Chapter 1-2: Larry's trial
Larry could still feel the pain but it soothed down by a lot. He slowly opened his eyes and saw a big headed silhouette that seemed to be treating the wound on his belly. The silhouette turned its head and saw that its patient was waking up.
"Don't move too much. You'll be alright for now." The silhouette told him.
As Larry opened his eyes even more, he recognized the silhouette to be a toad doctor. This Toad had red hearts all around his mushroom shaped head and was wearing a white lab coat.
"I'll help you get up." The doctor said putting away some tools.
He then proceeded to grab Larry by putting one arm behind the koopaling's back and with the other he took Larry's left arm and put it around his neck. Despite the pain, Larry was able to be sitting on what seemed to be a mattress without squirming. The punk looked at his chest to notice he was only wearing his shorts.
"My shell…" He started.
"We are currently fixing your shell, don't worry. As for your other clothes, we had to toss them away to avoid any risks of infection. You're very lucky to have survived one of those monster's attack and still be living to tell the tale." The doctor told him.
"Infection? Survived? What do you mean?" Larry asked.
"Whenever someone got attacked by those dry creatures, they quickly turned into one of them. Thanks to you though I was able to extract some of your blood and analyse what causes those infections." The toad explained.
The doctor turned away to pick up a test tube and showed it to Larry. There was not much blood in it but the koopaling was still able to notice something blue in it.
"See the blue serpentine substance dancing in the red?" The doctor asked.
Larry nodded. He found it so weird that this substance might have been flowing through his veins.
"This is what causes people to turn into dry creatures if they ever get attacked by one of them. I think the way it works is that their claws and fangs are filled with this substance." The doctor answered.
"But how did I survive?" Larry asked.
"That's where it gets interesting but before I show you I'll bandage that wound. I hate seeing an open wound like that."
The doctor walked away and brought bandages. He wrapped it around Larry's body and the wound could not be seen.
"I'll give it a few days before you can remove them." The toad told him.
He then moved a rolling table with a microscope on it near the koopaling and took another test tube. This one did not have any blue particles swimming in the blood. With a pipette, he extracted some blood from the tube and put a single drop on a small piece of glass then slid it under the microscope's sight. He then adjusted the scope until he could see what he was looking for.
"There! Look at this." The doctor said to the punk.
Larry looked through the microscope. At first, he did not see anything special besides the usual: red blood cells, white blood cells, blood capillaries. Then, a purple blood cell passed by. This blood cell turned the other white blood cells into purple blood cells.
"What's that?" Larry asked.
"It seems to be an improved white blood cell. It also explains how you were able to survive the dry creature's attack. According to my studies, this blood cell is the only one capable of destroying the blue substance. It can also turn other white cells into purple cells as you may have noticed but it takes a while before it can fully make your blood safe from the dry infection. Judging by the amount found in your veins, it must have started this weekend." The doctor answered.
"It's funny that you say that because Bowser had me vaccinated last weekend for a disease he wouldn't tell me."
"Your king had a vaccine for it?" The toad asked, surprised.
"It was a prototype in limited stock and took a very selective amount of people. Those people where the lords of each lands, Princess Peach and her advisor, Bowser Jr. and, out of luck, I was one of the few non-royalty people to be vaccinated."
"How did he get that?"
"Don't ask me. I have no idea how he made this or from where he got it."
Another toad wearing a blue business suit entered room.
"You're finally awake. It's time for you to stand trial." The toad said.
"Trial?" Larry asked.
"For your crimes, you must stand trial." He replied.
Larry was not sure what was going on. He did not remember that he committed any crimes recently. It however came to his mind that he might be accused of the incident in the Grassland castle. The two toads sat him on a wheelchair and brought him into the corridor. They brought him inside a big room with toads sitting down on benches left and right. He was moved to desk in the middle of a free space right in front of a tall desk where a toad wearing a wig while wielding a hammer was sat. The judge stroke the hammer on his desk to calm down the room. Larry also noticed the two toads on each side of the room. The trial started.
"The court is now in session for the trial of Mr. Larry Mulan." The judge started.
"The prosecution is ready, Your Honor."
"The defense is ready, Your Honor."
"Then let us start the trial. Where are here with the accused, Larry Mulan, who committed the heinous crime of turning the entire Grassland population into dry creatures and stealing the orange wand. What do you have to say in your defense, accuser?"
Larry had no idea that the infection spread further than the Grassland Fortress. Maybe it was even worse and started spreading all over Amarioca. Could Bowser be behind this? Right now, he had to get himself out of trouble.
"I'm not responsible of what happened in Grassland. I'll however admit that I took the orange wand but had no intention of stealing it." Larry declared.
"We shall see about that, accuser. Let us hear your first testimony."
"During the big day, I arrived at the Grassland castle escorting Bowser's representative for the land."
"Hold it! You were escorting someone, not representing your kingdom?"
"Yes, my king received reports from Grassland that I was judged untrustworthy for the post of…"
"Objection! You're Larry Mulan, Bowser's highest ranked soldier. In fact, you're so high ranked you could reach the throne if it wasn't for Bowser's son. There's no way he could've deemed you untrustworthy for the post"
"Objection! Larry was known to be cheatsy which does give a motivation behind Bowser's actions. You said he received reports right?"
Cheatsy… That was a word the punk had not heard for a long time. It still haunted him but he could not let a word cloud reality. Larry simply nodded, trying to hide his disgust.
"Can we have a look at them?"
"I don't have any with me."
"The court will provide you with some of the reports Bowser received over the year. Some of them were sent to the Goomba King and were found in the Grassland Castle"
Two toads came in and gave reports to both the defendant and the prosecutor.
"I will give you ten minutes to read them."
The defense and the prosecution attentively read through the reports. Ten minutes passed. They were ready to carry on with the trial.
"Can we carry on?"
Both parties nodded.
"Please continue, accuser."
"Once I got inside, I left the representative to his task. I was about to leave the castle but then the king came to me with a letter. It was an arrest request signed by King Bowser."
"Hold it! Can we see this arrest request you're talking about?"
"I had it in my shell but it's being fixed and I don't know where my shell is."
"I will send someone to retrieve the shell and your belongings."
A few minutes later, another toad came in with various objects in his hands. He gave Larry a brand new white t-shirt and his shell while he gave to the judge the arrest request and the orange wand.
"Now the trial will feel less awkward." Larry joked.
The room started laughing, the judge chuckled and the defense was holding himself. The prosecutor not amused.
"I should've thought of doing this earlier." The judge laughed.
He quickly got serious again and asked the two parties to read the letter. Afterward, the prosecution continued.
"Objection! By handwriting, you can see that Bowser both signed the arrest request AND wrote those reports. This means that he was plotting something and needed to put Larry somewhere safe while he spread the virus."
"Objection! A king or queen can make decisions on his own behalf. Those evidences only show that it was Bowser himself who deemed him untrustworthy for the post. He wrote all of it to convince Larry that it was the Grassland people's decision instead of his."
"The defendant is right. It does not prove that Bowser was plotting something. Accuser, please proceed."
"The guards put me in a…"
A loud growl resonated through the room, scaring everyone inside. The judge was trying to bring back order by slamming his hammer on the desk but in vain. Larry was ready for action but then realized that he felt it inside himself.
"Order! Order!" The judge shouted while slamming his hammer.
"Your Honor, I'm sorry to interrupt my testimony like that but I'm really hungry and I didn't eat anything since I woke up." The koopaling said, awkwardly smiling.
"You didn't? Well, in that case, we will interrupt the trial since lunchtime is soon. I'll give you an hour to dine. I forbid anyone to talk about the trial outside the room. I'm sorry for all the inconveniences today." The judge replied.
Everyone left the room. Larry followed them because he had no idea where the cafeteria was. Eventually, he reached it and went to the counter.
"Hello, we're pretty limited on our stock today so we cannot make bigger portions than usual. What will it be for you?" The cook saluted.
"I'll just take two slices of all-dressed pizza and some orange juice please." The punk ordered.
He received everything he ordered then walked toward an isolated table where he sat at. Normally, Larry was the type of person that would go meet new people and speak with them. Today, however, he was concerned about something. He feared that maybe Bowser, his son and the other koopalings were in danger. The defendant joined him with only a sandwich for lunch. The punk brushed the thought away and smiled at him.
"So, two jobs and three sports every week?" The defendant asked.
"Yup! That's me!" Larry proudly replied.
"How can you do so many things in a every week and still look fine? Anyone else would be burnt out after two weeks."
"I'm not sure how. I first started with one job and one sport. Then, I still had energy to spend so I took a second job and started practicing a second sport, then a third one. Even with all of that, I still feel that I could do much more but time restrains me to do so and I can't cut on sleeping. I have my own limits but they're just beyond most people."
The two kept talking about their lives until the prosecutor sat with them. His presence was not welcoming as he did not even smile at anyone. The only thing that mattered to this toad was to put Larry behind the bars. It was obvious that he disapproved of the peace treaty between the two kingdoms and despised Larry's kind along with Bowser and the other koopalings.
"What are you planning?" The prosecutor suspiciously asked.
"Calm down, we're just having a friendly conversation." The defendant answered.
The two attorneys had a serious dispute that lasted a few dozens of minutes. Larry was just listening to them but it was not that easy when most of the things that were said between them were only insults.
"Uh guys? Sorry to interrupt your conversation but the trial restarts soon." Larry reminded them.
"Oh yeah? You didn't even start eating. I doubt you can finish in seconds." The prosecutor replied.
The koopaling took it as a challenge. He made an arrogant smile at the prosecution and grabbed his meal.
"Just watch me." He only said.
Larry took his first slice of pizza, rolled it and slid it inside his mouth. He did the same thing for the other slice then drank all his orange juice in a single gulp. The two attorneys were astonished by the show. They all returned to court where Larry continued his testimony.
"After analysing your testimony, I find you not guilty for the heinous crime of turning the Grassland population into dry creatures. However, to make sure the verdict doesn't change, I want you to finish your testimony. Plus, you still have to explain how you got the orange wand."
"Very well. The guards put me in a prison cell in the basement. I fell asleep so I missed parts of the big day. Once I woke up, the sun was rising."
"Hold it! How did you know the sun was rising?"
"The cell I was put in was in the east wing. There was a window in my cell and I looked through it. I could see the sun in the distance. I noticed a dry creature passing by but I fell off the window because it scared me. So, I broke out by picking the lock with a hairpin I had in my hairs and one of my claws."
"Hold it! You had belongings on you despite being incarcerated?"
"I wasn't arrested for a crime. I was only put inside for the duration of the meeting so they allowed me to keep my belongings but I barely had anything on me. Once I got out, I wanted to make sure the person I was escorting was still there. I saw all those dry creatures and I had to fend my way through them by fighting. I found who I was looking for but he was turned into a dry monster. I tried fighting him but it cover itself with a dense blue cloud and slashed me. I tried to escape but fell and I couldn't get up because the wound was too severe."
"Hold it! You were treated by a doctor so this means that there might be a report on said wound, right?"
"I guess. If there is, the doctor would have it."
The judge called the doctor in who gave him the report. The two attorneys read the report but the prosecutor quickly continued. Judging by how little time he spent to read the report, he wanted to jump into a conclusion and send Larry behind the bars.
"Objection! The wound was nowhere deep enough to cause excruciating pain to prevent you from getting up or make you pass out. You must have faked it to infiltrate our building. "
"Objection! The report mentions the presence of a strange blue substance in his blood. This might be what prevented him to get up with ease and caused him to pass out. It's also a miracle that he just collapsed instead of turning into one of those dry monsters which brings me to my next question: How did you not turn?"
"The doctor said something about me having purple blood cells in my veins."
The doctor left the room and returned with a microscope. He showed to the two attorneys the blood sample he got from Larry. The doctor then explained that those purple blood cells did prevent him to turn but were not in a quantity large enough to prevent him from collapsing. The defendant continued.
"How did you get those blood cells?"
"I'm not sure but I have a theory."
"Objection! I want facts, not a mere theory!"
"Prosecutor! It's not up to you to decide what is what until you heard his answer. Go ahead, accuser." The judge declared as he slammed his hammer.
"The doctor told me that, by the amount he found in my veins, the purple blood cells started this weekend. Coincidentally, I was vaccinated for an unknown disease this weekend."
"Hold it! You were vaccinated this weekend? How is it that it doesn't show on your vaccination certificate? Who vaccinated you? Also, was there anyone else vaccinated for said disease?"
"First, as I said, it was for an unknown disease so the vaccine was mostly a prototype unsure if it would actually work which is why it doesn't appear on my vaccine certificate. It's also to be noticed that I received it very recently and I doubt that the person in charge of modifying the information had time to do so. As for the person who vaccinated, you might not believe me but it was King Bowser who sent me being vaccinated by an uncredited doctor. There were indeed other people vaccinated for this unknown disease such as royalty members and a few of Bowser's elite troops including me."
"Objection! Unless you have the complete list with you, and in the form of an actual document, your statement is…"
"Now now, boys! There's no need to be so heated up for that."
Larry recognized the voice. Everyone looked at the room's entrance and saw an old toad with a white mustache wearing a purple vest with no sleeves and a red bowtie. His mushroom head had brown round spots all over it and he was carrying a cane with its head being the same colors as his but inverted.
"I remember him… Toadsworth…" The punk whispered.
On a hot summer day, Larry was playing in a pool with the other koopalings. They were all wearing swimsuits without their shell. Oddly enough, Ludwig was not present. Near the pool, three adults were sitting around a table: a sad Bowser, Princess Peach who seemed to be holding something and caressed it and a young Toadsworth since he had a brown mustache. The young koopaling saw that Bowser was sad and wanted to put a smile on him. He went to a toy box right next to the pool and took out a water gun. He filled it with the pool's water and aimed the gun at bowser's face. He fired and hit his target right where he wanted. The two other adults feared that he might get into an uncontrollable rage but Bowser just chuckled. He stood up, went to Larry and picked him up.
"Oh Larry! You can never help it to put your nose into my business." He said while smiling.
The two other adults joined him to see the little troublemaker. Larry saw that Peach was holding a newborn Bowser Jr.
"I'm worried that his behaviour might get him into trouble." Toadsworth brought up.
"I know but I don't want him to change at all. Say, old man, you didn't meet my other kids, right?" Bowser replied while hugging the little punk.
The toad nodded sideway to confirm that he indeed did not meet his other children. The giant koopa put Larry down who walked toward the toad.
"Greetings, little koopa, I am Toadsworth." The toad saluted.
"And I'm Larry!" The koopaling cheered.
Larry immediately got picked up by his father.
"You know what happens to kids that put their muzzle into my business without permission?" His father asked.
Larry knew too well what it meant and prepared himself.
"And a one, and a two, and a THREE!"
Bowser threw the koopaling high in the air. As Larry flew into the air, the other koopalings saw him and moved aside to make space for his landing. The punk then dove into the pool.
Toadsworth was no stranger to some of Bowser's secrets. He was one of the few non-royalty people to know that the koopa king adopted and raised the koopalings as his own children. He walked toward the center of the room.
"Sir, we are currently in a trial." The prosecutor scolded.
"Yes, I'm aware of that. I'm here to prove that Larry does say the truth about that vaccination thing. I will prove it by allowing the doctor to extract some of my blood. Also, as Peach's royal advisor, I replace her in her absence." The old toad replied.
Without questioning, the doctor took a needle and extracted some of Toadsworth's blood. As Peach's advisor, Toadsworth was in charge of the Mushroom when the princess was absent. After analysing it, he confirmed that it also contains purple blood cells.
"I also have in my possession a list of all the people vaccinated." The old toad continued while giving the judge some papers.
The two attorneys read the papers. The prosecution was devastated that he could no longer use the infection incident to brand Larry guilty. He would now have to rely on the orange wand theft and this would be a piece of cake to brand the accuser guilty.
"With all this information, I confirm that the accuser, Larry Mulan, is not guilty of the Grassland incident or any related incidents. However, accuser, you still have to explain why you have the orange wand with you."
"Yes. After being wounded, I tried to crawl backward but I hit a bookcase. The orange wand was lying on it."
"Hold it! The wand wasn't in the Goomba King's possession? Also, where was the king when all that happened?"
"The king was nowhere to be found in the castle. Not even his dry version was here."
"We don't have to worry about him being turned yet, accuser. Please, proceed."
"The wand landed in my hands and it fired a bolt of energy toward the monster destroying it."
"Hold it! You were able to not only wield the orange wand but also use it?"
"Objection! The accuser is no royalty. He's clearly bluffing!"
"Objection! Larry is a one-of-a-kind person. He might be royalty which…"
"Enough!" Larry shouted.
Larry stood up from his wheelchair infuriated and slammed his desk with his hands. The court was shocked.
"I'm going to ask you all a single question and I want an answer: What is an ATHLEAN?"
Everyone in the room was shocked to hear this word. Just their reaction was enough to confirm something to the punk: that he was not supposed to be alive. Even the prosecution, the one always so eager to take a shot at him, had nothing to say. Curiously, Toadsworth was not surprised to hear this let alone from Larry.
"Who called you that, accuser?" The judge asked.
"The Goomba King called me an athlean when I accidentally held his wand a long time ago."
The answer disturbed the judge even more. He abruptly decided to close the case and lift Larry of any responsibility he could have with the theft. The koopaling did not understand anything but, for some reason, it did not matter to him. He was free and he could start his mission after wasting so much time in court. He then left the court like everyone else and went to speak with Toadsworth.
"Thanks for saving my shell back there." He said to the old toad.
"You're welcome but may I ask you a favor?" The toad replied.
"Shoot."
"Princess Toadstool is still alive but she is stuck inside the Mushroom castle. I was able to escape the dry creatures but she had to stay behind. Would you mind giving me a hand to secure the castle? I would have have done the job myself but, with my old age, I lost my fighting spirit. I heard that you found a horde all by yourself."
"You're not scared of someone like me after what I said back there?"
"Listen. I know what an athlean is and I'll gladly tell you all I know about it if you help me."
"I was planning to check on my family but, yeah, I'll help you."
His curiosity won over his mission. He HAD to know what he was and why there were many things he could do while the others could not and why everyone was so afraid of him when he brought the word up.
"Excellent! Meet me at the cafeteria in ten minutes."
Larry went to the cafeteria. He was very anxious that we would finally get an answer about his true identity that was hidden from him since his birth. The time of waiting was at its end and he would finally get a grasp on his true potential.
