano that's fairly normal, Eggman isn't exactly out of shape (despite what shape he happens to be), so it's a bit of a mystery...

At least, until he has a brief coughing fit that results in a scattering of spores on his glove that was not there after he'd brushed himself off following the fight. He looks at the spores with confusion that rapidly morphs into horror, and he looks around to make sure no-one saw. Unfortunately, Juliano is looking right at him with a difficult-to-read expression... and then he pulls the collar of his sweater down a bit, revealing a patch of sickly green skin just above one of his scars, and the two share a Look of understanding and resignation, and come to a silent agreement not to say anything yet.

Soon enough, the group reaches a clearing, one with a towering structure of fused mushrooms that vaguely resembles a castle.

"Okay guys, this is the place. Now, I'm pretty sure that the thing you're lookin' for is up in that window at the top," he points up and sure enough, there's an opening just below the cap of the highest mushroom, the one in the center, "but to get up there, we're gonna have to get past the guard."

"What guard?"

There's a strange, high-pitched roar, and a massive yellow-and brown thing comes climbing around the central tower.

"That guard."

[Alright, I'm shit at writing fight scenes, this post's been giving me enough trouble already, so I'm just gonna say that this is Petey Piranha's converted form, which I've dubbed Moldy Draco Piranha, and they do manage to beat him, including the Absolutely Necessary finisher of Mario grabbing him by the mushroom on the end of his tail and flinging him into the distance]

4 takes a moment to catch his breath, "Well, glad that's over. Now we just need to grab that seed."

Mario raises his hand, "I'll handle it. I'm the best jumper, and I'm... pretty sure I know who's up there."

4's a bit confused by this, since he assumed Petey was the trigger character, but he shrugs it off, "Alright man, go for it."

As he heads towards the castle, Toadsworth follows him, "Erm, Master Mario, if it's not too much trouble would you mind giving this old man a boost up? I'd like to see her as well, but I'm afraid my jumping days are long behind me."

"No problem," He kneels down so the old toad can get up onto his back, then after making sure he's secure starts making his way up to the window.

And, sad to say, they find exactly what they thought they would.

"Oh, my..." Toadsworth drops down from Mario's grip and limps forward, stopping just in front of Peach and reaching up to gently cup her cheek.

Her eyes open just a bit, painfully slowly, and she looks down at him while ever so slightly leaning into his touch, "toads...worth?"

"Oh, princess." He tries his best to hug her, which is a bit awkward given their height difference and the bulb on her arms, "I'm so sorry I wasn't here with you."

"...glad...you're...safe..." she does her best to reciprocate the hug with what little mobility she has, then looks up to see the other man in the room, "...ma...ri...o..."

He gives her a sad, lopsided smile, "Hey Peach. This sure brings back memories, huh?"

She huffs in what's probably intended to be laughter, grinning back as best she can, then looks down at the bulb. It glows for a brief moment, then slowly opens to reveal an orange Wonder Seed, "loo...king...for...this?"

He nods and puts the seed in his hammerspace, then gently brushes aside some of her hair so he can look her clearly in the eyes, "I'll save you, I promise."

"...I...know. you...al...ways...do," she looks down sadly, "...ev...en...af...ter...all...I've...done..."

"Hey, you're getting better. We both are. No beating yourself up in here, alright."

"I'll...try..."

The three of them take a few more moments together, before Mario and Toadsworth have to go back to the others. While most of them can pick up on the melancholy surrounding the two, there's no time to waste.

"Alright, we're more than halfway there! Back to the ship everybody." as the group heads out once more, something seems to be amiss, "Uh, Eggman, Juliano? We gotta go."

Juliano shakes his head, "Sorry 4. We're a bit...stuck." He gestures down to his and Eggman's legs, which are already part mushroom and firmly rooted.

"Oh...oh no."

"Boss! This...this can't be happening!"

"Unfortunately it is, Cubot. I'm afraid that spore cloud from earlier did me in."

"Then, why's Juliano converting? He didn't get hit at all during the fight!"

Juliano looks a way, and Mario sighs, "It's guilt, isn't it? The trigger mindset is deep-seated guilt. You're converting the normal way because of all those issues you keep hiding."

"...yeah, that's about the shape of it."

As everyone's processing this, Eggman clears his throat, "Cubot, seeing as I'm now out of commission, there's something we need to do."

"Huh?" he's confused for a moment, then realizes what Eggman means and reels back, "No, I-I'm not ready for that! You know what I'm like, I'll just screw it all up."

"Probably, yes, but we don't exactly have any alternatives. You're the last sentient underling I have left."

"I...alright." He hovers directly in front of Eggman and 'stands' at attention, "I'm ready, sir."

Eggman nods and also stands at attention, pulling up something on his tablet, "Let the record show that on this day, I, Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, have been rendered unable to lead the glorious Eggman Empire. As such, I transfer my position as supreme ruler to Advisory Unit SA-56 "Cubot," until such time as I am able to resume my duties. Cubot, do you accept your new position, with full knowledge of all the responsibilities and privileges it entails?"

"I accept, Doctor."

"Then from this day forth, unless and until I am cured of my current affliction, you are now the leader of the Eggman Empire...such as it is at the moment." he hands over the tablet, "try not to screw it up too badly."

"You got it boss!" He puts the tablet away, then wrings his hands nervously, "Uh, could I..."

Eggman thinks it over for a moment, then sighs, "Oh, why not. Just for a few seconds though, you really do have to get going."

And so creator and creation hug, while what's left of the main crew says goodbye to their (technically if you don't count Bob's weird "actually centuries old" thing) eldest member, as well as to Shroomy, who decides to stay behind to continue his guide services, as well as look after Juliano, Eggman and Peach in case Drako Piranha comes back with a vengeance.

As the airship drifts above the waters of Lily's Zone, Eggman stands near the helm checking something on his tablet, "...Alright, if the Wonder Detector I rigged up is working properly, we should be approaching the drop point soon."

"Roight sir, Oy'll get us ready then." Bomberto then raises his voice, "All hands, prepare ta switch ta aquatic mode!"

As the minions and Badniks get to work and the ship slowly descends, Kamek addresses the main group (or at least the ones that are there. Tari's understandably still belowdecks and Toadsworth was taking a nap last anyone knew), "Alright, I can only use so many waterbreathing spells before running low on magic, and for some reason I never got around to learning the version you can cast on yourself, so not everyone can be on the away team this time."

Predictably, Toad decides to do a peace-out fade-out immediately.

"...Right. Who else?" he looks over at the kids, where Lil Coding is already glaring in defiance, "Definitely you two, I may not know much about all this code nonsense but I have seen what happens if you two get wet."

"Seriously? You can make people breathe underwater and turn an entire kingdom into a disco dance party but you can't make two kids waterproof for a few hours?"

"Even Boopkins can make people breathe underwater, sonny, and the disco spell took a lot of preparation and an external power source, plus it was technically a meme. To make you waterproof even temporarily I would have to bypass a fundamental flaw in the foundation of your code, and in case you hadn't noticed, I'm not a computer programmer!"

Coding looks like he's about to argue further, but SMG4 puts a hand on his shoulder and kneels down to look him in the eyes, "Hey, I know your worried about Lily and your Papa. So am I. But I'd really prefer you not get hurt if we can avoid it, and getting mad at Kamek won't change the fact that staying on the ship is the only way to avoid it right now."

He huffs in frustration, then relaxes and hugs his dad, "Just make sure you come back, alright? Don't die or get turned into a fish on me."

"It's a promise."

They pull back apart after a few moments, then Root grabs a still-upset Lil Coding's hand and starts leading him away, "come on, let's go see if Tari's up for playing Mario Kart or something."

Juliano pats 4's shoulder, "I'll keep an eye on them."

"Thanks."

As the ship lands in the water, Kamek looks over the group again, which now consists of SMG4, Mario, Meggy, the Bobowskis, Cubot (who's coming because he doesn't actually need to breathe at all), and Sig, "That's everyone then?"

There's scattered affirmations, and he nods, "Alright then, Cubot's running the Wonder Detector program Eggman made using the Seed we got from Bowser, so he'll be guiding you. This is the Zone we have the least information on, so stay together if you can and keep your wits about you."

After he casts the spell, Meggy looks over the side, "So, do you just throw us overboard, or what?"

A nearby Hammer Bro shakes his head, "Oh, we don't have to do that!" He gestures over to a raised gap in the railing where an Eggpawn pulls a lever that deploys what seems to be a retractable wooden diving board. "We've got a plank!"

"...Sweet." She runs over to it and calls out to 4, Mario and Bob, "Hey guys, rate my dive!"

As she uses the plank as a springboard to fucking leap ten feet in the air and do a bunch of twists and flips while the boys obediently prepare scorecards, Marcy's eye twitches, "Oh goddesses, I'm the Sane One on a Zero Braincell Squad Adventure."

Sig just shrugs, "Eh, can't be worse than a Tuesday back home."

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Soon enough, the whole group is in the water and swimming towards their destination, passing by all sorts of marine life, sunken ruins (some of which are very obviously transformed versions of familiar locations), and the occasional Ocean-related Meme along the way. After they go past versions of Spongebob and Patrick dancing to that one weird lousy cover of Under the Sea, Marcy notices a dark shape out the corner of her eye and turns with sword raised...but nothing's there.

"You alright sis?"

"..." she huffs and goes back to swimming, "Fine. It's just been too quiet around here."

"Yeah, weird that we haven't seen anyone converted yet. Things never go this smoothly for us."

"Hm."

In the back of the group, oblivious to this conversation, Mario dumbly stares at a school of small Cheep-cheeps, "Hey, I'm-a hungry." He swims up behind the fish, mouth open wide, and-

"Mario!" he looks away to see Meggy waving him forward, the group further ahead than before, "Come on, we can't get separated, remember? We'll get something to eat back on the ship."

"Mmm!" he pouts and crosses his arms, then rolls his eyes and swims after her, camera staying focused on the cheep-cheeps "Fine!"

...And then of course he quickly slides back over all sneaky-like and reaches out a hand, "Maybe just one for the road..."

Before he can get his fishy snack or Meggy can notice what he's doing, something long and thin shoots past behind him, and he spins around to see, "Wha?"

Another passes behind him, this time in the foreground, and skewers the fish he'd been trying to grab. He turns again, and now that it's stuck in the fish he can see that it's a silver harpoon-like spear. He grabs it and turns to face the others.

"Uh, guys!?"

The rest of the group looks at his find curiously, then more harpoons come and they quickly dodge. Meggy and the Bobowskis get ready to fight, 4 and Cubot start freaking out, and Sig...well, he looks slightly more focused than usual.

There's a few tense moments as they try to figure out where the attacks are coming from, then Meggy sees something heading towards them, "Over there!"

She fires at the approaching figure, who deflects it with their weapon and reveals themself to be Heavy Squid with green-tinged arms, some vaguely roman-looking armor hastily plastered onto his model, and harpoons sticking out the barrels of his Heavy Splatling, "Oh no..."

He's just the first of several similarly armored, aquatically redesigned characters to appear, and soon the group's being swarmed. They do their best, with Meggy and the twins displaying their usual skill, Mario being Mario, Sig alternating between throwing out spells and smacking people with his demon arm, and SMG4 and Cubot...flailing around pathetically (it's the thought that counts), but they're quickly overwhelmed and captured due to their superior numbers and adaptation to the terrain.

"Hey! What's-a going on here!?"

Heavy Squid calls back over his shoulder, "Admiral! Intruders captured!"

A familiar voice answers, causing the group (besides Sig and Cubot) to gasp in shock, but none louder than 4, "Good work, Captain Heavy. I'll be sure to inform her Majesty of your squad's stellar performance."

The Admiral swims up to meet them...and it's just as they feared.

"SMG3!?"

He points his trident at 4's face, "Quiet, surface dweller! I don't know how you know my name, but as the Admiral of the Undersea Kingdom Royal Guard I am not to be addressed so casually, especially by a mere prisoner. Especially a pathetic scrub like you seem to be."

4 just nervously nods his head and keeps quiet, because how the hell is he supposed to RESPOND to this situation!?

"Now, come. Our queen has ordered us to bring you before her."

And with that, Admiral 3 and his men swim off, roughly dragging the group with along with them.

Cubot chuckles nervously, "Well, at least we're still going the right way..."

Everyone else just groans.

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After a few minutes, they come to a city inhabited by more converted characters. They group can't help but notice that certain parts of it look eerily similar to the abandoned fair equipment in the Showgrounds, which honestly makes sense considering what little they do know about this Zone. Between that and the apparent memory issues of the Undersea Kingdom's inhabitants, 4 has a terrible sinking feeling that's getting worse the closer they get to 3's "queen."

Eventually they get to the castle, which looks almost but not quite recognizable thanks to how much larger it's become and the new Roman-and-Zora-Inspired Open-Air (or water) design, though amusingly the hat-shaped roof is still intact. They're led to what's supposed to be 4's room and is now an open-air throne room with his desk chair converted into an empty throne too large for any human, let alone the child they're expecting by now, and the group is forced to kneel in the center of the room by their captors (apart from Cubot since he doesn't have any legs, so he's just forced to stop floating) while 3 takes a position to the right of the throne.

"The queen will decide your fate when she arrives, surface dwellers. Pray to whatever gods you have that she is merciful."

A few moments later, a green goomba with a fancy hat enters the room and blows into a conch shell, which ends up sounding like a trumpet, "Presenting her royal Majesty, Sovreign Ruler of the Undersea Kingdom, Queen Sonata!"

A massive, but still rather young-looking, green-and-blue mermaid swims in from behind her throne and sits down.

Mario leans over to 4 and whispers, "Well, we wanted to know if she was okay. Can't get much better than 'Literally Royalty'."