Chapter Ten: Welcome to Dawn
The hum of the Koopa Cruiser droned out anything else that might be trying to be heard on that day. Dyllan, his life spread out in front of him like a lobster dinner, thought negatively.
Aw man... Why'd I have to be such a jerk to her all these years? She's such a nice girl, too!
He was crouching behind a bush, his sister Holly next to him, looking scared.
Yeah. Sitting behind a bush, leaves in my hair, in my shirt, in my FREAKING pants, thinking about life, love, and the rest of the world's great mysteries. Dyllan Mario, cooooome on down, you just won the award for biggest moron of the year!
He was hesitant because of what they were about to do. Regardless of his previous trailblazing attitude, now he felt like a small child on a skateboard at the top of a big hill. If he hesitated, he wouldn't be able to do it, no sir. In addition to all his scary thoughts, there was one that scared him the most. Death. Death was a very likely possibility, one that could rear its ugly head at any time.
I don't want to die. I DON'T want to die...
What would happen? Would there just be blackness? No, if that was true, he'd still be able to hear. Would all his senses just disappear? If so, what would that feel like, if it felt at all? Was there some sort of sixth sense that came after death, like that little boy in that movie about the ghosts and the psychiatrist? Or, do dead people float off into Dimension XYZ, where giant, purple, flying bananas walk upside down? It was odd, for a boy of his age to be thinking such thoughts, but think them he did. Unlike Larry Koopa, the tooth fairies and Santa Clauses of the world had disappeared long ago.
"I don't want to go... I'm scared." Dyllan looked around at Holly, but realized that it was not her voice that had woken him from his thoughts, but his own. This time it was Holly's turn to reassure him. And she was younger.
Maybe there is an afterlife... maybe. Comforting thought.
"Dyllan, we can make it through if we go together. If we just believe that we can do it." She giggled with enthusiasm. He smiled back at her, although it wasn't an agreeing smile. It was one that adults use on children when they think something is cute but naive. He wanted to tell his little sister how wrong she was. But he didn't.
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Kamek was very worried, and at the same time, he didn't care. He knew this plan was going to be a total mess, and wondered why his king didn't just give up. He strained his back to lift up a large crate and put it on the ship. Bowser surveyed all this preparation, and all this work, and smiled. He clapped Kamek on the back in a maneuver that nearly knocked the old Magikoopa over. Luckily, his balance was a bit better, and he managed to put the crate down.
"Ahhhh, isn't this wonderful, Kamek? This is going to be the best plan ever! And this time, it's going to be foolproof!" He beamed, his two claws on his hips, looking up in the air in a dignified manner. He breathed in deep and got high off life.
"Sure, Sire. If you say so." Kamek grumbled and brought out a liquid ice pack and put it on his back, hobbling off. Of course, the Koopa King was too involved with things to hear Kamek's reply.
"Man, I could get some jacuzzis or some junk like that, bring in the ladies, have little umbrella juices...." He trailed off, pontificating with those around him being forced to hear all he had to say and having nothing to say in return. Kamek cursed his king's childishness with a great passion.
Why couldn't you be more like your father? The countless times you've failed... you might as well give up trying to conquer anything... This would have never happened to him. And honestly, why carry your pointless grudge on Mario?! Is there a reason you hate him besides the fact that he's thwarted your hopelessly simple plans over a dozen times? Or are you simply jealous of his life? His love? His friends?
It turned out, Kamek didn't know the answer to any of these questions. So he did nothing.
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Hot water ran down from his hair (which was now covering his face), to his shoulders, and beyond. As the steam rose and filled the room, he sighed deeply. The relaxing water took away all his unreassuring thoughts about his father and his rival. The only thing was, he wasn't sure he didn't want to be unreassured. He put his hand down into the large tub he bathed in, and opened it. Water poured from above, from an opening in the ceiling. Just to clarify how hot the water was, you probably couldn't survive in it to long if you were human... but Ludwig's skin was rough and scaly. So it was just right for him. He moved his hand around, running it through the water, and then just his claws.
He closed his eyes and went under the water, stretching his head back, and lay face up. He was able to float. He put his hands behind his head and smiled. Yes, who cared about Mario? Who cared about his father's rage toward the slightly chubby man with the mustache? There was enough hot water in the tub to keep a prince happy, no doubt of that. From the large, white room he was in with the circular window to his left, he heard a sound. It sounded like a scratching. Ludwig looked down, and saw two small people crouching behind a bush that happened to be right below him. As he looked closer, he saw a soft pink cap, and could see some red hair poking out from under it. Holly. But who was the person beside- ah. Yes, of course, who else could it have been?
It was Mario's children. From the looks of things, they were planning to stowaway on his father's ship. Had Mario put them up to this? No way. That would have been reckless. The kids had done this all by themselves. Reckless, reckless, reckless. For a moment he thought of signaling his father and reporting the two, but he hesitated. Did he really want to be dragged along with his father's stupid plan? And besides, what would happen if the two were caught? Bowser might be lenient, if not only because of Clawdia; but the others... his siblings... might not. Especially Roy. He was probably the most violent of them all, which was sort of scary. Scarier than that was that he was also crafty. And cunning, unlike Bowser. Having Roy as king? Now that was a scary thought. So he didn't report it. Instead, he shut off the water, and grabbed a towel. After drying off, he put on his shell and went out of the room.
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All was dark in Roy's room. The door was shut and locked. He was bent over his night table, and was going through one of the drawers like a homeless person on the brink of starvation. He finally found whatever it was he was looking for and closed the drawer. As he held it up into the air, the large knife glinted. He saw his reflection in it, and spread a long grin about his face, a manic expression behind his shades.
I can't take this anymore. Ohhhhh, "King Daaaaad"... I gotsa present for ya... You moron. You don't deserve to be king. So I'm gunna put an end to that soon... Roy thought, all the while, his grin seeming to be permanently plastered on his face. He carefully sheathed it and placed it in a pocket.
Oh, and if any of youse gets in my way... I'll kill ya too. Especially you, Ludwig. You stupid, freaking suckup...
Roy left the room with a smile.
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Ludwig shivered, standing outside, looking up into the dim sky. The sun would be up soon, and then it would be officially morning.
Joy. Ludwig thought, bored. He looked over to the bush. They were still there. Honestly, if you just looked even a bit closely, you could see them. He groaned.
C'mon, guys, Ludwig thought. If you're going to hide, at least hide well... He looked down and approached them. They saw him, and pressed down lower to the ground. Ludwig walked over to the bush and put his back to it.
"You know, I can see you there," Ludwig said through gritted teeth. (The reason for his gritted teeth was probably the cold.) There was no answer from the bush, but then again, he didn't expect one.
"I'm not going to turn you in." There was still no reply, and he wasn't surprised.
"Look. If I was going to turn you in, I would've done it 10 minutes ago when I saw your tiny heads sticking out of the bush from out of my bathroom window. You're lucky it was me who saw you and not one of my other siblings. I don't want to go along with my father. He's only going to fail miserably again. That's why I want to help you sneak onboard." At this, the bush rustled, and when he turned halfway around, a head popped out. Dyllan wore his normally colored purple hat, but simply wore jeans and a T-shirt, instead of what he had worn a while back.
"How can we trust you?" Dyllan asked, suspicion in his voice. "How do we know you're not just saying that?" Ludwig clapped his hands together and rubbed them.
"Well, if you don't take my help, you guys are pretty much done. You could never get onboard with out being sighted. At least, not without me." The Koopa waited for the face to give an answer.
"Fine." He frowned the meanest frown he could muster and fell behind the bush again. "Hurry up!"
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Man... This really stinks. I don't want to go. And Wendy's "hair" is getting in my eyes...
Morton Jr. stood above his sister, carefully brushing her wig. His mind was the only place where he could talk normally, without going into run-on sentences or rambling. Even if ADHD wasn't real, there was definitely something wrong with him, and he knew it. It was long and blond and beautiful. And fake. Morton sighed, but his sister, observing herself in the mirror, didn't seem to notice. She smiled with a child-like glee, only sinister and commanding. As a slave to her royal highness, Morton had put away all her dolls (in alphabetical order, mind you), and had helped her put on makeup. By DAD, it wasn't a social affair! He wanted to scream this at her, to wake her up from whatever fantasy world she lived in, but he knew that would only make things worse.
For once, I actually don't feel like fighting Mario. It's gotten to a point where I just don't care. I mean, he's kicked our butts plenty of times. He can do it again.
Wendy also had similar thoughts. In fact, most every Koopaling had their own reasons why they honestly didn't want to go on this little "vacation". Except for Roy. He was as giddy as a schoolgirl.
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Ludwig waved to his father as he neared him.
"Hey King Dad. I think this time we actually might win." Ludwig was trying to distract his father as much as possible. "I mean, it's a brilliant plan." A lie. Nevertheless, Bowser beamed and laughed shyly.
"Well... jeez... It's not that good.... Aw, why am I kidding myself? OF COURSE IT IS!" He turned away, almost skipping as he walked. Ludwig approached the Koopa Cruiser and called for Kamek to hand a crate.
"Another one?"
"Kamek, you know me. I have a lot of garbage," Ludwig replied, and threw in a grin for extra measures. He took the two large crates and made for the castle entrance. When Kamek stopped looking, he went around, and over to the bush. This time, Holly poked her head out. For a moment, Ludwig found himself noticing what a cute little girl she was. Unlike most little girls, she didn't wear any stupid ponytails or pigtails. Her hair was moderately long and dyed red, like her mother had done at one point in her life. Then he dropped the crates on the ground. Ludwig frowned at them suspiciously.
"How much do you two weigh?" he asked.
"Ninety-four," Dyllan.
"Seventy-nine." Holly. Ludwig groaned.
"So together I'll be carrying one-hundred plus pounds. Great. Get in." He opened the top of a crate and they clambered inside. He put the top on and lifted it with great effort. He saw Lemmy lying on the grass and tossing his ball up in the air and catching it. Ludwig smiled.
"Lem! Carry this to the ship for me, would you?" Lemmy looked over at his brother, got up, and jumped on his ball. Then he rolled towards Ludwig and got off. He picked up the crate Ludwig had motioned to, and walked with his brother to the ship. Holly and Dyllan were onboard. Roy was thirsty. Two-hundred in cash to the man, woman or child who knows what for.
Chapter Eleven: Walking a Common Path
It was time for him to stop being such a god-darned pansy. His life wasn't over, his wife just divorced him. Was that seriously a reason to blubber and almost shoot himself? What Toad must have thought...
Okay. No more of this. It's time to do what I always do when I'm depressed besides whine and moan. Drink.
He stood in the same spot he had weeks or a month ago. He wasn't sure which, because he wasn't necessarily keeping track. A large fountain behind him, a medium-sized building in front of him, one that read "The Toad's Shroom" in neon lights. If they weren't careful, they might get accused of being drug-dealers. Mario chuckled at the thought, but the chuckle slowly faded back into depression. He walked forward, picking up leg and placing it on the ground in front of him, for once realizing all his senses more heightenedly. He sucked in and out of a hole on his head in order to move oxygen through a narrow pipe running down his neck. Breathing. He reached out with his long, fleshy appendage (his arm) and opened the door. He walked in and planted his lower back on a stool. He dropped his elbows on the table and used his hands to support his face.
"Jeez. Is your brother dead too?" Al asked. The Mushroomer's face looked troubled. Mario looked up at the bartender and tried to appear at least half composed. He doubted it was working. A long sigh from Mario.
"Nah, Al. It turns out the forces that be must hate me. First my wife is killed, then I actually get the chance to resurrect her, she hates my guts. She divorced me Al, divorced."
"Woah." The Mushroomer stopped polishing glasses for a second, then looked at Mario. He was pretty tall for a Toad, standing at 5'1''. He wore circular glasses, had some black hair sticking out from under his Mushroom cap in clumps, and he had a stubble. He was also pretty fashionable, wearing a leather jacket with a yellow shirt, and cargo pants. He must have gotten his sneakers at a garage sale though, because they were ratty and a little dull gray. "Seriously? Why would she do that? She's crazy for ya. Even if it turned out she was into the girls... I think she'd still stick with you. You're an amazing guy, you know that? Probably have the power to change people's preferances. Darn, If I wasn't married I'd probably want you myself." The joke lightened the mood a little and Mario chuckled again.
"Suuure. And if I didn't know you to be a little homophobic, I think I'd believe you. But... getting off topic here. Remember the Koopa I met before? Lucy?"
"Yeah. She was a babe... Wait. Oh man... I think I know how this turned out."
"The moment I brought back Peach- don't ask how- she saw me with Lucy. And the rest should be obvious." Mario bit his lip angrily.
"Jeez! The commitment isn't broken by death?! She really takes a relationship seriously. Don't you think that's a bit selfish of her?"
"... I don't know, Al. I don't know. Knowing her, she probably has a good reason." Mario's cap fell off when he lowered his head. "Al. Lager. Now." Al laughed and filled a glass with foamy liquid. He put it in front of Mario's face. He tried to reach for it, but Al pulled it away.
"Only two drinks today, got me? No more. No one wants to see Super Mario drunk. Sets a bad example for the kids, and frankly, it ticks me off." Mario nodded weakly and took the glass, sipping it slowly. The hours went by.
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"It's closing time, Mario."
Mario looked up, annoyed in the way that a teenager would be after being woken up at 6 AM. He had finished his second beer ten minutes ago and had been sitting there ever since.
"Man are you out of it." Al shook his head in dissapointment. "Man, sometimes you can be downright pathetic."
"Takes one to know one." Mario smiled a half smile and slowly got off the stool, stretching his arms out. This time, they felt more like arms and less like fleshy appendages.
"Hey man. Why don't you take a walk? Just be alone for a while. That always seems to help me. Sometimes the best answers to your questions come from yourself." Al was out from behind the counter, and now he had the door held open, courtesy of his arm. Mario came out and Al locked the door behind them.
"It's been nice talking to you. At least for the first couple of minutes." Al waved a hand and walked off. Mario stood in the darkness, and again, didn't know what to do. So he followed the Mushroomer's advice. He walked. He put his hands in his pockets and walked through the darkness of Toad Town. The grass crunched under his boots. He was slumping, but then he looked up. The library. How long had it been since he had been to a library? He didn't know that either. He walked up the stairs, and opened the double doors. He walked through the open doors on his twin meat sticks and looked around with the clear gumballs in his head. Great. Surreality was knocking again.
The lights were on, and a cloaked figure had his back turned to Mario. He turned around, and Mario saw he was holding a book.
"AGH! What is with all these guests?! Do they come purposely to annoy Oog?!" The small Mushroomer with the black cloak and the purple spots raved, and then spit out a string of heavy curses.
"... Excuse me?" Mario asked carefully.
"Excuse me! Excuuuuuse me!" Oog mocked. "People have been coming here for the last couple of days. First a Koopa, a Boo, and... some weird alien thing, then a family of Koopas, and now you! It makes Oog angry!" Mario looked at him with a bit of unease.
"... But since you are here..." Oog was calm now. "I shall tell you what I told the others."
The others? A family of Koopas... that's got to be Bowser. And the Koopa and Boo and alien... Slimer. Him and his... gang. If you could call them that. This guy must have a story of some ancient treasure and everyone heard it, and it's going to be a race to get there. Gee, doesn't that sound familiar. At least this could take my mind off of Peach.
"There is a large, arctic structure inside a volcano. This is accomplished with magic." Oog stated each part like he was explaining it to a very small child. "Inside the ice is an ancient treasure-"
I knew it! Mario thought.
"-that was put there a long time ago by a man named Giovanni Alkeron. So, in short, it is the treasure of Alkeron. The name was changed to Alervion, however. It is also believed that an Alkeron before created the Ice/Volcano island... or whatever you want to call it."
Mario's froze. He stopped breathing.
Alkeron.
The reasoning was simple and immediate. He had started it all. He caused Peach's death. He had caused Peach and him to break up. Not himself, but vicariously from a distance. If this treasure had something to do with him... then Mario could find him. And what then? Revenge, of course.
Pretty selfish, huh?
No. He would also be ridding the world of a great danger, right? Yes. Rationalizing.
"Do you happen to know where I could find a ship, or a boat?" he asked.
"Down by the docks. It's small though." Oog turned his back, pulling his cape with him. "Now leave. Oog was reading." He continued what he was doing before the annoying man in red and blue had come.
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Standing on the edge of the dock, Mario saw the boat described by the strange Mushroomer. He saw it had no oars. Great. On a boat ride to nowhere. Wasn't that a song? He honestly couldn't remember. He got in, put his hand in the water, and without a word, let out a blast of fire. He was propelled away from the docks at great speeds.
Chapter Twelve: If You Like What You See...
Watermelon. The smell enticed him. True, the fruit in question didn't have much scent, but he was a Yoshi. It was another glorious morning in paradise, huh? A sudden thought came to his mind. It was about what philosophers- or at least what Gabriel Dunn said they did- said about the three paths of the soul. If you lived in luxary then life was too easy and you didn't even know the meaning of the word "disaster". If you lived in poverty, it would be incredibly difficult to rise to any other level. The third one was probably the best bet. If you lived an average life, you'd be able to have a middle ground... although things usually leaned to one side or the other. Maybe Yoshi wanted an average life.
But that was easier thought than arranged. Nevertheless, the sun still shone, the grass still glowed with dew, and the children still laughed and played. The thoughts of one being could not effect the whole. Life still went on. Which meant he could see his friends. And they mattered. If all of life was an illusion, at least relationships with people were half real. He picked his head up off the comfortable pillow, lifted his body off the comfortable bed, and finally got up. He wiped sleep from his eyes and yawned, stretching his mouth until it hurt, and then some. He moved over to his fridge and took out the watermellon he had been saving for a special occasion. After a mental struggle, he put it back and pulled out a golden delicious apple instead.
He bit into it with the skin still on, and munched half-heartedly. He had seen the new girl. She was beautiful. Not just hot, beautiful. But of course, that didn't matter either. He was distracted for a moment, realizing his apple had seeds in it. He spit them out and then sat down on a chair, lying back (being careful not to fall, mind you) and continued eating. The apple was good, but probably nothing like the watermelon he had saved. Back to the girl. Yeah. Yoshi hoped that they could be friends. Maybe even more than that... if she was straight.
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"Coming." Pete opened the door and grinned when he saw Yoshi.
"Hey man. Sup?"
"Nothing much," Yoshi replied. They clapped hands, then did a sort of half-hug (their silly little "gangsta" handshake). Yoshi walked over and took a seat on his friend's couch. Pete joined him. Pete turned on the TV and yawned.
"So what have you been doing since yesterday?" he asked.
Plotting global domination. What do you think? I've never been more conscious of every breath I take, or the vibration my feet make when they hit the ground. I'm finding my inner self. Or some garbage like that.
"Oh, you know me. I went home, took a shower, ate, and went to bed. And when I woke up, I ate again. Biiig surprise." Yoshi responded with this instead. It was a quote oh-so Yoshi-esque. Pete laughed. Good old Pete. He flipped a couple of channels. An action movie starring the buff Koopa with the beard and the painted abs and the "I'm so cool" attitude and the BF machine gun. And of course, he has to save his hot blonde date
"God, Pete. Turn this trash off." Yoshi made a disgusted face.
"What? This is good stuff! Jeez! Look at her-" So much for good ol' Pete. Sure he could be a good guy, but he was one of the regulars, one of the people you knew was nice, but you also knew lived in another world. Ignorance is bliss all right. That's for darn sure. Bill was different. Bill seemed to be not quite on par with Yoshi, but not as far down as Peter either. He could relate to both of them, and that was good, Yoshi supposed. He guessed they were both pretty average. Nothing you couldn't find in any B movie. Billy was the reassuring friend and tech man, and Pete was comic relief. All they needed now was a thumbs up from Rolling Stone and they'd be golden. Jeez...
"Hey Pete, you wanna see what Bill is up to?" Yoshi asked, wanting as much as possible to get back into familiar company.
"In a minute." He turned off the TV, and went behind his counter and into his own fridge. Yoshi noticed with some amusement, he still had some old crayola crayon drawings from his childhood. He saw big smiley faces drawn in red ink on all of them. Pete took a bottle of scotch out, and poured a glass for Yoshi. He kept the bottle for himself.
"Hey. You know I don't drink," Yoshi said accusingly.
"C'mon, man. Special occasion," He raised his glass, and Yoshi did the same, half-heartedly. "So tell me. What's going on, man? I know when you're depressed. I am your friend, after all, right?" Okay, so maybe more like a B-plus. Yoshi sighed, surrendering to the other reptile's strong will.
"I guess I'm just bored, man."
"Bored? About what?" Pete had put down his "special" scotch, and was now listening intently.
"We have it too good, man. Right?" Yoshi didn't wait for him to reply. "Yeah. Everything seems too darn perfect. Yeah, it's fun occasionally, but I was thinking of maybe a change of scenery. Maybe it's time to give up some of the glamor and start living casually. But if I do that, I leave everyone behind. I mean, yeah, I could visit, but you know it wouldn't be the same."
Pete laughed. Again.
"You take life wayyy to seriously. But I can see where you're coming from. I totally understand. And I'm guessing now you want some sage advice, huh? You could just take a vacation and come back. But other than that, I'm pretty clueless." Silence.
"You want to go stalk Bill now?" Pete asked, with a cocky grin. Yoshi nodded and they got up and walked out the door.
All he'd need is a stutter, and we could call him Big Bill... Yoshi thought.
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Summer lowered herself slowly into the hot springs, her flesh previously cold, now warm and snug. Steam rose up and she let out a low moan. Of course, she wasn't in any spa or anything, she was smack dab in the middle of the jungle. It was dangerous, but she didn't care. She could handle herself. She was tough but not aggressive. Not angry. Not seductive. She was calm and pacifistic. She was kind but impulsive. Social but shy. In other words, she had lots of good qualities backed up by mediocre ones. She let her long, brown hair down into the water. Her head went under for a moment, and then resurfaced. She fell on her back and just floated, relaxing.
Let something or someone just try to ruin this for me. I'll mess them up.
She had been born in Seaside Town. She had no father, only two mothers who loved her very much. Surprisingly, only a couple of kids at her school had made fun of her as a child. Sometimes people- even adults- stared at her when she was walking with her mothers. She was an only child, which she was sad about. She always said she wanted a little sister, but unfortunately, Kelly Woods and Anastasia Dynastia couldn't help her there. They might have been able to handle two kids, except for the fact that they had a lot of things they had to do and it wasn't likely that they could have another child. And they would have to find another guy who was willing, which would make the new child technically not related to Summer. Sometimes her friends had asked her why she had "two mommies". And she would reply, "Because God loves me extra special, I guess." But in truth she would wonder herself.
When she got older she found out, and then she grimly laughed at the irony. And she cursed herself for the ignorance. Of course her friends hadn't understood. Of course she didn't understand. But the adults did. Yes, but they didn't want you to know. They figured you didn't need to know. They figured they were protecting you. Right, Summer thought with anger. Protecting us? Is that what you old bags thought?! More like keeping us all ignorant. And that's exactly how most of us grew up. When she was in high school, kids called her a really mean word. It hurt. A lot. And she wasn't. She wasn't what they said she was, even though it was clear to her that her parents were.
And it was unfair. So freaking unfair! Of course there were people who were her friends in high school. Just like before... only a lot more people made fun of her. Especially the girls. But she thought they made fun of her mainly because they were scared that she might try to do something to them... so she forgave them all. Even though sometimes it made her life a living nightmare, she forgave them all. After she graduated from college, she had gone on vacation to Dry Dry Desert. She had taken a tour there, and while she was in town, she saw a really strange sight. A man was walking down the street, wearing a dress. He wore a wig, and high-heeled boots. She stifled a laugh, but what she saw next was not funny. A group of young boys had attacked him, and started beating him up with their fists.
Authorities broke it up fast, but the man was bleeding, his lipstick was smeared, his wig was falling off, and worst of all, he was sobbing. He didn't deserve that. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't understand what he had did wrong. He looked odd. He looked funny! But that was no reason to get jumped. No reason at all. Now, lying face up in a hot spring, feeling "relaxed", she understood. Unfair. That was what the world was. She was a couple years older than Yoshi, fifty-four to be exact. Her parents had come with her to Yoshi's Island. She'd moved here because, wherever she went, she always heard how peaceful and acceptive the people were there. So she had reunited with her parents and packed her things. It would be good to see her parents. They were coming later on, which would give her time to get settled.
She lay back farther and forgot how unfair the world was and wet her hair.
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"Oh come on..." Luigi said, inhaling. "You look killer." Daisy was dressed in her finest, and looking stunning. Instead of her normal yellow dress, she was wearing a sleeveless red top, and short jean shorts. She was wearing sandals, and her finger and toenails were painted a sky blue. Her hair was let down. This was all for special occasion. The occasion?
"I just want this to be the best honeymoon it can be," she said, twirling and looking at herself in the mirror for the hundredth time. Luigi got up from the bunk he was sitting on and kissed her hand. The bunk was connected to steel, that made up the large helicopter they were in.
"It will, darling." He kissed her on the lips. She smiled, and then laughed.
"Darling? Are you high or something?"
"High on life," Luigi replied and kissed her again, this time deep and passionate. She returned it, and smiled again.
"Oh wow. This definitely will be the best honeymoon if there's more like that."
"Don't worry. A lot more," he replied, flopping back down on the bed. "Sorry it took so long to arrange this. When Mario went off on his quest to find himself... I was pretty sure apocalypse was soon to follow. Or, threat of it anyway."
"Yeah. That happens a lot," Daisy said. "I'm almost used to it. So. It was a good idea to go to Yoshi's Island."
"I'm looking forward to it. I'll get to see a bunch of old friends, and you'll be able to meet them." Luigi tried as best he could to conceal his giddiness, but it was hard. He would get to see Yoshi, who was one of his best friends, and one of the greatest guys he knew. Of course, Daisy was one of the greatest women he had ever known, and he knew her in a much more personal way than the green reptile, that was for sure. Daisy, even though she was nervous about the trip, was just as excited as her new husband. She was tomboyish, but that didn't stop her from being an extremely kind, social person. The helicopter blades whirred up above, carrying them closer and closer to their destination.
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Yoshi, Billy, and Peter were walking and talking, and coming out of the jungle and joining them, was Chris.
"Hey guys!" The Grinder smiled enthusiastically, waving at them from afar. As he came closer, they could see that he was wearing smaller glasses today, ones that were see-through and that showed off his green-gray eyes. The three of them were glad to see that their orange-furred friend had returned. Today he was wearing a plain black T-shirt and brown cargo pants. He didn't wear shoes, though.
"You came back! That's a surprise. Usually after people meet us, they flee in terror," Yoshi joked, slapping him five, then turning back to the others. Chris walked on the outside of the group, Yoshi in the middle, and Pete next to him. The conversation died. Not that there had been much in the first place, but whatever.
"So where'd you disappear to yesterday after we left?" Pete asked, wanting to say at least something.
"Back to the jungle. My home. I snatched some fruit off a tree, and that was dinner. Then I went to bed inside a tree. I'm wild, guys. I live on the edge." The last line was a joke. As if it wasn't obvious.
"Technically we could too," Bill said with a smile. "We are a tribal people. Some of us just choose to live in technology. Like me." He kicked a pebble, and it went out in front of him. Everytime he caught up to it, he kicked it again. "Technology allows us to communicate."
The tech, and the comic relief. Like Donny and Mikey. Then where's Raph and Leo? Yoshi thought. The four of them heard a whirring sound, and looked in the direction it was coming from. There was a green helicopter that was coming towards the island. It moved at a quick pace, and was landing on the beach. Yoshi and his friends backed up. The doors opened and out came a man and a woman. Luigi and Daisy. Luigi was dressed in a red, tropical shirt and gray, cargo pants. He was wearing white sneakers. Daisy was dressed similarly, in vacation garb.
"Luigi! Daisy!" Yoshi shouted in excitement as he ran up and gave Daisy and Luigi a hug. He backed up and looked at them, his friends behind him, all looking happy except for Chris, who was confused as to who these people were.
"What are you guys doing here?" Bill asked out of curiosity.
"We're having our honeymoon." Daisy smiled at Yoshi, with real warmth. Warmth you would never expect from someone who was (at least in combat and in sports) extremely aggressive.
"Well I'm happy for you guys," Yoshi said, then turned away, motioning for them to turn around. He gestured to Chris.
"Luigi and Daisy, this is Chris. Chris, you just heard who these people are, so there's no reason for me to repeat myself. Luigi is a hero of the Mushroom Kingdom and has helped save the world countless times. And this is Princess- excuse me- Queen Daisy, formerly Princess." Yoshi summed it all up nicely.
"And now I'm King Luigi. So I guess I'm a step up from my brother now." Luigi extended his hand and Chris shook it. The same with Daisy.
"I think it would be a nice way to get to know each other if we all had dinner together. I know a nice restaurant," Yoshi said, and everyone agreed.
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It was wonderful. Everyone got to know everyone else just a little better than they had previously. Everyone was social, and Pete was polite and kind, and didn't tease anyone. Of course. Pete was an adult. He was mature, and he knew how to act in mixed company. Afterwards, Yoshi waved them all goodbye, and watched as they all went their separate ways. His two friends went back to their respective homes. Chris went back to the wild, and Luigi and Daisy went into the village, and would probably find somewhere to sleep for the night. Which it was now. He had other plans, however. He was intrigued by the Yoshi girl. He wanted to meet her.
He found her standing right next to the forest that was also like a jungle. She was standing on the edge of the village, too. She was in between the two. Civilization and wilderness. It sort of applied to her personality. A balance? Kind but impulsive. Social but shy. Tough but non-aggressive. Again.
"Hey. I'm Yoshi." Summer turned to see Yoshi's face, which was kind and warm. It also had a sort of "boyish" charm.
"Hi there," She smiled back at him and extended a hand, which he shook. "This place is really nice. And so are all of you. You're not the first person who's greeted me today," She chuckled. "Actually, you're more like the hundredth."
"Well, I guess I lose points for originality, huh?"
"Guess so. So... what do you want to talk about?" she asked.
"Actually, I wanted to maybe go over to your house. I'd be interested in meeting your parents. People have told me you were tough. I'd like to meet the father responsible. Or maybe the mother. But nevertheless, I'd like to meet your dad." Yoshi said, not realizing. Her expression turned from one of happiness to twisted pain. Yoshi shrunk back.
"... Oh god... I'm sorry. Did something happen to him?" he asked with dismay. She did a sort of half-laugh-half cry and managed to smile.
"Yoshi, I never had a father." When she said this, Yoshi blinked.
"I have two mothers," she said dully. Yoshi let out one of those "ohhhhhhhh's" you let out when you realize you've been incredibly dense.
"Well jeez. I am really stupid. I'm so sorry, I... didn't mean to offend."
"Don't worry," Her face was still sort of depressed. "Common mistake." They walked a bit. There was an awkward silence. The one that was so common in everyday life.
"I still want to meet them. I mean, that's pretty cool." Yoshi smiled at her, wanting desperately to cheer her up and cursing himself at the same time.
"Yeah," Then she smiled and he sighed in relief. "Kids used to make fun of me in high school."
"That's horrible." He exhaled.
"Yeah, well, the world's unfair. I guess people are just scared of what they don't understand." She looked down at the ground, and Yoshi tried to change the subject.
"Well, me and a bunch of friends just had dinner so I hope your parents aren't planning on cooking anything. I do want to stop at my house, however. Maybe we can eat dessert," he said.
"That sounds great. I already ate dinner anyways. And no, they aren't cooking tonight. They're just looking forward to seeing me again." She walked a little closer to him and held his hand.
"Do you mind? It's cold."
"No. Of course not." Yoshi smiled at her. They walked to his house, and he went into his fridge and put the watermelon on the table. He got a large plastic bag, and picked it up, struggling a bit. She looked at him funny. Then she took it from him and held it overhead with what was (or at least looked like) ease.
"Woah." Yoshi stood in awe.
"What? I workout."
"That's cool. Really cool."
"Why? I could have just as easily grown up as a lazy couch potato. It's just my interest, I guess... You amazed because I'm a girl?" Her expression was that of amusement. Her mind went back to the man in the dress.
"You're not like that, are you?" she asked. Yoshi didn't answer for a second, and then realized what she was talking about.
"No! Of course not. I know plenty of tough women. And a fair share of weak guys, too." He jokingly thought of Billy and Peter.
The "couch potato" and "weak" parts of this conversation pertained to you two. He thought that wasn't true, however. Billy was not a bad fighter and was active sometimes. Pete was too on rare occasions, and could fight if he really had to. From there, the two left his house, and walked until they made it to hers. He held the door open for her and he followed her inside. Two Yoshi women were putting things into the fridge, setting down boxes, and putting stuff away. The first was tall, and had light blue skin. She had long hair that had obviously once been blue, but was now graying-and hazel eyes. She had a scar on the right side of her face, and wore a beautiful pearl necklace. The other was about the same height, and had short, gray hair. She had black skin, and had bright green eyes that almost glowed. She wore eyeliner, which made her eyelashes long and beautiful. She was wearing a long, green scarf, and her tail had two golden rings on the tip, obviously a piercing she had gotten long before. Both of them were old. They were starting to develop wrinkles... but Anastasia looked older. Kelly was around her 80s, and Anastasia was either close to or over the 100s.
Summer cried. "Mom!" Shouting in joy, she put down the watermelon and embraced the previously blue-haired Yoshi named Kelly, who was also her mother, and also known as Mrs. Woods. Then she turned and hugged her other mother, or Mrs. Dynastia. Anastasia kissed her daughter's forehead and Summer whispered the word "mom". They had kept their maiden names because it helped people tell them apart, and also they wanted the relationship as mutual as possible.
"Mom, Mom, there's someone I want you to meet." They turned, and Summer turned with them. Yoshi stepped forward, and shook hands with them. Then he picked up the watermelon and put it on the table. He took a large knife and cut in half, then in fourths. And so on.
"I've been saving this. You guys wanna join me, or do I have to eat it by myself?" he asked, eyeing the melon hungrily. They all had pieces, and then seconds. They all talked, mainly casual conversation, with maybe a bit of politics. Yoshi turned to leave, and Summer gave him a hug before he left. He went off into the night with the thoughts that they were all good people, and that the world really was unfair. Before bed, Kelly and Anastasia gave Summer a kiss on the cheek, then kissed each other on the lips. And they all went to bed in the same house, like they hadn't done in a long time. Like a family.
Chapter Thirteen: The Truth
It was evening. The sky was cloudy and slowly darkening. There was a small, modern ship sailing over the seas, which contained a group of odd characters. One of these odd characters was lying back on a bed, watching television and yawning. The Koopa known as Slimer but named Miles stretched and reached over to take a handful of Lays. He put them in his mouth and crunched loudly. He was watching a sit-com where a stupid, loudmouthed Koopa had somehow gotten into Bowser's army. And of course, there were plenty of hilarious hi-jinks resulting from this.
Slimer was mildly amused, but more tired than anything else. How long ago was it since he had killed a man? Bow tried to rationalize for him, saying that it was "out of self defense, and besides, he was a total jerk anyway". Whatever. Maybe she was right. Anyway, this thought wasn't one that was haunting his dreams, it was more of an annoying, nagging one that just didn't seem to go away. But whatever. Slimer wasn't sure if he had made the right decision when he'd brought Vanilla Skye along for the journey. Then, he hadn't been thinking with his head. Whatever. He crunched some Lays.
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Vanilla was dressed in her underclothes, and she was in the bathroom downstairs, brushing her teeth as she heard the sounds of the water outside. A small fish swam by. It was beautiful, she thought, but not as beautiful as that Koopa guy. This was weird because usually guys were not described as beautiful.
Whatever. Vanilla thought. She rinsed with a mix of water and mouthwash that was in the cabinet and spit, looking at her teeth. She undressed and turned the shower on. She got in and washed herself thoroughly. She shampooed and conditioned her hair as well. She got out and dried off with a towel. She took a comb and combed her long, white hair. She went to her room- which was right across from the bathroom- and got dressed in her finest clothes. She wore a short, lime green halter top and long, blue bell-bottoms. She put on socks but left her shoes off. After she had done this, she admired herself in the large mirror that was in her room and applied makeup: white lipstick and eyeliner. She admired herself for about ten minutes, winking at herself, fluttering her eyelashes, and walking around, legs close together, showing off her femininity. She put her hands behind her head and twirled around, pointing at the mirror. She whistled.
"Hot. You are so hot." For someone who had previously worked at... such a place, she sure cared about appearance and hygiene. Maybe a bit too much. She left her room and went down the hall and opened the door there. She saw Slimer lying on his bed. He was wearing only boxers and a muscle shirt. Not that he was too muscular, but maybe she liked it that way. He was watching the TV, which was perched on top of a table. Skye reached over, grabbed his face, and pulled him into a kiss.
"Good morning, gorgeous," she said, smiling. He pushed away and almost fell of his bed. He recovered. His hair was all messed up, and his eyes were still half closed.
"Good DAD! What was that for?!" He looked annoyed. She looked hurt.
"You didn't... like it?" she asked hesitantly.
"First of all, I'm not in the mood right now. Secondly, give me some darn warning next time." He put his hand to his head.
"Sorry..." She turned to leave, trying not to cry. Slimer panicked.
"Wait! C'mon! I'm not mad at you. Come watch TV with me." He pulled over a chair and she sat down, smiling.
"Thanks! What are we watching?"
"Oh. It's some show. Sit-com. Pretty funny, I guess. Just watch it and find out for yourself what its about," he said, and popped another handful of Lays in his mouth. The Koopa in the show, whose name was Alex, tripped and hit the wall, causing the items on Bowser's shelf to fall over and crash.
"ALLLLLLLEXXX!!!" Bowser roared with anger and stomped into the room. A Bowser made by computer graphics. All of a sudden, Skye burst into raucous laughter. It continued to a point where- to be blunt- it was annoying. Slimer looked at her oddly.
"Oh man, that's gold." She smiled and wiped the tears from her eyes. Slimer would've pointed out that this particular part wasn't that funny, but he didn't. CG Bowser walked into the room, angrily.
"Alex, was that you?" he asked.
"No sir, it twasn't me, no it twasn't," the Koopa replied and smiled dumbly.
"Oh man, I really need an aspirin..." 'Bowser' said. Slimer thought that was pretty funny, and chuckled. However, Skye burst into a fit of laughter, this time, much louder and longer. She fell off her chair and rolled around, pounding the floor with her fists.
"Skye... It wasn't that funny..." Slimer said, looking a bit disturbed.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! THAT WAS HILARIOU!!" She rolled around, laughing insanely. She knocked into the table, and the TV fell off the table and hit the floor, breaking the glass, and the TV itself. Skye got up and her face twisted into despair.
"Oh DAD, I'm so sorry..." Broken glass was all over the floor, but luckily, neither of them had been hurt. Slimer looked about ready to kill something... or someone. Then his face calmed and he let out a low sigh.
"That's all right Skye... it wasn't your fault." It was. She didn't do it purposely, but it was an accident that could have been avoided, as parents would always tell their kids. She turned and left the room, much more depressed than she had been going in.
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Mewt was standing at the front of the boat, standing up on the railing and letting the breeze go through his fur.
"This is very nice. It reminds me of a place on my home planet."
"Yeah?" Bow looked over at him from her lawnchair. "That's cool. Maybe I'd like to hear more about your planet. When I first met you, I didn't knew much about your past, and I don't know much more now."
"Yes," he said, smilingly serenely. "That would be nice." He went over and lay down on a lawnchair of his own. Bow reached over and opened a cooler. She took out a thermos that was filled with a smoothie and gave it to him.
"What might this substance be?" he asked, taking off the cap and looking inside.
"It's a bunch of fruit blended together with milk and ice cream. A smoothie. Just don't drink too fast," she said, dreading what he might have done with a smoothie if she wasn't there to instruct him. She took her own and drank. He took a sip and began.
"On my planet there was much less bias. We were not so afraid or disgusted of same-gender relationships. Just like here, they are born with a different programming of the mind. Do you really think whoever created the universe just made a mistake? No. This planet is over-populated. These people were born to keep the population in check. Unfortunately, here they are rejected, and that is where the problem comes from. Sometimes our people simply didn't have one preferred over the other. We were an incredibly peaceful race. We had never fought wars against other planets, and certainly not against ourselves. That would be madness... as it is here." He stopped and sipped some more smoothie through a small hole where his mouth would've been- if he was human.
"Mmmmmn... This smoothie is... 'sweet', yes?"
"Yeah," Bow said. "Continue." She was obviously interested. She sipped.
"We never had weapons. Ever. We didn't even know what they were. Of course, there were conflicts on our planet, but they were minor ones, since we were all connected, instead of being separated into different groups. Segregation. That's what it is here. The same on Earth. Also, we never ate meat, since we were the only species on the planet. We survived on plants. So... when I was young, I had a friend. But I also wanted to be with her.... a different relationship.
A young Mewt looked up into the green sky. The ground was red, and hardened. Many people of his species walked about, basking in the glow of the blue sun. He waved to them as he walked by, smiling with his eyes. He walked forward in a set direction, his destination known very well. His closest friend was a young girl by the name of Hasa. She was around his age, which was halfway through his first year. He found her standing by a tall patch of blue and red flowers. She stood taller than him, at 5' 10'' (at this age he was only 5' 8''). She had beautiful, long, green hair and knowing, azure eyes. Her body was great. It wasn't too slender, and it wasn't too plump either. Not that she'd look bad with a little extra fat either, but that was besides the point.
She had long legs and strong arms. Her single tail was bushy at the end, unlike most of their species.
"A beautiful day, alike no other, yes sister?" Mewt asked.
"Alike no other, you say? Every day here is almost the same. It almost bores me." She picked one of the flowers and ingested it.
"Perhaps it is better to be mildly bored than be in danger, correct? You should be glad that we have no enemies. We will never have to worry about war. That is beautiful. I pity the other beings of this universe. I can only imagine how they exist."
"Then perhaps we have too much fortune," she said, with a grim look.
"Perhaps, but for now, let us not speak of such grim things. The day is still at its youngest, and we are younger still." He held out an arm, and she smiled warmly.
"You are right, my friend." She took his arm and they ran through the large field of plants. They laughed and enjoyed themselves. Eventually they tired. And then, as they lay on the ground, shadows blocked out the sky. The end was here. They immediately got up and looked into the sky. Giant ships of death and war flew above. A large, red beam fired and made a crater in their planet. Everyone around them panicked and ran. They were all completely defenseless. The immense wind from the ships blew Hasa's hair about and she laughed- yes laughed- as people screamed.
"I guess we're not so godly after all, huh Mewtwo? I knew our fortune wasn't meant to last. Goodbye, my friend, I love you, and will remember you even in death!" As she sprinted away as fast as she could and as Mewt did the same, she yelled out to him again.
"May we see each other in whatever afterlife may exist. If any." As he ran, and as his feet were hurt, he yelled to her.
"I love you, Hasa! You were always my best and only true friend!" Flying planet shards were thrown into the air, and he could no longer see his friend. In fact, he could no longer see in front of him. He ran blindly and knew it was to no use. They had never created spaceships. They had never created shelters. They never had any need for such things. Until now. So he was surprised when he saw a largem roundm cylindrical object with a window in the front. He approached it and a door opened. It had a space inside that was big enough for him to fit. Once inside, he was on a comfortable seat made of soft leather. There seemed to be no dashboard. Before he could react, the orb shot into the air and flew up and up and up, until he could only look down on what remained of his planet. He was homesick already.
When Mewt had finished telling his story, his smoothie was also done. He was also crying a little bit. Bow put a fin around him and stayed with him until he felt better.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Slimer lit up a cigarette and sighed. He put it in his mouth and breathed deeply, enjoying the nicotine and anything else that happened to be in it. His hands were quick and nimble over the keyboard of his computer. He was bored, and a bit annoyed that Vanilla had broken one of his sources of entertainment. He muttered angrily without much meaning to the words, much like a cartoon character. He was browsing the Internet for webcomics, or free games, or downloadable music, or whatever to pass the time.
He did not see Vanilla creeping up on him. She was sorry for what she had done before, and wanted to make it up. Although, she was oblivious that right now Slimer wanted to be alone. She came up behind him and rubbed his shoulder with one hand, putting the other on his face.
"Who the-" Slimer turned around in surprise, but when he realized who it was, he turned back around. She touched his face again and whispered in his ear.
"I'm terribly sorry about earlier," she purred. "But if you follow me, I'll make it up, trust me." Surprisingly, he refused. He pushed her hand away.
"Maybe some other time. I'm busy," he said with a bored tone.
"Oh come on," she pouted, hands on her hips. "I thought we were going to be all about togetherness. We are friends now, right?"
"Yeah. It will be. Not now." He puffed on the cigarette, and looked intently at the screen.
"OH COME ON!" she shrieked and threw her hands into the air. Unfortunately, there was a shelf above Slimer that had a glass of water. When she hit the shelf, he looked up just in time to get a face full of water. Thankfully the glass had not fallen on him. He was wet. His cigarette had been put out. That was his last one. In other words, he was ticked.
"AGHH!" He slammed his fist on the desk, and it fell inward (being a fold-in desk), dropping the keyboard on his feet. If he had been a cartoon character, he would have held up a white sign that said "ouch". Since he wasn't, he screamed instead.
"MY FREAKING FEET!!! GAHHHHH!!!" He hopped around, clutching one foot and then the other, trying to balance at the same time but eventually falling on his rear. Too embarrassed to say a word, Skye left the room.
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Several hours later it was dark, the sky was a beautiful blue, and Bow was still on her lawnchair, although Mewt had gone to sleep. Slimer came out, with the expression of someone who had just found out he was over the hill. He sat down where Mewt had sat only a couple hours before.
"Oh DAD..." he muttered. "That girl is really a handful. She wrecked two forms of my entertainment today."
"Shouldn't have bothered with that trash." Bow said grimly, uncaring.
"Don't you think that's a little harsh?" Slimer asked. She did. But she didn't want to admit it. To her Skye was like a movie she went to, expecting it to be bad. Normally when you expected something to be a certain way, it is. Most of the time.
"This coming from you? Mr. Anti-Social?" Bow waved a fin at him in her disapproval.
"Well... never with you guys. Not with my friends. You noticed that?" Slimer asked, looking down, an unease in his voice. Here it was. The truth. What he had never told anyone. Bow's eyes opened wider, and she looked at him curiously.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"I'm not a total jerk, right? At least, not anymore. I mean, around you guys... I got plenty of flaws. I'm a smoker, I'm an alcoholic, I guess you could say I'm addicted to women... I'm a tad racist and maybe a little homophobic, I'm impulsive and sometimes I can't control my anger. So... my life's a wreck. But I'm not a jerk. Am I?" She just shook her head no.
"Well that's a relief. I used to kill people, Bow. For money. Do you know how despicable that is? And don't tell me it's not. Don't tell me that I didn't know any better. That doesn't change what I did. I don't deserve friends like you guys..." He laughed. "This sounds like it's straight from a bad TV drama. I really am pathetic, aren't I?" Bow didn't know what to say. So he went on.
"And... I did all those things and walked away free. Nobody ever caught me. Once I was dead, they had no idea that I could have been revived. Especially by a furry, green alien with three tails. So... as lame as it sounds, I guess I've been punishing myself for a while now." Bow, not sure what to say or do, after a second put her fin around Slimer, comforting him as she had done with Mewt. And in her room, Vanilla Skye curled into a fetal position and cried.
Chapter Fourteen: A Long and Pointless Venture
The morning was promising. A bad sign. The sun was bright, and there were no clouds, but almost every child of Bowser R. Koopa knew that this was all a waste of time. There would be no victory, there would be no glory of the royal Koopas. There would only be defeat after defeat. Of course, a few had other things on their minds. Roy was waiting patiently, planning every move, running every situation in his head. He was tired of being a prince. He wanted to be a king. If he took control, then he would be able to do the things his father had never dreamed of. Mario's head would be his, and Peach- or any other woman he wanted- would be his. And why stop there? His army would grow, and perhaps he would even rule the world, as cliché as it sounded.
The sheer scope of it all made him tingle. And as he sat on a bed that was extended from the wall behind him, with bunk beds to his left and right, the sound of the engine pounded in his ears and he looked out into the corridor, where some soldiers walked by. He swung his feet back and forth in the air and grinned widely. It was Christmas morning, and he was about to open the best present of all. How long had this plan been with him? Too long. It was time to unleash it upon the world, on anyone who tried to stop him or even got in his way. After all, he didn't care about "being more evil than the other villain". If he had everything, he wouldn't care what people said about him.
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Ludwig was in the cargo hold, which was quite enormous if you stopped to look around at it. He finally put down the box he was carrying with a huff. The stowaways popped out.
"Don't worry. The soldiers almost never come back here. But if you're going to ambush my dad, do it soon. The less time I waste my life on this stupid mission, the better." Ludwig said, and turned to leave the room.
"Wait!" Dyllan called. And Ludwig turned back with a groan.
"What is it?"
"Aren't you going to help us?" Dyllan asked, worriedly.
"Sorry. I've already gone against my father enough times. You're on your own. Good luck, though." And with that statement, Ludwig left. Dyllan muttered angrily.
"We should do something now," Dyllan said angrily.
"Yeah... but we could always wait for tomorrow..." Holly said, afraid of their entire situation.
"... Tomorrow sounds good." So was Dyllan.
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"This is all going fantastically!" Bowser said with a giddy grin. Kamek rolled his eyes. Several guards stranded in the room, but did not comment. They were in the main control room, which was at least as big as the cargo hold, if not bigger. There was an extremely large windshield, and below it was a large dashboard that had all sorts of various controls on it. The walls were large, curving, and green. The Koopa King pounded his fist on it in excitement. The Koopa Cruiser was on autopilot, so he didn't need to worry about driving it.
"I don't see how." Kamek spoke up, and Bowser looked down. The Magikoopa's eyes were cold and uncaring beneath his spectacles.
"What do you mean, Kamek?" Bowser was confused.
"I mean that you're a hack." Bowser was stunned.
"All these years, I've been going along with your stupid schemes. You're nothing like your father was. He took over countless lands. What have you taken over, 'Your Highness'? A bowl of gelatin?! Half of your plans involve trying to kidnap the princess. Why? Are you so obsessed? Why do you hate Mario? Just tell me that," Kamek raged.
"Er... um... because he's got more stuff than me?" Bowser half told-half asked Kamek, cowering a bit, afraid of this new attitude.
"I knew it!" the Magikoopa raged. "You pathetic excuse for a king!" As he left the room, several soldiers looked over at him, but a glare stopped their curiosity.
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Ludwig sighed. He looked around to see no one was there, then smiled and fell back on his bed. The room his father had assigned to him was plenty of room for him to "experiment or whatever he did", as Bowser put it. There were even tables he could use. Of course, his bed was also hanging a foot off the floor, but he didn't mind. But he had no time for fun right now. He opened up his laptop and turned it on. He brought up Internet Explorer and typed in what he had before. He clicked on the search result he desired, and was in. He again found himself at the screen saying the point of no return. He wondered what it might do. Maybe a virus? Pssh. If it was, he could deal with it easily. He clicked the link. He expected type, some sort of ominous picture. Maybe something popping out at him or some weird voice recording.
Instead, a screen appeared in the middle of the page, and in it a menu popped up with the picture of a nervous looking Puerto Rican man with a bandana and a ski mask sneaking into a heavily guarded building. There were two options below: Play and Instructions. Cheesy 60's dance music was playing in the background. Ludwig stared disbelieving at the screen. Then his disbelief turned to disgust.
Great research, genius. Real smooth.
Just as he was about to click off the screen, his mouse went over something in the upper-right hand corner. The arrow had turned into a hand for a small instant. He went back slowly, and found the spot. He held CTRL+ALT+DELETE and pressed a couple of keys. Nothing. He tried something else out. A picture of a golden dragon appeared. He clicked on it and a screen popped up with a whole bunch of data.
I can hack this... I think. Whoever designed this really didn't want anyone in here...
He took his time, typing furiously on his keys, trying to find the best way to crack the code. It only took him ten minutes. But when he had hacked through it, another page came up. This one had print. On this page, was exactly what he was looking for. There was a whole history on the treasure. So, intrigued, he read it. It kept getting more interesting, until the point when his eyes were wide.
"Have to warn-" Ludwig was cut off. His eyelids drooped. A thin line of drool came from his mouth. He collapsed on the floor. The laptop tumbled to the same destination with him, and shut off.
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Kamek, flustered greatly, pressed a button on the wall. The Star Trek-esque doors of the Koopa Cruiser slid open fluidly. Inside the room, Clawdia sat on her own bed (on the left side of the room) and ate a piece of cheese pizza with pineapple on it. She was holding the plate on a plastic tray. She smiled at him, and he just grunted. She was taken aback and moved over, patting the bed next to her.
"What's wrong, Kam?" she asked.
"First of all- don't call me that."
"Sorry."
"Second of all, it's that husband of yours. I guess you and me can kind of come to terms here. We both know this venture is completely pointless... the fool should retire. I know it's because you hate violence, and for me it's because I can't stand serving a pseudo-tyrant, but we both want the same thing I guess." He took off his glasses and cleaned them with his robe, trying to put his mind elsewhere.
"I'm a military man, Queenie. I always have been. You know I don't particularly enjoy violence towards innocent people, but I do whatever my job is. I was a general in the Yoshi-Koopa war, and before that I fought in some minor wars too. When I worked for King Morton, I was proud. Proud that he was so... successful, even though his success was in a field so brutal and horrible. Even though half the time I was playing diaper service to our "great" king here, I still felt honored that I was the head Magikoopa in his ranks. But here, I feel like I'm still babysitting."
Clawdia patted him on the back with her free hand and finished her bite of pizza.
"First thing," Clawdia said.
"Yes?"
"Don't call me Queenie," she quipped. He laughed slightly.
"Now," she said. "We both know that Koopa is incredibly dense, and incredibly stubborn- and that's a bad combination- but if you tell him something enough, he'll eventually take it to heart. He thinks he's right now, but with a bit more persuasion, who knows what could happen?"
"Yeah," he agreed. "Who knows?" And at that point, he fell backward and landed on Clawdia's stomach, which knocked her to the bed with him. Clawdia's eyes remained open for a second, then closed. They lay there, unconscious. If Bowser had come in at this point, they would be in some pretty big trouble. Good thing he didn't.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In fact, Bowser found himself feeling tired in the next couple of minutes, before finally passing out, along with every other soldier in the room, not to mention all the soldiers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Roy, still plotting, began to lose track of exactly what he was plotting about, before being out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dyllan and Holly were out instantly, without even knowing what had happened. Soon, everyone on the Koopa Cruiser was sprawled on the ground, most face down. Good thing the autopilot was on.
Chapter Fifteen: Rebirth of Darkness
Peach was in a strange state of mind. Completely passive, she stared up at the ceiling of her room, sprawled out on her bed, only in her underclothes. Her hair was messed up in ways not thought possible, and her eyes were wide and staring. She wasn't crying, and her face was not twisted with grief. It was set in a straight line. The ceiling fan spun overhead. She didn't move, didn't speak. Once in a while, Toad or another guard would come in and try getting her up or at least talking to her, but she was a stone. Nothing worked. The hours ticked by and still she remained in her room, still breathing and barely blinking. One thing was on her mind. Or- maybe group of things.
Why? I don't understand. Is this real? Is any of this real?
She was going through surreality. Perhaps thinking the same thoughts that we all think at some time.
Now I feel selfish. And that makes me feel guilty. I thought Mario would be happier with Lucy. But then shouldn't I be happy for him? Oh man... that's not important right now. I'm going to get up off this bed and get back to running this kingdom.
But she didn't. She just lay there. And after a couple seconds she realized she wasn't just lazy, she couldn't move. Literally.
What the...
Well, what a pleasure to see you again, dear. My powers may be suppressed in you, but you also serve a higher purpose on a greater scale.
Oh wow. Yeah, this is sort of a bad time for me to be possessed by a demonic entity. I think I'd rather see Bowser show up at the front door with an expanded army and nuclear weapons.
The sarcasm is unlike you. Are you certain I got the right princess?
Yeah, well I'm not exactly feeling myself. And since you have access to my mind, you know exactly why.
Peach was used to having some foreign power either kidnap her or possess her, or some weird combination of the two. But, it wasn't because she was a woman, no. Peach could protect herself. But not against a giant, spiky-shelled turtle or a one-thousand year old demon. Jeez, it was simply because she was royalty. Royalty was always being held for ransom or being kidnapped. Even over on Earth, where they had a different political structure, the same rule applied. Not to mention, all of her soldiers couldn't defend against those forces much better than she could.
Well, you're certainly calm for someone just finding out they've been possessed.
It's nothing new. What can I say? Mario will stop you. Like he stopped you before. Like he stops everyone. He's a greater force alone then you'd ever be, and with companionship, he's practically unbeatable. It's only a matter of time before you get sent back to the pit where you came from. Peach laughed in her mind, a laugh that made the Shadow Queen a bit uneasy. For a moment. But then she regained her cockiness.
Well. You've certainly gained some spunk from the last time we met. Oh well, not that it makes a difference. Peach rose off the bed and hovered in midair. Her eyes were wide with fright, but her mouth was twisted in a malicious grin. She landed on the ground and one of the Toads walked into the room.
"Princess, are you all right?" A dark hand rose out of the ground in answer and grabbed his face. It lifted him into the air and tossed him across the room. Still in nightgown, she walked out of the room. A couple more Toads tried to see what was going on but got blown out of the way. She walked down the stairs.
Enjoy it while you can, Queenie, enjoy it while you can. Peach's voice no longer had any fear in it and for the first time in millennia, the Shadow Queen was afraid.
END OF PROLOGUE
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