Chapter Thirty-Six: Icy Reception
The sky was completely dark. Small lights twinkled in the darkness. The moon was shrouded by dark clouds. There was not a whisper in the air, nor movement on the ground. In the Waffle Kingdom, things were not peaceful. The small lights were coming from the castle, and this was the only light. Inside, a figure paced back and forth. He was a Koopa, and beads of sweat dripped down from his face. He sighed unimportantly, looking constantly down at the floor. "What to do, what to do?" He cringed as he thought of something. What if the princess had died? Or been mortally wounded? What if she had been falsely lured by some smooth-talking man with a hot Italian mustache and been taken advantage of?
The king sat upon his throne, even more perturbed than his fellow. He drummed his fingers upon his throne. It was outlined in gold, with a silver decor. There was a large picture of two swords crossed behind him. As for the man himself, he wasn't a man at all, but a Koopa. He had short green hair, and placid blue eyes. He usually had a kind smile upon his face, but today it was twisted with worry. Ever since they’d realized the princess had gone missing, they had sent soldiers to look far and wide, but to no avail. The King of the Waffle Kingdom wore upon him a large, red robe with trailing blue and black tail pieces. He had a cerulean blue shell that glowed heroically. His tail was long, and unlike most Koopas, his scales had a reddish tint.
He addressed the pacing Koopa down below. "Any word of her being found?"
The pacing Koopa stopped and sighed. "No... unfortunately. There has been no sign of her ever since she disappeared... I thought you would know that now...."
The king hung his head in utter defeat. A single tear rolled down his face and splashed onto his lap. He looked out the window into the vast darkness and wondered where their fair princess could be. Oh where…?
~
Mario and Lucy exited the warp pipe and looked around. Lucy forced a smile. "My birthplace."
The sky was dark and houses were blackened in there windows. Not a thing moved in the dark. It was quite cold out, and the two could see their own breath. Shivers went up and down their spines. There was a chilling breeze that sent prickles upon Mario's neck. He frowned, as Lucy shivered. Mario wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. "C'mon, we should get you out of the cold..."
She nodded at him weakly. He picked her up off her feet and eyed one of the nearby houses. It was large and red. It had a brick chimney that extended into the sky and billowed out dark smoke. The door was made out of wood, and it had a heart-shaped symbol on the door. The doorknob was blue, and the door was red. The doormat had a friendly "welcome home" on it, but in this dark place, it didn't seem to be so welcoming. Mario knocked once, and waited. When nobody answered, he knocked again.
After some time, footsteps were heard
and a tall, female Koopa opened the door. She had vivid, green eyes and
bright yellow scales. She had long, purple hair, dimples, and was very
pretty. Her shirt was green with pink flowers on it. Her shell was an emerald
green, and her tail was of medium length. She also had two
heart-shaped earrings coming from her
hair, since Koopas had no ears.
She smiled brightly at them. "Come in! Come in!" They stared. "Well? What are you waiting for? Come in!" The two walked through the doorway leading to the house. The living room was large and pretty. The walls were pink, and there were small, cushy looking pillows with hearts on them. There was a two seater couch, and a three seater off to the left of it. The room had a large boom box on a shelf placed against the far wall. The next room was the kitchen. It also had pink walls. It had a refrigerator, microwave, a dinner table, several things like that.
"Do you guys want something to eat?" she asked.
Mario's stomach growled and he clutched it. "Actually, food would be nice."
She smiled. "My name is Cululu. Cululu Airheart. Do you want anything specific?" Cululu asked.
"Lasagna?" Mario asked.
"Um... Eclairs?" Lucy asked.
Cululu stopped. She looked as if she had been shot. "What's your last name?"
Lucy paused. "Eclair."
She dropped her cooking supplies and they clattered to the ground. "Get out of this house. Princess."
Lucy looked confused. "What'd I do?"
Cululu's fists were clenched. "You are unaware of the prophecy... you are cursed. They should've killed you when they had the chance. But no. They were too stubborn. They didn't believe in superstition. You will only bring death upon us," she said.
Mario gasped. "Calm down!"
She slammed her fist on the table. "When Lucy was a little girl, a demon came, and placed a curse in her chest. It was said that someday, it would be the death of us all. I wasn't supposed to know, but I found out anyway," she said.
"The Royals didn't speak of it in fear that there would be panic," she finished. Suddenly she reached out and pulled slightly on her shirt. Mario gasped as she saw it: a symbol of two twin fireballs. They were gold and silver and had a red star through them.
Lucy sobbed. "I hated that. I tried to hide it most of my life. I was so scared when that demon came." Lucy hung her head.
Little Lucy Eclair ran across the stone floor, her feet hurting as she ran. A large creature was behind her. Her eyes opened wide in fear, and she tripped, facing the monster. It was a large, cloaked being. Two demonic red eyes could be seen from within, and a black, scaly nose poked out from the robes. It reached forward, and Lucy screamed as her chest was touched. Seconds later, a demonic mark was left, and the creature vanished into the darkness.
Lucy whimpered as she relived that.
"Now get out," Cululu's harsh voice rung out again.
Mario growled. "C'mon? Can't you show some kindness?!"
Cululu snarled. "She used to be my childhood friend once. But now, I care a lot more for our kingdom than her."
They were roughly thrown out of the house, and Mario apologized. "Sorry."
Then Lucy saw a structure in the distance and pointed to it. "The castle... go to it," she muttered.
Mario nodded and took the princess to her home. Inside, he gasped. It was large and spacious. It had large, stone walls and as they walked on, they saw a Koopa in the throne. His head was hung in sorrow.
"Daddy?"
The king looked up. "Lucy?"
She ran forward and hugged him. He hugged her back. "I'm sorry. I ran away to see what the normal life was like...."
The king smiled. "That's quite all right. Now, who is this fellow?
Lucy pointed at him. "That's Mario. He took care of me."
The king beamed. "Hmn... Would you like to be my daughter's husband?"
Mario shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Sire. My place is at the Mushroom Kingdom."
The king nodded. "Understandable."
~
The gigantic mechanical creature of Fawful's stood gleaming in the morning light. Slimer and his friends stood poised. Brian waited in the restaurant. Fawful grinned. "Fink Rats... are you ready to taste the pepper of rage on the pizza of fury?"
Slimer blinked twice, then grinned. "I have idea what that means, but let's fight!"
Bow jumped into the air and threw her fans at him. He jumped to the side and grinned. "FOOLS!!!" A red beam was shot at the Boo.
Slimer took out a small, spherical object. "Here's protons in your face." Then, he threw it.
It exploded next to Fawful's machine, and blue lightning enveloped it. "AAAAAUGH!!! IT IS THE OVERHEAT!!!!" Slimer ran forward, unsheathing a sword. He slashed at the creature's chest. A long gash was made in the metal body. Fawful roared in annoyance. He started spinning. Slimer watched as he spun faster and faster. The three started running. Mewtwo90 pushed it backwards. At the speed it was going, it toppled over on its back.
Slimer jumped onto it, mallet raised. He brought it down, and the glass dented. Fawful growled. "This glass does not have the weakness of Bill Gates!!!" He got up, knocking Slimer off him. He fell to the ground as the robot lifted into the air. It shot several missiles once more that fell from the sky. Explosions were all around them. Mewtwo90 mentally pushed him into a building. The smoke cleared and Fawful walked towards them. He lifted his leg and it shot off at them. Slimer sliced it into several pieces, grinning.
A new leg was reformed in its place. Slimer growled. He ducked into his shell and shot at the creature. Bow jumped on top and readied her fans. As Slimer passed, Bow slashed its metallic body. Then, Slimer bounced back and Bow sliced him again. Bow jumped off and created a tornado with her spinning fans. It flew toward him and pushed him back. He fell to the ground, and got up slowly. He was breathing heavily, and his bot had taken a lot of damage.
One of his metal hands converted into a sword. Slimer rushed forward and blocked him. Mewtwo90 sent Bow spiraling into the robot. She slashed the fans in a cross, then again. Fawful's bot backflipped and landed. Several small, round, black things came from it. They rolled on the ground for a short time before exploding. Slimer got out of the way, but Bow was hit a bit and knocked around. Bow hovered forward and slashed repeatedly at it. The creature dodged and ducked. Its limbs curled in, and it turned into a large, steel ball. It started rolling forward.
Bow jumped out of the way. Slimer jumped into the air, Mewtwo90 on his side. The alien sunk his tail blade into the metal demon. The ball reeled. Slimer shot several explosives at it, and it reverted to normal form. "I have no time for your foolishness of stupidity!" Fawful barreled past the three heroes. He burst through the restaurant, and his machine folded in on itself. Then, Fawful entered the warp pipe.
Mario sat in a chair made of comfortable materials. He heard a voice that was like velvet. Princess Eclair came out, in her gown. It was beautiful. It was white, as pure as the heavens, with patterns of black on it. He had never seen anything so beautiful... except Peach...
"You look great.." Mario breathed. The princess fell in his arms, and Mario's lips met her beak. They kissed each other oh so tenderly. Then there was a noise outside in the darkness. A burst of flame from outside. They both rushed to see what was going on.
And there, in the darkness, they could make out the menacing form of Fawful....
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Ancient Magic
KARMA
I turned around. Facing me was a medium-sized green Boo. He had frizzled, red hair that looked a bit greasy. One eye was black, the other red. He wore a small, black robe, one that fit a Boo. His fangs glinted in the light. One was golden. The other was the plain white color. It laughed evilly. "Hehehehe... Hello, Karma..."
I gasped. "How do you know my name?"
It grinned. "I've known you for quite a long time... but that's not important right now. I have something of yours." He clapped his fins together.
A bright light shone, and a bubble of energy appeared. As the light faded, I could see an unmoving figure in the gray bubble. Ludwig! His eyes were closed, and he was slumped against the all of the bubble.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked the strange Boo.
"Hehehehehe... The master needs more souls to feed on... He is coming... and when he does... this pathetic planet will be doomed..."
I gasped. "WHO?! WHO IS HE?! LET MY LUDWIG GO!!!!!"
The Boo only cackled. "You are a fool. I will not tell you of such things, but you will know in time. He will be your future master.
"But enough talk. You wish to reclaim your precious Ludwig, no? Then let us fight," he said with an evil glint in both eyes.
I clenched my fists, and bit my lip, growling until blood dripped from it. "I thought you'd never ask."
I jumped into the air, bellowing. I swung my fist forward, only colliding with air. The Boo had disappeared somewhere. I heard his voice from behind. I whirled around. "You are too easy," he said. He brought out a blade from behind him. It was black, and enveloped with green flame. He swished it in the air threateningly before motioning me to come.
"FEAR ME, MY NAME IS XTHARUE!!!" He brought his blade down like a speeding bullet. I ducked out of the way. I focused, and lay several empty eggs. The first one I threw, he dodged. The next two he got caught off guard and got splattered in yolk. He growled. He rushed me, sword high in the air. I dodged when he swung, and tried to grab the blade. My hand felt a burning sensation and I let go immediately. "Dumb," he commented. I slapped him in the face with my tail, then punched him in the gut. "Wretch..." he growled.
While he clutched his face, I delivered a swift kick to his hindquarters. He spun around violently, holding his black sword. The flames danced around him, and he rushed me. The flames leapt at my face. With my back to the wall, I jumped away. A small portion was burned away, but the specter grinned and continued pursuing me. I conjured up stomach acid from my throat and swished it around in my mouth. I sprayed the concoction in his eyes at just the right moment when there was a part between the flames.
He roared and staggered back. His eyes were closed and twitching. He brought his sword into the air, and all the twirling, green fire came into one point. He smirked, and a large, green fireball came hurtling at me. I dodged, and it exploded into thousands of embers. Another ball of fire was shot at me, but I dodged this as well. He finally opened his eyes. The fireballs came together and started chasing me. The specter moved about the room throwing more of the fireballs.
I growled. I ran to a wall and pulled off one of my shoes. I held it up, and the fire bounced back at him. He dodged, but it collided with another fireball, and he was in my line of fire so he was hit by his own green blast. He fell to the floor, but then got up, struggling. "So... you're a tough one, eh?" He smiled, showing both his creepy fangs. The room burst into green flame as I shouted. The wood beneath us crumpled and caved in. I was on my feet on a large, stone platform. All around me was a sea of green fire. I heard ominous laughter.
The Boo ran forward and cut a circle in the air, causing a circle of green flame to rush toward me. I dodged. I jumped into the air, in an all out battle. He swung his sword, I ducked. I shot my fist, he dodged. He threw a fin directed at my gut, I fell backwards, somersaulting before jumping in the air again. I kicked and he was hit. He swung with his sword and missed but grazed my left shoulder, causing red blood to drip from it. I threw an uppercut, but he dodged. He fell forward, landing on top of me. "What are you doing, freak?" I asked.
The creature laughed whole-heartedly at this. "Me? Freak? Have you looked in a mirror lately? As to what I am doing, it's an old technique my master taught me..." He dipped his tongue down, and stabbed it through my chest. Blood spilled and he retracted his tongue.
I gasped, and kicked him off me. "%^^&&," I muttered angrily.
"And it does more then hurt you." He cackled and started to glow. His eyes turned pure green, and his hair stood up, needle thin. From his mouth a battalion of green flames issued forth. I ran, dodging them.
I jumped into the air, and landed on him. I shoved my head forward, headbutting him, then with both feet kicked him roughly. He flew across the room and onto the ground. He slowly rose, cackling. "You think you can just defeat me that easily?" he asked quizzically. When the green glow became brighter, I winced and he grinned. "Oh, excellent. This is what I was talking about... DARK SHADOW ARMOR!!!" I stared. The Boo's dark robes were soon replaced. Liquidy dark stuff started coating the Boo. It crawled up his body and all around him. It solidified a bit, then molded in his shape.
He raised his sword high into the air. The place started to rumble. Green flame embers rained down from the sky. I formed a protective eggshell around me, and it lasted long enough so that I could stay safe. Then I spun forwards and flew up into the air, connecting with his dark hide. He flew backwards into the green flame, as I emerged safely from my egg. Having the abilities of a Koopa and a Yoshi was quite good. The flames bubbled, however, and I gasped when the dark form emerged. He was laughing evilly. I jumped into the air, and ducked into my shell.
I flew forward and slammed into him. He pushed back, and I unsuspectingly popped out of my shell. I put my fists together, and slammed him into the ground. While he was on the ground. I conjured up some more stomach acid. I spit it at the creature. He was expecting this. He raised a shield of green fire. Then he raised his sword again, and green embers fell to the ground. I ran and ducked and hid in my shell. I looked for an opening, running from one side of the arena to the next.
He whirled to face me. He threw a fireball at the ground. Then from out of the ground a long, green Firesnake emerged. It twisted and coiled and snaked. I formed another eggshell around myself and rolled forward, slamming into the snake of fire. It roared. It rose into the air and prepared for another strike. It shook violently before crashing to the ground again. I hopped over it, but it swirled on me. It opened its jaws wide to try to eat me.
I jumped over it and slammed it in the head with my boots. It growled viciously and circled. I grew tired of this hunt and chase. I coughed up stomach acid, which incinerated the fiery fiend. The Boo turned to face me. I jumped into the air. I landed on him. And then, I sprayed my stomach acid at him. He writhed in hopes of getting free, but I continued. I shot out my tongue and pulled him into my mouth. The acid was slowly dissolving his dark armor.
After swishing excessively, I spit the whole thing out. The armor was steaming and the Boo no longer moved. Then I saw Ludwig's bubble snap and he fell to the ground. I went over and picked him up. The next thing I knew, we were outside. The mansion had disappeared, and only the far off reaches of Dark Land were seen.
Ludwig woke up and I kissed him. "Oh... Karma, I had a terrible dream... about when we first met..." That was odd. I averted my eyes away from him. The rain was coming down heavier.
Thunder roared and lightning flashed suddenly. I heard the far off sounds of footsteps and soon to my horror saw three menacing figures coming out of the fog. Just like my dream...
Chapter Thirty-Eight: Championship Match
Wario stepped out into the arena. On the other side, the Yoshi, Eliza came. She smiled to the crowd and blew kisses. The two fighters stood off against each other. "In this corner, Eliza!!! She is a sky Yoshi, suprisingly, because there are not many left...." The host's voice seemed to trail off. "And in this corner, Wario! The heavyweight hurter-"
Wario growled. "HEY!!!! YOU TRYIN TO CALL-A WARIO FAT?!"
The host sighed. "No, Wario."
Wario nodded. "Good."
The two stepped towards each other. "FIGHT!!!" the host shouted. Eliza took off into the air, her wings spread out. Wario glared at her and she glared back. As she reached the highest point in the sky, she dove downward, wind trailing off the back of her wings in her decent. She held her sword out, Wario beneath her at a diagonal angle. As soon as she neared Wario, he jumped out of the way, and she only cut air. Then she landed on the ground.
Wario ducked into a ball and shot forward, trying to knock the Yoshi off her feet. She ducked easily and grinned. She threw her blade forward in the air. Wario dodged, and it came back to her. She threw it again, and he dodged it. It came back to her and she grasped it firmly. This time she threw it fast and direct. Wario, instead of dodging it, grabbed the end of the blade. The blade pulled back towards her, but Wario tugged on it, keeping the sword in place.
Slowly the sword dragged his form across the ground. Wario fell on his face and the sword flew back to Eliza. Wario hung onto it in desperation. Her lithe leg came and kicked him in the face. He fell over on the ground and got up slowly. He stared at his foe, her steel, bikini-like clothing almost mocking him. Wario shook his head. "Maybe in retrospect, that wasn't such a good idea." Wario got up in a fighting stance. She rushed forward, swinging her sword, trying to hit Wario.
Wario's face dripped with sweat. Avoiding all these strikes was difficult. She stuck the blade into the ground and a wave of energy came hurtling at Wario. He jumped over it, then went on the defensive. He threw several punches, careful not to impale his hand on the sword, or get impaled at all for that matter. One fist connected with her gut. She growled. A hacking sound started in her throat. Wario ran as a wave of stomach acid washed towards him, he got his hindquarters burned a small amount but kept running to get away.
He sighed, when something wet and slimy wrapped around his neck and cut off his air. Eliza's tongue was slowly pulling the obese man into her mouth. How she would manage such a feat is unknown, but hey, it was happening anyway. "Darn narrator not making anything easier..." Wario grumbled. He zipped towards the Yoshi's open maw. As soon as he was about to be chomped and chewed, he punched the Yoshi in the face. Her tongue's grip stopped. He then grabbed her tail and threw her forward, and she landed face first.
The Yoshi flew into the sky and pointed her sword at him. All of a sudden, he was seeing double. The Yoshi had split into two and both figures were circling around at dizzying speeds in order to distract Wario. "ARRGH! THEIR DIZZYING SPEEDS ARE DISTRACTING ME!" Wario bellowed and looked away. He heard them zooming towards him, and he turned around. The twin Yoshi's smashed into the wall where Wario was standing only seconds before. He sweat heavily and shook a fist. The Yoshi-in-two growled before rushing him again.
Wario stepped to the side, and punched. The mirror image faded, and the real Yoshi got a face full of fist. She slammed down hard on the ground, and got up snarling. She stood up, and split into several beings again. This time, it was four. They ran towards Wario in different directions, which confused him. Wario dodged the swords, claws, and slashes. One Yoshi warrior spun and unleashed a hurricane of energy from her sword. Wario rolled out of the way, avoiding the blast.
Wario taunted them, and they all flew into one place. He then clunked their heads together, revealing the real one. She roared, and split into eight. Each one went inside an eggshell and all came hurtling towards him in different directions. He jumped over two, that both disappeared. Neither of them was the real Eliza. One egg hurtled towards him, and broke open at the last second. Her lithe form slammed her sword down. Wario lost his balance and fell, but fortunately for him, the sword missed his head and slammed into the ground.
He kicked her in the head, sending her back several feet. She opened her mouth and a large fireball formed in it. She shot it high into the air before splitting into sixteen separate figures. Another copy of her smacked the ball of flame with her sword. They passed the ball of flame a lot, Wario keeping his eye on it. They came closer, and juggled the ball faster and faster. One then smacked the ball downwards. Wario dodged and struck out at the first clone he saw. It disappeared. Darn! He ran to the next one and punched it. This time, the thing was flung to the ground.
The rest disappeared, leaving the Yoshi to gasp for breath. She slammed her fist into the ground and several orbs of energy rose from beneath the surface. She punched them, and they flew towards Wario, ready to strike him at any time. They burned intensely and flew at a tremendous speed. He could feel the heat as they came closer. He jumped over one. The next one, he stopped to dodge. He continued this several times, but was getting a bit tired.
She conjured the pink orbs back to her and they formed together in the sky. A dome of unfathomable energy was formed, and she threw it at Wario. Wario panicked and ran for his life. He just dodged it, and was thrown several feet by the aftershock. The Yoshi grinned and started gathering energy again. Wario wasted no time. He rushed up to her and started punching. She blocked using her legs, and retaliated with them.
She continued charging it, and it grew bigger. Wario ran back as it was fully charged. She unleashed it, and he ran, barely avoiding it. When she started charging again, he went in. She blocked punch after punch, and the dome was getting pretty big. Wario swerved, which was unexpected, and uppercut her in the jaw. She flew back on the ground, out cold. The crowd cheered furiously for his great victory.
~
Wario greeted his other friends from before and they all congratulated him. The Podoboo smiled. "Maybe we can hang out some time?"
Wario scratched his head. "Maybe, if I have time. BUT YOU GOTTA LOOK-A BOSS, LIKE-A THE WARIO!!!"
Morgo gave Waluigi a friendly hug, which unfortunately was crushing the poor guy. The Mushroomer waved. "Congrats. You guys deserve it."
Wario and Waluigi saw the host from behind. "C'mon, I have your trophy, and money here," he said. Wario and Waluigi followed him, grinning. The host handed them the trophy. Wario and Waluigi grabbed it at the same time, before disappearing almost instantly. The host smiled. "Perfect..."