Yes, it's a quick update! Hooray for you all! XD
I've been on the computer for over two hours finishing 12 up so I can post this. I always like to leave at least one chapter ready so I can keep up with my work. ;) Thanks for all the patience!
It's long! YESH! Finally, a longer chapter!! -dances around- I hope you enjoy it!
11
A soft breeze blew through the leaves of a large oak tree, causing one to snap off its branch. It glided through the air, and it began to fall to the ground. Just before that, however, a gloved hand grabbed it in midair by its stem, careful not to bring harm to the small leaf.
"Timpani, look," he said, showing the leaf to a young girl of about twenty with long, golden hair and a white dress. "Autumn's almost here, and this leaf was the first to fall. Soon more will follow after it, only to find death before them. None of them can survive without their tree."
"I feel so bad for it. That poor leaf…" Timpani replied. She smiled, though. "But even more leaves will replace those that fall off that oak tree, Blumiere. There's still hope." Blumiere smiled as well and let it go and it soared through the air once more until it was out of reach from the two. Blumiere reached into his cape and pulled out something, but put it behind his back.
"Timpani, I don't want our love to die like that leaf, and I certainly don't want it to be replaced, so I wanted to give you something special to remind you of our affection for each other," Blumiere held Timpani's hand, and she eagerly awaited Blumiere's gift to her. He opened his hand behind his back and showed to her what it was:
It was a rainbow-colored ribbon.
"Oh, Blumiere!" Timpani blushed.
"This ribbon reminded me of you when I saw it, so I couldn't turn it down," Blumiere smiled. "Would you like me to put it in your hair for you?"
"O-of course…" Timpani replied happily. She turned her back to Blumiere, and he began to pull some of her golden, straight hair up, giving the illusion of shorter hair. He tied it into a butterfly knot, and it even looked like a butterfly when he finished.
"There."
Timpani turned around, smiling. "How do I look?"
"Lovely!" Blumiere replied, chuckling.
She laughed. "Why, thank you, kind sir!" She got up, curtsied, and threw herself into Blumiere without warning. "Thank you, I love it."
"My pleasure, Timpani."
Timpani touched her ribbon atop her head as they walked down a stone pathway that was surrounded by lava. The surroundings were making her feel quite unsettled, so she moved closer to her husband. Blumiere, feeling her warmth up against his body, put his hand on her waist.
"It'll be alright, amour, don't worry."
"As long as you're sure…" Timpani whispered as she felt the heat from the lava below. The two continued on cautiously, every once in a while leaning closer to each other to feel safer. They soon approached the drawbridge that Blumiere had crossed before, and they stopped.
"This is where I disappeared from when I fell from the sky in Flipside," Blumiere said. "Nastasia, do you know anything about this place?"
There was no response.
"Nastasia?" Blumiere asked. They turned around.
"Nastasia?! Where did she go?!" Timpani exclaimed. "Wasn't she just behind us?"
"She must have stayed behind; she usually doesn't like doing these kinds of things." Blumiere shrugged. "We need to keep moving, though. I'm pretty sure Nastasia will be fine." He began to keep moving towards Bowser's castle, leaving Timpani behind only a little, unsure of his comment. She noticed he was going on without her, and started sprinting after him.
"GAH!! BLUMIERE, WAIT!!"
The two arrived at two large doors of Bowser's enormous castle, and were surprised to see it was unguarded. So far, there wasn't any obstacles for them to overcome, no enemies they had to fight, and overall, no problems they had to deal with. It was almost too easy.
"The next thing we're going to see is the doors to be unlocked," Blumiere remarked sarcastically. Timpani nodded in agreement. "But still, we should look for another way in…"
"But we don't know that they're locked for sure, Blumiere. Perhaps we should just try it first." Timpani replied, tugging on the door handles, which opened the door quite easily. Both fell silent.
"What do you know," Blumiere whispered. "The doors ARE unlocked." Timpani began to walk inside, but he grabbed her gloved hand quickly. "Timpani, just remember to stay quiet; I almost didn't make it out when I was brought here. Just be prepared, alright?"
Timpani nodded. "You do the same, and I promise I will." Blumiere smiled, and the two crept in silently, letting the door close gently behind them. "…Where do we start? Bowser could be anywhere…"
"Will you be alright if we split up just this once, Timpani? We'll cover more ground that way, but if you don't feel comfortable doing so…" Blumiere suggested. Timpani frowned and looked away, remembering what happened the last time they were split apart.
"I…don't know, but if that is really what we need to do, then we should." Timpani sighed. Blumiere gave her a tight, sincere hug.
"Then we should. We'll meet right back at this place in…" Blumiere looked up at a clock. "Five minutes. I love you, and be alert as possible, okay?" Timpani nodded, returning the embrace. She stepped back and watched Blumiere teleport as she forced a smile. As soon as he left, she began to search for a place to start, and settled with a door near her. Timpani opened it as silently as possible, only to find a staircase leading down to a lower level. She grabbed onto the hand-railing and started down.
"Bowser…! Where are you? It's Tim—ugh, Tippi!" Timpani whispered. "Are you even down here?" She eventually found the floor, but the room was pitch black dark. "And yet more darkness. Surprise, surprise; this castle has it all." She began to walk carefully, occasionally waving her hands in the air to make sure nothing would cause any harm to her. And she didn't want to break anything for the second time; being the kind and gentle lady she was.
She turned her head, and in an instant, something ran into her. Or she ran into it; either way, the thing or person ran into Timpani, and sent her landing on the floor, back first. She sat up.
"Eek! Sorry, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you…obviously…it's pitch black dark in here! Can you turn on a light or something? …Wait, don't! I don't want to see how injured you must be after running into a klutz like I am. Err…" Timpani stammered, shaking. I hope it's you, Blumiere!
The lights suddenly turned on, almost blinding Timpani's eyes, and she rubbed them. "OW! A little warning next time, please…!"
"…Good GRAVY!" A rough voice exclaimed. "H-how did a girl like YOU get in here?!"
Timpani felt confused, and with her eyes still covered, she said, "I…what? The door was open…! My husband and I are looking for King Bowser, and so we split up, and I came down here. Do you know where he is? The world is in danger…rather, the universe is in danger!!"
"The door was open?!" The voice repeated. "If I told them once, I've told them a lot of times, my minions need to lock the door when they're the last in! Sheesh, it's pretty hard to get to them sometimes."
Timpani uncovered her eyes and gasped at who stood before her. A spiked shell, red hair, horns, a spiked tail, and a scowling face that soon turned into a shocked gaze when Timpani looked up; it was King Bowser Koopa himself that Timpani had run into. Timpani scooted backwards.
"Err…King…Bowser?!" Timpani blinked in surprise. Bowser's jaw dropped.
"Whoa, WHOA! Time out!" Bowser exclaimed. Timpani frowned.
"…Huh?"
"We…we didn't even introduce ourselves yet! Well, actually, you know me, but I don't know you!" Bowser smoothed out his dark orange hair and smiled. Timpani felt dumbfounded. Bowser was acting very different, almost like he did around—
"Bowser, it's me, Timpani! Do you remember Tippi? The Pixl butterfly that helped you a few months ago? That was me!" Timpani explained. "You have to come with me to find Blumiere; the universe is in danger, and we need you to help us!"
"Wow…forget Peach, you're really the cutest girls I've ever seen!!" Bowser smirked. Timpani blushed, but gasped and gulped. Bowser wasn't himself at all!
"…What?!" Timpani shrieked. Bowser grabbed Timpani's arm, yanked her up on her feet, and held both hands. "Eek!"
"Oh, this is great! You actually said earlier that you were looking for me! Finally someone loves me for who I am!! Wow!" Bowser cried happily, closing his eyes. Timpani was speechless. "All I have to do is file a divorce with Peach, and then we can get married! We'll be in love; an awesome love that'll never, EVER end!!"
"B-but I'm already married!" Timpani managed to get out. Her heart began to race as she began to fall into a pool of nervousness that seemed to never end. She looked over at a clock, and it had been four minutes since Blumiere set the time to come back to the front. That made her even more scared. He'll have to come look for me…right?
"Then we'll be alright after you divorce your dumb hubby; I'll be your new one in a snap!" Bowser laughed. Timpani snapped her eyes shut and stomped on the ground, desperate for understanding.
"NO! YOU DON'T GET IT! I'm married, and I love my husband! I don't want to marry you! I want you to help us save all the worlds from destruction!!" Timpani shouted. Bowser paid no attention to her comment, and started up again.
"And King Dimentio himself will be our priest! He married Peach and I, you know." Bowser smirked. "Won't it be wonderful! We just need to find you a wedding dress…"
"Bowser, please, listen!" Timpani yelped as soon as she heard Dimentio's name. "Dimentio's evil, and he's trying to destroy the universe!!"
"You really need a new hairstyle to go with that dress,"
"No, I mean it, stop thinking about that!"
"You're right, you probably don't need one. Just a nice boquet would do fine."
"QUIT TALKING ABOUT A WEDDING THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN!"
"But I know you'll look just beautiful anyway you do anything!" Bowser smiled.
"Bowser?!" someone cried. Timpani looked over and smiled. "WHAT. ARE. YOU. DOING. TO. MY. WIFE?!"
"Blumiere!!" Timpani exclaimed. Blumiere was on the last step, and he was everything but happy as soon as he saw Bowser and Timpani so close together.
"What—who the heck are you supposed to be?!"
"You don't remember two seconds of your life, do you?" Blumiere fumed. "I was just here a day ago, and you don't even remember that! What DO you remember, Bowser?"
"Well, I remember Dimentio marrying Peach and I, and then a black heart thing…But then I woke up and I felt weird. That spider girl came with this guy who was really hard to understand, and there was a bright flash, and…that's it." Bowser rambled on. There was a pause. "OH! DANGIT! YOU MADE ME TELL!!" Timpani was pushed hard away from Bowser, but Blumiere caught her before she hit a wall behind them.
"Bowser, just calm—" Timpani started, but was interrupted by fire erupting towards them both.
"And I remember what the King told me! To destroy you two for GOOD!" Bowser roared. Blumiere pulled Timpani up the stairs, and they ran as fast as they possibly could down a hall as Bowser and his fire breath chased after them. Timpani tried to open the doors, but they wouldn't budge even slightly.
"Great, they're locked from the inside!!" Timpani exclaimed. Blumiere took Timpani's hand and ran up a staircase near the door as he saw Bowser approaching them at a quick pace.
"Then we'll take a detour upstairs!" Blumiere replied. They ran into a room, shut the door, and locked it. Both panted heavily, trying to catch their breath.
"This is horrible; how will we get out of this place??" Timpani asked. Blumiere turned around and was instantly shocked; the room they were in was the same room that Blumiere had been in when he and Timpani were separated, but the room was covered black with soot.
"What the heck happened here?!" Blumiere asked.
"There must have been an explosion of some kind…" Timpani said. The room shook heavily, followed by a loud roar.
"OPEN THE DOOR, AND I WON'T HURT YOU…THAT MUCH!!"
"We have to get out of here right now; jump out the window, and I'll keep us safe!" Blumiere noted the bars on the window were broken off, and so he took this to his advantage. He grabbed Timpani by the waist and leaped out the window, and hovered above the ground for a while, but then began to soar at a steady pace through the crisp air, above a vast ocean of lava.
"Whoa! Whoa!! I didn't know you could do this with someone else you're holding!!" Timpani kicked her legs in the air, feeling like she'd fall any second, but she wouldn't because of Blumiere's tight grip.
"Ugh, it's harder when that someone won't stay still!" Blumiere added. "So hold still, amoureux, I won't drop you if you just hold still!" Timpani swallowed.
"It's HARD not to move, though! You try to trust someone to hang on to you in midair over a load of lava!!" Timpani struggled to stop moving around, but Blumiere took his free hand and put it on Timpani's chin.
"Hush. It'll be alright. Just relax, get out the Flipside pipe, and we can be on solid ground in no time." Blumiere whispered. Timpani did as she was told, and got the red warp pipe out from her pocket. In doing so, however, Timpani dropped a little bit, and Blumiere's hand was on her upper stomach.
"ACK! Blumiere!!" Timpani blushed, scrambling to get herself higher up in Blumiere's arms.
"It'll be fine, I got you!!"
"It sure doesn't seem that way!!" Timpani snapped her eyes shut.
"Gah!! Stop moving so much!!" Blumiere struggled to keep Timpani in his grip.
"Wait, I…EEEK!" Timpani slipped loose of Blumiere's hand, and her ribbon came undone as Blumiere tried to grab onto her. Blumiere held the ribbon from Timpani's hair, and gasped as he saw Timpani fall to the hot flames below.
"TIMPANI!!"
"BLUMIERE!!" Timpani cried. There was a bright flash, and they both blacked out.
