Dragohoho
How did Peasley get turned into the Dragohoho? Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga, oneshot, slightly pre-game.
Oh, and about the 'princeling' thing…I got it from a book called Magyk, where the bad guy called the princess 'queenling'. But I think 'princeling' is much catchier than, say, 'kingling', don't you? ;3
"Hoohoo Mountain…"
Prince Peasley lifted his head and surveyed the sky, then looked around him. He didn't see a trace Cackletta or her strange little apprentice.
He stepped off his winged carrier, one hand hovering near the hilt of his sword- just in case.
"No sign of that horrid witch," he murmured to himself. "Well, better start looking…"
Peasley was currently tracking the whereabouts of the infamous Cackletta. His sources had reported that she'd just returned from a visit to the Mushroom Kingdom, and would probably be somewhere nearby.
It was all working just as planned. Princess Peach was safe; Cackletta had stolen the voice of a decoy, which meant the Beanstar would be useless to her if she managed to steal it during her impending raid on Beanbean Castle.
But Peasley was determined not to let that raid happen. If he could just find out where she was hiding and when she was planning to go after the Beanstar, he'd be able to warn the knights at Beanbean Castle, and they could fortify their defenses to prevent Cackletta's attack. He was determined to stop her from causing as much destruction as possible. Beanbean Castle- the Beanbean Kingdom- was his home, and you could bet your bottom Beanbean coin that Peasley wouldn't let Cackletta get her claw-like hands on any of it.
Cackletta was easy enough to recognize. Few Beans in the land were that tall, or that old and ugly. As for her apprentice, Fawful, he was even more noticeable, with that weird contraption on his head and his unusual speech pattern. The problem was that, no matter how recognizable they were, they were villains, and knew how to hide from pursuing heroes and such. And Hoohoo Mountain was a big place.
A big place…An aerial search would certainly be helpful, but it was completely out of the question. The Prince was already conspicuous, and Cackletta would surely be on to him if he went soaring around the mountainside on his angel-winged carrier.
"Hmm…" He stopped and groaned, frustrated. "What am I going to do?"
The answer came to him at once, and he clapped a hand against his forehead with a surprised chuckle. "What a fool I am! Blahblanadon!"
Blahblanadon was a pterodactyl, and an old friend of Prince Peasley's. He lived in Hoohoo Village, and was always willing to give travelers a ride to the top of Hoohoo Mountain. He had lived on the mountain so long that he was a very familiar sight, and that would work to Peasley's advantage. Cackletta certainly wouldn't notice anything odd or suspicious about Blahblanadon flying around- all they had to do was make sure she wouldn't catch on to the fact that she was following them.
Not wanting to draw too much attention to himself, he unfastened his cape and wrapped it around his head, fashioning a sort of makeshift hood. It completely covered his trademark golden hair, and kept his face mostly hidden. He had his carrier fly him near the boundary, then dismounted and walked into the village.
"Do you think any of these will do?"
Blahblanadon dropped a few round boulders before Sledge and Mallet and waited hopefully. The Hammerhead Brothers had been having trouble finding suitable material for their famed sledges as of late, so Blahblanadon had gone flying around Hoohoo Mountain in search of sturdy enough rocks. He'd spent the day carrying the hardest, heaviest rocks he could find down to their workshop.
Mallet examined the rocks, beaming from ear-to-ear. "Wow, thanks, Blahblanadon! These look like they just might do the trick!"
Sledge nodded. "We don't know how to thank you."
Blahblanadon shrugged. "Well, don't try to thank me unless any of them work for ya."
"We'll try one out right now!" The Hammerhead Brothers picked a stone out of the pile and rushed inside.
He could hear them set the rock on the platform, hear them beginning to work…
And then his heart sank. He knew that sound; it had been echoing from the workshop for days past. The rock wouldn't cut it.
He frowned at the pile of stones he had collected. Darn! It looked like he hadn't been able to help them after all…
Then he gasped. Maybe he could! He remembered, back when Sledge and Mallet had been churning out superb hammers like crazy. They'd been using Hoohoo Blocks. The Blocks were in great abundance at the summit of Hoohoo Mountain, but Sledge and Mallet had grown old. They couldn't make the trip to the top anymore.
But he could.
And with that, Blahblanadon set off once again.
Peasley frowned. Blahblanadon's nest was empty.
Maybe he would be back soon. He turned to Hoonina, the girl who directed travelers seeking Blahblanadon's help to reach the summit. Pitching his voice to a lower tone than usual, he called, "Pardon me, miss."
She turned around. "Yes?"
"Have you seen Blahblanadon? I need a ride around the mountain."
"Oh, I'm sorry, sir. You see, Sledge and Mallet needed help finding materials for their hammers, and Blahblanadon has been searching for stones all day. I don't think he'll be back anytime soon."
His heart sank. Drat. Now there was no hope for an aerial search.
But that worry was wiped from his mind when a sudden gust snatched the cape off of his head, revealing him to the people of Hoohoo Village.
"Oh! Your Highness!" Hoonina cried.
There were gasps from all around them as the other villagers turned and gaped as well. Peasley winced, cursing his luck.
He held up his hands, shushing them desperately. "No, please be quiet! I can't let it get out that I'm here!"
"You can't?" a woman chirped, puzzled.
"No. Look, I'm here on urgent business for Queen Bean." He didn't mention Cackletta- her presence would most likely cause the villagers to panic. "I just need to search around the mountainside a bit. I was going to ask Blahblanadon for help, but…Please, just keep quiet about this, please. I can't risk it getting out that I'm here."
Hoonina nodded. "Of course, Your Highness." The other villagers murmured agreement, as well.
"Thank you. Now, um…did anyone see where my cape went?"
After reclaiming his cape, Peasley waved farewell to the villagers and headed for the exit. The bridge was broken, so he used his carrier to cross it. Then, instructing the winged platform to patrol the perimeter, he set off for the mountain. He'd just have to climb.
"Hoohoo Block, Hoohoo Block…" Blahblanadon mumbled to himself. He settled on a landing and surveyed the area. "Let's see, nope…Not here…Must not be close enough to the summit yet-"
He cut himself off abruptly when he saw a golden-haired figure disappearing down the rocky mountain path.
His jaw dropped. All thoughts of Hoohoo Blocks were at once wiped from his mind.
"Prince Peasley?" he whispered incredulously, and, spreading his wings, he followed.
"And soon we will be heading to the Castle of Bean, yes, O Great Cackletta?"
"Yes, Fawful. Now that we have the Princess's voice, all we need to do is take the Beanstar from the Castle."
Peasley froze. He'd know Cackletta's voice anywhere. He flattened himself against a large stone and waited, listening.
"…do you still have it?"
"Yes, O Great Cackletta! I have the Worm of Belly Bleching ready for the poisoning of the Bean who is Queen!"
Peasley's heart froze for a moment in horrified shock. A Belly Blech Worm?! He hadn't counted on that…If they managed to force that onto his mother, she'd turn into an unspeakable monster. The situation had quickly become much more dire, although he didn't dare move until he was sure Cackletta and Fawful were gone.
He jolted out of his reverie just in time to hear Fawful muttering something like 'radar'. What did they need a radar-
The realization and a blast of green energy from Fawful's sinister little invention hit him both at the same time: he'd been caught.
He tumbled over from the blast, but jumped back to his feet, drawing his sword.
Cackletta let loose her signature cackle. "Oh, it's the little princeling!"
Fawful laughed, too. "You may have had the hiding from us, but not from the radar of my Headgear! Your efforts to have the eavesdropping have been foiled! What a wasting!"
Throwing words aside for the moment, Peasley leapt at Fawful, brandishing his sword. The attack caught the little Bean off-guard and succeeded in throwing him back. Peasley jumped up for a second attack, but a bolt of lightning caught him in the air, knocking him down.
Cackletta gave a derisive scoff. "What, did you forget I was here, Your Majesty?" She raised her hand, and Peasley barely dodged another lightning bolt, only to be hammered by more of Fawful's energy blasts.
He gritted his teeth. He was outnumbered.
"Now is when you surrender, yes?" Fawful swooped at him, and Peasley stepped to the side.
"Never!"
"Oh, how heroic," Cackletta sneered, her voice dripping disdain. "I grow bored with you, princeling."
Peasley whirled around and tried to avoid the spell, but then he was struck with a white-hot surge of pain. His head spun and he fell to his knees.
Everything went black.
"Rats! Rats, mice, and rodents! Hoonina! Hoonina!"
Hoonina looked up. "Blahblanadon, you're back! P-"
"Have you seen Prince Peasley?" the pterodactyl cried, frantic. "I saw him on the mountainside, but then I lost him and-"
Hoonina put a comforting hand on his wing. "It's okay, Blahblanadon. Calm down. Prince Peasley came through a little while ago. He was looking for you, which probably means he was heading for the summit-"
"The summit! I can wait for him there! That's great!" Blahblanadon was off in a flash, calling over his shoulder, "Thanks, Hoonina! See ya later!"
"Poor little Peasley," Cackletta cooed nastily.
Fawful glared at the prince's unmoving body, then looked hopefully at Cackletta. "O Great Cackletta, may I please have the destroying of him?"
"Hmm…No, I don't think so. Maybe I can still get some enjoyment out of this whelp…Make him suffer a bit more…" She smirked and tapped her chin, scheming. "What shall I do to him?"
Fawful grinned wickedly at the Prince. "See what your exploits have brought upon your wretched head, idiot of stupidity? Now you will suffer at the hands of the Great Cackletta! Princeling of foolishness…You should have been sticking with the slaying of dragons…"
"Dragons…" Cackletta's eyes lit up. "That's it!" She cackled. "Fawful, I think I'm beginning to rub off on you."
"You are having a plan for the torment of the princeling who is stupid?"
"Yes, Fawful. Here's what I need you to do…"
Cackletta leaned down and explained her scheme to her apprentice. He gave an excited squeal. "I HAVE FURY!"
A rope deployed from his Headgear, wrapping around Peasley's torso. Fawful activated his jets and swooped towards the summit, with Cackletta flying close behind.
Two soldiers patrolling North Beanbean suddenly heard a frightened cry.
"HELP!"
A man from Hoohoo Village came running down to them. "You," he panted, "you have to help! I was exploring Hoohoo Mountain, and…I saw- I saw-"
"What did you see?" one knight demanded.
"I saw Prince Peasley get kidnapped! A little Bean in a weird helmet tied him up and took him to Hoohoo summit!"
The other knight, who was a bit of a jerk, scoffed. "Please. Next you'll be telling me that that greedy King Tolstar started donating to charity."
"It's true!" the man insisted. "If you don't believe me, then- then-"
"Then what?" he sneered.
Just then, something hit him in the side of the head. Getting his helmet back in place, he turned to his attacker- and his eyes widened.
The first knight gasped. "Prince Peasley's carrier…"
The winged creature flew frightened circles around the three of them.
"But the Prince always has his carrier nearby," the second knight said incredulously. "Always."
The first knight finally broke the stunned silence. "Alert the captain of the guard! We have an emergency on our hands! The Prince has been kidnapped!"
"O Great Cackletta, I have hilarity! The princeling who treasured his hair of shininess and face of prettiness is now an ugly beast who is hideous! Such irony is this being!"
Cackletta nodded, admiring her work. Not only was the Prince now a hideous dragon, but he was also be a crazed monster…He'd attack anything in his sight. He was still unconscious at the moment, but he was stirring; there was no mistaking what those soft growls meant.
"If he attacks while he head back down the mountain, it'll be quite a nuisance." She raised both her hands. A thick white cloud descended on the dragon. When it cleared, all that remained was a large egg. "There. Enjoy your new home, princeling! That'll keep him busy for a while. And, my, whoever comes upon this egg will be in for quite a nasty shock…"
Fawful giggled. "I have joy. And fury."
Suddenly, they heard the flapping of wings.
"Drat!" Cackletta spat. "Someone's coming! Quick, Fawful- I'll go ahead to the Beanbean Kingdom; you bring up the rear and stop any meddlers who try to interfere."
"Yes, O Great Cackletta!" he chirped obediently, and they swooped back down the mountainside.
"Wow…"
Blahblanadon gaped at the egg. It was sitting atop a huge mound of Hoohoo Blocks, and it had to be the biggest and strangest egg he had ever seen. He placed a claw against it and shuddered. It was ice cold.
"Poor thing. It's been abandoned."
Most likely because he was a creature of flight, Blahblanadon took pity on the egg. He settled on top of it, keeping it warm.
"There. Now I can keep this egg warm while I wait for Prince Peasley. And I found the Hoohoo Blocks! Boy, is today a good day or what?"