Author's Note: Hello again! I apologize for the appallingly long time it has been since I last updated. March has been amazingly busy for me. Before I post the next chapter I would also like to advertise my new one shot, A World Apart. I haven't gotten any reviews yet…

Chapter 10: The Game Begins

Shiori stepped into the semi-darkness and motioned for the others to follow her out of the gate that marked the lab's exit. Luigi followed her along with Eureka, and Daisy and Waluigi were not far behind. The other three Yoshis brought up the rear.

Luigi was not talking animatedly to Eureka the way he had at breakfast. After his eyes adjusted to the low light he realized that the jungle seemed somehow even more foreboding than it had been in previous days. He did not want to think about what sort of evil made this possible.

Eureka sensed Luigi's mood and decided to refrain from conversation. Instead she focused on her images of this area before Kamek invaded. It was lush with palm trees and bushes bearing plump fruit. The Yoshis lived in harmony with their surroundings. She remembered spending many sunny afternoons observing their way of life. No matter what mood she was in, their friendly greetings had always comforted her. She sighed. The island would probably never be that wonderful place again. Her only hope now was to help Luigi find his friends and save them, somehow. She wouldn't admit it to the others, but there was something odd about her father's instructions to them. He was usually better prepared and more thorough when it came to situations like this.

Waluigi was lost in thought as well. He had to think of a way to tell Daisy how he felt about her. He was not the most articulate man, but he was observant. Then again, someone would have to be blind not to see Daisy's envy whenever Eureka and Luigi talked, even whenever they looked at each other. He wondered if he should just come out and tell her in earnest, but this could hardly be the right time.

Waluigi looked to his right at Daisy. Her eyes remained forward, and her jaw was set. She betrayed no feeling.

If Waluigi could have read Daisy's mind he would have seen a storm of emotions. Daisy couldn't stand seeing Luigi and Eureka walking so close to each other. At the same time she felt comforted by Waluigi's presence beside her. The darkness was closing in on the travelers fast, and she was glad to have someone she was beginning to trust next to her in case of danger. The DS could warn her of course, but it couldn't stop her from running away if things got terrifying.

Daisy decided to stop brooding for awhile at least. She concentrated on her surroundings. She hadn't noticed that a breeze had picked up, and Shiori was now guiding her and her companions by the light of a full moon. She thought the scene could have been romantic if the metal foliage had not been provoked by the wind to make scratching sounds. They gave her goosebumps. She crossed her arms over her chest.

Suddenly, Shiori stopped and motioned for the others to be silent. Daisy was not sure why they had halted until she heard a whooshing sound. She saw a small dark shape whiz down the path until it halted with a soft thud at Luigi's feet.

"What was that?" Waluigi demanded, startled out of his train of thought.

"I think it's a Koopa shell," Luigi replied as he picked it up.

It appeared to be just an everyday green shell, the kind Luigi was used to throwing in order to slow down the other karts in a race. When he looked closer he could see that something was burned into the top of the shell. He gasped. It was the same symbol that had been on the broom he found in what seemed like ages ago. He turned the shell over. There was something written on the underside in an unusual script.

A Koopa has lost its shell! Down the path you might find him naked. The game has begun.

The travelers looked at each other with confusion. Then Waluigi noticed smoke coming from the shell's top hole.

"Luigi," he yelled, "throw the shell!"

Luigi complied on impulse and hurled the object off the path. The resulting explosion was more loud than damaging. Daisy had instinctively buried her head in Waluigi's shoulder to shield herself from the blast as soon as she had heard the explosion. She noticed his amused smirk as she pulled herself away.

"Don't read too much into that," she warned once she was a respectable distance from him. Waluigi gave her a mocking smile and looked toward Luigi.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Waluigi insisted.

The travelers hesitantly pressed on. The had only walked down the trail for ten minutes when they heard a weak whimpering sound. This time Shiori did not have to stop them from walking. She stepped off the path and beckoned for the others to follow.

They did not have to go far to find the source of the whimpers. Tied to one of the twisted structures was a small Koopa. Its mouth was gagged, and its eyes bulged in fear.

Luigi edged toward the creature and pulled the gag from its mouth. He discarded it onto the ground.

"Luigi," the Koopa gasped, "Message…" and its eyes closed.

"Oh God, is he…" Daisy trailed off.

"No, no he's still breathing. Someone cut him down," Luigi replied.

Shiori pulled a knife from her pouch and began to cut the creature down.

"He knew you," Shiori said to Luigi. It was more of a question than a statement.

Luigi suddenly realized who this Koopa was. "He raced with us. He must be one of the captives!" He searched his mind for a name. "His name is Kooper."

"He's burned," Shiori said once Kooper was free. "It looks like some kind of symbol."

Luigi felt sick to his stomach as everything clicked in his head. "It's Kamek's symbol. He's been branding objects, and now our friends as well." He suddenly flared in anger. "We have to move on! We have to save them!"

Shiori signaled one of her companions forward. "Take this Koopa back to the lab." The Yoshi took off in the other direction after securely placing Kooper in a riding position on his back. Shiori addressed the rest of the travelers.

"We should rest now. We will be at our destination soon, and we must be calm before we continue."

"How can you say that?" Luigi snapped. "Our friends are in mortal danger! Who knows what horrible things Kamek is doing to them?"

Eureka put a hand on Luigi's shoulder, and he relaxed a little. "Okay," he conceded, "but we can't stay long." He sat next to Eureka on a fallen branch.

Waluigi wandered, looking for a place to sit. He noticed Kooper's gag lying crumpled on the ground.

"Message," he mumbled to himself, "Isn't that what the Koopa said?"

He unfolded the gag. The same script that occupied this object had been written inside the Koopa shell, but this time it conveyed a different message:

That clue was easy, but soon the sky will fall.

"Let me see that," Daisy commanded. "'Soon the sky will fall.' What on earth could that mean?"

Waluigi felt frightened for the first time since his fuzzy-induced vision. He gave up on looking for a seat and plopped down on the ground. Daisy sat next to him.

"Are you okay?" she asked with genuine concern.

"Yea, it's all just starting to come together for me. This whole time…we've never been in control. How are any of us going to get off this island alive?"

Daisy smacked Waluigi in the back of the head with no warning.

"How dare you lose hope!" she scolded him. "For you, of all people, to act like such a--a coward!" She sighed. "Sorry," she lowered the volume of her voice. "I've had a rough time these last couple of days."

"Care to tell me about it?" Waluigi asked.

"It's silly really."

"Come on," Waluigi hedged. "You just whacked me in the back of the head, I think I can make that small request of you."

Daisy took a deep breath and looked across from her at Luigi and Eureka to be sure they weren't eavesdropping. They were deep in conversation with their heads almost touching.

"Here goes," Daisy said to herself as she addressed Waluigi again.

"I've always kind of assumed that Luigi and I would end up together. I think that's always what my family wanted, too. I mean he's not royalty, far from it, but there aren't many human residents of Sarasaland. Actually, I think they were betting on Mario at first. He did save my life five years ago, but I've always seen him as more of a big brother."

"Anyway," she continued, "I always thought I had feelings for Luigi. That last night we were on Paradise Island I was sure, positively sure, that he was going to kiss me. He never made a move. I attributed it to shyness. Luigi has never really opened up to me, but he's had no problem talking to Eureka. I was so jealous at first, but now I'm wondering if Luigi and I were meant to be together at all."

"Wow," Waluigi exclaimed, acting surprised even though Daisy had just confirmed all of his suspicions.

"Daisy," he continued, "I have a confession to make. I--"

"Waluigi, look out!" Shiori screamed, pushing him out of the way.

The force of the shove knocked Waluigi on top of Daisy and into a tree trunk. Then he heard a loud explosion and saw a smoking hole where he and Daisy had been. Shiori lie motionless in the crater. Waluigi climbed down to check on her.

"Waluigi…" she coughed, "You and the others…run!" Her eyes closed in eternal sleep.

"Shiori," Waluigi whispered, realizing the full weight of the sacrifice she had made. He climbed out of the crater.

"Daisy, we have to go!" he exclaimed. "Get the others."

Daisy ran to where Luigi and Eureka sat, stunned.

"Come on, we have to go!" Daisy commanded as she grabbed Eureka's hand and pulled her up. Luigi followed.

They heard several whooshing sounds as heavy rounded objects fell into the forest and crashed around them.

"Run!" Daisy shouted.