Matt stopped, because for the first time, he managed to sense someone sneaking up on him that always gave him the slip before.

"What's wrong?" Hugo asked, as Helena walked up next to Matt.

Matt slung a thumb over his shoulder. "Arikado's behind us, isn't he?" He turned around, and sure enough-

"You're getting better," Arikado said, sliding his porcelain hands into his pockets. He stood only a few inches away from R.D., almost shadowing the group. "I shouldn't be surprised, considering who you are."

R.D. and Alasea both twitched away from Arikado as he made his presence known, and if Ileyna wasn't awake then, she was now.

"You like doing that, don't you?" R.D. asked, giving the man a flat look, though he doubted he'd get an answer.

"I came to see you off," Arikado said, completely ignoring R.D.'s remark as expected. "And to give you a warning."

"Always a catch," Matt said with a smirk. "What's the warning? That things 'aren't exactly as they appear'?"

"Yes."

What, really? He was just messing around with that one. If Arikado said it was true...well, then it couldn't be a joke. "What do you mean?"

"Have you met your evil duplicate yet?" Arikado asked. "I've fought him."

Well, that certainly got their attention.

"Malvettix was here?!" Alasea exclaimed, eyes going wide in surprise.

Matt took a step closer to Arikado, lingering on Getting In His Face. "When did you fight Malvettix?"

Arikado didn't flinch. "A few months ago. After Soma cleansed the power of chaos from his soul, I watched over him along with the church. Then Malvettix appeared. At first, I was surprised that he looked just like you, but after I confronted him, he explained everything."

Matt cleared his throat. "Did he mention that I was, ah...indisposed at the time?"

"Yes. Because you were gone, he explained that he was interested in studying how different creatures reacted to his fear abilities, and Soma was his next subject. Very childlike in his curiousity, actually."

"That's funny," R.D. said sourly, his expression darkening. "A couple nights after everything went down, he approached me with a truce to help stop the creatures overrunning our own world."

"Now that Matt's back, though," Alasea said quietly. "He won't care about any of it anymore..."

"I have a feeling he's after something more than just information," Arikado said. "Perhaps this Omega Essence you're collecting."

"Wouldn't surprise me," Hugo said. A sentiment Matt had to echo.

Arikado turned around to leave. "Stay alert," he said. "I don't think he's acting alone."

Before Arikado could disappear into the village again, R.D. called his attention. "You wouldn't happen to have come across a monster named Re-Tuul, would you?" he asked.

"I heard the story from Julius," Arikado said, without facing R.D.. "I also don't think he's acting alone. Maybe he's cooperating with this Malvetiix."

"Just what we need. The copy and the eyeless freak working together," R.D. muttered bitterly. His hand clenched hard, causing the fabric of his glove to creak violently.

"We'll be careful," Matt said. "Just keep Soma safe, all right?"

Arikado turned his head, glanced back at the group without even noticing the snow hanging on his shoulders. "As long as I can draw a breath, I will shield him from all evil."

Matt nodded. "See ya around." Even though, like last time, he wasn't sure if they'd cross paths again. Arikado didn't answer - he just turned his head back and walked off, deeper into the drizzling white mist.

They waited several more moments before R.D. finally retrieved the Great Serpent's Scale, which was already glowing, ready to be used--it was as if it had sensed their accomplishment, and knew it was time to move on. "Let's just get the hell out of his crazy town," R.D. said as he lifted it up.

They braced themselves as the Gateway was spun into existence, flinging snow everywhere as it did, Alasea raised a finger to her lip, looking pensive. "You know, it just doesn't feel right without Talbain here to rough Matt up some," she remarked.

"I got smashed into a wall," Matt said. "You'll live."

"Yeah, I suppose I will," Alasea said, grinning a bit. "Let's get going, shall we?"

R.D. nodded once, and the others began shuffling into the Gateway. He looked back, taking one last look at Celia's castle, framed by the light of the moon. The clock tower and its counterpart were still smoking from his battle with Dario. With that last look, he joined the others through the Gateway.

They hurtled through the prismatic Gateway. Matt was used to the nausea by now - he kept his lunch intact by focusing on the light at the ending, swelling larger and larger to engulf them all.

As he broke free from the light, he briefly saw the cloudless sky, castle battlements rising high to touch it. Then the grass. The grass that was quickly zooming up to meet him. Not this time! Matt shot out his hands to catch his fall, pushing against the ground to flip over in the air, landing squarely on his feet.

"And lo," he cried out, "I am AWESOME."

And as if the Multiverse was out to spite him, the others were quickly spat out of the Gateway. "Look out!" Alasea yelled as she plummeted. Luckily, like Matt, she righted herself and landed unsteadily, forced to take several steps to regain her balance. She stopped only feet away from Matt. "Heh," she made a nervous giggle.

Ileyna was not so lucky.

"Aaah!" The girl crashed hard into Alasea's back, knocking her forward. The momentum carried as she crashed into Matt's back, and down they all went.

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-" Matt shouted, before his curse word was unceremoniously smothered by flying bodies.

"That could've gone better," Hugo remarked, sandwiched in Helena's arms, Helenaq herself lodged between Ileyna and R.D..

"Sorry, Matt," Alasea said sheepishly as she extracted herself from the dogpile.

"Everyone still alive?" R.D. asked, helping Helena and Ileyna up onto their feet so Matt could remove himself from the ground.

"I hate ALL OF YOU!" Matt said dramatically, shaking his fist.

"His mouth works," Hugo reported. "He's fine."

Matt pushed himself up off the ground, the soft grass rustling against his fingers. Now that he was back up, he took his moment to look around - they appeared to be in a large castle courtyard, surrounded by pleasant walls trimmed with regal purple. "Okay...where are we now?"

"Somewhere that's going to get us in trouble, I think," R.D. said as he looked about. He was expecting the castle guard to show up any moment now. "We should probably stay on our guard."

Sure enough, a group of tiny figures ran towards them across the courtyard, breaking off from their duties of guarding the main doors into the castle itself. "Intruders!" one of them shouted in a squeaky voice.

Wait a minute. Matt squinted at the figures, covering his eyes to block out the sun. The little guards ran at them on stubby, tiny feet, and though they brandished spears and wore crisp brown jackets, he recognized what they were from their mushroom-shaped heads and beady eyes. "Are those...the things we got turned into a long while back?"

"I... think so," R.D. said, sounding a little confused.

"What... are those?" Ileyna asked timidly, looking out from behind Helena.

Matt held out his arm in front of the group. "I'll take care of this." He held up his hands as the mushroom guards approached, spears glinting. "Hail, friends! We come in peace!"

"It doesn't look like us and it's talking!" one of the guards said. "Start stabbing it!"

Matt scootched to the side as a spear flew in, the tip barely missing the mark of his ribcage. "Stop stabbing it!" he said, yanking the spear out of the guard's hand and snapping the little thing in half with a crack.

"A mediator, you are not," R.D. muttered as he stepped forward. "Oi! Knock it off! We're not here to fight!"

"Then what do you want?" another guard said, moving in front of the mushroom that got disarmed.

Hugo tapped Helena's claw with his pickaxe, and she put him on the ground. "We're here to see Mario and Luigi," he said. "Do you know where we can find them?"

"Everyone comes here to see Mario and Luigi," the guard said. "Everyone says they're friends with Mario and Luigi. What makes YOU so different?"

"Well, they KINDA look like they're related to Mario and Luigi." another guard remarked. "I mean, look at them. They're...tall!"

"... please tell me that's not the only similarity you see," R.D. muttered exasperatedly.

Alasea stepped forward, holding her hands up in a placating manner. "Look, we don't mean any harm," she said. "We met Mario and Luigi and the Princess in Beanbean Kingdom. These two guys here stopped Cackletta from taking over. Surely you've heard about that."

The guard who was disarmed nodded vigorously. "I heard about that! It was you who fought them off?"

"If you ask Mario and Luigi, they'll tell you the whole story," Matt said. He spread his hands with a friendly smile. "Sound good?"

"I guess we could see if their story checks out," the mushroom guard who called them tall said.

"Yeah," the more grumpy guard said. "But if they're lying, we'll kick their butt out into the moat!" Something Matt was sure they'd have excessive trouble with, but for now he was willing to play along.

Well, at least that situation's been diffused. "At least our luck's turning," R.D. commented to the others. "We don't need a cover story here either."

"Where are we?" Ileyna asked as they started walking.

"This is Princess Peach's castle," the disarmed guard said. He and the other guards led the group across the courtyard, and Matt could faintly hear birds twittering from the trees clustered in a circle over near the west castle walls, surrounding curly benches and conealing them in shade. "Mario and Luigi come over here all the time."

"It's because the Princess has a thing for Mario," Grumpy Guard said. "Keeps saying her sink is broken. Suuuuuure. And I'm a day-old fungus."

"We met the Princess at the Beanbean Airport," Matt said. "Is she here?"

Friendly Guard sighed. "Not really. She's, uh...well, it's kind of complicated. If Mario and Luigi really do know you, they can fill you in on the story."

"Sounds like trouble," Alasea said, frowning.

"What else is new?" R.D. remarked. "There's always trouble where we go." He turned to the guards. "This complicated situation wouldn't happen to involve a glowing shard of blue glass, would it?"