Chapter 8: The Underground Maze
Mario and Link got out the portal to find themselves underground. In the cave system, both of the heroes knew where they were at, An Underground Maze. Link was already saddened by the fact that the Princess Zelda that he once knew and protected is now dead, and just another one of Ganon's minions, along with the fact that Pikachu was captured by her, as he already become good friends with the Pokemon. Mario told Link that they should not get distracted too much by the past, and try to navigate the maze, suggesting they may have to face off against more monsters made up of Shadow Bugs. Link agrees, and he said that they hope they can reunite with Pikachu at the very least. Mario said that he wishes for the same, but notes that it may not be guaranteed, as he says that there might be more realities than grains of sand in the desert. Link was upset, but realized Mario is being realistic about the situation they are in, so they decided it would be best to try to stick together.
They worked together, but they know there is a goal they have to head toward that will bring them to another world, as they would see on a map that has it in a somewhat nonlinear fashion. So they went through the turns, but were faced by the Fighting Alloy Team. They seem to serve as a test rather than actually being evil and corrupted by the Shadow Bugs. They dealt with traps like the Bumpers, but were able to make it to the goal. The two just saw this as a setback, as they would even notice some writings on the walls that seem to be in Latin, one that Link does not seem to notice what it stands for as it's unfamiliar to him, in addition to Mario. Then the Happy Mask Salesman came out of nowhere, freaking out the two. Link was angry that he told the H.M.S. not to sneak up on them as they both thought that he was another one of the Fighting Alloys. The H.M.S. apologized for this, and simply wished to tell them something about the door, as he said that he won't help them out of the maze this time around.
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He would say that the door that the duo are aiming for leads to another reality where it's a bit more darker than theirs, and says it's like Mario's home world of Earth, but different and in a timeline that is not the modern age. And he would later say that an ally will occur there who does not know that the Corruption is happening, but knows that his adversary is having big plans on invading the entirety of his world, as the H.M.S. requested for the two to help him out. Link then spoke through his silent nature of what text even say. The H.M.S. grinned saying that now is not the time to tell, but he will know in time, as the man disappeared into nothingness. Mario and Link looked at each other for a moment, but they decide that they should just continue on, believing that there might Primids coming from the other side.
After fighting more Fighting Alloys, they would reach the goal, a wide red door with black markings. Mario was a bit scared about what they might face, but Link told the plumber that it's important to have courage to face these obstalcles that they might have to fight. Mario knew that Link was right in that regard, so they prepared to face what’s on the other side to see a village. They went in there hoping it had not been infected with Shadow Bugs so they went through, as the portal shut off. The duo started to talk to some of the villagers there, and many spoke of a great vampire known as Dracula who amassed a large army of monsters, demons, and worst of all for them, ghosts. They both had a bad feeling, especially with both their experience with ghosts, but were at least relieved as the villagers were peaceful and allowed them to rest as they greeted them. Maybe it was not that bad after all, but the two had to face against Dracula, something that neither of them desired, with the ghost situation, but decided that it would be better if they helped these people out anyway just out of the goodness of their hearts.