Hey everyone! More juicy tidbits all around, hope everyone enjoys this installment...
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Understudied Understudies
Luigi was actually feeling his stomach churn, as he watched a very lanky, taller evil version of himself dangling his victims over the side of a cheep cheep bridge. But it wasn't just any cheep cheep bridge...
"Oh-my-God-Oh-my-God-Oh-my-Gooodddd!" Squealed the bespectacled koopa, staring down at the large, ominous shadow in the water. "I told you not to get saucy with them!"
"We're going to die!" Wept the HammerBro, panicking as a large yellow Mohawk poked out of the water.
"All right everyone, lets shut up shall we?" Giggled Waluigi, rattling the rope to elicit more panic. "Where's Bowser."
"DON'T TALK TO HIM!" Squealed the Koopa, kicking around stubbornly. Waluigi sighed in annoyance, and let the rope slip them closer to the water.
"Oops!" He smirked, and they looked up at him in horror. A large, orange fin cut the water...
"I'M TELLING! I WANT TO LIVE!" The hammer bro roared, looking around wildly. "The mushroom kingdom! He's going to the-"
"IDIOT!" Barked the Koopa, trying his hardest to hurt the hammer bro and failing miserably. He resigned to biting the hammer bros shoulder, who howled in disapproval.
"Stupid turtle! He's going to kill us, look at his crazy eyes!" Waluigi decided to ignore that.
"What does he want at the mushroom kingdom?!"
Both Luigi and Daisy looked dull at this, exchanging glances.
"Are you seriously asking him that, or are you just really enjoying tormenting them?" Luigi demanded, folding his arms sternly across his chest.
Waluigi blushed bashfully at this.
"Well..." and began tugging them back up. Without a warning, the enormous cheep cheep that had been circling the terrified captives all this time leapt out of the water, gargantuan mouth agape as it lunged for the bound pair. It didn't exactly wait around there that long, expecting nothing! All three were shocked by this random event, both Daisy and Luigi preparing themselves to lunge in after the poor, D Grade enemies.
Gasping, Waluigi quickly jerked them up, grabbing them with his long arms in mid air. The cheep cheeps leap just barely missed where he now clutched them in his arms. He then placed them on the ground, heart pounding. Luigi released a long sigh of relief, and Daisy deflated against him, chuckling at their luck. Waluigi briefly stared back into the water, certain he could hear the giant fish grumbling bad things at him. He'd been terrified that they'd be devoured! He wasn't about to show it, though.
"No useful hostage ends up in a belly now, does it." He grinned evilly, then sat next to them. "What other fun can I have with you whilst forcing info?" He pondered, and Luigi approached the scene, tugging the hostages over to him.
"My turn. Maybe they won't become somebodies lunch on my watch."
Then he looked down at Waluigi, eyebrow cocked.
"You're creepy."
"You're sexy." Waluigi taunted, and Luigi looked very embarrassed, not quite as entertained as the other three onlookers- who were pealing in laughter. Luigi dragged the hostages a safe distance from the smug Waluigi, sitting before them.
"Please... can you tell me what Bowser wants with my brother? It's important..."
"Tough! So is Bowsers duty!" This induced an eye-roll from the green clad man.
"I beg to differ. And either way, I'm going to find out. You might as well spill it while I'm being easy on you guys."
"Nuh-uh! No way! You're too nicey-nice to pull something and I know it. Good guys make bad kidnappers."
"No, but Waluigi isn't. And lets just put it this way- if I don't get an answer, I'm certain I can leave it to him to-"
"You've touched my heart with your invigorating speech." The Koopa rushed hurriedly, taking a worried glance at Waluigi. "How do you know he wants something with your brother?"
"How else do you think we found you?" Daisy sighed, coming over to sit next to Luigi. "I listened to every single thing you guys talked about. And Mario was one of the hotter topics. Now why don't you just stop dancing around the subject and tell Luigi what you need to know? The sooner you talk, the sooner you leave."
"What's with this dame talking for you? Can't speak for yourself now? Who is she, your little sidekick?" The koopa snickered, eyes piercing Daisy's lovely face. At this, Luigi flamed very red, and Daisy adapted a very coy look.
"I'd like to think of myself as, yeah." She took a bashful look at Luigi before maintaining her hard ass grin. This only deepened the redness in Luigi's cheeks, and instinctively, his hand met the back of his neck.
"She's not a sidekick. She can take care of herself fine. And I'll leave her to take care of you two if you waste any more of my time yammering. Trust me, she will hurt you." The captives looked wearily with fear upon her, and both her and Luigi attempted to keep from bursting out laughing at this. This was starting to get way too fun for the three of them. "I'm going to ask you once more. What does Bowser want with my brother?"
"He wants to destroy him. See him die." The hammer bro declared, expression heated, twisted joy. "Slowly, painfully, and pathetically."
Luigi felt a rage boiling inside of him, and like a cool cloth, Daisy had discreetly looped an arm around him, rubbing his side softly to soothe the burn. He hated talk of his brother encountering harm. He didn't go on all those trips for nothing. He made sure Mario was safe, and he'd be damned if anyone ever tried to change that. But he could take these losers, like so many of their predecessors.
"Oh, really. And how does he plan to do that?"
"By finding the princess... finding out if all these rumors about Mario being vulnerable right now are true. Evidently they are... you've ditched him, haven't you?"
A slap to the face. Luigi pressed his lips together, and twisted it into a cruel grin. Not budging!
"Maybe I have. But I think Bowser's forgetting something. Mario... is freakin' Mario. He's kicked his ass without me before... he'll do it again. This is just another pathetic loser romp for you, everyone like you, and that overweight iguana..."
"AHAHAHAHAHAHA- IGUANA! It's so true-"
STOMP, STOMP, STOMP...
Waluigi's joy at Luigi's comment was short lived, and he quickly scrambled closer to the others, eyes slit in worry.
"They're coming..." He said ominously, peeking out from behind a tree cautiously. He weaseled his way into it, peering out from his perch. "Luigi, they're coming this way! What do we do?"
"Put your mug back into the tree, for starters, before they see you-"
"FINALLY! Our cavalry! GUYS!!! WE'RE OVER HEEEERE!!" The captives began to scream and thrash. Daisy and Luigi seized their mouths, glaring down at them wearyingly.
"Alright. For one, they're STOMPING, and MARCHING. Do you really have the lack of sense to put together BIG noise overpowers all other noise?" Daisy scolded, and merely smirked as the Koopa bit into her hand. "You shouldn't have done that." She smiled.
"Ugh, you little piece of garbage!" Luigi ranted, reaching to grab the clamped turtle.
"No! Don't. He'll learn..." She chuckled, and the Koopa looked unnerved at this. She then seized his head, digging the nails of her trapped fingers into the roof of the Koopas mouth. She then used the same injured hand to muffle the scream of pain it let out. Luigi laughed out loud, and Waluigi nearly fell out of the tree with cackles.
"My God, when did we get so vicious, Daisy?" Luigi giggled, and the Hammer Bro was starting to lean away from them, trying to remain as unnoticeable as possible. He certainly didn't want to be next.
"Lets see, I used to be a princess, started hanging out with you...then Waluigi... now I'm reduced to cat-fighting with Koopa Troopas..."
"Yeah that'll happen!" Waluigi chuckled, then, looked down at them frantically. "Whoa-GUYS! Are you listening?! I said they're heading this way! Aren't we gonna do somthing?!" Waluigi snapped from the tree, then hopped out of it with urgency. Luigi frowned thoughtfully at this, staring up at the lengthy man.
"Um...Waluigi? We are in the woods- they can't see through trees... you realize that, right?"
"Of course I do, you green turd! They're coming this way MOWING it down! They've got chainsaws for crying out loud! Now stop getting rabies from these animals and lets hi-tail it!" Waluigi laughed, standing and taking off. All four exchanged worried glances, bothered by his excitement of the event.
"Jeez...is he always this bonkers?" The hammer bro frowned, watching after the frantic, lithe frame of the Wario brother.
"I'm scared..." the Koopa pouted.
"I really like him, Daisy. I do. But he's... he's pretty weird."
"Yeah, he's, uh...hmm. That's one disturbed childhood."
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This was it. This was falling into play exactly the way he'd hoped it to. The plan wasn't what he would call elaborate- in fact, it was so insanely easy- so easy, in fact, he'd worried it would never work in a million years. But it was. Of all his foul plans he'd devised, this one was working out. He'd never wanted to catch the princess this time. If he wanted to, wouldn't he have had them go straight to her bedroom? He wanted the chaos. He wanted people to think it was just another try at kidnaping Peach. So much he wanted it believed, that he lied to all but one of his faithful workers, Kamek- who was assisting him as surely as he was sitting there by the side of the road, waiting.
He hadn't even been to Peach's castle. Why should he? Wouldn't it be so much more juicy to just sit here, and wait for them all to fall right into his grasp? He just had to make sure he could find his way to Mario. And he could promise that this would be the place that Peach was going.
Kamek was slick and silent, like a boiling liquid that melted its way through surfaces. He was gaining on her. He was mere inches away from her, could even smell her perfume, and she had not the slightest idea he was there, that he'd been the Bowser that tortured her people, that left Toadette in a crumpled heap on her balcony... he had loved the rush. The power of hurting and overbearingly controlling people by force. He enjoyed their fear and begs of mercy. He felt more cold blooded than ever. Bowser had never truly installed any hope in him, ever given him any truly mammoth missions. And this...this was the testimony to all he was capable of. He was making this poor, pathetic girl lead him straight to Mario. Finally, Bowser would know where to find the horrible plumbing rat! And then...
"Why hello, Kamek." Bowser stood from where he'd been seated, cloaked as he usually was when out in the open. Kamek had just appeared out of thin air before him. He was very used to that by now. Finally, he got to be a part of his own plan, after waiting in the dark on the side of the road where the drive to the castle met the main road into the area- the beloved land the Princess swore to look after and keep protected. If she only knew what she was doing...
"Hello, boss. I'm assuming you'd enjoy getting in on some of this action, no?"
"Why yes, I was getting mighty bored here. If you'd do the honors?"
"As always, my liege." Kamek bowed, then whipped out his wand. With a couple swings of the magic stick and a chant of incantations, both appeared to have never existed in the place. Completely undetectable, except for their need to move- and upon moving, cause sound- nobody would have known they were there.
"Well? Where is she?"
"Don't worry. She'll cross this road any moment. She's heading straight this way... I think she's getting very close to his dwelling..."
As if on cue, a very disgruntled, tear streaked Peach threw herself out of the woods onto the road way, looking both ways frantically, afraid of seeing a captor. She fled into the woods on the other side of the road, tatters of her dress dragging behind her.
"Bingo." Bowser chuckled lowly, and the two began to follow her into the forest. Tearing through trees, shrubs and weeds, Peach shredded all area between herself and Mario. She had to be near him right now. She carried with her a variety of stars that powered her castle- and she grabbed every mushroom, fire flower and star she could find on her way. Mario would need this. And she couldn't stay long. She just had to see him before her inevitable kidnap, make sure he was at the very least safe from their harm- she prayed she wouldn't arrive to a heap of ash and dying flame where his house used to be...
The idea sent her sobbing and racing, stumbling and falling through the woods- and when she fell, she crawled. Her beautiful white gloves were ripped, her arms coated in scratches, thorns in her hands from tearing the bushes apart to get there faster...
Please God, don't let them have hurt him...
At long last, she pushed herself through the last clusters of bramble bushes, and found herself staring at the beautiful, cozy cottage. Smoke billowed from the chimney, the only true sign of life from within the place. The light over the door was on at the very least, signifying that indeed he was home. She detested the large gap between this group of branches and his front door... eyes bouncing back and forth between her space and his, she scanned the area between... completely clear. So she kicked off into a heart-pounding, breath-stealing canter, legs charging her forth as fast as they could muster. She threw herself through his front gates and fell to the ground with a painful collision as her legs wrapped in the remains of her long dress. She dragged herself swiftly to her feet again and stumbled, wavering at the door... and felt a crushing, hurtful embrace envelope her body. Doom, failure, danger- It was as if she was suffocating, her chest heaving for air she couldn't grab, and something unseen- something powerful was squeezing her, seeming to demand every last breath from her body. A small set of useless gasps as she tried to gain the air she needed, useless. That hideous, horrible face suddenly appeared before her, out of nowhere, and her mind- with every last bit of energy it had left, was screaming 'No, no, no, NO...'
"Bastard..." She croaked, teeth grit against the pain. Toadette...
"Why thank you, Princess, you're too kind. And to top it all off, you led me straight to Mario. Who knew you could be so generous after all the hell I've put you through these past few years..." He loosened the grip- presumably so he could taunt her before forcing her into unconsciousness, or worse... She tried to scream with rage, wanted to hurt him, kill him, she couldn't breathe...
He grinned smugly as she thrashed.
"Short of breath, Peach? You had quite the jog over here. You wouldn't know if you'd just seen pandemonium in a tractor heading your way!" She managed to free her arms, nails biting into his throat, grasp weak but filled with spite-engulfed rage.
"Aw, I love you too." Bowser sneered. "I knew you needed a pick-me-up." He smiled, squeezing her harder than before. "Feeling better?"
She opened her mouth to protest, to beg for him to stop, because she felt as if she was about to deteriorate in his arms from the sheer force...and then she thought of the only person left, the only thing keeping a ray of light in this black hell of a situation, with Bowser just outside a down and depleted Mario's door...
Luigi, you've got to help us...
"Speak up sweetie, I'm not prone to mind reading!"
And the air came and went as soon as he finished speaking, and her chaotic, desperation filled world was turning black...
Mario!
"Nighty night, Princess."
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