Chapter 2: Celeste and Gabriel
Emerging outward through the fiery portal, heroic Mario and smiling Koopia, dragging a faint Goombrian along, met up with Starly in front of her sapphire castle. The trio looked up to see the sunset-stained sky as they stood on the barren rock terrain. Mario and Party were back in the Twilight Dimension.
After Koopia's introduction and Starly's brief explanation, Koopia suddenly stopped smiling. Starly took notice. "You've taken less time than I thought you would," Starly complained. "Did you actually find all of them?" the Twilighter asked.
"Of course not," Koopia said. She became much more serious than her usually cheery self. "We've only got the first one, killing the Cursed Piranha in the process. Putting all that aside, have you taken measures? I'm sure one as powerful as you wouldn't order us around while sitting safe in your big, blue castle."
Mario glared at the Koopa as Goombrian finally woke up. "We're off-track. Where's the next Brooch Piece, Starly?" said the Goomba.
"I can't say for sure, but they're in Dinecite Area's range, judging by the piece's reactions to other pieces. You need to go to the Dinecite Warp House and test out the piece's reactions. I'm sure the Goomba here will tell you how to do it..." she said.
Koopia nodded. "All right then. To Dinecite! Let's go, Mario!" Starly made a new portal for them with her staff. Koopia immediately jumped in, but she did not dare to giggle. She did not trust the Twilighter, as if Starly was using Mario, Goombrian, and her as pawns. The Koopa decided to keep an eye on this one when in contact... and her spirit agreed with her for once.
Goombrian nodded and followed. "All right, thanks, Starly!"
After the two left, Mario was about
to go through when Starly gave him a warning. "Mario, there's something
strange about the Koopa you're traveling with. You never know when the
Darkness Spirit can possess someone. Why, I even heard he inhabited the
mind of some plumber and an unfortunate Squeek. Be careful, okay?" She
smiled as Mario left. Then her smile turned into a smirk.
Chapter 2, Part 2
The trio were transported to Dinecite Warp House, where they were to find the next Brooch Piece by themselves. "So this is the warp house? It's nothing special," Koopia said, and she was right. It was just a small, super-clean hideout. It had blue wallpaper, a couch, and a bookshelf with a nearby doorway. There was a warp pipe in the corner, but Goombrian turned them away from it.
"It's not the right warp pipe," he explained. "I'm pretty sure that the Brooch Piece will react when we're near the right one. Problem is…" he scanned the small room, "…there aren't any pipes in sight!"
"What about the doorway over there?" Koopia pointed to it. "Maybe through there there are some more pipes..."
The Goomba responded, "I hope so. Let's go."
Once Mario and party went through, the scenery changed greatly. The walls were stony as the floor was stone-tiled. The torch-lit hallway gave a dark and gloomy atmosphere.
Goombrian turned to their leader. "Mario, what's up? It's as if something's been on your mind since we left that small room. Highly organized, by the way."
Mario only nodded. The room was vaguely familiar. Mario thought for a while. It reminded him of his house, clean everyday though he used to be always away.
"Koopia, what are you doing?" Goombrian interrupted.
The Koopa was ahead of them, but she was crouched down. "Look what I found," her head turned to them. "I saw it bouncing down in our direction." Mario and Goombrian also crouched to look. It was a Yoshi egg with orange spots.
"Wait. Look, Mario! Your Brooch Piece is glowing!" Goombrian exclaimed. And he was correct. Mario unpocketed the piece as it emitted a faint shine. "That means this thing can lead us to one of the Brooch Pieces!"
Koopia joined in. "So it shines when it's close to something related to the Brooch Pieces... It'll shine even more when we're right next to another piece's location!"
Koopia then froze as her spirit jumped in. "Would you reckon it'd have glown near the Twilighter?" Koopia kept this in mind as Goombrian interrupted again.
"It's running away!" He shrieked. "C'mon,
he may be running to the Brooch Piece's next location!" Mario and Party
chased the egg, unaware of the moaning, squeeky sound from behind the hallway's
left, artificial wall.
Chapter 2, Part 3
Quickening their pace, Mario, Goombrian, and Koopia tried desperately to keep up with the runaway Yoshi egg. The farther they went, the more the Brooch Piece glowed.
Finally the orange Yoshi egg disappeared out of their sight as it jumped down a violet warp pipe. "In there!" Goombrian yelled as the Brooch Piece shone. "Our next chapter of our adventure begins!"
And the trio entered the pipe, each looking forward to the next part of their adventure.
________
Luigi and Tanoon finished off the Lakitus with devestating blows. The duo had won the battle.
"Luigi, we should turn back," Tanoon said, panting with exhaustion.
"No, Tanoon." Luigi stood completely fine. "We're going to find Mario. No buts."
"You're not going in the right direction!" the Tanoomba argued. "We need to go to go back to Dinecite. Your brother's probably in its range."
Luigi looked at him. "Oh?"
Chapter 2, Part 4
Luigi and Tanoon were about to run off to Tanoon's hideout, now known as Dinecite Warp House. Suddenly they heard small footsteps racing from Mushroom Way.
"Mario! Mario! It's the princess! Again!"
a Toad's voice was heard from the distance. She then came into full view.
"...! Luigi, what on Plit
happened here? Where's Mario?"
Luigi sighed. When he looked up, he seemed suspiciously friendly. "What happened to the princess?" he said with a calm smile. "Bowser again?"
"Of course. Where's Mario?" she asked again.
"Mario's too occupied right now," he smirked. "But of course, I'll be happy to save the princess for you."
The Mushroomer girl opposed, "I can't let you. You're not up to it." The Toad nervously glanced at the plumber. Luigi seemed a bit strange today.
At that point Luigi snapped. He emitted
a manic laugh that chilled the Mushroomer and Tanoomba's souls. "Heh...
Then go find Mario and tell him the incident, you stupid pawn... Go tell
him..." The green plumber then dragged the Tanoomba back to Dinecite, laughing
madly along the way.
Chapter 2, Part 5
As Luigi was going insane, Mario and party arrived at a distant location. A wind blew, clouding their sight with leaves of orange, violet, and green. When the fog of leaves cleared, the trio gasped in horror. They were in a forest- and on the gravel terrain were agents' unconscious forms. From Goomba agent to Paratroopa they were lying on the floor near the trees, groaning out of agony.
Goombrian cringed. "... Mario, who could've done this to them?" He quivered.
Koopia continued the chant. "He's right. Who could have done this but us?" Mario stared out into the open. Something past the colorful trees caught his eye. The Koopa continued, "The Dark's agents must've invaded this forest. Whoever lived here had quite a counter attack."
"Mario, what is it?" Goombrian interrupted. He followed his gaze. Mario stopped his stare. Whatever he saw, the strange creature was gone.
From behind them, a strong gust of wind suddenly blew, clouding the forest with more leaves. "What on Plit?" Koopia converted into her shell to avoid being blown away. Mario mounted his hammer in the ground, holding on to it tight. However, Goombrian was not as lucky. With a cry of dismay he was blown away, over countless trees.
"... The wind isn't natural, Mario," Koopia said. "'Something' tells me that someone's making the wind!" she screamed over the sounds of gust. Then the blowing wind stopped as Mario and Koopia, with the absence of Goombrian, turned to look at the cause.
Mario went into another gaze. It was the strange creature he had seen earlier. Koopia came out of her shell and flinched as she saw what Mario was gawking at. "A Parayoshi…? Those don't exist!"
The winged Yoshi smirked at the forest
invaders. "Heh, I'm a black one, too! How rare is that?" He laughed humorlessly.
The duo collected their senses as they faced the scowling, black Parayoshi.
He was a new threat.
Chapter 2, Part 6
While the unnatural wind blew Goombrian away, Mario and Koopia were facing an angry Parayoshi. The rare, black Parayoshi was putting up a difficult fight. It was only natural that the duo would fight back.
With a flap of wings, the Parayoshi created winds to send them flying. Back in her shell, the Koopa tried to yell over the gusts. "Mario," she called, "haven't you worked with a wind spirit before?" Mario questioned her on how she knew. "... Someone told me just now... Forget this! This guy'll be out in one blow!"
Over the roaring winds, the Parayoshi could not hear her declaration, but it soon became clear. Out of the leaves came a shell toss straight for his head. He was out before he knew it!
The wind and leaves cleared, and Mario gave a sigh. It was empty to win without his Goomba friend. Then Koopia called, "Mario, where on Plit is that stupid Goomba? Don't tell me, was he blown away?" As she saw Mario nod, the Koopa took that as a yes.
_________
Moments passed after the duo left. The
black Parayoshi eventually recovered, rubbing his pained head. Then he
looked up as a gust of wind rushed by. "... Rosemary...?"
Chapter 2, Part 7
As he dragged the frightened Tanoomba, Luigi heard no sound in the passages of Dinecite. "... It's quiet here, isn't it, Tanoon?" he chuckled. The plumber had not completely recovered from his temporary insanity. "... That's the sound of the dead!"
Tanoon pulled himself from Luigi's grasp and stood. "Are you sure? It's always quiet here."
Luigi's was exhausted after his scuffle with the Mushroomer. "I guess so. C'mon, let's go back to that room. It'll be our base from now on. Besides, I'm seriously tired. C'mon, Tanoon, let's go." And the trio went back to the hideout of Dinecite.
Luigi slept on the old sofa. He was plagued with unpleasant dreams.
... It happened just like that... He rescued me from Bowser's dungeons.
"Hey, there you are. Glad I found you, Bro," my older brother said.
"Yeah, I was so scared. Thanks a lot. That just leaves the princess, right?" I replied. The princess was kidnapped too.
He responded with a yes.
"Brother, where are you going?" I called.
"... Oh, to save the princess.”
“I'll come with you," I said as he started to leave.
"No. Luigi, you stay behind. I need to go save the princess."
... Just like that, he yet again turned me down.
He left me behind... for her.
He abandoned me!
I wasn't even allowed to prove my worth!
Am I seriously that useless?
Luigi's nightmare was interrupted as Tanoon violently roused him awake. "Luigi. Luigi! You must see this!" he panicked.
The duo- the timid Tanoomba and the
almost-insane Luigi- rushed through series of passages, only to find Rosin's
unconscious form in a silent room.
Chapter 2, Part 8
Goombrian screamed. The black Parayoshi's wings sent him flying over countless trees. A fog of leaves was crowding around the Goomba, and it was starting to suffocate him.
In a flash, the Goomba was seized by an invisible force. Though he could not see through the fog of leaves, he instantly knew that more Parayoshis were involved. The Goomba groaned as he was dragged away, back to land.
______
The black Parayoshi sat, his bruise throbbing while another Parayoshi tended to it. The two were in a stone room, lit by lanterns.
The pink Parayoshi, Rosemary, spoke without looking up from her chore. "How did your fight go? Not so well, considering that there weren't any dead enemies around when I arrived..."
"What are you on about now?" the black one snapped. "You don't know how many I wiped out."
"Then why were they all gone when I came?" Rosemary responded, still bandaging his swollen head.
The black one growled. "They must've gone when I was knocked out..."
Rosemary was going to laugh at his failure, but the situation was too serious. "If that's the case, we all need to be careful now. They could invade any moment."
"But they've already taken Celeste!" the Parayoshi said. "What else do they want?"
Rosemary looked up thoughtfully and
touched the jewel fragment on her neck. "I don't know…"
Chapter 2, Part 9
Luigi and Tanoon were back in the hideout of Dinecite, where they moved Rosin's body. "I don't understand, Tanoon," Luigi said dumbly. "What's up with her? She doesn't have cuts and wounds, or anything of the sort." Ever since the shock of seeing the unresponsive Squeek, Luigi's insanity had melted away.
Tanoon could only agree. "I don't know what happened, either." There was a short silence as the duo stared at each other, trying to find a solution.
Luigi piped up, "We won't really find out anything here. Remember what she told us? You know, about Light and Dark? Maybe we'll find something out if we go back to joining Mario's quest."
Tanoon thought about this. "Maybe... There's not much we can do here, anyway. Well, she'll take care of 'erself when she snaps out of it. Problem is, where could your brother be?"
"We'll search for him, okay?" Luigi
winked. He thought that Mario would give him a chance to be worthwhile;
otherwise, the green plumber would crack yet again.
Chapter 2, Part 10
Before they knew it, the pink and black Parayoshis were under attack. Countless Paratroopa agents were at the room's entrance. As Rosemary drew away from his bruise, the black one flapped his wings with all his might.
It was not pretty. Immediately the opposing Paratroopas were tossed everywhere. The black Parayoshi snarled, "What is it now?"
The leader, a solemn, hooded Paratroopa, replied in a whispering voice, "... The pink one there."
The black 'Yoshi started, "What do you need now? You've already taken one of our own kind!"
The answer was the order for the black
one's death. Before being beaten to unconsciousness by her army, the black
one thought, "I am never going to let this happen again!" Rosemary screamed,
and the black Parayoshi was overcome.
Chapter 2, Part 11
Blasting through stinging leaves, the three Parayoshis and their Goomba prisoner finally arrived at a mountain cave. They seized him upright and threw him onto the cave grounds. The red one left to report the intruder to the rest of the Parayoshi tribe, while the blue and orange ones watched the Goomba closely.
Goombrian wanted to ask why he was here, and to receive a nice answer. After all, Yoshis were friendly. He eyed the cute orange one with a gleaming flower on her head. Then his eyes moved to the unfriendly-looking blue one. "Hmph, so why are ya keeping me here?" the Goomba said.
The blue Parayoshi only ignored him, but before he could silence her, the orange one sprang up. "You may be a spy for the invading army," the orange one said. "It's just a precaution.
"Don't talk to those scum, Basidia," her blue companion said. "You never know what you might tell them."
The orange Basidia replied, "Shouldn't you be keeping watch outside? You never know when they might come." Mumbling, the blue one reluctantly left, pulling out a bow and a quiver of arrows from behind a rock.
Seeing his chance, the Goomba decided to reason with the Parayoshi Basidia. She seemed much more pleasant than the blue one. "Hi, my name is Goombrian," he said. Then he thought of the gleam of her flower. "Where did you get that flower from?"
Basidia was only so young, with the ability of being easily swayed. "From one of the forest's flower patches," she smiled. "I even found a shard of a jewel to decorate the center!"
Goombrian gave a sigh of relief. He’d found the Brooch Piece. "Where did you get the jewel?" he asked.
"Rosemary gave it to me," she responded, "and she gave one to Celeste, too, and kept one for herself."
Goombrian realized then that he had
found out the location of three Brooch Pieces. He jumped for joy, unintentionally
dodging an arrow that pierced the ground beneath him. Basidia's blue companion
was not so happy with him.
Chapter 2, Part 12
As Goombrian yelled in shock while in midair, Basidia caught him in her arms. "What's wrong?" she asked the blue Parayoshi.
Her blue companion had listened to them converse just outside the cave. He did not like where the talk was going, let alone the conversation itself. "I swear, you and your big mouth, Basidia. Now they're going to take you, too!"
The Goomba jumped out of the orange one's arms. "Who was taken away from here?"
Immediately Basidia showed a face of understanding. "Now that you mention it... she had that weird shard too, didn't she? You were there when big sister Celeste was taken. Bloodrose was there, too."
The Goomba remained ignored. He jumped up and down, repeatedly saying, "What happened? I can help!"
The blue one smacked the unfortunate Goomba in the face. "Shut up. You should already know what happened. In fact..." Basidia noticed her companion's scowl tighten, "I should just take you down right now!"
The Goomba did not cringe under his menacing gaze. Great, another warrior guy. What's your name?"
"Let's-a-go! ^-^"
The Parayoshi's eyes burned with hatred for his challenger. "Bastion. Like it's important to you, anyway."
The enemies kept on glaring at each
other until Basidia's scream broke the silence. A frightening figure had
just entered the cave.
Chapter 2, Part 13
The figure was their red Parayoshi companion, Bloodrose. The unlucky 'yoshi was covered in all sorts of bruises. "Bastion..." he mumbled, "the enemies came back and found Rosemary."
"You can't be serious," the blue one snarled. "Only winged ones can come to Vanilla Mountain, our home base, since the entrance is so high up."
"But that's the thing," Bloodrose said. "They're getting smarter. Now they're using Paratroopas... At least they don't know the third one is here."
Basidia jumped in. "Aye, we'll just have to sit and wait this out. Just until they leave. Then we'll think of a plan."
The witnessing Goomba opposed them.
______
Mario and Koopia were hopelessly lost. They had walked past countless colorful trees, and still they did not get anywhere worthwhile. "I don't understand this place, Mario," the Koopa said as Mario pulled himself up a tree. "This can't be a pure forest. No sounds, no breath of creature, no trickle of stream or rustle of leaves. Just those occasional howls of wind."
Mario was not listening. The plumber
disappeared into the high foliage, only to reemerge on the highmost branch.
His eyes were fixed on the distinctive landmark from far away. It was the
mountain!
Chapter 2, Part 14
A wind blew Mario off the treetop. The duo had got a visitor.
It was the black Parayoshi they had fought earlier. He was silent, though he looked as if he wanted to say something. The black one was covered in bruises.
Koopia tossed him a Mushroom for recovery, but he just threw it away. Finally he spoke. "... The Parayoshi tribe of Vanilla Mountain needs your help to rid us of the invading dark army. Besides, now you look more like honest travelers."
The Koopa was still furious at him for attacking them, though she just spoke with distaste. "First you attack us, now you beg for our service. What brings you to ask us?" she asked. She cruelly hoped for him to amuse her by begging.
The Parayoshi responded to Mario, "Please, I was maddened by a recent abduction, so everybody looked like an enemy. Then I heard that you were a hero of sorts. But I'm desperate, with being overcome and letting friends get kidnapped over and over again. I never wanted to make that mistake again, and-"
He didn't need to say more as Mario nodded. Then Koopia said, "As long as you join our party, not the other way around. We may need more help in the future, so what's one more traveler?"
So then the black Parayoshi joined Mario's party as the third member. Introductions were made. "And my name's Gabriel," he said. "May good fortune lift our wings high. Everybody else, too. That army's so big it'll wipe out the whole clan."
Led by Gabriel, the trio rushed onward.
Gabriel was not going to let anybody get kidnapped again.
Chapter 2, Part 15
To Vanilla Mountain!
With the absence of Goombrian, Mario, Koopia, and the newly added Gabriel were finally off. Gabriel called the mountain base of the Parayoshis, Vanilla. "Not like it has anything to do with the name, though," he said. "I don't know why it was called that in the first place... Anyway, the mountain's being invaded right now by those dark agent guys."
"Why's that, Gabe?" Koopia asked him.
"Well, before I left I heard rumors," he said, "of some precious jewel they were looking for." He hesitated, then spoke again. "I doubt that's the complete reason, though. They took away one of my friends, and another one very recently."
Koopia sighed, acknowledging another burden. "Great, we have to go on a rescue mission? We already have a mission of our own." She met a stern glance from Mario and continued, "Well, what did we accept..." She raced forward, energetically calling her friends behind her. "C'mon! What's a few more Parayoshis? We already have to save that idiot Goomba!"
Guilt overcame Mario as he remembered his first party member. Gabriel, however, brightened up. "Slow down, will you?" he yelled, smiling. "Or else you'll get lost in this bally forest!"
The mountain came
into plain view through the countless, colorful trees.
Chapter 2, Part 16
Luigi and Tanoon did not even bother to use reason when they were about to search the whole Dinecite Area. Fortunately for them, their search for Mario was interrupted by footsteps.
Tanoon recognized the Koopa immediately in the torchlights of the dark hallway. She was a regular visitor to his hideout, though she had been absent for a while. "Oh, it's you again. Had fun in the city of clouds?"
The Joopa responded, brushing her lilac hair with her fingers. "Yeah. I was quite accustomed to the place, actually, knowing what I am. I was just on my way back to..." Her eyes flickered to Luigi. "And who's this?" She started to worry as the man looked so much like his red counterpart.
Luigi tried to smile. The Koopa seemed more unique than the rest. He said, "Ah, you know me. Everyone does... should. I'm Luigi, the great hero's brother... Tanoon and I were about to go on a mission ourselves."
The Koopa did not fancy the reply. "What's your mission?" she tried to asked eagerly.
Tanoon jumped in, "We're going to search Dinecite for his brother to help on his misson."
The Koopa paused
for a while, then sighed. "I'll have to go with you. Who knows what could
happen?" Luigi and Tanoon were about to ask unneeded questions, but the
Koopamaid brushed them off. She recited an ancient, though still used,
phrase for Paragoombas, Paratroopas, and of the sort. "May good fortune
lift our wings high. Don't worry, I happen to know where your brother is.
My name's Everkoop. I hope we'll be a good team."
Chapter 2, Part 17
Luigi and Tanoon only met the strange Koopa an hour before Mario and party finally reached their destination. Carried by the hesitant black Parayoshi, the three reached Vanilla Mountain's high-placed entrances. The place was flocked by scores of agents, but with spirit, they were able to fight their way out. It was the same routine as usual: Mario jumping on those in midair and hammering those on the ground; Koopia taking them down with her powerful shell tosses; and Gabriel using the power of wind to send around a quarter of the intruders flying.
The winds blew, and leaves that were carried up to the tall peak almost fogged their vision. "Well, that takes care of that lot. Still, there ought to be more of them," Gabriel scowled, "or else they wouldn't be hanging near the entrance... What in the world is that?"
The leftover winds had brought a wanted- or in the Koopa and Parayoshi's case- unwanted, visitor. "Hi, guys!" It was Goombrian, lifted by the wind. He yelled in dismay as he fell to the rocky grounds with an audible thud. "I was fighting off some of the agents when a gust came out of the blue and blew me away." He glared at the scowling Gabriel, and returned his gaze to his two other friends. "Oh, and I happen to know where the next Brooch Piece is!"
"Pretty good, Goomba," Koopia praised. "But let your name be known after the war. We still have a long way ahead of us before the mission's complete. By the way, this one's Gabe'. He'll be fighting with us from now on."
Mario was overjoyed to see his friend again, and he unsuccessfully tried to stifle a smile. With Goombrian rejoining the party, the four made their way to the real scene of battle: where the leader was.
"I'm going to fly ahead," Gabriel yelled.
After he took
flight, the red plumber ran after him, leaving the Koopa and Goomba behind.
Goombrian turned to the black-shelled Koopa. "C'mon, let's go! The fools
will get us lost!"
Chapter 2, Part 18
"Hmph. If you're not going to fight, then I will!"
Basidia the flowered Parayoshi was in worry. The Goomba said that one line and ran out of the entrance.
Bloodrose sighed. "Bastion and I will follow that scoundrel. Who knows what trouble there will be?"
The two left the orange one behind,
going to where the dark armies were.
Chapter 2, Part 19
Almost calm but driven by slight panic, the orange Parayoshi flew to the skies, where she caught sight of the black armies standing out against the mountain's rock. Closer and closer she glided, holding bow and arrows. Basidia saw the leader, the hooded Paratroopa, and aimed an arrow at her. Thwang!
With a quick, almost sightless flap of wings, the Paratroopa leader deflected the missile. The army now knew her location. Basidia would have panicked at the numbers, but she was too busy gawking at the strangest sight. The Parayoshi saw it when the leader deflected the blow...
The leader's wings were completely black.
Before the mob of Parayoshi agents reached her, a pink blaze swept the orange one away. Basidia shrieked with delight. "Rosemary!"
It was she. The pink Parayoshi Rosemary was flanked by Bloodrose and the annoyed Bastion. She smiled at the innocent orange. "I'm back. I'll just tell you that they released me. Not enough time to tell you anything else, as the enemies are advancing. Just fight, for now. I've been told that reinforcements are coming."
________
"Argh! Don't fly off like that, you almost got us lost!" Goombrian called. Gabriel was way ahead of the rest of the party.
Koopia silenced the Goomba with a faint cuff. "Can't you see we arrived?" And so they had. The black cloud of Paratroopa agents came into view through countless passages.
Mario and party came onto the battle
scene!
Chapter 2, Part 20
The four had entered Vanilla Mountain's battle!
Fighting his way through the darkened paracreatures, Mario caught sight of the one he'd been looking for- the leader! There she was, wings folded out of view and issuing orders to the swarming mob of agents. The excitement of war found its way into the fighter's eyes once again as he doubled his efforts.
Gabriel having flown off the scene, Goombrian talked to Koopia. The two fought seperately, Goombrian headbonking one at a time and not being swarmed by the Paratroopas only because of Koopia. The Giggling Bullet lived up to her former nickname once again, using shell tosses so numerous and so fast, giggling like mad after each enemy's downfall. "The number of this army is huge! Not to mention that since they have wings, they could swarm us easily if we would carelessly give them an opening. Let's just keep up what we're doing until Mario finishes the leader!" the Goomba said, oblivious to the fact that the Koopa seemed to not take the problem seriously.
"Ah well," she said in the midst of shell tosses. "We'll continue our side of the fight, wot? And lookit there, behind all those other agents- Mario's confronting Commander Crocus already!"
Goombrian flinched, accidentally avoiding a Paratroopa's attack. "... Crocus? That's the name of that hooded Paratroopa over there? ... Wow. I always thought it would be based off of the species Koopa.”
Rapidly the shell
tosses increased, with the Koopa responding at mild intervals. "Some people's
names are based off species, and some aren't. I know since we happened
to be fellow leaders from Dark, don'tcha know... 'Afraid that we'll have
to cut the chatter, though. More agents coming down from above!"
Chapter 2, Part 21
The moment seemed to pause as the eyes of the hooded Paratroopa leader and the battle-charged plumber met. Crocus breathed an inaudible sigh, then spoke out in that raspy voice of hers. "Ah... Give us that other jewel you'd been hiding from us... and the other one you have now... If you knew why we needed it..."
Mario shook his head, battle-scowl still painted on his face. Judging from Starly's explanation, he did not favor his enemy's reasons.
Commander Crocus understood. The Dark Agent commander said, "... Oh.... Okay then. But..." the blackened wings spread out as she rose into the air, "you're going to have to die, then..."
---
"Now!" Gabriel cried out. "The battle's getting serious, so we have to stop it now!"
"But Gabe-"
"Shut up, Rosy!"
The red Parayoshi Bloodrose cringed as his gentle features turned into a fierce glare. He did not like his commonly-used nickname. "Fine."
Five Parayoshis were there, and they flapped their glorious white wings simultaneously. It created so much wind, the army of Paratroopas were sent sprawling! The black cloud they had made up moved quickly away from the mountain and out of the forest.
---
The leader Crocus did not fare well. Now that her wings were spread, she could not help but be blown away. Among the flying agents, she saw white feathers flying past, and her black feathers standing out.
"What are you, a demon? Your wings are black!"
"I mean, she won't speak at all. With all we do for her, she could at least speak up."
"I know where you belong. You belong with the association of the darker spirits! You were destined to work with us."
"... Hey. You're just like me!
Her memories were
interrupted as she gave herself up to the wind. She managed an outburst
as she went. "… We'll settle this later, Mario!" she said in her raspy
voice.
Chapter 2, Part 22
The battle of Vanilla Mountain came to an end as the Parayoshis introduced themselves to the protagonists. Gabriel, Rosemary, and Bloodrose decided to stroll through the forest while Mario and the rest of his party went to chat with Basidia and her blue companion on the mountain's summit.
The orange one's flower lacked its petals and its shine. "It was damaged during the fight," she said with a light sigh. "But at least I was able to hold on to this." She held the glowing shard.
Mario's eyes glimmered along with the shining precious jewel'. He retrieved the thing he'd been searching for. Now the total count was two.
His eyes then moved to what the blue one was holding. "Take it," he said impatiently. Bastion set a feather-shaped badge in the plumber's outstretched hands. "Where it at all times. When one of them spots it, they'll probably aid them on your quest."
"Who's 'them'?" the Goomba inquired.
"Parayoshis are almost everywhere on Plit," the blue Parayoshi said.
He and Basidia then took flight and disappeared to the skies, quickly out of view. "You just can't see them." That was the sound of Bastion's voice.
The trio then heard the innocent Basidia. "Thanks a lot, Mario! Next time you visit, make sure to bring our Celeste! Now, c'mon Bastion, let's go get Gabe. He has to help them."
The trio waved
at the voices and set off, trying to find a way down Vanilla Mountain.
Chapter 2, Part 23
The tree leaves rustled as winds and forest foliage filled the air. Then there was silence. Shielding themselves from the falling leaves with their wings, the black, pink, and red ones sat down from their walk to ask and answer.
Gabriel piped up, "Nice to have you back, Rosemary. Where's Celeste?"
The pink Parayoshi just shook her head. "That's the thing. They took those jewel-shard things from us, released me, but kept Celeste. I don't know why."
"I still remember when they came and took her," said Bloodrose. "They did say something about obtaining a certain purity. Other than the Brooch Piece, of course. But... I can see what they mean. Celeste, the leader of our group, is a beautiful shade of white with those gentle eyes and huge yet soft wings. I don't see why they need someone like that in their group, though."
The black Parayoshi replied, "Then I'll just have to find out. The Koopa of the group wanted me to join their party if they helped out, which they did. So I guess I'm stuck with that plumber. But, ah well. If it's all for the leader of our clan, sure."
Rosemary and Bloodrose watched solemly as Gabriel left to find the hero who saved the mountain. "If he thinks that Celeste is the purest... he's wrong!" the red one remarked.
The pink Parayoshi was about to reply when she saw another Parayoshi land beside her, just to chat eagerly. It was Basidia.
--
"You stink, Parayoshi!" Goombrian remarked. "We almost fell off the cliff trying to get off it! Now you'll just have to carry us down again."
Gabriel was about to snap at the nagging Goomba when Mario pointed something out.
Everkoop! It was Everkoop the Koopa, calling out to them from the forest floor.
Though they couldn't hear her words, Mario and Party knew that she was to send them on the next part of their mission. They had to get to her to know.
And so they went.
END OF CHAPTER
2
The Princess and the Koopa, Part 2
Now below the clouds, the Koopa Kruiser
was placed beside the Dark Agents' fortress. Prisoners were being brought
to dungeons, to follow their already trapped master.
The Koopa King sat, inprisoned in his
own cage, head in hands. Sparks went missing during the melee, and his
devoted assistant Kammy was thrown off the airship. Kastle Koopa, and the
Kruiser, was under siege.
---
Sparks and Peach were two of the Agents'
prisoners. Used to being around torment, the princess did not dare to look
back when the Fire Bro was taken to someplace else. Shalon, a usually antisocial
Boo, led Princess Peach through countless gloomed tunnels, just to lead
to another dungeon. On the way, they spoke. "Aren't you afraid for your
friend?" the Boo asked shyly. The Boo was a simple one, only differing
from the others because of her pale bluish color.
"No," the princess replied.
"Why?"
The blue Boo was frightened by the
warmth in Peach's gaze. "Because," the princess said, "no matter what,
people die. I've had people die around me ever since the day I met an old
friend."
The Boo seemed dumbstruck. How can
she not be frightened... "... And who... who's that?" Immediately the
princess' eyes darkened a bit.
"Why should I be scared when people
get killed, Boo? Make friends, be happy, be sad when friends go, but make
new ones and be happy again. That's how life goes." She walked ahead of
Shalon the Boo, interested in what the leader was like. "There's obviously
no room for fear.
"Ever since that moment, there was
too much death and fear to live by. So I made my own lifestyle."
Though she didn't know it, Shalon took
a liking to the princess. "Well... mm... that's courageous of you. Not
cold at all... But who was that old friend, and what was that incident?"
Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom
stopped. "The day I met Mario."
Shalon saw the troubled look on the
princess' face, and decided to end conversation. "... Er... I'd better
stop talking now." Her blue features turned a bright red. "We're here.
The special dungeon place... Don't worry, there's one other person here,
too..." They approached a well-lit room with a single cage.
As the princess strode gallantly to
her cell, she noticed objects littering her dress. Feathers. Pure white
feathers of the white Parayoshi Celeste. Shalon the Boo left the two sharing
the same cage. "Hello," the Parayoshi whispered.
The princess was struck with awe. Her
voice is that of a thousand angels. "Mm... Good day... Well, we'd best
find a way out of here as soon as possible."
The Parayoshi smiled. "All right."
---
Sparks fared well. He ran to where he
thought he saw the princess go to, escaping from the senseless Agents.
Before they locked him in a cage, he burst out in a blaze and showered
the place with sparks. With the room now lit, he fought the Agents. He
fought the enemies he ran into. And then he ran. He ran to where the princess
was.
"Sir... May I ask you something?"
"... Shoot."
"Who is that child in that photo
album? She's not Koopa; she's a Mushroomer."
"Well, okay then. Since you're probably
one of my best soldiers, I'll tell you if you promise not to tell."
"Promise."
Exhausted to the point of breathlessness,
the Fire Bro stopped for a few seconds, then started running again. That
someone special...
"Well, obviously she's not a child
anymore, but she's the princess of our enemy kingdom, the Mushroomers.
A beautiful damsel of the Light genre. I'm really grateful to her, even
though we're enemies. And I suppose you're going to ask why, too, nosy."
He walked through the various tunnels,
instinctively following the distant light at the end. In what seemed like
no time at all, he reached the end, into the lit room.
"... No, not now. I just wanted
to know her name."
"There you are..." the Fire Bro tiredly
said. "Princess Peach!"
To Be Continued...
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