The ride to Mushroom City seemed to take forever as the group sat in silence. Only part of the gathered heroes had chosen to go, which included Peasley, Daisy, Ninjetta, Birdo, and Professor E. Gadd. Half the group was the investigative sort, though Daisy more wanted to get out and do something than just sit around and look at data and talk.
Peach had chosen to stay behind and relay any messages which came to the castle. Waluigi stayed with her as an odd form of a bodyguard. He was one of few people to actually survive a disappearing city. Starlow and Yoshi stayed with her as well. Doctor Toadley had returned to his clinic to help calm the hysteria outbreak within Toad Town. News of Sarasaland's near complete disappearance had caused widespread panic. The news about the Stardust Fields wasn't making the situation any better.
For the middle of the day, the normally congested Moonview Highway seemed relatively calm. Traffic was flowing steadily and business continued as normal. The City was far enough away from Fortune Street and Sarasaland that the disappearances seemed more like stories in a book than actuality. It was a place unlike any other, easily the largest city within the Mushroom Kingdom. An epicenter for business, the place never seemed to sleep, and the highway was even busy at odd hours in the night. Buildings rose high into the sky, and the streets were wider than rivers.
The group disembarked from the mushroom car, and Peasley took a moment to marvel at the place. The Beanbean Kingdom had nothing like this. Their cities were smaller and often closer to the ground, but not without technology. The more modern locations were mostly research and travel facilities, the Kingdom's primary research being light-powered technology and advanced blocks. This was something wholly different.
The professor didn't hesitate to whip out his DS and begin gathering readings of the local area. "There are traces of that same energy here," he noted. "Nothing quite like in Chai though. Definitely more subtle but it looks like it's surrounding us, ho ho."
Peasley flew up over the heads of the other members of the group on his flying green bean. Cupping his hand over his eyes to shield from the midday sun, Peasley still couldn't see any signs of darkness. He couldn't tell if anything were out of the ordinary, as the city felt so foreign to him.
"Probably our best bet is to split up and ask around," Daisy pointed out. "I don't see anything, but someone has. Let's meet back here at sunset."
...
Despite the group's insistence, Daisy had chosen to travel with only Ninjetta at her side. The star eater was supposedly after her, but Daisy was never one to play the victim. She liked to take things into her own hands, though she had spent one time captive when Tatanga had overtaken her land. That little incident introduced her to Mario then later to Luigi.
The group had split four ways, taking the four main directions in the city to fan out. There was no way to cover the entire city in half a day unless they had an entire army at their sides. They were relying on most rumors to guide them to whatever these strange-looking ninji could be. Ninji weren't native to Mushroom City, but instead they had migrated in this world. Most had taken up residence in Sarasaland, but without a home, survivors probably scattered.
Daisy folded her arms, tapping her foot as she waited for the light to change and cross the street. She glanced down to see Ninjetta staring back at her nervously. "I'm not a victim, kay?" Daisy frowned sharply.
"I never said that, princess," Ninjetta confessed. "I can't see you ever being a victim. I'm just really worried about you."
Daisy opened her mouth to retort with some stupid remark, but she stopped herself when she saw how worry-stricken her Ninji friend really was. Ninjetta considered herself a sort of retainer, though Daisy claimed she never needed one. She had never pushed Ninjetta away either.
"We're gonna stop this stupid star eater no matter what," Daisy asserted. "We'll beat it senseless until it finally spits up our home and our friends. You'll see."
She seemed pretty confident in her words, and Ninjetta was rather inclined to agree. Daisy was strong and determined, and her home and friends mattered more to her than her own well-being. That was where Ninjetta came in, concerning herself with Daisy's well-being in her wake.
Daisy looked up to see the light change green, stepping off the curb and into the street.
"WAIT!"
Daisy and Ninjetta both turned, finding a rather panicked troopa wearing a hoodie and sunglasses pushing his way between the busy population on the sidewalk. He reached the two girls, leaning over and resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath.
"It's really you, isn't it?" the troopa seemingly marveled at her, looking her over like he was inspecting a ghost.
"Yeah?" Daisy frowned at the troopa, pushing him backwards a bit so she could step back onto the sidewalk. "Anyone who tries to impersonate me gets a swift punch in the face."
He hadn't expected the retort, but he continued anyway, "There's this rumor going around that you'll end up like those strange ninji-" He paused as he noticed Ninjetta emerge from behind Daisy's skirt to peer at him curiously. "AAH! NINJI!" A few of the passers-by stopped and paused, staring at both Daisy and Ninjetta, who chose to simply bury herself in the thick pleats of Daisy's skirt.
Daisy frowned sharply. "Chill out! That's Ninjetta, my advisor or something. Now you seem to know what's going on, buddy. What's this about strange ninji anyway?" She crouched down to level herself with the troopa, leaving Ninjetta to attempt to rebury herself in Daisy dress. The princess patted her ninji advisor reassuringly on the head.
"There's been this strange influx of ninji lately," the troopa replied, motioning with his hands as he explained. "The newspaper thought it was because of what happened to Sarasland, but from what I read, these ninji aren't normal."
"They aren't," a businessman toad chimed in, pushing his glasses up his face. "I've seen them! They're wispy like a storm cloud." Setting his briefcase down, he unrolled the newspaper he'd tucked under his arm and flipped through a few pages. Folding the newspaper open, he handed it to Daisy who quickly looked it over. "That picture there, that's one of them."
The picture was hard to see and looked fuzzy, but there were definite signs of the subject being a ninji. Unburying her face, Ninjetta peered over to see the picture in the newspaper too. "That ninji looks like the shadow that swallowed Chai, doesn't it?"
Daisy squinted at the photo in the paper. "You know, it does. Looks exactly like the luma that got overtaken too." That star eater had been busy since the first day it arrived. It hadn't occurred to her before that the strange ninji could be suffering the same thing that the luma had the day of the party. She bit her lower lip for a moment. "We have to help them somehow, Ninjetta. I don't know how but we have to."
The crowd that had gathered around Daisy fell silent for a moment. Daisy didn't have to say much for most of the people to realize that the ninji who had arrived weren't acting on their own.
"The last sighting was off the Fly Agaric Byway," a young toad wearing a bright red dress offered. "I've been keeping up with all the news lately. I can take you there."
"No need!" a wiggler shouted, crawling up to the crowd then perching up on his hind legs. "Princess, I'm so glad I found you! The strange ninji are swarming Earthtongue Park!"
...
Earthtongue Park, the newest sighting of the strange ninji, was only a few blocks away.
"Who names these places?" Daisy frowned, pulling at her skirt as she attempted to run. Her strides were long but careful not to catch her heels on the petticoats and trip. Several of the bystanders tagged along, though some of the smaller ones had trouble keeping up with Daisy's speed.
Ninjetta hopped along, severely worried about what they would find. "Princess! Maybe we should call the others!"
"Yeah, you get on that," Daisy frowned. "You have that GB thingy anyway."
Ninjetta fished for the thing in her bag. It was small and colored golden yellow with black letters across the front, stating 'GB Advanced Communicator 9001.' What a strange name for the thing, but the Professor did have a tendency to name everything strangely. At least it wasn't another SodaPop.
The ninji flipped the device open, pressing the buttons until something happened. The screen flipped on, making some crackling noises before making a popping sound. She really wasn't sure what was going on, as the Professor didn't entirely explain the device in terms she understood. Pressing a few more buttons, she shouted at it, "Come to Earthtongue Park!" She received a few "Okays" and "understood" from the other end before she closed the thing and shoved it back into the bag. It seemed to work so she would just have to keep her princess out of trouble until the other three arrived as backup.
Continuing to be trouble, Daisy skidded around the corner of the building before coming to an abrupt stop. Ninjetta collided into her back, rebounding and knocking into the wiggler behind her.
"Ho~ly crap," Daisy marveled. Before them stood the park. The ground was coated with a strange black fog. The strange shadow ninji stood among it, surrounding a center mass of ninji jumping about like wild animals swarming prey.
"B-back around the corner quickly." Daisy shooed the group back around the building, plastering herself against the wall. That was a few too many ninji to handle by herself, and they seemed rather busy tearing apart whatever was in the center of the mass.
She paused, nervously running her fingers around the engagement band underneath her gloves as she attempted to collect her thoughts. Those ninji were swarming something, perhaps a helpless victim. Her mind drifted for a moment to the possessed luma that had swallowed Luigi and Mario whole. She couldn't imagine what a swarm of ninji could do, but at least their mouths weren't as large.
"Stay here," Daisy instructed, pushing off from the wall.
"W-wait, princess!" Ninjetta panicked, pulling at the bottom of Daisy's dress in a futile attempt to stop her. "What are you doing?"
"Those ninji, they're swarming something or someone," Daisy replied, fighting against Ninjetta's pull. She glanced around the edges of the park, spotting a baseball bat within reach. "I'm going to stir them up a bit. Maybe they'll recognize me." It was a long shot, but she hadn't quite wiped the idea from her mind. Ninji had migrated to Chai, taking up residence in the castle town. Daisy was rather accustomed to seeing them and they her. "And if not, I'll beat them senseless if I have to."
Shaking Ninjetta from her skirt, Daisy stepped on the bat, catching it as it flipped up. "Alright, ya shadow ninji!" she shouted at the swarm, brandishing the bat menacingly at them. "Scatter or I'll beat your faces!"
If Ninjetta had lips, she would be biting them right now. She stood firmly next to Daisy, though inside, she was shaking up a storm. Her heart beat so fast she thought it would beat out of her chest.
The shadow ninji turned, almost in unison, to stare at Daisy. "Survivor." Their eyes glowed like faint stars in the darkness, and the shadows oozed from them. The picture in the newspaper had done them justice. "Princess." The swarming ninji had ceased their assault, turning their attention towards Daisy. "Khenet."
Daisy firmly stood her ground, drawing the bat to her shoulder as if playing baseball. "Come on, shadows! Come ta Daisy!" She nudged her ninji advisor, pushing her out of harm's way with her foot. She couldn't have anything happen to Ninjetta.
The shadow ninji approached slowly at first until the front lines suddenly dashed, leaping into the air for a silent coordinated attack. Narrowing her eyes, Daisy took a swing, knocking several of the ninji out of the air and back into the park. The remaining ninji grabbed her shoulders, attempting to gnaw on her arms with their tiny mouths.
Truthfully, Daisy felt terrible striking her own people. Ever since the ninji had migrated, she considered them her own as if they'd always been there. The pidgit and ravens fell under the same category. However, right now, she didn't have much of a choice. The ninji were attacking viciously, even if not by their own will, and Daisy would defend herself and those around her.
Using her free hand, she punched the ninji on her shoulders, knocking them off her though they took part of her sleeves with them. Another wave leapt forward while a third wave moved in for a low assault, gnawing and pulling on her dress. While she continued to stand her ground, knocking the ninji away, more continued to come. Ninjetta leapt forward, hopping on the ninji to knock them off their path. The wiggler who'd come with them began throwing random turnips to thwart the ninji as well.
Even with the assistance, Daisy was becoming overwhelmed. More ninji had emerged from the shadows, replacing the defeated ninji quickly. As they attacked, they chanted 'Khenet' over and over again. Daisy continued to fight against them, ignoring their strange words. Then a flash of light enveloped her, driving the shadow ninji quickly away and back into the dark mist. Another flash of light and the strange mist collected into a large ball then disappeared from sight.
With the park now visible, Daisy and the others now saw the ninji weren't swarming anything but a stray beach ball. Had it all been a trap? Sighing, Daisy flopped backwards on the grass, her dress a shredded a mess.
"Looks like I came just in time, my fair golden maiden." Peasley floated down from behind Daisy on his flying bean. He disembarked, now standing on the grass as he glanced over to where the strange mist once floated. The park had returned to its former state, looking green and lively.
"I thought they were attacking someone," Daisy confessed, leaning forward to prop herself up on her knees. She discarded the bat behind her, rather upset with the turn of events. She wanted to be the hero, not the victim. "Turns out it's just a beach ball."
...
"Another Khenet." The star eater closed his eyes, hearing the ninji return in the shadows. The information they'd sent back during the fight was troubling. The presence of another khenet was troubling.
Khenet was the color of eternal persistence. While the star eater had certainly acquired his own khenet, the presence of another could counteract his work, restoring the world to its original form. This girl certainly possessed the power of khenet and her will was incredibly strong and unbending, even in the face of immeasurable odds. Her allies would prove troublesome as well.
"Two khenet cannot exist. I will have to deal with this one accordingly."
….
Author's references
Mushroom City is first featured in Mario Kart Double Dash! It's a big city you have to race through and avoid bomb cars, wiggler buses, and regular autos. Hitting a mushroom car would give you a boost, supposedly, though I'd never tried. Moonview Highway from Mario Kart Wii supposedly takes place on the main highway stretching through Mushroom City.
The two odd names mentioned, Fly Agaric and Earthtongue, are types of fungus. A fly agaric looks a lot like the standard toadstools prevalent across most of the Mushroom Kingdom. The earthtongue looks like a tongue sticking out of the ground.
Mushroom City: Mushroom_City (Mario Kart DD)
Fly Agaric mushroom: fly-agaric/amanita-muscaria/ looks a lot like a standard toadstool in the Mushroom Kingdom.
Olive Earthtongue olive-earthtongue/microglossum-olivaceum/ is a strange fungus that looks like a tongue sticking out of the earth.