My Love For You Never Dies
Chapter 11: Tragic Reunion
Author's note: Based on Super Mario Galaxy mixed with Paper Mario.
Thanks so much with your support! I will do my best to make this story amazing! Sorry it took so long! I am really busy with my other story and with my life! Please forgive me!
Warning: Don't expect another chapter unless there's 5 or more reviews for each chapter.
Sadly, I don't own Mario. (cries hysterically) OK, I am done. I do own Khira, Mario and Luigi's sister and the story of course!
On with the story!
It had at least a week since the party arrived at the Great Tree in the Boggly Woods where they had been hiding from Bowser's army for a while now. While Khira had insisted they leave to at least keep the Punies from danger, she couldn't deny that this was the perfect place to hide away from Peach and Bowser. Since they had saved the Great Tree, Mario and Khira had helped the Punies create a lot of different passageways and secret ones as well. Whenever they got word of Bowser's troops being in the woods, they would take refuge in those passageways whenever they came by the tree. Thankfully, the Koopa Patrol were too stupid to sense their presence and they were quickly on their way. Khira and Luigi both talked it over and they knew that they couldn't take refuge here for very much longer, no matter how much it was working out for them now. The longer they stayed, the more they put the party and the Punies in danger. It had been over a week and Mario hadn't snapped out of it, no matter how much Khria and Luigi tried. They also did a lot of thinking and they still had no idea what magic Bowser and Kammy Koopa had used to brainwash Peach. Kammy may have been the most powerful Magikoopa, but she was nowhere near the level of magic user as Khira. Khira said to Mario multiple times that they had to leave but Mario always insisted that they had to stay and that he wasn't ready to face Peach in her new form. He kept saying that over the last few days until it turned into a week since they arrived. Khira and Luigi knew that they had to leave soon or else something bad was going to happen to the tree. But Luigi wanted to stay anyway, saying it was a good hiding place. He understood that eventually they would have to leave, but he also knew that they weren't going anywhere so long as their brother remained trapped in his current state.
Khira confronted Luigi about this late that afternoon.
"Look, I get what you're saying, but I'm not your problem. It's your other brother. How are we going to get him out of here? And no, force is not going to help anyone. I know how much you love to use it, but it's not going to work for Mario."
"We need to leave now," she said urgently. "The longer we stay here the more danger we put the Punies in, not to mention ourselves..."
"We've been holed up for a week now and they haven't found us! What's the worst that could happen?" Luigi argued.
"In the past they didn't have a brainwashed and evil queen hellbent on killing us! Do you think she's going to stop looking here for us? She knows that the Koopa Patrol lost us here and they're not going to stop the search in the Boggly Woods until they've found us! We need to leave now to confuse them and make the trail run cold!"
Luigi threw his hands in the air. He was tired of running. What good was going to come from it?
"We can't just keep running from them," Luigi countered again.
"So you'd prefer being captured and executed in front of the whole Mushroom Kingdom by our princess in front of our friends and neighbors?"
"Of course not! But running isn't the answer either! We're just going to lose our minds!"
Khira rolled her eyes and Sparky looked up at his mistress, feeling her frustration. There were times when Luigi had his moments of brilliance and intelligence, and this was one of them. She knew that he was correct, but honestly, she had been beyond patient with Mario up to this point and completely understood his grief because she was experiencing the same feelings as him. But she also knew that the more they stayed in one location, the more in danger they would be and the more in danger their friends would be. Mario said that he understood this, but still refused to listen to anything that she had to say. When Luigi tried, he gave him the same speech, Mario just continued to stare off into the distance without saying a single word to them. Luigi was very close to giving up on Mario and while he understood his older brother's grief, he knew that this situation was too serious for them to be moping around and not doing anything. He was sad about losing his princess and dear friend as well, but he's not reacting in the same way Mario is.
"I can't do this. I'm walking away," she said in frustration.
"You know I'm right, Khira!" Luigi countered.
Khira ignored him, even though she would never admit it out loud, Luigi was correct. They couldn't keep running forever and eventually, they were going to have to face Peach again and if they failed at healing her, she had no doubt that her best friend would kill them. She stopped walking and punched the wall so hard that it left a dent. Normally she would feel a bit guilty about damaging the tree, but this time, she didn't care. She broke down crying on the floor and was thankful no one could see her. Mario wasn't the only person who lost someone they loved and cared about. The thing Khira was the most afraid of was that if she couldn't heal Peach, she probably would have to kill her. That thought sent tears streaming down her face. Sparky then turned and tried licking her tears away. He knew that she didn't like to cry in public and tried to make it better in the only way he knew how. He was the only person that she had the courage to cry in front of.
Most of the time, Khira was very isolated with her emotions and was very stern and serious, but the people that she loved and cared about knew she only put up that front as an act. They knew that despite how she acts, she loves and cares about them. Mario and Luigi knew this very well and over the last few years, Peach had realized that as well. At first, Khira despised Peach and was very cautious of her. She saw her as a spoiled princess who was going to toy with Mario's heart and rip him to shreds the way that Pauline did. Peach persevered through Khira's outward iciness and the two eventually became best friends. Khira found that she loved Peach as if she was her own sister and she vowed to protect her as such. She never thought that she could grow close to another human being and she did with Peach. She didn't show it to anyone there because she needed to stay strong for her brothers, but she was absolutely devastated at Peach's current state. The person that she had grown to love and care about so much had almost killed her. And the worst part was that she had no idea how to fix it or even if she could and if she couldn't, she would probably be forced to kill her.
"Khira, this is ridiculous. We shouldn't be..."
Khira looked up. Damnit. No one was supposed to see this. Luigi was standing in front of her and was stopped dead in his tracks at his sister completely in tears and fallen apart. It had been a while since he had actually witnessed his sister cry. It probably meant that she had had enough of holding her emotions in and couldn't do it anymore. Luigi knelt down to her level and she just collapsed into his arms. Her brother held her and tried to calm her down, extremely shocked to see her this way and really not knowing what to do.
"Luigi, I just can't do this anymore. I can't stay here knowing we're putting our friends in danger and that we're endangering ourselves even more. If she were to kill or do anything to you and Mario, I wouldn't..." she continued to break down as she clung to Luigi. "I wouldn't even want to live anymore. These bastards are tearing us apart and I can't let that happen."
Luigi couldn't stand to see Khira in this state. He didn't realize that she had been keeping this in for so long. He then became extremely frustrated once again with the selfishness of his brother. Although this state of his sister wasn't completely Mario's fault, his inability to help them and his state of complete instability was clearly hurting both of them and Luigi was terrified that he would break down soon. Khira was always the strong one and was usually the shoulder to cry on for both of them. Now, he was the shoulder to cry on because Khira was suffering just as much as Mario. The only difference was that she was trying to work through her pain to try to find a solution. And what had Mario been doing? Lying in his room day in and day out feeling sorry for himself. He had had enough.
Luigi banged on the door to Mario's current room.
"Mario, open the door," he said.
No answer. Luigi rolled his eyes. He then got sick of knocking and just burst into the room. He was greeted with the sight of Mario lying down on his bed, his back to Luigi looking out of the window at the sky.
"Look, I understand you're upset and in pain. You couldn't protect the love of your life and now Bowser has got her under his control. I get that. What I don't understand is why you're sitting there feeling sorry for yourself and no one else. You think you're the only one suffering right now? I just comforted our sister in the hallway while she was in tears! Tears, Mario! You know Khira and she hardly ever cries in front of us! That's when you know it's really bad!"
Mario gave no acknowledgement that he was listening to Luigi, but he was. He could hardly believe that of all people, Khira would cry in front of Luigi. He had no idea that Khira was suffering as much as he was. But even in this realization, Mario didn't have the strength to get up out of his bed. He didn't understand why he couldn't even find the energy or strength to get up and do anything. He didn't realize that Bowser's attack had affected him as bad as it did. He felt so unlike himself and he felt as though he couldn't ever go back to the way he once was. He had lost the love of his life and he probably was never going to get her back. It was almost as if her game had ended and he was being driven insane with his grief, to the point where he couldn't move. He also couldn't properly explain this to either of them, as speaking was just as impossible as moving for him.
Luigi, not understanding any of this, continued taking his frustration out at Mario.
"Dammit Mario! What happened to you? Where's my big brother that's not afraid of anything? That won't give up until his princess is safe and sound? That will do absolutely anything to keep his home, his friends, and family safe, no matter the consequences? How dare you think that you're the only one in pain here? If you cared about your home and Peach, you would be doing all you can to help stop this! But you don't! You just sit here and feel sorry for yourself while our sister is grieving just as much as you are and still manages to find the strength to keep going! I can't believe you, Mario!"
And with that, Luigi was gone.
Mario took in everything Luigi ranted to him. He knew that he was right and that he probably contributed a lot to how Khira is feeling now. Khira and Luigi had been trying everyday to try to get him out of bed, only to have him completely reject them by not saying a word. He also knew that he should be trying to help them find a way out of this. But he just couldn't. Luigi was right. He had really given up hope. He just couldn't bring himself to move or even speak. He was more lost and sad than he had ever been before and the worst thing was that he couldn't think of any way to fix it. It was like he was completely weighed down by a hundred tons of lead and just couldn't move. It was almost futile to keep trying to move or even get up. He knew that he was bringing everyone down and he was the reason all this happened, and that just made even harder to wake up everyday. He knew Luigi was right: even through Khira's sorrow, she continued to work, and compared to her, he just seemed like a spoiled brat. It had been a week since he had actually left the room.
He tried to find the strength to get out of his bed, only to be confronted with a series of crying. No, he just couldn't. He had really just lost the will to fight and couldn't even bring himself to get out of his bed. He knew that he was being selfish and that sitting here in bed wasn't going to solve anything.
But as he turned his head back into his pillow, he just knew that it wasn't possible. He had lost the love of his life and he will never get her back. He couldn't bring himself to move. Not anymore. There was no point in trying to survive anymore. Maybe it would just be better if she found him and killed him.
That way, at least this unimaginable and unbearable pain would finally be gone.
"You're sure you lost them here?"
"Yes, my queen. Then Khira must have used her magic to hide them away just as we were about to find them."
The queen smirked. "Well, she's a lot smarter than I gave her credit for and much more powerful. She's no match for me, but I'll give credit where credit is due. Well, they couldn't have gotten far after that ambush and the girl is probably still recovering from the amount of magic she used. She won't be able to protect them as well as she could at full strength."
"She underestimate her power, your majesty. She may seem weak, but she's more powerful with magic than anyone in the Mushroom kingdom. None of our bravest magikoopa battalions could face off against her."
"Are you suggesting that I'm not capable, Kammy?"
"Not at all, my lady! But that girl is strong, even I hate to admit that and I would not want anything to happen to my lady and queen. So do not underestimate that girl as so many of my men have."
"So she's more powerful than either of her brothers?"
"Her brothers were not blessed with magic. They were blessed with courage and strength."
"So nothing compared to myself, then. Heh."
"Indeed, my queen."
"So will I finally meet my captor Mario when we find where they're hiding?"
"Ohohoho. Yes, my queen. You'll finally have the revenge you have been waiting a long time for...My lady...is something the matter? You seem sad."
"What do you mean, Kammy? Sadness? Don't be ridiculous."
"My apologies, my lady. Why would you feel sadness over getting revenge?"
"Yes, I find the feeling strange myself. Not important. We have work to do. MOVE OUT!"
"Khira, you know that you're always welcome here," Punio said.
"NOW PUNIO, DON'T YOU DARE ACT SO KIND! YOU MUST MAINTAIN A LEVEL OF KINDNESS AND PROFESSIONALISM WHEN IN THESE KIND OF SITUATIONS! HOW DARE YOU JUST BE KIND! YOU YOUNGINS WILL NEVER LEARN!"
Khira turned back from the pipe to face Punio and the Elder fully. The Puni Elder forced Punio to come to this meeting so that he could be supervised by her as to whether or not he would be ready to handle a situation like this once he becomes Elder one day. Luigi and Khira both agreed that this was no time to be educating someone about their future duties; not when there is a mad king and queen out to find them and hurt anyone that they care about or gets in their way. But of course, the Puni Elder was not to really think about the realistic side of any situation. So they just had to sit there and deal with it.
"I know, and I truly appreciate that, Punio, but the fact of the matter is that we are putting you and the tribe in danger every minute we stay here," Khira countered kindly. "Bowser has been ruthless in the past, but never to the point that he's currently at. I don't want to put the tribe in danger..."
But Luigi quickly stepped in and cut her off. "But at the same time, this is where Khira and I keep arguing. She feels as though we are in danger, even though they lost our trail and any signs of koopa patrol that have gotten near the Great Tree haven't figured out a way inside yet..."
"AND YET, they know that they lost us here and they won't stop looking here until they find us. You do realize that they have a new queen that is hell bent on KILLING us?!"
"AND YET, we have been safe these past few days and there's no reason to go back on the run again, especially when your little brother can't even get himself out of bed because he's too damn depressed to even move!"
"DO YOU WANT YOUR BROTHER ALIVE OR DEAD? YOUR CHOICE, LUIGI!"
"BOTH OF YOU INGRATES STOP!" the Elder shouted, growing huge in size and voice, shocking Luigi and Khira.
"Now, you two, fighting is going to stop right now!"
And at that, Khira and Luigi immediately stopped fighting. Over living with the Punies for a week, it never ceased to amaze them how frightening the Elder could become when she put her mind to it.
"Now then, you youngins better listen up! There is a solution to this! There is a way out of the tree that leads into a certain section of the Boggly Woods that no one knows of, one for Punies and humans. Don't know exactly why the ancestors created a way for humans, but they did. Anyhow, in case anything terrible happens, the Punies will typically use these pathways to get away and escape. We couldn't use it the last time when the X-people arrived because they caught us by surprise. But now we can, and there's nothing to worry about."
Khira then felt the ground shake uncontrollably. As Sparky curled up on her shoulder, shaking, she knew that this was not going to be good. The same evil energy that she had sensed before in Petalberg was now back again. As Khira feared, the new Queen of the Koopas had somehow come across their hiding place. She had no idea how she figured it out, but there was no time trying to understand how this happened. A huge smashing sound crashed into the side of the tree that caused Luigi to lose his balance and as he looked up, he saw that there was a huge dent where the crash had hit the tree. He realized it too: the enemy was here.
"Khira, I'm so sorry I argued..." Luigi began.
"No time! We have to get out of here! All of us! Punio! You take the Elder, your sister, and all the other Punies and head for the tunnels mapped out for you. You won't be able to come back here for a long time, Punio. If they find you, they'll punish you for helping us. Get out as fast as you can and go into hiding! Make sure that they'll never be able to find you!"
Khira turned to Luigi.
"You both have to get out as well. Take Yoshi and Sparky and force Mario out of bed."
Luigi looked skeptical. "What about you?"
Khira hesitated. "I will stay behind and hold her off as long as I can."
"Didn't you say that we're a family and we have to stay together?"
"Don't argue with me Luigi!" she yelled. "You're no match for her and neither is Mario. Even if Mario was not in his state, he would be no match for her."
"I'm not going anywhere! You almost died the last time I left you alone!"
"Don't argue with me!"
And at that last remark, a huge collision met with the tree, followed by two more, worse than the first. Half of the top of the tree's ceiling was now completely broken. Bits and pieces of the bark was now falling to the ground. She couldn't believe that Bowser would ever sink so low as to destroy anything. Sure, he kidnapped, attacked, and imprisoned people, but he never did anything like this. Sparky curled up on her shoulder, scared to death and was hurting from all the negative energy. Khira didn't need Sparky's reaction to the dark energy to know that Peach was here leading this charge. She pulled out her staff and stood in place, staring at the red door that the X-Nauts installed, preparing for the troops to come in. That's when the door was burst down and the koopa patrol came piling in and trying attacking Khira. They may have been stronger, but even in their numbers, they were no match for her. But it got to a point that even Khira was getting exhausted and could hold on for so much longer.
"STOP!" a familiar voice said. "IDIOTS! THIS ONE IS MINE! GO SEARCH THE REST OF THE TREE FOR THE OTHER TWO!"
"YES MA'AM!"
But before they could even get to the other door, Sparky unleashed an immense amount of electricity and knocked all of them out. Peach remained frustrated, but still managed to maintain her composure. She wouldn't lose to this girl. Never.
"Ah, girl. We meet again," she said evilly. "I'm surprised you're even on your feet after our last encounter."
Khira smirked. "You seriously underestimate my power, your majesty," she said, saying the two words sarcastically.
"How is it that you're on your feet? Our battle should have practically drained you to the point where you can't even stand."
"A magician never reveals her secrets. I think you and I both know that."
This time, Peach smirked. "Fair enough. You've got spirit and determination, I'll give you that. But now, this is the end of your game. But I think I'll begin with your weak green brother. Or maybe that bastard Mario who forced me to be his bride.."
Khira gripped her staff and moved in front of the other red door, standing her ground even further.
"You touch either one of them and you'll be in for the fight of your life."
"Stand aside, girl."
"I'd rather die than let you near either of my brothers."
"You have one of two choices, girl. You either surrender willingly or die here trying. I think you and I both know based on our last battle that option 1 would be the best choice for you, but then again, you're quite stubborn, aren't you?" Peach said, voice dripping with a mocking tone.
Khira smirked defiantly. "If you know that, then I think you already know my answer, your highness."
Khira is currently putting on a tough face because on the inside, her heart was constricting inside her chest. Fighting your best friend to the death isn't something that she thought would ever happen, but here it is. She knew that she told Mario that she would try everything that she had to try to bring the old Peach back from her brainwashing, but now as she saw Peach and saw how much she damaged the Great Tree and Petalberg, she knew that she had no choice. This had to end with a mercy killing before Peach hurt anyone else. It broke her heart, but she didn't see any other option. Her best friend was suffering inside that body and now the dark power inside her was stronger than before. She could feel it consuming her and she knew that the more exposed Peach was to it, the more and more evil and dangerous she would become.
She had no choice. She knew what she had to do.
"Very well!" she snarled. "Come at me then, little girl!"
Khira felt a single tear drop run down her face, but she still smiled defiantly.
"So be it, then."
And then they fought. They fought harder than they did the last time. It was very clear that they were equally matched. Khira wasn't sure if Peach knew this, but she was fighting while Luigi led the Punies and the Jabbis into the secret passageways that would take them both to their respective underground hideouts. She was only praying to the stars that Luigi and Mario would get out of here and forget about her. As long as they were both safe, that was all that she cared about. But she didn't have time to think about that as Peach began breathing actual fire, which startled Khira, but not enough to completely throw her off. Before, Khira had no idea that Peach could fight this way and had no idea what to expect. Now, she knew Peach's fighting style and while she was very strong, she wasn't the type of fighter who always changed her fighting style, which made it more than easy for Khira to completely disarm her and render her immobile.
In their previous duel, Khira was the one down and Peach the one above about to kill her. This time, the roles were reversed. Khira was the one above, still full of energy and power, with Peach below being unable to move. Khira held her staff in her hand tightly, dreading what was coming.
Luigi then ran back into the burning room. He had just managed to get all of the Punies out of the tree and on pathways to take them somewhere safe and Yoshi was with Mario, protecting him as he ran back to help Khira. But he came back to a scene that he was horrified to see. She couldn't be thinking of...No. She couldn't be, right?
"Khira, what are you doing?" Luigi asked, in horror.
Khira's tears began to flow. "Luigi, I don't have a choice. She's too dangerous to be kept alive and there's no way we can bring her back."
"You don't believe that! I know you don't believe it! Khira, don't do this!" Luigi begged.
Khira gritted her teeth and her grip on her staff began to shake. "I don't have another choice, Luigi."
"Come on, then! Or are you too much of a coward to finish the job? Don't worry! King Bowser will be sure to make you suffer for this injustice!"
Khira looked down at Peach. Tears still flowing down her face.
"What?" Peach scoffed at her. "You're crying? For what? You must be even more pathetic than I thought."
Khira scoffed at herself.
"I know you don't remember, but you were my best friend." Peach scoffed and tried to struggle away, but Khira held her down with her foot to force her into listening. "But we didn't start out that way. If anything, I hated your guts. You were so pristine, pretty and perfect and so beloved by everyone, everything I wasn't. Also my brother had recently got his heart broken by a girl just like you and I saw the way that he was looking at you after a while. I knew that he was falling in love with you and I didn't want my brother to get hurt all over again. I thought you were just like her: pretty, but lying and deceitful and would leave the minute things got hard for you."
Khira then smiled as the tears came flowing down harder.
"But I came to realize that you weren't like that at all. You showed me that even though you were a princess, you were kind and warm hearted and everything Pauline wasn't. You also persevered a lot with me, as well. I'm the kind of person who doesn't let a lot of people in, but you never gave up with me. Eventually, you broke down my walls and we became best friends. I never thought I could love another person outside my family so much. You became the sister I never had and I would've honestly given my life for you if it came down to that. I would've done anything for you. I swore to myself that I would always defend you and our kingdom the way that I would my own family. Thank you for being my friend, Peach. I know that you don't remember any of it, but I'm so glad that I met you."
But Khira's words had no effect and instead Peach attempted to spit in her face.
"How sweet, too bad it's nothing but complete garbage! Nice speech, little girl! But I know the real truth! You kidnapped me and brainwashed me into doing all of that!"
Khira smiled through her tears as she choked out her next words. "I'm so sorry I couldn't save you."
"Khira don't do this!" Luigi begged.
Khira raised her staff and was about to say the enchantment that would finally free her best friend and princess from this curse that had trapped her, when she was stopped by the cries of desperation coming from her brother.
"KHIRA STOP!" Mario cried in desperation.
And then everyone turned to see Mario on his feet for the first time in a week, struggling to stand, holding onto Yoshi, but still maintaining a good balance.
And then vengeful blood red eyes met terrified blue ones and the world temporarily stopped for the owner of the blue eyes.
And the former lovers stared at each other, one look of pure hate, one of sorrow. For Mario, he barely stood in horror at the love of his life who stared back at him with nothing but hate and lust for death and destruction. As it happened with his siblings, he couldn't believe that this was the princess that he had fallen in love with and came to care so much about. As his siblings also noticed, she looked like Peach, she sounded like her, but he knew immediately that this wasn't the woman he fell in love with. He knew, even in his depressed state, that this woman wasn't his Peach because of the blood redness that had replaced the beauty that her soul was. Eyes are windows to the soul and whenever he looked into Peach's eyes, he saw the most kind and most beautiful soul who loved and cared about everyone she met. It was one of the many things that made him fall in love with her and now, now that woman was gone. With the hate in her eyes, she took on the form of a rabid dog, and it completely broke his heart.
He knew that he would have to face her eventually and that Khira and Mario warned him that he wouldn't be ready for this and that she would most likely take advantage of his current state. He tried to deny it, tell himself that Peach was still in there somehow, but the small reason that he had left was telling him that that was futile. He could see very clearly that the woman he loved was gone.
Mario sank down to his knees, completely horrified, and ultimately forgot to hold onto Yoshi to maintain his balance. They never broke eye contact and Mario felt a single tear running down his face. He had sworn to always protect her and love her, and now look at her. He had completely failed to do that and this woman standing before him was there because of him.
"Ah, Mario. We meet again, coward. Couldn't bare to see me go back to my beloved Bowser, could you? You just had to come in here and try to take me back, but I tell you now that you will fail! YOU WILL DIE!"
Khira had to increase her weight on Peach to keep her down and unable to move, every struggle Peach gave wrecked her heart.
Those words of hate just broke his heart even more. But even at the realization he made, Mario still stubbornly tried to hold onto the thought that the woman he loved was still in there.
"Please, Khira," he begged. "You can't do this. You just can't."
"Mario, we don't have a choice. I don't have a choice. I'm sorry," Khira said firmly, trying to keep her composure even though tears were running down her face. She knew that she had to do this before Mario and Luigi succeeded in convincing her otherwise. She knew that she wouldn't be able to keep this for much longer. She knew that if she didn't do this now, she would never be able to do it.
"This isn't your way! You don't kill people, especially not your friends!" Mario yelled, begging her to reconsider.
"She's not my friend and she's not your princess, anymore, Mario," she said firmly.
"Khira..."
"MARIO LOOK AT HER!" Khira shouted, finally losing her composure. "THIS ISN'T THE WOMAN YOU FELL IN LOVE WITH! YOU KNOW THAT JUST AS WELL AS I DO!"
"She's right."
And then Peach somehow regained enough strength to completely push Khira and her sword backwards into a wall. Khira grunted at the pain. Then Peach ran to Mario and shoved him into a wall. Mario could barely find the strength to get up. That hurt him even more than what Bowser did to him.
"Khira!" Luigi said, running to her. "Are you alright?"
"Mario," Peach said in remorse, causing Khira and Luigi to look back at the scene unfolding, only to be shocked at what they saw.
Khira looked up in shock at Peach, for the blood red eyes were gone. The beautiful blue eyes that Mario loved were back. She looked the old Peach again and her hands were shaking, tears falling down her face, her eyes full of shock and remorse at what she had just done to Mario. It wasn't a look that Khira or Luigi had seen since Peach had been brainwashed. Peach had temporarily managed to fight back against the evil at seeing Mario again and she saw him, horrified at what she had done.
"Peach," Mario said, in absolute shock. He just knew it! He knew that the old Peach was still in there somehow! He somehow managed to get up and start walking towards her. "I know you're in there, please. You've got to fight this. This isn't you! This isn't the Peach that I love! Please Peach!"
"Mario...run..." Peach said weakly, obviously straining very hard and trying to fight back. But it was no use. The spell was just too strong, and then just as quickly as it happened, the blue eyes were gone and the blood red eyes were back and full of vengeance.
"Oh that's how you want to play it! Trying to brainwash me again, are you, COWARD? WELL I'LL JUST MAKE IT SO YOU NEVER BRAINWASH ME AGAIN!"
And she lunged at Mario, pushing him up against the bark of the tree, crushing his neck with only one hand, her other hand holding her sword which she planning on using to end the life of the man she loved so much. The saddest part was that she didn't even remember it and the real Peach was slowly being overpowered by this monster that had replaced her.
"PEACH STOP!" Khira screamed.
"PRINCESS!" Luigi begged.
"YOSHI!" Yoshi cried.
"THE PRINCESS PEACH YOU TRIED TO MAKE ME IS LONG GONE, FOR THIS IS MY TRUE FORM. DID YOU FORGET WHO I AM? I'M YOUR ENEMY! THE QUEEN AND LOYAL SERVANT TO LORD BOWSER! YOU'LL PAY FOR YOU DID TO ME!"
Khira watched in horror as she could do nothing to save her little brother. Now, she knew that she would have no choice but to kill Peach after this. In order to avenge her beloved brother, and so, she prepared for the absolute worst as Peach prepared to breath fire at her former lover. Khira then sent a quick prayer to the stars.
Stars, please, if you can hear me, save us! Save Mario! Please! You can't let this happen!
"SAY GOODBYE!" Peach screeched, planning on killing the horrified look of her former lover, who closed his eyes preparing for the end and the never ending pain.
Only the pain never came, as a gust of wind came out of nowhere and pushed Peach and her weapon hard up against the wall. The three siblings looked in the direction of the powerful gust of wind. It came from the direction of a figure in a dark hooded cloak, who was standing where the red door used to be, their hand extended from the spell he just cast. Khira was beyond shocked, but grateful that the Stars had somehow heard her prayer. She would be forever grateful to the mystery being that had saved their lives, if only for now. But no one outside of this task force sent to capture them knew that they had taken refuge in the Great Tree, so the big question was, who was the mystery person who saved them?
But that didn't matter to Khira. Her main priority was keeping her family safe and so she ran to where Mario was and scooped him up in her arms.
"Mario!" she cried. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
Mario shook his head, still shaking at what had just happened. He clung to Khira as if his life depended on it. He didn't even know where to begin to think about that. His Peach, his beloved, his one and only had just tried to kill him. Even though he saw a glimpse of the old Peach, the evil completely took over her and almost ended his game. How could this have happened? Why did this have to happen? Why did Bowser have to go so far this time? Being apart from Peach when she was kidnapped was one thing, but losing the woman he loved altogether was just a completely different thing altogether. He couldn't even keep himself together. He had to hold onto his sister in order to hold himself together.
"I hate to interrupt, but the other troops are coming with every intent to either kill or capture you, so I suggest we get going," the voice of the mystery person said firmly.
"And what makes you think I'm going to trust you?" Khira demanded. "You could be a spy for Bowser or Peach trying to lure us into a trap!"
The mystery person scoffed. "If I wanted to kill you, I would have left you to die at the hands of your former princess. But I chose to save you."
Khira winced at that. She couldn't deny that he was correct. Peach probably would've killed Mario and the troops probably would've finished the job since Khira and Luigi were in no condition to fight anymore. But she still couldn't trust him. He came out of nowhere.
"No matter!" she said stubbornly. "I'm not going anywhere with you. Who are you and how did you find us?"
A moment of silence passed and then the mystery person removed his dark hood.
"My name is Howl, and I've come to save you."
That's it! I HOPE THAT YOU ENJOYED IT!
I didn't realize it while I was writing this chapter, but this is the longest chapter of the story thus far!
QUICK NOTE: I decided to change the rating from K+ to T because of the darker elements that the story is going to continue to have. Hope that's okay with everyone!
Want another chapter? Press the review button and make that happen! I guarantee that you can remain an anonymous reviewer just review!
PLEASE REVIEW AND FAVORITE!
UNTIL NEXT CHAPTER!
Signed
Kagomehater4ever
