Chapter 14: Questions and Answers

Riba came back to. The Memory Fragment was gone, just like last time. Riba didn't scream. He didn't cry. He just stared at the floor. Empty.

"Riba?" Luigi asked after a few seconds, breaking the silence. "Are you okay?"

"I'm... fine," Riba muttered, narrowing his eyes. He couldn't believe it. That girl--- Edith--- looked just like Elizabeth Addington, his first wife. This meant many things. The jewelry he had bought from Len and given to Edith, Spot, and his daughters must have reiterated them... good lord... his daughters, Vanity and Vanilla looked just like Anna and Serina, his kids with Elizabeth and Alice respectively. Meaning he had been reunited with them already.

This meant that they were still out there somewhere! And Len may know where. But Riba couldn't get ahead of himself. Mario came first. "Len, where is the next fragment?" Riba asked. He looked to Len, but beyond the bandages and wounds... she wasn't looking too well. She appeared sickly. Her skin was veiny, her eyes appeared foggy, and she was shaking. "Len, are you feeling okay?"

"Riba..." Len sniffled. Riba ran over, as Luigi looked over to the both of them.

"What is it?" Riba asked.

"Whatever you saw at the end of that fragment..." Len coughed. "It wasn't supposed to happen. It wasn't supposed to happen at all."

"What are you... talking about?" Riba asked.

"It's already starting, Riba. That wasn't in the fragment last I checked," Len whimpered. "The person who is affecting the past, and the fragments--- that was them. The one who killed you."

Riba gasped. Suddenly, everything made a little more sense.

This is what you deserve.

You don't know it yet, but you tricked me, you made me think you were my friend.

You are just another obstacle in my way to revenge. Die.

It won't be long now.

A cold chill ran down Riba's spine. "They said it wouldn't be long now," Riba stated. "What do they mean?"

"I don't know," Len whispered. She slowly got to her feet, shaking. "But---" she inhaled through her teeth. Whatever was happening to her--- it must have been painful. "I feel like something big is coming," Len said. Her breath was cold, and you could see it as if it were winter. Just like when they had truly met in that alleyway. "The gods are angry with me. I can tell... that's why I appear so ill. I'll die soon unless we find the fragments, and even then--- I don't know if they'll forgive me enough to let me live."

"Well then, we just have to finish our quest before that happens!" Riba shouted. "I told you I'd help you. I'm not going to break a promise like that ever again!" Len looked up at him.

"I guess we should get going then," Len whispered. "Although, I don't know if you'll like where we have to go next."

"Where?" Riba asked. He knew he wouldn't like the answer. In fact, he already had an inkling of where they must go.

Len remained quiet for a few seconds. "The mansion."

BA-BOOM! Went the thunder, lagging behind after a flash of lightning. An engine pushing its limits could be heard in the distance, as a car sped through a path on the border between the Mushroom and Cap Kingdoms.

"I'm sorry, this is as fast as she goes!" Luigi cried, a sense of urgency in his voice, driving his Standard Kart with a basket in the back to hold Riba and Len. Len's condition had only worsened since they left the castle. She had so many nosebleeds since they left the castle, her hair now appeared gray at the ends, and she had grown a few wrinkles on her, before, smooth young face. "Which way?"

"Take a right here!" Riba cried. Luigi drifted against the path so hard that he almost spun out. The rain making the path wet and slippery wasn't helping. "Oi! Be careful!" Riba had almost fallen out of the basket, along with Len whom he held in his arms.

"A hundred apologies," Luigi whimpered. They could see it now. Aduraice Mansion. "This place does not bring back the best memories for me." Luigi looked back on when he was stabbed by Mario here. He pulled over by the gate.

"Me neither," Riba sighed. He recalled the years he spent trapped inside that place. "But we have to go back in. It's our only chance to save Len." Riba just hoped this Memory Fragment would reveal to him the identity of the monster doing this. So that they could be stopped.

They hopped out of the car. Riba ran over to the front gate. That gate was imposing for all the wrong reasons. He shoved it open with one arm while carrying Len in the other. Once inside the front yard, he ran through the door. Strange. It was almost like someone had pried it open with a crowbar. A crowbar... Riba winced.

"Len, direct me to the fragment," Riba instructed.

"Last I was able to check, it was in that room," Len whispered, her voice a husk. She was pointing towards the door to the bedroom Riba had shared with Alice. Riba ran up the stairs, and swung the door open.

Only to see... a little girl with dark blue hair and a white dress walking towards them. She was tinted red, just like other spirits whose color Riba could see with his special glasses. Red was bad, and blue was good.

If you met a red ghost... you were in trouble. Riba jumped back. Len had a look of fright on her face, and Luigi screamed. One of the spirits of the house! Riba still couldn't remember if she was a member of the Aduraice family or not. He couldn't even remember her name.

"Hello, Riba," the girl greeted. "I'm sooo happy you're back to play!"

"Agh--- get away... you!!" Riba shouted. The girl looked dismayed.

"Ah. You do not want to play a game?" The girl asked. Riba took another step backward. "Well, that's too bad. You don't have a choice!" The girl began to transform, giving Riba time to run. Looking behind him, the girl had transformed into a large Clubba, but orange with a spiky shell and red bow tie.

She ran forward at him at incredible speeds, and Riba tried his best to outrun her. He had just made it down the staircase when she tackled him. He dropped Len and she went tumbling on the floor.

Riba felt the spirit dragging him back, as if he was as light as a Cape Feather. Luigi reached for him, but he was knocked back with a kick. Luigi hit the wall and slid down, unconscious.

"What a funny looking man," she insulted Luigi. "You remind me of another man who came through here before. He was tall, wore purple, and said something about saving some missing people... and I think his name was Wuigi or something. Oh, what fun he was! But, he's gone now. So he doesn't really matter. Bye-bye!"

"You monster!" Riba shouted, as he was taken into the library room. She locked the door behind her, still holding Riba up like a trophy.

"Oh, cease your incessant complaints," she groaned.

"What are you going to do to me?" Riba asked, as the spirit transformed back into her true form, the girl from before. Despite not having much muscle mass, she could still hold him without even having her arm shake.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions," the girl answered. "With the help of a contraption I cooked up in your absence!" It was a kind of metallic panel. She put Riba up to it, and he stuck to it like a fridge magnet. Riba tried and tried to pull free, but he couldn't.

"The spirits in this house are all so weak-minded," the girl cackled. "Instead of just glooming around all day, doing nothing but wallowing in your misery, why not better your mind and broaden your horizons? I've taken to the wonderful art of robotics. And because of it, I finally get to have some answers from you!"

Riba struggled some more. "Don't try to break free," the girl warned. "If you try that, or answer one of my questions wrong, I'll have raw energy from this glowing orb thing I found in the bedroom a while ago rush through your body, with a press of this button!"

Glowing... orb thing? Could it be a Memory Fragment? She held up a doo-dad with two buttons on it. One was red, with the other one green. "So I guess we should start."

Riba looked her in the eyes. This girl was insane! "Why did you leave me all alone? I had such fun playing with you before," She asked. Riba was taken off guard by this question. He vaguely remembered that every time he encountered her, she treated him like some kind of plaything. Like a toy. This was all a game to her. He tried his best to answer.

"Because I'm not your friend. I'm not your toy," he answered.

"Wrong," she said. She pressed the red button. Riba felt something stronger than electricity rush through his body, coming out of the panel he was stuck to. He couldn't think to do anything but scream, as his body was engulfed in a red surge of something with the same consistency as pure unfiltered lightning.

After what felt like hours, but must have only been half a minute, the electrocution stopped when the girl pressed the green button. Riba's screams of agony died down. Until he was breathing heavily and shakily in fear. He couldn't bring himself to speak.

"Well, that should be good for now," the girl said, calmly. "I don't want to kill you just yet." Riba felt tears come from his eyes again. He was going to die here. Nobody was here to save him. The tears then ran down his face. "Now then... what are you?"

"I'm a demon," Riba replied, looking down in shame.

"Very good," the girl said. She did not press the red button. "Okay, last question..." Riba looked up at her, sweating profusely. "What is my name?"

This question hit Riba like a Bullet Bill. He didn't know. He remained silent for a few seconds. "The clock is ticking, Riba," she warned. Damn! One more surge of that stuff may kill him. Riba looked at her. He had no idea what her name was. He thought of something, anything. He then realized her finger was nearing the button. He spat out the first word that came to mind.

"Helvetica!" He shouted. The girl looked up at him, confused. Had he guessed right...?

"Wrong," she said, grinning. She pressed the button, and Riba shut his eyes tight.

Okay. Breathe. Be calm, Riba. There's a way out of this. There's always a way out. These words sped through Riba's mind. There was a way out. The surge came again, but Riba didn't scream. It was painful, sure, but he held the pain close to him. He would take on the pain to find the answers. He was no longer afraid.

He listened to the beat of his heart, coupled with the surge of the electricity-like force. It was kind of like a second heart beat. Like morse code. As Riba listened to the surges, a grainy black and white picture came up in his head. Enveloping his vision.

"Riba, dear!" Alice's voice cried. She sounded as if she was in distress.

"Alice!" Riba cried. He ran over to her. She had a sort of dark uncolored liquid coming out of her mouth. At least, it appeared uncolored in the grayscale image. Just as everything else did. "Alice, you're---!"

"It's happening again, Riba," Alice whimpered. "Please, my love... help me. Make it go away." She choked as the liquid, which was probably blood, flooded out of her mouth.

"You know I can't do that," Riba sighed. Alice looked at him in desperation. "The best thing you can do is take your medicine. I know it won't save you, but it will extend your life."

"The medicine doesn't help, Riba!" Alice cried, tears running down her face as she jumped forward and embraced Riba. Riba grunted. It wasn't clear if it was because of anger or surprise. "It makes me act differently, it makes me see and hear things that aren't there. I see Marchionne, I see all the Evangelistis! They haunt me, Riba. Please make it stop."

"I can't," Riba apologized, returning his expression to one of false sympathy. Then, he had an idea. A sinister idea. He grinned, as Alice still had her eyes closed. "But you know what I can do?" He asked.

Alice sniffled. "What?"

"There's an old legend that speaks of a demon named Terrormisu," Riba stated, a glint in his eye. "She has the power to grant wishes. In exchange for a hefty price. Tell me, Alice. What is your greatest wish?"

"I want to live forever by your side, Riba!" Alice cried. "I want it more than anything!"

Riba looked down at her. "You say you want it more than anything. Do you want it more than your friends?" Riba asked.

"Yes."

"Family?"

"Of course!"

"Then you should have no trouble..." Riba muttered. "...Killing everyone in this house but me in exchange for eternal life with me, right?"

"W-what?" Alice asked.

"Well of course," Riba replied. "Terrormisu will only give you her gift of the Wishstone, to grant your wish, in exchange for many human sacrifices. Such was the tale of Poobah the pharaoh and what would soon become the Sand Kingdom because of his wish." Riba may have fibbed here, as the Sand Kingdom (as would later become common knowledge) was actually built off the ruins of Poobah's Desert Kingdom.

"He had his kingdom slowly starve in exchange for wealth and riches. You will have your family quickly murdered in exchange for eternal life with the one you love." Riba said. He chose to leave out the part where Terrormisu leveled the Desert Kingdom, and stole Poobah's riches. "It's generous of Terrormisu that she's letting you get away with just that."

"I don't want to," Alice whined.

"You must," Riba insisted. "It's the only way for us to be together forever."

"What if Terrormisu betrays us?" Alice asked. "You're the only nice demon I've ever met... although you're the only demon I've ever met."

"It's okay," Riba answered. "If Terrormisu tries to hurt you, I'll beat her back to Hell."

"Are you stronger than Terrormisu?" Alice asked.

"Yes. This may come as a shock to you, but I am actually the devil," Riba replied.

"Are you really?" Alice asked.

"I don't like to talk about it. Take this," Riba said, holding up a red and yellow pill of some kind. Alice almost gagged just from the sight of it. "It's not one of your pills for the illness, it's a state-of-the-art Megavitamin. I got it from a doctor back when I traveled to Rogueport. It should make you more rational, and it will help you understand that this is for the best."

"But I can't---!" Alice complained. Riba then forced the Megavitamin into her mouth, and down her throat. She swallowed it, and her face scrunched up. It tasted awful, and it burned a little going into her throat, but then... all the pain eased. In fact, she couldn't even feel Riba's warmth on her body. She couldn't feel anything. She looked up to Riba.

"Now what will you do?" Riba asked.

Alice began to giggle, then it broke out into full-on laughter. "I will... kill everyone I know and love!" Alice laughed. "Gather their souls, offer them to Terrormisu, so I can be with the man of my dreams!"

"Good girl," Riba replied, snickering.

The Memory Fragment ended its course. It fizzled out of existence, rendering the machine useless!

Riba fell off of the panel, back to the floor, back in the present moment. He looked to the girl. He brandished his machete, and she looked at it with fear. "Whoa, Riba!" She exclaimed. "P-put that thing down! I---!" Riba took a step forward. He knew as long as this person was around, he, Len and Luigi would be in grave danger. So he would drive her away. The girl ran away, and disappeared into a wall. "This isn't the last you'll see of me, you devil!"

Riba watched her run away. Coward. He needed to check up on Len and Luigi, and make sure they were okay. He unlocked the library door, and ran out.