#nolrem

Instantly, he forgot all about the failed challenge and his upset stomach. "What is it, Skeet? What's happened?"

"It's terrible!" the blue-skinned Flipsidean shouted. "One minute, I was looking up at the tower, the next, there was a girl lying there right in front of me!"

"What? Do you know where she came from?" Merlon asked, paling slightly.

"No idea! But you need to hurry up to the third floor! I think she's hurt pretty bad!" Skeet exclaimed, already going back out the door.

Merlon followed, hot on his heels. Saffron came along as well, eager to help.

The three of them hurried over to the elevator, pushing the button and impatiently waiting as it slowly rose up to the floor above. There, in front of the tower, was a heap of turquoise fabric crumpled on the ground. It was indeed a young woman, and she was quite unconscious.

"Oh dear…" Saffron murmured, brushing the girl's light-brown hair out of her face. She was pale, and very, very thin, her dress pooling loosely around her. Her face was gaunt and worn, dark shadows blooming under her closed eyes. She looked like she'd been to the Underwhere and back again.

Merlon stooped to check her pulse. He was relieved to find it was there, though it was weak. "We need to get her to my house, right away!" he said. But, just as they moved to pick her up, she began to glow. Her expression grew pained, and she whimpered.

"W-What's this?" Merlon gasped, taking a step back.

"She's disappearing…!" Saffron said quietly, her hands covering her mouth in shock.

Unthinkingly, the old sage lunged forward and firmly grasped the girl's hand with both of his. He closed his eyes in concentration, summoning up his energy to determine what spell was affecting this poor soul. The dimensions began to bend around them; he quickly put up a counter-spell to try and reverse it. Gritting his teeth, he strained to combat what was turning out to be a very powerful and dreadful curse.

The girl's hand started to slip from his hold. It wasn't enough, he was already at the end of his strength... But, he couldn't let this happen! He was this town's leader, the people trusted him to protect and guide them! Even though she was a stranger, she was here now, and that meant he had to protect her too!

His concentration nearly broke when, with a resonating chime, a red heart burst from within the white bricks of the dimensional tower. Tinkling, it floated down in front of him, stopping in front of his open-mouthed gaze. Nodding, Merlon took it into his arms, closing his eyes once more. There was a sound like shattering glass, and when he opened them, the girl was solidly there, the power trying to drag her away, gone. Enveloped in the warmth of Flipside's Pure Heart, his fatigue had vanished in an instant.

He gently released the artifact and sent it away back to its hiding place. Wordlessly, Merlon scooped the girl into his fatherly arms, Saffron supporting her legs. Together, they carried her down to the safety of the sage's house.

It wasn't long before someone came knocking on his door. He was relieved to see that it was Nolrem, and not some curious citizen wondering what all the commotion was about.

"Merlon! What was that ruckus just now? Did something happen?" Nolrem yelled the second the door was open.

"Sssh! Come in and I'll explain, but please be quiet," Merlon huffed, stepping aside to let in his counterpart. He led the gray-robed sage into his bedroom, where he had been tending to the mysterious girl.

"Who is this?" Nolrem asked, eyebrows rising in surprise.

"I have no idea. She appeared suddenly and is in a very bad way," Merlon said with worry, sitting down beside the bed to continue bandaging her injuries.

"Hmm." Nolrem came closer and assisted him. It was quiet for a few minutes as they worked, one or the other glowing on occasion when they cast a healing spell to help with the nastier wounds.

"She was under a curse." Merlon's voice was solemn.

Nolrem paused. "What kind?"

"It seemed to be a transportation spell of some sort, but I think it has been rapidly sending her through dimensions. I don't know who would do such a thing, but whoever they are, they are quite powerful. Luckily, with the Pure Heart's power, I was able to break the spell, but…" Merlon placed a hand on her forehead, watching the feeble rising and falling of her chest. "I fear it may be too late for her to recover..."

Nolrem clapped Merlon on the shoulder. "Well, there's no use in giving up. We'll just have to do our best."

Merlon nodded, resolve tightening in his chest. "Yes, indeed…"

Hours later, she opened her eyes while Merlon was trying to coax some water into her. With a startled "Oh!", he stepped back, giving her some space. Her green eyes darted about the room, taking in everything around her. Her face was expressionless, her gaze glassy.

"Hello…" the sage said softly, taking his seat. Her eyes focused on him as he gently grasped her hand. "My name is Merlon. …Can you tell me your name?"

She said nothing. Her breathing hitched a little. She seemed surprised, and yet not surprised at all, to see someone was with her.

Falling silent, Merlon helped her drink some water. He was glad to see a small, grateful twinkle in her eye. He turned to leave, saying, "I'll be back shortly. Let's get some food into you, huh?"

He didn't see the way her expression crumpled. The corner of her lip turned up, as if smiling at some bitter joke.

She spent most of the next couple days unconscious. When she was awake, she didn't move or speak, nearly to the point of being catatonic. She must be traumatized, at any rate. Merlon continued to care for her, Nolrem coming over every so often to check on her but never catching her while she was up.

"I think she's beginning to recover, don't you?" Nolrem said cheerfully, trying to encourage his cousin.

Merlon nodded his agreement, looking intently at his charge. "Yes, though I am deeply worried about what mental state the poor thing is in…"

Nolrem shrugged, helpless to do anything about that. "She still hasn't said anything?"

"No. I'm not sure if she remembers who she is. I cannot imagine being constantly pulled from one place to the next, with no chance to rest. What a terrible fate…"

"It's a wonder it didn't kill her. She must be very strong indeed…" Nolrem rubbed his chin. "I wonder how long she's been suffering for…"

"Years…"

They both jumped at the sound of the weak voice. The girl's eyes were open, looking at them.

"Oh, dear…" Nolrem smiled brightly. "Not to worry! You are safe now."

Her brow furrowed in confusion, her eyes moving from the blue-robed sage to the nearly identical gray one.

Said gray sage chuckled. "You are not seeing double. I am Nolrem, a distant cousin to Merlon. I am glad to finally meet you." He stepped closer. "By the way, do you know what your name is?"

"Nolrem!" Merlon chastised. "Do try to be more delicate!"

Unbothered, Nolrem continued to stare expectantly at her, causing her to gulp dryly. Deflating somewhat, he backed off. "It's alright if you don't know. We'll figure it out later, right?"

"…T-…"

The both of them immediately crowded closer. Merlon held her hand, feeling it tremble as she struggled to speak.

"…T…p…e…"

Her eyes slid shut as her strength waned. She was unconscious again.

Nolrem looked at his counterpart, slightly alarmed. "Did you catch that? I have no idea what she said…"

Merlon frowned, shaking his head. "I am not sure. It sounded something like…Tip something. Tippi?"

"Perhaps that's her name. At any rate, she'll surely give us a strange look if it's wrong," Nolrem said, perking up some.

"I hope so," Merlon agreed. "Let's leave her to her rest, shall we?"

The next time she managed to force her eyes open, she was alone. The room was dark, yet cozy. A faint light came through the curtained window, and a little was leaking through the gap under the door. Hushed voices drifted through from the other room, but it was otherwise quiet. She was glad.

She had been surprised, at first, to find herself still in the same place. It happened though. Often, she went to several places in one day, but sometimes it took longer. Sometimes, there was time to rest, time to get something to drink and eat. The record was just under a week, maybe?

She waited for the familiar tug, the dizziness that would paralyze her body and whisk her away no matter how badly she didn't want to go. It could happen any time now. She knew it would kill her soon. She was strong enough and resourceful enough to survive this long. Her spirit still hadn't quit, but her body could no longer match it.

It was hard to recall the newest people taking care of her. It was all a blur of helpful faces to her. Many times she would appear next to someone, and they had always given her what aid they could. It bolstered her belief that people were good, that the world was good. She only wished there was time to explore and get to know those people. She would have loved to tell him all about them.

His was the one face she could never forget. She closed her eyes and smiled. It made her warm and sorrowful to think of him. Was he looking for her? Had he looked all this time? She knew in her heart that he had. She also knew that he would likely never find her.

A tear trickled down her cheek, landing in her hair.

There was a soft ruffling noise.

Her eyes flew open, her body jolting in shock. A new person had appeared in front of her. They were wearing a lavender and gold jester's outfit, complete with a matching hat and black curly-toed shoes. Their face was covered by a smiling mask, black on one side and white on the other. Their feet weren't touching the ground. Her brow furrowed; was she dreaming?

They came a little closer, looming over her bed. Her heart skipped a beat and sped up, her eyes widening as she realized that they were quite real. Sudden fear left her frozen; this person exuded a cold and malevolent aura, and it was directed at her.

The mask's smile widened into a delighted grin; its yellow and gray eyes gleamed with recognition. Slowly, the being reached a black-gloved hand out towards her. She really should scream now; her eyes were locked on the mask's.

The hand firmly covered her mouth. Her chest heaved with panicked breaths. They leaned down to whisper into her ear.

"Found you."

There was a muffled scream.

The strange man laughed to himself in satisfaction. The book had told him right where to find her; the photograph hidden between its pages spoke volumes.

He snapped his fingers and vanished into thin air with a reticent pinging noise.

A second later, Merlon and Nolrem threw open the door, wildly looking around for the cause of Tippi's cry. No one was there, but she was lying all too still.

Merlon rushed to check her pulse, finding it to be even weaker than it had been when she first got here. He shook his head at Nolrem. "She's…she's not going to make it…"

"What?! I thought she was getting better!" Nolrem gaped.

"She was. What has happened…" No matter how many times he checked her over, he couldn't see anything wrong.

"Then…" Nolrem sighed, wrapping an arm around his cousin's shoulders and turning him away from her. "There's nothing more we can do, it seems. We should…let her go in peace…"

Merlon agreed, but hesitated. There was something inside him, something burning that didn't want to give up. She was important. "I refuse!" He mustered up his strength and started to desperately cast healing spells.

Nolrem watched, but could tell it was useless. The magic wasn't helping her at all. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her bright turquoise dress folded neatly on the seat of a spare chair. They had washed it and mended the rips, waiting for the day she could wear it again.

On top of it was the ruby ribbon that had been in her hair, and a second ruby ribbon that had been tied around the waist of the dress. He had a thought.

He picked up the two ribbons. The hair ribbon had a bendable wire in it; right now, it was bent in the shape of two triangles. He took the other ribbon and made two more triangles, tying the two pieces together with a tight knot. He carefully took it over to Merlon. "There is one thing we can do."

Merlon paused, looking at what his counterpart was holding. He gasped. "It is forbidden, Nolrem!" His tone was dark.

"The secret was passed down to you, right? As far as I can tell, this is the only way we can save her."

The fatherly sage was crying. "It is an evil thing…"

"Go. You will need the Pure Heart's help to do this. It will preserve who she is."

Without another word, Merlon dashed out the door. Nolrem turned to the girl, watching as life faded from her.

By the time Merlon returned with the red Pure Heart, her soul had already left her body. Nolrem was keeping it contained in a bubble of dark magic.

Shivering with sudden rage, Merlon's heart beat fiercely. He put the little ribbon butterfly in a light bubble of his own. The two combined their bubbles, the dark magic threatening to overtake the light. Merlon began to chant words that had not been said in hundreds of years. The Pure Heart throbbed.

White light suffused the ribbon as the soul accepted it as its new vessel. What was once fabric became a being that was digital and yet organic at the same time. It shone with all the colors of the rainbow.

The newly born Pixl drifted gently into the hands of her creator.

She was lying on something soft. She heard the sound of a turning page. Opening her eyes, everything was a blur at first. She blinked a few times to clear her vision.

"Oh ho! Welcome back, my dear…"

She blinked again. There was an old man with an enormous, curly mustache and blue robes looking at her. "Back? Where did I go?"

The man seemed taken aback. He didn't answer her question, instead asking, "How do you feel?"

"Fine… Who am I?"

"Your name is Tippi."

"Tippi..." It didn't sound quite right, but since she didn't know why it didn't, she just accepted it.

"Do you remember anything, Tippi?" the man asked softly.

A smiling two-colored mask. A smooth and melodic voice.

A terrified chill went through her. Her wings shivered.

"It's alright. Perhaps you just need some time to recover," the old man reassured, obviously worried by this.

She was glad to stop thinking about anything from before. Before…what?

She was distracted when the old man set down a small mirror in front of her. She was looking at a rainbow-colored, triangular creature of some sort. It took her a few seconds to realize it was herself. "Oh… That's me?"

"Yes…" His voice had grown solemn. "I'm very sorry, my dear… You were too weak to make it, and this was all that could be done…"

She didn't see what he had to be sorry for. She fluttered her wings, turning towards him. She looked at him more closely, and information about him was suddenly in her head. "You're Merlon… You're descended from the Ancients and are the de facto leader of this town... You toil to decipher the Light Prognosticus and protect the worlds from future destruction... Everyone here puts their trust in you and looks to you for guidance…"

Merlon looked quite startled by this and blushed a smidge. "That's right. How did you know all that?"

She shrugged, or made a motion that resembled a butterfly shrugging. "I'm not sure... It just came to me…"

Merlon rubbed his chin. "It seems that you are an information Pixl, my dear. That is quite the useful ability."

"Oh, ok… What is the Light Prognosticus? It sounds important…" She felt curious about everything around her.

"Ah, it's right here." Merlon spun the nearby open book to face her. "I had a strong feeling that you were very important. As it turns out, your creation is a sign that the Prophecy of the Void is upon us."

The name made her feel cold. "The Void…?"

"It's quite a long story. Are you sure you feel up to hearing it right now? You just woke up, after all." He looked at her skeptically.

"Yes, I feel perfectly fine… I want to know…" Flapping her wings experimentally, she managed to make her way over to Merlon's shoulder and settled there.

"Very well." Merlon turned the book back to the first page, giving her a warm smile. "I will tell you the story of the lost book of prophecies. It is a tale of great tragedy, and a tale of love…"

Happy 11th Anniversary Super Paper Mario! A huge thank you to everyone who had a hand in making the game that has inspired me for years, and for all the artists, writers, and other creatives out there who have also inspired me. And thank you to all my readers, new and old, anonymous and not, for looking at my works and encouraging me.

I'm glad that I was finally able to come up with a satisfying explanation for why Tippi recognizes Dimentio at his first appearance; or at least one that has more depth than "he was creepin' on her and Merlon through their window lol".

I also figured that the red Pure Heart would have a hiding place, too. If Merlon just carried it around with him, someone could simply mug him and take it :P