By Mario Fan
Chapter Nine: The Winds of Change
What is knowledge if I must part with it? So it is that everything leaves me, and through everything I gain perception.
Bean Valley, The Mushroom Kingdom
Mallow sat easily against the rough trunk of a willow tree and ate a lunch of dried fruit and river fish under the shade of its weeping branches. The rain that had begun modestly an hour earlier was now pouring down in thick sheets and drenching the grass-covered ground of a wide meadow the Nimbian had been walking through. When he had seen the dense clusters of hanging figs standing tall out of the center of a yellow copse, he made quickly for them and took off his bright blue cloak to let it dry.
Within the reach of the tree’s drooping leaves, he felt himself in another world, safe and detached from all the chaotic events of a prince’s daily life. The roar of the falling rain was repelled by the tightly knotted canopy of the massive willow, coming through only as a soft and imperceptible sigh. Even the light barely filtered through and shed a dim glow that provided just enough to see by.
After he had finished his meager meal, he packed up the wrapping paper and stuffed it in a side pocket of his traveling pack. He noticed he had enough provisions left for lunch and maybe supper if he found himself too far from Seaside Town by the end of the day. Once inside the city’s protective walls, he would at least be able to rest in a warm bed without fear of being jumped in the middle of the night. There would be plenty of stands in the marketplace where he could pick up more supplies, as well.
“That is, if it ever quits raining,” he said drearily, listening to his mild voice bounce off of the bark and other verdurous surroundings. Once the familiar sound was skewered into something else completely and then vanished altogether, he gave out a heavy sigh. “It’s going to be long day, regardless.”
Thinking ill about his situation made it even harder to bear, though, as he remembered peaceful spring mornings when he and Frogfucious would walk along the borders of Tadpole Pond. It usually rained then, too, but he remembered it with none of the impatience he was feeling now.
The fog on those days would roll across the calm surface of the water, spilling over onto the cold ground and sifting through the damp weeds and lilies which grew in all places. Only the gentle splashes from early-rising tadpoles swimming up and breaking the pond’s tranquility and the last chirping of crickets could be heard. Frogfucious and he would always remain silent, though, choosing to listen instead of troubling the stillness with their voices.
“That is my home now,” he said softly, his eyes clear with some revelation. “No matter how hard I try to mold myself into the prince my parents want me to become, I’ll never be able to fulfill the purpose and pride that come along with it. I’m too much a part of my former life, and so it still is the only life that I have. It’s also probably the only life that I’ll ever want.”
Resolved to his new outlook, Mallow rested his head against the willow’s trunk and closed his eyes. The rain had picked up with a stronger gust of wind, blowing and whistling the outside of the green curtains draped around him. He fell asleep effortlessly and dreamed of afternoons spent lazing about the mossy hillocks that rose out of Tadpole Pond and the starfish which hovered by and sometimes stuck to the mud beside him.
It wasn’t long before he was lost to unconsciousness entirely and began to slip from reality. Too many things were on his mind for just any daydream.
~*~*~*~
He saw Frogfucious coming towards him and leaning as he always did on his crooked cane long before he heard his voice. Slightly disoriented, as if just waking up from a deep sleep, Mallow rose and walked forward to meet him. The clouds in the sky were gray and overcast, serving as a bleak omen for the gathering storm.
“Hurry, my boy,” said the old frog, beckoning with a gnarled hand. He turned and began walking along their usual path when Mallow caught up with him. “We must speak quickly. A tempest is brewing, its strength burgeoning with every passing hour.”
The Nimbian followed his mentor’s arm up to the swirling furor above and took in a wide gulp of air. Frowning, he looked back at Frogfucious and shook his head sadly. “It’s too big for me. I can’t disperse it.”
The elder frog gave one of his kindliest smiles and put a hand on Mallow’s shoulder reassuringly. “This storm would be too terrible for any one hero alone. That is why you will only play a part in repelling it. It is of your part that I must speak, though. You see, this is why I have called you away from your rest.”
“Then this isn’t a dream,” Mallow said to himself, his voice faint and partially confused. “I’m not surprised, of course. You always told me you had the power to contact close friends over great distances.”
“The waters and winds of this world aid us in all of our living, if we listen to them,” said Frogfucious, waving his webbed fingers across the slow-moving surface of the pond and the dwindling clearness in the eastern sky. “Oh, it is beyond the wonders of a mind, this universe that binds all around us—the breathing of the divine.”
Mallow hung his head low and watched his feet moving lightly over the grassy, earthen floor. “I wish I was as strong in my connection to Plit as you are, Grandfather. It’s just that I feel so lost sometimes, estranged in whatever place I find myself outside of the pond. However much I once wanted to venture, I am certainly no adventurer.”
“And you should be thankful for that,” said Frogfucious with a snort. “The brash adventurer often finds more than he is willing to take on. Evil overwhelms all but the purest of those who confront it.”
“Sometimes I feel that pureness escapes me. In fact, I know it does. I can never clear my mind when I try to meditate like you told me to. My thoughts always turn towards petty problems of mine, like pleasing my parents or making the Nimbian people proud to have me back. After Valentina and Dodo’s fiasco, pride is something they could definitely use a lot more of.”
“You’ll be none-too-surprised to hear that Booster is now completely under Valentina’s spell. He dotes over her night and day, and Dodo is fattening up quite nicely, as well, enjoying his position as the Official Food Taster. As it happens, some of Booster’s messengers went through not long ago, delivering cannons to Bowser, no doubt. My amphibious warriors took care of them, though,” he said, chuckling.
The prince allowed himself an appreciative grin, but his face grew solemn again when he considered the meaning of Booster’s delivery. “Then Bowser is planning another mass assault on the Mushroom Village. I’m sure this is all Mario needs…”
“Now we come to a very ill piece of news,” Frogfucious began simply, searching his soul for the right way to tell the boy what had happened. “Bowser and his fleet have already departed, leaving behind three legions to march westward from Moleville to the Mushroom military forces at Land’s End.”
“But why?” asked Mallow, running over all of the possible reasons for the Koopa King’s departure and not liking the tactics of any of them. “He has no reason to just up and leave if he’s going all out like that. True, he’s been overconfident before, but this is madness.”
“Don’t underestimate Bowser or the intelligence of his advisors,” said Frogfucious sternly. “The Mushroom Village was destroyed in the largest tsunami ever to form during this epoch or the last. Thousands are now dead, including many of our old friends. Only Toad Town and its surrounding areas completely escaped the devastation.”
Mallow felt his knees buckle, but he willed himself to remain standing. “No… no…” he muttered uselessly, moving his head slowly. “Did anyone survive? Is… is the princess… ?”
“She was spared, as was Mario, Luigi, Toad, the Senate, and many others who lived on the western end of the city,” he said, nodding respectfully. “Almost all of the guards and soldiers were drowned trying to rescue citizens in the farther parts of the village, though, which included able-bodied men who could have fought in the coming war. It was a decisive strike made almost perfectly for Bowser’s aims, and yet I am positive he had nothing to do with it. Such a feat is far beyond the power of all his Magikoopas put together in one wicked blast of dark magic.”
“It still doesn’t seem natural for something like that to happen, though,” Mallow noted. He was still reeling from the emotional impact of the news, and his face was paler than usual. “Assuming it was caused, do you have any idea who or what might have done it?”
“I’m not sure exactly what caused it, but I’m certain I know why. In fact, many others are finding out precisely the same horrifying truth across the globe,” the old frog said calmly. “Long ago, the first Magikoopas set up a Breaking Shrine that existed on a dimensionally neutral plane and was integrally connected with the end days of this planet. They did this after learning from the Malevolent One, whose name has been lost to legend, the day and the hour of an Executioner’s arrival, who shall be responsible for carrying out worldwide destruction. These same Magikoopas revolted against their master, though, building the Shrine as a safeguard through which they could counteract the event. The Breaking Shrine, you see, is reached by activating four Breaking Altars spread across Plit, each found using the help of four corresponding Breaking Scrolls. Although I only know of two, I am certain they are all being used, and the few chosen of Plit are waiting to be admitted to the Breaking Shrine, where the fate of Plit will be partially decided.”
“Who else knows of this?” asked Mallow, not bothering to question Frogfucious’ seriousness.
“Jinx would have had the information passed down to him through his elders, and Kamek almost certainly knows. If he doesn’t, he could easily access the necessary histories through his species’ archives in the castle. Otherwise, Ryanoshi and Russ T. once came close, but all current people who know about it only recently found out.”
“And you know who they are, too?”
“Some,” said Frogfucious, musing. “I have heard from my tadpoles that Ryanoshi, Yoshi, and Admiral Bobbery are sending the people of Rose Town here at Tadpole Pond for protection against the coming struggle. Professor Frankly from Salinia has come researching the matter, and he might even have one of the Breaking Scrolls. Admiral Bobbery told Ryanoshi and Yoshi of this, Ryanoshi already knowing something about it, and they have made critical guesses as to the meaning of it all. They even know about the flood and its connection.”
“And what is that connection?” asked Mallow, still unsure.
“It is the first sign of the Breaking of the World,” said Frogfucious simply. “One of the demons of the ancient world, if I interpreted the Scrolls correctly, is directly responsible for it, and other such agents of the Executioner will be appearing over all of Plit. They will stop at nothing to carry out the Malevolent One’s last strike against the Star Spirits’ creation.”
“I thought the Enemy was contained,” said Mallow hopefully. “Isn’t he unable to harm us now, after his first rebellion?”
“Although he was captured, his power remains more potent than that of the Star Spirits, and so he can still influence outside of his boundaries. This event, in particular, he has been preparing for eons, and the forces of Star Haven know they are helpless to prevent its happening. Only a double-pronged effort against the Executioner’s monsters directly and through the Breaking Shrine might save us now. Bowser, currently on his way to possibly rejoin with his children, will make things all the more difficult, though.”
Mallow nodded, thinking back to things Frogfucious had said earlier. “Who is the Executioner? Do you know?”
“I am sure only that he is in this world now, even if not able to show his strength yet. He is still using all of his might to gather his allies and search for the chosen ones—those preordained to find the Breaking Altars and those meant to oppose him directly here.”
Sensing he had gained all the knowledge he was going to, Mallow stopped and turned to face his mentor. “I understand now, I think. What is it that I must do?”
“Go to Land’s End,” said Frogfucious. “Join up with the Mushroom Kingdom forces and warn them of the approach of Bowser’s legions. Say nothing of the Breaking Scrolls or anything related until it is absolutely necessary.”
“But how can I make a difference in a large-scale war, Grandfather? I won’t be of much help to them now.”
“There is something beyond yourself that you bring to the table, even if you don’t realize it yet,” said the frog, turning to walk away. “You will never be lost, my child, if only you trust in yourself and your friends.”
Mallow tried to call after him, but he had already woken up.
~*~*~*~
Land’s End, The Mushroom Kingdom
By sundown he had reached the base camp of the Mushroomer troops and met with all of the highest-ranking officers. They listened carefully to all he had to say—of the flooding of the Mushroom Village and the coming of Bowser’s forces—and immediately busied themselves with preparations. Of course the prince had to fabricate a more convincing account of the details than by the real means he had learned them, but the effects were all the same. Evening recreations were cancelled for intensified drilling, and many of the inactive platoons were being strategically mobilized.
Prince Mallow, General Spore, Admiral Enoki, and several tactical advisors were seated around a makeshift table in a sweltering tent, pouring over the facts and making split-second decisions about what needed to be done. Each of them made long, heated discourses on their differing opinions about the matters at hand as mortar fire and cannon blasts resounded from the artillery testing grounds nearby. Every fifteen minutes or so the deafening roar of an airship’s turbine engines would drone loudly overhead as it passed.
“We’ve at least agreed that they’ll be traveling by ships if they’re planning on landing at Moleville,” said the General, moving a pointer over the nationwide map spread out before them. “With three legions, there’ll be a maximum of 30,000 foot soldiers. The ships themselves have crews of twenty or thirty, depending on the size, and there might be two or three flights of a hundred Paratroopas. Altogether, we must be prepared to face nearly 40,000 combined troops.”
“Our three airships will have the advantage over the Paratroopas, even with our smaller individual numbers, since all of their Doomships are with Bowser on the other side of the world,” said Mallow, gesturing to the stretch of Vista Sea south of Kooparian. “As far as sailing ships outfitted with weaponry, we’re outnumbered, but their ships will only have the crews aboard if they decide to circumnavigate around the continent and flank us at Seaside Town.”
“Then the main worry,” began Admiral Enoki, “is the infantry and air support which make up the bulk of their host. They’ll be coming straight through,” he said, drawing a line past Booster’s Tower, over Star Hill, and down into the Seaside Valley, “and will burn everything in their path, if the seriousness of their size indicates anything at all.”
“We’ll send two of the battle cruisers from the Indomitable’s hangar, directing one towards the supposed location of the incoming troops and another out to sea in case they do attempt a flanking maneuver with the emptied passenger vessels,” said the General, using his pointer to move small replicas of their army’s larger ships across the map. “Behind Star Hill and the jutting precipice here are good lookout points where the cruisers won’t be immediately spotted. From there, they can report back to us, and hopefully the enemy will be none the wiser.”
“What about here, though?” Mallow asked. “We still have to ready the troops so a direct offensive won’t shatter our lines, and if we’re going to spare the urban areas, it looks like Seaside Valley is the uttermost battleground we have to work with.”
“Negative on that, my friend,” said one of the defensive advisors, a blue Buzzy Beetle named Lieutenant Tank. “If we wait in the valley, our boys’ll be prime targets for them as they make their sweet way down the mountain. Instead, we should move the brunt of our forces to the summit of Star Hill and drape the remaining soldiers along the descent. Those bogies will be fired at all the way through their climb, and getting down the other side won’t be a picnic either. A three-dimensional view from above like that will make it easier for Admiral Enoki and his fleet to lend their air support, as well.”
“If we aren’t busy dealing with the Paratroopas and the possible flanking attempt, that is,” said Enoki cautiously. “We can’t count on a full-blown sky attack at this juncture. It’s just not prudent.”
“Wait a minute,” said Mallow suddenly, standing up. “I have an idea about how we can deal with the Paratroopas.”
“Well, out with it!” said the general excitedly.
“The Cumulus is the legendary Nimbian cavalry and is basically an entire army able to ride on flying clouds big enough for individual soldiers,” he explained. “It hasn’t been used since the last Civil War, when I was separated from my parents, but if the king and queen realize how serious everything is now, I’m sure I can convince them to loan us part of it. Just one battalion of the Cumulus is a good one-hundred and fifty Nimbians, and that’s a strong force, considering their skills at fighting.”
“That’s certainly a brilliant idea,” said General Spore, “but we’re pressed for time. Will you be able to garner their aid quickly enough?”
“I just need a way to get there as soon as possible,” said Mallow, nodding affirmatively. “It’s a long way up the Bean Valley otherwise.”
“We have an air bus that can get you up there in an hour,” said Enoki confidently. The admiral turned to his attendant at the entrance. “Go and ready one of the zoomers, Sergeant. Tell them Prince Mallow will be the only passenger.”
“Yes, sir!” said the soldier and saluted, rushing out.
“Well,” smiled Enoki, turning back to look at the Nimbian. “It’s all settled. Good luck!”
“Thanks,” said Mallow, remembering how upset his parents were at his leave-taking. Risking a part of their most prized protectors wouldn’t be anywhere near what they were hoping for in his return. “I’ll need it.”
~*~*~*~
Ocean Side, Kooparian
“Here, sir, drink this,” came a careful voice from somewhere above him.
He felt a cup touch his mouth and swallowed the hot, scented liquid inside. Warmed by the steaming drink and feeling only slightly delirious, the young Goomba opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a quaintly-decorated lodge, like a cottage, but there was a descending set of stairs in one corner of the room and two more beds just like his on either side of him. One of the beds to his right was disheveled, as if someone had recently been sleeping in it, but he couldn’t tell if the same person was still in the room.
“Good to see you awake, sir,” said the female Koopa standing beside him. She took back the mug and pushed a spoon around inside of it. “I’ll let your friend know you’re ok. When we found him barely conscious and you roughed up pretty badly, we thought you were both goners. What happened to you two, anyway?”
“Shipwrecked,” said Jinx from the top stair at the other end of the room. “Thank you for your kind assistance in caring for my companion, Miss, but, if at all possible, we’d like some time alone to discuss our situation. Take this for your trouble,” he said without emotion, handing her a gold coin. “Now, off with you!”
The maid stared coldly at the small monster, bowed, and then quickly left in a manner dripping with indignity. Grinning oddly to himself, Jinx watched her go and walked briskly over to the Goomba’s bed. He hopped up on the quilts in the blink of an eye and studied the sparse dressings of his friend’s thankfully minor wounds. Although he probably would not have admitted it, his own bruises were much more bothersome, but years of intense training made them little more than a negligible annoyance to him.
“She wasn’t being too overbearing,” said Keb hoarsely. “You probably should have been easier on her.”
Has he forgotten what happened, then? thought Jinx anxiously. Perhaps my explanations won’t have to be made here, after all. How much longer can I afford to wait, though?
“Nevertheless, we must be extra careful with those whom we talk to here,” said Jinx with a snort. “The inhabitants of Ocean Side are extraordinarily nosy, and Princess Wendy pays out handsomely for any information. In fact, that tramp will most likely give out news of our arrival to a second-hand gossip trader, so we should depart as soon as possible.”
“Ocean Side?” asked Keb, screwing up his face. It was obvious there was still some pain and effort in the movement. “I thought it was called—”
“Sea Side, correct,” interjected Jinx. “The name the Mushroomers have for it, however, was dropped when Bowser redistributed the lands to his Koopalings as a direct affront to Seaside Town. It’s rather petty and meaningless, of course, but such are the whims of the overseas King.”
“My blood boils just thinking about that slimy reptile,” said Keb through clenched teeth. “It’s amazing to think we’re in his territory, even if we’re farther away from him than we were back home. There’s no telling what his nasty children have done to this place, though.”
“Nothing remotely good,” said the shorter monster decidedly. “Mushroomers are openly persecuted here and turned away at Customs. Even accepted creatures such as ourselves are treated much less respectably than Koopas. First and foremost, Bowser’s kingdom is unflinchingly elitist. Not all of the same-race inhabitants agree with the differentiation, as you can imagine, but none care too much to complain either. It is simply another reason Princess Toadstool and the Mario Brothers are to be commended for keeping King Bowser and his ideals at bay for so long.”
“Do you think we’ll be the cause of much suspicion, then?” asked Keb worriedly. He stretched as he said it, though, and hopped out of bed. “Not that I’m afraid, but I’d be more careful, at least.”
“Not as much as if we were Mushroomers,” said Jinx, throwing the young Goomba his green bandana and watching as he tied it around his wide, brown head. “Our main concern will be secrecy and avoiding any of the local authorities. Beyond that, the people of the port are relatively harmless and used to having foreigners pour in by the hundreds. We can even expect to see some people from the Mushroom Kingdom at some of the more popular pubs and trading markets.”
Keb suddenly stopped and felt himself almost fall. “Jinx! I just remembered what happened… the Blooper and… what was that? A dream? You never mentioned it!”
“I was hoping the bump on the head you suffered erased it from your memory,” said Jinx, his eyes pale and searching. “Although I was going to wait until later, I suppose now is as good a time as any. You must not ask any questions while I explain this to you, for what I am about to tell you is all terribly true.
“Firstly and least difficult of all, I’m not exactly sure how we escaped the Blooper. I threw everything I had at him in one of my silver bullet maneuvers and fainted. It probably scared him off or, much more likely, blinded him long enough to lose his bearings on us. We are, after all, a whole lot smaller than he is.”
The Monstro Town denizen then proceeded to detail his knowledge of the Breaking of the World, running over much of the same information as Frogfucious related it to Mallow and only occasionally leaving out a stray aspect or adding something new of minimal significance. Finally, he explained that he considered the massive Blooper which had attacked them one of the demons of the Executioner and the direct cause of a flood which had undoubtedly struck the Mushroom Village. What it meant, for those they knew who lived there, he couldn’t say, of course, but he also told the Goomba that he had suspected the worst when the Breaking Scroll was stolen and thought it might even be his destiny to enter the Breaking Shrine.
All in all, it was several hours later when Jinx finished relating the disturbing news. “So, you see, that is why I did not stop you from coming with me. I thought the circumstances which bade you follow me were much too far-fetched to be anything but fate, and it might mean you too are one of the chosen people who will help counteract the Breaking of the World in whatever tests lie beyond the Breaking Shrine.”
“I’m blown away by it all,” said Keb breathlessly. He had been riveted and standing still since his companion had begun the tale. “I can’t say I didn’t suspect there was some greater purpose in all this. I’ve been having weird dreams about huge battles and cosmic images, but I guess I thought they all had to do with my desire to see the Mushroom Kingdom strike out against Bowser and his armies. This is all even harder to believe, if that’s possible… You’re sure about it, though?”
“Almost positive,” said Jinx, nodding. “This is why I think we still have time to catch up with the thieves who stole the Scroll. If the Breaking Altars, for there are three others, as I said, had already been opened, then the Executioner would not be so idle. He and his demons, wherever they are poised across Plit, would most likely be terrorizing the world as we speak.”
“Why doesn’t he just stop these few chosen people now, if he knows of the Breaking Altars and Shrine?” asked Keb. “If he’s so powerful, it’d seem like it wouldn’t be too much trouble.”
“That’s just our assumption as hopefuls in the coming struggle,” said Jinx determinedly. “We have to believe that even he does not know that and that the Enemy, his master, is unaware of his old disciples’ plans to thwart him, as well. The Malevolent One is still trapped between reality and his dimensional prison, after all, if the legends are true. Frogfucious has told me this, and he is one of very few sages who have lived throughout Plit’s existence… probably the only one left alive. There is no guessing how old he is.”
“How will everyone find out about all of this, though? It seems too secretive to spread quickly enough to all the heroes out there who need to hear it.”
“Another matter in which we must put our faith,” said Jinx simply. “I believe that, like with us, others are being led to the remaining three Breaking Altars. I also must hold that Mario, Luigi, and all others who will undoubtedly play a part in resisting spiritual enemies like the Executioner and secular enemies like Bowser during the approaching war will somehow be warned and prepared for it. If anything, the Executioner, though yet powerless, will not be idle. He has most likely already bragged to at least a few mortals of his inevitable ascension. Furthermore, Kamek and some of the others who are old enough to have access to information on the Breaking of the World might recognize the flooding as an obvious sign of its arrival. Why, I remember Russ T. and a Yoshi who now lives on Yo’ster Isle once researched the legend and were turned away by the old dojo master in Monstro Town. He carried the secret of the Breaking Scroll before I did. Also, and if you’ll bear with me, you must realize that this event is worldwide and is probably affecting many more all over Plit even as we speak, in ways that we couldn’t possibly comprehend. The Executioner’s demons will be many and of varying degrees in influence, and the mysterious forces of good, whether they be of the Star Spirits or not, who oppose the Malevolent One will be moving their own pieces into preparations for battle. Wouldn’t it be just as believable to think that we ourselves are being positioned by beings beyond our sight or understanding?”
“Heavy,” said Keb, wide-eyed. “Well, I’ll just trust you for now. Wherever you go, I’m there, ready and willing to fight for the cause. Let’s get going!”
Jinx could not help but give a brief chuckle at the young Goomba’s excitement in the face of so great a danger. “If you are that prepared, then I say it is about time we take our leave. We’ll head straight through the marketplace and towards the airport. From there, we make for the mountains of Iced Land!”
~*~*~*~
Ocean City, the capital and busiest port of all Ocean Side, was bustling with waves upon waves of creatures and species Keb had never even heard of. Things as rare as the Octolots of Land’s End floated by peacefully and made stringent business dealings with distrustful Frogogs carrying rusted hatches. There were even a few civilized Boos using their transparency skills to aid Sackits in daring robberies. Once or twice he felt himself almost drowned in the masses and had to yell out for Jinx to lead him through the labyrinth of moving, twisting bodies.
“This is insane,” he called out loudly to Jinx, who was beside him but barely within shouting distance. “How much farther?”
Jinx did not answer, however, and only pulled Keb close to him and took off on another daring maneuver of carefully planned dodges and ducks. Five times they were stopped by sniveling pickpockets and threatened with dull knives, but Keb could usually manage the third-rate crooks on his own, and his companion was there to handle the tougher Remo Cons and Mezzo Bombs. In fact, he oddly enjoyed the rush of constantly avoiding criminals and even getting to pound a few measly Geckits every few seconds.
Eventually Keb tackled the wrong thief, though, and found himself standing head to gleaming spike with a very irritated Thwomp. The towering monster ground its granite teeth with a screech that set off sparks and let out a tolling rumble. Barely having time to move back a few inches, Keb was thrown off of his feet and back several meters when the monster rose up and slammed into the concrete pavement. He looked up dizzily and shook his head, trying to stand as the Thwomp readied itself for a wider jump in the ditch it had carved into the ground.
“I’ll smash ya into a thousand pieces, then I’ll crush ya into a million more!” It trembled, slamming itself time after time into the heavily packed ruble beneath it. “Come on! Get what’s yours, brat!”
Seeing that the Thwomp was preparing for a long hop in his direction, the Goomba yelled and bravely leapt as far as he could to the right. The force of his attacker’s immense weight plowed into the spot he had just been and sent him flying even as he almost landed again. Keb rolled up with his vision now completely blurred from being tossed around and tried in vain to regain his bearings. All he saw was the torn and unclear images of those shouting and screaming around him, though, and the slightly more distinct image of the Thwomp barreling towards him.
“What a day,” he mumbled and staggered away, running into someone even smaller than himself. “Jinx!”
“There is a Koopa willing to fly us in his private plane through the crowd in that direction,” said the monster, gesturing quickly with his only hand not holding a sword. “Go there and wait for me. Hurry!”
“Alright, alright,” said Keb and nodded, stumbling in the general direction that Jinx had directed him in. He looked back only to see the surprised Thwomp becoming angered at having his prey stolen from him and preparing to charge against the newcomer.
“No one interferes with my business, short-stuff!” roared the Thwomp, sizing up his competition and becoming less and less impressed. “Now you’re going to have to pay for your idiot moves, you dumb idiot!”
“You said ‘idiot’ once already,” said Jinx with a patronizing smirk. “Are you going to repeat yourself all day or go ahead and attack me?”
The Thwomp chewed on one of its teeth so harshly that it chipped and he winced at the searing flash of pain that traveled through it face. “I can’t believe you just insulted me on my own turf, midget. You’ve forced me to kill you now, you know. Don’t say I didn’t warn you beforehand!”
Jinx dodged easily as the Thwomp rushed by and then sprang over on his hands, landing finally where the monster had just run through. Although the maneuver cost him little effort, he did notice a sharp decrease in the time it took him to perform the flip in full, and so he quickly noted that the previous night’s rest might not have allowed him to completely recover his strength. The energy needed to ward off the demonic Blooper had nearly drained him to the point of death, and he would have to take it easier than usual for another day or two.
Specifically and currently, this meant dispatching his brute of an opponent quicker and more painfully than he would have liked. Jinx vaulted higher as the Thwomp passed in a rage below him and brought his sword around hard, drawing a shallow gash through the stone hide of the beast. Dark-blue chips and dust exploded from the wound, and the monster bellowed in its discomfort, flailing and rolling around on the ground. Even though its soreness was probably severe, it suffered more from the shock of being bested by a smaller warrior than anything else.
“How did you move that fast, little one?” it asked through a contorted mouth, jumping from one corner spike to the other. “Answer me!”
“I don’t have time to stick around,” said Jinx, amazed at his quickened breath. “If you’re done here, I’ll be on my way.”
The polite attempt at negotiations only enraged his attacker further, and the Thwomp threw all of its considerable weight into one final charge, swinging its arms and letting its massive spikes cut through the air. Jinx responded almost lazily with a simple sidestep and another light scratch that ran across the monster’s gut. Decidedly beaten, it let itself fall to the torn pavement and mutter angrily over its wounds. More importantly, though, it was in no mood to attempt another onslaught, so Jinx turned and ran off towards the airplane.
Keb was already seated in the second of two passenger seats, but the pilot was waving him forward fiercely as if he himself were in an unavoidable hurry. Not bothering to ask why the sudden change in priorities, Jinx soundlessly leapt from the makeshift tarmac and slipped into the remaining seat. A crowd of onlookers who had enjoyed his recent battle with the Thwomp waited all around the plane, and he could just make out a pair of smartly dressed officers waving black clubs and trying to push their way towards the jet as its engine let out a roar.
“Apparently,” shouted back the pilot as his machine began to move farther away from the spectators, “you have to have a license to sell plane tickets in this part of town. We’re operating on free trade at the moment, though!”
“No problem,” said Jinx, smiling. “We have probably gained an unsavory name for ourselves, as well, so the sooner we leave Ocean City behind, the better.”
“Heh, I like your style, sir!” cried the pilot as the wheels of the planes squealed violently against the pavement and the front end of the vehicle lifted into the air. “And we’re off! Iced Land, here we come!”
The rest of the plane left the ground with a rolling crack of the engine, and soon they were climbing higher and higher above the mass throng which had gathered all below them. It was well into the next day, and it would be another few hours still before they reached one of the quieter villages near the Frosty Alps. From there, Jinx thought, it all depended on how quickly he could either convince the pilot to help them search for the thieves or find a way to briefly borrow the plane if the Koopa proved excessively unwilling.