As Doopliss and Ludwig slipped away into the pipe with the unconscious Karma, Popple and Luigi glared at each other fiercely. Luigi rocked back on his heels and bolted forward, straight at the Shadow Thief. Popple back flipped over Luigi's charge and pushed off the plumber's head, flying into the air. Popple spun in Luigi's direction and rocketed downward like a missile, smashing into Luigi's back. The plumber howled in pain as he somersaulted into the pipe face first.
Luigi twitched, and then just lay, dazed. Popple grinned, but his victory wasn't long lasting. He was toppled over by Mario, who tackled him from the behind and started striking him relentlessly. Popple was beat up like a plush toy, but soon took too much damage. Fearful of his condition, he flung Mario off him by rolling backwards. Mario tumbled, but got on one knee and used the momentum to bullet forward. Popple saw this coming and dodged with ease. As Mario returned to his stance, Popple ran forward and grabbed Mario’s legs. Mario was unprepared, so he fell to the cold soil with a loud thud. Popple slipped Mario's hat off his head and stuck his tongue out in victory. Mario sat up with an angry face, rubbing the wound from Karma on his chest. Popple jumped onto the pipe and was about to make his escape, but his shoe was grabbed by something. It was Luigi!
The younger brother flung Popple across the yard, making him collide with the stairs. Popple rubbed his ankle, which was apparently bruised. Luigi and Mario walked up to The Shadow Thief with unmerciful faces. Popple gripped the hat furiously, not wanting his hard work done in. He had come way too far to lose now. Just as Mario was going to deliver the finishing strike, Popple uppercut him and front-flipped upward. A dazed Mario fell to the ground, apparently taken off guard. Luigi helped Mario up, and turned to Popple. Once again, he charged in, and Popple was ready again. He jumped upward, leaving Luigi on a collision course for the stairs. Luigi hit head on and doubled over, down for good.
Popple turned his attention back to Mario, and told him he was going to kill him. Mario leered at him, entering his stance once again. Popple warned him that he didn't make idle threats, and drew back into his own stance. For a good minute, they merely glared at each other, trying to psyche their enemy out. Popple finally blinked, and as soon as his eyes opened, and saw Mario charging at him with great speed! The Bean shuffled backwards, and when Mario was at arm's length, they locked hands. Popple tried to overpower his adversary, but Mario seemed to have the upper hand. He twisted Popple's hands downward, making him screech in agony. He fell to his knees, while Mario showed no intent of mercy. Popple squinted, and the faint image of Mario's shoes came into view. While his hands were being crushed, he swept Mario's left leg with a swift kick to the ankle. Mario's leg gave and he toppled over, releasing his grip on Popple.
The Shadow Thief looked at Mario pitifully, and then looked at the hat gripped in his hands. He’d done it. He had really stolen the hat! He turned tail and stood at the foot of the pipe, watching Mario stagger to his feet. Mario wiped the blood off his mouth and stared at Popple curiously. He broke the gaze and rolled Luigi onto the top of the stairs. Mario then turned to Popple and started to sprint towards him. Knowing this was the time for escape, Popple jumped and dove backwards into the pipe. Mario quickly followed behind him, his determination to get his hat back unwavering.
While Popple and Mario raced towards Toad Town, Ludwig and Doopliss were carrying Karma near the item shop, huffing after every step. By the time they reached the dojo, they were completely tuckered out. They sat underneath the stairway and rested. The two set Karma down on a bit of soft grass and sighed. Doopliss started to worry about Popple, seeing as he was alone against Luigi. He HAD taken Waluigi, his army, and not to mention himself, down in the Sarasaland battle, so he was a tough match. Doopliss looked at Ludwig, who was working on some smelling salts to awake Karma. Doopliss gagged at the smell, but asked Ludwig if he thought Popple would make it out alive. Ludwig had a reassuring look on his face and said he would be fine. Doopliss smirked, but still had that gut feeling something was wrong. The Duplighost muttered aloud that things probably couldn't get any worse, and just as he finished his sentence, lightning illuminated the sky while thunder screeched, and it started to downpour. Ludwig gave him a sour Why-did-you-just-jinx-us look, and then continued fiddling with his concoction. Doopliss stuck his tongue out, looking playful and spiteful at the same time.
Ludwig made the finishing touches on the smelling salts, and lay them under Karma's Yoshi nose. Instantly the hybrid awoke coughing and holding her snout, her eyes watering over the smell. Ludwig sighed with relief as Karma rubbed her eyes slowly. She had asked what happened, and Doopliss explained that Mario tripped her and she hit her head pretty hard. Karma cursed and showed her razor sharp teeth, angry at the plumber. Ludwig was equally as mad for Mario hitting a girl, especially Karma, but showed no signs of it. She noticed Popple wasn't around, so the hybrid asked Ludwig about him. The prince was about to start, but then he heard footsteps running down the street. He quieted his partners and emerged from under the outdoor staircase, alert of his surroundings.
He peered around, and saw two silhouettes sprinting down the street with a cloud of dust behind them. One seemed to be chasing the other, and right on his tail. Without even letting the silhouettes come into view, Ludwig knew it was Popple, and told Karma and Doopliss in a half-whisper, half-yell kind of voice. While Doopliss and Karma ran out to see, and as Ludwig said, it was Popple, and he was being pursued... by Mario? Didn't he get knocked out when Ludwig threw him into the woods? Ludwig pondered the thought for a moment, but shook his head, knowing it was unimportant. He told Doopliss and Karma to make a break for the castle from earlier, and started a run towards Popple. Karma and Doopliss tried to stop him, knowing they would be separated, but Ludwig failed to listen. They started to run towards Pleasant Path, while Ludwig ran back to help The Shadow Thief escape alive.
Ludwig ran down the streets of Toad Town while Popple did the same in the opposite direction. Eventually, the two crossed paths, and Ludwig told him he was going to fend off Mario. It all came out too quickly to be understandable, though. He doubted Popple comprehended it, but he knew he noticed him. The Shadow Thief gave him a high five (or in this case, a high paw) and ran, fading into the darkness. Ludwig then set his sights back on Mario, who was charging towards him. Ludwig was about to closeline him when Mario jumped clean over his head! Ludwig skidded to a halt and looked back, awestruck. How does he do that?!
While Ludwig swore angrily to himself, he heard footsteps sprinting down the street. Ludwig got into a fighter's stance and looked in all directions. He couldn't quite tell where they were coming from, since it was raining, but knew they were getting close. Ludwig turned pale, and got a feeling like he was about to be murdered violently. He shivered, but deepened his stance even further, awaiting for something to strike. Just when he felt a bit more comforted, Ludwig was swept onto the ground quickly. Luckily, he caught himself before he fell by using his hands like springboards, and did a front handspring. The prince turned to see none other than Luigi! He was draped in fresh blood, and a big bruise covered his cheek. He hadn’t seen these wounds on Luigi before he left, so he assumed Popple did it... Wow, these plumbers were tenacious!
While Luigi and Ludwig duked it out back in Toad Town, Doopliss, Popple, and Karma all fled towards the castle with Mario hot on their trail. Popple had caught up to the two and they regrouped, and silently rejoiced when Popple flashed Mario's hat. When the castle came into view, Doopliss ran up ahead, sprinting into the "courtyard". He pulled the rusty doors open, and rushed his two comrades inside. They all heaved the doors shut and barricaded it with some wood lying around, leading to Mario knocking brutally. All three of them sighed in unison and slid down the door. They lay eyes on the two giant staircases and the big pool from before, and talked amongst each other. Ignoring Mario's barbaric behavior, Popple pulled out Mario's hat and spun it on his finger. The fabled fabric seemed to dance in their eyes, congratulating them on a theft well done.
Outside in the freezing rain, Ludwig and Luigi clashed fists and legs, matching each blow. Both of them were extremely fatigued, but still kept their ultra-fast pace. Finally, after another minute of seemingly-endless fighting, Luigi broke their trance by fleeing. Ludwig was enraged by this and followed closely behind, trying to pounce on the plumber with every chance he got. Soon, their run led onto Pleasant Path, where the freezing rains blinded them both. They ran forward, completely unaware of their surroundings. When they reached the castle, Luigi heard Mario demanding the thieves open the door, so he started to run faster. Ludwig knew Luigi was planning to help Mario, so he used every last ounce of energy he had to catch up to Luigi and tackle him. He was successful, but the two tumbled towards Mario like a giant wrecking ball. Mario was flattened, Luigi was knocked out once again, and Ludwig's body smashed the door down, making the three inside gasp in horror.
The bandits, who were concerned for Ludwig, ran over to his aid. He had a normal pulse, and only bled a bit from his snout. Once again, Karma splashed some water from the indoor moat on his face to awake him, and was successful. He slowly opened his eyes and let out a groan. He got up on his feet and rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his vision. When he realized his friends were in front of him, he smirked. Popple gave Ludwig Mario's prized hat, and the prince sighed. They had come this far, and finally done it. He held the hat high into the rains with a look of triumph in his eyes. Little did they know that this victory was to be a farce...
To Be Continued...
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