Welcome to the chapter of which is called ten!

This focuses on life for Starlow in the army of Bowser - collecting supplies and the like. Oh joy...:P

As the weeks went by, Starlow found herself settling into life in Bowser's Castle. Wake up every morning, have breakfast (which usually consisted of gruel and jam...not a nice combination) and scout for supplies. There wasn't a heck of a lot else to do, except report back to Peach's Castle via the use of Birdley (Peach had sent over yet another present wiith him to disguise the true reason why he had arrived). She had to send Birdley off in the dead of the night, though, which usually meant losing the precious sleep she had - only four hours of it. Bowser wanted his army in tip-top condition, and he wasn't very friendly when his goals weren't being achieved as quickly as he'd hoped.

"GET A MOVE ON!" he roared to the minions as they kitted up to go out into Dimble Woods for supplies. The minions flinched as one, but Starlow (who was amongst them) just glared at Bowser. Bowser glared back.

"What are you staring at?!" he mouthed furiously. Starlow grinned - Bowser couldn't be seen conversing with one of his minions, it would lower his respect that his minions had for him. Corporal Paraplonk, a red-shelled Paratroopa with a red bucket upside down on his head to serve as his helmet; Sergeant Guy, a Shy Guy with a green cloak instead of the conventional red and what looked like a cross between a sword and a wand in a bracket on his back; Private Goomp, a Goomba with a blue nightie cap and blue...well, they LOOKED like pajama's, but Private Goomp was adamant they were anything but. These three were also in Starlow's team, as well as a female Dry Bones called Anabella and a male green shelled Koopa called Bruce. Being the only two females on the team Anabella and Starlow had formed an instant bond. Starlow had learnt a lot about her friend; she hated the name 'Anabella' for starters, and would much rather be referred to as plain old 'Anna'; she hated the fact that they were skeletons ("I mean, how on earth are you going to follow the latest fashion if the clothes are made for LIVING people?") and the fact that it bloody hurt to re-assemble herself whenever she got stomped on, causing her to disintegrate. Starlow looked across the supply room to Anna; catching her eye, she winked. Anna winked back. Communications were very limited when you had the King of Koopa's breathing down your neck. Everyone finished getting ready - for Corporal Paraplonk all this meant was giving his bu-er, helmet a quick shining. He did this quickly, as he felt very embarassed without it on his head. Starlow usually carried a sword (where in the Mushroom Kingdom did he get this? Starlow had thought bemusedly when she had first saw it) - it was a long, thin rapier; and Anna carried a giant hammer. When Starlow asked her why she used it she simply replied, "Well, Mario and Luigi use them a lot, don't they? So I decided to copy 'em,". They all stood to attention and saluted Bowser.

"Ready for duty, Lord Bowser!" they barked, keeping their hands by their foreheads. Bowser grinned at them.

"Took yer long enough...anyway, I need you to go back to Dimble Woods and dig up any more supplies. I know those question mark blocks contain loads of hidden treats," Bowser ordered.

"Yes, Lord Bowser!" they said back, and filed out, one after the other. They marched rigidly out of the supply room, through the main hall and out of the castle. They continued matching until they were out of sight of the castle, then they relaxed and settled into a walk.

"God, that marching isn't good for your feet..." Anna groaned, massaging the ball of her foot while hopping on the other. Starlow laughed.

"Well, you know we have to keep appearances up," she said, subsiding into giggles. Anna smiled back.

"Yeah..." she stared at the approaching forest. "Do you think we'll find anything else of use in that dark, damp, evil, scary forest?"

"Of course we will - in fact, the other day I saw a treasure trove of blocks. I just had my hands full, so I left them," Starlow explained. Anna's eyes shined.

"Treasure..." she breathed. Starlow smacked her forhead and dragged the hand down her face. She had forgotten that Anna was absolutely cuckoo about treasure.

They entered Dimble Woods.

"I...seriously don't like this place..." Sergeant Guy said, shivering. He drew his cloak around him tighter. Sergeant Goomp and Corporal Paraplonk also shivered.

"I don't mind this place, but...why does it have to be so cold?" Sergeant Goomp complained through chattering teeth. Corporal Paraplonk glared at him.

"YOU'RE alright. I don't have any barriers against the cold..." he said, shivering violently. Sergeant Goomp glared back at him and opened his mouth to retaliate.

"OI!" Starlow shouted. "We don't need you doofuses to keep arguing all the time we are here!"

"Doofuses?" the 'doofuses' said as one.

"Yes, you bunch of idiots. Now settle down and get some searching done," Anna snapped.

"Oh, right. You don't feel the cold 'cause you're dead," Corporal Paraplonk said. A huge mistake it was to turn out to be.

"Excuse me?" Anna hissed, tightening her grip on the hammer and turning her knuckles white. Bruce and Starlow stepped back. They knew how Anna could turn out when she was pushed. Unfortunately, Corporal Paraplonk (being the idiot he is) didn't catch on to the fact.

"Well, you're dead. That means you have no ner-" his sentence was cut off by a hammer smashing into the top of his skull, effectively drilling him into the ground. Anna glared at Sergeant Guy and Private Goomp.

"Any of you two idiots want to try me as well?" she snapped, twirling her hammer. They both shook their heads frantically.

"N-no! We won't do anyhting to hurt you or your feelings," they said frantically. As if they could hurt me, Anna thought. She loosened her grip slightly on the hammer.

"Good," she said, walking off deeper into the forest. Everyone watched her go.

"She's got a real temper on her..." Bruce said in awe. Starlow nodded.

"Mmhmm. Don't test her," Starlow said to the two remaining people who had survived her wrath.

"We won't," they chimed. They all headed off.

Leaving one person behind. He popped out of the ground, landing heavily.

"Ouch..." he moaned, rubbing the top of his head. He glanced around, spotting everyone else already far into the distance. He leapt up and flew after them, shouting.

"HEY! YOU FORGOT ABOUT ME!..."

Yeah...this chapter was just meant to be a deviation from the main storyline. Just a little bit of crazyness to liven up the story a bit. If this gives you a good chuckle or two, then I'm happy.

Anyway, as I always say...REVIEW!