All right folks, here is where we'll enter the Mushroom Kingdom! :D OwO
Not much else to say, except I hope you enjoy the journey! This ties in to the first two Paper Mario games, KIND OF.
And oh yes, I don't care what anyone says, I consider Sally a Princess! A Disney Princess! Why?
Well, aren't Cinderella and Belle Princesses by association? They weren't born into royalty, and now they're with Princes, and they are already Princesses. So, why not Sally, too? Jack is the Pumpkin King! Doesn't that count? Well, I for one think it does! ;) So there.
Today's song is called Kidnap The Pumpkin Princess, which is of course a rendition of Kidnap The Sandy Claws and the game's rendition of the song, Hail To Mr. Oogie, since it kind of combines both in a way.
Kidnap The Pumpkin Princess-Lock, Shock and Barrel
Mushrooms, flowers, turtle shells, hammers, vegetables...all kinds of lighted shapes were in view as Sally was then falling down a...pipe? Yes, it was a pipe. It was green, metallic, she was falling down a large pipe!
She soon rose upward, toward a source of light. It nearly blinded her.
Before finally, she was now out of the pipe. Or at least, her upper body was. She clutched onto the edges, looking around her. She was in a dark, very dark forest. But it wasn't at all familiar to Halloween Town's forests. The trees were thicker, denser, the vegetation was dark, though prominent. There more strange mushrooms, but nothing like the ones she found back in the forest. There were bushes with bright white flowers, and there seemed to be gates all around.
"...Where am I?" Sally wondered, now climbing out of the pipe completely, carefully lowering herself to the ground. "What is this place...?"
A wolf howled somewhere off in the distance, the sound of bats flapping their wings were heard overhead, crows cawed. It made her realize that this was some kind of dark, haunted forest.
Gulping a little, Sally turned back around, and was horrified to find that the pipe was gone! She couldn't get back to Halloween Town now, she was stuck, and alone in the middle of a strange place, in some kind of a dark forest.
"Oh...no...what will I do...? Jack will be worried...and I don't know where to go, where I am..." Sally murmured in worry, unsure of what to do now.
She looked around her, taking a few steps forward, going slowly, as if afraid that any sort of movement would trigger something horrible. This wasn't the same kind of fear she would feel in Halloween Town, where it was perfectly natural to feel scared and alone. Here, it was something different. It had to be. She could see by now that it was indeed scarier to be scared in an unfamiliar setting. Back home, it was expected. This just offered more unfamiliarity, uncertainty, and especially some kind of isolation.
Those were all excellent factors in offering a good scare. Sally would've admitted to this being clever in scaring, but now was not the time to think about it. This wasn't some elaborate Halloween Scare or some prank. She was in a new place, and was unsure of what to do or where to go. Alone, and unable to get back home. It worried her.
There was a sign, standing across from a gate that led down another path. It read Toad Town, with an arrow pointing downward. Likely an indication of going in the direction behind her.
"Toad...Town?" Sally said to herself, puzzled. She wondered why there would be such a place called Toad Town. Especially since the door was shaped like a mushroom, which she figured by now led to some kind of mushroom world. "...Oh, wait. Toad...as in a toadstool."
She turned around, heading to the gate. It was made of a long, thin log. With no other option, and since it was a town, she could probably get some help. She pushed aside the gate and went through, heading down the indicated path.
The trees around her grew less thick, the area around her became less dark, and before she knew it, she came to a little bridge. Curious, she crossed it, and came into the bright, lively, colourful place she assumed was Toad Town.
And it wasn't kidding. There were walking mushrooms! Anthropomorphic mushrooms. They all had toadstool heads, with small faces, and wore clothing like any other normal person, and were walking around. Sally was quite surprised. They were all much smaller than she was, barely reaching past her knees.
A toad walked over to her, and gasped at the sight of how frightening she looked. At least, to them she did.
"Waaahh! W-Who a-a-are you...?" He cried, shivering in fright.
Sally's eyes widened, and she knelt down at his level. "Please don't be frightened, I'm not here to hurt you. I...I need some help, actually."
The toad looked relieved and took a few breaths, even if he was still a little intimidated by seeing a creature like her. "O-Okay...w-what is it? What can I do to help?"
"I'm lost here, you see. I came to this place through a door...in the shape of a mushroom, and then I came out of this pipe in the dark forest back over there." Sally explained.
"Y-You mean...you came outta Forever Forest? Wow!" Said the toad, amazed. "Um...you should go see Princess Peach! She'll know what to do!"
"Princess Peach? Oh, she's the ruler of this town, then?" Sally guessed.
"Not just our town! The entire Mushroom Kingdom!" Said the toad, grinning now. "I'm Pete T, by the way! You should go up further ahead," He pointed to his left. "And you'll find Princess Peach's castle! She's a really nice lady, she'll help you out!"
Sally smiled and nodded before she stood up straight. "Thank you, Pete T. I'll go see her right away."
"Anytime, Miss! ...Say, what's your name?"
"My name is Sally." She told him kindly.
"Okay, Sally! Good luck to you!" Pete T grinned.
"Thank you very much, I appreciate it..." She smiled and then walked off in the direction he'd told her to go. Mushroom Kingdom...that's very interesting. I never would've thought of a world where there were mushroom people.
Feeling a little more at ease since she was near civilization, and now had a good source of help, Sally took in the sights of the town as she headed to where she could find Princess Peach's castle. A lot of the homes were in the shape of mushrooms, while some even took on the shapes of somewhat regular kinds of homes. Or at least, what some would consider to be regular. More toad people walked around, just going about their business. Some were frightened at the sight of her, but she smiled and waved at them as a means of assuring that she wasn't an enemy. They looked relieved and let her continue on her way.
The town was pretty big, but it wasn't long before she found the castle. It was hard to miss, anyway! She had to admit, it was the biggest castle she'd ever seen. Pure white bricks, red shingles along the roof and towers, it was colossal, like something out of the Victorian era. Two mushroom people were standing guard at the main doors. Sally gulped a little, wondering if they would let her inside, since she was a bit of a suspicious-looking person.
I'll just be nice to them, be honest with them completely. She told herself.
Approaching the castle, she looked to the guards, who now looked at her in amazement and fright.
"Um...excuse me? I wondered if it would be possible to see Princess Peach." She told them softly.
"W-W-W-What b-b-b-business do you have...with P-P-Princess Peach?" One of the guards asked shakily.
"You're not...you're not in league with...B-Bowser, are you?" The other guard uttered.
Sally looked confused, and shook her head. "No. I don't even know who you're talking about. I'm not from around here, you see...and I need to see Princess Peach for help on getting back home."
The two guards exchanged a look, and then looked back up at her.
"How do we know you're not some...evil force out to kidnap her?"
She could understand that they were suspicious, so she kept patient and kind, and even used a tactic Jack had taught her. "I think...if I wanted to kidnap her, I wouldn't be talking to you both requesting entrance inside. I would probably find a way to sneak in and kidnap her without anyone knowing. I do...stick out like a sore thumb, don't I? So would I want to draw any kind of attention to myself, even if I was trying to lay false pretences?"
The guards exchanged a look, before looking at her again.
"Heh heh, that's a good point! All right, you can go inside and see Princess Peach. Just wait downstairs. Her assistant, Toadsworth, should be around. Ask him to see her and he will bring you to see her."
Sally smiled, thanking them as they opened the doors and allowed her to go inside. She found herself upon a large red carpet, which led up the staircase ahead of her, and then to two other smaller ones on either side of her. There was a golden chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and the flooring was black and white checkered tile, which she found to be pretty interesting.
An elderly toad came to her then. He wore round glasses, had a white mustache, and a cane.
"Hello...are you Toadsworth?" Sally queried.
"Why yes! What can I do you for, miss?" Toadsworth examined her, feeling quite a bit weirded out.
"I would like to see Princess Peach, sir. I've come a long way from my home and I need help in finding a way back. I was told to come see Princess Peach for help."
"Ah, I see! In a predicament, aren't you?" Toadsworth nodded. "I don't believe the Princess is busy at the moment, I'll go see if she is available to see you! Please wait here, miss!"
Sally nodded, thanking him before she took a seat on a small cushioned bench not far from the door. She unclasped the bat-shaped hook at the front of her cloak, removing it from her shoulders. She wondered how much time had passed, or even if the time here and back in Halloween Town were the same. She wondered if Jack knew she was missing by now, if Zero even made it back to tell him so.
Either way, she had a pretty bad feeling about something that was to come. She just didn't know what it could've meant. Some kind of trouble, that much she knew.
She just hoped it was wrong.
Toadsworth came back a few moments later, though puffing and panting. "Oh, I say! Well Miss, come with me to the Princess' office! She would be glad to see you!"
"Thank you, Mr. Toadsworth. I really appreciate your help." Sally said politely as she stood up to follow him.
She followed the elder toad up the staircase, and through another set of doors, now coming to the second floor. The same red carpet followed along on either side of her, leading to doors along the walls, a staircase one either side of the room, and one single door straight ahead.
"This way now, Miss!" Said Toadsworth, leading the way to the right. He came to one door, which was blue with a gold star on it.
For some reason, the star also had a pair of small black eyes.
Toadsworth opened the door, and led her inside. "Princess! I have brought her to you now!"
Princess Peach looked up from her paperwork on her desk and smiled before she stood up, coming around her desk to greet them. "Thank you, Toadsworth." She said sweetly. "You can go take your tea now, if you'd like."
"Jolly good, Princess!" Toadsworth bowed to her, nodded politely toward Sally, before he exited the office.
Peach smiled, and then faced Sally. "Hello! It's very nice to meet you. I'm Princess Peach, and I'd be more than happy to help you with your problem."
Needless to say, Sally was quite amazed as she took in Princess Peach's appearance. She was fairly tall, almost as tall as she was, with striking blue eyes, and long blonde hair. She wore a pink dress that resembled something out of the Victorian era, with darker pink paniers around the waist, and two stripes along the hem. Along with that, full-length white gloves, a small golden crown on top of her head, adorned with red and blue jewels, and a large blue brooch on the bust of her dress. She was brighter, with such interesting and bright clothes, pink no less, and she was so beautiful. Not to mention a human. A human, ruling a land of mushroom people? That was an interesting concept.
Then again, she did come from a world where a skeleton ruled over several kinds of monsters and other creatures, maybe that evened out a bit.
"I...thank you very much, Princess Peach." Sally gave a small bow to be polite. "Yes, I do have a problem with getting back home."
"That's what Toadsworth told me, yes." Peach nodded, smiling warmly. "Oh...are you all right? Did you...have an accident?" She now looked concerned as she examined Sally a bit.
Sally looked puzzled. "What do you mean? No, I'm fine."
"Your...stitches, I mean..." Peach pointed out, looking anxious. "Oh, unless you don't talk about them? I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry, I was just-"
"It's all right, Princess Peach...I'm actually a rag doll." Sally admitted, looking away shyly. "I was created by a scientist."
"Oh!" Peach exclaimed, and nodded. "I see. I'm sorry, Miss. I understand now. Ooh, here, let me take that for you." She took Sally's cloak from her hands, draping it over her arm. "Please, have a seat, and tell me what's going on."
"Thank you, Princess Peach." Sally slowly and shyly sat down on a chair before Peach's desk. "I'm very sorry to bother you, of course...I only want to be able to get home."
"I understand, Miss." Peach said with a smile. "Where do you come from? Beyond the borders of the Mushroom Kingdom, I presume?"
"Yes. I'm...I'm from the town of Halloween."
Peach's blonde eyebrows rose. "Halloween? I'm afraid I don't understand."
Oh dear. This wasn't looking good at all. "It may sound strange to you... But yes, I am from Halloween Town. There are these places called the Holiday worlds, and I come from Halloween. I came here through a new door I had never seen before, and it bore the image of a mushroom, as I can see around here. I then for some reason came out through this pipe in...what they call Forever Forest, and I came here when I found a sign leading to this town." Sally explained, feeling more and more anxious about this. Was there really no way to get back home? "I was wondering if you could somehow help me...find a way back...or if the Holiday doors are somewhere in your world, as well."
"Mmm...oh my, I've never seen this kind of thing happen before." Peach admitted, still looking quite surprised. "I wouldn't know where to find them... Ooh!" She looked as if a lightbulb went off above her head. "I might know who can help you! Professor Frankly, he's an acclaimed Archaeology professor at the University of Goom. He may just be able to research the Holiday doors and even try to find them. He and his apprentice, Goombella, are living in town right now since they're studying Shooting Star Summit."
"Oh, I see..." Sally felt a lot more relieved, hoping that this professor could help her. "And...where may I find Professor Frankly?"
"He lives in south Toad Town, in a small house near the train station." Peach directed, and handed her a piece of paper. "Here is a map of the town, this should help you out."
Sally smiled and took the map, examining it for a moment, and then tucking it away into her pocket. "Thank you very much for your help, Princess Peach...I-I really appreciate it."
"Why, you're welcome!" Peach said sweetly. "Oh, I don't believe I caught your name. Will you tell me?"
"Oh, well, it's S-" Sally began, but was cut off by a loud rumbling noise.
"Oh!" Peach ducked down behind her desk, while Sally grabbed hold of the wall to balance herself. "Goodness, what in the world was that?"
There was then a loud knocking on the door. "Princess!" Came Toadsworth's voice from the other side, sounding very panicked. "Princess! Please come out! You must come and see this! It's disastrous!"
Sally, who happened to be the closest to the door, decided to open it for her. Unfortunately, she hadn't realized that the smarter idea would have been not to do that. Because just about immediately after, a few Koopa guards grabbed her and stuffed her into a big burlap sack while she screamed in fright, soon muffled away.
"We got her, boys! Let's move!" One Koopa said.
A Hammer bro Koopa nodded. "Right! Man, was that Toadsworth impression awesome or what?"
"You bet it was, man!"
"Dude, shut up! We gotta go!"
"Okay! Man Bowser will be so glad we got Princess Peach so easily!"
"No!" Peach cried as they dragged the bag away, not once noticing her in the room. She saw that they had intended to kidnap her, but had kidnapped Sally by accident. Due to her interference. "Oh no..."
She looked down at the cloak she hadn't realized she was still holding, and looked out the window. Sure enough, she could see Bowser flying off in his little clown ship in the distance, while the Koopas who had kidnapped Sally were trailing along in some kind of flying machine. Peach bit her lip, worried and unsure of what to do next.
Were Mario and Luigi even home?
In a hurry, she placed the cloak on around her shoulders, pulling up the hood to conceal her face. If any of Bowsers minions were still roaming the castle or the town, at least she would be concealed. Despite that the cloak didn't tie in the front.
Her only chance was to see if Mario and Luigi were around, since they were the only ones who could ever stop Bowser. While she'd be at it, she made a note to go and see Professor Frankly as well.
"Mario...Luigi...I hope you two are around..."
Meanwhile, Lock, Shock and Barrel were wandering the forest within their walking bathtub. They had been searching for quite some time to find the door that Oogie Boogie had told them about.
"Will we ever find this door?" Lock complained.
"It's out there! Mr. Oogie Boogie wouldn't lead us on like that!" Shock said indignantly.
"I'm hungry." Said Barrel, rubbing his tubby tummy.
"You ate ten minutes ago!" Shock chided. "Quit whining!"
"Yeah! We have a Pumpkin Princess to kidnap!" Lock smirked. "We'll have her in no time!"
"Look!" Barrel pointed upward, grinning. "There it is! The mushroom door!"
"Then you know what that means!" Shock sneered.
Lock grinned too. "I definitely do! It means it's time to-"
"Kidnap the Pumpkin Princess!" The three chorused in unison.
"Laa, la, la, la, la, laa!
La, la, la, la, laa!
Laa, la, la, la, la, laa!
La, la, la, la, laa!" They sang as they hopped out of the tub, making sure to anchor it in place, then also taking their special Halloween bag, the same they had used to capture Santa Claus.
"Kidnap the Pumpkin Princess
Take revenge on Jack
Grab the woman he loves
He'll never save her no matter what he does!"
(Shock)
"First we'll track her down and wait
Once we find her we'll set into action!
Capture her in our bag
And bring her back to meet her doomed fate!"
(Lock)
"I've got a better plan, the best one of all
To catch this pitiful rag doll
We'll lure her into a trap
Then once she steps in we'll have her in our grasp!"
"Kidnap the Pumpkin Princess
Jack will fight to save her life
But we're always one step ahead!
For when we're done his precious Sally will be dead!"
(Shock)
"We'll bring her to Mr. Oogie Boogie man"
"So he can overtake her then!
He'll be so pleased, I do surmise
That he will bring to her a terrible demise!
Wheeeee!"
(Lock)
"I say we take her down and tie her up
We'll tear her limbs to her very core
When Jack finally comes his dear Sally will be no more!"
(Shock)
"You stupid idiot!
Think of what could happen if we tear her apart
Jack will have a broken heart but all we'll come to engage"
"Is the face of his almighty rage!
Kidnap the Pumpkin Princess
Tie her in a set of chains
Jack will never hesitate
To save his dear Sally from her doomed fate!"
(Lock)
"Because Mr. Oogie Boogie is the meanest guy around
If I were on his Oogie list
I'd get out of town!"
(Barrel)
"He'll be so pleased, I do declare
He'll reward us to our best!
Maybe with a special brew
Of snake and spider stew!"
(Shock)
"If only my cohorts would just listen
And stop being so dumb
If not for you we'd have her now!
We'll find her, and I know how!"
"I'm not dumb!" Said Barrel.
Lock griped at him, "You're no fun!"
(Shock)
"Listen now and listen good!
Jack is her greatest weakness of all
So we'll have her fooled and had!
And then we'll catch his beloved rag doll!
This one is good, you'll see!
With this plan in motion
It'll be a synch
Then we'll have her, one two three!"
"Laa, la, la, la, la, laa!
La, la, la, la, laa!
Laa, la, la, la, la, laa!
La, la, la, la, laa!
Kidnap the Pumpkin Princess
Take revenge on Jack
Grab the woman he loves
He'll never save her no matter what he does!"
(Lock)
"Once we take his doll
Jack will come running
No matter what he does
He'll never surpass our cunning!"
(Shock)
"We'll have her in our grasp
As she warns of Jack coming to save her
But we'll pay her no mind
She'll be in a place Jack can never find!"
(Barrel)
"Oogie Boogie will do her in
No matter how much she pleads, she'll never win!"
"Because Mr. Oogie Boogie is the meanest guy around!"
Laa, la, la, la, la, laa!
La, la, la, la, laa!
Laa, la, la, la, la, laa!
La, la, la, la, laa!
Kidnap the Pumpkin Princess
Lock her in a cell
Set her on fire
And see if she will yell!
Kidnap the Pumpkin Princess
Jack will fight to save her life
But we're always one step ahead!
For when we're done his precious Sally will be dead!
Kidnap the Pumpkin Princess
Take revenge on Jack
Grab the woman he loves
He'll never save no matter what he does!
Wheeee!"
Their laughter rang out as they then set through the door in search of Sally. It wouldn't be long before they too would soon come to the Mushroom Kingdom. On the other hand, they didn't quite count on having no idea how to get back, since they didn't think of that yet.