Chapter 22

The mountains lay flat against the dim, blue sky. They were jagged pieces of brown construction paper against a periwinkle canvass. These cool rocks of massive proportions remained as such a scenery for a while longer until the sun came up. It crept up from behind them, first as a sliver of orange, then as a slab of yellow, then finally a ball of white. Morning had come, and it was time for two certain travelers to take down their tents and move on.

Xoshi stood in the middle of the rocky path cutting through the stone-filled vicinity of the giant work of nature. He was thinking about the road they had ahead of them. White Rose walked up beside him. “Are you ready, Sir Xoshi?”

“Yes I am,” Xoshi said.

“All right, then,” White Rose said. “Let’s get moving...” Once again, the journey of the Yoshi in brown and the man in white could continue. Together, they began descending the rocky place called Mt. Rugged...

“What do you mean our flight has been cancelled?!” All was not well in an airport of the Mushroom Kingdom. The parents of Mario and Luigi had their bags all packed up and their children with them all set and ready to go, but the female Toad in uniform behind the counter was giving the father a hard time.

She scratched the back of her head. “I’m sorry, sir, but we’ve just been experiencing some major technical difficulties lately, so please bear with us,” she said.

The father scowled at the small woman. He reached into the folds of his shirt and pulled out a fancy-looking amulet. It was a medallion attached to a chain around his neck which his collar roots concealed. The medallion consisted of a gold M in the middle of a gold circle. “Listen here,” he stated, “I am the king of Mario Land, and I DESERVE to have a plane take me and my family back to our nation, so give us one right now, or else!” the king demanded.

The Toad scratched the back of her head again. “I’m sorry, sir. We can’t do that, even for a king.”

“WHAT?! Rrgg...” the king fumed. He clenched his teeth and let his fists tremble by his waist. His wife, standing right next to him with her right hand on the handlebar of the double stroller with their two children in it, placed her left on her husband’s right shoulder.

“Dear,” she said condescendingly, “don’t let it get to you. Let’s just go.”

The father looked down disappointedly at his feet. He sighed and shook his head. “All right,” he moped. He knelt down, grabbed one briefcase with each hand, and did as his wife told him. They turned around and started walking around the airport once again. While strolling around, they found themselves exchanging words with one another. “It’s just irritating,” the man said. “We were supposed to leave the day after the day Mario and Luigi got back, but ever since, it’s been nothing but foul-ups.”

With both hands pushing the stroller along, the queen said, “I know, dear, but things just don’t always turn out the way you want them to.”

“I know, but-“ They were walking down some of the halls of the place a little more when suddenly something caught the attention of the king. He stopped in his tracks and looked up. His wife stopped, too.

“Dear, what is it?” she asked.

”Look,” he said, pointing with a briefcase to one of the monitors hanging from the ceiling for the viewing pleasure of the travelers that were in this vicinity, waiting for their respective flights. “It’s the aliens again.”

”Oh, my goodness!” the queen elicited. The two of them, with their children, strolled up closer to it and were on the premises of an area with many seats arranged for all the waiting people. The father set the bags down beside him so he could stand and watch two anchors go at it with each other. Mike T. and Nosey T. were back with a vengeance.

“…And that’s just the beginning of it! Let’s go over to Nosey T, who is with one of the resident Ravens of Lavalava Island right now, inquiring about the aliens. Nosey?” Mike said, sitting in front of his trademark counter with those papers in hand. The image in the upper right-hand corner took up the whole screen again.

“Thanks, Melony,” Nosey said. He was on top of a big mass of leaves growing out of the top of a rather large tree. He was standing right next to one of those little Ravens that witnessed the big fight earlier. “So, Rodney, what have you got to say about the U.F.O. that left your island just a little while ago?” He shoved the microphone into the Raven’s face.

“Caw cawww,” the Raven said, with an annoyed look on its face. Then it lightened up and continued with its story. “Caw caw caw caw caw caw cawwww.”

Nosey took the microphone back so he could speak into it. “Roberto, everybody! Back to you, Megan.”

“It’s Mike. Also, our little Raven friends don’t seem to be the only people with alien troubles. Now we’re going over to those Koopas to see how they’re doing. Nosey?”

”Thanks, Muck,” the other Toad said. He was standing next to Kammeron, the Magikoopa, again. Their castle was looking significantly better. “So, Karmie, what comments have you got to say regarding the aliens?”

“It’s Kammeron,” he grumbled. “We were in the middle of reconstructing our base when suddenly we saw this U.F.O. flying over our heads. It was giving off all these strange lights and sounds. It looked like it was headed for the north. Also, when it came, this strange flower popped up out of nowhere.” Kammeron pulled up a plant that consisted of a big, pink ball surrounded by petals of bug wings. “We think it may have been because of the ali-“

”Another fascinating story! Back to you, Mucus.”

“It’s MIKE!” said the flustered news broadcaster. He arranged the papers in his hands some more and went on. “But that’s not the end of it, folks! Let’s go over to a local resident of Dry Dry Desert and see what HE has to say about Unidentified Flying Objects and other oddities. Nosey?”

”Thanks, Macabre.” This time, Nosey was in the middle of the baron, hot Dry Dry Desert, standing and sweating before a little mouse man clad only in some traditional white headgear specifically designed for warding off the sun in such a place. He was beginning to strike up the conversation with one hand on the microphone and the other one wiping perspiration off his face. “PHEW!” he said. “Well, it most certainly is hot here, isn’t it, Mr. Mouse?”

“I think the weather’s just fine,” the mouse said.

“Okay, well enough about that,” Nosey said, panting and feeling drenched in his own sweat. “What have you got to say about the UFOs? Seen anything strange flying in the sky lately?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact. A little while ago, I was in this desert, when suddenly I saw this snake of green ooze flying through the air. If my navigation skills are correct, then it was headed for the north.”

”That’s, uh, fascinating. Anything else you’d like to say? Anything about that big spiky thing behind you?” Nosey said, feeling unbearably cooked while pointing to a colossal figure in the background that was pink and covered in gigantic needles.

“Oh, that’s the Pokey Mommy,” said the mouse. “Or rather it WAS the Pokey Mommy. I’m not sure what happened to it, but it’s dead now. Maybe the aliens got to it?”

”FASCINATING!” Nosey blurted, beginning to fry. “Back... to you... M-“ He couldn’t finish his sentence. He passed out and his microphone picked up a heavy THUMP sound.

The camera showed the mouse looking down at him. “Um, are you okay?” he said.

The TV returned to the image of a bewildered Mike T. He looked away from the upper right-hand corner of the screen with his jaw open and his eyes blinking. He cleared his throat and got the show going again. “Well, uh, it looks as though the aliens have a lot to do with a lot of things at the moment. This may be a pretty gruesome time for us, folks. Just remember to lock your doors at night and keep your children away from strangers.”

”Amen,” the king and the queen said simultaneously.

“Anyway, we’ll return to you with more news bits after a short break. I’m Mike T,” he wrapped up. The camera moved away from him, and then started showing various other images with a female voice narrating.

”Coming up next, after a short encounter with some evil clowns, is Gana Village really free?” The screen showed some of the civilians of that place walking around as though nothing special was really happening. “What strange occurrence could have caused the moon to change its shape?” They showed a round moon against a starlit sky. “And could the aliens have even victimized the underwater city of Marinotropolis?” The image was of a bunch of mermen floating around in that strange place. “All this and more when we get back.” At last, the program cut to a commercial break. The royal parents were stuck thinking it over.

”Well,” said the king, “it sounds like the aliens are causing all kinds of problems, huh?”

“I know,” said his wife. “It’s kind of troubling, isn’t it?”

”I suppose,” the king said.

”They’ve definitely been in the news a lot lately,” the queen said.

“Indeed.”

In the stroller, Luigi turned his head to his left and gave his twin brother a questioning look. Mario simply shrugged his little shoulders. The queen remained looking pensive. “Dear?” she asked.

”Yes?” the king responded.

”You don’t think those aliens are planning something... bigger than this, do you?”

“I wouldn’t worry,” he said. “We’ve got other things to concern ourselves with...”

“Actually, dear, I wanted to talk to you about that, too,” the woman said, lowering her voice.

”About returning to Mario Land?” the man asked.

His spouse nodded. “I know a way we can get back...” The king looked at her with his face saying that he was puzzled by her words. Then he looked at the base of her ponytail and saw something glimmer. He looked back at her, baring a serious expression.

“No,” he whispered.

“Yes,” she insisted. The king kept looking serious. He started pointing his eyes in the direction of his feet while digging his fingers into his palms and wincing. Finally he looked up.

”All right,” he conceded. “But we have to be careful about this.” Behind them, walking through the halls they were in earlier, was a fair amount of Toads, Koopa Troopas, and Goombas, all of them with various forms of luggage to haul around. There were also security guards here and there keeping their eyes watchful.

”I know,” she said. The two of them left the area with the luggage and the babies and continued walking amidst the crowd, doing their best to act as though they weren’t plotting something dubious...

Kammelina and Kammeo were underwater. However, they were not wet. Hovering around beneath the waves, the two of them had themselves surrounded by magic spheres of air so they could breathe and explore the sea at the same time.

”How much longer ‘til we get there, Kammelina?” Kammeo said.

”Be patient, dear sister. We’re almost there!” Kammelina said.

“Whatever you say, Kammelina,” Kammeo griped. They continued hovering through the water. Not much happened as this little journey continued. Down below, there were plains of sand, boulders, and branches of coral coiling out of the ground, and all around them there were various schools of Blurps and Cheep Cheeps swimming along. It wasn’t anything special. They trekked onward and onward, until finally they could make something out in the distance. The ground they were floating over evolved into a cliff. Somewhere beyond that, their destination could be seen. It was a collection of oddly-shaped buildings, like a bunch of glass bubbles, pipes, and spirals. “Kammelina,” said Kammeo, “is that it? Up there?”

”Yes, Kammeo,” said her sister, “that’s the- YYEEEKK!” Kammelina jolted backwards on her broomstick at the sight of something horrendous.

”Sister, what’s- OH, GRACIOUS!” She saw it, too. Just when they were about to hover over the cliff and down to the city, a gigantic monster about the size of a killer whale floated up out of nowhere and right in front of their faces. It even looked like one of those killer whales, too, except its skin was gray and nowhere near as smooth. It had two fins sticking out of either side of it, a dorsal fin and the traditional fish-like tail that whales tend to have. However, its head was something completely different. It had a long, ugly face complete with a snout and a pair of tusks sticking out of its lower lip. On top of its strange head were two big, pointy ears. Since this beast bore a resemblance to what exactly it was they were looking for, Kammeo could conclude that they had found their pig. “Sister, look!” she said. “We found it! The Marinotropolan swine!”

”Yes, yes, dear sister. Now all we need is its blood! Then we’ll show our enemies who’s the boss.” Kammelina pulled out her wand with her left hand and a glass jar with her right. “Now let’s do this!” she declared. She raised her wand above her head, right beneath the wall of her bubble, and saw that the underwater pig was staring at her and licking its chops. “Hungry, huh?” she said. “Well, then, EAT THIS!” The jewel in her wand glowed brightly, and then she swung it forward. The trio of a square, a circle, and a triangle pierced right through her bubble, causing the sphere to jiggle a little, and exploded against the right side of the beast. The animal only jolted and grunted. It glared at the witch. Her face was awestruck. No blood was seeping from where she had struck. “DARN IT!” she fumed.

”Trouble, Kammelina? Allow me!” Kammeo said. She pulled out her wand, raised it into the air, let its tip glow, then swung it forward and fired. That, too, resulted in an explosion that only irritated the monster, and didn’t leave any visible mark. “What the- Nothing works!”

“Of course, something works, Sister, you’re just not trying hard enough!” Kammelina retorted. She raised her wand up like before, but let it glow for a while longer, until it started getting blindingly bright and even shaky. She was concentrating, and concentrating when CHOMP! Her wand vanished. She gasped, and held her hand before her face with it flipping left and right while looking frantic. Then she looked up and saw some type of ruby sticking out of the creature’s fangs. It was swimming away from her. “OH, FIDDLESTICKS!” she yelled.

“Don’t worry, Sister, I’m going to turn it into something that will bleed easier!” Kammeo reassured, getting her wand ready.

“NO, YOU INSOLENT WENCH!” Kammelina screeched. She flew as fast as she could up to her sibling, made their bubbles collide into one another, and swatted her wand aside just as she thrust it forward. The swirling shapes it fired ended up spiraling in a direction that was completely not in that of their target.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU FOOL?!” Kammeo shrieked.

”Don’t transform it into something else, you idiot! It HAS to be Marinotropolan swine! HAS to!” Kammelina argued.

”So my techniques aren’t going to work this time, hm? Fine, then, Sister; have it your way. Make it smaller, or something, so we can have an easier time of it!” Kammeo argued back, simultaneously ridiculing and offering a suggestion to the other witch.

“Well, dear Sister, I really wish I could, but that thing ATE MY WAND!” the other witch retaliated.

“How could you have let it eat your wand, Sister? Did someone forget to take her careful pills this morning?”

“Never mind that! The point is, we have to go after that thing now. Not just so we can remake our potion, but also so that I can get my wand back. Understood?!” Kammelina clarified.

“Fine, fine. It’s always gotta be YOUR way, doesn’t it, Sis? Let’s just get this over with,” the transformation-oriented one grumbled.

“Indeed,” Kammelina said, glad she had won another volley of arguing statements. With that out of the way, they started looking around.

“Now, where do you suppose that pig went?” Kammeo said. Things definitely weren’t starting to look up for the duo...

The king and the queen along with their stroller of children were creeping slowly along with their eyes darting here and there. There were people walking in various directions and among places all around them, but they were hardly things to worry about. The person they worried about most was that gigantic Koopa Troopa over there with a black shell, sunglasses, and folded arms. They had to be careful about this if they wanted to get back home without incident. At some point, the large guard’s attention was stolen, causing him to look to his right. Their window of opportunity was open. The king hissed, “Now!” and the family of four slammed themselves shut behind the door of opportunity. For a second or two, all was pitch black. Fumbling around, the grown man was able to find a switch and flip it on. They found themselves surrounded by mops, brooms, buckets, spray bottles, cans, and the like. They were in the janitor’s closet.

“All right. Time for some action,” the king said this and his wife nodded. She turned around, held two fists out, closed her eyes, and started letting something strange escape her lips.

“Yu dohm setu pidma ney poh pihed;
Ewush yuda gew way.”

The magic words had been spoken. The queen opened her eyes, put her hands down, and her hair-tie began to sparkle and shimmer even more. In front of her, a disc swirled into existence. Floating in midair was a big circle with stripes of red and blue swirling around a black hole that centered the hole thing. They could feel their hairs and clothes getting caught in the void’s vortex. The king was looking a bit nervous. His two sons were looking puzzled. Their mother turned around, bent down, curled one arm around Luigi and held him close, and did the same thing with her right arm and Mario. She held them tightly, turned around, and gave some instructions to her significant other. “All right. Don’t let go of those briefcases. On three, we jump in. No matter what, don’t think about anything but Mario Land, otherwise it’ll toss you elsewhere. Ready?” The male one nodded. “One... two... three!” The command was let loose. The parents jumped up and into the strange hole. It swallowed them up, and immediately after doing so, began to close in on itself. Then it dissipated and the janitor’s closet was vacant once more. A knock arrived at the door.

“Anyone in there?” a voice sounded. The knock came again. “Hello?” said the voice again. Then the knob turned and a Koopa Troopa with a blue shell and a mop walked in. He saw that the light was on and that a double-stroller was in there for some reason. The Terrapin scratched his noodle, still looking around. “Stee-range,” he mumbled. “I thought I heard voices in here...”

...When someone says, “I’m sorry,” you say...

“...Don’t worry about it,” Xoshi responded. All that walking paid off. The two of the Yoshi and the knight had arrived at the base of the mountain. Before their eyes awaited a train station. Its trademark transportation device and its Toad in uniform were both in their respective places.

“There it is, Sir Xoshi,” White Rose said, pointing to the wheeled machine. “Once we get on that train, we’ll be in Toad Town in no time.”

”Then what we waiting for?!” Xoshi replied, excitedly. His companion nodded. The two of them wasted not another moment. They walked through the gate, over the train tracks, around the corner, and onto the platform. Soon, they were before the Toad and ready for requesting.

“Going to Toad Town, folks?” he asked.

“Yes, please,” White Rose answered.

”All right, then. Hop in!” the Toad said. A door opened on the side of the little red train, and the pair of travelers walked right on. Xoshi stood in a spot nearby the engineer and White Rose went to the back of the train so he could be surrounded by metal railings. The door closed up and the engineer started talking.

“Just sit back and relax, folks. This train’s headed for Toad Town!” he said. After that, the machine’s gears started going, its wheels started turning, and another component was spouting out star-shaped clouds into the air. It began to glide along the tracks, and get a few more steps of the journey out of the way.

While on that mechanism, watching various rocks fly by, Beel had to bring up something important. Xoshi, the spirit said.

Yes? he said back.

I have to tell you how to use my powers, he got as a response.

Oh, yeah, Xoshi said. Hey, wait a minute! Where were these instructions like a few hours ago, huh?!

I couldn’t have given them to you then. Remember what happened on the boat?

A light bulb brightened. Oh, yeah... Xoshi felt a little sheepish. He got over it. Well, Beely, lay it on me.

All right... The lecture began. All you have to do is close your eyes, relax, make a cross out of your arms with your first two fingers pointing, and think about stars and everything that has anything to do with them. Galaxies, nebulas, asteroids... Think about them. You will become infused with a powerful form of energy. You’ll know once this happens. Trust me.

Xoshi closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and made the gesture that Beel described. Like this? he thought.

Exactly, only don’t try to cast any spells right now. It wouldn’t be called for. Xoshi opened his eyes. White Rose was behind him on that other part of the train enjoying some solitude with his arms folded, but the engineer beside him was giving him a look with one eyebrow raised. Xoshi put his arms down.

“What was that?” he asked.

Xoshi had to improvise. “Nothing,” he said. The engineer looked at Xoshi a little longer and got back to work.

So, Beel, the Yoshi thought, what happens after I get that energy?

I’ll tell you... It’s rather complicated, though, so you’ll have to pay close attention.

Okay.

All right... The lecture continued. It goes a little something like this...

The Star Warrior resumed the explanation as the train barreled even further down the road. Toad Town was just within reach of a few hours...

The Mario royal family was flying at an incredible speed all the way through a tunnel of red and blue, getting closer and closer to a light coming from a hole at the end of it. The king thought of trees, hippos, and mansions, while the queen thought of pumpkins, amusement parks, and turtles. Mario and Luigi could only think of how freaky this whole experience was. They remained against their mother’s chest as she still clung to them for dear life. The father had a similar grip on the briefcases. They were by his side the whole time. The white light got more and more within proximity, appearing to grow larger all the while. Finally, it engulfed them and the next odd occurrence could happen...

A grassy field with trees consisting of bunches of leaves shaped very strangely was at peace. A light blue Yo’ster with sunshades and bare feet was passing through. Then he saw something crawling out of nothing. In midair, a portal opened up, and a man and a woman carrying briefcases and babies were spat out. The portal closed up, and the family started looking around. The Yoshi was extremely confused.

”Ahhh,” the king said, inhaling deeply, letting even his nostrils enjoy the glory of their homeland. “It’s good to be back.”

His wife looked equally relieved. Mario and Luigi were just muddled. “Well, dear,” she said, “let’s head on back.”

”All right,” he said. After those statements, they got the show on the road again. They walked away from where they had landed and never even noticed that this highly questionable activity had just been witnessed.

“Why, oh, why?” the witness moped, shaking his head. “Why doesn’t anything ever make any freaking sense anymore?!” A kick to the ground and a few more grumblings later, the ticked off Boshi returned to wandering aimlessly. Unlike a few other people he might have known, he had no idea what to do or where to go next. The journeys of him and the family went on...

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