"Why are we here?" Pyro questioned as Kamek led him outside to a very abnormally large veranda. The downpour was so heavy that small creatures could be seen getting whisked away in the wind. The old Magikoopa put up his hood.
"It’s the perfect time to hone your skills. The air is thick with Darkness," Kamek replied, opening his arms and embracing the storm. Pyro couldn't shake the feeling that he'd left his friends inside.
"Hone my skills?" Pyro asked.
"Your strength with Darkness. It's about time that you learned how to use it, you've been rusty for seven years!"
"Wait, how'd you know it's been sev-"
"And," Kamek added, cutting Pyro off, "I think it's time you learned why you cannot remember what happened in the Realm of Darkness." Shivering, Kamek finished with, "Now, before we get started, do you have any questions?"
"... Well, one. If it's alrl ight, sir?" Pyro called out to Kamek, seeing his body lock up in frustration. He whirled around in response, a grouchy look spread across his face. Pyro cautiously asked, "Could I possibly get Ludwig, Karma, and Teela?"
Kamek looked back to Pyro with a scornful grimace, but then decided, "Yes, child, but be careful, His Majesty must not see you!"
"Wait, I thought you told him everything!" Pyro inquired, remembering that Kamek was his right-hand man.
"This is out of his hands, my own personal matters, not his!" Kamek replied, turning his back to Pyro and facing the tempest again.
Pyroboo nodded, and quickly whisked himself in the direction of the door. But before he could even enter, the storm had sped its wind up and claimed his bandana. Pyro looked up, seeing his last trinket from his parents fly far away into the sky. He reached up and mouthed the words “No, please,” but he stopped himself as a tear crept from his eye to his mouth, giving him a slightly brackish taste that mingled with his muddled emotions. And, silently, he thought, Maybe it'll end up back with you, Dad. Or, perhaps with you, Mom…
"Hurry up!" Kamek grunted, as he was blown around by the intense winds. Pyro nodded, and scurried inside.
Pyroboo quickly shut the doors behind him, only partially catching Kamek's words: "It's great to have-“ He rounded down the stairs at a quick pace, seeing Ludwig's door was ajar. Stepping inside, he saw that no one was inside. Bewildered, he stepped out of the room, thinking of where they might be. But just then, something stepped on the staircase leading downward to the entrance hall. Pyro froze; he realized he might be found out. Phasing out quickly, he heard something large coming up the stairs. Once it had come closer, he also started hearing voices. One was very deep and burly, while the other was clammy and high-pitched.
"Your Frightfulness, don't you think you should be the father here?"
"Well, it is Wendy... But no! I don't want to displease her..."
"But Sire, your always stern with your other spawn! Please, I don't understand, what makes Wendy different?"
"Well, for one, she's a serious pain in…"
Pyroboo stopped
listening, as he saw the two figures coming up the stairs. One was a large
Koopa with a huge, spiked shell. Pyro immediately identified this as the
much-talked-about King Koopa, or, much more
referred to as,
"His Majesty". The other figure, which he deduced was a Magikoopa, was
rather small compared to the large Koopa. She actually resembled Kamek
very much, as she looked extremely old. She was wearing deep violet robes
and glasses (much like Kamek's, except they were a tad more stylish), and
was riding a small, compact broomstick.
Pyro studied them closely, but before he could continue listening to their conversation, the Magikoopa opened a door that unhesitatingly filled the room with blood-curdling shrieks, some saying, "DADDY, IT'S ABOUT TIME!", "SOME GREAT KING YOU TURNED OUT TO BE!" or, "I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME!" King Koopa's hair was blown back, and the Magikoopa's robes were rippled. Pyro found the whole thing quite comical, but continued onward downstairs.
As soon as he reached halfway down the stairs, there was another hallway he didn’t remember. Hanging left into the corridor, he started hearing voices again. These ones were familiar, coming from Ludwig and Teela. He sped onward, becoming visible again.
Turning left again, he found himself in a rather large kitchen. Sitting at the table were Teela and Ludwig. They both looked up, seeing that Pyro had returned. "Wow, this time you actually kept your word and arrived after three minutes! I'm impressed," Ludwig greeted him facetiously. Pyro looked from him to Teela, who was busy greedily munching on a melon. Their eyes met, and she waved to him, too busy eating to talk. Next to her was Chirpy, eating seeds and still looking very displeased to see Pyro. He looked around, seeing Karma was missing.
"Where's Karma?"
"She stepped out for air, she’s just beyond that door," Ludwig answered, getting up and pointing to a door that was adjacent to the entrance of the kitchen. Teela also got up, tearing herself away from her fruit. "Why she'd go on that balcony in this weather, I'll never know..."
"So Ludwig just decided that we left her alone," Teela started. "I went out there for a bit and talked, but she didn't seem like she was in the mood..."
Out in this weather? thought Pyro, looking out the window. He could see a faint figure standing under an umbrella. That's insane!
"She doesn't get like this that often, she's usually too busy annoying me-"
"Shut up, Mophead! Can't you see she's sad?" Pyro turned around, his eyes glinting.
"Yeah, but-"
"Ludwig, please, just stop," Teela interjected, stopping the argument.
"... Well, I say we give it another go, we should!" Pyro replied, brushing his long, tattered hair out of his eyes. Teela smiled warmly, and went to the door.
Slowly opening it, Ludwig noted that you could barely see Karma in the dark storm. She was standing alone under an abnormally large parasol, her purple shell glistening in the rain. The three walked up to her, but before they could say anything, she started up.
"It's nights like this that make me miss my parents..." Karma muttered, with lightning streaking high above. Pyro felt a wave of nostalgia overcome him. He remembered the night her parents were separated from her. A gruesome mob of Yoshis had split the three up. He could relate, pretty much the same had happened to his family.
Teela walked up to her, and slung her arm around her, and started up with a both loving and matter-of-fact tone. "Your parents love you, Karm... That's no secret," she said, as Pyro and Ludwig advanced forward. “All of our parents love us, mine, yours, Ludwig's, and Pyro's-"
"It's not a question of love," Karma interrupted, her tone flat and dead. "I just miss them a lot. I just know they're out there... It makes me want to go find them." She lowered her head, and started whimpering slightly. "I just can't leave this freakin' castle..."
Pyro nudged Ludwig, who shot an odd look at him. Pyro motioned towards Karma. Ludwig, looking forward, swallowed, and stepped forward. He placed his hand awkwardly on her waist, causing Teela to give him a sour look.
Pyro floated over and stood beside Karma. "Y'know, I know exactly how ya feel... wanting to find your parents... I want to find mine, too." He sighed, looking down. It wasn't a very long drop from this balcony in contrast to the veranda on which Kamek waited. "I know my dad's gone... but I'm not so sure about my mom. Maybe my mom and your parents met up with each other, and they're waiting for us right now!" Pyro smirked, but Karma just kept quiet. Pyro dropped his accentuation a bit. "I knew your parents, Karma. I knew them, they were good people. Just like you, and me, and Teela, and Ludwig! ... Well, sometimes Ludwig," Pyro said, and he got a hopeful giggle from her. Ludwig, however, cut his eyes in Pyro's direction. Pyro just mouthed the word “sorry” and continued.
"It's not fun, that it's not, losing people we love. But they'd want us to be strong for them. Just keep strong, and your parents will come back to you, Karma. It might not happen overnight, but if you just keep hoping, it'll happen, I promise!" Pyro finished. Karma smiled a bit, but still maintained her depressed manner. Ludwig stroked her fine hair with a single claw.
"Karma, you're surrounded by people that love you here..."
Karma looked at Ludwig as if he had two heads. "People that care for me? Sure, Pyro and Teela do, but Ludwig, last time I checked, the names 'Yoshibutt', 'Frankenyoshi', 'Yoshi scum', and 'Mix-up' aren't 'caring'!" she said, raising her head and baring her teeth. Ludwig looked into her eyes, which were full of tears.
"You know better to ignore them," Ludwig replied with a stern look.
"I'm in a world where nobody loves me! You have no idea-“
"I LOVE YOU!" Ludwig hollered, throwing his arms down. "Don't ever say nobody cares for you, you’re wrong!"
Karma was so emotionally distraught that she just dropped her umbrella and embraced him tightly. Ludwig seemed a bit thrown off-key, but hugged back. Teela and Pyro sighed ardently in unison, and, almost magically, the storm lifted. A large rainbow glittered brilliantly as Chirpy flew through the air, twittering "Chirrrp!"
Pyro could hear the faint groans from Kamek up above, as he said, "The storm ceased?! Rghh!"
"Oh yeah, I came down here to bri- Mpmmhph!" Teela put her paw on Pyro's mouth, and whispered to him serenely.
"Don't ruin the moment..."
To Be Continued...
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