Chapter Fifteen: Temple of the Nobles
MARIO
The warrior of star and majesty rushed me, her blade held high in the air. I ran to meet her, blocking her sword with my hammer of star. I swung at her and she blocked it. I swung several more times, and she blocked them all. She swung her sword around, and I parried, but she blocked. I jumped into the air and shot several pyros of fire at her. She deflected them all, and the last one hit me. I rolled on the ground until I put it out. She came forward and slashed her sword downwards, cracking the ground where I had stood seconds ago. She swung her sword in a clockwise motion, sweeping me off the ground, and then hitting me in the face with the flat of her blade.
I wiped blood from my lip, sweating. I was getting tired already. "Ah, I see you get tired, little one. Why don't you just give up?"
I smiled. "’Cause I can't."
She nodded grimly. "Then I guess I'll have to be a bit more persuasive."
She ran forward, swinging her sword quickly but maintaining control. I blocked several blows with my hammer. She did a backflip, then held her sword in the air. It started gathering multicolored energy in the blade. I jumped in the air and was sent flying back down when an invisible barrier blocked my assent. "@#$#..." I mumbled under my breath. There had to be someway to get past her shield.
Unfortunately for me, her sword had
been fully charged, and she pointed at me, waving an ark formation over
her five-pointed body, and then shot a powerful,
multicolored blast at me that I dodged
by a hair. It exploded in a flurry of colors just behind me. Her sword
whipped around in the air, and flew towards my face. I could feel the wind
as it neared... CLANG! I blocked it. She started to charge her sword again.
I watched her with great intensity. As she charged. I saw the invisible
barrier appear. The rainbow energy kept charging. Then, at the peak of
her charge, a small opening was visible. I charged a pyro and shot it there.
Her eyes opened wide, and while charging her sword she could not stop the
blow. She tumbled backwards, slightly charred.
She smiled. "Good eye, Warrior. Very clever. Although that is as far as you will go."
Before I could stop her, she ran forward and stabbed her sword through my chest. It was not a killing blow, but it was extremely painful. She whispered in my ear. "Why do you not retreat? Why do you not give up? Why do you continue to pursue your stupid goals?"
I coughed, blood dripping from my chest. "I... Can't... If I retreat even one step... my vow, my ambition… everything I care about... will be shattered. And all my dreams will be lost forever."
She pulled the sword from my chest. "You would rather die than be defeated?"
I nodded. "I prefer death to defeat."
Her face was still, unmoving. Her red hair flowed in the breeze, gently curling. "You are very brave, Warrior. I shall let you pass through here. Let me heal your wounds first though."
She raised her sword and touched my head with it. Then, I grew rejuvenated, better. All my wounds withered away until they were no more. She stepped aside so that I could reach the gate. I thanked her, and then watched as the large, iron gates opened to reveal a great temple of starry proportions.
It was a large, towering building, with a large, glittering, five-pointed star on top. The sides were sharp and shimmering with rainbow light. I walked along the wide drawbridge, seeing the beautiful shimmering water below. As I went inside, I felt a rush of cool air. Inside there were large, silver statues of Star Warriors. They stood tall, a look of bravery on their faces. They held glorious, shining weapons in their points. The room was humongous, topped with a giant dome. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw something move. I turned around and witnessed the glorious Star Warriors stepping from their pedestals.
They eyed me fiercely as they raised there giant weapons. Radiant beauty came from each and every warrior. There was one, probably male, who wore a large, steel helmet and had a green body. He carried a long spear. The other was most like a woman, and had blue hair. Her body was pure yellow and she carried a large mace which she swung above her head majestically. I panted and sweat formed on my head. I was in for a long and very tough fight.
~
BOW
I stared into the night sky, scanning the stars for an answer. Anything. A sign. But I saw nothing. I sighed and rolled on my side. I nuzzled my head against the large, soft pillow that lay upon a feather bed I had found behind a building. Slimer lay on his back, snoring loudly, and I looked at him and couldn't help but smile. That little numbskull. Mewtwo90 (no, people, he's not a Pokemon) was on the other side. The alien lay on his back peacefully, his green fur blowing in the wind like grass. I remembered the day that we found him. Then I met "Slimer", who's real name is Miles. His parents were killed at a young age and he was devastated. But that's a long story.
From the side of my bed I picked up the golden fang that had been given to me by the angel. How did this thing work? I wondered.
~
MARIO
CLANG!!! was the sound of hammer against blade, steel against steel. I grit my teeth, ignoring the hot sparks that flew in my face. He ducked backwards, and then drove forwards. I parried from the side and stabbed a point of the Star Warrior. He stepped back and bowed his "head", returning to a statue. The other warrior came from behind and knocked me in the head with her club. I flew into the wall, sending bits of debris everywhere. I spit blood. Great. More wounds. I jumped into the air, and sent my hammer crashing down on the female warrior. She blocked it, but then I shot a fireball at her center, and it hit, causing her to step back and bow as well, and she too turned to stone. I, in turn, bowed to them before leaving the room.
The next room seemed to look like a puzzle. There were several pedestals that jutted out of the floor, and a large gate that covered a door. I winced in pain at my sore, and thought about this puzzle. Ten pedestals, 1 door. There was also a note that hung from a wall. "When he comes, they come. When he leaves, they leave. The two are one, one is two. They are connected. But without one, they do not reveal..." I thought about this for a second, then I created a clone of myself with my fire. I left the room and waited to see what would happen. As I had thought, the pedestals sunk into the ground and the gate opened, revealing a door. I opened it and stepped through to a very large room.
A loud but reassuring and soothing voice rang out. "Ah, congratulations, Young Warrior. You have made it past the trials. What is your wish?"
I took a deep breath. "I want to revive the one I love."
The voice paused. "Very well. Look into that pool. Find her soul, and rescue her."
I walked over to the edge of a large, embroidered pool structure. I looked down and saw several souls swimming around. Then, I saw her face. It was beautiful, like sweet candy. I reached towards her hand, and she grabbed mine... but was pulled away. She was lost. I bent down and started to cry.
"I am sorry, Warrior... I will return you home now."
There was a great flash of light, and I was once again sitting on the pond, outside the castle. Lucy came over to me, and must have realized what had happened because she nodded her head.
"I'm so sorry, Mario," she said. "But I have a confession." I looked at her curiously. "My real name... is Princess Lucy Eclair."
Chapter Sixteen: Warning Signs
Along the blackened streets of Toad Town, three mysterious figures were sneaking around. The first figure was very short and slim. It seemed very fragile and vulnerable. The second figure was round, fat, and pretty tall. Finally, the last figure was tall, slim, and looked like a model.
The first one grinned. "All, right my pretties, tonight... is the night. She's back. And we want to make good impressions."
The second one nodded almost stupidly. "Guh... guh."
The third figure nodded, a bit annoyed. "Sis, I thought you said we were through with this!!!"
The first figure growled and slapped the third roughly. "Be quiet, you little wench! You're lucky you weren't killed last time for what you did! If you even try anything like that again, it'll be your head!" The third started to cry silently.
The trio walked in silence. They were behind a large building. One went through a large metal gate and let the others in. Inside there were several large crates filled with jewelry and other fineries. The first one snickered. "She'll love this. She always had a thing for sparkly stuff." They went through the next door, which led them into a long room with a door at the end of the hall. They went through it, then walked down the stairs to find themselves in an almost dungeon-like passageway. Torches decorated the damp musty brick walls. There was a large gate at the end of the hall, which they entered.
Inside, purple flaming candles were among the room, and there, in the center, was a large shadowy figure. "Ah, I see you have brought me gifts for the celebration of my rebirth..." it said. The three figures brought a large crate over towards the shadowy thing and set it down. A large claw dipped into the box and pulled out several trinkets. It slipped them around its tree trunkish neck.
"Now, there are three... three who could possibly ruin our plan... kill them. They are here in Toad Town as we speak...." The creature laughed a hideous evil laugh. And the three smaller figures disappeared into the darkness of the night...
~
SLIMER49'R
Morning came early for us, and my back hurt with great intensity. Since I had not wanted to share Bow's bed or go to a hotel, I was aching. Everyone was up already, and we were going to get breakfast. Bow spotted a pizza place off the corner and we went in. Bow turned to us. "Who has money?" she asked. I gulped and outturned my pockets. Broke.
"What is this, mooneey, of which you speak?" Mewtwo90 asked, as oblivious as usual.
Bow sighed. "I guess I'm paying." She brought out a large sack of money from her pocket. I gasped in disbelief. She giggled. "Hey, I'm a princess." All that money got us ten pizza pies, which we ate at least three of ravenously to the surprise of everyone else in the restaurant.
After we were done, I picked up a newspaper that had an ad in it. "Missing Princess. Thought to be kidnapped. Reward: 1,000,000,000 gold coins." Bow gasped. "My father doesn't know where I've been all this time!" she said. She started hovering towards Forever Forest and it looked as if we had no choice.
Shadows came from the ground and three purple creatures popped up. "Who are you?" I asked.
The first one laughed. "MWE HEE HEE!!! We are the Shadow Sirens! I am Beldam! The leader! This is Marilyn, the brawn!"
"GUH! GUH!" the second one, obviously Marylin shouted.
"And this, is Vivian, the brain!" The third, Vivian, hid her head in what looked like shame. But I couldn't think for too long, because then, they attacked.
I stepped back a bit as the creature named Vivian rushed towards me. She shot a ball of fire which I dodged. She punched at me, but every time I dodged it. I slashed at her chest with my fan, leaking dark blood. I noticed that she was crying, while trying to conceal it. This got me confused, and thusly she headbutt me in the stomach, sending me flying backwards. I got up to avoid a fireball that missed my head by inches. She sent a blast of fire that skimmed my body but missed. It seemed as if she almost didn't want to hurt me... I jumped into the air and slashed my fans downwards.
She grabbed my arm fin, and kneed me in the lower stomach. I coughed, trying to get a hold of myself. For someone who didn't want to hurt me, she was doing a lousy job of it. She did not wait. She shot fire from her gloved hands again. It whipped past me lightning fast, catching me off guard. It hovered above my head and flew down, missing as I jumped backwards. I threw my fans in the air and they slit her shoulders, which leaked more of the black blood. My fans returned to me and I gasped for air. I was tired. For a moment, it looked as if my confusing opponent was too, but then all thoughts were dashed away as she rushed towards me with as much force as ever.
I dodged her flurry of rapid punches and fireballs, and ducked under flames. I stabbed her through the chest with my fan, and she punched me in the face, knocking me to the ground. I growled, jumping out of the way, when she tried to plaster me in the face. I grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. Her long pink hair fell back and her hat fell off. She sobbed and I was shocked. She whimpered. "I-I don't want to hurt you, but I have no choice!!!" She hit me with a nasty uppercut that sent me flying over onto the ground.
~
SLIMER49'R
Marilyn, the large, mildly obese Shadow Siren, slammed the ground next to me, causing a large shockwave that knocked me to the ground. I pulled out my trusty PBB (Portable Bullet Billl) and shot one at the creature, causing oddly colored blood to leak out of her stomach. It started healing and was instantly gone. "Oh, crud," I said blatantly as one of her large fists cracked me in the beak and I was sent flying backwards. Blood oozed from of my nostrils. I let out a muffled curse, then aimed my PBB at Marilyn and shot several times. It made her stagger back and woozy.
I took this opportunity to smack her with the butt of my PBB. She reeled before falling over. "Well, that takes care of that," I said. Then a large, gloved hand clamped around my leg and threw me several feet. I looked back to see her standing up again. She grinned stupidly. "GUH! GUH!" She ran forward, bellowing and charging like a mad bull. I simply stepped to the side and watched her trip. I laughed at the shadow creature, but it got up with rage and drove its two fists into my gut before pounding me in the face.
I spit my blood in her eyes, temporarily blinding her. Then I took my sword and chopped her in half. Unfortunately, she formed back together and her eyes recovered. She raised her large, gloved hands to the sky and a bolt of powerful lightning struck me, setting every cell on fire. I felt my charred skin bleeding and coughed, smoke coming out of my mouth. She grinned as I fell backwards, slipping into unconsciousness...
~
MEWTWO90
The short, skinny, witch-like creature stood before me, eyeing my every movement and twitching with anticipation. I flicked one of my bladed tails at her as fast as lightning, and she dodged it. She pointed a finger at me, and I shrunk several inches to the size of a small cat. She started to grow, and was soon as big as a plitian Boom Boom. I panicked and ran, she was hovering over me like a dark rain cloud. Her eyes were red and demonic. A large fist came down and missed me by an inch.
I flicked my tail forward, cutting into her hand. "OW! Why you little..." She rose her hands to the sky, and it grew cold. Hail rained down on me, and I ran for my life. A hailstone landed in front of me and I shattered it with my tail blade. I ran faster, trying to outrun the towering behemoth before me. Two twin snowflakes were visible in her hands, and she threw them at me. They whirled around my head as if doing a strange dance. As one came for me, I jumped on it and threw it back at Beldam. She shrieked as blood dripped from her and frost covered her face.
I smiled and toppled over as I returned to normal size. She did as well. She stopped. Marilyn stopped. And Vivian stopped. Beldam laughed. "MWE HEE HEE! We'll be back, but we gotta go now..." They disappeared into the ground, leaving me to think...
Chapter Seventeen: Warm Hospitality
LUDWIG
I smiled up at Karma, looking at her beautiful, warm smile. I was alive. I didn't know how, but I did know she had saved me. She leaned over and kissed me, crying. "Thank the stars.." She said. The old Mushroomer waved goodbye to us as we traveled out of her little area and continued on through Dark Land. The sun was shining beautifully over the desolate land, and there was not a cloud in the sky. We skipped along merrily over the ground. I whistled a tune to pass the time. The open road was before us, with no exact destination besides the Mushroom Kingdom. If we made it there, we would be able to escape my father's tyranny.
Karma spotted a drinking hole. I was quite thirsty, so I bent my head down and sipped some water. Karma did the same. When we were done, we walked on, leaving the pool of water behind. Over the hill top we saw a large village. Karma whistled. "Hmn, that looks like a good place to stay for tonight," she said.
I frowned. "Wait for me!" I shouted as she scrambled down the hillside to the small village. I half rolled, half fell down the large hill, and was slightly bruised and battered.
There was a large wooden gate that was the entrance to the small village. We pushed a small button that made a buzzing sound. The large wooden gates opened up, and we stepped inside. The landscape was not as lush and beautiful as it was in the Mushroomer's village, but more deserty and westy. A large, smiling Koopa walked up; he was wearing a large green shell, had a beard, and was wearing a jacket. He stuck his hand out to shake ours. I took it, smiling. "Hello! I am the mayor of this fine town. Feel free to look around." I nodded, and we left the old man behind, to check the place out.
~~~~
"YEAH!!! I WON AGAIN!!! PAY UP, MEAT!!!" Karma hooted at the top of her lungs. The fellow card players grunted and rummaged through their pockets to give the hybrid her winnings. We were in the saloon and I was drinking a soda. They had offered me beer, but I had turned it down. This place was modeled after an old western saloon from Earth. Wooden doors creaked and swayed as people came in and out. The piano played loudly as female Koopas danced in their scantily clad outfits. The smell of alcohol and vomit was present in the air, and several whiffs of smoke caught my nostrils several times.
Karma threw back her head and laughed, counting the money she had won from the foolish men. "Ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, WOW! People are really gullible here," she said.
I rolled my eyes, sighing. "Do I even know you anymore?" I asked.
She grinned at me coyly. "C'mon, Wiggy, let's take a walk," she said. I sighed. What other choice did I have?
Wind whipped by me and I grinned, revealing every row of my razor sharp fangs. My red, demonic hair blew cyclically in the wind. The whirring of my chopper blades under my Koopa Copter pierced the night like a dagger. It was day, but the sun was behind the clouds, almost as if hiding from my aura. I flexed my massive muscles and tensed my claws. They glinted in the sun and radiated all through the day. My eyes were narrowed black slits as I couldn't help but glare. My son, someday to be the King of the Koopas, had run away with that despicable hybrid. My veins thickened and my blood boiled with my anger at her.
My tail flicked back and forth angrily as I sped on in my mighty helicopter of steel and power. A radiant glow surrounded it, its narrowed, clownish eyes staring out into space. There was a curved, toothy smile painted on it, and a small flame came from the back, helping propel it. Out of one of the compartments that was in the cockpit of my chopper was a small, black communication device. I pulled it out, watching a long, steel antenna protrude from the device. A low, menacing voice, the one of Morcious the hunter, came out like the voice of death. "Ah... my liege... How are you this fine day?" the coy voice asked.
I growled into the communicator. "That doesn't concern you. What does, is that you need to be finding those two. Have you had any luck?" I asked.
"Yes, of course... Why do you think I am the most notorious assassin in history? I know where they are heading. I could catch them now, but that would ruin the thrill of the hunt."
His voice faded and the antenna went down. I sighed and rolled my eyes. He was a cocky one, even maybe more than I. I looked over a small diner that was below on the ground. I hovered down and landed my vehicle. I got out and the waiter shivered. I growled, slamming my fist down on the table. "Give me a pina colada, with a hamburger and a side of french fries."
The frightened man rushed into the back of his store and brought out a glass with a drink inside, a darkly grilled hamburger, and a large plate of French fries. I dug into them, savoring the juicy meat and crispy fries. I licked my fingers, smacking my lips, satisfied, and growling. "Another round," I said. The flimsy waiter once again rushed into the back to fetch my demands. I turned towards the other barstool, and saw a red-haired Boom Boom sitting there. I grabbed her roughly by the shoulder. "Hey, you seen two kids come by here?"
She screeched and slapped me in the face. I felt my reddened face, shocked. She turned around and she gasped. As did I. There I was, staring into the face of Clawdia Koopa. "Bowser?" she asked in astonishment. I nodded.
"Yup, that's me."
She looked down, in utter disbelief. "Good DAD..."
We both stood there in awkward silence until she left, leaving me to contemplate what had just happened.
Out in the open sky, the wind blew past our faces as we sat on top of a roof that was made for us. I held Karma's hand and I smiled. The sun was setting, and it was a beautiful sight. The sun was setting on the horizon, and the beautiful, orange fire was mingling with the reds and so many other colors. Reds, oranges, yellows, blues, all intertwined and mixed with one another in a harmonious dance of love. Karma's face shone with a radiant beauty I had never seen before, and I swear she looked like an angel. With large, open, exploring eyes like a child's, she looked at me. I looked at her with the same intensity.
She sighed intensively. "Aren't sunsets beautiful?" she asked.
I nodded. "Yeah." I was looking at her.
She was even more beautiful then the sunset. Then, for what seemed the
first time in a while, a leaned in and kissed her on the lips. We fell
upon each other, giggling and kissing and frolicking happily. After a while,
we stopped and smiled under the full moon. We slowly left and went downstairs.
I came into bed and she came in next to me. I put my arm around her, and
we cuddled. Then, I fell asleep, not noticing the smell of smoke....
Note: I got that line from chapter 15 of One Piece. The one where Mario says he'd rather die then be defeated. Great anime. Review, people.