“Goodbye” Cardinal said as he tightened the grip of the tendril that was wrapped around Mr. Park's head. Mr. Park squirmed and kicked his legs as his TV began to creak as the metal started to bend under the pressure. His screen started to crack as his eyes began to dart around, trying to find something that could help him. He tried to grab and claw at the tendril, but it was unmoving as it squeezed harder and harder. Mr. Park tried to cry out, but his voice was distorted as his TV continued to slowly be crushed.
With one final distorted cry, the TV caved under the pressure, and with a loud crack, Mr. Park stopped moving as his body went limp. Cardinals eyes narrowed in satisfaction at his work as he tossed Mr. Park to the side.
“You were just as easy to break as Mr. Puzzles… I thought you would have given me more of a challenge, dearest brother.” Cardinal said as he turned to walk away. He only took a few steps before he heard the sound of grunting and the sound of creaking metal. His eyes widened as he turned around. He watched as Mr. Park was able to pry off his TV head with some difficulty, but he was still able to get it off. Once he did so, his true head manifested in the TVs place, and Mr. Park took a deep gasp for air as he tried to catch his breath. Cardinal stood there as Mr. Park stared back at him, his body as shaky as his breath as the two stared at each other.
“How…?” Cardinal finally spoke, breaking the silence, causing Mr. Park to flinch. “How the fuck are you still alive?” Cardinal asked as he took another step forward. Mr. Park's face contorted in a mixture of fear and confusion at Cardinals question, not sure if he should answer it or not. However, he decided to answer.
“Why are you so surprised?” Mr. Park asked. “We've always been able to remove our television's… did you think destroying it would kill me?” Mr. Park said as he shifted his body back slightly. Cardinal only continued to stare at him.
Cardinal’s mind kept thinking about the week prior. He had confronted Mr. Puzzles at the gateway that connected the two worlds. He had pierced Mr. Puzzles right through his screen and through his television, and like Mr. Park, his body went limp. He had tossed Mr. Puzzles through the gateway before destroying it, disposing of what he assumed was the carcass of Mr. Puzzles in a world that no one could ever return to, while also preventing anyone from the other world coming through to stop his plans. He assumed Mr. Puzzles was dead for sure. He didn't even think to check before tossing him, but this changed everything. If Mr. Puzzles was still alive, that could mean he could create another gateway from the other side, putting an end to his plans once and for all if he managed to reconnect the two worlds.
Cardinals' eye twitched at this revolution. His breathing grew ragged as his brain was a whirlwind of anger and anxiety. He couldn't let Mr. Puzzles come back, not yet. This couldn't be happening.
Mr. Park, taking advantage of Cardinal’s current state, stood up, taking a few steps back, until he stepped on a shard of glass from his own broken screen. The sound caused Cardinals head to shoot up, as his attention snapped back to Mr. Park. Mr. Park had no time to react before he felt a tendril wrap around his waist. He felt it slither up his chest as it then constricted around his neck.
“You… you are supposed to be dead” Cardinal said as he got closer. “And I'm not leaving here till that's a fact.” He said as he once again started to squeeze Mr. Park, who once again started to squirm. Cardinal watched as several eyes opened on Mr. Park's face, it was clear he was trying to change forms, but his fear was making it difficult to concentrate. “I'm not going to quite till I'm sure you're dead, even if I have to kill you over and over and over-”
“Put Him down!! Now!!” a voice called out from behind Cardinal. It caused him to turn his head and loosen his grip on Mr. Park, however it was still strong enough to make it difficult for Mr. Park to breathe.
“Ohhh..?” Cardinal said as he raised an eyebrow. He saw Galaxy, a puny little Mario clone, no different than the others, an absolutely insignificant insect, or so he thought. As he looked at Galaxy, he could just feel the power radiating off of him. He could see it in his eyes, pool's of stars that radiated a power unknown to Cardinal, yet there was something in the back of his mind that was telling him this was familiar in some strange and dangerous way, that this was not something he should mess with.
“How… peculiar…” Cardinal said. “It looks like you're more special than you let on, little man~” Cardinal said, his voice dripping with an upbeat malice. His eyes narrowed, his plans had already been thrown off course, and this only made things worse. He knew it was in his best interest to back off. Even if it did hurt his pride, he needed to fall back and rethink his plans. He tightened his grip on Mr. Park before he tossed him at Galaxy's feet. Galaxy quickly kneeled down to check on Mr. Park, and Cardinal immediately noticed the change in Galaxy. The power that radiated off of him seemed to disappear. As much as Cardinal hated the thought, it seemed that for now, it was best to keep his brother alive, no matter how much it annoyed him.
“You're lucky I feel pity for you, even at your strongest, you're still weak.” Cardinal said, bluffing through his confident smile. Before Galaxy could rebuttal, in a flash of light, Cardinal was already gone. Galaxy blinked before he shook his head and shifted his attention to Mr. Park.
“Hey, hey, are you okay?” Galaxy asked as he helped Mr. Park sit up. “Easy now…” Galaxy mumbled. Mr. Park's breath was shaky as he stared forward, his eyes wide, as a cold sweat dripped down his face. Galaxy hesitated at first, but he slowly lifted up his hand and gently put his hand on Mr. Park's face, gently guiding his head to look at him. Galaxy felt him flinch at first before he relaxed as their eyes met. Both stared at each other, the other's presence seemed to calm them both down.
“You okay?” Galaxy asked again. Mr. Park blinked before he sighed. He nodded as he rubbed his temples.
“Yeah I'm… I'll be fine.” He sighed as he stood up. Even if his limbs felt like liquid and threatened to collapse under him, he still managed to stand. Galaxy also stood up as he watched Mr. Park slowly shuffled over and picked up his crushed TV from off the ground. He stared at it for a moment, lost in thought. He jumped a bit as he felt a hand on his back. He turned and looked at Galaxy, who was looking up at him, his gaze full of worry.
“Do you want me to walk you back to the showgrounds?” Galaxy asked. Mr. Park stared at him for a moment before he gave a slight nod. Galaxy smiled and turned to walk out of the alleyway. Galaxy paused as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head to look up at Mr. Park.
“When we get back… could you… stay the night?” Mr. Park asked as he looked up, avoiding eye contact as he scratched the back of his head. Galaxy paused before he smiled.
“Yeah… I can do that.” He said as he held out his hand. Mr. Park paused for a moment before he took Galaxy's hand, and both of them walked out of the alleyway.
